May 16 NEW JERSEY: Repeal death penalty New Jersey has taken another step on the path to abolishing capital punishment and we encourage the state Legislature to continue moving in that direction. During an emotional hearing last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 8-2 in favor of replacing capital punishment with life in prison without parole. The panel heard pleas from supporters and foes of the death penalty. In heart-wrench ing testimony, Sharon Hazard- Johnson implored lawmakers to keep and use the death penalty, particularly in the case of Brian Wakefield, who was sen tenced to death in the 2001 slaying of her parents in their Pleasantville home. Last week, the state Supreme Court upheld the death penalty for Wakefield. "When a vicious person willfully kills someone, execute them," Hazard-Johnson told the Senate panel. "Don't continue to put people like us through this." Several lawmakers pointed out that capital punishment should be reserved for such hei nous crimes as fatal sexual at tacks on children and acts of terrorism that claim the lives of innocent people. Ironically, the Senate hearing came just days after six people were arrested in a plot to kill soldiers at Fort Dix, a fact not lost on some legislators who spoke in favor of the death penalty. It is difficult to separate emotion from fact when debating capital punishment. The facts speak for themselves: The death penalty is ineffective as a deterrent; it is often discrimina tory; it can take the life of an in nocent person; it is more costly to taxpayers; and, depending on the method of execution, it can be cruel and unusual punishment. On the more visceral side, capital punishment seems to serve more as a form of revenge than justice. It is also an arbitrary way for lawmakers to say, "This crime is so vile that it warrants the ultimate penalty." But emotion should not play a part in taking a human being's life, no matter how terrible the crime. New Jersey declared a moratorium on capital punishment in 2005 and commissioned a panel to study the issue. Earlier this year, the New Jersey Death Penalty Study Commission recommended that the state abolish capital punishment, saying it is "inconsistent with evolving standards of decency." We agree. We encourage our state legislators to support the abolition of the death penalty. New Jersey can set a progressive example by becoming the 1st state to jettison capital punishment since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated it in 1976. (source: Editorial, The Times of Trenton) OKLAHOMA---new execution date Court Sets Execution Date For Death Row Inmate----Man To Die For 1996 Murder A man who was sentenced to death for the 1996 murder of a Tillman County man will be executed on June 26, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals has ruled. Jimmy Dale Bland, 49, was convicted of the Nov. 14, 1996, murder of Doyle Windle Rains, 62. Bland was arrested 2 days later for driving under the influence. At the time he was driving a vehicle owned by Rains. Bland later confessed to killing Rains at Rains' residence and hiding his body in a nearby field. Attorney General Drew Edmondson's office requested the execution date last month after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Bland's final appeal. Bland will be the 2nd person executed in Oklahoma this year. Corey Duane Hamilton, 38, was executed Jan. 9 for the execution-style slaying of 4 fast-food employees during a robbery in 1992. No other executions are scheduled. (source: KOCO News) CALIFORNIA: Here's a link to the proposed revised protocol, "STATE OF CALIFORNIA SAN QUENTIN OPERATIONAL PROCEDURE NUMBER 0-770, EXECUTION BY LETHAL INJECTION": http://www.cya.ca.gov/Communications/docs/RevisedProtocol.pdf ******************** Arnie pushes for capital punishment ARNOLD Schwarzenegger wants to start executions in California after a 15-month moratorium. And that's bad news for the 666 prisoners awaiting execution in San Quentin State Prison, the nation's largest death row. Governor Schwarzenegger's officials have proposed a new execution chamber and the creation of a "lethal injection team" at San Quentin. Injection team members would be selected by the prison warden, trained and conduct rehearsals before scheduled executions. "I am committed to doing whatever it takes to ensure that the lethal injection process is constitutional so the will of the people is upheld," Governor Schwarzenegger said yesterday. The moratorium on capital punishment started in February last year, when Judge Jeremy Fogel halted the execution of Michael Morales, a condemned rapist and murderer. Judge Fogel ruled in December that California's lethal injection procedures were "cruel and unusual punishment". Yesterday the state said it would build a new "Lethal Injection Facility" at San Quentin. Officials said changes to the lethal injection protocol would result in the "dignified end of life" for the condemned inmate. California said that it would stick to a 3-drug combination for executions. The 1st, sodium thiopental, renders prisoners unconscious and keeps them in that state before the injection of pancuronium bromide, which induces paralysis, then potassium chloride, which sparks cardiac arrest. The training would include lessons on mixing sodium thiopental, a powder that must be mixed with a liquid for use in the process. Executioners would have to monitor inmates more closely to ensure they were unconscious before the 2 lethal chemicals would start to flow. Both the warden and the person