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Thread: Devin Allen Bennett - Mississippi Death Row

  1. #1
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    Devin Allen Bennett - Mississippi Death Row




    Facts of the Crime:

    Was sentenced to death in 2003 for killing his 10-week-old son in the first capital murder trial in Rankin County in more than a decade. The jury rejected defense arguments that Brandon Bennett died after his father, Devin Allen Bennett, then 22, accidentally kicked the child off a bed in 2000.

  2. #2
    Senior Member CnCP Legend JLR's Avatar
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    Bennett's case was remanded to the trial court on an ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim in 2008.

    http://caselaw.findlaw.com/ms-suprem...t/1423680.html

  3. #3
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Inmate's hunger strike stretches into 3rd week

    Inmate Devin Bennett is entering his third week of a hunger strike, protesting poor conditions on Mississippi's death row.

    He plans to continue until conditions change, the 32-year-old said. "I don't know how long I'll last. We are human beings, and we should be afforded rights."

    Inmates shouldn't be forced to live in unsanitary conditions, he said.

    Mississippi Department of Corrections spokeswoman Tara Booth said MDOC's medical and psychiatric staff are monitoring Bennett.

    She pointed out that Parchman, where death row is located, and other prisons have been accredited by the American Correctional Association and National Commission on Correctional Health Care.

    In 2008, the American Correctional Association gave its highest honor for excellence, the Eagle Award, to MDOC, Booth said. "Mississippi's prison system became the 14th in the nation to claim such an accomplishment."

    Bennett said one of the problems death row inmates face is "water comes up through the floor, and you have to flush twice."

    He has repeatedly requested supplies to clean, he said. "You live dirty. You have food swept up with a dry broom, so obviously you have cockroaches."

    Inmates are also being bitten by mosquitoes, which can carry the West Nile virus, he said.

    He said he and other inmates have had their typewriters taken away because things can be hidden inside them. He said he understood that, but that there are "clear" typewriters available that won't pose a security risk.

    There is also no hot water, he said. "I have to pay 60 cents for 10 cents of ramen noodles. I understand I may have to pay more, but at least I should have the privilege of eating it hot."

    Booth responded that the costs associated with canteen purchases go straight back to programs for inmates, including educational programs.

    The ACLU sued Mississippi over the conditions of death row inmates housed at Unit 32, but those concerns broadened to include the treatment of the mentally ill. In the summer of 2007, three inmates were killed and a fourth committed suicide in a series of violent outbursts.

    Unit 32 has since been shut down, and death row inmates moved to Unit 29J. The lawsuit was settled in 2007.

    In 2003, a Rankin County Circuit Court jury convicted Bennett and sentenced him to death for the capital murder of his 10-week-old son.

    http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/a...WS11/208180324
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  4. #4
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    I guess Devin got hungry!

    Death row inmate ends hunger strike at Parchman prison

    Death row inmate Devin Bennett has ended his hunger strike at the state penitentiary at Parchman, according to corrections officials.

    Department of Corrections spokeswoman Grace Fisher says Bennett ate breakfast Thursday morning.

    Fisher says in a news release that MDOC medical, psychiatric and security staff had been monitoring of Bennett during his hunger strike.

    Bennett began his hunger strike around Aug. 3 to protest conditions on death row. He had claimed of unsanitary conditions at the Mississippi Delta prison.

    Bennett, of Richland, was sentenced to death in 2003 in Rankin County for the death of his 10-week-old son, Brandon Bennett. An autopsy showed the child had injuries consistent with shaken baby syndrome.

    Defense lawyers argued that Bennett accidentally kicked the child off a bed while he was asleep.

    http://www.therepublic.com/view/stor...er-Strike-Ends
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

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  5. #5
    Ella
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    Bennett was given a disciplinary hearing for the hunger strike and lost two years of privileges, no visits, no phone calls and no canteen. Feeling oh so bad about his raman noodles...pfffft.

  6. #6
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    Mississippi Supreme Court Upholds Death Penalty in Infant Murder Case

    JACKSON, Miss. – The Mississippi Supreme Court has denied the appeal of Devin Bennett, a man convicted of the murder of his 10-week-old son, Brandon, 20 years ago. Bennett, who received the death penalty, contended that his trial counsel was ineffective for not introducing evidence of his mental health disorders and substance abuse. However, the high court ruled that even if this evidence had been presented, it would not have changed the outcome of the trial.

    In a detailed 26-page ruling, the justices argued that additional evidence regarding Bennett's troubled past might have further undermined his case by portraying him as violent and deceitful. They maintained that information about Bennett's mental health issues often has a 'double-edged sword' effect, potentially leading jurors to view the defendant as irredeemable.

    The court also considered Bennett's inconsistent accounts of the events leading to his son's death and the expert testimony that the child suffered severe head injuries. Highlighting Bennett's refusal to cooperate with psychological evaluations or release his medical records, the justices concluded that a deeper exploration of his past would likely have confirmed negative perceptions rather than elicited sympathy.

    Upholding the original sentence, the Mississippi Supreme Court's decision closes another chapter in this tragic case, reaffirming the judicial system's commitment to upholding justice for the heinous crime committed against an innocent infant two decades prior.

    https://www.wlbt.com/2023/11/17/miss...-week-old-son/
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