Samuel Flippen's Execution Date (UPDATED with Vigil Information)
Aug 18 2006 2:00 am
Aug 18 2006 2:15 am
Body:
Vigil begins at approximately 9:00 p.m. on August 17th outside the prison.
Other Vigils around the state:
The Western North Carolina chapter of PFADP will hold a vigil at the Vance Monument in Asheville from 5 to 6:30 p.m. For information, contact Monika Wengler, (828) 658-9442.
The Gaston Coalition for a Moratorium Now will sponsor a vigil in front of Belmont City Hall, 115 N. Main St., 7:15 to 7:45 p.m. The meeting may be followed by a short meeting of the coalition in a nearby restaurant. Contact George Burazer, (704) 822-6350.
There will be a prayer service in the Chapel of the Newman Catholic Student Center at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill at 7 p.m. Patty Hanneman, Community Church intern minister will lead the service. Tom Loflin, a member of Sammy Flippen’s defense team; retired UNC Law Professor Dan Pollitt, and the Rev. Charles Howe, a retired Unitarian Universalist minister and an activist in the death penalty abolition movement, will speak. The Newman Center is located at 218 Pittsboro St.; parking is available behind the building.
There will be a vigil at Marshall Park, located between Second and Third streets in downtown Charlotte at 6 p.m. For more information, contact Trish Pegram at (704) 522-7733, ext. 2.
There will be a vigil at 12 p.m. on the steps of the Courthouse in Murphy.
The Catawba Valley Chapter of PFADP will hold a prayer meeting at 7 p.m. in the Chapel at First Presbyterian Church, Newton. For more information, call Rebecca Inglefield at (828) 324-8845. There will be a brief meeting of the chapter after the service. All are invited.
There will be a prayer service at Pullen Memorial Baptist Church, 1801 Hillsborough St. in Raleigh, at 7:30 p.m. After the service, participants will process with candlelight to Central Prison for a vigil that is expected to last until about 2:30 a.m. However, participants are welcome to come and go as needed.
There will be a vigil in the Weaverville town square, where Merrimon Avenue meets Main Street, 7-8 p.m. Contact Greg Yost, (828) 680-9415.
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Comments
Samuel Flippen's Guilt?
If Flippen has not been in any trouble since he has been incarcerated, then why is it posted on the DOC web site that he has had six offences against the rules since he has been in prison in Raleigh?
Get the facts straight and stop making them up as you go along!
Britnie's Mother
The reason I ask is because Britnie's mother has had children since this happened, and the Department of Social Services have taken them from her. I have known of several cases where the mother seems unfit, but DSS didn't, so I know you have to be pretty bad for that to happen! Why would she treat Britnie any different? Let's see, we have a man soon to be executed for killing his step-daughter, who says he's innocent to this day, and the mother has had children after the incident, but DSS has taken them from her.
As for bad tempers, just because you have a bad temper doesn't mean you can kill someone. I have a bad temper, I'll admit, but I couldn't bring myself to kill someone, and guess what? I have 3 kids. They have never been abused by me, and DSS never took my kids from me. As for Britnie's mother, I think they need to look into a few things. Say what you want, but you have to be pretty bad for the Department of Social Services to take your kids!
Circumstancial Evidence
What about the mother? Why wasn't she charged with neglect like other mothers would have been? If Flippen has such a "bad temper", why did she leave her child with him. She should have seen his temper at some point and time, if that's the case. Where is she? Why wasn't she charged? Other cases that involve children, similiar to this one, the mothers were charged as well. If he had a violent temper and disliked Britnie so, why did she leave her child with him?
Remember Darryl Hunt? The D.A. convinced the jury he was guilty, and he sat in prison for 18 years before the truth came out. The state was wrong. They did it once, and they can do it again. The evidence was so convincing, but he didn't do it. Flippen doesn't have 18 years. What if after the execution we find out he was innocent? What then? He will be gone and the state can't make it right then. Their "I'm sorry!"'s may not mean that much then.
As for premeditation, the way it sounds, all murders could be premeditated then. If evidence of innocence is not enough to support an appeal of a guilty verdict, then what is? I mean, the way that sounds, once they find you guilty, if you prove you are innocent, you're still guilty. For how long? Until they can find someone else to blame? That hardly sounds like justice.
