Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Earl Wesley Berry, Convicted of Murdering Mary Bounds, Celebrates Supreme Court Stay of Lethal Injection; Bounds Family Irate With Delay?


Like it or not, the Hillary P.s and J.J.s of the world are gaining momentum in their fight against the death penalty. Informal Legal Pub reader polls shows that approximately 55% of those surveyed apparently oppose the death penalty. However, of the 45% of readers in favor of the death penalty, many believe it should be reserved for the most severe and or heinous crimes.


The Supreme Court granted a last-minute reprieve Tuesday to Earl Wesley Berry. Berry was convicted for the 1987 murder of Mary Bounds. (Berry was less than an hour from being executed by injection when the stay was granted.) Mississippi citizens in opposition to the death penalty had apparently written Gov. Haley Barbour on behalf of Berry with out success. The letter writing campaign argued that executing Berry would violate the right to life as declared in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and constitute cruel and degrading punishment. They further argued that it would be unconscionable for the state of Mississippi to proceed with any lethal injection before the U.S. Supreme Court has established protocols for when, if ever, capital punishment is justified. The Governor apparently did not act. However, the Supreme Court jumped in literally minutes before the execution and granted an emergency stay of execution. (Talk about your dramatic game winning saves...)

Currently, Justices are pondering whether lethal injections are ever constitutional. Death penalty foes such as Sister Donna Gunn, celebrated the Wesley Berry news outside death row in Parchman, Miss. The reprieve was an indication that perhaps all lethal injections will be halted until the Supreme Court rules. Meanwhile families of victims are not happy. The court's intervention upset Mary Bound's family. Charles Bounds, her husband, expressed his disappointment. "Now you want to tell me that we got a fair shake today?" he said at the press conference. Jena Watson, Mary Bounds' adult daughter, was visibly upset at the news conference.

Undoubtedly, the families of Harrell Franklin Braddy and the family of his victim, Quatisha Maycock and her mother, Shandelle await the Supreme Court's final ruling as to whether lethal injection is cruel and unusual punishment under the U.S. Constitution. No matter what the Supreme Court's final decision, one thing is for certain, Braddy will not be executed anytime soon.
* Note: A 2006 Gallup polls showed that 65% were in favor of the death penalty with 07% having no opinion. So are legal pub readers "different" or has public opinion changed because of DNA revealing some convicted criminals were innocent?


Update 4-22-08 With the recent Supreme Court decisions, Wes Berry's execution will be rescheduled in the immediate future.

Update 5-1-08 The U.S. Supreme Court ruled April 16 that the three-drug procedure of Kentucky — that sedates, paralyzes then kills — does not violate the constitutional prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment. After the court's decision, Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood requested that Berry's execution date be set for Monday, which is Berry's 49th birthday. The Mississippi Supreme Court has not ruled on the request. Berry could become the first convict put to death in the United States since Texas executed Michael Richard on Sept. 25.
Georgia may execute William Earl Lynd on May 6 for the murder of his girlfriend. That is the earliest date that has been approved by a state court. A clemency hearing is scheduled for Monday in Lynd's case. On Wednesday, a federal judge ruled Georgia's method of execution which is similar to Kentucky's does not violate the Constitution. Berry's attorneys filed a motion Tuesday arguing he is "mentally retarded" and "that Mississippi's lethal injection creates a substantial risk of serious harm in violation of the Eighth Amendment because there are no safeguards such as those that Kentucky has in place." Stay tuned.

Update 5-6-08 Looks like the Mississippi Supreme Court has reset the execution for May 21, 2008. (Earl Wesley Berry just celebrated his 48th birthday.)
5-22-08: Yesterday the State of Mississippi executed Earl Wesley Berry. No happy ending for any one here. Best we can say is that it is over.

