Oct. 29 ILLINOIS: No bond in child death case----Cal City man charged in 11-year-old daughter's death eligible for death penalty A former member of the Harvey Police Department will be eligible for the death penalty if he is convicted in the beating death of his 11-year-old daughter. Aside from the 1st-degree murder charge, Charles Hill, who turns 35 today, of 409 Paxton Ave., Calumet City, also was charged late Thursday with aggravated battery against another of his children, a 13-year-old boy. Hill appeared Friday in the 6th District Cook County Circuit Court in Markham. Judge Thomas Condon ordered him held without bond. Tom Stanton, a spokesman for the Cook County state's attorney's office, said Hill, who had no prior criminal record, is eligible for the death penalty because of the age of the victim and the nature of her injuries. Authorities said Hill was unemployed at the time of his daughter's death. At one time, though, he served as a Harvey police deputy. Calumet City police received a call at 2:02 p.m. Tuesday from Ingalls Memorial Hospital in Harvey reporting Hill had arrived at the emergency room with his daughter, Willa Hill, who was already dead. Hospital personnel contacted police after noticing indications of possible child abuse. An autopsy by the Cook County medical examiner's office determined Willa Hill died as a result of blunt force trauma resulting from child abuse. The medical examiner ruled the child's death a homicide. After receiving word from the hospital, officers went to Hill's house and arrived about the same time as officials of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. They showed up to investigate a report of abuse against Hill's 13-year-old son. Police took Hill and his wife, Willa Hill's stepmother, into custody. 8 other children in the house -- either blood relatives or step-siblings of Willa Hill -- were placed into protective custody, according to police. Hill's wife was questioned and released without charges. The 13-year-old boy was taken to St. Margaret Mercy Healthcare Centers in Hammond, where he was treated for injuries and released. Calumet City Police Investigator Kevin Rapacz said the boy had a "healing fracture" in one arm, meaning he was suffering from an untreated break. DCFS originally began an investigation into possible abuse of the boy Oct. 19. The child reportedly had run away from the home the night before his sister died. When he turned up at a nearby resident's house, the neighbor noticed the boy's injuries and contacted authorities. DCFS officials said an investigation into the household is under way. Hill is next scheduled to appear in court Nov. 16. (source: Northwest Indiana Times) INDIANA: Condemned killer of 2 admits raping 2 women Death row inmate Fredrick M. Baer, 34, surprised prosecutors Friday by pleading guilty to raping 2 women in Marion County in January 2004. Marion Superior Court Judge Grant W. Hawkins sentenced Baer to 50 years in prison, followed by 10 years on probation. Hawkins suspended another 50 years of Baer's rape sentences. In June, a Madison County judge sentenced Baer to death for slashing the throats of Cory Clark, 26, and her 4-year-old daughter, Jenna Clark. Their bodies were found Feb. 25, 2004, in the Clarks' rural home southwest of Anderson near Lapel. Authorities arrested Baer a day later. ************************* Charges filed in killing, attack----Noting rise in violence, Brizzi targets 1 accused of murder, another of attempted murder Saying violent crime is rising in Indianapolis, Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi announced charges Friday in the most recent rash of city violence. The city has recorded 90 killings from Jan. 1 through Oct. 24, compared with 84 during the same period a year ago. The new charges were filed against: . Leonel J. Gonzales, 19, Indianapolis, charged with murder, attempted murder and resisting law enforcement in connection with the Sept. 28 slaying of Quentin Lanier. Lanier was found with a gunshot wound to the chest in an apartment in the 5400 block of Scarlet Drive. Gonzales, also known as Leonel Corona, is also accused of shooting at Patrolman Jeffrey Lawson from a moving pickup as police chased him. . Jerry Sheppard, 36, Indianapolis, charged with 2 counts of attempted murder and resisting law enforcement in connection with an Oct. 19 assault-rifle attack on 2 Indianapolis police officers, Christa Dobbs and Jeffery Viewegh. Police were investigating gunshots in the 2300 block of Tibbs Avenue. Police shined a spotlight on a man they have identified as Sheppard. They say he then fired at them, climbed into his gold 2004 Ford Explorer and led police on a high-speed chase. He escaped but was captured Wednesday in North Carolina after a standoff with the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force. Meanwhile, a 22-year-old Indianapolis man accused of gunning down a convenience store owner last weekend was told Friday he will stand trial in late January. Adam Rogers is being held without bail in the Marion County Jail on charges of murder, attempted robbery and carrying a handgun