Marika Kelderman, Live 5 News
Yesterday Tiffany Cole was sentences to death for her role in the murder of James and Carol Sumner in Jacksonville Florida. She was the last of the four convicted killer to be sentenced.
James and Carol Sumner most of their lives in Charleston. They were murdered just 7 months after they moved from Ladson to Jacksonville, Florida.
Carol Sumner's daughter lives in North Charleston. Rhonda Alford says in the almost three years since her mother and stepfather were kidnapped and buried she has forgiven they're killers.
"About 7 month after the crime, god just was very gracious with me and completely took care of me. Forgiveness has flowed for all for of them," Alford said.
20 year old Bruce Nixon received 45 years in prison for his role in the slaying. 25 year old Michael Jackson, 25 year old Tiffany Cole and 20 year old Alan Wade were all sentenced to death. The fate of Alan Wade is now what rests heaviest on Alford's heart.
"Alan Wade, he got the death penalty on Tuesday and that just grieves my heart terribly. He was too young, way to young," Alford said.
Alford believes Michael Jackson was the mastermind of the murders and his sentence is the right one but she holds no hatred toward any of the four.
"I know my mother and I know my stepfather and I know that they were probably asking for forgiveness for these kids as well. I actually have no doubt about that," Alford said.
Alford has befriended the families of Cole, Wade and Nixon and says forgiveness has allowed her to better remember her mother and stepfather.
"I don’’t think about the way they died at all. It doesn’t even enter my mind. I just know how they lived and the kind of people they were."
"All four families have lost their children, their brother, their sister. It will never be closed. I've grieved my parents and the Lord has taken care of me. Absolutely taken care of me, now i just grieve for their families."
Yesterday Tiffany Cole was sentences to death for her role in the murder of James and Carol Sumner in Jacksonville Florida. She was the last of the four convicted killer to be sentenced.
James and Carol Sumner most of their lives in Charleston. They were murdered just 7 months after they moved from Ladson to Jacksonville, Florida.
Carol Sumner's daughter lives in North Charleston. Rhonda Alford says in the almost three years since her mother and stepfather were kidnapped and buried she has forgiven they're killers.
"About 7 month after the crime, god just was very gracious with me and completely took care of me. Forgiveness has flowed for all for of them," Alford said.
20 year old Bruce Nixon received 45 years in prison for his role in the slaying. 25 year old Michael Jackson, 25 year old Tiffany Cole and 20 year old Alan Wade were all sentenced to death. The fate of Alan Wade is now what rests heaviest on Alford's heart.
"Alan Wade, he got the death penalty on Tuesday and that just grieves my heart terribly. He was too young, way to young," Alford said.
Alford believes Michael Jackson was the mastermind of the murders and his sentence is the right one but she holds no hatred toward any of the four.
"I know my mother and I know my stepfather and I know that they were probably asking for forgiveness for these kids as well. I actually have no doubt about that," Alford said.
Alford has befriended the families of Cole, Wade and Nixon and says forgiveness has allowed her to better remember her mother and stepfather.
"I don’’t think about the way they died at all. It doesn’t even enter my mind. I just know how they lived and the kind of people they were."
"All four families have lost their children, their brother, their sister. It will never be closed. I've grieved my parents and the Lord has taken care of me. Absolutely taken care of me, now i just grieve for their families."
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21 comments:
Very poor writing! In the third paragraph it says "forgiven they're killers" meaning "they are" as in, the murder victims were also the murderers. It should be "their killers". I suppose the author of this post was absent the day that was taught in third grade.
Tiffany Cole is innocent. She was scared to defy Michael Jackson. He is a violently disturbed man and even the other boys were scared of him.
if she wishes to find it in her heart to forgive them. Leave her to it. Whatt she has been through in the last couple of years is bad. What these kids did was terrible but here in england where i am from they would not be put on death row. I have read alot on this case as it has intrest me but surely it is not possible that they would ever forgive themselfs for what they did to those poor people. Not one of them should be on death row. They where young.
i think the punishment should fit the crime. i don't think for 1 minute that this girl couldn't have changed this around. please. i was in a very abusive relationship and there is always a chance to get away, unless someone is holding a gun to your head constantly. people make too many excuses. young or not, people usually learn right from wrong in the first grade. only evil people don't feel bad for doing wrong to others. if it was your grandparents who suffered this, would it matter how old the people who murdered them were?
