June 27 CALIFORNIA: Widow pleads for death penalty----She says home is cold and silent after husband, 2 sons slain in S.F. Danielle Bologna can't go back home. Just a week ago, her 2-story house on a quiet street in San Francisco's Excelsior district was a bustling place, crammed with sports gear and trophies and team portraits, where she and her husband of 21 years were raising their 4 children. But in just seconds on Sunday, her family was torn apart: Her husband, Tony, 48, and the couple's sons Michael, 20, and Matthew, 16, were shot and killed as they drove home from a family barbecue in Fairfield. What is left at home, for Danielle Bologna, is only stark silence. "I went back there one time," she said Thursday. "It was extremely cold. It was empty. It was the cold, the silence. "It was hard seeing my kids' things all over ... my husband's shoes, his work stuff, his clothes, jackets all over." Danielle Bologna says she wants San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris - who has pledged never to seek the death penalty - to understand a little of what she must endure and to seek the death penalty for her family's killer. "The district attorney really needs to pay attention - she doesn't have kids, she doesn't know what this means," Bologna said. Prosecutors filed 3 counts of murder and other charges Thursday against Edwin Ramos, 21, of El Sobrante, an alleged street gang member who police say opened fire on the Bolognas after their car briefly blocked Ramos from completing a left turn down a narrow street. The charges include special circumstances that could carry the death penalty. But Harris had long promised to not seek the death penalty in the city. After taking strong criticism for quickly ruling out the death penalty against the gang member ultimately convicted of killing San Francisco police Officer Isaac Espinoza in 2004, Harris has since delegated such decisions to a committee of prosecutors in her office. Capital punishment, however, has yet to be sought. On Thursday, Harris' office said that no decision has been made on the issue in the Bologna slayings. "This is a horrific tragedy most painfully felt by the family and friends of these innocent victims and shared by our entire city," the office said in a statement. Danielle Bologna, 47, an educational adviser and coach at Rooftop Elementary, recalled how her husband spent his days coaching sports with his 4 kids and nights as a supervisor at Draeger's market in San Mateo. Michael, a standout athlete, was their eldest son at 20 and was attending the College of San Mateo. Matthew, their youngest son, was 16 and attending Lincoln High in San Francisco. On Sunday, the Bolognas - she, her husband and their three sons and a daughter - joined other relatives and friends for a barbecue in Fairfield. It was the last time the family was together. Encounter on street She said the family parted at the gathering because Tony wanted to get some sleep before work. He was driving on Congdon Street only blocks from home, police said, when he encountered a Chrysler 300 as it was trying to get by his car after making a left turn. Tony backed up, but soon shots were fired, fatally wounding him and two sons, who were riding with him in the car. "There was no altercation between this maniac man and my husband," she said. "My husband would never put his own children in jeopardy. "My husband moved back to let the guy go. Instead, he had blocked my husband and opened fire. There was not a peep or a word out of my husband's mouth." With the help of a tip from a man arrested after the slayings, police quickly made an arrest of a member of a notoriously violent street gang, MS-13. "This animal," Danielle Bologna said. "I just feel that I can't even give him a name - who can just drive around looking for victims to take out. He has no conscience. Just to kill people when you feel like it?" Widow's plea to D.A. Danielle Bologna said the district attorney needs to realize the enormity of the crime in this case. "Seeking the death penalty, this will make a statement so people won't just kill families for no reason," said Bologna, who is left to raise a son and daughter on her own. "They have the power to stop this. They have to stop with the excuses - this is not her family, this is my family. ' Violence in the city, Bologna said, "has gone too far. Nothing is getting done. Why did we put her here, if she is not going to stop this? This is huge. I have lost a husband and 2 kids." Danielle Bologna thanked the police for their efforts. She says she prays that justice will be done. "I'm going to let the courts do their job. I'm going to let the police officers, who have been fabulous, do their job. I just feel the district attorney needs to do her the job." She said she is still stunned by what happened. 