June 24 VIRGINIA: Reasonable doubt lingers for some on death row Gov. Warner is right to insist on ensuring the integrity of the state's DNA testing processes. If a civil society is to make room for executions, then it should be convinced beyond reasonable doubt that it is pumping lethal chemicals into the right person's veins. Virginia has not met that threshold with Robin Lovitt, whose death date is set for July 11. Gov. Mark Warner should heed the call of civil rights and religious groups to commute his sentence to life in prison. A year after Lovitt was convicted in March 2000 of stabbing a pool hall worker with scissors, a clerk destroyed the murder weapon. That prevents the commonwealth from meeting today's post-conviction standards in death penalty cases of double-checking DNA. Lovitt's case has bubbled to the surface just as Virginia is attempting to restore faith in its DNA testing procedures. An independent audit last month found that the Virginia Division of Forensic Science had botched DNA testing of former death row inmate Earl Washington Jr. Were there others? To his credit, the governor ordered a review of similar cases involving "low-level" DNA, but the probe stops short of retesting each case. Virginia should look further. At the very least, all 23 death row cases require an exhaustive approach. That isn't too much to ask from a state that routinely collects DNA from suspects, having banked 233,867 samples to match against future crimes. Virginia can't boast of being on the cutting edge with its extensive and effective DNA bank while past bungling of marginal tests remains in question. Warner should continue to untangle the DNA testing chain until the state eliminates reasonable doubt that even 1 wrong inmate is on death row. But even that won't help Virginia demonstrate it has the right killer in Lovitt. Lovitt was by no means an upstanding citizen. His first run-in with authorities came when he was 11, and his criminal record ran unabated. Yet evidence used to convict him - a jailhouse snitch, a pool hall customer who was only "80 %" sure Lovitt was the killer, and marginal DNA from bloody scissors - gives pause to reasonable people. (source: Editorial, Roanoke Times) CONNECTICUT: Child-killer offers apology as judges reaffirm sentence Convicted killer Todd Rizzo stood with his hands in his pockets as he struggled Thursday for the right words while addressing the 3 judges who condemned him to death row. "I don't know how to word to explain how I feel," Rizzo said in Waterbury Superior Court. "Nobody can understand, maybe I can't word it right, but I want to say I am sorry." Wearing glasses, long side burns and a goatee, Rizzo, 26, apologized to his family, the Bunker Hill community and to the family of Stanley Edwards IV, the 13-year-old boy he bludgeoned to death with a sledgehammer in 1997. Last month, Judges Thomas V. O'Keefe Jr., Salvatore C. Agati and William T. Cremins decided Rizzo should die for the crime after a more than 3-week penalty phase hearing. Members of Edwards' family were not in the courtroom, but Rizzo's mother, Joyce Moffat, sobbed loudly Thursday when Rizzo was formally sentenced to die on Sept. 23. Edwards' mother and sister were not there because they have suffered physical and mental problems due to the death penalty hearing, said Maureen Keegan, the executive assistant state's attorney who prosecuted the case with Waterbury State's Attorney John Connelly. "Mrs. Edwards and her family have been very strong and very supportive throughout this," Connelly said, adding Mrs. Edwards is pleased with the court's decision. It was the second time Rizzo had been sentenced to death. The state Supreme Court overturned his 1st death sentence in 2003 because the jury did not receive proper instructions during Rizzo's 1st penalty phase hearing and Connelly made improper comments during his closing arguments. The three-judge panel on Thursday immediately granted a motion by Rizzo's attorneys for a stay of execution so that he could pursue appeals. Those sentenced to death are given an automatic appeal to the state Supreme Court. The judges denied 3 other motions presented by Rizzo's lawyers to either impose a life sentence or grant Rizzo a new penalty phase hearing. Rizzo's lawyers are public defenders Ronald Gold and David Channing. Gold would not comment about conversations he had with Rizzo after the proceedings, but did say he disagreed with his client's choice to have his case decided by a 3-judge panel. "I thought we had a better chance with the jury," he said. Jury selection had been under way in the spring when Rizzo decided over Gold's objection to have the case go before the judges. Before the hearing began, 13 death penalty protesters gathered outside the courthouse at 400 Grand St. "I feel its an inhumane public policy," said Kiran Dinsa, 18, of Pleasant Valley, N.Y., and a recent Kent School graduate. She is a student area coordinator for