Nov. 3 PENNSYLVANIA: Former chief could face death term In Sunbury, a former Millerstown police chief could face the death penalty if he is found guilty of 1st-degree murder in the shooting death of his former wife outside Shamokin Area Community Hospital. Northumberland County District Attorney Anthony J. Rosini yesterday filed notice with the court of his intent to seek the execution of Richard C. Curran, 31, of Shamokin, if Curran is found guilty of murdering Tina Currant on Aug. 24. The prosecutor said the aggravating circumstances required to seek the death penalty are whether the killing created a grave risk to others and occurred during the commission of a felony, namely intimidation or retaliation against a witness or victim. Curran, part-time police chief of Bernville, Berks County, when arrested, is jailed without bail on charges of homicide, aggravated assault and recklessly endangering another person. Tina Curran, 31, of Mount Carmel, was shot about 11 a.m. as she arrived for work. Curran was Millerstown's police chief and only officer until last year. He was hired in Millerstown in March 2003 and was named chief two months later. (source: The Patriot News) INDIANA: Appeals court upholds decision to overturn death row inmate's conviction Citing "unmistakable" judicial bias, a federal appeals court has upheld a lower court's decision to overturn the 1991 conviction of Indiana death row inmate James Patrick Harrison. Late last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled Harrison was deprived of a fair trial by Posey County, Ind., Judge James Redwine, who refused to remove himself from the case after defense attorneys raised allegations about his relationship with one of Harrison's victims. According to the appeals court opinion, U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker was "eminently correct" when she ruled Redwine had demonstrated an "unmistakable bias infecting James Harrison's (murder) trial." Barker overturned Harrison's conviction last year and the Indiana Attorney General appealed her ruling. Harrison was convicted in the 1989 slayings of 20-year-old Stacy Forsee and her two small children. He was sentenced to death by a Posey County jury in 1991. In her order, Barker said Redwine demonstrated "actual bias" before and during the trial, after Harrison's attorneys made public an allegation that Forsee saw Redwine and other influential politicians at a drug party shortly before her death. The allegations were never substantiated but Barker ruled Redwine should have have removed himself from the case after the allegation was brought to his attention. (source: Evansville Courier & Press) CALIFORNIA: Tragedy highlights importance of mental health Standing before the makeshift memorial at the end of Pier 7, I can't help but imagine what might have been going through the mind of Lashaun Harris. On Oct. 19 at approximately 5:30 p.m., Harris took her three young children to the end of the San Francisco pier, undressed them, lifted them over the heavy guardrail and flung them into the 55 degree water below. The only remainder of that event is a fragment of yellow police tape tied at the entrance to the pier and pile of stuffed animals, flowers and handwritten notes that mourners have placed to create the makeshift memorial. One such commemorative offering reads, "Note to Trayshaun, Travate, and Joshua [sic], rest in peace you all looked like beautiful children. Now you are all in the Lord's hands. Jesus loves you. All children are very special. Sincerely, Someone who cares for all children." This somber note was attached to a dozen roses that have now begun to wilt. The flower petals floating in the bay below are a haunting reminder of what occurred there. Harris has been charged with 3 counts of child assault and 3 counts of murder with special circumstances, allegations which may ultimately call for the death penalty. Since that horrid day we have learned from Harris' family members that she is mentally ill, suffering from schizophrenia. At one point Harris was taking medication, but at the time she had killed her children she was not because she felt her symptoms were under control. According to reports, Harris was living in a homeless shelter at the time of the murders. Given this fact, we can infer that Harris' socioeconomic status was relatively low, and that she was struggling to support herself and her 3 children. Though it is uncertain what type of health insurance program Harris participated in, people in similar economic situations often find that Medi-Cal, California's public program which pays for health and long term care services for low income Californians, is a viable