March 17 MASSACHUSETTS: Festa: No place for the death penalty The United States Supreme Court recently ruled that offenders under age 18 cannot be sentenced to death. It's about time. We were the last democracy in the world to end this practice. That said, many states continue to use the death penalty for 1st-degree murderers, although here in Massachusetts we have not executed anyone since 1947. Attempts to reinstate the death penalty have occurred every legislative session, and most recently Governor Romney has filed a new death penalty bill that purports to limit its application to only "fool-proof" cases. There is no such thing, and even if the criminal justice system were flawless, I believe there are other compelling reasons not to use the death penalty. As a former assistant district attorney and member of the Joint Committee on Criminal Justice, I am convinced that despite our best efforts and intentions, our judicial system is not perfect and no death penalty statute would be "fool-proof". The statistics on the rate of false convictions for death penalty cases are simply staggering. Since 2000 alone, 36 death row inmates have been exonerated, most often as the result of the discovery of new evidence. Governor Mitt Romney formed the Council on Capital Punishment to come up with a plan to reinstate a "fool-proof" death penalty. Romney has repeatedly insisted on the Council's ability to create perfect "evidentiary standards" to ensure the appropriate application of the death penalty. But we cannot ignore the fact witnesses, juries, judges and attorneys are all human and can and do make mistakes. Adding to the issue of false convictions is the fact that the vast majority of defendants who are sentenced to death are unable to hire their own attorneys and are represented by overburdened and underpaid public defenders who are often incapable of providing sufficient services for their clients. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg recently observed, "I have yet to see...an eve-of-execution stay application in which the defendant was well-represented at trial...People who are well represented at trial do not get the death penalty." In the words of one Florida death row inmate, "those without the capital receive the punishment." What are the other reasons suggested by proponents of the death penalty? Deterrence is one. Well, virtually every study conducted has indicated that the presence of a death penalty statute does little, if anything, to deter potential offenders from committing violent crimes. In fact, New England, where there has not been a single execution for nearly a half-century, has the lowest per capita rate of violent crime of any region in the country. Can it be fairly said that Florida, Texas and other states that are relentless in using the death penalty are safer and less murderous places to live? The death penalty is expensive. Sentencing an offender to death is at least 3 times more expensive than life in prison without parole. In Florida, for example, each execution costs the state $3.2 million -more than five times the cost of life imprisonment. As taxpayers, we have to ask ourselves: Is this the best use of our hard-earned tax dollars? Lastly and most important, the issue of the death penalty for me is about justice and basic human rights. I appreciate that some people want to seek revenge against those who have committed brutal and despicable acts against innocent victims, or believe in "an eye for an eye". But for the state to cause another to die only reinforces that cycle of death, and by such acts we demean all our lives. The issue of the death penalty isn't going away. It divided our Supreme Court and it will continue to divide our residents. But when the arguments are thoughtfully considered, the case is clear that the death penalty has no place in our society. State Rep. Mike Festa, D-Melrose, represents the 35th Middlesex District, which includes Wakefield precincts 3, 4, 5 and 6. (source: Rep. Mike Festa, Wakefield Observer) ********************* Author of 'Dead Man Walking' speaks at Northborough church Sister Helen Prejean, the real woman behind "Dead Man Walking," will speak at St. Rose of Lima Church, 244 West Main St., Northborough, Thursday, March 17 (tonight), at 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Prejean, who is often listed as "one of America's 50 most confident women," has recently completed her latest book "The Death of Innocents." In that book she escorts 2 men to their executions and she is certain they are not guilty. The book "Dead Man Walking" was made into a movie and an opera. It reached number one on "The New York Times" Best Seller List. Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn starred in the movie, which won an Academy Award and was nominated for 4 Oscars. Sister Helen Prejean has been a member of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Medialle since 1957. Her ministry is to the death row inmates at Louisiana State Penitentiary. She has accompanied five men to their executions. She also works with murder victims' families and founded a group in New Orleans called Survive. Prejean is an honorary member of Murder Victims for Reconciliation. She has been honored around the world for her strong faith and commitment to the good news of the gospel. B.B.C. named her "Angel of Death Row." She has received 37 honorary degrees. Actress Sarandon says she is most impressed with "Sister Helen's genuine humility." "Sister Helen's example invites a movie-going audience to understand that they, too, can deal with moral questions like poverty and capital punishment," comments Sarandon. "Sister Helen's life is a sign that, 'you, too, have the responsibility and the opportunity of finding your life, finding your faith and applying it to the world around you.'" Prejean's lecture tonight, March 17, will be followed by questions and answers. Copies of both of her books will be available and a reception will be held. The talk is free and open to the public. The Moratorium Campaign, founded by Prejean is a worldwide coordination to end the death penalty. Participants will have the opportunity to sign the petition both before and after the lecture. (source: Marlborough Enterprise) ILLINOIS: Tough execution rule gains----Illinois House OKs bill to raise standard for the death penalty The Illinois House voted Wednesday to raise the legal standard that courts must apply before imposing the death penalty. But even traditional allies in the capital-punishment debate are at odds over what effect the measure would have on the state's moratorium on executions. The measure would require judges and juries to find defendants guilty "beyond all doubt" before sending them to death row, making Illinois the first state to require more than the common standard of guilt "beyond a reasonable doubt." Some legislators voted for the measure because they think it would instill more confidence in the death penalty and perhaps put it back in operation, while others opposed it because they think it would throw up another roadblock. At the same time, opponents of capital punishment were split over whether the measure would help or hurt their cause. House Minority Leader Tom Cross (R-Oswego), sponsor of the measure, said it would help prevent something no lawmaker wants on his or her conscience: the execution of an innocent person. "We have been wrong in the past, and this is an attempt to right that wrong," said Cross, a supporter of the death penalty. "When it comes to the death penalty, when it comes down to whether we are going to kill somebody, we ought to be right." The House passed the measure by a 66-49 vote and sent it to the Senate, where President Emil Jones (D-Chicago), who opposes the death penalty, supports the measure. Jones also backs the moratorium on executions imposed in 2000 by former Gov. George Ryan, who said his decision was inspired by wrongful convictions of 13 inmates and by a Tribune investigative series revealing error, bias and incompetence in the state's system of capital justice. The legislature has since enacted reforms of the state's criminal justice system to address the problems. But Gov. Rod Blagojevich has kept the moratorium in place, saying he wants to give the reforms time to prove their worth. Aides to the governor say Blagojevich isn't sure yet if he supports Cross' measure. A spokeswoman said the governor's concern is "balancing the intentions of the bill with the concerns of law enforcement." Meanwhile, lawmakers on all sides of the death-penalty debate sought to predict how the measure might impact their cause. Cross says he is not trying to lift or extend the moratorium. But Rep. Lee Daniels (R-Elmhurst), a death-penalty supporter, said he agrees with prosecutors that the higher standard would make it too hard to impose the penalty. "If you vote for this, you are voting to eliminate the death penalty," said Daniels, who voted against the measure. But one of the House's leading death-penalty opponents, House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie (D-Chicago), also opposed the measure. She said the bill wouldn't make much of a difference in a flawed system. "It will make us feel good, that we can be more, not less certain, that the individuals sent to Death Row actually belong there," Currie said. "But it's impossible to be certain that you are never executing someone who isn't guilty." Rep. Robert Molaro (D-Chicago), also a death-penalty opponent, voted for the bill because he thinks it highlights "how ridiculous" the whole idea of capital punishment is. "Let's get this straight," Molaro said. The system "is not infallible. It is never going to be infallible. The judge and jury were not there. They'll never know what happened." (source: Chicago Tribune) CALIFORNIA: Barring Jewish jurors in death cases denied -- D.A. cites transcripts of 2 murder trials Startling allegations by a former Alameda County prosecutor that he and his then-colleagues systematically excluded Jews from juries in death penalty cases were called into question Wednesday by the district attorney, who cited newly released transcripts of jury selection in two murder convictions that the state Supreme Court is reviewing. "The allegations are completely without merit," Alameda County District Attorney Tom Orloff said Wednesday. "That will come out next week in court." The transcripts of juror selection in two Alameda County murder trials nearly two decades ago are the latest volley in the bitter legal battle over the revelations in the summer by former prosecutor John Quatman, who prosecuted one of the two cases under review. On Wednesday, the San Francisco chapter of the Anti-Defamation League, a