Jan. 10
ARIZONA:
Arizona Supreme Court reduces Shawn Grell's death sentence to life in prison
The Arizona Supreme Court reduced the sentence of Shawn Grell Wednesday. Grell
was originally sentenced to death for one of the most chilling and gruesome
murders in East Valley history.
He will now serve natural life in prison without the possibility of parole.
On December 2, 1999 Grell picked up his 2-year-old daughter Kristen from day
care and drove her to a dirt road near Apache Junction, where he lit the child
on fire.
In a taped police confession, Grell described the killing in detail.
"I laid her in the dirt next to the car, laid her down," Grell said on the
tape, "I took gasoline. Poured it on her. I took a match and threw it on her.
She screamed, she goes, she was crying and she goes 'Aaah.' I poured the gas on
her and she starts walking in circles real fast. I couldn't even look at her."
After Grell was convicted and sentenced to death, and as he was awaiting an
appeal, a ruling from the United States Supreme Court would set the wheels in
motion to change his fate.
In 2002 in Atkins v. Virginia, the Supreme Court changed the rules for death
penalty with regard to legally mentally retarded individuals.
"The U.S. Supreme Court held that you can't put a mentally retarded person to
death because they can't fully understand what is going on," said Phoenix
attorney Dan Barr. "It would violate the 8th Amendment and would be cruel and
unusual punishment.
The Arizona Supreme Court re-examined Grell's case, looking at evidence
surrounding his mental status. Arizona law defines mental retardation as a
condition defined by 3 indicators, significantly sub-average general
intellectual functioning, significant impairment in adaptive behavior, and an
onset before age 18.
Evidence highlighted in court documents includes a series of IQ tests taken by
Grell between 1981 and 1989. The average of the tests was below 70, which
qualified Grell as having significantly sub-average general intellectual
functioning.
"The court found that he was mentally retarded and the result is he will spend
the rest of his life in prison," said Barr.
Grell's defense attorney, Treasure VanDreumel, released the following statement
to 3TV:
"In light of the United States Supreme Court???s decision holding that societal
standards of decency and humanity precludes the imposition of the death penalty
upon mentally retarded persons by any State no matter how horrific the crime,
we are proud of today's recognition by the Arizona Supreme Court that Shawn
Grell falls into that category. He will spend the rest of his natural life in
prison. Justice has been served and for that we are grateful."
Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne, whose office is involved in the capital
appeals process, said he disagrees with the ruling.
"He was functioning...he had jobs. He knew right from wrong," said Horne. "His
adaptive functioning was such that he could qualify for capital punishment so I
think the Arizona Supreme Court made a mistake."
Kristen Salem's mother, Amber Salem, told 3TV she was "upset" by Wednesday's
ruling.
(source: Arizona Family)
OKLAHOMA:
Attorneys file challenges to death penalty request for Good Friday shooting
suspect
Lawyers for 1 of 2 defendants charged with murdering 3 people in Tulsa on Good
Friday filed court challenges Wednesday to a death penalty request and also to
the sufficiency of the evidence presented at a preliminary hearing.
Jacob Carl England's position is that a motion to suppress his statements to
Tulsa police should have been sustained, and therefore evidence from the
custodial interrogation should not have been considered in determining whether
England should have been bound over for trial, according to a document filed by
the defense.
"Even if the statement could be considered admissible, the evidence was
insufficient as to establish probable cause," says a brief filed by defense
attorney Rob Nigh.
Tulsa County prosecutors will have an opportunity to file a response before
this motion and others are argued at a Feb. 25 hearing.
No trial date is yet set.
England, 20, and Alvin Lee Watts, 33, are each charged with 3 counts of
1st-degree murder, 2 counts of shooting with intent to kill, and 5 counts of
malicious intimidation or harassment.
When arraigned Wednesday, England and Watts declined to enter a plea.
District Judge James Caputo entered a plea of not guilty on behalf of both
defendants.
England and Watts are accused of shooting 5 black people at random at 4 north
Tulsa locations on April 6, 2012.
At the 2012 preliminary hearing, defense attorney Clark Brewster asserted that
a Tulsa police detective, in assuring England that a recorded statement was
confidential, contradicted a previous Miranda warning that anything England
said "can and will be used against you in a court of law."
At the preliminary hearing, Special Judge David Youll denied the motion to
suppress England's statements, but the issue can be raised again before the
trial judge, Caputo.
Prosecutors allege that both England and Watts deserve the death penalty.
In court Wednesday, Assistant District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler read aloud the
charges and the alleged "aggravating circumstances" that support the death
penalty requests.
