March 15 TEXAS: Perry creates criminal justice advisory panel ---- Texas criminal procedures, laws to be reviewed. Gov. Rick Perry, citing increasing questions about the fairness and adequacy of Texas' long-controversial justice system, today created a special council with sweeping powers to review criminal procedures from the police investigation to the last court appeal. The new Criminal Justice Advisory Council will probably have 9 members, including judges, prosecutors, lawmakers, victims' advocates, defense attorneys and legal scholars, to be appointed this summer. Perry said he anticipates that all meetings of the council will be open to the public. Perry said he created the council in response to a series of recent court rulings raising questions about the fairness of Texas justice. The questions concerned death penalty decisions involving juveniles, people with mental retardation and foreigners; the adequacy of the appeals process; and continuing issues related to DNA testing and evidence testing at a Houston crime lab. "I have great confidence in our justice system, but no system is perfect, and we must not be afraid of asking the questions that will lead to creating a more perfect system of justice for all the people of Texas," Perry said in announcing the initiative during an early-afternoon speech to the Texas Daily Newspaper Association, meeting at the Driskill Hotel. He said the council will "study and make recommendations regarding changes in legal procedures that might be needed to keep pace with advances in forensic science, major developing legal issues that could affect our criminal justice system and changes in law that may be necessary to better protect the rights of both victims and the accused." Perry said he hopes that creation of the council "can help ensure that justice is dispensed more fairly for the guilty, the innocent and the victims of crime, and it will give Texans greater confidence in a justice system that is designed to protect us all." Such a council has been advocated by an array of lawmakers who question the fairness of various elements of the current prosecution and appeals system, and was recently recommended by Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson and members of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. (source: Austin American-Statesman) ********************** Trial begins for alleged massacre planner Hidalgo County assistant district attorneys on Monday began laying out their case against Humberto "Gallo" Garza, charged with planning the Jan. 5, 2003, Edinburg massacre. Garza, 30, is alleged to be a captain in the Tri City Bombers, a Rio Grande Valley-based gang. He pleaded not guilty to capital murder charges that he recruited and helped other gang members in a drug robbery that left six men dead. Presiding over the trial is Judge Noe Gonzalez of the 370th state District Court. In opening arguments to the jury, prosecutor Murray Moore acknowledged that Garza did not fire a weapon at any of the victims, but as leader of the gang, he planned the robbery, called other gang members and armed them with assault weapons. Murray told jurors Garza then drove the men to steal a large amount of marijuana thought to be stashed at the 2 small homes on Monte Cristo Road where the slayings occurred. "(Garza) knew those men were going to die when he drove those men over with the assault weapons," she said. "The law says he still has the blood on his hands." Garzas defense attorney, Ralph Martinez, told jurors the case against Garza at best points to an aggravated robbery, not a capital murder. He said evidence does not show Garza ever directed other gang members to kill anyone or had any prior knowledge of the murders. The gang members obtained permission to carry out the robbery from the alleged leader of the Tri City Bombers, Jeffrey "Dragon" Juarez, who at the time lived in Sugarland. "The plan to do a robbery was with or without (Garza) because Jeffrey Juarez ordered it. A plan to do a robbery is not a plan to do a killing. A logical jump cant be made," Martinez said. Juarez, too, is charged with capital murder in connection with the case and is awaiting trial in Hidalgo County Jail. Martinez told jurors the prosecutions case is based on statements the accused gang member told law enforcement, but that law enforcement did not take notes or record those statements. Garza told police at that the other gang members acted without permission from gang leaders when they shot the 6 men, Martinez said. The other evidence points to a robbery, he said. "That decision (to kill the men) was made when my client was a distance away in a spontaneous sting. Afterward, he tells police immediately this is what happened," Martinez said. "They have a man who anticipated a robbery that was already approved, accompanied guys and dropped them off." To open the states case, Edinburg Detective Ramiro Ruiz described the crime scene, as prosecutors flashed grisly photos taken by police as they collected evidence. The photos showed bloodstained floors, bullet holes and bodies. He also passed around the assault weapons shell casings that