polydeuces
11-03-15, 21:29
Sitting here getting sick to my stomach reading this, where in (my short form) it says:
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday halted the execution of a Missouri man who murdered three people in a convenience store robbery in 1994 to allow an appeal on whether he may suffer undue pain from the lethal injection drug due to a medical condition.
Ernest Johnson, 55, was scheduled to die by lethal injection at the state prison in Bonne Terre, Missouri. The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a separate motion to halt the execution.
Johnson was convicted of bludgeoning to death Mary Bratcher, Mabel Scrubbs and Fred Jones using a hammer, a screw driver and a gun, according to court records. Defense attorneys have argued in unsuccessful appeals that he has an intellectual disability and is not therefore eligible for execution.
FULL ARTICLE (http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/us-supreme-court-halts-execution-of-missouri-man/ar-BBmMfF0?li=AAa0dzB&ocid=mailsignout)
OBSERVATION: Gleaning from this article we can lean that this convicted killer has had better healthcare than many of us law abiding citizens.
HERE HOWEVER ARE THE COLD HARD FACTS:
State of Missouri v. Earnest Lee Johnson
968 S.W. 2d 686 (Mo.banc 1998)
CASE FACTS (http://www.murderpedia.org/male.J/j/johnson-ernest-lee.htm)
At eleven o’clock, the morning of Saturday, February 12, 1994, Johnson bought a bottle of beer and a package of cigarettes at a Columbia, Missouri convenience store of which he was a frequent customer.
He went to the store a second time later that day, but did not make a purchase. On one of these trips, he questioned the cashier about who would be working the next shift. The cashier told Johnson that she would be relieved at 5:00 p.m. by Mabel Scruggs and that the store would close at 11:00 p.m.
Johnson left and returned a short time later, but stayed only a few minutes before leaving again. Just before the shift change at 5:00p.m., Johnson went to the store a fourth time, this time carrying a book bag over his shoulder.
The cashier noticed Johnson staring at her while she deposited the money from her shift into the store safe. He did not do anything.
Johnson went to his girlfriend’s house and purchased a twenty-dollar rock of crack cocaine from his girlfriend’s eighteen-year-old son, Rodriguez Grant. Johnson left and then later returned to buy two more rocks.
He asked Rodriguez to lend him the .25 caliber pistol Johnson had given to him a couple of weeks earlier in exchange for crack cocaine. Rodriguez agrees, and he and Johnson test fires the pistol in the back yard. Johnson returned the gun a while later, claiming that it did not work.
Still later, Johnson retrieved the gun and left again, wearing layers of clothing, a mask over his face, and black tennis shoes. Since January of 1994, Johnson had confided to Rodriguez his plans to hold up the convenience store, locking all but one employee in the back room and having the remaining employee open the safe.
The next time Johnson returned to the house, from the direction of the convenience store, around 11:45 p.m., his face and clothes were spattered with blood. He came in through the back door and went downstairs to Rodriguez’s room. Johnson gave the pistol back to Rodriguez.
Johnson then cleaned his tennis shoes, took off his clothes, put the clothes into a trash bag, and told his girlfriend’s sixteen-year-old son, Antwane Grant, to get rid of the bag.
Johnson had a large amount of money sorted by denomination and he and Rodriguez counted it. Johnson then hid the money in an air vent. Rodriguez went back upstairs and soon smelled something burning. On returning downstairs, he found Johnson burning paper.
At 1:12 a.m. the following morning, a deputy sheriff responded to a call to check on the convenience store for the possibility of a disturbance involving weapons. The store lights were still on. Through the windows, the officer saw that the cash register was open and the money vault was out and in the middle of the floor. He observed blood smears on the front door lock.
City police officers arrived with the keys. Upon entering, they discovered two dead bodies and a .25 caliber shell casing in the bathroom. Another body and another .25 caliber shell casing were found inside the walk-in cooler. The safe was empty.
All three victims were store employees: Mary Bratcher, age 46; Fred Jones, age 58; and Mabel Scruggs, age 57. Each victim died from head injuries that were consistent with a bloody hammer found at the scene.
In addition, Mary Bratcher suffered at least ten stab wounds to her left hand consistent with a bloody flat-head screwdriver found in a field neat the store, and Fred Jones suffered a nonfatal, facial gunshot wound.
LETS MAKE SURE WE GET THIS AND PUT IT IN CONTEXT:
AGAIN: Each victim died from head injuries that were consistent with a bloody hammer found at the scene.
In addition, Mary Bratcher suffered at least ten stab wounds to her left hand consistent with a bloody flat-head screwdriver found in a field neat the store, and Fred Jones suffered a nonfatal, facial gunshot wound.
So the execution is halted because:
to allow an appeal on whether he may suffer undue pain from the lethal injection drug due to a medical condition.
