Nov. 17 ARKANSAS----impending execution The execution of convicted murderer Eric Nance, of Malvern, will apparently be carried out as planned. The Nov. 28 execution of Nance should go forward as planned, the state parole board recommended Tuesday. The board rejected arguments from Nance's attorneys that he is mentally retarded and cannot legally be executed and that DNA tests could exonerate him of attempted rape, an underlying crime that was used to convict Nance of capital murder in the 1993 death of a Malvern woman. By a vote of 6-1, the board recommended that Gov. Mike Huckabee turn down Nance's clemency request. Board member Bill Walker cast the only dissenting vote, recommending that execution be delayed to determine whether Nance is retarded and what effect an Oklahoma appeal might have on the case. Alice Stewart, a spokeswoman for Huckabee, said the governor takes all executions seriously and will take the recommendation under advisement. Meanwhile, U.S. District Judge James Moody is to hear a request from Nance's lawyers Wednesday for a stay of execution. Nance, 45, was convicted of the murder of Julie Heath, 18, of Malvern. A hunter found Heath's body in woods about a week after she disappeared Oct. 11, 1993, and her car was found along U.S. 270. Her throat had been slashed with a box cutter. Family members told the Post-Prison Transfer Board at the clemency hearing last week of the emotional toll Heath's death has had on them, noting that her mother, Nancy, committed suicide. Federal public defenders reminded the board in a separate session Thursday that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2002 that states cannot execute a mentally retarded person and that a 13-year-old Arkansas law also forbade the practice. They said that Nance's trial lawyers failed to adequately raise that issue and that Nance has been tested by a psychologist since then who concluded he is mentally retarded, with IQ scores of 66 and in the range of 51-59. If not a recommendation of life, they said, the board should consider granting a reprieve to allow more time for the resolution of appeals in Arkansas and Oklahoma. New DNA tests could show that pubic hair found in Nance's truck was not the victim's, raising reasonable doubt that Nance tried to rape Heath, they said. In addition if Nance's rape conviction in Oklahoma were overturned, that would raise questions about its use as an aggravating circumstance in sentencing Nance to death in the Arkansas case, they said. State lawyers argued that issues of mental retardation and child abuse had been sufficiently reviewed by the courts. They said psychiatrist David Diner tested Nance after his conviction and found he had an IQ of 103 and wasn't impaired. Nance was a heating and air conditioning technician at the time of Heath's murder and obtained his high school equivalency certificate in prison. Even if the Oklahoma conviction was overturned or Nance was cleared of attempted rape, it would make no difference to the Arkansas case, the state lawyers said. The jury in Nance's trial found that Nance had killed Heath to cover up criminal behavior, another aggravating circumstance that was used to sentence him to death. And one of 2 Oklahoma rape victims testified that Nance had raped her, evidence the jury was allowed to use to convict Nance of capital murder. A Nance family member requesting anonymity the ordeal had been grueling for both member of the Heath family and Nance family. The Nance family member issued the following statement: "Our family feels for the Heath family. There was a loss they can never get back. Ours is a loss we can never get back. My heart has gone to the Heath family since Day 1. It hurts more people than the immediate family. This is a chapter that needs to be closed." (source: Malvern Daily Record) NEW YORK: Serial killer gets new sentence after court kills death penalty A serial killer sentenced to death after murdering and dismembering 5 women returned to a Long Island courtroom Thursday, where a judge revised his sentence to life without parole. The change was the result of a decision last year by the state Court of Appeals that effectively placed a moratorium on executions in New York. Robert Shulman, 51, was convicted in March 1999 by a Suffolk County jury of 1st-degree murder in the deaths of three women; the following year he was convicted in Westchester for murdering two victims whose bodies were found in Yonkers. Some of those killed were believed to be prostitutes. Shulman, a postal worker from Hicksville, was convicted of killing Kelly Sue Bunting, 28, of Hollis, Queens, whose body was found in December 1995 in a trash bin in Melville; Lisa Ann Warner, 18, of Jamaica, Queens, whose body was found in April 1995 at a Brooklyn trash recycling plant; and an unidentified woman whose mutilated body was found in December 1994 on a roadside in Medford. Before Suffolk County Court Judge Arthur Pitts imposed a new sentence of life without parole, Bunting's father made an impassioned victim's impact statement. "This entire