Racial murderer's death date set

[gallo]

The date of execution of Lawrence Russell Brewer, a white supremacist who was one of three who killed James Byrd, Jr., a black man, by dragging him behind a pickup truck in Jasper, Texas, has finally had his execution date set. As I understand it, his appeals have been exhausted and the Sep. 21 execution date has been set. I suspect that there may be other stays (that seems to be how it works, even after 13 years of legal mumbojumbo), but Brewer's last resort is now Governor Perry. I am quite certain that Gov. Perry won't even respond to requests to grant a stay (I will applaud him in this case).

One of the other two murders, Shawn Allen Berry, was sentenced to life in prison. He drove the truck but did not participate in chaining Mr. Byrd to the truck. For some reason, he gets to have a life in 27 years. His case is no longer in appeal and he will be eligible for parole in 2038.

The third murderer, John William King, has also been sentenced to death and has been residing on death row at the Polunsky Unit of the Texas Department of Correction, along with Brewer, for the last 13 years. Apparently, his case is still in the appeal process. I presume that he will follow Brewer to the lethal injection chamber.

It is my understanding that one of these cases was appealed to the Supreme Court but denied cert. I can't imagine on what grounds a constitutional violation of rights was claimed.

At no time has any of the appeals of any of these three murderers been upheld by any court. They are all guilty.

[Angry Citizen]

And lo, a million Tea Partiers wept.

[lsbskins1]

This is the kind of case that makes me say I am not morally opposed to the death penalty. These guys, the Ted Bundys, the guys who killed Matthew Sheppard, they really do deserve death on some fundamental level.

But the system as a whole is so screwed when it comes to being equitable. There is no rhyme or reason to it when you look at the crazy disparity between the poor and the rich convicted in capitol cases. All in all, when I look at it in it's completeness, no matter how much I think certain individuals deserve it, I still think we need to just get rid of the death penalty.

[Angry Citizen]

How many rich murderers are out there? Small wonder there's a disparity. Rich people are convicted of murder less, yes, but poor people are far more likely to kill, and when they do, it's far more savage.

[lsbskins1]

How many rich murderers are out there? Small wonder there's a disparity. Rich people are convicted of murder less, yes, but poor people are far more likely to kill, and when they do, it's far more savage.

AC, do you really think that I am not the type to know the difference between per capita rates and raw numbers? Give me a break. And where do you get the idea that the wealthy are somehow less savage than the poor? But really, that is pretty irrelevant, because the truth of the matter is that in cases where the crime is especially violent, it seems juries are pretty fair. Otherwise, not so much.

The Death Penalty in Black and White: Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Decides | Death Penalty Information Center

http://www.eou.edu/~jjohnson/Poverty...%20Penalty.pdf

Poverty, Wrongful Convictions, the Death Penalty and Legal Representation

[crimethinker]

I must completely lack an instinct for revenge killing, because I don't want him to be executed. I felt the same way in retrospect when Osama bin Laden was killed, during the following celebratory bloodlust. But US society seems committed to these base displays, and in truth, it's hard for me to get worked up over.

Also, the point of rich vs. poor raises an interesting ethical question. Who does more harm: a murderer of one or a politician whose efforts wound the entire middle-class? You can replace the latter with a corrupt CEO if you like, but either way I'm less concerned with the murderer.

[Angry Citizen]

AC, do you really think that I am not the type to know the difference between per capita rates and raw numbers?

I didn't say you weren't. That's why I said the poor were far more likely to kill -- I too was referencing per capita rates. Of course the rich have a lower quantity of murder, because the rich have a lower quantity of people. But I think it's indisputable that the rich are far more likely to engage in business crime. That, I think, is the only real difference between the classes in terms of the justice system. Note that I didn't say the legal system -- the disparity between crack and ... whatever the alternative version of cocaine is is quite simply bullshit and always was.

[lsbskins1]

I didn't say you weren't. That's why I said the poor were far more likely to kill -- I too was referencing per capita rates. Of course the rich have a lower quantity of murder, because the rich have a lower quantity of people. But I think it's indisputable that the rich are far more likely to engage in business crime. That, I think, is the only real difference between the classes in terms of the justice system. Note that I didn't say the legal system -- the disparity between crack and ... whatever the alternative version of cocaine is is quite simply bullshit and always was.

Then you misunderstood my point. It isn't that I think too many poor people are executed in comparison to how many rich people are executed. It is that, crime for crime, where the details of said crime are very similar, the poor and minorities are much more likely to get the death penalty.

As an example, if two upper middle class white kids robbed a store because they are thrill seekers and they shot and killed the clerk because he resisted went to trial, their chances of receiving the death penalty are much lower than two black kids who robbed a store and shot the clerk because he resisted. Same crime, same material facts, different penalty. And it isn't "luck of the draw", random outcomes either. The correlations don't randomly fluctuate. If you are poor or a minority, you get harsher penalties. And, you are much more likely to be wrongly convicted. You can't take the death penalty back. It is just too fucked up to allow it to continue, in my opinion.

[Angry Citizen]

If you are poor or a minority, you get harsher penalties.

Is this because of racist tendencies, or simply because the poor and the minorities tend to have a larger rap sheet when a truly heinous crime is committed? A judge might look at said rap sheet, find a hoodlum, and sentence him to death, whereas a separate judge might see a smaller rap sheet and decide the person might have a chance at rehabilitation.

There are too many factors to correlate it directly to race.

[lsbskins1]

Is this because of racist tendencies, or simply because the poor and the minorities tend to have a larger rap sheet when a truly heinous crime is committed? A judge might look at said rap sheet, find a hoodlum, and sentence him to death, whereas a separate judge might see a smaller rap sheet and decide the person might have a chance at rehabilitation.

There are too many factors to correlate it directly to race.

From the first link:

In order to determine whether race influences death sentencing, the researchers turned to the same techniques used in medical research to determine whether cigarette smoking causes cancer, or frequent exercise and good diet reduces heart attacks. Murder cases become death eligible through the existence of certain aggravating factors which make one murder "worse" than another. In deciding whether the death penalty should be sought, the prosecutor is supposed to consider the presence of such factors as whether a murder was committed with grave risk to the life of others, whether the murder was committed in the course of another serious crime such as robbery or rape, whether torture was used in the commission of the murder, or whether the defendant had a significant violent history. The jury is similarly told to consider such factors when deciding whether the sentence should be life or death, once a guilty verdict is rendered.12

Through an analysis of murders in which the death penalty could have been sought, it is possible, through an analysis of the defendants that were and were not sentenced to death, to assign a predictive score, or coefficient, to various aggravating factors to measure how heavily each influences the likelihood of a death sentence. The researchers screened hundreds of factors, statutory and non-statutory, to develop models to explain how the system works. All statutory factors, and those non-statutory factors which significantly correlated with the outcome were included.

The researchers looked directly at those kinds of factors, and STILL, it comes down to race in this study, and poverty in other studies. But, when it comes to poverty, it really was a matter of flat out resources. How bad did your lawyer suck? Did you have the means to have your own experts, did you have the means to double check forensic work? AC, seriously...it's ME you are talking to.

[grandpa]

The researchers looked directly at those kinds of factors, and
STILL, it comes down to race in this study, and
poverty in other studies.
But, when it comes to poverty, it really was a
matter of flat out resources.

And why do some lack these resources? Racism and state-capitalism are largely responsible for the separation. When people are without equal pay, they are without equal say. Instead of executing society's plan (what they're supposedly part of as citizens), their lives become the very things being planned. They're stripped of as many resources as society's conscience will allow.

Grandpa h.