without a license. Marion Superior Court Judge Patricia J. Gifford set his jury trial for Jan. 30. Indianapolis police say Rogers has confessed to killing Palwinder Singh, 22, as the store owner grabbed his gun during a holdup Oct. 22 at Tobacco Road, 3155 English Ave. Police also have issued an arrest warrant for Darren Peay, 19, who police said has acknowledged going with Rogers to rob the store. (source for both: Indianapolis Star) USA: New DPIC Report Examines Death Penalty Through Jurors' Experiences; 'Blind Justice' Details How Death Penalty Fails Jurors According a new groundbreaking report issued by the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC), a closer look at the experiences of capital juries since the Supreme Court's revision of the system in 1976 reveals a process that shows them little respect. The report, "Blind Justice: Juries Deciding Life and Death With Only Half the Truth," examines death penalty problems from the perspective of jurors and reveals that they often find themselves at the center of a highly charged courtroom battle where they are treated as pawns, manipulated, and kept in the dark. Jurors have occupied an esteemed position in America's criminal justice system for centuries. But, according to the report, potential jurors in capital cases are often excluded on the basis of race and for their mainstream views. They are often left in the dark about critical evidence necessary for their life-and-death decisions. Tapping into personal experiences of capital jurors, case examples, academic research, and the latest legal developments surrounding the death penalty in the United States, Blind Justice details how the death penalty distorts the justice system from the perspective of jurors. "In capital cases, some citizens are often excluded because of their personal beliefs or race. For those who do serve, critical information is frequently withheld during the trial. The evidence jurors do hear is often unreliable," explains Richard Dieter, executive director of DPIC. "Jurors' emotions are played upon as the most gruesome aspects of the crime are displayed in graphic detail. The victim's family is often pitted against the defendant and his family. When their service is over, jurors are largely ignored." Blind Justice notes that in many cases, mistakes beyond the control of jurors will later be revealed and their decisions will be overturned. If they have second thoughts after learning new facts about the case, it is often too late for them to affect the case and they may have to live with the possibility that they have sentenced an innocent person to death. "Going into trial, I wasn't sure where I stood on the death penalty. Today, knowing what I know about wrongful convictions and the kinds of problems that result in putting innocent people's lives on the line, I would no longer vote for a death sentence," explains Kathleen Hawk Norman, a juror in the trial of Dan Bright, who was later exonerated. "I don't think many jurors feel comfortable playing Russian Roulette with people's lives. Jurors are recognizing that life in prison is perhaps the only responsible way to vote." As the U.S. nears its 1,000th execution since capital punishment was reinstated in 1976, growing juror skepticism about the fairness and accuracy of capital punishment has contributed to a 50 percent decline in death sentences over the past five years. In increasing numbers, jurors are voting for life sentences because of abuses in the system. Jurors are also breaking their silence and beginning to speak out about their experiences. Some have offered affidavits to judges and governors about what they would have done had they known the whole truth. Others are simply working to ensure that future jurors serve under a better system. In Blind Justice, DPIC provides a thorough examination of this issue and introduces readers to jurors who have suddenly found themselves on the front lines of America's death penalty debate. Their experiences mesh with a growing segment of the American population who believe that the death penalty's errors are too frequent, its inequities too blatant, its stakes too high, and its complexities too incomprehensible to fit within America's constitutional principles. (source: US Newswire) ****************** Capital punishment ethics debated "Could you pull the switch or perform the injection?" asked Sister Helen Prejean to a transfixed crowd. "If there's a part of our soul that holds back, then there's a part of our soul that has not said yes to the death penalty." Prejean's challenge to the audience was one of many during a thought provoking presentation about capital punishment that packed the seats in Kresge Auditorium last night. Organized by the Aurora Forum and moderated by Human Biology Prof. William Abrams, the discussion sought to increase awareness and provoke discussion about the use of capital punishment in the United States. Drawing upon personal stories, moral reasoning and empirical evidence, Stanford Law School Prof. Larry Marshall and activist Prejean spoke with conviction about the flaws of the