January 25
FLORIDA:
2 Jacksonville men facing the death penalty in 2 separate murder cases----1 man
has been charged with shooting and killing a woman in front of her child.
The State Attorney Office said the death penalty is still on the table for 2
Jacksonville men accused of murder in 2 separate cases.
On Thursday, a grand jury charged Chad Absher with the 1st-degree murder of
Ashlee Rucker.
Prosecutors said Absher shot Rucker and her sister in front of their young
children.
A grand jury also indicted Gerard Stewart after the Jacksonville Sheriff’s
Office said he admitted to stabbing his wife to death and placing her body in
the trunk of their car.
(source: firstcoastnews.com)
**********************
In new twist to Pablo Ibar case, 1 juror goes back on guilty verdict----The
Spanish citizen has been on death row in the US for 16 years over a 1994 triple
murder, and was recently retried due to serious flaws at the original trial
In a new twist to the story of Pablo Ibar, who is on death row in the United
States for a triple murder committed in 1994, a member of the jury that found
him guilty at his retrial last week has apparently reconsidered his decision.
Ibar, who is of Spanish descent on his father’s side, has been behind bars for
24 years, 16 of them on death row, for the brutal killing of a bar owner and
two dancers inside the former’s house in Broward County, Florida. The case
became known as the “Casey’s Nickelodeon murders,” in reference to the name of
the male victim’s place of business.
Judge Bailey will meet with prosecutors and Ibar’s lawyers to decide on the
next move
Ibar’s case history involves one mistrial, a trial that sent Ibar to death row
despite a lack of physical evidence against him, and a victorious battle to
secure a retrial.
The story has been widely followed in Spain, where a Pablo Ibar Association
Against the Death Penalty was set up to raise funds for his defense. Ibar was
born in South Florida and took Spanish citizenship after being convicted in
2000, according to The Miami Herald. His mother is Cuban and his father is a
Basque jai-alai player who emigrated to the US in the 1960s.
The Pablo Ibar Association announced on Wednesday that one juror has approached
Judge Denis Bailey to inform him that he no longer supports the unanimous
guilty verdict reached last Saturday. According to a statement on the
association’s website, Ibar’s defense lawyers have learned that an unidentified
juror contacted the Fort Lauderdale court at 8.35am on Tuesday.
As a result, Ibar’s defense has moved to learn the identity of this individual,
and asked to speak with an alternate juror who reportedly overheard a
conversation regarding Ibar’s earlier conviction in 2000, said the association.
A hearing is scheduled for Thursday at 9am (local time in Florida), when Judge
Bailey will meet with prosecutors and Ibar’s lawyers to decide on the next
move. The defense wants new jury deliberations in light of the latest
developments.
There are precedents for this sort of situation in the US legal system, and it
will be up to the judge to decide whether the new circumstances call for fresh
jury deliberations. But experience shows that most of these cases have not
resulted in different outcomes, and Judge Bailey could decide to respect the
verdict and hand down a sentence in late February as planned.
(source: elpais.com)
OHIO----impending execution
State opposes condemned man's request to delay execution----Franklin County
Prosecutor Ron O'Brien says death row inmate Warren Keith Henness' motion is an
abuse of the court system
A prosecutor is asking the Ohio Supreme Court to reject a condemned man's
request to delay his execution set for next month.
Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien says death row inmate Warren Keith
Henness' motion is an abuse of the court system.
The 55-year-old Henness is scheduled to die by lethal injection Feb. 13. His
attorneys want a delay based on a federal judge's finding that Ohio's 3-drug
injection process "will certainly or very likely cause him severe pain and
needless suffering."
Henness' attorneys have separately asked Gov. Mike DeWine to issue a reprieve.
In a Thursday court filing, O'Brien called Henness' request an attempt to avoid
justice through "piecemeal litigation."
Henness says he's innocent in the fatal 1992 shooting of a volunteer addiction
counselor.
(source: Associated Press)
**********************
Lorain man found guilty of murder, faces death penalty
A Lorain man convicted of killing another Lorain man in 2016, could face the
death penalty.
A Lorain County Common Pleas Court jury of 7 women and 5 men found Elliott
Kirkland, 29, guilty Jan. 24 of aggravated murder of Jimmie Holland, 38, 2
counts of murder, aggravated robbery, 2 counts of aggravated burglary, 2 counts
of felonious assault and single counts of burglary, obstructing justice and
weapons under disability.
Kirkland was convicted of shooting Holland 3 times Aug. 29, 2016, in the man’s
Lexington Avenue apartment then fled the scene with a Crown Royal bag full of
cash.
