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Post by Dannii on Jan 12, 2010 11:48:19 GMT -6
Hello, I am currently writing my dissertation on the death penalty and one of the section that I am currently on is reparation, which will include restorative justice and views from murder victims families. I have come across some sites with quote from families that are against the death penalty, but I am unable to find any families whose loved one has been murdered that support the death penalty. More specificall, I am looking for a case where the offender has already been executed. In this section, I am writing about "Can the death penalty be defended on the ground that nothing else brings closure to the agony of the victims surviving family?" I would like to know if an execution has brought closure to their family, and if so - how. I am not sure if there are an family members of victims on here, I would presume so, if so, would you be able to point me in the right direction? It needs to be something that has already been published on a website, or in a book, rather than you just submiting your opinions here, as because of ethics approval and time constraints, I will not be able to use those.
Thanks so much for reading this and any help you can give me.
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Post by Felix2 on Jan 12, 2010 12:18:04 GMT -6
Hello, I am currently writing my dissertation on the death penalty and one of the section that I am currently on is reparation, which will include restorative justice and views from murder victims families. I have come across some sites with quote from families that are against the death penalty, but I am unable to find any families whose loved one has been murdered that support the death penalty. More specificall, I am looking for a case where the offender has already been executed. In this section, I am writing about "Can the death penalty be defended on the ground that nothing else brings closure to the agony of the victims surviving family?" I would like to know if an execution has brought closure to their family, and if so - how. I am not sure if there are an family members of victims on here, I would presume so, if so, would you be able to point me in the right direction? It needs to be something that has already been published on a website, or in a book, rather than you just submiting your opinions here, as because of ethics approval and time constraints, I will not be able to use those. Thanks so much for reading this and any help you can give me. There are posters here who I am sure could help, Shawni comes to mind though she drops by seldom these days. I do know she witnessed the execution of her Dads murderer, but there will be other MVS's here I am sure. I myself am an anti hence cant help other than saying hold your post there and someone closer to your target may well answer.
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Post by josephdphillips on Jan 12, 2010 14:08:19 GMT -6
Can the death penalty be defended on the ground that nothing else brings closure to the agony of the victims surviving family? That's interesting. So murder victims with no survivors aren't entitled to justice? Is murder, then, just a tort?
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Post by Kay on Jan 12, 2010 15:45:17 GMT -6
Hello, I am currently writing my dissertation on the death penalty and one of the section that I am currently on is reparation, which will include restorative justice and views from murder victims families. I have come across some sites with quote from families that are against the death penalty, but I am unable to find any families whose loved one has been murdered that support the death penalty. More specificall, I am looking for a case where the offender has already been executed. In this section, I am writing about "Can the death penalty be defended on the ground that nothing else brings closure to the agony of the victims surviving family?" I would like to know if an execution has brought closure to their family, and if so - how. I am not sure if there are an family members of victims on here, I would presume so, if so, would you be able to point me in the right direction? It needs to be something that has already been published on a website, or in a book, rather than you just submiting your opinions here, as because of ethics approval and time constraints, I will not be able to use those. Thanks so much for reading this and any help you can give me. Hi Dannii, I've sent a message to our administrator, letting her know you are seeking information regarding MVS. If it's appropriate, I'm feel certain, she will contact you.
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mike5
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Post by mike5 on Jan 12, 2010 15:53:00 GMT -6
Countries that employ the so called restorative justice model are countries where the murderers get a slap on the hand. It's sickening.
Restorative justice is the antithesis of justice.
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Post by crappieboy on Jan 15, 2010 6:51:26 GMT -6
There is a state representative in Missouri by the name of Ken Jones whose wife and other members of surrounding counties Sheriff's departments were murdered. After so many years on death row, the murderer ended appeals and was executed. I had the opportunity to ask Mr. Jones if it brought a sense of peace or closure after all those year and he said yes.
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Post by crappieboy on Jan 15, 2010 6:52:52 GMT -6
Maybe you can't find any because we are all still waiting. We've been waiting for justice, peace, closure for 15 years.
