May 14



TEXAS----impending execution

Texas to execute man for Houston officer's slaying


When Houston police arrested Jeffrey Demond Williams for gunning down a plainclothes officer working an auto theft assignment, the slain officer's handcuffs dangled from one of Williams' wrists.

Witnesses said they saw the officer, 39-year-old Troy Blando, start to cuff Williams, who then began struggling, grabbed a gun under his clothing with his free hand and shot the 19-year police veteran before running off on foot.

Williams, 37, was set for lethal injection Wednesday evening. He'd be the 6th Texas prisoner executed this year.

Officers found Williams a block from where he shot Blando on May 19, 1999. Besides the handcuff, he still was carrying the 9 mm pistol determined to be the weapon used to fatally shoot Blando in the chest.

Attorneys for Williams appealed Tuesday to the U.S. Supreme Court to stop the execution, after lower courts refused to do so. They contend that he received poor legal help in earlier appeals, and that those lawyers should have argued that his trial lawyers had failed him. The trial lawyers should have provided jurors with more than superficial mitigating evidence of Williams' mental impairment to show he did not deserve a death sentence, they said.

"There is a reasonable probability, but for trial counsel's unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different," attorney Jonathan Sheldon told the high court.

State attorneys have said Williams' appeals were strategically filed with his execution imminent, that no federal law authorizes the court relief being sought and that arguments raised were "wholly unpersuasive on the merits," according to Georgette Oden, an assistant Texas attorney general.

Blando was in an unmarked vehicle, working surveillance at a southwest Houston motel where authorities suspected auto theft activity. Williams pulled into the parking lot about 9 a.m. driving a Lexus. A check of the license plate showed the car was reported stolen the previous week. His fingerprints were found on the Lexus and also on Blando's vehicle, evidence showed.

The mortally wounded Blando managed to radio his location and tell a dispatcher he'd been shot. He also provided a description of his attacker and exchanged gunfire with him.

"I don't know about you, but I know about me, and I want to get somebody there to save my life," Lyn McClellan, the former Harris County assistant district attorney who prosecuted Williams, said last week. "That's in my mind, I'm all about preservation."

Instead, Blando was focused on his job, McClellan said.

"Here's the guy, here's what he looks like and here's what he's wearing. And of course, one handcuff on his wrist. It ought to be easy to identify him," the former prosecutor said. "The fact he takes time to give a description of the person and the direction of travel, it's just beyond pale, beyond the line of duty. And that's what these guys do all the time."

At his trial, lawyers tried to show Williams was unintelligent, had emotional problems and didn't deserve to die.

Prosecutors said Williams had good parents and plenty of chances at help, even from the U.S. Navy, which discharged him after disciplinary problems. Evidence showed Williams gave investigators five taped confessions the day he was arrested.

Williams said he fired in self-defense, feared Blando could have been a carjacker and didn't know Blando was an officer. In another confession, he acknowledged knowing he was shooting a policeman.

Court records show Blando, although in plain clothes, was carrying his badge around his neck.

Testimony and confessions also linked Williams to four robberies, another shooting and an attempted robbery.

Williams would be the 498th Texas prisoner put to death since the state resumed carrying out capital punishment in 1982. At least 8 others have executions scheduled in the coming months.

(source: Abilene Reporter-News)

********************

Convicted Houston cop killer set to die Wednesday


Attorneys for a 37-year-old Texas death row inmate are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to stop his execution this week for the fatal shooting of a Houston police officer 14 years ago.

Jeffrey Demond Williams is set for lethal injection Wednesday evening in Huntsville for gunning down 39-year-old Troy Blando.

Blando was working as a plainclothes officer doing auto theft surveillance when he stopped Williams, who was driving a stolen Lexus. As Blando was putting handcuffs on Williams, he was shot.

Williams' lawyers argue his punishment should be halted while the high court reviews whether his legal help at his trial and in earlier stages of his appeals was deficient.

When Williams was arrested shortly after the shooting, he was still wearing the officer's handcuff on one of his wrists.

