Death as a Bargaining Chip

What does it say about the status of American justice when the death penalty is used as nothing more than a bargaining chip?
I was performing my duties as an intern for my local county probation office when I heard a familiar name and went out to check it out.
I found a friend in the hallway about to go to court. She had been arrested for aggravated assault.
The part that puzzled me is that this young woman was at home with her daughter and mother when the other girl showed up. She had called and text messaged her frequently throughout that whole day before finally showing up with two other girls and a small baby in tow.
My friend had no choice but to fight her.
Fight she did. In fact, she beat the brakes off that ol' girl.
So much so, in fact, that when she showed the D.A.'s office the pictures of what my friend had done to her they immediately bound it over to a jury trial.

My friend was devastated. No one could quite understand why she was being tried for aggravated assault when the girl went to her house with back-up and looking for a fight. Her lawyer explained that is how the court works. The courts will bring the highest possible punishment against her to have a bargaining chip to work down from.
This seems really skanky to me but wait...it gets worse.
An Ohio prosecutor made headlines this week for an equally skanked out move. He used death as a bargaining chip.

Within days of a drug-related slaying in suburban Cleveland, six men were indicted on charges that carried the possibility of a death sentence. Six months later, all had been allowed to plead to lesser charges, including four who received probation and never went to prison.

In short, the men quickly went from facing the possibility of being strapped to a gurney and having 5 grams of pentobarbital injected into their veins, to prison sentences more typical for robbers and thieves.

Elsewhere in Ohio, prosecutors are pursuing only the most heinous crimes as death penalty cases and are refusing to plea bargain, or are using a 2005 law that allows them to seek life with no chance of parole and never place capital punishment on the table.

The whole ordeal leaves a bad taste in my mouth and feeling slightly embarrassed for the behavior of those we put in positions of authority in this country.

Comments

Darlie Routier Texas

I was contacted by a penpal of Darlie Routier's who gave me some of the most recent advances in her case to share with you all. I began writing to Darlie in December of 2005 and she is one woman whom I will never understand how she got behind bars. Really. You know what else? With all the information ALREADY out there about this case, in addition to the newly discovered info, I think if you can't see this poor woman's innocence, you may just be an asshole. So many legal flubs, so much question and police innuendo that turned out to be nothing. So many fingers pointed and road blocks thrown up, I am surprised this case isn't used in other countries to point to the clusterfuck we call a justice system. I believe Darlie could have been released ages ago if the state had done the necessary DNA testing. Sadly, Texas has tried to stop it in every unconstitutional way they could pull out of a bull's ass. BUT- there is hope on the horizon. This from Camp Darlie

The Most Beautiful Girls to Ever Kill Their Own Mother

As human beings, we have trouble fathoming the idea of a young girl committing so atrocious a crime as murder. Much less, the murder of her own mother. The concept becomes even more inconceivable when it pertains to a beautiful young woman beautiful young woman with a loving family and the world at her fingertips. These girls aren't all women in prison now. Some have been released and disappeared into the mainstream. Scary, huh? Nakisha Waddell At age 14, Nakisha Waddell stabbed her mother, Vaughne Thomas, 43 times in their Virginia home. In court, she said she was tired of the years of fighting and just exploded. Her 15-year-old friend, Annie Belcher, helped her dig a grave in the backyard. The pair poured alcohol and nail polish remover on the dead woman and tried to ignite her to no avail. They eventually mixed a crude concrete mixture and poured it on top of her and finished by covering her with sticks, leaves, and yard debris. She gives no reason or excuse o

Tina Brown, Heather Lee, & 16 YO Britnee Miller Killed Over Teen Jealousy

The first thing I thought of when I found this lady, Tina Brown, was that old Texas case where that mom went ballistic and tried to hire a hitman to kill her daughter's cheerleading rival. Wanda -something -or -other was her name. My sister lives close to her still. This story is even more brutal, if you can believe that. Tina's 16-year-old daughter, Britnee was on and off besties with another gal in their Pensacola, Florida trailer park, Audreanna Zimmerman. Like many teen friendships, it ran hot and cold depending on the current drama in the trailer park. In March of 2010, it was frigid and it was all over a boy. Audreanna Zimmerman Police reports say Britnee complained to her mom, Tina, and a neighbor, 27-year-old, Heather Lee, about the ongoing arguments with Audreanna, already a mom of two at 19-years-old. The trio decided to find her and hem her up so Britnee could fight her. Things got out of hand, They found Audreanna walking along a dirt road. Tina Brown u

Woman Condemned

Search This Blog