police found at the murder scene. Multiple gunshots killed Jimmy Edward Almendariz, 22; brothers Jerry Eugene Hidalgo, 24, and Ray Hidalgo, 30; half brothers Juan Delgado Jr., 32, and Juan Delgado III, 20; and Ruben Rolando Castillo, 32. Police found five of the bodies in or around the smaller of 2 houses on the property, and found the body of Jerry Hidalgo in the larger home. Police identified the Hidalgo brothers as members of the Texas Chicano Brotherhood, a hated rival gang of the Tri City Bombers. Garza is one of 13 people charged with capital murder in connection with the slayings and is the 2nd to stand trial. In December, a jury gave 20-year-old Juan Raul Navarro Ramirez the death penalty for his role in the massacre. Another man charged in the case, Robert Gene "Bones" Garza, 21, is on death row for the 2002 slaying of 4 women in Donna, also linked to the Tri City Bombers. Awaiting separate capital murder trials in Hidalgo County Jail for their alleged roles in the Edinburg massacre are Marcial Mata Bocanegra, 27; Juan "Juanon" Arturo Villarreal Cordova, 35; Roberto "Robbie" Cantu, 25; Salvador "Little Sal" Solis, 27; Jorge Norberto "Choche" Martinez, 39; Reymundo "Kito" Sauceda, 29; and Rodolfo "Creeper" Medrano, 25. Police still are looking for Ricardo Caballo Martinez Gonzalez, 22, and Juan Miguel "Perro" Nuez, 29, on capital murder charges in connection with the shootings. (source: The Monitor) *********************** Dallas gunman in Jaguar kills 3 from sunroof A man squeezed through the sunroof of a Jaguar early today and opened fire with an automatic assault rifle on another moving vehicle, killing 3 men and critically wounding a 4th, police said. Authorities were searching for the gunman and 2 others, including a woman, who may have been riding in the light-colored, late model Jaguar with fancy wheels, according to Dallas and University Park police. A police officer waiting at a traffic light at the intersection witnessed the shootings and stopped to help when the second car crashed, Dallas police Sgt. Gil Cerda said. Police policy prohibited the officer from pursuing the fleeing vehicle because he already had a prisoner from an unrelated case in his back seat. Both cars had just left Jack's Pub & Volley Ball club when the shooting occurred around 2 a.m. on a highway frontage road near the Southern Methodist University campus in the University Park community, police said. University Park police Capt. Robert Brown said the shooting may stem from a scuffle at the pub earlier in the evening. He said the shooter apparently waited for the other party to leave the pub, and then followed in the Jaguar. Killed were Eddie Pech, 36; and cousins Bernardo Andrade, 21; and Favio Andrade, 19, all of Dallas, police said. Osvaldo Juarez, a juvenile whose age was not released, was taken to Baylor University Medical Center, where he was listed in "very critical" condition, the spokesman said. Mike Turiace, who was tending bar at the pub Monday night, said he didn't see the fight, but that other employees and police told him it happened around 1 a.m. "Apparently, there was a dispute on the dance floor in which somebody got hit or punched," said Turiace, 35. "The guy just got angry and decided to pursue it." Turiace said the fight didn't cause a big stir in the crowded pub, but its policy is to escort instigators outside after a fight. "It wasn't anything out of the ordinary that would lead to this. I guess certain people have it in their minds that this is their type of proper justice," Turiace said. "That really scares me." Turiace and others said Jack's Pub is normally a safe, friendly place that hosts festivals and volleyball games and attracts a college crowd from SMU. But the clientele shifts a bit on Monday nights, when the business advertises $2 drinks, a packed dance floor thumping with 2 DJs and a time so good "You won't believe it's not Saturday," according to the pub's Web site. "There's arguments, there's altercations, people that need to be escorted out, just like any other bar," the bartender said. "It's not a trouble spot, it's not a hot spot by any means." The pub's owners, 2 brothers who also operate an upscale restaurant in Dallas, did not return messages left by The Associate Press at the pub, their homes and the restaurant. University Park, a city of only 4.5 square miles, has an extremely low crime rate and doesn't see many homicides, said Brown, the police chief. "This is new to us, but we're capable of investigating it," he said, noting that Dallas police are assisting. "I don't think it's going to be a hard case," Brown said. "Obviously, when you have people who are at a location such as a pub, hopefully, we can find witnesses who were at the location who can help us solve this crime." (source: Associated Press) ALABAMA: Poor prison conditions bad for inmates and state The disciplinary action taken against the warden of Donaldson Correctional Facility last week is a reminder that the state must make the relief of prison overcrowding a major budgetary issue. Warden Stephen Bullard sent a memo to Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner Donal Campbell complaining of conditions at his prison. The effort got him a 10-day leave, and other disciplinary steps are possible. Donaldson is not unique among Alabama prisons. It is a mess, as are most others in the state. With a maximum capacity of 1,000, Donaldson holds 1,625 inmates. The overcrowding has overwhelmed the prison's sewage system. Many of its inmates require careful surveillance because they are mentally ill or on death row. Because of these gulag-style deficiencies, the warden mandates up to 32 hours per week of overtime for prison guards. The conditions are such that guards are increasingly refusing mandatory overtime by calling in sick or requesting counseling. This state pays less per prisoner than any other state in the nation. In some state programs, this would be a positive statistic suggesting efficiency. In the prison system, however, the state's low-budget correctional system is an embarrassment and potential disaster. In this area, Limestone County's Capshaw prison is already defending a lawsuit. Its lack of medical care and its filthy conditions have likely been responsible for some of its many HIV-positive deaths. Even for taxpayers who believe the state should have no obligation to provide decent conditions for convicted criminals, there are other reasons to increase expenditures. When inmates get sick, state taxpayers have to pay for their medical care. When conditions trigger lawsuits, taxpayers must pay to defend them and must pay for any court-ordered penalties. And possibly most important, overcrowding causes riots. The fear of a riot is one reason that guards are refusing to work extra hours at Donaldson. Riots kill guards and they kill inmates. The correctional system needs more money. The prisons are a powder keg and the fuse is lit. (source: Editorial, Decatur Daily) CALIFORNIA: The long wait for justice Convicted murderer Gerald Stanley wants to die. Since 1984, Stanley, now 60, has been on death row for the murder of his wife, Cynthia Rogers. Stanley shot his wife through the heart as she sat with her father at his Nice resort in August 1980. Today, Stanley says he is willing to pay the price for his crime, and he is asking for an execution date. And, thus far, the answer has been no. Stanley's isn't a common story on death row. The majority of the 640 death row inmates at San Quentin State Prison would probably like to go on living. But not Stanley, if his own statements can be believed. Berkeley attorney Jack Leavitt, who has been aiding Stanley in his pursuit of an execution date since August 1998, said Stanley told him that he feels like a "caged coyote," and that life behind bars is, for him, unbearable. Leavitt has impressive credentials in criminal law, with experience in trial and appellate cases, and experience writing for legal journals. In the early 1970s he was hired by the California Judicial Council and California Chief Justice Donald Wright as a paid, independent consultant to examine habeas corpus and related post-appellate procedures for California prisoners. During a series of phone interviews from death row, Stanley has told the Record-Bee that he is sincere in seeking an execution date. In explaining his desire to die, he has cited failing health particularly a bad heart as well as his desire to take responsibility for his wife's murder. "I just don't want to continue along this line anymore," he said. In 1996, Stanley said he asked for an execution date but his court-appointed attorneys talked him out of it. The reason? Stanley said the federal defense attorneys are against the death penalty, and have thwarted his attempts to seek his execution. The court-appointed attorneys defending Stanley are Sacramento-based federal public defender Quin Denvir and Mark Olive, a Florida attorney who has specialized in death penalty defense since 1978. Both are highly respected attorneys. In the case of Denvir, his resume looks like a who's who of famous cases of the last decade. Denvir, who took over the Federal Defender's Office in Sacramento in 1996, gained national attention as the lead defender in the trial of Unabomber Ted Kaczynski. He later served on the federal defense team for Yosemite killer Cary Stayner. In 2002, Denvir went before the United States Supreme Court to argue against California's "Three Strikes" law. The Supreme Court, however, ruled to uphold the controversial law, which was passed by the state electorate. Stanley wants to have Denvir and Olive removed from his case because they've succeeded in keeping him alive. "My sincere goal is to obtain an execution date, and before that happens resolve the Tehama County matter," said Stanley. And the "Tehama County matter" is that of Diana Lynn Ramel, who has been missing 24 years. If authorities will grant him execution, Stanley said he will reveal the location of Ramel's body, which he said is in Tehama County, "because it's the right thing to do and it will show the courts I'm serious." Stanley said he didn't kill Ramel, with whom he was romantically involved, but he knows where she is buried. He is also asking Tehama County District Attorney Gregg