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16 pages, 2sections| Volume 130, Number 93 | Hopkinsville, Ky. Est. 1869
Civitan club looking to the future
BYTONYA
NEW ERA STf
The community’s special needs students
once spent their days studying at the red
brick building that sits not far from Jennie
Stuart Medical Center, just adjacent to the
Christian County Health Department off
Canton Street.
Known as the Phelps Avenue School for
Exceptional Children, the building was
their school — the first such school for men-
tally and handicapped folks in the area.
It was overseen by the Hopkinsville Civ-
itan Club and eventually bore the club’s
name, with a placard on the front identify-
ing the facility as the Civitan Educational
Complex. These days the sign reads Chal-
lenge House No. 7 alongside Civitan, and
the club that started it all is celebrating 67
years in the local community.
“We are a service organization, and I
think most people consider this a service
organization,” observed Michelle Wilson,
the club’s current president. “We're build-
ing the club so we’ve gotten some really
good new members.
“T believe we'll grow our club for a num-
ber of years.”
One of the group’s recent projects, and
its largest at the moment, is its Eggstrava-
ganza Easter Egg Hunt, set this year for 11
a.m. April 8 on the grounds of the Civitan
Educational Complex/Challenge House
No. 7 at 1605 Phelps Ave.
Sponsored by the club, the event is now
in its third year for ages 2 to 12.
Wilson said current members of the Civ-
itan Club host about 20 projects through-
out the year, among them, not only the
Easter egg hunt, but also its summer pic-
nic for the community’s mentally- and
physically-challenged adults, a fall project
SEE CIVITAN, PAGE A2
Christian County.
Girls went racing for fun, came back champions
Ladies come out on top
at Mini-Soapbox Derby
BY MEREDITH WISE
After the Mini-Soapbox Derby competi-
tors finished their races Saturday inside the
Boys and Girls Club of Hopkinsville-Chris-
tian County, the dust settled to show the
girls claimed most of the titles.
That didn’t surprise organizer Chuck
Cummins at all. The girls seem to take most
of the titles at the full-size Soapbox Derby.
Twenty-one drivers were signed up to race
their miniature versions of the cars Satur-
day. Some didn’t show, but there were still
enough racers on hand to make things in-
teresting.
Kaliyah Leavell, 6, was told that morning
by her dad, Joe, that she was going to the
Mini-Soapbox Derby. She said it was a big
surprise. Kaliyah borrowed a car that some-
one else decorated and was only expecting
to have fun.
She said she didn’t think she would win.
Kaliyah came away with first place in the
stock division, which she said was awesome.
She had fun watching her borrowed car
race down the tracks. Kaliyah added the se-
cret to success was to take your time.
This won't be her last time racing. She ad-
vised that her fans will be seeing her again
PHOTOS BY MEREDITH WILLSE | KENTUCKY NEW ERA
Jarae Leavell (right) watches the practice track as he and his fellow drivers race their small soapbox derby cars for fun Saturday in the Boys and Girls Club of Hopkinsville-
Is the death
penalty
a failing
system?
Pryor says it’s
reserved for the
‘worst of the worst’
BY MELISSA PETTITT
NEW ERA STAFF WRITER
If you were about to board a
plane and knew there was more
than a 60 percent chance of the
plane having to turn back due to
mechanical problems, would you
board the flight?
That’s the problem Ernie Lewis,
executive director for the National
Association for Public Defense and
former Kentucky public advocate,
attributes to the death penalty in
the state. It’s an analogy he credits
to Ed Monahan, current Kentucky
public advocate.
“We have over 60 percent of the
cases being reversed and that
means we’re not getting it right,”
Lewis said. “It’s a pretty stark way
to describe our death penalty.”
Those aren’t national numbers
— though it does hold true na-
The different classes were divided by age,
as it is with the regular soapbox races. Su-
perstock is for those from ages 9 to 18. Stock
drivers are ages 7 to 13 and Masters are 10 -
to 20-year-olds.
