[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS
April 25 TEXASexecution Texas executes man for killing 2 at party Texas has executed a 31-year-old prisoner condemned for killing a 5-year-old girl and her grandmother in a gang-related shooting at a child’s birthday party in Fort Worth a decade ago. Erick Davila received lethal injection Wednesday evening for using a semi-automatic rifle to spray bullets at about 20 people - more than a dozen of them children. Annette Stevenson, a 48-year-old grandmother, and her granddaughter, Queshawn Stevenson, were killed in the April 2008 attack. Four others were wounded, including the girl who was celebrating her 9th birthday. Authorities said the gunfire was in apparent retaliation against the slain child’s father, who had a previous run-in with Davila. The U.S. Supreme Court refused appeals to block the punishment. Davila becomes the 5th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in Texas and the 550th overall since the state resumed capital punishment on December 7, 1982. Davila becomes the 9th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the USA and the 1474th overall since the nation resumed executions on January 17, 1977. (sources: Associated Press & Rick Halperin) *** Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present31 Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982present-550 Abbott#scheduled execution date-nameTx. # 33--May 16-Juan Castillo--551 34-June 21Clifton Williams552 35-June 27Danny Bible-553 36-July 17Christopher Young---554 37-Sept. 12---Ruben Gutierrez-555 (sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin) ___ A service courtesy of Washburn University School of Law www.washburnlaw.edu DeathPenalty mailing list DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty Unsubscribe: http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/options/deathpenalty
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., VA., FLA., OHIO, IND., NEB.
April 25 TEXASimpending executions Erick Davila's death penalty case made it in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. Now, he's set for execution.Erick Davila is scheduled to die Wednesday evening for a 2008 shooting at a child's birthday party that left his rival gang member's mother and 5-year-old daughter dead. His case was heard and ultimately rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court last year. A year ago, his death penalty case was being argued before the U.S. Supreme Court. Now, he is set to die. Erick Davila, 31, is scheduled for execution Wednesday evening after a relatively short 9 years on Texas' death row. He was convicted in 2009 for repeatedly shooting at a Fort Worth house hosting a child's birthday party, killing a rival gang member's mother and 5-year-old daughter. Davila has asked the court to stop his execution based on new claims of drug use during the murders and a conflict of interest with the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office. Davila has continually fought his sentence, maintaining to the courts that he only intended to kill his rival, Jerry Stevenson, not the man's daughter, Queshawn, or her grandmother, 47-year-old Annette. It was an important distinction because the jury had to find that Davila intended to kill multiple people to be eligible for the death penalty. Prosecutors argued Davila always intended to kill more than his rival, pointing to his statement to police that he was trying to get "the guys on the porch" and "the fat dude." "I wasn't aiming at the kids or the woman and don't know where the woman came from," Davila said in a written statement to police, according to court documents. "I don't know the fat dudes name, but I know what he looks like, so I recognized his face." It was the question of intent that eventually led Davila's case to the nation's high court last April on a legal technicality. His current lawyer, Seth Kretzer, argued that when jurors at his trial questioned if they needed to decide whether Davila intended to kill his 2 victims or if he intended to kill someone and in the process fatally shot 2 others, the judge - who is know the Tarrant County criminal district attorney - erred in her answer. The judge responded that Davila would be responsible for a crime if the only difference between what happened and what he wanted was that a different person was hurt - without affirming to them that Davila must have intended to kill more than one person. The jury found him guilty. Though his lawyer at trial objected to the judge;s instructions, the objection was overruled, and the issue wasn't brought up again in Davila's state appeals, which Kretzer said was bad lawyering. The question that landed in front of the U.S. Supreme Court was whether Kretzer could raise the jury instruction in federal courts because of ineffective appellate lawyers. Generally, federal courts can't take up issues that could have been raised in state courts, but there is an exception when the trial lawyer is found to have been ineffective. But in Davila's case, it was the appellate lawyers, not the trial lawyer, who were being accused of dropping the ball. In June, the justices decided in a split ruling that the 2 types of attorneys can't be treated equally, and Davila became eligible for execution. He didn't stop fighting. After Tarrant County set an execution date, Davila filed new appeals, and one is still pending before the U.S Supreme Court. In the petition, Kretzer asks the court to delay the execution because he recently discovered that Davila's original co-defendant told the judge that Davila was "heavily intoxicated" during the shooting - a fact that was apparently unknown by defense attorneys. Kretzer wants time to further develop claims that the prosecution may have failed to disclose information about Davila being on drugs at the time of the murders. "While intoxication is not a defense to murder, it would have been an issue that would have been relevant to mitigation and sentencing," Kretzer said Tuesday, indicating a jury could have been persuaded to hand down the lesser sentence of life in prison without parole if it was brought up at trial. The Texas Attorney General's office argued against the appeal in its court filing, saying that Davila himself would obviously be aware of his own intoxication, so it was information the defense could have found earlier, disqualifying it from court review now. Lower courts have agreed with Texas, denying Davila's motions. Davila's team has also asked the nation's high court to remove the Tarrant County District Attorney's office from his case since the criminal district attorney, Sharen Wilson, was the judge who oversaw his trial, and his former state appellate attorney now works for her. "The clients should obviously be able to trust their lawyers," Kretzer said. "You can't get confidential information from your client and then turn
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, N.H., OHIO, MO.
April 24 APRIL 24, 2018: TEXASimpending execution Death row inmate slated for execution Wednesday denied clemency A Fort Worth man on Texas death row was denied clemency and a late-stage federal appeal on Monday, barely 48 hours before he is scheduled for execution in the Huntsville death chamber. Erick Davila was convicted of killing a rival gang member's mother and a 5-year-old girl at a Hannah Montana-themed children's birthday party in 2008. He was sentenced to death in 2009 but his lawyers have since argued that Annette and Queshawn Stevenson were not his intended victims, according to court filings. Instead, attorney Seth Kretzer alleged that Davila was high at the time of the slayings, and also that he only meant to one person, rival gang member Jerry Stevenson. Killing one person is not necessarily a death-eligible crime. "The jury never learned that at the time of the shooting Davila was heavily intoxicated, likely to the degree that it would have rendered him temporarily insane," Kretzer wrote in a court filing earlier this month. Kretzer said prosecutors of withheld knowledge that Davila was on a combination of PCP, ecstasy and marijuana - an alleged oversight that he said would violate a Supreme Court decision known as Brady v. Maryland, which requires prosecutors to turn over evidence favorable to the defense. But the U.S. Fifth Circuit, in a Monday decision, wrote that defense lawyers could have already known about Davila's heavy drug use the night of the crime. "We are unpersuaded that his counsel was not also reasonably on notice about the relation between drugs and the events of the shooting," the court wrote. Now, Davila's lawyer is pursuing his claims in the U.S. Supreme Court. Davila is scheduled to die by lethal injection Wednesday at 6 p.m. If everything continues as planned, he will be the 5th Texas inmate to be executed in 2018. (source: Houston Chronicle) ** Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present31 Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982present-549 Abbott#scheduled execution date-nameTx. # 32--Apr. 25Erick Davila---550 33--May 16-Juan Castillo--551 34-June 21Clifton Williams552 35-June 27Danny Bible-553 36-July 17Christopher Young---554 37-Sept. 12---Ruben Gutierrez-555 (sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin) NEW HAMPSHIRE: Banning death penalty the right thing to do Senate Bill 593 has passed in the N.H. Senate and will soon be considered by the House. Gov. Sununu has said he will veto the bill unless there is sizable support for it. There are many solid reasons to support this bill. Our judicial system is not infallible and innocent people have been put to death because of mistaken eyewitness identification, incompetent lawyers, coerced confessions and bias. Since 1973, 160 people on death row in this country have been exonerated despite judges, juries and prosecutors being certain of their guilt. Execution teams suffer after taking part in an execution. No sentence should be irreversibly administered. The death penalty is a cruel and unusual punishment. A life sentence offers a chance for rehabilitation and reflection as well as for the consideration of new evidence. It is wrong for the state to murder in our name. Ask your elected representatives to support this bill. Sandy Swinburne (source: Letter to the Editor, Keene Sentinel) OHIO: Sentencing in dirt-bike shooting death case, hearing on death penalty motions in fatal fire case A Streetsboro man convicted of shooting and killing an unarmed Akron man in a dispute over a dirt bike will be sentenced Monday and an Akron man accused of setting fires that left nine people dead will have a hearing on death-penalty motions Tuesday. Here's more on these cases: Sentencing for dirt-bike shooting death William Knight, 64, was convicted by a Summit County jury April 10 of 2 counts each of murder and felonious assault. He faces 18 years to life in prison when he is sentenced at 9 a.m. Monday by Summit County Common Pleas Judge Tammy O'Brien. Knight shot and killed Keith Johnson, 24, on March 20, 2017, outside of an Akron home. Knight claimed self-defense, saying he shot Johnson because he was fearful for his safety and that of his daughter and son-in-law, who confronted Johnson about a stolen dirt bike being sold on the internet. The dirt bike belonged to Knight's grand son. Prosecutors, however, said Knight, who had a concealed-carry permit for only a few weeks, overreacted and shot Johnson unnecessarily. They said Johnson, who was unarmed, posed no real threat as he drove the dirt bike. The case drew national interest, with the week-long trial live-streamed by
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN.
April 23 TEXAS: Texas prison system stalls release of public information on executionsEarlier this month, defense lawyers claimed Texas was botching its executions with old drugs. Now, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice has stalled the release of information on how many lethal doses the state has and when they expire. The cloud of secrecy surrounding Texas executions has grown a little darker lately. After death penalty defense lawyers claimed the state's first 2 executions of the year were botched because of old lethal injection drugs, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice has stalled the release of public information regarding the state's supply of lethal doses. Without providing a reason, the department told a Texas Tribune reporter last week that it would take an estimated 20 business days - until the day before the state's next scheduled execution - to provide information on how many lethal doses the state has and when they expire. In the past, the records have been provided in 1/2 the time, and even that could be unlawful. The Texas Attorney General's Office handbook on the state's public information law says that a governmental body must produce public information promptly, without delay. The handbook says it is a "common misconception" that agencies can wait 10 business days before releasing the information, as the Department of Criminal Justice has regularly done in the past regarding execution drugs. "There's absolutely no excuse," said Joe Larsen, a lawyer who serves on the board of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas. "The only reason they're doing it is to cause problems ... to delay the story." Asked for comment about the prolonged waiting period, TDCJ spokesman Jason Clark said Wednesday that the department fully complies with the Texas Public Information Act and that inventory logs of execution drugs are expected to be released this week, instead of the previously estimated date of Feb. 21. The Tribune requested the information Jan. 23. 9 days later, lawyers for death row inmate John Battaglia filed a last-minute appeal before his execution claiming that the state's previous 2 executions used old, relabeled drugs for the lethal injection that likely caused one inmate to say he felt burning and the other to jerk on the gurney. Clark denied the executions were botched, saying both men lost consciousness almost immediately and were pronounced dead 13 minutes after being injected with pentobarbital, the drug Texas currently uses in executions. Battaglia lost the appeal, and during his execution he sighed and said, "Oh, here, I feel it," according to The Dallas Morning News. The defense lawyers said in the appeal that the drugs used this year were more than a year past their "beyond-use date," similar to an expiration date. (The lawyers also claim the beyond-use dates set by the state are "unscientific" and not viable). One batch of drugs was previously set to expire on Jan. 22, but more than a month ago, the drugs were re-tested and given a new expiration date of November, according to the Battaglia appeal. The TDCJ has said it doesn't discuss specifics on the current inventory of its execution drugs, but this testing has happened at least one other time in the past year, since it last reported a purchase of pentobarbital. According to TDCJ records received by the Tribune last year, drugs set to expire in July were removed from stock, and, on the same day, the same number of vials were added back to the inventory with an expiration date set for exactly 1 year in the future. "They haven't gotten any new drugs, and they just appear to keep extending the beyond-use date," said Maurie Levin, one of the lawyers on the Battaglia filing who is involved in multiple lawsuits regarding Texas execution drugs. "The thinking is they're only getting older; it's only going to get worse." Now, the public release of information on the drugs has been stalled. For a year, the prison system provided inventory logs and expiration dates to the Tribune regularly, releasing the information exactly 10 business days after it was requested, often just before 5 p.m. Justin Gordon, head of the attorney general's office's open records division, said government bodies can't wait out the clock to release public information. Agencies must release the information "promptly," which in most cases is sooner than 10 days, he said. He said the most common reasons agencies give for a delay is because a large request requires a lot of time and compilation or because the department is handling requests chronologically and has not yet gotten to a request yet, even if it's straightforward. Gordon said his division hammers home to those who repeatedly wait until the last minute to provide records that they aren't giving good customer service and can't expect requesters to cooperate with them. He said an unnecessary delay
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, N.H., PENN., ALA., CALIF.
April 21 TEXAS: Judge denies motion to remove death penalty from suspect in Breanna Wood's deathNueces County prosecutors revealed they're pursuing charges against seven people related to the killing. The death penalty remains on the table for capital murder suspect Joseph Tejeda, who is accused in the death of Breanna Wood. Judge Jack Pulcher, of the 105th district court, on Friday denied a motion from Tejeda's attorneys, Fred Jimenez and Dee Ann Torres, that the death penalty not be considered. Tejeda, 27, is charged with capital murder, engaging in organized criminal activity, tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse. The state is seeking the death penalty against him and Sandra Vasquez, who is also charged with capital murder in connection with Wood's death. A third person, Christopher Gonzalez, is also facing a capital murder charge, but prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty in his case. They are three of 78 people charged with crimes related to the 21-year-old. Wood's remains were found in early January 2017 after she was last seen with Tejeda at a convenience store in October 2016. It was decided at a previous hearing that motions filed by Tejeda's attorneys would be heard in increments of 10. At his last hearing, among other motions, his attorneys requested he be allowed to appear in court wearing "civilian clothes" and that he not be shackled. Those requests were denied. His attorneys have also filed a motion requesting his facial tattoos be either removed or covered with makeup for his trial. Tejeda's attorneys requested more time on that motion while they find an expert to speak about the tattoos. (source: Corpus Christi Caller-Times) NEW HAMPSHIRE: Let's put an end to the death penalty The New Hampshire House of Representatives will vote on Senate Bill 593, which will repeal the death penalty in coming weeks. I support this repeal. I am a Christian and my support of repeal is primarily based on my deeply held religious understandings. I also believe that the death penalty is a deeply flawed public policy. I believe the death penalty is highly arbitrary, risks executing the innocent and is racially biased. No research evidence supports a deterrent value. The monies currently used to prosecute and defend capital cases would be better used supporting initiatives to reduce crime, funding cold-case units and supporting victims. There is just no restorative or rehabilitative value to the death penalty. I urge our state representatives to overwhelmingly vote for SB 593. MARTHA A. HUNT Sutton (source: Letter to the Editor, Concord Monitor) PENNSYLVANIA: Death penalty sought in Foster Township domestic slaying Luzerne County prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against a Foster Township man accused of killing his girlfriend earlier this year. Joseph John Marchetti Jr., 51, allegedly beat and shot Antoinette Wilkinson, also known as Toni Lynn, 46, inside their Spring Street home in the township on Jan. 28. Investigators say Marchetti also beat his girlfriend's mother, Barbara Wilkinson, 72, with a lead-filled club before shooting himself in the face. The elder Wilkinson survived and testified about her ordeal at Marchetti's preliminary hearing in March. Marchetti, who faces counts of criminal homicide and aggravated assault, has pleaded not guilty. Paperwork filed Friday in Luzerne County Court indicated that a jury trial has been requested, and has been set for Feb. 19, 2019. Marchetti remains jailed at the county correctional facility without bail. He is being represented by county public defenders Michael Kostelaba and Benjamin Stanton. The case is being prosecuted by assistant district attorneys Daniel Zola, Justin Richards and Kyle Scanlon. (source: Times Leader) ALABAMA: Justice is meant to be blind to all factors, including age Justice is meant to be blind. She's blind to all of the outside factors that would affect an outcome of fairness. I've seen a lot of people in the last week oppose the use of the death penalty for Walter Leroy Moody, 83, due to his age. They were wrong. The state was right to execute him. He was sentenced to death in 1996 for the capital murder of Judge Robert Vance. The death penalty isn't an outcome that our justice system hands out lightly. There are far more avenues for those convicted to escape it than there were for their victims to escape their fate or their families and loved ones to escape living in the shadow of reality of that included a heinous often violent crime. There are ways to get out of the death penalty. The courts allow an appeal process that often leads to years and years of waiting to see justice served. This process should not be allowed to be an automatic get out of your sentence card if you can take up as much time as possible. The question of fairness or kindness should not fall to a system
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, N.H., MASS. FLA., IND., ARK., OKLA., CALIF.
April 20 TEXAS: Warden Describes Life on Death Row in Delacruz Testimony Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison warden Stephen Bryant testified about living conditions on death row for jurors in the Isidro Delacruz trial on April 3, 2018. Jurors unanimously sentenced Delacruz to death late Tuesday for the murder of 5-year-old Naiya Villegas on Sept. 2, 2014. District Judge Ben Woodard told Delacruz his case was automatically appealed to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the highest criminal state court in Texas. He also informed Delacruz that he had appointed Hilary Sheard as his appellant attorney. Sheard will work with Delacruz's current court-appointed attorneys to begin the mandatory appeal of his capital murder conviction. Sheard is a capital murder appellant qualified indigent defense attorney. There are 229 male inmates on Texas death row. Isidro Delacruz will be the only inmate from Tom Green County. Bryant is Senior Warden at the Pam Lychner State Prison in Humble, TX and spent 8 years working on Texas death row in the Allan B. Polunsky unit in Livingston, TX. As we reported earlier, Bryant testified that offenders sentenced to death are sent to the Polunsky Unit in Livingston. He told attorneys that death row inmates are confined to their 6 ft. by 10 ft. cells 22 hours a day and are allowed just 2 hours a day for recreation. Recreation is allowed in a concrete walled room about the size of an average garage. Death row inmates are not allowed contact visits according to Bryant. The warden told attorneys there are different levels of offenders on death row based upon their level of obeying prison rules. Bryant said the typical day in the life of an inmate on death row begins at 3 to 3:30 a.m. when they serve breakfast. He said that's because the general population is served breakfast at 3 to 3:30 a.m. because all offenders are required to have a job and many of those jobs begin at 4 a.m. to 5 a.m. and many inmates need medications at that time. Those meds would include insulin for diabetics, and etc. Under questioning from District Attorney Allison Palmer, Bryant testified that the difference between offenders sentenced to death and those sentenced to life in prison without parole is significant. Death row inmates remain in their cells, don't have jobs and are not allowed contact visits ever. A death row inmate's visit is restricted to non-contact through a glass window and talking over a phone. Bryant testified that death row offenders are provided services "Cell side." That is, they receive almost all benefits in their cells. Offenders sentenced to life must leave their cells and walk to appointments for medical service, educational service, counseling and jobs. Bryant told attorneys that all offenders in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice must be assigned a job. Some are not physically able to work, but they have an assigned job anyway. Death row offenders do not work, however. Bryant said offenders are served lunch from 9:30 to 10:00 a.m. and then supper starts at 3:30 p.m. Death row offenders are strip searched, shackled and accompanied by 2 corrections officers every time they leave their cells. There are no televisions on death row, only radios. Bryant described to attorneys how death row offenders are treated when they leave their cells. They are strip searched. They take off all their clothing and show all their body cavities to corrections officers. Then they re-dress and place their hands behind their back through a slot in the cell door so corrections officers can handcuff them. Then 2 corrections officers shackle their feet and grab them by the upper arm and take them to where ever they are appointed to be. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, inmates sentenced to death on average spend 10 years on death row and many spend at least 20 years awaiting execution. (source: sanangelolive.com) NEW HAMPSHIRE: The Christian case against death penalty Writing about death penalty repeal, Chuck Douglas asked, "Why should the Dylann Roofs of this world who said, 'I do not regret what I did' be spared?" (Monitor Forum, April 5) I can offer at least 2 answers from my perspective as the executive director of the New Hampshire Council of Churches. This body is made up of 9 denominations, all of which oppose the death penalty for faith reasons. First, the death penalty fails to respect the wishes of the victims' families. Douglas noted that the mass murder took place in "a famous church" but failed to remember that the families affected publicly asked for forgiveness and mercy for Roof. By urging or mandating capital punishment, we neglect their deeply Christian desires. During the Senate and House testimony, many family members of murder victims urge repeal as well. We must value their wishes over shouts of revenge. 2nd, Douglas emphasizes Roof's lack of remorse
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, CONN., GA., FLA., ALA., OHIO
April 19 TEXASimpending execution(s) Death Watch: The Constitutionality of IntentWhat if the people you killed were not who you hoped to kill? Erick Davila is scheduled to die on Wednesday, April 25. The 31-year-old from Fort Worth was convicted of capital murder for the 2008 deaths of 5-year-old Queshawn Stevenson and her grandmother Annette at a child's birthday party. Though the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Davila last June, his lawyers Jonathan Landers and Seth Kretzer on Friday filed an appeal at the high court to stay the execution. Like the first effort, this appeal challenges the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals' April 9 decision to deny Davila's most recent appeal in that court, which argued that, among other things, his appellate attorney David Richards provided ineffective counsel. In particular, Davila's current attorneys argue, Richards never mentioned Davila's assertion that on the day he shot the Stevensons, he was "dangerously intoxicated" and shot them unintentionally; Davila had entered the party and began shooting, but has maintained that he intended to shoot a single rival gang member. Richards also did not argue that should Davila's story be true, he wouldn't have been eligible for a capital murder conviction and therefore the death sentence. And the trial jury was never informed that Davila could only be sentenced to death if they believed he intended to kill multiple people. Seeing all this, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in SCOTUS's first opinion that because a prisoner "does not have a constitutional right to counsel in state postconviction proceedings, ineffective assistance in those proceedings does not qualify as cause to excuse a procedural default." Landers and Kretzer on Monday filed a successor petition with the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals seeking permission to file a 2nd appeal and motion to stay Davila's execution. Meanwhile, Davila's petition for clemency is pending. In February, Gov. Greg Abbott commuted Thomas Whitaker's death sentence 1 hour before his scheduled execution, but that was the 1st such commutation in Texas in over a decade, and the circumstances were rather unique. Kretzer told me Monday he's "hopeful," but he also acknowledged, "all I can do is make the legal arguments. Then I leave it to powers-that-be to resolve them. But we will fight for Mr. Davila and all his constitutional rights to the last hour of the last day." Death Row Details SCOTUS on Monday refused without comment to hear the case of Daniel Acker, convicted of murdering his girlfriend Marquetta George in 2000. That decision will likely bring a death warrant to Hopkins County. Next on the state's schedule is Juan Castillo, scheduled to die on May 16. The San Antonio man is on his 4th execution date. He had a May 2017 date withdrawn on a technicality associated with the filing of his death warrant; Hurricane Harvey caused the 2nd to be rescheduled; and a December date was called off due to claims of false testimony. (source: austinchronicle.com) CONNECTICUT: Death Row Inmate Jessie Campbell Resentenced To Life In Prison Without Possibility Of Release Death row inmate Jessie Campbell III, guilty of killing his son's mother and her friend in Hartford during the summer of 2000, on Wednesday became the latest of the state's death row inmates to have their sentence revised to life in prison without the possibility of release. Campbell, now 39, was 20 when he gunned down La-Taysha Logan, 20, and her friend Desiree Privette, 18, and shot Privette's aunt Carolyn, a witness to the deadly slaying in August 2000 outside a friend's home in Hartford. Judge Edward J. Mullarkey sentenced Campbell to death in August 2007. After hearing an argument from Campbell's lawyers of a troubled past that plagued their client, Mullarkey handed down his ruling. "Nothing justified the murder, but the cold-blooded execution is startling," Mullarkey said at the time. "The Privettes were shot "because they were there. The fact that Carolyn Privette feigned death is the true miracle. Now, even with her survival, she will live a life of pain. ... I don't know what causes this kind of conduct to wholly eliminate or attempt to eliminate 2 witnesses." It was Mullarkey on Wednesday morning, now a senior judge, who sentenced Campbell to life in prison without the possibility of release in a hearing that lasted fewer than 10 minutes. Family of the victims were not in attendance and no statements were made on their behalf. Campbell's sentence was revised Wednesday in light of a ruling by the state Supreme Court in 2015 that abolished the death penalty. All 11 inmates on death row are to be resentenced to life in prison without the possibility of release. A jury convicted Campbell in 2004 of 2 counts of murder, 1 count of attempted murder, assault and criminal possession of a pistol or revolver. However, that jury was torn
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, N.H., S.C., GA., ALA., OHIO, ARK., COLO., CALIF.
April 18 TEXASnew death sentence Isidro Delacruz gets death penalty in Naiya Villegas murder In the end, the photographs of a smiling 5-year-old girl juxtaposed with a menacing-looking Isidro Delacruz - staring straight into the camera on the night of the child's murder - might have helped jurors decide Delacruz needed to die. A Tom Green County jury sentenced Delacruz, 27, to death late Tuesday in the slaying of 5-year-old Naiya Villegas after more than 3 years of trial delays. The jury of 8 women and 4 men went into deliberation at 10:30 a.m. to answer the special issues questions that resulted in the death penalty on the 5th week of trial. Delacruz appeared emotionless when 119th District Judge Ben Woodward read the sentence in the courtroom, with relatives of both families present alongside half a dozen Tom Green County Sheriff's deputies. Delacruz grinned when staff on the defense team patted his shoulders as he walked out of the courtroom in handcuffs. Family members had been meandering in and out of the courtroom throughout the day as they waited for the jury to make a determination. The same jury found Delacruz guilty of capital murder last month in the child's death. Naiya died in an ambulance on the way to the hospital after her throat was slit twice in the middle of the night at her mother's home in the 2700 block of Houston Street on Sept. 2, 2014. Delacruz's parents declined to comment Tuesday evening as family members hugged each other outside of the courthouse. Members of Naiya's family said they are thankful justice was served, adding they were planning to hold a vigil on the courthouse lawn when the case concludes. "In the ultimate betrayal, Naiya's short life was brutally, maliciously ended," 51st District Attorney Alison Palmer said in a statement after the sentencing. "No family should have to endure the loss of a child, especially in these circumstances, at the hands of one who professed to love her. "To the family of Naiya Villegas, you have my deepest sympathies. I hope this resolution brings them some measure of closure, and that they will remember the beauty of Naiya and know that she has found justice." Delacruz's defense team declined to comment. Attorneys took less than an hour each to argue their case Tuesday morning. Court-appointed attorneys Robert R. Cowie and William P.H. Boyles said Delacruz experienced personality disorders, learning disabilities and physical abuse during his upbringing, which affected him in adulthood. The defense told jurors life imprisonment is itself a death sentence in prison. Palmer said Delacruz has proven he is incapable of accepting responsibility for his actions and can't follow rules. She argued a sketchy work history, drinking while on probation, numerous run-ins with the law and destructive conduct such as making shanks while he was awaiting trial in the Tom Green County Jail were all examples of impetuous behavior. The punishment phase of trial had 2 delays when it began this month. Woodward halted trial for several days the first week of April because an official gave prosecutors new school records on Delacruz. Defense attorneys immediately filed for a mistrial and a 6th continuance based on the receipt of the additional school files, but Woodward ultimately turned down their motions. Woodward also delayed proceedings for a day last week for undisclosed reasons. About 100 witnesses were called to testify, including the child's mother, who broke down and nearly collapsed in the courtroom when she saw a picture of Delacruz's bloody hand print inside her house. Trial began in January when some 350 San Angelo residents reported to the McNease Convention Center for jury duty. "It was common to hear prospective jurors say they did not want to serve on this jury, but they would because it is their responsibility as a citizen," Palmer said. "Many said they knew the case would be difficult, but if their friends or family were involved as a victim or defendant, they would want responsible citizens on a jury to hear the case. I am humbled by this sense of civic duty and community." 12 jurors and 2 alternates were eventually impaneled after more than 7 weeks of tedious individual examination by attorneys. "I thank all of the venirepersons who took time for jury selection, and I thank the 14 who so diligently served on this jury," Palmer said. "They have my deepest respect." This was the 1st time Palmer had prosecuted a capital case seeking the death penalty that had gone to trial. The last death penalty trial San Angelo saw was in May 1999, when a Tom Green County jury sent Luis Ramirez to death row when he hired a hit man who shot and killed fireman Nemecio Nandin because Nandin was having a relationship with Ramirez's ex-wife. Delacruz's case will automatically be filed for appeal. (source: gosanangelo.com) ** impending
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news---TEXAS, MASS., GA., FLA., ALA., S. DAK., IDAHO, CALIF.
April 17 TEXAS: Northeast Texas man on death row for strangling girlfriend turned down by The U.S. Supreme Court turned down Daniel Acker's appeal on Monday. A northeast Texas man convicted of strangling his girlfriend moved one step closer to a possible execution date after the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned down his appeal despite what his lawyer described as a "compelling case of actual innocence." Daniel Acker was sent to death row in 2001 for the slaying of Marquetta George. The two were sharing a rented trailer in Hopkins County in March 2000 when they got in a fight after a night at the Bustin' Loose nightclub. Afterward, they parted ways and later Acker went searching for the 32-year-old Sulphur Springs woman, according to court filings. Her body was eventually found bloodied and beaten on the side of a road, and investigators fingered Acker for the killing. At trial, the defense argued that George jumped out of the couple's truck and was hit. Prosecutors said her boyfriend strangled her, then dumped her body. Acker was sentenced to death and has spent the past 18 years fighting his case, at times filing appeals on his own. The latest appeal, filed by attorney A. Richard Ellis, argued that prosecutors used false testimony from experts and repeatedly changed their theory of the crime. The case at trial was predicated on the theory that George was strangled - and the defense argued that she wasn't, and that an expert for the state later admitted it. Ellis also contended that the trial court of wrongly refused to allow evidence that could have shown Acker's innocence. But this week the nation's highest court without comment turned down the case. "I am of course very disappointed that the Supreme Court declined to review Mr. Acker's compelling case of actual innocence," Ellis said. "This was a tragic accident, where the victim jumped from Mr. Acker's truck -- an accident for which he has taken full responsibility from the time he turned himself in to the authorities -- but not a murder," he continued. "Going forward, we will be assessing our options to prevent a terrible miscarriage of justice." Acker does not yet have an execution date set. (source: Houston Chronicle) MASSACHUSETTS: Massachusetts lawmaker pushes to reinstate death penalty after cop killing A police officer on Cape Cod was shot in the head and killed Thursday while serving a warrant, local media reported. A Massachusetts lawmaker is reportedly pushing the state to bring back the death penalty in response to the recent killing of a police officer gunned down while serving a warrant. State Rep Shaunna L. O’Connell, a Republican, said the state has a reputation of being soft on crime and that puts the public in danger. “We need to send a message to criminals that ‘you kill law enforcement officers, you are going to get the death penalty,” she said, according to Fox25Boston. Yarmouth K-9 Officer Sean Gannon was shot and killed last Thursday while he and other officers were serving an arrest warrant at a home in Barnstable on Cape Cod. Gannon, who was married, was an 8-year veteran of the department. Gannon's dog, Nero, also was shot but underwent surgery and is recovering. Thomas Latanowich, 29, was charged in the killing. Latanowich hung his head throughout his brief arraignment in Barnstable District Court last week, speaking only to answer “yes” when the judge asked if he understood the proceedings. Latanowich has been arrested numerous times, according to police and court records, though many of the charges were later dismissed. Authorities said the last prison time Latanowich served was a 4- to 5-year sentence on gun charges. The prosecutor expressed frustration that prior charges had not resulted in more lengthy sentences. Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican, said in a statement that he supports the death penalty when a police officer is killed. (source: Fox News) * Some crimes merit death penalty The death penalty would be a fitting end to Thomas Latanowich if he is found guilty in the slaying of Yarmouth police officer Sean Gannon. Latanowich has an immense criminal record including recent arrests for strangling a pregnant woman and stabbing a man at a traffic light. Unfortunately there is no stomach for capital punishment on Beacon Hill. Opponents fear that an innocent man could be executed, and suggest the death penalty is not a deterrent to crime. Our justice system is imperfect and preventing collateral damage in our sentencing should always be a concern, but it is absurd to posit that the death penalty cannot be deterrent. Who are the respondents of such a survey? How can we prove a negative? Across the country, if the death penalty is ineffective it is because it is never implemented properly — with many on death row for decades, long after the impact of an execution would resonate in the
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, OHIO, WASH.
April 16 TEXAS: A rush to death risks executing the innocent Since the Supreme Court’s lifting of the moratorium against the death penalty in 1976, more than 1,400 men and women have been killed at the hands of various states. Of that number, nearly a third were executed by the state of Texas. That’s 549 people — killed by our state. The cost of those executions has been enormous. According to the group Death Penalty Focus, imposing capital punishment costs taxpayers approximately 2.3 million dollars per defendant. If you’re doing the math, one death penalty conviction costs more than three times what it would take to incarcerate a person under the highest level of security for 40 years. Ed Barnes, writing for Fox News U.S. in 2010 put it even more simply when he stated, “Every time a killer is sentenced to die, a school closes.” Now, according to an article recently published by the Houston Chronicle, it appears Texas (in a effort to lessen the costs of capital convictions) wants to “opt in” to new federal legislation that would limit the appeals process in death penalty cases and speed up executions. That decision is wrong. Since 1973, 161 people nationwide, 13 of them right here in our Great State of Texas, have been released from death row, due to their wrongful convictions. If the numbers are accurate, it means Texas has spent nearly $30 million dollars getting it wrong. Just for a moment, however, let’s forget about the exorbitant costs associated with killing a fellow human being. The very idea that a person, innocent of a capital crime, could be caused to sit on death row for any amount of time or, worse, wrongfully killed by our government, is offensive to our fundamental notions of liberty and justice. As celebrated English jurist Sir William Blackstone once said, “It is better that 10 guilty persons escape, than 1 innocent suffer.” Some of our founding fathers agreed. Both Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, our nation’s first Vice President, echoed Blackstone’s sentiments. According to Ben Franklin, “It would be better for 100 guilty persons to escape than one innocent person suffer.” Mr. Adams went even further when he said, “When innocence itself is brought to the bar and condemned, especially to die, the subject will exclaim, ‘It is immaterial to me whether I behave well or ill, for virtue itself is no security.’” Our Founding Fathers were right. It is unconscionable for us to live in a society where innocence is condemned, virtue has no security and our society’s greatest punishment is expedited for the sake of political expediency. Granted, at a time when even basic facts are up for debate and every issue is, invariably, reduced to a cacophony of talking heads yelling at one another about right versus wrong, left versus right and conservative versus liberal, there’s no wonder that very few in our criminal justice system, aside from the criminal defense bar, have had the courage to stand up and voice their collective opposition to this attempt to limit a defendant’s ability to appeal a death penalty conviction. The truth, however, is that speaking out against a proposed course of action that is, at best, legally questionable and, at worst, morally wrong should not fall solely on those who are willing to defend citizens accused of committing society’s most heinous crimes. We should all stand together. It shouldn’t matter what one’s feelings about capital punishment are or what position a person holds in our system of jurisprudence. Be they judge, prosecutor or defense attorney, for or against capital punishment, each and every member of the criminal justice system should speak with one voice on at least this issue: The ability of a person to lodge a full and fair defense of a death conviction, irrespective of the costs, must be held sacrosanct. (source: Opinion, Michael Fields is the judge in Harris County Criminal Court No. 14Houston Chronicle) OHIO: Trial today for last of 8 charged in Hamilton’s summer of deadly shootings A trial is scheduled to begin today for a Hamilton man who is the last of 8 defendants charged in two deadly incidents in the summer of 2016. Michael Grevious II, 25, is facing the death penalty if found guilty of aggravated murder for a retaliation shooting that followed a shoot out at the former Doubles Bar in Hamilton’s West Side. He is charged with felonious assault for that incident. The trial is scheduled to begin with jury selection in Butler County Common Pleas Judge Greg Stephen’s courtroom. Michael Grevious II — charged in the 2016 drive-by shooting that killed two men in Hamilton — was in Butler County Common Pleas Court today, Nov. 3. His death penalty trial has been continued. NICK GRAHAM/STAFF Staff Writer According to court records, Grevious was part of of the violence at Doubles, standing on a pool table inside the bar and opening fire, along with others. In
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, ALA., OHIO, ARK., NEB.
April 15 TEXAS: Texas seeks to fast-track executions A request by Texas to opt in on the 1996 Federal Anti-terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act is drawing sharp criticism from civil rights groups and local defense attorneys. According to the state Attorney General's office, the move would avoid "stressful delays" and "excessive costs" associated with executions. Defense attorney Raymond Fuchs said opting in to the act is "a horrible idea." "Texas spends very little money on counsel, on investigators, on mitigation experts, on psychologists and psychiatrists," he said. "They're as penny-pinching as you can get. "When I read that (U.S. Attorney) Jeff Sessions is actually considering Texas' application for this fast track, I thought it was a joke. We now have people running this state, who I guess think it's a Wild West show where the idea is, 'Let's have a trial and string 'em up.'" Whether Texas gets to opt in on the federal law is up to Sessions. (source: KSAT news) ALABAMAimpending execution Walter Leroy Moody seeks stay of execution for judge's pipe bomb slaying Walter Leroy Moody Jr., 83, the oldest inmate on Alabama Death Row, is waiting to see if a court will block his execution by lethal injection Thursday for a bombing nearly three decades ago that killed a federal appeals court judge. Moody maintains he didn't do it. And in the past few months since his April 19 execution date was set he and his attorneys have filed a flurry of appeals in federal and state courts. Last week both he - in a hand-written motion - and his attorneys filed requests for stay of execution. And now he and his attorneys are awaiting a ruling by the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which listened to arguments in the case last Thursday. U.S. 11th Circuit of Appeals Judge Robert Vance Sr. was killed Dec. 16, 1989 in a blast from a pipe bomb hidden in a package sent to the judge's Mountain Brook, Ala., home. The judge's wife, Helen, was seriously injured in the blast. In 1991, a federal jury convicted Moody of 71 charges related to the pipe-bomb murders of Vance and Georgia civil rights attorney Robert E. Robinson, who also was killed in a pipe-bomb blast two days after the judge. That federal trial was conducted in Minnesota. Moody was placed on death row after a jury convicted him of capital murder at a trial in Alabama five years later. The jury recommended 11-1 that the death penalty be imposed and the judge agreed. Alabama asked that an execution date be set for Moody on Jan. 9, the day after the U.S. Supreme Court denied his request to consider an appeal. Moody recently argued to a federal appeals court that the federal government which convicted him first on non-death penalty charges should have him in custody instead. Both the Alabama Attorney General and U.S. Justice Department have said that the federal government had the right, under an agreement, to allow the state to take custody of Moody and have him serve his state sentence first. "Moody cannot challenge any determination by the United States or Alabama as to the order in which he will face his federal and state sentences. The comity rules that govern priority of jurisdiction between the United States and Alabama do not confer on Moody any legally enforceable right that he may assert in a federal habeas proceeding," according to a federal appeals court brief filed April 10 by the U.S. Justice Department. Moody lost his appeal on another issue in January before the U.S. Supreme Court. He had appealed an 11th Circuit decision in March 2017. That appeal was about his decision to represent himself at his 1996 capital murder trial in Alabama. After convicting him, the jury voted 11-1 to recommend a death sentence. Courts have found that the trial judge did not err in allowing Moody to represent himself. Much of prosecutors' evidence centered on the similarities between pipe bombs Moody had previously been convicted of using. According to a summary of the bombings and investigations in one federal court document, prosecutors claimed that in May 1972, a bomb exploded in Moody's home in Macon, Ga. "The bomb, contained in a package addressed to a car dealer who had repossessed Moody's car, exploded when opened by Moody's wife. Moody was convicted in federal court in Macon for possessing the bomb, although he was acquitted of manufacturing it, and he served three years in federal prison." "Moody eventually became obsessed with overturning his 1972 conviction. He devised an elaborate story to shift the blame to a mythical "Gene Wallace," who Moody had claimed at trial had been attempting to assist him in regaining possession of his car and was responsible for the bomb," according to the court document. "Moody recruited a witness to substantiate his account, a destitute, young handicapped woman, Julie Linn-West, and he paid her in small monthly installments as
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, MASS., PENN., FLA., ALA., MISS., OHIO, NEB., CALIF.
April 14 TEXAS: Why This Judge Dreads Execution Day“I wondered whether the system I have been a part of for so long was, simply, barbaric.” The execution was set for 6 p.m. I knew because I set the date and time myself. With a little more than an hour to go, I sat alone by the phone in my office. More than three decades had passed since the defendant was first convicted of murdering a police officer. I had been the judge at his final trial, and now there was a chance I’d be called on to spare his life. Higher courts and the Texas governor had already denied the man’s last-ditch appeals. His lawyers had tried to broker a deal with prosecutors to keep him alive, but that had failed, too. Now he was down to his last shot: The defense could present some new argument or evidence to convince me to intervene and stop the execution. If they did, I would have to make a life-or-death decision with essentially no time for research or discussion. I waited. As the minutes passed, I felt a familiar sense of unease. In the years since I’d presided over his trial, the defendant had become a gray-haired, middle-aged man. He had put together a nearly flawless record helping other inmates. It was hard to see how he still constituted a violent threat to society, a requirement for death penalty cases in Texas. Now, barring a final legal maneuver, he would be erased from the Earth by a system in which I was a key participant. I stared out the window, feeling jealous of folks headed home or to a happy hour. Eventually, the clock ticked to 6 pm. My phone never rang. I turned on the TV, and learned from the evening news that the execution had proceeded as planned. As I left the office, I fell into a dark funk. Usually, I was proud and confident about my work as a judge, but a terrible feeling settled over me—the same feeling I had each time I was involved in a death penalty case. Sometimes I was able to rationalize that my role in the outcome of these cases was minimal. After all, jurors were the ones who weighed evidence and reached a lawful verdict. But other times I wondered whether the system I have been a part of for so long was, simply, barbaric. I ran for office and took the oath knowing that the death penalty would be part of my job, whether I liked it or not. Each time I encountered a capital case — 8 came before me during my 2 decades on the bench - there would be at least one moment that brought my internal conflict starkly into focus. These moments are painfully fresh in my mind. In my first death penalty trial, in 1998, the defendant had sexually assaulted and brutally slashed and stabbed a woman who had befriended him. The jury found him guilty of capital murder, but it was my duty to formally pronounce his sentence in open court. He displayed no emotion - during the trial, he’d only seemed interested in the crime scene and autopsy photos - and there was evidence he was a psychopath, that he felt no remorse. Still, after announcing his sentence, I felt an urgent need to drink and gulped 2 huge glasses of water. I wondered: Is my throat dry, or am I trying to wash the words out of my mouth? Years later, I had to sign the order setting a time for this man’s death—“by intravenous injection of a substance or substances in a lethal quantity sufficient to cause death and until such convict is dead”—and I remember staring at the paper, feeling strange and unnerved. Later, in my journal, I wrote about how I felt I was “invading God’s province.” I heard about another judge who placed a smiley face next to his signature on a death warrant. I couldn’t comprehend that attitude. Writing in my journal helped me stay balanced and objective. Once, I wrote about a defendant who was facing the death penalty, “He was almost always seated with his head tilted slightly downward and his eyes staring downward into space.” During the trial, he had showed little emotion. But when it was time for me to say the required words pronouncing his death sentence, I looked him in the eye. As I wrote later, “I was struck by a sight I will never forget. He looked so small, helpless, pathetic. His eyes looked like those of the proverbial deer in the headlights. He had been convicted of being a brutal, sadistic killer, and it was hard to argue that he was not getting what he deserved—but at that moment, for an instant, I saw the other side of the man, the side his family loved.” I continued: “If only we could execute the bad side and keep the good side alive.” On another occasion, as an execution was approaching, I was visited by the defendant’s lawyers. The appeals had been exhausted; there was nothing they could do. They suggested we get together on the night of the execution. At first, I thought the idea was sick, demented, heartless - a social hour during an execution! But I knew these lawyers; they were compassionate, serious. We kept talking about the
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, N.H., GA., ALA., LA., OHIO
April 11 TEXAS: Judge denies request for mistrial in Delacruz capital murder case; sentencing continues Sentencing in the case of Isidro Delacruz picked back up Monday, with the judge dismissing requests by the defense to declare a mistrial or grant a continuance because of new evidence. Delacruz, 27, was convicted of capital murder last month in the slaying of 5-year-old Naiya Villegas, the daughter of his ex-girlfriend. The child died after her throat was slit at her mother's home in the 2700 block of Houston Street on Sept. 2, 2014. 119th District Judge Ben Woodward had halted trial last Wednesday after an administrator with the San Angelo Independent School District - who was supposed to testify last Tuesday about Delacruz's academic performance - presented prosecutors with 30 new pages of school records when he arrived at the courthouse. Prosecutors had requested and received 205 pages of school files relating to Delacruz from SAISD in September 2014. The files included Delacruz's class schedules, state assessment tests, grade reports, and attendance, disciplinary and health records. Asked to find any other SAISD records regarding Delacruz, the administrator gave prosecutors 527 total pages Tuesday evening. Prosecutors said some of the originally received files and the 30 additional pages were contained in the 527 pages. Court-appointed attorneys Robert R. Cowie and William P.H. Boyles, of the Regional Public Defender, filed motions the next day for a mistrial and a sixth continuance based on the receipt of the additional school files. They argued the untimely production of the records violated Delacruz's rights and hindered their ability to provide effective counsel to their client. 51st District Attorney Allison Palmer argued a mistrial would be an extreme remedy and wasn't appropriate. She argued there were no trial errors and granting a mistrial would be a great injustice. Palmer also argued against the 6th continuance request, saying the defense had more than enough time to review and prepare for trial, considering the number of trial delays in Delacruz's case. "Granting a delay of several days' time for the defense to employ the records in whatever way they see fit is a less drastic alternative that cures any issue," Palmer said. Law enforcement personnel testified Monday about Delacruz's criminal record and behavior problems at the Tom Green County Jail. An officer with the San Angelo Police Department told jurors Delacruz has numerous arrests on drug charges as well as criminal mischief and evading arrest. An official with the county's probation office said Delacruz had at least five probation officers in charge of him. She said he broke probation rules numerous times by drinking alcohol and failing to pay $3,000 in fees and restitution, for example. Deputies with the Tom Green County Jail then told jurors Delacruz has had behavior problems since his arrest on day of Naiya's death. Deputies found a razor blade, which was taken from a shaving blade, in Delacruz's cell, for instance. Delacruz also made numerous calls to his ex-girlfriend shortly after he was arrested. Jail officers blocked her number after she reported it to a staff member. Jailhouse phone calls between Delacruz and an acquaintance showed he had driven drunk on one occasion as well. Delacruz faces the death penalty or life in prison. (source: gosanangelo.com) ** CNN documentary explores Rodney Reed's death penalty case CNN's "Death Row Stories" focused on Bastrop County in a recent episode that fleshed out the complex 1996 slaying of Stacey Stites and the decadeslong murder trial of Rodney Reed. Reed was sentenced to death in the 1996 strangulation death of Stacey Stites. The true-crime documentary series, now in its third season, aired an hourlong special on the confounding case April 1 in an episode titled "Love Kills." The episode pulls together 13 interviews from people who have been heavily immersed in the case over the years, including members of Stites' and Reed's family, special prosecutor Lisa Tanner and Curtis Davis, a Bastrop County deputy and friend to Stites' then-fiance Jimmy Fennell, who was an early suspect in the case. During Reed's 1998 trial, prosecutors presented medical testimony indicating that Stites had been strangled shortly after 3 a.m. as she drove from the Giddings apartment she shared with Fennell to her job at a Bastrop grocery store. Reed's semen was presented as evidence that he had raped and killed Stites, leaving her body alongside a rural road, miles from where her pickup was found at Bastrop High School. Reed's defense attorneys have argued Reed and Stites were involved in a consensual sexual relationship. But during a hearing in Bastrop in October, Reed's lawyers presented testimony from a noted forensic pathologist, Dr. Michael Baden, who concluded
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, LA., MO., CALIF.
