Nov. 22
TEXAS----impending execution
Urgent Action----STOP EXECUTION OF TEXAS MAN WITH DELUSIONAL DISORDER
John Battaglia, aged 61, is scheduled to be executed in Texas on 7 December. He
was sentenced to death for killing his 2 young daughters in 2001. Three
psychologists have concluded that a delusional disorder renders him incompetent
for execution. On 18 November, a Texas judge ruled that he is feigning mental
illness and can be executed.
Write a letter, send an email, call, fax or tweet- including inmate number
#999412 in your appeals:
* Calling for the execution of John Battaglia to be stopped and for his death
sentence to be commuted;
* Noting that 3 psychologists have found he has a delusional disorder that
leaves him without a rational understanding of his impending execution;
* Explaining that you do not wish to downplay the seriousness of the crime or
deny the suffering caused.
Contact these 2 officials by 7 December, 2016:
Important note: Please do not forward this Urgent Action email directly to
these officials. Instead of forwarding this email that you have received,
please open up a new email message in which to write your appeals to each
official. This will help ensure that your emails are not rejected. Thank you
for your deeply valued activism!
Clemency Section, Board of Pardons and Paroles
8610 Shoal Creek Blvd.,
Austin, Texas 78757-6814, USA
Fax: +1 512 467 0945
Email: bpp-...@tdcj.state.tx.us
Salutation: Dear Board Members
Governor Greg Abbott
Office of the Governor
P.O. Box 12428
Austin, Texas 78711-2428, USA
Fax: +1 512 463 1849
Contact form: https://gov.texas.gov/contact/assistance.aspx
Salutation: Dear Governor
(sourc: Amnesty International USA)
NEW JERSEY:
N.J. lawmakers want to reinstate death penalty in 'extreme' cases
2 state lawmakers are looking to reverse New Jersey's landmark ban on the death
penalty and restore the punishment for serious crimes.
On Monday, Senators Steve Oroho (R-Sussex) and Jeff Van Drew (D-Cape May)
introduced a bill that would restore capital punishment in certain murder
cases, citing recent terror attacks and fatal ambushes of police officers
across the United States as examples of crimes warranting the death penalty.
New Jersey eliminated capital punishment nearly a decade ago, and the measure
would have to be approved by the Democrat-controlled state Legislature in order
to pass. Previous attempts to roll back the prohibition have failed in recent
years, and opponents who shepherded the state death penalty ban into law vowed
to fight any effort at repeal.
But its sponsors say recent events merit a fresh look at allowing capital
punishment in "extreme" cases.
According to a copy of the bill obtained by NJ Advance Media on Monday, it
would restore capital punishment in cases including the murder of a police
officer; the murder of a child in commission of a sex crime; deaths caused by
an act of terror; killings committed by those who have previously been
convicted of murder; and for serial killers.
In a statement announcing the introduction of the bill, Oroho cited the case of
Ahmad Khan Rahimi, the man accused of planting bombs in New Jersey and New York
in a botched terror plot in September, in advocating for a return to capital
punishment.
But even if the bill were currently law, Rahimi himself wouldn't likely face
the death penalty, because despite causing widespread panic and injuries, the
string of bombings caused no fatalities.
In an interview, the senator said the accused Elizabeth bomber was used as an
example.
"There could have been significant fatalities had it actually gone off as
planned," Oroho said, adding that he hoped the possibility of capital
punishment would serve as a deterrent to future plots.
Sen. Ray Lesniak, a key sponsor of the legislation banning capital punishment
in the Garden State, said on Monday that the testimony that led to its passage
included the family members of major crime victims who opposed answering
killing with more killing.
He also said the specter of wrongful convictions should give pause to anyone
looking to reinstate the death penalty.
Van Drew, a Democrat who said he voted against the repeal of the death penalty,
said there was "no question that it has to be used very sparingly, only in
circumstances where there is clear proof" such as a confession or DNA evidence.
Lesniak said he did not expect the bill to pass.
"We haven't had the death penalty for almost 10 years now, and we're not going
to back to the dark ages," Lesniak said.
