Attina Marie Cannaday

Last updated
Attina Marie Cannaday
Born (1965-09-08) September 8, 1965 (age 58)
Criminal statusGuilty (conviction upheld but sentence reversed in 1984)
Criminal chargeRobbery, kidnapping, homicide
Details
Victims USAF Sergeant Ronald Wojcik

Attina Marie Cannaday (born September 8, 1965) was charged with robbery, kidnapping, and homicide and is the inspiration for the film Too Young to Die? She was convicted of the kidnap and murder of U.S. Air Force Sergeant Ronald Wojcik and was initially sentenced to death. The guilty verdict was upheld, but the sentence was reversed in 1984, Cannaday v. State, 455 So.2d 713, 720 (Miss. 1984). Cannaday was re-sentenced to one life sentence and two 25-year sentences at Central Mississippi Correctional Facility. [1] [2] She was released on parole on March 9, 2008. [3] [4]

Contents

Early life

Cannaday's mother worked as a stripper in Mobile, Alabama. During her childhood, Cannaday was sexually abused by her father. She was married at age thirteen and divorced by age fourteen, which gave her the opportunity to leave home. After her divorce, Cannaday worked as a sex worker and dancer. [5] Cannaday was said to be handicapped due to her IQ of 71. [6] [7]

Crimes

In 1982, Cannaday met and became lovers with Sergeant Ronald Wojcik, a twenty-nine year old divorcee with two children. Cannaday was sixteen at the time, though Wojcik did not know this initially. She and Wojcik separated when Wojcik found out Cannaday's true age and his military superiors discovered the affair. [6] [5]

Later that year, Cannaday, David Randolph Gray (a twenty-eight year old unemployed man), and Dawn Bushart (a fifteen-year old), kidnapped Wojcik and his girlfriend, Sandra Sowash. Cannaday forced the pair into Wojcik's van and drove Wojcik, Sowash, Gray, and Bushart for a distance and at one point suggested that Gray should rape Sowash. Cannaday stopped the car near a wooded area and Sowash escaped and called the Harrison County Sheriff's Department. Initially, Cannaday told the police that Gray was solely responsible for killing Wojcik but later told a jailer of her involvement in the murder. [8] [6] [5]

Trial

Cannaday was charged with robbery, kidnapping, and homicide in the state of Mississippi in 1982. [9] Cannaday's trial began September 20, 1982. She, Gray, and Bushart were all tried separately. The jury found Cannaday guilty of murder and sentenced her to death by lethal injection on September 23, 1982. After an appeal, the Supreme Court of Mississippi affirmed the guilty verdict but held that the death sentence was inappropriate given the misuse of Cannaday's statement to the jailer, Cannaday's age, and the fact that Gray, who physically committed the murder, was sentenced to death himself. (Gray, a habitual offender, had his sentence later reversed to life imprisonment.) In 1984, Cannaday was re-sentenced to one life sentence and two twenty-five year life sentences. The state granted Cannaday parole in 2008. [6] [5] [7]

Legacy

Cannaday's crimes and subsequent trial are partly the inspiration for the 1990 TV movie Too Young to Die? . Juliette Lewis played a character loosely based on Cannaday. [10] [11]

The Cannaday v. State trial has been cited as influential in its interpretation of the Eighth Amendment, the prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment. The United States' Supreme Court did not rule sentencing a minor to death as unconstitutional until 2005, but the Mississippi Supreme Court's decision to reverse Cannaday's sentence in 1984 explicitly cited the Eighth Amendment as the basis for its decision. [12] [13] [14]

Related Research Articles

Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted criminals are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives. Crimes that warrant life imprisonment are extremely serious and usually violent. Examples of these crimes are murder, torture, terrorism, child abuse resulting in death, rape, espionage, treason, illegal drug trade, human trafficking, severe fraud and financial crimes, aggravated property damage, arson, hate crime, kidnapping, burglary, robbery, piracy, aircraft hijacking, and genocide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capital punishment in the United States</span> Legal penalty in the United States

In the United States, capital punishment is a legal penalty throughout the country at the federal level, in 27 states, and in American Samoa. It is also a legal penalty for some military offenses. Capital punishment has been abolished in 23 states and in the federal capital, Washington, D.C. It is usually applied for only the most serious crimes, such as aggravated murder. Although it is a legal penalty in 27 states, 20 states currently have the ability to execute death sentences, with the other seven, as well as the federal government, being subject to different types of moratoriums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capital punishment in Louisiana</span> Overview of the use of capital punishment in the U.S. state of Louisiana