@ "Kelly of Women Condemned"...Just how in the hell do you know "Tiffany" was innocent?....Were you there as well?..NO!...She was part of the crime and she was spending the cash WITH the others who were convicted!...She cashed in on the profits of MURDER too!...You have ALOT of nerve to come on here with some crazy rediculous statement like you have.You claim she was scared? and so were the other boys?...Well odds have it that there were 3 of them and 1 of him and unless Michael James Jackson had them under some sort of hypnosis/spell or had a gun to each of their heads than between the 3 of them they could have beat his azz and laid him in the ground instead of Mr & Mrs.Sumner...I TOTALLY agree with you "anonymous"...we are all suppose to know the difference between right & wrong by the age of what? 5?...I hold alot of love in my heart for the victim's daughter Mrs.Alford and Thank the GOOD LORD that he has given her the gift of forgiveness and she has been able to have the strength the do so...My deepest sympathy goes out to her and her family in these times!
Watched this story on Wicked Attractions on ID. Tiffany Cole is just as guilty as the other three. She knew Mrs Sumner and she was good to her and treated her as if she was her daughter. Tiffany introduced those other three monsters to the Sumners. I cry everytime I watch this. How can you bury two elderly people alive? I pray for the Sumners Daughter Ms Alford. May Tiffany and the other three rot in hell! When their execution arrives I will celebrate like yall did when yall spent the Sumners money.As far as the girl in the article who said Tiffany is innnocent you must smoke crack or was you one of her lovers in the Peniteniary. You just as sorry as them. You rot in hell as well!
Go pound sand Kelly of Women Condemned. Typical worthless liberal journalist. Always blame someone else is their motto. I will volunteer to dig a hole and bury the killers just as they did to the Sumner's. I am glad their daughter forgave them for her sake. I don't think I could. God forgives, I don't.
I think it's absolutely disgraceful that these young people are on death row for this crime !!! why waste all that money looklng after them for 20 odd years when they could just bury them alive like there victims, they deserve to suffer & they should televise it si we can alk celebrate the occasion .
Yeah okay love, has the fairy dust blown off yet ? Was she terrified when she was spending there money ? & would you be so forgiving if it was your parents ? Death row was especially made for monsters like them, if they can't bury them alive they should bring back old sparky .
Oh, dear. It's blogs and comment sections such as these that almost completely destroy my faith in our species and any hope for its survival. People who don't know the difference between "they're", "their" and "there" or "two", "to" and "too" really ought to have their keyboards taken away until they learn to compose a sentence that isn’t painful to read. Doesn’t matter, you say? I suppose not. Unless you want to be understood.
Life in prison is waaaaay worse than sentenced to death......
The so-called error of "they're killers" instead of the "their killers" is nothing more than a slip. Perhaps you can lay aside your arrogance and actually think objectively. At the time of the writing, the author had a strong affect and conviction that "they are killers" (which is a fact) and essentially their sub-conscious mind wrote it, unbeknownst to them.
To those of you who are losing faith in humanity because of spelling errors: you're fucking retarded.
Why is ANYONE even wasting time worrying about a spelling error? What about these kids murdering The Sumners? It was painful watching that story, I cant imagine going through or putting anyone else through what The Sumners endured at the hands of these monsters. I believe the sentences were appropriate for all of them... Although, I can relate to the forgiving heart Ms. Alford has displayed. In order to be forgiven you HAVE to forgive.
