last words of a killer.

Godfather.

http://www.12newsnow.com/story/22576484 ... hpt=ju_bn5

strange but thought provoking.


Godfather.

brianlux

I "ham" a good egg!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHboNFi_zPU

gimmesometruth27

it is pretty heavy to read or hear the words of a condemned man. i mean, really, think about it. these are the last words of a man who will be dead in a few minutes. the concept blows my mind.

hedonist

He spoke of himself in the third person.

"Jimmy is pretty sweet on you!"

This dude who claimed to be *not a bad guy* killed a 39-yr-old during a burglary.

I don't really find his words chilling or thought-provoking.

I just find it sad that (at least from what I've read), there was no apology.

Good riddance.

brianlux

I agree with all of the above. My first post was typical of how my brain works when I hear about something as tragic as murder and death penalty. Both are horrible and hard to think about so my mind goes to something distracting.

Gimme, your post is where my heart goes- broken at the thought that someone could have such an effed up life that they resort to insane killing and then hear about their last words- that's difficult to deal with. Very heavy.

And Hedonist, I get how you feel as well- what this guy did is horrible.

Then layered on all of this is the thought that this sort of thing is media-ized up one side and then the other. Our society drools for this kind of news. We wallow in it like pigs in mud. I wish we had some quieter way of dealing with this sort of this like the Native Americans who banished such people from their midst. But today, where to? The moon?

The whole thing is saddening and a bit sickening.

lukin2006

Texas executes convicted killer who fatally shot firefighter, confessed to killing 4 others

http://www.timescolonist.com/news/natio ... s-1.319945

HUNTSVILLE, Texas - A Texas man who confessed to killing five people during a six-month crime spree in 1998 has been executed.

Elroy Chester received lethal injection Wednesday evening in Huntsville for the fatal shooting of Port Arthur firefighter Willie Ryman III.

The 38-year-old Ryman interrupted Chester as he sexually assaulted Ryman's two teenage nieces during a break-in at their home 15 years ago. Chester was on probation at the time, was arrested soon after and subsequently pleaded guilty to Ryman's slaying.

Evidence also showed Chester was responsible for three rapes and 25 home break-ins during his crime wave.

The execution was carried out after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a last-day appeal that raised questions whether a federal judge who ruled against Chester in an earlier was biased against him.

I think I'll save my sympathy for the victims ... anyways he sounds like a real piece work ...

Who Princess

The article in the OP didn't give his complete comments.

Elroy Chester, 44, said that he didn't want relatives of his victims to have "hate in your heart for me."

Chester said he confessed to killing firefighter Willie Ryman III because "you should know who killed your loved one."

"Don't hate me. I'm sorry for taking your loved one," Chester said. "Elroy Chester wasn't a bad man, I don't care what anybody says. A lot of people say I didn't commit those murders. I really did it."

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/06/12 ... rylink=cpy

I don't like the death penalty but it's not that I'm sympathetic toward this guy. I just noticed that the first article quoted him incompletely.

Thirty Bills Unpaid

hedonist wrote:

He spoke of himself in the third person.

"Jimmy is pretty sweet on you!"

This dude who claimed to be *not a bad guy* killed a 39-yr-old during a burglary.

I don't really find his words chilling or thought-provoking.

I just find it sad that (at least from what I've read), there was no apology.

Good riddance.

Apologies can be cheap and insincere these days. This guy, like most other killers, feels more sorry for himself than for his victim(s). When are people going to realize that- outside of mistakes- you don't have to get yourself executed: just don't kill people.

If people would stop murdering other people, we wouldn't have to debate what is the most appropriate thing to do with them given what they have done. We could shift our focus to The Porch and debate Vs. versus 10.

Most importantly, we could send our young children to the corner store and not have to worry about them not returning.

Lost In Ohio

One of the comments at that article:

One injection was too good for that evilness, for all the harm he done to so many people. Thank goodness that he's no longer able to hurt anyone! PEACE be to the survivors and the families that lost their loved ones!!! Don't let him win. Live your lives in spite of his evil deeds. YOU WON!!!

But how did the family of the victim(s) win? Did the murdered person(s) come back to life? Did the citizens of the state save tax money when the judge sentenced the defendant to death? Did the executioner(s) need psychotherapy? Who paid for that? Was it considered a "work-related expense"?

I don't understand the whole "getting to watch someone die" thing. I understand that there's a legal process and it has to be done, but who would actually agree to such a thing?

Oh please let it rain today. This city's so filthy. Like my mind in ways.
Oh it was the time. Like a clean new taste.
Smiling eyes before me and tears from my face.

Wash my love. Wash my love. Wash my love, yeah.

Sin for sale. Buying just a need. Just who planted all the devils seeds?
And what's the truth? And the truth that lies at home.
It's on the inside and I can't get it off. Yeah.

Wash my love. Wash my love. Wash my love, yeah.

What's clean is pure. But hey, I'm white on the outside. Though I stray.
What she don't know today might kill us both tomorrow. Bring it back someday.
Bring it back, bring it back. Back to, to the clean form. To the pure form.

Wash my love. [x8]
Ooh...

hedonist

Lost In Ohio wrote:

One of the comments at that article:

One injection was too good for that evilness, for all the harm he done to so many people. Thank goodness that he's no longer able to hurt anyone! PEACE be to the survivors and the families that lost their loved ones!!! Don't let him win. Live your lives in spite of his evil deeds. YOU WON!!!

