Francis A. Boyle Law Building 504 E. Pennsylvania Ave. Champaign, IL 61820 USA 217-333-7954 (voice) 217-244-1478 (fax) fbo...@law.uiuc.edu (personal comments only)
-----Original Message----- From: Abolish - The Mailing List For People Working to Abolish the Death Penalty [mailto:abol...@maelstrom.stjohns.edu] On Behalf Of Boyle, Francis Sent: Monday, August 30, 2004 9:56 AM To: abol...@maelstrom.stjohns.edu Subject: News: Nobel for Ryan =20 =20 =20 =20 1 of 1 DOCUMENT Copyright 2004 Copley News Service Copley News Service August 28, 2004 Saturday SECTION: WASHINGTON WIRE LENGTH: 1199 words HEADLINE: Professor nominates former Illinois governor for Nobel Prize BYLINE: Clare Howard Copley News Service BODY: =A0=A0=A0Francis A. Boyle recognized before him a man "wrestling with = his soul." He witnessed the rare public spectacle of a seasoned politician unable = to reconcile his nascent personal moral convictions with the public policy = he was elected to enforce. =A0=A0=A0Boyle watched the governor of a major industrial state = publicly struggle with his position on the death penalty. He watched Illinois Gov. George = Ryan learn too much to endorse a system which both Ryan and Boyle believe is riddled with inconsistency and injustice. =A0=A0=A0Boyle said, "I watched Ryan wrestling with his soul, and I was = stunned. It was a remarkable struggle, and it touched me." =A0=A0=A0A law professor at the University of Illinois, Boyle is point = man for an international committee advancing the nomination of Ryan for the Nobel = Peace Prize in recognition of Ryan's work on capital punishment. =A0=A0=A0The two men have never met. They do not know personal details = about each other. They're an unlikely team. Boyle is a lifelong, Harvard-educated abolitionist and activist. Ryan is a Republican law-and-order = conservative who voted in favor of re-establishing the death penalty when he was in = the state Legislature. =A0=A0=A0It was as governor that Ryan had a painful change of = conscience based, in part, on work done by journalism students at Northwestern University. = The students were able to establish the innocence of a man on death row. = Their work precipitated other revelations that brought into question the reliability of the criminal justice system. =A0=A0=A0During a recent interview in his office at the University of = Illinois in Champaign, Boyle said he watched as Ryan suffered publicly for his = position. That's when Boyle decided to use his special qualification as a = professor of international law to nominate Ryan for the Nobel Peace Prize. =A0=A0=A0Boyle had been asked to make nominations of other people in = the past and had always declined. Ryan is his first nomination, and it's based on = his own initiative. =A0=A0=A0Since making the decision, Boyle has nominated Ryan for the = past two years. Last year, Boyle was told Ryan reportedly was among the top five contenders for the 2003 award. Also among the top five were Pope John = Paul II; Shirin Ebadi, who won the award; Vaclav Havel; and Luiz Inacio Lula = da Silva. =A0=A0=A0This spring, Boyle received a letter confirming his second = nomination of Ryan for the 2004 prize, with results to be announced Oct. 15. =A0=A0=A0Boyle beefed up his 2004 nomination with a copy of the = documentary "Deadline" that aired on "Dateline NBC" last month. He also reminded = the Nobel committee that the indictments against Ryan announced in December cannot be used to presume any guilt. =A0=A0=A0Boyle is outspoken in his belief the indictments are = retaliation for Ryan's position on the death penalty, in defiance of President George = W. Bush and Attorney General John Ashcroft who want to expand the death penalty. =A0=A0=A0"Clear-cut retaliation," Boyle said. =A0=A0=A0The Nobel committee gradually has moved beyond recognition of = a person's good work and has begun to recognize people for the future impact of = their work as well, Boyle said. =A0=A0=A0"The award is given to influence the future, not just reward = the past," he said, noting such a philosophical shift leverages Ryan's nomination. =A0=A0=A0"Education will change the public's perception of the death = penalty," Boyle said, citing his own international human rights class at the University of Illinois as an example. =A0=A0=A0At the start of class, most students slightly favor the death = penalty. After reviewing facts and arguing perspectives, most students favor abolition of the death penalty, the