June 2021 | My Crime Library

Quintin Jones Texas Execution

Quintin Jones was executed by the State of Texas for the murder of his great aunt in 1999. According to court documents Quintin Jones would beat to death the elderly woman when she refused to give him money to support his addiction. Quintin Jones execution on May 18, 2021 was a bit odd as there was no media witnesses at the execution which is the first time that has happened in over forty years. Regardless of who was there Quintin Jones was put to death by lethal injection

Quintin Jones More News

Texas inmate Quintin Jones was executed by lethal injection on Wednesday without media witnesses present.

The press could not witness the death of the 41-year-old because prison agency officials neglected to notify reporters it was time to carry out the punishment, according to the Associated Press. It was the first time in at least 40 years that media was not present at an execution.

A Texas department of criminal justice spokesman, Jeremy Desel, said he did not receive the usual phone call from the Huntsville Unit prison to bring reporters. Desel said the error “will never happen again”. Desel also said he did not know if the error was a violation of state law or a violation of agency policy.

Jones, convicted of killing his great-aunt in 1999, was executed at the state penitentiary in Huntsville at 6.40pm.

ones, convicted of killing his great-aunt in 1999, was executed at the state penitentiary in Huntsville at 6.40pm.

“I would like to thank all of the supporting people who helped me over the years,” he said in his last statement. “Love all my friends and all the friendships that I have made. They are like the sky. It is all part of life, like a big full plate of food for the soul. I hope I left everyone a plate of food full of happy memories, happiness and no sadness. I’m done, warden.”

Jones had made a clemency petition asking the state pardons board and governor to commute his sentence to life in prison. His plea was rejected.

Jones beat his great-aunt to death with a baseball bat she kept for her own protection. The killing was motivated by Jones’s drug addiction at the time. His other great-aunt, Bryant’s younger sister, Mattie Long, has forgiven him.

“Another Black man has been executed tonight. America’s outlook on justice remains broken, barbaric and inhuman,” said Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), in a tweet. “Perhaps we need more forgiveness, more love, more understanding. I have no other words.”

The writer Suleika Jaouad also expressed her grief on Twitter. “Justice was not served. The world is not a better place because Quin is gone,” Jaouad wrote. “May his memory expand our capacity for grace and mercy.”

In his six years in office, the Texas governor, Greg Abbott, has only granted clemency once: to a white inmate, Thomas Whitaker.

Over the course of the year Texas plans to carry out five executions including that of Jones, out of a nationwide total of seven.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/may/20/quintin-jones-texas-execution-media

Quintin Jones Execution Videos

Dustin Higgs Federal Execution

Dustin Higgs was executed by the Federal Government for a series of murders. According to court documents Dustin Higgs was convicted of the kidnapping and murders of three women in 1996. Since his arrest Dustin Higgs has maintained his innocence. Dustin Higgs would be executed by lethal injection on January 16, 2001

Dustin Higgs More News

Dustin John Higgs was executed in the early hours of Saturday morning becoming the 13th and last federal death row inmate to be executed since the Justice Department restarted federal executions in July 2019. He had been convicted of kidnapping and murdering three women in 1996.Higgs maintained his innocence until his death, according to a pool report.The tone of his voice was calm but defiant as he said his last words, “I’d like to say I am an innocent man,” he said, mentioning the three women by name. “I did not order the murders,” the report said.Higgs’ victims were Tamika Black, 19; Tanji Jackson, 21; and Mishann Chinn, 23.Higgs’ execution went forward despite his attorney, Shawn Nolan’s appeal to delay the proceeding because of Higgs’ Covid-19 diagnosis. Nolan also argued that Higgs was unfairly sentenced, since the actual gunman is serving a life sentence.

Higgs’ execution was initially scheduled for the 92nd birthday of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.King’s oldest son, Martin Luther King III, wrote an op-ed on Thursday in The Washington Post calling for the end to executions by invoking his father’s words from 1957 when asked if God approves of the death penalty. “I do not think that God approves the death penalty for any crime … capital punishment is against the better judgment of modern criminology and, above all, against the highest expression of love in the nature of God,” King said.

In January 1996, Higgs and two friends drove to Washington, DC, to pick up Black, Jackson, and Chinn, whom Higgs had invited to his apartment in Laurel, Maryland, according to a Department of Justice statement. At the apartment, Jackson rebuffed an advance by Higgs and the women left. Higgs offered the women a ride back to DC, but instead drove to a secluded area in the Patuxent National Wildlife Refuge, the statement added.He ordered the women out of the vehicle, gave a gun to one of the friends, and said, “better make sure they’re dead.” The other man shot Black and Jackson in the chest and back, and shot Chinn in the back of the head, killing all three women, the statement said.

