Oct. 23
MISSOURI:
Prosecutor Intends on Seeking the Death Penalty in Murder Case
According to online court documents, the Christian County Prosecutor will seek
the death penalty against a man charged with killing a woman near Ozark last
summer.
Aaron Clemons is charged with 1st degree murder and kidnapping in the death of
Bailey Clemons. The body of Clemons was found in her burned home in June 2014.
According to a probable cause statement, the state Fire Marshall found 2 melted
gasoline containers in the basement of the house in northeast Ozark.
Online court records show County Prosecutor Amy Fite filed a notice of intent
to seek the death penalty on Wednesday of this week.
(source: ozarksfirst.com)
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Prosecutor wants death penalty for man accused of wife's death, burning
The Christian County prosecutor is seeking the death penalty for an Ozark man
accused of beating a woman in front of her 2 young children before killing her
and burning her body, according to court documents.
In June 2014, police arrested Aaron Clemons, now 32, saying he killed his wife,
Bailey Clemons, in her Ozark home and that her burned body was found the day
after the home was set on fire. At the time, police sent a probable cause
statement to prosecutors, who then charged Clemons with murder, kidnapping,
armed criminal action, arson and multiple counts of child endangerment.
The children, who were 6 and 9 years old at the time, saw their mother being
beaten, but did not see her slain, the News-Leader previously reported.
According to the court documents, Christian County Prosecutor Amy Fite will
look to prove that murder of the first degree took place because it was
"outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible or inhuman in that it involved
torture, or depravity of mind" and that Clemons was "engaged in the
perpetration (of) ... a felony of any degree of kidnapping."
(source: Springfield News-Leader)
OKLAHOMA:
Suspension of capital punishment an indictment on Oklahoma
There is significant irony in the fact that Oklahoma had its ability to carry
out the death penalty suspended because officials couldn't execute it properly.
The state delayed executions after Clayton Lockett juddered around on a gurney
while the drugs were improperly administered during the process. The misplaced
needles didn't do anything to build sympathy for a murderer who got off much
easier than his victim, but it certainly gave opponents of capital punishment a
good argument to take before judges that the 8th Amendment's "cruel and unusual
punishment" clause had been violated by the state.
Then, the state admittedly used the wrong drug when it resumed carrying out the
death penalty and substituted potassium acetate for potassium chloride in the
execution of Charles Warner early this year.
Next Oklahoma officials broke through several months of delays to carry out
final justice on Richard Glossip only to discover the wrong drug was delivered
again. Glossip's execution was stayed after he ate his 2nd last meal and now
the state won't head back to the death chamber until at least January of 2016.
A federal judge granted a request by defense attorneys and Oklahoma Attorney
General Scott Pruitt where both requested the delay. Pruitt wants time for his
office to do a complete review. Defense attorneys for inmates on death row want
time to prove the state is incapable of carrying out executions in a manner
that is constitutionally acceptable.
"We cannot trust Oklahoma to get it right or to tell the truth," said defense
attorney Dale Baich. "The State's disclosure that it used potassium acetate
instead of potassium chloride during the execution of Charles Warner yet again
raises serious questions about the ability of the Oklahoma Department of
Corrections to carry out executions."
Oklahoma has proven as a state that we can't be trusted with the keys to the
car.
7 states in the past decade have voted to eliminate capital punishment. Kansas
has the death penalty but they haven't used it since 1988 and have no plans to
begin anytime soon.
When the United States Supreme Court heard the Richard Glossip appeal recently,
Ruth Bader-Ginsburg pointed out that more than 100 people convicted of capital
crimes had been proven innocent while on death row. She also argued the innate
unfairness of the fact that only seven states had executed inmates last year
and, even in those states, the use of the death sentence varies wildly by
county.
"If you commit a crime in Louisiana, the chances that you would get the death
penalty are very high," the justice said. "But if you committed the same deed
in Minnesota, the chance of getting the death penalty are almost nil."
The Glossip case is one of a cluster of cases that all came up at the same time
where convictions and the resulting death sentences were based primarily on the
testimony of a co-conspirator who actually committed the crime in question.
The suspect with blood on his hands got a lighter sentence in exchange for a
guilty plea and testimony against an alleged partner in crime.
