Oct. 2
TEXAS:
UT Amnesty International chaper holds rally for death row inmate Rodney Reed
The UT Amnesty International chapter held a protest Tuesday at West Mall in
support of Rodney Reed, who was convicted of murder in 1998 and has been on
death row in Texas for 23 years.
Amnesty International is the largest human rights organization in the world,
and UT’s chapter works to spread awareness about human rights abuses, according
to the organization’s websites. A couple dozen protestors encouraged bystanders
and nearby students to take flyers and sign clemency letters on Reed’s behalf.
Zoe Marshall, a UT Amnesty International officer, said chapter members have
been closely following Reed’s case, and they believe the evidence shows he is
innocent. She said the chapter’s top priority is engaging with and lobbying for
this issue in state government.
“This case really matters, not just because it involves the death penalty but
because Rodney Reed is an innocent man, and he was not given a fair trial,”
history senior Marshall said. “Amnesty International stands for fairness and
justice for everyone, especially in an instance where this man could be facing
death. It’s a case that has lots of urgency for us right now.”
Members of Rodney Reed’s family were also present at the protest, including his
brother Rodrick and stepsister Wana.
“I have been in support of my brother from day one, and I will continue to
support him as long a I have a breath in my body,” Rodrick said. “It’s very
important that my family and these students get involved because it affects
everybody. It is injustice, and when you do it to one person, you’ve done it to
us all.”
Public relations sophomore Tavia Zepeda said she believes it was “pretty clear”
that Reed’s race and socioeconomic status has to do with him being convicted.
“It’s almost a never ending story of white police officers taking advantage of
black lives,” Zepeda said.
Government senior Jenny Matthews said the fight for justice ultimately rests in
the hands of the current generation of college students.
“The prelaw students here are going to be the ones trying cases like this in
the future,” Matthews said. “We’re the future leaders of America … The people
in power seem to have no interest in this. Their only interest is in holding up
the status quo. They’re not interested in getting people like Rodney Reed out,
and we need to change that.”
(source: The (Univ. of Texas) Daily Texan)
FLORIDA:
Jury questioning begins for Michael Jones' death penalty trial in murder of
Diana Duve
Michael Jones sat passively in court Tuesday as a few people called for jury
duty described in detail what they knew about how he’s accused of killing Diana
Duve in 2014 after the couple met for drinks at a local bar.
Most of the pool of 33 potential jurors called to court for Jones' death
penalty trial said they didn’t know anything about the former wealth management
advisor, or Duve’s homicide, which police said happened in the early hours of
June 20, 2014.
Jones, 36, who arrived in court wearing a suit jacket, white dress shirt and
blue tie, is charged with 1st-degree murder and faces the death penalty if
convicted.
He's pleaded not guilty and is being held at the Indian River County Jail.
By midday, 6 prospective jurors had been released from serving on his jury.
Michael Jones murder trial: “Could you vote for death?”
Some recited facts they’d read in recent media reports and during the past 5
years. A few recalled that Jones and Duve had dated and that he’s accused of
strangling her then putting her body in the trunk of her car and driving it to
another county.
Duve was discovered in the trunk of her Nissan Altima in a Melbourne parking
lot. Jones was charged with murder days later.
One woman who was cut from the jury said she worked as a medical biller and
knew Duve, who was a nurse at Sebastian Medical Center. The woman said one of
her nurse friends was close to Duve.
Duve's parents, Lena and Bill Andrews and other family members silently watched
the proceedings in court.
One man dismissed from the jury pool said it didn’t matter if state prosecutors
proved Jones was guilty, he’d still find him innocent out of fear of
retribution if there was a conviction.
A couple of people said they’d already decided he was guilty and it would be
difficult to set aside their strong opinions about the case.
As 15 jurors were quizzed one at a time, Jones sat at the defense table with
his public defender legal team, taking notes on a legal pad. He showed no
emotion but seemed to be listening to each person as they spoke.
After a lunch break, prosecutors and Jones’ lawyers continued speaking to a
group of 25 people covering a range of questions about their beliefs related to
the death penalty and their experience with or exposure to domestic violence.
"I'm interested in your personal feelings about the death penalty," Jones' lead
attorney Assistant Public Defender Stanley Glenn told the panel.
