[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ARIZ., CALIF., USA
Sept. 3 ARIZONA: Arizona Supreme Court rules on self representation law It may literally be a death-defying act. But the Arizona Supreme Court ruled Thursday that people convicted of murder have the right to represent themselves in the part of the trial where a jury is deciding whether they live or die. The justices rejected the pleas of Aaron Gunches, now finally represented by a public defender, that they should overturn the decision by a jury to sentence him to death because he acted as his own lawyer in the penalty phase of the trial. Justice John Pelander, writing for the unanimous court, while the decision was "ill advised," said there is a long-standing constitutional right of defendants who are competent to represent themselves. Stephen Whelihan, a deputy county public advocate, did not dispute that right exists for an actual trial. But he argued this is different. In capital cases there are actually 2 phases, with the 1st to determine guilt or innocence. In the 2nd phase, the jury decides if there are certain "aggravating factors" that would make a death sentence more appropriate than life behind bars. These include things like committing a crime for financial gain or that the victim was a police officer. In this case, jurors found 2 factors: a prior conviction of a serious offense and that the murder was committed in an especially cruel and heinous manner. Jurors also are supposed to consider whether there are "mitigating factors" to spare someone's life, like lack of a prior criminal record and things in the person's history that might explain his or her conduct like prior abuse or mental or physical illness. Gunches, representing himself, presented none of that to the jury. Now, on appeal for the 2002 shooting death of Ted Price in the desert near Mesa, Gunches' attorneys said that constitutional right of self-representation should be limited to the guilt-or-innocence part of the trial. "The independent societal interest in the fair administration of justice has been found to outweigh even the right of the accused to counsel of his choice enshrined in the Sixth Amendment," Whelihan argued. The high court disagreed. (source: The Daily Courier) CALIFORNIA: Trial To Begin For Hemet Man Accused Of Killing Wife, Daughter, Raping Ex-Girlfriend The defendant allegedly confessed he wanted to get rid of his "baggage." Trial proceedings are slated to get underway Tuesday for a convicted felon accused of killing his wife and 5-year-old daughter, as well as raping and stabbing his ex-girlfriend, in Hemet. Johnny Lopez, 36, could face the death penalty if convicted in the November 2013 slayings of 36-year-old Joanna Angel Barrientos Lopez and his daughter, Mia. Lopez is charged with 2 counts of murder, along with 1 count each of attempted murder, forcible rape, burglary and being a felon in possession of a firearm, with a special circumstance allegation of taking multiple lives in the same crime. Riverside County Superior Court Judge John Monterosso is expected to hear pretrial motions next week and outline a trial schedule. Jury selection may take several weeks because it's a capital murder case. Lopez is being held without bail at the Southwest Detention Center in Murrieta. He was arrested on Nov. 9, 2013, shortly after the alleged attacks at 2 separate locations in the unincorporated east end of Hemet. According to court documents, the defendant confessed to sheriff's detectives that he had carried out the killings to get rid of his "baggage" -- an apparent reference to the victims. Investigators allege that on the night of Nov. 9, Lopez fatally shot his daughter, whom he'd sired in a prior relationship, then turned the gun on his wife, who walked into the room after hearing the gunfire. Both victims were shot twice in the head with a 9mm pistol, according to investigators. They were later discovered in the living room of Lopez's single-story house at 26174 Girard Street. After the shootings, the defendant drove to his ex-girlfriend's home at 41060 Sunset Lane, less than a mile away, and allegedly forced his way inside via a window. Carrying an ax and knife that he'd allegedly stolen from a nearby property, he subdued the 30-year-old victim, whose identity was not released, and sexually assaulted her, prosecutors allege. "According to his confession, he used the knife to slit her throat," Deputy District Attorney Burke Strunsky told City News Service in 2014. When Lopez walked out of the house with blood on his hands, a neighbor called 911, and a sheriff's deputy arrived moments later. "The deputy sees Lopez standing in front of a house across the street and approaches him, and the defendant takes off," Strunsky said. The lawman deployed pepper spray to stop Lopez, who put up a fight, culminating in the deputy striking him with his baton, at which point the convicted felon surrendered,
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ARIZ., CALIF., USA
March 30 ARIZONA: Detective called to testify at hearing The prosecutor in the trial of a man accused of killing an 8-year-old Bullhead City girl is calling a Bullhead City detective to testify at an upcoming Chronis hearing. Justin James Rector, 27, is charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping, child abuse and abandonment of a dead body in the death of Isabella Grogan-Cannella on Sept. 2, 2014, and leaving her body in a shallow grave near her Bullhead City home. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. Deputy Mohave County Attorney Greg McPhillips issued a subpoena last week to call Detective Brandon Grasse to testify at a May 6 evidentiary hearing. McPhillips only needs to prove 1 aggravating factor before Superior Court Judge Lee Jantzen to seek the death penalty. In Arizona, there are 14 aggravating factors that can be used to determine the death penalty. 1 factor that would be determined is the age of the victim, which Grasse will testify to in this case since Grogan-Cannella was only 8 years old at the time of her murder. A birth certificate could also prove the victim's age. Factors can include that the victim was 70 years or older, a child under the age of 15, or a police officer. Other factors include that the murder was committed in a cruel or heinous manner, the defendant committed multiple murders, or the defendant committed murder in connection with a street gang. Rector's 10-week trial is set to begin Oct. 17 with a pre-trial hearing set for Aug. 23. Rector is being held in county jail without bond. Mesa attorney Gerald Gavin was appointed as Rector's primary attorney in March 2015. 