Ari Rosmarin, the public policy director for the state chapter of the American
Civil Liberties Union, which fought for the death penalty ban, said capital
punishment in New Jersey "is in the dustbin of history, where it belongs."
"Lawmakers submit thousands of bills every year that will never see the light
of day in an effort to generate a headline," Rosmarin said in an e-mail. "This
is one of them."
(source: nj.com)
VIRGINIA----new execution date
Execution date set for Ricky Gray
A Jan. 18 execution date has been set for Ricky Javon Gray for the capital
murders of two Richmond girls in 2006.
Richmond Circuit Court Judge Beverly Snukals set the date during a brief
hearing Monday morning. Executions are conducted at the Greensville
Correctional Center, in Jarratt, and unless the courts or Gov. Terry McAuliffe
intervene, Gray will die by injection or electrocution.
Under Virginia law Gray can choose between the 2 methods. If he does not
choose, lethal injection is the default means of execution. The Virginia
Department of Corrections has said it has enough of the 3 drugs required to
carry out 1 execution.
Rob Lee, of the Virginia Capital Representation Resource Center, one of Gary's
lawyers, said consideration is being given to appealing Snukal's action setting
the date. He also suggested a clemency petition will be forwarded to the
governor.
Much of the discussion at Monday's hearing between Lee, Snukals and a
representative of the Virginia Attorney General's office centered on a
grievance filed by Gray from death row.
The state, and ultimately Snukals, characterized it as a request to the
Department of Corrections to suspend the execution, something the department is
not empowered to do. Lee, however, said Gray was explicitly asking for more
information about the manufacturing of the chemicals to be used in a lethal
injection so that Gray can make an informed choice about the way he would be
executed.
If carried out, Gray will die little more than 11 years after a murder spree
that claimed seven lives in Richmond.
He was sentenced to die for the New Year's Day 2006 slayings of sisters Ruby
Harvey, 4, and her sister Stella Harvey, 9. He also killed their parents, Bryan
Harvey, 49, and Kathryn Harvey, 39, in their South Richmond home.
Gray, 39, and Ray Dandridge, 39, murdered 7 people in Richmond in 2006.
Dandridge was sentenced to life and Gray to deaths.
Gray and Dandridge also killed Ashley Baskerville, 21, who had been a lookout
when Gray killed the Harveys; Baskerville's mother, Mary Tucker, 47; and
stepfather Percyell Tucker, 55, in their Richmond home days after the killing
of the Harveys.
Gray's most recent appeal was turned down by the U.S. Supreme Court last month
and the justices denied him a rehearing earlier this month.
Because of the reluctance of pharmaceutical manufactures to make drugs used in
lethal injections, many states, including Virginia, did not have enough on hand
to conduct execution by injection.
Earlier this year, the General Assembly passed a law allowing the Department of
Corrections to buy special-ordered drugs from compounding pharmacies rather
than getting them directly from pharmaceutical manufacturers. The law took
effect July 1 and allows the vendor's identity to remain secret.
Compounding pharmacies are not subjected to the same approval process as larger
manufacturers, leading to litigation and allegations about the drugs'
effectiveness and the possibility of a botched execution.
The Department of Corrections has said it now has enough chemicals to conduct
one execution. Under Virginia's protocol, a sedative is administered followed
by a paralytic in step two, and the final drug stops the heart.
(source: Richmond Times-Dispatch)
SOUTH CAROLINA:
Prosecutor's 'racially coded references' require reversal of death sentence,
4th Circuit rules
A South Carolina inmate's death sentence must be reversed because the
prosecutor compared the defendant to King Kong and used other "racially coded
references," a federal appeals court has ruled.
The Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled (PDF) on
Monday in a habeas appeal by Johnny Bennett, who was convicted of murder,
kidnapping and armed robbery. He was sentenced to death by an all-white jury in
2000 after reversal of his original death sentence.
The prosecutor, identified in the opinion as Donald Myers, "chose to use
racially charged language from the 1st sentence of his opening argument to his
final soliloquy," the appeals court said, "casting aside the race-neutral
presentation he had employed" with the 1st, mixed-race jury that sentenced
Bennett to death.
