March 22
USA:
Top pharmaceutical company moves to stop flow of execution drugs
One of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies has taken steps to ensure
its drugs cannot be used to carry out executions by lethal injection.
UK company Teva, which describes itself as a “top 10 global pharmaceutical
company [with] $20.3bn in sales in 2012,” will put in place distribution
controls to ensure its products cannot be used to kill prisoners on America’s
death rows.
Teva is recommencing production of an anaesthetic called propofol, which in
large enough doses can be used to kill. As supplies of other execution drugs
run out, US prisons are starting to turn to propofol to carry out capital
punishment.
The move brings the firm, which has its headquarters in Israel, into line with
other pharmaceutical companies including Lundbeck and Fresenius Kabi, who have
taken effective steps to block the use of their products for executions.
Teva has stated that they too will establish procedures "to help prevent
propofol from being sold to correctional institutions for use in executions and
sell only to acute care hospitals, clinics and healthcare facilities where the
product's use is medically necessary."
Their efforts mirror those of German manufacturer, Fresenius Kabi, which
already controls distribution of propofol to prevent its sale to prisons for
use in executions.
Maya Foa, Deputy Director of the Death Penalty Team at the leagal charity
Reprieve said: “This is good news, and demonstrates Teva’s genuine commitment
to corporate ethics. Teva has shown that – like any responsible pharmaceutical
company – it wishes to be in the business of saving lives, not ending them in
executions. The welcome move shows that companies which don’t wish to prop up
the US death penalty system can take simple, practical steps to ensure their
products are not used to kill prisoners, as a number of companies have now
done.”
(source: Ekklesia)
CALIFORNIA:
State High Court upholds death sentence in Richmond workplace slayings
The California Supreme Court Thursday unanimously upheld the death penalty of a
former Richmond Housing Authority receptionist who murdered his supervisor and
a co-worker minutes after he was fired in 1995.
Michael Pearson, 54, of Richmond, was sentenced to death after being convicted
in Contra Costa County Superior Court in 1996 of fatally shooting his
supervisor, Ruth Talley, and co-worker, Barbara Garcia, on April 25, 1995.
The housing authority's director, Art Hatchett, had fired Pearson that
afternoon for poor performance.
Pearson had received negative performance evaluations, but Hatchett later
testified that the true reason for the firing was that Pearson had been
threatening to "pull a 101 California" because of his evaluations.
The threat referred to a gunman's massacre of eight people at a San Francisco
office building at 101 California St. in 1993.
Pearson's defense attorneys sought to argue at the trial that the slayings
resulted from a brief psychotic episode, while prosecutors contended -- and the
jury agreed -- that his actions were intentional.
Evidence showed that Pearson had bought a gun at a pawn shop a few days earlier
and had practiced target shooting at a shooting range the evening before the
killings.
The high court, in a ruling issued in San Francisco, rejected a series of
appeal arguments in which Pearson claimed there were errors in jury selection
and in evidence rulings.
Justice Ming Chin wrote in the court's opinion that there was "overwhelming
evidence that defendant premeditated and deliberated the murders."
"Defendant repeatedly told his coworkers months in advance that he intended to
kill anyone who tried to fire him," Chin wrote.
"Defendant bragged about going to the shooting range the evening before the
murders. Eyewitnesses described how he hunted down the victims and fired
multiple shots execution-style into each victim," Chin said in the ruling.
Pearson's appeal to the California Supreme Court was the first step in the
state's death penalty appeal process. He can continue appeals in the federal
court system through a habeas corpus petition.
(source: KTVU News)
*********************
Death Penalty? Murder charges filed in deaths of HSU instructor, Hoopa woman
The District Attorney's Office has charged the man accused of running
down 3 joggers on Old Arcata Road -- killing a Humboldt State University
instructor and severely injuring two others -- and the death of a Hoopa woman
with two counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder.
District Attorney Paul Gallegos - who will be prosecuting the case against
28-year-old Jason Anthony Warren - said he has not decided whether he will seek
the death penalty.
"That's a decision that will be made at a later time," he said. "Certainly,
we've spoken with family members and we will continue to have dialogue with
them. Penalty is a matter that will be looked at more thoroughly as we
progress."
A criminal complaint filed against Warren this week includes the special
circumstance allegations of multiple murders, lying in wait and torture. Warren
faces an additional two counts of willful, deliberate premeditated attempted
murder.
