June 23 TEXAS: Perry spares juvenile killers----28 sentences commuted to life in prison following a Supreme Court ruling in March Death penalty opponents rejoiced and victims' families mourned Wednesday as Gov. Rick Perry followed a U.S. Supreme Court order to commute the death sentences of Texas' juvenile offenders to life in prison. 3 months after the high court ruling, Perry announced he had commuted the sentences of 28 death row inmates, including a dozen from Harris County, who were 17 at the time they committed their crimes. One of the Harris County prisoners listed by Perry's office was reported to be 17 in news accounts at the time of the 1985 murder for which he was sentenced. But the birth date provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Web site would have made Jimmy Jackson 18 at the time of his crime. "While these individuals were convicted by juries of brutal murders and sentenced to die for their heinous crimes, I have no choice but to commute these sentences to life in prison as a result of the Supreme Court ruling," Perry said in a press release. The governor remained concerned the commutations would cause more suffering for victims' families, spokeswoman Kathy Walt said. "They now know that they have to face the possibility that these criminals who murdered their loved ones could some day walk the streets again," Walt said. Perry's action was expected, but that did not make it any easier for Adolfo Pea, whose 14-year-old daughter Elizabeth was gang raped and murdered in June 1993. The commutations fell in the same week as the anniversary of Elizabeth Pea's murder and what would have been her 28th birthday, her father said. "I don't know of any other grown man who wakes up everyday and cries," said Adolfo Pea. "At the very least, these animals deserve to be in jail for the rest of their lives. I don't even have that." Perry signed a bill last week that gave juries the option of sentencing capital murderers to life without the possibility of parole, but that new law isn't retroactive, so the 28 will be eligible for parole after serving 40 years in prison. "We all knew it was coming," said Dianne Clements, president of victims rights group Justice for All. ''We fought the good fight. The governor had no choice, honestly, regardless of how horrific and premeditated and intentional these murders were." Bill Green, of Conroe, said the commutation of the sentence of his son's killer ended his hope of finding peace. Michael Lopez was convicted of killing Green's son, 25-year-old Harris County constable Micheal Eakin, during a 1998 traffic stop on a Houston toll road. "The healing process would have begun when Lopez was dead," Green said. "We have been cheated out of that little bit of closure that we would have gotten." Morris Moon, an attorney who defended 2 of the juveniles convicted in Harris County, praised Perry for acting. "I'm glad it's finally happened. I'm glad that Texas has finally recognized that they have to follow a Supreme Court ruling," Moon said. Moon, a staff attorney with the Texas Defender Service, represented Johnnie Bernal and Nanon McKewn Williams. Moon said he expects it will be difficult at first for his clients to transition from death row, where they've essentially lived in solitary confinement 23 hours a day for the past 5 years, to a unit where they can interact with other inmates. Williams' mother had mixed emotions when told late Wednesday that her son would soon leave death row. "A mother having to face her son being executed is a horrendous thing," said Lee Bolton, a nurse who lives in Los Angeles. "At least if he has life he can keep on fighting to try to prove his innocence." The governor's office was preparing paperwork that would allow the Texas prison system to transfer the inmates. Once the paperwork is received, the inmates likely will be moved from death row in Livingston to a unit in Huntsville where they will be evaluated to decide where they will be confined next, said Michelle Lyons, a TDCJ spokeswoman. Lyons said prison officials will review inmates' educational background, vocational skills, family history, medical histories and other factors in choosing new units. The process could take up to 45 days, she said. (source: Houston Chronicle) ********************************** Governor Commutes Death Sentence Of Convicted Central Texas Killer Texas Gov. Rick Perry commuted the death sentences of 28 convicted killers Wednesday including a 24-year-old Bell County man sent to death row for a murder committed in 1998. Perry ordered the commutations in response to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in March that the Constitution forbids executing anyone for a crime committed before the age of 18. Derek Guillen was sentenced to die for the murder of Margaret Shores, 51, whose throat was slashed after she was robbed in her home at knifepoint on March of 1998. Guillen and the other 27 inmates were 17 at the time they committed their crimes. (source: KWTX News) ************************ 2 valley killers off death row 2 Valley men are among 28 death row cases commuted by Governor Perry. Governor Rick Perry today commuted 28 death sentences to life in prison for inmates who were under 18 when they committed capital murder. The US Supreme Court forced the commutations with its March ruling that executing juveniles violates the Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Texas was 1 of 18 states that allowed the practice. The governor's order starts the process of moving the inmates off death row. Perry spokesman Robert Black says that after the high court ruled, the state still had to follow legal procedures to commute the sentences. Among the Texas killers affected by the Supreme Court ruling are: - Jorge Alfredo Salinas, who at 17 carjacked a man in Hidalgo County in July 2001, fatally shot him in the head, and left the man's 21-month-old daughter to die of dehydration and exposure strapped in her car seat in a brush area near the Rio Grande. - Jose Ignacio Monterrubio, who was 17 years old when he raped and murdered 16-year-old Carla Villarreal of Brownsville in 1994. (source: Newschannel15 TV News) ************************** Governor Perry Takes 2 Local Murderers Off Death Row Following an order from the US Supreme Court, Rick Perry issued 28 commutations that will require death row inmates who were 17 at the time they committed their crimes to serve life in prison. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles unanimously recommended the commutations after the court banned the execution of criminals that were younger than 18 when they committed their offense. "While these individuals were convicted by juries of brutal murders and sentenced to die for their heinous crimes, I have no choice but to commute these sentences to life in prison as a result of the Supreme Court ruling," Perry said. "Last week I signed Senate Bill 60, which will give future juries the option of sentencing capital murderers to life without the possibility of parole. This new law will improve our criminal justice system because it gives jurors a new option to protect the public with the certainty a convicted killer will never roam our streets again." This includes the 2 men who are on death row for two separate murders in Jefferson County. John Dewberry was 17-years-old when he murdered Elmer Rode at his home on December 25, 1994. Rode was tied up with a telephone cord and a belt inside his home on Adams Street in Beaumont. Dewberry then shot Rode in the back of the head and stole some VCRs and Rodes truck. Whitney Reeves was 17 when he murdered 40-year-old Jim Houk and his 14-year-old daughter, Alicia, with a 12 guage shotgun on August 20, 1999 in their Beaumont apartment. (source: KBTV4 News) NORTH DAKOTA: Rodriguez files more challenges to death penalty Federal prosecutors should not be allowed to use murder suspect Alfonso Rodriguez Jr.'s prior convictions in seeking his execution, Rodriguez's attorney says. In a series of recent motions filed in Fargo's federal court, Richard Ney, a Wichita, Kan., attorney skilled in death penalty cases, offers several legal arguments against "aggravating factors" listed in prosecutors' notice of intent to seek the death penalty against his client. U.S. Attorney Drew Wrigley has said his office will seek the death penalty for Rodriguez if a jury convicts him of the kidnapping and death of 22-year-old Dru Sjodin. The University of North Dakota student disappeared in November 2003 from a mall in Grand Forks. Searchers found her body in April 2004 near Rodriguez's hometown of Crookston, Minn. In 1974, Rodriguez was convicted of raping one woman at knife point and attempting to rape another. Neither of the women suffered serious bodily harm as alleged by prosecutors in their notice to seek the death penalty, Ney said in court documents. In 1980, a jury convicted Rodriguez of the attempted kidnapping and stabbing of a Crookston woman who was on a walk through her neighborhood. That conviction should not be used against him, either, because the woman didn't identify Rodriguez as her attacker until after she was hypnotized, Ney said. "Post-hypnotic identifications have been found by federal courts to be inherently unreliable and inadmissible," Ney said. Wrigley wouldn't discuss the defense motions in detail Wednesday. He said they will be "opposed vigorously and strenuously." Ney couldn't be reached for comment. A man in his law office said Wednesday he was on his way to Fargo for a hearing on another motion Friday. Federal prosecutors have until July 8 to file a response to Ney's motions. A hearing is set for Aug. 19. On Friday, Ney and Rodriguez's other court-appointed defense attorney, Robert Hoy of Fargo, are expected to square off with federal prosecutors on another matter. motions jump In May, Ney filed a motion asking U.S. District Judge Ralph Erickson to strike down the death penalty as unconstitutional. A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that changes how criminal defendants are sentenced also applies to those facing the death penalty, Ney said in his motion. The federal death penalty statute doesn't authorize the changes mandated by the Supreme Court, Ney said. In a response filed June 8, Wrigley said the federal death penalty process meets the legal demands set out in the Supreme Court decision. (source: The Forum) VIRGINIA: Groups urge retesting of DNA in death-row cases The American Civil Liberties Union and a coalition of Virginia-based advocacy groups asked Gov. Mark Warner on Wednesday to retest all DNA evidence used in criminal cases against those currently on death row in prisons in the Commonwealth. "We're looking to draw public attention to the obvious, which is that our criminal-justice system has some