Nov. 16
GEORGIA----execution
Georgia executes 8th inmate this year -- most in nation
The State Parole Board denied a last-minute clemency request from the family of
Steven Spears.
The convicted killer was executed by lethal injection at the state prison in
Jackson at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday night.
Spears was the the 8th man killed in Georgia so far this year. That passes
Texas for most in the country.
Georgia seems to have an express lane to the lethal injection chamber," said
11Alive legal analyst Phil Holloway. "I really think it's just a coincidence
though. You have a lot of people whose appeals are running out at the same
time."
The 8 executions are the most in more than 1/2 a century. In 1957, the state
killed 16 men.
Despite the milestone number this year, the number of death penalty convictions
is drastically down.That's because juries in Georgia stopped routinely awarding
the death penalty years ago.
Up until 2000, there were about 10 death penalty convictions a year. Since then
the average has been closer to 2.
In fact in 2015, there wasn't a single death penalty conviction in the state.
"Now that life without parole is a possibility, I think it gives jurors
something to think about. So prosecutors seek the death penalty less frequently
and juries give out the death penalty less frequently," Holloway said.
What's unusual about the Spears case is that he never once appealed his
conviction or sentence.
Sherri Holland told her family that her ex-boyfriend Steven Spears was
dangerous. Shortly after Holland ended their three-year relationship, Spears
waited for her in her son's closet.
He was convicted of tying her up, taping a plastic bag over her head and
watching her smother to death.
"She had told family and friends of the situations that had been going on
between him and her," former Lumpkin County Sheriff Jimmy Berry told 11Alive at
the time.
According to court records, Spears admitted to investigators he had killed
Holland, saying that he did it because he loved her.
"Normally, prisoners are fighting against the execution all the way up until
the bitter end. They have friends, they have family, they have lawyers
petitioning everybody up until the very last minute. Not in this case, that's
why this is so unusual," Holloway said.
Despite Spears apparently wanting his execution, his lawyers and even an
ex-wife did appeal on his behalf.
They argued Spears was abused and neglected as a child.
Ultimately, the state parole board denied those objections.
The Office of the Attorney General sent out this statement:
The lawfully ordered execution of Steven Frederick Spears for the 2001 murder
of Sherri Holland was carried out this evening at 7:30 p.m. at the Georgia
Diagnostic and Classification Center in Jackson, Georgia. The sentence was
carried out after the United States Supreme Court denied Spears' request for a
stay of execution.
Spears becomes the 8th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in Georgia
and the 68th overall since the state resumed capital punishment in 1983. Spears
becomes the 18th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the USA and
the 1440th overall since the nation resumed executions on January 17, 1977.
(sources: WXIA news & Rick Halperin)
LOUISIANA:
How will a Trump White House impact the death penalty in Louisiana?
The unexpected victory of Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton has spilled a
series of questions about how a Trump presidency might impact the death penalty
-- for decades a lightning rod for debate in criminal justice.
19 states have outlawed death sentences while a relatively small number of
other states -- including Louisiana -- regularly sentence people to death,
reflecting the deep divide on the issue. But Louisiana experts say they don't
expect the incoming 45th president to significantly impact the existence or use
of capital punishment in the state.
Trump has branded himself as a law-and-order candidate and has trumpeted the
use of the death penalty in certain situations. At the same time, most voters
in 3 states that considered death penalty measures took pro-capital punishment
positions.
It all points to a detente for states like Louisiana, a pro-death penalty state
that incarcerates more people per-capita than anywhere else in the world,
experts said.
"I don't think Louisiana has ever been a candidate to repeal the death penalty,
and I don't see that changing one way or another," said Marjorie Esman,
director of Louisiana American Civil Liberties Union.
Trump's biggest impact on the death penalty could be his appointment of a new
U.S. Supreme Court justice, said Esman. She said the court has hinted it might
take up the issue in the near future.
In addition to picking a president, voters in three states considered ballot
initiatives related to the death penalty. In all 3 - California, Nebraska and
Oklahoma - most voters sided with a pro-capital punishment position.
Sidney Garmon, director of the Louisiana Coalition for Alternatives to the
Death Penalty, said despite those results, there remains a "definitive trend
away from the death penalty that has been going on for some time now" in the
nation, which shows up in public polling.
Gary Clements, director of the Post-Conviction Project of Louisiana, said he
found it encouraging for opponents of capital punishment that the some of the
pro-death penalty measures on the Nov. 8 ballot passed with a narrow margin.
Unlike those states, Clements noted, Louisiana does not have the option of
citizen-driven ballot initiatives.
