Feb. 6 TEXAS: Man Who Decapitated Children in Search of Pen Pal "Hi, my name is John Allen Rubio, and I am a Texas death row prisoner. Sincerely, John Allen Rubio." Dr. Susan Ander spends a living evaluating and interpreting people's behavior. Action 4 News showed the Harlingen therapist this Internet personal ad from the Brownsville child killer. "Typical of a death row inmate." Dr. Ander points to the opening line reading: "I am interested in corresponding with someone, anyone that is willing to correspond with me." Ander adds they're all signs of, "loneliness, boredom, and no problem about seemingly to be such a normal person with hopes, desires and fears." Rubio's defense attorney, Nat Perez confirms, the letter comes from his client through outside sources, adding "it's an opportunity to escape from the reality... no big deal." And reality is exactly what Rubio appears he wants to escape. "I am in my cell 23 hours a day and 1 hour to have recreation... receiving a letter from time to time would be the highlight of my day." So how does a death row inmate post his measurements, nationality and hobbies as Rubio did online in this pen-pal? Turns out not from state resources. Mike Viesca is with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. "It does not provide Internet access to any inmates in companies adding offenders do however, correspond with individuals in the free world, some who likely have Internet access." Access not only to post his thoughts and feelings, but on the flip side for others to read and respond as well. "That is an enticement for many individuals, men and women to begin long term relationships because of his celebrity status," explains Dr. Ander. So you heard from the doctor, now it's time to hear from locals about John Allen Rubio's Internet attempt to meet some friends. "My name is john Rubio. I am interested in corresponding with someone, anyone that is willing to correspond with me." We sampled patrons at the Dinghy Bar and Grill in Harlingen where everyone appeared to have the same feelings on tap. "How can a guy that did that want to have someone to have sympathy for him," asks one man. Another patron adds, "I don't think he needs to communicate with nobody just his inmates, that's it." Raymondville's Roberto Manjarrez just wants pen pal prospects to know just one thing. "He's not a good person, a man that would kill his kids belongs on the electric chair, death penalty or something." (source: KGBT 4 News) OHIO: State still considering decision in Richey case The clock continues to tick with time running out on whether the state will seek a hearing by the full federal appellate court in the case of Ohio death row inmate Kenneth Richey. Tuesday is the deadline for the state to make a decision. In January, a 3-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2-1 to overturn Richeys conviction and ordered that he be released or retried within 90 days. Richey was sent to death row in 1987 for the 1986 killing of 2-year-old Cynthia Collins in a Columbus Grove apartment fire. Prosecutors alleged Richey started the fire to get back at his ex-girlfriend. In its Jan. 25 ruling, the court said the state failed to prove Richey intended to kill Collins, and that Richeys attorneys didnt do a good enough job representing him. Whether the state applies for the full-court hearing by Tuesdays deadline remains to be told. That decision, however, isnt as easy as simply having the state say it wants to appeal. The state has to give a reason that shows the ruling in January by a 3-judge panel at the 6th Circuit conflicts with another federal appellate court ruling. The only other option is to show there is an exceptional need to consider the case, Richeys attorney, Ken Parsigian said Friday. The state may not be able to meet the requirement, Parsigian said. The 6th Circuit receives about 400 requests each year for a hearing by the full court with only five to 10 of the requests being granted. Ohio Attorney General spokeswoman Kim Norris said Friday her office hasnt made a decision on whether to ask the 6th Circuits full panel to hear the case. She declined to answer additional questions. If the state does not file with the 6th Circuit, its next option would be an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Such appeals, however, are rarely accepted. The nations high court picks and chooses its cases based on constitutional questions of law. The states other option is to retry the case. Putnam County Prosecutor Gary Lammers, who took office last month, has said he will begin the process of reviewing the case in the event he has to make a decision to retry the case. Lammers could not be reached Friday for comment. Retrying a case, especially a death penalty case that is 18 years old, is no small task. Prosecutors have to manage witnesses who may have trouble remembering facts, or finding witnesses. In the Richey case, some witnesses have died. Putnam County Sheriff Lt. Marvin Schwiebert said his office has not taken any steps toward preparing for a retrial. (source: The Lima News) CALIFORNIA: Marin has death row option for Quentin----Holding inmates elsewhere an alternative to new facility A new possibility is emerging for San Quentin State Prison's death row that involves transferring the condemned inmates to other maximum security prisons until they are close to execution rather than building a new facility to house