Jan. 31
NEW HAMPSHIRE:
Bill Would Expand N.H.'s Death Penalty, Adding Murder of Minor to Eligible
Offenses
State lawmakers will consider a bill this year that would make anyone convicted
of killing a minor eligible for the death penalty.
New Hampshire is the only state in New England with capital punishment still on
the books, though the state hasn't put anyone to death since 1939.
Republican State Representative Werner Horn of Franklin is the prime sponsor of
a bill that seeks to expand the state's death penalty law by including the
murder of anyone under the age of 18 as an eligible offense.
NHPR reached out to Gov. Chris Sununu for his position on the legislation. A
spokesman said, "The governor generally supports the death penalty, but will
obviously need to see the final language specific fo this bill."
Rep. Horn to NHPR's Morning Edition about his proposal.
The state already has a narrow list of capital murder offenses that are
eligible for the death penalty, including the killing of a police officer and
murder committed for hire, among other offenses.
Why add the murder of a minor to that list?
As I was completing my 1st term as a state rep, there were a number of stories
in the news about children, toddlers in this instance, having been killed by
people that weren't related to them. And a huge sense of injustice reared up.
If they're going to demonstrate such a terrible lack of regard for human life,
then they should be repaid in kind.
When you are talking about persons 18 and under, there are going to be some
questions about fetal homicide.
My law strictly defines the victims as persons under the age of 18. This has
nothing to do with fetal homicide. Fetal homicide is a separate bill coming
through the House and should receive its own consideration separate from this
bill.
Why do you support the death penalty in general?
Taking of a human life is the absolute worst thing someone can do because once
that life's extinguished, it's never coming back. To me, there's no justifiable
reason to have someone who's demonstrated a willingness to do that to be
allowed to stick around.
Opponents point to a lack of evidence that capital punishment deters crime.
There's data showing murder rates are higher in states with the death penalty.
And there's the fact that taking a life is irrevocable. According to the ACLU,
more than 140 people have been let off death row after they were found to be
innocent.
What's your response to those arguments?
The bill that I'm proposing doesn't make it compulsory, so there's still
prosecutorial discretion. Because the death penalty is on the books doesn't
imply that a state prosecutor would reach for the death penalty.
So you're saying this should be an option in some cases?
Absolutely. The bill does not say this is a perfect system. The bill does not
say this works 100 % of the time. If there are problems with our system,
evidence based, if there are problems with our system in the conviction rate,
those are issues that should be addressed specifically. We can't stay away from
providing a penalty for a crime just because we're afraid the system isn't
perfect.
There's also the cost factor. In reviewing your bill, the state judicial
council says it would need more money for capital murder cases, possibly in the
hundreds of thousands of dollars, for the prospect of additional hearings and
multiple appeals.
It also notes the state has already spent more than $3 million in the case of
Michael Addison, who remains on death row as he continues to appeal his
sentence for the murder of a Manchester police officer in 2006.
Can you make an argument that's money well spent?
No, I can't make that argument. I wouldn't even try to make that argument
because I don't have any background in economic or finance, so it would be a
blind statement about my willingness to spend the money and that's not fair,
that's not something I'm ever going to do. I am a big believer that where
there's a will there's a way. If that money needs to be found, I'm very
confident that we can find it in a responsible way.
Efforts to repeal the state's death penalty have failed in the past. Do you
think there is support for expanding the death penalty?
Sure. Everbody's got an opinion. There are four hundred of us in the House.
There's always going to be somebody in favor of expanding the death penalty.
I've reached out to a couple of Democratic Senators whose support whose support
could be crucial to get passage in the Senate. I am encouraged by what I've
heard from the Senate side, and what I've heard on the criminal justice side.
(source: Rick Ganley & Michael Brindley; New Hampshire Public Radio)
PENNSYLVANIA:
Jury finds Knoble guilty of 1st-degree murder
Andrew "Beep" White paid for a hotel room and a meal for Jeffrey Knoble.
