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US STATE TEXAS has executed a convicted murderer who had claimed an ill-prepared lawyer had botched his case and had relied on Wikipedia for research.
Lawyers for TaiChin Preyor had made a last-ditch effort to save their client by asking the US Supreme Court to intervene just hours before he was scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection.
But the high court let a lower court ruling stand in which judges expressed scepticism that further delays might change the outcome of Preyor’s case.
Preyor was executed soon after and declared dead at 9:22pm (3.22am Irish time), according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
46-year-old Preyor was convicted of the drug-related murder of Jami Tackett in 2004, committed during the course of a burglary.
Tackett was stabbed multiple times, and her throat was slashed – severing her trachea, jugular vein and carotid artery.
Preyor was arrested still covered in blood on the grounds of the apartment complex where Tackett was killed. A jury rejected his claim of self-defence.
His lawyers had claimed his previous legal representation was woefully inadequate during the post-conviction phase of the trial.
They said that lawyer had been a specialist in California real estate law, and was ill-equipped for the task of appealing a death penalty case.
They also discovered material in old case files that suggested the lawyer had relied on the Wikipedia website to research Texas death penalty law.
“His attorneys and the judicial system itself have failed him at every turn,” Preyor’s lawyers wrote in their filing with the US Supreme Court.
They argued Preyor’s difficult childhood, including sexual and physical abuse, should have been considered at earlier phases of his case, which may have led to a life sentence instead of the death penalty.
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected that argument, saying Preyor had “not made a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right”.
“He has not made a strong showing that he is likely to succeed on the merits” of his claim that additional evidence should be considered, the court wrote.
In his brief last statement before execution, Preyor quoted the civil rights figure Coretta Scott King, saying: “Justice has never advanced by taking a life.”
Preyor is the fifth convict to face the death penalty this year in Texas.
There are at least five others scheduled to be put to death this year in the state, according to the Death Penalty Information Centre.
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Seems like this is going to become a regular occurrence, surely these people know exactly what they are doing, legislation is seriously required…………
@Julie: Agree they know what they are doing, but already have laws and legislation regarding the use of drones near airports and other locations. The people doing this just don’t care.
@Julie: as I said in the previous event… they need a mechanism to stop it. It’s already illegal. Ireland has plenty of laws, enforcement is lacking.
@Richard: good drones can’t fly in restricted areas, they literally land. But cheap ones with no GPS can
@Richard: It’s the DAA’s responsibility. They have bird scaring processes on site. Time to start drone watching now.
@Dave Harris: unfortunately cheap clones of brand name drones like DJI are readily available and there are a lot of 5tup1d people around
@Dave Harris: Maybe drones without GPS should be banned or heavily regulated then.
@Tomo: Totally agree, flight safety for commercial airlines far outweighs the ‘amusement’ of toy drone enthusiasts.
Obviously the little guy got a quad off Santa and now for his birthday his delightful family bought him a drone. Took 10 months from Alibaba but arrived just on time .
@Murph11: this is exactly it. The law unabiding citizens of Ireland.
@Murph11: a fresh batch of m0r0ns, allowing the lowest common denominator to dictate. There needs to be more gene splicing with particular people.
Good luck waiting for sleepy Eamo to spring into action
You are surely not expecting Eamon Ryan to do anything are you? You have to wake him up and remind him where he is first.
A major crackdown on these muppets is long overdue. Putting the safety of flights and their passengers at risk is a cowardly act.
Pellet gun. Job done.
@Brian Costigan: Shotgun. More chance of hitting it.
@Brian Costigan: shotgun you mean
Far right nut job no doubt.
I wish media would stop reporting these events, sadly leads to more copycat events.
Shoot them down. People will think twice then
@Kevin O’Brien: they will only buy twice. This would be a badge of honour for the m0r0ns and their drones.
Are they sure it’s not a Chinese Spy balloon. Where are the photos?.
@Padraig: Here is your solution DAA. You can thank me later.
@Padraig: a bargain at just under 11 grand in fairness! Often have had to fork out 15 or 20 grand for one!
I might be off the mark here, but I could see this issue being the fault of airlines pulling out of here altogether if it persists.
@Declan Moran: that’ll never happen. There are drone incidents all over the world, The drone industry will suffer way before the airline industry does.
Why are they not shot down .
Hans, bubby, I’m your white knight,
We need to get them birds of prey that are trained to take them down.
Ask the UN for ground to air missiles or use a pop gun . They can not be that hard to hit. Overthinking this, I think.
Get the American Air force to shoot them down as spying balloons
have your say