July 9
KENTUCKY:
Judge upholds use of lethal injection -- Ruling: Method is not cruel,
unusual
Kentucky is free to execute condemned killers by lethal injection, a judge
ruled yesterday in striking down a constitutional challenge from 2 death
row inmates.
Franklin Circuit Judge Roger Crittenden found that the 3-step method
Kentucky uses to anesthetize, paralyze and stop the heart in carrying out
executions is neither cruel nor unusual.
Susan Balliet, a lawyer for the 2 inmates, Ralph Baze and Thomas C.
Bowling, said they will appeal, which likely will delay their executions.
They are the closest of the 36 Kentucky death row inmates to exhausting
their appeals.
Through a spokeswoman at the Kentucky State Penitentiary at Eddyville,
Baze, 50, said he still believes the execution procedure needs closer
scrutiny but is glad Crittenden agreed to consider it.
"I believe that it's a start and I appreciate the judge taking the time to
hear the case," he said.
Efforts to get comment from Bowling, 52, were unsuccessful.
The ruling was praised by state officials and by Rose Bennett, whose
sheriff husband and deputy brother were slain by Baze in 1992.
"He just needs to pay with his life for the 2 he took," Bennett said.
Her husband, Powell County Sheriff Steve Bennett, and brother, deputy
Arthur Briscoe, were fatally shot by Baze when they tried to arrest him on
a warrant.
"I believe this is a victory for the victims' families," said Jeff
Middendorf, a lawyer who represented the Kentucky Corrections Department
in the case.
Fayette Commonwealth's Attorney Ray Larson, who prosecuted Bowling for the
1990 murders of a Lexington couple, Edward and Tina Earley, said their
relatives are frustrated by delays in executing Bowling.
"They don't understand why the appeal process takes as long as it does,"
he said.
'A quick and painless death'
Kentucky lawmakers replaced the electric chair with lethal injection in
1998.
In 1999, Eddie Lee Harper of Louisville became the only Kentucky inmate to
be executed by injection.
The public defenders representing Baze and Bowling had argued the state's
execution procedure potentially could leave an inmate conscious but
paralyzed and unable to react as the final drug is injected -- a caustic
chemical to stop the heart.
But Crittenden found that the procedure does not vio- late inmates' rights
and would result "in a quick and painless death."
Balliet said she believes several changes made in Kentucky's lethal
injection procedure - including one ordered by Crittenden -- have improved
it.
"I think we've made tremendous gains in making this a more humane
procedure for condemned prisoners," she said.
Drugs used to kill an inmate are administered intravenously. Crittenden
ordered the state to drop the option of putting an IV in an inmate's neck
if executioners are unable to locate a vein in an arm or leg -- saying the
procedure is too risky and could cause unnecessary pain and suffering.
Crittenden noted in his order that the state already had agreed to
increase the initial dose of anesthetic used to render the inmate
unconscious.
Baze and Bowling's lawyers had argued the original dose was too low to
ensure the individual remained unconscious throughout the procedure.
Assistant Attorney General David Smith said Crittenden's decision was in
line with rulings on similar challenges in other states.
"No court in the United States has ever struck down lethal injection," he
said.
'No moral way'
Crittenden acknowledged his ruling will not satisfy death penalty
opponents but said Kentucky's citizens, through their lawmakers, "have
chosen the death penalty as punishment for certain offenses."
"There are no methods of legal execution that are satisfactory to those
who oppose the death penalty on moral, religious or societal grounds,"
Crittenden wrote.
Death penalty opponents agreed.
"There is no moral way for the state to kill," said Ed Monahan, executive
director of the Catholic Conference of Kentucky.
Monahan said judges and juries can still ensure public safety by
sentencing killers to life without parole.
The Rev. Patrick Delahanty, chairman of the Kentucky Coalition to Abolish
the Death Penalty, noted Crittenden's comment that Kentucky has chosen the
death penalty through lawmakers.
"The coalition will continue to work to educate the public and encourage
the public to call on elected officials to change these laws," he said.
