Father attacks daughter's killer in court
By
Crimesider Staff CBS/AP June 2, 2016, 5:25 PM
CLEVELAND -- The father of one of three
victims of Ohio serial killer Michael Madison leaped over a table to
attack the defendant in court Thursday just minutes after the judge pronounced
a death sentence.
Van Terry is the father of victim
Shirellda Terry. Shortly before the courtroom incident, Terry had approached
the podium to address the judge and speak about the impact of his daughter's
loss.
"Right now, I guess
we're supposed to, in our hearts forgive this clown, who has touched our
families, taken my child,"
Terry said.
Terry then paused and turned to look
behind him at Madison, who was sitting behind the defense table, before running
towards the convicted killer and lunging over the table at him.
Cuyahoga County courtroom deputies
wrestled Terry as Madison and others scrambled to get out of the way. The
courtroom momentarily burst into chaos, as someone sitting in the gallery
repeatedly yelled "No!" and someone else screamed, "Terry!"
Law enforcement officers dragged Terry
from the courtroom. Madison didn't appear to be injured.
Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge
Nancy McDonnell declined to clear the courtroom, and after about a 15-minute
delay, the sentencing hearing continued.
The outburst happened minutes after
McDonnell sentenced Madison to death for the 2013 killings.
The bodies of 38-year-old Angela
Deskins, 28-year-old Shetisha Sheeley and 18-year-old Shirellda Terry were
found in July 2013 near the East Cleveland apartment building where Madison
lived. Madison told police he strangled two of the women but couldn't remember
killing the third.
Thursday, McDonnell accepted a jury's
recommendation that 38-year-old Michael Madison receive the death penalty. She
could have instead chosen to sentence Madison to life in prison without parole.
McDonnell said the horrific nature of
Madison's crimes far outweighed evidence presented in efforts to spare him,
including an abusive and chaotic childhood.
The same jury convicted Madison
earlier this month of multiple counts of aggravated murder and kidnapping.
Any execution is likely years away because of
lengthy appeals. In addition, Ohio currently lacks supplies of lethal drugs,
meaning it's unclear whether the state can even begin a new round of executions,
currently scheduled to start in January and stretching into 2019.
The discovery of the bodies in 2013 drew national
attention to the possibility that another serial killer like Anthony Sowell had
been killing women in and around Cleveland. Sowell was convicted in 2011 and
sentenced to death for killing 11 women whose bodies were found at his
Cleveland home. The Ohio Supreme Court is considering whether to uphold his
conviction and sentence.
Madison's attorneys never contested his guilt at
trial. They instead focused on saving his life by presenting evidence that
Madison suffered lasting psychological damage from physical abuse as a
youngster. There was testimony that Madison was abused by his drug-addicted
mother, a stepfather, some of his mother's boyfriends and family members.
"This history of abuse and his dysfunctional
upbringing certainly doesn't excuse what happened here but certainly provides a
basis for understanding the type of person Michael Madison evolved into,"
defense attorney David Grant told the judge Thursday.
The case began when a cable television worker
reported a putrid smell coming from a garage shared by Madison at the apartment
building. Inside, police found the decaying body of a woman wrapped in garbage
bags that were sealed closed with tape. The next day, searchers found bodies in
the basement of a vacant house and in the backyard of a home nearby.
Prosecutors argued both at trial and during the
mitigation hearing that Madison deserved to die because of the circumstances surrounding
the killings.
A death sentence "will send a message to the
community that the strongest possible sentence will be imposed upon crimes of
this nature," Christopher Schroeder, a Cuyahoga County assistant
prosecutor, told the judge.
Madison was classified as a sex offender in 2002
when he was sentenced to four years in prison for attempted rape.
CBS/AP
Van
Terry Attacks Ohio Serial Killer Michael Madison In Court
Published on Jun 2, 2016
The father of one of three victims of Ohio serial
killer Michael Madison leaped over a table to attack the defendant in court
Thursday just minutes after the judge pronounced a death sentence.
Van Terry is the father of victim Shirellda Terry. Shortly before the courtroom incident, Terry had approached the podium to address the judge and speak about the impact of his daughter's loss.
VIDEO SOURCE:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmnhO0eSIDU
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