August 3 INDIANA: Prosecutors won't seek death penalty in Ball State student shooting In Muncie, 2 men charged with murdering a Ball State student will not face the death penalty. Delaware County Prosecutor Richard Reed says he'll ask for a life sentence without parole for 22-year-old Damien Sanders and a lesser sentence for 18-year-old Brandon Patterson. A murder charge against a 15-year-old boy was dropped in May, but authorities say they might re-file it once the other 2 cases are decided. Sanders and Patterson are charged in the death of 20-year-old Karl Harford, who gave them a ride home after a party near campus in March. They and the 15-year-old allegedly led Harford to an abandoned house, where they robbed him of two dollars and shot him in the side of the head. In interviews with police, Patterson has implicated Sanders as the shooter. Reed says he decided not to seek the death penalty partly because of the cost and the time involved. (source: Associated Press) MISSOURI: No death penalty in Valentine's Day murder Former Warrensburg resident Raymond Wood will not face the death penalty if convicted of killing 5 of his family members on Valentine's Day 2000. Johnson County Prosecuting Attorney Mary Ann Young withdrew her notice of intent to seek the death penalty against Mr. Wood Friday. Also, defense attorney Cynthia Short filed papers asking Circuit Judge Jacqueline Cook to drop the charges against Mr. Wood. The judge set Aug. 12 and Aug. 26 hearings to determine whether Mr. Wood is competent to stand trial. Mr. Wood is scheduled to face trial Oct. 25 for the murder of his wife and four children. He's been in the Fulton State Hospital for the mentally ill since Feb. 16, 2000. Ms. Short said she drove to Fulton Monday to tell her client the prosecutor had taken the death penalty off the table. "I would say Ray's reaction was very quiet. For all of us, it is a relief. We also think that it is absolutely the right decision, given everything that is true about this case," Ms. Short said. Attempts to reach Ms. Young late Friday were unsuccessful. Her motion contained no reason for removing the death penalty. Mr. Wood, 40, is charged with 5 counts of 1st-degree murder in the shootings of his wife, Tina Wood, 31, and their children, Jared, 10; Joshua, 8; Emily, 7; and Hannah, 5. 2 surviving children, Moriah and Katlin, were treated for their wounds in 2000 and live with their grandparents. Mr. Wood also faces 2 charges of 1st-degree assault and 7 charges of armed criminal action. Ms. Short said she and her client's family members do not want Mr. Wood to be freed, but would like to plead not guilty because of mental disease or defect. Ms. Young would have to agree to such as plea, and has not been inclined to do so. A finding of not guilty because of mental disease or defect would mean that Mr. Wood would remain under the care of the state Department of Mental Health as a criminal, Ms. Short said. Any changes in his status would require consultation with the Johnson County Circuit Court, prosecutor, his family members and his victims' family members. If the case goes to trial, he would use that insanity plea, his attorney said. Mr. Wood's mental condition has improved under consistent medical care since his confinement, and Ms. Short said she expects doctors to testify that it is important "for him to be in the hospital and (about) how fragile he is." "Ray is such a good-hearted, loving, pious man," Ms. Short said. "If you met him and worked with him and then found out why he was there, it just shocks people. ... But for the mental illness none of us would be talking about this." At hearings this month, Ms. Short will try to show that "Ray is not competent to understand the proceedings and get through them. ... His illness is going to make it very difficult for him to process what goes on in court and to participate in a meaningful way." The judge will rule on Mr. Wood's competence and on whether he is "restorable," meaning whether he may be competent in the next 6 months or 1 year. If the judge were to find that he was incompetent to stand trial and was likely to remain that way, "he would move from the criminal side to the civil side of Department of Mental Health. He would get a guardian, remain in department of mental health, and decisions would be made by department of mental health, doctors and guardian." Ms. Short took the Wood case as a public defender and kept it when she moved to the nonprofit Kansas City firm, Public Interest Litigation Clinic. (source: The Sedalia Democrat) OKLAHOMA: Inmate's Death Sentence Overturned Again----Court Orders New Sentencing Hearing For Man Convicted In 1991 Murder The death sentence of a man convicted of killing a mentally retarded man was overturned Monday for a 2nd time. The state Court of Criminal Appeals ordered a new sentencing hearing for Mark David Johnson. The court said the judge in the case improperly explained to the jury how sentences could be commuted. Johnson and Ricky Masquat were convicted in separate trials of killing Norman resident Billy Webb in 1991. Webb was beaten with a baseball bat, doused with gasoline and set on fire. A federal appeals court overturned Johnson's 1st death sentence. Masquat is serving life without parole for his role in the murder. (source: Associated Press)
