Nov. 6
OHIO:
Ohio Supreme Court affirms death sentence for Ashford Thompson in shooting
death of Twinsburg police officer
The Ohio Supreme Court on Oct. 29 affirmed the death sentence of a man
convicted in the 2008 shooting death of a Twinsburg police officer.
Justices were in agreement on Ashford Thompson's conviction, but they were
split, 4-3, on whether he should receive a capital sentence for the crime.
Thompson was found guilty in 2010 of 2 counts of aggravated murder after
shooting 33-year-old Joshua Miktarian multiple times in the head during a
late-night traffic stop.
During oral arguments before the state's high court earlier this year, legal
counsel for Thompson said his death sentence should be overturned due legal and
procedural errors made during his trial, among other issues.
Prosecutors, however, cited comments made by Thompson at a bar before the
shooting and other evidence in seeking affirmation of his death sentence.
In her decision siding with the latter, Justice Judith L. French wrote that the
legal process instituting a death sentence was conducted in proper order, and
the penalty was appropriate for the crime.
"Thompson's murder of a police officer engaged in official duties and his
commission of murder to escape detection are both 'grave circumstances.' These
circumstances clearly outweigh the mitigating factors beyond a reasonable
doubt. As a result, we find that a death sentence is appropriate."
French was joined by Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor and Justices Terrence
O'Donnell and Sharon Kennedy in affirming Thompson's death sentence.
Justices Paul Pfeifer and William O'Neill were among the dissenting votes on
the death sentence portion of the decision.
"... I do not agree that a death sentence is warranted," Pfeifer wrote. "I
conclude that the mitigating circumstances, particularly Thompson's history,
character and background, are sufficient to outweigh the aggravating
circumstances. I would sentence to life without parole."
O'Neill added, "Ohio's system of imposing and reviewing death sentences is
unconstitutional."
(source: Twinsburg Bulletin)
KANSAS----female may face death penalty
Prosecutors seek death-penalty option for woman in deaths of Valley Center
couple
Prosecutors filed a court document Wednesday that will allow them to seek the
death penalty against Kisha Schaberg, 1 of 4 people accused of killing a Valley
Center couple last year.
Dressed in a colorful blouse and wearing ankle shackles, Schaberg sat
impassively as Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett announced during
her arraignment that he wanted an option to ask for Schaberg's execution if she
is convicted of capital murder in the Nov. 15, 2013, shootings of her son's
adoptive parents, Roger and Melissa Bluml.
The document, called a Notice of Intent to Request Separate Sentencing
Proceeding, reserves that option but does not state whether prosecutors
actually will ask for the death penalty. In an e-mail after the hearing,
Bennett said a final decision has not yet been made.
The document also gives notice that prosecutors at Schaberg's sentencing
hearing may present evidence relevant to any of 4 aggravating circumstances
alleged in the case: That the defendant "knowingly or purposely killed"
multiple people; committed the crime to receive money or other valuables;
authorized another person to commit the crime; and/or that the crime was
"especially heinous, atrocious or cruel."
"By filing the notice, the law allows me to seek the death penalty in the
future," Bennett said by e-mail. "I am not required to do so and am free to
seek it or not seek it in the future."
Such notices must be filed within 5 days of an arraignment, he added.
Schaberg's attorney, Jeffrey Wicks, could not be reached for comment after the
hearing. He is a member of the Kansas Death Penalty Defense Unit.
In Kansas, a defendant can be charged with capital murder if 2 or more people
are killed as part of the same felony act. If convicted, Schaberg, 36, could
face the death penalty or life in prison without parole eligibility.
Also charged in Roger and Melissa Blumls' killings is their adoptive son,
19-year-old Anthony Bluml, and 2 of his friends, Braden Smith and Andrew
Ellington. Anthony Bluml is Schaberg's biological son.
All 4 defendants have been charged with capital murder or, in the alternative,
2 counts of 1st-degree murder. They also face 2 counts of aggravated robbery, a
burglary charge and a theft charge.
Melissa and Roger Bluml were shot in the head as they sat in a car outside
their rural Valley Center home. The shootings were part of a plot to gain life
insurance money and also because of resentment of the couple, according to
testimony given by Smith during a July court hearing.
Melissa Bluml, 53, died at a Wichita hospital the next day. Her husband,
48-year-old Roger Bluml, succumbed to his injuries about 5 weeks later.
Schaberg allegedly pulled the trigger, Smith testified in July.
In addition to hearing the district attorney's sentencing announcement
Wednesday, Schaberg waived a formal reading of the charges and her right to a
speedy trial.
Because of the severity of the charges and possible punishment, it could take a
year or longer for her case to go before a jury, according to a court document
filed by her attorney.
