[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----TEXAS, LA., CALIF., FLA. USA
Jan. 19 TEXAS2 new execution dates set: Execution date set for 2 killers A Refugio District Judge has set the execution dates for Derrick Frazier and Jermaine Herron. The men shot 41-year-old Betsy Nutt and her 15-year-old son Cody Nutt at their ranch in Refugio County in 1997. Both victims were shot in the head several times. Frazier and Herron were later tried and found guilty of committing capital murder. A jury sentenced both men to death. Wednesday, Derrick Frazier and Jermaine Herron found out when they will face the death penalty. One by one the convicted murderers entered the court room. First, 27-year-old Jermaine Herron then deputies brought in 28-year-old Derrick Frazier on a wheel chair. Officials said he injured his knee inside the jail. District Judge Stephen Williams called for Frazier after reviewing the facts of the case, the he set the execution date for April 27, 2006. Unmoved by the announcement, Fraizer quietly left the court room. Next to see the judge was Jermaine Herron. He too received a quick review of the case then found out his execution will be carried out a little less than a month after Frazier's, May 17 2006. Herron left the court room and mumbled to a nearby family member. District Attorney Michael Sheppard tried the case. He said there are only 2 ways the upcoming execution could be stopped. "The governor of course always has the right to pardon or commute a sentence. The Governor of Texas," Sheppard said. "The federal recourse would be if the United States Supreme Court intervened." Derrick Frazier and Jermaine Herron will die by lethal injection in Huntsville. Jerry Nutt, the husband and father of the victims, has been waiting 7 years for Wednesday's ruling. As the 2 men's execution dates were announced, Jerry expressed no compassion for the killers. "This is one of the happiest days of my life in the past 8 1/2 years. Only 2 days are going to be better and you know which 2 days those are going to be," Nutt said. He's referring to the days Frazier and Herron will be executed by lethal injection. Jerry plans to be there as the 2 take their final breaths in Huntsville. "Well the 1st 3 years after it happened, until I met my wife...I was going down hill. I'm not going to kid you. I didn't do anything," he said. But Jerry met Jane. They've been married for 5 years. Both said Betsy and Cody remain a big part of their lives. "We still have a shrine for Betsy and Cody up in the house. I told her, 'you can take that down we're starting a new life'. She said, 'Cody and Betsy made you who you are...so they are always going to be part of our lives'." "Betsy and I have actually become quite good friends. When he does something that is frustrating, I talk to Betsy's picture...I say, 'okay Betsy you should have straighten him out on this'," Jane said. Jerry and Jane walked away from the court room a stronger, happier couple, because the 2 men who changed their lives are scheduled to die in just a few months. There are now 14 executions set in Texas between Jan. 25-May 17. (sources: KRIS TV News & Rick Halperin) * Prosecutors plan to seek death penalty for Sinegal The Jefferson County District Attorney's Office will seek the death penalty against a Port Arthur man accused of serial capital murder, Ed Shettle, lead prosecutor on the case said after a hearing Wednesday in Criminal District Court. Gary Sinegal, 41, was indicted in November on charges that he killed two elderly Port Arthur women in April 2005. Louise Tamplin, 81, and Margie Gafford, 86, both were found dead April 21, stuffed in closets at their homes. A trial date of July 31 was set at the hearing. Defense attorney James Makin and Shettle said Wednesday's hearing was routine. "There are quite a few pretrial requirements from the law," Shettle said. "We received clear instructions about what we need to do to comply with discovery." Shettle said although results are back on some of the DNA tests, others still are pending. Makin said Sinegal will be tried under the new law that offers the options of death or life without possibility of parole. Previously, jurors only had the option of death or a sentence carrying the possibility that the offender could someday be paroled. Sinegal's attorneys still are considering whether they will ask for a change of venue. The trial should take 5 to 6 weeks, including a lengthy jury selection, Makin said. (source: The Beaumont Enterprise) ** State should place executions on hold This month, New Jersey lawmakers voted to halt executions while a task force reviews the fairness and costs of imposing the death penalty. Texas should consider doing the same but for slightly different reasons. The disturbing facts coming out of an independent investigation into cases handled by the Houston Police Department lab beg for a temporary suspension of executions, at least until all cases the lab handled are reviewed. In a report
