Dec. 7 ARIZONA: Woman may get death penalty An Ahwatukee Foothills woman convicted last month of killing her terminally ill husband must now fight for her life. After deliberating four hours over 2 days, a Maricopa County Superior Court jury decided Monday that Wendi Andriano, 34, is eligible for the death penalty in the October 2000 death of her husband, Joseph Andriano, 33. Prosecutor Juan Martinez argued there were 4 reasons Andriano should be eligible for the death penalty, but the jury could only agree on 1 - that Andrianos actions were "especially cruel." The jury could not reach a consensus as to whether Andriano killed her husband for money or that the slaying was especially "heinous" or "depraved." One aggravator was enough, however, and the jury will return on Wednesday to hear arguments on why her life should be spared. Jurors were told Andriano grew weary of waiting for her husband to die of cancer and poisoned him. Witnesses testified Andriano believed that if her husband died before a medical malpractice suit went to trial, she could win as much as $20 million. When the poison didnt kill him immediately, jurors were told Andriano beat her husband over the head with a bar stool 23 times and stabbed him in the neck as their children slept. Andriano also tried to fraudulently obtain life insurance policies for her husband, Martinez said. "The defendant is a money-hungry woman who saw her husband as nothing more than a pot of gold," Martinez said. The slaying was "especially cruel" on a number of fronts, Martinez argued. Not only was Joseph Andriano going to die of cancer within less than a year, his wife let him suffer for 90 minutes before picking up the bar stool, Martinez said. Defensive wounds on his hands show Joseph Andriano was conscious for some of the blows, Martinez said, and he was also alive when she stabbed him. "I guess we should give her some credit for placing the pillow in his mouth so his cries couldnt be heard by their kids," Martinez said. If given the death penalty, Andriano will join Debra Milke on death row. Milke was convicted of orchestrating the December 1989 death of her 4-year-old son. (source: East Valley Tribune) FLORIDA: Accused Port Salerno rapist will face death penalty in 3 trials The man accused of raping and strangling 3 women in the Port Salerno area remained mute Monday, while state prosecutors said they intend to try him separately for the 3 charges he faces of 1st-degree murder. In court, secured with waist, hand and leg shackles, Eugene W. McWatters, 26, maintained a blank expression as Assistant State Attorney Tom Bakkedahl told a judge that after weighing the evidence, prosecutors rejected the idea of consolidating the cases. McWatters will stand trial separately on each charge, beginning with the 3rd victim, Christal Wiggins, discovered June 7. But that trial, expected to last about 3 weeks, is probably still a year away, prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed. In July, the unemployed laborer was indicted by a Martin County grand jury in the deaths of Jacquline Bradley, 43, found in a Golden Gate canal on March 31; Carrie Caughey, 18, found June 3 on the east bank of a Port Salerno lake; and Wiggins, 29, found 4 days later on a different bank of the same lake. Bakkedahl indicated that because of the similar nature of the crimes, the state will seek to introduce at each trial evidence related to the other slayings. He also confirmed that the state is seeking the death penalty in all 3 cases. Asked by the court whether his attorneys expected to argue their client is not guilty by reason of insanity, his court-appointed lawyer Robert Watson said it was too soon to make that determination in "good faith." But he didn't rule out the possibility either. McWatters has already undergone a court-ordered mental health evaluation to determine whether he is competent to assist his attorneys and whether he was insane at the time of the alleged murders. Watson declined to elaborate on the results. Geiger set a March 11 hearing to argue the state's request and for legal matters related to the death penalty. After court, Bakkedahl said McWatters was an "appropriate" case for the state to seek the ultimate punishment. "You've got multiple homicides, violent homicides," said Bakkedahl. "The nature of the killings, coupled with the number of killings just simply lent itself to a death penalty case." (source: Stuart News) CALIFORNIA: State court to decide standard for retarded -- Ruling could affect 20 to 30 prisoners on Death Row Death Row inmate Anderson "Peewee" Hawthorne Jr. couldn't recite the alphabet past the letter M when he was 12 and couldn't write anything except his name and the date, according to friends and teachers. A lifelong friend said he "could not understand anything too complicated." A psychologist said Hawthorne was "one of the most profoundly impaired individuals that I have seen within a forensic (prison) population." In other words, his lawyers