April 25
TEXAS----impending executions
Erick Davila's death penalty case made it in front of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Now, he's set for execution.----Erick Davila is scheduled to die Wednesday
evening for a 2008 shooting at a child's birthday party that left his rival
gang member's mother and 5-year-old daughter dead. His case was heard and
ultimately rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court last year.
A year ago, his death penalty case was being argued before the U.S. Supreme
Court. Now, he is set to die.
Erick Davila, 31, is scheduled for execution Wednesday evening after a
relatively short 9 years on Texas' death row. He was convicted in 2009 for
repeatedly shooting at a Fort Worth house hosting a child's birthday party,
killing a rival gang member's mother and 5-year-old daughter. Davila has asked
the court to stop his execution based on new claims of drug use during the
murders and a conflict of interest with the Tarrant County District Attorney's
Office.
Davila has continually fought his sentence, maintaining to the courts that he
only intended to kill his rival, Jerry Stevenson, not the man's daughter,
Queshawn, or her grandmother, 47-year-old Annette. It was an important
distinction because the jury had to find that Davila intended to kill multiple
people to be eligible for the death penalty. Prosecutors argued Davila always
intended to kill more than his rival, pointing to his statement to police that
he was trying to get "the guys on the porch" and "the fat dude."
"I wasn't aiming at the kids or the woman and don't know where the woman came
from," Davila said in a written statement to police, according to court
documents. "I don't know the fat dudes name, but I know what he looks like, so
I recognized his face."
It was the question of intent that eventually led Davila's case to the nation's
high court last April on a legal technicality. His current lawyer, Seth
Kretzer, argued that when jurors at his trial questioned if they needed to
decide whether Davila intended to kill his 2 victims or if he intended to kill
someone and in the process fatally shot 2 others, the judge - who is know the
Tarrant County criminal district attorney - erred in her answer.
The judge responded that Davila would be responsible for a crime if the only
difference between what happened and what he wanted was that a different person
was hurt - without affirming to them that Davila must have intended to kill
more than one person. The jury found him guilty.
Though his lawyer at trial objected to the judge;s instructions, the objection
was overruled, and the issue wasn't brought up again in Davila's state appeals,
which Kretzer said was bad lawyering. The question that landed in front of the
U.S. Supreme Court was whether Kretzer could raise the jury instruction in
federal courts because of ineffective appellate lawyers.
Generally, federal courts can't take up issues that could have been raised in
state courts, but there is an exception when the trial lawyer is found to have
been ineffective. But in Davila's case, it was the appellate lawyers, not the
trial lawyer, who were being accused of dropping the ball. In June, the
justices decided in a split ruling that the 2 types of attorneys can't be
treated equally, and Davila became eligible for execution.
He didn't stop fighting.
After Tarrant County set an execution date, Davila filed new appeals, and one
is still pending before the U.S Supreme Court. In the petition, Kretzer asks
the court to delay the execution because he recently discovered that Davila's
original co-defendant told the judge that Davila was "heavily intoxicated"
during the shooting - a fact that was apparently unknown by defense attorneys.
Kretzer wants time to further develop claims that the prosecution may have
failed to disclose information about Davila being on drugs at the time of the
murders.
"While intoxication is not a defense to murder, it would have been an issue
that would have been relevant to mitigation and sentencing," Kretzer said
Tuesday, indicating a jury could have been persuaded to hand down the lesser
sentence of life in prison without parole if it was brought up at trial.
The Texas Attorney General's office argued against the appeal in its court
filing, saying that Davila himself would obviously be aware of his own
intoxication, so it was information the defense could have found earlier,
disqualifying it from court review now. Lower courts have agreed with Texas,
denying Davila's motions.
Davila's team has also asked the nation's high court to remove the Tarrant
County District Attorney's office from his case since the criminal district
attorney, Sharen Wilson, was the judge who oversaw his trial, and his former
state appellate attorney now works for her.
"The clients should obviously be able to trust their lawyers," Kretzer said.
"You can't get confidential information from your client and then turn around
and use it against him."