2 defense attorneys are required in death penalty cases. Jantzen has yet to rule on several defense motions, including another recent motion claiming imposition of the death penalty endangers Rector's Eighth Amendment right to be free from suffering a painful death. Jantzen has denied previous motions to preclude the death penalty. In Arizona, a jury in a death penalty case determines if a defendant is guilty or innocent of 1st-degree murder. If the defendant is convicted, the jury then determines if he or she is to be sentenced to death or to life in prison. (source: Mohave Valley Daily News) CALIFORNIA: Businessman charged in 'diabolic' slaying of Santa Barbara herbalist and family A businessman was charged Tuesday with killing a well-known Chinese herbalist, his wife and 5-year-old daughter inside their hillside Santa Barbara home for financial gain, prosecutors said. Pierre Haobsh, 26, of Oceanside faces 3 felony counts of 1st-degree murder, according to the Santa Barbara County district attorney's office. Prosecutors further allege that Haobsh was lying in wait when he committed the murders. Haobsh was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday afternoon in Santa Barbara. If he is convicted of the murders, Haobsh could face the death penalty or life in prison without parole. Prosecutors plan to decide on whether to pursue the death penalty after the preliminary hearing. The slain couple ran a popular Chinese herbal clinic on State Street in Santa Barbara, and Han was the author of several books on Chinese herbal medicine. Weidong Henry Han, 57; Huijie "Jennie" Yu, 29; and their daughter, Emily, were found dead Wednesday night inside their gated, 7-acre ranchette off the 101 Freeway. Han's colleagues became concerned about his whereabouts when he didn't show up for a business meeting earlier that day. They went to his home and found the front door ajar and the family's vehicles outside. Pierre Haobsh, 27, of Oceanside was arrested in San Diego County in connection with the deaths of Weidong Henry Han, his wife, Huijie Yu, and their 5-year-old daughter. Deputies were notified and found the victims' bodies wrapped in plastic and duct tape in the garage, said Sheriff Bill Brown of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office. An autopsy determined all three victims died of gunshot wounds to the head, sheriff's Lt. Brad McVay said Tuesday. Brown called the slayings "diabolic, premeditated." Within the first 32 hours of the family's killings, investigators began interviewing friends, relatives, neighbors and business associates who led them to Haobsh, Brown said. Detectives think Haobsh was recently involved in a business transaction with Han, the sheriff said. They then obtained a warrant to arrest Haobsh. Detectives began monitoring Haobsh and spotted him about 12:30 a.m. Friday at a gas station in San Diego County, where they arrested him. A loaded 9-millimeter handgun and property belonging to one of the victims was found inside Haobsh's car, Brown said. "This tragic case is a terrible blow to the Santa Barbara community and the medical community at large," he said. (source: Los Angeles Times) *** Defense attorney in Oakland death penalty case says there's lack of evidence for fatal shootings
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ARIZ., CALIF., USA
Oct. 3 ARIZONA: Death penalty murder case slowly making progress It's been more than a year since the body of 8-year-old Bella Grogan-Cannella was found about a mile from her Bullhead City home. She had been strangled to death and her partially clad body was buried in a shallow grave in a wash. Her mom, stepfather and his mother were arrested on drug charges a couple of weeks following the child's murder. Tania Grogan was sentenced to 5 years in prison last week for charges related to selling methamphetamine. Stepfather Ralph Folster was sentenced to 20 years last May on drug charges, and grandmother Freddie Nicholson is on probation for possessing drug paraphernalia. Meanwhile, the death penalty case against the man accused of killing Grogan-Cannella continues to wend its way through the courtroom of Mohave County Superior Court Judge Lee Jantzen. Justin James Rector, 27, was back in court on Wednesday for a status update on his pending trial, which is scheduled to begin in a year. Jantzen said he would issue rulings by the end of the week on 11 of many requests made by defense attorneys Gerald Gavin and Ron Gilleo. They and prosecutor Greg McPhillips requested Jantzen schedule a so-called law and motion day for them to argue the merits of the myriad documents, which range from a request Jantzen move the trial outside of Mohave County to asking the judge to rule the death penalty unconstitutional. Other documents of note include a request that Rector be provided a laptop computer with unfettered access in his jail cell in order to review the case against him in private, and one that requests Rector be allowed to wear civilian clothing and appear to be unrestrained at all of his hearings, not just at trial, and that the jail personnel also wear civilian clothing. Jantzen intimated he has made up his mind on some of them. "I don't think, on some of these, that I need to hear evidence," said Jantzen. Although he did note the flurry of defense filings has been heavy. "They keep coming and they haven't stopped coming," said Jantzen. "Digging into this file has been very difficult," he said, noting he's already working weekends to address his other cases and that he has a "rough draft" to his rulings on nearly a dozen of the requests filed by Gavin and Gilleo. McPhillips voiced concerns regarding the need to have Rector, 27, examined by a psychiatrist, which is generally required in death penalty cases unless the defendant and his or her attorneys refuse. The idea is to look not only at his overall mental health, but specifically his state of mind when he allegedly killed Grogan-Cannella. Gavin said he and Gilleo would request the exam at some point in the future, but not before they gather as much documentation on Rector's mental health history as possible. "It's essential for us to provide this in order to make the correct diagnosis," said Gavin. Getting that information, however, has been difficult, with some entities saying they have no information on treating Rector and others dragging their feet. "We're trying to not threaten people with subpoenas," he said, but he assured the judge Rector would submit to the exam. Gavin also asked Jantzen to schedule a "Chronis" hearing, which would give him and Gilleo the opportunity to challenge the probable cause of the state's alleged aggravating circumstances that make Rector eligible for the death penalty. Such "aggravators" could be accepted if Rector has a prior felony conviction, if it is determined the crime was cruel, heinous or depraved, or cold and calculating. Jantzen assured attorneys on all sides that he would file his rulings on 11 of the requests. He set Rector's next status hearing for Dec. 9. (source: Kingman Daily Miner) CALIFORNIA: COS rapist accused of killing 3 A Lemoore man accused of kidnapping and raping a College of the Sequoias student in 1980 will be tried for stabbing to death 2 woman, 1 pregnant, that same year. Ventura County Sheriff's officials announced this week that Wilson Chouest, 63, was arrested while in prison after DNA connected him the slayings of women in the city of Delano and in Ventura County just days apart, in the summer of 1980. But in all the 35 years since, law enforcement hasn't managed to identify the 2 women, and nobody has come forward to identify them. So Ventura County sheriff's officials say they're hoping social media and press coverage will help put names to the faces of these women. Autopsies revealed that both women had also previously given birth, meaning they likely have family somewhere. Chouest will be tried on all 3 murders - including the one in Delano - in Ventura County. He was arraigned on 3 murder charges, making him eligible for the death penalty. Chouest was serving a life sentence for robbing and kidnapping 2 COS students in Visalia in 1980, which occurred just before the slayings.
