July 11 SOUTH DAKOTA----execution Elijah Page is dead, prison official confirms Prison officials moments ago confirmed that Elijah Page died by injection shortly after 10 p.m. Wednesday, the 1st person executed in South Dakota in 60 years. With as many as 2 dozen witnesses looking on, the 25-year-old Athens, Texas, man died after being administered a lethal combination of 3 drugs at the South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls. "It was more like a medical procedure than a death," said one of the witnesses, Rapid City Journal reporter Bill Harlan. Page was asked whether he had any final words, and he declared "No." The chemicals then flowed through his veins, witnesses said. "I have no breathing, I have no heartbeat," a paramedic said, and Page was declared dead at 10:11 p.m. After the execution, the victim's mother held up a portrait of her son, Chester Poage, as a child. "I never dreamt I would be dealing with what I've been dealing with these last 7 years," Poage said. "I'm proud of the state, the attorney general, the governor, Area 1 of the state penitentiary, for doing a job well done. I'm proud to be an American." The 15th person executed in South Dakota since 1877, Page was put to death for his role in the March 13, 2000, murder of Poage in Higgins Gulch outside of Spearfish. The last man executed, George Sitts, was electrocuted on April 8, 1947. Outside the prison this evening, protesters showed up throughout the day. By 9:30 p.m., there were 60 people opposing the death penalty and 10 supporting it. His father, Kenneth Chapman, said before the execution that he visited his son every day for the past week at the penitentiary and told him he loved him. According to Chapman, his son was remorseful. He wants everybody to know he feels bad for what happened. Hes not a cold-hearted person like theyre making him out to be, Chapman said. Page, Briley Piper and Darrell Hoadley were convicted of stabbing and kicking Poage, bashing him with large rocks and forcing him to drink hydrochloric acid. The torture lasted two to three hours. Hoadley received life in prison. Piper also was sentenced to die and now sits on death row with Charles Rhines and Donald Moeller. Page's execution apparently had been scheduled for weeks to be at 10 p.m. Tuesday. But Rounds' spokesman, Mitch Krebs, confirmed today that the governor delayed it 24 hours out of respect for the family of Staff Sgt. Robb Rolfing, killed June 30 in Baghdad and buried Tuesday at Woodlawn Cemetery in Sioux Falls. "The governor had a conversation with the Rolfings and came to the conclusion that it (Tuesday) was Robb's day," Krebs said. It was the 2nd delay in the execution. The governor postponed Page's planned Aug. 29, 2006, execution because of concerns that a 1984 state law requiring the use of 2 drugs for lethal injection could put prison officials at legal risk if they instead administered a 3-drug combination that now is considered standard. State lawmakers amended the law the last legislative session to allow prison officials to use whatever lethal injection mixture they choose. Of the 38 states that have death penalty statutes, only 4 now have not executed anybody, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. Those states are Kansas, New Hampshire, New Jersey and New York. According to state law, Page will be buried in a cemetery within Minnehaha County. Page becomes the 30th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the USA and the 1087th overall since the nation resumed executions on January 17, 1977. (sources: Argus Leader & Rick Halperin) ********************* South Dakota executes prison inmate for grisly torture slaying The state of South Dakota carried out its 1st execution in 60 years Wednesday night, taking the life of East Texas native Elijah Page, 25, for a brutal torture slaying committed in 2000. Page, of Athens, Texas, died at 10:11 p.m. from a lethal injection administered at the South Dakota State Penitentiary. He pleaded guilty to killing Chester Allan Poage, 19, of Spearfish, who was stabbed, beaten with rocks and forced to drink hydrochloric acid during a robbery of his home. The torture lasted 2 to 3 hours. Page gave up his court appeals and requested to die. Death penalty protesters gathered outside the penitentiary, displaying signs with sayings such as "Choose life for Page" and "End the death penalty." 2 death penalty supporters' signs said "Justice" and "Remember Chester." Gov. Mike Rounds postponed Page's planned Aug. 29, 2006, execution over concerns about a conflict in state law that has since been changed. Page is among a handful of people his age or younger put to death since capital punishment was reinstated in the United States in 1979. His case also is unusual because a judge, not a jury, imposed a death sentence -- and he asked to die. Page, who was entitled to appeals that could have lasted many more years, still had the legal right to resume those petitions even moments before the execution. Page's regular visitors included attorney Mike Butler and family members. "I love him with all my heart," Page's father, Kenneth Chapman of Texas, said before the execution Wednesday. Page and another death row