Feb. 8
TEXAS:
British grandmother on death row loses appeal
A British grandmother who has spent more than 15 years on death row in Texas
has lost an appeal to the state's highest criminal court.
Linda Carty was sentenced to death after being convicted of the murder of her
neighbour in Houston in May 2001.
Prosecutors alleged that Carty, now 59, had hired 3 men to kidnap Joana
Rodridguez and her newborn son.
She planned to keep the child and pass it off as her own, they said.
But Carty has always maintained her innocence and her lawyers say she was
convicted largely on the word of her co-accused.
She was granted a new hearing by the appeals court in 2016 to present what she
claimed was new evidence proving her innocence.
Carty argued prosecutors had coerced witnesses and withheld evidence.
But a judge dismissed that appeal, saying there was overwhelming evidence of
her guilt, and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has now confirmed his
decision.
Carty was born on the Caribbean island of St Kitts when it was still subject to
British rule and she retains a UK passport.
The Foreign Office has supported her cause and expressed concern about the
prospect of her facing execution.
In an interview with Sky News on death row at Huntsville Prison in 2012, Carty
protested her innocence and pleaded for more assistance from the UK.
She said: "I am 110% innocent.
"We are British. I can't wash off my nationality with soap and water. I am
going to always be British.
"I won't get up and ask the British Government to go out in the public and
lobby for me had I known that I am guilty because then it would be an
embarrassment not only to myself and my family but also the country that I
love.
"So for me when I say I am innocent and that I didn't commit this crime I mean
that."
Her case has received celebrity backing and the support of campaigners at the
human rights organisation Reprieve.
But the US Supreme Court refused to take up her case in 2010 and her legal
options have continued to narrow.
She is 1 of more than 50 women on death rows across the United States, 6 of
them in Texas.
The state has carried out more than 1/3 of all of the executions since the US
restored the death penalty in 1976.
But the number of executions being carried out has continued to decline across
the country. Texas, which saw 40 executions in 2000, carried out 7 last year.
(source: wessexfm.com)
*********************
Appeals court upholds death penalty in 1980 Williamson County murder
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals said evidence proved Steven Thomas left a
fingerprint when victim killed.
Court also said evidence showed Thomas left DNA on tape on Mildred McKinney's
finger when she was killed.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has upheld the death sentence for a man
convicted of killing a 73-year-old Williamson County woman in 1980.
A Williamson County jury convicted Steven Thomas in October 2014 and sentenced
him to death for the capital murder of Mildred McKinney, who was sexually
assaulted and strangled in her home. Thomas' lawyer raised 17 points of error
in the case and the Court of Criminal Appeals found them all to be without
merit, according to the opinion issued by the court Wednesday.
Thomas' fingerprint was found on the back of an alarm clock in McKinney's
bedroom in her home on Sherbourne Street, in what was then southwestern
Williamson County.
His defense lawyer, Ariel Payan, said at a hearing before the appeals court
last year that it could have been there because Thomas worked for a pesticide
company that had been to McKinney's house.
Thomas' sperm also was found on a piece of medical tape wrapped around the
thumb of the 73-year-old McKinney. Payan said that did not prove he sexually
assaulted her because she also had DNA inside of her from 3 other unknown men
and there was other male DNA on the medical tape, Payan said.
The court said in its opinion Wednesday that based on the evidence, a jury
could have inferred that Thomas "deposited his thumb print on the alarm clock
during the violent assault on McKinney that night in her bedroom."
The clock was found on McKinney's bloody bed next to an unplugged telephone
base, the opinion said. McKinney had been bound with the telephone cord. "This
evidence supported a finding that a violent bloody struggle had occurred on or
near the bed and the clock was moved at that time," the court's opinion said.
The court also concluded that the medical tape with Thomas' sperm on it around
McKinney's thumb also was evidence he was present when she died because she had
been bound with several ligatures, including the tape around her thumb.
"The fact that the appellant's sperm came into contact with 1 of the ligatures
tied to McKinney under these circumstances anchors the jury's finding that the
appellant intended to promote or assist in the offense's commission and that he
was at least a party to this transaction," the opinion said.