prominent Jewish civil rights group, called for further public investigation into the allegations. On Tuesday, a judge in Santa Clara County will conduct a hearing, at the behest of the California Supreme Court, on Quatman's allegations and similar issues raised in another Alameda County murder case. In a sworn declaration in the summer, Quatman said it was "standard practice to exclude Jewish jurors in death case, as it was to exclude African American women from capital juries." In his declaration, Quatman said a Jewish judge, the late Stanley Golde, once reminded the prosecutor of this practice during a break in jury selection. Alameda County prosecutors said Wednesday that court transcripts showed the conversation could not have happened. Quatman, who worked 26 years as a deputy district attorney and is now a defense attorney in Montana, has declined interview requests. He may testify at Tuesday's hearing. Quatman made the allegations in the petition of a man he helped put on San Quentin's Death Row. Quatman prosecuted Fred Harlan Freeman, who was convicted in 1987 of a killing and robbery at a Berkeley bar. Golde, according to Quatman's declaration, called the prosecutor into his chambers and said: "Quatman, what are you doing?" The judge then asked why Quatman had not used a peremptory challenge to exclude a potential juror who was Jewish. "Judge Golde said no Jew would vote to send a defendant to the death chamber," Quatman said. He said the judge noted the debate in Israel over whether Adolf Eichmann, a Nazi leader instrumental in killing millions of Jews, should be executed. "I thanked Judge Golde for his advice, and thereafter excused any prospective juror who was Jewish," Quatman said. Under California law, it is illegal to exclude potential jurors on the basis of race, religion or ethnicity. If the state's high court agrees with Freeman's attorneys, the inmate could receive a new trial. African American women, who are often considered reluctant to support the death penalty for black defendants, also were excluded, Quatman said. But that issue has not been a factor in the Freeman case, where a black woman served as alternate juror. In the other murder case, attorneys seeking to overturn the 1990 death penalty conviction of Mark Schmeck compiled statistics showing that over a 10- year period all 12 "identified Jews" and 15 of 17 jurors with "probable" Jewish surnames were struck from 22 Alameda County juries that subsequently voted for capital punishment in murder cases. Berkeley attorney Lawrence Gibbs said his study of Alameda County capital convictions between 1984 and 1994 showed a pattern of bias far "beyond Quatman." "It was widespread," Gibbs said Wednesday. But Angela Backers, head of the Alameda County district attorney's homicide unit, cited transcripts Wednesday showing that 3 jurors with probable Jewish surnames -- 1 excluded in the Freeman trial and 2 dismissed in the Schmeck case -- were all challenged because they made comments very unfavorable to the prosecution. California law allows prosecutors and defense attorneys to use a limited number of challenges to exclude jurors without giving a reason. These are usually used for tactical reasons. 2 of the jurors said they could probably vote for the death penalty only in cases of mass murder, such as those committed by Charles Manson or Richard Ramirez. A 3rd juror who had a probable Jewish surname said he would view an accused criminal with a prior history of killing a police officer more sympathetically even though others would find such violence troubling. "These jurors obviously were not going to for a death penalty in the end," Backers said. "There were all kinds of logical reasons to exclude these three jurors for cause in a capital case. There were all kinds of red flags raised by their comments." ************************ Peterson to begin life on death row Scott Peterson, once an upwardly mobile fertilizer salesman in Modesto, will move to Marin County by Friday night, where he is to live the rest of his life in the downwardly mobile confines of San Quentin State Prison's death row. He will spend much of the day in an 8-by-6-foot cell containing a steel bed frame bolted to the floor, with a sheet of steel lying on it. On top of that is a mattress. There used to be bedsprings, but guards found that prisoners tended to make weapons out of them. On Wednesday, Sgt. Eric Messick, a spokesman for San Quentin, described what is in store for the soon-to-be newest resident of California's death row. Once the 32-year-old Peterson arrives at San Quentin, Messick said, "he will be taken directly to the Adjustment Center, a 102-man cell-block reception center" for newly arrived condemned men. Messick said 97 of the 102 prisoners now living in the reception center are men who have been in trouble in prison and are classified Grade B inmates, as opposed to the Grade A prisoners who are better behaved. Peterson will go through 45 days of interviews, in which his "social factors and educational background will be assessed by an institutional classification committee," Messick said. "He'll have medical and psychological evaluations and then, because he's not from a criminal background, he will probably be sent to East Block," which houses 450 of San Quentin's 615 condemned men. Twenty-five condemned inmates are at other