[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, GA., USA
July 23 TEXASnew execution date Preston Hughes has been given an execution date for November 15; it should be considered serious. (sources: Texas Department of Criminal Justice & Rick Halperin) Executions under Rick Perry, 2001-present-244 Numberscheduled execution date-name under Gov. Perry 245-August 1Marcus Durery 246-August 7Marvin Wilson 247-August 22--John Balentine 248-September 20--Robert Harris 249-September 25--Cleve Foster 250-October 18-Anthony Haynes 251-November 8Mario Swain 252-November 14---Ramon Hernandez 253-November 15---Preston Hughes (sources: Texas Department of Criminal Justice & Rick Halperin) GEORGIAimpending execution US Supreme Court urged to halt Georgia execution The U.S. Supreme Court has been urged to stop the state of Georgia from executing a man who evidence indicates has significant intellectual disabilities. Warren Lee Hill, Jr. is scheduled to be executed on July 23, 2012. The issue in the case is the standard Georgia uses for proving intellectual disability. In 2002 the U.S. Supreme Court, in Atkins v. Virginia, prohibited the execution of people with intellectual disabilities, finding that such a practice violates the U.S. constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Yet it left it to the states to decide how to enforce the ban. Most states have required defendants to show that it is more likely than not that they have an intellectual disability, using “a preponderance of the evidence” standard. Georgia is the only state that requires defendants to prove their disability beyond a reasonable doubt. “Requiring proof of intellectual disability beyond a reasonable doubt in death penalty cases makes Georgia an extreme and cruel outlier,” said Antonio Ginatta, U.S. advocacy director. “The Supreme Court should not let Georgia flout the ban on executing people with intellectual disabilities through a legal technicality.” Tests have shown that Hill has an IQ of about 70, which is in the same diagnostic range considered by the Supreme Court in Atkins. Disability groups have said that Hill’s form of intellectual disability makes him particularly vulnerable to wrongful execution because his impairments are not easily observed. Hill was sentenced to death in 1990 for killing a fellow prisoner, Joseph Handspike. At the time, Hill was already serving a life sentence for the 1986 murder of his girlfriend, Myra Wright. In November 2002 a state judge in Georgia ruled that there was a preponderance of evidence that Hill has an intellectual disability. However, in 2003 the Georgia Supreme Court reversed that decision and reinstated Hill’s death sentence, and a federal appeals court later ruled that under Georgia law death penalty defendants, such as Hill, must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they have an intellectual disability to avoid execution. “When it comes to capital punishment, the state of Georgia has shifted the burden of proof, arguably to the party least able to handle it,” Ginatta said. “In criminal cases, the state must prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt to overcome the presumption of innocence. But in Georgia, a person with intellectual disabilities is assumed to warrant a sentence of death unless he can prove his disability beyond a reasonable doubt.” On July 13 the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Parole heard Hill’s clemency request for a sentence of life in prison without parole. But on July 16 the board denied that request, as well as an appeal for a 90-day stay of execution. Hill’s lawyers are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to stay the execution. If that fails, they have said they will file new appeals in the state and federal courts. Hill’s execution was initially scheduled for July 18, but on July 17 the Georgia Department of Corrections announced it was postponing the execution until July 23 to make changes to its lethal injection drug protocol. In addition to the federal constitution, the United States has undertaken obligations under international human rights law not to execute people with intellectual disabilities. In 2011, during the Universal Periodic Review process for the US at the United Nations Human Rights Council, the U.S. supported a recommendation against executing people with “certain intellectual disabilities.” By allowing states vast leeway to determine intellectual disability, however, the US is violating its international obligations and in practice permitting states to execute people with intellectual disabilities. Human Rights Watch opposes capital punishment in all circumstances because the inherent dignity of the person is i
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, GA., USA
Aug. 20 TEXAS: Media Advisory: John L. Balentine scheduled for execution Pursuant to a court order by the 320th District Court of Potter County, Texas, John Lezell Balentine is scheduled for execution after 6 p.m. on Wednesday, August 22, 2012. On April 16, 1999, a Potter County jury convicted Balentine of capital murder for killing 17-year-old Mark Caylor, Jr., and 2 15-year-old boys, Kai Geyer and Steven Brady Watson. FACTS OF THE CASE The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas described the murders of Mark Caylor, Jr., Kai Geyer, and Steven Brady Watson as follows: At 2:30 a.m., on January 21, 1998, Officer Timothy Hardin of the Amarillo Police Department responded to a call that shots had been fired in an Amarillo, Texas, neighborhood. While investigating the call, he noticed [Balentine] walking from the area where the shots had been fired. Believing [Balentine] to be acting in a suspicious manner, Officer Hardin conducted a Terry stop. See Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 88 S. Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968). [Balentine] gave the officer incorrect information regarding his identity and address. A subsequent frisk of [Balentine's] person revealed a .32 caliber bullet in his possession. However, no weapon was found and [Balentine] was not taken into custody, but was eventually released. Later that morning, 3 young men were discovered murdered in that same neighborhood, and in a house where [Balentine] had resided until a few weeks before the incident when he broke up with Misty Caylor, his girlfriend who lived there. Each of the young men had been shot in the head with a .32 caliber bullet while they slept. One of the murder victims was Mark Caylor, who had threatened [Balentine] because of [his] treatment of Misty Caylor, Mark's sister. The investigation focused on [Balentine] and an arrest warrant was issued. [Balentine] left the Amarillo area shortly after the murders, but was later arrested in Houston, Texas. After his arrest in Houston, [Balentine] confessed he had committed these crimes. PROCEDURAL HISTORY On April 16, 1998, a Potter County jury found Balentine guilty of capital murder as charged in the indictment. On April 19, 1998, after the jury recommended capital punishment, the 320th Judicial District Court of Potter County, Texas sentenced Balentine to death by lethal injection. On April 3, 2002, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rejected Balentine's appeal and affirmed his conviction and sentence. On January 22, 2001, Balentine sought to appeal his conviction and sentence by seeking an application for a state writ of habeas corpus raising 21 grounds for relief. On December 4, 2002, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied Balentine's application based on the findings and conclusion of the habeas trial court. On December 1, 2003, Balentine petitioned for federal habeas relief from his conviction and sentence in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Amarillo Division. On August 19, 2004, Balentine amended his petition, limiting it to nine grounds for relief, and filed a separate volume of exhibits. On September 27, 2007, the U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of Texas, Amarillo Division, issued a report and recommendation to deny habeas relief after finding several of Balentine's claims to be defaulted and other claims to lack merit. On March 31, 2008, the U.S. District Court overruled Balentine's objections, denied Balentine's motion for an evidentiary hearing, adopted the U.S. Magistrate Judge's findings and conclusions, and denied habeas relief. By separate order issued the same day, the U.S. District Court denied Balentine's motion to stay proceedings and issued final judgment. On May 29, 2008, the U.S. District Court adopted the recommendation of the U.S. Magistrate Judge to grant Balentine a certificate of appealability (COA) on 2 claims, and to deny COA on all other grounds. On April 13, 2009, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court's denial of habeas relief and rejected Balentine's request to expand the issues on appeal. On June 23, 2009, the 320th Judicial District Court of Potter County, Texas ordered Balentine's execution for September 30, 2009. On July 2, 2009, Balentine petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for certiorari review of the Fifth Circuit's decision denying relief and denying COA, and applied for a stay of execution. On July 16, 2009, Balentine moved the Fifth Circuit for a stay of execution, which was denied. On August 21, 2009, Balentine filed a successive state habeas application alleging ineffective assistance of trial counsel for failure to investigate and present mitigation evidence, and arguing that potential jurors were improperly excluded in violation of Batson. Alternatively, Balentine moved to reopen his initial state habeas proceedings for reconsideration of an ineffective assistance cla
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, GA., USA
Jan. 6
TEXASnew execution date
Dale Scheanette has been given an execution date of Feb. 10; it should be
considered serious.
