March 27
LOUISIANA:
Debate continues over Glenn Ford, death penalty----ADA Dale Cox on death
penalty: 'I think we need to kill more people'
No one in the Caddo Parish District Attorney's office ever said Glenn Ford is
an innocent man even though a murder conviction and death sentence handed up by
a jury in 1984 were dismissed and vacated in June.
"He may very well be or he may not be," said First Assistant District Attorney
Dale Cox, who signed the dismissal papers leading to Ford's freedom from death
row.
Even Cox's boss, District Attorney Charles Scott, said there is "considerable
evidence" Ford, freed from Louisiana State Penitentiary on March 11, 2014, "may
have been a principal to armed robbery in the Nov. 5, 1983, shooting death of
Shreveport jewelry Isadore Rozeman.
"The reason that is potentially important is under armed robbery he could still
be in the penitentiary. I'm not saying he is guilty of armed robbery, I'm
saying the evidence might have led to a charge of armed robbery," Scott said.
So bottom line, does Scott, who was not the DA when Ford was convicted in
December 1984, think Ford should be a free man?
"No comment," Scott responded.
While Scott has remained guarded and tight-lipped in his response to questions
about Ford, Cox was more forthcoming in 2 separate interviews this week,
including lengthy explanations about changing viewpoints on the death penalty
as a punishment for 1st-degree murder convictions.
National exposure
Cox's stated support of the death penalty and other comments about Ford's case
are largely in response to a letter written to The Times last week by attorney
A.M. "Marty" Stroud III, the man who formerly held Cox's position as 1st
assistant DA and as such was the lead prosecutor in convicting Ford.
Stroud, now anguished over his part in a man not guilty of murder sitting on
death row almost 30 years, has apologized to Ford via the letter. The wrongful
conviction, he said, serves as an example of the need to repeal the death
penalty, which he calls "barbaric."
But the dueling opinions are an example of the national dialogue created when
portions of Stroud's letter were repeated through perhaps hundreds of online
and print reports, stretching from coast to coast and across the ocean.
Many complimented Stroud for his willingness to publicly apologize for his role
in the conviction of a man who spent decades behind bars for a murder he didn't
commit, while others once again debated the pros and cons of the death penalty,
especially the possibility that a man not guilty of murder was slated for
execution.
Ford's reaction to Stroud's apology and the firestorm it created is unknown.
Because of his declining health, all interviews have been suspended until
further notice, attorney Kristin Wenstrom said.
Ford, 65, is being treated for Stage 4 lung cancer in New Orleans and may only
have eight months or less to live, according to a physician's diagnosis in
February. He only learned of his fate following his release from Angola, even
though health problems plagued him prior to that.
'Kill more people'
In his letter, Stroud questioned whether the justice system can be "fairly and
impartially" imposed with the death penalty still in play. He calls it "state
assisted revenge."
Cox disagrees the justice system is defective, saying it is only as good as the
people who work in it. Even so, convicting an innocent man is a prosecutor's
worst nightmare, he said.
He remains committed to the death penalty as a morally justifiable punishment
even though his personal position has changed from an anti-stance to support
over the past 35 years, just as Stroud started out in favor of it then moved to
opposition.
Cox said he's too often witnessed the "enormous toll" homicides take on the
victim and survivors. "Barbarians" with no remorse for their crimes, serial
killers, baby killers of all races and genders demonstrate to Cox more barbaric
behavior over a planned execution.
However, Cox is not a believer the death penalty serves as a deterrent to other
homicide cases. "It's not a deterrent if it goes fast, but we can't get it done
fast enough."
"I'm a believer that the death penalty serves society's interest in revenge. I
know it's a hard word to say and people run from it, but I don't run from it
because I think there is a very strong societal interest as a people," Cox
said. "I think (revenge) is the only reason for it."
