Feb. 24
KENTUCKY: House gets tougher bill on sex offenders----CENTERPIECE OF PENCE'S AGENDA In Frankfort, a broad bill aimed at tightening Kentucky's laws against sex offenders and increasing penalties for those convicted of such acts cleared its 1st hurdle in the General Assembly yesterday. The House Judiciary Committee, which has taken detailed testimony on the issue in recent weeks, unanimously approved a revised 101-page version that removed from the original draft some provisions related to young offenders. But, overall, a representative for Lt. Gov. Steve Pence, who also serves as Justice cabinet secretary, praised the committee's work. The sex offender legislation is the centerpiece of Pence's legislative agenda. "This is a significant step forward," said Luke Morgan, general counsel for the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet. "We're very pleased with their hard work." In general, the edited legislation that now moves to the House floor streamlines the current statutes regarding sexual offenders to make it easier for prosecutors. Among its most substantive changes to the laws are: . Increasing penalties for those convicted of a sex crime. For instance, people who commit offenses against more than one victim would have to serve sentences consecutively. . Raising charges of possessing, distributing and advertising child pornography from misdemeanors to felonies. . Requiring the names of those who plead guilty or are convicted of a sex offense to remain on a public registry for 20 years. Repeat offenders must remain on that online registry for life. Each offender must re-register every two years. And local law enforcement agencies can publicize that information beyond the Web site. . Requiring the notification of foster parents if a foster child has a record of sexual offenses. Also, a minor convicted of a sex offense couldn't be placed in a home with other children. The committee did remove a provision from the original draft that would have required that any minor charged with a sex crime be tried in an adult court. And the current version of the legislation doesn't call for the death penalty for people convicted of their second sex crime or for those who committed an offense against a child under the age of 12. The original draft included that. Many of the provisions of that first draft stemmed from a statewide sex offender task force that Pence's office spearheaded. "It's not exactly what the (task force) recommended, but it's almost there," Morgan said. But Rep. Kathy Stein, a Lexington Democrat, said the removal of the death penalty and the automatic placement of young offenders in adult courts makes the bill better and more palatable to a broad swath of lawmakers. For one thing, county and commonwealth's attorneys already have the option of charging a minor as an adult for a sex crime, noted Rep. Gross Lindsay, a Henderson Democrat who chairs the committee. But Rep. Stan Lee, R-Lexington, said, "There are a lot of people who believe that we have a lot of, quote, youthful offenders who are doing heinous acts, and we can't count on the courts to waive them up to circuit court and try them as adults." Lee said removing that provision weakens the bill, "but maybe it's the political reality." He said the legislation still accomplishes many goals. Before the vote, Lindsay praised his committee members for their work while admonishing the justice cabinet for waiting until mid-January to file the bill. "I am very, very, very disappointed that this bill was not presented earlier during the interim so we could have had a more thorough investigation," he said. Pence, before the hearing, said in an interview that it was important to get input from different constituents and groups as part of the task force last fall. He said he hopes the bill strikes a better balance between the rights of victims and those of offenders. Some of the provisions removed by the House committee could be tacked back on in the Senate, Pence said. "We'll look at all of our options," he said. (source: Herald-Leader) ARKANSAS: Both sides rest in death penalty case; closing arguments set for today In a videotaped police interview jurors viewed Thursday, Fernando Navarro at times seemed evasive and other times willing to take responsibility for the death of David Edwards, but he refused to implicate anybody else in the slaying of the 41-year-old Springdale musician. It was the 3rd day of Navarros death penalty trial in Washington County Circuit Court. Navarro, 24, of Springdale, is charged with capital murder, as well as accomplice to aggravated robbery, residential burglary and theft of property in the death of Edwards, who was stabbed, severely beaten and suffered multiple skull fractures from strikes to the head by a dumbbell during the late hours of Thanksgiving Day 2004. "Its my fault," he said in the videotaped interview, adding repeatedly under questioning that he did it alone. He admitted to beating and stabbing Edwards, but did not mention the dumbbell. Detective