Brandon Astor Jones- 2/2/2016 Death Watch:
Elly Yu ‏@ellywyu 5h5 hours ago
A divided 11th Circuit Court of Appeals denies appeal from Brandon Astor Jones:
http://media.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/files/201610277.opn.pdf
FOX 5 AtlantaVerified account ‏@FOX5Atlanta 6h6 hours ago
#BREAKING: The Supreme Court of Ga. has denied a stay of execution for Brandon Astor Jones, he is scheduled to be put to death at 7pm.
Meris Lutz ‏@MerisMDJ 1h1 hour ago
Waiting outside Jackson prison for them to let in media for the scheduled execution of Brandon Astor Jones. Surreal.
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Some federal appeals court judges fear lethal injection drug danger
"Just hours before Brandon Astor Jones scheduled execution, several judges on the federal appeals court in Atlanta warned of dire consequences if the state continues to shroud the lethal injection process in secrecy never revealing who made the pentobarbital or the qualifications of that pharmacist.
Today Brandon Jones will be executed, possibly in violation of the Constitution, 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Robin Rosenbaum wrote in one of four dissenting opinions. He may also be cruelly and unusually punished in the process. But if he is, we will not know until its too late if ever.
Three other judges on the appeals court agreed.
The debate over the Georgia law that conceals the identities of the pharmacists who produce lethal injection drugs is ongoing in other states as well. Repeatedly, courts nationwide have supported laws created to shield lethal injection drug makers from public pressure and ensure a supply of drugs for executions.
But some courts seem to be wavering...."
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local/some-federal-appeals-court-judges-fear-lethal-inje/nqHhL/
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They have waited 36 years for justice
"...I am not happy about that day, but I feel like justice is being served, said Katie Tackett King, who was 7 when her father was murdered and has gone on to become a lawyer.
Its been a long time coming, she told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. I feel the weight of another persons life being taken. And I dont feel happy about that. But I also feel the heaviness of living a whole life without my father by my side. And he (Jones) robbed us of that in a very, very vicious way....
I knew he had been shot, but I did not know how, King said. And I did not know how many times (he was shot). I did not know he had been tortured.
They had taken turns shooting him prior to shooting him execution style, King said.
During the trials, Bixon left the courtroom when there was testimony about her husbands injuries. So she only learned he had been pistol whipped 10 days ago when her daughter brought it up in a conversation.
Still, the mother and daughter say they dont hate Jones.
I think forgiveness is one of the most important
human characteristics that we have to let us move forward in our lives in a positive way, King said.
When I say I forgive him, it does not mean I condone what he did. What he did is a horrible thing and I believe it deserves a just punishment, even though its taken an incredibly long time to go through the criminal justice system.
I know hes an older man, she continued. But its not my fault its taken 36 years for this whole thing to run its course through this very slow system that we have. I wish it wasnt the case...."
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/local/they-have-waited-36-years-for-justice/nqFkn/
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Death Penalty Info ‏@Death__Penalty 6m6 minutes ago
In one hour Brandon Astor Jones will be executed in Georgia unless the US Supreme Court intervenes.
Shaun KingVerified account ‏@ShaunKing 2m2 minutes ago
How could executing a full reformed 72 year old man for a crime committed in 1979 be good for our country?
https://theintercept.com/2016/01/31...nmate-reminder-of-death-penalty-racist-roots/
Frank Williams ‏@fmwilliams25 2m2 minutes ago
Legal news: JamessReality-- virtuaIdolans stay request has just been filed with #SCOTUS #BrandonastorJones
Atlanta News ‏@AtlantaNewsFeed 3m3 minutes ago
AJC: Brandon Astor Jones waits while lawyers try to stop execution
http://on-ajc.com/1SWIg5E
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Brandon Astor Jones waits while lawyers try to stop execution
"Brandon Astor Jones, the oldest man on Georgias death row, continued to wait in a holding cell a few steps from the states execution chamber as the appointed time of his death, 7 p.m, passed.
There were a flurry of court filings in the final hours today as his attorneys rushed to stop his execution for the 1979 murder of Roger Tackett, who managed a Tenneco convenience store and gas station in Cobb County.
Earlier on Tuesday, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta turned down Jones request for a stay so his lawyers could argue before all 11 federal appeals court judges, sitting as a group, the constitutionality of the Georgia law that keeps secret the identity of the pharmacist who makes the pentobarbital for executions..."
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local/brandon-astor-jones-waits-while-lawyers-try-to-sto/nqHqc/
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The Latest: Inmate in Last-Minute Appeals to Stop Execution
"The Latest on the execution of Georgia's oldest death row inmate, who's set to be put to death Tuesday (all times local):
8:20 p.m.
Lawyers for Brandon Astor Jones have made last-minute appeals before the U.S. Supreme Court asking to halt Jones' scheduled Tuesday evening execution for the 1979 killing of a store manager.
In defense filings to the court, the lawyers asked the justices to block Jones' execution for either of two reasons: he is challenging Georgia's lethal injection secrecy law and also because he says his death sentence is disproportionate to his crime. There was no immediate response from the court in Washington more than an hour after Jones' scheduled 7 p.m. execution time had passed. At 72, Jones is the oldest inmate on Georgia's death row..."
