Jan. 11 CALIFORNIA: Death Penalty Proposal Will Alleviate Backlog, George Tells Commission Chief Justice Ronald M. George yesterday told the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice that a constitutional amendment is needed to alleviate the large backlog of full-briefed death penalty appeals pending before the Supreme Court. George's testimony included a proposal to amend Art. VI, Sec. 12 of the California Constitution as well as corresponding proposals to modify and improve capital-related habeas corpus procedures and increase the number of counsel qualified and willing to accept appointment in capital proceedings. Citing an increase in capital cases in the past two decades that has led to a backlog in appeals, George said his fellow justices have unanimously endorsed a proposal for a state constitutional amendment to allow the court to transfer death penalty cases to panels of the Court of Appeal. The proposed amendment seeks to eliminate the restriction on transfer of capital cases to the Court of Appeal, and allow the Supreme Court to summarily affirm Court of Appeal decisions in such cases under certain conditions. The accompanying proposals would increase funding and staffing levels to accommodate the death penalty appellate case load. George testified that action was needed on all the submitted proposals to reduce the death penalty case backlog, and opined that if the Supreme Court handled only existing death penalty appeals to the exclusion of all other matters it would take 3 to 4 years to process existing cases. "The justices are increasingly disturbed by the delays in capital matters," George told the commission. He said the ever-increasing backlog of automatic appeals threatens to overwhelm the Supreme Courts docket and impair its ability to provide necessary guidance concerning other important issues arising in criminal and civil law. George said that the proposals were not an attempt to fix all issues involving the court system but were an attempt to open dialogue to address a critical problem requiring legislative intervention. "We have done all we can within existing resources," George explained. However, he stressed the need for action. "It's time to do something about it," George said. In addition to his prepared remarks, George briefly answered commission members' questions about the proposals. Chief among the concerns raised was whether the proposals would actually reduce the backlog and allow improved function. George stated that the proposals were far from perfect and reiterated that they were made in an attempt to open dialogue on a critical issue. Opponents quickly pointed out what they said were flaws in the Supreme Courts proposals. A written statement issued by the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, a defense lawyers group, was critical of the proposed constitutional amendment because its "limited focus on the appellate review system runs an unintended but genuine risk of masking far more fundamental flaws infecting the states death penalty system." CACJ president Rickard Santwier, a Pasadena lawyer, wrote: "While the system of appellate review may need fixing, that fix should come as part of a sensible re-evaluation of the entire system, not as an appellate band-aid to decrease the workload of the California Supreme Court." Opponents also contended that the proposals would not alleviate the backlog. "Our basic criticism is that the proposal is nothing more than a shell game," Natasha Minsker, death penalty policy director for the ACLU of Northern California, said. "The proposals would take us from a 1 step appeals process to a 3 step process. How is that going to speed things up?" Despite the criticism, some agreed with George's assertion that the proposals were an attempt to open dialogue rather then provide a complete systemic fix. "The court's position comes from a limited perspective and involves only a procedural change that doesn't address all the problems," Minsker said. (source: Metropolitan News Company) ***************** $136 million requested for new death row at San Quentin Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has set aside $136 million to proceed with construction of a new death row at San Quentin State Prison. The Legislature authorized $220 million for the project in 2003, but spiraling costs prevented construction of the 768 new cells needed to relieve severe overcrowding at the prison. The latest cost estimate is $356 million - up $19 million from last year. "It relates to a need to offset inflationary and site construction costs, which include additional soil stabilization and grading," said Seth Unger, a spokesman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The announcement elicited an angry reaction from Marin's governmental representatives. Marin political and community leaders want the entire prison relocated and the land used to create a transit hub, along with new housing and business development. Assemblyman Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, said he was "extremely disappointed" by the budget allocation given the magnitude of "draconian" spending cuts proposed by the governor Thursday. "To cut that deeply and broadly and then spend like a drunken sailor on this project just makes no sense," Huffman said. "As far as I'm concerned, this is dead on arrival." Last year, Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill by Huffman that called for delaying construction until after the state studied alternatives. "We're back to our 2-step," said state Sen. Carole Migden, D-San Francisco. "This is the same dance - the resubmission by the governor - and I predict the elimination of said amount from the