say, Hawthorne can be classified as mentally retarded and thus is exempt from the death penalty under a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling. But a state lawyer calls Hawthorne a "wily gang leader" whose IQ -- at least 75 -- and purposeful actions during a 1982 double murder show he is not retarded. When the California Supreme Court takes up his case at a hearing today in San Diego, it will be asked to set the ground rules for determining whether Hawthorne and 20 to 30 other condemned prisoners should have their sentences reduced to life without parole. Those criteria also would apply to future trials of death-penalty defendants who claim to be retarded. The ruling, due in 90 days, has the potential to reduce California's death row population by more than any single decision since the 1970s, when the state court twice overturned the death penalty law. The case will measure California's implementation of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2002 that declared execution of the retarded to be in violation of the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment. The nation's high court reversed its own 1989 ruling, which allowed execution of the retarded, and said a growing consensus of states, other nations and mental health professionals supported sparing the lives of murderers who were substantially lacking in mental capacity. The court did not define retardation, however, leaving that task to the states. In today's case, the California court will look at the state Legislature's response to the 2002 ruling and decide how it applies to prisoners already on death row. Out of 37 states with death penalty laws in 2002, California was one of 20 that allowed executions of the retarded. The ruling moved the issue to the Legislature, where prosecutors and defense lawyers battled for a year before agreeing on a bill by Senate President Pro Tem John Burton, D-San Francisco, that set procedures for future death penalty trials and criteria for retardation. The bill, which took effect this year, did not give prosecutors what they most wanted: a strict IQ standard of 70 or below. Instead, it defined retardation as "significantly sub-average general intellectual functioning" that is accompanied by "deficits in adaptive behavior" manifested before age 18. State prosecutors in Hawthorne's case argue that "significantly sub- average" should be measured by an IQ score. "The standard in the profession is 70 on the standard IQ test," Senior Assistant Attorney General Dane Gillette, death penalty coordinator in state Attorney General Bill Lockyer's office, said in an interview. "We think the (state) Supreme Court should require at least a showing based on that standard." By that criterion, Hawthorne "is definitely not mentally retarded," Deputy Attorney General Robert Henry said in court papers, citing evidence from defense lawyers that their client's IQ scores have ranged from 75 to 86. "He is on the low end of ordinary, average intelligence." He also said at least 10 other states use an IQ score of 70 or less to measure retardation, which is in the lowest 2 to 3 % of the population. The average IQ is between 90 and 110. Mental health advocates disagree with the prosecutors. The American Association on Mental Retardation, which stopped relying on a numerical standard for retardation in 1992, said in court papers that "it is not possible to identify a single, arbitrary IQ score as the upper boundary." While an IQ of 70 to 75 is evidence of retardation, the association said, courts must also look for "limitations on the individual's functioning in the world," such as an inability to communicate, care for oneself or exercise social skills. Hawthorne, now 44, was convicted of murdering Kirt Thomas and Jimmy Lee Mamon and attempting to murder 3 other men in a gang-related shooting in South Central Los Angeles in December 1982. Described by police as a member of the Bloods street gang, he had been in trouble with the law since his early teens and had completed a sentence for burglary less than 2 months before the killings. He did not raise mental health as a defense at his murder trial or his initial appeal, which was rejected by the state Supreme Court in 1992. But even before the U.S. Supreme Court's 2002 ruling on retardation, Hawthorne's lawyers were assembling evidence that their client was mentally subnormal. Psychologist Dale Watson labeled Hawthorne one of the most profoundly impaired inmates he'd ever encountered after conducting nine hours of tests in 1995. He said in his report that Hawthorne was deficient in memory, academics, social skills and communication. He also quoted relatives as saying that insanity ran in the family. Psychiatrist George Woods issued a similar diagnosis and also observed that Hawthorne "grew up in a war zone" and remained functionally illiterate. "When Peewee talked, he would often forget what he was saying," a cousin, Deborah Vaughn Campbell, said in a declaration filed by