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Brutal facts have immense power; they etched deep marks in my psyche. Those who commit such atrocities, I concluded, forfeit their own right to live. We tarnish their memory of the dead and heed needless misery on their surviving families by letting the perpetrators live.
– Alex Kozinski
[PHOTO SOURCE: https://quozio.com/quote/5k4wzxw7msdt/1195/brutal-facts-have-immense-power-they-etched-deep-marks-in] |
We, the
members of Unit 1012: The VFFDP, whose group consists of murdered victims’
families and friends give our condolences to the family of Keshia Stephens and Norfolk Police Officer Stanley Reaves. Sadly, Virginia has now abolished
the death penalty in their state. We will remember the victims.
Keshia Stephens
|
(August 23, 1976 to January 16, 2004) |
Daughter of
victim of death row inmate reacts to Virginia abolishing death penalty
By: Erin
Miller
Posted at
4:40 PM, Mar 25, 2021
and last
updated 8:01 AM, Mar 26, 2021
NORFOLK, Va. - There aren't many photos of Keshia Stephens, and she will never have the chance to take more.
Stephens, as well as her brother and her 4- and 2-year-old daughters, were murdered in Norfolk in 2004. Anthony Juniper, Stephens' ex-boyfriend, was arrested, and a jury later sentenced him to death.
However, unlike some 1,300 people before him, Juniper's execution date won't come. On Wednesday, Gov. Ralph Northam signed legislation abolishing the death penalty in Virginia. It's the 23rd state to do so and the first state in the South.
During a press conference, Northam said, "There is no place today for the death penalty in this Commonwealth - in the South or in this nation."
However, the family of Keshia Stephens feels differently. Weshaya Stephens was just 6 years old when her mother, sisters and uncle were killed by Juniper.
She said she was with her grandmother at the time of the murder, but remembers the frantic reactions.
Since that day, she said her family has been torn apart and the remaining siblings have all been separated. When she heard that Northam signed the legislation, she said, "I was angry; I was livid; I was upset. This man is a monster. My sisters were 2 and 4 years old, you know. What I don't understand is why he doesn't deserve to die."
Police Officer Stanley Cornell Reaves
|
Norfolk Police Department, Virginia End of Watch Friday, October 28, 2005 [PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.odmp.org/officer/17939-police-officer-stanley-cornell-reaves] |
The other man sitting on death row was also spared from execution. Thomas Porter was originally sentenced to death for killing Norfolk Police Officer Stanley Reaves in 2005.
Their sentences will now be converted to life in prison without parole.
"My mama doesn't get a chance at life without parole, so it's just not fair," Weshaya Stephens said. "Her kids didn't get a chance for life without parole; life was over for them before they even got a chance to understand what life was."
News 3 also spoke with a juror from Juniper's capital murder trial. This individual didn't want to be identified, but said the jurors made the best decision possible with the evidence that was presented.
They said they stand by their decision, but said abolishing the death penalty in Virginia is probably for the best.
"I had no doubt that [Juniper] was guilty, but there are so many others that have been wrongfully convicted," they said.
Northam touched on this point on Wednesday and said, "We can't sentence people to that ultimate punishment knowing that the system doesn't work the same for all people."
He reported that since 1973, more than 170 people around the country have been released from death row after newfound evidence supported their innocence.
Stephens, on the other hand, said this doesn't give her family justice or closure.
"[Juniper] doesn't care about anything and doesn't have any regard for humans, so why should I care about him?" she said.
INTERNET SOURCE: https://www.wtkr.com/news/daughter-of-victim-of-death-row-inmate-reacts-to-virginia-abolishing-death-penalty
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=179701143960061&id=100057605302283
https://vk.com/wall-184585082_242
 |
If the death penalty was not imposed then "wrong really has finally
totally triumphed over right and all civilised society, all we hold dear, is
the loser." - John Stevens, Baron Stevens of
Kirkwhelpington |
OTHER LINKS:
5. Virginia
is planning to abolish the death penalty. We the members are truly well aware that
if they end capital punishment, life without parole will be their next target.
Attorney Hans Bader will explain more in this column.
https://www.facebook.com/VictimsFamiliesForTheDeathPenalty/posts/3459861644135777
6a. Senators also heard from multiple family members of fallen officers on this point. Angela Kyle said the execution of her dad’s murderer gave her peace of mind.
“An amazing load went off my
shoulders, my nightmares stopped,” Kyle said.
Widow Michelle Dermyer called
the effort to end the death penalty a slap in the face.
“Eliminating the death penalty
cheapens murder. An executed death sentence absolutely guarantees the killer
will never kill again,” she said.
https://www.facebook.com/VictimsFamiliesForTheDeathPenalty/posts/3476884645766810
6b. Two family members of law enforcement officers who died on duty did testify in opposition to the bill. Their testimony also included a request that the ban not apply to people convicted of killing a police officer.
https://www.facebook.com/VictimsFamiliesForTheDeathPenalty/posts/3476929305762344
https://vadogwood.com/2021/01/20/will-virginia-abolish-the-death-penalty-surovells-bill-advances/
6c. Huggins urged any scaling back of the death penalty be done incrementally because some crimes are more heinous than others.
"Any person who will murder
a police officer will murder any member of society and we think they ought to
be dealt with the most harshly," said Huggins.
https://www.facebook.com/VictimsFamiliesForTheDeathPenalty/posts/3466267010161907
7. Bill to eliminate Va. death penalty advances; cost savings debated
https://www.facebook.com/VictimsFamiliesForTheDeathPenalty/posts/3490064987782109
https://wtop.com/virginia/2021/01/bill-to-eliminate-va-death-penalty-advances-cost-savings-debated/
8. Angela Kyle, whose father, Virginia State Trooper Leo Whitt, was killed during a traffic stop south of Petersburg in 1985, told the lawmakers she “can’t begin to tell you what it has been like for 36 years not to have my dad, and not to have my family know my dad, and the amazing gap that’s been left without him.” Her father’s killer, Gregory Beaver, was arrested the night of the slaying, and quickly confessed. When he was put to death in 1996, she told lawmakers, “an amazing load went off, and my nightmares stopped.”
https://www.facebook.com/VictimsFamiliesForTheDeathPenalty/posts/3499656716822936
9. https://www.crimeandconsequences.blog/?p=2811
https://www.facebook.com/VictimsFamiliesForTheDeathPenalty/posts/3475192785935996
The Democrat-controlled chamber approved the bill in a 21-17 vote that split along party lines and was seen as a key hurdle for the measure. Advocates now expect the House version of the bill to easily clear that chamber, and Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam has said he supports the legislation.
https://www.facebook.com/VictimsFamiliesForTheDeathPenalty/posts/3507176226070985
https://apnews.com/article/virginia-passes-death-penalty-abolition-d8d4ec134a565955f2b1f675320662b3
VFFDP:
9. Family of
victim killed by death-row inmate on being in favor of the death penalty
[VIDEO SHARED]
https://www.facebook.com/VictimsFamiliesForTheDeathPenalty/posts/3484786864976588
https://news.yahoo.com/family-victim-killed-death-row-131057191.html
10. Advocates for keeping death penalty point to the many lives taken by Virginia's killers
https://www.facebook.com/VictimsFamiliesForTheDeathPenalty/posts/3490049631116978
11. Virginia General Assembly votes to abolish death penalty; local
commonwealth’s attorney weighs in
https://www.facebook.com/VictimsFamiliesForTheDeathPenalty/posts/3519338358188105
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