significant problems. I think that there ought to be a moratorium on the death penalty until we resolve these issues," said the Rev. Douglas Smith, the executive director of the Richmond-based Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy. "We're hoping that the governor, in light of what's come to light in the crime lab, will order retests of DNA in all 23 capital cases," Smith told The Augusta Free Press on Wednesday. Warner ordered a review of more than 100 cases in which DNA evidence was a part of the prosecution after the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors criticized the State Division of Forensic Science earlier this year for its handling of the case of Earl Washington, who spent 9 years on death row for a 1982 murder before being exonerated by new DNA testing. That review is ongoing, governor's office spokesman Kevin Hall told the AFP. "Why don't we wait and see where that leads us before moving the goalpost any further?" Hall said. Smith said there is a "strong sense of urgency" to act now because of the scheduled July 11 execution of death-row inmate Robin Lovitt. DNA evidence in Lovitt's 2000 murder case was ruled to be inconclusive by the state crime lab, which later inadvertently destroyed the evidence - meaning that there is nothing left to be retested. "Mr. Lovitt is in a real spot. His DNA evidence was ruled to be inconclusive and was subsequently destroyed. So we know that there are lots of questionable things happening at the state crime lab. It behooves Gov. Warner to act, and I think he has shown that he is willing to look into things if there is evidence that there is a problem and then take action," Smith said. "Gov. Warner is to be commended for ordering the case reviews," said Kent Willis, the executive director of the ACLU of Virginia. "But that is not enough where the death penalty is involved. In those cases, the state needs to retest all DNA to make absolutely certain that the evidence was accurately interpreted. "The execution of an innocent person is not an error the state can reverse," Willis said. (source: Augusta Free-Press) ****************************** Murder Charges Filed in Police Shooting Prince George's County police charged a 43-year-old convicted felon yesterday with killing Cpl. Steven Gaughan, as new details emerged about the fatal shootout at a Laurel area apartment complex. Gaughan, 41, was the 7th county officer shot at this year and the 1st killed by bullets in the line of duty in at least 10 years, police said. Robert M. Billett of Bladensburg was being held without bond yesterday on charges including 1st-degree murder. Police said Billett, a Jamaica native, used a .40-caliber handgun to shoot Gaughan as the officer chased him on foot Tuesday morning. Detectives said they recovered the weapon and identified it as the one that killed Gaughan -- a husband, father of 2 and 15-year veteran of the force. Gaughan came from a police family, with a father and 3 uncles who are Boston officers, his department colleagues said. Billett, who has a history of drug and assault convictions, also is charged with shooting at 2 other officers during what began with a routine traffic stop at 11 a.m. Tuesday. The other officers, Michael Eubanks and Shawn Phoebus, returned fire, hitting Billett in the arm, leg and side, according to police accounts and charging documents filed in Prince George's District Court. Billett, who is expected to be arraigned this afternoon, was in stable condition last night at Prince George's Hospital Center. "We know Mr. Billett fired upon 3 of our officers with the intent to kill them," said Maj. Vincent Gay, commander of the Criminal Investigations Division. Police changed their description of some aspects of the incident yesterday as they learned more about what happened. They initially said that Gaughan was wearing a bulletproof vest but said yesterday that he did not have the vest on, as required. They also had said that Gaughan was wearing his uniform but said yesterday that he was in street clothes. In an afternoon news conference yesterday, Police Chief Melvin C. High said he couldn't be certain that a vest would have saved Gaughan's life. According to several officers who spoke on the condition of anonymity, Gaughan was shot one time through the armpit area, and the bullet lodged in his abdomen, striking at least 1 major organ. High said yesterday that whether Gaughan was wearing his vest was not the critical issue. "The issue is that people simply cannot go out on the street and shoot police," High said. "It is unacceptable that people are running around and shooting police. That's the problem." Percy Alston, president of the Prince George's police union, Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 89, said officers were more focused on helping Gaughan's family than trying to determine why he wasn't wearing a vest. "We don't know all the factors why he wasn't wearing the vest," Alston said. "He might have had it in the car and didn't have time to put it on because of the way things unfolded." Gaughan's wife, Donna Gaughan, is an assistant professor of criminal justice at Prince George's Community College and previously worked as a Prince George's County police officer. The couple had recently adopted 2 children from Russia. Many police officers still seemed stunned yesterday by Gaughan's death. Capt. Kevin Davis, executive