April 8 APRIL 8, 2018: TEXAS: Man Charged with the Capital Murder of Eric Torrez has a Court Date Monday 2 men charged with capital murder are scheduled to be in court in San Angelo on Monday. The punishment phase of Isidro Delacruz's capital murder trial is set to resume Monday. District Judge Ben Woodward on Wednesday recessed the trial and sent the jury home until Monday while attorneys work on what the Judge called a "bump in the road." Delacruz was found guilty of capital murder and faces a sentence of life in prison without parole or the death penalty. Also on Monday, 34-year-old Stephen Lynn Jennings has his 1st pretrial hearing. Jennings was arrested in July 2017 in the murder of Eric Torrez. Jennings is charged with capital murder by terroristic threat, aggravated kidnapping and tampering with physical evidence/human corpse. As we reported back in August, Torrez went missing July 21 from Abilene in what previous reporting suggests was a dispute with his ex-wife. His body was discovered in a pasture 8 miles south of Barnhart Friday. The Sheriff has 3 in custody while the investigation continues, including Torrez's ex-wife, Kristen Jennings, who is held in the Taylor County Jail on charges of breaking and entering with intent to commit another felony. Stephen Lynn Jennings, Kristin Jennings' current husband, and Gary Lynn Jennings, Stephen's father, are being held for the offense of tamper or fabricate with physical evidence with intent to impair. Jennings' murder charges stem from the July 21 disappearance of Eric Torrez, who was reported missing after leaving the Abilene area for San Angelo. The Sheriff suspected foul play. Last Friday, the Sheriff found Torrez's body in a pasture 8 miles south of Barnhart. Jennings has a pretrial hearing set for 1:30 p.m. Monday in front of District Judge Jay Weatherby. (source: sanangelolive.com) LOUISIANA: Timeline: Louisiana's split-verdict jury law and its racist, white supremacist roots The fix was in against black Louisianians when 134 delegates gathered at Tulane Hall in New Orleans in February 1898 to draft a new state constitution. Their marching orders: whitewash the voter rolls as thoroughly as possible - without running afoul of federal law. Those rolls had swelled with black voters during Reconstruction. Their numbers had reached 130,000 in Louisiana, rivaling white voters in a state in which about half the population was black. In Louisiana, there's an unusual and long-standing allowance for non-unanimous jury verdicts in felony cases. E.B. Kruttschnitt, a lawyer and New Orleans school board president who led the 1898 convention, bluntly described the gathering's purpose. Voters "have intrusted to the Democratic party of this State the solution of the question of the purification of the electorate. They expect that question to be solved, and to be solved quickly," he announced. The goal was to eliminate "the mass of corrupt and illiterate voters who have during the last quarter of a century degraded our politics," he said. Many of the laws of the 1898 convention have been erased over time, chiefly by court rulings and federal legislation during the civil rights era. But one product of that ugly meeting remains largely intact: a constitutional provision that abandoned Louisiana's long-standing practice of requiring unanimous jury verdicts to send people to jail. After the convention, only 9 of 12 votes would be needed, a practice unique in America. The measure was one of several designed to speed things along in parish courtrooms and, in Kruttschnitt's words, "relieve the parishes of the enormous burden of costs in criminal trials." But efficiency wasn't the only goal. As the curtain rose on the convention, the Comite des Citoyens, a mostly black and Creole civil rights group based in New Orleans, was taking aim at so-called "Jim Crow juries" - those that excluded black people. The group already had become known for championing the cause of Homer Plessy, who challenged the segregation of rail cars in Louisiana. The case of Plessy v. Ferguson, decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1896, legalized the "separate but equal" doctrine in the country for the next 6 decades. Constrained by rulings Although the Plessy ruling was a victory for white supremacists, the delegates to the 1898 convention knew they couldn't simply ban black jurors, even if that was their aim. Congress in 1875 had made it illegal to exclude people from jury service "on account of race, color or previous condition of servitude." And in 1880, the Supreme Court for the first time reversed a state conviction because of the exclusion of black jurors when it deemed West Virginia's blanket ban on them to be unconstitutional. Less than a year before the Louisiana delegates met, a Creole man had been mistakenly seated on a federal jury in New Orleans and then booted off,
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, N.H., MD., ALA., LA.
April 7 TEXAS: Anthony Graves on Texas request for faster death penalty appeals: "I would have been executed"Death row exoneree Anthony Graves, along with capital defense lawyers, legal groups and former federal judges, criticized Texas' request to speed up federal death penalty appeals by pointing to the cases of men who were taken off death row long after their sentences were handed down. Anthony Graves spent 12 years on death row before a conservative federal court tossed out his wrongful capital murder conviction. Texas courts had previously rejected all of his appeals. "I had to get out of the state of Texas and into the federal court system to get help," he told The Texas Tribune Friday. "If it was up to the state itself, I would have been executed." It's a point he made in arguing against a pending request by the state to speed up the federal appeals process in death penalty cases. He's not alone: Several lawyers, former judges and legal groups have asked the federal government to deny the request by bringing up the cases of people, like Graves, who were taken off death row long after their sentences were handed down. As first reported by the Houston Chronicle, Texas is currently awaiting a decision from U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions on whether its state appellate system is competent enough to limit death row appeals in federal court. If approved, the time frame for inmate attorneys to file petitions in federal court after state appeals would be cut in 1/2, the courts would have set deadlines on when to rule on the cases, and the scope of claims that could be considered would be further restricted. The request was originally made in 2013 under Republican Gov. Greg Abbott when he was the state's attorney general, but it was tabled by the Obama administration. Then in November, the Sessions-led Department of Justice notified Texas it would begin reviewing the petition for faster appeals and asked for updated information. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's office complied. "Opting-in would serve several purposes for Texans, including sparing crime victims years of unnecessary, stressful delays, ensuring that our state court judgments are respected by federal judges as cases progress, and reducing the excessive costs of lengthy federal court proceedings," said AG spokeswoman Kayleigh Lovvorn in a statement earlier this week. Currently, the average inmate on Texas' death row has been there for more than 15 years. Federal law says that the nation's top prosecutor can allow a state to opt in for these greater restrictions in federal appeals if it appoints competent representation for poor capital defendants in post-conviction appeals at the state level. No state has been certified yet, though Arizona???s petition is also currently being reviewed, according to the Department of Justice. Texas said in its letter to the department it does have a competent state appellate system in place, but hundreds of pages of public comments from different groups involved in the capital punishment process argued otherwise. Graves and others have pointed to his case as an example of how the state often get its wrong, arguing that the safeguard of the federal reviews can be lifesaving. "Despite the fact that Mr. Graves was represented by attorneys deemed competent under Texas law at every stage of the proceeding, it took 12 years of sustained litigation for his legitimate constitutional claims - and his innocence - to be discovered, presented, and acknowledged, and for relief to be granted," wrote Bryce Benjet, an attorney for the Innocence Project, in a statement asking the government to deny Texas' petition. A former U.S. district judge from Texas' eastern district, Leonard Davis, also asked for the government to deny Texas' request in a public comment. Davis, who was appointed by President George W. Bush, said death-sentenced prisoners in Texas often miss out on full and fair consideration of their constitutional challenges because of inadequate legal representation in state appeals. He wrote of Christopher Wayne Shuffield, a former death row inmate whose lawyer in state appeals failed to investigate a challenge to his future dangerousness. His federal appellate lawyer was able to bring up the claim, and Shuffield's sentence was changed after Davis ruled on the case, he said. Davis said he's concerned that if Texas is approved for the stricter federal guidelines, the case would have gone the other way. "I am also concerned that Texas will continue to fall short in its efforts to guarantee state habeas counsel that will timely investigate and present all viable constitutional challenges to their clients' capital convictions and death sentences," Davis wrote. "It would be a travesty of justice if Mr. Shuffield had been executed on the basis of false evidence that he was a violent man in jail." The high profile case of
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, N.H., PENN., N.C., GA.
April 5 TEXAS: Condemned killer of 3 near Waco in 1989 loses federal appeal A 69-year-old prisoner on Texas death row for almost 3 decades for the slayings near Waco of 3 people - including the parents of his estranged wife - has lost a federal court appeal, moving him a step closer to execution. Attorneys for Billie Wayne Coble contended testimony from a prosecution psychiatrist during his 2008 punishment retrial was unreliable and that a prison expert called by prosecutors gave fabricated testimony. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled late Tuesday the psychiatrist's testimony was not unconstitutional and that a fabricated incident within the prison expert's testimony was harmless because it accounted for "only a small part" of the state's case against Coble. Coble would turn 70 in September and is among the oldest of the state's 230 condemned inmates. His lawyer, A. Richard Ellis, said Wednesday he had not yet decided whether to seek a rehearing before the appeals court "but either way I will petition for certiorari in the Supreme Court," meaning a review of the case by the justices. In 2007, the 5th Circuit threw out Coble's original death sentence and ordered a new punishment trial. In that ruling, the court said 2 special issues that jurors had to answer to decide on the death penalty - whether Coble committed murder deliberately and would be a future danger to society - were unconstitutional as they were applied in his case. The ruling then reflected changes in Texas statutes made since Coble's original trial in 1990, a year after he was charged with the shooting deaths of his estranged wife's parents, Robert and Zelda Vicha, and his wife's brother, Waco police Sgt. Bobby Vicha, at their homes in Axtell, northeast of Waco. Evidence showed Coble was distraught over the breakup of his marriage and killed his wife's parents and brother Aug. 29, 1989. Waco attorney J.R. Vicha, a former McLennan County prosecutor, was 11 when Coble killed Vicha's father and his grandparents. "In my opinion, it's a great miscarriage of justice that this person has been able to live to see the age of 70," Vicha said. "But I guess him being 1 step closer to execution is better than nothing at this point." Coble tied up J.R. Vicha and his cousins and told the girls to say goodbye to their mother. He then kidnapped Karen, his estranged wife, assaulting her and threatening to rape and kill her before they were injured in a wreck after a high-speed chase with police in neighboring Bosque County. Crawford Long, who prosecuted Coble with former District Attorney John Segrest in the 2008 punishment retrial, once referred to Coble as having a "heart full of scorpions." "Coble absolutely deserves the death penalty verdict, which I hope will be carried out in the near future," Long said. "He was able to escape the ultimate punishment in his 1st trial when the court was led to believe that he had mental problems, which it turned out he did not actually have. So he was essentially given what appears to be an unfair 2nd bite at the apple. The 2nd jury also believed he deserved the death penalty." Long recalled evidence from the retrial that he said showed Coble's character and sealed his fate with the jury. "He had stolen Karen Vicha's car and wrecked it after slaughtering her parents and Bobby Vicha, and the 1st thing he said was, 'I guess you are going to get a new car now,'" Long said. "I heard a sound of absolute loathing and disgust toward Coble from the jury that I have never heard in any trial. I think the jury felt justifiably from the evidence that he had absolutely no humanity." (source: Waco Tribune-Herald) ** Judge Mysteriously Halts Delacruz Death Penalty Trial Jurors in the capital murder trial of Isidro Delacruz were only in court for 4 minutes Wednesday before District Judge Ben Woodward sent them home until Monday. District Judge Ben Woodward told jurors, "This case has been going smoothly. The attorneys have been working well together but we hit a bump in the road." Woodward told jurors and the court that they were dismissed until Monday morning at 9 a.m. Woodward admonished jurors again not to talk about the case with anyone and not to read reports in the media about it either. Woodward did not give the jurors a reason why testimony in the punishment phase was suspended until Monday but he did say the delay may go beyond Monday. The same jurors convicted Delacruz of capital murder last Thursday in the death of 5-year-old Naiya Villegas on Sept. 2, 2014. Delacruz was convicted of cutting the little girl's throat causing her death. Defense attorneys Will Boyles and Rob Crowie along with prosecuting attorney Allison Palmer met with Judge Woodward in chambers Wednesday morning. Boyles and Cowie had said in open court earlier in the week that they had expert witnesses from out of town who couldn't be
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, N.H., PENN., MD., FLA., ALA.
April 4 TEXASimpending execution Death row inmate files appeal alleging he was high at time of slaying With weeks to go before his scheduled execution, defense lawyers for Erick Davila are arguing that he should be spared death because he was high at the time of the slaying and didn't intend to kill more than 1 person. The Fort Worth man was convicted of killing a rival gang member's mother and a 5-year-old girl at a children's birthday party in 2008. He was sentenced to death in 2009 and is slated for execution on April 25. But his lawyers have long argued that Annette and Queshawn Stevenson were not his intended victims, according to court filings. Instead, lawyers say in a Tarrant County court filing, he was aiming for rival gang member Jerry Stevenson. When he opened fire on a children's birthday party, he missed his mark - in part due to bad vision, lawyers say - and killed a grandmother and young child instead. He was sent to death row for killing more than 1 person - but his attorney, Seth Kretzer, says he only meant to kill the one. And killing just 1 person is not necessarily a death-eligible crime. "The jury never learned that at the time of the shooting Davila was heavily intoxicated, likely to the degree that it would have rendered him temporarily insane," Kretzer wrote in a court filing. In February, lawyers questioning Davila's codefendent learned that the convicted triggerman was on a cocktail of PCP, weed, and ecstasy the day of the crime. "The fact that Davila was high on such powerful chemicals at the time of the shooting would have been the perfect compliment to Davila's defense that he did not intend to harm any women or children," Kretzer wrote. But, he argued, due to bad jury instructions, the jury didn't realize that they needed to find Davila intended to kill two people to find him guilty of capital murder in the case presented. Defense lawyers at the time failed to raise the issue. Now, in a petition filed last week requesting a stay, Kretzer raises claims from bad lawyering to withheld evidence to bad jury instruction and targets Texas's capital sentencing scheme as unconstitutional. (source: correctionsone.com) ** Warden talks about life in Texas prisons during Isidro Delacruz death penalty hearing A warden talked about the dynamics of prison life for an inmate who's on death row compared to life imprisonment as a jury mulls the fate of a San Angelo man convicted of capital murder. A Tom Green County Jury on Thursday found Delacruz, 27, guilty of capital murder in the slaying of 5-year-old Naiya Villegas. Villegas, who is the daughter of Delacruz's ex-girlfriend, died after her the throat was slit at a home in the 2700 block of Houston Street on Sept. 2, 2014. A senior warden with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said managing an inmate who's on death row is staff intensive compared any other prison sentences. The expert witness said male death row inmates are sent to the Polunsky Unit in Livingston where they spend roughly 22 of 24 hours in solitary confinement. He said meals are brought to their cells for example, and 2 guards must escort the inmate to any activity including showers, medical checkups or recreation. The Polunsky Unit also houses other offenders including inmates who are charged with nonviolent crimes. The warden said death row inmates, however, are isolated from other prisoners, excluded from prison educational and employment programs and are sharply restricted in terms of visitation and recreation. He said the day starts with breakfast about 3 a.m. The TDCJ has 5 inmate classifications that determine freedom and privileges, the warden said. Level 5 contains aggressive offenders while Level 4 inmates are those who chronically violate prison rules. A person sentenced to a life term is automatically deemed a Level 3. Allison Palmer, 51st District Attorney, is prosecuting the case, the 1st capital murder in which the death penalty is being sought to go to trial since 1999. Robert R. Cowie, of the Regional Public Defender for Capital Cases, is court appointed to represent Delacruz. Trial resumes Wednesday. (source: gpsanangelo.com) NEW HAMPSHIRE: House Committee Takes up Death Penalty Repeal Bill A bill to repeal New Hampshire's death penalty law is before a House committee. Previous efforts to repeal the death penalty in the state have failed, but the latest attempt passed the Senate for the first time earlier this month. It would change the penalty for capital murder to life in prison without parole. Republican Gov. Chris Sununu said his administration supports the death penalty, and he will veto the bill if it reaches his desk. The bill would not change the fate of New Hampshire's only death row inmate, Michael Addison, who was convicted of murdering Manchester Police Officer Michael Briggs in 2006. The House
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, FLA., LA., MO., NEB., UTAH, IDAHO, USA
April 3 TEXASfemale to face death penalty Jury trial set for capital-murder defendant A jury trial has been scheduled for Jan. 28 for the woman accused of shooting to death her 2 young daughters, Henderson County District Attorney Mark Hall said. Just over 3 months ago, Sarah Henderson, 30, pleaded not guilty after being indicted in January 2018 on 2 counts of capital murder, attempted murder and assault on a public servant. She remains in the Henderson County jail on $1 million bond each on the capital cases and a combined $100,000 bond on the other counts. Henderson was arrested on Nov. 2 at her Mabank home. Sheriff Botie Hillhouse has said that she had planned the murders of Kaylee and Kenlie for a couple of weeks and that she tried to kill her husband, Jacob Henderson, before the gun malfunctioned. The girls, 5 and 7, attended Southside Elementary School in Mabank. In a 911 call, Jacob Henderson asked for help for his wife before asking a dispatcher to "disregard" the call. About 3 hours later, he made another 911 call to report that his wife had shot the girls in their heads. "The assault on a public servant arose 2 days later while Henderson was being held in the Henderson County jail, where she is accused of striking a detention officer while he was attempting to release her from restraint," according to reports. Judge Scott McKee of the 392nd Judicial District Court provided prosecutors and defense attorneys Steve Green and John Youngblood a restricted and protective order - that is, a gag order. Hall said he has until June 1 to determine whether the death penalty should be sought in the case. If convicted of capital murder, Sarah Henderson could spend life in prison without the possibility of parole or receive the death penalty. A pretrial hearing is set for Aug. 23 in the 392nd. (source: Athens Daily Review) * Prosecutor will seek death penalty in murder The Texas County prosecutor will seek the death penalty for 1 of 4 persons accused in the brutal death of a teenager last year north of Cabool that drew national attention. Parke Stevens Jr. announced his intention to seek the sentence against Andrew Vrba in a court filing Monday in Crawford County Circuit Court, where the case is expected to be heard on a change of venue. A trial date could be set as early as Tuesday, when it appears on a docket. Vrba, 18, is charged with 1st-degree murder, armed criminal action and abandonment of a corpse in the September death of Joseph M. Steinfeld, who went by "Ally" and planned to transition to a female, according to family members. Authorities allege the victim was stabbed and the remains burned. Stevens' decision also will likely trigger the involvement of a special prosecutor from the Missouri attorney general???s death penalty case team. Vrba is defended by the Missouri public defender system. 3 other defendants are charged in the stabbing death of Steinfeld: --Isis Schauer, 18, entered a guilty plea to 2nd-degree murder and abandonment of a corpse. She was sentenced to 20 years on the murder count and 4 years on the 2nd charge in December. The terms are to run concurrently in the Missouri Department of Corrections. --Briana Calderas, 24, also is charged with 1st-degree murder, armed criminal action and abandonment of a corpse. A pre-trial conference is June 19 in Pulaski County, where her case will be heard. The trial is Oct. 9-12. --A 4th person, James Grigsby, of Thayer, 25, is accused of abandonment of a corpse and tampering with evidence. (source: Houston Herald) 'Express lane to death': Texas seeks approval to speed up death penalty appeals, execute more quickly Texas is seeking to speed up executions with a renewed request to opt-in to a federal law that would shorten the legal process and limit appeals options for death-sentenced prisoners. Defense attorneys worry it would lead to the execution of innocent people and - if it's applied retroactively, as Texas is requesting - it could potentially end ongoing appeals for a number of death row prisoners and make them eligible for execution dates. "Opt-in would speed up the death penalty treadmill exponentially," said Kathryn Kase, an longtime defense attorney and former executive director of Texas Defender Services. But a state attorney general spokeswoman framed the request to the Justice Department as a necessary way to avoid "stressful delays" and cut down on the "excessive costs" of lengthy federal court proceedings. Robbie Kaplan, co-founder of the #TimesUp movement, says sweeping changes to laws in recent years have dissuaded attorneys from taking on harassment cases on behalf of women. The legal defense fund aims to change that. The controversial request - which comes after years of declining executions - has sparked a federal lawsuit and hundreds of pages of comments from a broad
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., ARK., USA
April 1 TEXAS: Texas DA murdered after pursuing killer bent on targeting lawyers The murder was no mystery. It was a shock, sure. People don't gun down assistant district attorneys in broad daylight. Not in 2013. Not one block from the county courthouse. When people heard about Mark Hasse's execution, they were speechless. But when they did start talking, it was about who they thought did it - and why. "This case is local," District Attorney Mike McLelland told another lawyer after Hasse's funeral. "The killer is somebody bent on revenge. This is somebody really close to home." Get McLelland alone, in his office, and he might even share the name of that somebody. But knowing it and proving it were different matters. And before McLelland's suspicion turned into an arrest warrant, he and his wife were dead, too - with the killer focused on new targets. Kathryn Casey's true-crime book "In Plain Sight" tells that tale. But the veteran Houston journalist tells another story, too, of good ol' boys and macho rage, of madmen stockpiling assault rifles and survivalists prepping for the apocalypse. It's set in Texas of 5 years ago, but it feels like a lot of America now, where suburban dads buy bulletproof vests and their wives gulp Oxycodone. Where compromise is ridiculed and grudges carefully cultivated until they bloom into bloody violence. Looking back, the crimes seem almost inevitable, the killer and his principal target - both stubborn, unforgiving men - coming together like a slow-motion car crash. Eric Williams grew up just outside of Fort Worth. A loner, he liked guns a little too much, even for the Lone Star State. He once shot his sister's cat right through the eye, but folks expected him to grow out of that. They were relieved when he started talking about becoming a soldier. Michael McLelland grew up nearby, just outside Dallas. A beefy, popular guy, he married after high school and went to college with dreams of working as a history teacher. Once on campus, he joined the ROTC and considered an Army career instead. The 2 men's lives didn't seem all that different. Williams' military career never did happen, and he eventually moved to rural Kaufman County. He married, became a lawyer, and then a justice of the peace. McLelland did his stint in the service and became a Kaufman County lawyer, too, planning to go into politics. He lost his 1st race for district attorney by 65 votes. Some friends wondered if he was done in by a letter to the local paper that questioned his character and noted that McLelland lied about being a lifelong Republican. The letter was written by Eric Williams. Eventually, McLelland did become the Kaufmann County DA. And, eventually, he heard Williams' name again. This time, it was Williams' character under question. Office supplies he had charged to the county were never delivered, at least not to the office. Surveillance cameras showed him sneaking $600 worth of computer equipment out of the building. Small stuff, maybe - but not to McLelland. He had Williams arrested, handcuffed and charged with theft. He told assistant district attorney Hasse to go after him hard. Don't just put him in jail, "put him under the jail," advised McLelland. Williams was quickly tried and convicted. He lost his job and his law license. His lawyers appealed, but his career was already over. His plot, though, was just hatching. This wasn't revenge, he told his wife. This was logical. If McLelland and Hasse were dead, others would take their place. Surely their replacements would see that he had been persecuted, not prosecuted. Then he would get his old life back. But first, these 2 men had to lose theirs. His wife Kim nodded numbly. Addicted to painkillers for years, she no longer argued with her spouse - even as he slept with other women. Even after he almost shot her as he cleaned his guns. Twice. Assigned the job of getaway driver, she took Williams to the county courthouse in a cheap second-hand car. It seemed too easy. Williams jumped out, shot Hasse, and climbed back in. The couple ditched the car and Williams began plotting the next murder. The execution of an assistant district attorney stunned the country. The ATF, the FBI and the Texas Rangers joined the investigation. Though a few locals remembered the Williams trial and wondered about a connection, the feds sought bigger monsters. Could it be a Mexican drug cartel? The Aryan Brotherhood? McLelland wasn't sure. He was prepared, though. An end-of-days believer, his house was stockpiled with cases of canned food. He stashed loaded guns everywhere. Whatever came, he would be ready. But he wasn't ready for Eric Williams. When the doorbell rang on the eve of Easter Sunday, Cynthia McLelland opened it and invited the visitor inside. Williams shot her dead. Then he walked into the hallway and killed her husband. The murders were done
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, VA., GA., FLA., TENN., ID., CALIF., USA
March 30 TEXAS: Good Friday is a time to consider what the death penalty is doing to our souls Good Friday always beckons us to think deeply about our role in the execution. Word spread quickly. The crime was unspeakable. The reward for his capture was great. The government was desperate to get him off the streets. Nobody knew what he was capable of next. Considering him to be exceedingly dangerous, law enforcement planned carefully. For some time, they'd practiced and discussed the take. When the moment arrived, one of the fugitive's confidantes revealed his location. As authorities made the arrest, those closest to him pushed back. It was no use. It was as if he knew his fate. Government officials repeatedly declared that a monster had been taken off the streets. Everyone wanted justice. Believing some level of due process was necessary to keep from giving their power over to the mob, local officials restrained themselves. Everyone knew that this was a big one. Insult after insult flew. Then, the time came. When the doors opened, he immediately became aware of how public his case was. Though he'd seen reports and heard rumblings, he just wasn't aware of the magnitude of the hate. The weight of it all was almost too much to carry. Weak in the knees, he determined to keep moving. The people kept calling him a monster. The words were painful. However, it was more painful to realize that they were calling everyone he loved monsters, too. When the walk didn't seem like it could get any longer, he was there. There was no question what everyone wanted. Death was in the air. The authorities gave him a chance to save his life, but he didn't take it. Nobody could believe it. Who wouldn't take the opportunity to save his own life? He was subjected to further punishment and then offered the chance at life again. He declined. Death it was. The path was long between the place of judgment and the place of execution. At every step, the cries of monster overwhelmed his brain. The religious people seemed to be the ones shouting the loudest. In the midst of it all, he stumbled a few times. I guess that's the nature of all difficult paths. As the place of execution approached, the governor had one last chance. Citing his faith, the governor let the killing continue. Waiting for death, the man prayed. Slowly, he was strapped in. His great crime was raised up for all of the world to see. God felt so far away. How could he have been so forsaken? His final words echoed in the beings of all who heard them, "Into your hands I commend my spirit." Death came with a rush. In great agony, he took his last breath. It was finished. The accounts of Jesus' sacrifice and death always move me deeply. But this narrative is not about Jesus. This is a narrative of Rosendo Rodriguez, convicted of killing 2 women and stuffing their bodies into suitcases. Texas executed him last Tuesday. God was there and so was I. Under the rain, I watched. While I cannot say what Rodriguez' crimes meant for his soul, I can say what his execution means for ours. The message of God died on that gurney. We killed our neighbor. We damned our persecutor. Surely God hates what we have done. Like it or not, our death penalty makes killers of us all. How are we any different than he? Only abolition can save us. The offer of life is on the table. Will we take the deal? (source: Opinion; Jeff Hood is a Baptist pastor and authorDallas Morning News) VIRGINIAfemale may face death penalty Suspect in Danville double slaying asks for capital defender A Danville woman charged in a 2017 double homicide asked a capital defender to represent her case, following court proceedings Wednesday. Amanda Lynn Willhite, 35, asked to be represented by a capital defender as her lead counsel and for a public defender to be her co-counsel as the case winds its way through Danville Circuit Court. Prosecutors could seek the death penalty in the case. Willhite is charged with capital murder, 1st-degree murder and robbery in connecting with the deaths of Kelly Fears Wrenn, 49, and Ashley Lauren Joy Jones, 35. She is being held in the Danville City Jail. Wrenn and Jones were found dead on Jan. 8, 2017, in their home at 334 Wrenn Drive in Danville. They died of stab wounds, according to the Roanoke Medical Examiner's Office. Whillhite had lived at the address and was reported missing by police at the time. Investigators found her at a Jacksonville, North Carolina, hotel after a 2-day search. The deaths of Wrenn and Jones were the first 2 homicides of 2017, a year in which 13 homicides were recorded in total. That number is 3 shy of the 16 homicides logged in 2016, a record high for Danville. (source: godanriver.com) GEORGIA: Prosecutors' Racially Discriminatory Tactics May Lead to New Trial for Johnny Lee GatesThe prosecution labeled the white prospective jurors as "W" and
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., FLA., OHIO, TENN.
March 29 MARCH 29, 2018: TEXAS: Death penalty testimony paints violent portrait of officer's killer The jury that will decide whether to give the death sentence to Shaun Puente has heard days of testimony, before and during the punishment phase of his capital murder trial, about how dangerous he was. On Tuesday, a witness tried to describe how smart he was. Puente was found guilty last week of fatally shooting San Antonio Police Department Officer Robert Deckard during a highway chase in Atascosa County on Dec. 8, 2013, that started after Puente, according to witnesses, committed 2 armed robberies in San Antonio. Randall Price, a Dallas forensic psychologist, told the jury Tuesday that he tested Puente in 2017 for about 6 hours and determined his "full scale IQ" score to be 92, far above the score of 70 thought to be the level below which one would be intellectually disabled. Puente's defense team had frequently mentioned that their client had been pulled out of the 6th grade by his mother, and 1 of their witnesses, another psychologist, had previously testified that Puente was a "low-functioning" person. Price, who said he found Puente cooperative during testing, testified under cross examination by defense attorney Gary Taylor that there was such a large disparity between Puente's verbal and non-verbal IQ scores - 78 vs. 118 - that he could not rule out something like organic brain damage. On Monday, prosecutors presented 2 business owners who each said Puente robbed them at gunpoint weeks before the robberies that set off the fatal chase. Chaitan Mugili, 33, manager of the Oak Island Ice House on South Loop 1604, said he thought his life was over on Nov. 7, 2013, when Puente put a silver 9 mm Ruger semi-automatic pistol to his head. That encounter was caught on security video. "My daughter was literally 7 days old at the time," Mugili testified, as prosecutor Audrey Louis displayed several items of black clothing - hat, shoes, jacket, ski mask - Puente wore on his night of mayhem. "I thought I was going to die." Rodney Reed, owner of a car wash on South Flores Street, said a beloved 82-year-old employee nicknamed "Mac" was robbed by Puente, again on video, on Dec. 3, 2013, and that the man was traumatized, quit soon after, and died about 2 years ago. Previous testimony in the guilt-innocence phase of the trial implicated Puente in 2 robberies hours before Puente and his alleged accomplice, Jenevieve Ramos, led SAPD officers on a chase at speeds up to 115 m.p.h. through the South Side and on Interstate 37. Deckard, then 31, was shot from 250 yards away, through a broken back window of the fleeing car. Puente's attorneys conceded as the trial began that he fired the shot that killed Deckard - among about 45 shots he fired at 2 police officers that night - and said Puente was a methamphetamine addict who robbed people to support his habit. They said he was high on meth the night of the murder and as a low-functioning 6th-grade dropout couldn't intelligently confess to anything to police. Capital murder is punishable by death or life in prison without parole. Prosecutors in the punishment phase of the trial have lined up witnesses to fill out their portrait of the defendant as reflexively violent and dangerous, presenting 2 former wives among 3 women who said Puente abused them. Rebecca Cardenas testified Monday that she was married to Puente from 1999 to 2005, and frequently did drugs with him, but reported him to police after he violently argued with his family and forced her into a car with a hunting knife. Cardenas, 40, said she finally escaped the relationship when Puente came home at 7 a.m. from seeing another woman. "I waited until he fell asleep," she said, "and then I got my things and left." A 3rd grade teacher testified that "around 1996," when she was 14 and at school cheerleading practice, Puente awkwardly flirted with her, then forcefully groped her by putting his hands down her shorts. She filed a report with police. Puente's defense lawyers, Anna Jimenez and Gary Taylor, both paid for by Atascosa County as required by state law, only briefly questioned the prosecution's witnesses Monday. State District Judge Donna Rayes said she expects testimony in the stately courthouse in Jourdanton to go into next week. (source: San Antonio Express-News) PENNSYLVANIA: Family of Sgt. Robert Wilson seeks death penalty The case of 2 men accused of killing Philadelphia Police Sgt. Robert Wilson went before a judge Wednesday morning in Center City. Wilson was gunned down at a GameStop getting a video game for his young son in North Philadelphia in 2015. 2 suspects have been charged in the death of Philadelphia Police Officer Robert Wilson III. The trial has now been set for late fall with a pretrial hearing set for June. Once that announcement was made by Judge O'Keefe there was audible
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, FLA., ALA., OHIO, KY., OKLA., CALIF., WASH.
March 28 TEXASexecution Lubbock group protests death penalty on night of Rodriguez's execution "God of compassion," read the vigil program. "You let rain fall on the just and the unjust. Expand and deepen our hearts so that we may love as you love, even those among us who have caused the greatest pain by taking life." The rain stopped just long enough for the Friends of People of Faith Against the Death Penalty group to hold signs with messages against execution in front of St. John's United Methodist Church Tuesday night on University Avenue as 38-year-old Rosendo Rodriguez was set to by executed in Huntsville. Minutes before he died, Rodriguez espoused the same message as the vigil group, calling for the end of the death penalty. Rodriguez was sentenced to death for the 2005 rape and killing of 29-year-old Summer Baldwin. He also admitted to killing 16-year-old Joanna Rogers. Both women were from Lubbock. The 4 solemn participants said they had different reasons for attending the vigil. Beth Pressley, organizer of the group, said they meet for prayer and sign holding from 5:45-6:15 p.m. each time there is an execution in Texas. Pressley wore a T-shirt that read "pro life," and said that is the message of the group. "We don't like the state killing people in our name. We don't think it's necessary," Pressley said. "There was a time that you maybe had to worry about violent criminals getting out (of prison), but that's not really the case anymore. People have the chance to repent." Pressley said because this was a local case, she has followed the crime since the beginning. "It was frightening. It was sad. I remember being very glad that they finally caught the guy and got him off the street," Pressley said. "But now we have 3 families who are hurting. Killing somebody isn't going to make those daughters come back." Participants prayed for peace for all involved people: the victims' families, Rodriguez's family, the court system, prison employees and all others on death row. Phoenix Lundstrom had a more personal connection with Rodriguez. During the prayer portion of the vigil, Lundstrom read a letter she recently received from Rodriguez that indicated faith was on his mind in his last few weeks. Lundstrom said her son Mitchell Wachholtz met Rodriguez around 10 years ago when they were in neighboring prison cells. Wachholtz is serving a 99-year sentence at the Darrington Unit in Rosharon. He was convicted of murder in the 2007 death of Chase Pendleton. Lundstrom said her son has found his calling in life, in part because of Rodriguez. "Rosendo started talking to my son about Jesus. Now my son is in his 3rd year of seminary school at Darrington," Lundstrom said. "Rosendo was one of the key people in bringing my son from a street-wise punk to a real man of God." The group dispersed around 6:20 p.m. Rodriguez was pronounced dead at 6:46 p.m. (source: Lubbock Avalanche-Journal) * 'Suitcase killer' at execution: 'I'm ready to join my father' A San Antonio man who became known as the "suitcase killer" was executed Tuesday evening in Texas for the slaying of a 29-year-old Lubbock woman whose battered, naked body was stuffed into a new piece of luggage and tossed in the trash. Rosendo Rodriguez III had also confessed to killing a 16-year-old Lubbock girl and similarly disposing of her body in the trash in a suitcase. Asked by the warden if he had a final statement, Rodriguez spoke defiantly for 7 minutes and never apologized to relatives of his victims watching through a window. "The state may have my body but they never had my soul," Rodriguez said. He also urged people to boycott Texas businesses to pressure the state into ending the death penalty and reiterated issues raised in late appeals that were rejected by the courts. "I've fought the good fight, I have run the good race," he said. "Warden, I'm ready to join my father." Rodriguez, who turned 38 Monday, received a lethal dose of the powerful sedative pentobarbital, injected by Texas prison officials. 22 minutes later, at 6:46 p.m. CT, he was pronounced dead. The execution was the 4th this year in Texas and 7th nationally. The U.S. Supreme Court, less than 30 minutes before Rodriguez was taken to the death chamber, rejected an appeal to block his punishment. Rodriguez's lawyers told the justices lower courts improperly turned down appeals that focused on the medical examiner's testimony at Rodriguez's trial for the September 2005 slaying of Summer Baldwin. State lawyers said the high court appeal was improper, untimely and meritless, and "nothing more than a last-ditch effort," according to Texas Assistant Attorney General Tomee Heining. Workers at the Lubbock city landfill spotted a new suitcase in the trash, opened it and discovered the body of Baldwin, who was 10 weeks pregnant. Detectives used a barcode label sewn to
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS
March 27 TEXASexecution Texas executes inmate who killed woman, stuffed body in a suitcase Rosendo Rodriguez III, 38, was executed Tuesday evening in Huntsville for the 2005 murder of a Lubbock woman whose battered naked body was found stuffed in a suitcase that had been dumped in the trash. Summer Baldwin was a prostitute who was 10 weeks pregnant when she was raped and beaten to death, according to court records. Landfill workers in Lubbock found her body in September 2005. The suitcase purchase was tracked back to Rodriguez, who had been in Lubbock for Marine reserve training. He was arrested at his parents' home in San Antonio. Rodriguez, who became known as the “suitcase killer,” also confessed to killing a 16-year-old Lubbock girl and disposing of her body in a similar manner. The U.S. Supreme Court refused without comment to block the execution less than 30 minutes before Rodriguez was scheduled to be taken into the death chamber in Huntsville. His lawyers had questioned the credibility of a medical examiner who testified at Rodriguez's trial about the fatal injuries Baldwin suffered. Rodriguez becomes the 4th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in tTexas and the 549th overall since the state resumed executions on December 7, 1982. Rodriguez becomes the 7th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the USA and the 1472nd overall since the nation resumed executions on Janaury 17, 1977. (sources: Associated Press & Rick Halperin) ___ A service courtesy of Washburn University School of Law www.washburnlaw.edu DeathPenalty mailing list DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty Unsubscribe: http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/options/deathpenalty
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, N.C., ALA., OHIO, ARK.
March 27 TEXASimpending execution Lubbock's "suitcase killer" fights upcoming executionRosendo Rodriguez is set to die for killing a Lubbock prostitute and tossing her body in a dumpster in a suitcase. His final appeals claim the medical examiner's testimony that she was sexually assaulted before her death could be invalid. The man dubbed Lubbock's "suitcase killer" is set for execution Tuesday evening, 1 day after his 38th birthday. Rosendo Rodriguez was sentenced to death in the 2005 murder and sexual assault of Summer Baldwin, a newly pregnant prostitute, according to court records. Baldwin's body was found folded inside a suitcase at the city's landfill. Rodriguez was also implicated in the 2004 murder of 16-year-old Joanna Rogers, whose body was also found in a suitcase in the landfill after Baldwin was discovered. He still has a final appeal pending in the U.S. Supreme Court questioning the credibility of the medical examiner's testimony and arguing that Baldwin wasn't sexually assaulted, but if it is rejected, Rodriguez will become the 4th person executed in Texas this year and the 7th in the nation. Lubbock County Criminal District Attorney Matt Powell told the Texas Tribune Monday that he finds no joy in the execution but that Rodriguez is a man who deserves the ultimate punishment. "Who sticks a human being in a suitcase and throws them out with the trash?" Powell questioned. "This was a guy that, left unchecked, was going to hurt somebody else again and was going to continue to terrorize women." At the time of Baldwin's death, Rodriguez was in Lubbock training for the U.S. Marines, according to court opinions. He was tied to the murder after investigators found the suitcase she was in had been purchased with Rodriguez's debit card. Further investigation found Baldwin's blood and a tag for the suitcase in his hotel room. Rodriguez told police the 2 had consensual sex but that when he fought with her over her drug use afterward, she lunged at him with knives and he put her in a chokehold, accidentally killing her. But the medical examiner, Sridhar Natarajan, said Baldwin's body showed injuries consistent with sexual assault, upping the charges and making the murder case eligible for the death penalty. Prosecutors offered to accept a life sentence instead of the death penalty if Rodriguez also confessed to the murder of Rogers the year before and helped authorities find her body, according to court documents. He was already connected to her disappearance before Baldwin's murder based on internet chats and phone records. Rodriguez confessed to Rogers' murder and told investigators he had also put her body in a dumpster in a suitcase. She was eventually found in the same landfill as Baldwin. But before the court appearance to finalize the plea deal, Rodriguez backed out, claiming he couldn't understand anything he was being told by his attorney. Though they couldn't use the Rogers confession, Lubbock County prosecutors decided to seek the death penalty in Baldwin's case. He was found guilty of capital murder and, during his punishment trial, though attorneys presented evidence of an abusive, alcoholic father and his family portrayed Rodriguez as a prior Texas Tech student who could have become president, ex-girlfriends and other women said he raped or assaulted them. The jury chose death. But Rodriguez's lawyers haven't given up on his life. His final appeals lay in the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court justices. The filing argues that a recent lawsuit calls into question the credibility of the medical examiner's testimony that defined the Baldwin case as sexual assault - which is what made the case a death penalty case. (Prosecutors at trial also argued Rodriguez's case could be death-penalty eligible because Baldwin was pregnant, but the argument was pushed aside in appeals because there was no indication Rodriguez knew she was pregnant.) Last year, Natarajan and Lubbock County paid $230,000 in settling a wrongful termination lawsuit after a former employee claimed she was fired for speaking out on the medical examiner's habit of leaving the office and delegating autopsies to unqualified staff and then signing off on them. Rodriguez's lawyer, Seth Kretzer, said the lawsuit and settlement raise suspicion of Natarajan's testimony in Baldwin's case and should be evaluated in federal court. "At the minimum, we should be allowed to take the good doctor's deposition and find out if he actually did the autopsy or not," Kretzer said, adding that he'll fight for his client until the last hour of the last day of his life. Natarajan, who still serves as the county's chief medical examiner, did not return phone calls Monday. But Powell said the appeal is nonsense, adding that he was there while Natarajan performed Baldwin's autopsy. "I have no trouble with his lawyers exhausting every avenue that they can, but
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, ALA., USA
March 26 TEXASimpending execution Execution stay chances wither for Lubbock's 'suitcase killer' The man infamously known in Lubbock and the nation as the "suitcase killer" remains on track to be executed Tuesday - a day after his 38th birthday. Rosendo Rodriguez's chances for a stay of execution withered Friday with the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals denying his claims for a new appeal. Gov. Greg Abbott, who has the authority to commute his death sentence, is essentially Rodriguez's unlikely hope to escape death by lethal injection. However, on Friday members of the state's Board of Pardons and Paroles voted 6-0, with one recusal, against recommending to Abbott that his sentence be commuted. Earlier in the week, Lubbock Judge Jim Bob Darnell and justices with the Texas Criminal Court of Appeals rejected Rodriguez's new appeals, which included pleas for a stay of execution. Rodriguez would be the 11th Lubbock County defendant to be executed. Rodriguez's execution will conclude a decade's old homicide case that began in 2005 when Lubbock landfill workers found the body of 29-year-old Summer Baldwin stuffed in a suitcase. A UPC code found on the bag was the 1st clue that led investigators to identify Baldwin's killer as Rodriguez, a Marine reservist from San Antonio who was in Lubbock for training. He was arrested at his parent's residence in San Antonio. He told investigators he took Baldwin, who was a prostitute, to his hotel in Lubbock where the 2 had consensual sex. He said Baldwin attacked him with a knife after using drugs and used his combat training to place her in a choke hold until she passed out. After checking her pulse, he believed she was dead and he bought a suitcase from Walmart, stuffed her body in it and placed her in a landfill. At his capital murder trial, prosecutors accused Rodriguez of raping Baldwin and killing her. Dr. Sridhar Natarajan, the county medical examiner, told jurors he found more than 70 blunt-force injuries on Baldwin's body. Her injuries also indicated she was raped. However, Natarajan couldn't provide an exact cause of death and said Baldwin, who was 5 weeks pregnant at the time, could have been alive while she was in the suitcase and suffocated to death. Rodriguez also admitted the to the 2004 killing 16-year-old Joanna Rogers, who was reported missing in 2004. She was found two years later in a Lubbock landfill, stuffed in a suitcase. He also claimed to have acted in self-defense in that case, saying the girl attacked him after they had sex because he refused to pay her. Jurors in 2008 convicted Rodriguez of capital murder for Baldwin's killing. They deliberated for 2 1/2 hours before returning with a death sentence. A decades-long appeal process in state and federal courts followed without success. In November, Darnell issued Rodriguez's death warrant. A month before his execution, his attorneys filed a motion for a stay of execution and a new appeal that accused Natarajan of falsifying records. The appeal cited a 2015 whistleblower lawsuit filed by Natarajan's former employee accusing him of improperly managing the medical examiner's office. The employee accused Natarajan of delegating autopsies to "untrained" technicians and backdating autopsy reports. The lawsuit was settled out of court with a quarter-million dollar payment to the former employee, who signed an affidavit saying her claims did not dispute the office's scientific findings. Rodriguez's lawyers accused prosecutors of hiding the lawsuit from them. Matt Powell, the Lubbock County District Attorney, called the new appeals "nonsense." Justices with the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the whistleblower lawsuit failed to provide a reason to overturn the conviction and death sentence. (source: Lubbock Avalanche-Journal) ALABAMA: Ala. Supreme Court won't review cases of 2 death row inmatesThe men were convicted of separate killings in Birmingham, Alabama The Alabama Supreme Court won't review the cases of 2 men currently on Alabama death row. In orders issued Friday, the court denied a writ of certiorari -- or a request to review -- the case of Willie Earl Scott. The court also quashed a writ of certiorari for Alfonzo Morris. Scott, now 38, was convicted in the Sept. 11, 1999 rape and asphyxiation death of 10-year-old Latonya Sager, who was found dead in her bed at her home in Birmingham's Norwood neighborhood. In 2010, the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals upheld his conviction and death sentence, but the Alabama Supreme Court said that the opinion of a Jefferson County judge upholding the conviction was almost identical to briefs filed by prosecutors. The court told the county judge to Scott's case and write a new opinion. Morris, 57, was twice convicted and sentenced to death in the 1997 beating death of an 85-year-old woman. Miriam Rochester, who weighed 92
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, VA., FLA., ALA., OHIO
March 23 TEXASimpending execution Federal judge in Lubbock rejects Rodriguez death penalty appeal A federal judge in Lubbock on Thursday denied a motion to stop the March 27 execution of Rosendo Rodriguez, who was convicted of the 2005 killing of 29-year-old Summer Baldwin who was stuffed in a suitcase found in a city landfill. Rodriguez also confessed to killing a 16-year-old Lubbock girl who'd been missing for more than a year. U.S. Senior District Court Judge Sam Cummings said he found no extraordinary circumstances necessary to grant Rodriguez's request. The ruling came 3 days after the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals dismissed Rodriguez's appeal, which contained similar claims. Attorneys contended a medical examiner improperly testified at Rodriguez's trial, that a recent settlement of a lawsuit involving the examiner wasn't disclosed to them, that prosecutors engaged in misconduct and that Rodriguez is innocent. Rodriguez's attorneys have filed a notice of appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. (source: Lubbock Avalanche-Journal) * San Antonio man 1 of 2 more Texas killers given execution dates 2 more Texas killers, including a San Antonio man behind the 2004 slaying of a convenience store owner, now have dates with death. Christopher Young, who was on probation when he committed the string of crimes in Bexar County that landed him on death row, is now set to die on July 17, according to Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Jeremy Desel. In addition to abducting, raping and robbing a woman, Young was convicted in the killing of 53-year-old store owner Hasmukh "Hash" Patel. Last year, Young's case sparked pushback from religious leaders who said he deserved a new trial in light of alleged religious discrimination during jury selection. The U.S. Supreme Court turned down his latest appeal in January and Texas prisons received notification of an impending death date earlier this month, Desel said. His attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On Tuesday, TDCJ also received notice that Clifton Williams, an East Texas man convicted of robbing a 93-year-old woman before strangling her and setting her body on fire, was given a June 21 execution date. News of the upcoming executions comes just a day after a Harris County judge signed off on an execution warrant for Danny Bible, a serial rapist and murderer whose string of rapes, robberies and slayings crossed multiple states. On appeal, his attorney argued the 66-year-old is no longer a future danger as he is in a wheelchair as the result of a 2003 car crash. 3 Texas killers have already been executed this year, and now 6 more executions are on the calendar. (source: Houston Chronicle) ** Houston Ice Pick Killer And Serial Rapist Gets June Execution DateDanny Bible, the infamous 'Ice Pick Killer,' will be put to death on June 27, 2018. Danny Bible, a serial murderer and rapist, has been in jail for over 40 years. Now, a judge has set a date for the convicted criminal's execution. On March 19, a Harris County judge signed a death warrant for Bible. The wheelchair-bound murderer will be put to death on June 27, according to Chron.com. Josh Reiss, the head of the Post-Conviction Writs Division at the Harris County District Attorney's Office, described the infamous murderer. "He was the 'Ice Pick Killer.' He was a serial killer. A serial rapist and we're going to pursue justice for these victims," said Reiss, according to ABC 13. Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg offered her take on the situation. "Some criminals' actions are so heinous, they earn the label 'worst of the worst,'" Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said in a statement Monday, according to Chron.com. "The jury who listened to the facts and saw the evidence of the crimes Danny Bible committed clearly reached that conclusion by sentencing him to death." Bible's attorney, Margaret Schmucker, was unsurprised by this most recent development. "It was not an unexpected event today," Schumucker said, according to Chron.com. "I do think it's unfortunate that the state of Texas is going to execute someone who is so little future danger that he can't even get out of a wheelchair." Bible's known crimes began in 1979, when the body of Inez Deaton was found near the Houston bayou. Deaton had been stabbed with an ice pick 11 times. Deaton's murder remained unsolved for 20 years. Between the murder and his eventual incarceration, Bible was involved with a handful of violent incidents, including several beatings of a girlfriend in Montana. He eventually returned to Texas, where he murdered his sister-in-law Tracy Powers, her infant son Justin, and a roommate of Powers' named Pam Hudgens. Bible was caught in 1984 and pled guilty to the killing of Hudgens, for which he was sentenced to 25
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, OHIO, IND., ARK., NEB., USA
March 22 TEXASnew execution date Christopher Young has been given an execution date for July 17; it should be considered serious. * Supreme Court gives Texas inmate chance to secure funds that could help him avoid death penalty The Supreme Court on Wednesday said a Texas death-row inmate deserves another chance at securing funds for evidence that might lead to a reconsideration of his sentence. The justices were unanimous in ruling that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit was too restrictive in reading a federal law that allows indigent defendants to secure money for "investigative, expert or other services." The federal Criminal Justice Act allows lawyers to receive such funds when it is "reasonably necessary" to assemble the kind of mitigating evidence that might persuade the jury to forego a sentence of death. But a judge denied the funds to attorneys for Carlos Manuel Ayestas, who was convicted of the killing of 67-year-old Santiaga Paneque during an invasion of her Houston home in 1995. In the 5th Circuit, which covers Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, the law has been interpreted to mean a defendant must show that there is a "substantial need" for such services. Ayestas's attorneys said that created something of a Catch-22: The defendant would have to demonstrate that there is some relevant evidence he could discover without first having the funding to pursue that evidence. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. said the appeals court was wrong to impose the "substantial need" standard. Ayestas "contends that this interpretation is more demanding than the standard - "reasonably necessary" - set out in the statute," Alito wrote. "And although the difference between the 2 formulations may not be great, petitioner has a point." Courts deciding whether to grant the funds - Ayestas's attorneys asked for $20,000 - must consider the potential merit of the claims a petitioner wants to pursue, the likelihood that something beneficial might be obtained and whether the petitioner would be able to clear any procedural hurdles to presenting the mitigating evidence. Ayestas wants to show that his previous attorneys provided ineffective counsel, because they did not present a fuller portrait of his life that might spare him from execution. They contend he has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and was a regular user of cocaine and alcohol at the time of what Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at oral arguments called a "horrific" killing. The case returns to lower courts so that they can judge Ayestas's request under the proper standard. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Ginsburg, thought that step was unnecessary. "On the record before this court, there should be little doubt that Ayestas has satisfied" the standard, Sotomayor wrote. The case is Ayestas v. Davis. The court also ruled for the defendant in a 2nd case decided Wednesday. The justices ruled 7 to 2 that, for someone to be convicted of obstructing the work of the Internal Revenue Service, a person must be aware that he or she is under investigation or should have known that was a reasonable possibility. (source: Washington Post) ** - impending execution Death Watch: The Suitcase KillerState's 4th execution set for March 27 Late on Monday afternoon, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied death row inmate Rosendo Rodriguez III's most recent appeal, and time is running out. Rodriguez was convicted of raping, beating, and killing Summer Baldwin at a Lubbock hotel in 2005, then trashing her body in a suitcase at the city dump. He confessed to the killing - as well as the murder of a 16-year-old girl whose body was also discovered in a suitcase 1 year before. Following the CCA's ruling, Rodriguez's attorney Seth Kretzer filed a flurry of new appeals in state and federal courts, arguing that his client did not receive a fair trial. The argument hinges on an unrelated 2015 lawsuit filed against Sridhar Natarajan, the Lubbock medical examiner who reported to have performed Baldwin's autopsy - which accuses the M.E. of routinely "delegating" decisions to his senior forensic nurse who often decided "which bodies to autopsy" and which required only "visual inspection." As Rodriguez's March 27 death date nears, his lawyer claims the prosecution team used a "discredited forensic scientist to deprive" Rodriguez of a fair trial, which ultimately violated his constitutional right to due process. The appeal goes on to say the state also violated Brady obligations by failing to disclose the aforementioned lawsuit and Natarajan's pricey out-of-court settlement. Rodriguez would be the fourth Texan executed this year; only Thomas Whitaker has been spared to date. (source: Austin Chronicle) * Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present30 Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982present-548
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, GA., ALA., MISS., TENN.
