[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----MO., N.J., N.H.

[Rick Halperin]

Oct. 17


MISSOURI:

U.S. judge again rules lethal injection procedure for executions is
unconstitutional


A federal judge has ruled for a 2nd time that Missouri's use of a 3-drug
lethal injection for executions is unconstitutional, confirming his ruling
last month that the procedure could cause "torturous" pain.

The ruling issued Monday by U.S. District Judge Fernando Gaitan Jr.
follows his September ruling that said the death penalty protocol could
subject inmates to an unreasonable risk of cruel and unusual punishment
and halted all executions in the state.

Gaitan had first ordered in June that the Missouri Department of
Corrections make sweeping changes to its execution protocol. At issue is
how painful lethal injection can be if the three drugs used are not given
correctly. If the injection is given improperly, an inmate could be in
pain but would be paralyzed and unable to show it, Gaitan said in his
September ruling.

In that order, Gaitan gave the state until Oct. 27 to provide a revised
protocol. But the state resubmitted the same proposal Oct. 6, arguing that
it was constitutional and asking the judge to reconsider his decision.

The state's attorneys had asked Gaitan to rule quickly, so they could file
an appeal if he ruled against them.

"The state's response does nothing to address these concerns and indicates
its lack of willingness to even attempt to comply with the court's order,"
Gaitan wrote Monday.

Gaitan's ruling comes in the case of Michael A. Taylor, 1 of 2 men
convicted of raping and killing Kansas City teenager Ann Harrison in 1989.
Taylor came within hours of death earlier this year before his execution
was stopped by the legal challenge.

Gaitan ordered the state to improve the monitoring of inmates to be sure
they get enough anesthesia during the execution process. He also ordered
that a doctor trained in administering anesthesia either mix the chemicals
or oversee the mixing of chemicals for executions.

(source: Associated Press)






NEW JERSEY:

Supreme Court hears death penalty arguments


The state Supreme Court heard arguments today on whether the Attorney
General's Office should be the one to decide when to seek the death
penalty in all murder cases, after a study noted wide differences in how
aggressively county prosecutors seek capital punishment.

A report commissioned by the state's high court found a "death belt"
strapped across much of central New Jersey, where county prosecutors have
been more willing to pursue the death penalty than in other counties.

Prosecutors in Monmouth, Middlesex, Morris, Hunterdon and Warren seek the
death penalty for half of the murder defendants who qualify for capital
punishment, the study said. Three counties with the largest number of
cases eligible for the death penalty - Essex, Camden and Union - have
among the lowest rates of cases advancing to death penalty trials.

"The county in which the murder occurs and the prosecution is initiated
continues to be one of the most significant variables in terms of death
sentencing," retired Appellate Division Judge David Baime concluded in his
latest report to the Supreme Court on the state's death penalty system.
While the county-by-county disparity has been noted by Baime in past
reports, opponents of the death penalty used the findings of his latest
report today to argue the death penalty should be scrapped.

Joseph Krakora of the state Public Defender's Office said the report
proved the use of the death penalty in New Jersey is "arbitrary and
capricious and, therefore, unconstitutional."

Chief Justice Deborah Poritz, however, focused oral arguments on whether
the situation would improve if the Attorney General's Office made the call
on when to seek the death penalty rather than the state's 21 county
prosecutors.

Assistant Attorney General Boris Moczula said the Attorney General's
Office opposes the idea of a statewide system to mete out capital
punishment and argued the report's findings provided "no reliable, stable
evidence of geographical disparity."

The court reserved judgement on the arguments.

(source: Star-Ledger)






NEW HAMPSHIRE:

Shot police officer dies; death penalty to be sought against suspect


The shooting death of a police officer could lead to the 1st execution in
New Hampshire in almost 70 years.

Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty for Michael "Stix" Addison. He
allegedly opened fire as the Manchester officer approached him in a dark
alley.

Authorities say officer Michael Briggs was responding to a report of a
shot being fired in a domestic dispute when he met up with Addison at
around 3 in the morning. Briggs died a day later, leaving a wife and 2
children.

Addison was found a few miles away in Boston, and is awaiting extradition.

New Hampshire's death row is empty, but the attorney general calls this a
case warranting capital punishment. The governor is backing the decision.

(source: Associated Press)