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/latest-georgia-high-court-stop-mans-execution-36668155
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Too Long on Death Row to Die
"In 1979, Jimmy Carter was President. Pink Floyd released their bestselling album "The Wall." Denim overalls were in, Mork and Mindy was on TV, and news about the Iranian hostage crisis dominated every headline.
Some of you reading this weren't even alive in 1979.
But in 1979, another, perhaps less well-known event, took place. Roger Tackett, a teacher, moonlighting as a convenience store attendant in a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia, was shot and killed. Brandon Astor Jones and his co-defendant Van Roosevelt Solomon were sentenced to death for the crime. Solomon was executed in 1985, but Jones has remained on death row for all this time.
That's 38 years of waiting to be executed.
The State of Georgia just set a February 2, 2016 execution date for Jones.
A 2016 execution date for a murder that happened in 1979.
I mean, what's the point? None of the reasons we punish hold true here...
Jones is now 72, and not in great health. He is a writer and a blogger who documents his experiences on death row. In other words, Jones may still have something to teach us; something perhaps that he can contribute to society were he permitted to serve out the rest of his life behind bars..."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jessica-s-henry/brandon-jones-execution_b_9013912.html
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But what about the victim's family? :thinking: Shouldn't the family and loved ones decide what is right for them? They have waited 38 (?)years for their loved one's justice (if that's what they want and that is what they want).
Maybe the appeals system should be changed so it is shorter?
Too old to kill again? I don't believe that.
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Georgia inmate in late appeals seeking to block execution
Feb. 2, 2016 8:38 PM EST
"JACKSON, Ga. (AP) Lawyers for Georgia's oldest death row inmate filed last-minute appeals before the U.S. Supreme Court urging the justices to block the scheduled Tuesday evening execution of the 72-year-old man, who was convicted of the 1979 killing of a convenience store manager.
Brandon Astor Jones was originally scheduled to receive an injection of the barbiturate pentobarbital at 7 p.m. at the state prison in Jackson. He was convicted in the shooting of a suburban Atlanta convenience store manager, Roger Tackett.
In late Tuesday filings to the court, the lawyers asked the justices to block Jones' planned execution for either of two reasons: he is challenging Georgia's lethal injection secrecy law and also because he says his death sentence is disproportionate to his crime.
There was no immediate response from the court in Washington more than 1 and ½ hours after Jones' scheduled execution time had passed..."
http://bigstory.ap.org/urn:publicid:ap.org:0a9315d66d2b4223a2563bc8544ec0fa
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Final reflections on The Prison that Works Brandon Astor Jones- author
Brandon Astor Jones 37 Years on G-Unit (Death Row) Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison
"In 1979 Brandon Astor Jones, 72, was convicted along with another man of a murder committed in Atlanta, Georgia. Both men were sentenced to death. Jones co-accused was executed by electric chair in February 1985. Over the ensuing years Brandon Jones developed as a prominent thinker and writer on prison issues in the US and across the globe. After 37 years on Death Row Jones has just lost his final appeal to be allowed to live. Here he compares the treatment of prisoners in America with that of prisoners in Norway..."
http://insidetime.org/final-reflections-on-the-prison-that-works/
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Georgia Corrections ‏@GA_Corrections 7h7 hours ago
@
GA_Corrections carried out court ordered execution of Brandon Astor Jones at 12:46am 1/3. http://bit.ly/1VK8FBI
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Georgia's oldest Death Row inmate, 72, eats a last meal of chicken, rice and turnips before being executed by lethal injection after the Supreme Court denies a last minute appeal
"...He received the lethal injection at 12.46am on Wednesday at the state prison in Jackson.
The last person he saw before dying was the man who prosecuted him in 1979 - former Cobb County District Attorney Tom Charron - who was sitting on the front row...
Three friends and 11 family members visited Jones just before his death, as did his lawyer and an investigator.
The inmate, who has spent almost four decades on death row, had declined a last meal request.
Instead he ate the standard prison menu of chicken and rice, rutabagas, seasoned turnip greens, dry white beans, cornbread with a dessert of bread pudding and fruit punch, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections...
The injection is not visible to observers, but the warden left the execution chamber at 12:30 am and records from past executions show the lethal drug generally starts to flow within a minute or two of the warden's departure.
Jones was initially still with his eyes closed and then swallowed a couple of times and moved his head slightly.
He opened his eyes at 12:36 am and turned his head to his left, appearing to look toward a clock hanging on the wall.
He then turned to stare at the man who prosecuted him in 1979 - former Cobb County District Attorney Tom Charron - who was sitting on the front row.
He then closed his eyes again and took a few deep breaths before falling still.
After he died, about 15 of his supporters and death-penalty opponents, who were gathered about a mile from the execution building, held hands and prayed...
Jones was the 38th inmate put to death by lethal injection. There are currently 75 men on death row in Georgia."
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3427744/Georgia-set-execute-oldest-death-row-inmate.html
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Georgia executes Brandon Astor Jones
"...Jones declined to make a final statement, although he did record a message several hours before his execution...."
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local/brandon-astor-jones-waits-while-lawyers-try-to-sto/nqHqc/
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Death Penalty - The Only Justice for Killers?
"...The compelling question is: if justice is served by putting a murderer to death, in what way is it served? As you will see, both sides offer strong arguments. With which do you agree?.."
http://crime.about.com/od/death/i/d...l&utm_campaign=list_crime&utm_term=list_crime
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