Feb. 4 VIRGINIA: 20th 9/11 hijacker to face death penalty trial -- 20th hijacker faces a new phase of trial The man convicted in connection with the September 11 attacks, dubbed "The 20th hijacker", faces a new phase in his trial that could see him condemned to death. Zacarias Moussaoui, 37, will be in court on Monday at the start of jury selection for the sentencing phase of his prosecution -- to test his eligibility for capital punishment, and if he should receive it. A Frenchman of Moroccan descent, Moussaoui has admitted conspiring with 19 suicide hijackers behind the 2001 attacks, the world's worst terror strike which changed the course of US history and killed more than 3,000 people. Moussaoui was arrested in Minnesota on August 16, 2001, after overstaying his visa and arousing suspicion at a flight training school. His lawyers signalled last week they may argue that their client, who has put on a series of erratic displays in court, and addressed handwritten rants to the judge, is mentally ill and so should not be put to death. If he is spared, Moussaoui will spend the rest of his life in prison, without possibility of parole. (source: GG2.net.UK) ILLINOIS: Anthony Porter talks about life after being exonerated of murders Former death row inmate lost wrongful arrest lawsuit Almost 7 years to the day after his release from prison, Anthony Porter is speaking out about his life, his future and the loss of his civil lawsuit for wrongful arrest. Porter spent 16 years on death row for 2 murders that another man later confessed to committing. Almost 7 years to the day after his release from prison, Anthony Porter is speaking out about his life, his future and the loss of his civil lawsuit for wrongful arrest. Porter spent 16 years on death row for 2 murders that another man later confessed to committing. Anthony Porter feels he can not get a fair shake. He lost his civil suit against the city. The man who confessed to the murders that Porter was convicted of is now claiming he was railroaded and with media attention to that -- including ours -- Porter says he's being re-tried in public for something he did not do. "I have not been in no trouble. I've kept my nose clean. I've been taking it one day at a time," said Anthony Porter. He was once 48-hours from execution. His case became symbolic of flaws in the state's system of capital punishment. In the 7 years since his release from death row, Anthony Porter says his life has been difficult, painful. In mid-November, he lost his multi-million dollar wrongful conviction lawsuit against the city. Jurors were said to be sympathetic to Porter, but found that police did have probable cause to arrest him for the 1982 double murder that would put Porter on death row. So he did not receive any money. "I had an all-white jury -- somebody did something wrong -- cause I was the one on death row for 23 years -- you know who did the case," said Porter. Porter's attorneys are appealing the civil court decision in part because jurors weren't allowed to hear testimony that Alstory Simon had confessed to the 1982 double murders. Simon, in prison, now claims he's innocent, and was coerced into confessing. Two witnesses against him have recanted. As a consequence, an angry Porter says he's being unjustly targeted again. He doesn't believe Simon who had not only earlier confessed on camera, but sent written apologies to Porter and the mother of one of the victims. "Alstory Simon -- he know he did this case -- be man enough to take his medicine," said Porter. Anythony Porter did get $143,000 from the state for wrongful imprisonment. He says much of it was immediately committed to family needs. Critics say it was not wisely spent. Today, Porter continues to counsel young men at the Inner City Youth Foundation, and longs to be removed from what he considers to be a troubling media spotlight. "I'm tired of hurting. I have done enough -- 16 years on death row. I just want people to know -- let me live my life," said Porter. As much as Anthony Porter desires to live his life, his case -- because of its impact on the capital punishment debate -- will not go away. For the near future, it goes forward as attorneys for Alstory Simon attempt to win a post-conviction hearing for their client. (source: ABC7 News) SOUTH DAKOTA: Death row inmate writes letter to media disputing key facts in case----South Dakota Supreme Court is asked to review the case An attorney for a South Dakota death row inmate is asking the state Supreme Court to review a decision in light of a co-defendant's letter, which disputes key facts in the case. "This letter constitutes newly discovered evidence, which we hope will be considered at some point, and which was unavailable to us until just this week," attorney Timothy Rensch said. Others downplayed the significance of the letter, which claims that Briley Piper played a smaller role than the state alleged in a brutal March 2000 killing. Piper pleaded guilty to 1st-degree murder in Lawrence County for killing a Spearfish man, Chester Poage. 