Posted on 03/11/2009 11:23:48 PM PDT by nickcarraway
A Georgia man expressed remorse for killing his "good friend" shortly before he was executed Tuesday for the murder of a neighbor he stabbed to death after the 27-year-old woman spurned his sexual advances.
Robert Newland, 65, was put to death by lethal injection at the state prison at Jackson and was pronounced dead at 7:35 p.m. Newland was the first person executed in Georgia this year.
"I'm sorry this happened. I wish I could go back to that day," he said. "I have no grudges against anybody. I still don't remember what happened, but what happened happened."
A few minutes after his final statement, he continued talking again after the death chamber's microphone had been turned off. But his words were only heard by the warden, security officers and medical staffers behind the soundproof glass window.
Newland was convicted in 1987 and sentenced to death for the slaying of Carol Sanders Beatty, a former state and national amateur diving champion.
Authorities say Newland went to the woman's duplex on St. Simons Island in May 1986 after a drinking binge and tried to kiss her. They say he drew a knife and stabbed her repeatedly after she refused his advances. She would die hours later, shortly after identifying Newland as the killer to police.
Newland's attorneys argued that the death sentence was arbitrary and disproportionate to the crime. But the U.S. Supreme Court denied Newland a reprieve about an hour before the execution.
The Georgia Supreme Court also denied a motion 6-1 to stay the execution, and the Georgia pardons board denied a separate appeal Monday to commute the sentence.
After the stabbing, police found Beatty in her garden and rushed her to a hospital. A doctor noticed she was moving her lips to try to say something, but couldn't pronounce the words.
He summoned a detective, who asked her if she was saying "Bob." She nodded her head. When asked the last name of her assailant, the detective ticked through the alphabet. When he reached "N" she "nodded her head vigorously," and squeezed his hand, court documents say.
She ended up spelling out "N-E-W-L-A" and when the detective asked if the last name was Newland, she nodded again and squeezed his hand. She died hours later.
Newland, who was soon apprehended, told police after his arrest he "grabbed her and I threw her down and somehow the knife came in my hand and started stabbing her."
"I was drunk, I don't know why I did it," he told authorities. "I had no reason for it."
A jury found Newland guilty of murder and aggravated assault with intent to rape in August 1987 and recommended he be sentenced to death. Several rounds of state and federal appeals have since upheld the conviction and sentence.
Newland's trial attorneys argued the confession was coerced by police officers. And his appellate attorneys criticized his trial lawyer for not looking into his childhood, which they said was tainted by a history of abuse that could have motivated the crime.
Newland, in his final statement, urged lawmakers to require defense lawyers to conduct background checks of their clients. "I would hope it makes the country more safe," he said.
A small group of protesters gathered outside the state prison to call for an end to the death penalty.
Joseph Shippen, a pastor at a church in nearby Macon who ministers to death row inmates, said he visited with Newland's family shortly before the execution.
"I don't believe taking away their father makes anything right," he said. "I deeply sympathize with Carol Sanders Beatty's family, but I still don't believe it was right."
Newland seemed to blink away tears when he was first strapped to the gurney, but his voice was strong and steady -- almost matter-of-fact -- as he gave his last words.
"My family has accepted this," he said. "I'm sorry for all the pain I've caused."
That ass never did take responsibility for his actions.
Hell, it was the knife's fault.
Yep, he blamed the tool.
Nevermore.
And voted the straight RAT ticket all his life.
Can he ever forgive that knife?
I agree; he only 'went to sleep'; she was brutally and painfully terrorized, and died in agony. His execution was much too lenient.
The knife should have been put to death long ago.
Why are these monsters not executed within a year of the guilty verdict? Nothing is served by having them waste tax money on their maintenance, feeding and upkeep.
Some years ago, a pervert murdered my cousin’s 7 year old daughter. He was caught with the murder weapon, victim’s blood, confessed his crime and both laughed and bragged about it. It took the State of Tennessee almost 25 years to execute this monster. The last 2 years were nothing but scheduled execution dates and stays of execution. It put my cousin’s family though hell.
The guys a frickin humanitarian.
Almost 23 years from conviction to execution. Death row isn’t a sentence, it’s a career.
He “was” a tool...
It's an industry. There are states that have 10 - 20% of their annual budgets devoted to "Corrections".
It's like all Big Government thieving - if they fixed the problem, the taxpayers would start asking rude questions about where the money was going...
Amazing that libs never say killing killers works. The reason capital punishment is doubted by so many is that it is not put into effect immediately after a trial is done. Kill those killers and at least they will not kill again.
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.