In rare case, defendant seeks execution
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (AP) -- In what experts say is a rare occurrence, a man accused of murdering two children and attacking their mother has asked a judge to let him plead guilty and to sentence him to death.
"I only wish the judge to sentence me to death so no one can feel responsible for another's death, including mine," Marco Allen Chapman wrote in a letter to Judge Tony Frohlich read in court in October.
Chapman, 32, is due back in court Tuesday, when a doctor is expected to testify about his mental state and whether he understands what a guilty plea and death sentence would mean.
"His request is very well thought out," Linda Tally Smith, who is prosecuting Chapman, said last week. "The big question is, will he change his mind and what do we do if he does?"
Neither attorneys nor death penalty activists and researchers could provide statistics on how often someone pleads guilty to a capital crime and seeks a death sentence. But attorneys and activists agree it is rare.
The last time an inmate in Kentucky did so, he later changed his mind -- but lost his appeal.
Donald Herb Johnson pleaded guilty and sought to be executed for the 1989 torture slaying of Helen Madden in the coin-operated laundry where she worked. He also pleaded guilty to robbery, burglary and sexual abuse.
A divided Kentucky Supreme Court rejected Johnson's later attempt to withdraw the plea, and he remains on death row.
"If you plead guilty, you waive your right to appeal," said Roberta Harding, who teaches capital punishment law at the University of Kentucky law school. "There's nothing to appeal."
Chapman confessed to killing Cody Sharon, 6, and his sister, Chelbi Sharon, 7, on August 23, 2002, in their home. He also admitted to tying up and repeatedly stabbing their mother, Carolyn Marksberry. She recovered, as did her daughter Courtney, who also was stabbed but survived by playing dead.
Harding said people like Chapman who seek execution are using the state to fulfill a death wish.
"It's almost like he wants to commit suicide and he wants the state to assist in his suicide," she said. "He knows his options. It sounds like he's looking for some control."
Diane Clements, director of Justice for All, a pro-death penalty group in Houston, said a case like Chapman's isn't one of "suicide by state."
"Pleading guilty and accepting responsibility for the crime committed is unusual," Clements said. "The case will dictate the punishment, not the killer."
Copyright 2004 The
Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