Most egregious, the appeals court said, was Myers' closing argument in which he
said that if jurors did not impose the death penalty, "vile Johnny" would
return. Meeting Bennett, Myers said, would be "like meeting King Kong on a bad
day."
Myers also labeled Bennett a "caveman," a "mountain man," a "monster," a "big
old tiger," and a "beast of burden," the appeals court said.
Myers also elicited "inflammatory testimony" from a witness who recalled a
dream about being chased by murderous black Indians, the court said. When
questioning another witness, Myers referred to Bennett's sexual partner as a
"blonde-headed lady," which alerted jurors to the interracial relationship,
according to the appeals court.
The South Carolina Supreme Court had acknowledged the King Kong statement could
have racial connotations, but said the reference conveyed Bennett's size and
strength and was a response to the defense portrayal of Bennett as a peaceful
and helpful man in prison. The South Carolina court also said the "caveman"
comment referred to past testimony about Bennett pulling someone by the hair.
The 4th Circuit disagreed. "With all respect, these were unreasonable findings
of fact," the 4th Circuit said in the opinion by Circuit Judge J. Harvie
Wilkinson. "The prosecutor's argument here exceeded all permissible bounds."
"We understand that closing arguments can be florid," Wilkinson wrote. "Vivid
expression and exaggeration for effect are many an attorney's stock-in-trade.
But the remarks challenged here were unmistakably calculated to inflame racial
fears and apprehensions on the part of the jury."
The appeals court said its decision made it unnecessary to consider Bennett's
claim about alleged racial bias, which stemmed from a juror's use of the N-word
when referring to Bennett in a post-trial interview with Bennett's lawyer.
Myers didn't immediately respond to an ABA Journal email and phone message
requesting comment.
(source: abajournal.com)
GEORGIA:
Parishioners petition to keep man charged with priest's murder off death
row----Steven Murray is charged with the murder of St. Augustine priest Father
Robert
Parishioners are trying to save the life of the man charged with killing a
popular St. Augustine priest. Prosecutors have filed notice they are seeking
the death penalty.
He's currently in a Georgia jail. Steven Murray pleaded not guilty to malice
murder in the April death of Father Rene Robert. Murray is being held without
bond in Burke County.
Parishioners of the Diocese of St. Augustine have been signing a petition so
that Murray does not face the death penalty. They say this is in line with the
wishes of the late Father Rene that if he were to be in a situation like this.
They say he believed whomever is responsible for taking his life should not
have their life taken.
71-year-old Father Rene, as everyone called him, was last seen April 10. He was
working with Steven Murray, who had recently gotten out of jail. On April 12,
the St. Johns Sheriff's Office did a wellness check. The next day, Murray was
allegedly seen driving Father Rene's car, leading police on a chase. That car
was found crashed in a wooded area in Aiken, South Carolina.
After Murray was arrested, he took detectives to Father Rene's remains in
Georgia. Although the police say Father Rene's body was in bad shape,
parishioners want to make it known they support Father Rene's wishes and want
Murray's life spared.
Father John Gillespie from San Sebastian Catholic Church says, "Father Rene was
strongly opposed to capital punishment and left in his files, written 20 some
years ago, the important letter in which he says that if anyone should do me
harm in the future and that person is facing judgment, I do not want in my
name, the capital punishment death sentence."
To further show their commitment against the death penalty, the diocese is
cohosting Cities for Life to abolish the death penalty. It will be next week,
Wednesday, November 30 at The Shrine at Mission Nombre de Dios, 101 San Marco
Ave., St. Augustine.
Although motions will begin December 2, the trial isn't expected to start for
another 2 years.
(source: news4jax.com)
FLORIDA:
Florida Supreme Court justice orders probe into death penalty lawyer
In a highly unusual move, Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Jorge Labarga has
ordered an investigation of a death penalty lawyer who has repeatedly missed
critical deadlines, was involved in a capital case in which roach-infested
boxes of documents were destroyed by rain and who is currently representing 2
inmates who are trying to fire her.
Labarga ordered the probe of Fort Lauderdale lawyer Mary Catherine Bonner
"pursuant to the Court's authority to monitor the representation of capital
defendants to ensure that the defendants receive quality representation" on
Nov. 8, 7 months after prominent death-penalty lawyer Martin McClain wrote to
the court outlining concerns about Bonner.
