Sept. 8 TEXAS: Class aims to improve defense lawyers in death penalty cases About 50 criminal defense lawyers are going back to school in Texas -- the nation's most active death penalty state. The training project is designed to help lawyers represent accused capital murderers. The program opens tomorrow at the University of Houston. Similar training sessions have been held in Austin. The latest sessions were organized by the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, a not-for-profit continuing education institution based at the University of Notre Dame. One goal is to increase lawyer competence, which is a chief complaint among inmates and capital punishment critics. At the heart of the Houston sessions is a mock trial of sorts, where lawyers question potential jurors, develop opening and closing arguments, and examine witnesses. About one dozen experienced criminal attorneys and law professors will offer critiques. (source: Associated Press) ******************* Does 'Preacher' understand?----Experts differ on whether inmate grasps the reason he was set to die BACKGROUND - The illness: 1986 - Scott Panetti's schizophrenia is diagnosed. - The crime : Sept. 8, 1992 - Panetti shoots his wife's parents to death in Fredericksburg. - The trial : September 1992 - Panetti acts as own counsel and tries to subpoena Jesus Christ and John F. Kennedy as witnesses. He's convicted and sentenced to die. - The stay: Feb. 4 - Panetti's execution is halted one day before he was to be executed. -- Scott Panetti is known as "The Preacher" on death row for his manic recitations from the Bible. He's told several visitors this year that the state plans to execute him to stop his preaching. But mental health experts who have examined Panetti differed in testimony Tuesday about whether his long history of schizophrenia and religious obsession renders him incompetent to be executed. The legal test for competency requires Panetti to understand he is going to be executed and why. Four mental health experts agreed that Panetti understands that he is going to be executed. But they differed on whether he understands why. U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks ordered the hearing after the state courts found Panetti competent based on a report prepared by two mental health experts who met with Panetti for an hour last March. The hearing continues today. Sparks said he is concerned that Panetti refused to cooperate with those experts, who were appointed by the state trial judge, but did meet with 3 experts hired by the defense. Last February, Sparks granted a stay for Panetti, convicted in the 1992 shooting deaths of his estranged wife's parents in Fredericksburg. Panetti, who once buried his furniture because he thought the devil was inside it, had been hospitalized several times for mental health problems before he was arrested. He was found competent by a jury to stand trial, and State District Judge Stephen Ables of Gillespie County allowed Panetti to defend himself. During his trial in 1995, Panetti dressed in a cowboy costume and tried to subpoena Jesus Christ and John F. Kennedy as witnesses. Two psychologists and a psychiatrist hired by Panetti's lawyers described him as rambling and delusional during recent interviews. Seth Silverman, a Houston psychiatrist, said Panetti believes he is being executed to stop his preaching. "He doesn't associate it, in my opinion, to the death of his in-laws," said Silverman. Panetti has not received anti-psychotic medication since he was sent to death row, Silverman said. Two psychologists called by the defense offered slightly different assessments of Panetti. They said he understands that Texas plans to execute him for the crime of killing his in-laws but has delusions that the real reason is because of his preaching. George Parker, an Austin psychologist called by the state, said Panetti was uncooperative when he and a psychiatrist tried to interview him last March. The report Parker coauthored concluded that although Panetti "chooses not to discuss the reason that he is to be executed, he has the ability to understand." (source: Houston Chronicle) *********************** Judge explores a killer's mind Psychologists dissected the ramblings of a death row inmate Tuesday as a federal judge considered whether the schizophrenic killer is sane enough to be executed. Sifting through the prisoner's gibberish about angels without wings, mental health experts found conflicting answers to the question that likely will decide whether Scott Panetti lives or dies: Does the former Fredericksburg resident who murdered his wife's parents, and then wore cowboy garb while he defended himself at trial, understand why he received the death penalty? No, he believes he is being punished by demons for preaching the gospel, said Mary Alice Conroy, a professor and former prison psychologist. Wrong, said George