Georgia Vietnam Veteran Executed: Vet, Andrew Brannan, Claims PTSD Loses Bid to Stop Death Penalty

Tuesday night, a Georgia resident, who was a decorated Vietnam veteran, is to be executed at 7 pm. The veteran, Andrew Brannan, is sentenced for the death penalty for the harrowing murder of 22-year-old Laurens County deputy Kyle Dinkheller. Brannan had claimed PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder, and Monday appealed for clemency.

In a related article by the Inquisitr, two Tuskegee Airmen veterans passed away today, whom were part of the famous all-black squadron that flew in World War II.

Andrew Brannan was convicted of murdering deputy Kyle Dinkheller in 1998, who had stopped the veteran for driving 98 mph. A dash-cam video showed the horrific incident. Before Brannan pulled a rifle from his car and fatally shot the 22-year-old Dinkheller, Brannan danced around in the street and said “shoot me.”

In the 1998 dashcam, the veteran can be seen unloading his rifle at the deputy, shooting Dinkheller, the husband and father, nine times, killing him.

Brannan’s lawyers argued in a clemency petition to the Georgia State Parole Board that the jury did not get all the details of his military service and mental illness. Brannan, who received two commendation medals and a Bronze Star, was diagnosed with PTSD in 1984 and with bipolar disorder a decade later.

The Georgia State Parole Board listened to both sides in the case on Monday, and late the same day the board issued a release stating it had voted to deny clemency.

Brannan’s lawyer, Joe Loveland, said he was “profoundly disappointed” by the five-member parole board’s decision.

“The death of Deputy Sheriff Kyle Dinkheller was a terrible tragedy… Executing a 66-year-old decorated Vietnam veteran with no prior criminal record who was seriously ill at the time of the crime only compounds the tragedy.”

The lawyers also say Brannan was 100 percent disabled from PTSD and was not taking his bipolar medication at the time of the shooting.

In the 2000 trial, Brannan pleaded guilty by reason of insanity. However, reported Daily Mail, a court-appointed psychiatrist said Brannan was in his right mind when he killed Dinkheller.

Tuesday, an appeal was made to the Georgia Supreme court. By a 6 to 1 decision, the court denied a stay of execution for Brannan.

WARNING: the following video is extremely graphic and contains profanity.

Officer Dinkheller left behind an expectant wife and 22-month-old daughter when he died on January 12, 1998. Deputy Dinkheller’s son was born in early September 1998.

Earlier this month, the fallen officer’s father, Kirk Dinkheller, wrote on Facebook of the coming execution.

“January 12, 2015 it will be 17 years since my son Kyle was murdered in the line of duty and on January 13, 2015 his killer will finally be held accountable. Nothing will ever bring my son back, but finally some justice for the one who took him from his children and his family.”