Oct. 26




NEW YORK:

Cornell Launches Center to Help Defeat Death Penalty Worldwide


A new center at Cornell Law School aims to help eliminate the death penalty across the globe through research and lawyer training.

The school on Tuesday announced the launch of the Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide - an initiative made possible by a $3.2 million grant from the Atlantic Philanthropies, the private foundation of university alum Chuck Feeney, founder of the Duty Free Shoppers Group.

The center, led by Cornell professor Sandra Babcock, aspires to help end capital punishment internationally by highlighting the flaws in the application of the death penalty worldwide, and by strengthening the training of defense lawyers who handle such cases. Administrators say it's the 1st center of its kind in the United States. A handful of schools have domestic-focused death penalty centers or death penalty clinics, including the University of Texas School of Law; Yale Law School; Harvard Law School; and the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. The new center will elevate the international death penalty research Cornell Law faculty started in 2011.

"I think this is the right moment for a center like this to explicitly focus on the convergence of national and international [death penalty abolition] movements and fill in the gaps in the research that's being down around the world," Babcock said.

The centerpiece of the initiative is a summer institute for capital defense lawyers around the world to convene and share notes on effective defense strategies. The first institute will convene death penalty defense lawyers from sub-Saharan Africa, where the judicial system is plagued by a lack of resources, Babcock said. Future conferences will focus on other regions. "The resources available to lawyers around the world who are working on these issues is really nonexistent," she said.

The center also will conduct research on the death penalty and maintain a free online database on capital punishment law and practices around the world. Among the items on the center's research agenda are how discrimination impacts Latinos facing the death penalty in the United States, and the gathering of information on the death penalty and vulnerable groups, such as women and people with metal illnesses or intellectual disabilities.

The center will house law school clinics focused on the international death penalty and human rights.

"Capital punishment has emerged as one of the most important human rights issues in the 21st century, and I am pleased that the Atlantic Philanthropies has recognized Cornell Law School's leading role, globally, in this debate," said law Dean Eduardo Penalver.

Feeney, 85, graduated from Cornell University in 1956, and co-founded the Duty Free Shoppers Group - the airport-based purveyor of perfume, booze and candy - 4 years later. He transferred his nearly 39 % ownership in the company to the Atlantic Philanthropies in 1984, which is focused on funding health and social programs around the world. Feeney, though the foundation, had donated about $100 million to Cornell University.

(source: New York Law Journal)






FLORIDA:

Death sentences in 2 infamous Keys crimes could be reviewed


Death sentences for 2 men convicted of horrific murders in the Florida Keys could be among cases reviewed after recent rulings by the Florida Supreme Court and U.S. Supreme Court.

Of the 386 inmates on Florida's death row, Thomas Overton, 60, and Michael Tanzi, 39, are the only inmates sentenced to death by courts in Monroe County.

The Florida Supreme Court basically ruled Oct. 14 that death sentences imposed with less than a unanimous vote by a jury are unconstitutional.

"That may reopen hundreds of cases," Monroe County State Attorney Catherine Vogel said Friday. "I'd venture to say that most death-penalty cases were not a unanimous decision."

Overton was convicted in 1999 of the infamous August 1991 murders of Susan "Missy" MacIvor, husband Michael MacIvor and their unborn child at their Tavernier home. Missy MacIvor, a popular teacher, was 8 months pregnant when she was sexually assaulted and killed during a burglary.

Tanzi admitted kidnapping Miami Herald supervisor Janet Acosta from a Miami park in April 2000 to steal her van and later strangling her in the Lower Keys. He was arrested in Key West 2 days later and eventually pleaded guilty to 1st-degree murder, kidnapping and armed robbery.

A jury in a 2003 sentencing hearing voted 12-0 to sentence Tanzi to death.

"Since that was 12-0, it seems unlikely the Florida Supreme Court decision would have any effect on Tanzi," Vogel said.

Overton's jury, however, was not unanimous on its death sentences. Jurors voted 9-3 for death for killing Missy MacIvor and 8-4 for killing Michael MacIvor. Overton strangled both victims.

