The Ticking Death Row Clock

"Being on death row you quickly become acclimated to such tour groups coming through, but I never lose the feeling of being an animal in a cage, like the monkey house at the zoo, with curious visitors pointing at you, staring at you, whispering among themselves. " by William Van Poyck (on Virginia's death row).

The clock ticks and the days move by, on death row there is little that one can do to stop the clock. There may be some hope the courts, or the governor may intervene. You may write an appeal, you may beg for your life.

If you found yourself in this situation, it is because you decided to end the life of someone else. There were no appeals for the person's life you took. You were the judge, jury, and executioner. Many times your victim had done no wrong. He could have just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. He could have been in your way when you wanted that paltry sum in the cash register. He could have just been doing his job, as a police officer, a security officer, a prison guard, or perhaps you just killed the victim on a whim.

And now when you are sitting, waiting on death row, you want mercy. You don't want to die. Perhaps you have changed your life around in jail, showed some contribution to society, you think your life is worthwhile enough to be spared. Unfortunately, the life or lives you took may also have had promise. I choose not to forget about them.

Some think that most of those on death row are black. That's not true, most are white. Some think that if you are black you are the one most likely to be executed. That's not true either, 80 percent of those executed in the United States are white. There is no racial argument here. If anything the victims of murders are more likely to be black than white. References.

Two people that are waiting on death row:

Tookie Willams: co-founder of the Crips, credited with 4 murders. Now he has said he has changed his life around, after creating one of the largest criminal organizations in the United States. The Crips are responsible for murders, drug distribution, and violence across the country. Now he is preaching peace not violence, should this be atonement for what he has done in his life. People are rallying to his side. He finds support from the NAACP. Riots are expected if his execution happens next week. What about his four victims, and the many that have died because of his crime network?

William Van Poyck: has spent most of his life incarcerated, from juvenile hall to being an adult career criminal. Also found was that he was the planner of this crime. And, when Poyck and Valdes tried to free a prisoner who was in a locked prison van, the guard threw the keys in the bushes. This earned him three shots in the head. The guard who was shot was a decorated war veteran. William Van Poyck is now on Virginia's death row. He has published several books and has a blog. Although he appears to be a very intelligent person does not offer remorse for his victim on those sites.

Then there is a third person that I have been looking at:

Cory Maye: According this report he shot the Police Commissioner's son. It happened when the swat team entered his apartment. There are questions if the police announced their presence or not. The biggest problem here is the police had the wrong apartment. He was in the bed asleep, his 18 month daughter was there. And he shot the police officer while he was waking up as they broke into his bedroom. Cory Maye had no previous criminal record. And it appears that he had an inadequate defense attorney.

Out of these three cases should there be an appeal to spare their lives by the general public? My personal vote is two of the three should be executed. And I am reserving judgement on third, until I have more knowledge of the case.