Dead Man Walking (951 hits)
Category: NewsRating: 1.67 on 31 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by jumpinjellyfish (View user info) at 2005-03-01 12:45:02 EST
The following headline was on Yahoo today: "Supreme Court Ends Execution of Juvenile Murderers". Upon reading it I was reminded of the following true story.
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When I came to work on the morning of March 11, 1997 I learned that my boss had just been murdered. He was Air Force Captain Jose Cobo and he was shot and killed by two carjackers.
The thieves, Vincent Gutierrez, 18, a convicted burglar and 1-time altar boy, and Randy Arroyo, 17, who was on probation for a previous criminal trespass conviction, wanted to steal Captain Cobo's car, a 1990 Mazda RX-7, for its parts, which they were going to use on a sports car owned by one of them.
They forced Captain Cobo, 39, into the car at gunpoint even though he pleaded with them to "just take the car," and let him live. Gutierrez got in the back seat and sat behind Cobo, who was forced into the passenger seat, while Arroyo drove.
Arroyo drove out of the parking lot of Cobo's apartment building and when he slowed down to get on the freeway on-ramp at the end of the street Cobo tried to jump out of the car. Unfortunately, the 1990 Mazda RX-7 had that "seat-belt in the track above the door thing" and when Cobo opened the door to jump the seatbelt didn't retract because the car was still moving. In fact the seatbelt locked in position, trapping him in the car.
When Arroyo saw Cobo attempting to escape he screamed at Gutierrez "shoot the motherfucker, he's trying to get away". Gutierrez complied, shooting Cobo in the back two times with a large caliber handgun, killing him instantly. The two then slowed down long enough to dump Cobo's body out at the top of the on-ramp.
They were caught because Arroyo got scared and went to the police. He realized that Gutierrez couldn't stop bragging about the crime in front of acquaintances and he figured he'd protect himself by turning in his friend. Unfortunately for him, he didn't know enough to get a lawyer first and he ended up incriminating himself along with Gutierrez.
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I know the details in the above story because I sat through large portions of the trial. In fact, I was there when the judge gave them both the death penalty. When the verdict was read I was happy because two more scumbags were going to get justice. In fact we joked around the office about how quickly they would be made somebody's "bitch" in prison.
But as the years passed I actually began to simply feel sorry for everyone involved. The whole thing was just so tragic and unnecessary. A 39-year-old man killed for car parts by two kids who thought they were hard-core criminals. I also began to feel that while Gutierrez deserved the death penalty for killing Cobo, Arroyo didn't because he hadn't actually pulled the trigger. This was just my opinion, and I never mentioned it to anyone.
Upon finding out today that Randy Arroyo won't be put to death due to his age at the time of the crime I'm not sure how I feel. Maybe justice has been done after all.
User Reviews
Submitted by forensicgirl3 (user info) at 2005-10-06 17:15:38 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Clockwork Orange prize!
Submitted by rad1101 (user info) at 2005-06-25 06:40:46 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I'm not on the fence regarding the death penalty.
I feel that the death penalty can not be applied fairly and justly, and should not be allowed.
I feel that prisoners that would otherwise be sentenced to death, or life w/O, they should be made to serve their time in a gulag in Alaska, no contact with their families or friends, EVER AGAIN FOR ANY REASON. It would be like they were dead.
Then, if sometime in the future it is found out the person really is not guilty, they could then go home. There would be provisions, of course, that prevent civil action against the state, as long as the case was presented in good faith.
However, until we get these gulags, kill the scumbags.
It's better than letting them become a part of prison culture, living in a pseudo-society.
Submitted by joedaddy (user info) at 2005-06-25 06:27:29 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Arroyo pulled the trigger with his mouth(Felony Murder).
There's more to say....but.....I won't....(you know).
At least nobody below was stupid enough to say they were sorry.
Submitted by wookie (user info) at 2005-03-15 10:12:40 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2003-01-10/pols_feature.html
Submitted by thorpe (user info) at 2005-03-11 07:13:10 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Makes you think
Submitted by c1ndy (user info) at 2005-03-11 06:43:17 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
it's an interesting dilema- especially when you look at the picture of this idiot. Maybe a long time in jail will make him think about what he has done. The thing with nasty teenage boys is that a percentage of them grow out of their stupidity- maybe he should have a chance to prove himself when he has paid his debt to society in 20 years or so. The trouble is that this is such an emotive crime- personally I think people who kill by knowingly drink driving, or battering their baby are just as guilty as this kid.
Submitted by Affinity (user info) at 2005-03-11 06:41:37 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Everytime someone is murdered there is a story to tell.
When you first hear the story you wanna kill the little twats.
The more you study a story the more confused the issues get.
Bad childhoods, peer pressure, media bullshit 50,000+ glamorised T.V. killings a day.
The more you know about these shit-fer-brains the less you wanna kill em.
Education engenders liberalism.
I hope
Submitted by thorpe (user info) at 2005-03-11 06:25:03 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Now to read this and review for real...
Submitted by thorpe (user info) at 2005-03-11 06:24:28 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
the settling of my every step
inching off of the earth
is magnified
by the things i've done
the thing that i've become
every lift of my hand
coffee cup and back
is magnified
by the things i've done
the things i've seen
the things i've caused
i'm a dead man walking
the hammer that i once brung down
now hovers over me
casts a shadow
a cross onto me
the hallways are all mocking me
what i've become
they're all mocking me
i'm a dead man walking
a dead man walking
a dead man walking
i'm a dead man walking
dead man walking
dead man walking
Submitted by mrwolf (user info) at 2005-03-11 06:08:39 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I'm struggling to agree with you...
