Page 3 of 3 FirstFirst 123
Results 21 to 27 of 27

Thread: Michael Dean Overstreet - Indiana Death Row

  1. #21
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Germany
    Posts
    13,014
    Murder victim's mother no longer angry but still wants death penalty

    By Sandra Chapman
    WTHR

    FRANKLIN, Ind. - The mother of a murdered Franklin College student is speaking out as the man who killed her daughter tried to get his death sentence overturned.

    Connie Sutton sat in a courtroom last week while lawyers for Michael Dean Overstreet argued why their client should not be executed for raping and murdering her daughter Kelly Eckart in 1997.

    "Kelly will be gone for 17 years on the 27th of this month," Sutton told Eyewitness News. "I don't feel that anger anymore. I'm not living with that hatred in me anymore, and that's a good feeling. It really is."

    The veil lifted at a most unusual time: during the death row appeal hearing for her daughter's killer, Michael Dean Overstreet.

    Doctors treating Overstreet for paranoid schizophrenia revealed intimate prison conversations with Overstreet. Sutton said she had no idea what she was about to hear..

    "I never expected for him to admit to what he did. Never," she said in disbelief.

    And although it didn't come the way she always wanted, Sutton said she finally got what she needed from the man who abducted, assaulted and killed her 17-year-old daughter.

    "I'll never forget the minute that it came out that he was sorry about what happened, you know what he put Kelly and her family through," she said. "That was the very first time that I cried in court."

    She knew Overstreet looked differently but couldn't be sure if it was due to medication.

    "His eyes looked different. When we were in court 14 years ago, his eyes were cold. They were eyes of a murderer," she said.

    Although his appearance has changed, in Sutton's eyes, Overstreet will always be a murderer.

    His reported gestures of remorse give her some peace, but when it comes to his death sentence, "He still needs to die for what he did. As long as I know he was in his right mind when it happened, I don't think I can ever forgive. But I could walk away if I had to now."

    While Sutton said she has released her anger, she is not saying she has forgiven Overstreet - only that she can live in peace with whatever the judge now decides. A decision is expected by December 5.

    Sutton said it's been a long journey and that she's grateful for all of the support from Johnson County and Franklin College.

    http://www.wthr.com/story/26479226/2...death-sentence

  2. #22
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Germany
    Posts
    13,014
    Man who killed Franklin College student not competent for execution, judge rules

    ST. JOSEPH COUNTY – A judge ruled that the man convicted in the 1997 rape and murder of a Franklin College student is not competent to be executed.

    Judge Jane Woodward Miller issued a stay that will spare Michael Dean Overstreet from execution, our media partners at the IndyStar report.

    Overstreet was convicted in the 1997 murder of Kelly Eckart, 18, a Franklin College student who was driving home from her job at Walmart when she encountered Overstreet.

    Her body was found in a wooded area in Brown County. DNA evidence linked Overstreet to the crime, and he was convicted in 2000.

    Lawyers for Overstreet argued he is delusional and doesn’t understand the circumstances. The Attorney General’s Office argued that Overstreet does indeed have a mental illness but understands he would be executed because of his crime.

    Both sides made their case during a four-day hearing in September. In 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed a ruling that death row inmates who are mentally ill can’t be put to death if they’re incapable of rationally understanding what execution means and why they’re being executed.

    According to the Attorney General’s Office, this week’s ruling means Overstreet’s conviction and death sentence remain valid. The death sentence, however, cannot be carried out until and unless Overstreet becomes competent.

    Attorney General Greg Zoeller issued the following statement about the ruling:

    “Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Kelly Eckart who have endured many years of uncertainty in our criminal justice system. We respect the appeals process that includes procedural safeguards for the defendant and the difficult decisions our judges face in this area of the law, but our focus will continue to be on honoring the victims of all such crimes.”

    The Attorney General’s Office is reviewing the ruling and will make a decision about an appeal at a later date.

    http://fox59.com/2014/11/20/man-who-...n-judge-rules/

  3. #23
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Germany
    Posts
    13,014
    Zoeller won't appeal ruling that spares killer's life

    Attorney General Greg Zoeller won't appeal a decision that spares the life of the man convicted of the rape and murder of Franklin College student Kelly Eckart in 1997.

