Jan. 14
TEXAS----impending execution
Death Watch: Unhappy New Year----Masterson found guilty of capital murder of
Shane Honeycutt, set to die Jan. 20
Texas goes to the gurney Wednesday, Jan. 20, with its 1st execution of the
calendar year. Set to die is Richard Allen Masterson, 43, who's spent the past
14 years on death row for the murder of Darin Shane Honeycutt. Masterson and
Honeycutt knew each other for very little time. They met at a gay bar in
Houston just before 2am on Jan. 26, 2001. Dressed in drag that night, Honeycutt
introduced himself as Brandi Houston. He offered Masterson a ride home from the
bar and on the way proposed that they go back to Honeycutt's apartment for the
night. On the morning of Jan. 27, a friend, Larry Brown, coerced Honeycutt's
landlord into letting him into the apartment, and found his friend Shane naked
and not breathing on his bed.
Masterson had stolen Honeycutt's car and hightailed to Georgia. He was later
arrested in Florida - picked up for stealing a 2nd car - and brought back to
Harris County. Jurors reportedly took only 90 minutes to determine his
sentence.
Unquestioned during the trial was whether Masterson killed Honeycutt - he
admitted as much on his return to Houston. During an interrogation, in which no
attorney was present, he allegedly "add[ed] elements that would elevate the
case to capital murder," saying he'd rather die than serve a life sentence. But
the way in which he killed his recent acquaintance - and whether or not he
intended to kill him - was not so easily discernible. He said in a statement
during the interrogation (which played to jurors at trial over objections from
his attorney) that he killed Honeycutt by putting him into a sleeper hold as
soon as the 2 undressed, and that he never actually planned to have sex with
him that night. "Something just told me in my mind - I said to myself that I
was going to kill him," Masterson said.
However, Masterson recanted on those statements in his trial testimony, saying
that he lied about his actions because he was too embarrassed to tell the
officer taking the confession that he planned to have sex with a man. Instead,
he said, Honeycutt requested that Masterson choke him during sex. Something
"went wrong" and Honeycutt fell forward, gurgling. Masterson said he got up and
left the room; when he came back, Honeycutt was dead.
The jurors didn't think long on Masterson's intentions, finding him guilty of
capital murder. During the punishment phase, a litany of witnesses were brought
out to testify to Masterson's violent past - including accusations of domestic
violence and reported incidents while incarcerated - and the jury ruled that he
represented a future danger to society. It did not help his cause that, against
his attorneys' wishes, he testified that he would defend himself in prison,
"whether it's against a guard or inmate or anybody else by any means
necessary."
Masterson had very little chance of winning his trial all along. In a Jan. 2012
letter written to his judge, Masterson claimed his attorneys had been assigned
to his case only "a few weeks" before jury selection, and that the investigator
hired to "ask questions about the deceased['s] background and sex practices"
never questioned Masterson, among other concerns. A Dec. 2011 letter to that
same judge elaborated further, listing a number of individuals charged with
heinous crimes who received lesser sentences. "They all had good lawyers they
paid," he wrote. "Poor people like me get death."
Masterson has railed against his attorneys in letters and waffled on attempts
to withdraw various petitions for relief. He's now represented by D.C. attorney
Gregory Gardner, who on Dec. 21 filed a application requesting that Masterson
be assigned to an expert doctor for a brain scan to determine whether he
suffers from organic brain damage. That request was granted Dec. 22, giving
Masterson 29 days to complete the necessary procedures. Gardner has not replied
to the Chronicle's requests for updates.
Masterson would be the 13th Texan executed under Gov. Greg Abbott's reign and
the 532nd since the state's 1976 reinstatement of the death penalty. 6 inmates
are currently on the death row docket with set dates, including James Freeman
on Wednesday, Jan. 27.
(source: Austin Chronicle)
PENNSYLVANIA:
Freemansburg cop killer on death row asks for stay of execution
A Freemansburg man sentenced to death for killing a police officer has filed
court papers asking for a stay of execution.
George Hitcho filed papers on his own behalf last week accusing his trial
attorneys of botching his case. The 50-year-old wants a stay of execution until
his appeal against his trial attorneys is resolved.
The typewritten papers were sent from the State Correctional Institution in
Greene County and docketed in Northampton County on Jan. 4. On Wednesday,
Northampton County Judge F.P. Kimberly McFadden appointed attorney James Brose
to handle Hitcho's appeal.
The decision could keep death row inmates George Hitcho and Michael Ballard
from being executed.
Hitcho fatally shot Freemansburg police officer Robert Lasso on Aug. 11, 2011,
when Lasso responded to a disturbance complaint from neighbors about Hitcho.
Chief Public Defender Michael Corriere argued the killing was voluntary
manslaughter, committed out of stress and confusion but not malice.
Hitcho's death sentence was upheld by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in
September 2015.
In the papers Hitcho filed last week, he said Corriere should have argued
Hitcho killed Lasso in self-defense.
Hitcho wants a new trial and wants his death sentence vacated.
