James B. Clark Jr.
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James B. Clark Jr. (February 8, 1957 – April 19, 1996) was an inmate executed in the State of
Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
for the
murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...
of his adoptive parents. Clark confessed to the crime. He was motivated by a desire for the couple's
life insurance Life insurance (or life assurance, especially in the Commonwealth of Nations) is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer or assurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death ...
. The murders took place on May 22, 1994, one month after he had been released on
parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...
for an earlier conviction. Clark had served 21 years of a 30-year sentence for his attempted slaying of a 3-year-old girl in 1973, but in spite of his failure to participate in
rehabilitation Rehabilitation or Rehab may refer to: Health * Rehabilitation (neuropsychology), therapy to regain or improve neurocognitive function that has been lost or diminished * Rehabilitation (wildlife), treatment of injured wildlife so they can be retur ...
and repeated discipline by prison authorities for fighting, he was released for good behavior. His case inspired public outrage and proposed legislation to curtail unwarranted early release.


Early life

Clark was born on February 8, 1957, and was a resident of the State of Delaware. He was adopted by Elizabeth and James B. Clark Sr.. The identity of his birth parents is unknown. When Clark was two years old, he developed a pattern of frequently attacking other children. He was expelled from two pre-kindergarten programs due to his behavior and began receiving psychotherapy and medication when he was 5. In 1965, Clark attacked a child, cutting their face badly enough that they needed hospitalization. After this incident, he was sent to a psychiatric treatment program in
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
for three years. In December 1969, after being expelled from school once more, Clark was sent to the Governor Bacon Health Center, where he received residential treatment for 1.5 years. The center said Clark had "moderately improved" following his diagnosis for
passive-aggressive personality disorder Passive-aggressive behavior is characterized by a pattern of passive hostility and an avoidance of direct communication. Inaction where some action is socially customary is a typical passive-aggressive strategy (showing up late for functions, st ...
and schizoid personality. He returned to school in September 1971 and managed to finish 8th grade despite poor grades and behavior problems. On March 5, 1973, Clark, then 16, abducted a three-year-old girl from her backyard. He took her into the woods, where he beat and choked her. Clark was convicted of kidnapping and assault with intent to commit murder, but that conviction was reversed. He then pleaded no contest to abducting a child under the age of 12 and assault with intent to commit murder, and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. In 1977, Clark pleaded guilty to third degree assault for attacking a prison officer.


Execution

On September 9, 1994, Clark pleaded guilty to two counts of first degree murder. He was sentenced to death. After waiving his appeals, Clark was executed by
lethal injection Lethal injection is the practice of injecting one or more drugs into a person (typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium solution) for the express purpose of causing rapid death. The main application for this procedure is capital puni ...
on April 19, 1996.


See also

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Capital punishment in Delaware Capital punishment in Delaware was abolished after being declared unconstitutional by the Delaware Supreme Court on August 2, 2016. The ruling retroactively applies to earlier death sentences, and remaining Delaware death row inmates had the ...
*
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 Delaware The following is a list of people executed by the U.S. state of Delaware since capital punishment was resumed in the United States in 1976. All of the 16 people were convicted of murder and have been executed at the James T. Vaughn Correctional ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, James B. Jr. 1957 births 1996 deaths 1994 murders in the United States 20th-century executions by Delaware American people executed for murder American people convicted of kidnapping American people convicted of assault Executed people from Delaware People convicted of murder by Delaware People executed by Delaware by lethal injection 20th-century executions of American people People with passive-aggressive personality disorder People with schizoid personality disorder