inmate, Briley Piper, 25, of Anchorage, Alaska, pleaded guilty to killing Poage. A third man, Darrell Hoadley, 26, of Lead, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole. According to testimony, the 3 killed Poage so there would be no other witness to the theft of a Chevy Blazer, stereo, television, coin collection, video game and other items from Poage's home in Spearfish. The last person execution in South Dakota was April 8, 1947. George Sitts was electrocuted in Sioux Falls for the Jan. 24, 1946, slayings of state criminal agent Thomas Matthews and Butte County Sheriff Dave Malcolm near Spearfish. (source: Associated Press) ********************** 1st death penalty protester speaks out The 1st death penalty opponent showed up this hour at the prison in Sioux Falls. Sam Lopez of Alvord, Iowa, who was here last year to witness the eventually delayed execution of Elijah Page, said she always knew she'd return this summer. Page is now slated to be executed at 10 p.m. He was convicted in the torture and murder of Chester Allan Poage. "I wish something had happened and we'd outlawed the death penalty all over the world," Lopez said this morning. Lopez, 42, brought along a small wooden cross that read, "Would Jesus Support the Death Penalty?" And she also brought a banner with colorful streamers. She plans to protest all day, until the end. She has a candle to light at the time of Page's death. Lopez, a former Sioux Falls resident and convenience store clerk, said she feels sad and disappointed yet hopeful. "Sad because I don't believe in the death penalty at all. Disappointed because the state is going to go through with the 1st execution in 60 years. There needs to be a better way to end violence than with more violence," she said. Lopez said she is hopeful there will be healing for the murder victim's family and for all involved. Lopez said she will be joined by family and friends later today. Death penalty advocates also are expected to assemble at the prison today. *********************** Prison officials warn against unrest South Dakota State Penitentiary staff are handing out a one-sheet paper to people who assemble on prison grounds, reminding them of key rules. Staff have designated areas on the grounds for protesters and death penalty supporters, saying its OK for people to demonstrate peacefully. But they warn against any violence, weapons, alcohol, drugs, or any action that interferes with prison operations, saying such actions could lead to arrests. "Even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can become confrontational and possibly violent. Please follow the directions of penitentiary staff or law enforcement should unrest occur," the paper reads. ************************** Crowd outside prison grows to 60 demonstrators The crowd gathered outside the South Dakota State Penitentiary had grown to about 60 people by 8:45 p.m. About 50 people protested against the death penalty on one side of metal barriers. On the other side, about 10 people were in favor of executing Elijah Page. Page was sentenced to die for his part in the torture and killing of Chester Allan Poage, who was beaten and tortured in a gulch near Spearfish in the northern Black Hills. (source for all: Sioux Falls Argus Leader) ************************* A Day Of Execution: The Business Of Killing Tonight, if all goes as planned and comes off without another last-moment hitch, South Dakota will get back into the business of killing people. At about 10 p.m. this evening, the state is scheduled to kill convicted murderer Elijah Page by lethal injection. It will be the 1st execution this state has carried out in 60 years, thus an old chapter of our history will become a new one. That fact makes this day a sobering moment. If this state must get back into the execution business, Page's case is seemingly the most appropriate entry point. His crime was sadistic, and he has chosen (at least as of this writing) not to pursue more appeals of his death sentence. Only 11th-hour doubts last summer about the constitutionality of the state's injection procedure created a stay of that fate. The new day of judgment is upon us, or at least upon Page. If this murderer does indeed have a death wish, who are we to stand in his way? But in a longer view, what is scheduled to happen tonight is not about one man or one crime. Instead, it should be -- it must be -- about we as a people and how we choose to dispense justice. It has been 60 long years since our last execution, suggesting -- if not screaming out -- that this is a form of justice that we do not embrace lightly. Capital punishment has for generations stood as an extraordinary threshold in our state's legal process. But, what of tomorrow? If Page is put to death tonight, what comes next as we look at other death-row cases, either pending or those yet to be determined? Will this form of punishment become an easier thing to embrace? Will juries become more willing to buy prosecutorial arguments to put a person to death for a crime? When Donald Moeller's murder case entered the death-penalty phase in Yankton back in the early 1990s, that jury reportedly wanted to consult a Bible while debating the issue. Will such