Feb. 1 TEXAS: DA to seek death penalty against Palmer The Midland County District Attorney's Office Tuesday filed a motion in 142nd District Court to seek the death penalty against Monica Ayala Palmer, who is accused in the Nov. 10 dragging death of Midland cab driver Richard Allen "Rich" Cullum. Judge George Gilles has tentatively set the trial to start on June 19. District Attorney Al Schorre said he and his first assistant, Teresa Clingman, and investigator J.D. Luckie had just met to evaluate the evidence of whether Palmer would represent a future danger to society if ever released. "It was only after a careful review of not only the facts of the case but also her prior criminal history and pertinent background information," Schorre said. "We have a regular protocol we do it with. One thing you have to convince the jury of is that she will constitute a continuing threat." Palmer, 30, was indicted for capital murder Dec. 15 in the death of Cullum, who fell out of his car, entangled in the seatbelt, after being stabbed multiple times in the right shoulder, arm and hand in the 1000 block of North Terrell Street early that morning. The state alleges Palmer then got behind the wheel and dragged Cullum south 15 blocks to the 800 block of East Missouri Avenue, where he bled to death. She was indicted for capital murder because the motive is believed to have been robbery, which would mean Cullum was slain during the commission of another felony. Palmer's court-appointed attorney, David Zavoda of Odessa, said Tuesday that considering death by lethal injection means each prospective juror will be examined individually about his or her willingness to impose the ultimate punishment, and whether or not they have formed an opinion about the case and other issues. When asked if he expects the trial to be postponed past June, Zavoda said, "I'll do everything I can to meet that date, but it's entirely up to Judge Gilles. "There's a lot of work to be done between now and the time to sit down and start picking the jury, but we'll be ready when the judge tells us to be there. It will probably take us three to six weeks to select the jury and we would probably like a week off before we begin the trial." Zavoda, a former district attorney for the 143rd Judicial District in Ward, Reeves and Loving counties, has defended 8 death penalty cases. Palmer and her boyfriend, 23-year-old Ronnie Blanco Mendoza, were indicted for 2nd-degree felony robbery Nov. 17 in their alleged Aug. 24 strong arm robbery of the One Stop convenience store at 900 S. Dallas St. Zavoda recently visited Palmer in Midland County Central Detention Center, where she remains in lieu of $370,550 in bonds, and found her in a reasonably good state of mind. "Monica is concerned," he said. "She is charged with a very serious offense and she has a bond she cannot raise. But other than those factors, I think she's hanging in there real well." In a complete autopsy report released this week by the Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences in Dallas, Cullum's body was described as that of "a well-developed, well-nourished white male whose appearance is compatible with the stated age of 57 years." 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighing 198 pounds when examined Nov. 11, he had suffered horrific injuries, Dr. Darshan Phatak said. "On the right thigh, spanning the right lower abdomen and posterior right thigh, is a 16-inch laceration with abraded edges and avulsion of the soft tissue and skeletal muscles of the right superior thigh," the doctor wrote. "The right femoral artery and vein are torn. An abrasion spans the left and right lower back and right buttock. On the right posterior shoulder and right upper back are 2 irregular lacerations with embedded pebbles measuring 4 and 2 inches respectively." (source: Midland Reporter-Telegram) ************** Teenager arraigned on capital murder charge in women's slayings A 19-year-old man was arraigned on a capital murder charge Tuesday for allegedly strangling his mother and grandmother in the elder woman's home last week. Steven Tyler Logan turned himself in Sunday, 2 days after the bodies of Wanda Fay Turner, 73, and Vicki Logan, 52, were found. He remained in the Lubbock County Jail on Tuesday with bail set at $1 million. Logan initially was charged with murder in Turner's strangulation. The capital murder charge covers both deaths, Lubbock County District Attorney Matt Powell said Tuesday. Pat Metze, Logan's attorney, said his client pleaded not guilty at the arraignment, "which he is." "I know that he will receive a vigorous defense," Metze said. Powell said it was "way too early" to consider whether he will seek the death penalty. The bodies were found after co-workers of Vicki Logan became concerned when she didn't show up for work. They told investigators Steven Logan answered the door at his mother's house and led them to his grandmother's house next door, saying both women were dead. Police