18 May 1990 – Dalton Prejean
Even Europe waded into this one. We’re talking about the case of Dalton Prejean, who was a mere 17 years old when he committed the offence that was to end his life.
Let’s get one thing straight, it was a callous crime – he’d shot a traffic cop in the face all because he had been stopped for a broken brake light.
Brain damage
Prejean wasn’t a saint by any stretch – he’d shot a taxi driver and spent 30 months in remand school for murder as a younger teenager. But we’re talking about someone who had an IQ of around 71 (some reports say 76) – he’d been left brain damaged following family abuse as a child. His aunt had beaten him while he was growing up.
All this mitigating history was withheld from the all-white jury, prompting concerns that Prejean had not had an adequate defence during his trial. Indeed, after he was sentenced to die, his incredulity stayed with him, prompting him in later life to question why the victim’s family had not questioned the harsh sentence.
‘To the Cleveland family, they say it wasn’t revenge, but it’s hard for me to understand. I hope they’re happy.’
Catch-22
But it turns out that murdered traffic cop, Donald Cleveland’s widow wasn’t happy either. Candy Cleveland was against the penalty, but the thought of parole left her cold too. ‘There’s always possibility of good times, good behaviour. Who knows in 20 or 30 years Prejean could be back on the street.’
No chance, according to the Governor of Louisiana, whose stance was far clearer cut. ‘On behalf of 780 state troopers and thousands of police officers who put their lives on the line every day, the execution will proceed,’ said Buddy Roemer.
And proceed it did, despite remonstrances from the likes of the EU. Prejean was executed aged 30, he died wanting ‘to have a chance at life. To live with [his] mistakes,’ vowing that he’d changed and grown up a lot in that time.
Where Prejean was concerned, we will never know, because he was strapped to Louisiana’s electric chair on this day in 1990.
Bookmark this site
del.icio.us | digg | facebook | reddit | StumbleUpon
September 25 at 1:30 pm
I am SOOOOO HAPPY that this piece of s**t was executed. I would tapdance on his gravestone if I knew where it was. He DESERVED to be taken out and shot in the streets like a wild animal. What he got was a LOT more humane than he deserved. I disagreed with just sending him to the electric chair. He should have been TORTURED first because he deserved it. They should have put a bullet first into his foot, then lower leg, then knee, then femur, and continued working their way upward. They should have made it last a month.
November 24 at 3:11 am
WTF is your problem
he should have been given another chance
December 1 at 2:15 am
Gerry said it right………..prejean had a second chance after he shot the taxi driver. now we have one less lunitic that could kill again.
March 14 at 3:14 pm
What the hell is wrong with you people? Read up before you start hating a man for anything. Prejean was released from custody some time after he killed the taxi driver *even though he was borderline mentally retarded and several psychiatrist insisted that he should be confined*! They released him out of custody, and so he went and killed a police officer.
He was, as I said, and as this article mentions, borderline mentally retarded. His IQ is about equal to the IQ of a thirteen-year-old. Are you really gonna blame him for this? REALLY? Blame society for f***s sake, they released him even though they shouldn’t have. Go give a thirteen-year-old a gun and tell him he’s an adult and you’ll see what happens. I can’t believe you actually think that he deserved his sentence. Yes, he should’ve been arrested, of course. What he needed was a lengthy confinement and psychiatric help, and if he ever was released, then it would have to be on probabation.
August 28 at 3:16 pm
No sin is greater than the next so therefore don’t judge less you want to be judged the same way. We all deserve death for our sin. Therefore would you like the same sentence that you are giving him? I do agree that he should have been confined and treated for his mental illness and the child abuse as punishment for the crime. To me death is the easy way out of punishment. He should have been able to be here and really understand what he did and how it affects others. What was society’s role in this? Did they do there part on behalf of the people? We can point fingers all day, but when it’s all said and done, it really does not matter what any of us think or what our opinions are. God has the final say. We can’t change what happen in the past but we can positively make changes today and going forward. Maybe the person who feels so strong about giving sentences should go and visit the prisons and hear the lives of those prisoners. No that is not an excuse for them to do what they did but maybe you will have a different perspective of things and how the world really works. Remember, the world is the place where the DEVIL goes to and fro. And obviously, he is busy!!!
December 18 at 3:04 am
Governor Roemer called Prejean personally to inform him of his decision to deny clemency.