June 26
TEXAS----impending execution
Houston serial killer denied clemency 2 days before scheduled execution
With 2 days to go before his scheduled date with death, Houston serial killer
Danny Bible on Monday lost out on a bid for clemency.
The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles denied the aging prisoner's plea in a
6-0 vote, according to his attorneys. He's now scheduled to die by lethal
injection on Wednesday in the Huntsville death chamber.
But the 66-year-old condemned killer still has a shot at a stay from the
federal courts, where his attorneys have launched a lawsuit claiming he's in
such poor health he can't be executed. That claim is currently in front of the
U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Bible was sentenced to death in 2003, after he confessed to the 1979 slaying of
Inez Deaton. The young mother had been stabbed 11 times with an ice pick and
left along the slope of a Houston bayou.
Northern California detectives still trying to identify the infamous Zodiac
Killer who targeted victims in the late 1960s and taunted investigators with
letters say they hope to try the same DNA tracing technology recently used to
arrest a suspect in another string of cold-case serial slayings - those blamed
on the East Area Rapist.
In 1984, he was sent to prison for killing his sister-in-law Tracy Powers and
her infant son Justin. Then, he killed her roommate, Pam Hudgins, and left the
woman's body hanging from a roadside fence. He was released after 8 years
behind bars, and went on to rape and molest multiple young relatives, including
a 5-year-old. In 1998, he raped a woman in a Louisiana motel room, then stuffed
her in a duffel bag before she broke free and called for help.
Bible was eventually caught in Florida and extradited to Louisiana, where he
confessed to his crimes.
But in their clemency petition, Bible's lawyers wrote that he'd admitted to the
earlier slaying in exchange for a promise of avoiding the death chamber - a
promise they said was "clearly not honored by the state."
Attorneys also told of Bible's transformation from 4-time killer to remorseful
Christian, and said that he's no longer a future danger given his poor medical
condition. Bible has Parkinson's and uses a wheelchair, a fact that has come up
repeatedly in appeals over the past decade.
Texas has already executed 6 men this year, including another Houston serial
killer, Anthony Shore. Aside from Bible's, there are 8 other death dates on the
calendar in Texas.
******************
Things to know about Ali Mahwood-Awad Irsan and Houston 'honor killings'
The death penalty trial of Ali Irsan, a Jordanian immigrant accused in a pair
of "honor killings, began Monday. Irsan, a devout Muslim, is accused of killing
his daughter's husband and her best friend because she converted to
Christianity and marred a Christian.
On trial:
Ali Mahwood-Awad Irsan, a 60-year-old Jordanian-American who is the father of
12, is on trial before state District Judge Jan Krocker.
The victims:
1.) Coty Beavers, the 28-year-old husband of Nasreen Irsan,
2.)Gelareh Bagherzadeh, an Iranian medical student and activist, and Nasreen's
best friend.
Prosecution:
Special prosecutors Jon Stephenson, Marie Primm and Anna Emmons were appointed
because Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg recused her office.
The case:
Ali Irsan is accused of tracking down Bagherzadeh as she arrived at her
Galleria home in January 2012 and, with his son, and shooting her. He is also
accused of stalking his daughter and Beavers and shooting him 7 times in
November 2012.
The defense:
Defense lawyers Allen Tanner and Rudy Duerte have argued that the 2 crime
scenes have nothing to do with each other and that they were not part of the
same plan or scheme.
The punishment:
If convicted of capital murder, Irsan faces the possibility of life in prison
without parole or the death penalty.
(source for both: Houston Chronicle)
NEW YORK:
Cornenll's Death Penalty Worldwide Institute Training 'A Network of African
Lawyers' To Fight Against Capital Punishment
Lawyers from more than 13 countries have gathered at Cornell to receive
training for representing clients facing the death penalty.
On June 18, the Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide kicked off its
2nd annual Makwanyane Institute. The institute aims to train capital defenders
and prepare them for the intricacies of capital offense trials in many
different countries.
Prof. Sandra Babcock, law, founded the DPW in 2011, building off of her
previous work with death penalty cases in sub-Saharan Africa. According to
Babcock, she had worked in the region for 11 years and wanted to continue the
work on a deeper level.
