death penalty news
September 23, 2005
ALABAMA -- impending execution:
Family Killer Execution Tonight
Death row inmate John W- Peoples Junior is waiting on word for the
U-S Supreme Court with his execution only a few hours away.
Peoples is scheduled to die at 6 p-m at Holman Prison near Atmore for
the murders of a Pell City couple and their ten-year-old son. Peoples
appealed to the U-S Supreme Court to delay his execution after the
Alabama Supreme Court rejected his appeal and Governor Riley denied clemency.
Peoples was convicted of killing Pell City businessman Paul Franklin,
his wife, Judy Choron Franklin, and their 10-year-old son, Paul
Franklin Junior, in 1983 and fleeing in their vintage Corvette.
(source: AP / WTVM9)
USA:
Pro-Life & Pro-Death Penalty
BEGIN TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: Here is Cher in Tampa, Florida. Welcome, Cher. Nice to have you
on the program.
CALLER: Hi, Rush. It's nice to talk to you.
RUSH: Thanks.
CALLER: This guy that called a few minutes ago aggravated me so much.
I listen to you on the road all the time, but this guy just warranted
a call talking about the differences, "How can we be against abortion
and for the death penalty?"
RUSH: Cher, Cher, Cher, Cher, Cher. Remember my advice? Don't argue
with an idiot because people will not be able to tell the difference.
CALLER: I tell you, I just don't understand how people cannot see the
difference between an innocent child and a murderer.
RUSH: You don't have to say this, everybody does. I'm telling you,
this did not require any argument or debate. It didn't. I understand
your outrage. You need to learn to be happy when this stuff happens.
You need to learn to be happy when these people are willing to
announce what they believe and how they lie about what we believe or
what they stupidly believe we believe, whatever it is, but this is a
new reason to celebrate. I know it's tough. I know it's tough to
celebrate this --
CALLER: It's aggravating.
RUSH: Yeah, it's aggravating. It's offensive, but it's stupid.
CALLER: It really is.
RUSH: It's absolutely stupid. It's literally stupid.
CALLER: Well, it's not the only stupid thing he said, but that one
just really stuck out. People can't actually -- you're hearing that
more and more in the press, that comparison, and it's just -- they
can't truly believe everybody is that stupid.
RUSH: Look it. The way I look at it, if that's the best the guy could
come up with, they're hopeless anyway. Pro-life and pro-death? I
mean, abortion and the death penalty is a... I'll take this one on
because I do get this one a lot. People who are on the cusp, just
learning about politics, just learning to follow the ebb and flow,
and they want to get it right, and they don't quite know who to
listen to and who not to listen to, people on both sides sound
persuasive, and this is a question that I do get frequently. "Rush,
how do you explain the fact that you are pro-life, anti-abortion, but
you're pro-death penalty?" And that to me is a softball hanging curve
waiting to be knocked out of the park. Here's the answer. Why am I
pro-life? Because life in the womb is the essence of innocence. The
utter essence of innocence. Somebody who is to be put to death, not
only does the Bible talk about it, not only does our Constitution
talk about it (when they say nobody should be denied the right to
life, liberty, pursuit the happiness without due process) someone who
is condemned to death in this country has been judged by a jury of
his peers and 14 years minimum of appeals, to have committed
atrocious, unspeakable acts of mayhem and murder on at least another
citizen and sometimes multiple citizens. There's nothing innocent
whatsoever, and in terms of a just punishment, it fits.
People say, "Well, what about the deterrent factor?"
I don't care whether it deters anybody or not. I never looked at
punishment of crime as a deterrent. I look at it as a punishment. But
the whole argument fails when somebody wants to try to compare the
utter essence of innocence that is a baby in the womb to a convicted
murderer? That's why I say, had I engaged this caller this way, it
would not have registered because, understand that you're not dealing
with people who are acting on thoughts. It's pure raw emotion, and in
most cases it's hatred and rage, and you have to understand this
about them, too. They insulate themselves from these intellectual
arguments and discussions by telling themselves they're superior to
everybody else. They know more, that they're elitists, they've got a
better handle on things and if we don't see it their way we're just
unenlightened, we're just hopelessly stupid and dumb, reactionary
racist, sexist, bigot homophobic, whatever. It's just the exact
opposite. They're the bigots, they're the closed-minded ones, they're
the intolerant ones, they're the ones that are incapable of thought
and as such if we want to start talking about who's superior and
inferior they clearly are the inferior, and to get beyond that,
again, they tell themselves that they're of lofty heights and we just
can't possibly understand them so it's pointless for them to even engage us.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: Remember this, folks. When defining the difference between
liberals and conservatives, particularly on a matter of life,
liberals fight to the end to protect convicted murderers. We fight to
the end to protect innocent, unborn babies. They favor bureaucracies
and we favor people. They think they have the moral high ground when
they ask the silly question, "Well, what about the death penalty? If
you're so pro-life, what about the death penalty?" Truly, folks, a
sad bunch of mental midgets, glittering jewels of colossal ignorance
who think they light up the universe with their intellect.
END TRANSCRIPT
(source: RushLimbaugh.com)
PENNSYLVANIA:
Death penalty sought
At Monday's arraignment for Anwaar Malik Gettys the Delaware County
District Attorney's office said they will seek the death penalty if
Gettys is found guilty of the murder of 15-year-old Deanna Wright-McIntosh.
A plea of not guilty was entered for Gettys, who did not speak during
the arraignment before Judge Charles Keeler.
Gettys, 23, of the first block of Linden Avenue in Lansdowne, was
originally charged with helping his friend Lamar Haymes to dispose of
Wright-McIntosh's body. Haymes, 29, of the 400 block of Hazel Avenue
also is charged with murder, homicide, rape and a lengthy list of
related offenses. He is due in court for a pre-trial hearing next Thursday.
Wright-McIntosh was reported missing by her mother on Dec. 3. Police
believe the 15-year-old girl was murdered inside Gettys' home
sometime between Dec. 3 and 4, according to police records. She
allegedly was raped, beaten to death and her remains cut up, put in a
trash can and burned, according to police.
The charges against Gettys were upgraded to include murder,
kidnapping, homicide, rape and a lengthy list of related charges
outlined in a police affidavit dated July 21. Lab tests from National
Medical Services on various items of evidence from Gettys' home
showed they contained Wright-McIntosh's DNA and several witnesses
said they last saw the girl with Gettys, according to the affidavit.
Deputy Assistant District Attorney John F. X. Reilly cited two
aggravating circumstances, the murder occurred during the commission
of the felony of rape and/or kidnapping and the victim would have
been a prosecution witness to those felonies, that will allow the
district attorney's office to seek the death penalty. A pre-trial
conference is scheduled for Oct. 24.
(source: News of Delaware County)
