Sept. 3
TEXAS:
Records: Man linked to Samantha Dean case charged with capital murder
A man police believe VonTrey Clark hired to kill Samantha Dean has been charged
with capital murder in her death, a law enforcement official said.
Kevin Leo Watson, 31, had been in the Harris County Jail since April on an
unrelated drug charge. Watson is 1 of 2 men that police believe former Austin
police officer VonTrey Clark hired to kill Dean, according to court documents.
The location of the other suspect, Freddie Lee Smith, 29, was unknown.
Police believe Watson is a longtime associate of Clark's. Investigators
connected Watson and Smith to the case earlier through cellphone records of
so-called burner phones that police suspect were used to coordinate Dean's
killing. Police uncovered that link after tracking down Aaron Lamont Williams,
another Clark associate who police say sent a threatening text message to an
Austin police employee who knew Dean, court documents said.
While in the Bastrop County Jail in June, Williams told investigators that
Clark had offered $5,000 for Dean's death to avoid paying child support for her
unborn child. Watson and Smith committed the killing with Clark present,
setting the scene up to look like a drug deal gone bad, according to court
documents.
Williams, 32, was charged with retaliation in connection with the threatening
text message. He was released from the jail in June, records showed.
Watson's girlfriend Kyla Fisk, 50, has also been connected to the case. Fisk
was also still in the Harris County Jail on Thursday on a charge of tampering
with evidence. Police believe she hid from investigators clothing that Watson
wore during Dean's murder.
Earlier: The president of the Austin police union, who has so far been silent
about the murder investigation involving one of his officers said prosecutors
should consider the death penalty against VonTrey Clark if he is convicted in
Samantha Dean's death.
In his first public comment about the case Thursday, Austin Police Association
President Ken Casaday said "this whole ordeal has been very trying for the
Austin Police Department and a tragedy for Samantha Dean's family. VonTrey
Clark is our member and we hope he gets a fair trial, and if he is convicted,
the state should consider the death penalty."
Clark was fired from the Austin police force in July. Dean was a crime victims
counselor working for the Kyle Police Department.
Casaday's comments come after the former patrol officer returned to Texas late
Wednesday in the custody of FBI agents and was handed over to Bastrop County
officials. Federal and local law enforcement will publicly address the case at
a planned news conference at the Bastrop County Sheriff's office at 1:30 p.m.
Thursday.
(source: Austin American-Statesman)
PENNSYLVANIA:
Gov. Wolf made the right call on death penalty moratorium
When Gov. Tom Wolf put executions on hold in Pennsylvania, I joined many of my
colleagues in publicly supporting this reasonable and appropriate action.
The state Senate's bipartisan Pennsylvania Advisory Committee and Task Force on
Capital Punishment requested that no executions should take place until their
study of the death penalty in Pennsylvania is complete.
Wolf was absolutely correct to ensure he has all the information and the
committee's recommendations before proceeding with an execution.
In using his constitutional reprieve power to delay executions pending the
outcome of the study, he followed the lead of numerous other governors - both
Republican and Democrat - across the nation.
I have served as a Judge, prosecutor and public defender in Pennsylvania
courtrooms, and I am strongly invested in making our system of justice work.
Like many of my colleagues, I am highly concerned about the fairness of the
capital punishment system. There are multiple, serious problems with the death
penalty in our Commonwealth as it functions now.
Even a cursory look at three issues reveals some of the problems. For example,
the reversals of most death sentences, the poor compensation of public
defenders in capital cases, and the racial bias in Pennsylvania's imposition of
death sentences are all areas in dire need of improvement.
The ultimate horror would be the execution of an innocent person.
During a House Judiciary Committee hearing on the death penalty, information
was shared by a deputy Philadelphia district attorney and a representative of
the Death Penalty Information Center on the impact Gov. Tom Wolf's death
penalty moratorium on capital cases making their way through the federal
appeals process.
