[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, DEL., GA., FLA., ALA., TENN., ARK., USA
June 13 TEXAS: Patrick Murphy: the story of the ‘Texas 7’ murderer on death row featured in the ITV documentary Countdown to ExecutionThe convicted murderer is still waiting for his execution date Patrick Murphy – 1 member of the Texas 7 – has been waiting on death row for years, and will eventually be executed by lethal injection. Murphy is the subject of death row: Countdown to Execution, a new ITV documentary presented by Susanna Reid who visited and interviewed Murphy as he sits and waits for his fate. Reid will interview inmates who are due to be executed by lethal injection, and will also speak to lawyers and the residents of Huntsville, Texas, to find out what it’s like to live with America’s most active death chamber on their doorstep. But who is Patrick Murphy and what exactly did he do to be sentenced to death? On 13 December 2000, Patrick Murphy became notorious when he and 6 other prisoners broke out of the John B. Connally maximum-security prison in Texas, United States, and they became known as the Texas 7. They were Donald Newbury, Randy Ethan Halprin, Larry James Harper, Joseph C. Garcia, Michael Anthony Rodriguez and George Rivas, who was the ringleader. At the time of the breakout, Murphy had been serving a 50-year sentence for aggravated sexual assault. He and his fellow inmates overpowered and restrained nine maintenance supervisors, four correctional officers, and three inmates. They then stole a white prison truck in which to escape in before dumping it in a Wal-Mart car park and fleeing to San Antonio. To get money, they robbed a branch of Radio Shack before checking into a motel and robbing a sporting goods store in the nearby town on Christmas Eve. They bound and gagged all the staff and stole 44 guns, ammunition and $70,000 in cash. Murphy acted as lookout and getaway driver and heard that someone had called the police through his scanner. Irving police officer Aubrey Wright Hawkins responded to the call but when he arrived he was ambushed, shot 11 times and run over as the gang escaped. He later died in hospital. A $100,000 reward was offered to capture the gang, which rose to $500,000. Thanks to an episode of America’s Most Wanted, 6 of the gang were apprehended while the 7th man, Larry Harper, killed himself before he could be arrested. Why is Murphy now on Death Row? As it was unclear who shot and killed Officer Hawkins, all 6 surviving men were charged, convicted and sentenced to death for his murder under the Law of Parties. This allows for a person to be held criminally responsible for another’s actions if that person acts with “the intent to promote or assist the commission of the offence and solicits, encourages, directs aids, or attempts to aid the other person to commit the offence”. It also states that if, “in the attempt to carry out a conspiracy to commit one felony, another felony is committed by one of the conspirators, all conspirator are guilty of the felony actually committed”. Garcia, Newbury, Rivas and Rodriguez have all been executed while Halprin and Murphy are still incarcerated on death row. When is Murphy due to be executed? Murphy was originally scheduled for execution on 28 March 2019, but the Supreme Court granted him a last minute reprieve because his constitutional right to freedom of religion had been violated when his Buddhist spiritual adviser was refused entry into the death chamber. (source: inews.co.uk) DELAWARE: Speak Out: Death penalty debate Readers reacted to a recent letter by Kristin Froehlich headlined “No to death penalty reinstatement.” • It’s not a deterrent cause we don’t use it! We give the criminal 25 years of appeals! While locked up, they get 3 meals, a bed, TV, internet, iPads and free schooling! Let’s turn prison back into prison! It’s not supposed to be a state-funded hotel stay! — Dean Grabowski • As I said in my letter, “Wilmington was called Murdertown USA and law enforcement officers were killed in Delaware while the death penalty was active.” — Kristin Froehlich • I’m not sure why it’s supposed to be a deterrent. It’s a punishment. People kill other people and they aren’t deterred by whatever might happen to them. People steal and aren’t deterred by the chance of losing their freedom. People are going to do whatever they want. A society only stays in balance by punishing those who choose to not follow the basic rules of society. A 5-year-old needs correcting when he does something he’s not supposed to do. A 25-year-old who shoots a store clerk doesn’t need correcting. — Christopher Foxwell • Society is too soft on criminals. If you murder someone or commit a horrible crime, there should be real consequences like the death penalty. Problem has been they don’t get sentenced and then the sentence carried out. Why all the years on death row? Why pay to support murderers who are worthless to society or
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, DEL., GA., FLA., OHIO
