Oct. 4 TEXAS: Whitmire joins call for halting executions The governor should halt executions of inmates from Harris County until the Houston Police Department can examine nearly 300 boxes of evidence that could be connected to death penalty cases, a state senator said today. "It's just nuts, to sum it up, that we would not hold off on executions until we go through each and every piece of evidence to see if there's something that is even more convincing that the person we're fixing to execute did it, or perhaps we got the wrong person," said Sen. John Whitmire, a Houston Democrat. Whitmire, who chairs the Senate Criminal Justice Committee and describes himself as a strong supporter of the death penalty, delivered a letter to Republican Gov. Rick Perry asking that he suspend Harris County executions until March 2005. The governor's spokeswoman, Kathy Walt, said Perry at this point does not support calls for a moratorium on executions statewide or on cases from Harris County. "The governor as a matter of routine goes through each case individually and will continue to do so," Walt said. In reviewing cases, he looks at whether there are questions about DNA evidence or innocence, she said. Last week, Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt said inmates whose convictions rested on evidence analyzed at the Houston crime lab should not be executed until the work can be reviewed. The lab has been at the center of controversy for two years. Its DNA section has been closed since a 2002 audit revealed possible contamination of evidence, inadequate training for analysts and insufficient documentation. Since March 2003, the Harris County district attorney's office has been reviewing evidence processed by the DNA lab and ordered retests in approximately 400 cases. Last year it was determined that the 68 inmates already executed from Harris County had no DNA work performed by the troubled lab. DNA retesting was ordered in the cases of 17 inmates on death row, and most of the tests returned so far are consistent with previous results, said Harris County Assistant District Attorney Roe Wilson. None of those 17 defendants has been assigned an execution date, she said. Former Gov. Mark White and Houston state Sen. Rodney Ellis, both Democrats, joined Whitmire in writing letters to the governor Monday to ask for a delay of executions from Harris County, where Houston is the largest police agency the prosecutor's office works with. "I don't think they appreciate how diligent we are in making sure that these executions proceed with good, solid evidence," said District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal. None of the evidence in the 300 boxes is believed to be material from cases already set for execution, Rosenthal said. Perry has not reviewed the cases of two Harris County inmates set for execution this week -- Edward Green III and Peter J. Miniel, his spokeswoman said. In those cases, there weren't questions arising out of DNA evidence, she said. The Texas governor can issue a one-time 30-day reprieve for a death row inmate. Any other stay of execution from the governor must be based on a recommendation from the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. Whitmire said the parole board, which the governor appoints, could be involved in temporarily halting executions from Harris County but that Perry should be the leader on the matter. "He is the chief executive officer of the state, sets the tone. I think we look to him for leadership and that's the reason I directed my letter to the governor," Whitmire said. Whitmire cited the cases of Josiah Sutton and George Rodriguez as evidence of why executions out of Harris County should be postponed. Neither man was convicted of a capital crime. Sutton was convicted in a 1998 rape case and sentenced to 25 years in prison. He was freed on bond after more than four years in prison and was pardoned by Perry in May after the crime lab's DNA tests were discredited by new ones. Rodriguez, who was convicted in 1987 before DNA testing began in Harris County, has spent 17 years in prison for a kidnapping and rape. Rosenthal said last week that Rodriguez was denied a fair trial because of flawed testimony from a Houston Police Department crime lab supervisor. Rosenthal said he would not oppose efforts by attorneys for Rodriguez to free him on bond while they pursue a new trial or try to get his conviction overturned. A court hearing in the case is scheduled for Friday. (source: Associated Press) ***************** Man sentenced for killing Marshall, Texas, store clerks A Marshall man received 2 consecutive life prison sentences today for killing 2 store clerks during a robbery. Derrick Jenkins, 25, avoided a possible death sentence by pleading guilty. Prosecutors originally planned to seek the death penalty but reached a plea agreement with Jenkins' lawyer after doctors concluded Jenkins is mildly retarded. The U.S. Supreme court has banned the execution of convicts who are mentally challenged. Jenkins admitted killing Angela Bowman and Michelle Williams in March 2003 during a holdup at the Short Stop Fina in West Marshall. Police said the victims were taken to a back room and shot. A 2nd suspect in the case, Tiffany McCoy, is awaiting trial on capital murder charges. (source: KTBS News) LOUISIANA: Lawyer: DNA silent witness in serial killings In Baton Rouge, the 2nd murder trial of serial killings suspect Derrick Todd