dispensing the drugs would stay in the new, expanded execution chamber to monitor the condemned prisoner for signs of discomfort and distress before death. Governor Schwarzenegger said he was confident the changes would enable executions to resume. "I am confident that the plan submitted to Judge Fogel will address his concerns and allow the state to enforce the law of the land," he said. Eleven of the 37 states that use lethal injection have placed all executions on hold because of similar challenges, claiming it violates the US Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. California has executed 11 inmates since starting to use lethal injection in 1996. (source: The Herald Sun) ******************** State offers new lethal injection protocol----Seeking to end a judge's ban on executions, officials propose a 'pain-free' method. Aiming to end a court-imposed moratorium on capital punishment in California, the Schwarzenegger administration Tuesday proposed new procedures to execute inmates by lethal injection, saying the changes "will result in the dignified end of life" for condemned inmates. The state, in papers submitted in response to a court challenge to lethal injection, said officials would stick to the 3-drug protocol that has been blamed for excruciatingly painful deaths of inmates nationwide. But officials said they would adjust the doses and train prison staff to ensure that inmates are thoroughly unconscious before the final painful drugs are given. The state also plans to complete construction of a larger, better-lighted death chamber designed specifically for lethal injection executions, unlike the old facility, which was built in 1937 as the state's gas chamber. On Tuesday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's legal affairs secretary, Andrea L. Hoch, and James Tilton, director of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said the new protocol addressed all the issues U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel raised in finding that the state's previous procedures violated the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment. And Schwarzenegger issued a statement saying, "I am committed to doing whatever it takes to ensure that the lethal injection process is constitutional so the will of the people is upheld." But lawyers for Michael Morales, the condemned killer whose challenge to lethal injection led to Fogel's ruling, made it clear they will challenge the new protocol in court. "The protocol still fails to conform to the standards for euthanasia of animals established by the American Veterinary Medical Assn. and does not meaningfully address the problems described by Judge Fogel" in his decision, said Washington, D.C., attorney Ginger Anders, one of Morales' lawyers. Morales has been on death row for a quarter of a century for the 1981 murder of Lodi teenager Terri Winchell. Fogel halted his execution 15 months ago, hours before he was to die, because of the inmate's challenge. Executions have been on hold since then, while Fogel conducted a lengthy investigation into lethal injection procedures. Fogel ruled in December that the state's application of its death penalty law was broken, but said it could be fixed. He urged the governor to propose remedial action. California and three dozen other states use a 3-drug cocktail. Opponents argue that officials often fail to properly sedate inmates with a barbiturate against the searing pain of the final heart-stopping chemical. The inmate's reaction to the pain is masked by the intermediate drug, a paralytic, they say. A national study published in the Public Library of Science journal PloS Medicine in April found that two of the three drugs used in lethal injection are not administered properly to reliably ensure a humane death. State officials said Tuesday that they had considered switching to a single-chemical protocol. But they instead proposed to "substantially revise" the 3-drug protocol. They said the changes would "assure that the condemned inmate is rendered unconscious" by the 1st drug, a fast-acting barbiturate, and would remain unconscious during the injection of pancuronium bromide, which paralyzes the inmate, and potassium chloride, which causes cardiac arrest. Under the new protocol, the state will administer less sodium thiopental - 3 grams rather than 5, more pancuronium bromide - 50 milligrams rather than 40, and less potassium chloride - 200 milliliters rather than 240. The state's papers did not explain the reason for the dosage changes. Fogel had also faulted state officials for inconsistent and unreliable screening of execution team members; poorly trained staff; inconsistent and unreliable recordkeeping; improper mixing, preparation and administration of drugs; overcrowded conditions; and poorly designed facilities. He also chastised state personnel for a "pervasive lack of professionalism." On Tuesday, in documents to be submitted to the court and in a news conference, Tilton and Hoch said all those concerns were addressed in the new protocol. Tilton said the state was creating a 20-person lethal injection team at San Quentin State Prison. All members will be volunteers who have lodged no stress claims, have good disciplinary records and have not worked in the condemned-housing unit during the previous year. All team members will undergo at least six training sessions before a scheduled execution. Part of the team will be assigned to security, another unit will inject drugs into the inmate and another will keep records. State officials