Dec. 4 TEXAS: 3 teens charged with capital murder in death of 4-year-old Texas girl 3 people have been charged with capital murder in the shooting death of 4-year-old Ava Castillo. 3 teenagers have been charged with capital murder in the death of a 4-year-old Texas girl, authorities announced Friday. The Harris County Sheriff's Office identified the suspects as Marco Miller, 17, Philip Battles, 18, and Ferrell Dardar, 17. Miller and Dardar did not appear in court as expected Friday night, but a prosecutor revealed that an anonymous tip first led investigators to Battles, also known as "Peewee." She said Battles implicated Miller and Dardar. "They're just cowards, cowards," Julie Gomez, the victim's aunt, told KTRK. Ava Castillo was gunned down Nov. 14 during a robbery in the parking lot of the apartment complex where she lived. Her mother was shot and wounded 7 times, and her 10-year-old sister was grazed by a bullet. "I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you like I wish I could," Diana Gomez, Ava's mother, said in an exclusive interview Tuesday. Investigators said the suspects are part of a crew responsible for a number of other violent crimes that are still under investigation. Battles is also charged with capital murder in the death of 62-year-old Ignacio Ortega. Dardar was out on bond for 3 counts of aggravated robbery when Ava was killed. Miller has no prior record. The Harris County District Attorney's Office decide whether to pursue the death penalty in the case. "I'm for the death penalty, but that's too easy. That's too easy. You put a dog to sleep," said Julie Gomez. "They don't deserve that. I want them to live their miserable lives in jail for the rest of their lives." The 3 suspects were being held in jail without bond. (source: ABC news) DELAWARE: Death row legality case to be heard Wednesday The Delaware Supreme Court will hear a case Wednesday that could decide the fate of the 13 men currently on the state's death row. In August, the court threw out the death penalty, ruling a portion of it was unconstitutional. However, the justices did not issue a ruling on whether the decision was retroactive, meaning the individuals already sentenced to death still face execution. In October, lawyers for convicted murderer Derrick Powell submitted a brief arguing the ruling should apply to Powell and the other 12 men awaiting death, bringing the issue to the forefront. While the case is superficially focused on Powell, who killed Georgetown police officer Chad Spicer in 2009 and was sentenced to death 2 years later, it could reverberate well beyond him. A broad decision could change sentences for those already on death row to life in prison or it could affirm their convictions. The Supreme Court will hear arguments from Powell's lawyers and the Department of Justice Wednesday at 10. August's ruling came about, justices said, because the Delaware death penalty violated the Sixth Amendment, which guarantees right to a trial by jury. The law did not require the jury to rule unanimously on whether aggravating circumstances outweighed mitigating factors and gave the judge final discretion to sentence death. Because the unconstitutional provision was so intertwined with the rest of the law, justices were "unable to discern a method by which to parse the statute so as to preserve it," Chief Justice Leo Strine wrote in the landmark August ruling, with Justices Randy Holland and Collins Seitz concurring. In court filings, Powell's lawyers said the August ruling should apply to the inmate. Any other decision, wrote Patrick Collins and Natalie Woloshin, would be "a ratification of a 40-year misstep that is anathema to our understanding of the Sixth Amendment." "If Derrick Powell is executed, it will be because he had the misfortune to be sentenced during a period of constitutional jurisprudence that has now been recognized as misguided, and corrected," the lawyers wrote. The Department of Justice, contrast, argued the August ruling is a "procedural, not substantive, change" and noted the death penalty itself was not found unconstitutional. "'No one, not criminal defendants, not the judicial system, not society as a whole is benefited by a judgment providing that a man shall tentatively go to jail today, but tomorrow and every day thereafter his continued incarceration shall be subject to fresh litigation,'" wrote Chief of Appeals Elizabeth R. McFarlan and Deputy Attorney General John R. Williams, quoting U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice John Marshall Harlan II. 5 separate briefs have been submitted by organizations or individuals supporting Powell's claims. Among those filing the briefs are lawyers for former death row inmate Luis Cabrera, whose death sentence was overturned in June 2015. Appeals in the case have been stayed while Powell is deliberated. The American Civil Liberties Union of
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, DEL., GA., FLA.