After the shooting, prosecutors said Kirkland began telling people through text
messages that he had $6,200.
Common Pleas Judge James L. Miraldi will conduct a repeated violent offender
hearing at 10 a.m. Jan. 28.
Miraldi also will preside over the death penalty stage at 9 a.m. Jan. 29.
(source: The Morning Journal)
INDIANA:
Lawsuit challenges death penalty----Claims capital punishment violates state
constitution
Fort Wayne attorney David Frank filed the suit last week on behalf of Roy Lee
Ward, who was sentenced to death in 2001 for the rape and murder of 15-year-old
Stacy Payne in Spencer County.
The suit, filed in La Porte Superior Court 2, names Gov. Eric Holcomb and
Robert Carter Jr., commissioner of the Indiana Department of Corrections, as
defendants. A similar motion, filed last year on behalf of murder suspect
Marcus Dansby, is pending in Allen County
Ward’s sentence was appealed all the way to the Indiana Supreme Court, which
upheld the death penalty in the case in 2012. However, a federal judge issued a
stay of execution that same year, and no date has been set for execution by
lethal injection at ISP.
The suit claims the death penalty is “arbitrary and capricious, without
legitimate penological end, offensive to evolving standards of decency, and
unconstitutional.”
It claims Indiana should follow the lead of other states in outlawing capital
punishment. The state has not executed anyone since 2009, the complaint says,
but still has 9 inmates on death row, seven with an “active sentence of death.”
The death sentence of Fredrick Baer was reversed, while Michael Overstreet was
found incompetent to be executed, according to the suit. Those still under a
death sentence include Ward, Joseph Corcoran, William Gibson, Eric Holmes,
Kevin Isom, Benjamin Ritchie and Jeffrey Weisheit.
It claims the death penalty violates the Indiana Constitution’s:
n Article 1, Section 1 as it would “subject that individual to unequal
punishment and alienate him from his constitutional right to life”
n Article 1, Section 15, as it would “subject that individual to arbitrary,
capricious, and unnecessary force and rigor offensive to evolving standards of
decency”
n Article 1, Section 16, which bans “cruel and unusual punishment”
n Article 1, Section 18, which states the “penal code shall be founded on the
principles or reformation, and not of vindictive justice.”
It says the “only rationale for the death penalty is vindictiveness and
vengeance,” claiming inmates on death row “cannot escape prison”; “will suffer
physically and psychologically if executed”; and “cannot be rehabilitated if
executed.”
Another part of the suit questions the drugs the IDOC would use, saying the
state “has not disclosed the substance or substances it intends to use to
execute individuals.”
The suit asks the court to declare capital punishment unconstitutional; issue a
preliminary injunction against the state inflicting capital punishment; and
issue a permanent injunction restraining the state from inflicting capital
punishment. It also seeks attorney’s fees and costs.
The lawsuit – Roy Ward v. Gov. Eric Holcomb, Robert Carter Jr. – has been
assigned to Judge Richard Stalbrink. Court records show a telephonic attorney
conference with the judge is scheduled for March 26.
A similar motion was filed in October 2018 on behalf of Dansby, who is
scheduled to stand trial in April on four counts of murder. When Allen County
prosecutors said they intended to seek the death penalty, defense attorneys
filed a motion asking the trial judge to declare the death penalty
unconstitutional and bar prosecutors from seeking it.
Their motion alleges “systemic defects in the administration of capital
punishment” from pre-trial proceedings through federal review “violate due
process, the right to a jury trial, and state and federal constitutional
prohibitions against cruel and unusual punishment.”
It claims “geography, quality of defense representation and race”
disproportionately determine who is sentenced to death, not the severity of the
crime.
A separate motion seeks to bar the death penalty in Dansby’s case because of
his age – he was 20 at the time of the murders for which he is charged.
The IDOC did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and a spokesman
for the Attorney General’s office said they could not comment on pending
litigation.
If the death penalty was ruled unconstitutional, death sentences would be
commuted to life sentences under a bill before the legislature. Senate Bill
301, introduced by state Sen. Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago, would abolish
the death penalty and commute sentences to life without parole.
Capital punishment
A lawsuit filed on behalf of a death row inmate at the Indiana State Prison
includes some background on the death penalty in Indiana, and other states’
banning of the practive.
Until 1913, Indiana used hanging as its method of execution, and 13 people were
hanged. From 1914 to 1995, the state used electrocution, and 62 died in the
electric chair. Since 1995, Indiana has used lethal injection, and 19 people
have been executed in that manner.
