Aug. 31 TEXAS: Why the Texas Governor Commuted a Death Sentence Kenneth Foster clearly did not deserve to die. His crime: driving a car used in a robbery that led to a murder he never took part in. But his case was by no means unique in Texas, and so it came as a surprise today when Gov. Rick Perry commuted his sentence. "I'm concerned about Texas law that allows capital murder defendants to be tried simultaneously," Perry said in a statement, "and it is an issue I think the legislature should examine." A conservative Republican wants to examine capital murder law? To say the least, Perry is doing his part to Keep Austin Weird. So why did this happen? It certainly helped that Foster had become an international anti-death penalty cause celebre supported by President Jimmy Carter, South African Archbishop Desmund Tutu and Susan Sarandon. Still, celebrities and activists have adopted other death row inmates (free Mumia!) to little effect. Weird as it may sound, the pardon is probably best explained as the result of a gradually increasing skepticism in Texas of the criminal justice system and, yes, the death penalty. Consider this: death penalty prosecutions in the nation's execution capital, Harris County, Texas, have been in steep decline; every major newspaper in Texas has called for a moratorium on the death penalty or opposes it entirely; and in 2005 the state legislature passed a law allowing life imprisonment without parole, which has given judges and jurors a new way to be "tough on crime" without killing people. "Perhaps the reality that people aren't so hip on the death penalty anymore is finally getting across, even to Rick Perry," Jeff Blackburn, the founder and chief counsel of the Texas Innocence Project, told me. "I think this is about where people are at in the State of Texas--the old lies that have been told them are starting to be revealed." Anyone living in Texas in recent years couldn't help but notice a string of high-profile criminal justice scandals--racism in Tulia, pervasively botched evidence in the Houston crime lab, and most recently, a striking number of exonerations in Dallas on DNA evidence. "Ten years ago if you told people that the criminal justice system falsely convicts the innocent, you were either a communist or a nut or both," Blackburn says. "Now, everybody gets that. Everybody has seen it fail." Including Perry. Which is not to say that he cares most of the time. Blackburn and other defense advocates still believe plenty of people are wrongly put to death in the state. But Perry is a good politician: he appears to understand that the pendulum--or the scythe--is swinging the other way in Texas, and that he needs to get out of the way before it lops his head off. (source: Mother Jones) GEORGIA: Public defender chief quits; says courts should be 'told the truth' The head of the state capital defender office said Friday he will resign because there is not enough money in the budget to adequately fund the representation of death-penalty defendants. In a letter sent Thursday to the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council, Chris Adams said the council should "tell the truth" to the courts about the lack of resources and halt all capital proceedings until there are enough resources for the office's lawyers to do their jobs. "We must have the type of resources that allow us to get the job done," Adams wrote. "The current budget does not." Because the public defender council does not support his position, Adams said, he will step down. The council was created by the Legislature four years ago to oversee representation for people unable to afford their own lawyers. The statewide defender system replaced a patchwork of county-run programs widely criticized for their inability to adequately represent many defendants. Since Adams became director of the capital defender office in 2005, the office has enjoyed a remarkable success rate in a state where support of capital punishment runs high. None of the 35 cases resolved so far by the office resulted in a death sentence. All but 4 of these cases were resolved by plea agreements reached with prosecutors before they went to trial, saving the state and counties large sums of money in court costs and fees for attorneys and expert witnesses. "It's a shame the state is losing someone of Chris's stature because of the failure of the state to provide sufficient funds to do the job," Atlanta criminal defense lawyer Jack Martin said. "How can anyone expect the office to represent clients competently with half the money they need and an increasing caseload?" In his letter, Adams notified the council there is not enough money to pay for private lawyers and expert witnesses in so-called "conflict" cases. These are multi-defendant cases where, because of legal ethics rules, the capital defender office can only represent one defendant. Private attorneys, who are paid by the hour, are appointed to represent the others. The funding for almost 2 dozen conflict cases has already run out this fiscal year, which begin July 1, Adams said.In his letter of resignation, Adams said he was recently rebuffed by the defender council when he submitted a $10.5 million budget request for next year. Instead, the council approved a budget of only $4.3 million. That is about $3 million less than the capital defender was provided 2 years ago and, in the meantime, its caseload has continued to rise. The current level of funding is not nearly enough to give the capital defender office the resources it takes to effectively represent its death-penalty clients, Adams said. "The old adage 'you get what you pay for' is particularly true with regard to the defense of capital cases," Adams wrote, "which involve the greatest responsibility and most difficult assignment that any lawyer is asked to undertake." (source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution) LOUISIANA: Lawyers Debate Death Penalty in Slaying A man accused of murdering and dismembering a woman should not face the death penalty because taking her victim's body parts was not "robbery," his attorney argued. Sean Vincent Gillis, accused of killing 8 women between 1994 and 2004, faces 1st-degree murder charges in the February 2004 death of Donna Bennett Johnston. He pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of second-degree murder last week in another of the deaths. Under state law, Gillis can be convicted of first-degree murder which could bring the death penalty only if prosecutors prove an "aggravating circumstance." In a hearing Thursday, lawyers sparred over the prosecution argument that the death of Johnston met that definition because it occurred along with two other crimes, kidnapping and armed robbery. The items taken in the robbery, prosecutors said, were a belt, blanket, earring backing, and one of Johnston's arms and a tattoo from one of her legs. But it isn't robbery to take body parts because they don't have any monetary value, defense attorney Steven Lemoine told state District Judge Bonnie Jackson. As for the other items, he said, they were just "left over" from the homicide. "There is no market for the (body parts) Mr. Gillis is accused of taking," he said. But prosecutor Prem Burns said the case is unique: Most robbers want jewelry or money, but Gillis wanted body parts. "He has to kill the victim first in order to take them," Burns argued. "These are things that have value to this defendant." Jurors should answer the questions raised by Lemoine, she said. The defense said there are also problems with the kidnapping charge. The prosecution says she was tricked into going with him thinking he would pay her for sex. The defense says there is no way to know whether Johnston was held against her will for any amount of time. A couple walking a dog found Johnston's body in a field on Feb. 27, 2004. Jackson did not immediately rule on the defense motion to throw out the 1st-degree murder charge in Johnston's death. First-degree murder can be punished either by life in prison or death by injection. Gillis already faces an automatic life sentence after pleading guilty last week in Port Allen to second-degree murder in the death of Joyce Williams, whose dismembered body was found in 2000. Police have said the first victim was Anne Bryan, 81, who was slain in 1994 in her apartment in an upscale nursing home, but most of his victims were prostitutes and drug users. He allegedly confessed to eight slayings but defense lawyers are challenging the validity of the confessions. (source: Associated Press)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, GA., LA.
Rick Halperin Fri, 31 Aug 2007 14:29:12 -0500 (Central Daylight Time)
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, GA., LA. Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, GA., LA. Rick Halperin