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Post by Donnie on Jan 15, 2010 19:09:41 GMT -6
Here is some of what the relatives of Wendy Offredo and Dawn McCreery had to say: Hackenberg was at once relieved and still angry. "It was too easy. It's as much justice as we're going to get, as much closure as we'll get, but it was just too easy," she said. "He didn't get a free pass," said her husband, John Hackenberg. Rob McCreery said he had hoped for the execution for so long -- he was 17 when his big sister was killed -- that he's not sure where to turn his attention now. "But I can tell you it was a nicer day coming out of there than it was going in," he said. blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/10/richard_wade_cooey_ii_executed.html
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Post by Donnie on Jan 15, 2010 19:13:06 GMT -6
Look into the Alday Family murders (the information below is from a scum site) www.prisontalk.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-14421.htmlRelatives of the Aldays never wavered in their public push for Isaacs to be executed. The repeated delays angered them; some relatives died waiting for the execution. Three members of the family were witnesses. In his final days, Isaacs, through his lawyer, offered remorse for the killings, saying he was not the same hotheaded person who committed the crime at 19. The Alday family was unmoved, citing Isaacs' own boastful words in a series of 1975 prison interviews. "I'd like to get out and kill more of them," he said at the time. "They represent the type of society I don't like. I didn't know them, had never seen them before May 14, but I didn't like them. Working people don't do a damn thing for me."
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Post by Donnie on Jan 15, 2010 19:53:54 GMT -6
In December 2000, four young adults were shot to death as they knelt, naked, on a frozen, snow-covered field. A fifth was shot in the head, but survived, even after all five were run over by the murderers in a pickup truck. The two female victims had been repeatedly raped by the murderers, who had killed another victim a few days earlier. The victims' names were Heather Muller, Holly G (the survivor), Aaron Sander, Brad Heyka and Jason Befort. Here is a link to the victim impact statements given at the trial of the murderers: www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/792020/postsElizabeth Daily, Brad's mother included the following statement: "Your honor, on behalf of all of my family, and most important, on behalf of Brad and for Brad, I ask you to carry out their sentencing with the most strict punishment allowed by law and in the most swift and timely manner." Of course, the state of Kansas rejected the mother's plea and both murderers are still alive almost ten years later.
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Post by Donnie on Jan 15, 2010 20:02:51 GMT -6
On November 1, 1987, Steven Oken, then 25, murdered Dawn Marie Garvin. She was found by her father on the bed in her White Marsh apartment, naked, with a condiment bottle protruding from her vagina and blood streaming from her forehead. Despite efforts of her father and paramedics to administer CPR, she was dead. An autopsy later revealed that she had died as the result of two contact gunshot wounds; one of the bullets entered at her left eyebrow and the other at her right ear. Less than two weeks after Oken murdered Dawn Garvin, he sexually assaulted and murdered his sister-in-law, Patricia Hirt, at his White Marsh townhouse, dumping her body along White Marsh Boulevard. He then fled to Kittery, Maine, where he murdered Lori Ward, the desk clerk at the motel in which he was staying. The following is from: www.prodeathpenalty.com/Pending/02/mar02.htmWhen a death penalty moratorium was proposed in Maryland, Frederick Romano of Belcamp went to Annapolis with his family and a glossy 8-by-10-inch photograph of his sister, Dawn Garvin, in her wedding dress. "I want to show that the murderers aren't the victims," Romano said. "They're saying it's a racial issue, an economic issue. But [Oken] is white. He's rich. He's college-educated. This is just a way for these bleeding hearts to liberate these people."
