Feb. 23 TEXAS: A Public Plea for Mercy: Open the door to death-row inmates' hearings If, in Shakespeare's words, mercy "droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven," Texas just experienced a bracing shower. Last week, Gov. Rick Perry said for the first time that before the state puts someone to death, it should hold a public hearing on the prisoner's request for clemency. He stipulated that the proceeding should be decorous and not like a "circus." And so it should. There is nothing more serious - or more irrevocable - that a state can do than deliberately end a person's life. It follows that every step of the way should be taken with the utmost seriousness, care and transparency. Instead, the Board of Pardons and Paroles typically discusses clemency requests by phone, with no written record of its deliberations, and votes by fax. It is appalling that, as citizens of Texas, people are being put to death in our name, and we do not know why their pleas for mercy were refused. On the international stage, that puts us on a par with nations such as Uzbekistan, which are just one step removed from totalitarianism. Clemency is not a pardon. In death penalty cases, it means merely that a person's life will be spared. It is virtually never granted in Texas; perhaps because the state does not provide for a sentence of life without the possibility of parole. That is another change we urge the governor to consider. Even if Texas is to retain the death penalty, it does us no good to labor under the global perception that we are not just tough but cruel. Remember the rest of the Bard's take on mercy - and, in particular, on mercy as exercised or not exercised by great rulers: ... [Mercy] is twice blest; It blesseth him that gives and him that takes: 'Tis mightiest in the mightiest: it becomes the throned monarch better than his crown ... (source: Editorial, Dallas Morning News) ********************* Appeal of death row inmate shot down The county criminal district attorneys office is free to seek an execution date for a condemned man after a federal court rejected his appeal. Warren Goodson, chief of the district attorneys office's appellate division, said his office would likely submit a motion to set an August execution date for Robert Alan Shields Jr. Shields, 30, has been on death row for nearly 10 years. A jury condemned him in the death of Paula Stiner in October 1995. Stiner, 27, had been Shields' neighbor in Friendswood. On Sept. 21, 1994, he broke into her home and waited for her. When she got home, he beat her with a hammer and stabbed her. Former Precinct 8 Constable Daniel Cooper arrested Shields 3 days later in The Woodlands. He was driving Stiner's car. Shields appeals reached the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which rejected his claims that he received ineffective assistance and was wrongly denied the chance to represent himself. "Shields argument, although novel, is meritless," the justices wrote. "(N)either we not the Supreme Court has established a constitutional right to self-representation." The motion to set an execution date will go to the same 122nd State District Court where the original case was tried. Judge John Ellisor, who now presides over that court, said he would recuse himself from hearing the motion, since he was one of Shields trial attorneys. "Because I did represent Mr. Shields, it would be an inherent conflict of interest for me to be involved in any aspect of this end of it," Ellisor said. The judge said he would seek the appointment of a visiting judge to preside over the hearing. The prosecutors in the case were Michael Guarino, who retired as district attorney in 2002, and current First Assistant District Attorney Mo Ibrahim. Ibrahim said members of Stiners family had stayed in touch with him since the Shields trial and had been waiting a long time for justice to be done. "You don't get involved in a case like this without getting close to the family," Ibrahim said. "I'm happy for them. After a decade, they can at last bring some closure to this." Shields was the last person in Galveston County to be sentenced to death. +++ Robert Alan Shields Jr. Case Sept. 21, 1994: Shields kills Paula Stiner, 27, in her Friendswood home. Sept. 24, 1994: Precinct 8 Constable Daniel Cooper arrests Shields in The Woodlands. Shields is driving Stiners car. Oct. 11, 1995: A jury convicts Shields of capital murder. Oct. 16, 1995: The jury sentences Shields to death. (source: Galveston County Daily News) PENNSYLVANIA: Frey gets wish: Death sentence James E. Frey Jr., who pleaded guilty earlier this month to 1st-degree murder and asked that he be sentenced