August 26
TEXAS----impending female execution
Fight to stop Texas woman's execution
Texas is preparing to execute the 1st black woman in the state since the
American civil war - drawing protests from her supporters and opponents of
the US death penalty.
Frances Newton, 40, was convicted of murdering her husband and 2 children
in 1987 for a $100,000 (55,000) insurance payout. Her campaigners say she
is innocent, but supporters of capital punishment point out that she has
lost several appeals.
If she is given a lethal injection next month as planned, she will be the
1st African-American woman to be executed in Texas since the civil war
ended in 1865, and only the 2nd in the country since capital punishment
resumed in 1977.
"What this will do is make it easier to execute more innocent women," said
Gloria Rubac, a Houston-based activist for the abolition of the death
penalty. "If they murder her, they will be able to murder anybody who is
innocent."
Newton's case has put the spotlight back on the governor of Texas, Rick
Perry, and the state's record on capital punishment. Of the 979 executions
in the US over the past 28 years, 347 have been in Texas. Of these, 152
took place during George Bush's 1995-2000 state governorship.
"We're cautiously optimistic of a reprieve because of the strength of the
new evidence, but we live in Texas and we know what goes on here," said Ms
Rubac.
Newton is 1 of 5 black people among nine women on death row at the
Mountain View women's jail in Gatesville. She was convicted of shooting
her estranged husband, Adrian, 23, son, Alton, 7, and 21-month-old
daughter, Farrah, a month after taking out insurance policies on their
lives.
Her lawyer, David Dow, of the University of Houston's Law Centre Innocence
Network, said the state had covered up the existence of a second gun found
at the family's apartment, and that no jury would have convicted Newton if
she had had a competent lawyer at her trial. Newton's original
court-appointed attorney, Ronald Mock, admitted he had not read key papers
or interviewed witnesses. The state bar of Texas recently suspended him
for 35 months for unrelated disciplinary reasons.
"It's rare, if not unheard of, for a woman to be executed for killing her
children," said Professor Dow. "This case is unusual for several reasons,
but the evidence that points away from her is more compelling than that
which points to her."
Newton's fate rests with the Texas appeal court, which is reviewing a writ
of habeas corpus submitted by Prof Dow. Any response might not come until
the planned execution date of September 14.
Hundreds of supporters, meanwhile, are planning a march to the Texas
governor's mansion in Austin tomorrow. Ms Rubac said: "We're getting up to
100 emails a day. The response shows that people don't want to see an
innocent person killed even if they believe in the death penalty."
(source: The Guardian (UK) )
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Stop the execution of Frances Newton
If the state of Texas is allowed to go through with the execution of
Frances Newton on Sept. 14, she will be the 1st African American woman
executed in Texas since the Civil War. The history of her case is like
that of many other poor and oppressed people in Texas, that of being
railroaded to death row, where she has been for 18 years. (See Workers
World, Aug. 25)
In an effort to stop this execution, the International Action Center has
been carrying out an online campaign to send email and postcards to
President Bush, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Texas Attorney General Gregg
Abbott, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, United Nations
Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and many U.S. congresspeople and Texas
elected officials.
As of Aug. 24 at 8 a.m., the IAC reported that over 1,862 people have
responded to the campaign and generated a total of 76,629 emails to public
officials in Texas and Washington. People are invited to write their own
letters, or to sign a sample letter provided at the site.
The url for the letter is: www.iacenter.org/francesnewtoncampaign.shtml or
look up www.freefrances.org for contact information for officials.
K. Durkin
(source: Workers World)
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Jury convicts Medrano in 2003 gang murders
In Edinburg, a jury found Rodolfo "Kreeper" Medrano guilty of capital
murder Thursday in connection with the Tri-City Bomber case in which a
January 2003 pseudo-cop raid-turned-massacre left 6 men dead.
Medrano glanced back at his family and appeared to mouth a message to them
immediately after the jury announced its verdict.
His young wifes devastated screams penetrated the Hidalgo County
Courthouse shortly thereafter. Female sheriffs deputies and bailiffs had
to escort Juana Medrano out of the second-floor bathroom from which her
wails interrupted other nearby court proceedings.
Her husbands teary family members held her up as she left the courthouse
sobbing.
She will find out today if her husband is sentenced to death, or life in
prison, in connection with the murders on Monte Cristo Road in Edinburg on
Jan. 5, 2003. The sentencing hearing will begin at 9:30 a.m. in state
District Judge Mario Ramirezs 332nd courtroom.
It took the jury about four hours of deliberation to declare Medrano
guilty of providing lower ranking Tri-City Bomber gang members the SKS and
AK-47 assault weapons used to slay the men. Police found the 6 men shot
several times in and outside two small homes.
