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Post by pumpkinpie on Jan 31, 2008 13:32:07 GMT -5
NEW VOICES: Judge Calls Death Penalty "an outrageous way to penalize victims" Maryland Judge Joseph P. Manck sought to lessen the pain and frustration to the victims' family by sentencing a defendant to life in prison without the possibility of parole instead of the death penalty. In choosing a life sentence for Brandon Morris for the murder of correctional officer Jeffrey Wroten, Judge Manck noted that appeals in death penalty cases can stretch on for years. He cited one case that has been going on for 25 years and said that victims' families often must sit through painful retrials, listening to defendants "again, again and again." Judge Manck told Wroten’s family that his mother was also murdered and that he understood their need for closure. However, Judge Manck noted, death penalty trials and appeals can last many years with multiple painful rehashings of the crime. He said, "It is an outrageous way to penalize victims." At the time of the crime, Morris was in Roxbury Correctional Institution, serving an eight-year sentence for assault and robbery. He shot Wroten to death as he escaped from prison. Morris was apprehended by police shortly after his escape. In making his decision, Judge Manck also cited mitigating factors in the case, including Morris’ abusive childhood. Morris had waived his right to sentencing by a jury. www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?did=2610&scid=64
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Post by andie on Feb 5, 2008 18:48:10 GMT -5
What are the chances he'll escape again? I'm not saying he should get the dp because I do agree the appeal process is horrible on the victim's family but if he escaped once will he try it again? Or was he at an easier prison to escape so to speak. NEW VOICES: Judge Calls Death Penalty "an outrageous way to penalize victims" Maryland Judge Joseph P. Manck sought to lessen the pain and frustration to the victims' family by sentencing a defendant to life in prison without the possibility of parole instead of the death penalty. In choosing a life sentence for Brandon Morris for the murder of correctional officer Jeffrey Wroten, Judge Manck noted that appeals in death penalty cases can stretch on for years. He cited one case that has been going on for 25 years and said that victims' families often must sit through painful retrials, listening to defendants "again, again and again." Judge Manck told Wroten’s family that his mother was also murdered and that he understood their need for closure. However, Judge Manck noted, death penalty trials and appeals can last many years with multiple painful rehashings of the crime. He said, "It is an outrageous way to penalize victims." At the time of the crime, Morris was in Roxbury Correctional Institution, serving an eight-year sentence for assault and robbery. He shot Wroten to death as he escaped from prison. Morris was apprehended by police shortly after his escape. In making his decision, Judge Manck also cited mitigating factors in the case, including Morris’ abusive childhood. Morris had waived his right to sentencing by a jury. www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?did=2610&scid=64
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Post by pumpkinpie on Feb 6, 2008 10:35:59 GMT -5
What are the chances he'll escape again? I'm not saying he should get the dp because I do agree the appeal process is horrible on the victim's family but if he escaped once will he try it again? Or was he at an easier prison to escape so to speak. [/quote] I would think they would have changed/tightened security in the prison after an inmate escaped once.
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Post by legallybrunette on Feb 7, 2008 8:32:14 GMT -5
I was thinking that as well a while ago, the fact that years after the victim has gone, the family have to re-live the whole thing as the sluggish appeal process is gone through over decades. It would be like slow torture for all concerned. The prisoner's life will be the same as it always was so it is merely a process for him but for the victim's family, it brings it all back like a repetitive nightmare. My penpal has been on the Row for 23 years and he is still on the bottom rung of the federal appeal process. The victim would have been 81 this year had she lived. Her grandchildren have probably grown up hearing about what happened to their grandma when their dad was a teenager. Now they get the chance to see it all first hand when it comes time to wheel my penpal out to say his bit no doubt in the event there is a re-trial ordered. By the way, does anyone know at what point in the process, the prisoner would be required to make an appearance in court rather than merely through legal representatives?
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Post by andie on Feb 9, 2008 11:44:11 GMT -5
Are you talking about the appeal process? I was thinking that as well a while ago, the fact that years after the victim has gone, the family have to re-live the whole thing as the sluggish appeal process is gone through over decades. It would be like slow torture for all concerned. The prisoner's life will be the same as it always was so it is merely a process for him but for the victim's family, it brings it all back like a repetitive nightmare. My penpal has been on the Row for 23 years and he is still on the bottom rung of the federal appeal process. The victim would have been 81 this year had she lived. Her grandchildren have probably grown up hearing about what happened to their grandma when their dad was a teenager. Now they get the chance to see it all first hand when it comes time to wheel my penpal out to say his bit no doubt in the event there is a re-trial ordered. By the way, does anyone know at what point in the process, the prisoner would be required to make an appearance in court rather than merely through legal representatives?
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Post by pumpkinpie on Feb 25, 2008 16:42:10 GMT -5
NEW VOICES: Mother of Murder Victim Testifies at California Death Penalty Hearing At a hearing of the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice held in Los Angeles, the mother of a murder victim testified about why she believed the death penalty does not serve victims' needs. Aba Gayle’s daughter, Catherine Blount, was a teenager when she was murdered in 1980 by Douglas Mickey. At first, Gayle told the Commission, "The district attorney assured me that the execution of the man responsible for Catherine's murder would help me heal, and for many years I believed him." But in 1988, Gayle changed her mind and now no longer wants the defendant to be executed. Mickey’s death sentence was overturned in 2006 due to the ineffectiveness of his defense lawyer, but the D.A. is still seeking the death penalty against him. During the hearing on how to address the problems in the death penalty system, prosecutors stated that they need quicker appeals and would like to amend California’s Constitution to transfer initial reviews of death penalty cases to state appeals courts. Defense attorneys stated that transferring initial reviews would only make the process more cumbersome, and suggested that the state shorten the list of crimes that qualify for the death penalty instead. With 669 inmates, California has the largest death row population in the country, and it can take as long as two decades for some inmates to complete their appeal. Gayle testified about her experiences with the death penalty at the hearings, including her requests to the D.A. "I told him I would be satisfied with a life sentence,” she said. “I did not want state-sanctioned murder to tarnish the life of my beautiful child." www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?did=2633&scid=64
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Post by pumpkinpie on Feb 25, 2008 17:02:36 GMT -5
During the hearing on how to address the problems in the death penalty system, prosecutors stated that they need quicker appeals and would like to amend California’s Constitution to transfer initial reviews of death penalty cases to state appeals courts. Defense attorneys stated that transferring initial reviews would only make the process more cumbersome, and suggested that the state shorten the list of crimes that qualify for the death penalty instead. With 669 inmates, California has the largest death row population in the country, and it can take as long as two decades for some inmates to complete their appeal. I say GOOD, hopefully most inmates on death row in CA will not get executed then! Quickening the appeals process in CA doesn't sound right to me. Shortening the list of crimes that would qualify for the death penalty like Defense attorneys have suggested sounds more logical- such as to maybe stop sending guys to death row when there guilt wasn't even proven. Or they could just abolish the death penalty in that state rather than trying to find a way to kill the inmates quicker!
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