Sept. 26
TEXAS:
Judge admonishes media covering Williams jury selection
The media was put on notice on Monday during the Eric Williams jury selection
after at least 1 Dallas-area TV reporter was found to be tweeting during the
morning's proceedings.
Williams and his wife, Kim, have been charged with capital murder for the
slayings of Kaufman County Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse on Jan. 31,
2013, and Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife,
Cynthia, on March 30, 2013.
After the morning questioning of 1 prospective juror in Auxiliary Court at the
Rockwall County Courthouse, the court proceeding adjourned unto 1 p.m.
When a member of the media returned for the beginning of the afternoon jury
selection process, members of the prosecution and defense teams were at the
judge's bench and the reporter was told by Judge Webb Baird of Paris - sitting
in for visiting Judge Michael Snipes who is overseeing the Williams murder case
- that it had been brought to his attention that some members of the media had
been tweeting the morning's proceedings.
Baird warned the media person present and said if anyone was caught tweeting,
he or she would be removed from the court.
Bailiffs were instructed to watch for any members of the media that may be
tweeting during the proceedings.
3 prospective jurors were interviewed on Monday by members of the prosecution
and defense teams, 2 men and 1 woman.
The process to seat 12 people is slated to take weeks with the trial set to
begin on Dec. 1. The trial itself may take between 2 and 3 weeks with the
possibility of jurors being sequestered once deliberations begin.
Dallas County Criminal Court No. 7 Judge Michael Snipes is overseeing the case
but had to step aside on Monday to attend to cases on his docket back in
Dallas. Snipes was appointed to hear the case in 2013 after 422nd District
Court Judge B. Michael Chitty recused himself.
Snipes was replaced by Baird of Paris who handled the rest of the day's
proceedings.
The prospective jurors were questioned about their views on the death penalty,
as well as should a defendant be given life without parole, and whether they
had seen news of the killings in the media.
"Philosophically, I believe in the death penalty, but I would not want to pull
the switch," the 1st prospective juror said.
When pressed further about pulling the switch by prosecutor Jerri Sims, he said
it was a hard question to answer because of his Christian beliefs.
"Can you do it or not?" Sims asked.
He said he could.
He also was asked about news of the killings in the media.
"I don't pay attention to local news," he said. "I think [I heard about] a
judge and his wife being killed in Kaufman County. I don't know their names."
Sims also asked him about his thoughts on gun control.
"I think it is unconstitutional," he said. "The Constitution is clear in my
opinion."
Sims asked him if he owned guns, and he said he had rifles, shotguns and
handguns.
"Does that make me a gun nut?" he asked. "Maybe."
He also said law enforcement is becoming too militarized, and that police have
too much power.
Williams defense attorney Matthew Seymour questioned the 1st prospective juror,
first keying in on media coverage.
Seymour, based on publicity surrounding the case - which was moved to Rockwall
County from Kaufman County after Snipes granted a change of venue - asked the
juror if he had formed an opinion.
"No sir," he said.
Seymour then questioned him about the death penalty as the only form of
punishment in a capital murder case.
"If [a defendant] committed a murder and continues to be a threat to the public
... I would have some questions," he said. "I am not sure how you would judge
that with certainty. I don't think the death penalty should be the only
appropriate punishment."
The prospective juror said Timothy McVeigh deserved the death penalty because
of the women and children he murdered in Oklahoma in 1995.
"That rises to a different level," he said. "He planned it and it took a long
time. It seemed evil. It is hard to reconcile in my mind how he could do that.
It is an intentional act of evil that consumed his mind. That appears to be
different than a normal murder."
Prosecutor Tom D'Amore and defense attorney Doug Parks questioned the 2nd
prospective juror.
That juror did not hesitate when questioned about the death penalty. He said he
strongly believes in it as a form of punishment and has no problem with lethal
injection as the method.
The 2nd prospective juror also said he can be fair and listen to both sides of
the case because he has the ability to listen to the facts.
"I could not say guilty if not proven beyond reasonable doubt," he said.
The candidate said he had heard about the case through the media.
Parks asked him whether he recognized anyone on the list of witnesses set to
testify during the Williams murder trial.
The prospective juror said he did not know the people. He also said he did not
know the victims in the case.
Parks said he was concerned about the candidate's strong stance on the death
penalty.
