Dec. 4
ILLINOIS:
Delbert Tibbs, exonerated while on Florida death row, dies
Delbert Tibbs, who was sentenced to death in Florida in the 1970s only to be
cleared of murder a few years later, has died. He was 74. Tibbs died Nov. 23 at
his home in Chicago, Huffington Post reported.
After his release from prison, Tibbs became an anti-death-penalty advocate. He
served as director of membership and training for Witness to Innocence, an
organization of exonerated death row inmates founded by Sister Helen Prejean,
author of "Dead Man Walking."
David Lowe, WTI's executive director, in a column in the Huffington Post called
him "a sage, a poet, a leader and the nicest person you could ever meet, with
an intellect, a spirit and a commitment that inspired all of us."
In 1974, Tibbs was charged in Fort Myers with raping Cynthia Nadeau, 16, and
killing the man she was hitchhiking with, Terry Milroy, 27. He became a suspect
after Nadeau changed the description of her attacker to match Tibbs.
Tibbs was convicted by an all-white jury after a 2-day trial and given a death
sentence. His case attracted the attention of folksingers Pete Seeger and Joan
Baez and writer Studs Terkel before his conviction was overturned by the state
Supreme Court in 1976 and he was released in 1977.
Prosecutors finally dropped the charges against him in 1982, calling the case
"tainted from the beginning and the investigators knew it."
(source: United Press International)
KANSAS:
David Bennett charged with capital murder, rape, criminal threat in Parsons
homicides
State prosecutors on Tuesday filed charges of capital murder, rape and criminal
threat against a 22-year-old Cherryvale man suspected of killing a Parsons
mother and her 3 children last week.
The Kansas Attorney General's Office said David Cornell Bennett Jr. faces the
capital murder count and offered an alternative charge of four counts of
1st-degree premeditated murder in the deaths of 29-year-old Cami Umbarger;
Hollie Betts, 9; Jaxon Betts, 6; and Averie Betts, 4. The complaint, filed in
Labette County District Court, accuses Bennett of killing the family sometime
between Nov. 23 and 25 "in an especially heinous, atrocious or cruel manner."
Under Kansas state law, capital murder must be charged if prosecutors plan to
seek the death penalty or ask for a sentence of life without parole. Bennett is
also charged with raping Umbarger on or about Nov. 23 and threatening "to
commit violence" against her on or around Sept. 18 and Oct. 30.
Beth Umbarger told The Eagle last week that her sister and Bennett had dated
briefly a few months ago but that the 29-year-old single mother broke it off
after her suitor "started acting pretty scary toward my sister." The charging
document says there is evidence that Umbarger's killing "is a domestic violence
offense."
Assistant Attorney General Amy Hanley, who represented the attorney general's
office at Bennett's hearing Tuesday in Parsons, said by phone that she could
not comment on the charges. Authorities have not released details of the
killings, including how the family died.
Bennett is set to appear in Labette County Court at 2 p.m. Wednesday. He
remains in the Oswego jail in lieu of $5 million bond.
Authorities arrested Bennett at gunpoint in Independence on Nov. 26, a day
after the bodies of Umbarger and her children were found in their Parsons home.
Co-workers of Umbarger, a licensed practical nurse, alerted police after she
did not show up for work Nov. 25.
Her children were students at Lincoln and Guthridge elementary schools in
Parsons, which is approximately 125 miles southeast of Wichita.
(source: The Wichita Eagle)
MISSOURI:
Mid-Missouri death row inmate appeals sentence
Lawyers today are set to argue the fate of a man who was convicted of the 2006
death of his cousin and her husband in CallawayCounty and subsequently
sentenced to death.
Brian J. Dorsey, now 31, pleaded guilty in 2008 to killing Ben and Sarah Bonnie
in their New Bloomfield home on Dec. 23, 2006. Today, in a post-conviction
relief hearing in Missouri Supreme Court, his attorney will fight for a stay in
his execution.
The Bonnies were shot to death and the state argued at his sentencing trial
that certain aggravating factors, including that Sarah Bonnie had been raped
before her death and that bleach was poured on her to cover it up, supported
the state seeking the death penalty.
After he was sentenced to death, Dorsey appealed and lost. In 2010, the state
Supreme Court - in a 7-0 vote - upheld Dorsey's 2 death sentences.
