Dec. 2
TEXAS:
Texas Defends Mental Standards in SCOTUS Death Penalty Case
Another Texas death penalty case was argued at the United States Supreme Court
this week. The 2 questions presented was whether executing someone 35 years
after the imposition of a death sentence, and allegedly using outdated medical
standards to determine intellectual disability, is cruel and unusual punishment
prohibited by the U.S. Constitution. The Eighth Amendment prohibits executing
those who are intellectually disabled.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Texas Solicitor General Scott A. Keller
were in Washington, D.C. with Keller arguing the case on behalf of the State of
Texas. The transcript of the oral argument is attached below.
Marc Rylander, spokesman for the Office of the Texas Attorney General told
Breitbart Texas after the oral argument, "Texas' standard for intellectual
disability is constitutional and fits well within the national consensus among
states about how to define intellectual disability."
The petition for writ of certiorari asking the Supreme Court to hear the case
of Bobby James Moore v. Texas (#15-797) was filed on December 15, 2015.
Moore was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death in 1980 for
shooting a 70-year-old grocery store clerk in Houston while he was committing
or attempting to commit robbery.
The majority of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals noted in its opinion that
the Supreme Court has determined that the execution of the intellectually
disabled violates the Eighth Amendment "but left it to the States to develop
appropriate ways to enforce the constitutional restriction."
Judge Elsa Alcala filed a dissenting opinion at the time stating, "it is time
for Texas to reevaluate the decade old, judicially created standard in Ex parte
Briseno in light of a shift in the consensus of the medical community regarding
what constitutes intellectual disability, and in light of the Supreme Court's
recent holding in Hall v. Florida indicating that courts are required to
consider that consensus in assessing intellectual-disability claims."
As stated in the majority's opinion of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals,
Briseno adopted the definition of intellectual disability stated in the 9th
edition of the AAMR manual published in 1992, and the "similar definition" of
intellectual disability contained in the Texas Health and Safety Code.
Washington D.C. lawyer Clifford M. Sloan, arguing on behalf of the Petitioner,
told the Court during oral argument that "Texas has adopted a unique approach
to intellectual disability in capital cases in which it prohibits the use of
current medical standards. It relies on harmful and inappropriate lay
stereotypes." He urged "that the entire category of the intellectually
disabled, every person who is intellectually disabled, is exempt from execution
under the Eighth Amendment."
Sloan argued that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the highest criminal
appellate court in Texas, used a standard established in 1992 and prohibited
the use of current medical standards. He told the Court that the Texas Court of
Criminal Appeals "said that the State habeas trial court erred by employing the
current standards."
Saying she wanted to "cut to the chase," Justice Sotomayor asked Mr. Sloan:
"Was the criminal court of appeals using any clinical standard, any medical
clinical standard?" He told her no.
Justice Sotomayor said later during Petitioner's presentation that the CCA had
found that Mr. Moore did not meet 2 prongs - he could not prove that he was
clinically intellectually disabled, and that his IQ was higher than what was
generally recognized clinically. Sloan maintained that both prongs were in
"very sharp conflict" with clinical guidance generally, and "especially with
current clinical standards."
Justice Ginsberg fired off and her statement is a strong indication about what
she might be thinking about the issue. She said, "There is no doubt about what
the Texas court said. It's marching orders for Texas courts. It said the habeas
judge erred by employing current clinical definition of intellectually
disabled, there in that respect, rather than the test we established in
Briseno. The test we established in Briseno is - is stated sharply and clearly
as the test that must be applied by Texas courts."
Mr. Keller urged that Petitioner argued in their reply brief that there is no
material difference between the language in Texas' standard and the current
clinical frameworks, and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals applied the
factors in the Briseno case which are in the Texas Court's precedents.
Part of the discourse between the Texas Solicitor General and individual
justices on the Court was whether Texans would agree that the Petitioner should
be exempt from the death chamber, and whether you try to get standards to
reflect that, or rather, you look at the consensus of psychiatrists and
psychologists. There was also a concern on whether looking at citizen standards
"would produce nonuniformity among 50 states or among the many states that have
the death penalty."
The case has garnered the attention of mental health and other organizations.
Amici curiae briefs have been filed by the: Constitutional Accountability
Center; The Constitution Project; National Religious Campaign Against Torture;
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU); American Academy of Psychiatry and the
Law; American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities;
International Organizations Interested in Medical Expertise, Psychiatry, and
Criminal Justice; International Law and Human Rights Institutes, Societies,
Practitioners and Scholars; the American Psychological Association and the
Criminal Justice Legal Foundation; and the American Bar Association.