Cohen for immunity in the case, to escape further prosecution and delay. Thus far, Cohen has been reluctant to speak about the case publicly. Stanley has alleged that his court-appointed defense team is guilty of misconduct in the Ramel case. He stated in an interview with the Record-Bee that he told his defense team the location of the body, and that they visited the site and videotaped it. Joseph Schlessinger, an attorney in the Federal Defender's Office, said he had no knowledge of this alleged visit. Other complaints Stanley has with his attorneys: He says they have 29 boxes of his personal belongings that he wishes to have released to his family, but he says the defender's office has refused to let the materials go; and that the attorneys have had his mental competency tested three times in response to his requests for an execution date. On the topic of personal belongings, Schlessinger responded by saying, "I think there is no issue about disposition of personal property." In U.S. District Court documents filed in October 2002, Magistrate Judge Greg Hollows writes of Stanley, "Petitioner has complained about every attorney and jurist who has been involved in this case. Petitioner has threatened to kill some of his attorneys and their family members; he has routinely charged before the Ninth Circuit and elsewhere that the participants in this case, including the presiding judges, have accepted bribes for reasons which seem to change with the seasons." Leavitt said he has only had a few short-lasting disagreements with Stanley about the handling of his case, and he suggested Stanley's problems with other attorneys may stem from them refusing to follow his wishes about seeking execution. Asked if death row prisoners in Stanley's situation argue with their attorneys, Schlessinger said, "I would say Mr. Stanley is quite unusual in that regard." The courts have so far refused to allow Leavitt to step in and represent Stanley. Earlier this year, Leavitt was fined more than $10,000 by a judge who charged him with interfering in the case. However, Leavitt said he was recognized as Stanley's retained attorney by Marin County Superior Court Judge Verna Adams during a competency hearing for Stanley in November 2001. At that appearance the only time Stanley and Leavitt appeared together in court Adams recognized Leavitt but refused to take any action against the defense attorneys. Leavitt recently filed an appeal with the Ninth Circuit's court of appeals asking that the fine be set aside. Leavitt is also alleging that the court-appointed attorneys concealed from the court the fact that Stanley was unhappy with their representation, and he is asking the court to make a determination on this point. Another of Leavitt's contentions is that the magistrate and judge in the case have kept Stanley from his constitutional right to an attorney and a hearing in court. The Federal Public Defender's office has stated that Stanley is stalling the legal process by raising the issue of an execution date. "Mr. Stanley has been brought to court on five separate occasions," said Schlessinger. "Both the California Supreme Court and the Federal District Court have concluded Mr. Stanley is not sincere ... and it is an attempt to manipulate the system," said Schlessinger. In 1995, Schlessinger said, Stanley wrote a letter to the court asking to be executed and saying he would not change his mind, which Schlessinger contends that he did. The U.S. District Court documents from October 2002 which Schlessinger provided to the Record-Bee described Stanley's "now-I-want-to-proceed-now-I-don't tactics," and referred to a November 1996 court appearance by Stanley where he agreed to allow Mark Olive to represent him. On the topic of Leavitt, Schlessinger said, "Mr. Leavitt was sanctioned for continuing to attempt to advocate the withdrawal of the case after the court had ordered him to cease." One sideline element to Stanley's situation is the status of his mail privileges at San Quentin. He had alleged that four death row guards have been going through his legal mail and keeping it from him in order to get him to divulge the location of Ramel's remains. When the Record-Bee sent Stanley an envelope by mail late last year that included an earlier version of this article, Stanley said it was never given to him, but that the guards told him they had taken his mail and read "his article." Even after that, they did not give him the envelope or its contents. An attempt to reach San Quentin Warden Jill Brown by telephone was unsuccessful. Instead, the Record-Bee e-mailed prison ombudsman Ken Hurdle on Jan. 6 to inquire about the situation. Later in January, the Record-Bee received a phone call from San Quenton spokesman Vernell Crittendon who said the matter would be investigated. However, Crittendon added, Stanley was known for making complaints against prison staff and he considered it unlikely the allegations were true. The Record-Bee has received no further report about the situation from prison officials, although Stanley in March maintained that his mail was still being withheld. (source: Lake County Record-Bee)