March 21 TEXASnew execution date Execution set for convicted killer of East Texas woman, 93 An East Texas man on death row for the slaying of a 93-year-old woman during a robbery at her home has received an execution date. State District Judge Christi Kennedy signed an order Monday setting 34-year-old Clifton Williams for lethal injection June 21 in Huntsville for the fatal beating and stabbing of Cecilia Schneider at her home in Tyler in July 2005. Evidence showed Williams entered through a back door, attacked Schneider and then set her body and bed on fire. He fled with her car and her purse containing $40. Authorities said he wanted money for drugs. Defense attorneys argued he was mentally impaired and ineligible for the death penalty. Williams came within hours of execution in 2015 when the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals halted his scheduled punishment. (source: Associated Press) ***impending execution Texas Court Won't Stop Execution of Lubbock Woman's Killer The state's top criminal court has refused to halt next week's scheduled execution of a San Antonio man convicted of killing a 29-year-old Lubbock woman, stuffing her body into a suitcase and then throwing the luggage into the trash. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals dismissed an appeal Monday from lawyers for 37-year-old Rosendo Rodriguez III as improper and didn't rule on merits of the arguments. Attorneys contended a medical examiner improperly testified at Rodriguez's trial, that a recent settlement of a lawsuit involving the examiner wasn't disclosed to them, that prosecutors engaged in misconduct and that Rodriguez is innocent. He's set for execution March 27 for the 2005 rape-slaying of Summer Baldwin. He also confessed to killing a 16-year-old Lubbock girl who'd been missing for more than a year. (source: Associated Press) *** Texas death row inmate asks Harris County judge to recuse himself after racially charged comments A death row prisoner is asking state District Judge Michael McSpadden to recuse himself from an ongoing appeal in light of a number of racially charged statements to the Houston Chronicle that attorneys say call into question the jurist's appearance of impartiality. George Curry, who is black, was sent to death row after he was convicted of killing a teenager during a 2009 restaurant robbery in Harris County. His case is already fraught with racial issues, including claims of jurors who searched for a hanging tree in downtown Houston during a break and a family history of "racial terror and trauma," according to recent court filings. But McSpadden's recent comments, defense lawyers argue, could be enough to raise questions about whether he could be unbiased in tackling the case. And that's all that Texas law requires for a recusal. Attorneys don't have to show that McSpadden actually is racist, according to Curry's lawyers - they just have to show that a reasonable member of the public could have a reasonable doubt about the judge's impartiality. McSpadden did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The filing come weeks after the long-time jurist sparked outcry with a controversial explanation of his reasons for not allowing magistrates to grant cash-free bail bonds. Most defendants, he said, are "tainted" with extensive criminal histories. "The young black men - and it's primarily young black men rather than young black women - charged with felony offenses, they're not getting good advice from their parents," he said. "Who do they get advice from? Rag-tag organizations like Black Lives Matter, which tell you, 'Resist police,' which is the worst thing in the world you could tell a young black man ... They teach contempt for the police, for the whole justice system." Afterward, the ACLU of Texas called for McSpadden's resignation and asked that he automatically be recused from cases involving black defendants pending an investigation into potential racial bias. 8 state and local civil rights groups subsequently filed a formal complaint with the State Commission on Judicial Conduct asking for an investigation into whether McSpadden violated his obligation to remain unbiased. "This isn't new, but it's jarring to hear a powerful figure in the criminal justice system embrace discrimination so openly," Terri Burke, executive director for the ACLU of Texas, said in a statement at the time. "It's time we took action to end the inequality that black defendants face in courtrooms like Judge McSpadden's." In Curry's case in particular, his attorneys note, there are a number of race-specific claims at stake. A prior appeal argues that Curry's death sentence was unconstitutional because it was imposed on the basis of race, and that black defendants are more likely to face execution. The earlier filings also claim that the jurors who sentenced Curry
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, FLA., GA., OHIO, TENN., MO., ARIZ., CALIF., USA
March 20 TEXAS2 new execution dates Clifton Williams has been given an execution date for June 21, and Danny Bible has been given an execution date for June 27both should be considered serious. ** An execution date has been set for a 66-year-old man who used an ice pick to stab a Houston woman to death after she asked to use the telephone at his house in 1979. Danny Paul Bible is scheduled to be executed June 27, according to NBC5 (KXAS-TV). The brutal murder of 20-year-old Inez Deaton went unsolved for nearly 2 decades. The woman had been raped, stabbed 11 times and dumped on the bank of a bayou. Bible confessed to Deaton's killing after he was arrested in 1998 for a Louisiana rape. He also confessed to 3 other killings in North Texas, as well as numerous rapes. 4 years after killing Deaton, Bible killed his sister-in-law Tracy Powers, her 4-month-old son and her roommate, Pamela Hudgins. Their bodies were found near Weatherford. He pleaded guilty to Hudgins' murder in 1984 and was paroled after 9 years in prison. Bible has been linked to rapes in Montana, Louisiana and Texas. He was arrested in 1998 after he forced his way into a woman's motel room in Louisiana and raped her. He bound and gagged the woman before stuffing her into a duffel bag, but she was able to break free and call police, according to the San Antonio Express-News. His attorneys argued in federal appeals that Bible is no longer a threat to society because he is confined to a wheelchair. A prison van taking him to death row in 2003 crashed, disabling him, killing a corrections officer and killing the driver of another vehicle. "He can't get out of a wheelchair by himself. He can't lift his arms. He can't do anything," attorney Margaret Schmucker said after the U.S. Supreme Court refused an appeal from the death row inmate in 2016. 3 Texas death row inmates are scheduled for execution before Bible, including Erick Davila of Fort Worth. (source: Dallas Morning News) * Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present30 Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982present-548 Abbott#scheduled execution date-nameTx. # 31--Mar. 27Rosendo Rodriguez III--549 32--Apr. 25Erick Davila---550 33--May 16-Juan Castillo--551 34-June 21Clifton Williams552 35-June 27Danny Bible-553 (sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin) FLORIDA: Florida to seek the death penalty against Conway killer The state of Florida is reported seeking the death penalty against Michael Lawrence Woodbury, the 42-year-old former Mainer who shot and killed three people at the Army Barracks store in Conway in 2007. Woodbury, who is serving a life sentence for those killings, was indicted by a Florida grand jury on March 13 on a 1st-degree premeditated murder charge following a homicide that took place last September in the Okeechobee Correctional Institution. On Sunday, Matteo Tullio of the Okeechobee News reported that the indictment referenced the Sept. 22, 2017, killing of a fellow inmate named Antoneeze Haynes. Haynes had been serving 5 life sentences since 1993 for the crimes of attempted murder, robbery, burglary and 2 counts of kidnapping committed during a 1990 home invasion. The News' Tullio reported that "according to an investigative summary conducted by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Woodbury had barricaded the cell door and began to attack Haynes" with a combination lock tied to a sock. "Woodbury also placed the lock around his middle finger and punched Haynes, targeted his head, hands and ankles," the story said, adding, "Woodbury also reportedly told correctional officers he had a large knife and would kill Haynes along with the first correctional officer that tried to enter the cell." Woodbury remained barricaded in the cell for hours until Maj. Frank Gatto arrived and began to negotiate with him. After several more hours, he gave up and allowed officers to handcuff him through the cell door. "Woodbury was taken to confinement and Haynes was taken to the infirmary and then transported to Raulerson Hospital, where he was pronounced dead," Tullio wrote. According to the Okeechobee News, Judge Jerald Bryant of Florida's 19th Judicial Circuit, said Florida would seek the death penalty for Woodbury's latest crime. Longtime Conway residents will remember July 2, 2007, as the day when Woodbury, then 31 and from Windham, Maine, walked into the Army Barracks at 347 White Mountain Highway and shot store manager James Walker, 34, and 2 customers from Massachusetts, William Jones, 25, and Gary Jones, 23. Walker and William Jones died at the scene, and Gary Jones died later at Maine Medical Center. The two Joneses were not
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, N.H., KAN./MO., MO., CALIF.
March 18 TEXASfemale faces death penalty Round 2: Jury to be selected More than 1,000 potential jurors have been summoned to appear in district court Thursday when the state makes a 2nd attempt at jury selection in the capital murder case against Sabrina Vielma. Vielma faces the death penalty for the Dec. 11, 2011, death of her 4-year-old son Davaughn Rodriguez. Jury selection first began in December of 2017 but came to a halt when 75 % of summoned jurors failed to appear. At the time, visiting Judge Stephen A. Ables told the crowd of 124 potential jurors that 500 people were asked to appear at the Uvalde County Courthouse. A turnout of 215-220 people is needed to select a jury. Summons are randomly generated using voter registration rolls and driver's license records. Prior to jury selection, a final pre-trial hearing was held Friday at 10 a.m. in the Uvalde County Justice Center. There, Judge Ables said he hopes to have 120-130 jurors qualified by the end of Thursday. Those jurors will receive a questionnaire to return Friday. (source: Uvalde Leader-News) NEW HAMPSHIRE: The high cost of the death penalty I am a senior at Hopkinton High School, and I strongly support Senate Bill 593. If this bill were passed, New Hampshire would become the 20th state to abolish the death penalty. The main reason I oppose the death penalty is due to the exorbitant trial costs it incurs. In 2008, the state of New Hampshire spent more than $5.3 million on 2 capital cases. The state has not carried out an execution since 1939. Is it really worth it to use $5,300,000 to decide whether or not the state should kill someone when the money could instead be used to benefit New Hampshire residents? CAITLYN McGLASHAN Hopkinton (source: Letter to the Editor, Concord Monitor) KANSAS/MISSOURI: The death penalty doesn't deserve to live. Abolish it in Missouri and Kansas On Tuesday, Missouri may administer a lethal injection to a convict with a condition called cavernous hemangioma. Lawyers for Russell Bucklew argue that the many tumors in his body could burst mid-execution and cause him to choke on his own blood. Which would be gruesome, and potentially unconstitutional. But then, so is our whole system of capital punishment. It's long past time to acknowledge that there are many reasons the state should stop executing prisoners. Even for the most egregious crimes, and with no exceptions. The most compelling reason is that on the other side of the ledger, there's a big blank space, and no valid rationale for keeping the government in this business. As everyone knows, the criminal justice system sometimes gets it wrong, and innocent people are executed for crimes they did not commit. No one is for that, and yet it keeps happening. These cases are a lot less unusual than we'd like to think. Studies have suggested that as many as 1 of every 25 persons sentenced to death in this country is innocent of the crime for which he or she was convicted. Since 1973, 161 death row inmates have been exonerated. Across the country, at least a dozen of those already executed have been pardoned posthumously. Serious doubts remain about the guilt of dozens of others, including Missouri's Larry Griffin, who was put to death in 1995 for the murder of a 19-year-old drug dealer. Since his death, the 1st police officer on the scene of that killing has acknowledged that the testimony of a supposed eyewitness was false. A 2nd shooting victim, never contacted by either the prosecution or defense, says neither Griffin nor the alleged eyewitness was even there. Last summer, Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens stayed the execution of Marcellus Williams, another death row inmate whose guilt is in doubt in the killing of a former newspaper reporter. Decades of study tell us that racial disparities in the meting out of justice continue to be systemic, and that the death penalty is not a deterrent. Capital cases are far more expensive to prosecute and death row inmates cost the state much more than do convicts sentenced to life without parole. A common argument for the death penalty is that the worst criminals don't deserve to live, and that may be. But the American public does deserve better than to have innocent people killed in our name, ever, without equal treatment under the law, doing nothing to reduce the crime rate, and at greater cost to taxpayers. Do we deserve to remain in the moral universe inhabited by the world's other top executioners: China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Pakistan? Just this month alone, Alabama executed a seriously mentally ill man, and Georgia executed a man who had been excluded as the perpetrator in some of the crimes that officials said were all committed by him. The California Supreme Court granted a new trial to a man sentenced to death 25 years ago on the basis of false evidence. The death penalty has been
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, VA., S.C., FLA., ALA.
March 8 TEXAS: Shock belt use cited as part of James Calvert's death penalty appeal A man on death row for a brutal Smith County murder says the electric shock he received during trial violated his constitutional rights. James Calvert was convicted in 2015 of capital murder and sentenced to death for fatally shooting his ex-wife, Jelena Sriraman, and abducting their child in October 2012. Calvert was sentenced to death after a lengthy, if somewhat bizarre, trial in Smith County's 241st District Court. Calvert's death penalty sentence automatically triggered an appeal, which was filed this past October with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Several points of error are presented in the appeal. The 1st point alleges that the electric shock violated Calvert's rights to, "substantive and procedural due process," while a 2nd point alleges the trial court erred by refusing to grant a mistrial after the electric shock incident. "The trial court had lesser alternatives, and allowing bailiffs to use a 50,000-volt shock device in these circumstances shocks the conscience and contributed to a violation of Calvert's right to a fair trial," the appeal states. Records show the shock was administered to Calvert after the jury had left the courtroom for the day, after Calvert refused the judge's order to stand while speaking. The contentious back-and-forth discussion led a deputy in the courtroom to administer a shock to the belt worn by Calvert. The defendant screamed for about 5 seconds, according to a witness. Smith County is one of several in Texas who use electric shock devices to control defendants who are determined to be a security risk. The use of the device during Calvert's trial made headlines across the country. The issue is bubbling up once again due to a decision last month by the Texas Eighth Court of Appeals in El Paso. An appeals judge ruled that judges are not allowed to use the shock belt to penalize defendants for not answering questions, or because the defendant failed to follow rules of decorum in the courtroom. Calvert is requesting oral arguments, saying there are "substantial issues, the record is exceedingly large, and oral arguments will assist the Court to gain a full understanding of the case." The Smith County District Attorney's Office was granted a time extension on filing their response to Calvert's appeal. It is expected to be filed on or before May 28. After that is done, the next move is up to the appeals court. (source: KLTV News) VIRGINIAfemale may face death penalty Death penalty possible in 2017 double homicide Danville prosecutors could seek the death penalty for a woman recently indicted in a 2017 double homicide, said a Virginia capital crimes expert. Amanda Lynn Willhite, 35, was charged with capital murder, first-degree murder and robbery after being indicted by a grand jury on Feb. 26. "That combination of things fits the definition of capital murder," said Robert Lee, executive director of the Virginia Capital Representation Resource Center, a non-profit law firm that represents death penalty cases. It is based in Charlottesville. Willhite, accused of the January 2017 slayings of Kelly Fears Wrenn and Ashley Lauren Joy Jones, has charges that potentially meet several legal definitions of capital murder, Lee explained. For example, the Code of Virginia defines the killing of more than one person in a single act as a capital offense. Additionally, a killing in commission of a robbery could qualify as a capital murder. Prosecutors will have to prove the slaying was willful, deliberate and premeditated in either case, Lee said. "There might be some cases where it's harder to prove that," he added. Wrenn, 49, and Jones, 28, were found dead on Jan. 8, 2017, in their home at 334 Wrenn Drive in Danville. They died of stab wounds, according to the Roanoke Medical Examiner's Office. Willhite lived with Wrenn and Jones around the time of the slayings and was missing when their bodies were discovered, Danville Police reported at the time. Willhite is currently being held by police in Jacksonville, North Carolina, on drug charges that are unrelated to the Danville investigation. Police are planning to extradite her back to Virginia but don't have a timeline for completing it yet. Lee, whose office also assists attorneys representing capital cases, said prosecutors have the say on whether to try a case as a capital murder. "The facts could have an impact on that, and how strong the evidence is," he said. Additionally, prosecutors also have the discretion on whether or not to seek the death penalty, even if the capital case goes to trial. Danville Commonwealth's Attorney Michael Newman did not respond to requests for comment on whether he would seek the death penalty by press time. (source: Danville Register & Bee) SOUTH CAROLINA: South Carolina Senate empowers
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, VA., S.C., ALA., LA.
March 7 TEXAS: Presiding Judge Sharon Keller narrowly wins Texas Court of Criminal Appeals primary race Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge Sharon Keller narrowly won the Republican primary Tuesday night, overcoming a challenger who knocked her for her multiple ethical controversies. The presiding judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals took a step closer to securing another 6 years on the bench after narrowly winning Tuesday's Republican primary election. Incumbent Sharon Keller, 64, beat David Bridges in the primary with about 52 % of the vote with 88 % of precincts reporting, according to the Texas secretary of state's office. Keller was first elected to the state's highest criminal appellate court in 1994, and she has held the lead role as presiding judge since 2001. She and the 8 other judges on the court handle all death penalty reviews and serve as the last resort for all criminal appeals in the state. Bridges, 62, challenged Keller largely based on her multiple ethical controversies over the years, which include a $25,000 fine in 2013 for previously failing to disclose nearly $3 million of personal real estate holdings and a 1998 opinion refusing to grant a new trial in a rape case despite DNA evidence suggesting the convicted man didn't commit the crime (he was later pardoned by then-Gov. George W. Bush). Most famously, she rejected a 2007 final death penalty appeal because the lawyers filed it a few minutes past the deadline. Keller insisted, "We close at 5," and the man was executed that night. The decision brought questions from the state Commission on Judicial Conduct, criticism from state legislators and earned her the nickname "Sharon Killer." She said in November that the controversy was behind her and noted that voters knew of those incidents when they re-elected her in 2012 - though she didn't face a Republican primary opponent on the ballot that year. A Democrat hasn't won a statewide office in Texas since 1994. Bridges serves on the 5th District Court of Appeals, the lower state appellate court that covers the Dallas area. He has held his position on that court since 1997, and his term ends in 2020. Keller will now face Democrat Maria Jackson, a state district judge in Houston, for the general election in November. Michelle Slaughter also grabbed a Republican nomination for the court Tuesday night, defeating 2 primary opponents for the seat of Judge Elsa Alcala, who decided in 2016 not to run for re-election. Slaughter, a state district judge in Galveston County, received nearly 53 % of votes with 88 % of precincts reporting, enough to avoid a runoff. She fought Bexar County Assistant District Attorney Jay Brandon and state District Judge Dib Waldrip of Comal County for the seat. With no Democrats running, she'll almost definitely take the seat in the general election this November (one Libertarian candidate is also running). She was the only 1 of the 3 without a criminal appellate background, having worked in civil law before becoming a judge. But she also had the most conservative endorsements, including backing by Empower Texans, Texas Right to Life and numerous local Tea Party groups. Republican Judge Barbara Parker Hervey is also up for election this year, but she was uncontested in the primary election. She will face Democrat Ramona Franklin in the general. 3 Texas Supreme Court seats were also up for grabs, but none of the positions had contested primaries. Justices Jimmy Blacklock, John Devine and Jeff Brown will all face Democratic challengers in November. (source: Texas Tribune) ** Capital murder trial of man accused of killing SAPD officer during 2013 chase beginsShawn Puente faces execution if convicted Puente is accused of leading police on a high-speed chase from south San Antonio into Wilson County on the night of Dec. 7, 2013. He and his female companion, Jenevieve Ramos, 28, were suspected of robbing a San Pedro Avenue convenience store. Officer Robert Deckard, 31, was the lead police officer in the chase as he pursued the couple's car into Wilson County, authorities said. Several shots were fired at Deckard from the suspect's car, officials said. A single shot penetrated the patrol car's windshield, hitting Deckard in the forehead. Deckard's patrol car crashed into some trees alongside Interstate 37 as the suspect's vehicle continued on into Wilson County, authorities said. The pair was arrested after they were found hiding in a ditch a few hours later, authorities said. They were charged with capital murder. Deckard died 13 days later in the hospital. When asked how he pleaded at his trial's opening, Puente claimed he was not guilty. During her opening statement, defense attorney Anne Jimenez told the jury that Puente fired the fatal shot. "This is a complex case," Jimenez said. "Don't rush to a snap decision." Jimenez said
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, S.C., LA., OHIO, TENN.
March 5 TEXAS: Former Texas Prosecutor Withheld Email that Could Have Prevented Innocent Man from Landing on Death Row: Report In an announcement late Friday, Harris County, Texas, District Attorney Kim Ogg revealed that a former prosecutor had withheld a key email that could have prevented Alfred Dewayne Brown from receiving the death penalty. As the Houston Chronicle writes, the email helped establish "a clear alibi" for Brown, who was convicted in a high-profile murder case in 2005 that landed him a death sentence. Brown always maintained his innocence, and spent nearly 10 years on death row before his case was dismissed in 2015 and his conviction overturned. According the Chronicle, the 36-year-old Brown later sued a slew of Harris County officials, including the DA's office, the prosecutor and police officer who handled the murder case, accusing them of hiding and falsifying evidence against him and violating his constitutional rights to due process and a fair trial. The new e-mail, which came to light because of Brown's lawsuit, backs up his claims, showing that the prosecutor at the time, Dan Rizzo, was aware of evidence that could exculpate Brown. Some necessary context: Brown was accused and convicted of killing a Houston police officer and a store clerk during a robbery at a check-cashing store. But Brown maintained that there was no way he could have done the crime since he was at his girlfriend's house at the time of the murders. And he could prove that he was at his girlfriend's house, Brown said, because he had placed a call to her at work from her house phone during the time of the murders. But as the Chronicle reports, for years, officials claimed they had no record of such a call. That changed in 2014, when an investigator, Breck McDaniel found phone records in his garage that supported Brown's alibi. The discovery was enough to overturn Brown's death row conviction. At the time, the Chronicle writes, the DA claimed the phone records had simply been "inadvertently misplaced." The newly released e-mail refutes that claim. A day after Brown's girlfriend testified before a grand jury that Brown had called her from her apartment, McDaniel wrote to then-prosecutor Rizzo about the phone records. From the Chronicle: "I was hoping that it would clearly refute Erica's claim that she received a call at work," McDaniel wrote, later continuing: "But, it looks like the call detail records from the apartment shows that the home phone dialed Erica's place of employment on Hartwick Street at about 8:30 a.m. and again at 10:08 a.m." Rizzo didn't share the evidence with Brown's legal team or the jury - a clear Brady violation. In light of the evidence, Brown's lawyers want the current Harris County DA, Ogg, to formally declare their client "actually innocent" - a label that would allow Brown to get compensation from the state for his wrongful conviction. Following his overturned sentence in 2015, Brown petitioned the state for nearly $2 million in compensation for the years he spent on death row, but the request was denied by state officials because he hadn't met the eligibility requirement since Brown was never found "actually innocent." That phrase ended up pushing Brown to sue Harris County officials for their denial of his due process rights. The civil lawsuit has born certainly borne fruit, without it, the email would have never come out, and the public wouldn't know that not only was Brown actually telling the truth the whole time, but that the real criminals may actually be the Harris County DA's office. "Vindication," tweeted Brian Stolarz, one of Brown's attorneys when he appealed his criminal case. "Only now, after a civil lawsuit, does the whole truth finally come out," Stolarz added in a statement, according to the Chronicle. "I am sickened and disheartened, but encouraged that Dewayne is vindicated and his long journey to justice is near the end." (source: The Root) SOUTH CAROLINA: South Carolina's death row dilemma Without access to lethal-injection drugs, the state has been unable to execute convicted killers since 2013. That leaves the Legislature with 3 choices, none of them good. Do lawmakers revive the electric chair, a relic that fell out of favor nationwide after numerous botched and gruesome executions? What about firing squads, an archaic and particularly violent method of execution that failed to garner support here 3 years ago? Or should the state make secret deals to obtain lethal-injection drugs from unidentified drug-makers? Prosecutors such as 1st Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe are fed up with waiting for an answer. From their perspective, a jury found these men guilty of heinous crimes, they were sentenced and the state must find a way to carry out the sentences. If not, what's the point of being a capital punishment state? The questions are complicated by the
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., N.C., FLA., ALA., OHIO
March 3 TEXASimpending execution Texas Gives Rosendo Rodriguez Execution Date of March 27, 2018 Rosendo Rodriguez III is scheduled to be executed at 6 pm CDT, on Tuesday, March 27, 2018, at the Walls Unit of the Huntsville State Penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas. 37-year-old Rosendo is convicted of the murder of 29-year-old Summer Baldwin and her unborn child in 2005. Rosendo has spent the last 9 years on Texas' death row. Rosendo grew up being abused by his domineering and alcoholic father. Rosendo attended Texas Tech. He was serving as a US Marine Corp reservist, and was in Lubbock, Texas for training at the time of the murder. Prior to his arrest, Rosendo worked as an office clerk and in food service. He had no prior prison record, however, following his initial arrest, he was also discovered to have murdered 16-year-old Joanna Rogers in 2004. Summer Baldwin's body was found stuffed inside of a suitcase in a Lubbock, Texas city landfill on September 13, 2005. Summer was a prostitute and a witness in federal counterfeiting case, making her death of interest to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Finical records obtained by the federal government showed that Rosendo Rodriguez's debit card was used to buy an identical suitcase in WalMart the day before Summer's body was discovered. Video surveillance also showed Rodriguez with Summer. Financial records also showed that Rodriguez rented a hotel room. Hotel records showed that he signed in under the name "Thomas" Rodriguez. Police arrested Rodriguez at his parent's home in San Antonio, Texas. 3 weeks after his arrest, Rodriguez confessed to the murder of Summer. According to his confession, the 2 engaged in consensual intercourse. Rodriguez claimed that he killed Summer in self-defense when she came after him with a knife. As police continued their investigation, they discovered that Rodriguez was also linked to the disappearance of teenager Joanna Rogers, who had been missing for over 1 year. Like Summer, Joanna's body was also found stuffed in a suitcase in a landfill in Lubbock, Texas. In exchange for confessing to Joanna's body, Rodriguez's attorney negotiated a deal which would spare him from the death penalty, reduce the murder charge, grant him immunity for Joanna's murder, and sentence him to life in prison. On the day the plea bargain was to occur, Rodriguez's attorney said that for the past 24 hours, Rodriguez had maintained that he did not understand anything he was being told and then told the trial judge that he did not understand the questions being asked of him. The plea bargain did not go forward and Rodriguez's attorney withdrew from the case. Rodriguez was assigned new counsel and the trial began in 2008. Rodriguez argued that his combat training kicked in, causing him to murder Summer when she attacked him with a knife. He further alleged that he had no knowledge that she was pregnant. The prosecution alleged that he sexually assaulted Summer before killing her by strangulation and disposing of the body. Rodriguez was convicted and sentenced to death in April 2008. Please pray for peace and healing for the families of Summer Baldwin and Joanna Rogers. Please pray for strength for the family of Rosendo Rodriguez. Please pray that if Rosendo is innocent, lacks the competency to be executed, or should not be executed for any other reason that evidence will be presented prior to his execution. Please pray that Rosendo may come to find peace through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, if he has not already. (source: theforgivenessfoundation.org) Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present30 Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982present-548 Abbott#scheduled execution date-nameTx. # 31--Mar. 27Rosendo Rodriguez III--549 32--Apr. 25Erick Davila---550 33--May 16-Juan Castillo--551 (sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin) 3 Murder Suspects Escape Texas County Jail by Scaling Wall 3 murder suspects escaped a Texas jail Friday morning and were briefly on the loose before being apprehended. The men, who were accused of murder in separate incidents, escaped from Bexar County Detention Center in downtown San Antonio. Jacob Anthony Brownson, Luis Antonio Arroyo and Eric Trevino were discovered missing at around 10:40 a.m. local time and were apprehended in a restaurant less than an hour later. The woman who drove the trio's getaway car was also arrested. In a press conference, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said that the inmates cut a hole in the mesh of a 20-foot-tall fence and used bedsheets to escape. After getting to the street, the men were picked up in a white sedan. "Definitely a good ending to what was a tense situation. We are continuing to investigate ... we'll
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, N.H., PENN., GA., FLA., ALA.
March 2 TEXASimpending execution State responds to convicted murderer's request for stay of execution The state has responded to convicted murderer Rosendo Rodriguez III's motion for a stay of execution, although the court has not officially ruled on the motion. Rodriguez is scheduled to be executed on March 27, 2018. Last week, Rodriguez's attorneys asked for additional time to investigate accusations regarding Lubbock County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Sridhar Natarajan. Rodriguez's attorneys cited a civil lawsuit filed in 2015 by Dr. Luisa Florez under the Texas Whistleblower Act. In the lawsuit, she claimed Dr. Natarajan was not conducting his autopsies, instead delegating the "cutting, removal of tissue and organs, and collection of forensic evidence to technicians who were not licensed or trained doctors or forensic pathologists." Dr. Natarajan and Lubbock County settled the lawsuit on November 7, 2017, paying Dr. Florez the sum of $230,000. The motion claims that Lubbock County District Attorney Matt Powell was aware of this lawsuit and failed to disclose it to Rodriguez, which his attorneys argue is a Brady violation. In the state's response, Powell argues there has been no Brady violation because it does not apply to the post-conviction context and the evidence is not material. "Any allegations within the lawsuit are not relevant to determining how Dr. Natarajan ran the Medical Examiner's Office on September 13-14, 20005. In fact, Dr. Florez could not provide any relevant information about how the office was run in September of 2005 since the office Dr. Florez worked for in 2013 to 2015 was under a different organizational structure than the one Dr. Natarajan operated in September of 2015." Powell said, "...multiple portions of the record make it clear that Dr. Natarajan personally performed the autopsy in this case." The court has not ruled on the motion. Kretzer said he is going to request a hearing in state court, and will soon file a motion to stay in the court of criminal appeals. (source: KCBD news) Bishops hail Texas governor for granting clemency to death row inmate Thomas Whitaker The bishops released a statement to cite the governor's decision as "an example of restorative justice." The Catholic community in Texas offered prayers of thanks and reflected on the mercy shown towards a prisoner, but the bishops also said prayers for the victims. Whitaker had been sentenced in 2003 for plotting to kill his family for the inheritance money with his accomplice, Chris Brashear. Mom Patricia and brother Kevin, who was 19, died on the spot, while dad Kent survived the attack but went through the harrowing experience of learning that his older son was the one of the culprits. Brashear was also in prison for being the triggerman. He, however, did not receive the death penalty but was sentenced to 30 years to life imprisonment. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles recommended Whitaker's stay of execution at least a week before he was to die via lethal injection, but Abbot's final say on his status became official a half-hour before his execution. Whitaker's dad and stepmom had been at the death chamber for his final moments when lawyer Keith Hampton told them of the governor's decision. Abbot was apparently moved by the father's appeal. "Mr. Whitaker's father, who survived the attempt on his life, passionately opposes the execution of his son." Abbot's statement read. "Mr. Whitaker's father insists that he would be victimized again if the state put to death his last remaining immediate family member." Reports also revealed that Whitaker's father, a very religious man, mentioned a lot of quotes from the Bible to plead for his son's case. The elder Whitaker believed his son's execution would be meaningless if it proceeded. 30 people on death row have, so far, been executed under Abbot's term. Whitaker's stay of execution is only the 3rd clemency granted by a Texas governor in the last 4 decades. (source: Christian Daily) NEW HAMPSHIRE: Death penalty repeal deserves full and fair debate For the 1st time in decades. it appears a bill to repeal the death penalty has enough votes to pass the New Hampshire House and Senate. The Legislature last passed a death penalty repeal in 2000, when it was vetoed by Gov. Jeanne Shaheen. New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu said he'll veto this death penalty repeal bill if it reaches his desk because, in his view, "There is no doubt that the most heinous crimes warrant the death penalty." Despite the governor's veto threat, we urge legislators to debate death penalty repeal and then to vote their consciences. If we, as citizens, are going to authorize the state to kill in our names, we should regularly affirm that belief and declare why we think this action is right and just and moral. The death penalty is a highly emotional topic,
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, N.H., FLA., LA., OHIO
March 1 TEXAS: Delacerda will get new attorney for appeal of death sentence A Hardin County jury on Tuesday handed down the state's 1st death sentence of 2018, deciding a Kountze man convicted of torturing and killing his girlfriend's 4-year-old daughter is irredeemable and likely to commit future violent crimes. The jury deliberated for more than 3 hours before unanimously determining there was no reason Jason Wade Delacerda, 40, should spend his life in prison instead of being executed by lethal injection. "What mitigates the horror that she lived in? What mitigates the pain she suffered?" District Attorney David Sheffield asked during his closing statements, holding up a picture of Breonna Nichole Loftin, who prosecutors said was abused for weeks before she died. He asked the jury to think about how they would explain to Breonna their decision not to sentence him to death. "This is a wrong that we cannot turn right for her," he said. "However, we can prevent one last death. We can prevent the death of justice for her." Defense attorneys James Makin and Ryan Gertz, attempting to save Delacerda's life, argued Tuesday morning that he was unlikely to commit future violent acts while in prison. They provided the jury with more than 600 pages of records documenting his time in the Hardin County Jail for the last 6 1/2 years years and called Beaumont psychiatrist Edward Gripon to testify that "in a prison setting, his risk of future violence is low." In his closing statement, Makin told the jury not to let Delacerda's son, who testified Monday, live with the knowledge that he was part of the process that killed his father. His son was not in the courtroom Tuesday and did not speak during his testimony about the punishment his father should receive. "Your verdict says that, between life and death, Jason made the wrong choice," Gertz said, telling the jury that they could make the right choice instead. "Some of you are people of faith," he said, and asked them to consider their moral compass. "This was, absolutely, a terrible tragedy. Nobody's condoning it, supporting it, nobody likes it. But there's nothing we can do. There's not one thing you can do in that room that fixes this for this little girl." he said. Assistant District Attorney Bruce Hoffer, who was emotional as he addressed the jury, said Delacerda would be a danger to other prisoners and has a history of trouble, pointing to past misdemeanor convictions and a threat he allegedly made to kill his parents in 1996. "The facts of this case tell you Breonna went from being that loving little child to laying on a gurney at the morgue because of moving in with (Delacerda)," he said. During his closing statement, Sheffield said Delacerda's son's testimony was the "most compelling." He said Monday that his father punched, kicked, choked and abused Breonna "all the time" the summer before she died, forcing her to stand on bottlecaps all night and sit in bathtubs of ice for hours. The 19-year-old said that while he and his brother visited their biological father, he put pushpins in Breonna's face and fingers and paddled her so hard she bruised and bled. During his testimony, he said at first the 4-year-old cried, but then "she got used to it." Sheffield said visualizing and reliving the abuse was difficult, and it was clear that it affected him as a then-12-year-old. "He's a victim, too. He carries that with him all the time," he said. Delacerda did not visibly react when the verdict was read. Makin said afterward that he and Gertz told their client that the death penalty was likely when they explained their strategy last week. They did not cross-examine witnesses, make an opening statement or call any witnesses of their own during the guilt/innocence phase, and objected to all evidence that did not relate to the 24 to 48 hours before Breonna died. The judge's decision to include that evidence will be targeted in their appeal, they've said. As a death penalty case, it will go automatically to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals for review, and new counsel will be appointed. Gertz said they have an appellate attorney in mind who they will request be assigned to the case. Breonna's mother, Amanda Guidry, is also charged with capital murder. She was released on bond in 2014. Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty in her case. After Delacerda was sentenced, Hoffer praised Sheffield for deciding to seek the death penalty in the case, as well as the District Attorney's Office and Hardin County law enforcement for their work. He said Breonna's family members who testified last week chose not to attend the sentencing. "This was very hard, and everybody deals with things in different ways," he said. During his closing statement last week, before Delacerda was found guilty, he showed a picture of Breonna to the jury and played a clip of a song from the
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, N.J., NEB., UTAH
Feb. 28 TEXASnew death sentence Kountze man sentenced to death for killing girlfriend's toddler A Hardin County jury on Tuesday handed down the state's 1st death sentence of 2018, deciding a Kountze man convicted of torturing and killing his girlfriend's 4-year-old daughter is irredeemable and likely to commit future violent crimes. The jury deliberated for more than 3 hours before unanimously determining there was no reason Jason Wade Delacerda, 40, should spend his life in prison instead of being executed by lethal injection. "What mitigates the horror that she lived in? What mitigates the pain she suffered?" District Attorney David Sheffield asked during his closing statements, holding up a picture of Breonna Nichole Loftin, who prosecutors said was abused for weeks before she died. He asked the jury to think about how they would explain to Breonna their decision not to sentence him to death. "This is a wrong that we cannot turn right for her," he said. "However, we can prevent 1 last death. We can prevent the death of justice for her." Defense attorneys James Makin and Ryan Gertz, attempting to save Delacerda's life, argued Tuesday morning that he was unlikely to commit future violent acts while in prison. They provided the jury with more than 600 pages of records documenting his time in the Hardin County Jail for the last 6 1/2 years and called Beaumont psychiatrist Edward Gripon to testify that "in a prison setting, his risk of future violence is low." In his closing statement, Makin told the jury not to let Delacerda's son, who testified Monday, live with the knowledge that he was part of the process that killed his father. His son was not in the courtroom Tuesday and did not speak during his testimony about the punishment his father should receive. "Your verdict says that, between life and death, Jason made the wrong choice," Gertz said, telling the jury that they could make the right choice instead. "Some of you are people of faith," he said, and asked them to consider their moral compass. "This was, absolutely, a terrible tragedy. Nobody's condoning it, supporting it, nobody likes it. But there's nothing we can do. There's not one thing you can do in that room that fixes this for this little girl." he said. Assistant District Attorney Bruce Hoffer, who was emotional as he addressed the jury, said Delacerda would be a danger to other prisoners and has a history of trouble, pointing to past misdemeanor convictions and a threat he allegedly made to kill his parents in 1996. "The facts of this case tell you Breonna went from being that loving little child to laying on a gurney at the morgue because of moving in with him," he said. During his closing statement, Sheffield said Delacerda's son's testimony was the "most compelling." He said Monday that his father punched, kicked, choked and abused Breonna "all the time" the summer before she died, forcing her to stand on bottlecaps all night and sit in bathtubs of ice for hours. The 19-year-old said that while he and his brother visited their biological father, he put pushpins in Breonna's face and fingers and paddled her so hard she bruised and bled. During his testimony, he said at first the 4-year-old cried, but then "she got used to it." Sheffield said visualizing and reliving the abuse was difficult, and it was clear that it affected him as a then-12-year-old. "He's a victim, too. He carries that with him all the time," he said. Delacerda did not visibly react when the verdict was read. Makin said afterward that he and Gertz told their client that the death penalty was likely when they explained their strategy last week. They did not cross-examine witnesses, make an opening statement or call any witnesses of their own during the guilt/innocence phase, and objected to all evidence that did not relate to the 24 to 48 hours before Breonna died. The judge's decision to include that evidence will be targeted in their appeal, they've said. As a death penalty case, it will go automatically to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals for review, and new counsel will be appointed. Gertz said they have an appellate attorney in mind who they will request be assigned to the case. Breonna's mother, Amanda Guidry, is also charged with capital murder. She was released on bond in 2014. Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty in her case. After Delacerda was sentenced, Hoffer praised Sheffield for deciding to seek the death penalty in the case, as well as the District Attorney's Office and Hardin County law enforcement for their work. He said Breonna's family members who testified last week chose not to attend the sentencing. "This was very hard, and everybody deals with things in different ways," he said. During his closing statement last week, before Delacerda was found guilty, he showed a picture of Breonna to the jury and played a clip of a song
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, N.H., CONN., N.J., PENN., FLA.