"I think we need to kill more people. ... I think the death penalty should be
used more often. It has come to the place in our society where it is used less
often, and I think crime in our society has expanded so expeditiously ... that
we're going the wrong way with the death penalty that we need it more than ever
and we're using it less now," he said.
'Not the shooter'
Approximately 10 months passed from the time Caddo Parish prosecutors learned
in 2013 of new information implicating someone other than Ford in Rozeman's
homicide until Ford was released last March. Would quicker access to oncology
specialists have made a difference for Ford is among the questions being asked.
But Cox and Scott are in agreement that the timeframe from the new evidence
discovery to release was not wasted. "Every effort" was made, Cox said, to
reach the point of determining if the information from an informant was
credible enough to lead to Ford's freedom.
"It concerned me the most that we handled it timely; don't sit on this another
year or 2. You can out-think yourself on this stuff. ... You've got one DA
saying to another administration, 'What you did was wrong and I'm fixing it,'"
Cox said. "There was no way we could ever retry the case against Glenn Ford.
There was no way he could marshal a defense after spending 30 years in solitary
confinement. It would be cruel and unusual to make him do that."
Still, Cox said he can't say for certain Ford is factually innocent because he
believes Ford had information or may have been a participant but not
necessarily the gunman.
"There was evidence at his trial that no one contradicted, evidence he
purchased a gun shortly before this," Cox said referring to Rozeman's murder.
Ford knew Rozeman, did work for him and would have been a familiar face to get
past Rozeman's security system, Cox said.
Ford was in Rozeman's shop prior to his death, and later the same day "fenced"
jewelry stolen during the robbery and homicide.
"None of that proves that Glenn Ford was the shooter. But neither does that
exclude him as a participant in some fashion. So when I say innocent I mean
that in the broadest possible case," said Cox. "I'm relatively certain he was
not the shooter based on everything."
Ford is seeking state compensation for his wrongful conviction. The Louisiana
Attorney General's office is fighting him.
Citing pending litigation, spokesman Steven Hartmann denied a request from The
Times for an interview with Attorney General Buddy Caldwell about the state's
position.
Conflict or discussion
Was there conflict in the DA's office about how to proceed with the new
evidence leading to Ford's exoneration?
Yes, according to Cox, in that there was a recognition of the seriousness of
the information and what should be done. But no, said Scott, who described the
talks as a "very, very careful and deliberate review of the issue."
"Here we have a jury verdict and have a death sentence that we have been
defending against post-conviction relief applications for 30 years. So it was a
large step to go from ... taking a verdict away from a jury, which was
unanimous, then reverse course. The discussion was that's a very serious step
to take," Cox said.
Another thought was to give the information to the defense and let them file a
motion with the court to seek Ford's release.
"I ultimately thought that was the wrong thing to do. I said we have credible
information and we need to release the man; don't need to go through any more
delays. That position is what we ultimately took," he said.
Cox added: "There was a real sense of earnestness that this was going to be
something that was going to cause a lot of consequences for a lot of people and
it has and it will continue to. In the end to me, there was no question about
it. I feel so strongly about it, if we hadn't released the man I would have
quit. I would have quit and gone to the FBI."
Scott would only say he was "on board" with the filing of the dismissal of
charges against Ford. He declined to elaborate any more on the other
behind-the-scenes decision-making.
Shielded information
Specifics of the information an informant provided are under seal by order of
the court. And it remain so because of a real concern about the person's
safety, Cox said.
Quite a bit of time was spent in the months before Ford's release verifying the
information before all were convinced it was reliable. Cox stressed the
undisclosed information was not known to Stroud, his co-counsel Carey Schimpf
or former DA Paul Carmouche.
"I inadvertently discovered it while interviewing a witness in another
homicide. This is not information that any possessed in 1983. I think if they
had had this information this would have altered their charging decision," Cox
said.
Cox points out 3 other people - brothers Jake and Henry Robinson and George
Starks - were indicted at the same time as Ford in connection with Rozeman's
death. Charges were dismissed against the three, leaving only Ford to stand
trial.
