Texas Inmate Set For Execution in April For the Dragging Death of Jasper Man

[Vic Mackey 46,858]

He's finally being set to death over 20 years later. Fuck him. Looks like one of the others has already been executed and the third is serving life.

Quote

 

JASPER, Texas — A white man condemned for the 1998 dragging death of a black man in East Texas has been scheduled for execution next year.

John William King faces lethal injection April 24. District Judge Craig Mixson signed the execution order Friday.

The U.S. Supreme Court in October denied an appeal for King, who claimed he had ineffective lawyers during his capital murder trial.

King was one of three white men convicted in the June 1998 death of James Byrd Jr. Byrd was chained to a pickup truck and dragged along a road near Jasper, about 125 miles (201.16 kilometers) northeast of Houston.

A second man convicted in Byrd's death has been executed. The third man is serving life in prison.

 

 

[Newdoc 3,429]

So we’ve spent 2 million housing this guy to kill him off way way after sentencing?

[Huckleberry 32,663]

I still can't support the State executing people. The proven frequency with which trials are fucked up in favor of the prosecution makes it way too likely people who aren't guilty will be executed.

That being said, if I were on a jury where people who knew Byrd had killed these three guys in broad daylight on Main Street I'd certainly find a way to vote not guilty. But revenge by an aggrieved citizen (within the "he needed killin' and my client was the one to do it" paradigm) is an entirely different story than the State killing a citizen.

Edited March 20, 2019 by Huckleberry

[NeverMarryAStripper 21,780]

If anyone needs executing it's this guy, but I just can't support the death penalty anymore.

[Zepol87 9,156]

I was a kid at the time and remember this started my whole "man this world is fucked up" thinking. I couldn't really comprehend how someone could do this

[CHIEF 5,052]

Lethal injection is too easy of a way to go. Strap him to the bottom of a pickup and run through some South Texas mesquite thickets, then drop him in a vat of rubbing alcohol, all while hoping he gets multiple rattlesnake bites in the thickets.

 

CHIEF

[ztejas 43,198]

This thread should go well. 

[El Diablo 4,232]

4 minutes ago, ztejas said:

This thread should go well. 

Could be worse.

[Cajun 11,671]

I'd like to nail this up on the ceiling directly over the gurney they'll strap him onto...

 

[ajax 2,578]

Here's the guy who prosecuted him, BJJ black belt Pat Hardy. I remember chatting with him on an ancient BJJ/MMA messageboard when he was just a deputy sheriff getting his law degree at night school, the next thing I know he's the prosecutor in the most high profile case in the country.

http://www.thefullwiki.org/Pat_"Hawk"_Hardy

As a prosecuting attorney, Hardy was assistant District Attorney under Guy James Gray in the infamous James Byrd dragging cases. Hardy and Guy James Gray were the lead prosecutors in the three cases and the only prosecutors to try all three.

[RPM 26,168]

Fuck that guy. Got what he deserved for being a fucking racial terrorist.

[Armybrat 40,648]

No wonder they claim it costs more to execute a dirtbag like him that to sentence him to life. The endless appeals don’t come cheap.

[Wally Pryor 5,236]

3 hours ago, Vic Mackey said:

He's finally being set to death over 20 years later. Fuck him. Looks like one of the others has already been executed and the third is serving life.

And that one executed (Lawrence Brewer) was the last on Texas death row to be given the opportunity to choose what he wanted for a last meal.  That animal ordered two chicken-fried steaks with gravy and sliced onions; a triple-patty bacon cheeseburger; a cheese omelet with ground beef, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers and jalapeños; a bowl of fried okra with ketchup; one pound of barbecued meat with half a loaf of white bread; three fajitas; a meat-lover’s pizza; one pint of Blue Bell Ice Cream; a slab of peanut-butter fudge with crushed peanuts; and three root beers.

He ate exactly none of it. 

Thankfully, the state got rid of the last meal choice the next day, forever.   

[Brisketexan 104,238]

What several folks here said.

I am and remain opposed to the death penalty.

But fellas like this make that position really, REALLY hard to maintain. Because outside of the law and legal process, the universe does seem to have a solid rule: some sonsabitches just need killin'.  This guy is one of those.

I oppose the death penalty as a process and a state-sponsored mechanism.  But I won't shed a tear when this guy breathes his last.

[ajax 2,578]

4 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

What several folks here said.

I am and remain opposed to the death penalty.

But fellas like this make that position really, REALLY hard to maintain.

So this..

