To: Chairman Terry Barnard, Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles
Please Spare Vietnam Veteran Andrew Brannan's Life
Dear Chairman Barnard and Members of the Board:
The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles is an extremely valuable component of our state’s justice system. As members of the Board, you contribute mercy and grace to a system that is often unable to consider either. I come to you now pleading for the life of decorated Vietnam veteran, Andrew Brannan, who is scheduled for execution on Tuesday, January 13, 2015.
Mr. Brannan had no prior criminal history and long before the crime had been declared 100% disabled by the Veterans Administration due to diagnoses of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Bipolar Disorder.
Mr. Brannan was sentenced to death by a jury who never heard a firsthand account of the details of his meritorious service in Vietnam and never heard from his treating VA psychiatrist about how his exposure to severe combat violence caused him to develop PTSD to the point that he was deemed 100% disabled by the Veterans Administration. The jury also heard little about Brannan’s dual diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder and never heard that he had not taken his medication for several days before the crime, causing the symptoms of both mental illnesses to become more severe.
I believe that the public interest would be served by commuting Mr. Brannan’s sentence to life without the possibility of parole given his crime was directly tied to the mental difficulties he incurred in his combat service in defense of this country’s interests and ideals. Brannan saw it as his duty to serve and volunteered for combat duty in Vietnam at a time when all knew that conflict was generating significant American casualties. The Board has the opportunity to act as the “fail safe” in this case where the legal mechanism of our capital punishment system has spoken but merciful considerations warrant commutation.
I urge you to show Andrew Brannan mercy and grant him clemency. Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles is an extremely valuable component of our state’s justice system. As members of the Board, you contribute mercy and grace to a system that is often unable to consider either. I come to you now pleading for the life of decorated Vietnam veteran, Andrew Brannan, who is scheduled for execution on Tuesday, January 13, 2015.
Mr. Brannan had no prior criminal history and long before the crime had been declared 100% disabled by the Veterans Administration due to diagnoses of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Bipolar Disorder.
Mr. Brannan was sentenced to death by a jury who never heard a firsthand account of the details of his meritorious service in Vietnam and never heard from his treating VA psychiatrist about how his exposure to severe combat violence caused him to develop PTSD to the point that he was deemed 100% disabled by the Veterans Administration. The jury also heard little about Brannan’s dual diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder and never heard that he had not taken his medication for several days before the crime, causing the symptoms of both mental illnesses to become more severe.
I believe that the public interest would be served by commuting Mr. Brannan’s sentence to life without the possibility of parole given his crime was directly tied to the mental difficulties he incurred in his combat service in defense of this country’s interests and ideals. Brannan saw it as his duty to serve and volunteered for combat duty in Vietnam at a time when all knew that conflict was generating significant American casualties. The Board has the opportunity to act as the “fail safe” in this case where the legal mechanism of our capital punishment system has spoken but merciful considerations warrant commutation.
I urge you to show Andrew Brannan mercy and grant him clemency. Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Why is this important?
Georgia set an execution date for Andrew Brannan for next Tuesday, January 13, 2015 at 7:00pm.