"We provide training to brilliant dedicated lawyers who otherwise have no
access to training and how to effectively represent people facing capital
punishment," Babcock said.
The Makwanyane institute, named for the South African Constitutional Court's
decision to abolish the death penalty, was funded in part through a grant from
Atlantic Philanthropies. The institute has brought together trainers from
around the world that are familiar with the legal procedures of the countries
that the fellows are from.
Training sessions focus on both building practical courtroom skills and
understanding factors that affect human behavior, such as mental health or
disabilities, Babcock said. Fellows are also taught about different ways to
challenge confessions obtained through torture.
The countries invited to apply to the institute included Ghana, Kenya, Liberia,
Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Many of the countries
represented at the institute are from sub-Saharan African, due to the region's
continued use of the death penalty and "lack of access to legal training
programs [and] inadequate resources," according to Babcock.
"Many organizations in the U.S. don't focus on sub-Saharan Africa. It's hard to
get to [and] there are a lot of challenges involved both in surmounting
cultural barriers and the organizational aspects of putting together a training
like this," Babcock said. "It was a natural outgrowth of the work we were
already doing in the region and the contacts we had there."
The institute uses a "train the trainers" model in order to maximize resources.
The 15 fellows were selected for their demonstrated work within their
respective countries and their strong commitment to the work at hand. One
Nigerian fellow from the inaugural institute returned this year as a trainer
and has plans to set up training in Nigeria.
Although most of the fellows are from African countries, observers from
Pakistan, India, and China are also in attendance this year and will bring the
information they learn back to their countries as well.
The institute is a part of the broader international abolitionist movement to
abolish the death penalty and strengthens an African movement often overlooked,
Babcock said.
"We are creating a network of African lawyers who can support each other and
become leaders of the abolitionist movement. Typically when you think of the
global abolitionist movement is lead by organizations primarily in Europe and
to a lesser extent the U.S.," Babcock said. "You don't see a lot of
organizations that are based in Africa and are Pan-African."
The institute also employs law school students and undergraduates, giving them
opportunities to learn more about international law and practice. Tate
Schneider '19, a student assistant for the institute, outlined the necessity
for international coalitions.
"When it comes to the death penalty on a global scale ... [uniform
international policy] doesn't quite exist," Schneider said. "The institute is
working to give all death penalty litigators an equal opportunity and skill set
to defend clients on death row to prevent the inequalities that come from
differing enforcement around the world."
(source: The Cornell Daily Sun)
PENNSYLVANIA:
Study Suggests Changes to Make Pennsylvania's Death Penalty Practices
Humane----Death penalty study recommends changes amid Gov. Tom Wolf's
moratorium
A study released Monday suggested a number of changes to the death penalty
system in Pennsylvania, including setting up a publicly funded agency to
provide legal representation in capital cases.
The long-awaited report by the Task Force and Advisory Committee on Capital
Punishment said the state should make its lethal injection protocol public and
use "an appropriate and effective drug" to execute people humanely.
The report said one of its subcommittees recommended the state adopt a version
of "guilty but mentally ill" for the death penalty, so that severely mentally
ill murderers are punished the same way that intellectually disabled murderers
are.
A state-funded capital defender office, the report said, would save money for
counties and lead to fewer reversals on appeal.
The state Senate ordered the review in 2011, and Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf said
he would wait for its findings before revisiting the capital punishment
moratorium he issued shortly after taking office in 2015.
Wolf's spokesman offered no immediate comment on the reporting's findings and
recommendations.
The Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association said the committee was largely
composed of anti-death penalty advocates.
"No district attorney takes pleasure in pursuing a death penalty case," said
Berks County District Attorney John T. Adams, a Democrat who leads the state
prosecutors' association. "We make those decisions based on the facts of the
case, the ethical structure of our profession and the understanding that the
death penalty is reserved only for the worst of the worst cold-blooded
killers."
Pennsylvanians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty said the report "validated
their concerns" about the existing system.
"The taxpayers of Pennsylvania are spending hundreds of millions of dollars for
a death penalty system that doesn't work and hasn't resulted in an execution in
nearly 20 years," said the group's executive director, Kathleen Lucas.