willful deliberation become less necessary as other convicted killers await their fates? No one knows right now. But those cases that await will not involve the details tied to this case -- details that seem to make this matter easier to see to its grim but, arguably, fair conclusion. And none of this takes into account the growing tide of new doubts about capital punishment sentences, thanks to advances in DNA testing. Some states are reexamining their death penalties; it is odd, perhaps, that South Dakota gets back into such business just as others are considering getting out of it. One thing that's clear is that, barring any last-second surprises, things will change tonight. We are stepping across a cold, harsh threshold -- one that is necessary in some minds, unacceptable in others -- where life and death will become matters of state concern. Perhaps executing Page is the appropriate thing to do. If so, we should not feel satisfied to inflict this justice. Instead, we should be saddened and angered that we must resort to it. And we must hope that the same careful, cautious examination of the practice that has prevailed here for so long will continue, at least in spirit, as we proceed forward. (source: Yankton Post) ********************** Will Moeller's Appeal Again Affect Execution? Elijah Page has chosen to die. But if he didn't decide to end all his appeals, Page's case could someday be helped by another death row inmate. Paperwork filed in Donald Moeller's appeal last year prompted a temporary stay in Page's execution. Moeller is on death row for raping and killing 9-year-old Becky O'Connell. Last year, his lawyer Mark Marshall pointed out the procedure outlined in state law uses two drugs in the lethal injection, while prison staff intended to use three drugs in any execution it carries out. Now, in Moeller's appeal, Marshall argues the old 2-drug law was unconstitutional, and asks a judge to rule that anyone sentenced to death under the old law should now receive life in prison. So, we examined whether new papers filed could affect the execution once again. After Gov. Mike Rounds delayed Elijah Page's execution last year, he wrote a letter with his reasoning. He states that inmates in other states executed using the 2-drug lethal injection cocktail took up to an hour to die, and they did not do so peacefully. Death row inmate Donald Moeller's lawyer Mark Marshall argues that this is evidence that South Dakota's old 2-drug lethal injection procedure is "cruel and unusual." Therefore, Marshall argues a judge should rule the old law unconstitutional. And if that's done, Marshall believes, according to South Dakota law, anyone sentenced to death under that 2-drug statute should instead receive life in prison. If a judge agrees with Marshall, that would likely affect not only Moeller, but every inmate currently on South Dakota's death row, including Elijah Page. But Attorney General Larry Long says it's not an issue that will stop tomorrow's execution. Because Elijah Page has made a conscious decision not to fight it. And if Page goes through his scheduled execution, he'll be dead long before a ruling on the Moeller appeal comes down. Attorney General Long says even if Moeller or another death row inmate wins an appeal like this, he does not believe Page's family would be able to sue the state for wrongful death. Right now, there is no hearing scheduled in the Moeller appeal. (source: KELOLAND TV News) GEORGIA----impending execution 11th-hour plea for Georgia inmate's life----Activists urge officials to look at new evidence pointing to Troy Davis' innocence in a 1989 police slaying. With a Bible under her arm, Virginia Davis on Tuesday led human rights advocates to the building that houses Georgia's Board of Pardon and Paroles. All she wants, she said, is for someone to listen to the facts in her son's case before it's too late. Troy Anthony Davis, 38, convicted of the murder of a Savannah police officer, is scheduled to be executed next week. Yet a growing number of human rights activists are urging Georgia officials to consider new evidence that might prove his innocence. Thus far, state appeals courts have declined to hear his case. Since Davis' 1991 trial, which was based entirely on witness testimony, seven of the nine witnesses who implicated Davis have renounced or contradicted their trial testimony, with many claiming they were intimidated by police. One of the two remaining witnesses, defense attorneys say, is a principal suspect, who has himself been incriminated by 9 witnesses. "We have the evidence," said Virginia Davis, 62. "All we need is someone to listen." Davis appears to be caught in legal limbo. His initial state habeas corpus petition was handled by attorneys from an underfunded defender organization that lacked the resources to investigate his case. After that, his petition was denied on the grounds that evidence of police coercion of witnesses was "procedurally defaulted," meaning it should have been raised earlier. "I think it's a sad day in Georgia that they're willing to try and kill an innocent man," Davis said in a rare telephone interview with reporters Monday. "I don't want to die, especially for a crime