Feb. 9 GEORGIA: Hearing on Gary's teeth----Lawyers say dental cast did not match bite mark found on body The set of the Stocking Strangler's teeth will be considered in a Feb. 14 federal court hearing, but the size of his shoes will not. U.S. District Court Judge Clay Land has scheduled a hearing in his Columbus courtroom for 9 a.m. on Valentine's Day to hear testimony related to a bite-mark cast made from impressions left on the breast of Janet Cofer, the last of the 7 victims in the Stocking Stranglings of 1977-78. Attorneys for death-row inmate Carlton Gary, who in 1986 was convicted of three of the seven murders in or near Columbus' Wynnton area, claim the bite cast neither matches Gary's teeth now, nor would it have matched them at the time the murder occurred. Gary has since had dental work on his upper teeth. Gary was not convicted of Cofer's April 19, 1978, strangulation, but evidence from that case was used in his trial to show the killer used methods similar to those employed in all the murders. His Atlanta attorney, Jack Martin, maintains that because the same person is supposed to have committed all the killings, exculpatory evidence from any of the cases would cast doubt on Gary's guilt. Gary was convicted in the murders of Kathleen Woodruff, Florence Scheible and Martha Thurmond. While allowing the defense to present testimony related to the bite cast, Land refused to grant a hearing on evidence that Gary's feet are too big for the shoe prints found at similar crime scenes -- particularly the copy of a print found outside the home of Ruth Schwob. Schwob was attacked Feb. 11, 1978, by a man believed to be the Stocking Strangler. She survived the assault. Former GBI Agent Jim Covington, who in 1978 was assigned to a task force investigating the murders, kept a photocopy of that shoe print, which was found on an air-conditioning unit upon which Schwob's assailant stood to climb through her kitchen window. The defense claims the print is about four sizes too small to match Gary's feet. Land said the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals remanded or sent the case back to District Court solely to hear evidence related to the bite mold, to make a more complete record of the issues upon which Gary's appeals are based. "This is a limited remand and the Eleventh Circuit still has jurisdiction over the case," Land wrote in his order issued Friday. "This Court does not have authority or jurisdiction to review any issue unrelated to the discovery of the bite-mark impression." The cast made from the bite mark was not used as evidence in Gary's 1986 trial, nor was his defense team told of its existence. When Gary's attorneys tried to get it introduced as evidence in 2003, it could not be found. Muscogee Coroner James Dunnavant found it in November 2005 while cleaning out a file cabinet in the Public Safety Center office once occupied by his predecessor, Don Kilgore. Among the evidence the defense has asked to present: Dunnavant's deposition. Testimony from Carlos Galbreath, who made the mold. Investigative reports regarding the bite mark found on Cofer's left breast and the dental work Gary has had. A report on the Cofer autopsy. Crime scene and autopsy photos of the bite mark. The bite mark exemplar, or cast, and stereomicroscope photos of it. Testimony from Doris Layfield, Ernestine Flowers and Gene Hewell regarding Gary's teeth. (source: Columbus-Enquirer) *************** Is this death penalty trial necessary? The death penalty trial of Brian Nichols, accused of the notorious 2005 Atlanta courthouse killings, will begin Thursday. It will be nationally televised on Court TV. We all remember the horrifying news. Nichols, a rape defendant in custody, was being brought to the courthouse for a hearing. While in court, he allegedly stole a gun from a sheriffs deputy and shot and killed a judge and court reporter. He fled the courthouse and in the aftermath of his escape, allegedly shot and killed a sheriffs deputy and a Customs agent. All of America watched the 26-hour manhunt, thanks to the cable news networks that provided wall-to-wall coverage. The tragic story took a remarkable turn when Nichols turned himself into authorities the next day, after spending the night at the home of a woman he took hostage, Ashley Smith, a born-again Christian who treated him with understanding and compassion. She even cooked him pancakes in the morning, just prior to his surrender. Smith became an overnight national heroine and later wrote a book about her ordeal. Venue has not been changed for the trial. It will take place in the same courthouse where the killings occurred. The trial is expected to last 6 months, with jury selection alone consuming three months. At least 3,500 juror summons have been issued. It will be the most expensive trial in Georgia's history, with $500,000 spent on the defense to date. I'm not aware of the cost of prosecution, but generally, it runs much higher. Ultimately, the Georgia taxpayers will bear the cost for both. Many will wonder what the point is of a 6-month trial when its obvious the defendant on trial is the one responsible for the killings. For the defense, the point is to save Brian Nichols' life and try and convince at least one juror that life in prison, rather than death, is the appropriate penalty. For the rest of us, the point is to ensure the fairness of our criminal justice system. Many people think that criminal trials are only a search for the truth. But, as U.S. District Court Judge Richard Matsch pointed out to the families of the Oklahoma City Bombing victims at a pre-trial hearing in the case of Timothy McVeigh, a trial is simply a test of the evidence and whether the prosecution can prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. That means only evidence lawfully obtained can be admitted. It means that the defense must be afforded a chance to challenge the state's evidence, including eyewitness identifications, the voluntariness of confessions and whether the state has turned over all potentially exculpatory material. Death is different. The defense must be allowed to probe the beliefs of prospective jurors on the death penalty. Since only those who state they could impose the death penalty will be allowed to serve, the defense must be given a chance to weed out those who would refuse to impose a life sentence, based solely on the heinousness