Nov. 29 KENTUCKY: Judge says state must hold public hearings on execution protocol Kentucky must hold public hearings on its execution protocol after changing how a lethal injection is administered, a state judge ruled Wednesday. Franklin County Circuit Judge Sam McNamara's ruling could prevent the state from executing any inmates until the issue is resolved. The ruling came a week after the Kentucky Supreme Court upheld the state's lethal injection law, saying it did not amount to cruel and unusual punishment. Kentucky Death Row inmates Thomas Clyde Bowling, 52, and Ralph Baze, 49, challenged the lethal injection method in Franklin County Circuit Court in April, saying the Kentucky Department of Corrections did not follow state-mandated administrative procedures before instituting it. The 2 inmates also challenged the method of executing condemned prisoners in 2004, saying the drug formula used amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. After that suit was filed, the state changed the mixture of drugs used in giving a lethal injection as well as procedures for how it is administered. Rebecca DiLoreto, post-trial division director for the Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy, said McNamara's ruling simply requires the state to follow its own rules before making administrative changes. "It isn't too much to ask, particularly in the taking of someone's life, to have the rules and regulations promulgated correctly," DiLoreto said. Lisa Lamb, a spokeswoman for the Kentucky Department of Corrections, said her agency is studying the ruling. The lawsuit filed by Bowling and Baze claimed the state law instituting lethal injection allows the state to set the protocol, but does not provide an exemption from the public hearings required when a new law is implemented. "As legislation may not be adopted in secret, implementation of legislation may not be secret," said David M. Barron, the public defender for the 2 men. The state has not declared a moratorium on executions but had not scheduled any since the 2004 lawsuit was filed. Bowling and Baze have received several stays of execution because of the court challenges. DiLoreto said she was unsure if McNamara's ruling would stop the state from executing anyone. "That will be their decision," DiLoreto said. "I can't speak to that. We'll have to wait and see what they do." After the Kentucky Supreme Court upheld the use of lethal injection, the governor's office said it was reviewing the cases of death row inmates whose appeals were complete. Bowling was scheduled to be executed last November 2004 for killing Edward and Tina Earley and shooting their 2-year-old son outside the couple's Lexington dry-cleaning business in 1990. His execution was delayed pending the outcome of the challenges. Baze was convicted of killing Powell County Sheriff Steve Bennett and a deputy Arthur Briscoe during an attempted arrest in 1992. Several other death row inmates are challenging Kentucky's method of lethal injection in federal court. That case is pending. Kentucky has 40 death-row inmates, including 11 that have been there for more than 2 decades. The state has executed 2 men since reinstating the death penalty in 1976, and only 1 by injection: Eddie Lee Harper, in 1999. Injection is the only method of execution used on inmates who have been condemned since 1998; those sentenced to death earlier can choose electrocution. (source: Associated Press) CALIFORNIA: El Cajon killings suspects arraigned; death penalty may be sought 2 men accused in the execution-style killing of a liquor store co-owner and one of her employees pleaded not guilty Wednesday in a case in which prosecutors may seek the death penalty. A Superior Court judge ordered Anthony Miller, 21, of Alpine and Jean Rices, 25, of El Cajon, held without bail on murder and robbery charges. The 2 are accused of fatally shooting Heather Nabil Mattia, 22, and Firas Waahid Eiso, 23, at Granada Liquor on Broadway near Mollison Avenue March 1. Prosecutors also filed special charges which could allow them to seek the execution of the 2 men if they are convicted. District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis typically makes such decisions after a preliminary hearing is held to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to merit a trial. Judge Laura Halgren scheduled a Jan. 22 preliminary hearing. However, that may be delayed because the mental competency of Rices to stand trial in an unrelated bank robbery case has been raised. A court hearing to determine whether he is capable of understanding the charges against him and assisting his lawyer is scheduled for Dec. 20. Miller was arrested at his Alpine home Friday. Rices was already being held in county jail awaiting trial on the bank robbery charges. Sheriff's deputies arrested him Aug. 31 on charges of robbing a Washington Mutual bank in Lakeside July 31, police said. El Cajon police announced their arrests Monday, saying they got a major break in the case "from out of the blue" almost 2 weeks ago. Sheriff's deputies in Santee received the tip and relayed the information to El Cajon detectives, said