Oct. 21 TEXAS: Condemned prisoner's suicide being investigated The Texas Department of Criminal Justice is investigating convicted killer Michael Dewayne Johnson's suicide on the day of his scheduled execution. The Office of Inspector General, which is the investigative arm of the prison system, is handling the investigation, TDCJ spokeswoman Michelle Lyons said. Investigators aren't releasing any more details of how Johnson cut his neck and throat with a small piece of metal attached to a wooden base, she said. Johnson killed himself while on suicide watch on death row between 15-minute observation rounds. An autopsy on his body is being performed in Galveston County, although results wont be available for another week or more. Lyons said it is too early to comment whether any policies will change as a result of Johnsons suicide. She said officials would wait for the investigation report before evaluating procedures to determine if any changes were needed. (source: Waco Tribune-Herald) ********************** Victim's widow was to watch execution----At first angered by suicide, she says she's satisfied that 'he's still not here' At first Trish Wetterman McLean felt cheated. But when the man convicted of killing her husband committed suicide the day he was supposed to be executed, she says he probably did her a favor. "I was very angry at first," McLean said Friday, a day after condemned prisoner Michael Johnson slashed his neck and arm with a sharp piece of metal in his death row cell. The suicide came about 15 hours before Johnson was to receive lethal injection for the 1995 shooting death of Jeff Wetterman, 27, at the family-run convenience store in Lorena, about 12 miles south of Waco. McLean had planned to be among those to watch Johnson die Thursday evening and found some solace in knowing he was aware she'd be present. "We anticipated the trip for 11 years," she said. "I didn't want him to think that we were going to forget about this. It was still a very big deal to us. I was determined to watch him die. "But in the end, he's still not here. And he died in a much more painful manner than what the state would have done." Johnson, 29, was found unresponsive in a pool of blood at 2:45 a.m. by officers making routine checks at the Polunsky Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. 15 minutes earlier, he was talking to prison staff while waiting for breakfast. Johnson was taken to a hospital in Livingston, where he was pronounced dead about an hour after he was found. The Houston Chronicle reported in Friday's editions that Johnson managed to scrawl on the wall "I did not shoot him" in his own blood. Under corrections department procedures, officers begin making 15-minute checks on the prisoner within 36 hours of a scheduled execution. The inmate's cell also is searched every 72 hours for contraband. An investigation by the agency's Office of Inspector General probably would take several weeks, prison spokeswoman Michelle Lyons said. Authorities also were awaiting the results of an autopsy. Johnson's lawyer said he always found the inmate upbeat. The Waco Tribune-Herald, however, reported Friday that Johnson's mother, Patricia, said he told his sister during a death row visit Wednesday that he was thinking of killing himself. McLean said 2 prison officials came to her home Thursday to offer an apology. "All they could tell us was what they knew, that there was a breakdown and how sorry they were," she said. Johnson, who insisted he was innocent of shooting McLean's husband, had appeals pending and his lawyer was working on last-day appeals he planned to file in the courts. Johnson was 18 at the time of the crime and blamed the shooting on David Vest, who testified against him. The pair were in a stolen car in September 1995, were running low on gas and pulled into the store where they had no money to pay for the $24 worth of fuel. Wetterman came over to help them at the pump and was shot in the face. "The doctors looked to me to make the decision to turn off the life support," McLean said Friday. "That wasn't a decision I was ready to make. I was 22 years old and married 3 weeks. "I was writing thank-you notes for wedding gifts and funeral acknowledgments at the same time." (source: Associated Press) ***************** Homicide rate on track to be worst in a decade----Evacuees play large role in the rise, police say With more than 300 homicides since January, Houston is on pace to record nearly 400 slayings for the year - which would be the highest number of killings the city has seen in more than a decade. As of Oct. 16, the city had recorded 316 homicides, up 25 % from the 252 slayings at