"If [someone] commits a crime heinous enough for the death penalty, I am all
for it ... a crime where an individual has thought out, planned and executed it
without remorse," he said. "If a defendant is put to death, he will not commit
a 2nd crime."
Once the candidate left the courtroom, Parks objected to him being chosen as a
juror. Baird denied the motion.
The 3rd prospective candidate was questioned by prosecutor Toby Shook and
defense attorney John Wright.
When asked whether she believes in the death penalty, she said she did.
"I believe there is a place for it, yes," she said. "A society without laws or
punishment goes awry."
Having said that, and prompted by further questioning by Shook, she admitted
her take on the death penalty was more philosophical.
However, she also said if she was put in a position to make a choice based on
the law, she would do it.
"Would l like it?" she asked. "No. I would not take it lightly."
Wright then took his turn on preparing to question the prospective juror, but
before he was able to ask any questions, the proceedings were stopped and she
was excused.
Baird told each of the prospective jurors he or she would be notified by
Wednesday or Thursday whether they would be a juror in the Williams case.
(source: Terrell Tribune)
******************
Brown and Graves Discuss Death Penalty at Church in College Station
2 murders cases and 2 death penalties were the topic of discussion at Saint
Mary's Catholic Center in College Station.
9 year old Kandy Kirtland was abducted from her Bryan home in May 1987 after
being dropped off by a school bus. Her body was found in a creek on Villa Maria
Road, and James Earhart was executed for the crime. In 1994 Anthony Graves was
convicted in assisting in the 1992 murders of 6 people, but was exonerated in
2010 after spending 18 years in prison, including 12 on death row, for a crime
he didn't commit.
Kandy Kirtland's mother, Jan Brown, and Anthony Graves came together Thursday
night to speak about the impact of the death penalty on individuals, families,
and the community.
"Has anyone ever watched an execution? You don't want to." Jan Brown recalls
the day James Earhart was put to death for the murder of her daughter Kandy
Kirtland. She says the death penalty put an end to the legal process, but it
didn't bring her daughter back which is why she believes the process isn't a
deterrent for murder. Brown says, "I have literally heard hundreds of offender
stories. I have never heard one offender say the possibility of getting a death
penalty sentence kept them from murdering anyone."
Anthony Graves says he spent 18 years in prison for a crime he knew nothing
about. During his time in prison hundreds of executions were carried out, and
he believes many of those convicts were innocent. "I don't care if you believe
in it or not, but ask yourself this question. Does it work?'"
Brazos County District Attorney Jarvis Parsons says it does, but the death
penalty should be reserved for the worst crimes. "One of the things we try to
do in Brazos County is to make sure we have proof beyond a reasonable doubt
that there's overwhelming evidence of guilt in death penalty cases because you
want to be sure."
Parsons has been involved in three death penalty convictions since starting in
2002 as a prosecutor. He says it's not an easy decision to ask for the death
penalty but sometimes it's necessary because the victims deserve justice as
well.
(source: KBTX news)
PENNSYLVANIA:
Lethal injection provides illusion of humane death penalty
Hubert Michael is not a nice guy. 20 years ago he pleaded guilty to kidnapping,
raping and murdering a teenage girl in York County. He is not innocent. Nobody
is going to hold a rally to free him nor should they.
But there are people fighting to keep him from being executed by a lethal drug
injection. They are fighting because death by lethal injection was supposed to
be a humane way to protect society from violent criminals and punish heinous
crimes, but it has become a form of torture.
We saw that in Oklahoma in April when Clayton Lockett writhed and screamed in
pain as his veins collapsed during his lethal injection when a new, untested
drug didn't work properly. He took 43 minutes to die. The same thing then
happened again in Arizona and Texas. All three states tested new drugs because
the pentobarbital they were using was cut off because its supplier didn't
approve of their epilepsy drug's being used for executions.
Yet Pennsylvania stated in July it wanted to do the same thing and execute
Hubert Michael with a cocktail of untested drugs whose names it wouldn't even
release, instead of waiting until a new source of pentobarbital could be found.
The state of Pennsylvania had a reason not to wait for a new source of
pentobarbital. It didn't want to delay the execution, and the drug might not be
available for a long time given concerns about its use.
The Danish manufacturer of the state's pentobarbital is the only one approved
by the Food and Drug Administration to supply the drug for executions, mainly
because other companies have refused for years amid a growing controversy over
pain and botched executions using that drug.