option. According to Nicky Davis, compounding pharmacy technician, "Medi-Cal patients who suffer from mental illness generally have better coverage than those with cancer. So it would make little sense for someone under doctor's care to get away with going off of their medication, and frankly, cost would not be an issue." Thus far, there have been no conclusive reports stating why Harris went off of her medication. Although family members have indicated that she thought her symptoms were under control, clearly this was far from the case. This event is a wake-up call to all people that mental health is just as important as physical health. Although mental illnesses may not be accompanied by same outward symptoms we see when someone has the flu, the internal turmoil that people experience can be more devastating. A report by the Contra Costa Times stated that Avis Harris, Lashaun Harris' mother, had earlier sought to gain custody of her 3 grandchildren. The court denied her plea. This and other cases like it should cause our family court and social service system to be reexamined. I am not advocating for children to be taken away from their parents simply on the word of another individual, but in a situation where there is medical documentation, I believe that adjustments need to be made. Obviously, I cannot say for certain that if Treyshun, Joshoa, and Taronta were living with their grandmother they would be alive today, but that question still remains. While I stood on Pier 7, a woman, probably in her mid 30s studied the water blankly. She was wearing a pair of pink hospital scrubs and white tennis shoes. She turned to me and asked, "Did you know the children?" "No," I replied, "but I'm writing a story about them." "Oh, that's good," she said "people need to understand what has happened." And given the complex nature of mental illness, my fear is that we never will. (source: The Santa Clara) **************** Death Penalty Focus Action Items & Events Stanley Tookie Williams "Teach-In Week" for Teachers, Youth Organizers, and Youth Ministries -----November 14th - 21st Death Penalty Focus 870 Market St. Ste. 859 San Francisco, CA 94102 Tel. 415-243-0143 - Fax 415-243-0994 - http://www.deathpenalty.org 1) Action Items Stanley Tookie Williams "Teach-In Week" for Teachers, Youth Organizers, and Youth Ministries -------- November 14th - 21st This event is a part of the effort to seek clemency for Stanley Williams. Williams, once a leader of the Crips street gang, has dedicated his life to ending gang violence while on death row at San Quentin. He is scheduled to be executed by the state of California on December 13th. The basis of the clemency petition is that Stanley's personal redemption and his message of education, self-discipline and peace have had a positive impact on young people around the world. If California executes this man, what message will that be sending to the young people that Williams is trying to help? The "Tookie Teach-In Week" is scheduled for November 14th through the 21st. The topics that could be discussed during the teach-in week include: gangs, drugs, peer pressure, redemption, civic responsibility, forgiveness, rehabilitation and the death penalty. We have developed materials to assist you with the "Teach-in" including: a short biography of Stanley Williams, Stanley's protocol for peace, his apology for co-founding the Crips, his letters to Youth #1 and #2, excerpts from his books and sample lesson plans on the death penalty. A suggested reading list is also included with this packet. You can access all of the "Teach-in" materials in .pdf format at: http://www.deathpenalty.org/pdf_files/CurriculumTookieWeek.pdf We hope the "Teach In" will generate media attention and the legal team plans to video tape participating classes where permitted and appropriate. Please email mailto:[email protected] or call 415-243-0141 to let us know how your class/group is participating and whether you would allow taping. 2) Upcoming Events NOVEMBER 4, 2005 Panelists Share Stories About Their Personal Experience with the Criminal Justice System-----Sponsored by Amnesty International USA Group #452 Begins at 7:30pm Unitarian Universalist Church of Ventura 5654 Ralston Street Ventura, CA Panelists include: Tom Goldstein - wrongfully imprisoned in California for 24 years Carol Duncanson - lost a close family member to murder Rita Barker - lost a loved one to execution by the State of California Rev. Jan Christian - Moderator Admission: FREE Co-sponsored by Death Penalty Focus and Social Action/UUCV For further information call: Susan Bronn (805) 981-0837 or Bob Gips (805) 643-6605 NOVEMBER 5, 2005 Catholics and the Death