(sources: Texas Department of Criminal Justice & Rick Halperin)
GEORGIA:
Staples cuts deal, dodges death penalty trial
An Athens man avoided a death penalty trial when he accepted a plea deal
this morning in the stabbing death of an Athens man four years ago during
a robbery at the victims home in southeastern Clarke County.
Philip Randy Staples pleaded guilty to malice murder, felony murder,
burglary, armed robbery and other crimes in the Jan. 17, 2005, killing of
67-year-old George Bennett at Seabolts Mobile Home Park off Lexington
Avenue.
Staples, 50, had been schedule to stand trial in March, but prosecutors
offered a plea bargain with the consent of Bennetts family members.
Family members addressed Clarke County Superior Court Judge David Sweat
before Sweat accepted the plea deal and passed sentence.
Wesley Bennett, a captain with the Athens-Clarke County Fire Department,
said he had loathed the man who murdered his father, but tearfully told
Staples he forgave him.
"The hatred I felt for you, there was nothing this court could've done to
satisfy me," he said.
Bennett, a firefighter for more than 20 years, said he dedicated his life
to helping others, and like his father had served in the military to
defend the country.
"By continuing this hatred I have against you is against me helping
people," Wesley Bennett told Staples.
Staples told the family, "Mr. Bennett was a good man. I am truly sorry for
what happened. Please forgive me."
As part of the plea deal, Staples will be eligible for parole, but he
agreed to not appeal his guilty plea or sentence.
Staples admitted to each of the facts of the murder as they were recited
by District Attorney Ken Mauldin.
Among other things, he admitted that another man drove him to Bennett's
trailer with the intention of burglarizing it, but didn't expect the
widower who lived alone would be home.
Staples was surprised when the victim answered the door, and when trying
to rob the man he used a knife from to stab Bennett several times,
including a fatal stab to the neck that punctured the victim's jugular
vein.
Staples admitted he stole Bennett's wallet, which fell during the
struggle, and that he used the victim's credit card to buy gasoline. He
also admitted to tampering with evidence by tossing his bloody coveralls
and Bennetts wallet into a trash bin.
The man who drove Staples, George Lee Haynes, in 2007 was deemed mentally
incompetent to stand trial. A jury reached the decision after hearing
medical experts testify that he is mentally retarded and suffers from
AIDS-induced dementia.
Superior Court Judge David Sweat ordered Haynes into treatment at a state
psychiatric hospital, and wrote in an order that the 58-year-old man's
ability to gain competence "is not expected at any time in the foreseeable
future."
(source: Athens Banner-Herald)
USA:
Steve James of 'At the Death House Door'
Last spring I wrote about the superb documentary At the Death House Door
when I interviewed its subject, Pastor Carroll Pickett, who served 15
years as the death house chaplain to the infamous "Walls" prison unit in
Huntsville. The film was the 1st-time direction collaboration between
award-winning directors Steve James ("Hoop Dreams") and Peter Gilbert
("Vietnam: Long Time Coming"). James was nice enough to answer some of my
questions about the film.
How did you first hear about Pastor Carroll Pickett?
Steve James: Gordon Quinn at our film company Kartemquin was approached by
The Chicago Tribune because they thought we would be interested in doing a
film focused entirely on the investigation of the Carlos De Luna case by
Steve Mills and Maurice Possley. Gordon knew that Peter and I would be
interested in the subject and set up a meeting with the reporters. In the
course of telling us about De Luna, they also mentioned Pastor Carroll
Pickett who had been haunted by the memory of De Luna, and recorded these
feelings in an amazing audio tape about the execution right afterwards.
When they revealed he'd recorded audio tapes about all 95 executions he'd
ministered to, we were hooked. We decided from the get-go, that we wanted
Rev. Pickett's journey to be our main story, and bring us to why De Luna
was so important to him.
What was your original intention for the film and how did it evolve?
