August 27 ARIZONA----female faces death penalty Jury selection begins for death-penalty case----Wendi Andriano is to go on trial Sept. 7.; 300 considered for panel in capital case vs. Foothills woman Nearly 300 potential jurors are being considered this week to hear the 1st-degree murder case of an Ahwatukee Foothills woman charged with slitting her husband's throat in 2000 after she was unsuccessful at poisoning him. Wendi Andriano, 34, is accused of killing her husband, Joe, 33,who was terminally ill with cancer and had filed a malpractice suit against several doctors and hospitals prior to his death. 16 people will be chosen to hear the death-penalty case, which has been delayed 14 times for legal maneuvering. It is expected to be an 8-week trial set to start Sept. 7. Typically, 100 to 300 jurors are called on death-penalty cases. Earlier this week, potential jurors lined a stuffy hallway at the Maricopa County Superior Court's Mesa courthouse holding index cards with their identification numbers. They were ushered into the tiny courtroom of Judge Brian Ishikawa in groups of 60. Those bucking to get off the jury remained in the courtroom for individual questioning, while the others filled out a form with 78 questions. Among the things lawyers want to know about the jurors: - Have you, a family member or close friend ever killed anyone, accidentally or otherwise? If yes, please explain. - Have you ever known anyone who was killed, accidentally or otherwise? If yes, please describe. - Have you watched crime shows on television that depict police officers, prosecutors, defense attorneys and/or trials? If yes, which ones? Jurors who were not excused will return Monday, Wednesday and Friday next week for further questioning. (source: Arizona Republic) VERMONT----re: federal death penalty Fell's attorneys petition high court on death penalty Lawyers for a man charged with killing a North Clarendon woman want the U-S Supreme Court to take up his fight against the death penalty. Donald Fell's attorneys have filed a petition with the nation's highest court as they seek to declare the death penalty unconstitutional for their client. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this year overturned a ruling by U-S District Court Judge William Sessions in Vermont. Sessions had declared the federal death penalty unconstitutional for Fell -- who is accused of killing Teresca (Theresa) King more than 3 years ago. Experts say the US Supreme Court will likely not take up Fell's case. Fell has been jailed without bail since his arrest in 2000. (source: Associated Press) PENNSYLVANIA: Court reinstates death penalty for murder convict The death penalty for a man convicted of a 1986 murder in Philadelphia was reinstated yesterday by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia. By a 2-1 vote, the panel overturned a federal judge's ruling three years ago that the jurors who sentenced Richard Hackett to death might have been confused by a flawed verdict form and poorly written instructions from a judge. The court majority said there was no reasonable likelihood that in Hackett's case, the bad form and instructions "prevented the consideration of constitutionally relevant evidence." The case is one of several in which the appeals court has considered the fairness of a standard set of written instructions given to Pennsylvania juries in death-penalty cases in the 1980s. A 1988 Supreme Court decision said the type of instructions used in Hackett's case was unconstitutional, but in June the justices ruled that people sentenced to death before their first ruling could not reopen their appeals on that issue alone. Hackett and 3 other men were convicted of murdering a Philadelphia woman during a failed attempt to kill her boyfriend, who authorities alleged was a drug dealer. (source: Philadelphia Inquirer) ************************* Tharp seeks stay of death warrant ---- female faces execution A day after Gov. Ed Rendell signed a death warrant for Michelle Sue Tharp, setting an Oct. 21 execution date, attorneys filed a request to stay the execution. Tharp, 35, formerly of Burgettstown, was convicted in November 2000 of 1st-degree murder in the starvation death of her 7-year-old daughter, Tausha Lee Lanham. The little girl's body was found in a garbage bag along a road in West Virginia in April 1998. At death, Lanham weighed less than 12 pounds. Tharp and her live-in-boyfriend, Douglas Bittinger, who was not Lanham's father, originally reported the little girl missing from a West Virginia shopping mall. 3 of Lanham's siblings, who also lived in the Burgettstown home, were healthy and well-fed. Attorneys representing Tharp mailed the stay request Tuesday, less than a day after Rendell signed the warrant. Tharp is represented by the Defender Association of Philadelphia, a nonprofit agency that represents Pennsylvania inmates on death row. The request was filed Wednesday in federal court in Pittsburgh. It is not known when a federal judge will act on the request. Rendell's signing of the death warrant was not unexpected. State law requires a death warrant be signed within 90 days of an appeal in a death penalty case being denied. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear Tharp's appeal May 17. That request was filed after the state Supreme Court upheld her conviction in July 2003. But the appeals process is probably not over for Tharp. If her execution is stayed, the next round of post-conviction appeals in federal court will begin. Bittinger entered a guilty plea to 3rd-degree murder 2 months after Tharp's conviction on 1st-degree homicide. He was sentenced to 15 to 30 years in prison and is also appealing his sentence. Tharp is 1 of 5 inmates from Washington County on death row. She is the only woman and is the only one with an active death warrant. The others, Roland Steele, William "Tippy" Wallace, Thomas Gorby and Dino Martin Rucci, have been on death row longer than Tharp and are in various phases of appeals. (source: Observer-Reporter) USA: A Spoiler on the Right?----Libertarian presidential candidate Michael Badnarik wants his party to be a player in 2004. ...Michael Badnarik, 50, a former computer programmer from Austin, Texas, who is the party's 2004 candidate for president. He came by the Seattle Weekly offices to chat on Monday, Aug. 16. When asked about the death penalty by the Wilmington, N.C., Star News, he sounded like a promoter of vigilante justice when he replied, "In my opinion, the best place to initiate the death penalty is at 2 a.m. at the ATM when someone comes up to take your money." (sources: Seattle Weekly/Alternet) KENTUCKY----female may face death penalty Pleased Quarels wins appeal----Justices: She had the right to testify Tina Quarels had a "gut sense" that she should have been allowed to testify in her 2002 murder and arson trial, her attorney said. Yesterday the Kentucky Supreme Court agreed, granting Quarels a new trial on charges that she set fire to her home to kill herself and her 3 children. One son, 2-year-old Ju'monie Dorsey, died. Quarels was convicted and sentenced to life without parole. A spokesman for the Jefferson Commonwealth's Attorney's office said Quarels, 28, will be retried. Her successful appeal means that, although one jury elected not to recommend a death sentence for Quarels, a new jury could. Quarels knew she ran that risk in appealing, said Donna Boyce, Quarels' attorney for her appeal. "Tina felt very strongly about going forward with this appeal," Boyce said yesterday. " ... She's very pleased." In a 5-2 decision released yesterday, the court overturned Quarels' conviction on charges of murder, arson and 2 counts of attempted murder. Quarels is charged with setting the Nov. 29, 1998, fire in which her son died. The other 2 children escaped. During the trial in Jefferson Circuit Court, Quarels' attorneys were presenting a defense that she was not guilty because she was insane at the time of the fire. Near the trial's conclusion, Quarels' attorneys asked Judge Judith McDonald-Burkman not to let Quarels take the stand because she could undercut the insanity defense. They also argued that, if Quarels testified, she might try to persuade the jury to give her the death penalty. Quarels had disrupted the trial several times with verbal outbursts, including demanding to testify. McDonald-Burkman ruled that Quarels' demand to testify was rooted in a cathartic desire to talk about what happened rather than to help her defense. The Supreme Court, however, ruled that "the decision to testify in one's own defense is of such importance that the ultimate decision must be left to the defendant," according to the opinion written by Justice Janet Stumbo. In a strongly worded dissent, Justice Donald Wintersheimer argued that McDonald-Burkman was "simply trying to protect (Quarels) from her own foolish behavior. Quarels had repeatedly stated that she wanted prosecutors to just kill her. Defense counsel had told the trial judge that the defendant was acting out of an attempt to use the death penalty to commit suicide." Wintersheimer said the court could have applied the logic behind a previous decision that held that a defendant could be prevented from offering a particular defense when a defendant and his or her attorneys disagree about trial strategy. By not applying that logic to a defendant's right to testify, the majority "could well be providing a distinct disservice to a criminal defendant," Wintersheimer wrote. The dissent made an apparent reference to Quarels' possibly facing the death penalty in a new trial. "Serious public doubt should arise as to the underlying fairness of a trial where the best interests of the defendant are ignored by appellate fiat," Wintersheimer wrote. Justice William Graves joined in the dissent. In its ruling, the majority said that denying a defendant's right to testify wouldn't necessarily overturn a conviction. The majority said, however, that they couldn't say "beyond a reasonable doubt" that not letting Quarels testify was harmless. "We deem the error in this case to be particularly egregious because (Quarels) was absolutely and completely denied any opportunity to speak to the jury," the opinion said. The majority opinion was joined by Justices Martin Johnstone and William Cooper and Chief Justice Joseph Lambert. Justice James Keller concurred, but issued his own opinion that agreed with the crux of the majority opinion but differed on a sentencing issue. Carol Cobb, a prosecutor in Quarels' trial, said after the appeal was argued before the Supreme Court that she hoped that the conviction would be upheld because of "the rigors" of a retrial for Quarels' children, who were 5 and 6 at the time of the fire. Yesterday she referred questions to a spokesman. "It's unfortunate that we do have to redo it," said