January 7
TEXAS:
Texas Police Charge Suspect With Capital Murder In The Death Of 7-Year-Old
Jazmine Barnes
Eric Black Jr. has been charged with capital murder in connection with the
murder of 7-year-old Jazmine Barnes, according to a statement from the Harris
County Sheriff’s Office in East Harris County, TX.
Initial reports believed the shooter to be a white man in his 40s based on
accounts from Jazmine’s family, which were shared in a news conference last
week. The person charged for the crime is a 20-year-old Black man, a sheriff’s
office spokesperson said on Sunday. Police believe her death was a possible
case of mistaken identity rather than a targeted attack.
Eric Black Jr. has allegedly confessed to acting as the getaway driver, reports
the Houston Chronicle. He was arrested on Saturday after he was identified as a
suspect while pulled over for not using his turn signal. According to the
Houston Chronicle, when questioned by the police, Black admitted that Jazmine’s
death was a mistake and that she and her family were not the intended targets.
In a statement given earlier this morning, investigators are continuing to
“pursue evidence that could possibly lead to other suspects being charged,”
reports the BBC. The prosecutors have reportedly identified the man believed to
be the shooter during Black’s court appearance. As of Sunday, he has not yet
been arrested or charged.
(source: refinery29.com)
GEORGIA:
Foster death penalty hearings to resume later this year
As we enter 2019 Floyd County has one remaining man sitting on death row
awaiting execution and another who is potentially heading for his second death
penalty trial.
Timothy Tyrone Foster, who is now 51, was sentenced to death in 1987 for the
murder of retired school teacher Queen Madge White during a burglary at her
home at Highland Circle — he was 18 at the time of the incident.
The 79-year-old woman had been attacked and molested before being strangled to
death.
The U.S. Supreme Court overturned his conviction 2 years ago, on the grounds of
black jurors being excluded from his original trial.
Once his conviction was overturned, Foster was moved back to the Floyd County
Jail from Georgia’s death row in Jackson. Earlier this year the state expressed
its intent to seek the death penalty and the lengthy process began again.
One round of hearings took place in October and another round of hearings are
set for May in Judge Billy Sparks’ courtroom.
James Randall Rogers
James Randall Rogers, now 57, is the only man currently sentenced to death from
Floyd County. Rogers raped and murdered his 75-year-old neighbor, Grace Perry
in 1980.
He was first convicted and sentenced to death in 1982 but later had to be
retried, convicted and sentenced in 1985 after he appealed the original
conviction because the grand jury pool didn’t include enough women.
Later Rogers appealed his conviction again, citing a U.S. Supreme Court ban of
the execution of mentally retarded criminals. He cited a definition of mental
retardation as consistently scoring less than 70 on IQ tests. Rogers took 6
tests, with his score falling below 70 only once.
In 2007, the Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Floyd County jury’s 2005 finding
that Rogers wasn’t mentally retarded.
The Georgia Department of Corrections does not list any date for Rogers’
scheduled execution.
Overturned cases
It took years to resolve the cases of Mark Randall McPherson and Gary Chad
Thomason. Both men were sentenced to death and both men’s sentences were
overturned. Both McPherson and Thomason were re-sentenced to life without
parole.
It took 6 years to resolve McPherson’s case and 11 for Thomason.
Mark Randall McPherson took a sentencing deal for life without parole for the
1998 murder of Linda Ratcliff after the Georgia Supreme Court overturned his
sentence of death in 2008.
In 1992 Gary Chad Thomason fatally shot Jerry Self, 33, outside his Bells Ferry
Road home. Convicted and sentenced to death in 1996 on murder, burglary and
weapons charges, Thomason had his sentence — but not conviction — overturned in
2003.
Thomason also took a sentencing deal which offered life without parole, rather
than the death penalty.
In both cases the families of the victims approved of the sentencing deals of
life without parole, Floyd County District Attorney Leigh Patterson said in an
earlier interview.
