Life in Prison or Execution?

What would you vote in you were on the jury.

  • Life witout parole

    Votes: 44 19.0%
  • kill him

    Votes: 188 81.0%

  • Total voters
    232
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CAJUNLAWYER

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No act occurs in a vacuum. I deal with underlying pathology like this every day. Here's your chance members-life or death and nobody will ever know how you vote.


BENTONVILLE -- A convicted murderer's childhood was filled with reports about him being physically and sexually abused and at times having to beg for food or eat from the garbage.
Jana Davis, former social worker for the Kern County (Calif.) Department of Human Services, described parts of Zachary Holly's childhood Friday during the sentencing phase of his trial.
Holly, 30, of Bentonville was found guilty of capital murder, kidnapping, rape and residential burglary Wednesday. Jersey Bridgeman, 6, was found dead Nov. 20, 2012, in an abandoned house next to Holly's home on Southeast A Street. She had been strangled with her pajama pants.
Prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty.
Holly's defense called Davis as a witness to try to persuade the jury to sentence Holly to life imprisonment without parole.
Holly was 2 years old when DHS had its first contact with his family, said Davis, who testified she did not remember Holly.
The referral concerned neglect and conditions in Holly's home and that he was eating out of the garbage because his mother would not feed him. The referral also claimed there was drug use in the home.
The case was closed because it was determined there was no risk to Holly, Davis said.
DHS received a second referral months later in 1987. The complaint reported that Holly's mother borrowed food to feed her boyfriend while Holly had to beg for food.
"The mother is working to take care of her boyfriend rather than feed her child," Davis said when questioned by Kent McLemore, one of Holly's attorneys.
That case also was closed, Davis said.
The next referral, in 1993, concerned Holly, who was 8, being sexually abused by a 13-year-old boy.
Other referrals concerned Holly being left alone and his mother's addiction to methamphetamine. DHS received a report that Joseph Blackmon, Holly's stepfather, had physically abused Holly. The case was referred to police, and Blackmon was arrested.
DHS received four referrals from May 19, 1994, to June 9, 1994, Davis said. The referrals were for allegations that Holly was physically abused by his mother and stepfather. One complaint concerned Holly not attending school and spending his third year in the first grade. The reports also described Holly being forced to eat food off the floor.
Holly was taken into protective custody after one of the referrals, but he was released to his mother, Davis said.
Two referrals in 1996 concerned Holly's mother leaving him for weeks at a time. Her whereabouts were unknown. Holly became ill during one of her disappearances, and the friend she left the boy with could not get medical assistance for him, Davis said.
"How does the state of California not take this kid from his mother?" McLemore asked.
Davis told McLemore that the system was broken, and "Holly and his mother fell through the cracks."
She said DHS, the schools and law enforcement officials missed the signs with Holly's family. Holly's mother moved several times, and that was a factor in how the case was handled, Davis said.
Davis spent most of Friday on the witness stand except when Kenneth Keeton, Holly's older brother, was questioned by Stuart Cearley, chief deputy prosecutor. Keeton said Holly confessed to killing Jersey during jail visits with him.
Holly is being held without bond in the Benton County jail.
The trial will resume Tuesday morning.
Metro on 05/23/2015
Print Headline: Childhood said filled with abuse
 
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It's one of those cases where there is no clear cut answer. If the abuse stories are true the mother should be given life without parole but unfortunately the justice system doesn't work that way.
 
I must say this business of social services doing less than nothing (trying to , "repair the relationship") is all too common. I'm amazed that children in cases I reported for decades grew up and did not murder, rape, rob, etc. How anyone found the strength to go on with life after those cases is beyond me.
I voted life.
 
Tough case and sorry that Holly fell through the cracks of the DHS system and he himself was a child being abused! But he took a young innocent child's life!
Sorry folks when someone does this sort of thing to a child there is only one way for me to vote if I was on that jury! ;)
 
Yes his life was terrible,his mother deserved prison time.BUT do not forget his young innocent victim.She was in all probability not his only victim.
Society needs protection from monsters.Life in prison with good food,tv heat and ac.Is much more than that poor little girl will ever have.
We need to quit worrying about the criminal s and think of the victims
 
The victim infant child had a rough (short) life too.


"Life was not easy for Jersey when she was living with her father and stepmother who had kept her chained to a dresser in their home at night. David and Jana Bridgeman told police that they had used a belt around Jersey's ankle and chained her to the dresser because she "got into things in the house".

David and Jana both plead guilty to charges of false imprisonment, permitting abuse of a minor and endangering the welfare of a child, with David being sentenced to 18 years in prison and Jana being sentenced to 12 years and three years of probation. Jersey would be taken away from those monsters and sent to live with her mother, DesaRae Bridgeman where she finally had a good life.