A spokeswoman for Wilson said she couldn't comment on the pending case, but she
pointed to the office's court briefings, which indicates Davila's previous
appellate attorney is not allowed to have any involvement in the case. The
state also argues that Wilson's minimal action in the case does not violate
Davila's due process rights.
"Davila presents no direct authority mandating the office's removal from their
Texas statutory duty to represent the State, especially when the action
complained of is the ministerial act of setting an execution date," wrote Texas
Assistant Attorney General Katherine Hayes in the state's briefing to the
Supreme Court.
If the justices rule against Davila, he will be executed after 6 p.m Wednesday,
marking the 5th execution in Texas this year and the 9th in the country.
(source: The Texas Tribune)
***************
Lawyers battle over who should represent death row inmate facing June execution
date
2 teams of lawyers are caught up in last-minute courtroom wrangling over who
will represent an intellectually disabled and schizophrenic Texas death row
inmate just weeks before his scheduled execution in June.
The Houston office of law firm Hogan Lovells on Monday filed a request to let
Maryland-based attorney Lee Kovarsky take over and bump the current lawyers off
the case of Clifton Williams, claiming the existing legal team abandoned their
client when they allegedly stopped visiting him or working on his appeals in
2015.
The East Texas man was convicted of robbing 93-year-old Cecilia Schneider
before stabbing her and setting her body on fire. Now, lawyers say he may be
too mentally impaired to be put to death.
"With his execution fewer than 65 days away, Mr. Williams is effectively
without counsel," Kovarsky's team wrote in a motion asking to substitute as
Williams' defense counsel in place of Wes Volberding and Houston-based attorney
Seth Kretzer.
Kretzer pushed back, highlighting his role in winning a stay of execution
before a 2015 death date and adding that he'd already begun work on an appeal
and was open to outside help.
"The only question is how many people wanna get on that boat and row with us,"
he said.
To anyone following the Texas death penalty closely, this may sound a bit
familiar. Kovarsky squared off with Kretzer and Volberding in a 2015 legal
fight involving death row prisoner Robert Leslie Roberson, an Anderson County
man convicted of killing his 2-year-old daughter.
At first, the courts refused to let Kovarsky and the Texas Defender Service
take over that case. Later, Kovarsky stepped in with an execution on the
horizon and Roberson was granted a stay and the case sent back to a lower court
over so-called junk science.
This time around, Kretzer and Volberding initiated the request to let the other
legal team take over the case earlier this month.
Less than a week later a federal court denied that request, and that same day a
Hogan Lovells attorney visited Williams on death row and asked him to weigh in.
"I thought Seth and Wes were off my case since 2015. I haven't heard from them
since then. They didn't tell me when I got an execution date, not in 2015, and
not this time. I don't want them to represent me now," Williams wrote. "I would
like help getting new lawyers for my case and I would like Hogan Lovells and
Lee Kovarsky to represent me."
Having a lawyer on the case, Kovarsky and his team argue, is especially
important given the possibility that Williams' low IQ and schizophrenia could
render him ineligible for the death penalty. In addition to filing their
request to take over the case Monday, the lawyers filed a motion requesting a
stay of execution.
Also Monday, Kretzer and Volberding entered filings rebutting the other legal
team's claims, pointing out that they visited their client on April 13.
"It is true we have had no reason to visit Williams since 2015, as nothing had
happened since 2015 in his federal case in which we were involved," they wrote.
Instead, the case was tied up for a time in state court over DNA analysis
issues - and another lawyer handled that part of the legal process. Those
proceedings ended in fall 2017.
"It is simply untrue that Williams was ever abandoned or left without counsel,"
Kretzer wrote. Reached by phone Tuesday, he questioned why Hogan Lovells was
interested in taking on the case.
"If I were Hogan Lovells, I would not go moonlighting in death cases," he said.
Though Kretzer and Volberding objected to the other legal team's description of
their handling of the case, they wrote in filings that they would be willing to
work together.
"If the Court wishes for us to continue representation, we are willing and able
to do so," they wrote. "What we do not wish, is to do our best for Mr. Williams
while defending our work against Hogan Lovells and Professor Kovarsky at each
level."
