Army to execute soldier at Terre Haute Federal Prison (UPDATED w/photo)

[WeDidIt]

Army to execute soldier at Terre Haute Federal Prison

First military execution since 1961

By John Milburn
Associated Press

FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan. — A former Army cook convicted of multiple rapes and murders is set to die next month in what would be the U.S. military's first execution in nearly 50 years.

The military said Thursday that former North Carolina soldier Ronald A. Gray is to be executed Dec. 10 at the federal prison complex in Terre Haute, Ind.

Gray was arrested in connection with four slayings and eight rapes in the Fayetteville, N.C., area between April 1986 and January 1987, while he was stationed at Fort Bragg. He was convicted of murdering two women.

President Bush approved Gray's execution in July, and a month later Army Secretary Pete Geren set the execution date and ordered that Gray be put to death by injection. The date was publicly released Thursday.

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Link To Full Article

UPDATE: Okay, I wanted this out there for a bit before I revealed a photograph of the man who will be the first soldier executed by military justice in more than a half century:

[rasputin1952]

1. I am against the DP, life in prison, (Leavenworth no less)...

would certainly be the option I would take in this case.

FWIW...if president elect Obama commuted the other pending DP prisoners to life in prison w/o parole, this man would have missed a sentence commutation by a couple of months...where is the Justice in that?

What this man was convicted of is indeed horrendous, however since the DP is rarely, if ever meted out in any form of equality, it becomes more of a "toss up" on whom this sentence is carried out upon...:(

And that is the very antithesis of Justice.

[leftchick]

2. I agree Rasputin

Leavenworth or that other Max-Max Jail horror I can not remember, in solitary, is a much better punishment. And one he will have to reflect about daily for the rest of his life.

There is nothing just about the death penalty.

:(

[The Doctor.]

7. I'm only marginally against it... partly because of the ridiculous cost,

but mostly because of the uncertainty.

When guilt is absolutely certain, and the crime is horrific, the DP is often a mercy both for the convict and the families of their victims.

There is no need to consider whether 'justice' is being taken from this man, justice has already determined he deserves nothing.

[rasputin1952]

9. The DP is more about vengeance than anything else...

and the cost is high, (although not so high in the military, as the avenues available to try and get a stay or a commutation are very limited.

personally, I think an individual spending perhaps 40-50 years having to face what they did, every waking moment, is closer to Justice that just being killed and dumped into a barely marked grave.

make no mistake, what he was convicted of is horrific...but for him, it will be over soon enough, for those who suffered under this person and survived, it is a far different story.

[The Doctor.]

12. Then your method is far more vengeful.

Cause them 40-50 years of some torment rather than a quick end?

I daresay you may be more vindictive than I.

But either way, for the most part, I'm not in favor of the DP.

[rasputin1952]

13. I don't think so...my way, if there was something wrong in the

conviction, they can go home. Death kind of wipes out that option.

[hbskifreak]

16. Ronald A. Gray

Perhaps, but it is still allowing for a horrible precedent. And to the cost, exactly how much does a lifetime of Raman noodles, a couple of padlocks, and a gallon of water a day cost, anyway?

Besides, if the man truly is guilty, a lifetime spent in a cell must be complete agony...think about it, solitary confinement for life. Could be 30, 40, 50 more years for this guy, without ever seeing the sunset again. Horrific existence if you ask me, but at least it would help keep other potentially innocent inmates from being executed.

A more than fair trade if you ask me.

As to mercy/justice for the victims' families, unfortunately, there is no such thing. But don't you think, in hindsight, that their suffering would quadruple if later discovered that the convict that they watched be sent to hell was innocent? Not only would that mean their was an additional unnecessary death in their personal tragic stories, but that their actual guilty party escaped scott-free.

Just my opinion, but I'd like to see the death penalty abolished completely due to the reasons stated above. I doubt it will ever happen, but who knows, in my lifetime I've seen our country ascend from segregation to an African-American President. Who really knows what tomorrow's amazing triumphs may bring.

A

[The Doctor.]

27. I've already established;

"When guilt is certain, and the crime is horrific."

This is the one reason I lean against it... because plenty of people have been put to death by Judge and Jury without the requisite and absolute proof of guilt.

I can think of few things as horrible as having to face that. If a man swears he is innocent all the way to the gas chamber, I hope there's a special place in hell for all those that knew or were told that there was vindicating evidence but ignored it.

Many family members express relief after the execution of those responsible for a loved one's death. Think of it as a sense of closure for them... they do.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/execution/readings/against.html

I believe that if more people understood how flawed the system is, and how many innocent people have died while the real criminals went free, the DP would be eliminated.