72 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is an excellent story because it demonstrates that the coalition against the death penalty is not a black/white issue. Berry is white. Braddy is black. Neither should die. the goal should be to rehabilitate and reform. Even if they are never released into society, they need to be reformed so that they could become productive members of society should they ever reform enough so as to be granted parole.

God Bless the Supreme Court

J.J.

Anonymous said...

This is the first of many victories to come. We shall take small steps to abolish this barbaric treatment of humans.

Rehab, reform and when safe, return. It is only then that we can have a civilized society. Thank you J.J. and Hillary P. for your efforts on a just cause.

Rommie

Anonymous said...

Bull hockey! If you take someone's life, you ought to lose your life. Reform is a waste of time on these folks.

Lethal injection too cruel? Go back to my Dad's day and hangem.

Ralph

Anonymous said...

Step by Step!

Hillary P.

Anonymous said...

Reformists are nuts! They are criminals. What happened to the Bible's instructions, "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth?"

Anonymous said...

It’s my experience that most people’s attitudes towards the death penalty tend to be a product of personal experience rather than what has been read in books or seen on TV. There are exceptions of course, but when dealing with social tends the bulk of public opinion tends to be from the masses. Image that!

Considering that most people today tend to lead protected lives far from the “assaulted walls”, they tend to from opinions typical of the soft and protected class. But you know, maybe that’s a good thing. Those who fight evil have been so successful in the fight that a large percentage of our people just don’t get it when it comes to the animals (AKA criminals) (JJ excluded of course, as his position comes from scripture rather than a lack knowledge of what these things are).

I’m going off on one of my typical tangents…but hey…I can.

I love that alarm company commercial where the dirtbag kicks in the door of the poor scared lady, the alarm company calls, and somebody else comes to her rescue. Wishful fantasy! She’s alive because he did not want her, not because of anything she did. The protected class. And there are enough of them to change public opinion and provide a market for the commercial.

Version two.

Dirtbag can’t get to the front door as the entire yard is fenced and large aggressive dogs greet him. If they’re not in the yard, at least one large, capable dog meets him at the door. He holds dirtbag long enough for lady to run…not for a phone….but for the ready rifle kept on the living room wall. She’s practiced and familiar with her old friend…it’s a regular companion in her hands. She places multiple rounds of high-velocity lead into dirtbag’s chest and abdominal cavities and then goes to the phone to summon the medical examiner to take the body away. However, such proper and well trained southern ladies are far and few between today (why I married one)…not enough to influence public opinion though.

No, dirtbags are dirtbags. Having an opinion on something you’ve got little to no experience with is a dangerous thing.

I’ll try and keep them off you and away from yours…I will…I took an oath to that. What society wants to do with them after I catch them, that’s up to public opinion and we know where that’s going.

What they do to you and yours is up to you. I say fry ‘em…they’ll not be a problem after that.

If you want to, handle them with kid gloves and let them out. If they come to my house, they’ll get version two quick, fast, and in a hurry! If they come to yours….I come and write a repot about what they did to you and yours and try to catch them again.

L.S.

Anonymous said...

Dangerous animals need to be "put down". End of story. Would you adopt and rehabilitate a Pitbull that ate someone's face off?

Anonymous said...

Wow, I am for the death penalty, but as a Humane society member I got to say, every dog is entitled to one free bite. I think there are no bad dogs, just bad owners and trainers.

Yes, I think pitbulls can be rehabbed. In fact, we do it all the time.

Humane Person

Anonymous said...

To Kill or not to kill? Hmm. Hard question. Nope. It is never justified to kill another human being. Ever. Judges and jurors should not serve as executioners. Society is barbaric enough that it has criminals. Lock em away forever if you must, but don't add to the killing.

Genny

Anonymous said...

Genny come on...

Cops and victims have to kill sometimes in self defense and defense of others. So do soldiers.

Get off your moral high ground and come back to earth.


Pete

Anonymous said...

In 2006 ABC did a poll that showed:

6/22-25/06 65% favored death penalty and 32% opposed the death penalty. Rumor has it those numbers have been eaten into so that formal polling is close to 50/50.