In 2000, a Maryland jury found Higgs guilty of numerous federal offenses, including three counts of first-degree premeditated murder, three counts of first-degree felony murder, and three counts of kidnapping resulting in death, and unanimously recommended nine death sentences, which the court imposed, the statement said.Higgs’ convictions and sentences were affirmed on appeal nearly 17 years ago, and his initial round of collateral challenges failed nearly eight years ago, the statement added.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/16/us/dustin-higgs-executed/index.html

Dustin Higgs Execution Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXNNY97j-uk

Corey Johnson Federal Execution

Corey Johnson was executed by the Federal Government for a series of murders in Virginia. According to court documents Corey Johnson would commit a total of seven murders in Richmond Virginia in order to further his hold on drug trafficking in the city. Corey Johnson whose intelligence was considered to be borderline and was fighting COVID 19 at the time of his execution was put to death by lethal injection.

Corey Johnson More News

Corey Johnson was executed by lethal injection at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana, and was pronounced dead at 11:34 p.m. ET on Thursday.Johnson was sentenced to die after he was convicted of killing seven people in 1992 as a part of the drug trade in Virginia. The weeks preceding his execution were defined by a tense legal battle after he contracted Covid-19 while on death row.In his final statement, Johnson apologized for his crimes and told the families of the victims that he hoped they would find peace. He also thanked the staff at the prison, the prison’s chaplain, his minister and his legal team.”I would have said I was sorry before, but I didn’t know how. I hope you will find peace,” he said, according to a statement released by his lawyers. “To my family, I have always loved you, and your love has made me real. On the streets, I was looking for shortcuts, I had some good role models, I was side tracking, I was blind and stupid. I am not the same man that I was.”The Supreme Court denied a last-ditch effort late Thursday by Johnson’s legal team that leaned on claims of an intellectual disability and his Covid-19 diagnosis, arguing that his infection paired with a lethal injection would amount to a cruel and unusual punishment.That appeal came after an appellate court on Wednesday tossed out a lower court’s decision to stay the executions of Johnson and another death row inmate who contracted the virus, Dustin Higgs, whose execution is scheduled to take place Friday.”The government must stop trying to execute Corey Johnson while he is still recovering from the COVID-19 infection he contracted as a result of the government’s own irresponsibility in carrying out executions during the pandemic,” Donald Salzman, an attorney for Johnson, had said in a statement earlier Thursday.”There is no principled reason not to wait until the injunction expires in March to assess whether Mr. Johnson’s lungs have healed sufficiently that he will not suffer excruciating pain during an execution.”After Johnson’s death, his legal team mourned his passing in a statement, saying that he should never have been executed.”We loved Corey Johnson, and we knew him as a gentle soul who never broke a rule in prison and kept trying, despite his limitations, to pass the GED. His family and loved ones are in our hearts,” his attorneys said. “We wish also to say that the fact Corey Johnson should never have been executed cannot diminish the pain and loss experienced by the families of the victims in this case. We wish them peace and healing.”Johnson’s legal team has also said that he has an IQ of 69, which would be lower than one standard offered by the Supreme Court as a guide for states weighing whether such an execution met the Constitution’s cruel and unusual punishment standards.”He is a person with intellectual disability who cannot constitutionally be executed,” Salzman argued Thursday morning. “The government should withdraw Corey’s execution date, or President Trump should grant him clemency.”According to the US Justice Department, Johnson and several co-conspirators were partners between 1989 and 1992 in a “large drug-trafficking conspiracy” based in Richmond, Virginia.As part of their operation, the department said, Johnson murdered seven people over “perceived slights or rivalry in the drug trade” — Peyton Johnson, Louis Johnson, Bobby Long, Dorothy Armstrong, Anthony Carter, Linwood Chiles and Curtis Thorne. Johnson said each name in his final statement, saying, “I want these names to be remembered.”Johnson was found guilty of seven counts of capital murder in 1993, with the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia jury unanimously recommending seven death sentences.Thursday’s execution, six days before President-elect Joe Biden takes office, coincides with a new push from more than three dozen members of Congress for Biden’s incoming administration to prioritize abolishing the death penalty in all jurisdictions.While Biden has pledged to abolish the federal death penalty and to give incentives to states to stop seeking death sentences as a part of his criminal justice plan, 40 members of Congress want to make sure the practice ends on his first day in office.As part of his final words, Johnson made mention of his last meal.”The pizza and strawberry shake were wonderful, but I didn’t get the jelly-filled donuts that I ordered,” he said. “What’s with that? This should be fixed.”

