Capital punishment in Louisiana

Capital punishment is legal in the U.S. state of Louisiana. A total of 659 individuals have been executed in Louisiana including 27 since 1976. A total of 88 people are under a sentence of death in the state as of October 13, 2007. The current method of execution in Louisiana is lethal injection. Capital crimes in Louisiana are: First degree murder (premeditation does not have to be a part of it, but instead requires specific intent), and treason. Formerly the state also allowed execution for the aggravated rape of a victim under the age of 12. The Supreme Court, however, ruled it unconstitutional on June 25, 2008 in Kennedy v. Louisiana, saying "there is a distinction between intentional first-degree murder on the one hand and nonhomicide crimes against individual persons".

Process

The jury decides the sentence and may give a sentence of life imprisonment without parole for capital offenses. A unanimous verdict is needed is order to convict of defendant of a capital crime and sentence to death. Clemency rests with the governor of Louisiana, who must have a recommendation from a board.

Method

Executions in Louisiana are currently performed at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, Louisiana, where Louisiana's death row is by lethal injection. Lethal injection is the sole method of execution. Previous methods: hanging up to 1938 and then electrocution for 61 people from 1941 to 1991.

Capital offenses

• Treason against the state of Louisiana.
• First degree murder:
  • The murder was committed during the commission of, attempt of, or escape from a specified felony (aggravated kidnapping, second degree kidnapping, aggravated escape, aggravated arson, aggravated rape, forcible rape, aggravated burglary, armed robbery, assault by drive-by shooting, first degree robbery, second degree robbery, simple robbery, terrorism, cruelty to juveniles, or second degree cruelty to juveniles).
  • The victim was a fireman or peace officer engaged in his lawful duties.
  • The offender has a specific intent to kill or to inflict great bodily harm upon more than one person.
  • The murder was committed for pecuniary gain or pursuant to an agreement that the defendant would receive something of value.
  • The victim was under the age of 12 years.
  • The victim was 65 years or older.
  • The murder was committed during an illegal drug deal.
  • The murder was committed while the defendant was engaged in "ritualistic acts".
  • The murder was committed while the defendant was the subject of a restraining order protecting the victim.
  • The murder was committed upon a victim who was a witness to a crime or was a member of the immediate family of a witness to a crime committed on a prior occasion.

Individuals executed since 1976

A total of 27 individuals convicted of murder have been executed by the state of Louisiana since 1976:

	Executed person	Date of execution	Method	Victims	Under Governor
1	Robert Wayne Williams	14 December 1983	electric chair	Willie Kelly.	David C. Treen
2	Johnny Taylor, Jr.	29 February 1984	electric chair	David Vogler.	David C. Treen
3	Elmo Patrick Sonnier	5 April 1984	electric chair	Loretta Bourque and David LeBlanc.	Edwin Edwards
4	Timothy G. Baldwin	10 September 1984	electric chair	Mary Lee Peters.	Edwin Edwards
5	Ernest Knighton, Jr.	30 October 1984	electric chair	Ralph Shell.	Edwin Edwards
6	Robert Lee Willie	28 December 1984	electric chair	Faith Hathaway.	Edwin Edwards
7	David Dene Martin	4 January 1985	electric chair	Bobby Todd.	Edwin Edwards
8	Benjamin Berry	7 June 1987	electric chair	Robert Cochran.	Edwin Edwards
9	Alvin R. Moore, Jr.	8 June 1987	electric chair	Jo Ann Wilson.	Edwin Edwards
10	Jimmy L. Glass	12 June 1987	electric chair	Newt Brown and Erlene Brown.	Edwin Edwards
11	Jimmy Wingo	12 June 1987	electric chair	Newt Brown and Erlene Brown.	Edwin Edwards
12	Willie Celestine	20 July 1987	electric chair	Marcelaine Richard.	Edwin Edwards
13	Willie Watson	24 July 1987	electric chair	Kathy Newman.	Edwin Edwards
14	John E. Brogdon	30 July 1987	electric chair	Barbara Jo Brown.	Edwin Edwards
15	Sterling J. Rault, Jr.	24 August 1987	electric chair	Jane Ellen Francioni.	Edwin Edwards
16	Wayne Robert Felde	15 March 1988	electric chair	Glen Thompkins.	Buddy Roemer
17	Leslie Lowenfield	13 April 1988	electric chair	Shiela Thomas, Shantel Osborne, Carol Osborne, Owen Griffin, and Myrtle Griffin.	Buddy Roemer
18	Edward R. Byme, Jr.	14 June 1988	electric chair	Robert Johnson.	Buddy Roemer
19	Dalton Prejean	18 May 1990	electric chair	Donald Cleveland.	Buddy Roemer
20	Andrew Lee Jones	22 July 1991	electric chair	Tumekica Jackson.	Buddy Roemer
21	Robert Wayne Sawyer	5 March 1993	lethal injection	Frances Arwood.	Edwin Edwards
22	Thomas Lee Ward	16 March 1995	lethal injection	Wilbert John Spencer.	Edwin Edwards
23	Antonio G. James	1 March 1996	lethal injection	Henry Silver.	Murphy J. Foster, Jr.
24	John Ashley Brown, Jr.	24 April 1997	lethal injection	Omer Laughlin.	Murphy J. Foster, Jr.
25	Dobie Gillis Williams	8 January 1999	lethal injection	Sonja Knippers.	Murphy J. Foster, Jr.
26	Feltus Taylor, Jr.	6 June 2000	lethal injection	Donna Ponsano.	Murphy J. Foster, Jr.
27	Leslie Dale Martin	10 May 2002	lethal injection	Christina Burgin.	Murphy J. Foster, Jr.

Notable cases

The only two people in the United States who are sentenced to die of a rape that did not result in death were convicted in Louisiana courts: Patrick O. Kennedy and Richard L. Davis . Kennedy's case has led to a challenge before the Supreme Court, which was heard in April 2008. The court ruled in their favor, overturning their death sentences but upholding their convictions.

See also

• Capital punishment in the United States

External links

• Louisiana State Penitentiary
• RS 14:30 "First Degree Murder"
• RS 14:42"Aggravated Rape"
• RS 14:113 "Treason"
• Court TV on the matter