Aug. 27
OHIO----mother may face death penalty
Bellefontaine Mom Indicted for Murder of Sons, Could Face Death Penalty
An Ohio woman accused of killing her 3 sons over a 13-month period out of
jealousy at the attention her husband paid them has been indicted on aggravated
murder charges and could face the death penalty.
Aggravated murder charges against Brittany Pilkington in Bellefontaine were
announced Tuesday by the Logan County prosecutor.
Investigators say the 23-year-old smothered 2 sons, 1 in July 2014 and the
other on April 6. Authorities took custody of her 3rd son after he was born 3
months ago, but a judge allowed him to return home because there wasn't
conclusive evidence the older boys had been killed. The 3rd son died Aug. 18.
Pilkington's mother said Pilkington told her in a jailhouse phone call that
she's innocent.
Pilkington is jailed on $1 million bond.
(source: Associated Press)
*******************
Women on Death Row
Brittany Pilkington of Bellefontaine could face the death penalty if she's
convicted of murdering her 3 young sons by suffocation, but ABC 22/FOX 45
wanted to find out how her case stacks up against other capital cases in Ohio
that involve women.
In Ohio, death sentences for female suspects are so rare that there currently
is only one woman on the state's death row; 71-year-old Donna Marie Roberts.
"She was a middle-aged, short lady who had been used to a very privileged
lifestyle," said Attorney for the State LuWayne Annos during a 2013 hearing at
the Supreme Court.
She was describing Donna Roberts' motivation for hiring a hit man to kill her
husband to cash in on the insurance money.
"She never said to the court 'Don't sentence me to death'," Annos continued.
Roberts was sentenced and imprisoned in 2003, and has remained on death row
ever since, even though she tried to appeal the sentence twice.
"Are you more responsible if you hire it done, or if you do it yourself might
be the question there," said Jefferson Ingram, a criminal justice professor at
the University of Dayton who studies the death penalty.
Jefferson said he believes planning a murder makes cases more likely to be
death penalty eligible. "A woman who would hire a hitman to take out her
husband has clearly done that, she's planned it out ahead of time. But, in the
cases of suffocation it's not an instant death, there was planning and ongoing
planning while that's going forth so it's difficult to say which one is worse."
In another Miami Valley capital case, China Arnold faced the death penalty
after she was accused of microwaving her 4-week-old baby, Paris, to death in
2005.
Arnold was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for
the crime, but also appealed the conviction while her family maintained her
innocence. Arnold could be seen crying in the courtroom during a sentencing in
2011.
Ingram thinks that show of emotion may have helped Arnold escape the death
penalty, the same way he thinks it could hurt Brittany Pilkington, who after 2
appearances in court has shown little emotion. Prosecutors described her affect
as "flat" during her interviews, and those close to her report she did not cry
at the funerals for her first two sons, Niall and Gavin.
"[She] doesn't have the demeanor of someone who has some remorse, then that may
help get the death penalty, too," Ingram said.
Donna Marie Roberts remains on Ohio's death row with no scheduled execution
date.
Pilkington's case will be heard again in Logan County in September.
(source: ABC news)
TENNESSEE:
Tennessee will keep lethal injections for death row executions, court rules
Judge rejects claim from 33 death row inmates and says they did not prove the
1-drug method led to a painful and lingering death
A judge in Tennessee has upheld the state's lethal injection process for
executing inmates, hours after a federal judge in Mississippi said that state's
process may break the law.
At issue in both cases is the efficacy of the states' execution drugs. US
states have been experimenting with various combinations of lethal injection
since a European-led boycott made it difficult to obtain the drugs they require
to carry out executions.
Tennessee uses a single drug, pentobarbital, to execute its inmates;
Mississippi relies on a 3-drug mixture including a pentobarbital or midazolam,
sedatives that are followed by a paralysing agent and a drug that stops an
inmate's heart.
In Tennessee, Davidson county chancery judge Claudia Bonnyman said from the
bench that the plaintiffs, 33 death row inmates, did not prove that the 1-drug
method led to a painful and lingering death.
