Jan. 14 ALABAMA: Alabama is scheduled to put James Harvey Callahan to death this week James Harvey Callahan is scheduled to die Thursday. But courts have been asked to step in to spare Callahan from being put to death for the 1982 murder of Rebecca Suzanne Howell of Jacksonville. It's our view that governments ought not be in the business, period, of setting the timetable for killers like Callahan to go to their graves. We believe those who commit the worst offenses and pose the greatest threat to society should spend the rest of their days in prison, yes. But we believe the ultimate length of those inmates' sentences -- i.e., the length of their lives -- is something best left to their maker. The Callahan case is an example of so much of what is wrong with the alternative, not just for defendants but for victims and their families, too. We as humans are simply not capable of dispensing perfect judgment. Callahan has been tried, convicted and sentenced to death twice for Howell's murder. Execution dates have been set and stayed. If his execution proceeds this week, 27 years will have passed between crime and punishment. And still there are questions. Not about Callahan's guilt or innocence, to be sure. Defense lawyers' latest attempt to postpone the execution doesn't argue Callahan did not commit this crime. But it did raise intriguing questions that should be answered before Callahan is put to death. Before sitting in judgment at the trial, then-Calhoun County Circuit Judge Sam Monk showed up for part of Callahan's interrogation by police. Monk talked with Callahan about his constitutional rights; the judge told him he could talk with an attorney but he didn't have to. Callahan made incriminating statements during the interrogation. Monk later ruled they were admissible and rejected defense lawyers' efforts to get him not to preside at Callahan's trial. Prosecutors say Monk's actions have not been viewed as a problem by courts. Indeed, the Alabama Supreme Court refused Tuesday to block Callahan's execution. The case now heads to the U.S. Supreme Court. It's worth a look. Circuit judges don't routinely take part in police interrogations of the defendants who later appear before them. This is not to say Monk didn't have good intentions. More likely, his actions illustrate the problem with rendering justice in savage crimes that most outrage the community. These are the moments that demand the most restraint from police and prosecutors, but they are often the very cases that invite authorities to go the extra step -- and sometimes a step too far -- in pursuit of the perpetrator. What happened here suggests judges aren't immune to the temptation. Whether Callahan dies this week or not, his case again brings into focus the fundamental problem with our society inflicting a mortal punishment: We're mortals ourselves. (source: Editorial, Birmingham News) *********** Montgomery foundation that defends death row inmates and juveniles hit by Madoff case----Group that defends inmates won't get major donor's funds The Equal Justice Initiative, a Montgomery-based organization that defends Death Row inmates and juvenile offenders, says it will be harder to carry out its mission because one of its major donors has lost funds to Bernard Madoff's alleged Ponzi scheme. New York-based JEHT (Justice, Equality, Human dignity and Tolerance) Foundation was gutted by Madoff's New York-based operation, according to EJI. JEHT is a national philanthropic organization that provided funds for 25 % of EJI's budget. Madoff, 70, was arrested last month at his Manhattan apartment and charged with securities fraud for allegedly using billions of dollars from new investors to pay older ones. Madoff told authorities that investors may have lost $50 billion, prosecutors say. "The funds of the donors to the Foundation, Jeanne Levy-Church and Kenneth Levy-Church, were managed by Bernard L. Madoff," JEHT president and CEO Robert Crane said in a statement on the foundation's Web site. EJI was expecting to get funds from JEHT last month to cover some of its 2008 operations, but JEHT has stopped making grants and will shut down at the end of this month. Much of its money went to efforts promoting criminal and juvenile justice reforms. "The timing of this major loss of funding could not be worse," said EJI Director Bryan Stevenson in a statement on his organization's Web site. "We're facing an unprecedented demand for help, our resources already were stretched thin, and we have no opportunity to recover the lost support." (source: Birmingham News) FLORIDA: Gassing mentally ill inmates is out----A judge rules that it qualifies as cruel and unusual punishment. 