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Death Penalty
The Death Penalty

The mother of a teenager killed during a shooting rampage at a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant in Aurora in 1993 is begging the governor to let convicted killer Nathan Dunlap die. "Sit back, make no decision, allow the one that 12 people made after listening to all the evidence 17 years ago stand," said Sandi Rogers in a statement sent to Gov. John Hickenlooper. Sandi 's son, Ben Grant, was 17 years old when he was shot and killed with his co-workers. Dunlap had been fired from the restaurant before he came back and shot five people at closing time. Four died, one survived. Ben had only worked at the restaurant for three weeks before the shooting. Sandi said Ben didn 't even know Dunlap. "He 'd never met the guy, he 'd never even seen the guy before," Sandi said back in 1993. Ben 's family and friends said he was a bright, strong, funny young man. "He never got to get married, and have children, he never got to see the world," Sandi said. The sole survivor of a mass shooting in 1993 is tired of talking about the man who changed his life forever. “Every time I have to speak on this, it re-opens wounds,” said Bobby Stephens. Stephens was 20 at the time of the shooting. He was picking up some extra hours at the Chuck E. Cheese restaurant where he worked when gunman Nathan Dunlap came in to rob the store. Dunlap shot and killed Sylvia Crowell, 19; Ben Grant, 17; Colleen O’Connor, 17; and Margaret Kohlberg, 50. Dunlap also shot Bobby Stephens in the face, but didn’t kill him. Stephens lay wounded and bleeding until the robbery was over. Dunlap was convicted and sentenced to death for his crimes. Now, 20 years later, Dunlap learned he will live at least a while longer. Gov. John Hickenlooper announced on May 22, 2013 he’s granting a temporary reprieve of Dunlap’s execution. Capital punishment, also dubbed the “death penalty” is the premeditated and planned taking of a human life by a government in a response to a crime committed by that legally



Cited: Gardapee, Pamela. ehow.com. 2010. web. 1 10 2013. Stanley, Deb. Chuck E Cheese shooting victim Ben Grant 's mom begs governor to let Nathan Dunlap be executed. 14 may 2013. Web. 10 October 2013. The Cost of Lethal Injection Drugs. 27 February 2012. Web. 5 october 2013. White, Deborah. Pros and cons of the death penalty. n.d. web. 9 October 2013.

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