Sept. 4 ILLINOIS: Another of Burge's men joins those pleading 5th----Detective cites constitutional right 20 times A Chicago police detective Friday joined three former colleagues and their onetime supervisor, fired police Cmdr. Jon Burge, in "reluctantly" taking the 5th Amendment when asked about the alleged 1983 torture of a murder suspect. Detective Michael Bosco invoked his constitutional right not to incriminate himself 20 times during a parole hearing for Darrell Cannon, 53, who says he was tortured by Burge's subordinates into making a murder confession in 1983. In taking the 5th, Bosco cited a special Cook County grand jury, which is probing allegations that from 1972 to 1991 Burge and his subordinates tortured confessions out of more than 100 suspects. Bosco is not one of the four detectives accused of torturing Cannon, but defense attorneys allege that Bosco had shown Cannon an electric cattle prod that later was used to torture him. In August, during the first of a two-part Illinois Prison Review Board hearing, former police officers Daniel McWeeny, Peter Dignan and John Byrne all took the 5th. The 4th officer accused of torturing Cannon is dead. Burge, in an edited 48-minute videotape of a four-hour deposition played Friday, exercised his 5th Amendment rights 154 times when asked about the Cannon case and others involving alleged torture. Cannon says the officers shocked his genitals with the cattle prod, put a shotgun he thought was loaded in his mouth and repeatedly pulled the trigger and taunted him with racial epithets. Just before a trial judge was scheduled to hear testimony about the torture, Cook County prosecutors in January 2001 made a deal with Cannon under which he pleaded guilty and dropped the torture allegations in return for a scheduled August 2003 release date. Before Cannon's release date, however, the Prison Review Board served him with a parole violation notice issued when he was arrested in 1983 while on parole for a 1970 murder conviction. Prosecutors vacated Cannon's conviction in the 1983 case as promised in the plea deal, but he has not been released. Board members Friday expressed concern that Cannon testified he was present when Darren Ross was shot in the back seat of a car Cannon was driving. Cannon said he played no role in that killing, but board members questioned whether he could be believed. Locke Bowman, one of Cannon's attorneys, said without the allegedly tortured confession and allegations of a grand jury witness who later recanted, no evidence exists to implicate Cannon in Ross' killing. "What do you have left? Nothing, nothing that is legally sufficient to hold Darrell Cannon for the murder of Darren Ross," Bowman said. The board is expected to issue its ruling by Wednesday. (source: Chicago Tribune) VIRGINIA----impending execution Federal judge denies death row inmate another stay In Richmond, a federal judge Friday denied a death row inmate's attempt to delay his execution for a second time on the grounds that putting him to death by injection would be unconstitutionally cruel. James Edward Reid's lawyers claimed that Virginia's method of execution was unconstitutional because it was possible Reid could still be conscious when the last of 3 drugs is administered and would suffer pain before he dies. U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson said in his ruling that the procedure would kill the defendant within five to 10 minutes and reduce the chance that he would be conscious of any pain to less than 6/1000 of 1 %. "There is simply no reason to believe the speculative list of horribles described by Reid are likely to come to pass," Hudson wrote. Reid, whose execution is scheduled for Thursday, was granted a stay in December by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the day before he was scheduled to die for the slaying of Annie Mae Lester in Christiansburg. The appeals court deferred to the U.S. Supreme Court, which was weighing a case in which an Alabama inmate claimed his veins were so damaged by drug use that executioners might have to cut deeply into his flesh to administer lethal drugs, making the procedure unconstitutional. Reid's attorneys had argued that Virginia prison officials were not able to access a vein in his arm. