Inmate Dies After 27 Years On Death Row

Alabama Murder  David Nelson was convicted of killing a man on New Years Day in 1978 and a cab driver the night before.
by The Associated Press
Published: Tue, November 03, 2009 - 2:49 pm CST
ATMORE, Alabama - Corrections officials say 64-year-old David Nelson, who has been on death row for more than 27 years, has died at the Holman prison infirmary.

Department of Corrections spokesman Brian Corbett said Tuesday
that Nelson died of natural causes Monday about 11 p.m.

He was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1978 shooting
death of Wilson W. Thompson in Kimberly, a Birmingham suburb.
Nelson was also convicted and sentenced to life in prison without
parole for the fatal shooting of Birmingham cab driver James Cash
the night before. He twice avoided execution dates when stays were
granted in 1996 and 2003.



(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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If a state puts someone to death without due diligence, its murder and we are all culpable. Im not a civil rights lawyer, so I will not begin to assume what that process means in its entirety. I only know that if it were me or mine I would want every possible effort to prove myself and as we have seen before, that doesnt guarantee anything.
Do we want justice or vengeance? If I remember correctly, vengeance isnt ours.

KX said “I wish we still had public floggings and executions”

I want to agree.

Just over 100 years ago, there were public hangings in the town square where criminals were hung within days of being found guilty. 

Public floggings had their place in our country’s history, as well as stocks where minor criminals were forced to serve their time on display in the city square. 

Now we spend millions of dollars to store someone in a cage for endless years.

The prospect of prison or the death penalty does not seem to be deterring the local thugs from beating elderly women after church, or throwing their neglected baby in a trash can.

How long does it take to prove innocence? Surely not 20 plus years. Actually, kx, that was the number I had in my mind and was concerned I may sound too liberal.lol Good idea though….if you can collect from the family for room and board.

How about this: the tax payers will foot the bill for 5 years, if you do not come up with evidence in that time then you and/or your family will have to pay the cost to keep you in prison.

I wish we still had public floggings and executions.

One innocent person being put to death is too many. I suppose it doesn’t matter until it is one of your own?

Get real-27 years on death row? There should be a reasonable limit as to how long someone is on death row. There are far fewer innocent people in jail on death row, I would guess,than there are those who are getting room and board on my dime…..

If an attorney hasn’t cleared you within a reasonable amount of time, either get a new attorney,or pick out your casket. I hear Wal-mart has them online now. smile

What about the man in Texas that was put to death for starting a fire that killed his family and then it turns out he didnt do it?

That’s because we haven’t always known how to process DNA evidence.

I agree to some extent because I work and pay taxes too! But, have you ever thought of those prisoners, who 20 yrs later are released because they didn’t commit the crime they were punished for? Just a thought!

I did the math and the state spend a little over ONE MILLION DOLLARS to keep him on death row for that long.

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