Feb. 10
TEXAS----impending execution
Texas death row inmate moves one step closer to execution
The U.S. Supreme Court refused Wednesday to reconsider its refusal of the case
of a 42-year-old man set to die next week for the slaying of a suburban Dallas
liquor store clerk.
The high court, without comment Wednesday, rejected the request from Gustavo
Garcia, who's scheduled for lethal injection Feb. 16.
Garcia was 18 in December 1990 when Craig Turski, 43, was shot to death during
a holdup in Plano.
Authorities tied him to a 2nd slaying a month later, also in Plano.
Garcia's attorneys contended 2 prospective jurors at his trial improperly were
excused.
The justices initially refused to review his case last month.
Garcia was 1 of 7 inmates involved in at attempted escape from death row in
1998.
(source: Associated Press)
PENNSYLVANIA:
DA gets more time to mull death penalty in officer slaying
A western Pennsylvania prosecutor will have until March 26 to decide whether to
seek the death penalty against a man charged in the shooting death of a police
officer.
31-year-old Raymond Shetler Jr. is charged in Westmoreland County in the Nov.
28 death of Officer Lloyd Reed after the officer responded to a domestic call
in St. Clair.
District Attorney John Peck said Tuesday that he would study several factors
and wanted to hear about any mitigating circumstances in the case.
Jurors in death penalty cases weigh such factors against aggravating factors,
which Peck said would include the killing of an officer and the defendant's
criminal record.
Peck said relatives of the victim have taken no position on the death penalty
but are "looking for guidance and direction from me."
(source: Associated Press)
VIRGINIA:
House votes to allow electric chair as fallback option for executions
The Virginia House of Delegates passed legislation Wednesday to allow inmates
to be executed via electric chair if the state lacks the necessary drugs for
lethal injection.
The bill passed on a 62-33 vote after Del. Jackson H. Miller, R-Manassas,
delivered a graphic retelling of the 2006 murder of Richmond's Harvey family.
The killer in that case, Ricky Javon Gray, is scheduled to be executed March
16, but the the Virginia Department of Corrections has said it lacks the drugs
needed to put Gray to death.
"This isn't expanding the death penalty, said Miller. "But the case I just told
you about is exactly why we have this punishment on our books."
Condemned Virginia inmates have been able to choose between lethal injection
and the electric chair since 1995. Just seven of 87 inmates executed since then
have chosen the chair.
Miller has argued that the state's ability to "carry out justice" could be
jeopardized if an inmate chooses lethal injection and no drugs are available.
The bill, House Bill 815, now goes to the Senate.
(source: Richmond Times-Dispatch)
OHIO:
Ohio Mental Health Advocates Push
Execution Exemption for Defendants with Serious Mental Illness
Learn more at www.OAMIE.org
The Ohio Alliance for the Mental Illness Exemption (OAMIE) was represented
before the Senate Criminal Justice Committee in testimony today by former Ohio
Senator Bob Spada, who serves on the board of directors of the National
Alliance on Mental Illness of Ohio, a convener of the Alliance.
"We believe that those who commit violent crimes while in the grip of a
psychotic delusion, hallucination or other disabling psychological condition
lack judgment, understanding or self-control," said Spada. "Until such time as
the U.S. Supreme Court decides on this question, the responsibility for
prohibiting the execution of such individuals in Ohio rests with the Ohio
General Assembly."
Spada attached to his written testimony a statement from OAMIE partners to the
members of the Committee in support of S.B. 162, legislation which will
prohibit the execution of defendants with specific mental illnesses at the time
of the crime.
Also testifying today were Professor Daniel T. Kobil of Capital University Law
School, on behalf of more than 50 Ohio law professors who have signed a letter
to the legislature in support of S.B. 162, and Dr. Jeffrey L. Smalldon, a
forensic psychologist who has provided expertise on mental health issues in
numerous Ohio capital cases. Today's testimony has been posted in addition to
all past proponent and interested party testimony at
http://oamie.org/s-b-162-testimony/.
The proposed legislation, which to-date has had only one opponent testify over
the course of 6 hearings, is supported by leading organizations concerned with
mental health issues in Ohio, including the following: National Alliance on
Mental Illness of Ohio, Ohio Psychiatric Physicians Association, Ohio
Psychological Association, Ohio Council of Behavioral Health & Family Services
Providers, Ohio Association of County Behavioral Health Authorities, Mental
Health and Addiction Advocacy Coalition, Buckeye Art Therapy Association, Ohio
Empowerment Coalition, and the National Association of Social Workers - Ohio
Chapter.