Of the more than 400 death sentences imposed in Pennsylvania since 1978, the
majority have later been reversed on appeal, due to serious flaws or misconduct
at trial. This rate of error is of great concern to many professionals in the
criminal justice system.
Trials must be fair and reliable, but the reversals of so many death sentences
prove that far too many individuals received unfair and unwarranted sentences
of death. If we are to continue to have capital punishment, we must ensure that
it is used fairly and without error.
When the poor are charged with a crime and cannot afford an attorney, they have
a constitutional right to a lawyer, which must be paid for by the Commonwealth.
But Pennsylvania's capital public defenders are among the lowest-paid in the
nation. In many cases, this leads to death penalty trials where the
least-equipped, least-resourced attorneys represent people with the most at
stake.
Our low pay scale can result in low-quality lawyering where only the highest
standard fits the gravity of the possible sentence at hand ??? the taking of a
human life by the state.
There is unquestionably an element of racial bias in the imposition of the
death penalty. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court's Committee on Racial and Gender
Bias in the Justice System found that our state was second only to Louisiana in
the percentage of African Americans on death row.
The Death Penalty Information Center reports that as of April 1, 2015, 100 of
the 184 men on death row in Pennsylvania are African American, and yet African
Americans make up only about ten percent of Pennsylvania's population.
Disturbingly, the same Supreme Court Committee also found that "1/3 of the
African American death-row inmates in Philadelphia County would have received
life imprisonment if they had not been African American."
The death penalty is meant to exist as a punishment for only the "the worst of
the worst" cases and offenders.
Even a preliminary look at how capital punishment is functioning in our state
reveals that other factors - such as the quality of counsel assigned to those
facing the death penalty and the race of the offender or victim - are far
better barometers of whether death will be imposed. Such a reality is
absolutely unacceptable.
There have already been innocent men exonerated from Pennsylvania's death row.
There could potentially be others out there.
The ultimate horror for anyone involved in the criminal justice system would be
the execution of an innocent person. It is essential that we do everything in
our power to ensure that never happens. We need to assess the flaws in the
system and analyze what could be done to address them.
The suspension of executions is an appropriate use of the executive power and
is in line with recent actions taken by the governors of numerous other states.
If we are to have the penalty of death imposed on citizens by Pennsylvania, we
should use every tool available to make capital punishment as fair as it can
possibly be.
(source: Robert Cindrich is a former U.S. District Judge for the Western
District of Pennsylvania and the former U.S. Attorney for Pennsylvania's
Western District----pennlive.com)
NORTH CAROLINA:
Death penalty upheld for Wilmington man convicted of murder
A Superior Court judge has upheld the death penalty for a Wilmington man
convicted of killing 3 people in 1996.
The ruling, handed down on Tuesday, denied Shan Carter's motion seeking a
retrial based on new DNA evidence he claimed would exonerate him.
The court found the results of the post-conviction DNA testing -- which was a
new method of testing old evidence -- only confirmed the pre-trial testing that
the State has no physical evidence linking Carter to the crime.
The judge therefore ruled Carter's motion for a new trial be denied as the
trial jury was aware of all the evidence the State possessed at the time of his
conviction.
In December of 1996, Donald Brunson's body was found in a wooded area off Holly
Shelter Road. An investigation revealed Brunson was kidnapped and killed after
a home invasion and robbery.
A few months later, a shooting on Dawson Street rocked the Wilmington
community. Tyrone Baker was targeted and shot multiple times, and 8-year-old
Demetrius Greene was caught in the crossfire. Both of the victims died as a
result of their injuries.
Shan Carter was taken into custody for the crimes a few days later. He was
eventually charged with the murders of Greene, Baker, and Brunson and convicted
of all 3.
He received life in prison for the Brunson murder. He received the death
penalty for the murders of Baker and Greene.
