[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----S. DAK., ILL., N.C.

[Rick Halperin]

Jan. 30


SOUTH DAKOTA:

Death penalty bills before panel Friday----Repeal unlikely, lawmakers say


A bill to repeal South Dakota's death penalty and two bills changing the
way it is administered are grouped for a public hearing on Friday by a
state House committee.

A spirited debate about the merits of capital punishment and the most
humane way to carry it out is anticipated.

Rep. Kathy Miles, D-Sioux Falls, said she'll vote to repeal capital
punishment if she gets the chance.

"I've been against the death penalty from day one," Miles said. "I think
there could be more support (for repeal) than you might think. You never
know for sure."

Other lawmakers say they doubt the 2007 Legislature will be the one that
votes to repeal the death penalty, but they also say the delayed execution
last August of a convicted killer has heightened awareness of the death
penalty.

"I think a majority of the legislators would vote in the end to continue
the death penalty," said Rep. Roger Hunt, R-Brandon. "I do think there
could be some support for repeal, but I don't believe it would be a
majority."

Bills repealing the death penalty have been introduced in each house.

Lawmakers will have 2 other death-penalty bills to consider. One of those,
proposed by Gov. Mike Rounds, would give the penitentiary warden power to
choose the drugs used in the state's lethal injection process. The other
would eliminate the state law that requires the prison physician and two
other licensed physicians to witness an execution.

"It's my intention to take up all three bills dealing with the death
penalty on Friday," said Rep. Larry Rhoden, R-Union Center, who heads the
House State Affairs Committee.

A focus on capital punishment was expected this session after the
execution delay last August.

Rounds stayed for a year a scheduled lethal injection for Elijah Page,
convicted of beating and killing Chester Allan Poage of Spearfish in 2000.
Page's execution was delayed after questions about the possible conflict
between state law and prison procedure over what combinations of drugs
should be used in the lethal injection. Rounds wants to clarify that.

Republican Rep. Tom Hills of Spearfish, where the Poage killing happened,
had been planning to cosponsor a fix to the drug conflict. He and others
backed away when they learned the governor was to be involved.

Hills said he plans to support the fix and vote against repeal of capital
punishment.

"For those who support repeal, I have just three words: Chester Allan
Poage," Hills said.

Rep. Chuck Turbiville, R-Deadwood, also stepped aside when Rounds decided
to sponsor the bill to handle the drug protocol question. Turbiville said
he can't imagine that a majority of legislators would get rid of the death
penalty, although many of them want it limited to only a few of the worst
crimes.

"I think we'll fix the problems and move on," he said.

Miles supports an end to abortion and said her stance on that and the
death penalty are consistent.

Hunt also supports eliminating abortion, but he said there's no
inconsistency between that position and his support for capital punishment
in limited situations.

"An unborn child has done nothing wrong," he said.

An unborn child also has no advocates, Hunt said. Convicted killers have
the right to a legal appeal process and advocates in the form of defense
lawyers, he said.

Besides that, Hunt said, advances in technology and testing make it less
and less probable that an innocent person would be convicted and executed.

The only public testimony on the topic on Monday came from an Onida farmer
who said that being opposed to murder but sanctioning the death penalty is
somewhat like a parent warning a child against smoking while lighting a
cigarette.

Mark Weinheimer made that analogy. If people accept the idea of the state
taking a life, Weinheimer said, "We will always have the problem of murder
in society."

(source: Argus Leader)

********************

Capital Punishment Repeal Offered


An almost-annual attempt to repeal the death penalty in South Dakota is
expected to meet the usual chilly reception today in the state
Legislature.

Lawmakers have long favored capital punishment for the most serious
crimes, although it's been 6 decades since anyone was executed in South
Dakota.

The state currently has 4 men on death row. One of them, Elijah Page, is
scheduled to be executed in July.

Page is 1 of 3 men who kidnapped, tortured and killed 19-year-old Chester
Allan Poage of Spearfish 6 years ago.

(source: Keloland News)






ILLINOIS:

Former Illinois Governor George Ryan Nominated For The 2007 Nobel Peace
Prize


University of Illinois College of Law Professor Francis A. Boyle has
nominated former Illinois Governor George Ryan for the 2007 Nobel Peace
Prize because of his courageous and heroic opposition to the death penalty
system in America.

Despite tremendous opposition and criticism, Ryan single-handedly started
what he calls a "rational discussion" on capital punishment in 2000 when
he declared the Illinois death penalty moratorium.

To this day, despite paying a heavy personal price for his courage,
integrity, and principles, Ryan remains committed to the principle of
seeking justice for the poor and oppressed. Ryan now takes his message
globally, recently speaking before the United Nations Commission on Human
Rights in Switzerland, continuing to initiate dialogue against the
barbaric use of capital punishment around the world.

