The execution of Kelly Renee Gissendaner, 46, had a rare interruption this week. The first female prisoner to be executed by the state of Georgia in 70 years was halted not by an order of the governor or the Supreme Court. It was delayed on account of “inclimate weather.” I have not seen such a “called for weather” delay in an execution, which is generally set by order or statute as occurring on a set day.
The Gissendaner case is an interesting example of the risks inherent in trial. The man who actually killed Gissendaner’s husband Douglas Gissendaner in 1997 was her lover. She was found to have conspired in the killing with Gregory Owen and she actually went to the scene soon after the killing to confirm his death. She then helped burn his car and later appeared on television begging for help in locating her husband. Her lover eventually confessed in interrogation and took a deal for life imprisonment. The same deal was offered to Gissendaner. However, her trial attorney (not without good reason and with her consent) believed that it was rare for a jury to sentence a women to death and that, since she did not actually do the killing, it was unlikely that she would be sentenced to death. The gamble proved wrong when she was sentenced to death. However, I think the calculated risk was not unreasonable. The trial attorney clearly believed that the chance of an acquittal (no matter how slim) was still worth attempting since under the plea agreement she would be looking at life regardless.
The 57 women on death row represent only 1.88 percent of the total population.
I cannot remember a prior execution suspended for weather as opposed to some mechanical problem. The Wednesday execution will be rescheduled for Monday, given Gissendaner an added weekend.
Gissendaner’s last meal has generated some attention. The final meal was quite detailed, including two Burger King Whoppers with fries, popcorn, cornbread, a salad with Paul Newman buttermilk dressing, lemonade, and cherry vanilla ice cream.
That last meal however is a virtual slim fast compared to Gary Carl Simmons Jr. in Mississippi who was executed in 2012 after ordering a Pizza Hut supreme deep dish pizza, a family size bag of Doritos, two large strawberry milkshakes, two cherry Cokes, a super-sized order of McDonald’s fries, and two pints of strawberry ice cream, along with sides of parmesan cheese, nacho cheese, ranch dressing, and a side of jalapeños. The meal weighed in at over 14,000 calories. One big difference is that women often order salads for their last meal.
“inclement weather” not “inclimate weather”
“WHO would be so overcome with passion so as to be this woman’s adulterous lover, much less agree to murder someone for her!”
Apparently there’s a lid for every pot.
And beware of those womanly wiles.
DBQ, Having worked helping prosecute and incarcerate criminals, their depravity is something the average person cannot understand. Sociopaths do not think like you and I. People kill for chump change, a few bucks. The 2 killer in the classic, In Cold Blood, got $30. They murdered an entire family.
It is hard to wrap my mind around several facts in this.
First..WHO would be so overcome with passion so as to be this woman’s adulterous lover, much less agree to murder someone for her!
Second….really?. They are willing to kill and go to jail or the death chamber for $104,000, according to Pogo’s link. That’s all it takes?
Third….women on death row order salads for their last meal? I mean….What difference at this point does it make?!?
(I love this quote from Hillary…..it has so many uses)
Fiver:
Of course, you’re correct and it’s her call, all the contrary advice notwithstanding. She forgot one thing that could have been emphasized– it’s Bible-belt Georgia where compassion is reserved for Sunday only.
fiver, I agree to a certain extent. And, my being opposed to the death penalty is a bias. But, if I’m her attorney I respectfully withdraw.
Burger King? Sounds like a cry for help!
She sounds like she’s made a pattern of really bad decisions.
Adultery, murder, death penalty, Burger King for a last meal.
The attorney didn’t “roll the dice.”
The lawyer’s job is to ensure that the client makes an informed decision on the plea offer. While an attorney’s recommendations are important, the decision on whether or not to accept a plea bargain is the client’s alone.
It’s not like the lawyer could have – or should have – pleaded guilty on her behalf without her permission. It simply doesn’t work that way. In any rational system it simply can’t work that way.
If the client wants the deal, the lawyer is duty bound to accept; if the client wants a trial, she gets one.
Nick
I grew up a Navy Brat. I went to six elementary schools, grew up on the East Coast, the Prairies, and the West Coast-of Canada, lived in countries with four or more political parties/choices, and luckily avoided the ‘us and them’ indoctrination. I appreciate the US, admire the US, respect the US, etc. It is hard to argue with the US. However, it is exasperatingly irritating to see this country bogged down in time and management with, seemingly, two options . The strength of the beginnings of America is also its greatest weakness.
