Dec. 2
OHIO:
Hamilton Co. prosecutor criticizes ruling to set aside death penalty for
killer----Rayshawn Johnson convicted of killing neighbor with baseball bat in
1997
Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters is criticizing a decision by the state's
high court to overturn the death sentence of a man who beat a Cincinnati woman
to death in 1997 during a robbery that netted $50.
In a 4-3 ruling Tuesday, the court rejected Rayshawn Johnson's sentence based
on his troubled upbringing and his subsequent remorse.
Johnson was convicted of killing Shanon Marks with a baseball bat in 1997. He
was sentenced to death in 1998, but appealed in 2006.
At that time, a federal court agreed with Johnson that he had received
ineffective assistance of counsel during the mitigation phase of his trial and
instructed the state to either commute Johnson???s death sentence or hold a new
mitigation hearing.
A new jury recommended death again in January 2012.
In Tuesday's decision, the Ohio Supreme Court rejected Johnson's arguments, but
in an independent investigation, found that that the aggravating circumstances
in the case were not outweighed beyond a reasonable doubt by the mitigating
factors.
Justice Paul E. Pfeifer wrote that the aggravating circumstances in this case
were not outweighed beyond a reasonable doubt by the mitigating factors.
Pfeifer described the cumulative effect of multiple mitigating factors,
including Johnson's ill-fated childhood, which when considered together made a
sentence of death inappropriate.
The Court described the evidence presented in mitigation during the hearing.
Johnson's mother, who did not testify at Johnson's 1st trial, stated that she
had Johnson when she was 16 years old and explained that she often put him in a
closet when he was an infant and also gave him prescription drugs and heroin in
his bottle or applesauce. When Johnson was 12 or 13, she taught him how to
drink and how to take and deal drugs.
Johnson's grandmother, who was responsible for him and a younger brother for
several years, said she whipped and hit the boys and that drinking alcohol was
her priority.
A psychologist who evaluated Johnson testified that the defendant was never
taught right from wrong. He diagnosed Johnson with a form of depression as well
as alcohol and marijuana addictions.
Pfeifer reasoned that this dysfunctional, troubled background was entitled to
significant weight as a mitigating factor when evaluating the death sentence.
The Court also gave some weight to several other issues.
The court set aside the death penalty in a 4-3 vote.
In reviewing all the factors combined, the Court determined they held "great
cumulative weight" to the point that the aggravating circumstances did not
outweigh the mitigating issues beyond a reasonable doubt. Acknowledging this
was the pointless and inexcusable killing of an innocent woman, Justice Pfeifer
concluded, however, that a sentence of death was not appropriate in this case.
Deters said the decision affects one's faith in the criminal justice system. He
said the attack against Marks was horrific.
He says the attack against Shanon Marks was horrific.
The case will return to the trial court for resentencing. Johnson faces up to
life in prison when he's resentenced.
(source: WLWT news)
MISSOURI:
Missouri lawmakers pre-filing bills in legislature
Missouri lawmakers are giving us a 1st look Tuesday at the state issues that
could come to a vote in the next year.
Tuesday was the 1st day state lawmakers were able to pre-file bills in the
legislature. More than 150 bills had already been pre-filed by noon Tuesday.
A lot of the bills touch on hot-button issues. Missourians have already seen
some of the bills being pre-filed before.
A bill that would abolish the death penalty was pre-filed Tuesday and one that
would establish stricter guidelines for buying guns. Also up for discussion is
a 2 cent gas tax increase for the state.
A bill that would outlaw reading, writing or sending text messages while
driving was also pre-filed Tuesday. In Missouri right now that's only illegal
if the driver is under 21 years old. The bill has been filed in the past and
did not make it far.
(source: ABC news)
COLORADO:
Colorado public defenders spent $6.3 million on death penalty cases----Colorado
Public Defender's office spent $6.3 million on 10 cases in which prosecutors
filed a notice to see the death penalty since 2002
The Colorado Public Defender's office has spent a combined $6.3 million on
death penalty cases during the past 13 years.
In response to a request from The Denver Post, the office on Tuesday released
its aggregate cost of handling death penalty cases between July 12, 2002 and
Oct. 31, 20015. During that time period, public defenders handled a total of 10
cases in which prosecutors filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty.