acknowledged Tuesday that earlier versions of the protocol "made no provisions for any objective assessment of consciousness of the condemned inmate following administration of the sodium thiopental, and prior to the administration of the other chemicals." Hoch said that the warden and a licensed vocational nurse would be in the death chamber with the inmate to make sure that the inmate was unconscious and that the execution was proceeding properly. The protocol states there are reliable methods for assessing consciousness, including "talking to and gently shaking the inmate, as well as lightly brushing the eyelash." Deborah Denno, a Fordham University law professor and death penalty foe who has testified as an expert witness in other lethal injection cases, questioned whether a licensed vocational nurse is competent to assess a condemned inmate's anesthetic depth. In court documents, the state said that the use of only one chemical also has disadvantages: "Since no other jurisdiction uses only one chemical, the protocol remains untested. The use of only a barbiturate would likely result in involuntary muscle movement, with unpredictable consequences. Finally, the execution may take an extended period of time." The state said the advantages of retaining the three-drug protocol are that all of the other states use it and that its lethality "is unquestioned, and when properly administered, the protocol will result in a pain-free, dignified end of life for the condemned inmate." But Anders said the state's continued use of the paralytic, pancuronium bromide, "will ensure that no one knows if the inmate regains consciousness after it is administered." The California corrections department started erecting a new death chamber this year, but halted work last month after legislators objected that they had not been properly informed about the project. Tilton said about 80% of the work has been done, but its completion has to be approved by the Legislature. He also said that state officials had visited state prisons in Virginia, Oklahoma and Indiana, where lethal injections are performed, as well as the federal prison in Terre Haute, Ind., where Timothy McVeigh was executed, to help develop their proposal. The federal lethal injection procedure, however, is also the subject of a court challenge. Judge Fogel has scheduled a June 1 status conference in the Morales case. It's unclear when the judge will rule on the state's plan, and until he does, there will be no executions in California. (source: Los Angeles Times) ******************************* State proposes training, new death chamber to satisfy judge The Schwarzenegger administration proposed completing a new execution chamber at San Quentin State Prison and providing more oversight of prison officials Tuesday, seeking to satisfy a federal judge who ordered California to devise a more humane way of executing death row inmates. Under the revised protocols, the state still would put prisoners to death with a combination of 3 drugs, the same lethal injection formula U.S. District Court Judge Jeremy Fogel wanted reevaluated when he ruled that the state's execution procedures violated a constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment. California prison officials told Fogel they think they can allay his concern that condemned inmates suffer unnecessarilyand persuade the judge to lift a 15-month-old moratorium on capital punishmentby changing the process by which the drugs are delivered. "Today, my administration submitted a comprehensive plan that addresses the court's concerns and will maintain the death penalty in California," Schwarzenegger said in statement. "I am committed to doing whatever it takes to ensure that the lethal injection process is constitutional so the will of the people is upheld." Among the changes outlined are creating a 20-person "lethal injection team" at San Quentin whose volunteer members would be interviewed and selected by the prison warden. They would undergo trainingincluding at least 1 simulated dress rehearsalin each of the 6 months before a scheduled execution. In addition, both the warden and the person dispensing the drugs would stay in the new, expanded chamber to observe the execution and monitor the inmate for signs of discomfort and distress until death. "The revisions to California's lethal injection protocol will result in the dignified end of life for the condemned inmate," officials from the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation wrote in court documents filed Tuesday. In declaring the state's lethal injection methods unconstitutional in December, Fogel asked whether the 3-drug combination was the best available option. But he also noted myriad problems with the way the state carried out executionsranging from poor lighting in the overcrowded death chamber to improperly mixed chemicalsthat could render them so painful "it offends the Eighth Amendment." The proposal submitted Tuesday is a critical step toward reinstating the death penalty in California, where capital punishment has been on hold since Fogel halted the execution of Michael Morales, a condemned rapist and murderer, in February 2006. More than 650 men and women are awaiting execution in the state, home to the nation's largest death row. Responding to objections raised by Morales' lawyers, Fogel found substantial evidence that the last six men executed at San Quentin might have been conscious and able to feel pain when drugs designed to paralyze them and stop their hearts were administered. State