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----VA., IOWA, N.C., OHIO
Jan. 19 VIRGINIA: Death Penalty Safeguards Exist When Virginia Gov. Mark Warner ordered a fresh genetic test of evidence used to convict Roger Coleman, who was executed back in 1992 for the near-beheading and rape-murder of Wanda McCoy, Warner claimed it was necessary to determine with certainty that Coleman was in fact a guilty man. The tests confirmed Colemans guilt, but the myth surrounding a monster who was once the anti-death penalty movements poster boy - he appeared on the cover of Time magazine - persists. The spin on Coleman, who went to the execution chamber lying about his innocence, is that the due process and the evidence testing contemporaneous to his conviction and appeals was somehow lacking - and thus more reruns of death penalty cases are necessary. Nonsense. While at the time of Colemans conviction genetic tests could not precisely deliver a 100 percent match of genetic material to a particular person, such tests were sufficiently exacting to determine that Coleman almost certainly was the murderer. Combined with other evidence in his case, including facts that Coleman recounted to a cellmate that could only have been known to the murderer, the genetic evidence available at the time left no reasonable doubt about his guilt. Yet Coleman managed to deceive death penalty opponents whose ideology blinded them to the brutal facts of the case, perhaps because they badly wished to be deceived. In those states that have chosen to impose the ultimate penalty for the most horrible crimes, there is no lack of due process, nor any lack of careful examination of evidence. Indeed, those sentenced to death have access to numerous steps of appeal not necessarily accorded to other convicts, culminating in executive clemency authority. A typical condemned murderer spends many years awaiting final judgment. In states that choose to impose the death penalty, the process should be difficult and replete with checks and balances. In rare cases those checks and balances have served to reveal errors in the criminal justice system, although even more rarely errors of fact. The case of Roger Coleman sadly is an exemplar both of ideologically driven foolishness and of the evil that can lurk in a man. (source: The (Wheeling, W. VA.) Intelligencer) IOWA: Death row cell house at prison demolished In Fort Madison, a 2-ton wrecking ball destroyed Cell House 97 of the Iowa State Penitentiary on Tuesday, but the controversy surrounding the state prison still has not died. On Nov. 14, 2005, Martin Moon and Robert Legendre climbed on the roof of the former death row holding cells at the penitentiary and then proceeded to use a homemade grappling hook to get over the prison wall in a bid for freedom. Ironically, it is the penitentiary itself and the community around it that is being held political prisoner in the aftermath of the escape. "The escape and the aftermath has had a significant impact on our budget," said ISP Executive Officer Ron Welder. "A lot of it has been significant overtime costs inherent to a lock-down and from manning posts that had not been manned." Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack has promised $1 million in additional salary money for the ISP to pay for manning its guard towers full-time, but that money has yet to come through, according to Welder. In the immediate aftermath of the escape, the Iowa Department of Corrections Inspector General's Office released a report that recommended several immediate changes that needed to happen in the penitentiary. "Security concerns brought about by escape (led to the cell block's demolition)," Welder said. "The report from the Inspector General's Office also recommended policy and procedures changes, staffing changes and the manning of a tower that has been closed since late 1970s." A follow-up report that was released on Friday said that to prevent future escapes, the penitentiary could be renovated, a new one built in the city or it could be moved entirely. State Sen. Gene Fraise, D-Fort Madison, said at a legislative forum on Friday that the report has gotten his fellow politicians talking about moving the prison to their communities. "I would suspect that it's a 30 % chance that it won't be built in (Fort Madison)," Fraise said on Friday. "Senate (Republican) leader Stewart Iverson said that he thinks cities ought to bid on it. There was a discussion this summer among some legislators that they would like to see this prison closed, and these people moved to the new facility in Illinois across from Clinton. There is a remote chance that it would happen, but that's the point I'm trying to make, that every legislator wants these jobs." Moving the penitentiary would be the kiss of death to a community that has seen hundreds of jobs leave the area already. Just in the last year, International paper closed in September 2005, abruptly ending 130 jobs. Econo Foods is scheduled to close on Jan. 21, eliminating an estimated 40 to 50 jobs and Sh