(source: Associated Press)

**************************

Defense doesn't dispute man drowned his sons, ages 3 and 5; prosecutors seeking death sentence


Naim Rasool Muhammad murdered his 2 young sons. Of this, there is no question.

Muhammad, 34, is on trial this week in a Dallas County courtroom for capital murder and does not dispute that he drowned 5-year-old Naim and 3-year-old Elijah in a smelly, shallow creek by a dead end street in Glenn Heights. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

Muhammad kidnapped the boys and drowned them in August 2011 in what may have been rage at their mother, Kametra Sampson. Muhammad's attorney, Paul Johnson, told jurors Monday that he expected they would find Muhammad guilty and conveyed that, for Muhammad, the trial is all about an attempt to spare his life.

The weekend before the boys were drowned was full of excitement about Naim's 1st day of kindergarten, Dallas County prosecutor Tammy Kemp said in opening statements. But the enthusiasm was tempered with fights between the children's parents.

Muhammad showed up uninvited to a barbecue celebrating the start of school. There, he argued with Sampson about her new boyfriend, Kemp said. He didn't want another man raising his children and wanted to see them more.

He left and came back, hoping to spend time with his boys. But they were gone with their mother and new boyfriend.

"I know what I'm going to do. I'm going to take care of it," Muhammad told his mother, according to Kemp.

The night before school began, Naim couldn't sleep because he was so excited. He had a new uniform and a Transformers backpack.

Elijah wanted to go to school, too, because everywhere Naim goes, Elijah goes, Kemp said. But he was too young. Then Elijah convinced their mother to at least let him see Julia C. Frazier Elementary near Fair Park in Dallas.

Their youngest brother, who was not quite 1, stayed home with family.

As mother and sons walked along the road "to a place where the sidewalk ends," they heard a car driving recklessly, Kemp said. The driver was Muhammad. He jumped out and picked up a rock to threaten them.

"Get in or I'll do it," Muhammad said, according to Kemp. "I'll beat your ass right here."

Sampson got in and Muhammad threw the boys in the back seat and drove off, according to Kemp. He had borrowed the car from a woman he was dating after telling her that he wanted to drive his son to his 1st day of school.

Elijah stood between the seats. Naim lay across a seat in the back of the Toyota Matrix.

Sampson, Kemp said, thought she would be able to get help at the school. But Muhammad drove by without stopping.

Muhammad alternately raged at and sweet-talked Sampson, Kemp said. He told her he wanted to get back together. And then he hit her, the prosecutor told jurors.

Sampson saw a Dallas County constable when the car stopped at a stop light. Sampson jumped out, Kemp said, and told the woman, "My babies' daddy says he's going to kill us all."

Muhammad sped off, jumping a curb and racing through a red light.

The constable did not have lights and sirens on her vehicle and could not chase Muhammad. But she called Dallas police.

200 police officers searched for them while Muhammad drowned them in 6- to 8-inches of water.

Naim seemed to understand what was happening.

"I wanna live, Daddy," Muhammad recalled Naim saying when he later confessed to police. "I wanna live."

Elijah, dressed in a Sponge Bob T-shirt, fortunately did not. At least not at first.

"Daddy, I want you to carry me," Elijah said.

And then, Elijah cried for his mother.

"Your mama don't want us no more," Muhammad told his sons, according to Kemp. "She ran off and left us."

Muhammad then smoked a cigarette and spent 5 minutes telling Naim and Elijah how much he loved them, he later told police.

Muhammad carried Elijah down to the creek. The boy was barefoot and the burrs might hurt his feet. He held Naim's hand be because he didn't want him to fall.

"Play like you're swimming," Kemp said Muhammad told the boys, her voice thick with emotion as she addressed jurors.

They listened to their father. He held their heads under the water until they stopped kicking.

After the boys' deaths, Muhammad went to the house where the boys and their mother lived. He tried to abduct their youngest son. Sampson's brother stopped him and shoved Muhammad out of the home through a window he tried to climb through, Kemp said.

Sampson came home not long after, Kemp said. Her brother told her that Muhammad told him something awful, something he didn't believe was true.

