Feb. 8 TEXAS: Latimer agrees to life in prison The stakes were just too high. Evidently not wanting to take her chances with a jury, which could have sent her to Death Row, Kathleen "Kitty" Latimer accepted an offer from Tarrant County prosecutors Monday and pleaded guilty to murder in the death of retired TCU professor Laura Lee Crane, 77. In exchange, Latimer, 41, received a life sentence. She will not be eligible for parole for 30 years. "She really hated pleading guilty to a life sentence -- I would, too -- but she finally decided that was the best thing for her," said her attorney, Danny Burns. In November, jurors sentenced Latimer's ex-boyfriend, Edward Lee Busby Jr., 33, to death for abducting Crane from a grocery store parking lot and suffocating her by wrapping her head in 36 feet of duct tape. He later led authorities to Crane's body, wrapped in a motel sheet, in a wooded area off Interstate 35 near Ardmore, Okla. Prosecutor Greg Miller, who handled the case with Joe Shannon, said they were prepared to seek the death penalty for Latimer, but they realized that the case against her wasn't as strong as the one against Busby. Although Busby had insisted that he acted on Latimer's orders, there was no physical evidence directly linking Latimer to Crane's death, Miller said. For example, only Busby's fingerprints were found on the duct tape wrapped around Crane's head. Also, Miller said, if jurors convicted Latimer of capital murder, prosecutors realized that they might have a difficult time persuading them to assess the death penalty. For one thing, jurors would have to be convinced that Latimer was a future danger to society. Busby, an ex-convict, assaulted Tarrant County jailers and caused other problems while awaiting trial. "In contrast, Kathleen Latimer had a few misdemeanor prostitution convictions and had behaved much better in jail," Miller said. After receiving the Crane families' blessing, Miller said, they decided to offer Latimer a life sentence in exchange for her guilty plea. "This was a not a seat-of-the-pants decision here," Miller said. "We gave some pretty serious thought to this. It is not an inconsequential sentence. Given her age, she isn't going anywhere." Latimer officially accepted the offer during a hearing in state District Judge Wayne Salvant's courtroom Monday. Burns said Latimer maintains that she didn't participate in the taping of Crane's head but has accepted responsibility for her part. "She admits her role and regrets it very much," Burns said. According to testimony at Busby's trial, Crane had just pulled into the parking lot of the Tom Thumb grocery store on South Hulen Street on the morning of Jan. 30, 2004, when Busby and Latimer approached her. Busby told Crane to scoot over and slid into her Nissan Sentra. Latimer got in, too, and they drove away from the parking lot and Tarrant County. At one point, Busby and Latimer drove to a remote location and put Crane into the trunk. Afterward, they went to a bank to cash one of Crane's checks and then to several convenience stores, where Latimer used Crane's credit cards to get cash. Busby told police that Latimer ordered him to tape Crane's wrists, legs and head to keep her from making noise inside the trunk. He told authorities that he didn't intend for her to die but that, when he later opened the trunk, Crane was dead. On Feb. 3, 2004 -- two days after Busby and Latimer were caught driving Crane's car and arrested -- Busby led investigators to Crane's body, which had been dumped in a grassy area off Interstate 35 near Ardmore. Allen Walker, one of Crane's daughters, praised police and prosecutors who worked on the case and said the family was pleased to have Latimer's case behind them. "It brings a sense of closure to this situation, which we need and I think this entire community is looking for," Walker said. "The most important thing is that justice has been served and that she will never be able to hurt anyone again." ******************** Fort Worth man to take case to federal court A 44-year-old Fort Worth man did not prove that he is mentally retarded and should not be spared the death penalty for the 1993 robbery and slaying of an elderly man, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled last week. Defense attorney James Rasmussen said he will appeal the decision to federal court because the state's highest criminal court did not fully consider Elkie Lee Taylor's low IQ, which several experts agreed was below 70. "I wouldn't expect this particular court to find in favor of Elkie," said Rasmussen of Wichita Falls. "But I expected them to accept matters that were not contested by the experts -- his IQ and age of onset. That was disappointing. But we'll just move on to the next step." Taylor, a crack addict with a previous burglary conviction, was sentenced to die for strangling Otis Flake, a Korean War veteran, while ransacking Flake's southeast Fort Worth home in April 1993. Tarrant County prosecutor Michael Casillas said the court's unanimous ruling was justified because of the complex planning involved in Taylor's murders of 2 elderly men. "To me, there's just too much evidence of what this guy can do when he's out there in the real world for him to have proven his claim of mental retardation," Casillas said. Taylor is one of 19 Texas Death Row inmates whose cases were set aside after a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court case banned execution of the mentally retarded but did not set