Directly because of Ryan's imposed 2000 moratorium, a tidal wave of change
has gained momentum in the United States. Death sentences are at a 30-year
low, while the number of executions has dropped to a 10-year-low. And for
the 1st time in 2 decades, more Americans now support life sentences over
death as the proper punishment for capital crimes.

New Jersey's governor signed into law a 1-year moratorium on executions
due to public demand, and Florida's Governor Bush suspended all executions
until methods of execution can be examined in that state.

California now has an imposed moratorium, and Ohio's new governor has
stated moral questions concerning the use of capital punishment.

The American Bar Association has also now declared that there should be a
blanket moratorium on all executions in the United States because of
widespread problems with the quality of defense given to poor and indigent
capital defendants.

As Governor Ryan exposed to the country in 2000, the burden of capital
punishment consistently falls upon the poor, the ignorant and the
forgotten underpriviledged members of society, and is often used as a
racist institution against people of color.

The United States attitude towards capital punishment is undeniably
changing, and as a direct result of Ryans historical acts as former
Governor of Illinois. Ryan exposed capital punishment to be a distorted
means of justice rife with flaws and defects, and he began the dialogue
that will one day abolish capital punishment in America.

Professor Francis A. Boyle has stated that, "George Ryan is the beginning
of the end of the death penalty in America," and it is for this reason
that he richly deserves to win the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.

Joining him on the nomination papers were Chicago Attorneys Karen Conti,
Greg Adamski and Jerome Boyle.

(source: http://thenobelpeaceprizetoryan.blogspot.com/)






NORTH CAROLINA:

Death row Inmate Cautious as Court Holds Up Execution


James Thomas assumes that he is going to die. It's just that now he
doesn't know when.

He states this matter-of-factly as he strains to see the reporter through
the thick glass and bars in the visitation room at Central Prison. His
speech is low and measured, that of a man who has had more than two
decades to ponder his fate. He pauses frequently between thoughts as if he
is weighing the effect everything he says will have on the public.

He was scheduled to make the walk to the Prison's death chamber this
coming Friday, but a court battle over the role of physicians in
executions put his lethal injection and two others on hold last Thursday.
Marcus Robinson had been scheduled to be put to death this past Friday,
James Campbell on Feb. 9.

Wake County Superior Court Judge Donald W. Stephens granted injunctions in
all 3 cases last week. At issue is a conflict between a North Carolina
Medical Board Policy that prohibits doctors from taking part in an
execution and state law that requires a doctor to be present.

Despite the injunction and assurances from his attorneys, Thomas is not
convinced that he will not make the walk to the death chamber at the end
of the week.

"I'm keeping my focus narrow right now, that in my mind Friday is still a
possibility," Thomas said.

Thomas was convicted in the 1986 killing of Teresa West in Wake County.
She was strangled with a pair of pantyhose and sexually assaulted with a
telephone receiver.

In court documents, attorneys said Thomas went to buy heroin from West, a
Raleigh boarding house manager. They say his drug problem, along with a
history of severe abuse as a child, caused him to act impulsively. Thomas
says he thinks about what he did all of the time and makes no excuses.

"I can't explain it to myself. I can't explain it to myself," said Thomas.

Thomas said that at one time he thought he deserved to die, but now, he
added, he has changed for the better. He said that in prison, he has
studied, taught others and developed a strong faith. He understands why
some people, especially victim's family members, want to see him executed,
but he wants to live.

"Somewhere along the line, I realized that I could honor Teresa by being
the best person I could be," Thomas said.

Not everyone agrees with the judge's decision to halt executions. Wayne
Ubers twin brother was murdered in Florida during an armed robbery. Since
the incident, he has become an outspoken supporter of capital punishment.

"I think we're showing a high amount of regard for the agony and pain that
an inmate might feel and a lot of disregard for victims," Uber said.

West's uncle met with the governor when Thomas' execution was still on the
calendar. WRAL spoke with him last week after that meeting.

It's just a tragedy for both families. We have no malice, but we do want
justice to be carried out and justice to be done, said former Craven
County Sheriff C.W. Bland.

Thomas likens death row to a neighborhood where he has gotten to know
everyone167 inmates to be exact and their stories. He believes capital
punishment is unjust and is something whose consequences state leaders
should fully consider as they enter this debate.

"How do we punish? That's what it's about," said Thomas.

Thomas knows that he may still have to make that walk to the death chamber
at a later date, but hopes against hope that he will be spared.

"Deep down, I am absolutely hopeful that can happen," said Thomas.

(source: WRAL News)