Even though as a child and adolescent Murphy suffered uniquely severe and sustained verbal, physical and sexual abuse from those who should have loved him, it does not excuse his crime. The decision came some three weeks before he was scheduled for execution. In doing so, he cited the truly unimaginable childhood that Joseph Murphy suffered.
On September 26thOhio Governor John Kasich decided to grant clemency to Murphy, commuting his death sentence to the lesser one of life without parole. Only after 24 years awaiting execution, Joey Murphy had his sentence downgraded because of the extreme brain-scrambling neglect and abuse he suffered as a child. Beatings, burnings, isolation, starvation… the things the younger Joseph had to deal with in his small corner of the crowded and bathroomless wooden shack of a house he grew up in were simply atrocious. Mark your calendars! IAmAKiller 2 starts 22nd October 9pm. How about when there is no real legal justification, though? We're talking about the idea of responsibility here. Self-defence and duress are perhaps the two most famous examples. The concept of 'justifiable homicide' allows for some murders, excuses them almost. Murder is a sin - or equivalent - in all major world religions and faiths for a reason. After all, killing a person is abhorrent to any right-minded person. One that can be difficult to argue with at times.