Lee began Monday with a prosecutor saying DNA is "the silent witness" that irrefutably links him with the rape and murder of a 22-year-old woman. Dana Cummings said authorities have used DNA evidence to connect Lee with the killings of Charlotte Murray Pace and 6 other women in southern Louisiana between 1998 and 2003. "The silent witness, that DNA, is there and it can identify someone so particularly, so reliably, so exactly that it cannot be refuted," Cummings told jurors in her opening statement. Lee, 35, is charged with 1st-degree murder in the case and could face a possible death sentence if convicted. In a courtroom packed to capacity with the victims' family and other onlookers, defense attorney Mike Mitchell argued that DNA analysis often can be wrong and collection can be done improperly, tainting the evidence. "We're confident that your verdict when this case is over will be not guilty, not guilty, not guilty," Mitchell said. After Lee was arrested, police dug up concrete slabs, drained a pond and scoured Lee's old cars looking for evidence to tie him to the murders but came up with only a "lack of evidence," Mitchell told jurors. Lee was sentenced in August to life in prison for a 2nd-degree murder conviction in the beating and stabbing death of Geralyn DeSoto in neighboring West Baton Rouge Parish. He is appealing that conviction. Lee's lawyers also contend that their client is mentally retarded and could not be executed because of a Supreme Court ruling barring the execution of mentally retarded convicts. Pace's partially clothed body was found in her roommate's bedroom in May 2002. Authorities said she had been slashed, beaten and stabbed 81 times with a flathead screwdriver and a knife. It took 3 weeks to assemble the jury in the case, after delays caused by Hurricane Ivan, questioning of some 120 prospective jurors and complications that included the removal of a juror on the final day of selection. The juror was replaced after it was discovered that he teaches the 9th-grade son of Pam Kinamore, 1 of the 7 women Lee is accused of murdering. (source: Associated Press) USA: Recent death sentences This contains 1) Statistics about recent death sentences in the United States; and 2) Summaries of every case as gleaned from news reports and other sources. Statistics about recent death sentences According to the best available information, 36 persons were sentenced to death in the first quarter of 2004. These 36 persons were identified by comparing the Winter 2004 listing of about 3600 death row inmates from the NAACP Legal Defense Funds Death Row USA (current as of January 1, 2004) with its Spring 2004 report (current as of April 1, 2004, and the most recent report available as at the time this Website was created----see: http://www.ajs.org/jc/jc_death.asp). The 18 jurisdictions in which death sentences were imposed, and the number of death sentences, are as follows: Arizona 3 California 3 Connecticut 1 Florida 2 Georgia 1 Illinois 2 Louisiana 2 Mississippi 1 New Jersey 1 North Carolina 1 Ohio 2 Pennsylvania 1 South Carolina 1 Texas 6 Virginia 2 Federal 3 Death sentences were not imposed in the first quarter of 2004 in 21 states that have the death penalty: Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. Also, no military death sentences were imposed. Of the 36 death-sentenced persons, 18 were white, 14 were black, and 4 were Latino/Latina. Only 2 of the persons were women (Angelina Rodriguez in California, and Kenisha Berry in Texas). Only 1 of the persons was a juvenile at the time of the crime (Eric Dale Morgan in South Carolina, who was 17 at the time of the crime.) (source: American Judicature Society) KENTUCKY: Death Row inmate loses last of regular appeals A Fayette County man on death row for a double homicide lost his final regular appeal Monday, which would allow state officials to schedule his execution before the end of the year. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to grant a review of the appeal by Thomas Clyde "T.C." Bowling Jr., 51, who was convicted of shooting and killing Edward and Tina Earley in April 1990 - and wounding their 2-year-old son, Christopher, in the foot - outside their family owned dry-cleaning business on North Limestone. A spokeswoman said Attorney General Greg Stumbo "in the very near future" will ask Gov. Ernie Fletcher to issue a warrant scheduling Bowlings execution. The governor could set the execution date for as quickly as 30 days from the date of such a warrant. However, attorneys for Bowling are working on several court or clemency actions to keep him from being executed. The latest argues that Bowling is mentally retarded, which would bar his execution under federal and state law. That lawsuit also claims Bowling did not commit the murders that have brought him to the brink of execution - that the real killers framed him. "With his low intellect, and adaptive deficits, Bowling was easy to set up to take the rap," according to the lawsuit filed by Bowlings attorneys, David M. Barron and Susan J. Balliet of the state Division of Public Advocacy. The attorneys said Bowling has never gotten a hearing during his appeal on the claim that he did not commit the murders. Rosie Earley of Lexington said prosecutors proved at Bowlings trial more than 13 years ago that he killed her son and daughter-in-law. Earley, who has raised her grandson since his parents were killed, was glad the Supreme Court declined