still don't have a motive in the slayings. (source: Associated Press) **************** Moore capital murder trial begins Opening statements began Wednesday morning in the capital murder trial of a man accused of killing a pregnant Round Rock woman. Police say Michael Keith Moore killed Christina Moore, 35, in her home three years ago. They are not related. The trial is underway in the Williamson County courthouse in Georgetown. Prosecutors told the jury that Moore did not confess to the crime and he didn't leave his DNA at the scene, but they said that the state's evidence will show a connection between the victim and the suspect. Defense attorneys said all the evidence is circumstantial and none proves that Moore committed the crime. Christina Moore was found dead in the master bedroom closet of her home September 23, 2003. Her arms were restrained and her throat slit. Michael Moore was charged with felony murder, capital murder, aggravated robbery and aggravated kidnapping. Moore maintains his innocence. He could receive the death penalty if convicted. (source: KVUE News) ***************** Accused killer's lawyer pledges best effort The man accused of killing his mother and grandmother was arraigned Tuesday morning on capital murder charges at the Lubbock County Courthouse. Steven Tyler Logan, 19, stood in front of Precinct 3 Justice of the Peace Aurora Chaides-Hernandez with his head bowed. Logan was silent, speaking only to acknowledge that he understood his rights as they were read to him. Pat Metze, Logan's court-appointed attorney, said he will do his best to represent his client. "All I know at this point is that we're going to vigorously investigate and represent Mr. Logan," he said. "He will receive a vigorous defense." Logan is being held at the Lubbock County Jail in connection with the strangulation of Wanda Faye Turner, 73, and Vicki Logan, 52. His bond is set at $1 million. Lubbock police have not stated a motive for the crime, and are wrapping up investigation into the case. Sgt. John Gomez said Steven Tyler Logan recently was living with his grandmother after being kicked out of his mother's house for unknown reasons. Shortly before the deaths of Turner and Vicki Logan, Gomez said a locksmith company confirmed Turner paid to have the locks on her house changed. "There were some indications that he was kicked out of his grandmother's house before this happened," Gomez said. Co-workers of Vicki Logan went to her home at 2713 80th St. on Friday afternoon to check on her after she did not arrive for work. Witnesses then discovered the bodies of Vicki Logan and her mother tied up in Turner's home at 2711 80th St., according to Lubbock police. Funeral services for Vicki Logan and Turner are scheduled for 1 p.m. Thursday at the Resthaven Funeral Home's Abbey Chapel. **************** Judge calls mistrial in murder case A mistrial has been declared and a change of venue ordered in the capital murder trial of Daniel Flores, 30, of Seminole, who is accused of killing his pregnant girlfriend, 18 year-old Erica Muro, in 2003. Carter T. Schildknecht, 106th District judge, said potential jurors questioned over the last several weeks were continually disqualified, leaving her no choice but to declare the mistrial and seat a jury elsewhere. "After several days of individual voir dire of prospective jurors, both the state and the defense agreed that looking at the numbers, there was no way that we were going to end up being able to seat a jury," said Schildknecht. On July 16, 2003, Flores was convicted of shooting Seminole police Lt. Darrell Hobbs. Hobbs went to Muro's residence, located at S.W. 11th St., to investigate a possible shooting the night of Jan. 26, 2003. Hobbs was shot as he approached a rear door at Flores' residence. 3 hours later, Flores surrendered, at which point officers reported finding Muro's body. She was reportedly 3 months pregnant. Flores was sentenced to life in prison for attempted capital murder of Hobbs. Flores now stands accused of shooting Muro twice in the head. Defense attorney Woody Leverett of Midland had been urging a change of venue since December due to the exposure from the 1st case, he said. "He had already been tried once, and he received a life sentence," said Leverett of his client and the likelihood that those in the Seminole area had either heard detailed information about the case or knew the people involved in it. "It became a mathematical impossibility that we were going to get a jury over there." Artie Aguilar, a Lubbock attorney who defended Flores in his 1st case, said he too thought the public knowledge of the details from the 1st case could have disqualified potential jurors. "I think maybe what might have happened is that everybody heard about it and made up their minds," said Aguilar. Schildknecht said 750 jurors were summoned. She said 252 showed up, making up a typical jury pool. Schildknecht, who has sat on the bench since August 2001, said a large number of