Now that the company has stopped supplying the drug, there is nowhere else to
get it. Moreover, this isn't the 1st time this has happened. Pentobarbital
itself was hailed as the painless, efficient new drug for lethal injections in
2010 after the previous favorite drug combo - sodium thiopental, pancuronium
bromide and potassium chloride, which had been used for decades despite no
medical studies showing its effectiveness - was shown to frequently cause
massive pain. In short, botched lethal injections aren't something new; they've
been happening for years.
If there were a good alternative to lethal injection, we might say, fine,
lethal injection may all too often lead to tortured deaths, but we can just
switch methods. Lethal injection, however, is in many ways the method of last
resort now that over the last hundred-plus years we've tried everything else.
In 1924 we tried cyanide gas. After all-too-frequent-botched executions leaving
condemned men alive and choking, it was mostly abandoned by the 1980s. Cyanide
was an alternative to the electric chair, which had seen too many prisoners lit
on fire, burned and left to die slowly. Firing squads sometimes missed with
tragic results, and botched hangings led to death by slow asphyxiation.
Executions remain the only area where our criminal justice system allows the
infliction of significant physical pain as part of punishment. The Eighth
Amendment to the Constitution prohibits cruel and unusual punishment, which the
Supreme Court has held must be judged by an "evolving standard of decency that
marked the progress of a maturing society" - or what the rest of us might call
common human decency.
That standard prohibits inflicting pain for the sake of causing pain and thus
bans beatings and other corporal punishment in prisons. The pain Clayton
Lockett experienced during the 43 minutes it took him to die after his veins
collapsed was far worse than any beating. But since botched executions are
technically accidents, they don't fall within the Eighth Amendment's
protections, so the courts allow them to continue.
That leaves it up to us. We, as Americans, need to take a hard look at the
death penalty. Life without parole can keep the Hubert Michaels of the world
off the streets where they can't harm us ever again. The death penalty may do
the same, but it brings with it the cruelty and inhumanity of botched
executions that cause pain akin to torture. Is that really the kind of justice
system we want to have?
(source: Opinion; Rachel Stevens, who lives in Allentown, is a lawyer and a
member of the Bethlehem Chapter of Amnesty International ----Morning Call)
********************
D.A. to seek death penalty against inmate
Lawrence Peterson, 44, who is accused in the beating death of his cellmate at
SCI-Houtzdale, is scheduled to go on trial next March and will be facing the
death penalty, according to Clearfield County District Attorney William Shaw
Jr.
Shaw said on Tuesday that Peterson's trial is scheduled for March 2-6 and the
commonwealth would be asking for the death penalty if he were convicted.
Peterson is accused of beating William Keitel, 59, in the cell they shared in
the F-Block of SCI-Houtzdale on Aug. 2, 2013.
Peterson was allegedly upset with Keitel because he heard he was talking about
him behind his back and was telling people that Peterson was a child molester
and deserved to die.
Peterson wrote in a letter that on Aug. 2 he had confronted Keitel when he
returned to the cell and attacked him when he saw Keitel reach into his pocket
believing he had a weapon, according to a previous article in The Progress.
Peterson is charged with criminal homicide, murder in the 1st degree, murder in
the 3rd degree, aggravated assault, involuntary manslaughter, and recklessly
endangering another person.
Peterson is serving a 40-80 year state prison sentence after being convicted at
trial in June of 2000 on the charges of criminal attempt/homicide, rape,
robbery, aggravated indecent assault and 2 counts of aggravated assault and in
July of 2000.
According to the Morning Call newspaper on Nov. 16, 1998, Peterson smoked 36
bags of crack cocaine and went on a crime spree where he raped a
9-year-old-girl and stuffed a rag soaked with cleaner in her mouth. He also
attempted to beat a woman to death and stabbed another woman with a
screwdriver.
Keitel was serving a life in prison without parole for killing his ex-wife and
her boyfriend at a convenience store outside of Pittsburgh on New Year's Day
1998, according to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. He shot his estranged wife,
Michele Walker Keitel, 35, in the head with a .38 revolver and her boyfriend
Charles Dunkle, 34, through the heart during a custody exchange of their 2
children, aged 2 and 5.
