Sept. 25 CONNECTICUT: Mills Guilty In Triple Murder----In Penalty Phase, Jurors Must Now Decide On Execution Or Life In Prison In New Haven, wearied jurors, some of them visibly emotional, found Jonathan Mills guilty Friday on all charges in the fatal stabbing of his aunt and two young cousins 4 years ago in Guilford. But their work is far from over. Superior Court Judge Jon C. Blue wasted little time reminding the jury of eight women and four men of their role in the upcoming penalty phase of the trial. That is when they will decide whether Mills should be executed or sentenced to life in prison for the slayings of Katherine "Kitty" Kleinkauf, 43, and her children, Rachael Crum, 6, and Kyle Redway, 4. "You obviously have a very hard and awesome task," Blue said as several jurors lowered their eyes, sighed and shrugged their shoulders. Another rubbed her eyes with tissue. "You have much work and responsibility ahead of you." Blue excused the jurors until Thursday, urging them to "recover emotionally and physically" from nearly 3 full days of deliberations. Mills, 31, was convicted of 15 charges, including 3 counts of murder, three counts of capital felony and 6 counts of felony murder. Conviction on the capital felony charges means he automatically faces a hearing for the death penalty. Kleinkauf's sister, Nancy Filiault, shook as the verdicts were read. Her husband, Kurt, held her close as Lois Cody, the jury foreperson, read each guilty verdict. Kleinkauf's daughter, Denise Kleinkauf-Madera, 28, stared at an unemotional Mills, who was standing as his eyes canvassed the jury. Cody, a retired schoolteacher from North Haven, was loud and resolute in her "guilty" responses to the first few charges, but by the 10th count, her tone softened. By then, Mills was shaking his head and eventually buried his face in his hands after he sat down. Outside the courtroom, Filiault, who is raising her sister's daughter, Alyssa, on her horse farm in New Hampshire, said the guilty verdicts were "a long time coming" in an ordeal that's been tough on her entire family. Alyssa Kleinkauf, who was 10 at the time of the December 2000 killings, found her mother and siblings fatally stabbed multiple times. "This isn't our punishment," Filiault said in response to questions about how she felt about the possibility of Mills getting executed. "It's the punishment for this crime by law." With the penalty phase looming, Friday's verdict was hardly reminiscent of murder trials of the past in New Haven in which defense attorneys usually gathered on the steps of the courthouse to talk to reporters and prosecutors offered brief comments. State's Attorney Michael Dearington and Senior Assistant State's Attorney David Strollo declined to comment. In his 30 years as a state prosecutor, Dearington has never sent anyone to death row. He has yet to state publicly why he chose to pursue execution for Mills rather than agree to a plea bargain. In February, Blue denied a motion by Mills' defense team asking the judge to force the state to accept a plea bargain that would have guaranteed Mills life in prison instead of a cell on death row. Mills' defense team also was unwilling to comment at length on Friday. Public Defender Thomas J. Ullmann said he was disappointed with the verdicts. "Now, we'll focus our efforts on the penalty phase," Ullmann said. Barry A. Butler, of the state's capital defense unit, said guilty verdicts in capital cases are always more difficult because of the possibility of execution. Butler defended serial killer Michael Ross, who currently sits on death row. Butler also appeared to be focusing on the upcoming penalty phase. One of Mills' lawyers has already said the defense may put experts on the witness stand who will question whether Mills was capable of forming an intent to kill Kleinkauf and the children because he was high on heroin, cocaine, crack cocaine and alcohol. The defense argued during the trial that a long drug binge prevented Mills from planning the killings. "We'll be back," Butler told reporters. The defense opted not to offer evidence in the trial's 1st phase. Mills has been convicted 23 times for various crimes. Less than 5 months before the killings, Mills left prison without getting proper drug treatment, according to officials. While in prison or on probation, Mills received minimal counseling for a drug habit spanning at least a decade. During the trial, jurors cried while viewing crime scene and autopsy photographs of the victims. Jurors also heard excerpts from a confession Mills gave to police in which he said he couldn't believe he committed the killings and said he should be tortured and "deserved to die" for the acts. Police testified that Mills also said he attempted to overdose on drugs after the slayings. Mills confessed to the killings shortly after police took him into custody one