April 27 TEXAS: Man Sentenced to Death for Beaumont Murder Makes States List of Scheduled Executions A 44-year-old Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana man sentenced to death for murdering an elderly Beaumont woman in 1992 now has a scheduled date of execution. According to an affidavit posted on the Texas Department of Criminal Justices website, Bryan Eric Wolfe (pictured) robbed and murdered 84-year-old Bertha Lemell at her Beaumont home in February 15, 1992. Lemell was reportedly stabbed 26 times with a knife inside her home at 2860 Park Street. Wolfe cut himself during the attack and trailed blood out Lemells front door to the driveway. Wolfe is scheduled to be executed on May 18, 2005. On the Web: www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/scheduledexecutions.htm ************************ Texas Leads The Way In Executions According to a report from the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Texas executed more people than any other state last year. Twenty-three people were sent to death row in the Texas in 2004. The next closest state was California with 11 people executed, followed by Florida and Alabama with 8 each. This news comes just weeks before 44-year-old Bryan Eric Wolfe is set to be executed for the murder of an elderly Beaumont woman in 1992. Prosecutors say Wolfe robbed and murdered 84-year-old Bertha Lemell at her Beaumont home on February 15, 1992. Investigators say she was stabbed 26 times during that crime. (source for both: KBTV News) *********************** Updated jury pool contains more names----New system can select those who recently served If you recently moved into Harris County or have received a jury summons in the past 2 years, the time for jury service may be fast approaching again. District Clerk Charles Bacarisse this week announced the beginning of a new "jury wheel" - the pool of registered voters and people with state identification to whom jury summonses are issued. The last so-called wheel, a system that once used slips of paper but now is a computer program, contained 2.1 million names. Jury summonses were issued from that list beginning in September 2003, and it will be exhausted May 30. The new wheel, containing 2.5 million names, will be used to summon candidates on May 31 and later. This means someone who was drawn late in the last wheel may be called again in a matter of weeks or months. "We can summon them and then it is up to all of our citizens to show up," Bacarisse said. Harris County's jury system has been criticized for not reflecting the demographic makeup of the area. An appeal filed in a death penalty case argues that, while Hispanics make up about 30 % of the county's eligible jurors, they are underrepresented on jury panels. A Houston Chronicle analysis this year found that people in the county's lower-income, minority neighborhoods are far less likely than people in white, affluent neighborhoods to report for jury duty. Bacarisse said Commissioners Court is considering measures to increase turnout, including an increase in jurors' pay, which is $6 for the first 2 days of service and $12.50 for each additional day. (source: Houston Chronicle) ******************* Capital murder trial postponed The wait for trial is now 2 months longer for those accused of kidnapping, attacking, killing and burying Dustin Shawn Pool in concrete 2 years ago. Judge Hal Miner set May 9 as the trial date for one of the 3 defendants charged with capital murder, but it's been rescheduled for July 11. Randall County Criminal District Attorney James Ferren said the change is a result of scheduling conflicts with the court. Stephen Craig Kimberlin, 36, Joshua David Stocker, 26, and Francisco "Frank" Rodriguez Chacon, 29, were 3 of 9 people arrested in connection with the death of Dustin Shawn Pool, 26. All are charged withcapital murder. Investigators discovered Pool's body June 15, 2003, buried under 2 to 3 feet of concrete at a grain elevator in rural Randall County. His death apparently occurred between March 9 to 11, 2003. Farren said he expects Stocker to be the first tried. According to a capital murder complaint, Pool suffocated with a sock stuffed down his throat and his mouth wrapped with tape. The complaint alleges Stocker persuaded Tori Patrick to lure Pool to Patrick's apartment, where Stocker attacked him. Stocker and others then allegedly took Pool to a location in Carson County, where Pool is believed to have died. Several suspects then hauled Pool's body to the gain silo in Randall County and placed him in a 10-foot-deep grain reservoir before pouring 2 to 3 feet of cement over him. Joshua Craig Bledsoe, 25, Michael Wayne Elliston, 44, Guin Cordell Garcia, Destry Shannon Keeling, 36, Patrick, 26, and Michael J. Stocker, 22, also were arrested on charges ranging from kidnapping to tampering with evidence. They have posted bond and have been released or transferred to another facility, according to jail records. (source: The Amarillo