"Shake the sand out of your shoes, honey, and keep going."

I'm sure this is hard to hear for the Cockman family, but I think they deserve to rot in jail, personally. Dying would be an easy out for these two.

Life Sentence Disappointing To Cockman's Family
Judge Imposes Sentence After Jury Can’t Decide
POSTED: 5:57 am EDT June 29, 2006
UPDATED: 6:27 am EDT June 29, 2006
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GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Jennifer Holloway and David Edens will spend the rest of their lives in prison.

Judge John Hayes imposed the sentence of life without parole Wednesday afternoon after a Greenville County jury was unable to agree on a sentence for the couple.

Judge Imposes Sentence

Edens and Holloway were convicted Friday of murder and kidnapping. They killed Greenville businessman Jim Cockman by wrapping his head in 40 feet of duct tape.

Cockman had met the couple in a Greenville County parking lot, thinking they were going to buy a used SUV he was selling.

Prosecutors argued that Edens and Holloway should die for their crimes. But the jury, which took less than two hours to convict the couple, deliberated for more than 10 hours before telling Hayes they could not decide between the two penalties available to them, death or life in prison.

“That is life in prison without the possibility of parole," Hayes said twice, first when Edens, 36, stood before him and then a few minutes later to Holloway, 29.

Cockman’s family said that those weren’t the words they wanted to hear. Cockman’s widow, Cathy Cockman and his daughter, Kimberly Rasmussen, said they hoped the jury would impose the death penalty.

"They could have stopped at his chin,” Cathy Cockman said, describing the way the couple killed her husband. “They could have stopped at his mouth and when he couldn't beg with his mouth, I know he begged with his eyes."

Still, Cathy Cockman said that she is glad that the ordeal is over.

"I'm glad this part is over and I'm very glad that they have no hope.” She told WYFF News 4’s Erin Hartness. “It would have broken my heart if they had any hope of getting out. The fact that they have no hope, that's sufficient for me."

Cockman's daughter says that knowing that is not much comfort to her.

"When you wake up in the morning, it's the first thing on your mind. When you lay down at night, you can't get it out of your head," Rasmussen said.

Cathy Cockman and Rasmussen said that they are not soothed by Holloway’s apology after her sentence was announced.

"I would like to apologize to the Cockman family for what I've done and I'd like to apologize to my family," she said. Edens remained silent after his sentence was read.

“Those words asking for forgiveness from the Cockman family, they just don't ring true to me," Cathy Cockman said.

Edens was required to attend the sentencing on Wednesday, but he had not been in the courtroom since the trial’s first day, opting instead to remain in his cell at the Greenville County Law Enforcement Center.

One defense attorney said that even though the couple’s lives were spared, there is nothing to celebrate about this case.

Solicitor Bob Ariail, who prosecuted the case, said he does not regret seeking the death penalty.
Ariail said both defendants indicated they would have pleaded guilty to life in prison 16 months ago, when the prosecution began, but the solicitor's office felt the death penalty was appropriate.
Now that the case is settled, Rasmussen said that she must begin to move on with her life.
"You go. You just keep going,” she said. “You know, my Dad used to say 'Shake the sand out of your shoes, Honey, and keep going.' I was brought up by that and I live by that."

After closing arguments in the penalty phase on Tuesday, the jury had deliberated for more more than 6 hours before adjorning for the night at about 9:30 p.m. Jurors then met for another three hours on Wednesday morning, and more than an hour on Wednesday afternoon before informing Hayes of their inability to make a decision.

The jurors had asked to review testimony about the mental and physical abuse Holloway suffered at the hands of Edens, her common-law husband.

Closing Arguments

In making their closing arguments on Tuesday, prosecutors said that Edens and Holloway deserved to die for their crime. Defense attorneys called for mercy.

Holloway was tearful at times. Her co-defendant, Edens, was not there.

Prosecutors said that because Holloway and Edens kidnapped Cockman before they killed him by wrapping his head with duct tape, they deserved to die for the crime.

"This isn't about what is the least and easiest for us to do," 13th Circuit Solicitor Bob Ariail said in his closing argument. "I told you this is a tough decision, but if we just took the easiest and least punishment then there's no need for the death penalty. Then our law says it's appropriate."

The jury heard excerpts from letters that Edens and Holloway wrote to each other from jail after their arrest in September 2004.

The letters referred to a plot to kill Holloway's father and included apologies to each other for their involvement in Cockman's death.

"Why should they receive mercy? What mercy did they give to Jim Cockman?" Ariail said. "When they were wrapping his head and he was struggling and gasping for air, pleading, they rejected his plea for mercy."

But defense attorneys for Edens and Holloway asked the jury to show mercy and spare their lives.

"Mr. Ariail talks like life without parole is like a stroll at Cleveland Park," Edens' attorney, John Mauldin, said. "Imagine it, imagine being in prison for the rest of your life never to breathe a breath of free air again. Do we teach our children revenge or do we teach them mercy? Do we teach them retribution or do we teach them compassion?"

Holloway's attorneys said a lifetime of troubles affected her actions on the day Cockman died in September 2004. They said that their client, who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and battered women syndrome, does not deserve execution.

"I'm going to sit down in just a minute," Holloway's attorney Teresa Morris said. "This is an awesome responsibility for me, as a lawyer, to ask you for another woman's life. But your responsibility is much deeper. You have to make the judgment."

"We have all had bad experiences. We all have to deal with it," Holloway's attorney Hank Ehlies told the jury. "We all get hammered by the consequences of life, but some of us earlier than others. And some more frequently than others."

The judge told the jurors they could consider what's called mitigating circumstances, which are reasons to not impose the death penalty.

Those circumstances could include not having a criminal history of violence and acting under the influence of a mental disturbance.

Previous Stories:
June 27, 2006: Fate Of Edens, Holloway In Jury's Hands
June 26, 2006: Penalty Hearing Continues For Edens, Holloway
June 24, 2006: Edens, Holloway Found Guilty In Cockman's Death
June 23, 2006: Cockman Trial Now In Hands Of Jury
June 22, 2006: Prosecution Expected To Wrap Up Case In Cockman Trial