(source: Rome News-Tribune)
LOUISIANA:
Murder cases set for trial this year
14 murder cases are scheduled for trial this year in Terrebonne and Lafourche
parishes
All dates are subject to change.
In Louisiana, 1st- and 2nd-degree murder convictions carry mandatory life
sentences without the possibility of parole. For 1st-degree murder, prosecutors
may also seek the death penalty.
A principal, or accomplice, can face the same penalty even if he or she doesn’t
commit the actual murder.
This list does not include manslaughter, vehicular homicide or negligent
homicide cases. It also doesn’t include anyone charged with murder who is not
yet set for trial.
LAFOURCHE
Tremell Batiste, 22, of 164 Georgette St., Napoleonville, is set for trial on
Feb. 26 in Judge Steven Miller’s courtroom. He is charged in the 2nd-degree
murder of 30-year-old Thibodaux resident Chansie White on Nov. 15, 2017.
Marlon Johnson, 20, of 416 Frederick Drive, Thibodaux, is set for trial on
April 22 in Judge Buddy Larose’s courtroom. He’s accused of killing Donovan
King, of Thibodaux, on Feb. 19. He’s charged with 2nd-degree murder.
TERREBONNE
Miranda Gilley, 22, of Houma, is set for trial Monday in Judge George Larke
Jr.’s courtroom. She is charged with 2nd-degree murder in the July 11 stabbing
of 24-year-old Jessica McGehee, of Houma, at the Belmere Luxury Apartments.
Maurice Banks, 26, of Houma, is set for trial Jan. 14 in Judge Johnny Walker’s
courtroom. Banks is charged as a principal to 2nd-degree murder. He is accused
in the Oct. 28, 2015, shooting of 18-year-old Corey Butler, of Houma, on Morgan
Street. He is currently serving 30 years after being ruled as a habitual
offender.
Raashon Rainey, 20, of Gray, and Malcolm Vanburen, of Schriever, are set for
trial Jan. 22 in Judge Juan Pickett’s courtroom. They are charged with
2nd-degree murder in the shooting of 49-year-old Steven Portier, of Gray.
Portier’s body was found Dec. 23, 2014, inside his home on Gaidry Street.
Landry Watkins Jr., 23, of Bourg, is set for trial Jan. 22 in Pickett’s
courtroom. He is charged with 2nd-degree murder in the April 19 death of
25-year-old Da’Ronte Howard, of Ashland. Howard was shot outside of a home on
Larry Street.
Kyland Ezell, 33, of Houma, is set for trial Jan. 22 in Pickett’s courtroom. He
is charged with the 2nd-degree murder of 30-year-old Andre Calloway on July 26.
Houma Police found Calloway with a bullet wound on his upper torso at a home on
Senator Circle, authorities said.
Zamante Alvis, 17, of Houma, is set for trial Jan. 22 in Pickett’s courtroom.
He is charged with 2nd-degree murder in the July 10, 2016, shooting of
17-year-old Roderick Davis Jr. in Scott Lane Park. The Houma resident’s body
was found the next day.
Kentrell Gaither Jr., 19, of Houma, is set for trial Jan. 22 in Pickett’s
courtroom. He is charged with the 2nd-degree murder of Roderick Davis Jr., who
was found shot to death in Scott Lane Park on July 11, 2016. Deandre Pharagood,
23, of Thibodaux, is set for trial Feb. 19 in Judge Randy Bethancourt’s
courtroom. He is charged with 1st-degree murder in the shooting of 87-year-old
Anthony Lirette. The victim’s body was found Oct. 14, 2016, outside his home on
Bayou Black Drive.
Donovan Wright, 22, of Thibodaux, is set for trial Feb. 19 in Bethancourt’s
courtroom. He is charged as a principal to the 2nd-degree murder of 24-year-old
Alvin George III, of Houma. George was found shot and killed Oct. 7, 2016, in a
vehicle near Gray and West Main streets in Gray.