Most recently, public defenders represented Aurora theater shooter James Holmes
and Dexter Lewis, who stabbed 5 people to death in a Denver bar. Prosecutors
sought the death penalty in both cases.
Both men were sentenced to life in prison after lengthy trials this summer.
Under Colorado law, the public defender's office says it is prohibited from
revealing or discussing details about individual cases. As a result, the office
did not release the names of the defendants in the 10 cases or a breakdown of
costs for each case.
The $6.3 million total includes expenses the office incurred in handling the
cases and the "best estimate of the portion of" salaries that can be attributed
to death penalty cases. The office said it did not hire additional staff
specifically for death penalty cases.
During the 13-year period, the office spent $1,989,453 on expenses incurred on
death penalty cases. For that same period, the office paid $4,343,484 in
salaries related to handling death penalty cases.
The 18th Judicial District Attorney's office has not yet reached a final tally
for the cost of prosecuting the Aurora theater trial and is not expected to
until after the new year. In numbers available thus far, the office has
reported spending $1.065 million on victim-related costs that are covered by a
federal grant, and $525,000 on trial-related costs picked up by the state.
The office also paid more than $2.1 million in salaries to attorneys and
support staff assigned to the case, though several of those employees also had
other responsibilities while the case was ongoing.
(source: Denver Post)
****************
Public defender a death penalty expert
Robert Lewis Dear Jr., appeared next to 1 of Colorado's top public defenders
specializing in death penalty cases on Monday during his 1st court appearance
after a shooting rampage at the Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood clinic.
Dear, 57, repeatedly shut his eyes and drifted to one side or the other as if
he struggled to stay awake during his video appearance before Judge Gilbert
Martinez. He was advised of possible 1st-degree murder charges in connection
with Friday's attack, which left 3 people dead and 9 wounded.
Martinez said the charge carries possible sentences of life in prison or death.
He stood still and showed no emotion when the possible sentence was read.
By his side was Dan King, chief trial deputy for the state public defender???s
office. He recently represented James Holmes, who fatally shot 12 people and
wounded dozens of others in 2012 at an Aurora movie theater. A jury decided
against the death penalty in favor of life in prison for Holmes.
Also representing Dear was Sheilagh McAteer, a Colorado Springs-based public
defender who defended Jereme Lamberth - the man who fatally shot Colorado
Springs police officer Jared Jensen in 2008.
Moments before the hearing, a procession lined up outside the El Paso County
jail where Dear was being held - making way for slain University of Colorado at
Colorado Springs police officer Garrett Swasey. His body was taken in a
flag-draped coffin from the nearby El Paso County Coroner's Office to a funeral
home, escorted by more than a dozen police cruisers.
(source: Pueblo Chieftain)
ARIZONA:
Morrison-Cronkite Poll: Arizona voters split on most social issues
Arizonans' opinions vary widely on social issues - legalization of marijuana,
gay marriage, abortion rights, gun restrictions, climate change and the death
penalty - but overall voter positions on most issues are far less conservative
than might be expected, a new poll shows.
For example, 3/4 of registered Arizona voters (74 %) support a woman's right to
abortion services - including 6 in 10 Republicans, according to a recent
Morrison-Cronkite Poll.
Arizona is viewed politically as a solid red state, with all statewide elected
offices from governor to secretary of state to schools superintendent held by
Republicans, who also control both chambers of the Legislature. However, a
Morrison-Cronkite Poll found that 6 in 10 registered Arizona voters believe
"climate change is caused, primarily, by human activity" - a departure from the
predominant Republican conservative position.
The climate change issue divides the public largely along political lines: 84 %
of Democrats believe climate change is caused by human activity while only 1/3
of Republicans agree, one of the widest disparities between political parties
among the issues tested. Moderate independents, who are 26 % of registered
Arizona voters, fall between these 2 extremes.
The legalization of marijuana doesn't have majority support, even though there
likely will be a statewide ballot proposition on the legalization of
recreational marijuana in Arizona in November 2016.
At this point in time, less than a year before the election, voters are split
almost equally in favoring (49 %) or opposing legalization (51 %), the expected
ballot measure. More Democrats (64 %) and independents (56 %) favor
legalization of marijuana than do Republicans (29 %), according to the
Morrison-Cronkite Poll.
