Feb. 20 TEXAS----stay of impending execution Condemned killer, ruled mentally ill, gets stay of execution Steven Kenneth Staley, condemned to die for his role in the 1989 murder of a Fort Worth restaurant manager during a botched robbery, has won a stay of execution after his lawyer argued that the inmate is mentally ill and unable to fully appreciate the severity of the punishment awaiting him. State District Judge Wayne Salvant on Friday rescinded the death warrant he had issued for Staley just 6 days before the inmate was to be sent to the death chamber in Huntsville. Jack Strickland, who has been Staleys court-appointed lawyer for about 7 years, said Monday that his client has been mentally ill for a long time. Staley's execution had been scheduled for Thursday. "He understands that he's going to be executed, but he doesnt have the slightest idea what for," Strickland said. "He has an awful history. Since he's been on death row, hes been hospitalized 15 or 16 times because of mental illness." This is the 2nd time in 11 months that Staley's has been spared from what had been considered a certain date with death. In March, Staley had been taken from his cell on death row to a holding station just outside the execution chamber when the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals interceded just hours before he was to have been put to death. The stay was granted to give Strickland time to prepare his case that Staley suffered a mental illness that excluded him from the death penalty. The Tarrant County district attorney's office disputed the contention at the time, pointing out that recent psychiatric examinations had concluded that Staley fully understood that he was to be executed for killing Robert Read. Staley, 43, was condemned for his part in the Oct. 14, 1989, robbery attempt at a west Fort Worth Steak and Ale that went awry. Staley and 2 accomplices, brandishing semiautomatic weapons, demanded access to the cash registers and safe after eating at the restaurant. While patrons and staff huddled in the restaurant's rear area, an assistant manager was able to slip away and call police. Read, the manager, offered himself as a hostage as the trio attempted to escape in full view of the police, who had by then established a perimeter on the scene. He was shot and killed while resisting the robbers' effort to force him into a commandeered car. Read, who was 35 at the time of his death, left a widow and 3 small children. One accomplice of Staley, Tracey Duke, is serving 3 life sentences in Texas, and he has a 30-year sentence in Colorado for murder and armed robbery. The other, Brenda Rayburn, is serving 30 years in prison. Salvant's order setting aside the execution date does not change Staley's status as a condemned prisoner. It will be up to the district attorney's office to petition the court for a new date if officials there believe there has been a change in his mental state that makes him competent to understand the magnitude of his sentence. Because Monday was a holiday, the district attorney's office was closed and officials could not be reached. (source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram) CALIFORNIA----impending execution Supreme Court Refuses to Halt Killer's Execution The U.S. Supreme Court today refused to stay the execution of convicted killer Michael Morales, ending his legal battle to avoid the execution planned for just after midnight. Justice Anthony Kennedy reviewed the case, then sent it to the full court, which denied Morales' final appeal at 6:29 p.m. EST, according to court spokesman Ed Turner. "The court entered orders denying the request for stays of execution," he said. The Supreme Court was the only legal option left for Morales, 46, who is scheduled to die from lethal injection at 12:01 a.m. at San Quentin State Prison for killing teenager Terri Winchell, of Lodi. He would become the 14th prisoner to be executed since California voters reinstated capital punishment in 1978, and the state's 3rd execution in just over 2 months. With his execution just hours away, one of Morales' attorneys, former Whitewater independent counsel Kenneth Starr, pleaded for California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to grant clemency. Schwarzenegger has already denied clemency to Morales, and it is not unusual for inmates to ask again as their execution looms. Starr, as in his 1st petition for clemency, noted that the trial judge in Morales' case had urged Schwarzenegger to show mercy. Starr said that the 13 times in which that happened in California's history, the presiding governor granted a reprieve. "Overriding such opinions," Starr wrote, "is not only tantamount to thumbing one's nose at the well-reasoned decision of the trial judge, it shows what will reasonably be viewed as disrespect for our system of government and our respective roles in that great and enduring system." A Schwarzenegger spokesman said the governor would respond soon. Spokesman Vernell Crittendon said San Quentin guards "locked down" the prison at 2 p.m., meaning its 5,000 inmates could only leave their cells for medical treatment. Morales, he added, "is in relatively good spirits." "We're continuing to gear up for our shortly after-midnight execution," Crittendon said of the prison, about 15 miles north of San Francisco. "He was laughing and joking with loved ones over the telephone." Condemned for torturing, raping and murdering the 17-year-old high school student 25 years ago, Morales appealed today to the justices to block his looming execution, claiming that the testimony of an inmate used in his conviction is false, and that California's 3-drug death cocktail, and