"The death penalty actually is very rarely imposed. It's kept for the most heinous of crimes," Vogel said. "All murders are awful, but strangling is a cruel method of killing."

"We've been through all kinds of appeals and litigation on Overton so we're hoping the court decision does not have any effect retroactively on that sentence," the state attorney said. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

State Attorney General Pam Bondi's office is working to clarify which cases the Oct. 14 ruling will affect.

Lloyd Chase Allen, convicted of murdering Lower Keys winter resident Dortha Gibbs at her Summerland Key home in November 1991, died in July 2015 while awaiting execution on death row.

(source: flkeysnews.com)






ALABAMA:

Woman sentenced to death now asking for acquittal


22-year-old Saraya Atkins is on trial for the murder of Robert Perry.

Saraya Atkins' attorneys are asking for an acquittal following the jury's recommendation of the death penalty last month.

Atkins was convicted of murder in the death of Robert Perry, a man Atkins and another woman, Kymberli Lindsey, robbed and shot.

Atkins' attorneys argue that the state did not prove intent, saying Perry and Atkins had a struggle for the gun when it went off and that Atkins did not intend to kill Perry.

The motion was filed on Monday. Atkins would be the 6th woman in Alabama on death row.

(source: WKRG news)






OHIO:

Prosecutors seek death penalty over child's killing


Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against a Fort Recovery man charged in the killing of a 4-year-old child.

Cory W. Eischen, 39, is scheduled to make his 1st appearance in court today on the charges of aggravated murder, 2 counts of murder, involuntary manslaughter, 2 counts of felonious assault, 2 counts of endangering children and domestic violence. All charges are felonies.

The murder and manslaughter charges are a lesser option for a jury to consider at trial if jurors find the crime did not meet the elements of aggravated murder. None of the charges hinder prosecutors from seeking and obtaining the death penalty.

Eischen is charged in the Sept. 25 death of Jaxxen Baker inside a home at 5098 Rauh Road outside of Fort Recovery. Deputies were called to the home after a woman picked up another child and saw Baker unresponsive. Eischen was babysitting Baker while the child's mother was at work.

(source: limaohio.com)






OKLAHOMA:

Police: Oklahoma Double Murder Suspect Has Hit List, May Be Headed to Nevada


A 38-year-old Oklahoma man who has evaded police for 2 days after killing 2 people and shooting 4 others -- including 2 police officers -- has a hit list and may intend to kill up to eight more people, authorities said Tuesday.

"This is a man who has indicated a total propensity to kill people, to injure people, shoot people," said Oklahoma County Sheriff John Whetsel. "He has no care for human life whatsoever."

Authorities believe Vance may be headed to Nevada and have notified police there to be on the lookout.

Oklahoma County Sheriff John Whetsel told ABC News that the suspect, Michael Vance, could face the death penalty if convicted of the crimes. Whetsel is warning citizens to stay clear if they spot Vance, adding that he has "absolutely nothing to lose."

Vance's rampage began Sunday evening, when he allegedly shot 2 police officers responding to the scene at a mobile home park over reports of shots fired in the area. The 2 officers sustained non-life-threatening injuries, officials say, and were temporarily disabled as Vance fled the scene in their patrol car. One officer was shot in the foot and another was hit by gunfire in both legs.

Investigators believe Vance live-streamed 2 videos while on the run, one from inside the police cruiser and another while inside another vehicle. In one of the videos, Vance appears in a blood-covered shirt and says he's been shot before showing a rifle on the seat next to him.

"Letting y'all know, look, this is real," he says in the video, according to the Associated Press. "If you want to know what's up next, stay tuned to your local news." Vance said things were "going to be intense," according to an affidavit released on Monday night.

He then proceeded to a mobile home park, where police discovered the bodies of 2 of his relatives. Officials identified those victims as 55-year-old Ronald Everett Wilkson and 54-year-old Valerie Kay Wilkson, his wife.

The affidavit describes wounds consistent with attempts to sever one victim's head and the other's arm.

Vance then allegedly "shot at and injured" a woman as he was in the process of stealing her silver 2007 Mitsubishi Eclipse.

Vance is also suspected of shooting a man during an attempted carjacking early Monday.

