July 1 USA: Justice O'Connor Says She Will Retire Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the 1st woman appointed to the Supreme Court and a key swing vote on issues such as abortion and the death penalty, said Friday she is retiring. O'Connor, 75, said she expects to leave before the start of the court's next term in October, or whenever the Senate confirms her successor. There was no immediate word from the White House on who might be nominated to replace O'Connor. It's been 11 years since the last opening on the court, one of the longest uninterrupted stretches in history. O'Connor's decision gives Bush his 1st opportunity to appoint a justice. "This is to inform you of my decision to retire from my position as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, effective upon the nomination and confirmation of my successor. It has been a great privilege indeed to have served as a member of the court for 24 terms. I will leave it with enormous respect for the integrity of the court and its role under our constitutional structure." The White House has refused to comment on any possible nominees, or whether Bush would name a woman to succeed O'Connor. Her departure leaves Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg as the only other woman among the current justices. Possible replacements include Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and federal courts of appeals judges J. Michael Luttig, John Roberts, Samuel A. Alito Jr., Michael McConnell, Emilio Garza and James Harvie Wilkinson III. Others mentioned are former Solicitor General Theodore Olson, lawyer Miguel Estrada and former deputy attorney general Larry Thompson, but Bush's pick could be a surprise choice not well known in legal circles. Another prospective candidate is Edith Hollan Jones, a judge on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals who was also considered for a Supreme Court vacancy by President Bush's father. (source: Associated Press) TEXAS: 'Please forgive him': Emotions run high following Mendoza death sentence After 3 weeks of jury selection, 1 week of testimony and 4 hours of deliberation, 6 women and 6 men on Wednesday sentenced Moises Sandoval Mendoza, 21, to die by lethal injection. Last Thursday, Mendoza was found guilty of the capital murder of Rachelle O'Neil Tolleson, 20, whom he strangled, raped and stabbed in March 2004. Mendoza tried to dispose of the body by burning and dumping it in an eastern Collin County creek bed, First Assistant District Attorney Gregory Davis said. According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Mendoza is the 12th defendant to receive the death penalty in Collin County since 1976. Upon explicit instructions from 401st District Judge Mark Rusch, both families tried to show as little emotion as possible after the verdict was read in open court. Pam and Mark O'Neil, Rachelle's parents, shook in complete silence in their seats. Pam cried openly while reading a statement to Mendoza while holding a picture of her daughter and granddaughter, Avery. "You know what you have done," she said while being held by her husband. "You took our only daughter, Austin's only sister and, most importantly, you took away Avery's mommy. In our eyes, you're worse than an animal. Not only have you hurt our entire family, but you've also torn apart your entire family. "You took from [Rachelle] what she wanted most," O'Neil said. "She wanted more than anything in life to watch her baby take her first steps, say her 1st word, and she'll never get to hear her daughter call her Mommy." Mendoza, who appeared in ankle and wrist restraints, was turned over to the custody of the Collin County Detention Center. He showed little emotion during the reading of the jury's decision and O'Neil's statement. Juan Sanchez, Mendoza's attorney, said Wednesday was not just a sad day for his client. "It's a sad day for everyone involved," Sanchez said after the trial. "Mendoza's family, O'Neil's family. It's not easy for anybody, even the state, the defense, and it's certainly been hardest on the jurors." Sanchez said Mendoza feels "sad" and noted the trial and the jury's decision have "taken a toll on him." During his closing statements, Sanchez recapped the "explanations" for Mendoza's behavior, including the depression Mendoza suffered after a serious injury left his father Jos unemployed and suicidal. Sanchez also spoke about the negative influences placed upon Mendoza by his friends and girlfriend, Amy Lodhi. Sanchez told the jury that in order to determine a fitting punishment, they had to "have a look at his face and look over his shoulder at where he came from." He also said a sentence of life in prison would make Mendoza think about his actions and change his behavior and demeanor for the better. "I think the world is tired of death; I think Texas is tired of death," Sanchez said. Davis, however, said