Feb. 13
TEXAS:
Paralyzed and still put to death
On February 5, the state of Texas carried out the legal lynching of a
59-year-old woman who was paralyzed and endured a long history of mental
illness.
Suzanne Basso was convicted of the murder of Louis "Buddy" Musso, allegedly so
she could make herself the beneficiary of Musso's life insurance policies.
Basso and 5 others were convicted of the torture and murder of the victim,
though prosecutors only asked for the death penalty for Basso.
Basso was paralyzed from the chest down at the time of her execution. She
claimed this was the result of abuse by prison guards after her
incarceration--her attorney said it was the result of a degenerative condition.
Basso also had many documented episodes of mental illness--but her attorneys'
appeal that Basso was not mentally competent was rejected by both state and
federal courts before her execution.
The main reason was that her original, court-appointed trial lawyers did
nothing to establish her history of mental illness, failing, for example, to
call a mitigation specialist to testify about her background during the
punishment portion of the trial. Evidence put forward during appeals wasn't
accepted over what was concluded at the original trial.
What we should learn from this execution is that the state of Texas hinders any
attempts by death row prisoners to appeal their sentences or stop executions.
No one in the state criminal justice system, up to the governor, had the moral
integrity to save the life of a woman who was paralyzed and suffering from
mental illness.
On the contrary, state officials went out of their way to deny Basso's
condition. A doctor for the state examined Basso and claimed to find no
evidence of mental illness sufficient to block her execution.
So what are we supposed to say about this description of Basso by the
prosecutor in charge of her case in 1999? Colleen Barnett told the media
recently that at the original trial, Basso "would pretend to be different
things. One setting, she would pretend to be blind. One setting, she would
pretend she couldn't walk. One setting, she had the voice of a little girl. I
don't know how to describe her."
At a competency hearing, Basso acknowledged that she had lied about her
background previously--claiming that she was a triplet, worked in the New York
governor's office and had an affair with former Gov. Nelson Rockefeller. She
then claimed a snake had been smuggled into the prison hospital in an attempt
to kill her.
The state of Texas have carried out many questionable executions--Suzanne
Basso's is just one more. This is one place where it will require a mass
movement to stop the death penalty from being used to take more lives.
(source: Socialist Worker)
PENNSYLVANIA:
Appeal denied as homicide retrial nears for Fayette County man
A Fayette County man who will be retried in a 1987 homicide has lost an appeal
filed with the state Supreme Court.
Mark David Breakiron, 52, formerly of Hopwood was convicted of homicide and
robbery in 1988 and sentenced to death for the stabbing of Saundra Marie
Martin, 24.
Martin was working at Shenanigan's Lounge in German Township to earn money to
go to school to become a dental hygienist.
She was closing the business for the night on April 23, 1987, when Break-iron
attacked her, took her purse and the bar's receipts and drove her to his
grandparents' house in South Union, where he tortured and killed her, according
to police.
Breakiron won a new trial when a federal judge ruled in May 2011 that
prosecutors withheld evidence about a jailhouse snitch that could have been
used to impeach his testimony against Breakiron.
On Wednesday, the state Supreme Court issued a 1-line order denying Breakiron's
request to appeal a Superior Court decision that upheld a county judge's
decision.
Defense attorney Sam Davis of Uniontown was seeking to overturn Judge Steve
Leskinen's decisions denying a claim of double jeopardy and allowing jurors to
hear evidence of aggravating circumstances of torture and robbery at the
retrial. Prosecutors will again seek the death penalty against Breakiron.
A panel of Superior Court judges denied Davis' appeal of Leskinen's decision
without considering Davis' arguments.
The judges said Leskinen approved the appeal to Superior Court, but Davis was
still required to file a petition with the higher court seeking permission to
do so before he filed the actual appeal.
The Superior Court judges said Davis also missed a 30-day deadline to appeal
the denial of the double jeopardy claim.
Breakiron's retrial could start as soon as March 3, according to court records.
