Aug. 24
LOUISIANA:
2 charged with murder in killings of Louisiana cops
Louisiana state police brought 1st-degree murder charges on Wednesday against 2
men being held in connection with a pair of shootings near New Orleans in which
2 police officers were killed, authorities said.
The new charges mean 24-year-old Brian Lyn Smith and 28-year-old Kyle David
Joekel could face the death penalty if convicted of killing deputies Brandon
Nielsen, 34, and Jeremy Triche, 27.
The officers were investigating the shooting and wounding of deputy Michael
Scott Boyington, 33, at around 5 a.m. on Aug. 16 in a Valero Energy Corp
refinery parking lot during a shift change. The shooter fled.
While investigating the shooting in LaPlace, about 25 miles west of New
Orleans, Nielsen and Triche ended up at a trailer park. St. John Parish Sheriff
Mike Tregre said that as they were interviewing 2 suspects, a 3rd person came
from a trailer and fatally shot the 2 officers and wounded deputy Jason Triche,
30.
Smith and Joekel were among 7 people charged last Friday in connection with the
parking lot shooting.
St. John Parish District Attorney Thomas Dailey said in a statement on Thursday
that his office would present the new charges against Smith and Joekel to the
grand jury. The next regularly scheduled session of the grand jury is Sept. 4.
The charge of murdering a police officer in the performance of duty
automatically carries the death penalty under Louisiana law, according to New
Orleans criminal defense lawyer Lindsay Larson. Capital cases must go before a
grand jury.
The seven people suspected of being involved in the shootings are in custody at
the St. Charles Parish Correctional Center. They include Terry Smith, 44,
Derrick Smith, 22, Chanel Skains, 37, Brittney Keith, 23, and Teniecha Bright,
21, who face charges as principals or accessories to murder or attempted
murder.
Authorities said Joekel was wanted in Kansas and Nebraska in connection with
threats against law enforcement officers.
(source: Reuters)
US MILITARY:
Army says Fort Hood suspect's beard has to go----Right to control the courtroom
is at issue.
Military lawyers Wednesday argued to an appeals court that a judge can tell
Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan to shave his beard before his capital murder trial
begins at Fort Hood.
Hasan was only days from the start of a trial on charges of killing 13 people
and wounding 32 when the appeals court intervened.
Col. Gregory Gross, who has fined Hasan $5,000 for violating an order to shave,
said that he would "force (Hasan) to be shaved if he doesn't do it voluntarily"
as the trial's "more critical stages" occur.
Hasan contends the beard is an expression of his religious faith. His attorneys
said in a motion that Hasan, who faces the death penalty if he is found guilty,
"is a practicing Muslim and has recently had a premonition that his death is
imminent. He does not wish to die without a beard as he believes not having a
beard is a sin."
Gross said he didn't doubt Hasan's sincerity but has stated, "It doesn't
matter. The rules are the rules. They apply to everybody."
Rules governing courts-martial grant judges the right to compel defendants "to
present a proper military appearance." In a pleading with the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the Armed Forces, government appellate lawyers used past cases to
show Gross was on solid ground. The Supreme Court grants judges the right to
bind and gag ???obstreperous??? defendants, remove them from the courtroom and
cite them for contempt. In one case, a defendant was handcuffed to prevent him
from undressing in a military court.
The government warned that allowing Hasan to defy the court's authority to
enforce Army regulations would encourage others.
Defense attorneys stated that his "desire to have a beard and refusal to shave
is a sincerely held religious belief" and that the order to shave "was not a
compelling" Army interest.
Military lawyers said in their 32-page petition that the judge's actions were
"the least restrictive way" to ensure Hasan's right to confront witnesses at
the trial. While Hasan cited the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in his
contempt hearings, military attorneys said the law doesn't undermine
regulations designed to maintain good order and discipline.
"I think the brief sets out the military's position that he's an officer held
to a higher standard," said St. Mary's University School of Law professor
Jeffrey Addicott, who noted soldiers on the jury may believe a bearded Hasan is
an adherent of radical Islam. "It's really a benefit to the defendant. The
nonverbal message is 'I'm an unrepentant Islamic extremist.'"
(source: San Antonio Express-News)
************************
Only Marine on military's death row has sentence overturned
A military appeals court has overturned the death sentence of Lance Cpl.
