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Longest Serving Tennessee Death Row Inmate Dies

By Tennessee Coalition to Abolish State Killing

We received word yesterday from the Tennessee Department of Correction that Richard Austin, the state's oldest and longest serving death row inmate, died at DeBerry Special Needs Facility in Nashville on Sunday. Austin was sentenced to death in 1978 after a conviction in Shelby County of accessory before the fact to murder. He was the first person sentenced to die under Tennessee's current death penalty law enacted in 1977. Though given a death sentence, Austin ultimately served a life sentence. This sentence held Austin accountable for the death of undercover officer Julian Watkins while protecting society. Unfortunately, what his death sentence didn't do was bring any closure to Watkins' family as they waited 30 years for the sentence to be carried out...continue to full post

Full post as published by tcask:: on the road (to abolition) on June 10, 2008 (boomark / email).