[Deathpenalty] death penalty news---US MIL., GA., NEB.

[Rick Halperin]

Mar. 23



US MILITARY:

Prosecutors: Rape and murder case against ex-soldier belongs in civilian
court


The rape and murder case against a former Fort Campbell soldier belongs in
civilian court, not the military's court-martial system, federal
prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said in court filings that former 101st Airborne Pfc. Steven
D. Green was properly discharged from the military before being charged as
a civilian with raping and killing an Iraqi girl and killing her family in
2006.

"He received a discharge certificate, a final accounting of pay was made,
and contrary to his assertions, he successfully completed Ft. Campbell's
clearing process for outgoing service members," assistant U.S. attorneys
Marisa Ford and Brian Skaret wrote.

In 88 pages of motions filed late Friday night, federal prosecutors also
argued that the decision to seek the death penalty for Green is valid and
that the case is supported by evidence.

Green, 22, of Midland, Texas, faces a possible death sentence if convicted
on 16 charges that include premeditated murder and aggravated sexual
assault. He pleaded not guilty in November 2006. Four other soldiers
pleaded guilty or were convicted for their roles in targeting the girl
from a checkpoint near Mahmoudiya, a village 20 miles (32 kilometers)
south of Baghdad, and helping rape and kill her.

2 of the soldiers testified they took turns raping the girl while Green
shot and killed her mother, father and younger sister, and that Green
raped the girl and shot her.

Green's attorneys in February challenged his indictment and prosecutors'
decision to seek the death penalty if he is convicted on a number of
grounds.

The attorneys argued that the government does not have the authority to
prosecute Green in civilian court for acts committed in a war zone.

The Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act allows prosecutors to try
military personnel in federal court if they are no longer in the service
and charged for a crime punishable by at least a year in prison. Green
offered to re-enlist in the Army and face a court-martial for the rape and
murder, but was turned down, defense attorneys said in the motion.

Green's lawyers say he faces a much harsher punishment if convicted than
his alleged coconspirators received in military court. A soldier charged
as an accessory received 5 years, while the others' sentences ranged from
90 to 110 years.

Ford and Skaret said those soldiers were charged as principals, not the
actual killer, and received appropriate sentences of 90 to 110 years as
part of their plea agreements. All are eligible for parole in 10 years.

The defense claims discharging Green before he was criminally charged in
the military system violated his due process rights. They cite testimony
that Green reported his involvement to his commanding sergeant twice and
was instructed to leave the military.

Another defense motion claims Green was improperly discharged from the
Army, due to procedural errors, and should still subject to the military
justice system. Green was discharged from the military for psychiatric
reasons before allegations surfaced in 2006 of U.S. involvement in the
rape and murders.

Ford and Skaret said Green was properly released from military service and
that federal courts have generally shied away from disputes involving the
military's discharge and retention procedures.

Even though Green tried to re-enlist, the Army had no duty to accept him
and he had no legal right to be in the Army, Ford and Skaret said. Ford
and Skaret said Green had not shown his personality disorder was corrected
when he tried to re-enlist.

"Furthermore, the Army was not bound to accept his reenlistment for the
sole purpose of trying him by court-martial," Ford and Skaret wrote.

Green had been honorably discharged from the military with psychiatric
problems when allegations surfaced of U.S. military involvement in the
March 12, 2006, slayings. He was arrested that July as a civilian, while
visiting family in North Carolina.

Ford and Skaret also responded to Green's claims that the federal death
penalty process and methods were unconstitutional, saying the evidence
warrants seeking a death sentence, the federal death penalty is
procedurally sound and that Green is ineligible to attack lethal injection
because he is not currently sentenced to death.

(source: Associated Press)






GEORGIA:

Georgia House Approves Split Jury Death Penalties, Senate Overturns


The Georgia House of Representatives approved an amended bill Wednesday,
March 20, 2008, that would allow a non-unanimous jury to hand down the
death penalty. However, the Georgia Senate successfully stripped the
controversial amendment on Thursday, March 21, 2008.

SB 145, sponsored by State Sen. Preston Smith (R-Rome), started out as
legislation that would have allowed District Attorneys to seek a life
without parole sentence in aggravated murder cases without first having to
seek the death penalty.

But at the last minute, Majority Whip Barry Fleming (R-Harlem) offered an
amendment that allows for judges to impose the death penalty when a jury
is split 10-2.

Flemings amendment is very similar to his own legislation, HB 185, which
passed the House last year but died in a Senate Committee.

The move to tack on the amendment was not suggested by the District
Attorneys but was a product of political fighting between the House and
Senate, Sara Totonchi of the Southern Center for Human Rights, wrote in an
email obtained by Atlanta Progressive News.