And Knoble repaid his kindness by killing him in cold blood.
A Northampton County jury convicted the 27-year-old Riegelsville man Tuesday of
1st-degree murder. Knoble killed White on March 11, 2015, at the former Quality
Inn in Easton.
They acquitted him of robbery for taking White's coat and phone. So the
Commonwealth with not seek the death penalty against him.
But they convicted him of all other charges, including shooting up the car of
his ex-girlfriend Octavia Douglas.
"God is good," Jesten Young, the twin sister of White's mother, said after the
verdict. She said White's mother has passed away.
People in the gallery clapped and said "Oh my God," as the jury convicted
Knoble of 1st-degree murder. They acquitted him of robbery for taking White's
coat and phone. But they convicted him of all other charges, including shooting
up the car of his ex-girlfriend Octavia Douglas.
"He should be guilty of all counts. Everything," said White's cousin, Leshawne
Jones. "We got justice. He's definitely a monster, scum of the earth, a thief,
a coward and I hope wherever he goes he gets treated worse than he treated my
cousin."
Knoble had about a dozen sheriffs deputies around him as the verdict was read.
He showed no emotion.
Family members had concealed shirts with White's picture on them but revealed
them in the hallway after the verdict was read.
Jurors dismissed Knoble's claim that White, who is openly gay, sexually
assaulted him while he was passed out. Knoble said he had crashed after a
four-day bender to find White with his hands down his pants.
But First Deputy District Attorney Terence Houck convinced jurors Knoble was
lying.
He noted that Knoble made a post-murder video of himself with White's naked
corpse in order to build his reputation as a "tough guy."
Jeffrey Knoble is charged with killing Andrew "Beep" White at a Downtown Easton
hotel in 2015.
"He executed him for the crime of being kind and generous," Houck told the
jury. "Jeffrey Knoble you are a liar. You are a coward. And you are a
cold-blooded deliberate murderer."
Knoble had to be warned multiple times not to interrupt witnesses and the
attorneys during the nine days of testimony and arguments. He had to be removed
from the jury charge Tuesday after he called Houck a "scumbag" and a "piece of
s--t."
Deliberations lasted about an hour and 45 minutes. White's family and friends
said a prayer before the jury was brought in.
Knoble's mother, his 2 ex-girlfriends and a former friend were among the
witnesses to testify against Knoble over 2 weeks.
Knoble was the only witness to testify on his own behalf. He accused most of
the other witnesses, including his mother, of lying.
Jesten Young said she worries about Knoble's mother, Lori Knoble.
"We're a praying family and we're a caring family. We do care about her," she
said.
(source: lehighvalleylive.com)
GEORGIA:
Bishops speak against death penalty for Steven Murray if convicted of killing
Father Rene Robert
Catholic church officials are urging a Georgia prosecutor to reverse a decision
to seek the death penalty against a man charged with killing a Florida priest.
3 bishops met briefly Tuesday with acting District Attorney Hank Sims in
Augusta, urging him not to seek the death penalty if Steven Murray is convicted
of murder in the April killing of the Rev. Rene Robert.
At a news conference before the meeting, the bishops noted that Robert left a
signed and notarized "Declaration of Life" saying that if he were to suffer a
violent death he wouldn't want the person responsible to be executed.
Former district attorney Ashley Wright, now a judge, says she considered the
facts and the aggravated nature of the slaying when she decided the crime
merits capital punishment.
(source: Associated Press)
FLORIDA:
Florida Supreme Court keeps a Jacksonville death sentence, tosses another
The Florida Supreme Court upheld one Jacksonville death sentence and threw out
another Tuesday. The state's highest court found that because a jury was
unanimous in sentencing Leo Louis Kaczmar III to death, that death sentence
deserves to be upheld.
But Paul Durousseau, a convicted serial killer who juries found had killed and
raped 5 women, was originally sentenced to death by a vote of 10-to-2, so the
state Supreme Court said he deserves to be resentenced.
