July 27 INDIANA----execution//volunteer Man executed for '88 murders----Death penalty opponents protest; convict who killed 3 men didn't want governor to spare his life An Indianapolis man who told the governor he wanted to die got his wish early this morning, as he was executed for killing 3 men back in 1988. Kevin A. Conner was put to death at 12:31 a.m. by lethal injection at the Indiana State Prison, officials said. Outside, a steady rain had limited protesters to a few moments of gathering outside their cars. Conner had wanted no protests, no efforts to save his life; he had written to Gov. Mitch Daniels that "killing a person is far more honest and humane than imposed repression under the guise of justice in the penal system." A statement released earlier Tuesday through his attorneys reflected a similar view: "Everybody has to die sometime . . . let's get on with the killing." Besides being convicted in the deaths of three men in Indianapolis, Conner also claimed to have killed a fellow death row inmate in 2002. Despite Conner's wishes, capital punishment opponents wanted to use the occasion of another execution -- the 4th this year -- to call attention to an issue that, they said, goes beyond the desires of one condemned man. One protester, Marti Pizzini of the Duneland Coalition Against the Death Penalty, said fewer prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. "Capital punishment "is beginning to wither away in the United States," she said. "We want to keep nipping at its heels." Conner, an avid reader of philosophy and science fiction, donated most of his books to the prison library. He donated his television to Fredrick Michael Baer, sentenced to death last month for killing Cory Clark, 26, and Jenna Clark, 4, at their rural Madison County home. Defense lawyer Linda Wagoner witnessed the execution. "He was very calm, ready to be done with it," she said. "He waved at us and pretty much went to sleep." Monday, prison officials say, Conner was served a last meal. He also watched Showtime's "Dead Like Me," a dark comedy about a team of grim reapers. Tuesday, he spent his final hours alone in his cell, making phone calls to friends and relatives. He was allowed to smoke 2 Dutch Masters cigars. He did not meet with a spiritual adviser. In January 1988, Conner killed Steven Wentland, 19; Anthony Moore, 24; and Bruce Voge, 19, during an hourlong rampage. Last week, he also admitted stabbing to death inmate Jerry Thompson, 41, during a recreation break at the prison on Oct. 27, 2002. Conner was among 7 inmates present when Thompson was stabbed to death. Thompson was convicted of fatally shooting 2 people in 1991. Moore's sister Dianna Bevers said Conner never showed remorse. "We feel like Kevin's life was a tragedy to start with," Bevers said. "My heart goes out to his family and him because he destroyed his life; he destroyed my brother's life." Conner called his spiritual beliefs "nondenominational mystic," which troubles Bevers. "I'm gonna be on my knees praying that at the last minute he asks God for forgiveness," she had said before the execution. Wentland's mother said her family has found closure. "You can't dwell on it," Sharon Wentland said. "It's much better to say yes, we lost a son, we miss him and love him, but now we have to keep going." Some have described Conner as a cold, remorseless killer; Kathy Stinton-Glen, a Zionsville attorney who also represented him, said the inmate she got to know was generous, kind and funny. "I think he is a bright, talented kid who's paying for a hell of a night," she had said earlier Tuesday. "He's easy to work with, and very appreciative. I will miss him." Conner and his victims were drinking at Moore's Southside home. Prosecutors say Conner, Moore and Wentland went for a drive. They argued, and Moore stabbed Wentland and struck him with a car. Conner also stabbed Wentland more than a dozen times, police say. Soon after, prosecutors say, Conner shot Moore to death with a sawed-off shotgun at a business in the 1600 block of Deloss Street. Conner then returned to Moore's home and gunned down Voge, who had been sleeping -- until, Conner told police, he kicked the couch to wake the 19-year-old so Voge could see what was coming. Police captured Conner 2 days later in Amarillo, Texas, on a bus bound for California. The day after a judge sentenced Conner to die, he jumped a wall and escaped from the Marion County Jail. He ran for about 3 minutes before being recaptured. In 1994, Conner and 4 others on death row used hacksaw blades, makeshift knives and a grappling hook in an attempt to escape from prison. Conner and 3 others made it to the base of the outside wall before being spotted and captured. It seemed clear he had no desire to spend his life behind bars. In the end, execution was his escape. In an interview with The Indianapolis Star last week, he continued to argue for his own execution. "Why subject me to torture, when you can put me out of my misery?" he asked. "Not to say I'm a miserable person. I just don't like being in prison. Not at all." Conner becomes the 4th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in Indiana and the 15th overall since the state resumed capital punishment in 1982. Conner becomes the 31st condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the USA and the 975th overall since America resumed executions on January 17, 1977. (sources: Indianapolis Star & Rick Halperin) ILLINOIS: Mother won't face death penalty Cook County prosecutors said Tuesday they will not seek the death penalty for Amanda Fredrickson, the Streamwood mother convicted of starving her 18-month-old son James to death. A jury last month convicted Fredrickson, 28, of one count of murder for killing a child under 12 years old but acquitted her of killing James in a "brutal or heinous" manner, "indicative of wanton cruelty." Because the jury didn't find James' death "brutal or heinous," prosecutors weren't going to ask the judge to do so during Fredrickson's sentencing hearing, said Steve Rosenblum, Cook County assistant state's attorney. Instead, they will ask for the maximum 100-year prison sentence. Susan Smith, Fredrickson's defense attorney, said she was relieved the death penalty was no longer a possibility. "I think it's the right decision," Smith said. "She's going to be punished for the rest of her life." At the trial's onset, Fredrickson chose Cook County Judge Thomas Fecarotta Jr. instead of the jury to decide her fate if convicted. Fecarotta sentenced her husband, Kristian, to 45 years in prison for James' death. Kristian Fredrickson pleaded guilty to murder in July 2004 in exchange for prosecutors dropping the death penalty. Those serving sentences for 1st-degree murder convictions don't get time off for good behavior. James, who