Feb. 25 ALABAMA: Ocala man facing death penalty for killing his wife A man faces the death penalty after he was convicted of fatally shooting his wife along a Marion County roadway more than 4 years ago. William Kopsho, 51, was found guilty Thursday of 1st-degree murder and armed kidnapping in the death of Lynne Kopsho, 21, who had told her husband she had been unfaithful. The same Sumter County jury will consider Tuesday whether to recommend a sentence of life in prison or death. Circuit Judge David B. Eddy ultimately will decide Kopsho's sentence. Kopsho showed no reaction to the verdict. His lawyers said they will fight to keep him alive. At trial, prosecutors said Kopsho picked up his wife at work Oct. 27, 2000, drove her east on State Road 40 past Silver Springs and shot her three times. Lynne Kopsho told her husband about an affair 3 days before she was killed. That was plenty of time for William Kopsho to plan her murder, Hodges said. Kopsho, of Ocala, apologized to his dead wife's family hours after the shooting. Kopsho also told authorities that he had planned to take his wife to Ocala National Forest and kill her there. Eddy moved the trial out of Ocala last year after ruling that pretrial publicity made it impossible to seat an impartial jury in Marion County. (source: Associated Press) NEW MEXICO: House panel approves repeal of death penalty A bill to abolish the death penalty in New Mexico flew through a committee on Wednesday and headed to the House floor for a vote. The measure, which replaces capital punishment with a sentence of life in prison without parole, passed the House Judiciary Committee on a 6-3 vote. It's the 1st time the full House will vote on repealing the death penalty since opponents geared up about 8 years ago to try to overturn the law. Similar repeal bills have twice reached the Senate but failed -- most recently in 2001 by 1 vote. House Judiciary Committee members voting for the bill were Beam and Reps. Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque; Tom Swisstack, D-Rio Rancho; Al Park, D-Albuquerque; Hector Balderas, D-Wagon Mound; and Teresa Zanetti, R-Albuquerque. Voting against it were Chairman Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, and Reps. Terry Marquardt, R-Alamogordo, and Gloria Vaughn, R-Alamogordo. (source: El Paso Times) LOUISIANA: Death penalty is an option in retrial, court rules----2nd Circuit's decision backs earlier ruling by district judge. Bossier-Webster District Attorney Schuyler Marvin has won another victory in his plan to again seek the death penalty against the same murder suspect. "This is good news for us. This changes the law. It's a pretty big deal." The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeal this week denied an appeal by James Crandell, who was convicted in the 1989 slaying of a Bossier City man. Crandell argued that allowing prosecutors to seek the death penalty against him again would be double jeopardy. The appellate court disagrees, essentially mirroring an earlier ruling of District Judge Parker Self Jr., who in January refused to remove the death penalty from consideration in Crandell's case. The 2nd Circuit's opinion states: "... the death penalty is permissible as a sentencing option upon a retrial of this charge." Marvin still expects Crandell and his attorney, Pam Smart, to appeal to the Louisiana Supreme Court. But he remains confident the 2nd Circuit's decision will stand. Crandell has been serving a life sentence since his conviction in 1991 for beating Charles Parr, 48, to death. A federal court overturned his conviction in August after Crandell successfully challenged the manner in which grand jury foremen once were selected, specifically the exclusion of blacks as foremen for the 20 years preceding Crandell's indictment. Marvin took Crandell's case back to a Bossier Parish grand jury in September. The panel indicted Crandell in Parr's death, and Marvin announced his plans to seek the death penalty if Crandell is convicted. Crandell is serving a life sentence because the jury hearing his 1st case could not unanimously agree on whether he should be put to death. For at least 24 years, state court decisions have held that prosecutors are prohibited from twice seeking the death penalty. Crandell's case is different in that the federal court's ruling nullified his entire 1st court proceeding. "Jeopardy has not terminated when a defendant successfully appeals and has a conviction set aside due to structural error. Thus, the life sentence imposed in connection with Crandell's initial conviction raises no double jeopardy bar to the possibility of a death sentence on retrial," the three-judge panel wrote. Crandell was convicted of killing Parr in a room Crandell shared with his girlfriend, Gail Willars, at Beacon Manor Motel in Bossier City. Gail Willars' son Zachary, who was 9 at the time, witnessed the crime and testified at the trial. Crandell hit Charles Parr in the head with a frying pan. Parr's body was stuffed in a closet, where he eventually died. Crandell and Willars fled to Chicago, where they were arrested. No date has been set for Crandell's new trial. (source: Shreveport Times) INDIANA: Kernan to discuss capital murder case Former Indiana Gov. Joe Kernan will participate in a panel discussion Monday at the Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis after the screening of an upcoming A&E documentary about the capital murder case of Darnell Williams. "Countdown to an Execution" will premiere on the cable channel at 8 p.m. March 16. Monday's showing and discussion will start at 2 p.m. in the Wynne Courtroom. They are free and open to the public. In 1987, Williams, then 20, was sentenced to death for his part in the murders of John and Henrietta Reace in their Gary home. Juliet Yackel, a young public defender, was assigned years later to handle his appeals. When Williams' legal options were nearly exhausted by May 2004, Yackel found herself with only a month to try to hold off the execution. Yackel's fight to save Williams eventually involved 6 of the original jurors, a prosecutor and a minister. A&E gained exclusive access to Yackel and supporters as they tried to secure clemency. Kernan spared Williams' life last year after an exhaustive review of his case, which included new evidence. The panel also will include Yackel; IU Bloomington law Professor Joe Hoffmann; Paula Sites of the Indiana Public Defenders Council; and students and staff from Northwestern University's Center on Wrongful Convictions who were involved in the case. Norm Lefstein, an IU Indianapolis law professor and dean emeritus, will serve as the moderator. The law school is at 530 W. New York St. For more information, call (317) 274-8523. (source: Indianapolis Star)
