April 12
INDIANA: Prosecutor undecided on call for death penalty If the evidence warrants, Morgan County Prosecutor Steve Sonnega could call for the murder charge against John Robert Myers II to be a capital case. If Sonnega does this and Myers is convicted, the defendant could face life without parole or the death penalty. During the initial hearing Tuesday afternoon in Morgan County Superior Court II Judge Christopher Burham had Sonnega read a subsection of the murder charge, which allows the state to seek either the death penalty or life without parole. As charges currently read, if Myers is convicted of Behrmans murder, he could receive between 45 and 65 years in prison. After the hearing, Sonnega said for the death penalty or a sentence of life without parole to be imposed, an aggravator defined under the law must be proven. He gave examples such as the killing of a police officer or a child younger than 12 years of age as aggravators which could lead to the death penalty. Sonnega said the case is still unfolding and if reason is found, he could file a capitol murder charge against Myers. During the initial hearing, Judge Burnham entered a preliminary plea of not guilty for Myers. The defendant had been represented by local attorney Bill Van Der Pol during the grand jury proceedings but was replaced by Indianapolis attorney Patrick Baker who represented Myers at the initial hearing. During the hearing, Behrmans parents were able to see the man who allegedly killed their daughter. Security was heavy before, during and after the hearing as Myers was escorted by Morgan County Sheriff Robert Garner and members of his department to and from court. They also stayed in the courtroom during the hearing. Myers mother and brother also attended the hearing. They left without speaking to anyone. Judge Burnham set a number of pretrial dates for both sides. He has set a trial date of Sept. 18 at 8 a.m. After the hearing, Baker refused to comment on any evidence the state has against his client. Baker said a change of venue may be considered. He said the indictment against his client is vague on details. (source: Reporter-Times) PENNSYLVANIA: Justice Event Draws Experts This month, national experts will explore the impact of forensic science on the criminal justice system during the 6th annual Forensic Science and Law Conference, Justice for All: A National Symposium on the Role of Forensic Science in the Evolution of Criminal Justice Reform in America. The conference will meet Thursday, April 20, through Saturday, April 22, in the Bayer Learning Center. Presented by Duquesne Universitys Cyril Wecht Institute of Forensic Science and Law and the School of Law, in partnership with the Justice Project, the conference will feature sessions such as: When Innocence Isnt Enough: Procedural Bars to Post-Conviction DNA Testing; Police Lineup Procedures and Improving the Reliability of Eyewitness ID; Snitch Testimony: The Power of Uncorroborated Evidence; and The CSI Effect and the Psychology of Juries. Speakers include renowned forensic scientist Dr. Henry Lee; Stephen Saloom, policy director for the Innocence Project; James Starrs, professor of law and forensic sciences at George Washington University; investigative reporter Steve Mills of the Chicago Tribune; and Duquesne Universitys Dr. Victor Weedn, visiting professor of biology and adjunct professor in the School of Law. It also will feature powerful talks by two exonerated men, one of whom was on death row. Justice for All is co-sponsored by the American Bar Association Section of Criminal Justice, American Bar Association Section of Science and Technology Law, and the Pittsburgh Institute of Legal Medicine. For more information, including available credit for continuing education, or to register, visit www.justiceforall.duq.edu or call 412.396.1330. (source: Duquesne University) NORTH CAROLINA: Officials propose using controversial device N.C. prison officials have proposed using a controversial medical device to make sure death row inmate Willie Brown Jr. is unconscious and not experiencing pain during his April 21 execution. U.S. District Judge Malcolm Howard had given prison officials until noon today to submit a proposal to abide with his ruling last week. Howard had ordered that Brown's execution could only go forward if medically-trained professionals were present to make sure Brown is unconscious before paralyzing and heart-stopping drugs are administered. Brown's lawyers had raised concerns that inmates had been conscious and experience pain during executions based on eyewitness accounts and the levels of post-mortem sedatives in their bodies. Prison officials say they would use a bispectral index monitor, or BIS machine, to track the inmate's brain waves. The state's expert in the case, Dr. Mark Dershwitz, wrote in an affidavit that the machine is used to to make sure that surgical patients have received adequate anesthesia and patients on ventilators are adequately sedated. "It is my opinion, beyond a reasonable degree of medical certainty, that the utilization of the BIS monitor ... will prevent the possibility of the inmate being awake," wrote Dr. Mark the state's expert in this litigation, in an affidavit filed today. However, when told about the state's proposal, Dr. Richard Pollard, president of the N.C. Society of Anesthesiologist, laughed out loud. "These monitors cannot guarantee that a patient is asleep," said Pollard, a Charlotte anesthesiologist. "It has not been accepted by the American Society of Anesthesiologists." The national group issued an advisory last summer saying these devices were an emerging technology but that the decision to use the machines should be made by doctors on a case-by-case basis. "There is still much to be discovered about how these devices work, and in which situations they are best applied," Dr. Orin Guidry, the society's president at the time. "We are interested in following their continued evolution and to conducting further research in this area. Meanwhile, brain function monitors are an option to be used when the anesthesiologist deems it appropriate, just as he or she makes choices about specific drugs, dosages, warming devices and other types of monitors depending on the individual practitioner." ******************** Gell faces drug, sexual offense charges Alan Gell, who was sprung from North Carolina's death row 2 years ago because prosecutors covered up evidence that showed his innocence in a Bertie County murder case, was charged today with cocaine possession and 31 sexual offenses. The sexual charges against Gell, 31, all stem from a relationship he allegedly started last summer with a 15-year-old girl. The girl, now 16, is pregnant, and has told investigators Gell may be