Oct. 10 USA: Capital punishment scope narrows, IU experts say ---- Child rape does not merit death, Supreme Court rules The U.S. Supreme Court recently issued a ruling that child rape is a crime that does not merit the death penalty, and IU experts say the ruling narrows the scope of capital punishment. In the recent Supreme Court case of Kennedy v. Louisiana, the Court denied re-hearing the case involving the death penalty for a child rapist. On Oct. 1, the Supreme Court amended but held its initial decision on the case. Indiana is among the more than 40 states that do not have laws extending the death penalty to child rape cases. Jody Madeira, associate professor at the IU School of Law, said this lack of law might have played a role in the Courts decision. "There are 2 open questions going into the Supreme Court's hearing of Kennedy v. Louisiana," Madeira said. "In its decision, they basically said there is not enough of a nation-wide consensus to authorize the death penalty for child rape. The majority of states that have the death penalty do not have books authorizing execution for child rapists in their state statutes." In 1998, defendant Patrick Kennedy was convicted of raping his 8-year-old stepdaughter. Initially, Kennedy's lawyers appealed to the Louisiana Supreme Court, which struck down the appeal, ruling the death penalty was a suitable punishment in this case. The U.S. Supreme Court did not agree. The Court not only considers laws on the books, but also public consensus, she said. "Public ire not withstanding is not enough to demonstrate public consensus," Madeira said. "People are angry about the decision." Many people, such as current law school student John Keele, said they agree with the court's decision because they believe capital punishment is an unconstitutional act. "I felt the decision was correct out of the general principle I have that the death penalty is wrong," Keele said. "I just object to the death penalty in general." Despite some outrage with the Court's decision, Madeira said there are some positive aspects of the ruling. She said the court noted in the original opinion that if capital punishment were to be upheld, rapists might have less incentive to keep the child victims alive. "The other thing is that if family members know that a relative is molesting a child they might not turn their relative in for fear that they will be setting them up for the death penalty," Madeira said. "It facilitates reporting as well." A case like this one would take consensus across the nation for the Supreme Court to revisit the issue and likely new judges to overturn the decision. For Michael Grossberg, a professor of history and adjunct professor of law at IU, the court's ruling was not a surprise. "It seems to me the basic message of the case is that the courts have become more and more insistent that the death penalty only be used in cases that are clearly cruel that involved murder," Grossberg said. "This case represented a case to get beyond that by including child rape and the courts said no to that. It strikes me as part of a trend in the court, to narrow the kinds of crimes and the kinds of individuals subject to the death penalty. The decision of the court would suggest that if a law like that were passed in Indiana it wouldnt meet constitutional muster." And even if the court had upheld the Louisiana Supreme Court's decision, the death penalty might not have affected the numbers of criminals or victims. "Child rapists aren't going to be deterred by punishment," Keele said. "For child rapists, I don't think they are going to take punishment into account." (source: Indiana Daily Student) GEORGIA: New evidence hits the stand in Nichols' trial Atlanta police Detectives A.B. Calhoun, Nicole Redlinger and Mark Cooper dominated the Brian Nichols murder trial Thursday by putting on the record the reams of evidence including crime scene photographs, videos and Nichols' reputed writings that are expected to be the subject of powerful testimony today as the prosecution rests its case. Calhoun read portions of notes handwritten by Nichols that were found among a cache of personal papers Nichols took to court with him the morning of the Fulton County Courthouse shootings. "The charges stem from a 7-year relationship gone bad," Nichols wrote on what appeared to be notebook paper. "A tale of love, lies, betrayal, the thin line between love and hate shattered." Atlanta police Detective Mark Cooper shows the jury a diagram of the crime scene in the Fulton County courtroom on March 11, 2005. Brian Nichols was then on trial for kidnap and rape charges when he fatally shot 3 people at the courthouse and 1 in Buckhead. Evelyn Parker, court reporter and friend of slain court reporter Julie Ann Brandau, watches video footage from the 2005 courtroom crime scene. Nichols was on trial March 11, 2005, on charges he kidnapped and raped his girlfriend. The alleged attack came after Nichols impregnated another woman and the girlfriend ended their 7-year relationship. Lead defense lawyer Henderson Hill tried to elicit testimony from Detective Mark Cooper, the lead investigator for the courthouse shootings, that Nichols behavior seemed to fit someone in a delusion the day of the killings of Superior Court Judge Rowland Barnes, court reporter Julie Ann Brandau, Deputy Sgt. Hoyt Teasley at the courthouse and of David Wilhelm, an off-duty federal agent, later that day. Hill referred to witnesses' testimony: "None of them describe what you might characterize as gratuitous violence." To which Cooper replied: "Pointing a gun at somebody is pretty violent." The prosecution is expected to rest Friday morning on witness No. 74 or 75 after 3 weeks of testimony. Superior Court Judge James Bodiford has given the jury (and the lawyers, judge and media) Friday afternoon off. The defense is expected to start presenting its insanity defense Monday. (source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution) ******************** TROY DAVIS, 17 YEARS ON DEATH ROW Troubling coincidence. Today, October 10th, world day against the death penalty, is also the day the United States Supreme Court begins a session during which the appeal filed by the attorneys for Troy Davis will be examined. For 17 years, this 39-year-old black American has been waiting on death row, sentenced for the murder of a policeman in Savannah, Georgia, in 1989. September 23, the Supreme Court justices had already stayed his execution, 2 hours before the fatal moment. Lack of material proof, retractions by 7 of the 9 witnesses, no fingerprints or DNA traces at the scene: his support committee has convinced