Sept. 29
TEXAS:
Man accused of tossing wife off bridge will face death penalty trial
Tarrant County prosecutors will seek the death penalty against the man accused
of kidnapping his wife and killing her by throwing her body from the Lake Worth
bridge in April.
Rodolfo Montes "Rudy" Arellano, 34, of Fort Worth, is accused of kidnapping
Elizabeth Pule Arellano and tying a rope that was attached to concrete around
her neck and throwing her off the bridge.
He remains in the Tarrant County jail with bond set at $500,000 on the capital
murder charge, jail records show.
The Tarrant County district attorney's office filed a notice of intent to seek
the death penalty on Sept. 16, records show.
The last person to get the death penalty in Tarrant County was Cedric Ricks of
Bedford, who was convicted in 2014 for killing his girlfriend and her
8-year-old son. He remains on death row.
Fishermen on a Lake Worth dock had called 911 at 3:20 a.m. April 16 - some 10
hours before Elizabeth Arellano, a 28-year-old mother of four, was reported
missing - after seeing what appeared to be a person falling from the bridge
across Loop 820.
When the Fire Department's swift-water rescue team pulled the woman's body from
the water, Elizabeth Arellano's body was still clad in maroon scrubs she wore
as a medical assistant.
10 days after her disappearance and death, police arrested her estranged
husband on a capital murder warrant.
Family members say the couple had been sweethearts at Diamond Hill-Jarvis High
School and had been together 13 years. The couple recently separated, however,
and Elizabeth Arellano had planned to divorce him.
Arellano told homicide detectives that he last saw his wife 2 days before she
died and that he last spoke to her at 2:39 a.m. on the day she disappeared.
He said she told him in that phone call that she had just arrived at her
parents' house and would soon be bringing their four children to his house.
Arellano said that when his wife and children never arrived, he assumed she had
decided to stay at her parents' home.
Asked about his whereabouts that night, Arellano told the detectives he had
spent most of the evening of April 15 with a friend, tinting the man's windows.
He said he arrived home about midnight and didn't leave the house again until
7:30 a.m.
Through interviews, investigators learned that Arellano had torn down and
replaced a wooden fence for an acquaintance within the past year. The fence
included wood posts set in concrete.
In the back yard of Arellano's Fort Worth home in the 1400 block of Jasper
Street, police found pieces of concrete similar to the one used to weigh down
Elizabeth Arellano's body.
In the bed of his pickup, they uncovered a small piece of concrete consistent
with that found at the crime scene. A large piece of concrete was also found in
the driveway directly behind his truck, the affidavit states.
(source: star-telegram.com)
FLORIDA:
Florida Death Penalty Still On Hold As Courts Seek Answers
Executions are on hold, judges are postponing death penalty cases, and defense
lawyers are seeking additional reviews after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision
in January that struck down Florida's death penalty sentencing process.
Supreme Court justices ruled that Florida gave too much power to judges,
instead of juries, in deciding whether defendants should be executed. But the
8-1 ruling also created uncertainty by failing to address whether jury
recommendations for death sentences should be unanimous.
The focus is now on the Florida Supreme Court.
"Defense lawyers are trying to push the cases off, waiting for the court, and
in some instances judges are going along with it," said Bernie McCabe, the
state attorney in the 6th Judicial Circuit in Pasco and Pinellas counties. "And
if they don't go along with it, defense lawyers file other motions claiming
other stuff, to try to push it. So the frustration is we're not getting the
cases to trial that ought to be tried. And, unlike fine wine, my cases don't
get better with age."
Of nearly 3 dozen states that have the death penalty, Florida is 1 of only 3
states - including Delaware and Alabama - that do not require unanimous jury
recommendations for death. Delaware's death penalty is also in flux. The
Delaware Supreme Court in August decided that the state's death-penalty
process, similar to Florida's, was unconstitutional. In contrast to Florida,
Delaware's last execution was in 2012.
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in a case known as Hurst v. Florida dealt
with the sentencing phase of death-penalty cases after defendants are found
guilty, and it focused on "aggravating circumstances" that must be determined
before defendants can be sentenced to death. The ruling cemented a 2002 U.S.
Supreme Court decision, in a case known as Ring v. Arizona, requiring that
determinations of such aggravating circumstances must be made by juries, not
judges.
Under Florida's old law, jurors by a simple majority could recommend the death
penalty. Judges would then make findings of fact that "sufficient" aggravating
factors, not outweighed by mitigating circumstances, existed for the death
sentence to be imposed.
That system was an unconstitutional violation of the Sixth Amendment right to
trial by jury, the U.S. Supreme Court decided in an 8-1 ruling.
