■ Death penalty
Ohio man becomes 999th
person executed since 1977
John Hicks, 49, was put
to death for the murder
of two family members
BY SARAH ANDERSON
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LUCASVILLE, Ohio — Ohio car
ried out the nation’s 999th execu
tion since 1977 on Tuesday, putting
to death a man who strangled his
mother-in-law while high on co
caine and later killed his 5-year-old
stepdaughter to cover up the crime.
John Hicks, 49, was put to death
a day after Eric Nance was execut
ed in Arkansas for killing a teen
ager by slashing her throat with a
box cutter.
The 1,000th execution since the
death penalty was reinstated was
set for Wednesday, when Robin
Lovitt was set to die in Virginia for
fatally stabbing a man with scissors
during a pool-hall robbery, but Vir
ginia’s governor granted clemency,
sparing Lovitt’s life.
Hicks offered a tearful apology
for the 1985 murders earlier this
month to Ohio Parole Board mem
bers, and said he loved both vic
tims — 56-year-old Maxine Arm
strong and 5-year-old Brandy
Green. He said his cocaine high
made him desperate and paranoid.
He repeated his apology before
his execution, telling relatives, “I
know this may be shallow or hol
low words to y’all, but it’s coming
1,000th execution
moves to next in line
Virginia s governor granted clemency to the inmate who would have
become the 1.000th execution since the U S Supreme Cotirt reinstated
the death penalty in 1976 The next scheduled execution is for Friday
morning w North Carolina.
Execution rate per one million peculation utauitedby itwcfexM
None 1.7 to 3-8 Ml 11 to 16 9 No death
0 2 to 0 9 m <2*098 3M 2.2 4
Executions since 1976 <*K*wt«iby »»»*«»)
Exonerations
Since the death penalty was
suspended in 1972, 122 ^
inmates have txjen freed a
from death row
SOURCE Deafi Panally Wormamm cSttm
Racial and ethnic breakdown
PRISONE RS {•**))
1.4% - Native 0.6%-Asian
American
6.3% t-|T 0.3%
latino Other*
and »v Assyrian Omitian
VICTIMS tl •*««>
0.3% - Other
0.1%^ Native
100 enetutams
from my heart.”
Douglas Hughes, Armstrong’s
son-in-law, witnessed the execu
tion with his wife and daughter,
said Hicks “showed no real
remorse. He never once apologized
to the family and never asked
forgiveness.”
Hicks had traded his VCR for
about $50 worth of cocaine, court
records show. After taking the
drugs, he realized that his wife
would wonder where it was, so he
decided to steal money from
Armstrong and get it back.
He found his stepdaughter
asleep on the couch at Armstrong’s
apartment. He woke her and
brought her to bed and then
strangled Armstrong, leaving with
about $300 and some credit cards.
Realizing Brandy could identify
him, he returned and attempted to
suffocate the 5-year-old with a pil
low, then strangle her. She strug
gled, and Hicks covered her mouth
and nose with duct tape.
He left Cincinnati, but turned
himself in to police.
On Monday, Gov. Bob Taft had
refused to change Hicks’ sentence
from death to life in prison. The 6th
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in
Cincinnati and the U.S. Supreme
Court also turned down last-minute
appeals. Hicks was the 19th person
executed in Ohio since the state
resumed executions in 1999.
IN BRIEF
Virginia governor spares
life of man to be executed
RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia’s
governor on Ttiesday spared the life
of a convicted killer who would
have been the 1,000th person
executed in the United States since
the Supreme Court allowed capital
punishment to resume in 1976.
Robin Lovitt’s death sentence was
commuted to life in prison without
parole a little more than 24 hours be
fore he was to be executed by injec
tion Wednesday night for stabbing a
man to death with a pair of scissors
during a 1998 pool-hall robbery.
In granting clemency, Gov. Mark
R. Warner noted that evidence from
the trial had been improperly
destroyed, depriving the defense of
the opportunity to subject the
material to the latest in DNA testing.
“The commonwealth must en
sure that every time this ultimate
sanction is carried out, it is done
fairly,” Warner said in a statement.
Warner, a Democrat, had never
before granted clemency to a death
row inmate during his four years in
office. During that time, 11 men
have been executed. Virginia is one
of the most active death-penalty
states, having executed 94 people
since 1976.
Vatican defends statement
about homosexual priests
VATICAN CITY — The Vatican de
fended a policy statement designed
to keep men with “deep-seated”
homosexual tendencies from becom
ing priests, but said there would be
no crackdown on gays who are
already ordained.
The Vatican document, the first ma
jor policy statement of Pope Benedict
XVI’s papacy, was officially released
Tuesday after being leaked earlier.
Conservatives have said it may help
reverse the “gay culture” of many U.S.
seminaries, while liberal critics com
plain the restrictions will create
morale problems among clergy and
lead to an even greater priest shortage
in the United States.
The Rev. James Martin, a U.S.
Jesuit who has written on the issue,
said American theologians, canon
lawyers and other Roman Catholics
will “hope that the document won’t
really mean what it says.” But he
believes it’s clear the Vatican wants
to keep gay men from being or
dained — even if they’re committed
to celibacy — and hopes bishops and
seminary rectors will act accordingly.
Bush says early withdrawal
from Iraq would be mistake
WASHINGTON — President Bush
said Tuesday a U.S. military pullout
from Iraq would be a terrible mis
take, beginning a new push defend
ing his embattled war policy. His
Pentagon chief said, “Quitting is not
an exit strategy.”
Defense Secretary Donald H.
Rumsfeld said of the Iraqis, “They
know that they’re the ones that are
going to have to grab that country.
And it’s time.”
The administration is under pres
sure to convince increasingly skepti
cal Americans that the president’s
strategy for Iraq is headed in the right
direction. The president is to give a
speech on the subject Wednesday at
the Naval Academy.
The unrelenting violence that con
tinues to claim American lives has
contributed to a drop in Bush’s pop
ularity, to its lowest level yet, and to
growing doubts about the war. It also
has led to a debate in Congress about
when the 160,000 U.S. troops there
should begin to come home.
—The Associated Press
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ELECTIONS MANAGER
• Organize Electronic voting
process on DuckWeb
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procedures
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attend weekly Elections Board
meetings
OFFICE MANAGER
• Prepare Elections Packet
• Constitution Court Liaison
(investigate elections violations
and complaints)
• Hold 5 office hours/week plus
attend weekly Elections Board
meetings
023868
Expected hours: 10-15/week; approximately 4-month position
Applicants must be currently enrolled with at least 8 credits
Salary: $125/month stipend for 4 months
Selection Process: Interview
Reports to: Elections Coordinator
PUBLICITY COORDINATOR
• Advertise for public hearings,
Elections Packet, and elections
• Determine and implement all
elections publicity including,
but not limited to, banners,
signs, balloons, etc.
• Act as liaison between all
campus publications and the
Elections Board
• Responsible for the production
(design, layout, paste-up and
typing) of the Voter’s Guide
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attend weekly Elections Board
meetings
VOTER EDUCATION
COORDINATOR
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Greeks, international students,
Student Housing, etc. to
promote knowledge and interest
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candidate meetings, etc.
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attend weekly Elections Board
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