"My trial counsel committed multiple instances of ineffective assistance of
counsel by failing to effectively object, raise and/or challenge meritorious
claims," Hitcho typed onto the appeal form.
"No search warrant, or probable cause, false and forged evidence and testimony
entered into trial and brought before the jury," he typed. "The trial court
erred and committed multiple abuses of discretion. Prosecutorial misconduct
before trial, during and after trial. And my direct appeal counsels provided
ineffective assistance of counsel by failing to raise multiple meritorious
issues. Violations of due process and denial of a fair trial."
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf has granted numerous death penalty reprieves since
taking office, including one filed by 5-time killer Michael Ballard of
Northampton.
According to the Associated Press, Wolf said the reprieves will remain in
effect at least until he reviews a forthcoming report of the Pennsylvania Task
Force and Advisory Committee on Capital Punishment and its recommendations are
addressed.
(source: lehighvalleylive.com)
*******************
Defense: Bar death penalty in murder case against inmate
Defense attorneys asked a federal judge Wednesday to bar prosecutors from
seeking the death penalty against an inmate accused of using a homemade weapon
to attack and kill a guard at a federal prison in northeastern Pennsylvania.
Attorneys for Jessie Con-ui, 38, asked the judge to declare capital punishment
unconstitutional in the case against their client.
Con-ui is charged with 1st-degree murder in the February 2013 stabbing death of
Eric Williams at the Canaan federal prison in Waymart. Dressed in an orange
jumpsuit, he said little during his appearance by video Wednesday from a
federal super-maximum prison in Colorado.
Prosecutors argued last fall that execution would be justified if Con-ui is
convicted, citing what they called the defendant's history of violence,
including a 2002 murder conviction and what they allege was a premeditated
attack on a federal public servant.
Defense attorney David Ruhnke cited declining use of the death penalty and
called the system "just too imperfect." He said the federal death penalty
"evolves as our society evolves" and should be barred as a violation of the
constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
But Justice Department attorney Amanda Haines cited a recent survey she said
showed that 60 % of Americans support capital punishment, particularly in
violent cases.
"We haven't quite evolved to the point where we don't want to seek it or impose
it, especially in egregious cases like this," Haines said.
Williams, 34, was working in a housing unit at the prison when he was attacked.
Prosecutors allege Con-ui was angry after the guard ordered a search of his
cell the previous day. They say in court documents that Williams was stabbed
more than 200 times; they allege Con-ui also stomped on Williams' head and
throat and slammed his head onto the floor.
Jury selection for Con-ui's trial is to begin July 11.
(source: lancasteronline.com)
NORTH CAROLINA:
District attorney's office to pursue death penalty against 2 in Greensboro
homicide
2 men charged in the September shooting death of a woman could face the death
penalty if convicted.
The Guilford County District Attorney's Office announced this week it would
seek the death penalty if Jeffrey Bernard Cobb, 29, of 314 Lawrence St., and
Takwan Dequinten Luster, 26, of 1112 Morris St., are found guilty, said Howard
Neumann, chief assistant district attorney.
Both are charged with 1st-degree murder, attempted robbery with a dangerous
weapon and 1st-degree burglary in connection with the death of Doris Hampton
Leach, 72, of Huffine Mill Road.
Leach was shot in the head in her house Sept. 1 and died Sept. 7 from her
injuries. Investigators believe the intruders entered the house to rob it, not
knowing she would be there. They also shot and killed her dog.
3 others also face charges: Tyriq Christopher McCain, 16, of 1214 Valley View
St.; Crystal Lavern Whack, 28, of 1308 Bothwell St.; and Keoshea Quanvette
Gattis, 31, of 900 McCormick St. McCain will not face the death penalty because
he is too young. The district attorney's office does not plan to pursue the
death penalty against Whack or Gattis, Neumann said.
"Evidence is they did not go into the house," he said of the women. "Mr. McCain
did appear to go in, but he's too young (for the death penalty)."
In North Carolina, a person must be 18 at the time of a crime for the death
penalty to be sought.
Neumann said the district attorney's office will pursue the death penalty
against Cobb and Luster because the killing was committed during 2 other crimes
- burglary and an attempted robbery - and because both have at least 1 prior
violent felony conviction.
Cobb and Luster are both affiliated with gangs, but are not validated members,
said Capt. Mike Richey with Greensboro police.
A person is affiliated with a gang, rather than validated, if he or she takes
part in activities with gang members but isn't identified as a member by other
gang members.
Richey declined to say if Cobb and Luster are affiliated with the same gang.
(source: greensboro.com)
GEORGIA----new execution date
Oldest man on Ga. death row to be executed
A signal that Georgia is continuing its stepped-up pace in carrying out the
death penalty, a judge signed a warrant Wednesday authorizing the execution of
the oldest man on Georgia's death row.
Brandon Astor Jones will be put to death for the 1979 murder of the manager of
a Cobb County convenience store who had stayed late to do paperwork. If the
lethal injection is carried out as planned, Jones will die just 11 days shy of
his 73rd birthday and almost 31 years to the day after his co-defendant was
electrocuted for Roger Tackett's June 16, 1979, murder.