I didn't commit." Davis' case, legal experts say, is a stark reminder of the legal hurdles death row inmates must overcome, particularly in Georgia, which, like Alabama, does not guarantee death row inmates counsel for appeals. Last year, experts from Georgia's legal community produced a report, sponsored by the American Bar Assn., recommending that Georgia impose a moratorium on executions because the state could not ensure fairness and accuracy in every capital case. Among other things, it cited racial disparity in capital sentencing, with those convicted of killing whites 4.5 times more likely to be sentenced to death as those convicted of killing blacks. In this case, the officer killed was white; Davis is black. The state parole board is scheduled to hear an appeal for clemency from Davis' lawyers Monday, a day before Davis is set to be executed by lethal injection at a state prison in Jackson, Ga. On Tuesday, scores of activists joined Davis' family, attorneys and two trial witnesses to deliver 4,000 letters of support. The Rev. Desmond Tutu, a Nobel Prize winner, and singer Harry Belafonte are among those who support a rehearing. "We are here because the death penalty is a runaway train," said Larry Cox, executive director of Amnesty International USA. "It renders a defendant virtually helpless in the face of such machinery as incompetent defense, prosecutorial misconduct, racial and class bias, and mishandled or ignored evidence." It was just before 1 a.m. on Aug. 19, 1989, when Savannah police Officer Mark Allen MacPhail was shot twice as he responded to reports of a disturbance outside a Greyhound bus station. With no physical evidence the weapon used in the crime was never found the case rested on witnesses. The first man to implicate Davis was Sylvester "Red" Coles, who went to the police with a lawyer soon after the shooting. Coles has now been implicated by 9 witnesses. Davis' appeal lawyers argue that the Savannah Police Department, caught up in the emotion of the crime, rushed to judgment, and that Davis' trial counsel did not sufficiently investigate the state's evidence. Davis' initial state habeas corpus appeal was handled by attorneys from the Georgia Resource Center, whose budget was slashed in 1995 by the federal government. In an affidavit, Davis' former attorney, Beth Wells, said "the lack of adequate resources and the numerous intervening crises" made effective representation impossible. Since then, Davis' appeals have been limited by a 1996 federal law, the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, which allows appeals only in very narrow circumstances. Last year, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals denied Davis' petition for rehearing, arguing that he had not "borne his burden to establish a viable claim that his trial was constitutionally unfair." "The execution of an innocent man is not unconstitutional," said Jason Ewart, Davis' attorney, "so we face an uphill battle." (source: Los Angeles Times) ******************** Lawyers seek new trial for Troy Davis Attorneys racing to spare the life of condemned murderer Troy Anthony Davis say there is now "substantial evidence" to show another man murdered police officer Mark Allen MacPhail. An extraordinary motion for new trial filed in Chatham County Superior Court on Monday charges Sylvester "Red" Coles murdered MacPhail. The motion is considered extraordinary because an initial new-trial motion already has been denied. The new motion is limited and specialized in that it requires specific guidelines to be granted. A companion motion would stay Davis' execution, scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday, to allow a superior court judge to hear evidence and rule. Prosecutors on Tuesday urged the court to summarily dismiss the motion and the stay request, arguing they were filed for the purpose of delay. A jury before Judge James W. Head convicted Davis in 1991 of killing MacPhail, shot to death while working off-duty security at the Greyhound Bus Terminal/Burger King restaurant. Head has since retired, and Judge Penny Haas Freesemann, who inherited his case load, would schedule any hearings. No hearing date has been scheduled nor a stay of execution issued. The new motion, filed by attorney Thomas Dunn, of the Georgia Resource Center, contains language similar to a filing that seeks clemency from the state Board of Pardons and Paroles. The resource center is a state-funded office whose mission is to ensure all death-penalty inmates in Georgia are represented by attorneys. Lawyers: Wrong man has been convicted "This is a case of mistaken identity," the motion filed Tuesday asserts. It then points the finger at Coles. Coles, who was never charged in the case, implicated Davis. "No judge or jury, however, has ever examined petitioner Troy Davis' compelling new evidence to determine if he is innocent," the motion states. It states new evidence "also offers recantation from every prosecution witness that the jury could have found credible." Because the motion "alleges sufficient facts to state a claim for relief, the trial court is required to hold a hearing," the motion said. The newly acquired evidence consists of seven