Bryan Johnson, who interrogated him, had not yet learned of the dumbbell and did not ask about it. The interview took place at about 10:30 p.m. at the Springdale Police Depart- ment on the night after Edwards death. Navarro had called the station because he was told police were seeking him, and he then met Johnson for the interview. During the interview, Johnson brought up the subject of Michael Chavez Jr., 19, also of Springdale, who has pleaded guilty to 1st-degree murder for the part he says he played in Edwards death. The police interview with Navarro was conducted before Chavez was arrested, and Navarro would not implicate Chavez, but he eventually admitted to getting a ride from Chavez after the incident at the apartment where Edwards was killed. While Johnson commended Navarro for taking responsibility, he also tried to get more details about what happened and who else might be involved. While being interviewed, Navarro seemed subdued at some points and other times spouted profanities as Johnson questioned him. Initially, Navarro told Johnson that he and Edwards had been jumped by four Caucasian men and Navarro was able to get away. He at first said he "borrowed" some items from Edwards house after the incident, and then he admitted to stealing a couple of things. Navarro did not give anybody else up and said he committed the crime because Edwards had called him racial slurs and owed him money. Upon questioning by defense attorney Ashley Vailes, Johnson said he did not believe Navarro was intoxicated at the time of the interview. The prosecution rested Thursday and the defense put on its defense to find Navarro not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. Their key witness was Fayetteville psychologist Ronald E. McInroe, who conducted a battery of tests, including an IQ test, on Navarro. He testified that he also reviewed Navarros medical and school records and talked with him. He said Navarro had significant limitations in English and Spanish, and he saw that he had been prescribed medication for concentration after being diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder in California before the family moved to Springdale. He also talked about a medical record pertaining to Navarro falling out of a moving vehicle and injuring his head in California. The CT scan done at the time did not show a brain injury, but McInroe said that did not necessarily mean Navarro did not suffer one. He discussed the IQ test he gave Navarro, which showed he has a 69 verbal and 78 fullscale IQ. The verbal figure falls within the mild retardation range, though it was pointed out under cross-examination that, accounting for allowance for error, it could be as high as 74, which is in the borderline range between mild mental retardation and low average ranges. It could also be as low as 65. He said there was such a discrepancy in the full-scale figure and his non-verbal IQ of 92 that it seemed to indicate a brain injury or problem at birth caused brain dysfunction. At the time of the alleged crime, he said, Navarro lacked the capacity to appreciate the criminality of his conduct. He also said he believed Navarro was paranoid and suffered from depression and anxiety. In his cross examination, Prosecutor John Threet asked if these things could be due to being charged with capital murder. McInroe conceded that they could. McInroe added that Navarro was not "anti-social," but does not necessarily want to be close to people. He also said he was shy, timid and easily manipulated, more submissive than dominant. Threet pointed out the positive things written about Navarro as a student in terms of his behavior and grades, but McInroe said he made those grades in special education courses. Linda Daves, his special education teacher at Springdale High School, from which he graduated, said Navarro had a learning disability. "I had no behavior problems with him at all," she said. After final testimony from Daves, the defense rested. The prosecution did not offer rebuttal testimony. Closing arguments are set for today. (source: Northwest Arkansas Timse) FLORIDA: Supreme Court acquits 3-year death row inmate; The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday acquitted a Collier County death row inmate convicted of murder on the weight of one fingerprint and one hair, saying the evidence was insufficient. 