[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----TEXAS

[Rick Halperin]

March 31



TEXAS----impending execution

Henderson's lawyer wants execution delayed----Judge to rule by Monday on
request for woman convicted of killing Pflugerville 3-month-old.


Cathy Lynn Henderson's lawyers were in court Friday asking a judge in
Travis County to delay her April execution to give them more time to file
a final appeal.

Henderson, 50, is scheduled to be executed April 18 for killing
3-month-old Brandon Baugh in 1994 at her Pflugerville-area home.

Doctors testified at her 1995 trial that Brandon's severe skull injuries
could not have been caused by an accidental fall, as Henderson claimed.

Henderson's lawyer, George A. Cumming of San Francisco, told visiting
state District Judge Jon Wisser on Friday that recently developed science
on head trauma, melding the work of doctors with that of physicists and
engineers, will show that Brandon's death could have been an accident.

"This is new science," Cumming said. "It is very much like the DNA
equivalent in a head trauma case."

Cumming asked Wisser, who was the trial judge in the case, to vacate his
execution order or to delay it by 90 days to allow him to fully develop an
application for writ of habeas corpus requesting a new trial.

Wisser said he would rule Monday morning.

Prosecutors urged him to let the execution go ahead.

Travis County Assistant District Attorney Dayna Blazey criticized the work
of Dr. John Plunkett, a Minnesota forensic pathologist who Cumming said is
consulting on Henderson's case.

"He is quite well-known for his outlandish statements regarding . . . head
injuries in children," she said. "This is not any kind of newly discovered
evidence. . . . This is a newly discovered expert that they've discovered
at the 11th hour."

Henderson is one of 10 women on Texas' death row.

She was convicted after prosecutors argued that she deliberately slammed
Brandon's head against a flat surface with enough force to shatter the
base of his skull. Testimony at her trial showed that she stuffed the
baby's body into a wine cooler carton and buried him in a rural Bell
County field before fleeing to Missouri, her native state.

Henderson wasn't present at Friday's hearing, but several family members
and supporters were. On the other side of the room were Brandon's parents,
Eryn and Melissa Baugh. They left the courthouse before they could be
asked for comment.

Outside court, Henderson's 17-year-old daughter pleaded for her mother's
life.

"I just hope that they open their eyes," said Jennifer Henderson of Round
Rock. "This is a person's life. You don't just decide whether to take
someone's life.

"Someone has got to realize that there's a possibility of it being an
accident."

Also at the hearing was Kathy List, whose husband, Fred, 80, died this
month when he was swept away by floodwaters in Georgetown. Henderson was
Fred List's former secretary, and he spent much of the time before his
death working to prove her innocence. The couple had visited Henderson in
prison many times.

"I know murder wasn't in this girl's heart," Kathy List said. "She's
innocent."

(source: Austin American-Statesman)

*****************

Henderson's Attorneys Ask For Stay Of Execution


The attorneys for a woman convicted of killing a Pflugerville baby asked
for a 90 day stay of execution.

Cathy Lynn Henderson is on death row for killing 3-month-old Brandon Baugh
in 1994. Henderson was Baugh's babysitter.

Baugh was found buried in a field near Temple, three weeks after he was
reported missing.

Henderson's attorneys requested more time because of new evidence
surrounding head trauma to infants that previously wasn't available.

Judge John Wisser said he will look at the attorneys' request and let them
know on Monday.

Henderson is the only woman from Travis County on death row. Her execution
is set for April 18.

(source: CBS News)

****************

Man is charged in transvestite slaying


A man already charged in connection with a 2004 slaying now stands accused
of fatally shooting a transvestite six years earlier after learning that
the victim, with whom he'd had a brief sexual relationship, was not a
woman but a man.

Isaac Fountain, 26, was charged with murder Thursday in connection with
the slaying of 19-year-old Victor Olvera of Fort Worth.

"The motive appeared to be that he had a previous relationship with the
victim, not knowing that the victim was actually a male," said homicide
Sgt. J.D. Thornton. "He later found out from some of his friends that
[Olvera] wasn't a woman and then he basically hunted him down and killed
him."

A man walking behind the Shop & Stop convenience store in the 2600 block
of South Riverside Drive on the night of Sept. 8, 1998, found Olvera's
body, dressed in women's clothing, a few feet from a sidewalk. He had been
shot several times with a shotgun, police have said.

