Decay Slaying Trial Begins In Fayetteville

dumb ass Katrina flotsam. A bunch of the scum that floated up to our hills got stuck here, this guy is one of them. Life in prison is too good, give him the work camp or a noose

Now that it's proven to be capital murder, a well thought out, premeditated murder, we can only hope that the jury will find a fitting punishment for this offender. What will Westeen's defense be? Hmmm.... we all know now that he knowingly drove the car and hid around the building. He should have been standing beside Decay in the court room. He deserves to rot just like Decay in a cell for the rest of his natural life. His actions were just as guilty...

all of yall can rot in hell. smh he don't deserve this shit

fam of decay wrote:

all of yall can rot in hell. smh he don't deserve this shit

I do not think you are a good spoke person for Gregory's family, they all seemed to know, that he was guilty and they were very saddened for the victim's family's and friends.

He shot a woman, in the back. That's about as low as it gets.

I hope all the trash from LA takes note of this, we are going to fry him as an example.

Is what Decay did sick? Yes. But I think it is sick that people rejoice in the fact that he (or anyone else) is going to "fry" because of crimes committed. The prosector himself said in a newspaper article that he's not "happy" or "rejoicing" because of the verdict and the penalty but "relieved" that it is over. The death penalty isn't supposed to be used as a revenge tactic, but a deterrent. And guess what, studies show, time and time again, that it is NOT a deterrent to crime. That's right EXPERTS in CRIMINOLOGY say it is not a deterrent. Do you realy think a person with a criminal mind will not commit a crime simply because he will (a)either go to prison for the rest of his life or (b) get the death penalty? If you think these things really deter a criminal mind, then you sadly underestimate the criminal mind. Something else needs to be done to PREVENT horrible crimes like this from even happening, and the system in place right now isn't working. Oh and the bit about calling people from LA scum doesn't make you any more believable in making your case, it just shows how ignorant you really are (to group all LA people as scum).

As you jump to conclusions and read rejoicing between the lines I think you have missed the main point of my 1st post.

You're defending a man that came up here to continue in the "Thug Life" so prevalent in New Orleans. Every Katrina refugee I have met here yet is a bum looking for an easy ride, a hand out or fast money. Hard work seems to escape Louisianan ethics.

He shot a woman! in the back. not to mention it was a white woman, he's lucky to get a trail without a mob, times have changed and folks are a bit more educated now, 50 years ago he wouldn't have made it out of jail alive.

Personally I think he should hang on the square and leave his body to be desecrated by the animals as a deterrent to other thugs, but I'm a little old fashioned.
(BTW, your claim that deterrents don't work is horse crap)

justice wrote:

(BTW, your claim that deterrents don't work is horse crap)

Well, then, oh wise one, I guess you're right and the 85% or so of EXPERTS in criminology are wrong. Do some form of deterrents need to be in place? Yes. But PREVENTION is always better, don't you think? Again, if you did any research (and not from a biased pro-death organization), research shows the death penalty is not a deterrent (and again, an overwhelming majority of experts on the matter agree). I think I'd like to believe the results of unbiased studies and the word of experts versus a layman on the matter (assuming that you're not an expert in criminology). And it's more of a tax burden on citizens than other deterrents and/or programs that might be able to be instituted in saving potential criminals before stuff like this happens. My thoughts are with all the families involved.

I'm concerned about what is happening to the community I love so much in Northwest Arkansas. Yes this is a horrible nearly unforgivable crime. My heart goes out to the families of Mr. Decay's victims. However, I have to honestly say I hope Mr. Decay wins his appeal.
Would he have received the same sentence had he been white with two black victims?

Don't bring the race card into this crime. Decay shot two people in the head, execution style, do you think it really matters what race he was? If Mr Decay wins his appeal, which he will not, maybe you would like for him to live next door to you and your family!

Concerned wrote:

I'm concerned about what is happening to the community I love so much in Northwest Arkansas. Yes this is a horrible nearly unforgivable crime. My heart goes out to the families of Mr. Decay's victims. However, I have to honestly say I hope Mr. Decay wins his appeal.
Would he have received the same sentence had he been white with two black victims?

We will be finding out soon, Mr Westeen is White, do you think that will make any difference? He is just as guilty! Do you think murder can be justified by what race you are?

I keep pondering this question: why is the prosecution not seeking the death penalty, if, as many of you are saying, he is just as guilty as Decay? There must be something different about Westeen's case that is not prompting him to seek the death penalty. Does anyone have any thoughts about this? Does the prosecution think he is just as guilty? I do think that perhaps he isn't seeking the death penalty because maybe he thinks it would be difficult to get in the case of an accomplice who didn't pull the trigger? Hmmm, I don't know...