WOW!!!
HERE IS MY MORAL DILEMMA.
The death penalty.
It is unquestionably a very contentious issue. Too many have been put to death with questionable evidence, set free after lifetimes behind bard being innocent proving hands down the death penalty is flawed. Period
There is bias and some serious imperfections with our justice system, we can all agree, where financial status race and location very much can and will determine outcome.
Within this context, is the death-penalty a reasonable form of punishment?
And I use the word punishment very deliberate, since it should be obvious there is no deterrent value.
When a legal system overburdened by oxygen thieves like this clearly fails to protect those that deserve a fair trial but didn't get one, yet allows this kind of travesties to occur?
Bureaucracy gone ape-shit?
How on earth is it possible for any person in their right mind to even remotely entertain the thought this person deserves any form of consideration? His guilt isn't questioned, nor his due process.
No. The legal imperative here is we want him to not suffer.
Really:
Defense attorneys had appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, on both the disability issue and on the argument that because Johnson has a slow-growing brain tumor, the pentobarbital used in lethal executions in Missouri could cause him to suffer seizures and pain.
Shall we reference the case report once more?
All three victims were store employees: Mary Bratcher, age 46; Fred Jones, age 58; and Mabel Scruggs, age 57. Each victim died from head injuries that were consistent with a bloody hammer found at the scene.
In addition, Mary Bratcher suffered at least ten stab wounds to her left hand consistent with a bloody flat-head screwdriver found in a field neat the store, and Fred Jones suffered a nonfatal, facial gunshot wound.
Yeah, as in sure they didn't suffer, right?
It really makes my head spin.
Part of me wants to say - unless we can absolutely GUARANTEE no one innocent will EVER be executed it's just not good policy..... but then some utterly debased wasted sack of meat comes along, where the ONLY reasonable remedy is to just eliminate it, which clearly is not possibe within our system - worse yet - just think of the staggering amount of resources this thing has been allowed to gobble up. FOR 20 YEARS!!! WHILE ON DEATH ROW!!!
Like.....'before the state kills you for being the miscreant you are, we first have to spend good money and care, better care than available to many NOT incarcerated, ON DEATH ROW...! to make sure you're healthy before we send you gently into that dark night....REALLY!?!?!??!
There is no reason in this, whatsoever.
So yeah, if possible someone, anyone, help me make sense of this.
Or not. I can accept that too, I guess. Which is why I never leave home unprotected, always try to see left of bang....
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday halted the execution of a Missouri man who murdered three people in a convenience store robbery in 1994 to allow an appeal on whether he may suffer undue pain from the lethal injection drug due to a medical condition.
Ernest Johnson, 55, was scheduled to die by lethal injection at the state prison in Bonne Terre, Missouri. The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a separate motion to halt the execution.
Johnson was convicted of bludgeoning to death Mary Bratcher, Mabel Scrubbs and Fred Jones using a hammer, a screw driver and a gun, according to court records. Defense attorneys have argued in unsuccessful appeals that he has an intellectual disability and is not therefore eligible for execution.
FULL ARTICLE (http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/us-supreme-court-halts-execution-of-missouri-man/ar-BBmMfF0?li=AAa0dzB&ocid=mailsignout)
OBSERVATION: Gleaning from this article we can lean that this convicted killer has had better healthcare than many of us law abiding citizens.
HERE HOWEVER ARE THE COLD HARD FACTS:
State of Missouri v. Earnest Lee Johnson
968 S.W. 2d 686 (Mo.banc 1998)
CASE FACTS (http://www.murderpedia.org/male.J/j/johnson-ernest-lee.htm)
At eleven o’clock, the morning of Saturday, February 12, 1994, Johnson bought a bottle of beer and a package of cigarettes at a Columbia, Missouri convenience store of which he was a frequent customer.
He went to the store a second time later that day, but did not make a purchase. On one of these trips, he questioned the cashier about who would be working the next shift. The cashier told Johnson that she would be relieved at 5:00 p.m. by Mabel Scruggs and that the store would close at 11:00 p.m.
Johnson left and returned a short time later, but stayed only a few minutes before leaving again. Just before the shift change at 5:00p.m., Johnson went to the store a fourth time, this time carrying a book bag over his shoulder.
The cashier noticed Johnson staring at her while she deposited the money from her shift into the store safe. He did not do anything.
Johnson went to his girlfriend’s house and purchased a twenty-dollar rock of crack cocaine from his girlfriend’s eighteen-year-old son, Rodriguez Grant. Johnson left and then later returned to buy two more rocks.
He asked Rodriguez to lend him the .25 caliber pistol Johnson had given to him a couple of weeks earlier in exchange for crack cocaine. Rodriguez agrees, and he and Johnson test fires the pistol in the back yard. Johnson returned the gun a while later, claiming that it did not work.