court proceeding and all of the appeals and hearings and rights, they are all about you," John Bunting said to Shulman in prepared remarks supplied by the Suffolk County district attorney's office. "Kelly is lucky to get an honorable mention. Where are her rights? Are they buried with her? You took them from her along with her life and her ability to live life. "All people in society are living in constant fear of criminals like you." In Westchester, Shulman was convicted of killing Lori Vasquez, a 24-year-old Brooklyn woman, and killing and dismembering another woman who was never identified. Those cases ended up in Westchester because Shulman and his brother Barry dumped Vasquez and the other victim in Yonkers. They were found in 1991 and 1992, crammed into plastic trash cans. There was no death penalty law at the time. Barry Shulman was sentenced to two years in jail for aiding his brother. In a 4-3 ruling in June 2004, the state's highest court declared a sentencing provision of New York's capital punishment statute - enacted in 1995 - violates the state constitution. The court ruled that jury-instruction provisions in the statute could coerce some jurors into voting for death against a defendant. "The deadlock instruction gives rise to an unconstitutionally palpable risk that one or more jurors who cannot bear the thought that a defendant may walk the streets again ... will join jurors favoring death in order to avoid the deadlock sentence," Judge George Bundy Smith wrote for the majority of the court. Since the Court of Appeals ruling, the state Legislature has been unable to agree on a bill to correct the problem. No one was ever executed under the 1995 death penalty law. (source: Associated Press) TEXAS: 2 Indicted in 1983 Slayings in Texas 2 men were indicted Thursday on murder charges in the slayings of five people who were abducted from a fast food restaurant in East Texas more than two decades ago. Darnell Hartsfield, 44, and Romeo Pinkerton, 47, were charged with capital murder in the shooting deaths of the victims, who were kidnapped from a Kentucky Fried Chicken in Kilgore, about 115 miles east of Dallas. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, whose office is prosecuting the case, said he has not decided whether to seek the death penalty. Hartsfield was convicted last month of aggravated perjury in relation to the murder case. He previously told a grand jury he had never been to the restaurant in Kilgore, but DNA evidence showed he was there the night of the killings, authorities said. Hartsfield was sentenced to life in prison on the perjury conviction because of a long criminal record that included aggravated robbery and engaging in organized crime. Pinkerton remains jailed after being arrested in Tyler in August on an outstanding warrant for a parole violation. Abbott said the murder investigation remains open. Victims David Maxwell, 20; Joey Johnson, 20; Monty Landers, 19; Mary Tyler, 37; and Opie Hughes, 38, were found in an oil field with gunshot wounds to the head. Several law enforcement agencies investigated through the years. Authorities re-examined evidence, using DNA and other technology that was unavailable 2 decades ago, and uncovered new evidence, Abbott said. (source: Associated Press) ******************* Busby's upbringing described Edward Lee Busby Jr.'s father was an alcoholic who basically gave up on him and his 2 sisters. His mother wasn't home much. School was an absolute horror for Busby, a 10th-grade dropout who reads at a third-grade level. "He ended up in the [principal's] office a lot," Janette Miller, Busby's former special-education teacher, told jurors. "He didn't want to be at school, I can tell you that." In their quest to spare Busby's life, defense attorneys Jack Strickland and Steve Gordon called several witnesses Wednesday, including Busby's former teacher and two sisters, who testified about Busby's low IQ, learning disabilities and absent father. "I'm going to suggest to you that, at the conclusion of this, you will at least have some information on which to make a better decision on whether or not life or death is more appropriate," Strickland told the jury. "I'm going to suggest to you that none of this is going to be offered as an excuse for Mr. Busby. We're simply going to offer it in hopes that it enlightens you to all the facts and circumstances." Busby was convicted last week of capital murder for abducting retired TCU educator Laura Lee Crane, 77, from a Tom Thumb grocery store parking lot on Jan. 30, 2004, and suffocating her by wrapping her head in duct tape. To sentence him to death, jurors must believe that Busby is a future danger to society and that no mitigating factors would make a life sentence more appropriate. Strickland conceded that Busby likely is a future danger, telling the jurors that they would hear a psychologist testify to that. The issue at hand, Strickland said, is whether there are factors in his background that mitigate his criminal behavior. Through the testimony of several witnesses, jurors heard