On
this date, October 15, 1999, The Rainbow Warrior A.K.A Joseph Mitchell Parsons
was executed by lethal injection in Utah. He was convicted of murdering Richard
Lynn Ernest on August 31, 1987. I will post information about him from Wikipedia before giving my thoughts. Please go
to Unit
1012 Blog to hear from the victim's family members.
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Mug shot of Joseph Mitchell Parsons
(Utah
State Prison mug shot)
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Joseph Mitchell "Yogi" Parsons (July
22, 1964 – October 15, 1999) was an American who was executed for the August
1987 murder of Richard Lynn Ernest. Parsons hitched a ride with Ernest in
California and stabbed him to death at a remote rest area in Utah. After
assuming Ernest's identity, Parsons continued to insist that he was Ernest when
he was later arrested.
Parsons, who called himself the "Rainbow
Warrior", pleaded guilty to the murder. During his sentencing hearing,
Parsons said that he killed Ernest to fend off a homosexual advance, but was
unable to present any evidence to support this claim in his defense. The jury
sentenced him to death. In 1999, Parsons stated that "it's time to move
on" and dropped his appeals, allowing his execution to proceed. Discussion
was later raised whether "Rainbow Warrior" was a reference to
homosexuality or Parsons' favorite auto racing team.
Parsons chose to die by lethal injection, avoiding
the publicity that John Albert Taylor, the previous prisoner to be executed in
Utah, sought by selecting the firing squad. Parsons shunned attention and
described himself as "Utah's forgotten inmate". His 1999 execution at
Utah State Prison was the first to be carried out in a new chamber designed for
both lethal injections and firing squads.
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