Whoever said that you can't get a conviction on circumstancial evidence was wrong.
Premeditation was determined in Flippen case
I concur. The rules for the death penalty should be the same. In the Flippen case, premeditation was determined. "Premeditation means that the act was thought out beforehand for some length of time, however short, but no particular amount of time is necessary for the mental process of premeditation." "Deliberation means an intent to kill, carried out in a cool state of blood, in furtherance of a fixed design for revenge or to accomplish an unlawful purpose and not under the influence of a violent passion, suddenly aroused by lawful or just cause or legal provocation." It was the intention of the defendant to kill the child. He was not provoked. Yes, each case is emotional, and I agree, it is important that we stick to the facts in this case.
Premeditation
We can't read his mind; therefore, we can not say he wanted to kill the child. There's still the mother. Like other mothers in cases like this, why wasn't she charged? She was guilty of negligence. She was married to the man for 5 months. She had to have known him for some time. It seems like she would have seen his temper before Britnie's death. If he had harsh feelings towards Britnie, why did she leave her with him? It's like kids playing with guns. If they shoot themselves, the parents get charged in most cases because they left the gun where the child can get it. If Flippen disliked Britnie so, why did she leave her with him, knowing he felt like he did and he had a bad temper. Seems like if all of this were true, she would have been charged too.
Not Pre-meditated
I understand this is a very emotional case, but we can not let our emotions stand in the way of justice. There are people who have killed more than one person & some have killed innocent infants, yet they were not sentenced to death because it was not pre-meditated. Britnie's death was horrible, I agree, but whether Flippen did it or not, it does not call for the death penalty. There was no conspiracy to kill this child, and even the child's father thinks he shouldn't be sentenced to death. This would fall in the category of 2nd degree murder at the most. This is not the first case of such abuse, and I doubt it will be the last. I don't see the guilty on death row in those cases. Do you know why? They didn't fit the criteria for capital punishment. A man left a bar, went home, got a gun, went back to the bar and shot a man who was on his hands and knees begging for his life. He killed him in front of several people. He only got 19 years. No insanity or nothing. Just 19 years. Sure, the victim was a grown man, but he was at the mercy of a man with a loaded gun. At some point and time this man could have stopped himself; he had plenty of time, but he didn't. Why did the state feel that he should just get 19 years and Flippen get death? These crimes occurred in two different counties, but the guidelines for sentencing should be the same.
Please people, we must quench our thirst for blood with the bitter-sweet taste of justice.
Sammy Flippen
I don't think anyone ever said he wasn't in the house, but remember, his wife left only 40 minutes prior to the 911 call. I am a woman and I ask you how many women have gotten life sentences for killing their children? Also,if evidence of innocence is not enough to support an appeal, then why should anybody even try?
The judicial system is all messed up! This wasn't even pre-meditated!
I don't know how they got away with giving him the death sentence anyways. No matter how henius the crime may be, we have to follow those specific guidelines of the law, whether we like it or not. Sammy Flippen got a bad deal with Forsyth County courts. His case deserves a review.
good point Robert, but
I certainly hope there's hope for Flippen.
But I believe that even in the face of a likely loss in this specific case, we must rally as a community and continue to highlight and educate people about issues beyond innocence. While I agree that innocence is THE most compelling issue, cheating prosecutors, bad lawyers, unreliable witness testimony, and over-reaching DA's who seek death in cases like these, are all bad for the individual clients, for the judicial system as a whole and are an insult to the Constitution. It's an interesting pickle we're in when it comes to judicial reform -- it seems the only way we ever get meaningful reform is when the highest stakes are in play. I think we should take advantage of cases like Flippen's to point out these problems.
The biggest insult to liberty and the constitution apparent in Flippen's case (at least to me) is how the NC Supreme Court punted when they did their proportionality review. The Court is supposed to do an independent analysis of every death case that comes before them and determine whether the facts of the present case are so far afield from the rest of the death cases that the present case must be deemed to be disporportionate. In those cases, the Court imposes life. The problem with this analysis is they don't compare the present case with the literally 1000s of cases in NC of child murders that are not prosecuted capitally. They ignore the 99% of cases that are most similar to the present case and only look at the 1% of aberrant cases to determine proportionality. This is a legal CROCK! Every citizen should be embarrassed by this Court proportionality review.
