July 30 NEVADA: Appeals court says Nevada inmate can drop appeals, be executed In San Francisco, a federal appeals court has ruled that a Nevada man can drop his appeals and be executed for strangling a woman in Reno. Death row inmate Terry Jess Dennis pleaded guilty last year to murder charges. He said that he didn't want to appeal his punishment because he wants to pay for the life he took with his own. The Las Vegas federal public defender's office had urged the court to block the execution. It claimed that Dennis wasn't competent enough to stand trial. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco shot down that argument today. Unless the nation's high court says otherwise, Dennis will be executed on August 12th. (source: Associated Press) ALABAMA: At 74, Hubbard says he's too old to be executed Less than a week from his execution date, 74-year-old James Barney Hubbard is trying to block his death sentence by claiming he's too old and incompetent for capital punishment. The oldest inmate on Alabama's death row, Hubbard is scheduled to die by lethal injection Thursday for the 1977 killing of 62-year-old Lillian Montgomery, a Tuscaloosa woman who befriended him after he served a prison sentence for another killing. Hubbard's attorneys turned to federal courts this week while pleading to Gov. Bob Riley for a commuted sentence based on his age and the need to avoid "the ordeal and spectacle of an execution." Hubbard filed papers in U.S. District Court in Birmingham, contending that because of his "advanced age" and mental incompetence, his execution would be a form of cruel and unusual punishment. He was recently diagnosed with dementia by a licensed psychologist, who concluded that his condition may cause confusion and interfere with his ability to understand legal procedures, according to court documents. U.S. District Judge L. Scott Coogler on Thursday dismissed Hubbard's new claims, saying his lawyers would have to file a fresh appeal through the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals before the age argument can be considered. Hubbard attorney Alan D. Rose of Boston said Friday that Hubbard would appeal Coogler's order at the 11th Circuit. Meanwhile, Hubbard's defense team sent a letter to Riley, seeking a commutation. "Mr. Hubbard is a sick old man, seriously ill with numerous ailments. ...Rather than put him, his family and the state of Alabama through the ordeal and spectacle of an execution, we humbly and respectfully suggest ... to let Mr. Hubbard, who has already served the equivalent of a life sentence, simply die in prison," attorneys wrote in the letter. Prosecutors said that Hubbard's incompetence and age arguments are simply a final attempt to avoid death, especially since he didn't make the claims until after the state asked the Alabama Supreme Court to set his execution date. "He's been in prison and he's been observed, and he's never had a mental health (consultation)," said Assistant Attorney General Clay Crenshaw. "I think it is a last minute thing. ... And even if he suffers from dementia, that doesn't necessarily make him incompetent." Hubbard first went to prison in 1957 for a 2nd-degree murder conviction in the death of David Dockery in Tuscaloosa County. He was released in 1976 and killed the Tuscaloosa woman the following year. In 27 years of appeals, Hubbard has neared execution before, but won a delay. He has argued that his most recent claims of incompetence and old age are proper for consideration because they didn't apply when he was younger. (source: Tuscaloosa News) ******************** Bay Minette man faces capital murder charge----Authorities say Mario Sentel Mims gunned down Michael Mason in a dispute over $10 In Bay Minette, a dispute over a $10 debt led a local man to fatally shoot a longtime friend Thursday afternoon, according Baldwin County authorities. Mario Sentel Mims, 24, of East Hickory Street in Bay Minette, was arrested at the Days Inn off of U.S. 31 shortly after police received a call at 12:19 p.m. He was being held without bond pending an initial court appearance today. Police said Mims fatally shot Michael Lavernzo Mason, 29, who was behind the wheel of a Ford Expedition in the parking lot of Bay Side Apartments, near the motel. Police said they found Mason, who lived on McGee Circle in Bay Minette, lying face-down on the pavement in the parking lot. Prosecutors said the homicide would qualify as a capital charge since it occurred in a vehicle. If convicted, Mims could be sentenced to death or life in prison without the possibility of parole. Lt. Clarence Crook, an investigator with the Bay Minette Police Department, said Mason apparently had gone to the apartment complex, where Mims was staying with a friend, to collect the debt. Baldwin County District Attorney David Whetstone that debt was around $10. Crook said Mims turned himself in to police at his mother's urging. "I didn't know what else to tell him," Carolyn Mims said from her home Thursday. She said she got a chance to see her son briefly at the Police Department. She said he expressed disbelief that his friend was dead. "He just was crying, 'He can't be. He can't be. He can't be,'" she said. Teresa Williams, an acquaintance of the victim, said she was stunned to learn of Mason's death. "He got killed over $10," she said. "I just can't believe it." Williams, 21, said she did not know what the debt involved. "He was real sweet. He was cool to be around," she said. Crook said the suspect and victim knew each other well. "They grew up together," he said. "I think they've been friends off and on their entire lives." Police impounded the Expedition and a handgun, and were questioning witnesses in addition to speaking with Mims, Crook said. He said he was not sure how many people witnessed the shooting. Whetstone said he will determine whether to pursue capital charges after reviewing all of the evidence. Although Mims is charged with capital murder now, Whetstone said he could alter the charge depending on what investigators learn about the circumstances. "Self-defense is always a possibility in a case like this, or at least the allegation," he said. State law allows capital charges only in limited circumstances. One of the aggravating factors relates to homicides that occur in, or from, a vehicle. Prosecutors said that was designed to combat carjackings and drive-by shootings. Even if a homicide meets the technical definition of a capital murder Whetstone said he retains the discretion to prosecute on lesser charges. A grand jury will make the final decision. Crook said he was surprised to learn of a homicide at the apartment complex, which traditionally has presented few problems for police. "I've never had a problem here. I've been here a year and a half, and not even a car messed with," said Cheryl Hadley, who was at work when the shooting occurred. "Even when the kids come home from school, you don't hear them." Added Wesley Norton, who has lived at the complex more than a year, "It's been a safe place to live. ...This is the first thing like this that has happened that I'm aware of." (source: Mobile Register)