Co-defendant Van Roosevelt Solomon's execution came relatively quickly, on Feb.
20, 1985, less than 6 years after Tackett's murder.
Jones was 1st sentenced to die on Oct. 11, 1979, but a federal court ordered
him re-sentenced because there was a Bible in the jury room during
deliberations. Jones was sentenced to death a 2nd time on Sept. 23, 1997.
At one time, Jones had argued that sentencing him after he had spent almost 2
decades on death row was an affront to human dignity and "waiting for execution
is intolerably cruel."
The appellate courts disagreed. Jones exhausted all the regular appeals last
October when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to take his case.
He does, however, have a complaint pending in U.S. District Court regarding
Georgia's law that allows the Department of Corrections to keep secret the
identify of the pharmacist who will make the pentobarbital that will be used to
put Jones to death.
Jones stands to be the oldest man Georgia has executed since the death penalty
was reinstated in the 1970s. The oldest man so far was Andrew Brannon, 66 when
he died by lethal injection a year ago.
Jones and Solomon were captured just moments after they killed Tackett, who was
shot in the head at almost point-blank range.
A Cobb County policeman had driven a stranded motorist to the Tenneco
convenience store to use the pay phone around 1:45 a.m. when he noticed a car
parked in front with the driver's side door open and lights on inside the
business, which should have closed almost 2 hours earlier. The car belonged to
Tackett.
Looking through a window, the officer saw Jones stick his head out of the
storeroom door in the back before closing the door. Moments later, the
policeman heard shots, and he found Jones and Solomon inside the storeroom and
2 .38-caliber revolvers - a large Smith & Wesson and a smaller Colt - nearby.
Tackett was shot 5 times from behind - twice in his right hip and once in the
jaw, behind his left ear and in his thumb. The medical examiner said Tackett
was lying on the ground when he was shot behind the ear.
Jones told the officer they found Tackett "bad hurt" in the back of the store
when they broke in to take money from the register.
Jones' execution could be the 1st of 5 lethal injections expected to be
scheduled over the next few weeks and months as other men on Georgia's death
row have exhausted their appeals. That number could increase as there are 10
now before the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Last year Georgia put to death 4 men and a woman, the largest number of
executions this state has carried out in a year since 1987, when Georgia also
executed 5 murderers, all electrocuted.
(source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
******************
Georgia to execute its oldest death row inmate next month
The state of Georgia plans to execute its oldest death row inmate next month.
Attorney General Sam Olens' office said in a news release Wednesday that
72-year-old Brandon Astor Jones is scheduled for execution on Feb. 2. Jones was
convicted in the 1979 killing of Cobb County convenience store manager Roger
Tackett.
A federal judge later granted Jones a new sentencing hearing because jurors had
improperly been allowed to bring a Bible into the deliberation room. Jones was
resentenced to death in 1997.
The U.S. Supreme Court in October rejected an appeal from Jones. A divided
Georgia Supreme Court and the federal appeals court in Atlanta had previously
upheld his death sentence.
Another man convicted in the killing, Van Roosevelt Solomon, was executed in
1985.
(source: Associated Press)
FLORIDA:
Death penalty on hold for local cases----U.S. Supreme Court ruled Florida's
death penalty system unconstitutional
3 local death penalty cases are up in the air after the U.S. Supreme Court
ruled Florida's death penalty system is unconstitutional.
The ruling Tuesday came in a challenge filed by death row inmate Timothy Lee
Hurst, who was convicted of murdering his co-worker Cynthia Harrison in 1998.
She was bound, gagged, and stabbed more than 60 times.
Trials that were set to begin over the next couple of months will now be
changing with this ruling.
Some attorneys have filed motions to strike the death penalty from these cases
because basically it doesn't exist right now.
Attorney Randy Reep said the death sentence will be off the table for a while.
"A defendant who is facing the death penalty currently, now is not facing the
death penalty," Reep said.
Within hours of the ruling on Tuesday, lawyers for Donald Smith filed a motion
to bar the prosecution from seeking the death penalty if he's convicted in the
kidnap, rape and murder of Cherish Perrywinkle.
This is just 1 case among others that will be affected by the change.
Luis Toledo's trial in connection with the deaths of his wife and 2 children
was supposed to begin in St. Augustine next week.
James Rhodes' case could also be affected. He's charged with the murder of
Shelby Farah.
"Certainly, a defendant facing the death penalty, this is a benefit to them,
they are no longer facing the death penalty, until the law in Florida changes
to comport with the ruling that came out this week," Reep said.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Florida's death penalty system was
unconstitutional because the jury only advises a judge on the death sentence.
The judge has the final say and doesn't have to agree with the jury's
recommendation.
Reep said this is different from the standard that's been held in other
situations.
"In almost every other sentencing scheme, it is solely in the purview of the
judge to impose a sentence whether its prison, probation, all different types
of that falls directly into the scope of the judge and now you're putting that
in the hands of the jury or at least requiring a recommendation from the jury,"
Reep said.
