[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----FLA., PENN., UTAH

[Rick Halperin]

Dec. 13


FLORIDA----impending execution

Evidence questioned ahead of execution


Jenny Greenburg didn't mince words when talking about the execution of
Angel Nieves Diaz, scheduled today at Florida State Prison.

"Putting someone to death on the word of a jailhouse snitch is
un-American," said Greenburg, director of the Florida Innocence
Initiative.

Nieves, 55, was convicted and sentenced to death for killing Miami topless
club manager Joseph Nagy in 1979. The conviction was largely based on the
testimony of a jailhouse informant, Ralph Gajus, who occupied a nearby
cell and said Nieves  who spoke poor English  admitted he was the
triggerman by miming the shooting.

Gajus later said he made up the story. But unless the Supreme Court steps
in, Nieves will be executed at 6 p.m. today in the Bradford County prison.
State and federal appeals courts have found the evidence has already been
considered and also rejected Nieves's claim that lethal injection is cruel
and unusual punishment.

Greenberg, who runs the nonprofit seeking to overturn wrongful
convictions, said the case illustrates that jailhouse informants are
notoriously unreliable. Such informants often trade testimony for lesser
sentences or favorable treatment, she said.

Jailhouse informants are the leading cause of wrongful convictions in U.S.
capital cases, according to a report by the Center on Wrongful Convictions
at Northwestern University. The report found that 51 death row inmates
have been exonerated who were initially convicted on the word of jailhouse
informants.

State Attorney Bill Cervone, prosecutor for the 6-county district
including Alachua County, said he's reluctant to rely on the word of a
jailhouse informant. He said he'd be unlikely to base a case on an
informant's word if there was no other evidence.

"We're very cautious about it because there are obvious agendas involved,"
he said.

In the Nieves case, Gajus said police promised to help him with his own
case. He was later sentenced to 20 years for second-degree murder.

Greenburg said one of Florida's best known wrongful convictions was due to
a jailhouse informant. Based on the testimony from convicted murderer
Clarence Zacke, Wilton Dedge was sentenced to life in prison for sexual
battery and other changes in Brevard County.

An investigation by the New York-based Innocence Project found Zacke
received a drastic reduction in his sentence by claiming Dedge confessed
while they were being transported together. DNA evidence proved Dedge
didn't do it, leading to his release after 22 years in prison.

Carolyn Snurkowski, who is representing the state in the Nieves case, said
it's up to a jury to decide whether an informant is reliable. She said she
doesn't have a problem with such testimony being used if jurors are
informed of any deals being given.

"It's in their hands to make a credibility determination," she said.

But Greenburg supports allowing judges to determine credibility before
allowing such testimony.

"The presumption should be this is not credible evidence unless the state
proves otherwise," she said.

Nieves was convicted of 1st-degree murder, 4 counts of kidnapping, 2
counts of armed robbery, 1 count of attempted robbery and 1 count of
possessing a firearm during the commission of a felony for a holdup at a
bar.

Nieves' prior record includes a 2nd-degree murder conviction in his native
Puerto Rico and escapes there and in Connecticut. In 1981, he escaped from
the Hartford Correctional Center by holding 1 guard at knifepoint while
another was beaten as he and 3 other inmates escaped, according to court
records.

(source: The Gainesville Sun)

***********

Man Convicted of Killing Miami Man Scheduled to Die Today


The convicted killer of a Miami topless club manager is scheduled for
execution today. Angel Diaz is sentenced to die at 6 pm at the Florida
State Prison in Starke. Diaz was found guilty of fatally shooting Joseph
Nagy while robbing the Velvet Swing in Miami with an accomplice in 1979.

The 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta denied motions for a stay
of execution and a request to file another appeal. According to his
state-paid attorney, Nieves still has appeals pending with the US Supreme
Court.

(source: Associated Press)






PENNSYLVANIA:

Pa. Seeks Death Penalty for Yarbrough


Prosecutors will seek a 1st-degree murder conviction and the death penalty
against Terrell Yarbrough, 26, who is being held for a 2nd trial in the
shooting deaths of 2 Franciscan University of Steubenville students 7
years ago.

Yarbrough was arraigned Monday in Washington County, Pa. He was ordered to
stand trial in September on conspiracy and homicide charges in the June
1999 deaths of Aaron Land, 20, of Philadelphia and Brian Muha, 18, of
Westerville, Ohio.

