Jan. 16
OREGON:
Kitzhaber Urges Death Penalty Vote, Legislative Leaders Lukewarm
Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber is urging state lawmakers to send voters a
measure to ban capital punishment. But in a meeting with reporters Tuesday,
legislative leaders showed little enthusiasm for taking up the hot button
issue.
When the governor put a moratorium on the death penalty in November of 2011, he
also called on the legislature to debate the issue. With this year's session
now underway, the Governor didn't mince words when reporters at the state
capitol asked him what he wants the legislature to do.
"I would like to replace the death penalty with life imprisonment without the
possibility of parole," Kitzhaber said.
That would require a statewide vote, since the death penalty is currently in
the Oregon Constitution. Nearly a dozen lawmakers - mostly Democrats - have
signed onto a proposal to put such a question on the ballot. Its sponsor,
Portland Democrat Mitch Greenlick, says he's confident the legislation will
succeed.
But in the same meeting with reporters, legislative leaders couldn't even say
whether the idea would get a vigorous debate. Either way, Kitzhaber says his
moratorium will last as long as remains governor.
(source: OPB.org)
************************
War hero's killer back in Roseburg
The man who killed a Douglas County war hero in a home invasion robbery is back
in the county jail after his death penalty conviction was overturned in 2011.
Jesse Fanus, now 33, was sentenced to death in May of 1999, for killing war
hero Major General Marion Carl.
His death sentenced was overturned in December of 2011 by a Marion County
judge.
Fanus was 18-years-old when he broke into the Carl's home on Northbank Road and
killed the Marine Corps hero.
Fanus shot Marion and stole money and a vehicle from the Carl family, and was
later found and arrested in southern California.
Carl was one of the nation's most highly decorated World War II heroes for
shooting down two Japanese planes during the Battle of Midway, and 11 in the
battle for Guadalcanal.
Fanus appealed his death penalty sentence and Marion County Judge Pamela
Abernethy ruled that Fanus's attorney did not adequately represent him during
the penalty phase when a jury decided he should get the death penalty.
Fanus was brought into the Douglas County Jail just after 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday.
(source: KPIC News)
US MILITARY:
Afghan massacre suspect to be arraigned Thursday
The Army says the soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan villagers during
nighttime raids last year will be arraigned Thursday.
Staff Sgt. Robert Bales could face the death penalty if convicted in the March
11 massacre. He faces premeditated murder and other charges in the attack on 2
villages in southern Afghanistan.
Prosecutors say Bales left his remote base, attacked 1 village and returned to
the base before slipping away again to attack another nearby compound. Of the
16 people killed, 9 were children.
Bales is being detained at a military base in Washington state.
Sgt. Robert Bales was serving his 4th combat tour after 3 stints in Iraq, and
his arrest prompted a national discussion about the stresses posed by multiple
deployments.
(source: Associated Press)
INDIANA:
NE Ind. man convicted of killing 4 loses appeal in South Bend
A northeast Indiana man who has been on Indiana's death row for 14 years for
fatally shooting his brother and 3 other men has lost his latest appeal.
A federal judge in South Bend has denied Joseph Corcoran's death sentence
appeal, finding that Corcoran's attorney failed to show that Indiana's
decisions to uphold the death penalty in his case were contrary to decisions by
the U.S. Supreme Court.
Corcoran's attorneys told the Journal Gazette (http://bit.ly/13y6bfE ) they
plan to appeal. The case has been pending in federal court since 2005.
"We think there are some issues still pending. We'll see where we're going to
go from there," said Alan Freedman with the Midwest Center for Justice in
Evanston, Ill.
Corcoran's case has been reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court twice, a federal
court twice and the Indiana Supreme Court five times.
Corcoran, 37, was convicted in 1999 in the July 1997 shooting deaths of his
30-year-old brother, James Corcoran; Douglas A. Stillwell, 30; Robert Scott
Turner, 32; and Timothy G. Bricker, 30. Turner was the fiance of Corcoran's
sister.
His attorneys have said he was mentally ill. Corcoran told police that he shot
the men with a semiautomatic rifle in the living room of the Fort Wayne home he
shared with his brother and sister because he overheard them talking about him.
Since his incarceration, the Journal Gazette reports that Corcoran has bragged
about fatally shooting his parents with a shotgun in Steuben County in 1992 - a
crime for which he was charged but acquitted by a jury.
In last week's ruling, U.S. District Judge Jon DeGuilio found that the Indiana
Supreme Court's decision to uphold Gull's order was not unreasonable and that
Corcoran did not show that the trial court violated his federally secured
rights, according to court documents.
If Corcoran appeals the latest ruling to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals,
officials said the Indiana Attorney General's office, which represents the
state on appeals, will file a response.
(source: Associated Press)
ARIZONA:
Jodi Arias Trial: 'If I Killed Travis, I Would Beg For The Death Penalty'
Monday was a day filled with developments in the trial of Jodi Arias. Nude
photos of the defendant were put on display for the jury -- and anyone watching
the live feed -- and a video was played in court in which Arias said she would
welcome the death penalty if she killed Travis Alexander.
"If I am found guilty, I won't have a life ... If I killed Travis, I would beg
for the death penalty," Arias told Esteban Flores, a Mesa, Ariz., police
detective, in a videotaped interview from July 15, 2008, that was played in
court Monday.
Earlier Monday, jurors were shown photos of a pigtailed Arias' breasts, as well
as explicit front and rear angles of her genitalia. Photos of a nude Alexander
in his bed were also shown in court.
The explicit nude photos were broadcast on a live feed of the trial during a
court recess. The network that showed the images has yet to offer an
explanation for how or why the images came to be displayed on the live feed at
that time.
The nude photos, as well as photos of Alexander in the shower just prior to his
murder, were initially shown during testimony by Michael Melendez, a member of
the Mesa Police Department who analyzed electronic devices collected during the
investigation.
Melendez said the photos were recovered from a memory card that was found
inside a digital camera in Alexander's washing machine after his murder. The
detective said some of the images had been deleted but recoverable from the
card.
The naked photos were taken around 1:45 p.m. on June 4, 2008, the day Alexander
was murdered. The photos of Alexander in the shower were taken that same day,
from about 5:22 p.m. to 5:29 p.m., Melendez testified. Those photos were
followed by a snapshot of the ceiling in Alexander's home and a photo of his
body in the shower at about 5:32 p.m.
The video recording of Arias' July 15, 2008 interview with Flores was played in
court after Melendez completed his testimony. The video indicates Arias was
read her Miranda rights and agreed to talk voluntarily with the detective.
During the interview, Arias claims she was nowhere near Alexander's house
around the time of his murder. Flores told Arias authorities have recovered
photos -- the digital images mentioned in the earlier testimony.
"You sure it was me? I was not there. I didn't hurt Travis," Arias said.
"We have your blood at the scene. Your hair at the scene. Your left palm print
at the scene," Flores said.
Flores then offered to show Arias the photos taken from the camera card. She
indicated she would like to view them.
"There's a morbid curiosity. I want to know how he died ... I mean I am
curious," Arias said.
Shortly thereafter court was recessed until Tuesday.
(source: Huffington Post)
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