Oct. 26 ALABAMA: Assistant AG Crenshaw running for Alabama appeals court Clay Crenshaw, chief of the attorney general's capital litigation unit, launched his campaign Tuesday for Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, calling for reform on death penalty appeals and promising to make speedy decisions on his cases. Crenshaw, who is running as a Republican, said he plans to seek the seat currently held by Democrat Sue Bell Cobb, who has her eye on the race for chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court. Crenshaw, 45, faces Julia Elizabeth "Beth" Kellum, a senior staff attorney at the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, in the GOP primary on June 6, 2006. He said his top priority as an appeals judge would be to prevent capital murder cases from engaging in lengthy appeals. Capital appeals "need repair because it takes too long for a capital case to go through the long appeals process." He cited several recent death penalty cases that took decades to litigate, including that of John W. Peoples, whose appeals lasted 22 years before he was executed by lethal injection on Sept. 22. Peoples killed a Pell City family of 3 and drove off in their vintage sports car in 1983. "It took 22 years for justice to be done," Crenshaw said, adding that such lengthy appeals periods frustrate victims, who realize litigation doesn't end at a conviction. "Once a case is assigned to me I will decide it within six months. I believe that is a significant pledge when you consider that each judge on the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals is assigned 500-600 cases a year," he said. Crenshaw and Kellum, both graduates of the University of Alabama School of Law, each are embarking on their first race for public office. Crenshaw began working in the attorney general's office upon graduation in 1988 and serves on the Criminal Rules Committee. He's overseen prosecution in about 100 capital cases since joining the capital case division in 1992. Kellum has worked in the attorney general's office, been in private practice, and served as a staff attorney at the Alabama Supreme Court and Court of Criminal Appeals. Since 2001, she has been senior staff attorney for Criminal Appeals Court Judge Kelli Wise and has reviewed all types of cases, including death penalty convictions. Kellum, who announced her candidacy Sept. 30, said that experience should give her an edge over Crenshaw, noting that capital murder cases make up a small percentage of the court's caseload. "Because of the caseload that we have you have to be able to hit the ground running," she said Tuesday. "I see how the court system works. I have the experience of working with the judges and seeing they review the cases and review the issues." Crenshaw pointed out that capital cases are considered the most complex to litigate and bring out a variety of legal issues, often argued in federal courts. "Being a law clerk for a judge, you don't get the diversity of practice that I have," he said. (source: Associated Press) OHIO: Before his execution, killer of 4 shows no remorse----Some relatives of murder victims find insults, not closure, in dealer's last words; Before he died, Willie J. "Flip" Williams Jr. told his family "Don't worry about me. I'm OK. This all ain't nothin'." There were no gunshots. No electrical cord around his neck or plastic bag over his head. No last-minute plea for mercy. The end came quietly and calmly yesterday for Willie J. "Flip" Williams Jr. - a stark contrast to how he ended the lives of 4 young men in a Youngstown housing project 14 years earlier. But when it was all over at 10:20 a.m., Williams was just as dead. Williams, 48, who aspired to be the king of Youngstown's drug dealers, a black mob figure to rival the white ones who made the city infamous, died by injection at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility near Lucasville. He remained defiant to the end, or maybe just "irritated," as one observer described him. "I'm not going to waste no time talking about my lifestyle, my case, my punishment," Williams said while strapped to the lethal-injection table. "Y'all stick together. Don't worry about me. I'm OK. This all ain't nothin'." His last words may have comforted Jameka Williams, his daughter; Jesse Williams, his brother; and Michael Davis, his uncle, all of whom sobbed quietly as they watched the execution. He blew a kiss to his daughter. She said, "I love you, Dad." Some members of the victims' families who watched Williams die said his last words and lack of remorse were insulting. "It was almost like his last taunt on the way out," said Alicia