day after the incident. He said he committed the killings so he could steal Kleinkauf's ATM card to get money for drugs. Mills also is accused of killing Mindy Elizabeth Leigh, 20, in October 2000 and dumping her body in Guilford. He faces a separate trial in that case. If Mills is sentenced to death, he would become the ninth person on Connecticut's death row. In August, a jury delivered a verdict of death for Eduardo Santiago Jr. of Torrington, who fatally shot West Hartford landscaper Joseph Niwinski nearly four years ago in a murder-for-hire scheme. Santiago will be formally sentenced in December. The last person to be executed in the state was Joseph "Mad Dog" Taborsky, who was electrocuted in 1960 for a murder and robbery spree. (source: Hartford Courant) ILLINOIS: Lawyers want Daley to testify in police torture cases Attorneys for freed death row inmate Aaron Patterson want Mayor Daley and other city officials to answer questions under oath in a federal civil lawsuit claiming police torture. In a Friday court filing, attorneys argued Daley's knowledge of torture cases stretches back to the 1980s when he was Cook County state's attorney. The federal filing also includes 1984 documents from the police department's Office of Professional Standards to the police superintendent noting that 14 suspects claimed police had tortured them with electrical shocks. The city wants a judge to block Daley, the city's corporation counsel, chief of staff and others from giving depositions in the cases of Patterson and another freed Death Row inmate, Madison Hobley. Daley is not personally named as a defendant in the lawsuit, but his testimony and that of other high-ranking public officials is important in proving they knew about, participated in, approved, condoned or refused to investigate a pattern of police torture, attorney Flint Taylor wrote in the filing. "I think we've made a very powerful showing Daley had significant involvement in the ongoing torture cases," Taylor said. "He should be ordered to testify." Taylor argues that Daley's knowledge of torture goes back to a 1982 letter Chicago Police Supt. Richard Brzeczek sent him. Brzeczek wrote that a Cermak Hospital doctor saw evidence murder suspect Andrew Wilson "sustained certain injuries" after his arrest. Brzeczek asked how he should proceed in investigating the allegations. Taylor charges nothing was done to look into the allegations. Area 2 Police Cmdr. Jon Burge was eventually fired over Wilson's allegations of torture in the case and is named as a defendant in several civil lawsuits charging police torture. In 2002, a special prosecutor was appointed to look into allegations of police torture. A grand jury recently subpoenaed Burge. The city argued against Daley's deposition in a Sept. 16 filing, calling Taylor's attempt to depose Daley, his chief of staff and other attorneys "a transparent attempt to harass the city's representatives and improperly pierce the city's attorney-client work product privileges and thought processes." Chicago Law Department spokeswoman Jennifer Hoyle said the city stands by its legal reasoning outlined in that filing. The city argues that the plaintiffs failed to show that depositions from Daley and others would produce admissible evidence or serve a useful purpose. Taylor also said he recently received documents from the Office of Professional Standards showing a pattern of claims of electroshock dating to the mid-1980s. Taylor alleged that while he asked for them for years, the city turned over the documents just 3 weeks ago. "That's one of the things we want to ask Daley if he knew about," Taylor said. (source: Chicago Tribune) ********************* Clear the DNA backlog The testing of DNA evidence has proved its effectiveness as a crime-solving tool. In ways that were heretofore unimaginable, DNA tests leave little doubt in identifying the guilty and setting the innocent free. Sadly, justice is delayed in thousands of cases that wait for a staggering nationwide backlog of evidence testing to be resolved. More than 350,000 samples from murder, rape and other serious cases sit on shelves in police evidence lockers across the country, waiting to be entered into a database that police use to identify criminals. Too many states lack the money to pay for the talent and equipment needed to conduct the tests. Meanwhile, families of victims and the accused wait, sometimes for years, to find out whether police have snared the guilty. Help could be on the way in a long-stalled, bipartisan bill that the Senate Judiciary Committee finally approved Tuesday after long debate. The bill would spend $1.3 billion over 5 years to expand the use of DNA testing, particularly in death-penalty cases. The House approved a similar measure last year. For the bill to become law, it must pass the Senate and then have differences with the