July 25



TEXAS----impending execution

Set for execution, death row inmate alleges legal fraud in hopes of a stay----With 2 days left before TaiChin Preyor's scheduled execution, his lawyers have tried just about everything to stop it. That includes alleging that his previous counsel committed fraud.



With 2 days left before TaiChin Preyor's scheduled execution, his lawyers have tried just about everything to stop it. That includes alleging that his previous counsel - a disbarred California attorney and a probate and real estate lawyer who reportedly relied on Wikipedia to research Texas legal procedure - committed fraud against a federal court.

So far, they've had no luck.

Preyor, 46, is set to be executed Thursday night for the 2004 killing of a 20-year-old San Antonio woman during a home invasion. If he doesn't receive a stay, it will be the state's 5th execution of the year - and end the unusually long 4-month lull in Texas' death chamber.

In recent weeks, Preyor's attorneys have filed a flurry of pleas, with the Texas governor and in state and federal court. They have argued Preyor should be spared the death penalty because his original attorney overlooked an abusive childhood and because his appellate attorneys were incompetent.

The Texas Tribune thanks its sponsors. Become one. "Even if you are someone who believes that there is a role for the death penalty to play with respect to certain crimes, there has to be a baseline there that the person ... was capably and competently represented throughout all of his proceedings," said Cate Stetson, one of Preyor's current attorneys. "And that baseline clearly was not met here."

On Monday afternoon, both the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals and a federal district court rejected Preyor's requests for a stay. Preyor will appeal now to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Texas and Bexar County have requested that the execution proceed, noting that it "has been postponed for over a year in order to accommodate [Preyor] and his attorneys, but at the expense of the victims and the state's interest in finality."

In court, Bexar County prosecutors accused Preyor of breaking into Jami Tackett's apartment in the early hours of a February morning. Tackett was in bed with Jason Garza, who testified that Preyor attacked and stabbed him before he ran away to call for help. With Garza gone, Preyor stabbed Tackett multiple times, killing her. He was arrested at the scene covered in her blood.

Preyor claimed he acted in self-defense. In a statement to police, he said Tackett, who sold him drugs, had invited him over and ambushed him with Garza. Preyor said he pulled out his knife after the 2 began attacking him and that he didn't intend to hurt Tackett "that bad."

A jury was unconvinced. They found him guilty and sentenced him to death.

Preyor's current attorneys aren't focusing on his conviction but on his death sentence. They argue the lawyer who represented Preyor during his sentencing, Michael Gross, failed to present evidence about Preyor's abusive childhood, which they argue could have swayed a jury to give him life in prison.

"Gross failed to hire a mitigation specialist, failed to investigate known red flags regarding Preyor's childhood, neglected to interview family members regarding Preyor's childhood and social history, and neglected to follow up on not 1, but 2, medical professionals' recommendations that Preyor be screened for mental illness or other executive-function issues affecting his capacity and judgment," Stetson and attorney Hilary Sheard wrote in a filing to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals last week. "The cumulative effect of these omissions was disastrous."

But Gross said in an affidavit filed to the court that he "adequately" represented Preyor, and talked to many family members, school officials, friends and even Preyor himself, none of whom mentioned abuse. "If they had given me any such information, I would have developed that evidence and presented it as mitigation at trial," Gross said in his affidavit.

Sheard and Stetson argue concerns about Gross' representation should have been raised during Preyor's appeals. Preyor blames this on his unusual appellate lawyers.

After becoming frustrated with Preyor's court-appointed lawyer during his post-conviction appeal, Preyor's mother turned to Philip Jefferson, a disbarred California attorney who claimed he was retired, according to Preyor's most recent court filing. Preyor claims Jefferson did most of the heavy lifting in the case and had Brandy Estelle, a California attorney who specialized in probate and real estate law, file documents to the court.

Estelle relied on Wikipedia to research Texas habeas procedures, Preyor alleged, and Preyor's appeals were denied in federal court.

"The federal habeas petition filed in this court ... was so abysmal that it subsequently became an exemplar, circulated among habeas attorneys, as an example of what not to do," Preyor's attorneys wrote.