Having said that, this country continues to evolve and when one reviews its history it represents hope. Now, if it were only possible to get rid of the Republicans, the Koch brothers, Boner, Cruz, Rubio, Walker, etc……..
“Prosecutors said Gissendaner, a mother of three from Auburn, wanted her husband dead so she could profit from two $10,000 life insurance policies and the couple’s $84,000 house.
She dropped off Owen at her Auburn house before going out with friends on Feb. 7, 1997. Owen surprised 30-year-old Doug Gissendaner and forced him at knifepoint to drive to a remote area in eastern Gwinnett near the Walton County line.
Owen forced the victim to walk 100 yards into the woods and get down on his knees. He beat him in the head with a nightstick, stabbed him in the neck and back several times and left. The wife later helped her boyfriend set the car on fire to destroy evidence.”
Women are always having to clean up after men.
It’s the patriarchy.
Why do all seem to assume that the attorney made the dscision to go to trial rather than take the plea bargain? In any jurisdiction that I know of an attorney making that decision would be disbarred. He takes the decision to his client and follows the choice made by his client. He may advise the client and, if the client is extraordinarily stupid, the client may leave the decision to the attorney, but in such event the attorney should decline to make the choice.
“But, w/ that choice of food, she probably isn’t long for this world anyway.”
Hard to say. A case in point:
Warren Buffett’s secret to staying young: “I eat like a six-year-old.”
by Patricia Sellers
February 25, 2015, 1:46 PM EST
http://fortune.com/2015/02/25/warren-buffett-diet-coke/
“The world’s most successful investor stays youthful by drinking at least five Cokes a day. Turns out, the Berkshire Hathaway CEO’s bizarre diet is highly strategic.
How does the world’s top investor, at 84 years old, wake up every day and face the world with boundless energy?
“I’m one quarter Coca-Cola,” Warren Buffett says.
When he told me this in a phone call yesterday (we were talking about the death of his friend, former Coca-Cola president Don Keough), I assumed he was talking about his stock portfolio.
No, Buffett explained, “If I eat 2700 calories a day, a quarter of that is Coca-Cola. I drink at least five 12-ounce servings. I do it everyday.”
Perhaps only a man who owns $16 billion in Coca-Cola KO -0.19% stock—9% of Coke, through his company, Berkshire Hathaway BRK.A -0.25% —would maintain such an odd daily diet. One 12-ounce can of Coke contains 140 calories. Typically, Buffett says, “I have three Cokes during the day and two at night.”
When he’s at his desk at Berkshire Hathaway headquarters in Omaha, he drinks regular Coke; at home, he treats himself to Cherry Coke.
“I’ll have one at breakfast,” he explains, noting that he loves to drink Coke with potato sticks. What brand of potato sticks? “I have a can right here,” he says. “U-T-Z” Utz is a Hanover, Pennsylvania-based snack maker. Buffett says that he’s talked to Utz management about potentially buying the company.
Investors in Berkshire Hathaway may feel relieved that the CEO isn’t addicted to Utz Potato Stix at every breakfast. “This morning, I had a bowl of chocolate chip ice cream,” Buffett says.
Asked to explain the high-sugar, high-salt diet that has somehow enabled him to remain seemingly healthy, Buffett replies: “I checked the actuarial tables, and the lowest death rate is among six-year-olds. So I decided to eat like a six-year-old.” The octogenarian adds, “It’s the safest course I can take.”
(Buffett is 84 and apparently going strong.)
Are we sure the attorney bet her life? Perhaps he advised her accept a plea deal but it was she who wanted to bet her life.
Isaac, One of the things I enjoy about you is your eclectic views. We differ on the death penalty, which is more than a bit ironic.
The death penalty seems unusually harsh when compared to the others who routinely get prison sentences for raping, killing, and worse and should be waxed. In France a good lawyer could steer this in the direction of a crime of passion and she would be free.
Well, I see Paul and I are in sync this morning!
Of course, the attorney bet HER life, not his. And, “there is the rub.”
I’m sure the Newman Charities, where profits go, are conflicted by this woman’s choice. I do not believe in the death penalty. But, w/ that choice of food, she probably isn’t long for this world anyway.
Regarding her attorney. I am a gambler. I understand he played the odds. But, he bet the house, or in this case her life. Craps is my game and it is all probability and odds. The odds of rolling a 2 are only 2.78%. I would bet a lotta money if allowed to bet a 2 will not come up on the next roll. I would not bet my house.
Her attorney rolled the dice and lost. She dies, he doesn’t. Are they caught in that snow storm and the witnesses cannot get there or what? I would like more on the excuse for the delay.