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Joseph Mitchell "Yogi" Parsons (July 22, 1964 – October 15, 1999) was an American who was executed for the August 1987 murder of Richard Lynn Ernest. Parsons hitched a ride with Ernest in California and stabbed him to death at a remote rest area in Utah. After assuming Ernest's identity, Parsons continued to insist that he was Ernest when he was later arrested. Parsons, who called himself the "Rainbow Warrior",〔 〕 pleaded guilty to the murder. During his sentencing hearing, Parsons said that he killed Ernest to fend off a homosexual advance, but was unable to present any evidence to support this claim in his defense. The jury sentenced him to death. In 1999, Parsons stated that "it's time to move on" and dropped his appeals, allowing his execution to proceed. Discussion was later raised whether "Rainbow Warrior" was a reference to homosexuality or Parsons' favorite auto racing team. Parsons chose to die by lethal injection, avoiding the publicity that John Albert Taylor, the previous prisoner to be executed in Utah, sought by selecting the firing squad. Parsons shunned attention and described himself as "Utah's forgotten inmate". His 1999 execution at Utah State Prison was the first to be carried out in a new chamber designed for both lethal injections and firing squads. ==Background== Joseph Mitchell Parsons was born on July 22, 1964 to Joseph Michael and Marie Parsons in New York City.〔 〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.doc.nv.gov/notis/detail.php?offender_id=17976 ) 〕 Joseph Mitchell spent the first five years of his life without his father, who was incarcerated in jail. His parents worked odd jobs from sewing fuzzy dice to construction. Joseph Mitchell's half-sister Dinah said that his father beat him frequently until he wet himself.〔 After Joseph Michael left the family, Marie took Joseph Mitchell and Dinah to Florida, where Marie met and married Lawrence Gordon. Dinah met a drug dealer nicknamed Yogi, who Parsons admired. Parsons later adopted the nickname and had "Yogi" tattooed onto his right arm.〔 After a year in Florida, Parsons was caught stealing cash from an apartment management office. He ended up with three burglary convictions during his four years in the state as a minor.〔〔 〕 He graduated from high school with a C average and sold shoes in a shopping mall.〔 When Parsons' stepfather refused to buy him a motorcycle, Parsons took one for a test drive from a dealer in Fort Lauderdale and did not return. He went to New Jersey to see his biological father, but was rebuffed. Parsons' sister-in-law Theresa Gomez said, "He rejected him ... Who knows what went through his mind?" Parsons then rode the motorcycle west to Las Vegas, Nevada.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Joseph Mitchell Parsons」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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