This one case is what makes it really hard to maintain your stance? Tell me something, on a scale of 1 to 10 how does this rate compared to, say, Chris Watts?

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/chris-watts-reveals-gruesome-details-about-day-he-killed-his-n979891

He then loaded the girls and his wife's body in his truck and drove them 45 minutes to the property of Anadarko Petroleum, where Watts worked, Lambert said the parents learned from Watts' interview.

Watts threw Shanann into a shallow ditch on the work site, and then with "Celeste’s favorite blanket ... he smothers her to death," Lambert said.

"At that point, Bella said, 'Please, Daddy, don‘t do to me what you just did to Cece,'" Lambert said.

"And then he killed Bella," Lambert said.

 

[Vic Mackey 46,858]

16 minutes ago, Wally Pryor said:

And that one executed (Lawrence Brewer) was the last on Texas death row to be given the opportunity to choose what he wanted for a last meal.  That animal ordered two chicken-fried steaks with gravy and sliced onions; a triple-patty bacon cheeseburger; a cheese omelet with ground beef, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers and jalapeños; a bowl of fried okra with ketchup; one pound of barbecued meat with half a loaf of white bread; three fajitas; a meat-lover’s pizza; one pint of Blue Bell Ice Cream; a slab of peanut-butter fudge with crushed peanuts; and three root beers.

He ate exactly none of it. 

Thankfully, the state got rid of the last meal choice the next day, forever.   

What do they serve them for their last meal these days?

[Brisketexan 104,238]

2 minutes ago, ajax said:

So this..

This one case is what makes it really hard to maintain your stance? Tell me something, on a scale of 1 to 10 how does this rate compared to, say, Chris Watts?

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/chris-watts-reveals-gruesome-details-about-day-he-killed-his-n979891

 

 

I didn't say this was the only one that makes it hard.

Lots of really evil assholes need killin'.

I just don't trust the State to decide who does and who doesn't, because 1) the State has a proven track record of getting it wrong, and 2) once you execute someone (by mistake, whoopsie), there ain't no take-backs.

Throw people like this in the hole, never to emerge again.  I'd like to do more....but I don't trust the mechanism to do so.

[Brisketexan 104,238]

2 minutes ago, Vic Mackey said:

What do they serve them for their last meal these days?

The meal that is on the menu for that day.  If it's sliced turkey on toast, that's what you get.  

[SHOOTER12 8,783]

36 minutes ago, Wally Pryor said:

And that one executed (Lawrence Brewer) was the last on Texas death row to be given the opportunity to choose what he wanted for a last meal.  That animal ordered two chicken-fried steaks with gravy and sliced onions; a triple-patty bacon cheeseburger; a cheese omelet with ground beef, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers and jalapeños; a bowl of fried okra with ketchup; one pound of barbecued meat with half a loaf of white bread; three fajitas; a meat-lover’s pizza; one pint of Blue Bell Ice Cream; a slab of peanut-butter fudge with crushed peanuts; and three root beers.

He ate exactly none of it. 

Thankfully, the state got rid of the last meal choice the next day, forever.   

Damn it, now I'm hungry like a mofo.

[Zepol87 9,156]

25 minutes ago, ajax said:

So this..

This one case is what makes it really hard to maintain your stance? Tell me something, on a scale of 1 to 10 how does this rate compared to, say, Chris Watts?

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/chris-watts-reveals-gruesome-details-about-day-he-killed-his-n979891

 

 

Fuck 

[ztejas 43,198]

34 minutes ago, Zepol87 said:

Fuck 

Yeah that was tough to read. I'm usually pretty stoic but Jesus. 

[HouTex 1,841]

Took way too long. Should have been executed long ago. On a macro level executions are way down and that’s probably a good thing. But it’s still needed for really bad people like this piece of trash.

[Surly Bevo 24,686]

5 hours ago, Wally Pryor said:

And that one executed (Lawrence Brewer) was the last on Texas death row to be given the opportunity to choose what he wanted for a last meal.  That animal ordered two chicken-fried steaks with gravy and sliced onions; a triple-patty bacon cheeseburger; a cheese omelet with ground beef, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers and jalapeños; a bowl of fried okra with ketchup; one pound of barbecued meat with half a loaf of white bread; three fajitas; a meat-lover’s pizza; one pint of Blue Bell Ice Cream; a slab of peanut-butter fudge with crushed peanuts; and three root beers.

He ate exactly none of it. 

Thankfully, the state got rid of the last meal choice the next day, forever.   

