Feb. 8
NORTH CAROLINA: Murder charges dropped; man free----Move comes after judge rejects prosecutors' call to push back Feb. trial 1 of 3 capital-murder defendants in the 2002 killing of a mother and her unborn child walked out of jail Tuesday when the Cabarrus County district attorney dismissed the charges. District Attorney Roxann Vaneekhoven said she dropped the charges because Superior Court Judge Michael Beale denied her motion to delay the trial. She said she wasn't prepared to try the case Feb. 20 as scheduled. Melvin Anthony West, 45, of Jackson Road in Salisbury had been charged with two counts of 1st-degree murder in connection with the 2002 shooting of Tara Nicole Chambers and her unborn child. He had spent 21 months in jail without bond. Vaneekhoven said a number of factors contributed to her request for a delay. Among them were that new evidence sent recently to the State Bureau of Investigation laboratory for analysis wasn't yet ready, and her office was having difficulty finding several witnesses who had left the state. Chambers, 29, was eight months pregnant when she was shot June 11, 2002, inside her home on Franklin Avenue in Concord. She died that day at NorthEast Medical Center. Her daughter, T'Kaiya, was delivered by emergency Caesarean section but died a month later. After a 2-year investigation, Concord police arrested West and Tyrone Raynard Gladden, 32, of Sapp Road in Concord on May 6, 2004, and charged each with 2 counts of 1st-degree murder. They also arrested Clarence Eugene Graber, 59, of Salisbury and charged him with conspiracy to commit murder. He was released on $30,000 bond. On Aug. 4, authorities arrested Graber again and charged him with 2 counts of 1st-degree murder. He was released on $100,000 bond 2 months later. Prosecutors had said they would seek the death penalty against all 3 men. Police have said Chambers dated Gladden for several months and was 8 months pregnant with his child, and the couple broke up before she was killed. Police have said they believe Gladden hired West through Graber to kill Chambers. According to court documents filed Jan. 17, a witness who had linked the men to the killing recanted his statement to authorities and said he lied to police. After his release, West returned home to his family in Salisbury, according to his attorney Jay White of Concord. Vaneekhoven said West may be charged later, and her office will look into it. She said prosecutors will move forward with Gladden's trial. "We've solved the case and believe that the proper people were charged," she said. But White said West was the wrong man and no physical evidence linked him to the killings. "Melvin did not do this," White said. "No one has ever identified Melvin as being the shooter." In a motion filed Feb. 2 to postpone the West case, prosecutors said that in a span of 18 days they had been dealing with 4 death investigations, including 2 homicides handled by Concord police. In his order denying that motion, Beale wrote, "The State has failed to demonstrate good cause sufficient to justify continuing this case beyond ... Feb. 20." Beale wrote that prosecutors could have begun trying to find witnesses before the recent flurry of death investigations, and the court already had extended the deadline for finding witnesses. Prosecutors argued they had been unable to obtain certified records of out-of-state armed robbery convictions against West, Beale wrote, but they had time to get those records before the trial date. Beale also wrote that a fingerprint analysis prosecutors sought, and which they cited in asking for the delay, also could be completed in time. White said West "was very thankful that he was exonerated." Chambers' mother, Johnsie Tucker, said she was shocked. Her daughter was a nursing assistant and had 2 children, a daughter who is now 16 and a son, now 14. "I'll be sad about this," she said. "We know obstacles can come in the way, and we know that things can go wrong. ... But justice still is going to be served." (source: Charlotte Observer) CALIFORNIA: 6 Jurors Urge Sparing Killer's Life----Echoing the trial judge and citing new evidence, they ask the governor to halt the execution of Michael Morales for a girl's murder in 1981. 