SJ: See answer above... As stated, the original intention of the Tribune
was to have us do a film about Carlos De Luna, but its hard to do a film
about a man who was not famous or led a well-documented life, and who was
executed 17 years before. With the mention of Pickett, it was clear that
we had a unique and potentially powerful story to tell about a man's past
and also who he is today. This is one time when the original conception of
what the film could be was pretty much on target for what the film
ultimately became.But that
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, GA., USA
Sept. 7 TEXAS: Perry 'squashed' Texas execution probe, ex-official says In February 2009, Sam Bassett got called to Gov. Rick Perry's office. Bassett was then chairman of the Texas Forensic Science Commission, an agency set up in 2005 to regulate state crime labs after a series of embarrassing scandals. The first matter on its plate involved the 2004 execution of Cameron Todd Willingham, whose murder conviction rested largely on testimony that many arson experts now call outdated and incorrect. Aides to Perry, who allowed Willingham's execution to go forward, started off with general questions about how things were going at the commission, a relatively new agency, Bassett said. But then they started asking about Willingham, questioning whether the commission's review of the evidence in his case was beyond its legal powers. "As soon as we started discussing the Willingham investigation, the meeting got more confrontational and more difficult," Bassett said. About 6 months later, Bassett's term on the commission was up -- and despite letters from members urging his reappointment, Perry replaced him and 3 other appointees. The move came at what Bassett calls a "critical point," two days before the commission was to hear from an expert who had delivered a scathing report on the Willingham case. The governor's new pick for chairman soon put the brakes on the investigation, raising some of the same questions about the commission's authority that Bassett said Perry's aides had. And in July, with Perry gearing up for a run for president, the state's attorney general delivered an opinion that appears to sharply limit the commission's authority. The Forensic Science Commission is meeting Thursday to decide what it can still do in light of that opinion. For Bassett, an Austin defense lawyer, it's the culmination of what he now calls a methodical campaign to shut down an investigation that might embarrass Perry. "At first, when I was replaced, I gave the governor the benefit of the doubt," he said. "But now that time has passed, I've seen this kind of endless drumbeat of strategies and actions to stop this investigation, and it's been terribly disappointing." Perry's campaign dismissed Bassett's accusations Wednesday, repeating the governor's characterization of Willingham as a "monster" who had sent his 3 young daughters to a fiery death. "The case has been scrutinized and reviewed by a jury, state and federal courts, the news media, anti-death penalty activists and the Forensic Science Commission," Perry spokesman Mark Miner told CNN in an e-mail. "Willingham was guilty of murdering his children." The statement did not directly address Bassett's accusations. Bassett's role in the matter ended in October 2009. He said Perry's office called him just days before the commission was slated to hear from the expert it hired to review the evidence in the Willingham case. He said a Perry aide thanked him for his service, but told him Perry "wants to take the commission in a different direction." Though the shakeup was controversial at the time, it was barely mentioned in Perry's 2010 re-election campaign. Perry is now seeking the Republican nomination for president, and Bassett says the Willingham case is a window into Perry's leadership. "He's not always open to any contradictory viewpoints that could actually be helpful," said Bassett, who describes himself as a Democratic-leaning supporter of capital punishment in some cases. When the Willingham last-minute plea for a stay came before him, "There was nobody at the helm to raise a flag and tell him, 'This is serious ... this guy may have been convicted on faulty science,' " Bassett said. Bassett said July's opinion from Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott "provides Governor Perry with the cover he probably needs to totally squash the investigation." Representatives of the attorney general's office raised no concerns about the Forensic Science Commission's jurisdiction when the panel voted unanimously to take on the Willingham investigation, he said. The Corsicana man was put to death in February 2004. It was one of 234 executions Perry has overseen as the longest-serving U.S. governor and the head of the most death-penalty-friendly state. Authorities in Corsicana say they remain convinced of Willingham's guilt, arguing that other evidence beyond the now-challenged arson testimony supported his conviction. The state fire marshal's office has told the Forensic Science Commission it stands by the findings in his case. Bassett said the commission was never looking into whether Willingham was innocent -- but he said much of the evidence cited in his trial is now considered "junk science." Perry's campaign also noted that Willingham's ex-wife now believes in his guilt. And his state office told CNN that Willingham "had full access to every level of the appeals process, and his c
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, GA., USA
Nov. 6 TEXASimpending execution Texas man on death row has 'no illusions': wife Texas death row inmate Hank Skinner, set to be executed Wednesday, has "no illusions" about his fate despite pending appeals, his French wife said Saturday. Anti-death penalty activist Sandrine Ageorges, who met and married Skinner while he was on death row in the 1990s, said her husband is "handling the situation quite well despite everything." "He has no illusions about an overly politicized system to expect that the truth will carry the day," she told AFP in an email. Ageorges said she is "realistic, and thus worried," adding that "the political dimension is taking over and that does not reassure me at all." Skinner's fate depends in part on Texas Governor Rick Perry, who is running for president while boasting of his support for capital punishment. Texas courts have denied requests by Skinner's lawyers for DNA tests he claims would exonerate him. Skinner was convicted of bludgeoning his girlfriend to death and fatally stabbing 2 of her children. Barring a reprieve, his execution has been set for November 9. Skinner has not denied being present in the home at the time of the killings but he has insisted that DNA collected at the site could clear him as a suspect in the 1993 crimes. Texas has refused to carry out the tests on evidence found at the home ever since a jury convicted him in 1995. Skinner's attorneys are asking an appeals court to reconsider the request. Skinner has maintained his innocence since the beginning. He has also enjoyed the support for 10 years of Northwestern University journalism professor David Protess, who has rerun the investigation with his students as part of the school's "innocence project." (source: Agence France-Presse) *** Impending executions in Texas date--# under Gov. Perryname--# in Texas since 1982 Nov. 9238--Hank Skinner--477 Nov. 16--239--Guadalupe Esparza---47850 % of all Tx. executions carried out under Gov. Perry, since 2001 Jan. 26--240--Rodrigo Hernandez---479more than 50 % of all Tx. executions now carried out under Gov. Perry's tenure (sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin) * Lawyers urge court to stay Texas inmate's execution Lawyers for a Texas death row inmate urged an appeals court Friday to stay his execution, just days before he is due to be put to death, to allow for DNA testing that could prove his innocence. Hank Skinner, who has been on death row for 16 years, is set to be executed on Wednesday for bludgeoning his girlfriend to death and fatally stabbing 2 of her children. The criminal appeals court "should stop the rush to execution so that it can give Mr Skinner's appeal the close attention it deserves," attorney Robert Owen said in a statement, pointing to "powerful and unanswered" questions over whether his client actually committed the crime. Skinner, who is married