(source: The Progress News)
****************
Trial against alleged Upper Merion baby killer Yandamuri is underway
After 8 days of jury selection, attorneys have been able to agree on 6 men, 6
women and a group of 4 alternates to hear evidence in the case against
Raghunandan Yandamuri who is accused of killing a 10-month-old baby and her
61-year-old grandmother in Upper Merion in 2012.
Attorneys were able to settle on the last alternate on Wednesday morning so
that the jury could be brought in Thursday morning to hear jury instructions,
opening arguments and the 1st of the commonwealth's witnesses.
In court, Yandamuri, 28, said he was "happy" with the jurors who were selected.
He also said, despite continued advice from Judge Steven O'Neill, that he would
continue to represent himself during the trial and would not ask Stephen
Heckman to return as his attorney. Presently, Heckman is serving as Yandamuri's
stand-by counsel which means he can offer some guidance and advice to Yandamuri
during the course of the trial. However, he is not allowed to interview
witnesses or raise objections to questions asked by the commonwealth.
If Yandamuri is convicted, he will face the same jury for a penalty phase where
the jury will decide on a sentence of life in prison or the death penalty.
Yandamuri has previously elected to keep defense attorney Henry Hilles to argue
to the jurors that Yandamuri should not get the death penalty.
After the last juror was picked on Wednesday, Judge O'Neill ruled that one
picture of the crime scene may be shown to the jury as evidence for the first
couple of witnesses. The picture, however, will have to be shown to jurors in
grayscale. Judge O'Neill said he will rule on the other pictures as needed
throughout the trial.
Judge O'Neill also ruled that the commonwealth may introduce evidence of
gambling and debt in Yandamuri's past which may be presented as a motive.
Deputy District Attorney Samantha Cauffman said the commonwealth plans on
introducing Yandamuri's alleged gambling and history of debt.
Yandamuri is accused of the kidnapping and killing of Saanvi Venna and the
killing of her grandmother, Satyavathi Venna, in the Marquis Apartments on Oct.
22, 2012. Investigators immediately began searching for Saanvi Venna and found
a note demanding $50,000 or the baby would be killed.
Police were able to narrow down the list of suspects because the kidnapper used
the nicknames of Saanvi Venna's parents, which were known only to a few people.
Yandamuri was on that list and was later taken in by police for questioning.
During questioning, Yandamuri allegedly confessed to the killing and
kidnapping. He also allegedly revealed to investigators that Saanvi Venna was
killed shortly after the kidnapping. A video of the alleged confession may be
shown to jurors as evidence during the trial.
Yandamuri has since said the confession was coerced by police and that he had
been forced to lead 2 other men into the apartment. He maintains the 2 other
men were the ones who killed Satyavathi Venna and kidnapped and killed Saanvi
Venna.
(source: Mainline Media news)
***********************
Death penalty sought for man accused of killing girlfriend, unborn child
2 days after the Somerset County district attorney announced her plans to seek
the death penalty in a recent homicide case, she explained her decision.
Prosecutors are seeking a 1st degree murder conviction against Denver Blough,
the Windber man accused of shooting and killing his pregnant girlfriend in
their apartment while the couples' 11-month-old son was sitting just feet away.
Investigators said their unborn child died 20 days later.
Blough is facing 2 counts of criminal homicide among other serious charges.
He's contended that the shooting was an accident, but prosecutors said all the
evidence they've gathered proves he intended to commit the crime.
"This has not been an easy decision and I don't think in the beginning based on
the information we had initially that I was prepared to make that decision,"
said Somerset County District Attorney Lisa Lazzari-Strasiser. "As the
preliminary tests come in from the lab, as we met with the pathologist and as
Trooper Goins continues to develop what we believe the facts support, I really
was left with no alternative other than to seek the death penalty."
It's a decision Lazzari-Strasiser is making for the very 1st time in her three
years in office. It's also a decision she just made last week but one she said
only makes sense.
What distinguishes this case ladies and gentlemen, is that this is not a
"whodunit," we know who done it," Lazzari- Strasier said. "The facts support
it. It wasn't an accidental shooting... It was a brutal, violent event."
Blough is facing 2 counts of criminal homicide, 1 for the death of his pregnant
girlfriend Caressa Kovalcik, the other for their unborn child, Abrianna
Kovalcik, who died 20 days after the shooting.
When Blough goes to trial, prosecutors are seeking first degree murder and
that's the verdict they need if they pursue the death penalty against him.
