On August 5, 1981 at a Memphis Wendy’s, Lt. Ronald Oliver died from a single bullet that passed through his body; in the wee hours of May 9, 2007 at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville, Phillip Ray Workman died from an injection of lethal chemicals. The death of Mr. Workman was administered by the State of Tennessee in the name of justice for the murder of Lt. Oliver.
By his own account, Workman was high on speed and marijuana and he needed a cocaine fix the night he robbed the Wendy’s. He has testified repeatedly that he went into the Wendy’s to rob the business of money, money he needed to buy cocaine. An employee of the restaurant pushed a panic button and when Workman was walking out he was confronted by officers of the law. There was a scuffle and Workman was hit over the head. He does not deny pulling a gun and firing it. At his trial he did not claim he didn’t do it but rather that in his altered state he was not capable of intending to murder. The jury found him guilty of capital murder in 1982 and he was sentenced to death.
Twenty-five years have passed since Philip Workman had his day in court. Evidence has since been discovered that causes one to doubt his guilt. After the trial in 1982, Workman and his attorney learned of ballistics evidence that according to experts proved he did not fire the shot that killed Lt. Oliver. This evidence had not been presented at the trial and an appeal was filed. The bullets in Workman’s gun were .45 caliber hollow points. Hollow points mushroom on impact and the exit wound in Lt Oliver was smaller than the entrance wound, proving that it was not a bullet from Workman’s gun that killed the officer.
In addition to the ballistics evidence there were claims that Workman was framed and charges of police misconduct. The only eyewitness to testify at trial that he saw Workman shoot Lt. Oliver later recanted his testimony.Â
Over the years Philip Workman was asked how he would choose to die. The first time he was asked he refused to answer. He would not “play the death game†as he put it. In a 1999 article Jeff Woods wrote, “Workman winces when I ask how he would choose to die. ‘I was a drug addict strung out on cocaine when I robbed that Wendy’s. So I’ve thought that since a needle got me here, a needle will take me out,’ he says. ‘But I just don’t know if I could make that choice. It’s kind of morbid.’†Recently when asked, Workman was well aware of the case in Florida where it took over 30 minutes and two injections to end the life of Angel Nieves Diaz. Workman said the state of Tennessee no longer asked him which method he preferred but he said he would be inclined to choose the chair. He further stated that at least with the chair he would be knocked unconscious but with the chemicals he could be in pain yet paralyzed and unable to communicate that he was suffering. Â
Over the years, many articles were written on this case and many folks petitioned the courts on Workman’s behalf, pleading for his life. Paula Dodillet, the daughter of Lt. Oliver, asked that mercy be shown toward Mr. Workman. She asked that his sentence be reduced to life in prison. The state denied all of the appeals filed on behalf of Mr. Workman. At 1:38AM on Wednesday, May 9, 2007 Philip Ray Workman was pronounced dead. Did we get it right?
J. Hernandez blogs at http://www.jensview.comÂ
8 users commented in " Philip Workman Executed in Nashville, TN "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackI am all for the death penalty, but this execution was nothing other than murder. Straight out murder. I think it is disgusting and terrifying that government officials can sit there and see evidence that it clearly was not his gun that fired the fatal shot. The only reason this man died is because a group of horrid human beings who will get their own come uppins one judgement day, didn’t want to admit they were WRONG! How awful it is that some idiotic judges with obviously the IQ of a rock could see the kind of evidence about the bullet that was presented and deny that. I understand that the man was still responsible for the officer’s death even if the bullet was not from his gun. It’s his fault because it wouldn’t have happened had he not made such a stupid choice that tragic evening…however, the last time I checked the most he should recieve for what happened was manslaughter and that does NOT by our own laws warrant the DEATH PENALTY!!! All I can say is I really hope that every judge and every attorney who tried and succeeded in murdering this man and kept from proof that he was innocent from being allowed, will one day find themselves in a position where they didn’t do something and yet are killed for it. I hope to God that every person responsible for Phillip Workman’s death will one day suffer the same kind of fate they gave to that man. I hope when they reach their own judgement day that they will not be forgiven and that they will be treated EXACTLY like they treated Phillip Workman. For all you responsible….if you believe in a God, you had better start praying to him that you are given more mercy than you gave this man…although…my hope is that you won’t recieve ANY! Shame on all of you….I hope you at very least live the rest of your lives every single day waking up and looking in the mirror and KNOWING that you are cold blooded murderers…unlike the man you killed. I hope that when your family members and children look at you, all they will be able to see is the disgraceful face of a cold blooded murderer. I hope everyone who realize when you walk past ANYONE from here on out even if they are smiling at you…what they will really be thinking is…you are nothing more than a murderer. A sociopathic murderer with absolutely no regard for human life. I hope that you DO know they are thinking that and I hope that it will eat at you and eat at what pea sized hearts you may have. I hope it ruins your lives and makes you so sick of yourselves that you can hardly breathe when you wake up. I hope you want to vomit everytime you look at yourselves in the mirror…because I can assure you that is what every person in your life wants to do when they look at you…just VOMIT.
