December 9, 2014, Robert Wayne Holsey was executed by the State
of Georgia While there is no denying the fact that in 1995 Holsey
did in fact kill Baldwin County Georgia Deputy Sheriff Will Robinson the question
is did Holsey receive the best defense and should that matter if we are seeking
justice.
Two things regarding the execution of Holsey are important to
note. First, he was intellectually disabled and had been severely abused as a
child. During the trial, his sister talked about abuse and did so again in
appeals for clemency. Whether this contributed to his development is unknown,
what is well documented is that Holsey had never been able to live alone and
had problems cooking for himself, handling money, or many other simple everyday
life skills. He had also tested on an IQ test to have a borderline score of 70.
So while he was able to drive and did have a girlfriend this did not mean he
fully understand all of his actions and the consequences.
This in of itself does not warrant a lesser consequence but it
is worth examining by a jury, Holsey was not granted this consideration because
he was being represented by an alcoholic lawyer Andy Prince. Prince was not in fact
a public defender either as Georgia did not actually have such a system until
2003 and relied on each counter to assign lawyers for the defense of indigent and poverty-stricken
defendants,
Prince had been circling down the drain due to his alcoholism
for a few years and had been making some extremely poor decisions. He was deep
in debt, over $50,000, and he was looking at a malpractice case that could lose
him his license as he had stolen from an estate, he represented over $100,000.
At the time of Holsey’s defense, Prince was drinking a quart or
more of vodka a night. The attorney’s responsibilities in a capital punishment
case are more than in a standard guilt trial and it takes n invested lawyer to
look for an argue mitigation based on disability or other precedents; at this
time Prince was lacking all necessary skill and involvement because he was
doused with vodka. Also about six months into the trial process Prince had a
domestic incident with his African American neighbor where he used slurs. He
struggled to find a co-council as the state required and he did not challenge the
selection of a juror whose son was killed in an armed robbery.
Also at the trial, the prosecution took the jury to the store
Holsey was alleged to have robbed and talked to the clerk without Holsey or his
lawyer present.
The prosecution painted a picture of Holsey as a rabid animal
of a perpetrator. The defense mounted no defense in return failing to call
witnesses. To cross-examine a DNA specialist with any authority and many other
mistakes.
An appeal was made to the Georgia Supreme Court after the
conviction in the initial case and they found nothing wrong
Holsey was contrite the night of his death. While his actual
guilt might never be in debate the system itself failed to give him the best
defense and the courts saw nothing wrong with these failures, this is a .supreme injustice.
Sources:
http://murderpedia.org/male.H/h/holsey-robert-wayne.htm
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/09/us/robert-wayne-holsey-faces-lethal-injection-in-georgia.html
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