[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----MD., N.C., FLA., S. DAK., IDAHO, LA.
Feb. 6 MARYLAND: Deliberations to resume in Arundel death-penalty trial Convicted killer accused of slipping out of cell, murdering guard Jury deliberations in the death-penalty trial of a convicted killer charged in the murder of a correctional officer are scheduled to resume Monday morning in Anne Arundel County. Jurors already have deliberated for a day and a half in the case of Lee Edward Stephens, 32, 1 of 2 prisoners accused of fatally stabbing Cpl. David McGuinn as he performed a prisoner count at the House of Correction in July 2006. The long-troubled and antiquated maximum-security prison in Jessup was closed in March 2007 after a new corrections chief said it could not be made safe. 3 inmates were slain there during the summer of 2006, and another correctional officer was ambushed and stabbed in early March 2007 but survived. (source: The Baltimore Sun) NORTH CAROLINA: Race and Death Penalty Juries North Carolina courageously passed the Racial Justice Act in 2009, making it the 1st state in the country to give death row inmates a chance to have their sentences changed to life without parole based on proof that race played a significant role in determining punishment. A state court is now hearing the 1st challenge to a death sentence under that law. Marcus Robinson, who has been on death row since 1994, must prove that state prosecutors discriminated against blacks in selecting juries, affecting the outcomes of cases, including his. His lawyers presented a notable study by researchers at Michigan State University showing this kind of bias. In 173 cases between 1990 and 2010, the study examined decisions involving 7,421 potential jurors (82 % were white; 16 % were black). In 166 cases, where there was at least 1 black potential juror, prosecutors dismissed more than twice as many blacks from the jury (56 %) as others (25 %). With black defendants, like Mr. Robinson, the disparity was even greater. Even accounting for “alternative explanations” besides race for different “strike rates” — for instance, excluding those who expressed ambivalence about the death penalty — the study found blacks were still more than twice as likely to be dismissed. Under a 1986 Supreme Court case, it is unconstitutional for a prosecutor to strike any potential juror on the basis of race, ethnicity or gender. But the court allowed dismissals of jurors for other reasons — like their attitude toward the death penalty or even their demeanor. Prosecutors often use these reasons as pretexts to eliminate blacks from juries. North Carolina’s Racial Justice Act expressly allows consideration of a pattern across many cases. The study found a regular pattern of state prosecutors intentionally discriminating against potential jurors because of race, even though a judge had ruled that the potential jurors could be counted on to render a fair verdict and sentence in a death penalty case. This bias is not news in North Carolina. Since colonial times into recent decades, racial prejudice has been a huge factor in the imposition of death sentences in the state. The Racial Justice Act, a response to that terrible history, uses statistical studies in regulating the death penalty, as the Supreme Court said legislatures could properly do in a 1987 case. Opponents of the law are battling to repeal it and have scheduled a hearing on it this week. The evidence of gross racial bias presented in Mr. Robinson’s case calls for commuting his sentence — but also for abolishing the death penalty in North Carolina. (source: Editorial, New York Times) FLORIDA: Equal Time: ‘The other Robert Waterhouse’ says don’t execute He hasn’t asked me, but I have written to tell my namesake and friend Robert Waterhouse that I will not be at his execution if it takes place as scheduled on Feb. 15. In my book, capital punishment is murder in cold blood. I will not be party to that. I’m a British journalist who happens to carry the same name as the man convicted of murdering Deborah Kammerer at St. Petersburg, Fla., in January 1980, the man also convicted of murdering Ella Mae Carter at Greenport in 1966. I have known my namesake for 11 years since I “discovered” him on Google. I’ve visited him several times, regularly exchanged letters with him and met his wife. I have tried to help him. Throughout our friendship I have accepted his story — which he maintains to this day — that he did not murder Ms. Kammerer. But forget about the guilt/innocence issue for a moment. Let’s look at what my namesake has been through since he was arrested. He was first put in a county jail cell with many others, where he was alleged to have incriminated himself. He was then tried and convicted by the press in advance of court procedures. At the trial his defense offered no credible support for his story. Prosecution evidence was flawed. It was a circumstantial case. No hard