Still later, Johnson retrieved the gun and left again, wearing layers of clothing, a mask over his face, and black tennis shoes. Since January of 1994, Johnson had confided to Rodriguez his plans to hold up the convenience store, locking all but one employee in the back room and having the remaining employee open the safe.
The next time Johnson returned to the house, from the direction of the convenience store, around 11:45 p.m., his face and clothes were spattered with blood. He came in through the back door and went downstairs to Rodriguez’s room. Johnson gave the pistol back to Rodriguez.
Johnson then cleaned his tennis shoes, took off his clothes, put the clothes into a trash bag, and told his girlfriend’s sixteen-year-old son, Antwane Grant, to get rid of the bag.
Johnson had a large amount of money sorted by denomination and he and Rodriguez counted it. Johnson then hid the money in an air vent. Rodriguez went back upstairs and soon smelled something burning. On returning downstairs, he found Johnson burning paper.
At 1:12 a.m. the following morning, a deputy sheriff responded to a call to check on the convenience store for the possibility of a disturbance involving weapons. The store lights were still on. Through the windows, the officer saw that the cash register was open and the money vault was out and in the middle of the floor. He observed blood smears on the front door lock.
City police officers arrived with the keys. Upon entering, they discovered two dead bodies and a .25 caliber shell casing in the bathroom. Another body and another .25 caliber shell casing were found inside the walk-in cooler. The safe was empty.
All three victims were store employees: Mary Bratcher, age 46; Fred Jones, age 58; and Mabel Scruggs, age 57. Each victim died from head injuries that were consistent with a bloody hammer found at the scene.
In addition, Mary Bratcher suffered at least ten stab wounds to her left hand consistent with a bloody flat-head screwdriver found in a field neat the store, and Fred Jones suffered a nonfatal, facial gunshot wound.
LETS MAKE SURE WE GET THIS AND PUT IT IN CONTEXT:
AGAIN: Each victim died from head injuries that were consistent with a bloody hammer found at the scene.
In addition, Mary Bratcher suffered at least ten stab wounds to her left hand consistent with a bloody flat-head screwdriver found in a field neat the store, and Fred Jones suffered a nonfatal, facial gunshot wound.
So the execution is halted because:
to allow an appeal on whether he may suffer undue pain from the lethal injection drug due to a medical condition.
WOW!!!
HERE IS MY MORAL DILEMMA.
The death penalty.
It is unquestionably a very contentious issue. Too many have been put to death with questionable evidence, set free after lifetimes behind bard being innocent proving hands down the death penalty is flawed. Period
There is bias and some serious imperfections with our justice system, we can all agree, where financial status race and location very much can and will determine outcome.
Within this context, is the death-penalty a reasonable form of punishment?
And I use the word punishment very deliberate, since it should be obvious there is no deterrent value.
When a legal system overburdened by oxygen thieves like this clearly fails to protect those that deserve a fair trial but didn't get one, yet allows this kind of travesties to occur?
Bureaucracy gone ape-shit?
How on earth is it possible for any person in their right mind to even remotely entertain the thought this person deserves any form of consideration? His guilt isn't questioned, nor his due process.
No. The legal imperative here is we want him to not suffer.
Really:
Defense attorneys had appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, on both the disability issue and on the argument that because Johnson has a slow-growing brain tumor, the pentobarbital used in lethal executions in Missouri could cause him to suffer seizures and pain.
Shall we reference the case report once more?
All three victims were store employees: Mary Bratcher, age 46; Fred Jones, age 58; and Mabel Scruggs, age 57. Each victim died from head injuries that were consistent with a bloody hammer found at the scene.
In addition, Mary Bratcher suffered at least ten stab wounds to her left hand consistent with a bloody flat-head screwdriver found in a field neat the store, and Fred Jones suffered a nonfatal, facial gunshot wound.
Yeah, as in sure they didn't suffer, right?
It really makes my head spin.
Part of me wants to say - unless we can absolutely GUARANTEE no one innocent will EVER be executed it's just not good policy..... but then some utterly debased wasted sack of meat comes along, where the ONLY reasonable remedy is to just eliminate it, which clearly is not possibe within our system - worse yet - just think of the staggering amount of resources this thing has been allowed to gobble up. FOR 20 YEARS!!! WHILE ON DEATH ROW!!!
Like.....'before the state kills you for being the miscreant you are, we first have to spend good money and care, better care than available to many NOT incarcerated, ON DEATH ROW...! to make sure you're healthy before we send you gently into that dark night....REALLY!?!?!??!
There is no reason in this, whatsoever.
So yeah, if possible someone, anyone, help me make sense of this.
Or not. I can accept that too, I guess. Which is why I never leave home unprotected, always try to see left of bang....