August 1 MISSOURI----new execution date Supreme Court sets execution date for St. Louis man The state Supreme Court on Monday set an Aug. 31 execution for a St. Louis man convicted of killing his wife in 1989. Timothy Johnston, 44, is one of Missouri's longest-serving death row inmates and would be the 4th person put to death this year. He was convicted in 1991 of fatally kicking and beating his wife, Nancy, on June 30, 1989, after a night of drinking at a south St. Louis tavern near their home. In a still-pending case filed last year in federal court, Johnston is seeking to block his execution on grounds that the lethal injection would violate his constitutional right against cruel and unusual punishment. His lawsuit contends the state's chemical mixture - sodium pentothal, pancuronium bromide and potassium chloride - will cause him to "consciously suffer an excruciating, painful and protracted death." He also argues that the dose is administered by inadequately trained personnel with inappropriate equipment. Attorney General Jay Nixon said he would continue to fight any attempts by Johnston to avoid execution. "The brutality of this murder was such that the jury determined that death was the appropriate punishment," Nixon said in a written statement. (source: Associated Press) PENNSYLVANIA: PA Governor Rendell Signs Execution Warrant Pennsylvania Gov. Edward G. Rendell today signed a warrant for the execution by lethal injection of Antyane Robinson, a Fort Washington, Maryland man who was convicted of a slaying in Cumberland County. Robinson's execution is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 29. In March 1997, Robinson was convicted and sentenced to die for shooting his former girlfriend's boyfriend, 23-year-old Rashawn Bass, in Carlisle. Robinson was formally sentenced to death on April 1, 1997. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court affirmed Robinson's conviction and death sentence in an opinion dated Nov. 24, 1998. On March 15, 1999, a warrant was issued scheduling Robinson's execution for May 12, 1999. On April 20, 1999, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court stayed the execution pending resolution of Robinson's petition for writ of certiorari by the U.S. Supreme Court. On Jan. 10, 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court denied Robinson's writ and the stay was lifted. A 2nd warrant was issued on Feb. 7, 2000, scheduling Robinson's execution for March 28, 2000. On March 10, 2000, Robinson filed a Post Conviction Relief Act (PCRA) petition, and the trial court issued a stay on the same day pending resolution of PCRA proceedings. The trial court denied Robinson's PCRA petition on April 22, 2002 and Robinson appealed to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. On June 22, 2005, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court affirmed the denial of Post-Conviction Relief, thereby lifting the stay. Robinson, 36, is an inmate at the State Correctional Institution at Greene. Rendell has now signed 41 death warrants. (source: Pennsylvania Office of the Governor) DELAWARE: Witnesses remember murder victim at death penalty hearing Family and friends remembered murder victim Kenneth L. Tull today as a gentle man who raised his nephews like they were his sons and shared his love of animals with pet store customers. Tull's mother, Mamie Garber; his wife, Tina, and his sister, Deborah Ash, were among the witnesses whom prosecutors called as they argued for the death penalty for Jason Walker, convicted Thursday of 1st-degree murder in Tull's killing. Under state law, the same Superior Court jury must now recommend whether Walker should be sentenced to death or life in prison. A judge will make the final decision. Tull was shot to death in his pet shop in Prices Corner, Tull's Aquarium and Pets, in April 2004. "Kenneth Lee Tull was a man of character, honesty and integrity," Deputy Attorney General Stephen Walther said. "By contrast, Jason Walker was and will forever remain a thief, a robber and a murderer." Defense attorney Dawn Miello said excuses would not be offered for the murder. But she said the defense team would call witnesses to show the experiences that shaped Walker's life. Miello said Walker, 26, grew up in a poverty-stricken household with an absent father and an unaffectionate mother who did not guide her children. "The only stability in Jasons life was the chaos among which he lived," she said. (source: The News Journal)