"Do you understand that by waiving your speedy trial right you are waiving your
right to have this matter brought to trial within 150 days?" District Judge
Jeffrey Goering asked.
"Yes, sir," Schaberg quietly replied.
"And you're OK with that?"
"Yes, sir," she said.
Goering entered a not-guilty plea on Schaberg???s behalf and set her next court
date - a status conference - for Jan. 13.
At the conference, the judge will receive an update on the case's progress from
attorneys. A trial date will be set later.
Of the other 3 defendants charged in the case:
-- Anthony Bluml pleaded not guilty last month. Prosecutors in October said
they may ask that Bluml be executed if convicted. He is set for jury trial Nov.
17, though the date likely will be postponed.
-- Andrew Ellington, 19, is scheduled for arraignment Nov. 20.
-- Braden Smith, 19, has pleaded not guilty and is set for jury trial Monday,
though the date will likely be postponed.
This summer he struck a plea deal with prosecutors that would reduce his
capital murder charge to 2 counts of 2nd-degree intentional murder in exchange
for his testimony against the other 3. Prosecutors will ask that Smith be
sentenced to 24.5 years in prison, but the judge does not have to abide by
terms of the plea deal.
Schaberg, Anthony Bluml, Ellington and Smith are being held in Sedgwick County
Jail in lieu of $2 million bond each.
(source: kansas.com)
MISSOURI----execution date set for Human Rights Day
Execution Set For Missouri Man Who Killed Neighbor
The Missouri Supreme Court has set an execution date for a man convicted of
sexually assaulting a 63-year-old woman and beating her to death with a hammer.
The state Supreme Court on Thursday scheduled the execution of 47-year-old Paul
Goodwin for Dec. 10. Missouri has executed 8 men already in 2014, with the
execution of Leon Taylor scheduled for Nov. 19.
Joan Crotts of St. Louis County was killed March 1, 1998, at her home. Goodwin
lived in a boarding house next door.
Court documents show that Goodwin sexually assaulted her, threw her down a
flight of stairs and attacked her with a hammer.
(source: Associated Press)
COLORADO:
DA talks about death penalty at open forum----Lewton: It's something that
should be utilized, because it's the law
Northeastern Junior College continued its look at the death penalty Wednesday,
with an open forum sponsored by the Criminal Justice Club, featuring Brittny
Lewton, District Attorney for the 13th Judicial District. She spoke about how
prosecutors decide to seek the death penalty in the 32 states where it is an
available sentencing option.
"In any case, whether it's a theft case, a drug case, a sex assault case, I
have a lot of factors I have to consider, to determine, 'okay, what charges do
I file? Do I make a plea out first?' And then what sentencing do I seek, either
through the plea offer or through the judge," Lewton said.
She pointed out the same analysis goes into death penalty cases as any other
cases. Prosecutors have to decide if they're going to file on all the possible
charges or just some. If it's a homicide case, they say, "Alright, is this even
one that we would consider to be on the death penalty sort of track?"
Those sentenced to death must be adults. They also cannot be mentally ill,
which she said makes it "a little bit more complicated because the question is
what is mentally ill? What does it mean? Who makes that determination?"
"Short of those 2 things, it's basically an individual that's committed all or
part of a crime, in the state of Colorado, that constitutes 1st degree murder,"
Lewton said.
She also noted there are aggravating factors to consider - Was there more than
one person killed? Was the person who committed the murder trying to cover up a
crime? Were the victims at risk - old or young?
"There's a whole list of statutory things that you can say, 'alright, my crime
fits into these or it doesn't," Lewton said.
There are other factors prosecutors must look at as well - What kinds of proof
issues are there? What does the community want? What does the family want?
"If I've got a victims' family, who of course, have the greatest say, who says,
'yes, we absolutely want this' or 'no, we absolutely don,' that isn't the
deciding factor in any case - whether it's a sex assault or the death penalty -
but it certainly matters," Lewton said.
Additionally, prosecutors must look at whether their office has the resources,
do they have the attorneys that have the knowledge to do it. Lewton noted in
Colorado, the Attorney General's Office has a Violent Crimes Unit that will
assist any DA's office with major crimes, not necessarily death penalty.
Money is also an issue.
"It's not like you have to have sort of cash on hand to do a death penalty
case, that's not what it is. It's more that you have to hire additional
investigators and additional legal assistants or staff to file papers," Lewton
said.
She pointed out that while district attorneys take an oath to uphold law,
whether they like the law or not, they will have different opinions on
different things.
"Some people will have much different opinions on sex assaults versus drugs
versus death penalty. For instance, the DA in Boulder would never seek the
death penalty, even though he's been sworn to uphold that, he won't, he won't
because the people in his jurisdiction, very much so, would not support it,"
Lewton said.
