March 2 NEBRASKA: DNA Bill Advances Anyone convicted of a robbery or burglary would be required to give a DNA sample under a bill (LB385) advanced for debate on Wednesday by the Legislature's Judiciary Committee. DNA has been collected from violent and sexual offenders in Nebraska since 1997. Research shows that as many as 1/2 of violent offenders have previously committed nonviolent crimes. Of those, 25 % have committed a robbery or burglary. The DNA profiles are entered into the FBI's national database. The bill is by Sen. Joel Johnson of Kearney. (source: KETV News) WASHINGTON: Washington Honors Lynched Indian Boy In Olympia, beating drums and deep, resonant chants calling for unity and healing echoed in Washington state's Capitol on Wednesday in remembrance of a 14-year-old Indian boy lynched 122 years ago just across the border in Canada by a Washington Territory mob. The healing circle in the Rotunda followed the presentation of a resolution on the state Senate floor to one of several grand chiefs of the Sto:lo Nation, the Canadian tribe of the slain boy, Louie Sam. "Through this resolution, the Senate joins its peers in the government of British Columbia, acknowledging the unfortunate historical injustice to Louie Sam and the proud Sto:lo people," said Lt. Gov. Brad Owen before handing the resolution to Grand Chief Clarence Pennier. "It is meant to further ensure that such a tragedy will never be forgotten, nor repeated." Pennier, who received a standing ovation, thanked the senators for the resolution, which was passed Monday night. The House passed a similar resolution Wednesday. "On behalf of the Sto:lo...I want to lift up my hands to you and thank you," said Pennier, wearing a tribal blanket and a woven cedar headpiece with mountain goat woven braids. The resolution is not a formal apology from Washington state, which did not become a state for another 5 years, in 1889. After the resolution was presented, members of the Sto:lo (pronounced STAH-lo) Nation, as well as members of the Quileute and Makah tribes from Washington state, joined in the healing circle in the Rotunda. Sto:lo Grand Chief Doug Kelly's voice boomed off the marble walls as a sonorous chant in his native language called for unity and honored the work by the Legislature. "Things happen when they are meant to happen," Kelly said after the ceremony. "What we had a chance to do here is to express a bit of celebration, express prayers, honor songs and welcome songs to one another." Sam had been accused of killing a shopkeeper in Nooksack, in what is now Whatcom County, Wash. Owen and others said there was convincing evidence that the boy had nothing to do with the killing and was framed. (source: Los Angeles Times) SOUTH CAROLINA: Prosecutors to seek death penalty in killings of Dillon girl In Florence, Dillon County prosecutors say they plan to seek the death penalty against a man charged with killing an 11-year-old girl more than a decade ago, even though her body has never been found. Sam Harmon, 40, was charged with murder and kidnapping in August in the death of Shakeima Cabbagestalk, who hasn't been seen since 1993, prosecutor Kernard Redmond said. A judge has to appoint new attorneys for Harmon because his original lawyer, Chief Public Defender Sam Ingram, died Feb. 20. Prosecutors said because of the death of Ingram, they aren't sure when the trial might begin. Harmon also has been charged with criminal sexual conduct with a minor and kidnapping against a different girl in 1990, Redmond said. The victim in that case was between 14 and 16 years old, authorities said. ***************** Death row inmates sues lawyers A man on death row for killing his parents in 1997 is suing his trial lawyers claiming they were ineffective. James Robertson of Rock Hill was convicted in 1999 of killing his parents in their Rock Hill home with a hammer and baseball bat. Prosecutors say he wanted to collect his share of a $2.2 million inheritance. The lawsuit filed Wednesday ends months of uncertainty about whether Robertson would try to avoid his death sentence by applying for post-conviction relief. The suit seeks to overturn the conviction and get Robertson a new trial, but doesn't list any specific allegations against his court-appointed trial lawyers. Robertson at first dropped his appeals, but changed his mind last year. (source for both: Associated Press) CALIFORNIA: California Executions: State should explore lethal injection alternative [Collegian's editorial opinion is determined by its Board of Opinion, with the editor holding final responsibility.] Although the death penalty has been around for centuries, the ethical dilemma surrounding the practice is still being questioned. Last week, California authorities were forced to postpone indefinitely the execution of death row inmate Michael Morales because they could not find medical doctors who would administer a lethal injection. The difficult search was spurred by a judge's order that licensed professionals, namely a doctor or nurse, to administer the 3-part injection. Morales' lawyer objected to California's method of lethal injection because he said a prisoner could feel pain from the chemicals if not sedated properly, and that more broadly, this violated his constitutional rights. Although passing legislation that requires doctors to administer sedatives and lethal injections for the purpose of executing a convicted inmate sounds like an easy fix to a complicated problem, that solution only creates more issues. Doctors have taken an oath to preserve life at almost any cost, and many believe it is against their ethics code to take a life, no matter what the circumstance. Regardless of their personal feelings on the death