April 5
ARKANSAS:
Lawyers challenge execution drugs' no-disclose ruling
The state's execution law is unconstitutional and the Arkansas Supreme Court
should uphold a lower court's ruling that voided the law's language that kept
the source of its killing drugs a secret, attorneys argued Monday.
The 2 lawyers representing a group of death row inmates filed their arguments
with the high court in response to an appeal from the attorney general's office
seeking to undo the December order from a Pulaski County circuit judge that
compelled prison officials to disclose the drug supplier.
The attorneys, Jeff Rosenzweig and John Williams, filed notice that they seek
oral arguments for the appeal. The attorney general's office had also asked in
February that the case be argued orally.
Among their arguments, the attorneys said that Act 1096 of 2015 -- which
promised drug suppliers anonymity out of fear of boycotts and harassment from
groups opposed to the death penalty -- violated public disclosure laws.
State prison officials have said that the secrecy provision was necessary in
order to find a supply of execution drugs. One of those drugs will expire in
June, and prison officials have testified that they have not lined up another
source.
In December, Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen ruled that such a secrecy provision
was untenable. Monday's brief argued the same, claiming that prisoners had a
right to inspect the source of the drugs purchased for their execution and that
prison officials did not demonstrate a need for the secrecy.
"The introduction of yet another drug handler -- one the State has also refused
to identify -- simply raises more questions ... If the drugs are supplied or
handled by a disreputable entity -- including whatever entity did the [quality]
testing -- it is more likely they are contaminated or mishandled in a manner
that would result in unacceptable pain to the prisoners [during execution],"
the attorneys wrote. "[In Griffen's court] the State presented no proof of that
its future ability to conduct executions depends on concealment. In fact, the
record evidence shows the contrary. [Prison officials said] the supplier of
drugs currently on hand previously required secrecy, but it no longer wishes to
sell the State any drugs, even with the secrecy law in place."
Arkansas has not executed anyone since 2005 because of a chain of legal
challenges and difficulties in acquiring execution drugs.
Shortly after Act 1096 was signed into law, Rosenzweig filed suit on behalf of
9 inmates on death row, 8 of whom were scheduled by Gov. Asa Hutchinson for
execution last September.
Inmates argued that, beyond the secrecy, the drug used in the process,
midazolam, could result in botched executions and violate their right to be
free of "cruel or unusual punishment" as set in the Arkansas Constitution.
They also argued that the new law was voided by a prior agreement between
prison officials and the inmates to share information about the source of
execution drugs.
The inmates' executions were stayed by the Supreme Court in October. The court
later stayed Griffen's December ruling that the gag order in the state law was
unconstitutional and that the state would have to disclose the source of the
drugs.
In the arguments filed Monday, attorneys wrote that even if the Supreme Court
doesn't void the entire law as unconstitutional, it should send the matter back
to Griffen's court to settle whether midazolam is a "cruel or unusual" means of
execution.
State attorneys are expected to file a response brief in coming weeks.
(source: arkansasonline.com)
NEBRASKA:
Learning about death penalty
Before voters go to the polls on Nov. 8 to vote on whether they want to put the
death penalty back on the books in Nebraska, they ought to think about the
learning process undergone by Christy Sheppard.
If voters are able to put themselves in her shoes, they too are likely to reach
the same conclusion Sheppard did: the death penalty should be abolished.
Sheppard shared her story last week in appearances in Omaha, Grand Island,
Kearney and Hastings.
Sheppard was a supporter of the death penalty when here cousin was raped and
murdered in 1982.
She was a supporter of the death penalty when 2 men were arrested in 1987 and
charged with murdering her cousin. Upon conviction, Ron Williamson was
sentenced to death, and Dennis Fritz was sentenced to life in prison.
Then 11 years later DNA testing proved that Williamson and Fritz had been
wrongfully convicted.
The initial reaction of the family to the release of the men they believed to
be the killers was shock and disbelief, "What about all the other evidence and
testimony? Does it just vanish?" she asked rhetorically.
The case became the basis for "The Innocent Man," John Grisham's 1st nonfiction
book. Ultimately the same DNA evidence that led to the exoneration of
Williamson and Fritz led to the conviction of another man, Glen Gore for 1st
degree murder in the case.
Sheppard told audiences that once people really look at the death penalty, "and
how it really unfolds, the reality of it is messy, and there's really no way to
fix it," Sheppard said in Grand Island.
Her learning process is much like that described by some state senators who
voted to repeal the death penalty and to override a veto by Gov. Pete Ricketts.
