If it had been the chair, I would have said HOT DAMN On Wed, Oct 15, 2008 at 5:46 AM, mark <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> > real shame isn't it? should have been done years ago. > > On Oct 15, 6:42 am, Cold Water <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > The U.S. Supreme Court denied without comment Cooey's appeal based on his > claim that Ohio's lethal injection method could cause a painful death. > > > > The court already had rejected his claim that he is too fat to be > humanely executed by lethal injection because his obesity would make it too > hard for prison officials to find a vein. > > > > Richard Wade Cooey II executed for McCreery, Offredo murders > > Posted by dsims October 14, 2008 20:17PM > > Haraz Ghanbari/Columbus Dispatch via APRichard Cooey was executed shortly > after 10 a.m. today. > > • Supreme Court denies Cooey's appeal > > > > Richard Wade Cooey II died peacefully Tuesday with a lethal combination > of drugs administered through two needles inserted gently into veins in each > arm. > > > > He was executed by the state of Ohio for the rape and murders -- by > bludgeoning and strangulation -- of two college students who were not > afforded such comfort in their deaths. > > > > "It's done," said Mary Ann Hackenberg, mother of one of the victims, Dawn > McCreery, who said she could sense her daughter's presence in the death > chamber. > > > > "I know she was there," she said. "I felt her there." > > > > Cooey was sentenced to death in 1986 for the rape and murder that year of > the 20-year-old McCreery and her sorority sister, Wendy Offredo, 21. He was > hours away from execution when he won a reprieve in 2003. Tuesday, his > appeals ran out when the U.S. Supreme Court denied his last-ditch effort. > > > > He remained defiant even in his final statement, uttering an obscenity > when Warden Phillip Collins held a microphone above his lips, before a > combination of three drugs flowed through the tubes over the course of > nearly 10 minutes, ending his life. > > > > "You . . . haven't paid any attention to what I've had to say over the > past 22½ years, why are you going to pay attention to what I have to say > now?" he said, not looking at any of the six witnesses from the McCreery > family or his three lawyers and a spiritual adviser, who were witnesses. > > > > At 10:06 a.m., a monitor in the witness viewing room flickered to life, > showing Cooey lying on a gurney in a prep room adjacent to the death > chamber, his feet crossed. Technicians inserted ports into veins in each arm > without difficulty, despite his legal claims that his veins would be too > difficult to access partly because of his obesity. > > > > Mary Ann Hackenberg of Rocky River, Dawn McCreery's mother and one of six > witnesses from the McCreery family, said, "They got it," when the needle was > inserted. > > > > Cooey shouted for his lawyer, Greg Meyers, twice. Meyers, who was in the > witness room along with two other lawyers and Cooey's spiritual adviser, did > not move. > > > > At 10:15 a.m., with ports inserted and his arms strapped to boards, Cooey > kicked his legs, got off the gurney, and walked to the death chamber, where > he climbed onto another gurney. Six guards in white strapped him down with > four black straps. Tubing, which extended from the wall in the adjacent > room, was connected to the ports. > > > > At 10:19, Cooey made his final statement and drummed his fingers -- pinky > to index finger -- on the board supporting his left arm. At 10:21, he > exhaled with a faint noise. Warden Phillip Kerns of the Southern Ohio > Correctional Facility shook Cooey's shoulder. He did not respond. By 10:28, > he was dead. Sodium pentothal induced deep sleep, pancuronium bromide > stopped his breathing, and potassium chloride stopped his heart. > > > > Hackenberg threw back her head and exhaled as a curtain was drawn across > the viewing window. She hugged her son, Rob McCreery, and held the hand of > her ex-husband, Robert McCreery Sr. A black hearse waited outside the death > house to take Cooey's body. > > > > Dana Cole, who identified himself as Cooey's lawyer and friend and to > whom Cooey's cremated remains will be given, said Cooey was an immature > 19-year-old influenced by drugs and alcohol when he committed his crime. > > > > "What we witness here today was a killing that was planned and funded for > more than 22 years," he said. "The man killed was not the same man who > committed the crimes." > > > > Rob McCreery, Dawn's brother, said Cooey is exactly the same, proven by > his final words. > > > > "Just being spiteful to the very end," said Rob McCreery. "It just shows > how much this was warranted and justified." > > > > After the execution, the family talked of their relief that Cooey had > finally been brought to justice and the peacefulness of his passing despite > his claims that lethal injection was "cruel and unusual." > > > > "The thing that's going to now give us the greatest comfort is knowing > that he now has to be accountable to a power greater than himself and now > he's got to reckon with that," said Dawn McCreery's cousin, Kathy Miska, one > of the witnesses of the execution. > > > > Hackenberg was at once relieved and still angry. > > > > "It was too easy. It's as much justice as we're going to get, as much > closure as we'll get, but it was just too easy," she said. > > > > "He didn't get a free pass," said her husband, John Hackenberg. > > > > Rob McCreery said he had hoped for the execution for so long -- he was 17 > when his big sister was killed -- that he's not sure where to turn his > attention now. > > > > "But I can tell you it was a nicer day coming out of there than it was > going in," he said. > > > > Cooey is to first Ohio inmate to be executed since May 2007, the 27th > since 1999. > > > > Cooey was 19 and home on leave from the Army when, in 1986, the Akron > native and an accomplice, 17-year-old Clint Dickens, raped and murdered > Offredo and McCreery. > > > > Dickens threw a chunk of concrete from an overpass onto Offredo's car, > disabling it. They then drove down to the highway and picked up the women, > offering to get them help. Instead, they drove them to a secluded field in > Norton where they raped them, beat them with a wooden club and strangled > them with shoelaces. > > > > Dickens was sentenced to life in prison for the crimes, in which both > girls suffered through more than three hours of what Summit County > Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh called "fear and torture and agony." Because > he was He was still a juvenile when he committed the crime, he and wasn't > eligible for the death penalty. > > > > The night before his execution, as Cooey sat on his bed or paced and > slept for slightly more than an hour, Dawn McCreery's family gathered in her > brother Rob's hotel room, sharing stories, watching the Browns' unexpected > victory and drinking cold beers. Summit County Prosecutor Sheri Bevan Walsh > joined them. > > > > Rob McCreery opened a gift bag from a former Alpha Delta Pi sorority > sister of Dawn and Wendy. It was a shirt with the sorority's Greek > lettering, one that Dawn had actually worn. The card said it was for Rob > McCreery's 5-year-old daughter. > > > > The morning sky, still dark, was full of stars as a nearly full moon > loomed over the hills of Lucasville. At breakfast in the Holiday Inn > Express, someone noted that it was a harvest moon. > > > > Perfect for execution day. "You reap what you sow," said Nicole McCreery, > Rob's wife. > > > > http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/10/richard_wade_cooey_ii_execute... > > > > large_richard_cooey_execution.jpg > > 55KViewDownload > > > -- *~@):~{> --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