the summoned jurors replied with legitimate excuses disqualifying them from reporting for jury duty. She said a large number of other summonses were returned undeliverable by postal authorities. She has yet to rule on a new venue. (source for both: Lubbock Avalanche-Journal) MISSOURI: Federal Judge Turns Down Inmate's Appeal----Rulings Being Appealed In St. Louis, a federal judge has ruled that Missouri's administration of the death penalty is constitutional, while a federal appeals court modified a stay of execution for convicted murderer Michael Taylor until 5 p.m. Wednesday. The ruling by a panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals meant that Taylor could be executed as early as Wednesday evening. The stay had previously been set to expire at 11:59 p.m. Friday. Both rulings, issued late Tuesday night, are being appealed. If the appeals court stay is lifted or expires, the state would have until midnight to carry out what would be the first execution of the year. Otherwise, the Missouri Supreme Court will be asked to set a new execution date. Taylor, 39, of Kansas City, and his co-defendant Roderick Nunley, 40, pleaded guilty to 1st-degree murder, forcible rape, armed criminal action and kidnapping for the March 1989 killing of 15-year-old Ann Harrison. Taylor, speaking from his holding cell Tuesday at the state prison in Bonne Terre, said he has changed in the 17 years since the crime. "I'm totally not the person I was when I caught this case," he said. "I was high and had been smoking crack cocaine for 2 days. "I pled guilty, and I told the victim's family. I let them know how sorry I was." Taylor had originally been scheduled to die by injection at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday. The timing of the execution, if it occurs at all, remained uncertain Wednesday, as the case proceeded through the appeals. Late Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Fernando Gaitan Jr., ruled that "neither the chemicals used by the state of Missouri for lethal injection nor the procedure employed to administer these injections constitutes cruel and unusual punishment." Gaitan also wrote he was not persuaded that the use of the femoral vein to administer the lethal injection violates the constitution, or that Missouri physicians involved in the execution are violating their ethical obligations. The ruling came after 2 days of testimony from death penalty and medical experts on the way executions are carried out in Missouri. Taylor's attorney, John William Simon of St. Louis, is challenging the state's 3-drug method of execution, saying it creates an undue risk of pain if improperly administered. Simon late Tuesday appealed Gaitan's ruling to the 8th Circuit. Also late Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court refused a state request to lift the stay. But the state on Wednesday asked the Supreme Court to let the execution proceed. A decision is expected Wednesday, said John Fougere, spokesman for the state Attorney General's office. The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered Florida to stop the evening execution of Arthur Rutherford, who claims the state's lethal injection procedure is cruel and unusual punishment. Taylor and Nunley have said they had been using drugs and wanted to steal Harrison's purse when they got the girl into their stolen vehicle. 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 1991. After their sentences were overturned, they were again sentenced to death in 1994. The Supreme Court is expected to set an execution date soon for Nunley. (source: KMBC News) *************** Alito casts 1st vote in Missouri death penalty case New Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito cast his 1st vote on Wednesday, as the court refused to give Missouri permission to immediately execute a man who killed a teenage honor student. The court's 9-0 action was procedural, however, because a stay was already set to expire Wednesday afternoon. Separately, the court acting without Alito rejected Michael Taylor's appeal that argued that Missouri's death penalty system is racist. Taylor is black and his victim was white. "The death penalty as practiced in the state of Missouri discriminates against African-Americans such as (Taylor), such that it is a badge of slavery," the justices were told in a filing by Taylor's lawyer, John William Simon. Taylor had won a stay until Wednesday afternoon in a lower court, and Missouri wanted the justices to lift that stay. It was the second time in two days that the Supreme Court had turned down a Missouri request to allow it to proceed with the execution. The Tuesday vote, without Alito's participation, came hours after he won Senate confirmation to succeed Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and took the oath. Alito was being sworn in again Wednesday at the White House. Taylor's legal team had pursued 2 legal challenges -- claiming that lethal injection is cruel and unusual punishment