Women on death row, and the death penalty cases (serial killer, alive, news)

[Lodestar 77]

Originally Posted by Sgt. Buzzcut

I completely for it, especially if the crime is extremely evil. The opponents of the DP claim it's not a deterrent. IMO, who cares. Many of these DR inmates aren't being "punished".....they get TV, fan mail, noteriety and everyday they draw breath they get to relive their crime and take delight in doing so.

A far as specific cases I'd like to see Oba Chandler pay for what he did with his life. Although it's unclear exactly what order he killed his victims, imagine the horror of having to witness your family member thrown overboard bound and gagged tied to concrete blocks knowing that you'll soon suffer the same fate.

I will NEVER forget the name Oba Chandler. That SOB SHOULD BE DEAD by now, no f**king reason he is still breathing. This was one of the saddest, horrific crimes I have ever learned about, and it is too bad that as time goes on, it gets forgotten. Another one similiar, around the same time, is Corey Stanger, the maintenance man in Wyoming that killed the three women (mother, teen daughter and daughter's friend), who were on vacation visiting Yellowstone. He is the older brother of the kid that was kidnapped and later returned to his family, movie and book written named "I know my name is Steven". Ringing a bell with any other "boomers"? It's sadder yet that older, horrific crimes are forgotten because new, horrific crimes come to the public's knowledge. More people, more terrible crimes being committed, but NEVER enough money to build new facilities to hold all these losers. Yet those in power keep getting richer and richer, hmmmmmm????? I find this disgusting.

[CarolinaWoman]

Originally Posted by miamisweetheart

I don't agree with the death penalty at all. I feel like that's any easy way out, I think life in prison is a far worse punishment. I'm hooked on the Casey Anthony trial, I wanna know why she killed her daughter.

I don't think we will ever know why CA killed Caylee. I expect CA to get life without parole.

[ans57]

Originally Posted by rogead

I suspect that we are culturally not prepared to accept the notion of a female who is purely evil.

That's true. "Truly evil" women are very few and far between...but, when they are, they surpass any imaginative evil there is done by men. aisi

[dreamofmonterey]

Re: above post Homolka and Bernardo....Karla Homolka was diagnosed with NPD and she is, I believe now released from prison....she had her own sister drugged and murdered to "please her man".

Yes, there is pure evil. CA is just like that...why did she kill her daughter? I dont know but it prolly just bcs Caylee was reaching a point where she could talk, and tell the grandparents how she was being chloroformed to sleep so Casey could go out and party.Most psych. drs. have theorized bcs Caylee was simply an irritant to her.....sick.

[Dd714]

Originally Posted by dreamofmonterey

The U.S. is the only first world nation which still invokes the death penalty. Thoughts? any true crime cases you are interested in?

That's often repeated but not correct, even by the vague definition of "first world". Basically, most (not all) of Europe and the America's have abolished the death penalty (and even that is subject to "but" as they usually have provisions for capital punishment during times of war or other insurrections).

In many african and asian countries, the death penalty exisits. Singapore, China, and Japan still use the death penalty - hardly third world countries by any definition.

[markg91359]

I agree with the death penalty, but I believe there should be a one year limit on appeals and reviews.

This sort of thing is a commonly held belief among members of the public that have little familiarity with the criminal justice system. Its an impossibility. And, even before the courts became vigilant about the death penalty (1970's) the appeals process took longer than one year.

I am not saying whether or not I approve of this lengthy process. However, this is what the US Supreme Court requires in any death penalty case where the convicted person does not waive his rights.

1. An appeal must be taken to the highest court of the state in which the offender is convicted.

2. The convicted inmate may petition the US Supreme Court to hear the case. Most such petitions are declined.

3. The offender may seek state habeas corpus review of the decision. He does this by filing for a writ of habeas corpus in state trial court.

4. If the writ is denied he has a right to appeal, again, to the highest court in his state.

5. If the highest court in his state denies the writ of habeas corpus, he may petition the US Supreme Court to hear that appeal. Most such petitions are denied.

6. The offender may seek federal habeas corpus review of the conviction. He does this by filing for a writ of habeas corpus in federal district court.

7. The offender may appeal an adverse ruling from the federal district court to the United States Court of Appeals in his judicial circuit.

8. If the US Court of Appeals, denies the writ the offender may petition the US Supreme Court to hear the appeal. Most of the time, this is denied.

