Tim Hennis!

Timothy Tim Hennis Finally:The wheels of justice grind exceedingly slowly, but they eventually arrive at its destination. After 25 years, they’ve parked right on top of Timothy Bailey Hennis and he will probably find it very hard to breathe right now.

At May 9, 1985, Deputy Sheriff Cumberland County came into the house Kathryn Eastburn near Fort Bragg, North Carolina, because neighbors heard a baby crying inside, but they can get someone to come to the door. He found Eastburn and her two daughters aged 5, and 3, who was brutally murdered in his bed. She was raped, and then with a knife 35 times. Her little daughter was in her crib, but unharmed. Her husband, Harry, was a captain in the army and outside the state to prepare the deployment.

Investigators soon arrested by Sergeant Tim Hennis for the crime. When he was tried, prosecutors presented this scenario: Hennis visited the house for a few days earlier because Eastburns about to be transferred and can not take their dogs. It responded to them “freely in good hands” ad in the ad and decided to return to the house later, raped Kathryn Eastburn. He was convicted and imprisoned. Advocates argue that the horrific photographs from the crime scene were shown on the screen, directly above his head the defendant. The Court of Appeal ruled that the damages and sent the case to a retrial. Hennis was acquitted a second time.

After this, Captain Eastburn an interview with local reporter and told him that he decided to take his life. Catholic, Eastburn forgiven Hennis and said that his daughter was the other is too precious to spend his life wrapped up in anger at the murder of his wife.

After he was acquitted Hennis returned to the army and served until 2004, when he retired. But prosecutors and the Department Sheriff Cumberland County to remain interested in it. They pulled the investigators gathered evidence on the ground and sent for DNA testing. He was nailed to the wall, Tim Hennis. Now all that’s needed to get him to court and let the jury do the rest.

They could not call him back in the court of Cumberland County because of the double threat – you can not be tried twice in the same jurisdiction for the same crime. But Hennis served in the Army during the murder and still in accordance with the Code of Military Justice. Army recalled him to face a court marriage in 2006. He was convicted last week, and yesterday he was sentenced to death by lethal injection. Justice was finally done.

Permutations of this case has undergone have been riveting, they even did a made for television movie about him. : I have lived Fayetteville at the time of the killing and knew a few people associated with the prosecution and the press, which covers the court. They shared some interesting analysis of the trials and has shown some intriguing things that did not appear in court:

* They say the police have suggested that Ms. private Eastburn probably remained silent throughout the attack, not to wake the children and put their lives at risk, too. At least, save the life of her child.

* Investigators also found information that is not the first Hennis time participated in the rape. Two women were brought from other states to witness the end of the first trial. Do not have the case against Hennis strong enough to stand trial, but prosecutors believe that looking at them in court can lead to Hennis little nervous. After the women showed a courtroomm lawyers decided not to put Hennis on the stand.

* In the first trial, the case went to the jury on Friday before July 4. A judge told the jury at the weekend at the meeting. On July 4, they returned with a guilty verdict. Immediately after reading his wife Hennis’ Angel was heard said: “Well, that was over. Now we can go to the beach.” After the verdict was read out yesterday, she reported that she wept. Maybe she was planning to spend Easter weekend at the coast, but could not do it because of the trial.

* During the first and second test, DNA evidence will not be considered acceptable in North Carolina courts and prosecutors decided not to introduce it and make State v. Hennis test. There was too much on the line for this.

* During the first two trials, Hennis argued that the only time when he was in the house Eastburn, or have any contact with family was a visit which he made about the dog. Then the government presented evidence and found that the sperm found Mrs. Eastburn him. The argument in the court-martial that that Eastburn and Hennis was a novel, and sperm from meeting earlier simply not tenable.

* Hennis defense in the first two tests was paid for his father, who was a bump in IBM at the time. There have been reports of his father cashed out all his retirement so that his son might have two of the best criminal lawyers in the state, Bill Richardson and Gerald Beaver. When he was hauled before a military court he would hire a private lawyer who specializes in military justice, to protect him, but he did not have the financial resources he had at his disposal and a military lawyer to defend him. He has done a good job, but simply do not have special training, Mark Waple, Fayetteville lawyer who handled hundreds of martial courts. If Hennis had the funds Waple would defend him.

* From his original lawyers, Richardson was the youngest of two and the one who spoke at the press most often. He always maintained that Hennis is innocent. Beaver was older and more experienced. When asked after the second trial on the guilt or innocence of the defendant, he said it was his work that the State prove its case and that prosecutors did not succeed.

In 1989, Hennis managed to escape from the charge of murder against him. He probably felt pretty cocky, to have gotten away with murder. He was a good boy since then not as parking. However, in the early 90′s, when the DNA evidence ruled admissible in court, Hennis had to have started living with a fear that his case would be reopened. Even if he did not know that he can be brought to trial, there must have been some concern for him. This inconvenience was nothing compared to the agony of the family Eastburn went through. Hennis be put to death in a human. I do not think that the uncertainty Hennis should be tried after his acquittal in 1989, and then his subsequent court-martial, and as his death sentence is equal to what Kathryn Eastburn and her two daughters went on that night. This proposal is fair, but it can never be fair.

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