The brother told Sampson: "He said, 'Your nephews is dead.'"

Testimony is expected to continue Tuesday before visiting judge Quay Parker.

(source: Dallas Morning News)

************************

Dallas Prosecutors Seek Death Penalty In Slaying Of 2 Sons


Prosecutors in Dallas are seeking the death penalty against a man charged with drowning 2 of his sons in a creek.

Testimony is scheduled to begin Monday afternoon in the trial of Naim Muhammad. He faces 2 counts of capital murder in the 2011 deaths of his sons - 5-year-old Naim and 3-year-old Elijah.

Muhammad allegedly used a brick to force the boys and their mother into his vehicle as she walked the children to school. The older boy was starting kindergarten.

The woman jumped out at an intersection and alerted a nearby constable, who called police but didn't pursue the fleeing vehicle. Constables are mainly process servers in civil cases.

Muhammad's mother later called 911 to say her son had drowned the boys and she had the unresponsive bodies. Paramedics responded to the scene, performed CPR and took the kids to Children's Medical Center. Both children were pronounced dead at the hospital, and police later confirmed the boys were drowned.

Muhammad also attempted to take his 3rd child, a 1-year-old, from Sampson's grandmother's house. The grandmother was able to stop Muhammad from taking the child.

Relatives say that Muhammad had threatened Sampson and their children on a number of occasions.

(source: CBS News)






NEW YORK:

Rep. Bill Nojay wants to bring back death penalty for certain cases


A New York lawmaker wants to bring back the death penalty as an option for sentencing in certain cases.

Assemblyman Bill Nojay's proposal would allow a jury to impose that ruling. In cases where a police officer is the victim or a person dies in a terrorist attack.

Nojay says doing this would allow victim's families to have closure and know justice was served.

A New York State Court of Appeals struck down New York's death penalty statute in 2004.

(source: WHEC TV News)






PENNSYLVANIA:

Kermit Gosnell Avoids Death Row, Agrees to Life in Prison


Philadelphia abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell agreed today to serve 2 life sentences and waive his right to an appeal in order to avoid the possibility of being condemned to death.

Gosnell was convicted of 1st degree murder on Monday in the deaths of 3 babies who were born live and then killed by severing their spinal chords with scissors.

As part of the deal, Gosnell, 72, will serve 2 life sentences without the possibility of parole or the opportunity to appeal.

Prosecutors had sought the death penalty against Gosnell, but because of his advanced age it was deemed unlikely that he would live long enough for death penalty appeals which can last decades.

Gosnell is expected to be sentenced Wednesday. He will also be sentenced on a conviction of involuntary manslaughter in the death of a female patient who was given a lethal dose of sedatives and pain killers in 2009.

The guilty verdicts came on Monday, the jury's 10th day of deliberations.

Gosnell was accused of performing late-term abortions on 4 babies who were born alive, but were then allegedly killed by Gosnell. He was cleared in the death of one of the infants.

For 2 months, the jury heard often grisly testimony, including from members of Gosnell's staff. 8 staffers have pleaded guilty to several crimes. Prosecutors said none of the staff were licensed nurses or doctors.

Gosnell ran the Women's Medical Society in West Philadelphia for decades until February 2010, when FBI agents raided his clinic looking for evidence of prescription drug dealing.

Instead they found, as reported in a nearly 300-page grand jury report released in 2011, a filthy, decrepit "house of horrors."

Blood was on the floor, the clinic reeked of urine and bags of fetal remains were stacked in freezers. The clinic was shut down and Gosnell's medical license was suspended after the raid.

Despite repeated complaints to state officials over the years -- as well as 46 lawsuits filed against Gosnell -- investigators said in the report that state regulators had conducted five inspections since the clinic had opened in 1979.

The grand jury report in the case said there had been hundreds of "snippings," in which live babies were born and then killed.

"Gosnell had a simple solution for the unwanted babies he delivered. ... The way he ensured fetal demise was by sticking scissors into the back of the baby's neck and cutting the spinal cord. He called that 'snipping,'" the report alleged.

