Sept. 25 TEXAS: Rosenthal to lead prosecution against cop-killing suspect Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal said today that he will lead the prosecution of the man accused of killing Houston police Officer Rodney Johnson. Referring to it as "coming out of retirement,'' Rosenthal said he could not recall the last time he took part in prosecuting a case, but guessed that it has been 2 or 3 years. A judge, meanwhile, ordered this morning that Juan Leonardo Quintero remain in the County Jail without bail. Quintero, 32, is charged with capital murder in connection with the shooting of Johnson near Hobby Airport on Thursday afternoon. Johnson had stopped Quintero, a Mexican national, for a traffic violation and arrested him because he had no identification. Police said Johnson failed to detect that Quintero had a pistol hidden in his clothing. Quintero, although handcuffed, managed to get his hands in front of him, pull the gun and kill Johnson while locked in the backseat cage of the officer's patrol car, investigators said. Rosenthal said this is a "bizarre'' case because Quintero is accused of killing Johnson even though Quintero was locked in the back of the car and could not escape. In this morning's hearing, state District Judge Joan Campbell granted a defense request for funds for such expenses as hiring an investigator. Rosenthal said he believes Quintero could come to trial sometime next spring. The next step in the case will be another court hearing in 15 days, he said, and the case could go to a county grand jury shortly after that. The arrest of Quintero has renewed debate over the enforcement of immigration laws and HPD's policy of not questioning suspects about their residency. Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt appeared on ABC television's "Good Morning America," this morning where he accused the federal government of not properly securing the nation's borders. With 250,000 to 400,000 illegal immigrants believed to be living in the Houston area, Hurtt said the resources are not available for HPD officers to assume a greater role in immigration enforcement. "I would need another 2,500 officers," Hurtt said. Hurtt was interviewed for the ABC program from Charlotte, N.C., where he is attending a meeting of the Major Cities Chiefs Assocation that he heads. Quintero was deported as an illegal felon in 1999, following a charge of indecency with a child, HPD officials said. Court records show Quintero was given deferred adjudication in that case. His previous criminal record included an arrest for driving while intoxicated, for driving with a suspended licensed and for failing to stop and give information after an automobile accident, HPD officials said. (source: Houston Chronicle) FLORIDA: Fixing death row----Glaring flaws in Florida's death penalty system call for major reform T he U.S. Supreme Court declined to grant a stay of execution to Florida death-row inmate Clarence Hill last week, and he was finally put to death by lethal injection. By all accounts, it was a punishment that fit the crime. Hill gunned down a Pensacola police officer in 1982, but had dodged execution after filing appeals that claimed Florida's lethal injection procedure was unconstitutionally cruel and inhumane because it causes excruciating pain. Lethal injection has been challenged in several states, and the issue of its suitability remains unresolved. But the method of execution is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what's questionable -- or dead wrong -- about the death penalty process in Florida. A new study by a team of leading state prosecutors, defense attorneys and judges for the American Bar Association details the system's glaring flaws and calls for needed reforms. Here's some of what they found: - Some 22 Florida death row inmates have been exonerated since 1973, including 1 who died of cancer while behind bars, more than any other state. That sorry statistic may be connected to the fact Florida is the only state in the nation that doesn't require unanimous jury verdicts to impose the death penalty. Both the panel and the state Supreme Court say that should change, but the Legislature this year voted to keep the policy intact. - Compensation for death penalty lawyers in Florida is so low many experienced attorneys won't take the work. Requirements for private appeals lawyers to get on a statewide registry to represent inmates, however, are laughably minimal, and the state provides little or no oversight of those appeals. That's a set-up for incompetent representation and injustice, including execution of the innocent. - Racial inequities plague Florida's system. Those convicted of killing a white victim are more likely to get the death penalty and be executed than those who kill non-whites. What's more, the death penalty has often been imposed on persons with severe mental disabilities. Any one of these problems would justify the major reforms the panel recommends, starting with commissions to propose methods to cut down on wrongful convictions. The ABA also says the state needs better compensation and tougher requirements for death penalty lawyers, and new standards to determine on what crimes it should be imposed. We've said before that the death penalty has a place in the judicial process, but should be used sparingly for very narrowly defined crimes, such as police killings, serial killings, child slayings or other extremely heinous murders. That limitation in itself would go far to right some of the wrongs in Florida's death penalty system, reducing margins for error. But the study confirms it's so broken, a moratorium on executions until the system can be overhauled and reformed is the only solution. (source: Editorial, Florida Today) GEORGIA: Attys: No Death Penalty for Nichols Attorneys for accused Fulton County Courthouse shooter Brian Nichols on Monday asked the judge to ban the death penalty in Nichols' case. "We're talking about the right to life" when a prosecutor decides whether to seek the death penalty in a particular case, said Nichols Attorney Robert McGlasson at a hearing at the Fulton County Courthouse