The victims were brothers Jerry Eugene Hidalgo, 24, and Ray Hidalgo, 30;
Ruben Rolando Castillo, 32; Jimmy Edward Almendariz, 22; half-brothers
Juan Delgado Jr., 32, and Juan Delgado III, 20.
Medrano went on trial Aug. 15 and is the 3rd of 13 indicted in the murders
to be convicted.
He ranked as a sergeant in the gangs military-style chain of command and
was in charge of keeping the gangs money and weapons. He told police he
was home watching movies with his wife the night of the murders.
Though prosecutors acknowledge Medrano was not present when the shootings
occurred, he was tried under Texass law of parties, which says a person is
criminally responsible for a crime committed by another if the person aids
or conspires with another to commit a felony.
Hidalgo County Assistant District Attorneys Cregg Thompson and Judith
Cantu argued Medrano could have "reasonably anticipated" his fellow gang
members would commit murder, because in his conspiracy to rob marijuana,
he lent high-powered assault weapons to help them carry out the offense.
The law of parties allows juries to give the death penalty if they believe
the defendant could have anticipated murder.
"6 people were robbed and murdered by the weapons this defendant
provided," Thompson told the jurors.
Though other gang members asked him to participate in the raid, Medranos
refusal to physically join them indicates "he knew something bad was going
to happen. He expected it and he anticipated it," Thompson said.
But Medranos defense attorney, Hector Villarreal, told jurors that
prosecutors aimed to convict Medrano because he admitted to Edinburg
police he belonged to the Tri-City Bombers. Every police officer that
testified acknowledged there was no evidence that Medrano knew of a plan
to commit murder before the slayings occurred.
Medrano, who worked as a computer technician at the Weslaco public
library, spoke with police without a lawyer, although he had requested
one, because he had nothing to hide, Villarreal said.
Villarreal declined to comment after the verdict.
2 other men are already on death row in connection with the Edinburg
murders; Juan Raul Navarro Ramirez, 20, who police said participated in
the raid - and Humberto "Gallo" Garza, 31, the gangs captain who planned
the robbery and drove the men to the crime scene. Another man indicted in
the Edinburg murders is also on death row for the 2002 shootings of 4
women in Donna. Robert "Bones" Gene Garza, 22, was accused of killing the
wrong women in a hit a jailed gang member ordered on a bar owner who
testified against him.
Jeffrey "Dragon" Juarez, 28, is the next man scheduled for trial, also in
the 332nd courtroom, and prosecutors have said he is the last case in
which they will seek the death penalty. According to court testimony in
the 3 Edinburg massacre trials, at the time of the murders Juarez headed
the gang and approved the deadly raid from his home in the Houston suburb
of Sugar Land.
In addition to Juarez, 5 others are awaiting separate trials in Hidalgo
County Jail and police are still looking for 2 others involved in the case
who are thought to be in Mexico: Ricardo "Rica" Cabello Martinez and Juan
"Perro" Nuez.
(source: The Monitor)
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No love seen lost in lovers lane slaying
Tommy "J.R." Garcia Jr.'s attacker targeted him because he wore flashy
jewelry and carried lots of cash.
And it didn't help that the victim and assailant had gotten into a fight
just days earlier at a local dance club, according to testimony Thursday
in Juan Edwardo Castillo's capital murder trial.
Castillo, 24, faces the death penalty if convicted in the Dec. 3, 2003,
slaying of Garcia, who was shot seven times after being lured to a lovers
lane in the 9700 block of Clamp Avenue to have sex with a neighbor.
Previous testimony showed Garcia was targeted for a robbery. An additional
possible motive of revenge came to light Thursday when the 2nd of 3 others
charged in the crime took the witness stand to identify Castillo as the
triggerman.
Another witness testified that Castillo was wearing a bullet-resistant
vest and latex gloves during the attack.
The testimony from the 2 witnesses hinted at the possibility that Castillo
was planning all along to murder 19-year-old Garcia and manipulated his
accomplices into thinking it was a robbery plot.
Also charged are Francisco Martinez Gonzales, 35; Castillo's girlfriend,
Debra Espinosa, 28; and Gonzales' girlfriend, Teresa Quintero.
On Wednesday, Gonzales held courtroom onlookers spellbound as he related
second-by-second how the attack occurred, but on Thursday it was
Espinosa's turn.
As the mother of two was sworn in, her raised hand trembled. In a
quavering voice, she related how Castillo and Gonzales hatched a plot to
rob someone and they wanted her to lure the victim on the pretense of
doing drugs on the darkened stretch of road known to neighbors as
"make-out street."
