March 4
TEXAS----impending executions
Texas Prepares for Execution of Rolando Ruiz on March 7, 2017
Rolando Ruiz, Jr., is scheduled to be executed at 6 pm CST, on Tuesday, March
7, 2017, at the Walls Unit of the Huntsville State Penitentiary in Huntsville,
Texas. 44-year-old Rolando is convicted of murdering 29-year-old Theresa
Rodriguez on July 14, 1992, in San Antonio, Texas. Rolando has spent the last
21 years of his life on Texas' death row.
As a child, Rolando was allegedly abused, which led him to be addicted to drugs
and alcohol. Rolando also claims that because of his excessive use of drugs and
alcohol, he has difficulty distinguishing between fantasy and reality. Rolando
dropped out of school following the 10th grade. He worked as a laborer prior to
his arrest. Rolando has previously been arrested and served time for assaulting
his ex-girlfriend and stealing her vehicle. While in prison, he assaulted a
jailer.
In 1992, Rolando Ruiz was hired by Michael and Mark Rodriguez to kill Michael's
wife, Theresa. Michael agreed to pay Ruiz $1,000 up front, with an additional
$1,000 being paid once the job was completed. Prior to the hiring of Ruiz,
Michael took out a $150,000 life insurance policy on his wife and himself, in
addition to the $250,000 policy he already had.
Michael planned for Ruiz to rob and murder Theresa on July 10, 1992, when she
arrived for work at a restaurant. Ruiz called off the attack when he spotted a
security guard. Michael then asked Ruiz to kill Theresa when they were leaving
the movies later that night. Michael and Theresa never showed up at the movies.
On July 14, 1992, Mark told Ruiz that he was to follow Michael and Theresa home
from the movie theater and then kill her. When Michael pulled the car to stop
at his home, Ruiz ran up to the passenger side door and shot Theresa once in
the head as she attempted to exit the vehicle Without robbing her, Ruiz fled
the scene and spent the rest of the evening playing basketball. 3 days later,
Ruiz received his 2nd payment of $1,000.
Mark and Michael were sentenced to life in prison after accepting plea
agreements, while Rolando received the death sentence. In December of 2000,
Michael broke out of prison as a member of the Texas 7. During efforts to
recapture the group, police officer Aubry Hawkins was killed. Michael was
sentenced to death and executed on August 14, 2008.
2 other men, Joe Ramon and Robert Silva were also sentenced to life in prison
for their part in the murder if Theresa. Joe accompanied Ruiz on the night of
the murder, while Robert was responsible for putting the Rodriguez brothers in
touch with Ruiz. Since in prison, Ruiz is believed to have joined the Texas
Syndicate, a notorious prison gang that causes disturbances and assaults other
inmates and officers.
Rolando Ruiz was twice scheduled to be executed in 2016. The reasons those
executions were halted has not been stated.
Please pray for peace and healing for the family of Theresa Rodriguez. Please
pray for strength for the family of Rolando. Please pray that if Rolando is
innocent, lacks the competency to be executed, or should not be executed for
any other reason that evidence will be presented prior to his execution. Please
pray that Rolando may come to find peace through a personal relationship with
Jesus Christ, if he has not already.
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Texas Prepares for Execution of James Bigby on March 14, 2017
James Eugene Bigby is scheduled to be executed at 6 pm CDT, on Tuesday, March
14, 2017, at the Walls Unit of the Huntsville State Penitentiary in Huntsville,
Texas. 61-year-old James is convicted of the murder of 26-year-old Michael
Trekell, Michael's 4-month-old son Jayson Kehler, Calvin Wesley Crane, and
Frank "Bubba" Johnson, on December 23-24, 1987, in Tarrant County, Texas. James
has spent the last 25 years of his life on Texas' death row.
James had a difficult upbringing. His mother allegedly drank while pregnant
with him and breastfed him until the age of 7. James' mother also gave away his
siblings to be raised by other relatives. He grew up fearing that his mother
would abandon him, as his father had. Additionally, his mother and siblings all
suffer from mental health issues and have struggled to live successful lives.
James had previously been hospitalized multiple times for schizo-affective
disorder and depression. He had also received electroshock therapy during one
of his stays. James had previously been arrested and served time for various
robberies and a sexual assault charge. James dropped out of school following
the 9th grade and worked at Frito-Lay prior to his arrest as an auto mechanic.
In late December 1987, James Bigby had a pending worker's compensation claim
against his employer, Frito-Lay. Bigby was paranoid that several of his friends
were conspiring against him to thwart his claim. On December 23, 1987, Bigby
bought 2 steaks and took them to the home of his friend, Michael Trekell, who
also had a 4-month-old son, Jayson, in Fort Worth, Texas. While Michael
prepared the steaks, Bigby shot and killed him. Bigby then drowned Jayson in
the sink.