the way it is administered, amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. Morales and his attorneys complained that the prisoner might feel too much pain if the sedative he is given doesn't make him unconscious before a paralyzing agent and the final heart-stopping drugs begin coursing through his veins. The Supreme Court has never directly addressed whether death sentences carried out by lethal injection are cruel and unusual punishment. The justices have upheld executions in general despite the pain they might cause inmates, but have left unsettled whether alleged pain in lethal injections is unconstitutionally excessive and can be avoided. U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel of San Jose recommended that California employ 2 anesthesiologists -- one to be in the execution chamber with Morales and another nearby -- to ensure the inmate is unconscious before the 2 remaining drugs are injected. Fogel issued the order after studying the medical logs of executed inmates and finding that there were "substantial questions" about whether prisoners were conscious and feeling unacceptable levels of pain. On Sunday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Morales' argument that Fogel's order is not enough, a decision that is being appealed to the Supreme Court. "In addressing Morales' concerns about the anesthesiologists' monitoring role, the court explicitly clarified that the anesthesiologists will take all medically appropriate steps necessary to ensure that Morales is and remains unconscious," the appeals court ruled. Although similar versions of the injection method are used in 36 of the 38 states with capital punishment, Morales' lawyers argued the lethal cocktail still amounted to cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment. "The quick fix suggested by the district court is completely untested, has never been subjected to any comprehensive legal, medical or administrative review, and represents nothing more than a high stakes experiment with Mr. Morales' constitutional rights hanging in the balance," San Francisco attorney John Grele wrote in one appeal. Dane Gillette, senior assistant attorney general, said Morales' rights would not be violated under the old protocol and won't with the new one. "Because there is no doubt that he cannot and will not suffer pain if unconscious, the remedy crafted by the district court, though hardly necessary as a constitutional matter, provides Morales with precisely the form of assurance he demanded," Gillette said. Another petition rejected by the appeals court, the subject of a separate appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, had the support of Ventura County Superior Court Judge Charles McGrath, who presided over Morales' 1983 trial after it was moved from San Joaquin County. McGrath said he no longer believed the testimony of jailhouse informant Bruce Samuelson, who testified that Morales boasted of his assault and made obscene references to the victim. Samuelson told investigators that the 2 men spoke in Spanish, a language Morales said he doesn't speak. "New information has emerged to show the evidence upon which I relied in sentencing Mr. Morales to death -- Mr. Samuelson's testimony -- is false," McGrath wrote in a statement Morales' lawyers submitted to the appeals court, to the California Supreme Court and in its petition for clemency to Schwarzenegger. The California Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected that identical challenge without comment. Schwarzenegger, in denying clemency Friday, said ample evidence supported a death sentence despite the judge's concerns. (source: Associated Press) ************** Finding A Lawyer Difficult For Death Row Inmates It's been 21 years since Michael Morales murdered his teenage victim, and 18 years since he was sentenced to die. His case is typical of California's notoriously slow death penalty process. But while many people blame the courts, there is another even more basic problem slowing the process for California's 650 death row inmates -- a shortage of lawyers willing to take their cases. It's been 5 years since Michael Lopez of Hayward was convicted of beating a baby to death. He says he was railroaded by the prosecutor. Michael Lopez, convicted killer: "This man is evil. He would send his own mother to death row for not making the right sandwich." Lopez was sentenced to die. But now, half a decade later, he is no closer to execution or a hearing on his legal claims because he doesn't have a lawyer. And he is not alone. There are 133 convicted killers on California's death row who don't have attorneys. By law, every person on Death Row gets an automatic appeal. But almost none of them has the money to pay for a lawyer. So, it's up to the state to provide one. And that's where the system breaks down. The concern has even drawn the attention of Ken Starr, the federal prosecutor behind the impeachment of former President Bill Clinton. Starr supports the death penalty in theory, but says the system is not working right and many lawyers don't want to get involved. Ken Starr, former prosecutor: "I think there is a real reluctance on the part of the bar to take on capital punishment cases. They are an extraordinary expenditure of time, energy, effort and emotion." Michael Satris has handled 8 death penalty appeals cases, including Clarence Ray Allen who was executed last month. Michael Satris, defense attorney: "If you are that credentialed and qualified, typically you can earn a lot more money doing other cases." Besides the pay, there are other reasons many lawyers won't touch these cases. They are extremely complex with thousands