August 26 TENNESSEE----new execution date Court Sets Execution Date For Murderer The Tennessee Supreme Court set the execution date of a former honor roll student turned murderer. Christopher Daviss execution was scheduled for March 15, 2005. Davis was sentenced to death 1996 for robbing, kidnapping and shooting 2 men after setting up a fake transaction to sell guns. Davis told police he was in a gang. Davis was also serving a life sentence for the death of Adriann Dickerson. The girl was gunned down in a grocery store parking lot. (source: News Channel 5) CALIFORNIA: Wrong Cooper witness still offers insight----Attorneys for the convicted killer say "3 white men' are guilty In San Diego, attorneys for death row inmate Kevin Cooper didn't get to question the man they wanted on Wednesday, but they did get the next best thing: A man by the exact same name who, in a bizarre twist of circumstance, claimed to have information helpful to the convicted killer. Cooper's attorneys wanted to question Al Ward, a former Chino Hills bartender who may have been working the 1983 night 4 people were slaughtered in a nearby home. They wanted to ask Ward whether he saw three bloody white men in the Canyon Corral bar that night, as has been reported by other bar patrons and employees. Cooper claims that 3 white men could be the real killers. But the Al Ward who came to U.S. District Court in San Diego Wednesday was not the rotund, white former cowboy-bartender sought by Cooper's legal team. Rather, he was a lanky black man and former federal government employee who claimed to have stepped foot in the Canyon Corral Bar only once, coincidentally, on the same weekend as the murders. And, amazingly, he happened to see 3 bloody white men in the bar while he was there, he testified Wednesday. "I just noticed they were extremely bloody and didn't seem to be cut or hurt," he said. "I was extremely unnerved by that." Ward testified Wednesday in the ongoing appeals for Cooper, who sits in Death Row for the 1983 hatchet and knife murders of Doug and Peggy Ryen; their 11-year-old daughter Jessica, and 10-year-old houseguest Christopher Hughes. Cooper, who came within hours of execution in February, claims he is innocent of one of the most notorious crimes in San Bernardino County history. U.S. District Court Judge Marilynn Huff has granted a series of evidentiary hearings in which Cooper's attorneys have called witnesses to try to prove that three mysterious, bloodied white men who may have visited the Canyon Corral bar the night of the murders were connected to the slayings. But tracking down the former patrons and employees of the bar has been difficult at times, and Huff ordered the California Attorney General's Office to assist in locating the prospective witnesses proposed by Cooper's lawyers. One of those witnesses was Al Ward. State investigators located Ward, a former Chino Hills resident who now lives in Squaw Valley. When they contacted him he claimed to have information about the Canyon Corral bar and the murders, Deputy Attorney General Holly Wilkens said. Believing he was the right man, they subpoenaed him to come to court on Wednesday. After seeing Ward outside the courtroom Wednesday, Cooper's attorneys insisted he was the wrong guy and balked about even calling him to the witness stand. Huff insisted they do so and, once there, Ward told the bizarre tale about his lone visit to the cowboy bar. He testified he was driving home from his job at the former El Toro marine base late on a Friday night when he spotted two stranded motorists on Carbon Canyon Road. He stopped and picked up the pair, who asked to be dropped off at the bar. Once there, he grudgingly succumbed to their insistence that he come inside for a beer, he testified. He said he was in the bar for about 15 minutes when he saw the bloodied men come in. He said all 3 wore white shirts saturated with blood, and khaki pants. He said he quickly left after seeing the men. He testified that he called police and told them what he saw when he learned of the murders about two days later. He said he telephoned police a 2nd time after Cooper was arrested, but never received any follow-up. "They said they would investigate, I believe is what they told me," he said. Though intriguing, Ward's testimony Wednesday varied widely from the testimony of other bar patrons and employees who recalled seeing bloody men on the night of the murders. Ward, for example, insisted he stopped at the bar on a Friday on the way home from work. The murders took place on a Saturday night, and other witnesses reported seeing the men in question on a Saturday. Ward also described the men as having different clothing and hairstyles than what the previous witnesses described. He further could not remember details about the stranded motorists he helped, saying he couldn't even recall whether they were a man and woman or a pair of women. Wilkens said afterward that tracking down witnesses for Cooper's lawyers has been difficult. She said the Al Ward her office found initially appeared to be the man wanted by Cooper's lawyers, based on his statements to investigators and his former residence. "He lived in Chino Hills and he was familiar with the Canyon Corral Bar," she said. She said she is unsure that there ever even was a Canyon Corral bartender