Joshua Williams, 31, of Houma, is set for trial Feb. 19 in Bethancourt’s
courtroom. He is charged with the 2nd-degree murder in the April 5 fatal
stabbing of Usie Ledet, 25. Authorities say the 2 men got into an argument at
an apartment complex on Magnolia Street.
Jordan Cooks, 30, of Lake Charles, is set for trial Feb. 25 in Judge David
Arceneaux’s courtroom. He is charged with 1st-degree murder in the Dec. 31,
2016, shooting of 24-year-old Dondre Turner, of Houma. Turner was shot outside
a convenience store along West Park Avenue in Schriever. Cooks was recently
deemed as a habitual offender and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Ty’G Stoves, 22, of Houma, is set for trial March 18 in Walker’s courtroom. He
is charged with 2nd-degree murder in the shooting of Khari Bateast, whose
bullet-riddled body was found face-down on the ground Feb. 13 near a house in
the 2600 block of Truman Street.
(source: Houma Today)
TENNESSEE:
What kind of society do we want to be? Why the death penalty is unjust:
continuing violence to show violence is wrong is not just. There are other
options available for justice to be done.
It happened again. The 3rd time since August.
In the 42 years since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled capital punishment was
constitutional in 1976, Tennessee only executed 6 men.
But now, in a matter of 4 months, 3 people have been executed, 2 by
electrocution. 3 more executions are scheduled in 2019, and another 3 in 2020.
6 in 42 years; 9 in less than 3 years.
I have written editorials against the death penalty. I have spoken out against
the death penalty in sermons and conversations. I have talked to legislators
about my desire to see our state stop capital punishment. I have visited
inmates on death row.
Our humanity suffers with capital punishment
I believe to my core that the death penalty goes against the teachings of Jesus
and the totality of Scripture. I believe, deep down, we know killing to teach
that killing is wrong goes against the humanity inside all of us.
I have stated countless times that even if you believe Scripture justifies
capital punishment, we cannot carry it out justly. Especially since there are
other ways for justice to be done without the taking of another life, even a
guilty life.
I want to share 3 thoughts:
First, opposing the death penalty, for me, has everything to do with honoring
the victims and their surviving families. While it is human nature to want
revenge, and to want to harm someone who has harmed your family, the death
penalty does the opposite.
Instead of providing closure and justice, it forces the family to relive the
nightmare over and over for years and decades, causing further emotional
scares. I think this is why the Bible tells us that vengeance is God’s alone.
Plus, a better use of the resources spent on capital punishment would be using
those resources to help the families with counseling, housing and education.
Doing so, I believe, would honor the life of the innocent person.
Second, opposition to the death penalty does not mean the guilty are not held
accountable for their actions. Being against capital punishment is not the same
as being soft on crime. Quite the opposite. Every person I know who stands
against the death penalty does so out of their deep conviction to see justice
done in our court systems.
Equally as strong is the conviction that continuing violence to show violence
is wrong is not just. Especially when there are other options available for
justice to be done.
Third, opposing the death penalty is about us and what kind of society we want
to be. Fundamentally, one’s view of justice dictates one’s view of the death
penalty.
Do we want justice or vengeance?
There are 4 basic types of justice: Distributive justice or often referred to
as economic justice
Procedural justice — usually seen as a part of economic justice, stressing
fairness in the distribution of goods and services
Restorative justice, the idea of restitution
Retributive justice, which is only about punishment
When it comes to the criminal justice system and the death penalty, the
question is: Do you think the purpose of criminal sentencing is locking people
up and throwing away the key — or killing them?
Or is it rehabilitation and reconciliation?
To put it another way: Is the purpose punitive or restorative? Simply put,
capital punishment leaves no room for restoration, reconciliation and
rehabilitation.