When it comes to the future of these cases, Reep said many people will probably
go forward with a life sentence instead of staying on "hold" for the death
penalty.
"I think there's more questions than answers in that, does it have to be
unanimous on the part of the jury, it wasn't really clear on that, conviction
has to be unanimous, now you might find that a majority is probably
satisfactory, but I think there's questions as well as answers in this ruling,"
Reep said.
Reep said the ruling this week is clear that people who have already been given
a death sentence will still go through with that sentence.
(source: WJXT news)
****************
Poll: Should Florida require unanimous jury decision to impose death penalty?
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that Florida's death penalty system is
unconstitutional because it gives too much power to judges - and not enough to
juries - to decide capital sentences.
Currently, juries play only an advisory role in recommending death. Judges have
discretion to reach a different decision.
State Sen. Thad Altman, R-Rockledge, has filed a bill that would require a
unanimous jury decision to impose the death penalty.
poll--see:
http://www.tcpalm.com/polls/opinion/Poll-Should-Florida-require-unanimous-jury-decision-to-impose-death-penalty-365199361.html
(source: tcpalm.com)
*******************
An in-depth look at Florida's death penalty comes from a surprising source
Protesters to the death penalty demonstrate across the highway from the Florida
State Correctional facility near Starke, Fla.,Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2013. (AP) An
impressive death penalty investigation rolled out last weekend by a somewhat
surprising source - The Villages Daily Sun, which serves a sprawling retirement
community in Central Florida - was a must-read even before today's US Supreme
Court decision declaring Florida's death penalty sentencing process
unconstitutional.
The Supreme Court today ruled that Florida's unique procedure for meting out
the death penalty violates a defendant's Sixth Amendment right to trial by
jury. In Florida, a jury issues an advisory verdict that does not have to be
unanimous. A judge then decides separately whether the facts surrounding a
murder include aggravating factors that warrant the death penalty.
All of which raises the question posed in the headline of the Daily Sun's
investigation: "How would Florida's death row look if it had to play by the
same rules as other states?" Daily Sun reporter Katie Sartoris told me that her
investigation was prompted by the fact that the youngest death row inmate in
Florida is from the newspaper's circulation area. He did not have a unanimous
verdict from the jury during the penalty phase (a unanimous verdict is required
to convict).
"It got us thinking about how Florida is an outlier," Sartoris said. Alabama
and Delaware are the 2 other states that don't require a unanimous verdict at
the penalty phase.
Reporters around the state may be surprised that the Daily Sun - a paper that
is not traditionally known for its investigative work and has been criticized
for 1-sided political coverage - did this kind of ambitious project. Last
summer, the paper created its first so-called SWAT Team devoted to special
projects and investigations "so we can dedicate more resources to in-depth
work," Sartoris said. A combination of 7 reporters, editors and producers are
contributing to the effort.
"We're very excited about it," she said.
Sartoris started out at the Daily Sun straight out of college in 2012, first
covering education. She's now the associate managing editor for special
projects. And the death penalty investigation, complete with a look at the
secrecy behind the death warrant process and the lethal injection method, isn't
Sartoris' 1st. She produced a sharp investigation into dog racing deaths in
December.
She also dug up a number that is important to consider as Florida's death
penalty process is in the headlines: How many inmates on Florida's death row
were sent there without a unanimous jury verdict during the penalty phase of
the trial? It took Sartoris 18 months of digging through online and paper
archives, but she determined that 287 of the 390 men and women on death row in
this state fall into that unique category.
With all the scrutiny the death penalty receives, it';s surprising no one had
tracked down this number before.
"All of the state agencies we talked to told us they didn't have the numbers,"
Sartoris said.
So she and Curt Hills, the paper's managing editor for special projects, and
production editor Amy Johstono headed up to Tallahassee to dig through the
records.* In some cases, they were able to find the information on jury
verdicts from online records of the Florida Supreme Court, but for many they
had to dig through the Florida Archives.
Reporters covering today's Court decision can get a lot of the background they
need from Sartoris' wide-ranging investigation. For one small point, I've seen
reports today that put the number of inmates on Florida's death row at 400 but
there are, as Sartoris reported, 390 right now. I've also seen reporting that
the Supreme Court's decision will only affect the cases of a few of the inmates
on Florida's death row, but that's not actually clear. Sartoris quoted Stephen
Harper, a professor at Florida International University and coordinator of the
Florida Center for Capital Representation, saying the ruling could throw
Florida's system "into chaos."
Bruce Fleisher, a Miami criminal defense attorney who has tried more than 30
death penalty cases, told me he expected a lot of cases may be affected by the
decision.
"Anyone who has been sentenced to death in the state of Florida, or any other
state with similar provisions, will be filing motions for post-conviction
relief," he said. "The opinion doesn't say what the next step is and who is
going to be entitled to relief or what they will be entitled to."
