Sept. 29
VIRGINIA:
In final round of appeals, Morva's defense loses a round
Convicted murderer William Charles Morva of Blacksburg is mentally ill and
obstinate, his lawyers say, but a judge said it doesn't matter to Morva's final
round of death penalty appeals.
While defense lawyers would like to slow down the case, U.S. District Judge
Michael Urbanski is moving forward in Roanoke federal court.
Acting through the warden at Sussex I State Prison, where Morva is held, the
state has asked the judge to dismiss Morva's 287-page petition for a federal
writ of habeas corpus. A hearing is scheduled on that issue next month. If the
warden succeeds, that would end 1 of Morva's final possible appeals and advance
Morva closer to execution.
Morva was sentenced to die in 2008 for 2 killings in 2006. In the incident,
Morva was taken from jail to LewisGale Montgomery Regional Hospital near
Blacksburg for medical care. At the hospital, he got free and killed Derrick
McFarland, an unarmed hospital security guard. The next day, he killed
Montgomery County Sheriff's deputy Cpl. Eric Sutphin, who had been looking for
Morva. A jury convicted Morva of multiple murder counts and condemned him to
die.
His planned execution, originally set for Aug. 15, 2013, is on hold while Morva
appeals.
The petition for a writ of habeas corpus requests a new trial or new sentencing
hearing. The condemned typically spend about 15 years on death row waging
appeals in the United States before execution, though less than 10 in Virginia,
according to the Death Penalty Information Center, a nonprofit research
organization in Washington, D.C.
Morva's lawyers recently asked a judge to declare that Morva, who has been on
death row for 6 years, is mentally incompetent. They proposed halting his
death-penalty appeal until after he receives treatment and is competent again.
The lawyers said Morva is going downhill mentally and isn't cooperating with
his defense. They said they barely spoke to him last year on account of his
distrust.
Though he resumed communicating with them, he's still been uncooperative this
year, court papers said.
1 of Morva's contentions is that his lawyers have accepted bribes to botch his
appeal.
"There is no doubt that Morva has a serious mental illness and the evidence is
overwhelming that he is unable to assist counsel and therefore incompetent,"
lead defense lawyer Jonathan Sheldon said in court papers.
An analyst who met recently with Morva at the Sussex prison, 20 miles southeast
of Petersburg, reported that Morva suffers from delusional disorder. He isn't
suffering from schizophrenia, nor is he hallucinating, said Dr. Donna
Schwartz-Watts. But the disorder, which causes people to believe that they are
being mistreated in some way, is serious. Morva has never been treated with
medication, according to Schwartz-Watts.
Urbanski declined to hold a competency hearing or halt the appeal. "Morva's
present competence is irrelevant to the court's consideration of his habeas
petition," Urbanski said in a Sept. 12 ruling.
The ruling said that only prior case proceedings and legal questions are at
issue. In addition, the judge ruled, his lawyers can represent him whatever his
competence.
So the case will go forward. On Oct. 24, Urbanski has agreed to hear the
state's contention that Morva's current appeal is defective and should be
dismissed. Richard Dieter, who directs the Death Penalty Information Center,
said federal judges typically don???t dismiss petitions of this type on a
warden's motion. Judges typically go over the points the petition raises and
rule, Dieter said.
That suggests the October hearing is unlikely to be Morva's last. If he loses,
Morva could appeal Urbanski's decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals in Richmond
and to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Eventually, the case is likely to return to Montgomery County Circuit Court
either for a new trial or new sentencing hearing if Morva prevails at the
federal level, or for a new execution date.
That date could be set as few as 30 days out in Morva's case, Dieter said.
(source: roanoke.com)
MISSISSIPPI:
Appeals court to hear death row inmate's case
A Mississippi man who pleaded guilty in the rape and killing of a waitress in
2000 should get a new trial because his attorneys gave him poor legal advice
for his case, his lawyers said in court documents filed with the 5th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals.
The appeals court decided last week that it would hear oral arguments in the
case of Thomas Loden Jr., who pleaded guilty in the killing of 16-year-old
Leesa Gray. He was sentenced to death for pleading guilty to murder plus 30
years on kidnapping and rape counts.