She also said the plaintiffs did not show during a lengthy trial that there had
been problems in states where the method was used.
"Plaintiffs were not able to carry their burdens ... on any of their claims,"
Bonnyman said.
In Mississippi, meanwhile, US district judge Henry T Wingate said Mississippi's
plans did not appear to include a drug meeting the legal requirement for an
"ultra short-acting barbiturate" that would render a person unconscious almost
immediately.
3 death row prisoners sued, saying they could remain conscious during
execution. During the lawsuit, Mississippi changed its procedure to say it
would use midazolam as a sedative, after the US supreme court approved the
drug's use in Oklahoma.
Mississippi officials have said they struggle to buy pentobarbital because
death penalty opponents had pressured manufacturers to cut off the supply.
Midazolam has been implicated in troubled executions in Arizona, Ohio and
Oklahoma that went on longer than expected as inmates gasped and made other
sounds.
The US supreme court ruled 5 to 4 in June that Oklahoma's use of midazolam in
executions did not violate the 8th amendment prohibition on cruel and unusual
punishment.
Grace Simmons Fisher, a spokeswoman for the Mississippi corrections department,
wrote in an email that the order barred the state from using any drug to
execute a condemned inmate. The state quickly filed notice on Tuesday saying it
would ask the 5th US circuit court of appeal to overturn Wingate's order.
Mississippi is one of a number of states facing legal challenges to lethal
injections. Hood's office asked the state supreme court in July to set a
Thursday execution for convicted murderer Richard Jordan, one of the plaintiffs
in the suit, but the state court did not act.
In Tennessee, the protocol calls for the use of pentobarbital mixed to order by
a pharmacist, because the only commercial producer of the drug has placed
restrictions on its distribution to prevent it from being used in executions.
Tennessee has not executed an inmate for more than 5 years because of legal
challenges and problems in obtaining lethal injection drugs. Politicians moved
from a 3-drug lethal injection method similar to Mississippi's to a 1-drug
method and to reinstate the electric chair as a back-up. Both changes brought
challenges, and all previously scheduled executions have been put on hold.
Although Tennessee has yet to carry out an execution using compounded
pentobarbital, state attorney Scott Sutherland has said that Texas, Ohio and
Georgia have had more than 30 successful and painless executions with that
drug.
(source: The Guardian)
KANSAS:
Kansas College Republicans push to repeal the death penalty
Kansas College Republicans say their conservative and religious views led to
their decision to officially oppose the death penalty.
"It actually is against my religion," said Paige Hungate, a WSU sophomore and
chairwoman of the WSU Republicans. "I believe that life begins at conception
and ends at natural death and I don't think there should be any deviation
between those 2."
"We wanted to be truly, 100% pro-life. If one innocent person is put to death
then it's not worth the policy," said State Chair for the Kansas Federation of
College Republicans Dalton Glasscock, a Junior at WSU. He says the overall cost
as well as a distrust of government also went into the decision.
By passing a resolution in support of repealing the death penalty KSFCR hopes
to change the mindset of their party and ultimately get rid of the death
penalty in Kansas.
"Let people know there is a change and shift and its okay to differ on some
issues and that's how you actually make real changes in the party," Glasscock
said.
Right now the Kansas Republican Party isn't taking a side on the controversial
issue.
"We are neutral we're not technically for or technically against because many
of our members have such passion on this issue," said Kansas Republican Party
Chair Kelly Arnold.
Arnold said a move by the college Republicans could certainly get the party
talking by the time they vote on their official platform in 2017.
"I fully expect this to be a hot issue at that meeting. It could sway some
votes," he said.
"I think we have a lot of good talking points on it," said Hungate.
"It's okay to challenge what you've always believed and come up with different
opinions, different ideas and really debate those ideas back and forth,"
Glasscock said. He says he has already gotten positive feedback from some
Republican leaders.
The death penalty has been banned several times in Kansas, but was re-instated
in 1994. However, no one has been executed in Kansas since 1965.
