[Deathpenalty] [POSSIBLE SPAM] death penalty news----TEXAS, ALA., USA, m MD., CALIF., ARK.

[Rick Halperin]

August 1


TEXAS:

Court Dates Set


The death penalty could be the sentence for an accused murderer in Gray
County. The trial dates for Levi King have been set. King is accused of
killing Brian and Michelle Conrad, their unborn child and their 15-year
old son near Pampa nearly 3 years ago. The pre-trial is set for December
15th of this year, and jury selection is scheduled for January 12th of
next year, and the trial is planned for January 19th. King has already
pleaded guilty to a double homicide in Missouri, and was sentenced to life
without parole.

(source: KAMR News)






ALABAMA:

Even Thomas Arthur deserves justice


Imagine the joy in my little anti-death penalty heart when I learned that
the Alabama Supreme Court granted Thomas Arthur his third stay of
execution on Wednesday.

Joy, not for Arthur, but for justice. Though I confess I was surprised.
The court is no bastion of bleeding-heart liberalism.

8 of the 9 justices are Republicans, self-proclaimed, diehard
conservatives, who I suspect probably are quite comfortable with the death
penalty.

This won't sit well with many conservative voters. But GOPers should
breathe easy. Alabama's death penalty will still be in place regardless of
what happens to Arthur, much to my regret.

The court hasn't swung wildly to the left. The stay wasn't the opening
salvo in a judicial assault on the death penalty in Alabama. It's about
something more fundamental and basic than that: ensuring that the state
doesn't put innocent people to death.

Some will bristle at the idea that Arthur could be innocent of anything.
People who have known him for years described him as troubled and violent
in one 2007 article published by the TimesDaily. Another TimesDaily story
described him as "one of the most notorious criminals in the history of
the Shoals." It's also true that Arthur had been convicted of murder and
was on work release when he was charged with killing Troy Wicker in 1982.

His daughter, Sherrie Arthur, while questioning her father's guilt in the
Wicker murder, told the TimesDaily that he "was not the greatest father in
the world."

Still, previous crimes and bad parenting aren't what's at issue. Arthur's
character, or lack thereof, isn't the point, at least this time.

The question is whether Arthur killed Wicker. The point is to make sure
that if the state is going to execute Arthur for a crime that he, in fact,
did commit the crime.

Caught in the middle is Troy Wicker's family. They lost a loved one in the
most unjust, horrible way. I can't imagine the pain they live with, the
sorrow and anger they must feel.

Yet, the state can't afford to ignore that the Wicker murder is a murky
affair. Judy Wicker, his widow, originally claimed that a black man had
broken into their home, raped her and killed her husband. Later, she
confessed to paying Arthur $10,000 to kill him.

And authorities found undeniable links to Arthur and Judy Wicker, who
claimed she and Arthur had been having an affair. Circumstantial evidence
certainly seemed to link Arthur to the crime.

Now, years later, convicted murderer Bobby Ray Gilbert has signed an
affidavit confessing to the Wicker murder. Judy Wicker says that Gilbert,
who is locked up at the St. Clair Correctional Facility with a life
sentence, is lying.

Also revealed this week: The state has lost the rape kit that was
performed on Judy Wicker at the time of the crime. So Arthur will now
apparently be deprived of at least some DNA testing, which he has long
maintained would prove his innocence. These 2 late developments may not
ultimately prove Arthur's innocence, but they certainly cast a huge shadow
on the certainty of Arthur's guilt. The Alabama Supreme Court had no
choice but to grant him another stay.

It doesn't serve any citizen if justice becomes a precarious, arbitrary
proposition in Alabama. It always must be clear and certain, especially
when the death penalty is involved.

Thomas Arthur has done some terrible, horrible things in his life. He has
hurt people close to him, flouted the justice system and even pleaded
guilty to murder once before.

He's no model citizen, no champion of virtue.

But none of that means he killed Troy Wicker. And before the state of
Alabama puts him to death - if it puts him to death - it needs to be sure
that he is guilty.

(source: The Huntsville Times)

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

Arthur case sent back to court


Tommy Arthur, whose execution has been delayed for a third time, was moved
Thursday from a holding cell near the lethal injection chamber back to
death row as his case goes before a Jefferson County circuit judge.