Trump's opinion on the death penalty
Among the promises Trump has made on the campaign trail was a pledge late last
year to mandate the death penalty for anyone convicted of killing a police
officer. But experts say even the U.S. president lacks the power enforce such a
mandate.
According to CNN, Trump made the announcement to a crowd of law enforcement
officials in December 2015, after receiving the endorsement of the New England
Police Benevolent Association.
"One of the first things I do, in terms of executive order if I win, will be to
sign a strong, strong statement that will go out to the country -- out to the
world -- that anybody killing a policeman, policewoman, a police officer --
anybody killing a police officer, the death penalty," Trump said, according to
the network.
Clements said an executive order mandating a death sentence for a particular
offense would not pass its first legal challenge. A critical factor in the
Supreme Court's decision to strike down the death penalty in 1972 was that
courts found it was unconstitutional to apply it as a mandatory sentence.
States that reinstated the death penalty afterwards were forced to tailor their
laws to require 2, separate jury deliberations - 1 to determine guilt and a
second to determine if the penalty should include death. The courts have made
clear, Clements said, that jurors must weigh the circumstances of each
individual case and defendant before sentencing someone to death.
Clements said Trump can make a proposal and say what he wants to do regarding
death sentences for people convicted of killing officers. However, Clements
said, the proposal "flies in the face" of how the death penalty is applied.
Even if Trump did get such a proposal through U.S. Congress, Clements pointed
out, the vast majority of death sentences are issued in state courts, not in
federal court. There are currently about five dozen inmates on federal death
row -- including former New Orleans Police Department officer Len Davis, who
was convicted of arranging the 1994 killing of a woman who had filed a
brutality complaint against him. Murder of a law enforcement officer is already
among the circumstances for which the federal death penalty can apply.
Clements said Trump could possibly have more say about the handling of capital
punishment cases on a federal level, but his power is still limited. He noted,
too, that prosecutors in many states where the death penalty is legal already
have laws in place to seek a death sentence in cases of convicted cop killers.
In Louisiana, the murder of a law enforcement officer already qualifies as an
aggravated circumstance, which opens the door for a death sentence. Clements
said district attorneys around the state have recently used this opening in
cases of an officer's death.
Jefferson Parish District Attorney Paul Connick, for example, recently
announced he will seek the death penalty against Jerman Neveaux Jr., who is
facing a first-degree murder charge in the June 22 killing of Jefferson Parish
Sheriff's Office Deputy David Michel Jr. Prosecutors in Lake Charles are
currently seeking the death penalty against Kevin Daigle, who faces a
1st-degree murder charge in the August 2015 death of Louisiana State Trooper
Steven Vincent.
Trump's stance on the death penalty in 1989, which he publicized by taking out
newspaper ads in New York City, resurfaced in recent months during his
presidential campaign.
In 1989, Trump paid to place full-page ads in four newspapers calling for the
reinstatement of the death penalty, according to the Washington Post. The ad,
which shouted in large, capital letters, "BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY. BRING
BACK OUR POLICE!" referenced the Central Park 5 case.
The 5 juvenile defendants in that case, which involved the rape and beating of
a woman in Central Park, had their convictions vacated in 2002 when another man
confessed he acted alone in the attack and DNA evidence corroborated his story.
Trump was asked by CNN about the case in October, and he questioned their
innocence, prompting criticism from at least one member of the Central Park 5.
Trump has said he has a list of about 20 names to choose from for his
appointment to fill the Supreme Court vacancy left by Justice Antonin Scalia's
death. All the options are likely to restore the 5-4 conservative split that
was in place before Scalia died.
Esman said the Supreme Court has hinted, in footnotes and in the body of
decisions, that it might consider in the future the constitutionality of the
death penalty. Trump's most lasting legacy regarding capital punishment might
be realized if his judicial pick is on a panel that takes up the issue.
Death penalty on the ballot, public's position
Separate from a Trump administration, voters in some state are still supporting
the death penalty. In Nebraska, voters last week reinstated the death penalty.
The election reversed the Nebraska Legislature's decision last year to repeal
capital punishment. Nebraska has not executed an inmate since 1997. Ten men
currently sit on death row there.
Meanwhile, in California, voters weighed in on two competing death penalty
measures. One proposal aimed to repeal the state's rarely used death penalty
and the other to speed up appeals so convicted murderers may face execution
faster. The repeal measure was rejected; the other measure received about 51
percent of the votes counted by Wednesday morning.
