April 18 NORTH CAROLINA: DA pursues death penalty in 2006 shooting death----Man accused of killing another, kidnapping his friend, stealing car Prosecutors said at a hearing yesterday in Forsyth Superior Court that they intend to ask for the death penalty against a man accused of killing another man, then stealing his car and fleeing to Columbus County. Jennifer Martin, an assistant district attorney, said that there are two aspects of the crime that qualify it for the death penalty. She said that prosecutors will try to prove at trial that Caliph George Cherry, 23, killed Jamie Bannerman, 23, while committing another crime -- kidnapping Bannerman's girlfriend -- and that he killed Bannerman for financial gain because he stole the car. The case is expected to go to trial next year. Bannerman was shot to death Sept. 27, 2006, in his apartment in Hunt Club Apartments, off Old Town Drive. Martin said that Cherry knocked on Bannerman's door, got inside his apartment and confronted him at gunpoint. After shooting Bannerman twice at the base of the neck, Cherry tied up Bannerman's girlfriend by using duct tape, Martin said. Cherry's fingerprint was found on the tape, she said. Cherry stole Bannerman's car, then drove it across the state to Columbus County, which is west of Wilmington, Martin said. Police arrested Cherry on Nov. 11, 2006, at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill, where he had been taken for treatment of severe burns. Prosecutors say they think that Cherry burned himself badly while trying to burn Bannerman's car. Cherry gave the rims from Bannerman's car to a friend, Martin said, but that friend has not yet been charged. J. Darren Byers, one of Cherry's two attorneys, said after the hearing that the version of the crime that Martin gave is just one account. "They're just allegations," he said. Martin said that there is nothing so far that indicates that Cherry knew Bannerman. Bannerman's girlfriend told police that the gunman took her and Bannerman's cell phones, and that he pointed a gun at her and told her he didn't kill women or children. She climbed over a back balcony after the gunman left and went to a neighbor's apartment to call police. Police circulated a photo of Bannerman's car to local media and then to a newspaper in Whiteville, where Cherry had once lived. The car was found Oct. 27, 2006, in a field west of Whiteville. The Columbus County Sheriff's Office said that it appeared that the car had been there several weeks. (source: Winston-Salem Journal) ARIZONA: Former Douglas resident sentenced to death for beating death of 5-year-old A former Douglas resident was handed the death penalty for his part in the 2004 beating death of a 5-yearold girl. Joshua Villalobos, 25, was given the death penalty Wednesday in a Phoenix court. In January 3, 2004 Villalobos was booked for one count of child abuse in the death of Ashley Molina. According to police reports, investigators detained Villalobos shortly after he and girlfriend, Linda Verdugo, now 24, took Ashley to Arrowhead Community Hospital in North Phoenix. Villalobos, then 21, was home watching the children on Jan. 3, 2004, while Verdugo was working at Wal-Mart during the late shift. Villalobos would later tell police that he got angry and punched Ashley in the stomach. There had been an argument between Ashley and the couple's 2-year-old daughter, Anyssa. Verdugo was also charged for her part in failing to protect her daughter. She pleaded guilty. Under her plea deal, she could get a year in jail or up to 15 years in prison. In exchange, she will have to testify against her old boyfriend. Villalobos was a member of the Class of 2000 at Douglas High School. (source: Douglas Dispatch) ***************** Man murders wife in Phoenix home, to face death penalty? A Phoenix man could face the death penalty for the murder of his wife, according to a Friday announcement. County Attorney Andrew Thomas announced the filing of notice of intent to seek the death penalty against Jeffrey Hamlet, 55, who is accused of killing his wife at their Phoenix home. Police responded to the home on February 12th after receiving a 911 call from the victim's son. Officials found the deceased victim wrapped in a tarp in one of the bedrooms of the home. Officials also witnessed Hamlet trying to stab himself with a kitchen knife and used Tasers to stop him. "The filing today affords the jury the death penalty option should a jury find Hamlet guilty," said Thomas. The Maricopa County Attorney's Office allows for the advice of a review panel to confirm if aggravating factors related to the homicide meet the guidelines established by the U.S. Supreme Court and determine if the death penalty is appropriate in the case. (source: The E.W. Scripps Co.) MISSOURI: Nixon seeks death-row execution dates 1 day after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the use of lethal injection, Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon on Thursday asked the state Supreme Court to set execution dates for 4 death row inmates. Missouri is among about 3 dozen states that use a 3-drug execution method that opponents said violated the constitutional guarantee against cruel and unusual punishment. But the High Court disagreed in a 7-2 decision on Wednesday. There was no immediate word on if or when the state Supreme Court would act on Nixon's request. Spokeswoman Beth Riggert did not