(source: ksn.com)
NEBRASKA:
Fate of Nebraska's Death Penalty Likely to Rest With Voters
Nebraska's death penalty won a last-minute reprieve on Wednesday when a group
fighting to keep the punishment announced that it has collected more than
enough signatures to stop its repeal and place the issue before voters in 2016.
Nebraskans for the Death Penalty, which was heavily financed by Republican Gov.
Pete Ricketts and his family, said it had gathered 166,692 signatures from all
93 of the state's counties. Nebraska's unicameral Legislature voted in May to
repeal capital punishment over the objection of Ricketts, becoming the first
traditionally conservative state to do so in 42 years.
The pro-death penalty group needed roughly 57,000 valid signatures from
registered voters to force a statewide referendum, and double that number to
immediately halt the death penalty repeal that was set to go into effect on
Sunday. Organizers appear to have exceeded the 10 percent of registered voters
hurdle needed to block the repeal until the November 2016 general election.
"Nebraskans sent a strong message about crime and punishment in our state by
signing this petition in extraordinary numbers," said state treasurer and
former attorney general Don Stenberg, a co-chair of the petition drive.
The likely referendum could prompt both sides to pour money into the state in
hopes of swaying voters, said Douglas Berman, an Ohio State University law
professor and death penalty expert.
Berman said the Nebraska Legislature's vote to repeal had suggested the death
penalty was losing support even in the American Heartland but a referendum
would focus attention on Nebraska.
"Certainly it will make Nebraska a kind of ground zero in the death penalty
debate," he said.
Opponents said that the death penalty is beyond repair in Nebraska because of
repeated legal challenges and expense to the state.
"We believe the more Nebraskans learn about the failures of capital punishment,
the more they will be inclined to get rid of it," said the Rev. Stephen
Griffith, the new director of Nebraskans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty.
The petitions were delivered Wednesday to the Nebraska secretary of state's
office, which will forward them to counties to verify the signatures in a
process that will take about 40 days.
Republican Attorney General Doug Peterson, who supports the death penalty, said
in a statement that the signatures are "presumptively valid" until determined
otherwise. Stenberg said no one will know the exact number of valid signatures
for at least a month, but the state constitution makes clear that petitions go
into effect on the day they're submitted.
Even if the law is suspended, Nebraska currently has no way to execute any of
the 10 men on death row because its lacks 2 of the 3 required lethal injection
drugs and has struggled to obtain them legally. The state paid $54,400 in May
to order the drugs from a broker in India, but federal authorities have said
they can't be legally imported.
Nebraska lawmakers voted by the narrowest possible margin, 30-19, to override
Ricketts' veto. Ricketts assailed the Legislature as out of touch with the
wishes of most residents. The repeal vote was helped by an unusual coalition of
conservative state senators and more traditional death penalty opponents who
had fought unsuccessfully for decades to eliminate the punishment. Some
conservatives said they opposed it for religious and moral reasons, while
others cast it as an inefficient government program that wastes tax money.
"What the Nebraska Legislature did is going to have an effect," said Robert
Dunham, executive director of the Washington-based Death Penalty Information
Center, whose group often criticizes how the death penalty is administered.
"The message that conservative legislators can reach across the aisle with
moderate and liberal legislators - that message is still there and still
resonates."
Nebraska hasn't executed an inmate since 1997, and has never done so using the
state's current 3-drug lethal injection protocol.
The state was the 19th to abolish capital punishment, as has the District of
Columbia, while the death penalty is legal in 31 states and for some federal
crimes. The number of executions in the United States has gradually declined in
recent years and only a handful of states led by Texas regularly put inmates to
death.
The announcement of the number of signatures caps an 82-day petition drive
backed by Ricketts and his father, TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts. The
governor had given $200,000 to Nebraskans for the Death Penalty as of the last
filing deadline on July 31, while his father had donated $100,000. The group
raised a total of more than $652,000 from 40 individual donors and 7 groups
classified as businesses, political action committees and other entities.
