Aug. 25
TEXAS----impending execution
Nicaragua pleads with US to call off execution
Nicaraguan officials and activists called on the United States Monday to cancel
the execution in Texas later this week of Bernardo Tercero, the only Nicaraguan
national on death row in the US.
Tercero is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection Wednesday for killing
high school English teacher Robert Berger while robbing a Houston dry cleaning
business in 1997.
The impending execution has sparked protests in Nicaragua, which abolished
capital punishment in 1979, when the leftist Sandinista rebels came to power.
For us here in Nicaragua, where we don't have the death penalty and embrace a
spirit of humanitarianism and solidarity, it seems pathetic to be on the verge
of a Nicaraguan citizen's execution," said the country's ambassador to the
Organization of American States, Denis Moncada.
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has been pleading for clemency for Tercero
with US officials "at the highest level," including President Barack Obama,
Moncada told Channel Two news.
Activists have called a demonstration later in the day to demand Tercero be
spared.
Nicaraguan national Bianca Jagger, a campaigner for the abolition of the death
penalty, is one of those leading the protest movement.
"His execution would constitute an egregious miscarriage of justice," she wrote
in an online petition signed by more than 500 people.
Jagger, the ex-wife of Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger, said Tercero had
"abysmal" legal representation and that his case was fraught with errors.
Church leaders in the majority Catholic country also joined the appeal.
"I call with all my heart on the US authorities to accept the petitions to save
Bernardo Tercero's life," said Cardinal Miguel Obando.
(source: Global Post)
CONNECTICUT:
Death Penalty Abolition Ruling Leaves Racial Disparity Argument Unresolved
For years, death penalty opponents have claimed that prosecutors are far more
likely to argue for capital punishment for people of color than for white
defendants.M
Several years ago, a group of death row inmates challenged their sentences,
arguing that decisions on who should be charged with capital felony and made
eligible for a potential death sentence in Connecticut were made with racial
bias. More than half the men who were on death row are African-American, though
blacks comprise about 10 percent of the state's population.
While that racial disparity argument was shot down by a trial judge in 2013,
the case, In re Death Penalty Disparity Claims, has remained on appeal before
the state Supreme Court. That appeal became moot this month when a divided
court ruled it was unconstitutional to execute those who were on death row when
the General Assembly in 2012 repealed the death penalty for future murder
cases. Those who were on death row will now serve life sentences.
However, the racial disparity issue was not a moot point for retired Justice
Flemming Norcott Jr., who was part of the panel that repealed the death
penalty, and Justice Andrew McDonald. They took the opportunity to pen a
23-page decision on the topic despite it having little to do with the merits of
Eduardo Santiago's criminal case, which gave rise to the justice's majority
opinion.
"We write separately to express our profound concerns regarding an issue of
substantial public importance that will never be resolved by this court in
light of the majority's determination that the imposition of the death penalty
is an unconstitutionally excessive and disproportionate punishment," wrote
Norcott and McDonald. "Specifically, we cannot end our state's nearly 400-year
struggle with the macabre muck of capital punishment litigation without
speaking to the persistent allegations of racial and ethnic discrimination that
have permeated the breadth of this state's experience with capital charging and
sentencing decisions."
The decision proceeded to discuss the history of racial disparity in death
sentences in Connecticut and elsewhere for decades, even centuries.
The justices noted that of the 160 executions in the state's history, more than
1/2 the defendants were black. They said since 1693, only black men have been
executed for rape in Connecticut, and each for the rape of a white woman. In
contrast, they wrote, in almost 400 years, no white person has ever been
executed in Connecticut for the murder of a black person.
"It may be that every black man ever executed for raping a white woman and
every Native American ever executed for murdering a white man in Connecticut
was guilty as charged, and received his due process and his proper punishment
under the laws then in effect," the justices wrote. "But white men in
Connecticut have also killed Native Americans over the past 400 years, and
raped black women. None has ever hanged for it.
"To the extent that a criminal justice system operates such that only racial
minorities are subject to execution for their participation in interracial
crimes, the fact that those executed are guilty as charged is of little
succor," the justices continued. "To the extent that such biases, however
subconscious, invariably continue to influence who is charged with and
sentenced to the ultimate punishment, the death penalty likely would be hard
put to survive constitutional scrutiny."