officer for the chief of patrol services bureau, called Gaughan a "5 percenter." "That means he was part of the 5 % of police officers responsible for 80 % of the good police work that goes on," Davis said. "What's special about Steve is he was a better human being than he was a police officer, which is saying a whole lot." According to police accounts and charging documents, Gaughan was killed while working on a special assignment team looking for stolen all-terrain vehicles, a growing problem in the county. Eubanks spotted a green Chevy Tahoe with 2 people inside and tried to stop it for a traffic violation, according to the charging document. As the vehicle slowed, Gaughan and another officer were nearby and saw the passenger, later identified as Billett, throw a bag out the window containing "a white powdery substance," the document said. The passenger got out of the Tahoe when it reached the parking lot of the Village at Montpelier apartment complex in the 11000 block of South Laurel Drive. He then ran, and Gaughan followed. Eubanks saw Billett fire his gun at the officers, including Gaughan, according to the document. Eubanks and Phoebus shot back. "The suspect was struck and fell to the ground a short distance from where the shots were fired," the document states. That was when the other officers figured out that Gaughan had been shot. Detectives later found the gun used to kill Gaughan near where Billett fell, police said. The driver of the Tahoe, identified as Rohan Patterson, 23, ran into a nearby apartment, where he called 911 and said he wanted to turn himself in. Patterson was questioned and released. He has not been charged with a crime, police said. He could not be reached last night. Patterson's attorney, Gary Gerstenfield, said his client is cooperating with police. "Rohan is extremely saddened by the incident," Gerstenfield said. "He is shocked that this event occurred." At Billett's Bladensburg apartment yesterday, the door swung open. Neighbors said police kicked it in a day earlier looking for evidence and carried several bags of items out of the house. They described Billett as a friendly man with a Jamaican accent who was frequently outside the complex talking on the phone. Neighbor Chris Bankole said she used to see him playing with neighborhood children and was surprised to learn that he is being charged with murder. "He seemed to be a really nice guy," she said. "Oh, Jesus, I can't believe this." (source: Washington Post) INDIANA: Widow wants justice, not jargon Shrinks like to talk about closure. Victims like Molly Winters know it's a lie. But justice -- that's something she believes in. For her, justice is a simple, black-and-white concept. She learned about it growing up in a law enforcement family and marrying a policeman. Justice is punishment for Michael Allen Lambert, a death row inmate who shot Molly Winters' husband in the back of the head 14 years ago. The Muncie policeman died 11 days later. Winters and her family thought justice would be theirs Wednesday. Lambert was scheduled to be executed at the State Prison in Michigan City at 12:01 a.m. The day before, the courts and their judges saved him. The reason? The testimony that a grieving Molly Winters gave during Lambert's trial perhaps "tainted" the jury. She had talked about what a good husband he was -- her best friend. She said he was a loving father to their 2 sons. The jury recommended the death penalty. Now the courts say that only juries that don't hear "tainted" testimony can recommend the death penalty. Molly Winters -- an amazingly strong woman -- is having a hard time getting her head around this. "The evidence is there. It should not matter if I spoke. Go by the evidence," she pleaded. The evidence showed Lambert was arrested for public intoxication. After being handcuffed and placed in a police car, he managed to extract a gun from his pocket. He shot Gregg Winters as the officer drove. Terry Winters is deputy chief of police in Muncie and Gregg's older brother. "I have been in law enforcement 31 years," he said. "I know things don't always work out the way they should. But in this case, there is no question of the guilt -- that is what is so frustrating. "If shooting a police officer 5 times in the back of the head is not a case for the death penalty, then we might as well do away with the death penalty." That, of course, is the goal of many public defenders. Ultimately, it's a worthy goal. But for now, the death penalty is legal -- and it's the correct punishment for a cop killer, say Winters' supporters. Defense attorneys have worked hard to get clemency for Lambert. They say he is peaceable. They say he has changed. Molly Winters never received an apology from him during the 4 years he has been locked up, although he did write her one letter. In the 1990s, he was 1 of 6 death row inmates often cited for bad conduct. In 1993, he stabbed another inmate 33 times, court records show. Winters and Lambert met last week, at their mutual request. Lambert said he was sorry then, she said. And she forgave him. But she made it clear that she expected him to pay for his crime with his life. "He said he understood that," she said. "He was ready." She is ready, too -- ready for the endless court dates, postponements, appeals, hearings and federal rulings to end. She wonders whether that time will ever come. (source: Indianapolis Star)
