Daniel greene

GEORGIA – Clemency for Daniel Greene

april 20  source : http://www.therepublic.com

The Georgia pardons board made the rare decision on Friday to spare the life of a condemned man who was set to die this week for the 1991 murder of his ex-classmate.

The move by the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles to reduce Daniel Greene’s death sentence to life in prison without parole came days after the board stayed his execution. Greene was initially set to die on Thursday for the murder of 20-year-old Bernard Walker, who was fatally stabbed as he tried to help a store clerk attacked by Greene.

It was only the fourth time the board has commuted a death sentence since 2002, and it came after an outpouring of support for the Taylor County man by community members, a change of heart by the prosecutor who tried the case against him and a powerful plea for mercy from the condemned man himself.

“I think Daniel’s remorse is very apparent. He’s led an exemplary life before and since these incidents,” said his defense attorney, Jeff Ertel. “It was an aberrant act surrounded by 20 years on each side of an outstanding life.”

Greene, 42, has been on death row for almost 20 years. His crime spree began on Sept. 27, 1991, when he robbed clerk Virginia Wise at her Taylor County convenience store and then stabbed her through the lung. She survived the attack.

Moments later, Walker entered the store and tried to help Wise. Greene stabbed his former classmate through the heart before fleeing, leaving Walker to die in the store’s parking lot. Greene then went on to attack an elderly couple in nearby Macon County and another store clerk in Warner Robins before he was arrested.

A standout defensive lineman in high school, Greene had to be tried in Clayton County because of all the media coverage in his hometown. He was convicted in December 1992 of murder, robbery and assault and was sentenced to death.

At a closed-door meeting on Tuesday, nine of Greene’s supporters spoke on his behalf, and many more sent in impassioned letters urging the board to spare his life. They described him as a gentle giant and hardworking student who stayed out of trouble until the “drug-crazed transgression.”

Former Taylor County Sheriff Nick Giles called him a “beloved son” of the community, and a former corrections officer who knew Greene in prison said he was “as fine a man as I have ever met in my life.”

Greene also sent in a letter to the board expressing his remorse for the pain and suffering he caused Walker’s family.

“I was on drugs at the time, but I took the drugs with my hands, and I take the responsibility. That choice to do drugs and what I did after were the worst mistakes of my life,” he said in the letter. “I do not blame the drugs. I blame myself for everything.”

Taylor County Sheriff Jeff Watson, who went to school with Greene and Walker, said the community was split over the pending execution. He and a local pastor visited Greene in the days leading up to it, and said they found Greene to be remorseful.

“I know a bunch of people went to bat for him, and others think he should be executed. I’ve heard both ways,” he said. “And I know there were a lot of people who are pulling for him.”

District Attorney Julia Slater didn’t immediately return calls seeking comment. Walker’s sister, Amanda Walker Prude, declined to comment.

Mark Shelnutt, the Columbus attorney who prosecuted Greene, told the paroles board that what led him to seek capital punishment was that life without parole was not a sentencing option for Georgia juries at the time.

The death penalty, he said, “was the only way you could make sure he wouldn’t hurt someone again.” But when he went before the board this week, he said he told the five-member panel he was having second thoughts about the death sentence.

“Things back then were so black and white, so right and wrong. I think what happened is I’m not the same person that I was then. I’ve had more experience, and I’ve seen the justice system involved, and the imperfections of it,” he said. “Much more heinous crimes have resulted in life sentences, and that’s what I told them.”

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GEORGIA – Daniel Greene’s Execution – COMMUTED

april 17, 2012 source : http://www.13wmaz.com

Georgia’s Board of Pardons and Paroles stayed the execution of former Taylor County H.S. football star Daniel Greene up to 90 days “to allow for additional time to examine the substance of claims offered by Greene’s representatives” at a clemency hearing on Tuesday.

Greene was scheduled to be executed Thursday night.

A news release said the parole board may lift the stay at any time and grant clemency — commuting the death sentence to life or life without parole — or deny clemency.

Greene was convicted of fatally stabbing his former classmate Bernard Walker, 20, during a 1991 convenience-store robbery in Taylor County. A store clerk was also stabbed but survived.

Greene confessed to police, but later said he didn’t remember committing the crime. He said an acquaintance had given him a cigarette earlier that day that may have been laced with a mind-altering drug.

Greene was convicted of malice murder, armed robbery and aggravated assault at trial in December 1992.

Georgia – Daniel Greene – execution – april 19, 2012 7 p.m. CLEMENCY

april 10

Georgia Department of Corrections
Brian Owens, Commissioner

Director of Public Affairs
Joan Heath

Contact: Office of Public Affairs (478) 992-5248

STATE OF GEORGIA

For Immediate Release

Greene Execution Media Advisory

Forsyth – Condemned murderer Daniel Greene is scheduled for execution by lethal injection at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 19, 2012, at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson. Greene was sentenced to death for the 1991 murder of Bernard Walker.

last meal consisting of fried chicken, french fries, strawberry sundae and a soda.

Media witnesses for the execution are: Greg Bluestein, The Associated Press; Jim Mustian, Columbus Ledger-Enquirer; Joe Kovac, Macon Telegraph; Coreen Savitski, WMGT; and Randall Savage, WMAZ.

There have been 52 men executed in Georgia since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1973. If executed, Greene will be the 30th inmate put to death by lethal injection. There are presently 96 men and one woman on death row in Georgia.