Payan had also said during his argument before the court last year that the
testimony of a jailhouse snitch during Thomas' trial could not prove that
Thomas killed McKinney and was not reliable. The inmate, Steven Shockey,
testified in front of a jury that Thomas told him about being high on cocaine,
breaking into a house and having to restrain a woman before she got out of bed
and that Thomas took money and jewelry.
The law requires that if a jailhouse informant testifies about a statement a
defendant made that is against the defendant's interests, that testimony must
be corroborated by some other evidence, the opinion from the Court of Criminal
Appeals said.
The record of Thomas' trial shows there was strong corroborating evidence
connecting Thomas to McKinney's death, including Thomas' fingerprint found on
the clock and his DNA found on the medical tape, the opinion said.
McKinney's murder baffled authorities for 32 years until DNA tests led to
Thomas' arrest in July 2012. Other suspects, including serial killer Henry Lee
Lucas and his partner Ottis Toole, were ruled out because there was never any
scientific evidence linking them to the scene.
(source: Austin American-Statesman)
MARYLAND:
Should MD bring back the death penalty for some crimes?
Maryland's death penalty was abolished almost 5 years ago, but there's a
renewed effort to reinstate it.
FOX45's John Rydell reported from Annapolis, where some legislators say capital
punishment could make sense in light of the murders of two Harford County
sheriff deputies 2 years ago and another gunman going on a shooting rampage
last fall at an office just a mile away.
It's crimes like this that deserve the death penalty, according to Sen. Robert
Cassilly, who represents Harford County.
"The primary goal has to be beyond just rehabilitation...and these are those
such cases," he told FOX45.
Cassilly's bill would apply to those who kill law enforcement officers, as well
as correctional officers.
"You want to kill a prison guard, what's the worst that can happen to you?
Nothing; you'll be in the Division of Corrections serving life without parole
sentence," he said.
But longtime opponents of the death penalty plan to fight any effort to have
capital punishment reinstated.
"And obviously there are some people who have been victimized in horrible
ways....original perpetrator by committing murder," said Sen. Delores Kelley.
(source: WBFF news)
SOUTH CAROLINA:
South Carolina should not impose death penalty for mentally ill
As I watch Sen. William Timmons' 2 death penalty bills advance in the SC
Senate, I would like the General Assembly to also consider stopping the
practice of putting our mentally ill to death in South Carolina .
Many don't realize that in SC a judge can accept a guilty but mentally ill plea
and still use the death penalty during sentencing. This means that according to
the statue that a judge is acknowledging a defendant "lacked sufficient
capacity to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law" (Title 17 -
Criminal Procedures Chapter 24 17-24-20 (C)) and still can turn around and
sentence that same person to death.
At least 1 such person is on death row who was found to be guilty but mentally
ill.
I would like our elected leaders not only to have the courage to carry out the
death penalty but also to have the courage to not carry out the death penalty
when it is clearly morally wrong to do so.
Paton Blough,
SC state board member for the National Alliance on Mental Illness
Greenville
(source: Letter to the Editor, Greenville News)
FLORIDA:
Legislative Push For Another Death Penalty Fix Narrowly Passes First Committee
Already, the Florida Supreme Court has rejected more than 3 dozen appeals
involving death row inmates, who received their sentences before 2002 and did
not require unanimous juries. A panel of Florida lawmakers is now trying again
to make a fix to that part of the state's death penalty process.
After listening to the U.S. Supreme Court and later the Florida Supreme Court,
the state legislature agreed last year to make sure certain death row inmates
have a review of their cases.
That's because under Florida's previous death sentencing scheme, a majority of
jurors could make a recommendation, but the ultimate decision was up to a
judge.
In the Hurst v. State case, the nation's highest court declared Florida's death
penalty system unconstitutional in 2016 and handed the case back to the Florida
Supreme Court.
The state Supreme Court justices then agreed that jury's recommending a
sentence of death must be unanimous.
And, the legislature last year passed a bill doing just that and the Governor
signed it into law.
But, under the new law, it only applies to those whose death sentence became
final on or after June 24, 2002. Why that date? It applies to an old U.S.