officials said they considered scaling back to one drug, but concluded it might cause prisoners to go into convulsions "with unpredictable consequences." They also visited prisons in Virginia, Oklahoma and Indiana to see how those states implement lethal injections. To address constitutional concerns surrounding the three-drug method, the revised procedures call for additional steps to be taken to make sure prisoners are unconscious before they receive the last 2 drugs. After injecting an initial 1.5 grams of the sedative sodium thiopental, for instance, the executioner would have to "brush the back of his/her hand over the condemned inmate's eyelashes, and speak to and gently shake the condemned inmate" to gauge responsiveness. If the inmate still is conscious after another shot of sodium thiopental, the executioner would have to begin the process again using a backup set of syringes before moving on to the next drugs in the sequence, the revised protocols state. San Quentin's death chamber, built in 1938, was designed as a gas chamber. Under California law, condemned prisons also have the option of requesting to be put to death by lethal gas instead of through the injection of fatal drugs. Earlier this year, the state corrections department started building a new execution chamber in response to the legal skirmish. The facility, being built about 50 yards away from the existing one, includes 3 separate viewing rooms, a holding cell and a large area for executioners to prepare the lethal injection mix. Schwarzenegger ordered the department to stop work on the new chamber, however, after state lawmakers objected that they had not been consulted. The Legislature would have to approve funding for the work if it exceeds $400,000, and current estimates put the cost at more than $700,000. Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, said Tuesday that state officials should "take a deep breath" and gauge the judge's reaction to the state's execution plan before legislators consider approving more money for a new death chamber. "Judge Fogel never ordered the construction of a death chamber," said Romero, who chaired a hearing into the funding controversy last week. "What we first of all need to find out, would the judge even approve it?" Fogel has not set a timetable for ruling whether the proposed procedures pass constitutional muster. If the Legislature approves funding for the new execution chamber, it could be completed by early fall, said James Tilton, secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. 11 of the 37 states that use lethal injection have placed all executions on hold because of similar challenges claiming it violates the Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. The case is Morales v. Tilton, 06-219. (source: Associated Press) *********************** Federal judge and legislators plan to fix death penalty----Morales might be executed by end of the year if proposal is approved The governor's top corrections official announced plans Tuesday to fix the state's lethal-injection procedure, which could bring a condemned Stockton man's execution by the end of this year if a federal judge and legislators approve the plan. The changes unveiled by California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Secretary Jim Tilton doesn't change the current 3-drug protocol dramatically but rather calls for training the execution team better and finishing construction on a controversial new execution chamber. Tilton said he is confident U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel, who halted California executions last year amid constitutional challenges raised by Stockton's Michael Angelo Morales, would approve the fixes. Fixing the system To make sure California's lethal injection does not inflict an unconstitutional level of pain on death-row inmates, the state has: Established a process for screening executioners, who are volunteers and do not work with condemned inmates. Created a program for training execution team members for at least 6 8-hour sessions. Devised a system for keeping detailed records on each inmate's execution. Developed a way to train executioners in the proper way to mix sodium thiopental, a key drug for putting inmates to sleep for execution. Started construction of a new death chamber. Updated San Quentin State Prison's Operating Procedure 770, which describes step by step how an execution is carried out. "Fogel did not rule that lethal injection is unconstitutional," Tilton said. "What he said was that our system was broken but could be fixed." Tilton outlined six points that also require the warden at California State Prison at San Quentin to screen the volunteer execution team's members carefully, train them thoroughly on the procedures and mixing the drugs, and have them keep detailed records of each execution. Morales, 47, was sentenced to death for the 1981 rape and murder of Terri Lynn Winchell, a 17-year-old Tokay High School student. He hit Winchell with a hammer and stabbed her with a butcher knife. His execution was set for Feb. 21, 2006, but his attorneys raised last-minute objections, arguing that the inmate might experience a painful execution. The case halted capital punishment in California and ignited a debate over lethal injection. Fogel, after nitty-gritty hearings on the state's past executions, ruled that California's method of lethal injection was unconstitutional. He urged Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to take the lead in fixing it. The governor's administration