capital punishment system and put forward their case for abolishing the death penalty. Religious faith provided a background for the commentary of both speakers. The Catholic Prejean shared how she became involved in the plight of the poor after reading how "Jesus was always on the side of the people considered human waste in his day." She also discussed her dissatisfaction with selective quotation of punitive passages in the Bible by conservatives like Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. "If you look at the progression in the Bible," she said, "more and more the direction is not to impose vengeance. Love becomes the dominant theme." Marshall, who identifies strongly with his Jewish background, recalled how a prayer he heard on Yom Kippur in 1990 galvanized him to get involved in a death penalty case. "You can change the decree because you pray and throw yourself into the work," he said. "I had to take the case or else I would have to call myself a fraud." Personal stories such as these played a large role in the presentations of the two speakers. Marshall discussed his work with the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern Law School, and Prejean recounted several stories from her books "Dead Man Walking" and "The Death of Innocents" about her experiences accompanying death row inmates to their executions. "What I hope people hear are the intensely personal experiences of the speakers," said moderator Abrams in an interview with The Daily. "I have 2 death penalty cases, and I cannot articulate the profound emotional experience it has on you." The speakers" personal anecdotes and kept much of the audience captivated for the length of the presentation. "They did an excellent job combining the emotive, personal and statistical parts of the issue," said freshman Erik Goldman, who attended the event as part of a class on moral reasoning. Marshall spoke on how the death penalty is still a major problem in California, citing the fact that 648 prisoners are currently on death row, with 6 people up for execution in the next few months. Both speakers also advocated life without parole as a more morally and fiscally responsible alternative to the death penalty. Most of all, however, Prejean emphasized the affect that the power to kill has on society. With tongue in cheek, she applied the vengeful attitude of capital punishment to other crimes. "You rape, now you're going to feel what it's like," she said. "Every Friday night, rape squad!" Why don't we do that? It's because of what happens to the guards on the rape squad. What does it do to us when we have the power to decide who to kill?" Faced with the tough question of how to deal with cruel murderers like Adolf Eichmann and Richard Allen Davis, Marshall assented to the fact that criminal justice is not always clear-cut, but nevertheless insisted that capital punishment is an unsatisfactory way to deal with the problem. He asked a student questioner from the audience, "Is the marginal sense of safety you get from executing the prisoner worth a system that kills people based on racism or arbitrary geographic disparities, people who are mentally retarded or poor people who don't have lawyers?" When asked about ways to solve the problems related to capital punishment, Prejean highlighted the importance of discourse, "the American people say they support the death penalty, but that's because we haven't reflected on it. The more we educate people, then the more the people themselves will become the voice." Prejean made a special appeal to the students in the audience to engage in dialogue with their politicians, noting that "politicians love being looked up to by the young. They're always talking with the young people." Marshall too noted his hope for change. There were 130 death sentences last year, compared to 320 every year going back just 7 or 8 years ago - there's been a real turn of the tide," he said. He also spoke optimistically about an ongoing California commission that is studying the fairness of the application of the death penalty. The audience reacted positively throughout the event, with bursts of laughter at Prejean's wit, and many people lined up to ask questions after the presentation. Suzanna Brickman, a 3rd-year law student, said, "It's very inspirational to have somebody like Larry Marshall here at Stanford and being able to attract such international figures as Sister Helen." (source: Stanford Daily) NORTH CAROLINA: Black names N.C. House death penalty study committee Speaker Jim Black today named 20 House members to a committee that will examine how the death penalty is carried out in North Carolina. The panel also will recommend possible changes to the law for the General Assembly to consider during its session next spring. Representatives Joe Hackney and Beverly Earle will co-chair the House Select Study Committee on Capital Punishment. Black has said he would convene a committee, even though a bill that would have ordered a 2-year pause on executions while a study was undertaken failed to reach the House floor this year. (source: Associated Press)
