[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----PENN., S.C.

[Rick Halperin]

June 24



PENNSYLVANIA:

Judge asks court to uphold ruling ----Scott D. Keller, in a 68-page paper,
explains to state Supreme Court justices why he overturned a prior death
sentence order in a high-profile killing.


Berks County Judge Scott D. Keller has asked the Pennsylvania Supreme
Court to uphold his April 3 decision to overturn the death sentence for
David A. Sattazahn in the 1987 Palm Sunday murder of the manager at the
Heidelberg Family Restaurant.

Keller ruled Sattazahn's trial lawyer, John T. Adams of Reading, was
ineffective in his defense during the death-penalty phase of Sattazahn's
1999 retrial.

Keller, in a 68-page opinion, concluded Adams neglected to interview
Sattazahn's relatives and conduct an investigation into Sattazahn's mental
health history.

Keller's order comes on the heels of two trials and numerous appeals,
including one before the U.S. Supreme Court.

District Attorney Mark C. Baldwin appealed Keller's April 3 ruling to the
state Supreme Court.

Baldwin declined to comment.

Sattazahn, now 44, and Jeffrey S. Hammer, now 40, both formerly of
Newmanstown, Lebanon County, waited in a wooded area, then fatally shot
and robbed Richard D. Boyer Sr. as he left the restaurant along Route 422
on April 12, 1987.

The U.S. Supreme Court set new law Jan. 15, 2003, when it ruled that
Sattazahn could be sentenced to death in a retrial even though he was
convicted and sentenced to life in prison after his first trial in May
1991.

Subsequently, Assistant U.S. Defender Robert B. Dunham of Philadelphia
filed an appeal to Keller over several issues in Sattazahn's 2nd trial.

Keller agreed with Dunham that the mental health evaluation would have
provided the jury with a clearer picture before rendering a decision on
whether Sattazahn should be sentenced to death.

"We think Judge Keller got it right," Dunham said. "We think his opinion
lays out that mitigating evidence was available, but was not presented."

Dunham said a doctor's report showed Sattazahn suffers from brain damage
and mental disorders.

Keller said Dunham's investigation disclosed that Adams did not conduct a
thorough investigation into Sattazahn's background.

Dunham said Sattazahn was held back in kindergarten and first grade and
that would be a warning sign for psychological testing.

Adams said the state Department of Corrections did not provide any reports
that would have indicated a mental evaluation was needed.

During the penalty phase, Adams called Sattazahn's mother, Betty
Sattazahn, who testified her son was an only child who was manipulated by
Hammer.

Adams also presented one of Sattazahn's former employers, who testified
Sattazahn always arrived for work on time.

During the retrial, Baldwin sought the death penalty because of
Sattazahn's violent past, including a December 1987 conviction in a
separate murder case.

Sattazahn is in the State Correctional Institution at Greene, Greene
County.

(source: Reading Eagle)






SOUTH CAROLINA:

Gowdy sends Riddle death penalty notice


Solicitor Trey Gowdy served Ernest Riddle with a death penalty notice on
Friday.

Judge Cordell Maddox of Anderson will preside over the trial. A date
hasn't been set.

Riddle has been sentenced to death on three occasions since he was first
convicted and sentenced to death in 1986 for murdering and robbing
76-year-old Abbie Sue Mullinax in her home.

The S.C. Supreme Court granted Riddle, 39, a new trial last month, citing
prosecutorial misconduct on the part of former Solicitor Holman Gossett.

The unanimous opinion states that the solicitor's office withheld evidence
from Riddle's defense team and violated Riddle's right to a fair trial
when it failed to correct misstatements made by Jason Riddle, Riddle's
brother and a key prosecution witness.

(source: Spartanburg Herald-Journal)