[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----IND., USA
Jan. 9 INDIANA: Indiana judge lets death penalty appeal go to high court A northern Indiana judge has ruled that a man who faces the death penalty can appeal claiming the state's death penalty law is unconstitutional. The (Gary) Post-Tribune reports (http://trib.in/2iRdVd3 ) that a Lake County judge made the ruling Friday in the case of 45-year-old Darren Vann, who is charged in the deaths of 7 women. Last year Vann's attorneys made the argument in a case filing but a judge denied their claim. On Friday the attorneys asked the judge if they could appeal the ruling to the Indiana Supreme Court and the judge allowed it. Officials with the Lake County prosecutor's office said they agree with the judge's ruling but don't object to the defense's appeal. Lake County prosecutors requested the death penalty in Vann's case. (source: Associated Press) ** The rarity of the death penalty It is alleged that Marcus Dansby, on Sept. 11, 2016, shot to death Consuela Arrington, 38, and 2 of her 3 children - Traeven Harris and Dajahiona Arrington, both 18, and attempted to murder the 3rd, Trinity Hairston, 14. Dansby had been the boyfriend of Dajahiona, who was 8 1/2 months pregnant with a son. When it was determined that the baby would have lived if his mother had not died, a 4th murder charge was added. And now, Dansby is going to pay a price - perhaps the ultimate one. The Allen County Prosecuting Attorney's Office has requested to add the death penalty to his charges. Capital punishment is so rarely turned to that it is worth reflecting on how the state of Indiana handles it. Dansby is only the 4th man in 20 years to face the death penalty here. 2 of the other 3 plea-bargained their charges down to life without parole. Joseph Corcoran, convicted of murdering his brother, James Corcoran, and three other men in 1988, is currently the only person sitting on death row courtesy of Allen County. There are 2 main reasons for the rarity. 1 is that just plain old murder isn't enough to merit the death penalty in Indiana. It must be murder with 1 or more "aggravating circumstances," such as a murder committed during the commission of arson, a burglary, kidnapping or rape. Murder for hire would count, as would murder of a law enforcement officer. So would a murder if the victim were dismembered, burned or mutilated - or under the age of 12. The other is the cost. A fiscal impact report by the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency for the 2010 General Assembly found that the average cost of a death-penalty trial and direct appeal was more than $450,000, compared to $42,658 for a life-without-parole case. We can take pride in the fact that Indiana is not promiscuous in its use of capital punishment. This state only executes real monsters, the worst of the worst. Or we can ask ourselves if there is really any point to keeping a penalty so rarely used that it can't possibly be a deterrent. Are we really seeking justice or just exacting revenge because we can? That's a worthy subject for discussion. Legislators looking for a topic for a summer study sessions could do a lot worse. (source: Editorial, News-Sentinel) USA: Dylann Roof does not testify in own defense, call witnesses as jury prepares to consider death penalty Dylann Roof confirmed Monday he will not fight for his life as a jury prepares to decide whether he should be put to death for the racially motivated massacre at a South Carolina church. Roof told U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel he would call no witnesses or testify in his own defense shortly after the government rested its case. Both sides will have the opportunity to deliver closing remarks to the jury tomorrow before the 12-person panel begins deliberations. Last month, the same jury found Roof, 22, guilty on all 33 counts stemming from the racially motivated massacre of 9 black parishioners at Emanuel AME Church. Prosecutors called 25 witnesses over 4 days during the sentencing phase of trial. They also introduced excerpts from Roof's journal, in which he said he had shed no tears for the 9 victims of the June 2015 mass shooting. Roof acted as his own lawyer during the sentencing phase and sought to keep out any evidence regarding his mental health or family history. He did not put on a defense. (source: New York Daily News) ___ A service courtesy of Washburn University School of Law www.washburnlaw.edu DeathPenalty mailing list DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty Unsubscribe: http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/options/deathpenalty
