Aug. 17
CONNECTICUT:
Top legislative Republican wants 2012 research Malloy used on death-penalty
repeal
Senate Minority Leader Len Fasano on Monday asked Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to give
reasons for his 2012 stance that the repeal of the death penalty would not
affect the 11 murderers on Connecticut's Ddath row.
Malloy's spokesman discounted Fasano's request as political grandstanding.
"Based upon the Connecticut Supreme Court ruling made by an activist court
banning the death penalty, despite the clear intent of the legislature to
maintain the death penalty for those currently on death row, including the
Cheshire killers, and based on the strong dissent which clearly explains how
the majority of the court overstepped the boundaries of our Constitution and
purposely hijacked the role of policymakers, I would like to better understand
how you came to your conclusion in 2012 that this very situation would not
happen," Fasano said in a letter to the governor. "In 2012, you emphatically
guaranteed that the death penalty repeal bill would in no way be retroactive."
Last week the state Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that the 11 men on death row cannot
be executed because of the repeal of capital punishment. They will now spend
their lives in prison without the possibility of release. "I would like to know
how and why you reached an alternate conclusion regarding the constitutionality
of a prospective-only repeal," Fasano, a lawyer, wrote. He asked that the
governor, a former criminal prosecutor, provide the information he analyzed
while reaching his 2012 conclusion, as well as the legal opinions he
researched.
"I know your personal mindset was against the death penalty in all forms. But
your underlying desires could not influence the legal assurances you shared
with the public," Fasano wrote.
Devon Puglia, Malloy's Capitol spokesman, said Monday afternoon that the
governor's office had not yet received the letter that Fasano shared with
reporters.
"Our thoughts are with the victims and their families right now," Puglia said
in a statement. "We wish Republicans would show a modicum of respect by
refraining from engaging in what are obvious political stunts."
(source: Conn. Post)
FLORIDA:
New experts in mitigation, appellate law to assist in death penalty cases
Following a $620,000 grant that created FIU Law's Death Penalty Clinic's
Florida Center for Capital Representation (FCCR), 2 new staff members have been
hired - each with a unique specialty and a clear focus in mind.
Veteran appellate attorney and FCCR co-director Karen Gottlieb and licensed
clinical social worker and attorney Elisa Quesada have joined Director and
Visiting Clinical Professor Stephen Harper to provide education and
consultation to lawyers who are representing clients facing the death penalty.
A big part of an attorney's preparation for a death penalty case is creating a
defendant profile. Stepping in to help lawyers tell their clients' stories is
Quesada. Quesada will train them in uncovering the extenuating factors
applicable to their clients and creating a compelling mitigation profile.
"Oftentimes a defendant is dealing with clinical issues like mental illness and
substance abuse - which attorneys are not trained to address," she says. "I
will consult with attorneys who are faced with a difficult situation and assist
them in understanding their clients and how they can effectively represent
them. It's about explaining, not excusing, what their clients have allegedly
done so they can provide them with the very best defense."
Gottlieb will use her years of experience in appellate work to teach trial
lawyers how to develop motions, strategies and themes that are creative and
compelling. Her goal is to help improve their pre-trial and trial methods so
that they are able, either to win at trial, or preserve the record for appeal,
if they are denied the opportunity to investigate or fully present their case.
"A capital defendant generally has 2 defense attorneys and faces two stages
when they go to court: the trial phase and the penalty phase," Gottlieb
explains. "It's important to get both lawyers working as a team. They need a
comprehensive understanding of both the offense charged and their client's
character. The trial team needs to work with the penalty phase team to present
a unified defense, and each has to place equal amounts of importance on both
phases."
For both experts, the most important outcome of their work is helping
attorneys, if not win an acquittal, achieve a life sentence, plea offer or life
recommendation from a jury. Through trainings, consultations and direct
communication with attorneys, FCCR is available to support the defense team
from start to finish.
"The FCCR was created to improve the quality and effectiveness of defense
lawyers handling capital cases," Harper says. "Over the next 2 years, our
office will work with attorneys to help improve their investigation skills,
their abilities to represent effectively their clients and to create mitigating
profiles."
The FCCR, made possible by a grant from the Themis Fund, a Proteus Fund
initiative, will also include training on jury selection and how to integrate
the 1st phase of a capital case with the penalty phase.
Currently, the State of Florida has nearly 400 individuals who face possible
execution. In 2014, Florida ranked 2nd in the country in the number of people
sentenced to death and ranked 2nd in the number of executions. There are more
than 1,000 deathpenalty cases currently awaiting trial.
(source: FIU News)
LOUISIANA:
Black jurors more likely to be struck from Caddo juries
Black prospective jurors in Caddo Parish are 3 times more likely to be struck
from a jury than whites, a new study released today says.