Fountain, who court records also identify as Gerald Walker, remains in
federal prison in Fort Worth in connection with Operation Fish Bowl, a
20-month local and federal investigation of the southeast Fort Worth drug
trade that led to 40 drug trafficking indictments.

He was charged with capital murder in February in the robbery and fatal
shooting of 24-year-old Keiss Allison. Allison was gunned down in the 4900
block of Flamingo Road while running from 2 armed men who went to his
apartment on July 25, 2004, and robbed him of drugs and money.

A second man, 24-year-old DeMarkcus L. Clark, is also charged with capital
murder in connection with Allison's death.

Thornton said it was during Detective Matt Hardy's investigation of the
Allison case that Fountain also surfaced as a suspect in Olvera's death.

"He interviewed several persons, one of which indicated that Fountain was
also involved in the murder of a transvestite some years ago," Thornton
said. "Hardy was able to locate the case matching the details given by the
witness."

(source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram)

*********************

Court rejects killer's death sentence appeal


A 3-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed the
federal convictions and death sentence of Sherman Lamont Fields, convicted
in the 2001 jail escape and shooting death of the mother of 3 small
children.

In a 129-page opinion, Circuit Judges Carolyn King and Jerry Smith ruled
that the more than 20 points of error raised by Fields on appeal should be
rejected and his death sentence and multiple convictions relating to his
escape and murder of Suncerey Coleman should be affirmed.

Circuit Judge Fortunato Benavides wrote in a dissenting opinion that he
would have affirmed the convictions but granted Fields a new sentencing
hearing based on evidence presented during the punishment phase that he
was unable to confront.

Fields, currently on federal death row, claimed in his direct appeal that
prosecutors improperly introduced hundreds of pages of documents relating
to Fields lengthy criminal record, including juvenile delinquency records,
that were filled with hearsay statements from guards, counselors,
probation officers and others.

Fields claimed his rights were violated because he was unable to properly
dispute some statements in the records because those who made them were
not subject to cross-examination.

"Sherman Lamont Fields was sentenced to death based on testimony that he
was never able to confront," Benavides wrote. "That is precisely the evil
that the Confrontation Clause was meant to protect against."

Fields' appeal now goes to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Fields escaped from the downtown Waco jail operated by CiviGenics after
jail guard Benny Garrett slipped him a key to the fifth-floor fire escape
door. Fields had promised to give Garrett $5,000.

Garrett pleaded guilty to aiding his escape and was sentenced to four
years in federal prison in March 2004.

Coleman, Fields former girlfriend, was at Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center
with her premature baby when Fields showed up at the hospital after his
escape and convinced her to leave with him.

Trial testimony revealed that Fields was angry because he thought Coleman
was seeing other men.

They drove to an area near Downsville, south of Waco, and Fields shot her
twice in the head and dumped her body along the side of the road.

Fields was sentenced to death in April 2004 after a trial in Wacos federal
court.

(source: Waco Tribune-Herald)

***********************

Doctors discuss Tabler's faculties


The prosecution and the defense concluded their cases Friday in the
punishment phase of convicted murderer Richard Tabler after both sides
called expert medical witnesses to testify about the mental capacity,
capability and overall decision-making ability of the 28-year-old Killeen
man.

Tabler was convicted March 21 of capital murder in the Nov. 26, 2004,
deaths of Haitham Zayed, 28, and Mohamid-Amine Rahmouni, 25, and faces the
death penalty.

Both sides will present their closing arguments Monday, and the jury will
deliberate on Tabler's punishment.

The defense called a trio of doctors Friday to testify, including a
neurophychologist, a developmental psychologist and a psychiatrist.

But it was the psychiatrist's testimony that drew the most attention, as
the state called its own psychiatrist to rebut the testimony and provide a
much different evaluation of Tabler.

Dr. Susan Stone, the psychiatrist hired by the defense, said that Tabler
is a classic example of borderline personality disorder. She said people
with this disorder are often diagnosed with other mental disorders, which
is supported by Tabler's history; he was diagnosed with attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder in 1994 and later diagnosed with bipolar disorder
by clinical psychiatrists in California who observed him continually over
a 6-month period.

She said BPD patients are characterized by often having very unstable
personal relationships, supported by testimony from Tabler's mother and
sister, as well as self-mutilation and attention-seeking behavior, a part
of Tabler's past brought out earlier in the trial when Bell County jailers
said he had a history of cutting himself frequently, even one time going
so far as attempting to pull a vein out of his arm.

