[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----VA., KY., IDAHO, TENN.

[Rick Halperin]

June 19



VIRGINIA:

Prosecutor won't seek death penalty for Ryan Frederick


Special prosecutor Paul Ebert informed the court Thursday that he will not
seek the death penalty against Ryan Frederick, the 28-year-old Chesapeake
man accused of killing a city detective.

Frederick is charged with capital murder, use of a firearm during the
commission of murder and manufacturing marijuana. He is accused of fatally
shooting Detective Jarrod Shivers on the night of Jan. 17 while Shivers
and more than a dozen other officers executed a drug search warrant.

Shivers, a 34-year-old father of 3, was standing near Frederick's home in
the 900 block of Restart Ave., when he was shot, police said.

Ebert said his decision was based on Fredericks age and lack of a criminal
record. Ebert noted that Shivers was hit by only one shot, which he said
would not constitute the "aggravated battery" needed in a death penalty
case .

State law requires a prosecutor to disclose before a trial begins whether
he will seek the death penalty against someone charged with capital
murder. Ebert informed the court of his decision during a conference call
from Northern Virginia. He also set 3 tentative dates for motion hearings
in the case.

He said there has been much speculation about the case and that the public
will be surprised by the facts when they come out during the trial.
Frederick's lawyer, James Broccoletti, could not be reached for comment
Thursday evening.

Ebert, the commonwealth's attorney from Prince William County, was
appointed to prosecute the case because local prosecutors had worked
closely with Shivers. Chesapeake Commonwealths Attorney Nancy Parr sought
an outside prosecutor to avoid any perceived appearance of conflict or
bias by her office.

Frederick remains in jail without a bond. In a jail interview earlier this
year, Frederick said he fired two shots through his door at what he feared
were intruders that night.

The 2 shots were fired through the front door as officers were using a
battering ram on it . One shot from a .380-caliber handgun hit Shivers, an
8-year police veteran.

After the shooting, police returned with a 2nd search warrant and seized a
Bersa "Firestorm" .380-caliber handgun, 2 .380 bullet casings, 1
.223-caliber bullet casing, a Samsung TV, a broken wooden door, pry bar,
battering ram, a shoe and flash light.

The .223-caliber shell was entered into the National Integrated Ballistics
Information Nework and could not be matched, according to lab results .
Police have said they did not return fire during the raid.

(source: The Virginian-Pilot






KENTUCKY:

Ky. death row inmate will stand trial again


The Kentucky Supreme Court has ruled that a death row inmate can be tried
for a 2nd time on capital kidnapping charges stemming from a 1991
multistate crime spree.

In a unanimous opinion issued Thursday in Frankfort, the court ruled that
Michael D. St. Clair, 51, would not be harmed by facing a 2nd trial on
charges of capital kidnapping, attempted murder, receiving stolen property
and arson in Hardin County.

The unsigned opinion said St. Clair could appeal any perceived error once
the trial was over, but that the trial should be allowed to go forward.

St. Clair was twice sentenced to death - once in Hardin County and once in
Bullitt County - for kidnapping and killing Frank Brady. He stole Brady's
truck while running away from a jail escape from Oklahoma in 1991. The
truck was later burned.

The Hardin County conviction was overturned after the Kentucky Supreme
Court ruled in 2005 that a judge improperly allowed St. Clair's ex-wife to
testify against him. St. Clair is also under 2 sentences of life without
parole for murders committed in Oklahoma.

St. Clair sought to stop a retrial in Hardin County, saying it would
violate his right to a speedy trial. The justices rejected that argument.

"Here, other than generally pointing to the ordeal of being a defendant in
a capital trial, Petitioner offers nothing to show that he will suffer any
injury that cannot be corrected on appeal if he is convicted erroneously,"
the court wrote.

In an unrelated death penalty case, inmate John Mills won the right to a
hearing to determine if the state should pay for expert assistance while
he appeals his conviction. The justices also ordered the Knox Circuit
Court to hold a hearing about whether 3 out-of-state witnesses are
necessary for a hearing in his case.

Mills, 38, was sentenced to death October 18, 1996, for the stabbing death
of Arthur Phipps at his residence in Smokey Creek. A jury found that on
Aug. 30, 1995, Mills stabbed Phipps 29 times with a pocket knife and stole
a small amount of money.