It is a strange system that gives a killer who talks a break as long as they
sell out another participant. The possibility that the convict is innocent or
has at least had his or her role in the murder exaggerated by a confessed
murderer with something to gain is far too high for me to feel comfortable
watching the state take that person's life.
Oklahoma's issues have national implications. The state has to reboot the
system. We have to renew competence in our Department of Corrections to order,
verify and administer the death penalty properly.
Beyond that, Oklahomans have to make sure the sentence is reserved for
appropriate cases where the act is heinous and guilt is sure.
Incompetence cost Oklahoma its credibility on capital punishment. These
mistakes are so serious and inexplicable as to threaten the legality of the
death penalty nationwide. It will take swift and sure action from the Governor
and Attorney General if the house is going to be put back in order.
(source: Kent Bush, Pekin Daily Times)
NEBRASKA:
'Daily Show' crew in Lincoln for segment on Nebraska's 'death penalty mess'
"The Daily Show" with Trevor Noah came to Nebraska Tuesday to satirize the
state's death penalty tug-of-war.
Yes, "The Daily Show" airs on Comedy Central, and there's not a whole lot funny
about the death penalty. But then there is.
The TV show sent one of its new correspondents, Desi Lydic, for an interview
and walk around the Capitol with Sen. Colby Coash. Lydic was either very
pregnant or playing a very pregnant correspondent for the bit.
According to "Variety," Lydic has appeared in comedies on TV and in film, with
a starring role on MTV's "Awkward" and appearances on "Two and a Half Men,"
"The League" and "The Odd Couple."
Coash and Lydic did some filming in the Capitol, with part of the interview
taking place outside the glass doors of the legislative chamber.
At one point she asked him where's the minibar? That's over in Walt's office,
he answered, referring to lobbyist Walt Radcliffe, whose office is across the
street.
Coash said earlier in the week he really didn't know what angle they would
take.
"Believe me, I'm losing sleep thinking I may be made a fool of," he said. "I
guess I can only control what I say, you know?"
The crew later showed up at The Mill in the Haymarket and Lydic did a
monologue, of sorts, with barista Alison Schuerman.
"They were poking fun at our death penalty mess," said Mill co-owner Tamara
Sloan.
The owners don't usually take political stances, she said, but since it was
lighthearted, they agreed to do it.
"It was fun," she said.
Nebraska has had the death penalty for years, but hasn't used it for nearly 2
decades, even though 10 men sit on death row in Tecumseh.
Sen. Ernie Chambers, along with Coash and other senators, were successful in
passing a repeal in May, but Gov. Pete Ricketts vetoed it. Then 30 senators
voted to override the veto.
Now, a group of death penalty supporters -- bankrolled in part with several
hundred thousand dollars from Ricketts and his father, Joe -- have successfully
gathered enough petition signatures to put the repeal on hold until a vote can
be taken in a year.
In the meantime, the Nebraska Department of Corrections has no way to carry out
the penalty, because it can't get the drugs needed.
That all may be the mess the comedy show is poking fun at.
The Mill may get a little free publicity out of the gag. Sloan is hoping a shot
of Lydic holding a Mill mug makes it into the segment, which could air the week
of Nov. 2.
(source: Lincoln Journal Star)
NEVADA:
Defense rests in Ammar Harris death penalty trial
Jurors are expected to hear closing arguments Monday in the death penalty trial
of Ammar Harris, a felon charged in a shooting that led to a fiery crash that
left 3 dead on the Strip.
While prosecutors introduced 2 of Harris's prior convictions - possession of a
stolen firearm and bribery of a public officer - during the 5 days of testimony
that wrapped up Thursday, the jury will not be told of his conviction on sexual
assault and robbery charges. Prosecutor David Stanton declined to elaborate on
why the latter conviction would not be introduced.
Authorities say Harris shot and killed Kenny "Clutch" Cherry Jr. after pulling
alongside the victim's Maserati in the pre-dawn hours of Feb. 21, 2013. As the
bullet plowed through Cherry's chest, he crashed his car into a taxi, causing
an explosion that killed driver Michael Boldon and his passenger, Sandra
Sutton-Wasmund of Maple Valley, Wash. A passenger in Clutch's Maserati suffered
a minor gunshot wound and survived.
