Nov. 30
OKLAHOMA:
13 Oklahoma death row inmates now eligible for execution
James Chandler Ryder, convicted of killing a woman and her son over some
personal belongings in 1999, is now the 13th Oklahoma death row inmate who has
exhausted appeals and is eligible for an execution date.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined, without comment, to review Ryder's
appeal. It was the fifth time since the high court's new term began in October
that justices have rejected the final appeal in an Oklahoma capital case.
In such instances, the Oklahoma attorney general typically moves quickly to
request an execution date from the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals.
But problems with lethal injections in Oklahoma have led to a pause in
executions while the state Department of Corrections reviews the process.
The last execution in Oklahoma was in January 2015. And executions won't resume
immediately after the Corrections Department decides it is ready. Oklahoma
Attorney General Scott Pruitt has said he would wait at least 150 days after
the review is complete before requesting execution dates.
Earlier this month, Oklahoma voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot question
that gives state constitutional protection to the death penalty - and death
sentences already handed down - even if a particular execution method is ruled
to be in violation of the U.S. Constitution.
The U.S. Supreme Court has never ruled against a method and has twice upheld
lethal injection protocols, including Oklahoma's in 2015.
Ryder, who is now 54, was convicted of killing Daisy Hallum and her adult son,
Sam Hallum, in Pittsburg County in a dispute over possessions Ryder had been
storing with them. Ryder received the death penalty for killing Daisy Hallum
and life without parole for killing Sam Hallum.
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the death sentence in January.
(source: The Oklahoman)
NEBRASKA:
AG: 3 inmates likely first in line for death penalty ---- Jose Sandoval, Carey
Dean Moore and John Lotter could be the 1st Nebraska death row inmates to have
execution dates set, according to Attorney General Doug Peterson.
Gov. Pete Ricketts on Tuesday dismissed concerns about a lack of transparency
in proposed changes to Nebraska's lethal injection protocol.
The proposal announced Monday by the Nebraska Department of Correctional
Services would allow the state prisons director to choose the drug or drugs to
be used in an execution and would keep the identity of the supplier of drugs
confidential.
It also would keep the drugs and method of administration secret until 60 days
before a death warrant is requested. At that point, the information would be
shared with the condemned inmate.
"Claims of secrecy really just aren't founded," Ricketts said during a news
conference Tuesday at the Capitol.
He said the proposed rules are intended to protect the drug provider and that
the 60-day window of notification provides flexibility for the state to change
the drug it uses while still giving inmates "plenty of time" to appeal.
"We're really not changing anything about confidentiality," Ricketts said, but
the protocol would "give the state flexibility to carry out the execution."
The state has not been able to buy 2 of the 3 drugs in its current protocol,
sodium thiopental and pancuronium bromide, in several years.
Of the states that executed people so far this year:
* Florida used a 3-drug protocol of midazolam to render the inmate
unconsciousness, vecuronium bromide to induce paralysis and potassium chloride
to stop the heart.
* Alabama used midazolam, rocuronium bromide to stop breathing and then
potassium chloride. The state plans to use midazolam for a scheduled Dec. 8
execution.
3 Nebraska death row inmates, Carey Dean Moore, Jose Sandoval and John Lotter,
have exhausted their state and federal appeals, according to Attorney General
Doug Peterson, and could be 1st in line to have execution dates set.
* Moore, 59, killed 2 Omaha cab drivers in the course of 2 separate robberies
and has been on death row for 36 years.
* Sandoval, 37, was convicted of 7 murders and sentenced to death 13 years ago
for killing 5 people at a Norfolk bank.
* Lotter, 45, was convicted on 3 counts of 1st-degree murder in Richardson
County, 1 targeted because she was transgender. He has been on death row 20
years.
Peterson would not speculate on when an execution might take place. Some other
attorneys have said it could take years to schedule one.
A public hearing on the new death penalty protocol proposal, which was unveiled
three weeks after voters overwhelmingly reversed the Legislature's repeal of
the death penalty, is set for Dec. 30.
"This is just a process," Peterson said. "Whenever regulations are adopted,
they have to go through the administrative process of having a hearing."
Once the steps are complied with, it becomes the protocol of the Corrections
Department, he said.
(source: Lincoln Journal Star)
**************
Surveys show most Nebraskans disapprove of death penalty, despite voting to
retain it
On Election Day, voters chose overwhelming to retain the death penalty in
Nebraska. But why? Researchers are trying to determine what makes individuals
"for" or "against" capital punishment, particularly since public surveys show a
decline in support among Nebraskans in recent decades. NET News talked with
Lisa Kort-Butler, a Nebraska sociologist who has studied over 40 years of state
social attitudes survey data about Nebraska respondents' views of the death
penalty.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NET NEWS: Why are we seeing public support for the death penalty drop?
