Heavily armed, deeply paranoid and strung out on drugs, David Lee Powell killed an Austin police officer in 1978. Barring the unexpected, says the Austin American-Statesman, Powell will be executed for that crime on June 15 — 32 years, three weeks and five days after Ablanedo was buried with honors. Texas has never executed a man after so much time has passed, giving rise to the question of whether Powell's execution been robbed of its meaning and purpose.
A fiercely loyal group of supporters insists that putting him to death now would be a travesty. "He's the old David Powell" — intelligent, compassionate, articulate and thoughtful — and no longer poses a danger to society, said attorney David Van Os, who befriended Powell in 1968. "This is not how the death penalty was intended to be used." For those most touched by the officer's murder, Powell's execution remains a meaningful — and desired — goal. Irene Ablanedo, his sister, plans to stand at the window in the death chamber to watch Powell die from five feet away. She will be thinking about her brother, what he meant to his family and how he was taken away too early. "I can't wait for that bastard to take his last breath," she said. "That is what he deserves." Speaking from death row, Powell said he wants to live. "I think I still have something to offer in this life," he said.
Posted by Shao
Wednesday, June 16, 2010 06:59
Please just give it a thought! i am for te execution of muderers. but it also hurt to think there has already been 32 years of living hell that the fellow endured. I also do not there has been any closure
Posted by Robert
Tuesday, June 15, 2010 04:27
Time to meet the maker…….6:25 on last day on earth for him.should be going to
hell just about now.we will release his dead body now and call it done.Know
when you come to Texas you will pay the ultimate price for murder.
Posted by john
Sunday, June 13, 2010 06:03
Q: How credible is the argument that if a defendant can cause ridiculous delays in carrying out his sentence when there was never any question about his guilt that he is then entitled to a pass?
A: Zero. None. Zed. Nil.
Posted by Matt
Wednesday, June 09, 2010 08:20
I am definitely not a bleeding heart liberal and I find this disturbing. Maybe it is the fact that I am 32 years and a couple of months old and that I am definitely a different person today than I was 32 years ago. If you are going to kill him, kill him in a reasonable amount of time. As for rewarding him for stalling and delaying so long, is that his fault or the fault of the system? I would certainly argue the system is broken for allowing this to happen. Afterall, the man hasn’t exactly been living the dream life the last 32 years. He has been in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day. I wonder what the Ablanedo family thinks about this 32 years later? I do always have a great deal of sympathy for the victim’s family, but 32 years is just too long.
Posted by Mike Oxlong
Wednesday, June 09, 2010 07:55
He should not be rewarded for all the stalling that delayed his execution so long. I’m sure it’s very meaningful to Ablanedo’s family, other police officers and society in general except for perhaps bleeding heart liberals.