to hear Bowlings last regular appeal. "They should get it over with," she said of the execution. (source: Kentucky.com) CALIFORNIA: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE----Contact: Karen Plesur (650) 508-3614 ---- [email protected] Notre Dame de Namur University To Stage Theatrical Premiere of Dead Man Walking; Opening Night Reception to be attended by Sean Penn, Sister Helen Prejean and others (September 10; Belmont, California) Dead Man Walking-the classic, compelling look at the complexities of faith, forgiveness, life, death, and the death penalty-first captured the American imagination as a book, then as an Academy award-winning movie, then as an opera. On October 22, Dead Man Walking-the play-will make its theatrical premiere at Notre Dame de Namur University (NDNU) Theatre. Written for the stage by a director who understands the book's depth and compassion very well-Tim Robbins, who directed Susan Sarandon in her Academy-award winning performance in the film Dead Man Walking-the play will launch with an incredible opening night reception, performance, and post-performance discussion on October 22, 2004, with author Sister Helen Prejean, Academy-award winner Sean Penn (Sarandon's co-star in the original film), actor Mike Farrell and Susan Sarandon (who is still to be confirmed) in attendance. The play will continue with performances on October 23, 24, 28, 29, 30, 31 and November 5, 6, and 7. It promises to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, for actors and audience alike. "This staging of Dead Man Walking will be a powerful experience. The script is exceptional and demands maximum intensity from both cast and crew," noted Michael B. Elkins, the director and chair of the Theatre Arts Department. "We are staging the play so it retains the original power that Sister Helen captures in her book, and those familiar with the movie will recognize the general thrust and intentions of the film. But there's nothing like a live performance-the immediacy of it, the intimacy of the theatre space. We've taken the life-and-death themes of the work and deepened them through innovative lighting, and stark, contemporary design." As a book, movie, and opera, Dead Man Walking has done for the death penalty what Rachel Carson's Silent Spring did so many years ago in awakening national concern for the environment. Now as a play, Sr. Helen and Robbins hope to extend the discussion of the moral issues of the death penalty to new audiences. By special invitation from Tim Robbins, NDNU is one of a few select universities chosen to perform this new play. "This powerful event began with a visit to campus in 2002 by Sister Helen. Over the many subsequent months, this project was nurtured by the efforts of Tim Robbins, Sr. Helen, and our dedicated faculty. We imagined a significant event and through the considerable contributions of many, we are privileged to present this outstanding premiere," says Lucille Sansing, Provost of Notre Dame de Namur University. This important play is part of a year-long examination of the death penalty by the NDNU School of Arts and Humanities Center for Social Justice and is produced by Special Arrangement with Tim Robbins and the DEAD MAN WALKING SCHOOL THEATRE PROJECT. Additional events include an art exhibit "Art from the Inside: Drawings by Chicano Prisoners;" a panel discussion considering both sides of the death penalty issue (panelists include the Public Information Officer for San Quentin); and a performance of "Quartet for the End of Time" (composed in a Nazi concentration camp and premiered in Stalag-8A in January, 1941). Founded in 1851 by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, Notre Dame de Namur University is an independent Catholic, coeducational institution. The fifth oldest institution of higher education in California, it was authorized in 1868 to be the first college in the state to offer baccalaureate degrees to women. As the only four-year accredited university in San Mateo County, NDNU offers liberal arts and professional preparation undergraduate programs, evening degree and certificate programs for working adults, and graduate degrees in more than a dozen areas of study. The campus is located on 50 acres of rolling hillside in the town of Belmont just south of San Francisco. The theatre is located at 1500 Ralston Avenue in Belmont. Tickets for the opening performance, which begins at 7 p.m., cost $200 and includes a pre-performance reception beginning at 5 p.m. Tickets for this event and information regarding subsequent performances may be obtained by contacting (650) 508-4177 or e-mail at [email protected]. For more information, please visit our website at http://deadmanwalking.ndnu.edu. Notre Dame de Namur University, 1500 Ralston Avenue, Belmont, CA 94002 (source: NDNU) ************* Prosecutor: Teen's Killer Was Serial Sex Predator----Penalty Trial Of Rickie Blake's Murderer Begins In San Diego, the man who raped and killed a teenage girl in 1986 is a serial sexual predator who deserves to be executed, a prosecutor told jurors Monday. The same jury that convicted George Williams Jr. last week of murdering Rickie Blake must now recommend his punishment. He can be sentenced to life in prison or execution. Deputy District Attorney Jeff Dusek said Williams "had a plan to get" Blake. Williams, who was 30 at the time, kidnapped Blake from her home in Chula Vista on the night of April 10, 