Vance was last known to be driving a 2007 Mitsubishi Eclipse and was armed with an AK-47. He is considered to be armed and extremely dangerous, authorities say.

Sheriff Whetsel instructed any potential witnesses not to approach Vance but to call 911 and let the police handle the situation.

(source: ABC news)


NEBRASKA:

Criticism prompts Nebraska official to pull death penalty ad


Nebraska Secretary of State John Gale is pulling a set of public service announcements off the air amid criticism that they could mislead voters about a death penalty ballot measure.

Gale said Wednesday that the 30- and 60-second radio spots were intended to ensure voters understand the potentially confusing ballot language. Voting "repeal" in the election is a show of support for the punishment, while voting "retain" is a declaration that the death penalty should not be reinstated.

The death penalty opposition group Retain a Just Nebraska argued that radio ads failed to mention that the state will still have life imprisonment if the death penalty stays repealed.

Gale says he pulled the ad so the debate will remain focused on "substantive issues."

(source: Associated Press)






CALIFORNIA:

The Death Penalty on Trial: a Meditation


In just shy of 2 weeks Americans will be going to the polls. What is at the front of everyone's mind is the presidential election. Totally reasonable. But, there are other issues going to be decided. Among them in California there are 2 propositions being put to the electorate, 1 to streamline the process toward execution of someone convicted of a capital crime. And the other to ban the death penalty and to replace it with imprisonment for life without the possibility of parole.

This is an issue of considerable concern to me, as a citizen, as a human being. And, I hope whatever your view of the subject you'll give this reflection on the subject some consideration.

Thank you.

A quarter of a century ago one of my 1st public actions as a newly minted Unitarian Universalist minister serving a church outside of Milwaukee, was to go on a local television show and debate the merits of the death penalty with a local state legislator. I didn't precisely make a fool of myself. But, let's just say I had a lot to learn about public witness, starting with losing the bow tie that made me look like a pointy headed intellectual, which whether I was or wasn't, did nothing to enhance my position.

The issues around the death penalty have held my attention and heart from a long time before that televised debate. And, while my thinking has, as they say in political circles, evolved since then, they continue to smolder within me. When I left that first ministerial settlement we moved to Arizona, where the death penalty is very much a fact on the ground. For the 5 years I was there I participate in various demonstrations against it, but as a practical political matter, it was sufficiently popular that all I could offer was counter witness.
From there Jan and I spent the balance of our working lives in New England
where the death penalty is largely a matter of history (the exception being federal prosecutions), and generally thought to be something associated with the Middle Ages.

Today the death penalty is on the ballot here in California. (I'll forgo the opportunity to rant about my feelings regarding the initiative system in this state, originally intended as a democratic reform but which has largely fallen into the hands of any special pleader with a couple of million dollars to spend..) Actually there are 2 propositions, one to abolish it, and another to streamline the process to get people to the executioner with fewer routes to challenge along the way to the needle.

So, we are in fact at a moment where a vote can decide whether we end this practice in the largest state in the union. And, so, for those who are not settled on the question, I want to share some statistics and then some arguments as to why I hope you'll vote to end the death penalty.

First, a handful of statistics. I promise not to be over long here. Unfortunately, there are some memes out there that list a tiny number of countries, usually China, Iran, North Korea, and the United States as the only countries with the death penalty. Actually, this is not true.

Here are the real numbers. 195 countries belong to the United Nations or have observer status. Of these some 56 fully retain the death penalty. 6 retain it but only under extremely rare circumstances, such as war crimes. Another 31 keep it on the books, but according to Amnesty International have not actually executed anyone in at least a decade and have set up mechanisms that make it functionally impossible. And the majority of countries, 102 have completely abolished it.

But there are other calculations to consider. I find these numbers even more important. According to Amnesty International in the year 2015 there were 1,630 legally sanctioned executions, which took place in 25 countries. Now, China actually hides its numbers, so this figure is in fact higher, how much higher is an unknown. The same is true of North Korea.