Alabama death row inmate Tommy Arthur is on death row for the 1982 murder
of Troy Wicker in Muscle Shoals. Another inmate Bobby Gilbert confessed to
the murder, but some officials say he is not credibe.A judge will now rule
on a confession by inmate Bobby Gilbert that Judy Wicker hired and paid
him, not Arthur, to kill her husband, Troy Wicker Jr., in their Muscle
Shoals home on Feb. 1, 1982.

Meanwhile, a state prosecutor said he has not been able to find the DNA
evidence that might prove whether Gilbert is telling the truth.

The Alabama Supreme Court, by a 5-4 vote Wednesday, stayed the execution
that was scheduled for Thursday. The Supreme Court didn't give a reason.
The court did have Gilbert's statement saying he killed Wicker.

'I killed Judy Wicker's husband and I would be willing to agree to a DNA
test,' Gilbert's statement said.

Supreme Court Clerk Robert Esdale said that, with the stay, there's no
other pending motion in Arthur's case requiring action by that court. He
said the next step is for the court to issue an order on where Arthur's
case goes now. The court's next conference is Monday, and any order would
be issued after that.

'We'll just let the nature take its course on the Rule 32 petition,' he
said of Arthur's legal filing in Jefferson County. A Rule 32 petition is
for post-conviction issues.

No hearing has yet been scheduled in the Jefferson County court.

'What is currently at issue is a confession from an incredible person
whose statement is riddled with inconsistencies,' said Attorney General
Troy King said.

Gilbert said he was 17 when he killed Wicker but King believes he was 15,
since there is a dispute about his year of birth.

Arthur's defense attorney, Suhana Han, wants evidence from the crime scene
that might be able to prove who is telling the truth.

Han wants the rape kit performed on Judy Wicker so it can be tested for
DNA. Judy Wicker claimed initially that a black male raped her and killed
Wicker, but she later testified that Arthur killed him.

Gilbert said he had sex with Wicker in the hallway of her home between 9
a.m. and noon the day of the murder.

'Somebody would have noticed that,' King said sarcastically. Police were
called to the Wicker home at 9:12 a.m. that day.

Clay Crenshaw, head of the attorney general's capital litigation section,
said he asked the Muscle Shoals Police Department, the Colbert County
district attorney's office and the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences
for the rape kit that was done on Judy Wicker, but was told they didn't
have it.

Han said she does not think Crenshaw's explanation is sufficient.

'Why is the state only inquiring about it the last six months when we have
been litigating [for it] since 2002? The state needs to explain what
happened to Judy Wicker's rape kit,' she asked.

Colbert County District Attorney Bryce Graham, who inherited the Arthur
prosecution, said he will not look for the rape kit until ordered by the
proper legal authority.

Assistant attorney general Jasper Roberts Jr. said he's unsure what the
evidence preservation procedure was between 1982 and 1987. Evidence
preservation today could belong to any number of state or local agencies.

Prosecutors tried to interview Gilbert about Wicker but he only wanted to
talk about sex with Judy Wicker, Roberts said.

Crenshaw said Gilbert cannot be believed. 'He's a lying, murdering
despicable human being and I hope the court didn't grant a stay because of
the guy's affidavit,' Crenshaw said.

Gilbert is in prison after killing two people and trying to kill a third.
If convicted of Arthur's death, he would not face the death penalty.

Han said she doesn't know whether Gilbert is telling the truth, but as
Arthur's lawyer she is obligated to get Gilbert's statement before a
judge.

Jefferson County Circuit Judge Teresa Pulliam inherited the case when the
trial judge in Arthur's case retired, according to Presiding Jefferson
County Judge Scott Vowell.

(source: Tuscaloosa News)

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

Prosecutors will seek death penalty for suspect in 2007 Elmore County
slaying


Prosecutors will seek the death penalty against an Opelika man charged
with shooting and killing a 23-year-old father of 2 last August in
Millbrook.

Prosecutors claim Calvin McMillan, 19, shot and killed Bryan Martin of
Elmore County in a Wal-Mart parking lot last Aug. 29. A Montgomery man
charged with capital murder in the same crime will be tried separately,
said District Attorney Randall Houston.