Preyor also alleged that Estelle committed fraud against the court by hiding Jefferson's role and requesting payment for her legal services from the appellate court, even though Preyor's family had already paid her.

Estelle did not respond to requests for comment for this story, and Jefferson could not be reached for comment. But on Monday afternoon, a federal court dismissed that fraud allegation, saying Estelle "competently represented" Preyor.

"There has been no showing of any attempt to defile the court, much less egregious misconduct that rises to the level of bribery or fabrication of evidence," District Court Judge Fred Biery wrote.

Preyor has also requested that the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott grant him clemency and commute his sentence to life in prison. The board is expected to vote on his case Tuesday afternoon, but rarely recommends relief to the governor. Abbott has not stopped an execution since taking office in 2015. "Mr. Preyor experienced severe sexual and physical abuse as a child, but that compelling mitigation evidence has never been heard by any court," Stetson said Monday evening after the court rulings. "The appellate courts or the Governor should allow Mr. Preyor the opportunity to be represented by capable, competent, and licensed attorneys before his execution proceeds."

(source: Texas Tribune)

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

Capital case bears more scrutiny



We have had the case of the Sleeping Lawyer. Then came the case of the Drunk Lawyer. Now we have the case of the Disbarred Lawyer.

As governor of Texas, I authorized 19 executions. Since then, I have seen many cases of profoundly deficient lawyering for people who were sent to death row. But what happened to TaiChin Preyor, who is scheduled for execution on July 27, is beyond the pale.

Mr. Preyor was convicted of a murder in San Antonio and sentenced to death in 2005. His mother, Margaret Mendez, would do anything to save her son's life. A longtime employee of the U.S. Postal Service, she did not have hundreds of thousands of dollars to spend on a dream team to get her son's conviction reversed.

Ms. Mendez's niece introduced her to Philip Jefferson at a Thanksgiving dinner in 2007. Mr. Jefferson presented himself as a "retired" lawyer. In reality, he had been disbarred in California almost 20 years earlier. He claimed to be associated with Johnnie Cochran, who famously won a not guilty verdict for O. J. Simpson, and Ms. Mendez was understandably impressed. He said that due to his "retired" status, he would have to bring in an associate to sign and file documents.

Thus began an extraordinary fraud not only on Mr. Preyor's mother but also the courts. The lawyer who worked at Mr. Jefferson's direction, Brandy Estelle, had a probate, estate planning and real estate law practice in California. She had no experience in death penalty cases.

Ms. Estelle did not disclose to the courts that Mr. Jefferson was guiding the litigation or that the 2 sought duplicate payments from both Ms. Mendez and the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. All told, Ms. Mendez paid $45,000, cleaning out her savings and retirement funds, while Ms. Estelle sought compensation from the 5th Circuit for some of the same work without Ms. Mendez's knowledge.

No one will be surprised to learn that the "representation" the disbarred Mr. Jefferson and the unqualified Ms. Estelle provided was shockingly deficient in ways that are rarely seen. They filed a habeas corpus petition on Mr. Preyor's behalf that had no citations to the record or evidence outside the record. The federal court denied the petition, finding that it disregarded applicable habeas law.

Most disturbingly, Mr. Jefferson and Ms. Estelle completely missed the fact that Mr. Preyor's trial counsel had conducted a subpar investigation into Mr. Preyor's background. If he had provided effective assistance, he would have found and presented compelling mitigation evidence about Mr. Preyor's childhood, which was replete with violence and sexual abuse.

The violence and sexual abuse that Mr. Preyor experienced does not excuse his crime, but it could have led the jury to a greater understanding. If only 1 juror had heard the mitigation evidence and been persuaded that Mr. Preyor was not the "worst of the worst," he would be serving a life sentence today.

It's not too late to fix this disturbing injustice. In May - a short 8 weeks before Mr. Preyor's scheduled execution date - the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas authorized funding for new attorneys, with valid law licenses, to investigate and prepare a case for Mr. Preyor. These attorneys have filed a clemency petition asking Gov. Greg Abbott to commute his death sentence to life or, at the least, grant a reprieve to allow his new attorneys to complete their work.

