Feb. 20
PENNSYLVANIA:
Death penalty phase opens in Pa. torture-murder
The death penalty phase of a trial has opened for a western Pennsylvania man
found guilty of orchestrating the torture and killing of a mentally disabled
woman 3 years ago.
Prosecutors say Tuesday that life in prison would be "woefully inadequate" for
26-year-old Ricky Smyrnes. He was convicted of 1st-degree murder last week and
now faces either the death penalty or life in prison.
But defense attorney Terrance Faye says Smyrnes doesn't deserve to die because
he suffers from mental illness.
The victim, 30-year-old Jennifer Daugherty of Mount Pleasant, was beaten,
humiliated and abused by a group of people, including 1 already serving a life
sentence and another on death row. 3 people remain charged and have not gone on
trial.
(source: phillyburbs.com)
MARYLAND:
Death penalty proponents question fate of inmates on death row
As the legislature nears a vote on repealing the death penalty, capital
punishment proponents are raising questions about the fate of the five inmates
currently on Maryland's death row.
Specifically, they want to know the fate of three inmates sentenced to death in
the early 1980s, when life without parole was not on the books.
Gov. Martin O'Malley's bill would not take effect until October and is not
retroactive. If the death penalty is repealed, legal experts and politicians
have differing opinions on what will happen to the three inmates: Anthony
Grandison, Vernon Lee Evans and John Booth-El.
When the 3 were sentenced, serving a life sentence meant parole was a
possibility after 15 or 25 years. Life without parole was not adopted until
1987.
Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger, a capital punishment
supporter, thinks there's a possibility these death row inmates could go free.
"I believe, legally, the governor could commute their sentence. But I have a
grave concern about whether he could commute a sentence to an individual of
life without parole when that sentence didn't exist when they were convicted. I
think that would be subjected to legal challenge," Shellenberger said.
Evans and Grandison were sentenced in connection with the shooting deaths of
David S. Piechowicz and his sister-in-law, Susan Kennedy, in 1984. Grandison
hired Evans to kill 2 witnesses, Piechowicz and his wife, in a federal
narcotics case against Grandison. Kennedy was mistaken for Piechowicz's wife.
Booth-El is on death row for robbing and fatally stabbing an elderly couple in
1983.
"If they're given simple life the way this statute worked back then they
would've been eligible for parole after 15 years. So they'd immediately be
eligible for parole and these are a number of individuals who committed some
very heinous crimes. And I think that would be a very, very dangerous thing to
do," Shellenberger said.
Shellenberger isn't the only one raising questions about the fate of the men
waiting for execution. At a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen.
James Brochin, D-Baltimore County, a death penalty supporter, asked the
governor what would happen to the current inmates on death row.
O'Malley said the cases would be reviewed individually.
"I think it would be inappropriate to comment on them beyond that either
collectively or individually," O'Malley said.
That response did not satisfy Brochin, who said he will vote against repeal.
"And if he really believes that you know the death penalty should be repealed,
the logical thing to me would be that he would just commute their sentences,
and yet his response was well I'm gonna look at them on a case by case basis.
Well, does that mean you believe in execution and they should be executed or
not? And if not why don't you just commute their sentences?" Brochin later
said.
Some capital punishment opponents, including Katy O'Donnell, think these cases
highlight a broken system. O'Donnell is the chief attorney of the aggravated
homicide division in the Maryland Office of the Public Defender.
O'Donnell's worked in the aggravated homicide division for 22 years. She said
the bill does not address the inmates already sentenced.
"At this point I do not believe that the bill addresses what happens to the
individuals who are actually on death row at this time," O'Donnell said. "This
bill is aimed progressively, prospectively at looking at future cases."
Byron Warnken, a professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law, thinks
there's a simple solution: address the death row inmates in the same repeal
legislation.
But if the bill remains silent, the death penalty would stand for the
individuals already on death row, Warnken said. The governor could still
commute the sentences to life without parole because it does not worsen the
inmates' sentences of death, and if that is challenged he could let the death
penalty stand.
Even in the scenario where the inmates get life, Warnken said the possibility
of parole is extremely unlikely. Since 1995, no inmate serving a life sentence
has received parole, Warnken said.
"I don't think there's any way in heck any of those 5 people would ever, ever
be even seriously looked at for parole. Much less get parole," Warnken said.
The Maryland Attorney General's Office declined to comment.
O'Malley tried to ban capital punishment during his 1st term, but the bill
failed to make it out of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. This time
around, his bill appears to have more support.
There are 25 affirmative votes in the Senate, enough to pass the bill in that
chamber. Maryland would be the 18th state to abolish capital punishment if the
bill is signed into law.
