|
|
Thomas Wayne Akers pleaded guilty to capital murder and was sentenced to death for his role in the beating death of 24-year-old Wesley Brant Smith. Evidence indicated that Akers's co-defendant, Timothy Dwayne Martin, sought revenge against Smith because he believed that Smith had incriminated him in an unrelated traffic offense. After killing Smith, the two took Smith's car and fled to Canada. They were apprehended in upstate New York near the Canadian border. Akers sought the death penalty from the beginning. He refused to speak to his attorneys for two months and, while in pre-trial detention, gave detailed descriptions of the murder to fellow jail inmates. He also wrote threatening letters to the judge and Commonwealth's Attorney. It has been speculated that Akers preferred the death penalty to serving life without parole in a super maximum security prisons such as the Red Onion and Wallens Ridge facilities, both of which have been criticized as inhumane by human rights groups. Akers's attorneys were prepared to present in mitigation some 2,000
pages of affidavits and other documents to show Akers suffered a "chaotic,
insecure childhood." Akers's mother sobbed aloud when he was
sentenced to death.
|
|
|