[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----WASH., OKLA., USA, ALA., MISS.

[Rick Halperin]

May 29



WASHINGTON:

Court runs out of judges to hear case


All 6 Benton-Franklin Superior Court judges have withdrawn or been
disqualified from an aggravated-murder case, so it probably will be heard
by a judge from Asotin County, authorities said.

Judge Craig Matheson, the last local judge available for the second trial
of Kevin Lee Hilton, withdrew Friday at the request of Benton County
Prosecutor Andrew Miller, who did not have to give a reason for the move.

Hilton, 49, is charged with 2 counts of aggravated first-degree murder in
the shootings of Josephine and Lawrence Ulrich, 67 and 72, at their home
in March 2002. He had rented a duplex from them, owed $3,475 in back rent
and had recently been given a notice of eviction, investigators found.
Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty.

Hilton has claimed he is not guilty and that evidence linking him to the
crime scene was planted.

The state Court of Appeals ruled that search warrants for Hilton's home
were too vague, overturning Hilton's conviction and barring the use of
evidence obtained in the search. Earlier this year, the state Supreme
Court refused to consider an appeal by prosecutors.

Defense lawyer Peter Connick opposed the request for Matheson to withdraw,
saying it came too late because the judge had made "discretionary" rulings
on expert witnesses, but the judge maintained that his rulings had been
administrative.

Matheson said he would ask the court administrator to arrange for a judge
from another county, probably Asotin County Superior Court Judge William
Acey. Judge Cameron Mitchell withdrew last week at the request of defense
lawyers because he knows the victims' daughter, Lisa Ulrich.

Connick and co-defense lawyer Kevin Holt challenged Judge Dennis Yule a
week earlier, saying they didn't believe Hilton could get a fair and
impartial trial from him.

Judge Vic VanderSchoor, who presided over the 1st trial, recused himself
in April. Judge Carrie Runge can't hear the case because she helped
prosecute Hilton before she was appointed to the bench, nor can Judge
Robert Swisher, because he signed the warrants that were found to be too
vague on appeal.

(source: Associated Press)






OKLAHOMA:

Prosecutors wary of victim photo buttons


Some prosecutors say a new state law allowing family members to wear photo
buttons of murder victims while they're attending trials may not be such a
great idea.

Tulsa County prosecutor Doug Drummond says the law is a positive step for
victim's rights, but could lead to problems at the appeal level,
especially in death penalty cases.<>P> Drummond says the last thing a
victim's family wants to see is a murder verdict overturned on an appeal.

Although the law specifically allows the buttons, Drummond says he expects
a judge will have some discretion to prohibit them in the courtroom.

Defense attorney Stan Monroe is a little more blunt about the new law --
he says it's simply a bad idea and could unfairly taint a trial against a
defendant.

(source: Associated Press)






USA:

Is enough help being provided to our veterans?----Groups, families say no
as mental health issues and suicides increase


In the 3 months after Marine Maj. John Ruocco returned from Iraq feeling
numb and depressed, he couldn't sleep. He had lost weight. He had
nightmares. He was distracted and withdrawn from his 2 young sons.

One night, he promised his wife, Kim, that he would get help. The next
morning, the 40-year-old Cobra helicopter pilot, based at Camp Pendleton,
Calif., had hanged himself.

There are others. Army reservist Joshua Omvig. Army Capt. Michael Pelkey.
Marines Jonathan Schulze and Jeffrey Lucey. Each came home from Iraq and
committed suicide.

Veterans' groups and families who have lost loved ones say the number of
troops struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder or other mental
health issues is on the increase and not enough help is being provided by
the Pentagon and the Veterans Affairs Department.

For some, there are long waits for appointments at the VA or at military
posts. For others, the stigma of a mental health disorder keeps them from
seeking help.

Paul Rieckhoff, executive director and founder of Iraq and Afghanistan
Veterans of America, says that although suicides among troops returning
from the war is a significant problem, the scope is unknown.

"The problem that we face right now is that there's no method to track
veterans coming home," said Rieckhoff, who served in Iraq as a platoon
leader in the first year of the war. "There's no system. There's no
national registry."