The Robinsons have been arrested in the months since Ford's release on other
cold case homicides. "Soon," is all Cox would say as to when another grand jury
might hear evidence in the Rozeman case.
Keeping the confidential informant safe in the interim is a concern of Cox's.
"We've heard a lot of rumbling from the Robinsons about that. In that regard
you may even see additional charges for the Robinsons forthcoming. If not from
us, then the feds," Cox said.
(source: Shreveport Times)
ARKANSAS:
Death-penalty waiver sought
The special prosecutor in Rickey Dale Newman's capital murder case wants to
waive the death penalty, according to Crawford County Circuit Court records.
Attorney Ron Fields of Fort Smith filed the motion Tuesday with Circuit Judge
Gary Cottrell.
"Previous court rulings found that the defendant is mentally impaired to the
extent that under existing law from the United States Supreme Court and the
Arkansas Supreme Court, he is not an appropriate candidate for execution,"
Fields wrote in the 1-page motion.
Capital murder is the only offense for which the death penalty is an option in
Arkansas. The only other punishment for a capital murder conviction is life in
prison without parole.
Newman, 57, is awaiting retrial in Crawford County in the Feb. 7, 2001,
mutilation death of Marie Elaine Cholette, 46, at a transient camp on the
western outskirts of Van Buren.
Newman was sentenced to death after a one-day jury trial in June 2002, during
which he testified that he killed Cholette, and asked the jury for the death
penalty.
After his conviction, Newman successfully waived his appeals and asked to be
put to death. 4 days before his scheduled July 26, 2005, execution, he allowed
federal public defenders -- including his current attorney, Julie Brain -- to
intercede for him, request a stay of execution and renew his appeals.
In January 2014, the state Supreme Court ordered a new trial for Newman, ruling
that he was not mentally competent to assist his attorney in preparing for the
2002 trial.
Cottrell ordered Newman to undergo mental evaluations upon his return to
Crawford County, telling attorneys he had to know whether Newman now was
competent to stand trial and, if not, to order treatment to restore his fitness
to proceed.
Newman has not cooperated in those evaluations at Brain's direction. She
contends that Newman is mentally competent and that an evaluation would violate
her client's Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination by an involuntary
evaluation, and his Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial since Cottrell said
he could not put Newman on trial again until he has a determination that Newman
was competent.
Earlier this month, Cottrell called off Newman's trial scheduled for April 6.
Brain wrote in a March 18 brief that she would consent to Newman being tested
as long as no statements he made during the evaluation were used in the case
against him.
Fields filed a response Tuesday to Brain's assertion of her client's fitness.
He wrote that he agreed with Cottrell that Newman should be evaluated at the
State Hospital and that he be treated until he is restored to mental fitness.
He wrote that Newman continued to write letters to the judge and Fields in his
own defense and without his attorney's knowledge.
Fields noted that defense experts and the Arkansas Supreme Court took Newman's
letter writing into account when determining that he was not fit to assist his
attorney in preparing for his trial in 2002.
(source: Arkansas Online)
OHIO:
Deshanon Haywood, suspect in quadruple-murder case, to go to trial again in
May; death penalty specifications intact
A review of the continuing case of Deshanon Jammal Haywood has determined that
the death penalty specifications will not be eliminated from his Summit County
indictment.
Haywood, 23, was convicted last year of multiple counts of aggravated murder
for helping to carry out a quadruple slaying at a Chapel Hill-area townhouse in
2013, but those convictions were vacated in October over defense claims of
prosecutorial misconduct and false testimony by 2 material witnesses during his
trial.
Special prosecutors from Cuyahoga County subsequently were appointed to take
over Haywood's case for his new trial.
In a hearing Thursday in Summit County Common Pleas Judge Paul Gallagher's
court - the same judge who ordered the retrial - special prosecutor Mahmoud
Awadallah said Cuyahoga County's capital review committee examined Haywood's
case and concluded that it should proceed with the death penalty specifications
intact.