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Feb. 6 THAILAND: Drugs: Chalerm seeks swift death penalty Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung is backing an amendment to the Narcotics Act to shorten the appeals process for drug offenders sentenced to death and expedite their executions. Mr Chalerm, who oversees the government's narcotics suppression drive, said on Monday he was discussing the idea with Achporn Charuchinda, secretary-general of the Office of the Council of State. His proposal covers drug offenders given the death penalty by the Criminal Court. They will no longer be allowed to file an appeal to the Court of Appeal in Regions 1-9 but only to the main Court of Appeal. If the Appeal Court rules in favour of the lower court’s decision to execute the defendants, a clear time frame will be given for when the sentence is to be carried out, he said. “In drug cases, when the lower court and the appeal court agree [with the death sentence], the execution date can be scheduled immediately. There will be no need for extensions,” Mr Chalerm said. (source: Bangkok Post) IRAQ: Iraq court rules death for kidnapper of foreigners An Iraqi court has sentenced a man to death for murder and for kidnapping French citizens and an Iranian consul, a statement released on Monday by the Higher Judicial Council said. The Central Criminal Court sentenced the man identified only by his initials SKh for belonging to the so-called Islamic Army and carrying out kidnapping and killing operations, including kidnapping an Iranian consul and 2 French citizens, the statement said. The death sentence can be appealed. Two French journalists were kidnapped in 2004 south of Baghdad by the Islamic Army in Iraq, but were later released. Also in 2004, Iran's mission in Baghdad said Fereydun Jahani, its consul in Karbala, disappeared after the Islamic Army said it had detained him for stirring sectarian strife and activities outside his diplomatic duties. Jahani was freed after 55 days. The man was arrested in an army raid on Al-Yarmuk in west Baghdad, and admitted to being the Islamic Army's leader in the south of Baghdad province -- an area known as the Triangle of Death -- the statement said. The man confessed to a judge to kidnapping 2 brothers as they travelled to the centre of Baghdad province and killing one of them, while the fate of the other is unknown, it said. He also admitted to a number of operations including attacking Iraqi officials, kidnapping the French citizens, targeting and kidnapping the Iranian consul and taking part in the killing of an Iraqi army colonel, it said. A court in 2010 sentenced two Iraqis who admitted to being members of the Islamic Army to life in jail the kidnap of the two French journalists and for taking part in the 2003 bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad. The August 19 bombing killed UN special representative Sergio Vieira de Mello and 21 of his colleagues, and marked the start of an escalating wave of attacks blamed on Al-Qaeda and other insurgent groups. The Islamic Army in Iraq is a Sunni Salafist group that includes former army officers in the regime of executed dictator Saddam Hussein. The group first appeared in 2004, a year after the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam. (source: Agence France-Presse) CANADA: Skurka's Spin: Can the death penalty return to Canada? 50 years have passed since the last person was executed in Canada. A debate about restoring the death penalty was renewed last week after a Conservative senator suggested that murderers should have ropes placed in their cells to decide whether to kill themselves. He did add, however, that he objected to the death penalty. The Senator apologized for the comment, but later noted that he was simply expressing an opinion shared by a number of Canadians. The episode spurred one National Post columnist to argue that bringing back the death penalty was a worthy topic of debate in this country. He pointed to a 2010 Angus Reid survey that found that almost 2/3 of Canadians supported capital punishment for homicide. If the political will existed, could legislation be introduced by the government to reintroduce the death penalty to Canada? In order to answer this question, the Supreme Court of Canada's decision in 2001 in the case of Sebastian Burns and Atif Rafay needs to be revisited. Burns and Rafay were 18-year-old Canadian citizens who were wanted to face trial for multiple counts of 1st-degree murder in the state of Washington. Both young men were facing the prospect of the death penalty if convicted. Rafay's parents and sister were found bludgeoned to death at the family home. The key pieces of evidence against Burns and Rafay were alleged confessions to an undercover RCMP officer posing as a crime boss. There were admissions that Burns killed the 3 victims with a baseball bat while Rafay observed. The motive alleged for the horrific crime was that
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----FLA.
