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HOU3TON HOME JOURNAL
Death penalty' one of the toughest questions a prosecutor can face
Dear Readers, We
often see “death
penalty” issues in
the media.
In Georgia, we have a
ready-made docudrama in the
Brian Nichols case in Fulton
County. Nichols is charged
with shooting and killing
Fulton County Superior
Court Judge Rowland
Barnes, his court reporter, a
deputy sheriff, and federal
agent. His attorneys have
offered to have him plead
guilty and receive a sentence
of life without the possibility
of parole, but the District
Attorney’s office is insisting
on the death penalty.
Sometimes, the justice sys
tem takes on an almost sur-
Being more aware will help you lead
I was watching the tele
vision show “Jeopardy! ”
last week. Do you enjoy
shouting out the right ques
tions to the answers? I love
showing off to my wife what
I know!
Of course, there’s a lot I
don’t know. Sometimes, I’ll
look at my wife with this
“Now how would anybody
know that?” expression on
my face.
What I really hate, though,
is when I know the answer
is in my brain somewhere,
but I just can’t locate it!
Ooh, that is so frustrating! I
may have known that piece
of information sometime in
the past, but I’ve not used it
in so long, it has passed out
of my awareness.
The whole experience of
watching “Jeopardy!” that
night stimulated my think
ing about work with leaders.
What I experienced in front
of the television applies in
the real world, too.
Fortunately, most of your
work deals with topics that
are within your area of com
petence. You’re aware of
what you know, and you
skillfully handle the situa
tions that arise.
You probably started your
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Tha'Law'Man
SF mB
Jim
Rockefeller
Attorney,
Rockefeller
Law Center
real aura, as evidenced by the
tangled progress of Nichols’
trial. It is such a mess that
it is hard to see how Nichols
will ever get a fair trial.
Everyone knows that
Nichols killed four people in
cold blood. Yet, our justice
system requires that judges
and juries remain completely
Building Future Leaders
Dennis
Hooper
Leadership
Development
Coach
company (or your role in
someone else’s company)
because of a specialized skill
in some functional exper
tise. You may not have
known much about leader
ship, but you learned on the
fly because of the success of
your operation.
Periodically, some
unplanned situation pre
sented you with a gap in
your capabilities, and you
became acutely aware of
what you don’t know. You
likely took appropriate steps
to overcome your ignorance.
You found a book, searched
for a skilled instructor, or
hired a specialist.
Today, you may be facing a
new situation, and like in the
“Jeopardy!” example above,
you have this sense that you
know what you need to do,
but you’re not quite sure
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impartial and blind to what
it is self-evident to all of us;
the accused are always enti
tled to a “fair and impartial”
judge and jury.
Senior Judge Hilton M.
Fuller, Jr., violated this legal
precept when he proclaimed
Nichols’ obvibus guilt in a
New Yorker interview; he
stepped down from the case
shortly thereafter.
Now, we have another prob
lem. The latest judge assigned
to the case, Superior Court
Judge James G. Bodiford,
may also be headed down
the same path, after media
reports recently surfaced
that he had publicly talked
about Judge Barnes being a
friend and the incident being
how to approach it.
Not aware of what you
know, you’d like to talk
through your options with a
trusted friend-someone who
shares your values and sup
ports your organizational
direction. But that may not
be possible with someone
in your organization with
out causing undesirable side
effects.
Providing just such a safe
place for exploring options
is why coaching has become
such a beneficial profession
al service. A coach helps you
become more aware, both of
what you know and of what
you don’t know. You deter
mine the desired outcome,
and the coach facilitates
your progress.
Last week’s article dealt
with three ways you can
expand your awareness: just
noticing, feedback, and par
adigm shifts. (If you missed
that article, contact me and
I’ll provide a copy.)
A coach will help you
notice things you’re over
looking. For example, could
you systematize a process
that your organization is
currently doing “by the seat
of your pants”?
A coach will provide you
a “brutal murder,” shortly
after the killings.
Meanwhile, 900 jurors
wait to be interviewed for
jury duty and we will find
out if there are any Fulton
County residents who have
not already decided Nichols’
guilt - it is hard to imagine
there is anyone in the entire
State so isolated from media
reports to remain impartial.
This case may go down as
one of the most expensive tri
als in history. There are four
separate crime scenes and
over 400 State witnesses.
If a jury eventually orders
Nichols executed, when all
the resources and monies
dedicated just to this case
are totaled, including defense
honest, constructive feed
back. Are you expecting
your direct reports to read
your mind when you dele
gate responsibilities? Should
you be more explicit in set
ting expectations and more
clearly assign accountability
on the front end of a proj
ect?
A coach will help you rec
ognize and appreciate the
value of paradigm shifts,
celebrating with you each
expanded awareness! Even
as you describe your new
insights, fresh perspectives
present themselves. You
were never able to articulate
your interttions and strategy
so clearly!
Expanding your aware
ness gives you renewed con
fidence in setting direction,
gaining alignment, and mod
eling appropriate behaviors.
Oh, why doesn’t “Jeopardy!”
have a “leadership” catego
ry?
Dennis Hooper helps orga
nizational leaders seek great
er awareness, especially in
building the skills of future
leaders. Contact Dennis at
dhooper2@juno.com or by
calling 478-988-0237.
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team bills, district attorney
and law enforcement resourc
es, and court personnel costs,
the final total will probably
come to somewhere between
a staggering SSO million to
SIOO million dollars ... just
for this one case!
When I was a prosecutor,
I understood that not every
murder was a death penal
ty case. The death penalty
was reserved for the partic
ularly brutal psychopaths.
Personally, I was involved
in three cases where I con
sidered recommending the
death penalty be pursued.
In one case, the detective
and I are still dedicated to
ensuring the killer remains
locked up, so there is not
Assessing Your
Leadership Skills
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SATURDAY, MAY 3, 2008 ♦
another innocent victim - we
both firmly believe if this
killer is released, she will kill
again.
Yet, in none of these cases
did I recommend the death
penalty. In one of these cases,
the victim’s family clearly did
not want the death penalty.
In the other cases, I carefully
explained to the family the
costs and the interminable
wait for justice. They agreed
that the death penalty should
not be sought.
See ROCKEFELLER, page 7A
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lejwfis Farms Nursery
,830 Hwy. 26 East - Elko, GA ’
(478)954-1507 ;
F. Dennis Hooper
Certified
Leadership Development Coach
Building leaders and
organizations of excellence
(478) 988-0237 dhoriper2fthjuno.com
COLDUieU
banker a
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► Broker, GRI, ASR
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GRI
5A
167267
lh I »(i 4
Schedule for
Next Course
Starting Date: May 13th
Class Days: Tuesday &
Thursday
Class Hours:
6:! ?pni-V: lUpin
Ending Date: Aug. 12th
Registration is now being
accepted for this class.
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