Relevant

 

 

[Nice Guy Eddie 13,388]

5 hours ago, Wally Pryor said:

And that one executed (Lawrence Brewer) was the last on Texas death row to be given the opportunity to choose what he wanted for a last meal.  That animal ordered two chicken-fried steaks with gravy and sliced onions; a triple-patty bacon cheeseburger; a cheese omelet with ground beef, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers and jalapeños; a bowl of fried okra with ketchup; one pound of barbecued meat with half a loaf of white bread; three fajitas; a meat-lover’s pizza; one pint of Blue Bell Ice Cream; a slab of peanut-butter fudge with crushed peanuts; and three root beers.

He ate exactly none of it. 

Thankfully, the state got rid of the last meal choice the next day, forever.   

It was ridiculous that the warden allowed that as a last meal. 

[Fudge Nuggets 19,111]

nvm... already posteded.

 

Edited March 21, 2019 by Fudge Nuggets

[Cajun 11,671]

17 hours ago, ajax said:

So this..

This one case is what makes it really hard to maintain your stance? Tell me something, on a scale of 1 to 10 how does this rate compared to, say, Chris Watts?

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/chris-watts-reveals-gruesome-details-about-day-he-killed-his-n979891

 

 

Problem is that I could post up an instance of an innocent person fried or juiced up and ask you the very same question.

With what's come out of the Innocence Project do you really trust, as Brisket calls it, the mechanism with which this shit gets decided?

I don't.

[Zepol87 9,156]

3 minutes ago, Cajun said:

Problem is that I could post up an instance of an innocent person fried or juiced up and ask you the very same question.

With what's come out of the Innocence Project do you really trust, as Brisket calls it, the mechanism with which this shit gets decided?

I don't.

Fuck no I don't

[Onboard 2.0 9,083]

17 hours ago, Wally Pryor said:

And that one executed (Lawrence Brewer) was the last on Texas death row to be given the opportunity to choose what he wanted for a last meal.  That animal ordered two chicken-fried steaks with gravy and sliced onions; a triple-patty bacon cheeseburger; a cheese omelet with ground beef, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers and jalapeños; a bowl of fried okra with ketchup; one pound of barbecued meat with half a loaf of white bread; three fajitas; a meat-lover’s pizza; one pint of Blue Bell Ice Cream; a slab of peanut-butter fudge with crushed peanuts; and three root beers.

He ate exactly none of it. 

Thankfully, the state got rid of the last meal choice the next day, forever.   

There's always got to be that guy that ruins it for the rest of us....  why we can't have nice things

[ajax 2,578]

7 minutes ago, Cajun said:

Problem is that I could post up an instance of an innocent person fried or juiced up and ask you the very same question.

With what's come out of the Innocence Project do you really trust, as Brisket calls it, the mechanism with which this shit gets decided?

I don't.

That wasn't my point. I'm against the death penalty too.

My question was what is it about this particular case that's so egregious that makes people question their stance on the death penalty? The Byrd case is terrible but any number of cases are terrible. When I read that passage about the Chris Watts murders, my heart hurt for over a week. It still does. There are innumerable murder cases that hurt the soul, including the Byrd case.

But saying this case, the James Byrd dragging murder, is so exceptional that one would consider changing their position is like standing up and saying "hey look at me, I'm against racism. Yay me." It's insufferable.

[Pato del Muerto 52,239]

He didn’t say he questioned his stance. And if I understand correctly, his stance isn’t that capital punishment shouldn’t be a thing, but rather that it can’t be a thing because the judicial system is flawed. 

[Cajun 11,671]

35 minutes ago, ajax said:

That wasn't my point. I'm against the death penalty too.

My question was what is it about this particular case that's so egregious that makes people question their stance on the death penalty? The Byrd case is terrible but any number of cases are terrible. When I read that passage about the Chris Watts murders, my heart hurt for over a week. It still does. There are innumerable murder cases that hurt the soul, including the Byrd case.

But saying this case, the James Byrd dragging murder, is so exceptional that one would consider changing their position is like standing up and saying "hey look at me, I'm against racism. Yay me." It's insufferable.

Gotcha.

Completely agree and I'm with you all the way on the racism virtue signaling (is that the new overused term?).

I mistook the intent of your post there.  Apologies.

[Your Mom 4,774]

Even without considering the the innocent people the state has almost certainly executed, execution is just too lenient.  Life in prison without the possibility of parole is a far harsher penalty than death, IMO.  

[TwiceHorn 31,087]

8 minutes ago, Your Mom said:

Even without considering the the innocent people the state has almost certainly executed, execution is just too lenient.  Life in prison without the possibility of parole is a far harsher penalty than death, IMO.  