this time last year. The Houston Police Department said an uptick in homicides by Hurricane Katrina evacuees has contributed to that increase. "We recognize that the homicide rate is up as far as raw numbers and as well as percentages relative to the population,'' said Capt. Dwayne Ready. "We also recognize that Katrina evacuees continue to have an impact on the murder rate.'' Though overall crime is slightly down for the year, the police department has had a difficult time reining in the rising homicide rate. But it's still not time to panic, police said. "The homicide rate has been much higher in years past, especially the 1980s,'' Ready said. "Even if the number ... for 2006 hits 400 it's not a bleak picture for Houston.'' The city's homicide rate declined throughout the 1990s. In 1991 there were 608 homicides. The rate steadily dropped from 465 in 1992, to 254 in 1998 - a far cry from 1981, the year the city was dubbed the murder capital of the United States when it tallied 701 homicides. 65 Katrina-related slayings The continuing cycle of violence among evacuees appears to be one of the biggest contributors to the city's homicide rate, police said. Authorities first spotted increases in 2005. By year's end, the city had recorded 334 homicides. During the previous 10 years, homicide rates never topped the 316 slayings in 1995. "The Katrina population has certainly impacted the murder rate,'' said Houston Police spokesman John Cannon. One recent example was Aug. 28, when police said evacuee James Hubbard, 26, was gunned down as he stood at a cashier's window in southwest Houston. Police soon learned that the man accused of shooting him, Ralph Michael Anderson, 23, also was from New Orleans. On Wednesday, police arrested Anderson in Tyler; he has been charged with murder. Hubbard's slaying was the 65th in 2006 classified as Katrina-related, meaning either the victim, suspect or both evacuated to Houston after Katrina. In trying to offer a snapshot of how homicides in Houston have increased, police compared a 13-month span starting about a year before the arrival of Katrina evacuees to the past 13 months. Between Sept. 1, 2004, and Oct. 16, 2005, there were 344 homicides in Houston. From Sept. 1, 2005, through Oct. 16, there were a total of 445 slayings, 83 involving Katrina evacuees, an increase of roughly 29 %. The city of Houston has about 2.2 million residents, Cannon said. Less than 2 months ago, about 1,700 residents of west Houston attended a public meeting to express concern about the impact of evacuees on crime in Houston. Wider effects unknown Mayor Bill White repeated his position that all "able-bodied'' evacuees should be working and that the city would continue to arrest lawbreakers. Police have not kept records of how the estimated 150,000 Katrina evacuees have affected crime rates other than homicide. Per capita crime, defined as the number of crimes per 100,000 residents, has decreased in the city, with the violent crime rate down 3 % this year. "We may attempt to compare the figures on these crimes in November or December,'' Cannon said. "A year ago the majority of evacuees were just getting settled, so it's not yet effective to compare the statistics.'' (source: Houston Chronicle) *********************** Bayer found guilty of capital murder Byron Trent Bayer was found guilty by a jury Friday night of capital murder in connection with the strangulation death of his mother 2 years ago. The panel deliberated almost seven hours before returning the verdict, ending a 3-week trial in the 354th District Court. As the Hunt County District Attorney's Office had waived the death penalty in the case, Bayer received an automatic sentence of life in prison. In a statement, District Attorney F. Duncan Thomas said he was pleased with the jury's decision. "Mr. Bayer is lucky that his own family asked us to waive the death penalty so that a death sentence was not an option," Thomas said. Bayer, 42, will have to spend 40 years in prison before he can be considered for parole. Bayer's lead defense attorney, Jack Paris, expressed disappointment with the outcome. "We are very aware the jury spent three hard weeks listening to the evidence, then spent almost 7 hours reviewing the evidence and deliberating," Paris said. "We know they did their very best and we thank them for all that effort, not withstanding our disappointment." Byron Bayer had pleaded not guilty to 1 count of capital murder involving the strangulation death of Patsy Bayer, 63, at the home they shared in the 6500 block of Sayle Street. Prosecutors alleged Bayer strangled Patsy Bayer with electrical cords, stole his mother's Chevrolet Tahoe and