The release of the study comes as Wolf heads into the final months of a
re-election battle against Republican Scott Wagner, a capital punishment
supporter who has vowed to reverse Wolf's moratorium as soon as he is able. In
February, Wagner said anyone who commits a fatal school shooting should face a
mandatory death sentence.
Wolf has said he is concerned about what he has called a "flawed system" that
is "ineffective, unjust, and expensive."
Pennsylvania's Corrections Department held 149 men on death row at the start of
June, all held at Graterford and Greene state prisons, down from 186 at the
time Wolf imposed the moratorium. The average death row inmate has been there
for 17 years. The state has executed 3 people since the state resumed use of
the death penalty in 1978, all 3 inmates in the 1990s who had given up pursuing
appeals.
A study released in October by Penn State's Justice Center for Research and
produced for the state's Interbranch Commission for Gender, Racial and Ethnic
Fairness concluded that death sentences are more common when the victim is
white and less common when the victim is black. They drew from records over an
11-year period to conclude that a white victim increases the odds of a death
sentence by 8 % and a black victim lowers it by 6 %.
The new report said the policy subcommittee suggested following other states by
routinely collecting data to see if death sentences are used in an unfair,
arbitrary or discriminatory way.
The state's most recent execution occurred in 1999, when Gary Heidnik was put
to death for the murders of 2 women he had imprisoned in his Philadelphia home.
The 2 other executions were 1995: Leon Moser for killing his wife and 2
daughters, and Keith Zettlemoyer for killing a friend who planned to testify
against him in a robbery trial. The report said all 3 "had psychiatric
problems."
In the past three decades, about 3 dozen inmates have died while incarcerated
on Pennsylvania's death row.
Death Penalty Study Recommends Changes Amid Gov. Wolf Moratorium
A long-awaited study suggests changes in how the death penalty works in
Pennsylvania, including a subcommittee's recommendation to improve legal
defense in capital cases.
The report released Monday by the Task Force and Advisory Committee on Capital
Punishment said its procedure subcommittee recommends the state make its lethal
injection protocol public and use "an appropriate and effective drug" to
execute people humanely.
The state Senate ordered the review in 2011, and Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf said
he would wait for its findings before revisiting the capital punishment
moratorium he issued shortly after taking office in 2015.
Wolf has said he was concerned about what he called a "flawed system" that is
"ineffective, unjust, and expensive."
Pennsylvania's Corrections Department held 149 men on death row as of the start
of June.
(source: Associated Press)
**********************
Killers of Philly cop take plea deal to avoid death penalty
2 men charged in the 2015 shooting death of a Philadelphia police officer
during a robbery pleaded guilty on Monday to escape the possibility of a death
sentence.
Family members of Sgt. Robert Wilson III say they were told late Friday about
the plea deal for brothers Carlton Hipps and Ramone Williams who were offered
life plus 50 to 100 years in prison in exchange for pleading guilty and waiving
any appeals.
Wilson's family members said they wanted prosecutors to seek the death penalty,
and several testified against the deal Monday.
Last year, a city judge approved a former prosecutor's plan to seek capital
punishment in the case.
New Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, however, said during his
campaign he would not seek capital punishment in any case.
"The death penalty has become death by incarceration," Krasner said.
"Retraumatization will be minimal."
Several family members and police officers were extremely upset over the plea
deal.
Troy Burroughs, who was Wilson's brother-in-law, said it felt like "a punch in
the face."
"They call this death by incarceration," said Officer Michael Rivera, who went
through the police academy with Wilson. "I call it justice deferred."
During the hearing, Williams chose to address the court, while Hipps did not.
"I caused a lot of grief and pain to your family, and I'm deeply sorry,"
Williams said.
"I thought this was a death penalty case," said Police Commissioner Richard
Ross during a news conference after the hearing. "If there ever was one, this
would be it."
(source: WHYY news)
******************
Prosecutors need more time before sentencing trial for Melvin Knight
Westmoreland County prosecutors said Monday they need more time to prepare for
the death penalty sentencing for one of six Greensburg roommates convicted of
the 2010 torture slaying of a mentally disabled woman.
