Oct. 24 VIRGINIA: Killer of 4 in family gets death sentence----Ricky Jovan Gray was part of a bloody spree that included the slayings of a 2nd family and his wife. A judge sentenced the convicted killer of a Richmond family to death Monday for his role in a bloody crime spree that left 4 other people dead. Circuit Judge Beverly Snukals followed the jury's recommendation in imposing the ultimate punishment on Ricky Jovan Gray for the random New Year's Day slayings of musician Bryan Harvey, 49, his wife and their 2 young daughters. The four were found in the basement of their burning home. Authorities said they had been bound, beaten with a hammer and stabbed, and their throats had been cut. "I cannot pretend to understand the loss of your loved ones. ... I sincerely apologize," Gray said in court as Harvey family members blinked back tears. "I beg you to forgive me." Gray, 29, was convicted of capital murder in August. Snukals sentenced him to death for the murders of the two children, Stella, 9, and Ruby, 4, and gave him life sentences for the slayings of Bryan Harvey and the family as a whole. Gray and his nephew, Ray Joseph Dandridge, both of Arlington, killed the Harveys as part of a violent rampage that included the slaying of a 2nd Richmond family less than a week later, authorities said. Dandridge, also 29, pleaded guilty last month to three counts of capital murder for the Jan. 6 killings of Percyell Tucker, 55; his wife, Mary Baskerville-Tucker, 47; and her daughter, Ashley Baskerville, 21. The men said Ashley Baskerville was an accomplice in the Harvey slayings. Gray confessed to the Nov. 5 killing of his 35-year-old wife, Treva Terrell Gray, in Washington, Pa., about 20 miles south of Pittsburgh. In his confession, Gray said he beat his wife to death in their bed with a pipe while Dandridge held her down. (source: Denver Post) TENNESSEE: State will not fight stay of execution The Tennessee attorney general's office said Monday it would not challenge the stay of execution issued by a federal appeals court for death row inmate Donnie Johnson. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted the stay last week based on claims by Johnson's lawyers that prosecutors and their star witness lied about immunity granted for the testimony that convicted him. Johnson was scheduled to die in the electric chair Wednesday and would have been the 1st prisoner to be executed by that method in Tennessee in 46 years. Sharon Curtis-Flair, spokeswoman for the state attorney general's office, did not say why the state was not challenging the stay. "We'd rather not answer that right now," she said. Johnson was convicted in 1985 of suffocating his 30-year-old wife, Connie, by stuffing a plastic garbage bag into her mouth. He has maintained that he is innocent and accused a work-release inmate of robbing and killing his wife. (source: The Tennessean) CALIFORNIA: Backlog in California DNA database impedes detectives With state officials 14 months behind in putting DNA evidence into a database, Los Angeles police detectives are having a tougher time identifying suspects in hundreds of violent crimes, including 5 that apparently involve serial killers, officials said Monday. The City Council's Public Safety Committee criticized the backlog and recommended that the full council call on the state to catch up on entering DNA samples into the database. The backlog involves about 275,000 samples from criminals, said Greg Matheson, assistant director of the city crime lab. "That is completely unacceptable," said Councilman Jack Weiss, the committee's chairman. "That is 14 months before you are able to know whether that person is responsible for another crime. That's outrageous." Matheson said the state database - created by voters in 2004 when they enacted Proposition 69 - has been hampered by staffing shortages that have been exacerbated by the state's low pay. Nathan Barankan of the attorney general's office confirmed that employees who update the database are paid significantly less under their contract than similar workers for local law enforcement agencies. Although a new contract will increase salaries by 14%, Barankan said the attorney general supports having the governor renegotiate the contract to provide even more competitive salaries. County and city officials have formed a task force to find ways to convey to the governor and Legislature that additional employees are needed, but the City Council should add its voice to the chorus, Weiss said. Law enforcement agencies throughout the state are authorized to take DNA samples from everyone they arrest who has been convicted of a felony, and the samples are sent to the state for processing and inclusion in the database, said Capt. Kyle Jackson, head of the LAPD's Robbery-Homicide Bureau. The LAPD's Cold Case Unit has linked 20 murders to 5 unidentified suspects through various pieces of forensic evidence, including DNA in some cases. There is no guarantee that the state's backlogged samples would provide a link with the five serial murder cases, said Det. David Lambkin of the Cold Case Unit, but until they are processed, the police cannot know. Council members also voiced concern about a backlog of processing fingerprint evidence at the local level, after officials said there are 6,000 unsolved homicides, many with fingerprints yet to be checked against a state or federal database. The panel also criticized the LAPD for bureaucratic glitches that have resulted in a shortage of civilian specialists needed to create and operate the Teams II computer system to track police officer conduct. The system is a key component of a court-ordered federal consent decree. Gerald Chaleff, the LAPD manager in charge of consent decree items, said he would act immediately to ensure that enough civilian specialists were hired to get the system running. (source: Los Angeles Times) **************** 2 18-year-olds could face death penalty in S. Bakersfield fatal shooting In Bakersfield, the 2 men charged with the shooting death of a south Bakersfield man could face the death penalty if convicted of all charges. John Thomas Jr. and Johnte Allen, both 18, were scheduled to enter pleas Monday in court, but their hearing was postponed. Prosecutors said the possibility of the men receiving the death penalty is on the table. Investigators said 21-year-old Jesse Harkleroad was playing cards with three friends in the garage of a home when Thomas and Allen barged in and demanded the keys to a truck in the driveway. Harkleroad and his friends complied, but were all shot anyway. Police said Thomas and Allen have gang ties, but Harkleroad and his friends do not. (source: KGET TV News) NEVADA: Mother of Murdered Daughter Speaks Against the Death Penalty in Reno When criminals in Nevada are convicted of capital murder, they can face the death penalty. But there are those who oppose it. The mother of a murder victim was in Reno over the weekend sharing her story on why she chose to forgive her daughter's killer instead of seek the death penalty. "When someone close to us is killed, we all want justice served. But some feel the death penalty isn't the answer," says Marietta Jaeger-Lane. It's a painful story Jaeger-Lane relieves day after day. Her daughter Susie was abducted in Montana and for over a year the family knew nothing of her whereabouts. She then learned the news no parent wants to hear, Susie was dead. "In the beginning I admit I would of been ready to kill the kidnaper with my bare hands I just didn't know who he was and it wasn't until a year later was identified because of a telephone call he made to me," said Jaeger-Lane. When it came time for justice, Marietta asked for life in prison instead of the death penalty, even though someone took her own daughter's life. Jaeger-Lane said, "I feel that to kill someone in her name is to violate the beauty of who she is, and that she deserves something more befitting". Since her daughters death, Marietta has traveled across the U.S. to share her story in hopes that it will influence other's to speak out against the death penalty. Supporter Anita Brown says, "I have many questions about vengeance about killing for peace and she does raise my questions. I was surprised to learn so many state's still had the death penalty". Including the state of Nevada. Nancy Hart of Amnesty International said, "Nevada has a death row population of approximately 85 people. We have been the state with the highest per capita death row pop because low population state wide, we have an execution every 1 to 2 years". Jaeger-Lane says she has even forgave her daughter's killer, an act that surprises many who hear her speak. "I was so moved her ability to show forgiveness with the most extreme crime against her child." When the suspect was arrested, police learned he was responsible for the deaths of several other children in Montana. (source: KRNV TV News)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----VA., TENN., CALIF., NEV.
Rick Halperin Tue, 24 Oct 2006 10:15:44 -0500 (Central Daylight Time)