The special circumstance allegations elevate the maximum sentence Warren faces,
if convicted, from life in prison to life without the possibility of parole and
the death penalty.
Warren was arrested on a warrant related to his failure to appear for
sentencing in an unrelated case hours after the Sept. 27 hit-and-run that
killed Humboldt State University geography instructor Suzanne Seemann -- the
mother of two young children and wife of Humboldt County official Hank Seemann.
She died at the scene. Her running partners Jessica Hunt and
Terri Vroman-Little were severely injured.
An investigation into the hit-and-run led to the discovery of 47-year-old
Dorothy Ulrich's body in her Hoopa home. She was a housewife and the mother of
three sons.
Warren is scheduled to be arraigned on March 28. Few details of the case have
been released by authorities.
Humboldt County Superior Court Judge Timothy Cissna released Warren from
custody in his previous case in late August on a Cruz waiver, part of a plea
agreement that had him facing six years in prison with the stipulation that an
assault change would be dropped if he showed up for his Sept. 7 sentencing.
Gallegos has said he didn't question Deputy District Attorney Zachary Curtis'
decision not to oppose Warren's Cruz waiver but after the deaths called on his
prosecutors to oppose the waivers until a policy is put into place.
For failing to appear, Warren was sentenced Oct. 3 to nine years in prison for
assault, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and admitting to a previous
strike on his record. He is currently serving that sentence at Avenal State
Prison in King County.
On Wednesday, Gallegos filed paperwork ordering Warren to be delivered into the
custody of the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office for arraignment on the murder
and attempted murder charges.
Hank Seemann said he was notified of the charges Gallegos planned to file
earlier this week.
”The District Attorney has made his evaluation, and now a judge and jury will
hear the evidence and render a judgment on whether the suspect is guilty of
these crimes,” Hank Seemann said. “I am prepared to let the criminal justice
system take its course. The public needs to be protected from the perpetrator
of these crimes, and the perpetrator needs to be held accountable.”
Hank Seemann said he was relieved by how quickly the suspect was apprehended,
and grateful to those in the California Highway Patrol and the supporting
agencies who assisted in the investigation.
Hank Seemann extended his condolences to Ulrich's family, and the entire Hoopa
community.
”I know Dorothy was deeply loved,” he said.
He added that he continues to support Vroman-Little and Hunt as they recover
from their injuries.
Hank Seemann said the memory of his wife is never far from his mind.
”Today, like everyday, I think about how extraordinary my wife was,” he said.
Shirley Ortega, Ulrich's mother, said she spoke with Gallegos last week about
the charges. She traveled down from Washington state to attend next week's
arraignment. At the time, she said, it wasn't clear whether the death penalty
would be an option. Ortega said she told Gallegos she would support him if he
sought the death penalty.
”I told him that would suffice for me,” she said. “If he is found guilty, he
will spend the next 10 years on death row before he is given an attorney or a
chance to appeal. He will be sitting there and thinking about his crimes. That
is quite sufficient for me.”
Ortega said she is still recovering from the loss of her daughter. Although she
said she could not go into the details of Ulrich's death, Ortega described the
circumstances as “horrific.”
”After reading the pathology report, all I wanted to do was go outside and
scream, 'You bastard,'” she said. “After reading it, I was in the state of mind
where if he had been arraigned that day, I would have killed him myself with my
bare hands. I am a little more subdued now, but this is a bad seed; an evil,
evil shallow person. I want justice to be served to the full extent of the
law.”
(source: The Times-Standard)
NORTH CAROLINA:
Time to kill the Racial Justice Act
Who could possibly be against a law entitled the Racial Justice Act? Aren’t we
all for ending racial injustice? The sad fact is that this law has nothing to
do with race or justice. Instead, RJA is the Orwellian title of a sneaky law
that does an end-run around our state’s death penalty.
RJA attempts to turn convicted, cold-blooded murderers into victims of racial
discrimination. That’s right – as the real victims rot in the ground and their
families continue to suffer, RJA allows death row inmates yet one additional
avenue of appeal. This time it is statistical analysis – numbers fudging – if
you will.
The alleged victim (the convicted murderer) is allowed to present statistics to
a judge in an effort to demonstrate that the death penalty was sought against
him due to his race. In other words, the murderer-turned-victim should have
been given a life sentence, except for the racism of the trial judge,
prosecutor or jury.
