[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, CONN., USA
July 18 TEXASimpending execution In Texas death row case, punishment does not fit crime Jeff Wood has an appointment he hopes to miss. On Aug. 24, 2016, at about 6 p.m., the Texas Department of Criminal Justice plans to inject a lethal dose of pentobarbital into Jeff???s veins to stop his heart as punishment for the 1996 murder of Kris Keeran. What makes this execution controversial is that everyone, including law enforcement and the prosecution, agrees that Wood, the driver of the getaway car, did not kill Kris Keeran inside a Kerrville convenient store on the morning of January 2, 1996. In fact, Daniel Reneau, the actual and sole killer of Keeran, was executed for his crime on June 13, 2002. Wood was convicted and sentenced to die under Texas' arcane felony-murder law, more commonly known as the "the law of parties" - for his role as an accomplice to a killing, which he had no reason to anticipate. Under the law of parties, those who conspire to commit a felony, like a robbery, can be held responsible for a subsequent crime, like murder, if it "should have been anticipated." The law does not require a finding that the person intended to kill. It only requires that the defendant, charged under the law of parties, was a major participant in the underlying felony and exhibited a reckless indifference to human life. In other words, neglecting to anticipate another actor's commission of murder in the course of a felony is all that is required to make a Texas defendant death-eligible. Texas is not the only state that holds co-conspirators responsible for one another's criminal acts. However, it is one of few states that applies the death sentence to them. There have been only 10 people in the U.S. executed under the law of parties - and 5 of those 10 executions were in Texas. The last such execution was in 2009, where the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles (BPP) recommended, with a 5-2 vote, that Robert Thompson's death sentence be commuted to life. Rick Perry rejected that vote and allowed the execution to proceed. Thompson was executed, even though it was his co-defendant, Sammy Butler, who actually killed the victim. Butler was given a life sentence. When the convenient store robbery took place, Wood was sitting in a car outside, under the impression that Reneau was going into the store to get "road drinks and munchies." Although it is true that Wood and Reneau had talked about robbing the store at the behest of the manager, Wood had backed out of the idea. Wood had no idea Reneau was carrying a gun and was going to attempt to rob the store. Wood also claims he was forced to drive Reneau away from the crime scene at gunpoint. Wood's actions before the murder, namely sitting in a car unarmed and unaware that another person was going to commit a robbery, does not constitute reckless indifference to human life. Even many supporters of capital punishment agree that the Texas law of parties is wholly unfair. In 2009, the Texas Moratorium Network and Wood's family led an advocacy campaign to end the death penalty for people convicted under the law of parties. The Republican-controlled Texas House overwhelmingly voted in favor of the bill. Unfortunately, the bill died in the Senate after Gov. Perry threatened to veto it. Last year, the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence voted again in favor of a bill to exclude the death penalty as punishment in law of parties cases. However, the session ended without an opportunity for a floor vote. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles should recommend that the governor commute Wood's death sentence to life in prison or a lesser term consistent with Wood's level of participation in the crime. They have made that recommendation in similar cases, including those of Kenneth Foster in 2007 and Robert Thompson in 2009. Wood might deserve punishment for driving away from the crime scene, but he does not deserve to die. He has never taken a human life with his own hands. (source: Opinion; Hooman Hedayati is an attorney and a member of the Texas Moratorium Network Board of DirectorsAustin American-Statesman) CONNECTICUT: Connecticut Court Reaffirms Ruling Abolishing Death Penalty The Connecticut Supreme Court has upheld its decision to abolish the state's death penalty, including for the 11 inmates on Connecticut's death row. The Connecticut Supreme Court has reaffirmed its decision that Connecticut's abolition of the death penalty must also apply to those already convicted of a capital felony. Monday's ruling comes in the case of Daniel Webb, who was sentenced to death for the 1989 murder of Diane Gellenbeck. The 37-year-old bank vice president was killed in a Hartford park after being abducted from a downtown parking garage. The court last August found the 2012 state law that banned executions for future crimes did not go far enough, ruling the death penalty was
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, CONN., USA, PENN., N.C.