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Post by Donnie on Jan 15, 2010 20:09:11 GMT -6
From a story about a murderer of eight young women and children: www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/05/13/ross.execution/index.htmlEdwin Shelley, whose daughter Leslie Shelley was killed by Ross along with her best friend in 1984, said the convicted killer got what he deserved. "We have waited 21 years for justice, and I would like to thank the jury in Bridgeport, the jury in New London, and finally the state of Connecticut for finally giving us the justice that our children are due." Dzong Tu, a Vietnam-born graduate student in economics at Cornell University in New York, is believed to have been Ross' first murder victim. Her death followed a string of rapes on campus in the spring of 1981. Ross also was a student at the university. "We will always miss my sister," said Lan Tu, Dzong's brother, "and I feel that this was only (a) small measure of justice for the pain that Michael Ross caused our family and the loss, but it is an ending." Ross admitted killing eight women -- six in Connecticut and two in New York -- as part of a crime spree in at least five states. He was sentenced to death for killing Robin Stavinsky, April Brunais, Wendy Baribeault and Leslie Shelley in eastern Connecticut in the 1980s. Stavinsky's sister, Debbie Dupris, said the execution did not give her the closure she was expecting to feel, but it did serve a purpose. "Finally justice has been served," Dupris said, "and I know that our sister, Robin Dawn Stavinsky, is looking down upon us at this moment, and I know that she will rest easier knowing that the person who ended her life no longer has the privilege of having his own." All of Ross' victims were 14 to 25 years old when he strangled them to death. He admitting raping all but one of them.
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Post by Donnie on Jan 15, 2010 20:23:50 GMT -6
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mike5
Banned
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Post by mike5 on Jan 15, 2010 20:27:41 GMT -6
There is something really sick and perverted about the people who argue these murderers lives should be saved.
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Post by Donnie on Jan 15, 2010 20:59:49 GMT -6
The story below helps explain how the criminal justice system (not the victim justice) system works hard to keep punishing the victims and their families. Then the anti-DP ghouls cheerfully dance on the graves of the victims while braying about how there is no "closure" Justice For Junny – Watching An Execution dianedimond.net/justice-for-junny/Sometimes I meet people on this crime and justice beat who just take my breath away. I want to tell you about one. Where she found the courage to go through what she did is beyond me. Her name is Vicki Rios-Martinez. She’s the mother of six, grandmother to 12 and the survivor of a murder so heinous you may never forget the details. From that unspeakable crime Rios-Martinez found the courage to fight for a change in the law. In short, her young son, Junny, was kidnapped, sexually molested and murdered 17 years ago. It was only recently that Vicki and her husband watched their son’s killer be put to death at the Starke, Florida State Prison. Now, I’ve stood inside a death chamber but I’ve never witnessed an execution. I don’t think I’d have the stomach for it. But Vicki and her family did. 17 years after the most horrible day of her life there she was sitting in the gallery of the execution chamber, wearing a T-shirt with Junny’s picture on it, hoping the death of a monster named Mark Dean Schwab would somehow bring her a long sought conclusion. Instead she found herself contrasting how her 11 year old son died with how Schwab passed. “The procedure was very, very peaceful. His eyes shut, his jaw went slack and he never woke up again. There was no suffering for Mark Schwab,” she told me. In other words, Schawb’s death was nothing like her little Junny’s. “We discovered there is only one page in all the law books for victim’s families,” Vicki said. “All the rest of that law book stuff is for protection of the criminals.” So why, after 17 years and finally finding a happy routine in life again, did they want to watch the execution of their son’s murderer? “For closure,” Vicki says. But she admits she came away feeling short changed. “We give a convict this peaceful passage. It wasn’t scary … he didn’t have to face us,” because when the curtain opened between the death chamber and the gallery Schwab was already sedated and strapped to the gurney. The whole thing was over in less than 15 minutes. “If you were the victim (of that man) you would face him and look into his eyes at the very last moment. You know, the eyes are the soul. They robbed us of looking into his soul. Maybe he would have wanted to say something to us,” she said as her voice trailed off.
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Post by whitediamonds on Jan 16, 2010 8:40:28 GMT -6
There is something really sick and perverted about the people who argue these murderers lives should be saved. Yes there is!!!!
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mike5
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Post by mike5 on Jan 16, 2010 10:06:00 GMT -6
Good work, Donnie.