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----worldwide
Jan. 19 INDONESIA: Treaty no guideline to avoiding the death penalty for Bali 9 How utterly heartbreaking for Lee Rush, whose son Scott is one of the Bali 9 accused. His tragedy is doubly awful. Not only does his son face execution by firing squad if convicted of heroin trafficking by an Indonesian court, but it was his well intentioned intervention that may have contributed, however marginally, to that very situation. Giving evidence in the Denpasar District Court, Lee Rush said a father's "instinct" led him to approach the Australian Federal Police about his 19-year-old son's forthcoming trip to Bali. The family was left with an understanding that the federal police would warn Scott that he was under surveillance and thereby head off a worst-case scenario. As we know, that never happened. He wasn't warned and instead the federal police tipped off the Indonesian police, resulting in the arrest of the nine accused heroin smugglers. As the Federal Police Commissioner, Mick Keelty, helpfully put it: "These people have been caught red-handed with heroin in Indonesia." Further details of Lee Rush's concerns also emerged in Federal Court proceedings against the police started Scott Rush and co-accused Renae Lawrence. They claim the federal police acted illegally in handing information to the Indonesian police and that a bilateral treaty governing mutual assistance in criminal matters was breached. The treaty rules out co-operation in instances where the death penalty may be imposed. In an affidavit before the court, Lee Rush said that because his son didn't have a passport and had no money, he became concerned after learning that the youngster had an airline ticket to Bali. He sought advice from a family friend, the barrister Robert Meyers, who contacted a federal police agent, Damon Patching, the son of a close friend. Meyers said in an affidavit that he asked that federal police agents tell Scott they were onto him and in effect warn him off any illegal or nefarious enterprise. Lee Rush further said in his submission: "As a result of conversations with Bob Meyers, I desisted [from going to Bali himself] believing that the AFP had told my son he was being observed or was under surveillance. "Now - my state of mind is one of the deepest anxiety that my son - and the other young Australians - face the risk of having the death penalty imposed." It must be a father's worst nightmare. Justice Paul Finn will decide whether the applicants can press ahead with their action against the police. There is also another important pending decision - whether the Indonesian prosecution will press for the death penalty. There have been discussions involving the Indonesian Attorney-General on that matter, but at the time of writing nothing had been announced. While Rush and Lawrence might have an arguable case in relation to the bilateral treaty covering co-operation on crime investigations, the federal police guidelines speak another language altogether. There it is stated: "That countries impose the death penalty is not sufficient reason for Australia to disengage in collaborative efforts. That would damage Australia's fight against terrorism and transnational crime." The position seems to be that it is quite all right to co-operate with these countries up to the point where charges are laid. So there is the dichotomy. The lives of a few are to be expended so that the drug war can be fought, however unlikely a victory. As Keelty put it in his inimitable manner last October: "I know it's an emotive issue - but we can't apologise for taking the strategy forward the way we have and the outcomes we have achieved. While we have some sympathy for the potential outcome we've got to be looking at the bigger picture all the time." If the "bigger picture" involves the execution of the nine then, in the Commissioner's view, so be it. Proportionate punishment for crime and Australia's