I just get too much information to handle at this time. Thank you -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/private/deathpenalty/attachments/20050713/18065b7b/attachment.htm From [email protected] Wed Jul 13 13:36:04 2005 From: [email protected] (Rick Halperin) Date: Tue Aug 16 12:16:11 2005 Subject: [Deathpenalty]death penalty news----TEXAS, N.C., PENN., ILL. Message-ID: <[email protected]>
July 13 TEXAS: Pair held in fatal smuggling In Del Rio, it began late in the afternoon with a routine speeding stop on Texas 186, about 15 miles southwest of Carrizo Springs. The southbound pickup held 2 young women and, according to authorities, their peculiar cargo included jugs of water and Gatorade, some $2,000 and a small amount of cocaine. The 2 were charged July 4 with drug possession and taken to the Dimmit County Jail. Suspecting an immigrant smuggling angle, Sheriff Doug Sample called federal officials. The next day, the 2 women explained what had sent them speeding south through the blazing summer heat. But by then it was too late. Maricela Alvarez Rodriguez, 45, had been declared dead the night before on a ranch several miles from where the pickup had been stopped hours earlier. She had been traveling with her 19-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son from Cuautitln Izcalli, Mexico. Her body was discovered in the brush after the daughter, Nayeli, begged a nearby rancher for help. "She died in her son's arms sometime on the evening of the Fourth of July. The Border Patrol lists heat exposure as the cause of death. It was over 110 degrees that day," said Mario Ramirez, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent. He spoke at a detention hearing for the 2 women in federal court Tuesday. Cecilia Cigarroa Wheeler, 27, of Eagle Pass, and Diana Marisa Suniga, 25, of Beeville, now face federal charges of conspiring to smuggle undocumented immigrants. "They never admitted there was a sick alien out there in the brush until they were interviewed by me. They didn't tell the DPS or anyone at the jail," Ramirez said of his July 5 interrogation. The daughter and son have returned to Mexico with their mother's body. Ramirez said that when he interviewed Suniga and Wheeler in jail, both admitted to being involved in an immigrant smuggling ring that had brought numerous people into the country. But this time something went fatally wrong. They allegedly told him that Suniga, who was in cell phone contact with guides leading a group of 22 people through the Dimmit County brush, had been told a woman was very sick. Suniga then called Wheeler in San Antonio asking for help. But the 2 were arrested before they could reach the woman. Asking Tuesday that their clients be released on bond, lawyers for Suniga and Wheeler claimed they were no threat to flee and had been acting as good Samaritans when detained. "My client's conduct did not put Mrs. Rodriguez in dire straits. My client was at Fiesta Texas when (Rodriguez) became ill," said attorney Richard Gutierrez. "Whatever she was getting paid, she was helping Miss Suniga help a sick lady," he said. Suniga's parents also testified, saying they would make certain their daughter would appear for trial. However, U.S. Magistrate Judge Dennis Green ordered the pair held without bond. "This is an extremely serious case," said the judge, noting that because it involved the death of someone being smuggled, government prosecutors may seek the death penalty. He dismissed defense arguments that they were trying to help Rodriguez. "You don't call Fiesta Texas to assist someone. That's hours away. You call 911 or the sheriff or you go and assist them," said Green. The judge said the 2 defendants had displayed "a totally reptilian sense of morality" by keeping mum. (source: San Antonio Express-News) ****************** Grand jury system broken The Chronicle's July 10 editorial "State of injustice" concluded with the statement, "Absent, amid the discovery of repeated and extensive miscarriages of justice, is a sense of public outrage and shame that our justice system could be so permissive of wrong and so indifferent to right." Reading the editorial carefully, however, reveals a reason for the lack of outrage and failure to remedy the situation: All segments of the criminal justice system are culpable and would prefer to keep their part of these atrocities hidden. When we reorganized the Grand Jury Association two years ago, we were at first appalled and then enraged by what we discovered: Innocent people by the thousands may be incarcerated by a combination of deliberate fraud, negligence, political decision and unprofessional conduct. These include prisoners who, without ever seeing a jury, were compelled to plead guilty when faced with the "scientific" evidence. When we proposed as a first minimum step of remedial action that the district attorney should be sworn in when presenting cases to the grand jury to make sure he is not knowingly misrepresenting the facts, we were rebuffed - and not only by the district attorney. We were ignored by the criminal justice committees of the Legislature and the governor. We also realized that the grand jury system has been prostituted and has become a tool of the