Dec. 7
TEXAS:
Former Texas Nurse to Be Arraigned in Deaths of 5 Children
An imprisoned former nurse who prosecutors believe could be responsible for the
deaths of up to 60 Texas children is set to be arraigned on murder charges in
the deaths of 5 children in the early 1980s.
Genene Jones, who is 67, will be arraigned Thursday in San Antonio. The Bexar
County district attorney's office has announced the 5 indictments over the last
year.
Jones is serving concurrent 99-year and 60-year sentences in state prison for
the killing of a 15-month-old and the sickening of 4-week-old. She was
scheduled to be freed from prison in March under a mandatory release law in
place when she was convicted.
Bexar County District Attorney Nico LaHood said Wednesday he'll try each new
case separately. Jones faces up to life in prison on each charge.
"This is an enormous step in the right direction to secure justice for these
slain children, their families and our community as a whole," said LaHood, who
said the investigation continues into other cases.
During Jones' time working at a San Antonio hospital and a clinic in Kerrville,
northwest of San Antonio, children died of unexplained seizures and other
complications. LaHood said they'll first try the case of 11-month-old Joshua
Sawyer, who investigators say died in 1981 of a fatal overdose of an
anti-seizure drug.
LaHood said Jones was indicted in the cases this year for murder instead of
capital murder - which could include the death penalty - because they were
"grandfathered into the law at the time."
LaHood said prosecutors are open to the possibility of a plea bargain but would
not comment on what terms would need to be met in order for prosecutors to
agree to that.
"Our goal, my goal is that she takes her last breath from behind bars and she
meets the Lord from behind bars," LaHood said.
Jones' attorney did not immediately return a call Wednesday for comment.
Prosecutors at Jones' 1984 murder trial said the nurse lethally injected
children at the Kerrville clinic to demonstrate the need for a pediatric
intensive care unit at a nearby hospital. Other prosecutors theorized that her
tactic was to take swift medical action and save some of her victims so she
could appear to be a sort of miracle worker.
LaHood said Wednesday that current prosecutors "don't really know" her
motivation. "To me, evil is evil is evil," he said, "All I know is these
children were stolen from family."
(source: Associated Press)
***************************
Kountze man accused of murdering toddler headed for trial
A Kountze man charged with capital murder in a 4-year-old girl's 2011 killing
will go to trial early next year and could face the death penalty if convicted,
Hardin County's District Attorney said.
David Sheffield said jury selection in 40-year-old Jason Wade Delacerda's
capital murder trial is scheduled to begin on Jan. 9.
Sheffield is seeking the death penalty for Delacerda, who was indicted in 2011
along with his then-girlfriend Amanda Nichole Guidry, 36, in connection with
her daughter's death.
Breonna Nichole Loftin, 4, died at a Beaumont hospital on Aug. 17, 2011.
According to previous Enterprise reporting, Breonna's cause of death was blunt
force trauma.
Hospital staff told Hardin County investigators the girl had burn marks,
bruises and signs of sexual abuse, a sheriff's investigator wrote in a 2011
arrest affidavit for Guidry and Delacerda.
According to that affidavit, witnesses told authorities that Breonna was forced
to stand barefoot on water bottle caps as a punishment after she had been
kicked and spanked.
Guidry, the girl's mother, was released from jail in December 2014 on a reduced
$250,000 bond. Her original bond was set at $1.5 million.
Sheffield said he plans to prosecute Guidry next year but is not seeking the
death penalty. She faces life in prison if convicted.
Delacerda remains in the Hardin County jail and has been denied bond.
Delacerda's case, the county's oldest capital murder case, has been scheduled
for trial several times since his 2011 indictment, but delays have led to
multiple postponements, Sheffield said. Most recently, Tropical Storm Harvey
prevented an October trial date.
"When the death penalty is being sought, we do everything to ensure that it is
ready to be prosecuted," Sheffield said, addressing the trial delays. "We're
intent on getting the most justice possible."
Ryan Gertz, one of Delacerda's attorneys, said the defense is ready for the
trial to proceed.
