June 20 NEW YORK: Winner: Senate will back death penalty The state Senate later today is expected toi act on legislation co-sponsored by Senator George H. Winner Jr., R-C, Elmira, to reinstate New Yorks death penalty in all cases of 1st-degree murder. The legislation addresses a June 2004 decision by the state's highest court, the Court of Appeals, that declared unconstitutional a key section of New York's existing death penalty statute. The Senate has approved legislation over the past year to reinstate the death penalty in cases of 1st-degree murder involving the killing of a police officer, peace officer or employee of the state Department of Correctional Services. The legislation approved today would fully reinstate the death penalty and protect all citizens. Winner urged Assembly Democratic leaders to allow a vote on the measure. "Tough laws and a strong criminal justice system have helped to make New York one of the safest large states in America over the past decade," said Winner, a member of the Senate Crime, Crime Victims and Correction Committee. "We shouldn't keep the door shut on the death penalty. It was a key weapon in our criminal justice arsenal throughout most of this era of declining violent crime rates." (source: Elmira Star-Gazette) NORTH DAKOTA----federal death penalty will NOT be sought 3 men charged in a conspiracy to bring methamphetamine, marijuana and cocaine from Mexico and the West Coast to North Dakota and other states will not face the death penalty, U.S. Attorney Drew Wrigley says. More than 50 people have been indicted in the case known as "Operation Speed Racer," including 5 men charged in the 2005 death of Lee Avila, 28, of East Grand Forks, Minn. Jorge "Sneaky" Arandas, Gabriel Martinez and Alan Wessels, who are among those accused in Avila's death, could have faced the death penalty. Wrigley said Tuesday that prosecutors had decided against seeking that punishment if the men are convicted. The decision was made after talking with high-ranking justice officials and family members of the victim, Wrigley said on the steps of the federal courthouse. He would not reveal his recommendations to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. "We go through a careful consideration," he said. "It also involves not just the leadership of the department, but career officials in the Department of Justice who have been working on these matters across many, many years," Wrigley said. Another suspect who could face the death penalty, Martin Carrillo, is still at large, and no decision has been made about the possible punishment for him, Wrigley said. "The question is still very much open on him," Wrigley said. Arandas, Martinez and Wessels are scheduled for trial in September. With the death penalty off the table, they face maximum sentences of life in prison without parole if convicted. Prosecutors said Avila, 28, was shot to death in a dispute over 5 pounds of meth delivered to him. Michael Petzold pleaded guilty in the killing earlier and was sentenced to 30 years in prison, avoiding a possible death sentence. Wrigley said prosecutors had a "productive discussion" with Avila's mother, Francisca Avila Vargas, who is in prison after being found guilty in separate drug conspiracy case. "At the end of the day, the wishes of the family don't control the decision. But they are, of course, very important and we want to weigh them in," Wrigley said. None of the defendants in the drug conspiracy has gone to trial. About 45 people have pleaded guilty, Wrigley said. "Speed Racer is a case that covers a lot of geography and a lot of time," Wrigley said. "It's our objective always to take down as much of an organization as possible, and that requires going well outside our region." Wrigley said federal prosecutors have considered death penalty eligibility for eight people in his term as U.S. attorney. They sought it in just one casethat of Alfonso Rodriguez Jr., who was found guilty and sentenced to death for the killing of University of North Dakota student Dru Sjodin. (source: Associated Press) NEW MEXICO: Judge rules death penalty unconstitutional in Albuquerque trial A judge in Albuquerque has found the death penalty unconstitutional. State District Judge Tim Garcia adopted the findings of studies that say many jurors have made up their minds on the penalty before they have decided whether someone is guilty. Garcia is the first judge in the state to make such a ruling, defense attorney Jeff Buckels told the Albuquerque Journal in a copyright story published Wednesday. "I hope it will embolden other judges to rule the same way," said Buckels of Albuquerque, who heads the capital crimes unit of the New Mexico Public Defender Department. "It took courage to rule that way." The judge's ruling does not affect other death penalty cases in the state but could serve as an example. In New Mexico, the jury that finds someone guilty of a potential death penalty crime hears further testimony, then decides on the death penalty or life in prison. Garcia's opinion came in the murder case against Jesus Aviles-Dominguez, 29, and Daniel Good, 34, who are charged with the fatal beating of fellow Santa Fe County jail inmate Dickie Ortega, 32, in 2004. Although the defense had asked the judge to dismiss the death penalty, Garcia chose a different remedy separate juries for the guilt/innocence and penalty phases. Garcia cited studies' findings that that jurors decide on a penalty prematurely, which he said constitutes arbitrary and capricious violation of the federal and state constitution. "The only way to properly and adequately protect the sentencing phase from being tainted by a premature jury determination during the evidentiary phase of trial is to impanel a separate jury for the sentencing phase," Garcia wrote in his opinion filed June 8. 