Williams is scheduled to die by lethal injection June 21 in Huntsville.
Texas already has executed 4 men this year. The next, Erick Davila, is
scheduled to die Wednesday. He also is represented by Kretzer, who argued the
case in front of the Supreme Court last year.
(source: Houston Chronicle)
PENNSYLVANIA:
Northumberland County DA to seek death penalty in Shamokin homicide
Accused murderer Jose Colon asked Northumberland County District Attorney Tony
Matulewicz to give him the death penalty. The 41-year old Shamokin man got his
wish.
Matulewicz filed a motion Friday that he intends to seek the death penalty
against Colon for his alleged role in the murder of 23-year old Kasandra Ortiz
on Feb. 26.
Colon is charged in the fatal shooting of Ortiz after her body was found near a
dumpster on Rock Street with a gunshot wound to the head.
To seek the death penalty, the state must meet 1 of 18 possible aggravating
circumstances. Matulewicz said he believes Colon committed the murder while in
"perpetration of the felony offense of a person not to possess a firearm."
Colon was previously convicted of drug and weapons charges, according to
police. The motion states Colon knowingly "created a grave risk of death to
another person in addition to the victims of the offense."
Colon's attorney, Jim Best, of Sunbury, who is death penalty certified, said he
will fight Matulewicz's motion.
"I think it is premature given what we heard at the preliminary hearing," Best
said. "We plan on absolutely fighting this."
During an April 6 preliminary hearing in front of Shamokin District Judge John
Gembic, a witness told the judge that Colon's roommate, Colin Fraley, loaded
the gun and handed it to Colon prior to the murder. The witness said Colon
dragged Ortiz behind a dumpster on Rock Street took the gun from Fraley and
shot her in the face before fleeing the scene.
Matulewicz does not comment on pending investigations and would not say if
Fraley was involved or would be charged in the case.
Colon is scheduled to be in court on May 14 at 9:15 a.m. in front of
Northumberland County President Judge Charles Saylor.
(source: Sunbury Daily Item)
VIRGINIA:
Altered court transcript may have wrongly executed Grottoes man: History
Grottoes native Pink Barbour, a black man age 22, was executed September 23,
1910 for the July 4th murder of James Lee in Harrisonburg. Barbour was accused
of shooting Lee outside a stable after Lee threatened him with a pine board
because he refused to leave.
But altered court transcripts show the trial was a sham, with Barbour
erroneously convicted, then wrongfully executed, possibly at the whim of a
judge.
On that Independence Day, Barbour entered a stable store on Water Street, and
witness testimony stated that Lee, a manager, saw Barbour handling some buggy
whips. Lee asked what he was doing and Barbour replied he was just looking at
them. Lee then ordered him out, as did Lee's employer, W.D. Garber, who told
Barbour that if he did not leave he would call the police. As Barbour started
to leave, Lee picked up a pine board and told him that he would "paddle him
out."
Barbour left but soon returned and told Lee, "I'll get even with you." Lee
picked up the plank again and followed Barbour out and around the corner.
Garber testified in Rockingham Circuit Court he heard three gunshots and saw
Barbour running away. Another witness, Flint Gassway, said that Lee bad been
talking abusively to Barbour before raising his hand to strike him.
Court records state that after the shooting "Lee sank down upon the office
step, and was from there carried into the office, and placed on a cot, where he
soon expired..."
Witness Charles Johnson testified that Lee had no stick, and that Barbour
turned while Lee was standing still and fired three shots in quick succession.
Jacob Lamb, the policeman who arrested Barbour, said he fell into a drunken
stupor when placed in the jail. Meanwhile, a lynch mob that gathered out front
dispersed when Judge Talford Haas personally guaranteed a "speedy trial" would
take place.
At his trial, Barbour took the stand and stated that he could not remember
shooting Lee. He also said that while he was not in the habit of getting drunk,
he did have a number of drinks with some Grottoes fellows on a train.