Penalty 2 murder victims' family members share their stories of having children murdered and confronting the death penalty. -Bud Welch's daughter was murdered in the Oklahoma City bombing. He is now President of Murder Victims' Families for Human Rights. -Vicki Schieber's daughter was murdered in Philadelphia, PA. Mission Basilica of San Juan Capistrano ---- 7:30 pm Parish Center, Room D 31520 Camino Capsistrano Orange County, CA RSVP to: [email protected] or call 949-218-2679. November 12-13, 2005 Amnesty International USA Western Regional Conference Holiday Inn Golden Gateway San Francisco, CA Death Penalty Panel: Sat. Nov. 12 - 2pm-3:30pm Death Penalty Workshop: Sun. Nov. 13 - 1:15pm-2:45pm For more information or to register: Call 310-815-0450, email [email protected], or visit http://www.amnestyusa.org/events/western/regionalconference.html Registration fees: $25 general, $15 students/seniors/limited income November 16, 2005 California People of Faith Working Against the Death Penalty San Francisco Chapter Organizing Meeting ----- 11:30am-1pm 870 Market St. Room 1186 San Francisco, CA NOVEMBER 30, 2005 Cities Against the Death Penalty and Global Day of Action Throughout the world, more than 300 CITIES will illuminate a symbolic monument as a demonstration of their opposition to the death penalty, including Santa Cruz, CA. Protests against the scheduled execution of Stanley Williams are being organized to coincide with this global day-of-action. More Deatils: TBA. This event is organized by the Community of Sant'Egidio and actively supported by the main international human rights organizations of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty (Amnesty International, Ensemble Contre la Peine de Mort, ACAT, International Penal Reform, FIACAT, Death Penalty Focus, etc.). Cities will include: Rome, Tokyo, Lyon, Brussels, Barcelona, Florence, Venice, Buenos Aires, Austin, Madrid, Dallas, Antwerp, Vienna, Naples, Paris, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Reggio Emilia, Bogot, Santiago de Chile and more than 100 others. For more information on how to involve your city: http://www.santegidio.org/no_death_penalty/2004/pdm20041119_en.htm DECEMBER 4, 2005 Screening of Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story San Francisco/ Bay Area Details: TBA Stefanie L. Faucher ---- Program Director Death Penalty Focus 870 Market St. Ste. 859 San Francisco, CA 94102 Tel. 415-243-0143 Fax 415-243-0994 mailto:[email protected] http://www.deathpenalty.org http://www.californiamoratorium.org www.deathpenalty.org (source: Death Penalty Focus) *************** Murder Conviction Reversed----A paraplegic who fatally shot two Riverside police officers from his wheelchair received an ineffective defense, an appeals court has ruled. The federal appeals court in San Francisco on Wednesday reversed the murder conviction of a paraplegic who has been on death row since 1984 for fatally shooting 2 Riverside police officers from his wheelchair. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 3 to 0 that the trial judge denied Jackson C. Daniels Jr. his constitutional right to counsel by refusing to recognize that Daniels had a conflict with his court-appointed public defender, because of a previous problem he had with the Riverside County public defender's office. When the judge finally replaced the lawyer 9 months later, it was with a former prosecutor with no criminal defense experience and only three months to prepare the case, the court found. The performance of Daniels' trial lawyers fell well below professional norms and prejudiced the outcome of his case, Judge Harry Pregerson wrote. "It is clear in this case that Daniels shot the two officers and is guilty of some type of unlawful killing," Pregerson wrote. "However, as demonstrated" during a hearing years after the crime, "there was evidence that his mental state at the time of the offense could have been used as a defense to 1st-degree murder." A prison psychiatrist had first diagnosed Daniels as schizophrenic as early as 1965 when he was incarcerated for another crime, the judge added. Deputy Atty. Gen. Warren P. Robinson, who defended the verdict on appeal, said he thought the 9th Circuit had made a faulty decision, based in part on the assumption that Daniels had mental problems. "The only mental problem he has is that he is a sociopath," Robinson said. The attorney general's office has not decided whether it will ask the 9th Circuit to rehear the case with a larger panel of judges or seek review from the U.S. Supreme Court, he said. If those avenues are unsuccessful, the Riverside County district attorney's office said it would retry Daniels. The