House version resolved in conference committee before a final measure is sent to the president. That's a big order, but it can be done before the end of the year, and it should. Opponents argue that making DNA tests more available will encourage unnecessary criminal appeals and undermine the ability of states to enforce the death penalty. On the contrary, ample experience shows DNA testing enhances law enforcement by helping police and prosecutors find and put away the right suspects. Illinois knows the value of DNA tests. In July Wayne Willis, a Chicago man who allegedly left behind DNA evidence in at least 4y sexual assaults during a 4-year spree, was charged after a private group, the Women's DNA Initiative, came up with the money to have the evidence tested. This week, DuPage County issued 5 indictments of perpetrators who are identified solely by lengthy DNA numbers, as a means of keeping investigations open past the statute of limitations for the crimes. The Illinois database has yielded DNA matches in more than 1,000 cases, along with 109 matches elsewhere in the nation. Yet more than 1,000 samples of genetic material sit in the state crime lab waiting to be analyzed, along with thousands of blood samples from convicted felons in Illinois prisons. Critics need to ask themselves: Can the nation afford to delay identifying people who have committed violent crimes? The answer should be obvious. Congress should move as quickly as possible to help law enforcement officers and the courts use this valuable tool. (source: Editorial, Chicago Tribune) ************************ 'Tremendous strides' in investigation into 1983 murder of Naperville girl Jeanine Nicarico: Birkett says there may be new link between victim and serial killer A report on a hair abnormality that has been gathering dust for 16 years is getting new attention from authorities investigating serial killer Brian Dugan's role in the 1983 killing of Jeanine Nicarico, 10, of Naperville. DNA tests already have linked Dugan to the slaying, and he has said outside of court he alone committed the crime, but he never has been charged. Defense lawyers probably would fight to keep the tests and the statements out of court should he be indicted. DuPage County State's Attorney Joseph Birkett said this week the investigation into Dugan is "making tremendous strides." New evidence could help Birkett resolve one of the Chicago area's most controversial murder cases. In a 1988 report, hair analyst Clara Patterson-Hicks said unidentified hair strands found on the victim's body and on a blindfold had a rare abnormality also found in samples taken from Dugan. The report was part of post-conviction proceedings for two other men, Rolando Cruz and Alejandro Hernandez, who had been sentenced to death for the crime but later were freed. The proceedings were abandoned in 1988 after the Illinois Supreme Court - in a separate legal procedure - overturned Cruz and Hernandez's convictions for other reasons. Although Dugan has said he alone was the killer, he has been unwilling to testify about his role without immunity from the death penalty. In 1995, a DNA test linked him to the crime, and in 2002 DuPage authorities said a new, more accurate test also had done so. Dugan is in prison for life for 2 other murders. Frank Wesolowski, Hernandez's lawyer at the first trial in 1985, said a DuPage investigator last week interviewed him about the report and the hair samples. Wesolowski, now retired, said the hair analyst's findings were significant because they helped implicate Dugan in the murder. "It was an extremely strong report," Wesolowski said. Patterson-Hicks, who also is retired, said the abnormality, called pili annulati, is an unusual inherited trait of alternating light and dark bands on the hair shafts that can disappear and reappear over time. Although the abnormality is unusual, it does not mean the hairs could have come only from Dugan. Patterson-Hicks recalled the horror of the case as almost overwhelming. "I felt like this little girl was calling on me to help find her murderer," she said. Dugan's hair and the unidentified strands also shared a 2nd rare characteristic - an unusual double-stranded structure that was found in an earlier examination but that shed little light on the case because that abnormality also was present in the victim's hair. Birkett said he would not speculate about the timing of any indictment of Dugan but said he is satisfied with the progress investigators have been making. Earlier, DuPage authorities had said they expected Dugan to be indicted by the end of last year. One source close to the investigation now says he expects an indictment this fall. Another source, however, said that estimate might be "too optimistic." Thomas McCulloch, Dugan's lawyer, said he has not been informed of any pending indictment. (source: The Courier