2 other men were also charged for the crime. Elijah Page pleaded guilty and with Piper faces the death penalty. Darrell Hoadley was convicted in Lawrence County and received life in prison. A letter purportedly written by Page was mailed this week from the South Dakota Penitentiary in Sioux Falls to attorneys and government officials around the state. A copy of the letter was mailed from the penitentiary to the Argus Leader. It says Page is ending his appeals and alleges Piper was not as involved in the crime as prosecutors claimed. "It was Darryl's and my idea to kill (Poage). Piper really wanted nothing to do with it all, but if Darryl and I (were) in it, we weren't going to let Piper be out of it," the letter states. "To manipulate Piper was easy. I simply told him that if he didn't go along with what he was told I was going to shoot him, and then after that I was going to shoot his sister." (source: Argus Leader) NEVADA: Nevada high court lifts stay of Daryl Mack execution A stay order that blocked the scheduled December 1st execution of convicted Reno murderer Daryl Mack has been erased by the Nevada Supreme Court. State prison officials now must set another execution date after getting an order from a lower court judge to proceed with Mack's lethal injection. That process is expected to take several weeks. Justices dismissed a petition filed by Viola Mack, the condemned inmate's mother, who claimed in a "next friend" petition that her son didn't get a fair competency hearing. The mother petitioned because Mack, who claimed he didn't commit the murder, still wanted to die. Justices say that even if Mack is convinced he didn't kill 55-year-old Betty Jane May in 1988, that doesn't mean he can't understand that he's to be executed and why he will be executed. The high court says the record shows Mack knows he'll die if he drops his available legal appeals, and knows he'll be executed because he was convicted of May's murder. *************** Mom's pleas fail to save son from execution In Carson City, a stay order that blocked the scheduled Dec. 1 execution of convicted Reno murderer Daryl Mack was erased Friday by the Nevada Supreme Court. State prison officials now must set another execution date after getting an order from a lower court judge to proceed with Mack's lethal injection. That process is expected to take several weeks. Justices dismissed a petition filed by Viola Mack, the condemned inmate's mother, who claimed in a "next friend" petition that her son didn't get a fair competency hearing. The mother petitioned because Mack, who claimed he didn't commit the murder, still wanted to die. She argued that he held "a delusional belief in his innocence" and the U.S. Constitution bars the execution of someone who isn't aware of how or why he's to be executed, justices said. But even if Mack, 47, is convinced he didn't kill Betty Jane May, 55, in 1988, "that does not mean he is unable to understand that he is to be executed and why he will be executed," the court wrote. On the contrary, the record shows Mack knows he'll die if he drops his available legal appeals and knows he'll be executed because he was convicted of May's murder, justices said. "Whether or not he really believes that his murder conviction was mistaken, he can still appreciate his situation and the consequences of his decision," the court said. Justices also rejected the mother's argument that Mack is being involuntarily injected with Haldol, a powerful psychotropic drug, and that the use of such drugs to make him competent violates his constitutional rights. Also rejected were the mother's argument that a lower court failed to conduct an adequate evidentiary hearing, that Mack's previous legal counsel failed to argue that he was incompetent, and that he didn't undergo psychological testing despite his history of mental illness. Mack was sentenced to death for sexually assaulting and strangling May in a southwest Reno boarding house. He was serving a no-parole life term in prison for murdering Kim Parks in 1994 in a Reno motel when he was linked through DNA evidence to May's murder and convicted. A 3-judge panel sentenced him to death in 2002. 11 men have been executed in Nevada following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in 1976 that cleared the way for capital punishment to resume in this country. 10 of those who died in Nevada were inmates who declined to file appeals that would have kept them alive. The last execution in Nevada was that of Terry Jess Dennis, who died in August 2004 for strangling a woman in a Reno motel in 1999. (source for both: Associated Press) NORTH CAROLINA: Union D.A. should bow out of decision on felony charges It wouldn't matter if Union County District Attorney Michael Parker was the straightest arrow in the N.C. justice system. He shouldn't be the one deciding whether to charge his former boss -- who recommended Mr. Parker for his current job -- and a Union County judge with a felony.Some background: The N.C. State Bar, a regulatory group, accuses former Union County District Attorney Ken Honeycutt and District Court Judge Scott Brewer of lying and hiding evidence in a case that put a man on death row for 7 years. The bar says Judge Brewer, who was a prosecutor, and Mr. Honeycutt hid or lied about deals made to a witness in exchange for testimony. (They deny those accusations.) The bar has given 2,000 pages of evidence to the D.A. in the district where the events occurred. That's Mr. Parker. Anyone with half a lick of sense can see that: A. It will look to plenty of people as though Mr. Parker owes Mr. Honeycutt a big favor, and B. Mr. Parker and staff have to appear in Judge Brewer's court and might not wish to anger him. Either situation ought to be enough to convince Mr. Parker that there's an obvious appearance of a potential conflict of interest. He should turn the case over to an impartial reviewer. (source: Charlotte Observer)
