Dec. 17
TEXAS:
Baby's mother might testify -- Attorneys prep for Velez retrial
A Cameron County assistant district attorney said Monday that officials know
where to find the mother of a child killed in 2005 and intend to call her to
the witness stand in September.
ADA Ismael Hinojosa said in the 404th state District Court that he knows Acela
Moreno, the mother of Angel Gabriel Moreno, is in Mexico and wants her to
testify in the new trial of Manuel Velez, whose conviction and death sentence
for killing the 1-year-old child in 2005 have been thrown out.
"Our goal is to get her to testify," Hinojosa said, during motion hearings.
Acela Moreno testified against Velez during his 2008 trial. She was convicted
in 2007 of injury to a child and sentenced to 10 years in prison after reaching
a plea deal with the state. Acela Moreno was released and deported to Mexico
after serving 5 years. She escaped capital murder charges in return for her
testimony against Velez.
Velez was convicted in 2008 of killing Angel Gabriel Moreno and sentenced to
death. In the past 2 years, Velez's death sentence was first thrown out; his
conviction later was thrown out and a new trial ordered.
The death sentence was thrown out because of false testimony by a state witness
during the sentencing phase. His conviction was set aside because of
ineffective legal assistance during his 2008 trial. A new trial is scheduled
for September.
Velez is accused of capital murder and his is the only active death penalty
case south of Corpus Christi, his lawyer Reynaldo G. Garza III said Monday
morning.
During motion hearings Monday, Velez's defense asked the judge to sign an order
requiring the state to videotape any interviews of a 12-year-old potential
witness, who was 4 and in the house when authorities responded to reports that
Angel Gabriel Moreno wasn't breathing on Oct. 31, 2005.
Garza also asked that the state be limited in the type of questioning used in
any interviews, and require a member of Velez's defense to be present during
any questioning.
That request was denied by 404th state District Judge Elia Cornejo-Lopez.
"I don't have the legal power to interfere with the defense or the state," she
said. "I can't tell them how to do their job."
The denial of the motion came with an attempt to subpoena the Cameron County
District Attorney???s Office for any notes or video recordings related to the
now-12-year-old potential witness.
It also was denied, but Cornejo-Lopez ordered Hinojosa to compile a list of all
of the evidence it has in the case. Much of the evidence was already turned
over to Velez's attorneys during habeas corpus proceedings in late 2012. The
judge said she made that ruling because Velez faces a capital murder charge and
a possible death sentence.
Garza maintained that the District Attorney's Office has a videotape recorded
by Child Protective Services of an interview with the then-4-year-old potential
witness.
Garza said the potential for suggestive questioning exists and that further
suggestive questioning could mar what he called an already tainted memory of
events that he said the child has.
According to court testimony, the child told a CPS worker that "Manny threw the
baby."
However, James Wood, a psychology professor at the University of Texas at El
Paso who researches the effects of suggestive questioning on young children,
testified that when he reviewed the CPS notes and affidavits, it was clear a
caseworker interviewed the child in unknown circumstances and that the
statement might not have come from a taped interview.
"We don't know what she said that in response to or if other adults talked to
her or if it's taken out of context with statements not put in the transcript,"
Wood said, adding that if the child were called to the stand and confirmed what
she said when she was 4 years old, it couldn't be trusted because people
ordinarily cannot accurately remember things from the time they were between
infancy and 4 years of age.
Furthermore, because of many years of an emotional situation within the family,
Wood said it's likely that the minor has probably heard other things that might
influence her testimony.
The child's caregiver to far has denied access to both the state and the
defense, testimony showed.
As for the videotape Garza wants the District Attorney's Office to turn over,
Hinojosa said the court record indicates it exists, but the prosecution hasn't
yet found it among the many boxes of evidence it has from the case.
Velez remains in jail on $500,000 bail he received last month. His family
hasn't raised the $15,000 needed to secure his release on bond while the state
and defense prepare for a new trial.
(source: The Brownsville Herald)
***********
Deadly Statistics----38, 55, 500 -- TCADP recounts the grim toll of capital
punishment
While Harris County retains its rank as the county that has sent the most
defendants to Death Row since reinstatement in 1976, in recent years Dallas
County has surged forward, earning it the top spot for new death penalty
sentences since 2008, according to a report released this morning by the Texas
Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.
Of the 55 inmates condemned to die since 2008, Dallas sent 20% (11 defendants)
to death row during the last 5 years, according to the annual TCADP report.