Although today's decision did not address the main reason Florida's death
penalty process is such an outlier - the failure to require a unanimous jury
decision - it did leave Florida without a constitutional death penalty law.
Fleisher said he expects the legislature to act very quickly, simply because as
it stands right now current cases could be in jeopardy. A state lawmaker who
represents The Villages community has filed legislation changing Florida's
statute to bring it in line with most of the rest of the country and require a
unanimous verdict at the penalty phase.
In other words, there is much work still ahead for reporters on this story.
Meantime, anyone in need of a detailed primer can turn to, yes, the Daily Sun.
* This sentence has been revised to correct the spelling of Curt Hills' last
name.
(source: Susannah Nesmith is CJR's correspondent for Florida and
Georgia----Columbia Journalism Review)
****************
DELTONA FAMILY KILLED----Prosecutors seek to delay Luis Toledo's death penalty
murder trial
A day after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Florida's death penalty,
prosecutors are seeking to delay the trial of Luis Toledo, who had faced
possible death sentences if convicted.
A hearing is set for 8 a.m. Thursday before Circuit Judge Raul Zambrano at the
Volusia County Courthouse in DeLand on a motion by prosecutors to delay
Toledo's trial.
Toledo's defense attorneys are objecting to the state's request to delay the
trial which was set to start on Tuesday in St. Augustine.
Toledo, 33, is charged with 2nd-degree murder in the killing of his wife, the
28-year-old Yessenia Suarez, and 2 counts of 1st-degree murder in the deaths of
her children, Thalia, 9, and Michael, 8. The mother and children were reported
missing Oct. 23, 2013, from their home at 317 Covent Gardens Place in Deltona.
Their bodies have not been found.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday issued a ruling in Hurst v. Florida striking
down the state's death penalty as unconstitutional, because a judge makes the
decision to impose death instead of the jury which is relegated to an advisory
role.
"The State respectfully requests a continuance of the above-styled matter in
order to allow time for the issues raised in Hurst to be properly addressed,"
according to the motion filed by prosecutor.
If Toledo goes on trial next week, he would not face the death penalty. If
convicted, Toledo's maximum punishment would be life in prison without parole.
Last year, Toledo's defense attorneys had sought to delay the trial until the
Supreme Court ruled on the case of Hurst v. Florida. Prosecutors opposed the
delay and the judge ruled against it.
Now, it is prosecutors who are seeking a delay.
Under Florida's now unconstitutional procedure, a majority vote of 7 to 5
jurors recommending death was sufficient for judges to impose death. Judges
could even override a jury recommendation for life, although that has not
happened in at least 15 years.
The state Legislature has already introduced bills to change Florida's death
penalty scheme so that the dozen jurors on a panel must unanimously vote for
the death penalty.
(source: Daytona Beach News-Journal)
*****************
Supreme Court decision likely to lead to fewer death penalty verdicts, experts
say
Home to the 2nd-largest death row in the nation, Florida may be on a path to
executing fewer prisoners as a result of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling Tuesday
that requires juries, not judges, to impose the death penalty, experts said.
"Whatever the Legislature does" in response to the court's ruling, "there are
bound to be some cases where a jury doesn't reach the same decision that a
judge would have," said Ronald J. Tabak, chair of the Death Penalty Committee
of the American Bar Association. "And most likely, there will be fewer death
sentences."
In the 8-1 opinion, the court overturned Florida's unusual capital sentencing
system, finding it unconstitutional because juries play an advisory role in
recommending life or death, and are not required to give a factual basis for
their opinion. By law, judges make the ultimate decision after giving "great
weight" to jurors' recommendations.
The court's ruling has thrown the state's death penalty process into chaos and
tasked Florida lawmakers with rewriting the capital punishment scheme. In
interviews on Wednesday, legal experts said that regardless of the precise
language that emerges from Tallahassee, there's little doubt Florida will have
to transfer power from judges to juries, shouldering ordinary citizens with a
grave duty.
"That'll just up the degree to which the jurors will feel some sense of
responsibility for their decision," said Mona Lynch, a criminology professor at
the University of California at Irvine.
Lynch, who has studied how juries reach decisions in capital cases, said that
in states like Florida and Alabama where juries give advisory verdicts, there
tends to be a "diffusion of responsibility." Aware that a judge might override
them, jurors often feel less pressure, making it easier for them to sentence
the inmate in front of them to death.
"Right now, Florida juries can feel like, well, we're just making a
recommendation," she said.
Florida is 1 of only 3 states - the others are Alabama and Delaware - where
judges can override a jury, but that power is used sparingly.
It has been 17 years since a Florida judge intervened in a case to override a
jury's recommendation. But between 1972 and 1999, judges reversed jurors'
advisory verdicts of life 166 times in order to impose a death sentence,
according to one study. At least 2 of the 390 inmates on the state's death row
are there because judges overruled a jury that voted for life.
"The idea that somebody else may correct the sentence if you get it wrong -
that does tend to lessen your sense of responsibility and it therefore makes
you more likely to vote for death, even if you may not really be that convinced
the person should get death," Tabak said. "That has been a problem with the
Florida system all along."