[Confusious]

3. I have exceptions

I'm against the death penalty too, but I have exceptions. And this guy is one of them. Serial murders are too dangerous.

[rasputin1952]

5. Once he is out of society, he can no longer harm others...

and life in prison w/o parole is no picnic, especially when segregated from the rest of the population. The major problem I have w/the the DP is the way it is arbitrary, one may commit od horrendous crime in one place, and get Life, just across a border, or in another district, the are killed...there is no Justice in that, especially if the crime where the convicted who got life committed a far more horrendous crime than the one who who is executed.

Then there is always the possibility that a criminal conviction may be overturned, here in NE, 4 individuals have been released after 18 years in prison when DNA evidence showed they were innocent of their crime they were convicted of. 18 years too late, but at least they survived and were freed...tough to exonerate those who were wrongfully executed by the state. Which brings up the fact that the actual perpetrator is still unaccounted for...that is a very scary thought.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

18. He can harm other inmates and prison guards.

[rasputin1952]

23. That possibility exists, but most would be prepared for such

attacks. It is far more likely he would be abused in the system. I have no problem w/those convicted of heinous crimes being kept in solitary or a part of the prison where they are segregated from others less violent. They do it w/prisoners such as Manson and others, this man's crimes are horrid, he deserves to live w/the memories of what he has done...if he has a conscience, he will be torn down by it. If he has no conscience, he is a psychopath, deserving of being removed from everyone except for the most basic needs.

Let him be miserable, stuck in a cell/area where human contact is nil to minimal.

[davidthegnome]

6. That's pretty much my take on it too

I don't see what value this man might have to society. A serial murderer and a rapist, one who, given the opportunity, would probably continue to pursue his madness even in prison. We could imprison him for life in a maximum security prison, but we would still have to take on the cost of feeding, clothing, and caring for him. Psychiatrists would attempt to fix him, an effort in futility in my opinion.

He is not worth the money it would require to keep him alive, in my opinion. But my opinion isn't so important here. The important thing is whether his execution is a just punishment. I do not feel that it is. Justice would be for him to be left helpless at the hands of rapists as his victims were. Justice would be to bestow upon this man a conscience and imprison him for a life of guilt and regret.

Regardless of my opinion, they're going to execute him anyway. Good riddance.

[The Doctor.]

8. Yep, pretty much...

I can be for it when the crime is horrific, guilt is certain, and the perpetrator is unrepentant.

Begging for mercy after denying it to your pleading victims gets no sympathy from me either.

[WeDidIt]

4. Kicked for the update n/t

[jmowreader]

10. Please tell me you Photoshopped SSG McDonald

Trust me on this, boys, girls and civilians, but it is totally AGAINST ARMY REGULATIONS to sport a fucking Hitler mustache, as you see on the lip of SSG McDonald, the NCO who is escorting Specialist Gray.

[Gwendolyn]

11. I'm against the DP too. Used to be without exception.

But in the last few years, I've changed my mind. In the case of serial killers, the criminal can't be rehabilitated, will always be predatory, won't ever feel remorse (but rather relive and fantasize about his crimes till the end of his days) and since he possesses not a shred of empathy, he isn't human in the sense that the rest of us are.

[...of J.Temperance]

14. Good riddance to him, I'm 100% pro-Death Penalty with no exceptions

It's a pity that this POS will die in the calm manner of lethal injection, put to sleep quietly.

And it's obvious by the smirk on his face that he's got NO remorse.

I feel nothing for POS that murder and rape and inflict misery and horror on innocent people, what I do care about is the victims and the families of the victims.

It's disgusting that at taxpayers expense POS like this sit on Death Row for years, the Appeals system is massively abused, it needs streamlining, give the convicted one Appeal, if it's turned down then they should be executed within 30 days and good riddance.

In fact, the Death Penalty should be expanded to include those who don't even murder, if they are convicted of multiple rape or pedophilia, they need executing....with the latter they only have to TOUCH a child, execute them.

These POS CANNOT be rehabilitated, because they ENJOY what they do, the sick freaks of nature.

The anti-Death Penalty people go on about the cost of executing POS....it's nothing compared to the cost of having to keep the POS in jail for the rest of their natural, executing them in the long-run is by far the cheapest option.

On Edit: Added comment

[cali]

19. whoa. that's a startling statement.

I couldn't disagree with you more. The DP is riddled with
problems, but beyond that it doesn't fucking reduce crime. My state doesn't have the DP and out violent crime rate is lower than the national average. Not to mention you're wrong about how much it costs.

