What you are about to read is my opinion on the death penalty mixed in with some facts about when it has taken place in this state. You may disagree with me, but that is okay and fair. We, as individuals, are entitled to our own opinions.
In 2021, the first attempt to enforce the death penalty in LS occurred. The case was [2021-CM-142] State of San Andreas v. Simon Cooper. On December 11th of 2021; the DOJ called for the death penalty with these charges:
1 Count Attempted Aggravated First Degree Murder
1 Count Aggravated Torture and Mutilation
1 Count Treason
1 Count Accomplice to Terroristic Act
According to the statement from the DOJ the case went on for five hours. There were 16 witnesses, 3 affidavits (which are written statements made under oath), and multiple exhibits of evidence. This case revolved around the kidnapping and attempted murder of District Attorney Cole Gordon. Simon Cooper committed these acts with revenge in mind against Cole Gordon. He wanted his job back and thought the best way to do that would be through Cole Gordon. Initially, Mr. Cooper was being charged with:
Aggravated First Degree Murder (Attempted)
Aggravated Kidnapping
Unlawful Possession of a Class 1 Firearm
Aggravated Torture and Mutilation
The verdict of the long court case found Mr. Cooper guilty of “attempted aggravated first degree murder” and “treason”, but acquitted him of "aggravated torture and mutilation" and "accomplice to terroristic act”.
The death penalty was not his sentence in the end. He received life in prison with the chance of parole after 90 years. Judge John MacLamar did not even bring up the death penalty request. He only stated what charges he would face, provided definitions for the public to understand the reasons behind the charges, and announced his sentence. I can appreciate this from Judge John MacLamar, admittedly. I just wanted to say that before I make my next statement. This next statement is my opinion and does not reflect the movement to abolish the death penalty. After reading through the court docket, I felt like someone only brought up the death penalty as either a fear tactic or a means to seek revenge against a person who harmed a government official. They had already increased the charges due to harming a government official, but it didn't seem to be enough. Looking over the evidence, Mr. Cooper seemed to be a desperate man going through a manic episode. He even ends up apologizing to the victim via text. Revenge from the state didn’t need to be the answer, and it wasn’t. Good on Judge John MacLamar. I am especially glad that they didn't implement the death penalty, as we had no legislature on it yet.
On June 7th, 2022 Ryyan Avery, who was the state representative, proposed H.R. 133. The lawmakers wrote H.R. 133 to outline how the death penalty would be carried out in San Andreas. Governor Karmen Mckenzie initially vetoed the bill, as the bill gave the illusion of choice. It stated the convicted party would have the choice of either firing squad or lethal injection. After consulting with local health officials, it was determined that administering lethal injection was not possible. Fun fact about lethal injection though, it is actually not normally carried out by medical professionals. The Department of Corrections actually often carries out lethal injections, well, in other states anyway. That’s neither here nor there.
On June 26th, 2022 Ryyan Avery resubmitted the law with new language, structure, and definitions. On June 24th of 2022, Governor McKenzie signed H.R. 139 into law. Ryyan Avery made the resubmitted law virtually the same, but they omitted the details on how to carry out the death penalty. Additionally, it does not specify why the enforcement of the death penalty would occur. This means it’s purely up to the discretion of the judge and the DOJ.
After speaking with a lawyer who has been in the gallery of a death penalty being carried out, I learned how it was done. Officers wear their nicest uniforms, have the convicted party stand against a wall, and open fire with muskets. If you don’t know much about muskets, here’s how they work. If you are not comfortable with graphic content, I advise against reading the next portion. Muskets do not have normal bullets. The ammunition is actually balls that often have a 0.7 inch to a 0.76 inch diameter. The material they make the ammunition from is normally lead, which makes them heavy. Soldiers also used to stuff paper into the barrel to load a ball into the musket. Both these things make the musket incredibly inaccurate. Because of its inaccuracy, soldiers typically shot the musket in volleys. This made sure that someone would be successful in hitting their target. Because the ball is made from lead, it would actually flatten inside the target, often not going through the target. If the target were to survive the shot, they would be in incredible pain. People described it as if someone punched them through causing great pain and they would eventually succumb to their injuries. Similar to the past, the officers line up and take turns shooting in volleys until they declare the convicted party deceased. In my opinion, it doesn’t seem like musket fire would be a quick and painless death.
After the establishment of H.R. 139, there were several instances of the death penalty being the judgment for a case. Those cases are:
[2022-CM-007] State of San Andreas v. Layla Cooper, Maud Concello, Lucy Todd, and Kara Romero
Here’s a quick summary of the case. They kidnapped the governor for money and to spread news of their cult. Kara Romero pleaded guilty and made a deal, leading to her release. The court deemed Lucy Todd to be not of sound mind and sentenced her to life in prison, under the care of the psychology department. The court sentenced Layla and Maud to death by firing squad..