The public is invited to learn more about the legislation on our web page,
www.OAMIE.org
(source: Ohio Alliance for the Mental Illness Exemption)
***********
'Voice of Experience' to explore death penalty
A Catholic priest and a former death row inmate are coming to Cincinnati to
share their powerful story in a program called "Voices of Experience: The Death
Penalty," at 7 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18, at St. Anthony Church in
Madisonville.
Joe D'Ambrosio spent more than 20 years on death row for a crime he didn't
commit. The Rev. Neil Kookoothe, who is also a nurse and an attorney, met
D'Ambrosio during a pastoral visit to death row. Kooksoothe's unique skill set
led him to discover the holes in the case keeping Joe there. The 2 became a
team, and Joe finally walked off death row, a free man, in 2012.
"Voices of Experience" is sponsored by the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Ohioans
to Stop Executions, St. Anthony Church and the Intercommunity Justice and Peace
Center.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati is the 38th largest Catholic
diocese in the country, with almost 500,000 Catholics, and has the 6th largest
network of Catholic schools in terms of enrollment. The 19-county territory
includes 211 parishes and 111 Catholic primary and secondary schools.
(source: disneydailynews.com)
FLORIDA:
Florida Gov. Remains Mum on How to Fix State's Death Penalty
Despite an ongoing emotional debate, Gov. Rick Scott is refusing to say how
Florida should fix the state's death penalty law.
The Florida Legislature is currently divided over how to rewrite the law after
the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the current sentencing method unconstitutional.
Scott has not made any recommendations, and on Wednesday, he said that he won't
weigh in until state legislators send him a bill.
Scott's decision to let legislators work out the details contrasts with former
Gov. Jeb Bush. After botched executions threatened Florida's death penalty,
Bush called a special session. The governor recommended changes that included
the state's switch to lethal injection from the electric chair.
The House and Senate are at odds over whether a jury should unanimously agree
to recommend a death sentence.
(source: nbcmiami.com)
SOUTH DAKOTA:
Bill sponsor: Death penalty overburdens counties, jurors
The main sponsor of a measure that would repeal the death penalty in South
Dakota says the practice overburdens counties and traumatizes jurors and court
personnel.
Republican Sen. Arthur Rusch is a former judge. He told the Senate State
Affairs Committee on Wednesday that he's personally prosecuted a death penalty
case and seen the damaging effects firsthand.
The committee carved out an hour and a half Wednesday to hear from proponents
and opponents of the measure.
Rusch says death penalty cases are unfairly taxing on county governments and
have long-term effects on those involved. He also says he doesn't believe the
punishment is an effective deterrent on crime.
The committee voted down 2 measures to repeal or limit the death penalty in the
2015 legislative session.
(source: Associated Press)
NEBRASKA:
Popular Democracy and Capital Punishment in Nebraska
2015 saw fewer individuals executed and fewer individuals sentenced to death in
the United States than any year since 1991 and the early 1970s (pre-Furman v.
Georgia), respectively. It was the 6th straight year that executions had
declined. Many articles have been written about the slow decline of the death
penalty in America.
Usually, discussions of the death penalty focus on Texas (though Oklahoma has
been prominently featured of late). The state that I find fascinating, however,
is Nebraska. In 2015, Nebraska became the seventh state to repeal the death
penalty (not counting those states that made no provision for the death penalty
when the Supreme Court's decision in Gregg v. Georgia reinstated the death
penalty nationally). But after Nebraska's legislature repealed the death
penalty (and overrode a gubernatorial veto on the same), events took a turn not
seen in other states.
The Cornhusker state is one of a few where actions of the legislature can be
overturned by referendum. Governor Pete Ricketts, who had vetoed the repeal
only to see that repeal overridden, not only supported the referendum effort to
overturn the repeal, he personally donated much of the financial backing for
the initiative.
Per the Nebraska Constitution, once the repeal petition received enough
signatures to get the referendum on the ballot, the repeal bill was suspended.
On Westlaw, affected statutes, including repealed sections authorizing the
capital punishment as well as new sections describing the effects of repeal and
transition away from execution, are accompanied by a note that the legislated
change "been suspended by operation of Article III, # 3, of the Nebraska
Constitution; see Historical and Statutory Notes."