19 of these countries that can be tracked are in Asia, 5 in Africa, and, well, us. This statistic for 2015 is troubling, as I see it, in how it doubles the number from the previous year, and is the highest number recorded in a quarter of a century. The vast majority of these recorded executions come from Iran, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia - a full 90 % of the total. Which is probably the source of the false meme. We, as Americans, accounted for 25 of those executions. By world terms, not the worst.

But, I feel, and strongly, we should not be anywhere on that list. What follows is my why. I offer a cluster of reasons, some "stronger" and others "weaker," but all of them driving me relentlessly toward the view that the death penalty has no place in our culture.

One of my oldest views was that we don't want to trust the state with decisions about taking the life of its citizens. For me that is more visceral, and I don't think it in fact stands up all that closely to a real world situation, unless one is a libertarian or anarchist. And I am neither. I think the state needs to make some hard decisions. And, frankly, when I was involved in death penalty issues in Arizona, every single one of the people up for the death penalty were convicted of crimes that if they did them were execrable - acts so horrendous that if anything can push someone beyond the bounds of a person and deserving of being put to death, well, these were text book examples. In the interest of letting you sleep at night I will not detail some of the acts, which, just the words, just the words are etched into my memory with other nightmares. When talking about the death penalty in this country (not everywhere, not by a long shot) we are talking about horrendous crimes. That cannot be ignored.

And one can make a very good argument that the state acting in the best interests of the people at large should be able to execute some people. But. Way back when I was in that televised debate in Wisconsin my opponent declared that with the protections in place today, no innocent person is ever executed. And, then, of course, the Innocence Project started using DNA to examine standing convictions.

In 1989 they won the 1st DNA exoneration. Since then 347 people convicted of murder have been exonerated. These are all people who had been convicted through eyewitness accounts, forensic analysis, confessions, and informants. Seventy percent of those false convictions were based on those eyewitness accounts. It turns out we have no idea how many innocent people have been convicted and executed. What we can be near certain is that innocent people have been and we have no reason not to believe are being executed.

The response to this is to have complex and multiply redundant appeals processes to any conviction. In the year 2010 it took approximately 15 years for someone convicted of a crime to be executed. (Apparently with a result that nearly 1/4 of deaths for those on death row are in fact from natural causes.) One of the 2 propositions on the ballot in California is to restrict the appeals process and require that it all come together within 5 years from conviction. For me, an astonishing response, to an attempt to prevent the worst miscarriage of justice that a state can inflict.

If this were it, I think that sufficient reason to end the death penalty. The problems, however, extend beyond that one issue. In practice race and poverty are major factors in convictions. If you are white and well to do, your chances of being executed are vastly less likely than if you are black and poor. Related to that in our adversarial criminal process it really is like that cartoon where the lawyer says to the client, "You have a great case. How much justice can you afford?"

Also, there is absolutely no evidence to support the contention that the death penalty is any kind of deterrent. In fact in this country states that do not have the death penalty have lower murder rates than those that do.

When we talk about "closure," whatever its merits, having the necessary steps to minimize wrongful convictions necessitates putting off that closure for years, when a simple conviction and the sentence of life without parole not only brings an end to the process, it brings whatever satisfaction can be had for the victims and their loved ones that that person can no longer be a threat.

While there is a disturbing uptick in the number of executions world wide, it appears anomolous against the trend in the world to walk away from this practice, where the majority of countries have outlawed it entirely, and where today fewer than 6 countries account for nearly all executions. It is, to put it frankly, a barbaric practice that cannot be equitably prosecuted, the poor and minorities will always be executed more than those with resources and connections, and that inevitably includes the innocent.

I suspect each of us will consider different points the strong arguments and the weak. But, for me, and I hope for you, the inescapable conclusion is that we need to end the death penalty.

The death penalty is a moral outrage.

So, a strong appeal. If you are a Californian:

Please vote yes on proposition 62, which repeals the death penalty, and replaces the maximum penalty with imprisonment for life without the possibility of parole.

And, please vote no on proposition 66, which sharply curtails the process by which a person convicted can appeal that conviction.

Again, thank you.

(source: James Ford, patheos.com)

*******************

Why Are Prison Guards Backing the Death Penalty?