Connecticut became the most recent state to repeal the death penalty last year.
New Mexico did the same in 2009.
Neither bill was retroactive, leaving 11 people on death row in Connecticut and
2 people on death row in New Mexico, according to the Death Penalty Information
Center.
The inmates in New Mexico have death penalty appeals pending, with attorneys
pursuing the argument that because the death penalty was repealed, it would now
violate the constitutional protection of cruel and unusual punishment,
according to the Albuquerque Journal.
New Jersey abolished the death penalty in 2007. That legislation included
current and future death row inmates, according to the Death Penalty
Information Center.
2 of those inmates were sentenced before life without parole was a punishment,
a spokeswoman for the New Jersey Department of Corrections said.
Inmates would have had their sentences reduced to the prior punishment. To
avoid that, the governor commuted their sentences before signing the bill, said
Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center.
(source: WTOP News)
OKLAHOMA----impending execution
Oklahoma death row inmate waives clemency hearing
An Oklahoma death row inmate scheduled to be executed on March 12 has waived
his right to ask the state Pardon and Parole Board for clemency.
Steven Ray Thacker pleaded guilty to 1st-degree murder and other charges in the
December 1999 stabbing death of 25-year-old Laci Dawn Hill of Bixby. Thacker
received the death penalty after a sentencing hearing.
Thacker can ask the board to commute his death sentence to life in prison. But
Pardon and Parole Board attorney Tracy George told The Associated Press by
email Wednesday that the 42-year-old Thacker waived his clemency hearing.
Thacker was also sentenced to death in Tennessee for the January 2000 killing
of a tow truck driver and to life in prison in the January 2000 death of a
Missouri man.
(source: Associated Press)
COLORADO:
Chuck E. Cheese killer faces execution, US Supreme Court won't hear case
Chuck E. Cheese killer Nathan Dunlap faces execution for a killing he committed
20 years ago, PIX 11 reported Tuesday.
Dunlap received the death penalty for killing 4 people in a Chuck E. Cheese
restaurant in 1993. The restaurant was in Aurora, Colorado, a city linked in
the minds of many as the scene of the tragic July 2012 theater shooting that
left 12 dead.
Dunlap, 38, is Colorado's longest-serving death-row prisoner. His last appeal
to avoid death was quashed by the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday morning. The high
court opted not to hear the case.
Authorities plan to set a date for Dunlap's execution. Colorado has not put a
person to death since 1995.
Dunlap was fired from Chuck E. Cheese restaurant when he was just 19-years-old.
He went back to the restaurant and shoot and killed 4 of his former co-workers.
(source: The Examiner)
ARIZONA:
Jodi Arias Testifies About Sexting With Murder Victim Travis Alexander
Jodi Arias began her 7th day on the witness stand testifying about text
messages -- 1 of them highly sexual -- with her ex-boyfriend, Travis Alexander,
prior to his 2008 murder.
Defense attorney Kirk Nurmi has been leading his client through a line of
questioning to prove to the jury that his client was the victim of an
emotionally abusive, controlling boyfriend who subjected her to his every whim.
Setting the tone for the rest of the morning's testimony, Nurmi admitted into
evidence a text exchange from Feb. 25, 2008, admitted into evidence referenced
Alexander's desire for Arias' vagina to be hairless.
Another text message exchange took place on March 30, 2008. During the
exchange, Alexander told Arias he did not want to get another text message from
her unless she gave him an apology for exposing him to all the drama in her
life.
Arias said she felt intimidated by Alexander and apologized because she wanted
the fight to end.
The 32-year-old photographer is accused of brutally murdering Alexander in his
Mesa, Ariz., apartment on June 4, 2008. Arias has admitted killing Alexander,
but claims she did so in self-defense. Prosecutors contend Arias was a jealous
ex-girlfriend who shot Alexander, stabbed him 27 times and cut his throat from
ear to ear.
Another text conversation that was examined in court took place in April 2008,
after Arias moved from Arizona to California to, according to Arias, escape
Alexander's abuse. During that conversation, Alexander told Arias to not
contact him and warned her that things could get "real bad for her."
"Bitter feelings brewing in me towards you," Alexander wrote in an April 2008
text message to Arias. "I'm sick of having days ruined by you. If it keeps up,
I fear I'll have a genuine dislike for you. I???m asking you before it gets to
that, to stop doing it, before I start seeking revenge."
Another April 2008 text message exchange revolved around a request by Alexander
that Arias send him photos she had taken of his dog, Napoleon, for a Facebook
page he wanted make.