URGENT ACTION APPEAL - From Amnesty International USA -- For a print-friendly version of this Urgent Action (PDF): http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa03612.pdf Take Online Action Here:http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/siteapps/advocacy/ActionItem.aspx?c= 6oJCLQPAJiJUGb=6645049aid=517172 UA: 36/12 Issue Date: 3 February 2012. Country: USA THREE DECADES ON DEATH ROW, EXECUTION SET A 65-year-old man is scheduled to be executed in the US state of Florida on 15 February for a murder committed in January 1980. He has been on death row for half of his life. In September 1980, 33-year-old Robert Waterhouse was sentenced to death for the first-degree murder of Deborah Kammerer. Her nude body had been found eight months earlier in mud flats at Tampa Bay, Florida. Robert Waterhouse, who at the time of the crime was on parole in relation to a second-degree murder conviction in 1966 in New York, was arrested and charged with the Kammerer murder. In 1988, the Florida Supreme Court ordered a new sentencing hearing (see overleaf). He was re-sentenced to death in 1990. In 2003, Robert Waterhouse's lawyers filed a motion in state court for DNA testing of evidence from the crime. At a hearing in 2005, it was established that the evidence had been destroyed and that there was nothing left that could be subjected to DNA analysis. The judge concluded that the destruction had been inadvertent. A new defense motion argues that it would be unconstitutional to execute a prisoner who has consistently and continuously maintained his innocence, who in support of this claim has sought DNA testing unavailable at the time of his trial, and where all relevant evidence has been destroyed as a result of official recklessness or negligence. The Florida Supreme Court is due to hear oral arguments on the motion on 7 February. The motion also provides new evidence from a man who says that on the night of the murder he was in the bar from which, according to the trial testimony of a bartender who was a key witness for the prosecution, Robert Waterhouse had left with Deborah Kammerer. In a sworn statement signed on 9 January 2012, the new witness (who also worked at the bar) claimed that it would have been impossible for the bartender to have seen the exit from where she said she was at the time. The new witness said that on the night in question he had seen Robert Waterhouse leave the bar with two white males, not with the victim. He further alleges that he was interviewed by police at the time, and that he had told them this, but that the detective had seemed disinterested and subsequently accused [me] of trying to protect a murderer. The new witness says that he has come forward now because he read a newspaper article on 5 January 2012 which stated that Robert Waterhouse had been seen leaving the bar with Deborah Kammerer, which the witness states was not true. Robert Waterhouse's lawyers have pointed to the commutation in 2005, by the Governor of Virginia, of the death sentence of Robin Lovitt. The governor pointed to the destruction by officials of biological and other evidence from the crime. Noting that the death penalty was the state's most severe and final sanction, he said the system must operate with complete integrity and that the evidence destruction had breached the public trust in the system. Please write immediately in your own language: - Explaining that you are not seeking to downplay the seriousness of the crime, or the suffering caused; - Expressing concern that evidence from the crime has been destroyed, making DNA testing impossible; - Noting the new witness evidence calling into question the trial testimony of a key prosecution witness; - Urging the Governor to commute Robert Waterhouse's death sentence. PLEASE SEND APPEALS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, AND BEFORE 15 FEBRUARY 2012: Governor Rick Scott Office of the Governor, The Capitol, 400 S. Monroe St Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001 USA Email: rick.sc...@eog.myflorida.com Salutation: Dear Governor Please check with the AIUSA Urgent Action Office if sending appeals after the above date. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION In 1988, the Florida Supreme Court ordered a new sentencing for Robert Waterhouse consistent with a 1987 US Supreme Court decision relating to mitigation evidence in capital cases. At the re-sentencing hearing in 1990, Robert Waterhouse refused to allow the presentation of any mitigation evidence on his behalf. He said that his lawyer could have presented at least half a dozen factors in mitigation but that he would not allow him to do so because I shouldn't be up here begging for my life, and not presenting such evidence spares my family the embarrassment, the trauma. He had wanted his lawyer to make a lingering doubt argument, but as this was not considered a mitigating factor under Florida law, the lawyer considered that he could not ethically do so. The two
[Deathpenalty] [POSSIBLE SPAM] death penalty news----TEXAS, MISS., S.DAK., IND.