After the Hurst decision, Florida justices indefinitely postponed executions
that had been scheduled to take place in February and March. The decision also
set off a scramble by lawmakers to revise the sentencing system.
Florida's new law - crafted by the Republican-controlled Legislature during the
session that ended in March - requires juries to unanimously determine "the
existence of at least 1 aggravating factor" before defendants can be eligible
for death sentences. The law also requires at least 10 jurors to recommend the
death penalty in order for the sentence to be imposed, a departure from the old
law, which required a simple majority of jurors.
After hearing arguments in dozens of cases since January, the Florida Supreme
Court is considering whether the Hurst decision applies to defendants whose
death sentences were handed down before the January ruling.
One of the most highly anticipated decisions involves the case of Larry Darnell
Perry, who was convicted in the 2013 murder of his infant son.
Perry's case hinges on whether the new law should apply to defendants whose
prosecutions were underway when the new law went into effect. While Perry's
lawyer, J. Edwin Mills, argued that the new law should not apply in his
client's case, other defense lawyers are split on the issue. Mills contends his
client should receive a life sentence.
Arguments in the Perry case also focused on the new law, which circuit judges
in Tampa and Miami have ruled is unconstitutional because it does not require
unanimous recommendations from juries.
Lawmakers adopted the 10-2 recommendation at the urging of prosecutors, who
objected to the notion of requiring unanimity.
The issues awaiting Florida Supreme Court decisions will have a far-reaching
impact, affecting inmates already on death row as well as defendants whose
cases are in progress or have not yet reached the trial stage.
(source: WUSF news)
OHIO:
Woman facing death penalty: 'I don't care'
A woman facing a possible death sentence in the killing of her 2-year-old
daughter is seeking a plea deal, her attorneys said Thursday.
Andrea Bradley was visibly agitated Thursday after being led into Hamilton
County Common Pleas Judge Robert Ruehlman's courtroom. The previous day, a jury
recommended that her onetime boyfriend, 34-year-old Glen Bates, be sentenced to
death. Both were charged in the beating and starvation death of their daughter,
Glenara.
"If the world wants the death penalty, give it to 'em," she said to no one in
particular, before a scheduled hearing began. "I don't care."
Deputies had led Bradley to the area in front of Judge Robert Ruehlman's bench,
but he was still conferring with prosecutors and one of her attorneys. Another
of her attorneys, Scott Rubenstein, stood next to Bradley and appeared to tell
her to not speak. Ruehlman also warned her: "Don't say another word."
The hearing was supposed to focus on whether Bradley, 30, is eligible for the
death penalty because of an intellectual disability. Her attorneys say experts
have determined that her composite IQ is 67. An IQ below 75 is considered an
intellectual disability, according to the Ohio Department of Education.
Her attorneys, however, announced that they want to talk to prosecutors about a
possible plea deal. The hearing was rescheduled for Oct. 6.
"She was basically a child taking care of children," her attorney, Will Welsh,
said.
The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 2002 decision, said that executing someone who
suffers from an intellectual disability is cruel and unusual punishment, a
violation of the Eighth Amendment.
Bradley is charged with aggravated murder, murder and child endangering. A jury
on Monday, after about two hours of deliberations, convicted Bates of those
same charges. On Wednesday, the jury recommended a death sentence. Judge Megan
Shanahan will announce next month whether she will impose that sentence.
Glenara was beaten severely, starved and forced to sleep on a bathroom floor,
according to testimony at Bates' trial. She weighed only 13 pounds when she
died in March 2015, and prosecutors said her body was "nothing but a mass of"
scars, burns and bruises.
Glenara lived with Bradley, Bates and several siblings in a rented house in
East Walnut Hills.
According to Bradley's attorneys, she was in an abusive relationship with
Bates. They also have said Bradley has been diagnosed with depression and
bipolar disorder, and has been under psychiatric care most of her life.
In May, Bradley rejected a plea deal that would have meant she faced the
possibility of spending the rest of her life in prison, instead of the death
penalty.
(source: cincinnati.com)
ARKANSAS:
Autopsy due before death penalty try in Arkansas deputy case
A prosecutor says he'll look at an autopsy report due this week as he explores
whether to seek the execution of a man accused of killing a western Arkansas
deputy.
The Arkansas State Crime Lab says the medical examiner has completed its
autopsy on Sebastian County Cpl. Bill Cooper and that investigators and
prosecutors should have access soon. Prosecutor Dan Shue told the Southwest
Times Record newspaper (http://bit.ly/2d8sjda ) that part of his due diligence
before starting a possible death-penalty case includes a look at the autopsy.
Billy Monroe Jones is accused of killing Cooper on Aug. 10 after Cooper and
others responded to a domestic disturbance call near Hackett. Jones has been
charged with capital murder, 10 counts of attempted murder and injuring an
animal used by law enforcement.
