July 14 CALIFORNIA: Knife found at Peterson home analyzed; Authorities suspect hoax Authorities are conducting forensic tests on a 10-inch knife reportedly found at the home where convicted murderer Scott Peterson lived with his now dead wife, but questions remain about whether it had been planted there recently. "You could tell there had been liquid on the blade" and a "red stain on the handle," said Gerry Roberts, the man who recently bought the home. Roberts said two of his friends found the knife last week inside a cabinet near the swimming pool in the backyard. But investigators said the discovery came just days after a tabloid ran an article containing rumors that Laci Peterson's throat had been slit. Modesto police spokesman Rick Applegate said investigators saw "no obvious signs of blood or tissue on the knife." "It is somewhat believed that this knife was put, planted or placed there recently by a person or persons unknown," Applegate said. "There is nothing to make us believe the knife was used in the crime." Scott Peterson was sentenced to death in December for murdering Laci Peterson and her fetus. Roberts, a Modesto real estate agent, paid $390,000 for the couple's 3-bedroom, 2-bath house, $10,000 more than the asking price. (source: Associated Press) FLORIDA: Tuberculosis Outbreak Reported At Fla. Women's Prison About 3,100 inmates and hundred of employees are being tested at a women's prison in Marion County after three confirmed cases of tuberculosis and 5 suspected cases were reported, the Florida Department of Corrections said Wednesday. The confirmed cases were reported over the past 14 months at Lowell Correctional Institution, said Debbie Buchanan, a spokeswoman for the department. 5 other inmates have symptoms of the disease. All are being treated. Some 3,176 inmates were being tested at Lowell, a prison annex, a work camp and a boot camp located at the prison, which also houses Florida's death row for women. Virginia Larzelere, 52, sentenced to death for killing her husband in 1991, is the only woman on death row. In addition, several hundred employees, are being tested by prison medical authorities, who are working with the Marion County Health Department and Florida Department of Health, Buchanan said. She did not have a total on the number of employees. The prison houses youthful women offenders and pregnant offenders. As a result of the outbreak, visitation at the prison has been suspended and no inmates are being moved in or out of the facility, Buchanan said. Tuberculosis is a potentially fatal infection caused by a bacteria. It usually affects the lungs but can spread to the kidneys, bones, spine, brain and other parts of the body, according to American Academy of Family Physicians. Symptoms include abdominal pain, blurred vision, loss of appetite, dark urine, fever, nausea, rash or itching, tingling or burning feeling in hands and feet, vomiting and yellow color of eyes of skin, according to the physician's Web site. (source: The Associated Press) ******************** Death penalty dropped in homeless killing In Daytona Beach, the State Attorney's Office will not seek the death penalty in the fatal beating of a homeless man near Holly Hill, a prosecutor said Wednesday. Assistant State Attorney Ed Davis announced the decision not to seek death for Jeffery Spurgeon and Justin Stearns, both 18 and indicted on first-degree murder charges. They were considered eligible because of their ages for the death penalty if convicted. The decision was announced during a status conference before Circuit Judge Joseph Will for Spurgeon, Stearns and 3 other teens charged in connection with the May 25 fatal beating of Michael Eugene Roberts. Defense lawyers said they were pleased. "We're just glad they're not seeking the death penalty," said Assistant Public Defender Matt Phillips, 1 of 2 lawyers representing Spurgeon. State Attorney's Office spokeswoman Linda Pruitt said the decision was made after a careful review of the facts, which did not support seeking death. According to law enforcement reports, one of the teens said they beat Roberts in a wooded area "for something to do." Some of the teens left the woods off Nova Road and returned twice to beat Roberts, investigators said. Defense lawyers are still waiting to view evidence the state has collected. Davis said he hopes to turn over that evidence by the end of next week. The other teen indicted on a 1st-degree murder charge, Christopher Scamahorn, 14, could not be sentenced to death because of his age, but is being tried as an adult. Warren Messner, 15, faces a lesser 2nd-degree murder charge. All 4 Holly Hill teens are being held without bail at the Volusia County Branch Jail. A 5th teen, Phi Huynh, 15, of Daytona