prosecution, rather than a shield to protect the innocent. Many former grand jurors who served repeatedly were nothing more than shills for the prosecution, and others were discharged by the time they started to recognize the problems. Criminal judges even prevented grand juries from preparing reports of their findings so that subsequent juries could learn from such reports and not have to start ignorantly each 90 days. The Grand Jury Association is now dormant for several reasons. Many members may feel guilty of sending thousands to prison by believing fraudulent crime lab reports. Other members have been silenced by their relationship to judges and the district attorney, which facilitated their appointments to grand juries in the first place. Mostly we realize, however, that we are up against an entire flawed criminal justice system. Few people have the courage and conviction to face such odds. So we just live with the shame, because we know, better than most, what we should be ashamed of. T.W. WESTON chairman, Harris County Grand Jury Association (source: Editorial, Houston Chronicle) NORTH CAROLINA: Bill: Study death penalty----House forum OKs alternative to failed moratorium Critics of the death penalty have stepped back from their five-year campaign for a blanket moratorium, offering an alternative yesterday that would give each inmate the chance at one more stay of execution before being put to death. House Majority Leader Joe Hackney, D-Orange, put together the alternative over the past month after failing to get enough votes for the moratorium, which would have paused executions for 2 years while legislators studied the administration of the death penalty. He described the new proposal as a compromise. "It is not all right for innocent people to be put on death row. Something is wrong with our system when that happens," Hackney said. "We have searched for a compromise to address this problem that would be acceptable to a majority of the House." It wasn't clear yesterday whether the new version could win a majority, in part because legislators had paradoxical reactions to it. Liberals expressed disappointment that the moratorium was dropped. Conservatives argued that the new version creates "individual moratoria" for inmates. "I feel like I ordered filet mignon and lobster bisque and that I got fried bologna and cheese," said Rep. Paul Miller, D-Durham, a supporter of a moratorium. But Rep. Rick Eddins, R-Wake, said, "It's worse than the other one... It's kind of like an attack on our court system, but in doing that it's also like an attack on the victims." The new version would set up a 15-member legislative study commission to look at how race relates to the death penalty, whether defendants have attorneys with enough experience, whether prosecutors are following correct procedures and other aspects of the system. Legislators would have until early 2008 to finish the study. While they worked, inmates on death row could ask a Superior Court judge for a stay of execution based on credible evidence of one of seven factors outlined in the bill: - The inmate is innocent. - Prosecutorial misconduct may have contributed to the verdict or sentence of death. - There were errors by defense attorneys. - Race was a factor in the handling of the case. - Execution would not be proportionate with punishments in similar cases. - Prosecutors might not have asked for the death penalty in cases before May 2001, when they first got discretion to ask for a life sentence instead. - And the inmate might not have gotten the death penalty if a life sentence had been available at the time. Prosecutors, including District Attorney Tom Keith of Forsyth County, questioned whether defendants might be able to shop among Superior Court judges for one who opposes the death penalty. Others said that the defendants could get a stay based on "credible evidence" rejected by other judges. "It allows a Superior Court judge, based on the testimony of one witness, to overrule the (U.S. Court of Appeals for the) 4th Circuit, overrule the state Supreme Court," said Rep. Paul Stam, R-Wake. Hackney said that a judge could be justified in doing so. "If you've had a fair trial, free from prejudicial error, do you still want to execute an innocent person?" he asked. A House Judiciary Committee endorsed Hackney's bill on a voice vote. It could head to the full House at any time, depending on how confident supporters are that they have enough support. Several Democrats continue to oppose the bill, even without the moratorium. "I just can't picture how anybody wouldn't qualify (for a stay of execution) based on that criteria," said Rep. Hugh Holliman, D-Davidson. Criticism of how North Carolina and other states administer the death penalty has increased in recent years, as more people who might not be guilty are released from death row. Alan Gell of Bertie County was in prison for 9 years, including 5 years on death row, before he was acquitted in February 2004, and Darryl Hunt of Winston-Salem faced the death penalty at trial and spent 19 years in prison before his release in December 2003. Some supporters of the death penalty point to those cases as examples of the judicial system working