Dear Sis~
The execution schedule here has been in a flux. The Commonwealth has issued death warrants for four guys, 1) Eddie Bell; 2) Percy Walton (aka Crazy Horse); 3) Kevin Green; and, 4) Robert Yarbrough. However, two weeks ago the US Supreme Court granted certiorari in Bell's case, and granted him a stay of execution, in order to review his ineffective assistance of counsel claim. This bought Bell at least another 10-12 months of life, at a minimum, but probably a lot more because I believe the US Supreme Court is going to ultimately rule in his favor and vacate his death sentence (ironically, 4 years ago, I had the exact same issue that Bell was just granted certiorari on. The Supreme Court declined to grant me cert when we presented the case to them. Now, belatedly, the Court will review and rectify this issue, although it will be too late to help me). Anyway, almost as soon as Bell got his stay of execution the Commonwealth petitioned for a death warrant for Christopher Emmett, asking for the same date as Bell had, July 24. As it stands now, Kevin Green is scheduled to die this Tuesday, May 27; Percy is scheduled for June 10; Yarbrough's date is June 25, and, as I said, Emmett will be scheduled for July 24. That's 20% of our death row population set to die in the next 60 days. All of these are serious dates (as opposed to "fake dates", which are issued in order to force the prisoner into Federal Court before he's required to file). By "serious dates" I mean that each guy has been through all the courts, state and federal, and has exhausted all of his legal remedies. Thus, unless something unexpected occurs, these executions will probably occur as scheduled. The one most likely to get reprieve is Percy. The Governor already gave him two stays (first, a 6-month stay, then an 18-month stay) based upon his clear and unequivocal insanity. And, it was "understood" that at the end of that 18-month period (i.e. June 10, 2008) Governor Kaine was going to commute Percy's death sentence to life so he could go to a mental hospital and receive the treatment he's not getting here. But, Kaine is reportedly on Barack Obama's "short list" for the Vice Presidential slot, and I'm very skeptical that Kaine will commute a death sentence just months before he might be running for vice-president. (God forbid he might be accused of having a heart and displaying some mercy and compassion for a profoundly insane person). So, Percy might still be in trouble. I still recall how then-governor Clinton left the Presidential campaign trail in 1992 and raced back to Arkansas to oversee the execution of a retarded prisoner whom the Pope had implored Clinton to grant clemency to. Clinton was, at the time, being accused of being "soft on crime" and he was determined to execute that guy to prove to the right-wing, pro-death penalty crowd that he was a "tough guy". I hope history does not repeat itself or else Percy will be sacrificed on the altar of political ambitions.
Love, Bill
NOTE: By the time I received this Blog entry and posted it, Kevin Green had already been executed the day before (Tuesday, May 27th) ~ Lisa Van Poyck
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
May 12, 2008
Dear Sis~
I recently read a news story out of Germany speculating that treasure hunters may have finally located the fabled, long-missing Amber Room, buried near the German-Czech border. As you know, the Amber Room played a central role in my novel, Quietus. Many adventurers and treasure hunters have searched in vain for the Amber Room ever since the Nazi's looted it from the old Imperial Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia, in the closing years of WWII. As mysteries go, it's a top flight one, and with an estimated present-day worth in excess of a billion dollars, there's been no shortage of seekers. A part of me would like to see it found, simply because of the incredible beauty of the objects, and their historical value. But another part of me prefers that its location remain secret, an inscrutable enigma worthy of its magnificence. Some mysteries should remain so, if for no other reason than to give would-be fortune hunters something to aspire to...
We had a tornado steam roll right past the prison yesterday afternoon. The sky became black, the rain flew in sideways and the fences shook like a hanging carpet being beaten with a broom. The two big, heavy trash bins out front of the cellblock were picked up and flung violently against the wall about fifty feet away. The tornado itself missed the prison by about 1,000 feet but it was close enough to get my attention...
We had a bunch of big wigs come by today, touring death row. I heard we'll have officials here every day of the week, inspecting and touring. I'm not sure who they are, but its the same pro forma inspections I've witnessed all my life, people just going through the motions, patting themselves on the back, not really interested in seeing anything or rocking the boat. In the end, they'll just sign off on some form and report that everything is great...
Hillary's schtick has become very tiresome. I wish she'd just pull out and let the real campaign begin, pitting Obama against McCain. Hillary is in denial, apparently unable to grasp the obvious; it's almost like she inhabits some other alternate reality...
Just saw the news flash of a terrible earthquake in Southwestern China, an estimated 7.9 magnitude (that's a big one) which, they are reporting, has killed some 80,000 people (that number will certainly change dramatically, up or down, over the next week). The pictures on TV are heartbreaking. Most victims appear to be dirt-poor villagers, lots of towns obliterated. A reminder that nature is a cruel teacher...
Nightline is over which means it's my bed time. Give yourself a hug for me!
Love, Bill
I recently read a news story out of Germany speculating that treasure hunters may have finally located the fabled, long-missing Amber Room, buried near the German-Czech border. As you know, the Amber Room played a central role in my novel, Quietus. Many adventurers and treasure hunters have searched in vain for the Amber Room ever since the Nazi's looted it from the old Imperial Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia, in the closing years of WWII. As mysteries go, it's a top flight one, and with an estimated present-day worth in excess of a billion dollars, there's been no shortage of seekers. A part of me would like to see it found, simply because of the incredible beauty of the objects, and their historical value. But another part of me prefers that its location remain secret, an inscrutable enigma worthy of its magnificence. Some mysteries should remain so, if for no other reason than to give would-be fortune hunters something to aspire to...
