Dec. 4 VIRGINIA: If we have to have a death penalty, let's at least make it fair I wonder if Gov. Mark Warner's granting clemency to death row inmate Robin Lovitt the other day will spark a new debate about the death penalty. I hope so. Not that Warner has been exactly a pushover - this was the first execution he has halted during his 4-year term, after letting 11 others go forward. Nor was the decision made because Warner had been convinced that Lovitt was innocent. Rather, some of the physical evidence initially used to convict him of stabbing another man to death in a pool hall robbery was illegally thrown away by a court employee, and thus could not be tested for DNA evidence after Lovitt filed an appeal. That, Warner said, wasnt fair, so he commuted the sentence to life without parole. My position on the death penalty hasn't changed over the years - I dont think the "deterrence" factor outweighs the disadvantages - but I wont climb up on that soapbox again. Still, since we feel we must have it in Virginia, here are a couple of suggestions from someone who is by no means a lawyer. Take them for what theyre worth. First, maybe we need to do a better job of defining what constitutes a death penalty offense. Id hate to be on a jury pondering one of these cases, because theres really nothing solid to grab onto. True, we have the "committing a murder in the process of another crime," but that can get complicated. I remember, for example, the case of Joe Savino, a Bedford County man who stabbed his housemate to death in a cocaine-fueled rage back in the 1980s after the housemate supposedly kept badgering Savino for sex. The next day, in order to get more drugs to make himself feel better, Savino sold some of his housemate's things for coke and heroin money. It would seem obvious that Savino didn't kill Thomas McWaters in order to steal those things. He could have taken them any time, because McWaters was frequently out of town. The theft was a peripheral action not really connected to the murder, and a good lawyer would have argued that. In fact, Savino did have a good lawyer - Hugh Jones, who also defended Elizabeth Haysom. But since Savino, still wracked with guilt, had pleaded guilty to capital murder, there was little Jones could do. His client was ultimately executed. On the other hand, consider a case around the same time - also in Bedford County - in which 2 men picked up a Roanoke prostitute, beat her, tortured her, dragged her behind their car as it sped down U.S. 460, then threw her body over a bridge. Despite its almost unspeakable cruelty, this was not considered a death penalty crime. Because the murder victim was a prostitute, the men couldn't be accused of abducting or raping her. Therefore, it was "only" 1st-degree murder. Maybe some of the criteria for a death penalty offense could include: - The murder has to be proven to have a direct connection to another crime: i.e., a sexual predator raping and then killing a victim to prevent her from talking, or a gunman shooting a store clerk in the process of a robbery. - The crime has to be committed in what is generally defined as "cold blood." - The person convicted of the crime must either have a criminal record or demonstrated in some other way that he or she has a history of violence. - The victims family should be included in the ultimate decision-making process (I know this is sometimes done now). Their input shouldnt be the only factor, but one of the important ones. - In order for someone to be executed, a higher standard of guilt should exist than is needed simply to convict. Let me give you an example of the latter. A few years ago, when fellow reporter Shannon Brennan and I were researching the crimes of all the Virginia inmates then on Death Row, we came across a man convicted of murder during a carjacking - he and a co-defendant had taken the cars owner into some woods and shot him in the head. The fingerprints of both robbers were on the murder weapon. Robber A said Robber B was the actual shooter, Robber B said the same about Robber A. But since Robber A won the race to the prosecutors office and agreed to testify against Robber B, he was given life in prison while only Robber B got death. To me, with Robber A being the only witness against Robber B, there should not have been enough evidence to be positive that Robber B did the killing. We also came up with an even more egregious example of plea bargaining. A Richmond businessman owned a car dealership with another man, but apparently wanted the whole enchilada. So he hired a hit man and told him that his partner would be working late in his office on a particular night, suggesting that window of opportunity as a good time for the hit man to earn his fee. The hit man agreed, and enlisted a friend in the plot. On the appointed night, the 2 gunmen arrived at the dealership to find the partner inside with another employee. One of the gunmen shot the partner. The other gunman shot the employee. The plan eventually unraveled, and all 3 men were initially charged with capital murder. But because the businessman and the 2nd hitman testified against the 1st hitman, they got life in prison. The 1st hit man got death. Some states have a law that a person cannot be convicted solely on the testimony of a co-conspirator. Personally, I think that's a good thing - the alternative just invites lazy law enforcement. I also don't buy the argument that because these people have demonstrated their inability to function in society, any means used to put them on that death row gurney is justified. To me, if the death penalty isn't enacted fairly - every time it's enacted, for every defendant, no matter how reprehensible - it loses all its credibility. Robin Lovitt can thank Mark Warner for paying attention to that. (source: Opinion, Darrell Laurant, Lynchburg News and Advance) TENNESSEE: Blair could face death penalty----Schmutzer files notice in murder case John Wayne Blair could face the death penalty if his 1st-degree murder case goes to trial. Blair, 50, is accused of first-degree murder in the death of Kelly Estelle Sellers, who lived near his home on English Mountain. He is scheduled to appear in Sevier County Circuit Court Monday for hearings on some motions related to his case. A notice filed in court shows that District Attorney General Al Schmutzer Jr. is seeking the death penalty in the case. To seek the death penalty in a case, the state must show aggravating circumstances. The warrant states those circumstances are that "the murder was especially heinous, atrocious or cruel in that involved torture or serious physical abuse beyond that necessary to produce death," and because of previous felony convictions against the defendant. During Blair's preliminary hearing, Det. Jeff McCarter of the Sevier County Sheriff's Department indicated there were signs Sellers had been sexually assaulted. Blair is also a registered sex offender, with a sexual battery conviction in Florida. Authorities believe that Blair killed Sellers in April, then hid her body off a trail on the remote mountain. Blair disappeared onto the mountain after the first time authorities questioned him; they were still searching for him when Sellers' family members found her body later that week. Blair surrendered to authorities as they closed in on him the following day, and has remained in custody ever since. Public defender Ed Miller is handling his defense, and has sought a psychiatric evaluation for Blair; Schmutzer has asked for an independent evaluation for the state. Miller has sought to suppress some evidence based on questions about a witness and based on a deputy who allegedly stole some items from Blair's home after the sheriff's department searched it. The former deputy is facing charges. In late April, he resigned from the department. (source: The Mountain Press)