In Chief Justice Chase Rogers' dissent, she argued that Norcott and McDonald's
opinion "is based on unfounded assumptions and cherry-picked opinions."
"I believe that it undermines the institutional integrity of this court for
Justices Norcott and McDonald to express their views on such an important issue
when the court as a whole, which might well have agreed with those concurring
justices' analysis if the court had been able to address the issue in the case
in which it was actually litigated, is now barred from considering it," wrote
Rogers.
In their opinion, Norcott and McDonald addressed the chief justice and said she
has authored concurring opinions in the past that discussed issues not before
the court. "As we have explained, one of our goals in authoring this concurring
opinion has been to highlight the racial disparity issue for consideration by
other courts and legislative bodies," the two justices wrote. "That has long
been considered a legitimate function of a concurring opinion."
Several legal experts were impressed with the concurrence.
"There's no doubt that concurrence and the actual majority opinion will be used
by courts and death penalty abolitionists across the country as a road map to
abolish the death penalty," said David McGuire, legislative and policy director
for the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut. McGuire helped pen an
amicus brief in Santiago supporting the death penalty repeal.
Todd Fernow, director of the University of Connecticut School of Law's criminal
law clinic, applauded the concurrence, opining that it was clear McDonald and
Norcott did not want the racial disparity issue to simply be "mooted out" by
the majority's decision to repeal the death penalty.
"Obviously, this is something that was a passionately held conclusion reached
by these two justices after a lot of reading and a lot of study," said Fernow.
"As a last thing he's going to write for the court, Justice Norcott really felt
he had to write it and I commend him for it."
With that said, Fernow is uncertain whether there will be any practical use for
the concurring opinion in future cases. He could foresee it spearheading a
legislative committee tasked with looking at racial disparity in the criminal
justice system. He does not expect the racial disparity arguments regarding the
death penalty to be shifted to run-of-the-mill murder convictions.
"It's very hard to make that translation," said Fernow. "It's probably going to
be easier in the bail context where the disparate impact is measurable in so
many different ways."
For example, is a black defendant getting bail set at $1 million while a white
defendant's bail is $100,000? Are white defendants more easily affording bail
than minority defendants, and how does that correlate with suburban and urban
environments as their background? "That may benefit ultimately from this sort
of analysis," said Fernow.
Otherwise, Fernow does not see too many scenarios in court where the same kind
of racial disparity argument will continue to apply. He said he could see a
lawyer saying something along the lines of, "Your honor, the state wouldn't be
pushing for life in prison if we were talking about a poor black victim."
"You've got to be very careful how strategically you go about this stuff,"
Fernow said.
Fernow said the circumstances are different for approaching such an argument in
a death penalty phase hearing, as preventing the death penalty is the defense
lawyer's sole goal. If there's a basis for bringing up racial animus then, "You
do it. You've got nothing to lose," Fernow said. That same approach, he said,
may not go over in a regular murder case.
(source: Christian Nolan, Connecticut Law Tribune)
NORTH CAROLINA:
Race and the court's biggest decision
Craig Hicks and Dylann Roof are both charged with multiple counts of murder in
the shooting deaths of several people. Both could face capital punishment. Both
received national attention.
But another factor might play a major role in their trials: They???re both
white men accused of killing people of color.
Roof, 21, is charged with 9 counts of murder in the deaths of nine black
members of Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church during a Bible study on
June 17 in Charleston, S.C. Hicks, 46, is charged with 3 counts of murder in
the deaths of Muslim-American university students Deah Barakat, Razan Abu-Salha
and Yusor Abu-Salha on Feb. 10 in Chapel Hill.
Racial bias in capital punishment
According to fresh data from a report by the Death Penalty Information Center,
criminal defendants are significantly less likely to receive a death sentence
for killing people of color than for killing white people.
The data shows that since 1976, more than 75 % of U.S. homicide cases where the
killer was executed involved white victims, though only 50 % of all homicide
victims are white.
"In North Carolina, the odds of receiving a death sentence rose by 3.5 times
for defendants whose victims were white," the report states.Nationwide, a
minority - 43 % - of death row inmates are white, though whites make up the
vast majority - about 78 % - of the U.S. population.
Frank Baumgartner, a UNC political science professor who specializes in capital
punishment in the U.S., said if the victim in a capital case is white, it's
dramatically more likely to lead to execution.