Sen. Robert Hilkemann of Omaha had been a long-time supporter of the death
penalty. Then he personally met Ray Krone, who had been falsely accused and
convicted of murder in Arizona in the ???90s and was given the death sentence.
Krone was exonerated by DNA evidence.
The evidence is undeniable that the justice system doesn't always get it right.
Law enforcement officials, prosecutors and judges are human; they err. And
sometimes they act with malice. The former head of the Crime Investigation Unit
in Omaha is in prison for planting false DNA evidence.
Ricketts, Sens. Beau McCoy and Bill Kintner and others think the majority of
Nebraskans support the death penalty, and perhaps they are right.
But surely if Nebraska voters seriously look at the death penalty, they will
realize that the system is too capable of error to be put back on the books.
Elaborate attempts to rid the death penalty of error have succeeded only in
layering on endless rounds of appeals and in wasting more tax dollars. Vote
against the death penalty referendum.
(source: Editorial Board, Lincoln Journal Star)
ARIZONA:
Long shot for initiative seeking to overturn death penalty in Arizona
Robert Hernandez bides his time inside a 12-foot by 8-foot windowless cell in
the Browning Unit of Arizona State Prison Complex-Eyman in Florence.
He and the other 116 men housed in the maximum security unit sit on death row.
But that could change if a group is able to put on the November ballot an
initiative to repeal the death penalty in Arizona and replace the sentencing
option with life in prison. Those now on death row would have their sentences
changed to life in prison such as Mr. Hernandez, who was sentenced to die in
2010 for a triple slaying in Peoria. He was convicted of 1st-degree murder,
attempted 1st-degree murder, burglary and kidnapping.
Currently there 19 states do not have the death penalty.
"We are collecting signatures," said John Yoakum, chairman behind the Death
Penalty Repeal Initiative. "We need to collect 150,000 signatures, which means
we need to collect over 200,000 for slippage."
The Tucson resident, however, admits it is an uphill battle to qualify the
initiative, which he blames on the lack of funds.
"We don't have any money, that is what it comes down to," he said. "We need $2
million to $3 million. But at this point we are still soldiering on."
Volunteers are gathering the signatures but in order to secure the support of
150,642 registered voters by the July 7 deadline, money is needed to hire
professional circulators, Mr. Yoakum said.
The group reported raising $500 from individual contributions in its campaign
finance report filed in February with Arizona Secretary of State Office.
Mr. Yoakum said there are a number of reasons why he opposes the death penalty,
including the possible conviction of an innocent person.
He points to Debra Milke, who was exonerated last year following 22 years on
Arizona death row after the court found prosecutorial misconduct. She was
convicted of plotting her 4-year-old son's murder, whose body was found in a
desert wash near 99th Avenue and Happy Valley Road in 1989.
"She is a free woman and walking down the street," he said.
And, he said, in the state's last execution in 2014, it took 2 hours to kill
Joseph Wood, who was convicted of murder and assault in the 1989 deaths of his
estranged girlfriend and her father.
"That was cruel and unusual punishment," he said. "A man with bare hands can
kill a man under 2 hours."
Finally, there is the cost. Mr. Yoakum citing studies that show that execution
a death row inmate costs three times more than lifetime incarceration.
According to Amnesty International, the largest cost associated with the death
penalty occur before and during trial and not in post-conviction proceedings or
appeals.
Even if all appeals were abolished, the death penalty would still be more
expensive than alternative sentences, states the human rights group, noting
that a capital case involves more investigation and 2 trials, 1 for guilt and 1
for punishment.
Since 1910, Arizona has carried out 100 executions, according to Andrew Wilder,
spokesman with the Arizona Department of Corrections.
"The average length of stay for those executed since 1992 is 18 years," he
said, adding that the state resumed executions in 1992 after a nearly 30-year
hiatus.
Also, the cost to house a male inmate on death row is $31,374.35 a year and for
a female on death row, $33,820.67, he said. The difference in cost is dictated
by the difference in facility, he added.
Currently 2 women sit on death row, housed in the Perryville state prison in
Goodyear.
Mr. Yoakum said if the attempt to put the initiative on the ballot box fails,
the plan is to take up the issue again after the November election.
Death row inmates:
Robert Hernandez: He was sentenced to death on Dec. 14, 2008 for the murders of
Jeni Sanchez-Rivera, Omar Guzman Diaz and Pablo Guzman Diaz. In addition, he
was convicted of the attempted-murder of Maria Diaz-Payan.
