US: Georgia executes 72-year-old death row inmate

[attrayant]

to appease the anti-death penalty crowd, the courts allowed multiple appeals.

You know, I'm pretty much okay with being part of a crowd that can be described with the compound modifier "anti-death". We should probably have a similarly catchy phrase for the opposite side. Pro-killing? Hurrah-for-murder? Vikings?

[nottocus]

That is absolutely horrendous, poor guy sitting in his cell waiting to die for 19 years.

Should've executed him 19 years ago.

Good, they made the murderer suffer for years and then topped him. Real justice served for the innocent victim.

The death penalty is the best solution.

[helpisgood]

African American, he was ...

And if he'd been white...? ( hmm, nice coffee)

More likely that he'd still be alive if he was white.

That's another reason I'm against the death penalty for less than spectacularly heinous crimes.

The U.S. "justice" system tends to punish minorities more harshly.

It isn't an explicit policy, per se, it just works out that way.

It also of course punishes the poor in general more harshly, of any race, for obvious reasons. They can't afford good lawyers.

No he wouldn't, he would still be dead.

And stop spreading lies about minorities (and you mean black) getting harsher penalties "because they are black"... reason is that black people commit about half of all homicides in the US all the while only are about 13% of the entire population.

I know that there was the following study:

"Several years after the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, a University of Iowa law professor, David C. Baldus (who died last month), along with two colleagues, published a study examining more than 2,000 homicides that took place in Georgia beginning in 1972. They found that black defendants were 1.7 times more likely to receive the death penalty than white defendants and that murderers of white victims were 4.3 times more likely to be sentenced to death than those who killed blacks."

This is from: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/09/opinion/09dow.html?_r=0

I have not been following this issue very well. I also realize that this study only applied to Georgia. Apparently, you have more information than I do. Can you please refer us to a more recent study that disproves the above mentioned Baldus study?

Many thanks!

[helpisgood]

Many people don't know this, but in the U.S. system, that it actually costs taxpayers MORE to execute people than to keep them imprisoned for life. Not saying these decisions should be made on costs alone, but it is interesting.

Details please

Good question! It seems strange for it to be true.

Here's a start:

"But the 2008 Maryland Commission on Capital Punishment commissioned the most comprehensive study of the US system to date and found otherwise. The report, which consolidated the results of 14 other studies and examined more cases than previous analyses, concluded that murderers sentenced to death will end up costing taxpayers three times more over the length of the case than if they were sentenced to life without parole."

That's from: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/dec/21/capital-punishment-too-expensive-in-the-us

You can also check out: http://www.economist.com/node/13279051

Thanks for asking! I may be wrong, but I think Nebraska (not the most liberal state in the USA) got rid of capital punishment while citing costs as among its rationale.

Edited February 3, 2016 by helpisgood

[F430murci]

African American, he was ...

And if he'd been white...? ( hmm, nice coffee)

More likely that he'd still be alive if he was white.

That's another reason I'm against the death penalty for less than spectacularly heinous crimes.

The U.S. "justice" system tends to punish minorities more harshly.

It isn't an explicit policy, per se, it just works out that way.

It also of course punishes the poor in general more harshly, of any race, for obvious reasons. They can't afford good lawyers.

Exactly why one shouldn't judge an entire system based upon ignorant assumptions fed by projections of one' sown internal struggles.

More whites have been executed than blacks over the last 49 years at a nearly 2 to 1 clip. The potential racial bias has little to do with punishing blacks more harshly. Prosecutors, however, do appear less inclined to seek the death penalty for black on black murders,.

I worked on a state Supreme Court reviewing death penalty cases. They are subjected to unbelievably high scrutiny focusing on evidence to meet the enhancement factors. Race had zero to do with these reviews. In fact, I can only recall white defendants in the death penalty cases we reviewed.

Felony murder can be enhancement that makes a crime death legible.. I believe that felony murders are particularly heinous, senseless killings that need to be deterred.

The killing of innocent store clerks during commission of a robbery of a few bucks to eliminate the clerk as a witness to me is much worse than a premeditated murder of someone because of a personal dispute between the two. Think about it. Your child or liege done was killed while working in a store for minimum wage so they could not later ID the robber that stole $59 or $100 bucks. That is about as depraived as it gets.

Edited February 3, 2016 by F430murci

[copa8]

African American, he was ...

And if he'd been white...? ( hmm, nice coffee)

More likely that he'd still be alive if he was white.

That's another reason I'm against the death penalty for less than spectacularly heinous crimes.

The U.S. "justice" system tends to punish minorities more harshly.

It isn't an explicit policy, per se, it just works out that way.

It also of course punishes the poor in general more harshly, of any race, for obvious reasons. They can't afford good lawyers.