Bonner, included in a registry of lawyers appointed by the court to represent
Florida death arow inmates in post-conviction appeals, was rebuked by a federal
judge several years ago for failing on two separate occasions to meet a 1-year
deadline to file habeas corpus petitions. Such federal appeals provide inmates
a last chance to have their convictions reviewed on a variety of grounds.
In this month's administrative order, Labarga appointed 3rd District Court of
Appeal Judge Kevin Emas as the referee in the Bonner investigation and named
Belvin Perry - a former 9th Judicial Circuit chief judge who presided over the
Casey Anthony murder trial - to serve as special counsel to the referee.
Labarga gave Emas 90 days to complete the inquiry and file a report on Bonner.
"The referee shall make findings of fact and recommend any necessary remedial
action, including the removal of Mary Catherine Bonner from the registry for
postconviction capital attorneys, if appropriate," the 2-page order said.
Bonner did not respond to phone calls and emails seeking comment.
Numerous death-penalty legal experts told The News Service of Florida that
Labarga's order appeared to be the 1st of its kind.
Florida's death penalty has been under scrutiny for nearly a year, since the
U.S. Supreme Court, in a case known as Hurst v. Florida, issued a ruling in
January that struck down the state's capital sentencing system as
unconstitutional because it gave too much power to judges, instead of juries.
State lawmakers hurriedly passed a new law intended to fix the deficiency, but
the Florida Supreme Court last month overturned that law because it did not
require unanimous jury recommendations for the death penalty to be imposed.
Labarga ordered the Bonner investigation after McClain sent a letter April 4 to
the clerk of the Florida Supreme Court raising alarms about 2 death row
inmates, Alphonso Cave and Paul William Scott, whom Bonner represents in state
court. Cave and Scott have independently asked the court to dismiss Bonner from
their cases; both men alleged that their lawyer went for years without
contacting them. McClain represented Scott for a period over a decade ago, as
well as Cave's co-defendant, who has since been executed.
McClain also wrote about Bonner's court-appointed representation of 2 death row
inmates - including Mark James Asay, whose pending execution was put on hold by
the Florida Supreme Court earlier this year. McClain now represents the 2 death
row inmates.
In 2009, U.S. District Judge Timothy Corrigan harshly criticized Bonner for
filing federal appeals in the cases of Asay and William Greg Thomas more than
200 days after a 1-year deadline had run out.
Bonner blamed the delays in part on health problems both she and her husband
had undergone, but the Jacksonville judge was not appeased.
"The terms 'bad faith' or 'dishonesty' capture Ms. Bonner's conduct and are the
type of egregious conduct that rises well above professional negligence or even
gross negligence," Corrigan wrote of Bonner's handling of Asay's petitions in
2009.
Bonner's delays in filing the federal appeals prompted Corrigan to grant
"equitable tolling" in both cases, allowing the missed deadlines to be ignored.
The Florida Attorney General's office, which represents the state in capital
cases, opposed giving the inmates more time to file the federal appeals but
maintained that Bonner's conduct warranted sanctions.
Even so, the state opposes allowing inmates whom Bonner currently represents to
fire her.
In March, Cave sent a hand-written letter to the Supreme Court requesting that
Bonner be terminated as his attorney, saying he had not seen her in four years
and she had not responded to his letters and calls.
Cave - whom Bonner has represented for nearly half of the more than 3 decades
he has spent on death ow - was concerned about the impact of the Hurst ruling
on his case. That decision prompted the state court to put the scheduled
executions of Asay and Cary Michael Lambrix on hold indefinitely.
In April, Bonner asked the state court to keep her on as Cave's lawyer, saying
she "took a very bad fall" and broke her shoulder. Bonner went on to describe
in detail problems she encountered during her recovery, including "a terrible
adverse reaction to pain medication" and lengthy waits at the hospital where
she was being treated.
Bonner - who has a clean record with The Florida Bar - also wrote to Cave,
asking him to keep her on as his attorney.
"I care about your fate and will vigorously litigate on your behalf," she wrote
to the inmate on April 3.