"If you have certain feelings about this case, we need to know that."
Indian River County Circuit Judge Dan Vaughn is allowing the jurors who weren't
dismissed to be questioned in small groups, which Jones’ lawyers have insisted
on to better understand jurors' feelings for and against capital punishment.
This vetting process is expected to play out all week as 4 more groups of
potential jurors come to court through Thursday.
Jurors who weren't permanently dismissed from the case on Tuesday were told to
return Monday morning for additional questioning.
Jones’ trial will begin as soon as a 12-member jury plus a few alternatives are
selected and sworn in. His trial is expected to last through most of October.
(source: tcpalm.com)
MISSISSIPPI:
Ex-Mississippi Officer Pleads Not Guilty to Capital Murder
A former Mississippi police officer has pleaded not guilty to killing a woman
with whom he had been romantically involved.
News outlets report that former Oxford Police officer Matthew Kinne entered his
plea on Monday in Lafayette County Court. A grand jury indicted Kinne last
month on a capital murder charge. If convicted, he faces the death penalty.
Kinne is accused of breaking into the home of Dominique Clayton in May and
fatally shooting her in the head as she slept. Her 8-year-old son found her
body.
Clayton's relatives say she and Kinne were in a relationship at the time.
Clayton's family has demanded $5 million from Oxford city government, saying
officials failed to supervise Kinne. The Clayton's attorney has accused Kinne
of being on-duty when he entered the home
(source: Associated Press)
KENTUCKY:
After Nearly 6 Years in Jail Because of Unaffordable Bail, Kentucky Man
Acquitted of Capital Murder
A Kentucky man who languished in jail for nearly six years because of bail he
could not afford has been acquitted of capital murder and related charges.
Eugene “Red” Mitchell (pictured) faced the death penalty on charges that he had
raped, sodomized, and murdered Sheila Devine, a Louisville grandmother. On
September 18, 2019, a Jefferson County jury found Mitchell not guilty of all
charges against him. He had spent 5 years, 8 months and 10 days in pretrial
custody, unable to post a quarter-million dollar cash bond.
“They wanted to kill me for something I knew I didn’t do,” Mitchell said. “It
is the most terrifying thing in the world.”
Angie Elleman, one of the public defenders who represented Mitchell, called the
capital prosecution “an extreme waste of resources.” The wrongful murder
charges and prolonged incarceration also exacted an extreme personal toll on
Mitchell. His health dramatically deteriorated during his time in jail. He
experienced severe depression, gained 100 pounds, and had to have 13 teeth
extracted. While he was in custody, Mitchell was evicted from his home and lost
his possessions. Although the jury verdict set him free, he is now homeless.
Mitchell’s case is the 2nd consecutive death-penalty trial in which a Jefferson
County defendant has been acquitted. In March 2018, a jury found Charles
Washington not guilty of all charges in a fatal home invasion. Steve Bright,
the former president of the Southern Center for Human Rights, described
acquittals in capital cases as very rare and said the 2 consecutive acquittals
indicate that Commonwealth Attorney Tom Wine’s office “obviously has made huge
miscalculations” in the selection of death-penalty cases.
The prosecution claimed that Mitchell committed the crime with co-defendant Guy
Marcus Allen, whose trial is still pending. DNA evidence suggests that Allen,
not Mitchell, sexually assaulted Devine. Mitchell’s DNA was found in Devine’s
apartment, but in places his attorneys described as “innocuous,” such as on the
vodka bottle he had shared with Devine the day before her attack. The
prosecution claimed that Mitchell knew details about the crime that supposedly
were known only to police and the killer, but facts about the case had quickly
become the subject of gossip in the neighborhood where Devine and Mitchell
lived. A prosecution witness told the jury that Mitchell had been bleeding from
his neck after the killing, possibly indicating a struggle with the victim.
However, surveillance video from the store in which Mitchell worked debunked
that testimony. The prosecution also failed to prove that Mitchell and Allen
had been in Devine’s apartment at the same time, and the defense presented
evidence that the 2 men did not even know each other.
After his acquittal, Mitchell told the Louisville Courier-Journal, “It’s over
with. I can’t cry over spilt milk. I’ve got to get on with my life.”
