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Thread: Ralph "Hakim" Birdsong - Pennsylvania

  1. #1
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    Ralph "Hakim" Birdsong - Pennsylvania





    Facts of the Crime:

    Was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to death in 1989 by a Philadelphia County Common Pleas Court judge for charging into a rowhouse in the West Oak Lane section and opening fire on 10 people, killing two of them. Birdsong's brother, Anthony, who acted as the lookout during the drug-related spree of violence, was convicted and sentenced by Senior Judge Juanita Kidd Stout to two life terms in prison, to run concurrently, plus an additional 42 1/2 to 85 years. He was also on trial for the July 17, 1988 murder of Daniel McKayhan, 37. The crime had been unsolved until a former girlfriend of Birdsong's testified against him.

  2. #2
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    On June 29, 2011, Birdsong filed a habeas petition in Federal District Court.

    http://dockets.justia.com/docket/pen...v04240/421642/

  3. #3
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    Pa. governor signs 2 more death warrants for killers; state's last execution was in 1999

    Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett has signed death warrants for two more inmates on death row, although the state last executed someone in 1999.

    Corbett has now signed warrants for 10 of the approximately 208 people on death row since taking office this year.

    Sixty-year-old Kenneth Hairston of Allegheny County is scheduled for lethal injection for killing his wife and autistic son in 2001.

    Fifty-year-old Ralph Birdsong is set for execution for killing two Philadelphians in 1988. Both executions are set for January.

    Pennsylvania has executed three people since the U.S. Supreme Court restored the death penalty in 1976.

    Pennsylvania Chief Justice Ronald Castille has complained that public defenders are thwarting the legal process through repeated delays.

    Death-penalty opponents point to the scores of death-row inmates exonerated across the country.

    http://www.therepublic.com/view/stor...alty-Warrants/

  4. #4
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    The U.S. District Court for Eastern Pennsylvania has granted Birdsong a stay of execution.

  5. #5
    Moderator Bobsicles's Avatar
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    Birdsong’s habeas petition was denied by the federal district court on March 24, 2022.

    A COA was also denied.

    https://dockets.justia.com/docket/pe...cv04240/421642

    On April 21, 2022, Birdsong filed an appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

    https://dockets.justia.com/docket/ci...ts/ca3/22-1716
    Thank you for the adventure - Axol

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    Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever. - Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt

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    According to the magistrate judge's report and recommendation, Birdsong has been resentenced to life in prison.

  7. #7
    Moderator Bobsicles's Avatar
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    Birdsong is still listed on the roster of death row inmates, which was last updated May 2.

    https://www.cor.pa.gov/About%20Us/In...on%20list.xlsx
    Thank you for the adventure - Axol

    Tried so hard and got so far, but in the end it doesn’t even matter - Linkin Park

    Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever. - Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt

    I’m going to the ghost McDonalds - Garcello

  8. #8
    Moderator Bobsicles's Avatar
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    Now Birdsong is off death row. Commuted and is now serving 62-125 years.

    https://www.cor.pa.gov/About%20Us/In...on%20list.xlsx
    Thank you for the adventure - Axol

    Tried so hard and got so far, but in the end it doesn’t even matter - Linkin Park

    Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever. - Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt

    I’m going to the ghost McDonalds - Garcello

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