California v. Brandon Wilson
After reading the brief highlights of the case of California v. Brandon Wilson, you may be wondering to yourself (or even aloud): "Why the hell would ANYONE defend a sadistic killer who would cut the throat of an innocent little boy?"
The reason is simple.
Number one, I do not believe in the death penalty in ANY circumstances. This case just really struck a chord with me especially.
I first learned of this trial on Dateline NBC earlier this year. I could not BELIEVE the audacity of the prosecution to claim that, because Brandon Wilson is of above-average intelligence (He scored in the 98th percentile on the SAT, and was reading Homer and Niezsche while awaiting trial), he could not be mentally ill.
FACT: Schizophrenics are usually above-average in their intelligence.
I spoke to everyone I met about what I had learned on Dateline, although I quickly forgot Brandon Wilson's name. I spent HOURS AND DAYS on the computers at the public library, until I finally found/remembered his name. I preceded to print approximately 60 odd pages of information about the trial. I was ENRAGED at the injustice.
Now, you are no doubt wondering: "What about little murdered Matthew? What about his family?"
I DO feel for the Cecchi family. I CRINGE to think of the suffering that little boy endured as his life was stolen from him.
But killing Brandon Wilson WILL NOT BRING BACK MATTHEW CECCHI, NOR WILL IT TAKE AWAY THE FEAR MATTHEW HAD AS HE DIED.
Much emphasis has been placed on the young age of the victim; Matthew Cecchi was only 9 years old, a mere baby. All the headlines said things such as "Drifter slashes throat of 9 year old," or, "Man pleads insanity in bathroom killing."
In any other frame of reference, a 20 year old would be referred to as a "young man," or even by some a "kid." Brandon Wilson was 20 when he killed Matthew Cecchi, 21 when he was sentenced to die. Witness accounts before his arrest describe him as "a teenager, 15-17 years old."
I also take exception to the CONSTANT referring to Brandon Wilson as a "drifter." My Random House Webster's School and Office Dictionary defines a drifter as: "a person who moves frequently from one place, job, etc., to another, as a hobo." A hobo is defined as "a tramp of vagrant."
You don't see many vagrants wandering around with $16,000 from an insurance settlement (due to a car accident), trying to find God through meditation and LSD. Brandon Wilson travelled, but "drifter" is not the word to describe his travelling. The word is clearly used to imply that he was some bum hitching rides (which he never did: he took Greyhound), further tarnishing him (isn't murder enough to tarnish him? Not when his sanity is at best questionable, as the media surely realized).
Brandon Wilson had thoughts in his head, thoughts that he should kill. He truly believed that those thoughts came from God. He called himself an "emmissary of God."
The following are some quotes, directly from Brandon Wilson's testimony and police interviews:
1) Police Interrogator: "What does society say about killing?"
Brandon: "It's wrong; it's VERY WRONG.... It's right, but they don't know."
2) (in describing his feelings as he was pursued on the beach after killing Matthew) Brandon: "This is it. This is cool; this is FUN! The thrill of the hunt."
3) Brandon: "The porn that it was? It was like, really OLD ones?... It was talking directly to me; THE TELEVISION TALKS DIRECTLY TO ME."
4) Brandon: "This is southern California... It's nighttime. You can go out, pick up a girl, and get a fucking disease. I mean, I'm not doin' that; I'm PURE."
5) Police Interrogator: "Did you feel evil?"
Brandon: "Well, yeah..."
Police Interrogator: "Okay..."
Brandon: (softly) "I AM evil."
6) Brandon: "Have sex, then kill, then have sex again."
Police Interrogator: "With... the dead body?"
Brandon: (laughing) "Yeah."
7) (describing his attack on Maria Rosales in L.A.) Brandon: "And her eyes get HAPPY. They get SO HAPPY!"
8) (when asked by a psychiatrist what he would do if he saw a train heading for a broken track) Brandon: "Watch."
9) (this one is an example of how the prosecuting attorney David Rubin tried to plant false impressions in the jury's mind) Rubin: (about Matthew Cecchi) "Did you see him unzip his pants?"
Brandon: "No."
Rubin: "YOU didn't unzip his pants?"
Brandon: "No."
10) (various outbursts at his arraignment, which prompted his attorney to unsuccessfully move to have his own client removed from the court room) Brandon: "I did it. I killed him. I killed the little boy."
Brandon: "I want to speak for myself!"
11) Brandon: "I wanted someone who was pure, younger and more innocent. When you offer a sacrifice, it's supposed to be a lamb that's pure."
12) Brandon: "I guess I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life... to be a better person. Trying to live without materialism. The simple life."
13) Brandon: "I could see everything was related-- everything was connected to God... It made me happy. It made me feel like everything was going to be okay."
14) Brandon: "I started to think about the relationship between God and the devil-- good and evil. I realized that there was a part of myself that was evil. God did this for a purpose."
15) Brandon: "I started to think about the bigger picture-- what was happening in the world. I believe that the world is coming to an end. I felt like I could contribute to that. I decided it was (my purpose) to kill everybody."
16) Brandon: "That's the way it's going to happen. That's the way the world is going to end-- by people killing one another. It's God's plan. It's his world that's being set in motion. It's what he wants to happen."
17) (from Brandon's testimony during the penalty phase of his trial--does this sound sane to you?) Brandon: "First of all, I'd like to say that I feel no remorse whatsoever for what I've done. I would do it again in a second if I had a chance. I've explained to you my position here....My whole purpose in life is to help destroy your society. You people are here as representatives of that society. And, as such, you should do everything in your power to rid the world of me-- execute me."
Brandon Wilson's own words speak for my firm belief that he is insane and should not be executed.
Thank you for taking the time to visit and read my page, especially if you read this far, to the end.
California has a mandatory appeal for those sentenced to death. Brandon's sentence will be appealed (whenever a lawyer actually is given the case--this could take a few YEARS), despite his wish that it not be appealed.
Please feel free to email me with your comments. I will also respond to flames with the facts which support my beliefs.
Please speak out against the death penalty! As the bumper sticker says: "Why do we kill people who kill people to show that killing people is wrong?"
BRANDON WILSON IS MENTALLY ILL. IT CANNOT BE FIXED; IT IS TOO LATE FOR HIM. HE SHOULD BE KEPT IN PRISON OR IN A PERMANENT HOSPITAL (if Reagan hasn't closed them all, which he nearly did during his tenure) FOR THE SAFETY OF SOCIETY-- BUT NOT KILLED!!!!!!
A CIVILIZED COUNTRY DOES NOT KILL ITS SICK.
Signed,
Enjoie
For More Information About Brandon Wilson, please visit the following sites (these sites are pretty one-sided, in the opposite direction of my page. But the hard facts of the case are on these pages)
Court TV's EXTENSIVE coverage of the trial (they even broadcast television coverage TWICE).
CNN (they were covering it before Brandon Wilson was even arrested).
Nonsensical conservative babble by some dolt named Roger Hedgecock
General trial/sentence coverage in a nutshell
APB News, second only to Court TV in the extensiveness of coverage
A picture of the East Block of San Quentin State Prison Condemned Inmate Housing (I don't know if this is the particular block where Brandon Wilson is awaiting death, but it gives you an idea what the prison is like).
Please sign my petition to the State of California for the lifting of Brandon's death sentence