July 1
TEXAS:
Death row inmate loses latest appeal
The man who shot and killed 2 Henderson County deputies in 2007 has lost
another appeal, pushing him closer to a scheduled spring 2015 date in the
execution chamber.
Henderson County District Attorney Scott McKee said he hopes the case now can
move forward.
"We want a defendant to exhaust all of their appeals, and I think in this case
everything has moved through the courts about the average speed for a death
penalty case," he said.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused arguments last week from
attorneys for 54-year-old Randall Wayne Mays, a former welder and oilfield
worker who claimed he had deficient legal help at his 2008 trial.
Mays was sentenced to die by lethal injection for the deaths of Tony Price
Ogburn, 61, a 5-year veteran from Log Cabin, and Paul Steven Habelt, 63, a
13-year-veteran from Eustace, after they came to the aid of a fellow officer.
Mays also shot and injured deputy Kevin Harris during the ordeal, which began
as a domestic dispute between Mays and his wife.
The court late Friday also turned down contentions that sentencing Mays to
death was unconstitutionally cruel because he's mentally ill.
The court's ruling stated a defendant can be both mentally ill and competent to
stand trial.
Citing testimony from Mays; trial in 2008, the court stated, "The defense
submitted mitigating evidence of Mays' violent and abusive childhood and a
'psychotic disorder not otherwise specified,' which was possibly linked to
permanent brain damage from his chronic methamphetamine use."
The judges also stated that Mays failed to show mental retardation under Texas
law. They said Mays also failed to show the state court's decision to be
contrary to, or involving an unreasonable application of, clearly established
federal law.
McKee said he will now seek an execution date.
"We are ready to move forward, and we will now ask the court to set the date.
In speaking with the Texas Attorney General's Office, I believe the date might
be sometime in the spring 2015," he said.
Mckee said his office stays in contact with the families of the 2 deputies.
Patricia Ogburn said she has asked God to forgive Mays, but it was difficult.
"I mean he killed my husband, so it is hard," the 65-year-old widow said. "I
just want this all to be over. This has been going on for 7 years."
Mrs. Ogburn said she will continue to pray about the situation, but though she
might forgive, she said she would never forget.
(source: Tyler Morning Telegraph)
*******************
Houston-area man sent to death row for fatal shooting in $8 robbery loses
federal appeal
A federal appeals court has rejected an appeal from a Harris County man
sentenced to die for fatally shooting a 36-year-old Houston-area man during an
$8 robbery nearly 16 years ago.
Attorneys for 34-year-old Juan Martin Garcia contend he had poor legal help
during his trial in 2000 and that he's mentally impaired and ineligible for the
death penalty. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals late Friday rejected the
arguments.
Evidence showed 36-year-old Hugo Solano was shot three times in the head while
he was in his van at his Harris County apartment complex.
When Garcia was pulled over for a traffic stop 11 days after the slaying, a gun
fell to his car's floorboard as he got out. It was matched to the weapon used
in Solano's murder.
(source: Associated Press)
PENNSYLVANIA----new execution date
Corbett signs death warrant for man who murdered Upper St. Clair woman
Gov. Tom Corbett on Monday signed the execution warrant for a Washington County
man who killed an Upper St. Clair grandmother more than a decade ago.
An Allegheny County jury convicted Patrick Jason Stollar, now 36, of 1st-degree
murder for beating and stabbing Jean Heck, 78, during a robbery in her home on
June 4, 2003. Stollar is scheduled to die by lethal injection in the state
prison in Greene County on Aug. 20.
Prosecutors said Stollar drove to Heck's home, lured her outside and threw her
on the ground, where he kicked her and stomped on her head. After rummaging
through her house, Stollar stabbed Heck 8 times.
Stollar, who represented himself in the guilt phase of his trial, claimed he
was mentally ill at the time of the killing. Downtown lawyer James Depasquale,
who represented Stollar during the penalty phase of his trial, could not be
reached.
Although Corbett and former Gov. Ed Rendell signed a combined total of more
than 150 death warrants during their terms, the state has not executed an
inmate since 1999, when Gary Heidnik of Philadelphia was put to death for
kidnapping and torturing 6 women, 2 of whom he killed.
State law requires the governor to sign execution warrants after certain stages
of the appeals process. More than 200 people sit on Pennsylvania's death row,
the 4th most of any state in the country.
Pennsylvania reinstated the death penalty in 1976 and executed 3 prisoners
between then and 1999. Each of them waived their appeals and asked that their
executions be carried out. Allegheny County's most recent death sentence was
for convicted cop killer Richard Poplawski, found guilty of the April 4, 2009,
slayings of 3 Pittsburgh police officers who responded to a call at his Stanton
Heights home.
Corbett on Monday also signed the execution warrant for Glenn Lyons, 49, who
fatally stabbed Kathy Leibig in May 2008 in Berks County. His execution is
scheduled for Aug. 21.