penalty, medical professionals, by the very nature of their profession, shouldn't be involved in a practice that destroy life. For that reason, it is hardly surprising that the state of California is having a difficult time finding licensed doctors to lethally inject death row inmates. That can only mean another solution must be found. Officials in California, and states with similar practices, should explore alternative methods of execution. If a federal judge who reviewed objections to the lethal injection method agreed the process is questionable, then state officials should begin looking at other options. The issue here is not whether the death penalty is right or wrong -- that debate is far more complex. In California, the challenge is to find a method of execution that does not cause pain to the inmate and does not require a person to perform a procedure that directly conflicts with the values to which he or she has dedicated his or her life. (source: The (Penn State Univ.) Digital Collegian) ************** Death-row inmate awaits ruling on execution method Michael Morales should already be dead. Instead, the death-row inmate waits to appear before a California judge who will decide if the state's lethal-injection laws constitute "cruel and unusual punishment." "[California] will have to decide, is this a risky process? Does it cause pain? Are there alternatives?" said Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center in Washington. "I don't see any chance of this case ending the death penalty. But it does raise certain life issues that could affect the larger death-penalty debate." Morales, 46, was convicted in 1981 of the rape and murder of 17-year-old Terri Winchell. After his confession, Morales was scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Feb. 21. His execution was to be the third, and last, planned for this year in California. However, both anesthesiologists scheduled for the execution refused to take part, citing ethical concerns about their role, thus causing Morales' execution to be postponed by one day. A California court then ordered a qualified medical specialist to directly administer a lethal dose of sodium thiopental to Morales, but no doctor would agree to take part and the execution has now been put on hold indefinitely. U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel has ordered a hearing for May to determine if Morales can be executed in a manner that does not violate his Eighth Amendment rights. Judge Fogel rejects criticism that his order is an attempt to undermine California's capital-punishment laws. "I most definitely am not a judicial activist," Judge Fogel told the San Jose Mercury News this week. Concerning the death penalty, Judge Fogel also told the newspaper, "My feeling is that it's constitutional. Until the Supreme Court says otherwise, it's the law, and my job is to enforce the law." 37 of the 38 states that administer capital punishment rely on lethal injection. "I think a lot of states were simply following the protocol of other states. I don't think most of them have done an exhaustive search of what this process involves," said Richard Steinken, attorney for Morales. "I don't think this will be the end of the death penalty, but it might be the start of a larger examination of the issue as a whole," added Stefanie Faucher, program director of the anti-death penalty organization Death Penalty Focus. "This case will almost certainly make it to the Ninth Circuit [Court of Appeals]. I think at some point, the Supreme Court will take a case on this topic," Mr. Deiter said. Mr. Steinken agreed. "If this case causes the lethal-injection issue to receive a lot more scrutiny, that's a good thing." Earlier, the Supreme Court refused to consider a separate challenge by Florida death-row inmate Clarence Hill of whether the drug combination used in lethal injections across the United States amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. (source: Washington Times) OHIO: Fight to spare Richey from death row returns to federal court In Columbus, lawyers for dual U.S.-British citizen Kenneth Richey are back in federal appeals court trying to restore a ruling that overturned his murder conviction. Richey's efforts to leave Ohio's death row now hinge on a narrow procedural question before the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. Did the state leave the door open for him to argue in federal court that his defense attorney at trial was ineffective, even though the exact same argument had not been raised in state court? The Cincinnati-based federal court had previously considered the ineffectiveness-of-counsel issue and, in a 2-1 ruling, agreed with Richey, 41. The court overturned his conviction in the 1986 arson murder of 2-year-old Cynthia Collins of Columbus Grove and gave the Putnam County prosecutor 90 days to retry him or set him free. The court found that a "competent arson expert - would have all but demolished the state's scientific evidence." But the Supreme Court overturned that decision in November and sent the case back to settle the question of whether the 6th Circuit should have considered the argument in the first place. In briefs filed this week, Richey's Boston lawyers argued that the state failed to previously challenge Richey's right to raise the argument, thereby waiving it. In its own brief, the state countered that it never conceded the issue. Whatever the 6th Circuit decides, the Supreme Court will eventually be asked to hear another appeal. The state has maintained Richey set the fire to kill his ex-girlfriend and her lover in the apartment below but ended up killing the toddler instead. Richey has denied setting the fire. (source: Toledo Blade)