He described the trial as a "who done it," saying a jury will have to decide
which defendant - his client or Guidry - is responsible for Breonna's death.
"This trial is asks how did the child die?" said Gertz, whose co-counsel for
the trial is James Makin. "Not how were they treated before they died but how
did they die ... I expect there will be some name calling and finger pointing."
Gertz estimated jury selection could take up to 4 weeks. He suspects the actual
trial will take 2 weeks.
"The logistics in this case are both exceedingly complicated and relatively
straight forward," Gertz said.
Hardin County has 3 pending capital murder cases - Delacerda, Guidry and
another - that Sheffield said he believes will be settled in 2018.
The other case is against Donny Dominique Ratcliff, who was arrested in
February of 2015 in connection with the death of his 9-month-old son,
Donatello. An autopsy showed that the boy's cause of death was asphyxia,
possibly manual strangulation or smothering.
(source: Beaumont Enterprise)
NORTH CAROLINA:
Prosecutors want the death penalty for prison inmates accused of killing
officers
The 4 prisoners accused of carrying out the deadliest prison escape attempt in
North Carolina history could now face the death penalty.
Prosecutors in Pasquotank County announced Wednesday they will ask for the men
to be executed, according to reports from TV stations WAVY and WTKR.
Inmates Wisezah Buckman, Mikel Brady, Seth Frazier and Jonathan Monk have been
charged with 1st degree murder as well as other crimes related to their failed
escape attempt in October.
The men were working in a sewing plant at Pasquotank Correctional Institute
when they attacked the only guard on duty, Justin Smith, as well as the plant
manager, Veronica Darden, officials have said.
Smith and Darden died that day, and 2 other corrections officers, Wendy Shannon
and Geoffrey Howe, died later from injuries they sustained during the chaos.
Funeral services for Veronica Darden, 1 of 4 corrections employees killed in a
failed prison escape, were Oct. 21, 2017. Hundreds of law enforcement officials
from across North Carolina and the region attended.
The four inmates stand accused of attacking officers with tools like hammers
and scissors, setting a fire at the prison as a distraction, and finally
fighting hand-to-hand with guards who caught up with them as they tried to get
out.
One of the accused, Buckman, wrote a letter to the Charlotte Observer in which
he admitted to trying to escape but nothing more. He said one of the other
inmates told him about their plan at the last minute and he joined in because
"all I want to do is see my children and tell them I love them." Buckman called
the officers "innocent people."
The local district attorney said the state wants the 4 men executed because
they attacked law enforcement officers, WAVY reported.
Corrections officers in North Carolina don't have to be law enforcement
officers - a fact that has raised the ire of the State Employees Association of
North Carolina. The lobbying group wants prison workers to get that
classification so they can receive better benefits. SEANC had been pushing for
the change before the Pasquotank attacks but has ramped up its pressure on
lawmakers since then.
It's unclear what might befall the inmates if they are convicted and sentenced
to death.
While the death penalty does still technically exist in North Carolina, the
state has not executed anyone since 2006. Since then, at least 7 men who had
been convicted of murder have had their convictions thrown out and were freed
from prison. 5 of them had been sentenced to death.
There are still 143 people on death row, including 140 men and 3 women.
(source: charlotteobserver.com)
****************
Prosecutors seek death penalty for inmates accused of killing Pasquotank
Correctional Institution employees
Prosecutors in North Carolina told a judge Wednesday that they intend to seek
the death penalty for 4 inmates involved in a deadly attempted prison escape in
Pasquotank County.
Authorities have charged 28-year-old Mikel Brady, 29-year-old Wisezah Buckman,
33-year-old Seth J. Frazier, and 30-year-old Jonathan M. Monk with 2 counts
each of 1st Degree Murder for the deaths of Correctional Officer Justin Smith
and Correctional Enterprise Manager Veronica Darden.
They're also facing charges of felony riot and burning a public building.
The incident occurred Thursday, October 12 around 3 p.m. when officials say
inmates started a fire around 3 p.m. in the facility's Specialty Sewing Plant,
where about 30 inmates work producing embroidered logo items, safety vests and
other sewn items. After the fire was set, several inmates unsuccessfully
attempted to escape.
