The Brian Nichols case is over here in Georgia. Most of you know him as the courthouse shooter. While standing trial on rape charges, in March of 2005, Nichols overpowered a 50 year old female sheriff's deputy severely beating her. She is still recovering from the beating almost 4 years later.
He then went on a killing spree in which killed a judge, the clerk, a sheriff's deputy and then later an off duty customs agent so he could steal his truck. Along the way he beat up a reporter in a parking garage and was finally apprehended at the apartment of a woman he took hostage and who somehow managed to get him to surrender.
The defense team, with the cooperation of friendly judge, was able to spend so far over $2 million dollars of our taxpayer money. The original judge had strong misgivings about the death penalty, and given the nature of this case he knew the death penalty was on the table. When the judge was replaced the case finally got on the road.
Yesterday the jury was adjourned without coming to an agreement on the death penalty for Mr Nichols. The people of Atlanta were left absolutely stunned. The jury deadlocked at 9 - 3.
Credit goes to the defense team for getting a couple of anti death penalty advocates on the jury. The defense team knew they weren't going to win the case, except on a technicality, but were playing for the sentencing phase.
Today, this morning, the judge is passing sentence. Nichols is facing 54 separate counts among them the 4 murder charges. The judges only option in this case is life either with or without parole.
During the sentencing the judge took a break and made a speech about fair trials and he is right. If it was us on trial, whether rightly or wrongly, all we want is a fair trial.
That being said, I don't think Nichols was deserving of that respect. He gave none of his victims a chance to plead their case.
Anyway I am writing this as the judge is reading the charges and the sentences and waiting for the final total, so I can editorialize a little.
My first criticism is for the jury, not the judge. For some reason there were 3 people on that jury who apparently were so against the death penalty they could not impose it. Justice lost out to personal conviction.
For those jury members, Mr Nichols has tried to escape 3 times in the course of this trial. The last time he escaped he killed 4 people. He will continue to try and escape and if he does and once again kills those lives will be on your heads. Pray it isn't a loved one of yours he exacts his vengeance on. Because of him not receiving the death penalty there is a chance that he can be imprisoned in a facility that is not as secure as those which house death row inmates.
The final sentences are in. Life without parole on each of the 4 murder charges to run consecutively. The total on the other charges is approaching 500 years, all to run consecutive. In addition the judge gave him 3 other life sentences on some other charges. Unlike the O J judge who gave concurrent sentences, meaning they run at the same time, in this case each sentence must be completed before the next one begins.
The next time I want to hear the name Brian Nichols in the news it had better be in conjunction with the phrase "Killed while trying to escape."
No comments:
Post a Comment