[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide----CAN., LEB., KEN., TANZAN., PAKIS., IRAQ
July 11 CANADA: Canada to extradite Edmonton terror suspect, lawyer says The federal government plans to extradite a Canadian citizen to the United States to face terrorism charges, says his lawyer. Sayfildin Tahir Sharif is accused of conspiracy to kill Americans and of supporting a terror group that took part in a 2009 suicide bombing in his native Iraq. 5 U.S. soldiers were killed when a truck filled with explosives was detonated at a military checkpoint. Bob Aloneissi, Sharif's lawyer, says he has received a letter from Justice Minister Rob Nicholson that indicates the federal government intends to hand over Sharif to stand trial in the United States. He also faces a new charge there of aiding and abetting the murder of U.S. nationals abroad. "Mr. Nicholson has decided to surrender my client to the United States, which is very disappointing," Aloneissi said Wednesday. "But he has made that decision conditional on the United States not seeking the death penalty in relation to this new charge." The federal Extradition Act says the minister can refuse to make a surrender order if the person to be extradited could face the death penalty under the laws of the extradition partner. Sharif, who also goes by Faruq Khalil Muhammad Isa as well as another name, has been in custody in Edmonton since his arrest Jan.19, 2011. Carole Saindon, a Justice Department spokeswoman, said Nicholson made the surrender order decision on "Isa" June 25. "He has 30 days to file a judicial review of this decision," she said in an email from Ottawa. Aloneissi said he will be consulting with his client and suggested he would file a challenge of the federal justice minister's order. "We will be looking at appealing Mr. Nicholson's decision to the Alberta Court of Appeal," he said. A separate appeal has already been filed over last October's Alberta Court of Queen's Bench ruling that found there was enough evidence for an extradition. The lawyer expects both appeals would be heard together. During hearings last year on the U.S. extradition request, the Crown argued that intercepted telephone and Internet conversations showed Sharif helped jihadists contact members of a terror network as they made their way from Tunisia to Iraq to make the attack on the soldiers. Alberta Queen's Bench Justice Adam Germain ruled that the recorded phone calls and emails went far beyond "religious enthusiasm" on Sharif's part. Germain said all of the evidence leads to an inescapable conclusion that the legal extradition test is established on the original two charges, which carry a possible life sentence in the U.S. Aloneissi has argued that there is no clear evidence that proves Sharif helped support a terrorist group or that he agreed to help kill anyone. He said the Crown's case was based on police interpretations of vague statements by Sharif that have been translated to English from Arabic. Sharif, an ethnic Kurd, was born in Iraq but moved to Toronto as a refugee in 1993. He became a Canadian citizen in 1997. When Sharif was arrested, he was living in an Edmonton apartment with his girlfriend and her children. Sharif has said the terrorist allegations against him came from people who were tortured by American investigators. He acknowledged that his real name is Isa, but said he changed it to escape a Turkish refugee camp when he was a young man. Sharif said he feared that using his real name again would have made it difficult for him to immigrate to Canada (source: CBC News) LEBANON: From Singer to Rebel: Fadel Shaker may receive the death penalty How does one go from being a famous romantic singer into a jihadist rebel? Ask ex-singer Fadel Shaker! The Lebanese Military court is allegedly accusing retired Lebanese singer Fadel Shaker of murdering soldiers in Lebanon. Also on the accused-list is Sheikh Ahmad Al Assir and his sons. Shaker turned into a jihadist supporter of the Salafist sheikh Ahmad al-Assir a few years ago, causing astonishment among fans and fellow celebs alike. The court said the accused had formed an armed gang with the intention of harming people and stealing money, and to undermine the state's authorities using terrorist acts. Shaker and Co. were further accused of attacking elements of the Lebanese Army, killing soldiers and injuring others. The list went on; the group were said to have also vandalized military property, in turn causing damage to buildings and cars, and possessing military weapons, detonators and explosives. If all charges were proven true then the death penalty would apply to Fadel and his jihadist group. Recently, the ex-singer appeared in a video bragging about killing 2 people and injuring others in the battle of Abra, South of Sidon in Lebanon. (source: Albawaba) KENYA: 5 to face death penalty over robbery with violence 5 people have been sentenced to death by a Narok court af
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----OKLA., COLO., ARIZ., CALIF., USA, US MIL.
