Kara Jones describes how frustrating it is that Sonny Oats Jr. - the man who killed her grandmother Jeanette Dyer in 1979 - was sentenced to death in 1981 and is still alive. "If I could go up to Charlie Crist and say, 'put the needles in his arm; push the button,' I would," Jones said.
Legal journey saps patience of loved ones
BY MABEL PEREZ
STAR-BANNER
Kara Jones describes how frustrating it is that Sonny Oats Jr. - the man who killed her grandmother Jeanette Dyer in 1979 - was sentenced to death in 1981 and is still alive. "If I could go up to Charlie Crist and say, 'put the needles in his arm; push the button,' I would," Jones said.
OCALA - Her grandmother always kept apple cinnamon cookies in her refrigerator fruit drawer. That was usually the first thing her grandchildren went looking for when they visited.
She laughed often but it was the sound of her chuckle that was unique. At the end of the day, she rolled up her hair with bobby pins.
Those three distinct memories are what Kara Jones, 33, remembers when she talks about her grandmother Jeanette Dyer. The Belleview woman also remembers the day dozens of neighbors and family members showed up at her home with food trays and homemade dishes.
When the house was finally empty, Jones, who was 6, looked up at her parents and asked why people were bringing so much food.
"I asked them if we were too poor and couldn't afford food," she remembered Thursday.
But as bad as that would have been, the news, in fact, was worse. Her parents told her that her grandmother was gone and was not coming back.
THE CRIME
"I was kept in the dark about grandmother's death because it was so hard on my family, especially my dad because it was his mother," Jones said. "I was under the impression she died of natural causes."
Today, she is the family member who knows the most about her grandmother's death and her grandmother's killer. She reads court documents by the pound and regularly gets letters from the Attorney General's Office.
Dyer, 50, was murdered on Dec. 20, 1979, while working as a convenience store clerk in Martel, a community on West State Road 40 and 80th Avenue. Sonny Oats Jr. pulled a gun and shot her in the face for $100 that was in the cash register.
"How can you live with yourself knowing that you spilled an innocent person's blood on the floor for $100?" Jones asked. "My grandmother's life was only worth $100 to that man."
Oats was convicted of first-degree murder and, in February 1981, was sent to death row to await execution.
Twenty-six years later, he is still there. This time, lawyers are arguing he is mentally retarded and not eligible for execution. His hearings on the retardation hearing have not been set because of scheduling problems among the expert witnesses.
The latest round of appeals is tough on Jones. She is always contacted when an appeal is pending and is notified every time Oats has a hearing.
"The only thing we can do is sit down and wait. And let the court system run its course," she said. "I believe in the American justice system. I think it takes longer than it should. But the law is the law."
'DEATH ROOM'
Dozens of cardboard boxes fill a single room at the State Attorney's Office in Ocala.
It's called the "death room" and is kept under lock and key. Only a handful of lawyers have access to the files. The boxes are filled with legal papers, photographs, police reports, court transcripts and mental health evaluations. Murder cases usually take up a couple of boxes but grow as the death penalty cases go through the appeals process.
An average of 12 years pass from a death sentence to execution.
The Oats case has taken longer because of the mental retardation claims, Assistant State Attorney Rock Hooker said.
State Attorney Brad King said Thursday that victims' families are always told about the tedious legal process. There is an automatic appeal in a death case, and depending on the case, additional appeals can be filed.
"Everyone expects that it takes a significant period of time but most people, the public, generally thinks in terms that it may take five years," King said. "Five years is a long time in peoples' lives but when [we tell them] it takes 12 years, they're really disappointed it's going to be that long before justice is a certainty in that particular case."
This coming week, family members of Nancy O'Farrell will be reminded again of her death. Attorneys for Ian Lightbourne, who was sentenced to death in 1981, will argue in a Marion County courtroom, starting Tuesday, about whether lethal injection is "cruel and unusual" in light of the botched execution of Angel Diaz.
Hooker called the appeals process "a journey."
"We're straightforward and honest with them and explain to them the journey they must embark in order to seek the death penalty. And some people are willing to take that long ride with us," Hooker said. "You have to tell people to expect that 12- to 15-year journey."
In the 5th Circuit, which includes Marion, Lake, Citrus, Sumter and Hernando counties, there are 19 pending death cases. That number includes John Couey, who was sentenced Friday for the February 2005 murder of Jessica Marie Lunsford. Statewide there are 382 men on death row. No women are on death row.
All their families are notified whenever there are new hearings and developments in the case. Hooker said the process was "heart wrenching" for families who are reminded about their loved one's death and the way they died.
Jones said the process was a waiting game.
"You feel helpless. Hog-tied. It's not like you can go to [Gov.] Charlie Crist and tell him to put two needles in his arms. I can't do that."