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ARIZ., CALIF., USA
Sept. 19 ARIZONA: Carlos Cruz, Rosemary Velazco: State to seek death penalty against Surprise parents in child's death State prosecutors will seek the death penalty against 2 Surprise parents in connection with the death of the couple's 3-year-old daughter. The Maricopa County Attorney's Office on Friday filed its intent to seek the death penalty against Carlos Cruz and Rosemary Velazco. Cruz and Velazco's 3-year-old daughter died in late May; she weighed 15 pounds, "showing signs of extreme malnourishment," according to court documents. A cause of death has not been disclosed. The medical examiner's report has not been finalized, according to the prosecution's filing. At the time of her death, the victim's injuries included "bruising throughout her body ... [and] large lacerations to her forehead exposing her skull," according to court documents. Each parent "committed the offense in an especially heinous, cruel, or depraved manner," according to the prosecution's death penalty filing. Neither Cruz' nor Velazco's attorney could immediately be reached Friday night. (source: ABC news) CALIFORNIA: 'Grim Sleeper' Serial Killer Trial Postponed to December Trial has been postponed until December for a California man charged with 10 "Grim Sleeper" serial killings. City News Service says a Los Angeles judge on Friday pushed back the date by 2 months to Dec. 15. The defense objected but the judge said she wants both sides to be fully prepared for the death penalty case. Lonnie Franklin Jr. is charged with killing 9 women and a 15-year-old girl. They were shot and strangled, their bodies dumped in and around South Los Angeles. The killings took place between 1985 and 2007 with a 14-year gap, leading to the "Grim Sleeper" nickname. Franklin has spent 5 years behind bars, partly because of trial delays as prosecutors claimed the defense failed to share important documents. (source: Associated Press) Lawmakers push initiative to end California death penalty A ballot proposal that could completely abolish California's death penalty is already on life support. The initiative would strike death as a possible punishment from the state's Penal Code, substituting life imprisonment without parole. California state law currently allows for the death penalty. "The death penalty in America may be living on borrowed time," USA Today reported. The ballot's proponent, actor Mike Farrell, would have 180 days from when the secretary of state's office enters the measure into circulation to collect the needed 365,880 signatures. California has not executed a death row inmate in nearly a decade, with the last one being in 2006, according to The Sacramento Bee. Farrell's initiative also stresses in calling the death penalty an "empty promise" that drains public resources. "The state spends millions of taxpayer dollars providing lawyers for death row inmates, only to see the murderers it has sentenced to death by execution die of old age in prison," the proposal reads. In June, death penalty advocates who sued in Sacramento Superior Court in 2014 won a critical settlement when the state agreed to develop a new method for lethal injection executions, using just 1 drug. Opponents of the death penalty argue that it will take more time and money drawing up a new procedure to restart executions in California, with many legal obstacles to face. California currently houses the nation's largest number of condemned inmates, nearly 1/4 of the more than 3,000 nationwide. The list also includes 21 women housed at a state prison in Chowchilla. Other opponents say they doubt any more prisoners will be executed at all, as more voters turn against the practice and they continue to challenge the state in court at every turn. Currently in California, nearly 20 inmates on death row are believed to have exhausted all appeals and be eligible for execution. However, the state lacks a court-approved way to kill them. "There seems to be a massive reassessment underway in this country in terms of capital punishment," said Kathryn Kase, executive director of the Texas Defender Service, which provides legal aid for those facing death row. "Everywhere you look with the death penalty, there's a problem." Farrell's ballot also points to the "fatal mistakes" of innocent people being carelessly sentenced to death as a reason to end capital punishment in California. "Wrongful convictions rob innocent people of decades of their lives, waste tax dollars, and re-traumatize the victims' families, while the real killers remain free to kill again," the proposal said. In 2012, California voters rejected a death penalty repeal - known as Proposition 34 - by a 52 to 48 % margin. Polls have consistently shown general public support for capital punishment. A growing number of states - 7, since 2007 - have already abolished the death penalty.
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ARIZ., CALIF., USA
April 28 ARIZONA: Court consideration challenge that Arizona's death penalty law too broad, applied arbitrarily A judge has scheduled a May 8 hearing for arguments on a challenge that contends Arizona's death penalty law is unconstitutionally arbitrary. The Arizona Republic (http://goo.gl/wf0EuA) reports that the challenge contends the law is unconstitutional because it lists numerous possible circumstances when the ultimate penalty could apply, giving prosecutors too much leeway. The motion being considered in Maricopa County Superior Court cites a 1972 ruling in which the U.S. Supreme Court said states' laws must distinguish between cases for which a death sentence can be sought and ones in which it can't. Arizona's so-called aggravated factors that could make a defendant subject to a possible death sentence have gradually increased to 14. According to the defense motion, nearly all first-degree murder cases now fit under one factor or another. (source: Associated Press) CALIFORNIA: After 13 years on death row, Redding man's sentence overturned; guilty verdict stays After nearly 13 years on death row, a Redding man's sentence was overturned Monday by the California Supreme Court, which ruled that he was improperly barred from calling an expert witness. The court upheld the 2002 murder conviction of Paul Gordon Smith Jr. but said his death penalty sentence was improper. Because we cannot say, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the penalty determination would have been the same had the jury heard from defendant's expert, we must reverse the penalty judgment, said the 7-member court in a unanimous 58-page opinion authored by Justice Carol A. Corrigan. The Shasta County District Attorney's Office now has the option of retrying the trial's penalty phase or allowing Smith, now 37, to serve the rest of his life in state prison. Smith, who has been on death row at San Quentin State Prison, was found guilty of the gruesome torture and prolonged beating death of 20-year-old Lora Sinner while they were camping in 1998 in the Trinity Alps. 3 others camping with Smith and Sinner were charged, but they confessed to the killing and testified against Smith at his 2002 trial. Kathy Moreno, the Berkeley defense lawyer who argued for Smith before the high court, said Monday, It is a really deserving case. Any court would have reversed that penalty based not only on the exclusion of evidence but the strong case in mitigation. She was referring to the testimony of numerous witnesses who detailed Smith???s difficult life as a child, including prolonged molestation at a very young age by his father and his subsequent journey through multiple placements in the social services system, where he encountered further physical abuse and repeated disappointment in seeking a stable family environment. At his trial, prosecutors argued that Smith should be executed, citing Smith's long history of brutal behavior, including the savage beating of a guard and escape attempt from Shasta County jail on the eve of his trial. Smith has shown himself to be violent and dangerous in every setting, and he will continue to be so now and into the future, a prosecutor stated in closing arguments. Smith's lawyers in 2002 tried to rebut the argument