The report also said that many of the women patients were infected with sexually transmitted diseases from contaminated instruments, had suffered from botched procedures or had been given overdoses of dangerous drugs.

(source: ABC News)

**********************

Philadelphia abortion doctor gets life in prison after deal


A Philadelphia doctor avoided the possibility of the death penalty for murdering babies during late-term abortions by agreeing not to appeal his convictions, and he was sentenced on Tuesday to life in prison, the city prosecutor said.

Dr. Kermit Gosnell, 72, was convicted on Monday on three counts of 1st-degree murder, which raised the possibility of the death penalty. The case focused on whether the infants were born alive and then killed.

In the agreement that spared his life, Gosnell waived his right to appeal his convictions and was immediately sentenced to life in prison on 2 murder counts, Philadelphia District Attorney R. Seth Williams said in a statement.

Gosnell is due to be sentenced on Wednesday on his other convictions, including the murder of a 3rd baby and the involuntary manslaughter of a patient who died after a late-term abortion, Williams said.

The 7-woman, 5-man jury that found Gosnell guilty after 10 days of deliberations had been scheduled to return to court next Tuesday to decide if he would face the death penalty or life in prison.

Gosnell was accused of delivering live babies during late-term abortions and then severing their spinal cords at the now-shuttered Women's Medical Society Clinic. The facility served a predominantly black and low-income community in West Philadelphia.

The trial in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court was punctuated by graphic testimony and cast a spotlight on the controversial practice of late-term abortions.

Witness testimony described the babies as born breathing, moving and making sounds. Testimony also depicted a filthy clinic, and prosecutors called it a "house of horrors."

Gosnell also was found guilty of performing 21 abortions after 24 weeks of pregnancy at his clinic.

It is legal in Pennsylvania to abort a fetus up to 24 weeks into a pregnancy.

9 states ban abortions after 20 weeks, according to the pro-choice organization NARAL. Other states recently put new restrictions on abortions, with Arkansas banning them at 12 weeks and North Dakota at 6 weeks.


92 % of abortions are performed before 14 weeks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and 1.3 % are performed beyond 20 weeks.

Gosnell was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the case of Karnamaya Mongar, 41, of Virginia, who died from a drug overdose after going to him for an abortion.

He also was convicted of infanticide and conspiracy in the babies' deaths and found guilty of 211 counts of failing to comply with a state law that requires a 24-hour waiting period before an abortion is performed.

Gosnell has been in jail since his arrest in January 2011.

The jury cleared him of one charge of first-degree murder related to one of the babies he was accused of killing.

He was sentenced on Tuesday for the murders of infants identified only as Babies C and D, the prosecutor said.

He is due to be sentenced on Wednesday for the murder of a 3rd baby, known as Baby A, the prosecutor said.

A clinic worker testified during the trial that Gosnell had cut the spinal cords of babies born breathing including Baby A, which she said the doctor had described as "big enough to walk me to the bus stop."

Gosnell's defense had claimed there was no evidence that the babies were alive after they were aborted and that any noise or movement would have been involuntary spasms.

Eight other defendants have pleaded guilty to a variety of charges and are in jail awaiting sentencing later this month. They include Gosnell's wife, Pearl, a cosmetologist who helped perform abortions.

(source: Retuers)

************************

Putting the Brakes on Philly's Death Penalty


The followings are remarks I gave on May 4 at the kickoff rally of the Philadelphia Moratorium Campaign at the First United Methodist Church of Germantown:

Witness to Innocence is a national organization originally founded as a project of Sister Helen Prejean of the book Dead Man Walking. Our mission is to empower exonerated death row survivors and their loved ones to become leaders in the death penalty abolition movement. We provide a support network for our members, each of whom spent an average of 10 years on death row for a crime they did not commit.

WTI members speak to audiences throughout the country about their experiences on death row, testify before state legislatures, work with state abolition groups and change hearts and minds in the process. WTI has been involved in successful death penalty repeal efforts in 6 states over 6 years.

