Jan. 15 CONNECTICUT: Preparation Expenses For Execution Exceed $33,000 To prepare for Connecticut's first execution in nearly 45 years, the state Department of Correction has spent more than $33,000 on such items as drugs for the execution, intravenous catheters and tubing, portable restrooms, a mobile office and curtains for the witness observation room. Purchase orders and invoices obtained by The Courant through a freedom of information request to the department show that the department began securing materials for the execution of serial killer Michael Ross as early as October and has continued to make purchases through this month. Most of the documents the correction department released this week pertain to expenses. The 100-plus pages also offer a sketch of the internal effort by the agency to prepare for Ross' lethal injection, which is scheduled for 2:01 a.m. Jan. 26. Travel expenses attributed to training for the execution was the most expensive item found in the documents, totaling $12,802.19. Citing safety and security concerns, the agency would not reveal any other information about the expense. It blacked out travel dates, the destinations and number of people traveling. Some of the invoices were for small items, such as $60 to affix standard correction department patches and badges to 6 uniforms. Enlarging photographs of several correctional facilities, with some framing, totaled about $965. Brian Garnett, the department's director of external affairs, said the photographs were prepared for planning purposes. Training for the execution has begun and includes reviewing personnel assignments and procedures for moving witnesses from designated locations to Osborn Correctional Institution, where Ross' execution is set to take place. Several people not employed by the correction department have been trained to play a role in the execution, a correction department official acknowledged during a Freedom of Information Commission hearing this week. Four catheters and the drugs needed for the lethal injection have cost the state $947. A New Jersey-based health care company provided the medical equipment that will introduce an intravenous line into Ross for $363. The drugs - sodium thiopental, pancuronium bromide and potassium chloride - will be administered in a 3-step process to Ross. A fourth drug, midazolam, was also purchased but will be used only if it is needed to calm anxiety, Garnett said. In October, the agency reached out to people under consideration for the execution observation team and execution team, and brought in EAP Inc. of North Haven, according to correction documents. The confidential employee assistance program conducted 14 hours of counseling over 2 days at Osborn, at a cost of $1,400. An EAP spokeswoman declined to comment about the specific services provided and the purchase order did not indicate how many people EAP counseled. But according to a correction department directive, at least 6 correction employees, and six alternate correction employees, were to be screened, selected and trained to assist in the execution. The correction department is also gearing up outside Osborn, procuring about $3,600 in signs to indicate state property where trespassing is prohibited; parking areas; and the site of a planned media center. The agency paid a Massachusetts-based electrical distributor $4,875, which a company official said was primarily for lighting equipment, some that can be used indoors or outdoors. Demonstrators will have access to amenities on the night of the execution, including rented portable restrooms that cost the department $610. Garnett said two mobile offices have been rented to provide heated shelter for demonstrators. Purchase orders indicate only one mobile office was rented, for $1,823, which includes installation and removal. A staffed ambulance will be in the area for 12 hours, at a cost of $1,800. Garnett said because a large number of people will be on the property, it was a necessary precaution. Burgundy-colored polyester curtains, some that will outfit the small room where witnesses will stand to watch the execution, cost nearly $1,000. In the witness viewing room, the curtains will separate 3 groups of witnesses: the media; victims' families; and people whom Ross has requested be there. State law allows 9 media witnesses to be present, but under the discretion of Correction Commissioner Theresa C. Lantz, only 5 media representatives will witness the execution. Garnett said the number was reduced because of space limitations. The names of the witnesses will be released after the execution. (source: Hartford Courant) ********************* Conn. court denies incompetency bid for death row killer Connecticut's highest court rejected a bid by a serial killer's former lawyers on Friday to have him declared