News) (in) WASHINGTON, D.C.: A 'Lesson' That's a Bit Too Simple Just because a story is familiar doesn't mean it can be glossed over. The stage adaptation of "A Lesson Before Dying," by Romulus Linney from Ernest J. Gaines's novel, tells an inherently powerful story of the impending execution of a wrongly convicted young black man in 1948 Louisiana. Yet its thinly drawn characters and overly simplified plot prevent that power from being more than sporadically felt in African Continuum Theatre Company's season-opening production. It's a few weeks before 17-year-old Jefferson (G. Alverez Reid) is going to be sent to the electric chair. His attorney has tried to save him from the death penalty by dismissing his humanity and ability to reason, saying executing him would be no different from sending a hog to slaughter. And so Jefferson takes the description to heart and bitterly begins believing himself to be no better than an animal. Jefferson's elderly godmother, Miss Emma (JoAnn M. Williams), entreats a family friend, Grant Wiggins (Jefferson A. Russell), to counsel Jefferson before his execution and attempt to restore his pride so he can "die like a man." Grant is a college-educated teacher in the fictional rural town of Bayonne, but his commitment to his students is paper-thin. He resents the sense of obligation he feels to stay in the "hellhole" town and help the kids; he's also reluctant to get involved with Jefferson, as his death sentence seems to reinforce the notion that Grant's efforts won't do the area's disadvantaged youth any good. Grant does begin to visit Jefferson, who at first refuses to look him or Miss Emma in the eyes and turns down his godmother's treats, offering rationalizations such as, "Hogs don't eat no candy." Jefferson is also counseled by the Rev. Ambrose (Keith N. Johnson), who takes exception to Grant's secular mentoring as well as his higher education. Reid is a standout among the cast in Linney's juiciest role. His Jefferson cuts a striking and sympathetic figure, whether he's falling to his knees to snort and crawl like the hog he initially insists he is or, later, reading the rudimentary entries of a journal Grant has persuaded him to keep. Russell, too, does nice work as the conflicted counselor; Linney allows the character, who at first comes off like a bit of a whiner, to show his certainty and fortitude as a teacher in classroom scenes in which Russell addresses the audience as his students. "A Lesson Before Dying's" supporting characters, however, rarely move beyond their one-note agendas: The reverend, for example, is instantly defensive with Grant and says little beyond criticizing Grant's college degree and the nature of his discussions with Jefferson. Grant's girlfriend, Vivian (Dionne Audain), exists only to insist he help Jefferson, though her reasoning consists mainly of "You must!" Miss Emma, too, comes off as a mere caricature, the doting but steely old lady who can easily guilt people into doing what she wants. The drama's flaws do diminish in Act 2 -- though, unfortunately, so do some of the actors' Louisiana accents -- as the plot becomes more focused on the interactions between Grant and Jefferson. And ACTCo's production excels in creating a mournful atmosphere. The set on the small H Street Playhouse stage consists simply of a wood floor and matching background planks; at first the only embellishment is a sketch of a black man, but as the play progresses, the planks are turned to reveal other portraits of black families, standing witness to Jefferson's too-familiar plight. Also, when not involved in a scene, Williams and Johnson provide musical accompaniment, singing psalms and spirituals in gorgeously plaintive voices. These touches show that although "A Lesson Before Dying's" message of meeting oppression with dignity may be unassailable, it's the details that make it worth telling. (source: The Washington Post (A Lesson Before Dying, by Romulus Linney. Directed by David Charles Goyette. Set, Timothy J. Jones; lighting, Dan Covey; costumes, Reggie Ray; sound, David Lamont Wilson. Approximately 2 hours 15 minutes. Through Oct. 10 at H Street Playhouse, 1365 H St. NE. Call 800-494-8497 or visit www.africancontinuumtheatre.com. ) VIRGINIA----new death sentence Armstrong gets death penalty A jury recommended a death sentence late Friday for a Red Onion State Prison inmate convicted of strangling his cellmate 2 years ago. Joseph Armstrong, 26, had asked the jury to give him the death penalty just hours after he was convicted of capital murder in the May 19, 2002, slaying of 32-year-old Kenneth Boothe Jr. "Thats the verdict I wanted," Boothes uncle, Ronnie Boothe, said. "I hope theres no appeal." It was the 1st death sentence handed down in Wise County in more than a century. "It would be in everybodys best interest if they sentenced me to death," Armstrong