March 18 TEXAS----female foreign national may face death penalty Accused man asks court not to pursue death penalty----Mother also accused of killing a 1-year-old A Brownsville man accused of capital murder in a shaken baby case has asked a state district judge to spare him from the death penalty. Prosecutors have not decided if they will ask for the death penalty in the case, but Manuel Velez, 41, asked Judge Menton Murray with the 103rd state District Court in a pre-emptive motion filed Thursday to spare him from capital punishment based on constitutional grounds. Both Velez and girlfriend Acela Rosalba Moreno, 25, are accused of biting, burning, shaking, torturing and killing Morenos 1-year-old baby, Angel Moreno, last year. The couple was arrested after Angel died from multiple head and bodily injuries in a Harlingen hospital on Nov. 1, the boy's 1st birth-day. Under state law, Velez and Moreno must be found guilty without a reasonable doubt, and they must be determined to be a "continuing threat to society" for the death penalty to apply. According to another motion filed in the case on March 3, Velez asked for Mission-based social worker Gilda Bowen to study him to determine if there are any facts that would prove he is not a continuing threat to society. "This case is just beginning," said Velez's attorney Gary Ortega. In a motion for reasonable bail, Velez asked Murray to receive a $50,000 bond so that he could resume his job as a construction worker and live with his parents Consuelo and Wenceslao Velez at their Paloma Blanca Drive home in Brownsville. In other motions, Velez asked for the courts financial assistance in his defense as well as another attorney to be appointed to the case. Although Moreno has not filed any motions in the case, court records show both she and Velez are expected to be appear before Murray next Friday in a hearing where Velez's 9 motions will be heard. Court records show that Velez is an American citizen born in Brownsville, while Moreno is a Mexican national born in Ciudad Mante, Tamaulipas. The 25-year-old woman claimed her baby fell from a bed 2 days before his death, but prosecutors said previously that he would have had to fall the equivalent of a 2-story building to receive the same level of injury. Although a decision had not been made at press time, First Assistant District Attorney Charles Mattingly said Moreno's nationality does not prevent his office from asking for death penalty against her. "Any person 18 or older in the state of Texas who commits a capital offense can be considered for the death penalty regardless of nationality," he said. If prosecutors choose to seek the death penalty, Mattingly said his office expects the Mexican Consulate in Brownsville to provide an attorney to defend her from capital punishment as they have done in the past. Mexico does not use capital punishment and opposes the death penalty being used against its citizens accused of crimes abroad. Velez remains in custody under $1.1 million in bonds, while Moreno is jailed under $2.1 million in bonds. (source: Brownsville Herald) VIRGINIA: Death penalty remains possible for Moussaoui A federal judge on Friday revived the government's death penalty case against Sept. 11, 2001, conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui, ruling that prosecutors can present untainted aviation security evidence to the jury that is considering whether Moussaoui should be executed. The decision by U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema revises her earlier order banning all aviation evidence and means that Moussaoui's death penalty trial will resume Monday in Alexandria, Va., Justice Department officials said Friday. "We are pleased to be able to move forward with this important case on behalf of the thousands of victims and their families," said Tasia Scolinos, a Justice Department spokeswoman. Brinkema on Tuesday had barred all aviation evidence along with the testimony of seven key witnesses because of the misconduct of Transportation Security Administration lawyer Carla Martin. Martin violated a court order by improperly communicating with the witnesses and sharing testimony with them. The Tuesday ruling devastated the government's case for the execution of the only person convicted in the United States on charges stemming from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Prosecutors are arguing that if Moussaoui had not misled the FBI when he was arrested in August 2001 the attacks could have been stopped. The evidence concerning aviation security was crucial to that argument. On Friday, Brinkema denied the request from prosecutors that she restore all the aviation evidence. But she accepted their suggestion that she at least allow them to present other aviation witnesses who had no contact with Martin. "The government's proposed alternative remedy of allowing it to call untainted aviation witnesses or otherwise produce evidence not tainted by Ms. Martin has merit," the judge ruled. Brinkema's order also specified that prosecutors could only call aviation witnesses who would testify about what the government "could" have done to stop the attacks if Moussaoui had confessed his knowledge of the plot. She said the witnesses "may not, however, testify as to what the United States government 'would' have done with this information, as such testimony would be unduly speculative and misleading to the jury." The judge said prosecutors must tell Moussaoui's defense lawyers the names of the new witnesses no less than three days before they testify and provide the defense all "untainted physical evidence as soon as it is available." The new ruling allows the government to present at least some version of its theory of the case -- that if Moussaoui had told the truth, the FBI would have scrambled to stop the hijackings and security at airports would have been heightened. It was unclear Friday how difficult it will be for prosecutors to find new witnesses with no connection to Martin. Moussaoui, 37, pleaded guilty in April to conspiring with al-Qaida in