Barbour's level of inebriation was key to the testimony. The 1st instruction to
the jury stated "When a homicide has been committed by a person in such a
condition of drunkenness as to render him incapable of a willful, deliberate
and premeditated purpose, the jury cannot find the prisoner guilty of murder in
the 1st degree," and thus not eligible for the electric chair.
A parade of witnesses testified that Barbour was extremely drunk at the time of
the crime. Dr. Frank Miller, who saw him on the street prior to the shooting,
testified that Barbour was too drunk to pick up some change he had dropped.
On July 22, the arguments concluded and Judge Haas retired the jury to
deliberate. After only 15 minutes they unanimously found Barbour guilty of 1st
degree murder.
Something disturbing had happened: the typed transcript of the trial records
shows Miller testified "that Barbour at that time [of the murder] was drunk."
That line, however, was crossed out in pencil and changed to "appeared to be
under the influence of drink, that is to say very jolly and talkative."
Another typed line stating "That Lee had the stick up raised as though to
strike and moved quickly towards Barbour" was also hand-altered to "...Lee did
not get within striking distance of Barbour within sight of the witness."
Those changes, most likely by Judge Haas, as only he had access to the
transcripts, removed any claims of self-defense and also charged that Barbour
was not drunk, as witnessed. These changes made Barbour eligible for the death
penalty instead of the more appropriate 25 years in the penitentiary.
Counsel's request to grant a new trial because "the verdict ... was contrary to
the law and the evidence ..." was unfortunately overruled. "The public
generally, it is understood, approved the verdict and believe that Pink Barbour
was given a fair and impartial trial," reported the July 29, 1910 Staunton
Spectator.
On September 9 2 officers came from Richmond to escort Barbour to the State
Penitentiary death row. He was executed at 7:27 a.m.
(source: The News Leader)
*****************
Final words of last man executed by electric chair were in Irish
Robert C. Gleason Jr. was the last man to be executed by electric chair in
America. He was executed in January 2013 by the state of Virginia.
Gleason chose that method rather than lethal injection after he was convicted
of 3 separate murders, including strangling 2 fellow inmates and the homicide
that landed him in prison to begin with.
Gleason had learned Irish culture and history while in prison and used the
language in his last few moments on earth.
When asked if he had any final words Gleason stated "Put me on the highway to
Jackson and call my Irish buddies. Pog mo thoin. God bless," he said.
The translation of the Irish wording is "kiss my a--." Amy Taylor, the mother
of one of Gleason's children, said she will miss him.
"He will always be remembered by those who truly knew him as a very fun,
loving, compassionate person who cared more for those he loved than he ever did
for himself," she said.
His horrific strangling and murder record, however, says otherwise.
In those last hours, Gleason cried for his victims and asked God for
forgiveness, he added.
No one seems to know the real reason Gleason demanded execution. In court, he
said it was to teach younger relatives that murder comes with severe
consequences.
Yet, a case worker's report from 2011 suggests that Gleason had a mental
history filled with feelings of paranoia, anxiety and depression, ultimately
leading to exhaustion and a need to escape. Life in prison, according to the
report, would simply be too intolerable.
Initially, Gleason earned life in prison without parole for shooting to death
truck driver Michael Kent Jamerson on May 8, 2007, to cover up the tracks of a
methamphetamine ring already eyed by federal investigators.
Gleason, during his 2011 sentencing hearing, said they had stopped by a wooded
area in Amherst County and he pulled a pistol from Jamerson's own belt, told
him to get right with God, and began shooting.
A turkey hunter found Jamerson's body the next day. A Liberty University
student fishing along the bank of the James River, about 3 miles from the body,
found the gun several days later.
2 years later, Gleason ended up in a cell with 63-year-old Harvey Gray Watson
Jr. at Wallens Ridge State Prison in Big Stone Gap. Watson was serving a
100-year sentence for killing a man and wounding 2 others when he fired a
shotgun into his neighbor's Lynchburg home in 1983.
The older inmate was mentally impaired and known for such antics as singing
nonsensical tunes throughout the night and drinking his own urine. Gleason
tired of him after about a week and tied him up, beat and strangled him on May
8, 2009 - the 2-year anniversary of Jamerson's murder.