Bigby left the murder scene and drove to the apartment of his friend Calvin
Crane. Bigby and Calvin talked for a short time before Bigby asked Calvin to
drive him to the store. Calvin agreed and on the way back from the store, Bigby
forced Clavin, at gunpoint, to pull over and get out of the truck. Bigby shot
Calvin in the head, killing him. Bigby left Calvin's body along side the road
and drove the truck back to Calvin's apartment, retrieved several items from
his car, and left again in Calvin's truck.
Bigby then drove to Arlington, Texas, and arrived at the home of Frank "Bubba"
Johnson, around 3:20 am on December 24, 1987. Bigby rang to doorbell and Bubba
answered. After a short discussion, Bigby shot Bubba 3 times, killing him.
Bigby fled the scene in Calvin's truck.
A massive manhunt ensued, and Bigby was arrested on December 26, 1987, after a
stand-off at a local motel. A police negotiator had to be called in to talk to
Bigby and get him to surrender. While talking to the negotiator, Bigby
confessed to the murders. He also later gave a written confession, after being
arrested by police.
During Bigby's 1991 trial, Bigby seized a loaded revolver from the judge's
bench during a recess. Bigby walked into the judge's chamber and pointed the
gun at the judge saying, "Let's go, Judge." The judge was quickly able to
disarm Bigby and he was subdued. Bigby's lawyers attempted to have the judge
removed from the case and a mistrial declared, but they were unsuccessful.
Bigby's lawyers attempted to mount an insanity defense for Bigby, but they were
unsuccessful. The jury found Bigby guilty and he was sentenced to death.
Please pray for peace and healing for the families of the Michael Trekell,
Jayson Kehler, Calvin Crane, and Frank Johnson. Please pray that if James Bigby
is innocent, lacks the competency to be executed, or should not be executed for
any other reason, that evidence will be presented prior to his execution.
Please pray that James may come to find peace through a personal relationship
with Jesus Christ, if he has not already.
(source for both: theforgivenessfoundation.org)
NORTH CAROLINA:
Nathan Holden found guilty of murdering in-laws
A Wake County jury sentenced Nathan Holden to life in prison on Friday for
killing his in-laws in 2014.
The jury that convicted Holden of 2 counts of 1st-degree murder on Monday
considered more than 30 mitigating factors in deciding whether Holden should be
put to death or spend the rest of his life in prison.
Holden's attorneys admitted that he shot and killed Angelia and Sylvester
Taylor at their home in Wendell on April 9, 2014, then tried to kill their
daughter, his former wife, LaTonya Holden, while her children were hiding in a
bedroom closet. But they argued that he should not be convicted of 1st-degree
murder, because the crimes were not premeditated.
The jury of 9 men and 3 women agreed about the premeditation, but convicted him
of 1st-degree murder anyway, because the crimes were committed in connection
with another felony, the attempt to kill his wife.
Holden and his father, Nathaniel Carroll, were silent after the jury read its
decision, as were his former wife and her family and supporters. But that
silence was later followed by an outpouring of emotion and relief outside the
courtroom, where the Taylor family, members of Angelia's church and prosecutors
and sheriff's investigators all hugged and consoled one another.
One of Sylvester Taylor's sons, Marktontio Royster, 44, of Henderson, told the
court before sentencing that he did not get a chance to grow up with his
father, but the 2 became the best of friends when he reached adulthood. He said
it was his birthday the day his father died, 3 hours after they had talked on
the phone.
Angelia Taylor was the pastor of the Zion Hill Holiness Church in Jonesville,
near Rolesville. Her husband served as head deacon of the church. Even though
Angelia Taylor was not his biological mother, Royster called her "Momma Angie."
"I remember 1 time he was real proud of Nate," Royster told the court about his
father. "Nate had started videotaping the church services. I could hear the
satisfaction in his voice."
The Taylors' 38-year-old son, Sylvester Taylor Jr. 38, of Monroe, La., said the
verdict provided closure for both the Taylor and Holden families.
"Justice prevailed," he said. "And Nate, he's still the father of the kids.
We're grateful that he has the opportunity to possibly reconcile with his kids.
We have been praying for him as much as we've been praying for ourselves.
Through all that's happened maybe some good can come of it."
Prosecutors argued for the death penalty, noting that Holden had an opportunity
to stop the crimes after initially shooting Angelia Taylor once in the heart.
Instead, Holden continued the attack, and then later fired at Wake County
deputies who tracked him down to a field behind his home in Wendell.
"He shot Angelia. He shot Sylvester. He shot LaTonya, then he beat her up,"
assistant district attorney Jason Waller said to the jury during closing
arguments Thursday. "Then he goes and drops his car off, gets a buddy to drop
him at his house, to do what? Reload. That's violence."
But Holden's defense attorneys said he suffered from post-traumatic stress
disorder from a rough childhood and asked the jury to take that into account.
They said his parents fought frequently in a household riddled by alcohol and
crack cocaine abuse.
Attorney Jonathan Broun told the jury that Holden's grim childhood did not
excuse his crimes, but it did offer the jury insight into why he committed the
acts. He said Holden tried to be different from his parents.