"He's a very classic example," Stone said. "Everything is either really
positive or really negative. He also has a history of attention-seeking
behavior, add to that he has had damage to a part of his brain that allows
you to control your impulses."

The brain damage Stone referred to was found by Dr. Meyer Proler, a
neuropsychologist for 35 years who also testified Friday.

Proler conducted an electroencephalogram, which is a test to detect
problems in the electrical activity of the brain. But an EEG cannot be
used to diagnose a mental illness.

"The EEG showed some abnormalities, a presence of slow activity in the
left frontal lobe," Proler said. "It's more than likely damage. There's a
lesion of some type that's causing the brain tissue to be destroyed. It's
in the part of the brain that allows us to be human."

He said damage to that part of the brain results in an inability to reason
or adequately understand one's surroundings.

Stone's testimony supported Proler's analysis.

"He's having difficulty in emotional self-regulation, which is influenced
by head injuries and a neglectful childhood," Stone said, adding that it
doesn't justify his conduct.

"He has difficulty interacting in any sort of rational way. He has severe
symptoms of mental illness, and he can't respond appropriately to his
environment ... to some extent, I think it does (explain his conduct).
There is a serious impairment in his decision-making process."

But Dr. Richard Coons, called by the prosecution, said that conclusion was
faulty.

Coons has evaluated between 7,000 and 8,000 people for competency to stand
trial in his 32 years as a general psychiatry practitioner in Austin and
has testified for both the prosecution and defense in numerous capital
murder cases throughout the state during the past 3 decades.

Coons, like Stone, interviewed Tabler for several hours, looking at his
life and medical histories, but came up with a different diagnosis.

"My diagnostic opinion is that he (Tabler) has an antisocial personality
disorder," Coons said, a description given to someone who is often
referred to as a psychopath or sociopath.

"Anti-social people don't have much of a conscience. They don't feel bad
when they do things. I feel strongly that it is (the correct diagnosis),
and lots of other people feel that way. It's hard to find anybody who fits
it better than he does."

When asked if anti-social people have a predisposition to murder, simply
because they cannot control their impulses, Coons responded, "No. It's a
choice."

During his interview, Coons said Tabler clearly demonstrated classic
traits of anti-social behavior, noting that it's common for anti-social
people to have multiple diagnoses, including BPD.

"The things he says are not always true," he said. "That's a prime example
of manipulation, attempting to control the situation."

He said unstable or erratic parenting will increase the likelihood of the
disorder.

He also described numerous characteristics of anti-social behavior, nearly
all of which were described in previous testimony of family members and
documented acts of violence.

Coons said there is a pattern of being unconcerned about the rights of
others, failure to conform to social standards, a pattern of impulsivity,
a failure to plan ahead and disregard for the law and for the safety of
others, often engaging in high-risk behavior, and a display of little
remorse for the consequences of their acts.

"They often blame the victims, have an inflated sense of self, are
arrogant and have a superficial charm and can exploit others," he said.

Coons said he saw almost all these things in Richard Tabler and "saw hints
of the others."

In Bell County, the death sentence is seldom sought by the state, even in
multiple murder cases. The last time a Bell County jury handed out the
death penalty was in March 2002, when then 37-year-old Denard Manns was
put to death for the November 1998 shooting death of 25-year-old Army
medic Spc. Michele Christine Robson.

(source: Killeen Daily Herald)

*******************

Man accepts life term in slaying of girlfriend----Because victim was
pregnant, he could have gotten the death penalty


The possibility of a death sentence persuaded a Houston man to plead
guilty to capital murder Friday and accept a sentence of life in prison
with no chance for parole.

"Given my options, that's what I want to do," Gregory Carl Manning II said
after state District Judge Brock Thomas asked if he wanted to accept a
plea agreement rather than go to trial and face a possible trip to death
row.

Manning, 27, was convicted of strangling his pregnant girlfriend, Amanda
Nikole Helms, 27, at their apartment in the 3000 block of Greenridge in
April 2006.

Because Helms, 27, was 6 months pregnant, Manning was eligible for the
death penalty under a law that includes a fetus in any stage of gestation
in the definition of "person," said Harris County prosecutor Katherine
McDaniel.

She said prosecutors don't have to prove the fetus was viable, but they
must prove that the defendant knew about the pregnancy.

The law, enacted 2 years ago, was modeled after the law in California that
changed because of the Laci Peterson case, said McDaniel. Laci Peterson
and her unborn son were killed by her husband, Scott Peterson, who was
sentenced to death.