to death, was granted that wish Tuesday morning. Northumberland County President Judge Robert B. Sacavage made the ruling following a sentencing hearing at which Frey, 46, of Milton, instructed his attorneys not to present any testimony that could possibly have spared his life. Frey, accused of kidnapping and killing his estranged wife, Debra Frey, 45, of Sunbury, last year, remained stoic during Tuesdays proceedings, showing little emotion. He appeared in court in white sneakers and a bright orange prison uniform with a gray, hooded sweatshirt underneath. He offered no comment to the media as he was escorted from the courtroom by county Sheriff Chad Reiner and several of his deputies. The death penalty imposed by Sacavage marks the 1st time since 1995 that a murder defendant prosecuted in Northumberland County was ordered to receive the ultimate punishment. It also was the 1st death penalty sentence attained by District Attorney Tony Rosini. Kevin Marinelli, of Shamokin, was sentenced on Aug. 11, 1995, by then-President Judge Samuel C. Ranck to death for murdering 35-year-old Conrad Dumchock at his Kulpmont home in 1994. Marinelli, who was 22 years old at the time of the homicide, was convicted of 1st-degree murder by a jury and remains on death row. Ironically, Sacavage, who formerly served as the countys district attorney, prosecuted the homicide case against Marinelli and was assisted by Rosini. Supreme Court will review Frey was scheduled to stand trial this week, but instead entered the guilty plea on Feb. 8. He will remain incarcerated at Northumberland County Prison before being transferred to a state prison. After imposing the sentence, Sacavage explained to Frey that he could file a post-sentence motion within 10 days in Northumberland County Court or an appeal to a higher court within 30 days. Sacavage said the Supreme Court automatically reviews death penalty sentences. Frey, who could have been sentenced to life in prison without a chance for parole, is charged by Trooper Douglas Foura of the state police barracks at Stonington with murdering Debra Frey on Jan. 5, 2004. He is accused of kidnapping his wife outside her place of employment in Sunbury, then driving to a cornfield along Keller Road in Upper Augusta Township, where he allegedly shot her twice, once in the chest and once in the head. Frey then shot himself, but survived the night before calling emergency personnel for assistance the next morning, according to state police. Following a 20-minute hearing on Feb. 8 in which the defendant was found competent to stand trial, Frey repeatedly stated he wanted to be put to death for killing his wife. He then pleaded guilty to 1st-degree murder and aggravated assault, and no contest to the kidnapping charge. The aggravated assault and kidnapping offenses are both felonies and potential aggravating circumstances that are required in seeking a death penalty sentence. In proving a death penalty argument, the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that aggravating circumstances outweigh any mitigating circumstances. Rosini, who outlined the homicide case to the court, was successful in convincing Sacavage that aggravating circumstances, the kidnapping, did exist. Rosini also said he was prepared to call 14 witnesses and enter numerous exhibits, including photographs of the crime scene. Sacavage then asked Paige Rosini, of Shamokin, one of Freys 2 attorneys (the other is James Best, of Sunbury), if she had any witnesses or comments that would show mitigating circumstances. She said she was prepared to call several witnesses, including the defendant; members of his family, including his mother, Connie Duncan, and his daughter, Amber Frey; a psychiatrist; and a chaplain at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville where the defendant was hospitalized until recovering from his wounds. But Rosini said it was her clients wishes not to present any character witnesses or other testimony in an attempt to spare him from the death penalty. Paige Rosini did point out that Frey had no prior, significant criminal history, served 2 tours of duty in the military and earned a college degree. After asking Frey if he clearly understood his court rights and wasnt suffering from any mental problems, Sacavage called a recess to review statements made by members of Debra Freys family. After reconvening about 30 minutes later, Sacavage again questioned Frey, who told the judge he was satisfied with his legal representation and affirmed his previous guilty plea. Sacavage then addressed the court by stating, "The commonwealth has proven at least one aggravating circumstance in the