Of the 17 propositions on this year's California ballot, few are as divisive as the issue of capital punishment. There are actually 2 separate initiatives targeting the death penalty: Proposition 62, which would abolish the death penalty and replace it with prison without the possibility of parole; and Proposition 66, which would speed up the process to send condemned murderers to the death chamber.

According to campaign finance disclosures compiled by the California Fair Political Practices Commission, much of the pro-death penalty campaign funding is coming directly from police and prison guard unions. The California Correctional Peace Officers Association (CCPOA) alone spent $498,304 on Prop. 62, while the Peace Officers Research Association of California spent $455,000 and the California Association of Highway Patrolmen ponied up $250,000 to keep capital punishment.

One recent advertisement, paid for by California's largest prison guard union, opens with grainy surveillance footage. It shows a terrified young woman squaring off with an attacker. As the woman struggles, a voice-over narrates: "Charles Ng raped, tortured, and killed women. Murdered their babies. Killed their husbands..." Another ad bankrolled by CCPOA features a few members of law enforcement explaining their support of the death penalty - and why voters should support it, too.

"I've seen what the worst among us can do," says Sergeant Dan Cabral of the California Deputy Sheriffs" Association in one video. "Killings so brutal, families never recover. That's why we have the death penalty."

In 2012, another ballot initiative, Proposition 34, also sought (but failed) to eliminate the death penalty. At that time, however, law enforcement unions donated a tiny fraction of what they have spent on the 2016 ballot. It begs the question: Why are law enforcement officers so intent on keeping the death penalty?

The official arguments provided by California law enforcement groups supporting capital punishment claim that the death penalty provides closure to victims' families, saves taxpayers millions of dollars and that repealing it would jeopardize public safety. Essentially, union officials say the death penalty process in California is broken, but they want legislators to fix it.

Brian Moriguchi, a lieutenant with the L.A. County Sheriff's Department and the president of the Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officers Association, which represents 8,800 members of law enforcement, says the death penalty should be reserved for the "worst of the worst."

"Most police officers, by a very large margin, support the death penalty," he says. "We've been to those calls where somebody has raped and mutilated a child, and we've seen the type of people that do that. They are a threat to the safety of others as long as they are alive. Even locked down in prison, [they are] still a threat."

Lt. Moriguchi says there is increased support for the death penalty this year, as opposed to 2012, because of an increase in violence targeted against police officers, not just in California, but around the country. (According to FBI data released in October, 41 officers were killed in the line of duty in 2015. Already in 2016, 46 officers have been killed.)

Is support for the death penalty a reaction to increased scrutiny over police and prison officials?

"What has changed since 2012 is that there is a greater attack on police officers today, where people want to kill police officers," Lt. Moriguchi says. "We're passionate about that this year particularly because we see the assaults on police officers increasing. We want to see justice for those police officers, and we want to see those people on death row."

(The other top 3 unions behind the campaign did not return requests for comment.)

Some outside of law enforcement, however, believe the motivations to support the death penalty are far more political than practical.

Bill Zimmerman, a longtime California political campaign manager, says the current wave of law enforcement support for the death penalty is a reaction to increased scrutiny over police and prison officials. The unions, he says, are "feeling threatened by this climate of police reform. They see this as a battle in a long war, and it's a battle they don't want to lose. If they can win this battle, they see it as something that gives them more clout, or at least the perception that they're a powerful political force when it comes to legislative matters."

Zimmerman believes financial support for the death penalty is a reaction to movements like Black Lives Matter, which some police officials say undermine respect for law enforcement.

"Their support for the death penalty fits into a larger context of criminal justice reform going on in California," Zimmerman says. "The events in Ferguson, Missouri led to a new wave of public demands for reform - of criminal justice and police behavior. We've seen an enormous increase in the fundraising capability of law enforcement [unions]. Organizations that used to give $5,000 to $10,000, in this death penalty fight in 2016 are giving $50,000 or $100,000."

Both sides agree that the death penalty system is outrageously expensive, costing some $150 million per year for the state because of extra litigation costs and a lengthy appeals process. The entire death penalty system is said to have cost taxpayers $5 billion since 1978. However, rather than just get rid of it, law enforcement groups say the death penalty process should be reformed.

