Word: cousine
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Cousin has been in jail for more than two years, and a few weeks ago, he marked his 19th birthday behind bars. He had little to celebrate. He's on death row at Louisiana State Prison at Angola, a former plantation turned high-security prison that was made infamous by the movie Dead Man Walking. Cousin's cell is small and stark, with cement floors, a metal sleeping bunk and a squat, steel toilet. He is locked in his cell 23 hours a day, with a one-hour break to exercise or use the telephone. Meals are pushed through...
...Cousin says he is innocent, and in December his lawyers began arguing his appeal before the Louisiana State Supreme Court, which is expected to make a ruling in early February. If Cousin's appeal fails, his ultimate destination is a one-story execution building five miles away. There, on a white metal table with outstretched armrests, on a yet-to-be-determined day at a yet-to-be-determined hour, he will be strapped down and injected with three drugs. The first shot of sodium thiopental will bring on unconsciousness. The second drug, pancuronium bromide, will paralyze his body functions...
...sure, almost every inmate, particularly the ones on death row, has a tall tale to tell, of being railroaded by overly aggressive prosecutors, of being set up by enemies or let down by friends, of crucial evidence that was supposedly lost or airtight alibis that supposedly went unheard. Cousin, for his part, has maintained his innocence since he was arrested and charged with murder more than two years ago. What makes his claim of innocence so compelling is that there is a good deal of evidence that suggests he may be telling the truth...
...case raises the question: Should teens, guilty or not, ever be put in a situation where they are forced to fight for their lives? "Knowing I'm on death row for something I didn't do is pretty hard," says Cousin. "You picture yourself being executed. You think about what your next life will be like. It's like a fantasy, something you never dreamed could happen. I feel like I'm in the middle of reality in a fantasy. What did I do to be treated like this...
...years old. He graduated from Brother Martin High School. He lived with his mother and father in Slidell. He worked at T.J.'s Seafood. He was a plant manager at Pointe-a-la-Hache, and on May 2, 1995, at about 10:26 in the evening, Shareef Cousin ended that. He ended his ambitions; he ended his dreams..." --New Orleans assistant district attorney Roger Jordan, in his opening statement at Cousin's murder trial...