Beach, was charged with aggravated battery in the beating of Roberts and is free on $50,000 bail. Davis said during Wednesday's hearing he does not expect much in the way of complex scientific evidence, but the trial will involve testimony from many witnesses. Messner's lawyer, Richard Whitson, is seeking as many as 20 potential witnesses he believes were at the scene of the crime, according to court records. Whitson and other defense lawyers for the 5, who have entered written pleas of not guilty, discussed requesting a gag order to prevent involved parties from discussing the case with the media. Whitson plans to argue that statements Messner made to police were illegally obtained and should be kept from the trial. The next scheduled hearing is Aug. 8. Judge Will said he hopes the trial can begin in February. "This case is unhealthy lying around in the community," he said. "This case needs to be resolved." (source: Daytona Beach News-Journal) MISSOURI: Convicted, Executed, Not Guilty If Larry Griffin were being tried today for the murder of Quintin Moss, he would almost certainly be acquitted. The evidence is overwhelming that he did not kill Mr. Moss. But Mr. Griffin is not being tried today. He has already been executed for the murder. While significant, this development is not that much of a surprise to those who understand that human beings are fallible and that much of the criminal justice system in the United States is a crapshoot. Whether it is this case or some other, it is inevitable that we will learn of someone who has been executed for a crime that he or she did not commit. Judges and juries are no less prone to mistakes than politicians, reporters, doctors, engineers or center fielders. Which is why the death penalty should be abolished. Larry Griffin's case is probably not the best one for advancing this argument, but it's the case at hand. He was not a solid citizen. While it seems clear that he did not commit the crime for which he was executed - the killing of Mr. Moss - he did plead guilty to killing someone else. Mr. Griffin's character, or lack of same, does not make the principle at stake any less valid. This was recognized by Jennifer Joyce, the circuit attorney in St. Louis, where Mr. Moss was murdered way back in 1980. Ms. Joyce has taken the extraordinary step of officially reopening a murder investigation after the defendant was executed. Quintin Moss was 19 years old and a locally well-known drug dealer when he was shot 13 times in a drive-by attack on a notorious block in St. Louis known as "The Stroll." A bystander, Wallace Conners, was also shot but not seriously wounded. Mr. Conners, who knew Larry Griffin, saw the men who drove up and opened fire. He said Mr. Griffin was not one of the men. But he was never called, either by the prosecution or the defense, to testify at Mr. Griffin's trial. The key testimony was given by Robert Fitzgerald, a professional criminal who said he had witnessed the murder and identified Mr. Griffin as one of the shooters. Mr. Fitzgerald was in the federal witness protection program at the time. He had a number of felony charges pending and was an admitted user of heroin and speed. A Missouri Supreme Court justice said of Mr. Fitzgerald: "The only eyewitness to the murder had a seriously flawed background, and his ability to observe and identify the gunman was also subject to question." There was no physical evidence against Mr. Griffin, and no one else at the trial placed him at the scene of the attack. But he was convicted nevertheless, and executed by lethal injection on June 21, 1995. Mr. Fitzgerald was formally released from custody on the day Mr. Griffin was convicted. One of the reasons we have not had a definitive example of the execution of an innocent person is that official investigations cease once the death penalty has been carried out. In this case, an extremely unusual private investigation was conducted after Mr. Griffin's death. It was sponsored by the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and led by Samuel Gross, a professor at the University of Michigan Law School. That investigation has pretty much demolished Mr. Fitzgerald's account of what occurred and prompted Ms. Joyce to reopen the case. Mr. Conners, the wounded bystander, says flatly that Mr. Fitzgerald, who died last year, was not at the scene when the attack took place. And a St. Louis police officer who supported Mr. Fitzgerald's account at the trial now says that Mr. Fitzgerald told him, "I didn't see nothing." The officer says he can't explain why he supported Mr. Fitzgerald's false testimony at the trial. Professor Gross, who has received extensive pro bono help from prominent law firms, has given prosecutors the names of three men he