to French death penalty activist Sandrine Ageorges, got help from across the Atlantic on Friday when France expressed "concern" and called on Texas to put off the execution. "As judicial appeals in the state of Texas and at the federal level have not been exhausted, France considers it essential that the November 9 execution date be lifted," the French foreign ministry said. The latest appeal came after a US District Court judge denied Skinner's third request for DNA testing on Thursday. Skinner, 49, has not denied being present in the home at the time of the killings but he has insisted that DNA collected at the site could clear him as a suspect in the 1993 crimes. The state has long refused, citing a restrictive state DNA testing law. But lawmakers made changes to the law this year that lifted many of the restrictions. Skinner's appeal also garnered further support after over 120,000 people signed an online petition urging Texas Governor Rick Perry, a Republican presidential candidate, to halt his execution. Most of the signatures on the Change.org petition were added after Thursday's ruling. "We urge you to uphold the very standards you are promoting as part of a very much needed criminal justice reform and we ask you to demand the withdrawal of the execution warrant and that DNA testing be granted to Mr Skinner in the best possible time," the petition read. "We trust you to do the right thing for justice and for the truth in Texas, before it is too late." The US Supreme Court granted a stay of Skinner's execution less than an hour before he was due to be put to death last year. The high court sent the case back to a lower court to rule on Skinner's DNA testing request. (source: Agence France-Presse) Foster: DNA testing can prove vital in murder cases People who support the death penalty in theory have had moments of discomfort with some of its p
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----TEXAS, GA., USA
August 14 TEXAS: Convicted murderer appeals 1996 ruling Sentenced to death for the brutal sex-related slayings of a 68-year-old grandmother and her 4-year-old blind granddaughter, Jose Noe Martinez found himself back in a Hidalgo County courtroom Friday for an appeals hearing. Martinez, now 28, appeared in an orange jumpsuit used by the Hidalgo County Jail inmates and leg shackles in Judge Noe Gonzalez's 370 th state District Court. Gonzalez will make a ruling by the 1st week of September as to whether Martinez received effective counsel during his trial. Alex Calhoun, his current attorney, said Martinez's attorneys didn't present evidence to a jury during his November 1996 trial that his mother might have sexually abused him. Martinez was 18 in February 1995 when he broke into the home of Esperanza Palomo, located across the street from where he was staying with his own grandmother in the small community of Madero in western Hidalgo County. Martinez stabbed the grandmother multiple times and then sexually assaulted her, according to Monitor archives. On the night of the double homicide, Palomo was babysitting her visiting granddaughter Amanda, who was asleep in a nearby room. Martinez also stabbed Amanda several times, including once in the neck, and ejaculated on her. He had been under the influence of Rohypnol, according to Monitor archives. Rohypnol, which is commonly known as a "Roche" pill or a date-rape drug when combined with alcohol, is a central nervous system depressant, according to the National Institute of Drug Abuse. A friend who saw Martinez later that night testified during the 1996 trial that Martinez confessed to the killings, according to Monitor archives. "He kept saying 'I killed her,'" said Robert Dennis Galvan, a friend and relative of Martinez's. After receiving his death sentence, Martinez turned to family members of the victims and said, "It's not over yet," according to a profile of Martinez kept on the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's Death Row Web site. Palomo family members who sat through the entirety of the seven-hour hearings on Friday expressed frustration with the focus on Martinez's rights. "All of a sudden, there's concern about his life," said Pete Luna, son of Esperanza Palomo. "It's hard on us. It's hard for both families." Amanda's mother, Patty Palomo, said her daughter would be 14 years old today. "Every day, we try to get to the next day," Palomo said. "They were just special people in our lives that we always have in our hearts." No motive for the killings has been presented, Luna said. While on the stand during the 1996 trial, Martinez's mother, Alma Mancias Martinez, began crying and asked her son, "Why did you do it?" That same question remains with family of the victims, Luna said. "We just want to know why," he said. "The question has never been answered." Martinez's hearing Friday was part of his state habeas corpus appeals, the second of the 3 stages of appeals that death row convicts are entitled to, according to a guidebook on the death penalty put out by the Texas Attorney General. Martinez's direct appeals, which address any errors made during the trial, have already been exhausted. Gonzalez will make a ruling by the 1st week of September as to whether Martinez received effective counsel during his trial. If Gonzalez finds that he did receive adequate legal counsel, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals will review the case. If the criminal appeals court denies Martinez's claims, an execution date can be set by Gonzalez. Martinez still has a venue of federal appeals open to him. Ricardo Flores, now the Hidalgo County judge for child welfare cases, and Fela Olivarez were Martinez's defense attorneys during his original trial. Olivarez, who served as an assistant to Flores, had never handled a capital murder case before and had only had her law license for 2 years at the time she was appointed. In court Friday, Flores said he never interviewed any of Martinez's teachers or counselors for the trial. He also said he was unaware that Martinez had been sexually abused, although Flores suspected because of the nature of the crime. "I had nothing, nobody saying 'Hey, this (sexual abuse) happened,' " Flores said. A person on Texas' death row has an average of 10.43 years before execution, accoring to TDCJ. It costs the state $61.58 per day to keep an inmate on death row, states TDCJ statistics. At the end of the hearing, Gonzalez told sheriff's department deputies to return Martinez to death row. Martinez has been at the Hidalgo County Jail for the past two weeks in order to attend Friday's hearing. "Ship him back to death row where he belongs," Gonzalez said. (source: The Monitor) ** Slayings in a small town---The deaths shake a community where the last homicide occurred 15 years ago When Anita Hulsey Bryant and her husband, Henry Lee Bryant III, moved to Dublin 2 1/2 years ago, she found h
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, GA., USA
Oct. 5 TEXAS: Death-Row Inmate Gets 1 Last Chance A Texas inmate can argue that his death sentence is invalid because prosecutors did not disclose their deal with a jailhouse snitch who testified that he had confessed to murder, a federal judge ruled. A Harris County jury convicted Chuong Duong Tong of capital murder in March 1998 and a judge sentenced him to death. The jury found Tong guilty of killing Houston police Officer Tony Trinh, who was off duty working at his parents' Houston convenience store on April 6, 1997, when Tong entered, pulled a Glock handgun and demanded Trinh's wallet and jewelry. "Tong attempted to open the cash register. Trinh then identified himself as a police officer, showed Tong his badge, and told Tong that he 'was not going to get away with this.' Tong shot Trinh once in the head at close range," according to U.S. District Judge Nancy Atlas' summary in her Sept. 30 order. Tong stole Trinh's jewelry and fled to a waiting car. Police arrested Tong, then 21, several months later and he was charged with capital murder. He claimed in a statement he gave police that he accidentally shot Trinh while jumping over the store counter. He said he took apart the gun after fleeing from the store and showed police the storm drains where he dumped threw the parts. "While in a jail holding tank, Tong told a fellow inmate, Stephen Mayeros, why he was in jail," Atlas' 78-page ruling states. "Mayeros asked Tong how close he was when he shot