Parents of missing W.Va. woman fighting death penalty in S.C.(Alice Donovan & Samantha Burns)

The Sun News Online ^ | 1/28/03 | AP

[2nd amendment mama]

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - The parents of a missing West Virginia teen are fighting to keep an escaped convict off of death row in South Carolina.

Branden Basham, 21, and Chadrick Fulks, 25, are charged with kidnapping and carjacking resulting in death in the disappearance of Alice Donovan of Galivants Ferry. The two escaped from a Kentucky jail on Nov. 4 and are accused of taking part in a two-week crime spree across five states.

Donovan has not been seen since shortly after her Nov. 14 abduction, and authorities think she is dead. U.S. Attorney Strom Thurmond Jr. has said he is considering seeking the death penalty in the case.

West Virginia State Police also suspect Fulks and Basham in the abduction of Samantha Burns of West Hamlin, but no charges have been filed. The 19-year-old Marshall University student was last seen Nov. 11 - the same day Fulks and Basham checked into a hotel in Huntington.

Her burned-out car was found Nov. 12 on a rural road in Wayne County near Huntington. Authorities are treating her disappearance as a homicide.

Court documents in the South Carolina case show Basham has given some information to police relating to Burns' disappearance.

But since prosecutors have threatened to seek the death penalty against Fulks and Basham, the men have not wanted to help authorities in West Virginia.

Samantha Burns' parents, John and Kandy Burns, began running newspapers ads this week asking people to write, call or e-mail Thurmond and urge him to not seek the death penalty against Basham. The Burnses believe the convicts will never tell police what happened to their daughter as long as they face capital punishment.

"Basham has said he would tell all if he did not face the death penalty. South Carolina is not budging though," John Burns says in the ad. "We need to pressure South Carolina to help us."

Scott Schools, an assistant U.S. attorney for South Carolina, would not comment on the advertising campaign.

"We would be happy to discuss that matter with the Burns family at their convenience, but we're not going to discuss it with the media," Schools said Tuesday.

[2nd amendment mama]

PrairieLady2 asked for this to be posted here....

This is outrageous. They should not diminish one case just to satisfy theirs. Basham wouldn't cooperate in Alice's case so why do the Burns family believe that he would help them?

[LilithUnfair]

" Donovan has not been seen since shortly after her Nov. 14 abduction, and authorities think she is dead. U.S. Attorney Strom Thurmond Jr. has said he is considering seeking the death penalty in the case."

How exactly do you seek the death penalty for an unsolved case.....

How exactly are the parents wrong here? Aren't they allowed to exhaust every avenue to find out what happened to their child? Or does that only apply to certain people that get a higher media outlet... like Laci Peterson.

[Paleo Conservative]

The Burnses believe the convicts will never tell police what happened to their daughter as long as they face capital punishment.

As if there were any doubt what they did. It's only the location of the corpse that is unknown.

[First Amendment]

Being a parent, with a parent's feelings, i would assume that they are desperate for any information about their daughter.
My viewpoint is that the law should threaten to torture the SOB's if they don't reveal what they know, and then kill them quickly. Until the death penalty is instituted in a very quick, preferably public manner this viciousness will continue.
The whole "cruel and unusual" punishment thing is misunderstood. When the Constitution and Bill of Rights were written, there were public executions. I think they would definitely be a deterrent.

[azhenfud]

The removal of one fingernail every other day until confession might jog these two perps' memory - esp. if needle-nosed pliers were used without any local....

[Velveeta]

bumping heartbreaking thread

Basham led LE on a wild goose chase for the location of Alice's body and she hasn't been found. These dung-creeps won't talk (IMO)regardless of a death penalty charge.

Prayers, as always, for Alice and Samantha's families.

[artifactual]

I often wonder what we could have learned had McVeigh not been executed. I don't see why they have to rush in to the death penalty. Get all the info first.

[AppyPappy]

They'll just tell you what you want to hear. Fill them full of truth serum and hypnotize them.

[Velveeta]

pinging you to a new thread

[2nd amendment mama]

Let's see here: 1. They have been charged with the kidnapping and death of Alice (There is video evidence that they took her and they have admitted to that and more - they just won't say where her body is).