The largest donation in July came from the conservative, Washington-based
Judicial Crisis Network, which gave $200,000. Nebraskans for the Death Penalty
relied on a combination of paid and volunteer petition circulators, and was
aided by an Arizona-based strategist who specializes in ballot campaigns.
In a statement, Ricketts said the success of the petition drive marked an
important step toward protecting public safety.
"I am confident the people of Nebraska will have the opportunity to vote on
this issue next year, and judging by the support so far, I expect the death
penalty to be retained," Ricketts said.
(source: Associated Press)
****************
Questions Loom in Battle Over Status of Death Penalty
It was a tough and emotional fight last May but in the end, state lawmakers
repealed the death penalty in Nebraska. On Wednesday, more than 166,000
signatures were turned in by those behind the effort to "repeal the repeal" of
the death penalty but nothing will be decided anytime soon.
It was a tough and emotional fight last May but in the end, state lawmakers
repealed the death penalty in Nebraska. On Wednesday, more than 166,000
signatures were turned in by those behind the effort to "repeal the repeal" of
the death penalty but nothing will be decided anytime soon.
Boxes filled with signatures gathered by the Nebraskan's for the Death Penalty
were turned in at the capitol Wednesday.
Rob Edwards is with the group Nebraskans for the Death Penalty and he said, "We
turned in 166,692 signatures, which is astounding."
But getting the repeal took decades and the group named Nebraska Conservatives
Concerned About the Death Penalty called Wednesday a big setback.
Death Penalty opponent Matt Maly said, "It's certainly disappointing in a way.
We were expecting that they probably would have enough signatures to get it on
the ballot."
But how many signatures were needed? And just what do these signatures do?
The act of repealing a passed law before it goes into effect is unique in
Nebraska. 5% of signatures from voters across the state were needed to go on
the November 2016 ballot. But if 10 % are gathered, not only will it go on the
ballot but it also stops the death penalty repeal from becoming law.
First the signatures have to be verified. Each box is sent to the county it
came from and their county election officials verify each and every signature.
That can take up to 40 days.
Both sides say if this goes through it means a long road ahead to November
2016.
Maly said, "The more people are exposed to information, the more likely they
are to oppose the death penalty, really, because the facts are overwhelmingly
on our side. So we will be out teaching people, informing the voters. We are
not giving up."
Edwards said, "We believe Nebraskans will have the chance to vote on this. We
believe Nebraskans want to vote on this and, more importantly, we are going to
stay LB 268 until Nebraskans get to vote on this."
The law is set to go into effect Sunday. So what happens during this 40 day
period of uncertainty? There are 2 sides. The Secretary of State's office says,
"The law repealing the death penalty in Nebraska goes into effect August 30."
But the Nebraska Attorney General released a statement Wednesday saying,
"During this verification process the signatures submitted to the Secretary of
State are presumptively valid until determined otherwise."
(source: WOWT news)
WYOMING:
Public defender warns governor of death penalty costs
The state of Wyoming is bracing to cover the cost of a new death penalty
sentencing hearing for a convicted murderer even as a federal court considers
whether the state has lost legal standing to seek to put him to death.
Wyoming Public Defender Diane Lozano recently alerted Gov. Matt Mead that the
state could be liable for unspecified legal expenses to defend Dale Wayne
Eaton.
Eaton, 70, was sentenced to death in state court in 2004 for the 1988 murder of
18-year-old Lisa Marie Kimmell, of Billings, Montana.
U.S. District Judge Alan Johnson of Cheyenne last fall overturned Eaton's death
penalty, finding he hadn't received an adequate defense. Johnson now is
considering whether the state followed conditions he set on possibly seeking
the death penalty against Eaton again.
(source: Associated Press)
CALIFORNIA:
Defense attorney blasts O.C. authorities in death penalty case
A defense attorney, attempting to shield murder defendant Daniel Wozniak from a
possible death sentence, filed a legal motion Wednesday accusing county law
enforcement of improperly using jailhouse informants, withholding evidence and
other misconduct spanning 30 years.
