April 30 INDIANA----new execution date Cop killer execution set for June 22 The Indiana Supreme Court this week set a June 22 execution date for the convicted killer of a Muncie police officer. The execution order was issued Thursday, along with the Supreme Court's rejection of Michael A. Lambert's most recent bid to have his death sentence overturned. Attorneys in the case have said Lambert's appeal options are dwindling. This week's ruling was by a 3-2 vote, with the most recent appointees to the Supreme Court, Theodore Boehm and Robert Rucker, issuing dissenting opinions in which they suggested Lambert's request for a new sentencing hearing should be granted. Lambert, now 34, would receive a lethal injection at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City, where he has been held since being sentenced to death by Judge Robert Barnet Jr. in January 1992. The Muncie man was accused of fatally shooting city patrolman Gregg Winters while being transported to jail after a public intoxication arrest in December 1990. The execution order specifies that Lambert should be put to death "before sunrise" on June 22. Also this week, the Supreme Court set a May 25 execution date for Gregory Scott Johnson, sentenced to death in 1986 for the beating death of an 82-year-old Anderson woman. 2 other convicted killers, Donald Ray Wallace and Bill Benefiel Jr., have been executed at the state prison so far this year. The state hasn't executed as many as 3 people in a year since 3 inmates were electrocuted in 1949. State officials have said the appeals process is winding down for several condemned inmates, setting the stage for as many as eight executions in 2005. Lambert would become the 1st person executed for a crime committed in Delaware County. (source: The New Press) NEW JERSEY: 3 judges to weigh Marshall's death sentence A panel of 3 federal judges has scheduled a hearing in mid-May on a bid by the state Attorney General's Office to reinstate the death penalty for one of Ocean County's most notorious murderers. Judges Edward R. Becker, Jane R. Roth and Marjorie O. Rendell of the 3d Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments on May 13 on the state's bid to have former Toms River insurance salesman Robert O. Marshall put to death for orchestrating the murder of his wife in 1984. The hearing will be held at the federal courthouse in Wilmington, Del. Until last year, Marshall, now 65, had been on death row longer than any other inmate since New Jersey reinstated the death penalty in 1982. On April 8, 2004, U.S. District Court Judge Joseph E. Irenas in Camden overturned the death sentence. A jury in Atlantic County -- where Marshall's trial was moved because of pretrial publicity -- imposed the death sentence on Marshall in 1986 for the Sept 7, 1984, murder of Maria P. Marshall, 42, the mother of the couple's 3 sons. The same jury had found Marshall, a onetime prominent member of the Toms River Country Club set, guilty of hiring Louisiana hit men to shoot his wife during a faked robbery at a staged breakdown of the couple's car at the now-closed Oyster Creek picnic area on the Garden State Parkway in Lacey. The prosecution had argued that Marshall paid the hit men to kill his wife so he could collect $1.4 million in life insurance and continue an extramarital affair. Irenas last year ruled that Marshall received ineffective assistance from his attorney, Glenn A. Zeitz, who failed to call any witnesses during the death-penalty phase of the trial. The death-penalty phase in a capital murder trial occurs after a jury has returned a guilty verdict. The phase gives defense attorneys an opportunity to present mitigating evidence to try to persuade juries not to impose death. Rather than call witnesses, Zeitz merely told the jury to do what it felt was just. The state Attorney General's Office appealed Irenas' ruling in a bid to reinstate the death penalty for Marshall. In a brief filed last year, Deputy Attorney General Robert Bonpietro disputed Irenas' conclusion that Marshall received ineffective assistance of counsel, saying that Marshall was represented by an experienced criminal attorney who made calculated, strategic decisions. The brief said if Zeitz had called Marshall's relatives to the witness stand during the death-penalty phase to testify that a death sentence would pose harm to the family, the strategy might have offended the jury, which already had found that Marshall had inflicted grievous harm on the family by hiring hit men to kill the mother of his children. Bonpietro's brief noted that Zeitz had 10 years of experience practicing criminal law in New Jersey and Pennsylvania when he was retained to represent Marshall, and that before the Marshall trial, he had been successful in persuading a jury in Pennsylvania to spare a client's life without presenting any evidence during the death-penalty phase of that trial. Bonpietro will be allotted 30 minutes to present his position at the hearing. Then, Steven Kirsch of the state Public Defender's Office will be given 30 minutes to present his argument. Bonpietro will be given an opportunity to rebut Kirsch's argument. No ruling is expected the day of the hearing. Bonpietro said it could be several months before there is a decision. If Irenas' ruling is upheld, a new death-penalty phase of Marshall's trial would be held. If a new jury opted to spare Marshall's life, he would be sentenced to life in prison with