[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TENN., CALIF.

[Rick Halperin]

Sept. 5


TENNESSEE:

Jury To Begin Deliberating Monday In Taylor Death Penalty Case----Defense
Chooses To Put On No Proof

Jury deliberation will begin Monday in Chattanooga's 1st Federal Court
death penalty case after attorneys for Rejon Taylor said they plan to put
on no proof.

The government closed out its case on Friday morning with Hamilton County
Medical Examiner Dr. Frank King testifying that Atlanta restaurant
operator Guy Luck suffered four gunshot wounds when he was murdered at
Collegedale on Aug. 6, 2003.

Attorney Leslie Corey said Taylor should not be convicted of murder
because the only witness who was also in the van at the time of the
killing said it was not a carjacking or robbery. Taylor, who was 19 at the
time, is charged with carjacking, kidnapping, murder in conjunction with
carjacking and murder in conjunction with kidnapping.

Sir Jack Matthews shocked prosecutors on Thursday by completely reversing
his earlier statements and saying he, Taylor and Joey Marshall had been on
a trip with the restaurant operator to deliver a package of marijuana to a
house in Collegedale.

Prosecutor Steve Neff on Friday said that testimony by the government
witness was "inherently ridiculous."

If the jury finds Taylor guilty of murder, the panel would return on
Wednesday, Sept. 17, to begin a penalty phase of the trial.

The panel would decide whether he received the death penalty or life in
prison.

Matthews and Marshall earlier entered guilty pleas to all charges and are
facing life terms.

Dr. King said Mr. Luck was shot once in the mouth and also had gunshot
wounds to the upper back, left shoulder and lower arm. He died 5 1/2 hours
later at Erlanger Hospital.

Prosecutors said three of the shots, including the most serious one to the
mouth, came from the .38-caliber handgun wielded by Taylor, who was
driving the victim's van.

They said the other shot came from a .9-mm. handgun that was fired by
Matthews before the gun jammed.

Dr. King said the shot to the mouth was at close range and would have made
it difficult for the victim to breathe and caused serious blood loss.

Mr. Luck, after stumbling from the van, told persons who arrived on the
scene, "I've been robbed."

Dr. King said the victim also had suffered a number of blows to the head,
which he said could have been caused by the butt of Matthews' gun.

He said there was no sign of alcohol or drugs in the victim's body.

Attorney Corey said there was no proof that Taylor had planned to kill the
restaurant operator, whose mail he had earlier taken and whose home he had
burglarized several times, according to the proof.

She said he had "panicked and shot wildly out of fear" after Mr. Luck
apparently became upset over some statement and made a move toward one of
those in the vehicle.

She told Judge Curtis Collier, "This was totally spontaneous. There was no
malice aforethought."

Attorney Corey said if there was a plan to do away with the victim, "it
would have been much easier to do at his house rather than take him across
the state line."

Prosecutor Neff said there was "copious evidence" to support a guilty
conviction on all charges despite the change of testimony by Matthews, who
he said was "not believable at all."

(source: The Chattanoogan)

************

The Defense Rests in Death Penalty Case


Testimony has ended in the death penalty trial against Rejon Taylor in
U.S. District Court.

Taylor is accused in the murder of Guy Luke, an Atlanta businessman who
was murdered in Collegedale, Tenn. in 2003.

Hamilton County Medical Examiner Frank King was the last person called to
the stand by prosecuters. Dr. King testified about the autopsy he
performed on Luke. Dr. King's analysis of the body determined Luke had
been shot several times.

After King's testimony defense attorneys moved for an immediate dismissal
of all charges against Taylor on the basis the government did not prove
it's case. Judge

Curtis Collier did not dismiss the case.

The defense rested without putting any witnesses on the stand in Taylor's
behalf.

Closing arguments are expected to begin Monday morning.

(source: NewsChannel)






CALIFORNIA:

No Death Penalty For Siblings In Stepfather Slaying


A brother and sister accused of killing their stepfather in his
Rolando-area home will not face the death penalty, a judge said Friday.

Nathaniel Gann, 20, and his sister, Brae Hansen, 19, are charged with
murder and a special circumstance allegation of lying in wait in
connection with the July 19, 2007, shooting death of 63-year-old Timothy
MacNeil.

During a short hearing at the San Diego County Courthouse, Judge Frederic
Link said he received a letter from the District Attorney's Office saying
prosecutors will not seek the death penalty for Gann.

Hansen was a minor at the time of the murder, so she cannot be put to
death.

Both will face life in prison without the possibility of parole if
convicted.

Prosecutor George Bennett had no comment about the decision.

Gann's lawyer, Ricardo Garcia, said it was not the type of case the
Legislature and people envisioned when they instituted the death penalty.

"It's a relief and I think it's the right decision in this case," Garcia
said after the hearing.

The lawyer cited Gann's lack of a prior criminal record and his age. Gann
is only a year older than Hansen, so there would be an issue of "fairness"
for one to face the death penalty but not the other, he said.

At a preliminary hearing in January, a San Diego police detective
testified that Hansen told him she was angry at MacNeil, which is why they
killed him.

Their mother had committed suicide the year before.

After the murder, Hansen said she had been tied up by a robber who killed
her stepfather, but she later implicated her brother.

Hansen's attorney said she tried to stop her brother from killing their
stepfather, while his attorney said he was in Arizona and had nothing to
do with the murder.

Gann was arrested in Arizona, where he lived.

Trial is scheduled for Oct. 29.

(source: 10News)