But how did the family of the victim(s) win? Did the murdered person(s) come back to life? Did the citizens of the state save tax money when the judge sentenced the defendant to death? Did the executioner(s) need psychotherapy? Who paid for that? Was it considered a "work-related expense"?

I don't understand the whole "getting to watch someone die" thing. I understand that there's a legal process and it has to be done, but who would actually agree to such a thing?

The person who wrote that comment could answer to it. Personally, despite generally supporting capital punishment, I don't think I could bear witness to an execution. However, for those girls who the killer sexually assaulted (did he rape them and if so, why not say as much?) and then saw their uncle murdered, maybe it helped them, brought some sense of closure. I sure hope so.

Who Princess

hedonist wrote:

The person who wrote that comment could answer to it. Personally, despite generally supporting capital punishment, I don't think I could bear witness to an execution. However, for those girls who the killer sexually assaulted (did he rape them and if so, why not say as much?) and then saw their uncle murdered, maybe it helped them, brought some sense of closure. I sure hope so.

Yes, they were raped. He was convicted of sexual assault because that is the terminology in the Texas Criminal Code.

I was a rape crisis volunteer in the 80s when the code was changed to the new wording. Rape crisis centers were opposed to the change as were many district attorneys for the reason that you questioned--it confuses the nature of the assault. So many things can fall under the description sexual assault.

I also don't believe that I could watch an execution. I don't know how I'd feel if it were my family member who was murdered but the whole idea of witnessing an execution bothers me a lot. I suppose it's meaningful to the victim's loved ones, since many choose to do it.

cincybearcat

I'm fairly certain I could watch an execution if the circumstances were right.

I don't think the families of the victims won...but any potential future victims did.

chadwick

monsters like this prick here & their last words do nothing for me & do not give me any sort of a aching heart or a tear in my eye nor any heavy weight felt. i actually feel nothing at all negative about it. i do feel it should have happened a long while ago. kimberly mccarthy is next on the list for this prison system in whatever town texas.

goodnight monstersszzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

vant0037

Capital punishment debate aside, if we're going to analyze this guy's last words and try to extrapolate some sort of meaning, it's worth noting that he had an IQ of less than 70.

So, if his words were strange or awkward or if he referred to himself in the third person, there might be a reason. If you're going to presume from his words a lack of remorse or sincerity, especially just moments before he's executed, there might be a reason not to.

hedonist

vant0037 wrote:

Capital punishment debate aside, if we're going to analyze this guy's last words and try to extrapolate some sort of meaning, it's worth noting that he had an IQ of less than 70.

So, if his words were strange or awkward or if he referred to himself in the third person, there might be a reason. If you're going to presume from his words a lack of remorse or sincerity, especially just moments before he's executed, there might be a reason not to.

For what he did? I know you're coming at it from a different angle, but IQ aside (he was more than capable of carrying out and getting away with multiple crimes for several months), I don't care to try and find meaning in him or his last words.

vant0037

hedonist wrote:

vant0037 wrote:

Capital punishment debate aside, if we're going to analyze this guy's last words and try to extrapolate some sort of meaning, it's worth noting that he had an IQ of less than 70.

So, if his words were strange or awkward or if he referred to himself in the third person, there might be a reason. If you're going to presume from his words a lack of remorse or sincerity, especially just moments before he's executed, there might be a reason not to.

For what he did? I know you're coming at it from a different angle, but IQ aside (he was more than capable of carrying out and getting away with multiple crimes for several months), I don't care to try and find meaning in him or his last words.

Then why are we talking about it? I'm saying nothing of what he did or what he deserved. Take his last words for what they are: his last words. Beyond that, if someone's going to try and determine if he was remorseful or sincere or justifiably executed, based on those last words, I'm going to politely remind them of the inefficacy of trying to draw meaning from the words of a guy with an IQ south of 70 moments before he's going to die.

hedonist

vant0037 wrote:

Then why are we talking about it? I'm saying nothing of what he did or what he deserved. Take his last words for what they are: his last words. Beyond that, if someone's going to try and determine if he was remorseful or sincere or justifiably executed, based on those last words, I'm going to politely remind them of the inefficacy of trying to draw meaning from the words of a guy with an IQ south of 70 moments before he's going to die.

I initially responded to the comment in the OP about his words being thought-provoking.

Guess my point is, I didn't find them provocative or meaningful, even in the context of his last minutes. Maybe his final statements meant something to him - which is fine, it's on him to greet death believing he wasn't a bad guy - but my caring about that, well...it just isn't there.

vant0037

hedonist wrote:

vant0037 wrote:

Then why are we talking about it? I'm saying nothing of what he did or what he deserved. Take his last words for what they are: his last words. Beyond that, if someone's going to try and determine if he was remorseful or sincere or justifiably executed, based on those last words, I'm going to politely remind them of the inefficacy of trying to draw meaning from the words of a guy with an IQ south of 70 moments before he's going to die.

I initially responded to the comment in the OP about his words being thought-provoking.

Guess my point is, I didn't find them provocative or meaningful, even in the context of his last minutes. Maybe his final statements meant something to him - which is fine, it's on him to greet death believing he wasn't a bad guy - but my caring about that, well...it just isn't there.

Indifference is fine, but my point is that let's not draw conclusions about the guy's true feelings or demerits based on what he says just before he dies. Maybe you weren't doing that, but others were and it doesn't make much sense at this point.