Death penalty cases on the rise
Previous Stories
2 more arrested in '06 torture-slaying; Pair turn selves in; 4th suspect sought, published 02/28/08
Man to face death penalty in slaying, published 10/30/07
Death penalty trial set back 4 months, published 08/06/08
Prosecutors seek death sentence, published 07/17/08
Killing suspect may face death; Pizza deliveryman slain during robbery attempt, published 08/17/07
When accused torture- murderer William Dickerson Jr. goes on trial this April in Charleston, he could face the death penalty for kidnapping a rival and brutalizing him for several hours over the course of a night.
His case is not unique.
At least five death penalty cases are set for trial in the Lowcountry during the coming months: three in Charleston and Berkeley counties and two in Dorchester County.
Typically, the area sees one death penalty case every few years.
Reasons behind the 2009 spike have drawn a flurry of opinions, ranging from those who say society has become more accepting of capital punishment to those who contend it's a needed response to the increasing violence.
Ninth Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson said the reason isn't so much philosophical as it is the calendar reflects "a perfect storm" of scheduling collisions, she said. All three of her cases were affected by arrests, judge issues and other timetables.
The Charleston and Berkeley cases are:
--Dickerson, who's accused of torturing to death Gerard Roper in a Fleming Road apartment in 2006. Roper was mutilated, burned and stabbed.
--Walter Fayall III, the accused triggerman in the May 2007 shooting death of state Constable Robert Bailey after a late-night traffic stop in Lincolnville.
--Colin James Broughton, accused of the September 2006 murder of his aunt, 59-year-old Shirley Mae Birch in a Cainhoy mobile home. Birch was beaten with a hammer in a robbery that allegedly netted her attacker about $200 and her car.
The Dorchester cases are:
--Anthony Sanders, accused of triple murder for shooting a mother and two of her children in July 2007 at the Archdale Forest Apartments on Dorchester Road.
--Delronezy Washington, who is accused of baiting pizza deliveryman Wilson James into a neighborhood with an order and killing him during an armed robbery attempt.
The Dorchester cases follow the plea of convicted triple-murderer Kenneth Henry Justus, who last month asked for and received the death penalty for fatally stabbing a fellow inmate inside Lieber Correctional Institution in Ridgeville.
The local lineup comes as the national frequency of death penalty cases is continuing to decline for a variety of reasons, ranging from costs to moral concerns and Supreme Court rulings prohibiting capital punishment for minors and the mentally retarded.
The drop is so significant that last year, 37 people were executed in nine states, the lowest total in 14 years, according to the nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center. Still, the South ranks highest among the states for death penalty cases, as states such as Texas, Florida and Georgia have significant populations on Death Row.
"Ninety-five percent of executions occurred in the South last year," said Richard Dieter, a Catholic University law professor and director of the DPIC.
In South Carolina, multiple factors go into a solicitor seeking the death penalty, but primarily includes murder committed with aggravating circumstances, such as done in the course of rape, burglary, killing a police officers or murdering a child.
When the local cases are called, they are expected to be expensive and time-consuming affairs. Jury pools are traditionally larger and screening about beliefs and background is more in-depth. Death penalty cases also take as long as two weeks of a county's limited amount of court time, while other murder trials might last a few days. Costs also escalate as experts are consulted and pasts investigated.
Even with a good case, there also is the fear of what happens on appeals. As many as one-half of death penalty convictions get overturned, according to some statistics.
South Carolina's Death Row is housed at the Lieber prison in Dorchester County, and is home to 58 inmates.
Reach Schuyler Kropf at 937-5551 or skropf@postandcourier.com.
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Comments
This article has 15 comment(s)
Posted by pirate42 on January 11, 2009 at 5:11 a.m. (Suggest removal)
EYE FOR EYE, the Only way they will learn and teach the one that is out there for taking a life (it will be death under any circumstnaces) stop the killing by excution, and free up prison space.
Posted by Chicago_Thug on January 11, 2009 at 8:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The brutality of many young men today is stunning. It is as if they are reverting to their base instincts and have little compassion if any.
If found guilty beyond a shadow of doubt, the death penalty should be imposed and the sentence carried out within 1 year with only 1 appeal to the state supreme court. It is about justice and punishment, not deterrence. Deterrence is an added benefit to society if it works.
Many young thugs are not afraid of prison or the death penalty, because it isn’t swift and guaranteed.
Posted by lowcountrymouth on January 11, 2009 at 8:36 a.m. (Suggest removal)
We need to shorten up the appeal process. Someone who is convicted of a capital offense should be executed withing 30 days of conviction. If their lawyer wants to appeal the conviction, he would be free to pursue that AFTER the execution. We also need to start making these executions public. After the hanging of Stede Bonnet, they left his body to hang on display for 4 days as a warning to others. After that, Charleston stopped having problems with pirate raids. Fancy that!!!
Posted by Chicago_Thug on January 11, 2009 at 8:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Not a big bible guy, but I remember this from sunday school so many years ago;
Matthew 24(New King James Version)
The Signs of the Times and the End of the Age
12. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.
