Mr. Robert W, described by prosecutors as a “deranged demon” who kidnapped, raped, brutally tortured and nearly murdered a Columbia University journalism graduate student in 2007, was sentenced on July 24, 2008 to 422 years in prison. The sentence was the maximum allowed under New York law. His victim was not in court at the sentencing. She wrote a letter to prosecutors saying that she was “afraid to come out”. The victim narrowly survived her ordeal of being kidnapped, raped, slashed with a meat cleaver, scalded with boiling water, drugged to the brink of death, with Krazy’s lips glued together, and then left for dead tied to her couch. from the burning room. . Mr. W attempted to opt out of the sentencing hearing, but was escorted to the hearing by six state court officers wearing helmets and shields. Mr. W had already spent most of his adult life in prison.
The prison is surely where Mr. W belongs and it seems that he did everything he could to ensure that he would return there for life.
Then there’s the story of Tremayne D, 36, of Portland, Oregon, who was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after thirty years. Mr. D was convicted of the murder of one Adam Calbreath, over a deal gone bad. Instead of going to trial, Mr. D took a very unusual plea deal offered by the prosecutor. He had been in jail for almost two years awaiting trial and missed the greasy food he liked to eat. So when the prosecutor offered him a fast food buffet in exchange for his guilty plea, Mr. D admitted that he had shot Calbreath.
Their buffet offering included stuffing themselves with KFC and Popeye’s chicken, mashed potatoes, coleslaw, carrot cake, a pizza, two calzones, lasagna, and ice cream. The judge quickly approved the plea agreement and Mr. D drank the food at two places. The cost to Oregon taxpayers was only $41.70. A murder trial would have cost the state at least $4,000.
This was certainly a way to take a bite out of crime.
Finally, there is the story of the Ohio murderer who tried to avoid execution by claiming he was too fat for the State of Ohio to give him a lethal injection. Richard C, who at 5-foot-7 tipped the scales at 267 pounds, was scheduled to die in October 2008. He had argued in numerous legal challenges that his weight problem would make it difficult for prison staff to find suitable veins to administer the deadly chemicals. . , an issue that had delayed previous executions in the state. Mr. C, who had been convicted of the 1986 murders of two University of Akron students, spent 22 years on death row. Mr. C weighed 75 pounds more on the day of his execution than when he went to death row, as a result of prison food and 23-hour confinement. His execution was carried out in October 2008, without issue.
It seems the prison chef was too good for Mr. C. You’d think the prevailing wisdom would hold that one should lose weight on death row and not gain it.