In her opinion, if the death penalty fits, "it's something that should be
utilized, because it is the law."
She pointed out that death penalty cases take a long time - years - and her
part is just the beginning.
"I charge the defendant, I give notice that I'm going to seek death, we go
through normal procedures, motions and we have a jury trial, and then the jury
must decide whether or not to impose death, not the judge," Lewton said, adding
that a jury trial can last 12-16 weeks. "Once (the death sentence is) imposed,
then (the case) goes on to Denver, to the Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court,
maybe up to the United States Supreme Court, but that's all done by appellate
lawyers."
Additionally, she talked about the challenges that judicial districts with
prisons, like the 13th, face when an offender that's in prison for life murders
another offender or a guard.
"What's the punishment for that? It's a bit of a quandary, because on one hand,
you're thinking they're in there for life, whatever, there's nothing more we
can do. So, you go through the motions and have them take another guilty plea,
take another life sentence. But, then sometimes you say, 'well, that doesn't
seem fair, that doesn't send the right message.'"
After her presentation, she took time to answer questions, including whether
she believes the death penalty is a deterrent to crime.
"I'm not sure how you directly link the 2; deterrence is a very difficult thing
to track," Lewton said, adding that they "have recidivism or repeat offenders
all the time, for all kinds of crimes."
"The prosecutor in me believes there's got to be some deterrence, especially in
smaller communities like ours, where people know more about things and people
and stuff and what goes on, I do think that there is a little more deterrence."
She was also asked about the role of DNA testing and the reliability of eye
witnesses
"DNA is a wonderful tool that we have, both to test old cases, but also for new
ones," Lewton said, adding that it's a huge help when looking at any proof
issues there may be with the case.
She pointed out that the Innocence Project has only had one case that was found
to be a wrongful conviction based on DNA evidence.
"I think that the exoneration stuff, the DNA stuff is a good sort of project
and should be something that is looked into and funded, but I don't know that
it's necessarily intertwined with the death penalty as much as maybe the media
would have you believe it is," Lewton said.
As for eyewitness testimony, she noted that it's flawed like everything else
and while in some states it carries much more weight, in Colorado there is
nothing that says eyewitness testimony is given greater weight.
"To me, it's one more factor," Lewton said, adding "I don't give that extra
weight; I don't give anything extra weight. I look at the case as a totality."
(source: Journal-Advocate)
*********************
Long list of witnesses in Fero's murder trial
Investigators, family members and prison officers are among the witnesses
prosecutors plan call to persuade a jury to hand down the death penalty to a
man accused of stabbing 5 people to death in a Denver bar.
Dexter Lewis faces the death penalty for the attack at Fero's Bar and Grill
that left 5 people dead in October 2012. The 24-year-old faces 16 counts,
including first-degree murder, arson and robbery.
If jurors convict Lewis on the murder charges, they will then be asked to
decide whether to sentence him to death.
In a filing made public last week, prosecutors provided Lewis' attorneys with a
list of more than 250 witnesses they may call during the sentencing phase. It's
unlikely prosectors will call all of the witnesses listed, but the filing shed
some light on what the witnesses will be asked to testify about.
Lewis' co-defendants, brothers Joseph and Lynell Hill, will be asked about
events leading up to the attack, what happened inside the bar and the group's
actions after they left the bar. Lynell Hill may also testify about letters he
received from Lewis while he was in jail, describing an alibi and urging
everyone to "stick together to fight the case."
The Hill brothers accepted plea agreements in the case. In January, Lynell Hill
was sentenced to 70 years in prison and his brother, Joseph, was sentenced to
life in prison without the possibility of parole.
A 4th man, Demarea Harris, was also at the bar with the group. Harris was an
informant for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on
an unrelated investigation at the time of the attack. He was never arrested or
charged in the case.
The list of witnesses includes dozens of law enforcement officers, including
Department of Corrections officers and sheriff's deputies who encountered Lewis
while he was jail and prison.
Jefferson County Sheriff's deputies may describe injuries they suffered after
Lewis attacked them in February 2009 while he was in jail. Corrections officers
from Sterling Correctional Facility may be called to testify about Lewis'
involvement in a 2011 attack of a rival gang member and how Lewis allegedly
bragged about it.
Denver Sheriff Department deputies may also be called to talk about Lewis'
alleged assault on another inmate in March 2013.
Victims' family members and Lewis' family are also on the list. A jury pool of
at least 600 people will be assembled for the case. Jury selection is scheduled
to begin on Jan. 20. Opening statements are scheduled to begin on March 16.
