Aug. 15 COLORADO: District Attorney to seek death penalty against Marco Lee Prosecutors will seek the death penalty against the man accused of killing Colorado Springs Police Officer Kenneth Jordan last year. Marco Lee, 25, is charged with 1st Degree Murder in the December shooting. The District Attorney's Office filed the intent to seek the death penalty on Friday, but couldn't talk about it because of a gag order in the case. In the document, obtained by News First Tuesday afternoon, prosecutors list 6 aggravating factors: That Lee intentionally killed Officer Jordan while Jordan was conducting official duties, and that Lee should have known that Jordan was engaged in those duties That Lee ambushed Jordan That Lee knowingly creating a grave risk of death to the other officers present That Lee committed the offense in an especially heinous, cruel or depraved manor That Lee shot Officer Jordan with the purpose of avoiding arrest That Lee possessed a weapon used to commit a felony Lee is scheduled to appear in court again in September. (source: KOAA News) ILLINOIS: Pardoned death row inmate is given a 30-year sentence Former death row inmate Aaron Patterson, who received a dramatic gubernatorial pardon in 2003, was sentenced Tuesday to 30 years in prison on gun and drug charges. The prison sentence completes a stunning fall, rise and fall again for Patterson, whose release four years ago had made him an important symbol for opponents of police torture. Soon after leaving prison, though, Patterson resumed his life as a gang "prince" intent on buying guns and defending his drug territory, a federal jury found in 2005. Before his sentencing Tuesday, Patterson railed against federal prosecutors, Chicago police and others in a 40-minute, profanity laced statement. Patterson, 43, alleged he was selectively targeted for prosecution, entrapped by a police informant and then forced to go to trial with an attorney he didn't want. "I'm not scared of no time," said Patterson, 43, seated at his counsel's table with his hands handcuffed and ankles shackled. "What can you do to me? ... I've seen 12 people walk to their deaths," referring to fellow inmates on death row. In passing sentence, Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer acknowledged Patterson's charisma and community activism but shot down his claims of being wrongfully convicted a 2nd time. "The evidence amply supported the guilty verdicts in this case," Pallmeyer said. She said Patterson returned to the gang life not for money, but because he "wanted to be influential and powerful in his community." In addition, she said, "He apparently believes that he's in some kind of war and that's what he's gathering an arsenal for." At his trial, prosecutors presented the jury with audio and video recordings of an informant -- admitted drug dealer and high-ranking Latin King Mario Maldonado -- who used government funds to buy marijuana and heroin from Patterson on several occasions from March to August in 2004. Maldonado also testified that, under government supervision, he sold Patterson the 4 handguns. Assistant U.S. Atty. Christopher Niewoehner argued Tuesday that Patterson re-entered the gang life thinking that he was "bulletproof" because any police action against him would be seen as revenge. "This case had to be proved by overwhelming evidence, and it was," Niewoehner said. Patterson's lawyer, Andrea Gambino, argued Tuesday that Patterson had already spent 17 years in prison, including 13 on Death Row, based on a false confession to a 1986 double murder extracted through torture. She urged Pallmeyer to sentence Patterson below the range of 30 years to life suggested by federal guidelines. "We owe this man time," Gambino said. Patterson will appeal the conviction, Gambino said afterward. If the conviction stands, Patterson would likely have to serve about 22 years, after time off for good behavior and time served. Patterson's sentence was enhanced because he is considered a career offender under federal guidelines. The crime for which Patterson was pardoned did not count against him in the calculation. But Patterson also committed three attempted murders as a teenager, Pallmeyer said. Dozens of Patterson supporters attended the hearing. Several testified that he had spent his time after prison agitating for change in the criminal justice system and warning people against a life of crime, but prosecutors argued those actions were a cover for Patterson's criminal activity. (source: Chicago Tribune) MISSOURI----death of death row inmate Kinder dies while on death row A Festus man sitting on death row for a 1991 murder died last week. Brian Kinder, 47, was convicted of 1st-degree murder, armed criminal action and forcible rape in the 1990 slaying of Cynthia Culton Williams. Kinder was sentenced to death and 2 life sentences by Judge Earl Blackwell on July 17, 1992. Prosecutors said Kinder, a crack cocaine user, was high on the drug when he beat Williams to death while raping her in her Crystal City home just days before Christmas. Prosecutors said Kinder bludgeoned Williams with an iron pipe following the rape. She was 32 years old. Her 13-year-old son discovered Williams' body the following morning. Kinder's April 1992 trial, which ended in a jury recommendation of death, was notable for the prosecution's use of DNA evidence to tie Kinder's bodily fluids to the scene of the crime. The now common scientific technique was in its infancy in criminal prosecutions at the time of the trial. Kinder was pronounced dead on Aug. 8. No autopsy was conducted. (source: News Democrat Journal) ARKANSAS: Federal judge upholds conviction for Ark. death row inmate A federal judge has upheld the conviction of a death row inmate sentenced to die for the 1993 slaying of a De Queen woman. 37-year-old Stacey Eugene Johnson petitioned for relief on 11 claims, including ineffectual counsel and the need for more DNA testing. Johnson was twice sentenced to death for slaying of Carol Jean Heath, whose young children were at home at the time of her death. The state Supreme Court overturned the 1st conviction in 1996 because a police officer testified that the victim's daughter had identified Johnson as the killer. The court said the hearsay evidence was improper and ordered a new trial. Johnson was again convicted and sentenced to death in 1997 - without the hearsay evidence - and the high court upheld the decision in 2000. In an opinion issued today, U.S. District Judge J. Leon Holmes rejected all of Johnson's claims for relief. (source: Associated Press)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----COLO., ILL., MO., ARK.
Rick Halperin Wed, 15 Aug 2007 09:46:59 -0500 (Central Daylight Time)
