June 5 VIRGINIA: Trial starts today in 1988 slaying of Yorktown High grad, boyfriend Opening statements are expected this morning in the capital murder trial of a California death row inmate charged with killing a Yorktown High School graduate and her boyfriend in Virginia nearly 20 years ago. Fairfax prosecutors and lawyers for Alfredo Prieto will first make their final decisions on the makeup of the jury. Prieto, 41, has been on California's death row for 15 years, convicted of fatally shooting a 15-year-old girl there. When California put DNA samples of its death row inmates into a national database 2 years ago, Prieto was linked to the December 1988 slayings of Rachael Raver and Warren Fulton III in Virginia. Raver had graduated in 1988 from George Washington University, where she played soccer. Fulton was a senior and captain of the school's baseball team. Both victims were 22. Prieto's lawyers will argue that he is mentally retarded and damaged from an abusive upbringing in El Salvador. (source: The Journal News) LOUISIANA: U.S. Supreme Court would regard this case differently. Unfortunately, it's not an idle hope. In a 1977 ruling, only four justices signed an opinion saying that capital punishment for rape was always unconstitutional. Justice Lewis Powell voted to vacate the sentence on the narrower rationale that "death is disproportionate punishment for the crime of raping an adult woman," leaving open the possibility that rape of a child might qualify as a capital crime. A majority of the current court might be willing to seize on the distinction Powell drew by upholding the death penalty for Kennedy. And the justices might be influenced by the argument that Louisiana's law, which capitalizes the crime of aggravated rape of a child under 12, reflects "evolving standards of decency." As the Louisiana court noted, 4 other states have followed Louisiana's lead. Texas will join the list if, as expected, the governor signs a bill recently approved by the Legislature. The rape of a child is an unspeakable crime. In its decision, the Louisiana court wrote that "short of 1st-degree murder, we can think of no other non-homicide crime more deserving" of the death penalty. But imaginative state legislators might easily discover other offenses worthy of the ultimate punishment: terrorism, major drug dealing (a capital offense under federal law) or violent hate crimes. Capital punishment has proved dysfunctional and divisive as a sanction for murder. The U.S. Supreme Court shouldn't compound the error - and increase its own workload - by allowing states to execute criminals who do not take a human life. (source: Editorial, Los Angeles Times) KENTUCKY: High Court Rejects Death-Row Inmate's Appeal A Kentucky death row inmate convicted under an alias has lost his bid to have his case heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. The high court on Monday rejected an appeal from Jeffrey Leonard, 44. He is on Kentucky's death row as James Slaughter. Leonard had asked the Supreme Court to take his case to clarify how bad his attorney must be and that his rights were violated by the poor legal representation. Leonard has spent nearly 25 years on Kentucky's death row. Attorney Ferdinand Radolovich was appointed to represent him. Radolovich has admitted that he did little to investigate Leonard's background, including not knowing Leonard's real name as he represented him. (source: WLKY News) ******************************* 2 spared death penalty, get 50 years each A Jefferson Circuit Court jury recommended this afternoon that 2 Louisville men found guilty in the December 2004 shooting death of Shirley Thomas spend 50 years in prison for her murder. Tywan Beaumont and Christian Walker were facing a possible death sentence but now will go in front of a parole board in 20 years. On Friday, jurors found Beaumont and Walker guilty of murder, robbery, assault and tampering with physical evidence. The jury must come back Tuesday morning to sentence the 2 for the robbery, assault and tampering charges. Under sentencing guidelines, Walker and Beaumont cant face any more than 70 years in prison. Beaumont buried his head in his hands on the table in front of him after the sentence was read, as deputies moved close behind him. Walker showed no emotion but told family members he loved them as he was led from court. Joe Ansari, an attorney for Walker, said he was disappointed that his client was given the same sentence as Beaumont, who he claimed was the shooter. Beaumonts attorney couldnt be reached for comment. Assistant Commonwealths Attorneys Mark Baker and Rick Taylor declined to comment on the sentencing, given that it has not been completed. But Baker called Thomas a true innocent who was killed after getting home from teaching choir. Police have said Walker, 21, and Beaumont, 24, tried to rob Thomas son, Phillip, when he was parking a car. When Thomas came out of the house to investigate, both men fired at her, police said. Thomas, 56, of the 900 block of Camden Avenue, died at University Hospital of a gunshot wound in the chest. Thomas sons girlfriend was wounded in the shooting. In February 2006, Beaumont pleaded guilty to murder robbery, assault and tampering with physical evidence and agreed to a sentence of 25 years in prison if he would testify against Walker. But Beaumont later refused to testify and his plea was thrown out earlier this year, said Taylor. (source: Louisville Courier-Journal) CALIFORNIA: D.A. asks for death penalty----Newark man killed San Leandro officer A Newark man convicted of murdering a San Leandro police officer in 2005 should be sentenced to death because he made a selfish decision to kill the officer instead of going back to jail, Alameda County's top prosecutor told jurors Monday. When stopped by the officer, Irving Ramirez didn't run away or drop the 10mm semiautomatic handgun that he had with him, said District Attorney Tom Orloff. Instead, he shot Officer Nels "Dan" Niemi in the head and then fired six more shots as he was on the ground, Orloff said. "Mr. Ramirez has already stolen Dan Niemi's life. Don't let him steal his moral constituency," Orloff told jurors during his closing argument Monday in the penalty phase of the defendant's trial. Ramirez "deserves the most severe sanction the law provides for -- that is the penalty of death." But an attorney for Ramirez, Deborah Levy, urged the jury Monday to "show mercy" and spare her client's life, as he would never be released into society and would die behind bars. "This is not 'kill and you shall be killed,' '' Levy said. "It's not that simple. American justice is not 'an eye for an eye.' " The jury began deliberations Monday. Ramirez, 25, faces either the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole for fatally shooting Niemi, 42, near Doolittle Drive and Belvedere Avenue on July 25, 2005. Officers found Ramirez's ID near an unconscious Niemi, who was shot in the face and leg and numerous times in the chest, authorities said. On May 10, a jury of eight men and four women convicted Ramirez of 1st-degree murder and special circumstances of killing a police officer and killing to avoid arrest. On Monday, Orloff told jurors that at Niemi's funeral, his daughter, Gabrielle, then 6, hugged his casket. "The little girl didn't have a chance to say goodbye to her dad," Orloff said. Levy said her client wasn't the "worst of the worst," and then recited a list of notorious murderers as evidence of those who were: Charles Manson, the Columbine killers, the Unabomber, the Zodiac, the Trailside Killer, Jeffrey Dahmer and Seung-Hui Cho, the gunman at Virginia Tech. "These people have, in essence, given up their right to live," Levy said. The defense attorney stressed that she wasn't trying to excuse what Ramirez did. But she said police officers have a dangerous job. One way to honor Niemi's memory was to sentence her client to life in prison, she said. Outside court, Niemi's widow, Dionne, expressed anger at Levy's remarks. "Ms. Levy gives new definition to the phrase, 'The law is an ass,' " Niemi said, referring to a phrase uttered by a character in "Oliver Twist," by Charles Dickens. ' I have never heard an attorney be so crass and so unprofessional." (source: San Francisco Chronicle) WASHINGTON, DC----federal death penalty trial Death-penalty deliberations to begin Jurors in the case of Larry Gooch, an enforcer in a D.C. drug gang found guilty of murder, will begin deciding today whether he should receive the death penalty. Gooch, 27, was found guilty Friday in U.S. District Court of the Aug. 1, 2000, murders of Christopher Lane, 19, and William Cunningham, 27, and the Feb. 21, 2003, murders of Calvin Cooper, 40, and his girlfriend, Yolanda Miller, 32. Yesterday, the jurors received their instructions to determine whether the government has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Gooch meets criteria making him eligible for the death penalty. The jury could deliver its decision as early as tomorrow. If Gooch is determined to be eligible for the death penalty, it will lead to the penalty-selection phase of the case, which would likely start next week. At that point, the government will take testimony from victims and family members to show why Gooch deserves to be executed. The defense will counter with testimony and arguments as to why Gooch should receive life in prison without parole. He was found guilty after 15 days of deliberation. Though capital punishment is banned in the District, Gooch could get the death penalty because he has been charged in a federal case. The Justice Department last year filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty against Gooch, a decision that had required the approval of U.S. Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales. According to court documents, Gooch, nicknamed "Goo," was considered "crazy" by other members of the M Street Crew, a PCP ring in Northeast. He acted as the gang's "enforcer" or "muscle," the documents state. 3 leaders in the M Street gang are serving life sentences in the case. More than 30 people have been arrested, but Gooch is the only defendant facing the death penalty. Gooch shot Miss Miller and her boyfriend, Mr. Cooper, because he suspected they were stealing drugs or cooperating with police, prosecutors charged. Mr. Cooper was found shot three times in the back in an alley. Gooch killed Mr. Cunningham during a home-invasion robbery, while a co-defendant killed Mr. Lane, authorities said. During Gooch's trial, which began in January, his attorneys argued that their client did not shoot anybody and challenged prosecutors' depiction of him as an enforcer. (sourece: Washington Times)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----VA., LA., KY., CALIF., WASH. DC.
Rick Halperin Tue, 5 Jun 2007 13:50:04 -0500 (Central Daylight Time)