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected Reid's claim in August. Reid was sentenced to die for the 1996 killing of Lester, 80, who was beaten, strangled and stabbed 22 times. Reid's attorneys can appeal Hudson's decision to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and to the U.S. Supreme Court. (source: Associated Press) KENTUCKY: Trial date set for pair accused of killing man, 83 2 men charged with beating an elderly man to death in his Lakeside Park home last year are scheduled to stand trial next spring. Kenton Circuit Judge Greg Bartlett on Friday set a trial date of March 15, 2005, for Anthony Wayne Ferry and Jeremy Charles Niemer. The trial is expected to last 2 weeks. The pair are charged with murder and robbery and face a potential death penalty if convicted of the slaying of Earl F. Rusche, an 83-year-old retired lithographer who was killed in his own bed on July 12, 2003. His body was found wrapped in a bedspread and stuffed in a storage locker. Police said Ferry, 25, who lived in Rusche's basement, and Niemer, 22, of Crescent Springs, killed him after a day and night of drinking and doing drugs. Their motive, police said, was to get more money to buy more drugs. Attorneys for both defendants are seeking separate trials, saying it would be unfair to try the pair together. Bartlett will decide at a later date whether the pair will be tried together or separately. If they are tried separately, it will be up to Assistant Commonwealth Attorney Christy Muncy to determine which is tried first. (source: Kentucky Post) USA: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE----September 3, 2004 Contact: Cynthia Thomet 202-557-7519 Death Row Exoneree and Rape Survivor Call on Senate to Pass DNA Bill Kirk Bloodsworth, the 1st death row inmate exonerated by DNA evidence, and rape survivor, Debbie Smith, have joined forces to urge legislators to pass the Advancing Justice Through DNA Technology Act, including the Innocence Protection Act (S.1700). In anticipation of the bill being considered for mark-up on Thursday, September 9, the pair will visit Senate offices to show their united support for the legislation. The bill would provide funds to test a nationwide backlog of more than 300,000 rape kits and other crime scene evidence and ensure access to post-conviction DNA testing for those serving time in prison. Bloodsworth, a former Marine and Maryland resident, will share his personal story of being wrongfully convicted and spending nearly 9 years in prison, 2 on death row, for a crime he didn't commit. Last year DNA evidence identified the person who eventually pleaded guilty for the crime. A provision of the legislation, the "Kirk Bloodsworth Post-Conviction DNA Testing Program," would help states pay the costs of post-conviction DNA testing for people with claims of innocence. Smith will share her perspective on the importance of DNA testing. After she was raped outside her home in 1989 and provided a rape kit to the authorities, Smith had to wait six years for the state of Virginia to test the biological evidence. The bill enacts the "Debbie Smith Backlog Grant Program," which provides $755 million to test the backlog of more than 300,000 rape kits and other crime scene evidence awaiting analysis in our nation's crime labs. "Nobody should have to wait for justice," Bloodsworth says. "I struggled for nearly 20 years to clear my name. And Debbie had to wait in fear for 6 years not knowing whether her attacker had ever been caught. This legislation will prevent innocent people from ending up on death row and it will ensure that the truly guilty are caught. Congress should pass this legislation and prevent more stories like Debbie's and mine." On Tuesday, September 7, every U.S. Senator will receive a letter from Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Ranking Member Patrick Leahy (D-VT) urging passage of this legislation. They will receive with the letter a copy of "Bloodsworth: The True Story of the First Death Row Inmate Exonerated by DNA," a book by Tim Junkin that tells Bloodsworth's chilling story. Bloodsworth, Smith, Sen. Hatch and Sen. Leahy will be available to the press and for photos in the Capitol Building, 2nd Floor by the Ohio Clock on September 8, 2004 at 12:15 p.m. For more information, please contact Cynthia Thomet at 202-557-7519. # # # About the Legislation: The legislation was introduced last October by Joint Judiciary Committee Leaders, Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), and today has 38 Republican and Democrat co-sponsors in the U.S. Senate. On November 5, 2003, the bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives with 250 cosponsors by an overwhelming vote of 357 to 67. The Advancing Justice Through DNA Technology Act (S.1700) is the product of a bi-partisan, bicameral compromise led by Senate Judiciary Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Ranking Member Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT). This critical legislation will provide much-needed funds to test the DNA backlog, provide funding for victims services through grants to prosecutor and defender offices, and ensure access to post-conviction DNA testing for those who may be in prison or on death row for crimes they did not commit. The bill: **Enacts the Debbie Smith Backlog Grant