FEATURED POST

Unveiling Singapore’s Death Penalty Discourse: A Critical Analysis of Public Opinion and Deterrent Claims

Image
While Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) maintains a firm stance on the effectiveness of the death penalty in managing drug trafficking in Singapore, the article presents evidence suggesting that the methodologies and interpretations of these studies might not be as substantial as portrayed.

Alabama: Jurors chose life without parole for man convicted in Jefferson County field slaying

Patrick Logan
A man was convicted of capital murder this morning and jurors sentenced him to life in prison.

Patrick Logan, 43, was convicted of capital murder during the course of a robbery. Jurors began deliberating Friday afternoon, and returned the verdict just after 9 a.m. Monday in Jefferson County Circuit Judge Stephen Wallace's courtroom.

The sentencing phase began around 10:45 a.m., where jurors heard from both prosecution and defense witnesses before deciding that Logan should spend his life in prison without the possibility of parole.

For Logan to have been sent to death row, at least 10 of the 12 jurors must have agreed. A simple majority is needed for a life sentence, and Logan's jurors were unanimously in favor of life without parole.

When the sentence was announced, Logan shook his head negatively and (sighed).  

Logan and his girlfriend Jana Nicole Friese were both arrested in June 2015 in the death of 42-year-old Rodney Allen Canterberry. He was found shot to death the morning of June 8, 2015 next to his Jeep Wrangler in the 7400 block of Coleman Road near Morris.

Canterberry, a father of two young boys, was shot in the stomach and in the head. He was found by a man who lived nearby and reported hearing several gunshots the night before. He saw the Jeep in the field on his way to work the next morning, on June 8, and discovered Canterberry's body.

Rusty Canterberry, the victim's younger brother, testified at the sentencing phase. "That's your protector," he said about Rodney Canterberry. "No matter what's going on in your life, you can call that big brother."

The younger Canterberry also said he's had to step into a father-figure role for the victim's 16-year-old son.

Two experts also testified about Logan's childhood, family life, and his criminal background during the sentencing phase.

A forensic social worker, Jo Ann Terrell, said Logan's mother used drugs and drank alcohol during her pregnancy. He was shuffled around until age five, when he was adopted by a family in Alabama. That family, according to Terrell, was "good to [Logan]," but at 12 Logan left to again live with his mom. 

Terrell said Logan's mom and brother taught him how to steal and burglarize. In prison, Terrell said Logan was diagnosed with several mental illnesses including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Dr. Hayden Griffin, a criminologist, said Logan served time in a juvenile incarceration facility at 11, and entered the adult prison system at 16. During that time Logan often got into fights with other inmates to "defend himself" and developed a "tough exterior," the expert said, but Griffin did not think Logan would be a danger to other inmates now if sentenced to life in prison. 

According to prosecutors and evidence presented in court, Friese arranged a meeting with Canterberry under the premise of sex so she and Logan could rob him. She knew Canterberry had a good job and money, and that he wouldn't call police. "He was their perfect target," Deputy DA Deborah Danneman said in her closing statement.

As Friese contacted Canterberry through the Facebook messenger app, Danneman said, Logan became jealous of the sexually-fueled messages. Friese met up with Canterberry at a nearby store, and he followed her to the vacant field. When the two got to the lot, Friese pulled up to an orange sandal left in the field as a marker. According to testimony in court, just as Canterberry got out of his Jeep Logan jumped out of his hiding spot in the (bush) and shot.

Friese was also originally charged with capital murder, but before the 35-year-old's trial was slated to start this week she pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of felony murder, prosecutors said. Part of her plea agreement was that in exchange for her truthful testimony, she will be sentenced to 20 years in prison with five to serve. She's already served three years in the county jail.

Canterberry's pockets were turned inside out when deputies arrived on the scene. Investigators never recovered his cell phone or car keys.

Source: al.com, Ivana Hrynkiw, September 17, 2018


⚑ | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com.


Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE!



"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde

Most Viewed (Last 7 Days)

California | San Quentin begins prison reform - but not for those on death row

Oklahoma | Death row inmate Michael DeWayne Smith denied stay of execution

Indonesia | Bali Prosecutors Seeking Death on Appeal

Ohio dad could still face death penalty in massacre of 3 sons after judge tosses confession

Iran | Couple hanged in the Central Prison of Tabriz

Singapore | Court of Appeal rejects 36 death row inmates’ PACC Act constitutional challenge

Tennessee | Nashville DA asks judge to vacate baby murder conviction following new medical evidence