Hawthorne's lawyers. "He lives in a world of his own." Even fellow gang members observed that Hawthorne had a hard time conversing and making himself understood, his lawyers said. They want the court to order new hearings before a Los Angeles judge on Hawthorne's mental condition. But Henry, the state's lawyer, noted that Hawthorne had reached the ninth grade in school and had attended classes at the California Youth Authority. One schoolteacher said he was good at following directions, and he held occasional jobs, made breakfast for his mother, did household repairs and owned and drove a car, Henry said. "There was no question about his ability to feed and clothe himself, but far beyond that, he committed criminal offenses far beyond the capacity of individuals we would commonly recognize as retarded," Henry said. He said Hawthorne pistol-whipped a leader of the rival Crips gang shortly before the murders, used a getaway driver for the killings and shouted, "Guess who? Piru," a code name for the Bloods, before firing the fatal shots as his victims were playing dice. In many of the 20 to 30 cases that have been put on hold to await the Hawthorne ruling, prosecutors have offered similar arguments: that the crimes reveal a thought process that contradicts claims of retardation. Even those with IQs below 70 should not be considered retarded, said Gillette, the state's death penalty coordinator, if "the actual commission of the crime demonstrates that they have the ability to act independently." The case is In re Hawthorne, S116670. (source: San Francisco Chronicle) ************************* DNA links convicted Ohio murderer to unsolved 1972 Calif. murder Worried about releasing a convicted murderer, Ohio authorities ran his DNA through a national index and linked him to a 32-year-old Southern California slaying, sheriff's investigators announced Monday. The Orange County district attorney's office last week issued an arrest warrant for Edwin Dean Richardson, 68, for the murder of Marla Jean Hires, 23, who was killed on Oct. 29, 1972, while on her way to work at a bank in Stanton. Hires, who lived in Stanton, in Orange County about 35 miles southeast of Los Angeles, was raped and strangled and her body was wrapped in carpet and dumped near a golf course in Yorba Linda, some 15 miles from her home, investigator Larry Pool said Monday. "32 years ago, Marla Hires was a daughter, a sister, a wife, a mother. Her life was brutally snuffed out in the most demeaning and depraved way," District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said. Richardson, who is terminally ill with emphysema, is serving a 15-years-to-life sentence in Belmont County, Ohio, for the 1977 murder of Joanna Boughner, 21, and the abduction of 2 teenage girls but was up for parole in May, Pool said. Concerned that Richardson would be freed, Ohio officials ran his DNA through the national index and found it matched DNA taken from Hires' body 32 years ago, Pool said. Orange County investigators took fresh samples from Richardson to confirm the match, he added. Orange County first began using DNA to solve crimes in 1997, he said, and used it to eliminate several suspects from the original investigation of Hires' murder. Richardson will likely be extradited to Orange County for prosecution. Pool said Richardson may have murdered, raped or abducted other victims whose cases remain unsolved. "He's a sexual predator, he's a serial killer," Pool said. "I think there's a very strong likelihood that there are other murders and other sexual assaults out there that he's not been identified for yet." Richardson was arrested for the Boughner murder and 2 abductions in 1980 in Mesa, Ariz., Pool said. He was suspected in at least 3 other sexual assaults and abductions around Scottsdale and Mesa when he was arrested, he said. If Richardson were to be released, "there is no doubt in my mind that he would continue his animalistic behavior," said Belmont County Sheriff Thomas McCort, who took part in the Orange County news conference. "He's not as strong now as he was in 1979, 1972, and so, who would he prey on next?" McCort asked. "A child, an infant? A person of this caliber ... doesn't go away," he said. Richardson lived in Southern California from 1948 to 1952; 1957 to 1968 and 1969 to 1974. He lived in Belmont County, Ohio, from 1974 to 1978; around Scottsdale and Mesa, Ariz., from 1978 to October 1980, when he was arrested. He also lived briefly in Texas (1952-1953), Oklahoma (1954-1956) and Las Vegas (1969). (source: Associated Press) ********************** Jury begins considering the fate of the 'Sausage King' Jurors today began deliberating whether to recommend the death penalty for a San Leandro sausage plant owner whom they previously convicted of 3 counts of first-degree murder for killing three meat inspectors 4 years ago. The fate of 43-year-old Stuart Alexander, who calls himself "The Sausage King," was handed to jurors late today after attorneys in the