The Austin American Statesman is reporting that an Austin man sentenced to death wants to drop his appeals and be executed because living in prison is too hard. His complaint makes a good argument for abolishing the death penalty and sentencing people to life in prison.
Sentenced to die for the 2006 killing of his girlfriend’s mother, Selwyn P. Davis told a judge in Travis County on Friday that he wants to waive most of his appeals because he is guilty and he doesn’t want to spend his life in prison.
“I’m certain of what I want,” Davis told state District Judge Julie Kocurek. “The quality of life is not, basically, to my standards, you know what I am saying? Basically, jail sucks.”
He talked about death row in Huntsville: He is confined 23 hours a day to a tiny cell, can’t watch television and hasn’t had any visitors since he arrived last year. He said a life of listening to the radio, writing poetry, reading and corresponding with a few pen pals does not appeal to him.
Davis said that since he’s been back in Travis County, he read in the newspaper about a death row inmate who was executed though some think he may have been innocent.
“I’m guilty of my crime,” he said. “They did not let him go; why would they let me go?”
Murderers “volunteering” for execution does not mean life sentences more harsh
Dudley Sharp, Justice Matters, contact info below
Death penalty opponents have are stating that because some murderers volunteer for executions that ” . . . this shows that, contrary to popular belief, death is not the ultimate punishment for prisoners.” (1)
Ludicrous.
From 1973-2002, there have been 820 executions, 97 of which were “volunteers”.
Of the 7255 sentenced to death from 1973-2002:
volunteered for execution 1.3%
did not volunteer for execution 98.7%
The leading voice of anti death penalty disinformation , Richard Dieter, executive director of Death Penalty Information Center, states: “One could argue that life in prison is the worst kind of punishment and not the death penalty.” “So many people wouldn’t be volunteering for it if it was so bad.” (1)
Pigs fly. 1.3%.
If 98.7% of kids prefer chocolate over broccoli, Dieter would say kids prefer broccoli over chocolate.
Or, reality tells us that murderers much prefer life to death, at least for themselves.
Death is feared more than life. A surprise? No.
To the anti death penalty mob, 1.3% is a more significant percentage than 98.7%. A surprise? No.
(1) “That is Give Me Death: Rise of ‘Volunteer’ Executions May Mean Death Isn’t Worst Punishment”, Bryan Robinson, abcNEWS, 1/7/03,
www(dot)abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/volunteerexecutions_report030107.html
Dudley Sharp, Justice Matters
e-mail sharpjfa@aol.com, 713-622-5491,
Houston, Texas
Mr. Sharp has appeared on ABC, BBC, CBS, CNN, C-SPAN, FOX, NBC, NPR, PBS , VOA and many other TV and radio networks, on such programs as Nightline, The News Hour with Jim Lehrer, The O’Reilly Factor, etc., has been quoted in newspapers throughout the world and is a published author.
A former opponent of capital punishment, he has written and granted interviews about, testified on and debated the subject of the death penalty, extensively and internationally.
Pro death penalty sites
homicidesurvivors(dot)com/categories/Dudley%20Sharp%20-%20Justice%20Matters.aspx
www(dot)dpinfo.com
www(dot)cjlf.org/deathpenalty/DPinformation.htm
www(dot)clarkprosecutor.org/html/links/dplinks.htm
www(dot)coastda.com/archives.html
www(dot)lexingtonprosecutor.com/death_penalty_debate.htm
www(dot)prodeathpenalty.com
www(dot)yesdeathpenalty.com/deathpenalty_co
yesdeathpenalty.googlepages.com/home2 (Sweden)
www(dot)wesleylowe.com/cp.html
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