Pollster

Legal Pub said...

Gallup had a 2006 poll with similar results to ABC. 2006 May 2-5
65% were in favor of the death penalty, 28% opposed the death penalty and 07% claimed they had no opinion.

So are legal pub readers an anomolie
or has public opinion changed because of DNA?

Anonymous said...

I get the pit-bull analogy.

But I’d say I’d have more faith in a rehabilitated pit-bull (little, but there nonetheless) than a person.

A bad dog knows no better. It’s a dumb animal who just defaulted to its basic settings because it had no other programming. It didn’t know there were other rules…it just acted.

When one dog I had turned on me and my family I said a prayer, cried a tear for the good memories, shot it, and put it in a hole. There’s a nice tree growing over him now and I regularly ask God to grant what favors to him he can and will.

People on the other hand start from a higher plain…they have rules from God and society…thou shall not steal, thou shall not kill…you know those peaky things called laws that place one on notice of the acceptability of their actions. That’s the difference.

The dog did not know…he’s a dog. The person on the other hand…he knew, he just chose not to because he did not want to. He could have been a human but he chose to go animal because his hedonistic instinct told him he’d profit thereby. Oh well, he got caught…he loses. He played, he pays.

That’s the difference…humans live in a social structure with rules. Play by them and you might have a chance at what you want….don’t and your going to lose. Period.

I understand the sources of the “softies”, like I said…it’s a good thing. If that’s your feeling…great. Invite them to your neighborhood, let them sleep in your house, loan them your money, but its going to be your loss not mine.

At the end of the day, even most “softies” don’t want them around them either. Kind of the NIMBY thing. Well, just whose back yard are they going to be in?

Range me.

L.S.

Ms Calabaza said...

I don't agree with the death penalty because I don't think I have the right to kill, except in self-defense. That said, I do not consider myself a softie by any means. If I were to create prison for these pond scum, they would probably want to receive the death penalty. . . Oh, and no releases for "good behavior" either . . .

Anonymous said...

Lethal injection is "cruel and unusual"? The death penalty is "barbaric treatment of humans"? Mary Bounds was my Great Aunt. Do you think what this psycho did to her was "cruel and unusal" or "barbaric"? Kidnapped her, beat her head into a tree, and beat her to death with his bare hands. There is no justice in our so called justice system. The J.J.'s and Hillary P.'s of the world make me sick. Think about the victim and the victim's family. Think about if the victim was your loved one. Taxpayers have paid for this murderer for 20 years, now it's time for him to pay. With his life.

Anonymous said...

Like I said before, "put him down". . .

Anonymous said...

To Great Nephew.

I truely sympathize with your loss. But the death of Berry will not bring back your great aunt.

As J.J. would say, Berry is no longer the same man he was 20 years ago. Not even close. He has apparently come to God and repented. If God can forgive him, why can't us humans.

I am not saying parol him. I am saying that he deserves a chance to live out his natural life in jail. Killing him will accomplish nothing. All the appeals and legal formalities involved in the death penalty cost more than keeping a convict for life. Cost is never an issue in this argument...



Yolanda

Anonymous said...

The JJs and the Hillary Ps don’t make me sick…like I said, I like the fact that “rough men at the edge of the empire fighting to keep the wolves at bay” have done such a good job that there are Hillary Ps and JJs. That’s a good thing. Little girls should grow up thinking the entire world is good and God forbid the day we don’t have men such as JJ arguing for the mercy of God on our planet.

Now that said, I hope that Hillary P is never pulled into a dark ally, beaten, raped, and left for dead. If she lives through the ordeal, she’ll probably change her position when she finds out this animal was arrested and released 42 times before his attack on her.

As for JJ, he’s arguing for his belief system based upon his understanding of scripture. I don’t agree with him…my opinion is he’s wrong on many counts…but I’d still sit down for coffee with the guy. He’s a social asset, a man of principle and law…God’s law.