A second factor, he said, is whether Florida's Legislature decides to require
unanimous jury verdicts in capital cases.
Although the Supreme Court's opinion didn't address unanimity, Florida is the
only state where a simple majority of jurors, by a 7-5 vote, can recommend the
death penalty. Despite years of effort by some in the Legislature to change
this, the practice has stood, and most people on death row today received
non-unanimous jury recommendations.
"If they require unanimity, they're going to have fewer death sentences," said
Michael Radelet, a University of Colorado professor and expert on the death
penalty. "It'll be more focused on the worst of the worst."
Radelet, who has studied Florida's death penalty system, said the number of
defendants sentenced to death has fallen gradually since the 1990s, a shift he
attributed in part to the practice's declining popularity nationwide. If
Florida's Legislature requires 12-0 jury verdicts for death penalty sentences,
prosecutors, facing tougher odds and the high cost of pursuing the death
penalty, might choose to file fewer capital cases, he said.
Some prosecutors have argued that imposing a unanimous verdict requirement
would benefit some of the state's most notorious killers, such as Ted Bundy,
who was executed in 1989 after a jury voted 10-2 to recommend death.
Harry Shorstein, former state attorney for the 4th Judicial Circuit, which
includes Jacksonville, said he doubted there would be a dropoff in death
penalty cases.
"It's politically driven," he said. "Maybe in Miami and Broward, the more
liberal circuits, they might reconsider. But the rest of them are going to seek
it as long as they feel it helps them get elected."
********************
Chaos and uncertainty cloud Florida's death penalty after Supreme Court ruling
Florida's death penalty fell under a huge cloud of uncertainty Wednesday as
legal experts weigh the impact of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down the
state's sentencing system as unconstitutional.
The day after the court's 8-1 decision, chaos prevailed on many fronts in
Florida:
-- Public defenders from Miami to Tallahassee, who represent defendants in
murder cases, called for a halt to all executions and trials that could result
in the death penalty.
-- The Florida Supreme Court told the state to explain why the Hurst vs.
Florida decision should not apply retroactively to the case of Michael Ray
Lambrix, set to be executed Feb. 11 for 2 murders.
-- The veteran prosecutor in Gainesville told legislators that he's not sure
how to handle a murder case. "I don't know what to do," Bill Cervone said.
The role of the jury in a death penalty case in Florida is a recommendation,
not binding on a judge, but the nation's highest court said Tuesday that the
jury - not the judge - should have the final decision on every fact that
results in a death sentence. The decision came in the case of Timothy Lee
Hurst, 37, on death row for killing a co-worker at a Pensacola restaurant in
1998.
Gov. Rick Scott provided no specifics on what steps the state might take or
whether he would lift pending death warrants for Lambrix and a 2nd double
murderer, Mark Asay.
"We're reviewing that decision," Scott said Wednesday in Brandon on the second
stop of a statewide bus tour to promote his tax cut proposals. "I can tell you
as a governor, it's a solemn duty, it's the law of land. What I think about it
when I'm involved in that is the victim. Those are not easy. My heart goes out
(to the victims)."
Attorney General Pam Bondi had no comment Wednesday.
Experts who closely monitor Florida's troubled death penalty record said the
state could have avoided its current problems if it had acted more than a
decade ago in response to a similar case.
"It's a self-inflicted wound," said Robert Dunham of the Death Penalty
Information Center in Washington, D.C. "Unless Florida redresses this issue,
it's going to be in the national spotlight again."
In Ring vs. Arizona in 2002, the Supreme Court ruled that juries and not judges
should decide the fate of defendants in capital cases. But on several occasions
until the Hurst ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear Florida death
penalty appeals that were based on the Ring case, so the state Supreme Court
said it didn't apply.
As long ago as 2006, legislators in both parties filed bills to review and
reform Florida's death penalty sentencing system. But they focused on a
different issue: that a simple majority vote by a 12-member jury is sufficient
to recommend death and that a requirement to cite aggravating circumstances to
justify the death penalty, such as the severity of the crime, also does not
need to be a unanimous decision.
Then-Attorney General Charlie Crist was locked in a primary fight for the
Republican nomination for governor. Nicknamed "Chain-Gang Charlie" for his
tough-on-crime political stances, Crist insisted no changes be made.
A Times/Herald review of 10 years of legislation turned up no bills that would
have addressed the issue in the Hurst case.
"I can't even remember that it came up," said former Sen. Paula Dockery of
Lakeland, who chaired the Criminal Justice Committee for 6 years from 2004 to
2010.
A total of 390 inmates are on death row, but many of their sentences are on
appeal. Many more cases are on trial, or are about to go to trial.
Miami-Dade Public Defender Carlos Martinez said he has several dozen capital
murder cases awaiting trial. For now, he said, the Hurst decision means that a
defendant could not be given a harsher sentence than life imprisonment without
parole, which death penalty opponents have sought for decades.
"There is no death penalty right now," Martinez said. "A clarification needs to
come quickly."