professor said. =A0=A0=A0"We spend two weeks looking at all the arguments in favor of = the death penalty. We look at why they are wrong," said Boyle, an avowed = abolitionist who "tells students flat out how I stand." =A0=A0=A0Boyle said he watched in amazement as Ryan set up his special = commission to study the death penalty with noted members, including former U.S. = Sen. Paul Simon and author Scott Turow, who also is an attorney. =A0=A0=A0When the report finally was issued and the Legislature failed = to implement any recommendations, Ryan issued his blanket clemency. =A0=A0=A0Co-chairman of the special commission was Frank McGarr, former = chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. =A0=A0=A0McGarr said he is not in favor of total abolition of the death = penalty but is disappointed the Illinois Legislature did not implement more of = the recommendations of the commission's two-year study. =A0=A0=A0"I'd like to see total reform of the system leading up to the = death penalty," he said. "I am not talking about total elimination but use = very rarely and only in the most extreme situations." =A0=A0=A0McGarr said he had little contact with Ryan before or after = appointment of the special commission and believes that gives the recommendations = of the commission even more credibility because of their total independence. =A0=A0=A0David Protess, journalism professor at Northwestern University = and founder of the Medill Innocence Project, said he is grateful Ryan took = the results of the project's death penalty work and used the information to affect public policy. =A0=A0=A0"He is an excellent candidate for the Nobel prize. He has = demonstrated great courage, and (this process) shows the potential of journalism," Protess said. =A0=A0=A0He and his students are examining capital punishment cases in = other states and are finding error rates even greater than in Illinois. =A0=A0=A0"The problem in our state is the tip of the iceberg in an = epidemic of wrongful convictions," he said. "George Ryan took a bold and courageous stand." =A0=A0=A0Protess said retaliation comes with that kind of decisiveness; = however, he can't see the link between Ryan's capital punishment work and the indictments against him. =A0=A0=A0"He took a bold and courageous stand. The public is yearning = for that in our elected officials," Protess said. =A0=A0=A0Boyle does link the indictments with the former governor's = capital punishment work. =A0=A0=A0"The reaction to Ryan has been incredibly negative. Everyone = is beating up on him from legislators to families of victims," he said. "I tried = to figure out what I could do. As a professor of international law, I'm qualified to make this nomination." =A0=A0=A0He organized an international committee of lawyers and a = psychiatrist to advise on the 2004 nomination. In the meantime, indictments were issued against Ryan. =A0=A0=A0"We waited. We consulted. We all agreed, he should be = nominated again," Boyle said. "None of this Nobel work has been organized with Ryan. I = stay away from him." =A0=A0=A0Boyle has received his share of threats for his abolitionist = work. =A0=A0=A0"I have a wife and three sons. I do not want vicious criminals = out on the streets at night," he said, acknowledging that the process of advancing abolition of the death penalty has been more difficult for Ryan. =A0=A0=A0"He's paying a pretty terrible price," Boyle said. "The virtue = of Gov. Ryan is that he's made people think about the issue." =A0=A0=A0Boyle believes the death penalty still exists in the United = States when it's been outlawed in most of the civilized world because American = society glorifies violence as a means to solve problems. =A0=A0=A0"Gov. Ryan gives us all hope that reason can prevail," Boyle = said. LOAD-DATE: August 29, 2004 =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0= =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0= =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0= =A0102 QTM=20 ********** Print Completed **********=20 Time of Request: August 30, 2004 05:42 AM EDT=20 Print Number: 1822:9440661=20 Number of Lines: 83=20 Number of Pages: 1=20 ************************************************************** THE ABOLISH LIST This list serves solely as a forum for the exchange of ideas and information by people who support alternatives to the death penalty and the immediate abolition of Capital Punishment. Abolist List FAQ: http://capitaldefenseweekly.com/abolishfaq.htm Archives: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/abolish.html ************************************************************** From rhalp...