Feb. 7
TEXAS:
Death penalty trial starts Monday
The death penalty trial of Michael Dwayne Bowman, 33, is set to begin in a
Troup County Superior courtroom Monday morning.
Bowman is accused of shooting and killing Griffin Police Officer Kevin Jordan,
43, while he was working an off-duty job at a Waffle House 1702 North
Expressway on June 1, 2014, police said.
Attorney's asked for a change of venue for the trial, citing concerns with the
media attention surrounding the case. The Troup County Government Center was
chosen as the site for Bowman's trial.
The Spalding County District Attorney's Office and Bownman's defense lawyer
spent weeks picking a jury comprised of Troup County citizens.
Officer Jordan was trying to break up a fight between several people who were
asked to leave the restaurant, including Bowman's girlfriend Chantell Mixon.
The off-duty officer was allegedly trying to restrain Mixon when Bowman
allegedly shot Jordan several times in the back, police officials stated.
Jordan died from his injuries. He left behind 7 children.
Bowman was indicted on 3 counts of murder, aggravated assault of a police
officer, obstruction of a police officer, aggravated assault and possession of
a firearm during the commission of a felony, according to the Spalding County
District Attorney's office.
Mixon was also charged with murder in the case. It was unclear as of press time
Sunday when or if she will stand trial.
(source: LaGrange Daily News)
FLORIDA:
Murder charge dismissed against inmate accused of killing North Naples man
Prosecutors have dismissed a murder charge against a North Florida inmate
accused of the brutal 2012 prison rape and killing of a Collier County man in
their shared cell.
Instead, the state intends to re-indict Shawn "Jiggaman" Rogers, 36, and seek
capital punishment after Florida legislators take another stab at rewriting the
state's death penalty law this spring.
Rogers is accused of raping, stabbing and beating to death Ricky Martin, 24, of
North Naples, in their Santa Rosa Correctional Institution cell in March 2012.
Bill Bishop, an assistant state attorney in Okaloosa County, said prosecutors
were worried Rogers' attorneys would file a demand for a speedy trial at a time
when there is confusion about whether or not the state's death penalty is
available as a punishment.
The State Attorney's Office in the First Judicial Circuit dismissed the charges
Jan. 9. Prosecutors intend to re-indict Rogers after the state's death penalty
is clarified by lawmakers and the Florida Supreme Court.
Rogers already is serving a life sentence with no chance at parole for armed
burglary and aggravated battery in Volusia County.
"Death is the appropriate sanction for Mr. Rogers," Bishop said. "He could have
basically just received another life sentence and would not have been punished
and held accountable for the death of Mr. Martin."
The U.S. Supreme Court struck down Florida's death penalty law in January 2016,
ruling it unconstitutional because it placed the decision of death in the hands
of a judge. During last year's legislative session, lawmakers rewrote the law
to require 10 of 12 jurors to agree on the death penalty.
But in October, the state Supreme Court declared the new law unconstitutional
because it doesn't require a unanimous decision. Death penalty cases across the
state are in flux due to the ruling.
"We have every belief the Florida Legislature is going to make those
modifications to the death penalty law,??? Bishop said of requiring a unanimous
jury decision.
Martin's father-in-law, Russell Sharbaugh, who also is the personal
representative of Martin's estate, said he understands the decision to dismiss
the charges. Sharbaugh, who lives in the Naples area, supports the death
penalty for Rogers.
"I don't think he should walk away with no punishment," Sharbaugh said.
Investigators said Rogers, who has gang ties and an extensive history of
violence behind bars, bound Martin???s hand and feet with strips of bed sheet
and then beat him within 36 hours of Martin arriving at the Santa Rosa prison.
Martin was found lying in a pool of blood with his pants and underwear down to
his knees.
Several inmates in nearby cells said the attack was racially motivated,
according to an Inspector General's Office report about the killing. Rogers
admitted to the killing in letters to relatives, Florida Department of
Corrections records show.
Martin died April 8, 2012, about a week after being removed from life support
at a Pensacola hospital.
A 2014 Miami Herald article about the killing raised questions about why
Martin, a 150-pound nonviolent offender, was placed in a cell with the
6-foot-4, 226-pound Rogers, who has a long history of attacking and beating
other inmates. Rogers has admitted to being one of the state's most violent
prisoners, according to the paper.
4 months before Martin was transferred to the Santa Rosa prison, he filed a
grievance with the Department of Corrections inspector general claiming his
life was being threatened, the Herald reported.
Martin was serving a 5-year prison sentence for breaking into a Golden Gate
home and stealing guns in August 2007. He had less than 2 years left on his
sentence at the time of his killing.
