Kenneth Fults: Another Victim Of Our Broken System
“That’s what the n****r deserved.” -Thomas Buffington, juror
Kenneth Fults, a developmentally delayed black man, was executed by the state of Georgia on April 12th, 2016. Fults was denied clemency even though the trial was tainted by juror racism and an incompetent defense team. The above quote was taken from an affidavit signed by a juror, Thomas Buffington, who recommended that Fults receive the death penalty.
Buffington said:
“I don’t know if [Fults] ever killed anybody, but that n****r got just what should have happened. Once he pled guilty, I knew I would vote for the death penalty because that’s what that n****r deserved.”
Two other jurors came out after the fact to question the fairness of his jury service.
Fults pled guilty to killing his next door neighbor during a robbery in 1996. He stated that he shot his neighbor five times in the head while in a “dream-like state” by mistake. Fults had an IQ of 74, which his lawyers said meant he “function[ed] in the lowest one percent of the population.”
His appellate lawyers also brought up that his appointed public defense attorney routinely fell asleep during the proceedings, had a history of racist comments and a cozy relationship with the prosecutor’s office, and failed to bring up Fults’ IQ and extremely difficult childhood as a defense at any point.
The state of Georgia stated that the appeal was too late, and continued with the execution.
Georgia’s decision to execute an intellectually disabled person was in violation of both international human rights law and the U.S. constitution. Georgia was only able to outmaneuver this law by making it incredibly difficult to prove a defendant is intellectually disabled.
It is clear that Kenneth Fults was not given a fair application of the law when in came to his sentencing, but he did at least plead guilty to murder.
Research has shown, however, that not even innocent people are safe from execution.
Innocence In Capital Punishment Cases
We already know the United States has executed an innocent person.
In 1989, Carlos DeLuna was executed for a murder that was proven to have been committed by someone else.
It’s 2016, though, isn’t it? We should have learned from our mistakes. We’ve progressed towards a more tolerant, equitable society, right?
Wrong.
On January 2016, Texas executed Richard Masterson despite strong evidence to point to his innocence.
Lester Bower was executed in 2015 despite only shaky, circumstantial evidence of his guilt. Corroborating statements came out that another person may have been guilty of the crime.
Later in 2015, Georgia executed Brian Terrell as he mouthed “didn’t do it.” Terrell was convicted despite evidence that pointed to another suspect, and had to be tried three separate times before a guilty verdict could stick.
There are even more people who are sentenced to death and then proven innocent after new evidence is introduced. At least 156 people have been freed after death sentences. That’s more than one innocent person for every ten that have been executed.
Our criminal justice system is flawed because humans are flawed. Humans make mistakes, but in capital punishment cases, those mistakes are deadly.
Fairness Is A Fallacy, Discrimination A Reality
“…being selected as a defendant for a capital case is as random and serendipitous as being struck by lightning.” — Robert DelTufo, former Attorney General of New Jersey
It takes a certain amount of misfortune to face a capital punishment charge.
Location is one of the biggest factors determining whether or not a person will be executed. Only 2 percent of counties in the U.S. have been responsible for the majority of the nation’s death sentences and executions.
If you are unfortunate enough to have committed a crime in those counties, you’re in some real trouble.
If you are poor, that’s another strike.
The vast majority of those on death row across the country are too poor to afford their own attorney. Public defenders are overworked, underpaid, and often inexperienced. They simply cannot consistently offer the quality of representation needed to ensure a fair trial.
If you’re accused of murdering a white person, another strike.
People convicted of murdering a white victim are many times more likely to get sentenced to death than those convicted of killing African American or Latino victims.
If you are a person of color, add a few more strikes.
African Americans accused of capital crimes find themselves at a much higher risk of facing death penalty sentences. We already know people are color are systematically targeted by some police forces, so this is particularly bad news.
To make matter worse, people of color accused of capital crimes are much less likely to get a jury of their peers, as African Americans are routinely struck from serving as a juror in capital murder cases.
None of these factors–geography, income, or race–have anything to do with the crime being committed. It has everything to do with the lottery of where a person is born and what circumstances they are born into.
Kenneth Fults did not win that lottery.
Featured Image: Stevepamp/Getty Images