(source: TribLive.com)
FLORIDA----impending execution
Judge denies request to stop Howell execution
A judge has denied requests by Paul Augustus Howell's attorneys to halt his
upcoming execution on the grounds that Florida's latest lethal-injection
cocktail would subject him to an agonizing death.
Circuit Judge Angela Dempsey on Wednesday ruled that attorneys for Howell,
convicted in the 1992 bombing death of Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Jimmy
Fulford, failed to prove that the 1st of 3 drugs the state uses as part of its
lethal-injection protocol won't render Howell unconscious.
Howell's attorneys have argued the drug midazolam could cause Howell to become
hyperactive or restless rather than unconscious before he is given a 2nd drug
to paralyze him and a 3rd and final drug to stop his heart. He is set to be
executed Feb. 26 at Florida State Prison in Starke.
But Dempsey, who presided over an evidentiary hearing ordered by the Florida
Supreme Court, rejected arguments by Howell's attorneys and testimony from his
medical experts that midazolam won't work properly. She wrote in her order that
his attorneys failed to meet standards set in landmark death-penalty cases.
"Defendant has not met his heavy burden to show that midazolam, the 1st drug in
the protocol, will fail to make him unconscious and insensate when the 2nd and
3rd drugs are administered," she said. "He has not shown the protocol is 'sure
or very likely to cause serious illness and needless suffering' and (will) give
rise to 'sufficiently imminent dangers.'" Gov. Rick Scott signed Howell's death
warrant in January 2013, but his attorneys appealed to the 11th U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals, arguing he had not had a federal habeus corpus review because
his original post-conviction attorney missed a critical filing deadline. The
11th Circuit issued a stay but lifted it in November. Earlier this month, Scott
set the new execution date at Florida State Prison in Starke.
Howell, a member of a violent South Florida drug ring, rigged a bomb inside a
microwave oven as part of a plot to kill a woman in Jackson County who could
tie him to the murder of another drug dealer. He dispatched another man to
deliver the bomb by car, which Trooper Fulford stopped for speeding along
Interstate 10 in Jefferson County. The bomb exploded while Fulford was
searching the car, killing him instantly.
(source: Tallahassee Democrat)
KENTUCKY:
Death penalty opponents gain bipartisan support from Ky. legislators
Opponents of the death penalty are making another push to ban the practice in
Kentucky -- and this time, it's a bipartisan effort.
A Democrat in the Senate and a Republican in the House have both filed
anti-death penalty bills. They argue that the death penalty is morally wrong
because it is not applied equally -- and they say it costs more to prosecute a
death penalty case than to sentence the convicted to life without parole.
"It's not just dollars and cents. It's the way it affects the entire
community," said Rep. David Floyd, of Bardstown, Ky. "It's the way it affects
the victim's family, the family members of the person who is accused. And the
possibility, actually the certainty, that in the past, this nation has executed
innocent people."
Death penalty opponents admit they have an uphill battle, but say they believe
the tide is slowly turning.
(soruce: WDRB news)
************
Death penalty opponents call for action in 2014 session
Ruth Lowe recalls how she was overcome with rage after robbers gagged, beat and
tossed her brother down a flight of stairs to his death 36 years ago.
If hate "could have become an instrument at that time, both of them would be
dead," she said. "But I've come to believe that nothing I could do to either
one of them would bring my brother back."
As a protracted court battle continues over Kentucky's protocol for executing
criminals, opponents of capital punishment, like Lowe, urged swift action
Wednesday on efforts in the state legislature to abolish the death penalty,
including one backed by a Republican.
Rep. David Floyd, R-Bardstown, has filed legislation in the House this year to
end executions in Kentucky and is pitching conservative arguments in support of
the historically liberal cause.
Floyd's measure is believed to be the 1st time since 1980 that a Republican has
served as chief sponsor of such a bill, and he argues that repeal fits into
conservative platforms on limited government and fiscal prudence.
According to the Kentucky Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, the state
spends up to $8 million a year on court costs related to capital punishment
even though only 3 people have been executed since it was reinstated in 1976.
