Andrew Grant DeYoung (May 12, 1974 – July 21, 2011) was an American who was convicted of and executed for the 1993 murder of his parents and sister in the state of Georgia. The state conducted the execution in H-5 of the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison (GDCP) in Jackson, Georgia.[1] DeYoung was 19 when he committed the murders and 37 when he died.
Andrew Grant DeYoung | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 12, 1974 |
| Died | July 21, 2011 (aged 37) |
| Cause of death | Execution by lethal injection |
| Known for | His execution was caught on videotape |
| Criminal status | Executed |
| Conviction(s) | Murder (3 counts) |
| Criminal penalty | Death |
| Details | |
| Victims | Gary DeYoung, Kathryn DeYoung, (his parents) Sarah DeYoung, 14 |
| Date | June 14, 1993 |
| Injured | Nathan DeYoung, 16 |
He was notable for having his execution videotaped. His lawyers had gained judicial permission for this to gain evidence as to "whether lethal injection caused unnecessary suffering."[2]
Murders and trial
editOn June 14, 1993, the 19-year-old DeYoung repeatedly stabbed his mother, Kathryn, while she was sleeping. Awakened by her screams, his father Gary DeYoung struggled with Andrew before also being killed. Andrew DeYoung fatally stabbed his 14-year-old sister Sarah in the hallway outside their parents' bedroom. He had assigned an accomplice, David Michael Hagerty, to kill his 16-year-old brother Nathan, but the boy escaped through a bedroom window and ran to a neighbor's house for help.[3]
On October 13, 1995, Andrew DeYoung was convicted by a jury of the first-degree murders of his parents, Gary and Kathryn DeYoung, and of his sister, Sarah. According to the prosecution, DeYoung killed his family in order to collect an inheritance from their estate, which he had estimated to be worth approximately US$480,000 (equivalent to $1,012,000 in 2023).[citation needed]
Videotaping of execution
editDeYoung was the first person in 19 years in the United States to have the execution videotaped and the first in which execution by lethal injection was recorded. The previous videotaped execution had been a gas chamber execution that took place in California. Other states are now considering videotaping executions.[4] There is open discussion concerning whether or not making executions public would sway people to be more for or more against the death penalty.[2]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Andrew DeYoung Execution: Georgia Inmate Dies In Video-Recorded Lethal Injection
- ^ a b ZACHARY B. SHEMTOB and DAVID LAT, Opinion: "Executions Should be Televised", New York Times, 31 July 2011; Quote: "Lawyers for the condemned inmate, Andrew Grant DeYoung, had persuaded a judge to allow the recording of his last moments as part of an effort to obtain evidence on whether lethal injection caused unnecessary suffering."
- ^ "DeYOUNG v. STATE - No. S97P0875". 1995.
- ^ "Georgia's videotaped execution sets new precedent", ABC12, 16 January 2013