(source: Courier-Journal)
*************************
Judge upholds lethal injection----SAYS IT IS CONSTITUTIONAL AS METHOD OF
EXECUTION; ORDERS A CHANGE IN PROCEDURE
The state can continue to use lethal injection as a way to execute
prisoners, but it cannot insert drugs directly into the neck of the
condemned, a Franklin Circuit Court judge ruled yesterday.
Thomas Clyde Bowling Jr. and Ralph Baze, both convicted double-murderers,
sued the state last year, saying Kentucky's method of executing prisoners
violated a prisoner's Eighth Amendment right not to be subjected to cruel
and unusual punishment.
Franklin Circuit Judge Roger Crittenden said lawyers for Baze and Bowling
did not show that Kentucky's "method of execution by lethal injection
deviates from contemporary norms and societal standards in capital
punishment."
But Crittenden said they did show that attempts to insert a needle into
the neck of the prisoner creates a "substantial risk of wanton and
unnecessary infliction of pain."
Bowling was set to be executed in November but Crittenden issued a stay,
saying he needed to hear more information about the state's lethal
injection protocol before making a decision on whether it violated a
prisoner's constitutional rights.
The state Supreme Court also issued a stay, but the court has since ruled
that Bowling is mentally competent and therefore fit to be executed.
Yesterday's decision brings both men a step closer to execution, but it is
unlikely either will be executed soon.
Lawyers for Baze and Bowling said yesterday they planned to appeal
Crittenden's decision to the state Supreme Court.
Both men also have other appeals pending in federal and state courts.
Prosecutors, corrections officials and the families of Baze and Bowling's
victims applauded Crittenden's decision to uphold the constitutionality of
lethal injection.
Jeff Middendorf, general counsel for the Department of Corrections, called
yesterday's ruling a victory for the family members of victims "who have
been waiting for years to see that this lawful sentence is carried out."
Lawyers for Bowling and Baze said they were not surprised by Crittenden's
ruling but were pleased with the changes made in the state's lethal
injection protocol.
The Department of Corrections changed the amount of sedative given to
prisoners in the 3-drug lethal cocktail used in executions. Over the
course of the litigation, the department also eliminated other potentially
painful procedures.
"Overall, this lawsuit has improved the lives of people on death row,"
said Susan Balliet, a lawyer with the Department of Public Advocacy, which
represents Baze and Bowling.
Crittenden also recommended that the state's lethal injection protocol --
a step-by-step instruction on how executions are carried out -- be made
public.
"That's more than most people ever thought we would get," Balliet said of
the changes implemented by the Department of Corrections.
The Herald-Leader asked Crittenden to release the protocol to the public
during the lawsuit, but the judge denied the newspaper's request.
"Since the nature of the drugs used and the method for administering those
drugs during an execution have been discussed publicly in this action,"
Crittenden said, "there seems to be little reason why the Department of
Corrections cannot publish a lethal injection protocol that does not
compromise the security of the institution or the personnel involved."
Corrections Commissioner John Rees said yesterday he would review
Crittenden's suggestions but added that he thought the protocol needed to
remain a "security document" because of concerns about staff and prisoner
safety. In his ruling, Crittenden said he thought a portion of the
protocol without the names of the people involved could be released.
Rose Bennett, the widow of former Powell County Sheriff Steve Bennett,
attended some of the four-day bench trial in April.
"They didn't convince me that it was cruel," Bennett said, "so I don't see
how they could convince a circuit court judge."
Bennett said it's been 13 years since Baze shot her husband and her
brother, deputy Arthur Briscoe, in a shootout in 1992. She said she was
ready for Baze to be out of her life.
"I'm happy with Judge Crittenden's ruling. It's the ruling that I wanted
to hear," Bennett said.
Fayette Commonwealth's Attorney Ray Larson prosecuted Bowling and said he,
too, was happy with Crittenden's decision.