of the crime. DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Hilton Fuller, who is presiding over the case, has acknowledged the most difficult task will be seating an impartial jury. "The reality of a fair trial in this case may be more difficult than in others," he says. "We need to demonstrate that we can conduct fair trials under whatever circumstances arise." One has to ask, is this death penalty trial necessary? Is it in society's best interest? What besides vengeance would be lost by a guilty plea and a sentence of life without the possibility of parole? Of the 3,500 summonses issued in the Nichols case, 2,200 have gone unanswered, indicating that many citizens don't want to serve on the case. Perhaps as The New York Times and the Boston Globe recently opined, the time is right for America to rethink the death penalty. I hope the spectacle and the expense of the Nichols' trial results in many Americans asking themselves the same question. (source: Jeralyn Merritt, The Examiner) INDIANA: 2 chances remain for man to avoid execution Jan. 19----Governor or judge could spare life of Timberlake in killing of trooper Norman Timberlake likely faces an uphill battle in his bid to win clemency from Gov. Mitch Daniels, but the death row inmate maintained his innocence Monday to the state Parole Board. What's next Norman Timberlake last week petitioned the governor for clemency before his execution. During the process, the five-member state Parole Board conducts a two-part clemency hearing and votes on a recommendation. Gov. Mitch Daniels then decides whether to uphold the death penalty or commute the sentence but is not bound by the board's vote. The 1st part of the clemency hearing took place Monday at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City. Jan. 16: Conclusion of the clemency hearing, 9 a.m. in the auditorium of the Indiana Government Center South, 302 W. Washington St., Indianapolis. Attorneys for both sides will present arguments, and family members and others will testify. At 2:30 p.m., the Parole Board will vote on its recommendation. Jan. 19: Unless Daniels grants clemency or a federal court orders a delay, Timberlake will be executed shortly after midnight. His execution looms on Jan. 19, and he has 2 chances to avoid that outcome. Daniels could commute his sentence, or a U.S. District Court judge in Indianapolis could rule in his favor on two pending lawsuits contesting his death sentence. During a clemency hearing Monday at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City, several Parole Board members expressed skepticism about the 59-year-old inmate's assertion that he was wrongly convicted. "If I was 10 feet away when it happened, I can't help nothing," Timberlake told the board. A Marion Superior Court jury found him guilty and sentenced him to death for the 1993 murder of Indiana State Police Master Trooper Michael E. Greene, who died during a traffic stop on I-65 in Indianapolis. "It's open and shut," said Michael Greene, 32, the trooper's son. "The evidence is overwhelming. It's not like it hinges on DNA or something like that." Greene, who lives in Lebanon, watched a live video feed in Indianapolis with other family members and State Police officers. On Jan. 16, they will get a chance to testify to the board during the final part of the clemency hearing in Indianapolis. Afterward, the 5-member board will vote on a recommendation to the governor. 6 death sentences have been carried out since Daniels became governor in 2005. He has rejected 3 clemency requests and has overruled the board's advice once. He commuted Arthur Baird II's sentence to life in prison in 2005, but he noted "a unique circumstance" in the mentally ill inmate's case -- some jurors and family members of the victims supported clemency. That is not the case with Greene's family. Timberlake's other hope is in the courts. One federal suit argues Timberlake is too mentally ill to be executed, and the other says Indiana's lethal injection procedures don't prevent unnecessary pain during an execution. Judge Richard L. Young hasn't ruled in either case. Last month, the Indiana Supreme Court denied Timberlake another appeal on the mental illness claim. A court-appointed psychiatrist found Timberlake understood the reason for his execution, despite Timberlake's saying that prison officials were using a computer-operated machine to make him hear voices and feel pain. Prosecutors said Timberlake shot Greene, 43, when the trooper tried to handcuff Tom McElroy, who was traveling with Timberlake and had an open arrest warrant. But on Monday, Timberlake said he sat on the hood of a car while McElroy spoke to Greene. "Then I heard a scuffle and a pop," he said. Board members asked why he later grabbed the gun and why he went to a bar instead of calling police. He said he was scared. McElroy, who received a time-served sentence for his involvement, has since died. If the execution goes forward, a new state law will let the victim's family members witness it. Greene's daughter, Shannon Davis, 35, watched Timberlake on the TV screen Monday, the 1st time she had seen him since the trial. "He just makes me angry," said Davis, who lives in Rensselaer. "I don't want to see his face. He's still living and breathing." (source: Indianapolis Star) MISSISSIPPI: U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear Miss. death row inmate appeal The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear the appeal of Mississippi death row inmate Devin Bennett. Bennett, of Richland, was sentenced to death in 2003 in Rankin County for the murder of his 10-week-old son, Brandon Bennett. An autopsy showed the child had injuries consistent with shaken baby syndrome. The Mississippi Supreme Court in 2006 upheld his capital murder conviction and sentence. The Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear Bennett's case. Bennett had argued in the state courts that he deserved a new trial because of errors during the selection of his jury. Defense attorneys also had argued that Bennett accidentally kicked the child off a bed. According to the court record, the baby had been left in Bennett's care by the child's mother when she went to work. (source: Associated Press)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news---GA., IND., MISS.
Rick Halperin Tue, 9 Jan 2007 16:47:04 -0600 (Central Standard Time)
