Jack Alderman

Jack Edward Alderman
Born (1951-05-29)29 May 1951
Died 16 September 2008(2008-09-16) (aged 57)
Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison, in Jackson, Georgia
Criminal penalty Death
Criminal status Executed by lethal injection
Conviction(s) Murder
Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison, where Alderman was held on death row and where he was executed

Jack Edward Alderman (29 May 1951 – 16 September 2008) was, at the time of his execution, the longest-serving death row prisoner in the United States who has been executed. He had remained on death row for over 33 years.[1]

History

Alderman was born 29 May 1951.

On 14 June 1975 he was convicted for his part in the killing of his wife Barbara Jean Alderman and given the death sentence by the Superior Court of Chatham County, Georgia. His wife was beaten to death with a crescent wrench and choked before being dumped into a creek.

On 1 April 1985, at a new sentencing trial, he was again sentenced to die.

A Timesonline article states: "Alderman’s co-defendant, John Brown, a drug addict and alcoholic, confessed to the murder, but then changed his story to implicate Alderman. Brown claimed that he and Alderman killed Mrs Alderman together, and that Alderman promised to pay him for his role in the killing. There was no forensic evidence and Alderman was convicted only as a result of statements provided by Brown."[2]

The prosecutors, however, maintained that Jack Alderman attempted to defraud $20,000 from his wife's life insurance.[3]

Marcel Berlins of The Guardian wrote: "Alderman had claimed from the start he was innocent, even refusing to enter into plea bargains that would have spared his life, because that would have meant admitting his culpability".[4]

Alderman, Georgia Department of Corrections# 385463,[5] was held at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson, Georgia.

Constitutionality of lethal injection

On 19 September 2007, an execution date for Jack Alderman, there was a temporary stay while the Supreme Court decided on the constitutionality of lethal injection.

The Law Society, the Bar Council and the charity Reprieve, all organizations in Europe, called on the United Kingdom's then Foreign Secretary, to use diplomatic channels to stay the execution of American convict Alderman and end what they called the “gross injustice of 34 years”. They also sent letters to the Governor and Attorney-General of Georgia and its Board of Pardons and Paroles. Alderman was represented free-of-charge by the London law firm Clifford Chance.[2][6]

Execution

He was executed by lethal injection by the US State of Georgia on 16 September 2008.

Jack Alderman was pronounced dead at 7:25 p.m. EDT at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison.[7]

References

  1. ↑ "Reprieve deplores the execution of Jack Alderman, the longest serving death row prisoner in the US". Reprieve. 17 September 2008. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  2. 1 2 British lawyers lose fight to halt ‘obscene’ US execution of Jack Alderman Archived September 17, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  3. ↑ "Man on Georgia's death row 33 years is executed". AccessNorthGa. 18 September 2008. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  4. ↑ Berlins, Marcel (22 September 2008). "Torture on death row". The Guardian. London: GMG. ISSN 0261-3077. OCLC 60623878. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  5. ↑ "Execution Date Set For Chatham County". Georgia Department of Corrections. 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  6. ↑ UK lawyers attempt to stop American execution Archived September 17, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  7. ↑ "Jack Edward Alderman". Office of the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney. 2008. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
Preceded by
Michael Anthony Rodriguez		 People executed in US after Baze v. Rees ruling Succeeded by
William Alfred Murray
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