Feb. 6 TEXAS: Historical Plaque to Honor Exonerated Inmate Man cleared by DNA testing after his death The grave site of Timothy Cole, the first Texas inmate posthumously exonerated by DNA testing, will get a new historical marker Monday. Cole was convicted in 1985 and, until his death in prison in 1999, had fought for his freedom the entire time he was incarcerated. In 2007, the Innocence Project of Texas began to investigate on his behalf and eventually proved his innocence. According to their research, Cole was erroneously convicted due to eyewitness misidentification and improper forensic science. The real perpetrator was found after he confessed to the Innocence Project. Cole was the first Texas inmate to be exonerated by DNA testing after his death. With that, and because of his fight for justice, The Texas Historical Commission has chosen to honor Cole with a historical marker. Additionally, the state of Texas passed the Timothy Cole Act, which increases compensation paid to exonerees to $80,000 per year served. According to the Innocence Project, the state also created the Timothy Cole Advisory Panel on Wrongful Convictions to study the prevention of wrong convictions in the state of Texas. Cole's ceremony will take place at 4 p.m. at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Fort Worth. Prior to the ceremony, a 90-minute presentation will be held at The Texas Wesleyan School of Law titled The Truth about Tim Cole and Texas Justice. (source: NBC News) MISSISSIPPItemporary stay of impending execution Judge temporarily blocks Mississippi execution A federal judge has temporarily blocked the execution of Mississippi death row inmate Edwin Hart Turner. Turner was scheduled to die Wednesday for the deaths of 2 men killed during a robbery spree in 1995. U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves on Monday halted the execution. Turner's lawyer, James Craig with the Louisiana Capital Assistance Center, asked Reeves to stop the execution. His argument was that a Mississippi Department of Corrections policy prohibited Turner from getting tests that could prove he's mentally ill. Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood has said Turner's lawyers are bringing up old arguments that have been rejected by the courts before. (source: Associated Press) SOUTH DAKOTAnew death sentence Berget sentenced to death in guard killing A judge on Monday sentenced a South Dakota inmate to death for his part in the killing of a prison guard during an unsuccessful escape attempt. Rodney Berget, 49, pleaded guilty to killing Ronald R.J. Johnson on April 12 — Johnson's birthday. His accomplice, Eric Robert, also pleaded guilty in Johnson's death and in October was sentenced to death. Second Circuit Judge Bradley Zell said any mitigating factors in the case were outweighed by the depravity of the crime before sentencing Berget to die by lethal injection. Mr. Berget, may God have mercy on your soul, Zell said. Zell had to find at least 1 of 5 aggravating factors existed to warrant the death penalty. Those factors were: the death of a correctional officer, the manner of death, where and why it occurred, and the defendants' criminal background. Berget is serving life sentences for attempted murder and kidnapping. Prosecutors said during the pre-sentencing phase that Berget had tried to escape several times before the April 12 incident. He was first sent to the South Dakota State Penitentiary as a teenager for stealing a car. Since then, his crimes have become increasing violent, Zell said. South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley said after the death sentence was handed down that it was the only viable option. Rodney Berget has led a life of pain and destruction, Jackley said, surrounded by the family of Ronald Johnson. He said Berget's sentence will act as a deterrent to other inmates who may think about committing similar acts. He denied that by executing Berget, the state was simply carrying out the inmate's wish to die. Berget's lawyer, Jeff Larson, said during his opening statements that his client is not a monster, and described how Berget had been taken from his mother as a child and placed with his alcoholic father who beat him. Berget is the second person in his family sentenced to die. His older brother, Roger, was executed in 2000 for the 1985 killing of a 33-year-old man in Oklahoma. Larson left the courthouse after the verdict was read without addressing media. Johnson was working alone the morning of his death in a part of the prison known as Pheasantland Industries, where inmates work on upholstery, signs, custom furniture and other projects. Prosecutors said that after the 2 bashed Johnson's head with a pipe and covered his mouth with plastic wrap, Robert put on the guard's uniform and carted a large box toward the prison gate with Berget inside. Both inmates were apprehended before leaving the grounds.