key trial witness recantations, evidence of multiple post-trial confessions by Coles and the testimony of a witness who observed Cole murder MacPhail, the motion states. "The plethora of evidence that has amassed since trial exonerating Troy Davis has never been addressed by a court," the motion states. "The risk of ignoring such evidence is great, both for Troy Davis and his family, as well as for the city of Savannah," the motion states. Prosecutors: Motions are just for delay But, Chief Assistant District Attorney David Lock responded Tuesday that the defense had not exercised due diligence in bringing the motion. District Attorney Spencer Lawton Jr. joined in the response. The same affidavits offered by the defense "have been presented to other courts and found insufficient to materially affect the verdict in this case," Lock wrote. Moreover, Lock said, the affidavits merely impeach the credibility of witnesses and fail to meet another requirement for the grant of an extraordinary motion. 6 of the affidavits dated in 1995 or 1996, were presented at earlier state hearings and 14, some of which were duplicates, were presented in federal courts in 2001 and 2002, the response states. "Clearly, defendant has brought these motions for the purpose of delay," Lock wrote. "The defendant waited to bring this motion until the eve of his execution solely to thwart justice." (source: Savannah Morning News) ****************************** State Board of Pardons and Paroles 2 Martin Luther King Jr Drive, SE Suite 458, Balcony Level, East Tower Atlanta, GA. 30334-4909 Re: Troy Davis Dear Chairperson Hunt and Boardmembers - On behalf of Russell Simmons, Valeisha Butterfield, and the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, I'm writing to add our voices and organization to the thousands of human rights leaders from around the world who are calling for the sparing of the life of Troy Davis in the state of Georgia. We are opposed to capital punishment. In particular, in the case of Troy Davis, serious questions have been raised concerning his possible innocence in the alleged charges. The state of Georgia should not execute Troy Davis. We believe in equal justice and fairness for all people. A violation of the human rights of Troy Davis is a violation of human rights for all people. Sincerely, Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis President, Hip-Hop Summit Action Network (source : ThugLifeArmy.com) ********************** Activists ask 4,000 times for killer to get clemency----The man convicted of shooting a police officer is scheduled for execution. Human-rights activists and supporters for convicted killer Troy Anthony Davis turned in 4,000 letters Tuesday asking state officials to grant clemency for the Savannah man scheduled for execution next week. Davis has been on death row for 15 years for the fatal shooting of an off-duty police officer in 1989. His attorneys have filed appeals, pointing out several witnesses who testified against Davis, 38, have reversed their statements and said they were pressured to point the blame at Davis. The U.S. Supreme Court recently rejected a request to review the case. Mark Allen MacPhail was shot while trying to break up a fight at a Greyhound bus station in Savannah. The 27-year-old father of two had been working in a private security job. 2 years later, a jury convicted Davis for the slaying. The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles will hold a clemency hearing Monday, the day before Davis is scheduled to die by lethal injection. "If the board looks this case with fresh eyes, its members will see the complete absence of physical evidence and the now-recanted testimony that was the basis for Mr. Davis' conviction," Larry Cox, executive director of Amnesty International USA, said during a news conference. "Our intent is not to add to the terrible pain that was so cruelly inflicted upon the MacPhail family years ago. As a human-rights organization, we cannot ignore one injustice as we highlight another." MacPhail's widow, Joan, recently told the Savannah Morning News she plans to attend the clemency hearing and said she supported the death-penalty sentence at the trial. An "extraordinary motion" for a new trial also is pending in Chatham County Superior Court, but Davis' attorneys said they are placing most of their hopes for a last-minute stay with the clemency board. "The parole board is the failsafe," said Davis' lawyer, Jason Ewart. Tonya Johnson, a witness in the case, signed one of the letters presented to the Pardons and Paroles office Tuesday. "They need to free him because he didn't do it," said Johnson, who attended the event near the state Capitol. Johnson was on a porch near the bus station when the shooting happened. She said she saw another man dump guns in an empty house nearby after the shooting but did not tell police. About a year after the trial, Johnson said she told a family member who knew Davis about what she saw that night. "My cousin told me, 'Don't be afraid,' " said Johnson, who then approached Davis' lawyers. Besides signed letters from Johnson and other witnesses, several prominent anti-death activists also penned letters, including Sister