I believe there are rare cases where the death penalty is the appropriate punishment. If we are to have capital punishment, we must afford defendants the protections that are enshrined in our Constitution. The Sixth Amendment is clear that the accused shall have the right to the assistance of counsel. At its most basic, that means a qualified lawyer with a law license, not one who has been prohibited from practice.

The integrity of our system demands that Mr. Preyor's claims receive a fair hearing before his execution can proceed.

(source: Commentary; Mark White served as governor of Texas from 1983 to 1987 and Texas attorney general from 1979 to 1983----San Antonio Express-News)

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

Texas 7 Prison Escapee On Death Row Loses Federal Appeal



A death row inmate who was part of the notorious "Texas 7" gang of escaped prisoners has lost a federal court appeal, moving him a step closer to execution.

Joseph Garcia has been turned down at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Attorneys for the 45-year-old Garcia argued he had deficient legal help at his trial and during earlier appeals.

After their December 2000 breakout from a South Texas prison, the gang committed numerous robberies, including the Christmas Eve holdup of a sporting goods store in the Dallas suburb of Irving where a police officer, 29-year-old Aubrey Hawkins, was killed.

The fugitives were captured in Colorado after a 6-week national manhunt. One killed himself there.

Garcia and 2 others remain on death row. 3 have been executed.

(source: Associated Press)

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

Man accused of letting migrants die in hot truck may face death penalty



The truck driver accused of smuggling at least 39 people in Texas over the weekend could face the death penalty or life in prison after 10 of the people died from being locked in the man's unventilated trailer in 100-degree heat, prosecutors announced Monday.

One of the deadliest cases of human smuggling in the U.S. in recent memory was discovered early Sunday morning, when San Antonio police found that a truck parked outside a Walmart was stuffed with undocumented immigrants. The truck's refrigeration system did not work, the driver, James Matthew Bradley Jr., later told investigators - and by the time police found them, at least people had already died from heat exposure and asphyxiation.

Another 30 people were taken to local hospitals. 2 later died - including 1 overnight on Sunday, just hours before Bradley arrived in court Monday morning for the federal crime of smuggling illegal aliens. Under that law, smugglers can face the possibility of the death penalty if any of the people they're transporting die.

According to the prosecutors[ complaint, Bradley told investigators that he was traveling from Laredo, Texas, to San Antonio, and he did not know that people were in his truck until he stopped at the Walmart. Once he realized there were people in his truck, he called his wife and tried to help them.

He did not dial 911. The immigrants were only discovered when 1 approached a Walmart employee and asked for water.

"The South Texas heat is punishing this time of year. These people were helpless in the hands of their transporters," Richard L. Durbin Jr., the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas, said in a statement before charges were filed. "Imagine their suffering, trapped in a stifling trailer in 100-plus-degree heat."

(source: vice.com)








OHIO----impending execution

Pharmacology profs call drug in Ohio execution 'unsuitable'



15 pharmacology professors are arguing to stop the impending execution of a condemned Ohio killer on grounds that a sedative being used is incapable of inducing unconsciousness or preventing severe pain.

In a brief filed at the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, the professors called the record on the sedative midazolam "profoundly troubling" and said it's "unsuitable" as an execution drug.

Their filing comes as Ohio prepares to resume executions after a more than 3-year hiatus.

WKYC's Monica Robins spoke about the new filings and other factors ahead of Wednesday's execution on our Facebook Live.

Ronald Phillips is scheduled to die Wednesday for the 1993 rape and killing of his girlfriend's 3-year-old daughter in Akron.

Phillips and 2 other inmates have asked the high court for stays as they appeal Ohio's lethal injection method. Phillips is also pursuing a separate age-related stay.

(source: Associated Press)

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

Ronald Phillips Set to Die in Ohio's 1st Execution in 3 Years



Father Lawrence Hummer had been told the lethal injection of Dennis McGuire would probably take about 5 minutes. Just about that much time had passed when something ghastly happened.

"He started struggling for breath," said Hummer, who knew McGuire from Masses he celebrated for Ohio's Catholic death-row prisoners and volunteered to be a witness at his January 2014 execution.