Houston called the killing "one of the most cold-blooded acts I have seen
in more than 20 years as a prosecutor."

"If there is ever a case that merits the death penalty, this is it,"
Houston said. "Mr. Martin was gunned down in the parking lot of the
Millbrook Wal-Mart after he had gone inside to buy items his family
needed. He was loading diapers in his truck when Calvin McMillan came up
and shot him.

"How many times have you and I shopped at Wal-Mart? It could have been any
of us."

Investigators believe Martin died because McMillan and the co-defendant,
Rondarrell Williams, 29, wanted Martin's Ford truck. Both men have been in
the Elmore County Jail under no bonds since they were arrested the day
after the murder.

The night of the killing, Martin attended a Montgomery Biscuits baseball
game at Riverwalk Stadium and stopped by the store on his way home.
Prosecutors claim the men stalked the victim through the store, and
McMillan shot him in the parking lot.

McMillan's attorney, Kenny James of Wetumpka, did not return phone calls
made Thursday morning and Thursday afternoon.

Chip Cleveland of Prattville, who is Williams' attorney, said his client
wasn't involved in the murder.

"We look forward to having an opportunity to defend our case," Cleveland
said. "My client doesn't know Mr. McMillan. He went to the store to buy
computer speakers and baby wipes. There is absolutely no physical evidence
to connect my client to Mr. Martin's truck, no fingerprints, no saliva, no
hair samples, no DNA, not anything."

When Martin left the store and was getting into his truck, McMillan
allegedly approached him, first shooting him in the leg, Houston said.
Martin fell to the ground and McMillan shot him in the head, and then
drove off in the truck, Houston said.

Williams drove off in another vehicle.

Houston said the prosecution will present evidence to show that Williams
was involved in the killing.

Under Alabama law, a person can be charged with murder if he or she is
involved in the act that leads up to a person's death, Houston said.
Capital murder cases require special circumstances. Houston said he was
able to file capital charges because the murder was committed during a
robbery.

No trial date has been set, according to records at the Elmore County
Courthouse.

(source: Montgomery Advertiser)






USA:

Dead Army vaccine scientist eyed in anthrax probe


Federal prosecutors investigating the 2001 anthrax attacks were planning
to indict and seek the death penalty against a top Army microbiologist in
connection with anthrax mailings that killed five people. The scientist,
who was developing a vaccine against the deadly toxin, committed suicide
this week.

The scientist, Bruce E. Ivins, worked for the past 18 years at the
government's biodefense labs at Fort Detrick, Md. For more than a decade,
he worked to develop an anthrax vaccine that was effective even in cases
where different strains of anthrax were mixed, which made vaccines
ineffective, according to federal documents reviewed by the AP.

U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the
sensitivity of the ongoing grand jury investigation, said prosecutors were
closing in on Ivins, 62. They were planning an indictment that would have
sought the death penalty for the attacks, which killed 5 people, crippled
the postal system and traumatized a nation still reeling from the Sept. 11
attacks.

Authorities were investigating whether Ivins released the anthrax as a way
to test his vaccine, officials said. The Justice Department has not yet
decided whether to close the investigation, officials said, meaning it's
still not certain whether Ivins acted alone or had help. One official
close to the case said that decision was expected within days.

If the case is closed soon, one official said, that will indicate that
Ivins was the lone suspect. Ivins was "hounded" by aggressive FBI agents
who raided his home twice, said Dr. W. Russell Byrne, a colleague who
worked in the bacteriology division of the Fort Detrick research facility
for 15 years. Byrne said Ivins was forcefully removed from his job by
local police recently because of fears that he had become a danger to
himself or others. The investigation led to Ivins being hospitalized for
depression earlier this month, Byrne said.

He said he does not believe Ivins was behind the anthrax attacks.

Ivins died Tuesday at Frederick Memorial Hospital in Maryland. Tom Ivins,
a brother of the scientist, told The Associated Press that his other
brother, Charles, had told him that Bruce committed suicide and Tylenol
might have been involved. The Los Angeles Times, which first reported that
Ivins was under suspicion, said the scientist had taken a massive dose of
a prescription Tylenol mixed with codeine.

