Sept. 12
TEXAS:
Condemned Killer in San Antonio Robbery Loses Death Penalty Appeal
A federal appeals court has rejected an appeal from a 35-year-old man on Texas
death row for the fatal shooting of a man during a robbery of a San Antonio ice
house more than 16 years ago.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has turned down arguments that Obie
Weathers is mentally impaired and shouldn't be put to death. The U.S. Supreme
Court has ruled that mentally impaired people may not be executed.
Weathers was 19 in February 2000 when court records show he shot 63-year-old
Ted Church twice in the head and once in the abdomen as Church tried to break
up the robbery at the bar on San Antonio's east side. Church was a customer.
Weathers fled with about $200.
He doesn't yet have an execution date.
(source: Associated Press)
PENNSYLVANIA:
In death-penalty case, prosecutors complain of judge's closed-door meeting with
defense
Their client facing the death penalty, Jeffrey S. Knoble Jr.'s lawyers were
able to persuade a judge to allow them to withdraw from his murder case, citing
a complete breakdown in their relationship with a defendant who has had
repeated outbursts in court.
But the reasons behind Northampton County Judge Emil Giordano's decision this
month has sparked a courtroom fight that pits two long-held principles of legal
fairness against each other.
That's because when Chief Public Defender Robert Eyer detailed the reasons he
could no longer represent Knoble on charges he killed a man inside a downtown
Easton hotel room, Eyer did so during a closed-door meeting in which
prosecutors were excluded.
The law frowns upon such ex-parte communications, in which one side speaks with
a judge without the other side present, fearing that they are on their face
unfair.
But in holding that discussion with Eyer on Sept. 2, Giordano was seeking to
protect another ethical precept: attorney-client privilege, which shields the
confidentiality of communications between lawyers and those they represent.
Eyer claimed he would be violating those ethical duties if he disclosed to
prosecutors why he needed to withdraw from the case. Over the objection of
First Deputy District Attorney Terence Houck, Giordano held the closed-door
meeting as a result, the transcript of which he ordered sealed.
On Monday, that produced a hearing in which District Attorney John Morganelli
argued prosecutors had the right to know why Knoble's lawyers were relieved,
saying he fears the defendant is playing games with the court and seeking to
have his case unnecessarily delayed.
Morganelli went through Knoble's history of disruptiveness in court - including
repeated attempts to fire his lawyers - and said there is no reason to believe
Knoble won't continue those tactics with his new attorneys.
"We have to know what's happened to old counsel, so we can know what's going to
happen with new counsel," Morganelli said.
If not, he said, "we're arguing against a ghost, because we don't even know
what we're arguing against."
Knoble is charged in the early March 11, 2015, death of 32-year-old Andrew
"Beep" White, who was shot in the back of the head at the former Quality Inn on
South Third Street. Authorities call White a good Samaritan who rented a room
for Knoble that night because he had no place to stay, then was killed for his
kindness.
In February, Knoble called his public defenders "bums" and "corrupt." A week
later, he cursed at Giordano, telling him to "Go [expletive] yourself." In May,
Knoble insisted he is a sovereign man who isn't subject to the reach of the
justice system.
More recently, Knoble was in court last month for what was expected to be a
guilty plea in which he would admit murdering White and accept a sentence of
life without parole. But instead, the 26-year-old Riegelsville man asserted his
innocence, turned to White's family, stuck out his tongue and repeatedly said,
"Ha ha, ha ha" to them.
The reasons Eyer gave Giordano for withdrawing from the case were, apparently,
persuasive. Following the Sept. 2 meeting, Giordano reaffirmed that Knoble
would be granted new counsel and ordered his trial - scheduled to begin the
next week - to be delayed until January.
On Monday, a lawyer for Eyer, Philip Lauer, said that Giordano got it right the
first time. Eyer had a ethical requirement not to disclose confidential
communications with his client, and that must be respected, Lauer said.
"That's the basis on which he made the disclosure to you and I think that has
to be honored," Lauer told Giordano, who did not issue a ruling, saying he
wanted to do more research.
Knoble is now represented by Gavin Holihan and Matthew Deschler. Holihan, an
Allentown attorney, was found outside the county's usual crop of
court-appointed counsel, considering the paucity of lawyers who are qualified
to try death-penalty cases.
Holihan will be paid $75 an hour, the county's standard rate, up to $20,000,
said acting court administrator Jermaine Greene. Any fee beyond that would
require court approval, Greene said.
Holihan met his client for the 1st time before Monday's hearing. In court,
Holihan suggested a compromise in the dispute between prosecutors and Eyer's
former attorneys.
Holihan said Giordano should take up the prosecutors' request only if, as they
predict, Knoble and his new defense team clash, a proposal that Morganelli
suggested would be acceptable to him.
"If their fears come to pass, address them in the future," Holihan said.
(source: The Morning Call)
DELAWARE:
Former death row inmate sentenced to time served in murder case
A man who was released from prison last year after more than 2 decades on
Delaware's death row and was facing a retrial in a 1991 slaying has pleaded no
contest to 2nd-degree murder.