by calling James Park, a former San Quentin associate warden, as an expert witness to testify that life-without-parole prisoners are watched at all times by an armed guard from a secure location, that no guard enters prisoner areas unless accompanied by another guard, and that prisoners who behave in a dangerous manner are placed in solitary confinement. But Shasta Superior Court Judge James Ruggiero sustained the prosecution's objection to allowing Park to testify. The judge ruled that evidence of what it's like to be in prison was not admissible, including state prison security measures. Ruggiero reasoned that the evidence had no relevance to the issues of Smith's character and culpability or to any aggravating or mitigating circumstances. However, the Supreme Court said Monday that evidence of prison life is admissible if offered for the purpose of rebutting the prosecution; it ruled that Park should have been allowed to testify. Keeping Park off the witness stand significantly enhanced the impact of the prosecution's evidence on Smith's future dangerousness. Such an unfair advantage on the critical question of penalty offends the fundamental principles of due process, the justices declared. (source: Sacramento Bee) * Prosecutors to seek death penalty against man accused in Suisun City girl's 2013 slaying Solano County prosecutors announced Monday they will seek the death penalty against a Fairfield man accused in the February 2013 slaying of a young Suisun City girl. The announcement, made by prosecuting Deputy District Attorney Terry Ray, came during a brief hearing in
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ARIZ., CALIF., USA
March 27 ARIZONA: 2009 capital punishment case back in local court A Mohave County judge ruled on several motions Wednesday concerning the county's only death row inmate. In December, the Arizona Supreme Court overturned Darrell Bryant Ketchner's conviction and sentencing for 1st-degree murder and burglary and remanded those charges back to Mohave County for a new trial. His conviction on 3 counts of aggravated assault and attempted murder was affirmed by the court. Ketchner, 57, was convicted in March 2013 of the 6 charges and sentenced to death for the murder charge. He previously pleaded guilty to a weapons charge and was sentenced to 15 years in prison on that charge. Ketchner's 1st hearing since the December ruling was held Wednesday before Superior Court Judge Rick Williams at his Bullhead City courtroom. Ketchner remains on death row at the state prison. The judge set the next hearing for April 27. In 1 defense motion, the judge denied a motion to extend time to file a motion to remand the case back to the grand jury. The judge also allowed the court to provide grand jury transcripts to Ketchner's attorney, David Goldberg. A 2nd attorney, required in death penalty cases, may be appointed at the next hearing. Williams heard Ketchner's 1st murder case and has been assigned to the case again. Williams was reassigned to Bullhead City in January and Ketchner will be his only felony criminal case. Ketchner again faces the death penalty for the murder charge. Justin Rector is the county's only other death penalty case, for allegedly murdering an 8-year-old Bullhead City girl in September. Ketchner entered his ex-girlfriend Jennifer Allison's Kingman home on the night of July 4, 2009, where she sat at the kitchen table with her 18-year-old daughter, Ariel Allison. Another daughter, her boyfriend, and three younger children belonging to Ketchner and Jennifer Allison were in another room. Ketchner started to hit Jennifer Allison, chased her outside and shot her in the head as she lay in the driveway. Ariel Allison was stabbed 8 times in her mother's bedroom. She later died. The other children escaped out a window. Jennifer Allison survived her wounds but had no memory of the attack. The Supreme Court ruled that testimony from a prosecutor's witness was inadmissible evidence that required Ketchner's conviction and sentence to be reversed. The prosecutor argued that Ketchner entered Jennifer Allison's home to kill her to take control of the family he was losing. Ketchner's defense attorneys admitted that their client killed Ariel Allison and the attack on her mother, but they argued that the murder was not premeditated but rather a sudden, volatile quarrel with heated passion and should not have been subject to a death sentence. (source: Mohave Daily News) CALIFORNIA: Kinder, gentler forms of capital punishment are still barbaric; No amount of sugarcoating will change the fact that the death penalty is immoral -- Capital punishment is intrinsically inhumane, no matter the cleaner ways we carry it out today The state of Oklahoma, which developed the nation's 1st lethal injection protocol for executions, may soon approve what lawmakers say is a new, even more humane way of killing people. Following the advice of a criminal justice professor who is also a former assistant attorney general of Palau - note the lack of medical background - the state Legislature now wants to try a method called nitrogen hypoxia.. Utah is also changing the way it ends the lives of condemned prisoners. This week, Gov. Gary Herbert signed a bill allowing execution by firing squad when no drugs are available to create lethal injection cocktails. Opponents immediately denounced the plan as barbaric and brutal. In California, the state has wrestled with updating its lethal injection protocol ever since a judge imposed a moratorium on it. Another judge ruled that California's capital punishment system is too arbitrary and too slow. In both cases, the judges said the state was violating the U.S. Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. There's nothing new about this debate over how to make executions kinder, gentler and less painful. And in one sense, that's reasonable. If the state is going to kill people, it should certainly try to minimize the moaning and writhing that has characterized so many recent executions. But on another level, this is a fool's errand, an exercise in sugarcoating. You can't make humane something that is intrinsically inhumane. The United States should long ago have joined most of the rest of the world in abolishing the death penalty. Not so much because there might be (and often is) pain and suffering involved but because capital punishment is flawed, expensive, subject to manipulation, applied disproportionately to minorities, not an effective deterrent and, at the end of the day, irreversible.
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ARIZ., CALIF., USA
June 7 ARIZONA: Wife who killed husband with hammer gets life in prison Marissa DeVault will spend the rest of her life in prison, the convicted hammer killer learned Friday in a hearing in downtown Phoenix. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Roland Steinle sentenced DeVault to natural life in prison for killing her husband, Dale Harrell, with a claw hammer in 2009. Steinle was unmoved by pleas of clemency from DeVault's 3 daughters, who sobbed, held each other and could barely get out their words. I've listened very carefully to the girls, Steinle said, adding later, But the circumstances of this crime are so horrific and were done for nothing but greed. Steinle found that DeVault, rather than being trapped in an abusive marriage was, in fact, very manipulative, and showed no remorse for a murder committed in an especially cruel fashion. DeVault sobbed on and off throughout the hearing, often trying to steal a glance toward her daughters. DeVault could have been released after 25 years. Members of Harrell's family packed two aisles in court. Four of them told the court of a man who loved his killer with all his heart. As Steinle summarized, they gripped each other's hands in anticipation of the result they'd hoped for after 5 years. DeVault's aging grandparents, seeing the writing on the wall, were escorted out of court for what the judge called a disruption. A jury convicted DeVault of 1st-degree murder on April 8, after deliberating for 6 days. But the jury spared her the death penalty after she tearfully asked for mercy and after jurors heard her children testify that Harrell, 34, repeatedly beat her. DeVault's defense was that she killed Harrell in self-defense because he raped and choked her, and abused her for years. But the jury wasn't swayed. She'd told police conflicting stories. One involved a close friend killing Harrell to defend her. Prosecutors thought DeVault killed her husband for the insurance money. Police found his body in a pool of blood on the bedroom floor, the right side of his head smashed in. After the hearing, DeVault lingered near the bench where her daughters sat, talking with her attorneys. Then she was ushered by bailiffs through the door that would lead back to her cell. She didn't look back. (source: USA Today) CALIFORNIA: S.C. Upholds Death Sentence in Robbery-Murder of GamblerJustices Also Affirm Death Penalty for Man Who Killed 3 at Hospital in Orange County The California Supreme Court yesterday upheld the death sentence for a man who robbed and murdered a woman he followed from the Hollywood Park Casino in Inglewood more than 16 years ago. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James R. Brandlin sentenced Donald Ray Debose Jr. to death in July 1999 for the 1997 attack on Dannie Kim, a 32-year-old Washington state woman. Jurors found Debose guilty of 1st degree murder with special circumstances of arson and robbery. Prosecutors said the victim was followed out of the casino after gambling and was found later that morning in the trunk of her burning Chrysler LeBaron in front of an Inglewood elementary school. She was shot and burned and died 5 days later from her injuries. Debose also was convicted of the attempted murder and 2nd-degree robbery of another woman, who survived being shot in the head after being followed home to Rancho Cucamonga from the same casino in another 1997 attack. Security cameras from the casino recorded the movements of Debose and 2 other men, Carl Higgins and Anthony Flagg, with video footage showing the 3 appearing to monitor Kim's movements. The 3 were tried together, with Debose being sentenced to death Higgins and Flagg each being sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, in accord with the jury's verdicts. Jurors initially reported that they were deadlocked as to whether Debose should receive the death sentence. Brandlin gave them the rest of the day off and told them to return the next day to continue deliberations. Mistrial Not Required On appeal, the defense argued that the judge should have declared a mistrial when the jurors said they couldn't reach a verdict. But retired Justice Joyce L. Kennard, sitting on assignment, said the judge properly exercised his discretion under Penal Code ???1140, which provides for a mistrial if the court determines that the proper period of time for deliberation has expired and there is no reasonable probability of reaching a unanimous verdict. Brandlin's actions in bringing jurors back for more deliberations were not coercive or suggestive as to what verdict jurors should reach, the justice said. Moreover, here the jury had only been deliberating for a day and a half as to three defendants, after a trial that had lasted 2 months, Kennard wrote. We have previously upheld the denial of a mistrial in similar circumstances. The judge was not required to inquire as to
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ARIZ., CALIF., USA
May 30 ARIZONA: Trial reset for couple in death of Phoenix girl The murder trial of a Phoenix couple accused in the 2011 death of a 10-year-old relative who was locked in a small plastic trunk for hours was delayed Wednesday until early next year. Trial for John Michael Allen and his wife, Sammantha Lucille Rebecca Allen, had been set to begin next month. Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty. Attorneys on both sides told a Maricopa County judge that they need more time to find possible mitigating circumstances and to interview witnesses. The trial was postponed until Jan. 6. The Allens, both 25, have pleaded not guilty to 1st-degree murder charges in the death of Ame Deal. Authorities said the girl died after being padlocked in a footlocker as punishment for taking a Popsicle from a freezer. She was left in the footlocker all night and was found dead the next morning at the Phoenix home where her relatives lived, police said. Authorities said the footlocker was less than 3 feet long, less than a foot wide and a foot deep. The girl was about 4 feet tall and weighed nearly 60 pounds. The Allens were among 6 relatives initially arrested in the case including her father David Deal, who was sentenced last June to 14 years in prison after pleading guilty to attempted child abuse. He acknowledged abusing the girl on several occasions between March 2010 and July 2011, including stuffing her at least once into the trunk and tossing it into a pool as punishment. Investigators said family members heaped a range of abuse on Ame Deal from 2005 until her death, including kicking her in the face while she was on the ground, forcing her to eat dog feces, making her crush aluminum cans with bare feet and scrubbing her face with a wire brush. 2 other relatives have been sentenced in the case. Death penalty sought against man accused of killing cellmate in Maricopa County jail Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against a man accused of killing his cellmate in a Maricopa County jail while he was incarcerated on another murder charge. The Maricopa County Attorney's Office says Andrew Ward, 27, should face the death penalty in the April 2 death of cellmate Douglas Walker, 33, because Ward carried out the killing with gratuitous violence and in an especially cruel manner. Investigators say Ward stabbed Walker, beat him and forced a plastic bag down Walker's throat. Prosecutors are also seeking the death penalty against Ward in the March 12 fatal stabbing of his 12-year-old half-brother. Investigators say Ward explained his motive in his half-brother's death by saying, Honestly, I just felt like killing. Ward has pleaded not guilty to charges in both cases. (source for both: Associated Press) *** Judge Rules Video, Audio Recordings of Trial to Be Allowed; No Live Coverage Permitted The judge presiding over Jodi Arias' upcoming penalty phase retrial has ordered restrictions in terms of news coverage of court proceedings. Although video and audio recording will be allowed by the media, news outlets will not be allowed to stream coverage live. According to a report from azcentral.com, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Sherry Stephens had initially banned all video recording and live streaming of the case because of the frenzied circus atmosphere these recordings resulted in during Arias' trial last year. In a ruling released this week, Stephens seemed to amend that initial decision. In said ruling, she wrote that video and audio coverage of the upcoming penalty phase proceedings will, in fact, be allowed. However, these recordings will not be allowed to be broadcast publicly until after a verdict is reached. Any violation of this court order will result in an immediate expulsion from the courtroom and the issuance of an order to show cause for contempt, Stephens wrote in the ruling. The Associated Press reports that Stephens seemed to give herself some leeway in this decision, noting in her ruling that if any of the audio and/or video footage is to be allowed, it will not be live. Rather, there will be a mandatory 15-minute delay before airing. This decision comes as a result of last year's coverage of Arias' murder trial which attracted attention worldwide and created what some have called a media spectacle and circus atmosphere. In the initial trial last year Arias, 34, was convicted of the violent and brutal murder in 2008 of her then-boyfriend Travis Alexander. The jury in that case agreed Arias was guilty of 1st-degree murder for killing Alexander, but couldn't come to an agreement on the appropriate punishment. As such, Arizona law dictates that prosecutors have the option of carrying out a second penalty phase, or penalty phase retrial for Arias with a new jury in a bid to secure a death penalty verdict. This penalty phase retrial is slated to begin on
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ARIZ., CALIF., USA, US MIL.