El Cajon police Sgt. Chuck Merino. Investigators had already received dozens of tips about the case but nothing had led to arrests until then. Merino declined to elaborate on what information they had received. Police said there were no witnesses to the late-night slaying but surveillance tapes from the store's security cameras captured the crimes. It showed 2 men going into the business at 11:07 p.m. and quickly forcing Mattia and Eiso to lie face down on the floor in the middle of the shop. They were then both shot in the back of the head. One of the assailants took money from 2 of the store's registers and the pair left the store at 11:11 p.m., the tape showed. The bodies were found a short time later by a family friend who was concerned because Mattia had not shown up at a planned gathering. Mattia co-owned the store with her brother Chris Mattia for nearly 3 years and both she and Eiso were members of the large and tight-knit Iraqi Chaldean community which was stunned and outraged at the senseless killings. Mattia's father, Nabil Mattia, said he had dreamed of giving his daughter a big wedding. Instead they buried her in a white bridal gown. Eiso had come to the United States from war-torn Iraq and had only been in the country about a year when he was killed. He was seeking asylum. (source: San Diego Union-Tribune) FLORIDA: Opening arguments heard in death penalty case Opening arguments started this morning in the 2004 double-homicide case that went to trial Monday. Chief Assistant State Attorney Robin Lotane began by briefly recounting the events that led to the discovery of the bodies of FAMU senior Jamila Byers and Bryan Dyson in September 2004. They had been shot and their bodies found several days later in a black Honda at the Prince Murat Motel parking lot. Lotane listed the evidence that would be presented against defendant Ryan Hubbard, 27, of Orlando. If convicted on 2 counts of 1st degree murder, Hubbard could face the death penalty or life without parole. Defense attorney Armando Garcia emphasized his client's innocence. He called Dyson "a drug dealer" who "bought cocaine in its powder form and cooked it into its crack form." He said Byers drove Dyson around and "was a known participant in Bryan Dyson's drug business, what we call a co-conspirator." (source: Tallahassee Democrat) VIRGINIA: Death penalty weighed in Beach kidnapping, murder In Norfolk, the Justice Department is considering pursuing the death penalty against Tanya Y. Torrence, the 35-year-old woman charged with the kidnapping and murder of her estranged boyfriend's mother this summer. Torrence was arraigned Wednesday in U.S. District Court on a 4-count indictment that could carry a death sentence if convicted. Led to the magistrate courts podium in shackles, Torrence pleaded not guilty to the charges. The indictment charges Torrence with murder, kidnapping, interstate kidnapping resulting in death and use of a firearm. Magistrate James E. Bradberry set a trial date of March 13. Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura P. Tayman told the judge that she expects a decision from Washington by Jan. 23 on whether to seek the death penalty. Torrence is accused of kidnapping 72-year-old Mary Knight from her Virginia Beach home July 1 and driving north in Knights minivan. Along the way, Torrence shot Knight twice, killing her, according to the indictment and other court filings. She continued driving, ending up in Philadelphia where she exchanged the handgun for crack cocaine, according to the court records. She turned herself in to police there and Knights body was found in the minivan. The indictment says Torrence committed the crimes "to punish her estranged boyfriend." In a confession to authorities after her arrest in Philadelphia, Torrence said the shooting was an accident. Torrence remains jailed without bond. The court records indicate that Torrence suffers from mental health issues, has attempted suicide in the recent past and was a daily crack cocaine user for the 4 months prior to her arrest. (source: Virginian-Pilot) NEBRASKA: Death Row Appeal Filed With Nation's Top Court Nebraska death row inmate Carey Dean Moore has filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that death in the electric chair amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. The Nebraska Supreme Court in July rejected Moore's appeal on the same grounds. The appeal to the nation's top court criticizes the state Supreme Court for ignoring Moore's argument that the Eighth Amendment does not permit mandatory death by electrocution. The appeal argues that the state Supreme Court's decision is contrary to almost 5 decades of case law finding that the amendment's protection against cruel and unusual punishment "evolves with the civility of our maturing society." Moore, who is 49, was sentenced to death for the 1979 murders of Omaha cab drivers Reuel Eugene Van Ness Jr. and Maynard D. Helgeland during 2 robberies. (source: KETV News)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----KY., CALIF., FLA., VA., NEB.
Rick Halperin Wed, 29 Nov 2006 20:25:03 -0600 (Central Standard Time)