Amnesty International. "It's just revenge, not justice." (source: Waterbury Republican-American) NEW YORK: A year without the death penalty One year ago today, a Court of Appeals struck down the death penalty in New York State. Crime has not soared. We have not seen chaos in the streets. What we have seen is more and more evidence that life without parole should replace the death penalty as the most severe punishment meted out in the courts of this nation. Even Texas, where 1 in 3 of the country's executions take place, now gives juries the option of sentencing a defendant to life without parole rather than death. And twice this month, the U.S. Supreme Court - one of the most conservative high courts in recent history - has overturned a death sentence because of improper actions at trial. The court ordered a new sentencing trial for Ronald Rompilla, a Pennsylvania death row inmate, after finding that the trial attorney did not investigate evidence of mental retardation. And the court granted Texas death row inmate Thomas Miller-El, a black man, a new trial after finding blatant evidence that potential jurors were eliminated from the jury because they were black. The criminal justice system makes mistakes. Since 1973, 117 prisoners on death row have been exonerated. And we know from history and experience that Hispanics and African-Americans are disproportionately represented among prison populations and Death Row inmates. Of the 72 inmates who were spared execution by a recent Supreme Court ruling abolishing the death penalty for juveniles, 15 were Latino and 29 were black. In New York, the death penalty was overturned on a technicality involving instructions to the jury about sentencing an inmate to the death penalty versus life without parole. In April, a committee of the state Assembly refused to allow the full Assembly to vote on a bill that would have adjusted the law and reinstated capital punishment here. We continue to advocate for the abolition of the death penalty, to be replaced by life without parole. The death penalty is a barbaric practice that has no place in a civilized and advanced society. (source: Editorial, El Diario) MARYLAND: Death penalty possible for defendant in officer's slaying----Suspect charged with first-degree murder, held without bail Slouched in his seat with his feet crossed, Robert Billett was silent while a judge read the charges against him Thursday afternoon. Assault with a deadly weapon. Attempted murder. 1st-degree murder. Billett, who prosecutors claim gunned down Prince George's County police Cpl. Steven Gaughan earlier this week, wore a tight-lipped frown. If convicted, Billet could face the death penalty, said District Court Judge Leo Green. "Do you understand?" Green asked, before ordering Billett to be held in jail until his trial. "Yes," Billett said, almost inaudibly, his image broadcast to the courtroom from the county jail via a closed-circuit television. Prosecutors allege Billett, 43, of Bladensburg, killed Gaughan as the 2 were engaged in a running shootout at a South Laurel apartment complex on Tuesday. Gaughan, 41, working undercover, chased Billett on foot after the sport utility vehicle Billett was riding in tried to evade a traffic stop, police said. Gaughan, a 15-year veteran of the force, was shot in the abdomen and died a short time later in a hospital, police said. His funeral is planned for Saturday. Billett, originally from Jamaica, was shot 3 times and treated at a hospital for his injuries. At his hearing, Billett showed no visible signs of injury as he sat flanked by Prince George's County sheriff's deputies. Defense: Evidence inconclusive Joseph Niland, chief public defender, said he had not seen conclusive evidence proving that Billett fired the shot that killed Gaughan. Niland said that while Billett had gun and drug arrests in Virginia and New York, he had never been convicted of a felony in the United States. "There's a big difference between someone being arrested and convicted," he said. Arguing that Billett should be denied bond, Prince George's County prosecutor Robin Bright said the defendant had committed a "shocking" and "outrageous" crime in killing an officer who was trying to protect the citizens of the county. State's Attorney Glenn F. Ivey said his office had yet to decide whether it will seek the death penalty against Billett. Such a decision is not likely to be made for several months, Ivey said, but the fact that Gaughan was killed in the line of duty would carry a lot of weight. Judge Green explained that he was denying bond because Billett was charged with the most serious crime, was a proven flight risk and "lacks significant ties to the community." At the back of the courtroom, 2 women who had come to the hearing to support Billett brushed tears from their eyes. "Could face the death penalty," one whispered to the other as a child wriggled restlessly in her lap. (source: The Washington Examiner)
