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| Andrew Brannan |
On January 13th, the State of Georgia will perform the first execution of 2015, when Andrew Howard Brannan enters the death chamber. Sentenced to death in 2000, Brannan was found guilty of the first degree murder of a law enforcement officer in 1998. Deputy Kyle Dinkheller stopped Brannan on Interstate 16 in January 1998, when he clocked him doing an incredible 98 mph. After Brannan repeatedly ignored Dinkheller's commands to remove his hands from his pockets and then stand back, Brannan began dancing and singing "Here I am, Shoot me, Shoot me". Brannan then rushed Dinkheller and the pair scuffled for a second before Brannan ran back to his truck. This is when Deputy Dinkheller radioed for back up, however, Brannan unexpectedly pulled out a .30 M-1 Carbine causing the officer to draw his own weapon. After once again repeatedly asking Brannan to stand down and drop his weapon, Dinkheller fired one shot. Brannan responded by shooting Deputy Dinkheller nine times: in the chest, arms and one final close range shot to the head. He then retreated to his truck and drove away, leaving the Deputy to die on the Interstate.
Brannan was captured 24 hours later when law enforcement officers found him sleeping under a piece of camouflage tarp. It was then when Brannan found out his actions, before, during and after the murder, had all been caught on Deputy Dinkheller's dash cam. Despite the defence arguing that Brannan was seriously mentally unstable due to PTSD from his time spent serving in Vietnam, the damming video was enough to convict him. In the years since his sentence, Brannan has exhausted the appeals system and despite having his original sentence thrown out by a Butt's County judge - it was almost immediately reinstated by the Georgia Supreme Court.
Even as Andrew Brannan moves ever closer to the execution chamber, he is still arguing that his mental illness made him unaware of his actions in 1998. He has also argued that his mental health has declined further since his arrest due to inadequate treatment and a lack of proper medication. Despite his arguments, as of today, his execution still stands.
Rarely is an entire crime caught on camera, is it fair then that Brannan faces execution? After all, there really is no question that he is guilty! Or, does the video itself prove that Andrew Brannan IS mentally unwell and obviously not in his right mind at the time of the murder?
**The video below contains footage of the Brannan and Dinkheller incident. Although it is not gory, it is unnerving to watch and therefore may not be suitable for everyone.
Deputy Dinkheller's dash cam footage
That video is gut wrenching. I hear his screams in my sleep. Having stated that, he used carefully trained suppression tactics. This was not a reaction but instead a man using techniques learned to overcome this officer, who clearly had taken too much time to deescalate the situation.
ReplyDeleteHe is guilty, and culpable.
I am sorry the video has interrupted your sleep, I wanted to add it to the Blog because I wanted people to see what such a senseless act it was. I agree the officer gave him far too much time to stand down and comply with his instructions. He should of radioed for backup much sooner. However, I doubt that would of prevented the murder. The officer's death was inevitable the minute he stopped the car. I think he made the mistake of thinking he was a helpless man who wasn't playing with a full deck. I very much doubt he expected him to pull such a powerful weapon from his car.
DeleteI think the death penalty is absolutely the right way to go with this case. His guilt is unquestionable and despite him trying to build an insanity plea to save his life, he knew exactly what he was doing, he chased that officer and then, when it was over, he went back and shot him in the head for good measure. That isn't insanity, it is coldblooded murder.