Kaliyah wasn’t the only one having a good
time. Justyss White, 8, and her 9-year-old
cousin, Raven Douglas, were also there for
fun.
Justyss’ car was decorated in all of her fa-
vorite colors, which was mostly purple. She
thinks she landed first place in Superstock,
along with best design in Superstock, be-
cause “the purple helped” and she’s “awe-
some.”
Either way, Justyss was excited to claim
first place and to beat the three boys who
drove.
She also plans to race the big cars in June.
Kenady Quarles, 9, came in second place
to Justyss. She wasn’t as happy at first.
“She was mad at me first,” Justyss said.
Kenady added that she eventually was
happy with second place. She said her fa-
vorite part was coloring the car, which was
decorated with some of her favorite
phrases, such as “Stay fly.”
For those interested in racing in the 12th
annual Hopkinsville Kiwanis Soapbox
Derby, which will be June 9 and 10, there
will be a driver training for novice drivers
only from 3 to 6 p.m. April 8 at First Chris-
tian Church. Interested drivers will be able
to see what it is like to get in a soapbox car
and drive.
Kaliyah Leavell runs back to her dad, Joe, after she
was awarded first place in Stock. Mini-Soapbox Derby
tionwide — those are numbers
from right here in Kentucky.
Tn 2003, the issue of fairness and
accuracy caused former Illinois
Gov. George Ryan to commute the
death sentences of 167 people after
courts ruled 13 people on death
row had been wrongly convicted
and the state had executed 12 peo-
ple during the same period.
“They were getting it right
about half the time,” Lewis said.
According to a January 2003 New
York Times article, Ryan told grad-
uating students from Northwestern
University College of Law, “I must
act,” before granting the clemency.
Of those with their sentences com-
muted, most received a modified
sentence of life without parole.
The American Bar Association
completed an evaluation of the
fairness and accuracy of the
death penalty in Kentucky and
published the findings in Decem-
ber 2011. According to Lewis, Ken-
tucky has sentenced less than 90
people to death, yet only 33 re-
main on death row because courts
keep reversing the decisions.
Those reversals aren’t necessarily
because a defendant was innocent
— though they are in some cases
soon. — but usually because of
“This time I’m going to make my own REACH MEREDITH WILLSE at 270-887
car,” she said. or mlle@kentuckynewera com, SEE PENALTY, PAGE AS
Hentuchy New Era.
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wkentudynewera.com| NEWS/FROM THE FRONT | icnday-tuestay, march 27-28, 2017
Now at 106, Emma Bacon feels just like she did at 103
BY MEREDITH WILLSE
NEW ERA STAFF WRITER
On the day before her
106th birthday, Emma Bacon
said she felt like she did at
103.
Bacon is a former elemen-
tary school teacher who
taught at schools such as
Booker T. Washington, a
school in Crofton and more.
When asked what she saw
change the most, she said,
“Lord knows I don’t know
what I saw. So many
changes.”
But, she knows it was a lot.
Bacon also said she would-
n't change anything she did
in her life.
“T’m happy with what I’ve
done,” she said, adding that
her secret to living so long
might be because she never
married.
On Saturday, her friends,
family and fellow church
members of Virginia Street
Baptist Church gathered to
celebrate a day before
Bacon’s big day.
They sang her happy
birthday, and memories
about Bacon were shared by
her pastor, the Rev. Dr. M O.
Fort, who said Bacon has a
unique opportunity.
“She’s the only one who
can say she has _ lived
through 16 presidents,” he
said, adding that it goes back
all the way to William Taft.
Fort added that she has
touched their lives in so
many ways.
(MEREDITH WILLSE | KENTUCKY NEW ERA
Tkeya Link (center) holds the camera as she and Tazia Burns poses with their great-grandmother’s cousin, Em-
ma Bacon, for her 106th birthday.
Francene Gilmer, who is
the daughter of Bacon’s
cousin, said something that
many who know Bacon say,
“Man, Ms. Bacon was hard.”
“Ms. Bacon is still hard.