Trinh, and Tong responded by touching his finger to Mayeros's forehead and saying 'bang.' When Mayeros asked Tong if he felt bad about killing Trinh, Tong replied that he felt terrible and cried himself to sleep, and then laughed." Several Houston police officers were clients of Mayeros' home-cleaning business when he was arrested for driving without a license and placed in the cell with Tong. Mayeros testified that after Tong confessed to him, he mentioned the conversation to one of his police clients, who put him in touch with a detective in the Houston Police Department's homicide division. Mayeros' charges were dropped 10 days after he gave a statement to police. Tong asked prosecutors for information about any deals they made with witnesses before trial, but they did not disclose their agreement with Mayeros. "Tong now contends that Mayeros admitted to Tong's prior habeas counsel, John McFarland, that he got a deal for testifying against Tong," Atlas' order states. Prosecutors must disclose evidence favorable to the defense under the Supreme Court's 1963 ruling in Brady v. Maryland. Finding that Tong's Brady claims should be vetted at a hearing, Judge Atlas ordered his defense and Texas prosecutors to submit a joint report proposing a discovery, briefing and hearing schedule by Oct. 31. Though Tong raised 16 categories of habeas claims, Atlas approved only his Brady claims. She dismissed all his other claims with prejudice. "We're happy that we're getting a hearing," Tong's attorney Jonathan Landers said in an interview, noting how rarely prisoners win relief in habeas cases. "We're disappointed that our other claims weren't granted," he said. Landers mentioned another Harris County case involving Linda Carty, the only United Kingdom citizen on death row in the United States, and an unusual post-conviction hearing she got in July after the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals told a state judge to consider allegations of prosecutorial misconduct made in witness affidavits. Harris County Judge David Garner ruled on Sept. 1 that prosecutors did withhold evidence from Carty, but that that was not enough to prejudice the jury. "The State was operating under a misunderstanding of Brady at the time of the Carty trial. ... The Harris County District Attorney's Office did not believe that impeachment or exculpatory evidence needed to be disclosed if the prosecutor did not find the testimony credible," Garner wrote. Garner's order says prosecutors did not tell Carty's counsel that they had agreed a witness could avoid prison if Carty received the death penalty. A jury convicted Carty of capital murder for the death of Joanna Rodriguez, after prosecutors persuaded them Carty suffocated Rodriguez so she could steal her newborn son. A judge sentenced Carty to death in February 2002, four years after Tong received his death sentence. Landers said Carty's case illustrates a pattern of obstruction at the District Attorney's Office. "Harris County during this time period was having some problems at the DA's office of not notifying attorneys about deals they made with clients," the attorney said. In capital murder cases, Texas district attorneys' offices represent the state in state post-conviction appeals; the Texas Attorney General's Office handles federal habeas appeals. Harris County Assistant District Attorney Lori DeAngelo is assigned to Tong's state case. She sai
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, GA., USA
Oct. 5 TEXASimpending execution Texas Set To Execute Inmate Who Murdered A Man Over $8Juan Garcia is scheduled to die by lethal injection on Tuesday for fatally shooting a man during a 1998 robbery in which he stole $8. Texas is set to execute Juan Martin Garcia on October 6 for the 1998 murder of Hugo Solano during a robbery. Garcia, 35, is sentenced to die for fatally shooting Solano, a Mexican missionary in Houston, during a robbery where then 18-year-old Garcia stole $8. Garcia had 3 other accomplices, 2 of whom are serving sentences related to the robbery and 1 was paroled after serving 14 years of a 30-year sentence. Garcia's lawyers have unsuccessfully appealed to the courts that Garcia suffered from ineffective counsel during his trial and is intellectually disabled making him ineligible for the death penalty. In March, the Supreme Court also refused to intervene in the case. Garcia has appealed to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to grant him clemency. He has no outstanding appeals, his lawyer told the Houston Chronicle. Garcia's lawyers have argued that he had an "extremely poor school record" according to his friends and family. His mother had testified that he was a slow learner enrolled in special education classes. He also had "significant limitations in his adaptive functioning," which he exhibited before committing the crime, according to his lawyers. However the courts have denied his appeals stating there was no evidence, such as school records and IQ test scores, to prove his intellectual disability. His lawyers also argued that Garcia's trial counsel had failed to show that he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of his "tortured childhood" at the hands of an abusive stepfather. Garcia would become the 11th inmate executed in Texas this year, the most of any state. While several states have faced a shortage in the supply of lethal injection drugs, Texas has been consistently able to procure pentobarbital which it uses in its 1-drug execution protocol. The state is making its own execution drugs and supplied it to Virginia for the execution of serial killer Alfredo Prieto on Oct. 1, the Virginia Department of Corrections confirmed. Garcia, who started committing crimes at the age of 12, was involved in several aggravated robberies by the time he was 18. He engaged in a crime spree with his accomplices before and after the murder of Solano. On Sept. 17, 1998, Garcia and his 3 accomplices approached Solano, 36, who was walking to his van in the parking lot of an apartment complex. Garcia demanded money from Solano and then fatally shot him 3 times in head as he sat in his car. He took $8 in cash from the victim. Garcia was arrested 11 days later when he was found with the murder weapon while being pulled over in a traffic stop. He confessed to the crime after his arrest. In a 2010 post titled "Letters to a Future Death Row Inmate" featured on the Minutes Before Six blog, Garcia wrote: "People can sentence another to die only if they think he isn't human, so the only thing a prosecutor ever has to do is make you a dog. No, dogs get national campaigns to save them from the pound. They just have to make you into something that can be killed free of guilt. That's all. They don't want to hear about the hells of your childhood, the rough life you had and it makes me so mad that I never tried to get help, maybe I would still be out there, who knows." (source: BuzzFeed News) GEORGIA: Justices reject appeal from inmate over juror's racial slur The Supreme Court has rebuffed an appeal from an African-American man on Georgia's death row over a white juror's use of a racial slur. The justices did not comment Monday in rejecting Kenneth Fults' appeal. He was sentenced to death for the 1996 killing of Cathy Bounds, who was shot 5 times in the back of her head. Fults has been trying for 10 years to get a court to consider evidence that racial bias deprived him of a fair trial. Fults' lawyers obtained a signed statement from juror Thomas Buffington in which Buffington twice used the racial slur when referring to Fults. Buffington died last year. The case is Fults v. Chatman, 14-9740. (source: Associated Press) Even with the pope in her corner, Gissendaner had no hope Pope Francis had some mojo going. Adoring crowds thronged the streets during his recent visit. It was in the wake of that communal enthusiasm that the pontiff forwarded a plea to the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles: don't give Kelly Gissendaner the needle. The board, which operates in a cloud of secrecy, was unmoved. Soon, she was dead. Lobbying efforts from candle-holding crowds, Gissendaner's kids (who were also the victim's) and even God's wingman himself didn't nudge the board to sympathy. Nor did the countless legal appeals. Gissendaner made news in February f
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----TEXAS, GA., USA, N.J.
