March 21 OREGON: Death row inmate asks for new trial An Oregon death row inmate convicted in the 1988 shotgun killings of two German tourists claims that he deserves a new trial because his attorneys badly botched his defense. Jeffery Ray Williams claims his original attorneys failed to present evidence that his co-defendant, David Lynn Simonsen, had taken sole responsibility for shooting Una Tuxen, 24, and Katrin Reith, 22. The attorneys also failed to read all the police reports and put on a forensic expert who backed up the prosecutor's interpretation of the evidence. Williams, one of 32 Oregon inmates with death sentences, made his claims in an appeal filed recently in U.S. District Court in Portland. Williams is in the last phase of the lengthy capital appeals process. His is the farthest along of all Oregon death penalty appeals but probably years from completion. Williams also accuses prosecutors of misconduct, saying they hid plea bargains with key witnesses and failed to tell Williams' lawyers that Simonsen's recent sexual relationship with his biological mother may have triggered the killings. Williams also argues that Oregon's death penalty law is unconstitutional in several ways. For example, the state's method of lethal injection lacks so many safeguards that it violates the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment. "As it now stands, the State of Oregon plans to execute Mr. Williams using drugs and procedures that 17 states have recognized as inhumane to end the life of cats and dogs," the appeal claims. (source: OregonLive.com) USA: Fell begins appeal of death sentence The 1st man in Vermont sentenced to death in nearly 50 years has started the appeal process to spare his life. The case is the 1st direct appeal of a federal death sentence that the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City has heard in 40 years. The court's jurisdiction is Vermont and parts of New York state. Legal experts say the appeal could take 10 years or more for Donald R. Fell, convicted of abducting and fatally beating a North Clarendon woman almost 6 1/2 years ago. Attorneys for Fell filed a 209-page appeal brief this week. Federal prosecutors have 60 days to respond, and the appeals court is expected to hear the case this summer. The brief lists about a dozen reasons why the death sentence should be overturned, ranging from the jury selection process to the admissibility of certain testimony. Alexander Bunin, a federal public defender based in Albany, N.Y., who is representing Fell, could not be reached Friday for comment. Fell, 26, is a Pennsylvania native who moved to Rutland shortly before his crimes. He was convicted of killing Tressa "Terry" King," 53, in Dover, N.Y., on Nov. 27, 2000, after he and another man abducted her as she arrived for work early in the morning at a downtown Rutland supermarket. Barbara Tuttle of North Clarendon, King's sister, said Friday she was not surprised to learn of Fell's appeal. "It's his right. He's got his right to go through the appeal. He's guaranteed at least that and that's what he's doing," Tuttle said. "It is kind of frustrating, though, to have to go through this stuff. We know he's guilty. 12 jurors said he deserved to have the death penalty, but we expected this. We knew it was coming." Tuttle said King's family members plan to attend the appeal hearing in New York City. Rachel Lawler, a founding member of Vermonters Against the Death Penalty, an organization formed nearly 2 years ago during jury selection in Fell's trial, said Friday that she was aware of the appeal's filing. "We have faith that the Second Circuit Court of Appeals will be able to recognize the merits of the appeal brought to light," Lawler said. "We believe that the appeal should be granted because we don't believe that the death penalty should be a sentencing option in any cases." The same federal jury that convicted Fell recommended that he be put to death, and last year federal Judge William Sessions formally imposed the death sentence. According to court records, King, a mother and grandmother, was carjacked outside a supermarket by Fell, then 20, and his co-defendant, Robert J. Lee, in November 2000. Earlier that night, the two men had killed Fell's mother, Debra Fell, and her friend, Charles Conway, after a night of drinking in a Rutland apartment. Fell said in statement to police following his arrest that he killed King because she could identify him and Lee. Fell added that King prayed as she was beaten to death by the 2 men on the side of a road in New York state. The 2 men were arrested 3 days later in Arkansas. Lee died in prison in September 2001. Vermont does not have the death penalty. However, because the crime involved the crossing of state lines from Vermont to New York, the federal government prosecuted the case and filed charges that carried the death penalty. Fell is being held on death row at a federal prison in Terre Haute, Ind. (source: Rutland Herald, March 17)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ORE., USA
Rick Halperin Wed, 21 Mar 2007 10:57:29 -0500 (Central Daylight Time)