used her debit card before he was caught in the sport utility vehicle near a local motel early on the morning of Oct. 9, 2004. During closing arguments Friday afternoon, Paris said the evidence and testimony revealed detectives felt his client was the only suspect within an hour of when Patsy Bayer's body was discovered. "Before they even began working the crime scene, the investigation focused on one person," Paris said. He said Bayer had permission to use the Tahoe and the debit card, noting how Bayer depended on his mother for his livelihood and therefore did not have a motive to kill her. "Who would have benefited from the death of Patsy Bayer? It was not Trent," Paris said. Assistant District Attorney Nobie Walker told the jury that the prosecution's case was largely circumstantial, but said blood evidence at the scene contained both Byron and Patsy Bayer's DNA. As for a motive, Walker said Patsy Bayer was planning on kicking her son out of the house. "Everyone did have their hand out, but the only one who stood to lose anything was the defendant," Walker said. "He took the cords, he wrapped them around her neck and he strangled her." The jury received the case at around 2 p.m. and returned with a verdict at approximately 8:45 p.m. Friday. Thomas commended Walker and Assistant District Attorney Carol Day Moss for their job in prosecuting the case, as well as the Greenville Police Department for investigation which led to Bayer's arrest. (source: Greenville Herald-Banner) *********************** Blair's attorney files motion on new DNA evidence Philip Wischkaemper, an attorney for Michael Blair who was convicted in 1994 for murdering 7-year-old Ashley Estell in 1993, said he has obtained new DNA evidence that he hopes will give the case a "fresh new look." According to Collin County court records, attorneys Wischkaemper, Roy E. Greenwood and Stephen Miller filed a petitioner's motion for additional court findings in the 366th District Court claiming that new DNA technology not available at the time of the trial in 1994 shows Blair wasn't responsible for Estell's death. Estell disappeared from a Plano soccer field on Sept. 4, 1993, while her parents, Richard and Diana Estell were watching her older brother play soccer on an adjacent field. Her body was found beside a rural road 6 miles away from the soccer field the following day. Blair was charged with Estell's murder and sentenced to death in September 1994 by a Midland jury. A date for his execution has not been set. The motion filed in the Collin County District Clerk's Office claims Orchid Cellmark, of Dallas, conducted an advanced "Y-Chromosome Short Tandem Repeat methodology" on several pieces of evidence from the 13-year-old murder case, including fingernail clippings taken from Estell's left and right hands, methodology that wasn't available until 2003. According to a lab report included with the motion, Orchid Cellmark concludes the DNA taken from the clippings are "a mixture of at least 2 males" and that "Michael Blair ... and any of his patrilineal relatives are excluded as possible contributors to the mixture." The motion also states that hair samples obtained from Estell's body and Blair's vehicle were tested by "advanced, mitochondrial DNA testing" and show they did not come from Estell or Blair. Collin County spokeswoman Leigh Hornsby said officials from the Collin County District Attorney's Office are awaiting the recommendation of 366th District Court Judge Nathan White's ruling on the matter to the Criminal Courts of Appeals in Austin. She said the deadline for his recommendation is Dec. 27. She also said the DA's office is reviewing the new motion, but could not comment on any specific evidence involved in the case. Wischkaemper said the new DNA evidence was obtained from the Innocence Project, a non-profit legal clinic based at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York, N.Y., that strives to use DNA testing of evidence and scientific proof to overturn sentences and punishments against the wrongly convicted. According to their Web site, "most of our clients are poor, forgotten and have used up all of their legal avenues for relief." Wischkaemper said he hopes the new evidence will either grant Blair a new trial or spark someone's curiosity from a law enforcement perspective. "We hope to look for another trial, which is probably the best we can hope for from the CCDA," Wischkaemper said. "It's up to the CCDA to evaluate the case, but I think law enforcement would at least be curious about who's DNA it is and try to eliminate family members and try to locate who's it is." Wischkaemper said he could not speculate on who he thinks the unidentified DNA belongs to, but said investigators initially had other suspects in the case including a "primary suspect" who is a registered sex offender. He said so far, investigators have been unable to find his DNA. Attempts were made to reach the Plano Police Department, but phone calls were not returned as of presstime. (source: McKinney Courier-Gazette) WISCONSIN: Locals favor death penalty----Voters will be asked if they favor the death penalty on the Nov. 7 ballot. Death penalty proponents often cite a quotation from the Code of Hammurabi -- and also the Old Testament: "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth." Critics of the death penalty counter that "two wrongs don't make a right." Residents of Green and Lafayette counties surveyed by the Times last week strongly support Hammurabi's point of view. All Wisconsin voters can decide on which side of the debate they stand on Nov. 7, when they'll have the opportunity to vote on an advisory referendum concerning whether the state should consider bringing back the death penalty. Wisconsin hasn't had capital punishment since 1853. The non-binding question state lawmakers are posing to voters reads: "Should the death penalty be enacted in the State of Wisconsin for cases involving a person who is convicted of first-degree intentional homicide, if the conviction is supported by DNA evidence?" Locally, the response is overwhelmingly "yes." In an informal Times survey of 20 residents, 85 % (17 residents) said they favor the death penalty. Ten of those 17 residents added they support the death penalty only in the most extreme circumstances, such as murder or rape cases. "I believe in the death penalty for really violent crimes," Coleen Soddy, 58, Browntown, said, "like if somebody kills somebody else, then I don't think they have the right to live either. But if (the death) is accidental, that's another issue." "If you do wrong, you do wrong," Bill Saunders, 85, Brodhead, said. "(The crime) should be paid for." "I guess I always thought it was created for a reason," Miranda Christen, 28, Monroe, stated. "If our forefathers thought we should have it, then I do too." One man, who asked not to be named, said he views it as if a murderer is put to death, that person can't hurt anyone else again. "There's a lot of people out there who need to be put to death for a lot of reasons," John Calow, 38, Monroe, said. "But we should put their organs to use, too, because there are a lot of other people out there, good people, who are dying." Only 15 % (3 residents) stated they oppose the resurrection of the death penalty in Wisconsin. "I'd just as soon not see the death penalty," John Reese of Monroe said. "There's always a chance of a mistake. It's (a wrongful conviction, not execution) been done before. Even DNA (evidence) can have mistakes." Echoing Reese, Tricia Janssen, 36, New Glarus, said, "I'm not for it, mainly because if we are wrong, it leaves open the possibility of putting someone innocent to death." "I'm not sure it deters anything," Ken Sedbrook, 70, Juda, added. "Besides, they say, 'Thou shalt not kill.'" Of the 20 residents surveyed, 12 were women and 8 were men. 6 of the 8 men surveyed supported the death penalty while 2 were against it. 11 of the women surveyed said they support capital punishment and 1 said she was opposed. According to the non-profit Death Penalty Information Center, 12 states and the District of Columbia do not have the death penalty. Those states are: Alaska, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia and Wisconsin. The remaining 38 states, as well as the U.S. government and U.S. military, allow the death penalty. New York's death penalty statute was declared unconstitutional in 2004, but it was never repealed. (source: The Monroe Times) OKLAHOMA: THE INNOCENT MAN: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town John Grisham----Doubleday-----True Crime ISBN-10: 0385517238-------ISBN-13: 9780385517232 Fans of John Grisham know what to expect when his latest effort lands on bookstore shelves. Unique plot twists, evil villains, sympathetic heroes and a page-turning plot are the cornerstones of Grisham's work. THE INNOCENT MAN, his newest book, has all of these components in spades with one additional element: it is a true story. His 1st work of nonfiction will fascinate and frustrate readers as they ponder an American legal system run amuck. This is Grisham's 19th book, and in some respects it may be his most important. Fictional characters in fictional courtrooms may cause readers to think briefly about our legal system. THE INNOCENT MAN forces readers to take a probing look at and ask