Lazzari-Strasiser said she's confident the evidence points directly in the
commonwealth's favor.
"At the time of the killing the victim was in her third trimester, not only
third trimester but she was within a week of her due date and of course as the
father-to-be, we allege, was full aware of her condition," Lazzari-Strasiser
said.
6 News looked through old county records and archives Wednesday and found the
last capital case in Somerset County was that of Todd Mitchell. He was a
Meyersdale man accused of killing his girlfriend's 17-month-old child while
babysitting in 2002. A year later though, he was only found guilty of 3rd
degree murder, so the death penalty was tossed out. Mitchell is still serving
his 20-year sentence in Greene County.
As for Blough's trial, Lazzari Strasiser said she would like for it to happen
soon for the sake of the family but said she doesn't expect it to being until
at least next summer.
In the meantime, the court will need to appoint him Blough a new attorney,
someone with experience in death penalty cases. That may have to be an
out-of-county attorney though because currently no public defenders in Somerset
have that certification.
It's also important to note that Lazzari-Straiser's announcement does not mean
a plea deal is completely off the table. In fact she told 6 News, "never say
never." The decision could also be removed before the trial.
For prosecutors to even consider the death penalty in a case, they have to
announce their intent before formal arraignment, and for Blough, that's
scheduled for this Monday.
(source: WJAC news)
********************
New sentencing ordered for woman on death row
The state Supreme Court has ordered a new sentencing hearing for a western
Pennsylvania woman on death row in the starvation death of her 7-year-old
daughter.
45-year-old Michelle Tharp was sentenced to death in Washington County after
she was convicted of 1st-degree-murder in the 1998 death of Tausha Lee Lanham,
who weighed less than 12 pounds.
Prosecutors said Tharp and her boyfriend dumped the child's body in West
Virginia and pretended that the girl had been abducted from an Ohio shopping
mall.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ordered a new penalty hearing Wednesday on the
grounds that her attorney failed to present evidence that may have persuaded a
jury to spare her life, such as a history of mental illness, abuse throughout
her childhood and borderline intellectual function.
(source: Associated Press)
FLORIDA:
Defendant's foggy memory of Lutz triple murder complicates possible plea
Edward Covington, the Lutz man charged with a triple murder that law
enforcement officials said was among the most horrifying crimes they had ever
seen, says he wants to "take responsibility" and plead guilty to the killings.
Naturally, his attorneys have advised against that.
But regardless of whether he admits guilt, Covington's recent pronouncements,
recorded last month in a phone conversation with his mother from jail, could
complicate his already messy case. Prosecutors are hoping to use the recording
against him in his upcoming trial, which is scheduled to begin next month,
arguing that it constitutes an admission of guilt. Meanwhile, attorneys for
Covington are trying to get their client's words excluded on the grounds that
plea negotiations are not admissible.
If convicted, Covington, 42, could face the death penalty.
Covington's jail phone call began like many others, with a recorded message
reminding him that he was being monitored. Despite this warning, he proceeded
to tell his mother that he wanted to take responsibility for the death of his
former girlfriend, Lisa Freiberg, 26, and her children, 2-year-old Savannah and
7-year-old Zachary.
Hillsborough sheriff deputies found their mutilated bodies on the floor of
their mobile home a day after Mother's Day in 2008. Covington, a former prison
guard, was found hiding in a closet, wearing only his underwear, his body
covered in scratches and his feet wet with blood.
In the court hearings that followed, attorneys representing him argued that he
had gone off his "mood stabilizer" medications after losing his medical
coverage and had fallen into an uncontrollable bipolar rage. He also tested
positive for cocaine after his arrest. For his part, Covington has maintained
he does not remember murdering Freiberg and her children.
"I just want to take responsibility for what happened," he told his mother in
the recorded call. "I may not know what happened, but I know I'm the cause of
it."
He went on to say that his attorneys, who are with the Hillsborough Public
Defender's Office, had advised him not to plead guilty because of the gaps in
his memory.
"They go, 'How did you do it?' I'm like, 'Well, um.' They go, 'Who did you kill
first?' I go, 'Um, um. I wanna say this way.'"
Any account he could give of what happened that day would be a fabrication,
Covington told his mother, and he couldn't lie to a judge. His mother said
little in response, and the transcript ends with her asking him what his
attorneys want him to wear for the trial.