Gray disappeared June 22, 2000, while on her way home from work as a waitress
at her family's restaurant in the Dorsey community. According to court
documents, her body was found the next day in Loden's van.
The 5th Circuit will hear oral arguments on Loden's appeal on Dec. 16 in
Houston.
Loden has previously argued his original defense attorney failed to fully
investigate his mental condition and background and gave him poor advice that
led him to plead guilty and waive jury sentencing.
"Loden was required to decide whether he wanted to go to a jury trial with
counsel who had failed to conduct a thorough mitigation investigation, who were
unprepared to try the case, who had no witnesses lined up, and who had no
strategy about how to defend Loden during either the guilt or penalty phases,"
attorney Mark R. McDonald wrote.
In 2013, U.S. District Judge Neal B. Biggers ruled Loden failed to prove his
trial attorneys were inadequate.
Biggers sided with the Mississippi Supreme Court's findings that Loden was
given "the basic tools of an adequate defense," including funding to hire an
investigator, a full evaluation by the forensic staff at the Mississippi State
Hospital and the services of an independent psychologist.
The Mississippi attorney general's office said Loden was aware of the
proceedings that were taking place in the state court and actively participated
in a question-and-answer session during his guilty plea.
"From the record evidence in this case it is clear that petitioner (Loden)
ordered his counsel not to object to the state's sentencing case, cross-examine
any of the witnesses or to put on a case in mitigation. The record shows that
counsel had investigated for mitigation and were ready to present such evidence
to the trial court had they been allowed to do so," Assistant attorney general
Marvin L. White Jr. wrote for the state.
(source: Associated Press)
USA:
Jury selection begins for accused Boston Marathon bomber's friend
Jury selection has begun in the trial of a friend of Boston Marathon bombing
suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev who is accused of lying to authorities investigating
the bombing.
Robel Phillipos is charged in federal court with making false statements when
he was questioned about his movements on April 18, 2013, 3 days after the
bombing and hours after the FBI released photos of Tsarnaev and his brother,
Tamerlan Tsarnaev, as suspects in the attack.
Authorities say the brothers placed 2 pressure-cooker bombs near the finish
line of the race, killing 3 people and injuring more than 260.
Tsarnaev, now 21, has pleaded not guilty to 30 federal charges. He could face
the death penalty if convicted. His trial is scheduled to begin Jan. 5, 2015.
Prosecutors allege that Phillipos, who was 19 at the time, lied about being in
Tsarnaev's dorm room while 2 other friends - Azamat Tazhayakov and Dias
Kadyrbayev - removed a laptop and a backpack containing fireworks that had been
emptied of their explosive powder.
Tazhayakov and Kadyrbayev both were convicted of conspiracy and obstruction of
justice.
Phillipos has been portrayed by his lawyers as a young man who had no intention
of misleading investigators and knew nothing about the removal of Tsarnaev's
backpack by Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov.
"This case is about a frightened and confused 19-year-old who was subjected to
intense questioning and interrogation, without the benefit of counsel, and in
the context of one of the worst attacks against the nation," attorneys Derege
Demissie and Susan Church wrote in court documents last year seeking to have
him released from jail while awaiting trial.
Phillipos was a classmate of Tsarnaev's from high school and also attended the
University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth with him, as well as Kadyrbayev and
Tazhayakov. His lawyers said he had taken a leave of absence and hadn't spoken
to Tsarnaev or the other men for more than two months at the time of the
bombings. He was invited to attend a seminar on campus on April 18, the night
items were taken from Tsarnaev's dorm room, his lawyers said.
Gerry Leone, a former state and federal prosecutor, said it will be important
for both prosecutors and the defense team to put the statements Phillipos made
in context.
"The government is going to say there was an intention to lie and harm the
investigation in the context of the marathon bombing," Leone said. "The defense
has to say when he was questioned by the government - something that's never
happened to this young college student before - he wasn't trying to do any harm
or ill-will toward anybody. He was frightened, he was intimidated, he may not
have given the absolute right answers to questions, but that wasn't because he
intended to engage in any kind of cover-up."
(source: CBS news)
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