Sept. 19 USA: Capital punishment goes undebated in U.S. election Capital punishment "is the worst form of assassination," wrote George Bernard Shaw in Maxims For Revolutionists in 1903, "because it is invested with the approval of society." A century later, this legalized form of execution is still a woeful abdication by government and the public in dealing with its Mansons and McVeighs, Muhammads and Malvos. It's still an appalling concession to those who blindly insist that it protects the innocent and provides a potent deterrent. The death penalty is still powerless to alter past bloodshed, much less impede the reduction of future homicides. Capital punishment only substitutes one evil for another, thereby debasing the value of all life, which forms the very nucleus of society. On Oct. 6, Montreal will play host to the 2nd World Congress against the Death Penalty. Participants include New Democrat MP Alexa McDonough, who has said there's still a need for vigilance in our own country even though Canada abolished the death penalty in 1976. "We are, however, increasingly guilty of a double standard," she said. "With the horrors of 9/11 and the suspension of due process, we are increasingly deporting foreign nationals to countries that still practise the death penalty." While the international assembly hopes to change the minds of those who favour its use or its reinstatement, congress president Michael Taube says he is dismayed that there is no debate on the death penalty in the U.S. presidential election. "The kill-to-win strategy in the United States," says Swiss sociologist Margrit Sprecher in Living And Dying On Death Row, "is one of the most disturbing aspects of their politics in which every political candidate is too afraid of losing votes to speak out on humanitarian grounds." The entrenched political powers and the thirst for revenge are simply realities for most U.S. citizens. In fact, Amnesty International says that America's intoxication with capital punishment belies its moral authority as the global vanguard of democracy and ethical behaviour, human rights and freedoms. State governments have conducted more than 800 executions since 1976, third only to China and Saudi Arabia, which together with Pakistan, Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan are among a tiny handful of countries that still invoke the death penalty. As the United States continues its descent into an ever-widening abyss of guns and violence, vengeance and death, more than 3,600 men and women are currently wait to walk the Green Mile. Worse is that the number of Americans murdered in 2001, for instance, is a startling 15,980 a figure that does not even include the nearly 3,000 9/11 deaths. Americans are immersed in blood, with 15,000 16,000 people killed annually, mostly by firearms - more than 200 million of them. Yet the common response to this relentless dehumanization is the citizenry's resistance to even the most modest efforts to regulate the spread of guns. Many Americans stoutly defend their constitutional right to bear arms amid the violence and death they digest hourly on television, in movies and video games. American poet Ezra Pound had a point when he said Americans "are born in a half-savage country." The death penalty cannot dissolve the pain, the hardness of heart and the indulgence of retribution, but the exercise of it breeds more of the same. In fact, death is an easy way out. At the moment of his execution, McVeigh's face looked so cool and calculating, his emotionless gaze so vapid, that execution witnesses found little or no relief at his clinically inflicted death. Observer Susan Ashford, for instance, said McVeigh's exit was too painless. "He didn't suffer at all. The monster just went to sleep." During a 2003 appearance on CNN's Larry King Live, comedian Bill Cosby addressed capital punishment and his experience as the father of a murdered child. "And when they asked, 'Do you want the death penalty?' my thought was, 'Hey man, they could poison, they could strap 1,000 of these people in the chair.'" "But it isn't going to bring him back, is it?" responded King. A moral and just alternative to legalized executions in the U.S. must be found, beginning with what almost every democratic country, including Canada, has done: outlaw the death penalty. Public attitudes to capital punishment will remain frozen in a countdown-to-execution mentality, says Helen Prjean in Dead Man Walking, unless the American people can be persuaded that government killings are not worth the price: not financially, socially, psychologically, and certainly not morally. (source: Opinion; Peter Mikelic is a Lutheran clergyman and a writer specializing in religion--The Toronto Star) DELAWARE: Lee could face judicial irony: Capano might one day seek pardon from his condemner Thomas Capano, convicted in 1999 of murdering Anne Marie Fahey when she tried to end their secret affair, was sentenced to death after a jury voted 11-1 that he qualified for the death penalty. The presiding Superior Court judge in Delaware's most famous murder case of modern times was William Swain Lee. He heard every bit of testimony in the highly publicized, 12-week trial. He announced the jury verdict and he sentenced Capano to death by lethal injection even though the jury's recommendation was not unanimous. He is the