She added that Castillo specifically urged her to call Garcia and Robert
Jimenez, one of Garcia's friends, because Castillo had been in a fight
with them a few days earlier at the Noche Caliente club in the 2500 block
of Pleasanton Road.
Jimenez was called first, but declined the offer because it was too late.
After Garcia was called, he showed up a few minutes later at Espinosa's
home. From there, they drove in Garcia's car to Clamp Avenue.
"We started having sex, and within five minutes the window was busted out.
Frank pulled me out of the driver's (seat) and Juan pulled J.R. out and
pushed him up against the car. Frank went around to help Juan and Juan
still had J.R. pushed against the car and then I heard a shot," Espinosa
recalled.
"The first shot was in the side of his face. They argued. J.R. tried
running and Juan kept shooting him and J.R. finally fell down on the
ground. Me and Frank kept telling Juan, 'Stop! Stop!'"
During cross-examination, defense attorney Denny Callahan asked why
Espinosa gave 4 statements to police but didn't tell the whole story until
the last interrogation.
"I didn't want anyone to know I was involved in something so terrible,"
Espinosa replied.
Espinosa has pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery and Gonzales has pleaded
guilty to murder. Each is to receive 40 years in prison. Quintero is
awaiting trial on an aggravated robbery charge.
(source: San Antonio Express-News)
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Arrest can't 'take away pain' over slaying -- The sense of loss hasn't
waned for friends and family of Hindu activist killed at park
The arrest of a man in the slaying of Hindu activist Akhil Chopra brought
relief, but little comfort, to his friends and co-workers.
"It has brought some relief to some people," said Ramesh Bhutada,
president of Star Pipe Products, where Chopra worked. "But it hasn't
really taken away the pain that has been caused by the loss of Akhil."
A Crime Stoppers tip led to Wednesday's arrest of Howard Dale "Peanut"
Bellamy, 22, who had been sought by authorities for almost a week, police
said. Bellamy was arrested without incident in the 10200 block of Fondren,
a Houston Police Department spokeswoman said.
He remained in the Harris County Jail on Thursday, charged with capital
murder. Bellamy is accused of shooting Chopra to death during a robbery
Aug. 11 as the victim meditated in Bishop Joseph A. Fiorenza Park, in the
4000 block of Eldridge.
Police were alerted when Chopra's credit cards were used to buy gasoline
after the slaying. The people using the credit cards were arrested and
accused Bellamy of being the one behind Chopra's slaying, police said.
Chopra, 28, arrived in the United States to study in 2001 and a year later
landed a job at Star Pipe, where many of his co-workers had come to view
the Indian native as family. Colleagues said Chopra frequently went to
Fiorenza Park to meditate during his lunch break.
Chopra was involved in national and local Hindu organizations and was one
of the organizers of the Janmashtami festival, one of the Hindu
community's biggest religious celebrations, being held Saturday at the
George R. Brown Convention Center.
"I don't have a vengeance against the person who killed Akhil," Bhutada
said. "I really feel sorry for him that he has taken this action. ... He
has senselessly killed a man of saintly qualities."
Natalie Duran-Ariz, a credit manager at the company, said she was still
emotional about the death of Chopra, whom she called "happy man." She
called Bellamy's arrest a sign the justice system was working. "I know the
proper thing is to pray for someone like this, but in the grand scheme it
is still very emotional for us all," she said.
The arrest is just the beginning of a judicial process that could involve
the death penalty if there is a conviction. And that could stir up complex
reactions among Chopra's friends.
Vijay Pallod, a friend and co-worker, said Akhil was a nonviolent person
who always sought the positive.
"Akhil, I don't think he would ask for the death penalty," Pallod said.
"But this is going to be a debate among the community."
(source: Houston Chronicle)
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Capital murder trial in baby's death reaches final arguments stage
Final arguments are set this morning in the capital murder trial of
Michael David Lewis, who was identified Thursday as the only person with
9-month-old Jacob Sinclair when the baby sustained fatal head injuries
last Nov. 7.
Assistant District Attorneys Jane Belazi and Teresa Clingman and Odessa
defense lawyer David Zavoda concluded their presentations near
mid-afternoon Thursday and Judge John Hyde set their summations for 9 a.m.
today in 238th District Court.
Sheriff's Sgt. Steve Skaggs testified all evidence gathered by Sgt. Terry
Cowin and him indicated Lewis was solely responsible for beating Jacob's
head against a hard surface between five and 15 times and inflicting more
than 40 bruises on his head and body. He died the next day at Cook
Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth.
Cowin, the lead investigator, was unable to testify because he had had
quadruple heart bypass surgery, his son, Reserve Deputy Jason Cowin,
explained to jurors.