Police arrested Mills that day at a residence he rented from Mr. Phipps,
on the same property where the crime occurred.

Kentucky has executed 2 people since the reinstatement of the death
penalty in 1976. Harold McQueen was electrocuted in 1997 for killing a
convenience store clerk in 1991. Eddie Lee Harper waived his appeals in
1999 and was put to death by lethal injection for killing family members.

(source: Fort Mill Times)

***********************

Attorney: IQ Too Low For Death Penalty----Attorney Says Accused Cop Killer
Is Mentally Incompetent


The attorney for the man accused in the shooting death of Clay City police
chief Randy Lacy argued in court Wednesday his client's low IQ makes him
ineligible for the death penalty.

Jamie Barnett is accused of killing Lacy with his own gun after Lacy had
arrested him for DUI last June.

In court Wednesday, Barnett's attorney said that a doctor who has examined
Barnett says his IQ is less than 70, making him ineligible for the death
penalty. Prosecutors countered, saying they also had a doctor examine
Barnett and found his IQ to be over 70.

The judge in the case has scheduled a competency hearing for Barnett on
July 2, just six days before his trial is set to begin in the case.

(source: Lex18 News)






IDAHO:

Idaho Supreme Court reverses sentence for Greenbelt killer


On Wednesday, Idaho's Supreme Court handed down a decision to reverse the
death sentence for convicted Greenbelt killer Darrel Payne.

Payne was sentenced in 2002 for the kidnapping, rape and murder of Boise
State University student Samantha Maher.

The court says statements made by the victim's family and friends during
the sentencing phase were unconstitutional because they offered specific
sentencing recommendations.

Because of this, Payne will receive a new sentencing hearing.

Samantha Maher's father Paul Blomberg says todays ruling surprised him.

He says justice was served six years ago and believes Paynes death
sentence is fair.

"He had a choice that day. He could have went to work. But he chose not
to. He chose to do that evil. That was his choice," said Blomberg,

He recalls a scripture he quoted during the sentencing phase.

"Numbers 35:16 refers to if a man strikes someone with an iron object, so
that the person dies, he is a murderer and this murderer shall be put to
death," he said.

Even though the court ruled Wednesday - statements made by Blomberg and
other family members and friends unconstitutional - he stands by what he
said.

Blomberg says it has been a painful eight years for his family since the
murder of Samantha.

"There's certain reminders that are difficult. When you see a police
officer with handcuffs. What comes to your mind? How he handcuffed
Samantha," he said.

He says it would be disheartening and frustrating to know that the time
spent during the trial could ultimately end without a death sentence for
Payne.

"When you look at the Ten Commandments and it says thou shalt not kill.
And it's right in our U.S. Supreme Court. I think sometimes the U.S.
Supreme Court has forgot that," he said.

For now, Blomberg says he and his family will rely on faith.

"The blessing we have is that we know where Samantha's at. And that's a
blessing we have," he said.

Blomberg hopes his family will have a voice in the resentencing.

He thinks about Samantha every day and adds that she would have turned 30
this October.

According to Deputy Attorney General Lamont Anderson, the opinion does not
become final for another 14 days.

And, because it is not final - a date has not been set for the
resentencing.

(source: KTVB News)






TENNESSEE:

AG: Executions on hold during lethal injection challenge


The state Attorney General's office says scheduled executions will remain
on hold until a decision is made in its appeal of a federal judge's ruling
that the state's 3-drug method of lethal injection is cruel and unusual
punishment.

Other states have resumed executions since the U.S. Supreme Court turned
back a constitutional challenge to the lethal injection procedure in
Kentucky.

But Tennessee faces an additional legal challenge brought by death row
inmate Edward Jerome Harbison last year.

U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger ruled in September the state's lethal
injection procedure amounts to cruel and unusual punishment because of the
"substantial risk of unnecessary pain" to the inmate.

Trauger barred the state from using the method until it addresses problems
with training and medical expertise.

Elizabeth Ryan, senior counsel with the AG's office, said Thursday that
once a ruling is made, they will look at resuming executions.

(source: Associated Press)