(source: Pittsburgh Tribune)
FLORIDA:
Prosecutors seek death penalty for woman accused of killing Jupiter toddler
Kimberly Dawn Lucas, 40, accused of killing Elliana Lucas-Jamason, 2, on May 26
State prosecutors seek the death penalty for Kelly Dawn Lucas, 40, the Jupiter
woman accused of murdering her former domestic partner's 2-year-old daughter.
Cops say Lucas also tried killing herself, and her former partner's 10-year-old
son.
State prosecutors will seek the death penalty for the Jupiter woman accused of
killing her former domestic partner's 2-year-old daughter, court records show.
Kimberly Dawn Lucas, 40, is accused of killing Elliana Lucas-Jamason, 2, on May
26. She also tried to kill the toddler's 10-year-old brother and herself,
according to a Jupiter police arrest report.
Palm Beach County Circuit Court records show that Assistant State Attorney
Terri T. Skiles on June 24 filed a notice of the state's intention to seek the
death penalty.
Mike Edmondson, spokesman for the Palm Beach County state attorney's office,
declined to comment on the case while it's before the courts.
Lucas' attorney, Marc Shiner, said the filing of such a notice is routine in
murder cases. He added that prosecutors are required to file such a notice
within a certain time frame at the outset of the case if they intend to seek
the death penalty at trial.
He also pointed out that prosecutors have the right to abandon the death
penalty at any time.
"We're hoping that the facts will bear out that [the death penalty is] not
warranted in this case, but we're a long away from that happening," Shiner
said.
According to an arrest report, Elliana's brother tried to save her life. He
said Lucas had given him and his sister a pill, and that he awoke to find Lucas
unconscious and Elliana submerged in a bathtub.
Police said the boy's urine would later test positive for benzodiazepine, a
depressant used to aid with sleep and treat anxiety.
As well, the report said that an apparently angry note signed "Love you Always
Kimberly" was found on a computer in the residence. Police described Lucas as
the former domestic partner of the children's mother.
Lucas is charged with 1st-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, and
child abuse, court records show.
(source: Sun-Sentinel)
ALABAMA:
Alabama Death Row Inmate Dies
An Alabama inmate convicted of capital murder is dead after spending more than
25 years on death row.
Prison officials say 49-year-old Ricky Adkins died early Tuesday in the
infirmary at Holman prison in Atmore.
Authorities say an autopsy will determine the cause of death. Prison
spokeswoman Kristi Gates declined comment on whether the man died of apparent
natural causes or something else.
Adkins was convicted of capital murder in St. Clair County on Nov. 21, 1988. He
was on death row in the slaying of real estate agent Billie Dean Hamilton
during a rape, robbery and kidnapping.
A federal appeals court ordered a new trial for Adkins last year, but the trial
had yet to be held. A hearing in the case was set for July 10.
(source: Associated Press)
**************
Madison County District Attorney Rob Broussard named president of Alabama DA's
association
Madison County District Attorney Rob Broussard has been named president of the
Alabama District Attorney's Association for the 2014-15 term.
Brousssard, 56, has been Madison County's District Attorney since 2009. He was
appointed to the job by Gov. Bob Riley following the retirement of Tim Morgan.
Broussard joined the DA's office in 1988.
He was elected to a 6-year term in 2010.
The DA's association includes the lead prosecutor from each of Alabama's 42
judicial circuits. Broussard will serve a 1-year term. Over the past year he
served as the association's vice president.
"I'm looking forward to the year," he said. "You have 41 other district
attorneys in the state that do exactly what I do. "You'll find some experience
certain problems that are peculiar to their area, but more often than not,
we're all doing the same thing. We are a state agency, and as such the more
coordinated you are the better you fare statewide when it comes to the business
in Montgomery
"As president, obviously I view my role as keeping everybody together and kind
of looking out for one another.
Broussard has prosecuted more than 20 capital murder cases and 30 other murder
cases. 6 people he has prosecuted are on Alabama's death row.
Last year Broussard led the drafting of a measure that would speed up the
timetable for death penalty appeals in Alabama. He pointed out that Alabama
death row cases last an average of 16 years - while Texas takes about 7 years
from sentence to execution. The measure would require that so-called Rule 32,
post-conviction appeals - which focus on poor attorney performance, court or
juror misconduct and other constitutional violations - would begin at the same
time as the direct appeals, rather than after the direct appeals are exhausted.
The measure was endorsed by the Alabama Attorney General's office and approved
by both the Alabama House and Senate Judiciary committees, but was not voted on
in either chamber.
Defense attorneys and others said the measure would compound problems that
already exist in the death penalty system.
Broussard said the DA's association holds a meeting each fall to discuss issues
of interest and areas they hope to see the Alabama Legislature address. He said
the death penalty measure will be one of the issues under consideration.