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of Louisiana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Megan Kanka</span> Murder of a young American girl

The murder of Megan Nicole Kanka occurred in Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. Seven-year-old Megan Kanka was raped and murdered by her neighbor, Jesse Timmendequas, after he lured her into his house; Timmendequas had previously been convicted of child molestation. The murder attracted national attention and subsequently led to the introduction of "Megan's Law", which requires law enforcement to disclose details relating to the location of registered sex offenders.

Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551 (2005), is a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of the United States in which the Court held that it is unconstitutional to impose capital punishment for crimes committed while under the age of 18. The 5–4 decision overruled Stanford v. Kentucky, in which the court had upheld execution of offenders at or above age 16, and overturned statutes in 25 states.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murders of Julie and Robin Kerry</span> 1991 murders in Missouri, United States

The rapes and murders of Julie and Robin Kerry occurred on April 5, 1991, on the Chain of Rocks Bridge over the Mississippi River in St. Louis, Missouri. The two sisters were raped and then murdered by a group of four males, who also attempted to murder the sisters' cousin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capital punishment in Texas</span> Overview of capital punishment in the U.S. state of Texas

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of Texas for murder, and participation in a felony resulting in death if committed by an individual who has attained or is over the age of 18.

<i>Too Young to Die?</i> American TV series or program

Too Young to Die? is a 1990 television movie starring Brad Pitt and Juliette Lewis. It touches on the debate concerning the death penalty. It is based on a true story. Three years later, Pitt and Lewis would reunite, portraying somewhat similar characters, in Kalifornia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murders of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom</span> 2007 carjacking, rape, and murder of a couple in Knoxville, Tennessee

Channon Gail Christian, aged 21, and Hugh Christopher Newsom Jr., aged 23, were from Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. They were kidnapped on the evening of January 6, 2007, when Christian's vehicle was carjacked. The couple were taken to a rental house. Both of them were raped, tortured, and murdered. Four males and one female were arrested, charged, and convicted in the case. In 2007, a grand jury indicted Letalvis Darnell Cobbins, Lemaricus Devall Davidson, George Geovonni Thomas, and Vanessa Lynn Coleman on counts of kidnapping, robbery, rape, and murder. Also in 2007, Eric DeWayne Boyd was indicted by a federal grand jury of being an accessory to a carjacking, resulting in serious bodily injury to another person and misprision of a felony. In 2018, Boyd was indicted on state-level charges of kidnapping, robbery, rape, and murder.

In the United States, life imprisonment is the most severe punishment provided by law in states with no valid capital punishment statute, and second-most in those with a valid statute. According to a 2013 study, 1 of every 2 000 inhabitants of the U.S. were imprisoned for life as of 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Criminal sentencing in the United States</span> Overview of criminal sentencing in the United States

In the United States, sentencing law varies by jurisdiction. The jurisdictions in the US legal system are federal, state, regional, and county. Each jurisdictional entity has governmental bodies that create common, statutory, and regulatory law, although some legal issues are handled more often at the federal level, while other issues are the domain of the states. Civil rights, immigration, interstate commerce, and constitutional issues are subject to federal jurisdiction. Issues such as domestic relations, which includes domestic violence; marriage and divorce; corporations; property; contracts; and criminal laws are generally governed by states, unless there is federal preemption.

Scott Allen Hain was the last person executed in the United States for crimes committed as a juvenile. Hain was executed by Oklahoma for a double murder–kidnapping he committed when he was 17 years old.

Romell Broom was an American death row inmate who was convicted of murder, kidnapping and rape. He was sentenced to death for the 1984 murder of 14-year-old Tryna Middleton. Broom was scheduled to be executed on September 15, 2009, but after executioners failed to locate a vein he was granted a reprieve. A second execution attempt was scheduled for June 2020, which was delayed until March 2022. Broom died from COVID-19 in prison before the sentence could be carried out.

Graham v. Florida, 560 U.S. 48 (2010), was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States holding that juvenile offenders cannot be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole for non-homicide offenses.

Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460 (2012), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that mandatory sentences of life without the possibility of parole are unconstitutional for juvenile offenders. The ruling applied even to those persons who had committed murder as a juvenile, extending beyond Graham v. Florida (2010), which had ruled juvenile life without parole sentences unconstitutional for crimes excluding murder.

Murder in Florida law constitutes the intentional killing, under circumstances defined by law, of people within or under the jurisdiction of the U.S. state of Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerald Bordelon</span> American murderer (1962–2010)

Gerald James Bordelon was an American convicted murderer and sex offender who was executed in Louisiana for murder. Bordelon was sentenced to death for the kidnapping and murder of Courtney LeBlanc, his 12-year-old stepdaughter. Bordelon waived his appeals and asked to be executed, saying he would commit a similar crime again if he was ever given the opportunity. Bordelon was executed at Louisiana State Penitentiary on January 7, 2010, becoming the first person executed in Louisiana since 2002 and the state's first voluntary execution. He remains the most recent person executed in Louisiana.

Richard Gerald Jordan is an American man on death row in Mississippi for the 1976 murder of 34-year-old Edwina Marter, the wife of a bank executive. As of 2022, Jordan is the state's oldest and longest-serving death row inmate. Though he admitted to the crime and his guilt has never been seriously called into question, Jordan has filed multiple successful legal challenges to his sentence, and because of this, he has been sentenced to death four times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Life imprisonment in Singapore</span> Legal punishment in Singapore

Life imprisonment is a legal penalty in Singapore. This sentence is applicable for more than forty offences under Singapore law, such as culpable homicide not amounting to murder, attempted murder, kidnapping by ransom, criminal breach of trust by a public servant, voluntarily causing grievous hurt with dangerous weapons, and trafficking of firearms, in addition to caning or a fine for certain offences that warrant life imprisonment.

References

  1. ↑ "Laurel Leader Call Newspaper Archives, Defendant Watched The Events". Associated Press. GULFPORT, Miss.: NewspaperArchive.com. Laurel Leader Call (Newspaper). 23 September 1982. p. 8. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  2. ↑ "Attina Marie CANNADAY v. STATE of Mississippi". scholar.google.com. Supreme Court of Mississippi. 16 May 1984. pp. 715–727. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  3. ↑ Baker, David V. (2015). Women and Capital Punishment in the United States: An Analytical History. McFarland. pp. 260–261. ISBN   9780786499502 . Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  4. ↑ Dendinger, Julia M. (21 March 2017). "Belen High School students hear real stories about dangers of DWI". Staff. Belen, New Mexico: Valencia County News-Bulletin. Archived from the original on 10 June 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2018. She was paroled in 2008 and now reports regularly to the New Mexico Adult Probation and Parole Department.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Baker, David V. (2015). Women and Capital Punishment in the United States: An Analytical History. McFarland. pp. 260–261. ISBN   9780786499502 . Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 4 O'Shea, Kathleen A. (1999). Women and the Death Penalty in the United States, 1900-1998. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 211–212. ISBN   9780275959524 . Retrieved 21 June 2020– via Google Books.
  7. 1 2 Rapaport, Elizabeth (1990). "Some Questions About Gender and the Death Penalty". Golden Gate University Law Review. 20 (3): 501–565.
  8. ↑ "The One With the Child Prostitute". Podcast. Southern Disgrace. Speaker, July 2019. Web. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  9. ↑ Streib, Victor L. (13 July 2007). "DEATH PENALTY FOR FEMALE OFFENDERS, JANUARY 1, 1973, THROUGH JUNE 30, 2007" (PDF). Ohio Northern University. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  10. ↑ "Festival of Films Offers Free New Movies Online for the Week of Jan. 15, 2012". www.newswire.com. 19 January 2012. Archived from the original on 22 June 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  11. ↑ "13 Real-Life Lethal Movie Couples". fandomania.com. 12 February 2010. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  12. ↑ Streib, Victor L. (1986). "The Eighth Amendment and Capital Punishment of Juveniles". Cleveland State Law Review: 365–398.
  13. ↑ Hoffmann, Joseph L. (1989). "On the Perils of Line-Drawing: Juveniles and the Death Penalty". Articles by Maurer Faculty: 229–284.
  14. ↑ Berkheiser, Mary (2005). "Capitalizing Adolescence: Juvenile Offenders on Death Row". University of Miami Law Review. 59: 135–202.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.