Jan. 5 TENNESSEE----stay of execution Gregory Thompson, scheduled to be executed on Feb. 7, has received a stay FLORIDA: State may seek death penalty for ex-FBI agent accused of murder In Miami, Florida prosecutors said Thursday that they still may seek the death penalty for a former Boston FBI agent accused in the 1982 murder of a Miami gambling executive. Prosecutor Micheal Von Zamft told Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Barbara Areces that the state hasn't waived the death penalty for ex-FBI agent John J. Connolly Jr. Connolly is accused of killing former World Jai Alai president John Callahan, whose body was found in the trunk of his Cadillac at Miami International Airport in August 1982. Areces postponed the Feb. 13 trial date to April 24 at the request of both sides to allow time for the deposition of 3 key witnesses now in the federal witness protection program. Connolly is already serving a 10-year sentence for racketeering, obstruction of justice and other charges stemming from his role in protecting members of Boston's Winter Hill Gang -- including fugitive mob leader James "Whitey" Bulger -- from prosecution while also using them as FBI informants. He was convicted in 2002. Bulger, who is on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list of fugitives, and alleged triggerman John V. Martorano also are charged in the Callahan killing. Another member of Bulger's gang, Stephen "the Rifleman" Flemmi, is serving a life sentence after pleading guilty in February 2004 for his role in Callahan's slaying. (source: Associated Press) *************** State to seek death penalty The state announced today that it plans to seek the death penalty for Clifford Davis, the Bradenton man charged with killing his mother and grandfather. Davis was indicted on 2 counts of murder in the deaths of Stephanie Davis, 42, and Joel Davis, 77. Police say Davis admitted killing his mother first and then his grandfather in the Bradenton apartment the teen shared with his mom. Davis is scheduled for arraignment Friday. The announcement comes just a few weeks after the state said it would seek the death penalty for Richard Henderson, who is accused of killing 4 family members on Thanksgiving Day. (source: Herald Tribune) VIRGINIA: DNA to decide if innocent man was executed Gov. Mark R. Warner on Thursday ordered DNA evidence retested to determine whether a man convicted of rape and murder was innocent when he was executed in 1992. If the testing shows Roger Keith Coleman did not rape and kill his sister-in-law in 1981, it will mark the 1st time in the United States a person has been exonerated by scientific testing after his execution, according to death penalty opponents. Warner said he ordered the tests because of technological advances that could provide a level of forensic certainty not available in the 1980s. "This is an extraordinarily unique circumstance, where technology has advanced significantly and can be applied in the case of someone who consistently maintained his innocence until execution," said Warner, a Democrat who leaves office January 14. "I believe we must always follow the available facts to a more complete picture of guilt or innocence," Warner said. Warner, who is considering a presidential bid in 2008, has heard requests throughout his term from death penalty opposition groups who wanted the evidence retested. "This is a proper action for the governor to take. It's not right to shy away from a difficult question or even shy away from reopening cases when there is a chance that something new might be learned," said Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center in Washington. Coleman's case, and the testing, are likely to rekindle to national debate over capital punishment. A Gallup poll in October found that 64 % of Americans support the death penalty. That is the lowest level in 27 years, down from a high of 80 % in 1994. Coleman was convicted and sentenced to death in 1982 for the murder of 19-year-old Wanda McCoy, his wife's sister, who was found raped, stabbed and nearly beheaded in her home in the coal mining town of Grundy. Pope tried to block execution The case drew international attention as the well-spoken Coleman pleaded his case on talk shows and in magazines and newspapers. Time magazine featured the coal miner on its cover. Pope John Paul II tried to block the execution. Then-Gov. L. Douglas Wilder's office was flooded with thousands of calls and letters of protest from around the world. Coleman's attorneys argued that he did not have time to commit the crime, that tests showed semen from two men was found inside McCoy and that another man bragged about murdering her. Coleman was executed on May 20, 1992. "An innocent man is going to be murdered tonight," the 33-year-old said moments before he was electrocuted. "When my innocence is proven, I hope America will realize the injustice of the death penalty as all other civilized countries have." DNA tests in 1990 placed Coleman within the 2 percent of the population who could have produced the semen at the crime scene. Additional blood typing put Coleman within a group consisting of 0.2 percent of the population. His lawyers said the expert they hired to conduct the test misinterpreted the results. 