"He married. He tried to be a part of his children's lives," Broun said
Thursday. "He was not a perfect father. He was not a perfect husband. But if
you grow up in a home with a mom who has cognitive problems, it can leave
scars. Where your father regularly beat your mother, it's going to leave scars,
not only on the mother, but on the children. Nate never had professional help.
He tried to do his best. But there were scars."
A Wake County jury has not sentenced anyone to death since 2007. The past 7
capital cases have resulted in juries recommending sentences of life without
parole instead of death penalties.
In February 2016, Wake District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said it might be time
to rethink whether to pursue the death penalty in future cases after jurors
recommended a life sentence for Travion Smith, the man convicted of killing
Melissa Huggins-Jones inside her North Hills apartment while her daughter was
in a bedroom down the hall.
North Carolina has not had an execution since 2006. A number of legal
challenges pending in the courts have created a de facto moratorium.
During the past decade, there has been a sharp decline in the number of death
penalty trials. Last year, in all of North Carolina, 5 people were tried with
the death penalty as a possibility. Of those 5, only 1 was sent to death row.
150 inmates are on North Carolina's death row.
Over the past 5 years, an average of fewer than 2 people per year have been
sent to death row in North Carolina, compared with 20 to 30 people per year in
the 1990s. There were no new death sentences in 2012 and 2015.
(source: newsobserver.com)
GEORGIA:
Columbus inmates on Georgia's death row
These are the inmates from Columbus currently awaiting execution at Georgia???s
death-row prison in Jackson.
Columbus' most notorious death-row inmate is convicted serial killer Carlton
Michael Gary, the so-called "Stocking Strangler" who beat, raped and strangled
older women here from September 1977 to April 1978.
His case, recently featured on the crime show "Vanity Fair Confidential," still
is tied up in appeals 30 years after a jury convicted and sentenced him to
death in 3 of the 7 horrific murders that terrorized the city.
Gary was arrested May 3, 1984. On Aug. 26, 1986, the jury found him guilty in
these cases:
The Oct. 21, 1977, slaying of Florence Scheible, 89, of 1941 Dimon St., who was
found raped and strangled with a stocking around her neck and a pillow over her
face. She was partially blind and used a walker.
The Oct. 25, 1977, murder of Martha Thurmond, 69, of 2614 Marion St., who was
found raped and strangled with a stocking around her neck, her body covered by
a pillow, sheets and blanket.
The Dec. 28, 1977, homicide of Kathleen Woodruff, 74, of 1811 Buena Vista Road,
who was found raped and strangled with a scarf around her neck, her body
partially covered.
These are the other cases:
The Sept. 15, 1977, slaying of Ferne Jackson, 60, of 2505 17th St., Columbus,
who was found raped and strangled in her bedroom, a stocking and dressing-gown
sash wrapped around her neck. The killer left her body covered.
The Sept. 24, 1977, murder of Jean Dimenstein, 71, of 3027 21st St., who was
found raped and strangled in her home, a stocking wrapped three times around
her neck and her body covered.
The Feb. 12, 1978, slaying of Mildred Borom, 78, of 1612 Forest Ave., found
raped and strangled in a hallway of her home, a Venetian blinds cord around her
neck and her face covered.
The April 20, 1978, murder of Janet Cofer, 61, found strangled with a stocking
and raped in her 3783 Steam Mill Road home. A pillow covered her face.
Gary was hours away from lethal injection Dec. 16, 2009, when the Georgia
Supreme Court stayed the execution and ordered a Superior Court here to
consider DNA-testing any stranglings evidence deemed suitable.
Johnnie Worsley
Johnnie Alfred Worsley raped and fatally stabbed his stepdaughter before
smashing his wife's skull with a baseball bat during a drug-fueled rampage in
1995.
He married wife Flora Worsley in 1984, but they separated 4 years later because
of his cocaine addiction. They reconciled in January 1995, when he moved back
in with her and her 17-year-old daughter Yameika Bell.
But his addiction persisted. In February 1995, his wife said she'd leave him if
he kept using coke, and he said he'd kill her if she tried.
The following March 6, Bell noticed money missing from her purse and blamed
Johnnie Worsley, who denied taking it, but gave her some back. About 2 a.m. the
next day, he got a butcher knife from the kitchen, went into Bell's bedroom,
raped and stabbed her.
Investigators found her naked under a pile of comforters on the bed. She had 11
slashes to her neck and 9 stab wounds to her chest and upper abdomen.
Worsley left to buy crack cocaine, came back and smoked it. At 8 a.m., his wife
came home after working a late shift. He crushed her skull with the "full-force
swing" of a baseball bat and stabbed her in the neck. Authorities later found
her under a comforter on the bedroom floor.
Relatives became worried when Flora Worsley didn't call her mother that morning
like she usually did. Instead Johnnie Worsley called her and asked her
forgiveness "for what I have done." Police summoned to the Worsley residence
saw nothing suspicious, but did not go inside.