"I was trying to calm his children down when all of a sudden I heard audible gagging. I thought it was another witness, but when I looked back to [McGuire], he was the one gagging," Hummer said. "Your instinct is to help or stop it, but of course nobody could do a thing."

According to multiple witnesses, McGuire gasped, snorted and heaved for up to 15 minutes before he was finally pronounced dead, ending Ohio's longest execution - and its 1st using an untested 2-drug cocktail.

More than 3 years later, Ohio has not put another prisoner to death. But after a tangled journey through the court system and an international search for chemicals, that could be about to change.

Unless the U.S. Supreme Court steps in, child-killer Ronald Phillips will be strapped to a gurney at the state prison in Lucasville on Wednesday evening and given an injection of 3 chemicals - 1 of which was used on McGuire and in several other executions that did not go as planned.

Phillips, 44, was convicted of raping and beating to death his girlfriend's daughter, Sheila Marie Evans, in 1993. The Ohio parole board said it was "clearly among the worst of the worst capital crimes."

"Its depravity is self-evident," the panel said in denying clemency. "Words cannot convey the barbarity of the crime. It is simply unconscionable."

Phillips was originally scheduled to die in 2013, but Ohio ran out of the drug it used, the barbituate pentobarbital, and was unable to buy more because opponents of capital punishment convinced pharmaceutical companies to stop selling it to executioners.

The state adopted a new protocol: the sedative midazolam, followed by a massive dose of the opioid hydromorphone. Phillips would have been the 1st to receive it, but he won a delay with a request to donate his organs to relatives.

The state eventually rejected the donation idea, but it bought Phillips some time. The result was that in the meantime, McGuire became the 1st and only Ohio inmate executed with the experimental combination.

A review by prison officials concluded that McGuire - who raped and fatally stabbed a woman who was 8 months pregnant - did not suffer any distress. But after McGuire's family sued and midazolam came under fire for botched executions elsewhere, Ohio abandoned the 2-drug injection.

Its plan was to instead use a drug it relied on for more than a dozen years, sodium thiopental. But that drug is no longer made in the United States, and the Food and Drug Administration warned the state to drop plans to import it from overseas.

Switching gears, Ohio then adopted a 3-drug injection that several other states have been using: midazolam for sedation, following by a paralytic and the heart-stopping potassium chloride.

Despite its newfound popularity - Arkansas used it to kill 4 prisoners in 8 days - the formula is controversial. Critics say midazolam doesn't protect inmates against the pain of the other 2 drugs and thus violates the constitutional protection against cruel and unusual punishment.

A challenge out of Oklahoma was taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court, which declined to ban midazolam. But in January, a federal magistrate judge halted plans to restart executions, finding the use of the sedative created "a substantial risk of serious harm."

An appeals panel upheld that ruling, but was then reversed in a decision by the full court, which gave Ohio the green light to move ahead with Phillips' execution. Although he and other inmates have appealed to the nation's highest court, chances for a reprieve are increasingly slim.

In a response to Phillips' appeal, Ohio's attorney general argued its latest formula has a reliable track record.

"Ohio, a late adopter of the midazolam 3-drug protocol, chose it only after it was adopted by several States, used in over a dozen prior executions, authorized by many courts, and upheld by this Court," the state wrote in its brief.

Not all the executions have been problem-free, however, as 15 pharmacologists pointed out in a brief filed Monday. Last year, witnesses in Alabama reported that Ronald Bert Smith coughed and heaved for 13 minutes. Arizona swore off midazolam after Joseph Wood took 2 hours to die after getting the same kind of injection used on McGuire.

The coalition Ohioans to Stop Execution says it's just too risky for Ohio to restart its execution machinery with midazolam in the mix. It delivered petitions signed by 100,000 state residents to Gov. John Kasich's office on Monday.

Last week, the group released a statement from a retired judge who headed a court-appointed task force on the death penalty in Ohio and who complained that most of the panel's major recommendations have not been implemented - although none of those centered on execution drugs.

The state is saying little beyond its legal papers. Kasich's office referred inquiries to the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, which issued a brief statement: "Ohio intends to fulfill its statutory obligation of carrying out court-ordered executions in a lawful, humane and dignified manner."