After entering the plea Monday, 43-year-old Jermaine Wright was sentenced to
time served.
Wright's plea comes 6 weeks after Delaware's Supreme Court declared the state's
death penalty law unconstitutional.
Wright was sentenced to death in 1992 for the killing of 66-year-old liquor
store clerk Phillip Seifert.
After reversing a judge's 2012 ruling overturning Wright's conviction and death
sentence, Delaware's Supreme Court itself overturned the conviction in 2014.
The Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that Wright's confession to police,
the linchpin of the prosecution's case, could be used at his retrial.
(source: Associated Press)
NORTH CAROLINA:
Dad charged with 6-year-old daughter's murder in Buncombe Co.
36-year-old Seth Willis Pickering is charged with 1st-degree murder and could
face the death penalty.
He is being held in the Buncombe Co. Detention Center and the judge will
appoint a public defender for him.
The victim is 6-year-old Lila Pickering.
Authorities say she is Pickering's daughter.
She was killed inside the park, which is why the FBI is investigating her
death.
The medical examiner says she died from a stab wound to the heart and lung.
The FBI says the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office responded to the report of a
missing person for Lila Pickering and while taking the report and preparing to
issue an AMBER Alert, they were notified by National Park Service of the
homicide on the Parkway.
Park Rangers at the scene found a car parked in a grassy area along the side of
the Parkway and found the victim as well as the suspect and make an arrest
immediately.
A spokeswoman with the FBI said a portion of the Parkway between Brevard and
Hendersonville roads was closed for several hours before reopening around 1
a.m. Saturday morning while investigators gathered evidence and processed the
scene near mile marker 393.
The FBI, National Parks Service and Buncombe County Sheriff's Office are
investigating the child's killing.
Due to the fact that the crime occurred on Federal property, the FBI is
reviewing the case with the Assistant US Attorney and they say the case may be
adopted for Federal prosecution.
Lila was a 1st grade student at Johnston Elementary School. Buncombe County
Schools Superintendent Dr. Tony Baldwin says, "While many questions have yet to
be answered, our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by the
heartbreaking loss of this wonderful little girl."
"We will have crisis support teams on hand Monday morning at Johnston
Elementary School to help students, teachers, and staff come to grips with this
senseless tragedy," added Baldwin, "They will remain for as long as they are
needed."
(source: WSPA news)
OHIO:
Man who pleaded guilty to woman's slaying asks to withdraw plea
The man who pleaded guilty to killing a 20-year-old woman in Norwood in 2013 to
avoid the death penalty changed his mind in a surprise development just before
his sentencing Monday.
Jaleel Markeith Smith-Riley, 23 faced life in prison after recently pleading
guilty in the Nov. 16, 2013 shooting death of Porshia Brooks, 20.
Norwood police say Smith-Riley and 2 other suspects shot Brooks and her
boyfriend Aron Martin, 21, while the 2 sat in a parked car on Carthage Avenue.
Brooks died, but Martin survived.
A 2nd suspect is already in jail in another state, and a 3rd is dead.
The victim's family and friends were confused and upset as it became clear
Monday that the sentencing was off and Smith-Riley left the courtroom.
Porshia Brooks' mother came to court holding an urn containing her daughter's
ashes.
The next court date is scheduled for Sept. 26.
At that time, Smith-Riley's defense attorney is expected to formally withdraw
his plea.
Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Charles Kubucki will have final say.
He warned Smith-Riley and his lawyer in court Monday that if the plea is
withdrawn and the case goes to trial, the death penalty is back on the table.
Smith-Riley responded that he understood.
(source: Fox News)
TENNESSEE:
Trial date set in Bull Market homicide
Urshawn Miller is scheduled for trial in November, almost a year after he was
charged with 1st-degree murder in perpetration of a felony in the death of
Ahmed Dhalai at Bull Market.
Miller, 27, appeared in court Monday morning for a plea agreement deadline
hearing, and his attorney said Miller does not plan to plead guilty.
"We've had discussions and there will not be a plea agreement made," attorney
Gregory Gookin said.
On Friday, prosecutors with the District Attorney's Office filed a motion
announcing their intent to seek the death penalty or life without parole if the
case goes to trial. Both Gookin and George Googe, with the Madison County
Public Defender's Office, said they had not received a copy of the motion
Monday morning.
"We knew it was probably coming that state would file a notice seeking the
death penalty or life without parole, but we have not received that notice,"
Gookin said in court.
The case is scheduled to go to trial Nov. 15, but Googe and Gookin said the
trial would likely be delayed.
"It takes a lot of time," Googe said.
Googe said he and Gookin would have to do complete background checks on Miller
before attempting to select a jury that had not made any opinions on the case
already.
"There is extensive work that needs to be done as far as mitigation. There is
extensive work that needs to be done as far as potential retaining of experts,"
Gookin said.
Gookin said he would likely ask for the trial to be reset after another hearing
that's scheduled for Oct. 17.