public opposition to the death penalty don't figure too largely in Keelty's equation. The Law Council has called for the police guidelines to be dismantled so that they accord with the requirements of the treaty. Some inkling of the bigger picture emerged in the Denpasar court when Michelle Stephens, the mother of co-accused Martin Stephens, said the family was under federal police protection so that her son could testify against the ringleaders. Yet there is so much about the Bali nine case that is disconnected and inexplicable. Never has there been an adequate explanation as to why the arrests could not have happened in Australia. Keelty tried to explain it by saying that Australia has to work with death penalty countries because the United Nations attributes a drop in Australians dying from heroin overdoses from 1100 to 350 each year "to the work we've taken offshore in countries like Burma, in China, in Malaysia, in Thailand". Again, the implication is that in the broader struggle the sacrifice of the few is quite legitimat
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----OHIO
Jan. 19 OHIO: Justices affirm death penalty for man guilty in 2 killings Convicted killer Gerald "Bob" Hand got no reprieve from the Ohio Supreme Court yesterday. Justices unanimously upheld his death sentence for the 2002 shooting death of his fourth wife and a longtime friend. A Delaware County jury convicted Hand in 2003 of killing Jill Hand and his friend and former employee, Lonnie Welch. Prosecutors said during the trial that Welch was a coconspirator in the unsolved deaths of Hand's 1st 2 wives in 1976 and 1979, and of Jill Hand, for insurance money. "I was very elated," said Lois Willis, mother of Hand's 2nd wife, Lori, after hearing about yesterday's decision. "It was a good day." Willis went to her daughter's house on Sept. 9, 1979, to help her prepare for a bridal shower. When Lori never answered the door, she called for help, and police found her body on the basement floor. The Columbus woman now keeps in touch with detectives and tracks Hand's case diligently. "We were kind of wondering . . . if it was going to be denied," she said of the appeal. We "had been waiting quite awhile." Pamela Prude-Smithers, of the Ohio Public Defender's Office, said she will ask the court to reconsider within 10 days. Failing there, the case could end up in the federal court system. Hand's case grabbed national media attention as he received the 1st death sentence in Delaware County in more than 20 years, and his attorneys argued their appeal in front of the Ohio Supreme Court last summer. Jurors found Hand guilty of shooting his wife and Welch on Jan. 15, 2002, at the couple's Genoa Township home. Hand said he believed Welch was an intruder who killed his wife when he shot him. During the trial, jurors heard testimony from some of Welch's relatives, who said he plotted with Hand to kill Hand's 1st 2 wives. Delaware County Common Pleas Judge W. Duncan Whitney was prosecutor when the case was investigated. "It's good news for the victims' families. And quite frankly it's good news for the families of the prior victims," he said. "It gives them partial closure. And they're entitled to that." (source: Columbus Dispatch) ** Please note: the WTOL-TV (Toledo) report on Joeseph Clark below is at least partially inaccurate. Although the 6th Circuit did affirm the conviction in October, it's not clear that the federal appeals are exhausted at this point, and there is no requirement that an execution date be set in any particular time frame regardless, contrary to what is suggested in the report -- Convicted Killer Exhausts Appeals, Now Headed for Execution It's been a long two decades for the family of a local convenience store clerk murdered at work. Now, the family of 22-year-old David Manning could soon have some closure because Manning's killer, who's been on death row all these years, is close to getting an execution date. Joseph Clark has exhausted every effort to appeal his sentence, and now the state has 30 days to set his execution date. "Within the next 60 to 90 days, it's all going to end. Finally, finally, we're going to get justice," said Michael Manning, David's brother. Manning said he and his family have been through hell. He said, "it's been 22 hard years January 13th this year." That night in 1984, David Manning was working inside what was then a Clark Oil Station when Joseph Clark walked inside, armed with a .32 caliber handgun. He demanded money, and when Manning said he didn't have any, Clark shot him in the chest and killed him. "My brother's life was taken in a few minutes and [Clark's life] was able to go on