IN LOVING MEMORY OF MARSALEE NICHOLAS (MARCH 6, 1962 TO NOVEMBER 30, 1983)

30 years ago on this date, November 30, 1983, Marsalee Nicholas was murdered by her ex-boyfriend, Kerry Conley. Her death inspired her family members to start Marsy’s Law. Nevertheless, Unit 1012 will remember how she lived and not how she died. We also encourage people to support Marsy’s Law. R.I.P Marsalee!

Dr. Henry Nicholas and Marsalee Nicholas (PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.marsyslawforall.org/about/)

INTERNET SOURCE: http://www.pomc.org/mw_stories/marsalee_nicholas.html

Marsalee Ann Nicholas was not only physically beautiful from birth but was a beautiful, caring person during her 21 years on earth. As a child she was always drawn to wounded animals and was drawn to any person with a problem. She became a champion English and Western horseback rider at the age of ten and qualified as the top junior English rider in Los Angeles County. At 12 she traveled to Kentucky and won the Kentucky Equestrian over Fences Championship and qualified for Madison Square Garden. In addition to riding horses she was a talented artist winning her first art contest in the 2nd grade and the last as a senior in High School. She entered the University of California at Santa Barbara when she was 17 and made extra money as a fashion model. Her educational goal was to become a special education teacher of children with handicaps, both mental and physical. In High School she had worked with blind students. She spent her junior year at UCSB abroad in England at Richmond College.

In her spare time she was given the opportunity to model in London and Milan, Italy. She came back to UCSB to finish her senior year two quarters before graduation when she was brutally murdered by an ex-boyfriend who was stalking her.

CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE MURDER

Marsalee Ann Nicholas was home for the Thanksgiving holiday in her senior year at the University of California at Santa Barbara. She was brutally murdered by an ex-boyfriend, Kerry Conley. She had a new boyfriend and Conley threatened to kill him and then came by our house and tapped on Marsy’s window at midnight, waking her, and we believe he told her he was going “to commit suicide.” This is what he had said to a previous girlfriend in similar circumstances. Marsy raced out barefoot and drove her car down to his house 2 blocks down the street. She walked in with the keys in her hand and he met her with a shotgun aimed at her head at close range. He said the gun fell off the wall, discharged and hit her in the head. Story number two was that he shot over the head “to get her attention.” Neither story was believed by the Sheriffs who charged him with murder. Fortunately, we had compiled enough evidence of previous violence against women that he didn’t testify. One of his friends testified that he said three days before the murder that he was going to “blow Marsy’s head off.” The jury brought back a verdict of 2nd Degree Murder.

“If any good can come of something this horrible -- the loss of my sister and the losses of other families of crime victims – it is that these violent acts served as a catalyst for change, Marsy’s Law will provide for a more compassionate justice system for crime victims in California and make that a constitutional guarantee. Now the momentum can be put behind a U.S. Constitutional Amendment so that the rights of all crime victims, anywhere in America, can be protected.”

- Dr. Henry Nicholas, the brother of Marsalee Nicholas

IN LOVING MEMORY OF MARY BOUNDS (DIED: NOVEMBER 29, 1987)

            Mary Bounds was beaten to death by Earl Wesley Berry on November 29, 1987. He was executed by lethal injection in Mississippi on 21 May 2008. Unit 1012 will remember her on this date every year, let us hear from the victim’s families.

Mary Bounds

Summary: Mary Bounds, age 56, was reported missing on November 29, 1987. A few days later her vehicle was located in Houston, Mississippi. Inspection of the vehicle revealed spattered blood around the driver’s side door. Her body was found nearby. She had been severely beaten. It was later determined that she died of head injuries from repeated blows. Earl Wesley Berry’s confession provided the details of what transpired. On the evening of November 29, 1987, while driving through Houston in his grandmother’s vehicle, Berry saw Mary Bounds near a church. As she was preparing to enter her vehicle, he approached and forced her into his vehicle, ultimately driving to a wooded area out of town. Mary pleaded with Berry, but he beat her with his fists and forearm. Afterwards, he carried her further into the woods and left her. Berry's brother called the police after he witnessed suspicious behavior. Berry was arrested at his grandmother’s home and soon confessed to the crime. Police found the mismatched tennis shoes Berry had discarded in a pond, along with bloodied towel.

QUOTE 1: Following the execution, Bounds' husband, Charles Bounds, spoke to reporters. "I don't have much to say. I just think it took too long," he said. "I have had this on my mind for 20 years, and it really takes a lot out of me." Bounds then spoke harshly to Mississippi Department of Corrections Commission Chris Epps, though Epps was not the one who halted the execution. Tonight, they hugged. "Justice has just now been brought to bear against the man who admitted killing (Mary Bounds)," Epps said.

QUOTE 2: Bounds' daughter, Jena Watson, also spoke, saying her mother would have wanted people to forgive Berry. "Tonight, we feel that we have received justice for what was done," she said.

THE MOSQUE BOY MURDER IN DUBAI (NOVEMBER 27, 2009)

Moosa Mukhtiar Ahmed

PLEASE GO TO THESE TWO BLOG POSTS TO LEARN MORE:

http://victimsfamiliesforthedeathpenalty.blogspot.com.au/2011/04/in-memory-of-james-bulger-and-moosa.html

http://soldierexecutionerprolifer2008.blogspot.com.au/2013/02/blood-money-qisas-diyya-rashid-al.html