4 newspapers and Centurion Ministries, a New Jersey organization that investigated Coleman's case and became convinced of his innocence, sought a court order to have the evidence retested. The Virginia Supreme Court declined to order the testing in 2002, so Centurion Ministries asked Warner to intervene. DA: Mountain of evidence Tom Scott, who helped prosecute the case, said he has no objection to retesting the DNA and is confident doing so would confirm Coleman's guilt -- provided the sample has been properly preserved and not tampered with. "If the integrity of the sample has been violated in some way, we're going to have an inconclusive result, which isn't going to settle anything," he said. Scott said a mountain of evidence points to Coleman as the killer: There was no sign of forced entry at McCoy's house, leading investigators to believe she knew her attacker. Coleman was previously convicted of the attempted rape of a teacher and was charged with exposing himself to a librarian 2 months before the murder. A pubic hair found on McCoy's body was consistent with Coleman's hair. The original DNA tests placed him within a tiny fraction of the population who could have left semen at the scene. Coleman also failed a lie detector test hours before his execution. "When you add all of this evidence together, it's a connect-the-dots case," he said. "In my mind, there just wasn't any question about it." (source: Associated Press) *************** Media Release January 5, 2006 VADP Responds to Gov. Warner's Decision to Test the DNA in the Coleman Case "Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty applauds Governor Warner's decision to test the DNA in the Roger Keith Coleman case. His action is an example of justice triumphing over easy politics. Ordering this test was the only fair thing to do. Justice demands, and families deserve, certainty. We need to know that the person punished for the crime actually committed that crime. This is especially important when it comes to the death penalty, because our mistakes cannot be corrected. We have recently learned that Texas may have executed an innocent man. Missouri is reopening the case of an executed man believed to be innocent. An innocent man died of a heart attack on Florida's death row, and more than 120 people who spent time on death row have been freed because they were wrongfully convicted. Regardless of the outcome of the test, Virginia has now set a precedent for the posthumous testing of existent DNA evidence and the retention of such biological exhibits so that further developments in the testing of DNA evidence can be used to resolve questions of possible innocence of executed individuals. We join with the families of the Wanda McCoy and of Roger Coleman in praying that an innocent man was not executed for a crime he could not have committed. The only way to ensure that no innocent person dies is to impose a moratorium until the questions that surround the death penalty can be addressed. For further information contact: Jack Payden-Travers, Director Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty P.O. Box 4804 Charlottesville, VA 22905 888-567-VADP (office) (source: VADP) SOUTH CAROLINA: Death penalty trial delayed until April A Tennessee couple charged with murder and kidnapping in the death of a Greenville businessman have had their death penalty trial delayed at least until April. According to an order released Wednesday by Circuit Judge John C. Hayes III, a trial for David Wendell Edens, 35, and Jennifer Annette Holloway, 28, won't begin before April 15. The 2 are charged with killing Jim Cockman, 71, during a kidnapping scheme in late 2004. Cockman, the former chief executive of Sara Lee's PYA/Monarch division, was to meet a couple who said they were interested in buying a used vehicle from him. His body was found nine days later in a freezer in Sevierville, Tenn., where Edens and Holloway lived. Cockman's head had been wrapped in tape from his collar to his eyebrows, according to the Greenville County coroner's office. Hayes didn't rule on a motion to move the trial out of Greenville County, where Cockman was well known. The judge also hasn't decided whether the 2 should be tried separately. Holloway's attorneys argued their client would be damaged if the cases were tried together. The prosecutor and attorneys for Edens want 1 trial. (source: Associated Press)