I tend to agree with this.

Also, I would ask, if you were actually on a death-penalty jury, would it not give you an extreme case of the heebie jeebies to make a ruling resulting in death?

That started to hit home for me in Professor Ratliff's class where he related a mythical voir dire story:

Prosecutor:  Would any of you have problems or difficulties sentencing a defendant to death?

(juror panelist raises hand)

Prosecutor:  Yes, sir? 

Juror:  Well, they do that death penalty down in Huntsville, right?

Prosecutor:  Yes, sir, that's correct.

Juror:  Well, I suppose I could get a day or two off for that.

 

Anyway, when you put it on that level, I would be extremely uncomfortable with it, which also means that I am very uncomfortable with it as an abstract proposition.  I.e. fuck the death penalty.

Edited March 21, 2019 by TwiceHorn

[futureman 22,383]

19 hours ago, ajax said:

So this..

This one case is what makes it really hard to maintain your stance? Tell me something, on a scale of 1 to 10 how does this rate compared to, say, Chris Watts?

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/chris-watts-reveals-gruesome-details-about-day-he-killed-his-n979891

 

 

that sounds like mental illness more than evil. 

[ajax 2,578]

10 minutes ago, futureman said:

that sounds like mental illness more than evil. 

Not mental illness. Watts was an extreme narcissist. He had a mistress and wanted to disappear his family so he could be with her. 

[futureman 22,383]

2 minutes ago, ajax said:

Not mental illness. Watts was an extreme narcissist. He had a mistress and wanted to disappear his family so he could be with her. 

[CHIEF 5,052]

The problem with jury trails, specially in death penalty cases, is that the jurors are usually the ones that are too dumb to be able to get out of jury duty, or simply have nothing better to do (conservative retirees that tend to presume guilt and have to be completely convinced beyond a shadow of doubt that the defendant isn't guilty). Jury duty is looked at with disdain, not as an honor to do your civic duty.

Mrs. CHIEF tried to get out of jury duty on a murder case, here in Granbury. I talked her out of it. This man was facing execution, and she is very levelheaded, and needed to be on there. The jury completely dismissed some very critical evidence, and moved to convict. She was the lone holdout, there were others, but they wanted to go home, so fell right in line with the other jurors. They Allen charged her, and she held out for about 6-8 hours, was called everything in the book, unfit mother, treehugger, criminal, etc. I told her I was going to go get her a blanket and pillow, and to hold out as long as need be, but she finally gave in. It haunted her to the day that The Court of Appeals overturned the verdict based on the dismissed evidence. I am ok with the Death Penalty, if there are multiple eyewitnesses, but no way is our legal system competent enough to execute based on evidence alone.

 

CHIEF

Edited March 21, 2019 by CHIEF

[Brisketexan 104,238]

2 minutes ago, CHIEF said:

am ok with the Death Penalty, if there are multiple eyewitnesses,

Honestly, that doesn't even help.  Do some research into the reliability of "eyewitness" testimony.  Your jaw will drop.  

And there are people on death row, and people dead and buried, who ended up there based on only the testimony of one or two eyewitnesses.

[Zepol87 9,156]

Damn @CHIEF I couldn't imagine that guilt if you really thought that person was innocent. Glad to hear she didn't have to deal with it

[texashorne 1,177]

I used to be on the fence about the death penalty.

Then this happened. https://www.kalb.com/content/news/Mother-of-baby-burned-to-death-in-Natchitoches-indicted-500167871.html 

Now I'm for hangings on the courthouse lawn... immediately after sentencing. 

 

 

[Armybrat 40,648]

Fix the mechanism - mandate the standard of “no doubt at all”, instead of the ambiguous “reasonable doubt”.  Require severe penalties for prosecutors & LEOs who withhold exculpatory evidence or commit perjury in the judicial process. Just to name a few things.

After those steps are enacted, then shorten and streamline the appeals process - one year to make one appeal or review by a board of independent legal eagles., then sentence carried out one week later if that appeal fails.

 

[ChickenSandwich 9,795]

5 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

Honestly, that doesn't even help.  Do some research into the reliability of "eyewitness" testimony.  Your jaw will drop.  

And there are people on death row, and people dead and buried, who ended up there based on only the testimony of one or two eyewitnesses.

Throw the red challenge/death penalty flag. The prosecution must show indisputable video evidence. They have you from three angles on three cameras.  Well bye.

But others have already said it. One wrong death is too many. 

