April 8
TEXAS----impending execution
East Texas man with long record set to die Tuesday; East Texas man convicted of
1990 killing, rape, set for execution Tuesday.
Rickey Lynn Lewis had been in and out of Texas prisons 5 times in the span of
less than 7 years.
6 months after he was paroled in early 1990 from a 25-year term for a 3rd
burglary conviction, Lewis was arrested for shooting and killing 45-year-old
George Newman, raping Newman's fianc3e and stealing her truck after breaking
into the couple's home about 90 miles east of Dallas in Smith County.
On Tuesday, Lewis, 50, of Tyler is scheduled to become the 2nd man executed in
Texas this year. 3 more are to follow this month in the nation's most active
death penalty state.
The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles on Friday rejected a clemency petition
for Lewis and the U.S. Supreme Court a week ago refused to review Lewis' case.
"I think at this point we're out of options," Lewis' attorney, Seth Kretzer,
said.
Newman's fiancee, Connie Hilton, said her barking dog woke her the night of
Sept. 17, 1990. She got out of bed and saw a man in the hallway with a shotgun.
Newman responded to her scream and was gunned down. The dog was also killed.
The Associated Press normally does not name rape victims, but Hilton agreed in
an interview to be identified. She has written a book that includes her
experiences as a crime victim and uses it in her work with a prison ministry
organization.
"God's gotten me through this," the 63-year-old said.
Hilton was assaulted for over an hour by Lewis while 2 other men, who never
were identified or found, stole items from the house. She was left in the
kitchen, hands and feet bound, as Lewis and his partners fled in her truck. She
managed to free herself, crawled to Newman's body, and then climbed out a
window. She drove to a store for help.
Lewis was arrested three days later after he was seen with some of the items
taken from the home. DNA evidence linked him to the attack.
"I'm not looking forward to it," Hilton said of Lewis' lethal injection. She
plans to be in Huntsville on Tuesday evening, but was uncertain if she would
watch. "I was there when George was killed. ... It's not something you want to
remember. But I'm looking forward to a final decision, putting an end to that,
to the appeal process.
"It's been going on 23 years. It's an emotional roller coaster. Every couple
years something comes up and you're constantly reminded of it."
In 1996, Lewis' conviction was upheld but his death sentence was reversed by
the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. A new punishment trial was held the
following year and Lewis again was sentenced to die.
Appeals since then focused on whether the laborer, who dropped out of school in
the 9th grade, was mentally impaired and ineligible for the death penalty under
U.S. Supreme Court rulings. A scheduled 2003 execution was halted to review the
mental impairment claims, which courts eventually rejected.
Lewis declined interview requests from the AP as his execution date neared.
Testimony at his trial indicated he had been abused as a child by his father.
His mother, who has since died, testified a 10-year-old Lewis shot his father
to protect her.
Records showed Lewis first went to prison in 1983 for burglary, was paroled and
returned to prison as a parole violator. He continued to be a repeat offender
until his arrest on capital murder charges for Newman's slaying. Evidence also
showed 4 days before that attack, he used a sawed-off shotgun during a store
robbery in Tyler.
At least 11 other Texas inmates have executions scheduled through July.
(source: click2houston.com)
ARKANSAS:
Arkansas inmates seek clarification in death penalty FOIA case
6 death row inmates who asked a judge to order the Arkansas Department of
Correction to turn over documents about lethal injection drugs now want the
judge to clarify his ruling in the case.
Pulaski County Circuit Judge Collins Kilgore ruled last month that the inmates
can't use Arkansas' open records law to obtain information about the origin,
history of quality of the drugs the state will use to execute them.
But the inmates say Kilgore's order did not mention their request for judgment
about the release of documents under the state's new lethal injection law.
The Legislature enacted the new lethal injection law this year after the state
Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that lawmakers had given the Correction Department
too much control.
Arkansas doesn't have any pending executions.
(source: Associated Press)
MISSOURI:
Death Penalty: Senator Joe Keaveny Says Missouri Must Assess Costs of Execution
As we've reported, lawmakers have pushed this year to repeal the death penalty
in Missouri with a proposal that is not likely to get far in the legislature.