July 11 OKLAHOMA: Oklahoma seeks new hearing on voided death penalty Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt has asked a federal appeals court to reconsider its decision to overturn a man's murder convictions and death sentences. The Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last month that Oklahoma lacked authority to prosecute David Magnan for a 2004 shooting that left 3 people dead and a 4th injured at a house in rural Seminole County. The court concluded that the tract of land where the house was located was technically Indian country at the time of the shooting and that the authority to prosecute Magnan rested exclusively with the federal government. In legal papers filed on June 27, Pruitt's office urged the appeals court to schedule a new hearing in the case and expressed concern that the decision could lead to a variety of practical and legal conflicts between the state and federal governments due to the potential for "checkerboard" jurisdictions. "Petitioner admits he committed 3 murders," the 10-page rehearing request filed by Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Crabb says. "Petitioner certainly did not choose the location of the murders based on a belief that he was committing the murders in Indian country. In fact, when the murders were committed, the land had been determined to belong to the jurisdiction of the state." Magnan, 50, pleaded guilty in Seminole County District Court to three counts of 1st-degree murder and 1 count of shooting with intent to kill. He was sentenced to death on each murder count and received a life sentence on the remaining count. All the victims of the March 3, 2004, shooting except 1 were members of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma. Magnan, a member of the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux tribes, appealed his convictions and sentences, claiming that the incident occurred on Indian land and, therefore, Oklahoma could not prosecute him. The federal court's decision rested largely on the conveyance history of land that was originally part of a 200-acre property allotted in the early 20th century to a full-blooded member of the Seminole Nation. The property passed to that member's heirs, one of whom decided to buy the other heirs' stake in the land and build a home there in 1970. The killings took place at that home. However, the heir who built the home never obtained approval of the secretary of interior, as required by law, to remove restrictions on the portions of the property that were purchased. Because of that, the purchased property was still considered Indian land, the court ruled. In its rehearing request, Pruitt's office questions whether Magnan can challenge conveyances involving land in which he has no interest and that likely could not be set aside by anyone who has an actual interest in the property. "... It is likely that there is a lot of property in Oklahoma that was conveyed without proper approval," the attorney general's office said. "If, as here, a total stranger to the land can challenge the validity of a 40-year old conveyance, the ownership of many parcels of land may be in doubt." The federal appeals court ordered that Magnan be released from state custody, but a 3-judge panel said they presumed federal authorities would arrest and prosecute Magnan "given the nature of the crimes and Magnan's admitted guilt." Magnan is being held on death row at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. (source: Associated Press) COLORADO: Lawyers for theater shooting suspect say he did it For the 1st time, lawyers for accused theater shooter James Holmes say he killed 12 people and wounded dozens more at an Aurora movie theater last summer. But Holmes' lawyers say he was "in the throes of a psychotic episode" at the time. The admission came in a motion filed Tuesday but made public Wednesday. His lawyers were trying to argue that Holmes should be unrestrained during his upcoming trial. "Holmes suffers from a severe mental illness and was in the throes of a psychotic episode when he committed the acts that resulted in the tragic loss of life and injuries," Holmes' lawyers wrote. Holmes has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to 166 counts of murder, attempted murder and other offenses - a plea that stops just short of a confession. But this week's motion is the first time Holmes' attorneys have explicitly said he committed the shootings, The Denver Post reported. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. Judge Carlos Samour rejected the motion for Holmes to be unrestrained during his trial, saying it was "not appropriate." Instead, Holmes is to be tethered to the floor. "The Court chose the least restrictive form of restraint available and the one that could be hidden from the jury's view," Samour wrote. In a separate filing, Holmes' lawyers blasted the judge for meeting outside of the defense's presence with the Arapahoe County Sh
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ALA., MISS., LA., ARK., IND., MO.