lengthy case concluded their closing arguments, which lasted parts of 3 days, and Alameda County Superior Court Judge Vernon Nakahara gave them legal instructions. Jurors must choose between recommending either the death penalty or life in prison without parole for Alexander. They are to weigh the aggravating factors in his life, such as the many violent incidents he's been involved in, against mitigating factors, such as good deeds he has performed in the community, including donations to charitable and community groups. Jurors met for only a brief time today and won't begin deliberating in earnest until tomorrow morning. In addition to convicting Alexander of 3 counts of 1st-degree murder at the end of the guilt phase of his trial on Oct. 19, jurors also convicted Alexander of 1 count of attempted murder and 4 special circumstances murder clauses. The special circumstances clauses made him eligible for the death penalty. 3 of the special circumstances clauses were for killing inspectors during the course of performing their duties and 1 was for committing multiple murders. Killed in the June 21, 2000, incident were 2 U.S. Department of Agriculture compliance officers, 56-year-old Jean Hillery of Alameda and 52-year-old Tom Quadros of Hayward and 57-year-old state inspector Bill Shaline of Sacramento. The inspectors were killed when they visited Alexander's factory to investigate allegations that he was violating food safety regulations. Earlier today, Alexander's lead attorney, Alameda County Assistant Public Defender Michael Ogul, apologized to jurors for getting upset at times during Alexander's trial. In his closing argument, Ogul said the reason he's gotten upset is that "the prosecution is trying to kill Stuart" and he's thought "some things have been unfair" in the trial. He didn't mention any specifics. Ogul told jurors, "I want you to know why I acted the way I did." Ogul has made many unsuccessful motions for a mistrial in Alexander's case, citing alleged misconduct by the judge and prosecutors, and in one incident he challenged one of the prosecutors to a fight in a hallway outside Nakahara's courtroom. Ogul told jurors "there is no reason for you to kill Stuart Alexander," stating that Alexander has performed many good deeds in his life, such as donating his time and money to charities, helping police catch criminals and giving advice and help to friends in time of need. (source: Bay City News) ************************* THE PETERSON TRIAL -- Family, friends make impassioned appeal for Peterson's life Scott Peterson's high school golf coach, junior high school principal and former employers can't believe he is a murderer, and they don't want to see him die. Many said they hadn't seen him in years but still felt compelled to plead for his life Monday in front of the same jury that on Nov. 12 convicted Peterson of killing his wife, Laci, and their unborn baby. "It's still unbelievable to me," said David Thoennes, who was Peterson's high school golf coach in San Diego. "I just can't imagine anything like this from the young man I knew." Thoennes said he had undergone heart surgery just six weeks ago but felt he owed it to Peterson and his parents to come to the Redwood City courtroom where jurors are now weighing whether to sentence Peterson to death or punish him with life in prison without the possibility of parole. Eleven witnesses took the stand Monday, including 2 uncles, 3 cousins, two former employers, three friends from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where he attended college, his junior high school principal, the dean of students from his high school and a golf coach from his school days. One by one, they described Peterson as a hard-working, generous and quiet boy and man, who bore no resemblance to the cold-blooded killer described by prosecutors. "I do not believe Scott is guilty of this crime," said Sandra Bertram, who was one of Peterson's bosses at the Rancho Santa Fe country club. "The child who I knew, who I saw daily, could not have done this." Other kids who golfed at the club often came off as spoiled and overindulged, but Peterson was always respectful and reliable as both a club member and employee, said Charles Courtney, the club's golf pro. "I can't reconcile what happened with what I know about him as a young man. ... It's just shocking," Courtney testified. Peterson's uncle Bob Latham went as far as calling the jury's verdict "a mistake" and suggested that in time it might be overturned. Latham said he hoped the verdict wouldn't be further compounded by putting his nephew to death. "I wouldn't want that mistake to be on other people," he said. Defense lawyers are trying to show that the slayings Peterson was convicted of are uncharacteristic of their client, and if jurors have even one scintilla of doubt that they are holding the wrong man accountable, they should reject the death penalty. They are also trying to show that if the 32-year-old Peterson is allowed to spend