[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, USA
September 25 TEXASexecution Texas inmate executed for stabbing 2 stepsons to death Robert Sparks was executed via lethal injection for the September 2007 killings of 9-year-old Harold Sublet and 10-year-old Raekwon Agnew in their Dallas home. A Texas inmate who said he's intellectually disabled was executed for fatally stabbing his 2 stepsons during an attack more than 12 years ago in their north Texas home that also killed his wife. Robert Sparks, 45, was executed by lethal injection Wednesday night for the September 2007 slayings of 9-year-old Harold Sublet and 10-year-old Raekwon Agnew in their Dallas home. In his final moments, Sparks uttered these words: "Umm, Pamela, can you hear me? Stephanie, Hardy, Marcus, tell all the family I love them. I am sorry for the hard times and what hurts me is that I hurt y'all, and um, even for y'all too, and Patricia, she wrote me, tell Patricia I wrote her back and to tell y'all what I said. I love y'all. I am ready." Prosecutors say Sparks' attack began when he stabbed his wife, 30-year-old Chare Agnew, 18 times as she lay in her bed. Sparks then went into the boys' bedroom and separately took them into the kitchen, where he stabbed them. Raekwon was stabbed at least 45 times. Authorities say Sparks then raped his 12- and 14-year-old stepdaughters. His attorneys asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene, alleging his trial jury was improperly influenced because a bailiff wore a necktie with an image of a syringe that showed his support for the death penalty. Sparks also alleges a prosecution witness at his trial provided false testimony regarding his prison classification if a jury chose life without parole rather than a death sentence. Lower courts and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles turned down requests by Sparks' attorneys to stop his execution. seventh in Texas. Seven more executions are scheduled in Texas this year. On Tuesday, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined to stop his execution on claims he was intellectually disabled, saying his attorneys had not presented sufficient evidence to show Sparks was mentally disabled and had failed to raise such a claim in a timely manner. In August, the 5th Circuit did grant a stay for Dexter Johnson, another Texas death row inmate who also claims he is intellectually disabled. In that case, the appeals court ruled Johnson had made a sufficient showing of possible intellectual disability that needed further review. After his arrest, Sparks told police he fatally stabbed his wife and stepsons because he believed they were trying to poison him. Sparks told a psychologist that a voice told him "to kill them because they were trying to kill me." Sparks' lawyers argued he suffered from severe mental illness and had been diagnosed as a delusion psychotic and with schizoaffective disorder, a condition characterized by hallucinations. A psychologist hired by Sparks' attorneys said in an affidavit this month that Sparks "meets full criteria for a diagnosis of" intellectual disability. "Without a stay of execution, it is likely that Texas will execute an intellectually disabled man," Seth Kretzer and Jonathan Landers, Sparks' appellate attorneys, wrote last month in court documents. The Supreme Court in 2002 barred execution of mentally disabled people but has given states some discretion to decide how to determine intellectual disability. However, justices have wrestled with how much discretion to allow. The Texas Attorney General's Office, which called the killings "monstrous crimes," said in court documents that Sparks' "own trial expert testified that he was not intellectually disabled." His attorneys said that at the time of his trial, Sparks was not deemed intellectually disabled, but changes since then in how Texas makes such determinations and updates to the handbook used by medical professionals to diagnose mental disorders would change that. On whether Sparks' jury was improperly influenced by the bailiff's necktie with an image of a syringe, the attorney general's office said the jury foreperson indicated she never saw the tie and had no knowledge of it affecting the jurors. The attorney general's office said the testimony from the prosecution witness on prison classification was corrected on cross-examination. "Sparks committed a heinous crime which resulted in the murders of two young children. He is unable to overcome the overwhelming testimony" in his case, the attorney general's office said in its court filing with the Supreme Court. Sparks becomes the 7th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in Texas and the 565th overall since the state resumed capital punishment on December 7, 1982. Sparks becomes the 47th condemned inmate to be put to death in Texas since Greg Abbott became governor in 2015. There are currently 7 more executions scheduled in Texas this year. Sparks becomes the
