August 16 CONNECTICUT: Campbell gets death penalty for Manchester woman's slaying Convicted double murderer Jessie Campbell III - who testified that he has been forgiven by God - today became Connecticut's eighth death row inmate after a Hartford Superior Court judge imposed the death sentence recommended by a jury last October. Judge Edward J. Mullarkey denied a motion by public defenders Ronald Gold, David G.E. Smith, and Michael K. Courtney to impose a sentence of life in prison for Campbell, 27. Under Connecticut law, the state Supreme Court will automatically review the sentence. The long-awaited sentence is just days shy of the 7th anniversary of the night of Aug. 26, 2000, when Campbell murdered Manchester High School graduate Desiree Privette, 18, and her friend and Campbell's estranged girlfriend, LaTaysha Logan, 20. On that warm summer evening, Campbell also stood over Privette's aunt, Carolyn Privette, as she tried to scramble away from the attack, and shot her point-blank in the head. She survived and - the bullet still lodged in her skull - eventually testified against Campbell. Campbell was convicted in May 2004 of capital felony, 2 counts of murder, 1 count of attempted murder, 1st-degree assault, and a weapons charge. The capital conviction triggered a sentencing hearing in which jurors were compelled to choose between life in prison with release or execution for Campbell. However, after 2 weeks of deliberations, that jury was unable to come to a unanimous decision. While the convictions stood, after a flurry of motions and responses from the defense and prosecutors Dennis J. O'Connor and Vicki Melchiorre, Mullarkey in December 2004 declared a mistrial in the penalty phase of the hearing and ordered a new penalty phase. The 2nd penalty phase was delayed by more legal maneuvering, and jury selection began in January 2006. Mullarkey again presided over the penalty phase, which began in September and lasted several weeks. Melchiorre and O'Connor presented evidence of a statutorily-mandated "aggravating factor," showing that Campbell created a "grave risk of death" to Carolyn Privette when he shot her. Gold and Smith countered with evidence of 10 "mitigating factors," including Campbell's chaotic upbringing, his drug-addicted father, his relatively low IQ, and his age and immaturity at the time of the killings. And in a move that shocked some longtime court observers, Campbell himself took the stand - something he didn't do in either the guilt phase or the 1st penalty hearing. "I can't take it back," Campbell testified under sharp questioning from Melchiorre as she asked him what he had done. Jurors also heard Campbell - whose mother once testified that she prayed to God to have a child and conceived after she levitated in a prayer session - say that he has already been forgiven by a higher power. "My past sins are forgiven. God has forgiven me. No one has helped me reach this point but God," Campbell told jurors. Like their predecessors, the jury spent weeks deliberating the evidence. But unlike the previous panel, the jury returned on Oct. 12 with a verdict: execution for Campbell, originally from Bloomfield and father of LaTaysha Logan's only child. The verdict wasn't immediately imposed: Mullarkey agreed to revisit a November 2005 motion filed by Gold and Smith claiming that the death penalty is applied in a "standardless system" by the 13 state's attorneys. The defense claimed that such a system allowed prosecutors to act in "God-like" ways, "arbitrarily and capriciously" seeking the death penalty. Such unfairness, the defense claimed in its motion, violated Campbell's state and federal constitutional rights to due process, equal protection, and a banishment on cruel and unusual punishment. The hearing on the motion began in February, and was spread over several days and months, concluding in June. In their conclusions, Gold, Smith, and Courtney argued that Mullarkey should grant the motion and sentence Campbell to life in prison - the only other possible sentence for a capital conviction. But O'Connor and Melchiorre countered the judicial process guarantees enough layers of review to ensure fairness in deciding when the death penalty is sought, and presented case law showing that prosecutorial discretion is guaranteed. Mullarkey rejected the defense claim. Campbell now joins seven other condemned murderers on death row at the Northern Correctional Institution in Somers: Robert Breton, Sedrick Cobb, Robert Courchesne, Richard Reynolds, Todd Rizzo, Daniel Webb, and Eduardo Santiago. The last inmate executed in Connecticut was serial killer Michael Ross, who died by lethal injection on May 13, 2005. Ross sealed his own fate after giving up his appeals following nearly 20 years on death row. But Campbell's lawyers have promised a series of vigorous appeals of the conviction and sentencing, including one claim that lethal injection is cruel and unusual. (source: Journal Inquirer) CALIFORNIA: Investigator to be sentenced over death penalty cases A defense investigator who plead guilty to falsifying documents to cast doubt on death penalty verdicts is expected to be sentenced to 5 years in state prison in Sacramento Superior Court today, attorneys said. Kathleen Culhane essentially admitted that she tried