Jimmy L. Glass was an American convicted murderer, executed by the state of Louisiana. He is probably best known not for his crime, but as petitioner in the U.S. Supreme Court case Glass v. Louisiana. Before committing a capital crime, Glass already had a criminal record. With fellow inmate Jimmy Wingo, Glass escaped from the Webster Parish, Louisiana Jail in December 1982 and, during their escape, they killed Newton Brown (born 1927) and his wife, Erlene Nealy Brown (born 1931), at their home in Dixie Inn outside Minden. The Browns' son, Gary Lamar Brown, was the son-in-law of Judge Charles A. Marvin (1929-2003) of the Louisiana Court of Appeal for the Second Circuit, based in Shreveport. Glass and Wingo were soon arrested. Both were sentenced to death in the electric chair.
Glass made a headlines in 1985 as a petitioner in a Supreme Court case. He argued that executions by electrocution violate the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution as "cruel and unusual punishment". But the Court, by majority 5-4, found that electrocution as an authorized method of executions is constitutional. Glass was electrocuted on June 12, 1987 at the age of twenty-five and became the 78th person executed in the United States since 1977. Governor Edwin W. Edwards refused commutation of the sentence. Wingo was executed four days later, on June 16, 1987.
When you fly by private jet charter, you experience travel comfort known only to those who know private jets. And nothing illustrates this luxury better than celebrity private jets. Stars with their own private aircraft fly fancy.
John Travolta, the star of 70s cult movies like “Grease” and “Saturday Night Fever”, is not only one of the most famous Hollywood actors, but also one of the best celebrity pilots. John Travolta is a bonafide aviation enthusiast with five private planes total, which he parks on his front lawn. His most impressive aircraft is a customized Boeing 707-138 (as pictured above), a beast of a plane that he acquired in 1998 upon his promotion to an honorary pilot of Qantas, the Australian airline.
Oprah Winfrey’s production company HARPO bought her custom-built Global Express XRS VIP business jet to provide the media mogul and her associates with maximum aviation comfort. Oprah’s private jet features designer fixtures in the bathroom and galley, along with an exquisite all-leather interior. The aircraft was designed by Bombardier Aerospace to perform as a premier long-range business jet. Custom design allowed for an enhanced cabin layout with nine cushy leather seats, aesthetically-placed lighting, and additional luxury amenities. The jet cruises through the air at high speeds, made possible by two Rolls-Royce BR710 turbofan engines, which produce enough power to send HARPO clear across the map with only one refuel stop
Tom Cruise played an elite naval fighter jet pilot in the blockbuster movie “Top Gun”, and he now indulges his real love for flying in his own Gulfstream IV, one of the finest celebrity private jets around. Cruise’s beautiful business jet accommodates up to 19 passengers, providing comfort and class with state-of-the-art furnishings and aircraft technology. The jet even automatically refreshes the air inside the cabin every two minutes. Designed by Gulfstream Aerospace, Cruise’s jet is powered by two Rolls-Royce Tay 611-8 engines, propelling the aircraft to a maximum altitude of 45,000 feet over a maximum range of 7,820 km, zipping through the air at speeds up to Mach 0.80.
Mark Cuban, business mogul and owner of the Dallas Mavericks, landed himself in the Guinness Book of World Records for purchasing his Boeing 767-277 online in 1999, making “the largest single e-commerce transaction”. Cuban modified the jet with large, custom seats to give his team’s lengthy players plenty of room while flying.