[2022-CM-119] State of San Andreas v. Ella Popadopoulos
Here’s a quick summary of this case. Ella kidnapped Lieutenant Dallas Cassidy and Detective Andre Mikaelson. A standoff outside a house she was holding the officers took place. Eventually Upon hearing gunfire, officers proceeded to breach the house. After the breach, officers discovered Ella, Dallas, and Andre injured inside and promptly took them all to the hospital. Unfortunately, they declared Dallas DOA, but both Andre and Ella made a full recovery. The court deemed Ella sane, even though she had not been taking her prescribed medication. She was supposed to take Sertraline, which is commonly prescribed for treating depression, OCD, panic disorder, bipolar disorder, PMDD, and PTSD. Her lawyer, Matt Murdank, attempted to appeal the judgment, but in the end Ella begged to just allow the state to go forward with the death penalty. She was put to death by firing squad the same day she decided to not go forward with the appeal.
[2023-CM-050] State of San Andreas v. John Carr
I don’t think I can properly summarize this case. According to the docket, there was a warrant for his arrest. He was being accused of Aggravated First Degree Murder against Judge Nigel Barrington. A few days after being found floating in Del Perro Pier with several drugs in his system and several injuries, Mr. Barrington succumbed to his injuries. You can find Mr. Carr's ramblings in the docket, as he continually interrupts the court. Eventually, it seems authorities deported him and prevented him from facing trial in LS.
[2023-CM-128] State of San Andreas v. Jones Freeman in relation to [2023-CM-127] State of San Andreas v. Jones Freeman
Jones Freeman was already in prison. He attacked another inmate and beat them to death with a dumbbell. After attempting to attack the on-duty SASS, they beat him with a baton, tased him, and then ultimately took him to the infirmary where they strapped him to a bed. He continued to threaten to kill officers until medical staff sedated him. They documented all of this in CM-127 and it eventually led to CM-128. Mr. Freeman was uncuffed so he could eat some food, then attacked one of the guards watching him. Jones Freeman continued to be antagonistic throughout his trial, constantly threatening to murder the surrounding officers and the judge. He was eventually found guilty of 1 count aggravated first degree murder, 1 count aggravated second degree murder, 1 count aggravated battery, 1 count terroristic threats, 5 counts aggravated bat, and 7 counts uttering threats. His behavior and lack of remorse led to his death sentence. It does not state on either of the dockets if Mr. Freeman ever received a psychological evaluation.
[2023-CM-152] State of San Andreas v. Johnathan Calimer
This one isn’t exactly a death penalty trial. The police arrested Mr. Calimer for the murder of Kalvin Richardson. The charges against him were first degree murder, kidnapping, evading arrest, unlawful possession of a class 1 firearm, and joyriding. He pleaded no contest to the charges. Magistrate Joanna McGrath refused his plea, stating that his case could lead to a death sentence and felt it was unfair to not give him the chance to plead his case. Mr. Calimer did not get the chance to do so though, as he died while being held in Bolingbroke Penitentiary. The only reason I bring this one up is because of the death penalty being a possibility, according to the magistrate.
[2023-CM-200] State of San Andreas v. Fawn De Gaffa
This one is long. I will do my best to summarize it. She killed and kidnapped several people. She also assisted in bombing the Vineyard. Fawn admitted to not being the one to place the bomb, but definitely helped it happen. She harmed several EMS, members of SAFR, and police. From the information I could gather, only one of her victims was a civilian, and the rest were government and emergency officials. Practically all of her charges, except for accomplice to use of explosives/bombing, first degree murder, and criminal contempt of court, she pleaded no contest to. She admitted her guilt for the charges related to the bombs and murder, but the court convicted her of criminal contempt. They deemed Fawn Degaffa to be so dangerous that, and I quote, “....letting her serve out a life sentence will not reasonably hinder her from committing more heinous crimes against the State or its citizens”. After Judge Joana McGrath made this statement, Fawn De Gaffa was sentenced to death. During her appeal process, she passed in Bolingbroke Penitentiary.
[2023-CM-315] - State of San Andreas v. Dug Murkadia
The authorities arrested and questioned Dug Murkadia for the murders and mutilations of several John Does. When questioned, he waived his right to counsel and confessed to everything. He was forthcoming with every piece of information. Dug realized he had done something wrong and actually reached out to someone for help at one point, which served as one piece of evidence. The court sentenced him to death, and his lawyers initiated the appeal process.
One part that stands out in the appeal was in the motion of denial for appeal.