Bowling was convicted of killing Tina and Eddie Earley outside their
Lexington dry-cleaning business in 1990. Bowling also shot their
then-2-year-old son, who survived.
"The court's decision did not surprise me in the least," Larson said.
"This death-penalty gang has tried this 'lethal injection is cruel and
unusual punishment' claim all over the country without any success
anywhere."
(source: Herald-Leader)
***********************
Death Row inmates lose court challenge over lethal injection
A state judge on Friday upheld the use of lethal injection in Kentucky,
saying it was not cruel and unusual punishment.
Judge Roger Crittenden said the method of execution should be changed to
rule out one painful step. State officials say they plan to appeal that
part of the ruling.
The case was brought by condemned prisoners Thomas Clyde Bowling and Ralph
Baze, who argued that Kentucky's process of administering the lethal
cocktail to death row inmates violated the state and U.S. constitutions,
which prohibit cruel and unusual punishment.
Crittenden 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.
(source: Chicago Tribune)
PENNSYLVANIA:
Death Row Poet Laureate Pens Book of Essays
Long beofre the tragic events of September 11, 2001, the Patriot Act, the
U.S. invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq-and the sickening montage of
photographs of arab prisoners being humiliated and abused by U.S. soldiers
shockingly displayed on the front covers of every newspaper in the
world-"An order was sent out for body bags," Reginald Sinclair Lewis
writes in the essay "A Very Cold Place," from his new book ("Where I'm
Writing From: Essays from Pennsylvania's Death Row", PublishAmerica, LLLP,
ISBN: 1-4137-3674-2, $19.95), a collection of 28 essays recorded in a
small, cramped cell on Pennsylvania's Death Row-while the author was
housed at SCI-Greene, one of the toughest, super maximum security prisons
in the state, which employed Corpral Charles Graner, the now-convicted
central figure in the prisoner abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
>From a jumble of concrete and wire-mesh dog cages and cold steel- a
tapestry of stories is cut from the daily lives of over 2 million men and
women trapped inside our own Guantanamo Bays constructed all across
America. In the Award-winning opening essay, "Sweeter Than Sugar," the
author recounts his painful childhoos memories of being tormented daily by
a neighborhood bully. "Reflections Of An Ex-Gang Member" further examines
his turbulant youth as a member of "12th & Oxford Street Gang," one of the
largest and fierest black street gangs in the city.
The author act as a keen eyed Jailhouse journalists who microscopically
examines the flaws of the so-called American Justice system.
"There are hard hitting investigative pieces about unjust convictions,"
Lewis said, "police corruptions, black on black crime, dehumanizing prison
shakedowns, and my correspondence with a group of school children that led
to the three day, 30 mile 'Children Crusade to Death Row,' a memorable
civil rights march that garnered local, national, and international media
attention." Lewis's work has garnered three P.E.N. American Center Writing
Awards for prisoners. His self-published two books fo poetry, "Leaving
Death Row" and "Inside My Head," received wide acclaim, and earned his the
title fo "The Poet Laureate of Death Row." he has been a teenaged intern
to Grammy Award-winning singer Billy paul, the Welterweight Champion of
Pahway State prison, a former student of the Most Honorable Elijah
Muhammad, where he was known as Suqd Leader Reginald 26x.
In 1983, Lewis was convicted fo the stabbing death of a man inside a
Philadelphia drug bar. he was tried by the Notorious Philly hanging judge
Albert F. Sabo, who has sent more poor black defendants to death row than
any other judge.
"Where I'm Writing From" is a fascinating collection of essays about the
cold reality of life behind bars.
Contact the author: Reginald S. Lewis, #AY2902, Box 244- Rt. 29,
Graterford, PA 19426, USA
(source: ArriveNet)
FLORIDA:
Murderer begs judge to give him death sentence----Ricardo Gill is already
serving life for killing a Gainesville woman.
A man already serving a life sentence for a Gainesville woman's murder
suggested he would kill again if not given the death sentence for the
murder of a prison inmate.
