Feb. 23 NEW YORK: State GOP dropped the ball on the death penalty Republican leaders who accuse Democratic Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver of killing the death penalty in New York State should look in the mirror. Politically speaking, they let capital punishment die without a fight. The death penalty became unenforceable when the Court of Appeals ruled it unconstitutional over the summer. Yet GOP bosses failed to make restoring the law an issue in the fall elections. Those who sat on their hands include Gov. Pataki, who made the death penalty a centerpiece of his 1994 election, and Assembly Minority Leader Charlie Nesbitt, who led the Republican effort to gain seats in that house. Instead, Pataki concentrated on reelecting President Bush, and Nesbitt's GOP candidates talked mostly about creating jobs and fixing Albany, resulting in a net loss of 2 seats. It was a different story 10 years ago, when crime was high and more New Yorkers told pollsters they supported the death penalty. Back then, Republicans would have made the election a death-penalty referendum, hammering so-called "marginal" Democrats, who represent conservative areas upstate and on Long Island, for sparing serial murders and cop killers. Pataki aide Joe Conway insists the governor cares just as much now as he did during the 1994 campaign. "He believes very strongly that the death penalty is a critical deterrent," Conway said. "We continue to believe the Assembly majority should stop their delaying tactics and bring the governor's proposal to a vote." After the ruling, Pataki let months of the legislative session go by without introducing a bill to restore capital punishment, stumped with Bush and barely mentioned the death penalty in his State of the State speech. Meanwhile, Silver made it obvious that he was in no hurry to bring back the death penalty. He mounted lengthy hearings and postponed any vote for months. If a vote were to take place today, the Assembly would probably restore capital punishment. With all 46 Republicans on board, proponents would need only 30 of the 104 Democrats to win. But now, with Silver's Democratic majority feeling much stronger and anti-death penalty sentiment spreading, putting Pataki's bill on the floor would be risking his own neck. The only way the death penalty is coming back is if Pataki, Nesbitt and the rest of the Republican Party significantly turn up the heat on Silver and his Assembly Democrats. Maybe they'll do that in 2006. (source: New York Daily News) NEW JERSEY: Attorneys testify death-row client refused advice 2 attorneys who represented a man seeking to overturn his conviction and death sentence for a 1993 stabbing death testified yesterday their client refused to assist them in trying to convince a jury to spare his life. Robert Morton is asking a judge to reverse his conviction and grant him a new trial because he believes his attorneys in the 1996 trial, John L Call Jr. and Mark Catanzaro, were ineffective. Call testified during a hearing yesterday that he and Catanzaro "begged, cajoled and pleaded" with Morton to undergo a psychological examination but Morton refused because he didn't want to be portrayed as unintelligent. Call also said Morton did not want his mother to testify about his upbringing or about their relationship. "He steadfastly refused (to cooperate), and I felt to push him any further would have destroyed any rapport we had with him," Call testified. "He didn't want to be portrayed as stupid, and he didn't want anyone to say anything unkind toward his mother." Morton, 39, was 1 of 2 men convicted in the stabbing death of attendant Michael Eck, 24, at an Amoco gas station in Delran in February 1993. Morton was sentenced to death. The court-appointed attorneys for Morton's appeal maintain the penalty phase of the trial should have included testimony from a psychologist and family members who might have convinced the jury to spare Morton's life. During the penalty phase of the trial, Catanzaro tried to show the jury Morton would not have committed the murder if co-defendant Alonzo Bryant hadn't convinced him to participate, Call testified. Bryant, 38, was convicted of the killing and is serving a life sentence. The defense presented the jury with a 200-page book that contained all of Morton's school records to show Morton had an 80 IQ, which means he has borderline intellectual function. Catanzaro testified he did not ask a psychologist to review the records and testify about them because he was concerned about how the witness would be perceived by the jury during cross-examination by prosecutors. Although the New Jersey and U.S. supreme courts already have rejected Morton's appeals, court rules permit anyone convicted of a crime to file for what is called post-conviction relief. Among the grounds for which such relief can be granted are substantial denial of the defendant's constitutional rights during the trial and an excessive or illegal sentence. The hearing is expected to continue through this week. (source: Burlington County Times) SOUTH CAROLINA: Death row inmate fights to end appeal ----Robertson admits in courtroom to killing his parents James Robertson showed no emotion when he admitted Tuesday he killed his Rock Hill parents eight years ago. He stoically told Judge John C. Hayes III "guilt has never been an issue," and "a new trial means nothing." Robertson, 31, wants to drop the criminal appeal of his double-murder conviction and death sentence, which would possibly clear the way for his execution. But he kept open options for a civil lawsuit or federal court action. After a 1999 trial in which prosecutors argued Robertson bludgeoned Earl and Terry Robertson to death 2 years earlier for more than $2 million in insurance money, a jury found him guilty and sentenced him to death. The S.C. Supreme Court directed Hayes to hold the Tuesday hearing to decide if Robertson is mentally competent to drop the appeal, but Hayes didn't rule Tuesday. Robertson, representing himself, laughed a few times while answering questions from Hayes and a state prosecutor. Execution could be more likely The judge told Robertson that dropping the criminal appeal could hurt his ability to fight the conviction through other means, such as a civil lawsuit or in federal court. Further, dropping the appeal could make his execution more likely, both Hayes and S.C. Assistant Attorney General Ed Salter said. But Robertson was unwavering in his desire to drop the appeal. "I don't expect some miracle," he said. Robertson claimed he is competent to make decisions. Salter told Hayes competency wasn't an issue in the 1999 trial. Also, Hayes in 2002 found Robertson competent to fire his lawyers. Of his own state of mind, Robertson said, "My mind changes by the minute, by the day, depending on what side of the bed I get up on ... (or) how hot the cup of coffee is I drink that morning." Robertson said he takes Prozac, lithium and another drug to control a bipolar disorder. He said he also has talked to a "standby" lawyer. He claimed his former lawyers haven't given him all the documents he wants, and he's frustrated by the appeals process. "Out of frustration you will let yourself be executed? That's what I'm hearing," Hayes asked Robertson. "I said I would allow you to dismiss it (the appeal)," Robertson said. Robertson, who knew another death row inmate who dropped appeals and was executed, told Salter, "I'll be dead. It'll be over with." Salter asked Robertson if he knew why he was tried in the 1st place. "I murdered 2 people," Robertson answered, showing no emotion. Salter asked who those 2 people were. "My parents. Terry and Earl Robertson," Robertson replied. Robertson said he doesn't want a new sentencing hearing, which the appeals process could potentially give him. Robertson has not filed a post conviction relief civil lawsuit in York County, which defendants often do when convicted. Also, Robertson claimed in court Tuesday he doesn't have all his trial documents. He filed a lawsuit against one of his defense lawyers in 2002 for documents he claims were missing, asking for $10 million in damages. The lawyer denied Robertson's allegations of missing documents, and Hayes dismissed the suit last year. (source: The Herald)
