THE JURY that decided the fate of Scott Cheever had a heavy burden. They were asked to judge not just one man, but several.
The jurors judged the meth user and meth maker who shot and killed Greenwood County Sheriff Matt Samuels on Jan. 19, 2005. They also had to judge the man who sat in the dock in the courtroom in Eureka, sober and apparently penitent.
If that weren’t enough, the jurors were also asked to judge the children — the fourth-grader who stole a pair of shoes from a classmate and told the school principal that he took the shoes because his family didn’t have any money “because they spend it all on drugs.” And the older boy, whose mother tearfully admitted on the stand that she used drugs with her son and even joined him in making meth.
Take a snapshot of any point in Scott Cheever’s life, and it would be an ugly picture, full of pain and degradation for him and for others. He was raised in chaos and his whole life has been chaotic.
Juries deciding between life and death are often thought of as deciding whether a killer deserves “a second chance.” Reading the testimony in the penalty phase of Cheever’s trial, it is difficult to believe that he ever had a first chance. From birth, he was betrayed and mistreated by those who were supposed to care for him. He was brought up not to thrive, but to self-destruct — and, perhaps, to destroy others.
Carrying the burden of Cheever’s story of pain, betrayal and waste, the jurors had to decide whether Scott Cheever should spend the rest of his life — or most of it — in prison or be executed.
If he lived, he would live in the wreckage of ruined lives — his own and others.
If he died, the whole sad story of his life would come to an earlier end.
In the end, the jury decided that what remains of Scott Cheever is beyond repair and he should die.
Was it the right decision?
God knows.
But the jurors were the ones chosen to make it.
coldhardtruth (anonymous) says...
How could those people decide what the value of ones life is? Do you think that Samuels (who died trying to help Cheever) would want him dead? I am totally against killing a human being on purpose. Yes, it is sad that Cheever killed a man just doing his job, but I believe their are better ways of punishment than killing again. How did Cheever's life continue to be a living hell, wouldn't you think someone or the State would step in and help this poor child? Cheever never had a chance growing up the way he did... And now some people believe he should die, that is very sad....
November 3, 2007 at 5:18 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Doug (anonymous) says...
I agree with you. If Cheever had acted like a human being instead of an animal then he deserves to live. If you can't live by human rules, SEE YA!!
November 3, 2007 at 7:11 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
MelissaE (anonymous) says...
greenday: How can a child know right from wrong if he's taught "wrong" all his life? How could SRS know anything was happening if all the other adults in Cheever's life ignored the obvious?
Sort of like beaten-child syndrome......a child is beaten and more often than not, beats his/her own children because s/he doesn't know better.
Same as a dog--you beat a dog, it turns mean & nasty. You treat it with respect & humanity, it's a decent animal.
BTW: I take absolutely zero offense to being a "candy ass bleeding heart" because, in the end, I think most people can be redeemed in some form or another.
Let's examine a pedophile: There have been many studies done on them that conclude that even prison doesn't stop their "longing." Pedophiles even said the same. Instead of killing them all, why not study them? Why not see if we can find a gene or a neurotransmitter in his/her brain that can be corrected? And no, I'm not saying we should release them (or other horrendous offenders) in order to be studied.
But narrowing a "reason" for why people do what they do (such as pedophilia), well, wouldn't that make society better?
Same with Cheever--I wonder if any single adult in his young life gave a crap. His teachers failed him, his parents failed him, society failed him. With all that failing, how would anyone know right from wrong?
M
November 3, 2007 at 8:56 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
SRS has the power to instantly remove children from the home. What happened here? Why didn't the teachers at Madison report anything? Why didn't that Army recruiter report to authorities that the step father was rolling a joint the night he went to see the kid about joining up?
Oh sure, there is a long list of people to blame, but ultimately, Cheever himself pulled the trigger. Now he wants to cry about it? What about his stint in prison which was well before this incident? Didn't he learn anything about right and wrong in there?
And when are we going to punish his mother and the rest of the people who endangered him growing up? I believe there is testimony to support their guilt.
November 4, 2007 at 10:58 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
CAFEmporia (anonymous) says...
Cheever did one of the worst crimes possible in our culture; he killed a law enforcement officer. We believe, and rightly so, that government has a monopoly on violence. Those who would undo that by killing an officer are opting for insurgency and social destabilization. Therefore, if the death penalty is valid, this is the time to use it.
I, for one, do not think the death penalty is valid. It is used in an unfair fashion. Ethnicity, gender, and economic circumstances play a biased role in sentencing. More, it is simply wrong. We, as a group, crawl down into the hole that the killer is in. We acknowledge that violence is good, that killing is good.
Just as bad, Cheever will not be killed for several years, maybe two or three decades. The costs of housing him and providing an extraordinary defense team of lawyers is outrageous. We could build a pretty impressive bridge or a couple large high schools for what this will cost.
That doesn't seem too bright, either.
November 4, 2007 at 1:48 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
MelissaE (anonymous) says...
CAFE, I agree with you.
I could go on and on about how he (Cheever) may or may not have known right from wrong.....I wonder how many on this particular thread actually spend (have spent) time with criminals on a regular basis? If you have, you see the repeat offenders and you realize that they truly don't get what the difference between right & wrong is. They may know that pointing a gun & pulling the trigger is wrong, but, up until that point, he most likely DID NOT know that he was brought up "wrong" or that he became a victim of his parent(s) stupidity or that society failed him by ignoring him and/or his actions.
