Cop killer 'deserved death,' but families 'deserve a life'

By STEVE CAMPBELL, The Huntsville Times

Guilty plea gets Barksdale prison without parole

ATHENS - The families of two slain Athens police officers accepted the accused killer's guilty plea Thursday, but one of their widows and Police Chief Wayne Harper said the schizophrenic defendant deserves to die.

Farron Barksdale, who shot Sgt. Larry Russell and officer Tony Mims to death on Jan. 2, 2004, will spend life in prison without the possibility of parole. A Limestone County jury will validate the evidence against Barksdale in a trial Aug. 6.

Rather than enduring a lengthy mental competency hearing and trial, the families asked the Limestone County District Attorney's office not to seek the death penalty against Barksdale.

"I think a lot of people think Barksdale deserves death ɠand I agree as well," said Michele Russell Lopez, Russell's widow. "But my children deserve a life. And they deserve a happy life ɠthat is not filled with courtrooms and appeals."

Barksdale, 32, had faced the possibility of a death sentence, but planned to plead insanity during his trial, said District Attorney Kristi Valls.

He has a long history of mental illness, she said. His competency hearing was scheduled for Monday. Circuit Court Judge Robert M. Baker took the plea Thursday morning.

In a news conference Thursday, Valls said Barksdale's lawyers offered July 17 to plead guilty to capital murder with a maximum penalty of life without parole.

Valls said the families accepted the guilty plea.

"They wanted this to be over," she said. "They wanted the defendant to plea to capital murder."

In 2004, Barksdale called police from inside his mother's home on Horton Street asking for an officer. The officers arrived separately, and Barksdale ambushed them both with rifle fire from inside. Mims, 40, and Russell, 42, died on the scene.

After the shooting, Barksdale laid down in the middle of Horton Street. Residents held him until other officers arrived.

Barksdale's attorneys never denied he killed the officers. At Thursday's news conference, defense attorney Robert Tuten said Barksdale is a paranoid schizophrenic who abused drugs. Tuten said Barksdale has always regretted the killings.

Mims' widow, Linda, said accepting the plea provides much-needed closure.

"I'm satisfied with it," she said. "The fact that Farron Barksdale will never be out on the streets again can hopefully give us the peace that we need."

Executing Barksdale, she added, wouldn't compensate for the crime and loss of life. "You never get compensation, never," Mims said. "A life can never be given back."

Police Chief Harper said he and the department were disappointed. "It was a heinous crime that was a capital offense," Harper said. "It met all the criteria (for the death penalty), and that's the way we were hoping it would end up."

He said the plea sends "a bad message" to law enforcement officers.

Mims and Russell were "great guys" who are missed, Harper added. "They were both experienced, good officers who were liked by everyone and very well thought of in the community," he said. He expressed support for the families' wishes.

Mims' 19-year-old son, Tony Mims Jr., said he is still reeling. Accepting Barksdale's guilty plea was "a big relief," he said, but also brought mixed feelings.

"It's as close to closure as you can get," Mims said.

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Source : The Huntsville Times

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