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Feb. 6 INDONESIA: Alleged Bali bomber to face 6 charges The man believed to have built the devices used in the 1st Bali bombings which killed 202 people, including 88 Australians, will be charged with mass murder for his alleged role in the 2002 attacks. Prosecutors on Monday delivered a 50-page indictment to the West Jakarta District Court where Umar Patek is expected to face trial later this month on 6 charges related to his suspected involvement in terrorist activities over more than a decade. Patek, who has allegedly already admitted to a role in the Bali bombings, won't be charged with terrorism offences over the 2002 attacks because Indonesia's tough anti-terrorism laws, introduced in 2003, cannot be applied retrospectively. Advertisement: Story continues below However, he will face a charge of premeditated mass murder in relation to the bombing of two nightclubs in the popular holiday area of Kuta 10 years ago, as well as a series of bombings of churches in Indonesia in 2000. If found guilty of the murder charges he could be sentenced to death. A copy of the indictment, seen by AAP, also lists charges of conspiracy to commit terrorism, harbouring information on terrorism, possession of explosives and firearms, as well as 2 counts of document fraud. Indonesian authorities, including a special counter-terrorism unit with the Attorney-General's Department, have been working on building a watertight case against Patek since his extradition from Pakistan in August last year. Bambang Suharyadi, one of a team of 15 prosecutors who will be involved in the trial, told AAP on Monday that the indictment covered Patek's alleged involvement in terrorist activities from the Christmas bombings up to his arrest in Pakistan. The 43-year-old spent almost 10 years at the top of Southeast Asia's most-wanted list before his capture in January 2011 in Abbottabad, the same Pakistani town where US forces killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden last May. Prosecutors will present evidence from up to 80 witnesses during the trial, including testimony from Australian and American survivors who lived through the horror of the Bali attacks. They will also rely on evidence already provided by Patek, who in October last year retraced his steps in the final hours before bombs were detonated at the Sari Club and Paddy's Bar. The evidence also includes video of Patek showing police where he finished assembling the bombs. Patek is the last of the key members of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) - the group behind the Bali bombings - to face justice over what remains Indonesia's most deadly terrorist attack. His trial comes after the conviction last year of high-profile JI co-founder and the spiritual leader of the jihadist movement in Indonesia, Abu Bakar Bashir, following the discovery of a secret paramilitary training camp in Aceh. The bespectacled cleric served almost 26 months behind bars for conspiracy over the 2002 Bali bombings but that conviction was later overturned. Patek's trial will be conducted amid heavy security, with authorities concerned about the possibility of reprisal attacks from his old network, which they believe may still be active in Indonesia. It is expected to run until late May or early June. (source: Brisbane Times) BELARUS: MINISTRY of FOREIGN AFFAIRS of Latvia: Belarus to abolish the death penalty and to release political prisoners The release of political prisoners and the abolition of the death penalty should be interested, above all, the representatives of the official Minsk. On the 4 February, said State Secretary of Latvia Andris Tejkmanis during the working visit to Belarus. During the visit of Tejkmanis met with the Foreign Minister of Belarus Syarhei Martynau, head of President’s administration Makei and Transport Minister Ivan Serbo. During the meeting, the representative of the MINISTRY of FOREIGN AFFAIRS of Latvia underlined that the authorities of Belarus and claiming the interest of the development of relations with the European Union, should be also interested in the release of all Belarusian political prisoners and a moratorium on the death penalty. As reported BakuToday, belarus is the only country in Europe where in which death sentences are carried out. The requirement to abolish the death penalty or a moratorium on its use is a prerequisite for cooperation of the EU with the official Minsk. We have informed the authorities of Latvia, loyal to the activities of neo-Nazi groups. MFA Latvia 3 February “strongly condemned” the ongoing State Central Museum of contemporary Russian history historical exhibition “Ugnannoe childhood: the fate of the children stolen at the territory of Latvia, 1943-1944.”. Also be reminded that on February 18 in Latvia held a referendum on giving the public status of the Russian language. Most of the Latvian Saeima Andris Berzins and oppose the advancement of