"Predictably, those 30 and younger (69 %) and those age 31 to 55 (57 %) are
more likely to favor legalization than those 56 and older (36 %)," said David
Daugherty, associate director at Morrison Institute, who oversees the survey.
"It is important to note, Republicans and older adults vote in larger numbers
than either Democrats or young adults, which would, at least at this point in
time, point toward likely defeat of the legalization of recreational
marijuana."
Results from a previous Morrison-Cronkite Poll, released in March, found that
45 % of Arizonans would "make all marijuana use legal for those 18 years of age
and older," while 42 % would "allow for use of it for medical reasons only."
The remainder (13 %) would "make all marijuana use illegal, including the use
of marijuana for medical purposes."
The earlier poll queried all Arizonan adults, while the latest one surveyed
only registered Arizona voters.
Death penalty
The vast majority of Arizonan voters - 71 % - oppose eliminating the death
penalty, particularly conservative independents (84 %) and Republicans (87 %).
While moderate independents are not quite as definitive on this issue, they
align more closely with those favoring the death penalty than those opposing
it. Even among Democrats, the party most likely to oppose the death penalty,
retaining the death penalty is favored by a 54 % to 46 % margin.
The death penalty should be eliminated
All registered voters 29%
Democrats 46%
Liberal independents 65%
Moderate independents 29%
Conservative independents 16%
Republicans 13%
Methodology
The question querying voters on their position to legalize recreational
marijuana was based on research findings from 904 telephone interviews with
Arizona registered voters conducted Oct. 7-15, 2015. Interviews averaged 13
minutes in length, with respondents using landlines or cell phones. Respondents
were given the choice of doing the interview in English or Spanish. To ensure
results represent the state's electorate, data was weighted by using a
post-stratification technique to scale respondents to reflect Arizona Secretary
of State voter rolls, including political party, gender, age and geographic
distribution. The margin of error for most items, prior to subsample
breakdowns, is about 3 percentage points.
Questions querying voters on their position regarding abortion, climate change,
gun restrictions, the death penalty and gay marriage were based on research
findings from a telephone survey between May 19, 2015 and July 21, 2015.
Respondents were randomly selected from the registered voter rolls - 410
Democrats, 400 Republicans and 1,200 non-party declared (independents).
Interviews averaged 12 minutes in length. The margin of error is plus or minus
3 percentage points for independents; plus or minus 5 percentage points for
Republicans; and plus or minus 4 percentage points for Democrats.
(source: tucsonnewsnow.com)
OREGON:
Death penalty case has local ties
The Oregon Supreme Court's decision to uphold Randy Lee Guzek's 4th death
sentence for killing a Deschutes County couple in 1987 has local ties to the
Clatsop County District Attorney's Office.
District Attorney Josh Marquis started prosecuting the Guzek case in 1991 as
the chief deputy in Deschutes County and again in 1997 and 2010 as a special
prosecutor.
Marquis' chief deputy Ron Brown was the Deschutes County chief deputy who tried
and won the original guilty verdicts and death penalty against Guzek in the
late 1980s.
Guzek is 1 of 34 people on death row in Oregon.
"It's the end of a very long journey and it's a journey that Ron (Brown) made
with me," Marquis said.
Death penalty in focus
Marquis, a proponent of the death penalty, said the Guzek case was the 1st
death penalty case he prosecuted that went to trial. The experience put the
idea of seeking the death penalty into focus for him.
"It's one thing to support the death penalty and discuss it in the abstract
way. It's another thing to do it in the concrete," Marquis said. "When you
stand in front of a jury and say, 'That man deserves to die.' It's a tremendous
moral responsibility."
Guzek, 46, was 18 when he and 2 other accomplices murdered Rod and Lois Houser
in their Terrebonne home. A jury convicted him of aggravated murder in 1988 and
the death penalty a year later. The case was retried 3 times on appeal.
After 4 trials, 48 Deschutes County jurors all voting guilty and millions of
dollars spent, the Oregon Supreme Court affirmed the ruling Friday to not allow
a 5th trial.
The Supreme Court's decision marks the end of the state's criminal case against
Guzek, Marquis said. There is a slight chance Guzek could attempt to appeal the
death penalty sentence.