August 1 TEXAS: Condemned Waxahachie man loses appeal A federal appeals court has turned down the appeal of a North Texas man condemned for a robbery where two employees of a Dallas video store were shot to death, moving the convicted killer closer to execution for a crime that occurred more than 13 years ago. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an appeal from Leon Dorsey IV of Waxahachie. He had challenged his conviction and death sentence for the fatal shootings of James Armstrong, 26, and Brad Lindsey, 20, during an April 1994 holdup of a Blockbuster video store. Evidence showed he stole $392. The slayings went unsolved for some 4 years. When Dorsey finally went to trial in late 1999, a Dallas County jury deadlocked 11-1 for conviction, forcing the trial judge to declare a mistrial. The second trial, in May 2000, resulted in his conviction and death sentence. In his appeal, Dorsey, now 31, challenged his trial court's denial of a mistrial request after some jurors wrongly saw an 88-page transcript of an interview Dorsey did with a reporter for The Dallas Morning News . In the jailhouse interview, Dorsey described numerous other crimes that the trial court had admitted into evidence only for record purposes. An edited version of the taped interview, with the extraneous crime admissions deleted, had been admitted as evidence and played for jurors. The jury foreman, about 90 minutes into deliberations, sent out a note asking if it was proper that the panel had the full transcript because it appeared to include information not brought out on the witness stand. Not all jurors saw the full transcript, but the panel members were interviewed individually at a hearing and all said they would not consider the additional material in their deliberations. When they were allowed to resume, Dorsey's attorney asked for a mistrial but the request was denied. The 3-judge panel of the New Orleans-based appeals court, in its decision posted late Monday, said any error by the trial court was harmless. "The evidence against Dorsey was overwhelming," the judges wrote, noting that he confessed to at least four different people and that a security camera's videotape of the shooting showed a man matching Dorsey's description. Besides that issue, Dorsey, who is black, unsuccessfully challenged prosecutors' removal of a black man from the jury pool. And the appeals court rejected his arguments that the trial court should have dismissed four prospective jurors who were biased in favor of the death penalty or said they would not consider his youth as a mitigating factor in their deliberations. Instead, Dorsey's lawyers used their allowed strikes to remove the potential jurors. "He had not alleged that the jury that sat in his capital murder trial was not impartial," the appeals judges wrote. At the time of his capital murder trial, Dorsey, who does not have an execution date, was serving a 60-year sentence for murder for the slaying of a 51-year-old woman at an Ellis County food store. Dorsey initially was questioned about the video-store killings after his girlfriend reported to police that he had admitted the shootings to her. But police erroneously believed the 18-year-old was too tall, based on images from the security tape. When the case was reopened in 1998, Dallas authorities had the tape analyzed by the FBI and determined Dorsey could have been the gunman. When he was questioned again, he confessed. In addition, evidence showed a week before his trial he told a fellow jail inmate about the slayings and sent a letter to another prisoner, offering $5,000 to accept blame for the killings. He also admitted to the crimes in another interview with the Morning News. (source: Dallas Morning News) 'I shouldn't have to abandon my humanity, my dignity' Kenneth Foster Jr. has an appointment he hopes not to keep. He is scheduled to die Aug. 30 in the Texas prison system's death chamber. If it comes to that, Foster says he is ready. But as I pointed out in Sunday's column, Foster never should have gotten the death penalty in the murder of Michael LaHood of San Antonio. In fact, Mauriceo Brown, the man who killed LaHood in 1996, was executed a year ago for the crime.> Foster and 2 other people were with Brown most of the evening that LaHood was killed, but all the evidence -- including Brown's testimony at trial -- clearly shows that neither Foster nor the other men knew about, planned, participated in or anticipated Brown's act. But under Texas' "law of parties," and partly because Foster was tried along with Brown, he was convicted and given a death sentence. Although a federal judge overturned that sentence, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld it, and the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal. Foster does not deserve to die, and he and others are fighting to stop the execution through more appeals to the courts, the Texas Board of Pardons and Parol
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, GA., USA, OHIO
June 2 TEXAS: Feds investigate Austin policeJustice Department to review use of force The U.S. Department of Justice is launching an investigation into the use of force by Austin police officers, city officials announced late Friday. The investigation will include a review of how officers are trained, how incidents are documented and meetings with community leaders, Austin city officials said. City Manager Toby Futrell, Acting Police Chief Cathy Ellison and other city leaders announced the inquiry which comes nearly three years after the Austin chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Texas Civil Rights Project filed a federal complaint in an evening news conference and said they would cooperate fully. A letter to the city from the Justice Department said, "In conducting the investigation, we are obliged to determine whether APD is systemically violating the Constitution of the United States." City officials said the investigation could begin next month and take 1 to 3 years to complete. Officials are expected to meet with federal investigators in coming days to learn more about the specifics of the inquiry. "We welcome an outside, objective review of our department," Futrell said. Ellison said: "Bring it on. We have nothing to hide. We are an open department, and we are one of the best police departments in this country." Futrell said the first phase will include a review of policies and practices, but not particular use-of-force incidents. Investigators will determine whether they want to review specific arrests. The Justice Department letter said that if the agency finds civil rights violations, it will recommend remedial measures and provide assistance in making improvements. The inquiry is not criminal in nature. Nelson Linder, president of the Austin NAACP, said he fears the inquiry is too late. "These were very serious cases back then involving the use of force," Linder said. "I suppose it's better late than never, but a federal review would have been more relevant at that time. Today, it might not have the same impact." Linder said taking three years to launch the investigation and possibly 3 more years to complete it is "unacceptable," and federal authorities need to move faster to assure victims' rights. The inquiry will likely reinvigorate a years-long debate about how Austin police officers use force against minorities. The NAACP and Texas Civil Rights Project complaint was triggered, in part, by a series of American-Statesman articles in 2004 revealing that from 1998 to 2003, police were twice as likely to use force against blacks as against whites and 25 percent more likely to use force against Hispanics than against whites. During that time, all but one of the 11 people who were killed by police officers were minorities. The groups added to their complaint in February 2005 after several officers and dispatchers exchanged computer messages that included "burn baby, burn" during a fire at the Midtown Live nightclub, which catered to African American patrons. Futrell and former Police Chief Stan Knee co-signed a letter to the justice department a month later saying they also welcome an outside review. Futrell said she is unsure why the agency has decided to investigate now. The investigation comes as the city is working to hire a new police chief, who is expected to be named by the end of the month. Ellison is 1 of 5 finalists. Futrell said she doesn't think the investigation will impact the search, and said if any of the candidates are discouraged by the review, "then they probably aren't the candidate we need right now." Futrell said city and department leaders in recent years have been working to improve the department and to restore community trust. They expanded the time that rookie officers must ride with more veteran officers from 8 to 12 weeks and hired an executive research team to evaluate the department's training programs, she said. Officials also have installed video cameras in all patrol cars and updated a policy that now requires that all traffic and pedestrian stops be recorded. "We've done everything to innovate and change in our department," Futrell said. Ellison and Austin Police Sgt. Jim Beck, president of the Austin Police Association, said officers will continue to combat crime and meet with the community during the investigation. "Officers are used to audits and task forces," Beck said. "They are used to scrutiny and see the value of it." (source: Austin American-Statesman) Investigator saw the unusual and infamousLarry Dehnert recalls highlights from nearly 34 years in DA's office It was one of the more unusual assignments Larry Dehnert was ever handed by a Harris County prosecutor. "Go find me some Pixy Stix so we can use them in court," Dehnert, 57, recalled earlier this week, while closing out his almost 34-year career as an investigator in the District Attorne
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, GA., USA, PENN., MD.