Additionally, Oklahoma residents approved a measure to make it harder to
abolish the death penalty. It seeks to ensure the state has a way to execute
prisoners even if a given method is blocked.
Despite those results, nationwide support for the death penalty appears to be
waning. A Pew Research Center poll conducted in August and September found
support for the death penalty for those convicted of murder was the lowest it's
been in 4 decades. Just under 1/2 of Americans, 49 %, were in favor of capital
punishment for murderers, down from 56 percent in March 2015.
Public support for the death penalty was at its highest in 1994, when 80
percent of Americans were in favor of the punishment for convicted murderers,
according to the research center.
The death penalty in America is continuing its steady decline.
Garmon said in several states voters indirectly backed candidates who pushed
against capital punishment. For example, 4 Kansas Supreme Court justices who
faced criticism for blocking the death penalty in 5 cases were re-elected and
district attorneys who often used the death penalty in Florida and Texas lost
bids to keep their jobs.
Garmon said he expects this year to be marked by "historic lows" regarding the
number of death sentences and executions. Increasingly, he said, capital
punishment is "isolated the just a handful of counties." Caddo Parish has
received national attention for its frequent use of the death penalty, for
example.
Death penalty in Louisiana
The Louisiana Legislature in 2014 created the Capital Punishment Fiscal Impact
Commission, which seeks to examine the cost of capital punishment in the state.
The deadline for the commission's report has been pushed back to 2018, WAFB
reports. Depending on the results, opponents could make a pragmatic case for
ending the capital punishment in Louisiana, arguing it would save money. Esman
said the ACLU has and will likely continue to work with the Louisiana
Conference of Catholic Bishops on legislation opposing capital punishment,
though she does not foresee the state legislature abolishing it in the
foreseeable future.
While 77 people were on death row in Louisiana as of July 2016, the state has
executed only 28 people since 1976, according the Death Penalty Information
Center, a nonprofit group. In the same period, nine Louisiana death row inmates
have been freed after they were exonerated, the Marshall Projects reports.
It's unclear what role, if any, Trump could play in the challenge of states
like Louisiana in acquiring the drugs needed to carry out executions by lethal
injection -- a roadblock that held up executions in Louisiana and other states.
"We're all in for a bunch of surprises, I suppose," Esman said of the incoming
Trump administration. "I don't think anybody has any idea what we're facing."
(source: nola.com)
NEBRASKA:
3-judge panel now mulling death penalty against Jenkins
The fate of an Omaha man convicted of killing 4 people in 2013 is now in the
hands of a 3-judge panel after prosecutors wrapped up testimony quicker than
expected.
The panel had been scheduled to spend most of the week hearing evidence in the
case against Nikko Jenkins. But the Omaha World-Herald reports
(http://bit.ly/2fepQg1 ) that prosecutors wrapped up Tuesday after presenting 4
witnesses.
Those witnesses included 3 carjacking victims of Jenkins' and a detective who
took Jenkins' confession to the August 2013 killings of 4 people in 3 separate
attacks.
Prosecutors hope to prove aggravating factors that would allow Jenkins to be
sentenced to death, including that he killed multiple people and had a history
of violence.
It's the state's 1st death sentence hearing since Nebraska voters reinstated
capital punishment last week.
(source: Associated Press)
CALIFORNIA:
Machado enters not guilty plea in sheriff's deputy's death
Stanislaus County's top law enforcement official stared intently at David
Machado as the man accused of fatally shooting a sheriff's deputy entered a
courtroom Tuesday afternoon.
Machado didn't look back at District Attorney Birgit Fladager as he took his
seat a few feet away from her. He looked around the courtroom audience, his
gaze finding 2 women sitting in the front row reserved for members of his
family.
After bailiffs told Machado to keep his eyes front, he said something that
seemed directed at his two relatives. The defendant said, "See what you've done
to me."
The relationship of the two women to Machado was unclear; they declined to
answer reporters' questions after the hearing and left the courthouse. Attempts
by The Modesto Bee to speak to Machado's family at his mother's Turlock home
were not successful.
Machado, who is accused of gunning down Stanislaus County sheriff's Deputy
Dennis Wallace, pleaded not guilty in his 1st court appearance Tuesday
afternoon.
His 2 court-appointed attorneys entered the plea on his behalf, along with
denying enhancements to his charges and a special circumstance allegation that
could lead to the death penalty if he is convicted.
The deputy was killed Sunday morning after he spotted a stolen van near
Hughson. Wallace, 53, was a 20-year veteran at the Stanislaus County Sheriff's
Department, assigned to Salida, the courthouse and most recently Hughson.
