Jan. 19 VIRGINIA: Death Penalty Safeguards Exist When Virginia Gov. Mark Warner ordered a fresh genetic test of evidence used to convict Roger Coleman, who was executed back in 1992 for the near-beheading and rape-murder of Wanda McCoy, Warner claimed it was necessary to determine with certainty that Coleman was in fact a guilty man. The tests confirmed Colemans guilt, but the myth surrounding a monster who was once the anti-death penalty movements poster boy - he appeared on the cover of Time magazine - persists. The spin on Coleman, who went to the execution chamber lying about his innocence, is that the due process and the evidence testing contemporaneous to his conviction and appeals was somehow lacking - and thus more reruns of death penalty cases are necessary. Nonsense. While at the time of Colemans conviction genetic tests could not precisely deliver a 100 percent match of genetic material to a particular person, such tests were sufficiently exacting to determine that Coleman almost certainly was the murderer. Combined with other evidence in his case, including facts that Coleman recounted to a cellmate that could only have been known to the murderer, the genetic evidence available at the time left no reasonable doubt about his guilt. Yet Coleman managed to deceive death penalty opponents whose ideology blinded them to the brutal facts of the case, perhaps because they badly wished to be deceived. In those states that have chosen to impose the ultimate penalty for the most horrible crimes, there is no lack of due process, nor any lack of careful examination of evidence. Indeed, those sentenced to death have access to numerous steps of appeal not necessarily accorded to other convicts, culminating in executive clemency authority. A typical condemned murderer spends many years awaiting final judgment. In states that choose to impose the death penalty, the process should be difficult and replete with checks and balances. In rare cases those checks and balances have served to reveal errors in the criminal justice system, although even more rarely errors of fact. The case of Roger Coleman sadly is an exemplar both of ideologically driven foolishness and of the evil that can lurk in a man. (source: The (Wheeling, W. VA.) Intelligencer) IOWA: Death row cell house at prison demolished In Fort Madison, a 2-ton wrecking ball destroyed Cell House 97 of the Iowa State Penitentiary on Tuesday, but the controversy surrounding the state prison still has not died. On Nov. 14, 2005, Martin Moon and Robert Legendre climbed on the roof of the former death row holding cells at the penitentiary and then proceeded to use a homemade grappling hook to get over the prison wall in a bid for freedom. Ironically, it is the penitentiary itself and the community around it that is being held political prisoner in the aftermath of the escape. "The escape and the aftermath has had a significant impact on our budget," said ISP Executive Officer Ron Welder. "A lot of it has been significant overtime costs inherent to a lock-down and from manning posts that had not been manned." Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack has promised $1 million in additional salary money for the ISP to pay for manning its guard towers full-time, but that money has yet to come through, according to Welder. In the immediate aftermath of the escape, the Iowa Department of Corrections Inspector General's Office released a report that recommended several immediate changes that needed to happen in the penitentiary. "Security concerns brought about by escape (led to the cell block's demolition)," Welder said. "The report from the Inspector General's Office also recommended policy and procedures changes, staffing changes and the manning of a tower that has been closed since late 1970s." A follow-up report that was released on Friday said that to prevent future escapes, the penitentiary could be renovated, a new one built in the city or it could be moved entirely. State Sen. Gene Fraise, D-Fort Madison, said at a legislative forum on Friday that the report has gotten his fellow politicians talking about moving the prison to their communities. "I would suspect that it's a 30 % chance that it won't be built in (Fort Madison)," Fraise said on Friday. "Senate (Republican) leader Stewart Iverson said that he thinks cities ought to bid on it. There was a discussion this summer among some legislators that they would like to see this prison closed, and these people moved to the new facility in Illinois across from Clinton. There is a remote chance that it would happen, but that's the point I'm trying to make, that every legislator wants these jobs." Moving the penitentiary would be the kiss of death to a community that has seen hundreds of jobs leave the area already. Just in the last year, International paper closed in September 2005, abruptly ending 130 jobs. Econo Foods is scheduled to close on Jan. 21, eliminating an estimated 40 to 50 jobs and Sheaffer Pen is set to close this year in May, ending a further 120 jobs. The penitentiary employs more than 500 people and is one of the biggest employers in Lee County. "Do you have any idea the economic impact we have on the economy?" Welder asked. "Right now we're pumping $35 million a year in salaries into the economy." Fort Madison Mayor Steve Ireland added that losing the prison could spell the end for Southeast Iowa. "As the mayor of Fort Madison I am very concerned about this," Ireland said on Friday, "because it is one of our largest employers. Fort Madison has taken so many hits and we can't take another one." A further irony in the demolition of Cell House 97, is that the initial IDOC report on the cause of the escape