If every Florida death sentence were reduced to life without parole, Martinez
said, it would save taxpayers millions of dollars and avoid years of legal
battles that clog court dockets.
Nancy Daniels, the public defender in Tallahassee for 25 years, said the state
should suspend all legal activity on death cases immediately.
"The prudent thing to do is to put a moratorium on all pending death cases
until this is clarified," Daniels said. "Everything needs to be put on hold."
Daniels said she believes that every Florida inmate sentenced to death after
the Ring decision has a new avenue of appeal.
In the Hurst decision, the U.S. Supreme Court sent the case back to the Florida
Supreme Court for clarification.
Legal experts said that at a minimum, Florida will have to rewrite the complex
legal instructions that are explained to jurors in capital cases.
An order issued by the Florida Supreme Court on Tuesday (and announced a day
later) orders attorneys for the state to answer how Hurst vs. Florida applies
to Lambrix's case.
The Florida Supreme Court ordered the state to respond by Jan. 20 with answers
to: "the retroactivity of Hurst, the effect of Hurst in light of the
aggravating factors found by the trial court in Lambrix's case, and whether any
error in Lambrix's case is harmless."
An ominous legal sign for Florida is that the U.S. Supreme Court's Hurst
decision also invalidated two cases that the Florida Supreme Court cited in
upholding numerous death penalty cases: Spaziano vs. Florida and Hildwin vs.
Florida.
"Time and subsequent cases have washed away the logic of Spaziano and Hildwin,"
Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote for the majority.
The decision would appear to be vindication for Florida Supreme Court Justice
Barbara Pariente. She authored the dissent in the Hurst case in 2014 and wrote:
"I continue to believe that, in light of Ring, Florida's death penalty statute
. . . is unconstitutional."
(source for both: Tampa Bay Times)
********************
Editorial: High court decision allows chance to rethink broken system
The U.S. Supreme Court's surprising decision Tuesday striking down Florida's
capital punishment sentencing system was not only just, but generous.
Just, because our state's long and troubled history with the death penalty has
only gotten more controversial in recent years as we've rushed to execute
inmates. And generous, because Florida legislators now have an opportunity to
fix a broken system that has been challenged for being arbitrary, racist and
cruel.
They should take it. They should also halt all executions - including 2 Gov.
Rick Scott has scheduled in February and March - until they have done a
fair-minded review of the process.
The high court's monumental 8-1 decision in the Timothy Lee Hurst case surely
allows legislators that pause. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, writing for the
majority, declared that the process by which we impose the death penalty
unconstitutionally violates the Sixth Amendment right to a trial by jury.
Florida law allows juries to recommend a death sentence, but gives judges the
power to ultimately decide on imposing it.
"The Sixth Amendment requires a jury, not a judge, to find each fact necessary
to impose a sentence of death," Sotomayor wrote. "A jury's mere recommendation
is not enough."
We agree. The high court was right to intervene.
Tuesday's decision came 3 years after state lawmakers passed, and Scott signed
a bill sponsored by Stuart Sen. Joe Negron and Fort Walton Beach Rep. Matt
Gaetz aimed at reducing delays in death penalty cases. The 2013 Timely Justice
Act, gives the governor 30 days to sign a death warrant once the Clerk of Court
certifies that appeals have been exhausted. After that, the state has 180 days
to carry out the execution.
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who has defended the current system,
released a statement Tuesday noting that "the state will need to make changes
to its death-sentencing statutes."
And both Negron and Gaetz told the News Service of Florida they expect the
Legislature to "remedy the defects in our death penalty process so that this
issue is quickly resolved."
But given Florida's spotty history with the death penalty, would it not be
better to focus less on quickness and more on fairness? The number of
minorities sentenced to death in Florida remains so disproportionate to their
size of the population. Florida has had 26 wrongful convictions that resulted
in death sentences, the most of any state. And the state hasn't even been
competent at executing inmates. In 2000, Florida had to create a lethal
injection system when the electric chair had repeated malfunctions. In 1 case,
the chair may have caused flames to ignite on 1 prisoner's head. Last year,
executions were halted while the courts considered whether 1 of the drugs in
the lethal cocktails being used to execute prisoners was actually causing the
inmates to feel as if they were being burned alive.
While very few, understandably, are sympathetic to those guilty of murder, a
civil society should ensure that we are doing justice fairly, and without
cruelty or torture.
Also, there is great political pressure on elected trial court judges to be
tough on crime. No judge wants to be painted as soft or sympathetic to an
alleged murderer. The jury system serves as an important check that allows the
community, and a defendant's peers to consider the weight of the evidence.
According to a recent report, 287 of the 390 men and women currently on
Florida's death row were sent there without a unanimous jury recommendation.
Yes, there are few issues with more political support in Florida than capital
punishment. But lawmakers must use this opportunity given to us by the high
court to rethink the frequency and application of the death penalty.
At the minimum, change the law to require a unanimous jury verdict.