Ricardo Ignacio Gill pleaded guilty Friday morning to murdering a former
cellmate. He blamed that murder on not being given the death penalty for
the woman's death.
Gill, 35, represented himself Friday in front of Circuit Judge Robert
Cates. He read from a prepared statement to explain what he intended to do
if Cates did not issue a death sentence.
"Your honor, this case can end with the imposition of the death penalty
today. I understand the death penalty cannot be given on a threat" of a
future murder, Gill said. "Please make the right decision and don't be the
fault of another loss of life."
Cates had been scheduled to hear pretrial motions in the case Friday, but
instead Gill told the judge he wanted to plead guilty and be sentenced
immediately.
Cates said he would issue his ruling in 15 to 30 days.
Gill asked to be sentenced to death by Circuit Judge Stan Morris 4 years
ago when Morris sentenced Gill for the 1999 fatal beating and stabbing of
Beverly Moore, a Gainesville travel agent whose body was found in her
home.
Although Gill maintained his innocence in Moore's murder, he said he
entered a guilty plea because he would rather die for a crime he didn't
commit than serve life in prison.
Morris has said he did not impose the death penalty because Gill's mental
health problems outweighed the aggravating factors of the murder.
Gill's court records show a troubled life from the start.
He was forced out of two kindergarten classes for his behavior and as a
first grader the next year, was expelled from 2 schools. Gill was admitted
to a mental health institution in Miami before he was a teenager and
served two years in juvenile detention before he was 16.
He was sent to jail at 17 and stayed incarcerated until he was 30. Gill
had only been out of prison for 11 months when he killed Moore and he
tried to kill a Gilchrist County woman by stabbing her.
Four days after being sentenced for Moore's murder, Gill's cellmate at
North Florida Reception Center in Lake Butler was found dead. Orlando
Rosello had been strangled with cloth strips torn from a bed sheet.
Rosello, serving 20 months in state prison for car theft, was at the
center for medical treatment.
In a letter mailed to The Sun, Gill claimed sole responsibility for
Rosello's death.
Earlier this year, Gill was taken to Gilchrist County to be resentenced to
30 years in prison for the 1999 attempted murder of Gloria Feliciano. She
survived after Gill stabbed her in the back with a butcher knife at her
home in the Waccasassa area.
Following Gill's statements in court on Friday, Jim Crosby, secretary of
the Florida Department of Corrections, said his agency will "obviously
take inmate Gill's threats very seriously and we will exercise every
precaution to protect our staff and other inmates."
(source: Gainesville Sun)
ALABAMA:
Court upholds death sentence where jury recommended life
A state appeals court Friday upheld a death sentence for James William
McGowan, even though a jury had recommended his life be spared for killing
an elderly couple in Conecuh County.
In a 4-0 decision, the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals said the death
sentence was appropriate for McGowan's "especially heinous" crime. He was
convicted of using a hammer to beat to death an elderly couple in their
home in the Antioch community on July 18, 1994.
McGowan pleaded guilty in 1996 to the murder of a technical college
instructor in neighboring Escambia County just hours before the Johnsons'
slayings. He received a life sentence for that crime.
District Attorney Tommy Chapman said Friday he knew all 3 victims
personally and was glad to see the death sentence upheld.
"If there was ever anybody who deserved to die for a crime, this is one,"
he said.
One of McGowan's attorneys, Bryan Stevenson, said the decision would be
appealed to the Alabama Supreme Court.
He said Alabama is the only state in the nation that allows an elected
trial court judge to override a jury without clearly specified standards.
He predicted that a case like McGowan's will eventually result in a higher
court saying a judge can't override a jury's recommendation of life in
prison without parole.
Friday's decision by the Court of Criminal Appeals represented the court's
second look at McGowan's case.
In December 2003, the appeals court upheld McGowan's capital murder
conviction. But it sent the case back to Circuit Judge Sam Welch to write
a new sentencing order explaining why he sentenced McGowan to death after
a jury voted 7-5 to recommend a sentence of life in prison without parole.