"We will look at it and see if we think that this the opportune to bring it
back to the legislature," he said. "It's a such a complex apparatus down there
in terms of how the legislature works, that it's almost unpredictable on what
takes a life of its own and what captures their attention.
"I don't know if I can accurately assess what went wrong on it last session,
but any time talking about the death penalty it's a controversial topic."
The District Attorney's Association selected Morgan County DA Scott Anderson to
serve as vice president for the 2014-15 term and Walker County DA Bill Adair as
secretary-treasurer.
(source: al.com)
MISSISSIPPI:
Miss. death row inmate challenges rape conviction
The Mississippi Supreme Court has given attorneys for death row inmate Charles
Ray Crawford more time to file briefs supporting his appeal of a 1994 rape
conviction.
In refusing to set an execution date for Crawford in March in a separate
capital murder case, the Supreme Court said it would resolve the appeal of
previous rape conviction first. That conviction was cited as an aggravating
factor by prosecutors in justifying the death sentence Crawford received in
1994 in the slaying of a junior college student.
Crawford's lawyers have until July 15 to file arguments. Prosecutors will have
30 days to respond after Crawford's lawyers file.
If the Supreme Court upholds Crawford's conviction in the earlier case,
Attorney General Jim Hood could again petition the court to set an execution
date.
Crawford has argued in court documents that if the rape conviction is reversed,
he would have the right to have his death sentence thrown out and a new
sentencing hearing scheduled in Tippah County.
Prosecutors have said a reversal of the earlier rape conviction would mean
nothing because of the abundance of evidence supporting the death sentence.
They said Crawford was also convicted of aggravated assault in the early trial,
another aggravating factor used to justify the death penalty.
Few details of the prior rape and aggravated assault convictions are discussed
in the earlier briefs in the death penalty case.
Crawford, now 48, was sentenced to death for the murder of Northeast
Mississippi Community College student Kristy Ray in rural Tippah County.
In 1993, Crawford was out on bond awaiting trial on charges of aggravated
assault and rape. 4 days before his trial, the 20-year-old Ray was abducted
from her parents' home in Chalybeate. After his family and attorney notified
police that they feared Crawford was committing another crime, he was arrested.
Crawford told authorities he did not remember the incident but later led them
to the body buried in leaves in a wooded area.
Crawford later was tried and convicted on the original charges in the rape and
aggravated assault case and sentenced to 66 years in prison.
(source: Fairfield Citizen)
LOUISIANA:
Funds available to restart Landon Broussard murder case
The judicial wheels are turning again in the death penalty trial of accused
child-killer Landon Broussard, whose road to a trial was blocked this year when
state money for expert witnesses dried up.
Attorneys for Broussard told state District Judge Durwood Conque on Monday that
the case's 2nd mitigation specialist, Stacey Farraro, received state money in
early June to begin her role in the case, which involves looking deeply into
Broussard's past, researching appellate court decisions that could affect the
case and lining up witnesses.
Conque learned in April that state money to help indigent defendants hire
expert witnesses was unavailable and that Broussard's 1st mitigation expert,
Rebecca Kendig, quit after working 14 months on the case when funding dried up.
Clay LeJeune, one of Broussard's attorneys, said Kendig let Broussard's defense
team know she wouldn't return to the case. LeJeune said Ferraro would have to
start from the beginning and could not use work already done by Kendig.
Broussard, 22, is being held at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola,
awaiting his trial in the killing of Julien Madera. A Lafayette Parish grand
jury charged Broussard with 1st-degree murder in March 2013. Broussard also has
been charged with raping Julien. A trial date on both offenses have not been
set.
Julien was 3 when he died in November 2012. Police at the time said Julien was
beaten severely over time before he died.
Broussard was in 15th District Court in Lafayette for his hearing Monday, his
hands and feet bound as he listened attentively and said nothing.
Assistant District Attorney William Babin, who in the past has expressed his
displeasure about the pace of Broussard's proceedings, said he didn't
understand why the new mitigation specialist needed 4 months to learn the case.
"I don't either. (But) If we don't, then that will be subject to scrutiny on
review" by an appellate court, Conque said.
"... At the rate we're going, it's going to be 3 or 4 years" before Broussard
is brought to trial, Babin said.
Julien's mother, Laura Smith, 24, pleaded guilty on the eve of her trial May 19
to cruelty to a juvenile, admitting she was guilty of doing nothing to stop the
beatings and other abuses of her child. Smith faces up to 40 years in prison at
hard labor. Her sentencing date has not been set, and she is expected to
testify at Broussard's trial.
LeJeune said the new mitigation specialist will give him updates on her
progress. Conque set a status hearing for Sept. 22.
Louisiana puts $600,000 in a fund each year to help pay for expert witnesses in
capital murder cases. The fund ran dry last year, Jean Faria, capital case
coordinator for the Louisiana Public Defender Board, said in an April hearing.
She said the lack of funds affected many cases in Louisiana.
(source: The Advocate)
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