Through the prophet Zechariah, God told us, “Administer true justice, show
mercy and compassion to one another” (Zechariah 7:9).
There are better and more effective ways of administering justice besides the
taking of another life. Let us pursue those avenues for a more moral and just
society.
(source: Opinion; Rev. Dr. Kevin Riggs is pastor of Franklin Community
Church----The Tennessean)
CALIFORNIA:
Mental illness increasingly helps defendants avoid trial. But not always.
More than 2 years after the murder of Stanislaus County Deputy Sheriff Dennis
Wallace, a case against the accused shooter remains on hold because he was
declared mentally incapable of standing trial.
On Wednesday, the county’s latest accused cop killer — Paulo Virgen Mendoza,
formerly identified as Gustavo Perez Arriaga — appeared headed down the same
road. His attorney asked that Mendoza’s mental competence be evaluated before
he enters a plea, effectively suspending prosecution for allegedly murdering
Newman police Cpl. Ronil Singh on Dec. 26.
Whether more of the general population is mentally ill, or claiming a mental
defect is increasingly popular as a legal maneuver, is open to debate.
A recent Los Angeles Times report cited a 33 percent jump in mentally ill
inmates over the preceding three years. More than 800 inmates in California’s
county jails were awaiting space in state hospitals for treatment aimed at
restoring mental capacity so they might stand trial, the Times reported.
The California Department of State Hospitals recently reported a 60 percent
increase over the past four years in defendants needing treatment before trial.
Stanislaus County District Attorney Birgit Fladager said there has been “a
major increase” in local defendants claiming mental defects. She addressed the
issue globally and not Mendoza’s situation or that of David Machado Jr.,
Wallace’s alleged killer.
What’s the effect on Stanislaus courts and County Jail?
From January 2017 through the end of September 2018, 216 defendants were
declared incompetent, or mentally unfit to stand trial. Taxpayers cover the
cost of housing and treating them until they’re restored to competency —
$123.89 a day each for housing alone.
More often than not, mental health doctors or judges don’t buy a defendant’s
mental incapacity claims. Of 881 Stanislaus defendants whose attorneys
requested evaluation in a recent 19-month period, 75 percent were found
mentally sufficient to face charges.
Mendoza, who may face the death penalty, was referred based on a brief
conversation Wednesday with his court-appointed attorney, Stephen Foley.
Mendoza, arrested after a 55-hour manhunt, will remain in custody and undergo a
mental health evaluation before returning to court with a doctor’s report on
Feb. 7, when Foley may decide whether to ask for a competency hearing.
“I don’t think it’s a ploy or a tactic,” said Modesto defense lawyer Doug
Maner, a former prosecutor who is not involved in the case. “It’s not fair or
right to prosecute someone who doesn’t know what’s going on.”
Defendants are guaranteed a fair trial under the Sixth Amendment. That means
they must be able to understand charges against them and assist meaningfully in
their defense, courts long have held.
“It’s part of our legal system,” said Anne Hadreas, a managing attorney with
Disability Rights California, in a telephone interview. “And it’s important to
understand that if someone is found incompetent, it doesn’t mean they’re going
to be released,” especially those arrested for violent crimes, she said.
“I don’t want people to think of the IST (incompetent to stand trial) process
as one where people are just getting off,” Hadreas continued. “If there are
issues with dangerousness, there is an extensive procedure to ensure that
public safety is balanced with the constitutional rights of the individual.”
Machado, for instance, has had several competency hearings since his arrest in
a Tulare County town a few hours after Wallace was shot while checking on a
stolen vehicle at a fishing access near Hughson, in November 2016. The next
hearing is scheduled for next week.
Simple math suggests it has cost taxpayers nearly $100,000 so far just to house
him. And those awaiting specifics of Wallace’s death, beyond the basics, are
out of luck. The day of the shooting, Sheriff Adam Christianson declared
Wallace had been “executed” by 2 shots to the head at close range. Former
neighbors told The Bee at the time that Machado was paranoid, perhaps
exacerbated by drugs.