"He was trying to start a Facebook page for his dog," said Arias. "And I took
pictures of Napoleon and he wanted those pictures so he could have pictures on
the Facebook page."
Arias testified Alexander got Angry when she told him she was busy with work
and could not send the photos to him at that time.
"Sounds like a clever story for not doing it...Just forget it. I know how you
operate," Alexander texted Arias.
Arias said Alexander later apologized for getting mad and complimented her.
"You are one of the prettiest girls on the planet," Alexander texted Arias.
Another text message exchange involved Alexander's texts about Arias going on a
date with another man. Alexander told Arias she should have a sexual encounter
with the man in the woods.
"Why don't you have him come f--k you in the woods," Alexander wrote.
Arias said Alexander later apologized.
"I'm sorry...I love you," Alexander texted.
Shortly thereafter court was recessed for lunch. Arias will resume her
testimony at 3:30 p.m. ET.
If convicted, Arias faces the death penalty.
(source: Huffington Post)
MONTANA:
Time to end death penalty
I want to thank my colleagues and friends, Sen. Matt Rosendale and Rep. Doug
Kary, for taking the lead in the efforts to abolish the death penalty in favor
of life without the possibility of parole.
Before I became a legislator, I was the "hang 'em high" type. But soon after
being elected to the legislature, I began to see how Montana's death penalty
went against my faith, my conservative philosophies, and my duty to ensure that
Montana laws were equally exercised.
The death penalty does nothing to keep us safe. It wastes resources on a system
that can go on for decades, dragging victims' families through trial after
trial, while making celebrities out of murderers. It risks executing the
innocent - a risk that no one should be willing to take. Most of all, it's just
bad public policy. If we truly want to streamline our government and make it
less wasteful and inefficient, then the death penalty must go.
Roy Billings
(source: Letter to the Editor, Helena Independent Record)
WASHINGTON :
Costly Carnation murder case 'in limbo' after high-court order; With just weeks
to go before Joseph McEnroe, 1 of 2 defendants accused of killing a family in
Carnation on Christmas Eve 2007, is expected to stand trial his case is on hold
while the state Supreme Court decides whether to weigh in.
The trial of 1 of 2 people accused of killing 6 members of a Carnation family
on Christmas Eve 2007 is on hold while the state Supreme Court decides whether
to consider a judge's order that bars prosecutors from seeking the death
penalty.
The delay in the trial of Joseph McEnroe will add to King County's mounting
costs to prosecute and defend the alleged killers, which is approaching $6
million.
Late last month, King County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ramsdell ruled that
prosecutors could not seek the death penalty against McEnroe and co-defendant
Michele Anderson, finding Prosecutor Dan Satterberg erroneously considered the
strength of the state's evidence against McEnroe and Anderson in deciding
whether to seek the death penalty. Ramsdell ruled that prosecutors should only
have weighed whether mitigating circumstances existed in the decision to seek
the death penalty.
Satterberg's office filed an appeal with the state Court of Appeals, which
quickly kicked the case up to the state Supreme Court.
Last week, the state's high court issued a stay in all court matters that could
affect McEnroe's and Anderson's potential death sentences. A 2-page email sent
by Susan L. Carlson, Supreme Court deputy clerk, to the McEnroe and Anderson
defense teams, the prosecution and the Court of Appeals, reads:
"Given the debatability (sic) of the superior court's order, and the likelihood
that the potential benefit to the state of this review would be lost unless a
stay is entered, the superior court's order is stayed pending further order of
this Court, as are superior court proceedings that might be affected by the
validity of the superior court's order. This ruling applies to both Mr. McEnroe
and Ms. Anderson."
The King County Prosecutor's Office said the Supreme Court has not said whether
it will hear the case, but is asking for legal briefs from both sides this
week. A decision on whether the justices will hear the case is not expected
until next month, prosecutors said.
Satterberg said the Supremte Court's order leaves the case "in a state of
limbo."
Kathryn Ross, one of the three defense lawyers representing McEnroe, said
staying the case is "what usually happens" when the Supreme Court weighs
whether to review a trial court's order.
Some 3,000 jury summonses mailed out to prospective jurors in early January for
McEnroe's trial have been dismissed and the former Carnation man's trial date
has been put on hold, prosecutors said.
McEnroe, 34, was slated to be tried 1st.
According to the King County Office of Public Defense figures, as of late last
month the county has spent more than $5.1 million defending McEnroe and
Anderson since they were arrested. Prosecutors said last month that they've
spent $725,000 on the case.