Parker, a psychologist in private practice. "He can be reasonably lucid and clear at times," Parker said. "So I can't see any reason in the world that he can't understand what the state is up to here and what this is all about." Panetti's history of mental illness has confounded the legal system since Sept. 8, 1992, when he shaved his head, donned military fatigues and shot the parents of his estranged wife in their Fredericksburg home. One jury deadlocked on whether he was well enough to stand trial in 1994. A second jury found him competent. Once in prison, experts prescribed antipsychotic medication for Panetti. But they also labeled his odd behavior manipulative, theatrical and well rehearsed. As the question returned to the courtroom Tuesday, both sides conceded ground. The government's 1st witness acknowledged that Panetti, who was hospitalized 14 times before he murdered his in-laws, is mentally ill. "Only a fool would dispute that," said Parker, 1 of 2 experts who interviewed Panetti earlier this year and concluded he was sane enough to be executed. Meanwhile, defense experts acknowledged that Panetti is lucid enough to recognize 2 facts: He's on death row and the state says it put him there to punish the 1992 slayings. Whether that means he's sane enough to receive a lethal injection is a question for U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks. Sparks halted Panetti's execution in February, saying the case required closer examination because the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that it's cruel and unusual to execute someone who can't comprehend why he's being put to death. In court, Sparks seemed interested in the theory that Panetti's mind has deteriorated since he started refusing medication 9 years ago. But the judge also seemed wary. Couldn't Panetti be faking? he asked. "It's possible in the sense that the sun could rise in the west tomorrow," Conroy told the judge. "It's possible and hardly probable." Testimony is scheduled to continue today. (source: San Antonio Express-News) ************************** Railroad Killer Talks to News 4 WOAI A man who terrorized Texas, known as the "Railroad Killer," is now one step closer to being executed. The Attorney General's office confirms serial killer Angel Resendez' case has now reached federal courts for review. News 4 WOAI's Randy Escamilla spoke to Resendez, who terrified the nation 5 years ago on a criss-cross country killing spree, while hitching on railroad trains. Resendez clearly admits being a serial killer and he estimates killing as many as 20 people. Although he says, police have linked him to 14 murders. And he justifies what he did in the name of God. "I kill some people and everything, but I killed them for certain reasons. For being homosexuals, lesbians, and people that practice witchcraft or the devil worshippers," said Resendez. And while on death row, Resendez continues his pattern of self-mutilation. Resendez has already tried to cut out his testicles and recently slit his throat. He says it was to deflect prison guards from harassing him. "I cut the flesh out with a knife, and just dig into it, getting a piece and just yanking it out," said Resendez. And while he says life on death row is not as tormenting as when he arrived, he says he's ready for the needle. "I've never been scared to die. As a matter of fact it's one of those things, I don't fear no one but God," said Resendez. Serial killer Angel Resendez also says he's hoping the angel of death will take him off death row next year. Resendez has been on death row more than 4 years. The average time on death row in Texas is 10 years and 4 months. The Federal Government and 38 states have authorized the death penalty in capital crimes. (source: VOAI News) ************************************ Condemned killer scores in court----Appeals panel orders Texarkana judge to decide if Banks will get new trial Delma Banks Jr. has won another round in court. U.S. District Judge David Folsom is expected to decide if Banks deserves a completely new trial for the April 1980 murder of Wayne Whitehead, 16, of Texarkana, Texas. Folsom was ordered to do this by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in an opinion handed down late last month. The new opinion by the 5th Circuit essentially reverses its prior opinion. Banks was convicted of capital murder by Bowie County jurors and sentenced to death in October of 1980 for Whitehead's murder. He has spent almost a quarter of a century on Texas' death row, largely unsuccessful in his state appeals. His 1st victory was when Folsom, of the Texarkana, Texas, federal district court, granted Banks a new sentencing phase. But Banks wanted a completely new trial and appealed Folsom's refusal for a new trial to the 5th Circuit. The 5th Circuit, which has oversight of Folsom's cases, agreed with Folsom that Banks could not get a new trial but