prisons. "There, he will be segregated with Death Row inmates for the rest of his life." And how will he spend his time, given that it takes about 17 years to move from East Block into the death chamber? Most of his time will be spent in the cell, which, in addition to the steel bed, has a sink, a commode and a wall locker. He may have records, tapes and CDs, a television set and books. He will also have two sheets, a blanket, a pillow, a pillowcase, two towels, boxer shorts, T-shirts, socks, blue denim pants and light-blue shirts. All meals will be served in Peterson's cell, and it won't be like much of the highfalutin chow available down the road in Mill Valley or Sausalito. A hot breakfast, at 6 a.m., will be something like a sausage patty, two hard-boiled eggs, a square of hash brown potatoes, and "the next day it might be coffee cake with hot cereal," Messick said. Lunch, delivered in a sack, comes around 10:30 a.m. and consists of bread, lunch meat or peanut butter and jelly or tuna salad, along with cookies, chips, fruit and sugar-free Kool-Aid. Dinner, at 5 p.m., is usually meat, potatoes and a vegetable, or various ethnic meals. After dinner, Peterson can watch TV, but can receive only local channels. If that gets boring, he can read until he falls asleep, no matter how late -- each cell has individually controlled light switches, Messick said. Like all death row inmates in their windowless cells, Peterson won't be able to see or hear the bay, into which he dumped the body of his pregnant wife, Laci. Peterson can exercise up to about 5 hours a day, 6 days a week. Whether he exercises communally or by himself is up to the classification committee. He may also have 3 showers a week. His attorney can visit 5 times each week and Peterson can have two personal visits a week. Each visit can last up to 90 minutes. Should he manage to find a wife while on death row, no conjugal visits will be allowed. As for the possibility that Peterson might be harmed by a publicity- seeking prison colleague (it happens), Messick said, "We have built-in procedures -- no double-celling, no contact with any inmates. If he's out of his cell block, he's under escort of three officers. Inmates on the general population main line, when they hear them coming, have to find the nearest wall and face it." By the time his execution date comes around -- if ever -- Peterson will probably be nearing his 50th birthday. In the meantime, however, if he keeps out of trouble, he may be upgraded to a special unit called North Seg. "Up there," Messick said, "you have your most senior, best-behaved death row inmates. They get 'tier time,' which means the tiers are cleared of all (prison) staff, the cells are unlocked and the inmates can come out and play pinochle and take showers." ------------------------------------------------------------------- The death penalty in California Here's a look at the process and number of executions in the state, which has the largest death row in the nation with 640 inmates, including 15 women. The executed Name, year executed and time spent on death row: Robert Alton Harris (1992; 13 years, 1 month) Keith Daniel Williams (1996; 17 years) Robert Lee Massie (2001; 21 years, 10 months) Darrell Keith Rich (2000; 19 years, 1 month) Stephen Wayne Anderson (2002; 20 years, 6 months) Donald Beardslee (2005; 20 years, 10 months) William George Bonin (1996; 13 years, 1 month) Manuel Babbitt (1999; 16 years, 10 months) Jaturun Siripongs (1999; 15 years, 9 months) David Edwin Mason (1993; 9 years, 7 months) Thomas M. Thompson (1998; 14 years, 1 month). Average length of stay California: 16 to 17 years Florida: 11.8 years Texas: 10.4 years. Inmates on death row By ethnicity/race (Number and percent of total) White: 252 (39.3%) Black: 228 (35.6%) Hispanic: 121 (18.9%) Other: 39 (6%). By age (Number and percent of total) 0 to 19: 0 20 to 29: 30 (4.7%) 30 to 39: 192 (30%) 40 to 49: 238 (37.2%) 50 to 59: 138 (21.6%) 60 to 69: 37 (5.8%) 70 to 79: 5 (0.8%) (source: California Department of Corrections, Death Penalty Information Center; Bureau of Justice Statistics, Chroncile research by Johnny Miller / Chronicle Research Librarian) (source for both: San Francisco Chronicle) *************** A sampling of reaction to Scott Peterson's death sentence: "The court is satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant, Scott Lee Peterson, is guilty of first-degree murder. ... The factors in aggravation are so substantial when compared to the factors of mitigation that death is warranted." - Superior Court Judge Alfred A. Delucchi, in handing down the sentence. --- "How could you kill your own son? What kind of person are you? You're going to burn in hell for this." - Dennis Rocha, Laci's father, speaking to Scott Peterson. --- "Did you look her in the eyes, Scott, as you killed her? Was she alive when you put her in the bay?" - Laci's mother Sharon Rocha. --- "The fact that you no longer wanted Laci did not give you the right to murder her. She was my daughter. I trusted you and you betrayed me ... you betrayed everybody." - Sharon Rocha. --- "I chose not to kill you myself for one reason - so you would have to sweat it out and not take the easy way out." - Laci's brother, Brent Rocha, telling the court that he contemplated killing Scott Peterson at one point. --- "What a liar!" - Scott Peterson's father, Lee Peterson, yelling