Finally after almost three decades of a white supremacist serial killer’s memory of carnage, Joseph Paul Franklin is laid to rest early Wednesday morning when the U.S. Supreme Court sustained a federal appeals court ruling that overturned stays granted Tuesday.
According to USATODAY.com, the 63 year old partisan had preyed on blacks and Jews during a 3 year killing spree between the years of 1977 to 1980 claiming over 20 lives and convicted of eight counts of murder back in 1977 which ultimately led to the decision of his execution. The execution took place at the state prison in Bonne Terre. One of the charges was for a sniper shooting outside a suburban St. Louis synagogue in 1977. He was also responsible for wounding Vernon Jordan and famous “Hustler” magazine publisher, Larry Flint.
It was a long awaited journey for justice for the loved ones of Franklin’s victims. One Cincinnati family in particular, still feel the pain 33 years later, when tragedy struck and the lives of two young boys were brutally taken by Franklin during the summer of 1980. Mother, Abbie Evans Clark stated that her family was ripped apart by the untimely demise of her son who was only 13 years old, Dante Evans Brown, and her 14 year old nephew Darrell Lane.
After all these grueling years, Ms. Clark and her family have patiently waited for justice to be served for the grievance that was left in their hearts. Ms. Clark, a 68 year old home health aide, will never forget that unforgettable day when she was informed of her nephew’s passing and her son fighting for his life. She was attending a 1980 graduation party when she had to race to the hospital to the aide of her dying child.
“They were working on him when I got there. I thought, ‘Who would do this to him?’ “She said. “They said he was in bad shape and I fell in the hallway.” She also stated how she hates Franklin for destroying her life and taking away the most precious gift of all, a life she brought into this world. Franklin had savagely killed the boys with a deer rifle.
Dante’s older brother Lavon Evans has no real recollection of that hellish calamity. His days are constantly ridden with the loss of his older brother. To this present day the 39 year old still walks by the Bond Hill railroad trestle where the boys met their untimely deaths still hoping to grasp some form of connection with them.
For 18 years the killings remained a mystery until Hamilton County prosecutors lured Franklin into confessing. At that time he was convicted of two counts of murder and sentenced to two life terms after the 1998 trial. Dante’s family still remain remorseful. Ms. Clark admitted to wanting to push the button that will inevitably end Franklin’s life.
Franklin had refused to make a final statement and wore dark glasses as he waited for the concoction to go through his body and take his final breath. He was pronounced dead at 6:17 am central time. What took more than six hours to prepare, the execution only lasted 10 minutes.
According to Franklin’s lawyer, three appeals had been launched on his behalf. One claim is for his life being spared due to mental instability, another for faulty jury instruction when he was given the death penalty and the final one are the concerns about the first ever use of lethal injection using pentobarbital in Missouri.
Image source: www.usaukonline.com