April 26 ARIZONA: Brewer vetoes death penalties for smugglers Gov. Jan Brewer has vetoed a bill that would have made drug or human smugglers convicted of murder eligible for the death penalty. Brewer said in a veto letter Thursday that the language in parts of House Bill 2313 was overly broad and vague and that broadening death penalty eligibility would lead to a court challenge over its constitutionality. The Republican-controlled Legislature approved the bill along party lines. The bill by Republican Rep. Justin Pierce of Mesa adds smuggling or participating in or assisting a human smuggling organization to the list of crimes eligible for the death penalty. It also requires a judge to consider whether it is likely that a defendant would commit another crime and that he or she is a threat to society. (source: Associated Press) CALIFORNIA: DA hasn't decided on seeking the death penalty in Stanislaus County murder case The man accused of killing Korey Kauffman appeared briefly in court Thursday; the district attorney still hasn't decided what punishment to pursue against him. Robert Woody, 38, of Turlock is charged with murder and criminal conspiracy. A special circumstance for lying in wait to allegedly commit the murder makes the case eligible for the death penalty, but Chief Deputy District Attorney Dave Harris said prosecutors have not made a decision in that respect. His pretrial hearing was postponed until May 15, so Harris and defense attorney Bruce Perry can continue to gather and review discovery evidence in the case. Three alleged co-conspirators are listed in the criminal complaint, but the District Attorney's Office does not identify those people in the court document and has refused to name them publicly. Criminal defense attorney Frank Carson and Pop-n-Cork liquor store owners Daljit and Baljit Athwal have received the attention of law enforcement officials investigating Kauffman's death, but they have not been charged with any crimes. The Athwal brothers' homes and businesses have been searched twice, and they say they have been questioned repeatedly about Kauffman and Carson. The defense attorney's Ninth Street property in Turlock also was searched in connection with the case. Kauffman, a scrap metal recycler, was last seen headed toward a property on Ninth Street in March 2012, according to authorities. Kauffman's family has said he might have been planning to steal something. Detectives who interviewed Baljit Athwal at his store after Woody's arrest told him Woody gave a statement to detectives suggesting he beat up Kauffman on Carson's property. Athwal recorded the interview at the advice of a private investigator he hired from Policeabuse.com, a Florida-based organization that investigates law enforcement agencies. The brothers and Carson have denied any culpability for the death of Kauffman, whose body was found in the Stanislaus National Forest in August, a year and a half after his disappearance. During the recorded interview at Baljit Athwal's store, Modesto Police Detective Jon Evers and District Attorney Investigator Kirk Bunch asked him if he had ever been to the Stanislaus National Forest in a light-colored pickup. He said he hadn't. They proceeded to inquire more about the pickup in question, a silver Chevrolet Silverado that Baljit Athwal reported stolen from his Ceres home. The Chevy pickup was reported stolen April 27, 2012, a month after Kauffman was last seen. It was found abandoned and burned in an almond orchard in Merced County, according to Ceres police and the California Highway Patrol. The Athwals have staged numerous protests, and their private investigator, Diop Kamau, is filing complaints against investigators, including Bunch, for harassment. (source: Modesto Bee) USA: 10 Ways to Blow a Death Penalty CaseThe Constitution guarantees defendants the right to effective counsel. These lawyers weren't. 13 years ago, speaking at the University of the District of Columbia, US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg criticized the effectiveness of court-appointed lawyers for low-income people facing capital punishment. People who are well represented at trial do not get the death penalty, she said. I have yet to see a death case among the dozens coming to the Supreme Court on eve-of-execution stay applications in which the defendant was well represented at trial. She wasn't the first to draw this connection. In 1994, the legendary lawyer and death penalty opponent Stephen Bright, president of the Southern Center for Human Rights, wrote a seminal essay for the Yale Law Journal titled Counsel for the Poor: The Death Sentence Not for the Worst Crime But for the Worst Lawyer. Very little has changed in the intervening 20 years. In 1997, for instance, a Georgia jury imposed a death sentence on Robert Wayne Holsey. (See This Man is About to Die Because an
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ARIZ., CALIF., USA
April 15 ARIZONAfemale may face death sentence Penalty phase to begin for Arizona woman convicted of fatally beating husband with hammer Lawyers are scheduled to make arguments Tuesday over whether an Arizona woman convicted of fatally bludgeoning her husband with a hammer should spend the rest of her life in prison or be sentenced to death. Jurors have already found that Marissa Devault qualifies for the death penalty because she killed Dale Harrell in an especially cruel manner. Defense lawyers are expected to call some of Devault's family members to testify. Devault was convicted last week of first-degree murder after jurors deliberated for 5 1/2 days. Prosecutors say Devault killed Harrell in a failed bid to collect on a life insurance policy to repay more than $300,000 in loans from her boyfriend. Devault says she killed her husband in self-defense and told investigators he had physically and sexually abused her in the past. Harrell, 34, suffered multiple skull fractures in the January 2009 attack at the couple's home in the Phoenix suburb of Gilbert. He died nearly a month later at a hospice because of complications from his head injuries. Devault initially told investigators that her husband attacked her while she was asleep and choked her until she was unconscious. She also told police that when she woke up, she saw another man who lived at their home beating Harrell with a hammer. But investigators say Devault later confessed to attacking her husband, saying she pummeled him in a rage as he slept after he sexually assaulted her. The key prosecution witness was Devault's former boyfriend, Allen Flores, a businessman who is 20 years older than Devault and had loaned her more than $300,000 during their 2-year relationship. Flores testified that Devault wanted to either hire someone to kill Harrell, or kill him herself and tell police he tried to rape her after a night of drinking. Devault's attorneys attacked Flores' credibility, noting he was given an immunity agreement on child-pornography allegations in exchange for his testimony. The child pornography was found on Flores' computer during a search that was part of the murder investigation, authorities said. (source: Associated Press) * Jury finds aggravating factor in Devault murder trial Marissa Devault could face the death penalty after jurors on Monday found an aggravating factor in her murder trial. Devault was convicted in the 2009 death of her husband, Dale Harrell, who was fatally beaten with a hammer. The jury has already spent 2 days considering whether there were aggravating factors that would make her eligible. To make her eligible for the death penalty, the jury had to determine that she killed her husband in an especially cruel manner. If jurors had found Devault didn't qualify for execution, then a judge would have had to sentence her to life in prison. Attorneys on both sides will now make arguments to jurors on whether she should be imprisoned or executed. Prosecutors say Devault killed Harrell in an unsuccessful attempt to collect on life insurance money. Devault says she acted in self-defense against an abusive husband. The final penalty phase will begin Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. (source: East Valley Tribune) CALIFORNIA: Jesuit death row chaplain: 'We allow revenge to ruin many lives' Jesuit Fr. George Williams Age: 56 Profession: Death row chaplain at San Quentin State Prison Lives in: San Quentin, Calif. Sr. Camille: Jesuits are admired for their intelligence, learning and leadership qualities. Some readers might wonder if you're wasting your time, your life, ministering to men on San Quentin's death row. Williams: I've been asked that question many times by colleagues who are correction officers. 2 groups have never asked me that: Jesuits and my friends who know me well. Jesuits know that St. Ignatius spent time ministering to prisoners and other outcasts, and he even mentioned prisoners in the founding documents of the Society of Jesus. In the Formula of the Institute, which defines what Jesuits are, Ignatius wrote: Moreover, he should show himself ready to reconcile the estranged, compassionately assist and serve those who are in prisons or hospitals, and indeed, to perform any other works of charity, according to what will seem expedient for the glory of God and the common good. Ignatius' vision of what it means to be a Jesuit included serving those in prisons. The educational institutions came later. My closest friends have always seemed to grasp the value of a life of service to others. I remember that when I began to talk about entering the Society of Jesus while still a captain in the Air Force 30 years ago, my Air Force colleagues for the most part thought I had lost my mind. One Air Force friend who was Jewish got it, though. He said, I get it, you are trying to answer a higher calling.