mentally incompetent and stop his execution later this month. Michael Ross, 45, has admitted killing eight women and has repeatedly said he does not want to fight his execution by lethal injection, which is set for Jan. 26. He has accused the the public defenders who want to save his life of lying in their bid to have him declared incompetent. His decision to waive appeals of his death sentence has put him a step closer to becoming the 1st person put to death in New England since 1960. A lower court in Connecticut last month declared Ross competent to forgo his appeals. But his former public defenders, whom Ross fired last year, appealed that decision and were granted a hearing before the Connecticut Supreme Court. The public defenders argued that Ross is not competent to give up his appeals because he suffers from depression and wants to end his life. They also submitted a dossier that they said proved his incompetency. But the Connecticut Supreme Court, in a 25-page ruling, said the proof was just speculative and "did not constitute meaningful evidence of the defendants incompetence." Chief Justice William Sullivan rejected the public defenders' argument that Ross is incompetent simply because he has decided to waive his appeals. "We see no basis for that proposition in logic, experience or the law," he wrote. In a videotape made public earlier this week of a competency exam for Ross, the killer expressed scorn toward his former attorneys for meddling in his case. "I never in the world thought that people that I trusted would betray me by filing stuff like this and lying," he said. (source: Reuters) ******************* Court Denies Ross Hearing The state Supreme Court has rejected attempts by serial killer Michael Ross's former public defenders to secure a new competency hearing for Ross. The high court affirmed the ruling by New London Superior Court Judge Patrick Clifford Dec. 15 that the public defenders could not participate in Ross's competency hearing, held on Dec. 28. The public defenders had argued that Ross--who has said he wants to forgo further appeals and "volunteer" to be executed--is mentally unstable and incompetent to make such a decision and accept its consequences. They submitted to the state Supreme Court Monday more than 150 pages of evidence and testimony they were prepared to present if the high court ordered a new competency hearing. Attorney T. R. Paulding, who has represented Ross since September, submitted one piece of evidence--the nearly 4-hour videotaped interview of Ross by Dr. Michael Norko, a psychiatrist who concluded Ross was fully aware of his legal options and was making a voluntary and intelligent decision to waive those. The court is preparing to issue a 39-page ruling elaborating on its ruling. The public defenders are expected to appeal the ruling in federal court. (source: Hartford Courant) FLORIDA: >From Treasure Coast to death row----As the number of local convicts sentenced to die is on the rise, attorneys give an inside look at trials with life-and-death stakes. After being convicted of bludgeoning an elderly Sebastian couple to death with a baseball bat, Jim Eric Chandler was sentenced to die. That was in 1981 and Chandler remains alive today, the longest-serving Treasure Coast inmate currently on Florida's death row. Though murder trials are often known for fiery oratory, the real battle begins in the appeals process after the ultimate punishment has been handed down. Many of those battles are being fought now, as Fort Pierce resident Eddie Bigham was sentenced to death Tuesday and 2 men - Richard Johnson in St. Lucie County and Christopher Jones in Okeechobee County - were sent to death row last year. Even more cases are on the horizon on the Treasure Coast, and Chief Assistant Public Defender Mark Harllee calls it one of the busiest times for capital cases he's ever seen here. Death penalty trials remain a challenge for attorneys on both sides, and in the years of preparation that goes into them, they remain unique. "You're not just trying this case for the present, not just for the jury, but for the appellate courts down the road," said Port St. Lucie defense attorney Tom Garland, who has handled several death cases. How they decide on death There are 4 possible St. Lucie death penalty cases that could go to trial in the new year, and in Martin County, prosecutors have said they plan to seek death in the case of Eugene McWatters, 26, who is accused of raping and strangling 3 women in the Port Salerno area last year. State law lays out certain requirements prosecutors must use to decide whether to seek the death penalty in a case, but the ultimate decision rests with the State Attorney's Office. "First, you've got to be positive," Chief Assistant State Attorney Tom Bakkedahl said. "We're looking