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The Death Penalty in Georgia
William John Hagan
Houston Home Journal
This week I was assigned the unpleasant duty of reporting on the murder of 16-month-old Christian Edward Martinez. For those of you that didn’t read my article in Tuesday’s newspaper, I’ll briefly bring you up to speed.(Original report at: news.mywebpal.com/partners/963/public/news653608.html ) Christian was murdered last August, and authorities believe the killer was Gregory Class.
The details of this case are sickening, so if you have a weak stomach I suggest you turn a few pages and read the more comforting words of your daily horoscope. For those who want your blood to boil, you are invited to read on.
According to Houston Circuit District Attorney Kelly Burke, Gregory Class was babysitting young Christian when he beat and smothered the boy to death. He then reportedly called 911 and said the child had choked. During their investigation, authorities discovered two previous cases of abuse that had occurred. In the months leading up to the murder Class had allegedly broken Christian’s arm and then, a short time later, he followed up this brutality by kneeing the child in the testicles, according to the DA’s office. Incredibly, it wasn’t until Burke was handed this case that the prior allegations became part of the public record. Once the litany of actions Class is accused of were learned, it became clear that only one punishment fit the crime: Death.
In Georgia, however, a prosecutor cannot bring a death penalty case without special circumstances. If you murder a person during a rape or robbery you can be sure that you are going to the death house. Yet, if you walk onto a playground and shoot a child in the head, not only will you not face death but, in Georgia, you won’t even get life without parole.
Why is this so? Simple. Georgia legislators have never had the common sense to pass the proper legislation that would make the murder of a child a “special circumstance.” The reasoning becomes even more dim-witted when one realizes that the very people behind this policy are supporters of the death penalty. Death penalty proponents in the Georgia legislature have supported a statute that will only allow life without parole in a death penalty case at the discretion of the jury.
So, simply put, if a district attorney cannot bring a death penalty case to begin with, then a convicted child murderer is guaranteed a future parole hearing. The warped logic behind this policy is that many legislators fear that district attorneys will use the death penalty as a bargaining chip to get pleas rather then pursue the ultimate penalty. The unfortunate reality is that Georgia ends up releasing murderers back into society because of this loophole of special circumstances and poor legislation.
Burke did not just pursue this one death penalty charge: He set out to change the law. As a direct result of Christian’s murder, Burke approached several legislators and proposed new legislation that would make the murder of anyone under 16 or over 65 an automatic death penalty circumstance.
Sen. Bill Hamrick will be introducing this legislation during the next session and we can wait and watch while our legislature works to quickly correct this affront. The only question now is, where can Georgia find a few more politicians with the fortitude of Kelly Burke?
Letters to the editor can be e-mailed to: hhj@evansnewspapers.com
Please include your name and location
William John Hagan can be visited on the Internet at:
williamjohnhagan.blogspot.com
William John Hagan
Houston Home Journal
This week I was assigned the unpleasant duty of reporting on the murder of 16-month-old Christian Edward Martinez. For those of you that didn’t read my article in Tuesday’s newspaper, I’ll briefly bring you up to speed.(Original report at: news.mywebpal.com/partners/963/public/news653608.html ) Christian was murdered last August, and authorities believe the killer was Gregory Class.
The details of this case are sickening, so if you have a weak stomach I suggest you turn a few pages and read the more comforting words of your daily horoscope. For those who want your blood to boil, you are invited to read on.
According to Houston Circuit District Attorney Kelly Burke, Gregory Class was babysitting young Christian when he beat and smothered the boy to death. He then reportedly called 911 and said the child had choked. During their investigation, authorities discovered two previous cases of abuse that had occurred. In the months leading up to the murder Class had allegedly broken Christian’s arm and then, a short time later, he followed up this brutality by kneeing the child in the testicles, according to the DA’s office. Incredibly, it wasn’t until Burke was handed this case that the prior allegations became part of the public record. Once the litany of actions Class is accused of were learned, it became clear that only one punishment fit the crime: Death.
In Georgia, however, a prosecutor cannot bring a death penalty case without special circumstances. If you murder a person during a rape or robbery you can be sure that you are going to the death house. Yet, if you walk onto a playground and shoot a child in the head, not only will you not face death but, in Georgia, you won’t even get life without parole.
Why is this so? Simple. Georgia legislators have never had the common sense to pass the proper legislation that would make the murder of a child a “special circumstance.” The reasoning becomes even more dim-witted when one realizes that the very people behind this policy are supporters of the death penalty. Death penalty proponents in the Georgia legislature have supported a statute that will only allow life without parole in a death penalty case at the discretion of the jury.
So, simply put, if a district attorney cannot bring a death penalty case to begin with, then a convicted child murderer is guaranteed a future parole hearing. The warped logic behind this policy is that many legislators fear that district attorneys will use the death penalty as a bargaining chip to get pleas rather then pursue the ultimate penalty. The unfortunate reality is that Georgia ends up releasing murderers back into society because of this loophole of special circumstances and poor legislation.
Burke did not just pursue this one death penalty charge: He set out to change the law. As a direct result of Christian’s murder, Burke approached several legislators and proposed new legislation that would make the murder of anyone under 16 or over 65 an automatic death penalty circumstance.
Sen. Bill Hamrick will be introducing this legislation during the next session and we can wait and watch while our legislature works to quickly correct this affront. The only question now is, where can Georgia find a few more politicians with the fortitude of Kelly Burke?
Letters to the editor can be e-mailed to: hhj@evansnewspapers.com
Please include your name and location
William John Hagan can be visited on the Internet at:
williamjohnhagan.blogspot.com
