Family
finds no justice in death penalty moratorium
Pull quote: "...my sister and niece
didn't get an appeal. They didn't have their choice to live or die."
By
Becky Metrick
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Dixie Fredrick, left, holds a photo of her
sister, Carla Reid, while her mother Barbara Gardner holds a school photo of
Diedra Moore. Ried and Moore were fatally shot Dec. 27, 1996 while sleeping in
their Sollenberger Road home. Albert Reid was convicted and sentenced to death
for the murders in 1998. (Becky Metrick — Public Opinion)
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CHAMBERSBURG
>> A little girl sleeping next to
her older sister woke up the morning of Dec. 27, 1996, with blood covering her
dress. She went to the living room to tell her three older brothers that she
couldn't wake up their sister, and they sought out their mom. When they could
not wake up their mother and discovered the phones would not work, a high
school age boy walked to his neighbor's house asking to call 911.
This is
how Dixie Fredrick describes the discovery of her sister and her niece's bodies
in their Sollenberger Road home. Fredrick said the two had been shot
"execution style" in their sleep.
Albert
Reid, 66, formerly of Waynesburg, was convicted two years later for murdering
his estranged wife, Carla Reid, and step-daughter Diedra Moore. He was
sentenced to death by lethal injection in 1998, and has been undergoing the
appeal process every since.
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These are photos family members keep of Carla
Reid and Diedra Moore, who were both murdered in 1996. The school photo of
Moore was taken a few years prior to her murder. (Becky Metrick — Public
Opinion)
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"He
did it in front of the other children, and they had to wake up to that," Fredrick said. "And
that is something they will never forget."
When
Governor Tom Wolf announced
his moratorium on Feb. 14, Fredrick's frustration hit a new high. Eight
years after her sister's murder, Fredrick's family has not had the justice they
feel they were promised by a death penalty conviction.
"It's
hard, we still miss them. We miss them a lot," Fredrick said. Fredrick described years of abuse
between Reid and Carla Reid during their six-seven year old relationship. Reid
had protection from abuse orders filed against him, but Fredrick said he would
find ways to get to her.
Those
methods would include sugar in the gas tank, finding her in public places and
attacking her. Fredrick said Reid made her sister live in fear.
Reid was
also accused of molesting Moore and was scheduled to have a hearing on the child
molestation charges weeks after Carla Reid and Moore were killed.
Fredrick
struggled to understand why someone like Reid should be allowed to live, even
if it is in a maximum prison jail cell 23 out of 24 hours a day.
"While
he's in there, he has access to take law books in there, he can do what he
wants to do, and that's what kinda upsets me," Fredrick said. Fredrick said she's upset that she
sees veterans and other people losing their homes, when Reid can have "Free medical, free housing, free food, access to
whatever they have."
Fredrick
said she understands the purpose of the moratorium. She said she understands
that there is new technology that may be able to exonerate people on death row.
"But
at the same point, my sister and niece didn't get an appeal," Fredrick said. "They
didn't have their choice to live or die. And it was very heartbreaking."
Fredrick
has thought about ways to streamline the death row process to make it more
efficient. She knows she doesn't understand the process fully, but she did get
an associate's degree in law to help her understand what was going on with her
sister's killer.
Fredrick
said she felt Franklin County did a really good job of prosecuting Reid and
getting the conviction.
"Now
it's just the state, they need to step up and do what they need to do," Fredrick said. "Because
there's so many people that are still grieving this, because we don't have
closure."
Franklin
County District Attorney Matthew Fogal also believes the death penalty law
isn't being used.
"I
understand the frustration of people on the timeliness of the death penalty and
the lack of follow through," Fogal said.
For him,
the biggest issue with Wolf's moratorium is on a technical level. He said the
term "moratorium" has no legal relevance, which makes the whole issue
confusing. He said Wolf could do a reprieve on a case by case basis.
"But
I don't believe the idea of a broad moratorium is appropriate," Fogal
said. "Certainly if the people want (the death penalty law) to change,
then that's the job of the general assembly to change or amend it. Until then,
we obviously need to follow the law."
Fredrick
questioned why they would use a death penalty sentence if they weren't going to
follow through.
"They've
got this in the law, death penalty by lethal injection, and they need to do
it," Fredrick said. When questioned about the ideas that the death penalty
is inhuman, Fredrick said she believes these people caused inhuman suffering
with their actions. Fredrick firmly believes she will not feel justice is
served until Reid is dead.
"You
never get over it, but I think, and I know for a fact that my sister would have
never ever forgave him," Fredrick said.
'That's
what bothers us the most, that we actually have to look at him getting away
with whatever he thinks he's getting away with, "Fredrick said, believing
that as long as he is alive in jail he is getting away with her sister's
murder. "He could spend 24 hours a day in his little cell instead of 23,
and it would still, to me, not be enough. It would not be enough."
Carla
Reid's step-mother, Fredrick's mother Barbara Gardner, said she hopes to be
alive to see Reid die. She said at 79-years-old, she's beginning to worry it
might not happen.
Fredrick
said "I don't know what I might sound like, but I
want to see him. I want to sit behind that window and see him actually..."
"Take
his last breath," Gardner
finished for her.
"Then
I will have closure that he has been taken care of," Fredrick said. "And I
know he's not going to be in the same place my sister is."
So far,
Gov. Wolf has not given a timetable for how long the moratorium will stay in
place. Until then, and until Reid's appeals come to an end, Fredrick and her
family will live in fear that they'll never have justice.
"I
understand giving people an appeal, maybe even two. Things can happen in the
courtroom," Fredrick
said. "We had a pretty strong case or he wouldn't be where he is... But
this has been years and how long are the taxpayers going waste their money when
they could just get it over with and be done and all the friends and family
could have closure."
Staff
writer Becky Metrick can be reached at (717) 262-4762
