[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
April 14 INDONESIA: 3rd round of executions to go ahead despite delays: AGO The government has not yet finalized the date for the impending execution of death-row convicts despite the attorney general's plan to conduct a third round of executions at the beginning of 2016. The Attorney General's Office (AGO) would still follow through with the executions, but the exact time and location had not yet been confirmed, AGO spokesman Agung Amir Yanto said on Thursday. "Until now, neither the place nor which convicts [will be executed] have been finalized," Amir said as quoted by Kompas.com. Attorney General Muhammad Prasetyo said previously that a third round of executions would be conducted in January following the deaths of 2 groups of death-row convicts last year. Amir said executing a person was a complicated matter. "The death penalty is related to the loss of someone's life. It must be done carefully so as not to violate human rights," he said. Preparations for executions must be thorough, he continued, adding that it was a complicated process especially when it involved foreign citizens. The AGO must coordinate with the country of origin of foreign convicts, including on the legal rights of the convicts in regards to their defense. "The issue of the death penalty involves other things, including clemency, judicial review, as well as health. And not only that, but also facilities," said Amir. According to AGO data, there were 64 drug convicts sentenced to death as of 2015. President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's administration executed 2 groups of death row convicts, comprising 14 people, on Jan. 18 and April 29 last year. 2 of the convicts were Australian drug smugglers Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, whose executions in April caused tension between the 2 countries, leading to Australia recalling its ambassador from Indonesia. The government continues to enforce the death sentence on big players in drug trafficking cases despite mounting criticism from other countries and human rights activists, arguing that the death penalty would not have a deterrent effect on drug traffickers and that consistency in law enforcement was the key to curbing the distribution of drugs. (sourice: The Jakarta Post) ___ 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, OHIO
April 15 TEXAS: Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present19 Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982present-537 Abbott#scheduled execution date-nameTx. # 20-June 2---Charles Flores538 21-June 21--Robert Roberson---539 22-July 14--Perry Williams540 23-August 10Ramiro Gonzales---541 24-August 23Robert Pruett-542 25-August 31Rolando Ruiz--543 26-September 14-Robert Jennings---544 27-October 19---Terry Edwards-545 (sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin) OHIO: Opening arguments to begin in trial of Ohio man charged with killing 3 women Opening arguments are slated to begin on Friday in the trial of an Ohio man who may face a death sentence after being charged with killing 3 women and wrapping their bodies in garbage bags. Michael Madison, 38, faces 14 charges that include kidnapping, gross abuse of a corpse, rape and murder in the deaths of Shetisha Sheeley, 28; Angela Deskins, 38; and 18-year-old Shirellda Terry. Jury selection in Cuyahoga County Court in downtown Cleveland has taken nearly 2 weeks, and prosecutors plan to call 50 witnesses in the trial, which is expected to last for an additional 3 weeks. Repeated motions by Madison's lawyer for a mistrial have been denied. East Cleveland Police found the 1st of the 3 women in July 2013 after responding to a complaint about foul odors coming from a garage behind Madison's apartment. The bodies of 2 more women were discovered nearby the next day. Madison was arrested at his mother's Cleveland home after a 2-hour standoff with police. He pleaded not guilty in 2013 and has been held on a $6 million bond since his arrest. Madison was previously arrested in 2001 for kidnapping, attempted rape and gross sexual imposition. He pleaded guilty to attempted rape in 2002 and was sentenced to 4 years in prison, according to court documents. Defense lawyers were granted a motion in February to prevent county prosecutors from comparing Madison with Anthony Sowell, who was convicted of raping and killing 11 women and wrapping their bodies in plastic bags before disposing of them in and around his East Cleveland home. (source: Reuters) ___ 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----ARK., MO., OKLA., NEB., ARIZ., CALIF., ORE., USA