He said that on the rare occasion white killers are given the death penalty for
killing people of color, it's often in cases of blatant racism or extremism.
"When you look at those particular cases, they're Ku Klux Klan, they're Aryan
Nations, they're a white supremacist prison gang that kills another prisoner,"
he said.
Death penalty support wavering
Kristin Collins, a spokeswoman for the Center for Death Penalty Litigation in
Durham, said that while racism in capital punishment is a well-documented
phenomenon, the popularity of the death penalty in general is on the decline in
the U.S.
"It's always a response that we hear to a big, high-profile crime - that we
need the death penalty," she said. "I actually feel like public opinion is
trending away from the death penalty. A whole bunch of states have repealed it
just in the past 10 years, and many other states are no longer using it,
including North Carolina."
No execution has taken place in North Carolina since 2006.
Collins said a capital conviction can hurt the families of victims by drawing
out the legal process for decades, since defendants can appeal the sentence
several times.
"We've seen some families really suffer a lot waiting decades for this
execution that they think is going to make them feel better, but it never
comes," she said.Baumgartner said only about 30 % of capital convictions in
North Carolina result in execution.
"If they go for the death penalty rather than agree on a sentence of life
without the possibility of parole, Mr. Hicks will get enhanced legal
protections; he'll have more attorneys, he'll have guaranteed appeals," he
said. "The average person on death row has already been there 15 years."
Yousef Abu-Salha, a cousin of Yusor Abu-Salha and Razan Abu-Salha, said the
victims' family is focusing on returning to their normal lives in the wake of
the tragedy rather than fixating on Hicks' upcoming trial.
"It's going to be a long and painful process, but we have faith in our justice
system. Our faith and our people mean more to us than the fate of a murderer,"
he said. "The hurt hasn't gone away, but we will continue to live as proud
Muslim-Americans."
The 'lone wolf' narrative
Since the tragedies in Chapel Hill and in Charleston, various media outlets
have tried to explain the crimes by examining the mental health and personal
history of Hicks and Roof.
Both acts were immediately viewed as hate crimes, but in Hicks' case, police
and state prosecutors have said the motivation behind the Chapel Hill shooting
was a long-standing parking dispute - a statement contested by the victims'
families, UNC's Muslim Students' Association and several other 3rd parties.
The hesitation to label violent crimes by white perpetrators as acts of terror
is a way the media criminalizes people of color while giving white people the
benefit of the doubt, said Lisa Wade, an expert in race and gender in the
media.
Wade said that it's common for white killers to be treated like "lone wolves"
who do not represent their race or gender, and that people of color don't
receive the same treatment.
"There's a very strong association in American culture between black people and
criminal activity. If there's an assumption that members of a less dominant
racial group are 'up to no good' anyway, we see violent crime as one of the
normal things that happen to people who are 'up to no good,'" she said.
"Because we elevate whiteness and we define a white person as the upstanding
citizen, when a white person commits a violent crime, our global view is
challenged."
Wade said because whiteness and maleness are dominant traits in American
society, they become invisible in the context of crime.
"We're looking at this epidemic of white men doing these crimes, and yet
whiteness and maleness and their intersection is not part of the media's
discussion. Nobody is asking, 'What's wrong with the white guy?' even though
it's a very clear pattern."
(source: Daily Tarheel)
ALABAMA:
Mom: Death of toddler was accidental ---- Dad charged with forcefully shaking
2-year-old son
The mother of a toddler killed over the weekend called her son's death an
accident.
Gena Redden said she and Jose Luis Rosales Sr. only just obtained full custody
of their 2-year-old again earlier this month. Redden spoke Monday about what
she believed happened to their 2-year-old, son Jose Luis Rosales Jr.
"I was at the grocery store and Jose Sr. said the baby must've fallen out of
the bed," Redden said. "I believe Jose."
Deputies with the Houston County Sheriff's Office obtained a warrant Monday
charging the 25-year-old Rosales Sr. with felony 1st-degree domestic violence
assault in connection with his toddler's death.
Court records show a warrant obtained by sheriff's investigators charged
Rosales with shaking his son by force.
Jose Rosales, Jr. was pronounced dead in the emergency room at Flowers Hospital
at 4:54 p.m. Saturday afternoon.