April 22 TEXAS: Trial begins in fatal Jefferson County courthouse shooting Even Bartholomew Granger's attorneys acknowledge there's no question he is responsible for opening fire last year outside a Southeast Texas courthouse, fatally shooting a bystander in a failed attempt to kill his daughter who had accused him of sexual assault. When opening statements begin Monday in Granger's capital murder trial, his defense team's goal appears to be keeping the 42-year-old Houston man from being sent to death row. It's hard to imagine a person not going to be found guilty of this offense, Sonny Cribbs, lead attorney for Granger, said last week. I just hope if he's found guilty, which in all probability he will, I hope they ... do not execute him. I do not believe in execution. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Granger for the March 14, 2012, shooting spree outside the Jefferson County Courthouse in downtown Beaumont that left 3 others wounded, including Granger's daughter, her mother and another person. The 20-year-old daughter was to resume testimony in a trial where she accused Granger of sexually assaulting her 9 years earlier. Her testimony began the previous day in the case where Granger rejected a plea deal because he was convinced of his innocence. This is not a whodunit, said Ed Shettle, a Jefferson County assistant district attorney and lead prosecutor. He was trying to kill his daughter and her mother. Granger was outside the courthouse in his truck shortly before noon when he opened fire with a .40-caliber semiautomatic carbine. Minnie Ray Sebolt, 79, a bystander from nearby Deweyville, was caught in the crossfire and killed as she tried to run to the courthouse while others under attack dropped to the ground. Law enforcement officers returned fire. Granger fired more shots from his truck, hitting his daughter 3 times then running her over as he fled. He abandoned the bullet-riddled truck about 3 blocks away, walked inside a construction business and took several people hostage. Granger, who at some point was wounded, eventually surrendered. A 10-bullet magazine in his weapon had been emptied in the shooting binge, Shettle said. Granger's daughter was seriously hurt. The other surviving victims had less serious injuries. Granger is charged with several felony counts, including attempted capital murder. Retaliation against a witness is the accompanying felony that elevated Granger???s murder charge to capital murder, making him death-penalty eligible, Shettle said. If convicted, he faces death or life without parole. Both sides agreed to move the trial to Galveston, 75 miles southwest of Beaumont, primarily so jurors wouldn't have to walk by the crime scene each day. A judge declared a mistrial in his sexual misconduct case one month after the shootings due to heightened attention following the attacks. Shettle expected it will take about 2 weeks to present his case to the 14 jurors, including 2 alternates, who were selected over the past 2 weeks. If Granger is convicted of capital murder, his defense team will try to save him from the death penalty by showing jurors their client is not a continuing danger or that other circumstances - such as the sexual misconduct trial - drove Granger to open fire. You???re talking about mitigation, Cribbs said. Everything is on videotape. They've got shooting on videotape. They've got the death of the lady in the door. You see her fall down after being shot. That's all on videotape. And it's not going to be good for our side. (source: Associated Press) CONNECTICUT: Conn. Supreme Court taking up death penalty repeal The Connecticut Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on whether the state???s repeal of the death penalty for future crimes violates the constitutional rights of the 11 men on the state's death row. Justices are scheduled to hear the case Tuesday. The arguments come in the case of former Torrington resident Eduardo Santiago, who was sentenced to death for the 2000 killing of a West Hartford man in exchange for a broken snowmobile. The state Supreme Court overturned the death sentence and ordered a new penalty phase last year. But the ruling came two months after the state repealed the death penalty for murders committed after April 24, 2012. Justice will decide whether the repeal law bars the state from executing the death row inmates. (source: Associated Press) USA: Death penalty weighed as case is built against suspect The White House has a range of legal options in the Boston Marathon bombings, and they could include seeking the death penalty against the 19-year-old suspect. The administration has indicated it intends to move quickly to build a criminal case against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Several Republican lawmakers on Saturday criticized the administration's approach because they said it would afford Tsarnaev more rights
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, CONN., USA, NEB., TENN.
