Death Penalty Upheld

You remember the line from The Shawshank Redemption where Morgan Freeman's character states that he needs to "...get busy living or get busy dying..."? Well, here is a story about someone who got busy dying.

Death-penalty foes meet across Ky. for protests
(Reprinted parts of Courier Journal article)

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EDDYVILLE, Ky. -- A dozen death-penalty opponents held a vigil outside the Kentucky State Penitentiary last night as state officials executed confessed child killer Marco Allen Chapman.

Huddled in a tent holding candles, the opponents read the names of Kentucky's 37 death-row inmates and their victims and prayed. "It's important to the policymakers to know the current policy of killing people is not acceptable to everyone in Kentucky," said the Rev. Patrick Delahanty, chairman of the Kentucky Coalition Against the Death Penalty, who organized the vigil. He said he wasn't disappointed by the small turnout because of freezing temperatures and the distance to Eddyville from the state's population centers.

Vigils were organized in other communities, including Louisville, Frankfort and Bowling Green. About 40 people gathered in downtown Louisville in Jefferson Square at 7 p.m. for an hourlong vigil and demonstration. Many held candles and signs with messages such as "Execute justice, not people." The opponents at the Kentucky State Penitentiary were directed to a field facing the building where Chapman was executed at 7:34 p.m. CDT.

The group began arriving about an hour before the scheduled 7 p.m. CDT start time. Some held signs, which had sayings such as "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."

Two large, heated tents were set up. In a tent about 100 yards from the tent where the opponents gathered, four individuals huddled, saying they were "observers." They would not identify themselves or say whether they supported the death penalty.

Amanda Bragg, a death- penalty opponent from Bowling Green, said she drove to the prison from Lexington, where she is a law student at the University of Kentucky, because she believes the death penalty is unnecessary. "I don't support the execution of anybody," she said. Sister Judy Morris, of Louisville, said she made the long drive to Eddyville because the event "demanded sacrifice." She said she does not believe Chapman's execution will offer the family of the victims closure.

Chapman was convicted of killing two children, Chelbi Sharon, 7, and her brother, Cody Sharon, 6, in 2002 in the Northern Kentucky town of Warsaw. He also sexually assaulted their mother, Carolyn Marksberry, and attacked their sister, Courtney Sharon, who survived and is now 16.

***Chapman asked for a death sentence, and a week ago was permitted to dismiss public defenders who were trying to halt his execution.***

At the Louisville vigil, participants also read the names of prisoners on Kentucky's death row and those of their victims, observed several moments of silence and sang a rendition of "We Shall Overcome."

Cathy Hinko, 56, of Louisville, stood with the circle of people huddled beneath the city's Christmas tree for the demonstration, spearheaded by the Kentucky Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. She said she attended the vigil because she believes capital punishment does not deter crime, is costly and could be used on innocent citizens when the justice system fails."I think the death penalty is an unintelligent response to crime," Hinko said. Dona O'Sullivan, 61, said she opposes the practice even in cases where death- row prisoners abandon their appeals."He wants to die and really it's state-sanctioned suicide," she said.

Here is Chapman's KSP mugshot and prison bio:

CHAPMAN, MARCO ALLEN, DOB 9-4-71, was convicted of murder, 2 counts; attempted murder, 2 counts; rape I; burglary I; robbery I and PFO II. He was formally sentenced on 12-14-2004 to death. In the early morning of August 23, 2002, Marco Chapman murdered a 7-year old girl and a 6-year old boy in their home in Warsaw, Kentucky (Gallatin County). Both the children's throats had been slit and they had multiple lacerations and stab wounds on their bodies. Their 10-year old sister played dead after being stabbed several times. The children's mother's hands were bound with duct tape and she was tied to a bed frame. She was raped and stabbed in the chest with a knife that broke off in her chest. She was later stabbed with a larger knife and left for dead. After stabbing the victims, Chapman burglarized the home and left the scene. He was arrested later the same day by state police in West Virginia. He received a change of venue from Gallatin Circuit Court to Boone Circuit Court.

Below is a pic from the lake of Kentucky State Penitentiary aka The Castle on the Cumberland.

You may remember as part part of my real job, (blog post from 9/23/08) I teach parenting classes at KSP a couple of times a month. I have no contact with deathrow inmates. They are not eligible for my classes, so I never met Chapman. His death was his choice, just as his actions to murder two children were his choice. I really have no feeling about the death penalty other than to say he got what he asked for... busy dying...

The view from Kentucky State Penitentiary is beautiful!

The Castle on the Cumberland

Twice a month or so, I teach parenting classes to the pre-release inmates at Kentucky State Penitentiary (KSP). Dubbed "Castle on the Cumberland," KSP is a foreboding structure with a majestic view situated on the shores of Lake Barkley. Kentucky State Penitentiary houses around 850 men, including 32 on Kentucky's only Death Row. The Castle was constructed over 100 years ago using locally quarried limestone and primarily inmate labor.

Participants of the classes I teach are nearing a release date or a parole date. The curriculum focuses on reacclimating into society in the role of "parent". The majority of the guys I work with are drug offenders. Statistically speaking, 82% are high school drop outs, over half are minorities, and most are classified as being from a poverty background raised by a single parent. Over 60% are repeat offenders. It is my desire to aide the participants in breaking the cycle of illiteracy, poverty, and recidivism by assisting these parents with understanding of the importance of education.

My life is what I make it. I want to make it count. Life is beautiful and so is the view from KSP!