Sept. 26
FLORIDA:
Fla. Gov. temporarily stays execution of inmate
Florida Gov. Rick Scott is asking a panel of psychiatrists to determine whether
a convicted murderer is insane.
Scott on Wednesday agreed to temporarily stay the pending execution of John
Errol Ferguson in order to let doctors decide whether or not he understands the
death penalty and why he is about to be executed.
The governor in an executive order called for the examination to take place on
Oct. 1. Scott says if Ferguson is competent he will proceed with the
already-scheduled execution on Oct. 16.
64-year-old Ferguson was convicted of murdering 6 people execution-style in a
drug-related crime. Ferguson was also convicted for the murders of 2 Hialeah
teenagers.
Ferguson's attorneys say that he has long exhibited symptoms of schizophrenia
and has been plagued by hallucinations and delusions.
(source: Associated Press)
PENNSYLVANIA----impending execution
Terrance Williams trial will determine whether he gets death penalty
An inmate in Philadelphia is fighting for his life. He is scheduled to be
executed early next month. It's unclear if the execution will happen, but if it
does CBS 21 will be there as a media witness.
In the 2 days of testimony this week, the defense tried to convince a judge
that their client should live, while the prosecution argued he should be
executed.
Back in 1984, when Terrance Williams was 18, he and an accomplice beat a
56-year-old married father to death with a tire iron and wrench.
Now, Williams' attorneys say the prosecution hid evidence from the jury that
sentenced Williams to die. And that evidence shows Williams was sexually abused
by the man he killed.
The accomplice in this murder, who is serving life, is changing his story
saying that Williams was sexually abused by the victim and that was the motive.
The prosecution says there isn't enough evidence to prove there was sexual
abuse and that is why it wasn't presented to the jury 30-years-ago during the
trial.
"The prosecutors knew Mr. Norwood was alleged to have been abusing children and
that was never revealed before," stated Defense Attorney Shawn Nolan.
"I didn't suppress evidence at all," argued Prosecutor Andrea Foulkes. "I never
have and I will never suppress evidence."
On Friday morning the judge will rule on whether Williams will be executed on
October 3.
(source: WHP TV News)
KENTUCKY:
Ky. death row inmate being sent to NM for trial
A Kentucky death row inmate is set to be extradited to New Mexico to face
murder charges in the 1991 slaying of a paramedic prosecutors say he kidnapped
and shot and left to die remote desert area.
Kerri Richardson, a spokeswoman for Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, told The
Associated Press that a governor's warrant has been signed for 55-year-old
Michael Dale St. Clair. The inmate is scheduled for trial on Jan. 22 in
Clayton, N.M., on charges he killed 22-year-old Timothy Keeling, of Denver.
Dennis Gene Reese, who is serving life in prison in Oklahoma, is also charged
with participating in Keeling's slaying.
Donald Gallegos, the district attorney in Clayton who is prosecuting the men,
said St. Clair and Reese should be in New Mexico by next week. Gallegos said no
decision has been made on whether to seek the death penalty.
"I wanted to wait to get them here before I decided that," Gallegos said. "I
still need to talk to the victim's family, too."
Kentucky Department of Corrections spokeswoman Lisa Lamb cited security
concerns in declining to comment on the extradition of St. Clair, who is on
death row for killing a Bardstown man in October 1991.
Tim Keeling's widow, Lisa Keeling Hill of Waxahachie, Texas, has pushed to have
St. Clair and Reese prosecuted for the slaying.
"St. Clair has never really had to answer for Tim's death," Hill told The
Associated Press.
Retired New Mexico State Police Detective Toby Dolan, who investigated
Keeling's death, said the pending extradition of St. Clair and Reese is a
relief. Dolan, the second officer to arrive at the scene, said he's kept copies
of crime scene photos and reports with him since retiring more than a year and
a half ago after 21 years with state police.
"You kind of have that hollow feeling for that poor guy ... who was murdered
for no reason out in the middle of nowhere," Dolan said. "It's just one of
those things that stuck with me all these years.
Reese and St. Clair had broken out of the county jail in Durant, Okla., on
Sept. 19, 1991. At the time, St. Clair was serving 4 life sentences for murder
and Reese was awaiting trial on charges of strangling and beating a woman to
death.
What happened after the breakout is detailed in court testimony, documents and
interviews with St. Clair and Reese. The pair went on a cross-country spree
that led them through Texas and on to Denver, where they came across Keeling
outside a grocery store.
St. Clair and Reese posed as buyers interested in purchasing Keeling's truck,
then kidnapped him. Reese drove as Keeling sat next to him and St. Clair held a
.357 magnum revolver in the passenger seat. They stopped near Clayton, N.M., a
small crossroads town, where prosecutors say St. Clair ordered Keeling out of
the truck and shot him.
The run ended a few weeks later in Kentucky, where police charged them with
kidnapping and killing distillery worker Frank Brady near Elizabethtown after
they ditched and burned Keeling's truck.
In an interview with The Associated Press in June, Reese acknowledged his role
in Keeling's death and said he plans to plead guilty. St. Clair, in letters to
The AP, has remained defiant in his denials and doesn't expect to live long
enough to face execution in either state.
"Mother Nature has 1st mortgage on my death," St. Clair said in a 2011 letter.
(source: Associated Press)
_______________________________________________
DeathPenalty mailing list
DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu
http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty
Search the Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/deathpenalty@lists.washlaw.edu/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A free service of WashLaw
http://washlaw.edu
(785)670.1088
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