LISA KORT-BUTLER: I think a few reasons. One thing that's happened, certainly
over the course of time, is that crime rates have gone down in the U.S. So
there's probably less excitement or anxiousness about crime. I think other
issues have gained our attention over time. I would think also as new
information has come to light about exonerations, about disparities in who is
sentenced to be executed, as well as maybe some information about how much it
costs us relative to other punishments, people have been less interested in
pursuing the death penalty as an option.
"For" or "Against"
--Nationally, support for the death penalty has fallen from a high of 75 % in
1987 to 45 % in 2016.
--49 % of U.S. citizens support the death penalty
--In the US in 2014, 17 % of respondents said that the death penalty is "not
fair at all." In 2015, that number grew to 22 %, and in 2016, 31 %.
--9 % of US respondents said they were undecided in their view about capital
punishment.
[source: University of Nebraska-Lincoln]
NET NEWS: I don't have to tell you this information flies in the face of what
we saw earlier this month with Nebraskans voting to retain the death penalty.
Why the contrast?
LISA KORT-BUTLER: Yes. Absolutely. With what's happened nationally and what's
happened in Nebraska, with our own data we've seen this decline in support over
time. In Nebraska, going into the election and actually in the past few years,
we've been about evenly split when it comes to support for the death penalty.
But what our data show and what's been shown in other studies is when people
start thinking about the death penalty, they're thinking about a variety of
issues. They're thinking about what they think is happening with crime, which
may not meet what reality suggests with other data. They're thinking about
their personal feelings when it comes to crime. One thing we see consistently
in Nebraska is that people who feel angry about crime are more likely to
support the death penalty. We also see in our data that when people aren't
feeling very trusting about the government when it comes to crime, they may
lean toward solutions that seem more permanent, if you will, when it comes to
the death penalty. So what we often say about the death penalty, as a form of
punishment, is it serves as kind of emotional function for people that when
they think about dealing with crime and how to solve the problem it seems like
a solution that is permanent, that is tangible, and that fits some of those
emotional feelings people have.
NET NEWS What about the means of execution? There's the discussion now about
whether to continue following a 3 drug protocol with lethal injection. Did that
come up at all?
LISA KORT-BUTLER: We didn't ask that specific question. I think reaching back
to some of the earlier data that we've collected in Nebraska, so in '87 and
'97, when we were transitioning to lethal injection, support was much higher
when we were still using things like the electric chair. I'm not sure how much
people think about the means when it comes to execution. But again, we didn't
ask specifically. We are asking that in the future but we didn't ask it in
these past few surveys.
NET NEWS: You brought up exonerations. We've been hearing about that more in
the media with several high profile cases. Do you think those have had an
influence on public opinion?
LISA KORT-BUTLER: I think it's something that's definitely been given more
attention. People in my field have been paying more attention to that issue.
There are organizations who are actively working with folks to try to get
information to exonerate people. I think one thing we know from our own data is
when people think the death penalty is applied unfairly, they're less likely to
support it. So things like exonerations potentially speak to this sense of
unfairness when it comes to the death penalty.
NET NEWS: What do we do with this information moving forward?
LISA KORT-BUTLER: We're really interested in what kind of factors influence
peoples' decision making. One thing we've been focusing on over the past few
years is how things like media and people's consumption of the media influence
what they think and how they feel about crime. Is it the case that when we see
serious sorts of crimes - and some of them were being revisited and just kept
before the selection - do those things influence people when they walk into the
voting booth? Some of our past data suggests that's the case. In 2011, we saw
these effects of media potentially influencing how people think about the death
penalty. We're still interested in looking at those emotional states, people's
mistrust of the government, as well as factors of fairness. How are people
processing those issues? It's not clear when people say they're "unsure" on our
surveys. We do ask, "Do you want the death penalty or would you prefer life in
prison? Are you unsure?" When those folks walk into the voting booth, they have
to make a choice. They don't get to be unsure in the voting booth. We're really
interested in exploring how people who are unsure about the death penalty make
decisions when it comes to something like voting.
(source: netnebraska.org)
NEVADA:
Nevada's new death chamber will sit unused for some time
There are 81 inmates on Nevada's death row, all of them housed at the Ely State
Prison.
Their number includes several convicted of our area's most notorious murders.
Joseph Beila, who raped and murdered Brianna Dennison in 2008, Tamir Hamilton
who killed 16 year old Holly Quick in 2006, Siosi Vanisi who set a fatal trap
for UNR police officer George Sullivan in 1998 and David Middleton convicted of
the torture murders of 2 women in Reno in 1995.
For each a jury and judge imposed the ultimate penalty, but as their appeals
work their way through the courts that final measure of justice still awaits.
In fact, Nevada has not had an execution since 2006 when Daryl Mack, identified
by DNA as the killer of a woman at a Reno boarding house 18 years earlier met
his end. At the time he was charged he was serving a life sentence for the
murder of another woman.
The setting for that execution was the the old state prison in Carson City.
The old prison closed in 2012, but it's death chamber remained the state's only
execution site.
The legislature authorized a new chamber where those facing the death penalty
are housed--the maximum security prison in Ely.
A $600 thousand dollar remodel changed what had been the prison's courtroom
into it's new death house, the execution chamber itself and 3 viewing rooms.