Guards didn't notice the body in the cell for 15 hours.
Soon after that, Gleason threatened to kill again unless given the death
penalty.
Then, on July 28, 2010, he strangled convicted carjacker Aaron Alexander
Cooper, 26, in the recreation yard of the supermax security Red Onion State
Prison near Pound.
It was done with ripped apart strips of braided bed sheet threaded through the
chain link fence separating the 2 inmates.
(source: irishcentral.com)
FLORIDA:
Death penalty could be factor as Lois Riess prosecution plays out in Minnesota,
Florida
A southeastern Minnesota woman who led authorities on a weekslong manhunt after
she allegedly killed her husband, then went to Florida and befriended - then
killed - a woman who resembled her, is now facing charges in two states.
Lois Riess is in custody in Texas, awaiting transfer to Florida or Minnesota
for trial. If the Florida charges against Riess are elevated to 1st-degree
murder, she could face the death penalty.
Here are some details about how this case might unfold: Riess, 56, killed her
husband, 54-year-old David Riess, in late March, then forged checks to steal
$11,000 from his account, according to authorities. David Riess's body was
found on March 23 at the couple's home in Blooming Prairie, Minn., with
multiple gunshot wounds. Lois Riess was gone.
The search for Riess began and seemed to intensify after another woman, Pamela
Hutchinson, 59, of Bradenton, Fla., was found dead in Fort Myers Beach on April
9. Authorities said at the time that Riess targeted Hutchinson because they
looked alike, then killed her to assume her identity.
Lee County Undersheriff Carmine Marceno said Riess was armed and dangerous and
her mode of operation was to befriend women who resembled her, then steal their
identity. He called her a "cold-blooded murderer."
A national manhunt for Riess continued until she was arrested Thursday in the
South Texas beach resort town of South Padre Island after someone recognized
her at a restaurant.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Riess is charged in Florida with 1 count each of 2nd-degree murder, grand
theft, grand theft of a motor vehicle and criminal use of personal
identification information.
In Minnesota, Riess is charged with 1 count of felony theft. Authorities have
said a 2nd-degree murder charge is pending, but they are taking time to build
the strongest possible case.
A judge in Brownsville, Texas, ruled that Riess could be extradited to either
state for trial, and whomever picked her up first could take custody.
David Weinstein, a former federal and state prosecutor in Florida, said the
Florida case seems to be farther along so it's likely that Riess will head
there first. In addition, the 2nd-degree murder charge filed by way of an
arrest warrant in Florida is going to weigh heavier than the theft charge in
Minnesota. Weinstein said authorities in both states have to discuss the next
steps together.
THE DEATH PENALTY
Florida is a death penalty state, while Minnesota is not. The death penalty is
currently not a factor with the charges Riess faces, but that could change. In
order to seek the death penalty, Florida prosecutors must charge Riess with
1st-degree murder and that can only be done through a grand jury indictment.
State Attorney's Office spokeswoman Samantha Syoen said the office doesn't
discuss such matters.
Weinstein, who is not part of the case, said that from what he's seen about
Riess' alleged plan to befriend Hutchinson, steal her identity and then escape,
it seems authorities will move forward with a 1st-degree, premeditated, murder
charge.
But that charge doesn't automatically mean prosecutors will seek the death
penalty, or that it would be imposed if she's convicted.
Prosecutors have to evaluate aggravating and mitigating factors. Some
aggravating factors for the death penalty include how a murder was planned and
carried out, the manner of death, and whether the death was heinous, atrocious
and cruel. Some mitigating factors that might weigh against the death penalty
include the defendant's age or mental health, Weinstein said.
SOME WRINKLES The death penalty issue could be a factor as authorities discuss
where Riess should face trial first. 1 aggravating factor for the death penalty
is a prior crime of violence. So, Florida prosecutors could theoretically opt
to let Minnesota try its case 1st, get a murder conviction, and then use that
conviction to bolster their argument for the death penalty, Weinstein said.
