Oct. 14
TEXAS:
Journey of hope speakers ask students to reconsider the death penalty
The Law Center, in conjunction with the Graduate College of Social Work, hosted
a talk on the death penalty Monday at the University Center to promote
forgiveness during times of loss and hopelessness.
Members of Journey of Hope, an organization led by families of murder victims,
shared their stories with students in hopes of ultimately altering the
government’s system of capital punishment.
UH professor of law, David Dow said this event focuses on a different way of
responding to violence — through healing instead of revenge. He believes
students can benefit from this program in part because they are not immune from
violence.
Larry Hill, research professor at the Graduate College of Social Work, talked
about why this conversation about healing and mercy in the face of death is
important.
“When you’re talking about the death penalty, it centers on restorative
justice,” Hill said. “So, I want students to understand really what that means.
If someone commits a crime, what kind of punishment should they get? Does the
punishment fit the crime?”
Journey of Hope member Terri Steinberg’s son was falsely accused of murder and
has been on death row.
“Can you imagine what it’s like as a mom to get that phone call that says we’re
going to kill your son on Oct. 28?,” Steinberg said.“The death penalty is a
cruel, degrading, merciless act. It’s a pre-meditated murder in its worst form.
If we get it wrong, we can’t undo it.”
Shujaa Graham, another Journey of Hope member, shared his story of being
exonerated on death row after he was framed for the murder of a prison guard.
On his 4th trial, after spending 3 years on death row, he was found not guilty.
“All I can do with my final days is make sure what happened to me, will never
happen to another citizen as long as I live,” Graham said.
President and Co-founder of Journey of Hope, Bill Pelke said he forgave his
grandmother’s murderer that he chose the road to healing instead of vengeance.
“When my heart was touched with compassion, the forgiveness became automatic,”
Pelke said. “When forgiveness took place, it brought tremendous healing.”
Human development and family studies junior Mary Ifebuzor said what intrigued
her to attend the event was the aspect of healing and forgiveness relating to
the death penalty.
“I saw a video about forgiving those people that show violence,” Ifebuzor said.
“So, it makes me realize, maybe I should go and check this out; see what they
will really talk about.”
Dow said the goal for the event is to focus on how to alter punishments for
crime in the U.S. and that students can play a large role in.
Journey of Hope stressed the importance of raising awareness, and providing
education about America’s justice system as it pertains to the death penalty.
“The answer is love and compassion for all humanity,” Pelke said. “And, if you
have love and compassion for all humanity, you’re not going to see anybody put
into the death chamber, and their life taken from them.”
(source: The (Univ. Houston) Daily Cougar)
MASSACHUSETTS:
Bill to reinstate death penalty in Massachusetts to be heard at Statehouse
hearing Wednesday
A bill that seeks to reinstate the death penalty will be considered by
Massachusetts lawmakers on Wednesday.
The effort to reinstitute capital punishment is one of several dozen bills to
be heard by the Judiciary Committee during a public hearing on Wednesday, Oct.
14.
The legislation is sponsored by Rep. James R. Miceli, D-Wilmington.
Massachusetts abolished the death penalty in 1984 when the state Supreme Court
ruled it was unconstitutional. State legislators have sought to reinstate the
death penalty multiple times in decades since, including in 1997 when the
legislature was 1 vote short from passing such a bill, following the murder of
a 10-year-old Cambridge boy.
Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was sentenced to death in federal
court this summer.
(source: masslive.com)
FLORIDA:
Florida judges have too much say in death penalty cases, supreme court told
Justices weighing case of man sentenced to die for 1998 murder concerned that
powers of judges compromise constitutional right to trial by jury
US supreme court justices expressed concern on Tuesday that Florida gives
judges undue sway in determining death sentences at the expense of juries as
the court weighed the appeal of a man convicted of murdering a fried-chicken
restaurant manager.
Timothy Hurst, 36, described by his lawyers as mentally disabled with
“borderline intelligence” and an IQ between 70 and 78, was sentenced to death
for the 1998 murder of Cynthia Harrison, a manager at a Popeyes restaurant in
Pensacola where he worked.
Hurst cut and stabbed Harrison with a box cutter, the jury found. He left her
body, bound and gagged, in the freezer and stole about $1,000 from the
restaurant. He later spent $300 on rings at a pawn shop.
A majority of the court’s 9 justices signalled concern about Florida’s system
for deciding death sentences. Key findings that determined whether Hurst
received the death penalty were impermissibly made by a judge rather than a
jury, Hurst’s lawyers argued as the justices heard arguments in the case.