In Maryland, my advocacy director Kirk Bloodsworth and I stood with Gov. Martin O'Malley as he signed the state's death penalty repeal bill into law. We stood with abolitionists and Democratic and Republican lawmakers in Annapolis who realize the death penalty doesn't work. The government should not be in the business of killing people, and we oppose executions under any circumstances. Capital punishment is expensive, and discriminates against the poor and people of color. And most of all, innocent people are put to death.

So, why are we here? WTI decided to convene the Philadelphia Moratorium Campaign, a diverse coalition of religious leaders, human rights and civil liberties organizations, prisoners' rights groups, legal defense organizations, community groups and others.

We are calling on Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams to place a moratorium on death penalty prosecutions in this city. In addition, we are planning a public outreach campaign, in which death row exonerees will go out to the communities in this city, talk to the people and to lawmakers and educate them about the problems with the death penalty.

Once again, why are we here today? We are here because Pennsylvania is a leader in the death penalty. About 200 people are on death row, fourth behind California, Florida and Texas. And although Maryland was the 1st state south of the Mason-Dixon line to abolish capital punishment, Pennsylvania is worse than many Southern states.

Philly contributes the lion's share of Pennsylvania's death row, nearly half. And the vast majority of these people are poor, black and Latino. They couldn't afford the best justice money can buy.

Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams came into office proclaiming it was "a new day" for the death penalty, garnering support from progressives, communities of color and others. Williams is better than his predecessor, Lynn Abraham, to be sure, but under the prosecutor once known as "America's deadliest D.A.," the bar was already pitifully low. The bottom line is we are not seeing the progress we expected. When you seek the death penalty in 101 cases as the current D.A. has, yet only one comes back in a conviction, it is time to reevaluate. Something is simply not working here.

But in the end, this is not about personalities, this is about policies. But for exonerated death row survivors, this is personal. For example, Harold Wilson, a Philadelphia native and a member of Witness to Innocence, spent 16 years behind bars -- most of it on Pennsylvania death row -- for a triple murder he did not commit. The prosecutor in the case, former Assistant D.A. Jack McMahon, illegally struck black jurors because of their race. And McMahon was known for a training video which instructed jurors on the use of race in jury selection.

Certainly, this is personal for Philadelphia resident Kirk Bloodsworth, who spent nine years in the Maryland Penitentiary, two years on death row before DNA evidence cleared his name. And Ronald Kitchen, also a Philadelphia resident and death row survivor, spent 21 years in prison in Illinois, including 13 on death row.

For far too long, elected officials have utilized executions for political gain, and exploited the lives of prisoners as political ping-pong balls. We say put the brakes on the death penalty in Philadelphia. Cool it down so we can study this, and work towards policies that promote human rights and dignity, fairness and justice, not torture chambers.

(source: David A. Love is the executive director of Witness to Innocence, a national nonprofit organization that empowers exonerated death row prisoners and their family members to become effective leaders in the movement to abolish the death penalty----Hufington Post)






VIRGINIA:

Convicted murderer of 7 people appeals death penalty


The lawyers defending a convicted murder are putting together a case to keep him off death row. Ricky Gray killed 7 people, including the Harvey family, who had 2 little girls.

For 7 years, the convicted murderer has sat on death row for a killing spree that included 2 children.

Lawyers say they will try to prove that Gray's lawyers were insufficient when it came to defending him during the trial and appeal process.

Even though this is Gray's last attempt, he won't be in the courthouse as his lawyers make their arguments in front of a 3-judge panel.

"State and federal law requires that appellate court review the process by which they were sentenced to death, to ensure minimum safeguards that are in place have been satisfied," said NBC12 legal analyst Steve Benjamin.

It's a series of murders that grabbed national attention because of the brutality and number of victims. The youngest were sisters Stella and Ruby Harvey.

Ricky Gray, with the help of Ray Dandridge, also killed the girls' parents, Bryan and Kathryn. Then they set the Woodland Heights home on fire.

A week later, Percyell Tucker, his wife Mary and their daughter, Ashley Baskerville - who was an accomplice in the Harveys' murder - were also killed.

Gray was sentenced to death for the girls' murders.