Dec. 1
TEXAS:
Will the Supreme Court Stop Texas from Executing the Intellectually Disabled?
Since the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in the United States, in
1976, Texas has been responsible for more than 1/3 of the country's executions
- 538 out of 1440. The most egregious reason is the state's unique and grudging
approach in cases where the defendant claims intellectual disability.
In 2002, in Atkins v. Virginia, the Supreme Court reached the decision that, no
matter how heinous the crime, an intellectually disabled person cannot be
sentenced to death. Disabilities of reasoning, judgment, and control of
impulses, the Court said, do not allow a person to "act with the level of moral
culpability that characterizes the most serious adult criminal conduct."
Because offenders with intellectual disabilities are less blameworthy, the
Court said, imposing the death penalty contributes neither to deterrence of
capital crimes nor to retribution for them, and so it causes "purposeless and
needless" pain and is cruel and unusual punishment.
The Court recognized that there was "serious disagreement" about which
offenders were intellectually disabled. "Not all people who claim to be
mentally retarded will be so impaired as to fall within the range of mentally
retarded offenders about whom there is a national consensus," the majority
opinion said. ("Intellectual disability" has replaced "mental retardation" as
the favored term.) The Court anticipated a variety of approaches to enforcing
its prohibition, and left to the states "the task of developing appropriate
ways to enforce the constitutional restriction upon its execution of
sentences."
Most states with the death penalty rely on a combination of intelligence
testing and clinical assessment to confirm that a defendant has severe
intellectual disabilities. In 2004, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the
state's highest criminal court, created its own definition of intellectual
disability, in a case called Ex Parte Jose Garcia Briseno. In the Briseno
opinion, the C.C.A. said that reliance on clinical testing is "exceedingly
subjective." The court's responsibility, it said, was "to define that level and
degree of mental retardation at which a consensus of Texas citizens would agree
that a person should be exempted from the death penalty." The court decided it
was possible to be intellectually disabled according to medical and scientific
standards, which apply to no more than three per cent of Americans, yet not
disabled enough to be exempt from execution in Texas.
The Texas approach to intellectual disability is so different from national
standards that, according to the American Bar Association, the state has
regularly sentenced to death "defendants with intellectual disabilities whom
other jurisdictions almost certainly would have recognized as exempt." Jordan
Steiker, a professor at the University of Texas Law School, and Richard Burr,
the lawyer who represented Jose Briseno before the C.C.A., estimate that Texas
has executed 30 to 40 people with strong claims of intellectual disability, and
that between 30 and 40 of the 242 people on the state's death row have
similarly strong claims to exemption. This week in the Washington Post, Steiker
and his sister, Carol Steiker, a professor at Harvard Law School, wrote that
Texas "focuses on questions that no medical professional would deem appropriate
in diagnosing intellectual disability, such as whether an offender's family and
friends thought he had intellectual disability." They continued, "Instead of
relying on the same approach to intellectual disability that Texas uses in
every other context (such as placement in special education or eligibility for
disability benefits), the court sought to redefine the condition in the capital
context so that only offenders who meet crude stereotypes about intellectual
disability are shielded from execution."
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Moore v. Texas, about
whether the state is violating the Constitution by prohibiting judges from
using current medical standards in deciding whether a defendant, Bobby James
Moore, is exempt from capital punishment. Moore, now 57, has been on death row
for 37 years for his part in a failed supermarket robbery in Houston, in which
he shot and killed a sales associate. (Moore has said the shooting was
accidental.)