6 jurors who condemned Michael Morales to execution for the brutal, 1981 slaying of a 17-year-old Lodi high school student on Tuesday urged Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to spare the death row inmate's life. In a surprising turn of events, the jurors sided with the trial judge in the case, who 12 days ago asked the governor to stop the Feb. 21 execution and commute Morales' sentence to life in prison without parole. The judge and jurors cited the testimony of a jailhouse informant who they now say lied about Morales' role in the murder. "At the stage Mr. Morales now finds himself, there is one shining truth," said Ben Weston, a spokesman for Morales' clemency attorneys, "and that is that the jury to which he 'conceded his guilt 23 years ago,' and the judge who ultimately sentenced him to death, know that he should never have been sentenced to death." The jurors' change of heart came in a 17-page letter submitted in reply to the San Joaquin County district attorney office's case against clemency. The district attorney, in a letter to Schwarzenegger on Monday, argued that "the evidence that [Morales] tortured, raped and murdered Terri Winchell is overwhelming." Winchell was found beaten and stabbed in a secluded vineyard. Prosecutors argued that Morales committed the crime with a hammer and knife in an alcohol- and drug-induced haze at the request of his cousin, Rick Ortega, who was angry at Winchell because she had seduced his male lover. In 1983, the 12-member jury unanimously convicted Morales, now 46, of killing Winchell. Ventura County Superior Court Judge Charles R. McGrath sentenced him to death. A jailhouse informant, Bruce Samuelson, testified that Morales had bragged during a jailhouse conversation in fluent Spanish that he had planned to rape and kill Winchell. The prosecutor's file notes identified Samuelson as "a key witness" to prove both the homicide and the special circumstances warranting a death penalty, Morales' attorneys said. A decade after the trial, however, it was learned that Morales does not speak Spanish. First McGrath, and on Tuesday the jurors, said they now believe that Samuelson lied and that Morales should be allowed to spend the rest of his life in prison. The jurors' declarations were filed under seal and not available for public viewing, Weston said. The 6 jurors - a majority of those still living who heard the case - declared that without the informant's testimony, they never would have returned a verdict of death, Weston said. The district attorney "cannot avoid this central fact: Because Samuelson could not have obtained the incriminating statements in the manner he claimed, it is indisputable that he did not obtain incriminating information from Mr. Morales at all," Weston said. "His entire testimony at the trial was a lie." Morales' lawyers - David Senior and Kenneth W. Starr, dean of Pepperdine Law School and the special prosecutor in the impeachment proceedings against President Clinton - also criticized prosecutors for relying on a statement from former San Joaquin Dist. Atty. Michael Platt, who said Morales was not remorseful after the killing. "The prosecution failed to disclose to the governor," Weston said, "that Platt had been a Superior Court judge until he was removed from the bench for several acts of unethical conduct, and further, that he was suspended from practicing law on Feb. 13, 2003." San Joaquin County Deputy Dist. Atty. Charles Schultz was unavailable for comment. A spokeswoman for Schwarzenegger has said the governor would thoroughly review the matter. (source: Los Angeles Times) PENNSYLVANIA: Guilty!; Sentencing phase for Dustin Briggs to begin today; faces life in prison or the death penalty Dustin Ford Briggs, 29, of Gillett faces death or life in prison after he was found guilty Tuesday of 2 counts of 1st-degree murder in the shooting deaths of Bradford County Sheriff's Deputies Michael VanKuren, 36, of Warren Center, and Christopher Burgert, 30, of Sayre. A jury of 8 men and 4 women convicted Briggs on the 2 counts of murder and a related count of robbery. Today the same 8 men and 4 women will return to the Bradford County Courthouse to decide if Briggs will sit on death row or spend the rest of his life in jail. Burgert and VanKuren were attempting to serve Briggs with a collections warrant on March 31, 2004 when Briggs shot and killed them. Sobs could be heard in the courtroom from the family members of the victims as the verdicts were read. Some soft cheers were also heard and the swing of a door as family members of Dustin Briggs left the courtroom. After the verdict, Burgert's mother Margo Davidson said she felt justice had been served. The courtroom where the verdict was read is located on the third floor of the courthouse. As the verdict was read, the second floor of the courtroom filled with courthouse employees who stood outside offices, looking up the stairs, awaiting some sign of what the verdict would be. The employees watched as family members and others emerged in tears. Those tears were of joy, said Davidson. "These are tears of joy. This jury was wonderful. They saw that justice was done for Mike and Chris," she said to a wall of television cameras. "They showed that criminals are not going to get away with things." The family of Dustin Briggs did not comment after the verdict was announced. The jury deliberated for almost 12 hours - 5 1/2 on Monday and 5 on Tuesday. The defense in the case laid the groundwork for reasonable doubt throughout the trial, saying they believed it was possible Dustin's father Arlan Briggs or his