that Busby and his two sisters grew up in the "hood" in Pampa and Amarillo, moving several times between the two cities during their childhood. His father was an alcoholic, and once their mother divorced him, he didn't come around much. His older sister often cared for him and his younger sister while their mother worked. Early on, Busby had trouble in school, getting poor conduct marks and flunking the first grade. He was diagnosed with learning disabilities and was in special-education classes until he dropped out in the 10th grade. Miller, Busby's former teacher, testified that Busby, whom she calls Junior, didn't like authority, was defiant and often talked back. He was frequently absent from school, and when he there, he was always in trouble. "You never stop trying, but I can tell you, the days Junior wasn't in school, I was elated," Miller said. Busby's sisters characterized him as a good brother who was extremely protective of them and their mother. He did not tolerate men abusing women and was never violent toward women or girls, they said. Both sisters told jurors that were shocked when they learned he had been accused of killing a 77-year-old woman. "For them to come to us and tell us he killed a woman? That's not him -- not a woman," Kimiko Coleman, Busby's older sister, testified. On cross-examination, prosecutor Greg Miller, who is trying the case with Joe Shannon, asked Busby's other sister, Tarsharn Busby, whether she could think of any reason why Busby would abduct a 77-year-old woman, steal from her, kill her and dump her body. "I can't think of no reason," she said, slowly. "I don't understand that part at all." The defense will continue presenting its case this morning in state District Judge Wayne Salvant's courtroom. Jurors could begin deliberating Busby's fate today. ********************** Doctor: TCU professor's killer has psychopathic traits Convicted murderer Edward Lee Busby Jr.s psychological test scores show he is unlikely to learn from mistakes, has poor judgment and blames others for his problems, a doctor for his defense team testified Thursday morning. Closing statements in the capital murder trial were scheduled to begin at 1 p.m., clearing the way for a jury of 9 men and 3 women to decide whether Busby should die for killing 77-year-old Laura Lee Crane, a retired TCU professor. Busby was convicted of capital murder Friday in the death of the retired TCU professor. The psychologist for the defense team said Busby scored 34 out of 40 points on a test that measures anti-social personality traits. "Anything above 30 indicates the presence of psychopathy and would be consistent with a severe anti-social personality disorder," Timothy Proctor testified. Defense attorneys needed Proctor's testimony to help convince the jury to spare Busby's life because of his difficult background, low IQ and other mental deficiencies. But Proctor also had to give the damaging testimony that Busby is likely to commit future violence. Prosectors say Busby, 33, and co-defendant Kathleen Latimer, 41, kidnapped Crane from the parking lot of a Tom Thumb grocery store on South Hulen Street on Jan. 30, 2004. They forced Crane into the trunk of her 1999 Nissan Sentra and later repeatedly wrapped duct tape around her head so that she suffocated, investigators said. Prosecutors said the 2 used her credit cards and a blank check to rob her of more than $775 before driving to Oklahoma. Latimer and Busby were arrested driving Cranes car on Feb. 1, 2004. 2 days later, Busby led police to the Cranes body, which was wrapped in a hotel sheet in a wooded area of Interstate 35 in Davis, Okla. Latimer is to be tried separately on a capital murder charge. To get a death sentence for Busby, prosecutors Greg Miller and Joe Shannon must prove he is a future danger to society. In an opening statement Wednesday, Strickland said the defenses psychologist agrees with prosecutors that Busby is a danger. But, he said, the expert would also present mitigating factors, including Busbys low IQ and intellectual functioning. On the most extensive IQ test available, Busby scored a 77. That puts him at the lower sixth percent of the population. He reads on a 4th-grade level, according to Proctor. Proctor also testified that Busby had tried to kill himself or expressed a serious desire to do so at least 4 times, including once just 4 days before Cranes murder. In that most recent attempt, he called police saying he intended to jump from a bridge and wanted them to shoot him. He was hospitalized. Reports from the hospital said he was hostile and threatening to staff members. On cross-examination, Miller asked Proctor whether, knowing what he did about Busby, he would be comfortable seeing him on the parking lot of a grocery store. Proctor said he would not. On Monday and Tuesday, prosecutors presented evidence of Busbys history of arrests for theft, robbery, evading arrest and selling fake crack-cocaine. Late Wednesday morning, defense attorneys called Busbys sisters to the stand. The 2, who had not seen their brother