Yarbrough was sentenced to death in a Jefferson County Common Pleas
courtroom, but the Ohio Supreme Court raised the issue of jurisdiction in
Yarbrough's appeal. The court found the murder trial should have been held
in Washington County, Pa.

Ohio law has since been changed to allow the prosecution of crimes
beginning in Ohio but ending with a killing in another state.

Yarbrough also was convicted of numerous other charges, including
aggravated robbery, kidnapping, gross sexual imposition and theft.

The Supreme Court let stand Yarbrough's sentence of 59 years in prison on
those charges.

Land and Muha were taken from their McDowell Avenue apartment in
Steubenville on May 31, 1999, and driven to a remote section of U.S. 22 in
Washington County, Pa., where they each were shot once in the head.

Nathan "Boo" Herring, 25, of Steubenville was convicted in the case of 2
counts each of aggravated robbery and kidnapping, single counts of
aggravated burglary, receiving stolen property, grand theft auto and of
aggravated murder. The jury found him innocent of gross sexual imposition.

A common pleas jury spared Herring's life when it recommended he be
sentenced to life without parole as opposed to the death penalty.

Herring was sentenced to 65 years in prison on the aggravated burglary,
aggravated robbery, kidnapping, receiving stolen property and grand theft
auto charges and firearm specifications and ordered to serve 2 life
sentences with no chance of parole on the aggravated murder charges.

Jefferson County Common Pleas Judge Joseph Bruzzese Jr. in January ordered
Herrings aggravated murder conviction vacated, based on the Yarbrough
decision, but let stand the other charges and sentences.

Washington County District Attorney John Pettit has said he would seek the
death penalty against both but that Yarbrough would be tried 1st.

(source: The Intelligencer)






UTAH:

Robinson avoids death penalty----Man changes plea to guilty in 2005
LaVerkin shooting


A year after a jury trial was scheduled to take place, Floyd Corry
Robinson, 38, changed his plea of innocent to guilty on 2 of 4 charges he
was facing in connection with the Feb. 13, 2005, slaying of Brea Kirchoff.

Standing with defense attorneys Aric Cramer and Doug Terry, Robinson
blinked back tears as he signed the plea statement before Judge James L.
Shumate on Tuesday afternoon.

In exchange for his guilty pleas on the charges of aggravated murder, a
capital offense, and child abuse, a 3rd-degree felony, the state dropped
the charges of aggravated burglary and aggravated kidnapping.

The state also agreed not to seek the death penalty and instead agreed
that Robinson should receive a minimum of 20 years to life in prison on
the aggravated murder charge.

After the emotional courtroom hearing, Kirchoff's mother, Laura Johnson,
said she was pleased that Robinson changed his plea so that her
grandchildren and her youngest son would be spared the grief of testifying
in a jury trail.

"I'm just glad the kids didn't have to go through all this," Johnson said.
"I also don't feel good about the death penalty."

Johnson's youngest son was present at his sister's apartment in LaVerkin
on the night of Feb. 13, 2005, when Robinson reportedly entered the home
and fired one shot at Kirchoff in the home and another two at Kirchoff
while she was in her vehicle.

While family members and friends of Kirchoff and Robinson wiped away
tears, Kirchoff's 5-year-old daughter spoke in court briefly about that
night and how Robinson shot her mother.

Friends and family members wrote several letters about losing Kirchoff
that were read in court, including one from her aunt, who has custody of
Kirchoff's oldest daughter.

That daughter, who was 10 at the time of the incident, was the one who
placed the 911 call on the night of the shooting. The call lasted 14
minutes as the sobbing girl cried to the dispatcher that Robinson had shot
her mom and killed her.

But in the letter to Shumate, the aunt said that Kirchoff's daughter did
not want Robinson to receive the death penalty because he has kids, and
she wouldn't want to hurt his children.

Robinson declined to make a statement, answering Shumate's question with a
simple "No."

After listening to the reading of several emotional letters and hearing
Kirchoff's daughter address the court, Shumate said he felt powerless over
what had happened.

"If I had it my way, Brea's family would leave here with peace and without
hatred because I tell you, hatred can become your own prison, and I would
not wish that on any of you," Shumate said.

For Robinson's family, Shumate said he wished he could go back over the
years and take away the pain and grief they have endured.

"I wish you all Godspeed. Frankly, that's all I can do," Shumate said
before sentencing Robinson to a minimum of 20 years in the Utah State
Prison on the aggravated murder charge.

In addition, Robinson may receive 0 to 5 years to be served consecutively
for the child abuse charge.

(source: The Spectrum)