July 10 TEXAS: Sanders: Another troubling Dallas case The case of Carlton Akee Turner, who is scheduled for the Texas death chamber Thursday evening, presents the state and its noble citizens a whole set of conundrums: What really should be done with troubled youths who commit horrible crimes? Do we truly care about the feelings of the victims' families and how they view "closure"? How should our highest criminal court deal with cases from Dallas County particularly, with its history of racism, terribly flawed investigations and what some see as true "criminal" prosecution tactics of the recent past? At what point do the people of Texas say "enough is enough" when it comes to capital punishment, even for those who committed a crime, as Turner most certainly did? Many of you will remember the case of the Irving teenager arrested and charged with murdering his own parents, 2 revered people in the community who had adopted him as an 11-month-old baby. The news shocked North Texas, and many people were asking at the time, "How could he have done that?" That question still haunts Turner family members, many of whom want to see the young man's life spared. Turner, called "Akee" by family members, was born on an Indian reservation in Utah on Independence Day, 1979, according to a clemency petition filed with the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles by representatives of the University of Texas School of Law Capital Punishment Clinic. "As a child of a Native American woman and a black man, he was not accepted by his mother's tribe," the petition said. Carlton Turner Sr. and his wife, Tonya, and the child moved around the country because of the elder Turner's military career. And they often visited family in Pennsylvania together. Other family members saw a happy couple with a delightfully "cute" child a stable household with no problems. But, according to the petition, "While Tonya and Carlton presented the picture of a happy well adjusted family, troubles started at an early age. Akee exhibited learning and behavioral problems as early as elementary school. These continued throughout his school years. His problems were only exacerbated by his father's strict and abusive punishments. He suffered broken fingers, cuts, bruises and a broken leg (after his father threw him to the ground when he was seven years old), and endured many trips to the hospital as a result of his father's punishment." Turner, 19 at the time he shot his parents, testified about the abuse and said he killed his father in self-defense. He said he didn't know why he killed his mother. After the shooting, he dragged their bodies to the garage, where police found them three days later after obtaining a search warrant. The facts about the crime were presented in court and don't really play a part in the requests for clemency, something rarely granted in Texas under any circumstance. Maurie Levin, an attorney with the UT law school's Capital Punishment Clinic, argues in the petition and a supplement that Turner's sentence should be commuted to life on two grounds: Dallas County's history (including in this case) of excluding black people from juries in capital cases, and the fact that relatives of his dead parents also members of his family don't want him executed. Turner was convicted by an all-white jury, and anecdotal evidence suggests that no black people even made it to the voir dire (or questioning) part of jury selection. Jurors who expressed reservations about capital punishment on their questionnaires, a disproportionate number being African-American, were rejected "despite the fact that they may have been legally qualified to serve," the attorney said in her supplement to the petition. Because of the practice of excluding blacks from capital cases in Dallas County, both prosecutors and defense lawyers were complicit in this tainted procedure, the petition says. "The capital prosecution of an African American man by an all white jury from a jurisdiction with such an extensive record of discrimination in exactly that arena should cause doubts in the first instance," the petition said. "Where ... there is evidence of a deeper level of discrimination that is, by its nature, well camouflaged, a call for a halt to Mr. Turner's scheduled execution is compelled, at least until further investigation can be conducted." Noting a quote from Gov. Rick Perry that we "never forget the impact felt by crime victims," the attorney points out that the "vast majority" of Tony and Carlton Turner Sr.'s family members do not want to see the couple's son executed. "Executions are held out as a talisman that will provide the victim with closure," said the petition. "This belief serves in part as a rationale for executions. But, in Mr. Turner's case, an 'eye for an eye' truly does leave a family blind, twice robbed of their own." Affidavits from 3 family members were submitted with the petition. Kelly Johnson of Philadelphia, Tonya's brother, wrote: "I do not wish to see my sister's only child executed. I believe in my heart that my sister would only have wanted Akee to receive the help that he needed to restore his mind to a sound state." Tonya Turner's first cousin and close friend, Krishell Coleman of Lawrenceville, Ga., said, "I don't think Carlton should be executed. I don't want him to be executed. Now that I know more of the details that led to the murders, I realize that he needs help. Killing him is just another murder. Nothing is going to bring my cousin back. Killing him will just hurt our family again, the way Tonya and Carlton's murders did." The Board of Pardons and Paroles should recommend that the governor commute the sentence, and Perry should heed that advice. (source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram; Bob Ray Sanders' column appears Sundays and Wednesdays) MARYLAND: Former US AG to chair Md. death