On April 15, 2008, the 4 victims drove to Jeni's residence to drop off Pablo's
suitcase, who was visiting from Mexico. Omar and Pablo went in the house while
Maria and Jeni waited in the car because they were going to leave right away to
pick up Jeni's son from school. Hernandez, who had an accomplice, Daniel Bueno,
with him inside, came out of the residence, forced Maria and Jeni into the
house at gunpoint, and tied them both up in Jeni's son's bedroom. Maria and
Jeni could hear Omar and Pablo from another room crying and asking Hernandez
not to hurt them. Maria heard what she believed to be electrical shocks and
both Omar and Pablo screaming; Maria then heard gunshots. When Maria, who had
also been shot, realized she was still alive, called out for Jeni but heard no
answer. Maria then ran out the front door to a neighbor's house who called
police. When police arrived, they found the dead bodies of Pablo, Omar and
Jeni. Hernandez subsequently fled to Texas where he was eventually arrested on
May 12, 2008. At the time of the April 2008 fatal shootings, Hernandez was on
parole after serving an 8-year prison sentence for armed robbery.
Gilbert Martinez. Killed 51-year-old Vern Jark during a burglary in Sun City in
2006. He was sentenced to death on April 29, 2010.
A jury found Gilbert Martinez guilty of 1 count of 1st degree burglary, 4
counts of aggravated assault, 4 counts of kidnapping, 1 count of theft, and 1
count of 1st degree murder. After a mistrial in the penalty phase, a 2nd jury
determined he should be sentenced to death.
On March 31, 2006, Mr. Jark and his wife hosted a visit from their 2 daughters
and husbands. Mr. Martinez and his accomplice Robert Arbolida, who was
sentenced to life after taking a plea, cased the home with plans to burglarize
it. They left to get a gun, returning to the house after its 6 occupants had
gone to bed. Mr. Martinez broke a patio door at the back of the house and
gained entry, awakening the occupants. 4 of the victims were bound with zip
ties. Mr. Jark pushed his wife into a closet and went to the bedroom door,
standing between his wife and the intruders. Mr. Martinez met Mr. Jark in the
hallway, a scuffle ensued and he fatally shot Mr. Jark.
He first went to trial for the murder charge on Aug. 31, 2009 and was found
guilty on Nov. 3, 2009. But that jury deadlocked over life and death on
December 1. Martinez's attorneys tried several tacks to get the death notice
dropped, but to no avail, and a new jury began considering the death penalty on
March 3. Police and prosecutors believe that Martinez, who had already served a
prison term for burglary, was the ring leader of criminals who graduated from
simple breakings and enterings to violent home invasions; in legal terms,
"burglary" does not refer to theft or to breaking and entering, but to entering
a property with the intent to commit another felony. The members of Martinez's
ring were charged in 6 burglaries in Peoria and Sun City between December 18,
2005 and February 13, 2006; their cases played out over several trials. His
son, also named Gilbert Martinez, was sentenced to more than 37 years in prison
for his participation in 6 burglaries; he was not present at Jark's murder.
Martinez' sister, Margie Santiago, was sentenced to 6 years for destroying
evidence. A 4th man, Manuel Barrera Stevens was sentenced to 3 years in prison
for participating in 1 of the home invasions.
John Fitzgerald. A former Navy diver was sentenced to death on Aug. 23, 2010
for the 2005 killing of his mother, Mary Larkin, 74, in Sun City West.
Mr. Fitzgerald, 45, was from Phoenix but had moved to Hawaii. He checked a
sniper rifle and scope, 2 samurai swords and a Glock pistol on a flight from
Honolulu to Phoenix.
Then, on April 15, 2005, he went to his mother's Sun City West home, stabbed
and slashed her with 1 of the swords and shot her to death with the pistol as
her elderly fiance looked on. Ms. Larkin had recently retired as a nursing
professor at Glendale Community College.
Twice over the course of his trials, Fitzgerald was psychologically evaluated,
and twice he was found incompetent to stand trial but was restored to a point
where he could understand the proceedings. His attorney, Herman Alcantar,
called Fitzgerald "delusional" and attempted a defense of guilty but insane.
The jury did not accept it. Fitzgerald was found guilty of 1st-degree murder on
January 12, 2010, but 2 days later, during the part of the trial in which the
jury weighs aggravating against mitigating evidence, he had an outburst in
court and was declared incompetent to continue. His condition was stabilized,
but a mistrial was declared in March 2010. A 2nd jury was convened in May 2010
and sentenced Mr. Fitzgerald to death.