for 22 years," said Michael Manning. David Manning was just 22-years-old. He was a Marine Corps Corporal, married with 2 young kids, David Jr. and Trinity, who would grow up never knowing their father. Michael Manning said what's even harder, David wasn't even supposed to be at work that night. He was filling in for his brother-in-law. "David took the shift so his wife's brother could celebrate his birthday," said Michael Manning. It could be the beginning of the end for now 57-year-old Joseph Clark, and while life for Michael Manning and his family will never be the same, knowing that Clark's execution date is near, there is much relief. "I'm sorry to see a life have to be taken, but justice has to be served someway," said Michael Manning. He and his family plan to be present for Clark's execution for closure. Joseph Clark also shot and killed a Lawson's Department Store clerk in 1984, the night before he murdered David Manning. Clark was the 1st person in Lucas County to receive the death penalty after it was reinstated by the Ohio state legislature in the early 1980's. (source: WTOL)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, CONN., CALIF., W. VA./TEXAS
Jan. 19 TEXAS: Sinegal Murder Trial Set for July The defense attorney's for Gary Sinegal have yet to decide if they will request a change of venue. At a pre-trial hearing Wednesday, Jefferson County set a date for the Gary Sinegal murder trial to begin--July 31st. Sinegal is charged with Serial Capital Murder for the killings of 2 elderly Port Arthur women last April. Authorities believe Sinegal brutally beat the women at each of their homes, and then shoved the bodies into their closet. The question now is whether the defense plans to request a change of venue from the Jefferson County Courthouse to another court, in another county, in order to give Sinegal a fair trial. Much of the evidence revolves around DNA. "DNA evidence always tends to be, in every case, very convincing," said Jefferson County Assistant District Attorney Ed Shettle, "whether it's presented by the state or the defense." But Sinegal's attorneys said that they still need to examine the forensic evidence gathered from the crime scenes. "That's something we need to have our experts look at also," said Defense Attorney James Makin. The prosecution has made it very clear that they want the death penalty for Sinegal. "If any capital murder defendants deserved the death penalty in Jefferson County, he's gonna deserve the death penalty," said Shettle. Now, Makin said that his team has one focus for Sinegal: "To save his life." And that is one reason the defense has considered asking that the trial be moved out of the county, so that the defendant can have an unbiased jury. Some Port Arthur residents believe a change of venue would be fairest thing to do since many people were affected by the murders. "I'm pretty sure people out here got their minds made up," said Mary Quibodeaux. Another resident, Christina Wiggins, thinks that keeping the trial in Jefferson County is the right thing. "I think the people in the county should be the ones that try him, so that he can get what he deserves," she said. If the defense decides to ask for a change of venue, Makin said that the request will come very soon. (source: KBTV News) So you want to be a cop ... Real-life drama harsh enough for CSI team, says Glen Tolle CSI: Plano. Wildly popular TV show? Nope, the recent Crime Scene Investigations presentation to the Plano Citizens Police Academy is about the real thing. No dramatics, no suspects lurking in closets, no slinky babes. CSI is the meticulous and exacting analysis of a crime scene. The goals are to identify the guilty party and obtain evidence that will survive the attacks of a no-holds-barred defense lawyer in a court of law. John Naylor, a Plano Police Department forensic expert, has seen the entire spectrum of criminal activities, from arson to zip guns. Each CSI follows a set of basic steps: Initially, don't touch anything. Examine the scene and formulate a game plan for the investigation. Then start collecting evidence and trying to establish a chronology of events. The location and storage of evidence, from collection at the crime scene to analysis in the lab and presentation in the courtroom, must be carefully documented. Otherwise, a defense lawyer can claim the evidence may have been compromised. The CSI team uses notes, sketches, photos and videos to portray the layout of the crime scene. Evidence may include just about anything you can imagine - weapons, blood, fingerprints, tire tracks, DNA, hair, a receipt, textiles, a coffee cup, and on and on. Fake evidence may have