The right decision in Texas
AP: Ex-youth pastor sentenced to death for killing teen, her fetus
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — A former youth pastor was sentenced to death Wednesday for killing a teenager and her fetus in what is believed to be the first such order in Texas, the nation’s busiest death penalty state.
Adrian Estrada, 23, was convicted Friday of one count of capital murder for the death of Stephanie Sanchez and the fetus, of which he was the father.
“This is a significant case,” said Bexar County prosecutor Susan Reed. “This is significant for the state.”
A 2003 Texas law amended the definition of the word “individual” to include an “unborn child at every stage of gestation from fertilization until birth.”
The death sentence is Texas’ first in the death of a fetus, said Dave Atwood, founder of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, which monitors capital cases.
Sanchez, 17, was three months pregnant Dec. 12, 2005, when her body was found in her family’s home. She had been choked and stabbed 13 times. During the trial, DNA evidence was presented to show Estrada was the father.
Estrada, a former youth pastor for a church, admitted to the stabbing the day after the killings. Prosecutors also said he worked out at a gym and went shopping after the crime. He showed no emotion when his punishment was read.
“The bad guy that you don’t suspect is the one that you can’t protect your loved one from,” said Scott Simpson, Bexar County assistant prosecutor. “And that’s what he was and that’s what he is.”
Estrada’s attorney, Suzanne Kramer, had argued that her client made bad decisions.
“Is that enough to execute him? Is that enough to kill him?” she asked the jury.
According to the Web site of the National Conference of State Legislatures, at least 36 states have homicide laws defining a fetus as a person.
Of course the ACLU would argue that an unborn child is not a “person” or even an “individual.”
I love this:
Estrada’s attorney, Suzanne Kramer, had argued that her client made bad decisions.
“Is that enough to execute him? Is that enough to kill him?” she asked the jury.
Bad decisions??? Yes, the “decision” to slaughter two people IS enough to execute him.
Quick lesson in the subtlety of some media bias:
Adrian Estrada, 23, was convicted Friday of one count of capital murder for the death of Stephanie Sanchez and the fetus, of which he was the father.
Do you see it? I’ll help. This monster was just given a death sentence for killing two people, right? The word “which” should be “whom” since the court used as a basis for the sentence the fact that the “fetus” (Latin for “offspring” or “child”) is a person who was killed.
Email This
Posted by Greg Scott on February 8, 2007 1:42 pm
» Filed Under ACLU, Abortion, News
Trackback URL:
- Constitutionally Right: Daily News and Commentary February 8, 2007
Comments
4 Responses to “The right decision in Texas”
-
-
-
Affiliations
The Giants
Advertise
-
-
Our Store
- Click the design to visit our store and help Stop the ACLU!
-
- More blogs about the ACLU
Syndicate Me
Well, I’m opposed to the death penalty except in those cases where the person remains a danger, either because he’s an escape risk or because he is violent toward prison staff or fellow inmates.
That said, if a state is going to have the death penalty in place, it ought to be applied as Texas is applying it, to show that just because a person is very young doesn’t mean the state values his life less than that of an older person.
I’d previously been unaware that God was a blogger.
And as for God opposing capital punishment, evidently this person posting on His behalf hasn’t read the Old Testament, which demanded the death penalty for, among other crimes, sassing your parents.
Come on, God. Internal inconsistency within the belief system of a right wing ideologue? That’s unpossible!
Does his “bad decision” make them any less dead?
Thank you for describing what a murderer is, however, you left out two other facets in this horrific crime. Not only was this innocent victim thrown away like trash, her body was then sent to the medical examiners office to be clinically dissected while a team of homicide detectives and other official personnel took photographs of her to document the injuries so that the prosecutor could show the jury and others sitting in the courtroom what these cold blooded murderers did to her. Stephanie was one of the lucky ones. Her murderer was arrested.
Citizens for Peaceful Resolutions devalued Stephanie’s life by defending this cold blooded murderer with their fantasy quotes of “Capital punishment dehumanizes us. In avenging the murder, we become the murderers.â€
You call us murderers…I call it seeking justice. I say we devalue society by not insisting on justice for the victims. It is not an eye for an eye – it is to ensure that individuals who murder will never kill another child, brother, sister, son or daughter again, pure and simple. Stephanie deserves justice and that will happen in with the execution of Adrian Estrada…..he will not be executed by murderers, as Citizen of Peaceful Resolutions states, but by those who seek justice for the victims which will be and should be upheld by the courts, jury of his peers and the people. Why should cold blooded murderers get more rights than the victim?
Let’s get real people….most of these articles are written by organizations that walk the yellow brick road waiving the olive branch….under the false assumption that theirs is a just cause. Throughout history, evil has always existed and will continue to exist as long as we have people who want to dominate and terrorize others. We must never tolerate evil in any way. We will always need strong individuals who are willing to do the “dirty work†to protect the vulnerable citizens from the murderers.
I seriously doubt that violence will plummet, as they hope it will, but within 3 generations we may have a reduction of violent crime if we continue to teach our young compassion, love and nonviolence. I remember reading about the 1969 Nobel Peace Prize and the moving phrase, “Si vis pacem, cole justitiam.†If you desire peace, cultivate justice.