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)
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