named Al Ward. She said the bartender may be a man named Al Warren, who was known to the bar regulars simply as "Big Al." Coincidentally, the Al Ward who testified Wednesday said he also went by the nickname "Big Al." Cooper's attorney, David Alexander, chuckled and shrugged when asked Wednesday about the mystery and confusion surrounding the Als. Meanwhile, another former bartender, Randy Mansfield, testified Wednesday that he saw several bloody men in the bar, but only well after Cooper had already been arrested. He said he thought the men had came from a nearby slaughterhouse. Former San Bernardino County Sheriff Deputy Paul Beltz also testified. Cooper's attorneys called Beltz, the first deputy to respond to the murder scene, seeking an explanation as to why an entry on a police log from the day the murders were discovered indicates officers were to be on the lookout for 3 young people driving the Ryens' stolen station wagon. Beltz testified that he didn't know the source of that information. At the conclusion of Wednesday's hearing, Huff indicated she might order additional evidence testing as soon as today that could prove or disprove Cooper's claims that police planted his blood on a T-shirt to frame him for the killings. Attorneys have argued over whether the testing for a blood preservative known as EDTA is reliable, as well as who should conduct the testing if the judge orders it. (source: Daily Bulletin) WASHINGTON (state) Schreiber could face death penalty Robin T. Schreiber, who allegedly killed a Clark County Sheriff's sergeant last month while fleeing his Brush Prairie home in his pickup, has been charged with aggravated 1st-degree murder. Clark County Prosecutor Art Curtis announced Wednesday he was charging Schreiber with the state's only capital crime. Arraignment is scheduled Tuesday in Clark County Superior Court, but that could be postponed. Curtis will have 30 days from arraignment to decide whether to seek the death penalty. Schreiber, a 44-year-old former electrician with no prior criminal history, drew the attention of local law enforcement the evening of July 30 after his girlfriend called 911 to report he was suicidal and armed. As deputies arrived at his home, Schreiber allegedly rammed a patrol car driven by Sgt. Brad Crawford while trying to flee. If Curtis doesn't seek the death penalty, a conviction would carry a mandatory sentence of life in prison with no chance of early release. Or, Curtis could seek the death penalty, but a jury could reject it in favor of a life sentence. Curtis said he will make his decision after he receives a mitigation package from Schreiber's attorney, Steve Thayer. Thayer will provide information about Schreiber, including any mental or emotional problems that may justify not seeking the death penalty. A prosecutor must seek the death penalty for aggravated murder unless there are "sufficient mitigating circumstances to merit leniency," according to state law. More often than not, however, a prosecutor or jury finds a reason not to execute. Of approximately 240 defendants convicted of aggravated murder statewide, only 11 are on death row at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla. The rest are serving life sentences. Only 4 people, Clark County child-killer Westley Allan Dodd among them, have been executed in the past 40 years. Dodd waived appeals, which can go on for 2 decades. Curtis acknowledged that death penalty cases go on for years, but said he won't take that into consideration. If he doesn't find reasons to spare Schreiber's life, Curtis said, he's obligated to seek the death penalty. Schreiber, 44, has been in custody in Cowlitz County since his July 30 arrest. He was arrested on suspicion of 1st-degree murder and vehicular homicide. Curtis decided to file aggravated-murder charges because he believes there's evidence Schreiber intended to kill Crawford, using his truck as a weapon. The "aggravator" is the fact Crawford was a law enforcement officer in the line of duty. Legal ethics prohibit Curtis from discussing specific evidence before the trial, but he said there are numerous witnesses, both deputies and civilians, who saw the crash near the intersection of Northeast 114th Street and 124th Avenue. Crawford, 49, was in his patrol car keeping traffic out of the area while deputies pursued Schreiber. Schreiber's girlfriend had called 911 to report her boyfriend was suicidal. When she arrived home that night, she allegedly found Schreiber sitting in the master bedroom, loading a shotgun. She reportedly took the shotgun away, but Schreiber pulled another from a closet and pushed his girlfriend out of the way. Deputies were dispatched. When they arrived at the home, 11514 N.E. 128th Ave., they spotted Schreiber holding a rifle as he crawled on his hands and knees toward his truck, according to an affidavit by Clark County Sheriff's Detective Rick Buckner. Patrol car was rammed Schreiber allegedly drove through a field and was westbound on Northeast 114th Avenue when he rammed Crawford's patrol car. Crawford, the father of 5, was pronounced dead that evening at a Portland hospital. Hundreds of enforcement officers from as far away as Arizona, where Crawford worked before joining the Clark County force in 1996, attended Crawford's Aug. 5. memorial. Schreiber allegedly told a