budget when it reaches the Legislature." Marin Supervisor Steve Kinsey said, "At a time when the governor's budget is going to put children on the street, it is absurd to be spending $400,000 a bed for condemned prisoners." (source: Marin Independent News) TENNESSEE: Death row inmate's mother in painful waiting game 66-year-old Joyce House is in a waiting game, and it's no fun. In fact, "it's hell,'' she says. She's waiting to see if the state is going to appeal a ruling handed down Dec. 20 that orders condemned state prisoner Paul Gregory House, her son, to be released unless prosecutors begin a new trial within 180 days after the order becomes final. That ruling becomes final if the state attorney general's office does not appeal it by Jan. 22. "I went to see Paul yesterday (Sunday) and I asked him if he was excited,'' Joyce House told me over the telephone Monday from her home in Crossville. "He said, 'No. I got excited when I won in the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, and nothing happened. " 'I got excited when I won in the Supreme Court, and nothing happened. Whenever they come and get me and say, 'you're going home,' I'll get excited.' '' Paul Gregory House, who turned 46 on Dec. 19, was convicted in 1986 in Union County of the 1985 rape and murder of Carolyn Muncey. Prosecutors said semen in Muncey's underwear matched House's blood type. However, 15 years later, after House was sentenced to death in the killing, DNA determined that the semen was that of the woman's husband, Hubert. Hubert Muncey also is said to have told two female acquaintances of murdering his wife and hiding her body in much the same manner as it was found. In October 2004, six of the 15 members of the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Cincinnati, said House is not guilty of murdering Carolyn Muncey. Eight other judges on the court at the time said in an appeal decision that House should be executed, while another judge said the condemned prisoner should at least be given a new trial. In 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled, 5-3, that DNA evidence from semen collected from Muncey's nightgown and underwear, along with other evidence, were strong enough that a jury would not have convicted Paul Gregory House. U.S. District Judge Harry S. Mattice Jr., issued the Dec. 20 ruling. "I know he's innocent,'' Joyce House, who works at a resort in Crossville, said of her son. "I speak at different places, trying to tell his story. I live with it every day. For a long time, he didn't want anybody to know where he was. 'Just tell them that I am in Nashville,' he would say. "I lived in Knoxville at the time and I told him I can't do that anymore. He said he didn't want me to suffer.'' But Joyce House said she doesn't get any boos when she speaks to different audiences about her son, who uses a wheelchair as a result of suffering from multiple sclerosis. "A lot of people tell me they were on the fence about the death penalty, but after I speak, most of them agree that he shouldn't be put to death. Many of them have even signed some cards we sent to the governor last year urging that Paul be given a pardon. 'Are you for an innocent man being executed?' I ask them.'' Joyce House said her son has always maintained his innocence, but at the time he was convicted, DNA evidence wasn't available. "The first time I saw him after he was charged, he looked at me and said he didn't do this horrible thing,'' she said. "I know he's telling the truth. If he saw a stray cat hungry, he would want to bring it home and feed it. "Paul's a caring person. He's not the type that would hurt anybody.'' What about that, Gov. Bredesen? What about freeing House, or at least come out and say, you, too, believe that he should have a new trial? Look at what the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals said in 2004. Look at the ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court in 2006. Look at U.S. District Judge Mattice's ruling. What else do you need to free Paul Gregory House? Hasn't he suffered enough? Hasn't his family, and especially his mother, suffered enough? As I have asked previously, what will others say about the state of Tennessee if we allow a man who is innocent of the murder charges against him to die in prison? What will they say, and what will you say, Governor, if that happens? (source: Dwight Lewis, The Tennessean, Jan. 9) PENNSYLVANIA: Prosecutor: Lewis should get death penalty After 2 days of testimony against the man accused of killing a Philadelphia police officer, Assistant District Attorney Edward Cameron reiterated his department's call for the death penalty. Speaking outside the Criminal Justice Center after the preliminary hearing for John "Jordan" Lewis concluded, the prosecutor said, "We're going to request the notice to seek the death penalty." Defense lawyer Michael Coard questioned whether a sufficient case was made. "Is this a first-degree murder? We don't know," he said. ". . . This might not be the first-degree murder that everyone thought it was." Cameron contended that the case in the slaying of Officer Chuck Cassidy had been made for premeditation. "That's all the law requires, that you form a thought," he said. "He pointed a gun at a Philadelphia police officer and shot him in the head. . . . It's 1st-degree murder." He went on to say, "We can't ultimately say anything about a plea deal at this point." On that point, Coard said, "All options are open." For two days, witnesses went to the stand in a packed courtroom to implicate Lewis in a series of robberies that culminated in the shooting of Cassidy on Oct. 31. Cassidy died the following day. The most damaging testimony came