April 15 ARKANSAS: Trial date set for man charged in fatal Springdale drive-by A Springdale man police say was 1 of 4 involved in a fatal shooting last year has been set for a 5-day jury trial in September. 3 men were standing near a car when 4 men in a blue Ford Focus pulled up and demanded to know their gang affiliations, according to police. 1 of the 3 said he was in a gang, and one of the people in the car opened fire, killing Jimmy Rodriguez, 20, on April 11, 2015, in Springdale. Rodolfo Martinez, 18, who police believe to be the gunman, is charged in Washington County Circuit Court with accomplice to capital murder and accomplice to the unlawful discharge of a firearm from a vehicle. Circuit Judge Mark Lindsay this week set Martinez' trial for Sept. 16. Accomplice to capital murder is punishable by life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty. Martinez' attorney has filed motions challenging the constitutionality of the state's capital murder and death penalty statutes but Prosecutor Matt Durrett said Thursday he has decided not to pursue the death penalty. Jose Delatorre, 18, believed to have been a passenger, is charged with accomplice to capital murder. Giovanni Vasquez-Sanchez, 17, who police believe was the driver, is charged with accomplice to capital murder and accomplice to the unlawful discharge of a firearm from a vehicle. All 3 men pleaded not guilty in May. Each will be tried separately. Delatorre, like Martinez, faces life in prison without parole or the death penalty if convicted. Vasquez-Sanchez, because of his age at the time, isn't subject to the death penalty. Unlawful discharge of a firearm from a vehicle is a felony punishable by 10 to 40 years or life in prison. A 13-year-old boy, believed to be a passenger, was arrested on preliminary charges of accomplice to capital murder and engaging in continuing criminal enterprise. His case is being handled in Washington County Juvenile Court. Information about his case is, therefore, unavailable. (source: nwaonline.com) MISSOURI: Boone County jury to decide convicted killer's fate Regardless of what happens during a jury trial next week, Mark A. Gill will die in prison. The jury simply will decide whether his demise should be from natural causes or if he should be put to death. Gill, 45, was convicted in 2004 of 1st-degree murder, armed criminal action, 1st-degree robbery, kidnapping and 1st-degree tampering for the 2002 execution-style murder of Ralph Lape Jr. in rural Cape Girardeau County. Sentenced to death for murder, life for robbery and consecutive sentences of 30, 15 and 7 years for the other charges, his death sentence was vacated in 2009. The Missouri Supreme Court affirmed Gill's convictions but remanded the penalty phase, ruling his attorneys were ineffective because they failed to discover the presence of child pornography and illicit message exchanges on Lape's computer. That evidence could have been used to rebut good character evidence the state offered in regards to Lape, the court ruled. Once the case was sent back to New Madrid County, where it was tried on a change of venue, the venue was changed again to Boone County. It has been scheduled and rescheduled several times. On Thursday, 90 Boone County residents began the screening process for potential inclusion in the jury. Attorneys have Thursday and Friday to pick the jury, and the 2nd penalty phase, to determine Gill's fate, will last all next week. The jury will be sequestered throughout the trial, the 1st time since 2012 that has been done in Boone County. Lape's death might have occurred because of happenstance. Gill, who was staying on Lape's land, and his friend Justin Brown learned Lape had a substantial amount of cash in the bank and concocted a scheme to kill him and take his money. They kidnapped Lape, bound him with duct tape and plastic ties and took him to a cornfield near Portageville. They then shot and killed Lape and took all of his jewelry and clothing before burying him. The pair then went to the St. Louis area, where they spent nearly $1,000 at strip clubs and later used Lape's computer to transfer $55,000 to an account they could access via an ATM. Gill and his girlfriend went to Las Vegas, where he spent about $1,600 of Lape's money. He was eventually arrested in New Mexico and admitted to taking part in the scheme, but he claimed Brown was the one who shot Lape. Brown, 36, is serving a life sentence for 1st-degree murder and kidnapping. Christopher Limbaugh, Cape Girardeau County prosecuting attorney, declined to comment on the case. One of Gill's attorneys, public defender Thomas Jacquinot, did not respond to a message seeking comment. The case is an outlier in that it was sent back because of ineffective assistance of counsel over character evidence, said Paul Litton, associate dean for faculty research at the
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, VA., GA., FLA., LA., OHIO, TENN.