The Georgia Diagnostic & Classification Prison is located 45 minutes south of Atlanta off Interstate 75. From Atlanta, take exit 201 (Ga. Hwy. 36), turn left over the bridge and go approximately ¼ mile. The entrance to the prison is on the left. Media covering the execution will be allowed into the prison’s media staging area beginning at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday.

april 2, 2012  source : http://www.gfadp.org

A judge has signed an order scheduling the execution of a former high school football star from Taylor County for the week beginning April 19.
Daniel Greene was sentenced to death for the 1991 killing of 19-year-old Bernard Walker, who was trying to help a convenience store clerk who had been robbed and stabbed by Greene. The clerk survived.
Greene, a 6-foot 5-inch, 350-pound former high school football standout, was tried in Clayton County in 1992 because of pretrial publicity. He was convicted of other crimes in Houston and Macon counties.
After killing Walker, Greene later drove to the home of a Macon County couple who had previously employed him as a farm laborer. Greene burst into their home, got their car keys and then stabbed Willie and Donice Montgomery multiple times. The couple survived.
Greene then drove to another convenience store in Warner Robins and pulled a knife on the store attendant, who gave Greene money from the cash register. Greene stabbed her in the back of the shoulder before fleeing. He was later arrested at a relative’s home and confessed to the crimes in a videotaped interview, saying he needed money for crack cocaine, according to court records.
The Georgia Department of Corrections is soon expected to pick a date and time for Greene’s execution.

Georgia Department of Corrections
Brian Owens, Commissioner

Director of Public Affairs
Joan Heath

Contact: Office of Public Affairs (478) 992-5248

STATE OF GEORGIA

For Immediate Release

Greene Execution Media Advisory

Forsyth – The Taylor County Superior Court has ordered the execution of convicted murderer Daniel Greene. The Court ordered the Department to carry out the execution on a date between April 19, 2012 and April 26, 2012. Commissioner Brian Owens has set the date for April 19, 2012 at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson at 7:00 p.m.

Greene was convicted of the 1991 murder of Bernard Walker. If executed, Greene will be the 30th inmate put to death by lethal injection.

Media interested in a picture of Greene and a listing of his crimes may go to the Department of Corrections website (www.dcor.state.ga.us).

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No. 11-8738      *** CAPITAL CASE ***
Title:
Daniel Greene, Petitioner
v.
Carl Humphrey, Warden
Docketed: February 10, 2012
Linked with 11A476
Lower Ct: United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
  Case Nos.: (09-15723)
  Decision Date: June 28, 2011
  Rehearing Denied: August 22, 2011
~~~Date~~~ ~~~~~~~Proceedings  and  Orders~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nov 8 2011 Application (11A476) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from November 20, 2011 to January 19, 2012, submitted to Justice Thomas.
Nov 12 2011 Application (11A476) granted by Justice Thomas extending the time to file until January 19, 2012.
Jan 19 2012 Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due March 12, 2012)
Feb 15 2012 Brief of respondent Carl Humphrey, Warden in opposition filed.
Feb 29 2012 Reply of petitioner Daniel Greene filed. (Distributed)
Mar 1 2012 DISTRIBUTED for Conference of March 16, 2012.
Mar 19 2012 Petition DENIED.
~~Name~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~Address~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~Phone~~~
Attorneys for Petitioner:
Jeffrey L. Ertel Federal Defender Program, Inc. (404) 688-7530
    Counsel of Record 100 Peachtree Street, Suite 1700
Atlanta, GA  30303
jeff_ertel@fd.org
Party name: Daniel Greene
Attorneys for Respondent:
Sabrina D. Graham Assistant Attorney General (404) 656-7659
    Counsel of Record Office of the Attorney General
40 Capitol Square
Atlanta, GA  30334-1300

Georgia – Daniel Greene – Execution – april 19 – STAYED 90 DAYS

april 4, 2012 source : http://www.correctionsone.com

TAYLOR COUNTY, Ga. — An April 19 execution date has been set for a former high school football star from Taylor County.

Daniel Greene was sentenced to death for the 1991 killing of 19-year-old Bernard Walker, who was trying to come to the aid of a Suwanee Thrifty store clerk in Taylor County.

Greene had forced the clerk to give him $142 from the cash register before he took her to a back room and stabbed her. She survived, but Walker, whom Greene stabbed in the heart, died in the parking lot.

Greene, a 6-foot-5, 350-pound former high school football standout, was tried in Clayton County in 1992 because of pretrial publicity.

After killing Walker, Greene drove to the home of a Macon County couple who had previously employed him as a farm laborer. Greene burst into their home, took their car keys and then stabbed Willie and Donice Montgomery multiple times. The couple survived.

Greene then drove to another convenience store in Warner Robins and pulled a knife on the store attendant, who gave Greene money from the cash register. Greene stabbed her in the back of the shoulder before fleeing. He was later arrested at a relative’s home and confessed to the crimes in a videotaped interview, saying he needed money for crack cocaine, according to court records.

Late last week, a judge signed an order scheduling Greene’s execution for a seven-day period beginning April 19. On Monday, Department of Corrections Commissioner Brian Owens set the execution for April 19 at 7 p.m.

The execution is to be carried out at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson. Greene would be the 30th state inmate put to death by lethal injection.

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