Pete Mills, chairman of the Florida Public Defenders Association Death Penalty
Steering Committee, said prosecutors in Minnesota also might feel that the
death penalty shouldn't be an option, so they might seek to try Riess 1st for
that reason. They also might seek to bring her to Minnesota 1st so they can
seek justice for family members there.
HISTORY OF THEFT AND GAMBLING
Riess has a history of stealing money and gambling, and authorities dubbed her
"Losing Streak Lois" for her habit of frequenting casinos.
In 2012, Riess was appointed conservator and guardian for her disabled sister,
who has the cognitive level of a 10-year-old, according to court records. In a
September 2015 affidavit, a social worker said she received a report that Riess
transferred funds from the guardianship account to Riess' own account, then
spent some of the funds at a casino. Riess was never charged, but was directed
to repay her sister more than $100,500, court records show. An attorney on the
case said she has not.
During her time on the run, authorities said Riess gambled at casinos in Iowa
and Louisiana, where she won a $1,500 jackpot on slot machines and used her own
identification to claim the prize.
(source: twincities.com)
OHIO----new execution date
Court sets execution date for convicted Youngstown murderer
The Ohio Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence and set an execution date
for the man convicted of murdering a Youngstown woman and shooting a man who
was holding the woman's baby.
The state's highest court on Tuesday denied the appeal of Willie G. Wilks and
ruled that he be put to death on May 18, 2022.
Wilks, 46, was sentenced to death for the May 2013 murder of 20-year-old Ororo
Wilkins and attempted murder of Alexander Morales, Jr.
According to police, Ororo Wilkins was sitting on the front porch of her
brother's Park Avenue house with her infant on the afternoon of May 21, 2013.
Morales said he was holding he baby when a man with an "AK" approached the
porch and asked where he could find Ororo's brother.
Morales says as he turned to go into the house the man shot him, causing
Morales to fall.
Ororo tried to grab the infant, Morales said, and the man shot her once in the
head, killing her.
Ororo's brother, William Wilkins, Jr., testified he was looking out of a
2nd-floor window and saw 2 people in the front seat of the car. He said Wilks
Jr. was standing next to the car with "a large gun, like some kind of rifle."
Wilkins testified that earlier in the day, he and Wilks had argued during a
phone conversation.
Police arrested Wilks, and the jury found him guilty of aggravated murder,
attempted aggravated murder, and 5 other charges.
Wilks has asked the Ohio Supreme Court to overturn his convictions and death
sentence, arguing that the evidence wasn't sufficient for a jury to find him
guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
He also claimed that no forensic or scientific evidence, including DNA or
ballistics, linked him to the crimes and that the murder weapon was never
recovered.
Writing for the Court, Justice Judith L. French stated that "the death penalty
is both appropriate and proportionate when compared to other course-of-conduct
murders for which the death penalty has been imposed."
(source: WFMJ news)
******************
Juror dismissed in Hamilton death penalty trial
The 6th day of the Michael Grevious II death penalty trial in Hamilton began
with the replacement of a juror.
Grevious, 25, of Hamilton, is facing the death penalty if found guilty of
aggravated murder for allegedly ordering a retaliation shooting at Central
Avenue and Knightsbridge on Aug. 3, 2016 that killed 2 people. He is also
charged with having weapons under disability and felonious assault for gun
violence that killed his relative during the early morning hours of July 24,
2016 at a Hamilton bar.
The trial began April 16 in Butler County Common Pleas Judge Greg Stephens'
courtroom with jury selection lasting 2 days.
Court was delayed Tuesday morning, and when the jury filed in, 1 female juror
was missing. That juror was replaced with 1 of 4 alternates who has been seated
in the courtroom since the trial began.
Outside the presence of the jury, Stephens said the juror excused had a
conflict "that ultimately would have prevented her from following the law as it
relates to the consideration of the death penalty."
The prosecution is continuing to present its case against Grevious.
(source: WHIO news)
INDIANA:
Boone Co. prosecutor seeks death penalty against man charged with killing
Deputy Pickett
The Boone County prosecutor announced that he plans on seeking the death
penalty against a man charged with fatally shooting Deputy Jacob Pickett.
