[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----IDAHO, GA., CALIF., N.Y.

[Rick Halperin]

June 23



IDAHO----re: federal death penalty trial

Judge delays resumption of Duncan death penalty


The federal death penalty case for convicted murderer Joseph Edward Duncan
III has been delayed again by the judge overseeing the case.

An order filed by District Judge Edward Lodge states mental health experts
need at least 2 more weeks to determine Duncan's competency to stand
trial.

The court is trying to determine if Duncan is competent to represent
himself in his sentencing hearing for the 2005 kidnapping and abuse of
Shasta and Dylan Groene and the slaying of Dylan. The children were
kidnapped from their northern Idaho home.

A pool of more than 300 prospective jurors were told in May to check with
the court Monday to find out when jury selection might resume.

(source: Associated Press)






GEORGIA:

Death Penalty Appeal


The Georgia Supreme Court has a hearing scheduled for the death penalty
case of Frederick Whatley, condemned for the 1995 killing of a Griffin
businessman.

The court will hear arguments Monday on Whatley's appeal of a Superior
Court denial of his petition for habeas corpus, which would allow him to
challenge his conviction in Butts County where he is held on death row for
the murder of Ed Allen, owner of Roy's Bait Shop.

The Supreme Court upheld Whatley's conviction and sentence in 1998, and
the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear his case in 1999.

Defense lawyers argue that the habeas judge made a number of mistakes and
his trial attorney failed to prepare his case properly. (source:
Associated Press)







CALIFORNIA:

Soaring cost of new death row demands action


CALIFORNIA LAWMAKERS face a dilemma when it comes to deciding whether to
move forward with the costly plan to build a new death row at San Quentin
State Prison.

Recent estimates show the cost of building a 768-cell complex for the
state's condemned inmates has grown to $395 million, a nearly 10-%
increase in only a year.

Marin Assemblyman Jared Huffman calls the estimate, prepared by a state
auditor, a "bombshell."

He's right.

But convincing his colleagues to do something about it is going to test
his legislative mettle.

At this point, with millions already invested in the plan, lawmakers
likely are more inclined to quietly let the project proceed and its cost
rise.

There is little political benefit for most lawmakers to take a hard look
at the proposal. There is no debate that the state needs a larger and
modern death row that's safer for both inmates and the men and women who
have the important duty to keep the facility secure.

But at what point do lawmakers ask themselves whether it still makes sense
to spend $514,000 per cell at San Quentin? That doesn't include annual
operating costs, which historically have been greater at San Quentin than
at more modern correctional facilities.

The audit estimates the new facility at San Quentin would cost $58.8
million per year to run.

THE STATE'S Legislative Analyst, an independent budget watchdog, urged the
governor and Legislature to scrub the plans and build the complex at
another location where the cost of construction and operations could be
less.

That was in 2006. Since then the cost has continued to rise.

When the death row plans were first approved by state lawmakers in 2002,
the cost was $220 million for a complex that had 25 % more cells.

The price rose when soils tests showed the site is bay mud, which required
re-engineering the complex, designing different foundations and bringing
in tons of fill, most of it coming from flattening the prison's Dairy
Hill.

One of the state's goals was to end the current practice of double-celling
because San Quentin's death row has more inmates than cells. The higher
cost forced the state to scale back the size of the complex. It will still
require double-celling of many inmates.

Last year, Huffman was able to use the analyst's advice to win the
Legislature's approval of a bill that would require an audit of the
state's plans.

But, at the last minute, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed Huffman's bill.

The governor said delaying construction is adding $1 million per month to
the construction cost.

The Assembly, on its own, ordered the new audit.

HUFFMAN is not talking about closing the 156-year-old prison, moving
executions or even relocating all death row inmates.

He is seeking a more cost-effective alternative, possibly building a
smaller complex at another location on the prison's land and building
additional condemned-inmate cells at another prison. Given the time it
takes for those inmates to exhaust their legal rights, it is possible they
can be held at a more cost-effective high-security facility at another
prison.

Huffman and Marin Supervisor Steve Kinsey are hoping that the rising costs
will force the state to look into possible cost-saving alternatives.

A follow-up audit should outline some possibilities.

Huffman and Kinsey have argued that by moving the proposed death row off a
40-acre site on the west end of the prison, the state could save money and
free up prison land that could be turned to another public use, such as a
new ferry port and affordable housing.

Their vision for those 40 acres is secondary to keeping the state from
moving forward on a plan that no longer makes financial sense,
particularly at a time when the state faces a deep budget crisis.

The state's plan adds up to a costly boondoggle that transcends Marin's
concerns.

MOVING forward with projects like this deepens the budget hole and crisis
that face state lawmakers and taxpayers.

To allow this project to move forward is wrong. Schwarzenegger, and Gov.
Gray Davis before him, have pushed this project despite mounting evidence
it is the wrong approach.

Now is the time for the governor and legislators to seriously - and
publicly - explore possible alternatives.

We hope Huffman can persuade his colleagues to do the right thing.

(source: Marin Independent-Journal)






NEW YORK:

M*A*S*H-ing The Death Penalty


People come to an author event for Mike Farrell to hear some pleasant
nostalgia about M*A*S*H's Dr. B.J. Hunnicutt. They get that - but they
also leave with a well-reasoned earful about why we need to end capital
punishment. As the President of Death Penalty Focus, Farrell is one of the
foremost U.S. opponents of the death penalty.

At his appearance at Book Passage, Farrell was happy to talk about
M*A*S*H. He brought hysterical tales of the antics of the cast and crew.
He talked about his fascinating biography, Just Call Me Mike. Folks who
were there to hear about Mike Farrell, the actor, got a look at Mike
Farrell, the humanitarian leader. By the end of his talk we sold piles of
his books, and Death Penalty Focus, the organization he chairs, gathered a
long list of new volunteers.

A couple in the audience told us they hadn't thought much about the death
penalty until they heard Farrell at Book Passage last year (on his
hardcover tour). Now they are strong advocates of the movement to stop
capital punishment. They recommended the film, At the Death House Door,
about Carroll J.Pickett the former Texas prison chaplain who counseled
over 95 people who were executed. At first Pickett thought the death
penalty was just, but over time, he changed. He saw innocent people put to
death. He saw a system full of error, and he realized that we have to find
a way to stop stooping to the level of the perpetrators.

Farrell reminds us that prison will still be the place for the guilty.
"Some people are so broken that they can't be trusted to be with other
human beings." He got a laugh when he said "think Dick Cheney for
example".

Farrell thinks we should reinstate the draft, but not just a military
draft. In Farrell's draft, every student who graduates high school would
commit to a period of public service, and after that, the government would
pay for 4 years of college. He spoke of the late Father John O'Donohue
whose book, To Bless The Space Between Us was published just after his
death. A social justice activist who worked tirelessly against the death
penalty and for human rights, O'Donohue said "The duty of privilege is
absolute integrity".

Farrell points out, "All people want love, attention, and respect". People
who don't get these three things become twisted. He quoted a man he met
years ago who told him, "Rehabilitation--bullshit, most of these people
have never been abilitated in the first place."

Never preachy, but always articulate, Farrell found time to make us laugh,
to give us the scoop about the cast of M*A*S*H, to tell us about his
family, to hear our questions and comments, and to inspire us to get to
work now to stop state sponsored killing.

(source: Huffington Post)