return a phone call seeking comment. Nixon sought execution dates for convicted killers Mark Christeson, Martin Link, Earl Ringo Jr. and Dennis Skillicorn. He did not respond to an interview request. Christeson killed Susan Brouk and her 2 children in Maries County in 1998. Link killed 11-year-old Elissa Self of St. Louis in 1991. Ringo killed Joanna Baysinger and Dennis Poyser in Boone County in 1998. Skillicorn killed Richard Drummond in Lafayette County in 1994. Last June, Nixon sought execution dates for 10 other condemned killers: Michael Taylor, Roderick Nunley, Richard Clay, Reginald Clemons, Jeffrey Ferguson, Andrew Lyons, William Rousan, Russell Bucklew, John Winfield and John Middleton. The Supreme Court has not set execution dates for any of those men. All told, 46 men are on death row in Missouri. Since the death penalty was reinstated in 1989 Missouri has traditionally been among the top states in the number of annual executions. But as the courts have weighed the merits of lethal injection, the state hasn't performed an execution since Marlin Gray was put to death in October 2005. Inmates in several states continue to have cases pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, though it is doubtful the court will hear most of them. One of the cases is out of Missouri and was filed on behalf of Taylor, convicted of abducting, raping and killing a 15-year-old Kansas City girl. In both the Kentucky case heard by the U.S. Supreme Court and the Missouri case, the debate centered on how 3 drugs are administered in succession. If the initial anesthetic does not take hold, a 3rd drug that stops the heart can cause excruciating pain, it has been argued. But the inmate would not be able to communicate the pain because of a 2nd drug that paralyzes him. Taylor's attorney, Ginger Anders, said Taylor's case is different because it alleges problems not only in the 3-drug protocol but in how Missouri administers the drugs. Most executions in Missouri are over in just a few minutes. One exception occurred in 1995, when it took condemned killer Emmitt Foster 30 minutes to die. Authorities said a tight leather strap holding Foster down cut off the flow of lethal drugs. The coroner involved in the case said at the time that Foster didn't suffer because his breathing stopped with the 1st injection. But others believe his death was protracted and painful. (source: Associated Press) *************** Missouri's poor record on capital punishment calls for caution Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt wasted no time calling for a resumption of executions in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court decision that legitimized the "3-drug" lethal injection method. The Missouri Supreme Court, which issues execution orders, should not be in such a hurry. The state's record on death sentencing is enormously flawed. Some inmates have been removed from death row after courts found problems with their convictions. Capital prosecutions have proven prohibitively expensive. Lawmakers should take advantage of a blank execution calendar to undertake a thorough study on matters such as racial disparities in death sentencing and a shortage of defense lawyers trained to handle death cases. A bipartisan group of House members is sponsoring a bill calling for a moratorium on executions until 2011. The measure would create a 10-member commission to examine Missouris legal process. It deserves a debate on the House floor. The state Supreme Court should very carefully evaluate whether to clear the way for more executions using the "chemical cocktail." A federal judge has barred the doctor who designed Missouri's lethal injection procedures and helped the state carry out more than 50 executions from further participation, after the man acknowledged he had given only half of the prescribed amount of anesthesia on at least 1 occasion. That's not a strong background for a public that's increasingly wary about capital punishment. (source: Editorial, Kansas City Star) OHIO: Suspects in Maupin's Death Get Death Sentence Matt Maupin The father of Staff Sergeant Matt Maupin says two of his suspected killers face the death penalty in Iraq. However, Keith Maupin says that is for crimes against the Iraqi people, and not his son's death. Maupin was taken captive outside Baghdad 4 years ago. His parents went to Washington Thursday for new information on the investigation. According to Keith Maupin, the Pentagon says the military is looking for at least 6 other suspects. Maupin says the stability provided by last year's troop surge gave a tipster enough confidence to disclose the location of Matt's remains. "There's a lot of trust that's got to be involved, and it took them about a year to be able to build that trust to where somebody walks up and says, 'I think they buried him over there,'" said Keith Maupin. "And that's where it was. He's been gone for awhile, and I can tell you this much, we're not going to get all of Matt. Some of Matt will be in Iraq forever." A visitation for Maupin will take place Saturday, April 26th at the Union Township Civic Center in Clermont County. The funeral is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 27th at Great American Ball Park. (source: WKRC TV News)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----N.C., ARIZ., MO., OHIO
Rick Halperin Fri, 18 Apr 2008 22:07:24 -0500 (Central Daylight Time)
