August 22
MARYLAND:
Convicted sniper John Muhammad moved to Maryland
John Allen Muhammad, the mastermind of the Washington area sniper
shootings, has been moved to Maryland.
A spokeswoman tells The Associated Press that Muhammad was moved from
Virginia before five a.m.. A news conference is scheduled later today at
the jail for authorities to answer questions about the transfer.
In June, a Montgomery County, Maryland, grand jury indicted Muhammad and
Lee Malvo on 6 murder counts each. That's one for each of the sniper
victims killed in the county in October 2002.
If convicted, Muhammad could get the death penalty, while Malvo faces up
to 6 consecutive life terms.
Muhammad already got a death sentence for a shooting in Manassas, Virgina,
while Malvo got life without parole for a murder in Falls Church. Malvo
was extradited to Maryland last month.
Muhammad and Malvo are also charged with capital murder in Alabama for the
September 2002 shooting death of a state A-B-C employee and wounding a
clerk.
(source: Associated Press)
ALABAMA:
Judge won't change trial date in baby death
A judge rejected a defense attorney's bid to delay the Sept. 12 capital
murder trial for a Florida woman charged in Alabama with capital murder in
her 4-month-old baby's death.
Houston County Circuit Court Judge Lawson Little on Friday denied a motion
to delay the trial for Tierra Gobble, who was arrested in December in the
death of Phoenix Cody Parrish.
Gobble had moved to Dothan from Tampa, Fla.
Phoenix died Dec. 15 after suffering a skull fracture, 2 broken ribs and
two broken wrists. Gobble told authorities she banged the baby's head
against a bed because he wouldn't stop crying.
Defense attorney Tom Brantley sought a trial delay to locate witnesses and
documents.
Brantley said his legal team subpoenaed documents from Florida but was
only able to get redacted copies with names blacked out and was told it
would take 6 months to get the originals.
District Attorney Doug Valeska opposed any delay.
The judge said he had given both sides time to line up their expert
witnesses.
"We talked about this months ago. Now here we go at the last minute
wanting a continuance. I am sick and tired of this," Little said.
If convicted of capital murder, Gobble could be sentenced to death or life
in prison without parole.
Meanwhile, a child welfare agency in Florida has been sued over the
child's death. The suit claims Phoenix was killed after caseworkers
allegedly allowed him to be taken out of Florida and put back in his
abusive parents' hands.
The lawsuit was filed against Hillsborough Kids Inc. in Tampa by a
court-appointed administrator for the estate of the child, who had been
taken from his parents because of neglect and abuse, Florida records said.
Hillsborough Kids is a private agency that's contracted by the state to
handle foster care placements.
(source: The Dothan Eagle)
KENTUCKY:
Some Death Row appeals would be limited by legislation----BILL'S BACKERS
SAY PROCESS GOES ON TOO LONG; STATE'S CHIEF JUSTICE AGAINST CHANGE
Diana Harrington waited 22 years to see the killer of her sister's family
put to death in March.
For Harrington, who doesn't consider herself a death penalty advocate,
that was too long to wait for Donald Ray Wallace Jr.'s sentence to be
carried out for the 1980 deaths of Harrington's sister, Theresa Gilligan;
her husband, Patrick Gilligan; and their young children, Lisa and Gregory,
during the burglary of their home in Evansville, Ind.
"My frustration is the fact that it has always seemed that the criminal
takes precedence over the victims," Harrington said of repeated appeals
and delays in that case.
Now, Harrington is in favor of pending legislation in Congress that would
curtail a death row inmate's ability to appeal in federal court. But the
bills have drawn the ire of state Supreme Court judges around the country,
including Kentucky's chief justice.
The measures, proposed in May by U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., and in June
by U.S. Rep. Daniel Lungren, R-Calif., would restrict some state prisoners
from filing habeas corpus petitions -- often a last-ditch effort by Death
Row inmates -- in federal court.
Habeas corpus allows a federal judge to review whether errors in state
court violated a defendant's constitutional rights. The bills, now in
committee, would not affect cases in which a defendant is arguing
innocence -- with new DNA evidence, for example.
Critics, including opponents of the death penalty, say the changes would
unfairly hamper defendants' ability to ensure that their constitutional
rights are upheld.