After calling 2 witnesses, defense attorneys rested their case Thursday
afternoon.
Harris faces 3 counts of murder with use of a deadly weapon, 1 count of
attempted murder with use of a deadly weapon, 2 counts of discharging a firearm
into a vehicle, and 5 counts of discharging a firearm out of a vehicle.
If convicted, he could be sentenced to death.
(source: Las Vegas Review-Journal)
ARIZONA:
Lethal Injection Drug Seized At Phoenix Airport ---- Arizona paid $27,000 for a
shipment of sodium thiopental, but the FDA seized the drug from a British
Airways flight.
A shipment of an illegally imported lethal injection drug bought by the state
of Arizona has been stopped at Phoenix airport, according to documents.
Arizona paid nearly $27,000 for the batch of anaesthetic sodium thiopental,
which has been used to carry out executions but is no longer manufactured by
companies approved by Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
When the drugs arrived on a British Airways flight at Phoenix International
Airport, they were seized by federal officials and have not been released,
Associated Press news agency reported.
Andrew Wilder, a spokesman for the state Department of Corrections, said: "The
department is contesting FDA's legal authority to continue to withhold the
state's execution chemicals."
The documents obtained by AP are part of a lawsuit against the department over
the transparency of its executions.
Arizona, along with other states with the death penalty, have struggled to
obtain legal execution drugs for years after European companies refused to sell
those needed to carry out death sentences.
States have had to change the combinations of drugs used in lethal injections
or put executions on hold.
Earlier this year, Nebraska was told by the FDA that it could not legally
import sodium thiopental after the governor said the state had obtained the
drug from India.
Ohio, which earlier this month halted executions until at least 2017 because of
a lack of drugs, sent a letter to the FDA stating it believed it could obtain
the drug overseas without violating any laws.
On Thursday, Texas said it had obtained a licence from the US Drug Enforcement
Agency (DEA) to import sodium thiopental.
Jason Clark, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, was
unable to say whether the state had purchased or received any drugs from
overseas.
Last year, Governor Jan Brewer ordered an investigation into the Arizona's
execution process after Joseph Rudolph Wood, 55, took nearly 2 hours to die in
a Florence prison.
Wood had been injected with 15 times the intended dosage of a sedative and
painkiller.
(source: Sky News)
CALIFORNIA:
Jailhouse informant scandal rocking criminal justice system in Orange
County----Eyewitness News investigates the snitch scandal that's led to at
least one confessed killer walking free.
Oct. 12, 2011 is a dark day in Orange County history. Scott Dekraai, a former
tugboat captain, stormed a Seal Beach hair salon and opened fire. Minutes
later, 8 people were dead and 1 critically injured. The massacre remains the
deadliest mass killing in Orange County history.
8 victims shown clockwise from top left: Michelle Fournier, Randy Fannin, Laura
Webb Elody, Michele Fast, Christy Wilson, Lucia Kondas, Victoria Buzzo and
David Caouette.
The murders and their aftermath have wrought unimaginable pain on family
members of the victims. 4 years later, the legal case against Dekraai, who
pleaded guilty last year, is in disarray. The entire Orange County District
Attorney's Office has been kicked off the death penalty phase of Dekraai's
case. Orange County sheriff's deputies have been accused of lying under oath.
There are calls from one of the most respected legal minds in the nation and
the New York Times for the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate.
How did Dekraai's crimes lead to this? It all comes down to whether or not
prosecutors and sheriff's deputies broke the law in the pursuit of convictions.
Critics say the most powerful law enforcement entities in Orange County cheated
the system, pursuing a win-at-all costs legal strategy for decades, at the
expense of not just Dekraai's constitutional rights, but potentially scores of
other defendants.
"THEY'RE IN COVER-UP MODE"
Scott Dekraai had already confessed to the murders to police when he found
himself in an Orange County Jail cell next door to prolific jailhouse snitch
Fernando Perez.
Perez, a former leader in the Mexican Mafia and third-striker facing possible
life in prison, turned informant in 2010 and quickly racked up confession after
confession from a series of suspects, all of whom wound up in a jail cell right
next to Perez.