No he wouldn't, he would still be dead.

And stop spreading lies about minorities (and you mean black) getting harsher penalties "because they are black"... reason is that black people commit about half of all homicides in the US all the while only are about 13% of the entire population.

Shhh...keep quiet. That's a logical and not too PC thing to say.

[rapom]

This man lived for 36 years longer than the man he killed, when robbing a convenience store in 1979. His partner also received the death penalty and was executed in 1985. The killer and his lawyers used every legal means they good to save and prolong this murderers his life. The victim was 35 years young, married and had a young daughter. He died the day before fathers day June 1979. Justice finally served.

[up-country_sinclair]

After nearly 20 years on death row, I imagine he was ready to go.

[Baerboxer]

This man lived for 36 years longer than the man he killed, when robbing a convenience store in 1979. His partner also received the death penalty and was executed in 1985. The killer and his lawyers used every legal means they good to save and prolong this murderers his life. The victim was 35 years young, married and had a young daughter. He died the day before fathers day June 1979. Justice finally served.

But victims "rights" haven't counted for sometime.

Just the same as only whites can be racist, only Christians can be attacked for religious beliefs and anyone who dares say otherwise is a Neo-Nazi fascist anti-semitic Islamaphobic right wing nut job who should be out in a mental institution or a gulag for political education.

Welcome to the PC world of the luvvy left liberal champagne socialist.

[MaeJoMTB]

Seems pointless to execute a 72 year old.

Should have shipped him out to an old peoples home.

I doubt he was a danger to anyone.

[GOLDBUGGY]

A re-trail in 1989? That was over 25 years ago! I really don't see the sense in doing this after so long. What deterrent message are you sending out to would be killers? That if you kill someone today we will kill you back 26 years later, if you are caught, found guilty, and you live that long. I think better to keep quiet about it and let him finish out his term in jail.

[nottocus]

This man lived for 36 years longer than the man he killed, when robbing a convenience store in 1979. His partner also received the death penalty and was executed in 1985. The killer and his lawyers used every legal means they good to save and prolong this murderers his life. The victim was 35 years young, married and had a young daughter. He died the day before fathers day June 1979. Justice finally served.

Long live the death penalty.

[NeverSure]

Well, I guess the solution for someone who doesn't like the death penalty would be to avoid topping a store clerk for $100 or less.

[Jingthing]

The question of race bias in death penalty cases is quite complicated.

http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/death-penalty-black-and-white-who-lives-who-dies-who-decides

Those who die because of this racism are not the kind of people who usually evoke the public's sympathy. Many have committed horrendous crimes. But crimes no less horrendous are committed by white offenders or against black victims, and yet the killers in those cases are generally spared death. The death penalty today is a system which vents society's anger over the problem of crime on a select few. The existing data clearly suggest that many of the death sentences are a product of racial discrimination. There is no way to maintain our avowed adherence to equal justice under the law, while ignoring such racial injustice in the state's taking of life.

[Tchooptip]

That is absolutely horrendous, poor guy sitting in his cell waiting to die for 19 years.

Should've executed him 19 years ago.

Good, they made the murderer suffer for years and then topped him. Real justice served for the innocent victim.

The death penalty is the best solution.

Sometimes they discovered a convict was not guilty before the execution... sometimes after, how do you call it, collateral damage?

[hawker9000]

Whatever happened to reserving the death penalty to more spectacularly heinous cases, such as serial killers, child murderers, etc.? I'm generally anti- death penalty but not strongly so, especially in really heinous cases. Some states in the U.S. aren't doing all that much better than Iran in overdoing the death penalty.

I guess that would depend on your perspective. Perhaps Roger Tacket's survivors considered his murder sufficiently "horrendous". But just out of curiousity, what meets your threshold of "horrendousness"? Five? Ten? 22? 38? So you think some states are comparable to Iran? Seriously? Ridiculous commentary like that gets quoted and only serves to get death penalty opponents ignored. If that's the best they can do, they need to up their game.

Edited February 3, 2016 by hawker9000

[aussiebrian]

African American, he was ...

And if he'd been white...? ( hmm, nice coffee)

More likely that he'd still be alive if he was white.

That's another reason I'm against the death penalty for less than spectacularly heinous crimes.

The U.S. "justice" system tends to punish minorities more harshly.

It isn't an explicit policy, per se, it just works out that way.

It also of course punishes the poor in general more harshly, of any race, for obvious reasons. They can't afford good lawyers.

It doesn't matter how heinous the crime is, courts still make mistakes. Once you are dead you are dead. The death penalty is government sanctioned murder and is barbaric also doesn't have any deterrent factor in murders or to decrease crime. The people that suffer the most in an execution is their family. Personally, I would rather be dead than spend the rest of my life in prison.