been planted to lead the investigation in the wrong direction. The CSI unit investigates all crimes, from murder and suicide to auto theft and criminal mischief. Mr. Naylor lists the intangible "tools of the CSI trade" as patience and common sense. He ties it all together with a case study of a real investigation. Police photos of the crime scene are appalling. On Aug. 22, 2000, Kleber and Lilian Santos were murdered in their apartment on Spring Creek Parkway. The young couple, in their 20s, were natives of Brazil. Mr. Santos was an Ericsson employee who worked in Richardson. Mrs. Santos, a pharmacology student in Brazil, was visiting her husband during a school holiday. Both were murdered by gunshots to the head. The initial investigation disclosed no sign of forced entry. There was no immediate indication that anything had been stolen from the apartment. There were blood spatters in several areas. Blood had been washed off a phone found in one side of a double sink. Bloody socks in the other side had been used as gloves. Mrs. Santos had been forced to take a shower. She was found unclothed on the bed with her hands tied by a telephone cord. A neighbor had discovered the bodies and called the police. No one had heard gunshots or seen any suspicious visitors. The ongoing investigation revealed that at least 3 items were missing from the apartment: a toy Jeep, an electric guitar and a 35mm camera. There was no
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----FLA., IND., USA
Jan. 19 FLORIDA: Killer off death row, as victim's kin askedAfter a new trial is ordered decades after the first, prosecutors agree to a deal: life in prison. 22 years ago, Angie Anderson begged a judge not to condemn her mother's killer to death row. The judge sentenced James Floyd to die anyway. Floyd sat on death row for 20 years before the Florida Supreme Court gave him a new trial last year. Though Angie Anderson died several years ago, her niece decided to continue her fight. Elizabeth Blair called prosecutors and told them she did not want Floyd returned to death row. On Tuesday, in a deal with prosecutors, Floyd was sentenced to life in prison. "I did not want him to die, and I didn't want his family to suffer the murder of their father or their brother or their son," Blair said from her North Carolina home. "What good is anger and hatred." Floyd will be eligible for parole around 2009, though it seems unlikely he will be freed, said Bruce Bartlett, Pinellas-Pasco chief assistant state attorney. "It's been my experience that these violent felons are not released," said Bartlett, who estimates he has attended about 100 parole hearings. Floyd was sentenced to death row in 1984 for the St. Petersburg murder of Blair's grandmother, 86-year-old Annie Bar Anderson. Floyd was arrested after police caught him trying to cash Anderson's checks. He also was carrying a sock spattered with blood that was her type. He was convicted and sent to death row. 2 years later, the Florida Supreme Court gave Floyd a new trial because a judge gave the jury confusing instructions. He again was convicted and condemned. Mrs. Anderson's daughter, Angie, a Christian missionary in Africa, pleaded after both trials that Floyd be spared. She even met with Floyd in prison. "Mother believed and I believe that we must be instruments of the peace of God, which includes justice and mercy," Anderson said in court. "This young man must be punished, but give him life, a chance to become somebody, a chance to change." 20 years passed until March, when the state high court again ordered a new trial for Floyd. Defense attorneys discovered evidence had been withheld from Floyd's trial attorneys. By this time, several key witnesses had died or could not be found. However, DNA tests of hair found on Anderson's sweater - technology not available 20 years ago - was matched to Floyd. Still, the case was challenging enough that prosecutors agreed to a deal when the idea was broached by Floyd's attorney, Martin McClain. "It's just much more difficult for a prosecutor to put together the bits and pieces of what happened 20 years ago," said prosecutor Mark McGarry. Then there was Blair. She and most of her family wanted to see her aunt's wish carried out. "It was great Christian witness, her forgiveness of Mr. Floyd," Blair said. Floyd pleaded guilty to the murder in exchange for a life sentence. Though a life sentence today does not include the possibility of parole, the law in the 1980s allowed inmates to seek parole after 25 years. McClain, who has been involved in several high-profile exonerations, said Floyd has an excellent record as a prison inmate and would not be a