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Jan. 9 SINGAPORE: Putrajaya urged to save Malaysian on Singapore death rowThe argument put forward by activist groups in Singapore, led by lawyer M Ravi, is that core elements involving prevention and protection of right of life were ignored. Hindraf has come out in support of the call to have a Malaysian on death row in Singapore be given a reprieve. Hindraf chairman P Waytha Moorthy also urged Putrajaya to intervene and "ensure that a Malaysian life is not short-lived or falls prey to antics of Singapore without having an opportunity to preserve their life". "Singapore with its statutory presumption has failed to do what is necessary and in line with customary international law, where a notion of prevention is an important part of protection of the right to life. "They have an obligation to provide and facilitate this right including the duties to take reasonable measures to prevent such capital punishment rather than relying on a slapstick statutory presumption," he said in a statement released today. Waytha was referring to the case of Prabagaran Srivijayan, 29, who is on death row in the island republic and is set to be executed in a few weeks. He was convicted in 2012 after drugs were found in the car he was driving to enter Singapore. According to Waytha, Prabagaran had during the trial claimed that he did not know of the existence of the drugs in the car, which he said he had borrowed from a man called Nathan. "During investigations, he had also positively identified Nathan and another man Balu from photographs shown to him by the Singapore police but for unknown reasons the Singapore authorities failed to seek their Malaysian counterpart's assistance to secure the arrest of Nathan and Balu," Waytha said. He added that the Singapore Court of Appeal had rejected Prabagaran's appeal based on circumstantial evidence and after having failed to note that material witnesses were not produced in court by the prosecution in the original trial. Meanwhile, it was reported yesterday that a prominent Singaporean lawyer and 2 of his Malaysian counterparts are racing against the clock to save Prabagaran's life. Singaporean M Ravi, who founded the Singapore Anti-Death Penalty Campaign, is working with human rights lawyers Latheefa Koya and N Surendran to stop Prabagaran's execution. Both Latheefa and Surendran are members of PKR. Surendran is also the Padang Serai MP. According to Singapore website The Independent, the Malaysian lawyers may file for a judicial review in the Kuala Lumpur High Court for an order to compel Putrajaya to file an immediate complaint at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). "The argument put forward by activist groups in Singapore, led by lawyer Ravi, is that the core elements involving prevention and protection of right of life are ignored. In contrast, statutory presumptions are prioritised without affording a prompt, thorough and effective investigation and securing all relevant evidence concerning the event to prevent a violation of the right of life for Prabagaran," Waytha, who is a former deputy minister in the prime minister's department, said. Waytha added that Malaysia, like Singapore, are signatories to bilateral and multilateral agreements such as the International Drug Control Conventions of 1961, 1971 & 1988 which allows the infringed party to raise the grievances for their own citizens. "These treaties envisage reference of disputes to the ICJ that opens a door for the Malaysian government to bring forth a case against Singapore when it involves the Malaysian citizen as it is reflected in Article 36 in the statute of ICJ," he said. Meanwhile, Waytha noted that almost 70% of the prisoners on death row in Singapore are Malaysians. (source: The Independent) BAHRAIN: Cassation Court upholds death sentence for officers' killers The Court of Cassation upheld the death sentence against 3 defendants in the case of murder of First-Lieutenant Tariq Mohammed Al Shehi and policemen Mohammed Raslan and Ammar Abdu Ali Mohammed, Advocate General at the Public Prosecution's Technical Office Haroon Al Zayani said. The crime took place on March 3, 2014 when the defendants planted an explosive device, lured the policemen and detonated it, killing 3 policemen. 8 terror suspects, including five in custody, were referred to the Criminal Court. They were charged with forming a terror group to undermine the provisions of the Constitution and to stall official institutions, and caused terror blasts to achieve their aims. They recruited other suspects, made and detonated explosive devices and targeted public security men to kill them in order weaken the state, stir unrest and topple the regime. 6 suspects were charged with joining the terror group. They along with the 2nd suspect carried out terrorist activities, killed and attempted to kill policemen, damaged public
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., DEL., VAL., ALA., MO., S.DAK., CALIF., USA