The last time the state came close to executing Phillips, a prison medical team had trouble identifying a good spot for the injection, he later told a court.

"I guess the Lord hid my veins from them," he said.

Whatever happens Wednesday could have implications for the future of executions in Ohio. If there's a glitch or worse, prison officials will be under pressure to once again retool the protocol. If it unfolds as planned, the state will have momentum to move forward with more executions.

That's a prospect Hummer, the Catholic priest who witnessed McGuire's execution, dreads. He said he is still haunted by what he witnessed in the death house 3 years ago.

"It was a horrendous experience," he said. "It's something that never goes away."

He may be called upon to do it again.

"I have 2 guys who come to mass every week who are due to be executed next year, and I told them, 'I'll be there for you if you wish,'" Hummer said. "I can't abandon the guys I've been with. I mean, how can I not do it?"

(source: NBC News)

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

Resuming Executions in Ohio Will Not Serve Justice



After a 3-year hiatus, the state of Ohio is scheduled to resume executions this week. Ronald R. Phillips is scheduled to be put to death on July 26, despite outcry from groups including human rights organizations, faith leaders, correctional officers, and exonerated former death-row prisoners.

"While much of the country moves away from the death penalty, Ohio will be taking a devastating step backward should they move forward with this execution," said James Clark, senior campaigner with Amnesty International USA. "The capital punishment system is broken beyond repair, and must be abandoned."

(source: Amnesty International USA)

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

Diocese of Southern Ohio objects to reinstatement of death penalty



Despite much objection, the state of Ohio will end its current hold on the death penalty and proceed with its first execution in 3 1/2 years on July 26th, 2017.

The Diocese of Southern Ohio, in partnership with other community faith leaders, and a host of death row exonerees, is urgently encouraging Governor Kasich to reconsider the reinstatement of this punishment given the state's questionable history of wrongful convictions and botched executions.

"While certain crimes can be difficult to forgive, we must remember that we are all children of God," Bishop Thomas Breidenthal said. "As Christians, we should respect human life as precious, and not sanction death via our very human, and sometimes flawed, criminal justice system."

Those looking to learn more or get involved with the movement are encouraged to contact their respective congress person or senator and ask them to halt this process, or by signing the petition via the link below:

http://otse.org/faith_leader_letter/?utm_content=bufferfec48

About the Diocese of Southern Ohio

The Episcopal Church is home to more than 25,000 people in Southern Ohio. Our communities of faith can be found in Cincinnati, Columbus and Dayton, and in farm towns and county seats all across the southern half of Ohio.

We are led by the Rt. Rev. Thomas E. Breidenthal. As bishop, he offers spiritual leadership in partnership with the clergy and people of this diocese.

We are part of a larger, global community. The Episcopal Church has its roots in the Church of England and is part of the Anglican Communion. There are about 2.4 million Episcopalians in the United States and sixteen other countries and more than 70 million Anglicans worldwide.

(source: The Global Dispatch)








ARIZONA:

Lawsuit Seeks Details on Suppliers of Death Penalty Drugs



News organizations will clash with Arizona prison officials over the First Amendment at a trial to determine whether the public has a right to know who supplies execution drugs and the qualifications of people who carry out the death penalty.

The Associated Press, Arizona Republic and other news operations are seeking the information in a lawsuit filed after the 2014 death of Joseph Rudolph Wood, who was given 15 doses of a 2-drug combination over nearly 2 hours in what his attorney called a botched execution.

The trial is set to begin Tuesday in Phoenix.

Similar challenges to the death penalty are playing out in other parts of the country that seek more transparency about where states get their execution drugs.

States are struggling to obtain execution drugs because European pharmaceutical companies began blocking the use of their products for lethal injections.

In the Arizona case, the news organizations say information about executions has historically been open to the public and that journalists witness executions as proxies for the general public.

? They argued that the release of the information helps the public determine whether executions are carried out humanely and promotes public confidence in the criminal justice system.