and that his constitutional rights were violated by a system tilted against black defendants. Kent Scheidegger, legal director of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, a pro-death penalty group, said that Taylor had only a long- shot appeal because of federal limits on when courts can hear final pleas from death row inmates. "The constant filing of new legal proceedings drags cases out forever and effectively negates the death penalty. That's exactly what Congress wanted to stop," he said. Alito is expected to side with prosecutors more often than O'Connor, who has been the swing vote in capital punishment cases, Scheidegger said. (source: Newsday) USA: NATIONAL COALITION TO ABOLISH THE DEATH PENALTY----PRESS RELEASE CONTACT: David Elliot, NCADP Communications Director, [email protected] www.ncadp.org----1717 K Street NW, Suite 510, Washington, D.C. 20036 *************************************************************** NCADP PRAISES BIPARTISAN HEARING EXAMINING ISSUE OF DETERRENCE, COST OF DEATH PENALTY Feb. 1, 2006 - The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty praised today's bipartisan Senate hearing as a positive step toward a thorough national discussion about whether capital punishment represents sound public policy. Convened by Senators Sam Brownback, a Kansas Republican, and Russ Feingold, a Wisconsin Democrat, the Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Property Rights heard testimony on whether the death penalty serves as a deterrent as well as its social and financial costs to taxpayers. Among the witnesses were Ann Scott, a murder victim's family member who favors the death penalty; Vicki Shieber, a murder victim's family member who opposes the death penalty; Jeffrey Fagan, law and public health professor at Columbia University; John McAdams, political science professor at Marquette University and Steve Bright, president of the Atlanta-based Southern Center for Human Rights. "Senators Brownback and Feingold deserve commendation for examining this issue," said Diann Rust-Tierney. "Thoughtful questions were raised about the deterrence effect as well as the degree of accuracy necessary in order for the death penalty to represent sound public policy. In addition, witness testimony focused on the amount of resources the death penalty drains away from important programs that enhance our public safety and our communities' well-being, such as support for law enforcement and for crime victims and their loved ones. "We applaud Senator Brownback and Senator Feingold for a balanced hearing," Rust-Tierney added. "We look forward to further inquiries along these lines as we debate and discuss the biases and inequities that accompany capital punishment." (source: NCADP) FLORIDA: Man gets death penalty for Palm Bay slaying Convicted murderer Willie Nowell showed no reaction other than a smile to his family seconds after being sentenced to death Tuesday afternoon. Raising his shackled hands in a triumphant-type gesture, Nowell was quickly led from the courtroom by 1 of 7 sheriff deputies assigned to the proceeding. Nowell was convicted late last year of killing Michelle Gill -- a pregnant Palm Bay woman -- and shooting her boyfriend Kelvis Smith once under each eye in 2002. Smith survived the shooting and identified Nowell and Jermaine Bellamy -- acquaintances of his -- as the shooters. Despite a jury's 7-5 recommendation for the death penalty, Nowell's attorney, Ernie Chang had previously argued that his 29-year-old client suffered from anti-social behavior, Attention Deficit Disorder, substance abuse and scored a 74 on an IQ test. But that wasn't enough to convince Circuit Judge Tonya Rainwater to sentence Nowell to life in prison. He now becomes the 11th Brevard County resident to be put on death row. "These do not explain the defendant's actions," Rainwater said. "His actions were intentional and deliberate. The defendant had time to consider his actions. They were cold, calculated and pre-meditated." Gill was shot 11 times including twice in the head. Neither Nowell's family nor the victim's family who were present would comment after the hour-long sentencing. In the audience of about 15 family members, the only ones to show emotion were Nowell's relatives, who raised their fists to show him support and yelled words of encouragement. "I think it was expected," Chang said outside the courtroom. "The case had horrible facts and it's a horrible situation for both families." In addition to the death penalty, Nowell also received several life sentences for shooting Smith, for killing Gill's unborn baby and for kidnapping charges. Chang said that Nowell was likely to appeal. Assistant State Attorney Rob Parker, who prosecuted the case, said that Gill's and Smith's family members were satisfied with the sentence. "Factually, it was a clear-cut case," he said. "But with the 7-5 death sentence recommendation, I had my concerns. I was hopeful the judge would do what she did. I know