July 11 ALABAMA: Jury recommends death penalty for Calhoun Co. capital murder suspect A jury recommends the death penalty for a man convicted of killing a Calhoun County school teacher. It took the jury less than 3 hours to recommend that sentence for suspect Nicholas Smith. Smith admitted in a statement to police he cut Kevin Thompson's throat and stabbed him to death, but claimed someone else made him do it. Defense attorneys had hoped for a life sentence without parole, describing Smith as a "kid who never had a chance." "I believe it was a correct verdict, but these should not be easy decisions to make. It obviously wasn't an easy decision to make, but I still think they did the right thing," Calhoun County DA Brian McVeigh said. Smith will be sentenced in September and the judge is not bound by the jury's recommendation. 2 other suspects in the case are set to go to trial sometime next year. (source: WBRC news) MISSISSIPPI: Miss. death row inmate returns to state court with post-conviction petition A man sentenced to death for raping and drowning a 19-year-old Long Beach woman has asked the Mississippi Supreme Court to vacate his sentence or give him a new trial, saying his attorneys were inadequate. Alan Dale Walker said in court documents his attorneys were inadequate at 2 stages of his case - during the penalty phase of his trial and in the following post-conviction proceedings. Walker has lost 1 post-conviction round before the Mississippi high court. A federal court also rejected his claims in 2012. Walker said some of his arguments had not been raised in previous motions in the state Supreme Court. Among those arguments are that his post-conviction lawyers did challenge the ineffectiveness of his defense team at his capital murder trial. Walker, now 47, was convicted of kidnapping, raping and drowning Konya Edwards on Sept. 8, 1990. She met Walker in a nightclub and an accomplice testified Walker forced the woman into sexual acts at Crystal Lake in Harrison County. The accomplice said he and Walker held Edwards under the water until she died. Walker was sentenced to death in 1991. He was given consecutive sentences of 35 years for rape and 30 years for kidnapping. The case is among dozens before the Mississippi court in its July-August term. Oral arguments are not scheduled. In 2003, the state high court denied Walker's petition to file a post-conviction appeal. The court said Walker had raised no new issues that could persuade a judge to grant him a new trial. The U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition from Walker in 2004. In 2009, Walker and 2 other death row inmates lost a challenge to Mississippi's method of lethal injection. The courts found inmates waited too long to file a lawsuit challenging the combination of drugs the state uses to put inmates to death. The other 2 inmates have since been executed. In 2012, U.S. District Judge Keith Starrett denied Walker's arguments, including one that challenged the performance of his defense attorney. Walker has asked Starrett to reconsider his ruling. The judge has put the proceedings in his court on hold until the Mississippi Supreme Court handles Walker's latest appeal. (source: Associated Press) LOUISIANA: Sanity hearing for Richard Matthews gets delayed again The decision on whether a man accused of walking into his former place of employment and opening fire will be allowed to assist in his own defense will be made at a later date. Judge Tony Marabella was expected to hand down a ruling during a sanity hearing for Richard Matthews, 55, but the hearing was delayed because the psychiatrist did not show up for court. Matthews faces 2 counts of 1st-degree murder. He is suspected of killing 2 women at the Grady Crawford Construction Company near Central 2 days before Christmas. Dianna Tullier, 44, of Walker and Cheryl Boykin, 55, of Denham Springs were shot to death. A 3rd woman was also shot, but survived. He was initially set to appear for a sanity hearing in April, but it was also delayed. The reason for that continuance was not given. In January, Marabella ordered 3 psychiatrists to evaluate Matthews. The prosecution requested the evaluation. Defense attorneys objected but to no avail. Matthews has stated to the media several times that he actually meant to kill his former boss. "I went in there to kill Trey Crawford, that's who I went in there to kill," Matthews has said. "I was going to the back and they went to hollering. I panicked." He has also expressed remorse in the deadly shooting. "I feel sorry for the family, I didn't want to do that," Matthews said as he left the courtroom in July 2010. "If I would have gotten my unemployment, wouldn't none of this have happened. "I'm willing to give up my life for what I did. I know I did wrong. I just wanted my unemployment. I couldn't pay my rent. I lost my job." He plea
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, CONN., PENN., VA., GA.