"Shan Carter was convicted by 2 different New Hanover County Juries of killing
3 people, including, a completely innocent child," said District Attorney Ben
David. "The juries' 2 death sentences were appropriate nearly 15 years ago when
I tried these cases and they are still appropriate today. We thank Judge Hooks
for upholding the juries' verdicts and insuring that Shan Carter remains on
death row."
(source: WECT news)
SOUTH CAROLINA:
Prosecutors to Seek Death Penalty for Dylann Roof in Charleston Shootings
State prosecutors have said in court documents that they will seek the death
penalty for Dylann S. Roof, who is charged with the racially motivated murders
of 9 people in a church in Charleston, S.C., The Associated Press reported
Thursday.
After the June 17 massacre of black ministers and parishioners at Emanuel
African Methodist Episcopal Church, it emerged that the suspect, Mr. Roof, 21,
who is white, had expressed white supremacist views and hatred of black people.
Mr. Roof has been indicted twice for the killings, in state court and in
federal court, and each of those cases carries a possible death sentence. Until
the court filing Thursday by Scarlett A. Wilson, the South Carolina state
solicitor overseeing the case, neither set of prosecutors had said publicly
whether they would seek to have him executed, but state officials, including
Gov. Nikki R. Haley, have said emphatically that the case warrants the death
penalty.
The documents said prosecutors would pursue the death penalty because more than
2 people were killed, and that others' lives were put at risk, The A.P.
reported.
According to the report, prosecutors said they intended to present evidence on
Mr. Roof's mental state, adult and juvenile criminal record and other conduct,
as well as his apparent lack of remorse for the killings.
A lone gunman walked into the historic church in downtown Charleston, and sat
in a Bible study session for almost an hour before drawing a .45-caliber
semiautomatic handgun, and shooting people ranging in age from 26 to 87.
The slaughter drew international attention, prompting debate about race and
guns - all the more so for taking place in a city that was the center of the
American slave trade and the flash point of the Civil War, and in a church
closely identified with the abolition and civil rights movements.
Published pictures of Mr. Roof, 21, posing with the Confederate battle flag,
also renewed debates about the use of that flag and other symbols of the Old
South, and within days, both chambers of the South Carolina General Assembly
voted to remove the banner from the State House grounds.
Mr. Roof indicated in federal court on July 31 that he wanted to plead guilty,
but his lawyers said he could not make such a plea without knowing whether it
could bring on the death penalty.
It remains unclear whether the federal or the state case against Mr. Roof will
proceed first. Usually, when such cases overlap, the 2 sets of prosecutors
reach an agreement between them on what order they will go in, but no such
accord has been announced for Mr. Roof.
(source: New York Times)
OKLAHOMA----impending execution
Death penalty opponents urge governor to delay OSP execution
Family and supporters of a condemned Oklahoma death row inmate have delivered
more than 250,000 online petitions to Oklahoma's governor, urging her to grant
a 60-day stay of execution.
Richard Eugene Glossip is to be executed Sept. 16 for his role in the 1997
beating death of a motel owner, but Glossip's supporters maintain he is
innocent.
Glossip's case has received international attention since actress Susan
Sarandon, who played a death penalty opponent in the movie "Dead Man Walking,"
took up his cause. The woman Sarandon portrayed in the movie, anti-death
penalty advocate Sister Helen Prejean, helped deliver the petitions Thursday to
Gov., Mary Fallin's office.
Fallin spokesman Alex Weintz says the governor is convinced of Glossip's guilt
and that the state is planning to move forward with his execution.
(source: Associated Press)
USA:
Murder Victim Families Can Change President on Death Penalty
President Obama, according to his former law professor, Harvard's Charles
Ogletree Jr., is close to opposing the death penalty. I've worked to abolish
capital punishment for 31 years and would welcome his support.
Obama should advocate for the end of the federal death penalty and offer hope
for possible reprieves to the 62 persons awaiting executions in federal
prisons. The President's advocacy for abolition would furthermore send a
powerful message to the 31 states, which still have the death penalty: its days
are numbered.