“The defense asserted that Mr. Murkadia was denied access to mental health treatment and religious counseling when being incarcerated. The state rebuttal
- there is not currently any legislation necessitating or guaranteeing the right to religious counsel or mental health treatment without regard to being incarcerated.”
Justice Alfie Young deemed the motion to get a psychological evaluation was meant to be initiated by the defense council. Justice Alfie Young dismissed the appeal with prejudice, which means it can never be appealed again. They carried out the death penalty on Dug Murkadia on November 10th, 2023.
What I learned from that case is that there’s no legislation deeming that a psychological evaluation needs to be done prior to a death sentence. The court can just decide a person is too dangerous for society and sentence them to death with no input from medical or psychiatric staff. Another reason a psychological evaluation could be important to a case is that it gives an insight into the minds of people who have similar inclinations. Studying these sorts of cases from a psychological standpoint is actually how the FBI were able to figure out how serial killers think and behave, for example. It might be good for future cases to have a psychological evaluation done in all similar cases, both for future generations and for the accused. Personally though, this fact also makes me want to revisit the legislation as a whole, as there‘s no checks or balances or oversight into how or when the death penalty is determined to be a viable option for punishment. I‘m getting ahead of myself. Let us continue.
This leads to the current case.
[2024-CM-011] - State of San Andreas v. Jebediah Alsbrook
Jebediah “Jube” Alsbrook is being charged with 1 count aggravated first degree murder and 1 count attempted aggravated first degree murder. Jube, who is affiliated with a group known as "The Skinners", frequently camps in the woods. The crime took place on a dirt road where two officers were shot by shotgun in the middle of nowhere. His blood was found on the scene, but the officer who survived the shooting couldn't visibly identify him. The only things connecting him to the case seem to be his DNA, being a Skinner as both officers identified them to be a group of Skinners approaching, and an octopus tattoo which many people in the state have. Despite the case having several attackers, he is the only one on trial. His trial is still approaching, but he has not had a psychological evaluation. The DOJ is currently pushing for the death penalty and Jebediah is currently out on bail. Jebediah has complied and followed the rules of his bail and has reported to officers on time weekly since his release.
With those cases summarized, there may be more. I am currently digging through years of cases. As I continue my research, I may add more cases to the website.
What I am about to say might be circumstantial and people could interpret it as my opinion. Every single case, excluding Mr. Murkadia's, has a common link. The victims in the cases were some sort of officer, emergency staff, or government official. Mr. Murkadia was the one case that went through the entire process that had civilian victims. It feels like the judges and the DOJ use the death penalty to exact revenge against the convicted for harming one of their own.
In contrast, there are people who murder regular people on Twitter/Yeeter. Almost every single day, someone gets hurt in this state by another person, and they don’t receive the death penalty. It makes it feel like emergency services, government employees, police etc, their lives are more valuable than the regular person on the street.
One recent example of this I found was [2024-CM-018] - State of San Andreas v. Drusilla McKenzie.
The crimes committed by her were on par or even more gruesome than some of the other defendants that were sentenced to death. She murdered a John Doe going as far as decapitating him and a civilian named Johnathan Kirkbride. Her arraignment hearing (which is where one will be formally advised of their rights, the charges filed against them and the maximum possible penalty that may be imposed) happened on January 22nd, and her maximum punishment will be fourteen years in Bolingbroke Penitentiary and a fine of $15,000.
With this all in mind, these are the questions that plague me. Where are the standards in which we choose when the death penalty will and won’t be used? Why does it feel like it only comes into play when it’s against a non-civilian? Shouldn’t our lives, especially in the case of murder, be considered equal? Shouldn't we acknowledge the awfulness of someone, anyone, getting hurt or someone being killed? Does that give us the right to use what feels like legal revenge to get rid of a person?
I don’t think it does. I don’t believe anyone should have the right to choose who lives or dies, especially not the DOJ or our government.
From what I could read in these cases, most of the defendants were mentally unwell, or unmedicated, or asking for help and received none. Despite harming others, they were still people. These were individuals who potentially needed help, individuals who could have undergone rehabilitation, and individuals who could have been sentenced to life in prison as an alternative, especially since we have the DOC. Redemption isn‘t something so far out of grasp. They weren't inhuman monsters that needed to be killed before they had the chance to redeem themselves. They were people.
My entire goal of this movement is to remove the death penalty. If not for the current case against Jebediah Alsbrook, then for the future of the state. The goal is to create a better future for the people of LS. If that’s truly an impossibility, I would be happy with psychological evaluations being a requirement for cases like these, and reform of the death penalty to something more humane than death via musket fire.
Thanks for taking your time to read all this. I appreciate every person who’s signed this petition and wants LS to become a better place in the future.
Written by Krystal Veglione