(An aside...by the way, the facts printed in the AP story you quote are straight out of the State's pleadings which were inserted unquestionably into the Court's decision. Always read them with a grain of salt, they are written to promote finality of the decision, they purposely reject sympathetic facts and issues or any issues that might still remain in dispute)
Irrespective of all this...we (I) must express our (my) outrage when the state executes a citizen (or even a non-citizen). The practice cannot be allowed to continue without protest. After reading the little I have about Flippen, if he did this (and it seems some people don't think he did) he's certainly not the worst of the worst.
Punishment fits the crime in the Flippen case
(meant - "choosing" in the posting above). It is hard to imagine what it is like if we haven't lost a loved one or experienced such a tragedy. Let me ask...What is worse than a 25 year old man using his size to overpower a 2 year old child? What is worse than a 25 year old man beating a child to death intentionally with his fist over and over again – so relentless that Britnie’s pancreas was severed and her liver was lacerated. She died from internal bleeding. She could not breathe. She had bruises on her head, chest, and extremities. Testimony shows that no fall could have caused this kind of damage - unless she had jumped off the top of her house, and landed on a blunt object - like an axe. This was a BEATING that lasted over 25 minutes. He used his fist as a weapon – beating a 2 year old child who could not defend herself. Do one thing for me...sit in silence for 25 minutes. Close your eyes and listen to the sounds of a 2-year-old being beat to death, who was shown NO MERCY. I must agree, the court system is not perfect and I commend you for your efforts in bringing in consistency. But this case is not an example to be used. It is amazing how we can be blinded by the truth. The truth is that he hated that child, he tormented her, and he killed her. This has to register with us. If nothing else we must protect our children. Yes, his family and friends and some members of his church stand behind him. Please understand that he has never confessed nor shown remorse. Think about it...his family, et al. have no choice but to stand by him - wouldn't you? Samuel Flippen knows the truth. No matter what I say or what you believe - he knows. Don't you see...if he confesses, then everyone that is standing behind him will be gone. This is all he has left. Please realize that He must face the consequences of his actions. In this case...the punishment does fit the crime. And, lastly, please consider this request from me...if you all do decide to have the vigil...please also remember Britnie Nichol Hutton. Thanks for the opportunity to comment.
25 minute beating?
i dont believe that any one could believe that he could have beat that child ,let alone for 25 minutes.I've known Sammy Flippen for most of my life , i went to school with him.I know what your thinking(here goes another tetimony from a best friend, out to save his buddie's life),but that is not the case,we were in the same grade in school and i knew him and we hung around with same people at scool.He was never a violent person,a bully a,or a trouble maker.I never seen him fight with any one .He was actually a friendly person who like to cut-up and horse around like everyone else.I would also like to add that its impoosible to beat anyone for 25 minutes, were did that come from ? try hitting something for 25 minutes i guarantee after 2-5 minutes of non stop swinging you will be exausted.I just dont buy it.I guess in reality only he and God knows if he killed that little girl but there were to many unaswered questions about the whole ordeal , he didnt have a history of beating his step daughter , that im aware of, and if so why was is exwife never charged with anything ,at the very least she would have been neglegent in leaving her child with someone who would hurt her.I was recently told by someone ,this may not be true, but she has been married several times since then and social services have her children,if this is true maybe she should have been investetigated a little more.