Perez may have sensed an opportunity when Dekraai started talking about his
crimes. He knew that if Dekraai gave up information police and prosecutors
wanted, Perez might be able to leverage that into a more lenient sentence for
himself.
"They didn't need to put an informant in that cell next to him," said Paul
Wilson who lost his wife of 26 years in Dekraai's rampage and is outraged by
delays in the case and what he calls "absolute crimes" by elected officials.
"They're in cover-up mode," Wilson tells Eyewitness News.
JAILHOUSE SNITCHES
It's perfectly legal for law enforcement to use jailhouse informants. But it is
illegal for law enforcement to deliberately deploy informants to coax
incriminating statements from a defendant who's already been charged and has
the constitutional right to an attorney and to remain silent.
Orange County Superior Court Judge Thomas Goethals determined that Perez was
acting on behalf of law enforcement when he secured Dekraai's confession, which
was recorded by a wire set up by the Orange County Sheriff's Department at the
request of Seal Beach police and prosecutors with the Orange County District
Attorney's Office.
"When the Orange County D.A.'s Office and the Sheriff's Department structure
the use of jailhouse informants to gain information from inmates, that violates
the constitution," said Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean of the U.C.I Law School.
Chemerinsky is calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate
allegations of systemic misconduct, allegations that have spread to numerous
other cases dating back decades. Defense attorneys for other suspects are now
using those allegations to argue for new trials and negotiate plea deals. One
confessed killer has already walked free; two attempted murder defendants got
plea deals; other convicted murder defendants are asking for new trials, all
based on the alleged misuse of jailhouse informants and hidden evidence about
those informants.
"What we're really talking about is - how many people's constitutional rights
were violated? How many people were convicted in an unconstitutional manner?"
Chemerinsky tells Eyewitness News. "We don't have the answers to those
questions, and we must!"
The D.A.'s office and the Sheriff's Department say it was a coincidence that
Dekraai, the highest-profile murder suspect in Orange County history, landed in
a cell right next to the prized informant. They say Perez was told he could not
ask Dekraai questions about his crimes -- that he could only act as a
"listening post."
"There's no evidence of a conspiracy. There's no evidence of intentional
violations...there's none of that," said Orange County District Attorney Tony
Rackauckas.
Rackauckas admits his office made a handful of mistakes in Dekraai and other
cases by not turning over evidence related to jailhouse informants. But he says
those are a "drop in the bucket" among the 20,000 felony cases his office
handles each year.
Rackauckas tells Eyewitness News that the identity of informants needs to be
protected for the informants' own safety and insists some cases would never be
solved without the use of snitches.
"That's why it's so often said -- if there's an evil plot hatched in hell,
you're not going to have angels as witnesses," said Rackauckas.
THE FALLOUT
The fallout from the Dekraai investigation into jailhouse informants and hidden
evidence is staggering. In March, Judge Thomas Goethals recused all 250 of the
D.A.'s attorneys from the death penalty phase of Dekraai's case, citing
prosecutors' "chronic failure" to turn over exculpatory evidence to the
defense.
"As chief law enforcement officer in this county the District Attorney is
responsible for the actions of his agents. In this case the evidence
demonstrates that some of those agents have habitually ignored the law over an
extended period of time to the detriment of this defendant," Goethals wrote in
his ruling.
The judge also singled out OCSD Deputies Seth Tunstall and Ben Garcia for
having "either intentionally lied of willfully withheld material evidence" from
the court.
Much of the withheld evidence at issue comes from a trove of jailhouse records
known as "TRED." In his ruling, Judge Goethals referred to TRED as a "computer
data base built and maintained by the Orange County Sheriff," that remained
secret "despite numerous specific discovery orders issued by this court."
"There's no secret about it. Certainly, the District Attorney's office has
known about it for years," Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens tells
Eyewitness News.
District Attorney Tony Rackauckas says that's not true, and that his office had
only seen TRED records in one case before the Dekraai investigation brought
them to light.
Eyewitness News anchor Marc Brown asked Rackauckas about Hutchens' claim that
the D.A.'s Office had known about the secret records for years.
"I wasn't there for your conversation with the Sheriff," Rackauckas said. "The
truth of the matter is we have not been privy to those records in our cases."