Ennis, 33, the fiancee of William Dent, one of Williams' victims. She was five months pregnant with their daughter at the time of his murder. "For me, it's not closure," Ennis said. "Now I have to go home to my daughter with another story." After doing time in a California prison on a drug charge, Williams returned to Youngstown in the early 1990s and begin plotting to retake his turf from young rivals: Dent, 23, Eric Howard, 20, and Alfonda Madison, 21. Williams and some juveniles he recruited trapped the 3 men at an apartment at the Kimmel Brooks housing project on Sept. 1, 1991. Theodore Wynn, 23, who recently had been discharged from the Air Force, had the bad luck to show up at the same time to visit 2 of the men. Williams bound the men with duct tape, strangled them with electrical cords, suffocated them with plastic bags and shot each in the head. One of the men begged for his life, according to court records. "I'll see you in hell," Williams responded. While Williams remained at large after the murders, the juveniles soon were arrested and told police what they knew. On Jan. 12, 1992, Williams armed himself with guns and explosives and invaded the Mahoning County Juvenile Justice Center in an attempt to silence his juvenile accomplices. He eventually surrendered, was tried and sentenced to death for the 4 murders. Williams spent his last night and morning visiting with the 36 family members who came to the prison. They were rotated in groups of two or three to the Death House. While Williams' death didn't bring closure to all the victims' families, Donna Wynn, the mother of Theodore Wynn, said she felt "like a weight had been lifted. "We can go on now knowing that justice has been served." Williams was the third person executed in Ohio this year and the 18 th since the state resumed executions 6 years ago. (source: Columbus Dispatch) ****************** Williams executed for '91 massacre----Family members of the victims were dismayed that Williams didn't apologize. Willie Williams expressed love for his family Tuesday before being executed by lethal injection for the slayings of four men in Youngstown in 1991 in a crime that became known as the "Labor Day Massacre." Clad in dark blue pants with a red stripe down the legs and a white short-sleeved shirt, the 48-year-old Williams, who was known as "Flip," calmly entered the Death House at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility shortly after 10 a.m., laid on a table and looked at family members sitting behind a window nearby. Williams used his final statement to recognize his family. "I don't want to waste no time talking about my lifestyle, my case, my punishment," Williams said into a microphone held by Warden Edwin Voorhies. "Mom, you've been there from the beginning and I love you," Williams said, referring to his mother, Joyce Williams. Williams said he loved his other family members. "Y'all stick together," Williams said. "Don't worry about me, I'm OK. This ain't nothing, I'll be OK. That's it," Williams said before the deadly drugs flowed into his veins. The death process First, prison officials say, sodium pentothal is injected to render the inmate unconscious; then, pancuronium bromide is injected to stop the inmate's breathing; and finally, potassium chloride is injected to stop the inmate's heart. After Williams delivered his statement, he looked at family members - identified by prison officials as Jesse Williams, his brother; Jameka Williams, Williams' daughter; and Michael Davis, an uncle. Soft whispering, thought by some observers to be a prayer or chant, could be heard among Williams' family. Jameka Williams, at one point, was hugged by Jesse Williams and Davis. A couple of minutes later, Willie Williams' eyes fluttered. Shortly after that, his eyes closed. Prison officials pronounced him dead at 10:20 a.m. Williams' family declined to speak to reporters after the execution. Lack of remorse But some family members of the men Williams was convicted of killing - William "Lamont" Dent, Alfonda "Al" R. Madison, Sr., Eric Howard and Theodore "Teddy" Wynn Jr. - said they were disappointed Williams didn't finally take responsibility for the killings. "I was disappointed he did not apologize," said Tawanna Madison, sister of Alfonda Madison and one of the victims' family members who viewed Williams' execution. Donna Wynn, the late Wynn's mother, said she, too, was disappointed Williams didn't address the 1991 slayings. "He showed no remorse," Wynn said of Williams after viewing the execution. "At least we can go on knowing justice has been served," she said. Williams, who arrived at the SOCF Monday morning