Mabel Perez may be reached at mabel.perez@starbanner.com 867-4106.
BY MABEL PEREZ
STAR-BANNER
Kara Jones describes how frustrating it is that Sonny Oats Jr. - the man who killed her grandmother Jeanette Dyer in 1979 - was sentenced to death in 1981 and is still alive. "If I could go up to Charlie Crist and say, 'put the needles in his arm; push the button,' I would," Jones said.
OCALA - Her grandmother always kept apple cinnamon cookies in her refrigerator fruit drawer. That was usually the first thing her grandchildren went looking for when they visited.
She laughed often but it was the sound of her chuckle that was unique. At the end of the day, she rolled up her hair with bobby pins.
Those three distinct memories are what Kara Jones, 33, remembers when she talks about her grandmother Jeanette Dyer. The Belleview woman also remembers the day dozens of neighbors and family members showed up at her home with food trays and homemade dishes.
When the house was finally empty, Jones, who was 6, looked up at her parents and asked why people were bringing so much food.
"I asked them if we were too poor and couldn't afford food," she remembered Thursday.
But as bad as that would have been, the news, in fact, was worse. Her parents told her that her grandmother was gone and was not coming back.
THE CRIME
"I was kept in the dark about grandmother's death because it was so hard on my family, especially my dad because it was his mother," Jones said. "I was under the impression she died of natural causes."
Today, she is the family member who knows the most about her grandmother's death and her grandmother's killer. She reads court documents by the pound and regularly gets letters from the Attorney General's Office.
Dyer, 50, was murdered on Dec. 20, 1979, while working as a convenience store clerk in Martel, a community on West State Road 40 and 80th Avenue. Sonny Oats Jr. pulled a gun and shot her in the face for $100 that was in the cash register.
"How can you live with yourself knowing that you spilled an innocent person's blood on the floor for $100?" Jones asked. "My grandmother's life was only worth $100 to that man."
Oats was convicted of first-degree murder and, in February 1981, was sent to death row to await execution.
Twenty-six years later, he is still there. This time, lawyers are arguing he is mentally retarded and not eligible for execution. His hearings on the retardation hearing have not been set because of scheduling problems among the expert witnesses.
The latest round of appeals is tough on Jones. She is always contacted when an appeal is pending and is notified every time Oats has a hearing.
"The only thing we can do is sit down and wait. And let the court system run its course," she said. "I believe in the American justice system. I think it takes longer than it should. But the law is the law."
'DEATH ROOM'
Dozens of cardboard boxes fill a single room at the State Attorney's Office in Ocala.
It's called the "death room" and is kept under lock and key. Only a handful of lawyers have access to the files. The boxes are filled with legal papers, photographs, police reports, court transcripts and mental health evaluations. Murder cases usually take up a couple of boxes but grow as the death penalty cases go through the appeals process.
An average of 12 years pass from a death sentence to execution.
The Oats case has taken longer because of the mental retardation claims, Assistant State Attorney Rock Hooker said.
State Attorney Brad King said Thursday that victims' families are always told about the tedious legal process. There is an automatic appeal in a death case, and depending on the case, additional appeals can be filed.
"Everyone expects that it takes a significant period of time but most people, the public, generally thinks in terms that it may take five years," King said. "Five years is a long time in peoples' lives but when [we tell them] it takes 12 years, they're really disappointed it's going to be that long before justice is a certainty in that particular case."
This coming week, family members of Nancy O'Farrell will be reminded again of her death. Attorneys for Ian Lightbourne, who was sentenced to death in 1981, will argue in a Marion County courtroom, starting Tuesday, about whether lethal injection is "cruel and unusual" in light of the botched execution of Angel Diaz.
Hooker called the appeals process "a journey."
"We're straightforward and honest with them and explain to them the journey they must embark in order to seek the death penalty. And some people are willing to take that long ride with us," Hooker said. "You have to tell people to expect that 12- to 15-year journey."
In the 5th Circuit, which includes Marion, Lake, Citrus, Sumter and Hernando counties, there are 19 pending death cases. That number includes John Couey, who was sentenced Friday for the February 2005 murder of Jessica Marie Lunsford. Statewide there are 382 men on death row. No women are on death row.
All their families are notified whenever there are new hearings and developments in the case. Hooker said the process was "heart wrenching" for families who are reminded about their loved one's death and the way they died.
Jones said the process was a waiting game.
"You feel helpless. Hog-tied. It's not like you can go to [Gov.] Charlie Crist and tell him to put two needles in his arms. I can't do that."
Mabel Perez may be reached at mabel.perez@starbanner.com 867-4106.
No comments:
Post a Comment