The Fort Detrick laboratory and its specialized scientists for years have
been at the center of the FBI's investigation of the anthrax mailings. In
late June, the government exonerated a colleague of Ivins', Steven
Hatfill. Hatfill's name has for years had been associated with the attacks
after investigators named him a "person of interest" in 2002.

Unusual behavior by Ivins was noted at Fort Detrick in the six months
following the anthrax mailings, when he conducted unauthorized testing for
anthrax spores outside containment areas at the infectious disease
research unit where he worked, according to an internal report. But the
focus long stayed on Hatfill.

Ivins was the co-author of numerous anthrax studies, including one on a
treatment for inhalation anthrax published in the July 7 issue of the
journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.

Henry S. Heine, a scientist who had worked with Ivins on inhalation
anthrax research at Fort Detrick, said he and others on their team have
testified before a federal grand jury in Washington that has been
investigating the anthrax mailings for more than a year. He declined to
comment on Ivins' death.

FBI vehicles with tinted windows had watched Ivins' home for a year,
neighbor Natalie Duggan, 16, said.

"They said, 'We're on official business,' " she said.

Tom Ivins said Friday that federal officials working on the anthrax case
questioned him about his brother a year and a half ago. "They said they
were investigating him," he said from Ohio, where he lives, in a CNN
interview.

The government paid Hatfill $5.82 million to settle a lawsuit contending
he was falsely accused and had been made a scapegoat for the crimes.

"We are not at this time making any official statements or comments
regarding this situation," said Debbie Weierman, a spokeswoman for the
FBI's Washington field office, which is investigating the anthrax attacks,
said Friday.

5 people died and 17 were sickened by anthrax powder in letters that were
mailed to lawmakers' Capitol Hill offices, TV networks in New York, and
tabloid newspaper offices in Florida. 2 postal workers in a Washington
mail facility, a New York hospital worker, a Florida photo editor and an
elderly Connecticut woman were killed.

(source: San Jose Mercury News)






MARYLAND:

Death penalty review----Our view: If it can't be administered fairly,
repeal the law


No criminal justice issue weighs more heavily on the consciences of
judges, juries and corrections officials than the responsibility for
imposing the ultimate penalty on defendants in capital cases. This week, a
commission appointed by Gov. Martin O'Malley opened hearings on whether
Maryland's death penalty law meets basic standards of fairness and freedom
from bias.

The commission will be able to draw on a large body of evidence suggesting
the current system is deeply flawed. Many studies have demonstrated
glaring disparities in the severity of sentences handed down to defendants
depending on their race and the race of their victims. This week, for
example, law professor David C. Baldus told the panel that none of the 5
convicted killers executed in Maryland since 1978, or the 5 currently on
death row, was sentenced to death for killing a black person. His
testimony echoed a 2003 study in Maryland that found defendants accused of
killing whites were three times more likely to receive death sentences
than those who killed non-whites. Some of the researchers who uncovered
these statistics started out believing that racial disparities in
sentencing could be eliminated by changes in the law. But many of them
eventually concluded the system can never render equal justice.

Last year, a similar commission in New Jersey found that its death penalty
didn't deter crime, was arbitrarily applied and protected the public no
better than sentences of life without parole. Maryland's panel must decide
whether officials here can have confidence in the fairness of the state's
death penalty sentences. They may find that no amount of tinkering will
make capital punishment accord with the principle of equal justice. In
that case, they should call on the General Assembly to abolish it and
replace it with life without parole, and Mr. O'Malley should help make the
case. Whether lawmakers would be persuaded to do so remains to be seen.
But at least they wouldn't be able to claim they didn't know what the
right thing to do was.

(source: Editorial, Baltimore Sun)






CALIFORNIA:

Jury orders death penalty in woman's stabbing death----Killer met the
victim when she got off a train in Fullerton. He took her to a trailer
near a church and tried to rape her.


After deliberating less than an hour, an Orange County jury Thursday
ordered the death penalty for a registered sex offender who fatally
stabbed a woman inside a trailer near a Fullerton church.

Steven Carl Evans, 61, who has spent his life in and out of custody, was
convicted earlier this month in the August 2003 murder and sexual assault
of Jeanette Elias, 24, of Sylmar. He is scheduled to be formally sentenced
Oct. 24.