today. Two men who knew Lewis well said he had confessed. Three other witnesses identified Lewis as the gun-wielding robber in the West Oak Lane Dunkin' Donuts the day Cassidy was shot. Lewis, 21, will be formally arraigned on Jan. 31, Municipal Court Judge Francis J. Cosgrove said as he ended the preliminary hearing shortly before 1 p.m. That proceeding will determine the charges on which Lewis can be tried. Hakim Glover told the court that he advised his cousin to "go down South" when Lewis told him he was "going to kill another cop." "He was a little bit hysterical," Glover said. "He wasn't in his right mind." Herbert Hill, a corrections officer who works with Lewis' mother, followed Glover to the stand. Hill spoke about a conversation at the mother's house on Roosevelt Boulevard. According to Hill, "The defendant said, 'I shot the cop.' " Hill said he replied, "If you did that, you know you've got to turn yourself in." Lewis refused, saying, "If the police come and get me it's going to be a mess," Hill recounted. At this point, Hill was interested only in getting out of the house, he said. So he slipped out, drove a short distance, and called 911. Glover pleaded guilty on Monday to charges of hindering apprehension and obstruction of justice for driving Lewis to a Wilmington bus station Nov. 3 and buying him a ticket to Florida. "I was trying to help my family member out," he explained on the stand today. He also said he demanded that Lewis leave behind two semiautomatics that he had been carrying in his waistband. "I didn't want him to do anything else," Glover said. When pressed by defense lawyer Michael Coard, Glover said he was testifying " 'cause I'm not trying to go to jail for something that happened while I was lying in my bed." Earlier this morning, the court heard from two employees of the West Oak Lane Dunkin' Donuts and a customer who took the stand and identified Lewis as the robber who came into the shop last Halloween and waved a gun at them moments before the officer was shot. On that "horrible day," as Linda Chan called it, she was standing behind the Dunkin' Donuts counter early that morning opposite a man in a hoodie waving a gun. Then the bell on the shop door chimed, she testified. The man with the gun swung around, and fired at a police officer slightly crouched at the door. "If I were a robber," Chan said, "I would do that, too, because I don't want anybody behind me." Chan testified that after the robber swung around, she heard a gunshot. "I saw the officer fall down," she said. At that point in Chan's testimony, several people in the courtroom wept softly, dabbing their eyes and noses. Many Cassidy supporters wore small dark blue ribbons pinned to their sweaters and lapels. There were about 130 people crowded into the courtroom, including Cassidy's widow, Judith. Chan identified Lewis as the robber on Oct. 31 and testified that he had also robbed the store Sept. 18 and had even stopped in two or three weeks after the first robbery to simply buy food. He bought an egg, sausage and cheese sandwich and a medium coffee. "After he left, we said 'that this is the guy,' " she said of Lewis' 2nd visit to the shop. Yesterday, 9 witnesses testified about 5 robberies that preceded the 6th, and fatal, holdup. All but 1 witness firmly identified Lewis as the man who had committed the stickups, and said that he had had a gun. The testimony, most of it from employees at Dunkin' Donuts shops or at pizzerias, together suggested an increasingly violent path, which began Sept. 18 and ended in Cassidy's death six weeks later at the doughnut shop at 6620 N. Broad St. in West Oak Lane. When the hearing opened yesterday morning, about 120 people filled the benches, lined the walls, and stood in the aisles. The Cassidy family filled the front rows on one side; Lewis' supporters, the front rows across the aisle. Uniformed officers made up more than half the crowd, which spilled into the hallway. The city's new police commissioner, Charles H. Ramsey, stopped before the proceeding to speak to Judith Cassidy and several other family members. Coard persistently labored to shake witnesses' confidence in their identification of Lewis. He also worked to clarify whether the robber had pointed a gun at them or harmed them, or taken any of their personal possessions. The lawyer, noting that his client faced a multitude of charges, said during a break that "we don't know what the judge is going to hold him on." (source: Philadelphia Inquirer) OHIO: Jury begins deliberation on death sentence for Phillip Jones A Summit County jury began deliberating late this morning on a possible death sentence for convicted murderer Phillip L. Jones after hearing him say he was ''deeply sorry'' for his actions and has been praying for the victim and her children. Jones, 37, was convicted of aggravated murder and 2 counts of rape last month for the beating and strangulation of 33-year-old Susan Marie Christian-Yates. Her badly bruised body was found by a jogger on the morning of April 23, near several headstones under a large tree in the eastern section of Mount Peace Cemetery in Akron. According to the Summit County Medical Examiner's autopsy, the cause of death was asphyxiation. Jones, addressing the jury in an unsworn statement that was not subject to cross-examination by prosecutors, said he spent the majority of his life a total of 18 years in state and youth prison facilities. ''Then came the situation last April,'' he said. ''I can't change what I did. I live with it every day. ''I can't bring back Susan. I wish I could. But I'm sorry for what I did, and I pray for her and her children.'' In an apparent attempt to show there is value to his life, Jones