at a case that's extremely solid." In deciding whether to go forward, attorneys look at the aggravators (whether the person has a violent criminal history, whether the murder was especially cruel, etc.) and the mitigators (no criminal history, defendant was under mental or emotional distress, etc.). To seek death, prosecutors must have at least one aggravator that would mean the person should be put to death if found guilty. These aggravators and mitigators become very important if the person is found guilty, as they are the standards the jury will use in making its recommendation for death or life in prison. The judge has the final say, but must give the jury's decision "great weight." Defense attorneys know that simply by seeking death, prosecutors are signaling they are confident their case is strong. "They don't go to trial on weak first-degree murder cases," Harllee said. At the public defender's office, a team of lawyers and investigators must look at every aspect of a defendant's past to bring forward factors that could change a jury's or judge's mind. Filing motions, even ones that will likely be denied, is necessary because a person's life is on the line. "You do it because it's incumbent of you to do everything you can to save your client's life," Garland said. The appeals battle Of course, many murder trials will not actually end with the death penalty. Harllee estimates out of the more than 80 first-degree murder cases he has handled, 60 have ended with a plea bargain and a life sentence instead of death. The cases that do go to trial and end in conviction, like Bigham's this week, automatically go on appeal to the Florida Supreme Court. After that, most defendants elect to appeal again, citing specific complaints about their trial and conviction and, later, about the lawyers who defended them. Some of these post-conviction hearings can be just as involved as a trial, said Assistant State Attorney Lawrence Mirman, who handles many parts of the appeals process for the office. "They're often like trials in and of themselves. I've had them go two weeks," he said. Besides the state appeals process, defendants can also appeal at the federal level, going all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which can take years. The criminal justice system can be frustrating enough for victims' families, but the long time in between appeals makes it even tougher on them, Bakkedahl said. But some delay is not always a bad thing, and the system moves along faster than it did years ago, countered Harllee. "I think there's been a lot of reform ... I don't know how you can cut it any more," he said. Harllee recalled seeing a photograph several years ago that showed a man hanging from a noose in front of the St. Lucie County Courthouse. That kind of justice was swift, but left a lot of room for error. In the choice between 2 extremes, Harllee said the current system is a happy medium. "I still think what we're doing works," he said. (source: Fort Pierce Tribune) ******************************** Man found guilty in 'revenge' killing Jurors took 3 1/2 hours Friday to find Dwayne Hankins guilty of killing police informant Harold Rouse in a New Smyrna Beach park in 2002. They will decide next week whether Hankins should be put to death. With friends and family of both men taking up three rows on either side of Circuit Judge R. Michael Hutcheson's courtroom, emotions ran high. Rouse's mother, Sandra Rouse, began crying as the verdict -- guilty as charged of first-degree murder -- was read. On the other side of the courtroom, where Hankins' family and friends had sat through the weeklong trial, Rebecca Harris, his live-in girlfriend, burst into tears. Hankins, 27, who had testified Thursday that he had nothing to do with the June 13, 2002, shooting death of Rouse, held his head with one hand and sobbed quietly. One of his lawyers said Hankins had trouble getting to his feet when the trial ended. Hankins' family left without commenting. Outside the courtroom, Rouse's father, Harold Rouse Sr., 58, held his wife and said, "Thank God almighty. "He killed my son," Rouse said. "No doubt, he killed my boy . . . he shot him in cold blood." Hankins and Rouse, 25, grew up in the same New Smyrna Beach neighborhood. Prosecutor Ed Davis said the murder was a revenge killing. In late 2000, Rouse worked as a police informant, helping police gather evidence to arrest Hankins for selling cocaine. Hankins was to start a 3-year prison sentence stemming from that arrest about a month after Rouse was killed; he now faces a possible death penalty. Defense attorneys Peyton Quarles and Bradley Sherman argued there was no physical evidence or testimony addressing the moments leading to the shooting and no eyewitnesses who saw the murder take place. But Davis used Rouse's own