Good morning from Terre Haute, IN, where the DOJ plans to kill another man in the federal death chamber tonight--the 7th since July. Christopher Vialva was 19 when he killed a young couple in Fort Hood, TX. His co-defendant is also on death row. He was 18. theintercept.com/2020/09/20/fed…
At 40, Vialva isn't the youngest man to face execution under Trump. Lezmond Mitchell was 38 when he died last month. Both did horrific things at 19. Advocates for both also describe how they grew up, showed remorse, contributed to the world around them. theintercept.com/2020/08/25/lez…
When the Supreme Court struck down death sentences for juveniles in 2005, it was on the basis that young people are less culpable for their crimes. Scientific research has long shown that brain development continues well into our 20s. None of us are the same people we were at 19.
This piece by @jason_chein, expert in brain & cognitive science, applies those findings to Vialva’s case. In fact, it urges the Supreme Court to revisit the “bright-line rule” setting 18 as the age where one's crimes should dictate whether you live or die. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/in…
Another thing Mitchell & Vialva have in common: Both were tried & sentenced by nearly all-white juries. Both had inept representation. At the time of his trial, Vialva’s lawyer was actively seeking a job w/the US Attorney’s office—the same office trying to send his client to die.
I’ll have more to say later. I know there is a lot happening. People are working through a lot of trauma and it feels overwhelming to add to the mix. But these executions are state violence at its most premeditated, and they are carried out in our names. theintercept.com/2020/09/20/fed…
Soon I'll be driving to the FCC Terre Haute Training Center, where media witnesses will assemble before the execution of Christopher Vialva, scheduled for 6pm ET. I'll continue this thread from this AM. In the meantime, follow media witness @georgehale.
https://twitter.com/georgehale/status/1309010207285092353
For the 7th time since July (and, really, more times than that if you followed the all-night ordeals that were the first 2 executions), media witnesses are inside the FCC Terre Haute Training Center, waiting to be taken to the federal penitentiary. 
These are the vans that will take the media witnesses to the prison, where they will go through security before being taken to the death house. The drivers wear surgical masks and gloves. One of them was loudly playing what sounded like Sean Hannity radio earlier.
Vans just left. For the first executions there were 8 media witnesses. The numbers have gone down since then. I believe there are 6 this time. One local reporter has witnessed all of them.
Here’s a short thread on an aspect of the case that I wasn’t able to get into my story about Christopher Vialva. It is bonkers. And speaks volumes about the ethics of the man who was appointed to his case, which he handled while actively seeking a job w/ the US Attorneys office.
https://twitter.com/radleybalko/status/1309193251962916870
This same lawyer, Goains, spoke to Vialva’s mother only twice. With the trial days away, his co-counsel told her in an email that Goains was close to getting a job w/the same US Attorney’s Office that was seeking death against her son—but don’t worry, it hasn’t affected his work.
This morning, Vialva’s mother, Lisa Brown, spoke at a press conference outside the Dollar General down the road. The BOP does not have a setup for anyone on the side of the condemned to speak to reporters. Family members and spiritual advisors are barred from the media center.
You can watch the full press conference here, courtesy of @DeathPenaltyAct facebook.com/18650471471107…
Many of the same activists are across from the prison now. Lisa Brown is witnessing her son's execution, along with her older sister.
https://twitter.com/DeathPenaltyAct/status/1309242783505448960
In my correspondence with Vialva, he's been extremely protective of his mother, who has avoided the press for the past 20 years. At the same time, he's expressed deep frustration that there has not been more attention on the federal executions from media--or from the Democrats.
These executions have occurred amid rising Covid cases in Indiana & Vigo County. A staffer involved in preparations back in July was revealed to have tested positive on the eve of the first execution. The ACLU sued to get info. (Disclosure: I gave a declaration for the FOIA suit)
Read @nhbaptiste on the findings. motherjones.com/crime-justice/…
At the Dollar General, Ashley Kincaid Eve speaks. She has been Vialva’s most vocal supporter these last weeks. She is also a lawyer & hoped to file a late challenge to his execution. But he asked her not to. He didn’t want to end up laying on the gurney for 4 hrs like Daniel Lee.
Rodrick Reed is also speaking. He is the brother of Rodney Reed, who has come close to execution in Texas multiple times despite significant evidence of his innocence. The Reed family is dedicated to ending the death penalty—not just for the innocent, but for everyone.
At the time of execution, activists light candles.
And as they have six times before, they take turns tolling a bell.
Just got the email from BOP. “Please report back to the Media Center at this time.” Christopher Vialva has been executed.
Statement from Todd Bagley’s mother:
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