July 8 KENTUCKY: Kentucky's lethal injection process upheld In Frankfort, a state judge Friday upheld the use of lethal injection in Kentucky, saying it was not cruel and unusual punishment. Franklin Circuit Judge Roger Crittenden said the method of execution should be changed to rule out one painful step, which the state says it has already done. "The execution protocol adopted by the Commonwealth of Kentucky, with one exception, complies with the constitutional requirements against cruel and unusual punishment," Crittenden wrote. The case was brought by condemned prisoners Thomas Clyde Bowling and Ralph Baze. They argued that Kentucky's process of administering the lethal cocktail to death row inmates violated the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. While upholding lethal injection, the judge said the state should not be allowed to administer the fatal drugs through an intravenous catheter stuck into the prisoner's jugular vein, in the neck, if no suitable veins can be found in the arms or legs. He said it was unconstitutionally cruel and should be removed from the process. Officials said they had already removed that step as an option. Bowling was scheduled to be executed last November for the killing Edward and Tina Earley and shooting their 2-year-old son outside the couple's Lexington dry-cleaning business in 1990. His execution was delayed pending the outcome of the challenge. Baze was convicted of killing Powell County Sheriff Steve Bennett and a deputy Arthur Briscoe during an attempted arrest in 1992. The state has executed one person by lethal injection, Eddie Lee Harper, in 1999. (source: Associated Press) FLORIDA: Rolling loses death sentence appeal; more likely to come Convicted killer Danny Rolling, who was sentenced to death in the 1990 murders of five Gainesville college students, has lost another in a line of appeals to overturn his sentence, but more appeals are likely. State Attorney Bill Cervone said he learned of U.S. District Judge M. Casey Rodgers' ruling from the Florida Attorney General's Office Thursday. The decision denying Rolling's petition for a writ of habeas corpus had been filed July 1 in the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Florida. Rolling had raised issues over the constitutionality of Florida's death penalty and that his sentencing was held in Alachua County, where the crimes occurred, arguing he could not get an impartial sentencing jury in the Gainesville area, Rodgers' order states. "It speeds it up in the sense that we finally have resolution at that level adverse to him," Cervone said. "It's what we expected, and we're very satisfied and glad to be finally getting some movement in things." Rolling's petition was filed in federal court in August 2002 after the Florida Supreme Court, two months earlier, rejected his appeal for a 2nd time. But, Cervone said, "It does not mean that there will be a death warrant signed next week. It's one more hurdle that's been crossed." Rolling has two higher courts that could still hear appeals in the federal court system, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Judicial Circuit in Atlanta and the U.S. Supreme Court. Carolyn Snurkowski, assistant deputy attorney general for criminal appeals, described the decision as a "pretty significant event." "The fact of the matter is he's lost his 1st round in federal court," she said. Cervone said, "He now not only has to convince the next appellate court that he's right but that all of these other judges were wrong." Rolling has 30 days to file a notice that he will appeal to the Atlanta court. Snurkowski said she expected that would happen but could not say how long before that court returns with its decision on his appeal. After hearing about the judge's decision, George Paules, the father of one of the murdered students, said he couldn't get too excited over the ruling, although it does limit Rolling's legal options. "It's gone through so many stages," said Paules, 70, who also said he's tired of trying to answer people's questions over why Rolling's death sentence hasn't yet been carried out. "We're just very sad that it's taking so long," he said. In the years since Rolling's conviction, relatives of the murder victims have expressed frustration that the case remains under appeal even though he didn't contest his guilt and entered a guilty plea in 1994. The murders occurred at the start of the 1990 fall semester in Gainesville. Rolling's victims were Sonja Larson, 18, of Deerfield Beach; Christina Powell, 17, of Jacksonville; Christa Hoyt, 19, of Archer; Tracy Paules, 23, of Miami; and Manuel Taboada, 23, of Miami. After Rolling entered his plea, the case moved into the sentencing phase. An Alachua County jury heard aggravating and mitigating factors before reaching an unanimous advisory recommendation he should be executed. Circuit Judge Stan Morris then held a final hearing and imposed the death sentence. Rolling's guilt has never been a question for the appellate courts. Circumstances surrounding his death sentence have. Rolling has repeatedly argued he was denied a fair sentencing trial by impartial jurors because he was sentenced in the same county where the crimes occurred and that the case should have been moved out of Gainesville. In his petition in federal court, he also challenged the constitutionality of Florida's death penalty, citing a U.S. Supreme Court decision that juries, not judges, should decide whether a defendant gets the death penalty. Rodgers found that the concerns raised by that Supreme Court decision don't apply, in part because Florida has a hybrid system where a jury gives an advisory verdict and a judge makes the ultimate determination. Rolling, 51, is being held on death row at Union Correctional Institution in Union County. (source: The Gainesville Sun) ********************************* Accused to face death penalty----The suspect faces murder and kidnapping charges as well as charges of murder solicitation. In Tarpon Springs, prosecutors will seek the death penalty against a