"Did Mike Lewis say he was holding the baby when he went unconscious?"
Belazi asked Skaggs.
"Yes, ma'am," said Skaggs.
Referring to the baby's mother, Jenna Martin Sinclair, Belazi asked, "Was
there ever any evidence Jenna Sinclair hurt the baby in any way?"
"No, ma'am," the gray mustached officer replied.
Under Zavoda's cross examination, Skaggs conceded he didn't send a
forensics team into Lewis' and Sinclair's mobile home at 3500 W. County
Road 135 to search for evidence someone else killed Jacob.
Reading a statement the defendant gave that Sunday after he and Sinclair
had taken the baby to Midland Memorial Hospital, Skaggs said Lewis told
officers, "If I hurt him, I didn't mean to. I love him."
"This was his chance to talk his way out of it, wasn't it?" asked Belazi.
"Yes, ma'am," Skaggs replied. "He said, 'If I hurt the baby, it was an
accident. I might have held him too hard or he could have hit his head on
the couch arm a little too hard."
Witnesses had testified earlier this week Jacob was an unusually healthy
9-month-old, already weighing 20 pounds, "chubby" and learning to walk
when he died. He had light brown hair and a cherubic expression, photos
indicated.
The 24-year-old defendant's Midland relatives testified he had related
normally to his 2-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter and "behaved
appropriately" with them, having been divorced from their mother. The
4-man, 8-woman jury heard brief testimony from Lewis' stepfather, Rex
Tidwell, mother Sandra and sister, Tracy White.
Court records confirm the baby's biological father is William Clayton
"Will" Roberts, 27, who was sent to the institutional division of the
Texas Department of Criminal Justice Feb. 28 with an 8-year sentence for
delivery of hashish. Roberts pleaded guilty before Judge George Gilles in
142nd District Court.
He's being held at the Huntsville Unit since recently being transferred
from the Ferguson Unit in Madison County in East Texas, a TDCJ official
said.
Jacob's mother was married to Chris Sinclair and living at the Santa Fe
Apartments when she became disenchanted with her husband, met Lewis at
church and moved in with him, taking her baby, she testified Tuesday.
Jenna Sinclair's father, Mark Martin, called a news conference last
November to produce DNA test results showing Chris Sinclair, whom his
daughter had separated from but not divorced, wasn't Jacob's father.
Chris Sinclair, 22, had given interviews calling for the death penalty for
Lewis and relating an episode in which he was fired after driving a
parking lot sweeper from Midland to Crane to look for his wife and
stepson, leaving money for the baby and a love letter and red rose for her
with a relative there.
"I wasn't even contacted," Sinclair said Nov. 9. "I didn't even have time
to go see him before he died.'
Sinclair's blonde haired sister, 19-year-old Brandy Hart, has been a
prominent spectator at the trial, which has attracted between 20 and 30
people through most of the week. "We have got to stop little babies from
being murdered," Hart said the day after Jacob's death.
"He couldn't have his first thought or his 1st birthday."
In another item from this week's trial, a 22-year-old Midland man was
arrested for disorderly conduct by language, a Class C misdemeanor
entailing a maximum $500 fine, after leaving the 98 person jury pool
without permission during a Monday morning recess.
Returned to court Tuesday by a bailiff, he was ordered to report to
another pool in 142nd District Court for a driving while intoxicated
trial. He was taken into custody after reportedly cursing court officials
and was released on bond Tuesday night, records said.
The man told officials he left the courthouse because he "had other things
to do."
(source: Midland Reporter Telegram)
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Houston crime lab probe gets $1.2 million to resume
Independent investigators can resume a crime lab probe that had been
stalled for nearly 8 weeks.
The Houston City Council approved almost $1.2 million more on Wednesday
for an investigation of the Houston Police Department Crime Lab. Those
funds could be combined with $500,000 from the Harris County district
attorney's office if the Commissioners Court approves.
The Police Department initially estimated the investigation would cost
$3.2 million, but later said it would need $1.7 million more for the
second phase.
Experts plan to review about 2,800 cases from all divisions of the crime
lab during the investigation's 2nd phase. Lead investigator Michael
Bromwich, a Washington-based lawyer and former Justice Department
official, said the team will get back to work immediately.
The investigation had been on hold since June 30, when the 1st phase was
completed, while the council debated whether to fund the 2nd phase.
Errors uncovered in analyses performed at several units of the Houston
police crime lab, including DNA and ballistics, prompted the
investigation. The probe's 1st phase resulted in allegations that
scientists fabricated results in drug cases.
"We need to know whether there was any injustice we haven't heard about,
and correct it," Mayor Bill White said.
(source: Associated Press)