at Brent Rocha from the audience before the judge admonished him and he left court. --- "No punishment you receive on earth will compare to the punishment that God will give you when you die." - Laci's sister, Amy Rocha. --- "We wanted to see it all the way through to the end. Closure." - Juror Richelle Nice, speaking to reporters outside the courthouse following sentencing. *************************** Peterson becomes 644th prisoner on death row Scott Peterson has become the 644th prisoner awaiting death in the execution chamber of San Quentin State Prison, the infamous lockup that overlooks the same bay where the body of his pregnant wife, Laci, was discarded. Peterson, who was sentenced to death Wednesday, left the San Mateo County jail to San Quentin at 3:10 a.m. today. Secured with leg irons and shackles around his wrists and waist, Peterson was led away in a white, unmarked van for drive from Redwood City, south of San Francisco, to the prison, about 20 miles north of the city. The 32-year-old former fertilizer salesman entered San Quentin shortly after 4 a.m. Prison officials had Peterson remove his clothing and a bulletproof vest supplied by the sheriff for his safety, San Quentin spokesman Lt. Vernell Crittendon said on NBC's "Today" show. A body search, medical exam and DNA test were conducted, and a photo was taken for identification. "During the process, there were moments where he would give that nervous smile," Crittendon said, adding that Peterson was. "extremely polite." He told ABC's "Good Morning America" that a staffer suggested to Peterson that he would take a nap and Peterson replied, "No, I'm just too jazzed." Peterson was to get a shower, a haircut and state-issued clothing and will be assigned an identification number. Then, a counselor will classify him according to his criminal, educational, medical and psychological histories - a process that could take several weeks. "Grade B" prisoners, deemed a threat to themselves or others, get limited privileges - just 10 hours a week of outdoor exercise, alone in a small cage. "From what I hear, he hasn't given the staff (at the jail in Redwood City) any problems," Corrections Department spokeswoman Terry Thornton said, so this classification may be unlikely for Peterson. "Grade A" inmates are allowed to spend 5 hours a day outside in a common yard, where they can exercise and play chess. They can have showers 3 times a week, attend religious services and receive mail, phone calls and visitors. The prisoners also may keep a television - which they pay for themselves - in their cells. Most of the state's condemned prisoners are housed at San Quentin. San Quentin also houses 5,300 other prisoners, but they don't interact with the condemned inmates. 15 condemned women are at the Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla, but they would be brought to San Quentin to be executed. Death row, built in 1934 and designed to handle 68 inmates, is actually three buildings. In the original death row, now reserved for the most senior and well-behaved men, inmates walk around a small common area secured by bars and doors. Amenities include a tiled shower room. In one of the makeshift death rows - a building known as East Block, where Peterson will most likely live - inmates stay locked in their 5-by-9-foot cells, except when they are outside. There are no common areas; the cells are stacked in tiers fronted by narrow walkways. There also is no shower room, so two regular cells on each tier have been converted into showers. Plastic sheeting taped to the bars keeps most of the water from spraying onto the tiers below, but a steady stream of water slides down nonetheless. Peterson received his death sentence more than two years after his eight-months-pregnant wife disappeared on Christmas Eve 2002. Prosecutors said Peterson killed her and then dumped her body in San Francisco Bay. The badly decomposed bodies of Laci and her fetus washed ashore 4 months later. Still, there is no telling whether Peterson will ever receive a lethal injection. Of the 38 states with the death penalty, California moves the slowest toward executions. As a result, condemned inmates here are more likely to die in prison. Peterson likely will sit for more than 5 years before he is appointed an attorney for his 1st, mandatory appeal to the California Supreme Court. A big reason for the delays is that there are too many inmates with too few lawyers willing to volunteer for the relatively low-paying job. Peterson joins about 120 others who do not yet have lawyers. And even when an attorney is appointed, there are no deadlines for California's high court to act. (source for both: Associated Press) NEW YORK: Advocates Call for Statewide Public Defense On one of the biggest lobbying days of the year, defense advocates converged on the Capitol Tuesday hoping to garner legislative attention for a statewide independent public defense system. The advocates are seeking legislation that would establish a state overseer of indigent defense programs to ensure that standards are met and that defenders are adequately supported. It has been their goal for several years. Although the proposal has majority sponsorship in both houses, advocates find themselves in the familiar position of attempting to stand out in the crowd of lobbyists. Tuesday is traditionally lobby