Wow wrote:

I keep pondering this question: why is the prosecution not seeking the death penalty, if, as many of you are saying, he is just as guilty as Decay? There must be something different about Westeen's case that is not prompting him to seek the death penalty. Does anyone have any thoughts about this? Does the prosecution think he is just as guilty? I do think that perhaps he isn't seeking the death penalty because maybe he thinks it would be difficult to get in the case of an accomplice who didn't pull the trigger? Hmmm, I don't know...

Life in prison, without parole sounds good enough for me...Hmmmm

Wow wrote:

I keep pondering this question: why is the prosecution not seeking the death penalty, if, as many of you are saying, he is just as guilty as Decay? There must be something different about Westeen's case that is not prompting him to seek the death penalty. Does anyone have any thoughts about this? Does the prosecution think he is just as guilty? I do think that perhaps he isn't seeking the death penalty because maybe he thinks it would be difficult to get in the case of an accomplice who didn't pull the trigger? Hmmm, I don't know...

Guess what trial date is set...hmmmm, but I'm sure you already know that.....

Trial date is set. Just around mine and Kevin's birthday. It's already been stated in court that Jesse Westeen knowingly drove around the building to wait on Decay. He saw him pull the "stolen" pistol out from under the seat, and chose to wait on him to come out. Wish they would have kept that car. I'm sure it's full of DNA. Question: Why would someone hide around the other side of the apartments if he was innocently thinking, "He's just gonna confront them." Doesn't make a lot of sense. It seems like if he hid around the building he knew something wrong was going to happen. That makes him just as guilty. Talk about prevention. Why didn't he prevent it? Maybe he could have cooled the situation if he had wanted to do so. Or maybe he was the one agging it on. Questions, questions, questions. Kevin lived for 30 minutes after being shot. Who knows, maybe he could have prevented his death by calling 911 from a pay phone. It seems like he could have made some decisions to prevent this crime.

wowed wrote:

<quoted text>
Guess what trial date is set...hmmmm, but I'm sure you already know that.....

You sound like a very bitter person. I wonder how bitter you would be if your son had been shot in the head, left to bleed to death trying to get to his girlfriend who also had been shot in the head, while the murderer wiped off the door knob and the "driver" waited around the corner patiently for him? You speak of criminologists and statistics. You know what? I've taken the same college courses. I also took abnormal psychology. Statistics are whatever you wish the outcome to be according to your control group. Heck, the governments been doing it for years. So please don't quote statistics. This is the real world.

Westeen the big shot? Hide now? Your day is coming!

Wow wrote:

Is what Decay did sick? Yes. But I think it is sick that people rejoice in the fact that he (or anyone else) is going to "fry" because of crimes committed. The prosector himself said in a newspaper article that he's not "happy" or "rejoicing" because of the verdict and the penalty but "relieved" that it is over. The death penalty isn't supposed to be used as a revenge tactic, but a deterrent. And guess what, studies show, time and time again, that it is NOT a deterrent to crime. That's right EXPERTS in CRIMINOLOGY say it is not a deterrent. Do you realy think a person with a criminal mind will not commit a crime simply because he will (a)either go to prison for the rest of his life or (b) get the death penalty? If you think these things really deter a criminal mind, then you sadly underestimate the criminal mind. Something else needs to be done to PREVENT horrible crimes like this from even happening, and the system in place right now isn't working. Oh and the bit about calling people from LA scum doesn't make you any more believable in making your case, it just shows how ignorant you really are (to group all LA people as scum).

I find it so interesting that you have done so much research on the statistics of the death penalty. My, maybe the people of Washington county should consult you the next time one of their children is executed, you know shot in the head. May you never be the one who finds your child murdered. Your opinion may be just a little distorted. Mr Decay was given the chance to serve life without parole, he chose not to take that plea, he thought he could get one of the twelve people to show mercy on him. They did not. If you would have been at the trial, and I am sure you were not, you could have viewed the crime scene photo's, Kevin and Kendall shot in the head, it was horrible, and I had already seen them,you know up close and personal. Don't preach your self-rightous point of view to me. He will have his say with his God, This is in his hands now!

I'm not trying to pull the race card into the situation. Having lived in Fayetteville most of my life I don't feel that this community will use race as a motivation for using the death penalty. HOWEVER, statistically a black person is more likely to get the death penalty for killing a white person than if their victim had been black. It was simply a question for people to ask themselves.
Murder, no matter what color you are is never justifiable. Is the death penalty?
I find myself contradicted, as I am a supporter of the death penalty. Is it a worse punishment to have to wake up every morning knowing you are the person responsible for taking two lives? Would Mr. Decay wake up thinking this? Or is he waking up simply regretting he got caught?