Edited March 21, 2019 by ChickenSandwich

[Johnny Sack 8,397]

There are some heinous murder cases where there is zero doubt of guilt.  For example, say you have a confession, DNA evidence, other corroborating evidence, eyewitnesses, and the confession is not recanted.  Those are the only type cases I am okay with the DP.

Edited March 21, 2019 by Johnny Sack

[TexasMan 10,736]

2 hours ago, texashorne said:

I used to be on the fence about the death penalty.

Then this happened. https://www.kalb.com/content/news/Mother-of-baby-burned-to-death-in-Natchitoches-indicted-500167871.html 

Now I'm for hangings on the courthouse lawn... immediately after sentencing. 

 

 

Hell, I'd like to see the ol' tie a rope from all 4 extremities to 4 horses and say yah for shitheads like this. 

[Guest]

On 3/20/2019 at 12:51 PM, Newdoc said:

So we’ve spent 2 million housing this guy to kill him off way way after sentencing?

He might not 'a done it.

so sayeth the lawdogs.

Can't be too sure...

 

For dumbasses like this POS, rapists, and pedophiles, I'm all for next day after conviction, fuck them up on the courthouse lawn.

 

Edited March 21, 2019 by slorch

[TwiceHorn 31,087]

2 hours ago, Armybrat said:

Fix the mechanism - mandate the standard of “no doubt at all”, instead of the ambiguous “reasonable doubt”.  Require severe penalties for prosecutors & LEOs who withhold exculpatory evidence or commit perjury in the judicial process. Just to name a few things.

After those steps are enacted, then shorten and streamline the appeals process - one year to make one appeal or review by a board of independent legal eagles., then sentence carried out one week later if that appeal fails.

 

Not to be too big a dick, but articulate the difference between the no doubt standard and the reasonable doubt standard and how we know a jury followed it.  The explain how we remove other aspects of human fallibility, like jurors who compromise when they shouldn't, lying ass cops and prosecutors, grotesquely mistaken eyewitnesses, witnesses that have been granted immunity or reduced sentences to shade their testimony or lie, etc. etc. etc. and then we can talk about the rest of it.

Killing is not a business the government should be in, except possibly in military endeavors.

[Deej 76,400]

No doubt of this guy's guilt. Should've just handed him over to the victim's family and told them they'd look the other way for the next 48 hours.

[Surly Bevo 24,686]

i was a foreman for a capital murder case, prosecution was not seeking the death penalty.  We found the man guilty, my signature on the the verdict forms sent him to prison for the rest of his life.  I think about that act and what it did at times, it gave peace to one group of people and sent another person away forever.   I think the death penalty is too fraught with wrongful convictions that can't be undone like mine could, not to mention even when right it's too easy and gives more power to the perpetrator by keeping them relevant.  None of you will ever know the name of the man I and 11 others presided in judgement over and that's probably the way it should be.... 

 

Edited March 21, 2019 by Surly Bevo

[TwiceHorn 31,087]

6 minutes ago, Surly Bevo said:

i was a foreman for a capital murder case, prosecution was not seeking the death penalty.  We found the man guilty, my signature on the the verdict forms sent him to prison for the rest of his life.  I think about that act and what it did at times, it gave peace to one group of people and sent another person away forever.   I think the death penalty is too fraught with wrongful convictions that can't be undone like mine could, not to mention even when right it's too easy and gives more power to the perpetrator by keeping them relevant.  None of you will ever know the name of the man I and 11 others presided in judgement over and that's probably the way it should be.... 

 

Great point.  Plus, I think we get all twisted up with desiring vengeance for the family of the deceased and we think that's what they want.  And maybe they do, or think they do, short-term.  But I am reasonably sure if they are ever going to get past the loss of their loved one, eye-for-an-eye vengeance is not going to help that process and probably would only slow it down.

A sense of justice or closure coming from a trial and a sentence, of whatever length, that comes relatively quickly and predictably is probably more important than anything the justice system can do.

Edited March 22, 2019 by TwiceHorn

[SA-KC_Horn 1,293]

6 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

Honestly, that doesn't even help.  Do some research into the reliability of "eyewitness" testimony.  Your jaw will drop.  

And there are people on death row, and people dead and buried, who ended up there based on only the testimony of one or two eyewitnesses.

Death penalty should be immediate to these mass murders/terrorists. 

But for these dicey verdicts,  I say no death penalty only life sentence. Because what has been explained in previous posts is that the jury and witnesses make mistakes and as stated above you cant bring a back an innocent dead person.