The Florida procedure violates the right to trial by jury guaranteed under the
US constitution’s sixth amendment based on a 2001 supreme court ruling, his
lawyers said. The court said in that ruling that aggravating factors that are
required for a death sentence must be determined by juries, not judges.
Hurst’s lawyers also argued the jury must be unanimous when imposing a death
sentence. Hurst was sentenced on a 7-5 vote by jurors.
Conservative justices Anthony Kennedy and Antonin Scalia raised concerns about
whether judges could set aside a jury’s findings on the presence or absence of
aggravating factors that might lead to a death sentence.
Questioning Allen Winsor, the state’s lawyer, Kennedy said, “You are saying it
is possible under Florida law that the jury would not find the existence of an
aggravating factor … but the judge could then proceed to find an aggravating
factor and impose the death penalty?“
Winsor conceded such an outcome could occur in theory and would not be
consistent with the 2001 supreme court ruling. But he said in practice judges
do not override jury findings.
The court’s liberal justices seemed likely to back Hurst. Some of the
conservatives, including Chief Justice John Roberts, appeared more likely to
side with Florida.
The Florida supreme court last year rejected Hurst’s challenge.
There are about 400 people on Florida’s death row.
The justices are due to issue a ruling by the end of June.
(source: The Guardian)
****************
Convicted killer Bessman Okafor fights death sentence
Convicted killer Bessman Okafor is fighting to spare his own life.
A jury voted 11-1 in favor of the death penalty for the shooting death of an
Ocoee home invasion witness.
But Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court scrutinized Florida’s death penalty law,
the only one in the country that does not require a jury’s unanimous vote.
Channel 9’s Kathi Belich was at Okafor’s hearing Tuesday.
The Supreme Court’s decision could impact whether Okafor is ever executed.
If the country’s highest court determines that Florida should require a
unanimous vote for the death penalty, as every other state does, all death
sentences that fall short of that would be converted to life sentences.
Okafor was convicted of shooting witness Alex Zaldivar, who was supposed to
testify in a home invasion trial in which Okafor was accused.
Okafor is facing the death penalty but his lawyers are doing what they can to
prevent the execution.
His jury voted 11-1 for death and on Tuesday, the victim’s father, Rafael
Zaldivar, told Okafor that’s exactly what he’s going to get.
“You’re dead. You’re dead,” Zaldivar told Okafor in the courtroom after
speaking on the stand about the ordeal he’s gone through since his son’s death.
Okafor started screaming and cursing at Zaldivar.
He was in court in the first place trying to convince the judge to bypass the
jury’s 11-1 vote and instead, send him to prison for life.
In Washington D.C., the U.S. Supreme Court considered a Pensacola death penalty
case after a jury’s 7-5 vote.
Timothy Hurst, who was convicted of murdering his manager at Popeye’s, argued
Florida’s law was unconstitutional because it does not require a unanimous
recommendation from juries and because judges have the final say.
(source: WFTV news)
OHIO:
Mentally ill would be spared death penalty under proposed Ohio legislation
A person judged to suffer from severe mental illness at the time of a killing
that could result in a death sentence would be spared from capital punishment
under a bill before Ohio lawmakers.
The proposed legislation would allow a hearing before trial on an offender’s
mental illness and permit a judge to rule out the death penalty if severe
mental illness is proven.
Current death row inmates could also challenge their sentences on the basis of
mental illness at the time of their crimes.
The Senate Criminal Justice Committee planned to hear testimony from supporters
of the measure Wednesday. Sponsors are Sen. Bill Seitz, a Cincinnati
Republican, and Sen. Sandra Williams, a Cleveland Democrat.
Illnesses covered by the bill include schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major
depressive disorder.
(source: Associated Press)
KENTUCKY:
The death penalty is inconsistent with conservative values
'Abuse of government power'
Marc Hyden is the advocacy coordinator with Conservatives Concerned about the
Death Penalty. On Thursday, Oct. 14, he will address an organizational meeting
of the Northern Kentucky Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty. The
meeting is at 7 pm at Covington Catholic High School in Park Hills.
Earlier this year, the nation watched as Nebraska, one of the most conservative
states in America, voted overwhelmingly to repeal the death penalty. Similar
movements have been stirring in other states as well. Ohio State Rep. Niraj
Antani (R-Miamisburg), Kentucky State Rep. David Floyd (R-Bardstown), and many
other conservatives have sponsored legislation to end capital punishment and
replace it with life in prison without parole. As conservatives increasingly
learn how the death penalty is inconsistent with our values, capital
punishment’s days are numbered.
