[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., GA., OKLA., WASH., USA
June 17 TEXASimpending execution Gregory Russeau of Texas to be executed this week in auto mechanic's death A man convicted in the fatal beating of a 75-year-old auto repair shop owner in East Texas is facing execution this week, with no court appeals pending. Gregory Russeau is scheduled for execution Thursday evening for the May 2001 death of James Syvertson. Russeau was driving the victim's car when police pulled him over in front of a known drug house in Longview, about 200 miles north of Houston. Police found Russeau about 8 hours after relatives of Syvertson, who owned an auto repair shop in nearby Tyler, found his body. Court records indicate Russeau was on a cocaine binge and on parole at the time. DNA, fingerprint and palm-print evidence helped convict Russeau of capital murder. The 45-year-old Russeau would be the 9th inmate executed this year in Texas. (source: Associated Press) PENNSYLVANIA: DA deciding on death penalty for soldier accused of killing teen girlfriend's mother Prosecutors still have not said if they will seek the death penalty against a soldier accused of killing the mother of his teen girlfriend, and then working with the girl to dispose of the woman's body. Caleb Barnes, 21, and Jamie Silvonek, 14, were in Lehigh County Court Wednesday morning for arraignments on charges connected with the killing of Silvonek's mother, Cheryl. Prosecutors say Barnes brutally stabbed the elder Silvonek in the neck in the early morning of March 15 after she repeatedly tried to break up the couple, going so far as to show Barnes her daughter's passport to convince him of the girl's age. Silvonek and Barnes are each charged with homicide, conspiracy, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence. The pair had separate formal arraignments Wednesday morning. Prosecutors usually file notice of aggravating circumstances -- indications they will seek the death penalty in a case -- on or before formal arraignments. No notice was filed as of Wednesday. Asked if prosecutors would seek the death penalty, Senior Deputy District Attorney Jeff Dimmig said, That's Mr. Martin's decision, referring to District Attorney Jim Martin. A message left for Martin asking about the decision was not immediately returned. In the meantime, attorneys plan to meet next month for the hearing to determine if Silvonek will be tried as an adult. Defense attorney John Waldron is seeking to have her case sent to juvenile court. Pretrial hearings are scheduled for August, but a trial date won't be set until Judge Maria Dantos decides on where Silvonek's case will end up. Dimmig said on Wednesday that prosecutors have received sealed medical records from the military for Barnes, a solider who was stationed at Fort Meade, Maryland before his arrest. Dimmig said his office is waiting on a search warrant before opening the records, so he is not sure if they include any type of metal health records. Asked if prosecutors requested any type of criminal or infraction records from the military related to Barnes, Dimmig said, That's been part of our investigation. Prosecutors alleged the couple plotted to kill both of Silvonek's parents as a way to be together. They said Jamie Silvonek was 13 but told Barnes she was 17, and the 2 communicated daily since they met. Authorities say Cheryl Silvonek first met Barnes on March 6. When she learned the soldier was a 20-year-old at the time, she allegedly told her daughter the relationship had to end, authorities say. Martin released text messages between the couple that indicated they spoke for hours about killing Cheryl Silvonek before she was fatally stabbed in a car in the driveway of the family's Randi Lane home in Upper Macungie Township. And a friend of Silvonek testified at the pair's preliminary hearing that they discussed killing Silvonek's parents over the phone. It was something along the lines of, like, 'What if my parents were killed,' the girl testified on May 14. I told her it wasn't a smart idea at all. Police say after driving to a concert and back on March 15, a confrontation occurred between Barnes and Cheryl Silvonek. Barnes strangled Silvoek as she begged for her life while her daughter watched, police say. After the killing, prosecutors said Barnes and Jamie Silvonek drove to a Wal-Mart to get supplies and returned to the house. Cheryl Silvonek's body was driven to a rural area in South Whitehall Township and set on fire, prosecutors say. Barnes and Jamie Silvonek then dumped the blood-laden car in a nearby pond before walking back to the Silvonek home, authorities say. (source: lehighvalleylive.com) GEORGIAfemale to face death penalty Prosecutors seeking death penalty against mother of Heaven Woods Prosecutors said Wednesday are seeking the death penalty against the mother of a 5-year-old charged in her daughter's death. Authorities say
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., GA., OKLA., NEV.
