April 23 TENNESSEE: Tennessee Should Broaden Temporary Halt on Executions to Review Every Aspect of Death Penalty System Team of Tennessee Legal Experts Lists Many Problems in State Capital Crime System A team of Tennessee legal experts, working under the auspices of the American Bar Association Death Penalty Moratorium Implementation Project, today cited problems in the state's use of capital punishment that range from excessive caseloads and inadequate standards for defense counsel to racial disparities and inadequate review of death row inmates claims of actual innocence. The team concluded that Tennessee's death penalty system is so flawed that a temporary halt in executions should be continued to permit a thorough review of every aspect of capital punishment administration in the state. It urged Gov. Phil Bredesen to continue past May 2 a stay he initially imposed on Tennessee executions to examine protocols for administering lethal injection, the execution method used in the state. "Gov. Bredesen clearly has given sober consideration to how executions are carried out in Tennessee," said American Bar Association President Karen J. Mathis. "Now it is time for him, and for the state as a whole, to devote even more thorough analysis to how the state reaches the decision to sentence someone to death. The families and friends of capital crime victims in Tennessee, the people accused of committing those crimes, and the citizens who place their trust in their legal system deserve better justice than they are now receiving," she said. The ABA neither supports nor opposes either the death penalty or any particular means of carrying out executions, but it does urge a moratorium on executions in each jurisdiction until fairness and due process are assured in death penalty cases. The Tennessee report has not been presented to the ABA's policy-making arm, the House of Delegates, and so does not constitute association policy. The recommendation to continue a temporary halt in executions in Tennessee is the product of a 3-year study by a team of seven prominent state lawyers. Evaluating state systems against ABA protocols for a fair and accurate capital case system that complies with constitutional standards, the team found Tennessee meets only 7 of the standards, partially meets 31 of them, and fails to comply with 26 of them. The team was unable to access adequate information to assess Tennessees compliance with 29 of the protocols. The Tennessee Death Penalty Assessment Team included a former prosecutor, a federal judge, defense lawyers and lawyers in private practice. Dwight L. Aarons, chair, is an associate professor of law at the University of Tennessee College of Law, teaching courses on criminal law, advanced criminal law and the death penalty. The team issued 14 specific recommendations, in addition to urging continuation of the moratorium to broaden review of the state system. They are: Create an independent commission to review claims of factual innocence, with power to investigate, hold Create an independent statewide authority to appoint, train and monitor defense, appellate and post-conviction lawyers in capital cases Require preservation and storage of all biological evidence in capital cases as long as defendant remains incarcerated Develop statewide protocols to standardize decisions about which cases are charged as capital crimes Increase qualification standards and monitoring procedures for defense, appellate and post-conviction lawyers in capital cases Provide a right to post-conviction counsel before, not after, filing of post conviction petitions Amend court rules to allow defendants to obtain expert and investigative services at any time after being charged, providing an opportunity to demonstrate why a capital charge may be inappropriate Include in proportionality review cases in which the death penalty could have been sought but was not, and cases in which the penalty was sought but not imposed Require judges presiding over trials resulting in first degree murder convictions to file complete proportionality reports Assure each death row inmate an opportunity for a hearing before the Board of Pardon and Parole Redraft capital jury instructions to prevent misunderstandings Sponsor a state study to determine if there are disparities in capital sentencing based on race, socio-economic status, geography or other factors Exclude from eligibility for execution people with serious mental disorders Adopt a uniform state standard to determine defendants competency through trial, appeals and post-conviction proceedings. The full report and an executive summary, including charts that identify specific recommendations and state compliance levels, are available on the ABAs Web site at http://www.abavideonews.org/ABA340. Additional information about the Death Penalty Moratorium Implementation Project and the assessment project is also posted there. Tennessee is the sixth of eight states being assessed under the ABA project, which developed the protocols in 2001. Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Arizona and Indiana preceded Tennessee. Other assessments are being conducted in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Neither the protocols nor the individual state assessment reports have been adopted by the ABA House of Delegates. With more than 413,000 members, the American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world. As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law in a democratic society. (source: ABA) *********** Trust in God saw parents through in Reid murder----Daughter still in their hearts as life goes on Connie Black did not talk to her daughter Sunday afternoon. She quietly placed a bouquet of flowers on her daughter's tombstone a gesture she and her husband, James, have made on this day every year for the past 10 years. Every year since Paul Dennis Reid kidnapped their teenage daughter Michelle Mace and her coworker Angela Holmes from a Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop here, took them to a local park and murdered them. It was part of a robbery-killing spree in which Reid, a would-be country music star, killed 5 other fast-food workers in Nashville "She's not here. She's in heaven," Connie said, standing beside the grave at Resthaven Cemetery. "I talk to her on a daily basis ... Anytime I need to talk to her, I just talk." Over that decade, James and Connie have moved from the Clarksville suburb of St. Bethlehem, where both the ice cream shop and the park are, to a home near the high school Michelle attended, started new careers with Cheeseburger Charley's and adopted Rebekah, now 8 years old. And they remain