Andrew Grant DeYoung (May 12, 1974 – July 21, 2011) was an American who was convicted of and executed for the 1993 murder of his parents and sister in the state of
Georgia. The state conducted the execution in H-5 of the
Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison (GDCP) in
Jackson, Georgia
Jackson is a city in and the county seat of Butts County, Georgia, United States. The population was 5,045 in 2010, up from 3,934 at the 2000 census. The community was named after governor James Jackson.
History
Founded in 1826, Jackson began ...
. DeYoung was 19 when he committed the murders and 37 when he died.
He was notable for having his execution videotaped. His lawyers had gained judicial permission for this to gain evidence as to "whether lethal injection caused unnecessary suffering."
Murders and trial
On June 14, 1993, the 19-year-old DeYoung repeatedly stabbed his mother, Kathryn, while she was sleeping. Awakened by her screams, his father Gary DeYoung struggled with Andrew before also being killed. Andrew DeYoung fatally stabbed his 14-year-old sister Sarah in the hallway outside their parents' bedroom. He had assigned an accomplice, David Michael Hagerty, to kill his 16-year-old brother Nathan, but the boy escaped through a bedroom window and ran to a neighbor's house for help.
On October 13, 1995, Andrew DeYoung was convicted by a jury of the first-degree murders of his parents, Gary and Kathryn DeYoung, and of his sister, Sarah. According to the prosecution, DeYoung killed his family in order to collect an inheritance from their estate, which he estimated to be worth approximately $480,000.
Videotaping of execution
DeYoung was the first person in 19 years in the United States to have the execution videotaped and the first in which
execution by lethal injection was recorded. The previous videotaped execution had been a gas chamber execution that took place in California. Other states are now considering videotaping executions.
"Georgia's videotaped execution sets new precedent"
ABC12, 16 January 2013 There is open discussion concerning whether or not making executions public would sway people to be more for or more against the death penalty.
''New York Times'', 31 July 2011; Quote: "Lawyers for the condemned inmate, Andrew Grant DeYoung, had persuaded a judge to allow the recording of his last moments as part of an effort to obtain evidence on whether lethal injection caused unnecessary suffering."
See also
* Capital punishment in Georgia (U.S. state)
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of Georgia. Georgia reintroduced the death penalty in 1973 after ''Furman v. Georgia'' ruled all states' death penalty statutes unconstitutional. The first execution to take place afterwards ...
* Capital punishment in the United States
In the United States, capital punishment is a legal penalty throughout the country at the federal level, in 27 states, and in American Samoa. It is also a legal penalty for some military offenses. Capital punishment has been abolished in 23 s ...
* List of people executed in Georgia (U.S. state)
This is a list of people executed in Georgia. Since 1976, a total of 76 people have been executed by the state of Georgia in the United States.
List of people executed in Georgia since 1976
Summary of executions
* Sex
** Male: 75 (99%)
** ...
* List of people executed in the United States in 2011
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deyoung, Andrew Grant
1974 births
2011 deaths
1993 murders in the United States
People executed by Georgia (U.S. state) by lethal injection
21st-century executions by Georgia (U.S. state)
American people executed for murder
21st-century executions of American people
American people convicted of murder
People convicted of murder by Georgia (U.S. state)
Filmed executions
Familicides