June 25 TEXASimpending 500th execution Lawyer: Texas woman's execution can't be stopped An attorney for a Dallas County woman set to die Wednesday says she has exhausted all efforts to block her execution, which would be the 500th in Texas since the state resumed carrying out the death penalty in 1982. Kimberly McCarthy contends black jurors were improperly excluded from her trial by prosecutors and this wasn't challenged by her lawyers. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Tuesday declined to reconsider its denial a day earlier of McCarthy's request, saying the claims should have been raised previously. Maurie Levin, McCarthy's attorney, says because the court's ruling focuses on procedural and not substantive issues, the case can't be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The 52-year-old McCarthy also would be the first woman put to death in the U.S. since 2010. Texas soon to hit grim milestone: 500th execution Texas is approaching a grim milestone: It will soon execute the 500th prisoner since the death penalty resumed in the United States. On Wednesday, barring a reprieve, Kimberly McCarthy will become the 500th convicted killer in Texas to receive a lethal injection. The number far outpaces the execution total in any other state. But it also reflects the reality of capital punishment in the United States today: While some states have halted the practice in recent years because of concern about wrongful convictions, executions continue at a steady pace in many others. The death penalty is on the books in 32 states. On average, Texas executes an inmate about every 3 weeks. Still, even as McCarthy prepares to die, it's clear that Texas, too, has been affected by the debate over capital punishment. In recent years, state lawmakers have provided more sentencing options for juries and courts have narrowed the cases in which the death penalty can be applied. In guaranteeing DNA testing for inmates and providing for sentences of life without parole, Texas could well be on a slower track to execute its next 500 inmates. It's a very fragile system as attitudes change, said Mark White, who presided over 19 executions as governor from 1983 to 1987. There's a big difference between fair and harsh. ... I think you have (Texas) getting a reputation for being bloodthirsty, and that's not good. Texas has accounted for nearly 40 % of the more than 1,300 executions carried out since murderer Gary Gilmore went before a Utah firing squad in 1977 and became the 1st U.S. inmate executed following the Supreme Court's clarification of death penalty laws. (Texas had more than 300 executions before the pause.) Virginia is a distant 2nd, nearly 400 executions behind. Texas' standing stems both from its size, with the nation's 2nd largest population, and its tradition of tough justice for killers. Still awaiting punishment in Texas are 282 convicted murderers. Some may be spared. Supreme Court rulings have now excluded mentally impaired people or those who were under 18 at the time of their crime. Legal battles continue over the lethal drugs used in the process, mental competence of inmates, professional competence of defense lawyers and sufficiency of evidence in light of DNA forensics technology. Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who has presided over more than half of the state's executions, said that the recent changes have helped make Texas' system fairer. In addition to the new sentencing options, he signed bills to allow post-conviction DNA testing for inmates and establish minimum qualifications for court-appointed defense attorneys. I think our process works just fine, Perry said last year during his unsuccessful presidential campaign. You may not agree with them, but we believe in our form of justiceWe think it is clearly appropriate. So do most Texans. A 2012 poll from the Texas Tribune and the University of Texas showed only 21 % opposed to capital punishment. Still, re-examinations of convictions have raised questions about whether some of those executed may have been innocent. The suspect cases included the 2004 execution of Cameron Todd Willingham for the arson deaths of his 3 young children. Arson experts consulted by a state panel determined evidence used to gain the conviction did not meet scientific standards. But Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott later barred the panel from further review of the trial evidence. Over the years, the Texas execution list has provided a portrait of violent crime in a state where many people are armed, both good and bad, and juries have little tolerance for murderers. Those executed have ranged from relatively common cases - robbers who killed store clerks, drug users who killed other drug users, spouses killing each other - to the bizarre and sensational. Ronald Clark O'Bryan, nicknamed the Candy Man, poisoned his son's Halloween candy to collect on an
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., GA., OKLA.