from the Mansfield Correctional Institution, where he had been held, stayed up most of the evening leading up to his execution, prison officials reported. Williams, who met with family members Monday and early Tuesday, declined food and took only water and coffee in the hours leading up to his execution, prison officials said. The tragic events Williams, who authorities said used to control a major drug-trafficking operation on Youngstown's North and East sides, was convicted in the killings of Dent, Madison and Howard as part of what authorities say was a drug-related dispute. Williams was also convicted of killing Wynn, who authorities say was an acquaintance of one of the other victims. The 4 were found dead in a Youngstown home in September 1991. Authorities said Williams was attempting to resume control of the drug trade when the killings occurred. Alicia Ennis, the mother of a child of Dent's, disputed the suggestions by law enforcement officials that Williams' victims might have been involved in the drug trade. 3 teen accomplices aided Williams in the attack, investigators said. Each victim was killed execution-style, with gunshots to the head, according to investigators. After Williams' capture, Williams and other prisoners broke out of the Mahoning County Jail, court records say. After months on the run, Williams surrendered to authorities in early 1992 after he and other accomplices armed with guns and explosives invaded the Mahoning County Juvenile Justice Center, court records say. At the time, the juvenile justice center held the 3 teen accomplices who were to testify against Williams in the 4 slayings, investigators and court records say. In August 1993, a jury convicted Williams on multiple charges including aggravated murder and sentenced him to death. (source: The Vindicator) IOWA: GOP: Death penalty, cigarette tax probably off the table Iowa House Republican leaders said Tuesday that 2 hot-button issues are likely off the table for next years session: reinstating the death penalty and raising the cigarette tax. A greater focus on veterans issues and an effort to attract an oil refinery to Iowa will be on the table. House Speaker Christopher Rants, R-Sioux City, said he will not allow a debate over the death penalty unless he sees evidence that such a proposal has a chance of passing the Senate. He doubts that will happen because Senate Democratic Leader Mike Gronstal of Council Bluffs is a death penalty opponent who can prevent the issue from coming to a vote. Senate Republicans proposed reinstatement of the death penalty this year, only to see the idea thrown out in a procedural ruling. They plan to revisit the issue next session. (source: Quad-City Times) GEORGIA: Prosecutor seeks death penalty The district attorney will seek the death penalty against Linsey Favors, the man accused in the brutal slaying of a woman at the state Farmer's Market last December. Gray Conger filed Friday his intention to seek the death penalty in the case, which stems from the Dec. 8, 2004 slaying of Vera Braswell, 75. Braswell died of a stab wound to the neck and blunt-force injuries to her head. He wouldn't say why he's seeking the death penalty in the case. "It was certainly a case that merits the death penalty," Conger said. A customer at the market found Braswell's body around 10:30 a.m. that morning inside a walk-in cooler, police said. The elderly woman died just 2 days before her 76th birthday. Aubrey Baltimore, Braswell's 80-year-old sister, owned Baltimore's Produce at the State Farmer's Market on 10th Avenue. The sisters operated the stand for more than 30 years. Police arrested Favors on March 15 on an unrelated charge at Riverdale Cemetery, next to the market. He was charged with violation of the open container law. Police later made the murder charge. Favors matched the description of the suspect in Braswell's death, police said. Favors is charged with 2 counts of murder, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime and criminal attempt armed robbery. Police said robbery was the motive in the murder, but Baltimore said nothing was stolen from the stand. She said it appeared Braswell's attacker tried to open the register with scissors the sisters kept at the stand. (source: Columbus Ledger-Enquirer) MISSOURI: Gray is executed for Kerry murders With a sheet covering him to his neck, Marlin Gray was executed by Missouri state employees early this morning for his role in the 1991 murders of two young women on the old Chain of Rocks Bridge. Gray died by injection at 12:07 a.m. Before the drugs were applied, he smiled and appeared to mouth the words, "I love you" at witnesses. As