Edited February 3, 2016 by aussiebrian

[aussiebrian]

African American, he was ...

And if he'd been white...? ( hmm, nice coffee)

More likely that he'd still be alive if he was white.

That's another reason I'm against the death penalty for less than spectacularly heinous crimes.

The U.S. "justice" system tends to punish minorities more harshly.

It isn't an explicit policy, per se, it just works out that way.

It also of course punishes the poor in general more harshly, of any race, for obvious reasons. They can't afford good lawyers.

Exactly why one shouldn't judge an entire system based upon ignorant assumptions fed by projections of one' sown internal struggles.

More whites have been executed than blacks over the last 49 years at a nearly 2 to 1 clip. The potential racial bias has little to do with punishing blacks more harshly. Prosecutors, however, do appear less inclined to seek the death penalty for black on black murders,.

I worked on a state Supreme Court reviewing death penalty cases. They are subjected to unbelievably high scrutiny focusing on evidence to meet the enhancement factors. Race had zero to do with these reviews. In fact, I can only recall white defendants in the death penalty cases we reviewed.

Felony murder can be enhancement that makes a crime death legible.. I believe that felony murders are particularly heinous, senseless killings that need to be deterred.

The killing of innocent store clerks during commission of a robbery of a few bucks to eliminate the clerk as a witness to me is much worse than a premeditated murder of someone because of a personal dispute between the two. Think about it. Your child or liege done was killed while working in a store for minimum wage so they could not later ID the robber that stole $59 or $100 bucks. That is about as depraived as it gets.

Florida has executed 84 people since the Supreme Court announced the modern death penalty regime in 1976. Zero of them are white people sentenced to death for killing an African American. Indeed, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, “no white person has ever been executed for killing an African American” in the state of Florida.

[KunMatt]

"Instead of life sentence in prison I am giving you the death sentence... which you will get after a life sentence in prison".

Ridiculous system.

[Jingthing]

Whatever happened to reserving the death penalty to more spectacularly heinous cases, such as serial killers, child murderers, etc.? I'm generally anti- death penalty but not strongly so, especially in really heinous cases. Some states in the U.S. aren't doing all that much better than Iran in overdoing the death penalty.

I guess that would depend on your perspective. Perhaps Roger Tacket's survivors considered his murder sufficiently "horrendous". But just out of curiousity, what meets your threshold of "horrendousness"? Five? Ten? 22? 38? So you think some states are comparable to Iran? Seriously? Ridiculous commentary like that gets quoted and only serves to get death penalty opponents ignored. If that's the best they can do, they need to up their game.

Too bad.

I think the entire criminal "justice" system in the USA is something all Americans should be deeply ASHAMED of.

[arjunadawn]

African American, he was ...

And if he'd been white...? ( hmm, nice coffee)

More likely that he'd still be alive if he was white.

That's another reason I'm against the death penalty for less than spectacularly heinous crimes.

The U.S. "justice" system tends to punish minorities more harshly.

It isn't an explicit policy, per se, it just works out that way.

It also of course punishes the poor in general more harshly, of any race, for obvious reasons. They can't afford good lawyers.

Years ago my lazy Ex (aka "The Darkness") had a paper to do for school. The topic was the "Death Penalty." I told her I would help her and eventually did the whole report. I was pleased because I would be able to feed my opinion right into her the mind of her liberal professor. I entered the research pretty much sure I would find data which would support my position that the death penalty was a valid and useful tool. What I discovered was the death penalty being a useful tool or not was not the story as it was applied unevenly in the US. I did not want to reach this conclusion but it was jumping out of the data. Whatever the reasons are- poverty, skin color, geography, education, legal representation, etc- the fact remained in the end there was a disproportionate amount of blacks sentenced to die relative to whites who committed similar crimes. It was a serious wake-up call.

[bbbbooboo]

Well that will teach him not to murder people won't it?

[Asheron]

And if he'd been white...? ( hmm, nice coffee)

More likely that he'd still be alive if he was white.

That's another reason I'm against the death penalty for less than spectacularly heinous crimes.

The U.S. "justice" system tends to punish minorities more harshly.

It isn't an explicit policy, per se, it just works out that way.

It also of course punishes the poor in general more harshly, of any race, for obvious reasons. They can't afford good lawyers.

Exactly why one shouldn't judge an entire system based upon ignorant assumptions fed by projections of one' sown internal struggles.

More whites have been executed than blacks over the last 49 years at a nearly 2 to 1 clip. The potential racial bias has little to do with punishing blacks more harshly. Prosecutors, however, do appear less inclined to seek the death penalty for black on black murders,.