Feb. 27 TEXAS: East Texas dragging death killer loses federal court appeal A prisoner on Texas death row for the dragging death of a man nearly 2 decades ago in East Texas has lost a federal court appeal, moving him a step close to execution for the hate crime. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week turned down an appeal from 43-year-old John William King, condemned for the June 1998 slaying of James Byrd, Junior. Evidence showed the 49-year-old Byrd was chained by his ankles to the back of a pickup truck and dragged along a road outside Jasper in East Texas. Prosecutors said Byrd was killed simply because he was black. Attorneys for King argued his trial lawyers were deficient. The 5th Circuit disagreed. 1 of 2 other white men convicted has been executed. The 3rd man is serving life. The killing inspired the Mathew Shepherd and James Byrd, Junior Hate Crimes Act, which President Barack Obama signed into law in 2009. It expanded hate crimes laws to include those motivated by a victim's gender, race, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. (source: KTRE news) * Texas bishop says Catholics are shrinking away from death penalty support Bishop Michael Olson of Fort Worth believes Catholic bishops in Texas are slowly gaining momentum in reducing Catholic support for the death penalty in a state that is widely considered ground zero for the use of capital punishment in the U.S. His remarks came in an interview with Crux just days after Governor Greg Abbott granted clemency to Thomas Whitaker less than an hour before he was scheduled to be executed - a decision praised by the state's Catholic bishops. Whitaker will now serve life in prison without the possibility of parole as punishment for assisting in the 2003 murder of his mother and brother, and the attempted murder of his father, Kent. His father was the leading petitioner for clemency, leading the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to make a unanimous recommendation to the governor to grant the request. The board said Kent Whitaker maintained that he "would be victimized again if the state put to death his last remaining immediate family member." Abbott, who is Catholic, has been a long-time defender of the death penalty - a position maintained by an overwhelming majority of Texans. Recent joint polling from the University of Texas and the Texas Tribune found that 73 % of respondents either somewhat or strongly supported the death penalty and only 21 % opposed the practice. Despite such strong public support, Olson says he believes this decision by Abbott is an encouraging sign that Catholics are beginning to shift in their support on the issue - though he cautions that there is much work to be done. "I think at least we're making headway in fostering greater awareness among our people about the ineffectiveness of the death penalty to curtail crime and to fulfill even the classical understanding of its permissibility," he told Crux. "Our recent letter as Texas Bishops also talked about how its use is a failure to witness to the greater truths about the dignity of human life," he added. Olson said that the issue of capital punishment, however, isn't the only issue where Catholic opinions on public policy fail to line-up with the Church, and he lamented the fact that too often views are informed by secular influences rather than Church teaching. "The big challenge we face as the Church and as bishops entrusted with the authentic teaching mission, is that Catholics tend to identify not so differently from the secular mainstream populace," said Olson. He continued: "They do this not just exclusively on this issue, but on other issues involving the common good, such as immigration and refugees. That's the challenge we have as a state conference and as a local church." One demographic Olson believes is leading the shift in this debate is young people. "I see a greater attentiveness to this issue of capital punishment as a part of our Catholic pro-life witness, especially with the younger people," he told Crux. Olson - who has become an active Twitter user since being named bishop of Fort Worth in January 2014 - used the medium both to raise awareness of the Whitaker case and also to express his gratitude to Abbott for his decision to grant clemency. As far as its overall value, he renders a mixed verdict, but says to the extent that social media is being used to welcome people into the Church and at times alter public perception of it, then that should be welcomed. "It's a contemporary tool but it's deceptively very limited," said Olson. "It has a high impact, but as part of a means for providing the substance of Catholic teaching, social media is always going to limp. I think it's good at creating intentional communities but these communities are without a high degree of commitment for belonging. And at times social media can
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., N.C., GA., FLA., ALA., OHIO, WASH., USA
Feb. 24 TEXAS: Guilty: Kountze man faces death penalty at sentencing in child's deathThe members of the jury found Jason Wade Delacerda, 40, of Kountze, guilty of capital murder. A week of heart-wrenching testimony came to a close Friday morning and a jury of 9 women and 5 men began deliberations in the trial of a man accused of ending the life of his girlfriend's 4-year-old child. By 3 p.m. the jury made its decision. The jury foreman read the verdict Friday afternoon. The members of the jury found Jason Wade Delacerda, 40, of Kountze, guilty of capital murder. Delacerda faces the death penalty when jury members decide his punishment. The punishment phase of the trial will begin at 8 a.m. Monday. If he is sentenced to death, he would be the 1st person to receive the death penalty in Hardin County since the 1980's when Robert Streetman was sent to death row. He was convicted of shooting and killing Christine Baker, 44, whom he shot through a window as she sat watching TV in her Kountze home in 1982. (source: deathpenalty.org). The young victim, Breonna Nichol Loftin, died at CHRISTUS Southeast Texas - St. Elizabeth in 2011. Doctors said she had burns, bruises and broken bones. It's taken nearly 7 years for the case to be placed before a jury. An attorney for Jason Wade Delacerda did not offer opening statements Tuesday morning. Ryan Getz said he would rely on the jury to find evidence presented by the prosecution as too weak for a conviction. He asked the judge to "limit the scope" of questioning during the trial saying questions about the condition of the child at the hospital have nothing to do with how the child's injuries contributed to her death. Judge Steven Thomas denied Gertz's request to restrict the evidence. One of the first witnesses called by the prosecution is Jefferson County Medical examiner Tommy Brown. He said under oath that the young victim's death was caused by a severe head injury, known as "Subdural Hematoma." He said forensic evidence disputes Delacerda's claim that the injury was caused by a trampoline accident. Emergency room physician Dr. Charles Owen also took the stand on the 1st day of the trial. He testified that the child had multiple bruises, scabs and broken bones. He said there were signs of pushpins pressed into the victim's forehead. The defense objected to the prosecution's presentation of this evidence, saying it was not related to the child's death. Judge Thomas overruled the objection. Hardin County Sheriff's Office Captain Gary Spears testified about seeing the child's injuries while at the hospital. While Capt. Spears was on the stand, prosecutors played an audio recording of an interview with the defendant that was made as part of the investigation. Delacerda is heard on the tape saying that the burns could have been caused by a cigarette, but denied knowing how it could have happened. Delacerda's voice on the tape is also heard saying that Breonna's leg and head injuries were caused by a trampoline accident. Delacerda said her burns were caused by hot coffee. Jury members Wednesday continued watching video of Delecerda as he was questioned by 2 Hardin County investigators. Delecerda is heard explaining Breonna's injuries. An investigator is heard in the video telling the defendant that Amanda, the victim's mother, gave investigators a very different story than his. The video ends as Delecerda and one of the investigators began shouting at each other. The Jury had a short day on Thursday. Testimony was cut short because of an issue with one of the jury members, and the prosecution and the defense raised concerns they wanted worked out before testimony resumed Friday. Prosecutor Bruce Hoffer expressed concern of, "extreme risk of corroboration" between Delacerda's 2 sons. He asked that the sons be brought in separately when they testify. Defense attorney Ryan Gertz said he had an issue as to how recorded interviews with Delacerda???s sons were carried out. Both sides met with the Judge after the jury left Thursday morning. (source: 12newsnow.com) * Texas Dad Speaks Out After Saving Son Who Plotted Murders of Mom and Brother From Death Sentence The father of the man whose execution was commuted just before he was scheduled to be put to death said on Megyn Kelly TODAY that he is grateful his son's life was spared - even after the son's conviction for plotting the murder of his family members and the attempted murder of the dad himself. "I feel a great sense of relief and hope," Kent Whitaker told Kelly, adding, "He's been given a 2nd chance at life." In an attempt to gain hold of the family's $1 million estate, Thomas "Bart" Whitaker, plotted the murders of younger brother and mother in a brutal 2003 attack he masterminded that left Kent severely injured. While Kent was in the hospital recovering from his near fatal wounds, he vowed to forgive
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, FLA., ALA., UTAH, WHO., WASH.
Feb. 23 TEXAS: Governor Abbott commutes death sentence of Thomas Bartlett Whitaker Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced on Thursday that he has commuted the death sentence of Thomas Bartlett Whitaker. Whitaker was set to be executed Thursday night for the 2003 murders of his mother and brother in their Sugar Land home. He admitted to running a murder-for-hire plot to have them killed in order to collect inheritance money. A gunman also shot Whitaker as an attempt to cover up his involvement. His father, Kent Whitaker, was also shot but survived. Thomas "Bart" Whitaker attended Baylor University for several semesters. Baylor's Assistant Vice President for Media Communications Lori Fogleman said Whitaker was a Baylor student from the fall semester of 1998 to the spring of 2001. He did not graduate. Kent Whitaker was instrumental in getting his son's case before the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles which on Wednesday unanimously recommended that Governor Abbott commute Whitaker's sentence from death to life in prison. Gov. Greg Abbott released the following statement: "As a former trial court judge, Texas Supreme Court Justice and Attorney General involved in prosecuting some of the most notorious criminals in Texas, I have the utmost regard for the role that juries and judges play in our legal system. The role of the Governor is not to second-guess the court process or re-evaluate the law and evidence. Instead, the Governor's role under the Constitution is distinct from the judicial function. The Governor's role is to consider recommendations by the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, and view matters through a lens broader than the facts and law applied to a single case. That is particularly important in death penalty cases. "In just over three years as Governor, I have allowed 30 executions. I have not granted a commutation of a death sentence until now, for reasons I here explain. "The murders of Mr. Whitaker's mother and brother are reprehensible. The crime deserves severe punishment for the criminals who killed them. The recommendation of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, and my action on it, ensures Mr. Whitaker will never be released from prison. "The decision of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles is supported by the totality of circumstances in this case. The person who fired the gun that killed the victims did not receive the death penalty, but Mr. Whitaker, who did not fire the gun, did get the death penalty. That factor alone may not warrant commutation for someone like Mr. Whitaker who recruited others to commit murder. Additional factors make the decision more complex. "Mr. Whitaker's father, who survived the attempt on his life, passionately opposes the execution of his son. Mr. Whitaker's father insists that he would be victimized again if the state put to death his last remaining immediate family member. Also, Mr. Whitaker voluntarily and forever waived any and all claims to parole in exchange for a commutation of his sentence from death to life without the possibility of parole. Moreover, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles unanimously voted for commutation. The totality of these factors warrants a commutation of Mr. Whitaker's death sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Mr. Whitaker must spend the remainder of his life behind bars as punishment for this heinous crime." (source: KXXV news) ** Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present30 Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982present-548 Abbott#scheduled execution date-nameTx. # 31--Mar. 27Rosendo Rodriguez III--549 32--Apr. 25Erick Davila---550 33--May 16-Juan Castillo--551 (sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin) FLORIDAnew death sentence Jury recommends death for man who raped, killed Florida girl Cherish Perrywinkle Jurors who took less than 15 minutes to convict a Florida man last week of abducting, raping and killing an 8-year-old girl have now decided he should be executed. The Jacksonville jury voted unanimously Thursday after about 2 hours of discussion that 62-year-old Donald Smith should receive the death penalty. If just 1 of the 12 jurors had voted against execution, Smith would have instead faced life in prison. During a 2-day sentencing phase, experts testified that Smith is a psychopath who lacks control over his impulses. Doctors also described Smith as callous, uncaring, manipulative and lacking empathy. Smith was convicted last week in the 2013 death of Cherish Perrywinkle, who was abducted from a Walmart store in Jacksonville after he befriended her mother. In tearful testimony during his trial, Rayne Perrywinkle said she thought Smith was a good Samaritan because he had offered to buy her children clothing. Multiple jurors were crying as they
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, FLA., ALA.
Feb. 22 TEXAS: Man who plotted his family's murder will not be executed, governor says The governor of Texas decided today to spare the life of a convicted killer who carried out a plot to kill his parents and his brother. About 40 minutes before the scheduled execution, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced he would grant clemency to 38-year-old Thomas "Bart" Whitaker. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, in a rare recommendation, voted unanimously Tuesday in favor of the "lesser penalty" of commuting Whitaker's death sentence to life behind bars without the possibility of parole. “In just over three years as governor, I have allowed 30 executions. I have not granted a commutation of a death sentence until now," Abbott said in a statement. “The murders of Mr. Whitaker’s mother and brother are reprehensible. The crime deserves severe punishment for the criminals who killed them. The recommendation of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, and my action on it, ensures Mr. Whitaker will never be released from prison." Bart Whitaker was convicted of capital murder for the shooting deaths of his mother, Tricia Whitaker, and his younger brother, Kevin Whitaker, in an attack he devised at the family's Sugar Land, Texas, home in December 2003. Bart's father, Kent Whitaker, was also shot during the attack, but survived. Kent Whitaker said he has forgiven his son and became his most outspoken advocate. "I love him. He's my son," Kent Whitaker told "20/20." "I don't want to see him executed at the hands of Texas in the name of justice when there's a better justice available." On Tuesday, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, in a rare recommendation, voted unanimously in favor of the "lesser penalty" of commuting Whitaker's death sentence to life behind bars without the possibility of parole. Prosecutor Fred Felcman, who was also the original prosecutor in the case, told ABC's Houston station KTRK on Tuesday that he was disappointed by the parole board's recommendation. "I guess the 12 jurors' opinion means nothing to the parole board," Felcman said. "20/20" sat down with Kent Whitaker awhile he awaited the board’s decision on his son’s fate. He said that Bart has learned Spanish in prison and was teaching some inmates English, while helping others earn their high school diplomas. "I have seen such change in him," Kent Whitaker said of his son. "He's been incarcerated for 11 years. That's 4,000 days. He's done a lot of work himself and he's struggled hard to try to find out what it was that went wrong in his mind." "There's a mental illness issue here that we still don't quite understand," the father added. "But he has learned how to recognize the danger points and to work around them. I want the opportunity to spend years watching him grow. And there's so much that he can do." Kent Whitaker said he recognizes the horrible crime his son committed, saying, "I live with it every day... and nobody's denying it." "Forgiveness is absolutely critical if you want to heal from your loss," he continued. "It is the only way that you can get the bitterness out, and the bitterness is going to stay there and it's going to affect your relationships in ways that you can't even see or recognize. But it's going to negatively affect them. I was able to forgive on the night of the shootings." On Dec. 10, 2003, Bart Whitaker announced to his family that he had finished his final exams at Sam Houston State University and would be graduating. To honor his achievement, his parents presented him with a Rolex watch. That night, the family went to a popular Cajun restaurant to celebrate. Photos taken from that night show Bart smiling for the camera, but he told "20/20" in a 2009 interview that he knew at that moment that an intruder had entered their home and was waiting for their return. If everything went according to his plan, his brother, mother and father would all be dead within minutes. "I don't really know a better term for how I was feeling [that night], other than I was on auto-pilot. I wasn't even aware of myself," Bart Whitaker told "20/20" in 2009. "I wanted them dead," he added. "It was my idea." When the family arrived home, Bart, knowing what awaited his family inside, ran down the driveway, saying he needed to grab his cell phone out of his car. Kevin Whitaker, 19, was the first one to open the door and was shot in the chest, then his mother followed and was also shot. Next, his father was wounded, too -- he was shot through the right chest and arm, breaking his humerus bone. Bart said he then ran into the house and pretended to try and catch the shooter. They wrestled a bit and then Bart was shot in the arm to make him appear to be a victim. "It was to distance me from the guilt," he told "20/20" in 2009. "But also I think on an internal level it was me realizing that there was no way that I could come out of this
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, FLA., ALA., MO., NEB., UTAH, CALIF.
Feb. 22 TEXAS: Jury selection put on hold in death penalty trial Jury selection in the trial seeking the death penalty against 1 of 2 men accused of gunning down U.S. Border Patrol Agent Javier Vega has been postponed until March 26. Gustavo Tijerina-Sandoval is 1 of 2 men accused in the August 2014 shooting death. A pool of more than 400 potential jurors was called into the 197th state District Court on Feb. 12. By Feb. 14, only a handfull of potential jurors had been interviewed. "We are not even half way there," said Jessica Carrizales, 197th District Court court coordinator. Wednesday, she confirmed over the phone that Tuesday was the last day of jury selection until March 26. The next round of jury selection will take up to 3 weeks and trial is expected to begin in late April. Tijerina-Sandoval, of La Villa, and Ismael Hernandez-Vallejo, of Weslaco, are charged with capital murder and attempted capital murder in the shootings of Javier Vega Jr. and his father, Javier Vega Sr., who survived. Tijerina-Sandoval's trial comes to court after more than 3 years of hearings. It's been nearly 4 years since Vega was murdered while defending his family during a fishing trip in Willacy County. According to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection news release, Javier Vega Jr. attempted to draw his weapon when the men approached the family and was shot in the chest. (source: The Monitor) Rosendo Rodriguez asks for stay of execution, citing settlement with chief medical examiner Rosendo Rodriguez, III, sentenced to death for the murder of a pregnant woman and her unborn child, asked for a stay of execution on Tuesday, based on the actions of Lubbock County Chief Medical Examiner Sridhar Natarajan. Natarajan said he performed the autopsies in the Rodriguez case and testified at his trial. The motion cites a case filed by Dr. Luisa Florez under the Texas Whistleblower Act back in 2015, claiming that Natarajan delegated critical decisions to a senior forensic nurse, Honey Haney Smith. The motion claims that Smith would frequently serve as Natarajan's proxy, "making decision that only a duly deputized medical examiner should be making." The motion cites the claim that Natarajan was not performing his own autopsies, but was instead delegating the "cutting, removal of tissue and organs, and collection of forensic evidence to technicians who were not licensed or trained doctors or forensic pathologists." The lawsuit also claimed that Dr. Natarajan conspired with Nurse Smith to backdate autopsy reports. Dr. Natarajan and Lubbock County settled this lawsuit on Nov. 7, 2017, paying Dr. Florez the sum of $230,000. The motion claims that Lubbock County District Attorney Matt Powell was aware of this lawsuit and failed to disclose it to Rodriguez, resulting in a violation of his due process rights. The Rodriguez execution was scheduled for March 27, but his legal team is now asking for a stay so they can investigate how the autopsies were conducted in this case, and how that may have affected his conviction. Rodriguez rejected a plea deal that would have given him life in prison back in October 2006. (source: KCBD news) FLORIDAimpending execution Legal experts ask U.S. Supreme Court to stay Eric Branch's execution A group that includes former Florida Supreme Court justices and Circuit Court judges has banded together to file a brief in a case before the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the high court to stay Eric Branch's upcoming execution to address what they believe is an unconstitutional application of the law. Branch is scheduled to be executed Thursday for the 1993 murder of University of West Florida student Susan Morris. He has been on death row for almost 25 years after an Escambia County jury in 1994 recommended the death penalty with a 10-2 vote. The U.S. Supreme Court struck down Florida's death penalty law in 2016, and state law was then changed to mandate a jury unanimously sentence someone to death. The decision was based on another Escambia County case, that of Timothy Hurst, and has since been referred to as the Hurst ruling. The Escambia County Circuit Court, and subsequently the Florida Supreme Court, have determined the Hurst ruling does not retroactively apply to Branch's case because too much time has passed since the murder. Last week, Branch appealed his case on the same grounds to the U.S. Supreme Court after exhausting all appeals on the local and state levels. Once documents were filed at the federal level, it opened the door for the former justices and judges to file a "friend of the court" brief, which is a way for people not directly involved in cases to offer their opinion on a case. In their brief filed Thursday, the group wrote that the state had implemented an "unconstitutional retroactivity rule" in Branch's case. It further urged the U.S. Supreme Court to
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, DEL., S.C., FLA., ALA.
Feb. 21 TEXAS: Texas parole board recommends killer be spared from death The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, in a rare decision, unanimously recommended Tuesday that the death sentence of convicted killer Thomas " Bart" Whitaker be commuted. Whitaker is scheduled for lethal injection Thursday for masterminding the fatal shootings of his mother and brother at their suburban Houston home in 2003. Whitaker's father, Kent, also was shot in the attack but survived. He said he wants his 38-year-old son to live. The recommendation from the 7-member panel goes to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who can accept it or reject it. The governor appoints the parole board. It's only the 4th time since the state resumed executions in 1982 that the parole board has recommended clemency within days of an inmate's scheduled execution. In 2 of those cases, then-Gov. Rick Perry rejected the board's recommendation and those prisoners are among the 548 executed in Texas, more than any other state. David Gutierrez, the parole board's presiding officer, said the panel recommended the governor commute Whitaker's sentence "to a lesser penalty." Jurors who convicted him and sentenced him to death in 2007 had only 1 other option, life imprisonment. In the clemency petition, Whitaker's attorneys said his execution would "permanently compound" his father's suffering and grief, and compared the case to the biblical story of Cain and Abel, where God sent Cain to "restlessly wander" after killing his brother. Kent Whitaker has said he's seen "too much killing already," has forgiven his son and believes his son is a changed person. Whitaker, his son's attorney and supporters awaited the decision in a conference room in the Texas Capitol. As lawyer Keith Hampton read the outcome, Whitaker covered his face with his hand and wept softly. After about 15 seconds, he looked at Hampton and murmured, "Thank you." "I never, ever believed that we were going to get a unanimous decision in favor," he said as he and Hampton headed immediately across the building to Abbott's ceremonial office - even though the governor wasn't there - to plead with the governor that he honor the board's recommendation. "The best we were hoping was a 4-3," he said. "This is beyond amazing. I can't tell you." At his trial, Bart Whitaker said he took "100 %" responsibility for planning and carrying out the killings. Prosecutors said he hated his parents and hoped to collect an inheritance. "I think it's the wrong decision and clearly the wrong decision," said Fort Bend County District Attorney John Healey, whose office prosecuted Whitaker and convinced a jury to convict him and send him to death row. He said Tuesday that he didn't know if he could speak with Abbott before the governor made a decision. "I don't know if that's part of the allowed protocol," Healey said. "It's a unique situation." Evidence showed the murder plot included two of Whitaker's friends and was at least Whitaker's 3rd attempt to kill his family. The shooting was made to look like an interrupted burglary at the family's home in Sugar Land, southwest of Houston, and Bart Whitaker was shot in the arm to draw attention away from him. About 6 months after the shootings, he disappeared. A year later, he was apprehended in Mexico. The gunman, Chris Brashear, pleaded guilty in 2007 to a murder charge and was sentenced to life in prison. Another man, Steve Champagne, who drove Brashear from the Whitaker house the night of the shootings, took a 15-year prison term in exchange for testifying at Whitaker's trial. In 2007, death row inmate Kenneth Foster was spared and his sentence commuted to life. The board had voted 6-1 in favor of a commutation. Perry said Foster and a co-defendant in a fatal robbery in San Antonio should not have been tried together for capital murder. Foster was the getaway driver in the slaying and both he and a partner received death sentences. His co-defendant was executed. In 2004, Perry overruled the parole board's 5-1 vote favoring clemency and convicted killer Kelsey Patterson was executed. He took the same action in 2009 in the case of death row inmate Robert Lee Thompson, who was executed despite a favorable a 5-2 ruling from the board. (source: Associated Press) * A call for clemency: Abbott should halt execution Kent Whitaker lost his wife and son to a criminal act. Now he's about to lose his last remaining child. We call on Gov. Greg Abbott to end this chain of death and grant clemency to Thomas "Bart" Whitaker. In 2007, Bart was convicted of a murder-for-hire plot to kill his mother and brother. His execution is scheduled for Thursday. There is no questioning the sickness - the evil - that must course through a man's veins if he is driven to such a horrific act. But compounding violence upon violence will not bring a family back to life, nor will it further
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, S.C., FLA., MISS., OHIO, TENN., ARK., UTAH, ARIZ., CALIF.
Feb. 17 TEXASimpending execution Sugar Land man scheduled for execution after killing his family loses appeal With barely a week to go before Texas death row inmate Thomas "Bart" Whitaker's scheduled execution, a state appeals court on Thursday denied the Sugar Land man's latest bid to avoid the state's harshest sentence. Citing his record of good behavior on death row, attorneys argued that the condemned man who had his mother and brother killed no longer qualifies as a future danger, a key factor in death sentencing in Texas. "Whitaker is not only not a future danger," his attorneys wrote, "he is not a present danger." Houston-based defense team David Dow and Jeffrey Newberry argued that either he was never a danger to anyone outside his immediate family and thus not really a future danger or had experienced such a personal transformation that he was no longer a future danger. "There can be no doubt but that Thomas Bartlett Whitaker's jurors were wrong when they found that he likely would commit acts of violence in the future," they wrote. But the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Thursday turned down the appeal and request for a stay. The 38-year-old was sent to death row in 2007 after a Ford Bend jury found him guilty of masterminding a plot to kill his family in hopes of snagging a $1 million inheritance. Though Whitaker's mother Patricia and brother Kevin died in the 2003 attack, his father Kent survived and has since fervently argued against his son's death sentence. "I have seen enough death - I don't want to see any more," he told the Chronicle earlier this week. "I'm going to have the last living member of my direct family taken from me by the State of Texas in the name of justice, and I just don't want that." Currently a clemency petition bolstered by letters from teachers, friends, family and fellow death row inmates is pending before the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. Whitaker is also involved in litigation over the state's lethal injection practices, though the Supreme Court is not scheduled to tackle the matter until Feb. 23 - 1 day after the scheduled execution. (source: Houston Chronicle) SOUTH CAROLINA: 3 SC brothers and cousin charged in double homicide, death penalty in play 4 South Carolina men, all related, have been arrested and charged for their roles in a double homicide. 3 brothers, and their cousin, were arrested by South Carolina Law Enforcement Division agents in connection to the Nov. 24, 2017 shooting deaths of cousins Joel Turner Jr., 44, and Steven A. Banks, 34, outside a bar in McCormick County. Jesse Cashawn Freeman III, 22, of McCormick and Travis Rashad Freeman, 27, of Spartanburg and were arrested and charged with murder, according to SLED. If convicted, each will face the maximum penalty of death, or a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years to life in prison, SLED reported. Shiquan Marquez Freeman, 25, and Devin Tyrone Crapps, 22, both of Spartanburg, were each charged with accessory after the fact to murder. If convicted of the felony charge, each will face the maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. Travis Freeman and Jesse Freeman fatally shot Banks and Turner during a physical altercation in the parking lot of Sapp's Bar and Grill, according to an affidavit. Shiquan Freeman and Crapps are charged with accessory because they fled the scene in the same vehicle as Travis and Jesse Freeman and failed to notify law enforcement about the crime, according to an affidavit. SLED investigated the case at the request of the McCormick County Sheriff's Office. (source: thestate.com) FLORIDA: Florida school shooting suspect will plead guilty if death penalty is not an optionIf prosecutors agree to take the death penalty off the table, the suspect's attorney says he will plead guilty. The suspect in the south Florida high school shooting will plead guilty in the massacre if the death penalty is taken off the table, the public defender's office said Friday. Nikolas Cruz, 19, admitted he was behind the the 17 killings inside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. His lawyers at the public defender's office say he is deeply troubled and remorseful over the shooting. "I am overwhelmingly saddened that every system failed. The school system, the mental health system, DCF, law enforcement and the FBI," said Broward County Public Defender Howard Finkelstein, whose office is representing Cruz. "Because we failed to stop it, and we could have, we should not kill the person who behaved as we feared but ignored." Cruz was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder. Finkelstein said he is unsure if prosecutors will agree to the idea of pulling the death penalty off the table. "I hope" they will, he said. "No road map here." The State Attorney's Office for Broward County told the Miami Herald "it is way too early in the
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., N.C., GA., FLA.
Feb. 16 TEXASimpending execution Urgent Action FATHER APPEALS FOR SON'S LIFE TO BE SPARED Thomas Whitaker, aged 38, is due to be executed in Texas on 22 February. He was convicted in 2007 of the murder of his mother and brother in a shooting in which his father was badly wounded but survived. The father is appealing for clemency for his son. Write a letter, send an email, call, fax or tweet: * Calling on the Texas authorities to commute the death sentence of Thomas Whitaker; * Noting support for clemency from inmates, guards, and the prisoner's father, also a victim of the crime; * Noting that the actual gunman received a life sentence and the very troubling claims surrounding the prosecution's alleged solicitation of the defendant's confession and its use in arguing for a death sentence. Friendly reminder: If you send an email, please create your own instead of forwarding this one! Contact these 2 officials by 22 February, 2018: Clemency Section, Board of Pardons and Paroles 8610 Shoal Creek Blvd. Austin, Texas 78757-6814, USA Fax: +1 512 467 0945 Email: bpp-...@tdcj.state.tx.us Salutation: Dear Board members Governor Greg Abbott Office of the Governor P.O. Box 12428 Austin, Texas 78711-2428, USA Fax: +1 512 463 1849 Contact Form: https://gov.texas.gov/apps/contact/opinion.aspx Salutation: Dear Governor (source: Amnesty International USA) PENNSYLVANIA: DA to seek death penalty against man accused of killing ex-girlfriend The Allegheny County district attorney plans to seek the death penalty for a man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend. Matthew Darby is charged with criminal homicide, burglary, theft by unlawful taking and avoiding apprehension charges in connection with the death of Alina . The University of Pittsburgh student was killed inside her Oakland home on Oct. 8. Darby was served with a PFA that Sheykhet took out against him just 2 days before her murder. The former Pitt-Greensburg basketball player was on the run for several days until his capture in Myrtle Beach S.C. Sheyhet's parents released a statement on the DA's decision: "The Sheykhet family was asked for their input relative to DA Zappala's decision to seek the death penalty against Matthew Darby and they are in support of his decision." (source: WPXI news) NORTH CAROLINA: NC prosecutors to seek death penalty in Mariah Woods case The state intends to seek the death penalty in the case against Earl Kimrey, the boyfriend of Mariah Woods' mother. That's according to District Attorney Ernie Lee. He said the state also intends to declare the 1st-degree murder case as capital. Kimrey is facing charges of 1st-degree murder, felony child abuse inflicting serious bodily injury, felony common law obstruction of justice, felony concealment of death, 2nd degree burglary, felony larceny, and felony possession of stolen property. Kimrey, whose full name is Adolphus Earl Kimrey II, was initially charged on December 2 with obstruction of justice, concealing an unattended death, possession of stolen goods, 2nd-degree burglary and larceny after breaking and entering. Kimrey's court date was set for February 14 but he did not appear in court. Still, a small crowd gathered outside Wednesday morning to make sure all who passed by would know Mariah Woods is not forgotten. Each of the community members who stood outside held balloons in various shades of pink. It's a color that's become synonymous with the toddler. It's been nearly 3 months since Mariah went missing, and mothers like Heather Stevens gathered to show their love for her. "She should be here celebrating with her family and with her brothers," Stevens said. "She should be here for every day and every occasion." Also out front, Mariah's paternal grandmother, Debra Woods. She says the family is holding up, and wouldn't comment on Kristy Woods, except to say that she hadn't spoken with her. "People are helping with the cause and it means a lot to know she's touched so many people without even knowing them," Debra Woods said. Justice is all they want and Woods says she will continue to organize these peaceful demonstrations until it is served. Kimrey has been in custody in the Onslow County Detention Center with no bond. Kimrey's next court appearance in Onslow County Superior Court is scheduled for February 26. (source: WAVY TV news) GEORGIA: State seeks death penalty in Foster re-trial The state is seeking the death penalty in the re-trial of a man whose 1987 murder conviction was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2016. Preliminary hearings began Thursday in the trial of 50-year-old Timothy Tyrone Foster, who entered a not guilty plea to charges of murder and burglary. A date in mid-June has been set as the deadline for both sides to file motions in Floyd County Superior Court. Additional hearings could be held before that time. Foster
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, DEL., N.C., S.C., , GA., FLA., ALA.
Feb. 15 TEXASnew execution date and impending execution San Antonio lovers' lane killer gets 4th execution date in less than a year A San Antonio killer this month was handed his 4th execution date in less than a year. Juan Castillo, who was sent to death row for his role in a 2003 lovers' lane slaying, is now slated to die by lethal injection on May 16, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Last year, his string of death dates were called off for everything from Hurricane Harvey to a witness who recanted. But before the setting of the most recent date, defense attorneys say they never got to weigh in. Instead, when the appeals court bounced the case back to the trial court in November to examine false testimony claims, prosecutors filed a brief - and the judge decided against Castillo one day later, according to court filings. "It's really unusual and strange," said Amanda Marzullo, executive director of Texas Defender Services, which is representing Castillo. "It's a clear due process violation." The Bexar County District Attorney's Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The 36-year-old condemned man was originally convicted in 2005 of killing teenage rapper Tommy Garcia Jr. during a botched robbery. Castillo's then-girlfriend lured the targeted man to a secluded spot with the promise of sex and drugs. But while the 2 were making out in his Camaro, Castillo and another man attacked. Wearing ski masks and carrying weapons, they dragged Garcia from the car - and Castillo shot him 7 times in the process. Castillo was 1 of 4 people convicted in the crime, but the only one hit with a capital sentence. During the punishment phase, he represented himself. He was found guilty on what would have been his victim's 21st birthday. Last May, he was scheduled for execution, but saw the date cancelled after prosecutors failed to give 90 days notice to the defense. In September, he was scheduled to die, but the date was pushed back again, this time in light of the impacts of Hurricane Harvey. Then in November, his December execution date was canceled and his case remanded to the trial court in light of claims of false testimony from a jailhouse snitch. "I described what Juan Castillo supposedly told me about the capital murder," former Bexar County inmate Gerardo Gutierrez wrote in 2013, according to court records. "Juan Castillo never told me this information about this capital murder case. This testimony was untrue about Juan Castillo. I made up this testimony to try to help myself." Although prosecutors argued that appeals based on the 2013 revelation were procedurally barred and not credible, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals looked to a 2009 decision mandating that - whether or not it's intentional - the use of false testimony violates due process. Accordingly, on Nov. 28, the appeals court sent the case back to Bexar County. There, the trial court on Dec. 1 decided that Gutierrez's testimony wasn't what made the difference in Castillo's conviction, as everything he testified to matched statements from other witnesses. The decision came one day after the judge voluntarily recused himself and was replaced. Although the prosecution was able to file its recommended findings before the court ruled, the defense was not able to do the same. Now, Castillo's defense has plans to file a motion for reconsideration, Marzullo said. The next scheduled execution in Texas is Thomas "Bart" Whitaker, a Sugar Land man convicted in a murder-for-hire plot to kill his own family. If his appeals fail, the 38-year-old will be the fourth Texas man executed this year. (source: Houston Chronicle) Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present30 Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982present-548 Abbott#scheduled execution date-nameTx. # 31--Feb. 22Thomas Whitaker549 32--Mar. 27Rosendo Rodriguez III--550 33--Apr. 25Erick Davila---551 34--May 16-Juan Castillo--552 (sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin) *** Death Watch: Justice for Whom?Kent Whitaker never wanted execution for his son Thomas Whitaker is up for execution next Thursday, Feb. 22. Whitaker, 38, was convicted of capital murder for conspiring to kill his brother and parents in December of 2003. He had arranged for his family to go out to dinner. When they returned home, a gunman was set up in their house. Chris Brashear shot and killed Whitaker's mother and brother; his father, Kent, was shot in the chest but survived. Fort Bend County prosecutors secured a life sentence for Brashear but sought the death penalty for Whitaker, who they said concocted the plan to collect on a 7-figure inheritance - a figure Kent Whitaker maintains was sharply exaggerated
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., S.C., FLA., OHIO
Feb. 14 TEXASimpending execution Texas father makes personal plea to spare condemned son's life With his son's execution 9 days away, Kent Whitaker met Tuesday in Austin with the chairman of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to personally request mercy for the child responsible for ripping his life apart. Thomas "Bart" Whitaker was sentenced to death for arranging the 2003 ambush that killed his mother and brother and severely wounded his father in their Sugar Land home. Even so, Kent Whitaker has forgiven his son - and he desperately wants Texas officials to honor his request to spare the life of "the last surviving member of my natural family." "Nobody in my family wants to see him executed, and I'm going to be thrown into a deeper grief at the hands of the state of Texas and in the name of justice, and I just feel there is a more appropriate sentence than execution," Kent Whitaker said after a half-hour meeting with David Gutierrez, chairman of the 7-member parole board. "Texas prides itself on being a victims' rights state," he said. "But being a victims' rights state should mean something ... even when the victim, as in this case, is asking for mercy and not just revenge." Whitaker said Gutierrez did not ask questions or react to his message or statements made by his brother, Keith Whitaker, and his 2nd wife, Tanya Whitaker. "It's extremely rare that a board member will meet with a victim, and we're very grateful that Chairman Gutierrez gave us the time out of his schedule to actually hear our heart and what this coming execution is going to mean to our family and the chaos it's going to put us in," Kent Whitaker said. "I can't tell you how it went; I don't know," he said. "I have been told that it will be a week from today before the votes are collected, so we're going to be in limbo for at least another week as to what they are going to choose to do." Last month, lawyers for Kent Whitaker filed a clemency petition asking the parole board to recommend that Gov. Greg Abbott reduce Thomas Whitaker's sentence to life in prison, and they presented an affidavit signed by the inmate that waives parole should his sentence be commuted. The petition argued that commutation would spare additional grief for Kent Whitaker, the crime's chief living victim, and that Thomas Whitaker's exemplary conduct on death row earned him the right to seek mercy - earning a college degree by mail, encouraging other condemned inmates to get their high school GED certificates and talking an inmate out of attacking a guard. The petition included affidavits from 4 former and current death row guards who called him a "model inmate" who follows orders, is respectful and easy going, and has been a positive influence on other inmates. The petition also noted that the shooter, Chris Brashear, was given a life sentence after pleading guilty to murder, while the getaway driver, Steve Champagne, agreed to a 15-year plea deal and testified against Whitaker. Prosecutors in the Fort Bend County district attorneys office oppose clemency, saying jurors chose to assess the death penalty even after hearing from Thomas Whitaker's father and learning that his accomplices had received lighter sentences. Knowing he faces long odds in reversing his son's punishment, Kent Whitaker said he hoped that Abbott would see an opportunity for a "win-win situation." "I know he doesn't want to appear to be soft on crime, and he never has been," Kent Whitaker said. "But some would argue that spending life in prison for the rest of your natural life is a harder punishment than being placed on death row for a short period of time. He could still be tough on crime by inflicting that very hard penalty ... and at the same time honor my rights, as a victim, to mercy in this case. "We're not asking them to forgive him or let him go, we just want them to let him live." (source: Austin American-Statesman) PENNSYLVANIA: Death penalty sought against man charged in Homewood fire that killed 3 The District Attorney will seek the death penalty against a man accused of starting a deadly house fire last year in Pittsburgh's Homewood section that killed 2 adults and a child. Martell Smith, 41, is charged with 3 counts of homicide for the deaths of Shamira Staten, 21, her 4-year-old daughter Ch'yenne Manning and Sandra Carter Douglas, 58, all of whom died in the fire at their Bennett Street home. Smith is accused of starting the fire at 2:20 a.m. on Dec. 20 after a bar fight earlier that night in Penn Hills. The altercation was allegedly with someone else who lived in the home. None of those killed were involved in the fight. "Yep, yep, I did it, they shouldn't (expletive) with me," a witness heard Smith say at the scene while the house burned, according to the criminal complaint filed the day after the fire. District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. cited 6
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., N.C., FLA., OHIO
Feb. 13 TEXAS: DA's office to mull death penalty in 2006 Donna murder The Hidalgo County District Attorney's Office requested more time Monday to decide whether they will again seek the death penalty against a man who won a new punishment trial on appeal. Douglas Armstrong was sentenced to death in 2007 for the previous year's murder of Rafael Castelan in Donna. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted Armstrong, 47, a retrial for the punishment phase in November 2017, and the assistant district attorneys trying the case were expected to announce their decision Monday. District Judge Noe Gonzalez granted the state's request for additional time, telling Armstrong the state has "a very complex decision to make." Gonzalez gave the DA's office until March 19 to determine whether to seek the death penalty, and thus go to trial, or have Armstrong re-sentenced to life in prison without parole, the automatic sentence for a capital felony in Texas. Both parties will return to court for a pre-trial hearing that day. (source: Brownsville Herald) ** Inmate Awaits His Punishment Next Month The punishment phase for a death row inmate accused of killing a Donna man in 2006 is underway. In 2007 a jury decided on the death sentence for 47-year-old Douglas Armstrong for the death of 60-year-old Rafael Castelan. In November 2017 Armstrong won a new punishment trial. Today a judge granted state prosecutors in the case more time to decide if they'll seek the death penalty. If they choose not to Armstrong will be sentenced to life in prison without parole. Douglas Armstrong is scheduled to return to court on March 19 for his sentencing. (soruce: rgvproud.com) PENNSYLVANIA: Shooter outside O'Halloran's could face death penalty, DA says; 2nd person of interest identified What started out as a simple disagreement in a Lancaster city bar turned deadly when the 4 men involved were asked to leave the premises. Once outside, according to police, Marcus McCain, 29, and his brother Travis, 20, started walking away. That's when 34-year-old Alexander Cruz pulled a handgun and fired "multiple shots," killing Marcus and wounding Travis, acting city police Chief Jarrad P. Berkihiser said at a press conference Monday morning. Cruz, he said, was apparently the only person with a gun at the shooting, which occurred outside O'Halloran's Irish Pub & Eatery, in the 100 block of Fairview Avenue, shortly after 1 a.m. Saturday. "This wasn't a shootout," Berkihiser said. "It was a senseless act of violence." Police recovered 11 .380 caliber shell casings at the scene, according to the affidavit. Marcus McCain "sustained multiple gunshot wounds to his torso" and was pronounced dead at Lancaster General Hospital, the affidavit says. His death was ruled a homicide after an autopsy Monday by Lancaster County Coroner Dr. Stephen Diamantoni. McCain died of multiple gunshot wounds to his body, Diamantoni said. Travis McCain "sustained multiple gunshot wounds to this legs" and "underwent emergency life saving medical treatment" for his injuries, according to the affidavit. He remains in stable condition, Berkihiser said Monday. Police identify victim, arrest Lancaster man for fatal shooting Saturday morning outside O'Halloran's Pub Death penalty an option Lancaster County District Attorney Craig Stedman joined Berkihiser in lauding investigators, who "worked nonstop" since the shooting to identify and locate 2 persons of interest - both of whom were captured on video inside the bar. Cruz was identified after media circulated video footage, which Berkihiser said led to numerous calls from the public within minutes of its release. Cruz, whose last known address is in the 700 block of South Lime Street, was located early Sunday morning at an Ephrata Township home and arrested. He was charged Sunday with 1 count of criminal homicide, 1 count of attempted homicide and 2 firearms violations before District Judge Adam Witkonis. He is being held in Lancaster County Prison. He was denied bail due to the homicide charge, according to court documents. Cruz, according to the affidavit, is prohibited from possessing a firearm because of a robbery conviction in 1999. According to court and newspaper records, he pleaded guilty that year to participating in the armed robbery of a city grocery store. The district attorney's office may pursue the death penalty in this case, Stedman said, although it's still too early to say for sure. Investigators have not uncovered any history between the shooter and the victims prior to the disagreement at O'Halloran's, Stedman added. 2nd person identified The 2nd person of interest in the video has been "identified and located," Berkihiser said. "He has been spoken to." The 2nd man is not being identified by police because he has not been charged with a crime, the acting chief said.
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, FLA., ALA.
Feb. 11 TEXAS: Willacy to seek ultimate penalty Nearly 1 century has passed since a person convicted and sentenced to death in Willacy County has been executed by the state of Texas. This week, 1 of 2 men accused of shooting and killing an off-duty Border Patrol agent and injuring the man's father in rural Willacy County will stand trial in the 197th state District Court. The Willacy County District Attorney's Office is seeking the death penalty for both men, who are being tried separately and have pleaded not guilty to the charges. Gustavo Tijerina-Sandoval, a La Villa man, is charged with capital murder and attempted capital murder for allegedly shooting and killing Javier Vega Jr. of Kingsville and injuring the agent's father, Javier Vega Sr. of La Feria, in August 2014. Ismael Hernandez-Vallejo of Weslaco faces the same charges. Authorities have said the murder took place while the suspects robbed the Vegas, who were on a fishing excursion with their family. While 86 years have gone by since the last convicted murderer in Willacy County was executed, another 8 decades have passed since the Willacy County District Attorney's Office has secured a death sentence after a murder conviction. According to Texas Department of Criminal Justice online death row records, which date back to 1923, just 2 people from Willacy County have been sentenced to die in Huntsville. Both of those cases date back to the 1930s. Those stories have largely been forgotten, until now. HISTORY UNCOVERED The 3rd floor of the Willacy County Courthouse, which was built in 1922, used to be a jail. Nowadays, the physical memories of that jail remain. There are bars and jail doors, and memories of inmates told through jailhouse graffiti. But these days, instead of prisoners, the jail cells hold court records. In one of those cells, off in a corner of the jail, is a large black file cabinet. That's where staff from the Willacy County District Clerk's Office found the case files for Estanislado Lopez and Pio Quesada. Lopez and Quesada were held on the very same floor and sentenced to death in the courthouse that holds the only records of the cases against the men. Lopez pleaded guilty to murdering Jesus Villareal on Aug. 24, 1931, and was electrocuted less than 1 year later on June 10, 1932. Quesada pleaded guilty Jan. 22, 1937, to killing Fernando Ramirez on Nov. 27, 1936. Unlike Lopez, Quesada's sentence was commuted and he was never executed. Efforts to discover why Quesada's sentence was commuted were not successful. Unlike modern day death penalty cases that can take years to work their way through the courts, Lopez and Quesada were charged, tried and sentenced within 1 week of their arrests. The appeals process was just months-long. And for Lopez, his sentence was carried out less than one year after he pleaded guilty. However, the case files for the men still contain all of the documentation and are in excellent condition. There are indictments, arrest warrants, handwritten notes, Western Union receipts, and even appeals and notices of court-appointed attorneys; all neatly folded handbills reminiscent of the shape and size of a warrant that a proverbial western lawman would pull out of the pocket of their duster. AXE MURDER In July of 1930, Lopez, a San Antonio man who lived at a residence just northeast of downtown in the Alamo City for 8 years, traveled to Raymondville to pick cotton. The details of what transpired next are held in handwritten notes taken by authorities at the Harris County jail from an account given to them by a man named Francisco Moreno and a confession they took from Lopez, which still bears the man???s signature. In a coincidence, Moreno was arrested in Houston and placed in a cell with Lopez. Unfortunately for Lopez, Moreno was 1 of the 7 farm workers staying in a house about 4 miles east of Raymondville, along with Lopez, when the murder occurred. "When I was put in the cell ... Lopez covered up his face and would not let me see him. I told Lopez to take his hands down from his face I want to see who you are," Moreno told authorities in Houston according to the records. Moreno stated that he never saw the murder because they were all asleep, but when they woke up to a dog barking at sunrise and discovered the body, Lopez was long gone. While sharing a cell, Moreno asked Lopez where he went after the killing. "Lopez said he stayed in the brush 3 or 4 days and then went some place around Ft. Worth and then to Waco and then to Bryan, then Lopez said to me not to tell any one about the killing at Raymondville Texas for they will put me in the electric chair, he did not tell me how he killed this man," Moreno said, according to the records. Lopez killed the man by striking him with an axe while he slept. Lopez gave his account of the murder and signed it in the handwritten letter. The night of the murder was
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, N.C., S.C., FLA., ALA.
Feb. 9 TEXASdeath sentence thrown out College Station Man Resentenced For Murder After Appeals Court Throws Out Death Penalty In September 2012, a Brazos County district court jury gave a College Station man the death penalty, a decision that was thrown out 2 years ago by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Another jury took an hour and a half Thursday to re-sentence 52 year old Stanley Griffin to life in prison for the strangulation murder of Jennifer Hailey in her home almost 7 1/2 years ago. Griffin will have to serve 30 years before he becomes eligible for parole. (source: WTAW news) ** Father And Victim Kent Whitaker Calls For Son Thomas Whitaker To Be Spared Death Penalty Texas death row inmate Thomas Whitaker's father, Kent Whitaker, is pleading for his son to not face the death penalty on Feb. 22 for arranging the murder of Kent Whitaker's wife and other son in 2003. Thomas Whitaker took his family out to dinner and let a friend into the house to murder them. Kent Whitaker himself almost didn't survive. Thomas was motivated by his dad's $1 million insurance policy. Thomas was a suspect for several months after the attack, during which he lived with Kent. Thomas was convicted of orchestrating the murders in 2007, and a jury sentenced him to death. Kent is now calling on the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles for clemency for his son after already trying and failing to have the prosecution advocate for a life sentence instead of the death penalty, citing his Christian faith. "We're not asking them to set him free," Kent told My Statesman. "We're not asking them to forgive him. I mean, that's not their business, but what we are asking them to do is to correct a legal overstep that never should've happened in the first place." In a petition for the board to resentence his son to life in prison, which was published in the Austin American-Statesman, Kent called on the board to make a moral decision in light of the suffering and grief he would suffer further if Thomas were to face the death penalty. "There is only 1 person on Earth who is intimate with the murderous attack, the lives and deaths of the other victims, and the life of Thomas Whitaker - Mr. Whitaker's father, Kent," the petition read. "Kent was there. He speaks to clemency with a moral force and detail of experience that no district attorney or judge or anyone else can possess. For the rest of us, the case against commutation to a life sentence seems clear. We can't forgive; we have no sympathy. But clemency is not about something so simple as sympathy or as formidable as forgiveness. Clemency is about lenity, and it is a moral question rendered far more complex by the unique circumstances of this case." The petition also said there is no advocate for Thomas's execution. "No one close to the people involved in this case want it to happen," the petition reads. "Some passionately oppose it. Other simply wish their lives could be restored to the time before the crime. It is only the State of Texas, through its employees and representatives, that mechanically marches forward onto the date of death." The petition also included multiple letters from Thomas's fellow inmates, some of whom said they were thankful to meet him, that he had worked the hardest out of other inmates on the farm to rehabilitate himself and that he inspired inmates to become better people. (source: uinterview.com) NORTH CAROLINA: The only death row inmate should be the death penalty itself One year ago, I spent five weeks in a Raleigh courtroom listening to Wake County residents talk about the death penalty. As a defense attorney for Nathan Holden, who was facing the death penalty for killing his mother- and father-in-law and shooting his wife, I had the fascinating opportunity to talk to potential jurors and hear dozens of them respond to probing questions about their views on capital punishment. Mr. Holden's jury voted unanimously for life. And when another Wake County jury recently rejected the death penalty for Donovan Richardson, the ninth life verdict in a row, I wasn't surprised. My conversations with jurors in the Holden case had already convinced me that the death penalty is effectively over in Wake County. I grew up in Raleigh, and have spent the past 14 years working as a capital defense lawyer in my home state. I've learned a lot about the past and the present of the N.C. death penalty. In addition to recent cases like Mr. Holden's, I represent defendants who were sentenced to death in the 1990s, when N.C. juries returned 25 or 35 death verdicts a year. Since then, new death sentences across the state, as in Wake, have dropped to near zero. There are many likely reasons for this decline: better legal representation, open file discovery, prosecutors being granted greater discretion over which cases to try capitally. But sitting
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, MD., S.C., FLA., ALA., MISS.
