April 23 PENNSYLVANIA: Staruh wants more aid A North Newton Township mom accused of killing her 3-year-old son was in Cumberland County Court Friday requesting a 2nd attorney, court-appointed experts and 2 juries. If a jury finds her guilty of first-degree murder, Candice Marie Staruh, 22, of the 200 block of Running Pump Road, wants a 2nd jury to choose whether to sentence her to death or life in prison. Jurors deciding the punishment in death penalty cases must believe in capital punishment and Staruh's attorney, Karl Rominger, said studies show such juries are more likely to convict. He said this gives the prosecution an unfair advantage unless the trial jury is separate from the sentencing jury. He submitted as evidence a study entitled "Capital Jury Project" by Wanda Foglia, a Rowan University professor who says the capital punishment process is "riddled with problems." Rominger said the two-jury policy is gaining popularity nationally, but First Assistant District Attorney David Freed noted it's only mandated in a single federal court in Massachusetts. Freed said the method is "unprecedented" in Pennsylvania and, after the numerous death penalty cases the state has seen, he considers the issue "well settled." Big workload Rominger also requested that the court appoint Staruh a second attorney to help with the workload in her case and experts such as a private investigator, forensic expert and mitigation expert. Although he took on Staruh's case as a private attorney, Rominger says her "indigence" renders her unable to pay for other legal help. Freed agreed Staruh should be granted a pathologist and investigator at the minimum, later noting she's entitled to "the best defense she can have" since he plans to seek a full conviction and death penalty against her. Judge Kevin Hess listened to arguments on the issues and will decide on each at a later date. Staruh was charged with 1st- and 3rd-degree murder and endangering the welfare of a child Oct. 6 after a year-long investigation into the death of Jordan Jackson. The toddler died Oct. 27, 2003, at their home with bruises of varying ages all over his body. County Coroner Mike Norris ruled the case a homicide by blunt force trauma to the head and neck. Police say Staruh and her mother Lois, 48, were home with Jordan and his two brothers when he died. Lois Staruh also is charged with endangering the welfare of a child. (source: The Sentinel) CALIFORNIA: Bill would close San Quentin State Prison Reviving a legislative debate over Marin County's most talked about piece of real estate, a state senator introduced legislation Thursday to close San Quentin State Prison. The bill, by Sen. Jeff Denham, R-Merced, comes as state prison officials complete plans to renovate the prison's dilapidated death row and amid some community opposition to the renovation. Denham proposes closing the prison by 2010 and selling the property, which many in Marin County see as a great place to build housing, create commercial development and a ferry-train terminal. Denham has been a proponent of selling state property to help with California's budget deficit. "It makes no sense to pour millions of dollars into an old facility so prisoners can have a waterfront view," Denham said in a press release announcing his bill. "Moving the prisoners elsewhere and selling the property makes much more sense." What to do with San Quentin, which is the state's oldest prison, has been a hot topic both in Marin County and Sacramento for several years. The Legislature last weighed in on the issue in 2003, when it gave the state's Department of Corrections the OK to spend $220 million redoing death row, which is dramatically overcrowded. Past attempts to move death row to another, more modern prison have failed. Proponents of keeping death row in Marin County argue condemned inmates should be kept in an urban area with access to lawyers. Prison officials are proceeding with the renovation plan. They released a final environmental review of the project April 15 and expect to begin construction in the fall. Denham's bill, SB901, calls on the governor to decide where to put death row by 2007. (source: San Francisco Chronicle) OHIO: Richeys attorney says state is using stall tactics The attorney for a death-row inmate said the states plans to seek an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court is nothing more than a stall tactic to delay Kenneth Richeys release from death row. Whether Richey gets moved from death row to the Putnam County jail depends on how the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, which overturned his conviction in January and ordered his re-trial or release, rules on a motion to place the case on hold during an appeal. Richey was sent to death row in 1987 for the 1986 fire at a Columbus Grove apartment com-plex that killed 2-year-old Cynthia Collins. He shares duel U.S. and British citizenship. People in Great Britain have launched a highly-publicized campaign to get Richey off death row. Richeys attorney Ken Parsigian, of Boston, wants the court to refuse the states motion and move forward with the case. He also wants the clock to start ticking, and the appeal to the Supreme Court to run simultaneously with the 90 days the state has to retry Richey. "Kenny has waited his time. If it puts a little pressure on the state I think thats only fair," Parsigian said. In the January ruling, the 6th Circuit ruled Richeys trial attorneys didnt do a good enough job. The court also