We had a tornado steam roll right past the prison yesterday afternoon. The sky became black, the rain flew in sideways and the fences shook like a hanging carpet being beaten with a broom. The two big, heavy trash bins out front of the cellblock were picked up and flung violently against the wall about fifty feet away. The tornado itself missed the prison by about 1,000 feet but it was close enough to get my attention...
We had a bunch of big wigs come by today, touring death row. I heard we'll have officials here every day of the week, inspecting and touring. I'm not sure who they are, but its the same pro forma inspections I've witnessed all my life, people just going through the motions, patting themselves on the back, not really interested in seeing anything or rocking the boat. In the end, they'll just sign off on some form and report that everything is great...
Hillary's schtick has become very tiresome. I wish she'd just pull out and let the real campaign begin, pitting Obama against McCain. Hillary is in denial, apparently unable to grasp the obvious; it's almost like she inhabits some other alternate reality...
Just saw the news flash of a terrible earthquake in Southwestern China, an estimated 7.9 magnitude (that's a big one) which, they are reporting, has killed some 80,000 people (that number will certainly change dramatically, up or down, over the next week). The pictures on TV are heartbreaking. Most victims appear to be dirt-poor villagers, lots of towns obliterated. A reminder that nature is a cruel teacher...
Nightline is over which means it's my bed time. Give yourself a hug for me!
Love, Bill
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
May 1, 2008
Dear Sis~
You gotta forgive me if I'm repeating myself 'cuz I don't recall whether I've already written you re this. At any rate, we now have four guys here with execution dates: Larry "Bill" Elliott on May 13th; Kevin Green on May 23rd (I think); Percy on June 10th and Edward Bell on July 29th (approximately). Now, Elliott's is a "fake date" inasmuch as there's no danger of him actually being executed on May 13. The State signed his death warrant in order to force him into Federal court, forcing him to file his Federal habeas corpus petition. As for Percy, his "18 month stay of execution" given by Gov. Kaine is up on June 8, and unless Kaine takes action and commutes his sentence based on his unequivocal insanity, Percy will be executed. I believe Kaine will commute his sentence, as he should, but nothing is a given. There is a high probability that Kevin will be executed in 3 weeks, and the same goes for Bell in July (although Bell still has a certiorari petition pending before the US Supreme Court, which provides him some hope, however ephemeral that might be). It still remains to be seen how the recent Baze decision by the US Supreme Court will actually play out in Virginia and other states. Having read the 92-page decision re lethal injection I can tell you that it wasn't as cut and dried as the media implied. The court left a lot of room for the different courts in different states to reach different conclusions, although, as a practical matter (especially in Virginia which dearly loves its death penalty) I don't see too many states holding up their executions much longer. In Texas, Virginia and especially the other southern states, including Florida, the gears of the machinery of death are grinding onward without much of a hiccup. If Virginia kills Kevin in 3 weeks, well, then it's clear sailing for everyone else here on the road to the execution chamber...
Four days ago they moved me to a different cell (they moved 7 or 8 of us) so they could paint the filthy, burned-out cells we vacated. The ones we moved into had just been painted so at least now I'm in a clean cell. Looking out my cell window last night, around 1:30 am, I spotted a mother possum, with 4 babies trailing behind her, out front, digging through the big plastic trash bins, snacking on the scraps of food. That's what passes for excitement here! Still, I watched the critters for 20 minutes, until they waddled away, glad to be able to see wild and free creatures at close range (not exactly the plains of Serengeti, but I take what I can get)...
That's it for now, Sis. Give yourself a hug for me!
Love, Bill
You gotta forgive me if I'm repeating myself 'cuz I don't recall whether I've already written you re this. At any rate, we now have four guys here with execution dates: Larry "Bill" Elliott on May 13th; Kevin Green on May 23rd (I think); Percy on June 10th and Edward Bell on July 29th (approximately). Now, Elliott's is a "fake date" inasmuch as there's no danger of him actually being executed on May 13. The State signed his death warrant in order to force him into Federal court, forcing him to file his Federal habeas corpus petition. As for Percy, his "18 month stay of execution" given by Gov. Kaine is up on June 8, and unless Kaine takes action and commutes his sentence based on his unequivocal insanity, Percy will be executed. I believe Kaine will commute his sentence, as he should, but nothing is a given. There is a high probability that Kevin will be executed in 3 weeks, and the same goes for Bell in July (although Bell still has a certiorari petition pending before the US Supreme Court, which provides him some hope, however ephemeral that might be). It still remains to be seen how the recent Baze decision by the US Supreme Court will actually play out in Virginia and other states. Having read the 92-page decision re lethal injection I can tell you that it wasn't as cut and dried as the media implied. The court left a lot of room for the different courts in different states to reach different conclusions, although, as a practical matter (especially in Virginia which dearly loves its death penalty) I don't see too many states holding up their executions much longer. In Texas, Virginia and especially the other southern states, including Florida, the gears of the machinery of death are grinding onward without much of a hiccup. If Virginia kills Kevin in 3 weeks, well, then it's clear sailing for everyone else here on the road to the execution chamber...
Four days ago they moved me to a different cell (they moved 7 or 8 of us) so they could paint the filthy, burned-out cells we vacated. The ones we moved into had just been painted so at least now I'm in a clean cell. Looking out my cell window last night, around 1:30 am, I spotted a mother possum, with 4 babies trailing behind her, out front, digging through the big plastic trash bins, snacking on the scraps of food. That's what passes for excitement here! Still, I watched the critters for 20 minutes, until they waddled away, glad to be able to see wild and free creatures at close range (not exactly the plains of Serengeti, but I take what I can get)...
That's it for now, Sis. Give yourself a hug for me!
Love, Bill
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