Nebraska's last execution was carried out in 1997. There are currently 10
individuals on death row in Nebraska. They'll find out in November what happens
next.
(source: Max Milstein, Attorney Editor, Thomson Reuters Max is a Senior
Attorney Editor for Thomson Reuters ----blog.legalsolutions.thomsonreuters.com)
USA:
'Headley can still get death sentence in U.S.'
Headley had agreed to plea-bargain with the U.S. government and was sentenced
to 35 years in prison on terrorism charges, says the Special Public Prosecutor.
In a startling revelation, Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam claimed on
Wednesday that Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative David Coleman Headley could
still be sentenced to death by the U.S. court for his involvement in the 26/11
Mumbai attack if he is found to be lying to the Indian court.
Headley had agreed to plea-bargain with the U.S. government and was sentenced
to 35 years in prison on terrorism charges that would otherwise have attracted
the death penalty there. Among the conditions in the plea-bargain is a
commitment from Headley to depose truthfully before foreign judicial
commissions.
The only question now is how India would prove whether or not Headley is lying,
as most of the evidence and all his handlers are in Pakistan. And even if India
had conclusive evidence that Headley was lying in the video deposition, would
the appropriate U.S. authorities accept India's claims?
"Headley has given an undertaking before the U.S court that if he is not
truthful in his replies before the court here, then the U.S government is
entitled to seek the death penalty for him," Mr. Nikam told The Hindu. Mr.
Nikam also claimed that only if he is satisfied with Headley's replies and only
if he certifies it will Headley become an approver. Only his offer to become an
approver has now been accepted. "The pardon granted to Headley is conditional
and, according to the Indian law, the public prosecutor is authorised to
forfeit the pardon. I will take a call only after the completion of evidence.
Also, to decide if his pardon is to be forfeited or kept alive, I have to probe
Headley on various angles and it can be decided after considering his entire
evidence."
"Headley was handed a lesser punishment because of the plea-bargain and on the
agreement that he would also be truthful in his deposition to foreign judicial
commissions," a senior government official said. "The U.S can reopen the case
if its finds that the agreement has been breached."
Mr. Nikam claimed he got the clearance from NSA Ajit Doval to make an offer to
turn Headley into an approver. Later, when they presented the idea to Prime
Minister Narendra Modi, he also concurred.
(source: The Hindu)
*************
Judge Accepts Challenge of Law in Death Penalty Case----In an order issued
Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Geoffrey Crawford said there was "strong
disagreement" in "judicial and scholarly" circles about the legality of the
death penalty
The federal judge hearing the death penalty retrial of a Vermont man charged
with killing a Rutland supermarket worker more than 16 years ago said he was
open to hearing a constitutional challenge of the federal death penalty law.
In an order issued Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Geoffrey Crawford said
there was "strong disagreement" in "judicial and scholarly" circles about the
legality of the death penalty.
"Preliminarily, and with an open mind about the arguments recently made by both
sides, the court is looking at the constitutional challenge to the death
penalty," Crawford wrote in the entry order dated Tuesday.
Crawford said that cases from the 1970s identified and tried to correct
problems with the death penalty but "40 years later the question of a systemic
violation of the Eighth Amendment remains."
Crawford scheduled a hearing for Feb. 26 so defense attorney for Donald Fell
and prosecutors can discuss the details of the case and be ready for a hearing
on the issues this summer.
Robert Dunham of the Washington-based Death Penalty Information Center said
Crawford's ruling was an important development in the case.
"Judges don't grant evidentiary hearings if they don't have concerns about the
issues," Dunham said.
Fell was arrested in 2000 shortly after the abduction and killing of Terry
King, a North Clarendon grandmother. At the time, prosecutors decided the case
should be heard in federal court. Vermont has no death penalty.
In 2002, the judge then hearing the case declared the federal death penalty
unconstitutional. Two years later, an appeals court overturned that ruling,
allowing the original trial to go forward.
Fell was convicted in 2005 and sentenced to death for the abduction and killing
of King. A judge ordered a new trial because of juror misconduct. A second
trial is scheduled for February 2017
Last fall, Fell's attorneys asked the court to rule the death penalty is cruel
and unusual punishment prohibited by the Fifth and Eighth Amendments to the
U.S. Constitution.
(source: NECN)
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