April 16 ILLINOIS: Judge gives prosecutors more time to consider death penalty A proposed law that would require a judge or jurors to be convinced evidence "leaves no doubt" of a defendant's guilt before imposing the death penalty could determine whether a Bloomington man's life is at stake when he's tried on double murder charges. McLean County prosecutors faced an almost-expired 120-day deadline for deciding whether to seek the death penalty against Leo Guider. But a judge on Friday approved an agreement to extend the deadline until July 28 because of the pending legislation. State's Attorney Bill Yoder said he wants to be clear on what he'd be required to prove in the sentencing phase of a trial before making a decision on the death penalty. "I'm not going to make my determination on what sentence to seek until I know what my burden of proof is," Yoder said. In other developments, Yoder and Assistant Public Defender Jim Tusek agreed to submit five pieces of evidence for DNA testing. Those items are a swab from a knife, a swab from a bag of crack cocaine, cloth from a jacket, a mop and a gold cap from a tooth that apparently belonged to one of the victims. The defense hopes the tests will implicate another suspect, while prosecutors hope the tests yield evidence against Guider. Guider, 40, of Bloomington, has pleaded innocent to 6 counts of 1st-degree murder and 2 counts of concealment of a homicide. The charges stem from the stabbing deaths of Normal residents Lorraine Fields, 41, and LaKeisha Tyus, 26. Prosecutors say the 2 were killed Dec. 18 at Guider's home in the 500 block of West Front Street. Their bodies were recovered from a car in a nearby parking lot the next day. Guider is eligible for the death penalty because he's accused of murdering multiple victims. Prosecutors typically consider factors such as the defendant's past criminal record and the level of violence involved in the crime in deciding whether to seek execution. The wishes of family members also are considered. Yoder wouldn't comment on his discussions with family members; Fields' mother, who is deeply devout, has said she doesn't want Guider to be executed. Meanwhile, the senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled Tuesday to consider the proposed law that's holding up Yoder's decision. The House approved the proposal earlier this year. While the measure wouldn't alter the proof "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard for a criminal conviction, it would create a higher burden of proof in the sentencing phase. A judge or jurors would have to find there's "no doubt" of guilt in order to impose the death penalty. Yoder said he believes jurors already adhere to extremely high standards in death penalty cases, but he opposes the proposed law because of concerns over how the new standard would be perceived. For example, such a law could lead jurors to believe even an "unreasonable doubt" about a defendant's guilt prevents consideration of the death penalty, Yoder said. (source: Pantagraph) MISSISSIPPI: Man Who Found Victims Says McGilberry Belongs On Death Row Tommy Pietrangelo can still vividly remember the night 10 years ago when he found the bodies of his fiance and her family in their St. Martin home. "I was looking all around the house for Chris and noticed he was laying on the couch. I say, oh please God, please God, no. Let him be sleeping or something." The 3-year-old was the last body Pietrangelo found as he rushed through the St. Martin home in October of 1994. Pietrangelo was engaged to the baby's mother, 24-year-old Kim Self, and had gone to her home to check on her. The gruesome murder scene he found when he got there still haunts him today. "It's there, everyday. It's there everyday, everywhere I look, everywhere I go. It's always with me. I just feel like I got sentenced for the rest of my life." With the Supreme Court's recent ruling against any juvenile death sentence, Pietrangelo feels he's the only one suffering now. He says life in prison for Stephen McGilberry is no punishment at all. "Going to jail didn't bother him. It was like he was going out to hang with his buddies. The state comes and takes the death penalty off of him, so now he ain't got nothing to sweat." Pietrangelo says McGilberry was tried as an adult and given the death penalty because of the brutality of the crime. He beat his family to death with a baseball bat. "It's not like he went in there and shot everybody in the head and killed them. These people suffered. These people were tortured before they were killed. "I'd like to get it reversed." Pietrangelo hopes at some point the courts will take a special look at the McGilberry case and give the convicted murderer the sentence he deserves. (source: WLOX TV News) IDAHO: Idaho death row inmate dies A 61-year-old inmate who has been on Idahos death row for nearly 6 years died Thursday after suffering a heart attack. Jimmie Vurel Thomas was one of 21 offenders serving a death sentence at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution south of Boise. Correctional officers found Thomas on the floor of his prison cell at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, complaining of chest pains. He was given medical attention and put in an ambulance. Thomas suffered another heart attack on the way to the hospital and died there at 5:35 p.m. Thomas was sentenced to death on August 19, 1999 for a murder and burglary in Jerome County. He was also serving 25-40 years on a kidnapping conviction out of Twin Falls County. The Ada County Coroner performed an autopsy and determined the cause of death was natural. (source: KTVB News)