Helen Prejean, who wrote Dead Man Walking about her experiences with death-row inmates. Bishop Kevin Boland of the Diocese of Savannah also sent a letter calling for clemency. "Over 100 people in the U.S., 6 of whom are in Georgia, have been wrongly convicted of murder," he wrote. "It is in the best interests of all of us that the circumstances surrounding this case be heard in order to prevent the execution of an innocent man." (source: Times-Union) ***************************************** Convicted Killer Pleads For Clemency A spokeswoman for the Board of Pardons and Parole said the board will base its decision on clemency for death row inmate Troy Davis on the facts and "will not be swayed by public pressure." The statement Tuesday came after human rights advocates armed with evidence they say has been ignored gathered near the board's office to ask the panel to spare the life of Davis, who is scheduled to be executed next week. A clemency hearing won't be held until Monday, but Davis' supporters said they want the board to have now the 4,000 letters written by people from around the world who believe Davis deserves a reprieve. Absent a reprieve or a successful last-minute court appeal, the 38-year-old Davis will be given a lethal injection on Tuesday, July 17. His attorneys say they have new evidence that another man, Sylvester Coles, killed Savannah police Officer Mark MacPhail on August 19, 1989. They say they have affidavits from 3 new witnesses showing Coles was the shooter, not Davis. (source: The Associated Press) **************** Defendant in death penalty case wants to move trial----A defendant accused of the brutal deaths of 6 Tift County farmworkers is asking that his trial be moved. Law enforcement officials intentionally spread false information about a defendant in one of the states most vicious murder sprees, his attorney contends. In a change of venue motion filed in May and recently unsealed by Chief Tift Superior Court Judge Gary McCorvey, Jamie Underwoods attorney, Dennis Francis Jr., contends that law enforcement officials were partially responsible for the spread of "untruths" and "misleading" information to the media. Underwood is 1 of 5 defendants accused in the beating deaths of 6 Hispanic farm workers in September 2005. The state is seeking the death penalty against Underwood, Stacey Sims, Thomas Mathis, Jennifer Wilson and Emma Jean Powell. "Obviously, a jury drawn from a pool tainted by such misstatements and incorrect information would not be able to provide the defendant with a fair trial," Francis writes. "Additionally, it seems that law enforcement agents have been responsible for the spread of some of these untruths and misleading information." The documents were unsealed after McCorvey rescinded a verbal order he issued earlier this month that prohibited public access to all of the court proceedings regarding the case. Francis is asking McCorvey to move the trial out of Tift County because of what he called the increased likelihood for bias of jurors because of pre-trial publicity the case has generated. Florindo Mauricio, Armando Martinez, Mateo Gomez, Jose Luis Gomez, Felipe Esparza and Guadalupe Sanchez were all killed during the overnight hours of Sept. 30, 2005. Some were brutally beaten to death with baseball bats, others were shot during what investigators speculated was a series of home-invasion style robberies. (source: Albany Herald) ******************** Davis lawyers: Wrong man convicted A local jury in 1991 convicted the wrong man in the slaying of Mark Allen MacPhail, attorneys for condemned killer Troy Anthony Davis have told state parole officials. And, the lawyers argue, no court has ever examined the "compelling evidence" of Davis' innocence. "In the simplest of terms, this is a case of mistaken identity," Davis' attorneys argued in a petition filed Monday with the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles. "Since Mr. Davis' trial, substantial evidence has surfaced that shows not only that Troy Davis is innocent, but that Sylvester 'Red' Coles murdered Officer MacPhail. "No judge or jury, however, has ever examined Troy Davis' compelling new evidence to determine if he is innocent," the petition says. The petition was filed a day before attorneys filed a motion for a new trial for Davis in Chatham County Superior Court, again contending that the wrong man was convicted. MacPhail, a Savannah police officer working off-duty security at the Greyhound Bus Terminal/Burger King restaurant on Oglethorpe Avenue, was shot twice as he tried to stop a fight early Aug. 19, 1989. A jury convicted Davis on murder and related charges Aug. 28, 1991. They recommended the death sentence. Davis, 38, has exhausted his appeals and is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Tuesday at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison at Jackson. 