on Monday afternoon. McGlasson argued that, in Georgia, there are no statewide standards that prosecutors are required to follow when deciding which defendants in capital crimes will face the death penalty; McGlasson said that that lack of statewide standards is unconstitutional. "There are no uniform, specific standards in terms of the implementation and/or the protection of the fundamental right to life in Georgia," McGlasson told the judge. "We believe that the death sentencing scheme in Georgia must be found arbitrary, a violation of equal protection and the due process clause" of the Constitution, McGlasson said. Assistant District Attorney Christopher Quinn argued that Georgia does have a statewide standard that appellate courts have repeatedly upheld as constitutional, and that statewide standard is the requirement that a prosecutor must have evidence of the presence of at least one aggravating circumstance in addition to the crime itself. Furthermore, Quinn said, each district attorney in Georgia is elected by his or her community to decide whether that community's standards cry out for the death penalty whenever there is an aggravating circumstance. "A standard of what is the worst of the worst in their community," Quinn told the judge. "I would submit to you that the murder of a judicial officer on the bench [Judge Rowland Barnes] is, most certainly, a statutory aggravating circumstance," as well as the fact that the other three victims were also public servants. Quinn argued that Georgia law specifically guards against one community's standards dictating what another community's standards should be regarding the death penalty. "I'm sure Your Honor would readily agree that what is the worst of the worst [crime] in Lumpkin County or in Seminole County is not necessarily what they consider the worst of the worst in Atlanta," Quinn said. Judge Fuller did not say when he will rule on whether to allow prosecutors to seek the death penalty, if Nichols is convicted. Earlier Monday, Nichols' attorneys asked Judge Fuller to ban video and audio -- from the courtroom camera and microphones -- from being televised until Nichols' trial is over. Nichols' trial is scheduled to begin in January. Nichols' attorneys argued that allowing trial proceedings to be televised while the trial is underway would create a circus-like atmosphere and deny Nichols' right to a fair trial. Right now in the Nichols case, video and audio from the many pre-trial hearings are allowed to be televised. Nichols is charged with killing a judge, a court reporter, a sheriff's deputy, and a federal agent in March of last year, while escaping the Fulton County courthouse where he was on trial for rape. On Monday morning, media attorneys argued that the Georgia Supreme Court has ruled repeatedly in support of cameras in the courtrooms and television news coverage of on-going trials, even during high-profile capital cases. It is quite clear that the use of cameras in a trial proceeding is not a denial of due process. That is obviously reflected in the history of televising cases in this state. Its case after case in this state where cameras have been successfully used in trial, in high profile cases, in death penalty cases, and those cameras have not interfered in the proceeding and they have not denied the defendant due process rights, argued Tom Clyde, a media attorney. Prosecutors said they don't care one way or another, so they are staying out of the argument. Judge Hilton Fuller said he will not rule on the matter until after October 10th, at the earliest. This latest round of pre-trial hearings in the Nichols case will continue on Wednesday of this week, and on Monday and Tuesday of next week. Among the issues the defense is raising is the fairness of the upcoming jury selection process. (source: 11Alive.com) NORTH DAKOTA: Bishop Opposes Death Sentence in North Dakota----"Does Not Erase the Hurt," He Says Bishop Samuel Aquila came out in opposition to the death sentence levied against Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. for killing a University of North Dakota student. Rodriguez was recently found guilty of killing Dru Sjodin, 22. Today, the jury sentenced him to the death penalty. "The sentence of death which was imposed today upon Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. obscures for all of society the truth of the inherent dignity of human life," said Bishop Aquila in a statement. "Responding to this senseless act of violence with another act of violence through imposition of the death penalty does not erase the hurt caused by the first act," he contended. "Rather, it reinforces the false perspective of revenge as justice. In doing so, it diminishes respect for all human life, both the lives of the guilty and the innocent." Dru Sjodin disappeared from a Grand Forks mall parking lot in November 2003. Her body was found in April 2004, in a ravine near Crookston, Minnesota, where Rodriguez, 53, was living. The death penalty is not legal in North Dakota, but the case was tried in federal court which made the sentence possible, said Tanya Watterud, diocesan director of communications, in a statement to ZENIT. Bishop Aquila said: "Those who feel that imposition of the death penalty can be used as a statement to dissuade future predators from similar attacks are not looking at the full potential effect of violence as an answer to violence. "According to some of the testimony heard, Mr. Rodriguez experienced violence as a child. He later inflicted violence as an adult. Violence only promotes violence and is not the way of Jesus Christ." (source: Zenit News) *************** Death penalty reinforces false belief that revenge is justice, N.D. bishop says The death sentence imposed upon Alfonso Rodriguez, Jr., Sept. 22 "obscures for all of society the truth of the inherent dignity of human life," said Bishop Samuel Aquila of Fargo, N.D. "Responding to this senseless act of violence with another act of violence through imposition of the death penalty does not erase the hurt caused by the 1st act," the bishop wrote in a statement. "Rather, it reinforces the false perspective of