ruled the charge of aggravated murder was wrong. That charge, under Ohio law at the time, would have applied only if Richey had killed who he allegedly intended to - not the young girl. Parsigian also wants state prosecutors to file the appeal as quickly as possible, which said should be by next week instead of waiting the allowable 90 days since the state plans to repeat the same argument its been using. "They don't need 90 days, they dont need nine days. They could file it Monday. That may mean a couple of state prosecutors would have to work the weekend but Kenny has spent enough weekends in prison," Parsigian said. If the 6th Circuit delays the case pending an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, it likely would be late September before the court issues a ruling. If a stay order is not granted to place the case on hold, the nations highest court could rule in the next few months, Parsigian said. Ohio Attorney General spokeswoman Kim Norris said the state plans to keep Richey on death row while they appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Parsigian has filed a motion with the 6th Circuit demanding Richey's release from death row while objecting to the stay. Parsigians argument is based on the premise that with no convic-tion against Richey, hes an innocent man until proven guilty, and innocent men are not kept on death row. Parsigian said the state stands no chance of having the U.S. Supreme Court accept the case on appeal. There just isn't an important legal question. "Thats a desperation Hail Mary," he said. (source: Lima News) USA: Moussaoui case spotlights death penalty Now the real trouble begins as the case of Zacarias Moussaoui hurtles toward a conclusion and the life of the admitted terrorist conspirator hangs in the balance. Next comes the penalty phase in the criminal prosecution of the 36-year-old French citizen, who says the endgame of his flight training for 747 airliners was a strike on the White House, separate from the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. As chilling as Moussaoui's admissions are, international hostility to executions and the need for cooperation in President Bush's fight against terrorism raise an intriguing question: Does the Bush administration really want to put this man to death? The answer Friday was an unequivocal yes, as prosecutors basked in the glow of a victory that brought deep expressions of gratitude from relatives of Sept. 11 victims. "As family members we thank you," Hamilton Peterson said in heartfelt comments to Assistant U.S. Attorney Ken Melson outside the courthouse in Alexandria, Va., where Moussaoui pleaded guilty. Hamilton's father and stepmother died on United Airlines Flight 93 in Pennsylvania. Hamilton praised the president's "ever-vigilant efforts." The Moussaoui case looks a lot different overseas. The European Union condemns the death penalty for foreign nationals in the United States. France, Moussaoui's country of origin, urges that he not be subject to execution. German authorities have expressed reluctance to turn over evidence they had about Moussaoui because of concerns regarding his possible execution. Spain has said that it would not extradite terrorist suspects to the United States if they could be executed. "Seeking the death penalty in the Moussaoui case always was going to be a very dicey choice," former federal prosecutor Larry Barcella said. In addition to Europe, the Muslim world "would basically view his being put to death as a public spectacle." For critics of the president, the message of Moussaoui fighting for his life is that the Bush administration is paying no heed to international sensibilities against executions. To Americans, the prospect of Moussaoui as martyr or as a recruiting tool for al-Qaeda means little. "World opinion doesn't even weigh in on the scale," said Stephen Hess, a presidential scholar and political analyst at the Brookings Institution. "There is simply no way that public opinion in the U.S. would not overwhelmingly be for giving whatever the most severe penalty is. The rest of the world will go along on its separate track. It is not negotiable." Despite admitting to six felonies, Moussaoui still can keep fighting in federal court, giving him an international stage. Legal experts say he can highlight what he regards as the unfairness of it all, including his inability to call Sept. 11 planners as witnesses on his behalf in the proceeding that will determine whether he lives or dies. He says the those planners would testify that he was not involved in Sept. 11. The issue barring his access to these witnesses was already decided before the planned criminal trial, which now will not take place. "The whole world will be watching this penalty phase and it will be troubling to the judge that Moussaoui has no access to the al-Qaeda detainees who might be able to help him," said Peter Margulies, a law professor at Roger Williams University in Providence. Moussaoui can use only written summaries of interviews with those witnesses. While admitting he was part of a conspiracy, Moussaoui can argue that his role sets him apart from others on Sept. 11. He did not hijack the planes and he did not direct the suicide crews. "Everything about this case is different, it's a crime unlike any other in very significant ways and Moussaoui's involvement is different from any other death penalty case: He didn't kill anyone," former federal prosecutor Pete White said. (source: Associated Press)