Program, providing $755 million to test the backlog of over 300,000 rape kits and other crime scene evidence awaiting analysis in our nation's crime labs; **Enacts the DNA Sexual Assault Justice Act and the Rape Kits and DNA Evidence Backlog Elimination Act, authorizing more than $500 million for programs to improve the capacity of crime labs to conduct DNA analysis, reduce non-DNA backlogs, train examiners, support sexual assault forensic examiner programs, and promote the use of DNA to identify missing persons; **Creates the Kirk Bloodsworth Post-Conviction DNA Testing Program and authorizes $25 million over five years to help states pay the costs of post-conviction DNA testing; and **Authorizes grants to states for Capital Prosecution and Capital Defense Improvement, which will be used to train, oversee, and improve the quality of death penalty trials, as well as assist families of murder victims. (source: The Justice Project's Campaign for Criminal Justice Reform) ************************ Killer instinct used to track a murderer----'The Riverman' leads viewers into the mind, heart of Ted Bundy 'THE RIVERMAN' - What: Bruce Greenwood plays Robert Keppel, former chief criminal investigator with the Washington state attorney general's office, who is trying to catch a killer with the help of serial killer Ted Bundy (Cary Elwes) in The Riverman. - When: 7 p.m. Monday on A&E The mind of a serial killer is a place you really don't want to visit, but visit it we do in The Riverman. Peeking into the warped mind of a coldhearted murderer proves as unsettling as it is thought-provoking. The Riverman works because of the performances of Bruce Greenwood and Cary Elwes. Greenwood (Thirteen Days) portrays Robert Keppel, for 17 years the chief criminal investigator with the Washington state attorney general's office. Elwes plays creepy Ted Bundy, infamous for killing dozens of young women during the '70s. Produced by Hawk Koch and Peter Lance and directed by Bill Eagles, The Riverman (7 p.m. Monday, A&E) is based on a book by Keppel, who today teaches criminal justice at Sam Houston State University. The Riverman, oddly enough, is less about Bundy's misdeeds than it is about the tete-a-tete between criminal and criminal investigator that eventually led to the resolution of another killing spree, the Green River murders. The movie includes scenes, some uncomfortable to watch, of the two killers' handiwork. The main plot concerns the resolution of the Green River case. For me, though, the heart of the film is the scenes between Bundy and Keppel in an ugly Florida prison. Bundy, on death row, has written to Keppel, who was on Bundy's trail during his murder spree. He believes he has something he can offer Keppel that will postpone his date with death. Keppel, quiet and introspective, is attracted - not only because it might crack the Green River case but also because he believes Bundy committed 10 unsolved murders in Washington. So head-to-head they go, each trying to play head games on the other. The key to getting someone like Bundy to open up, says Keppel, is patience. "The ability to keep your mouth shut is another," Keppel told the Chronicle. "Far too often investigators make the mistake of talking too much to suspects. They're not going to open up unless they want to. What they perceive is what's in it for them." In 1 of 3 jailhouse sessions, Bundy provided insight into how to interview a serial killer. "It has proven to be quite useful," Keppel said. "As an investigator, you have to appreciate where the serial killer is coming from, that killing is a pleasurable experience for him. You're sitting there as an interviewer, ready to kill him yourself, but you can't show any of those emotions. "You have to be empathetic and nonjudgmental in your questioning, body language and everything else, so that the killer believes you're helping them through an event. The interviewer has to believe, at least in talking with the killer, that some killings are OK, that there's morality to murder. That's the hard part to get across to police detectives. It doesn't fit with their usual interviewing techniques." Keppel has seen the movie and is thrilled with it. "It's dramatized, for sure, and there are some elements that are out of sequence, and obviously they've got me doing more than I really did," he said, "but for a movie it works out fine. It's so intense. The duel between Bundy and myself is brought out." Greenwood read Keppel's books, listened to tapes of the interviews and reviewed court transcripts to come up with his portrayal. "He did a better job playing me than I could," Keppel said. As for Elwes, "it's creepy and eerie to see him play (Bundy) because I'm sitting in the room with him, feeling the same way. He's that good." (source: Houston Chronicle)
