Kim Kardashian made news again by attempting to grant Brandon Bernard a stay of execution at the zero-hour after being on death row for the past 20 years. Bernard was convicted of being involved with a heinous double murder committed back in 1999. Kim Kardashian’s argument was that Bernard did not actually pull the trigger and that he was a changed man. Kardashian appealed to President Trump, the Department of Justice, and of course, her millions of followers on social media… all to no avail. Bernard was executed on December 10th, 2020.
To fully understand the story and the significance of this story aside from the involvement of Kim Kardashian, it’s important to understand the facts of the case. Mainstream media, and especially social media, tend to paint a narrative about cases like this that are not true. Back in 1999, Todd and Stacie Bagley (who were from Iowa) had just left Sunday church service in Killeen, Texas. A group of four teenagers, including Bernard, approached the couple after they stopped to use a phone to ask for a ride. When the couple obliged, that’s when the teenagers pulled guns out and the nightmare began.
Todd and Stacie Bagley were robbed and kidnapped at gunpoint and forced into the trunk of their own car. The robbers rode around for hours in the stolen vehicle with the couple in the back, still alive, and pleading with the robbers to accept Jesus into their lives. Bernard and the other teenagers drove to several different ATM machines in the area in an attempt to withdraw money. One of the robbers even tried to pawn Stacie’s wedding ring.
Christopher Vialva eventually pulled the vehicle over, got out, and shot both the husband and wife in the head. The husband died instantly but the wife did not. Bernard came along and set the car on fire with both husband and wife still in the trunk. The goal was to try and eliminate evidence. It was later discovered that the wife had soot in her airway, which means she was burned alive because she was trying to breathe when the fire was raging. Vialva was executed in September of 2020 and Bernard was executed on December 10th.
The issue of race was brought up in this case for some odd reason. The argument is that if Bernard were white, then maybe he wouldn’t have gotten the death penalty since the couple he killed were white. Twitter blue-checkers bring up the case of Dylann Roof who killed nine church goers in Charleston South Carolina back in 2015. They say he was treated like a king because he got a Burger King sandwich. They neglect to mention that he is also on death row and will never come home again.
Race has nothing to do with this case. The nature of the horrendous crime is all that matters. Surviving family members of the victims thank Trump and the rest of the administration for not intervening in this case. Twenty-one years is a long time to wait for closure, but now they finally have it.
SOURCES:
Brandon Bernard executed in Trump’s final days – BBC News
Brandon Bernard execution: Texas man convicted in deaths of two Iowans
Justice Department schedules execution for man who murdered Iowa couple
U.S. executes Brandon Bernard, who was 18 at the time of his crime, despite appeals
Brandon Bernard execution: Who were Todd and Stacie Bagley, Iowa couple killed in 1999?
Kim Kardashian Calls System ‘So F***ed Up’ After Brandon Bernard’s Execution
Brandon Bernard executed after Supreme Court denies request for a delay – CNNPolitics
