Anthony Sowell (Serial Killer) Trial

[Lady Cop]

An Ohio jury recommended death Wednesday for convicted serial killer Anthony Sowell in the murders of 11 women.

Relatives of the victims gasped and hugged each other as Judge Dick Ambrose announced the first verdict for victim Tonya Carmichael. The courtroom erupted into applause after Sowell, dressed in an orange jumpsuit, left the courtroom.

The final decision rests with Ambrose, who scheduled a hearing Friday to impose the sentence.

[koko]

I agree midwest! personally i think it would be great if the victims' families got to decide the proper method of execution. Honestly, if someone murdered one of my family members I think I'd want to be somewhat involved with the execution. That goes double for a child victim.




p.s. expect a juicy post from me later today, tried doing it now but i'm at a relatives house and this damn browser keeps crashing and it's driving me nutssssss. gotta get on my own comp

[Lady Cop]

court just sentenced him to death.

[Midwest Spy]

Well, if this were China, he'd be on his way right now to some field where he'd be forced to his knees and shot in the back of the head. His family would then be billed for the bullet.

Here in the good ole USA, he'll probably spend 10+ years on death row before justice is finally served.

Obviously, I don't care for many things about China, but I do like their swift sentencing.

[koko]

Text from psychological form Anthony Sowell filled out in 1990
Published: Friday, August 05, 2011, 5:56 PM Updated: Friday, August 05, 2011, 8:18 PM
By Stan Donaldson, The Plain Dealer

CLEVELAND, Ohio---This following text is from a psychological evaluation form Anthony Sowell filled out in 1990 when he served a prison sentence for attempted rape at Lorain Correctional Institution. Sowell, who was 31 at the time, had to write a complete sentence after he read a certain word or phrase. The underlined portion is what Sowell wrote:

Complete these sentences to express your real feelings. Try to do every one. Be sure to make a complete sentence.

1. I like nothing of what I’m going through.
2. The happiest time will be when I get out of jail.
3. I want to know how things will be when I get out.
4. Back home is back home. This is here and now.
5. I regret coming here. L.C.I. (lorain correctional institution)
6. At bedtime I sometimes just lay awake and think.
7. Men are men and boys are boys.
8. The best is yet to come.
9. What annoys me is the things that are going on in the world.
10. People have a lot to learn about other people.
11. A mother is a best friend and a mom.
12. I feel nothing at this time in my life.
13. My greatest fear is not ever getting out of here.
14. In school the teachers didn’t teach us about the real world.
15. I can’t wait to get back home.
16. Sports is one of my favorite things.
17. When I was a child my mother gave me all a child would want.
18. My nerves are just fine.
19. Other people get on my nerves sometimes.
20. I suffer no ill feelings.
21. I failed to get myself out of trouble.
22. Reading is best for the mind.
23. My mind is just a mess right now.
24. The future is a long way off for me.
25. I need to be at home.
26. Marriage was in my life at one time but now it’s gone.
27. I am best when I am at work.
28. Sometimes I just like to sit and think.
29. What pains me is that I’m in this place.
30. I hate getting sent to jail.
31. This place needs to feed us more food.
32. I am a very special person to me.
33. The only trouble I will ever get in is this.
34. I wish I was out of here.
35. My father is the best.
36. I secretly have no secrets.
37. I have learned a great lesson by being here.
38. Dancing is best done by two.
39. My greatest worry is not getting out of here.
40. Most women just tell lies.

[koko]

tweets from inside the courtroom Friday 8/12/2011

@PDSowellTRIAL
Stan Donaldson

• #anthonysowell will be sentenced this morning at Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.
  
  
• #anthonysowell will have to listen to impact statements from relatives of victims and women who survived his attacks.
  
  
• #anthonysowell is sitting in court with his eyes closed.
  
  
• Judge Ambrose asked #anthonysowell if there was anything he wanted to say. Sowell eyes stayed shut and he did not say anything.
  
  
• #anthonysowell refused to sign a document. He is still sitting in court with his eyes closed.
  
  
• Judge Amborse is reading details of trial. He is talking about victims individually and how they were found inside of the home.
  
  
• #anthonysowell continues to sit in court with his eyes shut.
  
  
• Judge Ambrose is talking about military and personal life of #anthonysowell that was revealed during the trial.
  
  
• "The court gives no weight to the defendant's expression of remorse," Ambrose said in #anthonysowell trial.
  
  
• A rape victim has started to give her impact statement in #anthonysowell trial.
  
  
• "I forgive him," she said.
  
  
• He didn't kill me, he killed what I was," another woman who #anthonysowell raped. "I have to forgive him so I can move on with my life."
  
  
• Donnita Carmichael is reading a statement on behalf of her family. #anthonysowell
  
  
• "I will never forgive you," Donnita Carmichael said. #anthonysowell eyes are closed as people give impact statements.
  
  
• "Your going to hell for your actions," she said. #anthonysowell
  
  
• Kyana Hunt, daughter of victim Nancy Cobbs, sharing her victim impact statement.
  
  
• Jim Allen, father of Leshanda Long, giving his impact statement. He is thanking the court and jurors. He said he has to forgive Sowell.
  
  
• "This might be a hollow victory," Allen said. Florence Bray, mother of Crystal Dozier, is now delivering her victim impact statement.
  