Execution of Samuel Flippen
I did not mean for such a harsh reaction, although I do understand the weight of this issue. All I said was that I among others have been following this story, and there is a slight reasonable doubt here. This is coming from someone who does not know him or ever met him. In fact, I support the death penalty in some cases, but there are a few things that have surfaced that makes us question the guilt of Flippen. If my information is correct (it may or may not be) I believe the court has not heard anything since 1997. No new evidence has been admitted since then. They have tried to present it, but the court will not hear it. I'm am not saying he didn't do it. I'm saying it needs futher investigation. Do you realize we have people on death row that have been there since 1980 or so? Look, all I'm saying is that I think he needs another day in court, that's all. I know that Britnie was the untimate innocent one in all of this. If Flippen had a bad temper, why didn't his wife know it? She had been married to him for 5 to 6 months. Surely he would have displayed such temperment during the time they knew each other, and yet she left her daughter with him. In other cases, the mother was charged with neglect, at least. I know several cases similiar to this, and BOTH parents were charged. You have mentioned that his temper was known, if that's the case, the mother seems somewhat negligent. They are in other cases. Like I said, I feel it deserves futher investigation.
There's a lot of explaining to do.
Robert,
I have to take issue with your assumption that the only problem with the death penalty is that innocent people are sometimes sentenced to death.
While it is absolutely horrible when a child dies, a crime like this one is a textbook example of manslaughter or at worst 2nd degree murder not 1st degree murder. Especially in a case where 911 is called by the person ultimately convicted and that person has no history whatsoever of prior violence. Forsyth County has more people on death row than any other county in NC -- most of them went there during a very active, very short period in the 90s. I can say with a high degree of confidence, this man would not have been sent to death row today.
There are a lot of bad acts committed everyday in NC. Sadly, many of them are very tragic, like the loss of little Britnie, but as a civilized society shouldn't we do a better job distinguishing cases that are the worst of the worst and reserve our ultimate punishment for them?
We have to clean up these problems before we execute anyone again.
Mark K
Mark.
You can take issue, which is why we're here, but I think you’re barking up the wrong tree. In a lot of people's minds, the premier issue with the death penalty is that innocent people do/might die.
The loss of one innocent life is enough reason, for me, to end the death penalty.
Another reason I personally disagree with the death penalty is one you raise, the apparent randomness of deciding who dies. Much of this appears to me, again as you reference, to depend on who is in charge at that moment and what their personal beliefs are on execution.
My comment on the case above is that there doesn't appear to be much room for legal maneuvering at this time. Unless Gov. Easley decides to act against history, this case seems closed. The case has been decided twice and there doesn't appear to be any last minute exculpatory evidence.
You're the expert here, but I wonder how many executions are halted at the last moment based on "Joe is a good guy who made a mistake" versus, "Here is some potential evidence that Joe didn't commit this crime."
We Democrats should be angered that our Governor won’t support a moratorium on the death penalty (at the least) given the problems with the death penalty. Yet, nary a peep. The legal arguments fail to persuade people. I can’t help but think that the idea of meeting their maker and explaining why they supported a death penalty that resulted in innocent people dying would win more support in North Carolina.
Jesus Swept ticked me off. Too short. I loved the characters and then POOF it was over.
-me
Samuel Flippen's Execution
I feel this case needs further investigation. Supporters of his execution may not be aware of all facts. He was offered a plea bargain where he was to say he was guilty, and if he had taken it, he would be a free man today! Why would a guilty man turn that down for a chance with the death penalty? He knew what he was facing and to this very day he still says he innocent. I can't help but wonder if something or someone else was involved; especially after hearing about his turning down the plea bargain. It raises A LOT of questions in this case.
Dear BlueNC Administrator:
Dear BlueNC Administrator: I did not believe, but hoped that you would add my comments from yesterday. Is this site biased? In response to the lasted that you did post...Samuel Flippen declined the plea bargain before the trial began. He really thought that he was going to get out of this. It wasn't until the trial took place that he realized that he was truly going to have to accept the consequences of his actions. I do not believe that anyone should be put to death on a mistake, but in this case, I can tell you that there is no doubt in my mind, body, heart, and soul that Samuel Flippen committed this murder. All evidence was examined in this case, and Mr. Flippen was alone with Britnie. There was NO ONE else there. No one else could have committed this crime. The mother had left for work well before the murder took place, and could not have committed the crime. Britnie's injuries were so severe, that there was no way that Britnie could have made it to a chair (wasn't a high chair - by the way - just a regular "family room" chair). There was also evidence in this case that proved a violent temper, and prior actions toward the child. Two sets of jurors have convicted him. I do not understand how you can be against something when you all do NOT know the whole story. Where are you getting your information?? Or are you choicing to ignore the evidence in this case? I do understand how difficult it is to wrap your head around the fact that someone would actually do this.
