Baby killer seeks clemency... *warning - ugly, depressing story*

[Dingo]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/02/steven-smith-death-sentence_n_2996518.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

For those of you that don't want to pollute your minds with the protracted details of the whole sordid thing, the cliffs notes are:

Man can't perform with girlfriend, gets mad, gets drunk, decides to rape her 6 month old, accidentally kills her.
He's charged only with murder initially, and convicted. Now as his execution date draws closer, there's question about commuting his sentence altogether. This is because his public defenders are saying he intended only to commit the rape, not kill the infant, and was too drunk to realize he was killing her. Since they never initially charged him with rape, the only thing he was tried for is murder which is being brought into question because of the aforementioned items. He's asking for the sentence to be commuted to a prison term, since execution requires intent to murder with the initial act.

From a legal standpoint, does he stand a chance with this?

And yes, he should be blinded with a spoon, rectally impaled on a blunt object, and left to die of exposure, but unfortunately it's not a perfect world.

[Jesus-With-A-.45]

If they need my help........

I could kill that man without hesitation or remorse.

[cofi]

Props to the leo who responded I woulda killed his ass with my bare hands

[hghclsswhitetrsh]

Props to the leo who responded I woulda killed his ass with my bare hands

Yup. This.

[hurley842002]

No amount of money could get me to publicly defend that animal, you can shove that bar # up your a$$.....

[jhood001]

Would they dismiss murder charges for a drunk robber that shoots a few people on his way out of a bank?

Kill that fucker.

[Chad4000]

^^^ exactly....

[centrarchidae]

Legally, he caused a death while in commission of another violent felony. In CO, that would damn sure be first-degree murder and he'd be eligible to go be neighbors with Nathan Dunlap for a few decades.

Or someone could just fix his teeth with a Millermatic arc-plasma cutter. I think I could, in time, learn to be okay with that.

[mikedubs]

"I only meant to rape her Officer, not kill her"

So that's somehow less bad? You're a slightly better POS because you didn't "intend"?

Wait till winter, the drive him up to Lake Erie and toss him in.

[J]

Death penalty requires intent. Felony homicide is not eligible for death penalty.

I feel that his crime should be sentenced with death, recusitation and then death again to make him die twice. But legally I think he has some small shot of winning this. Sickening.

[cofi]

Death penalty requires intent. Felony homicide is not eligible for death penalty.

I feel that his crime should be sentenced with death, recusitation and then death again to make him die twice. But legally I think he has some small shot of winning this. Sickening.

sometimes our system really sucks

[Kraven251]

sorry I am beginning to miss the hang em high roots of our country...you kill someone committing a crime you die, your intent was to commit a crime someone died in commission of that crime, you die.

you rape a child, you die. what the hell is wrong with people in this country

[soldier-of-the-apocalypse]

How about we just let him serve life in prison.......... In general population I'm sure things will be sorted out nicely

[Dingo]

How about we just let him serve life in prison.......... In general population I'm sure things will be sorted out nicely

That's the conundrum... do we want to pay a ridiculous amount to keep him alive for another 50 years to punish him, or pay an even more exorbitant amount to wade through the legal swamp of killing him after 15 years on death row? I think a death sentence should be given 1 year's worth of appeals, then over and done.