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Sept. 25 PHILIPPINES: CHR: Not all crime victims seek revenge via death penalty Not all victims of heinous or drug-related crimes are out for revenge by seeking the death penalty for those who have wronged them, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) said. CHR Commissioner Karen Dumpit made the position during the first hearing on bills restoring the death penalty before the House Committee on Justice. Dumpit cited the case of actress Cherry Pie Picache, who was able to forgive the person who murdered her mother, as well as Clara Sarmenta, who prefers that former Calauan Mayor Antonio Sanchez—the one who, along with six cohorts, raped and killed her daughter Eileen—pays for his crime by languishing in prison. “Not all victims want revenge, and not all of them are for death penalty,” Dumpit said. Likewise, Dumpit also cited the results of a March 2018 poll by the Social Weather Stations that surveyed 2,000 respondents aged 15 and above. It showed that only 3 out of every 10 Filipinos are in favor of imposing the death penalty for drug-related crimes such as: • importation of illegal drugs, • maintenance of drug dens, • manufacture of illegal drugs, • murder under the influence of drugs, • rape under the influence of drugs, • sale of illegal drugs, and • working in drug dens. “Our legislators and government can curb crimes and hold the perpetrators accountable without the death penalty. If we are going to use the assertion of revenge as motivation, we will only perpetuate a culture of violence,” Dumpit added. The CHR, however, stands alone among government agencies opposed to the death penalty. The Philippine National Police, the Department of Justice and the Public Attorney’s Office are all in favor of death penalty, although they have yet to submit a written position paper before the House Committee on Justice. The House of Representatives approved the reimposition of the death penalty for drug-related crimes during the last 17th Congress. The death penalty measure, however, was not acted upon by the Senate despite President Rodrigo Duterte’s support of the measure. Under the safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty provided by the United Nations Human Rights office, the imposition of death penalty must be “carried out so as to inflict the minimum possible suffering." (source: gmanetwork.com) *** House panel tackles death penalty bills The House Committee on Justice on Tuesday launched its deliberation on bills seeking to reinstate death penalty on heinous crimes in the country. At least 11 House bills are pending under the justice panel, all seeking to repeal Republic Act 9346 or the law prohibiting the imposition of death penalty and to impose higher penalties to designate death by legal injection among other penal laws. Among these measures are House Bill (HB) 1380 filed by Capiz Second District Rep. Fredenil Castro, which seeks to highlight the imposition of death penalty on drug-related crimes, with the execution ranging from hanging, through a firing squad or through lethal injection under the authority of the Bureau of Corrections director. HB 1588, filed by Minority Leader Bienvenido Abante Jr., a pastor and a self-proclaimed “life” advocate, seeks the same methods of execution of death sentence, but prefers carrying them out in a public place except for lethal injection. Witnesses may include the media and children 9 years old and above who are accompanied by their parents or guardians. Abante justified the imposition of death penalty by citing Bible verses in his explanatory note. “If God did not see death penalty as a deterrent, if He did not consider death penalty as right for the good of men and society, He would not have instituted it. If God saw it right, who is man to consider it otherwise?” a portion of Abante’s explanatory note read. “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil,” the lawmaker said, citing Ecclesiastes 8:9. Sarangani Rep. Rogelio Pacquiao, the brother of evangelical Sen. Emmanuel Pacquiao who is a known death penalty advocate himself, also filed House bills imposing the death penalty, focusing on the heinous crime of kidnapping and illegal detention, drug use and rape under HBs 1800, 1806 and 1807, respectively. Meanwhile, Muntinlupa City Rep. Rozzano Biazon zeroed in on the imposition of capital punishment on illegal drug traffickers and their cohorts. “There have been instances where the convicted trafficker continues to deal in the illegal drug trade even behind bars. They continue to profit from the misery of others, to the detriment of society, under a very secure base of operations — our prisons,” Biazon said. His stand was opposed by representatives from different government agencies, who sat as resource
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TENN., MO., ARIZ., ORE.