I am against the death penalty simply because this government is so stupid and corrupt it is impossible to think that local, state or the federal government is remotely capable of making these decisions.
I strong support the right to keep and bear arms, and I support freedom in all its forms. I also believe we should be free of a murdering corrupt government that uses capita punishment on the innocent, retards and in the case of Texas, its clearly used as a “spic and nigger disposal tool.” Its racist and socio-economic unfair use (when was the last time a millionaire got the needle) makes the death penalty something the government is simply too incompetent to use.
To all those who sit around in your uniforms and your robes and your damn congress or governor’s, God is watching. You abuse power and you will pay. And one day, the people of America will rise up against this murderous corrupt money wasting slave to the corrupt banks and the corrupt energy companies government and end this insanity. Either than, or the Chinese will become the new world leader / order, as the stupid US government leads its people to perdition while the Chinese carefully calculate how to become the lasting superpower.
Rome will have taken a lot longer to fall than America. Our golden age, post WW2 for about 20 years, is already gone, and now the long decline into oblivion begins.
Right now the USD is worth 0.5 British pounds, 0.73 euros. Has your salary doubled since 2000? Well it should have, the money is worth half as much. All this, the government can make your savings worthless with reckless policies and unbounded spending (the US spends 500bn our of the worlds 1.2 trillion military budget), deficit spend, let the Chinese win and murder you with the death penalty.
Countries that use death penalty use: China, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, North Korea and the USA.
“The bullets in Workman’s gun were .45 caliber hollow points. Hollow points mushroom on impact and the exit wound in Lt Oliver was smaller than the entrance wound, proving that it was not a bullet from Workman’s gun that killed the officer.”
Uh, no. Someone has been watching too many crime shows. While hollowpoints do expand, skin is very elastic and due to the differences in stretch between entrance wounds and exit wounds it is very possible to have a smaller exit wound than entrance wound. Because the skin stretches before the bullet punctures it, when the skin rebounds into place, the hole can be quite small. That is why so many crime shows where the detective/forensics/coroner looks at a body and announces “He was shot with a .45” are full of hooey — you cannot use entrance and exit wounds to determine caliber of the bullet. Further, the amount of expansion of a bullet can vary a great deal based on design and other factors. Some hollowpoints even fail to expand when they get plugged with clothing or other barrier materials (wall board being just one example). Which is why normal and FBI bullet performance testing protocols include the use of simulated clothing and other barriers.
Hanging your case on the forensic “factoid” mentioned in the article is just plain dumb. If I were called as an expert witness (and I sometimes am), I would destroy such an argument faster than the attorney could make it.
Tim,
MD, former International Wound Ballistics Association member, forensic specialist, terminal ballistics researcher, and bullet terminal performance researcher
Tim,
Excellent post!
Tim,
Glad to see someone with some expertise post something credible instead of the uninformed hearsay and urban legend/mythinformation so many parade as 100% gospel thruth.
I am beyond furious at what happened to Phil Workman. Of all the truly evil, deserve to die murders over the years in TN, who gets executed? A man who robbed a store, got caught because he felt bad while doing it, and an officer got killed by friendly fire. Not a man who hunts girls to rape and kill them, etc. Then even the victims family themself didn’t think he deserved death because of the evidence.
The most he deserved was punishment for armed robbery or manslaughter since somebody died indirectly from his actions. I’m sick of all the truly evil, those out to physically hurt and kill others who get released early, get slaps on the wrist, and in about 50 years one of 2 executed is an innocent person.
GO to this site, and you’ll be real mad at what happened. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoWvZXOBgmA
I hope the board and all those involved in Philips murder get what they have coming.
Wow, just heard they executed him. Didn’t the coroner in his case fake his own abduction, wrap himself in barbed wire and strap a bomb to himself just for attention from the police?
You guys should really get the facts straight before you condemn those that carried out the sentence. Philip Workman was certainly no innocent party to this and the Death Penalty was warranted in his case. I get sick of lefties forgetting hte victims in these cases.
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