April 24 CALIFORNIA: Ryen makes case for Cooper's death A judge on Friday denied the appeals that have kept death row inmate Kevin Cooper alive for the past 14 months, ruling that he failed to prove his claims that police framed him for a 1983 hatchet massacre in Chino Hills. In a surprise ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Marilyn Huff said she believed there was overwhelming proof Cooper is responsible for the quadruple murder, the most infamous crime in San Bernardino County history. The ruling came at the end of a draining hearing in U.S. District Court in San Diego that included bitter arguments from attorneys and an emotionally wrenching statement from Joshua Ryen, the sole survivor of the attack. The decision brings Cooper a major step closer to another execution date, although he can still appeal to higher courts. He most certainly will turn to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the same court that spared him just hours before he was to die in February 2004. Relatives of one victim hugged prosecutors after the judge announced the decision and said she hoped Cooper would be executed soon. "We're just relieved this part is over and we hope the next part is over quickly," said Mary Ann Hughes, whose 11-year-old son Christopher was killed in the attack. Cooper attorney David Alexander said he was "obviously disappointed" by the ruling. He said Cooper's legal team had not given thought to what its next move will be. "I honestly don't know," he said. Cooper is on Death Row for the 1983 murders of Doug and Peggy Ryen, their 10-year-old daughter, Jessica, and Hughes, who was staying the night with the Ryens after attending a barbecue with them. All 4 were hacked to death with a hatchet and hunting knife inside the Ryen family's hilltop home, 2 days after Cooper escaped from the California Institution for Men in Chino. The Ryen's 8-year-old son, Joshua, survived despite a slashed throat. Joshua Ryen, now 30, came to court on Friday at the invitation of Judge Huff to say for the record his feelings about what Cooper did to his family 22 years ago. It was the first time he has spoken in court about the case, and his solemn, prepared speech left some in the courtroom dabbing tears. He carried a picture of his family and opened with his memories of his last, horrific night at home. "The 1st time I met Kevin Cooper I was 8 years old and he slit my throat," Ryen said. "He hit me with a hatchet and put a hole in my skull. He stabbed me twice which broke my ribs and collapsed one lung. I lived only because I stuck 4 fingers in my neck to slow the bleeding, but I was too weak to move." He then told the judge he was frustrated by the delays that keep Cooper alive. "I don't want to be here," Ryen said. "I came because I owe it to my family who can't speak for themselves. But by coming I am acknowledging and validating the existence of Kevin Cooper, who should have been blotted from the face of the Earth a long time ago. By coming here it shows he still controls me. I will be free, my life will start, the day Kevin Cooper dies." Christopher Hughes' parents also told the judge on Friday they believe Cooper has manipulated the justice system for too long. "All I can do is to beg this court to let this hell end for my family," Mary Ann Hughes told the judge before the ruling was issued. Cooper was nearly put to death at San Quentin State Prison on Feb. 10, 2004, but the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals stopped the execution so that Cooper's claims of innocence could be reviewed one last time. The appeals court specifically ordered testing on a bloody T-shirt for the chemical EDTA, a crime lab preservative that, if present, could prove police planted Cooper's blood. The court also ordered DNA tests on hairs found in the hands of the victims to examine Cooper's claims that they could have been pulled from the head of some other attacker. Cooper raised additional claims that prosecutors violated his constitutional rights by withholding evidence that could have helped him in his trial and previous appeals. During the past year, Judge Huff ordered scientific tests and heard testimony from about 40 witnesses to investigate Cooper's claims. Friday's hearing was scheduled to include closing arguments about the appeals, and given the slow pace of the hearings during the last 14 months, no one expected a ruling would come at the hearing's end. In making her ruling, Huff said Cooper failed to prove that he is innocent, that police framed him or that prosecutors violated his rights. The DNA tests of the hairs indicated that all of the hair in the victims' hands was likely chopped from their own heads. And the EDTA tests not only showed insignificant levels of the chemical but also proved to be scientifically unreliable and would not be considered as evidence, the judge said. Only 2 courts in the country have allowed EDTA testing as evidence, the judge said. One case is now under appeal because the results were called into question. The 2nd case was the O.J. Simpson trial, in which neither the prosecution nor defense challenged the reliability, the judge said. "It's only been admitted in 2 cases, and I don't think this court wants to use the standard