in several years, said he was protective of women and never sought out trouble. They said they were shocked to learn of the murder. (source for both: Fort Worth Star-Telegram) *********************** Murder defendant's bond increases Woman allegedly gives police detailed account of victim's last moments, says he "was still alive" when she abandoned cab. The possibility that capital murder defendant Monica Palmer will be released on bond appears to be lessening by the day. Held under $250,000 bond after she was charged with dragging a Midland cab driver to his death early last Thursday, the $20,550 bond Palmer had previously been free on for another felony charge was upped to $120,550 Wednesday by Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace David Cobos, raising her unbonded total to $350,000. The 30-year-old Midlander was charged with robbery for allegedly choking a pregnant woman unconscious and robbing the One Stop convenience store at 900 S. Dallas St. Aug. 24. Another $35,000 -- 10 % of the bail amount -- would be needed to effect her release. Hired by Palmer's parents Tuesday, criminal defense attorney Jeff Robnett said Wednesday that his bond reduction motion probably will be heard early next week by 142nd District Court Judge Jody Gilles. When asked if his client is likely to face the death penalty, Robnett said, "It's a very early stage and a lot has to happen for it to take shape as a case." He said Palmer's parents, with whom she lived and whom Robnett declined to identify, "are very saddened by all that's going on." Midland police said Midessa Transportation cab driver Richard Allen Cullum tried to escape from his car when Palmer started stabbing him with a steak knife and he fell out the driver's side door and became entangled in his seat belt. He was dragged nine-tenths of a mile, from the 1000 block of North Terrell Street down Kansas Avenue to the 800 block of East Missouri Avenue. Palmer was arrested the next day at a local motel. She gave police a statement saying Cullum screamed throughout his ordeal and was still alive, nude from being dragged and with his right leg almost severed at the hip, when she abandoned the cab and fled about 3 a.m., court documents indicate. However, the driver was declared dead at the scene after police arrived, following the trail of blood to investigate the cab's collision with a parked pickup on Kansas Avenue. Palmer told police she rammed Cullum against the pickup in an unsuccessful attempt to knock him loose from the cab, documents said. A preliminary autopsy report said the 57-year-old native Californian died from "multiple blunt force injuries and sharp force injuries," the latter being five stab wounds in his right shoulder, arm and hand. Funeral arrangements are pending at Sanchez Mortician Services. Midland County District Attorney Al Schorre is holding a staff meeting today to decide if Palmer should be tried in state district court or by the U.S. Attorney's Office under the new federal carjacking statute, which permits the death penalty. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Klassen said Wednesday he had not been approached about prosecuting the case. "We have not seriously been asked to look at it yet," he said. "It's primarily a state crime," Klassen said, referring to the alleged robbery motive. Midessa Transportation co-owner Sammy Hajar said his drivers in Midland and Odessa are typically robbed by passengers who display guns or knives "twice a year" and this is their first death since a 22-year-old Midessa driver was shot in the back of the head for his day's fares in 1992. "We tell our drivers that if they want the money or the car, give it to them," he said. "You can replace money or a car, but you can't replace someone's life." Hajar is philosophically opposed to the death penalty and hopes for a sentence of life in prison without parole for Palmer. "Killing her is not going to bring our driver back," he said Wednesday. "But if it happens, it happens. There is nothing I can do about it." (source: Midland Reporter-Telegram) NORTH DAKOTA: Defense in Sjodin case looks to derail death penalty possibility Attorneys for Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. are trying to keep him from facing the death penalty if he is convicted of killing Dru Sjodin 2 years ago. Lawyers for the man accused in the death of University of North Dakota student Dru Sjodin 2 years ago are refuting prosecutors' claims that Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. used "substantial planning and premeditation." Defense attorneys are asking a federal judge to determine the evidence is either vague or insufficient to back claims that aggravating factors support the death penalty. Rodriguez, 52, of Crookston, Minn., is accused of kidnapping resulting in the death of Sjodin, 22, of Pequot Lakes, Minn., in 2003. The convicted sex offender has pleaded not guilty. His trial is scheduled next summer. Prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty if he is convicted. Defense attorneys also are asking a