[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----OHIO
July 20 OHIOdeath sentence commuted Gov. John Kasich commutes death sentence of Cincinnati killer Raymond Tibbetts A Cincinnati killer scheduled to be executed on Oct. 17 has been spared the death penalty after a juror's plea to Gov. John Kasich. Kasich went against the recommendation of the Ohio Parole Board on Friday and commuted the death sentence of Raymond Tibbetts to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Kasich delayed Tibbetts’ execution in February, citing a letter the governor received from a Cincinnati juror who said Tibbetts' trial was flawed and asked that Tibbetts be spared. Juror Ross Geiger said he would not have voted for the death penalty if he had known the horrible conditions of Tibbetts' childhood. Under Ohio law, Geiger's single vote for a life sentence would have prevented the death penalty. After receiving Geiger's letter, Kasich asked the Ohio Parole Board to review Tibbetts' case. The board held a hearing June 14 and later voted 8-1 against recommending clemency for Tibbetts, according to a report issued June 21. The board originally voted 11-1 in January 2017 against mercy for Tibbetts. A statement from Kasich's office Friday explained the governor's decision: "Tibbetts’s commutation is being granted as a result of fundamental flaws in sentencing phase of his trial. Specifically, the defense’s failure to present sufficient mitigating evidence, coupled with an inaccurate description of Tibbetts’s childhood by the prosecution, essentially prevented the jury from making an informed decision about whether Tibbetts deserved the death penalty." Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters released this statement through a spokesperson: “John is the governor and he has every right to do what he did. We do not have to agree with it but he is the governor and it is over.” An attorney for Tibbetts, Erin Barnhart, said in part: "Governor Kasich has done our State a great service today by rectifying this wrong and ensuring that the checks and balances in our criminal justice system can work.” In his Jan. 30 letter, Geiger told Kasich he believed he and other jurors were misled by attorneys about the “truly terrible conditions” of Tibbetts’ upbringing. “After reviewing the material, from the perspective of an original juror, I have deep concerns about the trial and the way it transpired,” Geiger wrote to the governor. “This is why I am asking you to be merciful.” At the review hearing, Geiger said jurors weren't told about Tibbetts' claims that he and his brothers were tied to a single bed at the foster home, weren’t fed properly, were thrown down stairs, had their fingers beaten with spatulas and were burned on heating registers. He said he didn't learn about it until he started researching the case on the internet and found it in Tibbetts’ application for mercy last year. Philip Cummings, Hamilton County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, reminded the board that Tibbetts himself said he was not deserving of clemency. Prosecutors also argued that Tibbetts’ background didn’t outweigh his crimes. READ both sides' testimony at the hearing Tibbetts was convicted for the 1997 murders of his wife, Judith Crawford, and the couple’s landlord, Fred Hicks, in Cincinnati. Prosecutors said Tibbetts, then 40, stabbed Hicks, 67, to death at Hicks’ home and beat and stabbed Crawford during an argument that same day over Tibbetts’ crack cocaine habit. Hicks had hired Crawford as a caretaker and allowed the couple to stay with him. Tibbetts had been sentenced to death for killing Hicks. He received life imprisonment for killing his wife. Another Cincinnati killer, Robert Van Hook, was executed two days ago for stabbing and killing David Self, a man he met in a bar, in 1985. Prosecutors said Van Hook made a practice of luring gay men from bars to rob them. (source: WCPO 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
July 20 INDIA: Let child rapists be sent to gallows The Criminal Law Amendment Ordinance, 2018, had addressed the collective cry for justice. The ordinance may provide for a speedy investigation within 2 months and a speedy trial within 6 months. But the rigmarole of appeals in higher courts, leading right up to Presidential Pardon for convicts on death row, is way too time consuming to inspire enough public confidence in the rule of law. 'It struck too close to home'. That has been the chorus after the dastardly rape of a child for over 7 months in an apartment complex in Chennai came to light. The justifiable outrage has triggered vigilantism by lawyers in the court and furious posts on the social media calling for 'instant justice'. At the heart of such heinous crimes that are being perpetrated so brazenly and with chilling regularity, despite all the knee jerk reaction everytime, is the need for deterrence. The Criminal Law Amendment Ordinance, 2018, had addressed the collective cry for justice. New sections have been introduced in the Indian Penal Code like Section 376 AB which prescribes a minimum punishment of 20 years rigorous imprisonment and upto the death penalty for raping a child of less than twelve years. Section 376 DB IPC carries capital punishment for gang rape of a child who is less than 12 years. There are laws and laws, old and new but where is the deterrence? Those who oppose the death sentence on the ground of no proven deterrence, must suggest an alternative measure to instil fear of the law. The possibility of perpetrators killing their victims due to the death penalty is a real danger to be reckoned with. Those who are mindful of the penal consequences, do not commit rape, unless they are really hardened criminals. To such beasts, no deterrence can work. But to first time offenders, the death penalty is likely to weigh on their perverted minds. The Supreme Court in Mukesh and Another Vs State for NCT of Delhi, better known as the Nirbhaya case, held that "the measure of punishment in a given case must depend upon the atrocity of the crime; the conduct of the criminal and the defenceless and unprotected state of the victim. Justice demands that courts should impose punishment fitting to the crime so that the courts reflect public abhorrence of the crime." The Court suggested drawing up "a balance-sheet of aggravating and mitigating circumstances attending to the commission of the offence" and then striking a balance. In a landmark judgment in Shankar Kisanrao Khade Vs State of Maharashtra, the apex court laid down the grounds which weighed with the Court in confirming the death penalty. These include the diabolic, brutal, depraved and gruesome nature of the crime, public abhorrence that shocks the judicial conscience or of society, premeditated perpetration, defenceless state of the victim and the menace or threat to society that the accused pose. I have no hesitation in my mind that the Chennai child rapists