A case for the death penalty...if ever there was one.

Timmonsville, SC  (aka: the middle of freakin' nowhere)

In spring of 2009, these worthless dregs of our society,

Randy Antonio Baker, 17

Jeremy Terrell Durant, 18

thought to play a little truth or dare, following through with a random act of violence.

47 year old Van Bass was brutally beaten to death by these 2 pieces of shit and all because Baker dared Durant to do it.  Durant savagely beat Bass with a pair of brass knuckles and when that didn't do the trick, Durant obtained a metal pole and beat him until he died from the blunt force trauma.  After he was dead, Bass was positioned in the middle of an intersection, initially leading investigators  to believe he was the victim of a traffic accident or hit and run.  It wasn't until the autopsy, that it was discovered the extent of Bass' injuries were indicative of a cruel and savage beating.  He was virtually unrecognizable when these 2 ended their massacre of an innocent man who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Some time later, these two sorry asses were arrested for Murder. They went on trial separately.
Yesterday, Durant plead guilty to murder and the victim's family had asked the judge for a life sentence.  Durant apologized to the victim's family, asking for forgiveness.  The judge gave Durant 43 years.
While no information is available on why Durant plead guilty to murder before trial, I'm betting he did that to avoid the death penalty. Yep, SC is a death penalty state and it seemed to me that this crime was so heinous as to fit the requirements. With the family of the victim requesting a life sentence, more than likely a plea deal was made.  Too bad, if ever 2 people deserved the needle, these 2 are prime examples.

Baker has yet to go on trial for participating in this barbaric act, but he might want to go the same way as his buddy if he wants to avoid the death penalty.  My bet is that he's going to try and take his chances with the jury since his accomplice did most of the physical violence.  Perhaps he will find some sympathetic, liberal moron jurors who will listen intently to his pathetic story about how he was fatherless, trying to turn his life around, sang in the church choir, he struggled with school and his peers, blah, blah.  Call me jaded but I just cannot buy into that sorry ass bullshit anymore.