Another defense filing asserts that the bill of particulars filed in support of
the death penalty request is deficient and should be stricken as "it does not
satisfy the demands of due process."
The defendants face murder counts linked to the fatal shootings of Dannaer
Fields, 49, Bobby Clark, 54, and William Allen, 31.
Counts of shooting with intent to kill pertain to 2 victims, David Hall and
Deon Tucker, who survived.
Shena Burgess, 1 of Watts' public defenders, said she will soon file a motion
seeking to have Watts and England tried separately.
(source: Tulsa World)
MARYLAND:
Miller: Death penalty ban will pass Senate
A ban on the death penalty is likely to pass at least the state Senate, that
chamber's president said after concluding the 1st day of business at the
General Assembly on Wednesday.
Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr., who was re-elected to his position
without opposition, said he thinks the ban will pass the state Senate.
Gov. Martin O'Malley has made abolishing capital punishment one of his
priorities.
Miller predicted the resulting law will be petitioned to the ballot for the
November 2014 elections.
Some political observers believe it could be a bad move for Democrats to have
the contentious issue on the ballot the same year all of the state House and
Senate, and all eight members of Congress, are up for re-election. The next
election also is when voters will pick a new governor.
"I think it will go forward. There are people that can be persuaded," said
Miller, himself an advocate of capital punishment for certain crimes, such as
killing police officers or correctional officers.
In the House of Delegates, Speaker Michael Busch, D-Annapolis, was reelected to
lead the chamber. It was the 11th time he has taken the speaker's oath of
office.
Contentious times also are ahead, Busch said, as the General Assembly considers
issues such as the death penalty and limiting assault weapons.
"There's going to be some challenges," he said, though he did not speak with
reporters at the conclusion of the House of Delegates session as he was
surrounded by well-wishers and dignitaries.
(source: Capital Gazette)
****************************
Another chance to end the death penalty
By the grace of state Sen. Thomas V. Mike Miller (D-Calvert), Maryland Gov.
Martin O'Malley (D) has been handed a 2nd chance - probably his last - to
abolish the state's death penalty. He should seize it.
4 years ago, in deference to Mr. O'Malley, who opposes capital punishment, Mr.
Miller, the powerful president of the Senate and a supporter of the death
penalty, allowed the issue to reach the Senate floor. There, despite cajoling,
the governor could not corral the 24 votes needed for abolition. Instead, a
bill was enacted that limited Maryland's death penalty to cases where there is
DNA evidence, a videotaped confession or a video linking the suspect to a
murder.
Now Mr. Miller has given Mr. O'Malley a green light to try again - if he can
find the necessary 24 votes in the Senate.
The good news is that the votes may be within reach. (They're already there in
the House of Delegates, according to nose-counters in Annapolis.) The puzzling
news is that Mr. O'Malley, though he remains as opposed to capital punishment
as ever, is balking.
Perhaps the governor is simply being cautious. According to The Post's John
Wagner, 23 senators are firmly, or relatively firmly, on record as prepared to
end capital punishment, and several others are on the fence. But an excess of
gubernatorial caution would be a mistake. Without a push by Mr. O'Malley
himself, the status quo will remain unchanged and Maryland's death penalty will
remain on the books.
In practice, it is in remission, having been suspended by a ruling from the
state's high court in 2006. Although 5 prisoners remain on death row, Maryland
hasn't executed anyone since 2005.
But even if the machinery of death is frozen, there are good reasons to abolish
it for good and to eliminate a costly, unjust and dysfunctional system. In
fact, the legislation 4 years ago codified an even more arbitrary system where
the nature of the evidence, rather than the barbarity of the crime, is the
crucial factor.
What's more, the fundamental flaws in the death penalty's application remain
unresolved, including disparities based on race and jurisdiction. And there is
no evidence proving that it is more effective at deterring homicides than is a
sentence of life without parole.
Those flaws, as well as the steady drip of capital convictions overturned by
DNA evidence, have prompted other states to use the death penalty more
sparingly or to ban it altogether. Last year, according to the Death Penalty
Information Center, 43 people were put to death, less than half the number
executed in 1999 and the fewest in 2 decades.
Even more encouraging, just 77 convicts were sentenced to death last year, 75 %
fewer than 1996's record total. Virginia, once a major death-penalty state,
executed no one and imposed no death sentences. Today, the death penalty is
either forbidden or in abeyance - meaning no one executed in the past 5 years -
in 30 states.
The arguments against capital punishment are refreshed and strengthened every
time a capital conviction is overturned. In September, Damon Thibodeaux was
freed after 15 years on Louisiana's death row - the 18th convict released from
prison after analysis of DNA evidence. As long as the death penalty exists, the
nation risks committing the gravest of injustices: killing innocent people.