David Lamar Anthony was convicted twice of the 2001 murders of his wife and 2
step children in their Peoria home. He died on death row in 2012 of natural
causes.
Donna Anthony and her 2 children, 14-year-old Danielle and 12-year-old Richard
Romero, vanished on their way to a family vacation in Ohio. Work crews in 2005
found the 3 bodies inside metal drums on a construction site in Buckeye.
In the months leading up to the deaths of Donna and her 2 children, Anthony
transferred large sums of money from their joint account into a private
account, purchased vehicles, made statements to others that he "was going to
get rid of" Donna, referred to Danielle and Richard as "those ******* kids",
and violently assaulted Donna.
Surprise parents Rosemary Velazco, 36, and Carlos Tercerro Cruz, 28, are
accused of killing their 3-year-old daughter in 2015. The state is seeking a
death penalty against the couple, whose case is still making its way through
the court system.
Paramedics summoned to the couple's house took the girl, Alexandra Velazco
Torsetto, to Del E. Webb Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead. Police
said Alexandra sustained injuries throughout her body, including bruising,
signs of sexual abuse, a near 1-inch laceration on her forehead that exposed
her skull, and a discolored and swollen left knee. Police say some of her
bruises were consistent with a dog collar and a spoon found inside the home.
Alexandra also showed signs of extreme malnourishment, and weighed just 15
pounds when she was taken to the hospital.
(source: Peoria Independent)
USA:
With death penalty decision looming, federal judge to take up Dylann Roof case
Last year, a federal judge in Charleston urged prosecutors to announce whether
they will seek the death penalty against Dylann Roof, the man accused of the
deadly mass shooting at Emanuel AME Church.
Months have passed since then without a decision from Attorney General Loretta
Lynch's office in Washington.
With that key announcement still hanging, attorneys in the case will gather at
10 a.m. Tuesday for a hearing in the downtown U.S. District Court. Judge
Richard Gergel, who had encouraged prosecutors to reveal their intentions by
February, also will hear updates on the prosecution of Joey Meek, the friend
accused of not alerting authorities of Roof's scheme before the June 17 attack
was carried out.
Neither man is expected to attend the bar meetings. Roof signed paperwork last
month waiving his right to be there.
The prosecutors in Roof's case have said that they expected Lynch's finding on
the death penalty sometime this spring. A telephone call seeking comment from
her office on Monday was not immediately returned.
If they opt to seek his execution, it would be a relatively rare move since the
federal government reinstated the penalty's use in 1988.
Of thousands of cases eligible for the punishment since then, the Attorney
General's Office has authorized prosecutors to seek it against 502 defendants,
295 of whom have actually gone to trial, according to the Death Penalty
Information Center, a nonprofit research group. 75 of those people have been
sentenced to death, the center stated, but only 3 have been executed, including
Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.
Roof's would be one of the most significant federal death penalty cases since
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev got the sentence last year in 3 killings related to the 2013
bombing at the Boston Marathon.
The Eastover resident, who turned 22 on Sunday, is charged with 33 federal
counts, including hate crimes and the religious rights violations that qualify
him for the ultimate punishment.
Meek, the 21-year-old friend of his from Lexington County, faces up to 8 years
in prison if convicted of misprision of a felony and of lying to the FBI agents
who investigated the killings.
Both men are expected to be tried in Charleston, but no date for either of
their proceedings has been set. Gergel, the judge overseeing each case, has
delayed Roof's trial because of the death penalty issue.
Roof also is scheduled to be tried in state court July 11 on 9 murder counts, 3
attempted murder charges and a firearms charge. The local solicitor already has
said she would ask for his execution if he's convicted.
In both state and federal cases, the prospect of capital punishment is the one
wrinkle stopping Roof from pleading guilty, his defense attorneys in each court
have said. He would accept a lifetime of imprisonment if he could avoid it,
they have explained.
Federal guidelines established 5 years ago under then-Attorney General Eric
Holder allow the authorities to weigh a defendant's willingness to plead guilty
in deciding whether to pursue execution.
They also state that government attorneys should consult with victims' family
members - something that U.S. Attorney Bill Nettles, the chief federal
prosecutor in South Carolina, has already done. Several loved ones in the
Emanuel AME shooting have opposed the use of the death penalty - an opinion
that some say falls in line with the spirit that pervaded the Charleston area's
reaction to the killings.
But other relatives have voiced favor for the sentence or said they would leave
the decision in the government's hands.
(source: The Post and Courier)
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