Oct. 5
TEXAS:
Death-Row Inmate Gets 1 Last Chance
A Texas inmate can argue that his death sentence is invalid because prosecutors
did not disclose their deal with a jailhouse snitch who testified that he had
confessed to murder, a federal judge ruled.
A Harris County jury convicted Chuong Duong Tong of capital murder in March
1998 and a judge sentenced him to death.
The jury found Tong guilty of killing Houston police Officer Tony Trinh, who
was off duty working at his parents' Houston convenience store on April 6,
1997, when Tong entered, pulled a Glock handgun and demanded Trinh's wallet and
jewelry.
"Tong attempted to open the cash register. Trinh then identified himself as a
police officer, showed Tong his badge, and told Tong that he 'was not going to
get away with this.' Tong shot Trinh once in the head at close range,"
according to U.S. District Judge Nancy Atlas' summary in her Sept. 30 order.
Tong stole Trinh's jewelry and fled to a waiting car.
Police arrested Tong, then 21, several months later and he was charged with
capital murder. He claimed in a statement he gave police that he accidentally
shot Trinh while jumping over the store counter.
He said he took apart the gun after fleeing from the store and showed police
the storm drains where he dumped threw the parts.
"While in a jail holding tank, Tong told a fellow inmate, Stephen Mayeros, why
he was in jail," Atlas' 78-page ruling states. "Mayeros asked Tong how close he
was when he shot Trinh, and Tong responded by touching his finger to Mayeros's
forehead and saying 'bang.' When Mayeros asked Tong if he felt bad about
killing Trinh, Tong replied that he felt terrible and cried himself to sleep,
and then laughed."
Several Houston police officers were clients of Mayeros' home-cleaning business
when he was arrested for driving without a license and placed in the cell with
Tong.
Mayeros testified that after Tong confessed to him, he mentioned the
conversation to one of his police clients, who put him in touch with a
detective in the Houston Police Department's homicide division.
Mayeros' charges were dropped 10 days after he gave a statement to police.
Tong asked prosecutors for information about any deals they made with witnesses
before trial, but they did not disclose their agreement with Mayeros.
"Tong now contends that Mayeros admitted to Tong's prior habeas counsel, John
McFarland, that he got a deal for testifying against Tong," Atlas' order
states.
Prosecutors must disclose evidence favorable to the defense under the Supreme
Court's 1963 ruling in Brady v. Maryland.
Finding that Tong's Brady claims should be vetted at a hearing, Judge Atlas
ordered his defense and Texas prosecutors to submit a joint report proposing a
discovery, briefing and hearing schedule by Oct. 31.
Though Tong raised 16 categories of habeas claims, Atlas approved only his
Brady claims. She dismissed all his other claims with prejudice.
"We're happy that we're getting a hearing," Tong's attorney Jonathan Landers
said in an interview, noting how rarely prisoners win relief in habeas cases.
"We're disappointed that our other claims weren't granted," he said.
Landers mentioned another Harris County case involving Linda Carty, the only
United Kingdom citizen on death row in the United States, and an unusual
post-conviction hearing she got in July after the Texas Court of Criminal
Appeals told a state judge to consider allegations of prosecutorial misconduct
made in witness affidavits.
Harris County Judge David Garner ruled on Sept. 1 that prosecutors did withhold
evidence from Carty, but that that was not enough to prejudice the jury.
"The State was operating under a misunderstanding of Brady at the time of the
Carty trial. ... The Harris County District Attorney's Office did not believe
that impeachment or exculpatory evidence needed to be disclosed if the
prosecutor did not find the testimony credible," Garner wrote.
Garner's order says prosecutors did not tell Carty's counsel that they had
agreed a witness could avoid prison if Carty received the death penalty.
A jury convicted Carty of capital murder for the death of Joanna Rodriguez,
after prosecutors persuaded them Carty suffocated Rodriguez so she could steal
her newborn son.
A judge sentenced Carty to death in February 2002, four years after Tong
received his death sentence.
Landers said Carty's case illustrates a pattern of obstruction at the District
Attorney's Office.
"Harris County during this time period was having some problems at the DA's
office of not notifying attorneys about deals they made with clients," the
attorney said.
In capital murder cases, Texas district attorneys' offices represent the state
in state post-conviction appeals; the Texas Attorney General's Office handles
federal habeas appeals.
Harris County Assistant District Attorney Lori DeAngelo is assigned to Tong's
state case. She said Tong's death sentence should stand even if Judge Atlas
decides to suppress Mayeros' testimony.
"There is more than enough evidence to uphold Tong's conviction, even without
Mayeros' testimony," DeAngelos said in an email. "If a hearing is actually held
on the issues Judge Atlas set out in her order, I am confident that the
Attorney General's Office will do an excellent job handling the hearing and
will ultimately prevail."
(source: Courthouse News)
GEORGIA----new (and impending) execution date
Execution warrant signed for Atlanta cop killer
A warrant was signed Wednesday setting the execution of cop killer Gregory
Lawler for any time during the 7 days starting with Oct. 19.
Lawler was sentenced to die for murdering Atlanta police officer John Sowa and
critically wounding his partner, Patricia Cocciolone, on Oct. 12, 1997, moments
after the 2 officers had brought home Lawler's intoxicated girlfriend.
(source: Atlanta Journal Constitution)
USA:
Prosecutors could seek the death penalty in child's slaying on Parkway
A federal grand jury in Asheville has returned a criminal indictment against
Seth Pickering, charging him with 1 count of 1st-degree murder in the death of
his daughter, Lila Pickering.
The indictment includes a Notice of Special Sentencing Factors which could
permit the United States to seek the death penalty, U.S. Attorney Jill
Westmoreland Rose announced today. The Department of Justice has not yet
announced whether it will seek the death penalty.
Seth Pickering, 36, of Leicester, was arrested on state charges on Sept. 9 for
Lila's murder. On Sept. 13, a criminal complaint was filed by the U.S.
Attorney's Office, bringing federal charges against Pickering.
The criminal bill of indictment alleges that on Sept. 9, Pickering did
unlawfully kill a human being within the boundaries of the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Lila was not yet 18 years old and was under his care and control.
The indictment further alleges that Pickering killed Lila willfully,
deliberately, maliciously and with premeditation, and in the perpetration of
child abuse, that being knowingly and intentionally causing death and bodily
injury to a child.
Pickering is currently in federal custody and is scheduled to appear in federal
court today.
The penalty for 1st-degree murder is life in prison or death.
(source: blueridgenow.com)
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