Feb. 8 TEXAS: British grandmother on death row loses appeal A British grandmother who has spent more than 15 years on death row in Texas has lost an appeal to the state's highest criminal court. Linda Carty was sentenced to death after being convicted of the murder of her neighbour in Houston in May 2001. Prosecutors alleged that Carty, now 59, had hired 3 men to kidnap Joana Rodridguez and her newborn son. She planned to keep the child and pass it off as her own, they said. But Carty has always maintained her innocence and her lawyers say she was convicted largely on the word of her co-accused. She was granted a new hearing by the appeals court in 2016 to present what she claimed was new evidence proving her innocence. Carty argued prosecutors had coerced witnesses and withheld evidence. But a judge dismissed that appeal, saying there was overwhelming evidence of her guilt, and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has now confirmed his decision. Carty was born on the Caribbean island of St Kitts when it was still subject to British rule and she retains a UK passport. The Foreign Office has supported her cause and expressed concern about the prospect of her facing execution. In an interview with Sky News on death row at Huntsville Prison in 2012, Carty protested her innocence and pleaded for more assistance from the UK. She said: "I am 110% innocent. "We are British. I can't wash off my nationality with soap and water. I am going to always be British. "I won't get up and ask the British Government to go out in the public and lobby for me had I known that I am guilty because then it would be an embarrassment not only to myself and my family but also the country that I love. "So for me when I say I am innocent and that I didn't commit this crime I mean that." Her case has received celebrity backing and the support of campaigners at the human rights organisation Reprieve. But the US Supreme Court refused to take up her case in 2010 and her legal options have continued to narrow. She is 1 of more than 50 women on death rows across the United States, 6 of them in Texas. The state has carried out more than 1/3 of all of the executions since the US restored the death penalty in 1976. But the number of executions being carried out has continued to decline across the country. Texas, which saw 40 executions in 2000, carried out 7 last year. (source: wessexfm.com) * Appeals court upholds death penalty in 1980 Williamson County murder The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals said evidence proved Steven Thomas left a fingerprint when victim killed. Court also said evidence showed Thomas left DNA on tape on Mildred McKinney's finger when she was killed. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has upheld the death sentence for a man convicted of killing a 73-year-old Williamson County woman in 1980. A Williamson County jury convicted Steven Thomas in October 2014 and sentenced him to death for the capital murder of Mildred McKinney, who was sexually assaulted and strangled in her home. Thomas' lawyer raised 17 points of error in the case and the Court of Criminal Appeals found them all to be without merit, according to the opinion issued by the court Wednesday. Thomas' fingerprint was found on the back of an alarm clock in McKinney's bedroom in her home on Sherbourne Street, in what was then southwestern Williamson County. His defense lawyer, Ariel Payan, said at a hearing before the appeals court last year that it could have been there because Thomas worked for a pesticide company that had been to McKinney's house. Thomas' sperm also was found on a piece of medical tape wrapped around the thumb of the 73-year-old McKinney. Payan said that did not prove he sexually assaulted her because she also had DNA inside of her from 3 other unknown men and there was other male DNA on the medical tape, Payan said. The court said in its opinion Wednesday that based on the evidence, a jury could have inferred that Thomas "deposited his thumb print on the alarm clock during the violent assault on McKinney that night in her bedroom." The clock was found on McKinney's bloody bed next to an unplugged telephone base, the opinion said. McKinney had been bound with the telephone cord. "This evidence supported a finding that a violent bloody struggle had occurred on or near the bed and the clock was moved at that time," the court's opinion said. The court also concluded that the medical tape with Thomas' sperm on it around McKinney's thumb also was evidence he was present when she died because she had been bound with several ligatures, including the tape around her thumb. "The fact that the appellant's sperm came into contact with 1 of the ligatures tied to McKinney under these circumstances anchors the jury's finding that the appellant intended to promote or assist in the offense's commission and that he was at
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., GA., FLA., ALA., MISS.
Feb. 7 TEXAS: New punishment trial begins for convicted murderer Stanley Griffin Convicted murderer Stanley Lamar Griffin returned Tuesday to a Brazos County courtroom where a second jury will hear punishment testimony to decide his fate -- a hearing that comes almost 6 years after he was sentenced to death for killing a single mother and injuring her son. The retrial for the punishment phase was ordered in 2016 by the state's highest court after deciding that the slaying of the 29-year-old College Station woman and the attack on her 9-year-old son didn't meet the standard required for a death penalty case. The jurors heard Tuesday from 14 witnesses called by the prosecution, many of whom testified about Griffin's tendency toward aggression and violence. Among them was Jodie Piacente, whom Griffin was convicted of attacking in 1990. He served 13 years of a 20-year sentence in prison for the crime before moving to the Bryan-College Station area. Griffin was arrested in September 2010 after authorities found Jennifer Marie Hailey dead in her apartment off Pedernales Drive. Her son knew the suspect and identified him by name to police later that morning; DNA evidence tied Griffin to the crime scene, according to testimony in the 1st trial. In that 2012 trial, Griffin was found guilty of capital murder in the strangling death of Hailey and for choking and stabbing her son with a garden trowel after killing her. That ruling was overturned when the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals voted 6-3 that there was not enough evidence to prove capital murder. Such a conviction requires the state to prove that Griffin killed a person while also committing another felony, such as kidnapping, robbery, aggravated sexual assault, arson or burglary. Capital cases don't allow for aggravated assaults, injury to a child or attempted murder as the secondary crime. Prosecutors argued in the 1st trial that Griffin had effectively kidnapped the boy by ordering him to his room. The sentencing retrial will determine how long Griffin will spend in prison. The 52-year-old faces between 5 years to life in prison. Brazos County First Assistant District Attorney Brian Baker told jurors in his opening statement that they would be seeking the maximum sentence -- life behind bars. "We're going to ask you [the jury] to protect anyone and everyone in this man's path," said Baker, outlining decades of consistent violent behavior exhibited by Griffin. Griffin's defense declined to make an opening statement, reserving the right to do so after the state wraps up its case. Piacente, who was the 1st to testify Tuesday, said she first met Griffin in Webster, Texas, as a neighbor and acquaintance of her then-boyfriend. Shortly after that boyfriend moved out of the apartment where she and her 2 children lived, Piacente said she was awakened in the middle of the night to find Griffin standing over her. She said he told her he noticed her door was open and came inside to make sure everything was OK. As she was walking him out, Piacente said Griffin went to the kitchen, and she noticed the living room window had been shattered. Piacente said he returned with a knife, which she managed to knock away before he began to choke her. After a struggle, and with the assistance of her son, who distracted Griffin, Piacente was able to escape and alert police to the attack. The 10-woman, 3-man jury -- 1 is an alternate -- also heard from Andrea Calixte, whom Griffin dated for the more than 5 years leading up to Hailey's death, and her son, Jordan Maupin, with whom Griffin often clashed. During the several years of their on-and-off relationship, Calixte said there were several instances of verbal abuse and a few physical altercations -- 1 of which resulted in a broken tooth and cut lip after she said Griffin pushed her down and she fell into a clay pot. Griffin was arrested and served several months in jail for the offense, after which Calixte said she was convinced to give him another chance. Calixte said Griffin told her on multiple occasions during the relationship that he would kill both her and her children if she ever left him. Maupin, who was a teen at the time Griffin and his mother were in a relationship, said in his testimony he had an adversarial relationship with Griffin. He testified that Griffin was frequently verbally -- and occasionally physically -- abusive toward him. In what he said was Griffin's first instance of violence toward him, Maupin said the man choked him and briefly lifted him off the ground by his neck. Maupin said he tried to tell his mother about the abuse, but it was dismissed at the time; Calixte testified that she does not remember being told of any violent incidents until later in the relationship. Eventually, Calixte said she was able to save up enough money to rent her own apartment without Griffin's knowledge, and get herself and
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., GA., FLA., ALA.
Feb. 4 TEXASimpending execution Texas man vowed to forgive whoever killed most of his family; then he learned it was his son Rage and faith warred inside Kent Whitaker as he lay in a hospital bed with a 9mm bullet hole 6 inches from his heart. It was December 2003, and the pillars of the Houston-area man's life had just been ripped down. A husband of 28 years, he was now a widower. Of his 2 college-age sons, 1 was dead and the other was recovering from a gunshot wound. A man of faith, he was burning at God for letting tragedy strike. His anger tightened specifically around the unknown shooter who had ambushed the 4 as they came home from a family dinner. "All I could feel for this person was an incredibly deep and powerful hatred," Kent told The Washington Post this week. "Just thinking about how I could inflict pain on him." But Bible verses also pushed into Kent's thoughts. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him," he recalled. "Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord." Although the settlement brings closure, families said they still are searching to forgive. Revenge was a dark path he did not want to step down, Kent realized, so he resolved to forgive the shooter. Lying in the hospital bed, it seemed impossible. But he would do it. No matter who it turned out to be. "As soon as that happened, there was a warm glow that flowed over me," Kent said. "It took the fire out of me." What Whitaker didn't realize then was that the man he would have to forgive was his surviving son, Thomas "Bart" Whitaker. In the spring of 2007, Bart was convicted of orchestrating, along with two accomplices, the murders of his mother, Tricia, 51, and younger brother, Kevin, 19. During the attack, Bart was purposely shot in the arm as a way of diverting suspicion. Jurors sentenced him to death. Throughout the appeals, however, Kent has stayed by his son's side -- and remains there today, as the state prepares for Bart's Feb. 22 execution. With time running short, the Whitakers have filed a request with Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to recommend a sentence commutation, to life in prison, to Gov. Greg Abbott. Kent's forgiveness is the bedrock of the petition. The board's role is to provide a check on the justice system when it fails, Kent said this week. His son's sentence was flawed because no one -- neither Kent nor Tricia's family -- pushed for his execution. "I feel the whole decision to pursue the death penalty was an overstep," Kent said. "This isn't just a case of a dad who is ignoring the truth about his son. Believe me, I'm aware of what his choices have cost me." The Whitakers' last-shot appeal is framed by a dramatic debate working through courtrooms across the country, the same issue spotlighted by the recent sentencing hearing for Larry Nassar. When more than 160 abuse survivors marched into a Michigan courtroom to testify about the fallout from the disgraced USA Gymnastics doctor's abuse, it amplified the power of victim's' participation in the legal system. Kent's appeal channels the same question: How can justice be served if victims are not involved in the process? "Texas claims to be a victims' rights state. It's something we're proud of," Whitaker told The Post. "I'm asking for the board to recognize victims' rights means something even when the victim is asking for mercy, not just when they are asking for vengeance." Although investigators initially thought the Dec. 10, 2003, shooting was the work of a burglar interrupted in the middle of a break-in, clues began pointing elsewhere. Drawers were pulled out in the house, consistent with a break-in, but the contents of the drawers were still neatly organized, not ransacked. Also, the only item missing from the house was Bart's mobile phone. Why leave everything else except a phone? Also, on the night of the murders, Bart had invited the family out to dinner because he wanted to celebrate his upcoming college graduation. But police learned Bart was not about to graduate college. He wasn't even enrolled in school, a fact he had kept hidden from his parents. For 7 months after the shooting, Bart lived at home with his father. Police told Kent his son was a suspect and warned he still could be in danger. "He continued to deny it, and the police continued to say he was their suspect," Kent told The Post. "I didn't know who was telling the truth. I told the police, 'If I see something, I'm going to tell you. But I'm not going to abandon my son. I'm going to stand with him through all of this even if he's responsible.'" Police found their strongest lead when a former roommate of Bart's came forward and said the 2 had plotted earlier to kill the Whitakers. Investigators recorded a phone conversation between the 2. Although Bart said nothing specific about the killings, he did agree to pay the roommate $20,000. Then he
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, FLA., ALA., LA., OHIO
Feb. 3 TEXASimpending execution He's Fighting to Save His Family's Killer. The Killer: His Own Son Bart Whitaker set to be executed Feb. 22 for killing his mom and brother, but dad isn't giving up on him "My wife and son were murdered by a masked gunman, and my other son and I were left for dead, but survived." Those are the words of Kent Whitaker on his website, detailing the horrific crime that tore his life apart in December 2003. But, he adds, things soon got worse: The son who'd survived, Thomas "Bart" Whitaker, was later arrested and convicted for planning the attack with 2 friends, and he now awaits a Feb. 22 execution on Texas' death row. The Washington Post documents the elder Whitaker's rage in the hours just after the shootings, which had taken place as the 4 family members arrived home from a dinner out. As he stewed in his hospital bed, recovering from the bullet that had come within inches of his heart, Whitaker first vowed to "inflict pain" on the shooter, then started thinking on his faith and how God wouldn't want him to go down a path of vengeance. And so he decided then to forgive, "no matter who was responsible" - a promise made before finding out that Bart, in his early 20s, had helped mastermind the attack. Even though Whitaker and his extended family pleaded with the DA not to pursue the death penalty, prosecutors painted Bart as a sociopath who wanted his parents' money; he was convicted of 2 counts of 1st-degree murder and sentenced to die. The case of the now 38-year-old, who's been on good behavior behind bars and is about to earn his master's degree, underscores how victims should be folded into the process of doling out justice, Whitaker says. "This isn't just a case of a dad who is ignoring the truth about his son," he says. "Believe me, I'm aware of what his choices have cost me." The Whitakers have filed a petition with Texas' parole and pardons board to commute Bart's sentence to life in prison. (source: newser.com) *** Man charged in deadly assault of son's mother headed to trial in Denton County The jury trial for Ricardo Alfonso Lara-Martinez begins Monday, more than three years after he was accused of murdering his young son's mother at a local business office. The trial, which begins at 9 a.m., will be in Judge Bruce McFarling's 362nd Judicial District Court. FBI agents returned Lara-Martinez to Denton in June after he had been in custody in Mexico since February 2016. He's specifically charged in the murder of his son's mother, Maria Isabel Romero Medina, who was found dead Dec. 13, 2014, at Sanchez Insurance and Tax Services, E. McKinney St. He remains in Denton County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail. Lara-Martinez's lawyer, Denton attorney Derek Adame, maintains the woman's death was an accident. "We're optimistic," he said. "Lara-Martinez's position is this was accidental, and we're hoping that's what the evidence will show. We don't believe he was guilty, and we don't believe the state will be able to prove that." Police said Medina died Dec. 12, 2014, as a result of a deliberate assault. She suffered numerous injuries, including a fractured skull. The cause of death included strangulation, according to Lara-Martinez's arrest affidavit. Lara-Martinez and Medina had been in a custody battle for the boy, Ricardo Alekzander Lara, who was 4 years old at the time of her death. Police said it was a point of contention between the parents. "The manner in which the victim was murdered is indicative of a direct reaction to a strong emotional response, frequently seen in and known to happen in child custody cases," the affidavit states. Lara-Martinez fled to Mexico with his son shortly after police found Medina's badly beaten body at her workplace. After an Amber Alert had been issued for the boy, a man came forward to Denton police and said he had driven Lara-Martinez and his son to Mexico, according to earlier reports. Investigators obtained an arrest warrant for a murder charge as the search for Lara-Martinez continued. In early 2015, a Denton County grand jury indicted Martinez on the charge. The following year, a Mexican judge granted Lara-Martinez's extradition to the country. Police found him with his son in Mexico in February 2016 and returned the now 7-year-old boy to Texas. Then, in June 2017, Denton police investigators took custody of Lara-Martinez at DFW International Airport. Police said when he returned, he admitted to killing the woman. Other trials rescheduled Several other high-profile cases that were originally slated for Monday trials have been rescheduled. The jury trial for Earl Leroy Thompson Jr., who was arrested in June in connection with a sexual assault and attempted sexual assaults near the University of North Texas campus, is now set for April 30 in Judge Brody Shanklin's 211th Judicial District Court.
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, S.C., FLA., ALA., LA., OHIO
Feb. 2 TEXASexecution Killer John Battaglia Asked 'Am I Dead?' And Taunted Ex-Wife During Execution For Murder of 2 Young Daughters Without remorse or humility until the end, killer John Battaglia, who murdered his 2 young daughters in his Texas home in 2001, laughed and taunted his ex-wife as he was executed Thursday. Battaglia saved his last words for his ex-wife Mary Jean Pearle, the Dallas Morning News reported. "Well, hi, Mary Jean. I'll see y'all later. Bye," he said to Pearle, who had come to watch him die. As he drew his last breaths, 17 years after Battaglia had killed her 2 children, Pearle was heard to say "I've seen enough of him" as she walked away from his motionless body, separated by a glass window. Battaglia's demeanor was described as "jovial" as he prepared to meet his end by lethal injection at Texas's Huntsville Unit. Strapped to the gurney, Battaglia looked around as witnesses entered. "How many people are there? Oh, that's a lot," he said. Shortly after being administered with the injection, the 62-year-old continued to speak. Looking to the chaplain standing at his feet Battaglia asked: "Am I still alive?" He smiled and grinned before finally saying "Oh, here, I feel it." Battaglia was the 3rd man executed in Texas since the start of 2018 and the 2nd killer from Dallas put to death since the start of the week. In May 2001 he shot his 6 and 9-year-old daughters Liberty and Faith in his Deep Ellum home while his wife listened to the ordeal over the phone. Battaglia forced Faith to confront her mother in the call, moments before he took her life. "Mommy, why do you want Daddy to have to got to jail?" she asked before she was heard begging for her life. "No, Daddy. Don't do it," she said. The execution concludes a series of court battles over Battaglia's mental competency. The courts twice granted a stay of execution so that he could be evaluated. Final efforts by his attorneys to delay the execution were ultimately unsuccessful. According to the Guardian there had been fears Battaglia's execution would be botched amid a spate alarming scenes in Texas executions. The use of old and poorly regulated sedatives, also used in this most recent execution, amounted to almost unsuccessful procedures in the case of Anthony Shore on January 18 and William Rayford on January 30. In Battaglia's case it took 22 minutes for the inmate to be pronounced dead following the lethal injection. (source: CNN) Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present30 Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982present-548 Abbott#scheduled execution date-nameTx. # 31--Feb. 22Thomas Whitaker549 32--Mar. 27Rosendo Rodriguez III--550 33--Apr. 25Erick Davila---551 (sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin) Texas' Death Row: Still alive and well in 2018 On Tuesday night, a Texas death row inmate named William Rayford was executed for the 1999 killing of his ex-girlfriend, Carol Lynn Thomas Hall. On Thursday, John David Battaglia was executed by the state of Texas. In 2001, he killed his 2 daughters, aged 6 and 9. Thomas Whitaker will be executed merely weeks after Battaglia, if all goes according to plan. Whitaker co-conspired to murder his mother, father, and brother in 2003 - only his father survived. There's no denying that Rayford, Battaglia, and Whitaker are all abominable people who committed horrific crimes. But 2 executions in 1 week, with another scheduled only 3 weeks later, begs the question: Should the state of Texas be executing its people at all? Are we perhaps too prolific in our executions? In 2017, Texas carried out 7 executions, leading the pack as the state that puts the most people to death. Arkansas carried out 4, with Florida and Alabama each coming in at 3. Many states have taken the death penalty largely out of use, but it remains in vogue here. Texas' use of the death penalty isn't just bad from a moral or comparative lens. Part of the reason why the death penalty is so fraught with problems is because the justice system is fraught with problems - lack of adequate resources, lack of quality indigent defense, and prosecutorial misconduct all come into play. As a result, tons of state resources are spent retrying death row inmates and appealing court decisions. For example, Rayford's legal team filed an appeal, and his lawyers asked to stay the execution. They claimed that in 2000, Rayford's sentencing trial was affected by racial prejudice, as the trial lawyer inappropriately implied that race was a factor in prison violence. The case was even filed with the U.S. Supreme Court. Rayford's lawyers also appealed to a federal court in Dallas, claiming that he was "improperly denied money for appeals," per Houston Chronicle's report, and that Rayford may
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS
Feb. 1 TEXASexecution John Battaglia jokes with his ex-wife before being put to death for killing their girls as she listened in horror John David Battaglia went out with a joke and a grin. Battaglia, 62, offered no apologies and showed no remorse for killing his daughters at his Deep Ellum loft in 2001. He seemed jovial, strapped to a gurney while witnesses arrived to watch his execution at the state's Huntsville Unit. As they filed in, he looked around and asked, "How many people are there? Oh, that's a lot." The one-time accountant even said hello to his ex-wife, Mary Jean Pearle, who was there to watch him die. "Well, hi, Mary Jean. I'll see y'all later. Bye," he said. "Go ahead, please." He closed his eyes for several moments, and shortly after the lethal injection was administered, he looked at the chaplain at his feet, smiled and asked, "Am I still alive?" Battaglia grinned and then sighed. "Oh, here, I feel it," he said. It took about 22 minutes for him to be pronounced dead at 9:40 p.m. His execution brought an end to a lengthy legal battle to save his life. He was twice granted a stay so his mental competency could be evaluated, and his attorneys filed last-ditch efforts Thursday to delay the execution. Battaglia received national attention in May 2001 after he gunned down his 9-year-old daughter, Faith, and 6-year-old Liberty at his Deep Ellum loft while their mother listened helplessly on the phone. At the time, he was on probation for hitting his ex-wife, the girls' mother, and she had been trying to have him arrested for violating that probation. "Mommy, why do you want Daddy to have to go to jail?" Faith was told to ask her mother, moments before the girl begged for her life. "No, Daddy. Don't do it." Last week, his attorneys filed a request for a stay of execution to the U.S. Supreme Court saying that Battaglia does not fully understand why he was being put to death. "Although he is aware of the state's rationale for his execution, he does not have a rational understanding of it," appellate attorneys Michael Mowla and Gregory Gardner wrote. Battaglia, himself, said in a 2014 interview with The Dallas Morning News that he doesn't recall committing the crime and still considers the girls his "best little friends." "I don't feel like I killed them," he said. Deadly Affection: Killer saw himself as loving father In his Texas appeals, his attorneys wrote that Battaglia was "convinced that his trial and conviction were a sham" and that his death sentence was all part of a conspiracy involving "the KKK, child molesters and homosexual lawyers." On Thursday, one woman stood outside the prison unit with a pink poster board that bore a photo of Battaglia and the words "Texas executes mentally ill." A state judge and the state appeals court, however, described Battaglia as highly intelligent, competent and not mentally ill. They argued he was faking mental illness to avoid execution. Testimony at a hearing showed Battaglia used the prison library to research capital case rulings on mental competence and discussed with his father the "chess game" of avoiding execution. The last-minute federal appeal filed Thursday alleged that the execution violated Battaglia's constitutional rights because Texas was using expired drugs for the lethal injection. Court records show Battaglia's attorneys argued that William Rayford, the other killer from Dallas executed this week, tried to sit up and jerked his head after the lethal drugs were administered. Rayford's execution was delayed for a couple of hours because of late appeals to stay his punishment. But as his execution neared, Battaglia's appeals were struck down one after another: The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an appeal that argued a lower court improperly refused his lawyers money to hire an expert to further examine legal claims he's mentally incompetent for execution. Attorneys also took an appeal related to that issue to the Supreme Court. The high court, too, denied the complaint. Pearle, the killer's ex-wife and the mother of his victims, was at the Huntsville Unit on Thursday to witness his execution — almost 17 years after she listened to Faith and Liberty die and pleaded for them to run away from their father. On Thursday, she leaned in as close as she could to the glass window separating the witnesses from the death chamber. Pearle watched as Battaglia's breathing grew heavy and then stopped. A doctor examined him and then pulled a white sheet over his head. "I've seen enough of him," Pearle said as walked away. Battaglia becomes the 3rd condemned inmate to be executed this year in the nation, all in Texas, and the 2nd killer from Dallas put to death this week. Battaglia is the 548th condemned inmate to be put to death in Texas since the state resumed capital punishment on December 7, 1982, and the 30th overall in the
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS
Feb. 1 TEXASimpending execution Federal Court Rejects Appeal Of Dallas Dad Who Killed His Daughters A federal court ruling means the man convicted of one of the most chilling crimes in North Texas history is closer to having his execution carried out tonight. John Battaglia is scheduled to die by lethal injection for killing his two young daughters while their mother, his ex-wife, listened helplessly on the phone. This morning the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an appeal that claimed a lower court impeded Battaglia’s lawyers from hiring an expert to examine claims that their client isn’t mentally competent to be executed. On two separate occasions a judge has delayed Battaglia’s execution in the 11th hour. For years lawyers for the now 62-year-old have argued that he is not mentally competent, appealing before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court, but those close say its time for his sentence to be carried out. It was 2001 when Battaglia shot and killed Faith and Liberty, his 9- and 6-year-old daughters, in his Deep Ellum apartment. He had a court-ordered and scheduled visit and had met his ex-wife in a shopping center parking lot to pick up the children because he was under court order to stay away from his ex-wife’s Highland Park home. Not long after the girls were given to Battaglia, he got his former wife, Mary Jean Pearle, on the phone. “Why do you want daddy to go to jail,” one of the girls reportedly said to Pearle over the phone. Seconds later, Pearle heard one of the children say “No, no, daddy,” then gunshots. Faith was shot three times, Liberty five. Hours later, Battaglia was found at a tattoo shop getting two large red roses inked on his left arm to commemorate his daughters. When he walked outside, it took four officers to subdue and arrest him. A fully loaded revolver was found in his truck. Battaglia has been on death row since 2002. Howard Blackmon, the prosecutor for the case, will not attend the execution, but told CBS 11 News how it still impacts his life. “People still remember and are still outraged. In fact, just at the parking lot near the courthouse… there were several people that approached me and said ‘Are we finally gonna get rid of him?’” A state judge has described Battaglila as highly intelligent and faking mental illness to avoid execution. It was in September of last year when the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled Battaglia was competent to be executed. The appeals court had halted his execution the year before to review his competency after his attorney had appealed a lower court judge’s ruling that Battaglia was mentally competent. Blackmon describes the murders as diabolical and savage saying Battaglia killed his daughters, “…out of spite only to get back at the mother of the girls – his ex-wife. It was to put a lifetime curse on her and this is the way he chose to do it.” Barring a U.S. Supreme Court decision John David Battaglia will be put to death at 6 p.m. It will be the third execution in the state this year and the second in less than a week. (source: CBS News) ___ A service courtesy of Washburn University School of Law www.washburnlaw.edu DeathPenalty mailing list DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty Unsubscribe: http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/options/deathpenalty
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, N.C., GA., FLA., TENN.
Feb. 1 TEXASimpending execution John Battaglia to be executed Thursday after twice dodging death for murdering his daughters John David Battaglia is set to be executed Thursday - a punishment the Dallas man has twice postponed. Battaglia, 62, murdered his daughters, 9-year-old Faith and 6-year-old Liberty, in 2001 at his Deep Ellum loft while their mother listened on the phone. He was on probation for hitting his ex-wife, and she had been trying to have him arrested for violating that probation. "Mommy, why do you want Daddy to have to go to jail?" Faith was told to ask her mother, moments before the girl begged for her life. "No, Daddy. Don't do it." Battaglia fired on both girls while their mother was still on the phone. Afterward, he went to a tattoo parlor to get ink on his left bicep in honor of his slain daughters. He also left a message on their answering machine. "Good night, my little babies," he said. "I hope you are resting in a different place. I love you. I wish you had nothing to do with your mother." Attorneys for Battaglia have appealed his sentence, saying he is mentally ill and not competent to be executed. He was granted two stays of execution so he could be evaluated for mental competency. The condemned man is "convinced that his trial and conviction were a sham" and that his death sentence is part of a conspiracy involving "the KKK, child molesters and homosexual lawyers," court records show. During a 2014 interview with The Dallas Morning News, Battaglia claimed he wasn't responsible for his daughters' murders. "I don't feel like I killed them," he said. A mental health expert who testified during a competency hearing in November 2016 said Battaglia was probably faking or exaggerating his delusions to save his life. In September, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals upheld State District Judge Robert Burns' ruling that Battaglia is competent. Defense attorneys filed a motion last week for a stay of execution with the U.S. Supreme Court. Barring an 11th-hour reprieve, Battaglia is scheduled to die by lethal injection at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Huntsville Unit. Battaglia had a long history of domestic abuse before he killed Faith and Liberty. He repeatedly hit his wife, Mary Jean Pearle, on Christmas Day 1999 in front of their children. After the couple split, he would make threatening phone calls. He was prone to verbally abusing his family. During a victim impact statement after Battaglia was sentenced to death in 2002, Pearle said that her daughters were hesitant about their weekly visit with their father. "Liberty hid under her bed, not wanting to go to dinner with you that Wednesday night," Pearle said during the statement. "But I said, 'Oh, it will be OK.' I trusted you with their lives." Child killer John Battaglia is mentally unfit to be executed, psychologists say Pearle has declined to talk about her ex-husband in recent years. Battaglia also abused his 1st wife, Michelle Ghetti, who was hospitalized after he beat her at a bus stop because she wanted to have him arrested for harassing her. He was given 2 years' probation after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor. Ghetti and her daughter, Christie Battaglia, spoke in favor of capital punishment last April when Louisiana lawmakers discussed doing away with the death penalty, according to The Advocate. "If not for the death penalty, we'd be living in fear," Christie Battaglia said of her father. The execution would be the 3rd this year in Texas and the 2nd this week. 3 other executions are scheduled before the end of April, including that of a Fort Worth man who killed a 5-year-old and her grandmother during a birthday party. Erick Davila opened fire at the party, aiming for a member of a rival gang. A Dallas man was executed Tuesday night. William Rayford, 64, killed his ex-girlfriend in 1999 while he was on parole for killing his estranged wife. The execution was delayed 2 hours while the U.S. Supreme Court considered last-minute appeals from his lawyers. "Please try to find it in your heart to forgive me. I am sorry. It has bothered me for a long time what I have done," Rayford said before his death at 8:48 p.m. (source: Dallas Morning News) ** Dallas man set to die for killing daughters, 9 and 6 As her mother listened on the telephone, 9-year-old Faith Battaglia pleaded with her father. "No, daddy, please don't, don't do it!" the child begged. Mary Jane Pearle yelled into the phone for Faith and her 6-year-old sister, Liberty, to run. Then Pearle heard gunshots. On Thursday, her ex-husband, John David Battaglia is set for execution for the May 2001 slayings of their daughters. "Merry ... Christmas," Battaglia told Pearle from his Dallas apartment, the words of the holiday greeting derisively divided by an obscenity. She heard more gunshots, then called 911. Faith was shot 3 times and Liberty
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, VA., N.C., FLA., TENN.
Jan. 31 TEXASexecution Texas inmate executed after Supreme Court denies appeal A Texas death row inmate was put to death Tuesday evening after the U.S. Supreme Court denied an appeal to block his execution, saying race was a factor in his sentencing. William Rayford, 64, was executed in Huntsville for the 1999 murder of his former girlfriend. He killed her and stabbed her 12-year-old son during an argument while he was out on parole for another murder, that of his ex-wife in 1986. Rayford's lawyers filed a petition with the Supreme Court on Friday, seeking a stay on multiple grounds. The petition alleged similarities between Rayford's case and a former death row inmate -- Duane Buck. Buck, a Texas man on death row for a double murder in 1995, had his sentence reduced to life in prison in October after the Supreme Court ruled that 1 of 3 psychologists at trial unfairly influenced the jury's decision to hand down the death penalty. The psychologist said Buck posed a future danger because he's black. Lawyers also said Rayford was initially wrongly denied federal funding to pursue evidence that could have yielded a lighter sentence. He was granted the money in September, which allowed Rayford's lawyers to present evidence that he has lead poisoning due to bullet fragments left in his body and from contaminated water during his childhood. (source: United Press International) *** Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present29 Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982present-547 Abbott#scheduled execution date-nameTx. # 30--Feb. 1-John Battaglia-548 31--Feb. 22Thomas Whitaker549 32--Mar. 27Rosendo Rodriguez III--550 33--Apr. 25Erick Davila---551 (sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin) VIRGINIA: Death penalty sought An inmate accused in last year's murder of officer here at Bertie Correctional Institution may face the death penalty if convicted. Last week, local District Attorney Valerie Asbell conducted a hearing in Bertie County Superior Court and told the court that she was seeking the death penalty in the case of Craig Clifford Wissink. Prior to that Asbell had filed a motion to declare this case capital. Wissink was charged with 1st degree murder in the April 29, 2017 death of Sergeant Meggan Lee Callahan, 29, of Edenton. The investigation into the officer's death found that Callahan was responding to a trash can fire in a dormitory of Bertie Correctional Institution. She got a fire extinguisher and attempted to put out the fire. Wissink immediately attacked the sergeant and a struggle ensued. The inmate managed to get the fire extinguisher away from Callahan and used it in the assault. Sgt. Callahan sustained injuries from the attack, which ultimately led to her death. (source: Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald) NORTH CAROLINA: Trial of Winston-Salem man in death of toddler scheduled for September A Winston-Salem man rejected a plea deal and is scheduled to go to trial for murder this September in the death of a 2-year-old boy who had human bite marks on his body and severe head injuries. Charles Thomas Stacks, 32, is charged with 1st-degree murder in the death of Jaxson Sonny Swaim. Winston-Salem police officers found Jaxson at a house on Grubbs Street with abrasions on his body and head injuries on Aug. 16, 2015. The boy died from head injuries on Aug. 19, 2015 at Brenner Children's Hospital. If convicted, Stacks is facing a possible death sentence. On Tuesday, Stacks rejected an offer by Forsyth County prosecutors in which prosecutors agreed to take the death penalty off the table in exchange for Stacks entering a guilty plea to 1st-degree murder, said Nils Gerber, one of his attorneys. Under the proposed deal, he would have been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. "He is not guilty and as such, he rejected that plea," Gerber said. Lawyer Stephen Ball also represents Stacks. Under state sentencing guidelines, a defendant convicted of 1st-degree murder can be sentenced to either life in prison or death. The only way for a defendant to get the death penalty is to be convicted of 1st-degree murder in a trial and have a jury recommend the death penalty. Forsyth County Assistant District Attorneys Jennifer Martin and Amara Hunter are prosecuting the case. Martin declined to comment on the plea deal or the case Tuesday. A trial has been tentatively set to start the week of Sept. 17. Gerber said there is a large amount of discovery in the case. Stacks had been caring for Jaxson at 5450 Grubbs Street on Aug. 16, 2015. Martin said during a hearing in July 2017 that Candace Swaim, Jaxson's mother, was friends with Stacks and his wife, Megin, and had lived with the Stackses at their house on Grubbs Street.
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS
January 30 TEXASexecution Texas carries out nation's second execution of 2018 Dallas man put to death for murder committed while on parole for earlier slaying A Dallas man who was already on parole for the murder of his estranged wife when he stabbed and strangled his ex-girlfriend in 1999 begged for forgiveness and thanked God with his final breaths before his Tuesday night execution. "I've asked God to forgive me. Please find it in your hearts to forgive me," William Earl Rayford said before he died by lethal injection at 8:48 p.m. The 64-year-old asked his victim's family for forgiveness and promised to keep them in his prayers, according to a Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman. "By no means am I happy for what I've done. I have asked the Lord to forgive me," he said. "Tell my kids I'm sorry for being a disappointment. Thank you. God bless. I'm ready warden." The execution, which took 13 minutes to carry out, was delayed more than two hours in light of a pair of pending Supreme Court appeals, including claims that racially biased testimony tainted his sentencing. With another execution on the calendar for Thursday, this week could be the first time in five years the Lone Star State has seen back-to-back executions so close together. The next death date on the calendar is for John David Battaglia, who was convicted of killing his two daughters in 2001 while narrating the slayings to his estranged wife on the other end of the phone. The scheduled execution comes 2 weeks after Texas carried out the nation's first execution of 2018 with the lethal injection of Houston-area serial killer Anthony Shore. Rayford was first sent to death row 17 years ago, following the gruesome slaying of Carol Hall. The crime eerily echoed a 1986 killing that netted him a 23-year prison sentence. In the earlier killing, the former glass cutter had stabbed his ex-wife Gail Rayford 16 times, just after she won a temporary restraining order against him. Their four children were at home and witnessed the killing - then watched the Dallas man leap out a second-story window, according to court records. Rayford spent eight years behind bars for the crime, but was released early on mandatory supervision under a law that has since changed. But in 1999, history would repeat itself. In November of that year, Rayford slipped into the home of his ex-girlfriend, Carol Hall, according to court records. He started a fight and stabbed Hall's 12-year-old son, then chased the terrified mother down the street, according to court records. Her body was later found in a culvert. She'd been strangled, beaten and stabbed. In the years since his arrival on death row, Rayford, who is black, has launched appeals centering on claims of bad lawyering, brain damage and a suicide attempt that his lawyers argued showed remorse and hinted that he may not be a future danger. This week, in a flurry of last-minute filings in the Supreme Court - including one late Tuesday - Rayford's lawyers argued that racially charged testimony during the punishment phase of trial "irreparably stained" the case. "The punishment phase of Mr. Rayford's trial was tainted when defense counsel made the egregious and prejudicial error of soliciting testimony - later determined to be false - linking race to future dangerousness," his lawyers wrote. "William Earl Rayford is on the brink of being executed, at least in part based on his race." Defense counsel also argued that Rayford had been wrongly denied funding to hire experts in his case. But late Tuesday - after the execution had been delayed for more than two hours - the court rejected both of Rayford's bids for reprieve. Meanwhile, with two days to go till the next date, Battaglia's lawyers are arguing for a reprieve based on questions of competency and mental illness. Three out of four experts who evaluated the Dallas man said he suffers delusions that render him incompetent to be executed, according to Supreme Court filings. The fourth, his lawyers wrote, used the wrong standard to determine his level of competency. The former accountant has been on death row since the early 2000s, when he was convicted of killing his daughters, 9-year-old Mary Faith and 6-year-old Liberty. At the time, Battaglia was already on probation for beating his estranged wife, Mary Jean Pearl. But when Pearl complained of continued bad behavior - which could have sparked a probation revocation - Battaglia retaliated by killing his daughters during a scheduled visit. Pearl listened on the phone as her girls pleaded for their lives, and tried running. "Merry fng Christmas," her ex shouted as he fired the fatal shots. Afterward, he drove to a tattoo parlor before he was arrested. Last year, Texas led the nation in executions with 7 condemned men put to death. The Lone Star State is the only state to execute a prisoner so far this
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., FLA., ALA.
Jan. 30 TEXASimpending execution Texas man set for execution hopes Supreme Court cases will stop his deathWilliam Rayford, a 64-year-old death row inmate convicted in the 1999 murder of his ex-girlfriend, is hoping 2 previous U.S. Supreme Court cases will be the key to stopping his execution Tuesday. William Rayford's lawyers are hoping 2 recent U.S. Supreme Court cases will stop his execution set for Tuesday night. In multiple last-minute appeals, the 64-year-old death row inmate claims his sentencing trial in the 1999 murder of his ex-girlfriend was tainted by racial prejudice and that he was wrongly denied federal funding to further investigate evidence that could have persuaded a jury to give him a lighter sentence. His legal team said these issues "mirror" those of the recent cases the high court heard of fellow death row inmates Duane Buck and Carlos Ayestas and should therefore serve as reasons to put off his death. Rayford has been on death row for 17 years. He was convicted in Dallas County for the kidnapping and death of 44-year-old Carol Hall. In November 1999, Rayford entered Hall's house and the 2 began arguing, according to court documents. Hall's 12-year-old son came into the room, and Rayford stabbed him in the back before chasing Hall as she ran out of the house. When the cops found her body in a nearby culvert later that day, she had been strangled, beaten and stabbed. Rayford had previously pleaded guilty and served 8 years of a 23-year sentence in the 1986 murder of his ex-wife, records show. "Statistically, you lose more than you win," said Bruce Anton, Rayford's lawyer, when asked about his hope for a stay of execution. But he said he is optimistic based on the two Supreme Court cases. Last February, justices ruled that Buck's case was prejudiced by an expert trial witness who claimed Buck was more likely to be a future danger because he is black. To sentence someone to death in Texas, the jury must unanimously agree that the person would likely be a future danger to society. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the court's majority opinion that the defense attorney was ineffective by bringing forth the psychologist who made the racial remarks. Buck has since been re-sentenced to life in prison. "When a jury hears expert testimony that expressly makes a defendant's race directly pertinent on the question of life or death, the impact of that evidence cannot be measured simply by how much air time it received at trial or how many pages it occupies in the record," Roberts said in the opinion. "Some toxins can be deadly in small doses." Rayford, who is also black, presented what he claims is a similar situation in his petition to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals earlier this month. During his sentencing trial, Rayford's defense lawyer asked the state's expert on prison violence if the racial makeup of the unit is something that relates to the number of prison assaults. "It has a factor on it," said the Royce Smithey, chief investigator of the state unit that prosecutes crimes in prison, according to court records. The state appellate court rejected Rayford's appeal Friday, with Judge Barbara Hervey writing in the majority opinion that the Buck decision was based partially on the specific psychologist who had made the remark, since his testimony on race and danger had been knocked down by the high court in another case involving a Hispanic inmate. She also said that Smithey did not give any opinions about a particular race or how race factored into prison violence, unlike in Buck's case. "I do not read Buck as holding that defense counsel is ineffective for merely allowing a witness to use the word "race" in his or her testimony about future dangerousness," Hervey wrote in her concurring opinion, which was joined by Presiding Judge Sharon Keller and judges Michael Keasler and David Newell. Judge Elsa Alcala, known death penalty critic on the all-Republican court, said in a dissent that she would stop the execution until the court could fully examine the claim that Rayford's attorney was ineffective for evoking race-based testimony in the trial, pointing to Roberts' statement about the power of small doses. "It is unconstitutional to carry out a death sentence that was imposed on the basis of a powerful racial stereotype - that of black men as 'violence prone,'" she wrote, joined by Judge Scott Walker. Rayford has appealed the court's ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, which had not yet ruled in the case Monday. In federal district court, Anton is putting more weight into the argument that he claims matches that of Carlos Ayestas, whose case was heard by the high court in October but has yet to see a ruling. Ayestas' lawyers argued that he was wrongfully denied funding from the federal courts during later appeals to investigate previously unexplored evidence that could sway a jury to
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS
Jan. 29 TEXASimpending execution US Supreme Court asked to halt Texas execution this week Attorneys for a Texas prisoner facing execution this week for killing a woman in Dallas in 1999 are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to halt his punishment after the top Texas criminal court refused to consider their appeal. Lawyers for 64-year-old William Rayford say his execution set for Tuesday evening in Huntsville should be halted so the high court can review whether his trial lawyer during questioning of a witness improperly introduced race as a possible factor jurors could have considered when they decided Rayford, who is black, should die for killing his ex-girlfriend Carol Lynn Thomas Hall. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals said Friday Rayford’s appeal was improper for procedural reasons and rejected it. Two of the court’s 9 judges say they would have stopped the execution. (source: Associated Press) ___ A service courtesy of Washburn University School of Law www.washburnlaw.edu DeathPenalty mailing list DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty Unsubscribe: http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/options/deathpenalty
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., VA., N.C., S.C., FLA., ALA., LA.
Jan. 26
TEXASimpending executions
Death Watch: Rayford, BattagliaHuntsville heats up
William Rayford faces his 1st execution date on Tuesday, Jan. 30, for the 1999
kidnapping and murder of ex-girlfriend Carol Hall. The 64-year-old Dallas
native was on parole at the time, as part of a 23-year sentence for murdering
his wife.
Last week, Rayford's attorney Bruce Anton asked that the Texas Court of
Criminal Appeals stay Rayford's execution on grounds that testimony suggesting
that Rayford's race could make him a future threat played a role in his
sentence. The appeal also challenges the work of Rayford's trial attorneys, who
failed to raise the issue of their client's mental health (brain damage brought
on from lead poisoning), and did not pursue other alleged evidence. Anton also
cites Rayford's 16 years on death row as a form of cruel and unusual
punishment. Rayford appealed for a new trial in 2012 on similar grounds,
unsuccessfully.
Meanwhile, John Battaglia is up again - scheduled for death on Thursday, Feb.
1. He's been in Livingston since May of 2002, after he was convicted of killing
his 2 young daughters while on the phone with their mother, his ex-wife. He
narrowly avoided execution in March of 2016 when the 5th Circuit Court of
Appeals issued a stay so the trial court could consider claims of competency
("Matters of Incompetence," Dec. 2, 2016), but in September the Court of
Criminal Appeals found Battaglia competent to face his execution. He appealed
to the U.S. Supreme Court in December; justices have yet to rule.
Rayford and Battaglia would be the 2nd and 3rd inmates executed in the new
year. Huntsville has 3 others already on the calendar for this spring,
including Thomas Whitaker on Feb. 22. In 2003, Whitaker plotted to have his
brother and parents killed by a hit man. His brother and mother died; his
father, Kent, was shot in the chest but survived. Kent has never sought death
for his son, and earlier this month appealed to the state's Board of Pardons
and Paroles that they recommend Gov. Greg Abbott commute Thomas' sentence to
life in prison.
(source: Austin Chronicle)
*
2nd Death Penalty Hearing Pending For Donna Man's Killer
Hidalgo County prosecutors will say next month whether they'll seek the death
penalty in a 2nd sentencing hearing for an Alabama man convicted and condemned
for robbing and killing a man in Donna 11 years ago. 47-year-old Douglas
Armstrong won a new punishment hearing when the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
late last year threw out his death sentence. The court ruled Armstrong's trial
attorneys were constitutionally inadequate in presenting their case for why he
should not be sentenced to death.
A Hidalgo County jury had found Armstrong guilty of robbing and slashing the
neck of 60-year-old Rafael Castelan outside a Donna bar in April 2006. If
prosecutors decide to not seek a 2nd death penalty hearing, Armstrong would
receive an automatic sentence of life in prison without parole.
(source: KURV news)
*** Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present28
Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982present-546
Abbott#scheduled execution date-nameTx. #
29-Jan. 30-William Rayford547
30--Feb. 1-John Battaglia-548
31--Feb. 22Thomas Whitaker549
32--Mar. 27Rosendo Rodriguez III--550
33--Apr. 25Erick Davila---551
(sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin)
PENNSYLVANIA:
5 death row inmates challenge policy of solitary confinement
5 death row inmates sued Pennsylvania prison officials on Thursday, challenging
a policy that keeps the convicts isolated most of the time and calling the
practice degrading and inhumane.
The federal lawsuit asks the court to end mandatory, indefinite solitary
confinement for the 156 men on death row at Graterford and Greene state
prisons.
The lawsuit said death row inmates are locked up alone 22 to 24 hours each day,
and their small cells are kept illuminated at all hours.
"The devastating effects of such prolonged isolation are well known among
mental health experts, physicians and human rights experts in the United States
and around the world," the lawsuit said. "It is established beyond dispute that
solitary confinement puts prisoners at risk of substantial physical, mental and
emotional harm."
The lawsuit seeks class-action status as well as a declaration that the
solitary policy violates constitutional protection against cruel and unusual
punishment and violates the guarantee of due process.