Lethal injection executions included Tommie J. Smith in 1996, and according to
the suit, “State officers were physically unable to inject lethal substances
into Mr. Smith’s arms due to the small size of his veins. A catheter was
attempted to be inserted into Mr. Smith’s neck, twice, but the insertion was
not successful. Finally, after 49 minutes of attempting to inject Mr. Smith,
lethal substances were administered ... through his foot. Mr. Smith was
pronounced dead 20 minutes later.”
No one was executed in Indiana from 1961-81; 20 were executied from 1981-2009;
and no one has been executed since. Indiana has never executed a woman.
Wisconsin abolished capital punishment in 1853; Minnesota in 1911; Michigan in
1963; Iowa in 1965; Illinois in 2011; and the State of Washington in 2018.
(source: The La Porte County Herald-Argus)
IOWA:
Death penalty back on the Iowa legislative agenda
Capital punishment would give the Iowa justice system another “tool” to use in
prosecuting offenders who kidnap, rape and murder juveniles, according to
proponents of reinstating the death penalty after a 54-year absence.
“It’s one of the things I ran on in ’96, and I still think it’s an appropriate
punishment for capital murder,” said Sen. Jerry Behn, R-Boone, who plans to
introduce a death penalty bill for the 22nd consecutive year.
He said his bill will be narrower in scope than House File 62, which was
introduced Wednesday by Rep. Skyler Wheeler, R-Orange City, and would allow
courts to apply the death penalty if the “aggravating circumstances established
beyond a reasonable doubt outweigh any mitigating circumstances” in
first-degree capital murder cases.
In either case, Tom Chapman of the Iowa Catholic Conference said “the state
should not commit violence to protect Iowans from violence.”
Wheeler, Behn and Sen. Julian Garrett, R-Indianola, argue that the possibility
of a death sentence would give law enforcement, prosecutors and courts more
leverage in dealing with heinous crimes. Under current law, they said, the
maximum penalty for kidnapping, rape and murder are all the same — life without
parole.
“So there’s a perverse incentive for someone who kidnaps and rapes to kill
their victim so there is no witness,” Behn said.
Sen. Kevin Kinney, D-Oxford, who is retired from a career in law enforcement,
said he has no sympathy for people who kidnap, rape and murder, “but I don’t
know if this is the right policy.”
Life without parole “sets the bar pretty high” and may be a harsher punishment,
he said.
(source: globegazette.com)
MISSOURI:
State still not paying bills in Mexican national's death penalty case----Pablo
Serrano-Vitorino accused in local murder
Defense attorneys for an undocumented immigrant facing the death penalty in
Missouri said prosecutors still haven't paid for some work a court ordered.
St. Louis judge Steven Ohmer decided that either the Attorney General's Office
or Montgomery County must pay up to $40,000 worth of defense work for Pablo
Serrano-Vitorino. However, Serrano's public defenders said that those offices
have not paid the bills submitted so far, halting the work they claim is
crucial for the death penalty case.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Serrano in the 2016 killing of
Randy Nordman just outside of New Florence. Serrano was allegedly on the run
from Kansas authorities after a quadruple homicide there. Immigrations and
Customs Enforcement said Serrano had been deported a decade prior, but did not
know when he returned to the United States. ICE also sent a request to detain
Serrano months before the killings to the wrong law enforcement agency.
Serrano's attorneys asked Ohmer to either force prosecutors to pay for the
work, or drop the death penalty altogether.
Invoices the Missouri State Public Defender's Office filed in court show that
mitigation specialist Laura Tansey has sent in invoices for $22,458 worth of
work from September to December. The specific work is redacted, but shows
Tansey charged the state $125 an hour. Lawyers claim they paid the initial
$19,000 fee for Tansey's work, per Ohmer's order.
Prosecutors have disputed the order to pay for the work since it was issued.
Higher courts have denied hearing an appeal, however. Assistant Attorney
General Gregory Goodwin wrote on Nov. 26, 2018 that the office would only
reimburse the public defender's office for Tansey's work, rather than pay the
bill outright. Goodwin said that Ohmer's order also required them to pay the
"entire bill," rather than a series of them.
The public defender's office hired Laura Tansey, a Texas-based mitigation
specialist, to help with Serrano's case. Tansey's work includes traveling to
Mexico, where Serrano is from, to research Serrano's background and upbringing.
The results of that work would be used only if the jury finds Serrano guilty
and must decide if the death penalty is warranted.