1986, Dusek said. "He beat her, and then he raped her, and then he killed her, and dumped her along the side of the road," Dusek told jurors. During Dusek's penalty phase opening statement, he told jurors that Williams should be put to death because he had committed violent sex crimes before and after Blake's murder. According to Dusek, Williams committed the following crimes: In December 1984, Williams molested his own 6-year-old daughter when his wife was away. On April 18, 1986, a week after Blake's murder, Williams raped a neighbor at knifepoint and sexually assaulted the woman's 6-year-old daughter. In 1981, Williams raped a 15-year-old sister of a coworker. In June 1985, Williams raped a Navy woman in Oakland. In 1998, Williams sodomized his 14-year-old nephew. "We'll ask you to impose the appropriate punishment," Dusek told the jury. Williams' attorneys, Steven Wadler and Jeff Reichert, plan to give their opening statement when the defense side of the penalty phase begins. (source: NBC News) ***************** Expert: Near where Peterson fished, bodies may have been dumped An expert on tides and currents testified Monday that the bodies of Laci Peterson and her fetus may have been dumped into San Francisco Bay near the spot where her husband claims to have gone fishing the day of her disappearance. Ralph Cheng, a hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, said that based on winds and tidal information, the fetus' body -- whether still inside the mother or not -- was put in the bay between Brooks Island and the Berkeley Marina. Cheng cautioned that that was the "highest probability" location. "Can you predict with any certainty within inches or feet where these bodies would have started from?" asked prosecutor Dave Harris. "No, I'm afraid not," Cheng replied. He also acknowledged that he could not reproduce the trajectory for Laci Peterson's body, only a possible path for the fetus. Cheng said the fetus' path was easier to determine because it was lighter and unencumbered. He did not elaborate. But prosecutors believe the fetus was expelled after the mother's death while her body lay weighted to the bay floor. Defense attorneys attacked the experts findings as conjecture. Prosecutors allege the 31-year-old former fertilizer salesman killed his wife in their Modesto home on or around December 24, 2002, then dumped her weighted body into the bay. Her badly decomposed remains -- and those of her fetus -- washed up in April 2003, not far from the marina where Peterson launched his boat that Christmas Eve morning for what he said was a solo fishing trip. Peterson told authorities he was fishing around the Brooks Island area in the bay. Defense lawyers maintain someone else abducted and killed Laci, then framed their client after learning of his widely publicized alibi. Prosecutors claim an April storm churned up the waters, dislodging Laci's body from the bay floor. Cheng said his scientific data supports such a theory. On cross-examination, defense attorney Mark Geragos attacked Cheng's findings as "assumptions." "Most scientific information is based on assumptions," Cheng said. Geragos also got Cheng to acknowledge that this was the 1st study he had ever done involving San Francisco Bay and objects as big as bodies. (source: CNN) ****************************** Tide expert testifies at Peterson trial An expert on tides and currents testified today that the bodies of Laci Peterson and her fetus may have been dumped into San Francisco Bay near the spot where her husband claims to have gone fishing the day of her disappearance. Ralph Cheng, a hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, said that based on winds and tidal information, the fetus' body -- whether still inside the mother or not -- was put in the bay between Brooks Island and the Berkeley Marina. Cheng cautioned that that was the "highest probability" location. "Can you predict with any certainty within inches or feet where these bodies would have started from?" asked prosecutor Dave Harris. "No, I'm afraid not," Cheng replied. He also acknowledged that he could not reproduce the trajectory for Laci Peterson's body, only a possible path for the fetus. But prosecutors believe the fetus was expelled after the mother's death while her body lay weighted to the bay floor. Defense attorneys attacked the experts findings as conjecture. Prosecutors allege the 31-year-old former fertilizer salesman killed his wife in their Modesto home on or around Dec. 24, 2002, then dumped her weighted body into the bay. Her badly decomposed remains -- and those of her fetus -- washed up in April 2003, not far from the marina where Peterson launched his boat that Christmas Eve morning for what he said was a solo fishing trip. Peterson told authorities he was fishing around the Brooks Island area in the bay. Defense lawyers maintain someone else abducted and killed Laci, then framed their client after learning of his widely publicized alibi. Prosecutors claim an April storm churned up the waters, dislodging Laci's body from the bay floor. Cheng said his scientific data supports such a theory. On cross-examination, defense attorney Mark Geragos attacked Cheng's findings as "assumptions." "Most scientific information is based on assumptions," Cheng said. Geragos also got Cheng to acknowledge that this was the 1st study he had ever done involving San Francisco Bay and objects as big as bodies. (source: Associated Press)