The amendment came after public commitments were made to Smith that SB 145
would not be amended on the House floor, Totonchi said.

Speaker of the House Glenn Richardson (R-Hiram), in an unusual move, went
to the well in support of the amended bill and "publicly claimed" his
support "was payback to the Senate for tampering with his car tax bill [on
Tuesday]," Totonchi said.

Richardson argued such an amendment "would prevent heinous killers from
escaping a punishment they deserve," according to the Atlanta
Journal-Constitution newspaper (AJC).

Four Republicans, including Reps. Edward Lindsey, Mark Hatfield, Robert
Mumford, and Ed Setzler as well as Democratic Rep. Stacey Abrams, all
spoke on the House floor against the amendment.

"Today we're imposing a new line at 10, next year it'll be nine, next year
it will be eight, next year it'll be zero, because we've chosen no longer
to trust juries," Lindsey said, according to the AJC. "Well I'm here to
tell you that that is an enormous step backwards for our civil society."

The House approved the amendment 100-66 and then the amended bill 112-55.

But the Senate, led by Sens. Smith, Kasim Reed (D-Atlanta), and Seth Harp
(R-Midland), successfully removed the non-unanimous jury language from the
bill.

According to another e-mail from Totonchi sent to APN, Harp described
departing from the centuries-old practice of unanimous juries as creating
"a hole the size a battleship could drive through" in Georgias death
penalty statute.

The Senate voted 44-7 to remove the controversial language and the bill
returns to the House to agree or disagree with the change. Everything is
going to be done to keep SB 145 from going to Conference Committee,
Totonchi said.

If this bill becomes law, Georgia would join only 4 states in allowing
death sentences from non-unanimous juries: Alabama, Delaware, Florida, and
Montana.

The General Assembly is in recess for the next week.

STATE SENATE APPROVES INDIGENT DEFENSE FUNDING REFORM

The State Senate on Thursday also approved HB 1245, which would give
counties more influence over the statewide public defender system and
would set a fresh cost-sharing system for certain death penalty cases, by
a vote of 38-11.

The bill also prevents senior judges from participating in capital cases
and provides that local counties pay some defense fees when private
attorneys represent those on trial in indigent death cases.

In addition, the bill would change current law to extend the time a
defendant has to see an attorney after making a request to 5 business
days. Current law provides for only 72 hours after the arrest.

The State House can choose to accept or reject the Senate amendments when
representatives take up the legislation again, according to the AJC.

EYEWITNESS ID REFORM NO GO

Legislation aimed at reforming eyewitness identification procedures in
Georgia is dead for this Session, Rep. Stephanie Stuckey Benfield
(D-Decatur) told Atlanta Progressive News Thursday. APN has followed
Benfields legislative hearings on the issue this Session.

Benfield, who crafted HB 997 and HR 1071, said Majority Whip Fleming held
the legislation in the House Rules Committee and wanted changes in
language that would have effectively gutted the bill.

Speaker of the House Richardson was also apparently angry with Benfield
for not supporting his tax proposals, Benfield said. Richardson had also
proposed a statewide sales tax to replace income taxes.

Fleming, who Benfield described as "stubborn" on the issue, is vacating
his House seat and running for US Congress in the fall.

If she is reelected this year she will bring back her legislation on
eyewitness identification reform next Session, Benfield said.

(source: Jonathan Springston is a Senior Staff Writer for Atlanta
Progressive News)






NEBRASKA:

LEGISLATURE TO DISCUSS DEATH PENALTY


THE NEBRASKA LEGISLATURE IS EXPECTED TO DISCUSS THE DEATH PENALTY THIS
WEEK. ON TUESDAY, LAWMAKERS WILL DEBATE WHETHER TO REPLACE THE DEATH
PENALTY WITH A LIFE SENTENCE WITHOUT PAROLE.

THE PRIORITY BILL BY SENATOR ERNIE CHAMBERS WAS ADVANCED BY THE JUDICIARY
COMMITTEE LAST MONTH. THIS WILL BE CHAMBERS LAST CHANCE TO REPEAL THE
DEATH PENALTY. BECAUSE OF TERM LIMITS, THIS IS HIS LAST SESSION.

THE DISCUSSION COMES ON THE HEELS OF LAST MONTH'S DECISION BY THE STATE
SUPREME COURT, WHICH DEEMS THE ELECTRIC CHAIR, NEBRASKA'S ONLY FORM OF
EXECUTION, AS UNCONSTITUTIONAL.

IF THE BILL PASSES, CHAMBERS WILL NEED 30 VOTES TO OVERRIDE THE EXPECTED
VETO FROM GOVERNOR DAVE HEINEMAN.

(source: KOTA TV News)