of pages of records. The details are usually horrifying, and the stakes are as high as it gets. Michael Satris: "If you make a mistake there, it can be fatal for the client and there's no recourse to it." Even if you do the job right, there's a strong chance you'll lose. Satris says he'll never forget going to San Quentin hours before Allen's execution to tell him his last possible appeal had failed. Michael Satris: "That was one of the most difficult things I have had to do as a lawyer, but I did think it was important that I go in there and tell it to him personally." Satris lives in rural West Marin. He says getting outdoors helps him deal with the intense stress of the job and focus on his goal. Michael Satris: "The need to ensure that there be justice, and the government with all of its power and resources be held at bay, particularly where you are dealing with the question of whether a life should be taken." The State Supreme Court is responsible for finding lawyers for death penalty appeals. An attorney for the court says the situation is improving, and that recruiting attorneys is a high priority. The high court has: increased training changed filing deadlines some lawyers said were too hard to meet and raised the pay But for convicted killers like Michael Lopez, the wait for an attorney is still about 5 years. A long time for him, and a long time for the family of his victim. (source: ABC News) NORTH CAROLINA: Former death row inmate being investigated for child sex crimes A man convicted and later acquitted of murder in North Carolina is being investigated for allegedly having sex with two young girls. James Alan Gell spent nearly 10 years on death row for the 1995 murder of retired truck driver Allen Ray Jenkins in Bertie County. Then, he won a new trial and in February 2004, he was acquitted when the judge ruled prosecutors had withheld key evidence in the case. He walked out of court a free man. Now, the 31-year-old is at the center of a rape investigation. According to a North Carolina State Police search warrant, the girls, who were under the age of 16, were friends of the family and the crimes occurred at Gell's Lewistown home. The warrant says one victim "further advised they had sex once a week in his trailer from October 2005 until sometime before Christmas 2005." It also stated, "She is 11 weeks pregnant and Gell may be the father of the unborn child." Earlier this month, police searched Gell's home and seized a number of things, including a computer, a camcorder, boxes of photos, a vhs tape titled Lolitas and pornographic magazines. No charges against Gell have been filed. (source: WVEC News) VIRGINIA: State Senate votes to ban death penalty for youths under 18 In Richmond, the Senate voted Monday to keep people younger than 18 from facing the death penalty. As proposed in HB45, a teen who commits murder would face life imprisonment. Currently, the death penalty can be applied to teens older than 16. The change, which the House of Delegates passed this month, reflects last year's U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned juvenile executions. 4 of 40 senators voted against the measure on Monday, including Sen. Nick Rerras, R-Norfolk. Rerras said the death penalty was a crime deterrent. "We need to send a message," he said. "This is good policy, and we'll stand by it." According to the State Department of Corrections, three of the 66 people who have been executed in the last 10 years were younger than 18 at the time of their offense. (source: The Virginian-Pilot) ************************ Media Release February 20, 2006 Elimination of Capital Punishment for Minors Act now before Gov. Kaine Today the Virginia Senate passed HB 45, a bill to abolish the Juvenile Death Penalty, by an overwhelming vote. Only 4 of 40 senators voted to oppose the bill. This legislation sponsored by Delegate Vincent Callahan and co-patroned by Delegates Albo, Ebbin, Melvin and Plum and Senators Howell, Norment, and Stolle will now go to Gov. Tim Kaine who is expected to sign it. This legislation will bring Virginia's statutes into line with the US Supreme Court's ruling of February 2005 in Roper v Simmons which deemed the execution of those who commit murder while under the age of 18 as prohibited as "cruel and unusual punishment" by the 8th Amendment to the US Constitution. On the Senate floor the bill was argued today by Sen. Ken Stolle of Virginia Beach, chairman of the Senate Courts of Justice Committee and chair of the Virginia Crime Commission. Senator Stolle reminded his colleagues that HB 45 was identical to Senator Patsy Ticer's SB 362, the Elimination of Capital Punishment for Minors which the Senate passed earlier this session by a vote of 36 to 3. Senator Rerras, the only legislator to speak against passage of HB 45 called death penalty a "strong and workable deterrent to crime." He indicated that he feared sending the wrong message to juveniles who might commit murder. He referred to those like the "Sniper Terrorists" and said "some crimes are so bad they need the death penalty." He went on to voice his opinion that the "Supreme Court has gone too far, legislating from the bench." He asked his fellow senators to "vote red" after reminding them that he shared with Thomas Jefferson concerns that judges on the court have no time limits. Only 3 other senators (Hanger, McDougle, and Ruff) voted to oppose the abolition of the death penalty for juveniles. "Although the Juvenile Death Penalty in Virginia ended with the Roper V Simmons decision, today's vote was a symbolic and historic act on the part of the General Assembly" said Jack Payden-Travers, director of Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty. "The passage of this bill marks the end of a campaign initiated by the now retired Delegate Samuel Glasscock back in the late 1980s when he introduced the first bill to eliminate capital punishment for minors when he was the Democratic Delegate of the 43rd House District (1970-1991)." In 2004, Del. Al Eisenberg patroned a bill to end the execution of juveniles in the General Assembly. It had 24 additional delegates and senators as co-patrons. When told of this afternoon's vote, Delegate Eisenberg said "Today's overwhelmingly bi-partisan Senate vote to abolish the juvenile death penalty in Virginia, marks the end of a long, unfortunate journey from the darkest pessimism of the state's nature to a more enlightened attitude in how Virginia understands and addresses the value of life, even in the reality of violent crimes committed by juveniles." In 2005 Del. Callahan introduced a similar bill to eliminate the Juvenile Death Penalty which was co-patroned by an additional 18 delegates. It was sent by the House Courts of Justice Committee to the Crime Commission for study. Sen. Ticer had a companion bill in the 2005 session that was co-patroned by 7 senators but was likewise sent to the Crime Commission. Both bills were stalled as legislators were awaiting a ruling by the US Supreme Court in the Roper v Simmons case which had been argued in the fall of 2004. Senator Ticer's SB 362 is before the Criminal Law sub-Committee of the House Courts of Justice Committee this week. "The enactment of this legislation will mark the end of a 219 year history in the Commonwealth of executing individuals for crimes committed as children" continued Payden-Travers. Virginia has put to death a total of 21 juveniles offenders since 1787: 19 of them were African-Americans, 2 were Caucasian. In the last decade there have been some 20+ documented cases worldwide of Juvenile Executions. 13 of these were in the United States with Virginia accounting for 3: Dwayne Allen Wright, Douglas Christopher Thomas and Steve Edward Roach. At the time of the Roper v Simmons decision there were 73 juvenile offenders on US death rows. Shermaine Ali Johnson, Virginia's only juvenile offender on death row in 2005 who was 16 at the time of his offense, has since had his sentence commuted to life in prison without parole. For more information call Jack Payden-Travers, executive director of Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, at (434) 960-4673 (source: VADP) ARIZONA: Former Death Row Inmate Gets Formal Apology Arizona legislators on Monday apologized to Ray Krone, a man who spent a decade in prison, including time on death row, before DNA evidence exonerated him of a 1991 killing in Phoenix. The House and Senate took no formal action but members stood and applauded Krone as he stood in each chamber's visitors' gallery to be introduced during floor sessions Monday. Seven of the 90 state legislators also individually apologized to him during a news conference organized by the Coalition of Arizonans to Abolish the Death Penalty. Rep. Phil Lopes, leader of the House's Democratic minority, said the apologies represented an attempt to make amends to Krone for the years he spent in prison for a crime he didn't commit. "Ray Krone's case exemplifies why we should abolish the death penalty," Lopes said. "Now is the time." Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman John Huppenthal, R-Chandler, told The Associated Press that he still supports the death penalty but believes Krone's case shows that corrections are needed to protect the innocent. "This is happening more frequently than we would like to admit," Huppenthal said. "There's a number of lessons for us to learn here." Krone said before the news conference that he welcomed the apologies. "It's a recognition from actual elected officials of the wrong that was done in the name of the state of Arizona," the York, Pa., resident said. Krone was wrongfully convicted twice of killing Phoenix bartender Kim Ancona based largely on expert testimony that purportedly matched his teeth with bite marks found on the victim. Krone was convicted in 1992 and sentenced to death. But his case was overturned in 1994 on procedural grounds. A new trial was ordered and Krone was convicted a 2nd time in 1996. However, the sentencing judge in Krone's 2nd trial said he wasn't sure that Krone killed Ancona. He spared Krone the death penalty and sentenced him to life imprisonment. In 2002, new DNA testing proved Krone wasn't the killer. Crime-scene DNA was linked to a man already in prison for another crime, and Krone was freed that year after 10 years in prison, including 2 on death row. The man now implicated in Ancona's killing, Kenneth Phillips, awaits trial in Maricopa county Superior Court. After his release, Krone filed a wrongful conviction lawsuit, winning settlements of $3 million and $1.4 million from Phoenix and Maricopa County, respectively. Dennis Seavers, president of the Arizona coalition, said the group arranged for Krone's visit and the apologies by lawmakers to educate lawmakers and to protest that Krone in 2005 was still listed in a state government reference book as serving a life term in the Ancona killing. Andrea Esquer, spokeswoman for the Attorney General's Office, said she could not confirm the outdated, incorrect listing in the latest edition of the book published by the office. If it is as claimed, "clearly we need to correct it," Esquer said. Krone has traveled extensively to speak against the death penalty and advocating DNA testing. "Those 10 years must have been for a purpose," he said. "No system is 100 % accurate." (source: Associated Press)