April 17 TEXAS: Controversial Revelation of Death Penalty Injustice, Last Words from Death Row, Scheduled for Release in April 2007 Nightengale Press will release Last Words from Death Row written by Norma Herrera in April 2007. Norma Herrera lived her brother Leonel Herrera's personal hell as he waited on Death Row for the courts to decide if the new evidence that proved his innocence would save his life. To fulfill her last promise to Leo -- to tell his story, to tell the truth -- Ms. Herrera has authored Last Words from Death Row. In Last Words from Death Row (Nightengale Press, ISBN 1-933449-29-2, $19.95) Ms. Herrera writes: On February 16, 1992, Applicant filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. He showed that he had important and compelling evidence of his innocence and argued that because of his innocence it would violate the United States Constitution to execute him. ... Collins v. Herrera, 754 F.2d 1029 (5th Cir. 1992). The Fifth Circuit held that, based upon Supreme Court precedent, innocence did not provide a basis for federal habeas corpus relief. In 1993, the court ruled in Herrera vs. Collins, 506 U.S. 390 (1993) that a prisoner cannot simply argue in federal court that new evidence points to his innocence. He first must prove that his trial contained procedural errors (the technicalities that may free the guilty but also protect the innocent). In this case, Leonel Herrera had been convicted of shooting two police officers. Ten years later, he submitted affidavits from witnesses who said that his now-dead brother had been the killer (one witness was his brother's son, who says he saw the murders). Without considering the statements, the court told Herrera to sit down and shut up. Federal habeas courts do not sit to correct errors of fact but to ensure the individuals are not imprisoned in violation of the Constitution, it said. In other words, being falsely imprisoned is not a violation of your rights. Herrera was executed four months after the ruling. Last Words from Death Row documents court events and press coverage, and calls into question the landmark decisions that sent her brother to his death. In the book, Ms. Herrera recounts the tribulations she and her family suffered as they worked to free Leonel Herrera from his fate. In his last words, Leonel Herrera said: I am innocent, innocent, innocent. I am an innocent man, and something very wrong is taking place tonight. If all the court proceedings, including the Supreme Court's decision prior to Leo's execution represent the visible tip of the death penalty iceberg, Last Words from Death Row exposes the enormous human tragedy that resides below the surface. Her questions drive a powerful wedge between the legal process in capital cases and the truth. Why do the guilty go unpunished? When is innocence not enough to free a convicted man? Does Truth not prevail in the American Justice system? Who pays? Who is next? Last Words from Death Row will be available through Nightengale Press (www.nightengalepress.com), through online retailers and better bookstores in April. For more information, or to interview Ms. Herrera, contact Valerie Connelly at (847) 810-8498. (source: PRWEB) ** Supreme Court Refuses San Antonio Man's Death Row Appeal A convicted killer condemned for an attack in which 2 of the 3 murder victims were injected with household cleaner before they were stabbed to death lost an appeal Monday at the U.S. Supreme Court, moving him closer to execution. The court refused to hear appeals from Clifford Kimmel of San Antonio and 2 other Texas death row inmates -- Lionell Rodriguez, a Houston man convicted of a notorious fatal carjacking, and Christopher Coleman, condemned for a triple slaying in Houston. Rodriguez is scheduled to die by lethal injection on June 20. Neither Kimmel nor Coleman has a pending execution date. Kimmel and another man, Derek Murphy, were arrested for the April 1999 fatal stabbings of Rachel White and Susan Halverstadt, both 22 and dancers at a topless bar, and Brett Roe, 29. Their bodies were found in a San Antonio apartment. Kimmel, who had a previous burglary conviction, was arrested about 6 weeks later for a parole violation and confessed to police. Court records show he and Murphy injected two of their victims with the cleaner Tilex to drug them before they robbed them. Kimmel pleaded guilty to capital murder, and a jury decided he should be executed. A defense psychiatrist testified at his trial the Kimmel, now 31, had been a heavy user of methamphetamines since he was 13 or 14. Kimmel's companion, Murphy, is serving a life prison term for his role in the slayings. Rodriguez is set to die for the 1990 shooting death of Tracy Gee, a 22-year-old woman gunned down while in her car at a stoplight. He was 19 at the time of the shooting and on parole only 3 weeks after serving 3
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----TEXAS, CONN., USA, LA. N.Y.