the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. Prosecutors are seeking his execution in a sentencing trial that began last week but was halted Monday when they told Brinkema that Martin had e-mailed trial transcripts to seven aviation witnesses and coached them on their testimony. Brinkema had ruled earlier that most witnesses could not attend or follow the trial and could not read transcripts. Martin's e-mails sharply criticized the government's case, saying the prosecution's opening statement "has created a credibility gap that the defense can drive a truck through." After an extraordinary hearing Tuesday, Brinkema struck the testimony of all seven witnesses and the aviation-related evidence. In their motion urging Brinkema to reconsider, prosecutors called Martin a "lone miscreant" who was not heavily involved in the case and whose misconduct should not be allowed to imperil it. Martin, 51, has not spoken publicly but her attorney on Thursday said she has been "viciously vilified" and was actually devoted to ensuring a fair trial for Moussaoui. It remained unclear Friday if Martin would be prosecuted on criminal contempt of court or other charges for her actions. (source: Washington Post) CALIFORNIA: Court Reverses Death Sentence of L.A. Man A federal appeals court on Friday overturned the death sentence of a Los Angeles man who avenged the loss of his therapist by murdering her husband. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld William Clark's conviction, which included murder, 2 counts of attempted murder, rape and arson. But the court said the judge had misled the jury about death penalty law. The court also said the California Supreme Court should have overturned the penalty during its review. Ava Gawronski was counseling Clark, a 37-year-old Canoga Park underwriter, and his wife, but stopped treating him after he threatened to rape her in her office. In January 1982, Clark set Gawronski's West Los Angeles house ablaze. His intent, Clark said during his trial, was to chase the family out so he could shoot and kill David Gawronski, a 35-year-old federal job trainer, in front of his wife and infant daughter. Instead, David Gawronski perished in the fire. Ava Gawronski, 32, was hospitalized for 10 months and lost her nose and fingers. A neighbor rescued the baby, who was unharmed. Deputy Atty. Gen. Scott Taryle, who represented the prosecution, called it an "unfortunate decision." Taryle said Clark initially considered mailing Ava Gawronski severed heads, but decided that wasn't enough. "The crime itself was a horrible act by a coldblooded murderer," he said. Attorneys with the federal public defender's office in Los Angeles, who brought the appeal, could not be reached for comment. (source: Los Angeles Times) NORTH CAROLINA: Prosecutors to seek death penalty for N.C. woman Prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty for a Midland woman accused of killing her 2 children in a house fire. Lisa Louise Greene, 40, is charged with intentionally setting the Jan. 10 fire outside a bedroom where her children Addison, 8, and Daniel, 10, were sleeping. Assistant District Attorney Ashlie Shanley said Friday that several aggravating factors contributed to the state's decision, including that they were especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel. The children "were screaming and they were awake in the bedroom with the door closed," Shanley said. Both children also had asthma and were afraid of fire, she said. One of Greene's defense attorneys, Lisa Dubs of Hickory, said after a hearing Friday that there's no evidence that Greene deliberately murdered her children. Greene is charged with 2 counts of 1st-degree murder, 1 count of 1st-degree arson and 1 count each of possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. She cried at Friday's hearing while her defense attorneys played the 911 call her neighbor made that night. Greene can be heard screaming in the background. The 911 call shows that she tried to get help for her children, Dubs said. "There is no motive," she said. "There is no insurance policy - she had an entire family and community to help her take care of her children." Shanley said Greene told her children to stay in the bed and made no attempt to break the windows to their room to try to save them. (source: Associated Press) *************** Lisa Louise Greene could face the death penalty In Concord, Lisa Louise Greene could face the death penalty if convicted of setting a fire that killed her 2 children. On Friday a superior court judge approved a motion filed by the Cabarrus District Attorneys Office making it a capital murder case. Greene's defense attorneys also requested bond for Greene. That motion was denied. Ashlie Shanley, Cabarrus County assistant district attorney, described Greene as a woman tired of raising her two children, and who started a fire at her Midland home to suffocate them with carbon monoxide. The children suffered from asthma and were afraid of fire, Shanley said. When the fire started, Greene shouted through the closed bedroom door and told the children to stay on the bed and wait until she came with help, she said. Greene, 40, was charged Jan. 13 with 2 counts of 1st-degree murder, and 1 count each of 1st-degree arson, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. The charges stem from a Jan. 10 fire at 10925 Candilara Lane in Midland that killed Greene's 2 children, 8-year-old Addison Brooke Macemore and 10-year-old Nathan "Daniel" Macemore. More than 20 of Greene's family and friends were in the courtroom. Lisa Dubs and Robert Campbell, Greene's court appointed attorneys, requested bond for Greene. Long denied the motion after Dubs presented her case and Greene is being held at the Cabarrus County Jail. Dubs said she was able to find at least seven cases in which an individual charged with a capital murder case was released on bond. One of those cases was in Cabarrus, she said. During the bond hearing, Dubs played the 911 tape from the night of the fire at Greene's home. As the tape played, Dubs placed her arm over the shoulder of Greene, who sat