August 29 TEXAS/SOUTH DAKOTA: Death Sentences Done Differently in Texas When Elijah Page begins his walk down death row Tuesday evening, the Texas native will begin an execution process perfected by his home state. Comparing the states is never easy considering Texas' population of 22,860,000 is 29 times South Dakota's 776,000. But the Lone Star State's execution numbers are much more lopsided than it's size. The number of inmates on death row in Texas is 394 compared to four in South Dakota, and the state follows through once the inmates are there. There have been 1,127 inmates executed in Texas since 1836 and 374 since the death penalty was reinstated in the 1970's. In fact, Texas has already killed more people this year (19) than South Dakota has in its history (15). Despite the figures, Texas doesn't isn't familiar with one aspect of this case. Shortly after authorities found the body of Chester Allan Poage beaten and left for dead in a creekbed near Spearfish in 2000, 3 men were arrested. 2 of the men, Elijah Page and Briley Piper, pleaded guilty to judge Warren Johnson, who then sentenced them both to death. That's something that is unheard of in Texas. "In Texas that decision is made by the jury," said Lyn McClellan, Felony Trial Bureau Chief for the Harris County (TX) District Attorney's Office. "It's not made by the judge, so once the jury makes the decision there's nothing the judge can do other than impose the sentence the jury has returned." In his time with Harris County, McClellan says he's seen plenty of executions and guilty pleas, but he says the pleas are never made to a judge in a capital murder case. "Sometimes people decide to plead guilty to capital murder in Texas. They plead guilty to a jury," McClellan said. "The jury still has to find them guilty and then the jury has to set punishment." McClellan says he agrees with the Texas law requiring a jury to sentence capital cases. But in states like South Dakota, where it isn't required, McClellan says he has trouble understanding why any criminal, such as Elijah Page, would choose to plead guilty in front of a judge. "I know of no defendant who would want the judge to assess punishment, being able to give death if it were available," he said. "I would think that would be a pretty unlikely choice." But that's exactly the choice made in this case. Despite the differences in sentencing, Texas does allow death row inmates to forgo their appeals and volunteer an early execution, which is what Elijah Page chose to do in January, 2006. (source: KSFY News) NORTH CAROLINA: District attorney will pursue death penalty In wentworth, Superior Court Judge Ed Wilson ruled Monday that District Attorney Belinda Foster could pursue the death penalty in the 1st-degree murder trial of Brian Timothy Wilson. If found guilty, Wilson, 32, could face lethal injection at Raleighs Central Prison. Wilson is accused in the April 13 beating death of his grandmother, Rebecca Isley, 71. Police found Isley dead at 175 New Heights Drive, a home she shared with Wilson. Wilson called 911 to report a break-in, and told authorities he found his grandmother beaten and bleeding in the home. He said he was in his bedroom at the time. The Rockingham County Sheriffs Office arrested Wilson the next day. The Sheriffs Office moved him to Central Prison later the same week because Wilson presented a threat to himself. The Sheriffs Office said Wilson kept banging his head against the jail walls. According to the taped 911 call, Wilson seemed agitated as an operator tried to get details about the incident and help him to help his grandmother. Wilson tried to get off the phone with the operator several times, saying he needed to speak with his father. Wilsons next court appearance has not been set. (source: Reidsville Review) PENNSYLVANIA: DA: 3 factors support death penalty District Attorney Patrick Kiniry identified in court papers Monday 3 aggravating factors that could support a death sentence for the accused killer of an Ebensburg woman. Nathan Fortson, 27, a Huntingdon County native who recently was living in Ebensburg with his girlfriend, is charged with 1st-degree murder in the May strangulation and throat-slashing death of Velda Malloy, 74, of Cambria Township. Among the aggravating factors, Kiniry said, is that Fortson has a significant history of felony convictions involving the use or threat of violence against others. Kiniry did not detail Fortsons criminal record. But The Daily News of Huntingdon has reported Fortsons criminal record includes convictions on burglary and robbery charges in Huntingdon County. At the time of those crimes, Fortson was 17 years old but was certified to stand trial as an adult. Then in 2002, he pleaded guilty to simple assault in a case in which he and a co-defendant beat a man until he was unconscious, according to the Huntingdon paper. Court records in Blair County show Fortson has convictions in a 2002 case for carrying a firearm without a license, making terroristic threats, possession of instruments of crime and receiving stolen property; and in a 2003 case