In court Friday, Manning wore a yellow jail uniform, signifying that he
was under tighter security than most inmates, a common occurrence for
inmates eligible for the death penalty.

Manning surrendered in Abilene days after the killing. Houston police said
he walked into an Abilene police station and said he had strangled Helms
during an argument.

*************************

Guilty verdict reached in capital murder trial----Man could face death for
2005 killing of evacuee


A Houston man will begin his effort to avoid death row next week after
being found guilty of capital murder Friday.

Christopher Devon Jackson was convicted of shooting a New Orleans evacuee
in the back of the head with a sawed-off shotgun after carjacking the man.

Jackson, 22, took a Buick Rendezvous from Eric James Smith, 34, as Smith
refueled the SUV at a gas station in the 6700 block of West Airport before
dawn on Dec. 5, 2005.

Family members said the hardest part of the trial was hearing Smith's last
words as he was shot while talking with a 911 operator he had called.

Camille Byrd, Smith's fiancee, said she was glad to hear his voice one
last time but hearing the sound of the gunshot is still too much for her
"because I know that's the end of him."

In closing arguments, prosecutor Maria McAnulty said after the carjacking,
Jackson was circling the block to pick up his girlfriend when he saw Smith
walking home while using the phone. Jackson stopped and shot him.

Smith and Byrd had rented the Buick while their car was in the shop,
prosecutors said. Smith went to the gas station an hour before he was
supposed to wake Byrd to take her to work.

Byrd said Smith was known as "Easy" because of his demeanor.

"He wasn't the kind who would have tussled over money or a car," she said.
"He was easy to approach, and that's probably why that guy approached
him."

She said she doesn't care whether Jackson gets a death sentence or life in
prison because it won't bring Smith back.

Defense attorney Skip Cornelius maintained during the trial that Jackson
and Smith had agreed to rob someone, but that Smith was shot accidentally
after startling Jackson.

The punishment phase begins Monday.

*******************

Audit: Prison rehab process failing----Report calls routing methods
ineffective, likely contributor to overcrowding issue


Texas prison and parole officers are using inefficient methods for routing
felons into rehabilitation programs, and their lack of coordination could
be contributing to prison overcrowding, a report released Friday shows.

Such rehabilitation programs have reduced recidivism rates nationally and
at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. But they are open to too few
who need them, according to the analysis by Texas State Auditor John Keel.

Keel's findings echo those of criminal justice committees in the Texas
House and Senate, whose leaders have recommended easing prison crowding by
beefing up treatment programs for nonviolent offenders who could be
released sooner.

Gov. Rick Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, however, say they believe the
state must build more prisons along with increasing rehabilitation
programs.

"It's a horrible, broken system," Senate Criminal Justice Committee
Chairman John Whitmire, D-Houston, said in an interview, responding to the
audit. "Some of the leadership have projected we need more (prison) beds
when in fact we need better management."

The audit said the Board of Pardons and Paroles recommends a treatment
plan when it votes to release an offender early. However, clinicians in
the prisons don't conduct an assessment of the inmate's needs until after
the parole board makes a recommendation.

The parole board and prison clinicians often disagree, meaning the parole
board's treatment recommendations were not heeded in 41 percent of the
cases the auditor studied.

That disconnect often leads to offenders remaining in prison longer than
they need to, the audit said.

Offenders either complete their programs early and then wait for the
parole board's release date, or they stay in prison beyond their assigned
release date to finish a longer treatment program.

"It's a major setback for the inmate, but equally it's a setback for the
system," Whitmire said. "It looks like we need more capacity because we've
got people in prison that don't need to be there."

Prison officials said they plan to correct that problem by having
offenders assessed by clinicians before the parole board takes up their
cases.

The audit report also found improved recidivism for inmates treated in
three out of five rehab programs.

6 % of inmates who completed a sex offender treatment program bounced back
into prison within 2 years versus 15.3 % who were eligible for the program
but didn't get it, the audit found.

And, 18 % of inmates completing a pre-release therapeutic community
program  including vocational training, substance abuse help and life
skills  were back in prison within 2 years versus 26 % who didn't get the
help.

The audit did not find the same success with a pre-release substance abuse
program but noted that it has so few slots available, they go to inmates
with the most severe addictions.

"While Texas has these types of programs, capacity is not always
sufficient to meet the needs of Texas's prison population," the audit
said, specifically noting a lack of drug courts and substance abuse
treatment programs for offenders both in prison and those released on
parole.

(source for 3 above: Houston Chronicle)