crying in the courtroom wearing a green prisoner's uniform. Her relatives also cried as they listened to the tape of Greene screaming for help after a neighbor called 911. Dubs said that the night of the fire, Greene fell asleep in her chair and that many witnesses could testify that Addison and Daniel liked to use candles in their room. Dubs said that a smoke alarm woke up Greene on the night of the fire and she tried to reach her children, but couldn't. Dubs said that one report states that during the fire all Greene could say was, "'Go get my kids' and 'Where are my kids?'" She said Greene was taken to NorthEast Medical Center where she was treated for smoke inhalation. She also said that Greene had a 3rd-degree burn to her foot. That was a discrepancy from the prosecution's records that showed Greene only had a minor burn. Shanley alleged that Greene's motive for the murder was that she didn't want to have children and couldn't find a man to be with because of having children. But Dubs said Greene, despite being a single mother, had a support system that helped her raise her 2 children. Greene's mother, Dale, testified Friday. She said Lisa Greene was a photographer who would travel to various schools and take yearbook photos. When Lisa Greene was gone, she would often watch the children. "I watched Daniel and Addison when she was at work. I'd put them on the bus and I'd watch them when they got off the bus," Dale Greene said. "I was there a lot with them." Dubs also said that the day of the fire, the childrens bookbags were packed for school, they had snacks and signed papers ready for the next day. "Those are not the actions of a careless mother," Dubs said. "They are certainly not the actions of a mother planning to kill her children." Dubs said there was no motive for Greene to kill her children because there was no insurance policy on the children and there many family members who could aid with child care. "They were healthy, normal children without any signs of abuse," Dubs said. Dubs said Friday that she may file a motion to submit statements made by Greene the day she was arrested. Shanley stated that Greene told detectives she placed a blanket on fire outside the door to the children's bedroom. The blanket caught the bookcase on fire and she then closed the door. Shanley said Greene then went to sit in her recliner chair as the smoke began to build. "Doing nothing to help these children," Shanley said. Shanley said Greene then went outside and waited, not expecting her neighbor's dogs to start barking, which alerted Greenes neighbor that was something was going on. The neighbor called 911. "Witnesses will say she did not make one move to get up and save her kids," Shanley said. Shanley said Greene did ask for her car to be moved so it wouldnt be burned in the fire. Dubs said some of the statement's Shanley was citing were made by Greene to deputies the same day she was arrested. That was also the day she was preparing to attend her children's funeral as well as using tranquilizers to stabilize her emotions. Dubs said the statements Greene may have made were done so under duress. Dubs also said that when an attorney was contacted by Greene's family, he was not allowed to sit in on the interview. Shanley said Greene never requested an attorney during the interview. "Those statements are very suspect," Dubs said. "She was called to the sheriff's office the day that she was to start receiving (guests) for her children's funeral." (source: Independent Tribune) ************** Death penalty faces stronger opposition North Carolina's death penalty eventually may crumble in the face of relentless opposition. If so, the end of capital punishment will come too late for Patrick Moody, executed early Friday at Central Prison for a 1994 murder. Moody died by lethal injection, a method under legal challenge in several states, including North Carolina. Here, Greensboro attorney James G. Exum Jr., a former chief justice of the N.C. Supreme Court, is pursuing a federal lawsuit on behalf of death-row inmates who contend the manner of execution is unconstitutionally cruel. Also threatening to that mode of killing, used in most states, is a challenge to medical ethics. An American Medical Association official contended this week that physicians who participate in North Carolina executions are violating professional guidelines. An execution was halted in California last month when no physician could be found to monitor the administration of lethal drugs. The pharmacology is complicated. Three drugs are used. The 1st is a barbiturate intended to put the inmate to sleep. The 2nd causes paralysis. The 3rd stops the heart. North Carolina requires the participation of a physician to monitor the progression. Critics contend the combination doesn't always work properly. If the 1st drug wears off too soon, the inmate can feel a painful burning throughout his body caused by the 3rd drug, potassium chloride, some experts says. The 2nd, paralyzing drug can prevent him from crying out or cause him to suffocate. Some physicians dispute these claims. Whatever the medical issues, states could address them by devising better means of execution. Any method that involves physicians, however, presents a more difficult problem. Medical professionals are supposed to heal, not take part in killing. Even if they attend only to check vital signs, they're in a position to give advice that could lead to an increase in fatal dosages. Participating physicians aren't the only ones who have to deal with death-penalty conflicts. Any citizen can be called for jury duty. While public opinion polls still show that most Americans support capital punishment, the majority is declining. And North Carolina juries charged with making the actual decision increasingly are recommending life in prison without parole rather than death. So many complicated issues and new legal challenges signal the inevitable demise of the death penalty. Rather than wait for the courts, North Carolina's legislature should end it this year. Why prolong the deadly dilemma? (source: News-Record)