(source: Death Penalty Information Center)
MISSOURI----execution
Police interview Russell Bucklew days after 1996 crimes----Exclusive: Police
interview Russell Bucklew days after 1996 crimes
As convicted killer Russell Bucklew faces an October 1 execution date, we’re
hearing what Bucklew told Cape Girardeau County authorities about the crimes
that put him on Missouri’s death row.
We got an exclusive look at the March 27, 1996 recording.
Bucklew, seated in a wheelchair, spoke calmly about what happened 6 days
earlier, when he shot and killed Michael Sanders then kidnapped and sexually
assaulted his ex-girlfriend Stephanie Pruitt.
“What charge do you guys have me on,” Bucklew asked the investigator.
“Russell, I’m sure they’ve got you charged with capital murder, 1st degree
murder.”
As officers handed him his medication and some water he continued to ask about
the case against him.
“What does that bring, the death penalty?”
“It could. Yeah," the investigator replied.
Bucklew began the interview by taking the investigator through the weeks
leading up to the crimes. He talked about his medical condition and a falling
out with Pruitt.
He also recalled his first meeting with Michael Sanders when he returned to the
trailer he used to share with Pruitt.
“I guess this was this Mike guy. I didn’t know his name. So, I grabbed a knife
and I put it to his throat and I said ‘you better get the hell out of my house
or I’m going to kill you. If you ever come back, I’m going to kill you.’”
Bucklew also admitted to getting violent with Pruitt, punching her in the face
during one fight, tying her up during another.
“What did you tie her up with...what did you tie her up with,” the investigator
asked.
“Oh, they were little plastic ties,” Bucklew answered.
“Oh, ok," the investigator said.
Bucklew’s demeanor didn’t change as he talked about the day of the crimes.
According to the police report, Bucklew went to Sanders' house and confronted
him as Pruitt took their combined four children to a back bedroom.
Sanders had a shotgun in his hands when Bucklew opened fire.
“And he moved. And I shot. And then his gun, he turned. And his gun went off
into the wall. And I shot him again. And again. And again, I guess. And he fell
back in that room and I’m like ‘holy ****.’”
While Bucklew tried to claim Pruitt wanted to leave with him, he admitted to
handcuffing her. And worse.
“And she wouldn’t get down. And I had adrenaline pumping and I smacked her in
the head with the pistol. Not real hard, but I smacked her. She went down on
the ground and I cuffed her. Got her up and ran to the car. Got into the car
and took off.”
Bucklew then made an impossible claim about Sanders, who police say died inside
his home.
“And the guy. The guy said something. And I said **** you, mother ******. I’ll
kill you. And he goes, ‘I think you already did.’ I said, ‘well, I hope not.’”
“He was still talking to you then,” the investigator asked.
“Yes," Bucklew replied.
Bucklew continued telling his version of events, somehow twisting Pruitt’s
kidnapping and rape into a long drive and an intimate moment. When he talked
about his shootout with police in St. Louis County, he again downplayed what he
did.
“And that’s when the shooting started. And I just laid down in the seat and
shot out, out.... And they shot me once, I think right here. And then I started
shooting out the window.”
Bucklew did show emotion during the interview. It’s when he talked about the
fact that he’s still alive.
“Why didn’t they just kill me, man? I told them I didn’t want to be put on life
support. They did it anyway.”
He also asked repeatedly about what kind of punishment he might face.
“You think I’ll get the max?”
“I don’t know,” the investigator replied.
As the four-hour interview came to an end, Russell Bucklew seemed to realize
the gravity of what he’s done.
“I thought Steph was it, man. And she broke my heart. And I killed her
boyfriend. Wow. This is just real heavy, man.” (source: KFVS news)
**************
Russell Bucklew Executed For 1996 Murder After Missouri's Governor Says No To
Clemency
Missouri executed its 1st prisoner since 2017 on Tuesday night. Despite the
man’s rare medical condition, no complications were reported.
Russell Bucklew had been on death row since 1997 for killing a man in Cape
Girardeau County. His lawyers and activists had argued for clemency more than
once, saying Bucklew’s cavernous hemangioma could cause him to choke on his own
blood during the lethal injection of the drug pentobarbital.