@mail.smu.edu Mon Aug 30 14:12:55 2004 From: rhalp...@mail.smu.edu (Rick Halperin) Date: Tue Aug 16 12:14:31 2005 Subject: [Deathpenalty]death penalty news----TEXAS, ALA., MISS. Message-ID: <pine.wnt.4.44.0408301312470.800-100...@its08705.smu.edu> August 30 TEXAS----new death sentence Rusk Man Gets Death For Murder (EDITOR'S NOTE: It is the policy of the Tyler Morning Telegraph to protect the identities of victims of sexual assault. However, Nikki Dement went public on the details with the Tyler newspaper and gave permission to use her name.) In Palestine, an Anderson County jury sentenced a Rusk man to death Sunday afternoon for the 2002 capital murder of 37-year-old Kenneth Vandever. Beunka Adams, 21, will be formally sentenced at 11 a.m. Monday by state District Judge Bascom Bentley III. "The judge accepted the jury's verdict, but due to an old case law, judges cannot formally sentence on Sundays," said Joe Evans, Cherokee County district attorney's investigator. The jury of 7 women and 5 men deliberated for more than 10 hours on Saturday and Sunday before deciding on the death penalty. Jurors showed by their verdict that they believed Adams and co-defendant Richard Cobb, 19, both of Rusk, robbed the BDJ convenience store in Rusk around midnight on Sept. 2, 2002, armed with a 20-gauge shotgun. The pair then forced two store clerks, Nikki Dement, 21, and Candace Driver, 25, and Vandever, a customer, into a waiting Cadillac. Adams and Cobb drove the 3 victims to a remote pea patch just north of Alto on County Road 2434. Vandever and Ms. Driver were forced into the trunk of the Cadillac, while Mrs. Dement was led to another area and sexually assaulted by Adams. A taped interview with Adams, a day after the incident, was played for the jury on Wednesday. Adams admitted to having sexual intercourse with Mrs. Dement. Vandever and Ms. Driver were then released from the trunk and led into the pasture. Adams and Cobb told the three victims to kneel, then shot each of them one by one. Vandever was shot 1st in the back. Mrs. Dement was shot in the upper left shoulder and Ms. Driver fell down as if she had been struck. At that point, Adams drew near and stuck the gun near her head and asked, "Are you dead?" She flinched as the suspect prepared to fire, sustaining a graze and powder wounds to the mouth area instead of a bullet. Assuming the victims were dead, the suspects left. Vandever died from his injuries. The 2 women survived the attack and testified for the state. In January, Cobb received the death penalty by a Cherokee County jury for his involvement. During his trial, Cobb testified he did in fact shoot Vandever and handed the shotgun to Adams, who then shot both females. However, Cherokee County District Attorney Elmer Beckworth argued that Adams was the leader of the 2 men and he was the one who ordered the kidnapping, the sexual assault and eventually the shootings. Adam's trial was held in Palestine because Bentley granted a change of venue to prevent the possibility of a tainted and prejudiced jury pool. (source: Tyler Morning Telegraph) ************************* Father charged with capital murder in infant's death In San Antonio, a 20-year-old man was charged with capital murder over the weekend in connection with his newborn daughter's death. Joseph Anthony Mauricio was arraigned on the charge on Sunday and was being held in the Bexar County Jail on $500,000 bond. Mauricio's 7-week-old daughter, Desiree, was found unresponsive in her crib on July 23, police said. She was taken to University Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. An autopsy revealed Desiree had sustained 2 separate brain injuries about 4 weeks apart. The 2nd injury killed her. Child Protective Services placed the child in her aunt's care after she was taken to a hospital on July 2 for vomiting. Doctors at the time diagnosed her with severe acid reflux, a condition that causes stomach acid to back up into the lower portion of the esophagus, CPS spokeswoman Mary Walker said. Caseworkers found no evidence of abuse, and Desiree's parents got her back after they were taught how to care for her, she said. Doctors later determined that Desiree's 1st brain injury happened around the time of her 1st hospital visit. Mauricio had been alone