In a hand-written response to the court dated April 11, Cave wrote that he
simply wanted a lawyer who would file the appropriate documents on his behalf
"It is unfortunate and just not right that I had to write this Honorable Court
to get my lawyer to correspond with me," Cave, 57, wrote.
Cave's letter is the latest document posted in his case on the Florida Supreme
Court website.
Scott also asked the court to remove Bonner as his lawyer in state court. After
the court refused that request, Scott appealed. That appeal is pending,
according to the state court website.
Asay's case became the focus of attention earlier this year.
McClain took over Asay's case in January, shortly after Gov. Rick Scott set a
March execution date for the convicted double murderer.
After being sentenced to die, Asay went for a decade without legal
representation, and almost all of the paper records involving his case went
missing or were destroyed.
McClain described difficulties he encountered trying to retrieve documents from
Bonner, who had served as Asay's lawyer in the federal appeals.
"Despite the exigencies created by Mr. Asay's pending death warrant, she
repeatedly delayed ascertaining and advising what files she had. About a week
into the warrant, she had 4 mold and insect infested boxes delivered to my
office. One of the boxes was largely empty. All of the material in the boxes
had been exposed to water and was ruined. The prevalence of mold made the boxes
a health hazard," McClain wrote to Florida Supreme Court Clerk John Tomasino on
April 4.
Bonner later delivered more boxes to McClain "after they had been left outside
in a driving rain storm," he continued.
The boxes were "completely waterlogged" and "were literally disintegrating as
they were carried to my office," he wrote.
Much of the material in the boxes was unrelated to Asay's case, according to
McClain's letter.
(source: Orlando Weekly)
**********************
Florida death penalty cases in limbo
The State of Florida is eager to execute some people. State and federal courts
are saying, not so fast.
In January, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Florida's old capital punishment
law, ruling that it was unconstitutional because it allowed judges - not juries
- to make the ultimate decision about imposing the death penalty. The State
responded by passing a law that jurors must unanimously agree that a case
includes at least 1 aggravating circumstance to warrant a death sentence, and
it increased the number of jurors needed to approve capital punishment from 7
to 10.
But that didn't cut it either.
The Florida Supreme Court ruled that juries must unanimously recommend death,
meaning all 12 jurors. This decision affects cases in which defendants have
already been sentenced to death as well as cases that are pending.
So, Florida death penalty cases are in purgatory, including 30 cases in state's
4th District, which encompasses Clay County.
"The legislature will have to address this," Assistant State Attorney Bernie de
la Rionda told Clay Today. "My opinion is that for people who were previously
tried, convicted and sentenced to death - this ruling should not applied
retroactively."
His view is similar to that of Attorney General Pam Bondi, who asked the
Florida Supreme Court in October to clarify its ruling. However, several
organizations and attorneys in the state, including 3 former chief justices of
the Florida Supreme Court, have argued that sentences of death should be
commuted to life in prison.
Incoming State Attorney Melissa Nelson, who defeated Angela Corey's bid for
reelection, has said that going forward with death penalty cases in the absence
of the legislature amending the law could lead to reversals on appeal.
During a May hearing in the case of Hurst v. Florida, which involves the
conviction of Timothy Lee Hurst for killing a co-worker in 1998, a handful of
justices said they were concerned about whether the revised death-penalty law
provides constitutional protections for people staring at a death sentence.
Less than 50 % of Americans support the death penalty, according to recent
polling, but Florida, Texas, Georgia, Alabama and Delaware are among a handful
of states that still impose it. Florida and Texas have executed at least 1
person every year for the last 8 years.
The death penalty has statistically been shown not to deter violent crime, and
states that have capital punishment on the books do not have lower murder rates
than many states with no death penalty. Also, because of the appeals process in
cases where capital punishment is opposed, a death sentence costs the state
more money than life imprisonment.
"I don't think the cost for the death penalty is ridiculously high," de la
Rionda said. "I think appeals take too long. In my 1st death penalty case, from
the 1980s, the guy is still on death row."
Kristina Musante of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition - and
formerly of the Justice for Jacksonville Coalition - has argued that the death
penalty is overused in Florida and that the death penalty "costs $51 million
per year over the cost of life without parole."