Very pathetic to say that we should all celebrate the occasion of which these offenders are killed. We did learn right from wrong at a young age but didn't we also learn that "two wrongs don't make a right"?! And what are we doing? Playing God and deciding these young lives a counter-fate of death in response to their actions. It doesn't make sense. What separates these jurors from the offenders? "NOTHING" I feel sorry for these people and I feel even more sorry for the people who commented with such hate in their hearts because those are the real monsters here.
Isn't it amazing how so many cold hearted killers seem to find God once they're on death row? I support the death penalty and always have. Child molesters, rapists and murderers have no place among civilized society. Some people are just naturally evil and will never change. Charles Manson will probably die in prison. He's over 80 years old but still a menace to society. He will never get paroled is in the best possible place. Why should the taxpayers support these people for the rest of their lives because some bleeding heart liberals are opposed to the death penalty? Most of these thugs have been incarcerated previously and going to jail is not a big deal for them. The death penalty is the ONLY real deterrent to crime. Some people actually can change and are truly remorseful for the crime they committed but once a murder has been committed, it's too late to be sorry. In the case of Tiffany Cole, she claims to have found God in prison. Well that's good and I'm happy for her, but where was her God when she stood by and watched cold heartedly as the victims who welcomed her along with her 3 male companions who they didn't know, into their home, while they were being buried alive? I have the same kind of mercy for Tiffany Cole as she had for the Sumners which is none at all. The Sumner's daughter has forgiven Tiffany and has even made friends with the families of the other 3 accomplices. This is a crime so horrific, the death penalty is the only punishment that fits the crime. I didn't know the Sumners but they could have been anybody's parents. How forgiving would you be if your parents were buried alive? Maybe God can forgive her, but I can't. If you take a life, you should pay with your life. I don't look at it as two wrongs. The first murder was wrong, and the execution of the murderer is what makes it right. Tiffany Cole is a festering boil on the arse of society! She needs to pay the ultimate price for her role in the cold hearted murder of the Sumners. She should NEVER be allowed to walk the streets among society ever again! In many cases it's not the jury who decides the sentence of the defendant. The jury's job is to deliver a verdict of guilty or not guilty. The sentencing is up to the judge. Two of the three other accomplices have already been executed. Bruce Nixon managed to escape the death penalty by turning state's evidence. Why Tiffany Cole's execution has been delayed remains a mystery to me. What makes her any better than the other two who have already been executed? She's still eating at the taxpayer's expense and it's time to introduce her to the Grim Reaper.
In response to Mandy Lee's comment, Carrying out a death sentence is NOT playing God! It's carrying out the law of the land. If you happen to live in one of the states where the death penalty is in effect, be prepared to pay with your life if you are convicted of murder or any other crime that warrants the death penalty. Contrary to popular belief, not everybody can be rehabilitated. Murderers will continue to murder, rapists will continue to rape and child molesters will continue to molest. Your comment "two wrongs don't make a right" is based on your personal opinion which you will find many people disagree with. You are certainly entitled to your opinion which happens to be one I don't share. Celebrating the death of a convicted murderer is not pathetic but rather an occasion to feel relief and being able to exhale. Care to join me in a verse of "Ding Dong The Witch is Dead?"
In response to Emma Cannons comment, The age of the defendants has no bearing on the unimaginable cruel manner in which these monsters murdered the Sumners. Are the Sumners any less dead or did they suffer any less because their killers were young? I really don't think so. I believe the law is the same in all 50 states that at the age of 18 you're considered an adult and can be charged as an adult. If they had been 17 there is a possibility they could have escaped death row. In some rare cases defendants 17 years old have been tried as adults if the crime was serious. I have no pity on the two defendants who have already been executed and I also have no pity on the other two who are currently in prison. The only ones I have pity on are the Sumners who died a horrible death at the hands of these cold blooded and heartless killers!
Heather May, I agree with you 100%
Tiffany is not innocent if anything these people would still be alive. If they would of never met tiffany's Punk Ass
Yes I can imagine it's harder being alive getting food and having a roof over your head is much harder than not breathing at all..
she’s as hideous as her crime. hells the perfect place for her
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