Turkish man accused of murdering his uncle and kidnapping his cousin last summer. Sitki Ozkardes, 33, is charged with 1st-degree murder and kidnapping in connection with the shooting death of Safa Gul, 50. Ozkardes also faces 3 charges of murder solicitation because authorities say he tried to arrange the murders of 3 more family members while he was in jail. A family member found Gul shot in the head and chest with a small-caliber pistol on Aug. 18. Gul's 16-month-old grandson, who Gul was babysitting, was missing. Police issued a statewide missing child alert for the toddler. He was found unharmed about 8 hours later in an Oldsmar shopping plaza parking lot. Tarpon Springs police arrested Ozkardes about 2 weeks later. The shooting and abduction are thought to have stemmed from family problems, including a dispute over a large sum of money, police said. The case qualifies for the death penalty because of heightened premeditation, assistant state attorney Bill Loughery said. "It was essentially an execution," he said. Ozkardes remains in the Pinellas County Jail without bond. He has a pretrial hearing scheduled for today. Ozkardes and Gul are part of a large immigrant family from Turkey. Family members could not be reached for comment Thursday, but Loughery said the family supports prosecutors seeking the death penalty. (source: St. Petersburg Times) *************************** Top court OKs murder conviction The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the conviction of Robert Eugene Hendrix, who is on death row for the 1990 murders of a Sorrento couple. Authorities say Hendrix killed Elmer Scott Jr. and Scott's wife because Scott was planning to testify against him in a burglary case. Scott was Hendrix's cousin. According to court records, Hendrix shot Scott, 25, and then Michelle Scott, 20, in their home. When the couple didn't die immediately, he used the pistol as a club, smashing Scott in the head, authorities said. Hendrix, who had been living in Apopka, cut Scott's wife with a kitchen knife numerous times, the records show. Hendrix, now 38, had said in a written motion amended in 2003 that his former lawyers were wrong for not retaining the services of a mental-health expert who could have helped with his defense. He said evidence should have been presented regarding his drug-abuse history. He also said the court should have been told that a trial witness had a prior record of being a confidential informant. In addition, he wrote that the shackles he wore during the 1991 trial might have had a negative impact on the outcome. The points were argued in a subsequent evidentiary hearing, and Circuit Judge Mark Hill of Lake County denied the claims. Hendrix appealed to the Florida Supreme Court, but the justices agreed with Hill. "Hendrix failed to demonstrate that his counsel was ineffective," the high court's ruling reads. According to the ruling, the jury in Hendrix's case was told about the confidential informant who said he heard Hendrix's confession while in prison and then contacted the state because he was seeking a deal. "Thus, Hendrix is not entitled to relief on this claim," it says. Also, the fact that Hendrix has now found mental-health experts who have more favorable testimony does not invalidate the testimony of those experts his lawyers relied on previously, the ruling says. As for the shackles, a judge, bailiff and witness all testified that the jury would not have been able to see Hendrix's ankle shackled to an anchor near the floor underneath a table. And because he had been implicated in an escape plot with another prisoner 3 weeks before trial, the lower court determined the shackling was necessary. The Supreme Court agreed. "The court undertook very careful methods to ensure that the jury was not aware of the shackles," the ruling reads. "No testimony was presented to show that the jury or anybody else even heard Hendrix's shackles during the trial." (source: Orlando Sentinel) PENNSYLVANIA: Prosecutor to seek death penalty in stabbing death case Prosecutors said they will seek the death penalty for a man charged in the death of a neighbor stabbed 37 times. Fredil Omar Rodriguez-Fuentes, 23, also faces charges of aggravated assault and criminal trespass. He pleaded not guilty during his arraignment Thursday in Northumberland County Court. District Attorney Anthony Rosini said he will try to prove that the death penalty is warranted in the June 10 slaying of 20-year-old Carly Snyder because torture was involved and other crimes were allegedly being committed at the same time. Rodrigiez-Fuentes lived next door to Snyder. Rosini on Friday said he couldn't reveal any more details of the crime or if there were any other connections between the suspect and victim. Police have said that Snyder was slain in the early morning hours of June 10 and that her body was found in her home. The case will likely go to trial late this year or early next year, Rosini said Friday. (source: Associated Press) MISSOURI: Man charged with shooting wife and himself could face death penalty A Bethany man accused of fatally shooting his wife last month and then attempting to kill himself could face the death penalty, prosecutors said. Keith Alder Wade, 57, is charged with 1st-degree murder in the shooting death of Nancy Wade, 56, who was found in the family's home on June 19 with a small-caliber bullet wound to the chest. Harrison County Sheriff George Martz said Keith Wade then took the .38-caliber pistol and shot himself in the chest. Keith Wade was taken to North Kansas City Hospital and was transferred to the Harrison County Jail after being released on June 29. County Prosecutor Richard Turner said Wade hasn't given an explanation for the shootings. Turner said Wednesday that he hasn't ruled out pursuing the death penalty against Wade. He said he plans to notify the Missouri Attorney General's office and ask for help later. Wade is being held without bond and will next appear in court on July 20. He had not hired an attorney by Wednesday. (source: Associated Press)