The next day, a friend entered and found the bodies amid rooms splattered with
blood. That same day, Johnnie Worsley drove his Oldsmobile Cutlass to a Phenix
City car dealership and took a blue Geo Metro for a test drive. He did not
return, and left a note in the Cutlass in part saying, "I now must go to hell
and pay for what I am."
He drove the Geo to a church in Twiggs County, where he met a deacon and asked
forgiveness for killing 2 people. The deacon called the sheriff, who later saw
the Geo on Interstate 16 and tried to stop it. For 4 miles the suspect led a
chase at up to 95 mph before he finally gave up.
His trial began Nov. 12, 1998, and ended the following Nov. 14, when the jury
found him guilty and recommended the death penalty.
Leon Tollette
A jury sentenced Leon Tollette to death after he pleaded guilty to gunning down
Brinks security guard John Hamilton outside Columbus' downtown SunTrust bank on
Dec. 21, 1995.
He approached Hamilton from behind and shot him 4 times, once in the head, and
fled with the money bag Hamilton had.
Tollette later claimed he fired out of fear when Hamilton turned around and saw
him coming. A flurry of gunfire ensued as other guards and police immediately
tried to prevent his escape.
The truck's driver, Carl Crane, shot at Tollette, as did Cornell Christianson,
who was driving a nearby Lummus Fargo truck. Toilette's accomplice Xavier
Womack, who had been watching from across the street, started shooting at the
guards to aid Tollette's escape.
Finally Robert Oliver, a police officer accompanied by a cadet, confronted
Tollette, who tried to shoot at Oliver, too, but had emptied his revolver. He
dropped the gun and surrendered. Womack and a getaway driver fled without him.
A former gang member and drug dealer, Tollette had come here from California at
Womack's invitation. Womack planned the robbery after studying the Brinks
schedule for collecting bank receipts.
Tollette pleaded guilty Nov. 3, 1997 to murder, armed robbery, being a
convicted felon with a firearm, using a firearm to commit a crime and 2 counts
of aggravated assault. He had only a sentencing trial to decide whether he
should get life with parole, life without parole or death. On Nov. 11, 1997,
jurors sentenced him to death.
Ward Brockman
Ward Anthony Brockman shot Forrest Road gas station manager Billy Lynn in a
botched robbery attempt on June 26, 1990.
Brockman and 3 accomplices met at an apartment in Phenix City where Brockman's
girlfriend lived. There they planned to rob several businesses while using as
their getaway car a Chevrolet Camaro IROC-Z that Brockman days earlier stole
from a Columbus car dealer.
Brockman had a .38-caliber revolver. The next day he and his cohorts got a
.22-caliber pistol and a sawed-off shotgun and went to a Kentucky Fried Chicken
to rob the manager as she left to make a bank deposit.
But their timing was off, and they missed her. So they drove to the Premium Oil
station Lynn managed, and Brockman some distance away dropped off 2 of his
accomplices who feared Lynn might recognize them.
Brockman and his other cohort, Quenton Lewis, pulled up at the gas station
about 5:30 p.m., when no customers were there. Armed with the shotgun, Lewis
stayed in the car.
Brockman got out when Lynn asked if he could help them. Brockman told
authorities he cocked the revolver, pointed it at Lynn and said, "Give me all
the money." Lynn held his arms out and said, "You got it," but made no move to
comply. Brockman demanded money again. Lynn, smiling, again said, "You got it."
Brockman said, "No, you got it," and shot Lynn in the gut, killing him.
Brockman later claimed the shooting was accidental. He said Lewis hit him on
the shoulder and yelled, "Go!" when Brockman decided to abandon the robbery,
and the revolver discharged.
But Lewis said Brockman never cocked the handgun, and had to have deliberately
shot Lynn by fully depressing the trigger. Lewis said Brockman later told him
he shot Lynn to keep Lynn from "laughing about it with his buddies, telling his
buddies that we tried to rob him and didn't really get no money."
They really didn't get any money: Though Lynn had $70 on him, they fled so fast
they never checked the victim's pockets.
They picked up their 2 accomplices and fled, with Brockman leaving the driving
to Lewis. Police broadcast witnesses' description of the stolen car, and
officers spotted it in Phenix City, initiating a chase that reached speeds of
more than 100 mph.
The suspects got away, abandoned the car and returned to the apartment - to
which police finally tracked Brockman. He climbed into the attic and tried to
hide under insulation until officers threw in tear gas to flush him out.
Investigators found the stolen car and, inside it, a criminal to-do list that
included stealing a car and robbing the station Lynn managed.
Authorities discovered Brockman had been involved in 3 armed robberies that
month, 2 of them within 48 hours of Lynn's death.
Brockman's trial began on Feb. 28, 1994. He was found guilty on March 11, 1994,
and sentenced to death the following day.