They don’t make me sick. On the contrary, they make me happy to know that some of the blood, sweat, tears, and sacrifices of the warriors of our society have had dividends.

I’d just like to see and hear a little more credit for those who, by fighting evil, have made the world capable of producing JJs and Hillary Ps.

There’s goodness in Hillary P…at least from my readings. Offering mercy is a good thing…but so is being able to rip the throat out of your enemy and stare into his dying eyes as well.

You need both in your bag.

One will make you a predator; the other will make you pray. Having both, and the wisdom to know when one or the other is appropriate, will make you human.

L.S.

Anonymous said...

Mary Bounds was my Aunt. I was at Parchman Prison on Tuesday for his execution.
I understand that some people have been imprisoned falsey, some claiming they didn't do the crime really didn't and that is wrong. I am sure some innocent people have been put to deah and that is wrong. But Berry confessed, he has never denied killing Aunt Mary, but, and a Big But, he has never shown remorse, he has never said he was sorry or wrong to have killed her. He was baptized last week before the execution date.....so don't tell me he has found God...he is just trying to save his own sorry soul. He he truly found God, he would know he has to repent and say he is sorry for his crimes, and there were many before he killed my aunt. A little known fact about him, he raped his own sister. Now all you do-gooders tell me we are wrong to want to have him executed. He has said my aunt was telling him about Jesus Christ during the time he had her and he said he told her to shut up, that he was tired of all that Jesus talk. He has had 23 infractions in the last 11 years at the prison, being a bully, trying to bully guards and staff.
In no way has he found God and he doesn't deserve to take another breath, and the victim's family should not have to support him with their tax dollars.

Anonymous said...

It is never justified to take the life of another.


Mary

Anonymous said...

The cost of imprisonment is never a reason to justify executing someone, Great Nephew.

Christine

Anonymous said...

These "accused" are men not animals. It is insulting to compare them to beasts without a soul.

Turn the other cheek. Forgive and be forgiven. Do these words no longer have any meaning?

While I feel for the great nephew, it will not bring back his great aunt to kill Berry.


Gloria

Anonymous said...

Earl is a Berry close call, but I vote to give L.S. a range reading and permission to fire at will!



Hondo

Anonymous said...

The anti abortion folks were "Bound(s)" to jump all over the name puns.

But this is serious stuff. Dr. can't do the injections, lay people do. So in an attempt to make lethal injections more humane, why not hire experienced drug addicts such as heroine users. They need the cash, and after all, they know how to stick a vein!


Jeff

Anonymous said...

Mary Bounds' niece here again.......My cousin, Jena Watson, has forgiven Berry, and he was told that. You can forgive, but not forget, and that doesn't mean we don't want the punishment. How humane was it for the Supreme Court to wait til 19 minutes before 6 pm to hand down their verdict, to him or the family. You can't reform people like him...He is a bully and always has been. The Bible teaches 'an eye for an eye', and love and forgiveness. I guess we all have to decide which concept we want to use.
Rose

Legal Pub said...

Rose, thanks for your thoughts. your aunts murder has triggered a capital punishment debate which will have ramifications for years to come.

I noticed that Jena publicly forgave Berry. I realize that does not necessarily mean that she is against his execution. Do you know whether Jena is for the execution?

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing Rose.

I would like to hear from some of Berry's family too!

Anonymous said...

Berry's family might be objective about whether he should live or die and his "reform."

Anonymous said...