the 1st drug took effect, he either smiled or grimaced, then he gasped and lay still. Prosecutors said Gray was the mastermind of the robbery and murder that claimed the lives of Julie and Robin Kerry, who were thrown off the bridge. Robin's body has never been found. Their cousin, Tom Cummins, was ordered to jump off the bridge, but he survived and testified at the trial of the three men and one teenager who were also on the bridge that night. Daniel Winfrey, who was 15 at the time of the murders, is serving a 30-year sentence after pleading guilty to 9 charges, including 2 counts each of 2nd-degree murder and forcible rape, and agreeing to testify against the other men. Reginald Clemens is on death row. The Missouri Supreme Court reduced Antonio Richardson's death sentence to life in prison because he was sentenced to death by a judge, not a jury. After the U.S. Supreme Court turned down Gray's final appeals Tuesday night and Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt denied clemency, one of Gray's lawyers issued a statement just before 6:30 p.m. "I continue to believe that he is innocent and that the imposition of the death penalty in his case is completely unjust and inappropriate," Joanne Martin Descher wrote. "I am deeply saddened over the outcome." Blunt had released a statement about an hour earlier. "Missouri's highest courts and a jury of Marlin Gray's peers determined unequivocally that he should be held accountable for Julie and Robin Kerry's deaths," Blunt said. "I support the sentence issued and affirmed by both Missouri and U.S. Courts and believe justice has been served. My thoughts and prayers are with family and friends who mourn the loss of Julie and Robin." In the days prior to the execution, Blunt received letters, e-mails, faxes and phone calls opposing the execution from campaigns run by Amnesty International and Missourians to Abolish the Death Penalty. A busload of Gray's supporters drove to Blunt's office Tuesday, and U.S. Rep. William Lacy Clay Jr., D-St.Louis, sent Blunt a letter Monday echoing those concerns. Blunt said in a statement following the execution, "Marlin Gray was found responsible for these deaths. The events of that night were heard before a jury and judges at every level, all of whom affirmed this just punishment...I carefully reviewed applications for clemency, and the legal proceedings' history and found no cause to justify pre-empting previous judicial proceedings." Gray's advocates and opponents of the death penalty have argued that the 38-year-old was not on the bridge when Julie, 20, and Robin, 19, were pushed to their deaths. There were 67 opponents and 4 in favor of the death penalty outside the prison. At his 1992 trial, Gray told jurors that he left the bridge to smoke pot, and that Reginald Clemens told him, "Man, I just robbed that guy and threw the girls into the river," when he returned. In an interview Thursday, Gray said that when he returned to the bridge, Antonio Richardson said there had been an accident and the girls had fallen in the river. Gray's supporters have also argued that Nels Moss, who prosecuted Gray, withheld potentially exculpatory evidence and unfairly swayed the jury by comparing Gray to Charles Manson. In an e-mail message to the Post-Dispatch on Tuesday, Moss took issue with Gray's version of events that night and the statements of his supporters. "What Gray fails to say is he told his co-defendants that he 'felt like hurting someone that night,' and passed out condoms, according to Winfrey," Moss wrote. Moss said Gray also shared the money taken from the Kerrys and Cummins, congratulated Richardson on his bravery, and threatened to shoot Cummins if he resisted. Moss said an internal affairs investigation did not substantiate Gray's allegation of a police beating, and that appellate courts have consistently failed to find misconduct in Gray's trial. "The Missouri Supreme Court in its opinion found that the jury had ample evidence to believe that Marlin Gray aided, encouraged and assisted in these rapes, robberies, assault and murders," Moss wrote. Gray is the 66th man to be executed by injection in Missouri since the state resumed carrying out the death penalty in 1989. Missouri Department of Corrections spokesman John Fougere said Gray declined a last meal and a sedative. He had told officials that no one would be present as a witness on his behalf, but it appeared that he had witnesses. The witnesses on behalf of Gray were a female cousin and her minister. Fougere declined to name either one. The only victims' witness was Kevin Cummins, who is the girls' uncle according to Fougere. In an