Troy Davis Execution: Other Controversial Death Row Cases
The Troy Davis case has reignited an old debate: when is the death penalty the right answer? Here are several controversial stories from death row in the US.
Teresa Lewis
The first woman to die by lethal injection in the state of Virginia, Teresa Lewis was convicted of paying to have her husband and stepson murdered in 2002. Her case sparked an outcry, because testing had put Lewis’ IQ at 72, just two points above that classified as intellectually disabled.
Her supporters, among them legal novelist John Grisham, sent thousands of appeals for clemency to Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, to no avail. Lewis was executed on Sept. 23, 2010.
Cameron Todd Willingham
Of the 235 people put to death during the tenure of Texas Gov. Rick Perry, the case of Cameron Todd Willingham might be the most controversial. Willingham was convicted and executed for the deaths of his three young daughters, who died in a fire at the family’s home. Prosecutors alleged that Willingham started the fire and killed the girls to cover up abuse; Willingham’s wife, who was not home at the time of the blaze, denied that he abused his children.
The crux of Willingham’s case, however, revolved around whether the fire was started on purpose at all. In 2004, a fire investigator, Gerald Hurst, looked into Willingham’s case. Hurst found multiple scientific errors in the initial report and concluded that there was no evidence of arson. A 2009 report by the Texas Forensic Science Commission would later come to the same conclusion.
The court also relied on the testimony of two psychologists who never met Willingham.
Despite the criticisms, both the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles and Gov Perry declined to halt Willingham’s execution. He was put to death in 2004.
Michael Blair
Blair was exonerated in 2008 after 14 years on death row. DNA evidence revealed that he had not been the murderer of seven-year-old Ashley Estel in 1993, despite the fact that the jury had taken only 27 minutes to convict him.
Ashley disappeared from a Dallas park, and her strangled body was discovered the next day. During the trial, eyewitness testimony placed Blair at the park and the spot where Ashley’s body was discovered.
Duane Buck
In a rare move earlier this month, the Supreme Court halted the execution of Texas death row inmate Duane Buck – a surprise because the Supreme Court rarely becomes involved with death penalty cases unless there is doubt about the defendant’s innocence. However, the testimony of a psychologist at his sentencing – who said that black criminals were more likely to commit violence in the future than criminals of other races – caused outrage. (Buck was convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend and her friend in 1995.)
The psychologist’s comment led to complaints of racial bias, and in 2000, then-Texas Attorney General John Cornyn recommended that six cases in which the psychologist gave the racially-tainted testimony be reopened.
All the cases but Buck’s were, and all five of those defendants were resentenced to death. The Supreme Court will now decide whether to give Buck’s case a full hearing.
Charles Hood
Hood was convicted of the 1989 murder of Tracie Lynn Wallace and her boyfriend Ronald Williamson in their home outside Plano, Texas.
The former nightclub bouncer denied the charges. He was arrested while driving the victim’s car and his fingerprints were found at the murder scene.
It was only after the trial that Hood’s lawyers learned of the romantic relationship between then-Judge Verla Sue Holland and one-time district attorney Tom O’Connell.
However, various state courts have rejected the assertion the affair cost Hood a fair trial. Despite the affair, his death row appeal was rejected by the Supreme Court in 2010.
telegraph
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