9. In a final effort to stop his execution, an offender has the right to ask the state governor (or a board of pardons, if such authority is delegated to it) to grant him clemency and commute the sentence to life imprisonment. This is rare, but occasionally occurs.

10. If all this fails, the offender may be executed.

This process takes a minimum of 8 to 10 years to complete. It is slow and laborious. I used to think it should be changed. I am now of the opinion after having seen a number of cases of innocent inmates who were only reprieved during the last part of this process--federal habeas corpus--that it probably is necessary. It is so long, costly, and stressful for all involved that I think society really needs to consider whether life imprisonment without parole is a better option and whether the death penalty should be abolished. I can virtually guarantee you that cutting steps out of this process will result in innocent people being executed. Is that worth it? Let those who say "yes" answer the question answer a second time if they knew the innocent person being executed was a friend, child, or spouse.

[sugarmaple]

:...above post Homolka and Bernardo....Karla Homolka was diagnosed with NPD and she is, I believe now released from prison....she had her own sister drugged and murdered to "please her man". "

This case was horrible horrible - is she really out? Yikes!

Perhaps in lieu of the death penalty [note my comments in an earlier post], when it comes to someone this horribly evil, it should be life - NO opportunity for parole, even when the offender turns 92 and is probably not in any shape to commit any other crime...no discussion, no health reasons, no nothing....

after all, the victims had no options at all....

[dreamofmonterey]

According to the facts on that case, yes, as Canada doesnt have death penalty. Maybe she works in a veterinarians office again...scary. I dont know if Canada has a probation system, but still, she was just as involved as Bernardo.

Dr. Park Dietz, forensic psychiatrist has some excellent sites on NPD and psychopathic behavior.

[AnnaNomus]

“Baby Lollipops” mother receives death penalty for killing toddler son - Miami-Dade - MiamiHerald.com (http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/06/10/2259223/baby-lollipops-mother-faces-death.html - broken link)

Let me just advise you that this is the most horrible, sickening case of child abuse I ever heard of, and I was absolutely sick after reading about this poor little baby. Lazaro Figueroa was tortured to death over a period of 18 months of his life. At age three, he died weighing only eighteen pounds, covered with bruises and bedsores, a deformed foot and smashed little toes, a broken arm, a fractured skull, a filthy diaper that hadn't been changed in forever and was duct taped on....the list of injuries and atrocities done to this child goes on and on. Already dying from a skull fracture that went untreated and caused his brain to become infected with meningitis, not to mention starving to death, little Lazaro received a final, fatal blow to the head that was so brutal, it disconnected his spinal cord from his brain stem. Still breathing, he was thrown like garbage into the bushes of a lawn and left there to die alone. I can't figure out for the life of me how this three year old baby managed to live as long as he did. He suffered abuse that you don't even want to imagine, I mean so horrible that his death was almost a blessing. And the person who tortured him to death was his own mother.

This happened in 1990, and through legal maneuverings, she is still alive. She was just sentenced to death for the second time this month after her second trial.

In some instances I don't believe in the death penalty. I do think that good people can make bad decisions or get into bad situations, and do something horrible. A lot of murders occur because of drugs, robbery, etc. I do believe that in some instances, once these people get cleaned up and realize what they've done, they are somewhat salvageable.

But anybody that could do this to another human being...I couldn't imagine treating ANYTHING like this child was treated. To be slowly, purposefully tortured to death..I'm not talking about a woman who killed her child in a fit of anger, who momentarily lost control and shook her baby to death, I'm talking about someone who ENJOYED watching her baby suffer. She hated him so much, she resented doing even the most basic things like feeding and changing him, hence the little starved 18 pound body and the duct taped diaper. 18 months of torture...can you imagine how long that was for little Lazaro? This was her own baby. Even if I had passed out and woke up to find somebody else did this to my baby, I couldn't stand there and cry and beg for my own life. I would want to die just knowing that my own little boy suffered like this, and this heartless living piece of crap is standing there crying for own life. It INFURIATES me to no end! If the best thing you ever did for your child was kill him, you don't deserve the air you're breathing.

I just hope and pray it doesn't take another 20 years to give this poor child the justice he deserves.

[Sgt. Buzzcut]

^^^ I only got about 4 sentences into that story and had to quit reading it. I'm not much of a religious person but there has to be a hell for a woman like that.