In 1995, a federal district court granted Moore a new sentencing hearing after
the court found that his lawyers had "grossly mishandled the representation of
Moore and violated their oath as members of the bar with astonishing frequency"
by, among other ways, failing to present any mitigating evidence, including of
the defendant's impaired mental development and functioning. In 2001, he was
sentenced to death again, after a jury determined that there was not sufficient
mitigating evidence to warrant a sentence of life
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, DEL., GA., FLA., ALA., LA.
Oct. 18 TEXAS: 3 reasons the death penalty is dying Have you ever killed somebody? The question in and of itself is haunting. Have you ever killed somebody? Each word rattles my soul. Have you ever killed somebody? The more times I ask the question, the more times I'm brought face-to-face with my own complicity in killing. Most people don't think about it like that. The more times I ask the question to others, the more times I get adamant denials of ever being involved in killing anyone. Yet in the midst of a quickness to absolve ourselves of any evil, there is our death penalty. Each time the State of Texas kills someone, the citizens are responsible. Since 1982, we have killed 538 people. There is no hope to be found in what we are. There is only hope to be found in what we can become. Recently, the Pew Research Forum reported that support for the death penalty hit its point lowest in four decades. I grabbed my heart and almost fell over. Though I'd known that support for the death penalty has been declining for a number of years nationally, this was the first time that I'd realized had fallen so low. Just under 1/2 of Americans now support the death penalty (49 %), while 42 % oppose it. Support is down from a high of 80 % in 1994. Support has even dropped 7 % since March of last year. The death penalty is dying. How could this be? We've had that killer instinct for so long. People are changing. While I can't say for sure why, 3 possible reasons are worthy of deep thought. 1. The death penalty is not a deterrent to crime. How do you teach someone not to kill by killing? The death penalty is supposed to be a deterrent to killing. But how could it be? Capital punishment teaches people that there are ethical ways of killing. We can't persuade people to stop killing by showing them how to do it again and again. The Death Penalty Information Center has consistently reported that the murder rates in death penalty states are higher than in states that don't have the death penalty. The death penalty is not a deterrent to murder. Some people are finally figuring out they are less safe with a death penalty than they are without one. 2. The death penalty costs too much. A Dallas Morning News article in 1992 showed that the death penalty costs multiple times the amount that it would cost to put someone in a maximum security prison for life. And the cost isn't going down, as the newspaper reported a few years ago that the cost of execution drugs had skyrocketed. Pharmaceutical companies don't want to sell drugs meant to save lives to people dedicated to taking lives. The cost to carry out these executions is only going to continue to grow. The bottom line is that we know it is far more expensive to execute someone than to put them in prison for life. The death penalty is starting to earn a reputation for being another expensive failed government program. 3. What if we execute someone who is innocent? That's a question that eats at the souls of those with knowledge about the death penalty. I think we already have. Surely out of the hundreds, there's got to be at least one. Was it Carlos De Luna? Was it Cameron Todd Willingham? Or was it someone else entirely? In 2014, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences released a study concluding 1 in 25 sentenced to death in the U.S. is innocent. Despite recent exonerations, Texas has still probably executed many innocent people. There is no way to stop the execution of the innocent without stopping executions entirely. The 3 reasons to abolish the death penalty meet to form 1 question. Is the death penalty worth it? (source: Jeff Hood is a Baptist pastor and activist in DallasDallas Morning News) DELAWARE: Poll: Delawareans support keeping death penalty The poll revealed 55 % of registered voters are in favor of the death penalty. "Delaware is a historically a blue state, you'd expect a liberal position, which I take as being repeal of the death penalty to come out stronger, but on this issue there is that party divide as well," said Brewer. The Democrats who are in favor of repealing are in line with the majority opinion of their party, but not necessarily in line with the public as a whole." (source: WDEL news) GEORGIAimpending execution Georgia board scheduled to hold clemency hearing for man set to executed The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles is scheduled to hear arguments for clemency from representatives of an inmate scheduled for execution this week. Gregory Paul Lawler is scheduled to die Wednesday by injection of the barbiturate pentobarbital at the state prison in Jackson. A clemency hearing is set for 9 a.m. Tuesday. The 63-year-old was convicted of murder in the October 1997 shooting death of Atlanta police Officer John Sowa. Authorities say Lawler also critically injured Officer Patricia Cocciolone. Prosecutors say Lawler shot the
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, DEL., GA., FLA.
