I think part of the death sentence should include a mural painted on the cell wall in the inmate's cell:
This would lessen the desire for endless appeals....but then, that's just me....
Posted on 10/19/2006 2:18:12 PM PDT by Free ThinkerNY
Texas Death Row Inmate Commits Suicide
By MICHAEL GRACZYK Associated Press Writer
Oct 19, 4:53 PM EDT
LIVINGSTON, Texas (AP) -- A convicted killer facing lethal injection beat the executioner to it Thursday, committing suicide by slitting his throat and arm with a blade in his Texas death row cell 15 hours before he was supposed to die.
Michael Dewayne Johnson, 29, was found in a pool of blood by officers making routine checks on him every 15 minutes, authorities said. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Johnson apparently scrawled words in blood on the wall of his cell, but prison officials would not say what he wrote.
He is at least the seventh condemned man in Texas to take his own life since death row reopened in 1974.
No other prisoner has killed himself so close to his scheduled execution time. In 1999, a death row inmate took an overdose of prescription drugs. He was hospitalized, then executed two days later.
Johnson had been set to die for the 1995 slaying of Jeff Wetterman, 27, gunned down at his family-run gasoline station and convenience store near Waco.
Prison system spokeswoman Michelle Lyons said that 15 minutes before Johnson was discovered, he was talking to the staff and awaiting breakfast, and gave no indication he was contemplating suicide.
He used a sharp piece of metal attached to what looked like a wooden Popsicle stick, Lyons said.
(Excerpt) Read more at breakingnews.nypost.com ...
cheater
Should have done it 10 yrs ago
I don't think we should hope that things are painful for others. We should hope that justice is done. Justice is not about revenge. And comments like these make it out to be.
I hope the idea catches on...
Who cares..
Good post and well said.
Well, he saved the cost to the taxpayers of supporting him and his lawyer for months, maybe years, should there have been a last-minute stay of execution.
Doesn't say when the execution was scheduled for.
However, the up-side is that the State saves a lot of money, fuss, muss and bother when the perps off themselves. A penny saved is a penny earned.
Leni
Must learn to read more carefully.
I think part of the death sentence should include a mural painted on the cell wall in the inmate's cell:
This would lessen the desire for endless appeals....but then, that's just me....
Does this mean his conviction gets set aside like Ken Lay's conviction?
Ew God, that would almost make the fat hairy convict in the next cell look good in comparison. Yuck.
If revenge bothers you, you can rest assured that it was not the justice system which caused this man's pain, he did it to himself. I hope it hurt at least as much as the gunshot that the poor victim suffered. Also, I have no problem with revenge, as punishment is a big part of our justice system.
Execution was scheduled for today. He killed himself 15 hours before he would have been given the lethal injection.
no. this was way past the conviction and sentencing stage. Being rich means you can have your sentencing delayed for months. The average schmuck gets his the day after the finding of guilt. Rich guys can negotiate months and if they die, the family is spared the black mark.
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