Most of all, conservatives such as myself, are proud of the value that we place
on life. But the death penalty disregards its importance and risks innocent
lives. Nationally, more than 150 people have been wrongly sentenced to die and
eventually released from death row. Ohio and Kentucky combined are responsible
for 10 of these erroneous convictions.
Many others have been executed despite serious doubts regarding their guilt –
an abuse of government power that should horrify conservatives. It has taken
more than 30 years for many of these individuals to prove that they were
wrongly condemned, while others were never given a viable opportunity to do so.
Eyewitness misidentification, faulty and forged forensic evidence,
prosecutorial misconduct, and the imperfect nature of humans ensures that
innocent Americans will continue to be wrongly convicted and perhaps executed
so long as the death penalty is on the books.
The Cost of the Death Penalty
The inherent risk to innocent life isn’t the death penalty’s only cost. It is
widely understood that capital punishment is far more costly than
life-without-parole, and it has even led to tax increases, which is a cardinal
conservative sin. It was estimated that Kentucky has spent approximately $100
million on its death penalty system, and executed 3 people. Other states have
found capital punishment to be even more costly than this due to the lengthy
initial trials, complex appeals process, and higher security on death row. It
is so expensive that counties including Jasper County, Texas, Lincoln County,
Ga., and others raised their taxes just to have opportunities to attempt to
execute someone.
Given all the money that governments spend on the death penalty, does it
provide any societal benefit? Studies have shown that it fails to keep
Americans safe, and even more damning is the fact that when states including
New York and New Jersey repealed the death penalty, their murder rates dropped.
There’s simply no discernable causal relationship between executions and murder
rates.
Capital Punishment Isn't Swift or Sure
The capital punishment system can even harm the ones who most deserve justice –
murder victims’ families. In capital cases, they are forced to endure a
complicated process of trials, appeals, and constant media attention. They
deserve swift and sure justice, but capital punishment’s procedures prevent
this from occurring.
Today’s death penalty is not necessary nor is it useful. Other viable options
are available to protect society from dangerous individuals, and these
alternatives avoid many of the pitfalls that plague the death penalty.
As we are confronted with the government’s numerous egregious errors, we need
to ask ourselves, do we really trust our error-prone government to administer
the death penalty equitably, efficiently, and without mistakes? The
government’s track record indicates that no, we shouldn’t entrust it with this
kind of power. That’s why conservatives from across the country are abandoning
capital punishment and why Northern Kentuckians have formed their own
Conservatives Concerned about the Death Penalty group.
(source: Op-Ed; Marc Hyden, WCPO news)
ARKANSAS:
Arkansas AG to appeal ruling that blocked lethal injection executions
The state is appealing to the Arkansas Supreme Court a decision by Pulaski
County Circuit Judge Wendell Griffin staying the executions of 8 death row
inmates whose appeals have been exhausted and whose execution dates had been
set.
Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge announced that the Department of
Correction and Director Wendy Kelley are appealing Griffin’s temporary
restraining order Oct. 9 to halt the executions, as well as his denial of the
state’s motion to dissolve that order, which was entered Tuesday (Oct. 12).
The court has set the preliminary injunction hearing for March 1-2.
The plaintiffs are the eight convicted inmates whose appeals have been
exhausted: Stacey Johnson, Jason McGehee, Bruce Ward, Terrick Nooner, Jack
Jones, Marcel Williams and Don Davis; as well as a 9th death row inmate,
Ledelle Lee. The first 2 executions of Ward and Davis had been set by Gov. Asa
Hutchinson for Oct. 21, with the other 6 executions to follow. The Arkansas
Department of Correction and Director Wendy Kelley are listed as the
defendants.
Arkansas has not carried out the death penalty since 2005.
Judd Deere, Rutledge’s communications director, said in an interview that
Rutledge is considering requesting a motion for a protective order on a second
ruling related to the executions made by Griffin Monday. Griffin ruled that the
Department of Correction must identify the manufacturer, seller, distributor
and supplier of all lethal injection drugs used in executions by Oct. 21 or
otherwise must object to the disclosure. The protective order would be the
method of objecting to that disclosure.
The inmates sued claiming as unconstitutional a new Arkansas law that shields
the state from revealing information that could identify its execution drugs’
manufacturers and sellers. The law was passed because drug manufacturers’
reluctance to being identified with the death penalty has made procuring the
drugs difficult. The inmates argue that the lack of information about the drugs
exposed them to the risk of pain and suffering.
Under Griffin’s ruling, the Department of Correction has been ordered to
produce by Oct. 21 un-redacted package inserts, shipping labels, lab test
results and product warnings for any drugs that will be administered during the
execution.
(source: The City Wire)
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