Feb. 22
OKLAHOMA:
Oklahoma death row inmate moves step closer to execution more than 36 years
after killing ---- Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt asks for execution
date for Michael B. Selsor after the U.S. Supreme Court upholds his sentence
for killing a Tulsa convenience store clerk in 1975.
An Oklahoma killer who was first given the death penalty 36 years ago moved
closer Tuesday to execution.
The U.S. Supreme Court declined without comment to hear an appeal from Michael
B. Selsor, who was convicted of killing a Tulsa convenience store clerk in
1975.
Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt asked the Oklahoma Court of Criminal
Appeals to set an execution date for Selsor.
Selsor, 57, was given the death penalty for killing Clayton Chandler in January
1976.
However, Oklahoma's death penalty law was ruled unconstitutional later that
year, and Selsor's death penalty was modified to life in prison.
Selsor's convictions were later overturned when an appeals court found that he
hadn't received adequate legal counsel.
Selsor was tried again in 1998 and received the death penalty under the revised
capital punishment statute. His state and federal appeals have been
unsuccessful.
Selsor claimed in his latest federal appeal that he couldn't be given the death
penalty under the revised statute for a crime he committed under the one
declared unconstitutional.
Moreover, he argued that it was unconstitutional double jeopardy to be given
the death penalty after his 1st death sentence was modified to life.
However, in a 90-page opinion issued last year that cited numerous Supreme
Court precedents, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Selsor's conviction
and death sentence. The Supreme Court on Monday declined to review the 10th
Circuit's decision.
(source: NewsOK.com)
CALIFORNIA:
3rd Suspect Charged In Slaying Of North Hollywood Man, Death Penalty Possible
A 3rd suspect has been charged in the shooting death of the 24-year-old man who
died trying to rescue his 68-year-old grandfather from a trio of bandits.
Edwin Alexander Bonilla, 27, is scheduled for arraignment Tuesday afternoon on
a slew of charges stemming from the January 9 murder of Danilo Estuardo
Morales, including murder, attempted murder, assault with a firearm and
2nd-degree robbery. CNS reports the murder charge includes the special
circumstance allegation of murder during the commission of a robbery.
2 other suspects, 22-year-old Evin Adonis Ortiz and 29-year-old Rene Ramirez,
were charged January 17 with the same crimes. Ramirez has been identified as
the alleged gunman and has also been charged with possession of a firearm by a
felon.
Morales rushed outside on the evening of January 9 after he heard his
grandfather, Manuel Flores, calling for help and the sound of a gunshot in the
driveway of Morales' North Hollywood home in the 8100 block of Coldwater Canyon
Avenue. He chased the suspects as they fled in their white Mitsubishi Montero,
and one of the men, allegedly Ramirez, opened fire on him. Morales was struck
in the head and pronounced dead at a local hospital.
The criminals stole Flores' wallet and jewelry but left him unharmed.
Prosecutors will later decide whether the death penalty is warranted for the 3
suspects.
(source: LAist)
NEVADA:
Child murder suspect begged for death penalty, police say
A registered sex offender accused of killing his girlfriend's son begged for
the death penalty and asked Las Vegas Metro police detectives to shoot him
before he was taken into custody.
That's according to the arrest report for 35-year-old Cory Simmons, who was
charged with murder by child abuse after the toddler died Feb. 16 at University
Medical Center.
The Clark County Coroner's Office on Tuesday identified the boy as 2-year-old
Orlando Andre Morris Jr. The cause of death has not been reported.
Prior to his arrest, Simmons told police he was babysitting Morris and the
boy's 2 sisters while their mother, Denisha Jackson, was at work.
Originally from Illinois, Simmons said he met Jackson online and moved to Las
Vegas in January to live with her and her children at their home on Rose Tree
Lane, near Mount Hood Street and Lake Mead Boulevard.
Police later learned Simmons was arrested for murder in Illinois in 2003, but
the charges were dismissed. He was also registered as a sex offender after
being convicted of attempted criminal sex abuse of a person under 17 in 2008.
According to Simmons' arrest report, Morris was put to bed with his sisters
just before 10 p.m. Simmons said he then picked the boy up and took him out of
the room.