A Corrections Department official said the lawsuit was being reviewed. The
defendants are the Corrections secretary and the wardens at Graterford and
Greene.
The inmates who sued - Anthony Reid, 50; Ricardo Natividad, 49; Mark Newton
Spotz, 46;
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., N.C., S.C., FLA., ALA.
Jan. 20 TEXAS: Anthony Graves turns jailhouse writing into book, 'Infinite Hope' He started on a typewriter, click-clacking away into the night in the quiet of a prison cell. That was sometime around 2000, when Anthony Graves didn't know if he'd see the light of day again - back when the state still planned to execute him for a crime he didn't commit. In the nearly 2 decades he spent on Texas' death row, the wrongfully convicted Brenham man faced 2 execution dates. His 3 sons grew up without him. The world moved on, but he kept writing, typing, recording his thoughts. And then, there was hope. First, his co-defendant recanted. Then in 2006, a federal appeals court set aside his conviction and sentence. Finally, in 2010, prosecutors dropped the charges against him, and he walked out of prison a free man. Author appearance When: 7 p.m. Monday Where: Brazos Bookstore, 2421 Bissonnet Information: Free; 713-523-0701, brazosbookstore.com Now, all the labor of those late nights on a jailhouse typewriter has come to fruition. The exonerated man's 1st book - "Infinite Hope" - was released last week. In anticipation of his Monday appearance at Brazos Bookstore, Graves talked about his journey and his hopes for the future. Q: So, first of all, it looks like you haven't been in the news that much in the past couple of years - what have you been keeping busy with? A: I've been doing everything! I've been traveling around the world sharing my message about criminal justice reform, and also I spent a lot of time writing my book, as well as teaming up with the ACLU to be part of their Smart Justice initiative. And I'm also still on the board of the Houston Forensic Science Center. Q: Did you always know you would write a book about this someday? A: Yes - I knew that the story needed to be told. This story is to be shared with the rest of the world to awaken some people with the reality of the death penalty, not the theory. Q: Before all this, what was your take on the death penalty? A: I had no position on it - I just believed if you did the crime you did the time. I never thought about the death penalty itself ... In a perfect world, it could probably work, but we don't live in a perfect world. Q: Do you stay in touch with any of the men you did time with? A: Somewhat - but Texas executed most of the guys that I knew. I try to stay focused on the bigger picture. You try to eliminate the death penalty in the name of those people who were wrongfully executed. I was there when we were executing guilty people - but also when we were executing innocent people. Q: Do you think any of the guys who are still in there will read your book? A: They're anticipating it. As well as the criminal justice world - I think this book is going to be huge. Q: Is your book on the banned-books list? A: I hope that Texas prisons let it in! There's nothing in it that shouldn't let it in. Q: Did you write it that way intentionally, so guys in prison could read it? A: Yes. I wanted to make sure that those I was trying to reach out to and give hope to could actually receive this book. Q: Were you a writer before this? A: I wrote a lot of letters to people around the world asking them to save my life - maybe that turned me into a writer. Q: Do you ever wonder what your life would be like otherwise? A: No, I don't. I don't feel like I missed something - I feel like I was prepared for something. Because of what happened to me, I have a story to tell that changes people's lives, that gives people hope. Had this story not happened to me, I would not be able to give it to other people. I would just be the guy working and making babies. So in hindsight, this gave my life a lot of purpose that I didn't even know existed within me. Q: Are there any ways in which it's changed you for the better? Any positive takeaways from a really dark time? A: It has allowed me to put things and life in the proper perspective. It has taught me that what seems to be too big is not too big. It has given me a better appreciation for life every day. There is not a day in my life right now that I feel is too overwhelming, that I have problems. I'm happy to have whatever problems I have. I know that God is still being good to me if I can wake up and say that I'm still alive. Every day is a blessing, not just some days. That's what this whole experience has taught me. Be happy that you have the problems that you complain about. Q: So it's been, what, seven years now? Does it ever still feel weird being out after so many years in isolation? A: No. I deserved to be here. So it never felt weird. The thing with me that separated me from most is I never thought about dying - I always thought about living. So I lived on death row. Q: And when you had 2 execution dates? A: I never stopped living. When you're no longer afraid of death, you can't scare me with it. When I got a
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, FLA., ALA., TENN., IOWA, UTAH, ARIZ.
Jan. 19 TEXASnew execution date Fort Worth man convicted in birthday party slaying gets execution date A Fort Worth man convicted of killing a rival gang member's mother and a 5-year-old girl at a children's birthday party 10 years ago has been given an execution date. Erick Davila is scheduled to meet his fate in the Huntsville death chamber on April 25 at 6 p.m., according to court papers. A judge signed off on the death date on Wednesday. "Like that Winston Churchill movie, we shall never surrender and we intend to aggressively fight for Mr. Davila," said Houston defense attorney Seth Kretzer. The Supreme Court gave a death row prisoner a 2nd chance because one of the juror's made racist remarks. Davila, 30, is on death row for a shooting that killed Annette Stevenson and her granddaughter Queshawn, according to court filings. In April 2008, Davila drove by the Village Creek Townhouses in Fort Worth and opened fire on a rival gang member along with 15 children who were eating ice cream and cake on the front porch at the "Hannah Montana"-themed party. Court records describe a "chaotic scene" with "blood splattered everywhere." 2 other children were wounded in the shooting, but survived. Since his 2009 conviction, Davila has fought the case in appeals courts, taking his claims of bad lawyering all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court last year. Kretzer, who is co-counsel with Houston-based attorney Jonathan Landers, argued the case. In a 5-4 ruling, the justices rejected Kretzer's claims that earlier appellate counsel erred in failing to point out possible missteps made earlier by trial attorneys regarding bad jury instructions. In addition to signing off on a death date, a Tarrant County judge on Wednesday also slapped down a defense motion to disqualify the local prosecutor's office, as current District Attorney Sharen Wilson was the judge during Davila's 2009 trial and Assistant District Attorney David Richards previously served as Davila's attorney earlier in the appeals process. "We were surprised and concerned by the trial judge's denial on our motion to recuse," Kretzer said Thursday. "I'm not making up some new legal theory here that there's a conflict." Davila's death date is the 6th on the calendar in Texas this year. (source: Houston Chronicle) 'Tourniquet Killer' executed in Texas for 1992 strangling Texas carried out the nation's 1st execution of 2018 Thursday evening, giving lethal injection to a man who became known as Houston's "Tourniquet Killer" because of his signature murder technique on 4 female victims. Anthony Allen Shore was put to death for 1 of those slayings, the 1992 killing of a 21-year-old woman whose body was dumped in the drive-thru of a Houston Dairy Queen. In his final statement, Shore, 55, was apologetic and his voice cracked with emotion. "No amount of words or apology could ever undo what I've done," Shore said while strapped to the death chamber gurney. "I wish I could undo the past, but it is what it is." As the lethal dose of pentobarbital began, Shore said the drug burned. "Oooh-ee! I can feel that," he said before slipping into unconsciousness. He was pronounced dead 13 minutes later at 6:28 p.m. CST. "Anthony Allen Shore's reign of terror is officially over," Andy Kahan, the city of Houston crime victims' advocate, said, speaking for the families of Shore's victims. "There's a reason we have the death penalty in the state of Texas and Anthony Shore is on the top of the list. This has been a long, arduous journey that has taken over 20 years for victims' families." Shore's lawyers argued in appeals he suffered brain damage early in life that went undiscovered by his trial attorneys and affected Shore's decision to disregard their advice when he told his trial judge he wanted the death penalty. A federal appeals court last year turned down his appeal, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to review his case and the 6-member Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles unanimously rejected a clemency petition. Shore's attorneys said his appeals were exhausted. They filed no last-minute attempts to try to halt his execution. In 1998, Shore received 8 years' probation and became a registered sex offender for sexually assaulting 2 relatives. 5 years later, Shore was arrested for the 1992 slaying of Maria del Carmen Estrada after a tiny particle recovered from under her fingernail was matched to his DNA. "I didn't set out to kill her," he told police in a taped interview played at his 2004 trial. "That was not my intent. But it got out of hand." Estrada was walking to work around 6:30 a.m. on April 16, 1992, when he she accepted a ride from him. The former tow truck driver, phone company repairman and part-time musician blamed his actions on "voices in my head that I was going to have her, regardless, to possess her in some way." He also confessed to killing 3
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS
January 18 TEXASexecution 'Tourniquet Killer' executed in Texas A man who became known as Houston's "Tourniquet Killer" because of his signature murder technique has become the nation's 1st prisoner executed in 2018. Anthony Allen Shore received lethal injection Thursday evening in Texas for the 1992 strangling of a 21-year-old woman whose body was dumped in the drive-thru of a Houston Dairy Queen. Maria del Carmen Estrada was one of four females Shore confessed to killing. The 55-year-old Shore's execution originally was set for last October but was delayed for an investigation after another condemned inmate concocted a scheme to have Shore take responsibility for the other inmate's murder case. Shore confessed to 4 slayings after a tiny particle collected from under Estrada's fingernail was matched to his DNA. Estrada's murder had gone unsolved for more than a decade. Shore becomes the 28th condemned inmate to be put to death since Greg Abbott became governor of Texas, and the 546th overall since the state resumed capital punishment on December 17, 1982. Shore becomes the 1466th condemned inmate to be put to death in the USA since the nation resumed executions on January 17, 1977. (sources: Associated Press & Rick Halperin) ___ A service courtesy of Washburn University School of Law www.washburnlaw.edu DeathPenalty mailing list DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty Unsubscribe: http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/options/deathpenalty
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, FLA., LA., ARK., IOWA, UTAH
Jan. 18 TEXASimpending execution "Tourniquet Killer' set to be executed in Texas A Houston-area sex offender who was convicted of killing a young woman and confessed to 3 more strangling deaths is set for lethal injection in Texas Thursday in what would be the 1st U.S. execution of 2018. The Harris County District Attorney's office dubbed Anthony Allen Shore the "Tourniquet Killer" because of how he ended his victims' lives, using a stick to tightly twist a cord around their necks. "Anthony Shore is the worst of the worst," Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said. "He's a serial killer. He took pleasure in his victims' suffering. He's appropriate for the death penalty." Shore was condemned for the slaying of 21-year-old Maria del Carmen Estrada, who disappeared as she walked to work early on April 16, 1992. Her strangled body was later found dumped in the drive-thru lane of a Houston Dairy Queen. The slaying went unsolved for more than a decade until a tiny particle collected from beneath her fingernail matched the DNA of Shore, by then a convicted sex offender whose DNA had been added to a state database. When police arrested Shore, the former tow truck driver, phone company repairman and part-time musician confessed to killing Estrada and 3 others: Laurie Tremblay, 15, whose body was found beside a trash bin outside a Houston restaurant in 1986; Diana Rebollar, 9, who was abducted while walking to a neighborhood grocery store in 1994; and Dana Sanchez, 16, who disappeared in 1995 while hitchhiking to her boyfriend's home in Houston. All were Hispanic. At least 3 of them had been sexually assaulted. A Harris County jury convicted Shore in 2004 of capital murder in the killing of Estrada. After hearing 4 days of prosecution evidence on the 3 other slayings and hearing from 3 women who testified Shore raped them, the jury recommended the death penalty. Attorneys said Shore's appeals have been exhausted. The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to review his case. "We've made the best arguments we can," attorney Knox Nunnally said Tuesday. A bizarre scheme hatched by a fellow inmate temporarily halted Shore's execution, which had been set for Oct. 18. Hours before he was to have been taken to the death chamber, prosecutors agreed to a reprieve to investigate a claim that another man convicted of murder, Larry Swearingen, had tried to get Shore to take responsibility for the killing that put Swearingen on death row. Shore, 55, told investigators he declined to go along with the plan. Shore also told authorities in recent weeks that he was responsible for 2 other slayings, but a Texas Rangers' investigation determined evidence did not support his claims. Shore is scheduled for execution Thursday evening in Huntsville, Texas. 23 prisoners were put to death nationally in 2017, 7 of them in Texas, more than any other state. (source: Associated Press) Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present27 Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982present-545 Abbott#scheduled execution date-nameTx. # 28-Jan. 18-Anthony Shore--546 29-Jan. 30-William Rayford547 30--Feb. 1-John Battaglia-548 31--Feb. 22Thomas Whitaker549 32--Mar. 27Rosendo Rodriguez III--550 (sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin) ** Number of death sentences, executions continue declineNo death sentences handed down in Harris County in 2017 Texas, and specifically Harris County, have long been known as the epicenter of capital punishment in the United States. Over the last 20 years, 438 people have been executed in the state, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. However, the number of yearly executions nationwide has dropped steeply since the turn of the century. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, there were 98 executions in the United States in 1999. Last year, there were 23. During the same time in Texas, the number of executions dropped from 35 to 7. "People are more reluctant to give out death sentences," said city of Houston victims rights advocate Andy Kahan. He said there are several factors contributing to the trend. The most significant impact came in 2005, when juries were given the option to hand down a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Kahan said the effect on the death penalty was immediate. "(Juries) feel as long as that person will remain behind bars for the rest of their life, they're not going to be so inclined to give out the death penalty," Kahan said. Before the law, sentencing someone to life in prison for capital murder meant they still had a shot at getting paroled after serving 40 years in prison. "(Juries) knew that if they did not come back with the
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS
January 17 TEXAS: US Supreme Court Refuses Appeal for Houston Police Killer The U.S. Supreme Court has refused an appeal from a Texas death row inmate convicted of killing a Houston police officer 27 years ago. The high court, without comment, declined Tuesday to review arguments from lawyers for prisoner Carl Wayne Buntion that an appeal for him unfairly was rejected in the state courts last year. The 73-year-old Buntion is the state's oldest death row inmate. He'd been on parole only 6 weeks in June 1990 when evidence showed he shot and killed 37-year-old Houston officer James Irby during a traffic stop. Buntion, who had a long criminal record, was a passenger in the car Irby pulled over. His death sentence was vacated by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in 2009. A jury in 2012 returned him to death row. (source: nbcdfw.com) * Tx. Dad Allegedly Murdered 3-Year-Old He Claimed He Left Outside as Punishment for Not Drinking Milk A Texas grand jury has returned an indictment against the adoptive father of 3-year-old Sherin Mathews, charging him with the little girl's murder. PEOPLE obtained a statement from the Dallas County District Attorney's Office that confirms Wesley Mathews, 37, could face the death penalty if convicted. The indictment comes 3 months after Sherin vanished from Richardson, Texas, after her father allegedly said he left her outside as punishment for not drinking her milk. Her body was found in a culvert drain weeks later. Earlier this month, medical examiners concluded that Sherin died from "homicidal violence," but could not specify exactly how she died, as her remains were already in an advanced state of decomposition. Wesley Mathews is also charged with injury to a child, abandoning a child and tampering with evidence. During a press conference, Dallas County District Attorney Faith Johnson told reporters her office is committed to seeing justice is served. "We will be tenacious, we will be persistent and we will prosecute this case to the fullest," Johnson said, noting she has yet to decide if she will seek the death penalty. Johnson said she will not be releasing any more information about the case before taking it to trial. The girl's adoptive mother, Sini Mathews, was also indicted by a grand jury on an abandoning a child charge. Authorities allege Sini and Wesley Mathews left their adoptive daughter Sherin alone on the evening of Oct. 6, 2017, to take their 3-year-old biological daughter out to dinner. The little girl was adopted from India in 2016. Wesley Mathews was arrested on Oct. 7, 2017, after allegedly telling investigators he punished Sherin for not drinking her milk by leaving her to stand next to a tree outside their Richardson home. He allegedly told police he placed her near the tree at around 3 a.m. Mathews allegedly said he went to check on the toddler about 15 minutes later but she was gone. She was reported missing 5 hours later. He later allegedly changed his story, telling police he watched his daughter choke on milk and die, according to an arrest affidavit previously obtained by PEOPLE. After her death, he says, he removed her from the home. The affidavit says that Matthews was "trying to get the 3 year old girl to drink her milk in the garage Wesley Mathews said she wouldn???t listen to him." Mathews then allegedly stated that he "physically assisted" her in drinking her milk, "and the girl choked." Wesley Mathews had been previously charged with felony injury to a child soon after Sherin's remains were found. Sini Mathews was arrested weeks later, and charged with abandoning or endangering a child. Both are still in custody and have yet to enter formal pleas to the charges against them. (source: people.com) *** When her brother is sentenced to death for a murder he didn't commit, one woman takes on the corrosive culture of capital punishment. Terri Been had been sleep starved. She'd been spending 18 hours a day at her computer, contacting as many Texas state representatives as possible, pleading for help. She'd gotten good at hiding the fact that she was an "emotional basket case," a term she used to describe herself. But her inner turmoil had manifested itself on her exterior. Once a trim high school athlete and coach, the 43-year-old had been stress eating, and was now seriously overweight. She'd been trying for years to gain control of an uncontrollable situation, and time was running out. Terri Been had exactly one month left to save her brother's life. In May of 2016, the state of Texas had scheduled an execution date for her 42-year-old brother, Jeff Wood, and Terri was counting the days until it was time to count the hours. On August 24th, 2016, Jeff was to be transported from the Allan B. Polunsky Unit in Livingston, Texas, to the "death house" in Huntsville, where he was to be killed by
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, N.H., LA.
Jan. 16 TEXASimpending execution Houston killer facing execution this week admitted to 2 more slayings in morbid hoax He didn't scream or laugh. He didn't plead or apologize. Anthony Shore was calm, almost stoic, when he confessed to the murders - just like he was 20 years ago. But this time, apparently, it was a lie. Days before his aborted execution in October, the notorious Houston serial killer admitted to 2 more gruesome slayings in an apparent ruse to test investigators, sources familiar with the case told the Chronicle this week. Now, he's scheduled once again to meet his fate Thursday in Huntsville's death chamber, leaving behind a swirl of unanswered questions. "With a serial killer like Shore, there is always a possibility he has committed other crimes, left other unknown victims behind," said Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg. At the moment, prosecutors said, he's officially not a suspect in any unsolved killings and has no unresolved appeals. After 4 brutal strangulations, a pair of apparently false confessions, a bizarre death row plot and a slew of creative appeals, the end of the decades-long drama may finally be in sight. "I am relieved that he's finally going to be put to rest," his sister, Laurel Scheel, told the Chronicle Monday. "His expiration date is finally coming." The serial sadist known as the Tourniquet Killer terrorized the Houston area in the 1980s and 1990s, leaving behind a trail of bodies. All girls and young women, tortured and raped. He escaped detection for nearly 2 decades, but ultimately it was DNA - put on file after he was convicted of molesting his daughters and forced to register as a sex offender - that brought police to his door in 2003. The former wrecker driver coolly confessed to 4 murders and a rape. Then, during his 2004 trial, he begged the court for a death sentence. After nearly 2 decades of appeals blaming everything from ineffective lawyers to previously unrealized brain damage, the 55-year-old was slated to die by lethal injection on Oct. 18. At the time, his youngest sister predicted he'd avoid death with a last-minute confession. "He's good at keeping things hidden," Scheel said in October. And sure enough, hours before the scheduled execution, a judge called it all off in light of an alleged confession plot that would have seen him admit to another man's crime, threatening to muddy the waters in a Montgomery County death row case and save a jailhouse friend from the death chamber. Eventually, according to defense lawyer K. Knox Nunnally, Shore signed a statement admitting he had nothing to do with the Willis-area crime, the 1998 slaying of Melissa Trotter. He still maintains his death row friend, Larry Swearingen, is innocent. But, according to an unanswered Oct. 16 reprieve request sent to Gov. Greg Abbott, Shore also promised he'd give written answers "regarding his commission of other murders" to be revealed by his attorney after his death. That never happened, Nunnally said. Instead, the Texas Rangers showed up. *** At first, Shore wanted nothing to do with them. But the lawmen came back again and again, according to sources close to the case. Then one night, the week before he was to be put to death, he opened up. There were others, he said. 2, to be exact. One was Aurora Rojas, a missing mother whose skull was found in a Polk County field in 1995 - just a couple miles away from one of Shore's in-laws. In years past, he'd already been a suspect in the case. But forensic evidence was scant, at best. Police only recovered the woman's bra and 10 % of her skeletonized body, investigators said. Even though the slain woman was last spotted at a bus stop blocks from where Shore worked at the time, there was never enough to tie him to the killing. Shore had a penchant for picking up women at bus stops, and Rojas fit the profile. Yet, the dump site - way out in the country - didn't quite fit Shore's pattern. But in his last-minute confession, Shore didn't know the right details about the case, or in the other killing he confessed to - an unsolved slaying near the notorious Texas Killing Fields southeast of Houston. He'd once been a suspect in that slaying as well. But after a busy night of examining "timelines and scientific testing," the Rangers determined he couldn't have done it, according to a source familiar with the investigation. The next day, the lawmen returned to confront him, and he recanted. "He was playing, just probing around," said another source familiar with the case. "With this guy who knows what he's going to say. You know he's done more crimes than he's been caught doing. The question is what crimes and where." *** Tiffany Hall groaned when she heard of her father's apparently false confessions. "He's just crazy," she said. "I am not shocked by his behavior. I'm just shocked anybody is listening to him." Scheel
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., FLA., LA., OHIO, ARK., IND., ARIZ., WASH.
Jan. 13 TEXASimpending execution His son tried to kill him; now father tries to halt his execution Thomas Whitaker is scheduled for execution on Feb. 22 for setting up the ambush that killed his mom, brother. His father survived the shooting and, after learning to forgive his son, is asking state officials for mercy. Thomas Whitaker is on Texas death row because he lured his family out to dinner so a friend could slip into their Sugar Land home to gun down his mother, father and brother when they returned. Shot in the upper chest in the 2003 attack, Kent Whitaker barely survived the ambush, but only after hearing the first 2 bullets that killed his youngest, Kevin, a college sophomore, and wife Tricia, whose last sounds he heard were a series of weak, wet coughs as blood filled her lungs. His father, however, is making a last-ditch plea to spare his son's life despite the heartache and suffering he has caused. In a plea for clemency on the father's behalf, Austin lawyer Keith Hampton and Houston lawyer James Rytting asked Gov. Greg Abbott to issue a rarely granted 30-day reprieve and for the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to recommend that Abbott commute Thomas Whitaker's sentence to life in prison. "I have seen too much killing already," Kent Whitaker told the American-Statesman. "I don't want to see him executed right there in front of my eyes. I know Tricia and Kevin would not want him to be executed. I can't imagine seeing the last living part of my family executed by the state, especially since all the victims didn't want that to happen in the first place." Whitaker said he, his immediate family and members of Tricia's family urged Fort Bend County prosecutors to choose a life sentence instead of the death penalty, but to no avail. Now, he said, it's time for Abbott and the 7 parole board members to finally listen. "We're not asking them to set him free. We're not asking them to forgive him. I mean, that's not their business, but what we are asking them to do is to correct a legal overstep that never should've happened in the first place," he said. Urging Abbott and the board to pay particular attention to the desires of Kent Whitaker, the crime's chief victim, the clemency petition posed a series of stark questions: -- "Is clemency warranted where execution might be justice for a wicked crime, yet would also permanently compound the suffering and grief of the remaining victim?" -- "Is death still the right answer even when it will subject a victim to new pain to be suffered in perpetuity?" -- "Is killing Thomas Whitaker more important than sparing Kent Whitaker?" The petition also noted that the shooter, Chris Brashear, was given a life sentence after pleading guilty to murder, while the getaway driver, Steve Champagne, agreed to a 15-year plea deal and testified against Whitaker. Forgiveness Kent Whitaker, 69, credits his Christian faith for helping him forgive Thomas - a journey he chronicled in the book, "Murder by Family," billed in a subtitle as the incredibly true story of a son's treachery and a father's forgiveness. As he lay in the hospital, Whitaker recalled, he was sharply torn between knowing that God wanted him to forgive the shooter and fantasizing about repeatedly hurting the gunman - who he saw as a vague, ski-mask-wearing figure inside his darkened home. "All I could do was ask God for help. When I did that, the strangest thing that ever happened in my life occurred. I felt a warm glow flow over me. It lasted only a couple seconds, but when it left, all the desire for revenge, all the hatred disappeared," he said. "I couldn't figure out why God would do that." Police soon broke the news that his son - who had been shot in the left arm, ostensibly while scuffling with the gunman - was suspected of arranging the shootings. The need for forgiveness became suddenly clear, he said. "If he was going to ever trust God, I realized that he needed to believe that forgiveness was available to him, and if dad could forgive him, then maybe God could forgive him," Kent Whitaker said. Prosecutors argued that Thomas Whitaker was under the mistaken belief that he would receive a $1 million inheritance, but Kent Whitaker believes his son was suffering from unrecognized mental health issues. "It was never about the money," Kent Whitaker said. "There wasn't that much to start with. The prosecution always way over-exaggerated my wealth because that played into their arguments." Fort Bend County District Attorney John Healey defended the decision to pursue the death penalty and pushed back against the clemency petition, telling the Houston Chronicle that Thomas Whitaker is "a master manipulator of reality," adding, "this approach doesn't surprise me at all." In addition to seeking support for the father???s wishes, the clemency petition argued that Thomas Whitaker has changed his life on
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., N.C., FLA., IND.
Jan. 12 TEXASimpending executions Questions Linger for Anthony Shore, Larry SwearingenShore to be 1st Texan executed in 2018 Houston serial killer Anthony Shore faces another death date, this one Jan. 18. Shore was originally set for execution in October, but that got halted by the Harris County District Attorney's Office amid rumors he was planning to confess to another murder: the 1998 killing of Melissa Trotter. Except Larry Swearingen had been convicted of kidnapping, raping, and strangling Trotter in 2000, and by then was preparing for his own execution in November. Assistant District Attorney Tom Berg said his office revoked Shore's execution warrant at the request of Montgomery County D.A. Brett Ligon, who believed Shore was colluding with Swearingen. (He says a folder was found in Shore's cell with information relating to Trotter's death.) Berg said the Texas Rangers have since interviewed Shore, who admitted he had "nothing to do" with Trotter's murder. Shore alleged he and Swearingen once contemplated conspiring, but had since "parted ways." Berg, who says his office and Ligon's have reviewed the interview, said Shore decided not to "take the fall" for his fellow inmate. Shore has exhausted his appeals; Berg said he's unaware of any new attempts to stay Shore's execution, and concluded that his case will see its "inevitable end" next Thursday. Shore's execution is just the beginning of a busy month. Swearingen, however, had his November execution stayed due to a filing error, and has since been granted additional DNA testing. Unlike Shore, who confessed to killing 4 girls between 1986 and 1995, Swearingen has maintained his innocence. His supporters, including his lawyer James Rytting, say he was in a county jail for outstanding traffic warrants at the time of Trotter's murder. The 19-year-old was last seen on Dec. 8, 1998, with Swearingen (who wasn't arrested until 3 days later), but her body wasn't discovered until Jan. 2. Rytting said forensic evidence suggests her body could not have been dumped in the woods until "a week or 10 days" after Swearingen was arrested. Included in the evidence sent out for testing is Trotter's rape kit, which was never tested and could exonerate Swearingen should analysts uncover another DNA profile. Samples of hair particles found on Trotter's undergarments and the alleged murder weapon (a torn pair of pantyhose) will also be tested. The evidence was shipped out in December and testing will likely take 4 weeks. Rytting was alarmed that the state had reissued an execution date for Shore. "They shouldn't be putting the guy into the ground with these questions still around," he said. He says 2 witnesses, with no connection to Swearingen, told the D.A.'s Office that Shore suggested to them that he was connected to Trotter's murder. The information, Rytting said, would "sure as hell" make Shore a suspect had it been provided prior to Swearingen's conviction. "It's a type of incriminating statement the prosecution seizes on all the time," he said. "You don't get to wiggle out of it with an 'Aw shucks, I was kidding.'" Shore will likely mark the 1st state-sanctioned killing of 2018, and his is just the beginning. William Rayford is scheduled for Jan. 30, and John Battaglia for Feb. 1. (source: Austin Chronicle) * Ending Texas' death penalty is priority for ex-governor's son now seeking state's top post Andrew White told reporters Thursday that he would try to eliminate the death penalty if elected as Texas governor. According to the Houston Chronicle, after speaking in a forum hosted by the Texas Tribune, White said he would try to commute sentences for death row inmates and ask the Legislature to outlaw lethal injections. "It is a flawed system. It is not a deterrent. It does not work," White said. "The data says we put innocent people on death row. Our system needs to be changed." His father, former Gov. Mark White, supported the death penalty, and Texas executed 20 inmates during his term. He later said executing prisoners was the "most distasteful thing I had to do" as governor. Mark White died in August at age 77. White also said Thursday that he wants to be the "education governor," according to a Tribune reporter. He said that public education needs billions of dollars more in funding and that he doesn???t understand the system's financing formula. "I have yet to meet somebody who can explain it to me. ... It's incredibly complicated and it shouldn't be," White said. White has advertised himself as a "common sense" Democrat. He said at a candidate forum Monday that as governor, he would would close commercial tax loopholes to raise teachers' pay and make sure Texans have access to affordable health care. "I'm an outsider with a fresh perspective to fix this mess," White said. "I have the ability and the judgment and the fight to beat Greg
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, S.C., FLA., ALA., TENN., OHIO
Jan. 11 TEXAS: Choosing jurors in death penalty case of Isidro Delacruz will take time Among several hundred San Angelo residents summoned to the McNease Convention Center for jury duty Thursday morning will be the 1st jurors to hear a capital murder case here this millenium. Isidro Miguel Delacruz, 27, stands accused of capital murder in the death of his ex-girlfriend's 5-year-old daughter, Naiya Villegas, after he allegedly broke into her mother's home in the 2700 block of Houston Street on Sept. 24, 2014. The girl died at Shannon Medical Center from a neck wound. If convicted of capital murder, Delacruz will face the death penalty or life imprisonment. The last death penalty trial the town saw was in May 1999, when a Tom Green County jury sent Luis Ramirez to death row in the slaying of Nemecio Nandin. Ramirez had hired a hit man to kill Nandin for $1,000 in April 1998. Court documents said Ramirez had issues with Nandin, a fireman with an appliance repair service on the side, because Nandin was having a relationship with Ramirez's ex-wife. Co-defendant Edward Bell lured Nandin to a secluded area in San Angelo under the pretext of repairing a washing machine. Nandin was handcuffed and walked to a shallow grave, where Bell shot and killed Nandin. Bell was sentenced to life in prison by a district court in Midland. Ramirez, a laborer and carpenter, was 35 when he was sent to death row in 1999. He maintained his innocence till the end and was executed Oct. 20, 2005. "I did not murder him. I did not have anything to do with his death," Ramirez said on his execution day. "And to you, my family and friends, I love you dearly. Even though I die, that love for you will never die." 51st District Attorney Allison Palmer, who is prosecuting Delacruz's trial, said local prosecutors have tried other capital murders in recent years, but the death penalty was not sought. She said this is the first time she has sought a death sentence that has gone to trial. Allison Palmer is prosecuting the Delacruz case. "Anytime we decide to seek the death penalty, we take that decision very seriously, and that decision is left to the discretion of the district attorney," said . "It's not delegated to an assistant. It's not delegated to another agency. It's not delegated to the investigating agency. It's not the victim's family's decision. It's the decision of the district attorney. And so anytime I make that decision, I am very careful." Some 350 to 400 San Angelo residents have been summoned to appear at the McNease Convention Center specifically for Delacruz's case. Jury selection for a typical trial is generally a 1-day process, with jurors chosen from a pool of up to 100 people. But the process of selecting 12 jurors and 2 alternates to take on the task of determining not just guilt or innocence, but potentially life or death is a long, drawn-out affair. Preliminary selection from a larger-than-usual jury pool is followed by weeks of group examination and individual probing by prosecutors and defense attorneys.In addition to general jury examination, potential jurors will go through individual examination, which take weeks to accomplish. "You're meeting with each potential juror individually, and that's what makes the voir dire process take a lot longer," Palmer said. "If you're not seeking the death penalty, jury selection doesn't necessarily take any longer than any other (cases). Palmer said the trial duration could also take longer than a typical murder trial, and the approach is different compared to cases in which the death penalty is not sought. "When the death penalty is being sought, there's no range of punishment and jurors aren't asked to assess death or assess life without parole, they're asked special questions," Palmer said. The punishment hinges upon the number of jurors answering "yes" or "no" to the series of questions. "And so in order for them to have enough evidence to be able to answer those questions, the punishment phase can take a little longer than a typical other jury trial." Defense attorneys are court-appointed from the Regional Public Defender for Capital Cases: lead counsel Robert R. Cowie and William P.H. Boyles. 19th District Judge Ben Woodward is overseeing the trial. (source: San Angelo Standard-Times) SOUTH CAROLINA: S.C. lawmakers to consider electrocuting death row inmates if lethal injection drugs unavailable South Carolina lawmakers are set to discuss a proposal Wednesday afternoon that would allow the state to execute death row inmates using the electric chair if lethal injection drugs are not available. Under current law, criminals sentenced to the death penalty in South Carolina can choose whether to die by lethal injection or electrocution. But because the state does not currently have access to the necessary drugs to complete a lethal injection, authorities have not
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, N.C., LA., OHIO, CALIF., ORE., HAW., USA
Jan. 10 TEXAS: Death penalty trials on way; Men accused of murdering BP agent 2 men accused in the 2014 death of an off-duty Border Patrol agent in Willacy County made brief appearances in court Tuesday as defense attorneys and prosecutors prepared for death penalty trials against the suspects. Gustavo Tijerina-Sandoval of La Villa and Ismael Hernandez-Vallejo of Weslaco are charged with capital murder and attempted capital murder over accusations of shooting and killing Border Patrol agent Javier Vega Jr. of Kingsville, and shooting and injuring Javier Vega Sr. of La Feria, the agent's father, in August 2014. The Vega duo was fishing for gar near Santa Monica along with the agent's wife, his mother, 2 children and another child at what Willacy County Sheriff Larry Spence described in 2014 as "their favorite spot." The alleged motive was robbery, authorities have said. Tijerina-Sandoval, who was shackled but dressed in street clothes, appeared in front of 197th state District Judge Migdalia Lopez on Tuesday morning. Tijerina-Sandoval's attorneys, Nat C. Perez and Alfredo Padilla, along with Willacy County prosecutors, announced they were ready for trial. Lopez scheduled jury selection in the case for Feb. 13. Later that day, Hernandez-Vallejo also appeared in the 197th state District Court for a pretrial hearing, which was reset for this morning. The men are being tried separately. (source: Brownsville Herald) NORTH CAROLINA: Medical examiner testifies about how longtime friends died during 2014 home invasion An accused killer, courtroom spectators and members of a capital jury listened intently Tuesday while the state???s chief medical examiner told how longtime friends Arthur Lee Brown and David Eugene McKoy died of gunshot wounds during a home invasion robbery in 2014. Tuesday marked the 4th day of testimony in the capital murder trial for Donovan Jevonte Richardson, 24, of Holly Springs, who is charged with killing Brown, a popular 78-year-old construction company owner, and David Eugene McKoy, 66, who was Brown's best friend and longtime employee. Prosecutors say that in the early morning hours of July 18, 2014, Richardson - along with Gregory Adalverto Crawford of Fuquay-Varina and Kevin Bernard Britt of Holly Springs - fatally shot Brown and McKoy in Brown's home on Howard Road in Fuquay-Varina. Investigators said the men conspired to rob the victims. Family members and a neighborhood resident found Brown laying atop blankets in a bed in the master bedroom of his home. McKoy was found wrapped in blankets on a day bed in a smaller bedroom in the home, sheriff's deputies reported. Crawford last year was sentenced to life in prison. Britt has not gone to trial, but has been cooperating with investigators. Richardson could face the death penalty if he is convicted of 1st-degree murder. Dr. Deborah Radisch, chief medical examiner with the state medical examiner's office, testified Tuesday that Brown had 2 gunshot wounds to the chest and what appeared to be a 3rd gunshot wound to his right hand. In a matter-of-fact, clinical voice, Radisch explained that a bullet tore through Brown's chest and entered the region that contained his left lung and heart, where it punctured and left a large hole in his pulmonary artery and also tore one side of his aorta before exiting his back. The gunshot, Radisch said, made it difficult for Brown to breathe. "He was breathing air and blood into his lungs from the injury," she said. Another shot hit Brown in the mid-chest area and struck his heart's right ventricle. The bullet left a hole in his heart and tore a coronary artery before it damaged his lower left lung, diaphragm and the left side of his spleen. Radisch said either of the gunshot wounds to the chest could have been potentially fatal "relatively quickly." "Each wound had a large amount of bleeding," she said. "The bleeding from the wounds would have caused death before injuries from the wounds." Radisch said McKoy was struck by gunfire in the face, to the left side of his nose. The bullet went through his facial bones and sinuses and traveled down the left side of his neck. "It skimmed along the side of his spinal bone at the base of the skull and fractured it," she said. The bullet also tore an artery in the spinal area, causing bleeding at the base of the skull and from the brain. The bullet did not exit McKoy's body. Radisch said she found a large lead fragment between the base of the skull and the spine, along with multiple fragments in the wound track. During cross-examination by defense attorney Richard Gammon, Radisch said there was no evidence Brown had been shot at close range. Nor could she conclusively say that Brown was wounded in the hand by a 3rd gunshot. The trial continues Wednesday morning. Prosecutors expect to wrap up their case Thursday. (source: newsobserver.com)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, N.C., OHIO, N.MEX., IDAHO, CALIF., WASH., USA
Jan. 8 TEXAS: East Texas man speaks after 30 years on death row For the past 3 decades, an East Texas man has been serving his sentence on death row. David Lee Lewis, 52, was convicted of killing a Lufkin woman when he was burglarizing her home back in 1986. He is appealing his death row sentence on grounds of being intellectually disabled. Lewis learned his fate, a sentence to death back in 1987 but what was unknown at that time was that he would be serving that sentence for the next 30 years. "I've been living on this for 30 some years and it's a weight that I don't want anyone to carry," Lewis said. For many years he said he wanted to forget it all happened. "I've tried to put it away but it's something you can never forget. It's always with you," Lewis said. Lewis said the weight he is referring to is the conviction of shooting and killing a 74-year-old Myrtle Ruby. It was in a home near Pollock, off of Old Wells Highway, where Lewis went inside with the idea to steal guns, but what took him by surprise was to find a woman standing in the dark hallway. He said he fired his gun where the bullet landed on her face. "When I seen it was an old woman I was like oh man. Cuz I couldn't see her," Lewis said. "All I could see was a silhouette of somebody coming through as I was coming out and I just raised the gun and pulled the trigger and hit her in the eye. And she turned towards me and started to fall, screaming and that's when I struck her. I think the blow to the head is what killed her because she was still alive from the shot because she was screaming. And when I turned the light and seen who it was, I was like oh no." Lewis said he lives with the regret every day in prison, often finding himself in in constant conflict with his own emotions whether if he forgives himself or not. "It's hard to forgive yourself for something like that, especially when you see the pain in the daughter's face," Lewis said. "That's something you never can forget." It was late Sunday evening in November of 1986 when Ruby was returning home from church. Evidence shows she was surprised to see Lewis in the hallway of her home while he was burglarizing the place. Records show Lewis then stole her car, drove to his uncle's home down the road and went on a hunting trip. He was arrested when he returned and confessed. "I never thought about it really (un)til around 2004. I kept it hidden and didn't want to face what I had done until one day I had to accept it and I actually felt the pain that I caused the family and it's a pain I never want the feel again, taking somebody's loved one like that, it's horrible," Lewis said. During his 1st trial he pleaded not guilty, but a jury ultimately convicted him sentencing with the death penalty. However, his capital murder conviction and death sentence were reversed in 1993 by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals because part of his court records was lost. He was retried the same year, this time pleading guilty where a jury convicted and again sentenced him to death. He appealed his death penalty conviction on grounds of intellectual disability. As he awaits to learn the final outcome from the courts, he said he'll continue to fight to overturn the death penalty and continue serving a life sentence. He said his final message is he wants Ruby's family to know he's in deep remorse of his actions. "I'm sorry I took that life. I didn't understand how precious that life was," Lewis said. KTRE did reach out Myrtle Ruby's family for an interview. They declined our request, saying it would be too painful. As of 2007, United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit denied Lewis' claim that would prohibit an execution of an intellectual disabled criminal. The court said the filing was made outside the reasonable time period. No decision on a date has been set yet on his execution. (source: KTRE news) NORTH CAROLINA: Trial begins Monday for man facing death penalty in 2014 Fuquay-Varina double homicide The trial for a man facing the death penalty in connection with a 2014 double homicide in Fuquay-Varina is scheduled to begin Monday morning. Donovan Richardson was 1 of 3 men charged in connection with shooting and killing Arthur Lee Brown, 78, and David Eugene McKoy, 66, on July 19, 2014. Authorities said robbery appeared to be a motive in the shooting. Jury selection in the trial lasted through the month of December and opening arguments in the case will begin Monday morning. The trial is expected to last several weeks. The last person to face the death penalty in Wake County was Nathan Holden, who was convicted of the 2014 murder of his ex-wife's parents and sentenced to life in prison without parole in March 2017. A Wake County jury has not sentenced anyone to death since 2007, and a decision to do so requires a unanimous decision by all 12 jurors. Gregory Crawford, 22, pleaded
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, VA., GA., FLA., OHIO, KY.
Jan. 7 TEXAS: Jury selection in long-delayed Delacruz capital murder trial to begin next week Jury selection is around the corner in the trial of a San Angelo capital murder suspect who stands accused of killing his ex-girlfriend's daughter in 2014. Some 350-400 residents are set to appear at the McNease Convention Center on Thursday morning to serve in the process of impaneling 12 jurors. Typical jury pools are 50-100 people. Potential jurors will then be divided into panels that will undergo individual examinations by attorneys for a duration of 6 to 7 weeks at the Tom Green County Courthouse. 119th District Judge Ben Woodward will preside over the case. Isidro Miguel Delacruz is accused in the slaying Naiya Villegas, 5, after he allegedly broke into her mother's home in the 2700 block of Houston Street on Sept. 24, 2014. Villegas died at Shannon Medical Center from a neck wound. The case stretched more than 3 years because 5 continuances were granted. Trial had been slated to begin July, but Woodward granted a continuance because of some last-minute disclosures of evidence by local law-enforcement agencies. Defense attorneys are court-appointed from the Regional Public Defender for Capital Cases: lead counsel Robert R. Cowie and William P.H. Boyles. 51st District Attorney Allison Palmer is seeking the death penalty in Delacruz's trial. Delacruz has been held at the Tom Green County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail since his arrest the day of the girl's slaying. (source: San Angelo Standard-Times) ** Houston murders drop 11 % in 2017Acevedo says focus on domestic violence, assaults helped lead to dip Houston rang in the new year logging 33 fewer murders in 2017 than it recorded in 2016, an 11 % decrease the city's top cop credited in part to an intense police focus on assaults and domestic violence. "The way you reduce murders is to solve attempted murders," Houston Police Department Chief Art Acevedo said in a recent interview. "If you think about people who shoot people, frequently it's not the 1st person they've ever shot, and in many cases it won't be the last person they will shoot." Acevedo is already putting potential violent criminals on notice in the new year with this warning: "You may end up beating the charge later on, but you ain't gonna stop from taking a ride to jail," he said during a presentation to City Council. HPD's preliminary estimates put the number of murders in 2017 at 269 - down from 302 during the previous year. Using the U.S. Census Bureau's most recent population estimates, that would equate to about 11.7 murders for every 100,000 city residents. That's a significant upswing from the city's 25-year low of 9.2, set in 2011, according to data from the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program. But while some of those numbers are preliminary, they're nonetheless consistent with a 2-decade nosedive in the city murder rate, as well as decadeslong drops in crime in most American cities - trends that have forged together an unlikely cohort of right- and left-wing activists and researchers in their calls to end mass incarceration. New year, same issues Despite fewer murders, Houston's year end was punctuated by a spate of horrific violence: In a 3-day period in late December, a 13-year-old boy and 3 others were killed in 2 separate shootings, and a woman was "nearly" decapitated by her samurai sword-wielding boyfriend, officials said. Hours after the 13-year-old boy was killed on Dec. 28, Acevedo wrote on Twitter that "we need to come together to hold anyone who commits aggravated assault especially with firearms accountable." "We have shootings in our city almost nightly," he wrote. "Too many lives are being cut short." Acevedo cited the Thanksgiving's day death of Texas Department of Public Safety trooper Damon Allen, who was fatally shot during a traffic stop on Interstate 45 in Freestone County. Allen's alleged killer, Dabrett Black, had 2 previous arrests for assaulting a police officer and was out on a $15,500 bond at the time. "We're starting to find a myriad of cases where individuals that have committed aggravated assaults are out on relatively low bonds, and while out on relatively low bonds they are committing other aggravated crimes," Acevedo said. Officials with the HPD union have voiced similar concerns, with its new president saying last month that "we can't have predators out here preying on people of this community." "I understand the justice system wants to be fair to folks," said Joseph Gamaldi, president of the Houston Police Officer's Union."But you have to be fair to the victims, to the community. You can't just keep letting people out." It's an issue that is central to HPD's relationship with the Harris County District Attorney's Office under Kim Ogg, who like Acevedo is a reform-minded leader entering her 2nd year at her agency's helm.