"There has been an impermissible pro-prosecution thumb on the scale of justice
in this county for decades," Assistant Public Defender Scott Sanders wrote in a
754-page motion, accompanied by thousands of exhibits. "These patterns of
behavior have continued to the present day, and have been as institutionally
ignored now as they were in the 1980s."
Sanders contends the actions of prosecutors and Orange County Sheriff's
Department employees in past cases are grounds for taking the death penalty off
the table for Wozniak, a 31-year-old community actor accused of killing 2
people in 2010.
Prosecutor Matt Murphy, in a rebuttal also filed Wednesday, said Sanders'
allegations were misguided and simply wrong.
"These are the same allegations Mr. Sanders made in February of 2014 and again
in January of this year. He has added nothing new. These claims were false then
and they are false now," Murphy wrote.
Wozniak's murder trial, set for Oct. 2, has been delayed for more than 5 years
during the defense attorney's legal challenges.
Sanders has expressed outrage that a prolific jailhouse snitch talked with
Wozniak in the county jail.
That same informant secured 130 hours of taped conversation with confessed mass
murderer Scott Dekraai, another client of Sanders, at the county jail. Dekraai
gunned down 8 people at a Seal Beach salon in 2011.
Murphy countered that the informant wasn't working for authorities when he
talked to Wozniak and that he struck up the conversation on his own initiative.
Orange County Superior Court Judge John Conley has set a Sept. 25 hearing on
the defense attorney's motion and other pre-trial matters.
(source: Orange County Register)
*****************
US Advocacy Group Expects 'Fair' Ruling in California Death Penalty
Appeal----Witness to Innocence Executive Director Magdaleno Rose-Avila claims
that California's 9th Circuit Court of Appeals will listen to all arguments in
the recent ruling against the death penalty and will judge fairly.
California's 9th Circuit Court of Appeals will listen to all arguments in the
recent ruling against the death penalty and will judge fairly, Witness to
Innocence Executive Director Magdaleno Rose-Avila told Sputnik.
"I think the judges are going to be fair ...There is some preponderance of
evidence that shows us that the most open and understanding of the constitution
have been those most recently appointed by Clinton and Obama," Rose-Avila said
on Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, The Los Angeles Times reported that 3 judges Susan Graber,
Johnnie Rawlinson and Paul Watford will be hearing next week an appeal of US
District Judge Cormac Carney ruling that California's death penalty law is
unconstitutional.
Carney argued that California's death penalty system was plagued by delays and
uncertainty violating the US constitution's ban on cruel and unusual
punishment.
Rose-Avila noted that capital punishment is ineffective and has been exploited
as a political tool.
"It's been a political tool that is used to help district attorneys and other
politicians who say they are tough on crime," he said.
People who threaten lives of others should be incarcerated not killed,
Rose-Avila stressed.
Witness to Innocence is an advocacy group helping exonerated death row
survivors to make their voices heard in the debate over the death penalty.
*******************
Ineffective Death Penalty System in California Should Be Halted - NGO
California's death penalty system should be abolished as it is costly and
dysfunctional, Equal Justice USA Co-Director Shari Silberstein told Sputnik.
"So many people on death row in California don't have an attorney, and the long
backlog makes the process random ... It's time to end this charade once and for
all, and we hope that the Ninth Circuit will recognize the wisdom of Judge
Carney's ruling," Silberstein said on Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, The Los Angeles Times reported that three judges Susan
Graber, Johnnie Rawlinson and Paul Watford will be hearing next week an appeal
of US District Judge Cormac Carney ruling that California???s death penalty law
is unconstitutional.
Silberstein explained the ruling confirms that the death penalty is
"exorbitantly costly, unfairly applied, and serves no legitimate purpose."
"In California, a bipartisan commission called the California Commission on the
Fair Administration of Justice (CCFAJ), headed by former Attorney General John
Van de Kamp, concluded that the death penalty in California was highly
dysfunctional," she added.
Capital punishment is currently allowed in 31 US states, and abolished in 19
states.
Since 1976, 1413 people have been executed in the United States.
(source for both: sputniknews.com)
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