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ARIZ., CALIF., USA
March 18 ARIZONA: Jodi Arias: 2nd Penalty Phase Gets A Date Jodi Arias has been dominating headlines for several months now after her explosive trial ended up coming to a standstill when jurors couldn't decide on whether to hand down the death penalty. Arias was convicted of 1st-degree murder in May for the killing of her boyfriend, Travis Alexander, in 2008. Arias denied involvement in his shooting/stabbing death at first, but then admitted she had killed him in self defense. Alexander was found in the shower with 30 stab wounds, a shot to the head, and a cut to his throat. Because the jury couldn't come to a decision, a new penalty phase trial has been set for September 8. In order to receive the death penalty, Arias will have to be found guilty of murdering Alexander in an exceptionally cruel way. A new jury will be chosen and cameras are forbidden from the courtroom when the trial begins. Arias was on the minds of Arizona taxpayers in January when news broke that her legal fees - which they are footing - had topped $2 million. If the 2nd jury fails to come to a decision about the death penalty, Arias would either face life in prison or life with the possibility of parole in 25 years. (source: webpronews.com) * No Plea Deal! Jodi Arias WILL Be Tried Again For Death Penalty Sentence In Brutal Murder Of Travis Alexander Despite her handwritten pleas and multiple legal filings, Jodi Arias is facing the death penalty and will be tried again in the sentencing phase following her conviction of 1st degree murder for the brutal slaying of Travis Alexander. Judge Sherry Stephens ruled on Monday that Arias' penalty phase trial will begin on September 8, 2014, more than a year after a jury was deadlocked on her sentence but found her guilty of Alexander's murder. She was found guilty by the jury of killing him in June 2008, after she stabbed him 29 times, shot him in the face and slit his throat from ear to ear. Prosecutor Juan Martinez will again try and convince a jury that Arias should be put to death, rather than stay behind bars for the rest of her life. If the jury is deadlocked again the judge will make the decision if she faces life in jail with or without the possibility of parole. Sitting in the Estrella jail, Arias has tried to fire her lawyer, Kirk Nurmi, since the jury convicted her in May 2013, and he and Jennifer Willmott tried to quit themselves, but the judge has denied her request. (source: radaronline.com) CALIFORNIA: Fast-track executions? The approach of 3 former California governors could theoretically limit the state appeals process, which now generally takes 12 to 15 years, to 5 years. What's wrong with this picture? Exonerations of wrongly convicted prisoners are at an all-time high. Last month, the governor of Washington put executions on hold because, since 1981, when the state last updated its capital punishment laws, a majority of the 32 death sentences that were imposed were overturned. More than a dozen other states have also called a halt to executions, for various reasons. And yet, 3 former California governors - George Deukmejian, Pete Wilson and Gray Davis - are urging the state to speed up a clearly flawed process of deciding who's to die. Their approach could theoretically limit the state appeals process, which now generally takes 12 to 15 years, to 5 years. It may be easy for most people - even former governors - to ignore or dismiss these injustices. Many of the wrongly convicted are poor black men, invisible to the majority of Americans. Too many of us buy into what's on TV detective shows: irrefutable scientific tools that identify the guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt. Plus, nobody wants to admit that blameless people have died at the hands of the state. Humans will do almost anything to preserve their self-regard, including avoiding the implications of exonerations, every one of which, as social psychologist Carol Tavris says, is stark, humiliating evidence of how wrong you are. The facts should send chills up anyone's spine. Take eyewitness testimony. According to the Innocence Project, which uses DNA evidence to challenge wrongful convictions, eyewitness misidentification is the culprit in more than 70% of the cases. Researchers have pinpointed the way misidentifications increase dramatically across class, age and racial lines. A recent Stanford study found that an interviewer's perception of whether subjects were white or black changed depending on such circumstances as where the subjects lived and whether they had been imprisoned. Memory, an obvious aspect of eyewitness evidence, is just as insidious. I remember what I saw is a misleading illusion. And despite what instinct tells you, those who tell very detailed and consistent stories are more likely to be liars than those who are uncertain or self-contradictory. Memory is malleable. It can be
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ARIZ., CALIF., USA
Jan. 28 ARIZONA: Jodi Arias' legal bills have topped $2 million, a tab being footed by Arizona taxpayers that will only continue to climb with a new penalty phase set for March, officials said Monday. Arias, 33, was convicted of murder in May, but the jury couldn't reach a verdict on her sentence. Prosecutors are now pursuing a second penalty phase with a new jury in an effort to get the death penalty. Trial is set for March 17. The waitress and aspiring photographer has been held in jail in Maricopa County awaiting her fate while her legal bills continue to mount. As of Monday, the county had paid nearly $2.2 million for her court-appointed attorneys, expert witnesses and other costs associated with her case, Maricopa County spokeswoman Cari Gerchick told The Associated Press. Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery has refused to provide a tally of how much it has cost to prosecute the case, citing a court order that attorneys not discuss Arias-related matters. Arias admitted she killed her boyfriend, Travis Alexander, in 2008 at his suburban Phoenix home but claimed it was self-defense. He suffered nearly 30 knife wounds, had his throat slit and was shot in the forehead in what prosecutors argued was premeditated murder carried out in a jealous rage when Alexander wanted to end their affair. The case captured headlines worldwide and became a cable television staple with its tales of sex, lies and a brutal killing while every minute of the trial was broadcast live. This time around, the judge will be limiting media coverage in hopes of avoiding the same publicity. There will be no live video coverage of the second penalty phase, and electronic devices will be banned, meaning reporters won't be able to provide real-time updates via Twitter as occurred during her 1st trial. Under Arizona law, while her murder conviction stands, prosecutors have the option of putting on a 2nd penalty phase with a new jury. If the 2nd panel fails to reach a unanimous decision, the death penalty will automatically be removed from consideration, and the judge will sentence Arias to spend her entire life behind bars or be eligible for release after 25 years. (source: azcentral.com) Jodi Arias: Legal Bills Cost Taxpayers How Much? Jodi Arias, who was convicted of murder in May 2013, has been awaiting a verdict on her sentence ever since as jurors failed to decide what her fate should be. Prosecutors in the case are pursuing a second penalty phase with a new jury in order to obtain the death penalty for the 33-year-old. The trial is due to take place on March 17. Arias has been incarcerated in the Maricopa County jail, and her legal bills keep on rising. The County has already coughed up $2,150,536.42 for Jodi Arias' court-appointed attorneys and other legal expenses. Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery has not said how much Arias' legal bill relying on a court order that prevents attorney's from discussing Arias-related matters. Jodi Arias was convicted of killing her boyfriend, Travis Alexander, in 2008 at his home in Phoenix. Arias pleaded self-defense, but as Travis suffered around 30 knife wounds on his body and died from having his throat slit and being shot in the forehead, her self-defense argument was regarded as not feasible. At the time, the Jodi Arias trial drew a lot of attention around the world and the court proceedings were televised worldwide, showing each and every gory detail of the case. The judge this time around, wants to limit media coverage of the trial in order to avoid the same publicity. In order to achieve that, the judge has ordered no live TV coverage of the trial and a ban on reporters bringing any electronic devices into the courtroom for the purpose of offering real-time updates via Twitter, as they did during the 1st trial. Legally, in Arizona, if the 2nd set of jurors fail to reach a unanimous decision, the option of the death penalty will be removed from the table. If that happens, the judge will most likely sentence Jodi Arias to life in prison with a possibility for release in 25 years time. (source: inquisitr.com) CALIFORNIA: 'Los Palillos' Mexican Drug Trafficking Leaders Begin Death-Penalty Phase Opening statements are scheduled Tuesday in the penalty phase of trial for 2 leaders of a Mexican drug trafficking gang who face the death penalty or life in prison after being convicted of several murders and kidnappings in San Diego County. Jorge Rojas Lopez, 34, was found guilty of 4 murders, while Juan Estrada-Gonzalez, also 34, was convicted of six counts of first-degree murder in a trial that began in January 2013. In both cases, jurors found true special circumstance allegations of kidnapping, torture and multiple murders, as well as an allegation that the killings were committed between 2004 and 2007 to benefit the defendants' gang. A mistrial was declared
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ARIZ., CALIF., USA, US MIL.
Oct. 29 ARIZONA: Federal court denies appeal for Arizona death-row inmate convicted in 1991 killing A federal appeals court has turned down an Arizona death-row inmate's appeal. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling upholds a trial judge's earlier decision to deny an appeal on behalf of David Gulbrandson. The appeal was based largely on complaints about Gulbrandson's legal defense during his trial in Maricopa County Superior court. Gulbrandson was convicted of murder and sentenced to death for the 1991 fatal stabbing of a business partner, Irene Katuran. (source: Associated Press) ** Objections raised to Juan Martinez's conduct in Jodi Arias trial Juan Martinez was Arizona Prosecutor of the Year in 1999, more than a decade before he became a media darling with his performance in the Jodi Arias murder trial. This year, Martinez convinced a jury to find Arias guilty of 1st-degree murder, but the jurors could not reach consensus on whether to sentence her to death or life, and Arias likely faces a new trial to make that decision. Martinez helped send 7 other killers to death row since he was hired at the Maricopa County Attorney's Office in 1988. He was accused by defense attorneys of prosecutorial misconduct in all but one of those cases; the Arizona Supreme Court characterized his actions as constituting misconduct in one of them, and cited numerous instances of improper behavior in another, but neither rose to the level where the justices felt they needed to overturn the cases. Allegations of misconduct by Martinez in the 2nd case and at least 2 others are pending in state and federal courts. It is not uncommon for defense attorneys to allege misconduct against prosecutors. A study by The Arizona Republic determined that it was alleged in about 1/2 of all death-penalty cases since 2002, and validated in nearly 1/4 of them. But it is rare for Supreme Court justices to call out a prosecutor's conduct in open court. One day in mid-2010, the Arizona Supreme Court was on the bench as lawyers presented arguments during the direct appeal of a 1st-degree murder conviction and death sentence for a man named Mike Gallardo, who killed a teenager during a Phoenix burglary in 2005. Transcripts show Justice Andrew Hurwitz turned to the attorney representing the Arizona Attorney General's Office, the prosecutorial agency that handles death-penalty appeals. Can I ask you a question about something that nobody's discussed so far? he asked. The conduct of the trial prosecutor. It seems to me that at least on several occasions, and by and large the objections were sustained, that the trial prosecutor either ignored rulings by the trial judge or asked questions that the trial judges once ruled improper and then rephrased the question in another improper way. ... Short of reversing a conviction, how is it that we can ... stop inappropriate conduct? The assistant attorney general struggled to answer. Justice Michael Ryan then stepped into the discussion. Well, this prosecutor I recollect from several cases, Ryan said. This same prosecutor has been accused of fairly serious misconduct, but ultimately we decided it did not rise to the level of requiring a reversal, Ryan said. There's something about this prosecutor, Mr. Martinez. There had been multiple allegations of prosecutorial misconduct against Martinez in Gallardo's appeal. Ultimately, in its written opinion, the court determined that Martinez had repeatedly made improper statements about the defendant. During the oral argument before the Supreme Court, the justices fixed on a question that Martinez asked three times, even though the trial judge in the case had sustained a defense attorney's objections to the question. But in the end, the justices ruled that Martinez's behavior still did not suggest pervasive prosecutorial misconduct that deprived (the defendant) of a fair trial. And, as the justices noted, it was not the 1st time that Martinez had walked away unscathed. It's his MO, said Deputy Maricopa County Public Defender Tennie Martin when asked about trying cases against Martinez. He's kind of Teflon. Retired Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Kenneth Fields, himself a former federal prosecutor, said, You're at war, almost nuclear war, the minute you come up against him. Fields was one of several judges who sued Maricopa County and received settlements after being falsely targeted by the anti-corruption crusade of disbarred former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas and Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Martinez declined to talk to The Republic for this story. The Maricopa County Attorney's Office refused to turn over his personnel file despite a request made by The Republic under the state's public-records law. The office said the denial was due to the best interests of justice. The National District Attorneys Association honored Martinez with