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Post by Donnie on Jan 16, 2010 15:08:48 GMT -6
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Post by Donnie on Jan 16, 2010 15:10:45 GMT -6
In this section, I am writing about "Can the death penalty be defended on the ground that nothing else brings closure to the agony of the victims surviving family?" Do you see the bias inherent in the question?
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mike5
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Post by mike5 on Jan 17, 2010 9:34:28 GMT -6
On April 9, 2000, Reginald Blanton, drove to Carlos Garza’s West Side apartment, looking for something to steal. He kicked in the victim’s door and shot Garza twice in the head when he refused to hand over his jewelry. "I want to watch him breathe his last breath,” Irene Garza said of the man convicted of killing her 22-year-old son, Carlos Garza, whose body was found nine years ago in a pool of blood, two gunshots to his head. .... "Garza’s family waits for closure. Gathered recently at the East Side home of a relative, they recalled Garza’s spirit and how much they have missed him over the years. More relatives want to witness the execution than are allowed, and the family has to whittle the list. So far, those who will be in the chamber include Garza’s mother and three sisters." “It won’t bring my brother back,” said Sulema Balverde, 34, Garza’s older sister. “But it will bring him justice.” .... "A cousin, Anthony Ortiz, 28, often stayed at Garza’s apartment. He still wonders what might have happened had he been there the day Garza was slain. After the shooting, he helped clean up after his cousin’s body was taken from the residence on Skolout Street." "Ortiz can still remember how evidence technicians cut a bloodied piece of carpet. A mirror hanging on a wall was shattered by a bullet, and Ortiz took what was left and hung it on his own wall. Later, he sat by it and cried." "Garza’s son, just 4 at the time of his father’s slaying, has grown into a teenager. Now 14, he struggles to remember the man the rest of his family so easily recalls. He didn’t get to know Garza, but he misses him nonetheless." “I feel it should happen,” Carlos Daniel Garza said of Tuesday’s execution, nodding his head. “So my dad can finally rest in peace. Finally.” www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/65928007.html
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Post by justicex84 on Feb 27, 2010 8:30:46 GMT -6
Here is the news: Iraqi Kurds rejoice over execution of Chemical Ali Tue, 26 Jan 2010 02:54:04 GMT Font size : [Increase] [Normal] [Decrease] An AFP file photo of a Kurd showing pictures of his family before and after they were killed in the Halbja massacre. Iraqi Kurds have expressed joy over the execution of 'Chemical Ali' — a key player in the Baath regime's war machine, which killed thousands of Kurds. Ali Hassan al-Majid al-Tikritieh, Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's first cousin and one of his most trusted men, nicknamed 'Chemical Ali,' was executed in Baghdad on Monday. The punishment was meted out for Majid's part in the 1988 chemical weapons attack on the northeastern Iraqi village of Halabja, which killed over 5,000 Kurds. In the attack, government warplanes showering Halabja for five hours with mustard gas and nerve agents in the most deadly chemical weapons attack on civilians in history. "I have heard the news of the execution [of] the criminals whose hands [are] stained with blood. This is a happy day for the Kurdish people," Reuters quoted Iraqi Kurd Saman Faruq as saying. Behnam Karim, another local, said, "As a Kurdish citizen I am very happy because of the decision. But I wish the decision can define Halabja's crime as a genocide." The verdict was issued earlier in the month, prompting jubilation in Halabja, where people were seen cheering and playing music on the streets. However, the former intelligence chief, who also held the interior and defense ministry portfolios, considered the massacre a feather in his cap. The ruling for the attack on Halabja was the fourth death sentence Majid received. In December 2008, he received another death sentence for war crimes committed during the 1991 Shia uprising in southern Iraq, where about 100,000 people were massacred. HN/HGL www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=117053§ionid=351020201
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Post by justicex84 on Mar 29, 2010 3:27:47 GMT -6
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Post by Diana Harrington on May 4, 2010 9:17:39 GMT -6
A family of four entered and surprised a burglar while he was ransacking their home. The perpetrator tied them up, tortured them, shot all of them in the head and beat the gentleman with barbells so badly a closed casket was inevitable.