it was difficult for her to do." Nowell previously spent five years in prison for battery. In the slaying, attackers entered the victim's home, forced them into a closet and shot them, execution-style. Bellamy, who is charged with similar crimes for his role in the murder, has not been brought to trial yet. His next court appearance is set for later this month. (source: Florida Today) PENNSYLVANIA: Experts: Mass killer is psychotic----Hearing held to determine if inmate can face execution George Banks could be executed for a 1982 shooting rampage that left 13 people dead. A former prison guard who killed 13 people, including his children, in a 1982 shooting rampage is psychotic and has no understanding of his death sentence or the reason for it, psychiatrists testified at a competency hearing. George E. Banks has the delusional belief that "Jesus Christ has forgiven his sins and vacated his sentence," said Dr. John O'Brien, a psychiatrist who reviewed 10 years of reports and conducted his own evaluation of Banks in July 2005. The hearing Tuesday was to determine whether Banks, 63, is mentally competent to face execution for killing his five children, four current or former girlfriends and four others in a deadly rampage in Wilkes-Barre. Banks has said he wanted to protect his children from suffering the abuse he encountered as a biracial child. The state Supreme Court halted the execution in December 2004 and ordered the competency hearing, which was held at the state prison in Graterford before Luzerne County President Judge Michael Conahan. Banks, disheveled and seemingly oblivious to the proceedings, sat in a cell adjacent to the room where the hearing was held. O'Brien testified on behalf of Banks, who has refused to cooperate with his attorneys and psychiatrists, requires force-feedings, does not clean himself, has attempted suicide several times and has undergone forced psychiatric commitment. Banks believes his continued incarceration "is related to a conspiracy and has to do with demons or something religious," O'Brien said. Banks also believes that he is a victim of a conspiracy by Islamic and American governments, his own attorneys and prison officials, O'Brien said. In a brief cross-examination, a prosecutor questioned how many hours it took O'Brien to come to his conclusion and pointed out that he only spoke to Banks once for about 30 to 45 minutes. O'Brien said he was confident in his conclusions. Dr. Richard G. Dudley Jr., who also testified Tuesday on behalf of Banks, reviewed several years of reports by prison doctors and conducted his own evaluation in November 2004. "When I met him, he went so far to say they -- the conspirators -- are willing to do anything to try to get him to submit to their desires," Dudley said. Dr. Michael Wilner, prosecutors' only witness in the one-day hearing, did not offer any opinion on Banks' competency. Conahan said he would issue an order by February 28. Banks has other appeals pending as well. (source: Associated Press) OHIO: Condemned inmate appeals sentence because of justice's comments A condemned inmate has asked that his death sentence be overturned because of comments made by an Ohio Supreme Court justice when she was arrested for drunken driving. Maxwell D. White Jr., 40, sentenced to death for the January 1996 shooting of State Highway Patrol Trooper James R. Gross, claims in an appeal filed in Ashland County Common Pleas Court that the comments show Justice Alice Robie Resnick is biased. During her arrest in January 2005 near Bowling Green, Resnick told state troopers, "Don't you know I decide all these cases in your favor and look at what you're doing to me," according to the transcript of the video taken from a patrol dashboard camera. Resnick has concurred with Ohio Supreme Court decisions upholding White's conviction and death sentence. "Justice Resnick's statement suggests that her decisions to affirm Mr. White's conviction including her independent assessment to uphold Mr. White's death sentence was influenced by her own judicial bias or that she at least had an interest in the outcome of the case," White's attorney, Michael J. Benza, wrote in the appeal filed Monday. A message seeking comment from Resnick was left with her on Wednesday. Ashland County Prosecutor Ramona Francesconi-Rogers said she isn't sure the court has jurisdiction in the appeal case. "It has nothing to do with how Ashland County handled the case," she said. "It has to do with the supposed conduct of Justice Resnick during her arrest." Francesconi-Rogers is fighting a separate U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals decision in December that overturned White's sentence because of a juror said during jury selection that she was predisposed to imposing the death penalty. The court gave the state 180 days to hold a new penalty phase before White's death sentence is set aside, and Francesconi-Rogers said she has requested a new hearing. (source: Ashland Times-Gazette)