Focusing on life without parole - instead of executions - could reduce those
costs by 80 % and guarantee that innocent people are not wrongly put to death,
Floyd said. "Strictly on the basis of cost, life without parole makes much more
sense."
Meanwhile, Sen. Gerald Neal, a Democrat from Louisville who has championed
repeal of the death penalty for at least a decade, is returning with an
abolition bill this year along with a 2nd measure that would create a task
force to study costs associated with capital punishment.
"I think if we stick with it, eventually we can get this done," he said.
33 inmates remain on death row in Kentucky, and a court injunction has
prevented executions since 2010. A lawsuit is challenging state protocol on
several issues, including how to determine if inmates are mentally disabled and
when they have access to counsel.
But Neal and Floyd acknowledge that securing enough support to pass legislation
will be an uphill climb in both the GOP-controlled Senate and Democrat-led
House.
It remained unclear Wednesday if either bill would even receive a vote in
committee, and supporters of the death penalty argue that it provides an
appropriate punishment for some crimes, while also serving as an important
deterrent.
"There are crimes that the majority of people in Kentucky believe merit the
most serious penalty," said Fayette Commonwealth's Attorney Ray Larson, who
called repeal a "lousy idea."
Still, Lowe said that while she can understand the hurt of victimized families,
people should know that "revenge is not the answer" and that she has personally
found room for forgiveness through her faith.
"We have to be the better people," she said.
The bills sponsored by Neal and Floyd to abolish the death penalty are Senate
Bill 77 and House Bill 330. Neal's measure on the task force is Senate
Concurrent Resolution 131.
(source: Courier-Journal)
KANSAS:
Kan. Senate taking up death penalty appeal changes----Kansas Senate to debate
bill shortening appeals process for death sentences
The Kansas Senate is considering a bill shortening the time for inmates
convicted of capital murder to appeal their death sentences to the state
Supreme Court.
The measure on Wednesday's debate calendar would specify time limits for filing
documents in such appeals and for the Supreme Court to hear arguments on them.
The changes were sought by proponents of capital punishment concerned about the
pace at which death penalty appeals reach the high court - in some cases, more
than a decade.
Kansas enacted capital punishment in 1994 but has yet to carry out an
execution. 9 men are under death sentences in state prisons.
(source: Associated Press)
MISSOURI:
U.S. judge blocks sale of controversial execution drug to Missouri
A U.S. judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked a pharmacy from providing a
compound execution drug to Missouri jailers to use in the Feb. 26 lethal
injection of Michael Taylor, guilty in the death of a 15-year-old girl.
Missouri and several other U.S. states that have the death penalty have
increasingly been forced to look for alternate drugs and sources of drugs for
executions as pharmaceutical companies have raised objections to their products
being used in capital punishment.
Some states have turned to so-called compounding pharmacies, which produce
small amounts of drugs by prescription and are not regulated by the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration, prompting defense attorneys to question the quality of
the drugs and whether they could cause undue pain during an execution.
U.S. District Court Judge Terence Kern on Wednesday afternoon granted a
temporary restraining order preventing one such pharmacy, The Apothecary
Shoppe, from supplying compounded pentobarbital to the Missouri Department of
Corrections.
The order came after Taylor's attorneys argued in a federal lawsuit filed in
Tulsa, Oklahoma, this week that he could suffer "severe, unnecessary, lingering
and ultimately inhumane pain" if the drug is used.
"This is not an acceptable method for carrying out executions - to use an
unlawful and dangerous drug - so we are hoping to stop that from happening,"
Matthew Hellman, one of Taylor's defense attorneys, told Reuters late on
Wednesday.
The state has used compounded pentobarbital, a fast-acting barbiturate, in its
recent executions.
The lawsuit sought a restraining order as well as an injunction preventing the
pharmacy from delivering the drug for Taylor's execution, Hellman said.
It was unclear whether the pharmacy had already delivered the drug. An
evidentiary hearing was set for Tuesday.