April 2 TEXAS: Man indicted over death of his parents A Gladewater man could face the death penalty after his indictment Thursday on a capital murder charge in the death of his parents. Gladewater police found the bodies of Charles and Raye Lansdale, both 68, on Jan. 22 during a welfare check at a North Main Street home. Police Chief Robert Vine said a relative outside the state reported the couple was missing. Officers encountered Casey Lansdale, 41, who said he lived with his parents. He also said his parents were not home, but officers said they had reason not to believe the son and asked consent to search the residence. Vine said police found Charles Lansdale in a spare room and Raye Lansdale in a bedroom closet. The son was arrested and remained in the Gregg County Jail on Friday under $1 million bond. A motive for the homicides has not been released by authorities. Reports from last summer indicate tension then between the father and son. Casey Lansdale was arrested last July on 2 counts of assault causing bodily injury to a family member. The incident arose from an argument between father and son over whether Casey Lansdale had stolen his father's pistol, reports showed. (source: Tyler Morning Telegraph) ** Meet an anti-death penalty activist who's fighting to end executions in Texas Texas has executed 1,291 inmates in the last century. And each of those people has a file in Pat Hartwell's filing cabinet. Hartwell, 64, has dedicated her life since retirement to ending the death penalty in this state, and that starts with keeping attention on the issue. Mugshots of death row inmates tend to make the news on the day they're arrested, the day they're sentenced to die, and the day they're executed. And then for most of the world, these men and women are forgotten. A small but dedicated group of activists like Hartwell are working hard to make sure that that doesn't happen. "You've taken a relatively healthy human being and you've killed him - not in a robbery, not in a burglary, not in a rape, but in a calculated, state-sanctioned moment, you've killed a man," she told me. "There should be something wrong with that." One tool in her fight is her encyclopedic, printed-out database of executed Texans. Hartwell, who has short sandy hair and a strong handshake, gave me a tour on a Saturday morning earlier this month. She's dedicated a room in the back of her sunny apartment south of downtown to a makeshift library on the death penalty. On the top of the bookcase are wanted posters of former Gov. Rick Perry, calling him a "serial killer." Pat Hartwell's bookcases are filled with files on the men and women Texas has executed. Below, separated with paperweights in the shape of Buddah heads, are colorful binders containing a file on every Texas death row inmate, organized by the number the state gives them. The files go back to 1924, when the state legalized the electric chair and took over executions from the counties. Hartwell flipped back to No. 01, pulled out a sheet of paper and read an old newspaper clipping. Mack Matthews, a black man, was scheduled to die on Jan. 16, 1924, but the warden of his prison resigned instead of carrying out the execution. "A warden can't be a warden and a killer too - the penitentiary is a place to reform a man, not to kill him," the warden was quoted as saying. Matthews was executed the next month, under a new warden, along with 4 other black men. For everyone up to death row inmate No. 999601 (Mark Gonzalez, who was sentenced to death earlier this year), she's kept meticulous records, researching court documents, mental health issues, and studying the particulars of the gruesome crimes that put them on the row. She prints out all the information on each inmate from the state Department of Corrections website, and fills the margins with notes in her clear, steady handwriting. Further down on her shelf there's a binder marked innocent - containing the records of all the inmates who claimed they were innocent - and a much, much thinner one marked "released." On another bookshelf is a framed photo of Hartwell hugging former inmate Alfred Dewayne Brown, who was released last year. "Those are the pinnacle moments," she said. Fighting the death penalty in Texas is more or less a full-time job. Hartwell writes letters with about 60 or 70 death row inmates, relaying messages to family members or just letting them know someone on the outside is thinking of them. She also contributes to a weekly show on a local radio station where she talks directly to the death row inmates - they're allowed to have radios but not TVs - and tells them about any recent death penalty news or court rulings. But she stressed that she's not doing it alone. She's part of a much larger movement fighting the death penalty in Texas. Most weeks, Hartwell drives back and forth to West Livingston, the
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, DEL., GA., FLA., ILL.