Evans met Elias when she got off a train in Fullerton. He took her to a
trailer that was parked near a church, where authorities say he tried to
rape her and stabbed her more than 20 times before fleeing to his parents'
home in Los Angeles County.

(source: Los Angeles Times)






ARKANSAS:

Jury: Gwathney guilty of capital murders----Sentencing phase waived;
victims family asks state not to pursue death penalty


A Marianna man who killed 3 Lee County residents in 2007 will now spend
the rest of his life in state prison.

On Wednesday, a jury of 12 Lee County residents found Gordan Randall
Gwathney, 47, of Marianna, guilty of 3 counts of capital murder in the
Feb. 13, 2007, deaths of his mother-in-law, Sylvia Reeves, 51, along with
her parents J.O. Mitchell, 81, and Evelyn Mitchell, 79, who lived with her
in their rural Lee County home on Highway 261, south of Palestine. The
jury also returned guilty verdicts on charges for the attempted capital
murder of Travis Reeves and attempted 1st-degree murder of former St.
Francis County deputy Tracy Jackson.

Gwathney was sentenced to 3 consecutive terms of life in prison without
the possibility of parole for the capital murder convictions and 20 years
in prison, to run consecutively, on each of the charges of attempted
murder. Prosecutors had been seeking the death penalty, but family members
decided overnight that they wanted the death penalty to be waived.

Circuit Judge L.T. Simes opened this mornings proceedings saying, "The
family has agreed and asked the state not to pursue the death penalty, and
the court approves. In addition, the parties have agreed on the
punishment," said Simes.

A member of the family spoke on the decision and said that they felt the
sentences handed down were sufficient.

"With the appeal process that takes place when the death penalty is the
sentence, we felt like the 3 life sentences without parole together with
the 40 years was sufficient," said Hollis Mitchell, brother of Sylvia
Reeves and son of James and Evelyn Mitchell.

"We are not opposed to the death penalty, but in our situation we felt we
went with the right decision," he said. "We believe the verdict was
absolutely correct, and we were relieved. When the verdict was announced,
we cried with relief, we really did. Now we are just going to try to go on
with our lives. As far as he is concerned, we will be diligent with making
sure he is serving like he should," said Mitchell.

"There is never going to be actual closure. We've lost loved ones we will
never see or speak to again, at least until we get to heaven," he said.
"We are just glad this is over."

It took the jury more than five hours to deliberate, and according to
Prosecutor Fletcher Long, some in the Lee County Courthouse were unnerved
by the amount of time taken by the jury. Long said he was not one of
those, citing the gravity of the crimes that Gwathney was accused of
committing and the sentences the jury was considering.

"I had some people come up to me who were concerned about the fact that it
took the jury 5 or so hours to come back with their verdict, but that was
not an issue for me," said Long. "Any time you have a case like this one,
I would expect the jurors to take their time and weigh all of the issues
before them before making a decision. I think the jury was just trying to
be conscientious and look at all of the evidence. In the end, I believe
there was never a doubt about the verdict, and they reached the logical
conclusion."

Simes also praised the jurors for their patience before excusing them this
morning.

Gwathneys trial began last week, and jurors heard testimony from his
estranged wife, Lisa Reeves and her brother Travis Reeves, who was injured
during a gunfight with Gwathney. Gwathney also testified during the trial
and said that he did not remember anything regarding the incident or his
flight towards the Mexican border before his arrest in Laredo, Texas. The
defense also presented testimony from a mental health expert who testified
that Gwathney suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder following his
service in the military.

Long expressed frustration with the fact that the defense was able to find
paid professionals who would testify that Gwathney's mental state placed
him in a position where he did not remember killing 3 people or taking
part in a gun fight.

"The most frustrating thing in this entire case, for me, was the fact that
you can go out and hire or buy paid professionals to come in, and under
these circumstances, testify that a man did this and could not remember
anything about it," Long said. "The fact that you can pay someone and get
that type of testimony in an attempt to influence a jury is a sad
commentary on the state of things," said Long.

Simes told Gwathney and his attorneys they have 30 days to file an appeal.

(source: Times-Herald)