JULY 2005 NATIONAL EXECUTION ALERT Scheduled Executions: July 11: Robin Lovitt (VA): http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=9 30 July 12: Robert Dale Conklin (GA) http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=9 31 July 19: Michael L. Pennington (OK): http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=9 32 July 28: David Martinez (TX): http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=9 34 VIRGINIA Robin Lovitt July 11, 2005 9:00 PM EST http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=9 30 The state of Virginia is scheduled to execute 41-year-old Robin Mckennel Lovitt, a black man, July 11th for the Nov. 18, 1998 stabbing death of Clayton Dicks, 45, at a pool hall in Arlington County. Dicks was stabbed six times in the chest and back while working the overnight shift at the pool hall. The police recovered from the pool hall a cash register that was lying on the floor near where Dicks was found. Lovitt claimed he was not responsible for the stabbing. He said that he was at the pool hall and he stole the cash register, but did not stab Dicks. The evidence presented at trial was circumstantial at best. There was an eyewitness who testified that he was only 80 percent certain that Lovitt was the assailant. A jailhouse informant testified that Lovitt confessed to the murder. This informant was previously convicted on 14 felonies. The DNA test that was done on the murder weapon (a pair of scissors) was inconclusive. The DNA test on a jacket that was taken from Lovitt was also inconclusive. During the penalty phase of the trial, the defense provided mitigating evidence that he was the oldest of 12 children and that he helped take care of his younger siblings. Lovitt also presented testimony from four deputies employed by the Arlington county sheriff's office, who stated that Lovitt had not presented any disciplinary problems while being held in jail. After the trial, evidence was thrown away in violation of a Virginia law that requires preservation of this evidence in felony trials. Several court clerks testified that they warned Chief Deputy Clerk Robert McCarthy not to destroy the evidence because it belonged to a capital murder case. However, McCarthy filed the order to destroy the evidence. Lovitt's new defense attorney filed a petition stating Lovitt's constitutional rights had been violated by the destruction of the evidence, which contained DNA material. They also claimed that prosecutors suppressed evidence during the 1999 trial that could have helped clear Lovitt. The defense claimed that the jailhouse informant had made inconsistent statements regarding Lovitt's confession. They also claimed that a medical examiner did not believe a pair of scissors caused the wounds to Dicks. The defense counsel, on appeal, claimed ineffective assistance of counsel at trial. The appeals attorney claimed that during the penalty phase, Lovitt's two sisters were not put on the stand to testify that they were sexually and physically abused by their father, and that Lovitt was physically and verbally abused. They also were not able to testify that Lovitt protected them from their father when he could and acted as a surrogate father to them. Lovitt's verdict was based on circumstantial evidence. There was misconduct surrounding his conviction and a jury was unable to hear all of Lovitt's mitigating circumstances. Please take a moment to write Governor Mark R. Warner and recommend that Lovitt's life be sparred. GEORGIA Robert Dale Conklin July 12, 2005 7:00 p.m. EST http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=9 31 The state of Georgia is scheduled to execute 44-year-old Robert Dale Conklin, a white man, July 12th for the March 28, 1984 stabbing death of 28-year-old George Grant Crooks in Fulton County. Conklin, who was 24 years old at the time of the crime, maintains that he stabbed Crooks, a white man with whom Conklin was in a relationship, as an act of self defense. The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Conklin's claim that his attorney was unable to provide effective assistance of counsel due to the fact that he was given insufficient time and resources to prepare for trial. Conklin's attorney, Thomas Chason was given a mere 37 days to prepare for a trial which involved highly technical medical evidence, troubled mental history, and unusual legal issues. Chason requested a short continuance to allow for more preparation but was denied. The state relied heavily on expert medical witnesses in order to establish the aggravating evidence required by the state of Georgia to sentence Conklin to death. Chason was able to find a medical expert who would unequivocally counter the state's crucial forensic evidence. However, Conklin, who is indigent, was denied even the most scarce of resources to hire this expert witnesses. The Eleventh Circuit acknowledged that the resources granted to Conklin were likely insufficient. "We are unable to understand why a trial judge would refuse to grant a short continuance and afford a first-degree murder defendant $2,500 of available state funds to hire an expert crucial to his defense." However, the court went on to say they could not maintain that the "trial, as a whole, was fundamentally unfair and outside of the bounds of the Constitution." Circuit Judge Rosemary Barkett dissented from this decision. She concluded, "In light of the complexity of this case, the severe limitations on time and resources imposed by the trial court made it impossible for Conklin to receive adequate assistance." Barkett maintained that in this situation, 37 days of preparation time "hardly satisfies minimum constitutional standards." She went on to express her concern that Conklin's attorney did not present any mitigating evidence at the sentencing phase of the trial. Additionally, Judge Barkett stated that there was also no direct evidence to counter Conklin's claim that he acted in self defense. Conklin was also unable to have appropriate psychological experts testify that he suffered from a history of mental illness. Again, he was not granted the resources in which to offer this testimony to the court. In addition to suffering from mental health issues, Conklin also endured a horrific childhood. Please take a moment to write the state of Georgia requesting that Conklin be granted clemency. OKLAHOMA Michael L. Pennington July 19, 2005 6:00 PM CST http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=9 32 The state of Oklahoma is scheduled to execute 37-year-old Michael L. Pennington, a black man, July 19th for the early morning Oct. 21, 1991 shooting death of Bradley Grooms, 20, at a 7-11 convenient store in Comanche County. He maintains the guilty party was a person he was with, but that person was never found. On appeal, Pennington made several claims ranging from jury misconduct to impermissible admission of evidence. His defense counsel failed to reopen voir dire when one of the jury members claimed that they could not be fair and impartial. He claims that the prosecution's use of a preemptory challenge on another juror was racially motivated and was a violation of his Fourteenth Amendment rights. The death penalty is cruel and unusual. It is not a deterrent, and costs more than a life in prison term. Although African Americans make up 12% of the population, they account for 42% of current death row inmates. Since the United States ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination in 1994, U.S. courts and legislatures have failed to act decisively in the face of evidence that race has a significant impact on capital sentencing. Please contact Governor Brad Henry and the Board of Pardons and Paroles and ask them to spare the life of Michael L. Pennington. TEXAS David Aaron Martinez July 28, 2005 6:00 PM CST http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=9 34 The state of Texas is scheduled to execute 29-year-old David Aaron Martinez, a Hispanic man July 28th for the July 27, 1997 slaying of 24-year-old Kiersa Paul, a white female in Travis County. Martinez was 21 when the crime was committed. He was charged with intentional murder while committing a robbery and aggravated sexual assault. Like many on death row, Martinez comes from a troubled background. His attorneys said that he moved from Texas to Iowa and back to Texas, living with one parent or the other. While Martinez lived in Austin during his early to mid-teens, his father was "heavily involved" in making sadomasochistic paraphernalia. For some time before his arrest, Martinez lived on the street. In his case file, a March 1997 form from the Salvation Army lists him as homeless. The death penalty is an arbitrary punishment that is more likely to be distributed to those who come from poor upbringings and economic backgrounds, and is less likely to be the punishment for those who commit the worst crimes. This penalty also punishes those who are convicted for killing whites more than any other race. In cases that result in a death sentence, four out of every five murder victims are white, despite the fact that people of color make up about 50 percent of this country's murder victims. Do not let the state of Texas carry out a punishment that is inherently unequal. Please take a moment to write Governor Rick Perry and the Board of Pardons and Paroles to recommend that Martinez's life be sparred.