33 months ago, 12 Collier County jurors unanimously decided the evidence against John Robert Ballard proved he was guilty of a gruesome 1999 double murder. On Thursday, the 7 members of the Florida Supreme Court also issued a unanimous verdict: It acquitted Ballard, concluding the state's case against him was so weak the trial judge should have dismissed it on the spot. The sum total of the evidence against Ballard: a hair and a non-bloody fingerprint. "We find that the evidence presented is insufficient to support Ballard's conviction," the Supreme Court wrote. The state Attorney General's office said Thursday it would not seek a rehearing in the case. Ballard, 37, has served nearly 3 years on death row for the murders of his neighbors, William Ray "Bubba" Patin, 22, and Jennifer Jones, 17. Since the attorney general won't pursue the case further, Ballard can be released as soon as the trial judge receives and signs the Supreme Court order. Ballard "was very pleased with the ruling today, as was I," attorney Paul Helm, who handled his appeal, told The Associated Press. "Mr. Ballard has always said he was innocent of the murders of his 2 neighbors." Chere Avery, a spokeswoman for the Collier County state attorney's office, said prosecutors were "disappointed." Family members of the 2 victims were stunned by the ruling. "It's like a nightmare," said Hazel Patin of Orange. "12 people found him guilty. 9 out of 12 gave him the death penalty. The trial judge ruled him guilty. I cannot understand how the Supreme Court can overturn their ruling." "There is never really any closure when your loved ones have been brutally murdered, but at least we had peace of mind that their killer had been convicted and sentenced to death," said Jones' mother, Kami Jones. "I could understand if he was given a new trial or if they reduced his sentence, but to just let him just walk free -- I can't even believe this." AN EMOTIONAL ORDEAL Ballard's trial was an emotional, 3-week-long ordeal for Collier County. The medical examiner observed the couples' skulls had been "crushed like eggshells" with a heavy, blunt object. At Ballard's sentencing, according to the Fort Myers News Press, Circuit Judge Lauren Miller stared directly at the defendant and said, "You have not only forfeited your right to live among us, but under the laws of the state of Florida, you have forfeited your right to live at all." A witness, Ariana Harralambus, testified in the 2003 trial she was with Patin, Jones, Ballard and 3 other men in their apartment the Saturday before the murders. Jones, a known marijuana dealer who typically did her transactions in the bedroom, had more than $1,000 cash at the time, Harralambus testified. The following Monday, Jones' car was found in a vacant lot, with blood traces, hair samples and fingerprints -- none of them Ballard's. The couples' bodies were found in their apartment, where bloody fingerprints -- none belonging to Ballard -- were found on numerous surfaces. Ballard's lone fingerprint was not bloody. In addition, more than 100 hair samples were taken from the crime scene. Only one, found in Jones' hand, was linked to Ballard. The Supreme Court on Thursday declared the state never proved that evidence couldn't have been left in the apartment during a visit preceding the murders. 26TH RELEASED Abraham Bonowitz of Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty said Ballard will be the 26th inmate released from Florida death row. "Florida leads the nation in wrongful convictions," Bonowitz said. "This is one of those cases where Supreme Court scrutiny on the first appeal has actually worked." (source: Miami Herald) ******************* DNA confirms victims' blood on Eaglin's pants In Punta Gorda, prosecutors rested their case Thursday after a day filled with some of their most compelling evidence against Dwight T. Eaglin, on trial for the murders of Charlotte Correctional Institution officer Darla Lathrem, 38, and inmate Charles Fuston, 36. District Medical Examiner Riazul Imami took the stand at 9 a.m. and testified that both Lathrem and Fuston died from severe head trauma. As the grisly autopsy photos were shown to the jury, family members lowered their heads -- and Eaglin yawned. Imami said the types of injuries to both victims were comparable with the damage a sledgehammer -- like the one found under Lathrem's body -- would cause. Another blow to Eaglin's defense was the testimony of Florida Department of Law Enforcement Crime Laboratory Analyst Roshale Gaytmenn, who reported that Lathrem's and Fuston's blood was found on Eaglin's pants. Lathrem's blood was also found on Eaglin's boots. Defense attorney Neil McLoughlin asked Gaytmenn if the blood on Eaglin's pants and boots could have been transferred there from someone else who may have had contact with Lathrem and Fuston. "Yes, it's possible if the blood was still wet," Gaytmenn said. While the blood on Eaglin's pants matched the victims' DNA, Gaytmenn said the size of the bloodstain where Lathrem's blood was found was small and mixed with Eaglin's blood. Lathrem's DNA was also found on the sledgehammer and Fuston's was found on a shower wall inside of the prison. Gaytmenn said some of the blood samples found on Eaglin's pants were from an unknown source. While McLoughlin tried to dismiss the DNA results, Janet Best, Lathrem's sister, said she wasn't concerned it would hurt the state's case against Eaglin, 30. "It's a slam-dunk," she said outside the courtroom. Eaglin's co-defendants, Michael Jones, 49, and Stephen Smith, 45, also face two counts of premeditated murder for their alleged roles in the deaths. The three are accused of beating Lathrem to death with a sledgehammer and