The boy later started to cry, according to police, although Simmons could not
explain why he removed Morris from the bed or what made him cry.
"Simmons would not maintain eye contact and was shaking uncontrollably while
answering questions," police wrote in the report.
Simmons maintained that the boy started to choke after he was given chocolate
milk, police said, but the interview was cut short when Simmons asked to have
an attorney present during questioning.
Doctors at University Medical Center noted in the arrest report that Simmons'
story was not consistent with what would cause a toddler to stop breathing
after drinking liquid.
The doctor also observed anal bleeding on Morris' body, although no immediate
signs of trauma were found, according to police.
As detectives continued their investigation, they noted that a plate of food
and a sex toy were found in a crib in the master bedroom.
According to the report, Simmons asked to speak with a detective again and
wanted to know what charges he was facing.
When he was told he wasn't under arrest, "Simmons responded by saying that if
he was going to be arrested he wanted to get the death penalty," according to
the report.
Simmons then changed his story, police said, and admitted that after feeding
the crying child chocolate milk and circus peanuts, he "put his right hand on
Orlando's throat and pressed down for ‘2 to 3 minutes.'"
When he removed his hand, the boy's arms were jerking by his sides and he threw
up, according to the arrest report.
When the interview ended, Simmons was arrested.
According to police, he denied touching Morris or the other children in a
sexual manner, but asked a detective "to shoot him several times and stated
that he wanted to get the death penalty repeatedly."
Simmons is due in court Wednesday morning.
(source: KVVU News)
OHIO:
Opening statements to begin in death penalty case
Opening statements are expected to get underway in Butler County in the trial
of a man charged with the murder of a 75-year old Middletown man.
The trial began Tuesday, as a jury was selected.
Police say 25-year old Victor Gantt killed Leroy Jones on May 2, 2011 by
hitting him in the head with an ax.
Police say the crime was a random act of violence.
"It's a compelling case because we are talking about an elderly man, they are a
vulnerable part of society," said Lisa Wells, legal analyst. "Everyone has had
a grandparent at some point and the idea that this can happen in what's
considered a safe neighborhood, not gang related, not drug related, that's very
scary."
Wells says the decision to prosecute a case for the death penalty is not easily
made and the jury is carefully selected.
"The juror member before they can be seated on the jury has to commit to the
fact that they'll consider mitigation evidence before determining a death
sentence," said Wells.
Wells has co-defended in a death penalty case in Kentucky. She says death
penalty cases aren't only emotionally challenging but also financially
draining. She says to prosecute, convict and go through any appeals process it
cost the state $1 million.
"Until you are one of those 12 people that is actually going to have to sign
your name to that and say this person should be put to death for their crime,
that is very real and something that will stick with them for the rest of their
lives," said Wells.
The Gantt murder trial is the 2nd capital punishment case in Butler County in
less than one year.
(source: Fox19 News)
***************
Jury seated in death penalty case
It took more than 10 hours, but a jury was finally seated Tuesday in the death
penalty trial of a Middletown man accused of beating an elderly man to death
with an ax last year.
A jury of 6 men and 6 women was empaneled just before 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Victor Gantt, 26, who last known address was on Roosevelt Boulevard, is charged
with aggravated murder, aggravated burglary, aggravated robbery and tampering
with evidence. If the jury finds him guilty, the 2nd phase of the trial will be
held to determine his fate. This is the 2nd capital case in less than 6 months
in Butler County.
Leroy Jones’ life was cut short when authorities said Gantt attacked him,
beating the 75-year-old man to death with an ax. The act was random, police
said, with Gantt breaking through a glass door, attacking Jones and then
trashing the house.
There might not have been a trial if Gantt’s attorney Melynda Cook succeeded in
one of her pre-trial motions. She asked Judge Keith Spaeth to declare a
criminal rule unconstitutional so her client could plead guilty but still have
a jury decide his punishment.
“The defendant faces a Catch 22: if he pleads guilty, he can present that plea
as a mitigating factor, but he forfeits his right to a sentencing jury and
faces a judicial panel that has historically imposed a high number of death
sentences,” she wrote. “But, if he maintains his not guilty plea, he preserves
his right to a sentencing jury, but forfeits his constitutional right for that
jury to consider his guilty plea as his possible strongest mitigation
evidence.”