'A senseless crime' "All I can tell you - this was a senseless crime. I never in a million years thought I would have to live this life and lose my family. "To be so senseless, to have people on the streets, shooting people. We have to take our city back - this shouldn't happen. We all need to stick together. To be strong against guns, we need to get those off the streets. "I just feel like, we are not getting it. They are winning. These criminals are winning. I'm the one who has got to live this. But this is not just about me. It is about other people being hurt. This was my turn to have lost a beautiful husband and 2 beautiful kids. "I'm never going to have somebody to love and kiss me and say 'I love you' in that way. That is the pain I'm talking about," she said, sobbing. "I'm going to miss the man who kisses me and says 'I love you' and 'good night.' " Tony Bologna's sister, Lorraine Kennedy, said the family spent Thursday at a mortuary. "We are having to pick out caskets for a husband and 2 sons - no family should ever, ever have to do this, have to go through this pain," she said. "It is unbearable. "Every morning, I wake up and I pray this has been a bad dream. I wake up and know this is reality. It sickens me." Her husband, Frank Kennedy, said the gang members responsible for Bologna's death must be dealt with to prevent further bloodshed. "We can't stand for this. This is a real American tragedy. A national tragedy, that this has happened to this family." (source: San Francisco Chroniclce) ********************************** THE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE:----Death penalty bill is executed Senator's bill that would have sped up appeals process for death row inmates fails in a 2-5 vote. State Sen. Tom Harmans bill to reform the appeals process in death penalty cases found no reprieve from the Assembly Public Safety Committee. The bill was executed this week by a 2-5 vote. Senate Bill 315 would have sped up the appeals process for death row inmates in California by appointing an attorney to each defendant within a year. "In its current form, California's death penalty appeals process is more of a moratorium on execution than a system of judicial review," Harman said. "When youre a heartless killer, 25 years on death row isn't punishment it's retirement. If it had taken 5 years before bringing Scott Peterson to trial, there would have been public outrage, but that is exactly what is happening at the appellate court." The bill gained the support of the California District Attorneys Assn. and Crime Victims United, an advocacy group for victims' rights, but failed to gain enough support from lawmakers. Critics of the bill said it would force attorneys to take on cases involuntarily and clog up the legal system with poorly crafted appeals. Harman claims it takes more than 5 years for most inmates to have a defense attorney appointed for their appeal after they are sentenced to death, causing inmates to sit on death row for years. (source: Daily Pilot) ********************** Man convicted of 11 counts of murder in 2005 Metrolink crash----His defense attorneys portrayed Alvarez as the loving father of 2 small children, and the crash as a tragedy that happened after a failed suicide attempt. But prosecutors depicted him as a manipulative liar who was "violent" and "dangerous." Juan Manuel Alvarez could face the death penalty for collision that occurred when he parked his SUV on the tracks near Glendale in what he called a suicide attempt. A Los Angeles jury convicted a 29-year-old Compton laborer of 11 counts of 1st-degree murder Thursday for triggering the deadliest Metrolink train crash in history when he parked his vehicle on railroad tracks 3 years ago and fled. Juan Manuel Alvarez, who could face the death penalty, showed no emotion as the guilty verdicts were announced in a downtown courtroom. Behind him sat at least half a dozen relatives of people killed in the crash, including some who had attended much of the eight-week trial despite its sometimes graphic testimony. 11 people were killed and more than 180 were injured in the Jan. 26, 2005, wreck near Glendale when a southbound Metrolink passenger train smashed into Alvarez's sport-utility vehicle, hit an idle freight train and crashed into an oncoming Metrolink train. Alvarez testified that he never meant to hurt anyone but himself, describing his actions as an aborted suicide attempt. But prosecutors argued that Alvarez intentionally turned a peaceful early-morning commute into a scene of bloody carnage in a twisted attempt to get attention and win back the affections of his estranged wife. The jury took little more than a day to convict Alvarez and also found him guilty of arson and a special circumstance allegation that makes him eligible for the death penalty. Jurors are expected to hear more testimony next month to determine whether he should be executed. Several relatives of the victims expressed relief after the verdicts. "He is a menace to society. He's a sick person. He's not sorry for any of this," said Susan McKeown, whose husband, Scott, was among those killed. "I'm so relieved that I can go home tonight and tell my kids, 'The man who killed your father is being punished.' " Alberto Romero, 45, a machine shop supervisor from Rancho Cucamonga, embraced his cousin Henry as both men wept. "Justice was served," Romero said. Metrolink trains run each day behind his machine shop in the city of Industry, Romero said, serving as a constant reminder of the crash that took his uncle's life. He said life in prison would be a more significant punishment for Alvarez than death. "He needs to think about it," Romero said. "And he's going to be amongst bad people too. I have a lot of hate inside." But Tony Tutino, whose brother James was killed aboard the train, said he believed Alvarez deserved the death penalty. "If you make those decisions, you need to pay," Tutino said. On Wednesday, jurors sent a note to Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge William Pounders requesting "a more elaborate definition" of 1st-degree murder and malice; and they wanted to know whether premeditation had "any effect on deciding 1st-degree murder in this case." At least 2 jurors also requested a visit to the site where the incident occurred, but withdrew their request Thursday, less than an hour before the panel reached a verdict. Defense attorneys Thomas W. Kielty and Michael R. Belter, who were appointed to represent Alvarez, declined to comment. Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley praised the work of Deputy Dist. Attys. John Monaghan and Cathryn Brougham, the Major Crimes Division prosecutors on the case. "I am gratified with today's verdicts," Cooley said in a written statement. Prosecutors had argued that on the morning of the crash, Alvarez doused his vehicle with gasoline and parked it on the tracks about half a mile south of downtown Glendale, hoping to cause a catastrophe. Defense lawyers had insisted that the tragedy was an accident that occurred after Alvarez, a delusional methamphetamine addict, changed his mind about committing suicide. Alvarez testified that he tried, but failed, to get his vehicle off the tracks. During five days of testimony, Alvarez apologized for causing the tragedy and asked for forgiveness from victims' relatives. He told jurors that although he expected to be punished, he was "not a murderer." "It was an accident," he testified, "a stupid mistake." The defense lawyers portrayed their client as a troubled but sympathetic man who had survived an abusive childhood. He had often tried to kill himself, they said. Defense attorneys said that on the day of the wreck, Alvarez -- whom they described as a loving father of 2 small children -- snapped. He was upset over his wife getting a restraining order that prevented him from seeing his children. When he drove his SUV onto the tracks, Alvarez's "single-minded purpose" was to commit suicide, the defense team argued. But prosecutors depicted Alvarez as a manipulative liar who was violent and dangerous. Under cross-examination, Alvarez acknowledged that he carried a knife and sometimes a machete. He also admitted that he had once pulled a knife on his cousin, thought about killing his wife and threatened to kill her over an alleged lover. Prosecutors contended that Alvarez conducted "pretend" suicides as a way to draw sympathy and pity. They argued that on the morning of the derailment, homicide, not suicide, was on Alvarez's mind. Before he drove his vehicle onto the tracks, Alvarez acknowledged that he had thoughts about killing his wife at her job. But she was not at work at that time. As a result, prosecutors argued, innocent Metrolink passengers bore the consequences of his wrath at his wife. Teresa Nance, whose mother, Elizabeth Hill, was a crash victim, was perturbed that Alvarez showed no remorse while the verdict was being read. "He didn't seem to care," she said. McKeown's widow said the years since his death had been torture for her and her 2 children, 11 and 9. A lifelong train buff, Scott McKeown often took his children on train rides from their home in Moorpark in Ventura County for lunch or just to have ice cream. The couple dreamed of Scott being able to earn enough money so that Susan could stay at home with their daughter and son. A week before the crash, Scott, a telecommunications manager for the city of Pasadena, finally got the raise they needed for her to quit her part-time job. Nearly every day of the eight-week trial, tow truck driver Todd McKeown sat in the audience absorbing often painful evidence, including photographs of his brother's body after the crash. A worker of long hours, he sometimes struggled to stay awake in court. "It was devastating to see my brother, but I also knew I had to face it," he said. "I had to face it. I had to be there. I couldn't turn my back on any part of it." Metrolink spokeswoman Denise Tyrrell said her company shared in the family members' grief. "No matter what happens, we cannot look at this situation with anything but sadness," she said. "Nothing is going to bring these 11 people back." Some crash survivors and victims' families have sued Metrolink, contending that the agency could have minimized the damage by placing an engine at the front of the train rather than the back. Tyrrell said such a practice could have made the losses worse had diesel in an engine caught fire. (source: Los Angeles Times) ********************************** US man faces death penalty over fatal train crash A man who parked his car on a Los Angeles railway track, causing a train crash that left 11 people dead 3 years ago, has been convicted of murder and faces the death penalty. Juan Manuel Alvarez, 29, was found guilty shortly after a jury at Los Angeles Superior Court began their 2nd day of deliberations following a 2-month trial. Jurors ruled that the killings carried the special circumstance of multiple murder, meaning Alvarez could face a death sentence when the penalty phase of his trial begins on July 7. Prosecutors said Alvarez caused the accident on the Metrolink commuter line on January 26, 2005 deliberately to get attention. The defendant's lawyers claimed however that Alvarez had parked his car on the tracks to kill himself but was unable to remove it after he changed his