of the O.J. Simpson case," Huff said Friday. During the summary arguments on Friday, prosecutors asked the judge to make just such a ruling, saying Cooper has not met the burden of proving himself innocent in these appeals, as is required by law. Deputy Attorney General Holly Wilkens urged the judge to consider the "overwhelming" evidence of Cooper's guilt. That evidence includes DNA linking Cooper to the murders, Cooper's admission that he hid in a house next to the Ryen's the night of the killings and the fact that the hatchet and knife used in the murders came from the hide-out house. Cooper's lawyers, meanwhile, focused on specific inconsistencies with evidence that they believed warranted further review. They asked for more hearings and scientific tests. (source: The Daily Bulletin) ALABAMA----impending execution//volunteer Execution scheduled Thursday for cop killer Centobie One of the Birmingham area's most sensational escape artists, a man who defied police for days as he embarked on a cop-killing spree across Alabama, will likely die quietly this week. Mario Centobie, the crafty and some say charismatic killer, is to be executed Thursday for the killing of Moody Police Officer Keith Turner. Now 39, Centobie has waived his rights to all appeals, and is scheduled to die by lethal injection at Holman Prison at 6 p.m. It is in some ways an odd and anticlimactic end. "I hate he decided not to fight it, but that's his decision," said his Pell City attorney, Stan Brown. "He just didn't want to waste any more time. He wanted to get it over with." Retired Tuscaloosa police Capt. Cecil Lancaster, too, wants to get it over with. Lancaster, who was shot by Centobie, will be among those on hand to witness his death. He said he is going at the request of the slain officer's family, including Turner's widow, Brandy. "I think life is the most precious gift God gives you, and to take a human life goes against my Christian upbringing," Lancaster said. "But I know if Mario Centobie were to ever get back out on the street, and if anybody were to get in his way, he would kill without hesitation. This is a fair and just punishment." In 1998, Centobie, a decorated former Mississippi firefighter, was serving a 40-year sentence at Parchman Prison for kidnapping his estranged wife, Cheryl, and 6-year-old son, Dominic. That June, Centobie escaped with fellow inmate Jeremy Granberry. The 2 overpowered lawmen taking them to a court appearance in Laurel, Miss. Jones County, Miss., Sheriff Maurice Hooks and retired Deputy Ray Butler were found the next day unharmed and shackled to posts at a dilapidated barn. Centobie and Granberry fled in their patrol car. Several hours later, Lancaster, then a 49-year-old administrative officer who was headed home from work in his patrol car on Interstate 359, became suspicious of the Mississippi sheriff's vehicle because the rear bumper was missing. He pulled it over, not knowing a search was on for the fugitives. As he walked to the vehicle, Centobie, the passenger, turned and fired before anyone spoke. The 1st shot struck Lancaster's midsection, but a bullet clip on his belt stopped the round. A 2nd bullet went through his side, shattered 2 ribs, and exited his back. Killed Moody officer: 2 days later, Centobie shot and killed Turner when he pulled the fugitives over on a traffic stop in Moody. Centobie later testified in court that he shot Turner as the officer began to pull out his own weapon. Centobie said he yelled for Turner to stop, and then shot him in the kidney area, knocking Turner to one knee. Centobie said the officer's blue lights were flashing and he just wanted to get away. He fired twice more, including an execution-style shot to the back of Turner's head. Granberry was caught the next day, but for a week, Centobie eluded a massive police search that brought hundreds of lawmen to Moody and kept the St. Clair County town on edge. Centobie, however, slipped through the dragnet and carjacked a Moody man, forcing him to drive him to Mississippi. The man escaped from Centobie at a Mississippi rest area and Centobie hitched a ride in a van of tourists. Police caught him later that day - 2 interstate exits away from his ex-wife's home. Centobie had a Mississippi sheriff's engraved pistol tucked in his waistband when caught. He thought about resisting, his lawyer later said, but opted not to because the family was nice enough to give him a ride and he didn't want them shot in crossfire. 3 months later, Centobie escaped again when he walked out of Etowah County's maximum-security jail. Investigators say Centobie charmed guard Donna Hawkins, convincing her he loved her. He was captured in Atlanta almost 2 weeks later, traced there through the syrupy love letters he wrote to Hawkins. Hawkins was convicted in the escape, and spent 18 months in prison. Charmed women: After his 2nd capture, women sent cards, letters and pictures to him in jail. His lawyer once asked him how he charmed women. "He said, 'I'm nice to them and I tell'em what they want to hear,'" Brown said. Shortly before his trial, Centobie went on a hunger strike to protest harsh conditions in prison, which included one of his female lawyers being strip-searched before she could see him. He was also caught with a makeshift plastic handcuff key in his mouth during a court appearance in Tuscaloosa. Brown said it's been over a month since he's had contact with Centobie, who was on death row at Donaldson Correctional Facility until recently being moved to Holman Prison in Atmore for the execution. "His attitude has changed a lot," Brown said. "He's more pessimistic than he used to be." Lancaster said he's made his peace with Centobie. "I realize how close I came to death and I'm trying to make the most of the 2nd chance God has given me," he said. "Mario Centobie shot the uniform; he didn't shoot me personally. And that's what he did to Keith Turner." "I hope Mario has made peace with God and is ready to walk into eternity," Lancaster said. "I hold no ill will toward him and wish him the best he can possibly have." (source: Birmingham News) CONNECTICUT----impending execution//volunteer Death Row inmate allowed to end appeals Removing a major hurdle to New England's 1st execution in 45 years, a Connecticut judge ruled Friday that serial killer Michael Ross is mentally competent to abandon his Death Row appeals. "Michael Ross, a competent individual, has the right to make this voluntary decision concerning whether to pursue any further appeals regardless of what others may feel about his decision," Superior Court Judge Patrick Clifford wrote. Chief State's Atty. Christopher Morano said the state "will proceed in accordance with today's decision to carry out the sentence." Ross, 45, is scheduled to be die by lethal injection May 11. He has admitted killing and raping 8 young women in Connecticut and New York in the early 1980s. (source: Chicago Tribune) ****************** Ross' Former Fiance Asks Lawyer To Resign, Postponing Execution Susan Powers, former fiance and current girlfriend of convicted serial killer Michael Ross, said Saturday she has asked Ross' attorney to resign from the case, hoping it would postpone Ross' execution. In two e-mails sent to The Day, in which she enclosed the text of an e-mail she said she sent to attorney T.R. Paulding, Powers reiterated her belief that Ross does not wish to be executed despite his public statements to the contrary. "If you would just quit as Michael's attorney, unless some other attorney picked this case up to represent Michael, Michael couldn't be executed on May 11," Powers wrote in the e-mail she said she sent to Paulding. Paulding did not return calls Saturday seeking confirmation that Powers requested he resign. Powers' request follows a finding Friday by New London Superior Court Judge Patrick Clifford that Ross is mentally competent to give up his appeals and proceed to execution. Since last year, Paulding has represented Ross in his quest to waive appeals and accept his execution. Ross was sentenced to death for kidnapping and murdering 4 teenage girls in Connecticut in the early 1980s, 3 of whom he raped. His execution, which has also been opposed in court by his father and state public defenders, would be the 1st in this state in 45 years. Ross had been given a Jan. 29 execution date, but Paulding sought a stay of execution just hours before it was to take place to allow time for a competency hearing, ultimately resulting in 6 days of testimony this month before Clifford. Clifford found Friday that Ross is competent, has decided to waive appeals without coercion and does not suffer from a mental condition that would substantially affect his understanding or decision process. In her e-mail to Paulding, Powers contests Ross' stated desire to die. "If I truly felt that Michael was doing this because he did, in fact, want to spare the victims' families any further pain, I wouldn't be trying to stop this," she writes. "He desperately wants this all to stop, but he feels trapped' by his decision." Attorney Thomas Groark Jr., appointed by Clifford to counter Ross' assertions of competence, presented similar statements by Powers in court. He introduced a deposition of Powers taken earlier this month in which she said Ross told her during a March prison visit, "Well, Susan, I dug myself into a big, big hole this time and there is no way out." 2 psychologists who testified in the hearing agreed with that assessment, but 2 others argued Ross was competent. In her e-mail, Powers also contested Clifford's finding that she was among 3 "biased witnesses" and offered to take a polygraph test. But Powers' motives came under fire by Assistant State's Attorney Peter McShane in the competency hearing. Testimony is court indicated that she promised to move closer to Ross and marry him if he pursued appeals, and she wrote a letter to Ross in January threatening suicide if he accepted execution. Powers, who is from Oklahoma, said she spoke with Ross after Clifford announced his finding Friday. "Michael didn't talk at all about the execution. All he did was talk about the movies he planned on watching this weekend and next weekend. The reality does not seem to have hit yet that he is going to be executed soon," she said. A conversation with a friend prompted Powers to write to Paulding, she said. (source: The Day) MISSOURI: Death penalty opponents seek new supporters -- Moratorium push is getting down to business. Not long ago, Jeff Stack was hard-pressed to find a Missouri legislator willing to introduce a bill that involved the death penalty. Capital punishment was a political hot button few elected officials wanted to push. But Stack believes a growing number of legislators from both parties are beginning to second-guess state-sponsored executions. "The death penalty is not the political issue that it used to be," said Stack, coordinator of Mid-Missouri Fellowship of Reconciliation. "Many politicians are recognizing that there are flaws with the system, and they are beginning to recognize that a moratorium" on executions "and a study commission would be prudent at this time." Since 1989, Missouri has executed 62 murderers - the fourth-highest number among states with the death penalty. Moratorium proponents question whether the death penalty is being applied fairly and whether it would be more economical to impose life sentences. As of Tuesday, more than 50 local churches, interfaith organizations, businesses and other groups had endorsed a resolution asking for a moratorium on executions in Missouri and the creation of a state commission to study the death penalty. The resolution mirrors a bill introduced earlier this year by state Rep. Sherman Parks, R-St. Charles, which would place a moratorium on state-sponsored executions until Jan. 1, 2009. During the interim, a 10-member commission would study all aspects of the death penalty and make recommendations to the governor, the Missouri Supreme Court and the General Assembly. The bill is co-sponsored by eight Republicans and eight Democrats and has not received a hearing. An identical bill in the Senate had a hearing April 11, but no vote was taken. Stack said the latest Missouri push for a moratorium on executions grew out of a nationwide campaign to encourage grassroots organizations such as Mid-Missouri Fellowship of Reconciliation to solicit support from local businesses and organizations. In Columbia, a dozen churches and interfaith organizations agreed to back a moratorium resolution along with 22 businesses and 18 groups and organizations. Among those are The Columbia Interfaith Peace Alliance, The Blue Note and Missouri Rural Crisis Center. The list includes the Tribune, which featured an editorial April 3 in support of a 3-year moratorium to study the punishment. Similar campaigns are under way in St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield and Cape Girardeau. Stack said supporters are under the illusion that a moratorium would be adopted this year by the legislature, but the fact that a bill has been introduced and heard is progress. "There is very much a softening on this issue," he said. Boone County Prosecuting Attorney Kevin Crane said he understands the arguments for and against the death penalty. However, he said, "the existence of the death penalty as a possible punishment is not something I decide. That is a legislative decision." Crane said his role as prosecutor is "to weigh the facts and to look at what is available under the law and make a decision" about punishment "with a good, solid, rational basis. Ultimately, I dont get somebody the death penalty. The jury decides - first if theyre guilty and then if they should be punished by death." Of murder defendants whom Crane said he has sought the death penalty against, only 1 remains under sentence of death - Earl Ringo, who was convicted in 1999 on charges of 1st-degree murder, robbery and armed criminal action in the murders of JoAnna Baysinger, 22, and Dennis Poyser, 45, inside a Ruby Tuesday restaurant in Columbia. When deciding whether to seek the death penalty, Crane said he considers the wishes of the victims family. He would avoid seeking the death penalty if the victims family opposed it. "You have to look at each case individually because each case is different," he said. However, Crane said, because of the justice systems appeal process, the cost of pursuing the death penalty can become a problem. Scott Holste, a spokesman for Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon, declined to comment on the proposed moratorium because the bills in the Missouri House and Senate "are still in the very early stages." Robert Schultz, a field organizer for Amnesty Internationals Midwest office in Chicago, said the movement in Missouri is similar to what happened in Illinois, where Gov. George Ryan issued a moratorium in 2000 after it was determined 13 people on death row were wrongfully convicted. "Weve been nibbling at things over a period of time" in Missouri, "trying to get a moratorium or to get" the death penalty "abolished," Schultz said. "A moratorium allows the body politic to look at the flaws in the death penalty. Thats why we are trying to get groups and businesses to support a resolution for a moratorium." Arnie Fagan, owner of Cool Stuff, 808 E. Broadway, said he agreed to sign the resolution because hes concerned an innocent person could be wrongfully convicted and put to death. He also said putting people to death costs more than issuing life sentences. "Frankly, the guilty ones, Im fine with them being put to death," Fagan said. "But every once and awhile, an innocent one falls through the cracks, and that bothers me." (source: Columbia Tribune)
