Monday, July 23, 2007
The Eye of Evil
Today the Washington Post writes an article about the root of evil and uses the story of Ivan Teleguz as a possible illustration of the designation.
Mr. Teleguz was convicted in a murder-for-hire scheme where he paid two men to slit the throat of his former girlfriend in order to get out of paying her child support.
Teleguz specifically requested that his former love's throat be slashed; or at least, that's the story the two men told in court.
Mr. Teleguz was convicted in a murder-for-hire scheme where he paid two men to slit the throat of his former girlfriend in order to get out of paying her child support.
Teleguz specifically requested that his former love's throat be slashed; or at least, that's the story the two men told in court.
He hired two men to kill her, but not quickly with a gun. He told them he wanted Sipe's "throat cut."
And:
The fatal wound: "a cut approximately two and one-half inches deep into Sipe's trachea, larynx, and a major artery on the right side of Sipe's neck." It caused the young mother to "drown in her own blood," according to the trial record.
Well, the eye of evil is in the eye of the beholder. Some would argue that executing a person is an evil act; and just because it's sanctioned by the state, does not make the deed any less heinous.
According to the Virginia's death penalty statutes, a jury must be convinced that the defendant is not only guilty of a crime but has also demonstrated a "depravity of mind" in an "outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible or inhuman" manner of form.
Howling Latina refers readers to the case of Justin Michael Wolfe. a 19-year old youth convicted and sentenced to die in the murder-for-hire of his drug kingpin pal. According to the Depravity Scale, as explicated by the Post, it's not even close.
Did he "intend to emotionally traumatize...terrorize...show off [or] maximize damage"?
Was there "criminal indulgence or grotesque quality to the suffering"?
Any "prolonged agony"?
NO, no, no. But that sure as hell didn't stop Hanging Paul Ebert from demanding the jury give Justin the needle; and the nine women and three men in the jury panel from agreeing with Mr. Death, a courtly Southern prosecutor who seemed reasonable enough in asking for justice for the dead drug dealer.
Now the guy who did the actual killing? Thirty years for his less than evil slaying.
Apparently, no justice for Justin in American style upside down law. The people who kill get to live by ratting out the guy they finger as the person behind the murders -- whether true or not.
The criminal justice system is broken. Just like a recent juror told the judge in the "capital double murder trial of Alfredo R. Prieto," the presumption of guilt is overwhelming!
If a person is on trial, jurors presume he or she must be guilty of SOMETHING! Execute the savage; no mercy for the evil brute.
According to the Virginia's death penalty statutes, a jury must be convinced that the defendant is not only guilty of a crime but has also demonstrated a "depravity of mind" in an "outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible or inhuman" manner of form.
Howling Latina refers readers to the case of Justin Michael Wolfe. a 19-year old youth convicted and sentenced to die in the murder-for-hire of his drug kingpin pal. According to the Depravity Scale, as explicated by the Post, it's not even close.
Did he "intend to emotionally traumatize...terrorize...show off [or] maximize damage"?
Was there "criminal indulgence or grotesque quality to the suffering"?
Any "prolonged agony"?
NO, no, no. But that sure as hell didn't stop Hanging Paul Ebert from demanding the jury give Justin the needle; and the nine women and three men in the jury panel from agreeing with Mr. Death, a courtly Southern prosecutor who seemed reasonable enough in asking for justice for the dead drug dealer.
Now the guy who did the actual killing? Thirty years for his less than evil slaying.
Apparently, no justice for Justin in American style upside down law. The people who kill get to live by ratting out the guy they finger as the person behind the murders -- whether true or not.
The criminal justice system is broken. Just like a recent juror told the judge in the "capital double murder trial of Alfredo R. Prieto," the presumption of guilt is overwhelming!
If a person is on trial, jurors presume he or she must be guilty of SOMETHING! Execute the savage; no mercy for the evil brute.
// posted by Howling Latina @ 8:47 PM 