Globe-News) ******************** Mother acquitted of capital murder in daughter's death A Borger woman has been acquitted of a capital murder charge in the 2003 death of her baby daughter. Jurors in Stinnett yesterday reached the decision in the case of 23-year-old Becky Salazar. Seven-week-old Amrie Lanae Cervantes died in October of 2003. Salazar and her common-law husband, Fidel Cervantes, were arrested the following month. Charges against Cervantes were later dropped. He testified against Salazar in the week-long trial. The girl died after being removed from life support at an Amarillo hospital. Autopsy results showed extensive trauma, including bruising, a fracture to the collarbone and brain damage. (source: Borger News-Herald) ******************** Panel addresses Church's stance on death penalty Capital punishment is killing, and killing is wrong, Dr. Hella Hennessee, modern languages department chair, said to a group of more than 60 students gathered at last week's Amnesty International forum, Death Penalty: Has the time for abolition come? Hennessee was one of three members on the panel, which also included Dr. John Norris, associate theology professor, and Dr. Richard Dougherty, associate politics professor. Hennessee, who was reared in Europe where the death penalty has been widely abolished, admitted the United State's practice of capital punishment is an anomaly that still seems strange to her. "I think it is absurd to allow a legal body like the state to commit an illegal act such as killing. That is a contradiction that I personally cannot solve," she said. Not only is the death penalty morally wrong, it also poses political problems for the United States, one of the few countries that still practices capital punishment, because the European Union strongly disapproves of it, Hennessee said. "[The United State's capital punishment policy] is getting in the way of smooth interaction between Europe and the United States, and I think it would be in the best interest of both entities to solve that problem," she said. Norris, who spoke primarily about the Catholic Church's stance on capital punishment, explained that Catholics in favor of the death penalty should be cautious. "I'm not going to say that as a Catholic you must believe the death penalty should not be used. However, taking a look at the current status of the Church's teaching on the death penalty is important," he said. While the Church grants the state the right to execute its citizens, the right is granted only under extremely limited situations in which the state's goal is defending life, Norris said. These situations, in which one must kill to protect other people from being killed or harmed, are "very rare if practically non-existent," Norris, quoting John Paul II, said. Essentially, the Catholic Church argues against the use of the death penalty in any 1st or 2nd world country, Norris said. "If you are at war, if you have prisoners, if you don't have the capabilities to keep them from escaping and harming others; that's a different situation," he said. Dougherty, who disagreed with the other panelists, argued the Church's position on capital punishment is often misunderstood and misrepresented. "Without question, the overwhelming weight of the Catholic/Christian tradition as a whole has recognized the legitimate authority of the state in exercising the power of punishing convicted criminals, including sentencing them to death," he said. The Church's traditional teaching does not entirely exclude the use of the death penalty, though it must be used only if it is the only possible way of effectively defending human life against an unjust aggressor, Dougherty said. The death penalty is not wrong in principle, unlike abortion, which the Church traditionally excludes recourse to, Dougherty said. "If you think the death penalty should be done away with today, that's fine; but don't abandon the principle that the death penalty is a legitimate form of punishment and that recourse to its use is a clearly defensible position to take," he said. Instead of contributing to the culture of death, as John Paul II phrased it, capital punishment actually fosters a greater appreciation for life and lawful order, Dougherty said. "Not holding our most hardened criminals responsible for their actions deprives them of their dignity and certainty cheapens the life of the victims. "The lesson learned by society and potential subsequent criminals is that they can commit heinous premeditated crimes and society will not employ its ultimate punishment on them," he said. A brief question and answer session with the students followed the panelists' arguments. "I really hope that this will encourage people to face questions that are usually a little more controversial, maybe a little less talked about, but still very important," said Mary Jo Hartmann, president of UD's Amnesty International chapter. (source: University News (Student Newspaper of the University of Dallas)
