Several high profile cases are among those set to be arraigned in Pike County superior court Tuesday, Feb. 9, before Judge Christopher Edwards.
Notable cases in court Feb. 9
Teresa Mangham Burousas will face arraignment on charges of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during a crime or attempt to commit a crime.
Timothy C. Piper, two counts first degree vehicular homicide, driving with an unlawful blood alcohol concentration, DUI less safe, reckless driving and operation of an unregistered vehicle. In a May 2009 accident on Highway 19 South near Highway 109, a Toyota Four-Runner driven by Piper struck a Ford Explorer driven by William Dunn of Atlanta. An unidentified male, who was pronounced dead at Upson Regional Medical Center, was a passenger in the Explorer.
Mindi Renea Bishop will stand before the court on charges of statutory rape and sexual battery. She is accused of sexual activity with a 15-year-old boy.
Three young men are facing charges related to church vandalism at New Hope Baptist Church, Flat Rock Church and Nazareth Church in Meansville.
For more, read the Wednesday, Feb. 3 print/eEdition of The Pike County Journal-Reporter.
Timothy C. Piper, two counts first degree vehicular homicide, driving with an unlawful blood alcohol concentration, DUI less safe, reckless driving and operation of an unregistered vehicle. In a May 2009 accident on Highway 19 South near Highway 109, a Toyota Four-Runner driven by Piper struck a Ford Explorer driven by William Dunn of Atlanta. An unidentified male, who was pronounced dead at Upson Regional Medical Center, was a passenger in the Explorer.
Mindi Renea Bishop will stand before the court on charges of statutory rape and sexual battery. She is accused of sexual activity with a 15-year-old boy.
Three young men are facing charges related to church vandalism at New Hope Baptist Church, Flat Rock Church and Nazareth Church in Meansville.
For more, read the Wednesday, Feb. 3 print/eEdition of The Pike County Journal-Reporter.
We need to bring back immediate public hangings when someone is convicted of a capital crime.
As of Nov. 3, 2009, there have been 139 exonerations in 26 different states, including five in Georgia, according to The Death Penalty Information Center. There is a reason for the process in place.
Don't get me wrong, those who truly commit capital crimes should face the consequences of their actions. But the judicial process involves people, and people - even with the best of intentions - can be fallible.
But if what you post is true, I think the reason is that there is no immediate consequence. If there was, prosecuters would be more diligent and the innocent would hire better lawyers.
As of Nov, 2009....139 exonerations have been granted. Ok, so let’s subtract that number from the number of inmates incarcerated in the USA as in 2008, 2,424,279. 139 people in how many years? Not just in 2009? Hummm...let’s see
2,424,279 - 139 = 2,424,140
Hardly seems to be a monumental factor in comparison to the reintroduction of capital punishment. The sheer numbers of incarcerated speak volumes and the message is the legal system is not reducing or projecting an effective deterrent to crime.
In response to "Observer of the observer," Wow! What if it was someone you knew on death row and you truly believed that person was wrongly convicted? Would you not take advantage of the process of appeals in place? And how does the death of an innocent person save lives? Does facing the possibility of a speeding ticket keep a lot of people from speeding? Just drive along Highway 19 and see.
And Mathematician, compare apples to apples - people on death row to those exonerated, not the total of those incarcerated to those exonerated of a capital crime.
I am speaking of a process, not of the laws and punishment. Criminals should be punished. I just happen to think we basically have a sound judicial process.
I did a bit more research and there are at least 3 different sites including the one you reference that claim different numbers.
All of these sites including the one you referenced are places that work to exonerate those "wrongly" convicted.
Could these figures be self-serving?
Oh and for the numbers death row inmates represent 1/4 of 1% (6061). So 139 would be a 2.2% error rate.
Do you have any official statistics on the subject?
"Now all we can do is wait as our world self-destructs as we watch from behind the glass."