2 other state judges have rejected similar arguments put forward by the defense in capital cases, including one scheduled to begin a penalty phase hearing this week in Albuquerque. District Judge Stephen Quinn of Portales turned down a defense request to dismiss the death penalty in the murder trial of Stanley Bedford, Buckels said. Bedford is being tried in Albuquerque because of pretrial publicity in Roosevelt County in the double homicide of Odis and Doris Newman. District Judge Don Maddox of Lovington also rejected a request to dismiss the death penalty on similar grounds in a case that went to trial last spring. The jury returned a verdict of life in prison. Garcia's opinion adopts findings of study conducted by the National Science Foundation-funded Capital Jury Project. The multiyear project in 14 states collected post-sentencing data from more than 1,200 jurors in death penalty trials. New Mexico wasn't one of the states studied, but the authors testified the results are applicable nationwide. Study authors identified other problems with capital sentencing, including problems removing death-biased jurors during the selection process, jurors' failure to follow death penalty instructions and racism in the determination and imposition of the death penalty. (source: Associated Press) ************************* Death penalty phase planned----Last New Mexico inmate executed was on death row 14 years If Stanley Bedford receives the death penalty, he'll be in exclusive company New Mexicos death row and odds are hed be there for a while. Bedford was convicted Thursday of 2 counts each of murder and kidnapping and other charges in connection with the March 3, 2005, deaths of Odis and Doris Newman of Portales. The jury reconvenes Thursday for the penalty phase, and will choose either to make Bedford New Mexicos third death row inmate, or let his judge-imposed sentence of 120 years stand. If Bedford receives the death penalty, history points to him being on death row for quite a while. Terry Clark, the only person executed in the last 45 years in New Mexico, went through 14 years of appeals before his 2001 death by injection. The 2 inmates currently on death row have been waiting a combined 17 years. Compare that to Texas, where there were 24 executions in 2006, and 394 over the last 23 years. "It's not just the law, it's the people here," said Gary Mitchell, who is defending Bedford and has worked numerous other death penalty cases. "We have a more diverse population and diverse cultures. We're more of an enchanted state in that regard. The death penalty wouldn't exist in this state if it wasn't for Texas influence." District Attorney Matt Chandler said the low numbers and long appeals processes are a testament to the states safeguards to make sure everythings done right. "The death penalty is the most severe form of punishment and should only be used in the most severe cases," Chandler said. "Terry Clark was sentenced to death in May of 1987 and he was put to death in November of 2001. Part of that process is allowing appellate courts to review the case from start to finish to make sure every rule was followed properly and that the defendant received a fair trial." Mitchell contends Bedford is innocent, and said after the verdict he hoped the Supreme Court would intervene on the conviction and, if necessary, on the death penalty. This week, he seemed pessimistic on those chances. "There was a time when you could count on that, but not anymore," Mitchell said. "Most politicians, most judges don't have the courage to fight this kind of stuff. The fear is you won't have a job anymore. It's a real problem." Mitchell described prison as an 8-by-10-foot concrete-and-steel cell, where you're let out for just enough sunlight to prevent scurvy and fed food most Americans wouldn't feed their dogs. "It's not a pleasant place, not at all," Mitchell said. "Punishment is severe (without the death penalty). If we're ever to be a civilized people, we have to end this thing." Chandler has consistently said over the last 2 years the circumstances of the crime meet the state's parameters for the death sentence, and he has taken an oath to uphold New Mexico law even if it means years of appeals. "The decision was made after very careful review of the evidence and consultation with the victims' families," Chandler said. "We understood from the beginning the road would be long and could possibly be drawn out over the next 10 years." On the Web An Albuquerque jury will decide whether Stanley Bedford will become New Mexico's 3rd death row inmate. Here are the other 2: Timothy Allen: Convicted in 1995 for the attempted rape, kidnapping and murder of 17-year-old Sandra Phillips of Flora Vista in 1994. 