(source: Lana Shadwick is a contributing writer and legal analyst for Breitbart
Texas. She has served as a prosecutor and associate judge in
Texas----breitbart.com)
NEW JERSEY:
Oroho co-sponsors measure to bring back death penalty
Senator Steve Oroho and Senator Jeff Van Drew introduced legislation that would
reinstate the death penalty in New Jersey for the most heinous acts of murder.
The bill specifically references 5 acts that law enforcement and juries can
consider the death penalty as an appropriate punishment: (1) the death of a law
enforcement or corrections officer while on official duty; (2) the murder of a
juvenile under the age of 18 during the commission of a sex crime; (3) death by
an act of terrorism; (4) the perpetrator had been convicted of a murder
previously; and (5) serial killers.
"These murderous acts are some of the most heinous crimes against humanity that
society confronts," said Senator Oroho. "Victims' families and the general
public should know that such malicious, depraved behavior can be punishable to
the same severity with which the criminals perpetrated their vile acts."
The death penalty statute was repealed in the state in 2007 under Governor Jon
Corzine and replaced with life without parole.
"More recently, we witnessed a maniacal serial bomber with direct New Jersey
ties attempt to inflict great harm on the public," Oroho said. "Such contempt
for human life as exhibited by these radical terrorists should be met with the
most severe punishment that could be allowable under the law - that is to pay
for it with their own life."
The individual in question, Ahmad Khan Rahami, is an Elizabeth resident who is
a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Afghanistan. Rahami attempted to inflict
mass casualties when he placed a pipe bomb in a trash can which was set to go
off during a running race in Seaside Park to benefit a Marine Corps charity.
Thankfully the race was delayed and the bomb detonated with no individuals in
the immediate vicinity at the time. However, Rahami did place another bomb in
Manhattan that injured 30 people and attempted another bomb detonation in
Elizabeth.
"Only the grace of God prevented a Boston-style tragedy from happening in New
Jersey," said Oroho. "A militant jihadist who says he gains inspiration from
Osama bin Laden and radical terrorists very nearly caused mass murder."
(source: The Advertiser News)
NORTH CAROLINA:
Carrboro joins list of cities against the death penalty
Carrboro Mayor Lydia Lavelle issued a proclamation on Nov. 30 declaring that
the Town of Carrboro is part of "Cities for Life - Cities against the Death
Penalty" to raise awareness about the movement to abolish the death penalty in
the United States.
The 1st "Cities for Life - Cities against the Death Penalty" day was launched
in 2002 by the community of Sant'Egidio in Rome, Italy. This community reached
out to Lavelle last year, and she said she wanted to become a part of it as
soon as possible.
"They asked me if our town would participate in recognizing the date and
bringing awareness to it," she said. "I did a little research and realized that
it was something I thought our board would not mind me putting a proclamation
out about."
The day of awareness has grown from 80 cities in 2002 to more than 2,000 in
2015 in more than 90 countries. Some of these cities that recognize "Cities for
Life - Cities against the Death Penalty" day include Buenos Aires, Hong Kong,
London and Boston.
The date coincides with the anniversary of the 1st death penalty abolition in
history in Tuscany in 1786.
"They decide to purposefully recognize this date to bring awareness to the way
the death penalty is still implemented in many countries and just try to bring
about awareness that not just as a nation, but as a world ... we ought to be
looking toward a civilization that abolishes the death penalty," Lavelle said.
The Rev. Jimmie Hawkins of Covenant Presbyterian Church is on the Board of
Directors for Durham-based advocacy group People of Faith Against the Death
Penalty. He said capital punishment does not statistically reduce crime and he
views it as immoral.
"It just doesn't make sense that we teach society that killing people is wrong
by killing people," Hawkins said.
Hawkins said he took a stand before the Durham City Council a few years ago
during their vote to advocate for the abolition of the death penalty.
"I think that we need to, 1, get in line with public opinion," Hawkins said.
"The support for the death penalty is decreasing year by year - I think it's at
an all time low right now."
Maciej Krzysztoforski, a Chapel Hill resident, said he doesn't believe the
state has the right to kill people, and he stands with Carrboro in opposing the
death penalty.
"This comes about in tragic situations, and I feel for the families," he said.
"But it's better for everyone if the cycle of killing ends."
Kate Thompson, a Carrboro resident, also supports the statement made by Lavelle
against the death penalty.
"I think it's important to show support, even if the death penalty is not
necessarily relevant in Carrboro," Thompson said.
Even if it is something that the community isn't constantly aware of or
interacting with, Lavelle said making the community's voice heard is crucial.
She said ultimately she hopes North Carolina abolishes the death penalty.
"It helps us, as a community, to reflect at least once a year on the injustice
of the death penalty," Lavelle said. "It might cause other communities or
advocacy groups or even governing agencies to speak out similarly."
(source: dailytarheel.com)
FLORIDA:
County death penalty cases in limbo with a number of murder cases still pending
Of the 2 death penalty cases currently on the books in St. Johns County, one is
ready for trial and another should be close to ready by the end of January,
lawyers said in court Thursday.
With the state's death penalty in limbo though, it remains unclear just when
those cases will see a jury.
The most recent is the state's case against James Terry Colley Jr., who was
indicted in September 2015 on 2 counts of 1st-degree murder in the August 2015
shooting deaths of his estranged wife, 36-year-old Amanda Cloaninger Colley,
and her friend, Lindy Mosler Dobbins, 39, in a MuraBella home. He is also
facing 2 counts of attempted 1st-degree murder with a firearm, burglary with
assault or battery, armed burglary and aggravated stalking after injunction.
2 of Colley's attorneys, Terry Shoemaker and Garry Wood, appeared before Judge
Michael Traynor on Thursday morning for a pretrial hearing to discuss their
preparations and possible scheduling for a trial. Shoemaker requested one
additional hearing for Jan. 31 and said he thought his side would be ready for
trial after that.
Traynor, who is expected to move to civil court when Judge Howard Maltz begins
handling felony cases after Jan. 1, agreed, but pointed out that a number of
murder cases are headed for trial soon. That means a good deal of coordination
between judges and attorneys will have to take place.
"Probably given the nature of this case, plus some of the other cases we have,
I am going to have to rearrange some of my civil docket as well so we can
handle these cases," Traynor said.
In order to get all of the cases properly scheduled, Traynor told Shoemaker
that he would need to be very specific at the January hearing as to what else
needed to be done to be ready for trial.
There are at least 4 other 1st-degree murder cases that could be headed for
trial in coming months. One of those, the state's case against Sergio
Morgan-Wideman in the shooting death of 29-year-old Malav Desai at a Masters
Drive convenience store, could start before the end of December depending on
the outcome of a pretrial hearing scheduled for today.
Another is the 5-year-old death penalty case against Sean Alonzo Bush, who is
accused of killing his estranged wife, 35-year-old Nicole Bush. She was found
suffering from multiple gunshot and stab wounds in May 2011 in her Fruit Cove
home and later died at the hospital.
"Bush is basically ready?" Traynor asked Assistant State Attorney Jennifer
Dunton on Thursday while discussing Colley's case.
Dunton said that it is, but Traynor acknowledged it is still hung up because
the state Legislature has not acted in the wake of recent court decisions
regarding the death penalty in the state.
A January decision from the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Florida's death
penalty sentencing system. The court ruled then that the system was flawed
because the ultimate decision between death or life in prison was made by a
judge and not a jury.
Under that system, juries deliberated during the sentencing portion of the
trial and submitted a recommendation to the judge. That recommendation only
required a majority of jurors to support a death sentence and the judge was not
bound by the recommendation.
The Legislature responded in March by passing a bill that, among other things,
changed the requirement from a simple majority to a 10-juror vote.
Then, in October, the Florida Supreme Court, in 2 rulings, said that sentencing
from jurors had to be unanimous, but the Legislature has not yet passed a new
law in response.
Bush's case is currently scheduled for a hearing on Jan. 9 and another on Jan
31.
(source: staugustine.com)
******************
Florida Cop Killer's Death Sentence Overturned for 3rd Time
A man who has been sentenced to death three times for drug-addled rampage that
left a Polk County deputy and 2 others dead will once again get a chance to be
spared execution after a Florida Supreme Court ruling Thursday.
2 governors have signed death warrants for Paul Beasley Johnson - Bob Graham in
1986 and Charlie Crist in 2009 - for the January 1981 murders. The 1st time the
Supreme Court ordered a new trial, the 2nd time it ordered a new sentencing
hearing. A judge in 2014 gave Johnson 3 deaths sentences after 11-1 jury
recommendations.
But the Supreme Court ordered another sentencing hearing, citing 2 U.S. Supreme
Court rulings requiring juries, not judges, to impose sentences. That includes
a decision that led the state high court to rule in October that jury decisions
have to be unanimous.
Thursday's ruling was frustrating to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, who
convinced Crist to sign Johnson's death warrant.
"When he was convicted originally, then he should have been put to death after
his appeals. And as time has gone on, the rules have changed," said Judd. "They
are making us comply with 2016 rules in a murder that happened in 1981. It is
just one more frustration in our effort to see that justice prevails."