with the child before both injuries, authorities said. Rose Garza, the aunt who cared for Desiree while her parents were investigated, said the family was devastated. "This used to be a house full of life. Now this house is empty," Garza said in Monday's edition of the San Antonio Express-News. "There's a lot of sorrow." Desiree was at least the 6th Bexar County child slain this year. CPS has come under intense scrutiny in recent months following the deaths of children it supervised. Gov. Rick Perry ordered an investigation this month into how the state handles child abuse complaints, among other things. A final report is due to by Dec. 30. (source : Associated Press) ********************** Crime lab critics speak up Hold someone responsible Someone must be held accountable for the continued problems at the Houston Police Department crime lab. At a minimum, the Harris County district attorney should resign. Doesn't the DA have at least some sense of shame for prosecuting people with potentially tainted evidence? As the attempts to put a positive spin on this situation regarding these boxes of "lost evidence" (reported in the Chronicle's Aug. 26 article "Police turn up hundreds of boxes of evidence from crime lab"), I am puzzled as to why the person whose case is built around this evidence will not admit his failure. Moreover, "lost" evidence cannot ever be used to prove or disprove a case due to chain-of-custody problems. Who is responsible for this? Does anyone ever shoulder the blame? WALTER T. CASEY----Houston -- Glad public was notified Thank you for the story covering the Houston Police Department crime lab. I am thankful that an independent investigation has been ordered. People in this county are being wrongfully convicted and the public needs to know about it. SUZANNE GARCIA----Houston --- Time to clean house, literally IT'S a sad state of affairs to witness such ineptitude in the Houston Police Department's evidence property room. Actually, it's pathetic. Evidence should not be compromised by department employees who are obviously not up to the task. How many innocent people have been wrongfully convicted and how many crooks have escaped justice through such incompetence? Someone needs to clean house, literally. DON N. LEE JR.----Dickinson (source: Letters to the Editor, Houston Chronicle) ******************* Kinky hangs onto his hat Author and songwriter Kinky Friedman has not yet thrown his hat into the ring for the 2006 gubernatorial race - all those bumper stickers, posters and gimme caps notwithstanding. However, his hand is getting a lot closer to the brim. CNN recently spent a few days interviewing Friedman for "The Paula Zahn Show," which seems to indicate that things are heating up in the "He's not Kinky, he's my governor" campaign. How close is he to taking that last step into state politics? "Well, you could say I'm coming out of the closet. I'm inching closer and closer, centimeter by centimeter. This CNN interview is just the 1st salvo of the campaign," said Friedman, grinning around his ubiquitous cigar. So, has his platform changed since he last talked to the Times? "I sure hope so," Friedman said. "I think the last time we spoke the only thing on it was outlawing the declawing of cats." Friedman's platform certainly has expanded. It covers a lot of territory, from movies and the music industry to casino gambling, college football and the prison system. "I'd bring more music and movie business to Texas," he said. "That's really easy to do. I'll be interviewing Tommy Lee Jones and Dwight Yoakam soon for my Texas Monthly column - 'course I've known Dwight for a while. I'll be trying to get people interested, wanting to do something in Texas. Get enough people to want to do something and something will happen." "I'll work to bring back the Southwest Conference," he said. "I know it's a political football, but I'm not afraid to try it." After pausing for the interviewer to get the joke, Friedman continues, "It's not so much the conference itself, it's the spirit - the structure and style - of the old Southwest Conference." Friedman also plans to bring casino gambling to the state. "Everyone else that has tried it has done all right," he said. "I'd use it for paying for education. I'm the teachers' pet. I'm really for the teachers." "More seriously, I would really watch this death row situation, the broken criminal justice system," Friedman said. "If one person is put to death