The judge wrote a new order explaining that his decision was based, in
part, on the fact that Hiram Johnson, 82, was beaten to death with a
hammer while his wife, 79-year-old Mamie Johnson, was nearby. Then she was
killed by repeated blows from the hammer.
"She was in a position to see the killing of her husband and was
attempting to get out of bed when she was killed. She was forced to see
the manner of her own death before being killed in same manner as her
husband. This was tortuous and must have caused her great fear, anguish
and psychological pain prior to her death," the judge wrote.
The appeals court agreed in a decision written by John Patterson, a
retired judge and former governor.
"Alabama appellate courts have repeatedly held that severe beatings that
result in death are beyond the violence necessary to inflict death;
therefore, that manner of homicide is especially heinous, atrocious, or
cruel compared to other capital murders," Patterson wrote.
Just hours before the Johnson slayings, Barry Harper, an instructor at
Reid State Technical College in Evergreen, was beaten to death in
neighboring Escambia County.
An accomplice in the Johnson slayings, Dedree Crane, pleaded guilty to the
couple's murder, received 2 consecutive life sentences, and testified
against McGowan. She described a night of cocaine use that preceded the 3
slayings.
(source: Associated Press)
NORTH CAROLINA:
Critics of execution seeking trade-off----House Dem leader wants N.C.
legal system examined
Some lawmakers want to halt executions in North Carolina. Others don't.
Rep. Joe Hackney, D-Orange, is trying to satisfy them all.
After a failed attempt last month to get the N.C. House to shut down the
state's gas chamber for two years, Hackney, the House Democratic leader,
is trying to get lawmakers to focus more on studying executions.
A bill he will roll out Tuesday would examine whether racism, incompetent
counsel or other flaws in the judicial system determine who ends up on the
state's death row. It also would examine whether existing safeguards
prevent innocent people from facing a death sentence.
Hackney's plan is a kind of hybrid. His new bill wouldn't halt all
executions, but it would stop executions for inmates who convince a judge
the results of the legislative study could have a bearing on their case.
Death penalty opponents aren't pleased with Hackney's new twist,
particularly with lawyers claiming that new DNA evidence would clear Rex
Penland of Stokes County, who has been on death row for more than 11
years. Penland's lawyers filed court papers Friday seeking to overturn the
conviction in a heavily publicized case.
"It's a compromise. I have mixed feelings," said Ken Rose, a Durham
defense lawyer who wrote a memorandum on behalf of Penland, who was
convicted of rape and murder in 1992. Rose, however, said he endorses
Hackney's bill because it will help at least some inmates.
North Carolina has 172 men and 4 women on death row. One former inmate,
Alan Gell of Bertie County, won freedom last year after his lawyers showed
prosecutors withheld evidence that could have helped him. In a retrial,
Gell convinced jurors he could not have committed the crime.
Several polls in recent years show N.C. voters support the death penalty,
but also would halt executions and study them.
The state Senate endorsed a 2-year halt to executions in 2003, but House
members didn't go along.
Hackney said the reason behind his changes is simple: "Picking up votes."
Supporters of suspending executions said the House last month was within a
few votes of the 60 needed for a moratorium, according to lawmakers on
both sides. House Speaker Jim Black, D-Mecklenburg, decided not to hold a
vote when supporters couldn't guarantee it would pass.
Hackney said he's spoken to opponents of the blanket 2-year halt who would
support his new legislation. But he wouldn't predict victory.
"I really don't know what will happen," he said. "We'll do our best."
Execution Dates
- January 2002: Gov. Mike Easley commutes a death sentence to life
imprisonment for the 2nd time since taking office, tying a modern N.C.
record.
- April 2003: N.C. Senate votes to suspend executions. House never holds a
vote.
- February 2004: A jury acquits Alan Gell, who spent several years on
death row.
- May 2005: Gov. Easley allows 20th prisoner to be executed, more than any
N.C. governor since U.S. Supreme Court reinstated death penalty in 1976.
(source: Charlotte Observer)
