Of course, “Oklahoma Executes Man Sentenced Twice to Death” would be a less misleading headline, but this is Rooters...
Obviously, Oklahoma learned a thing or two about killing people twice from these guys:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E88HEuwInno
Michigan needs to at least try the Death Penalty but not so much as a deterrent.
Shoulda executed him “sooner”...”sooner!” get it? Oklahoma...”sooner”...nyuck nyuck nyuck.
I know, but good wit is hard to find this early.
I look forward to hearing more developments on Oklahoma’s zombie problem.
But they executed him only once! /s
The good thing is, he asked for a second trial depending on a court ruling that he thought would make it impossible for him to be sentenced to death. He figured the worst he could do was come out even, hell he might even walk if there was a sap on the jury. But the ever-changing “rule of law” shifted the sands under him, he rolled snakes eyes. He tried to game the system and the system game him. Good for him.
Sucks to be him. He got what was coming, only too long delayed.
Interesting life. At age 20, already a proud father, he kills a man in a hold up, spends most of the subsequent 37 years in prison and in court, and then gets the hot shot at 57.
Any possibility of a third appeal?
Conservatives should consider ways to expedite the death penalty around the country. The cause of the delay is known, that federal judges who are *personally* opposed to the death penalty, have used *trivial* excuses to prevent it, as well as intentionally delayed consideration of their hearings for years.
Congress, however, can dictate the terms of what cases federal judges hear, and how they hear them. So they could override a lot of this nonsense and preclude it in the future, returning a semblance of order to the process without legal unfairness or civil rights violations.
Some possibilities:
1) Permit only a single, automatic appeal to that states federal district judge. Limit that appeal to “egregious error or malfeasance” on the part of the trial judge, jury, prosecutor or defense counsel, or “gross civil rights violation”. Importantly, the state federal district judge cannot overturn the sentence, just return it to the trial court for reconsideration.
2) This single, automatic appeal must be heard on an expedited case basis, within 3 months after conviction, with a 4th month for the appellate judge to reach their decision. If the trial court reaffirms the death penalty, then their decision will be automatically appealed to a panel of their regional federal circuit court of appeals, who will determine only if they successfully corrected the original errors. This should be within 6 months of the original conviction.
3) States will be regarded as “competent authorities” to determine means and mode and method of execution, so this will no longer be in the jurisdiction of federal judges.
4) At this point, the federal courts or government will have no further involvement. The condemned will still have recourse through the state board of pardons and paroles, as well as the possibility of commutation or pardon by that states governor, as they see fit.
The ideal will be that no later than one year after sentence of death, the murderer will be put to death.
Kill him again!