Kenneth G. Parker, who had been the only Marine on the military's death row,
according to court documents.
In 1995, Parker was sentenced to death after being convicted of two counts of
premeditated murder, and one count of armed robbery and kidnapping. The appeals
court threw out 1 of the 2 murder counts on Wednesday, and instead of the death
penalty, Parker will spend the rest of his life in prison.
The 1st murder took place during a night of drinking and talk of racial
tensions on March 26, 1992, according to court documents.
While a group of 6 African-American Marines talked at Camp Lejeune, N.C., a
rumor was circulating that a group of White Marines had tried to lynch an
African-American Marine on the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday.
A witness in legal proceedings testified that Parker said, "We are going to get
us a white boy tonight."
The men left the base and traveled to nearby Jacksonville, where Parker,
carrying a loaded shotgun, picked out white Marine Lance Cpl. Rodney Page and
shot him in the upper abdomen after he begged for his life.
In another killing several nights later, Parker allegedly shot and killed Lance
Cpl. Christopher James, the husband of a woman having an affair with a fellow
Marine, with the same weapon. It was in that case in which the court found
numerous problems with the trial judge's improper admission of evidence and
other errors.
"The appellant's premeditated murder of LCpl Page, his fellow Marine, was
carried out with chilling callousness and depravity," Judge J.A. Maksym wrote
in the opinion. "We have upset aspects of this verdict and will set aside the
death penalty due to numerous and substantive procedural and legal failures at
trial, some leading to constitutional deprivation. Yet no error by the trial
judge below should distract us from the overwhelming evidence of the
appellant's guilt as to the robbery and murder of LCpl Page. This was truly a
heinous killing and, minus the errors cited above, assuming the death penalty
was awarded, we would have affirmed."
According to the Death Penalty Information Center, 5 men remain on the
military's death row at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. The last military execution took
place on April 13, 1961, when U.S. Army Private John A. Bennett was hanged
after being convicted of rape and attempted murder.
(source: NBC News)
VIRGINIA:
Chantilly native Justin Wolfe's death sentence overturned by federal
court----Wolfe was on Death Row for more than a decade
The 2002 capital murder sentencing of Chantilly native Justin Wolfe - who has
been sitting on death row for more than a decade - has been overturned, once
again, by a federal court.
On Aug. 16, a 3-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit
ruled Wolfe's 2002 murder trial was tainted by the prosecution's withholding of
evidence, and ruled his conviction should be vacated.
The same conclusion was previously reached by Judge Raymond A. Jackson of the
U.S. District Court in Norfolk, who in 2011 vacated Wolfe's murder conviction
and death sentence on grounds he was denied constitutional rights. The judge
ordered the Commonwealth of Virginia to "either retry him within 120 days or
release him unconditionally from custody," according to court records.
"But the state appealed that ruling and Justin still sits on death row today,"
said Wolfe's mother, Terri Steinberg, last week. "The Commonwealth has 2 weeks
from the date of the recent decision to decide if it will appeal again."
A 1999 graduate of Chantilly High School, Wolfe was convicted in 2002 of
ordering the 2001 killing of Daniel Robert Petrole Jr., a community college
student and Centreville High School graduate. The slaying exposed a massive
drug ring that supplied a large segment of Northern Virginia with high-grade
marijuana.
Petrole supplied Wolfe and others with multiple pounds of marijuana on a
regular basis, according to testimony at Wolfe's 2002 trial. A Prince William
County jury convicted Wolfe primarily on the words of another former Chantilly
student, Owen Merton Barber IV.
According to court documents and testimony, Barber gunned down Petrole after
stalking him for more than an hour. As Petrole parked his car in front of his
newly-purchased townhouse in the Braemar community of Bristow in Prince William
County, Barber walked up to the passenger side of Petrole's car and fired his
weapon into the victim. Barber pleaded guilty and received a life sentence,
instead of the death penalty, for testifying against Wolfe.
According to court records, police found nearly 50 pounds of marijuana, more
than $130,000 in cash, a large quantity of Ecstasy pills, several weapons and
body armor in Petrole's house. They also found a list of people who owed
Petrole money, including Wolfe.