PENALTY
FROM PAGE Al
problems with trials and the
quality of the defense.
If someone is going to be
sentenced to death, getting a
fair trial with good repre-
sentation is vital.
History of death penalty
Kentucky has only exe-
cuted three people since the
U.S. reinstated capital pun-
ishment in 1976; of those
three cases, two of them
dropped their appeals and
agreed to be put to death.
Kentucky saw its last execu-
tion in November 2008 when
Marco Allen Chapman was
executed for the murders of.
two children and the rape of
their mother in Gallatin
County.
Since that time, there has
been a shift in public opinion
toward the death penalty, es-
pecially when life without
the possibility of parole is an
option, according to the Rev.
Patrick Delahanty, chair and
volunteer director of the
Kentucky Coalition to Abol-
ish the Death Penalty.
“Progress has been made
and is happening across the
country. There is a trend
away from the use of the
death penalty or even seek-
ing it, even in states like
Texas,” Delahanty said.
He cited a 2016 University
of Kentucky study that con-
cluded 64 percent of Ken-
tuckians support replacing
the death penalty with life
without parole. When told of
the high cost of the death
penalty, versus the cost of
life without parole, the num-
ber jumps to 68 percent that
support replacing the death
penalty with life without pa-
role. In addition, over 71 per-
cent agree the capital
punishment system puts in-
nocent people at risk of exe-
cution.
In the study, participants
interviewed between March
4 and April 30, 2016, were
given the options of strongly
support, somewhat support,
somewhat oppose and
strongly oppose. The num-
bers cited reflected those
who either strongly sup-
ported or somewhat sup-
ported replacing the death
penalty.
Who can be put to death?
In Kentucky, someone can
only be convicted of a capital
offense if they are convicted
of murder or kidnapping
with aggravated circum-
stances. In the case of kid-
napping, to be a capital
offense, it must lead to the
death of the person, such as
serious injuries that later re-
sult in death.
Aggravated circumstances
include:
w If the offender has been
convicted of a capital offense
in the past or a substantial
history of serious assaultive
criminal convictions
w If the offender commit-
ted the murder or kidnap-
ping in the commission of a
first-degree arson, robbery,
burglary, rape or sodomy
@ More than one person’s
life was at risk of death; for
example, use of a weapon of
mass destruction
= Murder for hire
(whether the offender paid
for a murder or was paid for
amurder)
m If there was an emer-
gency protective order or a
similar ruling in place
If multiple people were
killed
was a
prisoner and the victim was
a prison employee engaged
at the time of the act in the
performance of his duties
aif the act of killing was
intentional and the victim
was a state or local public of-
ficial or police officer, sheriff
or deputy sheriff engaged at
the time of the act in the law-
ful performance of his du-
ties
If a person is convicted of
a capital offense, it doesn’t
necessarily mean they will
receive a death sentence.
Life without benefit of pro-
bation or parole, life without
benefit of probation or pa-
role until they have served a
minimum of 25 years or life
of not less than 20 years nor
more than 50 years are all op-
tions under Kentucky law.
Life without benefit of pa-
role was passed in the Gen-
eral Assembly in 1998.
‘Worst of the worst’
Lynn Pryor, common-
wealth’s attorney for Chris-
tian County, said it makes
sense to lift the current
moratorium on death sen-
tences in Kentucky, but
stressed death isn’t an ap-
propriate sentence for every-
one, just the “worst of the
worst.”
“T think the death penalty
is one of those punishments
that is satisfied to deal with
the worst of the worst cases
in which homicides have
been committed,” Pryor
said. “I think there is a cer-
tain satisfaction knowing
that person can never be re-
leased to harm someone
else.”
She also added there could
be some sex offenses that
should potentially be consid-
ered for eligibility for the
death penalty.
“(The death penalty) cer-
tainly has not been imple-
mented very widely
throughout Kentucky,” she
said. “It’s not something
that’s been imposed by a jury
very often, but we still be-
lieve it is an effective tool
and an effective punishment
in certain cases.”
