On Tuesday, Andrew Brannan, a 66-year-old Vietnam veteran, was the first person executed in the United States in 2015.
The execution took place at 8:33 p.m. in Jackson, Georgia, after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear Brannan's argument that he suffered from PTSD and should not be put to death, NBC News reports. In 1998, Brannan was found guilty of killing Kyle Dinkheller, a 22-year-old Laurens County sheriff's deputy. Dash-cam footage showed Brannan, who was pulled over for driving 98 mph, dancing in the street and saying "shoot me" before he pulled out a rifle and shot the officer.
Brannan's lawyers say the jury did not hear about his military service — he received a Bronze Star and two commendation medals — or the fact that he was diagnosed with PTSD in 1984 and bipolar disorder in 1994. "The death of Deputy Sheriff Kyle Dinkheller was a terrible tragedy," Brannan's attorney Joe Loveland told NBC affiliate WXIA. "Executing a 66-year-old decorated Vietnam veteran with no prior criminal record who was seriously ill at the time of the crime only compounds the tragedy."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Political cartoons for October 30Cartoons Thursday's political cartoons include missing SNAP benefits, working without pay, and Graham Platner's terrible tattoo
-
Should Labour break manifesto pledge and raise taxes?Today's Big Question There are ‘powerful’ fiscal arguments for an income tax rise but it could mean ‘game over’ for the government
-
Nigerian Modernism: an ‘entrancing, enlightening exhibition’The Week Recommends Tate Modern’s ‘revelatory’ show includes 250 works examining Nigerian art pre- and post independence
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstancesSpeed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governorSpeed Read
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditionsSpeed Read
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billionSpeed Read
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on recordSpeed Read
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homesSpeed Read
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creatureSpeed Read