The next court hearing in this case is scheduled for March 1.
(source: WTKR news)
GEORGIA:
Shock Belt Tainted Ga. Death Penalty Trial, ACLU Lawyers Say
Lawyers for a Georgia death row inmate are asking for a new trial based on
something the defendant was wearing during his original murder trial: a
50,000-watt stun belt.
NOVA Security Group is the Florida company that makes the stun belt Rodney
Young wore during his murder trial 5 years ago.
A promotional video for the product shows a series of defendants suddenly
attacking people in courtrooms, except for the ones wearing stun belts. They
fall to the ground seconds after they stand up.
"So the whole design is essentially for high-risk security transports and to
enhance courtroom security for inmates or subjects that could be potentially
violent, have a history of escape or escape attempts," said Brian Dillard, an
instructor with NOVA security.
But lawyers for Rodney Young argued last week in court that none of that was
the case for their client.
"In fact, all the testimony at the hearing was that our client was perfectly
peaceful and perfectly well behaved in court," said attorney Brian Stull with
the ACLU's Capital Punishment Project.
"There was a juror in this case, and he actually made a report to the court
officers and said this guy looks very anxious, and that's making me anxious,"
Stull said. "I want you to make sure the security is high because I don't know
why he's looking so anxious. And we know why."
The stun belt, Stull argued, not only terrified his client but made it hard for
him to participate in the trial. Young's lawyers want a new trial, citing the
device and a number of other reasons, including what they say is his
intellectual disability. They expect a ruling to take months.
Young was convicted for the 2008 murder of his ex-fiancee's son in Newton
County.
The use of a stun belt during trial did lead an appeals court in Indiana to
throw out a death sentence there just this August.
The manufacturer said defendants are told how the product works before it's put
on them, and that it's no more threatening than court officers already on hand.
(source: WABE news)
FLORIDA:
Trial starts for man accused of killing Milton couple over oxycodone
The attorney for a man accused of killing 3 people has asked the jury to
closely consider the definition of premediated murder and keep in mind the
power of addiction.
Derrick Ray Thompson, 45, could face the death penalty if he is convicted of 2
counts of murder in the deaths of Steven and Debra Zackowski at their Milton
home in 2014.
Thompson's trial began Monday with jury selection in Santa Rosa County, and
testimony began Wednesday morning.
Authorities say Thompson murdered the Milton couple on July 20, 2014, and then
killed another man, Allen Johnson, in Panama City the next day. His current
trial is only for charges related to the Zackowskis' deaths.
In the months before the Zackowskis' deaths, Thompson was doing electrical work
on a house the couple was building in Milton, and he was being paid for his
work in opioid pills, namely oxycodone.
Prosecutor John Molchan said Thompson told investigators when he was arrested
that he believed Steven Zackowski was shorting him on the pills he was owed, so
he went to the home to kill him. Molchan said Thompson bought the gun used in
the murders the day prior, arguing the attack was premeditated and was intended
to rob the couple of their pills.
Thompson's defense attorney, Martin Lester, didn't deny that his client shot
the couple. But, he said, Thompson was suffering from a strong addiction to
painkillers and did not plan the murder.
Lester said Thompson broke his back at work in 2012. He was prescribed opioid
pills to manage the pain and then became addicted to them, his attorney said.
"It is for some people a very highly addictive medication... . That is what
you're going to hear happened to Derrick Thompson," Lester said in his opening
argument.
Lester urged the jury to consider the facts of the case closely, as well as the
legal definition of premeditation. He argued that if anything, his client
should be found guilty of manslaughter or second-degree murder, not
first-degree murder, which, if convicted, means Thompson could face the death
penalty.
Lester said Thompson was honest when he described to police how he killed the
Zackowskis.
"You will see not a defiant man, but a broken man who is telling the truth
about what happened," Lester said.
The state presented crime scene photos during trial Wednesday showing that
Steven Zackowski was shot in the head in his living room and his wife was shot
in a bedroom closet next to an open safe.
