Brandon Bernard: Kim Kardashian West calls for an end to the execution of a death row inmate who killed two at the age of 18

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Brandon Bernard was convicted of the 1999 kidnapping and murder of youth ministers Todd and Stacie Bagley on a military reservation in Texas. A federal jury found him guilty in 2000 on two counts of murder under the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States and unanimously recommended a death sentence.

Bernard is due to be executed by lethal injection on Dec. 10 – a deadline that has boosted fame’s appeal.

“A terrible case has been brought to my attention and I need your help,” Kardashian West wrote in a series of tweets on Sunday. “Otherwise, on December 10, Brandon Bernard will be executed for a crime in which he participated as a teenager.”

She added a link to a website set up in her name and asked her supporters to “let President Trump know that you think Brandon’s death sentence is unjust.”
Bernard’s planned execution comes as the Trump administration rushes to execute those on death row before Joe Biden takes over the presidency. After a 17-year hiatus in federal executions, eight death row inmates have been executed in the past six months.
Brandon Bernard was convicted and sentenced to death in 2000 for killing two people.

One of Bernard’s co-defendants, Christopher Vialva, was executed on September 22. Vialva was 19 at the time of the murders.

Kardashian West’s call for clemency comes in the context of her growing interest in criminal justice reform. She used her influence with the Trump administration to urge the signing of the First Step Act and commute Alice Marie Johnson’s life sentence for non-violent drug offenses.

Brandon Bernard found guilty of killing two

Bernard’s case stems from the gruesome murders of the Bagley couple in 1999. The jury found that five young black accused were involved in the couple’s kidnapping and then killing them.

Vialva shot the couple in the head, after which Bernard set the car on fire with them still in the trunk, the Justice Department said. Both were sentenced to death, while three other accused teenagers received long prison terms.

Now, 20 years later, Bernard’s lawyers say he should not be executed due to his age at the time, racial prejudice in the case and insufficient legal support during the trial.

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“Brandon is not innocent and the crime is tragic – it resulted in the deaths of two Good Samaritans, Todd and Stacie Bagley, who were white. But while Brandon’s role can justify very harsh punishment, it does not justify a death sentence, “his defense team wrote.

On the one hand, scientific studies have shown that adolescent brains are not fully developed and that young people are more likely to take serious risks and less able to control their impulses in stressful situations. Some advocates say this evidence points to young people should not be executed for things they did in their youth without a fully developed brain.
In addition, the case pitted five black defendants accused of killing two white victims. The Death Penalty Information Center has found that the death penalty is disproportionately applied in such cases with black perpetrators and white victims.

Finally, Bernard’s court-appointed lawyers have not made any opening statements on his behalf, according to his current defense team. If he had been better represented at trial, he would not be sentenced to death, they say.

Kardashian West and others push for leniency

In a series of tweets, Kardashian West offered her sympathy to the families of the victims and called on Bernard to serve a life sentence rather than being put to death.

“First of all I want to say that a terrible crime has been committed and that fighting for a stay of execution does not take away from the sympathy I have for the victims Todd and Stacie Bagley , and their families. My heart breaks for everyone involved ”. she wrote.

Still, she argued that Bernard played a minor role in the gruesome murders and said he received the death penalty due to inadequate legal assistance and the racial dynamics of the trial.

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“Although the five teens were black, 11 of the 12 jurors were white. This, added to the misleading and incomplete information the jury received, deprived the boys of a fair trial, ”she wrote. “Instead of being executed, Brandon could live his sentence in jail.”

Several people who participated in Bernard’s trial have since changed their minds about the death penalty.

Angela Moore, a former federal prosecutor who defended the death sentence on appeal, wrote an op-ed in The Indianapolis Star earlier this month, calling for an end to the execution. Citing Bernard’s youth and his research into how black defendants are unfairly viewed, she said his execution “would be a terrible stain on the honor of the nation.”
Additionally, five of the nine surviving jurors who sentenced him to death said they no longer believed the death penalty was necessary for him, the defense team said.

Bernard’s lawyers write on his website that he remains remorseful for his actions.

“Brandon has spent 20 years reflecting on his role in the deaths of Todd and Stacie Bagley. Brandon feels remorse and ashamed that his actions and inaction contributed to their untimely death. Brandon knows he inflicted immense pain and suffering on the Bagley family. , for which he is deeply sorry, ”write the lawyers.

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