According to a summary of the case, public defender Kent Denzel said Dorsey
objects to several details of the sentencing trial that led him to also be
convicted of rape and sentenced to death. Had he had effective counsel and
known about evidence he claims prosecutors did not disclose, he would have gone
to trial and likely been sentenced to life in prison, the summary said. A juror
in the trial, which was conducted in Boone County Circuit Court, admitted to
knowing one of the victims, but there was no objection tendered on Dorsey's
behalf and the juror was allowed to remain.
Dorsey also challenges the alleged lack of disclosure of DNA evidence that
pointed to another suspect in the rape. He claimed that his counsel was
ineffective because they did not object to the juror's presence or the state's
claims that Dorsey raped his cousin nor did they investigate Dorsey's mental
health and substance abuse history.
In the state's response, filed by Missouri Assistant Attorney General Shaun
Mackelprang, Mackelprang argues that the DNA claim should not be reviewed
because it is not in Denzel's motion for relief and that the state did not
violate law by not disclosing that the DNA matched another potential suspect in
the rape.
Mackelprang also argues that Dorsey's counsel was effective even though they
did not object to the DNA evidence, investigate Dorsey's mental health and
substance abuse history, object to the juror's presence or object to evidence
that he tried to cover up the rape, according to the case summary.
(source: Columbia Daily Tribune)
**************************
Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty
Greetings, Missouri abolitionists. Another execution is scheduled in Missouri,
Allen Nicklasson, December 11 (vigils December 10)
There are two things you can do:
- attend a vigil in your area December 10. See below for a list of locations
for vigils on December 10. If there is a stay in the courts, the execution
could still take place, so call your local contact person if there is any
question. A commutation by Governor Nixon on the other hand
would be final. THE WEATHER FORECAST IS FOR BITTERLY COLD WEATHER Tuesday
night; dress warmly.
- call Governor Nixon at 573-751-3222, to ask him to commute the sentence (from
death to life
without parole, the only other option) Nicklasson has serious mental illness.
Ask Governor Nixon
not to allow the execution of a mentally ill man.
Some of the details of his history:
· Allen’s mother had a history of mental illness and was physically abusive
toward him as a baby and toddler (sending him to the hospital). She was
committed to mental institutions at different times and at one point was
ordered by the court to be sterilized.
· Allen was institutionalized in various boys' homes throughout his childhood,
requiring psychiatric care as early as the age of 4.
· There was a pattern early in his life of when he was released from these
institutions he would be returned to his mother who abused him both physically
and sexually and then he would be placed in an institution again.
· Allen exhibited signs of self-mutilation and attempted suicide at an early
age. He also had hallucinations.
· When he aged out of the boys' homes, he turned to crime and was incarcerated
in an adult institution at age 19 where he was the victim of physical abuse and
rape.
· In the adult institution he eventually received psychiatric care and
medication for his problems and did adjust well to prison life, even wishing to
stay in prison rather than being released when his sentence was completed.
· When he was released he was homeless, had no medications and turned to drugs
which aggravated his mental illness.
· At trial some evidence was presented that because of his mental defects he
was incapable of acting with deliberation. However, the judge denied over 250
exhibits showing Allen’s long history of mental problems.
· Allen has always accepted responsibility for the murder of Mr. Drummond.
Since Allen has been receiving the proper medications and lives in a structured
environment, he has done well in prison. Society would be safe with him being
incarcerated.
· Instead of being intent on executing individuals such as Franklin &
Nicklasson, who have long histories of mental illness, the state of Missouri
would better spend its resources on mental health services, especially
protecting vulnerable children when they are in crisis.
Vigils scheduled around the state are as follows, all on Tuesday, Dec. 10:
Springfield: Execution Remembrance Vigil, Park Central Square, 12:00pm-1:00pm.
Silent vigil is from 12:00-12:30; vigil service from 12:30-1:00 pm. The
Council of Churches of the Ozarks has underwritten this event. If a stay of
execution is issued by December 8, the vigil will be cancelled. For
information call 417-459-2960.
St. Louis: St. Francis Xavier Church at the corner of Grand and Lindell, prayer
service from 7:15-7:45 pm. For information call Ruth Cochran, 314-517-5596.
St. Louis: vigil on church steps 8pm to 9pm. Then we will travel to Bonne Terre
to vigil outside the prison from 11pm onwards. For information call Margaret,
314-322-5159.
St. Joseph: The Civic Center Park at the Statue of Liberty at 5pm.
Kansas City: JC Nichols Fountain in the Plaza, 4pm-5pm. For information call
Cathleen, 816-206-8692
Columbia: Boone County Courthouse in front of the columns, corner of Walnut and
8th, 5pm-6pm. For more information contact 573-449-4585.