same William Swain Lee - more commonly known these days as "Bill" Lee - who is campaigning as the Republican candidate for governor of Delaware. If he outpolls incumbent Gov. Ruth Ann Minner, a Democrat, and Frank Infante, endorsed by the Independent and Libertarian parties, and wins the governor's seat, Mr. Lee could eventually find himself in a unique position. That's because the governor's signature is the last step required in granting pardons to convicted criminals in Delaware. Although it's a longshot, Mr. Lee, as governor, could conceivably be asked to pardon Capano if he were to receive such a recommendation from the state's five-member Board of Pardons. That would be a first in the First State - a former judge who sentenced a convicted murderer to death being asked to pardon or commute the same murderer's sentence. Mr. Lee recently recalled being chosen to hear the Capano case by former Superior Court President Judge Henry du Pont Ridgely, who warned him of the notoriety and publicity the trial would generate. Capano was a high-profile Wilmington lawyer and former deputy attorney general. Ms. Fahey was the popular scheduling secretary for then-Gov. Thomas R. Carper. "If Tom Capano had been found not guilty, I would gone back to Sussex County and lived my life in peace," Mr. Lee said. "I remember Judge Ridgely telling me to think it over carefully because it was going to change my life forever." The president judge was right. Mr. Lee's life did change. He retired from the judiciary and wasted little time entering the political arena. He took on John Burris for the 2000 GOP gubernatorial nomination, losing a hotly contested primary battle by a mere 46 votes. "Suddenly the door was open," Mr. Lee said. "My life took off on a great adventure." He said he would not step aside if, as governor, the Board of Pardons recommended he consider commuting Capano's death sentence or granting a pardon. Under Delaware law, the Board of Pardons is chaired by the lieutenant governor. The other members are the secretary of state, chancellor of the Court of Chancery, auditor of accounts and state treasurer. While the governor has the ultimate power to grant commutations and pardons, the state Constitution says no pardon "shall be granted, nor sentence commuted, except upon the recommendation in writing of a majority of the Board of Pardons." "My job would be to do my job and consider the circumstances at the time," Mr. Lee said. He said he has not second-guessed himself about sentencing Capano to die, noting the man showed no remorse and was considered a threat to harm witnesses who testified against him and the prosecutors. "The night I decided to impose the death penalty was the best night of sleep I had during the whole process," Mr. Lee said. Valerie Hans, a criminal justice professor at the University of Delaware, said Capano still has active appeals in process and that an appearance in front of the Board of Pardons - even as a long shot - would be a far distant event. "Obviously, it's really jumping the gun to even think about," she said. "But it certainly would be unique to Delaware, that's for sure." Ms. Hans said Mr. Lee would have a certain advantage over some governors in other states, who often are given only limited information of the circumstances surrounding a pardon request. "One of the things that is said sometimes about pardons is that people reviewing the cases don't have full knowledge of these cases," she said. "We certainly would not say that about Bill Lee and the Capano case. He would have a definite advantage, knowing all the details of the trial." Ms. Hans said she would see no problem with Mr. Lee, as governor, considering a pardon for Capano, providing the reasons recommending it centered on behavioral changes or possibly new evidence emerging. "I wouldn't see a conflict there," she said. "But what if they found the trial court somehow got it wrong? "Under those circumstances, I would see a conflict." Ms. Hans said she's confident Mr. Lee would also realize there would be a conflict under such circumstances. "I'm sure Bill Lee would be sensitive to that," she said. (source: Delaware State News) ILLINOIS: Ex-cellmate says jail brutality claim faked A former Cook County Jail inmate says allegations of brutality against elite guards in 1999 were faked by his disgruntled cellmate who later sued the sheriff's office. Attorneys for Sheriff Michael Sheahan interviewed Leonard Stafford on Friday at Graham Correctional Facility in Downstate Hillsboro, where he is serving a 32-year sentence for murder. In a 36-minute videotaped interview, Stafford said his cellmate was upset the Special Operations Response Team searched their cell. The cellmate, Cello Pettiford, was angry his legal papers were scattered and vowed revenge, faking a seizure he claimed was from a beating, Stafford said. Stafford's statement is the sheriff's latest counterattack against critics of his jail operation. A grand jury report unveiled Thursday found that Sheahan's aides engaged in a coverup of "gross if not criminal misconduct" in the 1999 incident. Guards were accused of forcing Pettiford, Stafford and dozens of other inmates from their cells and beating them. The jury, which spent 18 months investigating the jail, recommended prosecutors explore conspiracy charges against Sheahan and his staff. The