May 22 TEXAS: Quintero didn't expect to be spared after slayingHe expresses regret for killing, concern about his own safety Almost 2 years ago, Juan Leonardo Quintero predicted in a jail house interview that he would be sent to the death chamber for shooting Houston police officer Rodney Johnson. "I was wrong," he said Wednesday from a Harris County jail a day after he was sentenced to life in prison without chance of parole. It was a verdict that outraged Johnson's family and local law enforcement but served as a victory for death penalty opponents in a county that has sent more people to Texas' death row than any other. The verdict also reignited debate about illegal immigration, as Quintero had been deported before he sneaked back into the United States. Quintero, dressed in a yellow jumpsuit Wednesday, smiled as he responded to questions about the verdict. But his demeanor changed when asked whether he was happy about the jury's decision to spare his life. "It's not anything to be happy about," he said somberly. The 34-year-old former landscaper said he knew the sentence came as a surprise to many people, including Johnson's family. Quintero said he wanted to share his thoughts with Johnson's wife, Joslyn, but in a private manner. Joslyn Johnson could not be reached for comment. Quintero expressed regret, as he did at the end of his trial, although he said he was sure many doubt his sincerity. "No matter what I say, people are going to think what they want," he said. "Nothing I can say, nothing I can do, will fix what I've done. I'm sorry for everything, though." Quintero also expressed concern for his own safety and whether he would even make it to a state prison. "How am I going to be OK with a lot of cops around?" he asked. During the trial, prosecutors pointed to the stoic confession he gave to a Houston investigator after the shooting as evidence that he was a remorseless killer. Quintero said the interview occurred a couple hours after the shooting, and that he was afraid. "I thought I was going to get executed right there," he said. He still could not explain the shooting, other than to say that fear led him to kill Johnson. He paused several moments before answering a question about how he would live with Johnson's murder. "I feel bad about it," Quintero said. "It's going to keep going on the rest of my life." Defense team praised His life sentence continued to be a topic of discussion around the Harris County Criminal Courthouse Wednesday and won praise for Quintero's defense team from some local lawyers. "The defense attorneys did a great job," said legendary defense lawyer Richard "Racehorse" Haynes, who has practiced in Houston for 52 years. Haynes, a death penalty opponent, said his sympathies went out to Johnson's family, but that the verdict was justice. He credited Quintero's attorney, Danalynn Recer. "I'm going to write her a little note of congratulations," Haynes said. Recer was not available for comment Wednesday. John Jordan, one of the prosecutors in the case, said he respected the jury's verdict, but said it doesn't represent the will of the people. "I hope the fact that the community seems to disagree with the decision gives some comfort to the police officers who put their lives on the line for us every day." Speaking about Johnson's family and fellow officers, Jordan said he was disappointed. "I wish we could have brought them justice." Not unprecedented While the verdict may have been shocking to some, it was not the 1st time a person was convicted of capital murder of a peace officer has avoided the death penalty in Harris County. Since 1990, at least nine men have been sentenced to death in police officer slayings. At least four others have been sentenced to life in prison, although the law has continued to change regarding the minimum amount of time they have to spend behind bars. In 1992, Keith Burl Turner was sentenced to life in prison at least 35 years for shooting off-duty Harris County sheriff's deputy Jeffrey Scott Sanford as he tried to stop a convenience store robbery. Jurors in 1994 spared the life of Edward John Benavides, who was convicted in the shooting death of Pasadena police officer Les Early during a November 1993 drug raid. He will be eligible for parole in 2024. Man Nhu Truong got life in prison instead of the death penalty for shooting Randy Eng, an off-duty sheriff's deputy working an extra job at a wedding reception in 1998. In 2002, Alex Adams escaped the death chamber for the murder of HPD officer Albert Vasquez when a mistrial was declared, resulting in an automatic life sentence. Truong and Adams must serve a minimum of 40 years before becoming eligible for parole. Until 2005, punishment for a capital murder charge was death by lethal injection or life with a possibility of parole. The Texas Legislature voted in 2005 to take away the possibility of parole for convicted capital murderers. DA hopef
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----TEXAS., GA., USA, CALIF., MD.