State Senator Joe Keaveny, a Democrat who represents St. Louis, is supportive
of an end to capital punishment in the state -- but he's taking a different
approach.
His legislation, Senate Bill 61, would require the state auditor to conduct a
study on the costs of administering the death penalty.
"Let's see how much we are spending and if we indeed want to be spending that
money," Keaveny tells Daily RFT.
Does his bill have a shot?
So far, his legislation has gotten more traction than State Senator Gina
Walsh's death penalty repeal proposal -- but he is still facing obstacles.
Keaveny's proposed bill, draft on view below, says that the state auditor must
compare the costs of three kinds of cases, when: - The death penalty is sought
and imposed;
- The death penalty is not sought and the Missourian is sentenced to life in
prison without parole; and
- The death penalty is sought, but not imposed.
"The goal is just to provide people with some unbiased information about what
it costs to execute somebody," Keaveny explains, adding, "The death penalty is
so emotional.... That's why I want the auditor to do it."
As we noted in our coverage of Walsh's repeal proposal, in Missouri, 68 people
have been executed since 1976 and 2 since 2005. The state ranks 5th in terms of
the number of prisoners that face the punishment. Opponents of the death
penalty argue that it's very costly and unfairly applied -- and can at times be
used against individuals wrongfully convicted.
Keaveny's audit bill had a hearing at the end of last month and is scheduled
for possible perfection today. (Walsh's bill, it appears, had a 1st and 2nd
read and remains stuck in committee).
But a proposed amendment is creating problems, he tells us.
His colleagues in committee have proposed an add-on to his bill that would
require the auditor's report to be paid by private funds -- which the senator
opposes.
"It is the job of the auditor to tell us how we are spending our money," he
says, arguing that just because this is a controversial issue like the death
penalty, they shouldn't have to raise private funds to pay for a study.
Keaveny tells us he's still deciding what to do about the proposed amendment
and would still like his bill to move forward without that stipulation.
In the meantime, he's also proposed what's called a "concurrent resolution"
bill that would direct the oversight division of the committee on legislative
research to study the death penalty costs -- as another option.
His office notes that there have been studies on capital punishment costs in
states across the country, funded in a variety of ways. And his staff also
points to an American Bar Association report from last year that highlighted a
number of flaws in the application of the death penalty in Missouri, such as a
need for more best practices to protect against the execution of innocent
people as well as the drain capital punishment has on the underfunded state
public defender's system.
If the state did an audit, Keaveny says, lawmakers would be better equipped to
debate a potential repeal.
"The next discussion is going to be, 'Do we want to spend that kind of money?'"
he says.
(source: Riverfront Times)
ARIZONA:
Heated exchanges between Arias prosecutor, expert
The Jodi Arias murder trial has resumed with more heated exchanges between a
domestic violence expert and the prosecutor.
Psychotherapist Alyce LaViolette and prosecutor Juan Martinez argued again
Monday over questions about her resume and credibility.
LaViolette once was a speaker at a conference where she analyzed Snow White in
the context of domestic violence.
Martinez attacked her credibility for taking part in a discussion about a
fairytale. He raised questions Monday about whether she fudged her resume in
describing her role in the conference.
LaViolette is a key witness for Arias as she tries to convince a jury that she
killed Travis Alexander in self-defense after he was abusive toward her.
Authorities say she planned the attack in a jealous rage.
(source: Associated Press)
USA:
Army vet accused in Syria fighting to remain jailed; al-Qaida group wanted him
as spokesman
An al-Qaida affiliate operating among Syrian rebels wanted a Phoenix man
fighting alongside them to serve as their face to the Western world, but he
refused to take on the role, prosecutors said Monday.
A few new details emerged at a court hearing Monday in the case against Eric
Harroun, 30, a U.S. Army veteran accused of joining up with a group known as
"al-Qaida in Iraq" earlier this year as it and other rebel groups battled the
regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Specifically, Harroun is charged with using a weapon of mass destruction
outside the U.S. by firing rocket-propelled grenades at Syrian government
forces while he was with the al-Qaida group, known as Jabhat al-Nusra. The U.S.
government designated the group as a terrorist organization in December.