https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/14/politics/corey-johnson-executed/index.html

Corey Johnson Execution Video

Joseph Wielzen Teen Killer Murders Kelsey Burnette

Joseph Wielzen was seventeen years old when he brutally murdered Kelsey Burnette in Tennessee. According to court documents Joseph Wielzen would attack Kelsey Burnette with a baseball bat before sexually assaulting and murdering the eighteen year old woman. This teen killer would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Joseph Wielzen 2023 Information

Name:	JOSEPH WIELZEN
Birth Date:	10/30/1999
TDOC ID:	00614935
State ID Number (SID):	4598244

Supervision Status:
INCARCERATED
Assigned Location:
SOUTHCENTRAL CORRECTIONAL CENTER
Combined Sentence(s) Length:
LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE
Supervision/Custody Level:
MEDIUM
Sentence Begin Date:
11/27/2019

Joseph Wielzen More News

Joseph Wielzen was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole Thursday after being convicted of first degree murder, first degree premeditated murder and aggravated rape.

The charges stem from the 2017 murder of Etowah teen Kelsey Burnette and Wielzen was found guilty of that murder on Wednesday.

Tenth Judicial District Attorney Steve Crump led the opening statement for the prosecution by informing the jury of what they should expect to see during the sentencing.

“You will hear what we call victim impact proof,” said Crump. “You will hear from the mother and father of Kelsey Burnette, who will tell you how their lives have changed since she died.”

Crump asked the jury for the maximum penalty against Wielzen.

“At the end of the day we will come back and ask you to impose the only sentence that we believe … that Joseph Wielzen should receive — a life sentence without the possibility of ever creating another Kelsey,” said Crump.

Defense Attorney William Brown stood before the jury reminding them to make a fair and impartial judgement.

“The law requires you to balance, to think,” said Brown.

The defense attorney noted that there were several witnesses ready to speak to Wielzen’s character.

“You will hear testimony from his father and his grandmother about what he was really like,” said Brown. “You will hear from this DCS (Department of Children’s Services) counselor who helped (Wielzen).”

Brown ended his opening statement by talking about Wielzen’s life before and after June 30 to July 1, 2017 as being “not worthy of being sentenced for life without parole”

“You have to weigh it,” said Brown. “This young man’s life is going to be thrown away forever with no ability to rebuild himself.”

Virginia Burnette, the mother of the victim, was called to the stand and discussed her daughter and how things have changed since her death.

“She was a provider for everybody that came across her,” said Burnette. “It feels like an elephant is sitting on your chest every day.”

David Burnette, the victim’s father, stated the loss of their daughter had an impact on their marriage.

The defense then took its turn, calling Harry Wielzen, the defendant’s father, to the stand.

He spoke about the difficulties his son faced throughout his childhood

He also told the jury that he never witnessed his son lay a hand on another woman and how he was “always respectful to women.”

The next witness was Donna Hitchcock, the defendant’s grandmother, who spoke about how Wielzen’s mother would “pop in and out” of the family to ask for money.

After the defense rested, the state called on the defendant’s ex-girlfriend, who claimed that she was 14 years old when she and Wielzen first started dating and that he would allegedly become “hypersexual” when he was drunk and “if he wanted something he would do whatever he could to get it.”

Crump then opened the closing arguments by referencing back to the expert witnesses.

“During the trial you heard the testimony of Dr. (Darinka) Mileusnic and Dr. (Murray) Marks. They described in detail the damage that was done by Mr. Wielzen when he beat Kelsey Burnette to death,” said Crump. “That testimony leads you … that this murder was seriously heinous, vicious and cruel. I am going to ask you to return a verdict of life without the possibility of parole.”

Brown then ended his argument by asking the jury to give Wielzen a second chance.

“When we began this trial, Mr. Wielzen’s defense never suggested that this was not a horrible murder,” said Brown. “To do that would be to ignore all of the evidence and all of the horribleness described.”

He argued that Wielzen’s troubled past was enough to allow him that second chance.

“In my mind, he was let down,” said Brown. “He was let down by everybody and everything.”

Crump, however, pointed back to the ending of Burnette’s life.

I stand here for Kelsey Burnette because she can’t, thanks to (Wielzen),” said Crump.

He pointed toward the defendant as he continued to make his argument.