Your blood lust is most disturbing. You want to execute people who have only "just touched a child"? Disgusting.

Oh, and I was a Victim Advocate for years. Glad to say most people working in that field are NOTHING like YOU.

[...of J.Temperance]

22. Answering your post and post # 21 at same time

I've had this discussion about the Death Penalty here before, especially during the crazy run-up to the Tookie Williams execution, where literally there were about 25 threads on this particular topic.

I have always been 100% pro-Death Penalty without exception and I've read nothing that's changed my mind regarding my position on this issue.

So with the utmost respect for your right to be anti-Death Penalty, we'll have to agree to disagree.

You call my support of the Death Penalty and wanting to expand the Death Penalty to include multiple rapists and pedophiles, regardless of whether they've murdered someone, you call this my "bloodlust"....I call it Justice and I call it ensuring that the most HEINOUS crimes against human beings are met with the ULTIMATE punishment ie. the deprivation of the life of the criminal.

Yes I want to execute those POS who have only TOUCHED a child, why? Because they are wastes of human skin, as soon as they so much as TOUCH a child, they lose ALL their human rights and they lose ALL of their civil rights, they CEASE to exist as being a human being....they just become a piece of trash and thus they need desposing of from the planet.


On Edit: Dammit typing error

[tpsbmam]

21. Couldn't disagree more.

So, for the 127 people who were on death row for years and who have later been found innocent, most of them thanks to newer science like DNA testing, you'd have had them executed and dead. And we HAVE executed innocent people -- so that's okay with you?

The vast majority of people on death row are poor and have relied on public defenders -- many have had inadequate trials. But it's okay to just ahead and kill 'em within 30 days?

So NO ONE who is innocent has ever been convicted of the crimes you outline. If someone who is innocent is convicted of these crimes and executed within 30 days that's what -- "collateral damage"?

It's obvious "by the smirk on his face that he's got NO remorse." Do you know how many people tried and convicted in their minds based on biased press reports and a snapshot or two people like the Ramseys and Richard Ricci in the Elizabeth Smart case? One photograph of a person tells you NOTHING except to confirm your preconceived notions about innocence and guilt and what that might look like.

Cali is right -- the death penalty is FAR more expensive than keeping someone in prison for life. And it is not a deterrent -- states that don't have the death penalty have consistently lower murder rates than those with the death penalty.

[hbskifreak]

15. First military execution since 1961

As a former Marine as well as just a citizen who is disgusted at the vicious crimes Mr. Gray was convicted of, I would like to say: enjoy your free ride to hell, and don't forget to write.

As a Democrat who sees the obvious flaws in our criminal justice system, I say no to death penalties. I say that because I don't EVER want to see anyone executed, because eventually (if not already) we are going to execute innocent people.

Put them in a cell for the rest of their lives. Let them eat Raman noodles. But don't execute, because what if they are innocent? And I am not talking necessarily about this Ronald A. Gray fellow, but anyone convicted of a capital offense. One single innocent convict executed is too many, and if it EVER comes out that it has happened, then God forgive those who knew, but allowed that switch to be thrown anyway.

It is tough to swallow, but that is why doing the right thing is always the harder choice, because to just do nothing and allow injustice to prevail is so much easier.

A

[Indi Guy]

17. The Death Penalty Goes Against God's Law..."Thou shalt not kill."

The commandment doesn't say, "Thou shalt not murder." -- it says, "Thou shalt not kill."

If Grey killed -- he violated this law. If he is killed, his henchmen violate the same law.

[Gwendolyn]

25. Actually, it says "thou shalt not murder."

If you're thinking the OT is somewhere to look for mercy for criminals, it's a bad place to do so. Yahweh was totally okay with execution, and you'll find several references to this kind of punishment.

Jesus' words, "turn the other cheek" do NOT refer to blind mercy; they admonish the crowd against vigilante justice, and exhort them to allow their government to handle punishment.

[ThomWV]

20. Why is the Federal Government involved if the killings were in North Carolina?

Why was he charged, tried, convicted, and why is he to be executed by the Federal Government instead of the state where the offenses were committed and I presume the victims were from?

[jmowreader]

26. There are three reasons

One is that he's in the military. The military always has the option of taking jurisdiction over a case when a soldier is the defendant. A lot of times they won't, but they can.

Second, two of his victims were in the military. In the case of military-on-military violence, the military will almost always take jurisdiction.

And third, at least one of his victims (the article doesn't give her name, probably because she survived the attack) was attacked on Fort Bragg. In that case, there's no question--the Army WILL take jurisdiction.

[cobalt1999]

24. Good riddance.

One less POS using our oxygen.