the father, according to a search warrant. The charges include 14 counts of statutory rape and 14 counts of indecent liberties with a minor. Gell also faces 1 charge of felony possession of cocaine. Gell appeared at the Bertie County Sheriff's Department with his lawyer, Tommy Manning of Raleigh. His bond was set at $322,000; he was scheduled to make a first appearance in court later today. Under North Carolina law, having sexual relations with someone under 16 is statutory rape if the age difference is 6 years or more. Each count of statutory rape carries a potential prison sentence of 16 to 40 years. The State Bureau of Investigation searched Gell's mobile home in Lewiston in February. The SBI was looking into allegations of sexual abuse that did not involve Gell, but opened a separate investigation after interviewing the girl involved. Gell spent 9 years behind bars, half of the time on death row, for murder in the 1995 death of Allen Ray Jenkins, a retired truck driver in the small town of Aulander in the northeast corner of the state. A judge ordered a new trial for Gell in 2002 because the prosecutors had withheld evidence favorable to Gell. That evidence included statements from witnesses who saw the victim alive while Gell was in jail on a theft charge, and a taped phone conversation of the state's 2 star witnesses saying they had to "make up a story" for investigators. A Bertie County jury quickly acquitted Gell at a 2nd trial in February 2004. Gell has been the subject of numerous articles in The News & Observer, which in 2002 published a 4-part series, "Time of Death," that questioned his guilt in the murder. (source for both: News & Observer) ***************** Flawed system At a vigil on the eve of Patrick Moody's execution last month, I learned many facts (too many to list here) that the jury that, in a death penalty proponent's words, "already decided what the appropriate punishment should be," never heard. Because the court-appointed public defenders failed to prepare an adequate defense, Moody was denied a truly fair trial. Our system of justice is not always just. The children of Elias Syriani begged Gov. Mike Easley to spare their father's life last November. They had forgiven him. The state made them victims once again. If the penalty for committing murder is being murdered, what happens to those enacting the penalty? I urge medical professionals to write to their boards, asking them to issue an opinion on whether participating in execution is in violation of professional ethics. I urge our elected officials to enact a moratorium on the death penalty, as former Gov. George Ryan of Illinois did in January 2000. He was not opposed to the death penalty itself, but acknowledged that the system behind it was flawed. Our leaders should realize the same is true here. Susan K. Lindholm----Chapel Hill (source: Letter to the Editor, News & Observer) MISSOURI: Recalling Jesus crucifixion, Mo. bishops oppose death penalty Recalling Christ's death on Good Friday provides an opportunity to reflect on Catholic teaching and the death penalty, the Missouri bishops state in a new pastoral letter opposing executions. "He was unjustly sentenced to death and executed on a cross, the cruelest form of capital punishment at the time," the bishops wrote. More violence, they added "is not a solution to society's problems." The letter summarizes church teaching and discusses the Catholic Campaign to End the Use of the Death Penalty started by the U.S. bishops last year. It points to Pope John Paul II's urging for people to be "unconditionally pro-life" and affirms a commitment to support victims and their families. The letter is signed by Archbishop Raymond L. Burke and Auxiliary Bishop Robert J. Hermann of St. Louis, and Bishops Robert W. Finn of Kansas City-St. Joseph, John R. Gaydos of Jefferson City and John J. Leibrecht of Springfield-Cape Girardeau. Retired Bishop Raymond J. Boland of Kansas City-St. Joseph also signed the letter. A statement accompanying the letter notes that recent developments have given death penalty opponents hope and provided a teaching moment for the bishops. On Feb. 1, the U.S. Supreme Court turned down an appeal from the state of Missouri to lift a stay of execution for Michael Taylor, who was scheduled to die that day. As a result, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was scheduled to hear arguments on the case April 18 to determine if the way the state administers lethal injection is unconstitutionally cruel and inhumane punishment. The bishops urged Catholics to pray for a ruling against the death penalty and to contact their elected officials to advocate a halt in executions. "This pastoral is very timely," said Rita Linhardt of the Missouri Catholic Conference. "The recent court interventions have focused attention on the inhumaneness of executions. As Catholics who believe in the sacredness of life, the use of state-sanctioned killing in our names diminishes us all." She noted that studies have shown that the death penalty is not a deterrent and that it costs more to execute someone than to put them in prison for life because of the expense of legal appeals. In addition, she said, 124 people have been let go from death row because of evidence uncovered in their cases that exonerated them. False convictions remain a real fear, in part because of a reliance on eyewitness identifications, she told the St. Louis Review, archdiocesan newspaper. Linhardt said the bishops continue to be concerned with murder victims' family members. "We have to be sensitive to what they are feeling and recognize the difficult times they're going through." A sentence of death offers the illusion of closure and vindication, the bishops stated, "but no act, even an execution, can bring back a loved one or heal terrible wounds. The pain and loss of one death cannot be wiped away by another death." In Illinois, a speaker made a similar link between the Lenten season and advocating to end capital punishment. Sister Helen Prejean, a Sister of St. Joseph of Medaille and author of the best-selling book "Dead Man Walking" and the recent book "The Death of Innocents," addressed a Catholic college audience in the Joliet Diocese and urged them to become stronger advocates against the death penalty, particularly during Lent. Sister Prejean, keynote speaker April 4 at Lewis University's annual "Signum Fidei" Lecture, called on her listeners to engage those they encounter in a dialogue that promotes a better understanding of the issues related to the death penalty. She said that during the final days of Lent participants should become "moral wedges" on the issue, reminding people that pro-life advocacy is on behalf of all human beings. (source: Catholic News Service)