for escape. The aggravating factors would not be presented to a jury unless it convicts Fortson of 1st-degree murder and the trial goes into the penalty phase. By law, the district attorney has to present the list of aggravating factors today during Fortsons formal court arraignment before Judge F. Joseph Leahey. Fortson is expected to enter a not-guilty plea. Patricia Moore, an assistant public defender who is the lead defense counsel, could not be reached for comment. Aggravating circumstances These are the 3 aggravating factors that a jury could consider in deciding whether to sentence Nathan Fortson to death in the killing of Velda Malloy: The homicide was committed by means of torture. The killing was committed during the perpetration of a felony crime. Fortson has a significant history of felony convictions involving the use or threat of violence against others. The defense can list mitigating factors for jurors to consider during the penalty phase of Fortsons trial if hes convicted of 1st-degree murder. (source: The Tribune-Democrat) VIRGINIA: Jury convicts ex-boyfriend of capital murder----Prosecution calls defendant a jealous former boyfriend; defense says there's no real evidence. [UPDATE: A jury this afternoon convicted John J. "Jose" Rogers of capital murder, abduction, rape and arson in the slaying of Lisa Madaris, 35, who was found brutally killed in a field off Telegraph Road North Stafford on April 10, 2005] Prosecutors are presenting evidence in the sentencing phase. A jury will determine whether Rogers gets death or life in prison without parole. Prosecutor Teresa Polinske began her closing argument yesterday with a chilling threat John J. "Jose" Rogers reportedly made about a month before Lisa Madaris was found dead in Stafford County. "You're dead. You're dead. Dead b---- walking," Polinske quoted Rogers as saying. Rogers, 37, is charged with two counts of capital murder, abduction with the intent to defile, rape and arson in connection with the Madaris slaying. Both capital murder counts involve Madaris. Madaris, 35, was found brutally slain in a field off Telegraph Road in North Stafford on April 10, 2005. Some of her teeth and part of her jaw were lying beside her, and testimony indicated she had 55 separate injuries on her body. Her cause of death was determined to be blunt force trauma to the head. Jurors yesterday began deciding whether Rogers indeed followed up on the reported threat. Once that decision is made, the jury could face an even more significant choice--whether Rogers lives or dies. Jury deliberations started in the afternoon after prosecution and defense attorneys wrapped up lengthy closing arguments. Madaris was last seen seen alive at a sports bar in Lake Ridge the night of April 6, and her burned car was found the next morning at a townhouse development off U.S. 1 in Stafford. She was with Rogers at the sports bar, and a witness claimed he saw Rogers force Madaris into the back seat of her car and drive off. Prosecutors Polinske and Sarah Deneke have spent much of the past week and a half portraying Rogers as an "obsessed" former boyfriend who killed Madaris after raping and abducting her. Defense attorneys Mark Gardner, Christopher Leibig and Joseph Flood have argued that the prosecution's case is primarily speculation that falls far short of being enough for a conviction. The prosecution's theory of the case is that Rogers held Madaris captive somewhere before killing her. A medical expert testified that Madaris was dead 24 hours or less before she was found. Polinske said Rogers was the last person seen with her and the trail of evidence, most of it circumstantial, points directly at him. A month before her death, Polinske said, Rogers assaulted Madaris because he was upset that she'd gone out with a girlfriend instead of him. Earlier in the morning her car was found burned in Stafford, cell phone records indicate that Rogers made calls from Stafford even though he told police he hadn't been there. Following his arrest, Rogers called his teenage son from jail and asked him to get rid of some Timberland boots. Polinske contended those were the boots he was wearing when he dumped the body. Gardner said that while it's natural to feel sympathy toward the Madaris family, he urged the jurors to focus on the evidence, which he said is sorely lacking. He accused prosecutors of making some details seem more "sinister" than they were, and he referred to one prosecution witness as a "cretin." Gardner said the fact that Rogers' semen was found inside the victim proves nothing because they had an ongoing sexual relationship. Rogers' fiancee testified that she saw Rogers filling up a gas can the night before Madaris' car was burned. Gardner suggested that she was angry because she'd found out that Rogers was sleeping with several different women. "The prosecution wants you to assume a lot of things because the proof simply is not there," Gardner said during his closing argument, which lasted about an hour and 20 minutes. Prosecutor Sarah Deneke took exception to Gardner's claim that Madaris put