said before the jury began deliberating his fate. Sending him to death row would save his soul, Armstrong told the jury. Execution would be preferable to going insane in solitary confinement at Red Onion, he said. Prison has turned him into a beast, he said. "Im what Red Onion is making me be," he said. Beatings, torture and retaliation would be part of his daily life at Red Onion, he said. "10 years from now, I might not be even able to recognize my own mother," he said. "I must request you, the jury, sentence me to death to protect my mental health and well-being. If you sentence me to death, know that I thank you." Jurors asked Judge Robert Stump whether Armstrong ever would share a prison cell with another inmate if his behavior improved. The judge did not answer. He said the panel had to rely only on testimony heard during the nine-day trial. Earlier in the day, the jury deliberated 3 hours before finding Armstrong guilty of capital murder. It deliberated nearly five hours as part of the sentencing phase and returned a death penalty decision at about 10:45 p.m. Prosecutors convinced the jury that Armstrong killed Boothe because he hated gays and blacks and thought Boothe was gay; the defense argued that a depressed Booth hanged himself with a T-shirt. Armstrongs mother and stepfather, Velma and George Smith, held hands as they listened to their son ask for execution. His mother sobbed quietly. "I do not wish to subject my mother and father to any more pain," he said, adding that he did not want them to beg for his life. The Smiths told the court they would honor their sons request and leave the courtroom during the sentencing phase. "I dont like his decision, but I respect his decision," his stepfather said. Armstrong said he decided more than two years ago not to fight a death sentence, even though he maintained his innocence. "It was all or nothing," he said. "If I was to remain at Red Onion, anything could happen. I am completely innocent. I tried to save Mr. Boothes life." Boothe had a long history of suicide attempts, self-mutilation and violent behavior, according to the defense. Armstrong said he tried to save Boothe by performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation after discovering him hanging. The state relied heavily on Boothes autopsy report and the testimony of medical examiner Gregory Wanger, who said Boothe suffered internal neck injuries caused by strangulation, not hanging. The cell the men shared for just 4 days was clean and orderly and showed no evidence of a hanging, prosecutors said. The defense argued that the cells pristine condition showed that no struggle between the inmates occurred. Despite Armstrongs request to be put to death, his defense attorney Lonnie Kern asked the jury to sentence his client to life in prison without parole. Assistant Commonwealths Attorney Adrian Collins urged the jury to examine Armstrongs record. Armstrong already had been sentenced to life plus 40 years for a murder and robbery in Norfolk a decade ago. "There will be no punishment for Mr. Armstrong if he does not receive the death penalty," Collins said. "If Mr. Armstrong only receives an additional life term, then Mr. Armstrong has not been punished for this killing." Boothe was serving 17 years for forcible sodomy, aggravated sexual battery of a child, parole violations and weapons counts. (source: Bristol Herald Courier) *********************** Sniper avoids death penalty in Virginia Convicted sniper Lee Boyd Malvo's lawyers have said they negotiated a deal with prosecutors in Virginia to rule out the death penalty. The attorneys said Malvo would withdraw the appeal of his 1st conviction, a life sentence without parole, if the agreement proceeds, the Washington Post reported Saturday. The deal, with prosecutors in Spotsylvania County, does not affect prosecutions in any of the five other jurisdictions where Malvo faces murder charges for his role in the October 2002 sniper shootings. Of those jurisdictions, Prince William County; Montgomery, Ala., and Baton Rouge, La., have pending capital murder counts against Malvo. Maryland and the district do not have the death penalty for juveniles. Malvo was 17 when the shootings occurred. Malvo and John Allen Muhammad were arrested in October 2002 after shootings in the Washington area left 10 dead and 3 wounded. Authorities then linked the pair to eight more shootings earlier in 2002. (source: United Press International) ARIZONA: Man given death penalty in fatal '98 bar robbery gets life in resentencing A jury yesterday spared a man who it said played a major role in a fatal robbery spree but was not a killer. Convicted murderer Keith Royal Phillips, 27, of Tucson will be sentenced Oct. 22 to life in prison without parole or with the possibility of parole after 25 years. "The jury took 4 hours to deliberate," defense