mind at the last minute. Alvarez's car was hit by a Los Angeles-bound train, which derailed and then ploughed into a train travelling in the opposite direction. As well as the 11 fatalities, more than 180 people were injured. (source: ABC News) NEW YORK----federal death sentence NY appeals court upholds death penalty verdict A federal appeals court in Manhattan has upheld the death sentence for Donald Fell, who killed a Vermont supermarket worker as she prayed for her life. It's the first time since the 1960s that the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled on whether to uphold the death penalty for an individual. Fell is on death row in Terre Haute, Ind. He was the 1st man sentenced to death in Vermont in almost 50 years. He was convicted of carjacking and kidnapping. Terry King was driven to upstate New York, then beaten and kicked to death, in November 2000. Before that, Fell and an accomplice killed his mother and her companion in Rutland, Vt. (source: Associated Press) ILLINOIS: Illinois urged to decide fate of death penalty When former Gov. George Ryan took the extraordinary step of emptying Illinois' death row over fears that an innocent person could be executed, he urged lawmakers to reform the death penalty. Five years later, the future of capital punishment in Illinois is no closer to being decided. The current governor, Democrat Rod Blagojevich, refuses to carry out executions of the 14 people now on death row despite approving several reforms. Lawmakers have ignored legislative attempts to decide the issue. And prosecutors are slower to seek the death penalty. As the issue languishes, those involved in the debate agree on at least one thing: It's time for lawmakers to lift the moratorium or abolish the death penalty altogether. "I don't think that the moratorium was meant to be a permanent position," said Jennifer Bishop-Jenkins, a member of the state's Capital Punishment Reform Study Committee and a victim's rights advocate who favors abolishing the death penalty. "Vengeance does not fill the gaping hole left behind," said Bishop-Jenkins, whose pregnant sister and brother-in-law were murdered in their Winnetka home in 1990. "It does not provide justice, to kill the offender and suggest that it is going somehow balance out or make OK what happened to her and her husband and her baby." But she knows some of those she represents feel differently, and says it's time for Illinois to decide one way or the other. In 2000, Ryan, a Republican, made Illinois the first state with the death penalty to suspend executions, after 13 condemned prisoners were freed for wrongful conviction. Just before leaving office in 2003, Ryan cleared death row entirely, sparing 167 people from execution. Most had their sentences commuted to life in prison, though a handful got outright pardons. The issue has stalled since then, even as other states have resolved the issue. In 2004, Blagojevich signed into law capital punishment reforms - including mandatory videotaped confessions in murder cases, restrictions on testimony from jailhouse informants and broader use of DNA analysis - and created a committee to review the reforms annually for 5 years. But the panel has rarely had enough members - appointed by Blagojevich - to do its work, and the governor vetoed its funding this year. Nevertheless, DuPage County State's Attorney Joseph Birkett said Blagojevich should lift the moratorium, saying the reforms have made it virtually impossible for the innocent to end up on death row. The state also budgeted more than $12 million this year for a fund that will help pay for such things as investigators, DNA analysis and health evaluations in capital cases. "This has been a thoughtful, careful and informed set of reforms that all parties have had a chance to weigh in on and I don't think the governor is even aware of these and the effect that they're having across the state," Birkett said. Jane Bohman, executive director of the Illinois Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, argues the capital punishment system has improved but is still flawed. She said there are too many circumstances under which someone could qualify for the death penalty, and the decision on who gets the sentence is too arbitrary. For instance, a jury convicted Juan Luna last year in the 1993 execution-style murders of seven people at the Brown's Chicken and Pasta restaurant in Palatine but rejected the death penalty. Meanwhile, Laurence Lovejoy of Naperville was sentenced to death after he was convicted of killing his stepdaughter. "The moratorium is a necessity because we had a horribly broken system and it's not fixed," Bohman said. Other states have made more progress. In New Jersey, lawmakers in 2006 imposed a moratorium on executions and two years later abolished the death penalty after concluding it was too much of a financial and emotional burden. New York also has effectively abolished the death penalty through court decisions. Virginia this year lifted its death penalty moratorium after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of lethal injection in April. But Illinois isn't the only state in limbo. California's death penalty has been on hold for 2 years because of legal challenges in federal and state courts. Delaware, Maryland and Tennessee also have halted executions while the issue of whether lethal injection is