confident that Michelle is safe in heaven. "God lifted us and floated us through all these years," Connie said. "Michelle wouldn't want me to be devastated the rest of my life. She would say, 'Where's your spirit, mom? You know where I am'." Family stays strong Shortly after Michelle's death, people doubted Connie and James emotional strength would overpower the heavy blow dealt by Reid. James said they've known other couples who've gone through similar situations and allowed those devastating circumstances to break them down to the point of no recovery. "They let it destroy them" he said. "We made the decision not to let us be like that. "We trusted in God." They did not let Michelle's death kill their marriage now going on 15 years. In September of 1998, James and Connie adopted Rebekah. She was never intended to replace Michelle. In fact, Connie and James talked about having another child while Michelle was alive. Connie said Rebekah was an answer to a prayer that "Michelle was in on" because of eerie similarities between the girls traits that would often irritate Connie when Michelle was alive. "Some of the things ... I know Michelle told you to do," she said to Rebekah. "It's just incredible." 6 years ago, the Blacks moved from their St. Bethlehem home. Connie wanted to stay in their house on Rossview Road because they had kept Michelle's room how she left it, but she realized the move could help her. "I've realized how good it is not to see the same things," she said. She and her husband still go inside the Baskin-Robbins on Wilma Rudolph Boulevard where Michelle worked. Today Connie finds herself behind an ice cream counter making milkshakes at Cheeseburger Charley's on Riverside Drive. James has been director of operations at that location for the past year. "You'd think we'd get out of the restaurant business after what happened," James said. "But we're right in the thick of it." Looking for closure Although they have refused to be controlled by the court battle over whether Reid should be executed, Connie and James want closure. They say they don't care if he's sentenced to life in prison or if he receives the death penalty. They just want a final verdict that will keep his name out of the news. Reid, 48, is scheduled to die Jan. 3, 2008, for killing Michelle and Angela. He was convicted of all seven murders, but the Clarksville convictions came first. He has appeals pending. He has twice come within hours of execution, most recently in June when a federal court ordered a hearing on his sanity. Connie said hearing his name and seeing his face has been the hardest part. "We're still the victims 10 years later," she said. "I want that part to be done." But until that final decision is handed down, they're not allowing the dragged-out process get the best of them. "I don't dwell on him," Connie said. "If I did then he'd be controlling us." James added: "Unfortunately for people (like Reid) who act this way, their ultimate goal is to control. We're not going to let him win." Love your children The 10th anniversary of Michelle's death came days after Connie talked to a nephew who attends Virginia Tech, the scene of the nation's worst mass slaying last Monday. Her sister and mother told Connie her nephew was OK, but she wanted to personally hear his voice. "That was a concerning morning because it was so close to this," Connie said. They didn't have special plans to mark the 10th anniversary of Michelle's death, but they did have a message for everyone in the wake of Virginia Tech shootings. "People need to really love their children and appreciate every day," Connie said. "My kids were my life (and) are still a big part of my life." (source: The Tennessean) CALLIFORNIA: DA to Seek Death Penalty For Man Charged With Murder In Hollister, San Bennito County District Attorney Candice Hooper said she will seek the death penalty for the 25-year-old Hollister man accused of stabbing his girlfriend to death earlier this year. Samuel Turner, who appeared in court for an arraignment hearing Wednesday, is eligible for the death penalty because he has been charged with first-degree murder and mayhem in connection with the March strangling and stabbing death of 31-year-old Hollister resident Elizabeth Esther Gomez. Hooper said the mayhem charge was added because of the brutality of the crime. Turner did not enter a plea to the charges, and his arraignment was postponed for a 4th time Wednesday. Authorities have been unable to determine how many times Gomez was stabbed. The victim's brother, Victor Gomez, said he did not care whether Turner received the death penalty. "I don't have a preference," Gomez said. "I just want justice for my sister." The brother also shed new light on Turner's past. Gomez said his sister visited Turner several times during his stay at Atascadero State Hospital. Atascadero State Hospital is a state-sponsored facility that provides rehabilitation for people who have been found incompetent to stand trial, not guilty by reason of insanity, mentally ill or sexually violent, according to the hospital's Web site. Gomez added that the family recently learned through one of the victim's friends that Turner physically abused his sister during their 3-year, off-and-on relationship. "I know that my sister was physically hurt prior to this incident," Gomez said. The family was unaware of the abuse, and Gomez hopes others can learn from what happened to his sister. He said there is help for women who are victims of abuse. "I hope that something good comes out of this," Gomez said. At the request of Turner's lawyer, Harry Damkar, the arraignment and entrance of a plea was continued to May 2. Damkar requested the hearing be delayed until he could finish his own investigation into the case. "Our request is based on not what the prosecution gave us today but on our investigation," Damkar said Wednesday. Authorities believe Turner strangled and stabbed Elizabeth Esther Gomez in her 2nd-story apartment on Prospect Avenue on March 13. Hollister Police Department officers found Turner in the woman's bedroom, Capt. Bob Brooks previously said. Both Turner and Elizabeth Esther Gomez had been seen together in the days preceding the murder. Victor Gomez said the apartment manager told him she saw them 2 hours before the crime. "She said they walked up the stairs holding hands," Gomez said. Turner is being held at the San Benito County Jail without bail. He will be in court again May 2 and is expected to enter a plea at that time. (source: Gilroy Dispatch, April 20)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----TENN., CALIF.
Rick Halperin Mon, 23 Apr 2007 13:15:55 -0500 (Central Daylight Time)