TRED records are key to this controversy because they can show who moved an
inmate and why. For instance, was an informant deliberately placed next to a
suspect to elicit incriminating information?
DEPUTIES PLEAD THE FIFTH
On the witness stand at a hearing for Dekraai last year, Orange County "Special
Handling" Deputies Seth Tunstall and Ben Garcia denied the jails have an
informant program and despite repeated questions, never brought up the
existence of the then still-secret TRED records.
Sheriff Hutchens does not believe the deputies intended to mislead the judge,
but says she can't question the deputies until a criminal investigation being
conducted by the California Attorney General's Office is complete.
"It's information in the jail world that they want to keep secret to protect
the security of the facility, to protect the inmates and I really think he was
unsure about what he could or couldn't say at that point," said Sheriff
Hutchens.
Deputy Seth Tunstall's claim that the jail has no informant program and that as
a "Special Handling" deputy he did not handle informants came under scrutiny
after Dekraai's public defender, Scott Sanders, unearthed a 2013 sworn
affidavit by Tunstall in another case.
In that affidavit, Tunstall declares under oath that as part of his duties with
the Sheriff's Department, he has "cultivated, interviewed and supervised
numerous confidential informants."
When confronted with the seeming contradiction, Tunstall, a veteran deputy with
doctorate in psychology, backed off from his previous sworn statement. "I guess
I put the wrong word in there," Tunstall testified.
Tunstall, Garcia and two other "Special Handling" deputies are now refusing to
testify, and pleaded the fifth at a hearing related to informant issues earlier
this month. That hearing will determine if convicted killer Eric Ortiz should
get a new trial based on allegedly hidden evidence connected to yet another
jailhouse informant.
One by one, deputies Seth Tunstall, Ben Garcia, William Grover and Bryan Larson
took the witness stand at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana with their
defense attorneys in tow. The deputies each invoked their Fifth Amendment right
against self-incrimination, refusing to answer even basic questions like where
they work.
When questioned by Judge Richard King about what potential crimes their
testimony could reveal, defense attorneys for the deputies said it could expose
them to possible charges of perjury, withholding evidence and conspiracy to
obstruct justice.
Pleading the fifth is not an admission of any wrongdoing. Attorneys for the
deputies say they believe the criminal investigation will ultimately prove
their innocence and invoking the right to remain silent is "the right call"
until that investigation is concluded.
The Sheriff's Department, meanwhile, has stepped up training and put in place
new policies on the use of confidential informants.
Alexandra Natapoff is a professor at the Loyola Law School and a nationally
recognized expert on the use of informants. Natapoff says the Dekraai
investigation raises serious questions about whether Orange County law
enforcement has been playing by the rules with scores of other defendants.
"It's a terrible blow to the integrity of the criminal justice system itself
when you have judges recusing entire DA's offices," said Natapoff. "When you
have an entire public looking at the DA's office and Sheriff's Department and
realizing - they lied under oath, they hid records for decades, they disobeyed
the constitution."
KEY INFORMANT: FERNANDO PEREZ
Fernando Perez, the jailhouse informant at issue in Dekraai's case, has
admitted he lied on the witness stand at his own trial. His motivation to work
as an informant was made clear by his repeated statements to law enforcement
that he would "do anything" to avoid a possible life sentence.
In one handwritten note to an OCSD deputy, Perez writes, "I love this little
job I got." In another, he declares, "I believe my mission is done," after
obtaining a confession from a murder suspect.
Informant Fernando Perez
Perez's apparent skill at eliciting damning information from his jailhouse
neighbors is so impressive, he once delivered two confessions in one day as
murder and attempted murder suspects were rotated into and out of the jail cell
next to him.
A coincidence, the Sheriff's Department says, in a jail that holds 5,000
inmates.
Eyewitness News asked Sheriff Hutchens how random it could be if time and time
again, Perez wound up in a cell next to inmates who so readily confessed.
"I can't...I don't know how to answer that question," said Sheriff Hutchens.
Judge Goethals found that Perez was "a professional informant working at the
direction of law enforcement," when he engaged in conversation with Dekraai.