Home front data lacking

More than 4 years into the war, the government has little information on
suicides among Iraq war veterans.

"We don't keep that data," said Karen Fedele, a VA spokeswoman in
Washington. "I'm told that somebody here is going to do an analysis, but
there just is nothing right now."

The Defense Department does track suicides, but only among troops in
combat operations such as Iraq and Afghani-stan and in surrounding areas.
Since the war started 4 years ago, 107 suicides during Iraq operations
have been recorded by the Defense Manpower Data Center, which collects
data for the Pentagon.

That number, however, usually does not include troops who return home from
the war zone and then take their lives.

Monitoring expanded

For service members returning from combat, post-deployment health
assessments include a questionnaire about mental health. This year, the
Pentagon expanded health monitoring for war veterans to include another
screening three to six months after combat.

"We're trying to reach out," said Maj. Gen. Gale Pollock, the Army's
acting surgeon general. "Will we get to everyone on time? No, I wish we
could."

Pollock said the Army is expanding a program started in January at Fort
Bragg, N.C., which aims to lessen the stigma associated with
post-traumatic stress disorder. It brings behavioral health staff directly
into primary care clinics instead of making soldiers go to a separate
mental health facility for help.

Earlier this month, a Pentagon task force called for a fundamental shift
in treatment to focus on screening and prevention instead of relying on
troops to come forward on their own.

One of the biggest challenges for troubled vets is the stigma of a mental
health disorder, said Floyd "Shad" Meshad, president and founder of the
California-based National Veterans Foundation. "It's very, very hard for
you to reach out and say 'I'm hurting.' ... particularly (for) a soldier
who's endured life and death situations. "

(source: Associated Press)






ALABAMA:

Just another reason to stop executions


There's another controversy over an execution order in Alabama, offering
yet another reason why the state should place a moratorium on capital
punishment. Leaders like Sen. Hank Sanders, D-Selma, have long sought a
moratorium to allow for a reasoned, thorough debate on laws regulating the
death penalty. Although he and others offer compelling reasons for change,
the Legislature has refused to consider the issue, fearing to be seen as
soft on crime.

The legal dispute over the execution of Jerry Jerome Smith bolsters
arguments for the moratorium.

Smith, 36, was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death in the
drug-related murders of 3 people in 1996. However, the state Supreme Court
last week ordered a lower court to determine if Smith is mentally
retarded.

In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that executing people with mental
retardation is unconstitutional. The ruling, however, offered states few
benchmarks to determining retardation.

Many states use an IQ score of 70 as a cutoff. Smith scored below 70 on an
IQ test, but the Alabama Supreme Court said the record in his case does
not clearly demonstrate that he has mental retardation.

The court on Friday noted that the Legislature has failed to define what
constitutes mental retardation under Alabama's capital punishment law.

It's not the only death penalty problem to which lawmakers have turned
their backs. Others include lack of guaranteed legal representation after
conviction, racial disparities and limited access to DNA testing.

These issues and others demand careful consideration. We need a moratorium
on capital punishment.

(source: Editorial, Tuscaloosa News)






MISSISSIPPI:

Miss. Supreme Court schedules arguments in death row case


The Mississippi Supreme Court will hear arguments today from death row
inmate Thomas E. Loden Jr., a former Marine recruiter appealing his
conviction for the murder of an Itawamba County teenager.

Loden was sentenced to death in 2001 in Itawamba County for killing
16-year-old Leesa Gray. He was sentenced to 30 years on kidnapping and
rape counts.

Gray disappeared June 22, 2000, while on her way home from work as a
waitress at her familys restaurant in the Dorsey community. She was found
dead of strangulation the next day in Lodens van, according to court
documents.

Defense attorneys had argued that Lodens confession was given without the
benefit of legal counsel. The trial judge ruled the confession could be
used by prosecutors.

Loden graduated in 1982 from Itawamba Agricultural High School and
immediately joined the U.S. Marine Corps. He served in Operation Desert
Storm and went to recruiter school in 1998. Loden was assigned to
Vicksburg later that year, where he started operating the recruiting
office.

(source: Associated Press)