committed a 'rarest of rare' crime that calls for the hangman's noose. The ordinance may provide for a speedy investigation within 2 months and a speedy trial within 6 months. But the rigmarole of appeals in higher courts, leading right up to Presidential Pardon for convicts on death row, is way too time consuming to inspire enough public confidence in the rule of law. While public anguish is completely understandable, it is important to pin down the real accused. Not all those who are named as accused may be guilty. The possibility of innocent people being implicated, or some real culprits at large, cannot be ruled out. Only a proper trial will establish guilt. India is not a banana republic. We gave even a dreaded terrorist like Ajmal Kasab, who was caught on camera gunning down innocent people, a fair trial. And don't forget the right to privacy of the victim. Circulating information about the name of the school or apartment complex is an offence under Section 228 A IPC with a 2 year jail term. Section 23(2) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act also shields the identity of victims. This crime has shattered to smithereens the notion of safety in a gated community, with the proverbial fence having eaten the crop. Who will watch the watchmen? Under the Private Security Agencies (Regulation) Act, 2005 and the Tamil Nadu Private Security Agencies Rules, 2008, no guard must be over 65 years, be drunk on duty or have criminal antecedents. Unlike background checks for maids which is optional but advisable, police clearance for security guards is mandatory. If these guards commit a crime on the premises they are posted, that constitutes a ground for cancellation of the security agency's licence under Section 13 of the Act. But how many of them are registered with the State Police? If there is no licence in the 1st place, where's the question of cancellation? This is des
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----OKLA., UTAH, NEV., USA
July 20 OKLAHOMA: Oklahoma Could Execute Potentially Innocent Prisoners With Nitrogen Gas Oklahoma has a notorious reputation for its frequent use of the death penalty and for the excruciating and drawn-out deaths that numerous executions have resulted in there, leading to a suspension of the practice since October 2015. Oklahoma was the 1st jurisdiction in the world to adopt lethal injection as a form of execution. The United States Supreme Court ruled the death penalty, as it was implemented at the time in 1972, was unconstitutional, though left the death penalty open to new legislation to allow it to continue. In the wake of the ruling, Oklahoma and other states began legislative processes to reinstate the death penalty, which passed overwhelmingly in the Oklahoma state legislature in 1976. Republican State Rep. Bill Wiseman voted in favor of re-enacting the death penalty at the time due to political pressure, though he staunchly opposed it as a form of capital punishment. Wiseman helped develop a bill in 1977 to establish lethal injection in hopes of making the death penalty "more humane" than electrocution. In interviews preceding his death in 2007, Wiseman expressed profound regret for the bill, which wound up facilitating the death penalty in the state rather than mitigating its impact. Since 1976, Oklahoma has had the third-highest number of executed prisoners at 112 individuals, and the highest rate of state executions in the country. Meanwhile, 10 prisoners on Oklahoma's death row have been exonerated of all charges against them. The state's death penalty system has come under scrutiny in the past several years, not only for its frequent use, but for a flawed system that led to the horrific lethal injections of Clayton Lockett and Charles Warner that caused the prisoners to endure a heart attack and excruciating pain for 43 and 18 minutes before death, respectively, in 2015. The issues pushed the state of Oklahoma to issue a moratorium on its executions in October 2015 until the issues were fixed. An April 2017 report published by the Oklahoma Death Penalty Review Commission recommended the moratorium continue and noted "[m]any of the findings of the Commission's year-long investigation were disturbing and led Commission members to question whether the death penalty can be administered in a way that ensures no innocent person is put to death." In March 2018, the state of Oklahoma announced nitrogen gas will be used to execute prisoners once the death penalty moratorium is lifted after months of failing to obtain lethal injection drugs. The moratorium still continues to this day as prevailing issues with the death penalty remain. "Our Office and the Oklahoma Department of Corrections notified the Governor's office that Corrections was unable to obtain drugs and the state would be moving forward with a protocol or Nitrogen Hypoxia," said Terri Watkins, director of communications for the Oklahoma attorney general, in an email to Truthout. "The Oklahoma Department of Corrections is in charge of writing the protocol for executions. That process is underway, but you will need to check with them on the status." The Oklahoma Department of Corrections declined to comment. Prisoners Scheduled to Die Could Be Innocent Several prisoners on death row in Oklahoma have produced substantive cases in favor of their innocence. Richard Glossip was being prepped for execution days before the moratorium on executions was implemented, but the state of Oklahoma could not obtain the lethal injection drugs to carry out killing him before the moratorium went into effect. Over the past several years, attorneys representing Glossip have worked to collect evidence to prove his innocence. "From a procedural standpoint, everything is at a standstill," said Don Knight, an attorney representing Glossip, in an interview with Truthout. "Once the Oklahoma Department of Corrections develops a protocol, then they have to give notice and at that point in time all the prisoners on death row represented by the federal [public] defender's office will challenge the constitutionality of this nitrogen gas protocol, so I think it will take this matter quite a while until they begin to execute again." Glossip was convicted and sentenced to death in 1997 for allegedly hiring 19-year-old Justin Sneed to murder Barry Van Treese, Glossip's boss and owner of the motel he managed at the time. The entire case relies on Sneed's testimony. In exchange for his testimony, Sneed was spared the death penalty and sentenced to life in prison. He is currently serving his sentence in a medium security prison. "The best evidence the state has against Richard Glossip is the testimony from Justin Sneed," attorney Knight told Truthout. "This is a guy you would never trust in anything, but his testimony is what put Glossip on death row. It's a travesty." Among the issues
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, FLA., ALA., OHIO, TENN.