That's a violation of established law known as "Massiah", which prohibits law
enforcement or their agents from eliciting incriminating statements from
charged suspects. The D.A.'s Office ultimately agreed to exclude the confession
Perez got from Dekraai in the mass murderer's death penalty phase.
Eyewitness News has obtained an "Informant Assistance" memo written by District
Attorney Investigator Robert Erickson less than a month after Perez secured a
confession from Dekraai.
In it, Erickson explains to the Deputy District Attorney handling Perez's case
that the informant has provided facts and intelligence that will "likely
greatly enhance the prosecution of Dekraai."
Erickson tells Deputy D.A. Erik Petersen that he's providing the memo for his
"consideration," and that it has not been discovered to Dekraai's defense.
That memo was not turned over to Dekraai's defense team for nearly 2 years.
Prosecutors for Dekraai later claimed they never saw the memo because they
forgot to open an email attachment.
SECRET RECORDS
Eyewitness News asked Rackauckas about the centralized database his office
keeps on informants like Perez. It's known as the OC Informant Index.
"Our policy is to always turn over Brady information," Rackauckas said,
referring the law that requires prosecutors to turn over evidence that could be
helpful to defendants. "We don't withhold that, we turn that over to the
defense."
Eyewitness News then asked about a specific entry in that index about informant
Fernando Perez. It states: "PEREZ WAS TERMINATED AS A CI (confidential
informant). DO NOT USE AS A CI."
That entry could be used by defense attorneys to cast doubt upon the
credibility of Perez, but it was not turned over to defense attorneys. Why not?
"Well, I told you the problem with that, at least at the time, was that to
release that would be to release the identity and would be put the informant at
risk," replied Rackauckas. "So, in that one area, yeah, that was withheld."
It's not just TRED records and OC Informant Index entries that were allegedly
withheld. Defense attorneys for multiple defendants say handwritten notes by
informants, including Perez, were largely hidden from them, judges and juries
for years.
Many of the notes were written to "Special Handling" deputies like Ben Garcia.
Defense attorneys argue that the notes contain potentially exculpatory
information and suggest the informants are actively engaged in building cases
from behind bars.
Informant Perez titles his many of notes "Operation Daylight," a nod to his
admitted hope that his hard work behind bars will earn him a more lenient
sentence, even without an explicit promise from prosecutors.
"It's the worst kept secret in the criminal word," said Professor Natapoff.
"Everyone in the criminal justice system knows that a deal will be forthcoming
if an inmate provides information."
Perez, who was convicted on firearms charges in 2009, is still waiting to find
out what, in any, "consideration" in sentencing he'll receive for his work as
an informant. While the D.A. recommended life in prison for Perez after his
initial conviction, they took no position at his most recent hearing this
summer.
Perez has also done informant work for the FBI and 1 of their agents showed up
at his sentencing hearing to tell the judge that Perez's work had "led to the
incarceration of 100 or more people."
Perez's attorney, Richard Curran, wants Perez to be released promptly on credit
for time served. Curran asked the judge to consider a deputy sheriff's claim
that "eleven persons had been saved from being stabbed or killed by information
provided by Mr. Perez."
Curran says Perez has "thrown off the lifestyle that led to his previous
offenses," obtained a GED certificate, and while in custody "has participated
in a dog training program for bomb sniffing dogs."
Sentencing for Perez was delayed again until December.
PLEA DEALS FOR CONFESSED KILLERS
The plea deals aren't just for informants. Prosecutors have dropped or pleaded
down cases against confessed killers Isaac Palacios and Leonel Vega. 2
attempted murder defendants have also seen their charges reduced or dropped.
2 more convicted murderers, Eric Ortiz and Henry Rodriguez, are now pushing for
new trials, all based on issues related to the alleged misuse of jailhouse
informants.
Professor Natapoff says those cases and others are now at risk.
"Because the malfeasance spread so far within the D.A.'s Office and within the
Sheriff's Department, it really has called into question the fabric, the
integrity, of really, the entire law enforcement process in Orange County,"
said Natapoff.
INVESTIGATIONS
Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas says an internal investigation
conducted by his own staff found that "mistakes" were made, but they were not
intentional. Prosecutors and investigators were interviewed as part of that
internal investigation, but Rackauckas says no notes were taken, no interviews
were recorded, and no report was generated for the public to view.