day at the Capitol, and this Tuesday was even busier than usual with the April 1 budget deadline looming and myriad groups lobbying for resources and/or legislation. Providing services for criminal defendants is always a particularly tough sell at the Capitol even if, as the advocates maintain, their proposal would result in a more efficient and ultimately less costly way of meeting the mandate of Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 US 335 (1963), the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that recognized a constitutional right to counsel in felony prosecutions. Jonathan Gradess, executive director of the New York State Defenders Association, said the situation was actually worsened when, after years of lobbying by him and others, the Legislature voted in 2003 to increase assigned counsel rates. He notes that while the state mandated the higher rates, the pledged funding will not become available until the end of this month - which means the counties have been paying for the increase even though the state promised not to impose an unfunded mandate on localities. Mr. Gradess said roughly half the counties have consequently changed the way they provide indigent legal services to criminal defenders. Some, he said, are contracting with not-for-profit organizations, others have set up conflict defender offices and some rely more heavily on their own public defenders. The result, he said, is a largely unregulated hodge-podge of defense programs that are underfunded and which operate without the benefit of anystandards or guidelines. "It's been a rather large abomination," Mr. Gradess said. "The consequence mean in effect clients today, in some places, are in worse shape than they were before the assigned fee crisis was allegedly solved." Marion Hathaway, chairwoman of the Client Advisory Board of the New York State Defenders Association, said a series of hearings held around the state revealed that the "client population" remains highly skeptical of the legal representation available to them. "Clients feel alone and lost in our state's public defense system," she said. "They simply do not feel the protection of lawyers or the 'guiding hand of counsel'" mandated in Gideon. Part of problem, advocates said, is the lack of a statewide umbrella to set quality of representation guidelines and to ensure they are met. Malia Brink, indigent defense counsel for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, said the state should pay the entire cost of indigent defense. Now, the counties are largely responsible, with the state paying about 10 percent of the total cost of indigent counsel services statewide. "When you have a system that is dually funded by the counties and the state, there is a constant war for who should pick up the amount of funding that's needed," Ms. Brink said. While advocates disagree on the exact mechanics of a statewide defender office, they agree that the current system is woefully inadequate and unlikely to reform without leadership from Albany. Raymond A. Kelly Jr., an Albany attorney and president-elect of the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, said New York should have a defender general just as it has an attorney general. "Why are there no standards for the defense?" he asked. "Why are there no [continuing legal education] requirements in the field of criminal law?" Mr. Kelly suggested that instead of disbanding the Capital Defender Office this year unless the death penalty statute is redrawn, as Governor George E. Pataki has recommended, the state should convert the office into a statewide defender. Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said her group is considering filing suit to force New York to reform its indigent defense system. She said a commission appointed by Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye to examine the public defense system will at best come up with "aspirational" goals. "While we are willing and eager to work with the commission, we are at least a little bit skeptical of their ability to do the kind of offensive that is necessary, and more than a little bit skeptical of the willingness of the Legislature and governor to do their part," Ms. Lieberman said. (source: New York Law Journal) KENTUCKY: State Supreme Court Says Death Row Inmate Not Retarded The Kentucky Supreme Court says condemned inmate Thomas Clyde Bowling is not retarded and cannot claim so 15 years after his murder convictions to avoid execution. Bowling was within days of his scheduled execution in November when the high court agreed to consider his claim of mental incompetency. Bowling was convicted of murdering Edward and Tina Earley and shooting their two-year-old son outside the couple's Lexington dry-cleaning business in 1990. No motive for the crime has ever been clear. Kentucky law prohibits the execution of anyone whose IQ is 70 or less. Two intelligence tests administered prior to Bowling's trial estimated his IQ in the mid-80 range. Bowling's lawyers said a margin of error should be taken into account to determine that he was mentally retarded. Justice William Cooper said mental retardation is ordinarily a condition that becomes manifest before the age of 18. Cooper wrote the opinion for the 5-to-2 majority. Bowling, now 52, made no claim of mental retardation at his trial. (source: Associated Press)
