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DAY THREE
Pendulum swings toward life in prison
Death sentences for some armed-robbery murders could be going, going, gone.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If the Georgia Supreme Court is to be taken at its word, certain armed robberies that turn into murder may no longer qualify for the death penalty.
Since 1974, the court has ruled repeatedly that death sentences that became rare for certain types of cases would be thrown out.
The Journal-Constitution has found that death sentences for straightforward armed-robbery murder cases have dropped sharply.
These types do not involve murder for hire, the killing of a police officer, maiming or torture. Typically, they involve a killing during a convenience store robbery or a holdup on a street corner.
From 1995 through 2004, 440 men and women were convicted of these types of murders in Georgia, the newspaper found.
Seven death sentences were imposed in cases from 1995 through 1999. One was overturned on appeal, but reinstated in 2002.
Of the 189 armed-robbery murder cases from 2000 through 2004, only one led to a death sentence. It was overturned because of improper arguments by the prosecutor at sentencing.
Georgia State University law professor Anne Emanuel, who has studied the court's review, said the court should be overturning all death sentences for these types of murders.
"When only about 1 percent of these cases are receiving a death sentence, that sentence is substantially out of line," Emanuel said. "In fact, it's constitutionally disproportionate."
The court has used the review to toss out death sentences for armed robbery, rape and kidnapping with bodily injury.
In 1974, the court overturned a death sentence for an armed robbery in East Point, saying it had been "rarely imposed" in similar cases. For the same reason, the court threw out five more death sentences for armed robbery in the next seven years.
In July, the Florida Supreme Court threw out a death sentence for a defendant who killed a man during a 2001 robbery. It found no evidence of premeditation and no intent to eliminate a witness.
"We do not diminish the tragic and inexcusable loss of life of the victim," the court said, "but we must reserve the death penalty for the most egregious of murders."
More on ajc.com
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- Aggravated murder charges filed in Wash. shootings (09/29/2008)
- 'I wanted to disarm him' (09/29/2008)
- Davis case decision expected by Oct. 6 (09/29/2008)
- Troy Davis case decision expected by Oct. 6 (09/28/2008)
- Sept. 21-27: METRO WEEK IN REVIEW (09/28/2008)
- Ark. man convicted of killing 3 boys takes stand (09/25/2008)
- Video technician back on stand today (09/25/2008)
- NY gym owner charged with 3 murders 9 years apart (09/24/2008)
- Court stops Davis' death (09/24/2008)
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Comments
By Steiner
Apr 11, 2008 10:19 AM | Link to this
As far as prisoners being fed slop and having inadequate health care well, they should have thought about that before they committed the crime.
There should be public executions and if people don't like it, get yourself a gun and we will have a war and if you win you can have your way. But after I win, we will have public hangings with a nominal admission fee with the proceeds going to the victims family. I would also extend the death penalty to someone who commits three violent felonies even if no death results from it. If the Supreme court ruled against it, they would be ignored and if anyone came down to enforce their order, they would be kicked in the rear and sent packing. Now that is real justice folks.
By Agnes Cowan
Dec 1, 2007 4:56 AM | Link to this
Now 80, I have fought against the death penalty for most of my life. My romance/mystery novel, Rachel's Redemption,is a many/faceted story demanding of the reader a second look at many moral issues shaping our laws and attitudes. The integral story-line of the book involves a horrendous miscarriage of justice in the case of one heartbreaking situation where the death penalty
vote of one juror virtually destroyed the juror.
By Carrie Hedrick
Nov 6, 2007 7:23 AM | Link to this
I believed in the death penalty and the justice system when I was in my 20's and didn't read very much. We have lawyers,police officers, judges, and D.A.'s who lie and bury evidence. Hell, the officers involved in the court house shootings lied in an investigation regarding their fellow officer and a judge in the Brian Nichols case and none of them were even fired. If I lied during an investigation of a traffic stop I would be in prison. We also have recently seen a number of convicted rapist, and a few men that have been convicted by eyewitness testimony that have been released due to DNA evidence. So, how can we put a person to death with so many problems with the people we hire and elect to oversee our court system? I'm all for the death penalty, especially for child molesters and child murderers. However, we can't do that when we have so many people who LIE on all sides of a case. And if you want to stop overcrowding, quit putting people in prison for 20 or more years for having marijuana and letting child molesters out in 5 to ten years on parole so that they can destroy another child's life or take a child's life! Save the room for rapists, murderers, and child molesters.