would have just turned 5 years old, died in December 2001 weighing only 1 pound more at death than he did at birth. His emaciated body was found in the family's Streamwood condo, which was stocked not only with bags of trash but also a bizarre array of science fiction figurines and Japanese animation movies. (source: Daily Herald) MONTANA: Supreme Court sends Dawson death row case back to lower court The Montana Supreme Court on Tuesday said a state judge should decide whether death-row inmate David Dawson knows what he's doing in seeking to have his attorneys and appeals dismissed. The order comes nearly two months after U.S. Magistrate Judge Richard Anderson, in Billings, ruled Dawson was aware of the consequences involved and recommended that a federal judge back Dawson's request to end his federal appeals, fire his attorneys and accede to his execution. In issuing the order, the high court set aside its decision last year denying a state request to return the matter to District Court in Yellowstone County for consideration of Dawson's competency in making the requests. Pam Collins, an assistant attorney general, said it was not clear how the state case will track with the current federal action. However, she said the state would follow its duty in the case, which is to "fulfill the court's judgment of conviction and sentence." 18 years ago, Dawson was sentenced to death for kidnapping a family from their Billings' motel room and killing the parents, David and Monica Rodstein, and their son, Andrew. Police later rescued a daughter, Amy Rodstein. For nearly a year, Dawson has sought to end ongoing appeals so he can die. His attorneys have argued, among other things, that he was not thinking clearly in seeking to do so. Bill Hooks, an attorney who has represented Dawson, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment Tuesday. Michael Donahoe, a Helena attorney who has been assisting Dawson in the federal matter, said objections have been filed to Anderson's recommendation. He said he's not sure how the state court will handle the case. (source: Associated Press) CALIFORNIA: Murder Verdict Reversed in 1981 Slaying----A federal appeals court said the prosecution's deal with a key witness prevented a Lassen County man from getting a fair trial. A federal appeals court on Tuesday reversed the murder conviction of a Lassen County man who has been on death row since 1982, ruling that prosecutors violated his rights by failing to reveal a deal they had made with the key witness. However, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld kidnapping, robbery and firearms convictions against Benjamin W. Silva, 52, making it unlikely that he will get out of prison, according to the California attorney general's office. The appeals court had overturned Silva's death sentence 3 years ago, stating that his attorney provided constitutionally deficient representation at the penalty phase of the trial. At issue this time was a claim by Silva's appellate attorneys: That prosecutors had denied Silva due process of law by failing to disclose that the key prosecution witness had been prohibited from undergoing psychiatric testing until after he testified against Silva. The witness, Norman Thomas, had suffered severe brain damage in a motorcycle accident several years before the trial. The effects of his injuries could have raised questions about his competence as a witness if they had been revealed at trial and could have affected the case's outcome, the court ruled. The unanimous decision reversed a ruling by a federal trial judge, who had concluded that the prosecution's conduct was immaterial. The 3-judge panel, which sits in San Francisco, made it clear that it had no sympathy for Silva, but that his constitutional rights had been violated. "The evidence in this case leaves no doubt that Silva was involved in the sordid conduct that led to the deaths of Kevin Thorpe and Laura Craig," Judge Betty B. Fletcher wrote for the court. According to testimony and court records, in January 1981 Silva, Thomas and Joe Shelton used a red light to simulate a police car and stop Thorpe, 21, and Craig, 20, on U.S. Highway 395 near Madeline, a town in the northeast corner of the state. The three men forced the 2 college students to drive to Shelton's property and took their cash and belongings, court records show. "Thorpe was then chained to a tree while Craig was taken inside a cabin and repeatedly sexually assaulted," according to an earlier appeals court decision in the case. The next day, Silva and Shelton killed Thorpe by shooting him at close range with a machine gun. At Silva's direction, Thomas testified, he dismembered Thorpe's body. Several days later Craig was shot twice and left by the side of a road. A few weeks after being found in possession of a firearm - a violation of his probation - Thomas told police about the slayings. In exchange for the evidence he provided, murder charges were dropped and Thomas received an 11-year sentence. Shelton was convicted of killing Thorpe and Craig and received a life sentence. Silva was convicted of killing Thorpe, but acquitted of Craig's killing. In 1988, the California Supreme Court upheld the guilty verdict and death sentence against Silva. The U.S. Supreme Court declined review. Then, new lawyers asked U.S. District Judge Dickran Tevrizian to review the case. "Unfortunately," the 9th Circuit said Tuesday, "the reliability of the jury's verdict as to Silva's role as the triggerman in Thorpe's murder was compromised by the Lassen County district attorney's unscrupulous decision to keep secret the deal he made to prevent an evaluation of the competence of the state's star witness." After Thomas was charged, his defense lawyer contemplated a psychiatric defense because of Thomas' motorcycle accident. But the agreement with prosecutors put off any testing until after Silva's trial. Under the Supreme Court's landmark 1963 decision in Brady vs. Maryland, a prosecutor is required to provide to the defense any information that might prove exculpatory. Silva's appellate lawyers asserted that the Brady ruling clearly covered the deal on psychiatric testing. The 9th Circuit agreed. "When prosecutors betray their solemn obligations and abuse the immense power they hold, the fairness of our entire system of justice is called into doubt and public confidence in it is undermined," wrote Fletcher, an appointee of President Carter. Judges Sidney R. Thomas and Kim M. Wardlaw, both appointees of President Clinton, joined the opinion. "The particularly atrocious nature of the crimes with which Silva was charged cannot diminish the prosecutor's - and our court's - duty to ensure that all persons accused of crimes receive due process of law," Fletcher wrote. (source: Los Angeles Times)