danger to society if he were paroled. "He's one of the most respectful, kind, nice, decent people I know," McClain said. Blair didn't have an opinion about Floyd's parole. "That's up to those more experienced with this than we are," she said. (source: St. Petersburg Times) *** State prisons department: Misconduct allegations are exaggerated Intense media coverage of employee misconduct in the Florida Department of Corrections created a "perfect storm" that created an unfair impression of the agency, Secretary James Crosby said. Crosby spoke Wednesday after the release of a report by the Critical Incident Review Task Force, which looked into employee misconduct to determine if current procedures were adequate. In 2005, incidents involving prison employees included arrests and federal convictions in connection with steroid sale and use and reports of embezzlement, sexual assault and fraudulent hiring practices. The 5-page report's main conclusion was: "Staff misconduct is not systemic." The report noted that about 1 percent of the state's 26,000 prison employees, or about 274 employees are arrested each year. "The task force would like to emphasize that even though this is a relatively small percentage of employees getting arrested, even a small number of incidents is unacceptable," the report states. The task force was made up of 12 department employees, including the James Bairdi, president of the 18,000-member correctional officers union. In an interview with The Gainesville Sun published Thursday, Crosby compared the 2005 news media scrutiny to "a movie like 'The Perfect Storm.' A lot of things were coming out all at once. So it was a very appropriate time to take a deep breath and objectively look at these issues and see
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news-----N.C., LA., MISS.
Jan. 19 NORTH CAROLINAimpending execution Court denies N.C. prisoner's appeal to stop execution Perrie Dyon Simpson awaited a scheduled execution in Central Prison for murdering a retired minister, his only hope of living a slim chance of getting clemency from the governor. The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday rejected Simpson's appeal that followed a frantic course from state courts. Just hours earlier, the state Supreme Court rejected Simpson, whose arguments a day earlier were nullified by a lower state court. Simpson's lawyers waited to hear from Gov. Mike Easley, who was asked in a clemency petition to change the death sentence to life in prison. The governor usually waits until all court action has been completed before issuing clemency decisions. Easley has granted clemency only twice in his 2 terms as governor. Prison officials said Simpson visited relatives while the lawyers wrote and transmitted legal arguments to court clerks. Simpson, 43, was sentenced to death for the death of retired Baptist preacher Jean E. Darter, 92, of Reidsville, on Aug. 27, 1984. In the federal appeal, defense lawyers told the high court that Simpson suffered from a severe brain disorder which went undiagnosed and untreated and affected his ability to control impulses. Defense lawyers said if the problem had been known at Simpson's original trial in 1985, the jury might have been persuaded to sentence him to life. The defense also said it learned in December that a judge entered the jury room during deliberations in Simpson's 1993 resentencing trial and told jurors that Simpson would be released in a few years if he was sentenced to life in prison. That claim was denied this week by another Superior Court judge. Prosecutors said Simpson confessed to the crime and that his conviction had been reviewed already by state and federal courts. Prosecutors pointed out the gruesome nature of the murder - Darter was found with his neck tied with a belt to the bedpost. A broken glass Tab bottle was nearby and Darter had been beaten so severely with it that there was glass in his eye. Blood was pooled by the bed and Darter had been deeply cut from elbow to wrist on both arms with his own razor blades. A day earlier, the minister had given the pair food and $4 in cash and allowed Simpson to use his telephone. Simpson was 21 at the time and his girlfriend was 16-year-old Stephanie Eury. On the day of the killing, the pair went back seeking more money and stole a radio, 3 boxes of tissue, a flashlight and a laundry basket. Eury also was convicted of murder and is serving a life prison sentence. Simpson has since said in a video produced by the defense that he regrets his actions. Defense attorneys argue Simpson suffered from a chaotic childhood after he was placed in state foster care following his birth in