Feb. 11 CALIFORNIA: Researchers find public demand for executions fading----STUDY: A total of 88 of the 640 inmates awaiting death have an Inland connection. A growing belief among Americans that innocent people have been executed seems to be diminishing support for capital punishment, according to an academic study released Thursday. Death-penalty scholars published their findings in Criminology & Public Policy, a journal of the American Society of Criminology in Columbus, Ohio. Their research was based on data from a 2003 Gallup Poll, which concluded that 67 % of Americans endorse the death penalty, a marked decline from 80 % support a decade earlier. The poll also found that 74.6 % believe that an innocent person has been executed within the past 5 years. Authors James D. Unnever of Radford University and Francis T. Cullen of the University of Cincinnati concluded that the innocence factor likely accounts for Americans re-evaluating their attitudes toward capital punishment. Among the high-profile converts is true-crime television host Bill Kurtis, whose new book, "The Death Penalty on Trial," makes an argument to abolish the death penalty. Others have not wavered. Diana Vandenberg, whose 11-year-old son was killed more than 21 years ago in Jurupa Hills, is frustrated and bitter that the convicted killer, Horace Kelly, has avoided execution by using a series of appeals. "But I haven't changed my mind about the death penalty," she said. "My stand is as strong as ever." However, Barbara Brogli, also a mother of a slain child, said she has mixed feelings about the death penalty. James Crummel, convicted last year of killing her son near Lake Elsinore, could reveal where other victims are buried, she said. That justifies keeping him alive although he deserves to be executed, Brogli said. The Sacramento-based Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, a pro-law-enforcement lobby, has been critical of how the Gallup Poll gauges death-penalty sentiment. Respondents are asked if they are in favor of the death penalty for convicted murderers, which implies that it would be applied to all murderers, said Kent Scheidegger, the foundation's legal director. Many people who respond "no" to that question, he said, do favor capital punishment for the worst murderers. Yet, the poll does show that a majority supports the death penalty, Scheidegger said. The authors of the study found the Gallup Poll methodology to be a reliable foundation for their analysis. The Gallup Organization interviewed 1,005 adults in May 2003 with a sampling error of plus or minus 3 % points. The study notes that in 1986, 61 % of Americans held the view that the death penalty acts as a deterrent, but that has since dropped to 33 %. "This loss of faith in deterrence can only have helped the abolitionist cause," said Julian Roberts, the study's senior editor. But the overriding factor, he said, appears to be increasing evidence that the death penalty is unfairly administered and has executed innocent people. African-Americans in particular hold this view, the study found. The study cited statistics compiled by the abolitionist Death Penalty Information Center that 115 innocent people in 25 states have been released from death rows. Riverside County District Attorney Grover Trask, who has aggressively sought the death penalty during his 6 terms in office, has expressed confidence that California's safeguards have prevented unjust death sentences and executions. The Inland area accounts for 88 of the 640 death-row inmates in California, where only 11 executions have occurred since capital punishment was restored in 1978. -- capital punishment -- 67 % favor the death penalty. 74.6 % believe an innocent person has been executed in the past 5 years. 36.7 % believe the death penalty is applied unfairly. (sources: 2003 Gallup Poll, American Society of Criminology) (source: The Press-Enterprise) NEW JERSEY: Death penalty sought in murders Prosecutors will seek the death penalty against a 32-year-old man charged with the gruesome slayings of his grandmother and longtime girlfriend in Ocean Township last June. A death penalty review committee in the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office determined several weeks ago that Rosario "Russell" Miraglia III qualified for the death penalty based on 3 aggravating factors, said First Assistant Prosecutor Robert A. Honecker Jr. A grand jury - which must determine whether the factors should apply - is currently considering the evidence, he said. Authorities say Miraglia murdered his longtime girlfriend, Leigh Martinez, 31, and his 88-year-old grandmother, Julia Miraglia, on June 8 in the Ocean Township home the 2 women shared. Miraglia, whose last address was a Newark drug rehabilitation center, has told authorities he killed the women on a directive from God. Prosecutors have said they believe Miraglia was trying to lay the groundwork for an insanity defense. The last person to be sentenced to death in Monmouth County was David Cooper, a homeless Asbury Park man, for the 1996 murder of a 6-year-old Red Bank girl. Cooper remains on death row. 3 aggravating factors The review committee found the following factors warrant seeking Miraglia's execution: both Leigh Martinez's and Julia Miraglia's deaths were "outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible or inhuman in that (they) involved torture, depravity of mind or an aggravated assault to the victim," Honecker said. Miraglia had dismembered the bodies with a meat cleaver, cutting off the heads, hands and feet. Also, Julia Miraglia's murder was committed to escape detection and also while Rosario Miraglia was committing another murder, said Honecker, citing two other factors. Prosecutors believe Miraglia first confronted Martinez in the home and stabbed her with a butcher knife, then overtook Julia Miraglia, who tried to flee, and stabbed her. Martinez died of 8 stab wounds. Julia Miraglia died when she was beheaded. If the grand jury returns a murder indictment and finds the factors exist, Miraglia would be notified at his arraignment of the state's intention to seek the death penalty, said Honecker. A trial would then consist of 2 parts. First, a would decide whether Miraglia committed the crimes. If he's convicted, the jury would then determine whether execution is warranted. Honecker said the victims' family members were notified early in the investigation about the possibility of a death penalty. "I believe the family expressed different viewpoints on whether or not to proceed with the death penalty. However, based on the nature of this particular case, the committee felt that there was overwhelming evidence," Honecker said. May seek insanity defense Public Defender Jeffrey Coghlan said it was premature to comment on a defense and possible capital murder charges, because a court must first determine whether Miraglia is competent to stand trial. Coghlan said a defense psychologist and psychiatrist who have interviewed Miraglia on numerous occasions in the last four months have concluded he is paranoid-schizophrenic and is incompetent. Superior Court Judge Bette E. Uhrmacher will schedule a competency hearing once Miraglia is examined by a prosecution doctor and an independent evaluation by doctors at the Trenton Psychiatric Hospital, said Coghlan. If Miraglia is found competent, Honecker said he anticipates Coghlan will present an insanity defense. "Of course we'll be prepared to meet that at trial," he said. The last death-penalty case in Monmouth County was tried in 1999. Thomas Patterson was found guilty of the murder of his estranged wife, Michele Steller Patterson, and her companion, Robert Strugala, on Oct. 5, 1996. But a jury, considering a possible death sentence for Strugala's murder, spared Patterson's life. A judge sentenced him to life in prison with a 60-year minimum before parole may be considered. Miraglia remains in the Monmouth County Jail, Freehold Township, unable to post $2 million bail. (source: Asbury Park Press) US MILITARY: Marine faces death penalty A US Marine could be executed for shooting 2 Iraqis during a vehicle search near a weapons cache in Iraq. Second Lieutenant Ilario G. Pantano has been charged with murdering 2 local men on April 15, 2004 in Baghdad. Lt Pantano's civilian lawyer, Charles Gittens, said the 33-year-old Marine has "made it pretty clear he is not guilty". The Marine Corps are yet to say if they will pursue the death penalty, Mr Gittens said. Lt Pantano was commander of a platoon sent to search a suspected insurgent hide-out in an area south of Baghdad. The Marines found weapons, ammunition and bomb-making material in the building, and saw two men fleeing in a sport utility vehicle. Marines shot out the vehicle's tyres to force it to a halt, took the men into custody and ordered them to rip out the interior of the vehicle during a search for booby traps and secret compartments. One of the men turned toward Pantano "as if to attack," and Pantano ordered them to stop immediately. "He [Pantano] thought he was in danger and he fired and he killed them and that's what we do to terrorists who don't listen to orders. It's a combat situation - kill or be killed," Mr Gittens said. Lt Pantano, a former New York commodities trader, feared the men may have been trying to detonate explosives remotely. "What's he supposed to do, wait until he's standing in the inferno?" Mr Gittens said. - A New York doctor has been found guilty of sending millions of dollars to Iraq, in violation of US sanctions. Rafil Dhafir was yesterday convicted of 59 charges, ranging from conspiracy to launder money to Medicare fraud after a 15-week federal trial. Dhafir, an oncologist, used an unregistered charity called Help the Needy to solicit $A5.11 million in contributions in the US and then launder much of it to Iraq through bank accounts in Jordan, prosecutors said. He will be sentenced in June. 5 of Dhafir's, co-conspirators, including his wife and his accountant, have pleaded guilty to related money laundering charges. (source: The Daily Telegraph) MISSISSIPPI: High court upholds '02 capital-murder conviction The Mississippi Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a Florida man's detailed confession of a killing at a beachfront convenience store in Gulfport was ample evidence of his guilt. The justices upheld the 2002 capital murder conviction and life sentence given Kanyne Jamol Bush of Avon, Fla. Bush was accused in the Dec. 13, 1999, killing of Russell Herbert Stone. Officials said Stone was shot to death while protecting his pregnant girlfriend during the convenience store robbery. Stone had gone to the store that night to check on his girlfriend, Brenda Kleinsmith. Kleinsmith told police that 4 people with guns and wearing ski masks came into the store and demanded money, according to the court record. When robbers told the couple to get on the floor, Stone was shot in the back when he turned to tell a gunman that Kleinsmith couldn't get on the floor because she was six months pregnant, court documents showed. 