Here is what I know....Jena is for the execution as is my Uncle Charles.
At the trial, Berry's mother was blamed for his abusive childhood, he spent more time with his grandmother. He is supposed have received some sort of head injury as a child, he has a low I.Q., but is not mentally retarded, and does know right from wrong, he just didn't go to school much. He did drugs, had more than 3 criminal convictions, was doped up and on parole when he grabbed Aunt Mary. I am told some of his brothers and his sister has distanced themselves from the family, but they all visited with him Tuesday.One of his brother's turned him in for the murder. I doubt any of his family will be meeting with any media.
If anyone really wants to know about the awesome person my aunt was, you can get copies of Monday and Tuesday newspapers, Oct. 29 and 30, from Grenada, Miss., I think it is the Grenada Daily Star. They did two days of background on her, along with pictures.
Rose

Anonymous said...

One more note........the sheriff of Chickasaw County, Miss., where all this happened was at Parchman Prison on Tuesday. He was an investigating deputy of this 20 years ago. This what he told reporters. He took Berry back and forth to the trial, and second hearing he got later on the sentencing. The hearing was in a different town. Sheriff Simmons said that everytime he transported Berry, he was verbally threatened by him. This is just the kind of bully he is.
Rose

Legal Pub said...

Let me add a little about Mary Bounds. Legal Pub has discovered that she was a church-going mom who taught Sunday school. Her maiden name was Springer. As a child she loved music. She met her husband, Charles, on a set up date. Charles,now 79, played in a band way back when (Charles Bounds and the Blue Sky Playboys.)

Mary loved horses. Her life was taken without reason on the Sunday after Thanksgiving in her 56th year of life.

Some facts of the crime: Nov. 29, 1987: Mary Bounds, 57, is reported missing. Dec. 1: Bounds’ vehicle is located in Houston. Spattered blood is found around the driver’s-side door. Her severely beaten body is found nearby. She died of head trauma from repeated blows.

March 1, 1988: Earl Wesley Berry is indicted in the murder and kidnapping of Bounds and as a habitual criminal. He is later convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death.

Mary Bounds daughter, Jena Watson, now 48, is most likely filled with conflicting emotions. Undoubtedly, the family is re-experiencing the grief they all felt 20 years ago.
Family of Mary Bounds are welcome to share their feelings but have no obligation to do so. The same is true for Berry's family.

All posters, please keep in mind, these are real people with real feelings!

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the update on my Aunt Mary. She married my mother's only brother, Charles, when I was 6 years old. We all loved her from the first time we met her. She was not an in-law to our family, she was a part of our family.
She helped alot of young women, esecially single mothers. She started a Sunday School class for a low-income housing apartment complex. Many of the women felt they didn't have good enough clothes or tramsportation to a church. Her Sunday School class grew in to a monthly church service, with her minister coming to do the service. She applied to the Baptist Convention for a grant for a double-wide trailer to be set up so they would have a place to meet. They were meeting in the laundry room. The grant came thru after her death, it was dedicated in her memory. Now they have their own church building and minister at the complex.
That was the kind of person she was and why we all loved her so much.
Rose

Anonymous said...

Rose, she sounds like a super woman. It led me to start humming a song in my head, "Only the Good Die Young" by Billy Joel. A smile came to my face as I thought that the world has to be a better place because of your Aunt, and also because of you who keep her memories alive.

Shell

Anonymous said...

Berry does not deserve to die. He has changed. He understands he made a mistake.

Holly

Anonymous said...

Holly, do you know this on a person level, are you aquainted with him or his family? If you are not, then please understand that on the day he was to die, he told Mississippi Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps that he had not remorse for what he did. I heard that directly from Commissioner Epps as he relayed it to all of us family members that were present that day.
Also, Shell, thank you for your comments.
Rose

Anonymous said...

Rose, I know enough to know that sometimes people facing death do two things:

1. Try to act tough to show false bravery.

2. Make consistent statements that make it easy for those involved in the execution. Such statements reinforce the idea that execution is the right decision.

In Berry's case, what I do know is that he is not real bright. The lights are on and no one is home. I do not know his reasons for making whatever statements he has made. In his case, it may just be babbling.

Holly

Legal Pub said...

I don't think Holly or any one else knows if Berry has any remorse. I suspect he says different things to different people.