the rest of his days in prison, he still has a chance to benefit society in some way. The witnesses drew mostly on memories that were years old, from Peterson's days as a young boy through college. He was the model student, who never once was sent to the principal's office, the respectful nephew who rushed his aunt to the emergency room, the kind neighbor who drove an elderly couple to church on Sundays, and the concerned pal who never forgot to check up on a friend whose heart had been broken. "He would call and see how I was doing," said Bill Archer, one of Peterson's college roommates, who choked back tears as he described the friend who had consoled him during a painful breakup in college. "Some people are just there for you every day and always thoughtful, and Scott was like that." Nearly all the witnesses said that they'd never seen Peterson come even close to losing his temper, not on the golf course, not at work and not with his family. "There's not a violent bone in his body," said Abraham Latham, Peterson's cousin. The witnesses also tried to show jurors that if they spared Peterson's life, he could be a good influence on others around him in jail. "Scott will always make a positive contribution no matter what situation he's in," Bertram said. "And I think we'll see that in the years to come." Moreover, another of Peterson's uncles, John Latham, said it would break his family's heart if Peterson were executed. He suggested his sister, Jackie Peterson, had been through enough. When she was a very young girl, her own father was murdered while someone was trying to rob his business, Latham said. Their mother suffered from a rare skin disease, forcing Jackie Peterson and her three brothers to be raised in an orphanage. They were returned to their mother 9 years later, but she lived only two years after their homecoming. "We've had a lot of things happen to us in our lives and you move on," Latham said. Peterson's younger cousin Kelly Beckton said if her cousin were to be executed, the family would in a sense die with him. "It would be the death of our family," Beckton said. Testimony on behalf of Peterson is expected to resume today and continue Wednesday. Peterson's mother will be the last to plead for his life. The jury is expected to begin deliberating Thursday morning. ****************************** Parade of witnesses plead for mercy for Peterson His uncle, his former employer, his high school coach and his junior high school principal can't believe Scott Peterson is a murderer and don't want him to die. One by one, they took the stand Monday to plead for mercy on behalf of Peterson, who was convicted Nov. 12 of murdering his wife, Laci, and the couple's unborn child. Now, the same jurors who convicted him must decide whether Peterson should be condemned to death for his crimes or sentenced to prison for the rest of his life. Some of those who testified hadn't seen Peterson in years, but the boy and man they once knew was nothing like the cold-blooded killer described by prosecutors, they said. "I do not believe Scott is guilty of this crime," said Sandra Bertram, who was one of Peterson's bosses at the Rancho Santa Fe country club. "The child who I knew, who I saw daily, could not have done this." Representing various eras of Peterson's life, the witnesses remembered the boy who was never once sent to the principal's office, the employee who was always reliable and respectful and the nephew who rushed his aunt to the emergency room and stayed with her throughout the day. Defense lawyers are trying to show that the slayings Peterson was convicted of are uncharacteristic of their client, and if jurors have even one scintilla of concern that they are holding the wrong man accountable they should reject the death penalty. They are also trying to show that if Peterson is allowed to spend the rest of his days in prison he can still benefit society in some way or fashion. "Scott will always make a positive contribution no matter what situation he's in," Bertram said. "And I think we'll see that in the years to come." Peterson's maternal uncle, John Latham, said it would break his family's heart if Peterson was executed. He implied that his sister, Jackie Peterson, has been through enough. When she was a little girl her father was murdered while someone was trying to rob his business, Latham said. Their mother suffered from a rare skin disease, which eventually killed her, forcing Jackie Peterson and her siblings to be raised in an orphanage. "We've had a lot of things happen to us in our lives and you move on," Latham said. But Peterson's uncle, who owns and operates a hunting lodge in Alaska, said if the jury voted to have his nephew put to death "It would tear our family apart." Charles Courtney, the golf pro who Peterson worked for at the country club, said he just can't come to grips with the case. "I can't reconcile what happened with what I know about him as a young man . . . It's just shocking. Courtney said the