Oct. 9
TEXAS----execution
Texas executes Lubbock man who killed parents
A Texas man was put to death Wednesday evening for killing his parents at their
Lubbock home 15 years ago during a drug-influenced rampage that also left his
89-year-old grandmother dead.
Michael Yowell, 43, told witnesses, including his daughters and his ex-wife,
that he loved them.
"Punch the button," he told the warden.
He took several deep breaths, then began snoring. Within about 30 seconds, all
movement stopped.
He was pronounced dead 19 minutes later at 7:11 p.m. CDT.
Yowell tried to delay his execution, the 14th this year in the nation's most
active death penalty state, by joining a lawsuit with 2 other condemned
prisoners that challenged Texas prison officials' recent purchase of a new
supply of pentobarbital for his scheduled lethal injection.
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the appeal minutes before Yowell was taken to
the Texas death chamber Wednesday evening.
The prisoners argued use of the sedative could cause unconstitutional pain and
suffering because the drug, replacing a similar inventory that expired at the
end of September, was made by a compounding pharmacy not subjected to strict
federal scrutiny. Texas, like other death penalty states, has turned to
compounding pharmacies that custom-make drugs for customers after traditional
suppliers declined to sell to prison agencies or bowed to pressure from
execution opponents.
The lawsuit sought an injunction to delay the execution and gain more time to
ensure "the integrity and legality" of the drug and be certain its use was
within constitutional protections.
Attorneys for the inmates took the case to the U.S. Supreme Court after lower
federal courts ruled that the drug appeared adequate and that the Texas
Department of Criminal Justice did nothing wrong in acquiring it.
"Our baseline contention is we, the public, have to be concerned about
transparency and accountability by a state agency that's carrying out the
gravest of all possible duties," Maurie Levin, one of the inmates' attorneys,
said.
Yowell's parents, John, 55, and Carol, 53, were found dead in the wreckage of
their home following an explosion on Mother's Day weekend in 1998. Yowell's
89-year-old grandmother, Viola Davis, who was staying there, died days later of
injuries suffered in the blast.
Yowell already was on probation for burglary and drug convictions. He was
arrested on federal firearms charges and charged with his parents' slayings
after authorities determined his mother had been beaten and strangled and his
father was shot. Prosecutors showed John Yowell was killed when he caught his
son stealing his wallet. Yowell then attacked his mother, opened a gas valve
and fled. The home blew up.
"At some point he's looking his mom in the face, beating her and wrapping a
lamp cord around her neck," Lubbock County District Attorney Matt Powell, who
prosecuted the case, recalled Tuesday. "I think always there are some
unanswered questions. You want to know how somebody is capable of doing that to
their parents."
Evidence showed Yowell had a $200-a-day drug habit he supported by stealing.
Evidence also showed he burned some of his bloody clothes and hid a
blood-stained jacket and the murder weapon in the crawl space of a friend's
house. Defense attorneys unsuccessfully tried to show Yowell was insane.
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to review appeals that contended
Yowell received shoddy legal help at his 1999 trial and in the early stages of
his appeals.
Yowell becomes the 14th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in Texas
and the 506th overall since the state resumed capital punishment on December 7,
1982. Yowell becomes the 267th condemned inmate to be put to death in Texas
since Rick Perry became governor in 2001.
Yowell becomes the 30th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the
USA and the 1350th overall since the nation resumed executions on January 17,
1977.
There are 8 more scheduled executions in the USA during the remainder of the
year, including 3 more later this month, 4 in November and 1 set for December.
In 2012, the USA carried out a total of 43 executions.
(sources: Associated Press & Rick Halperin)
********************************
Executions under Rick Perry, 2001-present-----267
Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982-present----506
Perry #--------scheduled execution date-----name---------Tx. #
268------------Oct. 29--------------------Arthur Brown------508
269------------Nov. 12---------------------Jamie McCoskey-----509
270------------Dec. 3----------------------Jerry Martin----510
271------------Jan. 16--------------------Edgardo Cubas-----511
272------------Jan. 22--------------------Edgar Tamayo-------512
273-----------Feb. 5-----------------------Suzanne Basso-------513
(sources for both: TDCJ & Rick Halperin)
PENNSYLVANIA:
Jurors Spare Life of Philly-Area Musician's Killer
Jurors in suburban Philadelphia have recommended that a man convicted in the
shooting death of a popular musician almost 2 years ago should spend the rest
of his life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The Bucks County panel convicted 21-year-old Breon Powell of Trenton, N.J., of
1st-degree murder in the December 2011 slaying of Danny DeGennaro during a
botched home invasion robbery in Levittown.
The Bucks County Courier Times says the jury needed less than an hour Wednesday
to choose the life-without-parole sentence over the death penalty.
One juror said the panel believed that shooting the Levittown musician was a
"last minute, split-second decision'' and that Powell showed remorse in court.
Powell's mother had begged the jury to spare her son's life. Powell's father
Bruce Peppers said his son was training as a boxer and doubted his son
committed the crime.
"I'm so sorry for what happened. But my son didn't do it," he told the
DeGennaro family.
Defense attorney Keith Williams said his client got mixed up with his
co-defendants because he yearned for a brother, and executing him would only
add to the pain the crime has caused.
Relatives of the victim described their life with him and what his loss has
meant.
"The one thing that can never be taken from us is his music, which will live
on," said DeGennaro's sister Linda Benedetti while on the stand.
DeGennaro, 56, was found dead inside his family home on Crabtree Drive on Dec.
28, 2011.
DeGennaro died of a single gunshot wound to the chest, according to
investigators.