"Basically, we made certain findings that there had been some mistakes made.
There were some discovery violations and this is what we have to act on,"
Rackauckas told Eyewitness News.
His office has stepped up training for prosecutors on turning over Brady
material to defendants. Rackauckas says his office also created a committee
that must approve the use of informants in felony cases.
In July, Rackauckas announced the creation of a new, "independent, external"
committee to look at the use of jailhouse informants. But some critics question
the independence of a committee whose members were primarily handpicked by
Rackauckas himself.
Rackauckas tells Eyewitness News that he selected four of the 5-committee
members. The 5th, Professor Laurie Levenson of the Loyola Law School, was
selected by the committee members to serve as an advisor.
DEATH PENALTY FOR DEKRAAI?
Confessed mass murderer Scott Dekraai is the face of the scandal that's rocked
Orange County law enforcement. And some may wonder why it matters if the
constitutional rights of a confessed killer were violated?
"We can't just write this off as bad guys getting bad guys," said Professor
Natapoff. "The criminal justice system is not just for the Scott Dekraais of
this world, it's for all of us!"
In a strange turn of events, some family members of Dekraai's victims agree and
now find themselves more aligned with Dekraai's public defender. They want the
District Attorney's Office to take the death penalty off the table for Dekraai,
to bring some closure to four years of courtroom hell.
"It is so physically and mentally draining to have to walk into that courtroom
and look at that guy, to sit 10-15 feet away from that guy, that coward," said
Paul Wilson, husband of Dekraai victim Christy Wilson.
Wilson believes Dekraai deserves to be executed for his crimes, but has no
faith in the death penalty process as it currently stands in California where
no prisoner has been put to death since 2006.
"Why are we doing this? He's admitted he's guilty," said Paul Wilson. "He knows
he's going to jail for the rest of his life. Why are we going to court for
another 4 years?"
Death penalty proceedings for Dekraai are on hold for now. Judge Goethals'
recusal of the D.A.'s office sent the case to the California Attorney General's
Office. That ruling is being appealed.
Rackauckas says if the recusal is overturned, his office will continue to
pursue the death penalty. He questions who, if not Dekraai, deserves the
ultimate penalty of death?
"To give up the death penalty in that case would be to throw in the towel
altogether, and frankly I'm not willing to do that," Rackauckas told Eyewitness
News.
Beth Webb lost her sister to Dekraai's rampage. Laura Webb Elody was a
newlywed, whose maid of honor, fellow hairstylist Victoria Buzzo, was also
killed in the mass murder.
"She was a really, really good soul. She had a smile that came from the
inside," said Webb.
Webb says she has pleaded for Tony Rackauckas to accept Dekraai's offer to
serve life in prison without the possibility of parole if he is spared from the
death penalty.
"For Tony Rackauckas, it's all about saying 'I'm tough on crime, I'm not going
to be the one that lets the biggest mass murderer go without the death
penalty," said Webb.
Webb does not forgive Dekraai for his crimes, but does not want to see him
executed.
"I...don't want to be like him. So I don't wish for his death," Webb said
through her tears."
(source: ABC news)
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Windows Of Death Row Exhibit Opens In Annenberg----The exhibit displays artwork
from artists and editorial cartoonists, as well as inmates on death row.
The Windows on Death Row art exhibit in Annenberg East Lobby opened its doors
to the public Thursday night. The exhibit displays paintings, drawings,
cartoons and more from artists, as well as more than 70 inmates sentenced to
death, who were asked to illustrate their lives on death row.
Some of the most striking works also poked fun at the very idea of execution
and incarceration, leading visitors to consider the ethical and legal
dimensions of the death penalty. Journalist Anne-Frederique Widmann and
cartoonist Patrick Chapette, the exhibit's curators, gave speeches at the event
and walked around to meet visitors. Artist Ndume Olatushani was in jail for 28
years and wrongfully sentenced to death before being released in 2012.
Olatushani also spoke at the event.
This exhibit is particularly close to home in California, which has more than
700 inmates on death row--the highest for any state in the country. The United
States currently has more than 3,000 people total on death row.
Admission is free and the event is schedule to run through November 18th.
(source: atvn.org)
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