July 31 COLORADO: Prosecutors proceeding with death penalty case Prosecutors say they will pursue their death-penalty case against a man accused in the dragging death of his girlfriend after a judge issued an undisclosed ruling on whether the man can be executed if he's found guilty. Defense lawyers for Jose Luis Rubi-Nava said Thursday they would ask the state Supreme Court to review the judge's ruling. The decision pertained to whether Rubi-Nava is mentally retarded, as the defense maintains. If he is, he cannot be executed under Colorado law. All records in the case have been sealed, so the ruling has not been made public. (source: The Examiner) ALABAMA----stay of impending execution A needed reprieve The Alabama Supreme Court blocked today's execution of Thomas Arthur, and thank goodness for that. Start with the fact another inmate this week claimed he committed the murder that sent Arthur to death row. Add to it the fact, disclosed just Wednesday, that state prosecutors can't find some of the evidence which could be used to prove or disprove the belated confession. As such, on Wednesday the Supreme Court voted to delay Arthur's execution, at least for the time being. Let's hope the court's 5-4 ruling allows lawyers time to get to the bottom of a sworn statement issued this week by Bobby Ray Gilbert, a convicted killer now housed in the St. Clair Correctional Facility. In it, Gilbert claims he, not Arthur, shot Troy Wicker to death in 1982 at the behest of Wicker's wife, Judy. Mrs. Wicker initially had claimed an intruder raped her and killed her husband. She implicated Arthur after making a deal with prosecutors to get out of prison. She insists that is the truth and says Gilbert is lying. No doubt, Gilbert's story merits skepticism. But it would have been outrageous to kill Arthur if Gilbert's story could possibly be true. Unfortunately, prosecutors revealed Wednesday they can't produce some of the crime scene evidence that could prove whether at least part of Gilbert's story is true. Clay Crenshaw, the head of the attorney general's death penalty office, said in a sworn statement he hasn't been able to locate the rape kit collected from Mrs. Wicker the day of the murder - a rape kit that state records show included both semen and saliva. Which is just great. Although other biological evidence was collected and should be DNA-tested - assuming the state can find it - it's beyond troubling to think the state was prepared to execute Arthur when what could be crucial evidence is nowhere to be found. DNA tests could have and should have been conducted, even without Gilbert's confession. It's not that we're convinced Arthur is not guilty. It's that we believe the state must be certain he is guilty before putting him to death. Gilbert's statement raises questions that must be answered before an execution takes place. So does the issue of missing evidence. Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb and Justices Champ Lyons, Tom Woodall, Patti Smith and Glenn Murdock deserve credit for demanding the questions be answered before Arthur's execution takes place. As Alabama State Bar President Mark White said in a statement praising the judges: "Our system of justice must find a way to avoid the situation where DNA exonerates a person after execution." Amen to that. An execution can't be undone. The state can't afford to get it wrong. Wednesday's ruling got it right. (source: The Birmingham News) ****************** Alabama Supreme Court stays man's execution for 3rd time; defense wants look at DNA evidence The Alabama Supreme Court postponed executing a man after an inmate claimed in an sworn statement to defense attorneys that he committed the murder that sent the condemned man to death row. The justices in a 5-4 vote late Wednesday stopped the execution by injection of Thomas Arthur "pending further orders of this Court." Arthur, 66, was scheduled to die Thursday, more than 26 years after he was convicted of killing Troy Wicker Jr. of Muscle Shoals. It was the 3rd time Arthur received a stay on the eve of his execution. "My reaction is we finally look forward to the opportunity to examine fully Mr. Arthur's claim of innocence by assessing witness testimony and DNA evidence," said defense attorney Suhana S. Han. "That is the right result." State Attorney General Troy King called the stay a serious setback for the prosecution. "The crimes against Troy Wicker's family continue to compound," he said. "There is a good chance he is going to escape his sentence before all is said and done." Han said Arthur "was absolutely ecstatic." "Having to face execution is something that most of us can never really imagine," she said. Arthur's attorneys sought a stay from the governor and the courts by using Monday's sworn statement by Bobby Ray Gilbert, who claimed he killed Wicker. Gilbert is serving a life sentence for a different murder. But Wicker's widow, who served 10 years of a life sentence for hiring the killer, told attorney general investigators that she never met Gilbert. "I hired and paid money to Thomas Arthur, not Bobby Gilbert, to kill Troy Wicker," Judy Wicker said in a statement Monday. Han said a hearing was needed to assess the credibility of Gilbert and Wicker. Arthur's daughter, Sherri Stone, said she was in shock after spending most of what she thought was one of her last days with her father at the prison. "I hope to finally end this; hope to finally prove the innocence that he's claimed for 26 years," she said. The Alabama Supreme Court and the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals earlier denied Arthur's bid to delay the execution so that DNA testing could be done. Arthur's execution would have been the 1st in Alabama since the U.S. Supreme Court, in April, upheld the use of lethal injection. (source: Associated Press) ******************************* The Alabama Supreme Court has stayed the Thursday execution of Tommy The Alabama Supreme Court today 5-4 stayed Thursday'sscheduled