[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----MO., OKLA., UTAH, CALIF., ORE.
Sept. 26 MISSOURIimpending execution Ahead of Bucklew execution, lawyers meet with Parson’s office to seek commutation Just 1 week before Russell Bucklew is set to be executed by the state, his lawyers met with members of Gov. Mike Parson’s office to seek commutation. Bucklew, now 51, was convicted of murder in 1997 for the March 1996 shooting death of a man his ex-girlfriend had begun to live with. He had reportedly stalked, kidnapped, beat, and raped his former girlfriend, who is now deceased. Bucklew’s attorneys maintained he is now a “fundamentally different person” from when he committed the crimes. They said he is “incredibly remorseful for his conduct and the pain and suffering he caused,” in a petition for clemency to the governor. But furthermore, his attorneys alleged if the state continues with its plan to execute Bucklew by lethal injection on Oct. 1, he will suffer an “excruciatingly painful death” because of “unstable” tumors filled with blood in his face, head, and throat. He suffers from a rare, incurable disease called “cavernous hemangioma.” “Russell’s compromised medical condition make[s] it highly likely that the state’s protocol will cause a visually gruesome execution that will traumatize corrections personnel and witnesses alike,” his attorneys alleged, providing pictures of Bucklew’s face in the petition. Bucklew’s attorneys met with members of the Governor’s Office Monday to ask he take into consideration a host of factors — his unique medical condition, a “false” psychiatric diagnosis during trial, and his remorse — in considering clemency. Laurence E. Komp, a federal public defender, praised those at the meeting for a “productive” session. “We’re thankful for the opportunity to present to them. I found they were prepared and asked the kinds of questions you would expect anybody entrusted with advising the governor. I felt it was a positive meeting,” Komp told The Missouri Times. “What does that mean? I don’t know. I felt we were appreciative of the opportunity.” “We readily acknowledge that this is a horrible tragedy, and there is a just punishment. Our dispute is that the appropriate punishment in this case is not the death penalty,” Komp said. “The Governor takes seriously both his duty and responsibility to see that lawfully entered capital sentences are carried out in accordance with state law,” Kelli Jones, Parson’s spokeswoman said in a statement. “Each case of capital punishment will be thoroughly reviewed before any decision for pardon or clemency is made.” Jones noted, however, the Republican governor “has consistently supported capital punishment when merited by the circumstances and all other legal remedies have been exhausted and when due process has been satisfied.” Elyse Max, the state director for Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (MADP) said this case in particular could be a “stain” for Parson and sets up Missouri to “define what is torture for the rest of the nation” when it comes to capital punishment. “This case is particularly troublesome because with the medical condition of Russell Bucklew, we know it’s going to be a particularly tortuous execution,” Max told The Missouri Times, noting MADP has planned a rally in the Capitol building with citizens and lawmakers Thursday. Bucklew’s case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. In April, the nation’s highest court issued a narrow ruling against Bucklew’s request for a different manner of execution. Should the state continue with its plans for execution next week, Bucklew will become the 89th person to be put to death in Missouri since the U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed the use of capital punishment in 1976. He will be the 1st under the Parson administration. But Bucklew’s attorneys argue that he is reformed and not a danger to others. “Russell is now 51-years-old, suffers from a host of debilitating medical infirmities and has demonstrated through his actions that commuting his death sentence would be an act of compassion leading to just punishment,” the petition said. Bucklew is being held at the Potosi Correctional Center near Mineral Point. Aside from Bucklew, there are 22 other people in Missouri who are capital offenders, according to the Missouri Department of Corrections. Missouri allows the death penalty — by lethal injection or gas — which is overseen by the Department of Corrections. The death penalty can be imposed on individuals who are at least 18 years old and found to have deliberately committed first-degree murder, a class A felony. The law instructs jurors to consider certain evidence, including the perpetrator’s past record, when considering the death penalty. Individuals who are found to have a mental disease or inability to “understand the nature and purpose of the punishment about to be imposed upon him or matters in extenuation, arguments for clemency or reasons
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, USA, PENN., FLA., OHIO, TENN.
Sept. 26 TEXASexecution Texas executes 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 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, 45, was executed for the deaths of his stepsons, Raekwon Agnew and Harold Sublet Jr. His siblings and nephew watched through a viewing glass in one room, according to a prison witness list. 7 of the victims' family members — including the 2 women he raped as girls and Harold's father — had indicated they would watch from a room next door. But only six actually did so, according to a spokesperson, who did not know which relative was absent. “I am sorry for the hard times and what hurts me is that I hurt y’all," he told his family in his final statement. "... I love y’all. I am ready.” At 6:39 p.m., he was pronounced dead on a prison gurney, 23 minutes after being injected with a lethal dose of pentobarbital. Starks' lawyers fought until the end for more time and resources to fully prepare a filing arguing that Sparks was intellectually disabled, which would have legally barred him from execution. And they had long contended his trial was tainted by false testimony and a bailiff who wore a tie with a syringe on it during jury deliberations. The U.S. Supreme Court denied his final appeal about an hour before his execution was scheduled to begin, but Justice Sonia Sotomayor took note of the bailiff's attire, calling it "disturbing." "That an officer of the court conducted himself in such a manner is deeply troubling," she wrote in the order, though she didn't disagree with the court's denial since legal issues with the tie had already been argued in lower courts. "I nevertheless hope that presiding judges aware of this kind of behavior would see fit to intervene in future cases by completely removing the offending item or court officer from the jury’s presence." Sparks was 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. “Without a stay of execution, it is likely that Texas will execute an intellectually disabled man,” Sparks’ attorney, Jonathan Landers, wrote in a federal district court filing. Intellectual disability is often discussed in Texas death penalty cases since the U.S. Supreme Court slammed Texas for a second 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