"Federal court would be basically foreclosed," said Ernie Lewis,
Kentucky's chief public defender. "That would be deeply troubling."
Kyl cites federal statistics showing that the number of habeas corpus
appeals before U.S. district judges, including non-death-penalty cases,
nearly doubled between fiscal years 1994 and 2003, from 13,359 to 23,218.
The number before U.S. Courts of Appeal went from 3,799 to 7,025.
U.S. Rep. Anne Northup, R-Louisville, said she supports the measure
because a decade or more is too long to finalize a conviction, and the
bills would streamline appeals.
Fayette Commonwealth's Attorney Ray Larson, a proponent of the death
penalty, said appeals of "legitimate issues" are appropriate but should
not go on for years with the same arguments being made over and over.
But University of Louisville law professor Les Abramson said the
legislation would effectively remove a safety net in the judicial system
and is an unfair response to new technology that is opening new doors for
appeal.
"The success that some people have had in terms of challenging their
convictions because of DNA evidence is sort of being turned against the
general population of people who are seeking habeas review" based on other
grounds, Abramson said.
Proving innocence "seems to be the relatively narrow channel that's going
to be left if this act passes," he said.
Kentucky Chief Justice Joseph Lambert voted for an Aug. 3 resolution by
the Conference of Chief Justices calling on Congress to drop the current
push and study the issue further.
"I see no need to change this fundamental law now," Lambert said in a
statement.
In Kentucky, death sentences for 4 defendants have been overturned on such
petitions since capital punishment was reinstated in the United States in
1976, Lewis said.
In the most recent, U.S. District Judge Jennifer Coffman ruled in 2001
that James E. Slaughter, who was sentenced to death in 1983 for fatally
stabbing the owner of a Jefferson County clothing store, is entitled to a
new penalty phase for his trial. That case is currently before the 6th
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Thomas Ransdell, the lawyer for Victor Taylor, who is on Death Row for the
slaying of two Louisville teenagers in 1984, said habeas appeals ensure
that the death penalty is used fairly.
"It's not a waste of time," he said.
(source: Associated Press)
OHIO:
Push to execute compromises clemency plea
Ohio's parole board follows special procedures when deciding whether to
recommend clemency in a death penalty case - procedures designed to ensure
the board considers "all available relevant information."
Under those procedures, a hearing is set for Tuesday for John Spirko, who
is awaiting execution for the 1982 murder of Betty Jane Mottinger.
The board must make its decision within 5 business days, forwarding its
recommendations to Gov. Bob Taft.
That doesn't leave the governor much time to review the record and decide
whether Mr. Spirko's life should be spared. He is scheduled to be executed
Sept. 20.
One thing, though, already is certain: The clemency procedures won't be
followed in this case. The parole board won't be able to consider "all
available relevant evidence" relating to the Spirko case. It's simply
impossible - unless the execution and clemency process are delayed.
That's because, as the parole board convenes, a federal court in Toledo
will still be considering charges that prosecutors wrongfully withheld
evidence that calls into question Mr. Spirko's guilt.
The parole board won't have the benefit of the federal court's decision -
or evidence from potentially more hearings - because the court has said it
won't be able to rule until September.
This is a dangerous breakdown in the process, undercutting safeguards Ohio
has adopted to prevent anyone from ever being wrongly executed. And it's
happening in part because Attorney General Jim Petro has refused to
recommend a delay of the execution while the federal court completes its
review.
The details of the case are spelled out in the clemency application filed
on Mr. Spirko's behalf and the state's response. (Download copies at www.
daytondailynews.com/opinion.)
John Spirko is an unsympathetic figure who misled investigators with
fantastic leads and bizarre lies. Convicted of murdering another woman in
1969, he has spent almost all of his adult life in prison.
But the Mottinger case has no forensic or other physical evidence linking
Mr. Spirko to the crime. The eyewitness who put Mr. Spirko at the scene
was only "70 % sure."
William Sessions, a former federal judge and FBI director during the
Reagan and first Bush administrations, urged the U.S. Supreme Court to
further review the case. He has been active in an initiative by Georgetown
University to promote procedural safeguards in death penalty cases, and
was joined by 2 retired federal judges and a former federal prosecutor in
arguing that the Spirko conviction and death sentence are questionable and
that "a man's life should not dangle by so thin a thread when there exists
an opportunity for further inquiry."