"I will never stand in a courtroom with Randy Guzek again," Marquis said.
Close relationships with the family
Over the quarter century since the murders, Marquis said, he and Brown
developed close relationships with the surviving members of the Houser family.
Every year on his birthday, Marquis said, he still receives cards from the
family.
The death penalty sentence was important to the Houser family, according to
Marquis, because had Guzek been sentenced to life in prison he could have been
released on parole as early as 2017. State law has since changed to make
convicted murderers only eligible for life in prison without the possibility of
parole, known as a "true life sentence."
"It's over for me and hopefully it's over for the Housers," Marquis said.
(source: dailyastorain.com)
USA:
US won't appeal judge's decision to remain on Gary Sampson case
After months of legal wrangling, federal prosecutors said Tuesday that they
will not ask an Appeals Court to remove the judge overseeing the death penalty
trial of admitted serial killer Gary Lee Sampson.
US District Court Judge Mark L. Wolf had given the prosecutors a deadline of
noon Tuesday to report whether they planned to petition the US Court of Appeals
for the First Circuit in Boston to intervene and force his removal from the
case. Prosecutors have questioned whether the judge might have a conflict of
interest based on his past associations with a potential witness in the case.
But, in a document filed shortly before noon, prosecutors said, "The government
hereby states that it will not petition the First Circuit." The prosecutors
instead asked for Sampson???s new sentencing trial to be held soon.
In mid-November, Wolf rejected a 2nd request by prosecutors that he recuse
himself from the case, saying he had already thoroughly considered their
request and that prosecutors had not raised any new arguments in asking him to
step down.
Prosecutors had alleged that Wolf's participation on a panel with an expert
witness who now may be called in Sampson's defense created an appearance of a
conflict of interest, but the judge disagreed. In Tuesday's filing, prosecutors
asked that a status conference be scheduled for Dec. 14, saying that "the
government anticipates requesting that a trial be scheduled as soon as
practicable."
Sampson judge again declines to step aside
Judge Mark Wolf said he has already thoroughly considered the question and that
prosecutors have not raised any new arguments.
Sampson pleaded guilty in federal court in 2003 to murdering 69-year-old Philip
McCloskey in Marshfield on July 24, 2001, and murdering 19-year-old Jonathan
Rizzo in Abington on July 27, 2001. He also later admitted in New Hampshire
state court to murdering Robert "Eli" Whitney in that state on July 30, 2001.
US Attorney Carmen Ortiz's office is again seeking the death penalty.
(source: Boston Globe)
**********
Iowa State Sen. Mark Chelgren Suggests Death Penalty for Some Immigrant Felons
An Iowa state senator running for U.S. Congress is getting blasted by both his
Republican Party and Democrats after saying that immigrant felons who try to
re-enter America illegally should be executed.
State Sen. Mark Chelgren's controversial comments were published Monday by the
Journal Express of Knoxville and Marion County, which presented his views on
border security and immigration. The newspaper said the 2-term state legislator
believes in a fence to help protect the nation's borders, and that if an
undocumented person who committed a felony is deported and then tries to return
to the U.S., he or she should be subject to capital punishment.
"There is no reason to have felons here who threaten our way of life," Chelgren
told the Journal Express, which added that he respects immigrants who are
legally in the country.
Officials with the Republican Party of Iowa, however, sought to distance
themselves from Chelgren, saying in a statement that "these remarks do not
represent the values and beliefs of Iowa Republicans. Period," reported the Des
Moines Register.
Chelgren, who represents a heavily Democratic district in southeastern Iowa,
did not immediately return NBC News' request for comment.
The Iowa Democratic Party put out a statement Tuesday attacking Chelgren's
suggestion as "vile, hateful and downright deplorable."
"Mark Chelgren's call for executing undocumented immigrants represents a
dangerous new low for the Republican Party," said Andy McGuire, chairwoman of
the Iowa Democratic Party.
Chelgren later clarified to The Associated Press that he was referring
specifically to undocumented immigrants with felony convictions who re-enter
the U.S. illegally with further criminal intent.
"I think capital punishment should be considered for people who are felons and
re-enter this country illegally, yes," Chelgren said. "We have to make sure we
are not incentivizing people whose only intent is to victimize."
(source: NBC news)
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