The State of Georgia executed Gregory Lawler last night for the murder of Atlanta police officer John Sowa in 1997. Lawler wounded Officer Pat Cocciolone in the same incident. Rhonda Cook has this story in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on the execution and this earlier one on the denial of executive clemency. The U.S. Supreme Court's "green light for the green mile" order is here.
Cook notes that the basis of the clemency petition was "Lawler's recently diagnosed autism." Seriously, now. The man was 63. If he had autism in the severity that would justify clemency, everyone who knew him in his entire life would have known it. It would not be a recent discovery.
Georgia evidently still has pentobarbital.
Cook notes that the basis of the clemency petition was "Lawler's recently diagnosed autism." Seriously, now. The man was 63. If he had autism in the severity that would justify clemency, everyone who knew him in his entire life would have known it. It would not be a recent discovery.
Georgia evidently still has pentobarbital.
One thing we need to work on is sanctions for defense lawyers who fabricate these last minute fairy tales.