Benjamin says if he loses this appeal, it would take an action by the U.S. supreme court or governor to prevent it - but such action would be rare.

"In this case, there is no claim of innocence. There is no presentation of the mitigating factors, such as mental illness," said Benjamin.

Benjamin predicts if Gray's lawyers can't make their case, the execution could happen by the end of the year.

Gray's case is expected to be heard in the Court of Appeals this Wednesday. Ray Dandridge, the other man convicted for the murders, is serving a life sentence.

(source: WWBT News)

********************************

Prince William man charged with murder in son's death


A man accused of drowning his 15-month-old son was indicted on a murder charge last week, and his trial will begin Aug. 5.

Joaquin S. Rams, 40, had taken out more than $500,000 in life insurance on his son, Prince McLeod Rams, according to court documents. Prince, who had been the subject of a custody dispute between his mother, Hera McLeod, and Rams, was rushed to the hospital Oct. 20 after an emergency call. He died a day later.

Prince arrived at the hospital with injuries to his face and body, and was naked, wet and cold, according to court testimony and a hospital report. Prince had a history of fever-induced seizures, and Rams told investigators that he had splashed ice water on the boy to bring down a fever, according to documents.

Rams faces the possibility of life in prison if convicted, Commonwealth's Attorney Paul B. Ebert (D) said. Ebert said he has not decided whether to seek a capital murder charge, for which Rams could face the death penalty if convicted.

"When the investigation is finished, that decision will be made," Ebert said.

McLeod, who has spoken up for her son and on issues of parental rights, said Monday in an interview that she was "happy that the wheels of justice are turning" and that she was "confident in the prosecution. That gives me some comfort."

Timothy M. Olmstead, Rams???s attorney, said during a recent preliminary hearing that Prince was sick and that his death "was likely an accident."

"It's going to be up to the jury to determine what they believe of that medical evidence in that regard," Ebert said.

A Prince William medical examiner, Constance DiAngelo, testified that water was found in Prince's sinuses, lungs and intestines. She determined that he had drowned. DiAngelo also testified that she found bruises on the boy's face, head, chest and back. She did not rule the death a homicide, however.

"We're going to put together a good case and a vigorous defense as best we can," Olmstead said last week.

(source: Washington Post)






NORTH CAROLINA:

Trial draws visitors to Shaniya Davis' gravesite


As jurors in the Mario McNeill murder trial continue to hear from SBI lab agents about evidence they processed, visitor after visitor are stopping by the granite marker that identifies Shaniya Davis' grave.

McNeill, 33, is being tried in Cumberland County Superior Court on 7 charges, including the 1st-degree murder and rape of the 5-year-old Fayetteville girl. He could face the death penalty if convicted.

Prosecutors have said Shaniya's mother, Antoniette Nicole Davis, 28, gave her daughter to McNeill in November 2009 to settle a drug debt. Davis will be tried on similar charges but doesn't face death.

McNeill allegedly took Shaniya to a Sanford hotel.

Surveillance photos from the hotel show McNeill carrying the girl towards an elevator. Prosecutors said he raped her in the room and then took her out to kill her and dispose of the body.

SBI hair examiner Jennifer Remy told the courtroom Monday that hair from a hotel comforter was microscopically inconclusive with McNeill's hair -- meaning it showcased similarities and differences from his hair sample and could not be tied to him 100 %, which has been the case with most of the hair testing.

However, all of the hair is undergoing another stage of DNA testing, but the results have not yet been revealed.

Since the trial began 5 weeks ago, visitors to Shaniya's grave have become more common, with people leaving stuffed animals, flowers and other items.

According to the staff at Fayetteville Memorial Cemetery, where Shaniya was laid to rest, her father calls the office to ask them to order flowers for his daughter's grave on special occasions.

Bradley Lockhart moved to Alabama a couple of months after his Shaniya's death. He returned to town for McNeill's trial.

(source: ABC News)

_______________________________________________
DeathPenalty mailing list
DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu
http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty

Search the Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/deathpenalty@lists.washlaw.edu/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A free service of WashLaw
http://washlaw.edu
(785)670.1088
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Reply via email to