That distinction is unsettling, given that Dallas County also leads the state
in the number of exonerations established through DNA evidence, with 24 men
exonerated through mid-2012. "While most of Texas is moving away from the death
penalty, Dallas County has emerged as a major outlier in its pursuit of the
ultimate punishment, particularly for defendants of color," Kristin Houle,
TCADP executive director, said in a press release. "These troubling patterns
directly counter Dallas' reputation as a leader in criminal justice reform."
Indeed, while the number of new death sentences handed out in Texas remained
low in 2013 - just 9 new sentences were delivered, the same as in 2012 (up by
one over the 8 delivered in 2010 and 2011) - geographically, the use of the
death penalty remains isolated, and the imposition of the ultimate sentence on
minority defendants remains high. In the last 2 years, just 12 of Texas' 254
counties have imposed death sentences and 18 people in all were sentenced to
death; 5 of those were from Dallas County. Since 2008, Travis County has
sentenced just 3 persons to death, and returned no new death sentences in 2013.
And since 2008, 2/3 - or more - of all new death sentences were imposed on
minorities. In Dallas County, for example, of the 11 men sentenced to die since
2008, 8 are black and 2 are Hispanic. In Harris County, 12 of the last 14
defendants sentenced to death were black and the other two were Hispanic.
Harris County last sent a white man to death row in 2004, according to the
report.
Texas also marked an execution milestone in 2013, with the 500th execution
since reinstatement. At year end the total was up to 508 inmates put to death
since 1982, when Texas resumed executions. In all, 16 inmates were executed
this year, up from 15 in 2012. Texas accounted for 42% of all executions in
2013, putting to death more than 2 times as many persons as the second most
active state, Florida, which executed seven inmates. (At press time, 38 inmates
had been executed in 2013; 1 execution, in Oklahoma, is pending.)
TCADP will be hosting a Tweet Chat today (Tuesday, Dec. 17), from 3-4pm, at
#2013TXDP, with yours truly - @chronic_jordan - serving as a moderator. We'll
be ready to discuss the implications of Texas' use of the death penalty and
eager to answer #deathpenalty related questions.
(source: Austin Chronicle)
PENNSYLVANIA:
Man accused of killing 3 at Pa. municipal building pleads not guilty; DA
seeking death penalty
A northeastern Pennsylvania man accused of killing 3 people at a municipal
meeting in August has pleaded not guilty to homicide charges.
Authorities say 59-year-old Rockne Newell sprayed dozens of rifle rounds as he
targeted officials in Ross Township, a Pocono Mountains community about 85
miles north of Philadelphia.
Monroe County District Attorney David Christine intends to seek the death
penalty for Newell, who pleaded not guilty at his video arraignment Monday.
Prosecutors say the junk dealer was upset over the loss of his debris-strewn
property after a lengthy court fight with the township. The township had acted
on complaints that he lived in a storage shed, built an illegal culvert and
used a bucket outside as a toilet.
(source: Associated Press)
FLORIDA:
Death penalty sought for 'Little Tony' in Boulis murder
Anthony "Little Tony" Ferrari deserves to die for arranging the 2001 murder of
Miami Subs founder Konstantinos "Gus" Boulis, prosecutors said Monday.
The sentencing phase of Ferrari's trial opened Monday with prosecutors telling
jurors the murder was cold, calculated and premeditated, and that Boulis
suffered before, during and after the shooting that took his life.
Ferrari, 56, was convicted in October of 1st degree murder and conspiracy to
commit murder. Jurors will recommend whether he deserves to be executed or
spend the rest of his life in prison.
Assistant State Attorney Gregg Rossman reminded them of the testimony they
heard during October's trial.
An assistant medical examiner testified then that Boulis likely saw he was
about to be shot after his car was boxed in on a side street near his Fort
Lauderdale office. Boulis initially survived the shooting and tried to drive to
Broward General Medical Center, which was a few blocks away.
His car crashed on Federal Highway, less than halfway from the shooting scene
to the hospital.
"Mr. Boulis knew he was going to die," Rossman said. "He knew he was dying. And
he suffered, because he did not die immediately."
Rossman also said the murder was committed for Ferrari's financial gain.
Prosecutors said Ferrari and reputed Gambino crime family associate Anthony
"Big Tony" Moscatiello arranged Boulis' murder to protect a stream of income
from Boulis' business rival Adam Kidan, who had purchased the SunCruz Casino
boat fleet from Boulis in late 2000.
Moscatiello, who was granted a mistrial in October due to his defense lawyer's
illness, will be tried at a later date.
