From an email:
I regret to inform you of the death of Douglas County Sheriff Chief Deputy Tommy K Martin, age 59, Tuscola, Illinois. Tommy passed away at 11:30 pm on July 17, 2007 at Carle Hospital, Urbana, Illinois, from complications of a gunshot wound he received while on duty on June 21, 2007 in rural Douglas County. Funeral arrangements will follow.
:-(
Thoughts and prayers go out to the Martin family in their loss. This is terrible news to wake up to this morning.
Is this the same guy from the bank hostage crisis incident? Either way it's horrible. But I was curious.
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Glock21 Op/Ed
Glock, yes. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Martin family.
Chief Deputy Martin was shot responding to the situation in Camargo, before the defendants got to Arcola.
Martin was a good man, an excellent law enforcement officer, and a true hero. He will be missed.
"Is this the same guy from the bank hostage crisis incident?"
Yes - he'd been in critical condition since June 21.
I'm so sorry to hear that - condolences to his family.
Ugh... that's awful. Probably means one of those two yahoos is going to get bumped up to murder charges.
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Glock21 Op/Ed
"Probably means one of those two yahoos is going to get bumped up to murder charges. "
Hopefully they both will since they were both party to the underlying offense. It's time to start lobbying for the end of the moratorium...
C-U resident,1982-1988, married a townie, and still interested in local issues there...
These guys risked life and limb trying to get away in an unplanned getaway... I somehow doubt the moratorium had much to do with their thinking (if any significant thinking). I wouldn't mind if these yahoos got the chair, but I would mind if some other guy got it on flimsier evidence and turned out to be the wrong guy. Especially since I don't really buy into the deterrent effect being very significant.
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Glock21 Op/Ed
Glock--at least it would deter these two from committing more crimes in the future. Aren't they still investigating them for a murder in Chicago?
Perhaps it'll stop them from killing any more in prison. As far as I knew they were suspected in a prior murder, but they weren't arrested/convicted/sentenced-but-couldn't-get-the-death-penalty for it. They were just still loose.
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Glock21 Op/Ed
This is a perfect case for the death penalty, these two shot an armed police officer with every intention of killing him. This BS about the death penalty being a deterrent is a joke. It's a penalty !!! I heard on WDWS that the public defender in Douglas County may seek a change of venue in the case, Well his clients should have though about that before they started shooting. Maybe this will wake up Blagovich to re-instate the death penalty.
Meh, I don't have a problem with these guys getting executed, they seem guilty as hell to me and I'm sure a jury will find likewise. It's not these guys that bug me about the death penalty. These guys I'd volunteer to pull the switch myself on. It's the guys whose cases rested on much weaker evidence where I start to have my doubts... especially...
especially
especially... a case like this.
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Glock21 Op/Ed
Guys,
Perhaps this isn't the most appropriate thread in which to be having that discussion.
Cosign.
Ack... indeed. Caught up in the moment. My bad.
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Glock21 Op/Ed
Tommy Martin was a friend to just about everyone here in Douglas County. Finding a jury of sentient humans who didn't know him is going to be difficult (the total county population is less than 20,000); I'd be surprised if a change of venue weren't granted.
BTW, just to be clear: Tommy was a friend of mine, and I am about as sad and angry as I've ever been. We're going to miss him terribly.
Locking someone up for natural life, possibly in solitary or near-solitary confinement, seems to me a more austere punishment for the individual than execution, but certainly more expensive to the state.
Michael Fuerst
The world has lost a great man, good bye frined.
My prayers and thoughts go out to the family and friends of Deputy Martin. That was a great picture of him in the paper; he seemed like a friendly person and with so many years of service in the community, such a sad loss.
There is a quote in the paper today from one of the people that may have killed the Deputy. The quote said when asked the death penalty “he has been dead all his life anyway”. It's really kind of a sad reality, that I don't think many people understand how sad some people, some children’s lives really are, things that are out of their control as they grow up. Of course the people who did this were adults and can still make the decision to not do what they did, what they did was against the law and wrong.
The death penalty is the law in Illinois and has been toughened, if they are found guilty and I think there will be few people that don't believe the evidence is there (I don’t think I will be on the jury) so that the people that did this should receive the Death Penalty, after appropriate appeal. If our laws are suppose to mean something if all of our laws are suppose to mean something. If that great quote that we are a country of Laws which make us different then others, then we should follow the law. If we don't like the Death Penalty change it, repeal it, but don't break it, that after all is what the criminals do every day can we expect them to follow the law if we don't.
This is the perfect case for the death penalty. The murder of a Police officer. These two thought nothing of shooting Deputy Martin, not to wound but to kill. Now they will have to face the reality of what they have done. Society will afford them ALL the rights they denied Martin of. Their appointed defender may seek a change of venue, that is his right. I'm sure they will be found guilty, one of them admitted to the shooting shortly after he was arrested, but will probably change his story as this thing goes on. The death penalty is the law in Illinois, I agree with Run4cvrlib, if you don't like it get it changed,
public services for Chief Deputy Tommy Martin are as follows:
Visitation Saturday 21 July from 2:00pm until 8:00pm at Tuscola Community High School, 500 S. Prairie, Tuscola. Masonic services at 8:00pm.
Public graveside service at 3:00pm Sunday, July 22 at the Tuscola Township Cemetary. Military Rites Accorded.
In lieu of flowers the family has suggested that memorials be made to the Tommy K. Martin Law Enforcement Scholarship Fund c/o Hilligoss Shrader Funeral Home 705 S. Main, Tuscola. 61953.