“Many people who get involved in violent crime have some mental illness,” said
professor Michael Vitiello, who specializes in criminal cases and court
procedure at the University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law in
Sacramento. “Are they all incompetent to stand trial? No. If their attorney has
doubts, of course they should get evaluated.”
Most counties send defendants needing mental health treatment before trial to
state hospitals such as those at Napa or Atascadero. Stanislaus used to, until
a recent expansion of the Public Safety Center provided room for treatment
here, said Richard DeGette, the county’s director of Behavioral Health and
Recovery Services.
Legislation signed last summer by Gov. Jerry Brown allows judges to order
mental health treatment instead of prosecution in some cases. AB 1810 also
reserved $100 million for California’s top 15 counties most affected by
defendants with mental illness; Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties are among
them.
“We’re in the very early stages of putting together a plan” for Stanislaus
cases, DeGette said.
Meanwhile, people not in jail who need immediate help with mental problems
should call 888-376-6246, the county’s long-established toll-free line, DeGette
said.
(source: Modesto Bee)
********************
California man accused in deaths of family of 4 on trial
For years, the disappearance of the McStay family from their San Diego County
home puzzled investigators, with no signs of forced entry and the couple's
credit cards untouched.
After their remains were found years later in a remote desert location more
than 100 miles (161 kilometers) away, authorities charged a Southern California
man with the killings, alleging he bludgeoned his business partner, partner's
wife and two young sons with a sledgehammer before burying them.
Now, 61-year-old Charles "Chase" Merritt is facing trial in the murder of
Joseph McStay, McStay's wife Summer, and their 3- and 4-year-old boys. Opening
statements are expected Monday in San Bernardino County, where the family's
remains were found.
Merritt, who was a business associate of McStay, has pleaded not guilty.
Merritt could face the death penalty if convicted
Authorities have said Merritt's cellphone was traced to the remote gravesites
and to a call days later seeking to close out his then-missing business
partner's online bookkeeping account.
They also have said Merritt's DNA was discovered on the steering wheel and
gearshift of McStay's SUV, which was impounded near the Mexican border a few
days after the family vanished.
Defense attorney James McGee said that DNA could have been transferred to the
vehicle by McStay after he met with Merritt shortly before the family vanished.
McGee also said none of Merritt's DNA was found at the gravesites but DNA
belonging to other unidentified individuals had turned up there.
"From the evidence the government is going to present, our argument is going to
be: You had the wrong guy," McGee said.
Britt Imes, supervising deputy district attorney for San Bernardino County,
said he could not comment on ongoing cases.
The McStay family disappeared from their home in Fallbrook, which is about 50
miles (80 km) north of San Diego, in 2010. Their remains were found in San
Bernardino County in 2013 along with a 3-pound (1.4-kilogram) sledgehammer and
a child's pants and diaper. Authorities have said all four victims were
believed to have been killed by blunt force trauma to the head.
Investigators have said they spoke with Merritt shortly after the family went
missing and noticed he referred to them in the past tense. They also have said
a customer service representative told them he received a call about McStay's
QuickBooks account, which he used to pay vendors connected to his water
features business, after he vanished.
The call, according to authorities, was placed from Merritt's cellphone.
(source: WRAL news)
****************
Voters must do the right thing on death penalty
Re: “Why Gov. Brown should abolish the death penalty” (Editorial, Jan. 2):
While I appreciate your Jan. 2 editorial, with all the compelling reasons why
California should abolish the death penalty, the governor does not have the
power to do so by himself; your editorial is misleading in implying that he
does.
It is up to the voters to do the right thing.
Beth Weinberger
Oakland
(source: Letter to the Editor, Mercury News)
USA:
DESTINED TO DIE: U.S. plans to execute 25 men in 2019
The United States sent 25 convicts to oblivion via lethal injection and the
electric chair in 2018.