    Noting that psychotic delusions have haunted Michael Dean Overstreet during the 14 years he's been on Death Row, St. Joseph Superior Court Judge Jane Woodward Miller ruled on Nov. 20 that he is no longer competent to be executed.

    The Indiana Supreme Court gives judges wide discretion in competency cases, and Zoeller's office has concluded that "the judge's decision here, while a close call, is likely to be considered reasonable under the circumstances ...and not overturned."

    Overstreet remains on Death Row but cannot be executed unless his mental condition improves.

    According to Miller's 137-page ruling, Overstreet suffers from schizophrenia and hears constant voices that criticize and berate him. He also believes he is dead and that his execution will free him from his comalike state and allow him to return home to his family.

    Overstreet was convicted of Eckart's killing and sentenced to death in 2000.

    Eckart, 18, was driving to her Boggstown home after a shift at the Franklin Walmart when prosecutors say Overstreet bumped his van into her vehicle and abducted her on a dark road. DNA and other evidence linked Overstreet to the killing.

    While Overstreet may never be executed, Zoeller noted that he'll never leave prison thanks to the solid work of police and prosecutors in Johnson County.

    "We express our sympathy for all those who knew and loved Kelly Eckart," Zoeller said in a statement. "We understand how the criminal justice system can be frustrating even as the rule of law must be followed."

    http://www.indystar.com/story/news/c...life/20151647/

  4. #24
    Moderator MRBAM's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Location
    Capital Region NY
    Posts
    865
    Whimps. Sorry excuse.

  5. #25
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    Why can't they just medicate him until he is competent...I agree it's a cop out.
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  6. #26
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    Johnson County prosecutor publicly reprimanded for 2014 comments

    By Holly V. Hays
    The Indianapolis Star

    Johnson County prosecutor Brad Cooper was publicly reprimanded by the Indiana Supreme Court disciplinary commission Friday for comments he made to reporters about the judge who set aside the death penalty for a convicted killer.

    The order
    , filed Friday, found Cooper in violation of the professional conduct rule, "which prohibits making a statement that the lawyer knows to be false or with reckless disregard as to its truth or falsity concerning the qualifications or integrity of a judge."

    Cooper told IndyStar via text message Friday night that the ruling reaffirmed a hearing judge's January recommendation for reprimand. He framed a printed copy of the reprimand and "hung it next to the sentencing order of death" on his office wall, he said.

    He declined to comment further on the reprimand.

    A complaint
    was filed following comments he made to IndyStar and the Associated Press questioning the decision to bypass the death penalty for Michael Dean Overstreet, who was convicted of the 1997 rape and murder of 18-year-old Franklin College student Kelly Eckart. Cooper was a deputy prosecutor on the team that won Overstreet's conviction in 2000.

    The Indiana Supreme Court moved the Overstreet case to St. Joseph County after Johnson Superior Court Judge Cynthia Emkes recused herself for health reasons. The new judge, Jane Woodward Miller, later ruled Overstreet was not competent to be executed.

    "I was angry and suspicious when this case was sent to a distant judge who is not accountable to the Johnson County citizenry or a grieving mother who couldn't even afford to drive up for the hearing," Cooper told IndyStar via text message in 2014. "The idea that this convicted rapist murdering monster is too sick to be executed is nothing short of outrageous and is an injustice to the victim, her mother, the jury and the hundreds of people who worked to convict this animal."

    The Indiana Supreme Court disciplinary commission investigates misconduct claims against Indiana lawyers and protects lawyers from unwarranted misconduct claims. It also has the power to issue licensing suspensions or disbarments.

    http://www.indystar.com/story/news/c...ents/99607374/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  7. #27
    Senior Member Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Posts
    239
    I'm not sure why he was reprimanded. He merely said that the judge wasn't accountable to local voters or the mother, which is a statement of fact. He didn't say she was corrupt. He also said her decision was outrageous. Don't other attorneys sometimes say decisions are outrageous? I could see him being reprimanded if he questioned her integrity, but I don't see that he did that. I thought his comment was going to be much worse.

Page 3 of 3 FirstFirst 123

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •