May 6 FLORIDA: ACLU to host death penalty presentation Florida leads the nation in death row exonerations 26 since 1973. But with the rapidly growing prison population approaching 93,000, the 3rd highest in the country, members of the Innocence Project of Florida believe their mission is just beginning. The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida will present Seth Miller, Executive Director of the Innocence Project of Florida to discuss the organizations current activities in Florida on May 9 at noon at the Emerald Coast Conference Center on Okaloosa Island. Miller oversees the investigation and litigation of DNA testing requests in the Florida courts and advocates for release of inmates who have proven their innocence through the use of DNA testing. Additionally, the Innocence Project provides comprehensive transition assistance to exonerees and lobbies the Florida legislature for exoneree compensation and necessary criminal justice reforms. Before coming to the Innocence Project, Miller was a project attorney for the Death Penalty Moratorium Implementation Project at the American Bar Association and a staff attorney at the Florida First District Court of Appeal. (source: Northwest Florida Daily News) CALIFORNIA: Jury Reaches Verdict in Penalty Phase of Cop Killer's Trial The jury deciding the fate of convicted killer Brendt Volarvich has reached a decision on whether Volarvich should be put to death for the murder of CHP Officer Andy Stevens. The verdict was reached earlier in the afternoon but will be read at 3:45 p.m. to give the various parties time to go to the courthouse in Woodland. The jury began deliberating late Monday afternoon. On April 3, the same eight-man, four-woman jury convicted Volarvich of first-degree murder with special circumstances in the killing of Stevens during a traffic stop west of Woodland on November 17, 2005. He and a co-defendant, Greg Zeilesch, were also convicted of conspiracy to commit murder in a plot to kill another man, Doug Shamberger, who was a romantic rival of Zeilesch. Zeilesch gave a .357 revolver to Volarvich for the hired hit, the weapon used in Stevens' killing. Volarvich was eligible for the death penalty because the jury found true the special circumstances of lying in wait, firing a gun from a vehicle and killing a peace officer. Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Riesig argued Volarvich deserved the death penalty because he had "chosen the evil path" and "when he executed Andy Stevens, he did so with a deep hatred for democracy, a hatred for government, a hatred for cops." Volarvich's attorney never argued his client was innocent but said Volarvich had had a troubled upbringing and that his decisions were clouded by drug use. (source: KXTV News) VIRGINIA----death row inmate inmate seeks to drop all appeals D.C.-area sniper asks in letter for end to death-row appeal Convicted sniper John Allen Muhammad asks prosecutors in a letter for help to put an end to his legal appeals from death row. Muhammad says in the letter released Tuesday that he is waiving all rights to appeal his 2003 conviction and death sentence for the sniper killings in 2002 that terrorized the Washington, D.C., region. Muhammad says he has tried without success to stop efforts by his defense lawyers, and that he is counting on the state attorney general to assist him. Muhammad's appellate lawyer, Jonathan Sheldon, declined comment. Muhammad's lawyers in a federal court appeal cite evidence of brain damage that may render Muhammad incompetent to make legal decisions on his own behalf. (source: Associated Press) TENNESSEE: AG: Tenn. won't appeal release of death row inmate House The Tennessee attorney general's office says it won't fight an appeals court decision that clears the way to release death row inmate Paul House, who has been imprisoned nearly 22 years. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday affirmed a ruling by federal Judge Harry S. Mattice Jr., who in December ordered House's release unless prosecutors began a new trial against him within 180 days. Attorney general spokeswoman Sharon Curtis-Flair said Tuesday that "the state will not pursue any further appeals." The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2006 that House's jury didn't hear testimony that could have exonerated him in the 1985 slaying of Carolyn Muncey in Union County. DNA evidence also led the Supreme Court to question the conviction. A hearing scheduled for May 28 will set the conditions of House's release. House has multiple sclerosis and must use a wheelchair. (source: Associated Press) ALABAMA: Talladega County man gets death sentence for capital murders A Talladega County man who was convicted of capital murder has been sentenced to death. Circuit Judge Bo Hollingsworth sentenced Wakilii Brown, 32, to die by lethal injection for the murders of his girlfriend, Cherae Jemison, 26, and her mother, Dotty Jemison, 49. Brown has continued to maintain his innocence and told the court he wasn't guilty before he was sentenced Monday. Talladega County District Attorney Steve Giddens said he was pleased with the sentence although some of the victims' family members asked the judge that Brown be given life without parole. Brown's attorneys said they plan to appeal. Brown was convicted of beating the women to death at the home they all shared in Sylacauga in March 2001. The women were struck multiple times in the head with what appeared to be a hammer. (source: Associated Press)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news---FLA., CALIF., VA., TENN., ALA.
Rick Halperin Tue, 6 May 2008 17:28:51 -0500 (Central Daylight Time)
