October 15 - Death sentence appeal denied by the Georgia Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Georgia State upheld the death penalty sentenced to Winston Clay Barrett. Barrett was convicted in the slaying of his best friend, Danny Youngblood, in August of 2002.
Youngblood allegedly urinated on Barrett’s television and attempted to defecate in the bed Barrett’s wife was sleeping in. When Barrett’s wife pushed Youngblood away, Youngblood began to verbally threaten her. Barrett heard the commotion and beat his friend with his pistol before shooting Youngblood.
Barrett’s lawyers had appealed the death penalty ruling, citing their belief that defendants in cases similar to Barrett’s had a lesser sentence. In an attempt to not use the death penalty in a disproportionate way, Georgia compares facts of trials similar and looks to see if the death row inmate is getting an unfair treatment. Barrett’s lawyers cited 15 different sentences in nine years in Georgia for similar crimes, all of which carried a lesser sentence. However, the Supreme Court Justices were able to cite many sources from the same amount of time and had similar crimes and circumstances to Barrett’s, and had also been sentenced to Capital Punishment. The Supreme Court has not granted an appeal request such as this in over 30 years.