July 11 TEXASimpending executions Death Watch: 501 and 502; After a short break, Texas resumes executions Just 4 days before Thanksgiving 2002, John Quintanilla walked into the Action Amusement Center in Victoria, Texas, wearing a mask and gloves and brandishing a high-powered rifle. He was there to rob the place, but things went sideways. When retired law enforcement officer Victor Billings, there with his wife Linda, tried to intervene, Quintanilla shot him 3 times in the chest, killing him. On July 16, Quintanilla is set to become the 501st inmate executed in Texas since 1982. Quintanilla was picked up on Jan. 14, 2003, on a warrant from another county for an unrelated robbery. He was read his rights and questioned, first about the robbery and then, later, when Victoria police showed up, about the amusement center slaying. Although a Victoria investigator again read Quintanilla his rights, he failed to tell him that he would be provided an attorney if he could not afford one. Quintanilla never invoked his right to counsel and ended up making a statement that connected him to Billings' murder. He was then charged, convicted, and sentenced to death for the slaying. On appeal he argued that the statements he made should have been excluded from evidence because of the failure of the cops to read a portion of the Miranda warning. Moreover, he's argued that his trial attorneys were ineffective for failing to present mitigating evidence that might have convinced the jury to impose a life sentence instead of death. Those claims have been rejected by the courts. Quintanilla was Mirandized multiple times before the Victoria detective delivered a subsequent, and faulty, admonition - one that was not required by law. And he specifically declined to let his lawyers present any mitigating evidence during the punishment phase of his trial; indeed, he said during a post-conviction hearing that he wanted the death penalty, if found guilty. Just 2 days after Quintanilla's scheduled execution, the state is set to execute Vaughn Ross, who would be the 10th inmate executed this year. Ross was convicted in September 2002 for the murder of Viola Ross (no relation) and Douglas Birdsall. The pair was found murdered in Birdsall's car, which was found abandoned in a ravine in Lubbock. Inside the car, police found glass from a car window, several .38-caliber shell casings, and the tip of a latex glove; in an alley just yards from Ross' apartment, police investigating a call of shots fired found glass, blood, and a shell casing - one that matched those pulled from Birdsall's car. A day later, Ross accompanied his girlfriend, Viola's sister, to the police station where he told police he did not get along with Viola, and had argued with her the night she was murdered. Ross consented to a search of his apartment, where police found latex gloves and a bloodstained sweatshirt; the blood matched Birdsall's, according to court records. On appeal, Ross argued, in part, that he had received ineffective assistance of counsel because his trial attorneys had failed to investigate and present evidence of the criminal history of his former girlfriend, Regina Carlisle, whom Ross pleaded guilty to assaulting in 1997. Carlisle said Ross had stabbed her and stolen her car; police found that Carlisle had numerous stab wounds, including a laceration to her neck that was potentially life-threatening, according to court records. Ross argued that Carlisle's criminal history might have served to undermine her credibility. He also argued that his attorneys failed to present mitigating evidence that might have spared his life. On both counts the appellate courts disagreed, affirming Ross' conviction and death sentence. On July 18, he would be the 502nd inmate put to death in Texas since the death penalty was reinstituted in 1982. (source: Austin Chronicle) * Albert Love trial: "It was like a battlefield" A Waco man who was shot 6 times while sitting in a car at the Lakewood Villas apartments said the ambush assault was "like a battlefield." Deontrae Majors, 23, testified Wednesday in Albert Leslie Love's capital murder trial that he jumped out of the car, ran through a barrage of gunfire and somehow escaped death by running to a nearby apartment. "I don't know how I got up, but somehow I got up and ran," he said, describing how he was shot in the foot as he left the car. "I had heard gunfire before, but never before in my life like that." Love, 26, who prosecutors have alleged was wielding an AK-47-style assault rifle during the attack, is on trial in the shooting deaths of Tyus Sneed, 17, and Keenan Hubert, 20, who were in the back seat and died in the car. Majors and Marion Bible were in the front seat but fled to safety. Both men were wounded and hospitalized after the attack. Sneed and Hubert suffered 8 gunshots each. Prosecutors Mich