By George S. Ellington
Oct 8, 2007 2:12 PM | Link to this
The death penalty is not used often enough if you ask me; Think of the many lives that are taken daily the rapes committed and the many millions of hollers in drugs sold on our streets daily. The only crime is that when the death penalty is handed down by the courts it is seldom carried out people stay on death row 15, 20, 25 years and in some cases die while waiting to be executed. And who ever came up with the idea of lethal injection has never lost a loved one to a capital crime or had a teenager get strung out on drugs because the only deterrent to crime is fear and what fear does a prisoner get from looking lethal injection in the face NONE Keep the electric chair, The gas chamber, hanging and firing squad and USE them on a regular basis like they are intended to be used and you will see the crime rate in this country drop overnight. Why should we care if an electrocution is botched on occasion did the person that suffers a botched execution even stop to think of his victims pain or the pain his actions would cause the loved ones left behind I seriously doubt it. The execution age needs to be set at 18 in my opinion at 18 you are old enough to distinguish right from wrong and there is no reason an 18 year old who is legal to die for his country can not die for his crimes if they are serious enough to warrant such a punishment! So my hat goes off to Texas (300 so far way to go) and Florida in leading this country in the executing of their inmates all I say is keep up the good work if it were left up to me we would empty the prisons in this country in one good weekend of non stop executions save the money it cost to house these animals and make the streets safe for our women elderly and children. It is not fair for Robert Lee Yates who killed 13 prostitutes or Gary Ridgeway who has been charged with the deaths of 48 young woman including the daughter of a friend of mine and just yesterday Robert Browne who is already serving time in Colorado for murder has admitted to killing 50 people in California, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Washington, as well as one in South Korea The easy answer is these losers deserve to die by execution instead of the different police departments making deals such as tell us what you know and we wont execute you. This is not fair to the victims nor the families that are left behind, in my opinion these killers did not have any regard for their victims so why should we have any regard for them. It also is screaming out to other go ahead and kill someone and we will let you live with no threat of execution! Capital punishment is a deterrent for crime and you will see the crime rate drop when the death penalty is used like it one was in a bygone era!
I am also for the idea of whipping or caning, Singapore canes their inmates and they have very little crime. If it were up to me we would be whipping inmates on the courthouse square especially those who molest kids or hurt the elderly! I also feel that we should empty our prisons of all of the people that are locked up for petty crimes and draft them into the military! If my ideas were a reality this world would be a paradise!
George S, Ellington
By George S. Ellington
Oct 8, 2007 2:10 PM | Link to this
The death penalty is not used often enough if you ask me; Think of the many lives that are taken daily the rapes committed and the many millions of hollers in drugs sold on our streets daily. The only crime is that when the death penalty is handed down by the courts it is seldom carried out people stay on death row 15, 20, 25 years and in some cases die while waiting to be executed. And who ever came up with the idea of lethal injection has never lost a loved one to a capital crime or had a teenager get strung out on drugs because the only deterrent to crime is fear and what fear does a prisoner get from looking lethal injection in the face NONE Keep the electric chair, The gas chamber, hanging and firing squad and USE them on a regular basis like they are intended to be used and you will see the crime rate in this country drop overnight. Why should we care if an electrocution is botched on occasion did the person that suffers a botched execution even stop to think of his victims pain or the pain his actions would cause the loved ones left behind I seriously doubt it. The execution age needs to be set at 18 in my opinion at 18 you are old enough to distinguish right from wrong and there is no reason an 18 year old who is legal to die for his country can not die for his crimes if they are serious enough to warrant such a punishment! So my hat goes off to Texas (300 so far way to go) and Florida in leading this country in the executing of their inmates all I say is keep up the good work if it were left up to me we would empty the prisons in this country in one good weekend of non stop executions save the money it cost to house these animals and make the streets safe for our women elderly and children. It is not fair for Robert Lee Yates who killed 13 prostitutes or Gary Ridgeway who has been charged with the deaths of 48 young woman including the daughter of a friend of mine and just yesterday Robert Browne who is already serving time in Colorado for murder has admitted to killing 50 people in California, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Washington, as well as one in South Korea The easy answer is these losers deserve to die by execution instead of the different police departments making deals such as tell us what you know and we wont execute you. This is not fair to the victims nor the families that are left behind, in my opinion these killers did not have any regard for their victims so why should we have any regard for them. It also is screaming out to other go ahead and kill someone and we will let you live with no threat of execution! Capital punishment is a deterrent for crime and you will see the crime rate drop when the death penalty is used like it one was in a bygone era!
