General Discussion Board

Re: OK, NO one is going to like this:)

Posted By: Kelley <moonvine1@yahoo.com> (192.62.107.131)
Date: Thursday, 23 September 1999, at 3:26 p.m.

In Response To: Re: OK, NO one is going to like this:) (Mindy)

My thoughts on this: I do *not* condone murder, nor light sentencing of criminals, *however* I truly believe that as a civilized society, life imprisonment is the best option. I do *not* believe that parole should be offered, however, in those cases where people are later found to *not* have committed crimes I think enormous amounts of restitution should be *mandatory*. How does one pay someone back for 20 years of their life?

Consider the following:
"Joseph Frank Cannon, black, sentenced to death in 1982, for the murder of Anne Walsh, white, when he was 17-years-old. Cannon came from a highly abusive background. At the age of four, he was hit by a pickup truck and spent 11 months in hospital. Upon release his mother placed him in an orphanage because of her inability to care for him. Cannon was unable to function in school due to his learning disabilities and was expelled at age six. He began sniffing glue and solvents; at the age of ten he was diagnosed as suffering from organic brain damage resulting from solvent abuse. He was further diagnosed as
schizophrenic and was treated in mental hospitals from an early age.

Joseph Cannon was sexually abused by his stepfather (his mother's fourth husband) at ages seven and eight and was regularly sexually assaulted by his grandfather between the ages of 10 and 17. He attempted suicide when he was 15 years old.

At his murder trial in 1980, Cannon unsuccessfully pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity and was sentenced to death. This conviction was overturned in 1981 and he was re-tried in 1982. At his second trial he again pleaded not guilty. At trial his lawyers offered no mitigating testimony concerning his mental health or disturbed
upbringing. At the time, the wording of the Texas capital procedures increased the risk that such compelling mitigating factors might actually weigh against him in the
jury's decision as to whether a defendant would pose a future danger to society.

Provided with no information on his shockingly deprived background, a Texas jury once again sentenced Joseph Cannon to death.

A psychologist who later examined Cannon considered his case history "exceptional" in the extent of the brutality and abuse he had received as a child. He concluded that such was the "depravity and oppressiveness" of his upbringing that Cannon has thrived more on death row than he ever did in his home environment. Joseph Cannon has learnt to read and write since being in prison."

""This is not going to be an execution. This is premeditated murder... I am not guilty of this crime." Final statement of Jessie DeWayne Jacobs. Jesse DeWayne Jacobs was executed in Texas on 4 January 1995. He was sentenced to death in 1986 for the murder of Etta Ann Urdiales. At his trial, the prosecution had argued that "the simple fact is that Jesse Jacobs, and Jesse Jacobs alone, killed Etta Ann Urdiales." Seven months later Jacobs' sister, Bobbie Jean Hogan, was also put on trial for the murder of Urdiales. At Hogan's trial the same district attorney, Peter Speers, who had prosecuted Jacobs' case, told the jury that "through the course of it all I have changed my mind about what actually happened. And I'm convinced that Bobbie Hogan is the one who pulled the trigger." Jesse Jacobs was a "central" witness in Hogan's trial and the prosecution urged the jury to believe him. Bobbie Jean Hogan was convicted of shooting Urdiales and was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment for involuntary manslaughter.

Jacobs remained on death row despite the fact that his sister had been convicted of shooting Etta Ann Urdiales. The prosecution argued that Jacobs was still guilty of a capital offence as an accessory to the murder. However, this argument ignored the fact that the jury who sentenced Jacobs to death believed him to be the triggerman
in the killing of Urdiales and that the prosecution had put forward two different versions of the killings at the two trials."

"Calvin Burdine was convicted in 1984 for robbery and murder. Since then, he has survived six execution dates. Although Calvin Burdine is openly homosexual, he was defended at trial by Joe Frank Cannon, a lawyer who has referred to homosexuals as "fairies" and "queers" -- and who fell asleep during the trial.

According to information received by Amnesty International, Burdine was an adopted child who ran away from home when he was 15 years old, after suffering years of sexual and physical abuse at the hands of his parents, including repeated rapes by his father.

Burdine eventually met the victim, an older man, who provided him with a place to stay. A sexual relationship began, where Burdine was again subjected to abuse. He left after the victim tried unsuccessfully to get him to work as a male prostitute.

Calvin Burdine then met his co- defendant, Doug McCreight. The two decided to leave the Houston area but first visited the victim's house, intending to obtain money that Burdine was owed. Burdine told McCreight to be careful because the victim kept a gun in the house. On arriving, McCreight went to the bathroom and discovered a
gun and knife. He then murdered the victim.

Upon his arrest, Burdine admitted taking the money but denied any involvement in the murder. In his second 'confession', he stated that he joined McCreight in stabbing the victim. Burdine was without a lawyer during both interviews. At trial, he testified that the first statement was true and that the police had concocted the
second version.

Burdine was prosecuted for capital murder, while McCreight pleaded guilty to murder and refused to testify for either the state or the defence. He has since been released on parole.

During the trial, defence counsel was seen by both jurors and court staff to be sleeping. According to an affidavit by the foreman of the jury, Cannon slept on more than one occasion: "...I observed that Mr Joe Cannon appeared to doze off into a state of sleep on at least a few different occasions, perhaps as many as five different
times."

Cannon claimed that he was simply concentrating on his pending cross-examination of state witnesses. On appeal, the state court quashed the conviction and death sentence, finding that defence counsel had fallen asleep during the trial. However, this sensible decision was overturned by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals which
held that in Texas, unlike other US jurisdictions, a sleeping defence attorney does not qualify as "ineffective assistance of legal counsel" unless it occurred during a "substantial portion of the trial".

I'd feel a *lot* better if *my* defense attorney only slept through an *insubstantial* portion of the trial, how about you? These are just a few of the cases in the article below that made me want to vomit. Does thinking about the John Wayne Gacys make me ill as well? Of course..but "we" are better than "they" are...aren't we?

Amnesty International

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