Roughly 70,000 people signed a petition asking Gov. Mike Parson to stop the
execution. But Parson declined to grant clemency Tuesday morning.
It was Bucklew’s last hope after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in April that the
lethal injection method wasn’t “cruel and unusual” punishment.
In an interview before the execution, Bucklew's lawyer Jeremy Weis said the
governor’s decision was a disappointment.
“I believe very strongly that Rusty was and is worthy of Governor Parson’s
mercy,” Weis said. “I think he’s demonstrated that over the past 23 years that
he’s remorseful for his terrible actions in March of 1996.”
In March 1996, Bucklew entered a trailer where Michael Sanders lived with
Bucklew’s ex-girlfriend, Stephanie Ray. Bucklew shot Sanders, tried to shoot a
fleeing child and then abducted and raped Ray. He later wounded a state trooper
in a shootout before he was captured.
Since 2000, Missouri has executed 47 people. Currently, 22 people in the
Missouri prison system have death sentences, according to Department of
Corrections spokeswoman Karen Pojmann, but no other executions have been
scheduled.
(source: KCUR news)
**************
Russell Bucklew, convicted murderer with serious illness, put to death in
Missouri
Russell Bucklew, a convicted murderer who fought against receiving the death
penalty over concerns about an illness, was executed Tuesday evening by the
state of Missouri.
Bucklew had argued for months that the death penalty would qualify as cruel and
unusual punishment due to blood-filled tumors that had grown in his head, neck
and throat. He argued that a tumor on his neck could burst when given lethal
injection and cause him to choke on his own blood.
Lawsuits had postponed his execution date 3 times.
Bucklew had sued the Missouri Department of Corrections, and Director Anne
Precythe, in case that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The case was
argued from November 2018 until the court issued a ruling in the state's favor
in April. The ruling was 5-4 in favor of the Missouri Department of
Corrections.
"We mourn the unnecessary, unlawful execution of Russell Bucklew tonight,"
Cassandra Stubbs, director of the Capitol Punishment Project at the American
Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement issued after the execution was
carried out. "Missouri carried out an execution that risked torture and
violated international law, despite Mr. Bucklew's remorse and exemplary prison
record. To think that killing this man -- who was terminally ill and had been a
model prisoner for 23 years -- was worth the stain on our democracy and our
humanity is a disgrace."
Bucklew was convicted in the 1996 killing of a man connected to his
ex-girlfriend, Stephanie Ray, after she broke up with him. According to court
documents, Bucklew broke into the home of the man where she was staying after
he threatened her with a knife. He shot and killed the man, Michael Sanders,
and shot at and missed Ray's 6-year-old son. He pistol-whipped Ray, breaking
her jaw, kidnapped her and drove her to a secluded area where he raped her at
gunpoint. He then got into a shootout with police officers, wounding one of
them.
He later broke out of jail and attacked Ray's mother with a hammer, according
to court records.
Bucklew had first claimed the risk of the blood clots rupturing just hours
before he was first to be executed, according to the Supreme Court.
Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in the majority decision from April
that unconstitutional punishments are those that "intensify the sentence of
death with a (cruel) 'superaddition' of 'terror, pain, or disgrace.'" He ruled
that Missouri's plan to execute Bucklew with pentobarbital would not.
Bucklew tried to offer an alternative method of execution, but the court also
shot that down.
"His main claim now was that he would experience pain during the period after
the pentobarbital started to take effect but before it rendered him fully
unconscious," wrote Gorsuch. But, he also noted that the lower courts found
Bucklew "produced no evidence that his proposed alternative … would
significantly reduce the risk."
After his appeal to the Supreme Court was denied, he reached out to Missouri
Gov. Mike Parsons hoping to be granted clemency. Parsons turned down the
request Tuesday, hours before Bucklew was executed.
According to the ACLU, the execution at the Eastern Reception Diagnostic and
Correctional Center took 23 minutes and was carried out after he had been cut
off mid-sentence on a call with his attorneys Tuesday evening.
Activists had protested outside Parsons' office and the courthouse on Tuesday
hoping to halt the death sentence.
(source: ABC News)
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