hundreds of thousands of people in the United States and throughout the world of his innocence, and has even gotten the intervention of dozens of well-known people like Jimmy Carter and Pope Benedict XVI. The fear of executing an innocent man is today the primary argument of the abolitionists in the United States, whereas in Europe moral forces prevailed to obtain its abolition. But capital punishment is hardly debated across the Atlantic, where 38 states against 12 maintain it and where 69% of the Americans say they favor it. (source: Liberation (Paris) ) ALABAMA: Attorneys take time in picking jurors in capital murder trial Attorneys have spent the last 4 days interviewing 96 potential jurors for a capital murder trail that is expected to start next week. They hope to complete a jury today and begin opening statements and testimony Tuesday, said Lyn Durham, the assistant district attorney. She's prosecuting the double-murder case against Zache Demond Horton, 28, who is accused of killing roommates Ronnie Miller, 49, and Terry Tyrone Barnes, 34, at their apartment in March 2006. He could face the death penalty if he is found guilty. "It's a time-consuming process," defense attorney Jim Standridge said of selecting a jury. Talitha Powers Bailey is the director of the Capital Defense Law Clinic at the University of Alabama School of Law. She said that finding a jury to serve on a capital murder case is an extensive process because the jurors don't just rule on the defendant's guilt or innocence, but they also make a recommendation about sentencing if the defendant is found guilty. "I've had cases that were straightforward factual disputes where I would have been happy with the 1st 12 people who walked through the door. A capital murder case is a different animal entirely," Bailey said. "The qualities you might be looking for in a juror in the guilt/innocence phase might be different than the sentencing phase if it gets to that and you have to find out about that up front." Potential jurors in Horton's trial answered questions about their position on the death penalty before Judge Chuck Malone decided whether they should remain in the jury pool. Jurors who said they opposed the death penalty in all situations or would not consider imposing a life sentence instead of the death penalty were dismissed. Some potential jurors were asked whether they had strong feelings about homosexuality and people who are infected with HIV. Many of the potential jurors interviewed in small groups and individually on Thursday said that they were opposed to the death penalty on religious or moral grounds, and would not vote for it under any circumstances. Others said that they would be able to give fair consideration to the death penalty and a sentence of life without parole. Biases to consider other than those about the death penalty could also have contributed to the long selection process, suggested by Standridge's questions about homosexuality and HIV. "When emotional issues are at play, there's a risk that someone will rule based on their prejudices, not just on the facts that were presented," Bailey said. "I'm really pleased that the judge is giving the attorneys time to do this. There are a lot who would try to rush this process." (source: Tuscaloosa News) MICHIGAN: The death penalty can be fitting punishment I am a supporter of the death penalty in capital murder cases, and I would like to point out the error the logic of your Oct. 6 editorial, "Death won't stop violence." The purpose of the death penalty is not to stop violence. Violence takes place because there are evil people in the world, and that will never change. The death penalty is simply used as the ultimate punishment for those who have lost all regard for the sanctity of life and, as a result, have willfully and in a premeditated way taken the life of another human being. I'm not suggesting that we should "string 'em up," as in the cowboy days, but it only seems reasonable that after a suspected murderer, who is presumed innocent, has been found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt through due process and after all appeals have been heard, that the death penalty is an equitable and appropriate resolution to the matter. Darren Albrecht----Warren ********************** Irresponsible suggestion Once again, Monica Conyers has displayed a stupefying lack of insight and responsibility with her suggestion that the death penalty would be good for anyone. In that her position on the council is, by her own admission, part-time, she might use those open hours to educate herself on the roots of violence and the efficacy of execution in building a stable, forward-moving society. Mary Therese Lemanek----Allen Park ***** Take penalty further Wow! Something sensible came from Detroit City Council President Monica Conyers in regard to the death penalty for child killers. I would take it one step further: Anyone convicted of a 2nd felony crime against another human being is shown the exit ramp off the freeway of life. Mark Linari----Dryden ****************** A permanent end So your liberal paper does not like the death penalty. No surprise there, but you are wrong when you say it is ineffective in stopping violence. Name one person who has gotten the death penalty who has not stopped being violent. Jack Danko----Grosse Pointe Park **************** Get to root causes I am no fan of Monica Conyers, but I would be the first to say that her recent statement regarding the death penalty was more likely the rage of a concerned parent and adult than a movement to bring the death penalty to Michigan. Seldom are the roots of inner city violence in cities like Detroit examined as they should be locally and nationally. What motivates the mostly youthful violent offenders? What are their models for existence? What do they see, observe and listen to? The professionals and upper middle class, black and white and others, have for the most part fled Detroit neighborhoods. The owners of most businesses here also do not reside in Detroit. The role models of the past are almost nonexistent here. For many inner city youths, the new role model is the gangsta rapper -- or the thug. It is widely accepted that children are influenced heavily by what they see and hear. Support groups and think tanks, columns and televised shows abound nationally regarding this subject -- with marked exceptions to the inner cities. Arvie A. Green----Detroit (source: Letters to the Editor, Detroit Free Press)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----USA. GA., ALA., MICH.
Rick Halperin Fri, 10 Oct 2008 17:34:28 -0500 (Central Daylight Time)