The study, conducted by anti-death penalty group Reprieve Australia, looked at
332 felony jury trials prosecuted by the Caddo Parish District Attorney Office
from Jan. 28, 2003, and Dec. 5, 2012.
In the cases examined, the DA's office used discretionary "peremptory"
challenge, which doesn't require stating a reason, to reject potential jurors.
What emerged was a troubling pattern which has garnered renewed scrutiny for
jury selection practices in Caddo Parish.
"In the absence of any evidence to the contrary, this pattern discloses that it
strongly suggests race has played a role in the exercise of these peremptory
challenges, by the Caddo Parish DA's Office, Ursula Noye, Reprieve Australia's
vice president and Blackstrikes Fellow, said.
The nonprofit found:
--Of the trials examined, 227 (83 %) involved a black defendant.
--The district attorney's office used discretionary "peremptory challenges" to
strike qualified potential black jurors 46 % of the time as opposed to the 15 %
of the time for non-black jurors.
--In Caddo Parish 22 % of trials had 2 or fewer black jurors. Not 1 defendant
was acquitted in a trial were there 2 or fewer black jurors. The 51 trials with
3 or more black jurors had an acquittal rating of 12 %.
--In 224 12-% juries, there was an average of 3.86 jurors per jury who were
black. 206 of these juries returned a verdict.
--Some Caddo DA prosecutors struck black jurors at rate of 4.5 to 5 times the
rate they struck non-black jurors.
(source: The Advertiser)
COLORADO:
Colorado lawmakers bump into death-row inmate Nathan Dunlap
In June, 4 Colorado legislators got face-to-face with death row inmate Nathan
Dunlap, the Chuck E. Cheese killer whose execution was postponed last October
by Gov. John Hickenlooper to the dismay of many pro-death-penalty Coloradans.
Like they do most summers, these members of the Capital Development Committee
were touring state colleges, universities and other facilities to find out how
taxpayers' dollars are being spent and to consider future funding requests.
The June 8-10 tour took the committee to northeastern Colorado, to tour the
Sterling Correctional Facility, which houses the state's 3 death row inmates.
Legislators on the Sterling visit were Reps. Ed Vigil, D-Fort Garland and J.
Paul Brown, R-Ignacio; and Sens. Randy Baumgardner, R-Hot Sulphur Springs and
Jerry Sonnenberg, R-Sterling.
According to the legislators, the accidental encounter was uneventful and
Dunlap was "very polite."
Baumgardner said Dunlap came out of an elevator with a guard and had to walk
through the group of mostly pro-death-penalty lawmakers because the space was
so tight.
The inmate was held by the arm by the guard and was in full chains and
shackles, according to Vigil.
"We were surprised," Baumgardner said, and he believed Dunlap was as well.
Vigil described the situation as "surreal. It took me a second to recognize
him," he said.
"It's a pretty nice facility," Baumgardner said of the prison. There are things
that need to be looked at, but that's true for all of the state's prisons, he
added.
As to how meeting Dunlap impacted their opinions about the death penalty, the
encounter didn't change any minds, according to the legislators.
(source: The Colorado Independent)
**************
Fero's Bar murders: Jury to hear mitigating factors in death penalty case
against Dexter Lewis
Jurors in the Fero's Bar and Grill murders case begin the 2nd phase of the
sentencing hearing Monday.
Jurors decided during Phase 1 of the sentencing process that aggravating
factors were present in 5 murders committed by Dexter Lewis in Denver during
October 2012. Earlier, the same jury convicted him of 5 counts of 1st-degree
murder after deliberation, 5 counts of felony murder, 5 counts of attempted
robbery and an arson charge.
In Phase 2, defense attorneys will present mitigating factors in an attempt to
convince the jury to be lenient with the sentencing, according to Lynn
Kimbrough, a spokeswoman for the Denver District Attorney.
3 others went to the bar with Lewis on the night of the murders. Brothers
Joseph and Lynell Hill pleaded guilty under deals with prosecutors. The 4th,
Demarea Harris, was a confidential federal informant and wasn't charged.
Harris and Lynell Hill said Lewis stabbed all 5 people. Joseph Hill refused to
testify during Lewis' trial.
Lewis allegedly told his cellmate that he had to kill everyone in the bar
because they'd seen his face as he killed the 1st victim. Those killed were bar
owner Young Fero, 63; Daria M. Pohl, 21; Kellene Fallon, 44; Ross Richter, 29;
and Tereasa Beesley, 45. The Denver Medical Examiner said all five victims died
of multiple stab wounds.
The 5 victims were found when firefighters responded to the fire at the bar.
Investigators believed the fire was set to cover up the killings.
Investigators said robbery was the motive for the slayings. The suspects got
away with $170, according to court records.
(source: thedenverchannel.com)
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