killings drew widespread attention at the time, with 3,000 people attending the slain officers' funerals. A memorial for them remains outside Riverside police headquarters. The California Supreme Court unanimously upheld Daniels' conviction and sentence in 1991. Years later, J. Spencer Letts, a federal district court judge in Los Angeles, sustained the murder conviction but threw out the death sentence, citing the trial lawyer's shoddy performance at the penalty phase of the case. But the 9th Circuit said the "irreconcilable conflict" between Daniels and his trial lawyer deprived him of effective assistance of counsel for the entirety of the case, resulting in a violation of his 6th Amendment rights. Daniels, a 66-year-old paraplegic, has been living in a hospital at San Quentin State Prison for the entire time he has been on death row. He became a paraplegic in 1980 when he was shot 9 times by Riverside police officers as he was trying to flee from a bank robbery. Under a plea agreement negotiated by a public defender, Daniels pleaded guilty in exchange for being permitted to remain free on his own recognizance for 6 months so he could seek medical treatment. When his appeal of that conviction failed, Daniels was ordered to surrender to authorities. When Daniels failed to turn himself in, a warrant was issued for his arrest and Officers Dennis Doty and Phil Trust went to get him at a friend's house where Daniels had a caretaker. While the caretaker was helping dress him, Daniels drew a gun from between his legs and fatally shot Doty and Trust. Daniels told his attorney that the police had shot him nine times earlier and that he had "paid them back because of what they had done to him," according to the 9th Circuit ruling. Daniels was arrested soon after that. (source: Los Angeles Times) **************** Clemency for 'Tookie' Williams On Ded. 13 at 12:01 a.m., Stanley "Tookie" Williams, who helped found the Crips gang in Los Angeles at the age of 17, is scheduled to die in the execution chamber at San Quentin Prison. His only chance to escape death by lethal injection is a grant of clemency from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The odds are against Williams, now 51, being spared. The last governor to award clemency to a death row inmate was Ronald Reagan in 1967. Yet it is hard to imagine how an inmate could contribute more to society from behind prison walls than Williams has. That is why we urge Schwarzenegger, who has made rehabilitation the focus of his prison reform strategy, to follow Reagan's lead and respond affirmatively to Williams' plea. Even those skeptical of Williams' transformation need not worry that he will ever again be a danger to society. He is seeking that his death sentence be commuted, and in its place that he serve a life sentence without the possibility of parole. The crimes Williams was convicted of committing were horrific. He was convicted of robbing a 7-Eleven store in Whittier in 1979, and in the process killing 26-year-old Albert Owens, who worked there. He was also convicted of killing three members of the Yang family, who operated the Brookdale Motel in Los Angeles, during another robbery 11 days later. Until a half century ago, Death Row inmates had little time to reflect on what they had done, or to seek redemption. They were typically executed within a year or two of being convicted. These days, far more death row inmates die from natural causes than are executed. In an unintended consequence of the lengthening gap between conviction and execution in California, Williams has had an opportunity to transform his life from one of violence and drugs to one that serves the social good. During his 24 years on death row, Williams has worked to break the influence of gangs like the one he helped organize. He has made videotapes that have been shown to rival gang members to encourage them to end their internecine conflicts. He has participated in telephone-conference calls with schoolchildren in urban neighborhoods torn by gang violence. He has written a series of children's books, subtitled "Tookie Speaks Out Against Gang Violence." "Don't join a gang," he wrote in one of them. "You won't find what you're looking for. All you will find is trouble, pain and sadness. I know. I did." While Williams has consistently insisted on his innocence, even the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco, which rejected his petitions for a new trial, hinted that he might be deserving of clemency. In an unusual comment, the court noted that "his good works and accomplishments since incarceration may make him a worthy candidate for the exercise of gubernatorial discretion." Simply