The amount is the largest spent by King County in prepping for a potential
death-penalty case since Green River killer Gary L. Ridgway, according to
prosecutors. Between 2001, when Ridgway was identified as a suspect in the
serial killings, and 2003, when he pleaded guilty to dozens of counts of
aggravated murder, the county spent nearly $12 million on the extensive
investigation, as well as prosecution and defense, county officials said.
Ross has repeatedly said that McEnroe is willing to plead guilty to the murders
in exchange for the death penalty being taken off the table. The prosecution
said that's not an option.
Anderson, 34, and McEnroe, her former boyfriend, were arrested shortly after 6
members of Anderson's family were found slain in her parents' Carnation-area
home. Killed were her parents, Wayne and Judy Anderson; her brother and his
wife, Scott and Erica Anderson; and that couple's children, 5-year-old Olivia
and 3-year-old Nathan.
The crimes were motivated by money, family strife and a concern over leaving
behind witnesses, according to the King County Sheriff's Office.
Both have pleaded not guilty.
(source: Seattle Times)
USA:
Death penalty's real cost
Let's talk chump change, pocket change, nickels and dimes - that lucky penny
you see on the floor but walk right past because ultimately, hey, what good is
a penny in the grand scheme of things? Now let's talk millions. $308 million to
be exact. We just changed ball games there - not sure if you noticed.
When someone says the death penalty is more expensive than a life without
parole, they seem wrong. However, they're in fact telling the truth. The death
penalty is millions of federal and state tax dollars more expensive than a life
in prison without parole. In California it costs an estimated $308 million per
execution. While this is a morally charged issue, at that price do we really
care what crime the defendant committed?
In 2012, California voted on the abolishment of the death penalty. Since 1977,
the current flawed system has cost the state about $4 billion dollars. With 725
people on death row, California warehouses almost 25 % of the country's total
death row population. It costs about $47,000 to incarcerate a man for 1 year in
California, but it costs $90,000 extra per year to house a man on death row.
This puts the annual death row bill at $137,000 per person. The cost of 1 year
in general population is derived from mainly security and health care, but also
includes food, rehabilitation programs and facility costs. Additional death row
costs include the officer, or officers, constantly escorting the inmates in and
out of their prison cells. Each person awaiting a death sentence is placed in
an individual cell, while those in general population typically share a cell.
Individual supervision is also required for the 2 hours of physical recreation
time inmates receive daily.
These are the only costs of incarceration. The court fees are where the bulk of
the costs lie. The trial for death sentences takes 3 to 5 times longer, needs
twice as many lawyers, has a far more difficult jury selection process and has
a practically endless appeals process as opposed to life without parole cases.
Of the 725 people on death row in California, only 13 have exhausted the
appeals process. The majority of individuals on death row are poor. Tax dollars
are funding virtually the entire process. However, the answer is not to try and
repair this practice because every time a state has attempted to mend it, the
death penalty has become unconstitutional. Less than 2 % of the criminals who
commit the most shocking of crimes are sentenced to the death penalty. After
the 2008 recession and more stringent economic policies with the federal
deficit at the forefront of discussion, it's time to look at this issue from a
new angle.
The public is a finicky group to understand, and especially the American
public. People are rarely aware of when or why they change their opinions on
political issues unless the change was derived from a radical experience. In
the case of capital punishment, the radical experiences are typically
nationwide and are delivered to individuals by the media. If the key factor to
changing the public's attitude stems from radical experience, then it's
possible that presenting radical enough information would be able to change
public opinion and, in turn, public policy. When a singular execution costs
millions, and the system in general generates a bill to the tune of billions of
state and federal tax dollars, perhaps we've reached "radical enough."
Politicians are seen as flippant if they take a monumental policy, such as
capital punishment, and continually change their stance.
Economics produces hard facts - just as hard as scientific facts. So, if
radical enough economic facts were disseminated amongst the public, those may
potentially sway the people. Money affects all of us - people have to pay
taxes. That $308 million being spent per execution in California comes from
state and federal taxes. That means that every U.S. citizen is directly
affected. Most people don't realize that a death sentence is more expensive
than life without parole. The economics of the death penalty may be radical
enough to change public opinion.
So what if people knew? What if the general public suddenly became aware of
this completely counterintuitive fact? Would it have an impact? It seems yes.
National support for the death penalty tends to be around 63 %, and yet only 53
% of California supported the practice when they voted in 2012. We can never
know what exactly changed their minds, but we do know that it was on the
ballot. Maybe if California - if not America - understands just how big the
bill we're footing is; we can change the minds of U.S citizens and the policies
of our nation.
Molly Harwood is an LSA senior.
(source: Letter to the Editor, Michigan Daily)
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