The Boone County Prosecutor Todd Meyer held a news conference at 1:30 p.m.
Tuesday afternoon to make the announcement.
Pickett was assisting Lebanon police with a vehicle pursuit in March when 2
suspects bailed from the car and ran. Pickett continued the pursuit on foot and
was shot in the head by 21-year-old Anthony Baumgardt, according to Indiana
State Police.
The Boone County Prosecutor officially charged Baumgardt, 21, with murder in
March. He also faces 2 charges of possession of methamphetemine, 2 charges of
carrying a handgun without a license, a charge of resisting law enforcement and
2 charges of possession of marijuana.
Meyer said then that he was leaning toward the death penalty and that Indiana
law allows prosecutors to seek the death penalty for anyone accused see of
murdering a police officer. Meyer's office was reviewing the case for the
purpose of seeking the death penalty.
The other 2 suspects involved in the incident were John Baldwin Jr. and John
Baldwin Sr. The former is currently being held in the Boone County Jail, while
the latter was questioned and later released.
Baldwin Jr. was charged with resisting law enforcement, auto theft, leaving the
scene if an accident, criminal recklessness and being a Habitual felony
offender.
(source: WISH news)
NEBRASKA:
Nebraska lawmakers ready to subpoena state prisons director to testify about
death penalty protocol
The Nebraska Legislature will order the state prisons director to answer
questions about the new lethal injection protocol at a public hearing set to
take place in 2 weeks.
It remains to be seen whether Scott Frakes, head of the Department of
Correctional Services, will fight the order.
State Sen. Laura Ebke, chairwoman of the Judiciary Committee, said Tuesday that
lawmakers will take the unusual step of issuing a subpoena because Frakes last
week refused to answer questions voluntarily. In a recent letter, Frakes
declined a request to appear before the committee "on the advice of legal
counsel, and because of pending litigation."
5 lawsuits related to the death penalty are currently in state courts. In
addition, the American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska has filed a complaint
with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, alleging that state officials
violated federal regulations to obtain the lethal drugs.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Doug Peterson recently asked the Nebraska Supreme
Court to set an execution date for 1 of the 11 men on death row. State
officials are trying to carry out Nebraska's 1st execution in 21 years.
The issue before the Legislature is a complaint filed last month by Sen. Ernie
Chambers of Omaha, an outspoken death penalty opponent who has questioned
whether corrections officials followed state requirements when they devised a
new lethal injection protocol in 2016 and 2017. The new protocol gives the
prisons director greater latitude to decide what drugs to use to execute an
inmate than did the previous procedure, which required a specific 3-drug
combination.
Much like a court, legislative committees have the power to issue subpoenas to
obtain testimony and documents from state personnel for the purposes of special
investigations.
The Legislature used its subpoena authority in 2014 when it questioned
corrections staff over the miscalculations of inmate release dates, which led
to the early discharge of more than 200 prisoners. A special committee also
probed the department's handling of Nikko Jenkins, who murdered 4 Omahans
within days of his release in 2013 after telling prison employees that he would
go on a killing spree.
The Legislature will subpoena Frakes no later than the end of the week, Ebke
said. He could either appear at the public hearing or seek a court order to
block the subpoena. A corrections spokeswoman declined Tuesday to discuss what
Frakes will do.
In his letter to Ebke, Frakes said he wouldn't testify because of the lawsuits,
including one in which Chambers is a plaintiff.
The list also includes complaints by The World-Herald and the Lincoln Journal
Star. The newspapers have not challenged the legality of the death penalty but
have asked a judge to order the release of public records showing where
corrections officials purchased the drugs it intends to use to execute Carey
Dean Moore and Jose Sandoval.
The 8-member Judiciary Committee has set the hearing for 9 a.m. May 8 at the
State Capitol.
Ebke said that only the compelled testimony of Frakes is planned, but that
could change. She said she anticipates that the committee will issue a report
later.
"Most people would agree if the state is going to put someone to death, we
ought to make sure the process we've established for ourselves is followed,"
she said.
(source: Omaha World-Herald)
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