This was my family….my sister 30 year old Theresa and brother-in-law Pat, my 5 year old niece Lisa and 4 year old nephew Greg (The Patrick Gilligan Family).
This crime was committed in 1980 and the criminal, Donald Ray Wallace Jr., sat on death row for 25 years claiming his innocence.
Wallace was one of the longest death row inmates in Indiana and this crime still stands as being one of the most heinous in Indiana.
On March 10th, 2005, the sentence was carried out …. Donald Ray Wallace Jr. was executed for the cold blooded vicious murders of four innocent people .... 25 years after the crime! www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/US/wallace953.htmThis is a site with my credentials.... www.authorsden.com/dianaeharringtonThe day after Donald Ray Wallace Jr.s execution I sat down and wrote this letter. That next day it was published through Associated Press and was on the front page of every newspaper in Indiana and many more that I probably will never know. On that Sunday, in the Indianapolis Star, it was published alongside Wallace's attorney's response. It was also picked up by many magazines. I don't know if it changed any minds but it certainly let everyone know how I stood on the death penalty and the taking of someone's life. March 11, 2005 I woke up this morning, March 10th, to a beautiful sunrise. The sun was bright and clear and I thanked God I was viewing it. I then remembered the passage that I had read at the prayer service for my family...."One day at a time..this is enough. Do not look back and grieve over the past for it is gone: and do not be troubled about the future, for it has not yet come. Live in the present, and make it so beautiful it will be worth remembering". I was then saddened by the thought that there was a father that had just lost his son and sisters that had just lost their brother. It was a strange feeling but I did realize that what I had said for years was absolutely true. I did not hate Donald Wallace but I hated the crime he committed and despised the situation he had caused and I was angry about his years and years of media coverage and antics. I felt it completely unfair the sorrow, agony and pain that was placed on so many hearts. Am I a believer in the death penalty... no. Am I convinced the death penalty is wrong.... no. I am convinced that heinous crimes should have quick and speedy punishment. The crime and loss of loved ones is enough agony that one should bear, much less the constant reminders of the criminal's appeals, protests and constant complaints of his rights and living conditions. I am totally convinced that when a person has been proven guilty, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the rights of the criminal should be forever taken away. There was never any doubt that this person was guilty. He not only was sentenced in a court of law but confessed to the brutal crime. Guilt was never an issue. The appeals should have ceased, the rights should have ceased. It is definitely not inhumane to receive meals, medical attention, dental visits, counseling, clean clothes, warm surroundings and an education that is far superior then what is available for many of the average person. As in a childs' punishment, time out is for sitting on a chair and reflecting what they did wrong. It is not an occasion to debate if the chair is too hard, or if the child should receive snacks or breaks when the punishment is being enforced. It is punishment. In the same respect, when a prisoner has been sentenced to incarceration, it is not permission for them to take the podium and to protest for additional rights, more TV, free phone calls, more comfortable living conditions and better food. It is a time to reflect on whatever crime they have committed. I find it hard to believe anyone on death row could find rehabilitation and find it even more difficult to imagine these criminals back on the streets. Even as I heard Donald Ray Wallace Jr. talk of his belief in God and his belief in not harming anyone, my trust level was not comfortable to even suggest putting him into the same situation as 25 years ago. What would the statistics be whether he would run away this time or simply fight and kill again. His track record was not good before this crime and certainly did not improve with the killing of four innocent people. Do I have the answers.... no, I am just a victim. However, I am a victim with a voice. I am a victim that has endured too much pain, suffering and will never find closure in this man's death but will find closure in the memories of my family. I am by no means