put, Williams is of more use alive than dead. His continued work against gangs benefits us all. (source: Editorial, San Francisco Chronicle) **************************** New murder trial for disabled man A paraplegic from Riverside, sentenced to death for gunning down 2 police officers who had come to his home to arrest him in 1982, was granted a new trial Wednesday by a federal appeals court. The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Jackson Daniels' trial judge had refused to allow him to be represented by a lawyer he trusted and appointed an inexperienced ex-prosecutor who failed to investigate Daniels' mental condition. The appellate court also said the judge should have transferred the case to another county because of pretrial publicity. A federal judge had previously overturned Daniels' death sentence and ordered a new penalty trial. The three-judge appeals court panel denied the state's attempt to reinstate the death sentence and also overturned his murder convictions, saying had Daniels been represented competently, he might have been convicted only of second-degree murder, rather than to offenses that resulted in a death penalty sentence. The state's lawyer, Deputy Attorney General Warren Robinson, said the ruling was disappointing and might be appealed, either to the entire appeals court or to the U.S. Supreme Court. He contended the evidence showed that Daniels was not mentally ill but was "simply a sociopath who doesn't care about hurting other people," and that his trial lawyer "did what he could." The appeals court said, however, that the attorney, Carl Jordon, a former prosecutor who was handling his 1st case as a defense lawyer, had based his defense on the "ludicrous" claim that Daniels was not the killer, used an unqualified psychologist as his only witness on Daniels' mental health and ignored records of possible mental illness. Daniels, now 68, was shot nine times by police officers while fleeing from a bank robbery in 1980. Rendered a paraplegic, he was freed on bond while appealing his conviction and sentence; when the appeal was denied in 1982, Daniels failed to appear in court for sentencing, and officers Dennis Doty and Phil Trost were sent to his home to arrest him. Daniels shot them both to death. (source: San Francisco Chronicle) ******************** Latest Plan to Split 9th Circuit Aims to Sidestep Debate Their proposal to split the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stalled in the U.S. Senate last year. So House Republicans have taken a new approach this year: Attach a split proposal to a provision for new judgeships and tuck it into a $35 billion spending-cut bill. While the House voted last year to split the 9th Circuit, the Senate blocked a similar bill, with even some Republicans voting against it. So the latest split proposal is structured to sidestep debate in the Senate Judiciary Committee and discussion on the floor, reaching the Senate only in the budget conference committee. And there's an added bonus, said Jeff Lungren, a spokesman for House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, a Wisconsin Republican: "Protections on the Senate side; I don't believe it's subject to filibuster." With the Senate seen as the key stumbling block to splitting the circuit -- historically, a cause championed by conservatives worried that California tilted the 9-state court too far to the left -- the latest move is seen as a headlong charge toward breaking up the court. The provision would break Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Nevada and Arizona away from the 9th. "It's a very, very aggressive tactic," said Arthur Hellman, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and an expert on the 9th Circuit. "In my mind, it's a very significant move and has a greater chance of success than any of the similar moves in recent years." The reconciliation bill is a relatively rare tool and has not been used for budget cuts since 1997. Split opponents hope that a rule allowing senators to strike provisions not directly related to spending can get the split proposal dropped. But Lungren said it's not yet clear whether that rule applies. Hellman said that by tying the circuit split to dozens of new federal judgeships as well as the spending cuts, the measure could get through without the Senate consideration it deserves. "It's a very bad way of legislating a change to the judicial code," Hellman said. Chief Judge Mary Schroeder agreed. "It's just treating the courts with utter disrespect, and we have to enforce the laws," she said. "I've never heard of an attempt to bypass an entire body, a house of Congress." While the tactic is