brother Mark Briggs actually murdered the deputies. After the verdict, defense attorney Craig Miller said he felt reasonable doubt had been proven and was disappointed the jurors did not recognize it. An appeal is possible, he said, but for now the defense team, lead by himself and George Lepley will work to keep Briggs off death row. Lepley described Briggs as being "crushed" by the verdict. Briggs showed little emotion as the verdict was read, staring at the jury solemnly. The prosecution used the foundation of 6 separate confessions, or forms of confessions, by Dustin Briggs for their case. The most damaging of those confessions was made before two state troopers and two corrections officers two days after Dustin Briggs' capture. Troopers testified during the trial that Briggs said, as they were leaving a medical room at the correctional facility: "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Tell their families I'm sorry. I didn't mean to kill them." Prosecutor Patrick Blessington declined to comment after the verdict, saying only "We're not finished yet," as he walked briskly to his vehicle. The sentencing phase of the trial will resume today at 9 a.m. in courtroom one at the courthouse. During deliberations Monday evening and throughout Tuesday, each movement by the Pennsylvania State Police troopers guarding Briggs or by sheriff's deputies sent members of the media and family members scrambling into the courtroom. The families of the victims left sequestered rooms in the commissioner's office to hear what the jury might have to say. 3 times - once Monday, twice Tuesday - the jury simply wanted to ask questions. On Monday, 3 hours after beginning deliberations, jurors requested to have the tape of Arlan Briggs' 911 call played. Deliberations ended about 9:45 p.m. Monday. Tuesday the jury began deliberating at 9 a.m., and at 9:43 a.m. they requested to see the graphic video of the murder scene again and also asked for the definitions of murder in the 1st degree, murder in the 2nd degree, and murder in the 3rd degree. At 12:50 p.m. the jury asked to have the definitions of 1st degree, 2nd degree, and 3rd degree robbery read to them. After each question, the jury returned to their deliberations and those waiting returned to waiting. At 1:50 p.m. movement began on the 3rd floor. Sheriff's deputies and state troopers began to gather along the railing, many of them walking toward the courtroom. It was a clear sign something was about to happen. Inside the courtroom, 10 state police troopers filled the first two rows behind the defense table where Briggs would be seated. Family members packed the right side of the courtroom and observers and media packed the other side, with Briggs' family gathering in the back of the room. As Briggs was led into the courtroom, both plain clothed and uniformed law enforcement stood near the defense table and along the walls of the courtroom. A hush settled in the packed courtroom, replacing the quiet chatter which occurred throughout the two weeks of the trial while waiting for proceedings to begin. The jury was led in, the foreman holding papers in his hands. Presiding Judge Barry Feudale directed those in the courtroom to be courteous to the Commonwealth, to the court, and to the jury as the verdict was read. "I want no outbursts," he said. And no loud outbursts came, only soft cries of joy and muffled sobs. Several moments after the verdict was read, the widows of Burgert and VanKuren were ushered from the courthouse through a back door by uniformed Pennsylvania State Police troopers. On the third floor, Bradford County Sheriff Steve Evans embraced his wife and hugged deputies under his command. Deputies who worked with Burgert and VanKuren, and even those who hadn't, also paused to embrace or pat each other on the back. After the verdict, Evans said he was pleased with the verdict and thanked his deputies and the community for their support of the sheriff's office. 5 police vehicles, one carrying Briggs, left the courthouse around 3:30 p.m., taking Briggs back to the Bradford County Correctional Facility. (source: Sayre Evening Times) FLORIDA: New Supreme Court Gatekeeper for 11th Circuit----Clarence Thomas replaces Anthony Kennedy in hearing hot-button stay requests from Florida The U.S. Supreme Court has assigned Justice Clarence Thomas, a strong supporter of capital punishment, to handle emergency stay requests coming out of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The move could affect Florida death penalty appeals. Justice Anthony Kennedy, a relative moderate on death penalty issues, previously handled the 11th Circuit, which includes Florida, Georgia and Alabama. Kennedy will handle the 9th Circuit, which covers California. On Feb. 1, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. assigned Thomas to oversee the 11th Circuit. The move was part of a shuffle following the confirmation of