Greensboro. His mother had beaten an older brother severely and Simpson said in a video recording provided by the defense that he never really knew his mother and didn't feel accepted. Darter was a minister known in Rockingham County for trying to help troubled young people. Simpson and Eury had come to his house seeking charity the day before the killing. On the second visit, Darter told the pair as he was being killed that he was going to heaven regardless of their actions, according to court records. "We believe the death penalty saves lives," said Darter's grandson, Curtis Faircloth of Savannah, Ga. Faircloth said he hoped news coverage of the execution "will cause others to think about the consequences of taking a life, respect the law, and increase the value people place on the life of others." (source: Associated Press) LOUISIANA: DA considers death penalty against man charged in health-care workers death Grand jury also hands down second murder indictment and child rape indictment. Bossier District Attorney Schuyler Marvin is "leaning toward" seeking the death penalty against a Plain Dealing man accused in the December shooting death of a home health-care nurse. Trill McKinney, 30, was 1 of 3 men indicted separately Tuesday by a Bossier Parish grand jury. McKinney, of the 100 block of Watson Road, is charged in connection with the death of Betty Jean Sweet, 61, a home health-care worker who was found dead Dec. 18 in her Plain Dealing home with at least 1 gunshot to the chest. Her co-workers alerted authorities after being unable to reach her by telephone and no one answered the door. Investigators allege that McKinney broke into Sweets home on Dec. 14 with the intention of robbing her but she panicked and screamed. Thats when she was shot at close range with a shotgun. McKinney had only been released from jail 10 weeks before Sweets death. He had a criminal history that includes burglary and drug charges, authorities said. Marvin has not yet decided if hell ask for the death penalty against Antonio Dewayne Hall, 21, of Shreveport. Hall, who was indicted on a charge of 1st-de
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----worldwide
Jan. 20 PHILIPPINES: Photojournalists killer draws death sentence A Cebu Regional Trial Court yesterday imposed the death sentence on an alleged drug pusher for killing local photojournalist Allan Dizon in 2004. Judge Ireneo Gako Jr. of RTC Branch 5 found Edgar Belandres, of Barangay Lorega, guilty of murder based on the testimony of three witnesses - 2 jeepney drivers and a sidewalk vendor - who identified him as the gunman. Dizon, 30, a reporter-photographer of The Freeman daily and its sister publication in Cebuano, Banat News, was killed near SM City Cebu on Nov. 27, 2004, at 6:59 p.m. The victim was standing on the sidewalk near a car wash outlet when the lone assailant shot him 3 times in the head, chest and back. He died an hour later at the Cebu City Medical Center. "Seor Sto. Nio, salamat! (Thank you)" cried Dizons widow Amelina after the verdict was read. "I am very happy with the decision" At last justice has been served to Allan," she later told reporters. A week after his death, members of a task force assigned to handle the Dizon murder case arrested Belandes, a neighbor and friend of the victims, in Lorega-San Miguel, where they grew up. Police claimed that Belandres, allegedly a notorious drug pusher operating in the community, got mad at Dizon, whom he suspected of alerting the police about his illegal activities. Police believed that Belandres was the same person identified only as "DD" who sent a text message to Dizon before he was killed. DD referred to Dodong Ensong, the nickname of Belandres, police said. Based on the text message, DD asked Dizon to go to the car wash outlet. Belandes denied the charges, claiming he was at his family's meat shop in Lorega at the time. His lawyers, Danilo Yap and Leslie Salva, said they would appeal the ruling. Judge Gako said in his decision read before a jampacked court that he "has no reason to doubt the prosecution witnesses that they were present during the incident" and saw Belandres shoot Dizon. More than 50 journalists, mostly from the provinces, have been killed since 1986, prompting international journalists' groups to put the Philippines in their list of most dangerous places for journalists. Last week, a former boxer suspected of killing Cebu broadcaster George Benaojan in December last year surrendered to the police to clear his name. Roberto "Dinky" Jagdon, of Lawaan Uno, Talisay City, denied involvement in the killing of dyDD reporter George Benaojan on Dec. 1, 2005. (source: Philippine Inquirer)