I worked on a state Supreme Court reviewing death penalty cases. They are subjected to unbelievably high scrutiny focusing on evidence to meet the enhancement factors. Race had zero to do with these reviews. In fact, I can only recall white defendants in the death penalty cases we reviewed.

Felony murder can be enhancement that makes a crime death legible.. I believe that felony murders are particularly heinous, senseless killings that need to be deterred.

The killing of innocent store clerks during commission of a robbery of a few bucks to eliminate the clerk as a witness to me is much worse than a premeditated murder of someone because of a personal dispute between the two. Think about it. Your child or liege done was killed while working in a store for minimum wage so they could not later ID the robber that stole $59 or $100 bucks. That is about as depraived as it gets.

Florida has executed 84 people since the Supreme Court announced the modern death penalty regime in 1976. Zero of them are white people sentenced to death for killing an African American. Indeed, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, “no white person has ever been executed for killing an African American” in the state of Florida.

Not really interested in sitting an hour digging for statistics but i would bet a bottle of Chang that it's because far less white people murder blacks compared to black murder white.

[pedro01]

African American, he was ...

And if he'd been white...? ( hmm, nice coffee)

More likely that he'd still be alive if he was white.

That's another reason I'm against the death penalty for less than spectacularly heinous crimes.

The U.S. "justice" system tends to punish minorities more harshly.

It isn't an explicit policy, per se, it just works out that way.

It also of course punishes the poor in general more harshly, of any race, for obvious reasons. They can't afford good lawyers.

Trouble is - that's untrue.

In fact - the opposite is true.

[pedro01]

And if he'd been white...? ( hmm, nice coffee)

More likely that he'd still be alive if he was white.

That's another reason I'm against the death penalty for less than spectacularly heinous crimes.

The U.S. "justice" system tends to punish minorities more harshly.

It isn't an explicit policy, per se, it just works out that way.

It also of course punishes the poor in general more harshly, of any race, for obvious reasons. They can't afford good lawyers.

No he wouldn't, he would still be dead.

And stop spreading lies about minorities (and you mean black) getting harsher penalties "because they are black"... reason is that black people commit about half of all homicides in the US all the while only are about 13% of the entire population.

I know that there was the following study:

"Several years after the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, a University of Iowa law professor, David C. Baldus (who died last month), along with two colleagues, published a study examining more than 2,000 homicides that took place in Georgia beginning in 1972. They found that black defendants were 1.7 times more likely to receive the death penalty than white defendants and that murderers of white victims were 4.3 times more likely to be sentenced to death than those who killed blacks."

This is from: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/09/opinion/09dow.html?_r=0

I have not been following this issue very well. I also realize that this study only applied to Georgia. Apparently, you have more information than I do. Can you please refer us to a more recent study that disproves the above mentioned Baldus study?

Many thanks!

A study from 40 years ago no less.

Are you saying that the USA has not moved forward on race issues since then?

Edited February 3, 2016 by pedro01

[helpisgood]

Post #56 states (the computer will not allow me to include so many quoted posts):

"A study from 40 years ago no less.

Are you saying that the USA has not moved forward on race issues since then?"

Reply:

I understand that you do realize that I had not asked a rhetorical question, correct?

No doubt, one would hope that the USA has moved on. However, we have recently seen videos of unarmed African-Americans shot and killed in the streets by law enforcement officers. I know that forty years may seem like a long time for some things. However, bigotry and prejudices can last for generations. The Civil Rights Amendments are about 150 years old.

It seems to me that compared to before the 1965 Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act, things are not as bad for the African-American community. Still, I am not so sure if America has moved on enough.

By the way, you seem interested so I'll share the following which cites more recent studies consistent with the Baldus study which includes links: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/race-and-death-penalty

Thanks for your contribution to the discussion!

[smotherb]

That is absolutely horrendous, poor guy sitting in his cell waiting to die for 19 years.

Should've executed him 19 years ago.

No, cannot; to appease the anti-death penalty crowd, the courts allowed multiple appeals.

See post #20.

Fair enough?

You seem to have missed the point. I was not arguing there were no innocents on death row. Multiple appeals have resulted in freeing many--as your source says--however, the impetus of the allowance of multiple appeals was the anti-death penalty faction. They have been proved right in many cases, but not in the majority of them. The appeals process is simply part of our checks and balances system.

[maingmoom]

It seems to me so many people in this forum have forgotten or shut their eyes to the crime that had been committed. He murdered someone while attempting a robbery. He left a family devastated by this crime. Waiting 19 years, good, gives him time to reflect on his crime. Now death. Sentence carried out. The victims family can now maybe put this behind them.

[007cableguy]

If he killed someone then he deserves all the suffering he can get !!...I'm sure the deceased family will still carry the pain he inflicted on their family!

[Scott]

Off-topic posts and replies removed.