Another 25 are scheduled to meet their maker in 2019.
Here are some of the doomed:
BLAINE MILAM
STATE: Texas
DOE: Jan. 15, 2019
411: Milam, 28, will be executed for the beating death with a hammer of his
girlfriend’s 13-month-old daughter during a botched exorcism.
ROBERT JENNINGS
STATE: Texas
DOE: Jan. 30, 2019
411: Cop killer Jennings, 60, will be executed for the 1988 murder of Houston
police officer Elston Howard.
DOMINIQUE RAY
STATE: Alabama
DOE: Feb. 7, 2019
411: Ray, 42, will be executed for the 1995 sex slaying of teenager Tiffany
Harville. He was convicted in 1999 and was serving a life sentence for the
murders of 2 other girls.
WARREN K. HENNESS
STATE: Ohio
DOE: Feb. 13, 2019
411: Henness, 55, murdered Richard Myers, 51, who was helping him and his wife
get help for their drug addictions. He shot him 5 times in the head and stole
his car and credit cards.
BILLY WAYNE COBLE
STATE: Texas
DOE: Feb. 28, 2019
411: Coble is getting the big adios for murdering three members of his
estranged wife’s family in 1989.
PATRICK MURPHY
STATE: Texas
DOE: March 28, 2019
411: Murphy is the last of the Texas 7 to get the needle. He and a crew of
jailbirds broke out of prison Dec. 13, 2000, then went on a murderous crime
spree that left a cop dead.
MARK ROBERTSON
STATE: Texas
DOE: April 11, 2019
411: Robertson, 50, murdered his best friend and his grandmother after a night
of drugs and fishing in August 1989.
JEFFREY WOGENSTAHL
STATE: Ohio
DOE: April 17, 2019
411: Wogenstahl stabbed to death Amber Garrett, 10, in 1991 and then dumped her
body in another state.
DONNIE EDWARD JOHNSON
STATE: Tennessee
DOE: May 16, 2019
411: Johnson, 67, has opted to fry in the electric chair for the Dec. 8, 1984
suffocation murder of his wife, Connie. He stuffed a garbage bag in her mouth.
CLEVELAND JACKSON
STATE: Ohio
DOE: May 29, 2019
411: Jackson will die for the 2002 murders of Leneshia Williams, 17, and Jayla
Grant, 3, during a robbery gone awry.
(source: torontosun.com)
US MILITARY:
Airman accused of murder to appear before panel
Airman 1st Class Isaiah Edwards is set to appear before an Air Force panel
Monday for the murder of another airman.
Edwards is accused of stabbing his roommate, Airman 1st Class Bradley Hale, 20,
to death in their quarters at Andersen Air Force Base on March 26, 2018.
A court-martial is scheduled Monday for the Louisiana-based airman, the
Associated Press reported.
An Air Force panel will hear the case in the federal district court in
Shreveport, Louisiana.
Both men were electronic warfare journeymen
Both men were electronic warfare journeymen based at Barksdale Air Force Base
in Shreveport but temporarily assigned to the 2nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
in Guam.
Bradley Hale, of Montgomery County, Texas, was found with 3 cuts to his neck.
He had joined the Air Force in 2016.
Edwards has been held at Barksdale Air Force Base in Shreveport.
Military courts
Military personnel are tried outside of civilian court through a military court
system.
A general court-martial consists of a military judge and not less than five
members, a manual for Courts-Martial states.
The members on a court-martial can consist of commissioned officers, a warrant
officer, or an enlisted person if the accused is an enlisted person and has
made a timely request.
The members will determine if the accused is proved guilty and if necessary
give a sentence based on the evidence and instructions of the military judge.
A general court-martial conviction can be punished by a dishonorable discharge,
and up to life in prison, or the death penalty in some circumstances.
(source: guampdn.com)
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