Before his final prison stint, Martin had racked up 11 arrests as a juvenile
and adult, largely for burglary, theft and probation violations in Collier
County.
Last March, Sharbaugh filed a lawsuit against several prison guards and
administrators, as well as state leaders, including Gov. Rick Scott. The
lawsuit claims prison officials failed to protect Martin and retaliated against
him for filing a grievance.
"It's been 5 years. It's been dragging on forever," Sharbaugh said. "But
honestly, I feel the guards are as much at fault as Rogers. I honestly believe
that."
(source: Naples Daily News)
****************
Bill on unanimous jury for death sentence clears 1st panel
A bill requiring a unanimous jury recommendation for a death sentence was OK'd
by a Senate panel Monday.
The legislation (SB 280) was cleared unanimously by the Senate Criminal Justice
Committee. It's sponsored by Democratic state Sen. Randolph Bracy of Ocoee, the
panel's chair.
Monday's vote comes as a staff analysis said death penalty cases in Florida
"have essentially ground to a halt."
In 2016, the Legislature passed and Gov. Rick Scott signed a bill requiring at
least 10 of the 12 members of a jury to recommend the death penalty.
But the Florida Supreme Court in October ruled 5-2 that jury recommendations
must be unanimous for capital punishment to be imposed.
Significantly, the court said the law can't be applied to pending prosecutions.
The U.S. Supreme Court, in the Hurst v. Florida case, had previously ruled that
the Constitution "requires a jury, not a judge, to find each fact necessary to
impose a sentence of death," according to a legislative staff analysis.
"We're going to be back here next year talking about these aggravating
factors," said state Sen. Jeff Clemens, a Lake Worth Democrat. "That said, at
least we're fixing the thing we need to fix the most."
As of Jan. 15, "state attorneys reported a total of 313 pending death penalty
cases of which 66 were ready for trial," the analysis said.
"Because there is currently no constitutional sentencing procedure in place due
to the lack of jury unanimity in a final recommendation for death, cases in
which the state is seeking the death penalty have essentially ground to a
halt."
The Senate bill must next clear the Rules Committee before it can be taken up
on the floor. A similar bill filed in the House (HB 527) has not yet had a
hearing in committee. The 2017 Legislative Session begins March 7.
(source: stpetersblog.com)
OHIO:
Ohio Supreme Court hearing appeal in Howland murder case
The Ohio Supreme Court will hear the appeal of a woman sentenced to death for
her part in the 2001 murder of her husband in Trumbull County.
Today's hearing before the justices is for Donna Roberts, who along with her
lover Nathaniel Jackson, were convicted of killing Robert Fingerhut in Howland
Township.
Both were sentenced to death.
Authorities say Roberts and Jackson plotted to kill Fingerhut so she could
collect more than $500,000 in life insurance proceeds.
This is the 3rd time Roberts has appealed her death sentence to the Ohio
Supreme Court.
The court returned Roberts' case to the trial court for a 2nd time in 2013 for
resentencing. The Court concluded that the trial court hadn't considered
potentially mitigating information Roberts gave at her 1st resentencing
hearing.
The court ordered the trial court to consider the entire record when deciding
again whether the aggravating circumstances outweighed the mitigating factors
beyond a reasonable doubt.
A new judge conducted the resentencing because the judge who originally heard
Roberts' case had died.
The new judge determined that death was the appropriate penalty in the case.
In her appeal, Roberts maintains that the new judge couldn't properly consider
all the evidence in the case because he wasn't present for any of her trial and
didn't hear her statement firsthand. She asks the court to impose a life
sentence.
Jackson's death sentence is set to be carried out on July 15, 2020. The Ohio
Supreme Court has already refused to reconsider its earlier decision to uphold
Jackson's sentence.
Jackson is the only woman on Ohio's death row.
(source: WFMJ news)
**********************
September trial scheduled in Delphos death penalty case
A man facing the death penalty in the killing of a 15-month-old boy was given a
Sept. 18 trial date Monday.
Christopher M. Peters, 26, has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder, murder,
felonious assault, and endangering children in the death of 15-month-old Hayden
Ridinger. The child was found dead inside an apartment Nov. 15 at 24249 Lincoln
Highway.
Judge Martin Burchfield of Van Wert County Common Pleas Court also scheduled
pretrials at 10 a.m. on the following dates: March 6, April 3, May 8, June 5,
July 17, Aug. 7, Aug. 14 for a motion hearing, and Aug. 24 and Sept. 8 to
consider jury excuses.
Burchfield also granted a defense motion to allow Peters to appear in front of
the jury without handcuffs or other restraints. The trial is scheduled for 2
1/2 weeks.