Jefferson City: across from the Supreme Court Building at 207 West High Street,
11pm to midnight. For more information contact 573-449-4585. (Cancelled: 10:30
prayer service at St. Peter's due to renovation.)
Bonne Terre: 11:00 pm until after the execution after midnight, candlelight
vigil outside the Bonne Terre Prison, 2727 Hwy K. Contact Margaret Phillips
314-322-5159.
Joplin: vigil through St. Peter the Apostle, 6:30-7:30 in the McAuley Catholic
High School Chapel, 900 S. Pearl Avenue (entrance off the parking lot on Byers
St.) For information contact Fr. J Friedel, 417-623-8643.
Spread the word! Forward this email to a friend.
Join the I Support Repeal Campaign!
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(source: MADP)
ARIZONA:
Jodi Arias Trial Update: Media Blackout Granted For Sentencing Retrial
Jodi Arias' sentencing retrial will occur in virtual privacy, as the presiding
judge has ruled in favor of a media blackout.
Cameras are not permitted into the courtroom as Arias' fate is once again put
in the hands of a jury, declared Maricopa County Judge Sherry Stephens. Those
granted access into the arena, are forbidden from using Twitter to report on
the proceedings in the instantaneous 140 characters or less posts. In fact,
Stephens has banned media from carrying any and all electronic devices into the
courtroom.
As could be expected, members of the media are outraged at what they see as a
violation of constitutional rights. First Amendment attorney's are championing
the cause of the media, claiming that Stephens is violating the constitution
and has not ruled in the public interest.
Jodi Arias Murder Trial
Arias' murder trial, which ended in May, was aired on TV from the beginning to
the end. The proceedings were dissected on news shows, in the papers and
online. Live updates on the trial were available everywhere, with insiders
tweeting breaking developments. Outside of the courtroom, Arias gladly took the
opportunity to give exclusive interviews, sharing her version of the narrative.
In the end, Arias was found guilty of 1st-degree murder, forcing the jury to
contemplate sentencing the 33-year-old convicted killer of Travis Alexander to
the death penalty. Since the jurors were not in agreement, another jury must be
composed to weigh Arias? fate.
(source: uinterview.com)
CALIFORNIA:
DA's Office to Seek Death Penalty for Man Charged in Killings Outside
Northridge Boarding Home
The prosecution announced Tuesday it will seek a death sentence against a man
charged with the shooting deaths of 2 women and 2 men outside a Northridge
boarding home a year ago.
Ka Pasasouk, 32, is charged with the Dec. 2, 2012, slayings of Amanda Ghossein,
24, of Monterey Park; Jennifer Kim, 26, of Montebello; Robert Calabia, 34, of
Los Angeles; and Teofilo Navales, 49, of Castaic.
The 4 murder charges include the special circumstance allegation of multiple
murders.
Pasasouk, who was arrested in Las Vegas 1 day after the killings, also faces 5
counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and 1 count each of attempted
murder and possession of a firearm by a felon.
He is due back in San Fernando Superior Court on Feb. 19 for a pretrial
hearing.
Pasasouk was ordered held without bail last Dec. 19 for allegedly violating his
probation in a drug case and the terms of his release from an earlier prison
term.
Questions were raised after Pasasouk's arrest about why he was not in custody
at the time of the killings. Despite requests by probation officers last
September that he be jailed, Pasasouk was permitted to enter a drug- diversion
program in his methamphetamine possession case.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office conducted an internal review
into the handling of the case and conceded that a mistake was made.
Pasasouk -- who has multiple convictions dating back to 2004 -- had been
released from prison in January 2012.
(source: Northridge Patch)
*********************
Prosecutors Will Seek Death Penalty In Homeless Encampment Slayings
Prosecutors will seek the death penalty against 1 of 2 reputed gang members
charged in the shooting deaths of 5 people at a Long Beach homeless encampment
just over 5 years ago, according to the District Attorney's Office.
David Cruz Ponce, 33, was charged in the Nov. 1, 2008 slayings of Hamid
Shraifat, 41, of Signal Hill; Vanessa Malaepule, 34, of Carson; and Frederick
Doyle Neumeier, 53, Katherine Verdun, 24, and Jose Lorenzo Villacana, 44, all
of Long Beach.
Death will not be sought for co-defendant Max Eliseo Rafael, 27, but he could
face life in prison without the possibility of parole if he is convicted of the
killings, which happened at an encampment near the San Diego (405) Freeway's
Santa Fe Avenue offramp.