Justice Samuel Alito Jr. The power to grant emergency stays is most critical in death penalty cases. But it's also a key method of freezing judgments and judicial orders in time-sensitive legal disputes like those that arose in the end-of-life case involving Terri Schiavo and in the 2000 presidential election recount battle. If a justice denies a petition, a litigant can still ask the other eight justices, or the full court, to review the case. But experts say the chances of being granted review decrease if the justice in charge of a circuit already has denied review. Thomas' appointment to cover the 11th Circuit makes some Florida criminal defense lawyers nervous. "I don't perceive Justice Thomas as being particularly friendly toward death penalty defendants," said Neal DuPree, the Fort Lauderdale-based capital collateral regional counsel for South Florida. His state agency represents death row inmates in post-conviction habeas corpus petitions. Last month, Kennedy granted a temporary halt to the pending execution in Florida of convicted murderer Clarence Edward Hill, who was minutes from receiving a lethal injection. Hill received a reprieve while the high court debates a procedural issue involving how many times death row convicts can appeal their sentence. Hill's underying claim, which has not yet been addressed by the Supreme Court, is that the Florida's lethal injection procedure violates the U.S. Constitution's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. Kennedy's decision delayed Hill's execution by at least several months. The first brief is not due to the high court until early March. Hill's last reply brief, if necessary, is due by mid-April. Kennedy recently denied an emergency stay for Arthur Rutherford, another Florida inmate facing death. DuPree said Kennedy, who wrote the Supreme Court decision barring execution of juvenile criminals and supported the decision preventing the execution of the retarded, has been "more receptive" to death penalty defendants than Thomas during their time on the Supreme Court. Thomas has come out against repetitive petitions and generally is unsympathetic to prisoners' rights to sue. In the 2 landmark rulings outlawing the execution of the retarded and juveniles, Thomas joined in dissenting opinions arguing that such executions are not "cruel and unusual." He also refused to go along with an eight-judge majority that found the systematic exclusion of black jurors in a Texas capital case should have warranted an appeal. "I think Thomas would not, on his own, have granted [Hill's] stay request," said Los Angeles-based attorney and author Edward Lazarus, who wrote of his experiences clerking for Justice Harry Blackmun in the book "Closed Chambers: The Rise, Fall, and Future of the Modern Supreme Court." "I think he, like Justice Scalia, really does not want to go back down the road of strict judicial oversight of the death penalty." Florida, Alabama and Georgia are some of the most active death penalty states in the country. As of Feb. 3, there were 366 men and women on death row in Florida. Alabama has 192 people facing execution, while Georgia has 102 prisoners on death row. In Florida, there are a number of death penalty issues that could be brought to the Supreme Court for review. Legal experts say, for example, that the state's unusual system for how jurors and judges hand down death sentences is ripe for challenge. If a stay is granted by the justice in charge of a judicial circuit, whatever judgment or sentence that has been handed down cannot go forward. But a case can move forward while a request for review is pending before the full court. Lazarus said requests for stays in politically charged cases, such as the Terri Schiavo case and the Bush v. Gore election case, are typically referred to the full court by the justice in charge of the circuit. But he said the swap of Kennedy for Thomas could be important in "fringe" cases in the 11th Circuit, such as Hill's petition. Lazarus said having Kennedy in charge of the 11th Circuit gave death penalty defendants a better shot, even though Kennedy is a moderate conservative who was appointed by President Reagan. "When you had Justice Kennedy [in the 11th Circuit], you had a swing vote on the death penalty taking a first crack on these cases," Lazarus said. "Now you don't." Indeed, it may be harder now for Florida death row inmates to receive Kennedy's support for a stay if they get shot down by Thomas and seek support from the other justices. "He's going to be receiving the information [from Thomas], so I think it makes the hill a little bit steeper to climb," Lazarus said. THOMAS RETURNED HOME The reassignment of positions, called allotments, follows the retirement of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor after 25 years on the Court and the elevation of Justice Alito. The chief justice decides the allotments based on seniority and the