Reply With Quote
Thats the definition of irony...he died of a heart attack, but was revived so that he could be executed. Who was the genius that came up w/ that strategy?
The irony of this -- the guy was dying of a heart attack a few months ago and they revived him and returned him to death row.
Calif. Executes Oldest Death Row Inmate
By DON THOMPSON, Associated Press Writer
49 minutes ago
California executed its oldest death row inmate early Tuesday, minutes after his 76th birthday, despite arguments that putting to death an elderly, blind and wheelchair-bound man was cruel and unusual punishment.
Clarence Ray Allen was pronounced dead at 12:38 a.m. at San Quentin State Prison. He became the second-oldest inmate put to death nationally since the Supreme Court allowed capital punishment to resume in 1976.
Allen, who was blind and mostly deaf, suffered from diabetes and had a nearly fatal heart attack in September only to be revived and returned to death row, was assisted into the death chamber by four large correctional officers and lifted out of his wheelchair.
His lawyers had raised two claims never before endorsed by the high court: that executing a frail old man would violate the Cons ution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment, and that the 23 years he spent on death row were uncons utionally cruel as well.
The high court rejected his requests for a stay of execution about 10 hours before he was to be put to death. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger denied Allen clemency Friday.
Allen went to prison for having his teenage son's 17-year-old girlfriend murdered for fear she would tell police about a grocery-store burglary. While behind bars, he tried to have witnesses in the case wiped out, prosecutors said. He was sentenced to death in 1982 for hiring a hit man who killed a witness and two bystanders.
"Allen deserves capital punishment because he was already serving a life sentence for murder when he masterminded the murders of three innocent young people and conspired to attack the heart of our criminal justice system," state prosecutor Ward Campbell said.
Allen expressed his love for family, friends and the other death-row inmates in a final statement read by Warden Steve Ornoski. Allen ended his statement by saying, "It's a good day to die. Thank you very much. I love you all. Goodbye."
The family of one of Allen's victims, Josephine Rocha, issued a statement saying that "justice has prevailed today."
"Mr. Allen abused the justice system with endless appeals until he lived longer in prison than the short 17 years of Josephine's life," the statement said.
Last month in Mississippi, John B. Nixon, 77, became the oldest person executed in the United States since capital punishment resumed. He did not pursue an appeal based on his age.
Allen's case generated less attention than last month's execution of Crips gang co-founder Stanley Tookie Williams, whose case set off a nationwide debate over the possibility of redemption on death row, with Hollywood stars and capital punishment foes arguing that Williams had made amends by writing children's books about the dangers of gangs.
There were only about 200 people gathered outside the prison gates before Allen's execution, about one-tenth of the crowd that came out last month.
Thats the definition of irony...he died of a heart attack, but was revived so that he could be executed. Who was the genius that came up w/ that strategy?
I blame Ahhhhnold.
The first claim has some merit, although I personally don’t agree with it. The second one is a f**cking joke.
Mute points all around, he's history. R I P Clarence, you got a lot explain to do to
the man.
By using the phrase "mute points all around ," do you mean that you refuse to hear the points or that there is literally a mute who is pointing all around?
I do not believe that the claim that 23 years on death row is barbaric. What, pray tell, is the reasoning behind that? We sit a guy on death row to sit 23 years, the only thing he knows in the future is this will be his final home before his execution. We are not a barbaric society, so why do we act as if we were? The days of hanging in a dungeon for years before an execution are over. If we will have the death penalty it needs to be swift, I don't feel like paying to keep a guy alive for no purpose other than dying. While the claim has merit, I do not believe it is grounds to overturn a verdict by a jury, but it is something to work on in the future.
quite an image, are you sure he's not a mime?
Maybe he not a mute, maybe he's a "yute."
You cant figure it out, ask Mr. Peabody, he speaks on all subjects, not
well, but he "says" he has spoken.
On this issue, when Mr. Peabody speaks, the subject becomes moot.
Says in the paper this morning that he wasn't quite as blind or feeble as advertised.
He looked around room for those he invited and had to have a little extra dose
of stuff to stop his heart. Poor frail thing.
Of course can you believe everything written in the paper?
Value the sanc y of life while administering lethal doses of drugs - how Kovorkian
Death row elder needed 2 injections
CNNSAN QUENTIN, California (AP) -- In the end, California's oldest condemned inmate did not seem quite as feeble as his attorneys made him out to be in their efforts to save his life.
<snip>
Having suffered a heart attack back in September, Allen had asked prison authorities to let him die if he went into cardiac arrest before his execution, a request prison officials said they would not honor.
"At no point are we not going to value the sanc y of life," said prison spokesman Vernell Crittendon. "We would resuscitate him," then execute him.
But the barrel-chested prisoner's heart was strong to the end: Doctors had to administer a second shot of potassium chloride to stop it.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
