[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----WYO., ILL.

[Rick Halperin]

Oct. 14


WYOMING----new execution date

Judge sets execution date for Eaton


A Natrona County district judge Monday set a December execution date for
Wyoming's only death row inmate, who was convicted of the 1988 kidnapping,
rape and murder of a teenager.

Dale Wayne Eaton, 63, is set to be put to death before sunrise on Dec. 19,
although future appeals will almost certainly push back that date.

"It is very difficult to say, but just based on other cases, I would say
we are less than halfway through that process," said District Attorney
Michael Blonigen, who prosecuted the case against Eaton.

A jury in March 2004 sentenced Eaton to die for the murder of 18-year- old
Lisa Marie Kimmell, who disappeared in 1988 while driving from Colorado to
Cody. Fishermen found her body floating in the North Platte River 8 days
later, but it was not until 2003 that prosecutors, with the help of DNA
evidence, charged Eaton with her death.

Kimmell had been sexually assaulted, hit in the head and stabbed before
being thrown from Government Bridge, off State Highway 220.

The Wyoming Supreme Court rejected Eaton's appeal in August and directed
the trial court set a new date for his execution.

That task was completed during a short hearing Monday morning in Natrona
County District Court. Eaton is being held at the Wyoming State
Penitentiary in Rawlins but was transported to Casper for the proceedings.

Eaton, dressed in an orange jail uniform, sat at the defense table and
rested his shackled hands on his belly during the hearing. He showed no
emotion and declined an opportunity to address the court.

Judge David Park acknowledged there was a "substantial possibility" the
execution would not take place on the date he set. But, the judge added,
the Supreme Court's ruling and state law directed him to set it
regardless.

Reached Monday afternoon, Kimmell's mother, Sheila Kimmell, declined to
comment.

Blonigen said chances are low the execution will happen on Dec. 19, unless
Eaton forgoes further appeals. There has been no indication he plans to do
that, the prosecutor added.

"Unfortunately, this process has become very drawn out throughout not only
Wyoming, but the United States," Blonigen said. "And it is something you
have to deal with in cases like that."

' At this point in the process, the defense typically files a motion to
"stay" the execution pending additional legal proceedings, Blonigen said.
After that, Eaton's attorneys could file a petition with District Court
that argues he was convicted in violation of his constitutional rights.
That petition must be submitted to the court by May.

If that is rejected, the case could enter the federal court system. The
entire process could be complicated, with multiple filings proceeding
through the legal system at the same time.

"It is not always a neat and simple progression of one remedy to the
next," Blonigen said.

Mark Hopkinson, the last person executed in Wyoming, was put to death by
lethal injection in 1992 after 13 years on death row. He is the only
person to be executed in the state since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated
the death penalty in 1976.

Last we knew: The Wyoming Supreme Court rejected the appeal of Dale Wayne
Eaton, the state's sole death row inmate.

The latest: A Natrona County district judge set Eaton's execution for Dec.
19.

What's next: Several more years of appeals on Eaton's behalf are expected.

(source: Star-Tribune)






ILLINOIS:

Damm eligible for death penalty


David Damm is eligible for the death penalty.

The same jury who convicted the 60-year-old Waterloo, Iowa, man of
1st-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping and conspiracy to commit murder
also decided that he could die for his crimes according to the allowances
of the law.

Damm hired long-time acquaintance Bruce Burt to kidnap and kill Donnisha
Hill, 13, also of Waterloo. Donnisha was going to testify against Damm,
who authorities say was sexually abusing her.

On Thursday, the jury found Damm guilty an all available charges. Tomorrow
they will decide whether he will receive the death penalty.

Jo Daviess County Courthouse officials said the sentencing starts at 9
a.m. and will include testimony and arguments from both the defense and
prosecution attorneys. The victims family is also expected to make
statements.

(source: TH Online)