About one year later, DesaRae went to work on the 19th of November and she left her children with her good friends, Zach and Amanda Holly. When her shift was over at 11:00 p.m., she went over to pick up her children. DesaRae carried her youngest daughter home and Zach called Jersey. When DesaRae woke up the next morning, she checked on her children and found Jersey was missing. Police wasted no time and when an officer noticed an open door to an abandoned home, on the same street where Jersey lived, Jersey was found, she was inside a closet and she was dead.
"



There is no such thing as "life without parole." On a whim from an elected official, he's out. On a court ruling, he's out. And on and on.

Even while he's in, he is a threat to staff and other inmates.

The ultimate crime merits the ultimate punishment.
 
Lets see.... I had a crappy childhood, so I will make someone else's worse, much worse.

Sorry he fell thru the cracks as a kid, and had such a crappy childhood. But, unfortunately, lots of kids have crappy childhoods, and they don't become killers.

Personally, I can go either way with the death penalty in general, as there are two types of guilty - the kind like Jack Ruby shooting Oswald on national TV, no doubt about it guilty, and the kind involving an "eye witness, questionable forensics, lots of circumstantial evidence, stuff like that. You know, the kind where you hear almost every day were some poor *** gets released from prison after serving 20 years for something he didn't do...

I personally have zero tolerance for someone who kills in a premeditated fashion.

I have a little more tolerance for someone who has never been in trouble, who say kills a guy in a questionable self defense situation, or throws a punch in a fight that results in death.

Larry
 
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Fact is, if he ever gets out, he's liable to kill again. The states duty is to protect the citizenry from those found guilty by a jury of their peers, I believe. The man who murdered my grandmother spent near forty years in the pen, was paroled and killed another kids grandmother within 18 months. Good news was he cut his own wrists and bled out on the floor of a cheap motel room... (but not until after he killed again).

He can get out of the joint, but he can't get out of that pine box.
 
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The system failed Holly, but that is not an excuse for what he did, so I did not vote. I believe justice will be served as long as Holly is never allowed to hurt another person again, or is able to take another breath as a free man.
Not meant to be an excuse but an explanation of what drove him to do what he did. He has been found guilty and he will either be executed of spend the rest of his life in prison. Which one bo you vote for??. Reading your post suggests you are leaning towards life in prison. It's OK to show a little mercy and I agree with your thoughts-put him where he can't hurt anybody again. Period.
 
Fact is, if he ever gets out, he's liable to kill again. The states duty is to protect the citizenry from those found guilty by a jury of their peers, I believe. The man who murdered my grandmother spent near forty years in the pen, was paroled and killed another kids grandmother within 18 months. Good news was he cut his own wrists and bled out on the floor of a cheap motel room... (but not until after he killed again).

He can get out of the joint, but he can't get out of that pine box.
That's the point-he should not have gotten out!
 
A good result from the system - CPS for instance - is the exception.

Most of the time it is a bad result.

That said, I tire of the bad childhood excuse, because it's an excuse.

Toss the trash.
 
Given the kid's horrid upbringing I would give him life without parole even though his upbringing was no excuse to treat others the same way.Sometimes prison hands out it's own justice when necessary.

I would kill the parents,certain people in Social Services and possibly his first grade teacher for keeping him there for three years.

I reserve the right to edit my post if and when my medication ever kicks in. :confused:
 
A lot of people have had lives as bad or worse than this person. And most never did anything like this person did. Fry him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
society keeps folks like manson, dahmer, gacy, speck, in prison....feed, clothed, warm..........for what purpose.............


sanctity of life is overrated................
 
I'm glad I'm not sitting on the jury on this one. No easy choice here. However, it would be a lot easier if I could speak to him in person or at least sit in the same room. Difficult to judge what I think his penchant for further crime is by just reading his history.

I really do feel sorry for him, but his past doesn't excuse his actions.

This one hits very close to home. I live in Kern county and have since 1990. So, this guy grew up not far from me. I can tell you, he's not the only one to have such a horrible life. It sucks, but people can be selfish an cruel to an extreme.


I do not agree with this:
This Davis person, or whoever is in charge of this state agency-Death
This puts the blame on the state. We all talk about how we want less government interference in our lives, but we want to blame the government for this kid's childhood. No, the blame lies solely with his family or lack thereof.

I will vote anon. I must put a little more thought into this.
 
Can't say there's a good answer here; wouldn't lose sleep if he gets the death penalty, but this is (more or less) still a nation of laws. As the citizens of Bentonville choose, so be it. That's their duty now, and I don't envy them.
 
There have been many many people with the same background that have gone on to lead quite successful lives. They didn't use their misfortune as an excuse to hurt others. They used their hardships as a reason to work harder.

There is never an excuse to hurt another person. Period.

Fry him!
 
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