Do not be confused. RJA has nothing to do with the innocence or guilt of the
murderer. This fact was previously established by a jury trial and countless
other appeals afforded to the death row inmate.
Instead, RJA is a last ditch effort to get a murderer off death row and
represents Monday morning quarterbacking to the Nth degree. Death penalty
opponents passed this law, adding yet one more out for convicted murderers to
avoid an appointment with the executioner.
To say that RJA was poorly written and ill conceived is an understatement.
Virtually every inmate (white, black, Hispanic and Native American) has
appealed his death sentence under RJA. All claim that statistics will show that
their death sentences (not their convictions) were racist acts and that they
should receive life in prison instead.
The absurdity does not stop with this argument; it has gone much further. The
murderer of Fayetteville Police Officer Roy Turner was recently granted relief
under RJA and taken off death row. Again, there was no question that Officer
Turner was murdered in cold blood. However, his killer got his sentence reduced
by arguing that because he was black, he was unfairly targeted for a death
sentence. Here’s the real kicker in the case — Officer Turner was also black.
So try to wrap your mind around this — a black man murdered another black man
and the fact that the murderer received a death sentence is somehow racist
under RJA. Needless to say and to paraphrase Shakespeare, “Something is rotten
in the State of North Carolina.”
The stench you smell is RJA. Regardless of where you come down on the death
penalty, it is currently the law of our land. If you do not believe in the
death penalty, it is incumbent upon you to fight to have it overturned in the
General Assembly, not support a ridiculous law that defies logic and common
sense. The de facto moratorium on the death penalty created by RJA is a
legislative embarrassment and should be abolished.
Recent legislation was introduced in the North Carolina General Assembly, not
only to rid our state of RJA, but also to void all appeals currently pending
under the act. It is past time to get rid of this absurd law that turns
murderers into victims while the real victims lie in their graves.
(source: Thom Goolsby is a state senator, practicing attorney and law
professor. He is a chairman of the Senate Judiciary 1 and Justice and Public
Safety Committees. He is also the sponsor of this legislation----Bladen
Journal)
****************
Executioners offer sage advice on death penalty
A few death penalty facts
• The majority of countries in Western Europe, North America and South America
– more than 139 nations worldwide – have abandoned capital punishment in law or
in practice. The United States stands with Iraq, Iran and China as a major
advocate and user of capital punishment.
• The South accounts for 80 percent of all U.S. executions but still has the
highest regional murder rate.
• In the U.S., California has the most people on death row - 724, followed by
Florida (411) and Texas (304)
• North Carolina has 163 on death row - 84 blacks; 65 whites; 4 Latinos, 9
Native Americans; 1 Asian (as of Oct. 12, 2012)
Samuel Flippen was the last person executed in North Carolina, in 2006.
• Five people have been executed in the U.S. this year – one each in Virginia,
Texas, Oklahoma, Georgia and Ohio.
• Last week, Maryland became the 18th state to abolish the death penalty.
Several years ago, I tried to get inside the head of an executioner. Not
literally, of course. I was writing a fictional story about a prison guard
whose job included carrying out the death penalty through lethal injection. To
understand what an executioner’s life was like, I did extensive research. I
talked to people who worked at prisons, though none would say they had done
that job or give me the name of anyone who had.
They did describe the process of lethal injection, and online I was surprised
to find a point-by-point guide. My protagonist, as I portrayed him, essentially
compartmentalized the job. During an execution, he and another prison guard
would administer drugs at the same time. One administered lethal drugs, the
other non-lethal. Neither knew who did what so neither could be sure which one
of them was the actual executioner.
My lead character felt twinges of discomfort about his work. But after each
execution, he and his coworker had little trouble meeting for beers. It was
just a job. Real-life executioners are telling a different story.
Several are now saying that they are haunted by their jobs of killing people
convicted of crimes, even sometimes heinous crimes, in the name of the state. A
few, like former prison warden Ron McAndrew of Florida and former Virginia
chief executioner Jerry Givens, are now vocal death penalty opponents who have
traveled from state to state advocating against it. Yes, there are some former
executioners who support the death penalty.
This is an issue, after all, where views in this country are decidedly split.
In 2010, CNN told the story of an executioner who recounted his experience on a
firing squad execution of a killer. Like my fictional protagonist, he called
the event “anti-climactic. Another day at the office.” “I’ve shot squirrels
I’ve felt worse about,” he said. Still, growing numbers of former executioners
are shining a light on a little-discussed part of the death penalty. The men
and women who carry out death sentences are often collateral damage.