Tansey wrote to defense attorneys Jan. 16 about the missing payments. She had
already made 2 trips to Mexico and done dozens of interviews, she said. Until
the payments came through, Tansey said, work on the case would stop.
"Although I believe strongly in the need to vigorously pursue the
constitutionally necessary mitigation investigation in Mr. Serrano Vitorino's
case, it is simply not feasible for me to continue to work without payment,"
Tansey said. "Accordingly, I cannot continue to conduct further mitigation
investigation into Mexico -- the core of the mitigation work in this case --
until the funding issue has been resolved."
Chelsea Mitchell, a public defender working on Serrano's case, said that state
law prohibits the office from paying for work, then seeking reimbursement from
another state agency.
A hearing is scheduled for Feb. 22 on the issue.
Family members of Serrano's alleged victims sued ICE for its failure to get
Serrano when it had the chance. A federal judge dismissed the claim based on
sovereign immunity.
(source: ABC News)
ARIZONA:
How prosecutors decide to seek the death penalty----Evidence, and deference to
victims can be factors
Pima County Prosecutors have an additional 60 days to decide whether they will
seek the death penalty -- against the man charged with killing -- 6 year old
Isabel Celis -- and 13-year-old Maribel Gonzalez.
A judge granted an extension that allows the Pima County Attorney's Office --
to consider its decision -- until late March.
KGUN9 On Your Side's Craig Smith talked to a lead prosecutor on how they decide
whether to try for the ultimate punishment.
Isabel Celis disappearance was a mystery for 5 years until her remains were
found in a field in Avra Valley in 2017.
The remains of 13 year old Maribel Gonzalez were found in the same area in
2014, 3 days after she disappeared.
Christopher Clements is charged in both deaths. There's no decision yet on
whether prosecutors will seek the death penalty against him.
Prosecutor Jonathan Mosher talked to us about how prosecutors make that
decision but we need to be clear: He can only speak in general, not about the
Clements case or any other.
"So we've got to ensure defendants the right to a fair trial And so we just
can't comment on pending cases at all."
Mosher says a death penalty decision does not hinge on whether a case is high
profile. Instead prosecutors look for factors spelled out in state law and
court decisions.
"Was the murder committed for monetary gain, or was there another serious
offense for which the person was convicted before the the murder, you know,
factors like cruel, heinous and depraved which have really received a lot of
attention from the Arizona Supreme Court because there's a lot of ambiguity
about those words, what makes a murder a cruel, heinous and depraved?"
(source: KGUN news)
CALIFORNIA:
Kamala Harris Defends Decision Not to Seek Death Penalty for Man Who Murdered
Police Officer
Sen. Kamala Harris (D., Calif.) on Wednesday night defended her decision, made
while she served as the San Francisco district attorney, not to seek the death
penalty for a man who murdered a police officer in 2004.
Harris, who announced on Monday that she was running for president, appeared on
MSNBC's "The Rachel Maddow Show" to discuss several issues, including the death
penalty. Host Rachel Maddow mentioned Harris faced scrutiny in 2004 after she
decided not to seek the death penalty in the prosecution a man convicted of
killing San Francisco Police Officer Isaac Espinoza.
Maddow noted Harris was opposed to the death penalty at the time, and she asked
the senator if she was still opposed.
"I've been my entire life, and I still am for very good reasons that I can
expand on," Harris said.
A jury found the accused killer guilty of having intended to kill a police
officer, of attempted murder for wounding Espinoza's partner, Officer Barry
Parker, and of illegal use of a firearm for gang purposes. He was sentenced to
life in prison without parole.
Maddow, disclosing she was inclined to agree with Harris' view, asked if
capitol punishment should be a topic of national debate.
"When you're running for president, now obviously you know that you'll face
questions about that every time you run for office," Maddow said. "That will
put the death penalty as an issue of national debate. The president is an
enthusiastic proponent of the death penalty, with no qualms whatsoever."
"You versus Donald Trump and the death penalty would make that a central debate
for the country. Would that be constructive or not?" Maddow asked.
Harris said that she believes it is a debate that Americans should have. She
went on to call the death penalty "extremely flawed as a system."
"Back to the point of that case," Harris said, "I am going to tell you that
there were … high-level elected Democrats who said the case should be taken
away from me because I would not seek the death penalty, but I did what I
believed was the right thing to do. And the killer of that officer will be in
prison for the rest of his life."
One of the high-level Democrats who supported the death penalty in the 2004
case was Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.), Harris' senior colleague in the
Senate.
(source: freebeacon.com)
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