Wolfe maintained his innocence in Petrole's killing, although he also was
convicted of several drug and weapons charges. He briefly fled the area after
Petrole's death, and later claimed he was scared of receiving drug charges as
police investigated the killing. He then turned himself in to police, hoping to
persuade prosecutors he had nothing to do with the killing.
"He said to me, 'Mom, they think I had something to do with Danny's death,'"
Steinberg said. "He said to me, 'I have to clear my name.'"
In court, Barber admitted killing Petrole, but in December 2005 in a 13-page
affidavit he recanted his claim that Wolfe ordered or had any part in the
killing.
In that 2005 affidavit, Barber stated: "Justin [Wolfe] had nothing to do with
the killing of Daniel Petrole. There was no agreement between Justin and me to
kill Danny Petrole. I did not have any discussion, at any time, with Justin
about killing Danny Petrole. I lied and implicated Justin because I felt I had
no choice."
Barber detailed in the affidavit alleged pressure put on him by Prince William
County prosecutors - led by Commonwealth's Attorney Paul Ebert - and his own
defense attorney to testify against Wolfe or face a possible death sentence.
Ebert did not return phone calls seeking a comment.
In 2010, an order from the U.S. Eastern District Court of Virginia for a new
evidentiary hearing cleared the way for material not originally presented in
court, including evidence the defense thought was withheld that could have
benefitted Wolfe, such as recordings of interviews with witnesses, as well as
Barber's affidavit.
This order led to the 2011 overturning of Wolfe's conviction, and again to the
ruling of the 4th Circuit Court's decision.
Although it vacates his death sentence, the recent ruling allows for Wolfe to
be retried by the Commonwealth for murder, as well as Wolfe???s original
firearm and drug conspiracy charges.
Ebert has not yet indicated publicly whether or not the Commonwealth will
pursue that course of action.
"We are pleased with today's decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
4th Circuit affirming the district court's grant of habeas corpus relief
vacating Justin Wolfe's convictions and death sentence," said Wolfe???s
attorney, Ashley Parrish.
For Steinberg, it is back to waiting, something she knows all too well.
"We are grateful to the courts for doing justice in Justin's case. Justin is
innocent. He has spent 11 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. It is
time for the Commonwealth to stop pursuing this wrongful conviction and for
Justin to come home to his family," she said.
"The Commonwealth should not appeal the court's ruling. This case has already
gone on too long, wasted too much taxpayer money, and destroyed too many
lives."
(source: Fairfax Times)
NORTH CAROLINA:
Council hears death penalty findings
Appalachian State University government and justice studies professor Matt
Robinson and global studies major Amanda Moore spoke to the Boone Town Council
about the death penalty Thursday as part of a regional education campaign.
Robinson published a report in March 2011 summarizing data and scientific
studies related to the death penalty in North Carolina. He presented 5 key
findings that he said support the abolishment of the death sentence in the
state.
"Now is a good time to summarize these studies for policymakers - from the
local level to the state level and beyond," said Robinson.
Capital punishment is extremely rare in North Carolina, Robinson said, noting a
decline in death sentences since 2001 and that no executions have taken place
since 2006.
Executions are no greater a deterrent to murder than alternative sanctions such
as life without parole, he said. Murder rates are low despite reduced use of
the death sentence, he noted.
"Yet we continue to pay for it and maintain the system," he added, stating that
studies show that capital punishment costs more than life imprisonment.
Those sentenced with the death penalty are more likely to be black, male and
poor, and a number of innocent people have been sentenced to death - 7 people
have been freed from North Carolina's death row since 1973 for being wrongly
convicted, the report found.
Moore summarized information on the use of the death sentence globally, noting
the United States is among a small portion of countries still using the
sanction.
"The United States still remains an anomaly," she said.
Robinson said he would be back in the future seeking action from the council on
the subject of death penalty - likely in the form of a resolution.
(source: Wautauga Democrat)
*************************
Building Grassroots Support Against The Death Penalty
This is Steve Dear. And this is a call to action.
North Carolina has just begun its seventh year without an execution. During
these years, the overall murder rate has declined significantly.
With your involvement it is possible that North Carolina will never go back to
the Old South justice that brutalizes our communities.