no chance for parole before serving 30 years. Incarcerated since December of 1984, Marshall could become eligible for parole in about 10 years. The Marshall case was the subject of the Joe McGinniss best-seller, "Blind Faith," and a television miniseries based on the book. (source: Asbury Park Press) NORTH CAROLINA: Experts claim Akbar may never be executed Some experts think Army Sergeant Hasan Akbar may never actually face execution, despite being sentenced to death for attacking his fellow troops. The military has not executed one of its own since 1961. Akbar was sentenced to die this week for killing 2 officers in March of 2003 in a grenade attack in Kuwait. Currently, there are 5 people on military death row; 3 whose cases are in appeals and 2 are awaiting action from the president. Akbar's trial goes to automatic appeal. Hours after giving a brief, barely audible apology, Akbar was sentenced to death by a military jury for attacking comrades with a rifle and grenades early in the Iraq invasion. He could have been sentenced Thursday to life in prison with or without parole for the March 2003 attack on members of the elite 101st Airborne Division at Camp Pennsylvania in Kuwait. 2 officers were killed and 14 other soldiers were wounded. "I want to apologize for the attack that occurred. I felt that my life was in jeopardy, and I had no other options. I also want to ask you for forgiveness," Akbar told the jury before it began deliberating. He spoke in such a low voice that even prosecutors sitting nearby had trouble hearing, with one lawyer even cupping his ear. Jurors took about seven hours to reach their decision Thursday. Last week, the same 15-person military jury took just 2 1/2 hours last week to convict Akbar of premeditated murder and attempted premeditated murder. The sentence will be reviewed by a commanding officer and automatically appealed. If Akbar is executed, it would be by lethal injection. Although the defense contends Akbar was too mentally ill to plan the attack, they have never disputed that he threw grenades into troop tents in the early morning darkness and then fired on soldiers in the ensuing chaos. Army Capt. Chris Seifert, 27, and Air Force Maj. Gregory Stone, 40, were killed. Prosecutors say Akbar launched the attack at his camp - days before the soldiers were to move into Iraq - because he was concerned about U.S. troops killing fellow Muslims in the Iraq war. "He is a hate-filled, ideologically driven murderer," chief prosecutor Lt. Col. Michael Mulligan said. He added that Akbar wrote in his diary in 1997, "My life will not be complete unless America is destroyed." Akbar is the first American since the Vietnam era to be prosecuted on charges of murdering a fellow soldier during wartime. "Hasan Akbar has robbed me of so many things," said Tammie Eslinger, Stone's fiancee, after the sentencing. "He stole my love, my family, my dreams and my future. But he could never steal my spirit." Seifert's widow, Theresa, said she was satisfied with the military justice system. She called Akbar "a nonentity to me." Defense attorney Maj. David Coombs told jurors that a sentence of life without parole would allow Akbar to be treated for mental illness and possibly rehabilitated. "Death is an absolute punishment, a punishment of last resort," Coombs said. A defense psychiatrist testified that although Akbar was legally sane and understood the consequences of his attack, he suffered from forms of paranoia and schizophrenia. Akbar's father, John Akbar, has said his son complained in vain to his superiors about religious and racial harassment before the attack. The defense never introduced any witnesses to testify about any such harassment. John Akbar was not in the courtroom for the verdict. He emerged from a meeting with his son in tears and declined to comment. Akbar will be the 6th person on the military's death row at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. The last U.S. military execution was in 1961. ************************ Attorney for Marine Wants Witness Immunity The lawyer for a Marine accused of murdering 2 Iraqi detainees requested immunity for a key prosecution witness so the defense can finish its cross-examination. The appeal, made Friday by attorney Charles Gittens, halted the pretrial hearing for 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano for a day as the lawyers waited for word on the immunity requests. The witness, Marine Sgt. Daniel Coburn, testified earlier this week that 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano had been instructed to release the prisoners that Pantano eventually shot in the back. But Coburn abruptly left the stand Wednesday when he was told he was suspected of violating orders forbidding him from giving interviews about the case. He told Marine officials he wouldn't return unless he was granted immunity from prosecution, and came back briefly Friday only to invoke his right to avoid incriminating himself. Military lawyers said that was unnecessary because they have no plans to charge Coburn. They indicated they will instead submit written statements he gave to investigators. Gittens, the defense attorney, asked a pair of generals to grant Coburn immunity so that the defense can complete its cross-examination. He said Coburn should be compelled to testify, and a failure to put him on the stand "makes this proceeding a sham." Gittens said outside court that Coburn's previous