jury found no evidence of excessive force in a 2000 incident in which 5 inmates sued the sheriff for alleged brutality. Didn't see anyone injured Sheahan spokeswoman Sally Daly said Stafford's statement "blows a huge hole" in Pettiford's allegations, which were central to the grand jury's findings. But Locke Bowman of the MacArthur Justice Center, which represents Pettiford, said "it is fair to say it flies in the face of massive evidence to the contrary." Many other inmates gave accounts that matched Pettiford's, he said. Bowman had not seen Stafford's statement. Former Judge Thomas Hett, the investigator for the grand jury, declined comment through a spokesman. Stafford, 24, a Latin Kings gang member, told Sheahan's attorneys that Special Operations Response Team members conducted a routine shakedown for contraband the morning of Feb. 24, 1999. Guards searched the cells on Tier 2-H after a gang-related stabbing. They launched another shakedown that night, Stafford said. "I remember trying to figure out where could I put my tea without getting it knocked over, so I sat it on the shelf, and then Cello started pouring his Kool-Aid out, and I heard them say, 'Bust the door down, one of them is trying to pour something out,'" he said. Stafford said he and other inmates were stripped and stood against a wall as their cells were searched. He said he turned around to look when a guard smacked him in the back of the head with an open hand. Stafford said he was not injured and did not see anyone else -- including Pettiford -- suffer any injuries. 2 different accounts Pettiford gave a starkly different account in his statement to Internal Affairs investigator Charles Holman. He said he was making iced tea in his cell when officers came in and took his tea. One of them punched him in the face, he said. "They punched him in the nose, both eyes, both jaws, and the back of the head when he covered up," Holman wrote in his report. "He stated they beat him about the body while wearing leather gloves. He stated that he was pushed outside of his cell and he was hit on the head and the neck with a baton." Pettiford said he urinated on himself because of the beating. "He said that he was beaten all the way back to his cell by SORT officers and just as he entered his cell he was again [hit from] behind with a baton, knocking him to the floor where his cellmate [Stafford] told him he went into a seizure," Holman wrote. But Stafford -- who said he was not offered a break on his sentence for his statement -- claimed Pettiford made the story up. Pettiford and two other inmates talked about faking an injury to file a lawsuit "to get even and get free money," he said. Pettiford asked Stafford to get a guard for him. Then Pettiford "laid on the ground and got to shaking" to fake a seizure, Stafford said. Several hours later, Pettiford returned to the cell in a good mood. He said he "got them" with his proof of a hospital visit, then smoked a cigarette and started drafting his lawsuit, Stafford said. (source: Chicago Tribune) SOUTH CAROLINA: Death Penalty Considered In Murder Of Deputy, Father----Sentencing To Begin Monday A Greenville County jury is charged with deciding whether a man should die for killing a Greenville County deputy and the deputy's father. The jury convicted Kamell Evans, 27, of murder Saturday, setting the stage for a hearing next week that could bring a death sentence for Evans. Evans' ex-girlfriend was the sister of Deputy Joe Sapinoso. According to police, Evans took Sapinoso and his father hostage in a desperate attempt to fix his relationship with his ex-girlfriend. "I just wanted answers," Evans said. "I just wanted to talk and it ended up that two men died, and I'm sorry for that." But prosecutors point to the two weapons and cache of ammunition Evans carried as evidence that he had more on his mind than just talk. "2 weapons and all you're going to do is talk? Of course, that's not all he had. He had a knife, I guess for good measure. And he had all this ammunition," assistant solicitor Betty Strom said. "To turn and hear [Sapinoso's] father in a blood curdling scream, 'No, No, No', and begin firing at him with both weapons. How much malice does it take?" she said. The jury deliberated for less than an hour and a half before returning guilty verdicts on all charges against Evans. The sentencing phase of the trial is to begin Monday. The jury could recommend life in prison or death for Evans. (source: TheCarolinaChannel) ************************ DEATH PENALTY IN S.C. Since the death penalty was restored in South Carolina in 1977, 32 inmates have been executed, including 4 this year. 26 inmates have been put to death by lethal injection; 6 have died by electrocution, including James Neil Tucker, the last inmate executed. Before June 8, 1995, state law required all death sentences to be carried out by electrocution. Since then, inmates have been able to choose lethal injection, but they must do so in writing 14 days before the scheduled execution date. If that deadline is not met, the penalty is electrocution if the sentence was imposed before June 8, 1995; the penalty is lethal injection for sentences imposed after that date. Tucker, who was executed in May, waived his right to lethal injection, saying he would be condoning his death if he chose the method. (source: The State)