the only victim of violent crime. There are thousands and thousands of victims in the world. We do have one voice however, and that voice is change. Change in a system. A system that eventually proves that crime doesn't pay but what is the debt victims pay in order to arrive at the correct conclusion. I ask the Governor, the State of Indiana and the Victims of Violent Crime to speak out. I also ask the pro death penalty and anti death penalty advocates to speak out. Instead of the millions spent on criminals, there should be a time limit on appeals, there should be a final decision if the death penalty should be carried out or not enforced. There should be a victims relief program not with any statutes and not with the enormous and ridiculous set of rules and regulations in order to even qualify. There should be a victims relief for years of support for the victims that endure anger, suffering, sadness and financial distress. Victims now receive nothing... not a penny. If victims need grief counseling it is out of their pocket, as well as, the expense of burying their loved ones. Any financial burden is placed on the victim which leaves them with more pain, suffering and financial distress. The burden for the cost of the penal system and any victims relief should come from a self sustaining correctional process. It should not be unreasonable or any violation of anyone’s' rights, but a reasonable expectation, that incarcerated criminals be sufficiently productive to support the correctional facility, as well as, to provide relief to the victims, child support, etc.. This would end the victims and the taxpayers burden of supporting criminals over the many years of prison life. Perhaps it would be a greater deterrent to crime if a person knew they would be forced to work and not be allowed to keep the monies that they had earned...the price of their crime would then have a face. There should be in no way the criminal's name remembered and the victim's names pushed aside. It should always be the victims first and the crime remembered rather than the perpetrator. Sincerely, Diana Harrington, Sister of Theresa Gilligan, Sister in law of Patrick Gilligan, Aunt of Lisa and Greg Gilligan
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Post by ltdc on May 4, 2010 17:17:26 GMT -6
[quote author=Diana Harrington board=student thread=29478 post=557246 time= There should be in no way the criminal's name remembered and the victim's names pushed aside. It should always be the victims first and the crime remembered rather than the perpetrator. [/quote] there is no good reason for that strange thing, human nature. mostly I blame the media. there is no reason an execution could not be covered by simply stating "the killer of so and so was executed yesterday". they could do that, but apparantly there is no money in it
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Post by justicex84 on Aug 21, 2010 3:04:12 GMT -6
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Post by Charlene on Aug 22, 2010 9:05:27 GMT -6
Diana, thanks so much for sharing this.
Charlene
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Post by Donnie on Aug 28, 2010 0:48:51 GMT -6
mostly I blame the media. there is no reason an execution could not be covered by simply stating "the killer of so and so was executed yesterday". they could do that, but apparantly there is no money in it No, it is the media's bias against justice for the comfortable. The J schools teach that the function of the media is to "afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted". In the twisted minds of most journalists, the families of murder victims are among the comfortable and murderers on death row are among the afflicted. Using your method would bring in just as much money to news outlets, probably more. But they do so hate actual justice.
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Post by Kk on Mar 24, 2014 0:14:25 GMT -6
A family of four entered and surprised a burglar while he was ransacking their home. The perpetrator tied them up, tortured them, shot all of them in the head and beat the gentleman with barbells so badly a closed casket was inevitable.
This was my family….my sister 30 year old Theresa and brother-in-law Pat, my 5 year old niece Lisa and 4 year old nephew Greg (The Patrick Gilligan Family).
This crime was committed in 1980 and the criminal, Donald Ray Wallace Jr., sat on death row for 25 years claiming his innocence.
Wallace was one of the longest death row inmates in Indiana and this crime still stands as being one of the most heinous in Indiana.