penalty commission A former U.S. Attorney General will be chairman of the Maryland Commission on Capital Punishment. Benjamin Civiletti was attorney general from 1979 to 1981 under former President Jimmy Carter. The commission was established in the last legislative session. It has been tasked with studying racial, jurisdictional and socio-economic disparities. It will also examine the risk of innocent people being executed. The commission will submit a report on its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly by Dec. 15. There are 22 other members of the commission. They have been chosen to represent diverse views on the death penalty. (source: Associated Press) *************** Civiletti to head Capital Punishment Commission 2 months after the Maryland Commission on Capital Punishment was signed into law, Gov. Martin OMalley appointed former U.S. Attorney General Benjamin Civiletti as chairman of the commission, along with 22 other members. "I come in with views, but they are not fixed views," Civiletti said when asked if he is for or against the death penalty. Gov. Martin O'Malley, who announced the commission members in front of a small gathering in the Legislative Services Building, said he was "confident" that Civiletti and the other commission members "will make fair and unbiased recommendations to the members of the Maryland General Assembly on this important issue." "General Civiletti's integrity and long history of public service will be assets to the commission," O'Malley said. The commission which was created by an act of the General Assembly in the 2008 legislative session is tasked with studying all aspects of capital punishment as currently and historically administered in the state. A final report on its findings and recommendations will be submitted to the legislature on or before Dec. 15. Civiletti was selected by the governor, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller and House Speaker Michael Busch. The rest of the group is comprised of 13 gubernatorial and 9 non-gubernatorial appointments. The governor's selections are: Chief Bernadette DiPino, representing the Maryland Chiefs of Police Percel Odel Alston Jr., representing the Maryland Fraternal Order of Police Noel Lewis Godfrey, Correctional Officer Representative Kirk Noble Bloodsworth, former state prisoner who was exonerated Reverend Alan M. Gould, Sr., representing the religious community Reverend Denis J. Madden, Archdiocese of Baltimore, representing the religious community Rabbi Mark G. Loeb, Beth El Congregation, representing the religious community Rick N. Prothero, brother of victim, representing family members of murder victim Vicki A. Schieber, mother of victim, representing family member of murder victim Oliver Smith, father of victim, representing family member of murder victim Matthew Campbell, representing member of the public David Kendall, Partner, Williams and Connolly LLP, representing meber of the public Delegate Sandy Rosenberg, District 41, Baltimore City, representing member of the public Appointments by Senate President Miller: Senator Jamie Raskin Senator James N. Robey Appointments by Speaker of the House Busch: Delegate Adrienne A. Jones Delegate William Frank Other appointments as required by the law establishing the Commission: Shannetta Paskel, representing Attorney General Douglas Gansler The Honorable William Spellbring Secretary Gary Maynard, Secretary of Public Safety and Correctional Services Katy O'Donnell, representative of the Office of the Public Defender Scott Shellenberger, Baltimore County State's Attorney, who has prosecuted a death penalty case (source: The Daily Record) GEORGIA: The death penalty and the case of Troy Davis Parliament adopted a resolution calling for Troy Davis, who has been convicted of murder and sentenced to death in Georgia, USA, to be granted a retrial in view of evidence which strongly indicates his innocence. Troy Davis was sentenced to death by the Georgia State Court in 1991 for the murder of a policeman and scheduled to be executed at the end of July 2008. According to Mr Davis' lawyers, there is abundant proof of his innocence, material evidence against him has never been found and seven witnesses against him have retracted their testimony. On 4 August 2007 the Supreme Court of Georgia had agreed to reconsider the new elements casting doubt on Mr Davis' culpability but on 17 March 2008 the same court decided to deny him a new trial. Retrial of Troy Davis merited on the basis of evidence The EP resolution "asks, in view of abundant evidence which might reverse his sentence, for the relevant courts to grant Troy Davis a retrial, and for the death sentence therefore to be commuted". It also "appeals urgently to the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles to commute the death sentence". MEPs call on the Presidency of the Council and the Delegation of the European Commission to the USA to raise the issue with the US authorities as a matter of urgency. EP opposed to death penalty on principle More broadly, today's resolution calls upon those countries where the death penalty is carried out to take steps towards abolition. This is in line with Parliament's general stance on capital punishment: in the past it has devoted much effort to seeking abolition of the death penalty and warmly welcomed UN General Assembly Resolution 62/149 of 18 December 2007 calling for a worldwide moratorium on the death penalty. Innocent death row prisoners have been reprieved in USA too Lastly, to underline the flaw in the use of the death penalty, today's resolution points out that more than 120 people have been released from death row in the USA since 1975 on the grounds of innocence. (source: European Parliament)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, MD., GA.
Rick Halperin Thu, 10 Jul 2008 14:46:09 -0500 (Central Daylight Time)
