March 10 MISSOURI: Death penalty sought in KC serial killer case Jackson County prosecutors today filed court papers to seek the death penalty against a Kansas City man charged with strangling 3 girls and 9 women. The action against Lorenzo J. Gilyard, accused of being the state's most prolific serial killer, sets the stage for a groundbreaking trial. It means prosecutors will ask jurors to convict a man and recommend execution based solely on DNA evidence. That is the 1st such case in Missouri and Kansas and possibly the 1st of its kind nationwide, said Jackson County Prosecutor Mike Sanders. The victims were killed between 1977 and 1993. Gilyard, 54, was charged last year after DNA found on their bodies matched that from blood collected from him in a past investigation. Sanders announced the death penalty action at a courthouse press conference with about 20 family members of victims standing behind him. Some family members wore badges with a red ribbon, a gold heart and a picture of a lost loved one. Dawn Knox, daughter of Catherine Barry, said she was a teenager when her mother was murdered in 1986. Her family supports the prosecutor's decision, she said. "We are all looking forward to trial; we're finally going to get closure." Gilyard had pleaded not guilty. Defense lawyer Burt Haigh said, "We are disappointed in Mr. Sander's decision (to seek death) but we will continue to fight to protect Mr. Gilyard's rights." The case will now be assigned to 1 of 3 public defender death penalty teams. Sanders said he decided to seek death Wednesday after a 10-month review of the case by committees within his office. He said the office is likely to seek death in other DNA evidence cases. He called the Gilyard case "an indication of what is to come" as DNA leads to more convictions. His office will soon make a decision on seeking the death penalty against Terry Blair, a Kansas City man charged with 8 counts of 1st-degree murder for a series of killings along the Prospect Avenue corridor. (source: Kansas City Star) OKLAHOMA----re: possible federal death penalty Death Penalty Decision Fought In Trooper Case The attorney representing a Sequoyah County man currently serving a 30-year prison sentence for the shooting death of an Oklahoma Highway Patrol (OHP) trooper filed motions Monday to contest the federal government's decision to seek the death penalty against his client. The motions allege that Kenneth Eugene Barrett should not face the federal death penalty in the September 1999 shooting death of OHP Trooper David "Rocky" Eales, who was killed during a drug raid on Barrett's property just off Dwight Mission Road northwest of Sallisaw. Barrett's attorney, John Echols of Tulsa, who represented Barrett during his two state trials, wrote Monday that his client should not face a federal trial after being acquitted of 1st-degree murder and convicted of a lesser count in state court. Federal prosecutors have until March 15 to respond to the defense motions. U.S. Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales authorized the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Oklahoma to seek the death penalty against Barrett last month. The death penalty filings allege that Barrett intentionally killed Eales and will be a danger in the future. Federal prosecutors were given permission to seek the death penalty under special dual sovereignty rules for capital punishment cases that already have been tried in other court systems. Barrett, 43, went through two state trials, the 1st of which deadlocked at 11 to 1 for a first-degree murder conviction. In Barrett's second trial last year, Barrett was convicted in Sequoyah County District Court of 1st-degree manslaughter in Eales' death and assault for the wounding of fellow Trooper John Hamilton. Barrett is serving a 20-year prison sentence for the manslaughter charge and a 10-year sentence for the assault charge, to run consecutively. State prosecutors had tried to get a 1st-degree murder conviction and death penalty during that trial. (source: Sequoyah County Times)