Supreme Court Ruling.
"June 24, 2002 is the date when the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in
Ring v. Arizona," said Sen. Randolph Bracy (D-Orlando). "The ruling in the Ring
case was that juries must make the factual determination that allows for
constitutional death sentence. The Ring ruling was not applied by Florida
courts for 14 years, until in the Hurst v. Florida case. The U.S. Supreme Court
made it clear that Ring applied in Florida, just as it did in Arizona, and our
courts began to comply."
Bracy was the Senate sponsor of the 2017 effort. Now, in 2018, he also wants to
help those death row who did not have a unanimous jury vote and their death
sentence was final before June 24, 2002.
"We now have a June 24, 2002 cutoff date for death sentences reviews, based on
Hurst unanimous death sentence vote requirement," he added. "The bill would
make our intent known to Florida courts that we don't want the courts to limit
Hurst review to only the post-Ring part of death cases."
But, some lawmakers aren't sold on the idea. That includes Sen. Aaron Bean
(R-Fernandina Beach), who asked Bracy about the need for the bill.
"If the courts already said, 'this is how we're going to move forward.' Why do
we need a bill to do what the courts have already told us to do," asked Bean.
"I think the date is somewhat arbitrary," Bracy replied. "So, if a person was
sentenced to death before the date of June 24, 2002, I think that they should
have the right to have their sentence reviewed again - just as the ones after
that date are able to get. I think it's matter of justice."
But, Sen. Jeff Brandes (R-St. Petersburg) likes the bill.
"I'm a big fan with A = A in the law," he said. "I think in this case, you have
the courts who have made a decision, and they have set a date. And, I think we
should be consistent throughout the state on how we look at death penalty
cases. I think this is the right thing to do. I think this is the fair thing to
do. And, I think this is the only way we can say A=A in the law, if we support
this legislation."
And, bill sponsor Bracy says at the end of the day, this is the right thing to
do.
"As I've stated, I just think it's a matter of justice," he concluded. "I think
that folks before the date June 24, 2002, should be able to appeal and have the
opportunity to have their case looked at."
And, on a 3-2 vote, the measure narrowly passed the Senate Criminal justice
Committee - a panel Bracy chairs. It now has 1 more committee stop before it
heads to the Senate floor. Meanwhile, a House bill has not yet been filed.
(source: WUSF news)
*********************
A call to conscience on Florida's march to death
"A miscarriage of justice."
That's what the Florida Senate's Criminal Justice Committee says about the
death march taking place at the Florida Supreme Court.
By a 3-2 vote this week, the Senate committee approved legislation (SB 870)
that calls on the court to abandon its arbitrary distinction between death row
inmates who do or don't deserve new sentencing hearings since Florida's old
sentencing law was found unconstitutional in January 2016.
The description is correct. The court's apparent indifference to fair play is
staggering. It reflects poorly on the court and on the character of the state.
The Florida court refuses to make the U.S. Supreme Court's 2016 ruling
retroactive to inmates - an estimated 163 of them - whose death sentences were
considered "final" before June 24, 2002. That's when a ruling in an Arizona
case put Florida on notice that its death sentencing law would likely be thrown
out. But it took 14 more years for that shoe to fall in a case known as Hurst
v. Florida, which says a jury, not a judge, must determine if the facts warrant
execution.
For prisoners whose sentences became "final" during that interval, the Florida
court has been granting new hearings, for the most part, to those whose juries
didn't vote unanimously for death.
In a series of identical orders over the past 2 weeks, the court rejected all
80 petitions for new hearings. In only 15 of those cases did the jury
unanimously recommend the death penalty. In 47 cases, at least two jurors voted
against death. Eleven juries were split by votes of 7 to 5.
All would be affected by SB 870, which says the court's decision to deny them a
new sentencing hearing "will result in a miscarriage of justice for those
inmates." It is "the intent of the legislature" that they should be covered by
the precedent set by the Hurst decision.
Still, on Tuesday, the court continued its march for death. It unanimously
denied a stay of execution for Eric Scott Branch, who is scheduled to be put to
death Feb. 22 for the 1993 rape-murder of Susan Morris, a University of West
Florida student.