"The public cannot meaningfully debate the propriety of lethal injection executions if it is denied access to this essential information about how individuals are being put to death by the state," lawyers for the news organizations said in the lawsuit.

The Arizona Department of Corrections didn't have an immediate comment Monday on the trial. The Arizona Attorney General's Office, which is defending the state at trial, didn't return phone calls and an email seeking comment.

State law prohibits the disclosure of information that would identify anyone serving on an execution team.

The state said that confidentiality extends to suppliers of the drugs used. An Arizona prisons official has suggested that previous disclosures about suppliers have led other vendors to refuse to provide the drugs.

Other plaintiffs in the case include the Guardian News & Media, Arizona Daily Star, CBS 5 (KPHO-TV) and 12 News (KPNX-TV).

The news organizations won a partial victory last year when U.S. District Judge Murray Snow ruled the state must let witnesses view the entirety of an execution, including each time drugs are administered.

Snow concluded that witnesses to Wood's death couldn't see that he was receiving additional doses of the drugs after the first ones failed to kill him.

A new execution protocol issued in January will let witnesses see the injections through a camera in a room where the drugs are loaded into an inmate's IV line.

Last month, the state settled a separate lawsuit filed by death-row inmates who alleged that Arizona's prisons chief had abused his discretion in the methods and amounts of drugs used in executions. The agreement limited the power of prison officials to change execution drugs at the last minute.

There are now 118 prisoners on death row in Arizona.

(source: Associated Press)








NEVADA:

History of capital punishment to be covered at Dangberg park in Minden



Historian Patty Cafferata will present "By Gas, Rope, Bullet or Poison: A History of Capital Punishment in Nevada" on Saturday, July 29, at 10 a.m. at the Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park.

Distinguished Nevada lawyer and former district attorney, Patty Cafferata, will share the fascinating history of the death penalty as practiced within Nevada. Cafferata will describe the methods of execution the state has used since its territorial days in 1860 through the present, including death by hanging, firing squad, lethal injection and the gas chamber.

Nevada was the 1st state in the union to make use of fatal gas when it put to death Gee Jon. Through colorful commentary, Cafferata will bring to life Jon's story along with some of the state's other interesting murderers, including the only woman executed in Nevada: Elizabeth Potts.

"Patty Cafferata is an engaging historian. Her books and talks on Nevada literally bring our history to life," said the park's events manager, Kim Harris.

(source: Nevada Appeal)








USA:

Prosecutors Given More Time to Decide on Death Penalty for Adam Purinton in Killing of Kansas Engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla



The fate of the federal case against Adam Purinton is still up in the air.

A federal judge July 20 allowed prosecutors more time to make their final decision on whether they will seek the death penalty against Purinton, who was arrested in February and charged with the killing of Indian American engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla.

The judge granted the prosecutors a 6-month stay in the federal hate crime case, according to a KansasCity.com report.

"A stay would give the parties appropriate time to investigate and present aggravated and mitigating factors bearing upon the death penalty decision," U.S. District Judge Carlos Murguia said in his order, according to the report.

The report added that the stay in the federal case means that Johnson County prosecutors will proceed first in their 1st-degree murder case against Purinton.

Purinton, 52, allegedly shouted "Get out of my country" before opening fire on Kuchibhotla, 32, and his friend Alok Madasani at Austins Bar and Grill in Olathe, Kan.

Kuchibhotla was killed in the shooting, while Madasani and intervener Ian Grillot were shot but survived.

Purinton was arrested in Missouri some 70 miles away hours later.

Several months after the state charges were filed in Johnson County, federal prosecutors filed the hate crime charge against Purinton, alleging that he targeted Kuchibhotla and Madasani "because of their actual and perceived race, color, religion and national origin," the report noted

While the maximum penalty for the murder charge is life in prison, the federal charge carries a potential death sentence, it said.

Purinton is being held in the Johnson County Detention Center. His preliminary hearing on the murder charge is scheduled for Sept. 18.

(source: Associated Press)

_______________________________________________
A service courtesy of Washburn University School of Law www.washburnlaw.edu

DeathPenalty mailing list
DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu
http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty
Unsubscribe: http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/options/deathpenalty

Reply via email to