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Mom was killed by vehicular homicide. I have to go to court in a couple months and look at that guy. He is getting a jury trial. I don't know if that is standard or not.
I forgot that a couple of years ago, my nephew by marriage, who had over the years become heavily involved with drugs, was killed in a drug house by bleeding to death. He was stabbed in an altercation and apparantly did not realize he had been stabbed in the neck artery. Very bright, very talented man who threw his life away in drugs.
During freshman year in high school a few male classmates were hanging out at one of their houses with no parents at home. The father of the household was the chief detective with the local police. The kids got their hands on his 22 and decided to play russian roulette. The nicest boy in the entire class was there and when his turn came to play the "game" he shot himself point blank in the head. He died instantly. The official story released said the detective thought the gun was unloaded... how can a police officer who is used to handling weapons miss a slug in the chamber? Why was the gun not locked up in the first place? Smell a coverup?
Maybe what got covered up was the fact that the kids knew where the gun-locker keys and ammo were kept. People really underestimate their kids. A lot.
Very good point Cliffie it could very well be the kid knew where the keys & ammo were kept but I'll never know now. I totally agree kids can be very inquisitive and will go through their parents' possessions when they are not home and can get in all sorts of trouble. I guess the only lesson to be learned from that tragedy is if parents own guns, keep them and their accessories under lock and key and take the keys with you if there is even a remote possibility the kids will be at home with no parental supervision.
I was dating a guy who was new in town 30 years ago. After dating for 6 months he stole something from me and denied it. I was talking to a cop who was a friend and he asked me the guys name. Less than 12 hrs later I had detectives knocking at my door asking me all kinds of questions about him. About 6 hours later state, county and local police had surrounded his home. He eventually came out and was arrested. He had gotten into a fight with a guy and stabbed him to death in another town. I never once saw this man act or talk in a violent way. He got life. Then one day he escaped from prison. The police contacted me to tell me to be careful. I had moved far away from where I knew him and there was no internet so I thought I was OK but took extra precautions. He was caught in a few days and he's been back in prison since then. I now check the prison website a few times a year to make sure he is still there.
Last edited by planthappy; 01-26-2011 at 08:22 PM..
Reason: spelling
My mother was murdered. She was in Hollywood on Thanksgiving night in 1987, and some creep strangled her and beat her up pretty badly in the process. She was schizophrenic and an alcoholic, plus she had already had one lobe of her lung removed due to lung cancer (and she still smoked!!!), but it was still horrible and shocking. The police never found out who did it. Her body was dumped in front of a Jewish girls' school, but they don't know where the actual murder took place. I don't think about it so much now, but Thanksgiving is not my favorite holiday.
I knew a woman who was in her late twenties. I would not call her a friend, but she was an acquaintance. She had gone to college and gotten a good degree. She had gotten married. Her whole life was in front of her.
Than her employer (a major corporation) sent her on a business trip back to Tennessee. One morning she made the mistake of going jogging by herself. Her hotel was located near an interstate highway. That morning as she ran, she was accosted by a man carrying a gun. He took her into the woods and tied her to a tree. He took her purse and car keys and as he was leaving shot her in the head. She died almost instantaneously.
The man was captured, tried, and condemned to death. He never denied his guilt. His lawyer simply made the claim that the man should not receive the death penalty because he apparently did have some severe mental disturbances. I disagreed with his lawyer, but I felt it was reasonable to raise those issues. I was not familiar with many of the details of his sentencing hearing. Years later, on review, a United States Court of Appeals reversed this man's death sentence. He was re-sentenced to life without parole. I was curious what had happened and I read the written opinion of the Court of Appeals.
As much as I despised this loser, lowlife, SOB who murdered my acquaintance, I was stunned at what went on at his sentencing hearing in court years before. The prosecutor had gotten up during the hearing and actually told the jurors that unless they sentenced the man to death that they would be accomplices when he was sent to prison and committed another murder there.