(source: Ledger-Enquirer)
FLORIDA:
Trial opening nears in 2006 murder of Broward deputy
he trial of the 3 men accused of gunning down Broward Sheriff's Deputy Brian
Tephford during a traffic stop in 2006 will finally begin with opening
statements before this month is out.
Probably.
Broward Circuit Judge Paul Backman has set schedules in the complex murder case
before, only to watch circumstances change and dates get pushed back.
The case has already been stalled by the kinds of delays that can be expected
when the death penalty is on the table and multiple defendants are each
represented by multiple lawyers who have to coordinate their schedules and
conduct witness interviews and hearings on dozens of complex legal issues.
The fluctuating status of Florida's death penalty over the past 14 months
didn't help.
Last September, when the 1st phase of jury selection began, Backman told jurors
to expect opening statements in January, with the presentation of evidence
lasting until the beginning of summer.
Then the Florida Supreme Court stepped in and declared Florida's new death
penalty law unconstitutional, complicating the jury selection process.
Defendants Andre Delancy, 30, Bernard Forbes, 32, and Eloyn Ingraham, 39, face
the death penalty if convicted, but without a legally enforceable death penalty
process, it's been impossible for attorneys and Backman to vet jurors to make
sure they can fairly decide a capital case.
The Florida Legislature is scheduled to vote on a new death penalty law as one
of its first acts when it convenes this week, and Gov. Rick Scott is expected
to sign it. Unlike the overturned law, the new law will require a jury's death
penalty recommendation to be unanimous.
Broward State Attorney Mike Satz is personally handling the prosecution of 3
men accused of murdering Broward Sheriff's Deputy Brian Tephford in 2006.
Jurors may start hearing the case by the end of March.
Broward State Attorney Mike Satz is personally handling the prosecution in the
Tephford murder, accompanied by his chief assistant, Jeff Marcus.
Tephford, a 6-year veteran of the sheriff's office, was gunned down on Nov. 11,
2006, outside the Versailles Gardens apartment complex in Tamarac. Tephford had
put in a call at 11 p.m. for backup during a traffic stop - he had pulled over
the car on the 8000 block of North Colony Circle after finding it had the wrong
tag.
The shooter emerged from the passenger seat of the stopped vehicle, authorities
said at the time. Tephford was dead at the scene. Also injured in the shooting
was Deputy Christopher Carbocci.
Detectives tracked the suspects down the following afternoon at a motel on the
2400 block of State Road 84 in Dania Beach.
The accused men have been held without bond since their arrests.
Ingraham and Forbes went on trial in 2015 for robbery and armed kidnapping in a
case that prosecutors became aware of during the investigation into the
Tephford murder. The men were acquitted.
Trouble with Florida's death penalty scuttled Backman's hopes to start the
murder trial in early 2016. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Florida's death
penalty unconstitutional because it allowed a simple majority of jurors to
recommend death and allowed jurors only an advisory role in the process.
The legislature responded in March 2016 with a law that gave jurors more power
and required a minimum of 10 jurors to recommend death. That was the law
overturned by the Florida Supreme Court in October, with the state justices
concluding anything less than a unanimous recommendation surely be rejected by
the U.S. Supreme Court.
Backman brought a total of about 2,000 potential jurors into court for a first
round of vetting last fall. Jurors unable to sit for a lengthy trial were sent
home.
Backman, Satz and defense lawyers are now in the 2nd round of about 150 juror
interviews, weeding out those who cannot serve because of various conflicts of
interest or biases. One potential juror was dismissed in January when she
casually admitted that she had read about the case.
The last phase of jury selection will address the death penalty - assuming the
legislature acts as quickly as expected in passing a new law.
Opening statements are scheduled - tentatively - for March 28.
(source: Sun Sentinel)
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Judge finds John Jonchuck competent to stand trial in death of 5-year-old
daughter Phoebe
After 2 years of receiving psychiatric treatment at a state hospital, the man
charged with dropping his 5-year-old daughter, Phoebe Jonchuck, off the Dick
Misener bridge in 2015 is ready to stand trial.
During a brief hearing Friday morning, Pinellas Circuit Judge Joseph Bulone
ruled that John Jonchuck was competent after reading evaluation reports by
doctors.
"I don't know how to put it into words," said Michelle Kerr, Phoebe's mother,
after hearing the news. "I've been waiting for this day for a long time."
Jonchuck, 27, is charged with 1st-degree murder. Pinellas-Pasco Chief Assistant
State Attorney Bruce Bartlett said prosecutors want the trial to take place "as
soon as possible," likely in the fall.
"The concern for us is that he would become incompetent again," he said.
The Pinellas-Pasco Public Defender's Office, which is representing Jonchuck,
declined to comment.
Jonchuck will remain at the state hospital in Gainesville until the case is
closer to trial. The last time Jonchuck was brought to the Pinellas County jail
for a hearing in April, he refused a psychiatrist's visit, would not take all
of his medications and tried to grab a guard, according to Sheriff's Office
records.
