Mississippi's first execution since 2002 scheduled for Wednesday

[Thom Little]

Hit man John B. Nixon Sr., barring a late reprieve by the U.S. Supreme Court, on Wednesday will become the oldest person in the nation to be executed since capital punishment was reinstated almost three decades ago.

The 77-year-old Nixon, the triggerman in the 1985 execution-style murder of a Mississippi woman, is to die by lethal injection at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the state penitentiary at Parchman. He has been on death row since March 1986.

Attorneys for Nixon have appealed to Justice Antonin Scalia, who hears all emergency appeals from Mississippi, to stay the execution. Scalia normally refers these requests to the full court.

If the execution is carried out, Nixon will be the first person to be executed in Mississippi since 2002 and the seventh since 1976.



http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MS_NIXON_EXECUTION_MSOL-?SITE=VARIT&SECTION=US&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2005-12-13-14-23-36

[Rowdyboy]

1. I asked my partner earlier tonight...."Where is the outrage?"

Everyone was either devastated or very positive about the "Tookie" execution. He MATTERED/ What about Nixon? He's 77 years old, for God's sake! (Not saying he deserves a commuted sentence. just pointing out the fact of his age)

[Kiteflyer]

5. How old is Sadam?

When the firing squad comes for him will there be more outrage??????

[Kiteflyer]

2. I'm sure Jesse Jackson and Jamie Fox...

....will come to his rescue.
Don't give up on hope yet.

[NaturalHigh]

6. Uh-huh.

I'm going to take a good deep breath and hold it until that happens. I'm sure that Mike Farrell will devote most of his waking hours to this as well. It's not like he's been busy since MASH ended twenty years ago.

[newyawker99]

13. Hi Kiteflyer!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[roguevalley]

3. what are THEY going to do? Take him out and drown him? I

despair of this country.

[NFL80]

4. The Oldest man on death row in California is blind and disabled...

His application for clemency was received by the Governor's office today. He is 75 and confined to a wheelchair. He is a Native American, Clarence Ray Allen, who was convicted of ordering a parolee to murder three witnesses who testified against him. His execution is scheduled for January 17, 2006.

[newyawker99]

14. Hi NFL80!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

7. Oh, it's not Brownie.

Surprising.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

8. Elections in NO we postpone, but executions MUST

go on!

Yeah.

Go Amerikkka.

[fortyfeetunder]

9. The ex who ordered the kill doesn't get the DP?????

"Authorities said Thomas and Virginia Tucker tried to bargain for their lives after Nixon and his companions after they burst into their Brandon home on Jan. 2, 1985. But Nixon dismissed their pleas, put a pistol to Virginia Tucker's head, and pulled the trigger.

Tucker's ex-husband, Elester Joseph Ponthieux of Raymond, is serving a life sentence for hiring Nixon. Serving sentences for helping Nixon are his two sons and another man."

Another reason why the DP is a POS. Why did the ex, who ordered the kill, get LWOP?

This is getting more ludricous by the hour.

[leesa]

10. Vengeance reigns supreme,,,no other reason for execution.

[lebkuchen]

11. US news is full of all sorts of cheery stories for the holidays

Are we in a mad rush to send Americans to their maker for Christmas?

Europeans shop at Kriskindel Markts and drink glüwein during the holidays. Americans clear out death row. No contest as to which culture I prefer.

[laylah]

12. Nixon's son was murdered

in this area a few weeks ago.

Nixon’s father, John B. Nixon Sr., sits on death row at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman awaiting his execution Dec. 14 for a murder he committed two decades ago. He is one of 70 people awaiting execution in Mississippi as of Oct. 31, according to the Mississippi Department of Corrections. http://www.qctimes.net/articles/2005/12/03/news/local/doc439141f16f491901004746.txt

Jenn