Awadallah said the committee met twice to go over the case, with Haywood's
defense lawyers also present, before a decision was made.
The previously scheduled trial date, April 27, was moved to May 11, when jury
selection will begin in Gallagher's court for the 3rd time.
The shootings occurred in April 2013 during a robbery linked to a $50,000
heroin delivery to the townhouse.
Derrick Brantley, 23, was the 1st man to be convicted of the crime under a
capital indictment. But he was sentenced in July to life in prison for the
slayings of Ronald "Dutch" Roberts, 24; his good friend, Kem Rashad Delaney,
23; Maria Nash, 19; and Roberts' girlfriend, Kiana "Kiki" Welch, also 19.
Judge Mary Margaret Rowlands had Haywood's case when his 1st round of jury
selection started soon after Brantley's conviction.
Rowlands later voluntarily stepped down after Summit prosecutors filed Ohio
Supreme Court papers seeking her disqualification, claiming she was predisposed
against the death penalty.
Then Gallagher took over, a 2nd jury actually was seated and Haywood was
convicted last fall.
But as he was awaiting his sentencing hearing, defense lawyers Brian M. Pierce
and Joseph Gorman won a new trial.
They claimed prosecutors were guilty of misconduct by not disclosing
potentially exonerating evidence that could have been used to discredit the
testimony of 2 important state's witnesses.
Gallagher sided with the defense and granted the retrial.
Pierce and Gorman said after Thursday's hearing that they were disappointed in
the committee's move to continue pursuing a capital indictment.
"In light of what happened to Brantley, the co-defendant in this case, I think
all of the evidence indicates that he was the principal offender and he
received a life sentence," Pierce said.
Proportionately, Gorman said he feels it's unjust that Haywood even faces a
capital indictment after Brantley's jury unanimously decided he should not be
put to death.
(source: Beacon Journal)
MISSOURI----new execution date
Missouri sets execution date for contract killer----Kimber Edwards hired man to
kill woman over child support squabble
The Missouri Supreme Court has scheduled a May 12 execution for a former St.
Louis jailer convicted of hiring someone to kill his ex-wife in 2000. The
state's high court set the execution date Thursday for Kimber Edwards, who
turns 51 on Sunday.
35 year-old Kimberly Cantrell was shot and killed in August 2000 in her
apartment in University City near St. Louis. The man Edwards was convicted of
hiring, Orthell Wilson, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced
to life in prison.
Prosecutors said Edwards wanted Cantrell dead to relieve him of paying overdue
child support.
Edwards insisted at trial he had been framed and had no motive to harm his
ex-wife because the former couple had worked out a deal to make up the child
support.
(source: KMBC news)
NEBRASKA:
Man exonerated by DNA, freed from death row will speak at Creighton
A man who was exonerated after spending a decade on death row will speak at
Creighton University on Tuesday night.
Ray Krone was wrongfully convicted of murder in 1992 and sentenced to death in
Arizona. Years later, DNA tests proved he was not the killer and he was freed.
Krone's arrival is timely, as a bill in this session of the Nebraska
Legislature proposes repealing the death penalty.
Legislative Bill 268, introduced by Sen. Ernie Chambers, would replace the
death penalty with life in prison without parole.
12 other senators have signed on as co-sponsors.
Krone is one of 151 people across the country who have been released from death
row since 1973 because of wrongful conviction, according to the Death Penalty
Information Center.
Now he is the director of membership and training for Witness to Innocence, an
organization led by exonerated death row prisoners working to repeal the death
penalty.
The event is sponsored by Nebraska Conservatives Concerned about the Death
Penalty and the Creighton chapters of Young Americans for Liberty and Students
for Life.
Krone will speak Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the Harper Center ballroom at Creighton
University. The event is free and open to the public.
(source: omaha.com)
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