"Death row inmates have murdered over 1,000 victims, including 226 children and 43 police officers; 294 victims were raped and/or tortured," the campaign explains. "It's time California reformed our death penalty process so it works."

Prison guard unions particularly support the death penalty, largely because their leaders say that convicted murderers would have nothing to fear (and might target prison guards) if the death penalty were not on the table. "Without the death penalty, what's to stop the killer who's serving life without parole, from killing inside the prison? asks CCPOA president Chuck Alexander in the latest advertisement. "It's our last defense." Cherry believes police and prison guard unions feel they're under pressure.

"There is a certain sense amongst police that times are changing, that there's more criticism of police actions and the union leaders are hunkering down and rallying around the traditional causes that they have supported," Cherry says.

He adds, "I don't think that's universal, though. You see a lot of smart police chiefs who don't take that opinion."

He's right - not all police chiefs support the death penalty. A 2009 report from the Death Penalty Information Center, a nonprofit research group, polled police chiefs around the country about all the different methods that could be used to reduce crime. Their findings: The use of capital punishment ranked dead last, according to the police chiefs.

So what???s the disconnect? Why do union leaders and police officials continue to support the death penalty if many, at least in the privacy of an anonymous poll, agree it's ineffective and too expensive? According to Dr. George Kain, a current police commissioner in Ridgefield, Connecticut, it's because police unions have an "arm-in-arm" mentality.

"It's so polarized," says Kain, who began his career as a probation officer. "You can't be on the fence with this if you're a cop. The political climate now is forcing people to one side or the other. It's easier to get pushed towards support of the bully mentality: 'We're gonna execute more people, and we're gonna execute them more quickly.'"

In California, that sort of mentality could have extreme consequences. Right now, there are 741 inmates on death row - more than any other state. However, California has only carried out 13 executions since it reinstated the death penalty in 1978. (Its most recent execution was in 2006.)

As of mid-October, opponents of Prop. 62 (which would keep the death penalty legal) have raised about $4.3 million, compared to $8.9 million raised by groups that want to abolish the death penalty. Supporters of Prop. 66 (which would speed up the death penalty process) have raised $4.9 million, compared to the $10 million collected by its opponents. Put simply, groups supporting the death penalty are being outspent by about 2-to-1 by groups that oppose it.

However, the most recent polls are showing a tight race; there is a slight lead for proponents of abolishing the death penalty, but only by a slim margin. Nationally, support for the death penalty is waning. A September 2016 Pew Research poll found that support is currently the lowest in more than 4 decades.

Regardless of national sentiment, law enforcement leaders within California, such as Sacramento Sheriff Scott Jones, are hoping voters will keep (and reform) capital punishment on November 8. "The public and law enforcement recognize that [capital punishment] makes our communities safer by acting as a deterrent and ensures that the most violent criminals will never be released into our communities again," Jones, the president of California Peace Officers' Association, wrote in a recent letter.

But they are facing an increasing amount of opposition, not just from wealthy anti-death penalty advocates - but from crime victims as well.

One of them is Dionne Wilson. Wilson's husband, Dan Niemi, was a police officer in San Leandro, California who was shot and killed in the line of duty in 2005. Irving Ramirez, 23, was charged and convicted of Niemi's murder.

At the time of his sentencing, Wilson says, she "begged" the judge for a death penalty sentence. On August 3, 2007, Wilson got her wish. (Ramirez remains alive and on death row.)

But as the years went on, Wilson's opinion began to change about the death penalty. She no longer supports it - in fact, she's on a crusade to get the death penalty repealed. Instead of executions, Wilson wants to see legislators use that $150 million go towards victim services, programs to treat mental illness and drug addiction, education and afterschool programs, and other crime reduction initiatives.

"I understand that type of vengeance-based reaction," she says. "Trust me, I get it. But there seems to be a lack of analysis in that position."

She adds, "Our criminal justice dollars are misused in this way. It's frustrating to me. It's just 'cop killers deserve to die.' Well, okay, but is there a better way to hold people accountable than propping up a system that has wasted $5 billion for the past 30 years? I can certainly think of better ways to invest that money."

(source: capitalandmain.com)

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