Post by SoulTrainOz on Jul 16, 2006 4:02:07 GMT -5
By RAY LIGHTNER HDJ Staff Writer
Major Gen. Mike Collings signed off Tuesday on the death penalty of Senior Airman Andrew Paul Witt. Collings, the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center commander, signed papers Tuesday approving a military panel’s findings of guilty and sentencing of Witt to the death penalty. Since the trial resulted in a conviction, Collings as the convening authority, carefully reviewed all trial documents and request for clemency. Witt was found guilty of two specifications of premeditated murder and one specification of attempted premeditated murder for the July 5, 2004 murders of Senior Airman Andy Schliepsiek and his wife Jamie and the attempted murder of Senior Airman Jason King. He was sentenced to death following a 19-day court martial hearing in October of 2005. Following the trial, the record was authenticated the judge, Col. Thomas Cumbie, and sent to Collings the Robins Air Force Base commander, as the convening authority for the court martial, for “the final act,” in the court martial, the approval of the sentence. Collings could have reduced the sentence to life without parole before signing off on the case, Robins Judge Advocate Col. Jeff Robb explained in October. Collings was also permitted to consider information not presented in trial in his decision on the defense request from clemency “The findings and sentence as approved by Gen. Collings will now go to the Judge Advocate General of the Air Force and then forwarded to the Air Force Court of Appeals for review,” said Col. Warner Meadows, WR-ALC Staff Judge Advocate. “After the Air Force Court of Appeals review, the Air Force Judge Advocate General refers the case to the Court of Criminal Appeals for the Armed Forces (CAAF).” Meadows added that the Supreme Court of the United States has discretion to review cases under the Uniform Code of Military Justice on direct appeal where the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces has conducted a mandatory review. One example of such a mandatory review for the CAAF is all death penalty cases. The President of the United States personally authorizes all military death penalties, and can commute the sentence to life without parole, Robb said, as the governor can do in state cases. Witt is the only Air Force member sitting on death row at Fort Leavenworth prison in Kansas. Witt’s death sentence is the first Air Force death sentence since the United States vs. Jose Simoy in 1992, which on appeal was set aside, and Simoy is currently serving a life sentence. There are currently nine soldiers on death row, including Witt. The last execution was in 1961. U.S. Army Pvt. John A. Bennett was hanged April 13, 1961 after being convicted of rape and attempted murder. Of the 135 executed since 1916, none were from the Air Force. Witt will spend the rest of his life at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, during the appeals, with his execution, by lethal injection to be administered there by Army personnel. At the trial, Witt apologized to the victims and their families in spoken and unsworn statements – not under oath and not subject at cross-examination. “To the Schliepsiek and Bielenberg families, I’m so, so sorry, from the bottom of my being fro taking you son and daughter. To Mr. King, I so sorry I hurt you.” In his 4-page written unsworn statement, entered as defense exhibit BS during the trial, Witt also accepted his fate and his family was planning to move to Kansans to be closer to him. “Most of the time,” Witt said, “I am certain that I would prefer to get death rather than spend 50 to 60 years in prison until I died. I cannot imagine what it will be like sitting through each day and night as I reflect on what I did – after over 15 months of doing that already, I have no doubt that it will be a severe punishment.” Witt said he also realized “that if I get a death sentence my family will lose any hope in seeing me and watch me redeem myself in some way. Because of that I ask you to please consider giving me a life sentence rather than death.” His mother and stepfather also unsuccessfully asked the members for mercy. “We’re trusting, praying mercy will given. That’s all we ask for,” said Greg Pehling. His mother Melanie Pehling said, “We are asking for mercy. I know this kid has more to offer than what happened that night of July 4th.” On that night Witt dressed in his battle dress uniform (BDU’s), put a combat knife in the trunk of his car, drove onto the base, parked a few blocks away from the Schliepsiek home, ran to King’s house, saw the three victims leaving and followed on foot to the Schliepsiek home and watched them for a while. He then pushed open the front door, stabbed Andy Schliepsiek once, stabbed King once as he had Witt in a headlock, the chased King out of the house and stabbing him twice more in the back. Witt then went back in the house, stabbed Andy Schliepsiek again, paralyzing him and attacked Jamie Schliepsiek, chasing her down the hall, forcing open the bedroom door, stabbing her several times as she