As N.C. lawmakers push through legislation this session that bill sponsor Thom
Goolsby forthrightly says is aimed at restarting executions, this rarely heard
perspective should factor into the debate. Long mute on their experiences,
several executioners are now acknowledging the trauma they endure having
engaged in these killings.
Many have turned to drugs and alcohol to handle the emotional toil of what one
former Georgia Department of Corrections executioner dubbed, “scripted and
rehearsed murder.” It’s not hard for some to think of it that way. On the death
certificate of executed prisoners in several states, the cause of death is
listed as “homicide.”
That’s how it’s been listed in North Carolina. Givens, who carried out 62 death
sentences in Virginia over 17 years, some by lethal injection and others by the
electric chair, said that word, “homicide,” haunts him. Seeing it on official
paperwork, describing what he did, “how could it not?” he said to a Newsweek
reporter. Sen. Goolsby, who introduced his bill last week, said the state has
“a moral obligation to ensure death-row criminals convicted of the most heinous
crimes imaginable finally face justice.” “Victims’ families,” he said, “have
suffered for far too long.
It’s time to stop the legal wrangling and bring them the peace and closure they
deserve.” Anti-death penalty former executioners have a different take. “We
have an alternative that doesn’t lower us to the level of the killer: permanent
imprisonment,” says McAndrew who has experienced two murders in his own family
and as warden oversaw the botched 1997 execution of a Cuban refugee that led
Florida to switch to lethal injections. “It is cheaper, keeps society safe and
offers swift justice to the victims.”
Givens offers this additional insight. He came close one time to executing an
innocent man. The inmate was exonerated for his crime not long before the
planned execution. “If I carry out the execution, I have to carry the burden
with me until I die that I took an innocent life,” he said. North Carolina has
a troubling track record of wrongful murder convictions, convictions that have
been overturned only in recent years as inmates have gained access to DNA that
can prove their innocence.
A story that ran in the Observer on Sunday about the wrongful conviction of
Joseph Sledge, in an N.C. prison for 34 years for two murders DNA evidence has
now absolved him of, should give us pause. He was sentenced to life for what
many would call a heinous crime. Had he gotten the death penalty that Goolsby
and others say such heinous crimes deserve, he would have been executed by now
– wrongly so.
And a Mecklenburg County jury’s sentence this week for Andre Hampton in the
horrific beating death of his 23-month-old son once again spotlights the
capriciousness of the application of the death penalty.
As a heinous crime, this beating – which made even law enforcers cringe at its
cruelty – no doubt qualifies. Yet jurors recommended life instead. By contrast,
Samuel Flippen, the last person executed in the state, received the death
penalty for killing his 2-year-old stepdaughter. North Carolina has not had an
execution since 2006. Lawmakers should think long and hard before starting up
this flawed practice again. Former executioner Ron McAndrew has it right. There
is a better way.
(source: Editorial, Charlotte Observer)
IDAHO:
Idaho Oversight Committee To Examine Death Penalty System, Water Quality,
Health and Welfare Structure
The Idaho Legislature's Joint Legislative Oversight Committee—which drills into
specific issues months prior to a legislative session—considered 11 requests
from 20 Idaho legislators this year. On March 14, the panel decided to take up
five of the requests:
- A review on Idaho water quality programs. The request sought input on how to
set appropriate water quality standards while considering the wide range of
stakeholders involved in the current decision-making process.
- An examination of juvenile custody confinement. The request raised concerns
about Idaho's high rate of juveniles in custody and asked for a study of the
adequacy and effectiveness of re-entry programs designed to help reduce
confinement rates.
- A review of idaho's death penalty system. The request asked the committee to
look at how death penalty costs compare to a sentence of life in prison and to
identify potential savings or efficiencies.
- A review of the organization and structure of the Idaho Department of Health
and Welfare. The request asked to examine the department's structure and how it
sizes up against other states.
- A creation of a taxpayer advocacy office. The request asked for a
consideration of an office to help balance the collection obligation of the
State Tax Commission with the welfare of Idaho taxpayers.
The committee expects to release two reports as early as this fall: on the
creation of a taxpayer advocacy office and the examination of the structure of
the Department of Health and Welfare. The remaining three studies are expected
to be released during the 2014 legislative session.
(source: Boise Weekly)
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