Jan. 3 MISSOURI----new execution date Execution Set For Man In 1989 Slaying Of KC Teen In Jefferson City, the Missouri Supreme Court has set a Feb. 1 execution date for a man who pleaded guilty to killing a Kansas City teenager more than 15 years ago. Michael Taylor, 38, pleaded guilty to 1st-degree murder, forcible rape, armed criminal action and kidnapping for the March 1989 killing of Ann Harrison. Court documents state that Harrison, 15, was waiting for her school bus when Taylor and his accomplice, Roderick Nunley, forced her into their stolen vehicle. Taylor and Nunley have said they had been using drugs and wanted to steal her purse. According to court records, Taylor raped Harrison in Nunley's mother's basement and then helped Nunley kill her because they were afraid she would identify them. Both were sentenced to death in 1989 by a judge after confessing a month apart. Taylor's execution would be Missouri's first in 2006. (source: KMBC-TV News) TEXAS: Black & White----Toney admits he's 'no saint'; psychiatrist says Toney may be a pathological liar Time is ticking away for Michael Roy Toney, a former Cottonwood resident who has been on death row in Texas since 1999. Although an execution date has not been set, 11 executions already have been slated for 2006 in cases dating from 1984 to 1999. The 40-year-old Toney, who reportedly ran away from Shasta County when he was a teenager after suffering repeated and brutal physical abuse by his mother's boyfriends, admits that he's no saint. "I haven't been an upstanding citizen by any means," he says on a Web site that tells his version of the story surrounding the bizarre case. "I've been in a lot of trouble for credit card abuse, burglary, bad checks and theft. But he says he's no killer. A Tarrant County jury found otherwise. His case remains in the appellate stage. As a young boy, Toney said in a 2004 posting on his Web site, he was profoundly affected by the 1978 murder of his 11-year-old friend Annette Selix of Cottonwood. "For 23 years, I carried the burden of hatred on my shoulders," he said. "The hate was so strong that I can only describe it as rivaling any love you have ever had or can imagine." And that hatred lifted only with the March 2000 execution of 45-year-old Darrell Keith Rich of Cottonwood, who was convicted of murdering Selix and 3 other young women during the summer of 1978. But Toney said he and his family were touched by violence again in 1990, when his aunt, 47-year-old Donna Rae Branson of Cottonwood, was raped and murdered. Branson's killer, James Tulk of Redding, was convicted of first-degree murder in 1992 and has been sentenced to die on California's death row at San Quentin State Prison. In 1999, Toney, who goes by the nickname "Cowboy" and whose past is marred by streaks of violence toward women, was convicted of murder in connection with the Thanksgiving Day 1985 deaths of 3 Fort Worth area residents. He was found guilty of having placed a briefcase with a bomb inside on the front porch of a trailer occupied by 44-year-old Joe Blount, his 15-year-old daughter, Angela, and 18-year-old Michael Columbus, the son of Blount's brother. The blast killed all 3 and injured 2 others inside the trailer. Toney was the recent subject of an extensive 3-part Dallas Morning News series. The series said that a psychiatric evaluation found Toney is a pathological liar who might not even have known the victims. A former cellmate testified at trial that Toney told him he was to be paid $5,000 to deliver the deadly briefcase as part of a drug-related hit. But, the witness said, Toney told him that he had placed the explosives on the wrong doorstep. The cellmate later retracted his testimony, saying he made up the story to get out of jail. Although that cellmate now says he lied about his testimony, Toney's ex-wife also testified at trial that she, her husband and his best friend went to the parking lot of a propane supply shop that was next to the mobile home park where the Blounts lived on the night in question. She said she saw Toney take a briefcase from the back of their truck and disappear only to return later without the briefcase. It is a case with numerous twists and turns and appears to be based on circumstantial evidence. Toney, who once tried to sell witness seats to his as-yet unscheduled execution on eBay, staunchly maintains his innocence, saying he's been set up, perhaps for the $25,000 reward money. "I have never murdered anyone," he says on his Web site. "I haven't been a good person, but I'm not a murderer." (source: Record Searchlight) ************** Longview Dem will seek Merritt's seat Longview Democrat Patrick Franklin announced will be running for the Texas House of Representatives. Franklin, 29, is seeking the Democratic nomination for the District 7 seat currently held by Republican Tommy Merritt. Franklin has