2 mentally ill inmates suffered unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment at the hands of Florida State Prison officials who disciplined them with pepper spray, tear gas and other chemical agents, a judge has ruled. But the same punishment was appropriate for four other prisoners who sued the Department of Corrections on similar grounds, U.S. District Judge Timothy Corrigan of Jacksonville wrote in a lengthy order finalized Monday after a five-day bench trial in September. Corrigan made the distinction based on the mental condition of the individual inmates at the time they were disciplined. The order means the department can no longer use chemical agents on prisoners who lack the capacity to follow orders or control their behavior, said Jacksonville attorney Buddy Schulz, who represented the inmates. "It's significant because it's the first time a federal judge has found this type of use of force unconstitutional as it relates to seriously mentally ill inmates who are incapable of conforming to the rules of the prisons," Schulz said. Corrigan gave lawyers for the state until Feb. 10 to come up with terms of an injunction and Schulz's team until Feb. 24 to voice objections. He directed both sides to work together, and Schulz said he's hopeful for a dialogue for reform with Corrections Secretary Walter McNeil, who has shown interest in prison mental-health issues. Lawyers for the prison system didn't return phone calls Tuesday. Constitutionality was the only issue at trial. Individual claims by the prisoners had been resolved previously. Corrigan found that the use of chemical agents against recalcitrant prisoners isn't by itself unconstitutional. But he wrote that such force loses its disciplinary purpose and "becomes brutality" when inmates are gassed who cannot control their actions because of mental illness. Former Florida State Prison Warden Ron McAndrew, now a corrections consultant, called the ruling a vindication of mental-health policies he had in place in the 1990s. "It's a great success for the people of Florida in terms of reducing the torture of inmates in Florida's prisons, especially those that are mentally disturbed," McAndrew said. He testified at trial that his policies were abandoned when he was replaced in 1999 by James Crosby, leading to hundreds more gassings. Crosby later became corrections secretary, then went to prison himself for taking kickbacks. (source: The Florida Times-Union) NORTH CAROLINA: Death penalty curb debated----Plan would shield the mentally ill A coalition of advocates for the mentally ill and a state Superior Court judge spoke in favor Tuesday of legislation that would exclude the severely mentally ill from the death penalty. A draft handed to lawmakers Tuesday would allow a judge to determine whether a defendant suffered from severe mental illness at the time of the killing. Such a defendant would still face a murder trial, but the worst punishment would be life without parole. Advocates say the proposed law would apply only to those with severe mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, or those with severe brain injuries. People whose criminal acts were the result of drug or alcohol abuse would not be eligible. The legislation could be taken up this year. Orange County Superior Court Judge Carl Fox, a former prosecutor, said the proposed law could save the state money by avoiding capital murder trials for the severely mentally ill. Capital trials are more expensive because they require an additional defense attorney and defense experts. North Carolina juries decide during the sentencing phase of a capital trial whether mental illness is a mitigating factor. Connecticut is the only state to prohibit executing the mentally ill. Nearly 20 other states incorporate similar language in their statutes that set up the standards for being found not guilty by reason of insanity. The draft legislation would allow those on death row to petition the courts to determine whether they were severely mentally ill when they committed the crime. Gerda Stein, a spokeswoman for the Center for Death Penalty Litigation, which handles many death row appeals, said few inmates likely would get a hearing because the evidence would be hard to gather years after convictions. Peg Dorer, director of the N.C. Conference of District Attorneys, said the group has not taken a position on the legislation. But she said it gives defendants too many opportunities to argue severe mental illness. "It's just dragging the whole system down," she said. Dick Adams, a co-founder of the N.C. Victim Assistance Network and a death penalty supporter, said the proposal was part of a larger scheme to chip away at the death penalty until it was gone. (source: The News & OPbserver) MISSISSIPPI: Miss. woman's death row appeal denied The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear the appeal of a woman sentenced to death for her role in the killing of 2 people. Lisa Jo Chamberlin was 1 of 2 people charged in the 2004 deaths of Linda Heintzelman and Heintzelmans boyfriend, Vernon Hulett, both of Hattiesburg. Their bodies were found inside a freezer at an abandoned farm in Russell County, Kan., by law officers who were searching for drugs. Chamberlin was convicted in 2006 and sentenced to death. The Mississippi Supreme Court upheld her conviction in 2008. The nation's high court on Monday declined without comment to hear her appeal. The other defendant, Roger Lee Gillett, was convicted and sentenced to death in 2007. (source: Clarion-Ledger) ********************** Holder stands trial in February The capital murder trial of Carl Holder, charged in a home invasion slaying, is scheduled for Feb. 5 in Jones County Circuit Court. Holder is charged with the 2008 home invasion murder of 28-year-old Frederico Ramirez Perez of Laurel. Prosecutors say Perez was killed when he confronted 5 men who broke into his home. Others