did not point the finger at the building, but rather at the staff and policy procedures in place at the institution. Moreover, a building directly behind the former death row cell house is every bit as close to the wall, and yet there are no plans to destroy it. "The building behind it is used for maintenance and hobby crafts and there are no current plans to demolish it," Welder said. "It is under discussion, but there are no firm plans as of yet." Former ISP Warden John Mathes came back to witness the demolition of Cell House 97. Mathes turned the penitentiary over to Ken Burger, who was in charge when the escape occurred. Burger was removed from his post shortly after the escape, only two years into the job. Mathes said that he was sorry to see the prison building go. "Well," Mathes said, "it's like a bit of history disappearing. Death row was a part of this place and change is inevitable; but it doesn't come back once it's gone." Welder said the cell house was built in 1953 and was closed in 1965 when the state ended the death penalty. In that time, only 3 inmates housed in the building were executed. (source: The Keokuk Daily Gate) NORTH CAROLINA: 5 Men May Face Death Penalty In Gastonia 5 men accused of gunning down a Gastonia man could face the death penalty. Eyewitness News' newspaper partner, The Gaston Gazette, reports a prosecutor will seek the death penalty against the men. Police said they forced their way into Walter Gordon's Gastonia home in November. Officials said the men robbed Gordon and shot him several times. Gordon died at Gaston Memorial Hospital on Dec. 7. (source: WSOC TV News) ************** Hearing planned on Union County ex-prosecutors----State bar disciplinary committee's dismissal of case was challenged The N.C. State Bar's disciplinary committee will hold a hearing on a recently dismissed case against 2 former Union County prosecutors Friday. The bar did not elaborate on the reason for the hearing, calling it a "status conference." But the bar has challenged the committee's dismissal of the case. In August the bar charged former Union D.A. Ken Honeycutt and former assistant Scott Brewer, now a district court judge, with lying to win a death penalty murder case. The men denied the accusations and said the bar was too late in filing the charges, related to a 1996 case. The case put defendant Jonathan Hoffman on death row for 7 years until he won a new trial in 2004. Earlier this month, the bar's own disciplinary committee said it would dismiss the charges, agreeing the deadline for filing a complaint against the attorneys had passed. But the bar shot back with a memo saying the former prosecutors committed felonies, and no deadline applies. The bar typically requires grievances be filed within 6 years of the alleged offense, or within 1 year of the "discovery" of the alleged offense. The committee called the rule "ambiguous." The disciplinary committee hasn't yet filed its decision, meaning it could back off its decision Friday and continue with the charges. The hearing will be held in bar offices in Raleigh. The bar, a regulatory group that licenses attorneys and investigates grievances, doesn't have the ability to press criminal charges. At most, it can strip attorneys of their law licenses. The bar might turn evidence of criminal activity over to the agency with jurisdiction -- the Union County District Attorney's Office. Union D.A. Michael Parker said he had not received a case from the bar. (source: Charlotte Observer) OHIO: Convicted Killer Exhausts Appeals, Now Headed for Execution -- Family Reacts to Murderer's Last Appeal It's been a long 2 decades for the family of a local convenience store clerk murdered at work. Now, the family of 22-year-old David Manning could soon have some closure because Manning's killer, who's been on death row all these years, is close to getting an execution date. Joseph Clark has exhausted every effort to appeal his sentence, and now the state has 30 days to set his execution date. "Within the next 60 to 90 days, it's all going to end. Finally, finally, we're going to get justice," said Michael Manning, David's brother. Manning said he and his family have been through hell. He said, "it's been 22 hard years January 13th this year." That night in 1984, David Manning was working inside what was then a Clark Oil Station when Joseph Clark walked inside, armed with a .32 caliber handgun. He demanded money, and when Manning said he didn't have any, Clark shot him in the chest and killed him. "My brother's life was taken in a few minutes and [Clark's life] was able to go on for 22 years," said Michael Manning. David Manning was just 22-years-old. He was a Marine Corps Corporal, married with two young kids, David Jr. and Trinity, who would grow up never knowing their father. Michael Manning said what's even harder, David wasn't even supposed to be at work that night. He was filling in for his brother-in-law. "David took the shift so his wife's brother could celebrate his birthday," said Michael Manning. It could be the beginning of the end for now 57-year-old Joseph Clark, and while life for Michael Manning and his family will never be the same, knowing that Clark's execution date is near, there is much relief. "I'm sorry to see a life have to be taken, but justice has to be served someway," said Michael Manning. He and his family plan to be present for Clark's execution for closure. Joseph Clark also shot and killed a Lawson's Department Store clerk in 1984, the night before he murdered David Manning. Clark was the 1st person in Lucas County to receive the death penalty after it was reinstated by the Ohio state legislature in the early 1980's. (source: WTOL TV News)