Murder charges include the special circumstance allegations of murder during a
kidnapping, murder of witnesses to a crime, murder while participating in a
criminal street gang and multiple murders.
Ponce is also charged with the March 23, 2009 kidnapping and murder of Tony
Bledsoe of Lancaster, along with 2 counts of possession of a firearm by a
felon.
Ponce and Rafael were also accused of kidnapping Shraifat - who police say was
forced at gunpoint to lead the assailants to the encampment where Villicana was
living. The 2 suspects were also accused of conspiring to commit murder
involving an alleged 2010 plot to retaliate over a fellow gang member's
killing.
"I'd like to make it clear that these victims were not targeted because they
were homeless," Long Beach Police Chief Jim McDonnell said earlier. "This
encounter stemmed from a personal vendetta of one of the suspects as the result
of an ongoing dispute with one of the victims over narcotics. The other victims
were killed to ensure that there were no witnesses to this crime."
Ponce and Rafael remain jailed without bail while waiting a pretrial hearing
Jan. 15.
(source: CBS News)
USA (NEW MEXICO):
Closing arguments expected in final phase of rare New Mexico death penalty
trial
Nearly 6 months after jury selection began, closing arguments were expected
Wednesday in the death penalty trial of an Arizona inmate who kidnapped and
murdered a retired Oklahoma couple while on the lam.
John McCluskey, 48, was convicted in early October of murder, carjacking and
other charges in the August 2010 deaths of Gary and Linda Haas of Tecumseh,
Okla., who were making their annual summer trek to Colorado. Jurors then had to
decide if McCluskey was eligible for the death sentence.
Now, the same panel will decide whether McCluskey should be executed or spend
the rest of his life in prison with no chance for parole in what is only the
2nd federal death penalty case to be deliberated in the state in a decade.
New Mexico outlawed the death penalty for state crimes in 2009.
Anything less than execution for McCluskey would not be justice, federal
prosecutors told jurors at the start of the 3rd and final phase of the trial.
McCluskey's defense team, meanwhile, had argued their client's life should be
spared, saying brain damage, a troubled childhood and long-term drug and
alcohol abuse made him incapable of controlling his impulses and making
reasoned decisions.
McCluskey was serving 15 years for attempted second-degree murder, aggravated
assault and discharge of a firearm when he and 2 other prisoners escaped from a
medium-security prison near Kingman, Ariz., in July 2010 with the help of his
cousin and fiancee, Casslyn Welch.
1 of the inmates was quickly captured after a shootout with authorities in
Colorado, while McCluskey, Welch and inmate Tracy Province headed to New
Mexico, where they kidnapped the Haases for their truck and travel trailer.
Province and Welch pleaded guilty last year to charges of carjacking resulting
in death, conspiracy, the use of a firearm during a violent crime and other
charges. They both fingered McCluskey as the triggerman.
The victims, who were high school sweethearts and recent retirees from General
Motors, were making their 11th summer trip to Colorado when they were killed 3
days after the prison break that Welch testified was funded by a drug smuggling
ring she and McCluskey ran for prison inmates.
(source: Associated Press)
*************************
Exonerated: Cases by the numbers
--Michael Morton served nearly 25 years for the murder of his wife, Christine,
before a DNA test proved his innocence
--Hundreds of convicted U.S. prisoners have been freed after DNA testing
cleared their names
--Some of these prisoners faced the death penalty before they were exonerated
--Advances in testing of genetic material have opened door to further
examination of cases
Editor's note: DNA evidence testing and support from the Innocence Project led
to freedom for Michael Morton after nearly 25 years in prison. Watch CNN Films'
documentary "An Unreal Dream: The Michael Morton Story," airing Thursday,
December 5, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CNN TV.
During the past 2 decades, the Innocence Project and other advocates have been
utilizing rapid advances in the scientific testing of genetic materials.
DNA testing of evidence in criminal cases has resulted in freedom for hundreds
of prisoners across the United States who were wrongfully convicted.
Many of these prisoners spent years behind bars -- some even faced the death
penalty -- for crimes they didn't commit.
Here are a few of the numbers behind these exonerations:
A juror's search for emotion --Number of U.S. post-conviction DNA exonerations:
311
--Number of prisoners sentenced to death before DNA proved their innocence: 18
--Number of prisoners charged with capital crimes but not sentenced to death:
16
--Longest sentence served by a DNA exoneree: 35 years
--Average length of sentence served by DNA exonerees: 13.6 years
--Approximate total years served by all DNA exonerees: 4,156
(source: CNN)
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