Jan. 26 TEXAS: Texas Prepares for Execution of James Freeman on January 27, 2016 James Garrett Freeman's execution is scheduled to occur at 6 pm CST on Wednesday, January 27, 2016, at the Walls Unit of the Huntsville State Penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas. 35-year-old James is convicted of the murder of 34-year-old Wharton County Game Warden Justin Hurst on March 17, 2007, in Lissie, Texas. James has spent the last 7 years of his life on Texas' death row. James was known to be easily angered and had a progressive history of alcohol abuse. He had previously received citations for driving under the influence. He was also on probation for driving while intoxicated. James graduated from high school and worked as a welder prior to his arrest. After several complaints of shots being fired at night, Texas Game Warden Jonathan Blackburn surveilled the area on Friday, March 16, 2007. Around 11:00 pm, he saw a truck driving slowly and then heard a gunshot from a small caliber rifle, such as a .22. As it is against the law to fire shots or hunt from the side of the road, Blackburn investigated. As he drove towards the vehicle, Blackburn activated his "red and blue lights." The truck did not stop, driving past Blackburn. Blackburn followed the vehicle down various roads with speeds ranging from 45 to 100 miles per hour. He also requested back-up from Wharton County Sheriff's Office. 2 officers in marked patrol cars joined the pursuit and took over as the lead from Blackburn. 3 other officers also joined the pursuit. Texas Game Warden Justin Hurst, who was not part of the chase, told officers that he was going to attempt to set up a roadblock. The driver of the truck was able to avoid the roadblock, and Hurst joined the pursuit. The chase ensued for at least another 30 minutes. Blackburn indicated that there was no spot where the suspect could have pulled over to stop. The suspect also managed to avoid several spike strips. During the chase, a dispatcher determined, from the license plate, that the truck belonged to James Freeman. Blackburn, along with another officer, were both familiar with Freeman, as they had written him a ticket a year earlier. Initially, officers believed that the vehicle had been stolen, as the driver's behavior did not match what they knew of Freeman. Freeman was later determined to be the driver. Eventually, Freeman drove over a spike strip, causing him to pull over and stop. As Freeman exited the truck, keeping the truck between him and the police officers, he began firing on the officers. Freeman fired until he appeared to be out of ammunition, with the officers returning fire. He then "disappeared" and "came back out with a long gun," an AK-47 assault rifle. Freeman continued firing at the police. Hurst moved out from under cover for a clear shot. He was shot on his left side and died from his injuries. The Supreme Court of the United States has refused to review Freeman's case. The court gave no reason for actions. Please pray for peace and healing for the family of Justin Hurst. Please pray for strength for the family of James Freeman. Please pray that if James is innocent, lacks the competency to be executed, or should not be executed for any other reason, that evidence will be presented prior to his execution. Please pray that James may come to find peace through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, if he has not already. (source: theforgivenessfoundation.org) DELAWARE: Gallows or Gurney?: The last hanging in the U.S. was only 20 years ago today Back in 1979, a Delaware convict named Billy Bailey was assigned to a work-release facility in Wilmington. But one day, for whatever reason, Bailey decided he wasn't going back to the center. He turned up at his foster sister's house and went with her husband on an errand. While on the way, Bailey asked the man to stop at a liquor store. Bailey, armed with a gun, robbed the clerk. The foster sister's husband dropped Bailey off about a mile and a half from the liquor store. Bailey went to a house where an elderly man and his wife lived. He shot and killed them both. He was arrested as he fled the scene. Bailey was tried and convicted in 1980. He got the death penalty. It was 16 years later that he paid the ultimate price. On Jan. 25, 1996 - 20 years ago today - Bailey became the last man to be hanged in the U.S. That's right. He was hanged. You see, Delaware did not adopt lethal injection until after Bailey was sentenced. So he was given the choice of the gallows or the gurney. He opted for the noose. It was the 1st hanging in Delaware in 50 years. 1 of only 3 in the entire country since 1965. A new gallows had to be built. An inexperienced hangman trained. Today, hanging is considered by many to be barbaric. Only the states of Washington and New Hampshire still allow it under certain circumstances, though Washington has a moratorium
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, DEL., GA., FLA., ALA., CALIF.
