Death Ray decides to let well enough alone, moves to stop appeal of homicide convictions

Last month the Associated Press (AP) reported that attorneys for convicted killer and star of The Secret James Arthur "Death" Ray were preparing to make their arguments to have his three negligent homicide convictions overturned. They planned to focus their arguments on irregularities in the jury instructions, and alleged misconduct of Yavapai County prosecutors. It was pretty much the same stuff they'd been flapping their jaws about ever since the trial in 2011. Salty Droid wrote a lot about that, and so did Celestial Reflections blogger LaVaughn. Oral arguments in the appeal had been set for September 11.

Naturally, the news that Ray was still determined to have his convictions overturned (something he'd tried and failed at before) caused quite a bit of outrage among the many of us who feel that Ray received too short a sentence for the deaths of Kirby Brown, James Shore, and Liz Neuman. He ended up serving less than two years, and is now out on parole -- no doubt preparing to make his re-entry into Scamworld. His sanitized web site is just waiting for fresh new content.

Now it appears that Ray has pulled an Emily Litella. Apparently he has decided he doesn't want want to risk re-trial and possible re-sentencing, so he has moved to drop the appeal of his convictions. Said he, in an affidavit released on Thursday, September 5, "I wish to ensure the prompt, complete and definitive termination of these criminal proceedings by dismissing this appeal and allowing the conviction and sentence to stand undisturbed."

So it would seem that Ray is going to work with what he has and get himself back into Scamworld without taking any more unnecessary risks with the justice system. Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk, one of the two prosecutors who presented Ray's case to the jury, said she is pleased, and Kirby Brown's cousin, Tom McFeeley, said he is hopeful Ray will start walking his talk, and live a life of honesty and integrity.

Uh-huh, and I wish our Coonhound/Black Cur mix Roxanne would quit chasing and killing squirrels, but that probably isn't going to happen either.

Tom McFeeley said he knew that the verdict was fair, particularly in light of what was withheld from the jury. He noted that Ray was lucky to get out of prison so quickly and that he "should count his blessings and be thankful people are still willing to listen to what he has to say."

Frankly, I'm appalled that there even are people who are still willing to listen to Ray, and I know I'm not the only one who feels that way. But as I've noted here, on Salty's blog, and on other forums more than once, there are so many people who either don't know what Ray did, or don't think it's a big deal.

But some of us do care, and we think it's a very big deal. And I guess it's up to us to make sure that this case doesn't fade into obscurity.

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