If Only We Had Politicians This Honest About Their Crimes

"Look, it is no big deal," Christopher Wilkins told the Fort Worth, Texas, jury trying to decide in March whether to send him to death row or life in prison. "I'm as undecided (about that) as you are." Wilkins even belittled his own lawyers for bringing his family in to beg the jury for mercy: "They (my lawyers) sprung that charade on me," he told the jury. When his lawyers suggested that his murders were not cold-blooded but were the result of drug use, Wilkins said, "I wouldn't put too much weight on that." Before leaving the witness stand, Wilkins complimented the prosecutor ("You're doing a fine job") and added, "I haven't been any good to anybody for the last 20 years, and I won't be for the next 20 or the 20 after that." (The jury chose the death penalty.) [Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3-12-08]