Capital attorneys with the Public Interest Litigation Clinic say they expect the Missouri Supreme Court to announce an execution date for Dennis Skillicorn, a 49-year-old inmate at the Potosi Correctional Center, of May 20, 2009. Skillicorn's previous execution date, August 27, 2008, was stayed after Skillicorn asserted that Potosi's warden was interfering with his council's attempts to interview prison staff in order to present a thorough request for clemency to the governor.
Skillicorn and Allen Nicklasson, dubbed "The Good Samaritan Killers," were convicted in Lafayette County of first-degree murder for killing Richard Drummond in the summer of 1994. Nicklasson is also on Missouri's death row.
Some people think Skillicorn should be spared.
Others don't.
In 2006, executions were halted in Missouri over U.S. District Judge Fernando J. Gaitan Jr.'s decision that the state's methods of lethal injection subjected inmates to unconstitutional pain and suffering. Gaitan was troubled by the fact that Dr. Alan Doerhoff, the doctor who had administered the lethal drug cocktail to 54 of Missouri's capital inmates, is dyslexic and has trouble reading numbers. Screw ups with drug quantities could make death by lethal injection agonizingly painful. More disturbing facts regarding Doerhoff been revealed since -- like the fact that Doerhoff has been sued over 20 times for malpractice and is barred from working in two Missouri hospitals.
In June 2007, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis decided that Missouri's death penalty is constitutional, paving the way for today's expected announcement.
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Well here goes,the officers that made their comments are correct.The offenders get to have all of their health care needs met if not on the inside then are sent out to a doctor,yes you read it right,to an outside Dr..Rights are given to all of us to protect us from cruel and unusual punishment.We as corrections officers are not the punishers,Ill write it again,we are not the punishers.We are the keepers,I like that term,I got that from a TV.documentary.the death sentance that Mr. Skillcorn got was justified by a jury and a judge,his crimes that are so outragous,should have already been paid for with his life.but the law protects people like him to the last.I as an officer of the state, dont always agree with the timing of some things,but they must be done correctly.
Life in prison might be acceptable if it was truly life no chance of parole. And, if it was life at hard labor, and I mean hard labor. I'm talking shackled to a chain gang and outside making little rocks out of little ones with a sledge. At least 10 hours a day seven days a week. After all their victims don't get any time off from being dead.
i do disagree with the death penalty life with out parole is alot better.
for murder in Singapore you can get life sentcen and 24 lashes of the rattan cane.
i do like lethal injestion. Van nguyen took drugs into singapore and they hanged him. USA should look at using hanging or a firing squad like in Indonesia. much faster way to die or chop off there head like in Saudi arabia
Firing squad is the best way. 12 guns are pointed at you one gun has the bullet and you do not know which gun has the bullet
How many years of appeals did the victims get? We have people outside of prison that work and don't have any healthcare, people that can't afford their electric bills, even though they work hard at an honest job. We have people that are losing their homes. Yet, the Skillicorns of the world have more than some law abiding citizens have. It may not be to their liking, but, prisoners do have necessities good, honest people don't. I'm sure the cons would much prefer being on the outside, doing drugs, robbing and killing to get the freebies they feel they so deserve. How many cons will stand up and admit guilt? Very few. Read the cases, not just what the anti death penalty people want you to read.
In response to Paul's comments, I too work inside for the correctional system and he is correct about the aspects of prison. They do get free healthcare, bedding, clothing, shoes, etc. (all at a cost to taxpayers). They get free education, room, and board (all at a cost to taxpayers). They get satellite TV which is supposedly paid for from their commisary (offender store within the prisons) spending otherwise at the cost of taxpayers. If they cannot afford their own attorney(s), guess who pays for that, the taxpayers. The offenders are treated rather well. Most of the time better than the staff as the offenders seem to have more rights inside of the correctional facilities. I would suggest / request that those who seem to think that the offenders do not have it "cushy" to apply for and work within the correctional system. They would soon realize why so many offenders who get out of the prison system return. They are able to receive more (free of charge) in prison then out of prison and having to work for it.
Yeah, I bet it's so cushy, you'd gladly change places with them, huh? With all due respect, you don't know what you are talking about. Back that up with some proof. It's not a hotel! Stop making everyone think it is--you're misleading people because you hate prisoners and I have to wonder if you like to torture them "because they deserve it".
I have yet to see people like you clamour to get locked up so you can have "the life of Riley". You know it ain't so, so quit lying about it. And if you're so quick to get rid of the Constitution and Bill of Rights for others, then those rights won't be there for you, either, and one day, you just might need them!
I have an idea. Why not just kill them quickly and swiftly? It's stupid that it's allowed to drag on for years and years.
To nobodyshero:
I have worked in the prison system for 10 years now and I can tell you that they have it pretty cushy. They're able to get healthcare, a free lawyer, decent meals, tv, books, visitors, extra blankets, most get to do jobs and get out of their cells, and they get the ability to buy things they want at the commissary. Do you think these are rights that someone should have that kill others? I say that's crazy. This is exactly why a lot of people end up back in the system.. because it's cushy and why give up all the freebies and security when you have it provided for you without having to do much for it.
@nobodyshero:
According to www.deathpenaltyinfo.org, there are 50 men on death row in Missouri. (And 10 in Kansas.)
I can't tell you HOW it costs more but I can tell you that it does in every state that practices it and it is not even close. The closest Kansas has come to repeal of the death penalty was over budget crisis issues. We are not satisfied to lock people up for the rest of their lives- we feel the need to pay the large extra cost to tied them down and kill them. We could drastically improve our prisons and it would still be cheaper to keep people alive than to kill them.
How can killing a prisoner cost so much? Lawyers' fees. These things drag out for years -- 15, 20, 30 years and all that time there are appeals, hearings, more appeals, more discussion, etc. We feed and house them for 30 years, and pay for lawyers on BOTH sides to make sure that every side is heard. It can cost over a $1 million in fees to bring a prisoner to the execution chamber. Missouri has 14 (I think) men on death row. If they're not indigent when they come to trial, they soon will be, so we all pick up the tab.
Prisoners have it cushy? Yea, right, living in a place the size of a bathroom for most of the day, having all your phone calls listened to, having limited time to visit family, yea, that's a cushy life. Plus the fact that your neighbors are crazy and you can't really get away from them.
I think this system is madness. I'd save the death penalty for those convicted of treason. I'd much rather have the money spent on health insurance for children, shelters for the homeless, rehab for addicts, on education or roads. But we have some legal protections in our laws and as long as we have the death penalty, we have to make sure those rules are followed.
How can killing a prisoner cost more than feeding and housing them for 50+ years? I want to see some facts to back up that claim.
Capital punishment costs way more than keeping criminals in prison for life. Abolish the death penalty and use the money we save for things that are truly valuable.
People who are sentenced to die in Missouri have obviously committed acts that have put them in their current situation. Who cares if they have to endure pain? Do they show that same mercy for their own victims? I think most of them wouldn't think twice about the pain they inflict. It irritates me that we have to debate about the treatment of criminals. Not just any criminals either... we're talking about ones that have committed heinous acts. Why is it we're allowing them to have all kinds of freedoms and rights, but we can't give our homeless and impoverished Missouri children the same treatment? Where is the food, shelter, books, health care, and entertainment for these children?
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