some serious questions about a legal system that, in important criminal cases, appears to be malfunctioning in every corner of our nation. While THE INNOCENT MAN ostensibly is the story of Ron Williamson, who spent 12 years on Oklahoma's death row after having been convicted of a murder he did not commit, the book is more than Williamson's heartrending tale. Co-defendant Dennis Fritz was wrongfully convicted of murder but sentenced to life in prison. Along with Williamson he was ultimately exonerated by DNA evidence. Two other inmates, Tommy Ward and Karl Fontenot, whose cases were interwoven with Williamson and Fritz, remain imprisoned in Oklahoma serving life sentences despite substantial evidence of actual innocence. Ada, Oklahoma, was the venue for the outrageous events leading to the miscarriage of justice chronicled in this book. In 1982, that community was rocked by the brutal sexual molestation and murder of Debra Sue Carter. From the outset, the investigation was poorly handled by law enforcement officials, who incorrectly assumed that two individuals were involved in the crime. Promising leads were not investigated because police attempted to establish a case against Williamson and Fritz instead. Grisham records in vivid and excruciating detail how police hid evidence and ignored constitutional safeguards in their zeal to obtain convictions in the case. Sadly, they were ultimately joined in their effort by prosecutors and judges. One difference between Grisham's traditional works of fiction and the factual accounting of THE INNOCENT MAN is his hero, Ron Williamson, wrongfully convicted of Carter's murder. Williamson is not the sympathetic character one finds in many of Grisham's novels. He starred as a high school athlete in baseball and was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the 1971 Major League draft. His professional baseball career never achieved the promise displayed by his youthful potential, and he returned home to lead a life dampened by divorce, drugs, alcohol and small-time crime. Burdened by mental illness, his attitude contributed in many respects to his conviction. But Grisham's portrayal makes perfectly clear that Williamson's behavior in no way justified the outrageous actions of law enforcement, prosecutors and judges. It is perhaps one of the ironies of the law that while lawyers and judges failed Williamson, it would be others in those same professions who rescued him only five days before he was scheduled to be executed from imposition of his sentence of death. Lawyers from the Oklahoma death penalty assistance program and a courageous federal judge ultimately secured a new trial for Williamson. During the course of the investigation and preparation for that trial, Williamson underwent DNA examinations that would establish his innocence. It was one of the first big DNA exonerations in American courts. THE INNOCENT MAN is not a book that Grisham planned to write. Speaking last month to University of Virginia law students, he described how he first came upon Williamson's story when he read an obituary in The New York Times. The headline of the death notice read, "Ronald Williamson, freed from death row, dies at age of 51." That simple sentence stirred Grisham's interest: "After reading the entire obituary, I knew it had the makings of a much longer story." He followed up with interviews and has written a brilliant documentation of how innocent defendants are sentenced to prison far too often in America. His research and writing have caused him to take a long hard look at justice in our nation: "Even if you support the death penalty, you cannot support the death penalty system as it stands in the U.S. My one hope is that people realize this system we have is simply too unfair to continue." 2 of America's greatest courtroom novelists are John Grisham and Scott Turow, who have written about murder and death in our halls of justice. How ironic that both have begun now to speak out about the injustice of capital punishment. Grisham does so in a voice loud and clear and through a book that fully explains why the nation needs to reexamine the process by which we sentence criminals to be executed. (source: The Book Reporter) PENNSYLVANIA: Nun speaks on eliminating death penalty The topic was intense, but Sister Helen Prejean captivated her audience with humor and compelling anecdotes while conveying her passionate belief in her cause: eliminating the death penalty. Its difficult at times to believe that this lively speaker who punctuates her words with gestures has also walked to the death chamber with men who society has thrown away because of their crimes. Prejean, a