Jack Alderman

Jack Alderman was notable as the longest-serving death row prisoner in the USA. He had been there for over 33 years. [Jack Alderman Is Executed http://www.reprieve.org.uk/Press_Jack_Alderman_Executed.htm]

History

Jack 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.

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." [British lawyers lose fight to halt ‘obscene’ US execution of Jack Alderman http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article4753391.ece]

On 2 September 2008, Jack "was called to the prison wardens office and handed a death warrant. He was not permitted to return to his cell to say his goodbyes but was immediately removed to the 'Death House' where he spends [sic] the next two weeks in isolation from his fellow inmates under 24 hour surveillance by armed guards". [Exonerate Jack - Factsheet http://www.exoneratejack.org/factsheet.html]

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". [The Guardian,September 22 2008, http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/sep/22/humanrights.usa]

Constitutionality of Lethal Injection

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

Legal Action and Campaigning

Richard Lissack, QC, was quoted as saying: "If this case were measured against any of the international legal criteria applied around the world outside the United States, the conclusion would be "Jack Alderman has done his time." He should be spared execution, he should be imprisoned no more. The time for him to be set free is long overdue." [UK lawyers attempt to stop American execution http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article2665985.ece]

The Law Society, the Bar Council and the charity Reprieve called on David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, to use diplomatic channels to stay the execution of 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.

Jack Alderman was represented free of charge by the London law firm Clifford Chance.

Tim Dutton, QC, chairman of the Bar Council, said: “I am concerned that the execution of Mr Alderman may be a grave miscarriage of justice. In any event, the execution of this man in these circumstances raises serious questions about his human rights.”

Paul Marsh, president of The Law Society, said that execution would amount to cruel and unusual punishment. “We urge the American Government to use their discretionary power to quash the warrant for execution and order commutation of his death sentence,” he added.“On behalf of the legal profession, I want to ensure the proper observance of the independence of that profession, the rule of law and human rights in all jurisdictions throughout the world.” [British lawyers lose fight to halt ‘obscene’ US execution of Jack Alderman http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article4753391.ece]

Campaigners for justice for Jack Alderman include the British artist Simone Sandelson.

Execution

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

Jack Alderman was pronounced dead at 7:25 p.m. at the state prison in Jackson. [http://www.news4jax.com/news4georgia/17492898/detail.html]

References

External Links

* Comments by Anita Roddick [http://www.anitaroddick.com/readmore.php?sid=754]
* Campaign site: Exonerate Jack [http://www.exoneratejack.org/]
* letter from Jack Alderman to his lawyer about his life on death row [http://extras.timesonline.co.uk/pdfs/day-in-the-life-of-death.pdf]

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