However Covington may have interpreted his attorney's advice, there is no legal
rationale for withholding a guilty plea because of a foggy memory, said
Clearwater defense attorney Steve Romine.
"As long as you understand the process and as long as you can make an
intelligent and freely entered plea, you can plea to anything in your best
interest, whether you remember the crime or not," said Romine, who is not
involved in the case.
He gave the example of a motorist who is charged with driving under the
influence, but because he was intoxicated, can't remember how he ended up
behind the wheel. Even people who believe they are innocent often plead guilty
to less serious offenses in court to avoid a jury trial and high attorney's
fees.
In their motion to include Covington's statements in the trial, prosecutors
said that he was offering to plead guilty only during the first phase of the
trial, when a jury decides whether he is guilty or innocent of the charges
against him. In the second phase, known as the penalty phase, jurors would
still have to vote on whether to he should be executed.
Prosecutors turned down his earlier offer to plead guilty in order to avoid the
death penalty.
(source: Tampa Bay Times)
ALABAMA:
Jury set for trial in ex-Auburn players' slayings
Attorneys selected a jury Thursday for the capital murder trial of a man
charged with killing 2 1-time Auburn University football players and a 3rd
person at a party more than 2 years ago.
The judge told the panel of 12 jurors and 4 alternates to return Friday
afternoon for opening statements in the trial of Desmonte Leonard, 24, of
Montgomery.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Leonard in the shooting,
which wounded 3 more people during a party at an apartment clubhouse near the
Auburn campus on June 9, 2012. The dead included former Auburn football players
Ladarious Phillips and Ed Christian, plus DeMario Pitts of Opelika.
Leonard surrendered to authorities after a 3-day manhunt and has pleaded not
guilty.
The defense says the shooting was in self-defense, and a ruling by the judge
after jury selection could help them make the case.
Circuit Judge Jacob A. Walker III said he would allow limited testimony by a
clinical psychologist, Lauren Reba-Harrelson, who testified during a hearing
that Leonard was shot in the abdomen in 2008 and now has a "heightened sense of
awareness" to threats to that part of his body.
Prosecutors argued that jurors shouldn't be allowed to hear the testimony since
Leonard isn't using an insanity defense, but the judge said the defense could
use the testimony for limited purposes of showing why Leonard might have been
fearful.
Evidence during an earlier hearing showed Leonard argued with an Auburn
football player at the party, and Pitts hit Leonard with a bottle before the
shooting began. Police have said the shooting wasn't linked to victims' status
as athletes.
Christian had quit the team because of a lingering back injury and Phillips was
transferring to Jacksonville State University. The wounded included former
Auburn player Eric Mack and 2 Roanoke men, Xavier Moss and John Robertson.
Leonard is charged attempted murder and assault in addition to the murder
counts. He has been jailed since his arrest.
During the search for Leonard, police swarmed a rental home in Montgomery on
June 11, 2012. They said heat-sensitive equipment indicated someone was hiding
in the attic, but they never found anyone.
The owner of the home, Yakemi Ward of Prattville, is suing city and federal law
enforcement in federal court, saying they destroyed walls and ceilings, tore
apart the air conditioning system and ruined the interior by firing more than
30 canisters of tear gas into the home.
The suit says the home couldn't be rented for a year and had to be gutted. The
defendants are seeking to have the suit dismissed.
(source: Associated Press)
OHIO:
Grube case costs top $100K, could go higher
The cost to investigate and prosecute the 2 men who murdered Robert and Colleen
Grube is more than $100,000 and could climb higher if the cases are appealed.
But Mercer County Prosecutor Matt Fox feels the true cost of the crimes
committed by Bryant L. Rhoades and Trevin Sanders-Roark cannot be measured in
dollars and cents.
"In a community like Mercer County, crimes of this nature touch and affect
every single person, from the surviving Grube families to those who knew Robert
and Colleen Grube or those who no longer feel safe in their homes," he said.
"Whatever costs incurred and monies spent pale in comparison to what those
murders have cost this community."
Rhoades, 23, and Sanders-Roark, 20, both of Union City, received consecutive
life sentences in August for the tragic deaths of the Fort Recovery residents
in November 2011.
Rhoades entered guilty in Alford pleas to 2 counts each of aggravated murder,
aggravated robbery and aggravated burglary in exchange for the dismissal of
death-penalty specifications and the remaining 21 counts in the original
indictment.