(source: Associated Press)
NEBRASKA:
Catholic leaders urge voters to retain death penalty repeal
Catholic leaders are launching a campaign that will urge voters to retain
Nebraska's repeal of the death penalty in the November general election.
The Nebraska Catholic Conference announced a series of steps Thursday that
church leaders will take to speak to the state's 375,000 Catholics.
The church has distributed materials to parishes throughout the state,
including videos filmed by bishops that outline the church's teachings on
capital punishment.
The Nebraska Catholic Conference will also advocate through radio and video
spots and events planned in Omaha, Lincoln and Grand Island. Priests throughout
the state are expected to speak about the issue from pulpit.
Catholic leaders say the death penalty in Nebraska isn't necessary to protect
society. Death penalty supporters say the punishment is appropriate in certain
cases.
(source: Associated Press)
CALIFORNIA:
California death penalty propositions 62 and 66: Condemned inmates, victims'
families speak out
Sitting on a couch at his home in this remote farm town last week, Charles
Erbert thumbed through a well-worn Bible to find the passage that captures his
perspective on the most emotionally charged issue on November's ballot:
California's death penalty.
"Scripture tells us not to kill, but it also tells us that he who strikes a man
and kills him shall surely be put to death," said Erbert, 65, whose pregnant
wife and their unborn child were brutally slain in one of the Bay Area's most
gruesome crimes.
On a chilly Halloween night in 1984, William Michael Dennis donned a wolf mask
to disguise himself as a trick-or-treater and used an 18-inch machete blade to
slay San Jose resident Doreen Erbert, his ex-wife, and the 8-month-old fetus
she had conceived with Charles, her 2nd husband. The Erberts' 4-year-old
daughter, Deanna, hid behind a couch during the attack.
Now 66, Dennis sits on the nation's largest death row at San Quentin State
Prison with more than 700 other inmates whose fate will be decided when voters
consider 2 dueling death penalty initiatives.
Death penalty advocates say a death sentence is the only appropriate punishment
for crimes as horrifying as Dennis'.
"This crime was cold and calculated. He did it deliberately - and he's not
sorry," Erbert said.
So he and other supporters of capital punishment are seeking a no vote on
Proposition 62, which would abolish the death penalty in California, and a yes
vote on Proposition 66, which would keep the death penalty and aims to speed up
an appeals process that often drags on for decades.
Opponents of capital punishment call Proposition 66's vision of faster, more
efficient appeals a fantasy and warn that the measure could cost the state tens
of millions of dollars a year to implement if voters endorse it. That's why
they are seeking a yes vote on Proposition 62, which would make life without
the possibility of parole the maximum penalty for murder.
If both measures pass, the one with the most yes votes will supersede the
other.
A Field-IGS Poll released last week showed that 48 % of likely voters plan to
support Proposition 62, while 42 % are unsure how they'll vote on Proposition
66.
Several killers interviewed by this news organization on a recent, rare tour of
death row say they feel conflicted, too.
"I know I'll get my case overturned eventually," said Dennis, who spoke through
a chain link fence surrounding a rooftop exercise yard at the historic Marin
County prison overlooking San Francisco Bay. "But if I had a choice between
dying tomorrow or spending 30 more years in prison, I would pick death
tomorrow."
Virtually no one is arguing that California's current system for capital
punishment is working efficiently. Since California voters revived the death
penalty in 1978, only 15 people have been executed - none since 2006, when U.S.
District Judge Jeremy Fogel in San Jose forced the state to halt lethal
injections over concerns that it violated the constitutional ban on cruel and
unusual punishment.
That means death row inmates are far more likely to die in prison from illness,
suicide or old age than they are to be executed by the state. Of the 930
individuals sentenced to death over the last 4 decades, 104 died behind bars
and 64 had their sentences reduced by the courts. That leaves 747 inmates on
death row waiting for execution or exoneration.
"A well-working system would bring justice, however you define it, much
sooner," said Robert Weisberg, a Stanford Law School professor who co-directs
the university's Criminal Justice Center.
Proponents of Proposition 66 - many of them police officers, prison guards and
district attorneys - identify the "endless, frivolous appeals" sought by the
condemned as the source of the problem. Weisberg, however, says the complexity
of the law, coupled with too little funding for public defenders, is to blame.
Once the death penalty is imposed by a jury, the state Supreme Court must
review the verdict. It often takes the state 3 to 5 years to appoint an
attorney to represent the inmate because of a lack of funding for these
attorneys and the low pay they receive. And before those appointments are made,
nothing happens.
