Posted on 11/18/2005 2:22:19 AM PST by ncountylee
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- A man was executed early Friday by lethal injection for the 1990 stabbing death of his wife, despite the pleas of his four children who sought clemency for their father.
Elias Syriani, 67, was pronounced dead at 2:12 a.m. EST, said Pam Walker, a spokeswoman for the state Correction Department.
Gov. Mike Easley on Thursday had denied clemency, saying in a statement that he found "no convincing reason to grant clemency and overturn the unanimous jury verdict affirmed by the state and federal courts."
Syriani was convicted in the death of his 40-year-old wife, Teresa, who was stabbed 28 times with a screwdriver in Charlotte and died 26 days later. Syriani attacked her after she told him she wanted a divorce.
The Syriani children - Rose, Janet and John Syriani and Sarah Barbari - said they asked the governor to spare their father's life so they could forge a relationship with him and restore family memories that were severed by the killing.
The children, who had not seen their father on death row until two years ago, said they have forgiven him, in part because they learned about his traumatic upbringing as an Assyrian Christian in Jerusalem.
Clemency had been the only avenue Syriani's attorney pursued to stop the execution.
Russ Sizemore, an attorney for the children, said he gave the governor research showing that clemency would help the family heal from the domestic violence.
Blame Christians and Jews.
Well, I guess I don't have to ask whether he made the obligatory apology to the family of the victim.
Speaking as a NC citizen. I don't rejoice in the death of this man, however I think justice was served, albeit late.
I would personally prefer a different method of punishment. Death is to finite, too easy. I would prefer we bring back the penal colony, and throw all these SOBs in a pen and MAYBE toss in a cow and a few seeds. If these people can't live within the law, let them live with none. Separate them from everything and everybody that they 'care' about, and let them spend the rest of their years wallowing in their sorrow, knowing what they lost.
We should have shown mercy for this poor fellow. After all, he was a widower!
Now these poor "children"...who are 15 years older than when the murder occurred...are orphans. Boo-hoo. (Do reporters really get paid for writing such drivel?)
1990 murder.
They ought to rename the death penalty to something like "15-20 then death".
In case of that Tookie guy out in Cal, I think he's been on death row for 26 years. He finally been scheduled for a dirt nap in December.
When will people ever learn that divorce is a much simpler way out of a marriage?
I guess she got her divorce.
Words escape me.
Hey, us too, as soon as we can find a habitable planet and transportation.
I seem to recall a few years ago that Mexico offered to take our prisoners at a cost that was far less than it was costing us at the time. Woundn't that be one thing that we wouldn't mind off-shoring?
Not really, the only thing that would work is if they were completely removed from the planet earth and set up on a planet of their own supplied with seeds and meat and milk animals. Then we of course would have to drop newer inmates down to the surface by parachute.
Actually, we would need two planets, one for females and one for males, then they would not be able to propagate their negative genes.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.