Oct. 16 TEXAS: The Community Speaks Up: Cheers and Jeers Cheers To the Texas Democratic Party and our local candidates standing on the Texas Democratic platform. Concerning capital punishment, the party platform states: In order to promote public confidence in the fairness of the Texas criminal justice system, Texas Democrats support the establishment of a Texas Capital Commission to study the Texas death penalty system. During that study, we recommend a temporary moratorium of executions pending actions on the Commissions findings. J.C., Texarkana, Texas (source: Texarkana Gazette) * Couple indicted in child's brutal murderDallas pair accused of using many objects to harm, kill 5-year-old A capital murder indictment against a Dallas couple Friday lists a staggering litany of objects that investigators think were used to injure and eventually kill their 5-year-old daughter. The list of objects used as weapons that caused the child's death includes a wall, and a foot, and a shoe, and a broom, and a belt, and a hand, and a brush, and a screwdriver, and a clothes hanger, and an extension cord, and an object, the exact nature and description of which is unknown. Stepfather Jason Pumphrey and the girl's mother, Hope Pumphrey, were arrested after they brought 5-year-old Amber Hope Pacheco to Children's Medical Center Dallas on Aug. 18. The child had new and old injures, including to her head and fractures to her pelvis, arm and ribs, authorities said. The indictments charge that Amber was beaten, had her hair pulled and her airway blocked and that she was stabbed with a clothes hanger. Ms. Pumphrey, 31, told authorities that she had not sought medical treatment for the girl earlier because she thought that the child was possessed by demons and that no one would believe her. The 5-year-old never regained consciousness after being taken to the hospital and died Sept. 3 after a judge ordered that it was in her best interest to remove her from life-support machines. According to court documents, Ms. Pumphrey told investigators that her husband punched his stepdaughter and whipped her with an extension cord. Mr. Pumphrey, 43, told police that he hit the child and whipped her with a belt. The Pumphreys remain in a Dallas County jail and could not be reached for comment. If convicted of capital murder, the two could face life in prison or the death penalty, though prosecutors have not determined whether they will seek the death penalty in these cases. (source: Dallas Morning News) ** Man Found Guilty of Capital Murder A Polk County jury found Donnie Roberts guilty Friday of capital murder. He's accused of killing 44-year-old Vickie Bowen in her Lake Livingston home a year ago. Authorities say 32-year-old Roberts, who was Bowen's boyfriend, confessed to killing her. Roberts says he shot her with a 22-caliber rifle during an argument. He could get the death penalty. It only took jurors a little more than two hours to find Donnie Roberts guilty. Roberts was reportedly married when he moved in with Vickie Bowen. During his trial, he told the jury he wanted to get back with his wife he'd left in Baton Rouge, but she'd refused. Last October, Roberts argued with Vickie at her Lake Livingston home. That's when he pulled out a gun and shot her to death. Just after the murder, Vickie's neighbor Anne Nelson said, I couldn't sleep. Every time I'd close my eyes, I'd see her. Roberts never denied the shooting. Jurors say that made it hard to listen to some of his testimony. Alternate juror Curtis Myers says, Roberts Kept pretty much the same demeanor, even (during) his earlier testimony way in the beginning; just not showing a whole lot of emotions. Vickie's family, including her mom and 18-year-old son, sat in on the trial. The family section behind Donnie Roberts remained empty all week. The punishment phase of the trial starts Monday. It's expected to last about a week. (source: KTRE News) CONNECTICUT: Convicted hit man could face federal death sentence A New York man faces a possible federal death sentence after being convicted of acting as a hit man in the slaying of a Hartford street gang leader. Fausto Gonzalez was found guilty Friday by a jury in U.S. District Court of firing 13 shots from a motorcycle into a car carrying Savage Nomads street gang leader Theodore Teddy Casiano on May 24,1996. On Tuesday, the jury that convicted him will begin hearing evidence whether Gonzalez, 33, should be executed. Gonzalez would become the 2st Connecticut convict on federal death row in decades. The only other possible sentence is life imprisonment without the possibility of release. In June, Wilfredo Perez, a drug dealer and rival of Casiano's, was convicted of hiring Gonzalez for $6,000 to kill Casiano. He and his brother, Jose Antonio Tony Perez, 44, both face life in prison for their roles in the murder. Prosecutor said the killing followed a
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----TEXAS, CONN., USA, FLA.
