It’s Hard to Find a Troy King Supporter These Days
September 18th, 2007 by Steve
For readers from outside of Alabama, there is a strange angle to a death penalty case going on. Here’s the short version from the Birmingham News:
King seized control of the murder case after a Shelby County judge ruled the defendant, LaSamuel Gamble, could no longer be constitutionally sentenced to death. King said he will appeal the judge’s decision and criticized local prosecutor Robby Owens for supporting the lesser sentence.
King called Owens’ change of heart “incredible and outrageous” and said the district attorney “acted on the side of the criminal.” King’s comments are the ones that are really incredible and outrageous.
King well knows the story behind the story: Because of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling since Gamble’s trial in 1997, it would now be patently unjust to carry out his death sentence for the 1996 murder of John Burleson and Janice Littleton.
The Supreme Court ruled that people can’t be executed for crimes they committed as juveniles. The ruling doesn’t apply to Gamble, but it did affect his cousin and partner in crime, Marcus Presley, who actually pulled the trigger during the robbery at John’s 280 Pawn.
How fair can it be for the actual killer to escape the ultimate punishment while his less culpable accomplice is put to death?
Basically, there were two people sentenced to death because of a 1996 murder. One was the triggerman and the other was the accomplice. The triggerman was a minor and the accomplice was an adult when the murder took place. After the sentencing, the Supreme Court ruled that minors can’t be executed. The prosecutor of the original case (Owens) had argued for the death penalty. However, because of the Supreme Court decision, Owens supported the reduction of the sentence of the accomplice because it wouldn’t be fair for the triggerman to receive a life sentence while the accomplice (who didn’t pull the trigger) is executed.
I was listening to the radio while in Birmingham yesterday and noted that Matt Murphy opposed the Attorney General on the issue. Here’s a short Alabama blog roundup:
- Daily Dixie: By the way, King’s actions here have nothing to do with the fact that Robbie Owens, a Republican from Shelby County, endorsed King’s opponent, Mobile District Attorney John Tyson, in 2006. It also has nothing to do with the fact that King is getting a lot of negative press lately from Anthony Castaldo’s allegations of political prosecution. Of course not.
- Docs Political Parlor: A point in favor of the District Attorney’s assertion that there is something less-than-professional about King’s public statements is that the particular capital case in question is on appeal and so prosecution would be moved to Troy King’s office anyway. (See paragraph 6 here.) Seeing that his office would handle the case anyway, why the need to announce that he was taking the case away from Robbie Owens unless there was intent to publicly disparage Owens?
- Alabama GOP: Conspicously silent
- AlaDems: Now you’ve got King who’s clearly going after anyone who opposes him, even eating his own if he has to. I’m not so sure I should post this blog piece, since I’ve got a wife and kids and a life to lose. I have to be honest, I’m a bit afraid he’ll be sending someone after me now, but sometimes you’ve got to stand up for what’s right. The AG’s office is not your personal campaign headquarters.
- Birmingham Blues: See, in Troy King’s world, spending the rest of your life in an Alabama prison equals “getting off”, and he can’t have that. In Troy’s world, a day without an execution just doesn’t feel quite right. So he’s donning his cape and tights and riding to the rescue once again. If he takes down someone else on his political “enemies list” along the way — well, that’s just lagniappe.
- Bessemer Opinions: King, who like so many republicans, loves to see the state in the business of killing people, was outraged, and has now taken his former opponent’s supporter off the case. And he will argue to have Gamble’s death penalty reinstated.
- Left In Alabama reran a good quotation to describe political prosecutions: Precisely this sort of abuse is hardly an unknown phenomenon. In the presidency of John Adams, Federalists wielded the prosecutorial power brutally to silence and lock up their most effective adversaries. In a private letter from Thomas Jefferson during this period which I reproduced here, Jefferson termed this practice the “reign of witches,” and he so much feared himself being the target of a prosecution he insisted that his correspondent take care to keep his letter secret. And the dilemma repeated itself frequently throughout the nineteenth century.
- The World Around You: Well, guess what Troy? You’re the chief law enforcement officer in this state, and if you can’t accept rulings of the Supreme Court, you have no business being in that post.
- Thomason Tracts: “Troy”, under attack from virtually every lead prosecutor in the state, now says that the Shelby DA was “working for the criminal”. “Troy” apparently doesn’t understand such concepts as “officer of the court” or that there might be more to being a prosecutor than just trying to get as many people executed as possible.
It’s pretty rare day when the editorial page of the Birmingham News and I agree about anything. I’ll stand by this line they used, though:
Attorney General Troy King should be ashamed of himself. But that would assume he has any shame. He apparently doesn’t.
King needs to wake up and smell the roses. Liberals are against him. Moderates are against him. Conservatives are against him. Libertarians are against him. Progressives are against him. Republicans are against him. Democrats are against him. The Alabama District Attorneys Association is against him. The Alabama mainstream print media is against him. The Alabama blogosphere is against him. One might think, with opposition coming from all of these different quarters, that King would back down — even if he has no shame.
3 Responses to “It’s Hard to Find a Troy King Supporter These Days”
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Danny wrote on 09/19/07 at 12:49 am :
Thanks for the link, Stephen.
I must say that the best line imo is Kathy’s: “See, in Troy King’s world, spending the rest of your life in an Alabama prison equals ‘getting off’, and he can’t have that.”
Dan wrote on 09/19/07 at 1:46 am :
I honestly hadn’t thought about Danny’s point (and unfortunately must’ve missed that particular post on his fine website). I think it’s a good one.
diana wrote on 07/19/08 at 5:55 pm :
Troy King should spend some time in the prison atmosphere for a while and see what people go through his mother should cry herself to sleep at night wondering if her child is alright.heard king was a gay he looks like he is.