began secretly building a new lethal-injection chamber at San Quentin. Construction was stopped last month when legislators learned of the construction project, which had grown expensive and didn't have their approval. Tilton said plans to finish building the new lethal-injection chamber are part of the governor's budget, which awaits final approval. The deadline for that approval is July 1. The federal court case is set for a June 1 hearing before Fogel, who can accept or reject the plans. With both hurdles jumped, Tilton said, the state could resume executions in less than 2 months. Construction on the new death chamber is 80 percent complete, Tilton said. Schwarzenegger said in a written statement that he was committed to doing "whatever it takes" to resume executions. "I am confident that the plan submitted to Judge Fogel will address his concerns," Schwarzenegger said. Morales' lead attorney, David Senior of Los Angeles, had not seen the state's revised plan released Tuesday, but he criticized the Schwarzenegger administration for denying gaping problems with the execution chamber and then trying to repair them secretly. "5 months ago, he advocated that there was nothing wrong with his death machinery, and only 2 weeks ago, he denied that he even knew that a new death chamber was being built without legislative oversight," Senior said. "The wrong fox is watching this henhouse." Sen. Michael Machado, D-Linden, who oversees the committee on prison budgets, said the governor's attempt to build the new chamber came at the expense of doing it in the open. He was encouraged by the plans Tilton unveiled. "The fact the governor has laid this out and made it public is a good thing," Machado said. "It takes away the shroud of secrecy." Los Angeles attorney Gloria Allred, who spoke on behalf of Winchell's mother, Barbara Christian, said she had little concern for Morales' pain in light of Christian's grief all these years. Morales has been in prison longer than his victim lived, Allred said. She read a statement prepared by Christian: "I personally feel lethal injection is too merciful for criminal killers. They need to fear their execution, not be unconscious and not even know when the end comes." (source: Stockton Rercord) ***************** Store owner's killer won't be executed ----Facing capital punishment for slaying a Hawthorne man, Omar Dent III waives his appeal rights for life in prison without parole. Omar Dent III will not die by lethal injection, but he will die in prison. Under a deal finalized Tuesday, Dent gave up all his appeal rights and prosecutors have dropped their quest to put him back on death row for the 1988 murder of a Hawthorne liquor store owner outside a Lawndale bank. "This is what we've offered for a long time," said Dent's attorney, Alternate Deputy Public Defender Kelly Buck. Dent, 44, admits he killed 40-year-old Byung Jin Kim on Aug. 19, 1988, outside a bank where Kim had just withdrawn $80,000 in cash. Dent shot Kim through the window of his van 3 times, pushed him aside and drove off -- Kim beside him gasping his last breaths. On a dead-end street near Leuzinger High School, Dent tried to carjack August Cardino, an off-duty police officer, whom he shot and wounded, before fleeing. Dent, who has confessed to the crimes, was arrested the next day and charged with murder and the special circumstance that the killing occurred during a robbery, as well as robbery, kidnapping for robbery, attempted murder and attempted robbery counts. A jury in 1991 convicted Dent of all the charges and he was sent to death row. However, the state Supreme Court tossed out the convictions and sentence in 2003 after finding Dent was wrongly denied the right to represent himself at that trial. Last year, a second jury also convicted Dent of all the charges, but deadlocked 8-4 in favor of death in the penalty phase. Prosecutors said they wanted another trial on just the penalty phase. "After considering all of the various factors in this case, the Special Circumstances Committee decided that allowing a plea to life in prison without the possibility of parole with waivers of all appellate rights was the most prudent course of action," Deputy District Attorney Lisette Suder said. During a brief hearing before Torrance Superior Court Judge James Brandlin, Dent did not hesitate to say "yes, your honor" and "yes, ma'am" to the judge and prosecutor in acknowledgment of giving up any attempts for a different outcome in his case. He will return to court June 5 for sentencing. "He is truly remorseful," Buck said about her client, adding that his family is grateful to the District Attorney's Office for the deal. Alternate Public Defender Jerome Haig, who also represented Dent, said he hoped that a definitive end to the case will bring closure for Dent's victims. The automatic death penalty appeals process can last decades. Haig and Buck had filed motions for a new trial based on rulings made during last year's trial but withdrew those as well as part of the deal. Dent, who testified on his own behalf, told the jury that 15 years on death row changed him for the better. Family members, including some young nieces and nephews, told the jury how the former gang member encouraged them to study and make something of themselves. The prosecutors, though, pointed out the devastation Dent created when he killed Kim, a father of 2, and injured Cardino -- who lived with physical ailments until his death several years ago. They also presented evidence about fights Dent had behind bars. The