Peterson he recalls was quiet, "very responsive" and respectful. "He was just a fine young man," said Courtney, who added that although Peterson was a child of privilege, he was always a reliable employee who wasn't above picking up balls off the driving range and doing other scut work. Ronald Rowe, Peterson's junior high school principal and superintendent, said the defendant was a model student. Marvin Threatt, the dean of students at Peterson's high school, had high praise for the defendant's classroom behavior. "The whole time I was there he was never in my office," he said. Bertram said she was sure that Peterson was on the road to success. "We always thought Scott was going to become something good, great and wonderful." Testimony in Peterson's penalty phase is expected to continue this afternoon. (source: San Francisco Chronicle) LOUISIANA: La. death penalty examined -- Review of court records leads to call for moratorium During the past 5 years, twice as many condemned inmates have walked free from Louisiana's death row than have been executed. A review of court records since 1999 shows that, of the last 22 inmates removed from death row when their sentences were finally resolved: -12 had their death sentences reversed and were ordered to serve lesser sentences; -6 were released after the courts ordered the 1st-degree murder charges dismissed; -1 died of natural causes; and, -3 were executed. 2 of the 3 who were executed were represented by attorneys no longer allowed to practice law, according to the Louisiana Office of Disciplinary Counsel. One of the lawyers was disbarred after being found to have participated in a laundry list of improper behavior involving several cases. The other lost his license because of mental health problems. Several death-penalty experts say the data is so shocking that Gov. Kathleen Blanco should suspend executions. They say the governor should name a panel to study the issues, as the Republican governor of Illinois unilaterally did. "I would think that Gov. Blanco would be in favor of a study in the form of a moratorium to find out why is it that we have these kinds of numbers and what can we do to instill confidence in capital punishment," said Nick Trenticosta of New Orleans. He is director of the Center for Equal Justice, which represents some death-row inmates. During her campaign last year, Blanco said she would consider a moratorium if statistics indicated problems. Blanco did not return calls to respond to these findings, but she authorized her spokeswoman Denise Bottcher to say Tuesday that the governor wanted to see the "evidence that a moratorium on the death penalty needs to be called." Attorney General Charles Foti, the state's chief legal officer, did not return calls, but after five days, he said through spokeswoman Kris Wartelle that he would have no comment. The lawmaker whose committee considers changes to the state's capital punishment laws says he's open to the idea of suspending executions. "I'm here to be convinced that we need a moratorium," said state Rep. Daniel R. Martiny, R-Metairie, who chairs the House Committee on Criminal Justice. "But I think we should have a moratorium only if we can show that innocent people are being executed," Martiny said. "I might agree more with the critics of that situation if we were sentencing them to death and 2 months later we were executing them. - I'm glad to see these people were exonerated, that's the way the system is supposed to work." Prosecutors also see the findings as proof that Louisiana's capital punishment scheme is working fine. "The system is designed to catch any error, no matter how small. That's the way the system is supposed to work, and those numbers show that we're not executing people willy-nilly," said Pete Adams of Baton Rouge, director of the Louisiana District Attorneys Association. "Human endeavor is imperfect," said 19th Judicial District Attorney Doug Moreau of Baton Rouge. "Our system is designed to eliminate as much imperfection as possible." Moreau said statistics have little meaning in a criminal justice context because each case is unique. "It may very well be that (what) appeared a proper result to one person is improper to another," he said. "That 27 percent of all capital convictions led to exonerations is shocking," said Stuart P. Green, an LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center professor specializing in constitutional and criminal justice issues. "I can't see how any criminal justice system can tolerate that level of error, particularly in the matter of the death penalty," Green said. "It is unacceptable." Denise LeBoeuf, director of the Capital Post-Conviction Project of Louisiana, says she has studied carefully each of the cases of the 22 condemned inmates whose cases have been resolved because her agency represented most of them during their final court reviews. She says the numbers are actually more startling because of the way "finally resolved" is defined by