And, I'm not at all defending this guy's heinous actions. He needs punishment/rehabilitation but he won't get much of either.....because he'll now spend 23 hours/day in a cell until KS decides it can actually execute someone--and judging from past records, the last time a death sentence was carried out was in the 60s. So, 2007 + 42 years (saying the last sentence was in 1965) = 2049.
Nice. Is there not SOMETHING this guy could be out doing while still in prison? Chain gang? Construction? Digging graves? Something.
M
November 4, 2007 at 3:43 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
CAFEmporia (anonymous) says...
M, It is entirely possible that this guy, Cheever, is beyond rehab or that his crime is so heinous that society is beyond rehab for him. What he did is seriously bad stuff. Life with no chance of parole would be fine with me. I am simply against capital punishment. I really don't want this guy on the streets again. What he did goes to the heart of a societal wrongness. If he can chain gang inside a completely secure area, ok with me, but completely secure area is important.
CAF
November 4, 2007 at 4:14 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
CAFEmporia (anonymous) says...
greenday, if your comment was directed at me, it was redundant. I have no concerns whether or not you are offended. In fact, it seems to make you happy to be offended.
This country is most certainly not falling apart because we lack people who are offensive and you are, yourself, proof positive of that. Be happy, man. Indeed, this last decade more offensive people than I thought it possible to have living in this country have exposed themselves as such. And, yes, it is entirely possible that SRS knew little about cheever or, if they did, were still unable to take action because his case had not yet reached a level at which they could legally interfere. There are people, even today, who live under the radar. And it is, for a fact, possible for people to have little comprehension of right and wrong. That is not something inherent to being a mammal.
None of that makes much difference right now. He did the bad things, got caught (finally), and is put away, to die at some far future date after we've spent a gazillion dollars and argued it to death, so to speak. I think it would be a lot better, morally, fiscally, and logically, to just put him away in a safe place and leave him there.
November 4, 2007 at 4:24 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
No, there is not something this guy can be out doing. No chain gang, no grave digging, no construction. He can just sit in a cell and stare at a wall. Period!
November 4, 2007 at 4:33 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
CAFEmporia (anonymous) says...
greenday. LOL back at ya. I do like my opinion even if it is wrong. YOu can have fun with your wrong opinion, too.
November 4, 2007 at 9:20 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
neighbor (anonymous) says...
I wonder how many on this particular thread actually spend (have spent) time with criminals on a regular basis?
10 years for me. They all know right from wrong, and like Greenday said, they don't care. They have lived their entire life breaking rules, avoiding responsibility, cheating the system and their fellow man. 99.9% of the people I dealt with were there because they were creatures of habit. The 1% were the innocent or wrongfully accused or the ones that had no previous history. In Jail, they lied and cheated each other, they lied to their lawyers, their families, tried to con the folks that were their tickets to freedom. They would even lie and con the Ministers and church people that came to visit them and give them personal supplies.
Cheever knew what he was doing. His mother and his upbringing have nothing to do with the actual crime.
November 4, 2007 at 11:03 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
yellow82 (anonymous) says...
I think people need to look at it from the view that the Samuels family lost a son, husband, dad, uncle, brother, friend, ect. If someone were to take the life of one of my family members I don't think I could ever find it in my heart to forgive them. Nor would I want them to keep on living.
Yes, he will have time to sit in prison for what he has done, but will he really think about? Killing him wouldn't give him a chance to sit in his cell and have his actions weigh down on his mind. But why should he live and eat for free when someone else was trying to provide life's opportunities to their family like an honest person.
I say the sooner the needle is in his arm the better. Screw that nonsense that he didn't know any better. Cheever's sister grew up with the same family and she isn't going around shooting people or shooting up, she's is bettering herself by furthering her education. Kudos to her. Scott had chances to get out, he had teachers on his side, and he still chose that life. And becaues he chose that life, a jury got to choose how he would live out the rest of his life.
November 5, 2007 at 10:36 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
hottopics (anonymous) says...
SRS is a disgrace, has been and always will be. They hit and miss on these kids. Taking kids from parents who are good parents and leaving the others to the drug addicts and repeat offenders. Will they ever get it right????
November 5, 2007 at 1 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Weltha (anonymous) says...
yellow82 has it. He knew what he was doing. He just didn't care.
November 5, 2007 at 2:57 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
LilJHawkFan (anonymous) says...
What do you think the family of the Sheriff wanted? Does it really matter what any of us on here think?
November 5, 2007 at 3:03 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
LilJHawkFan (anonymous) says...
And by the way, SRS does not ALWAYS take kids away from parents, there is always a rehabilitative and family education plan put in place FIRST! Always remember, that the things you hear about SRS are ONE SIDED. SRS does not tell their side of the story because the information that they have is CONFIDENTIAL for the safety of the family. SRS does many wonderful things.
November 5, 2007 at 3:05 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Weltha (anonymous) says...
I agree with you lilj for the most part. SRS isn't perfect though after all it is human run. I know a few that work there and they are try their hardest to do the job they are there to do. I commend them. I wouldn't want to have to make some of the desitions they have to make. But I have to say the organization as a whole is not infallable.
November 5, 2007 at 3:10 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
tequila (anonymous) says...
The justice systems need to be fair in all trials. A human life is a human life whether it be teacher, doctor, child or a law enforcement officer. A life is a life, and for anyone to take anothers life, then by all means that person needs to pay for the crime. The saying goes eye for an eye - tooth for a tooth - should it not be the same life for a life. If so - then any human that has taken a life, should have their life taken from them. Last thoughts, is there forgiveness for anyone who has taken a life. Only god knows so ask your self - WHAT WOULD JESUS DO??????????
November 7, 2007 at 10:40 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )