April 25 USA: >From death row, to vindication, to voice for justice For nearly 9 years, Kirk Bloodsworth slept with toilet paper stuffed in his ears to keep the cockroaches from laying eggs inside his head. In the darkness of his tiny cell in the notorious Maryland State Penitentiary, half sick from the smell of urine and feces, Bloodsworth could hear voices through the vents: "We're going to get you, Bloodsworth. We're going to do to you what you did to that little girl." Convicted in the 1984 rape and murder of a child, Bloodsworth landed on the bottom rung of the inmate ladder. A prisoner swinging a sock full of batteries thumped him in the shower. When his mother died, he could only stand by the coffin, handcuffed and shackled, for five minutes, flanked by 2 armed guards. But after 8 years, 11 months and 19 days, the nightmare ended. In 1993, DNA evidence overturned Bloodsworth's capital conviction, the first such reversal in the country. Today, DNA has exonerated nearly 120 death row prisoners. Bloodsworth would like to tell his story to everyone. I wish he could. Maybe then crime labs and prisons could get the resources they need to clear up DNA backlogs. Maybe states, including Michigan, would raise their scandalously low pay for court-appointed attorneys and public defenders. Maybe police departments would stopcoercing confessions and relying so heavily on fallible eyewitness identifications. Maybe prosecutors would do a betterjob of sharing information with defenseattorneys. Maybe the nation would start examining why it locks up a greatershare of its population than any other country. DNA evidence has already changed the legal landscape. In the last five years, public support for the death penalty has dropped, as have death sentences and executions. But too many Americans still have an almost blind faith in the criminal justice system. That's why stories like Bloodsworth's are so important. Before his arrest, Bloodsworth, 44, an ex-Marine and blue-collar worker from Maryland's Eastern Shore, had never given the death penalty a second thought. Fresh out of service, he was trying to make a living on a commercial fishing boat. Bloodsworth had never been arrested. Like his father, he respected authority and had full confidence in the system. Even after 20 police officers, guns drawn, stormed his home in 1984 to collar him for a rape and murder he didn't commit, Bloodsworth figured he would just tell the truth and the truth would set him free. He found out it doesn't always go down that way. "I thought the government was there to protect me," Bloodsworth said. "But they put me on a train and sent me down the road." He was given the death penalty for the brutal slaying of a 9-year-old Baltimore area girl he had never seen. From the jump, Bloodsworth's case was an almost textbook example of what can go wrong in the system, including ineffective counsel by a public defender, unreliable eyewitness testimony, and prosecutorial misconduct. Once police investigators thought they had their man, they developed tunnel vision, ignoring other leads or conflicting evidence. "They were jamming me from the get-go," Bloodsworth said. "I never knew why." In 2003, the same DNA evidence that cleared Bloodsworth, matched in a national database, identified the real killer: Kimberly Shay Ruffner. He pleaded guilty last year to the crime. I talked to Bloodsworth last week in Detroit before he and Detroit native John Terzano, a Vietnam veteran who heads the Justice Project in Washington, D.C., spoke at Wayne State University. They were invited to the university by criminal justice Professor Marvin Zalman. Bloodsworth, the subject of a new book, "Bloodsworth," by Tim Junkin, now works with Terzano's Justice Project. The group is lobbying Congress to fully fund theJustice For All Act at $1.8 billion overfive years. That includes $375 million for the Innocence Protection Act to improve legal representation in capital murder cases and $755 million to clear a backlog of more than 300,000 rape kits and other crime scene evidence. Another $25 million, set aside in Bloodsworth's name, would help pay for analyzing the DNAof people on death row and other prisoninmates. DNA testing is available in only a fraction of murder cases, but Terzano believes the new science has made the public aware of wider problems in the criminal justice system and could lead to many reforms. A blueprint for changes are the recommendations included in a recent report by the Innocence Commission for Virginia. It's online at www.icva.us How big are the problems? If you take the death row exonerations and apply those percentages to the nation's 2 million prisoners, it means tens of thousands are wrongly convicted. No doubt, disproportionate shares of them are African-American men. It's no comfort that the system manages to work most of the time. Sending people to prison or death row isn't like shooting free throws: Doing it right 85-90 % isn't good enough. With new DNA technology, even the most sheltered citizen should recognize that the system is unacceptably flawed. That awareness should lead to better funded DNA testing, more professional police investigations, and adequate legal defense systems for poor people. "I tell people this could happen to them," Bloodsworth told me. "If I doanything with my life, I don't want thisto happen to anyone else. I won't stop, man." No one can reasonably deny that the nation's courts and police departments have sent many innocent people like Bloodsworth to death row and to prison. It's more than a shame -- it's a crime. And we must do everything possible to prevent it. (source: Column, Jeff Gerritt, Detroit Free Press) ********************** Preserving the Right to a Lawyer Criminal defendants who cannot afford a lawyer have the right to have one appointed to represent them. In Michigan, however, some poor defendants are denied appointed counsel at a critical stage: when they want to challenge the sentence imposed on them. The Supreme Court hears arguments today in a challenge to this rule. It should order Michigan to provide defendants in this position with appointed lawyers. The Supreme Court ruled in the landmark 1963 case of Gideon v. Wainwright that poor defendants have a constitutional right to appointed counsel. The court has held that this right generally extends to a defendant's 1st appeal after a criminal conviction. In virtually every state, poor defendants are appointed lawyers for their first appeals. But in Michigan, they do not have the right to a lawyer on appeal if they have pleaded guilty. Normally, defendants who plead guilty do not appeal, but there are times when they do, like when they want to challenge the sentence that they receive. In the case the court is hearing today, a mentally impaired defendant had to appeal without a lawyer when he was given a prison sentence of up to 30 years that he maintains was improperly calculated. For the right to counsel to be meaningful, it must apply to the initial trial and to one appeal before a different judge. The American Bar Association, which filed a supporting brief against the Michigan rule, says that denying poor defendants appointed counsel for 1st appeals can create "serious problems" for "the administration of justice." Appointing counsel for indigent defendants serves a dual purpose. It protects the rights of individual defendants. But it also protects society's interest in having a criminal justice system that is efficient and fair. It is much more likely that important rights will be denied - and in Michigan, that incorrect sentences will be imposed - if poor defendants are forced to be their own advocates on appeal. Today's case is narrow because Michigan's rule is unique. But if the Supreme Court upholds what Michigan does, it could invite other states to save money by reducing the right to counsel along similar lines. The court should send a clear message that the right to counsel is "fundamental and essential," as it was held in Gideon v. Wainwright, and applies fully to every defendant's 1st appeal. (source: Editorial, New York Times) ******************* NATION'S PRISON AND JAIL POPULATION GREW BY 932 INMATES PER WEEK----NUMBER OF FEMALE INMATES REACHED MORE THAN 100,000 The nation's prisons and jails held 2,131,180 inmates as of June 30, 2004, the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) announced today. 2/3 were in federal and state prisons, and the other 1/3 were in local jails. Jail authorities were supervising an additional 70,548 men and women in the community in work release, weekend reporting, electronic monitoring and other alternative programs. The incarcerated population grew by 48,452 inmates between midyear 2003 and midyear 2004. Jail inmates grew by 3.3 %, state prisoners by 1.3 %, and federal prisoners by 6.3 %. On June 30, 2004, there were an estimated 726 persons per 100,000 U.S. residents in prison or jail. In the year ending June 30, 2004, 13 states reported an increase of at least 5 %, led by Minnesota (13.2 %), Montana (10.5 %), and Arkansas (8.9 %). 12 states reported decreases in the number of prisoners, including Alabama (6.7 percent), Connecticut (2.5 %) and Ohio (2.3 %). Between June 30, 2003 and June 30, 2004, the number of female prisoners increased 2.9 % to reach 103,310. At the same time, male prisoners increased 2 % to reach 1,390,906. Overall, including inmates in prison and jail, men were 11 times more likely to be incarcerated than women (1,348 male inmates per 100,000 U.S. male residents compared to 123 female inmates per 100,000 female residents). State prisons held 2,477 youths under 18 years old in 2004, less than 1/2 of the peak number in 1995 (5,309 youths). Local jails held an estimated 7,083 youths, down from 7,800 in 1995. On June 30, 2004, the 50 largest jail jurisdictions held nearly 1/3 of all jail inmates. 8 jurisdictions experienced double-digit growth in the year ending midyear 2004, led by Clark County, Nevada; Fulton County, Georgia; and Orange County, California -- all up 20 %. An estimated 12.6 % of all black males in their late twenties were in prisons or jails, compared to 3.6 % of Hispanic males and 1.7 % of white males. The number of noncitizens held in state or federal prisons increased 1.4 % in the year ending June 30, 2004, reaching 91,789. Almost 2/3 of incarcerated noncitizens were held by the federal system. Privately operated prison facilities held 98,791 men and women, up 3.4 % in the 6 months since December 31, 2003. The federal prison system used privately operated facilities to house 13.7 percent of inmates; 5.6 % of state prisoners were housed in private facilities. According to the most recent data available, at year-end 2003 prison systems were estimated to be at capacity to 16 % above capacity. At midyear 2004, jails were operating at 94 % of capacity. The report, "Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear 2004" (NCJ-208801), was written by BJS statisticians Paige M. Harrison and Allen J. Beck. Following publication, the document can be accessed at: www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/pjim04.htm Additional information about BJS statistical reports and programs is available from the BJS website at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs. (source: Bureau of Justice Statistics) MISSOURI: Mo. high court's movement on executions relieves prosecutors For 17 months, Missouri carried out no executions. Prosecutors suspected that the Missouri Supreme Court had settled into an unofficial freeze. Opponents of capital punishment dared to hope it was true. It wasn't. In the past 2 months, the court has scheduled three executions, all of them involving St. Louis murders. One was carried out on March 16. Another is scheduled for Wednesday, a third for May 18. In January, Chief Justice Ronnie White said the court was taking "a more deliberative approach" to death penalty cases. His explanation was in response to strong criticism from Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon, some prosecutors and leaders of the Legislature's Republican majority. In October, Nixon said six requests for setting execution dates, including one filed in February 2002, were "languishing at the state Supreme Court." St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert P. McCulloch said the court's majority was "leaning strongly away from the death penalty." Greene County prosecutor Darrell L. Moore accused the court of imposing "an undeclared moratorium." Moore also was among a group that sought to unseat Supreme Court Judge Richard B. Teitelman, who faced a retention vote on Nov. 2. Former Gov. Bob Holden's appointment of Teitelman, a former legal-aid lawyer from St. Louis, had tipped the court's majority from Republican to Democratic appointees in 2002. Soon afterward, the court began overturning death sentences at a higher rate than it had done previously. Voters kept Teitelman on the court, but leaders of a strengthened GOP legislative majority warned of mounting frustration with the court. In an interview Thursday, Nixon was reserved in his applause for the recent developments. "While we are heartened that the court has pressed forward on these three cases, I remain concerned about its pace on the other ones," Nixon said, noting he has 4 requests pending. "I am hopeful that the court can set them in a more predictable fashion." McCulloch said he was pleased and mystified. "I can't come up with a coherent reason why the court didn't act for so long, and I can't come up with a reason why it's acting now," he said. "The court is living up to its responsibility." Opponents thought otherwise. Said Jeff Stack of Columbia, Mo., legislative director for Missourians to Abolish the Death Penalty, "I guess we're back on the pace, and that's disappointing." Margaret Phillips, leader of the organization's St. Louis chapter, said, "Executions are never good news." And Rita Linhardt, of the Missouri Catholic Conference, said, "We certainly preferred the impromptu moratorium. We do appreciate the time the court took to review these 3 cases." No one interviewed for this article drew a link between the GOP election victories in November and the court's recent actions. The three cases concern: Stanley Hall, 37, who was executed March 16 for carjacking Barbara Jo Wood of south St. Louis County and throwing her from the McKinley Bridge into the icy Mississippi River in 1994. He was the first to be executed in Missouri since Oct. 29, 2003. Donald Jones, 38, who is to die shortly after 12:01 a.m. Wednesday for murdering his grandmother, Dorothy Knuckles, in her St. Louis home in 1993 after she refused to give him money for drugs. Jones' family, including his maternal uncles, have asked Gov. Matt Blunt to spare his life. He also is trying again in the federal courts. The execution would be the 1st to take place in the new death chamber at the state prison in Bonne Terre. All but one of the others have taken place at the Potosi Correctional Center. Vernon Brown, 51, who is to die May 18 for strangling a 9-year-old neighbor, Janet Perkins, in his basement in 1986. He also faces a death sentence for murdering Synetta Ford, 19, of St. Louis, in 1985. Nixon highlighted Brown's case in his protest last year. By practice, Nixon's office petitions the Missouri Supreme Court to set an execution date after the U.S. Supreme Court rejects a prisoner's appeal. Nixon filed his request on Brown on Feb. 25, 2002. The court set the date for Brown on April 15. Although the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Brown's appeal in the Perkins murder 3 years ago, it didn't follow suit on the Ford killing until 2 months ago. Last fall, defenders of the court had noted that all six prisoners on Nixon's list had follow-up appeals pending, including Brown's in the second murder and another man's claim that execution by lethal injection was unconstitutional. On Thursday, Nixon rejected that reasoning, saying, "I don't think people should have their death sentence put off because they committed a second murder. Nor do I believe that if an inmate has enough ink to submit a paper to a court, you can't execute him." Stack, of the coalition, said he still prefers the current Missouri court to the one prior to Teitelman's appointment. Key among its recent decisions was the 4-3 ruling in August 2003 to strike down the death sentence of Christopher Simmons on grounds that he was 17 when he murdered Shirley Crook of Fenton in 1993. On March 1, the U.S. Supreme Court vindicated the Missouri majority by declaring unconstitutional the execution of juvenile murderers. "I believe this court has been very deliberative and thoughtful, although I recognize the state we live in and the pressure by many conservative officials to pursue this policy," Stack said. "Our state continues with the demented message that it will kill to show that killing is wrong." Phillips, of the St. Louis opposition, said she remained confident that, "Sooner or later, we will abolish capital punishment." Missouri has 54 men under death sentence in the Potosi prison and has executed 62 men since 1989, when it resumed carrying out the punishment under federal court rules established in 1976. Efforts in the Missouri Legislature to halt executions or remake the Supreme Court have had little success this session. House and Senate committees are holding several bills that would establish a freeze or seek changes in how judges are selected. (source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch) NORTH CAROLINA: Jurors to Decide Fate of Army Sergeant In just 2 1/2 hours of deliberations, a 15-person military jury decided an Army sergeant should be convicted of premeditated murder in a deadly grenade attack in Kuwait. Now jurors are faced with whether he should be sent to death row. Prosecutors say Sgt. Hasan Akbar told investigators he launched the March 2003 attack because he was concerned U.S. troops would kill fellow Muslims in Iraq. They said he carried out the attack to achieve "maximum carnage" on his comrades in the 101st Airborne Division. Last week, Akbar was convicted after 7 days of testimony in the court-martial. He was the 1st soldier since the Vietnam era to be prosecuted for the murder of fellow soldiers at wartime. Jurors were expected to hear evidence in the sentencing phase, which was to begin Monday. The proceeding has been structured like a trial with opening statements, witnesses, closing arguments and more jury deliberations. Defense lawyers are left with the task of convincing jurors -- all whom said they could vote for a death sentence -- to spare Akbar's life. His attack killed two soldiers and wounded 14. On the prosecution side, soldiers wounded in the late-night ambush were expected to describe in more detail how they felt emotionally and physically during the attack that started after most had gone to bed at Camp Pennsylvania in Kuwait. The 101st was preparing to participate in the Iraq invasion. Relatives of the 2 soldiers killed in the grenade attack -- Army Capt. Christopher Seifert, 27, and Air Force Maj. Gregory Stone, 40 -- also could be called to the stand to testify. During his court-martial, Akbar's lawyers acknowledged that he committed the attack, but they also argued he was too mentally ill to plan the deaths and that the violence was sparked by emotion. If sentenced to death, Akbar, 34, would be the 6th person on military death row at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. The soldier's father, John Akbar, also was expected to be a witness in the sentencing phase. Last year, a military judge approved spending as much as $10,000 for an expert who would research Akbar's family history. The expert was employed to find information the defense could introduce as mitigating factors, or points to argue against a death penalty. (source: Associated Press)