Morris is among the 80 inmates who have lost their bids for new sentencing
hearings. The jury vote in his case was 10-2. He also has a separate appeal on
other issues pending before the court.
Branch's attorneys urged the court to consider that "a wave" of petitions from
Florida's death row "is set to flood that United States Supreme Court's docket"
shortly after Branch's execution date. If the court rules against Florida in
those cases, they said, "the injustice in (Branch's) case will be irreparable."
The Florida court did not explain why it denied the stay, which the U.S.
Supreme Court could still grant. But the Florida court's usual practice is to
leave that sort of decision to the high court, often at the 11th hour.
SB 870 is sponsored by Sen. Randolph Bracy, D-Ocoee, chair of the criminal
justice committee. In a legal sense, the legislation would not overrule the
court. Such an attempt would probably be unconstitutional.
But the declaration of legislative intent would "send a powerful message to the
U.S. Supreme Court," according to Karen Gottlieb of the Florida Center for
Capital Representation at Florida International University.
The bill is, of course, a long way from passage, a prospect that must be rated
unlikely given the Legislature's history of embracing the death penalty. But
the committee's bipartisan vote is a welcome note of conscience on an issue
that cries out for it.
(source: Editorials are the opinion of the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board and
written by one of its members or a designee)
**************************
Jury continues deliberating John Chapman death penalty murder case
A Palm Beach County jury ended a full day of deliberations without a verdict in
the 1st degree murder trial of John Chapman, a man who could face the death
penalty if convicted as charged in the April 2015 stabbing death of .
Circuit Judge Jeffrey Colbath sent the 12-member panel home just after 5 p.m.
Wednesday, ending more than 8 hours of deliberations without a verdict.
The jury's only question of the day was a request to view an interrogation
video from Chapman's arrest and rehear part of his testimony from when he took
the stand in his own defense last week.
In both the video and in his testimony, Chapman claimed that he stabbed
Williams after she pulled a knife on him inside the cab of a pickup truck as
they were parked outside of a west Boca Raton housing development.
He dumped her body in a ditch on Smith Sundy Road west of Delray Beach, where
someone discovered the 28-year-old Margate woman's remains a day later. Chapman
was arrested several days later at a friend's house in Miami.
(source: Palm Beach Post)
ALABAMA----impending execution
Urgent Action
DIAGNOSED WITH CANCER, EXECUTION SCHEDULED
Doyle Hamm, due to be executed in Alabama on 22 February after 30 years on
death row, has received a stay of execution, but the state has appealed. He has
been diagnosed with lymphatic cancer. The state of his veins may render his
lethal injection unconstitutional.
Write a letter, send an email, call, fax or tweet:
* Calling on the governor to commute Doyle Hamm's death sentence, regardless of
whether the stay of execution granted by the District Court because of the
serious medical condition of the prisoner remains in place; * Expressing
concern at the brevity of the mitigation phase of the trial, leaving the jurors
without a full picture of who they were being asked to sentence, and its impact
on him.
Friendly reminder: If you send an email, please create your own instead of
forwarding this one!
Contact this official by 22 February, 2018:
Governor Kay Ivey
Alabama State Capitol, 600 Dexter Avenue
Montgomery, Alabama 36130, USA
Fax: +1 334 353 0004
Contact form: http://governor.alabama.gov/contact (use US detail)
Salutation: Dear Governor
(source: Amnesty International)
MISSISSIPPI:
Death Penalty Possible In Decade Old Capital Murder Case----Over a decade
later, a capital murder case is still weaving its way in and out of court.
37-year-old William Matthew Wilson pled guilty to capital murder after he
reportedly beat his girlfriend's 2-year-old daughter.
In May of 2007 he was given the death penalty.
However, 10 years later, Judge Larry Roberts threw out the death sentence.
The Judge says Wilson didn't receive proper legal counsel.
Now District Attorney John Weddle is deciding whether to represent the case,
with the death penalty back on the table.
Regardless of the cases outcome, Wilson will serve a life sentence.
(source: WCBI news)
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