leaving her body in a broom closet, according to court documents. Fuston was also attacked and died several days later from severe head trauma. Eaglin was already serving a life sentence for stabbing a man to death in 1998 outside a topless bar in Pinellas County. All 3 men face the death penalty if found guilty. According to court records, Eaglin, Smith and Jones had planned to escape on the night of June 11, 2003, while they were working a construction detail at the prison. Lathrem, armed with only pepper spray, was the only officer assigned to guard the men as they worked with sledgehammers and other tools. The escape attempt failed, and all three men were captured on prison grounds. Perhaps the most damaging evidence of the day Thursday came from Eaglin himself. FDLE Special Agent Steve Uebelacker testified that on June 12, Eaglin was brought into a room for questioning and said, "I tried to get the electric chair before ... I'll make it easy on you ... I tried to kill those three people ..." Eaglin's attorneys tried to get the comment suppressed Monday but Circuit Judge William Blackwell allowed the statement in his ruling Tuesday. State Attorney Steve Russell played an audiotape of a conversation between Uebelacker, agent Andrew Rose and Eaglin following Eaglin's outburst after entering the room. Uebelacker testified that he read Eaglin his Miranda rights before turning on the tape and then again while being recorded -- until Eaglin interrupted him and recited the Miranda rights himself. The tape included the following comments: "What happened last night?" Uebelacker asks Eaglin. "I decided to jump the fence," Eaglin replies. "What about the corrections officer?" the agent asks. "Come on man ... I'm not gonna talk about that right now," Eaglin says. On the recording, Uebelacker asks why he made the comments about the incident before the tape was on, but didn't want to talk about it suddenly. "That was before we were on tape," Eaglin says. " ... I don't mind getting the chair ..." Uebelacker also testified that he overheard a conversation between Eaglin and co-defendant Smith while the two were being held in adjacent cells, via recording equipment. "Eaglin said, 'Well I'm trying to get the chair, dog,' and Smith said, 'At least you get a TV,' and then Eaglin replied, 'Yeah, that's what I'm saying,'" Uebelacker reiterated. Eaglin's attorneys will present their case today, although they are not expected to call witnesses. Whether Eaglin will take the stand in his defense was still unknown Thursday afternoon. Blackwell said he would hold off on approving jury instructions that include information on a defendant testifying on his own behalf until the defense says "what they are going to do" today. The trial continues at 9 a.m. today at the Charlotte County Justice Center in Punta Gorda. (source: Sun-Herald) COLORADO: Sister says suspect in officer death should face death penalty The sister of a man accused of fatally shooting an Iowa-born police officer said her brother should be executed. "I told my mom, 'I will fight to get him the death penalty,"' Melanie Schweinhardt told The Gazette newspaper for Thursday's editions. Police accused her brother, Jereme Alexander Lamberth, of killing officer Jared Jensen, 30, apparently when Jensen tried to arrest him Wednesday in connection with a Feb. 2 knife attack on Schweinhardt. Lamberth was arrested about 90 minutes later after a massive search that shut down much of central Colorado Springs. Lamberth, who is on suicide watch, made a brief court appearance Thursday from jail via a video camera. His next appearance was set for March 6. Jensen, a native of Davenport, Iowa, was married. He joined the department in July 2002 and graduated from the academy five months later. Away from work, police Lt. Tish Olszewski said Jensen loved the stage and started acting at age 8. "His degree was in acting, his heart was in acting," Olszewski said. "But he wanted to make a difference, so he became an officer." His wife, Natalie, performs at the Country Dinner Playhouse in Denver, executive producer Paul Dwyer said. A wake was planned Sunday and a funeral service was planned Monday. Lamberth, 30, had been paroled from state prison in 2004 after serving about six years on a robbery charge, court records show. He seemed quiet and sad when he was released and vowed never to go back to prison, Schweinhardt said. He got jobs but was frustrated because most of his pay went toward restitution and random drug tests, she said. Schweinhardt said the knife attack came after an argument about who was going to give their mother a ride. "He started to throw my stuff in the hall, and I told him I was going to call the police. That made him snap," she said. Schweinhardt was stabbed 14 times and her brother disappeared. She said her brother had opened up to her about a week before the stabbing. "He told me his worst enemy -- word for word -- is his own self. He was afraid of himself. He really didn't care about life," she said. (source: Associated Press)