The increasing use of in some cases untested compounded drugs has revived the
debate over the death penalty in the United States.
In Oklahoma, an inmate said he felt burning through his body when the drugs
used to kill him were injected during an execution in early January. Taylor's
attorneys cited the Oklahoma case in their lawsuit, Hellman said.
(source: Reuters)
*****************
Lawyers for Missouri death row inmate sue pharmacy that makes execution drug
Lawyers for Missouri death row inmate Michael Taylor have sued a compounding
pharmacy in Tulsa, Okla., to stop the pharmacy from producing Missouri's
execution drug, pentobarbital.
Taylor is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection Feb. 26 at the Eastern
Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre. Taylor, 47,
pleaded guilty in the 1989 abduction, rape and murder of a 15-year-old Kansas
City girl, Ann Harrison.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court Northern District of Oklahoma,
alleges that Taylor's civil rights would be violated because the pharmacy
alleged to be producing the drug is not regulated by the federal government and
therefore could make mistakes that result in an excruciating or unnecessarily
drawn out death.
The suit also alleges that the pharmacy violates federal law by providing the
drug to a customer in Missouri, where it is not licensed to do business.
The owner of the pharmacy could not be reached for comment.
Also on Wednesday, a federal judge ordered the pharmacy not to sell the
execution drug to Missouri until a hearing on Tuesday.
Taylor abducted 15-year-old Ann Harrison as she waited for a school bus near
her home in Kansas City. She was raped, bound, stabbed and left in the trunk of
a car.
Taylor was hours away from being executed in 2006 when the procedure was
halted. The U.S. Supreme Court stopped his execution and said the state's
3-drug lethal injection mixture could constitute a cruel and unusual punishment
if used incorrectly.
A co-defendant, Roderick Nunley, now 48, also remains imprisoned on a death
sentence.
(source: stlouistoday.com)
NEBRASKA:
Death penalty challenge planned in South Sioux City murder case
Lawyers plan to challenge the death penalty being sought against a man charged
with a fatal shooting in South Sioux City.
Raymond Gonzales Jr. withdrew his not guilty plea Wednesday in order for his
attorney to file a motion challenging Nebraska's death penalty statute and the
specific aggravating circumstances cited in charges filed in the case.
Gonzales, 22, of Sioux City, is charged in Dakota County District Court with
1st-degree murder, terroristic threats and disturbing the peace in connection
with the Dec. 15 shooting death of Bonnie Baker, 28, at her home in Siouxland
Estates in the 1500 block of Atokad Drive.
In charging documents filed, Dakota County Attorney Kim Watson included a
notice that she will seek the death penalty, saying that Gonzales' alleged
crime was "especially heinous, atrocious, cruel or manifested exceptional
depravity ..."
Assistant Dakota County Attorney Ed Matney said Wednesday that prosecutors
would not discuss what evidence in Gonzales' case led to the decision to seek
the death penalty.
Investigators have said Gonzales shot Baker multiple times with a 9 mm firearm
after he had a dispute with Baker's brother and had threatened to kill him.
Gonzales denied shooting Baker.
Todd Lancaster, an attorney with the Nebraska Commission on Public Advocacy in
Lincoln, said he will file his motion challenging the death penalty within a
week. A hearing on the motion was scheduled for March 7.
If Lancaster's motion is unsuccessful, Gonzales' case would be the 1st death
penalty case in Dakota County since 2010, when a jury found Melecio Camacho-De
Jesus guilty of the 2009 murder of a 3-year-old South Sioux City girl. A
3-judge panel spared Camacho-De Jesus from the death penalty and instead
sentenced him to life in prison without parole.
The death penalty will not be a factor in the cases against 2 others charged
along with Gonzales.
David Rodriguez, 25, of Walthill, Neb., has pleaded not guilty to prohibited
person in possession of a firearm.
Anthony Housman, 26, of Pender, Neb., is charged with possession of a stolen
firearm and has yet to enter a plea.
(source: Sioux City Journal)
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