disagreed and overturned Folsom's decision that Banks deserved a new sentencing phase. After striking out in the 5th Circuit, the U.S. Supreme Court-in a rare move-took up Banks' case 10 minutes before he was scheduled to die in Texas' Death Chamber on March 12, 2003. After arguments by Banks' lawyers and lawyers from the Texas Attorney General's office, Banks hit the legal system's lottery: the U.S. Supreme Court sided with him citing prosecutorial misconduct because the late Bowie County District Attorney Louis Raffaelli did not turn over a transcript of a key witness' interview. Banks and the high court believed that transcript-found by Assistant Bowie County District Attorney James Elliott who forwarded it to Banks' lawyers during the federal appeals process-may have had information that could have swayed jurors in Banks' favor. The 5th Circuit is basing much of its opinion on the Supreme Court's ruling that there probably should have been a hearing to determine if Banks deserves a new trial. Additionally, the 5th Circuit recalls state lawyers' own concession that the 5th Circuit probably should have allowed such a hearing. (source: Texarkana Gazette) *********************************** Jemarcus Warren Makes Appearance In Court After eluding authorities for months before he was captured in Houston last week, Jemarcus Warren appeared in court Tuesday. Judge Jack Skeen Jr., of the 241st District Court, said he wanted to read the defendant his magistrate warnings. Although he was read his rights at the time of his arrest in Houston, Skeen wanted the proceeding to be on the court's record, he said. Warren said he understood the capital murder charge against him and that he had the right to an attorney. But even after the judge advised him it would be in his best interest to have an attorney represent him "now," Warren said he wished to wait until Friday, when he would hear word from a Dallas attorney. Warren, 28, has had discussions with Doug Mulder and said the attorney is expected to let him know by Friday if he would represent him, he said. Skeen said he was concerned that Warren did not yet have an attorney when he faces such a serious charge. He said he was prepared to appoint Tyler attorney Jeff Haas at Warren's request. But the defendant still refused. He signed a document agreeing that he understood what had been read and explained to him in court Tuesday in Haas' presence. Skeen said he would contact Mulder to verify whether he would become Warren's attorney and would bring the defendant back to court Friday for an attorney status hearing. He said Warren's bail would remain at $1 million. Warren was the alleged leader of the Chapel Hill Hoover Five Deuce Crips gang, fled authorities for seven months before he was arrested last week on a capital murder charge and was brought back to the Smith County Jail. Smith County District Attorney Matt Bingham said Warren was read his rights and refused to have the court appoint an attorney for him in Houston as well. According to the document, he stated Mulder represented him, but Bingham said Mulder argued he was not the man's attorney. Warren's girlfriend, 25-year-old Lakeshia Shanaee Jones, was also arrested in Houston and is now jailed in Smith County on a charge of hindering his apprehension. Her bond was set at $200,000. She also rejected a court-appointed attorney. Warren was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service after local and federal authorities discovered he was located at an apartment in Houston, Bingham said. Warren allegedly ordered a "hit" on Andre Johnson in Gregg County in December 2003 and Smith County resident Shaun Pickens in January. He is also responsible for bringing in large quantities of marijuana and cocaine for sale in Smith County, Bingham said. Bingham said the state intends to seek the death penalty in the capital murder case for the death of Pickens. Attorneys dismissed the capital murder indictment of co-defendant Cornet Meekins after he provided law enforcement with information about Warren's involvement in the slayings. He agreed to plead guilty and receive a life sentence for murder. Bryson Carey and Meekins' common-law wife Stephanie Campos are in jail on capital murder charges. Pickens, a New Chapel Hill man, was found gunned down in the driveway of a Smith County home off of CR 2209 in January. (source: Tyler Morning Telegraph) CALIFORNIA: Death penalty won't be sought in Marine's murder In Vista, prosecutors will not seek the death penalty against a man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend, a U.S. Marine, in her Fallbrook apartment, it was announced today. Life in prison without parole will be sought for 24-year-old Wardell Nelson Joiner, prosecutor Geoff Allard said. The defendant's trial is set to start Nov. 22. The decision was made by District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis after she reviewed the case and spoke to the victim's family, Allard said. Joiner is charged with murder - and a special circumstance allegation of torture - in connection with the death of Vanessa Messner, a 19-year-old Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton. Messner, who served as a field radio operator in Operation Iraqi Freedom, was found with her head under water in the bathtub of her Alturas Road apartment on Feb. 12, according to testimony at a preliminary hearing in March. A deputy medical examiner testified that a bone in Messner's neck was broken that could have prevented her from pushing her head above water. The defendant and victim met while both were on active duty. At the time of the incident, Joiner was no longer in the service, but he still worked at Camp Pendleton as a civilian employee. (source: San Diego Union-Tribune) ************************* THE PETERSON TRIAL -- It's hard searching bay, diver testifies ---Prosecutors try to show why body wasn't found Thick mud, strong currents, dark waters and a strong surge made it nearly impossible to locate Laci Peterson's body or anchors on the floor of San Francisco Bay, an expert diver testified Tuesday. Searching the bay water was so difficult that even when divers had a known target, they had trouble retrieving it, said Geoffrey Baehr, who helped lead the search effort off the Berkeley Marina. Prosecutors in Scott Peterson's double-murder trial are trying to show why the body of the eight-months-pregnant Laci Peterson went undetected in the bay despite months of searching. Baehr said he had participated in more than 15 diving expeditions between late December 2002, when Laci Peterson was reported missing, and May 2003, a month after the body of the 27-year-old missing Modesto woman was discovered on the Richmond shoreline. During one dive, Baehr said the crew accidentally dropped the underwater device used to detect items to the bay floor. Even though the crew members knew exactly where the device landed, it took divers 4 trips to retrieve it. "So if something is down in the mud, covered with mud, would it make it difficult (to locate)?" Deputy District Attorney Rick Distaso asked. "It makes it virtually impossible," Baehr responded. The purpose of Baehr's testimony is to counter defense attorney Mark Geragos' contention that the sonar equipment used in the search is so accurate and powerful that it can find something as small as a tin can. The defense maintains that the reason searchers didn't find Laci Peterson is because she wasn't there. He says someone other than Peterson killed the substitute teacher and then planted her body in the bay long after she disappeared to frame his client. The decomposed remains of the missing woman and the Petersons' baby were discovered on the Richmond shoreline in April 2003. Earlier Tuesday, a forensic expert testified about needle-nose pliers found in the bottom of Scott Peterson's boat. Investigators found the pliers with a strand of dark hair lodged in its teeth 3 days after Laci Peterson disappeared. Prosecutors say the hair most likely belonged to the victim. DNA tests don't conclusively show that the strand belonged to her, however, because there was no root on the strand. Between the time the pliers were seized and tested 2 months later, the tool had nearly rusted shut, said Sarah Yoshida, a criminalist for the state Department of Justice. Modesto police asked Yoshida to test the pliers and a pair of wire cutters also found on the boat to see whether either had been used to cut chicken wire. The chicken wire was found in the back of Peterson's truck during a search. Jurors have not been told its significance, but the prosecution has hinted the wire was used in disposing of Laci Peterson's body. Yoshida testified that tests she conducted Feb. 23, 2003, showed neither the pliers nor the wire cutters had been used recently to cut anything. The forensic expert also testified that she saw no signs of blood or human tissue on the pliers. "Neither of these tools had any signs of recent use whatsoever?'' Geragos asked. "Correct," responded Yoshida. Peterson's double murder trial in Redwood City is now in its 15th week. The 31-year-old Modesto fertilizer salesman is accused of murdering his wife and the couple's unborn son in the days before Christmas 2002. Peterson could face the death penalty if convicted. Judge Alfred Delucchi, who is presiding over the Redwood City trial, told jurors that the prosecution would most likely rest its case at the end of September. The defense team estimates that it will need three weeks to put on its witnesses, Delucchi said. ------ Day 50 -- Friction between families After court adjourned Tuesday, the decorum that has existed between the families of Laci and Scott Peterson turned into testiness. Scott Peterson's father and Laci Peterson's stepfather verbally sparred in a hallway of the