jury also heard about an unrelated 1983 killing outside a Los Angeles restaurant for which Dent pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, but now denies responsibility for. (source: Daily Breeze) US MILITARY: Hennis case may hinge on DNA evidence At 10 a.m. today, exactly 22 years after his arrest in a brutal triple murder, Timothy Hennis will enter a military courtroom to face the charges for the 3rd time. This time, investigators have said, there is DNA evidence that couldn't be tested before. They said it points to Hennis as the man who raped Kathryn Eastburn, then stabbed her to death and slashed the throats of 2 of her 3 daughters the night of May 9, 1985. Twice before, state courts have tried Hennis. He was convicted in 1986, but was acquitted 3 years later after the state Supreme Court ordered a new trial. He has been free ever since. Prosecutors appear to be counting on the DNA evidence to make a case against Hennis that sticks this time. A source familiar with the case said privately that the DNA is from semen. But military prosecutors aren't talking about the evidence. And defense lawyer Frank Spinner did not respond to repeated calls. The type of DNA evidence could be revealed today when military prosecutors present their case in an Article 32 hearing on Fort Bragg. An Article 32 hearing is where prosecutors try to persuade the presiding officer he's not a judge; hes called an investigating officer that the evidence is enough to warrant a court-martial. That could depend on the type of DNA evidence. While DNA testing has been an effective tool for solving crimes, simply finding DNA isn't always enough for a conviction, said Fayetteville criminal defense lawyer Paul Herzog. Herzog has no connection to the Hennis case, but he is familiar with capital trials. Sometimes there is a logical, innocent reason for someones DNA to be present at the scene of a crime, Herzog said. Hennis had a good reason to visit the Eastburn home two days before the murders: He adopted the Eastburns' dog, an English setter, which they were giving away because the family was moving overseas. "Where did they get the DNA from and where was it found?" Herzog asked. "That makes all the difference in the world." If it is from hair, or even blood, it could have an innocent explanation. People shed hair all the time. Hennis could have suffered a minor cut when he was picking up the dog. But if the DNA is semen, that could be hard to explain. "If it's found inside of her body and its sperm, he's in bad trouble," Herzog said. Commander's decision After the Article 32 hearing, the investigating officer will make a recommendation to Lt. Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, the commander of the 18th Airborne Corps. Austin will decide whether Hennis will be court-martialed. He also decides whether Hennis could face the death penalty again. Hennis first was sentenced to death in the summer of 1986 when a Cumberland County jury found him guilty of rape and murder in the deaths of 31-year-old Kathryn Eastburn, who was an Air Force wife, and her daughters Kara, 5, and Erin, 3. Kathryn Eastburn's husband, Gary, was out of town for military training when the murders happened. The killer did not harm the Eastburns youngest child, 22-month old Jana. In 1988, Hennis was awarded a new trial. The N.C. Supreme Court had decided that the prosecutor in the 1st trial overused gruesome crime scene and autopsy photos to rile up the jury's emotions and compensate for an otherwise weak case. The decision set a precedent that defense lawyers continue to cite when sparring with prosecutors over the presentation of photos in North Carolina murder trials. At the 2nd Hennis trial, this one held in Wilmington, the pictures were limited. 2 replacement prosecutors inherited a case built on shaky circumstances and little physical evidence to connect Hennis to the crime. Hennis' lawyers knocked gaping holes in testimony from witnesses who thought they saw Hennis near the murder scene that night and using the Eastburns stolen bank card later. DNA testing, a new forensic technology, was of limited availability and accuracy in 1989. An investigator testified there was a problem with the samples collected from the Eastburn murders and they couldn't be tested. The jury found Hennis not guilty in April 1989. He went on with his life. The buck sergeant returned to the military, served in the Gulf War and retired in Washington state in 2004 as a master sergeant. In the 1990s, the Hennis case was the subject of a popular book and depicted in a television movie. He was portrayed as innocent, as a man railroaded by lawmen more interested in closing the case quickly than accurately and by a prosecutor more interested in winning than finding the truth. The Eastburn murder re-entered the public consciousness in 2006. Cumberland County Detective Larry Trotter had examined the file and had DNA tested. The U.S. Constitution's double jeopardy clause said that Hennis couldnt be tried again for the murders by North Carolina's court system. But because Hennis was in the Army at the time of the murders, the federal government remained free to prosecute. District Attorney Ed Grannis took the case to Fort Bragg. The Army pulled Hennis out of retirement in the fall, brought him back to Fort Bragg and charged him again with rape and murder. (source: Fayetteville Observer)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news---N.J., OKLA., CALIF., US MIL.
Rick Halperin Sat, 19 May 2007 03:02:58 -0500 (Central Daylight Time)