“We started this with a young man’s life will be thrown away,” said Crump. “It wasn’t a young man’s life thrown away, it was a young woman whose life (Wielzen) threw away. He raped and beat to death an 18 year old woman. Life without parole is the only just sentence in this case.”

https://www.dailypostathenian.com/news/article_caa4aaa3-d766-56da-8806-1ba02d5c1fff.html

Joseph Wielzen Videos

Kelsey Burnette Photos

Joseph Wielzen FAQ

Joseph Wielzen 2021

Joseph Wielzen is currently incarcerated at the South Central Correctional Facility

Joseph Wielzen Release Date

Joseph Wielzen is serving life without parole

Top 10 Supermax ADX Florence Inmates

When you screw up in prison they send you to solitary confinement but when you continue to cause problems they will send you to a supermax or if your crimes are so atrocious or if you are considered to be so dangerous then the supermax could be your home for the rest of your life. When it comes to supermax facilities the worst of the worst is in Colorado known as ADX Florence. In this article on My Crime Library we are going to take a look at the top ten most notorious prisoners at ADX Florence.

1. Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán Supermax Inmate

Everyone has heard of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán is a notorious drug lord from Mexico who was responsible for shipping in tons of illegal drugs to the United States. After a number of successful escapes he was finally captured and shipped to the United States where he would be convicted of a number of crimes and would be sentenced to life in prison plus thirty years and had to forfeit more than 12 billion dollars. Needless to say with his ties to cartels, history of escapes and notoriety he will spend the rest of his life at ADX Florence supermax

2. Larry Hoover Supermax Inmate

Larry Hoover was the founder of the Ganster Disciples a gang that would spread across the United States. Larry Hoover would be arrested and convicted of a murder that took place in 1973 and would be sentenced to over a hundred years in prison. However it would be his actions behind bars that would eventually to end up at supermax ADX Florence for Larry Hoover was still directing the Gangster Disciples behind bars and would later be convicted and sentenced to six more life sentences to be served at ADX Florence.

3.Tyler Bingham Supermax Inmate

Tyler Bingham is a leader of the Aryan Brotherhood a powerful prison gang that started in California and spread across the country. Tyler Bingham (photo left side) would eventually be charged by the Federal Government for a series of murders, racketeering and other charges. Eventually Tyler Bingham and the other leaders (Barry Mills photo right side who would dies as a resident of ADX Florence) would ultimately receive multiple life sentences to be served at the infamous supermax

4. Kaboni Savage Supermax Inmate

Kaboni Savage supermax inmate adx florence

Kaboni Savage was a high level drug dealer in Pennsylvania who would ultimately be sentenced to death for ordering the firebombing of a home that would kill six people including four children. Kaboni Savage has been accused of ordering a number of other murders as well. Kaboni Savage is considered to be so dangerous that he is being kept at ADX Florence until its time for his execution.

5. Ted Kaczynski Supermax Inmate

Ted Kaczynski supermax inmate adx florence

Ted Kaczynski of course is better known as the Unabomber who was responsible for a series of bombing around the United States that left three people dead and dozens injured. Ted Kaczynski would ultimately plead guilty and would be sentenced to eight consecutive life terms to be served at the supermax

6. Luis Felipe Supermax Inmate

Luis Felipe supermax inmate adx florence

Luis Felipe is a former leader of the Latin Kings commonly referred to a King Blood. Luis Felipe who would ultimately be convicted and sentenced to life in prison for multiple murders had an interesting requirement to his life sentence. The judge considered Luis Felipe to be so dangerous that his sentence also stated that he have no contact with anyone other than his lawyers throughout his prison sentence.

7. Richard McNair Supermax Inmate

Richard McNair was sentenced to spend his life in prison for the murder of a man during a robbery however that was not the reason McNair would end up in ADX Florence. Turns out Richard McNair nickname could me Houdini as he has escaped from a jail and two prisons including a BOP facility. McNair has been a resident of the supermax since 2007 and has not been able to make a prison break.

8. Terry Nichols Supermax Inmate

Terry Nichols has been a resident of the supermax ADX Florence for a long time since he and Timothy McVeigh were convicted of the Oklahoma City Bombing which took place in 1995 that claimed the lives of 168 people. Timothy McVeigh would be sentenced to death and would be executed in 2001. Terry Nichols would be sentenced to spend the rest of his life at ADX Florence

9. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Supermax Inmate

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and his brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev were responsible for the Boston City Bombing and the murder of a MIT Officer. Tamerlan Tsarnaev would be shot dead by police and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev would be sentenced to death. Tsarnaev death sentence is currently up in the air due to potential jury bias.

10. Michael Swango Supermax Inmate

Michael Swango was a former physician who would admit to killing four people however police and authorities believe he is responsible for the deaths of at least sixty patients and colleagues. Michael Swango weapon of choice was poison. Swango would be sentenced to three consecutive life terms