Redwood City courthouse after a witness testified about Central Valley fishing holes. What started the fiery exchange is unclear. But as Ron Grantski escorted Laci Peterson's mother down an escalator, he apparently said something to spark the ire of Lee Peterson, Scott's father. "Where were you fishing?" an agitated Lee Peterson shot back. "Come down here, and I'll tell you where I went fishing," Grantski responded as he rode the escalator down to the first floor of the courthouse. A bad tip about Laci Peterson's whereabouts An anonymous tip claiming that Laci Peterson was being held in a storage unit in rural Tracy sent several investigators to the area. But the search was called off when investigators couldn't find a location matching the tipster's description. The caller, who contacted police Jan. 10, 2003, 17 days after Laci Peterson was reported missing, said the woman was being mistreated by several captors and feared for her safety, according to a Modesto police officer who responded to the tip. Prosecutors in the case are apparently trying to show that authorities thoroughly investigated credible tips called in during the weeks and months after the eight-months-pregnant woman disappeared. Peterson seemed to want to sell house Terri Western, a real estate agent in Modesto, testified that Scott Peterson had talked to her about selling the couple's home on Jan. 14, 2003. Western, who is the mother of one of Laci Peterson's best friends, testified that Peterson had seemed upset at the time and said he did not want his wife to live in the home if she were found alive. Debris or evidence? Forensic expert Sarah Yoshida testified about two pieces of plastic found around the neck and near the body of the Petersons' baby when it was found on the Richmond shoreline. Yoshida said the two samples matched, but not identically. Prosecutors are trying to show that the 2 pieces of plastic were debris that washed ashore from the bay with the body. Defense attorney Mark Geragos, however, is expected to argue that the baby, who he maintains was born alive, was wrapped in a plastic bag and then dumped in the bay by Laci Peterson's captors. (source: San Francisco Chronicle) LOUISIANA: Convicted Murderer Faces 2nd Trial With Death Penalty After spending 15 years in the Angola state prison, a convicted murderer is getting a 2nd chance. A Bossier grand jury decided Tuesday part of his fate and now those involved are reacting and reliving a 15 year old murder case. Behind closed doors for more than 4 hours Tuesday morning, a Bossier grand jury of 7 women and 5 men decided James Crandell will face a 2nd trial on charges of 1st degree murder. Crandell was first convicted in 1989 for beating Charles Parr with a frying pan and strangling him with duct tape - leaving Parr to die at the Beacon motel. District Attorney Schuyler Marvin said, "the evidence was overwhelming. The jury unanimously convicted him of 1st degree murder, they were just unable to agree on the death penalty." Last month, a federal appeals court ruled in Crandell's favor because the original grand jury didn`t have a black foreman. Tuesday afternoon, Judge Bruce Bolin officially read the 2nd indictment against Crandell. The district attorney wants the death penalty... but the Louisiana Supreme Court has previously said no one can face it twice. "If the LA Supreme Court says they're going to stand by their 24 year old decision that we can't pursue the death penalty here, I'm okay with that. But I want them to revisit that issue and that's why we filed this," Marvin said. The victim's son - Kenny Parr works for Shreveport's city golf courses. He told us he still feels the pain of his loss. "I've thought about it everyday for the last 15 years and it's something that doesn`t go away. The 10th is my dad`s birthday and August is a bad month. It's just tough right now. but I got a lot of good friends and good people I work for and they`re behind me." Crandell will have a state appointed attorney attempt to stop Marvin's wish. Defense attorney Randall Robinson said, "it is my understanding that we are going to file a motion to quash that notice to seek the death penalty. That issue will have to be decided by our state supreme court prior to preceding with the trial." Robinson wouldn't comment on what will be done once the trial arrives but either way...it will be a fight against another life sentence or a legal first in Louisiana. No trial date has yet been set but with the new indictment handed down, Crandell could face death. That`s something Kenny Parr says he's been dealing with for 15 years ever since his father was murdered. Crandell will not be arraigned on the indictment for another 3 weeks. Marvin says it could take more than 4 months to get the supreme court decision on the case. Parr says no matter how long it takes to start the trial, he will not miss one day. (source: KTAL-TV News)
