Executed Black Man “Had No Money to Retain a Real Attorney.” Alabama Murders Keith Gavin Despite Court Finding that his Attorney was “Constitutionally Ineffective” in Violation of his Right to Counsel

ACCORDING TO FUNKTIONARY:

Kratos – (Greek)—the naked unlimited power of the majority. Anytime or anywhere unlimited power, as opposed to mere supreme power, is vested with the majority, it will hand out rule-less violence to individuals by legislating truth over reality and law over humanity. (See: Iron Rule, Truth & Law, Violence, Naked Truth, Individuality, Symbiocracy & Reality)

LEGAL SANDWICH – THE JUDGE WHO MAKES PLENTY OF BREAD, THE PROSECUTOR, WHO IS TYPICALLY A DOUGH-BOY, AND THE DEFENDANT, WHO IS THE LUNCHMEAT (CATCH) OF THE DAY—WAITING TO BE DEVOURED BY THE BLINDFOLDED LADY IN JURIDICAL DRAG—MISAMERICA.

From [HERE] and [MORE] The State of Alabama put Keith Gavin to death today—the state’s third execution so far this year—despite constitutional flaws that undermined the reliability of his sentence.

Mr. Gavin was convicted of capital murder in the shooting death of a delivery driver and sentenced to death in 1999 after his appointed lawyers presented virtually nothing in mitigation at the penalty phase. 

A federal court found in 2020 that Mr. Gavin’s lawyers were ineffective in violation of Mr. Gavin’s right to counsel and held that the constitution requires a new sentencing trial, but the decision was reversed on appeal.

Questions About the Reliability of Mr. Gavin’s Death Sentence Persist

The Constitution guarantees effective assistance of counsel, which means that defense lawyers representing a person facing the death penalty are expected to investigate and present evidence demonstrating why the jury should reject the death penalty and impose a life sentence.

There was compelling evidence about Mr. Gavin’s life that could have persuaded the jury to choose life imprisonment without parole in his case. 

Keith was born into a family struggling with histories of drug abuse, alcoholism, and incarceration and, as the federal court found, “grew up in a gang-infested housing project in Chicago, living in overcrowded houses that were in poor condition, where he was surrounded by drug activity, crime, violence, and riots.” 

Keith tried to shield his 11 brothers and sisters from their abusive father by taking the blame for them and was frequently beaten with extension cords, sticks, hoses, and his father’s fist. 

In Chicago, Keith was the frequent target of gang violence and was brutally beaten at 17 and hospitalized. When he retaliated he was sent to prison, where he was frequently stabbed by gang members and continued to be victimized. Despite the constant threat of violence, Mr. Gavin earned his GED and took college courses in prison, and with only one major disciplinary write-up in 17 years, he became what the State’s expert called a model prisoner, which was a critical fact related to the jury’s decision to impose a sentence of life imprisonment without parole or death.

But Mr. Gavin’s jury never heard this evidence because, as the federal district court found, his lawyers failed to do the investigation and preparation that the constitution requires.

As Mr. Gavin’s mother lamented, “her son had no money to retain a ‘real attorney.’” Instead, he was appointed counsel who, the federal court found, “did not conduct an adequate background investigation, did not pursue all reasonably available mitigating evidence, and did not make a reasonable effort to present the mitigating evidence they had.” [MORE]