Stop and think about that for a moment. If a man is given a life sentence he will be sent to a maximum security prison under the strictest supervision. His killing someone else may not be an impossibility, but under these conditions it would be highly, highly unlikely. Imagine how the jurors must have felt being told by a figure of authority that unless they sentenced this man to death they would be "accomplices to a murder". The Court of Appeals felt that this statement so unfairly appealed to the passions and prejudices of the jurors that it had no alternative than to set the death sentence aside. As much as I despise the loser who murdered this woman, after reviewing the case, I agreed with the Court of Appeals.
In retrospect, perhaps a lot of trouble for everyone could have been saved by simply sentencing this man to life without parole during his original trial. This crime was totally worthy of the death penalty. However, I don't think "life without parole" is a much better deal for an offender. I am angry at the incompetent way this case was handled by the state of Tennessee. If this prosecutor was this inept, he had no business prosecuting people for speeding--let alone capital murder.
Most of all I shake my head at fate. If this young woman had just been a few minutes late for her run that morning, I'm almost sure she would still be alive.
Last edited by markg91359; 01-27-2011 at 08:21 AM..
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,544 posts, read 56,068,476 times
Reputation: 11862
Quote:
Originally Posted by markg91359
I have a true story that is worth telling.
I knew a woman who was in her late twenties. I would not call her a friend, but she was an acquaintance. She had gone to college and gotten a good degree. She had gotten married. Her whole life was in front of her.
Than her employer (a major corporation) sent her on a business trip back to Tennessee. One morning she made the mistake of going jogging by herself. Her hotel was located near an interstate highway. That morning as she ran, she was accosted by a man carrying a gun. He took her into the woods and tied her to a tree. He took her purse and car keys and as he was leaving shot her in the head. She died almost instantaneously.
The man was captured, tried, and condemned to death. He never denied his guilt. His lawyer simply made the claim that the man should not receive the death penalty because he apparently did have some severe mental disturbances. I disagreed with his lawyer, but I felt it was reasonable to raise those issues. I was not familiar with many of the details of his sentencing hearing. Years later, on review, a United States Court of Appeals reversed this man's death sentence. He was re-sentenced to life without parole. I was curious what had happened and I read the written opinion of the Court of Appeals.
As much as I despised this loser, lowlife, SOB who murdered my acquaintance, I was stunned at what went on at his sentencing hearing in court years before. The prosecutor had gotten up during the hearing and actually told the jurors that unless they sentenced the man to death that they would be accomplices when he was sent to prison and committed another murder there.
Stop and think about that for a moment. If a man is given a life sentence he will be sent to a maximum security prison under the strictest supervision. His killing someone else may not be an impossibility, but under these conditions it would be highly, highly unlikely. Imagine how the jurors must have felt being told by a figure of authority that unless they sentenced this man to death they would be "accomplices to a murder". The Court of Appeals felt that this statement so unfairly appealed to the passions and prejudices of the jurors that it had no alternative than to set the death sentence aside. As much as I despise the loser who murdered this woman, after reviewing the case, I agreed with the Court of Appeals.
In retrospect, perhaps a lot of trouble for everyone could have been saved by simply sentencing this man to life without parole during his original trial. This crime was totally worthy of the death penalty. However, I don't think "life without parole" is a much better deal for an offender. I am angry at the incompetent way this case was handled by the state of Tennessee. If this prosecutor was this inept, he had no business prosecuting people for speeding--let alone capital murder.
Most of all I shake my head at fate. If this young woman had just been a few minutes late for her run that morning, I'm almost sure she would still be alive.
Yeah that's horrible, so random too.
I can imagine an American lawyer being like from, from all the TV shows we get.
Yes, a family friend was murdered in 2003. My Dad grew up around his family and his brother and sister in law baby sat me, also one of his sisters was my uncle's (by marriage) mother. Hope that all makes sense.
Anyway in 2003 he was robbed and beaten with a claw hammer for $40 by this man....AMW | Fugitives | Jeffery Grinder | Case. It takes a real man to beat an old man to death. He should have gotten death instead he got a plea bargain for life (he later escaped and was captured)
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