well, and they argue that a study can go on without a moratorium or "individual moratoria." (source: Winston-Salem Journal) PENNSYLVANIA: Death penalty remains in case A judge on Tuesday declined to remove the threat of the death penalty from the August murder trial of Anthony Zedar. Mr. Zedar, 50, of Eynon, is accused of paying a hit man to kill Frank L. West Jr. of Carbondale. That killer, Antonio Ortiz of New York Citys Lower East Side, has pleaded guilty to 3rd-degree murder and is expected to testify against Mr. Zedar. Judge Terrence R. Nealon ruled on Tuesday that the death penalty is constitutional and will remain an option in the upcoming trial, despite a defense motion to the contrary. Judge Nealon also rejected a defense request for a 2nd jury - if the 1st jury finds Mr. Zedar guilty - to decide whether he gets the death penalty. Jury selection is to begin on Aug. 1. Mr. Zedar is in the Lackawanna County Prison on no bail. Mr. Ortiz, who is awaiting sentencing, is also in county prison. (source: Scranton Times) ILLINOIS: Death penalty to be sought in double slaying The Cook County state's attorney's office will seek the death penalty against a Chicago piano player charged with killing his former companion and her mother late last year in Glenview, prosecutors said Tuesday. Steven L. Zirko, 43, was indicted in March on 6 counts of 1st-degree murder and two counts of home invasion in the slayings of Mary Lacey, 38, and her mother, Margaret Ballog, 60, of Chicago. Their bodies were found Dec. 13 in Lacey's Glenview home. He also faces charges of solicitation to commit murder and solicitation to commit murder for hire. Zirko has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled for a July 29 hearing in Skokie. He is being held without bail in Cook County Jail. Assistant State's Atty. Steve Goebel said prosecutors had 120 days after Zirko's arraignment to file notice of their intent to seek the death penalty, which they did Friday. Barry Spector, an attorney for Zirko, said he does not think the case will make it to the sentencing phase. "I'm very disappointed that they filed this," he said. "There's no direct evidence against him, there's no compelling forensic evidence and no statements or admissions [made by him]." Prosecutors said in March that they had no physical evidence linking Zirko to the crime scene and had not recovered murder weapons. But they said that gunpowder residue was found on Zirko's hand and that he had taken out life insurance policies for $500,000 on Lacey in 2000 and for $100,000 on Ballog. Prosecutors also have said Zirko asked 3 people to kill Lacey and another to intimidate her. Police also say they have obtained records of a cell phone call Zirko made just before the killings, contradicting his alibi that he was at his parents' Chicago home. (source: Chicago Tribune) ********************** $5 million wasn't enough for ex-Death Row inmate The City of Chicago offered to pay freed death row inmate Aaron Patterson more than $5 million last year to settle his civil rights lawsuit alleging he was tortured by police detectives, an attorney said Tuesday. Patterson -- whom former Gov. George Ryan pardoned in 2003 for 2 murders -- balked at the sum and asked for about twice that amount, Patterson attorney Tommy Brewer said. But days before a federal grand jury indicted Patterson on drug and weapon charges last August -- a case on which he's now standing trial -- the city withdrew its offer, Brewer claimed. He plans to argue to a jury this week that Patterson didn't need to sell drugs because he had millions of dollars at his disposal. City Law Department spokeswoman Jennifer Hoyle said offers have been made, but she can't discuss specifics. One source said the city's now offering just over $1 million. Patterson and 3 others filed suits alleging they were tortured by detectives. Patterson, a self-styled community activist, claimed cops and prosecutors conspired to pin a double murder on him. He ended up on death row. The new indictment was no coincidence, another one of his attorneys, Paul Camarena, said Tuesday in opening statements. Camarena claimed the government targeted Patterson as retribution for the suit and for staging protests since his release from prison. Ryan emptied death row, saying the criminal justice system was riddled with problems, and innocent people were being put away. Camarena said the government eased state charges on informant Mario Maldonado and paid him $6,000 to try to entice Patterson into dealing drugs and guns. Camarena told jurors not to believe "Maldonado's lifelong history of lying." Patterson knew about the undercover operation but played along, conducting counter-surveillance to prove the government was trying to set him up, Camarena said. But prosecutors say Patterson's case is simple: He was a gang-banger dealing drugs and guns. Patterson was not in court after the judge banned him for repeated outbursts. He was set to apologize to the judge Tuesday morning. But he never showed -- refusing to allow U.S. marshals to transport him to court. Meanwhile, another defendant in the case, Isaiah Kitchen, died this week after battling health problems, his attorney said. (source: Chicago Sun-Times)