Johnson was using crystal meth when he told friends he was going to find more
drugs, even if he had to shoot someone, according to court records. The 1st
victim was cab driver William Evans, who Johnson robbed and shot twice in the
face. The next was Darrell Ray Beasley. Johnson told Beasley his car broke down
and asked for a ride. Johnson shot Beasley in the head and took his wallet.
As police were searching for Johnson, Deputy Theron Burnham radioed that he
believed he spotted the suspect in the shootings. By the time other deputies
arrived, they found Burnham's body in a ditch. He had been shot 3 times and his
gun was missing. The responding deputies then found Johnson and exchanged
gunfire before arresting him.
The Supreme Court did uphold Johnson's convictions in the now nearly
36-year-old murders and chose to order a new sentencing hearing rather than
impose the only other possible sentence: life without parole.
Judd said that by the time a new hearing is conducted, there's a good chance
Johnson, 67, will end up dying in prison even if a jury unanimously votes for
the death penalty.
"He will more than likely die of old age on death row before he is executed.
Even with a 12-0 jury recommendation, then all the processes start all over
again," Judd said. "We have a judicial system that doesn't think there should
be death penalties, so they make it just absolutely difficult, almost
impossible."
(source: Associated Press)
****************
Death penalty sought in double homicide
The state will seek the death penalty in a 26-year-old double homicide that
included a child victim.
On Monday, the State Attorney's Office for the 20th Judicial Circuit filed a
notice of intent to seek the death penalty in the case against Joseph Adam
Zieler, 54, of 314 Byron Ave., North Fort Myers.
"If a case is deemed to be something that should be looked at for the death
penalty, we have a death penalty review committee," Samantha Syoen, spokeswoman
for the State Attorney's Office, said.
She noted that the committee is made up of experienced and qualified attorneys.
"They meet and discuss the facts of the case," Syoen said.
The committee's findings are passed along to State Attorney Stephen B. Russell.
"He makes the final decision on if we are going to file a notice," she said.
Assistant State Attorney Robert E. Lee is handling the case.
Chief Assistant Public Defender Kathleen Fitzgeorge will represent Zieler.
Fitzgeorge did not immediately return a message on Thursday seeking comment.
According to the notice, the state intends to prove the following aggravating
factors - which it believes it can do beyond a reasonable doubt - as grounds
for the imposition of the death penalty:
-- Zieler was previously convicted of a felony involving the use or threat of
violence to the person.
-- The capital felony was committed while Zieler was engaged in the commission
of sexual battery and burglary.
-- The capital felony was especially heinous, atrocious or cruel.
-- The capital felony was a homicide and was committed in a cold, calculated
and premeditated manner, without any pretense of moral or legal justification.
-- The victim of the capital felony was a person less than 12 years of age.
On Nov. 3, a Lee County grand jury indicted Zieler on 2 counts of 1st-degree
murder in the 1990 murder and rape of Robin Cornell, 11, and Lisa Story, 32, at
their apartment, at 631 S.E. 12th Ave.
In addition, the state filed charges for 1 count of sexual battery on a child
less than 12 years of age, sexual battery with a deadly weapon or great force
and 1st-degree burglary with assault or battery.
Zieler is currently being held at the Lee County Jail on no bond.
He has court appearances set for Dec. 12 and Dec. 20.
On May 10, 1990, the bodies of Robin and Story were found in their Courtyards
apartment by Robin's mother, Jan Cornell. Both of the victims had been
suffocated and sexually assaulted, police reported.
The night before, Cornell's new roommate, Story, had agreed to watch Robin
while she visited her boyfriend. When Cornell returned home the next morning,
she heard footsteps inside the apartment.
Upon entering, Cornell found an ironing board open with pictures of her
daughter laid out.
According to police, Cornell ran upstairs and discovered Story's lifeless body
in her bed. Cornell then ran to Robin's room, where she found her daughter's
naked body lying on the floor of the bedroom.
Detectives were able to collect and save a sample of DNA from the crime scene.
According to records, Zieler was arrested in Lee County 2 months after the
murders for battery and battery on a law enforcement officer firefighter, but
the charges were dropped. He was found guilty of carrying a concealed firearm,
dealing trafficking in stolen property and resisting officer with violence.
Zieler's only arrest after that was for possession of marijuana; no charges
were filed.
On Aug. 27, however, the Lee County Sheriff's Office responded to Lee Memorial
Hospital for a shooting victim, identified as Zachary Zieler, 25. He had
sustained a gunshot or a pellet gun wound.
An investigation revealed that Zachary Zieler and his father, Zieler, became
engaged in a physical altercation and Zieler armed himself with a pellet gun.