(source: Editorial, Palm Beach Post)
*******************
390 death row sentences may be appealed
The Supreme Court's decision to void Florida's death penalty could trigger new
sentencing appeals for Florida's 390 death row inmates, including 25 cases
stemming from the 5th Judicial Circuit comprised of Lake, Sumter, Marion,
Citrus and Hernando counties.
Lake has 10 cases and Sumter has 1.
"The ruling could have a broad impact," said Robert Dunham, executive director
of the Death Penalty Information Center in a telephone interview Tuesday.
But it is no guarantee any of the inmates will get new sentencing hearings.
Dunham said death row inmates would have to file appeals and prove their judges
harmed their cases.
Brad King, state attorney for the 5th Judicial Circuit, said his office will
look at each individual on a case-by-case basis as state legislators work to
rewrite the statute so it falls in compliance with the ruling.
King added there could still be several reasons why the law won't affect some
cases. He said he anticipates state lawmakers will address the statute before
his circuit's 2 upcoming capital trials this spring, including one in Sumter
County.
The justices on Tuesday ruled 8-1 that the state's sentencing procedure is
flawed because juries play only an advisory role in recommending death while
the judge can reach a different decision.
The court ordered a new sentencing hearing for Timothy Lee Hurst, who was
convicted of the 1998 murder of his manager at a Popeye's restaurant in
Pensacola. A jury divided 7-5 in favor of death, but a judge imposed the
sentence.
Florida's solicitor general argued that the system was acceptable because a
jury first decides if the defendant is eligible for the death penalty.
Hurst's attorneys argued, in part, that a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court ruling
requires that determination of aggravating circumstances be "entrusted" to
juries, not to judges. They also took issue with Florida not requiring
unanimous jury recommendations in death penalty cases.
Florida is 1 of only 3 states that does not require a unanimous jury verdict
when sentencing someone to death. The others are Alabama and Delaware.
In 3 of Lake's 10 death row cases, jurors were unanimous in recommending a
death sentence. But in 7, the votes were split, and a judge decided to send
those defendants to death row:
J.P. "Pig" Parker was convicted of robbing and kidnapping a convenience store
clerk in Stuart in 1982, stabbing the woman so she fell to her knees then
shooting her execution-style in the back of the head. His take from the store
was about $30. The case was moved to Lake County because of intense press
coverage. The death penalty vote came in at 11-1.
Allen Cox was already serving several life sentences for kidnapping, sexual
battery and aggravated battery when someone stole $500 from him at Lake
Correctional Institution in 1998. He used a prison shank to stab a suspect 3
times, causing the man to bleed to death. Cox also beat up the man's cellmate.
His death penalty vote was 10-2.
Guy Gamble told his girlfriend he was going to kill his landlord 6 days before
repeatedly hitting the man in the head with a claw hammer in 1991. He then
stole the man's car and took his girlfriend out to dinner. Gamble's death
penalty vote was 10-2.
Jason Wheeler ambushed and killed a Lake County Sheriff's deputy responding to
a domestic call at his Paisley residence in 2005. 2 other deputies were also
shot. Wheeler's death penalty vote was 10-2.
Donte Hall burst into a house filled with female strippers, robbing and opening
fire on the male guests in 2006. 2 people were killed with an AK-47 assault
rifle. His death penalty vote was 8-4.
Donald Williams helped an 81-year-old woman shop for groceries in a motorized
wheelchair then robbed and kidnapped her from the supermarket's parking lot in
2010. Her body was found in the woods several days later. His death penalty
vote was 9-3.
James Duckett, a Mascotte police officer in 1987, was convicted of raping and
killing an 11-year-old girl and tossing her body in a local lake. At his trial,
3 other girls said he had made sexual advances toward them. His death penalty
vote was 8-4.
(source: Daily Commercial)
******************
Attorneys: No death penalty for Donald Smith
Attorneys for the man accused of raping and killing 8-year-old Cherish
Perrywinkle say he should not get the death penalty, because the death penalty
fundamentally does not exist in Florida in the wake of a momentous Supreme
Court decision yesterday.
"It's my position that there is no death penalty," Julie Schlax, attorney for
its Donald James Smith, told First Coast News.
It's an argument Schlax made in a court filing Tuesday, which notes that since
the high court struck down the constitutionality of Florida's Death Penalty law
in Hurst v. Florida, there is effectively no legal form of capital punishment
in the state. Therefore, she argues, "until such time as a new sentencing
scheme is passed by the Florida Legislature, the only possible penalty for 1st
degree murder is life imprisonment without the possibility of parole."
The state attorney's office released a statement saying "It is inappropriate
and premature to comment on the issue. The defense has filed a motion and we
will respond accordingly, in court, on the record."
The Hurst decision was already predicted to be disruptive for the roughly 400
inmates on Florida's death row. In their decision, justices found Florida's
practice of allowing judges, not juries, to make the final determination about
a death sentence unconstitutional. Schlax said she intends to file similar
motions in all of her death penalty cases.
No hearing date has been set to hear arguments about the motion in the Smith
case.
(source: firstcoastnews.com)
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