"We lost a father, a brother, an uncle and a partner," said Boulis' nephew,
Spiro Naos, who addressed the jury on behalf of the victim's family. "Our
community lost a pillar. There will never be another Gus Boulis."
On the stand in his own defense in October, Ferrari blamed the murder on Kidan
and James "Pudgy" Fiorillo, a former co-defendant who pleaded guilty and ended
up testifying for the prosecution in exchange for a reduced sentence.
The jury will return to court Tuesday to hear defense lawyer Christopher Grillo
present evidence to spare his client from death row.
A jury's recommendation in a death penalty case is not binding, but Broward
Circuit Judge Ilona Holmes will consider it when pronouncing her sentence. A
sentencing date has not been set.
(source: Sun-Sentinel)
ALABAMA---new death sentence
Judge issues death sentence for man convicted of killing Anniston police
officer
A judge has issued a death sentence for a man who was convicted of fatally
shooting an Anniston police officer.
Joshua Eugene Russell was sentenced Monday in Calhoun County Circuit Court.
Investigators have said 26-year-old Russell shot 27-year-old Joshua Sollohub
during a foot chase in 2011. The trial was moved from the Anniston area so it
could be heard by a jury with no prior knowledge of the case.
In mid-September, 8 of 12 jurors recommended that Russell receive a sentence of
life without the possibility of parole. The rest voted for him to get the death
penalty.
Alabama law allows judges to override a jury's recommendation.
(source: Associated Press)
LOUISIANA:
Landon Broussard attorneys told to seek state funding for defense----Man's
attorneys say funds lacking
A state district judge told Landon Broussard's attorneys Monday to ask the
Louisiana Public Defender Board when money would be available to hire expert
witnesses and investigators in an eventual murder trial that could land
Broussard on death row in the beating death of a 3-year-old boy late last year.
Broussard, his three attorneys and 15th District prosecutor William Babin
appeared in Judge Durwood Conque's courtroom Monday in what was supposed to be
a pretrial motions hearing.
Instead, Conque addressed a court filing made late last week by Broussard's
attorneys that said their defendant was indigent, they needed money to help his
defense and the case could not proceed without state money.
"In order for Mr. Broussard to receive a fair trial it will be necessary to
conduct an extensive investigation into his character and background, the
circumstances of the offense, and any other evidence that would mitigate
against a sentence of death," wrote Broussard attorneys Clay LeJeune, Kim Hayes
and Elliott Brown in the document filed Thursday.
Broussard was indicted in March in the Nov. 29, 2012, beating death of
3-year-old Julien Madera, who was the son of Broussard's girlfriend at the
time, Laura Smith. Smith has been charged with 1 count of 2nd-degree cruelty to
a juvenile.
In April, Babin told Conque that prosecutors would seek the death penalty
against Broussard. In October, Babin formalized the Lafayette Parish District
Attorney's Office's intent to seek the death penalty.
Babin's notice also spells out circumstances surrounding Julien's death that he
says call for the death penalty, including the allegation that Broussard was
engaged in the act of raping the boy when death occurred.
Broussard faces a separate charge of raping Julien. A trial on that charge is
scheduled Sept. 29, 2014.
On Monday, Broussard sat silently in his faded white-and-orange prison suit. He
wore orange Crocs on his feet, and his wrists and ankles were manacled. He
didn't say anything.
Conque told Broussard's attorneys they need to write a letter to the state
defender board that contains specifics, including an estimate of how much money
they'll need to adequately defend Broussard.
LeJeune said the defender board's money allotted to capital cases has been
stretched thin by other Louisiana death penalty cases, and that next year a new
round of state budget money could replenish the fund.
"It's a balancing act on who's going to get the money," LeJeune said.
"That's not my problem," Conque responded.
Conque said the state defender board needs to weigh in on if and when it would
allocate money to Broussard's defense.
"I want to hear from the people who are going to write the check," Conque said.
The money will not come from the local 15th Judicial District Public Defender
Office, Broussard's attorneys said.
Paul Marx, who heads local public defender offices in Lafayette, Vermilion and
Acadia parishes, did not return a message left with his office Monday.
Broussard's defense team intends to be thorough, according to the court
document filed last week.
It stresses the importance of an investigation that looks deeply into
Broussard's history, including his prenatal and pediatric health, substance
abuse and genetic disorders "as well as multi-generational patterns of
behavior."
Babin, the prosecutor, asked Conque to set a trial date for late 2014, which
Conque declined to do.
Conque set Broussard's next court hearing for Feb. 18.
(source: The Advocate)
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