Jan. 22 TEXAS: Talking with Ivan, I found a flame of life on death row I was finally about to meet the man I had been writing letters to for 11 years. Separated by glass, and unable to hug or shake hands, we would have to use phone receivers to talk to each other. To my right and left, others were doing the same, a line of tete-a-tetes happening in unison, separated by booth dividers. My friend Ivan Cantu is on death row in Texas. I had left my harried life as a working mother in Washington, D.C., for 2 days this August to make the long-overdue trip. I considered it a pilgrimage of sorts. Ivan and I started writing when I was 29 and he was 32. He was 3 years into a death sentence, convicted of killing his cousin and his cousin's fiancee over drug money. I was just married and working in international development. Right from the start, Ivan told me he was wrongfully convicted. Back then, I didn't have an opinion about Ivan's guilt - it didn't matter to me one way or another. But I saw clearly that no one was listening to him. His trial attorney had refused to investigate anything. His appellate attorney never spoke or wrote to him before submitting the habeas corpus appeal. Maybe I could listen to him, I thought. Maybe that was the only thing I could do. The Polunsky Unit where Ivan lives is an oppressive complex of barbed wire and low gray buildings, incongruously situated on a winding farm road one hour north of Houston. I had never been to a prison before and everything about it intimidated me. "Washington, D.C., eh?" one guard said, eyeing my license. "Do y'all have many wildfires there?" "Oh no, we don't. ... Not many," I replied, trying to sound deferential. The invitation to write to someone on death row came through my connection to the Community of Sant'Egidio, a Catholic lay association that -- among many other activities -- supports prisoners and advocates for the abolishment of the death penalty worldwide. Pope Francis' recent words to Congress summarize the inspiration behind the community's work and the first reason why I don't believe in the death penalty (there are many). "Every life is sacred," the pope said. "Every human person is endowed with an inalienable dignity, and society can only benefit from the rehabilitation of those convicted of crimes." (source: Dani Clark, National Catholic Reporter) DELAWARE: Death penalty repeal bill headed to House vote A death penalty repeal bill that had been languishing in a House committee is headed to a vote by the full House next week after the committee chairman agreed to release it. Judiciary Committee members voted 6-to-5 last May not to send the bill to the full House after it narrowly cleared the Senate on an 11-to-9 vote. But House Judiciary Committee chairman Rep. John Mitchell, D-Elsmere, who opposes repeal, said Thursday that he withdrew his "no" vote and signed the measure out of committee with an "unfavorable" endorsement, allowing the bill to move forward to a House vote next Thursday. "After some long and serious consideration ... this was a tough decision for me," said Mitchell, a retired police officer who also has family members in law enforcement. Mitchell said he remains opposed to the bill but thought that House members should have an opportunity to vote on it. "I have a responsibility to members of my caucus to give them the opportunity to speak ... what happens will happen," he said. Rep. Sean Lynn, a Dover Democrat and chief House sponsor of the legislation, said he believes it has enough support to pass the House. "I'm sure it will be a close vote," said Lynn, who had previously threatened to try to bypass the committee process to bring the bill to a floor vote. Lynn expressed gratitude to Mitchell for his change of heart. "It's fairly magnanimous, and an act of leadership," Lynn said. Democratic Gov. Jack Markell has said he would sign the measure if it reaches his desk. The bill would abolish capital punishment for 1st-degree murder, although it would not apply to inmates now on death row. The bill has drawn renewed attention in Delaware after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling earlier this month that declared Florida's death penalty statute unconstitutional. The court said Florida's death penalty system was flawed because juries play only an advisory role in recommending life or death, allowing the judge to reach a different decision. Florida's system is similar to that used in Delaware, prompting concerns within the legal community that Delaware's system also could be declared unconstitutional. Citing the Supreme Court's ruling, a federal judge in Wilmington who is presiding over a death penalty appeal case ordered attorneys Thursday to file a status report by Monday indicating what impact, if any, the decision has on the case. On the state level, the same question is being certified to the Delaware Supreme Court for