Anonymous said...

I have an idea for a reality show now that the writers are on strike. A death match between Braddy and Berry!

What do you think?


Entertainment Tomorrow

Anonymous said...

Berry da big tuff guy doesn't last a minute in a room with Braddy! Dats what I think.


Rommie

Anonymous said...

How about if these "right to lifers" adopt into their own personal family the likes of Berry so that they are in a nice warm fuzzy environment.God forbid, they encounter anything as stressful as a hangnail. Anyone heard of "accountabilty?" Maybe they think beating someone's head on a pine tree til dead didn't hurt. Go find a some other cause that may better benefit our earth.

PO'd in Miss

Anonymous said...

P.O.ed, leave the judgment to god. Forgive . Live and let Live.

Berry deserves a chance to live.


Bobbie Z.

Anonymous said...

Mary Pounds, R.I.P. To those who loved Mary, let it go. God will take care of Mr. Berry.

Anonymous said...

Rose, our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

Pricella

Anonymous said...

Rose, I agree, he is a killa!

Anonymous said...

NCADP rocks. By By death penalty.

Anonymous said...

I think the death penalty is appropriate for the lowest of low.

Anonymous said...

Not much lower then Berry can you get...

Anonymous said...

Scums need to get off the public dole and into the frier!

Anonymous said...

Ws is ok. He just made a mistake. Give him another chance.

Anonymous said...

“For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants [3] and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents, [4] to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. 19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. [5] You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Invest in trying to save folks and reform them, not take their lives.

J.J.

Legal Pub said...

Update 4-22-08 With the recent Supreme Court decisions, Wes Berry's execution will be rescheduled in the immediate future.

Anonymous said...

Many of us here are with you, Jenna, and support you and the death penalty.

Anonymous said...

In reference to 4-22-08 - It is definitely time! Can you actually say that lethal injection is crutel and inhumane? I don't think so! It's a lot more humane than being beat and stomped to death.

Berry's actions have disrupted many lives (immediate and extended family members). Until you go through a situation of this magnitude a person just can't imagine the fear,pain, and agony. Each time the case is discussed on TV or in the newpaper, it is just as though it happened yesterday.

I just pray that Earl Wesley Berry has truly accepted Christ. But with his lack of remorse, I doubt that he has done so. However, my aunt being the person that she was, I'm sure, has forgiven him.

Regardless of the outcome of the execution, God will hold him accountable in the end.

Anonymous said...

To family member:

Our thoughts and prayers are with you. The Supreme Court has apparently ruled the death penalty is not cruel and unusual punishment. The next administration may appoint justices to the court that take the opposing view.

One thing is certain, Mary Bounds is in a better place and undoubtedly has forgiven her offender.

Peace

Legal Pub said...

Update 5-1-08 The U.S. Supreme Court ruled April 16 that the three-drug procedure of Kentucky — that sedates, paralyzes then kills — does not violate the constitutional prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment. After the court's decision, Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood requested that Berry's execution date be set for Monday, which is Berry's 49th birthday. The Mississippi Supreme Court has not ruled on the request. Berry could become the first convict put to death in the United States since Texas executed Michael Richard on Sept. 25.
Georgia may execute William Earl Lynd on May 6 for the murder of his girlfriend. That is the earliest date that has been approved by a state court. A clemency hearing is scheduled for Monday in Lynd's case. On Wednesday, a federal judge ruled Georgia's method of execution which is similar to Kentucky's does not violate the Constitution. Berry's attorneys filed a motion Tuesday arguing he is "mentally retarded" and "that Mississippi's lethal injection creates a substantial risk of serious harm in violation of the Eighth Amendment because there are no safeguards such as those that Kentucky has in place." Stay tuned.

Anonymous said...

Is he going down this week?

Legal Pub said...

Probable execution date is May 21, 2008!

Anonymous said...

