softheart
05-06-2003, 11:06 PM
GEORGIA----execution
Carl Isaacs executed for Alday murders
A man who helped kill 6 members of a farm family during a burglary to fuel
his escape from a Maryland prison camp was executed Tuesday, 30 years
after his crime shook a community.
Carl Isaacs, 49, was given a lethal injection at the state prison in
Jackson for orchestrating the Alday family killings at their southwest
Georgia home on May 14, 1973. Appeals kept him on death row longer than
anyone else in the nation.
The Supreme Court refused to grant a last-minute stay, although Justices
John Paul Stevens and Stephen Breyer said the court should have agreed to
consider Isaacs' claim that it was unconstitutional to execute him after
his long imprisonment. Justice Clarence Thomas, a native of Georgia, did
not participate.
Isaacs was pronounced dead at 8:07 p.m.
The killings near Donalsonville prompted more residents to buy guns,
sparked legislation that requires victims' families to be notified of
developments in death penalty cases and inspired the 1988 movie "Murder
One," starring James Wilder as Isaacs.
Over the years, Isaacs' lawyers argued that publicity prevented him from
receiving a fair trial and tried to explain his actions by shedding light
on his abusive childhood in Baltimore. A retrial ended in the same verdict
and sentence.
His final appeal was rejected Tuesday after Isaacs' lawyer said a
minister's opening prayer at the retrial prejudiced the jury against him.
Relatives of the Aldays never wavered in their public push for Isaacs to
be executed. The repeated delays angered them; some relatives died waiting
for the execution. Three members of the family were witnesses.
In his final days, Isaacs, through his lawyer, offered remorse for the
killings, saying he was not the same hotheaded person who committed the
crime at 19.
The Alday family was unmoved, citing Isaacs' own boastful words in a
series of 1975 prison interviews.
"I'd like to get out and kill more of them," he said at the time. "They
represent the type of society I don't like. I didn't know them, had never
seen them before May 14, but I didn't like them. Working people don't do a
damn thing for me."
Isaacs, during the interviews, compared himself to notorious 1930s outlaw
John Dillinger.
The Aldays were shot to death as they returned home for lunch.
Ned Alday was gunned down along with 3 sons, a brother and a
daughter-in-law, who was raped and then taken to a field where she was
shot in the head. Prosecutors called the slayings the most gruesome in the
state's history.
Isaacs declined an opportunity to make a final statement, but did ask for
a final prayer. After the prayer he mouthed "Amen."
After the prayer, Isaacs scanned the room, looking at witnesses. Then the
chemicals started pumping, his cheeks puffed, his breathing fluttered and
his eyes began to close, although they never closed completely.
"There were many who thought this wouldn't happen," said Attorney General
Thurbert Baker. He described the execution as a "final chapter in the
case."
It was the 1st time in state history that Georgia officials allowed
members of the victims' family to witness the execution.
At the time of the murders, Isaacs was on the run from authorities after
having escaped from a minimum-security prison camp in Wicomico County, Md.
2 other men are serving life sentences for the murders. A 3rd was released
from prison in 1993.
A friend from Baltimore will pick up the remains, state officials said.
The execution had been scheduled for 7 p.m. and the delay was partly
attributable for the U.S. Supreme Court's deliberations.
There was no one from Isaacs family present at the execution. His attorney
and 2 ministers, who visited with him in the hours before his death, were
witnesses.
Isaacs becomes the 2nd condemned inmate to be put to death this year in
Georgia and the 33rd overall since the state resumed capital punishment in
1983.
Isaacs becomes the 32nd condemned inmate to be put to death this year in
the USA and the 852nd overall since America resumed executions on January
17, 1977.
(sources: Associated Press & Rick Halperin)
Carl Isaacs executed for Alday murders
A man who helped kill 6 members of a farm family during a burglary to fuel
his escape from a Maryland prison camp was executed Tuesday, 30 years
after his crime shook a community.
Carl Isaacs, 49, was given a lethal injection at the state prison in
Jackson for orchestrating the Alday family killings at their southwest
Georgia home on May 14, 1973. Appeals kept him on death row longer than
anyone else in the nation.
The Supreme Court refused to grant a last-minute stay, although Justices
John Paul Stevens and Stephen Breyer said the court should have agreed to
consider Isaacs' claim that it was unconstitutional to execute him after
his long imprisonment. Justice Clarence Thomas, a native of Georgia, did
not participate.
Isaacs was pronounced dead at 8:07 p.m.
The killings near Donalsonville prompted more residents to buy guns,
sparked legislation that requires victims' families to be notified of
developments in death penalty cases and inspired the 1988 movie "Murder
One," starring James Wilder as Isaacs.
Over the years, Isaacs' lawyers argued that publicity prevented him from
receiving a fair trial and tried to explain his actions by shedding light
on his abusive childhood in Baltimore. A retrial ended in the same verdict
and sentence.
His final appeal was rejected Tuesday after Isaacs' lawyer said a
minister's opening prayer at the retrial prejudiced the jury against him.
Relatives of the Aldays never wavered in their public push for Isaacs to
be executed. The repeated delays angered them; some relatives died waiting
for the execution. Three members of the family were witnesses.
In his final days, Isaacs, through his lawyer, offered remorse for the
killings, saying he was not the same hotheaded person who committed the
crime at 19.
The Alday family was unmoved, citing Isaacs' own boastful words in a
series of 1975 prison interviews.
"I'd like to get out and kill more of them," he said at the time. "They
represent the type of society I don't like. I didn't know them, had never
seen them before May 14, but I didn't like them. Working people don't do a
damn thing for me."
Isaacs, during the interviews, compared himself to notorious 1930s outlaw
John Dillinger.
The Aldays were shot to death as they returned home for lunch.
Ned Alday was gunned down along with 3 sons, a brother and a
daughter-in-law, who was raped and then taken to a field where she was
shot in the head. Prosecutors called the slayings the most gruesome in the
state's history.
Isaacs declined an opportunity to make a final statement, but did ask for
a final prayer. After the prayer he mouthed "Amen."
After the prayer, Isaacs scanned the room, looking at witnesses. Then the
chemicals started pumping, his cheeks puffed, his breathing fluttered and
his eyes began to close, although they never closed completely.
"There were many who thought this wouldn't happen," said Attorney General
Thurbert Baker. He described the execution as a "final chapter in the
case."
It was the 1st time in state history that Georgia officials allowed
members of the victims' family to witness the execution.
At the time of the murders, Isaacs was on the run from authorities after
having escaped from a minimum-security prison camp in Wicomico County, Md.
2 other men are serving life sentences for the murders. A 3rd was released
from prison in 1993.
A friend from Baltimore will pick up the remains, state officials said.
The execution had been scheduled for 7 p.m. and the delay was partly
attributable for the U.S. Supreme Court's deliberations.
There was no one from Isaacs family present at the execution. His attorney
and 2 ministers, who visited with him in the hours before his death, were
witnesses.
Isaacs becomes the 2nd condemned inmate to be put to death this year in
Georgia and the 33rd overall since the state resumed capital punishment in
1983.
Isaacs becomes the 32nd condemned inmate to be put to death this year in
the USA and the 852nd overall since America resumed executions on January
17, 1977.
(sources: Associated Press & Rick Halperin)