After an attorney has agreed to take the case, he or she must research the
record, starting with a trial transcript that is 9,000 pages long on average,
prepare a legal brief on the inmate's behalf, and submit it to the court. This
step takes about 4 years, and it could be another 3 years before the court
issues its ruling.
If the Supreme Court upholds the verdict and the sentence, the condemned inmate
may contest it on different grounds. Then the inmate may seek relief at the
federal level. From start to finish, the appeals odyssey can take a
quarter-century or more - and that drives inmates and their victims' families
mad.
"Let me go home or kill me already," said Joseph Perez, 45, who was convicted
in 2002 of robbing and murdering a Lafayette mother. "I don't want life without
(the possibility of parole). I don't want to be an old, decrepit man walking
the prison yard. My only fear is dying in prison."
Proponents of Proposition 66 say the measure would accelerate the appeals
process by requiring more public defenders to accept death penalty cases and by
requiring state courts to issue decisions on the cases within 5 years.
Resolving these cases more quickly would eventually lead to cost savings,
supporters of the measure say.
But the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office notes in its analysis of the
initiative that the near-term costs of expediting appeals could be substantial,
as high as tens of millions of dollars annually for many years. Opponents call
it a "costly experiment" since the measure doesn't identify a source of funding
for the expedited system.
Charles Erbert and his daughter, Deanna Scott, say costs shouldn't be a factor
in the debate over capital punishment. They say voters should simply ask
themselves if execution is what men like Dennis and Perez deserve.
"I can forgive, but I can't forget, and I do think that he should get the death
penalty," said Scott, 36, who moved to Red Bluff with her father shortly after
the attack. "I had to grow up without a mom - and a brother."
If voters endorse Proposition 62 and abolish the death penalty, Scott vowed to
do "anything in my power to switch it back around."
Dennis told reporters he is appealing his death sentence because he believes he
should have been charged with manslaughter, not 1st-degree murder. He said he
was blinded by grief over the drowning death of his 4-year-old son when he
killed his ex-wife.
"I lost a son, and I have to live every day with that knowledge," Dennis said.
"I want a new trial. If people knew what I'd been through, the verdict would
have been different."
Prosecutors said Dennis killed Doreen Erbert - and had planned to kill Charles,
too - as revenge for his son's death in the Erberts' San Jose swimming pool 4
years earlier. He had even prepared coffin-like boxes and body bags for the
couple's corpses, prosecutors said.
"Finally, she got pregnant, and he took that life, too," Erbert said through
tears, noting that his wife had 2 miscarriages in the years before her death.
Still, he said, "I want him to know we survived. And we're making it. He hasn't
conquered us."
Other relatives of victims whose assailants sit on death row are hoping for a
different outcome in November and want to see the death penalty abolished.
Brentwood resident Dionne Wilson asked an Alameda County jury in 2007 to
sentence her husband's killer to death because she believed that the ultimate
punishment would deter crime and heal her. Her husband, San Leandro police
officer Dan Niemi, was killed by Irving Ramirez, 34, during a routine traffic
stop. He now sits on death row, awaiting action on his appeal.
But years later, Wilson says that when she took her own need for vengeance out
of the equation, her thinking changed.
Wilson is now a leading advocate of Proposition 62, hoping to show voters that
not all victims' family members want to see their loved ones' killers put to
death. The $150 million the state would save each year by outlawing capital
punishment could, she said, finance the sort of therapy and job training that
has been proven to reduce recidivism.
"California doesn't have the time or the resources to fix this system," Wilson
said. "It's broken beyond repair.
"I want to give voters permission to think differently about what justice looks
like."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PROPOSITION 62
What it would do: The measure would abolish the death penalty and make life
without the possibility of parole the maximum punishment for murder. Prisoners
condemned to death would be re-sentenced to life in prison.
What supporters say: The measure would save the state about $150 million
annually within a few years and eliminate the risk of executing any innocent
people.
What opponents say: The measure would get rid of the only fitting punishment
for California's worst killers.
How much money is being raised? Proponents collected $4.8 million as of Sept.
20. The opponents - including police officers, corrections officers and
district attorneys - have raised $3.8 million.
PROPOSITION 66
What it would do: The measure would speed up the death penalty appeals process
by requiring more public defenders to accept death penalty cases and by
requiring state courts to issue decisions on the cases within 5 years.
What supporters say: Resolving these cases more quickly would bring swifter
justice for victims and their families and eventually lead to cost savings.
What opponents say: The measure is a poorly written, pricey experiment that
would cost tens of millions of dollars a year to implement and increase the
chances of executing an innocent person.
How much money is being raised? Proponents collected $3.8 million as of Sept.
20. The opponents have raised $5.3 million.
If both measures pass, the one with the most yes votes will supersede the
other.
[sources: California Secretary of State's Office, MapLight]
(source: Mercury 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