attorney Joseph P. St. Louis said. "Then 12 people came back with a life verdict. What does that tell you about this case?" A 2002 study by the Columbia University Law School said Pima County hands down more death sentences than any other county in the country, but more than 70 % of those cases are overturned on appeal. All defendants have been spared the death penalty in Pima County since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2002 that juries, not judges, must decide capital sentences. Phillips is the 5th. "This suggests to me that there's absolutely no process in the Pima County Attorney's Office about which cases warrant the death penalty and which cases do not," St. Louis said. "There's no way this was a death sentence case. It was a complete waste of time and resources. How can they justify to the taxpayers all of these expenses with no real chance of getting the death penalty?" St. Louis estimated that Phillips' defense cost taxpayers more than $100,000. Before the resentencing trial, prosecutors rejected Phillips' offer to plead guilty to pending assault cases against him if they dropped the death penalty in favor of life without parole. Phillips and Marcus Lasalle Finch, 34, also of Tucson, were convicted of 48 crimes and sentenced to death for 3 1998 robberies, including one at Famous Sam's restaurant and bar, 3010 W. Valencia Road, during which Finch shot and killed Kevin Hendricks of Sells. Hendricks fled the bar during the attack, and Finch admitted chasing him down and killing him outside. Their sentences were overturned and sent back so juries could decide the men's fates. Finch will be resentenced in April. By law, Phillips could have been held just as responsible as Finch for Hendricks' death, an idea jurors rejected. "All the evidence is fine and dandy, but that doesn't tell you that he deserves to die," said juror Olandre Edwards, 23, who works in communications. "It was not eye for an eye." "Everyone deserves a second chance," said juror Sheri Johnson, 41, a homemaker. Juror Sheila Gagnon, 37, who works for Bombardier/Learjet, said 11 jurors were fairly quick in rejecting the death penalty. Phillips surprised prosecutors by agreeing to testify and be cross-examined, which jurors said was a pivotal moment. "He was very impressive," said Eric Karaszewski, 24, who works with the Arizona Air National Guard. "It was very good for the defense. He had nothing to lose. It showed us how he really was." Phillips' trial had 3 phases. First, defense attorneys and prosecutors agreed that Phillips' convictions in the robberies made him eligible for the death penalty. Then jurors ruled that while Phillips was not the shooter, he played a big enough role in the robberies to continue considering the death penalty. During the last phase, mitigation, jurors heard defense testimony from relatives, friends and experts about abuse Phillips endured as a child as well as state's witnesses rebutting that testimony. In closing arguments, St. Louis stressed that Phillips is not a killer. "If we as a society are going to punish the worst of the worst and save the death penalty as the ultimate punishment for those people, then isn't it a mitigating factor that Keith Phillips did not kill anybody?" St. Louis said. Other mitigating factors offered by the defense included a dysfunctional family, a family history of drugs and mental illness, remorse, intoxication at the time of the offense, the capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of his actions and age or lack of maturity. Jurors told St. Louis that they saw another mitigating factor: that the New York child welfare system failed to protect Phillips from abuse. Deputy County Attorney Rick Unklesbay reminded jurors that Phillips bought the weapons used in the robberies and sprayed bullets into a group of bar patrons, injuring several. Unklesbay said Phillips had shown that he could function as an adult and stay off drugs and alcohol but chose not to. Mitigation expert Mary Durand, who did not work on the Phillips case, said his resentencing is a first for the Arizona justice system. "Not by having the county attorney drop death, not by having a jury hang and the county attorney decide not to do it over, but by having a jury reject the death penalty at the end of the mitigation phase" makes the case unique, Durand said. Chief Criminal Deputy County Attorney David L. Berkman said the Phillips case and the 4 others before it do not set a precedent but will be factors in deciding to seek the death penalty. "It's a new process," Berkman said of the requirement that juries decide death sentences. "We will continue to make the best determination of whether to seek death or not based on each case, not (several) juries." Unklesbay and Teresa Godoy, who prosecuted Phillips, did not return calls requesting comment. (source: Tucson Citizen)
