July 22 VIRGINIA----impending execution Supreme Court refuses to delay execution The U-S Supreme Court refused today to stop next week's scheduled execution of a Virginia man for the murder-for-hire shooting of his marijuana supplier. The justices did not comment on their reasons for rejecting 23-year-old Justin Michael Wolfe's petition for a stay of execution. Wolfe, from Centreville, is scheduled to die Wednesday for the 2001 slaying of 21-year-old Daniel Petrole Junior. Wolfe's attorneys asked the Supreme Court address whether Virginia has the right to limit post-conviction petitions to 50 pages. Prisoners other than those on death row have an unlimited number of pages to present their claims. Wolfe, Petrole and gunman Owen Merton Barber the Fourth of Chantilly had been members of a marijuana ring operating throughout northern Virginia. Barber agreed to plead guilty to 1st-degree murder and testify against Wolfe in exchange for a life sentence, which he is serving at Wallens Ridge State Prison in Big Stone Gap. (source: Associated Press) ARKANSAS----stay of impending execution Judge Grants Stay in Newman Execution -- Public Defender Seeks Stay of Execution for Rickey Dale Newman In Little Rock, a federal judge has raised questions about documents in the case of condemned killer Rickey Dale Newman and has granted Newman a stay of his Tuesday execution. The 47-year-old Newman has resisted attempts to appeal his death sentence. But U.S. District Judge Robert Dawson Friday wrote an order that questions whether Newman is competent to waive his appeals and whether recent documents in the case clearly state Newman's intentions. The state Attorney General's office does not plan to appeal the stay. A spokesman says he expects there will be hearings in the matter. Newman was convicted in Van Buren after he admitted killing Marie Cholette, 46, of Fort Worth, Texas. The motion for a stay was filed in federal court in Fort Smith on Wednesday by federal public defender Jenniffer Horan. At issue is a document dated July 13th "purporting" to address whether Newman wants any pleadings filed on his behalf. Lawyers for Newman say in a July 22 filing that the earlier document was a "misleading declaration" that was unethically obtained from Newman by the prison system. (source: Associated Press) CALIFORNIA: Avila Gets Death Penalty in Runnion Murder A judge today ordered Alejandro Avila to be put to death for the killing of Samantha Runnion, the 5-year old whom he kidnapped, molested and murdered in 2002. Avila showed no emotion as Orange County Superior Court Judge William R. Froeberg imposed the sentence recommended in May by a jury. "He took the innocence and life of a child," said Froeberg. "He has forfeited his right to live." Sentencing came exactly 3 years after Avila was charged with the crimes and four days before what would have been Samantha's 9th birthday. Samantha's mother, Erin Runnion, spoke in court, calling Avila "stupid," and said she couldn't comprehend why he would kill her young daughter. "I know she looked at you with those amazing brown eyes and you still wanted to kill her," she said. "And I don't understand it, and I never will. It's like you never learned to think. You have absolutely no concept of how heinous, how egregious your acts were. I can't help but wonder how it is you survived as long as you did, being so stupid." Avila becomes the 645th person on California's death row. The last man executed was Donald Beardslee, in January, who awaited execution for 20 years and 10 months. Avila's death will be delayed by years because of automatic appeals. The crime attracted national attention during a wave of child abductions that year, including the high-profile kidnapping and slaying of Danielle van Dam, a 7-year-old San Diego girl. After the arrest of Avila, a Lake Elsinore factory worker, TV interviewer Larry King hailed Orange County Sheriff Michael S. Carona as "America's sheriff" and called Samantha "America's little girl." President Bush publicly praised Carona for arresting Samantha's killer. Jurors deliberated six hours. Several said that looking at photographs of Samantha's bludgeoned body was the most difficult part of deliberations. Foreman Terry Dancey, of Newport Beach, said at the time that "if anyone in Orange County had ever deserved the death penalty, then this guy deserved it." Dancey was present this morning, passing out buttons bearing the victim's picture. Avila was convicted after a monthlong trial that centered on DNA evidence tying him to the child he snatched as she played outside her family's Orange County condominium. His DNA was found under her fingernails, indicating she fought to get away, and DNA consistent with her tears was detected inside his car. (source: Los Angeles Times) PENNSYLVANIA: DA to seek death penalty against man accused of ramming cycle In Uniontown, the district attorney plans to pursue the death penalty against a man accused of using his truck to ram a motorcycle, killing his former girlfriend and the driver. Edward A. Belch, 44, of McClellandtown, knew he could injure or kill other people when he chased Terri Lynn Gresko, 44, and Thomas D. Myers on their motorcycle May 10, according