Sister of St. Joseph of Medaille, spoke to 200 people Friday night at St. Andrew Catholic Church in Newtown Township, where many parishioners are involved in the Bucks County Committee Against the Death Penalty. The author of "Dead Man Walking," which later became an Oscar-winning movie starring Susan Sarandon, Prejean talked about her experience with Patrick Sonnier, a convicted killer who was executed in Louisiana for the murders of a teenage couple. Sonnier's brother is serving 2 life sentences for the same crime. Prejean stressed the irony of the fact that Patrick Sonnier was executed while his brother was the one who actually committed the murders. "Patrick told me he didn't want me to watch his execution because it would mark me for life. I said I didn't know how it would affect me, but he would not die alone. I would be a witness to his death," the nun said. She has since walked with several other men from their cells to the execution chamber, believing, she said, that even those whom society considers "animals" are human beings. Prejeans objections to the death penalty are numerous, but her main concern is that most people on death row are there because of poverty, lack of choices and lack of education. She said that 80 % of the people on death row are in the Southern states, mostly people of color. She also cited at least one case in which a man who proclaimed his innocence to the end was posthumously cleared because a cellmate, who testified that the man confessed to murder, later recanted his story. That incident led to Prejean's 2nd book, "The Death of Innocents." "I don't condone what they do. I know about their crimes. But look at the Amish. They stand out across the world [after the recent shootings of 5 little girls in a one-room schoolhouse in Lancaster]. "They said, 'We must not return evil for evil.'" Prejean also spoke for the victims of heinous crimes, suggesting that the faithful hold annual Masses to pray for healing for themselves and their families. She likened crime victims and perpetrators as two arms of the cross that one day might be brought together to heal. Sister Jean Liston, a Grey Nun of the Sacred Heart, the director of pastoral service at St. Andrew and a member of the committee against the death penalty, said that she invited Prejean to speak at the parish because she was encouraged by an increasing groundswell of opposition to the death penalty. "There's more and more talk about how senseless it really is to kill somebody," Liston said. Parishioner Mai Pham, who serves the parish as director of adult faith formation, said that Prejean's talk reminded her that Jesus was also an innocent man executed by the state. "I see opposition to the death penalty as a seamless progression to appreciating all life, from beginning to end," Pham said. (source: PhillyBurbs.com) NORTH CAROLINA: N.C. Lawyer Ordered to Take Psych Exam After Courtroom Utterance A testy exchange between a North Carolina Superior Court judge and a lawyer has netted the attorney 2 days in jail and the temporary loss of his law license. Judge Michael Helms also sentenced Raymond Marshall to submit to a psychologist's examination and to perform 70 hours of community service for the contempt of court violation. Marshall cannot practice law for 30 days, but his license may be returned sooner if he performs the community service, Helms said. An outburst in court by Marshall was the culmination of a dispute that began about a month ago, when one of Marshall's clients appeared before the judge on an assault charge -- the third time the case was brought to a trial. Helms and Marshall clashed several times during the legal process, and Marshall filed a motion Sept. 29 seeking Helms' removal from the case, accusing the judge of intimidation. On Oct. 4, the 1st day of the latest trial, Helms stopped Marshall during the questioning of one of the witnesses. Marshall said "Lord," reared back in his chair with outstretched arms, cast his eyes upward and turned to the audience, Helms said. "How am I supposed to take that?" Helms said Thursday as he penalized the lawyer. "If the court does not get the respect from members of the bar, we can't have the respect from clients, and then we have anarchy." Marshall, who is also a minister, said the remark was the beginning of a prayer. He apologized to Helms and said he did not intend to be disrespectful or for his remark to be heard by others. "When you're involved in trial and the motors are running ... there are times when you feel you need strength and my strength comes from God," Marshall said. Attorneys at Thursday's hearing had mixed feelings about the ruling. District Attorney