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Subscribe to RSS"Onion Field" killer Gregory Powell, who abducted a pair of Los Angeles police officers in 1963 and killed one of them, has died in prison.
The state Department of Corrections reports that Powell, 79, died Sunday of natural causes at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville.
The Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union that represents LAPD officers, quickly issued a statement, reacting to the news.
Gregory U. Powell died Sunday after a battle with cancer. He spent almost 50 years in prison for the murder of a Los Angeles police officer.
"LAPD officers have never forgotten the horrific crime committed by Gregory Powell and Jimmy Lee Smith," wrote Tyler Izen, the president of the LAPPL. "Gregory Powell was a cold-blooded murderer who avoided the death penalty, but he won't escape God's judgement."
Powell's death comes on the heels of a memorial to the slain officer, Ian Campbell, whose name graces the Hollywood intersection where the series of events that led to his death began.
Related: Intersection Dedicated to Officer in "Onion Field" Killing
Nearly 50 years ago, Campbell and his then-partner Karl Hettinger were abducted by Powell and Jimmy Lee Smith after detaining the pair during a traffic stop.
Campbell and Hettinger were on the beat on March 9, 1963, when they stopped the ex-convicts at the Hollywood intersection.
Read original report from NBCLosAngeles.com
After the officers pulled them over, the men pulled out guns and abducted the officers.
Powell shot at Campbell and Hettinger in an isolated onion field near Bakersfield before he and Smith fled. Hettinger, who was not hit, fled to a nearby farmhouse where he got help.
Powell and Smith were arrested that year and eventually convicted of the crime and sentenced to death.
The death sentences were commuted to life in prison after California's death penalty was ruled unconstitutional in 1972.
Over the years, Smith was paroled and repeatedly arrested by the LAPD. He died in 2007 while in prison for a parole violation.
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Powell, who had terminal cancer, was recently denied compassionate release from prison.
Hettinger died in 1994.
Ten years after the killing, Joseph Wambaugh, a former LAPD sergeant, wrote the nonfiction account in a book called "The Onion Field," which also became a movie.
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Leave a Comment:
He cheated Justice, hopefully he will spend the rest of eternity in hell.
I'd rather be executed than spend 50 years in jail. But the world is a better place without this a-hole on it.
Another fecal floater removed from the shallow end of the gene pool.
Good. Now we don't have to house and feed this loser.
He was human and y'all have no idea who he became after 50 years.
He was a cop killer. After 50 years being locked up, he would still have no idea of how to live on the outside. Look at his partner. He got let out and ended up locked up again.
An eraser doesn't change the fact that he is a murderer. Think of the cops wife and family.
culheath
He was an ex-con who abducted two police officers and then killed one of them. His partner Smith was no better. He was released later and then returned to prison.
Why is killing a cop special? Killing a cop is no different than killing any human.
As of yesterday he became worm dirt.
dmp2836
Wouldn't it be something if after killing a police officer he gets forgiven and gets to go to heaven?
As the individual, that in 1982 led the effort that resulted in the recission of Gregory Powell's parole date, I am glad he will never again be able to kill. I am also grateful for the help of slain Los Angeles Police Office Ian Campbell's daughter, Valerie, for her help in our effort. Together we gathered the 31,500 petition signatures that forced the parole board to hold the recission hearing. Powell's accomplice, Jimmy Lee Smith, had already been paroled at the time. Both Powell and Smith were originally sentenced to death, however, their sentences were communted to life in prison after the supreme court overturned capital punishment. Our case against Powell's release went all the way through the California Supreme Court. It is outrageous, however, that we - especially the daughter of the slain police officer, had to do the work that kept Powell imprisoned...effectively doing government's job, that of protecting our citizens. John Mancino, Lancaster, CA
You did a remarkable job.The loss of any officer is a loss to the whole community. Heart felt thanks and God bless you and all who worked so tirelessly to ensure Powell stayed behind bars for life.That book is finally closed. May Ian Campbell's soul and his family finally be at peace.
There are so many willing to deny a God.Okay well how about pure evil? Man by nature is going to do good and bad deeds, but until one stands in the presence of some people it may be hard to describe.Yet they weren't born that way.Baby pictures show a cute kid smiling. But looking at that person in front of you, there is literal darkness like some light has been sucked out of their very body. And if you stand too close they are absorbing your life from you.I knew good courageous men who got the willies around these types.Well now the world has one less. I personally don't think he escaped Justice at all.Where he is at he can't hide behind any lawyers now.
Dwight, according to King David, after he had Bethsiba's husband killed, he was condemned by the Lord and fell from grace. He did receive a promise though that his could would not be left in hell forever.But he woulf have to pay in suffering for his evil deed.The Lord said He would remember him. In addition the child David was expecting would die.But he would lose all that once had been his and the Lord was giving it to another. Hope that helps. But don't quote me!
Sorry for typos, Should read He did receive a promise though that his soul would not be left in hell forever. But he would have to pay in suffering for his evil deed. The Lord would eventually remember him in end.All he had been promised the Lord would be giving to another....Old notes. :)
It cost $3,000,000.00 to keep this murderer alive during his incarceration. That doesn't include the cost in legal fees paid by the taxpayers for his defense and appeals. This money could have been used to improve our society. It could have been used for healthcare, education, victim services, and many other positive things. Instead we punish ourselves because we don't have the intestinal fortitude to do what is right for all concerned. We pay the bill for this so lawyers can become more wealthy while playing on our guilt and our humanity. There are 10s of thousands of murderers in our prisons today. None of them will ever be able to function as members of civilization and all of them will be a threat to other humans because they cannot or will not conform to civilized behavior. The death sentence isn't a punishment, and it is without a doubt a deterrent to others with no moral fiber. Life in prison isn't an example of higher morality or kindness. These people need to be killed so we can provide safety and needed services for those of us who aren't murders. Rather than enriching the bank accounts of lawyers and being unable to provide services to those of us who are in need.
This is why I find it unbelievable that people think imprisonment is cheaper than the death sentence....go figure
I agreed with you until you said "the death penalty isn't a punishment." Of course it is. Where do you get the idea that it isn't?
LWOP @ work - 49 years of 3 squares, no job pressures, early to bed & rise. Probably even have cable. He should have had an "accident" decades ago and saved the tax-payers a small fortune.
Rot in hell you evil bastard.
Well, if you are a 'Christian' you believe that, if Powell repented and believed in Jesus, he would go to Heaven. Meanwhile, the Dali Lama is condemned to Hell.
Go figure.