July 20 TEXAS: In Houston death penalty cases, many judges carry a 'rubber stamp,' lawyers find Harris County judges routinely "rubber stamp' the prosecution's proposed version of events at a key point of death penalty appeals, pushing condemned prisoners closer to execution with little regard for defense claims, a new study finds. Some legal experts say the study reveals a "rigged" system where the state is effectively ghostwriting appeals decisions that judges sign off on, often without allowing hearings and sometimes within just a few days. "This is the heart of the reason the Texas death penalty system is so broken," said Robert Dunham of the Death Penalty Information Center. The year-long study of roughly 200 proceedings was first published in a federal appeal filed earlier this year by defense lawyer Jim Marcus. It says that in the vast majority of death penalty cases - more than 9 times out of every 10 - judges are simply accepting prosecutors' arguments, sometimes adopting their language, spelling errors and all. But judges and prosecutors rebuffed the study's claims, pointing out that if courts are consistently siding with the state, it doesn't mean they're wrong. These are, after all, men and woman already tried and convicted in front of a jury. Each case is unique, they emphasize, and while defense lawyers are supposed to be zealous advocates for their clients, prosecutors are supposed to be neutral defenders of justice. Among the skeptics: Judge Elsa Alcala, a former Harris County jurist now known as the most outspoken death penalty critic on the state's Court of Criminal Appeals. "I'm not totally convinced that because you have some percentage that says something that that really tells you a lot," Alcala said. "We're judges because we're required to use our judgment." Yet the vast majority of the time, that means agreeing only with the state. 'State's proposed findings' After a jury doles out a death sentence, the years-long "post-conviction" appeals process delves into a "finding of facts." Each side gets to lay out their version of what's happened and present new evidence that could merit a new trial - or at least a hearing to figure out whether that's necessary. The proposed findings might be a dozen pages or a hundred, and the attached exhibits can occasionally be far more voluminous than that. Once they're submitted, the judge reviews each set, a process that can require sifting through stacks of trial transcripts and years of court or medical records. Jurists might write their own set of findings, or they might pick and choose pieces from each. But, according to the law review analysis, Harris County judges typically sign off verbatim on what the prosecution submits, sometimes in just a day or 2 and sometimes without bothering to correct repeated spelling errors, duplications, typos or change the title - "state's proposed findings" - at the top. Those sorts of errors, defense lawyers say, suggest that the judges aren't reading the paperwork in front of them. The findings are just one step of a lengthy appeals process, but it's a critical one because later on down the road, judges defer to those findings and technical rules give them a lot of weight. Unfavorable findings can torpedo a defendant's odds of success in federal appeals. That's why some said the data might go a long way toward explaining how the Lone Star State - and Harris County in particular - became ground zero for capital punishment. "Texas executes death-row prisoners at more than 3 times the rate of the nation as a whole," Dunham said. "But that doesn't mean the system works." Instead, he said, it might mean that death row prisoners aren't getting hearings or "meaningful review" of their appeals, making it easier to push through executions despite claims of innocence or intellectual disability. Local defense lawyer Randy Schaffer accused "lazy" judges of not reading the paperwork in front of them, while attorney Pat McCann described the phenomenon of "rubber stamping" as "so common it's become a joke" among defense lawyers. The Chronicle attempted to contact all of the 47 jurists whose decisions were referenced in the study. Of those who were still alive and reachable, most did not respond or declined to comment. A few - such as Alcala - offered detailed explanations. "I don't think there's anything per se wrong with it," she said, "if it is in fact what the judge believes." One-sided numbers The decision to review roughly 200 sets of findings all stemmed from 1 case: that of death row inmate Tony Medina. The 43-year-old former gang member has long proclaimed his innocence in the 1996 Harris County drive-by that sent him to death row. His case includes a number of troubling claims, including witness coercion, withheld evidence and bad lawyering on the part of a famously overworked trial attorney who never won a death-p