Feb. 9 TEXAS: Study Examines Mental Status and Childhood Backgrounds of Juveniles on Death Row A recent study of 18 juvenile offenders on death row in Texas found that nearly all participants experienced serious head traumas in childhood and adolescence, came from extremely violent and/or abusive families, had one or more severe mental illnesses, and had signs of prefrontal brain dysfunction. The study, conducted by Dr. Dorothy Otnow Lewis of Yale along with other experts, suggests that most of the juvenile offenders on America's death rows suffer from serious conditions which substantially exacerbate the already existing vulnerabilities of youth. In the study, Dr. Lewis and her colleagues reviewed all available medical, psychological, educational, social, and family data for each participant to clarify the ways in which these various aspects of development may have diminished a juvenile offender's judgment and self control. The study's findings are similar to earlier research conducted by Dr. Lewis in 1988. Her work was cited in an amicus brief filed last year by the Juvenile Law Center and more than 50 other organizations in support of juvenile offender Christopher Simmons. In his case, Roper v. Simmons, the Supreme Court will rule on the constitutionality of executing juvenile offenders. A ruling is expected before July 2005. The article regarding Dr. Lewis's latest study,Ethics Questions Raised by Neuropsychiatric, Neuropsychological, Educational, Developmental, and Family Characteristics of 18 Juveniles Awaiting Execution in Texas, was recently published in the Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. (32 American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law 408 (December 2004) (source: Death Penalty Information Center) * Prosecutors divided over life without parole option Texas prosecutors are split over a Senate bill that would add life without parole as a sentencing option for juries who find a defendant guilty of capital murder. While some see the bill as a way to alleviate financial and time strains on counties, others say it could take away a convict's hope of parole. If you don't have any hope, you'll do anything, said Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal, who opposes the bill. I believe in parole as something we ought to have in the code, even for very despicable crimes. Rosenthal said those convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life with the chance of parole after 40 years have something to work toward. Without parole, he said there is little incentive to behave in prison. Supporters of life without parole said violence isn't more likely among prisoners who aren't eligible for parole than those who are. They say life without parole would have prevented a case such as that of Kenneth Allen McDuff, who had his 1966 death sentence for killing 3 teenagers commuted to life and was later released from prison. After his release, McDuff was suspected of killing five women in Central Texas in 1991 and 1992. He was convicted of two slayings and executed in 1998. Senate Bill 60, which proposes the life without parole option, was introduced by Sen. Eddie Lucio, D-Brownsville, in November. It has been referred to the criminal justice committee. District Attorney Tim Cole, who represents Archer, Clay and Montague counties, said he knows some of his peers don't support the option and see it potentially weakening the death penalty. But Cole said life without parole could help rural prosecutors. Capital trials can bankrupt a small county and bring other cases to a halt while prosecutors focus on one, Cole said. As a DA, if I think a death penalty is appropriate, I should be able to convince a jury with life without parole on the table, Cole said. I don't think life without parole is the death penalty for the death penalty. Shannon Edmonds, director of governmental relations for the Texas District and County Attorneys Association, said the organization's membership is evenly divided. You always hear that prosecutors kill that bill every year, and that is just not true, he said. It's a tough bill for us. Division among prosecutors is a promising sign for life without parole supporter David Dow, director of the Texas Innocence Network. There have always been prosecutors who are in favor of life without parole, but in the past it has been my sense that a majority of prosecutors have been against it, he said. It is an irony because on the one hand prosecutors claim they want to give jurors the greatest number of options and here they oppose something jurors want. Rosenthal said if a new element, such as life without parole, is added into the existing law, it is going to lead to more litigation as to when it should be applicable and when it shouldn't. Edmonds said there's nothing constitutionally wrong with life without parole. Some fear, however, if life without parole becomes an option and if the death penalty were abolished, opponents then