indicated his intention to make the abolition of the death penalty a central focus of his campaign. "We know that innocent people are convicted. Ruben Cantu was one of those innocent people, and in 1993, the State of Texas put him to death," Franklin said. "I lose sleep at night wondering when the next innocent man will be executed. I will not stop fighting until the horror of capital punishment is abolished in our state once and for all." Cantu, a San Antonio man who was executed by the state of Texas in 1993, was the subject of a recent Houston Chronicle investigative report, and is now believed to have been innocent of the crimes for which he was executed. Franklin has also addressed the need for Gov. Perry to call an immediate special session of the Legislature to deal with education funding. "New Year's Day will mark 40 days since the state Supreme Court ruled the school finance system unconstitutional," Franklin said. "The clock is ticking on a court-imposed deadline for the legislature to fix the system before all funding for schools disappears. Governor Perry still has not called the legislature back to Austin to come up with a solution. Franklin said, "The Legislature has a job to do, but they can only act if the Governor calls them in to session. Gov. Perry must fulfill his constitutional duty and immediately call a special session. I encourage my opponent, Tommy Merritt, to also publicly demand that the Governor to immediately convene a special session." Franklin promises to run a positive, issue oriented campaign. "It's been well over a decade since the people of District 7 have had a choice of candidates for their Representative in the Legislature," he said. "There are a lot of important issues that haven't been discussed at this level, and I am looking forward to giving the people a nice long debate." (source: Kilgore News Herald) ************** re: Darlier Routier: The "Women on Death Row" show is set to air next Monday, Jan. 9, at 5:00 pm and 8:00 pm, PACIFIC standard time, on the Women's Entertainment network. (source: WEN) NEW JERSEY: Lawmakers consider putting death penalty on hold Legislation to be considered by state lawmakers Thursday would halt executions in New Jersey for about a year while a study group assesses the cost, fairness and humanity of imposing the death penalty. There are 10 prisoners on the state's death row. While capital punishment was reinstated in the state in 1982, the last execution here took place in 1963. Nevertheless, Assembly Majority Leader Joseph Roberts, who signed on as the proposal's primary sponsor late last week, said the legislation is long overdue. "This is an issue we should have confronted a long time ago," said Roberts, a Camden County Democrat. "The injustice of the current system and the steep price tag of it as well means we ought to take a look at it." The state Senate already passed the measure, and acting Gov. Richard J. Codey, who has long supported it, has indicated he would sign it. Gov.-elect Jon Corzine opposes the death penalty. Supporters of executions said a moratorium isn't needed in New Jersey. "You don't have a death penalty in New Jersey. Judges are holding everything up in your state," said Dudley Sharp, who founded Justice Matters, a Houston-based group. New Jersey lawmakers are not alone in considering a study of executions. Concerned about wrongful convictions and whether the poor and minorities are more likely to receive the death penalty, governments nationwide have begun examining the issue. At least 12 other states have appointed study commissions. 38 states allow people to be sentenced to death. The Assembly Judiciary Committee is to hear testimony on the bill Thursday before taking a vote. Death penalty foes such as Sister Helen Prejean, the author of "Dead Man Walking," which was made into a movie starring Susan Sarandon, have rallied for the bill at the Statehouse. Advocates of capital punishment have lobbied against the measure. If the bill is voted out of committee, Roberts said the full Assembly would consider the measure Monday, the last day of the current legislative session. Bills passed in the last week of the session will only become law if Codey signs them before leaving office Jan. 17. Advocates say having the support of Assembly's most influential lawmaker improves the bill's chances. "It's always good to have high profile, influential sponsors," said Jon Shure, president of New Jersey Policy Perspective, which in November reported on costs associated with capital punishment. "There's no question it helps a lot." According to the Policy Perspective report, New Jersey's capital punishment costs exceeded $250 million over the past 23 years, but resulted in no executions. Linda Greenstein, who heads the Assembly Judiciary Committee, said the bill's chances of success are great because of Roberts' support. "You