April 21
TEXAS:
Killer science----A civilized society cannot be indifferent to whether
execution by lethal injection is painful.
>From 1819 until 1923, hanging was the Texas method of execution.
Individual counties handled the particulars. In 1923 the state opted to
put inmates to death using the electric chair and centralized operations
in Huntsville. In 1977 Texas switched to lethal injection, though that
method wasn't used until Charlie Brooks' 1982 execution for the kidnap and
murder of a Fort Worth auto mechanic.
In contrast to hanging and electrocution - not to mention boiling in oil,
burning at the stake, drawing and quartering and other barbaric methods
that have been employed to dispatch society's criminals - lethal injection
suggests a sterile, painless end.
Not so, says a group of American researchers. They have called for a ban
on lethal injection because autopsies of some executed criminals show they
were administered insufficient amounts of anesthetic to achieve full
sedation.
Lead researcher Leonidas Koniaris of the University of Miami's Miller
School of Medicine, in a study published in The Lancet medical journal,
found that dozens of inmates studied might have experienced "unnecessary
suffering" due to anesthesia levels lower than that needed for surgery or
too low to block awareness.
Not surprisingly, death penalty supporters were unimpressed with the
findings. Andy Kahan, the crime victims advocate under Mayor Bill White
and the 2 previous Houston mayors, asserted that, "Lethal injection
represents the most humane possible means of punishing a brutal, heinous
murderer."
But, as the study's authors pointed out, there is too little data to
conclude that the procedure is painless. The Texas Department of Criminal
Justice told the researchers they don't have autopsy or toxicology reports
for executed inmates or information about how it created the protocol it
uses for injections. They said medical technicians who administered the
drugs in their sample population had no training in anesthesia, and no
post-execution reviews were conducted.
It's one thing to believe that lethal injection is painless, but it's
quite another to accept a degree of pain, a sentiment Kahan made clear in
his next breath: "Whether or not it is painful, one thing is for sure, it
is certainly less painful than the excruciating and horrific death that
the victim suffered at the hand of the defendant."
Kahan's defense of the state on grounds that it acts less viciously than
the murderer should not keep Texans from ensuring a humane procedure.
Texas executions are supposed to be about justice and deterrence, not
revenge. Also, in order to keep to the lawful side of the U.S.
Constitution, executions may not violate the Eighth Amendment's
prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.
This study should not be construed as the final word on whether lethal
injection can inflict unconstitutional, excruciating pain. The question
demands further exploration.
(source: Editorial, Houston Chronicle)
*****************************
Trinity County deputy indicted with charges of abusing inmate
The beleaguered Trinity County Sheriff's Department was facing yet more
criminal charges against one of its deputies Wednesday as a grand jury
indicted a deputy sergeant on charges of official oppression.
Sgt. Scott Taylor is charged with choking a handcuffed inmate and slamming
him into a door after placing the man under arrest, District Attorney Joe
Ned Dean said.
Attempts to reach Taylor late Wednesday were unsuccessful.
Indictments against other deputies could be pending in the case, depending
on how the investigation develops, Dean said.
"There were a whole lot of conflicting stories," Dean said, declining to
comment further on evidence presented to the grand jury.
The indictment Wednesday wasn't the first allegation that Taylor had taken
advantage of his position of authority, according to Dean. Taylor served a
year on probation for official oppression in Upton County in the late
1980s, Dean said.
While Taylor was again under suspicion of official oppression in Trinity
County about 10 years ago, Dean said he was no-billed by the grand jury on
that charge, meaning there wasn't enough evidence for the case to go
ahead.
Taylor was suspended April 7 after Texas Ranger Pete Maskunas returned a
preliminary report on allegations stemming from a March 26 incident
involving a jail inmate, according to a report in the Groveton News.
Chief Deputy Sarah Miller late Wednesday refused to go into what was
behind the allegations against Taylor.
"It's been a hard week. We haven't gotten much work done," Miller said.
Taylor was earlier suspended during an investigation, but had been
returned to duty, Miller said.
Miller last weekend replaced former chief deputy John Edward Joslin, 47,
who had 3 indictments against him in Chambers County on charges he
falsified an arrest warrant.
Joslin was terminated, said Miller, who declined to go into detail.
Former deputy Travis Wayne Rowe, 41, was relieved of duty after he was
charged with sexual assault of a child by the Texas Rangers on Jan. 31.
Rowe was accused of having sex with a 14-year-old girl, Dean has said.
Evidence uncovered indicated the two had been having encounters, Dean
said.
Yet another former deputy was the focus of a Texas Rangers investigation
in January.
The deputy was suspected of lying about what happened the night of Dec. 2,
when he claimed having a shootout with a suspect who went missing,
Maskunas said earlier.
The deputy's name is being withheld pending charges in the case.
A search party spent most of the night of Dec. 2 dragging the river for
the missing "mystery man." Lawmen published the man's photo in The Lufkin
Daily News and on TV news, asking the public's help in identifying him.
An investigation confirmed evidence of a 2nd gun having been fired, but
seemed to point toward the deputy's story being "less than truthful,"
Maskunas said.
The Texas Rangers could be seeking an indictment against the unnamed
deputy should they get enough information in the case, according to
Maskunas.
That deputy is now working as a peace officer in another East Texas police
department.
(source: Lufkin Daily News)
*****************
Federal Inmates Indicted for Murder
2 federal inmates were indicted Wednesday by a Federal Grand Jury for
Capital Murder in the 1999 stabbing death of another inmate at the United
States Penitentiary in Beaumont. In a press release sent Wednesday, the
United States Attorneys Eastern District of Texas said 34-year-old Arzell
Gulley and 44-year-old David Lee Jackson, both of Detroit, Michigan, are
charged with First Degree Murder and using a dangerous weapon in a federal
facility.
Prosecutors say Gulley and Jackson attacked a fellow inmate at the
Beaumont prison resulting in the inmate's death. At the time of the
attack, Gulley was serving a sentence for a drug trafficking conviction
and Jackson was serving time for Felon in Possession of a Firearm. Both
prisoners are now housed in the Administrative Maximum United States
Penitentiary in Florence, Colorado.
If convicted, each faces up to life in prison or the death penalty. It is
important to note that an indictment should not be considered as evidence
of guilt and that all persons charged with a crime are presumed innocent
until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and
the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Batte is
prosecuting the case.
(source: KBTV News)
**********************
Navasota murder case back in court
Prosecutors argued Wednesday that James David White acted willingly when
he shot to death a Navasota civic leader nearly 2 1/2 years ago, despite
his previous defense that he was forced to pull the trigger.
The start of Whites capital murder trial marks the second time the case is
being heard by jurors. The 1st trial, during which White faced a less
serious charge of murder, ended when the jury could not reach a verdict.
Grimes County District Attorney Tuck McLain once again is arguing that
White, 21, willingly shot Navasota funeral home owner Lonnie Turner Sr. as
he slept at his home Nov. 1, 2002 (Eagle, Nov. 3, 2002).
"Im going to lay out a road map of what this case is about," McLain told
the jury during his opening statement at the Walker County Courthouse.
"Really, this is an incredible story."
The defense did not give an opening statement. But Whites attorneys argued
during his first trial that Turner Sr.s son, Lonnie Turner Jr.,
manipulated and forced White into killing the well-liked community leader.
Jury selection began Monday, and the pool was narrowed to 6 women and 6
men with one male alternate late Tuesday. Potential jurors were selected
after they filled out multi-page questionnaires that were approved by both
the defense and the prosecution.
The questionnaire method was not used during jury selection for Whites 1st
trial in Grimes County in October 2003. A mistrial resulted when the jury
deadlocked (Eagle, Oct. 29, 2003 and Oct. 16, 2003).
The murder case was set for retrial in Grimes County last October. But
before the retrial began, McLain dismissed the murder charge to seek a
capital murder conviction, which carries a mandatory life sentence (Eagle,
Oct. 13, 2004).
< McLain has said he won't pursue the death penalty - the other possible
punishment for capital murder - if White is convicted. The charge was
upgraded because prosecutors hope to prove White killed Turner Sr. during
a botched robbery or burglary.
White, who confessed to police that he shot Turner Sr. twice in the chest
with a 9 mm pistol, pleaded not guilty Wednesday morning to capital
murder. He has remained in the Grimes County Jail since his arrest in
April 2003, and he also faces unrelated burglary and aggravated robbery
charges.
The capital murder trial was ordered moved to Walker County earlier this
year because of heavy publicity in Grimes County (Eagle, Feb. 11).
Whites attorneys, David Barron and Billy Carter, are expected to argue
that Turner Jr. was behind the killing. White told police that Turner Jr.
held a gun to his head and threatened to shoot him if he did not kill
Turner Sr.
During cross-examination Wednesday, Barron said that Turner Jr. stood to
inherit his fathers estate, which was worth an estimated $1 million.
But McLain said cell phone records and witness statements show that it was
impossible for Turner Jr. to have been present and threatening White with
a gun at the time of the murder. McLain said Turner Jr. had no need for
the money he could inherit as a result of his fathers death.
"There is no way Lonnie Turner Jr. couldve been at the house holding a gun
to James David Whites head," McLain said. "And Junior already had more
money than he knew what to do with."
More than 20 witnesses are expected to be called to the stand during the
trial, which could last 2 1/2 weeks. Both Turner Jr. and White testified
during the first trial and are again expected to take the stand.
A gag order issued by 278th District Judge Ken Keeling prevents McLain,
Barron and Carter from discussing the case with the media. They could not
comment on whether new evidence or additional witnesses will be used.
But the trial began similarly to the previous one as McLain called the
first witnesses - Turner Sr.'s brother Lawson Turner and former Navasota
police investigator Rob Bailey.
The 2 men were among the first people at the crime scene the night of the
murder. They told the jury Wednesday that Turner Jr. was unemotional after
seeing his fathers dead body beside the bed.
McLain said jurors likely will be left with many unanswered questions at
the end of the trial. But by considering one main question, he said, they
should be able to reach a verdict.
"I wish I could answer all of those questions for you, but I cant," he
said. "But the big question, the main question here, is did Lonnie Jr.
hold a gun to [Whites] head to make him do it? If [the defense] fails to
meet their burden of proof, then you must convict James David White of
capital murder."
(source: The Bryan - College Station Eagle)