guidelines for state courts. The Texas appellate court set its own definitions in a 2004 opinion upholding the death sentence of a man in a 1991 murder. The three-part test -- sub-average intelligence, adaptive behavior and the onset of retardation before adulthood -- has been used by Texas judges, including Tarrant County Judge Everett Young, who conducted a 3-day hearing on Taylor's mental retardation claim last summer. The trial record, including conflicting evidence from three experts about Taylor's IQ and adaptive behavior, was forwarded to the appellate court with Young's recommendation that Taylor's mental retardation claim be denied. The appellate court relied on that record in its unanimous five-paragraph unpublished order issued last week. In a concurring statement, Justice Cheryl Johnson reviewed numerous IQ tests cited by experts, concluding that Taylor had failed to prove that "his intellectual functioning is significantly sub-average." Johnson's 5-page statement, joined by Justices Michael Keasler, Barbara Hervey and Cathy Cochran, focused mostly on Taylor's behavior. She recounted details of Taylor's murders as evidence of his ability to plan, carry out, flee and shift the blame to others for his crimes. Because the court did not find Taylor mentally retarded, it did not consider the 3rd part of the test, the age of onset, she said. Casillas commended the 4 justices for spelling out their reasons for denying Taylor's claim. "They pointed out the efforts he went through to hide what he had been involved in," he said. "It shows a lot of cunning to come up with a story for police right after you've committed a murder. I give credit to the four who explained themselves. "It gives a lot of credence to their record." (source for both: Fort Worth Star-Telegram) ***************** Video shows defendant saying he had victim's checks - His ex-wife said she saw checks in the trash on the floor of truck. In Georgetown, Michael Moore told police that he had checks bearing Robert and Christina Moore's names in the days after Christina Moore's slaying, according to a video of his interview with police shown in court Monday. The excerpt from the video, played by prosecutors after Judge Burt Carnes denied a motion by Moore's attorney to suppress the recording, shows Moore being questioned by two Round Rock police officers on Feb. 26, 2004. Later that day, officers arrested him on an unrelated parole violation. Testimony continues today in Moore's capital murder trial. He is accused in the 2003 slaying of 35-year-old Christina Moore, no relation, in her Round Rock home. Her husband, Robert Moore, came home midday Sept. 23, 2003, after her Dell Inc. co-workers notified him that she had not come to work. He found his wife in the master bedroom closet, dressed for work, with her throat slit and a handcuff around her right forearm. The couple's 15-month-old daughter, Gracie, was unharmed in her crib. Christina Moore was about 3 months pregnant. Michael Moore, 30, of Florence was indicted on charges of capital murder, felony murder, aggravated robbery and aggravated kidnapping in November 2004. If convicted, he could face the death penalty. Monday was the 4th day of testimony. In the videotaped interview: - Moore said he and a friend "found two checks that were stuck in the phone, in the coin slot" at a convenience store near Interstate 35 and U.S. 79 in Round Rock. Later, Moore said he pulled the checks out while his friend was inside the store and never told him about them. He said he left the checks in the ashtray of the Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera he was driving. - Moore saidthat, at his wife's urging after hearing about the slaying, he called the sheriff's department from a pay phone a few days after he found the checks. Moore said he could not remember what day he found the checks. - Asked if he still had the checks when he called to report them, Moore said, "No, I threw them away." Testifying in court Monday, Moore's ex-wife Rebecca Moore, 49, said she found two checks with Robert and Christina Moore's names on them on the floor of her red Ford Ranger pickup, not in the Cutlass Ciera. Rebecca Moore said she encouraged her then-husband to report the checks, and he insisted that they use pay phones - one to call information and a second to call police. "He just didn't really want to get involved," she said. Rebecca Moore also testified about how she and her son found two earrings beneath the trailer where Michael Moore lived. Prosecutors say one of those earrings is similar to the rhinestone and pearl earrings Christina Moore wore at her wedding. Rebecca Moore said she had found a picture of a woman in a hole in the trailer's master bedroom wall and became curious about what else might have slipped through the hole and landed under the trailer. When asked by defense attorney Allan Williams if she'd seen the hole before or knew who made it, Rebecca Moore said no. "It was covered by clothes," she said. "I never saw anybody use it." A few days after finding the hole, Rebecca Moore said, her son tore away a piece of the trailer's underskirting as she watched. He reached under the trailer with a slotted spoon and came out with nothing at first, but a second scoop yielded the earrings, she said. "I just kind of stood there," she said. "It's like I saw it but didn't see it. I had hoped there was nothing." (source: Austin American-Statesman) ************ Logan Indicted on Capital Murder Charge The case work