July 19 OKLAHOMA----execution Former soldier executed for murder A former U.S. soldier and in-prison convert to Islam was executed Tuesday evening for the 1991 murder of a convenience store clerk. Michael L. Pennington, 37, who changed his name to Sharieff Sallahdin while at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary, was pronounced dead at 6:10 p.m., corrections officials said. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals rejected a stay request filed this past week. The U.S. Supreme Court also declined to stop the execution. Shortly before 6 p.m., the 5-foot-7 man was strapped to a gurney in the execution chamber. Pennington's only comment was, "No statement." He then mouthed the words "I love you," to 2 family member who witnessed his execution. None of the victim's relatives attended the execution. The former weightlifter and body builder was convicted in 1993 of the murder of clerk Bradley Thomas Grooms, 20, during a robbery attempt on Oct. 21, 1991. Pennington, who was stationed at nearby Fort Sill, shot Grooms once in the back with a sawed-off, 12-gauge shotgun. After killing Grooms, Pennington fired several times into a cash register and throughout the store. Despite killing Grooms and using all his ammunition, Pennington left the store empty-handed when the register failed to open. Police tracked Pennington to his wife's house in Akron, Ohio, where he was arrested. Pennington has argued in court that the murder was a psychotic consequence of his steroid use. He said in appeals of the death sentence that the anabolic steroids, taken to enhance his weightlifting and body building regimen, altered his normal behavior and transformed him from a disciplined soldier into a fleeing killer. The next execution in Oklahoma is scheduled for Aug. 11. Kenneth Eugene Turrentine, 52, is scheduled to die that day for a Tulsa County killing spree. Turrentine was convicted of the June 4, 1994, slayings of his sister, Avon Stevenson, his girlfriend, Anita Louise Richardson, and Richardson's children, Tina L. Pennington, 22, and Martise D. Richardson, 13. Turrentine shot Stevenson at her home and Richardson and her children at their residence, both in northeast Tulsa. Turrentine suspected that Richardson, 39, was having an affair, and that Stevenson, 48, knew about it, authorities said. Pennington becomes the 3rd condemned inmate to be put to death this year in Oklahoma, and the 78th overall since the state resumed capital punishment in 1990. Only Texas (345) and Virginia (94) have executed more condemned inmates in the USA since the death penalty was re-legalized on July 2, 1976. Pennington becomes the 30th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the USA and the 974th overall since America resumed executions on January 17, 1977. (sourcces: Associated Press & Rick Halperin) *************************** OKC crime lab receives accreditation The Oklahoma City police crime laboratory, once hampered by allegations against one of its chemists and an equipment malfunction that tainted biological evidence in scores of criminal cases, has been accredited by a national organization, officials announced Tuesday. Police officials were notified June 27 that the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board had reviewed the department's application and inspection package and accredited all disciplines at the Laboratory Services Division, Sgt. Charles Phillips said. "They came in and did a weeklong audit and inspection of basically everything, from procedures to policies in place for analysis of samples, site security, evidence and special preservation, and it also called for a great amount of peer review," Phillips said. After some "well-documented" issues date back to 2001, Phillips said the department made a commitment to reorganize and have the police lab certified and accredited. "Following our decision to do that, there was a state law passed in 2002 requiring that all labs in the state of Oklahoma that submit evidence for the purpose of prosecution, would be and must be accredited by ASCLD/LAB," Phillips said. "We took all the different disciplines from forensic (DNA), toxicology lab, drug testing lab, fingerprinting and tool-marking analysis and grouped these all under a single lab director." Ron Williams, the director of laboratory services, was tasked with overseeing the accreditation process. More than 4 years ago, a series of investigations began into the work of Joyce Gilchrist, a former police chemist. A 2001 FBI report found that Gilchrist misidentified hair and fibers in at least 6 criminal cases and gave testimony that went beyond what her science showed. Gilchrist was fired and has been sued by at least 2 inmates who spent nearly 20 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted. In 2000, biological evidence from nearly 1,000 criminal cases was tainted when a freezer broke down for several days, exposing the frozen samples to above freezing temperatures. Phillips said police officials want to show that the department has integrity when it comes to its role in criminal prosecutions. "... by doing this (becoming accredited), we feel that without a doubt, the public trusts that the judicial process is going to work as it should," he said. Besides the Oklahoma City lab, laboratories for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, the Oklahoma County District Attorney and the Broken Arrow police department were certified, Phillips said. (source: Associated Press) FLORIDA: Trial to begin in sandwich shop death----Dennis Markly Bryan charged with murder in 2000 shooting case The defense would leap at the first hint of a deal, but the prosecution has no intention of offering one to a man who went on trial for his life Monday in the 2000 shooting