"We're asking for a considerable amount of time," Gookin said. "It takes a
minimum of six months to prepare this. The state is trying to seek the most
extreme penalty that they can, which we understand they're entitled to do."
Miller was indicted in May on charges of first-degree murder in perpetration of
a felony, attempted especially aggravated robbery, attempted 1st-degree murder,
aggravated assault, employing a firearm during the attempt to commit a
dangerous felony, convicted felon in possession of a firearm, resisting arrest,
and evading arrest.
(source: The Jackson Sun)
MISSOURI:
MO bills missed out on this session include death penalty, gender
discrimination
Most of the bills introduced in the Missouri Legislature this year didn't go as
far as supporters would have hoped.
Senate Bill 816 would have repealed the death penalty in Missouri. Senator Paul
Wieland (R-Imperial) presented his measure to the Senate General Laws and
Pensions Committee on January 19:
Meanwhile, Senate Bill 653 would have banned gender discrimination in the
Show-Me State. The measure was heard in the Senate Progress and Development
Committee, on which Sen. Jill Schupp (D-Creve Coeur) serves, on January 27:
Both bills made it out of committee, but were not heard on the Senate floor.
(source: ozarkradionews.com)
CALIFORNIA:
Californians Weigh Competing Death-Penalty Measures
This November, Californians will decide between 2 competing ballot measures
that will determine the future of capital punishment in the state.
Proposition 62 would abolish the death penalty in California while the other -
Proposition 66 - would strengthen it. But even though the 2 sides in the
capital punishment debate seek very different outcomes, almost everyone agrees
that the state's current system is broken.
Former NFL player Kermit Alexander is following the issue closely. His mother,
sister and 2 nephews were brutally murdered in Los Angeles in 1984 - victims of
mistaken identity in a gang home invasion. Alexander and his wife, Tami, say
they are still waiting for justice.
With 750 people on California's death row, their executions stalled by the
courts, nearly everyone agrees that California's system of capital punishment
has been broken since 1978, when the state reinstated the death penalty after a
6-year hiatus imposed by the state's Supreme Court. There have been no
executions since 2006, when a judge ruled that California's method of lethal
injection could constitute "cruel and unusual punishment," and thus would
violate both the U.S. and California constitutions.
Costly delays and appeals
In the past 3 decades, "California taxpayers have spent $5 billion [on death
row inmates]," said law professor Paula Mitchell of Loyola Law School.
"The state has executed 13 people. Roughly 100 have died [of natural causes] on
death row before their appeals were finished or before the state could execute
them," she added.
Those costs were driven up by time-consuming appeals by opponents of the death
penalty, said Mike Hestrin, the district attorney in Riverside County, east of
Los Angeles. "They have managed to create a system where there's so much delay,
so much built-in delay, where someone who gets a death-penalty verdict can
expect to wait sometimes 6 to 7 years before they ever get a lawyer assigned to
them."
Proposition 66, which Hestrin supports, aims to fix that.
Biased, flawed system?
Death-penalty opponents say capital punishment is disproportionately applied to
African-Americans and Hispanics.
"It's very clear to me that the death system in our country is racist in
application," said actor and activist Mike Farrell, who has worked to end the
death penalty for three decades. "It's only used against the poor or the poorly
defended," he said. "It entraps and kills the innocent. There is simply, in my
view, no justice and no justification for it."
Professor Paula Mitchell, who oversees Project for the Innocent at Loyola's law
school, says more than 150 prisoners condemned to death around the country were
exonerated and saved from execution.
Supporters of capital punishment say legal systems vary by state, and they
point out exonerations are rare or non-existent in California. Opponents say
those mistakenly convicted can be released from prison, but those wrongfully
executed cannot be brought back.
Nearly 200 of California's death-row inmates murdered children, including the
man convicted of killing Kermit Alexander's nephews, who were 8 and 13 when
they died. "It is only about justice," said Tami Alexander. Kermit Alexander
often finds the memories too wrenching to speak of.
Capital punishment is rarely applied, says Riverside District Attorney Hestrin,
but he believes that it is warranted in the most heinous cases.
"I think it is a tool that we prosecutors need, and that the justice system
needs, in order to appropriately punish people that commit outrageous and
heinous crimes. And it's also a way for society to express their justified
outrage at what's happened," he said.
People on all sides admit that answers are not easy. Hestrin notes that the
leaders of his Roman Catholic faith oppose the death penalty, but like many
American Catholics, he supports it.
States, countries banning executions
Mitchell says one U.S. state after another has abandoned the death penalty.
Currently, 20 states and the District of Columbia have rejected the practice.
According to Amnesty International, 140 countries have banned the death
penalty. Critics say the United States is rare among democratic nations in
keeping capital punishment. "I think it corrupts us," says activist Farrell. "I
think it corrupts the society. And I think it demeans us as people."
But supporters say it is needed, "to say that we are a society that values
life, and if you take it, expect to pay for it," said Tami Alexander.
(source: voanews.com)
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