Sumner experiences capital punishment first-hand
Will Floyd
Issue date: 4/21/09 Section: News
In any line of work, a person can occasionally be asked to go beyond the call of duty and do something that can be described as "not in the job description." For Dr. Greg Sumner, associate professor of criminal justice at Georgia Highlands, being asked to view a capital punishment execution was one of those things.
Shortly before midnight on May 30, 1986, Robert Newland, a resident of St. Simon's Island on the coast of Georgia, approached his neighbor and friend Carol Beatty and tried to solicit sex. Beatty refused, and Newland attacked her. Within a day, Beatty was dead from blood loss, and Newland was charged with murder.
After being convicted and on death row for 23 years, Newland was executed by lethal injection last month at Jackson State Prison, an hour south of Atlanta. Sumner was in attendance at that execution.
When Sumner was asked to act as a state's witness for the execution of Newland, he had mixed feelings about the situation. He said, "I was honored because I knew that very few people get asked to serve as a state's witness. At the same time, though, I couldn't say, 'Let's celebrate' because someone is going to die. You're almost honored on one side, but then on the other side, for what?"
Although being asked to serve as a witness came as a surprise, Sumner assumes that it was because of his contacts at the state level after a career in law enforcement.
As for the experience, Sumner said that he approached it as an opportunity to expand his knowledge and pass that on to his students at GHC.
He said, "It was an educational experience. I took it as an opportunity to educate myself. I wanted to show a whole different layer to my students. They can now clearly have this picture in their mind of what really happens and form their own informed decisions."
Although the whole experience was a very new one for Sumner, the only thing that surprised him in particular was the level of security. "It was very serious," he said.
Shortly before midnight on May 30, 1986, Robert Newland, a resident of St. Simon's Island on the coast of Georgia, approached his neighbor and friend Carol Beatty and tried to solicit sex. Beatty refused, and Newland attacked her. Within a day, Beatty was dead from blood loss, and Newland was charged with murder.
After being convicted and on death row for 23 years, Newland was executed by lethal injection last month at Jackson State Prison, an hour south of Atlanta. Sumner was in attendance at that execution.
When Sumner was asked to act as a state's witness for the execution of Newland, he had mixed feelings about the situation. He said, "I was honored because I knew that very few people get asked to serve as a state's witness. At the same time, though, I couldn't say, 'Let's celebrate' because someone is going to die. You're almost honored on one side, but then on the other side, for what?"
Although being asked to serve as a witness came as a surprise, Sumner assumes that it was because of his contacts at the state level after a career in law enforcement.
As for the experience, Sumner said that he approached it as an opportunity to expand his knowledge and pass that on to his students at GHC.
He said, "It was an educational experience. I took it as an opportunity to educate myself. I wanted to show a whole different layer to my students. They can now clearly have this picture in their mind of what really happens and form their own informed decisions."
Although the whole experience was a very new one for Sumner, the only thing that surprised him in particular was the level of security. "It was very serious," he said.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Zack
posted 1/20/10 @ 12:41 PM EST
This article is very vague. Being one of Dr. Sumners students, I have heard of his expierence with the excution and there is so much more to it than just beign very serious. (Continued…)
Post a Comment