Legal thriller novelist and lawyer Scott Turow, speaking Thursday at the University of Kansas, said that after studying the death penalty in depth, he can’t see how it could ever be made equitable. In his review of first-degree murder cases, he found that only some end with a death sentence. “See if you can find the guiding sense of reason to see who was sentenced to death and who was not,” he told the audience, according to the Lawrence Journal-World.
A good case in point: BTK killer Dennis Rader.
“I don’t know how anybody in Kansas is ever going to get the death penalty if the BTK killer is not going to get it,” Turow said.
BTK wasn’t eligible for the death penalty, because our law wasn’t in effect when he committed his murders. But there hasn’t been a public outcry that justice hasn’t been done because BTK is serving multiple life sentences rather then being put to death.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
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11 Comments
Oh yeah! That BTK guy is a sick piece o shit! In NY we had the son of sam, but he just went around shooting women.(Not that that’s a good thing) But this BTK guy man, he jerks off after he strangles his victims and takes pictures of them and takes their personal stuff as mementos of his sick o fantic killer escapades. Sick bastard, I bet he’s related to Phill Kline too. God! I thought Kansans were ordinary sane people then this homicidal whackjob comes outta the woodwork! Don’t let anyone ever tell you guys that you’re harmless.
In a real sense I can understand what this author was getting at, for the most part there are only a few cases that cry out for death. BTK, the Carr brothers, etc… Cases where there truly is no reasonable doubt, but most are not the smoking gun type. For the most part, cases and the accused are a matter of best fit.He happened to be in the area, he happened to look kind of what the eye witness described, he might have known the victim. When ever the subject of the death penalty comes up, I can not help but think of Ivory hayslip. A Police officer is murdered, three witnesses pick Hayslip from a line up, he is convicted. This would have been a text book example of a case where the death sentence would have been used if it had been on the books at the time. But knowing the problems that were in this case, the State would have knowingly executed an innocent man. As it is he just died in prison of kidney failure and the failure of the system.
When blood is spilled, it often cries out for blood to be spilled and sometime that become a blinding force.
Haislip was tried and convicted THREE TIMES.
As far as I’m concerned, the death penalty for jokers like the Carr Bros. and Rader is getting off way too easy! Let ‘em rot!
Todd, I followed that case closely, since the officer murdered was the son of a friend. They may have gotten their convictions on Hayslip, but there were real problems with their case. Whether they got the right guy or not is still up for grabs.
It’s not up for grabs. Haislip was convicted three times. He got more than his fair share of due process.
I just read up on the Carr Brothers, for some reason I never heard of this case before I came here to KS. (and I stay up to date on shit that goes on around the world) But I’ve never seen Fox, NBC, CBS do a single cover of that story! Sons o bitches oughtta ride the lightning!!!
And Todd that was one of the great mysteries to me, the first convection I understood. three eye witnesses all I.D. Hayslip. Though at first two of them first described the suspect as between five eleven to six two, medium dark skinned with a large afro.. Then Martin came in and described him as five -five to five seven, light skinned with short hair. So why the change to the same description? Mainly it was because Martin actually said he saw the suspect with the weapon and was in a better place to see. Regina Franklin received a beating from the real killer whom she knew and was told to go with any other person that the Police asked if it was him. Darrel Jones was given a free hotel room for the length of the trial in exchange for his testimony. He was making about four hundred dollars a month for being a bouncer at the Chicken shack.
But almost as soon as the first convection happened other witnesses came forward, Al Bowen, Cleveland Reed and others . All stating it was Martin and not Hayslip who was the killer, Bowen said he saw Martin carrying the shotgun on the other side of the street. Reed who is Martin’s cousin said he saw Martin carrying the shotgun across the street. Tim White who was Martin’s cell mate in Hutchinson said that when Martin was served with the notice that he was being charged, That Martin came back to the cell visional upset. White asked him why he was upset and Martin told him “Oh the pigs finally figured out I killed the pig!”.
In 1982 the Federal Marshals were order by a judge to investigate, the report that was given to the Federal judge that ordered the state to give Hayslip a new trial. Said in part, “The evidence points to the wrong man having been convicted of the murder. Farther that the state was aware of the mistake.”.Thus Hayslip and Martin were tried together, the state having Martin being a gun bearer for Hayslip like in one of those jungle movies. In that trial both were convicted, but both were granted a new trial and then were tried separate.
At the end of Martin’s new trial he was found not guilty, to semi quote the foreman of the jury that found him not guilty: All of the evidence that the state presented pointed to Anthony Ray Martin being the murder of Paul Garfoalow. But the state did not ask us to decide if Martin was the murder, they asked us to decide if Martin handed the shotgun to Ivory Hayslip. They presented no evidence to that being the case, so we had no choice but to find Martin not guilty.
Yet the same evidence was used at Hayslip’s trial and he was found guilty for a third time!I understand why the state did what they did, “We do not make mistakes…. Even if we do we don’t”and “ one out of every one hundred people found guilty may very well be not guilty. But that mean ninety nine out of every one hundred found guilty are. If the one is the price we have to paid to get the other ninety nine of the street it is worth it”.
But how Hayslip was found guilty the second and third time is a mystery to me. I met both and even told Martin that I should be choking him out for killing a cop like I wanted to be. He just looked out the window and said that he liked me. That in the jail I was no threat to him and he was no threat to me. But if we ever met on the street I better be moving to the other side of the street or be prepared for on the street we would be enemies. I liked Ray, he was a funny guy and somewhat likeable, Hayslip was a bitter man and not at all friendly. Perhaps now you may understand why Hayslip was that way now. He was just visiting Wichita and planned to go back to Ohio in the near future. But he got caught up in the system, wrongfully convicted of a crime that he did not commit and the system fail him three times. I guess I would not be too friend if that happen to me.
I find it interesting that Dennis Rader only confessed to murders that were committed before the death penalty was reinstated. Who knows what he did after? We will never know. I have a hard time believing that he didn’t commit any other murders after 1991. He is the reason the death penalty exists. If it were up to a vote, I would venture to say that he would be executed.By the way, aren’t the Carr brothers on death row?
The Carr brothas should have been immediately lynched!
V.L.R.B!!
Ian — Why am I not surprised that you would come back with a racist comment? You are such an ass!
The Carr brothers were tried and are awaiting their sentences. Thankfully, you and you KKK cronies can relax.
Gertie,
There have been 170 million instances of black on White crime in the past forty years. There have been more Whites killed by minorities in this counrty in the past 40 years than were killed in Viet Nam! “Justice” is no longer sufficient and we want, no make that demand VENGEANCE! Got it?
White, Christian and Proud!!