don't have to be an opponent of the death penalty to support this bill," said Greenstein, D-Mercer. "The death penalty in New Jersey is a fiction. There clearly is something that is making us not carry it out." The study panel would be comprised of 13 members and would have until November to complete its work. The moratorium would continue for two months after the group issues its report. A similar bill empowering a panel to study the death penalty but not stopping executions was vetoed 2 years ago by then-Gov. James E. McGreevey, who said the panel was unlikely to provide new information. (source: Associated Press) ILLINOIS: Judge: Jurors won't learn of George Ryan's death penalty reform After a week off for the holidays, the trial of former Gov. George Ryan resumed today with Ryan's defense pressing forcefully but failing to put evidence of his death penalty reform before the jury. Julie Bauer, one of Ryan's attorneys, argued it was critical that prosecution witness and Illinois Appellate Judge Patrick Quinn be questioned about his opinion of Ryan's decision to commute all death sentences in Illinois. Outside the presence of the jury, Quinn called Ryan's decision "illegal and immoral" but swore he bore no ill will toward Ryan that led him to cooperate with prosecutors. Prosecutors sought only to have Quinn, a former assistant state's attorney, testify about an unrelated 1992 conversation he had with then-Secretary of State Ryan and Cook County State's Atty. Jack O'Malley. With the jury seated before him, Quinn said that during the conversation, Ryan crudely rejected a suggestion that Quinn believed could curb corruption among secretary of state employees who took bribes to sell driver's licenses to motorists who had lost their licenses for driving drunk. The conversation occurred after the arrest of 2 secretary of state supervisors for the alleged offense. Just prior to a news conference announcing the investigation and arrests, Quinn told O'Malley of a plan to store driver's photos at the secretary of state's office to prevent the issuance of illegal licenses. "Mr. O'Malley told Secretary Ryan, 'George, Quinn has a good idea how you can cut down on this in the future,'" Quinn testified. "Mr. Ryan turned to Mr. O'Malley and said, '(Expletive) you, Jack. These are my guys."' Outside the jury's presence, Ryan's attorney Julie Bauer argued that Quinn's potential bias toward Ryan over the Death Penalty issue should be explored. Even before the trial began, the defense sought to bring out evidence of Ryan's death penalty reform. But today, U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer again rejected the effort and upheld the prosecution's argument that Ryan's policy decisions were irrelevant in the corruption trial. Also testifying today was Brad Roseberry, a former Ryan political operative and supervisor in the Secretary of State's office. Testifying under immunity from prosecution, Roseberry told jurors that he routinely did political work on state time. He also testified that after Ryan was re-elected secretary of state in 1994, he compiled a list of state employees who had worked on the campaign in anticipation they would receive raises and promotions for helping Ryan. Roseberry himself received a 20-% raise after the election and was promoted to a position that did not exist before the election, he said. (source: Chicago Tribune) OHIO: Attorney general asks governor to delay execution again Attorney General Jim Petro asked Gov. Bob Taft on Tuesday to again delay the execution of a man who says he's innocent of a 1982 slaying to allow for more DNA testing. If granted, it would be the 3rd time since September the lethal injection of murderer John Spirko has been postponed. Petro asked Taft to postpone the execution, set for Jan. 19, by 6 months to allow for the testing requested by Spirko's lawyers. Spirko, 59, was convicted of killing Betty Jane Mottinger, the postmistress in Elgin in northwest Ohio. She was abducted and repeatedly stabbed, then wrapped in a tarp and dumped in a field. Her body was found 3 weeks later. Petro says his office needs time to test hairs found on duct tape wrapped around the tarp that contained Mottinger's body. He says his office will also need time to find other potential suspects - some of whose names came up earlier in the case - if the hairs are found to come from someone other than Spirko or Mottinger. Some of the previous suspects live out of state and Ohio may need court orders to demand the testing, Heather Gosselin, senior deputy attorney general, said in a letter to Taft's office Tuesday. Taft is reviewing the request, spokesman Mark Rickel said. A message was left with Spirko's attorneys. Spirko was convicted based on witness' statements and his own comments to investigators. No physical evidence linked him to the crime. (source: Associated Press)