new, there have been plenty of moves to split the 9th Circuit in recent decades, though only 3 of the court's 28 active judges want the division. Just last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee heard spirited testimony from judges on its own split proposal. One of those judges, Diarmuid O'Scannlain, supports the split because he sees the circuit as simply being too large to function properly. And while O'Scannlain wouldn't comment on the legislative tactics used to push the measure, he praised the House split proposal on Tuesday. "As far as the merits of the bill are concerned, they're absolutely solid," he said. "The beauty of this bill is it takes care of California's needs for a long time with seven new judgeships." But, as the Senate hearings made clear last week, O'Scannlain is in the minority. On Oct. 21, Judge Carlos Bea -- a George W. Bush appointee -- wrote a letter to senators on behalf of 3 other recent appointees urging them not to split the court. "It is all too easy to look at the Ninth Circuit's size and caseload from the outside and summarily conclude changes are needed. But take it from some recent arrivals who are on the inside," he wrote, "its administrative efficiency is second to none." Sensenbrenner disagrees with that, Lungren said, and would have attached the measure to the spending-cuts bill earlier had Hurricane Katrina not intervened. Scott Gerber, a spokesman for Sen. Dianne Feinstein -- an outspoken opponent of splitting the circuit -- said the California Democrat plans to write a letter to representatives objecting to the tactic. "It's a very bad way of legislating something that's important," Gerber said. (source: The Recorder) ************************ Marin County sues again to block approval of new death row at San Quentin Marin County made another last-ditch attempt to block a proposal to build a new death row at San Quentin State Prison. In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in state court in Sacramento, the county asked for a temporary restraining order preventing the state Public Works Board from approving the project, which calls for the construction of 768 new cells at a projected cost of $233 million. The county accused the state Department of Finance and the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation of improperly seeking a 20-% budget increase for the project, said Marin County Counsel Patrick Faulkner. Faulkner said the county wants the project sent back to the Legislature for a reauthorization vote. After initial plans went over budget, the finance department cut the size and cost of the proposed facility. But it is still expected to cost $13 million more than the amount authorized for the project by the Legislature in 2003, officials said. H.D. Palmer, a spokesman for the state finance department, said the agency's actions were consistent with the Legislature's intent in initially approving the project. This is the 2nd lawsuit the county has filed seeking to delay approval of the new facility. A hearing is scheduled for Dec. 14 on a suit filed in Marin County Superior Court. The suit claims the new death row's environmental impact report was inadequate because it only examined Marin as a potential location. Marin leaders have consistently opposed construction of the new death row, saying it will be economically unsound and a poor use of prime bayfront land. There are 633 inmates currently on death row at San Quentin. (source: Associated Press) IDAHO: Idaho Lawyers Reach Deal in Murder Case In Coeur D'Alene, prosecutors agreed Wednesday to withhold graphic videos from the trial of a suspected killer, resolving a dispute with the defense. The videos were found after the capture of Joseph Edward Duncan III, who is charged with killing 3 members of an Idaho family in May so he could abduct Shasta Groene, 8, and her brother, Dylan Groene, 9, for sex. The defense had demanded copies of the tapes, but prosecutors had refused, saying the tapes had "vile" images made during the 7-week period when Duncan allegedly held the children captive in Montana. District Judge Fred Gibler last month ordered prosecutors to make copies after Duncan's public defender, John Adams, insisted they were necessary to mount an adequate defense for his client. But Prosecutor Bill Douglas asked the judge to reconsider and the attorneys reached a deal Wednesday. Duncan faces the death penalty if convicted of 3 counts of murder. His trial is set to start in January. U.S. Attorney Tom Moss has said Duncan will be charged in federal court with kidnapping the 2 children and killing Dylan, whose remains were found at a campsite in Montana. (source: Associated Press)