Posted by yird on January 11, 2009 at 10:13 a.m. (Suggest removal)
If John Couey, who raped and murdered nine year old Jessica Lunsford had been put to death after his first offense as a sexual predator that Little girl would be alive today.
In spite of the fact that he buried her alive,which had to be an agonizing death, there are still many in our sick society that object to eliminating worthless human trash that treat their victims as such.
For too long a naive pseudo compassionate segment of our society has tried to rationalize the behavior of vicious killers by assigning blame to, poverty, abusive childhood, reduced mental capacity, peer pressure or anything but the real reason, a selfish, uncaring attitude when it comes to the rights of others.
As mentioned in previous posts, punishment, by execution if warranted, should be administered in a timely manner and not dragged out for years via the appeals process that drains funds from the taxpayers while enriching the lawyers who can't lose no matter what the out come of those appeals.
Posted by dmd100 on January 11, 2009 at 11 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I'd like to remind those of you who want the quick execution after conviction that more than 200 people have been released from death row in this country after DNA proved their innocence. Most spent many years in prison for crimes they did not commit; that means the guilty person was still "out there" with no consequences. Inmates with DNA in evidence had a chance to prove their innocence. Inmates who maintain their innocence but have no DNA in the evidence collected are rarely able to have a chance to make their case.
If you extrapolate the 200+ released due to DNA results, you can be sure that there are many others who are in prison who are also innocent. Granted, this is a small percentage of the prison population but imagine if that person was you or someone you love.
All of this to say, when the government gains the right to kill a person, there should not be a shred of doubt about their guilt.
On another note, a number of studies have concluded that the decision regarding whether or not the death penalty is sought has far more to do with the geographic location where the crime is committed than it does with the actual crime. The decision to seek the death penalty is in the complete discretion of the prosecutor.
Posted by coolfreaknbeans on January 11, 2009 at 11:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)
"Many young thugs are not afraid of prison or the death penalty, because it isn’t swift and guaranteed." Very well said Chicago_Thug! You are absolutely correct. Why fear something that will probably never happen or happen 20 years after conviction? When found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt- execution should be swift. Why should tax payers support these people in prison for years and years after being sentenced to death?
Posted by coolfreaknbeans on January 11, 2009 at 12:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)
What part about guilty beyond a reasonable doubt don't you get? Thats what I posted. Example: confession,DNA,etc. I am NOT ColdBeer. Get over it! I don't even remotely post like him. You starting to sound paranoid.
Posted by ms_lady2u on January 11, 2009 at 3:04 p.m. (Suggest removal)
johnnyholmes-you have less than 2weeks to face your fears!!
Posted by Funky_Winkerbean on January 11, 2009 at 4 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I consider it natural selection. It's like it was back in the time of evolution. The weak and useless were killed off. Nature has a way of curing it's ills. The only problem is 3 appeals. I'm of the firm belief that there are very few innocents on death row. I would betcha a dollar to a dime that there isn't one person in prison that hasn't got a previous record/Rap sheet (excluding the first time offenders) Todays forensics makes reasonable doubt a non-existent event. My opinion is... do unto others. You dunnit, you gonna get it dunn right backatcha!
Posted by abitskeptical on January 11, 2009 at 7:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)
CFB--one thing to consider is that everyone who is convicted is done so under the "beyond reasonable doubt" standard. Otherwise, supposedly the jury cannot convict them.
Even under this standard, though, there have been more than just a few people who have been wrongly & wrongfully convicted. For an interesting read, try John Grisham's 1st non-fiction The Innocent Man. Also look up the Innocence Project.
I agree, that if someone was convicted on DNA evidence, or a confession, the appeal process should be limited.
Posted by abitskeptical on January 11, 2009 at 8:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)
PS to johnnyholmes
What makes you think CFB is ColdBeer/Bud?
Is it because she has the word "cool", which is on a temperature continuum with "cold" in her screen name???
Posted by chucktonian on January 11, 2009 at 8:19 p.m. (Suggest removal)
We need to unbolt the electric chair from all prisons and replace it.
With electric bleachers. Clear them out. It's time these animals learned that when you kill somebody, you have to go.
Posted by dmd100 on January 11, 2009 at 10:31 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Apparently, the 200+ released innocent death row inmates has no meaning whatever to you law & orders out there. They were all convicted but they didn't do it! So reasonable doubt has nothing to do with having a really bad lawyer - you can still get convicted.
Posted by eyfigueroa on January 12, 2009 at 3:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I'm not a proponent of the Death Penalty because:
*the recent phenomenon over the past decade of prisoners being released due to evidence absolving them of the crime
AND
"Many young thugs are not afraid of prison or the death penalty, because it isn’t swift and guaranteed."
The death penalty has ceased being a deterrent to crime.
Until such time that the LEGAL system becomes a JUSTICE system, the rising tide of crime will not be abated!