This summer the Carrboro-based nonprofit People of Faith Against the Death
Penalty approached the Chapel Hill Town Council and Carrboro Board of Aldermen
with resolutions calling for North Carolina to repeal the death penalty. Before
the votes, PFADP held a community forum at St. Joseph C.M.E. Church. Shortly
afterward, the towns passed the resolutions unanimously. In Chapel Hill, the
audience burst into applause.
It all started with more than 3 dozen local businesses and congregations
passing PFADP's repeal resolutions, including Balloons and Toons, Mama Dip's
Kitchen, the Episcopal Church of the Advocate, Cliff's Meat Market and
Sandwhich.
Now more than 800 businesses, congregations, and community groups in every one
of North Carolina's counties have passed PFADP???s resolutions.
We can build a grassroots base of support so unprecedented that the death
penalty will lose its value for political pandering.
Ask your congregation, your business, and your student group to pass a repeal
resolution. Sign PFADP's petition for repeal. For information visit
www.pfadp.org.
We can and will repeal the death penalty.
The seed for that victory has been planted right here in our community.
(source: Chapelboro.com)
MISSISSIPPI:
MDOC lethal injection switch upheld
The Mississippi Supreme Court has rejected claims that corrections officials
failed to properly publicize as required by law its switch to a new lethal
injection drug.
The lawsuit by 2 anti-death penalty organizations was filed last year on behalf
of 3 inmates. 2 of the 3 have been executed. The 2003 law requires state
agencies to notify the public of proposed rule and regulation changes. The law
gives citizens the right to offer opinions on proposed changes to rules and
regulations, ask for hearings and request official opinions from state
agencies.
In 2011, Hinds County Circuit Judge Bill Gowan rejected the challenge.
"The protocol is an internal policy concerning lethal injections and the manner
in which executions are carried out and is therefore not subject to the notice
and comment requirements of the MAPL," Justice Randy Pierce wrote in Thursday's
unanimous decision.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of inmates Benny Joe Stevens, Rodney Gray and
Robert Simon Jr. Stevens was executed May 10. 2011; Gray was executed May 17,
2011. Simon has appeals pending in federal court.
The MDOC said in April of 2011 that it would switch to a different drug,
pentobarbital, for the state's next execution because of a nationwide shortage
of 1 drug it has used in the past.
Mississippi has used a 3-drug mixture for its lethal injections for many years.
Last year, one of the drugs Mississippi had used in the process, sodium
thiopental, became unavailable when its European supplier bowed to pressure
from death penalty opponents and stopped making it. No other vendor could be
found, so the drug was replaced by pentobarbital.
(source: NECN)
FLORIDA:
Woman facing death penalty apologizes to family
The Ensley woman facing death for brutally murdering a teenager in 2010 made a
tearful plea to a judge for her life today, saying she is so sorry for what
happened.
Tina Brown, 42, was convicted in June of killing 19-year-old Audreanna
Zimmerman.
A few days later, the jury unanimously recommended that she be put to death for
her crime.
Brown, her daughter and a neighbor were arrested in March 2010 after beating
Zimmerman and repeatedly attacking her with a stun gun. They then are accused
of taking her to a wooded area, setting her on fire and leaving her for dead.
Zimmerman later died in the burn ward of a Mobile hospital.
Today, Brown, decked out in a green jumpsuit and wearing handcuffs, appeared in
court for a Spencer hearing, a proceeding designed as one of the last chances
for prosecutors and defense attorneys to make their case on why or why not she
should be put to death.
During the short hearing, Brown tearfully told Circuit Judge Gary Bergosh that
she was "so sorry she helped in this."
"I remember back, looking at the autopsy pictures," Brown said. "They haunt me
today."
At first, Brown, wearing a green jumpsuit with her hands cuffed in front of
her, appeared stood in front of Bergosh. Soon, though, she broke down and said
"I'm not going to be able to do it."
The courtroom was empty, save for attorneys and court personnel. Even though
Zimmerman's family was not in court, Brown apologized to them, expressing the
pain she has felt because the teen's funeral could not be held with an open
casket.
"Her daughter died a horrific death," Brown said. "She didn't deserve it at
all."
Brown will be sentenced on Sept. 28. The decision is ultimately left to
Bergosh, who also has the option of giving her life in prison without parole.
(source: Pensacola News Journal)
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