Sanders-Roark, who was not eligible for the death penalty because he was 17 at
the time of the crime, pleaded guilty to the same charges.
Both men claimed to be indigent, so the court provided each defendant with
attorneys. The cost, by law, must be paid by the county with a portion
reimbursed by the state.
Mercer County Commissioners initially set aside $100,000 to pay for attorneys,
expert witnesses and other costs, but months ago decided to deposit another
$50,000 into the special account as costs continued to mount. Their records now
indicate expenditures at $102,876.
Rhoades' attorneys William Kluge and Robert Gryzbowski submitted bills to
common pleas court totaling $35,624.
Kluge, who is certified to handle death-penalty cases and served as lead
defense counsel, submitted a bill for $16,556. Gryzbowski, certified as a
second chair counsel in death-penalty cases, billed the county $19,068. Court
records indicate most of his time involved duties outside the courtroom.
Sanders-Roark had four attorneys during the course of his case beginning with
local attorney Donna Post, who handled proceedings in Mercer County Juvenile
Court for $11,529. Her fee is not included in the commissioners' overall total.
Troy attorney Jose Lopez was appointed after it was determined the defendant,
who was 17 at the time of the murders, should be tried as an adult. Fees
totaled $2,859 before Lopez asked to be relieved of his duties in November.
Local attorneys Richard Delzeith and Peter Van Arsdel were appointed to handle
the defense after Lopez stepped down. Delzeith's fee is $6,557 while Van Arsdel
billed the county $1,573.
Other costs related to Rhoades' defense totaled $54,494 for a mitigation
specialist, investigator, psychologist, copies related to the 16-month
investigation and a person to collate more than 76,000 pages into binders.
Other costs for Sanders-Roark were $1,767 for an expert witness.
The Ohio Public Defender's Office reimburses counties 40 % of the amount spent
on indigent defense fees including attorney and expert witness costs. However,
the state caps some expenses and the county must pay the bills before filing
applications for reimbursement. The application process is continuing.
Fox declined to cite a specific amount spent on tangible and intangible costs
from the prosecutor's office. He said the intangible costs involve thousands of
hours spent preparing the case with the work completed by salaried personnel.
The time spent by court and clerk of courts staff also is not included in the
overall cost of the cases because the work was completed during employees'
regular work hours.
16 months of investigation also carried costs, Mercer County Sheriff Jeff Grey
said. He estimates the total at more than $243,850 including pay for 4
detectives assigned to the case, DNA testing and typed transcripts of
interviews. Included in the amount is the $51,850 to house Rhoades and
Sanders-Roark and $5,000 in transportation costs.
"This figure does not include costs that the attorney general's office had for
investigators assigned to help us, lab work, crime scene work and support
staff," Grey said. "My guess is their numbers would be close to, maybe more,
than what we spent."
Numbers also were not available from the office of state attorney general Mike
DeWine, which does not bill counties for its costs.
The Ohio Public Defender's Office has notified local authorities it plans to
file an appeal on Rhoades' behalf in the Third District Court of Appeals.
Sanders-Roark has not indicated if he intends to appeal.
(source: The Daily Standard)
*******************
Ohio man sentenced to death for fatal shooting
A 30-year-old northeast Ohio man who already has spent most of his adult life
behind bars has been sentenced to death for a fatally shooting a man during a
robbery in September 2012.
Judge Andrew Logan on Wednesday affirmed the death penalty recommendation made
by a jury last week for David Martin. The same Trumbull County jury convicted
Martin of aggravated murder and other crimes two weeks ago in the slaying of
21-year-old Jeremy Cole of Warren.
Police believe Martin shot Cole in the head during a home-invasion robbery
attempt at Cole's home. A woman who lived at the home, Melissa Putnam, was shot
in the hand and neck but was released from the hospital a few days after the
shooting.
Putnam served as a key witness in the trial.
Martin, of Cleveland, has been out of prison for less than a year since getting
arrested for his 1st adult felony in July 2001. He currently is serving a
federal prison sentence for selling an assault rifle to an undercover agent.
Martin yawned and did not speak during his sentencing in a Warren courtroom,
but he apologized at the end of the trial.
"The death penalty is the ultimate penalty for the ultimate crime, and he
deserves it," prosecutor Chris Becker said after the sentencing.
(source: Associated Press)
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