death of a St. Augustine Subway employee. Dennis Markly Bryan, 24, faces charges of 1st-degree murder and armed robbery with a firearm or deadly weapon in connection with the shooting death of Lee Pennington on Aug. 14, 2000. Bryan's co-defendant, David Scott Baumann, 23, is scheduled to go to trial for the same charges on Aug. 15. "We'll plead to life in prison at any moment," defense attorney Thomas R. Mott said when asked by Circuit Judge William Parsons if a plea bargain had been considered. "There has been no offer by the state," said Assistant State Attorney Maureen Christine. "We're not interested." Kay Pennington, the victim's mother, "has waited 5 years for justice," Christine added. Parsons, who normally presides in Daytona Beach as chief judge of the Seventh Judicial Circuit, pointed out that, in death penalty cases, "The litigation part takes about 12 years." "If the family is looking for (finality), it's a long way away," the judge said. Since Bryan has already been sentenced to 50 years in prison for another killing in Bristol, Va., an additional prison term would be seen as "no punishment" for Pennington's death, said Christine. Bryan, of Fair Haven, Mich., and Baumann, of New Baltimore, Mich., are accused of killing 3 men in 3 states during a cross-country robbery spree that began in August 2000. The pair got in a Pontiac Firebird convertible and drove from Michigan to Bristol, Va., Bryan reportedly told police investigators. He is said to have told police that Baumann went into Sam's Gun Shop on Aug. 10 with a foot-long Galactic Warrior knife and stabbed 63-year-old clerk Norman Pelfrey to death. Baumann reportedly came out of the shop with 14 guns in a book bag, authorities said. 4 days later, 2 men wearing masks entered the Subway sandwich shop on State Road 16 between 11:30 p.m. and midnight. They confronted Pennington, who was working by himself. While a videocamera captured the robbery on tape, the masked men shot Pennington with a 9 mm Taurus handgun and put his body in the restaurant's cooler. Bryan and Baumann also are suspected of killing Justin Mello in New Baltimore in October 2000. The 2 were arrested in Whitley County, Ky., in November 2000, shortly after the armed robbery of a motel clerk near Interstate 75 in Williamsburg. Police there reportedly confiscated the guns taken from the Bristol gun shop. One of those guns was used to kill Pennington, police said when Baumann and Bryan were arrested. Baumann pleaded guilty to capital murder in a Bristol, Va., court in April 2001. He was sentenced to 2 life terms for the murder and armed robbery. Bryan was convicted of 1st-degree murder in July 2001 and sentenced to 50 years -- 40 for Pelfrey's death and 10 for robbery, according to the Virginia Department of Corrections. Christine named 36 witnesses the prosecution intends to call for Bryan's trial. Mott, of Daytona Beach, has listed none so far. His co-counsel is Anne Marie Gennusa. The trial, which is expected to last through the end of next week, will be "a time-consuming endeavor perhaps an emotionally taxing endeavor," Mott told the prospective jurors. The proceedings have been put on hold till 2 p.m. Wednesday when the judge will hear several pre-trial motions that Mott has filed. Immediately afterward, Christine will present witnesses who will give statements about the robberies in Kentucky and the robbery/homicide in Virginia. During a March hearing, Christine said she believes the crimes committed in Florida, Kentucky and Virginia are more than "similar crimes." "I believe they're inextricably intertwined," she told Circuit Judge John M. Alexander at the time. "In order to find out how we identified the defendants, how we identified the weapon and so forth, I need the witnesses from Kentucky and Virginia to come testify." Other testimony can't be heard before those witnesses, Christine said, because it is "important for the jurors to hear the progression of events." The main trial is expected to begin Thursday morning. The trial will only last a half day Friday so that Parsons may preside over the investiture of recently appointed Circuit Judge Wendy Berger that afternoon. (source: St. Augustine Record) USA: Bush nominates John Roberts for Supreme Court President Bush named federal appeals court judge John Roberts Jr. to a seat on the Supreme Court Tuesday, delighting Republicans while unsettling some Democrats with the selection of a young jurist with impeccable conservative credentials. "John Roberts has devoted his entire professional life to the cause of justice," Bush said in a prime-time announcement at the White House, "and is widely admired for his intellect his sound judgment and his personal decency." If confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate, the 50-year-old Roberts would succeed retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who has long been a swing vote on a court divided narrowly on issues such as abortion, affirmative action, states' rights and the death penalty. Roberts stood at Bush's side as the president heaped praise on him, calling him "one of the finest legal minds" in the country. The president said he had recently spoken with Senate leaders of both parties and said they "share my goal" of confirmation proceedings conducted with dignity and fairness. In brief remarks, Roberts said it "is both an honor and very humbling to be nominated to serve on the Supreme Court." He said he has argued numerous cases before the high court during his career, adding, "I always got a lump in my throat whenever I walked up those marble steps to argue a case before the court, and I don't think it was just from the nerves." The Harvard-educated Roberts learned of his selection in a lunchtime phone call from the president, according to administration officials. White House aides arranged for a prime time formal announcement as they sought the widest possible audience for a president making his 1st pick to the court - and the nation's first in more than a decade. Initial reaction from Republicans was strongly in favor of Roberts. Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama called him a "fabulous nominee" and predicted that if confirmed, he would "bring a nonpolitical approach to judging." Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., a leading conservative, called him "brilliant. Democratic reaction was more measured, but initially at least, offered no hint of a filibuster. "The president has chosen someone with suitable legal credentials, but that is not the end of our inquiry," said Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada. Referring to planned hearings in the Senate Judiciary Committee, Reid said, "I will not prejudge this nomination. I look forward to learning more about Judge Roberts." "Who knows about this guy?" said Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa. The abortion rights group NARAL Pro-Choice America immediately announced its opposition to Roberts. Bush has said he wants his pick confirmed and seated on the bench by the time the court convenes for its new term in October. Hearings are likely in late August or early September. Roberts has already won Senate confirmation once before - he was approved in 2003 when the president named him to his current post on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. His professional resume also includes a turn as clerk to William H. Rehnquist, who is 80 and battling thyroid cancer but recently affirmed his intention to remain as chief justice as long as his health allows. Advocacy groups on the right say that Roberts, a native of Buffalo, who graduated with honors from Harvard Law School in 1979, is a bright judge with strong conservative credentials he burnished in the administrations of former Presidents Bush and Reagan. While he has been a federal judge for just a little more than two years, legal experts say that whatever experience he lacks on the bench is offset by his many years arguing cases before the Supreme Court. Liberal groups, however, say Roberts has taken positions in cases involving free speech and religious liberty that endanger those rights. Abortion rights groups allege that Roberts, while deputy solicitor general during former Bush's administration, was hostile to women's reproductive freedom and cite a brief he co-wrote in 1990 that suggested the Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 high court decision that legalized abortion. "The court's conclusion in Roe that there is a fundamental right to an abortion ... finds no support in the text, structure or history of the Constitution," the brief said. In his defense, Roberts told senators during his 2003 confirmation hearing that he would be guided by legal precedent. "Roe v. Wade is the settled law of the land. ... There is nothing in my personal views that would prevent me from fully and faithfully applying that precedent." While he doesn't have national name recognition, Roberts is a Washington insider who has worked over the years at the White House, Justice Department and in private practice. In the Reagan administration, Roberts was special assistant to the attorney general and associate counsel to the president. Between 1989 and 1993, he was principal deputy solicitor general, the government's 2nd-highest lawyer, who argues cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. It was Rehnquist who presided over the swearing-in ceremony when Roberts took his seat on the appeals court for the District of Columbia. It took a while for Roberts to get on the bench. He was nominated for the court in 1992 by the first President Bush and again by the president in 2001. The nominations died in the Senate both times. He was renominated in January 2003 and joined the court in June 2003. Roberts' nomination to the appellate court attracted support from both sites of the ideological spectrum. Some 126 members of the District of Columbia Bar, including officials of the Clinton administration, signed a letter urging his confirmation. The letter said Roberts was one of the "very best and most highly respected appellate lawyers in the nation" and that his reputation as a "brilliant writer and oral advocate" was well deserved. "He has been a judge for only two years and authored about 40 opinions, only three of which have drawn any dissent," said Wendy Long, a lawyer representing the conservative Judicial Confirmation Network, adding that his record appears to suit Bush's desire to nominate a judge who will apply the law, as written, and leave policy decisions to the elected branches of government. Advocacy groups on the left and the right already are gearing up for a fierce lobbying campaign in advertisements on television, radio, newspapers and the Internet. The battle is expected to cost tens of millions of dollars in spending by private groups. Roberts was one of five prospective nominees whom Bush met with between Thursday and Saturday, according to a senior administration official who provided details of the selection. This official said Bush's meeting with Roberts was in the sitting area of the residence so that they could get to know each other in a comfortable setting. The president's dogs, Barney and Miss Beazley, were under foot. To meet with Bush and his advisers, Roberts shuttled back and forth across the Atlantic from London where he was teaching a class. Bush did not ask Roberts any questions about abortion, gay marriage or other specific issues that might come before the Supreme Court, the official said. (source: Associated Press)