arrested in the same incident were Deshawn McDonald, Joseph Spivey, Victor Moffett and Tony Williamson, all of Laurel. McDonald, Spivey and Moffett are changed with accessory after the fact. Williamson is charged with capital murder. Trial dates are pending. (source: Associated Press) USA: CATHOLIC BISHOPS BACK NEW EFFORT TO END USE OF DEATH PENALTY IN US A newly formed Catholic organization, backed by the US bishops' conference but independent from it, will seek to end the use of the death penalty in the United States. The Catholic Mobilizing Network to End the Death Penalty, which will officially be launched on January 25, "will employ all available media to reach archdioceses and dioceses, Catholic colleges and universities, as well as Catholic high schools and elementary schools," according to a press release. ---- January 13, 2009----FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Catholic Mobilizing Network to End the Death Penalty Collaborates with U.S. Bishops, Abolition Groups The launch of the Catholic Mobilizing Network to End the Death Penalty will be announced at a news conference on Sunday, January 25, at 11 a.m., at the Holiday Inn Harrisburg East, 4751 Lindle Road, Harrisburg, Pa., at the conclusion of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty training conference, which is being held at that location. John Carr, Executive Director of the Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), will participate in the news conference. Also scheduled to participate are Sister Helen Prejean, CSJ, author of the book "Dead Man Walking" on which the feature film of the same name is based, and Diann Rust-Tierney, Executive Director of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. The Catholic Mobilizing Network, an independent entity, will collaborate with the USCCB and established abolition organizations such as the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, New Jersey Campaign Against the Death Penalty, and Murder Victims for Reconciliation. Its goal is to inform and activate Catholics about capital punishment in the United States and why its use must be ended. Building on the U.S. bishops' statements on ending the use of the death penalty, it will employ all available media to reach archdioceses and dioceses, Catholic colleges and universities, as well as Catholic high schools and elementary schools. The media the Catholic Mobilizing Network will use include plays, walks, vigils, the Internet social site Facebook, and English and Spanish educational materials about the death penalty posted on USCCB's web site, www.usccb.org. (source: Catholic Mobilizing Network to End the Death Penalty (USCCB) ) ************** Supreme Court hears death row appeal involving right to lawyer The Supreme Court took up a Louisiana death row prisoner's appeal Tuesday in a case that explores how a defendant's constitutional right to a lawyer plays out during police encounters. At stake is the scope of a 1986 case that bars police from initiating an interrogation after a defendant asserts his right to counsel at an arraignment. That ruling, Michigan v. Jackson, built on the 1966 Miranda v. Arizona, forbidding police from questioning a suspect who invokes his right to remain silent and have a lawyer present. The justices appeared split over what a defendant must do to be shielded from pressure to talk. Jesse Jay Montejo was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of Lewis Ferrari, a dry cleaner operator shot to death during an apparent robbery at his home in 2005. Montejo said police violated his Sixth Amendment right to counsel by interrogating him without his lawyer and pressuring him to write a letter of "confession" and apology to Ferrari's wife, which was introduced at his trial. The Louisiana Supreme Court rejected the appeal, saying a defendant must take specific steps to "accept" a court-appointed lawyer to be covered by the 1986 ruling. Montejo was not asked at a hearing whether he accepted a lawyer. Lawyer Donald Verrilli, representing Montejo, said a defendant should not have to tell a judge he has accepted the counsel to be shielded from police interrogation. Kathryn Landry, for Louisiana, said a defendant should be required to make a clear assertion of the right to counsel to stop police officers from trying to get him to talk. Liberal-leaning justices, including Ruth Bader Ginsburg, suggested such a rule may be unfair to defendants who are generally nave about state procedures. "He had just been told by a judicial officer, 'I'm appointing counsel for you,' " she said. "How does he know that to protect his right to counsel, he has to make some kind of affirmative assertion?" Some conservatives, including Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Antonin Scalia, suggested they were sympathetic to Louisiana's case and that the 1986 case should be narrowly interpreted. Scalia and Justice Samuel Alito raised the possibility that the 1986 precedent be outright reversed. Justice Anthony Kennedy, often the swing vote when the court is ideologically split, told Landry, "I don't know what functional purpose is served by your position that he has to request the lawyer at the arraignment, especially when he's not versed in the law, he's in this stressful situation." (source: USA Today)