believes committed the murder, and the evidence that points to their guilt. Ms. Joyce, who is reopening the case, was not in the circuit attorney's office when Mr. Griffin was prosecuted. She told me in a telephone conversation yesterday, "I just want to see the truth." The investigation will be thorough, she said, adding, "I wanted to take an independent look at it, and if mistakes were made, do what I can to rectify them, recognizing that there may not be much I could do." (source: Column, Bob Herbert; New York Times) SOUTH CAROLINA: Clifford Baker Death Penalty Trial-Still Waiting To Set The Date A man accused of killing a 4 year old boy was in court Wednesday to learn more about his trial date, but is still waiting. Wednesday the prosecution and defense met with Judge Few in the Greenville County Courthouse to set a trial date for Clifford Baker, instead, they determined they already need more time to gather and share information to prepare for his death penalty trial. 37 year old Baker is charged with Homicide by Child Abuse. Solicitor, Chrissy Adams says Baker was watching 4-year-old Billy Henry, Junior back in October 2004, while his mother, Joyce Veal went to work. The couple had been in an argument the night before and Veal feared something would happen to her son while she was at work. When she and deputies arrived at her home, the boy was unconscious. Autopsy reports show the boy died from trauma to the head. Adams says Baker was the only adult home with the child at the time. In court, Adams said theyd be prepared to try Baker by early next year, "There was not a great deal of sled evidence we're not dealing with DNA so we're not dealing with things that will take a long time to get back. So that's the reason that we feel it can probably be done a little more quickly." But, Defense attorney, Symmes Culbertson says, "They're trying got kill my client. I need to look to see what they have and what justification they have to try to put this man to death. Until I know what they're going to be relying on I don't know what we need to do." Judge Few gave the prosecution and defense 90 days to finish exchanged evidence, at that time theyll meet again and set the trial date for Baker. (source: Fox 21 News) USA: Congress moving wrong way on executions There is a growing awareness in this country, given a growing number of exonerations based on DNA and other evidence, that its too easy for innocent people to land on death row. These cases help explain why public support for the death penalty has been eroding. The U.S. Supreme Court is increasingly alarmed by the quality of legal representation afforded defendants in capital cases, and some states are hesitant to apply the death penalty given mounting doubts about the level of error built into their judicial systems. So its the opposite of logic to see some in Congress moving the other way, seeking to curtail the ability of federal courts to hear claims of an improper trial from defendants convicted in state court. The Senate is considering the ill-advised and Orwellian-sounding Streamlined Procedures Act. What this legislation and its House companion threaten to streamline is the execution or lifetime incarceration of the innocent. The federal judiciary is the ultimate guarantor of Americans constitutional rights, including the right to due process, and its sad to see members of Congress eager to further limit federal oversight over flawed state proceedings. The centerpiece of the legislation would eliminate the review of most claims for cases coming out of states that the U.S. Department of Justice has certified as providing defendants with competent counsel. Should we leave it up to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, he of the torture memos, to pass judgment on the quality of representation given convicts in Texas? Sounds like a great idea if you are a state prosecutor annoyed at those pesky federal judges. The measure may even be unconstitutional - it's for a federal court, not a federal prosecutor, to determine whether states are violating the U.S. Constitution. To sell their "streamlining" law, its proponents are offering to leave the door to the federal courthouse ajar for defendants who can point to evidence of their actual innocence. This is a cynical ploy. Its pretty hard to produce such evidence if your right to a competent lawyer has been denied, or if a prosecutor got someone to lie on the witness stand. Exonerations of people wrongly convicted of a crime typically start with a finding that there was a procedural flaw in the case, and only subsequent fair hearings establish the truth. Thats one reason Congress ought to stand up for the due process rights of all Americans. (source: Editorial, Los Angeles Times)
