Post by SoulTrainOz on Jul 16, 2006 23:01:05 GMT -5
put to death
MEG KINNARD, Associated Press
COLUMBIA, S.C. - Making no final statement and keeping his eyes trained on the ceiling, William "Junior" Downs was put to death by lethal injection Friday for the 1999 kidnapping, rape and murder of a 6-year-old North Augusta boy.
The 39-year-old Augusta, Ga., man said he stopped Keenan O'Mailia as the boy rode his bicycle along a dirt path. Downs said he asked the boy his name, then threw him to the ground and strangled him.
Downs, who did not pursue any appeals, pleaded guilty to the crimes in 2002. Before he was sentenced to death, Downs told Circuit Judge Casey Manning he deserved to die for his crime.
"I think it would be disrespectful to the family and disrespectful to the whole world if you did not give me the death penalty," Downs said then.
Downs also pleaded guilty in 2005 to kidnapping, raping and killing a 10-year-old boy in Augusta in 1991. As part of a plea deal, and since he was already condemned to die in South Carolina, Downs agreed to be sentenced to two consecutive life sentences, plus 10 years.
In both cases, authorities said Downs sexually assaulted the victims after they were dead.
The mother of the Georgia victim was present to watch Downs take his final breath. Kathy Porter Favors sat in the front row of the witnesses' viewing area, quietly weeping and wiping her eyes as the execution was carried out.
Two of Downs' family members also witnessed his death. His brother, William Kelvin Downs, and sister, Carla Susan German, sat in the seats nearest to their brother's head. As the chemicals began to take their effect, and the color began to drain from their brother's face, William Downs took his sister's hand as she audibly wept.
When the burgundy curtain was drawn at approximately 6:03 p.m., Downs was lying on his back strapped to a table, his arms outstretched, the left one connected to tubing that would carry the lethal chemicals from the wall behind his head and into his veins. He wore a bright green jumpsuit and was covered from the waist down by white sheeting.
Two minutes later, the tubes began moving, signaling that the chemicals were beginning to make their way into Downs' veins. His eyes then blinked slowly several times, and Downs swallowed a few times before taking one visible breath through his mouth and becoming still.
At 6:17 p.m., approximately 12 minutes after the tubes shook, Raymond Reed, warden at the Manning Correctional Institution, said the state's death sentence against the man had been successfully carried out.
Immediately prior to the pronouncement, a physician entered the death chamber, using a stethoscope to verify that Downs' heart had ceased beating and checking the man's pupils by shining a light into his eyes.
In addition to three media witnesses, two law enforcement agents and the prosecutors who tried each case were also present to witness Downs' death. Aside from comments from the media witnesses, none of the other witnesses chose to make a statement.
Corrections officials said Downs was served his last meal - salted cashew nuts, instant french roast coffee, chocolate chip cookie dough, moose tracks ice cream and three Mr. Goodbar candy bars - early Friday afternoon.
Source : Associated Press
www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/breaking_news/15042291.htm
MEG KINNARD, Associated Press
COLUMBIA, S.C. - Making no final statement and keeping his eyes trained on the ceiling, William "Junior" Downs was put to death by lethal injection Friday for the 1999 kidnapping, rape and murder of a 6-year-old North Augusta boy.
The 39-year-old Augusta, Ga., man said he stopped Keenan O'Mailia as the boy rode his bicycle along a dirt path. Downs said he asked the boy his name, then threw him to the ground and strangled him.
Downs, who did not pursue any appeals, pleaded guilty to the crimes in 2002. Before he was sentenced to death, Downs told Circuit Judge Casey Manning he deserved to die for his crime.
"I think it would be disrespectful to the family and disrespectful to the whole world if you did not give me the death penalty," Downs said then.
Downs also pleaded guilty in 2005 to kidnapping, raping and killing a 10-year-old boy in Augusta in 1991. As part of a plea deal, and since he was already condemned to die in South Carolina, Downs agreed to be sentenced to two consecutive life sentences, plus 10 years.
In both cases, authorities said Downs sexually assaulted the victims after they were dead.
The mother of the Georgia victim was present to watch Downs take his final breath. Kathy Porter Favors sat in the front row of the witnesses' viewing area, quietly weeping and wiping her eyes as the execution was carried out.
Two of Downs' family members also witnessed his death. His brother, William Kelvin Downs, and sister, Carla Susan German, sat in the seats nearest to their brother's head. As the chemicals began to take their effect, and the color began to drain from their brother's face, William Downs took his sister's hand as she audibly wept.
When the burgundy curtain was drawn at approximately 6:03 p.m., Downs was lying on his back strapped to a table, his arms outstretched, the left one connected to tubing that would carry the lethal chemicals from the wall behind his head and into his veins. He wore a bright green jumpsuit and was covered from the waist down by white sheeting.
Two minutes later, the tubes began moving, signaling that the chemicals were beginning to make their way into Downs' veins. His eyes then blinked slowly several times, and Downs swallowed a few times before taking one visible breath through his mouth and becoming still.
At 6:17 p.m., approximately 12 minutes after the tubes shook, Raymond Reed, warden at the Manning Correctional Institution, said the state's death sentence against the man had been successfully carried out.
Immediately prior to the pronouncement, a physician entered the death chamber, using a stethoscope to verify that Downs' heart had ceased beating and checking the man's pupils by shining a light into his eyes.
In addition to three media witnesses, two law enforcement agents and the prosecutors who tried each case were also present to witness Downs' death. Aside from comments from the media witnesses, none of the other witnesses chose to make a statement.
Corrections officials said Downs was served his last meal - salted cashew nuts, instant french roast coffee, chocolate chip cookie dough, moose tracks ice cream and three Mr. Goodbar candy bars - early Friday afternoon.
Source : Associated Press
www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/breaking_news/15042291.htm