Prosecutors claim that once Thompson robbed the safe for oxycodone pills, he
traveled to Panama City and killed Johnson, stole the businessman's car and
took it to a hunting camp near Troy, Alabama, where authorities ultimately
found him. The murder case involving Johnson's death is continuing in Bay
County.
Thompson's Santa Rosa County trial is expected to continue through the rest of
the week.
If the jury finds him guilty of 1st-degree murder, the case will immediately
move into the penalty phase. The same jury would then hear aggravating and
mitigating factors to ultimately determine whether Thompson should be placed on
death row.
Under a new law, the jury would need to reach a unanimous decision to recommend
the death penalty.
(source: Pensacola News Journal)
********************
State to seek death for man accused in Orlando homicide
The State Attorney will seek the death penalty in the trial of the man accused
of an Orlando homicide and thought to be connected to another on the same
street.
The Death Penalty Review Panel unanimously recommended pursuing death in the
case of Jimmy Gary Merritt, who faces a 1st-degree murder charge in the slaying
of 64-year-old Benny Clyde Hallmark.
Firefighters found Hallmark's body Oct. 20 in a recliner in his home on the
3000 block of Lauressa Lane in Orlando. He had been shot to death.
While investigating that case, homicide detectives found a badly decomposed
body wrapped in plastic and blankets under a pile of items in the garage across
the street from the home Hallmark was found in.
Orlando Police identified that person as 60-year-old Billy Wayne Deaton.
(source: mynews13.com)
*************************
Convicted killer Bessman Okafor to get new sentencing next year
A convicted killer sentenced to death row went before a judge Wednesday as he
begins the process to get a new sentence.
Bessman Okafor killed Alex Zaldivar, 19, and wounded 2 others in 2012.
He has to be re-sentenced because the state Supreme Court ordered all death
sentence decisions must be unanimous.
The victim's father said reopening this case is painful.
"Everybody has to relive this all over again. It's like we never moved on. It's
a never-ending story," he said.
The judge scheduled Okafor's new sentencing phase for November of next year.
The sentencing should take 2 weeks, with the 1st for jury selection and the
other for witness testimony.
Okafor will go before an Orange County judge to get an attorney and schedule a
new sentencing phase.
"It's opening up old wounds. It's terrible for our family," Rafael Zaldivar
aid.
Okafor was sentenced to death in November 2015 for killing Alex Zaldivar and
wounding 2 others during an Ocoee home invasion in 2012.
The 3 were set to testify against Okafor in a separate home invasion before the
killing.
Rafael Zaldivar said he thinks about his son every day.
"He was a good and loving son. Unfortunately, he barely passed his 18th
birthday," he said.
State law has changed since the previous jury voted 11-1 to send Okafor to
death row.
Jurors must now all agree on the death penalty.
Rafael Zaldivar believes that will happen.
"I'm very confident they're going to do it again," he said.
Months after the Supreme Court ruling, Orange and Osceola County State Attorney
Aramis Ayala announced she would not seek the death penalty during his tenure.
Gov. Rick Scott then gave Okafor's case, along with dozens of others, to State
Attorney Brad King in Ocala.
(source: WFTV.com)
************************
State to seek death penalty against father accused of drowning toddler
A Lady Lake man could face the death penalty if he is convicted of murdering
his 18-month-old daughter.
Jeremy Main was taken into custody Oct. 9 after he turned himself in at the
Sumter County Sheriff's Annex in The Villages. Hours earlier, Main had called
his wife, who was at work in Ocala. He reportedly told her he had killed their
daughter. She made a frantic 911 call and soon Lake County sheriff's deputies
rushed to her home on Redbug Road in rural Lady Lake.
Deputies forced their way into the home after there was no answer at the door.
They discovered the little girl had been drowned in a bathtub. Main had fled
the home.
The 39-year-old continues to be held without bond at the Lake County Jail.
Last week, Assistant State Attorney Hugh Dean Bass Jr. filed a notice
indicating the state will seek the death penalty in the case.
In the filing, Bass indicates the crime was "especially heinous" and was
"committed in a cold, calculated and premeditated manner without any pretense
of moral or legal justification."
Main's wife has filed for divorce.
(source: villages-news.com)
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