Authorities say Wallace was shot in the head twice at close range.
Chief Deputy Public Defender Sonny Sandhu and Deputy Public Defender Maureen
Keller represented Machado on Tuesday. They told the judge it's unclear whether
they will remain on the case or other attorneys in their office will be
assigned to defend Machado.
Deputy District Attorney John R. Mayne will be the lead prosecutor in the
murder case. Fladager, who typically serves as an administrator and has
attorneys in her office prosecute criminal cases, assisted Mayne on Tuesday.
Prosecutors on Tuesday morning filed a criminal complaint against Machado. The
murder charge comes with a special circumstance allegation that makes the case
eligible for the death penalty. Mayne told the judge that the District
Attorney's Office has not decided whether it will seek the death penalty
against Machado and will inform the court of that decision at a later date.
Since this is potentially a capital murder case, Mayne asked the judge to keep
Machado in custody without bail set. The defense didn't object, but Keller told
the judge they will request a bail review hearing for their client at a later
date if necessary.
Stanislaus Superior Court Judge Thomas Zeff ordered Machado to remain in
custody without bail. He scheduled Machado to return to court Nov. 21 for a
pretrial hearing.
Machado is being held at the Tuolumne County jail. Authorities explained that
when a crime victim is a law enforcement official, it's typical for other
agencies to offer to house the suspect as a courtesy and avoid any possible
appearance of impropriety.
Plenty of security
Tuesday's tension-filled hearing lasted about 15 minutes. A few dozen sheriff's
deputies provided security. Modesto police closed 11th Street in front of the
downtown Modesto courthouse for most of the day, anticipating a large group of
people wanting to attend the hearing.
About a dozen sheriff's deputies sat in the courtroom audience to support their
fallen colleague. They were joined by staff members from the District
Attorney's Office and news reporters. Wallace's family did not attend Tuesday's
hearing.
Before the hearing started, bailiffs asked the defense attorneys to sit near
the jury box and not talk to Machado until after the court appointed them to
represent the defendant. Machado was still represented by Peter Chang on an
unrelated pending criminal case, but the attorney has since filed a motion to
be relieved from defending Machado.
After they were appointed to the case, Sandhu and Keller went into a nearby
holding cell to speak to their client privately. The defense attorneys returned
to their seats about 10 minutes later, ready for the arraignment to begin, but
Machado remained in the holding cell.
Blue lives, blue ribbons unite Hughson residents after deputy's death
It's unclear what was happening, but apparently Machado was refusing or unable
to return to the courtroom. The defense attorneys left the courtroom again to
speak to their client. Shortly after, the attorneys and their client returned
to the courtroom without any further disruption.
Machado is charged with murder, 1st-degree robbery, carjacking and being a
felon in possession of a gun. 2 enhancements have been added to Machado's
murder charge, accusing him of acting with premeditation and using a gun to
kill Wallace. The defendant also faces enhancements of using a gun in the
thefts.
Machado skipped trial
Chang represented Machado in an August 2014 case in which he was charged with
negligent discharge of a gun and unlawfully possessing a gun. Machado was
ordered to stand trial on the gun possession charge, and the other charge was
dropped. But Machado failed to appear for his Oct. 31 trial, so the judge
issued a bench warrant for him.
Machado was still wanted on that felony warrant when the deadly shooting
occurred; he faces an additional enhancement because of this. The enhancements
could lengthen the defendant's prison sentence if he is convicted.
Wallace was shot to death shortly before 8:30 a.m. Sunday at the Fox Grove
Fishing Access near Hughson. Wallace was alone, in uniform and driving a marked
patrol car when he spotted the suspicious van. When a dispatcher advised him
that the van had been reported stolen, Wallace asked for backup. Seconds later,
he was shot.
Sheriff Adam Christianson has said evidence shows a gun was held to the head of
Wallace and the trigger was pulled twice. He called the deputy's killing an
"execution."
At 8:40 a.m., a white Kia was carjacked about 8 miles away near Keyes. Machado
was then identified as the suspect, Christianson said. Authorities issued an
alert asking people to look for the car, a Kia Rio. A statewide manhunt ensued.
Nearly 4 hours later, authorities say, Machado tried to rob a woman near a
convenience store in Lindsay, about 150 miles south of Hughson. About 12:30
p.m., Christianson said, Lindsay police caught Machado, in an alley and on
foot, after the attempted theft. The officers quickly identified Machado as the
suspect in the deputy's killing by photographs and his tattoos.
(source: Modesto Bee)
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