At one point, he aimed it at his son and and fired the weapon. Zachary's
girlfriend drove him to the hospital when he said he was not able to breathe.
Zieler was arrested and charged with aggravated battery person uses a deadly
weapon.
Per Florida law, anyone arrested for a felony has their DNA taken and compared
to CODIS. Cape police officials reported that Zieler's DNA matched up to the
1990 sample still in the database.
On Sept. 28, the Cape police arrested and charged Zieler in the double
homicide.
In a separate case, the State Attorney's Office filed 1 count of aggravated
battery with a deadly weapon or causing harm against Zieler for allegedly
shooting his son. His next court date is Dec. 20.
(source: Cape Coral Daily Breeze)
*******************
Court orders disability hearing for death row inmate
A divided Florida Supreme Court on Thursday ordered a lower court to hold a
hearing about whether a death row inmate has an intellectual disability that
would prevent him from being executed.
Justices, in a 5-2 decision, ordered the hearing for Roger Lee Cherry, 65, who
was convicted in the 1986 murders of an elderly couple, Leonard and Esther
Wayne, in their DeLand home.
The decision was an outgrowth of a 2014 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that rejected
Florida's use of a strict IQ score of 70 in determining whether Death Row
inmates were intellectually disabled.
In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court found that executing people who are
intellectually disabled, or in the common terminology at the time, mentally
retarded, violates the Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
Thursday's ruling by the Florida Supreme Court pointed to 2005 expert testimony
that indicated Cherry had an IQ of 72 and also met other criteria for being
considered intellectually disabled.
The court's majority, made up of Chief Justice Jorge Labarga and justices
Barbara Pariente, R. Fred Lewis, Peggy Quince and James E.C. Perry, wrote that
a circuit judge should hold an evidentiary hearing in Cherry's case and take
into account the 2014 U.S. Supreme Court decision.
"Justice demands that Roger Lee Cherry have an opportunity to establish that he
is intellectually disabled under the standards established by the United States
Supreme Court under the Eighth Amendment, which prohibits the execution of
those who are, in fact, intellectually disabled," Pariente wrote in a
concurring opinion. "More than fundamental fairness, the risk of executing a
person who is not constitutionally eligible for the death penalty surpasses any
other considerations that this (Supreme) Court looks to in attempting to ensure
the even-handed administration of the death penalty."
Justices Charles Canady and Ricky Polston dissented, with Canady writing that
he did not think the 2014 U.S. Supreme Court decision should be given
"retroactive effect" to such older cases.
(source; news4jax.com)
ALABAMA----impending execution
Alabama death row inmate asks governor for clemency
An Alabama inmate scheduled to be executed next week is asking the governor to
stop his execution because a judge imposed a death sentence over the jury's
recommendation of life imprisonment.
Attorneys for Ronald Bert Smith wrote in a letter to Gov. Robert Bentley that
the judge overrode the jury's will to impose the death penalty, and Alabama is
unique in allowing that to happen. The letter was released Thursday.
Smith is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection Dec. 8 for the 1994
slaying of Huntsville convenience store clerk Casey Wilson during a robbery. A
jury recommended life imprisonment by a 7-5 vote, but a judge sentenced Smith
to the death penalty.
"31 states and the federal government allow the death penalty, but today,
Alabama is the only one that empowers judges to override jury verdicts for
life," Smith's attorneys said in a statement released Thursday.
The governor's press office declined to comment on the clemency request.
Smith's attorneys are pointing to a U.S. Supreme Court decision from January
that struck down Florida's death penalty sentencing structure because it gave
too much power to judges to impose death sentences. The Alabama attorney
general's office has argued that there are enough differences with Alabama's
law to make it constitutional.
The Alabama Supreme Court last week ruled the execution should proceed. Smith
plans to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
(source: Associated Press)
****************
Saraya Atkins scheduled to learn her sentence Thursday
In Sept., the jury recommended Saraya Atkins receive the death penalty for
killing 66-year-old Richard Perry in 2014 during the course of a robbery.
Atkins and another woman robbed Perry by following him after he left a Walmart
with more than $1,000.
During that robbery there was a struggle and Atkins fired at Perry. 3 shots
were fired and he died.
The defense argues the prosecution did not prove that Atkins intended to kill
Perry, a necessary component of capital murder.
The judge was supposed to sentence her about a month ago but he took additional
time to review literature and decide if the case warranted capital punishment.
He told the courtroom that he was surprised the jury found enough evidence to
believe there was intent.
District Attorney Ashley Rich was shocked at that turn of events, saying it was
not fair to the victim's family to prolong the sentencing.
(source: WKRG news)
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