judge whether prosecutors can question Rodriguez's previous victims to determine whether they suffered serious bodily injury. Attorney Richard Ney also wants prosecutors to outline the essential facts they plan to rely on in their attempt to convict Rodriguez. "The indictment itself says very little" and the law requires prosecutors to disclose more information, Ney said. U.S. Attorney Drew Wrigley said his office likely will file a response to the defense motions by the end of the month. "There's nothing in here, that in part, we didn't anticipate," he said. (source: Associated Press) ILLINOIS: DNA does not clear inmate in '83 case DNA tests failed to exclude a onetime death row inmate as the offender in a 1983 murder and rape case, his defense attorney said Wednesday. As a result, Milton Johnson, 55, must decide whether to proceed with his motion for a new trial, which could put him in jeopardy of again receiving a death sentence, said John Greenlees of the state appellate defender's office. In 2003, former Gov. George Ryan commuted Johnson's death sentences in 2 cases to life terms. Whether Johnson could be sentenced to death again, if he were to win a new trial and be convicted a 2nd time, likely will depend on the outcome of a similar case argued before the Illinois Supreme Court on Tuesday, Greenlees said. First Assistant Will County State's Atty. Phil Mock confirmed that a DNA sample from the rape "was consistent with" Johnson. He agreed that the Supreme Court ruling would determine whether Johnson could be eligible for capital punishment again. In Johnson's case, the Supreme Court gave him the right to have the DNA tested in April 2002. At the time, Johnson said it would prove his innocence. The Supreme Court also ordered that Johnson receive a hearing on his claim of ineffective defense counsel. His trial attorney, William Swano, was sentenced to 4 years in federal prison in 1995. Swano was portrayed as a cocaine addict who bribed judges to fix cases. The Supreme Court said that Swano lied about how much work he had done on Johnson's case and that he did not provide adequate counsel. Johnson was found guilty in 1984 of the murder of Anthony Hackett, 18, and the attempted murder and rape of Hackett's fiance. They were attacked in July 1983 as they slept by the side of Interstate Highway 55, near Wilmington, on their way home from a Chicago-area amusement park. Johnson also is serving a life sentence for the murders of four women in Joliet in 1983. ********************* Wrongful arrest suits are tough sells----As in Porter case, big payouts often denied Despite a number of highly publicized settlements and jury awards for inmates exonerated after years in prison, legal experts say big payoffs remain exceedingly difficult to land, as shown this week in the Anthony Porter case. A Cook County jury on Tuesday rejected Porter's demand for $24 million, though he was exonerated six years ago for a double-murder in Chicago--a wrongful conviction that left him on Death Row for 16 years. His story was powerful enough to influence then-Gov. George Ryan's decision to place a moratorium on executions in Illinois in 2000. Yet the jury in Porter's civil case found that police did nothing wrong when they zeroed in on him, beginning his long and nearly deadly ordeal. Porter came within 2 days of being executed in 1998 before a stay was issued. For every Ford Heights Four case, in which four men were wrongfully convicted of a double murder and later settled their suit for $36 million; there is a Gary Gauger, who spent 3 years in prison and 9 months on Death Row for killing his parents before he was exonerated. An appeals court has since ruled Gauger can only pursue a false imprisonment case for the 18 hours he spent in police custody, saying sheriff's deputies did not violate his rights in seeking a confession that later proved to be false. Gauger maintained that he never confessed. Many of the wrongly convicted have received state-mandated awards that are worth $60,000 to $161,000, but civil suits against the agencies that brought charges are more difficult to win. "There is a perception that there are awards in every case, but each turns on its own facts. and sometimes that can be a little more complex than it is portrayed in the media," said Jim Sotos, who has defended a number of such cases. "I think the Anthony Porter case is the best example of that." There were several witnesses who put Porter at the scene of the crime on the night of Aug. 15, 1982, when Marilyn Green, 19, and her fiance, Jerry Hillard, 18, were shot to death in Washington Park on the South Side. One witness told police that Porter had robbed him at gunpoint in the park the same night. Others said that they saw Porter in the same bleachers where the couple was killed. Jurors in his civil suit would not talk about their six-hour deliberation, but much of the testimony they heard focused on an interrogation in which only 2 detectives and a supposed witness to the crime were present. Police said William Taylor told them he saw Porter