And that plea was made before new evidence of possible prosecutorial
misconduct was uncovered this Spring - evidence now being weighed by the
federal court in Toledo.
The parole board is powerless to delay the clemency hearing. Mr. Spirko's
lawyers petitioned the Ohio Supreme Court to postpone the execution, but
the Court hasn't ruled.
Now, Gov. Taft is being asked to grant a reprieve while the federal court
sorts out the claims. He should do so in the interest of justice, to
prevent a potential miscarriage, and to preserve the integrity of the
clemency process.
(source: Editorial, Dayton Daily News)
**********************
Death penalty is correct justice
In response to Thomas Luken's comments concerning getting rid of the death
penalty ("We should step back from death penalty," Aug. 19), I feel that
Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters is right and should be proud of the
fact that he has put that many on death row. If only jail really were a
deterrent, why are there still so many murders?
We all regret that sometimes an innocent person gets convicted, and we
admit that our system of justice is not perfect. But many of us still
believe that even though mistakes will happen, it's still the best one on
the planet. As to the "barbaric practice," Luken should remember exactly
why these people are on death row. They are the ones performing the
barbaric acts upon society. Lethal injection is far more humane than what
any of the victims got.
Doug Mulle, Hamilton
(source: Letter to the Editor, Cincinnati Enquirer)
*******************************************
Commissioners to consider effect of possible state cuts
Hamilton County commissioners will meet in private Tuesday to discuss the
potential loss of state funds for the county public defender's office,
losses that could set off a fight among them, local defense attorneys and
the Ohio public defender.
The issue has its roots in action taken last year by Cincinnati attorney
Robert Newman.
Newman asked the Ohio public defender's office to withhold $3 million in
funding from the Hamilton County public defender's office until the county
pays more to local defense lawyers who take on cases.
He said the $45 per hour that Hamilton County pays attorneys to represent
indigents charged with felonies isn't enough and results in inadequate
legal representation for the poor.
"They need fair representation, not just minimal representation," Newman
said Friday.
The public defender's office has an annual budget of $10 million - $7
million from county funds and the rest from the Ohio public defender.
About half the budget pays for the office staff of 30, including 25
lawyers who deal with misdemeanor cases. The other $5 million pays the
$45-per-hour fee used to hire private lawyers to represent the poor
charged with more serious felonies.
Newman thinks the county should hire a partial staff of attorneys for the
public defender for felony cases, especially death-penalty cases and those
appealed to higher courts.
That might be the answer, Hamilton County Public Defender Lou Strigari
said, but he suspects the commissioners will look at other options:
Keep the current funding and let the issue resolve itself in court.
Have nothing to do with the Ohio public defender's office.
Each court case generates a fee that is sent to the Ohio public defender
to help fund that office and the county public defender offices across
Ohio, Strigari said.
Because Hamilton County is a large county, it usually provides more money
from those fees than it gets back.
"The big counties take care of the small counties," Strigari said.
If the commissioners were so inclined, Strigari suggested, they could
decide to opt out of being aligned with the state agency, keep the fees
and operate their own public defender's office.
"This could start a real donnybrook type of thing," he said.
Veteran defense attorney Perry Ancona admits $45 an hour isn't enough but
he doesn't see much hope of significant increases. "If you're a legitimate
office, you like to have things like health insurance. I'm down here every
day, just about, including Sundays," Ancona said.
He questioned the likelihood of creating a felony staff of public
defenders for death-penalty and other serious cases because to do that
requires experienced defense attorneys. "To have somebody give up their
(private law) practice to do that is not economically feasible," Ancona
said.
While the commissioners are considering how his office is funded, Strigari
added, they also should know that he needs more.
"I anticipate running out (of money)," Strigari said.
Already, he said, the money needed to pay for his staff and those
providing legal services in misdemeanor cases is almost gone. He will have
to shift some of the money used to pay private lawyers to provide felony
representation.
If that happens, that fund also will run short this year.
"We're under-funded every year, it seems like," Strigari said, adding he
hasn't added any staff since he became Hamilton County public defender in
1994.
(source: Cincinnati Enquirer)