words naming Hankins as his killer. The "dying declaration" was captured on police videotape as Rouse lay mortally wounded after being shot 4 times. "Harold Rouse was an eyewitness to his murder," Davis said during his closing arguments. "Harold Rouse spent the last few agonizing minutes of his life doing everything he could to identify his murderer." The jurors also heard testimony from police officers who heard Rouse name Hankins as the shooter and from others who said they heard Hankins make threats to harm Rouse. "Obviously, we're satisfied," Davis said after the verdict, reserving further comment until after Hankins is sentenced. When the jury returns Thursday, they will choose life in prison or death for Hankins, said Linda Pruitt, a spokeswoman for the State Attorney's Office. Quarles said they will appeal. While Harold Rouse Sr. felt justice was served, he does not want Hankins to get the death penalty. "I don't want to see him die," he said. "I just wanted justice for my son." (source: Daytona Beach News-Journal) INDIANA: Let death penalty appeal proceed Our position is: death row inmate should be allowed to appeal his sentence despite missing the deadline. Over the past 2 years, Joseph Corcoran, who suffers from paranoid schizophrenia, has had trouble deciding whether to appeal his death sentence. Doctors who have examined him think they know why. The mental illness often prompts irrational behavior. Corcoran, 29, killed four people with a semi-automatic rifle in July 1997, including his brother and three others as they watched television and ate pizza at his Fort Wayne home. He told police he killed them because they had talked about him. An Allen County jury deliberated less than an hour before convicting Corcoran in May 1999. In 2003, he dropped all appeals, saying he wanted to die. But in November, Corcoran changed his mind and asked the Indiana Supreme Court for permission to appeal his case. Unfortunately, the court ruled Tuesday that he had waited too long past the September 2003 deadline to seek an appeal. The decision clears the way for an execution date to be set. The court, however, should have restored Corcoran's right to appeal based on serious questions about his mental competence. Mental health experts have testified that Corcoran's illness interfered with the ability to make rational decisions, including whether to file an appeal. Psychiatrists say Corcoran believes that prison guards are using an ultrasound machine to torture him. Both federal and state laws prohibit the execution of the mentally retarded but not the mentally ill. Before leaving office, Gov. Joseph Kernan commuted the death sentence of Michael Daniels, who Kernan determined was incompetent because of mental illness. The now former governor also questioned the fairness of the state's death penalty statute. In July, Kernan commuted the death penalty of Darnell Williams, who has a low IQ. Corcoran's crime was undeniably horrific. He deserves, at the least, to spend the rest of his life in prison. The 1997 crime wasn't the 1st time Corcoran was accused of murder. He was charged with killing his parents in 1992 at their Steuben County home, a crime for which he was acquitted. Prosecutors contended that Corcoran, 16 at the time, shot his parents because they were too strict. He then calmly got on a bus and went to school. Yet, his failure to meet the deadline for deciding to appeal may well have been a result of his mental illness. Given the finality of the death penalty, he should be allowed 1 more chance. In passing a death penalty reform measure in 2003, the legislature clearly wanted an extra layer of review in capital punishment cases. Under the new standards, Corcoran deserves the right of further appeal. (source: Opinion, Indianapolis Star) ****************************** Prosecutor won't seek death penalty----Woman is accused of hiring teenager to kill Eden man The Hancock County prosecutor has recommended a sentence of life imprisonment without parole for Linda Shimer, accused in the Aug. 10 slaying of Brett Dobbins. The Eden man was shot twice in the back on the driveway of his home as he prepared to leave for work. He is survived by his wife and a 7-year-old son. Authorities discussed the possibility of seeking the death penalty, said Prosecutor Larry Gossett, but they already had reached agreement to seek a 55-year prison sentence for the alleged shooter, Kenneth Kelly, 19, in return for Kelly's full testimony about others involved. "At that point it becomes a little difficult to ask for the death penalty against somebody who's not the shooter," Gossett said. Investigators believe Shimer, 54, hired Kelly to murder Dobbins, according to court documents. Both suspects are being held in the Hancock County Jail, along with Kelly's girlfriend, Jennifer