At Monday's hearing, U.S. Magistrate Ivan Davis found probable cause to send
the case to a grand jury and ordered Harroun remain jailed while he awaits
trial.
Prosecutor Carter Burwell told Davis that members of Jabhat al-Nusra at one
point asked Harroun to serve as their "Adam Gadahn," a reference to the
American-born al-Qaida member who once served as a spokesman of sorts for Osama
bin Laden. Burwell said Harroun declined the offer.
Prosecutors also said for the 1st time Monday that Harroun could possibly face
the death penalty if the government can prove at some point that Harroun's
actions caused a death. Harroun has told the FBI in voluntary interviews that
he may have shot 10 people during the course of his fighting in Syria - from
January to March of this year - but he was unsure if he actually killed anyone.
During Monday's detention hearing, public defender Geremy Kamens asked the
judge to consider the fact that Harroun was fighting with Syrian rebels who
share the U.S. government's desire to oust al-Assad's regime.
"It is extremely unusual for the U.S. to charge a person who is fighting in a
manner that is aligned with U.S. interests," Kamens said.
The law under which Harroun is charged applies to U.S. nationals anywhere in
the world and does not specify exceptions for those fighting hostile regimes.
Still, Kamens questioned whether the criminal charge filed against Harroun
applies in a circumstance where the U.S. government considers the regime he was
fighting to be illegitimate. The statute bars using a weapon of mass
destruction "without lawful authority." Kamens argued that because the Assad
regime lacks legitimacy in the eyes of the U.S. and among the Syrian people,
those who take up arms against it are within their rights to do so.
But prosecutors argued successfully that no chances should be taken when the
rebel group in question is a branch of al-Qaida.
Burwell said the fact that Harroun "knowingly aligned himself with al-Qaida is
perhaps one of the gravest threats to national security that the U.S.
government can countenance."
The judge asked Burwell directly if the U.S. government would have brought
charges against Harroun if he had been fighting with the Free Syrian Army, a
rebel group that has no terrorist designation, as opposed to al-Qaida in Iraq.
Burwell said he couldn't answer that question, but made clear that the U.S.
Justice Department considers the case far more serious because it involves an
al-Qaida affiliate.
According to the FBI affidavit, Harroun originally joined the Free Syrian Army
in January after crossing the border from Turkey. Within a few days, he was in
a battle where the Free Syrian Army and the Jabhat al-Nusra Front launched a
joint attack. During the retreat, Harroun hopped on the back of an Jabhat
al-Nusra truck.
According to the affidavit, Jabhat al-Nusra initially treated Harroun like a
prisoner until he eventually gained their trust and joined them in subsequent
firefights, where he used a grenade launcher and other weapons.
His willingness to serve with Jabhat al-Nusra was a subject of debate Monday.
Kamens suggested that Harroun had no choice but to fight alongside them, or
else he would be considered an American spy. And Harroun told the FBI that he
hated al-Qaida.
On the other hand, the FBI said Harroun bragged of his exploits with Jabhat
al-Nusra on his Facebook page and admitted in interviews with the FBI that he
knew Jabhat al-Nusra had been designated a terrorist group.
(source: Associated Press)
OREGON:
Bill to repeal Oregon's death penalty scheduled for work session
A bill seeking to repeal Oregon's death penalty is scheduled for a work session
next week in the House Judiciary Committee, keeping it alive -- for now.
Judiciary chairman Rep. Jeff Barker, D-Aloha, said he scheduled the session
after talking with the bill's sponsor, Rep. Mitch Greenlick, D-Portland.
Although Barker said last February that he was not in favor of the bill, he
agreed to Greenlick's request to move the bill to the Rules committee for
further work, he said.
"We'll move it down to Rules, so it's not dead," said Barker.
Monday marks the deadline for scheduling a work session for policy bills to
remain viable. April 18 is the deadline by which the work session must be held.
Greenlick said he remains hopeful about prospects for House Joint Resolution 1,
which seeks to refer to voters a ballot measure to repeal the death penalty. He
said he is considering amendments that make it clear that death sentences would
be replaced with life in prison without the possibility of parole and another
that calls for restitution to victims' families.
The work session is scheduled for April 16 at 1 p.m.
(source: The Oregonian)
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