Hilton Gets Life
He was sentenced today for the murder of the hiker, Meredith Emerson. He will get life in prison with a possibility for parole.
I think it’s too good for him, and it’s unfortunate that we have to feed him or give him water. I think the fact that he admitted to killing her should have ruled out any possibility for parole.
Also, why was he wearing a bullet proof vest? Who gives a flying fuck if some other whack job takes him out? Not me.
I hurt for his family. For their sake, I hope he does rot in prison. And if by some chance a fellow inmate manages to accidentally decapitate him, i will be happy with that. It really makes me sad that he won’t be wiped off the face of the earth as soon as possible.
He’s not in the clear yet. It sounds as though they are building solid cases against him in the other disappearances with which he has been linked.
Now that they have a better idea where to look, authorities will not need his cooperation to lead them to the victims, and without that cooperation, prosecutors will not be as willing to give him a deal.
Now that he is not going any where, hopefully they’ll take their time and build a strong case. Rest assured he will not be hurting anyone else again.
Patrick – I know it is likely that he will die in prison, and god that makes me happy. I just feel for his family. It just seems like a slap in the face for her family that he has even the smallest iota of hope while he is in prison. I don’t think he deserves hope.
I know that is a totally emotional reaction, but i have little faith in our legal system these days.
Thanks for commenting!
I was never a proponent of the death penalty until…
I think having a daughter changed my views on a lot of things and this is one of them. Some things are just so heinous that the only appropriate punishment and deterrent is death.
Can he still be given the death penalty if proven guilty in those other cases?
Reco – I thought that was interesting. Years ago my mother told me the same thing, she could not support the death penalty till she had children.
Also, Annie – to go along with your earlier post about safety, both real and perceived, and about being a female alone at night, the AJC article says: "Emerson was not the first hiker Hilton approached on a trail on Jan. 1. He considered another potential victim, but ‘she was with other people.’
Emerson became his focus for two reasons: She was alone on Blood Mountain, and she was female."
(http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/gwinnett/stories/2008/01/31/threedays_0201.html?cxntlid=homepage_tab_newstab)
I know a rural north Georgia mountain and Inman Park MARTA station are two drastically different locations, but it’s clear that females are singled out by people looking for targets.
Good point, Abby.
Reco, I have always been a death penalty supporter, but after having children, it has given a whole new dimension to the horrors of murder.
And I am no lawyer, but i would assume his plea bargain was only good for the Emerson charges, and hopefully they can pin the other cases on him and he will get what he deserves.
I was thinking the same way about how having kids changes your perceptions, and how it made this story hit home a bit more.
While it is heartening that Hilton was caught so quickly, why he was caught has a disturbing undercurrent, and that is what bothers me the most about this story. Think about it. People reported having seen them walking together only a day or so after her disappearance. They were able to give police a pretty accurate description, so that they knew who they were looking for almost immediately.
While that’s great, think about how much you remember about random people you walk by every day. Unless something really stands out about them, could you give an accurate description to police, even two days later? Probably not.
Something about the situation caused some part of these peoples’ brains to take notice. It’s clear it wasn’t just because they were the only other people on the trail. So, people could tell that something wasn’t quite right – and it caused them to take notice. No one thought to keep an eye on them, maybe follow along behind. Maybe engage them in conversation to get a sense that everything was cool. Anything. But it didn’t happen, and he got her.
I’m not saying these folks did anything wrong. I don’t know what I would have done anything different. But next time I witness a scenario that seems out of place, I may not be so quick to dismiss it.
Good comments, Patrick. I actually have thought about these poor witnesses, too. They are not to blame, but how horrible to have seen her and her killer together and know that you didn’t do something to stop it. That would be a horrible feeling – I think i would just drive myself crazy with "what-ifs."