'Lingering doubt' The 5-member state Board of Pardons and Paroles will hear Davis' last plea during a clemency hearing beginning at 9 a.m. Monday in Atlanta. Attorneys Jason Ewart and Danielle Garten of Washington, D.C., are seeking a 90-day stay of execution to permit consideration of their application or commutation of his death sentence. They will meet privately Monday with board members to plead their case. Their petition includes arguments that seven of nine prosecution witnesses have recanted or contradicted their trial testimony. The petition also includes assertions that two trial jurors "stated the new evidence caused such 'lingering doubt' about Davis' guilt and 'genuine concern' over the fairness of his sentence that they now believe that Troy Davis should not be executed." The filing includes 30 affidavits or statements to support their case. "The police department's high-profile commitment to the theory that Troy Davis shot Officer MacPhail precluded any investigation of Coles," the petition states. "Instead, the police used overly-suggestive, unreliable tactics that produced dubious identifications." According to the defense petition, three new witnesses say Coles was the shooter. Additional eyewitnesses say "that, in stark contrast to the trial evidence, Red Coles was carrying a gun when Larry Young was pistol-whipped and Officer MacPhail was shot." "In the years since Red Coles implicated Troy Davis in the MacPhail shooting, 5 new witnesses have implicated Coles as the shooter," the petition states. 'Police coercion' One state witness, Harriett Murray, contradicted her testimony at trial in which she identified Davis as the shooter. But a later affidavit is consistent with her police statement and her preliminary hearing testimony, the petition states. "Each of the three witnesses who testified that Troy Davis confessed to the shooting has now admitted their testimony was a complete fabrication ... or a product of police coercion," the petition states. Those included ex-inmate Kevin McQueen, Jeffery Sapp and Monty Holmes, who the petition said "ducked trial." And, the petition states, "Since trial, Red Coles has admitted to 3 separate individuals that he - not Troy Davis - murdered Officer MacPhail." Given the evidence presented in the petition, the lawyers argue, "Mr. Davis requests that the board use its fail-safe executive clemency authority to recognize that - in the face of substantial doubt - execution is not the answer." Finally, the petition states, "Troy's family support him unconditionally and ask the board, in its mercy, to spare his life." The numbers 35 executions since 1973 50 clemency hearings have been granted. 8 commutations have been granted. The most recent: On Jan. 26, 2004, by majority vote the board commuted the sentence of Willie James Hall (EF# 235101) to life without parole. (source: Savannah Morning News) NEBRASKA: Lawyers join senator in challenging use of electric chair Nebraska's death row inmates Lawyers for 5 of Nebraska's death row inmates joined State Sen. Ernie Chambers in court Tuesday to challenge whether rules for using the electric chair were properly developed under state law. Chambers said after the court hearing that the proposed method, a 20-second application of high-voltage electricity, won't kill the condemned and could set them on fire. He said the state prison system should develop formal rules for the electric chair, notifying the Legislature and conducting a public hearing on the proposals. The governor and attorney general would have to sign off on the rules under the state's Administrative Procedure Act. Lancaster County District Judge Earl Witthoff gave the attorneys until mid-August to submit written arguments in the lawsuit. J. Kirk Brown of the Nebraska Attorney General's Office represented the state at the brief hearing. Attorney General Jon Bruning has said that under state law, electric chair rules are not required to be formal regulations. The death row inmates who have joined Chambers' lawsuit include Carey Dean Moore, whose death warrant was issued and then withdrawn this spring by the Nebraska Supreme Court. Nebraska has not executed anyone since 1997. The Nebraska Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in September challenging the electric chair as cruel and unusual punishment, a violation of federal and state constitutions. The high court declared in May that the state could not execute Moore before it had answered that question. Its ruling on the electric chair could come down before Witthoff's rules decision. Jerry Soucie of Lincoln, a lawyer representing death row inmates Raymond Mata Jr. and Erick F. Vela, has been trying to get the electric chair declared unconstitutional since 2000. Soucie said the Department of Correctional Services keeps "moving the goal posts" by changing the electric chair procedures without notice. In 3 executions carried out in the 1990s, officials used a 4-jolt method that alternated high- and low-voltage current. After 2000, it adopted a method using a 15-second high-voltage jolt. Chambers was notified this spring that the jolt's duration had been extended to 20 seconds. These 5 death row inmates asked for permission to join the Omaha lawmaker's lawsuit: Mata, 34, who killed and dismembered 3-year-old Adam Gomez of Scottsbluff in 1999 and fed his remains to a dog. Vela, 26, who was convicted in a failed 2002 bank robbery in Norfolk where five people were shot to death. Jose Sandoval, 27, who also was convicted in the 5 murders in the Norfolk