in a double homicide case can now begin for Lubbock prosecutors and a defense attorney. Late Tuesday afternoon, a Lubbock grand jury indicted 19-year-old Steven Tyler Logan, otherwise known as Tyler, on one count of capital murder. Logan is the man accused of strangling his mother and grandmother on January 27th. NewsChannel 11's Jennifer Vogel spoke with both attorneys in this case who say the turn-around from charges to the indictment was a quick one. Logan's attorney, Pat Metze, found out his client had been indicted while watching NewsChannel 11 at Six, but it wasn't a surprise. Metze was expecting the action after he filed an "examining trial" earlier today. "It's a tragedy regardless of the outcome of the trial and the criminal justice system. This is a tragedy. You have a son accused of killing his mother and grandmother. I can't think of much worse circumstances than that," said District Attorney Matt Powell. It has been less than two weeks since the victims, 52-year-old Vicki Logan and 73-year-old Wanda Faye Turner, were found strangled in the garage of Turner's home. It's because of the little time that has passed that made Logan's indictment a surprise to many, including Logan's attorney. But it's a move that the district attorneys office said had to happen fast. "We didn't want to have a mini trial. Witnesses have to be called, family called up, it's not appropriate at this time. That's what a grand jury is for, to find probable cause," said Powell. But for now, probable cause is all the grand jury needed to indict Tyler Logan on 1 count of capital murder. Powell says it's capital murder because 2 people were killed in the same crime. If found guilty, Logan could face the death penalty or life in prison. Pat Metze, Logan's attorney, tells us now that Logan has been indicted, he will be able to have access to the evidence against his client, and begin planning his defense. There is no word when the trial will begin. Until then, the indictment will keep Tyler in jail. His bond was set at $1 million. (source: KCBD News) PENNSYLVANIA: Jury Considers Death Penalty for Briggs The jury in Bradford County that convicted Dustin Briggs Tuesday afternoon for killing two sheriff's deputies now must decide if he should die by lethal injection. The panel heard testimony from witnesses trying to save Briggs life Wednesday morning. It was an emotional morning as the prosecution started by calling Elaine VanKuren and Kim Burgert to the stand, the widows of the two deputies murdered by Briggs. VanKuren cried through her testimony and jurors and court employees could also been seen wiping away tears. The defenses is trying to paint a picture of the horrible childhood Briggs had, living in a small trailer with 8 children. His sister told the jury his parents abused alcohol and abused the children. Tuesday afternoon defense attorney George Lepley commented about the possibility of his client being sentenced to death. "I knew somewhat, both of the victims. And while it may give their families some peace of mind if the death penalty is imposed as a practical matter, knowing those two individuals as fathers and individuals, i would think that if they could speak from beyond the grave I'm not sure that they would want another father to be taken from his child or his family," Lepley said. Kim Burgert, Chris Burgert's widow, was not happy with the comment. "I was really upset by that. I was very upset by the fact that he thinks he can talk for my husband," she said, adding she believes her husband would want Briggs to be put to death. She also said she believes Lepley was out of line for saying what he did. (source: WNEP TV News) FLORIDA: A Gentle Death? ---- New court case arises from questions of the painless of lethal injection I know I am I not the only one when I say that the death penalty seems a little barbaric. Not only do I not agree with it morally, but its disgusting to think that people actually believe killing someone for murdering another is justice. I wonder how these people raise their kids. Is it because they see that in killing the murderers, it cuts down on how many remain in society? One must realize that we will always have the outcasts; we will always have the thieves and rapists. When Clarence Hills execution was blocked by the Supreme Court to consider his appeal over the method used to carry out the punishment, many began to wonder if it did violate civil rights. As in some states that still use electrocution, the pain is obvious. I personally think that it should be clear that the death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment. Granted the criminal has violated anothers rights and is thus being punished for doing so, but should there not be other ways to make them learn? After all, beating a dog will only make it cower and meek. I have heard several stories of inmates who have changed due to counseling or mentoring. The death penalty is just an easy solution to decrease the population of criminals. Whether it is through religion or community service, some type of aid or mentoring, there should always be an option. The argument in Hills case has been made in regards to whether when receiving lethal injections, the pain is masked by being induced to a paralysis. There is also the question of if the inmate is fully anaesthetized or not. 38 of the 50 states and the federal government permit capital punishment. Georgia has one of the toughest systems to prove someone is not guilty. To be more