3 days after she had moved from Phoenix to live with her mother, Phillips was walking around town looking for a job. Allen gave her a ride and took her into the hills north of Flora Vista. After attempting to rape Phillips, he tied a rope around her neck until she lost consciousness and later died. Robert Ray Fry: Convicted in 2002 for the murder and rape of 36-year-old Betty Lee of Shiprock in 2000. Fry was convicted of killing the mother of 5 by stabbing and bludgeoning her with a sledgehammer. Fry has also been convicted of 3 other murders: Donald Tsosie in 1998, and Matthew Trecker and Joseph Fleming in 1996. (source: Clovis News Journal) MONTANA: High court rules out death penalty for former MSU athletes In Helena, the Montana Supreme Court says the state cannot seek the death penalty, for 2 former Montana State University athletes accused of killing a suspected drug dealer. The court's 5-to-2 decision overturns a lower court ruling in January. It held that death was a possible punishment if John Lebrum and Branden Miller are convicted. The high court sided with defense attorneys. They argued that prosecutor Marty Lambert failed to meet a 60-day deadline after arraignment, to notify the trial court of his intention to seek the death penalty. Attorneys for Lebrum and Miller said that violated their clients' due-process rights, and prejudiced their cases. Lambert acknowledged missing the deadline. But he said he included death as a possible punishment when he filed charges; and he said both men were told in court appearances that they could be sentenced to death. (source: Associated Press) CALIFORNIA: 'Cold, vicious murder' calls for death penalty, judge says----He affirms jury sentence in '84 rape-slaying by man already condemned for killing boy A man already facing execution for killing an 8-year-old boy was formally sentenced to death Tuesday for raping and killing an 18-year-old San Leandro woman in 1984. Robert Rhoades, now 54, formerly of San Lorenzo, showed no visible reaction when Alameda County Superior Court Judge Joseph Hurley pronounced the sentence in an Oakland courtroom in the rape-slaying of Julie Connell. Connell's family and the mother of Michael Lyons, the 8-year-old boy killed by Rhoades in 1996 in Sutter County, were present in court Tuesday. Also in attendance were most of the jurors who decided that Rhoades must die after they convicted him of first-degree murder with the special circumstance of rape in Connell's slaying. The judge denied a motion by the defense to sentence Rhoades to life in prison without parole, saying he had destroyed lives in committing a "cold, vicious murder" that bore many similarities -- including the nature of the wounds inflicted -- to Michael's murder. "The deadly wounds on that child and Julie Connell could have been interposed," Hurley said. The judge agreed with Rhoades' attorneys that the convicted murderer was smart, but said that Rhoades also was "selfish and incredibly arrogant." The judge asked Rhoades whether he had anything to say. "No sir," he replied. Hurley then said, "It is the judgment of this court that you shall suffer the death penalty." Michael's mother, Sandra Fuller, smiled in triumph. Connell disappeared on April 20, 1984, after she went to a Hayward park to read a book. Her bruised body was found in an animal corral in Palomares Canyon near Castro Valley 5 days later. iAfter the sentencing, Fuller blasted Rhoades for his lack of remorse and called him "pure evil, sadistic." She said she agreed with the prosecutor, who during the trial labeled Rhoades, "the poster child for the death penalty." (source: San Francisco Chronicle) ********************* Court leaves killer on death row----Former Mountain View resident Bonilla, now 60, loses appeal The state Supreme Court upheld the murder conviction and death sentence Monday of a man who conspired with others to murder his partner and take over the business they shared. The court voted unanimously that Steven Wayne Bonilla, now 60 and formerly of Mountain View, should remain on death row for the October 1987 slaying of Jerry Lee Harris, 45, of Blackhawk. Bonilla, who had invested in several of Harris' businesses, in 1986 became Harris' partner in a Cupertino nightclub. But arguments over money and control of the business mounted, and Bonilla plotted with William Nichols of Mesa, Ariz., and Bradley Keyes of Elko, Nev., to murder Harris and take over the business. They lured Harris to a Pleasanton office park, overpowered him, wrapped his head with duct tape and put him in a car trunk, where he suffocated; they buried him in a shallow grave in the Nevada desert, where his remains were found months later. The court on Monday rejected Bonilla's claims that the jury had received faulty instructions; that he hadn't qualified for the lying-in-wait "special circumstance" that made him eligible for the death penalty; that a prosecutor had impermissibly vouched for Keyes' credibility as a witness; that the trial judge had erred by allowing certain jurors to serve; that prosecutors discriminated racially in selecting jurors; that photographs of Harris' grave and mummified remains shouldn't have been admitted as evidence; and so on. Harris also owned the Hot Rod cafes in Fremont and Alameda, the Shakers restaurant in Hayward, a Monterey County steel company and a San Diego tool-rental firm. Nichols was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole; Keyes received a three-year sentence in exchange for testifying against Bonilla and Nichols. The direct, automatic appeal decided Thursday exists only within parameters set at trial, seeking reversible error. Bonilla also has pending before the state Supreme Court a separate petition for a writ of habeas corpus: a reinvestigation of the whole case in which new evidence can be brought in or existing evidence can be recast. (source: Palo Alto Daily News)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----N.Y., N. DAK., N. MEX., MONT, , CALIF.
Rick Halperin Wed, 20 Jun 2007 16:59:10 -0500 (Central Daylight Time)