execution of Thomas Douglas Arthur after an alleged confession surfaced this week by another man currently serving life in prison for an unrelated murder. The court narrowly granted the emergency stay of execution requested byArthur's attorney, Suhan Han, this afternoon. "I'm just elated, I'm in tears," said Arthur"s daughter, Sherrie Stone, after visiting her father to say their goodbyes. It is the 3rd time that Arthur has come within hours of dying for the 1982 contract killing of Troy Wicker Jr. of Muscle Shoals. The 9-member court gave no reason for staying the execution. It is therefore ordered that the order of this court of June 30 setting an execution date of (Thursday) for Thomas Douglas Arthur is stayed pending further orders of this court, the order said. Voting for the stay were Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb, and justices Champ Lyons, Tom Woodall, Patricia M. Smith, and Glenn Murdock. Dissenting were Justices Harold See, Lyn Stuart, Michael Bolin and Tom Parker. Arthur was scheduled to die by lethal injection at 6 p.m. Thursday but an inmate in St. Clair prison said this week that he, not Arthur, killed Wicker 26 years ago. (source: Tuscaloosa News) ARKANSAS: Attorneys make closing arguments; Lee Co. jury gets capital murder case A jury in Lee County this morning began deliberating the fate of Gordon Randall Gwathney, 47, who is on trial for the murder of three family members in February 2007. Attorneys made their closing arguments this morning after instructions were given to the jury by Circuit Court Judge L.T. Simes. The 12-member jury hearing this case is made up of 9 women and 3 men, 6 blacks and 6 whites. The state is seeking the death penalty. Gwathney is accused in the murders of his mother-in-law Sylvia Reeves, 51, along with her elderly parents, James and Evelyn Mitchell. Each victim was shot once, according to testimony presented during the trial. Jury selection in the trial began on July 21, and testimony began on Friday with the state presenting its case against Gwathney. The state rested Monday morning, after which the defense began calling its witnesses, including Gwathney, who testified that he does not remember the events of Feb. 13 when he is accused of murdering the three at their rural Lee County home. Police say Gwathney was armed with a .40 caliber pistol and a semiautomatic rifle when he went to the home. He is also accused of the attempted murder of his brother-in-law Travis Reeves and former St. Francis County Deputy Tracy Jackson. Once court was in session, Simes closed the courtroom. Simes told jurors if reasonable doubt of the capital murder charges could not be established they were to consider murder in the first degree and then murder in the second degree. Jurors could also choose to find Gwathney not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. He also instructed jurors on the charges of attempted capital murder against Reeves and Jackson. The lesser charges for these crimes were attempted murder in the 1st degree and attempted murder in the 2nd degree. Simes said jurors would not take into consideration the punishment for Gwathney if he were found guilty, and that decision would be submitted separately. Prosecuting Attorney Fletcher Long urged the jury to use reality, reason and common sense. "You, as a jury, are absolute judges of facts," said Long. He told jurors that in a capital murder charge, the defendant committed the act with premeditation and deliberate purpose. "He leaves home in his vehicle, goes to someone else's residence with an AK-47, a .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol and more bullets than I can count right now. Goes into the house already carrying the pistol. As to Sylvia Reeves, he shot her at point blank range, one time. Not bang, bang, bang, but bang! Through the neck and into the brain and executed her. This was premediated and deliberate," said Long. "With James Mitchell, as he either stood leaning over or kneeling over his daughter's body, shot him in the head once...bang! and executed him. That is premediated and deliberate," Long said. "Then, he goes down the hall to bedroom where Evelyn Mitchell, an older lady suffering from alzheimers, not even in his way and has nothing to do with this so far. He walks in and not at close range, not at point blank range, but at contact range puts the pistol against her forehead and blows the top of her head off with one shot and executes her," said Long. Long said the lesser charges of 1st-degree murder and 2nd-degree murder did not come close to the actions of Gwathney. Long also discussed the attempted capital murder charge against Reeves and Jackson, telling the jurors that Reeves told Gwathney to, "stop" when he saw him outside and fired a warning shot in the air. He said Gwathney then proceeded to manuever "here and there" depending on what Reeves' actions were. He said Gwathney would then open fire on Jackson, chasing him down the driveway and firing a total of 18 rounds at his vehicle. "One more thing," said Long. "I've got my .40 caliber which has been fired several times, and I have moved him next door, so then I go back to my truck and get my AK-47. Did that require premeditation and deliberation?" He said Gwathney didn't "hang around at the scene" but fled to Laredo, Texas right at the Mexican border. "He had no appreciation for criminal act, but headed to Mexico," said Long. "The most important thing in this whole system of judgement is that you express your conclusion and find judgement. Verdict is the combination of 2 latin words that mean, "to speak the truth." That is what is important is the truth." Defense attorney Gerald Coleman told jurors that there was no question that this was a terrible event. "3 really good people are dead," said Coleman. "The facts indicate that Randy is not guilty by reason of mental defect or disease. Long said this was a senseless killing and we agree. There was no sense to any of this. "You