revenge as justice. In doing so, it diminishes respect for all human life, both the lives of the guilty and the innocent," he said. Rodriguez was convicted of killing University of North Dakota student Dru Sjodin, 22, of Pequot Lakes, Minn. Although North Dakota does not have the death penalty, it is available in the federal system in which Rodriguez's case was held. Some legislators believe the case may revive the death-penalty debate in the state, insisting that it could provide a necessary deterrent for future violent crimes of this sort. Lawmakers have not debated a death penalty bill since 1995, when the North Dakota Senate defeated the idea. The bishop, however, argued that the death penalty continues, rather than thwarts, the cycle of violence in society. He also noted that the prison systems are secure and make the death penalty unnecessary. "Violence only promotes violence and is not the way of Jesus Christ," he said "Furthermore, society today is capable of protecting itself by sentences of life imprisonment without parole, allowing the person who has committed such a violent crime time for conversion and repentance for his action." The bishop also cited Pope Benedict XVI, who recently said: "Violence is incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul." The bishop said he grieves for the family and friends of Rodriguezs victim, Dru Sjodin, and for the family and friends of Rodriguez. "We as a society, as Christians, as Americans, can serve victims of violence better by seeking ways to combat violence against life at its very source by teaching and living the truth that all life is gift, all life is precious, and all life is to be protected," he said. (source: Catholic News Agency) NORTH CAROLINA: Judge: DNA won't help N.C. death row defendant A judge ruled Monday that results of a DNA test for convicted murderer and rapist Jerry Wayne Conner won't help him stay out of the death chamber, and defense lawyers said they would appeal the ruling. Gates County Superior Court Judge Richard Parker ruled that results of the new test on a semen sample were unfavorable to Conner. The decision came after an hour-long hearing, during which the judge said he would hear only evidence related to DNA. Conner was sentenced to death for the 1990 shotgun slaying at a Gates County store of clerk Minh Rogers and the rape and murder of her 16-year-old daughter, Linda. The state Supreme Court halted the execution scheduled for May 12 so a DNA test requested by the defense could be performed. District Attorney Frank Parrish said there was enough evidence without DNA - including a confession and a bloody footprint - to convict and execute the 40-year-old Conner. Parrish said his office will ask that the stay of execution be dissolved as soon as a formal order is signed by the judge. Once that is done, a new execution date can be set by the Department of Correction. But defense lawyers said they planned to appeal Parker's ruling because DNA testing was inconclusive and showed doubt that Conner committed the crime. The semen sample had characteristics shared by 60 % of the male population, they said. The defense also had asked the judge to look at other evidence, including expert testimony on the reliability of Conner's confession and the eyewitness. The judge denied those requests. Defense lawyer Mark Kleinschmidt said if additional evidence had been allowed, it would have shown that the eyewitnesses who said they saw Conner were underaged and drunk and that another eyewitness said the man she saw at the store wasn't Conner. Kleinschmidt also said other biological samples should be tested, such as pubic hair from the victim and blood from the crime scene. He said the confession wasn't signed and the interview wasn't tape-recorded. "We wanted to talk about all this other evidence that exists," he said. "The judge failed to give us the opportunity." If the judge had ruled the results were favorable to Conner, state law allowed his lawyers to ask the judge to throw out the conviction, release Conner or order a new trial or sentencing. An Aug. 14 report from the testing company, LabCorp, said one sample from the rape victim had a similar genetic marker as Conner. "Jerry Conner and his relatives cannot be excluded as the source of the male DNA in this sample," the report said. (source: Associated Press) TENNESSEE: Jordan gets death penalty in TDOT shootings David Lynn Jordan will be put to death for the killings of his wife and 2 others at the Jackson garage of the Tennessee Department of Transportation in January 2005. Jordan was scheduled to be executed on Jan. 15, 2007, though appeals will prolong the process. Jurors convicted Jordan on Saturday and began the sentencing phase of their work on Sunday. They began deliberating at 8 this morning in Madison County Circuit Court. Their decision was announced a short time ago. Jordan is also set to be back in court on Nov. 6 for sentencing on attempted murder convictions for wounding 2 other people. (source: Jackson Sun) ************* Ford campaign says it has tougher death penalty stance Officials with the campaign of U-S Senate candidate Harold Ford Junior say he takes a tougher stand on the death penalty than his Republican opponent Bob Corker. Ford and the 2 major candidates for governor responded in a survey by the state chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police that they support all existing state and federal laws regarding the death penalty. But Corker's response was more brief. The former Chattanooga mayor wrote he supports the death penalty for murder. Ford's senior adviser for communications and policy Tom Lee said other death-penalty eligible offenses include treason, espionage and several rror-related crimes. Corker campaign manager Ben Mitchell said Ford is trying to make up positions that Bob Corker doesn't have. Mitchell said Corker's more complete answer to the question is that he supports all federal death penalty laws. (source: Associated Press)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, FLA., GA., N. DAK., N.C., TENN.
Rick Halperin Mon, 25 Sep 2006 22:25:47 -0500 (Central Daylight Time)