  
• Debra Williams sharing her statement. Relatives of Hunter family about to speak. #anthonysowell
  
  
• "You gave them no mercy, no compassion," Denise Hunter said to #anthonysowell in court. His eyes are still closed in the courtroom.
  
  
• "Dead man walking," Denise Hunter said in court. #anthonysowell
  
  
  
• Yvonne Williams, mother of Tishana Culver, just thanked the jury.
  
  
• Adlean Atterberry, mother of Michelle Mason, is giving her impact statement. Several relatives are with her, including victims' two sons.
  
  
• "We hope God has mercy on your soul," Atterberry said. She couldn't finish her statement.
  
  
• Donald Smith, father of Kim Smith, sharing his impact statement. "He took my heart," Smith said.
  
  
• Shanisha Collins, relative of Janice Webb, sharing impact statement. She is speaking on behalf of the Webb family. #anthonysowell
  
  
• "She was not just another one, she was our one," Collins said. #anthonysowell
  
  
• Dorothy Pollard, aunt of Diane Turner, just shared her statement. "May your pacemaker stop and you die tonight," Pollard said.
  
  
• Judge Ambrose is reading over counts. He sentenced #anthonysowell to death.
  
  
• #anthonysowell has not opened his eyes as Ambrose reads over his sentence.
  
  
• #anthonysowell moved a little bit in his chair, but he closed his eyes again. Attorneys at side bar.
  
  
• John Parker just nudged #anthonysowell. He opened his eyes for a moment and then closed them. His eyes are open again.
  
  
• Judge Ambrose is thanking jurors for their participation.
  
  
• Ambrose set execution date for #anthonysowell on Oct. 29, 2012. Relatives of victims clapped inside courtroom.
  
  
• Jurors are hugging relatives inside courtroom. #anthonysowell
  

Family members of Anthony Sowell victims speak out at sentencing in Cleveland courthouse
Published: Friday, August 12, 2011, 10:46 AM Updated: Friday, August 12, 2011, 11:16 AM
By Michael Scott, The Plain Dealer

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Family members of the murder victims of serial killer Anthony Sowell cried out this morning against the man who took their loved ones -- while Sowell sat silently in court, waiting to hear if a judge would sentence him to death.

“In my opinion you’re going to hell for your actions,” said Donnita Carmichael, daughter of murder victim Tonya Carmichael. “Anthony, you are an animal and hell awaits your arrival.

“I won’t stand up here and tell you that I’m not bitter, because I am. I’ll never forgive you.”

Carmichael read an impact statement for her entire family and said some members had forgiven Sowell.

A stream of victims began making statements around 10:45 -- revealing a similar mixture of pain, bitterness and some forgiveness..

Cuyahoga County Judge Dick Ambrose is expected to issue his sentence sometime in the next hour or so after family members -- or victims who survived a Sowell attack -- have an opportunity to speak.

Sowell, in handcuffs and staring down, was also given the opportunity to speak this morning, but remained silent. He also refused to sign a document given to him by Ambrose, leaving attorney John Parker to do so. He kept his eyes closed during most of the hearing.
Sowell was convicted July 22 of multiple counts of aggravated murder and offenses for the deaths of the women whose remains were discovered in and around his Imperial Avenue home in 2009. He also was found guilty of attempting to kill three other women.

Victim Shawn Morris said she had forgiven Sowell, but only after dealing with intense anger.

"When I left the court on July 6, I was consumed with anger, not just for what he did to me and the other ladies, but his total disregard for life, total lack of compassion.

“I passed by the mirror, my face was so angry I didn't recognize myself.”

[koko]

Here in the good ole USA, he'll probably spend 10+ years on death row before justice is finally served.

yeah, i was wondering when it would actually get pushed back, guess i figured it would've happened sooner...

Ohio Supreme Court grants serial killer Anthony Sowell delay of execution (full article)
By: Pat Galbincea, The Plain Dealer
Published: Monday, April 02, 2012, 6:24 PM

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Ohio Supreme Court agreed Monday to postpone the execution of Cleveland serial killer Anthony Sowell while his attorneys work on an appeal.

--snipped--

On Aug. 12, Common Pleas Judge Dick Ambrose sentenced Sowell to death, which was scheduled for Oct. 29. Sowell's attorneys, Jeffrey M. Gamso and William L. Summers, filed a stay of execution on Feb. 15, saying all appeals Sowell is entitled to would not have been completed before the execution date.

Summers has since had his license suspended for one year, but Gamso, whose practice is in Toledo, said the execution date needed to be postponed.

"I have 12,000 pages of transcripts and three banker boxes full of courts records to sort through," Gamso said. "I have a lot of work ahead of me. This appeal could take years."

Gamso also said the Ohio Supreme Court has to decide whether the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court and Ambrose made the right decision , and that Sowell cannot be executed until they decide.

He is being held in the Chillicothe Correctional Institution.

Mason said the appeal was not unexpected.

"The execution date of Oct. 29 this year was never going to happen," Mason said. "Between going to the (Eighth District) Court of Appeals and the Ohio Supreme Court, I'd say it will take three to 3 ¹⁄₂ years before we clear that and go through the same processes in federal courts and the U.S. Supreme Court which would push back execution to about 10 years."

He said his worst case scenario is the appeals could take 30 years.



damn democratic society.