constitutional is resolved within each state, according to the Death Penalty Information Center in Washington D.C. In Illinois, lawmakers aren't rushing to resolve the issue. Sen. Rickey Hendon, D-Chicago, sponsored legislation to abolish the death penalty last year, but the Senate has never voted on the idea. Similarly, Rep. Dennis Reboletti, R-Elmhurst, introduced a resolution to end the moratorium, only to see it languish in committee. So that leaves the decision to Blagojevich. The governor plans to keep the moratorium in place until he "is confident there is no chance an innocent person will be put to death," said spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff. "After such a long and tragic history of injustice, we will not rush to judgment or put some sort of artificial timeline in place," she added. But Ottenhoff would not say what Blagojevich is doing to review the reforms, or what criteria he'll use to decide whether to end the moratorium. She did not respond to repeated requests for an interview with anyone in the administration who is studying the death penalty. Meanwhile, prosecutors are slower to seek the death penalty. 15 people have been sentenced to death in Illinois since 2003 - 1 apparently committed suicide recently - compared to 33 who were condemned in the 5 years before the commutations. Winnebago County State's Attorney Philip Nicolosi recalled explaining to a grieving family why his office was hesitant to seek the death penalty in their case. "One of the things I told them was this case pretty much has a guarantee that it's going to go on without a final resolution if we do seek the death penalty," he said. (source: Fort Mill Times) ******************************** Death row since Gov. Ryan's commutations Since former Gov. George Ryan emptied death row in 2003 before leaving office, 15 people have been sentenced to death, including one who reportedly killed himself in June. Here are the dates the inmates were placed on death row, followed by their name and a brief description of the crime for which they were convicted: 1) Feb. 23, 2003 -- Anthony Mertz, for the rape, killing and mutilation of an Eastern Illinois University student. 2) Aug. 5, 2003 -- Curtis Thompson, for killing a Stark County deputy and 2 neighbors. He died June 6, 2008 after he apparently committed suicide. 3) April 26, 2004 -- Ricardo Harris, after conviction for killing 2 Oak Lawn liquor store employees and hurting 2 people during a robbery. 4) April 26, 2004 -- Teodoro Baez, for killing 2 people and dismembering their bodies with a samurai sword after a drug dispute. 5) June 16, 2004 -- Cecil Sutherland, for sexually assaulting and killing a 10-year-old Marion County girl. 6) August 17, 2004 -- Andrew Urdiales, for the murder of a 21-year-old Hammond woman. 7) July 11, 2005 -- Joseph Bannister, after conviction for shooting his ex-girlfriend and killing her sister. 8) June 6, 2006 -- Paul Runge, for raping, killing and setting on fire a mother and her 10-year-old daughter. 9) Sept. 25, 2006 -- Dion Banks, for killing a woman during a carjacking. 10) Oct. 23, 2006 -- Brian Nelson, for beating to death his ex-girlfriend, her father, her brother and the father's girlfriend and setting them on fire. 11) Feb. 15, 2007 -- Laurence Lovejoy, for raping and killing his stepdaughter. 12) May 23, 2007 -- Daniel Ramsey, after conviction for raping and killing a girl, shooting to death another girl and hurting 3 other people. 13) Aug. 8, 2007 -- Rodney Atkin, for killing an Oak Park woman after breaking into her home. 14) March 21, 2008 -- Gary Pate, for killing his wife and stepdaughter. 15) May 1, 2008 -- Eric Hanson, for killing his sister and brother-in-law and his parents. [source: News archives and the Illinois Department of Corrections] (source: Associated Press) ************************* Brian Dugan eligible for death penalty if convicted, judge rules----Inmate is accused of 1983 rape and murder of 10-year-old Jeanine Nicarico A DuPage County judge Thursday ruled the state's death penalty law constitutional, clearing the way for Brian Dugan to receive the penalty if he is convicted of the 1983 rape and murder of 10-year-old Jeanine Nicarico, and ordered an investigation into how sealed information on the case got to a reporter earlier this week. Judge George Bakalis took the unusual move of impounding the foot-thick file after a suburban newspaper story detailed plans for a court-approved county poll to determine whether media coverage has affected Dugan's ability to get a fair trial in DuPage. The story also named a mental health expert that the defense plans to use. "I am somewhat disturbed by it," said Bakalis, who ordered the court clerk's office to investigate the matter. "I don't know how this is possible." Both sides have denied involvement in releasing the information. The public is barred from reviewing the case file until after Dugan's trial, scheduled to begin Jan. 20. However, a Tribune check of the computer court files Thursday morning, several hours before the hearing, found that at least two documents labeled as sealed could be opened. One of them named the two defense mental health experts. Dugan is serving 2 life sentences for murder. (source: Chicago Tribune)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----CALIF., N.Y., ILL.
Rick Halperin Sun, 29 Jun 2008 08:26:32 -0500 (Central Daylight Time)