shoot the couple. During the civil trial this month, Taylor testified that police threatened him and coerced his testimony. When there are potentially millions of dollars at stake, it becomes a high-priced version of he-said-she-said, according to Edwin Colfax, director of the Death Penalty Education Project at Northwestern University's Center on Wrongful Convictions. "There is never any paper trail and what happened years ago is very difficult to reconstruct," Colfax said. "It is enormously difficult to meet this burden of proof and prove that there was a conspiracy or intention to frame someone." In the absence of a paper trail, jurors measure the response of investigators against the character of the person who has been exonerated, said Kathleen Zellner, an attorney involved in a number of high-profile cases. Whether that played a role in this week's verdict is not clear, but Porter had a criminal record and was charged with domestic battery after his release. Those charges were dropped when one of his accusers did not show up to court and another asked that they be dismissed. "It's not enough to show that police didn't have probable cause [to pursue charges], you've got to show your client has lived an exemplary life," Zellner said. "Juries don't want to award any money unless they think your client is a good character." In 2002, the city was ordered to pay $15 million to James Newsome because police had rigged the lineup in which he was identified, leading to his wrongful conviction for murder. Zellner, who did not represent Newsome, called him a "dream client." "He got an education in prison and he came out looking stellar when he was presented to the jury, which awarded him $15 million," Zellner said. "The dilemma for plaintiff attorneys is being able to present a sympathetic client. Jurors don't want to award millions to someone who may commit another crime." (source all: Chicago Tribune) ****************** Supreme Court upholds death penalty for killer of EIU student The Illinois Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence of a Charleston man convicted of raping and murdering an Eastern Illinois University student in 2001. The court today overwhelmingly rejected the appeal made by Anthony Mertz that his death sentence was unconstitutionally unfair. Mertz was the first person sent to Illinois' death row under the execution moratorium former Governor George Ryan implemented in 2000 and his appeal was the 1st to reach the Supreme Court of those sentenced to die since then. He had argued prosecutors had unfairly portrayed him as a tattooed racist with terrorist sympathies and a penchant for pornography. He complained jurors weren't adequately allowed to consider his rough childhood and alcoholism when sentencing him. The court said that evidence was correctly used in sentencing Mertz to die. Mertz was convicted of the 2001 murder of fellow Eastern Illinois University student Shannon McNamara. She had been a track-and-field star at Rolling Meadows High School and Harper College in Palatine. **************** Verdict Upheld For FBI Agents Accused Of Framing Policeman----Judge: Agent 'Combative, Belligerent' On Stand In Chicago, a federal judge has upheld a multimillion dollar verdict in a lawsuit alleging two FBI agents framed a former Chicago police officer for murder and kidnapping. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly rejected requests by the agents to set aside the jury verdict in Steve Manning's favor or to grant them a new trial. In his ruling, released earlier this week, Kennelly said evidence showed the two agents, Robert Buchan and Gary Miller, influenced a key witness to "make up a story" at Manning's death penalty trial. In January, the jury awarded Manning $6.5 million, saying the agents had violated his right to a fair trial in a 1991 murder case in Illinois and that Buchan violated those rights in a 1992 kidnapping trial in Missouri. Buchan and Miller both have denied any wrongdoing in their investigations of Manning. Buchan still works for the FBI and Miller has since retired. Manning, who was convicted in both the murder and kidnapping trials, was sentenced to death in Illinois and to life in prison in Missouri. Both cases were overturned on appeal and prosecutors later dropped the charges. Manning, who had left the Chicago police and was working as a limousine driver and security guard when he was arrested, spent a total of 14 years in jail before his release from a Missouri prison in early 2004. In his 28-page ruling this week, Kennelly singled out Buchan for criticism, saying his demeanor as a witness during the lawsuit trial was "among the worst this court has seen." He said Buchan had been "combative, belligerent and unresponsive." Manning's attorney, Jon Loevy, said his client was pleased by the ruling, saying "the court agreed with our position, which was totally supported by the evidence. Frank Bochte, an FBI spokesman in Chicago, declined to comment, saying officials were reviewing the judge's decision. (source for both: Associated Press)