May 18 TEXAS: 7th execution date tied to Bexar is set The record pace of Bexar County execution dates continued Thursday when a judge scheduled what could be the year's seventh lethal injection for a local murderer. The Aug. 29 date for John Joe Amador set the stage for two such executions in 2 nights. Kenneth Foster, the getaway driver in 1996 when one of his friends shot college student Michael LaHood Jr. during an attempted mugging, is currently slated to die on Aug. 30. Amador, 31, was condemned for the 1994 robbery and slaying of cabdriver Mohammad Reza Ayari. Texas has never put to death more than 4 murderers from Bexar County in a single year since the state instituted the electric chair in 1924. (source: San Antonio Express-News) Death for child rapists: House likes it, prosecutors don't Legislature: Bill heads to Perry, but high court to ultimately rule on issue Child rape is among the most horrible crimes. But is it as heinous as capital murder? Prosecutors and victims' rights groups throughout the state oppose making child rape punishable by death. They say a bill that received final approval in the House on Friday and is expected to be signed into law will leave child rapists with no reason to spare their victims' lives. Ultimately, however, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether child rape is punishable by death. Critics include Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins. Mr. Watkins said lawmakers are counting on voters who hear brief explanations of the measure on television and immediately support it. The death penalty should be reserved for the most heinous of crimes, Mr. Watkins said. This is a heinous crime but not a death penalty crime. Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley said he knows of no prosecutor in the state who strongly supports the death penalty for child rapists. Mr. Bradley testified before the Legislature about the proposed changes and has talked with prosecutors statewide. He said that some say the change won't affect them and others say they will merely carry out the law as they are required. I don't know of any [district attorney's] office across the state that wants to be a leader in saying, 'This is something we want,' Mr. Bradley said Dallas defense attorney Dan Hagood, a former Dallas County prosecutor who has worked on death penalty cases, said he strongly disagrees with anyone who says that child rape isn't as horrible a crime as capital murder. I can tell you a capital murder that's over in a moment - I try to rob you and I shoot you. Compare that to a little girl in a box who's been raped repeatedly by a man who's been to the ... [penitentiary] once before, he said. In my mind, you can't compare the suffering. The living might as well be dead. Feelings about the bill continued to run strong among state legislators during final debate Friday before the House voted to send a conference version of the bill on to the governor. It's just one more example where we think we have sort of a God-given right to intercede and kill another human being. That is flawed thinking, said Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth. It's unnecessary, and it's counterproductive. If Gov. Rick Perry signs the bill as expected, Texas would join 5 other states with the death penalty for certain crimes against children. Prosecutors could seek the death penalty the second time a person is convicted for any rape of a child under 6 or after the 2nd rape of a child age 7 to 14 when the attack involves a weapon or is particularly violent. 'Jessica's Laws' The bill is part of the Jessica's Laws movement, named for a 9-year-old Florida girl who was raped and buried alive by a convicted sex offender in 2005. In the end, the question of whether child rape is a capital crime won't be in the hands of legislators or prosecutors, said Southern Methodist University law professor Fred Moss. A 1977 U.S. Supreme Court decision forbade the death penalty for the rape of an adult woman but did not address the constitutionality of that punishment for younger victims, said Mr. Moss, a former federal prosecutor. It's interesting from a constitutional law perspective because the question that has been heading for the Supreme Court is whether you can have a death penalty case when a death has not been caused by the criminal conduct, he said. In the 1977 decision Coker vs. Georgia, the court ruled that the rape of an adult woman would violate the Eighth Amendment, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. The adult woman was actually a married 16-year-old. The court called death grossly disproportionate and excessive punishment for the crime of rape. The case that tests this law may not come from Texas, Mr. Moss said. Louisiana is the only state with a child rapist on death row. That case is now before the Louisiana Supreme Court. If the Louisiana justices rule that the death penalty is allowed under state law, the case will probably be
