Sept. 29 TEXAS: Request for execution delay cites problems at Houston lab Lawyers for a death row inmate asked a judge on Wednesday to postpone his pending execution because of problems at the embattled Houston Police Department crime lab. Edward Green III, 30, is scheduled to be executed on Oct. 5 for the fatal shooting of a 72-year-old man and a 63-year-old woman in their car during a robbery 12 years ago at a Houston intersection. The request presented to District Judge George Godwin says Green's execution order should be lifted because of questions over the reliability of ballistics testing in his case and the recent announcement that lab evidence for thousands of criminal cases had been mislabeled and improperly stored. While Houston police have said the evidence stored in 280 large boxes is connected to cases from 1979 to 1991, Green's attorneys say his execution should not go forward until officials have had a chance to review all of what they've found. The evidence could include information related to Green's case that could save his life, said David Dow, director of the Texas Innocence Network, who is working with Green's attorneys. Dow said officials do not know if the boxes contain information on cases later than 1991. Judge Godwin did not immediately issue a ruling. Marie Munier, chief of the trial bureau for the Harris County district attorney's office, said prosecutors have not seen Green's motion. "Any claim we'll take a look at it to see if there's any merit to it," she said. The crime lab's DNA section has remained closed since a December 2002 audit revealed lab analysts lacked training, cases were insufficiently documented and evidence might have been exposed to contaminants. Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt was expected to appoint an investigator from outside the department to lead an independent investigation of the lab. Dow said Green is the first death row inmate to seek a delay of execution based on developments at the troubled crime lab. In an interview on death row earlier Wednesday, Green told The Associated Press that he was unaware of any appeals on his behalf. Dow disputed that assertion. "He knew we were in the middle of ongoing litigation," Dow said. "We would never do this without the inmate's consent." (source: Associated Press) GEORGIA: Man convicted of killing elderly women is denied appeal A man dubbed the "Stocking Strangler," who was convicted and sentenced to death for murdering elderly women here in the 1970s, had his appeal rejected. U.S. District Court Judge Clay Land handed down a 95-page order Tuesday that discarded each of 12 grounds upon which Carlton Gary appealed his 1986 conviction and death sentence in Muscogee Superior Court. Land's ruling clears the way for Georgia courts to resume plans for Gary's execution. "(Gary) has avoided the execution of this sentence by taking advantage of every possible legal avenue available to him," Land wrote. "This Court finds no legal obstacle standing in the way of Petitioner's journey to his final destination." Gary, now 53, has been on death row since he was convicted and sentenced to death on Aug. 27, 1986, for capital murder. He was tried for 3 of the 7 strangulation deaths of elderly women near the Wynnton area of Columbus between Sept. 16, 1977, and April 20, 1978. "We're disappointed in the decision," said defense attorney John Martin. "We believe there are substantial reasons for a new trial. We will ask the court for reconsideration, and if that's denied, we'll appeal." The defense may next ask the judge to reconsider his order, then appeal to the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. Gary's attorneys could then ask the U.S. Supreme Court to accept the case. Gary was prosecuted for capital murder of only 3 victims _ Ruth Schieble, Martha Thurmond and Kathleen Woodruff. However, evidence from the other 4 slayings and 2 additional assaults was presented during Gary's trial. The victims, all white women between the ages of 55 and 80, were sexually assaulted before being strangled in their homes, usually with their stockings or pantyhose. (source: Associated Press) ARIZONA: Man on death row asking for help A man originally from KOTA Territory, now sitting on death row in Arizona, maintains he's innocent. Now he is looking for some character witnesses here at home in his last round of appeals. 35-year-old Sean Running Eagle attended Rapid City Central High School. He was convicted of killing an Arizona couple during a robbery gone bad in 1988. He's been on death row for the last 17 years. His current defense lawyer says Running Eagle was poorly defended at trial, and she hopes to get his sentence reduced with help from people here in the Black Hills who knew him. Jennifer Garcia says, "Any information regardless of how it's presented helps us build a more complete picture of Sean, which is really what we need to do." If you are a friend or family member of Sean Running Eagle, please contact Jennifer Garcia at 1-800-758-7054. 2 other men charged in the same murder received lighter sentences. (source: KOTA (S. Dakota) Territory News) ALABAMA----impending (volunteer) execution Faced With Son's Execution, Mother Has Only Sad Keepsakes----Hocker Now Writes Bible Lessons, Mother Says Death row inmate David Kevin Hocker faces execution Thursday at Holman Prison near Atmore. Hocker, 33, was convicted in the March 1998 murder of his boss, Jerry Robinson. The victim's truck was stolen. In a Birmingham News interview, Hocker's mother, Patricia Yeomans of Gordon, near Dothan, said her son was mentally ill and destroyed his life with drug abuse. At 16, he racked up the first set of many charges: burglary, criminal mischief, harassment, possession of marijuana, theft of a firearm and theft of checks from his mother. Now she said he writes Bible lessons for prison publications. He gives his possessions to other inmates. With only a few sad keepsakes of her son, she's been calling funeral homes to take care of his body following his execution. Hocker has no appeal pending. Robinson's family declined to be interviewed. (source: Associated Press)