Brundage, a 3rd suspect. All 3 suspects are from the Far Eastside of Indianapolis or nearby. Kelly and Shimer are from Warren Township, Brundage from New Palestine. Kelly and Brundage carried out an apparent joint suicide attempt Dec. 6 by overdosing on medication in their separate jail cells. Kelly is scheduled to appear for a competency hearing at 3 p.m. Jan. 25. The hearing is intended to determine his competency to serve as a witness in the case against Shimer. Kelly's sentencing is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. that same day. (source: Indianapolis Star) SOUTH CAROLINA: Judge in death penalty case denies request for more juror interviews U.S. District Judge Joe Anderson on Friday denied a request by defense attorneys to further question jurors about whether they discussed the case of Branden Basham, who's been sentenced to death for the kidnapping and death of a Galivants Ferry woman. Basham's lawyers argued that phone records show jurors had lengthy conversations with each other and family members during the trial that may indicate they had premature deliberations. Government attorneys said it was an invasion of privacy to question jurors about their conversations. The phone records originally had been subpoenaed to determine whether jurors called media outlets during the trial. Basham, 23, and Chadrick Fulks, 27, were convicted and sentenced to death in separate trials last year in Alice Donovan's death. She was kidnapped from a Conway parking lot in 2002. Her body has not been found, though both men say she is dead. Basham and Fulks escaped from a Kentucky jail in November 2002 and went on a two-week crime spree through several states. The men also are charged in the death of West Virginia college student Samantha Burns. Friday's hearing was to include testimony from a representative from The Greenville News. Basham's attorneys wanted a newspaper executive to discuss whether any employee might have received a call from jury forewoman Cynthia Wilson during the trial. Newspaper attorney Jay Bender had asked the judge to throw out the request, but Anderson said Friday that The Greenville News agreed to give an affidavit. In it, the newspaper told the court the call was received after business hours and answered automatically. There's no way to determine who - if anyone - received the call without interviewing hundreds of employees, Bender said. According to phone records, the paper was one of five news organizations - including Upstate television stations and the (Spartanburg) Herald-Journal - contacted by Wilson before Basham was sentenced. Prosecutors have said Wilson asked the media why they weren't covering the trial, and they argued there's no evidence she was influenced by the conversations she had with the media. Wilson, along with other jurors and media representatives, have testified about the phone calls over the course of 8 hearings held since Basham's trial ended in November. Defense attorney Greg Harris argued Friday that the lengthy phone conversations Wilson and other jurors had with each other and family members raises concerns about premature deliberations on the case. The phone records show "a lot of dates with long phone calls that correspond with important court days," Harris said. "I grant you, there are a lot of calls on the bill," Anderson said, but he added there's no way to know what the conversations were about. "I wonder if we aren't almost getting into an invasion of privacy with jurors." Assistant U.S. Attorney Johnny Gasser argued there's nothing unusual about jurors bonding and forming friendships during such a long and difficult trial. "The idea that they would have telephone conversations together is normal," he said. Anderson decided that the numerous hearings held by the court so far on the jury matter sufficiently dealt with the issue. The judge attempted to schedule a court date to deal with the request for a new trial, provoking an angry response from Basham. Throughout the hearing, Basham, clad in an orange prison jumpsuit and handcuffs, whispered loudly until one of his attorneys, Jack Swerling, told him to be quiet. When Anderson asked the lawyers about their availability for another hearing, Basham jumped up and said he didn't want to return to court. Anderson said he had no choice in the matter since he was in custody. "I tried to discuss with my lawyers and explain today ... I don't even want a new trial," Basham said. Swerling advised Basham to sit down, but he turned and cursed at Swerling, telling him to shut up and that he was fired. Basham has acted out in other hearings. He was admonished by the judge during his trial for sleeping and fighting with federal marshals. He didn't attend a hearing last month because he refused to wear a monitoring device. (source: Associated Press)