"The jail doesn't force them to take the medication," Bartlett said. "If they
don't take it, then they slide back into that gray area."
Reached by phone Friday morning, surprise gripped Jonchuck's mother, Michele
Jonchuck, when a reporter told her about the judge's decision.
"Oh my God," she said. "I hate what he did, but I still love him because he's
my son. He took away something very dear to me, because Phoebe meant the world
to me."
On Jan. 8, 2015, an off-duty St. Petersburg police officer saw a white PT
Cruiser speeding south toward the Misener bridge just after midnight. The car
pulled over and Jonchuck reached into the back seat for his 5-year-old
daughter, Phoebe.
He carried her to the edge of the bridge, police said, and dropped her into the
water. Within an hour, a rescue boat found her body.
During his interview with detectives, he said: "My name is God and you shall
address me as such."
Police later learned that hours before Jonchuck took his daughter to the
bridge, he went to a Tampa lawyer's office in pajamas with Phoebe. He called
himself the Pope and demanded a DNA test. Jonchuck also asked the lawyer to
read a Bible in Swedish. She called 911.
Hillsborough deputies later found Jonchuck at a church, but concluded he didn't
exhibit any signs of mental illness.
Jonchuck was found incompetent in February 2015.
The state is seeking the death penalty, but Bartlett said that decision will
ultimately be up to State Attorney Bernie McCabe.
"It depends if we re-evaluate the circumstances of all the mental issues that
are presented in the case," he added.
Michele Jonchuck said she hopes they reconsider given her son's extensive
mental health history. Before his arrest, Jonchuck had been committed
involuntarily 27 times and struggled with drug addiction. Loved ones have said
he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
"I think that would be too easy on him," Michele Jonchuck said of the death
penalty. "My whole family and I have to deal with this every day, and I believe
he should have to deal with it. But at the same time, I believe he needs help."
(source: Tampa Bay Times)
ALABAMA:
Why is Alabama the Only State Allowed to Impose the Death Penalty Despite
Jury's Verdict?
Most people in the United States believe that the death penalty is a sentence
imposed by 12 members of a jury. Some may be surprised to learn that in one
state, and only one state, a jury's decision to impose a life sentence can be
overridden by a trial judge, who then has the power to singlehandedly impose
the death penalty. What may be less of a surprise is that the one state
allowing this practice is U.S. Attorney General Jeff Session's sweet home
Alabama.
The policy is commonly known as "judge override." According to the Equal
Justice Initiative, an organization that addresses racial and economic
injustice including mass incarceration and excessive punishment, "judge
override is the primary reason why Alabama has the highest per capita death
sentencing rate in the country."
Currently, in the Alabama legislature, there is a bipartisan effort to
eliminate the judge override with a bill sponsored by a Republican in the state
Senate and a similar bill sponsored by a Democrat in the state House. The
primary difference between the 2 is that the House version goes the extra step
of requiring a unanimous jury verdict to impose the death sentence. Currently,
juries require only 10 votes for such a recommendation. The Senate version of
the bill has already passed the Senate, and the House should vote on its
version within the next few days.
Until last year, 2 other states, Florida and Delaware, also allowed judge
overrides. Court rulings at the U.S. Supreme Court and the Delaware Supreme
Court declared the policies unconstitutional in those states.
However, even before the practice was eliminated in the other states, Alabama
judges utilized judge overrides far more frequently than anywhere else. "As of
late 2013, Alabama judges were responsible for 26 of the 27 instances since
2000 in which a judge in any state has overridden a jury's advisory sentencing
verdict of life without parole," according to William Clark, the past president
of both the Birmingham Bar Association and the Alabama State Bar Association.
Clark, along with 100 other attorneys and law professors, submitted a petition
to Alabama's governor seeking sentencing changes for 34 inmates on death row
due to judge overrides.
Part of what drives the zealous use of judge override in Alabama is the fact
that the state is 1 of just a handful that use partisan elections to select
judges. The vast majority of states use either nonpartisan elections or some
form of appointment system. As a result of Alabama's judicial election system
and the motive to appear tough on crime, "life-to-death overrides in Alabama
are more frequent in election years."
More importantly, in the United States in general, and Alabama and the South in
particular, one cannot ignore the role of race and the historical connections
between lynchings and the death penalty. According to EJI, "more than 8 in 10
American lynchings between 1889 and 1918 occurred in the South, and more than 8
in 10 of the more than 1400 executions carried out in this country since 1976
have been in the South." Moreover, the impact of race is not only about the
race of the alleged perpetrator, it is about the victim as well.
"There is evidence that elected judges override jury life verdicts in cases
involving white victims much more frequently than in cases involving victims
who are Black. 75 % of all death sentences imposed by override involve white
victims, even though fewer than 35 % of all homicide victims in Alabama are
white."
But the ills of Alabama's death penalty system are not limited to the judge
override mechanism. The state's entire framework for capital punishment has the
effect, whether intended or otherwise, of facilitating death sentences and
perhaps no other state attorney general was as aggressive at taking advantage
of that framework than Jeff Sessions.