(source: Denver Post)
ARIZONA:
Jodi Arias Death Penalty Retrial Put On Hold As She Appears With Possible Signs
Of Injury
Courtroom secrets have delayed the Jodi Arias death penalty trial for a week
and RadarOnline.com has all the details.
The halt comes after Arias demanded that the public and media be booted from
court while a "mystery" witness testifies. The judge told jurors to report back
to the Maricopa County Courthouse next Wednesday, when the controversy over
making the trial secret should be resolved by higher courts.
Adding to the intrigue, Arias worse a black brace on one wrist as she watched
lawyers and the judge meet in a series of secret sidebar conferences Wednesday
morning.
A Maricopa County Sheriff's spokesman told Radar exclusively that he can't
comment on anything related to Arias because of an order from the judge.
An appeals court ruled Monday that Judge Sherry Stephen was wrong to toss
spectators and reporters from court during the testimony of a secret witness
last Thursday. They issued a stay that halted that testimony. The secret
witness told the court keeping the courtroom private was required before he or
she would testify.
The appeals court concluded that Judge Stephens has less restrictive ways of
achieving that, including turning courtroom cameras off and limiting
journalists to the overflow room.
Arias defense lawyer Kirk Nurmi objected to the judge's suggestion that the
trial continue this week with other witnesses while the privacy decision makes
its way through the appeals process.
"Miss Arias should not be made to suffer because of what the media has done,"
Nurmi argued. The delay could extend the penalty trial which was expected to
end in December, into early next year, Nurmi said.
Jurors must decide if Arias will be put to death or serve life in prison for
killing ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander.
The jury that originally convicted her of the murder couldn't reach a verdict
on her punishment.
(source: showbizspy.com)
*********************
Death penalty sought in death of girl, 8
A notice to seek the death penalty was filed Wednesday in the prosecution of a
Bullhead City man charged in the death of his friend's 8-year-old daughter.
Justin Rector, 26, faces kidnapping, 1st-degree murder and other charges in the
early September strangulation death of Isabella "Bella" Cannella-Grogan.
Prosecutor Greg McPhillips alleges 4 aggravating factors necessary for the
state to pursue capital punishment, including that the homicide was committed
in an "especially cruel, heinous and depraved" fashion.
Early police reports indicated Rector admitted smoking methamphetamine for much
of the day leading up to the time that Bella was discovered to be missing from
her home on Lakeside Drive late in the evening of Sept. 1. The girl's body was
found a day and a half later on Sept. 3, buried in a shallow grave about a half
mile from her home.
Police said Rector's shoe prints were discovered at the burial site and that he
shoplifted a change of clothes from a nearby Wal-Mart within a few hours of
Bella's disappearance. Police reports said Rector had been playing hide and
seek with Bella and her 10-year-old sister and that he was the last adult to be
seen with her before she went missing.
During a Wednesday afternoon hearing Mohave County Superior Court Judge Lee
Jantzen ordered that the county secure a 2nd "death penalty qualified"
attorney, as the law requires, to assist Public Defender Harry Moore in
representing Rector.
The hearing had been set earlier this week to consider Rector's request to
serve as his own lawyer in legal proceedings.
Judge Jantzen said he would have to consider the pro per motion later because
Moore asked the court to order a mental health examination for the defendant.
Jantzen explained he couldn't consider allowing Rector to represent himself
until it is determined if he's competent to assist current counsel in his own
defense.
Jantzen appointed Dr. Mark Harvancik to conduct a mental health examination and
complete his report by Dec. 3. That report will be considered when Rector next
appears in court on Dec. 10.
Moore said the exam is necessary because Rector's thought processes could be
impaired by historic drug abuse. "There seems to be lingering effects from
intense use of methamphetamine," Moore said.
Rector is being held without bond in the same Mohave County jail that is
currently housing Bella's mother, Tania Grogan, 29, Grogan's husband Ralph
Folster, 28, and Folster's mother Freddie Nicholson, 59. Grogan, Folster and
Nicholson were arrested Oct. 15 in a drug case that evolved from the murder
investigation.
Each member of the trio is charged with conspiracy to sell dangerous drugs and
possession of drug paraphernalia. Police records reveal that an informant
purchased drugs three times from Folster, and once from Folster and Grogan
together, between Oct. 1 and Oct. 15.
Nicholson was not charged with an actual drug sale.
(source: Las Vegas Review-Journal)
*************
Officials seek death penalty for man accused of killing Bullhead City girl
Arizona officials have filed a request to pursue the death penalty for the
Bullhead City man accused of killing an 8-year-old girl.
Justin Rector is charged in the murder of Isabella Grogan-Cannella in
September.
Rector has filed a motion to represent himself in court, but that request won't
be granted until a mental evaluation is performed on him to see whether he's
competent to assist in his defense.
(source: KTNV news)
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