Houston County Coroner Robert Byrd said Saturday rescue units were called to a
home on Fortner Street at 4:18 p.m. Following the death, the Houston County
Sheriff's Officelaunched an investigation.
Sheriff Donald Valenza said he expected to release some information on the
investigation after the completion of the toddler's autopsy.
District Attorney Doug Valeska, who attended Rosales' 1st appearance in court
Monday, declined to talk about the specifics of what investigators believe
happened to the child. But he said it could "potentially" be a capital murder
case. He said the age of the victim makes the case "potentially" death
eligible.
"I can't say it's a death penalty case until we have the cause of death from
the pathologist," Valeska said.
The toddler was taken to state Department of Forensic Sciences in Montgomery to
determine an official cause of death through an autopsy.
Rosales is being held without bail at the Houston County Jail. A preliminary
hering is set for Sept. 4. District Judge Benjamin Lewis appointed attorney
John Steensland III to represent Rosales in court.
Court records show Rosales appeared to have no criminal records except for a
pending misdemeanor fishing without a license charge.
Redden recalled how Rosales Sr. called her from a neighbor???s phone after
finding their son. He had been outside with their two older daughters after
putting Rosales Jr. down for a nap. "He said he had laid him down because he
said he said was tired," Redden said.
Redden said there was a history of Rosales Jr. jumping on the bed and falling.
She said they had already notified officials with the Houston County Department
of Human Resources of those occasions. She said the 2-year-old fell out of what
she referred as a three-in-one bed, which was set up as a baby crib. She said
their son went by the affectionate nickname of "Bubba."
"Bubba didn't deserve to go yet," Redden said. "Jose was an excellent father,
and if he said it was an accident I believe him."
Redden said she and Rosales Sr. had lost custody of their son, who had been in
foster care for around a year until February of this year. She said they were
granted full custody again earlier this month.
"We had been investigated for anything and everything a parent can be
investigated for, and we just got cleared," Redden said. "It was great to have
him home, but I didn't get much time with him. I wish could've spent more time
with him."
(source: Dothan Eagle)
******************
Death row inmate: Alabama ignores my innocence
The latest Alabama inmate seeking freedom from death row maintains the state is
wrongly ignoring his claims of innocence while his health fails behind bars,
one of his attorneys said Monday.
Legal arguments filed by Donnis Musgrove contend the state is arguing about
technicalities rather addressing legitimate concerns about the man's 1988
conviction and death sentence.
Musgrove's appeal is currently in federal court, and the defense is asking the
judge to rule quickly because the prisoner has lung cancer and was hospitalized
last week in grave condition, said Cissy Jackson, one of his lawyers.
"We would love to get him out of prison ... so he could have some peace after
being wrongfully imprisoned for so many years," said Jackson.
Out of the hospital and sent back to Donaldson prison near Birmingham, Musgrove
will be treated in the prison infirmary for an indefinite period, Jackson said.
The attorney general's office declined to comment on Musgrove's legal
arguments.
The state has argued that rules prohibit Musgrove from making new claims about
being innocent and bar him from questioning evidence used in his trial, but
prosecutors haven't directly addressed his arguments about being wrongfully
convicted based on bogus evidence conjured by prosecutors and police.
Musgrove, 67, was sentenced to die for the gunshot killing of Coy Eugene Barron
in 1986, but his attorneys maintain the prosecution falsified every piece of
evidence against him, including witness statements and a shell casing that was
used to link him to the slaying.
The defense earlier this year asked a federal judge in Birmingham to overturn
Musgrove's conviction, and his lawyers filed a brief late Friday accusing the
state of failing to address questions about innocence.
Prosecutors had no immediate response, and they won't necessarily have to file
additional documents before U.S. District Judge David Proctor rules on
Musgrove's bid for freedom.
Musgrove is trying to become the third inmate freed from Alabama's death row
since April. Lawyers asked Proctor to rule quickly because of Musgrove's ill
health.
Two other men have been released from Alabama's death row since April after
winning appeals. One of them, Anthony Ray Hinton, was tried by the same
Jefferson County prosecutor and judge who handled Musgrove's case, and the same
ballistics expert was involved in each case.
Musgrove contends the evidence of wrongdoing in his case is more extensive than
in the case against Hinton.
(source: Associated Press)
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