The New York Times points out that during Sessions' tenure as Alabama attorney
general from 1995-1997, "He worked to execute insane, mentally ill and
intellectually disabled people, among others, who were convicted in trials
riddled with instances of prosecutorial misconduct, racial discrimination and
grossly inadequate defense lawyering."
Sessions was such a fan of the death penalty that he even supported a state
bill that would have imposed mandatory death sentences on drug dealers,
including those caught dealing marijuana.
Within the next few weeks, the Alabama legislature may, in fact, eliminate the
most glaring example of the state's support of a racist, economically
exploitative and ultimately counter-productive system of punishment. But, the
cancer affecting its justice system runs far deeper.
(source: Atlanta Black Star)
MISSISSIPPI:
Mississippi Senate approves gas chamber and electrocution as execution options
The Mississippi Senate on Thursday voted in favor of adding more ways to carry
out the death penalty. House Bill 638, which passed in the Mississippi House of
Representatives on February 8, would expand Mississippi's methods of execution
to include firing squad, gas chamber and electrocution in case the courts rule
lethal injection unconstitutional. The Senate rejected the firing squad option
but retained the options of gas chamber and electrocution. The amended bill has
been sent back to the House.
The death penalty has been a pressing issue across the country. Last month the
Supreme Court denied review in a death penalty case. A week earlier the Supreme
Court ruled in favor of a death row inmate over racial bias. Also in February a
judge for the US District Court for the Southern District of Ohio refused to
lift a preliminary injunction that delays executions in Ohio. In January Judge
Michael Merz rejected Ohio's lethal injection protocol by deeming it
unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment. Also in January the US Supreme
Court refused to consider a challenge to Alabama's death penalty system. In
December a report by the Death Penalty Information Center found that the use of
capital punishment in the US is at a 20-year low.
(source: jurist.org)
TENNESSEE:
Freed from Death Row, Artist Creates Prison Exhibit Across from Supreme Court
Ndume Olatushani, 59, has every excuse to be bitter. But almost 5 years removed
from a Tennessee prison, he doesn't dwell on the 27 years he spent behind bars
- 20 on death row - serving time for a murder he didn't commit.
"I was in a 4 by 9 foot cell. I couldn't even stretch my damn arms out in the
cell. I'm sitting in there 23 hours a day. I couldn't draw a crooked line
straight ... but art found me. I taught myself how to paint," he says.
His artwork caught the attention of the United Methodist Church - so much so
that the body commissioned him to present an exhibit to coincide with Lent, the
40-day period each spring commemorating the days leading up to Jesus'
crucifixion, and resurrection on Easter.
Starting today at The United Methodist building on Capitol Hill, which sits
across the street from the Supreme Court, Olatushani's latest work will be
unveiled. This piece, entitled "Disrupting the Cradle to Prison Pipeline," is
the 1st stop in a total of 14 Stations of the Cross throughout D.C.
Olatushani's piece is one of a few new works, while several are existing D.C.
monuments and art pieces, each meant to represent one of the 14 images
depicting Jesus' crucifixion day - a widely-used visual story central to many
Christian denominations.
His piece features a cage with a man inside wearing a prison jump suit. Models
of 3 more men in orange jumpsuits stand behind it. One man is in a praying
position and another with his arms raised, as if obeying an order from an
officer or gunman. The work also gives a nod to Trayvon Martin, as it includes
a replica of a young man wearing a hooded sweatshirt.
"It's a prime location," Olatushani says, regarding its placement across from
the Supreme Court. "The whole thing we're trying to achieve is to challenge
people's perception of the justice system," he says. "The exhibit is exactly
where it's supposed to be."
Olatushani also does art work with children through the Children's Defense Fund
(CDF). He hopes to help black children avoid what he and others refer to as the
"cradle to prison pipeline."
One of his recent exhibits involved giving school desks to groups of kids at 12
different locations, including community centers, churches, and schools.
Olatushani and the CDF gave the children tests to reveal what they knew about
the justice system. He then introduced them to videos and documentaries about
the system and spoke about his time in prison. Afterward, he separately told
each group to create art using the desk. With Olatushani monitoring and
providing supplies, one group painted its desk black and attached handcuffs and
a bible to the desk. The bible, Olatushani says, represented the church's
complicity in the justice system. The students thought churches were compliant
by allowing injustices to happen within the justice system and not doing
anything. Another group turned its desk into an electric chair, adding a switch
for a light and attaching a headpiece. This was symbolic of Olatushani's time
spent on death row.
Art, he says, in a lot of ways saved his life and helped him cope with his
unjust sentence. Not only was his painting a minor escape from his prison-bound
reality, but it also put him in position to meet a woman that he would later
marry upon his release. "She was working for this anti-death penalty
organization that used to host art shows for those of us on death row. Through
my art, we developed a connection." The 2 waited to wed because they didn't
want to hold their ceremony on prison grounds.