Peters was being held in lieu of $2 million bail.
Few details have been released about the child's death. The child???s mother
found him unresponsive and called 911. Another woman got on the phone call and
asked for police officers at the scene saying it was clear the child was dead.
The mother said she last checked on her son the day before when he was sick and
not eating.
(source: limaohio.com)
KENTUCKY:
Capital punishment must die
In 1997, Larry Osborne was 17 years old. At that age, most kids would be
obsessed about their SAT scores or lining up a date for the senior prom. Mr.
Osborne, on the other hand, was standing trial for his very life, accused of
breaking into the Whitley County home of 82-year-old Sam Davenport and
murdering him and his 76-year-old wife, Lillian. Despite the absence of any
physical evidence linking him to the crime scene, Mr. Osborne was nevertheless
convicted and sentenced to death based solely on the recorded grand jury
testimony of an alleged witness who drowned before the trial. Kentucky's
Supreme Court unanimously overturned the conviction, necessitating a new trial.
At the conclusion of the do-over, Mr. Osborne was acquitted of all charges and
released immediately. That it "only" took 6 years to go from being the youngest
man to ever sit on Kentucky's death row to a free man is a testament to the
skill and tenacity of Mr. Osborne's legal defense team led by the peerless Gail
Robinson (R.I.P.).
To ensure that no such innocent person is ever put to death in the future, or
any guilty one for that matter, will be the responsibility of another team,
this one comprised of state legislators like Joe Fischer, Jason Nemes, Darryl
Owens, Jeff Hoover, Gerald Neal, Julie Raque Adams, Robert Stivers, and Whitney
Westerfield. Some of these lawmakers support abolishing capital punishment in
Kentucky. Others chair committees that would consider such a measure or hold
leadership positions that would decide if an abolition bill merits a floor vote
in the House and Senate.
Kentucky is, by acclimation, a pro-life state --- perhaps the most pro-life
state in the union. The accolade is well-deserved. Just last month, the General
Assembly passed SB 5, a measure that prohibits the killing of unborn babies
after 20 weeks of gestation, a frontal assault on Roe v. Wade that, 44 years
ago, legalized abortion-on-demand in America. The bill received a lopsided
79-15 approval in the House (17-14 among House Democrats that voted, including
their floor leader and whip) and 30-6 in the Senate.
Although I do not equate the innocent lives of the unborn with those of
convicted killers who are at least accorded the full measure of due process of
law while pre-born infants, under Roe, enjoy no such legal protection, the
moral principles at stake in each discussion are the same: if a society that
calls itself civilized has any legitimate claim to that status and believes
sincerely in the sanctity of all human life as unique and precious in the eyes
of God, it simply cannot also enforce and carry out the executions of human
beings for crimes committed. Being pro-life and pro-death penalty is a
contradiction in terms.
Candor requires that I inform the reader that I am a paid lobbyist for the
Kentucky Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. But taxpayers were the only
people paying me anything for opposing capital punishment from 1980-2002 when I
was a state legislator and introduced bills to repeal this barbaric practice.
Opposition to the death penalty does not equate to sympathy for convicted
murderers. I've never participated in a candlelight vigil or shed any tears for
the criminals sitting on death row. The truly guilty are where they deserve to
be, at least in theory, never to be free again. No, the vigils and the tears
belong exclusively to the victims and their grief-stricken families. But does
killing the killers really honor the memories of those victims? What kind of
example does that teach our children - that our reaction to the most pernicious
act carried out by one human being upon another (the act of taking a life) is
to take that person's life? The more heinous the murderers --- think Timothy
McVeigh or Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev --- the deeper our resolve
should be that we must never descend to their level.
There are lots of other compelling reasons to oppose the death penalty, but
those reasons pale to insignificance beside the single fundamental ideal that
we cherish in this Judeo-Christian nation --- that all human life is sacred. In
the fevered debate about the "life" issues: abortion, euthanasia ("assisted
suicide"), and the death penalty, it's all cut from that same bolt of cloth,
the "seamless garment" as the late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin called it.
It will take courage for our elected women and men to pass this final measure
to drive the point home, convincingly and completely, that Kentucky is indeed
the most pro-life state in America. But this issue transcends the fleeting
political careers of we mere mortals. As William Jennings Bryan said in his
famous "Cross of Gold" speech: "The individual is but an atom; he is born, he
acts, he dies, but principles are eternal."
(source: Opinion; Bob Heleringer is a Louisville attorney who served in
Kentucky's House from the 33rd District from 1980 to 2002----Courier-Journal)
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