death penalty news April 7, 2005
CONNECTICUT: Hearing On Ross' Competency Opens Today The ultimate decision will lie with New London Superior Court Judge Patrick Clifford who must determine if Ross is competent or if clear and convincing evidence has been presented to postpone the execution. The latest legal battle over Michael Ross gets under way today in New London Superior Court as lawyers argue whether the serial killer is competent to proceed to his May 11 execution. At issue is whether Ross' decision to waive his appeals is voluntary or influenced by the harsh conditions on death row. The ultimate decision will lie with New London Superior Court Judge Patrick Clifford who must determine if Ross is competent or if clear and convincing evidence has been presented to postpone the execution. The Ross case returns to Clifford after Ross' first five execution dates ? from Jan. 26 through Jan. 31 ? were postponed amid a slew of lawsuits and appeals. Clifford appointed Thomas Groark Jr. in February to examine the issue of competency. Groark's sole purpose is to play devil's advocate to Ross' claims that he is competent to ?volunteer? to be executed. His appointment also eliminated any potential conflict of interest between Ross and his attorney, T.R. Paulding Jr. Paulding postponed the execution Jan. 28, a few hours before the execution was scheduled to take place. He made that request in light of possible new information about Ross and threats from a federal judge who believed Paulding had not sufficiently studied his client's state of mind. With Groark's appointment, Paulding can continue to argue that Ross is indeed competent and should be allowed to forgo all appeals of his death sentence. Ross was sentenced to death for the kidnapping and murders of Leslie Shelley and April Brunais, both 14, Robin Stavinsky, 19, and Wendy Baribeault, 17, the last three of whom he raped. He was given two life sentences for the rapes and murders of two other young women in Windham County. He also confessed to killing two young women in New York in the early 1980s, one of them a fellow student at Cornell University. Both Groark and the state have filed legal briefs in court in anticipation of today's hearing. New London County State's Attorney Kevin Kane said that Clifford should defer to state and federal appellate rulings that maintain Ross' competence. He said that Groark must ?demonstrate by new and overriding evidence that the defendant is incompetent or that his decision not to seek post-conviction relief is involuntary. New expert opinion based on old evidence is not new and overriding evidence, otherwise there would be no end to litigation.? But Groark, in his filing, said Clifford is not bound to the prior court rulings. ?The focus of this inquiry will be how Michael Ross' mental illness affects his volitional capacity to choose to surrender his right,? Groark wrote. Groark added that his argument is not that the conditions of death row violate Ross' right to be protected from cruel and unusual punishment but ?whether those conditions have affected that particular defendant's volitional capacity to decide whether to continue to fight for his life.? The last execution in Connecticut was in 1960, when Joseph ?Mad Dog? Taborsky died in the electric chair. The death penalty was then repealed, but was reinstated in 1976. (source: The Day) FLORIDA: Couey Pleads Not Guilty to Murder A registered sex offender who authorities said confessed to kidnapping, sexually assaulting and killing a 9-year-old Homosassa girl in February has pleaded not guilty. John Evander Couey, 46, is charged with capital murder, burglary with battery, kidnapping and sexual battery on a child less than 12 years of age. A grand jury indicted him last week, and his written pleas were entered Monday. Couey was living across the street from Jessica Marie Lunsford when she disappeared from her bedroom the night of Feb. 23. After Couey was arrested on unrelated charges three weeks later in Georgia, he confessed and told detectives where to find Jessica's body. She was buried under a mobile home about 150 yards from the house where she lived with her father and grandparents. Prosecutors, who did not return a phone call Wednesday seeking comment, have said they intend to seek the death penalty. (source: The Ledger) TEXAS: Irving man convicted of killing wife, her mother An Irving man accused of killing his wife and mother-in-law while his young son watched was convicted Wednesday of capital murder. Christopher Swift, 30, was found guilty of killing his pregnant wife at their Irving home in April 2003, then driving to Lake Dallas, where he strangled his mother-in-law. Swift's son, Zachery, who was then 5, witnessed both slayings. Derek Adame of Denton, Swift's attorney, had argued that Swift was insane at the time of the killings. But a Denton County jury didn't believe that defense, deliberating just a few hours Wednesday afternoon before reaching its decision. The punishment phase of the trial continues today. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. According to testimony, Swift killed his wife, Amy Sabeh-Swift, 27, on April 30, after the couple argued over his quitting his job at a Lewisville concrete company. Sabeh-Swift, who was eight months pregnant, was cut and then strangled in their Irving home. Her unborn child also died, but prosecutors are not pursuing charges. After killing his wife, Swift and his son drove to the Denton County town of Lake Dallas, where he awoke Sandra Sabeh, 61, and strangled her. Swift checked into a Farmers Branch motel and abandoned his son there after the child went to sleep, authorities said. Zachery contacted police after he woke up. (source: Dallas-Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