But it's unlikely to see use anytime soon.
For one thing, no one on death row is scheduled for execution within a year and
a half.
And in any case the state now has the facility, but not the means to complete
an execution by the only method available under Nevada law--lethal injection.
In September, the state invited bids from 245 vendors for the necessary drugs.
"We got zero response," says Department of Corrections spokeswoman Brooke
Keast. "So, no drug companies are willing to provide drugs for executions. We
can't make the drugs. We can't make an execution happen at this time."
So, the future use of the new chamber is in doubt. The legislature could change
the manner of execution or it could do away with capital punishment altogether.
A bill proposing that is expected in the coming session.
The new chamber, however, could find other uses.
"Sometimes you'll have a visitor that comes in for attorney visit for
instance--and they need privacy. This is a perfect example of what we can use
that room for."
(source: KOLO news)
CALIFORNIA:
Jurors now deliberating penalty in Christopher Cheary murder trial
Jurors in the South Valley are now deliberating the fate of a man they already
convicted of murdering and raping a toddler 5 years ago.
Defense attorney Tim Rote told jurors on Tuesday that the only real question
they now face is if it's necessary to kill his client, Christopher Cheary. He
said death is never a mandatory punishment. He also told jurors they must make
an independent and moral decision about how Cheary will eventually die.
"He's a lost and flawed person but he's not beyond redemption and I think
that's the message that we're trying to portray," Rote said.
It's been 2 weeks since the same jurors found Cheary guilty of murdering,
raping, and torturing three-year-old Sophia Acosta, his girlfriend's daughter.
Since then, both sides have laid out their arguments as part of the penalty
phase of the trial.
Cheary, 25, faces life in prison without the possibility of parole, or the
death penalty. Rote said deciding on a death sentence should be hard, and
encouraged jurors to choose life instead.
He said life in prison will be a severe punishment for Cheary, who will have to
think about what he did for the rest of his life.
"He won't walk on the beach again, he won't order from a restaurant, he won't
get to choose what meal he gets," Rote said.
Rote reviewed the harsher circumstances of Cheary's life, including his
parent's divorce, an unstable upbringing, and eventually, his drug use,
including heroin-which he said changed the trajectory of Cheary's life.
"And that's not an excuse, it's not a justification for what happened," Rote
said. "But you wanted to know about his life to make the right choice because
you're punishing the person and it's not necessary to kill him."
Jurors will have to be unanimous in their decision. But for now, they
deliberate between the choices of life or death.
(source: abc30.com)
WASHINGTON:
Lawyers to fight death penalty in house party shooting case
Attorneys representing at 20-year-old man accused of fatally shooting 3 former
classmates at a house party in suburban Seattle plan to ask a judge for more
time to compile information to convince prosecutors not to seek the death
penalty.
The Daily Herald reports that Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Roe
has given the defense team until Friday to provide him with information to take
under considering as he weighs whether to pursue Allen Ivanov's execution.
Roe says he will announce his decision by mid-December.
Ivanov has been charged with 3 counts of aggravated murder and 2 counts of
attempted 1st-degree murder in connection to the July 30 shooting deaths of
Anna Bui, of Everett, Jordan Ebner, of Lake Stevens, and Jacob Long, of
Everett.
(source: Associated Press)
USA:
Judge to call more potential jurors Wednesday in death penalty trial of Dylann
Roof
A judge in the federal death penalty trial of accused Emanuel AME shooter says
he plans on bringing in more potential jurors Wednesday.
Dylann Roof is the 22-year-old Eastover man is charged with opening fire on a
group of black parishioners at Mother Emanuel AME Church in June 2015, killing
9. Authorities say the shooting was racially motivated.
Judge Richard Gergel said he is pleased with how fast jury selection is going
and said he will bring in a total of 28 potential jurors during Wednesday's
sessions. That means there will be 13 in the 1st session and 15 in the 2nd.
A total of 20 people from both jury panels Tuesday were qualified for the jury
pool. Of those, 13 are women and 7 are men. 3 of the women are non-white.
Roof was forced to be slightly more vocal than on Monday after Gergel told him
he cannot rely on his former lead attorney.
During a motion hearing Tuesday morning, Gergel told attorney David Bruck he
cannot co-council Roof since Roof made the decision, against the advice of
Gergel, to represent himself.
After the hearing, Roof took extra time to ask questions and make decisions
about whether to raise objections against prospective jurors.
The goal is to create a jury pool of 70 potential jurors from which a jury of
12 plus 6 alternates will be chosen. At the current rate, that could happen by
the end of the week.
Roof appeared again in his jail jumpsuit Tuesday morning.
Panels of potential jurors will be brought in daily as the court tries to
whittle 512 down to 70, and then to a jury of 12 with 6 alternates.
There were more than a dozen family members, including 2 survivors, in the
courtroom just feet away from Roof Monday. They were quiet and intent on the
proceedings, with 1 of them holding a bible.
(source: WCSC news)
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