[Deathpenalty]death penalty news --- VIRG.

[Joerg Sommer]

death penalty news

September 25, 2004


VIRGINIA:

Inmate convicted of killing cellmate asks for death penalty

A jury late Friday recommended the death penalty for an inmate it had 
convicted earlier in the day of capital murder in the strangling of his 
cellmate at Red Onion State Prison.

Joseph Armstrong had asked the Wise County Circuit Court jury for the death 
penalty.

"It would be in everybody's best interest if they sentenced me to death," 
Armstrong, 26, told the jury that had convicted him of murdering 
32-year-old Kenneth Boothe Jr. on May 19, 2002.

Sending him to death row would save his soul, Armstrong told the jury, he 
said, adding that prison has turned him into a beast.

"I'm what Red Onion is making me be," he said.

Beatings, torture and retaliation would be part of his daily life, he said.

Jurors asked Judge Robert Stump whether Armstrong would again share a cell 
with another inmate if his behavior improved. The judge did not answer, 
saying the panel had to rely on testimony it had heard during the nine-day 
trial.

During the trial, prosecutors contended Armstrong killed Boothe because he 
hated gays and blacks and thought Boothe was gay.

The defense argued that a depressed Booth hanged himself with a T-shirt. 
Armstrong said he tried to save Boothe by performing cardiopulmonary 
resuscitation after discovering him hanging.

Armstrong said he determined more than two years ago not to not fight a 
death sentence, even though he maintained his innocence.

"It was all or nothing," he said. "If I was to remain at Red Onion, 
anything could happen."

Despite Armstrong's request, defense attorney Lonnie Kern asked the jury to 
sentence his client to life in prison without parole.

"There will be no punishment for Mr. Armstrong if he does not receive the 
death penalty," Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Adrian Collins said.

Armstrong already is serving life plus 40 years for a murder and robbery in 
Norfolk a decade ago.

Boothe was serving 17 years for forcible sodomy, aggravated sexual battery 
of a child, parole violations and weapons counts.

(source: AP)


----------------------


Armstrong gets death penalty

A jury recommended a death sentence late Friday for a Red Onion State 
Prison inmate convicted of strangling his cellmate two years ago.

Joseph Armstrong, 26, had asked the jury to give him the death penalty just 
hours after he was convicted of capital murder in the May 19, 2002, slaying 
of 32-year-old Kenneth Boothe Jr.

"That’s the verdict I wanted," Boothe’s uncle, Ronnie Boothe, said. "I hope 
there’s no appeal."

It was the first death sentence handed down in Wise County in more than a 
century.

"It would be in everybody’s best interest if they sentenced me to death," 
Armstrong said before the jury began deliberating his fate.

Sending him to death row would save his soul, Armstrong told the jury. 
Execution would be preferable to going insane in solitary confinement at 
Red Onion, he said.

Prison has turned him into a beast, he said.

"I’m what Red Onion is making me be," he said.

Beatings, torture and retaliation would be part of his daily life at Red 
Onion, he said.

"Ten years from now, I might not be even able to recognize my own mother," 
he said. "I must request you, the jury, sentence me to death to protect my 
mental health and well-being. If you sentence me to death, know that I 
thank you."

Jurors asked Judge Robert Stump whether Armstrong ever would share a prison 
cell with another inmate if his behavior improved. The judge did not 
answer. He said the panel had to rely only on testimony heard during the 
nine-day trial.

Earlier in the day, the jury deliberated 3½ hours before finding Armstrong 
guilty of capital murder. It deliberated nearly five hours as part of the 
sentencing phase and returned a death penalty decision at about 10:45 p.m.

Prosecutors convinced the jury that Armstrong killed Boothe because he 
hated gays and blacks and thought Boothe was gay; the defense argued that a 
depressed Booth hanged himself with a T-shirt.

Armstrong’s mother and stepfather, Velma and George Smith, held hands as 
they listened to their son ask for execution. His mother sobbed quietly.

"I do not wish to subject my mother and father to any more pain," he said, 
adding that he did not want them to beg for his life.

The Smiths told the court they would honor their son’s request and leave 
the courtroom during the sentencing phase.

"I don’t like his decision, but I respect his decision," his stepfather said.

Armstrong said he decided more than two years ago not to fight a death 
sentence, even though he maintained his innocence.

"It was all or nothing," he said. "If I was to remain at Red Onion, 
anything could happen. I am completely innocent. I tried to save Mr. 
Boothe’s life."

Boothe had a long history of suicide attempts, self-mutilation and violent 
behavior, according to the defense. Armstrong said he tried to save Boothe 
by performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation after discovering him hanging.

The state relied heavily on Boothe’s autopsy report and the testimony of 
medical examiner Gregory Wanger, who said Boothe suffered internal neck 
injuries caused by strangulation, not hanging.

The cell the men shared for just four days was clean and orderly and showed 
no evidence of a hanging, prosecutors said. The defense argued that the 
cell’s pristine condition showed that no struggle between the inmates occurred.

Despite Armstrong’s request to be put to death, his defense attorney Lonnie 
Kern asked the jury to sentence his client to life in prison without parole.

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Adrian Collins urged the jury to examine 
Armstrong’s record.

Armstrong already had been sentenced to life plus 40 years for a murder and 
robbery in Norfolk a decade ago.

"There will be no punishment for Mr. Armstrong if he does not receive the 
death penalty," Collins said. "If Mr. Armstrong only receives an additional 
life term, then Mr. Armstrong has not been punished for this killing."

Boothe was serving 17 years for forcible sodomy, aggravated sexual battery 
of a child, parole violations and weapons counts.

(source: WJHL)