Obama has held the death penalty should be reserved for the worst offenders,
but concerns about racial bias in capital punishment's application may prompt
the President to change his position.
I hope the fact persons who kill white persons are 3 to 6 more times more
likely to receive death sentences compels Obama to conclude, like former
Supreme Court Justice Blackmun, he "will no longer tinker with the machinery of
death."
If, however, the President still needs persuasion to change his position on
capital punishment, perhaps listening to the Journey of Hope members' stories
will convince Obama to support abolition.
I serve on the Journey of Hope's board. Begun in 1993, and led by murder victim
family members, this national organization conducts educational tours against
the death penalty.
Beginning with a World Day Against the Death Penalty Conference in Dallas, the
Journey will conduct a tour in Texas October 9 -25. These tours emphasize love,
compassion, forgiveness and reconciliation to break the cycle of vengeance,
death, and violence prevalent in our society. Journey members embraced their
messages of hope through experiencing a family member's murder.
After 15-year-old African American Paula Cooper was sentenced to death for
stabbing his beloved grandmother Ruth Pelke 33 times to death in May 1985, Bill
Pelke, the Journey's President, thought the death penalty was justified.
However, the white crane operator from Indiana, while sitting atop his crane on
morning in November 1986, was brought to tears, recalling his Nana preached
Jesus' message of forgiveness to everyone she met.
Her example converted Pelke to become part of an international movement that
spared Cooper's life in 1989, because she was a juvenile at the murder's time.
Emotion almost overcame Pelke when he re-told his story at the annual Fast and
Vigil against the death penalty outside the Supreme Court in July. It was 1st
time he spoke publicly about Cooper's recent suicide, a few days after the
anniversary of Ruth's murder.
Although tragic death has cycled painfully full for him, Pelke still believes
"love and compassion for all of humanity is the answer."
Also speaking that night, SueZann Bosler, faced unique challenges learning to
forgive as Pelke has.
On December 22, 1986, Bosler was 24 and happy. She and her dad the Reverend
Billy Bosler planned to travel to Indiana to meet her first niece and his 1st
granddaughter. That day, she wanted to do some last-minute Christmas shopping.
As she got ready in her bedroom at the Church of the Brethren Parsonage in
Opa-Locka, Florida, where her father was the pastor, Bosler heard strange moans
from the living room.
When Bosler investigated, she discovered a man stabbing her dad. Bosler went to
help her dad, and the man stabbed her in the head.
High on drugs, James Bernard Campbell stabbed Rev. Bosler 24 times to death,
and Bosler 5 times. She only survived because she played dead, and several
surgeries repaired her brain injuries.
As a preacher's kid, Bosler had been taught forgiveness was central to her
faith, and she publicly forgave Campbell, while privately conceiving ways to
hurt him.
5 1/2 years after the murder at a second sentencing hearing for Campbell,
Bosler finally understood the depth of her forgiveness when she said, "James
Bernard Campbell, I forgive you."
Her new understanding liberated Bosler. And despite a Judge's threat to cite
her for contempt for objecting to the death penalty, the white hairdresser
fought to save the life of the African American man who assaulted her and
killed her dad.
June 13, 1997 Bosler considers her day of victory because that day a jury voted
to spare Campbell's life.
As Bosler told her story that July night, her throat caught when she said it
upset her when others implied her support for Campbell meant she didn't love
her dad or cherish his memory.
She worked to end capital punishment to honor her dad, who opposed the death
penalty, and whose favorite hymn was Let There Be Peace on Earth.
Bosler, Pelke and other Journey members re-live the worst experiences of their
lives to show us the way to peace. Their heroic testimonies, I hope will
convince the President to urge others to embrace the peace that comes from
abolition.
(source: Chris Byrd; chrisbyrdwriting.com)
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