to overturn death penalty sentences by falsifying reports, when she pleaded guilty in April to 2 counts of forgery, 1 count of perjury and 1 count of filing a false document. Culhane had worked for the Habeas Corpus Resource Center, a state agency that defends inmates facing capital punishment, for several years before suspicion was cast on her work last year. Culhane had prepared last-minute documents on behalf of 5 jurors who said they regretted condemning Michael Morales to death for the 1981 killing of Terri Winchell. The documents had been sent to Gov. Arnold Schwarzennegger in a bid for clemency that was later denied. Senior assistant attorney general Michael Farrell said his office and the San Joaquin District Attorney's Office began to call the jurors who reportedly had changed their minds. Prosecutors learned that none of them had reversed their positions or had even heard of Culhane. Culhane agreed in April to accept a 5-year term in state prison in exchange for prosecutors dropping 41 of the 45 charges against her. Culhane's attorney, Stuart Hanlon of San Francisco, has characterized her as a deeply idealistic person who was caught up in her desire to see the death penalty abolished. Farrell has said she only harmed her causing by lying. The hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. today. (source: Sacramento Bee) TENNESSEE: High court allows execution of some mentally retarded inmates The Tennessee Supreme Court ruled that inmates who try to avoid the death penalty based on a claim of mental retardation can't rely on tests taken as adults to prove they have the disorder. In an unanimous decision, the high court said Danny Strode is eligible for the death penalty for the beating death of a Bledsoe County store owner during a 2001 robbery. Intelligence tests taken when he was a juvenile didn't show signs of retardation, although later testing did. Tennessee law prohibits executing any defendant with mental retardation at the time of committing 1st degree murder. But the law also says mental retardation must have been manifested during the developmental period, or by 18 years old. Death penalty experts said the court ruling likely will limit defense attempts to use mental retardation to fight a capital sentence. It will have no effect on the state's prohibition on executing inmates who showed signs of mental retardation before adulthood. (source: Associated Press) FLORIDA: Henderson found guilty of murder, faces possible death sentence A Manatee County jury has convicted a Myakka City-area man of killing 4 family members on Thanksgiving Day 2005. Richard Henderson Jr., was found guilty of 3 counts of 1st-degree murder and one count of 2nd-degree murder. The 1st-degree murder convictions make Henderson eligible for the death penalty. The same jury will now hear evidence and arguments during the punishment phase of the trial. Henderson, 22, had been on trial for 2 weeks at the Manatee County Courthouse charged with using a steel pipe to kill his mother, Jeaneane; father, Richard Sr.; grandmother, June; and 11-year-old brother, Jacob, on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 24, 2005. The jury convicted Henderson of 1st-degree murder in the deaths of his mother, father and grandmother, and 2nd-degree murder in the death of his brother. The penalty phase will begin Friday at 8:45 a.m. (source: Bradenton Herald) KENTUCKY: Baze's Lawyers Call for Delay of Execution Lawyers for a death row inmate says setting an execution date now would be premature. 2 days after the attorney general asked the governor to set an execution date for death row inmate Ralph Baze, the cop killer's legal team said signing a death warrant at this time would be premature. In a four page letter delivered to Governor Ernie Fletcher Thursday afternoon, Baze's attorneys said "... the Attorney General makes it sound as though no litigation is pending. This is not accurate." On Tuesday the Attorney General Greg Stumbo asked Fletcher to set a September 18 execution date because Baze had "exhausted" his appeals in all federal and state courts. But, the Department of Public Advocacy lawyers say decisions are still pending on lethal injection cases in the U.S. and Kentucky Supreme Courts. Baze was one of two Kentucky death row inmates who lost a Kentucky Circuit Court case in April 2005 which challenged the state's method of lethal injection. The appeal of that ruling was sent to the state's highest court, which granted a stay until Baze could seek review. The letter to Fletcher says the AG is asking the governor to "circumvent the legal process" by executing Baze six weeks before the litigation "could come to its natural conclusion." Baze gunned down Powell County Sheriff Steve Bennett and his brother in law, Deputy Arthur Briscoe, outside Baze's rural home in 1992 as they attempted to serve outstanding felony warrants. Fletcher's legal adviser says the governor will make a decision soon. (source: WTVQ News) USA: US moves to speed up executions The US is preparing to bring in legal changes giving Attorney General Alberto Gonzales new powers to limit the time inmates spend on appeal on death row. The change in the rules, under which Mr Gonzales will be able to decide state requests to speed the appeals process, was a measure in the 2006 Patriot Act. Death penalty experts warn the move could affect death row inmates' chances of overturning wrongful convictions. The US Justice Department has played down the significance of the new rules. Spokesman Erik Ablin said they merely set out guidelines states would have to follow to qualify for a faster federal review of moves to limit death row appeals, a system authorised in 1996 but not implemented. He said: "This has nothing to do with specific cases and the attorney general has no authority to change the certification requirements, which are determined by statute." Under the new regulations, due to take effect after 24 September, prosecutors would be able to "fast-track" the death row appeal process if the state requests it and the attorney general, rather than a federal appeals court, agrees that the state has proper legal counsel in place for death row defendants. 'Dramatic change' Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Patrick Leahy, a Democrat, and Arlen Specter, the committee's top Republican, wrote to Mr Gonzales earlier this month asking him to extend the consultation period on the new rules. "It is crucial that the legislative changes to this complex and heavily litigated area of the law be successfully and appropriately implemented, especially given the tremendous personal stake for individual defendants," they wrote. Death penalty experts argue that shortening the time allowed for inmates to appeal, in what are often very complicated cases, will make effective and fair review very difficult. US METHODS OF EXECUTION Lethal injection: Authorised in 37 states (plus US military & federal government) Electrocution: In 10 states (sole method in Nebraska) Gas chamber: In 5 states (all of which have lethal injection as alternative) Hanging: Only in New Hampshire and Washington Firing squad: In Idaho and Oklahoma. It is available to inmates in Utah who chose it before the method was banned [source: Death Penalty Information Center] The new procedure will cut down the amount of time that death row inmates have to appeal to the federal courts, once the state court has ruled, from 1 year to 6 months. The federal courts will also have less time to review the cases before them, which represent the only opportunity defence lawyers have to file new evidence. Elisabeth Semel, director of the Death Penalty Clinic at the University of California law school in Berkeley, told the BBC News website the new rules represented a "very dramatic change". She fears that not only the few death row inmates who turn out to be innocent but also those who have been unfairly given the death penalty will lose out. And, she points out, those who decide whether to limit the appeals process are the same people as are seeking a faster process. "It's like giving control of the hen house to the fox, because it's the attorney general in the state going to the attorney general of the US and getting permission to do something that kills the chicken," she said. Ms Semel also criticises the law for not defining what is meant by the state "having a system to provide competent counsel", which is the provision Mr Gonzales must agree has been met. 'Disastrous consequences' Jack King, of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, said the consequences of the law change would be "disastrous". No state was ever signed off by the federal appeals courts under the 1996 law as meeting the requirements on providing adequate defence lawyers, he said. Congress has now given that power to the attorney general who, Mr King said, was less qualified but more likely to approve states for the fast-track process. The Judicial Conference of the US, which oversees policy for the federal courts, has voiced concern that the new rules will make it harder for federal judges to review cases properly. Some death penalty critics argue Mr Gonzales, who has been under fire for his role in the dismissal of US attorneys, is not the right person to have sway over the death penalty process, particularly because of his legal background in Texas, which executes more people than any other state. Costly inmates 53 executions were carried out across the US last year, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. So far this year, there have been 32. The number of executions hit 98 in 1999 but has been falling since amid legal challenges to the use of lethal injections and increasing use of DNA evidence to overturn convictions. However, some state legal officials argue that moves to shorten the length of time inmates spend on death row are overdue. Kent Cattani, a legal official in the Arizona attorney general's office, told the Los Angeles Times: "If you are going to have the death penalty at all, it shouldn't take 20-25 years." The high cost of keeping inmates on death row is also cited by some conservatives as a reason to speed up the appeals process. According to a 2005 Los Angeles Times study, it costs California $90,000 more a year to keep an inmate on death row than in the general prison population, adding up to some $57.5m extra each year. (source: BBC News)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----CONN., CALIF., TENN., FLA., KY., USA
Rick Halperin Thu, 16 Aug 2007 17:12:25 -0500 (Central Daylight Time)