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, DEL., GA., FLA., ALA., TENN., IND., OKLA., USA
April 21 TEXASstay of impending execution State delays execution of child killer Richard Vasquez Richard Vasquez was sentenced to death for the killing of a 4-year-old girl in Corpus Christi. The man who beat his 4 year old stepdaughter to death won't be executed this week. Nueces County District Attorney Mark Skurka says Richard Vasquez has just received a stay of execution. There's no word yet on why. Vasquez was set to be put to death on Thursday for the death of Miranda Lopez in 1998. According to court records the girl was beaten with a fist several times. She took a nap and later fell off a stool while brushing her teeth. The girl died the next day This is the 2nd time this year his execution has been delayed. (source: KRIS news) *** Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present6 Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982present-524 Abbott#scheduled execution date-nameTx. # 7---Apr. 28Robert Pruett525 8---May 12Derrick Charles--526 9---June 3--Les Bower527 10--June 18---Gregory Russeau--528 (sources: TDCJ Rick Halperin) Capital murder trial begins in Red Wing store clerk's killing The capital murder trial of a 22-year-old Arlington man accused of killing a shoe store clerk during a robbery in 2014 began Monday, WFAA reported. Jacob Everett faces the death penalty if convicted. He pleaded not guilty to the murder charge but pled guilty to a charge of aggravated robbery. On Feb. 25, 2014, the clerk, Randy Pacheco, 23, was working his shift as a manager at the Red Wing Shoes store on Cooper Street in Arlington, when Everett shot and killed him while stealing $200, police have said. During opening arguments Monday, a prosecutor said Pacheco was shot once between the eyes. (source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram) DELAWARE: Poll shows Delawareans open-minded to death penalty alternatives As Delaware legislators debate a bill that would repeal the death penalty, a recent survey provides some insight on how Delawareans feel about the issue. When asked what the appropriate punishment for murder should be, a majority of those polled were in favor of an alternative to the death penalty. A significant majority of Delaware residents, 64 %, support some form of life without parole as an alternative to the death penalty, said Eugene Young, with the Delaware Center for Justice. However, in a separate question, 63 % of those polled say they still strongly support or somewhat support the death penalty. The survey was conducted among 573 registered voters in all 3 counties in Delaware. This is the 1st time the Delaware Center for Justice has conducted a public policy poll on the death penalty. The Senate passed the death penalty repeal bill earlier this month. It now heads to the House. Lawmakers tried to pass a similar bill in 2013 but it stalled in the House Judiciary Committee. (source: WDEL news) *** Delaware residents support death penalty unless given alternative A recent poll found that 63 % of people in Delaware initially support the death penalty, but its support decreases when alternatives are given. About 34 % of people polled either strongly opposed or somewhat opposed the death penalty, but a follow up question found that people favor life imprisonment over the death penalty. A significant majority of Delaware residents, 64 %, support some form of life without parole as an alternative to the death penalty, Eugene Young, advocacy director at the Delaware Center for Justice, said. Young said support for capital punishment decreases when alternatives are given. The Public Policy Polling firm was hired by the Delaware Center for Justice, one of several groups attempting to cease the death penalty in the state. Legislators are currently debating a bill that would repeal capital punishment. The bill passed the state's Senate earlier this month and now faces voting in the House. The poll asked 17 questions to 573 Delawareans on the phone between over a 2-day period in April. It is the 1st time the Delaware Center for Justice conducted a poll on the death penalty. This issue has lingered in the ether for far too long, Democratic Rep. Sean Lynn said. The death penalty is morally bankrupt, legally bankrupt and it is intellectually bankrupt. Support for the death penalty in the United States has reached a 40-year low -- with 56 % of people favoring the death penalty for murder convictions and 38 % opposing, according to Pew Research Center. (source: United Press International) GEORGIA: DA Slater seeks death penalty in Connor case Muscogee County District Attorney Julia Slater is seeking the death penalty against a Columbus man charged with