interview Thursday, Gray said: "This is murder to me. I will not participate or let my family participate." Fougere said Gray, " was extremely calm and relaxed the whole day." In his final statement, Gray said, "I go forward now on wings built by the love and support of my family and friends. I go with a peace of mind that comes from never having taken a human life. I forgive those who have hardened their hearts to the truth and I pray they ask forgiveness for they know not what they do. This is not a death, it is a lynching." *********************** Court rules hearing should have been open A state appeals court has ruled a judge in DeWitt County was wrong to bar the news media and public from a pretrial hearing for a man accused in the drownings in September 2002 of his then-girlfriend's 3 children. Three news organizations - The Associated Press, (Decatur) Herald & Review and The (Bloomington) Pantagraph - had appealed the judge's decision to close a hearing May 9 where defense attorneys asked to exclude evidence from the trial of Maurice LaGrone Jr. that they said was prejudicial. A three-judge panel of the 4th District Appellate Court ruled Monday that Judge Stephen H. Peters did not have sufficient reason to close the hearing. LaGrone's attorney, Jeff Justice, has 21 days to ask the full appellate court to decide the issue or to appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court. Justice said Tuesday that he had not seen the decision and declined to comment until he had a chance to review it. LaGrone, 30, is charged with murder in the deaths of Christopher Hamm, 6, Austin Brown, 3, and Kyleigh Hamm, 23 months. The children's mother, Amanda Hamm, 30, also is charged with murder in their deaths. She is expected to stand trial after LaGrone, and both could face the death penalty. (source for both: St. Louis Post-Dispatch) NEVADA: Death-row inmate drops appeals Nevada death-row inmate Daryl Mack, convicted in 2002 of raping and strangling a Reno woman 17 years ago, told a judge Tuesday he is ready to waive all of his appeals and be executed. After two of three psychiatrists evaluated Mack and found him to be competent to waive his appeals, Mack, 47, told Washoe District Judge Robert Perry that he no longer wishes to challenge his death sentence. Perry asked Mack whether he understood what would happen by dropping his petition to the court. "I will be put to death," said Mack, a tall, thin man with thick, matted dreadlocks and a long, tangled beard. "Has anyone threatened you or promised you anything?" Perry asked. "No," Mack said. Mack was in prison for the 1994 murder of Kim Parks in a Reno motel when investigators linked him through DNA evidence to the 1988 murder of Betty Jane May. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled in her southwest Reno home. Her murder remained unsolved for more than a decade. Mack pleaded not guilty and asked to be tried before a judge instead of a jury. Judge James Hardesty, now a Nevada Supreme Court justice, found him guilty and a 3-judge panel sentenced him to death in May 2002. The following month, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that juries, not judges, must decide death-penalty cases. Mack appealed his sentence, citing the new ruling, but the state high court rejected his request for a new hearing. No date was set Tuesday, but Washoe Deputy District Attorney Gary Hatlestad said the execution by lethal injection at the Nevada State Prison in Carson City could occur 14 to 90 days from Tuesday. The next step is for Perry to sign the warrant of execution and set a date. Hatlestad said he expected that to happen in the next week. Mack's attorney, Marc Picker, said Mack is sick of being on death row and has been ready to drop his appeals since August 2004. "He's tired," Mack's other lawyer, Scott Edwards, said after the hearing. Before the judge approved Mack's request, Hatlestad walked Mack through his previous challenges to ensure he was aware of his options. In his petition to the court for a new trial, Mack had claimed his lawyers had done a poor job, the judges were biased, he had wanted a jury to decide his sentence and that an execution by lethal injection is cruel and unusual punishment, Hatlestad said. "This whole case could start over, and it could be a get-out-of-jail free card if it's proven," Hatlestad said. "But if you waive this now, you can not reinstate this claim. Is that what you want to do?" "Yes," Mack answered to each question. Of the 11 inmates executed since Nevada reinstated capital punishment in 1977, 10 were volunteers, or like Mack, dropped their appeals. (source: Reno Gazette-Journal)