I am also for the idea of whipping or caning, Singapore canes their inmates and they have very little crime. If it were up to me we would be whipping inmates on the courthouse square especially those who molest kids or hurt the elderly! I also feel that we should empty our prisons of all of the people that are locked up for petty crimes and draft them into the military! If my ideas were a reality this world would be a paradise!
George S, Ellington
By SueB
Oct 4, 2007 2:22 AM | Link to this
The death penalty has been used for centuries, and publicly too. Do you see it has had any effect? Did people stop killing each other? Do you see public executions as a step forward for civilisation?
My answers are no, no and no.
The death penalty feeds into the cycle of violence, keeping it spinning forever.
By red
Sep 25, 2007 8:09 PM | Link to this
we have 2 problems in Ga currently. Prisons are over-flowing, and the crime rate is rising. Solve 2 problems with 1 solution... that is legal.
Death penalty. No more sitting in prison for life... just hang.
Bring back public hangings and you will quickly see the crime rate plummett.
Can you see it now?>
On the 2nd Thurs of each month, we gather at the local county courthouse, to see the wooden gallows do their job. Hang them up,... read their crime... listen to their mamas cry.....
Crime will no longer be an issue, and neither will over crowded prisons.
By kristie
Sep 25, 2007 6:18 PM | Link to this
i beg to differ with you, they don't have the use of computers, and 3 meals a day well if you think that the slop they serve is a meal then so be it!!! what family most family go on about there way and forget about them. healthcare what a joke, they would rather let you suffer than fix your teeth or see what is wrong with you medically. until you've walked in a prison or suffered as a family member you need to really know the true facts!!! you will be amazed at how these men/women are treated. yes, i'm sure you suffer from being a part of the victims family but have you ever heard of the word "forgiveness" then maybe you can heal..........
By Defender
Sep 25, 2007 4:33 PM | Link to this
As a defense investigator, I have met with, interviewed, shook hands with, and even hugged murderers; including some facing the death penalty. A few points for each of us to consider:
1. If you think a convict in prison has an easy time, no matter what the media says, you are sadly mistaken. Inmates have the "comforts" to keep them pacified - without them, they would probably riot. Try to arrange a tour of a prison - it is NOT pleasant!
2. At this time, there have been over 200 people released from prison AND death row: because they were innocent, convicted of crimes they did not commit. Knowing this fact makes it very difficult to support the death penalty, doesn't it?
3. I feel extremely bad about the victims and their families - they should not have ever been through what they have. But ask yourselves this question: Is the victim resurrected when a murderer is executed? Does it really make the families feel better? No, it doesn't.
4. Consider the amount of money it takes to bring a defendant to trial: police to investigate & arrest; investigators to prepare the case; prosecutors; etc. In the case of an indigent person, how much is available to defend that person per our CONSTITUTION? The amount spent to prosecute is so far beyond what is available to defend that there is no comparison. Remember the 200+ released from death row!
5. Want to make the justice system better? Petition your State Representative to make certain funds collected and intended for the indigent defense system are actually USED for that purpose - currently, those funds are being redirected to fund "pet projects". THAT is why you see the news about GPDSC being broke!
Before you claim support for the death penalty, take the time to research it. You will be amazed at what you find!
By Raiderbeater
Sep 25, 2007 4:02 PM | Link to this
I have a wild and crazy idea.....If someone kills another person unprovoked , they should be killed in return. What a wild idea, I guess I solved the big "problem" that all these former liberal college students....oops I mean legislatures run into. It's a happy world....Brian Nichols just was raised bad. 20yrs and parole ought to clean him up...he behaves so well in the courtroom already. Can't you see the improvement???? The only reason people want him to get the death penalty is because everyone saw what happened...I guarantee every unprovoked killer would get the death penalty if the jury could look into their eyes when they snuffed the life out of another person.
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