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Post by Charlene on Apr 19, 2005 5:30:21 GMT -6
Juvenile Murderer Sentenced To Death Gets Life; Family, Prosecutors Outraged
Friday marked the end of National Crime Victims' Rights Week, but instead of healing, there is anger.
Earlier in the day, a Montgomery judge handed down a new sentence for a convicted murderer that allows him to escape the death penalty he got 13 years ago. The change, ordered by the U.S. Supreme Court, is what the attorney general calls a slap in the face for the victim's family.
Shirley Vinson's heart is broken again. Earlier today, she endured sitting in the same courtroom with the person convicted 13 years ago of killing her sister Helen Rhodes. This time, she says he was the winner.
"We did get justice, and it's been taken away from us," Vinson said.
In 1989, William Knott escaped from the Mt. Meigs Youth Prison and went on a rampage. Investigators testified that he broke into a series of houses, stole guns and then lay in wait for Helen Rhodes. He killed her as her 2 year old son watched.
Montgomery County District Attorney Ellen Brooks prosecuted the case.
"I will never forget the description that David Rhodes gave at trial, of how he came home from church to find his wife dead in a pool of blood and that baby hugging his mama, hoping he could make it all right," she said.
Even Knott's own grandfather labeled him a troublemaker.
"I had him put in jail in Birmingham they sent him down here, nobody watching him, he'd just walk off," Charles Morse said in 1992.
Knott was 17 years and 11 months old at the time of the murder. He was one of two minors convicted in Montgomery County and handed the death penalty since 1977, and it appeared he would soon face the death chamber. Then the U.S. Supreme Court ruled defendants under the age of 18 should not face death, a decision both Democrats and Republicans are blasting.
Brooks said, "There's no law in it. It simply says we polled America, and America is not so pro-death penalty anymore, and juveniles should be given a break."
Alabama Attorney GeneralTroy King is also angry. "Here's somebody who was 17 years old and 11 months. A month away from being eligible for the death penalty. A month away! And we're saying that month would have made so much difference they shouldn't be given this punishment. It makes no sense," he said.
But the greatest and most heartfelt criticism comes from the murder victim's sister.
"If just one member of the U.S. Supreme Court had experienced what we've experienced, I really feel like they wouldn't have made this decision if they had gone through this heinous crime like we did," Shirley Vinson said.
William Knott is the 1st of 13 Alabama defendants who can ask for a new sentence under the Supreme Court ruling. Brooks says the other minor handed the death penalty from Montgomery County is expected to ask for that process to begin soon.
King says his office won't file the paperwork for the other defendants in the state. They will have to do that for themselves.
As that happens, Shirley Vinson says she will support any move to get the president to appoint new Supreme Court justices who might overturn the decision.
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Post by josephdphillips on Apr 19, 2005 15:53:41 GMT -6
Just goes to show you can be evil at any age.
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Post by Felix2 on Apr 19, 2005 16:18:56 GMT -6
yes Glenn!
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Post by apachewarrior on Apr 20, 2005 12:12:17 GMT -6
Why is everyone upset when the Judge followed the law?
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Post by Tozzie on Apr 20, 2005 17:05:14 GMT -6
Why is everyone upset when the Judge followed the law? I can't believe you are even asking that question, that ruling from the Supreme Court is arguably one of the most horrendous I have ever seen. The people are upset because animals like the one in this case will be able to escape punishment the victims get no justice and that is a true Crime.
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Katyusha
Regular
After some deep thought and consideration-Anti
Posts: 474
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Post by Katyusha on Apr 20, 2005 18:35:07 GMT -6
seventeen years and eleven months...hahaha,that's a good one ;D The next one escaping justice will be seventeen years,eleven months and thirty-one days old...and,not eligible for the dp,unfortunately ;D ;D ;D cause being too young
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Post by topside on Apr 20, 2005 18:54:32 GMT -6
What age do pros think the cut off should be? Or should there not be one and we should execute them regardless of how old they are?
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Post by sally104 on Apr 20, 2005 22:31:00 GMT -6
Bad law = No justice
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Post by RickZ on Apr 21, 2005 6:13:49 GMT -6
What age do pros think the cut off should be? Or should there not be one and we should execute them regardless of how old they are? The previous accepted age cut-off was 16. But I'm for taking each case one at a time, and evaluating accordingly. There have been too many heinous and brutal murders committed by those under 18, under 16, to legally create a loophole for such unconscionable behavior.
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Post by Tozzie on Apr 21, 2005 7:26:20 GMT -6
What age do pros think the cut off should be? Or should there not be one and we should execute them regardless of how old they are? I think 16 should be the cut off. In my state at 16 you are charged and prosecuted as an adult, not a juvenile offender as an adult and are subject to the same punishment as any other adult
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Post by topside on Apr 21, 2005 20:54:49 GMT -6
Ok, so suppose there is a murder, commited by someone who is 15 years, 11 months and 25 days old. Would the pros then feel for the devestated family or would we eventually just have to say we are sorry but it's too bad, they are just too young? whenever lines are drawn, there will be close calls on either side.
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