them at the Marin site. The proposal, one of several being drafted by Marin leaders, marks a dramatic shift from earlier objections to a $220 million new death row facility planned by the state. In addition to its new focus on condemned prisoner housing, it also calls for a "shared use" at the prison site instead of eliminating San Quentin altogether and replacing it with a large-scale development and transit hub. "One of the things that's been made clear to me by the governor's office is that what they really need is not for us to come in with a grand prison re-use vision plan," said Assemblyman Joe Nation, D-San Rafael. "What they really need to know is what to do with all the prisoners." The new option, which would require a change in the state law that says condemned inmates must be housed at San Quentin, would shift the death row prisoners for most of their terms to maximum security facilities at Folsom State Prison near Sacramento and Corcoran State Pri-son near Fresno. They would only be returned to San Quentin at the end of their appeals. The rest of the $220 million allocated for the new death row, Nation said, could be spent to upgrade the Folsom and Corcoran operations or used elsewhere in the prison system to improve security. The plan likely could be implemented sooner than the new facility, which is scheduled to take two years to build, said Marin Supervisor Steve Kinsey. "We don't know for sure until we get the details, but I think it's quick," he said. Kinsey said the county has hired Michael Pickett, a former top state corrections official, to help develop that and other alternatives for death row housing to be presented to the state. Kinsey and Nation are slated to make their case before Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's cabinet at the end of this month or in early March. Despite objections from prison volunteers and nearby residents who fear traffic impacts from alternative uses at the prison site, county supervisors approved a maximum of up to $50,000 last month for a consultant to help with their presentation to the state. Kinsey said Pickett, who was found through a series of referrals, "understands the economics of prison development and operations" and will help local leaders with specifics "focusing on alternatives to death row expansion," he added. A separate feasibility study just on the economics will be done as well, he said. "Job one has always been how to address the need for condemned prisoner housing," Kinsey said. "Marin County has never had an argument over the need for improved housing - it makes sense for the safety of prison personnel and the prisoners themselves." Construction is planned to start this fall on the new death row, a maximum security compound on 40 acres next to the existing 153-year-old San Quentin on the bay near Larkspur Landing. The state Department of Corrections says more than 600 condemned prisoners are spread out over several San Quentin buildings that originally were designed for other uses, and security is difficult, if not life-threatening. The original death row was built to house 68 inmates. A final environmental impact report on the new death row is scheduled to be out at the end of this month. State corrections department spokesman J.P. Tremblay said the need for the new housing was so great that he couldn't weigh in on any other plans until it was a done deal. "The governor has said, and we have said, that we can't have any discussion about moving death row, or moving death row inmates to another facility, until we have a firm plan in hand and commitments that it will get done," Tremblay said. "We can't stop the project now; we need to do something about death row." Tremblay said a "host of questions need to be answered" about any plan to remove death row inmates from San Quentin and return them later. "What would be the time frame?" he said. "If they get a reprieve at the last minute, do we send them back?" But most important would be security issues covering the drive or flight to the other prisons and back to San Quentin, he said. "Transport would be maximum security," he said. "Corcoran would be a 200- or 300- mile road trip, or a flight, during which there would be all kinds of things we would need to be concerned about." Kinsey, whose district includes San Quentin, said he met Jan. 26 with Sunne Wright McPeak, state secretary of the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency, to discuss San Quentin's value as a transit hub and deep-water dock. As a former three-term Contra Costa County supervisor and former head of Bay Area Council, McPeak understood the importance of some type of regional transit village - with ferry, rail and bus connections - at San Quentin, he said. "She sees the amazing smart-growth opportunity at linking up light rail, ferry, bus and housing and business better than most," Kinsey said. "She's a natural supporter and ally, and she sees that it's a regional site, not just for our community." McPeak's spokesman, Patrick Dorinson, said the secretary was out of the office Friday, but he thought it would be premature to comment on any transit plans at San Quentin. "Obviously, transportation and moving people around is paramount in our thinking," he said. "But there's obviously other issues involved in San Quentin, and it's way too early to even discuss that, from our point of view." (source: Marin Independent Journal)