2. They have NOT been charged in the Samantha Burns case.

3. Do you prosecute to the fullest extent possible on the case you do have or do you let pond scum get leniency on the HOPE that they might say something about where Samantha's body is?

I can understand the Burns' frustration but imagine the frustration of Alice's family! Put yourself in their place. They want these creeps punished to the fullest extent of the law!

[cherry]

I am very torn on this.......here we have two heart-broken parents just wanting to try anything to find the body of their dear dtr....but..

how can we let these two sons of satan affect two cases on the chance that they might lead them to one body....

for Alice's body..what will need to do?.....pay them a bounty?

lesson number one is: criminals need to stay in prison forever or until they reach age 75 minimun...

[Otta B Sleepin]

How exactly are the parents wrong here? Aren't they allowed to exhaust every avenue to find out what happened to their child?

They're not wrong for wanting to do anything they can to find out what happened to their daughter. My concern is trying to "give" anything else to Basham and Fulks who have been so hardhearted and closemouthed from the start. Alice's family wanted to make an agreement like this in the beginning - no death penalty in exchange for leading LEOs to Alice - but B & F wouldn't cooperate. Instead Basham has given six different stories to authorities about what happened to Alice and she STILL hasn't been found.

Meanwhile Basham and Fulks have been warm, fed, clothed, and given far more consideration and comfort than they ever showed their victims or their victims' families. They've not been truthful up to now and it doesn't make sense to me for a family involved in a separate case (whether we believe they should be separate or not) to try and affect the judicial process in another. These two perpetrators must be convicted and never again released to society - my fear is that without the death penalty, some fast-talking lawyer will find a way to get them off.

That said, I think it's despicable that the defense attorneys have been able to keep WV authorities from questioning Basham and Fulks about Samantha. Samantha's family deserves some answers, just as the Donovan family does, but those answers have not been forthcoming and I don't think any further "deals" with the perpetrators will make any difference.

[beachn4fun]

Yeah, that would work. The criminals would feel you a small morsal of information once a month? once a year? just to stay alive.

[azhenfud]

"lesson number one is: criminals need to stay in prison forever or until they reach age 75 minimun..."

Pop quiz: Why on earth should anyone like that be allowed to continue existing - just to burden the society they so abhor??

[azhenfud]

Might - but after a two-finger discount, one or the other WILL break....

[Velveeta]

Well said, my friend, well said.

[Velveeta]

Link to the original Alice Donovan thread here:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/789797/posts

Link to "Missing Adult Alert Petition" spurred on by the need for FReepers to *do something* to help here:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/828395/posts

Link to Alice Donovan website here:
http://www.alicedonovan.com/

[2nd amendment mama]

Thank you for the links... ;-)

[getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL]

Thanks for the ping, velveeta!

You know, my empathy for the Burns family has been extremely high, as it has seemed that Samantha was abducted plus who knows what, by Basham & Fulks. There is no doubt in my mind that the Burnses are hurting, too.

However, comma, the tactic of placing any pressure on the Donovans is almost disgusting, to me. Really guys...I am shocked and appalled. There's no other way to say this. Someone close to the parents should have had some sense and stopped them from doing this.

That said, the original reports stated that Samantha's parents were encouraging the public to help place a little heat under Thurmond, Jr.'s chair. That's understandable. It's their daughter; it's their case to decide what is best for them and their needs. This is going to be a long road for them, as well.

But, to encourage a lobbying campaign against the Donovans, too...because that is what it is...is plainly sickening. Did they even contact Barry before their media campaign? They wouldn't be doing this if they had, and had the Donovan family said "yes." So they either didn't contact him, or the family said, "no." What else is one to think?

And didn't at one time early in the search for Alice... didn't the Donovans offer a reduced sentence hoping for the inmates' confession & information which would lead them to finding Alice? Maybe my memory is failing me, but I thought B & F were given their chance, and their response was to clam up.

But, someone correct me if I'm wrong...I thought the crew representing these guys have ironed the charges out into separate cases?

[Velveeta]

You are most welcome.