who's innocent - well, that's too much. I know people don't want to hear this from a Jew, but what would Jesus do?" What does it take to become governor? "If you're colorful enough, that's all that matters," Friedman said. "Well, that's not really true, but it's what's wrong with Rick Perry - he's failed to touch our imaginations." And when will he become an actual candidate? "I'll be coming out soon," Friedman said. "After all, the election isn't until 2006. I'll be coming out against career politicians, coming out against higher taxes and coming out against coming out." (source: Kerrville Daily Times) ALABAMA----new execution date//inmate seeks to drop appeals Execution date set for inmate in Houston County boss slaying The Alabama Supreme Court has set a September 30th execution date for an inmate convicted in Henry County of killing his boss and stealing his money to buy crack cocaine. According to assistant state Attorney General Clay Crenshaw, 33-year-old David Kevin Hocker waived his right to further appeals of his conviction of the 1998 murder. A jury found Hocker guilty in the March 1998 stabbing death and robbery of his boss, Jerry Wayne Robinson of Houston County. Hocker dumped Robinson's body in neighboring Henry County and then used his bank card to get cash to purchase 400-dollars worth of crack cocaine. Hocker then traveled to Mobile, used the crack cocaine and turned himself in to the Mobile County Sheriff's Department. Hocker filed 1 appeal in his case, which the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals rejected in April 2002. (source: Associated Press) MISSISSIPPI: Mental exams in death penalty cases are more common Mississippi courts have reached the point where mental evaluations for individuals accused of capital crimes are commonplace. For example, Ernest Lee Hargon. Last week, a Yazoo County judge didn't blink in ordering a second mental evaluation requested by the defense and not opposed by prosecutors. Hargon underwent a mental evaluation shortly after his arrest on charges of killing his cousin and the cousin's family in rural Yazoo County. The mental evaluation likely pushes Hargon's trial into next year. Earlier this month, the capital murder trial of Terrance Chandler in the killing of a Mississippi State student was postponed for a mental evaluation. In May, three Marshall County men accused of capital murder in the death of an 83-year-old woman were ordered to undergo evaluations at the request of District Attorney John Champion. In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court's decision prohibiting the execution of mentally ill inmates may have protected the severely mentally retarded, but it provided little guidance for the far greater number of inmates who are borderline cases. Ruling on a Virginia case, the Supreme Court did not lay out specific standards for states, though it referred to guidelines set out by the American Association of Mental Retardation. The court said it would be a violation of the Eighth Amendment prohibition of "cruel and unusual punishment" to execute anyone with a combined IQ of 75 or lower. IQ is intelligence quotient. An IQ of 100 is said to represent normal intelligence. An IQ lower than 75 is said to reflect mental retardation. The Supreme Court was quite specific. It said that an IQ of 76 would not grant criminals protection from execution under the Virginia case. Most states have followed nationally accepted guidelines that define retardation as significantly below-average intellect combined with low "adaptive" skills at such things as communicating and taking care of oneself. But when drawing the line between inmates with low intelligence and those who are retarded, states have disagreed, making it easier to get off death row in some states and harder in others. In Mississippi, the state Supreme Court has told local judges to follow the guidelines in the Virginia decision. In dispensing with dozens of mental retardation claims from Mississippi's death row, the justices have required the inmates to produce an expert opinion that the defendant possessed an IQ of 75 or below and that further testing showed the inmate was not malingering. About a dozen death row inmates have been ordered to undergo mental evaluations while a half dozen others have been denied. 2 inmates - David Blue and Mack C. Wells - have had death sentences changed to life in prison based on mental evaluations. (source: Associated Press)