Also.
I found this online and thought I would share it with others here.
I would tend to agree with the above poster that there isn't much you can explain away here.
Jesus Swept ticked me off. Too short. I loved the characters and then POOF it was over.
-me
p.s.
Mark,
The explaining comment, which I stand by, is that no one is yet offering last minute evidence that suggests he wasn't in the house, that falling off a chair could cut your pancrease in half, or that someone else was in the house.
Jesus Swept ticked me off. Too short. I loved the characters and then POOF it was over.
-me
If you step back...
you will see that we were asking what the facts of the case were. You have provided them (somewhat) and for that I thank you. Regardless of our personal beliefs on the death penalty, there is a problem with its use in the United States. That problem is that innocent people are being sentenced and condemned to die.
Alan Gell was definitely guilty. There was all kinds of evidence including two eyewitnesses, which is why he spent 9 years on death row. Of course, in the end, the witnesses ended up being part of the murder and not Alan, who prosecutors knew was out of the state at the time.
So, we are left with questioning every death row case, because there is no turning back once the switch is pulled, the plunger pushed, the pellets dropped. No oopsies.
p.s. You are more than welcome to join BlueNC, there is no spam, no selling of information like some websites, and you can pick a catchy name like Logical. Then, your comments won't have to be held for verification. In this case, all three site admins happen to be occupied (the BAR for two and meetings for the third).
Jesus Swept ticked me off. Too short. I loved the characters and then POOF it was over.
-me
Samuel Flippen Killed Britnie
You apparently don't have any clue as to what you are saying. Have you read the court docs and the autopsy report? Or are you just assuming because this evil killer of a two year old baby is innocent because he thought he could get off free and clear without ever having to admit to what he did to an innocent child who was crying. I knew Britnie and I honestly don't think that she was capable of the injuries she sustained. You have two people in a home and one is a man and the other is a two year old. The two year old dies. The man lives. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out. I don't remember any of you supporting Samuel Flippen holding a vigil for Britnie after she was brutally murdered by this man that truly deserves to die!!!!!!!!!!
Interesting.
Perhaps you could post more about this as a blog entry?
Jesus Swept ticked me off. Too short. I loved the characters and then POOF it was over.
-me
Innocence Commission
Chris Fitzsimon wrote this yesterday about the Innocence Inquiry Commission to review inmates’ claims of actual innocence.
The rational and irrational criminal justice debate
Flippen execution
Robert,
It's impossible to know. With only a month before the scheduled execution (execution watchers will notice that Flippen's date provides for the shortest time between notice of the date and the scheduled execution than has occurred in years), one has to hope that the Governor and the Courts (if they're involved, and I have no idea whether there's any on-going litigation in this case) will have the opportunity to fully consider arguments on behalf of Mr. Flippen even with the urgency of near term execution date. I'll post more about Mr. Flippen on my BlueNC blog as information becomes available.
-Mark
Thank you, Mark
n/t
***************************
Vote Democratic, the ass you save may be your own.
Thanks Mark.
Will this one have any last minute saves, or are the conservatives too thirsty for revenge and blood?
Jesus Swept ticked me off. Too short. I loved the characters and then POOF it was over.
-me
Clemency for Sam
The Governor almost never grants clemency, (only twice while he has been in office) however, Sam's case is special. He seems to be a genuinely good guy. For example, numerous members of his Church have come forward to support clemency. These are all people who support the death penalty, but don’t think Sam should receive it. In fact one woman who went to high school with Sam has started a blog about him, SaveSammy.blogspot.com.
In NC we supposedly reserve the death penalty for the worst of the worst. Even if Sam committed this crime, he dosn't fall into that category. This was the first crime Sam has ever been charged with. Many people with much darker records spend their lives in prison. Further judging by the blogs springing up, Sam is beloved in his community. He is still adding to the lives of others. Taking him out of the world will not bring the little girl back instead it will diminish the lives of his family and community.