Tom Keith said the judgment was appropriate. "There are rules of court we must comply with whether we think the judge is liberal, conservative, tough or easy, so you don't pick a fight with him regardless of how big you think your ego is," he said. "Ray violated the rules." (source: Associated Press) OHIO: Condemned mans fate passed to Tafts successor The execution of John G. Spirko Jr., who was convicted of killing a postmistress in 1982, was delayed for a 5th time. Whether condemned killer John G. Spirko Jr. is executed or exonerated, it will be on the watch of a new governor and attorney general. Gov. Bob Taft yesterday passed on the hot-button Spirko case to his successor by approving a 5th execution reprieve for the man convicted of killing northwestern Ohio postmistress Betty Jane Mottinger. Spirkos lethal injection, which was scheduled for Nov. 29, was moved to April 17, 2007, to allow additional time for DNA testing. "It is my hope that the additional time permits the completion of the DNA testing and analysis agreed upon by the attorney general and Mr. Spirkos counsel," Taft said in a statement. By the time of the new execution date, Taft will be a private citizen after 8 years in office. During that time, 23 men were executed with Tafts concurrence. He granted one clemency. He will be replaced by either Democrat Ted Strickland or Republican J. Kenneth Blackwell. Both gubernatorial candidates support the death penalty, although Strickland, a psychologist who formerly worked at the prison were executions take place, has indicated he would carefully examine each clemency request. Attorney General Jim Petro, who requested the reprieve, also will be gone beginning in January. He will be succeeded by either Republican Betty D. Montgomery or Democrat Marc Dann. Spirko, 60, has been on death row for more than two decades. But controversy about the old case escalated in the past 2 years, with his attorneys aggressively proclaiming his innocence even though his conviction has been upheld by courts at all levels. The Ohio Parole Board has twice voted 6-3 against a clemency recommendation. However, three dissenting members called for a reprieve if "there is even the slightest possibility that errors were made in a conviction where the sentence is death." Spirko was convicted and sentenced to death for Mottingers abduction and fatal stabbing on Aug. 9, 1982. Her decomposed body was found in a bean field 6 weeks later. Spirkos attorneys, who say he is innocent, requested extensive DNA testing of the tarp used to wrap Mottingers body, hairs attached to the duct tape, 100 cigarette butts and rags found in a nearby farm field. (source: Columbus Dispatch) **************** Gov. Taft delays Spirko execution John Spirko's date with death has been postponed until April 17, putting his fate in the hands of DNA testing and possibly Ohio's next governor. Gov. Bob Taft notified Spirko's attorneys yesterday that he has agreed to a fifth delay in his execution while testing continues on 24-year-old evidence. "It is my hope that the additional time permits the completion of the DNA testing and analysis agreed upon by the attorney general and Mr. Spirko's counsel," said Mr. Taft. Spirko, a 60-year-old Toledo native, was originally scheduled to be executed 2 years ago. His most recent execution date was Nov. 29, 2006. He remains on Ohio's death row for the 1984 kidnapping and brutal stabbing of Betty Jane Mottinger, postmaster in the tiny Van Wert County village of Elgin. Unless the DNA test results or a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the lethal injection process makes the decision for him, Mr. Taft's successor, either Ted Strickland or Ken Blackwell, would decide Spirko's fate. Spirko's lawyers hope DNA results from testing on the paint tarp/theater curtain that shrouded Mrs. Mottinger's body as well as other evidence will match someone in a national database or someone on a list of other potential suspects they have provided. At the least, they hope a complete lack of a match with Spirko will shed doubt on his guilt. While agreeing to the testing, the state has maintained that a match with someone else would not necessarily exonerate Spirko. The prosecution's theory has been that he didn't act alone, although no conspirator has ever been tried. (source: Toledo Blade) ****************** Daily Poll: Death penalty no block to murders Does the death penalty prevent murders? Total votes: 910 Yes 35.9 % No 59.2 % Unsure 4.9 % (source: Canton Repository)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS., WIS., OKLA., PENN., N.C., OHIO
Rick Halperin Sat, 21 Oct 2006 17:30:46 -0500 (Central Daylight Time)
