[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----PENN., N.Y.

[Rick Halperin]

June 3



PENNSYLVANIA:

Blair court cases at record pace


The number of criminal cases being filed in Blair County is on a pace to
set a record this year  a circumstance forcing local officials to develop
ideas on how to move cases through the system.

Nobody is panicking or predicting the type of criminal court backlog that
staggered the system in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but there are
signs of strain.

In the first 5 months of 2007, Blair County Prothonotary and Clerk of
Courts Carol Newman recorded 1,220 new criminal cases, a pace that would
mean a caseload of 2,928 cases by the end of the year. That reflects an
increase over the 2,850 filed in 2006 and 2,796 in 2005.

President Judge Jolene G. Kopriva isn't concerned about the rising
numbers, she said, adding that the number of new cases only is a slight
increase.

While the year-to-year increases don't appear to be significant, a look at
the bigger picture shows a different side of the story.

In 1997, the number of new cases was 1,864, which means the District
Attorney's Office is handling 1,000 more cases this year than that of a
decade ago, with little addition to his staff.

"The good side is the police are out there getting these guys," District
Attorney Richard Consiglio said.

He said the higher caseload is leading to plea agreements on some charges
that, in an ideal situation, he would like to take to trial in an effort
to seek higher penalties.

In overseeing a large caseload, Kopriva emphasizes the "eye-on-the-ball"
approach.

"The system relies on a certain amount of tension. We all need to fulfill
our roles," she said.

Under Pennsylvanias speedy trial rules, an inmate is to be tried within
180 days after charges are filed.

Although no statistics are kept, more inmates are asking to be freed from
the county prison because they have not received speedy trials. One inmate
recently released was Eric Shird of Baltimore, who then failed to appear
for a subsequent trial on drug charges.

Kopriva said 1 reason for the possible delay in disposing of some cases is
that Blair County in the past 20 months has had 5 death penalty cases,
which have tied up judges and attorneys.

She said Assistant District Attorney Russell Montgomery in April had to
put more than 30 cases on hold while he prepared for and helped to try the
William D. Thompson double homicide case.

Kopriva said steps are being taken by court officials to manage the
criminal court caseload better. They include using a statewide Common
Pleas Court Criminal Case Management System.

Steve Schell of the Administrative Office of the Pennsylvania Courts said,
as of December, all of Pennsylvania's county court systems were linked
into the statewide computer network.

The statewide system allows officials to track cases at the magisterial
level, which Schell said means officials in Blair County will know if a
person has an outstanding warrant in any other county of the state.

The computer system also is allowing Blair County to manage its own system
better, Kopriva and Court Administrator Michael D. Reighard said.

Reighard said the system is helping to remove from the jury trial list
driving under the influence cases to be tried by judge, as well as any
cases earmarked for the Accelerated Rehabilitation Disposition program.
That has reduced the number of cases that have to be scheduled for jury
trial.

In a lot of ways, however, managing the large criminal court caseload
comes down to cooperation.

3 months after replacing longtime public defender Donald E. Speice, the
county's new public defender James DiFrancesco said he had taken steps to
reduce the number of cases slated for trial.

"Experience has shown me good defense lawyers know what they are going to
try. They know when a case should be plea bargained and resolved, and they
know when a case is frivolous," DiFrancesco said.

He said an effort is made by his staff to reduce low-grade misdemeanors to
summaries offenses (less serious charges) and to move lower-grade felonies
to misdemeanors.

That eases the caseload for the county court, DiFrancesco said. A key
factor in disposing of cases that can't be resolved in the lower court,
DiFrancesco said, is for the district attorney's staff to provide defense
lawyers with "discovery," or the evidence against the suspect, as quickly
as possible. The defense can then make a decision how to handle the case.

This is a point that often holds up the progress of a case through the
system, DiFrancesco and Consiglio agree.

DiFrancesco said the key to the success of his system, however, is
cooperation. Any agreement on how to dispose of a case relies on agreement
between his office, police, the victims and the district attorney.

So far, things have worked out well, he said.

2 months ago, his office represented 208 of the 480 cases on the trial
list. The upcoming trial list includes 106 public defender cases out of
408 on the trial list.

(source: Altoona Mirror)






NEW YORK----film review

'Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman'


If you're going to make the case against capital punishment, an
executioner's life story usually isn't the first recourse. But the true
story of Albert Pierrepoint, who hanged between 400 and 600 people in
England between 1934 and 1955, proves as effective an argument against the
death penalty as any attorney's plea.

Timothy Spall, best known as the rodentlike Pettigrew in the Harry Potter
movies, plays Pierrepoint with a persuasive blend of owlish rectitude and
circumspect gravitas.

At first, he takes on this onerous job, which secretly augments the money
he earns delivering groceries, as if it were a public service. He's even
proud of the efficiency with which he carries out his death sentences, and
eventually earns enough respect from the British government to get the
plum assignment of doing away with Nazi war criminals.

As such, he unwittingly and unwillingly becomes a hero, but his notoriety
soon becomes a burden he cannot endure. The movie hits its message a
little too emphatically, and its narrative unwinds a little too
schematically. But Spall's performance, along with that of Juliet
Stevenson as his devoted and sometimes credulous spouse, keeps things
grounded.

PIERREPOINT: THE LAST HANGMAN. Unrated. Directed by Adrian Shergold from a
script by Jeff Pope. 1:30 (violent images, nudity, vulgarities). At the
IFC Center, Manhattan.

(source: Newsday)