March 26 UTAH: Prison rejects murderer's claim of tortureGardner complains of pain linked to arthritis Prison officials say death row inmate Ronnie Lee Gardner is not being tortured in prison, contrary to the convicted murderer's claim in federal court on Monday. Gardner, 46, is seeking an appeal in U.S. District Court for a new trial from his conviction for shooting an attorney at a Salt Lake City courthouse in a botched escape attempt. During a hearing before U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell, where Gardner appeared via conference phone, the 46-year-old inmate said he is not being given his medication to treat his chronic arthritis by state corrections workers and added a prison doctor asked why he didn't drop his appeal to end his suffering. "You should always follow your doctor's orders, except in legal matters," Campbell told Gardner. "I'm in so much pain," Gardner said. "I sleep two hours in a 24-hour period. ... They're pushing me so far that I can't think positively anymore. I'm normally a positive person." State corrections refute Gardner's claims. In a statement, Dr. Richard Garden, director of clinical services for the Utah Department of Corrections, said he denies Gardner's medical care is akin to torture and pointed out that his staff has involved outside medical help and specialists to help treat the inmate. "No torture is tolerated in this system, nor does it exist. If it were to be discovered it would be immediately eliminated," said corrections Executive Director Tom Patterson. Patterson added he believes Gardner is being treated in a humane way and that medical staff is looking out for his best interests as well as the interests of the general public in terms of public safety. Gardner's attorney, Andrew Parnes, said getting the medication to treat his client's arthritis has been hit and miss with corrections officials. "It's been an up and down situation," Parnes said. Under a new federal program designed to help inmates who have civil issues, Campbell assigned a civil attorney to assist Gardner in working with corrections to get his medication. Parnes said he was relieved when Campbell ordered the additional legal help. As for Gardner, Parnes said he believes his threat to drop his appeal and accept execution was real and not a threat to get attention. Campbell has indicated she will rule on Gardner's appeal claims within the next 2 weeks. Gardner was sentenced to death for killing attorney Michael Burdell during an attempted escape from the Salt Lake County Courthouse in 1985. He was captured on the lawn. Gardner's appeal centers on jury instructions given at his trial. The Attorney General's Office has argued that it's too late to raise that claim. (source: Deseret Morning News) CALIFORNIA: 2 may face death penalty in Oceanside slaying 2 young men accused of fatally shooting a former professional baseball player and local business owner in front of his Oceanside home pleaded not guilty Monday to murder charges in Superior Court. Jonathan Duval Johnson, 20, of Vista, and Dominic Porter, 21, of Oceanside could face the death penalty if convicted, said prosecutor Garland Peed. Killed was Kenya Hunt, 34, who was drafted by the Padres out of college in 1994 and owned a moving company before he was slain Thursday morning in front of his Lofty Grove Drive home. Johnson and Porter were hiding in bushes across the street from Hunt's residence when Hunt walked onto the driveway and was shot by Porter, Peed told the judge during the brief hearing. Porter walked up to Hunt who was now wounded and lying on the ground stood over him and shot again, Peed said. The defendants ran from the neighborhood and were arrested approximately 1 mile away near a strip mall, Peed said. Attorneys for both men said they have strong local ties and minimal criminal records. Judge Adrienne Orfield ordered Porter and Johnson held in lieu of $5 million bail. On Valentine's Day, an unknown gunman sprayed Hunt's Humvee with bullets near Hunt's home. Both men survived, with Hunt suffering a bullet lodged in his hip. (source: San Diego Union-Tribune) MARYLAND: PG supports failed state death penalty legislation Although a bill that would have repealed the state's death penalty failed in a committee earlier this month in Annapolis, Prince Georges County Council might pass a resolution today supporting the legislation. A state Senate committee defeated the proposal to ban executions in a 5-5 vote, meaning that the death penalty will remain in Maryland for at least another year. "I'm confident that in future General Assemblies the issue will be discussed," Council Vice Chair David Harrington told The Examiner on Monday. Harrington, the resolutions prime sponsor, wants his colleagues to move forward and pass it. "I would hope it does," said Harrington, who won't be at today's meeting. "But, I would understand that given the current state the council may decide to hold it
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----TEXAS, GA., USA, PENN., N. MEX.
June 15 TEXAS: Mental disorders treated differentlyMentally ill, and out on his own They were once known as insane asylums. Hollywood played on the worst example of mental hospitals in the 1975 film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, which won Oscars for Jack Nicholson for his role as a prison inmate who feigned insanity and Louise Fletcher for her performance as a cruel head nurse. The movie, considered an American classic, probably helped frame the viewpoints of a generation toward mental institutions and the mentally ill. However, Roger Peele, chief psychiatrist for Montgomery County in Maryland and a member of the American Psychiatric Association, knew that mental institutions were capable of benevolent care, too, and that some patients could function normally because of treatment they received. He saw that in his father, a World War I veteran whose behavior changed drastically when he returned home. "Somehow, my mother persuaded the authorities that his problems were because of serving in the war, and he was placed in the VA system," Peele said. "He was a patient for 35 years, played tennis, wrote articles for the local newspaper, watched TV." In the years since, the mental-health community came around to thinking that institutionalization made mental illness worse, not better, and the legal system determined that mentally ill people could not be deprived of basic rights and freedom. For medical professionals, treatment and rehabilitation is a balancing act. "The 3 pillars of ethical medicine are the autonomy of the patient, doing the right thing and the rights of others," said Dr. Ira Katz, who oversees mental-health patient care for the Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington, D.C. Directly and indirectly, this affects the lives of millions of Americans. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, more than 50 million adults suffer from some form of mental illness, most of which is treatable. "There are lots and lots of success stories of people returning to society," Peele said. Society, however, still tiptoes around mental-health issues. The result is that many people may not get the help they need. Healthcare providers have a history of declining to give patients with mental disorders the same level of coverage as those with physical ailments. The number of visits that can be made to a mental-health professional or clinic is usually limited. And not all mental disorders are covered. That has prompted Sens. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., and Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., to co-sponsor the Sen. Paul Wellstone Mental Health Parity Act of 2007, which would require insurance companies to provide equal healthcare coverage for mental and physical illness. In doing away with permanent confinement in mental institutions, as President Kennedy initiated in the early 1960s, the country failed to ensure that there was an infrastructure to provide the mentally ill with sufficient resources should they suffer a relapse or need counseling and support. It's a challenge, Peele said. "Sidewalks are changed. Elevators are changed so that a person in a wheelchair has access to the community," he said. "But how do you do it with the mentally ill?" There is also no clear-cut delineation of responsibility for providing mental-health services. The federal government and state, local and private agencies are all in the mix, and theres not enough cooperation to prevent people from falling through the cracks. "It's too diffused," Peele said. Another obstacle is the stigma of mental illness, often revolving around the perception that the mentally ill are almost universally violent. Tragedies like the Columbine and Virginia Tech shootings that receive graphic and exhaustive media coverage have contributed to that viewpoint. Such acts of violence by the mentally ill are an aberration, said Robin Peyson, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness-Texas. But, she said, "there is a higher risk for violence if the mentally ill are also using alcohol and drugs." And the risks increase if the mentally ill are not being treated. She said perceptions about mental illness can be traced to the fact that science is only beginning to understand how the brain functions. "Medicine and science can see what a sick stomach and heart look like," she said. "But with the mentally ill, there was nothing to see that the brain is sick, just the behavior that made people sick." Advances in mental-health science are encouraging, as is the growing understanding that mental illness is real, not imagined, Domenici said. His bill would increase coverage for more Americans and provide coverage for those who dont have it. Healthcare providers are concerned about the costs, some of which will be passed to subscribers. And skeptics believe that mental illness is often used as a crutch by the weak-minded. "It has gotten better, but it will always be difficult for society to understand that mental illness is