corrections officer he'd tried to commit suicide once before and had a drinking problem. A search of his home allegedly yielded empty Coors Light beer cans, a bottle of liquor and a marijuana pipe. He was arrested for violating a protection order in 1995, while he was divorcing the mother of his 2 children, but the charge was later dismissed, court records show. So was a 2000 drunken-driving charge. He's being held in the Cowlitz County Jail to make it easier on Clark County Jail officers still mourning Crawford's death. (source: The Columbian) ILLINOIS: Wright's confession tape played in resentencing for 1983 murder The words of 21 years ago sounded through the courtroom Wednesday, as Patrick Wright told what happened on a June night when he first saw Carol Specht lying on her couch. "I said, '(expletive) it, if she gives me any trouble, I'll do away with her,'" was how he described his break-in of Specht's Mattoon apartment, which ultimately led to her murder. Wright's obscenity-laden taped confession to police was the highlight of the prosecution's presentation Wednesday at a hearing that will eventually lead to a new sentence for the 61-year-old convicted killer. Meanwhile, Wright's attorneys will apparently try to convince Circuit Judge Dale Cini to give Wright a chance to go to a state mental facility after he finishes serving his prison time. The hearing to re-sentence Wright is expected to end today, when Cini will impose a life sentence or a fixed term of at least 20 years. The new sentencing is required because, on appeal, a federal court said then-Circuit Judge Paul Komada shouldn't have said he didn't consider Wright's "troubled childhood" when he imposed the death penalty in September 1983. Also, former Gov. George Ryan's death sentence commutations in early 2003 -- which he extended to all Illinois inmates on death row -- meant Wright can't receive the death penalty again. Wright was found guilty of breaking into Specht's apartment and stabbing her to death, plus slashing the throat of her daughter Connie and trying to sexually assault both women. Wright showed no reaction Wednesday as his taped confession was played, though most of more than 2 dozen of Specht's family and friends who were in attendance lowered their heads, some fighting tears. On the tape, Wright calmly described in detail how he planned to burglarize Specht's apartment on South Sixth Street in Mattoon, then threatened and tied up Specht when she awoke and saw him. He said he eventually made her lie on her bed and told her, "'If you move you're dead.' I kept flashing my knife at her so she knew I meant business." Searching for things to steal, Wright said he found Connie Specht in another bedroom and forced her into the same room with her mother. He said he then slashed her throat before he "turned around and started stabbing her mother." "The only reason I could come up with was so there wouldn't be any witnesses," Wright said in response to a question of why he wanted to kill the 2 women. Wright appeared in court Monday with several cut marks on his head, apparently mistakes made during a recent attempt to shave it. The long shaggy beard he wore during other recent court appearances had been trimmed. Assistant Illinois Attorney General John O'Connell told Cini that the prosecution wouldn't call any witnesses and instead would rely on letters from Connie Specht and others, plus records of Wright's trial and sentencing, his time in prison and his lengthy history with mental institutions. O'Connell, Assistant Attorney General Lea Norbut and State's Attorney Steve Ferguson are the case's prosecution team. Meanwhile, forensic psychologist Lawrence Raifman will likely be the only witness called by Wright's court-appointed attorneys, Eric Palles and Gary Ravitz. Raifman, who interviewed Wright earlier this month and reviewed his records, will finish his testimony today. Though he practices in Maryland, Raifman testified Wednesday that he's reviewed Illinois law and thinks Wright is eligible for involuntary commitment in a Illinois Department of Human Services maximum security treatment facility if he's paroled from prison. Wright spent nearly 50 years in various institutions and his diagnosis indicates that he has attention deficit disorder and other problems, Raifman said. "It's his way or no way," Raifman said. "There is a tendency to put himself in the center of the universe and do what it takes to get what he needs." Wright has made recent attempts to reconcile himself with poor treatment from his adoptive parents, he added, but still has a mental illness and could pose a danger. There's treatment available at the state's prison in Dixon, but prisoners with life sentences aren't eligible, Raifman added. Sending Wright to a state facility after prison apparently wouldn't be automatic. Raifman said the Illinois Department of Corrections would have to evaluate him for commitment to the facility and if the department didn't take that action, anyone could petition to have Wright evaluated. Raifman said he based his conclusions on Illinois law's stated mission of trying to rehabilitate and not just punish an offender. Wright's condition and history of institutionalization means he couldn't function outside of a secure facility, Raifman said. (source: Journal Gazette & Times-Courier)