Sept. 25 TENNESSEE: Tennessee Seeks Execution Dates for 9 Death Row InmatesTennessee's attorney general has asked the state Supreme Court to set 9 execution dates, bucking a national movement away from capital punishment. Tennessee's attorney general has asked the state Supreme Court to set execution dates for nine death row prisoners, bucking a national movement away from capital punishment. Attorney General Herbert Slatery quietly filed the request on Friday with no explanation, and the state Supreme Court later posted it on its website on Tuesday. "The Tennessee Constitution guarantees victims of crime the right to a 'prompt and final conclusion of the case after the conviction of sentence,'" Slatery said in a statement Tuesday in response to a request for comment from The Associated Press. Slatery's motion came the same day he publicly announced he would challenge a Nashville Criminal Court's decision to commute the death sentence of black inmate Abu-Ali Abdur'Rahman's to life in prison after concerns were raised that racism tainted the jury selection pool. Slatery argued in his appeal that the court's order "circumvented established legal procedures." Assistant Federal Public Defender Kelley Henry said she was surprised by the request when she received it in the mail on Monday. 7 of the 9 men included in Slatery's motion are represented by the public defender's office. "Each case is unique and represents a number of fundamental constitutional problems including innocence, racism, and severe mental illness," Henry wrote in a statement on Tuesday. "We will oppose the appointed attorney general's request." In Tennessee, the attorney general can request execution dates once juries have delivered death sentences and inmates have exhausted their three-tier appeals process in state courts and the U.S. Supreme Court. The state Supreme Court then schedules the executions. It has not yet scheduled the 9 Slatery requested but has scheduled 2 others for the coming months. Tennessee has executed 5 people since it resumed executions about a year ago. The state was 2nd only to Texas in the number of executions it carried out in 2018, the 4th consecutive year in which there have been fewer than 30 executions nationwide. Tennessee executed 3 people last year; Texas put to death 13. The 9 men in Slatery's execution request are: — Byron Black, who was convicted of murder in the 1987 slayings of his girlfriend Angela Clay and her 2 daughters, Latoya and Lakeisha Clay, in Nashville. He was sentenced to die for the death of Lakeisha Clay and received 2 life sentences for the other killings. — Tony V. Carruthers, who was convicted of 1st-degree murder in the 1994 slayings of Marcellos Anderson, Delois Anderson and Frederick Tucker in Memphis. He was given a death sentence for each conviction. — Henry Eugene Hodges, who pleaded guilty to 1st-degree premeditated murder and aggravated robbery in the 1990 slaying of Ronald Bassett in Nashville. — Donald Ray Middlebrooks, who was convicted of torture and murder in the slaying of 14-year-old Kerrick Majors in Nashville in 1987. The high court reversed the death sentence in 1992 and ordered the case back to trial court for resentencing, but Middlebrooks was eventually given a 2nd death sentence. — Farris Genner Morris, who was convicted of murder in the 1997 slayings of 15-year-old Erica Hurd and James Ragland in Jackson, as well as the rape of Angela Ragland. A jury imposed the death penalty for Hurd's killing. — Harold Wayne Nichols, who was convicted of rape and 1st-degree felony murder in the 1988 death of Karen Pulley in Hamilton County. — Pervis Tyrone Payne, who was convicted of murder for the 1987 deaths of Charisse Christopher and her 2-year-old daughter Lacie in Memphis. He was sentenced to death for each of the killings. Payne also was convicted of intending to murder Christopher's 3-year-old son Nicholas. — Oscar Franklin Smith, who was convicted of murder in the 1989 triple slayings of his estranged wife Judy Lynn Smoth and her 2 sons from a previous marriage, Chad and Jason Burnett in Nashville. He was sentenced to death for all 3 killings. — Gary Wayne Sutton, who was convicted of 1st-degree murder in the 1992 slaying of Tommy Griffin in Blount County. A jury sentenced Sutton to death. In Tennessee, executions are carried out through lethal injection unless the drugs are unavailable, in which case the electric chair is used. Additionally, death row inmates who were convicted of crimes before January 1999 can choose the electric chair or lethal injection. Tennessee put 56-year-old Stephen West to death by electric chair last month. West was convicted of the 1986 kidnappings and stabbing deaths of a mother and her 15-year-old daughter. He also was convicted of raping the teen. (source: Associated Press) *** Nashville attorney: Death
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., VA., S.C., OHIO