fought back. He left her for dead and finished Andy off with, stabbing him through the heart. Witt then ran back to his car, hiding the knife near a tree on his way, left the base, threw away his bloodied hat and boots in a dumpster by a day care center, went home and changed. The Schliepsieks’ bodies were discovered by security forces early that morning at their base home. King colapes in a neighbor’s yard, after running toward the nearest proch light for help. Robins officials said the killings are the first in the base’s 60-year history. Witt, 22 at the time, was apprehended on base that evening by Air Force Office of Special Investigations agents near the crime scene after returning to the base with a friend. He was held in pretrial detention at the Houston COnty jail and has been at Levenworth since his conviction in October. Witt has been in the Air Force since Nov. 27, 2001 and is an avionics technician in the 116th Air Control Wing, to which he was assigned on Aug. 26, 2002, Robins officials said. King, was assigned to the 53rd Combat Communications Squadron of the 5th Combat Communications Group at Robins. Schliepsiek also of the 5th was a member of the 54th CCS. Schliepsiek arrived at Robins three years ago for his first operational assignment. He was a ground radar maintenance technician and had deployed to Iraq from March to September of 2003. The charges against Witt were filed under Article 118 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice by his squadron commander, Lt. Col. David B. Milner. The maximum penalty under Article 118 is death. It took the 12 officers, the members of the court, eight and half hours over three days to decide on the verdict in the sentencing of Witt in the death penalty court martial. “All votes were unanimous,” the president of the panel, Col. Eriksen, told the court, for the death sentence, as were the votes to convict. The 12 members of the panel were identified only by rank and last name as 1st Lt. Albertsen, Capt. Russell, Capt. Branson, Major Straughan, Lt. Col. Koerkenmeier, Lt. Col Wilford, Lt. Col. Hess, Lt. Col, Rowlands, Col. Sharpless, Col. Holcomb, Col. Tufts and Col. Eriksen. Eriksen told the judge “The panel found the five aggravating factors – one or more murders; murder committed during a burglary or forced entry into the home; the murders caused substantial and physical and emotional suffering for the victims agony, the suffering was prolonged and that they substantially outweighed the mitigating factors in the case.
Source: The Houston Home Journal
news.mywebpal.com/partners/963/public/news733241.html
Major Gen. Mike Collings signed off Tuesday on the death penalty of Senior Airman Andrew Paul Witt. Collings, the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center commander, signed papers Tuesday approving a military panel’s findings of guilty and sentencing of Witt to the death penalty. Since the trial resulted in a conviction, Collings as the convening authority, carefully reviewed all trial documents and request for clemency. Witt was found guilty of two specifications of premeditated murder and one specification of attempted premeditated murder for the July 5, 2004 murders of Senior Airman Andy Schliepsiek and his wife Jamie and the attempted murder of Senior Airman Jason King. He was sentenced to death following a 19-day court martial hearing in October of 2005. Following the trial, the record was authenticated the judge, Col. Thomas Cumbie, and sent to Collings the Robins Air Force Base commander, as the convening authority for the court martial, for “the final act,” in the court martial, the approval of the sentence. Collings could have reduced the sentence to life without parole before signing off on the case, Robins Judge Advocate Col. Jeff Robb explained in October. Collings was also permitted to consider information not presented in trial in his decision on the defense request from clemency “The findings and sentence as approved by Gen. Collings will now go to the Judge Advocate General of the Air Force and then forwarded to the Air Force Court of Appeals for review,” said Col. Warner Meadows, WR-ALC Staff Judge Advocate. “After the Air Force Court of Appeals review, the Air Force Judge Advocate General refers the case to the Court of Criminal Appeals for the Armed Forces (CAAF).” Meadows added that the Supreme Court of the United States has discretion to review cases under the Uniform Code of Military Justice on direct appeal where the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces has conducted a mandatory review. One example of such a mandatory review for the CAAF is all death penalty cases. The President of the United States personally authorizes all military death penalties, and can commute the sentence to life without parole, Robb said, as the governor can do in state cases. Witt is the only Air Force member sitting on death row at Fort Leavenworth prison in Kansas. Witt’s death sentence is the first Air Force death sentence since the United States vs. Jose Simoy in 1992, which on appeal was set aside, and Simoy is currently serving a life sentence. There