testimony may be excluded if the sergeant refuses to return to complete his cross-examination. Gittens has said that questioning could take 5 to 6 hours. Pantano, a former Wall Street trader who rejoined the Marines after the Sept. 11 attacks, has acknowledged shooting the two Iraqis during an April 2004 search outside a suspected terrorist hideout in Iraq. But he says he acted in self-defense when they moved toward him in a threatening manner. The Article 32 hearing, the military equivalent of a civilian grand jury, will determine whether Pantano, 33, will face a court-martial. If convicted of murder, he could get the death penalty. The dispute involving Coburn's testimony resulted from interviews he gave to ABC News, the Daily News of New York and New York magazine, in which he was quoted making critical remarks about Pantano. (source for both: Associated Press) VIRGINIA: Judge in Moussaoui Case Blocks Release of Sept. 11 Report The federal judge overseeing the prosecution of admitted al Qaeda operative Zacarias Moussaoui has blocked an attempt by the Justice Department's inspector general to release a report on FBI missteps prior to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, according to a ruling unsealed yesterday. Without explanation, U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema denied the request by Inspector General Glenn A. Fine, who completed the report last July but since has been unable to get permission to provide an unclassified version of the document to the public. The report, titled "A Review of the FBI's Handling of Intelligence Information Related to the September 11 Attacks," provides an in-depth examination of three episodes considered potential missed opportunities to detect the Sept. 11 plot, including Moussaoui's arrest in August 2001. Moussaoui pleaded guilty April 22 to taking part in the conspiracy that resulted in the Sept. 11 attacks, saying that Osama bin Laden personally instructed him to fly an airplane into the White House on a separate date. Moussaoui has indicated he will fight the government's attempt to sentence him to death. Most of the inspector general's report has no bearing on the Moussaoui case, officials said. The report also examines a memo by a Phoenix FBI agent that raised concerns about extremists at U.S. flight schools and the failure to promptly detect the entry of 2 of the hijackers into the United States, officials said. A classified version of the report was provided to the independent commission that investigated the attacks, and was cited in that panel's best-selling book. But Moussaoui's defense team objected to the report's release in a sealed motion filed earlier this year with Brinkema, a source familiar with the case said. Frank Dunham, Moussaoui's public defender, could not be reached for comment late yesterday. Fine's office could seek to release an abbreviated version of the report without references to the Moussaoui case. A spokesman for Fine's office, Paul Martin, declined to say what options might be considered. (source: Washington Post) CONNECTICUT: Anti-death Penalty Group Plans A Mass Protest Of State's Impending Execution Of Michael Ross With less than 2 weeks to go before the state's 1st scheduled execution in 45 years, death penalty opponents are gearing up for a large-scale protest leading up to serial killer Michael Ross' death. The Connecticut Network to Abolish the Death Penalty is sponsoring a 60-hour walk beginning at 2:01 p.m. Sunday, May 8 and will continue until the early morning hours of Wednesday, May 11, Ross' execution date. The execution is scheduled for 2:01 a.m. "We cannot teach a state that killing is acceptable," said Robert Nave, executive director of the Connecticut Network to Abolish the Death Penalty. "There is a certain moral fiber that will be torn with this execution. We cannot let ourselves sink to the level of murderer... We must take a stand and say loud and clear that we have no right to be spending so much money on a barbaric and immoral act that does nothing to improve our society." The protest will begin on the campus of Trinity College in Hartford on "The Gallows," a hill where executions took place during colonial times. After the initial vigil at the college, protesters will then proceed through Hartford, passing by landmarks including the State Capitol. On Monday, May 9, 2005, and Tuesday, May 10, 2005 the walk will continue until protesters reach Somers Congregational Church. In the late evening of Tuesday, May 10 protesters will gather at Shaker Field, which is a little more than a mile away from Osborn Correctional Facility, where the execution will take place. Shortly after midnight on May 11 protesters will begin their final walk to Osborn. Ross was sentenced to death for the kidnapping and murder of Leslie Shelley and April Brunais, both 14, Robin Stavinsky, 19, and Wendy Baribeault, 17, the last three of whom he raped. He was given 2 life sentences for the rapes and murders of two other young women in Windham County. Ross was originally scheduled to die in January but his execution was held up in a series of lawsuits. Attempts to save his life are still underway. An appeal to the state Supreme Court was filed Thursday in an effort to halt the execution. The appeal claims that a lower court erred when it found Ross competent to forgo his appeal and proceed to his execution. The high court may hear arguments on Thursday. (source: The Day)