3 other people were convicted of armed robbery. On appeal, Bush challenged the sufficiency of the evidence against him. "Bush both confessed to and described the murder, giving the officers details about the incident, including the fact that the purpose of the robbery attempt was to rob the store's safe," Presiding Justice Bill Waller Jr. wrote. Waller said Bush's description matched the accounts of both Kleinsmith and one of the women, Erika Riley, who helped plan the robbery. While Kleinsmith's physical description of Bush was questionable and a surveillance tape did not show Bush's face, Waller said Bush's "purported confession and detailed description of the crime consequently match both the graphic accounts of eyewitnesses Kleinsmith and Riley as well as the video recording of the incident." (source: Clarion-Ledger) ************************** Crime lab----Local, state improvements needed As a legislative watchdog report outlines, the Mississippi Crime Lab is way behind in processing DNA evidence, but it will require both local and state efforts to fix. The Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review Committee reported this week that the regional DNA labs are running far behind the 30-day goal of processing evidence, some up to 112 days. This can hinder both crime fighting and prosecution by delaying court dates. Peer recommends bringing in private contractors to help process the evidence, which would make sense if it's either on a per-case basis to ease an overload, or if reliable and long-term cost can be less than using state personnel. The biggest problem is low pay scales, turnover and underfunding by the Legislature. The state isn't only to blame for slow processing, though. Counties and cities are past due in paying the lab's bills, some more than 120 days, to the tune of $893,836. They can't expect to not pay the lab's ongoing expenses and get quick response, as underfunding won't keep technicians hired to handle the load. A House bill authorizing the State Tax Commission to take local fuel tax funds to pay overdue bills is a good "stick" to ensure bills are paid on time and it should be approved. (source: Associated Press) ***************** Laurel man gets life in prison in federal death penalty case James E. Frye Jr. avoided the death penalty Thursday and will spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole in only the 2nd federal death penalty case in recent history in Mississippi. A jury couldn't reach a unanimous verdict, leading U.S. District Judge William Barbour to spare Frye's life. The same jury that convicted Frye last week spent about 5 hours Thursday deliberating in the penalty phase. The state's 1st federal death penalty case was Frye's co-defendant Billy Cooper in 2002. Cooper was convicted of carjacking and murder and sentenced to life in prison. Cooper and Frye, both of Laurel, were charged in the 1999 slayings of Willie Earl Hatten, 26, and 19-year-old nursing student Lottie Marshall, Hatten's girlfriend. U.S. Attorney Dunn Lampton, who prosecuted the case, said he had no hesitation about seeking the death penalty in Frye's case. During closing arguments Thursday, Lampton sat a large high school graduation picture of a smiling Lottie Marshall before the jury as he argued for the death penalty. "There has been a lot pleading for the life of this defendant," Lampton said. Lampton said he wished Marshall's mother could have had the opportunity to plead for her life. Hatten and Marshall were shot to death and buried in the old Chevron Cotton Valley oil field in Jasper County, Lampton said. Hatten's head and hands were cut off. Marshall's hands also were cut off. Marshall's car was taken to Louisiana and set on fire, records indicate. Court records indicated Hatten had brought more than $30,000 to purchase drugs from Cooper, but there were never any drugs. It was a ruse to rob Hatten, who had brought along his girlfriend. Frye's attorney Cynthia Stewart of Jackson said he had been a good person and family man before his 17-year addiction to crack cocaine. "We are not asking that he be released; we are asking that he be allowed to spend the rest of his life in an orange jumpsuit," Stewart said, her voice cracking with emotion. In addition to finding Frye, 45, guilty of the murder of Marshall during a carjacking, the jury convicted him of conspiracy and use of a gun in the commission of a violent crime and transporting a stolen vehicle. Stewart and co-defense attorneys Cynthia Speetjens and Julie Epps, sighed with relief as they left the federal courthouse in Jackson. "We couldn't have lived with that," Stewart said of a death sentence. Marshall's mother, Debra Nichols of Laurel, said she was satisfied with the sentence. "I just feel justice was done," she said. (source: Clarion-Ledger)