desires of the individual justices. O'Connor, the second most senior justice on the high court, was in charge of the 9th Circuit. Thomas previously was in charge of the 8th Circuit, based in St. Louis, to which he has been assigned since his 1991 confirmation. Alito will oversee the 8th Circuit. Florida International University law professor Thomas Baker said the assignment of circuits tends to be rooted in the justices' "natural proclivities." Kennedy is from California, but could not take over the 9th Circuit until O'Connor retired. Meanwhile, Thomas, a Georgia native, had to wait until Kennedy relinquished control of the 11th Circuit. "I would not be surprised if Justice Thomas lobbied the chief [justice] to say, 'If we're reshuffling these circuits, I'd like to go back to the southeast,'" Baker said. There are checks and balances to make sure one justice does not prevent a meritorious case from reaching the court. Not only can justices ask the full court for a stay in a case from their circuit, a litigant also can approach the other eight justices for an emergency stay if the justice in charge of that circuit declines to grant a stay. Baker said those checks and balances means a single justice cannot "misbehave and impose his will" on the court. "The justice is acting in good faith," he said. "It's not about, 'How I would vote,' but 'How would I predict the nine [justices] would vote.'" STAYS CAN BE HUGE In both the Schiavo case last year and the Bush v. Gore presidential election recount battle in 2000, several emergency stay requests were sent to Kennedy for his approval. But Kennedy asked the full Court to make a decision on the merits of a stay in each instance. A stay was of huge importance in the 2000 election case because there was a looming deadline for vote certification. The Florida Supreme Court extended the deadline for counties to submit returns to the Florida secretary of state from Nov. 14 to Nov. 26. The U.S. Supreme Court reversed that decision. But on Dec. 8, the Florida Supreme Court reinstated its order for the recount to continue. The George W. Bush campaign asked Kennedy to stay that decision on the same day. Kennedy referred the matter to the full court, which granted the stay Dec. 9. That froze the recount process until the nation's high court could be briefed and hear oral arguments. The election dispute was decided on Dec. 12, when the U.S. Supreme Court halted the recount for good, essentially handing the election to Bush. In the Schiavo case, emergency stays also were a critical issue. Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court denied 3 petitions for emergency stays, referred to the full court by Kennedy, that would have allowed Schiavo's feeding and hydration to continue. Schiavo died last March. (source: Law.com) ************ End the DNA deadline Even before Alan Crotzer went free, the Legislature was at work on behalf of any other Alan Crotzers in the Florida prison system. Last month, the 45-year-old Mr. Crotzer was released after the state stole more than half his life, wrongfully convicting him of the 1981 kidnap and rape in Hillsborough County of a 38-year-old woman and a 12-year-old girl. As in the four other recent exonerations, DNA evidence proved that Mr. Crotzer didn't commit the crime. In 2001, the Legislature set up a system for inmates to seek DNA testing that might clear them. The period for such testing was four years and expired Oct. 1. Gov. Bush correctly intervened to require that prosecutors continue to preserve evidence, but only the Legislature can err on the side of justice and eliminate the deadline. House Bill 61, which has cleared one committee, can do that in the session that begins March 7. Not only would the bill remove the deadline, it would expand the number of inmates who can apply for DNA testing and make all requests retroactive to Oct. 1, 2005. It also would require preservation of evidence until an inmate completes his or her sentence. According to a House staff analysis, the bill could cost between $725,000 and $2 million the 1st year because of the increased testing. Given what's at stake and the size of the state budget, the expense is minuscule. The same analysis warns of constitutional issues between the legislative and judicial branches over which sets rules for courts, but surely there are minds in Tallahassee that can work out how to reach a goal that everyone should agree on: If there are other Alan Crotzers, they deserve every chance to get back what remains of their lives. (source: Opinion, Palm Beach Post) OHIO: Execution follows apology----Family of one Benner victim wants to lift limits on who can view death Just before Glenn Benner II was executed Tuesday morning, he apologized to the families of the two Northeast Ohio women he raped and murdered. It was the 1st time Benner verbally admitted his guilt. For years, he claimed innocence to the murders, appealing