It may be several months from now, when the legislature convenes, before there
is more clarity on Florida's capital punishment law.
"My personal view is that the death penalty is a valid law in appropriate cases
- and I want to stress, appropriate cases," said de la Rionda, who has
challenged the financial figures. "Not all murders are first-degree, and not
all 1st-degree murders have the aggravating factors required for capital
punishment.
"Human life is precious. The manner in which some individuals decide to murder
some other individuals, such as stabbing someone 70 times and enjoying doing
it, that person deserves the death penalty."
(source: claytodayonline.com)
ALABAMA:
Constitutional Law----State supreme court upholds prosecutor juror ratings that
began with 'gut reaction' and 'B' label
A prosecutor who used peremptory challenges to strike 10 of 11 blacks as
potential jurors did not violate the constitutional rights of a capital murder
defendant, the Alabama Supreme Court has ruled in a case on remand from the
U.S. Supreme Court.
The court on Friday upheld the conviction of death-row inmate Christopher
Anthony Floyd, AL.com reports in a story noted by How Appealing. The state high
court ruled after the U.S. Supreme Court vacated Floyd's conviction and ordered
the case to be reconsidered in light of its May opinion in Foster v. Chatman,
which found that prosecutors in Georgia had violated the constitutional rights
of a black man by using peremptory challenges to keep blacks off the jury.
The Alabama prosecutor in Floyd's case had used the letter "B" to denote
potential jurors who were black, as had the Georgia prosecutor in the Supreme
Court case. Floyd is white, and his lawyer did not object to the prosecution's
juror strikes at trial. As a result, there was no immediate hearing on whether
the prosecutor violated the ban on racial discrimination in jury selection
established in Batson v. Kentucky. The hearing was held after a state appeals
court raised the Batson issue on direct appeal.
The prosecution in Floyd's case used its 36 peremptory challenges to remove 10
of 11 black jurors and 12 of 18 female jurors. The only African-American on the
jury was an alternate.
In a Batson hearing on remand, the prosecutor said that in capital murder cases
he initially relies on a "gut reaction" to rate every potential juror with a
plus for good jurors, a minus for bad jurors, or an OK for jurors who are just
OK. At the same time he places a "B" next to the names of jurors who are black.
Though the prosecutor says he has found his initial gut reaction to be pretty
accurate during his 30 years of experience, he nonetheless adjusts his initial
ratings based on the potential jurors' responses to questions and their
demeanor during questioning. The prosecutor also said he considers age, place
of employment and apparent physical ability. He seeks jurors who are stable
members of the community, who have jobs requiring education and attention to
detail, who have past jury experience, and who have rendered a past guilty
verdict.
The prosecutor then explained why he struck each black juror from the jury
pool. Many of his reasons were because of past convictions, and 1 was because
of stated opposition to the death penalty. 1 black juror was struck because she
nodded in agreement with defense counsel and didn't make eye contact with
prosecutors. 1 black juror knew defense lawyers as well as members of the
district attorney's office. 1 black juror was 77 years old and might not be
able to serve in a long case. 1 black juror didn't respond to any questions in
voir dire and the prosecutor was concerned because he didn't know anything
about her.
The Alabama Supreme Court ruled after considering supplemental briefs. The
state supreme court concluded that Foster does not change its conclusion that
there was no unconstitutional discrimination during jury selection, and that a
specific black juror's religious beliefs could affect her ability to judge the
defendant.
Floyd "makes the same arguments he made in earlier appellate reviews" and he
doesn't supply sufficient reason to change the Alabama Supreme Court's earlier
judgment upholding the verdict, the court said in its opinion (PDF).
The state supreme court acknowledged that the prosecutor used the letter "B" to
denote black jurors, but said that wasn't enough to demonstrate purposeful
discrimination. The prosecutor had used the letter in light of the trial
court's concern about Batson violations, the state supreme court said.
Even though the prosecutor did indicate the race of potential jurors, the state
supreme court said, "we simply cannot conclude ... that the record in this case
evidences a 'concerted effort to keep black prospective jurors off the jury.'"
(source: abajounral.com)
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