bank. He is represented by Norfolk attorney Ron Temple. Moore, 49, who was sentenced to die for the 1979 slayings of Reuel Van Ness Jr. and Maynard Helgeland in Omaha. Moore previously had halted all appeals. He is represented by Lincoln lawyer Alan Peterson. David Dunster, 52, who was convicted of strangling his cellmate, Larry Witt of Grand Island, in 1997. He had been convicted of killing a cellmate in Montana and of raping and murdering a woman in Oregon. His attorney is Peter Blakeslee of Lincoln. (source: Omaha World-Herald) ************ Inmates Want to Join Execution Lawsuit Attorneys representing 5 death row inmates asked a district court judge Tuesday if they could join a lawsuit filed by Omaha Senator Ernie Chambers challenging the state's electric chair protocol. Now, attorneys representing the state, Chambers, and death row inmates Erick Vela, Raymond Mata, Carey Dean Moore, Jose Sandoval and David Dunster will file briefs by mid-August on the challenge. The sides will argue whether the prison systems properly followed procedures when it changed the execution protocol in 2004. They'll also file briefs on whether attorneys for the inmates can join the challenge and whether Chambers can bring the case to court. Chambers says the Department of Correctional Services didn't follow proper procedures when it changed protocols for the electric chair. (source: Associated Press) OHIO: Prosecutor threatens judge with legal action----Lethal injection at issue in shooting trial If county Common Pleas Judge James Burge goes ahead with a hearing on whether the state's lethal injection method passes constitutional muster, he could find himself with a different legal fight on his hands. Assistant County Prosecutor Tony Cillo told Burge Monday that if the judge decides that he has the power to hold the hearing, hell ask the Ohio Supreme Court to halt it. "I'd probably file a writ of prohibition with the Ohio Supreme Court saying youd overstepped your bounds," he said. If granted, such a writ would prevent Burge from holding the hearing defense attorneys for Ruben Rivera are seeking that could remove the death penalty from consideration if Rivera is ultimately convicted of aggravated murder in the Aug. 13, 2004, shooting death of Manuel Garcia. Prosecutors have argued that the issue shouldn't even be reviewed by Burge because Rivera hasn't been convicted and whether the death penalty constitutes cruel and unusual punishment is a matter for the appeals courts, not a trial judge. Cillo also said that Ohio's chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, whose legal director, Jeff Gamso, is one of Rivera's attorneys, could be using Riveras case to get information from the state on the execution process that it could use in its other legal fights to abolish the death penalty in Ohio. "My fear is they're using this case as a soapbox to oppose the death penalty," Cillo said. Gamso argued that if Burge rules the death penalty is unconstitutional, the judge couldnt allow execution to be considered by a jury as a penalty. "The question is can a death sentence be carried out if the only means of execution in the state of Ohio is unconstitutional?" Gamso asked. Burge said he will make a decision in the next few weeks on whether hell go forward with the full hearing, now set for July 30. In the meantime, he ordered the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction to comply with a previous order he issued to turn over records sought by defense attorneys for an expert to review. Last month, the state prison system asked Burge to clarify where he got the authority to order them to turn over anything, but Burge ruled Monday that since the prisons are part of the state government and the case is being tried as the State of Ohio vs. Ruben Rivera, he has the power to order them to produce evidence. Burge did agree that he can't force the prison system to create any documents for the case, but he also held that if the information is available which he believes most of it is that it must be given to Rivera's expert. Gamso said after the hearing that the information the expert needs ranging from an equipment list to maintenance and training procedures to the layout of the death chamber at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville is vital. "Things like distance and angles matter," he said. For instance, he said, it would take more pressure to pump the lethal 3-drug cocktail through 17 feet of tubing than 1 feet of tubing, Gamso said. He also said kinks in the line could slow the flow of the drugs, prolonging death for a condemned inmate. If that happens, a sedative used in the process could wear off and leave the dying inmate conscious, but unable to move as he suffocates and suffers a heart attack, he said. County Prosecutor Dennis Will said the U.S. Supreme Court already has upheld Ohio's death penalty and the issue of whether Ohio's lethal injection process is torture already is being considered in a federal lawsuit by several Ohio death row inmates. (source: Chronicle-Telegram)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----S. DAK., GA., NEB., OHIO
Rick Halperin Wed, 11 Jul 2007 23:49:44 -0500 (Central Daylight Time)