herself in danger in her job as an escort. "The biggest danger Lisa Madaris faced was from Jose Rogers," Deneke said. (source: The Free Lance-Star) **************** Prosecutor to press for death in slayings of deputy, guard In Christiansburg, a prosecutor said Tuesday he will seek the death penalty for an escaped jail inmate who allegedly gunned down a security guard and deputy sheriff, paralyzing Virginia Tech during a massive manhunt. Grand jurors will be asked to consider a capital murder charge against William Morva in the Aug. 21 slaying of a deputy sheriff, Cpl. Eric E. Sutphin, Montgomery County Commonwealth's Attorney Brad Finch said. Morva, 24, is already accused in the capital killing of Derrick McFarland, the unarmed hospital security guard. Grand jurors will meet Oct. 10 to consider the capital charges. Morva is accused in the Aug. 20 slaying of McFarland after Morva allegedly broke free from a guard who had taken him from the county jail to Montgomery Regional Hospital for treatment of an injury. Morva broke free from his jail guard, fatally shooting McFarland during his escape, investigators said. The search for Morva brought hundreds of police to the Blacksburg campus of Virginia Tech on Aug. 21 after he was reported sighted on 2,600-acre campus. Some 6,000 professors and other Tech workers were sent home for the day, and the school asked its 26,000 students to stay in the dormitories or apartments. Sutphin, a decorated law enforcement officer, was gunned down as he neared Morva on a hiking trail off campus. Morva was finally captured in a briar patch. Morva had been awaiting trial on charges relating to the attempted armed robbery of a Blacksburg Deli Mart. A preliminary hearing is scheduled Oct. 11 on the capital murder charge relating to McFarland's death. (source: Associaetd Press) ********************** Morva to face death penalty in deputy's murder---- Prosecutor seeks indictments against Morva William Charles Morva will be charged with the capital murder of a sheriff's deputy in Montgomery County. In a news conference, Commonwealth's Attorney Brad Finch says he will seek a direct indictment against Morva. The prosecutor said he will pursue the death penalty. The latest charges against Morva stem from the murder of Montgomery County Sheriff's Corporal Eric Sutphin August 21st. Morva was already charged with capital murder in the shooting death of Montgomery Regional Hospital security officer Derrick McFarland August 20th. (source: WDBJ News) *************** Man indicted in April multiple slayings----f convicted, 22-year-old could face the death penalty, a prosecutor said. In Suffolk, a grand jury last Wednesday handed down multiple capital murder charges in connection with a double homicide in April in north Suffolk. Antonio Riddick was indicted on 4 counts of capital murder and 4 counts of using a firearm in the commission of a felony. An indictment means the grand jury found there was enough evidence to move the case to trial. On April 28, 23-year-old Brandon Whittington of Virginia Beach and 27-year-old Dynia Ebony Branch of Chesapeake were shot to death in a car at the Belleville Harbour apartment complex in north Suffolk after a third person in the car was robbed, police said. The indictments ended months of speculation about when someone would be charged in the homicides, Suffolk's second and third this year. The multiple capital murder charges include 1 charge for each of the victims, a 3rd murder charge of killing 2 people during the same transaction and a 4th charge of killing 2 people or more within a 3-year period, Suffolk Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Will Jamerson said Wednesday. If convicted, Riddick, who is 22, could face the death penalty. "The death penalty is definitely on the table," Jamerson said. Police remained tightlipped for months about the slayings. They arrested Riddick as well as a 14-year-old and 27-year-old Deon Drewery of Chesapeake between May 4 and May 10 but didn't release information about the arrests until May 18. Riddick pleaded not guilty this month to robbery, conspiracy and firearms charges in connection with the killings and asked to be tried by a jury in November. Drewery and the 14-year-old entered pleas for the same charges. Drewery admitted to police in May that he was 1 of 3 people involved in the robbery. He told investigators that he, Riddick and the teenager arranged a meeting at Belleville Harbour to buy marijuana but instead tried to snatch the drugs, according to court records. The teenager was supposed to distract the 2 victims, Riddick would grab the marijuana and Drewery was the getaway driver. Drewery told investigators he was sitting in the car during the deal when he heard three to four shots. Later Riddick told Drewery that "he had to shoot them because they had a gun, and I guess that they were going to shoot him (Riddick)," according to court documents. (source: Daily Press)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS/S. DAK., N.C., PENN., VA.
Rick Halperin Tue, 29 Aug 2006 16:55:29 -0500 (Central Daylight Time)