are currently nine soldiers on death row, including Witt. The last execution was in 1961. U.S. Army Pvt. John A. Bennett was hanged April 13, 1961 after being convicted of rape and attempted murder. Of the 135 executed since 1916, none were from the Air Force. Witt will spend the rest of his life at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, during the appeals, with his execution, by lethal injection to be administered there by Army personnel. At the trial, Witt apologized to the victims and their families in spoken and unsworn statements – not under oath and not subject at cross-examination. “To the Schliepsiek and Bielenberg families, I’m so, so sorry, from the bottom of my being fro taking you son and daughter. To Mr. King, I so sorry I hurt you.” In his 4-page written unsworn statement, entered as defense exhibit BS during the trial, Witt also accepted his fate and his family was planning to move to Kansans to be closer to him. “Most of the time,” Witt said, “I am certain that I would prefer to get death rather than spend 50 to 60 years in prison until I died. I cannot imagine what it will be like sitting through each day and night as I reflect on what I did – after over 15 months of doing that already, I have no doubt that it will be a severe punishment.” Witt said he also realized “that if I get a death sentence my family will lose any hope in seeing me and watch me redeem myself in some way. Because of that I ask you to please consider giving me a life sentence rather than death.” His mother and stepfather also unsuccessfully asked the members for mercy. “We’re trusting, praying mercy will given. That’s all we ask for,” said Greg Pehling. His mother Melanie Pehling said, “We are asking for mercy. I know this kid has more to offer than what happened that night of July 4th.” On that night Witt dressed in his battle dress uniform (BDU’s), put a combat knife in the trunk of his car, drove onto the base, parked a few blocks away from the Schliepsiek home, ran to King’s house, saw the three victims leaving and followed on foot to the Schliepsiek home and watched them for a while. He then pushed open the front door, stabbed Andy Schliepsiek once, stabbed King once as he had Witt in a headlock, the chased King out of the house and stabbing him twice more in the back. Witt then went back in the house, stabbed Andy Schliepsiek again, paralyzing him and attacked Jamie Schliepsiek, chasing her down the hall, forcing open the bedroom door, stabbing her several times as she fought back. He left her for dead and finished Andy off with, stabbing him through the heart. Witt then ran back to his car, hiding the knife near a tree on his way, left the base, threw away his bloodied hat and boots in a dumpster by a day care center, went home and changed. The Schliepsieks’ bodies were discovered by security forces early that morning at their base home. King colapes in a neighbor’s yard, after running toward the nearest proch light for help. Robins officials said the killings are the first in the base’s 60-year history. Witt, 22 at the time, was apprehended on base that evening by Air Force Office of Special Investigations agents near the crime scene after returning to the base with a friend. He was held in pretrial detention at the Houston COnty jail and has been at Levenworth since his conviction in October. Witt has been in the Air Force since Nov. 27, 2001 and is an avionics technician in the 116th Air Control Wing, to which he was assigned on Aug. 26, 2002, Robins officials said. King, was assigned to the 53rd Combat Communications Squadron of the 5th Combat Communications Group at Robins. Schliepsiek also of the 5th was a member of the 54th CCS. Schliepsiek arrived at Robins three years ago for his first operational assignment. He was a ground radar maintenance technician and had deployed to Iraq from March to September of 2003. The charges against Witt were filed under Article 118 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice by his squadron commander, Lt. Col. David B. Milner. The maximum penalty under Article 118 is death. It took the 12 officers, the members of the court, eight and half hours over three days to decide on the verdict in the sentencing of Witt in the death penalty court martial. “All votes were unanimous,” the president of the panel, Col. Eriksen, told the court, for the death sentence, as were the votes to convict. The 12 members of the panel were identified only by rank and last name as 1st Lt. Albertsen, Capt. Russell, Capt. Branson, Major Straughan, Lt. Col. Koerkenmeier, Lt. Col Wilford, Lt. Col. Hess, Lt. Col, Rowlands, Col. Sharpless, Col. Holcomb, Col. Tufts and Col. Eriksen. Eriksen told the judge “The panel found the five aggravating factors – one or more murders; murder committed during a burglary or forced entry into the home; the murders caused substantial and physical and emotional suffering for the victims agony, the suffering was prolonged and that they substantially outweighed the mitigating factors in the case.
Source: The Houston Home Journal
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