The guitarist had performed with musicians including Bob Weir of the Grateful
Dead and Clarence Clemons of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band.
A man said by prosecutors to have been the "mastermind" of the slaying of a
musician in his Philadelphia-area home 3 days after Christmas in 2011 was
convicted earlier this year of second-degree murder.
Jermaine M. Jackson, 20, of Trenton, N.J. is serving life in prison for his
role.
(source: NBC Phladelphia)
FLORIDA:
Defense lawyers move to discredit 'Pudgy' in Boulis murder trial
James "Pudgy" Fiorillo had more than 1 reason to turn on his former
co-defendants in the Konstantinos "Gus" Boulis murder trial, defense lawyers
said Wednesday.
Fiorillo, 36, testified for the 2nd straight day, implicating Anthony "Big
Tony" Moscatiello and Anthony "Little Tony" Ferrari in the plot to kill the
Miami Subs founder in early 2001. Moscatiello and Ferrari each face the death
penalty if convicted of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and solicitation
to commit murder.
Fiorillo was once a co-defendant, but after pleading guilty to the conspiracy
charge in 2012, he no longer faces the death penalty. His plea deal requires
him to cooperate with prosecutors during the trial. In exchange, he faces a
sentence of 6 years, which he has already served. He is out of jail.
Defense lawyer David Bogenschutz, who represents Moscatiello, painted Fiorillo
as an opportunist who considers himself innocent of all the charges but agreed
to the deal to get out of jail.
"Did you ever plot or plan the death of Gus Boulis?" Bogenschutz asked.
"No," Fiorillo answered.
But Fiorillo did admit being outside Boulis' office in Fort Lauderdale on Feb.
6, 2001, and reporting Boulis' movements to Ferrari. Fiorillo said he had no
idea Boulis was about to be murdered and that he left the area before any
shooting took place.
Christopher Grillo, the lawyer representing Ferrari, said Fiorillo had another
reason to "betray" his longtime friend - sexual jealousy.
Fiorillo had testified on Tuesday that he first met Ferrari while working at a
New Jersey McDonald's managed by Ferrari's wife. On Wednesday, Grillo asked
numerous questions hinting that Fiorillo was interested in more than friendship
with Ferrari's wife. Grillo's last question on the subject shifted from hinting
to an open accusation.
"You don't think you were obsessed with Jessie [Ferrari]?" Grillo asked.
Fiorillo denied it.
The Ferraris have since divorced.
The trial will enter its 10th day Thursday with a mystery witness on the stand.
Broward Circuit Judge Ilona Holmes issued a written order granting prosecutors
Brian Cavanagh and Gregg Rossman the right to call a witness who will use a
pseudonym when he testifies. Media are barred from using the witness' real name
or from capturing his image on camera.
Holmes' order does not specify why the unusual measure is being taken. Defense
lawyers objected to the secrecy, but the judge overruled them.
The pseudonymous witness becomes the latest colorful character in a trial that
has already featured one of South Florida's most prominent tycoons as victim,
allegations of New York mob ties to the defendants, failed efforts to recruit a
hit man, and a power struggle involving the fraudulent sale of a lucrative
gambling boat operation.
Adam Kidan and Jack Abramoff, the investors who bought the SunCruz Casino boats
from Boulis in 2000 for $147.5 million without putting up any of their own
money, are both expected to testify during the trial.
Kidan has said he hired Moscatiello for protection after Boulis became
violently angry over defaults on payments for SunCruz. Abramoff, at the time a
prominent Washington D.C. lobbyist, was Kidan's business partner in the SunCruz
purchase. Both partners served federal prison time for deceiving banks in order
to get their loans approved.
Abramoff's fall from grace was the subject of the 2010 feature film "Casino
Jack," which featured the murder of Boulis as a key subplot.
Prosecutors do not believe Kidan or Abramoff had anything to do with Boulis'
murder.
Kidan will be called by prosecutors as early as this week, while Abramoff is on
Moscatiello's witness list. Bogenschutz said he plans to have Abramoff testify
via teleconference later this month.
(source: Sun Sentinel)
ALABAMA:
Jury recommends death for Floyd
Family members of Tina Jones hugged prosecutors Wednesday after an Escambia
County jury recommended that her former boyfriend, Cedric Floyd, should be
sentenced to death for her 2011 killing.
Her son, Kerrya Jones, said the family is happy the case is finally over.
"We're happy justice has been served," Jones said. "We are happy to finally
have closure and that my mom can rest in peace."
It took the jury less than 40 minutes to return the 11-1 vote in favor of the
death penalty over life in prison without parole. Circuit Judge Bert Rice will
have the final say on the sentence, during a hearing that is tentatively
scheduled for January 2014.
Rice explained that the length of time between Wednesday's hearing and the
January sentencing hearing is largely based on the eight weeks or more he
expects for a pre-sentence report to be finished, and some extra time for
scheduling around the holidays.
During the trial, prosecutors said Floyd climbed into Jones' window on the
night of Jan. 2, 2011, and shot her 3 times with a gun he bought earlier that
day.
The 12 members of the jury did agree unanimously on 4 aggravating factors that
prosecutors from the State Attorney General's office provided to help firm up
their case for lethal injection.
During closing arguments during the penalty phase Wednesday, Assistant Attorney
General John Hensley noted these factors, including that the crime was
committed during a robbery, which made it a capital murder case. Hensley also
pointed out that the offense took place while Floyd was on probation, that he
had previously been convicted of rape and that this crime was especially
heinous, as more reasons the jury should recommend death.
(source: Atmore Advance)
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