national and international organizations that collect data on death row cases. Final resolution means no further legal proceedings are possible, meaning the inmate was either executed or his death sentence was dismissed. Another five Louisiana inmates had their death sentences overturned by the courts, but those cases have not been finalized, she said. Those 5 inmates still face new trials; therefore, their cases have not been finally resolved. Even without including those fives cases in the calculation, approximately one Louisiana death sentence in 10 leads to an execution, LeBoeuf says. This means that Louisiana has an 86.4 % error rate, she said. Between 1977 and 2003, 36 % of the 7,061 people sentenced to death in the 38 states with capital punishment had their sentences overturned, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. "No matter how you feel about the death penalty, people of integrity want to make sure that we take particular care when the sentence is death. These numbers say we are not careful," said LeBoeuf, who joined the call for a moratorium. Richard Dieter is director of the Death Penalty Information Center. He said that, when confronted with similar statistics, the Republican governor of Illinois ordered a halt to executions until the issue could be studied. Dieter's Washington, D.C.-based group takes no position on capital punishment, but is critical of the way it is applied. Illinois had a death-row population of 159 - nearly double Louisiana's 87. Then Illinois Gov. George Ryan halted executions because he was troubled by a system that released 13 death-row inmates in 20 years. Louisiana has released 6 death-row inmates in 5 years. Maryland, Indiana and Nebraska also launched government studies that reviewed their states' death-penalty procedures from start to finish. The State Bar of Louisiana adopted a resolution in January 2000 asking the governor to halt executions while re-examining the process. A month later, then-Gov. Mike Foster refused. Condemned to death, then freed Shareef Cousin, convicted in 1996, charges dismissed in 1999. The then-16-year-old had been convicted and sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of a man outside a French Quarter restaurant based on the eyewitness testimony of the victim's date. The Louisiana Supreme Court in 1998 overturned his conviction because of Orleans Parish prosecutors' "flagrant misuse" of evidence used to impeach testimony that Cousin was videotaped playing basketball at the time of the crime. The district attorney opted to retry Cousin and dismissed all charges. Michael Graham, convicted in 1987, charges dismissed in 2000. Albert Burrell, convicted in 1987, charges dismissed in 2000. Graham and Burrell were sentenced to death for the 1986 murders of an elderly couple in Union Parish. An appellate court threw out their convictions because of suspect witness testimony and a lack of physical evidence used at trial. DNA tests proved that blood found at the victims' home did not belong to either Burrell or Graham. The trial attorneys appointed to defend Burrell were disbarred later for reasons unrelated to this case. The state Attorney General chose not to retry the case and dismissed the charges. John Thompson, convicted in 1985, acquitted in 2003. 5 weeks before his scheduled execution for a 1984 murder during a mugging, evidence was discovered that New Orleans prosecutors withheld a crucial blood analysis. The Louisiana Supreme Court in 1998 reduced his sentence from death to life in prison. An appellate court ordered a new trial in 1999. The new trial in May 2003 included testimony that had been withheld years before. The jury took less than an hour to acquit. Ryan Matthews, convicted in 1999, charges dismissed in 2004. The Louisiana Supreme Court on March 24 found that DNA testing results available during trial were not properly used by the 17-year-old's lawyer. When re-processed years later, the DNA excluded Matthews as the murderer of a Bridge City convenience-store owner during a 1998 robbery. The DNA evidence, however, pointed directly to another person who had bragged of the murder at the time and was later convicted of a similar robbery-murder. Jefferson Parish prosecutors opted not to retry Matthews and dropped all charges on Aug. 9. Dan L. Bright , convicted in 1996, charges dismissed in 2004. Bright was convicted of murdering a man on the streets of New Orleans to steal $1,000 the victim had won on a Super Bowl bet in 1995. The Louisiana Supreme Court reversed his death sentence in April 2000 because the evidence was insufficient. The high court imposed a life sentence. On May 25, the Supreme Court vacated the murder conviction altogether because prosecutors failed to disclose that their key eyewitness was drunk at the time of the incident and had a criminal history. Orleans Parish prosecutors dismissed the murder charge. (sources: Opinions of the Louisiana Supreme Court and other appellate courts) (source: The Advocate)