Jan. 9 TEXASimpending execution Inmate Set to Die for Fort Worth Killings Loses Appeal Christopher Wilkins, 48, is set to be executed for fatally shooting 2 men in Tarrant County in 2005. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has rejected an appeal from a 48-year-old man set for execution this week for the slayings of 2 men in Fort Worth more than 11 years ago. Christopher Wilkins faces lethal injection Wednesday evening in what would be the nation's 1st execution of 2017. Wilkins contends his lawyer at his 2008 trial in Tarrant County was deficient. The appeals court says the appeal is improper and has dismissed it without ruling on its merits. Wilkins has another appeal before the U.S. Supreme Court. Evidence showed Wilkins fled a Houston halfway house in October 2005, stole a truck and drove to Fort Worth. He was convicted of fatally shooting 2 men there for duping him into buying a phony rock of crack cocaine. (source: nbcdfw.com) * 2 deserving of death penalty In the last few years I had begun to question the true value of the death penalty, especially after an East Texas man whom I believe was innocent was executed. I began to wonder if solitary confinemenet for the rest of a murderer's miserable life might even be worse, sort of a punishment that keeps giving. But if the death penalty ever had merit, it is deserved for 2 people now fighting it. They, themselves, want to continue living in spite of having blatantly killed others. One is Dylann Roof in South Carolina, who shot church parishioners who had welcomed him into their Bible study with open arms and were rewarded for their goodness by meing murdered. The other is John Battaglia from Dallas, who shot his little girsl in cold blood while they begged him not to and their mother listened helplessly on the phone. I feel both of these men are pure evil and they knew exactly what they were doing, althought Battaglia is trying to prertned he doesn't remember it. Roof brazenly says he has no regrets, while Battaglia has gone on to live the 15 years that he denied his duaghters. Neither man deserves to live another day. Beverly Rigsby, Richardson Let's abolish the death penalty I find the statistics disturbing, alarming - and encouraging. Death at the hands of our criminal justice system remains abhorrent by any measure; its finality is chilling. Disturbing is the fact that even in Texas, we have executed people who have later been proved innocent -- too late for Cameron Todd Willingham in 2004. Especially alarming are the statistics regarding a "racial disparity" in both death sentences and in executions. Encouraging is the fact that the number of death sentences and executions have declined dramatically. Prosecutors, judges, juries and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals have been sending us a clear message for the past few years: It is now time for Texas to abolish the death penalty. Our legislators gather in January. It can be done! Bob Michael, Carrollton (source for both: Letters to the Editor, Dallas Morning News) PENNSYLVANIAfemale faces death penalty Prosecutors to seek death penalty for woman accused of killing son, sending photo to father Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty for a McKeesport woman accused of killing her son, the Allegheny County district attorney's office announced Thursday. Christian Clark, 21, remains jailed awaiting trial on homicide, attempted homicide, assault and endangerment charges. Police say Clark sent her son's father photos of the 17-month-old boy's lifeless body during hours' worth of angry text messages Nov. 1 because she believed he planned to be with another woman. "Ya kids ain't safe here I don't want them here" and "Answer me or im going to jail for child endangerment" were among dozens of texts listed in the criminal complaint. Then came a message about an hour into the rant that said, "I'm killing them," followed by a laughing emoji with tears coming from its eyes, police said. Clark called 911 more than an hour later and police found the lifeless boy. Clark first claimed not to know how he died, then confessed to smothering him, police said. Clark is also charged with trying to smother the couple's 2-year-old daughter. If she's sentenced to death, she'll become only the 3rd woman on death row in Pennsylvania. Andre Price Jr., 24, of McKeesport, who is accused of not calling 911 when he received the messages, waived a preliminary hearing Monday and will go to trial. (source: WXPI news) DELAWARE: Dover murder retrial begins for former death row inmate A former death row prisoner has rejected a plea offer and will proceed to trial Monday morning on allegations that he killed a man during a Dover drug deal. Isaiah McCoy, 29, told Superior Court Judge Robert B. Young that he is innocent and would not take a deal in which he would