also said he obtained a ''minister's certificate'' from Universal Church in Modesto, Calif., while taking correspondence courses in prison. He has used that training, he said, to help other inmates and members of his family. Defense lawyer Kerry M. O'Brien used much of his closing argument to describe a lengthy history of psychological problems in Jones' life, including two suicide attempts. O'Brien said the first suicide attempt occurred when Jones was only 7 and drank gasoline after the breakup of his mother and father. The second occurred when he was in Ohio Department of Youth Services custody and tried to hang himself. ''His whole life,'' O'Brien said, ''has been one chaotic misadventure after another.''' But Assistant Summit County Prosecutor Becky Doherty attempted to persuade the jury there was no merit to the defense argument that Jones is mentally impaired, citing a psychological evaluation by a state expert who treated Jones while he was in prison. That report, Doherty said, described Jones as a ''blunted sociopath'' who ''puts on mental health issues'' from his extensive experiences dealing with mental health professionals. Jury deliberations began at about 11:45 a.m. A Summit County jury began deliberating late this morning on a possible death sentence for convicted murderer Phillip L. Jones after hearing him say he was ''deeply sorry'' for his actions and has been praying for the victim and her children. Jones, 37, was convicted of aggravated murder and 2 counts of rape last month for the beating and strangulation of 33-year-old Susan Marie Christian-Yates. Her badly bruised body was found by a jogger on the morning of April 23, near several headstones under a large tree in the eastern section of Mount Peace Cemetery in Akron. According to the Summit County Medical Examiner's autopsy, the cause of death was asphyxiation. Jones, addressing the jury in an unsworn statement that was not subject to cross-examination by prosecutors, said he spent the majority of his life a total of 18 years in state and youth prison facilities. ''Then came the situation last April,'' he said. ''I can't change what I did. I live with it every day. ''I can't bring back Susan. I wish I could. But I'm sorry for what I did, and I pray for her and her children.'' In an apparent attempt to show there is value to his life, Jones also said he obtained a ''minister's certificate'' from Universal Church in Modesto, Calif., while taking correspondence courses in prison. He has used that training, he said, to help other inmates and members of his family. Defense lawyer Kerry M. O'Brien used much of his closing argument to describe a lengthy history of psychological problems in Jones' life, including 2 suicide attempts. O'Brien said the 1st suicide attempt occurred when Jones was only 7 and drank gasoline after the breakup of his mother and father. The 2nd occurred when he was in Ohio Department of Youth Services custody and tried to hang himself. ''His whole life,'' O'Brien said, ''has been one chaotic misadventure after another.''' But Assistant Summit County Prosecutor Becky Doherty attempted to persuade the jury there was no merit to the defense argument that Jones is mentally impaired, citing a psychological evaluation by a state expert who treated Jones while he was in prison. That report, Doherty said, described Jones as a ''blunted sociopath'' who ''puts on mental health issues'' from his extensive experiences dealing with mental health professionals. Jury deliberations began at about 11:45 a.m. (source: Ohio News Network) ARKANSAS: Judge rejects lawsuit seeking full access to executions----The journalists' had argued that there is a First Amendment right to witness every step in the proceedings. There is no First Amendment right guaranteeing journalists access to every step of an execution in Arkansas, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday. "The Supreme Court has never recognized a First Amendment right of access to executions," wrote U.S. District Court Judge Susan Webber Wright in her order granting a motion to dismiss the suit. "To date, only one federal appeals court has held that the First Amendment includes a right of public access to executions," she noted, in reference to a 2002 opinion from the U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco (9th Cir.). Arkansas falls under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Court of Appeals in St. Louis (8th Cir). While state law holds that six to 12 witnesses must be present at every execution, the state does not allow media and public witnesses to watch as intravenous tubes are inserted and removed from a prisoner about to be executed. Prison officials open curtains to the execution chamber for witnesses after the prisoner has already been strapped to the gurney and close them again once the inmate is dead. The lawsuit, filed by the Northwest Arkansas Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, the Arkansas Times and Times editor Max Brantley, asserted that these behind-the-scenes procedures ought to be viewed. "Until the entire execution process is open to public view, it is a process lacking in accountability," Brantley said. "We had hoped, of course, that we wouldn't have to assert a constitutional right to witness an execution. We had hoped that the Arkansas Correction Department, which has broad latitude to decide who may see an execution and at what point, would come down on the side of transparency." He said he and others have not decided whether to appeal the ruling. (source: Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----CALIF., TENN., PENN., OHIO, ARK.
Rick Halperin Fri, 11 Jan 2008 15:14:08 -0600 (Central Standard Time)