Sept. 25 TEXASimpending execution Texas set to execute Robert Sparks after brutal deaths of his stepsons, wifeSparks was convicted in the 2007 stabbing deaths of his family members in his Dallas home. His lawyers have sought to stop his execution with arguments of intellectual disability and a jury tainted by a bailiff wearing a syringe tie. 12 years ago, Robert Sparks told police he killed his wife and 2 stepsons, ages 10 and 9, by repeatedly stabbing them in their Dallas home in the middle of the night. He then confessed to raping his 12- and 14-year-old stepdaughters. He told investigators his family had been poisoning him; he wanted to be tested for poison and for the girls to undergo polygraph tests, according to court records. He said a voice told him to kill his family. On Wednesday, Sparks, now 45, is set to be executed in the deaths of his stepsons, Raekwon Agnew and Harold Sublet Jr. Texas officials say his execution for the heinous crime should not be delayed, but Sparks’ attorneys filed multiple appeals within the last month. They fought for more time and resources to fully prepare a filing arguing that Sparks is intellectually disabled, which would legally bar him from execution. And they have continued to contend his trial was tainted by false testimony and a bailiff who wore a tie with a syringe on it during jury deliberations. “Without a stay of execution, it is likely that Texas will execute an intellectually disabled man,” Sparks’ attorney, Jonathan Landers, wrote in a recent federal district court filing. That appeal, along with those filed in state court and the federal appellate court, has been rejected. Final requests to stop his execution reside within the U.S. Supreme Court chambers. Sparks has been diagnosed as psychotic with delusions and with schizoaffective disorder, according to court records. At his trial, Dallas County prosecutors detailed how Sparks called police after the murders and later confessed on tape to killing the boys, as well as his wife, Chare Agnew. According to WFAA-TV, Sparks said he had been recording his family because he thought they were poisoning him, and he threatened to kill Agnew if he found out she had been. When everyone was asleep in September 2007, he stabbed his wife 18 times in their bed, court records state. He then woke the boys and stabbed them repeatedly — Harold at least 45 times. At the trial, emotions ran high. The court was disrupted several times by Harold’s father, who jumped up and ran toward Sparks when attorneys detailed how his son died, according to court records. A large blade found in the gallery disrupted court proceedings one day. And closing arguments were delayed in the guilt phase of the trial after Sparks apparently tried to kill himself, The Dallas Morning News reported. Ultimately, he was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death in December 2008. In recent court filings, Sparks’ attorneys asked for funds to hire a neuropsychologist to determine if Sparks was intellectually disabled. They said things like an IQ score of 75 (a borderline number for the disability), his struggle in special education classes, and poor learning and memory indicate a strong possibility Sparks would be ineligible for the death penalty under U.S. Supreme Court precedent that forbids execution of the intellectually disabled. Intellectual disability is often discussed in Texas death penalty cases since the U.S. Supreme Court slammed Texas for a 2nd time in February and invalidated its method of determining whether a death penalty inmate is disabled. Sparks’ lawyers said the appeal wasn’t brought forward earlier because Texas’ old method of determining intellectual disability was more restrictive than current medical standards. They argued that now Sparks’ low functioning, in addition to his borderline IQ of 75, “necessitates a full intellectual disability analysis.” A federal district court judge denied the request for funds and a stop to his execution last month. U.S. District Judge David Godbey said Sparks already had a full analysis before trial, when his IQ score was given, and he was not deemed intellectually disabled. An appellate court also rebuked Sparks for first raising the claim of intellectual disability months before his execution. In final filings before the U.S. Supreme Court, Sparks’ argument hinges on behavior at his trial. His lawyers say false testimony from a witness and a bailiff’s wardrobe affected the jury. Sparks’ lawyers said a state witness falsely claimed at trial that if sentenced to life in prison instead of death, Sparks would automatically be inserted into lower-security housing, providing the chance to eat and socialize with other inmates. Sparks’ attorneys said this influenced the jury to lean toward a death sentence and that it was likely he would have been in more restrictive custody based on his