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, FLA., OHIO, IDAHO, USA
Jan. 5 JANUARY 5, 2018: TEXAS: Breanna Wood murder suspect to face death penalty The primary suspect in the Breanna Wood murder case will face the death penalty according to prosecutors. Joseph Tejeda appeared in Nueces County Court Thursday, and learned prosecutors will seek the death penalty. Tejeda is accused of killing Wood after she disappeared in October 2016. Wood's body was found by police months later. During Thursday's hearing, defense attorneys filed motions requesting Tejeda be released on his own recognizance, or that his bond be lowered from $1,000,000. Judge Jack Pulcher denied those requests. Judge Pulcher is considering a defense request to allow Tejeda to have facial tattoos removed before trial. Tejeda's appearance came a year and a day after Wood's body was discovered. On Wednesday, family and friends gathered for a candlelight vigil to remember her. Fallon Wood, Breanna's mother, says she hasn't grieved for her daughter yet, and won't until after those responsible are behind bars. She's confident justice will be served in the case. "They're all going to be held accountable for what they did," said Wood. "Like I've always said, the justice isn't just for my daughter and myself, but for everyone they've hurt. I'm grateful these people are off the streets of Corpus Christi." 6 other suspects have been charged in connection to Breanna Wood's death. 2 of the suspects could also face the death penalty. (source: KRIS TV news) State to seek death penalty for man accused of murdering Tyler gas station clerk Officials are seeking the death penalty for a man suspected of murdering a Smith County gas station clerk in January 2017. Dameon Jamrc Mosley, 25, of Tyler, was indicted in April 2017 on charges of capital murder by terror threat and aggravated robbery. On Jan. 28, 2017, just before 4 a.m., Mosley and another suspect, Lamarcus Hannah, reportedly robbed a Conoco gas station on Loop 323 in Smith County. Billy Dale Stacks was working as the clerk at the time. He was shot several times and was later pronounced dead at the hospital. Mosley was arrested the following day in Dallas. On Thursday, Smith County Judge Jack Skeen Jr. approved a motion continuance in a separate case. On that document, Skeen noted that attorneys for the State would be unavailable due to their scheduled involvement in a capital murder trial for Mosley. The document noted that the State is seeking the death penalty in the 114th Judicial District Court on May 10, 2017, and Mosley's trial is set for June 4, 2018. (source: KLTV news) FLORIDA: Killer receives life in prison after resentencingKevin Jeffries, part of a trio who tortured and killed a World War II veteran, showed little emotion during the short hearing, and gave only 1 word responses. 3 1/2 years ago, Judge Brantley Clark Jr. signed an order that would end Kevin Jeffries' life, sentencing him to death for 1st-degree murder. On Thursday, Clark signed an order to spare Jeffries' life, converting his sentence to life in prison. Jeffries showed little emotion during the short hearing, and gave only 1-word responses. When asked if he knew why he was appearing in court, he answered simply, "formality." Convicted in the 2013 killing of Lynn Haven World War II veteran Wallace Scott, Jeffries was sentenced to death in a 10-2 decision handed down by a jury in September 2014. 3 years later, after the Florida Supreme Court ruled the guidelines used to impose the death penalty in Florida were unconstitutional, it would be those 3 jurors who voted no who opened the door for Jeffries' life sentence. "This record, coupled with a 10-to-2 jury recommendation and the mitigation presented, simply presents too many unanswered questions," the state Supreme Court wrote in its July ruling. "Therefore, we must find reversible error and remand the case for a new penalty phase." According to court records, the state decided in November it no longer wished to pursue the death penalty in Jeffries' case. Chief Assistant State Attorney Larry Basford reiterated that decision in court, saying the state was in agreement that it would not be pursuing the death penalty. With that in mind, Clark sentenced Jeffries to life in prison. Because of his family ties in Alabama, Jeffries likely will be housed in Northwest Florida. Jeffries, along with co-defendants David Ian Challender and Ashley Griffin, broke into Scott's home in April 2013. Scott, who was 90 years old, was bound and tortured as the trio repeatedly held a knife to Scott's genitals, demanding his ATM personal identification number. When he refused, they killed him. Challender's mother previously had been Scott's caregiver and was a beneficiary in Scott's will. According to trial testimony, Scott was in the process of removing her as a beneficiary when the trio broke in. After Scott's death, Griffin
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, DEL., N.C., FLA., NEV., USA
Jan. 4 TEXASfemale facing death penalty Another suspect facing death penalty for Breanna Wood homicideDistrict Attorney Mark Gonzalez said the case will send a message that if you commit a crime in Nueces County, you will be held accountable. The Nueces County District Attorney will be seeking the death penalty in the case of Sandra Vasquez, who is suspected of playing a role in the murder of 21-year-old Breanna Wood. Vasquez appeared in court Wednesday after she was taken into custody last week and charged with capital murder, engaging in organized criminal activity and aggravated robbery. District Attorney Mark Gonzalez said the case will send a message that if you commit a crime in Nueces County, you will be held accountable. Both Vasquez and Joseph Tejeda, another suspect charged with capital murder in connection with Wood's murder, are both facing the death penalty. They are among 7 people charged in connection with Wood's death. (source: KIII TV news) DELAWARE: Court upholds life sentence for ex-death row inmate Delaware's Supreme Court has upheld the life sentence of a former death row inmate. The court on Tuesday rejected Adam Norcross' argument that he should not have been sentenced to life imprisonment without probation or parole after the Supreme Court declared Delaware's death penalty law unconstitutional. Norcross argued that he instead should have been resentenced under a law related to certain serious felonies, but the court said his contentions had no merit. Norcross was convicted in the 1996 murder of Kenneth Warren of Kenton. Norcross and an accomplice, Ralph Swan, both were sentenced to death for the murder of Warren, who was shot 4 times in a home invasion robbery. (source: Associated Press) NORTH CAROLINA: Top NC Republican accuses Democratic governor of halting the death penalty A North Carolina prosecutor announced recently that he'll seek the death penalty for inmates who killed 4 people during an attempted prison escape. According to Republican state Sen. Phil Berger, the Senate leader, and Tim Moore, the state House speaker, the state's top Democrats are standing in the way of the state serving justice to the prison employees who died in the October attacks. Capital punishment is on the law books in North Carolina and Berger says there are currently 143 inmates on death row. However, there hasn't been an execution since 2006. Berger and Moore contend that's because Gov. Roy Cooper, the former attorney general, and Josh Stein, who was elected attorney general in 2016, have failed to take legal action to counter court cases that are blocking executions. They released a joint statement on Dec. 8. Berger, specifically, was quoted as saying: "For over a decade, death penalty opponents like Roy Cooper and Josh Stein have imposed a de-facto moratorium on capital punishment in North Carolina, using every legal trick possible - including inaction - to delay death sentences handed down by juries and deny justice to victims." He continued: "No matter what they say, Cooper's and Stein's indifference and failure to fight the moratorium endangers the lives of prison employees in close proximity to hardened murderers with nothing left to lose, who see no possibility they will face execution for killing again." Do Cooper and Stein oppose the death penalty? Are they using the legal system to block executions, as Berger and Moore imply? What's the holdup? The last execution in North Carolina, in 2006, put to death Samuel Flippen, a 36-year-old who was convicted in the beating death of his 2-year-old stepdaughter 12 years prior to his execution. Since then, North Carolina has been one of several states that's in a holding pattern while the courts consider legal arguments against death penalty practices. Raleigh-based television station WRAL reported last year that that North Carolina is "caught in morass of various state and federal court rulings." One legal challenge relates to the protocol for lethal injections and whether they're cruel and unusual. While that lawsuit makes its way through the courts, Wake County Superior Court Judge Donald Stephens in 2014 blocked the use of lethal injection in the state. Stephens later retired, and the case remains unresolved. "That litigation is in the trial court and the injunction remains in place until the Court approves a new protocol and all appeals are exhausted," said Laura Brewer, a Stein spokeswoman. The other legal challenges stem from the Racial Justice Act, a short-lived law that allowed inmates to use local and statewide statistics in claims that racial bias played a role in their cases. The act was adopted in 2009, largely along party lines, and was rewritten in 2012 and then repealed in 2013 after Republicans won majorities in the General Assembly. Some of the cases are in active litigation, Brewer said. "Some
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, FLA., USA
January 1, 2018 TEXAS: Report: Bexar County juries don't like the death penalty Juries are becoming more and more reluctant to hand out death sentences throughout Texas, but especially in Bexar County, according to a new report by the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. In 2017, juries in Texas sentenced 4 people to death - the lowest level since the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the state's revised capital punishment statute in 1976. Bexar County juries sentenced no one to death last year, the report states, and have sentenced only 1 person to death in the past 8 years: Mark Anthony Gonzalez, who was convicted in the 2011 murder of a Bexar County sheriff's sergeant. Harris County, meanwhile, has sentenced 10 people to death in the past 8 years. "Texas continues to move away from the death penalty, even in the counties that have used it the most," Kristin Houle, executive director of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, said in a news release. "Prosecutors, juries, judges, and the public are subjecting our state's death penalty practices to unprecedented scrutiny," she added. "In an increasing number of cases, they are accepting alternatives to this flawed and irreversible punishment." 6 counties - out of 254 counties in Texas - account for more than 1/2 of all new death sentences imposed in the past 5 years, the report found. Bexar County is not one of them. The Texas Coalition Against the Death Penalty, an advocacy organization based in Austin, said the decline can be credited to improvements in the quality of legal counsel and the exorbitant cost of death penalty trials. Other reasons cited: Prosecutorial discretion, concerns about wrongful convictions and the availability of life in prison without the possibility of parole - which became a sentencing option in Texas in 2005. Historically, Bexar County has been one of the counties to hand out the most death penalties. Since 1974, prosecutors in Bexar County have secured 76 death sentences, the 3rd-most sentences statewide. But in recent years, that trend has declined. Between 2009 and 2012, 4 juries that could have used capital punishment rejected the sentence. The defendants were sentenced to life in prison without parole instead. The report also shows the application of the death penalty remains near historic lows. Last year, Texas put 7 people to death, matching 2016 for the lowest number of executions in 2 decades. Still, Texas accounted for 30 % of all U.S. executions last year. 2 people from Bexar County were executed in 2017: Rolando Ruiz, a hit man who killed a woman on behalf of her husband and brother-in-law, and TaiChin Preyor, who killed a 24-year-old woman in a drug-related attack. Bexar County matched Tarrant County for the most executions in the state. Harris County, in comparison, had zero executions - the 1st time that's happened since 1985 - and Dallas County accounted for 1 execution. However, the report noted that application of the death penalty remains racially biased. Over the past 5 years, 70 % of death sentences have been imposed on people of color. More than 1/2 of those death sentences were handed to African-American defendants - even though African-Americans make up only 13 % of the population. 5 executions already are scheduled for the 1st quarter of 2018, though none of them are from Bexar County. On Nov. 28, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals stayed the execution of Juan Castillo to review claims of false testimony. His execution has not yet been rescheduled. (source: San Antonio Express-News) FLORIDA: 2nd suspect in Super Bowl Sunday triple murder to face death penalty The state of Florida is seeking the death penalty against a man accused of killing 3 people at a Super Bowl party in February. Marcus Steward, 25, was arrested last month in Riviera Beach as the 2nd suspect in the Feb. 5 attacks on Mohawk Street, according to the incident report. Police DNA evidence linked Steward to the murders. There was DNA found on a glove, a hoodie, and part of a rifle. The evidence was found in the back of Sean Henry's stolen Honda Accord and in culvert along I-95 where police found Henry's stolen car abandoned. Steward is charged with 3 counts of 1st degree murder with a firearm, 1 county of attempted 1st degree murder with a firearm and 1 count of grand theft of a motor vehicle. Christopher Vasata, 24, is also facing the death penalty for the triple murder. He was arrested in late March for his alleged role in the killings and is in a wheelchair due to injuries sustained during the shooting. Steward is due back in court Jan. 12 at 8:30 a.m. (source: CBS News) USA: Abolish the death penalty I strongly believe that the death penalty should have been abolished long ago. The death penalty is not moral. It goes against our natural rights. I would not want to be killed. Would you? Prison is
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, VA., OHIO, CALIF.
Dec. 17 TEXASfemale to face death penalty Hundreds of jurors skip out on capital murder case leading to new delay The jury selection process in the state's capital murder case against Sabrina Vielma came to a halt Thursday after 75 % of summoned jurors failed to appear. Vielma faces the death penalty for the Dec. 11, 2011, death of her 4-year-old son Davaughn Rodriguez. Visiting Judge Stephen Ables told the crowd of 124 potential jurors that 500 people were asked to appear. Before hearing potential jurors who asked to be excused for various reasons, Ables said the court hoped to leave for the day with 125 potential jurors eligible to return Friday. Instead, after listening to excuses and taking a brief recess, Ables announced at about 11:30 a.m. that everyone would be dismissed because too many of the summoned people failed to appear. The judge said a turnout of 215-220 people is needed to select a jury. (source: Uvalde Leader-News) ** 3 teens have charges upgraded to capital murder in connection to alleged drug deal killing 3 teens face capital murder charges after an October drug deal gone wrong in Bexar County. 3 teenagers suspected of killing a man during a drug deal gone bad could face the death penalty after their charges were upgraded to capital murder. Michael Aguilar, 19, Emmanuel Herrera, 18, and Charles Robnett, 18, had previously been arrested on murder charges in connection to the shooting death of Gary Barnhardt, 20. Robnett was still in custody but Aguilar and Herrera were re-arrested Friday afternoon. All 3 had upgraded charges. The killing occurred Oct. 16, when Barnhart and his friend met up with the 3 near Lake Bend East and Fountain Lake to sell them marijuana, Sheriff Javier Salazar said. "They arrived not with the intention of buying the drugs, but robbing the victims of the drugs," Salazar said. Things didn't go as planned, and Barnhardt and his friend were shot. Though his friend survived, Barnhardt died at the scene. Neither Aguilar nor Herrera had anything to say as deputies brought them into custody. "You have 5 young lives who are ruined forever over something as senseless as drugs," Salazar said. The 3 suspects' bail amounts were set at $500,000 each. (source: mysanantonio.com) VIRGINIA: Death Penalty for Mentally Ill Defendants?That's not justice, argue mental health professionals In recent years, policymakers have begun taking important steps in addressing how our criminal justice system approaches individuals with mental illness who commit crimes. As our understanding of the factors which lead people with mental illness to commit crime grows, "jail diversion" (http://bit.ly/2BeX3UB) and other programs designed to divert people with mental illness into treatment instead of incarceration are being implemented nationwide, as well as in communities across the commonwealth (http://bit.ly/2ATmq1a). However, much more remains to be done to reform Virginia's approach to the way it treats individuals with severe mental illness in its criminal justice system. An important proposal that would contribute to this reform has been considered by the General Assembly during its last two sessions: a bill to ban the use of the death penalty for people with severe mental illness. The bill would replace the death penalty with life in prison without the possibility of parole for individuals who had active symptoms of a severe mental illness at the time of their offense. This is a much-needed reform, since, surprisingly, individuals with severe mental illness can still be sentenced to death and executed under Virginia law. Severe mental illness is a subset of mental illness that includes the most serious disorders, such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. To be considered a severe mental illness, the condition must last for extended periods of time and significantly interfere with a person's major life activities, such as working, interacting with others or caring for oneself. The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that 4.2 % of U.S. adults live with a severe mental illness (http://bit.ly/2vnQGcN); this equates to more than 300,000 adults with severe mental illness in the commonwealth. Despite our growing understanding of severe mental illness and its consequences, there are no protections from the death penalty for those individuals whose disorder was pre-sent at the time of the offense. As a result, they continue to be sentenced to death and executed. One such individual was Adam Ward, who was executed by the State of Texas in 2016 despite recognition by Texas state courts that he had lived with severe mental illness "his entire life" and "was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and placed on lithium as early as age 4" (http://bit.ly/2odSlDH). As mental health professionals, we strongly believe that individuals like Adam Ward should not be sentenced to
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, FLA., LA., OHIO, ARK.
Dec. 16 TEXAS: Why Texas' 'death penalty capital of the world' stopped executing people Since the Supreme Court legalized capital punishment in 1976, Harris County, Texas, has executed 126 people. That's more executions than every individual state in the union, barring Texas itself. Harris County's executions account for 23 percent of the 545 people Texas has executed. On the national level, the state alone is responsible for more than a third of the 1,465 people put to death in the United States since 1976. In 2017, however, the county known as the "death penalty capital of the world" and the "buckle of the American death belt" executed and sentenced to death a remarkable number of people: zero. This is the 1st time since 1985 that Harris County did not execute any of its death row inmates, and the 3rd year in a row it did not sentence anyone to capital punishment either. The remarkable statistic reflects a shift the nation is seeing as a whole. "The practices that the Harris County District Attorney's Office is following are also significant because they reflect the growing movement in the United States toward reform prosecutors who have pledged to use the death penalty more sparingly if at all," said Robert Dunham, the director of the Death Penalty Information Center. The city of Houston lies within the confines of Harris County, making it one of the most populous counties in the country - and recently it became one of the most diverse, with a 2012 Rice University report concluded that Houston has become the most diverse city in the country. Under these new conditions, Kim Ogg ran in 2016 to become the county's district attorney as a reformist candidate who pledged to use the death penalty in a more judicious manner than her predecessors, though the longtime prosecutor didn't say she would abandon it altogether. Rather, Ogg said she would save it for the "worst of the worst" - such as serial killer Anthony Shore, who was rescheduled for execution next month. But this year, Ogg appears to have held true to her promise of only pursuing the death penalty in what she deems the most extreme cases. It represents a break from a long pattern of Harris County prosecutors who pushed for the death penalty in nearly all capital cases. "The overall idea of what makes us safer is changing," Ogg said. "We're reframing the issues. It's no longer the number of convictions or scalps on the wall. It's making sure the punishment meets the crime." Ogg's approach has earned her recognition from experts, including those opposed to the use of capital punishment. "She is a much more fair-minded prosecutor than we've seen in the past," said Kristin Houle, the executive director of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. "She's very deliberate in her approach to the issues and appears to listen to the concerns of the community. But I think there are still a lot of opportunities for further reform in Harris County." But Ogg said she cannot alone take credit for the recent drop in executions. The trend precedes her slightly and can also be connected to better educated and more diverse jury pools, as well as Texas' new sentencing option of life without parole. The state also has a more skilled group of indigent defense lawyers who build up mitigating circumstances - such as an abusive childhood or mental illness - for an alleged murderer's crime. Even a state like Texas might stop sentencing alleged killers to death in the near future. And that trend could well extend nationwide. "We've seen a deepening decline in the death penalty since the year 2000, and some states fell faster than others," said University of Virginia law professor Brandon Garrett, who wrote "End of Its Rope: How Killing the Death Penalty Can Revive Criminal Justice." He added that the declines are steepest in counties that had sentenced the most people to death. "Juries are turning away from it, prosecutors are turning away from it, so [the death penalty is] withering away on the vine whether courts or legislators decide to do anything about it," Garrett said. As for Ogg, she only said that she represents modern-day Harris County, not the one made famous for the number of people it executed. She said that her office still has more than 80 pending capital murder cases and she'll examine each one thoroughly to decide whether the death penalty is the most fitting punishment. "With other sentencing options and with an increased knowledge of science and technology, Americans feel responsible as jurors in a way they didn't in the past because there's more information to be considered," she said. "So I think attitudes toward the death penalty are changing." (source: NBC News) * It's Debatable: Should death penalty be used more often? This week, Arnold Loewy and Charles Moster debate states' use of the death penalty. Moster is a former
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., N.C., CALIF., USA
Dec. 15
TEXAS:
Harris County Sues Major Drugmakers Over Opioid Epidemic
Harris County has become the latest government body to sue major drug
manufacturers for their hand in the opioid epidemic, alleging the companies
conspired to push highly addictive medication that harmed its residents.
The lawsuit, which was filed today in Harris County's 133rd State district
court, alleges drug companies including Purdue Pharma, Janssen Pharmaceuticals,
and Abbott Laboratories along with 5 "pill mill" doctors all conspired to get
Houstonians hooked on prescription drugs with devastating consequences.
"The defendants knew that the use of opioids had the potential to cause
addiction and other health maladies," according to the petition. "Driven by
profit, defendants engaged in a campaign of lies, half-truths, and deceptions
to create a market that encouraged the over-prescribing and long-term use of
opioids even though there was no scientific basis to support such use. The
campaign worked, and resulted in an exponential increase in opioid abuse,
addiction, and death."
Houston attorney Vince Ryan filed the suit against the defendants along with
the help of prominent Houston plaintiff attorneys Mike Gallagher and Tommy
Fibich. Ryan has a history of using contingent fee contracts to take on big
industry defendants - a move that was blessed most recently in 2013 by
Houston's First Court of Appeals when used by private lawyers to sue
International Paper to force them to clean up environmental waste along the San
Jacinto River. Several states around the country have also filed lawsuits
against drug manufacturers to help offset $78.5 billion economic burden of
prescription drug misuse and the State of Texas has joined a working group to
investigate the opioid pharmaceutical industry's conduct. Earlier this year,
Upshur County partnered with plaintiff lawyers in Dallas' Simon Greenstone
Panatier Bartlett to file public nuisance, fraud and racketeering allegations
against drugmakers in a lawsuit currently pending before U.S. District Judge
Rodney Gilstrap of Marshall.
(source: Texas Lawyer)
***
Money talks in the death penalty debate
Brent Ray Brewer has been sitting on death row since 1991.
John Balentine - since 1999. Brittany Holberg - since 1998. Travis Runnels -
since 2005.
It says something about capital punishment when an individual has been on death
row since before the Internet became commonplace. (In Brewer's case.)
These 4 Amarillo-area individuals (from Potter and Randall counties) are
perfect examples of the financial cost of capital punishment.
No matter on which side of the death penalty debate you fall, there is no
denying the significant financial cost of capital punishment - a cost which is
brought up routinely by death penalty opponents.
However, what are the reasons for these costs? One of the primary reasons is a
fact that death penalty opponents seldom mention - legal costs.
According to deathpenaltyinfo.org, "Each death penalty case in Texas costs
taxpayers about $2.3 million. That is about 3 times the cost of imprisoning
someone in a single cell at the highest security level for 40 years.
('Executions Cost Texas Millions," Dallas Morning News, March 8, 1992).'"
A significant chunk of that $2.3 million - a number which is undoubtedly higher
now - is to pay for the legal expenses of those convicted of the most heinous
crimes. (Speaking of heinous crimes, longtime Amarillo residents may be
familiar with Holberg, who was convicted of killing an 80-year-old man in 1996
by stabbing him more than 60 times.)
Take our neighbor - Oklahoma. Again, according to deathpenaltyinfo.org,
"Prosecutors (in Oklahoma) spent triple in pre-trial and trial costs on death
penalty proceedings, while defense teams spent nearly 10 times more. Oklahoma
capital appeal proceedings cost between 5 and 6 times more than non-capital
appeals of 1st-degree murder convictions."
More often than not, the legal costs related to capital punishment are dropped
on taxpayers - for individuals who sit on death row for decades.
The never-ending debate on the death penalty should include an honest and
realistic portrayal - which means all the reasons capital punishment is so
expensive should be examined.
The death penalty is not a major financial burden for taxpayers because death
row inmates are living high on the hog behind bars and eating caviar. A primary
reason is the legal expenses (paying the lawyers and attorneys) which drag on
for decades.
(source: Editorial, Amarillo Globe-News)
PENNSYLVANIA:
Lawyer 'Disappointed' by Death Penalty DecisionLawyer for man charged with
cousin in deaths of 4 young men shot and buried on Pennsylvania farm says he's
'disappointed' by prosecutors certifying his case for capital punishment when
it's cousin who's 'admitted killer'.
The Latest on 2 cousins charged with killing 4 young men
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., FLA., ALA., OHIO, CALIF., USA
Dec. 14 TEXAS: Texas leads the nation in executions, but its death row population is droppingTexas executed more people than any other state this year, but fewer new death sentences has led to a shrinking death row population. The number of inmates on Texas' death row dropped again this year, continuing a decades-long trend. The decline is caused largely by fewer new death sentences and more reduced punishments in recent years, according to end-of-year reports released Thursday by groups critical of the death penalty in Texas and across the country. But Texas still held more executions than any other state. "Prosecutors, juries, judges, and the public are subjecting our state's death penalty practices to unprecedented scrutiny," said Kristin Houle, executive director of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, in the release of the group's annual report. "In an increasing number of cases, they are accepting alternatives to this flawed and irreversible punishment." Kent Scheidegger, legal director of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, which has supported death penalty practices in legal cases throughout the country, said he agrees that the decline is partially due to shifting attitudes among jurors and prosecutors, but added that death sentences are also down because there has been a drop in the murder rate nationwide. "The support for the death penalty for the worst crimes remains strong," he said. There are currently 234 inmates living with death sentences in Texas, according to the state's prison system. That number has been dropping since 2003. The death row population peaked at 460 in 1999, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Here's how the death row population has changed over the last year: 7 men were executed. The same number of men were put to death this year as in 2016, which had the fewest executions in 2 decades. But even with its relatively low number, Texas was still the state with the most executions in the country. This isn't unusual given that the state has put to death nearly 5 times more individuals than any other state since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Texas accounted for 30 % of the nation's 23 executions in 2017. Arkansas was 2nd in the country with 4. Last year, Georgia put more people to death than Texas - the 1st time Texas hasn't been responsible for the most executions since 2001. 4 more men got cells on death row. 1 more person was sentenced to death this year than in 2015 and 2016, when only 3 men were handed the death penalty in each of those years. The number of new sentences, which ranged in the 20s and 30s each year in the early 2000s, dropped in 2005 after jurors were given the option to sentence convicts to life without the possibility of parole as an alternative to the death penalty. Before then, if a capital murder convict wasn't sentenced to death, he or she would be eligible for parole after 40 years. About 10 people in Texas were sentenced each year after that until the additional decrease in 2015. 2 men died while awaiting execution. Joseph Lave and Raymond Martinez both died this year before they were taken to the death chamber, even though they had had extended stays in prison. Lave passed away more than 22 years after his murder conviction, and Martinez had lived more than 30 years with a death sentence. 4 men had their sentences changed from death to life in prison. 2 U.S. Supreme Court decisions this year have so far resulted in the reduction of 3 death sentences to life in prison. The high court ruled against Texas in the death penalty cases of Duane Buck and Bobby Moore. Buck reached a plea agreement with Harris County prosecutors to change his death sentence to life in October after a February ruling by the court said his case was prejudiced by an expert trial witness who claimed Buck was more likely to be a future danger because he is black. In Moore's case, the justices invalidated Texas' method for determining if a death-sentenced inmate was intellectually disabled and therefore ineligible for execution. Though Moore's case has yet to be resolved (Harris County has asked the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to reduce his sentence to life), 2 other men on death row with intellectual disability claims received life sentences after the ruling. Another man this April received a new punishment hearing in a 1991 murder and pled guilty, landing four consecutive life sentences over the death penalty, according to the Texas death penalty report. 9 men narrowly escaped execution - for now. Executions were scheduled - then canceled - for 9 men this year. 6 were stopped by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in light of pending appeals, and one was stopped by a federal court, the report said. 1 man, Larry Swearingen, evaded execution in November because of a clerical error,
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, FLA., LA., OHIO
Dec. 12 TEXAS: Salvadoran man on Texas death row loses Supreme Court appeal The U.S. Supreme has refused to review an appeal from a 48-year-old Salvadoran man on Texas death row for the slayings of 2 Houston store clerks during an attempted robbery more than 17 years ago. The high court had no comment in its decision Monday in the case of Gilmar Guevara. Attorneys for Guevara asked the justices to reverse lower courts' rulings rejecting arguments that he's mentally impaired and ineligible for the death penalty. Guevara was convicted and sentenced to death for the fatal shootings of 48-year-old Tae Youk and 21-year-old Gerardo Yaxon. Youk was from South Korea and Yaxon from Guatemala. Guevara, identified as the shooter, and 2 accomplices fled the scene in southwest Houston in June 2000 without any money. He does not yet have an execution date. (source: Associated Press) FLORIDA: Convicted killer Duane Owen wants off death row Attorneys for a man convicted of 2 heinous murders in the 1980s and sentenced to death are fighting to save his life. "Duane Owen is nothing more than a cowardly, misogynistic bully who preys on people he knows he can overcome," the state argued before a judge inside a Palm Beach County courtroom on Monday. Decades after juries convicted him and judges sentenced him to death for two murders in Boca Raton and Delray Beach, Duane Owen wants to get off of death row. Attorneys are trying to now use a 2016 U.S. Supreme Court and Florida Supreme Court ruling to vacate Owen's death sentence for the gruesome rape and murders of 14-year-old babysitter Karen Slattery and 38 year-old single mother Georgianna Worden. Owen's attorney argues juries in both cases were split 10-2 when recommending death for Owen and the judges had the final say. Florida law now requires a unanimous verdict for the death penalty. ???At the end of the day, Mr. Owens was denied his rights in both cases," attorney James Driscoll argued. "We would ask for the court to grant relief in both cases." "It disgusts me, that's how I feel. It disgusts me to think that we have to go there," said Jane Smith, who was one of Slattery's teachers. "Just pray for the family. It's been a heartache. You can't bring her back if you execute him but there's got to be closure, somewhere." The judge didn't indicate when he'll rule or how long it could take. (source: WPEC news) * Convicted killer sentenced to death for 3rd timeJury unanimously recommended execution for Randal Deviney For the 3rd time since a woman was brutally killed 9 years, a Duval County judge has sentenced Randal Deviney to be put to death for the murder. In August 2008, when Deviney was 18 years old, he slit the throat of Delores Futrell and beat her during an attempted burglary. He then moved her body and staged the scene to make it appear that she had been sexually assaulted. In October, after two days of testimony from detectives, forensic scientists, family members and psychologists, a jury unanimously recommended he be given the death penalty. On Monday, Judge Mark Borello formally sentenced Deviney to be returned to death row. On Monday, Borello said the nature and cruelty of the crime and age of the victim were all factors that led him to give Deviney to the death penalty. "All lives have value, but we are a nation of laws," Borello said. "Randall Deviney, you have not only forfeited your right to live among us, but under the laws of the state of Florida, you have forfeited your right to live at all." This and all death sentences are automatically reviewed by the Florida Supreme Court. Futrell's family was in court Monday, but did not comment after the hearing, but did make remarks after the jury recommended the death penalty 2 months ago. "We're glad it's finally over (and) he got the sentencing he deserved," Futrell's granddaughter Raqia Blades said. "I'm glad we don't have to keep replaying the memories of what happened and keep asking the question, 'Why?'" It was the 3rd jury that has been asked to sentence Deviney to death for the crime. The 1st conviction was overturned on appeal and his 2nd sentence was thrown out when the Florida Supreme Court ruled that death penalties are only constitutional if there is a unanimous jury recommendation. Futrell, a dialysis technician and mother of four, was described in court this week as loving life and having a thirst for knowledge. "A person like my mom should have died a peaceful death," said Jacquelynn Blades, Futrell's oldest daughter. During the sentencing hearing, the defense presented 37 mitigating factors to try and convince the jury to spare Deviney from the death penalty. It called Deviney's father and a forensic psychologist to testify an abusive childhood. Despite Deviney mental, sexual and physical abuse as a child, Borello said Deviney still had a loving family and
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., FLA., ALA., OHIO, NEB.
Dec. 8 TEXAS: Texas district attorney who prosecuted Jeff Wood now wants him off death row The prosecutor in the death penalty case of a man who didn't kill anyone has asked the parole board and Gov. Greg Abbott to change his sentence to life in prison. Now the Kerr County district attorney, Lucy Wilke was the prosecutor in the 1998 murder trial of Jeff Wood - a man whose scheduled execution last year prompted lawmakers to question when the state should put accomplices to death. Although she originally decided to seek the death penalty for Wood, she said in a letter to the prison parole board that "the penalty now appears to be excessive." Wilke asked the board to recommend Gov. Greg Abbott grant clemency and change Wood's sentence to life in prison. The letter was sent in August, but The Texas Tribune received a copy from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Thursday after a Wednesday court order referred to it. "While I am aware that requests for clemency in Death Penalty Capital Murder cases are normally considered when there is an execution date pending, I respectfully ask that you consider this request for commutation of sentence and act on it now, in the absence of such an execution date, in the interest of justice and judicial economy," she wrote. The letter was co-signed by Kerrville Police Chief David Knight, who was an officer at the time of the murder, and the district judge who is handling Wood's current appeal, Keith Williams. A spokeswoman for Abbott did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the letter, but the governor has not changed a death-sentenced individual's sentence since he took office in 2015. A spokesman for the parole board did not say whether members have voted on the request. Jeff Wood's case gained national attention in August 2016, as his execution date neared. Wood, now 44, was convicted and sentenced to death in a 1996 Kerrville convenience store murder - he was sitting outside in the truck when his friend, Daniel Reneau, pulled the trigger that killed clerk Kriss Keeran. As an accomplice, he was sentenced under Texas' felony murder statute, commonly known as the law of parties, which holds that anyone involved in a crime resulting in death is equally responsible, even if they weren't directly involved in the killing. Wood's attorneys claimed he didn???t go to the store with the intention of having Keeran killed and didn't even know Reneau brought a gun. Prosecutors disputed that fact, saying Wood knew Reneau would kill Keeran if he didn't cooperate. In the months before his scheduled death, Wood's case drew the spotlight on Texas' law of parties, and a bipartisan group of state lawmakers sought to stop the execution. Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, said more than 50 House members signed onto a letter he wrote asking Abbott and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to reduce Wood's sentence. In this year's legislative session, lawmakers tried unsuccessfully to limit death sentences for those convicted under the law of parties. 6 days before his execution, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals stopped it and sent the case back to the trial court in Kerr County to review Wood's claim that a jury was improperly persuaded to hand down a death sentence because of testimony from a highly criticized psychiatrist nicknamed "Dr. Death." Wood's lawyers claimed the psychiatrist, Dr. James Grigson, lied to jurors about how many cases he had testified in and how often he found a defendant would be a future danger. The lawyers claimed he almost always found they would be. A person can only be sentenced to death if a jury unanimously agrees that he or she would present a danger. In her letter, Wilke cites the issues with Grigson's testimony as reason for requesting a change of sentence. She claims she was unaware at the time of the trial that he had been expelled from the American Psychiatric Association and Texas Society of Psychiatric Physicians. "Had I known about Dr. Grigson's issues with said organizations, I would not have used him as the State's expert witness in this case on the issue of future dangerousness," she wrote. Wilke said she wants clemency for Wood because of Grigson's testimony and other factors including: the fact that he wasn't the shooter, his documented history of low intelligence and his nonviolent history in and out of prison. She mentioned that 3 jurors have submitted affidavits saying they would not have agreed Wood presented a future danger if they'd been aware of Grigson's issues. In April, the Kerr County court paused its review of the Grigson claims after Wood's lawyers said they and the state???s lawyers were in discussions about a "possible settlement," according to a Wednesday court order by the Court of Criminal Appeals. The order directed the trial court to resume its review regardless of the prosecution's request to leadership that Wood's sentence
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, VA., N.C., S.C., GA., FLA., LA.
Dec. 6 DECEMBER 6, 2017: TEXAS: Delacruz appears in court; capital murder trial slated A San Angelo capital murder suspect appeared in court Tuesday for the 1st time since his trial was postponed last-minute in July. Isidro Miguel Delacruz, 27, stands accused in the slaying of Naiya Villegas - his ex-girlfriend's 5-year-old daughter - on Sept. 2, 2014. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. 119th District Judge Ben Woodward made several rulings on Tuesday and laid out the rules with attorneys, including the conditions and etiquette to follow on some of the more convoluted aspects of the trial. Woodward allowed digital media presence outside of the courthouse and the McNease Convention Center - where jury selection from a pool of 350-400 people will take place Jan. 11. He ruled Delacruz will be addressed as "the accused" and the child will be referred by her name rather than the "complaining witness." Trial had been slated to begin July, but Woodward granted a continuance because of some last-minute disclosures of evidence by local law-enforcement agencies. Woodward told attorneys he hopes to finish the case in mid-March. There are 23-pages of potential witnesses to be called. 51st District Attorney Allison Palmer is prosecuting the case. Defense attorney Robert Cowie, of the Lubbock Regional Public Defender for Capital Cases, is court appointed. (source: gosanangelo.com) ** Capital murder indictments unsealed against 2 prison inmates in 2006 beating, arson death 2 prison inmates from Waco have been formally charged with capital murder in the beating and arson death of a woman in 2006. Tony Wayne Swinnie, 46, and Gerald Wayne Brown, 60, were charged in sealed indictments last Wednesday that were unsealed and made public on Tuesday. Waco police charged Swinnie with capital murder in May 2007 in the June 2006 death of Gloria Campos Viera, but he was not indicted in that case until last week. Neither McLennan County District Attorney Abel Reyna nor his first assistant, Michael Jarrett, returned phone messages Tuesday, leaving it unclear why the DA's office did not pursue an indictment in the case for more than a decade, including the last 4 years of former DA John Segrest's term. One reason could be that Swinnie is serving a life prison term in the August 2006 aggravated robbery of Martha Jane's Liquor Store and a consecutive life term in the July 2006 assault of a 67-year-old man in Dallas County. The fire at Viera's house, 512 N. 16th St., was classified as arson, and an autopsy showed she died from blunt force injuries to her head and neck and smoke inhalation. Judge Ralph Strother of Waco's 19th State District Court sentenced Swinnie to life in prison after a jury convicted Swinnie of smashing a liquor bottle over the head of Martha Jane Ezar, assaulting her with a cash register and then threatening Ezar's grandchildren before fleeing that former package store at 1500 Colcord Ave. In sentencing Swinnie, Strother said, "Mr. Swinnie, you have turned yourself into a human predator and a modern-day barbarian. You seek out the defenseless and unsuspecting." A year later, a Dallas County jury sentenced Swinnie to life in prison after he knocked out a 67-year-old man with a single punch and robbed him while standing in line at a McDonald's in Grand Prairie. Court records show Brown was sentenced to 40 years in prison for arson in 1993 and released on parole in April 2004. He was sent back to prison in March 2011 after violating his parole. Brown has a projected release date in 2021. It was not clear Tuesday if the DA's office intends to seek the death penalty in the 2 cases. (source: Waco Tribune) VIRGINIA: Trial delayed for man accused of killing wife, Prince William officer Ronald Hamilton - the man accused of shooting 3 Prince William County police officers after killing his wife last year - won't face a jury until August, now that his trial has been delayed a second time. Hamilton's lawyers and county prosecutors agreed on the delay in a Nov. 6 hearing in Prince William County Circuit Court, pushing back proceedings that were originally set to begin March 5. The 33-year-old Army veteran is facing a slew of charges, including capital murder and 1st-degree murder, in connection with one of Prince William's most high-profile shootings in recent memory. Police believe Hamilton shot and killed his wife, Crystal, at the couple???s home on Lashmere Court in Woodbridge, then opened fire on police responding to a 911 call about the incident. Officer Ashley Guindon was killed, while officers Jesse Hempen and David McKeown were wounded. Hamilton's attorneys have indicated in a series of pre-trial motions that they believe he is mentally unstable, perhaps as a result of his service in the Iraq War, and have told prosecutors repeatedly that he is willing to enter a guilty plea if
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, GA., FLA., NEB., NEV., CALIF.
Dec. 2 TEXAS: Death Penalty Sought for Tech Officer Murder, But Daniels Might Be Incompetent to Stand Trial A court record filed on Tuesday indicated that prosecutors are now seeking the death penalty against Hollis Alvin Daniels, 19, for the shooting death of a police officer on the campus of Texas Tech. Daniels was arrested on October 9, less than 2 hours after officer Floyd East, Jr. was shot and killed inside the Texas Tech police station. The newest document filed by Daniels' defense attorney, Dennis Reeves, said, "a) Mr. Daniels has been charged with the offense of Capital Murder. The State is seeking the death penalty. b) This Court has determined that ... Mr. Daniels is indigent. c) This Court has appointed the Regional Public Defender for Capital Cases to represent Mr. Daniels." Reeves is with the public defender's office. A gag order has been issued in the case, meaning members of the news media cannot speak to police or other officials about the case. Some of the court records are publicly available in the Lubbock County online court system. Some are not. In the newest document filed by Reeves, it was revealed that Daniels might not be found competent to stand trial. "Prior to his indictment, previously appointed Counsel for Mr. Daniels filed a Motion Suggesting Incompetence and Request For Examination," the document said. "The appointed examiner has not yet issued a report finding that Mr. Daniels is presently incompetent, but that report is forthcoming. Informal conversations with the examiner indicate that he is likely to find Mr. Daniels incompetent." The original motion related to incompetence is not publicly available at this time. Reeves' motion indicates that Daniels might need court-ordered mental health treatment to restore him to competence. A finding of incompetence to stand trial is not the same as insanity. Daniels' father has been named as his legal guardian. Mostly, what Reeves' motion does is request that documents and evidence be made available to the defense without the defense having to reveal its legal strategy. One more document has been filed since Reeves' motion according to the court docket. But that document is not available to be viewed in the online court system. In a separate criminal case, Daniels was charge possession of a stolen firearm. Court records indicate that the stolen gun was indeed the one used to murder officer East. Daniels remained in the Lubbock County Detention Center Friday in lieu of a $5 million bond. (source: everythinglubbock.com) *** Accused murderer commits suicide in Harris County jail Maytham Alsaedy, 26, was found hanging by a bedsheet in his cell on the 2nd floor of the 1200 Baker Street jail facility just before 11 p.m. after a detention officer noticed that Alsaedy had covered his cell window with newspaper. An inmate at the Harris County jail charged with capital murder died Friday morning after hanging himself in his cell, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office. A detention officer found Maytham Alsaedy, 26, hanging by a bedsheet in his cell on the 2nd floor of the 1200 Baker Street jail facility just before 11 p.m. Thursday, according to an HCSO news release. The detention officer had noticed that Alsaedy had covered his cell window with newspaper. Jail medical staff tried to revive Alsaedy, who was taken by ambulance to St. Joseph Medical Center, according to the release. The inmate was pronounced dead at 12:06 a.m. on Friday. Sheriff's office spokesman Jason Spencer declined to comment on when detention officers had last checked on Alsaedy. "That's all part of the investigation," he said. "We'll look at the jail logs and compare them to video to make sure the logs are an accurate reflection of what's seen on video." The Harris County Sheriff's Office's Homicide Unit and Office of Inspector General are both investigating the death, sheriff's officials said. The Texas Commission on Jail Standards has been notified of the suicide but has not yet received reports, said Executive Director Brandon Wood. Authorities had charged Alsaedy with capital murder in the February 2015 slaying of Kella Bracken, 22, who was found stabbed to death in her car in the parking lot of a pizza restaurant in east Harris County. Officials had determined at the time she had been dead for 2 days. The Harris County District Attorney's Office had announced in July that prosecutors intended to seek the death penalty in the case, but spokesman Dane Schiller said Friday Alsaedy was scheduled to plead guilty to a life sentence next week. Alsaedy had been apprehended by police on February 27, 2015, 2 days after Bracken's death. That night, police had said he attacked a woman outside of a Walmart with a knife pointed into her back, demanding her purse and keys before shoving her into her car, police said at the time. He was
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., S.C., ALA., KY., ARIZ., CALIF., USA
Nov. 28 TEXAS: High Court Won't Review Beaumont Courthouse Shooter Case The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to review the conviction and death sentence of a Houston man for the slaying of a 79-year-old woman during a 2012 shooting rampage outside the courthouse in downtown Beaumont. The high court, without comment, ruled Monday in the case of 47-year-old Bartholomew Granger. He does not have an execution date and his lawyers are in the early stages of other appeals in federal district court. Granger testified at his 2013 trial moved to Galveston that he wanted the death penalty. He acknowledged opening fire on his daughter outside the Jefferson County Courthouse after she testified against him in a sexual assault case but said he didn't intend to kill a bystander, Minnie Ray Sebolt. Granger's daughter and her mother were among 3 people wounded. (source: Associated Press) PENNSYLANIA: Will Rahmael Holt Be Given The Death Penalty For The Murder Of Officer Brian Shaw? A prominent local defense attorney says the likelihood is very high that Rahmael Holt will be given the death penalty for the murder of New Kensington Police Officer Brian Shaw. "This poor young kid was doing this job protecting all of us, and for the defendant to turn around and do what he allegedly did is outrageous, and I think it will be treated as such," defense attorney William Difenderfer said. The killing of a police officer in the line of duty is a capital felony and the chances of a death penalty being imposed are greater than in other homicides. Richard Poplawski, convicted of murdering 3 Pittsburgh police officers, was sentenced to death and currently sits on death row awaiting execution. Difenderfer says the jury Holt will face in Westmoreland County will likely be apt to do the same. "You're going to be in Westmoreland County," Difenderfer said. "That's mostly a rural area. As we know, rural areas are typically conservative. Conservatives are typically pro-prosecution." But that's not always the case. In 2007, prosecutors were denied the death penalty they sought against Leslie Mollett for the murder of Cpl. Joseph Pokorny. The jury gave Mollett life instead. 4 years ago, Ronald Robinson also got life for the murder of Penn Hills Police Officer Michael Crawshaw. Difenderfer believes that won't be the case with Holt, but notes that the verdict must be unanimous with no dissenters. "When it ultimately comes to deliberate and them to go home knowing they voted to put a young man to death, that's a very tall order to ask of somebody," he said. If Holt is convicted and if the death penalty is sought, there's a good likelihood it will be granted, but the burden is high and it would take only 1 juror to spare his life. Holt is the 13th person since 2000 to be accused of killing a police officer in our region. Poplawski is the only one to receive the death penalty. 3 others received life in prison. Governor Tom Wolf has issued a moratorium on the death penalty. The last execution in Pennsylvania was carried out in 1999. (source: KDKA news) SOUTH CAROLINA: SC man on death row for parents' double murder in 1997 still appeals 20 years ago, Terry and Earl Robertson were beaten and stabbed to death in their Rock Hill home. Their son, James Robertson was charged and convicted of the killings. Robertson, known as "Jimmy," has been on South Carolina's death row for 18 years, since his 1999 conviction for double murder, armed robbery and credit card fraud. Saturday, Nov. 25 is the 20th anniversary of the murders and subsequent arrest. The deaths, and the ensuing trial, captured the nation's attention and continues to do so. This weekend, there will be a TV special focusing on the Rock Hill case. Meanwhile, Robertson is not done with his appeals. On Dec. 1, he will have a hearing on his latest attempt to get a new trial or his sentence overturned. State prosecutors with the S.C. Attorney General's Office, and lawyers who took on Robertson's case 6 years ago, are arguing whether Robertson's should get a new trial because of errors in 1999 by his trial lawyers and by prosecutors. "Justice is not fast, especially in capital cases," said Colin Miller, a University of South Carolina law school professor and legal expert in criminal procedure and evidence. "The 'CSI effect' is people expect cases to be resolved, finalized, quickly. Reality is there are people who receive death sentences that never are executed. Most of them are never executed." South Carolina does not have enough lethal injection drugs to execute anyone. A planned execution of a convicted killer, set for Dec. 1, has been postponed. Not a question of guilt Kevin Brackett, 16th Circuit Solicitor who prosecuted Robertson along with former prosecutor and current S.C. Rep. Tommy Pope, said there is no doubt that Robertson is guilty. "The evidence against him
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, OHIO, UTAH
Nov. 27 TEXAS: Houston: Ground zero for the death penaltyStudy shows Harris County ismost active in capital punishment, driven by district attorney choices If Harris County were its own state, it would have a more active death chamber than the entire country outside of Texas. Of the 1,465 U.S. executions in the modern death penalty era, 125 have come from Harris County, or roughly 8 %. The next-closest executioner is Dallas County, with 55 death sentences carried out since the Supreme Court reinstated the ultimate punishment in 1976. Houston's reputation as ground zero for the death penalty, it seems, is well-earned - even though prosecutors have been less apt to dole out capital sentences in recent years. While the numbers are stark, the reasons behind the Bayou City's apparent zeal for capital punishment are less apparent. It's not driven by public support for the practice. It's not driven by an unusually high crime rate, or by especially heinous murders. So what is driving it? What sets apart jurisdictions that frequently turn to capital punishment? That is one of the questions Frank Baumgartner and his co-authors explore in "Deadly Justice," a numbers-heavy study of capital punishment released this month. The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill political science professor took some time this week to field questions from Chronicle reporter Keri Blakinger about his new book and its implications in the Houston area. Here are excerpts from the interview: Q: Harris County is known as the capital of capital punishment - why is that? Are Houstonians just more supportive of it? A: Well, actually I would say two things. We got data from a Rice University Houston-area poll, and it turns out the public opinion in Houston is less supportive for the death penalty than in the rest of Texas. In general across the country, we don't find any correlation between public opinion and executions, and the reason for that is that if you don't support capital punishment you're not allowed to sit on a jury. The key driver in the system is the choices that district attorneys make, because they start the process, and they get to pick and choose whether to seek death. Looking at all 3,000 counties in the U.S., there are just a few counties that have executed more than, say, 10 people - there's only 20 counties like that - and it's really astounding that there would be so much concentration in a few jurisdictions. There's really no rhyme or reason to it. Q: It's not that Houston has more horrific crimes? A: No, not at all. I think it's something about a local culture that develops around the courthouse. Most counties never go there, but a few counties happen to sucessfully carry through to the end a death sentence - and then when the next really bad murder happens the prosecutors say, "Well this is just as bad as that one where we sought death, so we kind of have to do it again this time." Q: We hear a lot about botched executions; is this happening more than it used to, and why aren't we seeing these botched executions in Texas? Or is it just a matter of time? A: Lethal injection is a medicalized procedure, but - in most states - no doctors are allowed to participate, so I think it does lend itself to botches in a way that other methods like firing squads or hangings did not. But Texas has a lot more practice. So there have been fewer botches in Texas because, I think, the teams in the corrections department are relatively in practice. In carrying out 400 or 500 hundred executions, they've just done it a lot more. Q: People always seem to express frustration over the length of the delays - sometimes it's 20 years. Is Texas an outlier in this, or is this a pretty normal time frame here? A: The average as of 2015 is about 20 years delay from crime to execution, so that's pretty shocking. There are three shockers. One is the extreme delay - that's 20 years in solitary confinement. So it's 20 years of harsh punishment followed by execution. The other shocker is that we only carry out 13 percent of the death sentences. It's just astounding. And the third shocker is that even when the governor signs a death warrant it's not usually carried out. On average, those things are canceled. Q: How are the questions and discussions around the use of the death penalty changing? A: The biggest change was in the 1990s: We started to pay serious attention to the concept of innocence and whether there might be innocent people on death row and whether we should celebrate it when we identify them and they're exonerated, or if we should interpret that number as catastrophic. The innocence argument has really shaken people's faith that you can count on the government to get it right every single time. Q: One of the topics that comes up a lot now - and has been written about a lot - is one of your chapter titles: "Is the death penalty dying?"