My morals say that he didn't pull the trigger, the death penalty sucks anyway, and he was just a kid and we should feel sorry for him... But then his face says strap me to that chair and throw the switch.
What a predicament. He looks like a real cunt.
Submitted by munkeypants (user info) at 2005-03-01 16:21:31 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
hmmmm
Submitted by precision (user info) at 2005-03-01 16:04:39 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by icantsurf (user info) at 2005-03-01 12:59:58 (#)
Ranking: 0
The death penalty is ridiculous anyway. It doens't work as a deterrent and innocent people have been put to death. Until we are 100% confident in our shitty criminal justice system, which will never happen, we shouldn't practice it. I don't like the US being part of the small club of countries that do practice the death penalty: Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen etc.
===========================================================================================
Personally, I could care less about the deterrent argument...I'm for the Justice/Revenge of it. (oh, and while I'm thinking about it, those countries you mentioned...we're gonna eventually own them anyway, so all the better)
Submitted by TheSpook (user info) at 2005-03-01 15:48:24 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Shawshank
Submitted by kaos-king (user info) at 2005-03-01 15:38:50 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by ess-arr (user info) at 2005-03-01 15:22:02 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
thought provoking...
Submitted by Loren1 (user info) at 2005-03-01 13:59:33 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
I too, am probably permanently on the fence regarding the death penalty.
It might be a different story, however, if someone took the life of one of my loved ones.
I just don't know. I think maybe the victim's family should have a say in the sentencing on a per case basis.
Submitted by wookie (user info) at 2005-03-01 13:45:50 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Kudos to you for being able to admit your ambivalence.
Submitted by dodahdave (user info) at 2005-03-01 13:30:04 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Wow.
This is not what I expected when I began to read this post.
Well written, heartfelt. Thank you.
Submitted by RamJetMax (user info) at 2005-03-01 13:14:31 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
From the heart.
Submitted by PlaguedByMurphy (user info) at 2005-03-01 13:13:53 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by icantsurf (user info) at 2005-03-01 12:59:58 (#)
Ranking: 0
The death penalty is ridiculous anyway. It doens't work as a deterrent and innocent people have been put to death. Until we are 100% confident in our shitty criminal justice system, which will never happen, we shouldn't practice it. I don't like the US being part of the small club of countries that do practice the death penalty: Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen etc.
******* ******* ******* ******* ******* ******* *******
In this case, aren't they 100% sure the 2 are guilty?
I believe they should be executed
Submitted by TigerLilly (user info) at 2005-03-01 13:12:45 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
An eye for an eye.
Submitted by EbolaMay (user info) at 2005-03-01 13:11:43 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No pity for me in this life.
No pity for shit like that.
The Chinese have it right. Trial. Verdict. Sentance. Taken out back. Shot. End of story, end of criminal filth. Everybody's happy.
Submitted by Adamdidit2u (user info) at 2005-03-01 13:05:34 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I for one belive we should adopt China's practice
11:45 Verdict is handed down, Guilty
11:50 Sentencing commences, Death Penalty for Carjacking and Murder
12:05 Snacktime
12:10 Prisoners are escorted to public square outside of courthouse
12:15 They recieve 10 FREE bullets each to their vital organs.
12:16 They be dead
12:20 Second trial of the day begins, and the morgue has two new residents
Submitted by Shlongy (user info) at 2005-03-01 13:05:21 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
I wish they - the government - would just kill the fuckers...and all of their freinds, too.
Submitted by Badlands (user info) at 2005-03-01 13:04:51 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
This kind of shit makes my blood boil.
Think Arroyo didn't deserve the death penalty? Talk to the survivors that Capatain Cobo left behind...his mother, his father, his wife, his children, etc. Think it's been easy for them to pick up the pieces? Think it's fair that they'll never again have the opportunity to see his face smiling back at them over the dinner table? And why? Because some little fucking thugs tried to steal what was rightfully his and them shoot him in the back. Fucking cowards.
Arroyo ratted out his friend out of fear for his own ass getting caught, not out of remorse or regret for what had happened.
An eye for an eye, I say. They both deserve to be six feet under.
Submitted by Teephphah (user info) at 2005-03-01 13:03:20 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Tough issue. Emotion versus reason.
I still tend to side with emotion, though. Even though I should know better.
Submitted by icantsurf (user info) at 2005-03-01 12:59:58 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
The death penalty is ridiculous anyway. It doens't work as a deterrent and innocent people have been put to death. Until we are 100% confident in our shitty criminal justice system, which will never happen, we shouldn't practice it. I don't like the US being part of the small club of countries that do practice the death penalty: Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen etc.
Submitted by precision (user info) at 2005-03-01 12:59:48 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Kill them both, bullet to the back of the head.
Submitted by Davros (user info) at 2005-03-01 12:56:34 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
I can't honestly give this a +2 because I can't agree with the Death Penalty in any case.
I guess that makes me a "liberal".
But I enjoyed this.
-Dave
Submitted by knucklesnelson (user info) at 2005-03-01 12:50:27 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Fuck that I say make that fucker sit on his buddies lap while they flip the switch.
Submitted by BLITZKREIG_BOB (user info) at 2005-03-01 12:48:11 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Wow.
I think I remember that being in the news.