Thanks. You guys at L.P. rock!

Anonymous said...

Ditto. Thanks for update.

Anonymous said...

Pray for Mr. Berry and for those who are about to do unto him what the Lord would not want done to anyone.

J.J.

Anonymous said...

Hillary can't save Berry now...

Wait until it's her Supreme Court, then your prayers will be answered by the Divine one.

Anonymous said...

Oh come on, a couple liberal appointments to the Supreme Court by Obama and guys like Berry will be back on the street in no time!

Legal Pub said...

As the 21st approaches, Berry's lawyers are trying new grounds to stay the execution.They have asked a federal court to find the state in default of a lawsuit that involved four other death row inmates.

"The State only responded in the case of Earl Berry," Craig wrote. "Because, after six months of waiting, the State never filed an answer to the other four prisoners, we asked the clerk of court to find them in default. They argue for an automatic ruling against future executions by lethal injection. That might include the Berry execution, if Judge Pepper decided to apply the ruling to Berry's case. "We have asked him to do so."

Berry was sentenced to death for the 1987 beating death of Mary Bounds. Berry reportedly confessed to murdering her as she left her church choir practice.

Anonymous said...

Time to get off your rumps and march against the death penalty. Wes may die tomorrow if we don't...

Judge not lest you be judged.


J.J.

Raptor8995 said...

If we put more murderers, rapists, child molestors, and those convicted of crimes to henious to even mention to death we might feel safe to walk on our streets again. I for one would like to see public hangings in front of the Capitol Building - bet that would get criminals attention. You can't rehabilitate someone that doesn't want to be rehabilitated. When they go right back to prison time after time there is no rehabilition they do what they do because they want to. You can only blame your past on your childhood for so long. Most of them want to steal, rob, murder, rape because that's what they want to do.

Legal Pub said...

5-22-08: Yesterday the State of Mississippi executed Earl Wesley Berry. No happy ending for any one here. Best we can say is that it is over.

Anonymous said...

IT was time for his drama to be over.

Anonymous said...

Ummmmm ...CRUEL AND INHUMANE PUNISHMENT!!!!!. What a freakin joke!!!! What was really CRUEL AND INHUMANE is him killing that woman.Giving him a nice little shot and putting him to sleep is NOTHING compared to what that lady went thru. U like apples , how do u like those apples!!!

Anonymous said...

This is just one of the consequences of a terrible crime. It's not that he hasn't been forgiven , it's that he has to have a consequence. This is nothing new to the world. There were two criminals being crucified at the same time Jesus was. Did they die? yes they did, That was New Testement people. One even got saved but he still died for his crime. There are crimes and their are concequences. Lesser crimes get lesser consequences, Larger crimes get Larger consequences. Remember Carla Tucker? She did a horrible crime. She trully changed while in prison. She came to know God, ministered to people etc. Honestly I hated to see her go but then u have to stop and think it's a consequence of her actions. Some people get life and some don't, where to draw that fine line is hard sometimes I guess but even still those are consequences of the nature of these crimes.

Anonymous said...

These criminals are fully aware of the consequences to crimes such as these, yet he and others like him decided to do it. So why the uproar? Did he not know that it could come to this? I think not. I think u should start worrying if they decide to kill him the same way he killed..but then again there would be less crime that way prob. Treat people the way u want to be treated. That's prob. enough to scare most of them. Anyway I speak peace to the family and hope he has come to know the Lord reguardless of the outcome.

Anonymous said...

Death is never pleasant. Is life in prison not punishment enough? Did you know Mr. Berry? I have been told he was a near idiot in IQ. Did he understand what he was doing? Was he capable of understanding what he was doing?

Deterence sounds good on paper. But sick folks don't necessarily think logically. They don't typically say, I will not kill today because the Supreme Court may not stay a death sentence execution. Forgive and let God by the judge.


J.J.

Anonymous said...

He gone J.J. Move on to the next battle.