heard in Lisa Reeves' testimony that his behavior that night was unusual and unexpected, that he was carrying on about something that makes no sense. She said she never expected this and it never crossed her mind to fear him. "Then, after 3 people are shot, he is in a gun battle that was like a war zone," said Coleman. He said Gwathney would then go to an ATM, withdraw money and be captured in Laredo, Texas at a McDonald's. "He is not running, he is in line at McDonald's," said Coleman. Coleman also argued that Gwathney had gone to the Veteran's Administration Hospital and was prescribed medication that interacted with each other, causing delirium. He said the expert witnesses in the case all stated he was a candidate for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and was experiencing classic symptoms of the disorder. "We are here to understand what happened," said Coleman. "Here you have a normal guy, well suffering from PTSD, but functioning and then this happens totally out of the blue." "The evidence is clear and Randy Gwathney has proven that he was suffering under delirium," said Coleman. Coleman urged jurors to find Gwathney not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. "Find him not guilty and then his fate will be in the judge's hands," said Coleman. Long came back to the jurors with a rebuttal saying that the defense's expert witnesses were paid to testify on behalf of the defense. "They were hired to do just what they did," said Long. "To testify." Long questioned Gwathneys ability to operate a vehicle on any highway or interstate if he were in a state of delirium and reduced motor skills. "How reduced were his motor skills when exercising marksmanship? How many organized decisions do you have to make on an intertstate or any other highway between here and Laredo, Texas? Proof is proof," said Long. After the conclusion of arguments, Simes told jurors they would retire to the jury room where they would be supplied their instructions. He told the jurors they would be sequestered to the jury room and would not exit or come back in, nor go home until a decision is reached. The alternate juror was not allowed to deliberate with the other 12 members, but would remain at the courthouse in the event he was needed to replace one of them. At press time, the jury had not yet made a decision. (source: Times-Herald) FLORIDA: State prosecutors say charges against Hilton can't be dismissed State prosecutors have responded to the defense's request to dismiss charges against Gary Michael Hilton, the man charged with murdering a Crawfordville woman in December 2007. As an alternative, the defense requested to question the grand jurors who in February heard evidence from the case and filed formal charges of 1st-degree murder, kidnapping, grand theft auto and grand theft in connection with the death of Cheryl Dunlap, 46, a Sunday school teacher and Florida State nurse. Prosecutors said the request to question grand jurors is untimely because the grand jury that indicted Hilton has been disbanded. The grand jury was impaneled for a term that ended June 1. According to Florida statutes, a grand jury can only be recalled during its term. Also, although state law allows a defendant to challenge grand jurors for being biased, neither the U.S. Constitution nor the Florida Constitution expressly guarantees a right to an unbiased grand jury, prosecutors say. Prosecutors also say Hilton's charges cant be dismissed, even if he was denied a lawyer while trying to fight extradition from Georgia. The hearing on the motion to bar public access to pretrial evidence and a proposed gag order in the Hilton case that was set for Friday has been canceled. (source: Tallahassee Democrat) *********************** State to seek death penalty in Caylor case The State Attorney's Office filed notice Monday of its intention to seek the death penalty against Matthew Caylor, the man accused of raping and killing a 13-year-old girl at a Panama City motel. Caylor, 33, of Auburn, Ga., was indicted last week in the July 8 death of Melinda Denise Hinson at the Valu-Lodge motel. The indictment charged him with first-degree premeditated and felony murder, plus sexual battery with great bodily force and aggravated child abuse. Hinson's family had been staying at the motel for a few weeks, having moved to the area last year from Henderson, Ky. Melinda went missing the evening of July 8 as she was walking to a nearby room to walk the neighbor's dog. Her body was found July 10 under the bed in a room in the motel. State Attorney Steve Meadows signed the notice, saying the state would rely on three aggravators to try to gain the death sentence: that Caylor was a convicted felon and under sentence of imprisonment or probation at the time of the killing; that he killed Hinson while he was committing the offense of aggravated child abuse; and the killing was especially heinous, atrocious or cruel. The state has to prove to a jury at least two of the aggravating factors beyond a reasonable doubt to legally sustain a death sentence. The Florida Supreme Court regularly has rejected death sentences based on a single aggravating factor. Caylor's attorney predicted 2 weeks ago the state would seek the death penalty in the case. The state, however, doesn't usually announce its intent so quickly in the process. Caylor has not been arraigned on the new charges. He is scheduled to appear before a judge Aug. 21 for a formal reading of his charges and the beginning of the discovery process. State Attorney's Office spokesman Joe Grammer said Caylor's case made it into a pre-planned death penalty committee meeting last week. "If we hadn't had that meeting planned, we wouldn't have done (Caylor's case) that fast," Grammer said. "The other 2 cases we dealt with were much older." (source: News Herald)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----COLO., ALA., ARK., FLA.
Rick Halperin Fri, 1 Aug 2008 01:04:28 -0500 (Central Daylight Time)