Lewis rejected the assess-
ment the death penalty is
saved for the “worst of the
worst,” and said oftentimes,
it large depends on geogra-
phy.
“Tt can hardly be said that
we are picking out the worst
of the worst,” he said. “In-
stead it’s more random.”
Lewis asserted death sen-
tences have more to do with
geography and whether a
particular prosecutor
chooses to seek the death
penalty and whether the
county supports it.
“What ends up happening
is ... it's reserved for the
poor, for the mentally ill and
minority groups,” he said.
Delahanty agreed with
Lewis’ assessment, saying
that in Kentucky's 120 coun-
ties, only about 16 or 17 coun-
ties actually seek the death
penalty. Often it is larger
counties like Fayette, Jeffer-
son and even Christian
counties — ones that can af-
ford the cost and the re-
sources needed to try a death
penalty case.
When to seek
the death penalty
Pryor said her office al-
ways seeks to determine
whether the death penalty is
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appropriate before filing a
notice of a capital offense ag-
gravator.
One of the most important
factors? Whether the vic-
tim’s family is on board. If
they aren’t OK with it, Pryor
won't seek a death sentence.
For some families, there is
an uncertainty involved
with seeking a death sen-
tence, Pryor said. For some,
a life without benefit of pa-
role sentence removes the
uncertainty from the ap-
peals process and brings the
process to an end if a plea
agreement is reached.
Pryor said for victim’s
families, until they know it’s
over, it can loom over them.
Arecent example is that of
Ryan Champion who
pleaded guilty in Trigg
County to the murder of his
parents, sister and another
man. Prosecutors were seek-
ing a death sentence, but
after an agreement with the
family and with the defense,
they said they were OK with
the finality that a life-with-
out-parole sentence could
bring.
Many people also don’t
want to be responsible for
someone else losing their
life, Pryor said.
Pryor hasn't had a convic-
tion where someone has
been sentenced to death but
has seen defendants sen-
tenced to life without parole.
“Most of the trials that we
deal with are decent people
who made bad decisions,”
Pryor said. “What we look at
in those cases in particular
are people who aren’t those
decent people who made bad
decisions, but are those who
are inherently evil people or
people that have a propen-
sity to hurt others or to kill
others. Those are certainly
the people that we don’t
want out on our streets.
Ever.”
REACH MELISSA PETTITT at 270-887-3226
ormpettitt@kentuckynewera com.
Editors Note:The next pats ofthis three-part se-
Fes wll discuss the nancial and human cost of
the death penalty and progress made toward
abolishment and form in the General Assembly.
Ms. Bacon will correct you
today just as she did every
other day,” Gilmer contin-
ued, adding she should
know that everybody loves
her, still cares for her and
thanks her for the influence
she had on them.
Gwenda Motley had
Bacon as her teacher in the
fifth grade. Motley remem-
bered Bacon telling her and
her classmates how some-
day their children would be
reading time, rather than
telling time.
Motley said they were con-
fused at the time, but years
later, one of her children at
2 years old read her the time
off of a microwave and it
suddenly clicked.
“T thought, ‘Oh my god,
Miss Bacon told me that!’
That my children would be
reading time instead of
telling time. That’s just how
progressive of a teacher she
was,” Motley said.
She then thanked Bacon
ATTENTION ALL BARGAIN HUNT!
for being an inspirational
teacher.
Diane Croney-Turner
added that Bacon was a
choir instructor who would
keep correcting the group
until they got it right and
sang loud enough.
She told Bacon she was a
great inspiration.
Croney-Turner’s husband,
Charles, commented on how
Bacon has always been a
teacher, and she still does
that today. She even cor-
rected her cousins, Ester
Witlock and Vera Gilmer
Johnson.
Bacon announced she was
surprised to see them all,
but it didn’t help that she
didn’t know they were
coming.
She later said she was
happy to see everyone there,
including the people she did-
n’t know.
REACH MEREDITH WILLSE at 2/0-887-
3262 or mwillse@kentuckynewera.com.
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