his convictions to court after court. "Over the past 20 years, I've caused unimaginable pain," he said into a microphone, strapped to a table in the execution chamber at the Southern Ohio Correctional Institution. "Cynthia and Trina were beautiful girls. They didn't deserve what I done to them. They are in a better place. I pray that God will grant you peace." Looking at the family members of Trina Bowser and Cynthia Sedgwick, separated by a pane of glass, Benner mouthed, "I'm sorry." "That won't get you into heaven," said Bradley Bowser, 1 of Trina's 3 brothers who witnessed the execution. Mary Lou Silvers, Benner's aunt, wiped tears from her face. Hilary Hughes, Benner's friend from Ireland, mouthed words to Benner that couldn't be overheard. As a lethal dose of drugs began to flow through Benner's veins, his eyes fluttered and a tear fell from his right eye. He shook his head from side to side. His right fist, moments before tightly clasped, fell slack. Warden Edwin Voorheis pronounced Benner dead at 10:15 a.m. He became the 20th inmate executed since Ohio reinstated capital punishment in 1999. Benner, 43, formerly of Springfield Township, was sentenced to death for the murders of Bowser, of Tallmadge, and Sedgwick, of Cleveland Heights, during a 5-month period in 1985 and 1986. He also was convicted of attacking three other Northeast Ohio women. He strangled -- or attempted to strangle -- his victims with their underwear. After the execution, Scott Bowser, Trina's nephew, read a statement from his family. With 20 family members standing behind him, he challenged Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh and others to change the law that limits to 3 the number of immediate family members permitted to witness an execution. "All immediate family members should be given the opportunity to witness as justice is carried out," he said. Reached later Tuesday, Walsh's office agreed and will help draft legislation to allow more family members of victims to witness future executions. "We believe it is inherently unfair not to have each and every family member observe the proceedings, if they choose," said assistant Prosecutor Phil Bogdanoff. All 4 of Trina's brothers wanted to witness the execution. They decided Monday morning that Bradley, Timothy and Randy Bowser would get the opportunity. It was obvious the brothers remain very angry over their sister's death. "I miss the old electric chair days," Bradley Bowser said as shunts were being placed in Benner's arms before his execution. "I wish they had to feel something." After the execution, Timothy Bowser said, "I sure don't get where that was inhumane." He then called Benner a profane name. Rodney Bowser, the brother who was left out of the observation area, got to speak with Benner through his cell door before the execution-- an arrangement the state never before had allowed. The 2 spoke for about 15 minutes, with Rodney asking questions about his sister's murder that have haunted him for nearly 20 years. Benner answered his questions during what prison spokeswoman Andrea Dean described as a "calm" visit. Rodney Bowser and his parents found Trina's partially clothed body in the trunk of her car. Rodney Bowser, who said before the execution that he would talk to reporters afterward, later changed his mind. Scott Bowser mentioned the approximately 175 protesters who gathered outside the prison, praying and lighting candles before the execution. He asked them to "remember the victims." "Today, Feb. 7, 2006, is not about an execution. It is about the completion of justice and honoring our loved one, Trina Bowser," he said. Hughes, who is from Dublin, Ireland, and corresponded with Benner during the nearly 20 years he was in prison, called him "a beloved friend" during a brief statement after the execution. "I'm sorry, but I cannot get my head around the logic -- to show it is wrong to kill someone, it is acceptable to kill someone else," said Hughes, who was flanked by Silvers and Kate McGarry, Benner's attorney who witnessed his execution. Hughes said Benner, who didn't seek clemency and asked McGarry not to file any last-minute appeals on his behalf, "turned to God for help and for forgiveness." She said he felt guilt, pain and remorse for his crimes. "He made many friends, touched many hearts and became the kind, gentle and loving man God intended him to be," she said. Benner's family is paying for his funeral arrangements, which will include a private memorial service. As family members and witnesses left the prison, the protesters outside waited. They held signs that read: "Ohio loses its soul today," "Execute Justice, Not People" and "We Pray for Glenn Benner." When they spotted the hearse that would carry Benner's body back to Akron, they joined together in singing Amazing Grace. As the vehicle disappeared in the rolling hills, they finally turned to leave. (source: Akron Beacon Journal)