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., N.C., LA., NEB., CALIF., USA
Nov. 26 TEXAS: Wheels of justice slow, methodical for Gregg homicide suspects After years of waiting in the Gregg County Jail, 4 of the county's 5 longest-waiting homicide suspects were sentenced and moved to prison this year. Eleven of the 28 homicide suspects held in jail this year were released to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, but others have spent more than a year in jail. These cases often are part of a balancing act, moving slowly enough to ensure uncovering all possible evidence but quickly enough to meet the constitutional right to a speedy trial. District Attorney Carl Dorrough said waiting for DNA testing results to come back from state labs is one factor that can slow down a case. "Once we do our testing and are ready to go, we've had occasions where the defense requested additional testing," Dorrough said. Other factors, such as logistical challenges, also can come into play, Dorrough said. "You have to make sure all your evidence is ready and available, all your witnesses are ready and available, and you have to make sure the defense attorneys are available and ready," he said. Torry Reed, who waited nearly 5 years to go to trial after being charged with capital murder, was transferred to prison in April after receiving a 75-year sentence in connection with the 2012 fatal shooting of DeAundray Lamanze Rossum in 2012. His brother, Deion Reed, who was charged with murder in the same shooting, was given 60 years earlier this year. Dorrough said the Reed brothers' trials and lengthy waiting periods are abnormal. Their cases were made more complicated because 2 defendants were implicated in the same crime. "If you have multiple defendants all charged with the same crime, it's very difficult to try those cases together," Dorrough said. "Particularly in the Reed brothers' case, they could not be tried together. They had to have separate trials. Unfortunately, that strings things out further." While the number of homicide cases in the county has increased in the past few years, the number of courts available for murder trials and the number of prosecutors available to work those cases has not changed, Dorrough said. "At the end of the day, no one in our office is eating bonbons and drinking mai tais, just sitting around," he said. A state law implemented in 2013 also has slowed down some cases, Dorrough said. The Michael Morton Act, created after Morton was imprisoned for a murder he did not commit, requires the state to share all evidence uncovered with the defense, ensuring no stone goes unturned and each case gets looked at from all possible angles. Dorrough said that means asking law enforcement about evidence they don't know about or might not exist. "If we fail to (turn over evidence), it's the prosecutors who are held accountable," he said. "It's our licenses on the line, not those agencies who provide the documents and information." Defense attorney Jonathan Hyatt, who represents murder suspect Jessie Brown, said delays in DNA testing are a "systemic problem," sometimes taking 18 months or more. "The whole process takes forever. ... The Department of Public Safety lab just has a huge backlog (of evidence to test)," he said. But overall, Hyatt said, there are more concerns involved with rushing into a trial unprepared. "If you're sitting in jail, you have short-term and long-term interests. Long-term, it's getting resolution on your case, and short-term, it's getting out of jail," Hyatt said. "Nobody wants to sit in jail forever, but I'd rather be sitting in jail, accused of a crime, but get my best shot at the trial than hurry up the trial and have to appeal and all of that." However, the longer the wait, the more likely witnesses are to move away and the less likely their memory of an event will be reliable in court, Hyatt said. In addition to waiting on DNA testing or available resources, Dorrough said processes such as going through inmate phone calls, which might provide crucial evidence, or editing a video statement can hold up a case's progress. "Technology hasn't necessarily been our friend when it comes to making it quicker," Dorrough said. "It's labor intensive, going through all of that ... but we do it on these kinds of cases because it might provide evidence for our case or exculpatory evidence." The cost It has cost about $214000 to house the 15 homicide defendants in the jail - at a combined total of 6,908 days - as of Saturday. The average daily inmate cost for Gregg County Jail is $30.94. Kyron Templeton, the longest-waiting inmate in the county jail, has cost the county more than $45,000 since he was booked Nov. 26, 2013. Templeton is being held on $2.5 million bond, charged with capital murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He is accused of stabbing and killing 2 people at a Christus Good Shepherd Medical Center facility. But Hyatt, the
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, S.C., KY., NEV., ARIZ., CALIF.
Nov. 24 TEXAS: Texas Trooper Fatally Shot On Thanksgiving, Suspect In CustodyThe trooper, a married father of 3, was fatally shot during a Thanksgiving traffic stop. The suspect was arrested after more gunfire. A Texas state trooper was shot and killed during a traffic stop in Freestone County late Thanksgiving afternoon, and the suspect is in custody a manhunt ended in gunfire about 125 miles away. The trooper, identified as Damon Allen, stopped the suspect in Fairfield, located about 90 miles south of Dallas, for a traffic violation. As Allen was walking back to his car, the suspect fired at him multiple times with a rifle, killing the trooper at the scene, Lt. Lonny Haschel of the Texas Department of Public Safety said in a statement. The 41-year-old married father of 3 had been a trooper for the department since 2002. "Our DPS family is heartbroken tonight after one of Texas' finest law enforcement officers was killed in the line of duty," DPS Director Steven McCraw said in a statement.m"Trooper Allen's dedication to duty, and his bravery and selfless sacrifice on this Thanksgiving Day, will never be forgotten." The suspect, Dabrett Black, 32, fired an unspecified number of shots when police caught up with him about 50 miles northwest of Houston, the Waller County Sheriff''s Department said in a Facebook post. Black had been identified by a sheriff's deputy for Waller County, which is about 125 miles away from Fairfield. "Our hearts are saddened by the loss of a brother in blue," the Waller County Sheriff's Department said on Facebook. Black will face capital murder charges, the Department of Public Safety said. That means prosecutors could ask for the death penalty. He was captured after search that included the use of a Texas Department of Public Safety helicopter, Waller County sheriff's officials said. A live police radio dispatch carried on broadcastify.com indicated Black abandoned his vehicle for a time near the town of Prairie View, where he was surrounded by police, who used night goggles and lasers to find and track him as he moved through hay bales. They weren't sure if he still had his rifle. (source: patch.com) SOUTH CAROLINA: 'Our hearts were in disbelief' - Federal judge's stay of execution not only obstacle in Stone's caseObtaining drugs needed for lethal injection an 'unscalable wall' The Dec. 1 execution of Bobby Wayne Stone, 52, who was sentenced to death for killing a Sumter County sergeant in 1996, has been delayed in response to a court order from his attorneys, but the order was not the only thing keeping what would be the 1st execution in South Carolina in 6 years from going through. The fate of the execution was already uncertain because the state does not possess 1 of the 3 drugs needed for the lethal injection. U.S. District Court Judge Mary Geiger Lewis granted the stay of execution after noting Stone's attorneys filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus - a court order requiring an imprisoning agency to prove that a person's detainment is justified. Stone was convicted in 1997 of killing Sgt. Charlie Kubala, 32, of Sumter County Sheriff's Office on Feb. 26, 1996, when Kubala responded to a call about a suspicious person at a residence on Taylor Street off Boulevard Road. "The shooting was unprovoked," Sumter County Sheriff Anthony Dennis said. "That's why I think the penalty is justified." Dennis said multiple officers called him after the state Department of Corrections announced the execution date, saying that justice would finally be served. However, many of those officers were upset to learn that the execution may have been delayed for another reason, had the federal judge not granted the stay of execution. South Carolina does not have all 3 drugs needed to administer an execution by lethal injection: pentobarbital, pancuronium bromide and potassium chloride. The state's supply of pentobarbital expired in 2013, and attempts to obtain the drug have failed because drug companies do not want the public to know the drugs are being provided for executions, according to The Associated Press. This problem is made even more frustrating for some because states such as Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas have "shield laws" that protect the identities of such drug companies. Dennis said he understands the position of the those companies and their priority to protect themselves. The sheriff's issue instead lies with the fact that justice meets a seemingly unscalable wall when it comes to the death penalty in this state. Why was a shield law not passed prior to scheduling the execution, Dennis asked. The jury and judge have spoken, but Kubala's family continues to go on with the injustice, he said. Dennis said he will advocate for a law to protect the identity of the businesses to ensure that other families do not face the same injustice. "If the state
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, S.C., FLA., ALA., OHIO, USA
Nov. 23 TEXAS: D.A. opposes ban on death penalty Anderson County District Attorney Allyson Mitchell has experienced many "firsts" in her career. In November 2014, she became the county's 1st woman to hold the position of district attorney. Now, 3 years later, Mitchell has tried - and won - her 1st capital murder case. Texas is 1 of 32 states using the death penalty. With nearly 40% of states banning the practice, capital punishment remains controversial. Mitchell, however, does not favor a death penalty ban in Texas. "You have to look at the specifics of every case," she said. "In the appropriate circumstances, I believe the death penalty is appropriate." On Nov. 15, Mitchell, along with Lisa Tanner of the states' Attorney General's Office, obtained a death sentence for convicted murderer William Mitchell Hudson. Hudson, 35, was convicted on 3 counts of capital murder, stemming from the killings of 6 people from 2 families who were vacationing in Tennessee Colony in late 2015. Mitchell personally investigated the site of the slayings shortly after Hudson's arrest. She told the Herald-Press on Tuesday that, after what she saw and the the evidence collected, no other punishment made sense. "I take the responsibility [of requesting the death penalty] very seriously," Mitchell said. "I could not think of anything more in line with deserving a death sentence." Texas falls behind only Oklahoma in executions per-capita for the past 30 years. With Texas' far larger population, however, the number of prisoners executed here is roughly 5 times higher: Texas has 521, Oklahoma, 112. Irrespective of statistics, Mitchell said, Texas applies the death penalty in only the most egregious homicide cases. Those include: Murder of an on-duty police officer or firefighter. Murder of a judge. Murder while defendant was committing, or attempting to commit, kidnapping, burglary, robbery, aggravated assault, or arson Murder for hire. Murder occurring during an actual or attempted prison break. Multiple murders occurring as a result of the defendant's actions. Murder of someone 10-years-old or younger. The state requested the death penalty for Hudson under the statute's last 2 provisions. Of the multiple murders on Nov. 14, 2015, the youngest victim, Kade Johnson, was 6-years-old. Mitchell, who is up for re-election in 2018, said district attorneys cannot let personal opinions interfere with their duties. "Capital punishment is part of the law of Texas," she said. "Regardless of a prosecutor's personal beliefs, he or she has sworn to uphold the law. That is what I intend to do." (source: Palestine Herald) SOUTH CAROLINAstay of impending execution Federal judge grants stay in S.C. execution, state lacks drugs to carry it out A federal judge has granted a stay of execution for a man on South Carolina's death row, a day after officials said they couldn't secure the drugs needed for lethal injection. U.S. District Court Judge Mary Geiger Lewis issued the stay Tuesday in the case of 52-year-old Bobby Wayne Stone, who was scheduled to die Dec. 1. Lewis noted that attorneys for Stone had filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus pending before the court and argued that a stay was warranted. Even if the state had the drugs to carry out the execution, Stone can pursue federal habeas corpus, the final stage of the appeals process, which can take time. Stone was on death row for killing a Sumter County sheriff's deputy in February 1996. (source: Associated Press) FLORIDA: Ayala confident late filing will not affect motion to seek death penalty in Kissimmee murder case After coming under fire from Gov. Rick Scott for missing the deadline for filing her intent to seek the death penalty in a Kissimmee murder case, State Attorney Aramis Ayala said Wednesday she wasn't concerned. After several days of going back and forth with Scott's office about the blame for missing the deadline, Ayala said Wednesday she expects her death penalty motion to be approved. Ayala, who has been at odds with Scott since she announced her office would not seek the death penalty in any case it prosecuted, said Monday that it wasn't her fault the deadline was missed. The case in question is against Emerita Mapp, who is accused of stabbing 20-year-old Zachary Ganoe to death and critically injuring another man at a Kissimmee Days Inn in April. The case against Mapp was never reviewed by Scott's office, or by another state attorney, which is why the deadline was missed, Ayala said. The reason the case was not reviewed would seem to be of Ayala's own making, according to an email exchange with State Attorney Brad King, who is handling the cases removed from Ayala's office. "Without such an orderly process, we will be reacting to law enforcement, or victim family, requests made to the governor," King wrote on April 20. "This would
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, FLA., OHIO, MO., S. DAK., NEV., USA
Nov. 23 TEXAS: Professor explains why Texas executes so many prisoners If Harris County were its own state, it would have a more active death chamber than the entire rest of the country - except for the rest of Texas. Of the 1,465 U.S. executions in the modern death penalty era, 125 have come from Harris County - roughly 8 %. The next-closest executioner is Dallas County, with 55 death sentences carried out since the Supreme Court reinstated the ultimate punishment in 1976. Houston's reputation as ground zero for the death penalty, it seems, is well-earned - even though prosecutors here have been less apt to dole out capital sentences in recent years. But while the numbers are stark, the reasons behind the Bayou City's apparent zeal for capital punishment are less apparent. It's not driven by public support for the practice. It's not driven by an unusually high crime rate or by especially heinous murders. So what is it? What sets apart jurisdictions that frequently turn to capital punishment from those that don't? That is one of the questions Frank Baumgartner and his co-authors explore in Deadly Justice, a numbers-heavy study of capital punishment released this month. The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill political science professor took some time this week to field questions from the Chronicle about his new book and its implications in the Houston area. Houston Chronicle: So, Harris County is known as the capital of capital punishment - why is that? Are Houstonians just more supportive of it? Frank Baumgartner: Well, actually I would say 2 things. We got data from a Rice University Houston-area poll and it turns out the public opinion in Houston is less supportive for the death penalty than in the rest of Texas. In general across the country we don't find any correlation between public opinion and executions, and the reason for that is that if you don't support capital punishment you're not allowed to sit on a jury. The key driver in the system is the choices that district attorneys make, because they start the process and they get to pick and choose whether to seek death. Looking at all 3,000 counties in the U.S. there are just a few counties that have executed more than, say, 10 people - there's only 20 counties like that - and it's really astounding that there'd be so much concentration in a few jurisdictions. There's really no rhyme or reason to it. Harris County has far more executions than any other county in the country. HC: It's not that Houston has more horrific crimes? FB: No, not at all. I think it's something about a local culture that develops around the courthouse. Most counties never go there, but a few counties happen to scucessfully carry through to the end a death sentence - and then when the next really bad murder happens the prosecutors say, "Well this is just as bad as that one where we sought death so we kind of have to do it again this time." HC: We hear a lot about botched executions - is this happening more than it used to - and why we aren't seeing these botched executions in Texas? Or is it just a matter of time? FB: Lethal injection is a medicalized procedure but in most states no doctors are allowed to participate so I think it does lend itself to botches in a way that other methods like firing squad or hangings did not. But Texas has a lot more practice. So there have been fewer botches in Texas because I think their teams in the corrections department are relatively in practice. In carrying out 400 or 500 hundreds executions they've just done it a lot more. These charts show the average wait time before an execution is carried out in some of the nation's busiest death chambers. HC: People always seem to express frustration over the length of the delays - sometimes it's 20 years. Is Texas an outlier in this or is this a pretty normal timeframe here? FB: The average as of 2015 is about 20 years delay from crime to execution, so that's pretty shocking. There's three shockers. One is the extreme delay - that's 20 years in solitary confinement. So it's 20 years of harsh punishment followed by execution. The other shocker is that we only carry out 13 % of the death sentences. It's just astounding. And the 3rd shocker is that even when the governor signs a death warrant it's not usually carried out. On average, those things are cancelled. HC: So you've been looking at this for a while - how are the questions and discussion around the use of the death penalty changing? FB: I think the biggest change was in the 1990s we started to pay serious attention to the concept of innocence and whether there might be innocent people on death row and whether we should celebrate it when we identify them and they're exonerated or if we should interpret that number as catastrophic. I think the innocence argument has really shaken people's faith that you can count on the government to get
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, FLA., LA., OHIO
Nov. 17 TEXAS: Flawed evidence is why the death penalty must go After leading the nation for decades in recommending death sentences, juries in Dallas County and Harris County have apparently cooled to the idea. In Dallas, prosecutors have asked juries to condemn a murderer to death just 2 times since 2014, and in both cases the juries declined. That's good news for anyone concerned about how justice is meted out in Texas. While there are crimes that probably deserve death, the defining characteristic of an execution is its irreversibility. Once carried out, there is no possibility for mistakes to be corrected. That's a problem for a criminal justice system whose mistakes are being brought to light more often than ever by advances in science and technology. This basic incompatibility has helped soften support for the death penalty. Dallas County District Attorney Faith Johnson has sought the death penalty in only 2 cases since taking office, which we hope suggests an increasingly high bar for executions in general. The 1st of them, however, was upended last week when new information about defendant Antonio Cochran's intellectual disability made him ineligible for execution, thanks to the Supreme Court's narrowing interpretation of when the Constitution permits the death penalty. But it's a case out of Bell County not even involving a capital crime that best explains why our system of justice is fundamentally incompatible with the death penalty. When jurors convicted George Powell of a Killeen robbery in 2009, it looked solid enough. A camera recorded the robber leaving the 7-Eleven, where he had put a handgun on the counter and told the terrified cashier to give him the cash and some cigarettes. The cashier told police the robber had been about 5-foot-6, according to a story published last week by Brandi Grissom, The Morning News' Austin bureau chief, but the clerk and a manager later testified that Powell, who is 6-foot-3, was the robber. Eyewitness testimony has a lousy track record. And in this case, it was disputed by the manager of another store that had been robbed 12 days before when she testified that she recognized Powell and he was definitely not the one who robbed her. But prosecutors pointed to the video. And introduced an informant who told jurors that Powell had confessed while they were in jail. Now, however, both the video and the snitch's testimony have been contradicted. The inmate says he lied to curry favor in his own case. And the video? An expert hired by the Texas Forensic Science Commission has concluded it is impossible that the man in the video was taller than 5-foot-9. Powell remains in jail serving 28 years. An appeals court will have to decide whether all this means he's innocent. Lawmakers ought to ponder whether new standards for analysis of video evidence are needed, as the commission has suggested. But whatever happens, we know that since he's still alive any mistakes in Powell's case can still be corrected. That's not possible for those who've been executed. That's precisely why the death penalty remains fundamentally incompatible with justice. (source: Editorial, Dallas Morning News) FLORIDA: Court will not reconsider Oviedo killer's death sentenceThe Florida Supreme Court heard arguments to throw out Andrew Allred death sentence in the 2007 Oviedo double homicide. Asst. FL. Attorney General Stacey Kircher argues that he was not in a "disassociative" mental state when he committed the crimes. The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a lower court's decision not to reconsider the sentence of an Oviedo man on death row, documents show. Andrew Allred, 31, was convicted of 1st-degree murder for killing his best friend and his ex-girlfriend in 2007, following a public break-up during his 21st birthday party. He was sentenced to death for both murders in 2010. He was appealing the Seminole County Circuit Court's decision to deny his initial post-conviction motion in 2016, where he claimed he was assigned an ineffective attorney. In January 2017, Allred filed an appeal to the initial motion, which was also denied by the lower court because he voluntarily waived his right to a jury during the sentencing hearings. "Allred is among those defendants who validly waived the right to a penalty phase jury, and his arguments do not compel departing from our precedent," the justices wrote. According to court records, on Aug. 25, 2007, Allred's girlfriend at the time - Tiffany Barwick, 19, - broke up with him at his birthday party. During the next few days, he used photos of her for target practice and later sent her pictures of those images with bullet holes. After Allred discovered Barwick was seeing his best friend, Michael Ruschak, 22, he sent both of them threatening messages. About a month later, he drove to Ruschak's home in Oviedo, where he rammed into his
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, FLA., ALA., OHIO, ARIZ., NEV., CALIF.
Nov. 16 TEXASnew death sentences Tracy gets death penalty for murder of Telford officer A Bowie County jury deliberated just over an hour Wednesday morning before sentencing Texas prison inmate Billy Joel Tracy to death. Tracy, 39, will face the ultimate punishment in the July 15, 2015, fatal beating of Barry Telford Unit Correctional Officer Timothy Davison. The jury had to consider 2 questions, or special issues, in arriving at Tracy's sentence: "Whether beyond a reasonable doubt there is a probability that the defendant would commit criminal acts of violence that would constitute a continuing threat to society," and "whether taking into consideration all of the evidence, including the circumstances of the offense, the defendant's character and background and the personal moral culpability of the defendant, there is a sufficient mitigating circumstance or circumstances to warrant that a sentence of imprisonment without parole rather than a death sentence be imposed." The jury unanimously answered "yes" to question one and "no" to question 2. Each of the 9 men and 3 women on Tracy's jury was polled after 102nd District Judge Bobby Lockhart read the jury's answers. Lockhart pronounced the punishment of death after advising Tracy of his rights to appeal. A packed courtroom watched in silence, some of them with hands over their mouths, as Lockhart released the jury. Davison's brother and niece sat surrounded by Texas Department of Criminal Justice staff as the trial ended. "Justice has been a long time coming," Ken Davison said. Tracy attacked Timothy Davison as he opened the door to cell 66 and briefly turned his gaze. After knocking Davison to the floor, Tracy grabbed the officer's metal tray slot bar and wielded it like a hammer, striking Davison repeatedly in the head and face after he lost consciousness. Tracy took Davison's pepper spray before throwing him feet over head down the stairwell. As a group of Davison's fellow officers approached, Tracy fouled the air with the chemical agent and retreated to his cell. A member of the 5-man extraction team that entered the cell to remove Tracy was bitten. During the trial, Tracy's jury heard testimony concerning multiple acts of violence by Tracy and the offenses which earned him 2 life sentences and a 20-year term in 1998. The jury heard of planned and calculated attacks on officers at units of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice across the state. Defense experts and Tracy's defense team, Mac Cobb of Mount Pleasant and Jeff Harrelson of Texarkana, argued that Tracy suffers from a "broken brain" compounded by a horrible childhood and years in prison. "He didn't choose this kind of brain. Billy had bad nature and bad nurture," Harrelson said. The state argued that Tracy is an incorrigible person with a diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder who will continue to murder and maim if the ultimate punishment is not imposed. "The state of Texas will never bring you a stronger case for the death penalty," argued Assistant District Attorney Lauren Richards. Lead prosecutor Assistant District Attorney Kelley Crisp told the jury that someone will be sentenced to death at the end of Tracy's trial. "Will it be another correctional officer with TDCJ, or will it be Billy Joel Tracy?" Crisp asked. "You decide." (source: Texarkana Gazette) ** Tennessee Colony man sentenced to death in case where 6 killed Tennessee Colony resident William Mitchell Hudson has been sentenced to death for killing 6 family members in one night in November 2015. Jurors deliberated for about 45 minutes before delivering the punishment verdict on the 2-year anniversary of Hudson's arrest; District Judge Mark Calhoon sentenced the 35-year-old man. Hudson was indicted on 3 counts of capital murder in connection with the slaying of six members of the Johnson and Kamp families on the night of Nov. 14, 2015: Thomas Kamp, 45; Nathan Kamp, 23; Austin Kamp, 21; Kade Johnson, 6; Carl Johnson, 77; and Hannah Johnson, 40. According to testimony over the trial's 11 days, the families gathered in Anderson County that weekend to celebrate the upcoming 24th birthday of Nathan Kamp, on land Thomas Kamp had recently purchased from a distant relative of Hudson's. Carl and Cynthia - the sole survivor of that night - arrived 1st, in an RV the retired couple used to travel around the country. Using a lock Tom had given them, the couple cut a lock on the gate, gaining entrance to the land Tom had recently puchased. Shortly after arriving on the land, the RV got stuck in the sandy ground near their campsite. The sound of Cynthia yelling at Carl as he tried to work the RV out of the ground made its way over to Crystal Hudson's home, where William had been staying. Friends of the Hudson family testified that they had owned the land since the 1800s, and that William had wanted to buy the
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, FLA., LA., OHIO, NEV., ARIZ., CALIF., US MIL.
Nov. 15 TEXAS: Science has taught us juries rely on flawed evidence for convictions; that's why the death penalty must go After leading the nation for decades in recommending death sentences, juries in Dallas County and Harris County have apparently cooled to the idea. In Dallas, prosecutors have asked juries to condemn a murderer to death just 2 times since 2014, and in both cases the juries declined. That's good news for anyone concerned about how justice is meted out in Texas. While there are crimes that probably deserve death, the defining characteristic of an execution is its irreversibility. Once carried out, there is no possibility for mistakes to be corrected. That's a problem for a criminal justice system whose mistakes are being brought to light more often than ever by advances in science and technology. This basic incompatibility has helped soften support for the death penalty. (Other factors that may be playing a role: It is also expensive and has not been proven to be more a more effective deterrent against future crime than, say, the life sentence without parole that has, since 2005, been the minimum sentence for anyone convicted of capital murder in Texas.) Dallas County District Attorney Faith Johnson has sought the death penalty in only two cases since taking office, which we hope suggests an increasingly high bar for executions in general. The first of them, however, was upended last week when new information about defendant Antonio Cochran's intellectual disability made him ineligible for execution, thanks to the Supreme Court's narrowing interpretation of when the Constitution permits the death penalty. But it's a case out of Bell County not even involving a capital crime that best explains why our system of justice is fundamentally incompatible with the death penalty. When jurors convicted George Powell of a Killeen robbery in 2009, it looked solid enough. A camera recorded the robber leaving the 7-Eleven, where he had put a handgun on the counter and told the terrified cashier to give him the cash and some cigarettes. The cashier told police the robber had been about 5-foot-6, according to a story published last week by Brandi Grissom, The Morning News' Austin bureau chief, but the clerk and a manager later testified that Powell, who is 6-foot-3, was the robber. Eyewitness testimony has a lousy track record. And in this case, it was disputed by the manager of another store that had been robbed 12 days before - it was thought by the same robber - when she testified that she recognized Powell and he was definitely not the one who robbed her. But prosecutors pointed to the video. And introduced an informant who told jurors that Powell had confessed while they were in jail. Now, however, both the video and the snitch's testimony have been contradicted. The inmate says he lied to curry favor in his own case. And the video? An expert hired by the Texas Forensic Science Commission has concluded it is impossible that the man in the video was taller than 5-foot-9. Powell remains in jail serving 28 years. An appeals court will have to decide whether all this means he's innocent. Lawmakers ought to ponder whether new standards for analysis of video evidence are needed, as the commission has suggested. But whatever happens, we know that since he's still alive any mistakes in Powell's case can still be corrected. That's not possible for those who've been executed. That's precisely why the death penalty remains fundamentally incompatible with justice. Texas Forensic Science Commission recommendations regarding use of video evidence: 1. The basis for analytical conclusions reached in forensic casework must be supported by clear and comprehensive scientific methods. 2. Analysts should address error rates and uncertainty in their reports. 3. All analytical reports should be subject to peer review before use in a trial. 4. When post-conviction analysis is performed, the results should be immediately communicated to the prosecutor, the court and the defendant. 5. Analysts should follow established industry guidelines that are the consensus of the scientific community. 6. Analysts should take precautions to protect against confirmation bias. 7. In light of ... the concerns highlighted in this particular case, the commission's advisory committee should consider whether new licensing requirements for forensic analysts should be added. 8. The Bell County prosecutor should consider seeking further assistance from the FBI or another qualified law-enforcement forensic service provider if questions remain in the Powell case. 9. The criminal justice community should seek assistance and training when they encounter a forensic video analysis case and need to retain an expert witness. (source: Editorial, Dallas Morning News) ** Hudson not insane, but deficient, experts say Psychologists,
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, FLA., ALA., OHIO
Nov. 14 TEXAS: Cardenas Execution Raising Questions About Treatment of Mexican Nationals In U.S. Prisons The Cardenas execution in Huntsville is raising questions about the treatment of Mexican Nationals in American prisons. News Center 23 had a chance to speak to the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs moments before and after the execution of Ruben Ramirez Cardenas. "Ruben if you can hear us, we are here for you" yell protesters outside the in the rain. Those may have been some of the last sounds heard by Ruben Ramirez Cardenas, a Mexican National, convicted of killing and Raping his 16 year old cousin back in 1997. News Center 23 had the opportunity to bear witness to the execution. Friends, family, were not present to see the passing of their loved one. Instead 4 lone protestors battling 50-degree weather in the rain and Mexican dignitaries were hoping the execution was delayed fi not avoided. Among those protestors, Gloria Ruback a representative of the TX Death Penalty Abolition Movement. She claims that she has been attending and protesting executions since the 1980???s. She says, "we found out that they can hear us back there in the room where they execute them. So to give him a little support ... maybe a smile before he's murdered." The execution, once slated for 6 PM on November 8th had visitors tense. Appeals made by Cardenas' attorney and The Mexican Foreign Ministry to the Supreme Court were to decide Cardenas' fate. They appealed to have "the DNA evidence [that] can be properly evaluated." Those appeals were rejected, and Cardenas was pronounced dead at 10:26 that same night. Jason Clark, spokesperson Texas Department of Criminal Justice talked to press immediately after the execution. He says, "Ruben Cardenas was executed for the brutal murder of 16 year old Mayra Laguna in 1997. He was the 7th person to be executed in the state of Texas this year. He did make a written last state he did not make a verbal last statement." Ruben Cardenas' Attorney, Maurie Levin states, "I am convinced that we would not be standing here now if Texas had not violated its Vieanna Convention obligations preventing the Mexican consulate when he most needed its help." "Carrying out the execution would be the equivalent to the arbitrary depravation of life, and the United States would be in Violation of its obligations under International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, The ICCPR." States Alejandro Alday Legal Advisor, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mexico. Also in attendance, Susana Guerra coming from Guanajuato Mexico to wait for the execution's results. She proclaims, "We are deeply sorrowed after this result and by the execution of Ruben ... When it comes to the family, the mother, we will try our best to support her. She is sick and frail. But we will be there for whatever she needs." Mexico abolished the death penalty in 2005. Despite the execution, efforts are underway to prove Cardenas' innocence. (source: rgvproud.com) * Psychiatrist testifies convicted murderer Hudson has personality disorder A Brazos County jury heard from experts that William Hudson suffers from mixed personality disorder, alcoholism and narcissism. The defense rested Monday in the punishment phase of Hudson's murder trial. The jury will decide if he gets life in prison or the death penalty. Hudson was convicted last week for 2 of the 6 murders at a campground in East Texas. The victims ranged in age from 6 to nearly 77-years-old. The jury heard from psychiatrist David Self. He said Hudson can have his personality issues managed but he can't be cured. The defense also called Antoinette McGarrahan. She is a Forensic Psychologist. She told the jury she spent 14 hour with Hudson completing I.Q. and other tests. She believes he had average intelligence at one time but has fallen 10-15 points after repeated injury to his brain. On one test his intelligence score was 72. She talked about several cars accidents he was in including a roll over where he didn't have a seat belt on. She said damage to his frontal lobes can contribute to things including poor judgment, decision making, planning, aggression and lack of insight. The court also heard more about what serving life in Texas prisons can look like. Hudson's defense attorneys called Lane Herklotz to testify. He is a retired TDCJ employee who worked for the state prison system for more than 25 years. He described how inmates are classified when they are transferred into prison custody. Many of in the court were surprised to learn that, despite the fact Hudson is accused of murdering six people, that isn't taken into account when they classify him in the system. TDCJ has five levels, Herklotz told the court, capital murder inmates serving life usually have a roommate or on occasion live in a dormitory. He also speculated Hudson would be considered minimum to medium
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, VA., GA., FLA., OHIO
Nov. 11 TEXASnew execution date Lubbock judge signs death warrant for Rosendo Rodriguez Lubbock Judge Jim Bob Darnell issued Wednesday an order of execution for 37-year-old Rosendo Rodriguez III, who was convicted and sentenced to death for the 2005 slaying of a pregnant woman whose body was stuffed inside a piece of luggage found at the Lubbock city landfill. Darnell's order comes 2 weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Rodriguez's appeal and sets a March 27 date for his execution by lethal injection. Rodriguez, who became known as the "Suitcase killer," was convicted of the 2005 beating and choking death of 29-year-old Summer Baldwin, who was 5 weeks pregnant. Her body was stuffed inside a piece of luggage found at the city landfill in Lubbock. Baldwin lived in Lubbock and Rodriguez was training here as a Marine reservist. Court records show Rodriguez was linked to at least 5 other sexual assaults and to the disappearance of 16-year-old Joanna Rogers, who had been missing more than a year. He confessed to killing the teenager, whose body was also found in a suitcase in the Lubbock landfill. Rodriguez is 1 of 3 Texas death row inmates convicted in Lubbock County. Joe Franco Garza, who was convicted in the 1998 killing of Silbiano Rangel, is awaiting results of a post-conviction DNA testing filed in 2015, according to court records. Brian Suniga, who was convicted in the 2011 slaying of David Rowser, is in the midst of appealing his death sentence. (source: Lubbock Avalanche-Journal) *** DA will not seek death penalty in murder of Zoe Hastings Dallas County District Attorney Faith Johnson will not be seeking the death penalty in the case of Antonio Cochran, charged with the murder of Zoe Hastings in 2015. Police allege that Cochran kidnapped Hastings in her family's minivan from Walgreens on Garland Road and Peavy Drive, killed the teenager, then dumped her and the vehicle in a creek in Lake Highlands. Hastings was on her way to church. Dallas County District Attorney Faith Johnson said that the Cochran had an "intellectual disability," which makes him ineligible for the death penalty. On Friday, the Dallas County District Attorney's Office released the following statement: "It came to our attention that the defendant may have had some intellectual challenges. As a result, we were pro-active in requesting the court's permission for an evaluation. Our expert's findings are such that the defendant does fit the current legal definition of a person with an intellectual disability. We are not seeking the death penalty in this case because the current law states an individual who has been diagnosed with an intellectual disability is not eligible for the death penalty. However, we remain committed to seeking justice on behalf of Zoe Hastings and her family." WFAA discovered Cochran has an extensive criminal history in Bowie County that includes multiple felony arrests. (source: WFAA TV news) Former partners, jailers give testimony during punishment phase in Hudson capital murder trial Prosecutors rested their case late Thursday afternoon after calling 8 witnesses during the 2nd full day of the punishment phase of a capital murder trial for an East Texas man facing the death penalty for killing multiple members of 2 families in one night in November 2015. William Mitchell Hudson, 35, of Tennessee Colony was indicted on 3 counts of capital murder in connection with the slayings of Thomas Kamp, 45; Austin Kamp, 21; Nathan Kamp, 23; Kade Johnson, 6; Hannah Johnson, 40; and Carl Johnson, 76 at a campsite in Anderson County. Jurors convicted Hudson of capital murder in less than 20 minutes Tuesday for killing Hannah Johnson and her father, Carl Johnson. The case was moved to Brazos County because of pre-trial publicity in Anderson County, which is more than 100 miles northeast of Bryan. The Johnson and Kamp families met on Nov. 14, 2015, at a campsite on land in Anderson County that Thomas Kamp had recently purchased from a distant relative of Hudson's family, a transaction that Hudson reportedly was not happy about. Jurors convicted Hudson for shooting and beating to death Carl Johnson and his daughter, Hannah; prosecutors also argued that Hudson had shot and killed the 4 others in the woods while they were looking for firewood, shortly before he had returned to the campsite to kill Hannah and Carl. Jurors heard testimony Thursday from Suzanna Reed, one of Hudson's ex-wives, and from Amanda Hyden, Hudson's ex-girlfriend and mother of one of his children. Both women painted similar pictures of Hudson: a violent and erratic alcoholic. Reed said Hudson had threatened to shoot himself, but had never threatened to shoot her, when he brought his guns out to demonstrate his commitment to suicide. Reed said Hudson hadn't drank much when they were
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----TEXAS, N.H., PENN., GA., FLA.
Nov. 9 TEXASexecution Texas execution of Mexican man draws fire from Mexico's president A Mexican citizen on death row in Texas was executed Wednesday night for the slaying of his 16-year-old cousin who was abducted from her family's apartment and fatally beaten. Ruben Ramirez Cardenas, 47, was given a lethal injection after several federal court appeals failed to halt his punishment for the February 1997 killing of Mayra Laguna. Asked by the warden to make a final statement, he replied, "No, sir." As the lethal dose of pentobarbital began, he took a couple of breaths and then began snoring. After less than a minute, all movement stopped. 21 minutes later, at 10:26 p.m. CST, he was pronounced dead, making him the 7th convicted killer put to death this year in Texas, which carries out capital punishment more than any other state. Shortly after the execution, Mexican President Enrique Nieto tweeted, "I express my firm condemnation of the execution of the Mexican Ruben Cardenas Ramirez in Texas, which violates the decision of the International Court of Justice. My deepest condolences to the mourners." Cardenas' attorney, Maurie Levin, contended eyewitness testimony against Cardenas was shaky, that little physical evidence tied him to the killing and that a confession he gave was obtained after 22 hours of isolation and intense police questioning. She also said that authorities acted improperly when not telling the Mexican-born Cardenas that he could get legal help from the Mexican consulate. Being born in Mexico, which does not have capital punishment, made Cardenas eligible for legal help from the Mexican consulate when he was arrested, according to provisions of the Vienna Convention of Consular Relations, which is a 1963 international agreement. The courts have allowed executions to move forward in several previous Texas death row cases in which the agreement was said to have been violated. "For the Mexican government, capital punishment constitutes one of the most essential violations of human rights," Jacob Prado Gonzalez, the Mexican government's general director for consular protection, said. Cardenas grew up in the Texas Rio Grande Valley. In a handwritten statement released afterward, Cardenas thanked his family, attorneys and the Mexican consulate for their help. "Now! I will not and cannot apologize for someone elses crime, but, I will be Back for Justice," he wrote. "You can count on that!" His punishment was delayed for about 4 hours as last-ditch appeals for the former security guard focused primarily on efforts to have trial evidence undergo new DNA testing. In a filing to the U.S. Supreme Court hours before his execution, lawyers argued Texas was violating Cardenas' due process rights and a state statute that covers forensic testing. They asked the justices to halt the execution for a court review. They also asked the justices for more time to appeal a lower court's rejection of a federal civil rights lawsuit in which they claimed his due process and civil rights were being violated because Texas officials wouldn't release evidence so it can undergo new DNA testing. Attorneys for the state said the lawsuit was improper and that state courts already refused the DNA request because Cardenas could not show that more advanced tests would exonerate him. DNA results in evidence at Cardenas' trial were not false, state attorneys said. The high court, without comment, rejected both appeals. Earlier this week, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the state's highest criminal court, rejected a similar appeal seeking DNA tests. Cardenas' attorneys argued the new testing would be better than the now-obsolete testing that left "persistent doubts about his guilt and the integrity of his conviction." Laguna was snatched from a bedroom she shared with a younger sister at her family's public housing apartment in McAllen in South Texas. In a confession to police, Cardenas said he and a friend drove around with the high school student in his mother's car. He said he had sex with the teen and then punched her as she fought him after he unbound her arms to let her go. "I didn't plan on doing this, but I was high on cocaine," he told authorities. He said after he hit the teen in the neck, she began coughing up blood and having difficulty breathing. After trying unsuccessfully to revive her, he said he tied her up "and rolled her down a canal bank." Her body was found in a canal near a lake in the Rio Grande Valley in far South Texas. Laguna's sister, Roxana Jones, said she had waited 21 years for justice to be served. "Words can't begin describe the relief it feels to know that there is true peace after so much pain and sorrow," she said in a statement released by prison officials. "Mayra can be remembered as loving, caring, funny and dimples when she smiled. She will continue to watch over family and
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS
Nov. 8 TEXASexecution Texas executes Mexican national despite international ire Texas executed a Mexican national late Wednesday night despite a flurry of last-minute appeals and objections from his native country and United Nations human rights experts. Death row inmate Ruben Cárdenas had several appeals pending before the U.S. Supreme Court when the scheduled time of his execution — 6 p.m. — rolled around. The high court denied all appeals almost four hours later, setting his execution into process. In his final words, Cárdenas thanked his family, friends, attorneys and the Mexican government for their help. “I will not and cannot apologize for someone else’s crime, but, I will be back for justice! You can count on that!” he said. Cárdenas, 47, was injected with a lethal dose of pentobarbital and pronounced dead at 10:26 p.m. He was convicted and sentenced to death in the 1997 Edinburg murder of his 16-year-old cousin, Mayra Laguna. After hours of interrogation, Cárdenas confessed that he snuck into his cousin’s room through an open window early on a February morning and then kidnapped, raped and killed her before leaving her body near a canal, according to court records. "After 21 years of waiting, justice was finally served," said Laguna's sister, Roxana Jones, in a statement after the execution. "Words can't begin describe the relief it feels to know that there is true peace after so much pain and sorrow….Mayra can be remembered as loving, caring, funny and dimples when she smiled. She will continue to watch over family and friends." There was an international push to stop his execution because Cárdenas, was never given the chance to speak to his country’s consulate after his arrest more than 20 years ago, a violation of an international treaty. Cárdenas also was not provided a lawyer until 11 days after his arrest, and his representatives claimed evidence against him was faulty and his confession was coerced. “If the scheduled execution of Mr. Cárdenas goes ahead, the US Government will have implemented a death penalty without complying with international human rights standards,” said Agnes Callamard and Elina Steinerte, independent experts with the U.N.’s Human Rights system, in a news release Monday. Under the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, all arrestees from a foreign country must be told they can notify their consulate and receive regular consultation from them during their detention. In 2004, the U.N.’s International Court of Justice (ICJ) found that the U.S. violated this treaty with more than 50 Mexican nationals on death row, including Cárdenas. A ruling ordered that all the cases should be reconsidered before execution. But the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2008 that even though the treaty created obligations for the federal government, it didn’t force anything on the states, according to a federal appellate court’s ruling denying Cárdenas’ appeal on the consulate violation. “ICJ decisions do not become domestic law absent a Congressional enactment,” the order said. The Mexican government still says the violation is “illegal,” according to a Reuters report. On Monday, the country’s deputy foreign minister for North America, Carlos Sada, told reporters that Texas prosecutors didn’t follow due process and that his country is looking to stay the execution. Hours before the execution was set to begin, the Mexican Senate urged President Enrique Peña Nieto to call on Texas officials to stop the execution. Mexico does not have the death penalty. In recent appeals filed in state courts, Cárdenas' legal team said bad practices in eyewitness identifications, DNA evidence and confessions led to Cárdenas’ conviction. “To permit Mr. Cardenas’s conviction to stand without further examination and testing would undermine Texas’s commitment to addressing the epidemic of wrongful convictions, and would facilitate the execution of a potentially innocent man,” attorney Maurie Levin wrote in an appeal filed last week. Evidence used against Cárdenas at trial included an eyewitness who could not identify him in a lineup but could at his trial — a practice that was prohibited by the Texas Legislature this year in an effort to prevent wrongful convictions. His legal team also argued that DNA testing done nearly 20 years ago is now obsolete. The crux of Cárdenas’ conviction, however, was based on his confessions. Cárdenas’ account changed slightly during days of interrogation — the first 11 of which he did not have an attorney. He asked for a lawyer at his first appearance hearing two days after his arrest, according to the filing. Levin argued that Cárdenas’ confessions were “false and extremely unreliable,” citing inconsistencies between his confessions and the facts of the crime. Some of the inconsistencies she described were the lack of forensic evidence of sexual activity even though he said
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., N.C., FLA., MISS.
Nov. 8 TEXASimpending execution exican citizen to be executed in Texas for killing cousin Police who stopped at a convenience store more than 20 years ago in South Texas determined 2 men at the business were drunk and told them to find a friend to drive them home. Ruben Ramirez Cardenas and buddy Jose Antonio Lopez Castillo instead dropped off their designated driver after a short distance and Cardenas drove the rest of the way to his home in Edinburg - to get a bottle of brandy. Then they hit the road again and headed to an apartment where Cardenas' 16-year-old cousin, Mayra Laguna, lived about 10 miles (16 kilometers) away in McAllen. Laguna was later found fatally beaten, her body rolled down a bank and into a canal near a lake in the Texas Rio Grande Valley. Cardenas, 47, a Mexican citizen who grew up in the Texas Rio Grande Valley, is set to be executed Wednesday for Laguna's February 1997 abduction and slaying. He would be the 7th inmate executed this year in Texas, which carries out the death penalty more than any other state. Attorneys for Cardenas say they plan to file multiple federal court appeals hoping to delay his punishment. They already appealed to state courts, arguing that evidence in his case should undergo new DNA testing because previous testing that pointed to him might not be reliable. Those courts rejected their arguments. Prosecutors have called the DNA testing request a delay tactic. It's not clear if the lawyers will present the DNA argument at the federal level. Attorney Maurie Levin, an attorney for Cardenas, said Tuesday the trial court and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the state's highest criminal court, used "legal technicalities" to block new DNA testing "that could prove his innocence." Levin also argued the eyewitness testimony against Cardenas was shaky, contended that little physical evidence tied him to the killing and said a confession from him was obtained only after 22 hours of isolation and intense police questioning. "All hallmarks of wrongful convictions," Levin said. "To permit his execution to proceed when there is potentially exculpatory DNA testing available violates the most basic notions of fairness and justice." She added that the Mexican-born Cardenas wasn't told he could get legal help from the Mexican consulate. The victim's younger sister, Roxanna Laguna, told authorities she awoke in pre-dawn darkness to see an intruder in their bedroom. She said Mayra's mouth was taped and her hands were bound, and that the man went out a window with her. A woman at the Hidalgo County public housing complex where the Lagunas lived called police after seeing a man walking with a girl who was barefoot and only wearing a shirt and underwear. Cardenas initially was questioned about the teen's disappearance because he was a close family member who had socialized with the girl. He was released, then questioned again and arrested after authorities said information he provided conflicted with details from Castillo. In his statement to police, Cardenas said he was high on cocaine when he and Castillo drove around with Laguna in his mother's car and eventually had sex with her. He said when he untied her to let her go "she then came at me," scratching him and kneeing him. "I then lost it and started punching her on the face," he told detectives. He said after he hit her in the neck, she began coughing up blood and having breathing difficulties. After trying unsuccessfully to revive her, he said he tied her up "and rolled her down a canal bank." Hidalgo County prosecutors argued the DNA request was intended to delay the punishment and "muddy the waters." Prosecutors also pointed out in court filings that Cardenas led them to the scene of the killing, providing information not publicly disclosed. Being born in Mexico made Cardenas eligible for legal help from the Mexican consulate when he was arrested, according to provisions of the Vienna Convention of Consular Relations, which is a 1963 international agreement. The courts have allowed executions to move forward in several previous Texas death row cases in which the agreement was said to have been violated. Cardenas' friend, Castillo, was convicted of aggravated kidnapping and is serving a 25-year prison term. (source: Associated Press) ** Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present26 Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982present-544 Abbott#scheduled execution date-nameTx. # 27-Nov. 8--Ruben Cardenas-545 28-Dec. 14-Juan Castillo--546 29-Jan. 18-Anthony Shore--547 30-Jan. 30-William Rayford548 31--Feb. 1-John Battaglia-549 32--Feb. 22Thomas Whitaker550