specific, in Georgia it is extremely difficult to find someone mentally unstable so that they will not be executed. And then there is always Texas, which has been infamous for its usage of the death penalty. Some say that these arguments are being brought up to acquire more time than a direct constitutional challenge to using lethal injection would provide. In Hills case and many others, it is for a murder that occurred over 20 years ago. It could be that the time needed is for a misjudged trial. Someone could be proven not guilty after a retrial. If that is not the case, maybe the jury or judge could find another way to punish inmates. It has been two decades since Hill committed the crime and people change. I am not saying he should be released into society, but he does not need to be killed. States that still use it [the death penalty] should reevaluate the system they apply to find a person worthy of the death penalty. The states could also look into finding other methods. Maybe instead of punishing they could seek the route of counseling. Either way, the judicial systems that still apply capital punishment need to renovate their methods. (source: The Signal (Georgia State University) OHIO: Prosecutors protest new trial----Federal appeals court criticized lawyers for George Franklin, now on death row Prosecutors asked a federal appeals court Monday to reconsider a decision to give death row inmate George Franklin a new trial on charges of murdering a P&G executive in Cincinnati. If the order for a new trial stands, prosecutors say, the 18-year-old murder case would be so hard to prove that Franklin might go free. "It's very difficult to find witnesses and retry a case," said William Breyer, Hamilton County's chief assistant prosecutor. "It's just about impossible." A 3-judge panel of the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2-1 for a new trial last month, but the Ohio Attorney General's office filed a petition Monday seeking another hearing before the full court. The petition argues that the panel was wrong when it concluded that a juror in Franklin's trial showed bias toward the accused killer and that Franklin's attorneys mishandled his appeal. The 6th Circuit's chief judge, Danny Boggs, wrote the 2-1 decision and sharply criticized Franklin's lawyers, Roxann Dieffenbach and Candace Greenham. He said they failed to raise key issues in Franklin's first appeal and inappropriately laughed 5 times while presenting the case to the Ohio Supreme Court. At one point, Boggs noted, Greenham used the term "overkill" to describe a graphic photograph and then laughed and said, "Excuse the pun." "Franklin suffered a total lack of meaningful advocacy," Boggs wrote. Greenham declined comment Monday and Dieffenbach could not be reached. The panel also concluded a juror at Franklin's trial repeatedly demonstrated a lack of understanding of the law and her duties. Boggs cited several instances in which the juror either said Franklin should testify to prove his innocence or seemed confused about the judge's warning that defendants are presumed innocent. The dissenting judge on the panel, Alice Batchelder, said Franklin's appeal should be dismissed because he failed to follow rules limiting death row appeals. Lawyers for the Attorney General's office said the juror did not show bias toward Franklin, convicted of bludgeoning 26-year-old Gerald Strauss during a burglary of his home in 1988. Breyer said the request for a hearing before the full appeals court is crucial because old cases are notoriously difficult to prove. He cited the case of Derrick Jamison, another death row inmate freed last year after an appeals court ordered a new trial. Prosecutors dismissed the case because they could not find witnesses from the original 1985 trial. (source: Cincinnati Enquirer) ************** Double Murder Case Headed To 2nd Trial Charges were filed in Washington, Pa., and Pennsylvania State Police expect to arrest Terrell Yarbrough on Wednesday while Nathan Herring won't be arrested for at least 90 days. Both men were convicted of murder in the 1999 deaths of Franciscan University students Brian Muha and Aaron Land. The 2 men were kidnapped from their Steubenville, Ohio, home. Police say the 2 students were then taken by Herring and Yarbrough across state lines into Pennsylvania where police say the murders took place. The 2 suspects were tried and convicted in Steubenville of murder, kidnapping, aggravated robbery and grand theft. In December 2004, the murder conviction against Yarbrough was overturned by the Ohio Supreme Court. The ruling stated Yarbrough should have been tried in Pennsylvania, where the murders took place. Herring's murder conviction was overturned last month on the same grounds. Washington County, Pa., District Attorney John Pettit is now taking over the case. "I'm confident we can achieve the goal. Can I guarantee it? No, I can't, even though they were convicted over there (in Steubenville)," said Pettit. Pettit said he will seek the death penalty for both Yarbrough and Herring. Yarbrough was originally sentenced to die; in fact, the state of Ohio set an execution date for Sept. 27, 2001. Herring was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Both men remain in an Ohio prison on the robbery, kidnapping and theft charges. The district attorney says he will wait to arrest Herring to avoid two major murder trials at the same time. The Yarbrough case will begin once the arrest is made. (source: WTOV News)