Melvin Knight, 28, has been on death row since he was sentenced in 2012. A
state appeals court vacated the sentence in 2016 and a new penalty phase trial
is scheduled to begin July 9.
Common Pleas Court Judge Rita Hathaway scheduled a hearing Tuesday on several
pretrial issues. She could address the prosecution's request for a
postponement. At that hearing, the defense is expected to argue that Knight
wants to withdraw his guilty plea.
Knight, in 2012, pleaded guilty to 1st-degree murder and other offenses in
connection with the stabbing death of 30-year-old Jennifer Daugherty.
Prosecutors contended Knight and 5 others held Daugherty captive for more than
2 days, during which they beat and tortured her before her death. Her body,
bound in Christmas garland and lights, was discovered in a trash can left under
a truck in a snow-covered parking lot at a Greensburg middle school.
District Attorney John Peck said in court documents that the prosecution this
month received a comprehensive psychological report from the defense that
claims Knight has an intellectual disability that would render him ineligible
for the death penalty.
"Prior to the delivery of (the report), the commonwealth had no indication that
Knight intended to make a claim of intellectual disability and Knight made no
such claim during his first trial in August 2012," Peck said.
The district attorney said an expert hired by the prosecution to review those
findings cannot complete his work before the July trial is scheduled to begin.
(source: Tribune-Review)
GEORGIA:
Felon accused of killing teen in road rage shooting could face death penalty
A man accused of shooting a teenager during a road rage incident could face the
death penalty.
The defendant, Simmie Reed, 50, is a convicted felon who shouldn't have had a
weapon, according to the judge.
Reed was convicted in 1988 for manslaughter in Mobile, Alabama. He is now in
more trouble as he stands accused of murdering 17-year-old Janae Owens,
wounding her mother and putting Owens' twin sister's life in jeopardy.
It happened on South Candler Street on June 20. Police believe a road rage
incident sparked the violence.
Decatur police investigators say Reed fired several times into Owens' car,
killing her and wounding her mother, Jocelyn Gilbert. Owens' twin sister was
also in the car but wasn't harmed.
The family had recently moved from Shreveport, Louisiana, so the high school
twins could continue to build their photography business. They planned to
attend Spelman College after graduating.
Reed could face the death penalty in this case.
(source: WSB-TV news)
FLORIDA:
Refused Death-Penalty Case Sparks Misgivings
Though they agreed that the case did not merit review, Supreme Court Justices
Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg voiced grave concerns Monday at the
rejection of a death-penalty challenge.
Awaiting execution in Florida, Robert Peede petitioned for habeas relief on the
basis of ineffective assistance of counsel at sentencing.
Though a federal judge agreed, finding it probable that Peede would have
received a different sentence had the attorney present mitigating evidence
concerning Peede's mental health and difficult childhood, the 11th Circuit
reversed.
"In its view," Sotomayor summarized, "Peede could not establish that he was
prejudiced by any deficiency of counsel because the 'new mitigation evidence
.... posed a doubled-edge-sword dilemma' in that 'the new information could
have hurt as much as it helped.'"
While the Eleventh Circuit concluded that double-edged "post-conviction
evidence is usually insufficient to warrant habeas relief," Sotomayor said
Monday that the court's precedent flatly bars blanket rules that foreclose a
showing of prejudice because the new evidence is double-edged.
Joined in her 3-paragraph opinion by Ginsburg, Sotomayor said courts have a
duty to consider the evidence in context, not in isolation, "regardless of
whether it is considered to be double-edged."
"Considering the posture of this case, under which our review is constrained by
the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, I cannot conclude
the particular circumstances here warrant this court's intervention," Sotomayor
added. "That said, the Eleventh Circuit???s consideration of Peede's claim is
deeply concerning. The ultimate question at issue in a case like this is
whether 'there is a reasonable probability that [the jury] would have struck a
different balance.' A truncated consideration of new mitigating evidence that
simply dismisses it as double edged does nothing to further that inquiry."
Sotomayor noted that she made a similar point about postconviction evidence
consideration earlier this year when she dissented from the denial of
certiorari in Trevino v. Davis.
(source: Courthouse News)
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