On March 10th, 2005, the sentence was carried out …. Donald Ray Wallace Jr. was executed for the cold blooded vicious murders of four innocent people .... 25 years after the crime! www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/US/wallace953.htmThis is a site with my credentials.... www.authorsden.com/dianaeharringtonThe day after Donald Ray Wallace Jr.s execution I sat down and wrote this letter. That next day it was published through Associated Press and was on the front page of every newspaper in Indiana and many more that I probably will never know. On that Sunday, in the Indianapolis Star, it was published alongside Wallace's attorney's response. It was also picked up by many magazines. I don't know if it changed any minds but it certainly let everyone know how I stood on the death penalty and the taking of someone's life. March 11, 2005 I woke up this morning, March 10th, to a beautiful sunrise. The sun was bright and clear and I thanked God I was viewing it. I then remembered the passage that I had read at the prayer service for my family...."One day at a time..this is enough. Do not look back and grieve over the past for it is gone: and do not be troubled about the future, for it has not yet come. Live in the present, and make it so beautiful it will be worth remembering". I was then saddened by the thought that there was a father that had just lost his son and sisters that had just lost their brother. It was a strange feeling but I did realize that what I had said for years was absolutely true. I did not hate Donald Wallace but I hated the crime he committed and despised the situation he had caused and I was angry about his years and years of media coverage and antics. I felt it completely unfair the sorrow, agony and pain that was placed on so many hearts. Am I a believer in the death penalty... no. Am I convinced the death penalty is wrong.... no. I am convinced that heinous crimes should have quick and speedy punishment. The crime and loss of loved ones is enough agony that one should bear, much less the constant reminders of the criminal's appeals, protests and constant complaints of his rights and living conditions. I am totally convinced that when a person has been proven guilty, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the rights of the criminal should be forever taken away. There was never any doubt that this person was guilty. He not only was sentenced in a court of law but confessed to the brutal crime. Guilt was never an issue. The appeals should have ceased, the rights should have ceased. It is definitely not inhumane to receive meals, medical attention, dental visits, counseling, clean clothes, warm surroundings and an education that is far superior then what is available for many of the average person. As in a childs' punishment, time out is for sitting on a chair and reflecting what they did wrong. It is not an occasion to debate if the chair is too hard, or if the child should receive snacks or breaks when the punishment is being enforced. It is punishment. In the same respect, when a prisoner has been sentenced to incarceration, it is not permission for them to take the podium and to protest for additional rights, more TV, free phone calls, more comfortable living conditions and better food. It is a time to reflect on whatever crime they have committed. I find it hard to believe anyone on death row could find rehabilitation and find it even more difficult to imagine these criminals back on the streets. Even as I heard Donald Ray Wallace Jr. talk of his belief in God and his belief in not harming anyone, my trust level was not comfortable to even suggest putting him into the same situation as 25 years ago. What would the statistics be whether he would run away this time or simply fight and kill again. His track record was not good before this crime and certainly did not improve with the killing of four innocent people. Do I have the answers.... no, I am just a victim. However, I am a victim with a voice. I am a victim that has endured too much pain, suffering and will never find closure in this man's death but will find closure in the memories of my family. I am by no means the only victim of violent crime. There are thousands and thousands of victims in the world. We do have one voice however, and that voice is change. Change in a system. A system that eventually proves that crime doesn't pay but what is the debt victims pay in order to arrive at the correct conclusion. I ask the Governor, the State of Indiana and the Victims of Violent Crime to speak out. I also ask the pro death penalty and anti death penalty advocates to speak out. Instead of the millions spent on criminals, there should be a time limit on appeals, there should be a final decision if the death penalty should be carried out or not enforced. There should be a victims relief program not with any statutes and not with the enormous and ridiculous set of rules and regulations in order to even qualify. There should be a victims relief for years of support for the victims that endure anger, suffering, sadness and financial distress. Victims now receive nothing... not a penny. If victims need grief counseling it is out of their pocket, as well as, the expense of burying their loved ones. Any financial burden is placed on the victim which leaves them with more pain, suffering and financial distress. The burden for the cost of the penal system and any victims relief should come from a self sustaining correctional process. It should not be unreasonable or any violation of anyone’s' rights, but a reasonable expectation, that incarcerated criminals be sufficiently productive to support the correctional facility, as well as, to provide relief to the victims, child support, etc.. This would end the victims and the taxpayers burden of supporting criminals over the many years of prison life. Perhaps it would be a greater deterrent to crime if a person knew they would be forced to work and not be allowed to keep the monies that they had earned...the price of their crime would then have a face. There should be in no way the criminal's name remembered and the victim's names pushed aside. It should always be the victims first and the crime remembered rather than the perpetrator. Sincerely, Diana Harrington, Sister of Theresa Gilligan, Sister in law of Patrick Gilligan, Aunt of Lisa and Greg Gilligan
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