Cook said in the past 10 years 3-judge panels who decide the penalty in cases
where the defendant pleads guilty have imposed the death penalty 60 percent of
the time. By contrast, juries have chosen death in 1 out of 10 sentences, she
said.
Spaeth denied the motion based on a body of case law, Assistant Prosecutor Brad
Burress said.
Cook’s law partner, Chris Pagan, said he filed motions like this numerous
times, when he was still defending death penalty clients. He even appealed the
issue to the Ohio and U.S. Supreme Courts but failed because the courts said it
wasn’t an appealable issue because the case hadn’t yet concluded. To preserve
the issue for appeal, his client would have to plead guilty and lose the
constitutional right to a jury trial, Pagan said.
The 6th District Court of Appeals was going to decide a case on this issue,
Pagan said, but the Ohio Supreme Court wouldn’t allow it.
(source: Middletown Journal)
UTAH:
'I Want to Live' examines the death penalty through music
When independent singer, songwriter and actress Nellie McKay saw the 1958 film
"I Want to Live," about Barbara Graham, the third woman to die in the gas
chamber at San Quentin Prison, she felt it would translate well onto the live
stage.
"It was an incredibly compelling movie to me and, although it was about
something that happened in 1955, the story and its issues are still relevant
today," McKay said during a phone call to The Park Record from the Indianapolis
Airport. "When you read the description of the movie, it's about a ' woman of
ill repute that hangs around seedy bars ' and although she was convicted of
murder, there was no physical evidence to prove it. All the evidence was
circumstantial."
The Park City Performing Arts Foundation will present Nellie McKay in "I Want
to Live" at the Eccles Center for the Performing Arts, 1750 Kearns Blvd., on
Saturday, Feb. 25, at 7:30 p.m.
After seeing actress Susan Hayward's Academy Award-winning portrayal of Graham
in the film, McKay's mind began working on the logistics of breaking down the
story into a live show.
Since McKay is a musician, she felt the performance should feature live music.
"I felt the music in the film was great anyhow," she said. "While a lot of
things made the movie, I thought the music made the film and I wanted to set
the tone of the performance with a band."
As Hayward did more than 50 years ago, McKay wanted Graham to live and breathe
again, and to do that, she spent months researching and studying Graham's life.
"I've been working on putting this together for a few years, and read anything
I could get my hands on," McKay said about the production that premiered last
summer in New York City.
Graham was convicted of murdering Mabel Monohan, a 64-year-old widow, during a
failed robbery, and until her execution, proclaimed her innocence.
During the research, McKay found similarities between herself and Graham
"I think she had a lazy streak in her, which was something I related to, but
she also had a smart mouth and problems with authority," McKay said. "I also
liked that, during her trial, she didn't display the anxiety that others would
have shown in her situation. In every photograph I had seen or statement she
wrote, there was a calm, collectiveness about her."
"I Want to Live" also reflects McKay's anti-death penalty philosophy, but she
wanted to present it to audiences in a palatable way.
"We needed to keep the political nuances and dark elements in, but gave them a
light-hearted touch, because if you can just get people to think about an
issue, that's an accomplishment in itself," McKay said. "In this day and age,
we are constantly bombarded with ideas and messages, and some people just close
their minds off. So, if this performance gets one person to think about society
and the death penalty, then that's wonderful, because when someone thinks long
and deep about something, they will eventually take action."
The production also helped McKay see the world through Graham's eyes.
"Telling a person's story with humor and music is probably one of the best ways
to be political," she said. "I feel like it's not my butt on stage, but hers
and I try to honor her and that puts pressure on me in a good way to try to do
her justice. The show is about her and everything that represents even those
people who are on the fringes of society who are neglected and don't fit in."
At an early age, McKay found the power of music and acting.
"I found it was a great way to get attention," she said. "With this show, we
tried to keep things thought-provoking, and true to her spirit."
The Park City Performing Arts Foundation will present Nellie McKay in "I Want
to Live" at the Eccles Center for the Performing Arts, 1750 Kearns Blvd., on
Saturday, Feb. 25, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets area $18 to $65 and available by
visiting www.ecclescenter.org.
(source: Park Record)
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