April 15 TEXAS: Death Row's Race ProblemThe case of a Texas death-row inmate, now before the Supreme Court, points to the troubling racial history of capital punishment Time may be running out for Duane Buck, a death row inmate in Texas since 1997. Next week the U.S. Supreme Court will consider whether to hear Mr. Buck's latest - and likely last - appeal. His argument largely rests on the use of damaging racial speculation during the sentencing phase of his trial. Mr. Buck's supporters claim he is being executed because he is black. That is a stretch, given the facts of his crime, but his case does present a substantial challenge to the death penalty as it has been applied historically. There is no disputing Mr. Buck's guilt, though the more gruesome details have been airbrushed from the briefs and petitions now propelling his appeal. 21 years ago, Mr. Buck forced his way into the home of Debra Gardner, an ex-girlfriend, and began shooting. Within minutes, 2 people (both black) were dead and another (also black) was critically wounded. Ms. Gardner's 13-year-old daughter jumped on Mr. Buck's back to stop him, screaming, "Duane, don't shoot, don't kill my mama," while Ms. Gardner pleaded for mercy from her knees. In the police car, Mr. Buck joked about the killings, telling one officer, "The b- got what she deserved." An execution seemed likely. Mr. Buck's rampage involved a double murder; 1 of the victims was a mother; he had a previous conviction for cocaine; and he showed no remorse. Most important, the crime occurred in Harris County, Texas. Since 1976, when the Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment following a short moratorium, 537 of the 1,434 executions in the U.S. have occurred in Texas. Harris County, home to greater Houston, has accounted for 126 of them - 24% of Texas' total. (The total for Travis County, home to more liberal Austin, is 6.) Were Harris County a state, it would rank 2nd, behind only Texas itself, in the number of executed offenders. Its prosecutors have been well-versed in managing capital cases and well-funded in guiding them to completion. The jury deciding Mr. Buck's case quickly found him guilty. But trouble arose in the sentencing phase. In 1976, the Supreme Court had fretted over, but let stand, a section of the Texas death penalty statute that requires jurors to determine whether the defendant is likely to "commit acts of violence constituting a continuing threat to society." In short, it asks jurors to speculate about someone's future conduct in a decision involving life and death. Psychologist Walter Quijano, an expert witness called by the defense, testified that Mr. Buck was a model prisoner who had committed a crime of passion that he was unlikely to repeat. But Dr. Quijano's written assessment contained "statistical factors" defining Mr. Buck's behavior, and 1 of these was race. Being black, he thought, increased the "probability" of violent behavior in the future. During cross-examination, the prosecution focused on this part of Dr. Quijano's report, asking him if it was correct that "the race factor, black, increases the future dangerousness for various complicated reasons." Dr. Quijano answered "yes." Dr. Quijano couldn't be reached to comment. In 2013 he told CNN, "They pick that one piece of testimony and twist it and make it look like race causes people to commit crimes, which is stupid." Some believe that Dr. Quijano was simply stating an unfortunate truth. Black-on-black violent crime is epidemic in metropolitan areas, including Harris County, where the homicide rate is 3.1 per 100,000 inhabitants for whites, and 16.6 per 100,000 for blacks. It is no surprise, therefore, that blacks comprise 43% of the death row inmates in Texas, while making up barely 12% of the state's population. But there is a deeper, more troubling racial dimension to such cases. According to data from the Death Penalty Information Center, 72% of the nation's executions since 1976 have occurred in the 11 former slaveholding states of the Old Confederacy, where lynchings and executions were routinely employed as methods of racial control. Between the end of the Civil War in 1865 and 1976, 87% of those executed in Mississippi were African-Americans, a figure slightly above the overall Southern average of 80%. Most Southerners put to death for a nonlethal crime in those years were blacks accused of robbing or sexually assaulting a white. Historians of the era have found a long record of trumped-up rape cases, like the one portrayed in the novel "To Kill a Mockingbird." A few years ago, the NAACP's Legal Defense Fund hired criminologist Ray Paternoster to study the impact of race on death penalty prosecutions in Harris County during the 1990s, when Mr. Buck's trial occurred. He found that prosecutors were 3 times more likely to seek the death penalty for blacks than for whites under similar