to court documents filed this week by Fayette County District Attorney Nancy Vernon. A witness told police Belch used his truck to chase the couple on a motorcycle. The witness said after the crash, Belch allegedly stood over Gresko's body and said, "Terri, I told you I was going to get you." Belch "knowingly created a grave risk of death to another person in addition to the victim of the offense," Vernon wrote in court documents. Vernon listed other aggravating circumstances when she argued why prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty if Belch is convicted of criminal homicide, including that the offense was "committed by means of torture." Belch's attorney, David J. DeFazio, said his client was intoxicated at the time of the crash and that's a mitigating factor that blocks the death penalty. DeFazio maintained the crash was an accident. Gresko had a protection-from-abuse order against Belch. (source: Associated Press) KENTUCKY: Local Killer Avoids Death Penalty With Deal----Hearn Gets Life Sentence A Louisville man convicted of murdering a Louisville teen agreed to a sentencing deal Friday. Javon Hearn, 25, faced the possibility of a death sentence in the case, WLKY NewsChannel 32's Andy Alcock reported. But the defendant took that option out of the hands of his jury by accepting a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for at least 25 years. Hearn was convicted Thursday of killing David Kiphart Jr. in 2002. But rather then waiting for jurors to deliberate a sentence, he quickly accepted his fate, and after Friday's decision, the victim's father expressed his gratitude. "We're not vengeful people," David Kiphart Sr. said. "Justice was served, the judicial system is in place and it works." After he shot Kiphart 3 years ago, Hearn stole the victim's car and then dumped Kiphart's body at Green Meadows Cemetery off of Cane Run Road, Alcock reported. "This was a terribly cold and brutal murder," prosecutor Rob Bonar said. "It was absolutely senseless." Hearn's defense attorney, Steve Strepey, said despite the sentencing agreement, there's no guarantee that it's completely over. "As part of this agreement, we are not waiving any appeal rights," Strepey said. "My client is maintaining all appeal rights in this case." Kiphart Sr. said he wasn't hoping for a death sentence, Alcock reported. "Death is something that is natural to all of us," he said. "It's the easy way out. I didn't want a death sentence. It serves no purpose -- not in this case -- I don't think." Added Bonar: "We are satisfied, and remember, it's a life sentence. 25 (years) is simply his minimum parole eligibility. We're very satisfied with the result." (source: The LousivilleChannel) NEW YORK----defendant faces federal death penalty Accused cops-killer to face death penalty Federal prosecutors said Friday that they are seeking the death penalty against Ronnell Wilson, who was indicted in the slayings of 2 undercover police detectives in March 2003. Word of U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' decision to seek capital punishment against Wilson, 23, was disclosed during a court hearing by Brooklyn Assistant U.S. Attorney Colleen Kavanagh. Wilson did not react as the government's decision to pursue the death penalty was revealed. He was indicted in November along with four other reputed members of the "Stapleton Crew," a gang investigators believe sold drugs and terrorized residents of the Stapleton area of Staten Island. It was during a gun trafficking investigation of the gang that undercover Detectives James Nemorin and Rodney J. Andrews were allegedly shot in the head by Wilson on March 10, 2003. The other defendants indicted in the case -- Michael Whitten, 21, Paris Bullock, 23, Angel Rodriguez, 23, and Jamal Brown, 22, -- do not face capital punishment but could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted of racketeering charges. All, including Wilson, are being held at the federal Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis said to both defense attorneys and prosecutors that a trial wouldn't take place before fall 2006. He also indicated that the non-capital defendants could wait until 2007 for trial if their cases were severed from Wilson's. Defense attorney Kelley Sharkey told Garaufis that Wilson had been deprived of telephone privileges and has suffered other penalties for what appeared to be minor infractions at the detention center, where he is being held in solitary confinement. Wilson's jail problems, which are under administrative appeal, appear to be the result of the charges that he was a cop killer, said attorney Ephraim Savitt, who is representing the defendant on the death penalty. Savitt said he believed the case was charged under federal law because New York State doesn't have a viable death penalty law. "I am saddened by the fact that federal court has become a sort of catch-all for death penalty prosecutions in New York State," Savitt said outside the courtroom. Savitt also said that he believed the death penalty is being sought because of the "political" nature of the case. The fact that 2 police officers were killed has made the case political, Savitt explained. (source: Newsday)