The Supreme Court has thrown out the state's death penalty as unconstitutional
because it didn't require unanimous jury decisions on sentencing.
(source: The Florida Times-Union)
MISSOURI----execution
Missouri executes convicted rapist and murder Mark Christeson
A convicted rapist and murder was executed by the state of Missouri Tuesday
night. Mark Christeson was convicted of the 1998 murders of Susan Brouk and her
2 children, Adria, 12, and Kyle, 9. The execution came 1 day shy of the 19-year
anniversary of the killings.
Court documents show Christeson was 18-years-old at the time decided to run
away with his 17-year-old cousin Jessie Carter. The police account contended
the duo entered Brouk's home and started to tie up the children. Christeson
then forced Susan Brouk into her daughter's bedroom at gunpoint and raped her.
Investigators said the duo then forced Brouk and her children to a pond near
Vichy, Mo. where Brouk and her son's throats were cut. Christeson choked Adrian
before all 3 were thrown into the pond.
The duo was caught in California. Carter eventually testified against his
cousin and is serving a life sentence. Christeson was scheduled to be executed
in 2014 but won an appeal. His attorney argued Christeson did not have adequate
legal representation because his lawyer missed a simple deadline to file a
federal appeal.
Statement from Gov. Eric R. Greitens:
"Tonight, as we remember Susan, Adrian, and Kyle Brouk, our thoughts and
prayers are again with their family members and loved ones. The acts of
violence that took this 36-year-old mother, her 12-year-old daughter, and her
9-year-old boy were unspeakably cruel.
Susan was a single mother whose life revolved around her children. Adrian was a
seventh grader who did well in school and played volleyball. She hoped to one
day be a veterinarian or a teacher. Kyle was only 9. He played soccer and
dreamed of being an Army officer. They were a loving family, living a quiet
life in a rural community. Their hopes and dreams were taken away by these evil
crimes.
The man who was found guilty by a jury of raping and murdering Susan and
murdering her 2 beloved children, Kyle and Adrian, has now had his sentence
carried out. We know that a Missouri family will always miss and grieve the
young mother and her 2 children who have been gone for nearly 20 years.
Tonight, we grieve with them.
The process of justice on this matter has now reached its conclusion. We pray
for comfort and healing for the families and friends whose lives have been
deeply affected by these unspeakable crimes, so that they may find closure and
peace. I ask that Missourians join me in keeping the family of Susan, Adrian,
and Kyle Brouk in their thoughts and prayers tonight."
Harley Brouck, half-sister of Adrian and Kyle Brouck, read the following
statement:
"Almost 19 years ago to the day my brother and sister were taken from us, this
is the day that we finally get justice for them. I know that they are watching
over us and they're happy for all of us. There's not a day that goes by that I
do not miss them and I wish that they were here.
Now we have justice and we can all move forward through this tragedy the rest
of the way. I was only 5 when they were taken from me but it has impacted my
life entirely. I never got to have that special bond with my brother or sister
that every kid wishes for.
Kyle was 9 and Adrian was 12. They never got to fully live out their lives and
go through college and high school and figure out what it is they wanted to do
in this world.
But now that they are above us, watching over us, I know I have the world's
greatest guardian angels anybody could ask for.
This is a sad day, a happy day and a day that I will never forget. This poem
that I am about to read was written by Adrian when she was in the 6th grade. I
received it when I needed it the most. It's like she was talking to me from
above. It's perfect."
Christeson becomes the 1st condemned inmate to be put to death this year in
Missouri and the 88th overall since the state resumed capital punishment in
1989. Only Texas (540), Oklahoma (112), Virginia (112), and Florida (92) have
executed more condemned inmates since the death penalty was re-legalized on
July 2, 1976.
Christeson becomes the 4th condemned inmate to be put to death this year int he
USA and the 1446th overall since the nation resumed executions on January 17,
1977.
(sources: KTVI & Rick Halperin)
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