(source: Editorial, Board, Washington Post)
**********************************
Md. session starts amid talk of death penalty repeal
Banning assault weapons, repealing capital punishment and laying the groundwork
to develop offshore wind received strong endorsements by Maryland's top state
leaders, who were confident they would pass this year as lawmakers convened
Wednesday for the 1st day of the legislative session.
Lawmakers also want to address long-running shortfalls in transportation
funding. The challenge on how to find the money will likely be tough work well
into the session.
Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, a Calvert County Democrat who supports
capital punishment, predicted a repeal would pass in the Senate, perhaps by as
many as 5 votes. Miller also said he believed the measure would clear the
General Assembly and be sent to the ballot for voters to decide in the next
election.
"I'm confident that it will be on the ballot in 2014, and that the ultimate
decision will be made by the people of the state of Maryland," Miller said.
Gov. Martin O'Malley said there has been a renewed interest from death penalty
opponents to repeal capital punishment.
"It doesn't work," the Democrat said on the Marc Steiner Show on WEAA-FM. "It's
expensive, and I believe it should be repealed."
House Speaker Michael Busch, D-Anne Arundel, also said he supports a repeal.
O'Malley and Miller said they believe a ban on assault weapons will pass, as
lawmakers review gun laws and work to take extra precautions in hopes of
preventing a massacre like the one that happened in Connecticut last month from
happening in Maryland. O'Malley said there's also keen interest in examining
links between mental health and public safety, particular relating to firearms.
"You have to make sure you know what you have here in the state and how you can
prevent any instance that took place in Newtown from taking place here," the
speaker said.
(source: Delmarva Now)
**************************
Carroll legislators weigh in on possible death penalty repeal
While all 7 members of the Carroll County Delegations to the Maryland General
Assembly have supported the state's death penalty, not all of them are against
the possibility of repealing it.
On Wednesday, delegates and senators from around the state met in Annapolis to
begin the 90-day legislative session. And although no legislation has been
introduced to do it, repealing the state's death penalty has become a hot
topic. Some of Carroll???s representatives have already decided not to support
a repeal, while others are open to the idea.
"I'm in favor of the death penalty," said Sen. David Brinkley, R-District 4.
"There are truly monsters amongst us and I think the death penalty needs to be
there for those situations."
The death penalty should rarely be applied, Brinkley said. But certain crimes,
such as the sniper attacks in 2002, are so heinous that they warrant execution
by the state.
Del. Donald Elliott, R-District 4B, agreed.
"In the most egregious cases, the death penalty is the punishment individuals
should get," he said.
Del. Justin Ready, R-District 5A, agreed with Elliot and said that the death
penalty is appropriate in extreme cases, such as murder and rape. While Ready
said he does not support the state using the death penalty "willy-nilly," he
does support it and would vote against repealing it.
85 people have been executed in Maryland since 1923, according to the Maryland
Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services website. Of those, 76
were executed by hanging, 4 by gas chamber and 5 by lethal injection. The last
time a person was executed in Maryland was 2005.
Sen. Joseph Getty, R-District 5, said he's not in favor of a repeal on the
death penalty.
"I believe the death penalty is a deterrent and I believe there are some
horrendous crimes that are so vicious that the death penalty is exact justice,"
Getty said.
If a death penalty repeal is proposed, Getty will have a front row seat for the
debate as a member of the Senate Judiciary Proceedings Committee. Getty said he
will be doing a lot of work on the issue while on the committee, and he does
not yet know how he would vote on a repeal.
While she supports the death penalty for people who have committed "heinous"
crimes, Del. Susan Krebs, R-District 9B, said she would like to see any repeal
legislation before she decides how she's going to vote.
"I want to see what they come up with," Krebs said.
Despite supporting the death penalty, Del. Nancy Stocksdale, R-District 5A,
said she also wants to wait to see any legislation repealing it before she
makes a judgment. Stocksdale said she would also like to hear from her
constituents regarding how they feel about the death penalty.
Sen. Allan Kittleman, R-District 9, has supported the death penalty in the
past, but said he has told legislators that he will keep an open mind in regard
to a repeal.
Kittleman said he is concerned that if the death penalty is repealed, the worst
sentence someone could get would be life in prison without parole. If life in
prison without parole is the stiffest penalty in Maryland, Kittleman said
criminals could plea bargain to get life in prison, which would allow them to
get parole.
"If someone could help me address that issue, I'm willing to sit down and
listen," Kittleman said. "I want to make sure when someone says 'life without
parole,' it's really going to be that."
(source: Carroll County Times)
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