Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Save your sympathy for someone who deserves it


(The following is my column for this week's Newton County News.)

Less than two weeks from today, if all goes according to plan, Dennis Skillicorn will breathe his last.

Skillicorn, a long-time resident of Missouri’s Death Row will eat his last mail, say his final goodbyes, make his peace with God, since his supporters note the good works he does through prison ministries, then he will be strapped down, injected with three chemicals, and become the first Missourian to receive the death penalty since 2005.

You may not have heard of Dennis Skillicorn, but odds are his name will become a fixture in the news as the date of his execution draws near. This is another one of those cases where the drumbeat is beginning to keep someone from receiving capital punishment.

We’ve heard the stories before. He wasn’t responsible for the murder. He has turned his life around since he went into prison. He has found God.

Associated Press reported Tuesday that religious leaders across the state were asking for clemency for Skillicorn. Consider this passage from the AP article:

“In their letter to (Gov. Matt) Blunt, the religious leaders said Skillicorn ‘has turned his life around, becoming a model of rehabilitation and service to others.’
“The letter is signed by Missouri church leaders from several different denominations, including Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, Baptist and Church of the Brethren. The St. Louis Religious Society of Friends, Dominican Sisters of Sparkhill, N.Y., and the Institute for Peace and Justice also joined the request.

“According to the letter, Skillicorn has compiled a book of firsthand accounts from death row inmates that is distributed to juvenile centers aimed at helping young offenders develop skills and not commit crimes. He also is the editor of a newsletter for death row inmates that focuses on healing between the families of crime victims and prison inmates.”

Perhaps my memory is faulty- Didn’t Dennis Skillicorn kill somebody?

Skillicorn says he didn’t and, in fact, he was not the one who pulled the trigger. According to opinions handed down by the Missouri Supreme Court and the Western District Court of Appeals, Skillicorn and two other men, after their car broke down, broke into a home, stole guns and cash. They returned to their car, managed to get it going again, but before long it stalled again, leaving them stranded.

A Good Samaritan, Richard Drummond, a technical support worker for AT&T, happened upon them and offered them a lift. Skillicorn and his partner in crime, Allen Nicklasson, pulled their weapons, and as Drummond drove them to where they wanted to go, Skillicorn, Nicklasson, and the third partner, Tim DeGraffenreid, discussed what they were going to do with Drummond.

According to the description of the crime from Learfield’s capital punishment webpage, “They directed Drummond to exit I-70 at the Highway T exit. They proceeded four miles on to County Road 202 to a secluded area where they ordered Drummond to stop his vehicle. As Nicklasson prepared to take Drummond through a field toward a wooded area, Skillicorn demanded Drummond’s wallet. Knowing Nicklasson had no rope or other means by which to restrain Drummond and that Nicklasson carried a loaded .22 caliber pistol, Skillicorn watched as Nicklasson lead Drummond toward a wooded area. There, Nicklasson shot Drummond twice in the head. Skillicorn acknowledged hearing two shots from the woods and that Nicklasson returned having "already done what he had to do." Drummond’s remains were found eight days later.

I have examined several websites that are calling on Matt Blunt or the courts to spare Dennis Skillicorn. These sites all note that Nicklasson is the one who killed Drummond, not Skillicorn.

What they have not noted is what happened after Drummond’s death- Skillicorn and Nicklasson traveled west to Arizona and murdered a couple who tried to help them after their car broke down yet again. Skillicorn pleaded guilty to those two murders after the death penalty was taken off the table. Skillicorn also mentioned a murder that had taken place at a Mexican diner, though no arrests were ever made in connection with that killing.

So please spare me the cries for sympathy for a man who was involved in the coldblooded murder of three innocent people. If you want to make an argument against the death penalty itself, that is a different matter, but if we are going to have capital punishment in America, then Dennis Skillicorn is just the man who should be introduced to the needle.

One more thing: The murders in Missouri and Arizona were not the only encounters Dennis Skillicorn, that newly-found paragon of virtue, had with the law. On Sept. 19, 1980, he was convicted of second-degree murder.

Save your sympathy for someone who deserves it.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

It only encourages me to walk the straight and narrow if they make you eat your mail in prison. Randy, you are a grammar God to me. Please fix that!

Anonymous said...

Holy Cow...I can't believe the day came that Randy Turner and I actually agree on something!

Anonymous said...

I pray that Gov. Blunt will do the right thing here with Mr. Skillicorn. He has turned his life around. It seems to me that the state of Missouri would be better served by saving his life. He seems to be able to reach others on death row in a way that no other can. He compiled a book of writings from other death row inmates and it gets distributed to juvenile centers to help young offenders to do the right thing. He is the editor of the Compassion newsletter that is published and sent free to all death row inmates across the country. They also award scholarships to victim’s family members. In order for justice to truly be served, Dennis Skillicorn should NOT be put to death. Please!

Anonymous said...

anonymous at 3:47 PM, last time I checked, I was not "stupid or naive" (fixed your spelling) and I do wake up each and every morning and "smell the coffee". I know Mr. Skillicorn and I guess that you do not; otherwise you would know more than what you are letting on in your post. He is not a player or a desperate man (as you said). You must not know first hand, of how he does help the juveniles, edits the Compassion magazine which has raised over $34,000 for scholarships given to family members of murdered victims, chairman of the hospice program, founded the 4-H LIFE program at PCC, which has been instituted at two other prisons in Missouri. This is not all that he has done. Maybe you need to do a little more homework yourself.

Anonymous said...

I agree with anonymous 3:47pm. This man will do anything to catch the eye of someone for sympathy. He is only showing his good side right now because he does not want to be put to death. The death penalty should be legalized in every state, that is Justice, the punishment fits the crime. I do not agree with anonymous 2:31pm, how would you like it if this was your father/dad etc that was shot, not to mention the fact that this is not the first time he has commited a crime. It is people like you that keep our justice system from protecting our innocent citizens!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

It really is too bad that it took the deaths of several innocent people and twelve years for Skillicorn to become a productive murderer. He has found God? I believe God has always been there, Skillicorn just chose to ignore God and our society as a whole to carry our his diabolical ideas. If he is sincere, God will forgive him, but that doesn't mean society or the families of the murdered, tortured victims should forgive him.

jerilynn said...

Skillicorn didn't turn his life around until he got the death sentence, and it wasn't even then. It was after he married someone that knew how to speak in half truths, someone well versed in manipulation. Truth be told, Skillicorn was involved in more than one murder. It was at least 5. I read that he wants to live. I bet Mr. Drummond, Mr and Mrs. Babcock, Mr. Wendall Howell, and the lady in Mexico wanted to live, too. They had no say in the matter. Skillicorn decided their fate for them. There is no way Skillicorn's wife can deny that. It's because of people like Skillicorn that we have to lock our doors. It is because of the Skillicorns people are afraid to help others. My sympathy goes to the Drummonds, the Babcocks, and all of Skillicorn's other victims.

jerilynn said...

One other thing. It was said that Skillicorn met his wife while she was a reporter for the KC Star. Who has been writing for the Compassion magazine? Who has been doing all the "good" things? And when did she begin doing all of these wonderful deeds?