Based on Olatushani's prison stint, fighting for his release, and the way his
trial played out, he is convinced that the prosecution never believed he was
guilty. Olatushani says that the prison industry is a business, hell-bent on
arresting young people of color in order to keep turning a profit. According to
him, the prosecution did not care that he was innocent.
"I use art to try to engage young people to let them know that while you're
running around playing - hell it's people looking at kids in the 2nd and 3rd
grade based on their reading and test scores, projecting how many prison beds
they're gonna need," says Olatushni.
Jeania Ree Moore, who helped plan his new Lent exhibit through her job at the
General Board of Church and Society of The United Methodist Church, says she
wants passersby to "get a reality of the issues at stake" that are deeply
rooted in the criminal justice system. She is responsible for bringing
Olatushani on-board, and she hopes people are ultimately moved to take action
against the various layers of injustice in the justice system. Rev. Dr. Susan
Henry-Crowe, of the same office, says: "This art, we hope, will help people
understand more the effects of mass incarceration and some of the injustices
that many times African American men and brown men face in our society."
Olatushani hopes his art will help youth avoid encounters like he has had with
the justice system. "I would hope that people get in some dialogue, begin to
talk about and learn about this particular issue," he says.
"Because the reality is that knowledge makes us responsible. Once you know
something, you have no excuse."
(source: washingtoncitypaper.com)
ARKANSAS:
Death-penalty opponents outraged at Arkansas 'assembly line' of executions
For more than a decade, the state of Arkansas did not put to death a single
condemned inmate. Next month, it will execute 8.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson moved this week to reactivate the state's death chamber
after a request by Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge to go ahead with
the sentences. The governor ordered the executions on Monday.
No inmate in the state of Arkansas has been put to death since convicted killer
Eric Randall Nance died by lethal injection more than 11 years ago. Following
his execution, the state's death chamber remained dormant amid legal and
operational challenges.
The effective deactivation of capital punishment in Arkansas represented an
abrupt halt in the state's practice, and followed a period in which nearly 30
inmates were executed between 1990 and Nance's death in November 2005.
Aside from legal maneuvers that argued capital punishment is unconstitutional,
the state's department of correction has also had difficulties obtaining the
necessary drugs to carry out executions -- an obstacle several states have
encountered in recent years.
Hutchinson's reasoning for ordering the executions of all 8 death row inmates
before May appears to stem from the fact that the state's supply of midazolam
-- 1 of 3 drugs used in the lethal mixtures -- expires at the end of April. The
drug has received intense scrutiny over claims it is often ineffective and has
directly contributed to multiple cruelly botched executions.
Most compound pharmacies that in the past sold midazolam to states for
executions have stopped making it available, on ethical grounds, leaving most
prisons departments without a source for the powerful sedative.
The men marked for death -- at an unprecedented rate of 2 per day for 4 days --
are Don Davis, Bruce Earl Ward, Ledelle Lee, Stacey Johnson, Marcell Williams,
Jack Jones, Jr., Jason McGehee and Kenneth Williams. Davis and Ward are
scheduled for April 17, Lee and Johnson on April 20, Williams and Jones on
April 24 and McGehee and Williams on April 27.
"The Arkansas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty is outraged by ... plans
to carry out 8 executions within the span of 10 days in April," the group said.
"This planned mass execution is grotesque."
Attorneys for the men have so far unsuccessfully appealed to state and federal
courts seeking a stay of execution. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court declined
to hear the inmates' arguments that Arkansas' execution statutes, amended in
2015, are unlawful. After that refusal, Arkansas' high court promptly ended a
stay it granted last summer and Rutledge asked Hutchinson to schedule the death
sentences.
"This action is necessary to fulfill the requirement of the law, but it is also
important to bring closure to the victims' families who have lived with the
court appeals and uncertainty for a very long time," Hutchinson said.
An amended challenge from the inmates' lawyers, filed last week, claims that
states' uses of midazolam do not have the intended effect during executions,
saying the drug masks "torture by paralyzing the subject as he is burned alive
from the inside." It is intended to sedate the prisoner before 2 more drugs are
introduced to paralyze and kill them. The 2nd drug, pancuronium bromide,
paralyzes the inmate and the 3rd, potassium chloride, stops the heart.
"Unless the prisoner is unconscious, then drugs 2 and 3 will cause pain --
torturous punishment, in violation of the Eighth Amendment, and state
guarantees against cruel and unusual punishment," Jeff Rosenzweig, an attorney
for the prisoners, said.
The Supreme Court refused to hear the challenges because it previously
stipulated that any legal challenge opposing a state's use of midazolam in
lethal injections must identify other available chemicals that can be used
instead.
Rosenzweig said there's a high probability that a botched execution will happen
if Arkansas goes through with the sentences next month.
"The idea of killing that many people in that short a time period evokes an
assembly line," he said.
(source: United Press Internatnional)
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