case and no mitigating circumstances have been presented. I hereby sentence the defendant to death." In addition to imposing the death penalty on the 1st-degree murder and aggravating assault charges, which were merged for sentencing purposes, Sacavage also sentenced Frey to 2 to 4 years on the kidnapping offense that will run concurrent to the death sentence. Victims family speaks When asked if her family was satisfied with the death sentence, Debra Frey's daughter, Christina Seiler, 27, of Halifax, stated, "I really cant answer that because we all had mixed feelings about what he deserved. I don't think we really had a preference. But I'm just glad he won't be in the public any more to hurt anyone else. He hurt a lot of people in his lifetime." Seiler was among numerous family members in the courtroom when Sacavage imposed the death sentence. Paige Rosini, who admitted it's unusual for a murder defendant not to seek any defense in a case, said, "Mr. Frey was found to be competent and we felt obligated to abide by his wishes not to present any evidence on his behalf." Tony Rosini said he believes Frey deserved death. "He waived his right to a trial and asked for the death penalty. Well, he got his wish," he said. The district attorney said there have been only three executions carried out in Pennsylvania since the death penalty was reinstated in 1974. He said all 3 of the convicted murderers who were executed sought the death penalty. (source: Shamokin News Item) OKLAHOMA: Jury to consider death penalty for Eizember An Oklahoma jury has convicted Scott Eizember in the 2003 deaths of his ex-girlfriend's neighbors. Today, the jury in El Reno, Oklahoma, will decide whether Eizember should get the death penalty. Eizember was convicted of 1st-degree murder for the beating death of 76-year-old A-J Cantrell. He also was found guilty of 2nd-degree murder in the shooting death of Cantrell's 70-year-old wife, Patsy Cantrell. The victims were attacked when they returned to their home in Depew, Oklahoma. The defense had said Eizember didn't intend to kill the Cantrells, but merely entered their home to spy on the nearby house where his former girlfriend was staying. Eizember was captured outside Lufkin, Texas, after allegedly kidnapping an Arkansas physician and his wife at gunpoint and forcing them to drive there. The physician shot him several times with a gun his wife kept in the couple's van. ************************ Death penalty opponents call for execution study Death penalty opponents says Oklahoma's capital punishment system should be examined and innocent people have already been put to death. Death penalty opponents and members of faith-based groups rallied outside the Capitol in support of a bill that would create a 13-member task force to determine whether any defendant convicted of 1st-degree murder has been mistakenly put to death. While he wouldn't say which inmate had been wrongly executed, Democrat Opio Toure says he believes an innocent person has been executed. Toure says the state has the responsibility to identify innocent defendants and provide restitution's to do that. In 2003 Toure wrote legislation that was signed into law by Governor Brad Henry that allows citizens who are wrongly convicted and imprisoned to apply for up to $175,000 in compensation. Oklahoma has executed 158 people, including 3 women, since 1915. Oklahoma led the nation in the number of executions in 2001 with 18. Oklahoma had 93 inmates on death row at the end of January. (source for both: Associated Press) USA: Nothing 'historic' about Bush President Bush's friend Doug Wead somehow had the impression in 1998 that Bush would be a "historic figure." Many of us would be fascinated to know what Bush had done up to that time to earn such an opinion. What does that say about Wead's insights and judgments? Bush was a controversial governor with more than a few critics even in Republican Texas. A list of his failures was reasonably extensive. His education and environmental policies did not improve Texas much. Texas became "the Execution State" under Bush and his trusty legal adviser, who is now U.S. attorney general. Today, this "historic figure" has alienated half the U.S. electorate, antagonized almost the entire world with a poorly thought out and arrogant foreign policy, put the country into a debt that will last a generation, started a war that did not need to be fought in Iraq, and creates a crisis whenever failures in one area begin to show. If Wead thinks this is the essence of greatness, I'd love to know what he thinks a flawed president is. Hank Rigler, Tempe (source: Letter to the Editor, Arizona Republic)
