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E.J. Harbison: A Case of Ineffective Counsel and Arbitrary Sentencing

By Tennessee Coalition to Abolish State Killing

E.J. Harbison, a poor, borderline mentally retarded, African-American man, with no prior criminal record, is currently scheduled to be executed in Tennessee pending the outcome of litigation concerning Tennessee's lethal injection protocols. Proponents tout the death penalty as being reserved for the worst of the worst, but Harbison's case demonstrates the emptiness of this claim.In 1983, Harbison was convicted in Chattanooga of the murder of Edith Russell - an elderly, white woman - during a botched burglary. Although the state claimed the murder was premeditated, Harbison did not carry a weapon. Russell was killed with a vase from her house. While Harbison was sentenced to death, co-defendant David Schreane, whose criminal history included armed robbery and multiple burglaries, accepted a plea and served only six years...continue to full post

Full post as published by tcask:: on the road (to abolition) on June 01, 2009 (boomark / email).