Steve Tedder, spokesman for the commonwealth's attorney's office. Quarels' children are living with their grandmother, said Robin Quarels, the defendant's aunt. She said that her niece should have been allowed to testify. "I thought that was wrong what they did to her." An interview with Tina Quarels, who is being held at the Kentucky Correctional Institution for Women near Pewee Valley, could not be arranged yesterday, said Lisa Lamb, a state corrections spokeswoman. Whether Tina Quarels will remain at the prison or be returned to the Jefferson County jail is still to be determined, Lamb said. Tina Quarels had not posted bond before the 2002 trial and will remain in custody, Tedder said. (source: Courier-Journal) TEXAS: Victim's family unmoved by killer's apology in death chamber James Vernon Allridge III, whose flair for art attracted international attention, went to his death Thursday evening expressing remorse for the 1985 killing of a Fort Worth, Texas, convenience store clerk. Sister Helen Prejean, a well-known death-penalty opponent, witnessed the execution at Allridge's request. But as he lay on the gurney inside the death chamber, Allridge spoke only to the relatives of his victim, Brian Clendennen. "Shane, I hope you find peace," Allridge said to a brother of his victim. "I'm sorry I destroyed y'all's life. I really am." Doris Clendennen, Brian's mother, asked a prison official if she could ask Allridge a question but was told she could not. Allridge, 41, was pronounced dead at 6:22 p.m. CDT, the 12th Texas inmate executed this year and the 325th since executions resumed in 1982. "I just wanted to ask him if he was truly born again," Doris Clendennen told reporters afterward. Prejean watched from another room with 2 of Allridge's brothers and 3 friends. She prayed, "Father, into your hands we commend his spirit." The film "Dead Man Walking" was based on Prejean's memoir of Louisiana's death row. Actress Susan Sarandon, who won an Oscar in 1996 for her portrayal of Prejean in the film, visited Allridge on July 14. Sarandon had purchased some of Allridge's art and exchanged letters for several years. Sarandon also appeared on a video prepared by Allridge's lawyers to show to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, which ultimately rejected the inmate's petition that his sentence be commuted. Like several former prison officials who also appeared on the video, Sarandon had hoped to convince the parole board that Allridge had been rehabilitated on death row. All of Allridge's appeals, including a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court for a stay of execution, were denied in the final 48 hours of his life. Allridge's journey to death row began when he and his brother Ronald Allridge set out to rob several convenience stores and fast-food restaurants in early 1985. Ronald Allridge killed a woman during the March 25, 1985, robbery of a Fort Worth fast-food restaurant. He was executed in 1995. Unlike James Allridge, who had no criminal record before the spree, Ronald Allridge had served time for killing a classmate at age 15. James Allridge was convicted and condemned for killing Brian Clendennen, 21, on Feb. 4, 1985, during the robbery of the Circle K convenience store where Clendennen worked. Allridge recognized Clendennen from a training program they attended together, prosecutors said. Allridge tied Clendennen's hands behind his back and forced him to kneel before shooting him. While on death row, Allridge taught himself to paint landscapes and flowers, which he sold on the Internet. The positive attention that Allridge received for his art and his good behavior in prison outraged Clendennen's relatives. Clendennen, too, had artistic talent, his family said, and one of his oil paintings hangs in Everman's City Hall. "Any person in his right mind should be ashamed of himself for standing up for a murderer," Shane Clendennen said. "It's appalling. It makes me sick." In addition to Doris and Shane Clendennen, other witnesses on the victim's behalf were his sister, Donna Ryals and her husband, Lenn Ryals; and family friend Ray Stewart. Allridge's witnesses declined to speak with reporters after the execution. But they released a written statement that the execution did not solve anything. "As friends of James Allridge, our hearts go out to the Clendennen family and the Allridge family," the statement said. "2 priceless lives are lost. We wish and hope for healing and peace for both families." Prison system spokeswoman Michelle Lyons said Allridge spent his last hours in a holding cell in Huntsville's Walls Unit a few feet from the death chamber. He spent about half an hour talking with Prejean and then was allowed to make some phone calls. Earlier in the day, he spent several hours visiting with relatives in Livingston's Polunsky Unit, home to Texas death row, about 45 miles east of Huntsville. "He was calm, that's the best way to put it," said Lyons, who spoke briefly with Allridge about 2 p.m. CDT. Donna Ryals said the clinical atmosphere of the execution was a stark contrast to the scene at the convenience store 19 1/2 years ago. "He died with his hands tied behind him back in a stockroom of a convenience store," Ryals said. "I am so mad right now." As for Allridge, she added: "I wouldn't forgive him for nothing. He got what he deserved. At least he gets to meet his brother now." (source: Knight Ridder)
