Oct. 14 TEXAS: Scrutiny called for in cases that lead to death penalty----DA candidates Bradford, Lykos disagree on how it should be done The candidates for Harris County district attorney showed differences in their approach to the death penalty Monday, with Democrat C.O. Bradford saying that the county and state "have sent far too many people to death row." Bradford, the former Houston police chief, and Republican Pat Lykos, a former judge, support the death penalty but both say the next district attorney should evaluate each capital murder case more carefully than in the past before seeking execution as the punishment. While Lykos said Monday that the decision to seek the death penalty "is not a statistical game," Bradford said Texas criminals "don't deserve to die at any greater rate than other criminals across America." The contenders in the Nov. 4 election spoke together to the Chronicle editorial board. Harris County has sent more convicted killers to death row than any state except its own, Texas. Bradford, however, said prosecutors should seek the death penalty only as a last resort, partly because legitimate doubts have been raised about the dependability of evidence in some cases, and the mental capacity of the murderers in others. "I am simply saying we (currently) seek the death penalty in some cases as a first resort as opposed to a last resort," he remarked. Lykos said she disagreed with Bradford's wording. "Every case rises and falls on its own merit," she said. "You have to have the vetting and the sifting of it, and the investigation of it." In general, state law allows for the death penalty to be sought when a killing is carried out in conjunction with another felony or in narrow instances, such as when the victim is a police officer. However, the law leaves prosecutors leeway to decide whether to ask a jury for a death sentence. Bradford said he was not implying that he would consider the rate at which the sentence is meted out in Harris County. "I will consult with the (prosecutor) assigned the case, the investigators, the victim's survivors and also make a determination, 'Is this person salvageable? Is there any value left to society? What threat do they pose to this community?' " Lykos, pointing out that as a judge she signed execution warrants against inmates convicted by juries, said: "It's something you have to give the most profound consideration." Lykos said some counties decide whether to pursue the death penalty based on how much such a painstaking prosecution would cost the taxpayers, and "that's wrong." The election winner will take over from interim District Attorney Kenneth Magidson, who was selected by Gov. Rick Perry after Chuck Rosenthal resigned as the elected officeholder. (source: Houston Chronicle) OHIO----impending execution Inmate who says he's too fat to die to be executed A double murderer who says he's too fat to be executed humanely has passed a pre-execution exam and is cleared to receive a lethal injection Tuesday. Richard Cooey, 41, was given a visual examination by the state when he arrived at the death house on Monday, and officials found nothing that should cause a problem in delivering the deadly chemicals. The 5-foot-7, 267-pound Cooey had tried to avoid execution by arguing that his obesity would prevent humane lethal injection because viable veins in his arms are hard to find. A more detailed examination was to be conducted Tuesday morning, when he is scheduled to die for killing 2 college students in 1986. The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied 1 of 2 pending appeals to stop the execution. It turned down without comment Cooey's claim that his obesity was a bar to humane lethal injection. The argument also had been rejected by a federal appeals court in Cincinnati and the Ohio Supreme Court, with both courts ruling that he missed a deadline for filing appeals. Cooey was still waiting for a ruling on his appeal of the Ohio Supreme Court's dismissal Monday of his complaint that the state's protocol for lethal injection could cause an agonizing and painful death. He wanted the state to use a single drug rather than a 3-drug combination, and asked for a stay of execution pending a hearing on that motion. Cooey is 75 pounds heavier than when he went to death row the result of prison food and 23-hour-a-day confinement, his lawyers said. They also argued that a migraine medicine prescribed by a prison physician could reduce the effect of the anesthetic used as part of the 3-drug lethal injection. They claimed that Ohio has a history of botched executions. The last Ohio inmate to be executed was Christopher Newton who was similar in size to Cooey in May 2007. The execution team had trouble putting IVs in his arm, delaying his execution nearly 2 hours. There were similar problems in the execution of another inmate in 2006. Cooey made an earlier trip to the death house. But a U.S. District Court judge intervened hours before his scheduled execution in July 2003 when the Ohio Public Defender's office said it needed more time to assess the case after an appeals court dismissed his previous attorneys for inadequate representation. Cooey and a co-defendant were convicted in the sexual assaults and slayings of University of Akron students Dawn McCreery, 20, and Wendy Offredo, 21, in September 1986. His co-defendant was 17 and was sentenced to life in prison because of his age. The Ohio Board of Parole and Gov. Ted Strickland have refused Cooey's plea for clemency. On the Net: Ohio Death Row: http://www.drc.ohio.gov/Public/deathrow.htm (source: Associated Press) GEORGIA: Supreme Court allows Troy Davis execution The U.S. Supreme Court today rejected an appeal from death-row inmate Troy Davis, refusing to consider his case even though 7 of 9 key prosecution witnesses have recanted their testimony since the 1991 trial. The decision means a new death warrant will be obtained and a new execution date will be set in the coming weeks. Davis was condemned to die for the Aug. 19, 1989, killing of Savannah Police Officer Mark Allen MacPhail. The 27-year-old father of 2, working off duty, was shot dead after he responded to the cries of a homeless man being pistol whipped in a Burger King parking lot. Davis' lawyers had asked the U.S. Supreme Court to declare that the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment bars the execution of the innocent and requires at least a court hearing to assess the recantation testimony. Davis claims of innocence have attracted international attention. Davis had been scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection on Sept. 23. But, with less than 2 hours to spare, the high court halted the execution to give the justices more time to consider whether to hear his appeal. (source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution) ******************** Amnesty International Press Release----FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Amnesty International Decries U.S. Supreme Court Decision to Deny Troy Davis Petition ---- Failure to Consider the Evidence Is "Shocking," Says Human Rights Organization (Washington, D.C.) --Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) decried today's U.S. Supreme Court decision to deny a new hearing for Georgia death-row inmate Troy Anthony Davis. The Court had granted Davis a stay of execution just hours before he was scheduled to be put to death while it decided whether to hear the case. In denying Davis' petition for a writ of certiorari, the Court has effectively ended a long-standing battle to have new evidence in Davis' favor heard in a court of law. "The Supreme Court's decision is truly shocking, given that significant evidence of Davis' innocence will never have a chance to be examined," said Larry Cox, executive director for AIUSA. Faulty eyewitness identification is the leading cause of wrongful convictions, and the hallmark of Davis' case. This was an opportunity for the Court to clarify the constitutionality of putting the innocent to death - and in Davis' case, his innocence could only be determined with a new hearing or trial." "It is disgraceful that the highest court in the land could sink so low when doubts surrounding Davis' guilt are so high," Cox added. The U.S. Supreme Court denied Davis' petition for writ of certiorari that was submitted on constitutional grounds of due process and cruel and unusual punishment violations if an individual is put to death despite significant claims to innocence. Davis' attorneys filed the petition after the Georgia Supreme Court's narrow 4-3 ruling to deny Davis an evidentiary hearing last March; the ruling was based on technicalities rather than basic questions of guilt and innocence. Davis was convicted in 1991 of killing Savannah police officer Mark Allen MacPhail. Authorities failed to produce a murder weapon or any physical evidence tying Davis to the crime. In addition, 7 of the 9 original state witnesses have since recanted or changed their initial testimonies in sworn affidavits. One of the remaining witnesses is alleged to be the actual perpetrator. Since the launch of its February 2007 report, Where Is the Justice for Me? The Case of Troy Davis, Facing Execution in Georgia, Amnesty International has campaigned intensively for a new evidentiary hearing or trial and clemency for Davis, collecting well over 200,000 clemency petition signatures and letters from across the United States and around the world. To date, internationally known figures such as Pope Benedict XVI, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter have all joined the call for clemency, as well as lawmakers from within and outside of Georgia. Amnesty International is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning grassroots activist organization with more than 2.2 million supporters, activists and volunteers who campaign for universal human rights from more than 150 countries. The organization investigates and exposes abuses, educates and mobilizes the public, and works to protect people wherever justice, freedom, truth and dignity are denied. For more information about the Troy Davis case, please visit: www.amnestyusa.org/troydavis. #### SOUTH CAROLINA: Jury selection to begin in death-penalty case Jury selection is set to begin Monday in the death-penalty trial of a 27-year-old man accused of beating a Spartanburg County couple to death with a hammer last year. Andres "Tony" Torres faces charges of murder, armed robbery, burglary, attempting to burn and first-degree criminal sexual conduct. He is accused of attacking 61-year-old Charles Ray Emery and 59-year-old Mary Ann Emery with a hammer as they slept in their Drayton home in May 2007. Torres is also accused of trying to burn down their house by dousing it with gasoline and turning on the oven before stealing the couple's van, and of raping Mary Ann Emery before killing the couple. (source: Associated Press) ARKANSAS: Defense witness says murder suspect not competent to face death penalty In Rogers, Dr. Ricardo Weinstein declared in circuit court Monday that accused murderer Erickson Dimas-Martinez lacks the mental competency to face the death penalty. Prosecutors will have their opportunity to rebut Weinstein in court today. Dimas-Martinez, 22, is charged with the murder of Derrick Earl Jefferson, 17, who was shot in the head. The capital murder charge carries a penalty of life in prison or the death penalty. Trial proceedings for Dimas-Martinez were suspended in February to give both sides time to conduct tests. Benton County Prosecuting Attorney Van Stone said he would present 2 doctors during today's round of testimony to contradict Weinstein's findings. Weinstein said Dimas-Martinez's condition fulfills the definition of mental retardation because he suffers from significant brain dysfunction and hindered judgment and impulse controls. Weinstein added that Dimas-Martinez's condition would be "greatly exacerbated"while he was intoxicated. Weinstein, who said there is no way to prove what causes mental retardation, attributed Dimas-Martinez's dysfunction to the family's poverty, stress and inability to receive proper nutrition and health care in war-torn El Salvador. Weinstein also said Dimas-Martinez was physically abused by his father and suffered brain injuries from the assaults, some of which resulted in Dimas-Martinez losing consciousness. Clinger adjourned the proceedings before Stone had an opportunity to cross-examine the witness. Stone will have his chance today when court resumes at 8: 30 a.m. Prosecutors filed charges against Dimas-Martinez on Jan. 18, 2007, after finding Jefferson's body on Dec. 30, 2006, next to the driveway of 4265 N. 40 th St., in an unincorporated area of Benton County near Springdale's city limits. Dimas-Martinez is being held without bond in the Benton County Jail. (source: Benton County Daily Record)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----TEXAS, OHIO, GA., S.C., ARK.
Rick Halperin Tue, 14 Oct 2008 10:02:10 -0500 (Central Daylight Time)