he was "very relieved" by the jury's sentence. He said he hopes it will bring closure to Tolleson's family and friends in the midst of their grief. "Moises Mendoza is one of the most violent, sadistic men I have ever encountered, and this death penalty is totally justified," Davis said. "The jury's decision will ensure that no one in society will ever be victimized by him again." During the state's closing statements, he and Assistant District Attorney Michelle Voirin said the defense's claim of a dysfunctional home "blames and shames" his family. "It's pathetic to blame the very people who tried to help him," Voirin said to the jury. She also reminded jurors that Mendoza killed more than 1 person last year by taking the love of a mother that her child will never know. "It may not bring back her mother's voice," Voirin said, "but when you do what the defendant is forcing you to do, she will remember what the 12 of you did for her [Avery]." Following the dismissal of the jury and the closing of the courtroom, both families wept openly and comforted the parents. Members of Pam's family held her as they asked her not to cry. Pam responded, "It's something I have to do." As the Mendoza family exited the courtroom, Mendoza's older sister, Elizabeth Palos, embraced Pam. The two sobbed uncontrollably. Palos begged O'Neil to forgive her younger brother for what he had done. "We will," Pam told her. "We just need time." (source: McKinney Courier-Gazette) KANSAS----re: federal death penalty Death penalty OK'd for Cheever U.S. Attorney General Albert Gonzales has authorized federal prosecutors in Kansas to pursue the death penalty for Scott Cheever, accused of killing Greenwood County Sheriff Matt Samuels. Gonzales' decision was announced Thursday afternoon by Wichita-based U.S. Attorney Eric Melgren. U.S. District Judge Monti Belot had set Thursday as the deadline for the government to make its decision, weeks earlier than prosecutors requested. Belot wants to stay on schedule to take the case to a jury early next year. "This decision was not made lightly nor quickly, but the United States believes it is an appropriate decision in this case," Melgren said in a statement released by his office. Jay Greeno of Wichita, one of the lawyers representing Cheever, declined to comment, citing a gag order in the case from Belot. An official notice to seek death, which will outline the government's recommendation, will be filed in federal court by July 8. Melgren had originally picked up the case from state court because federal law allows capital punishment for killing someone with a firearm during a drug-trafficking crime, and for a the murder of a witness. Prosecutors say Samuels died while serving a warrant for Cheever at a home in a remote part of Greenwood County, where several people were allegedly operating a methamphetamine lab. Although the state has provisions for the death penalty, that law was ruled unconstitutional by the Kansas Supreme Court in December. Many of the state's death penalty cases have been put on hold as Attorney General Phill Kline appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court. No one has been executed in Kansas since 1965. "I appreciate the leadership of United States Attorney Melgren throughout this process and the willingness of Attorney General Gonzales and the Bush Administration to assist the state as we pursue justice in this case," Kline said in a press release. Federal cases considered for the death penalty must be presented to a board of senior attorneys with the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. Final approval must be signed by the U.S. attorney general. The U.S. authorized the death penalty in certain cases, beginning in 1988. As in other death penalty cases, a jury will first decide whether Cheever is guilty. If he is convicted, the jury will then listen to another round of evidence and decide whether to give a sentence of death. The last Kansans executed under federal law were Glenn Crenshaw and Robert Suhay. They were hanged in August 1938 at the federal prison in Leavenworth for killing FBI Special Agent Wimberly Baker during a gunfight at a Topeka post office. (source: Wichita Eagle) FLORIDA: Smith defense wants death penalty thrown out In Sarasota, the defense for accused child-killer Joseph Smith has filed 2 motions that could end the possibility of him receiving the death penalty. Smith, 38, is charged with first degree murder, sexual battery upon a child younger than 12 and kidnapping in the death of Carlie Brucia, 11, of Sarasota. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. A nationwide Amber Alert was issued for Brucia on Feb. 2. A video surveillance tape behind Evie's Car Wash on Bee Ridge Road in Sarasota showed a man believed to be Smith approaching Brucia and taking her by arm and leading her away. Her body was found 4 days later near a church on Proctor Road, a few miles away from the car wash. Adam Tebrugge, public defender, has filed a motion that would prohibit the prosecution from questioning prospective jurors about their attitude toward the death penalty. If that motion is denied, the defense asks a separate jury be empaneled for the penalty phase. The state has made known its intention to seek the death penalty if Smith is convicted. The prosecution is expected to try to disqualify potential jurors who oppose the death penalty, a process known as "death qualifying." Tebrugge argues in the motion that "death qualifying" denies the defendant the right to a fair trial by an impartial jury. Tebrugge writes the system excludes potential jurors solely because of opposition to the death penalty without regard to the ability to render a fair and impartial verdict. Dr. Brooke Butler, University of South Florida, is expected to testify that research has shown that "death qualifying," process tends to select jurors that are more likely to be conservative, financially-secure, white men. The jurors selected through this process are also more likely to doubt psychological defenses, more receptive to pretrial publicity and more likely to consider inadmissible evidence, the research states. Tebrugge also writes the death penalty is unconstitutional because the statutory factors are vague and overly broad. He also writes that the death penalty is "arbitrary, capricious and racially discriminatory and inconsistent" in its application. Smith is set to go on trial the 1st week of November. (source: The Sun-Herald) PENNSYLVANIA: Female death-row inmate is resentenced to life in prison----Delores Rivers, who admitted killing a 77-year-old Phila. woman in 1988, will not be eligible for parole. The 1st woman to be placed on Pennsylvania's death row since the death penalty was reinstated in 1978 won a reprieve yesterday. 16 years after she was sentenced to die for the murder of an elderly Philadelphia woman, Delores Rivers was resentenced to life in prison without parole. After a federal judge in May granted Rivers a new penalty phase hearing, Philadelphia prosecutors agreed not to seek another death sentence if Rivers would admit her guilt and waive all future appeals. Rivers, now 51, was convicted of the Jan. 30, 1988, murder of 77-year-old Violet Burt in the victim's Margaret Street home in the city's Frankford section. Investigators said Rivers provided home health care for Burt, but robbed, beat and fatally stabbed her to get money to buy drugs. Until yesterday's hearing, Rivers had repeatedly denied killing Burt. The Common Pleas Court judge who presided over Rivers' 1989 trial, John J. Poserina Jr., also presided over yesterday's brief hearing. "I formally withdraw the sentence of death, and resentence the defendant to life in prison without parole," Poserina said. "Thank you, your honor... . You look so good!" said Rivers, clad in a brown Department of Corrections shirt and pants. "Was my hair dark then?" the white-haired Poserina jovially asked her. "I'm silver, too," Rivers said in a soft voice, pointing to her own hair. She was 35 during her trial. "God bless you," Poserina told Rivers as she was led away. "God bless you, too," Rivers told the judge. Assistant Defender Victor Abreau, of the Federal Defender Association, said in an interview that his client "is a different person than she was 18 or 19 years ago. She's clean. She's involved in church. I think this is the best thing for all parties." In her appeal to U.S. District Judge Mary A. McLaughlin, Rivers argued that her trial lawyer failed to present mitigating evidence to jurors before they imposed the death penalty. McLaughlin ordered a new penalty phase. Tom Dolgenos, chief of the District Attorney's Federal Litigation Unit, said that while prosecutors disagreed that Rivers' lawyer did not do enough to convince jurors to spare her life, they did not want to conduct a new penalty phase with another jury. "The more years that go by, the riskier it gets to do anything over again. We thought it was really important to get finality in this case," Dolgenos said. "We decided it was in the best interest of justice." 4 women remain on Pennsylvania's death row. (source: Philadelphia Inquirer) *************************** Death-Row Inmate Resentenced The state's 1st female death-row inmate since capital punishment was reinstated in Pennsylvania in 1978 has been re-sentenced to life in prison. 51-year-old Delores Rivers was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of 77-year-old Violet Burt on January 30th, 1988, in Burt's home in Philadelphia's Frankford section. Rivers had provided home health care for Burt. Investigators say Rivers robbed, beat and fatally stabbed the woman to get money to buy drugs. Rivers successfully appealed her death sentence and a federal judge ordered a new penalty phase. (source: Associated Press)
