Sept. 26
TEXAS----execution
Texas executes Robert Sparks after brutal deaths of his stepsons,
wife----Sparks was convicted in the 2007 stabbing deaths of his family members
in his Dallas home. His lawyers sought to stop his execution with arguments of
intellectual disability and a jury tainted by a bailiff wearing a syringe tie.
12 years ago, Robert Sparks told police he killed his wife and 2 stepsons, ages
10 and 9, by repeatedly stabbing them in their Dallas home in the middle of the
night. He then confessed to raping his 12- and 14-year-old stepdaughters.
He told investigators his family had been poisoning him; he wanted to be tested
for poison and for the girls to undergo polygraph tests, according to court
records. He said a voice told him to kill his family.
On Wednesday, Sparks, 45, was executed for the deaths of his stepsons, Raekwon
Agnew and Harold Sublet Jr. His siblings and nephew watched through a viewing
glass in one room, according to a prison witness list. 7 of the victims' family
members — including the 2 women he raped as girls and Harold's father — had
indicated they would watch from a room next door. But only six actually did so,
according to a spokesperson, who did not know which relative was absent.
“I am sorry for the hard times and what hurts me is that I hurt y’all," he told
his family in his final statement. "... I love y’all. I am ready.”
At 6:39 p.m., he was pronounced dead on a prison gurney, 23 minutes after being
injected with a lethal dose of pentobarbital.
Starks' lawyers fought until the end for more time and resources to fully
prepare a filing arguing that Sparks was intellectually disabled, which would
have legally barred him from execution. And they had long contended his trial
was tainted by false testimony and a bailiff who wore a tie with a syringe on
it during jury deliberations. The U.S. Supreme Court denied his final appeal
about an hour before his execution was scheduled to begin, but Justice Sonia
Sotomayor took note of the bailiff's attire, calling it "disturbing."
"That an officer of the court conducted himself in such a manner is deeply
troubling," she wrote in the order, though she didn't disagree with the court's
denial since legal issues with the tie had already been argued in lower courts.
"I nevertheless hope that presiding judges aware of this kind of behavior would
see fit to intervene in future cases by completely removing the offending item
or court officer from the jury’s presence."
Sparks was diagnosed as psychotic with delusions and with schizoaffective
disorder, according to court records. At his trial, Dallas County prosecutors
detailed how Sparks called police after the murders and later confessed on tape
to killing the boys, as well as his wife, Chare Agnew. According to WFAA-TV,
Sparks said he had been recording his family because he thought they were
poisoning him, and he threatened to kill Agnew if he found out she had been.
When everyone was asleep in September 2007, he stabbed his wife 18 times in
their bed, court records state. He then woke the boys and stabbed them
repeatedly — Harold at least 45 times.
At the trial, emotions ran high. The court was disrupted several times by
Harold’s father, who jumped up and ran toward Sparks when attorneys detailed
how his son died, according to court records. A large blade found in the
gallery disrupted court proceedings one day. And closing arguments were delayed
in the guilt phase of the trial after Sparks apparently tried to kill himself,
The Dallas Morning News reported. Ultimately, he was convicted of capital
murder and sentenced to death in December 2008.
In recent court filings, Sparks’ attorneys asked for funds to hire a
neuropsychologist to determine if Sparks was intellectually disabled. They said
things like an IQ score of 75 (a borderline number for the disability), his
struggle in special education classes, and poor learning and memory indicate a
strong possibility Sparks would be ineligible for the death penalty under U.S.
Supreme Court precedent that forbids execution of the intellectually disabled.
“Without a stay of execution, it is likely that Texas will execute an
intellectually disabled man,” Sparks’ attorney, Jonathan Landers, wrote in a
federal district court filing.
Intellectual disability is often discussed in Texas death penalty cases since
the U.S. Supreme Court slammed Texas for a second time in February and
invalidated its method of determining whether a death penalty inmate is
disabled. Sparks’ lawyers said the appeal wasn’t brought forward earlier
because Texas’ old method of determining intellectual disability was more
restrictive than current medical standards. They argued that now Sparks’ low
functioning, in addition to his borderline IQ of 75, “necessitates a full
intellectual disability analysis.”
A federal district court judge denied the request for funds and a stop to his
execution last month. U.S. District Judge David Godbey said Sparks already had
a full analysis before trial, when his IQ score was given, and he was not
deemed intellectually disabled. An appellate court also rebuked Sparks for
first raising the claim of intellectual disability months before his execution.
In final filings before the U.S. Supreme Court, Sparks’ argument hinged on
behavior at his trial. His lawyers said false testimony from a witness and a
bailiff’s wardrobe affected the jury.
Sparks’ lawyers said a state witness falsely claimed at trial that if sentenced
to life in prison instead of death, Sparks would automatically be inserted into
lower-security housing, providing the chance to eat and socialize with other
inmates. Sparks’ attorneys said this influenced the jury to lean toward a death
sentence and that it was likely he would have been in more restrictive custody
based on his previous jail disciplinary action.
They also said his right to a fair trial and impartial jury were denied when a
bailiff, Bobby Moorehead, wore a homemade tie depicting a syringe on the day
the jury began weighing Sparks’ sentence. Moorehead sat directly behind Sparks,
within view of the jury. He later admitted the tie was to show his support for
the death penalty, according to Sparks’ filing.
The Texas Attorney General’s Office said the custody level testimony was
corrected on cross examination to acknowledge Sparks could have had more
restrictions and argued that the initial statements don’t outweigh the
viciousness of his crime. It also argued that Sparks can’t prove any jurors
even saw Moorehead’s tie, a point Sotomayor acknowledged when explaining why
she did not disagree with the court's denial of Sparks' final appeal.
The main argument by the state, however, was that the public’s interest lay in
executing Sparks’ sentence.
“Certainly, the State has a strong interest in carrying out a death sentence
imposed for a horrific capital murder wherein Sparks murdered 2 children and
raped 2 more,” wrote Assistant Attorney General Ellen Stewart-Klein.
Sparks was the 7th person executed in Texas in 2019 and the 16th in the nation.
7 more men are set for execution in Texas this year, and 2 more have recently
been scheduled for 2020.
(source: The Texas Tribune)
*********************************
Inmate From Dallas Robert Sparks Executed For Stabbing Deaths Of 2 Stepsons
A Texas inmate who claimed he was intellectually disabled was executed
Wednesday for fatally stabbing his 2 stepsons during a 2007 attack in which his
wife also died.
Robert Sparks received a lethal injection at the state penitentiary in
Huntsville for the slayings of 9-year-old Harold Sublet and 10-year-old Raekwon
Agnew in their Dallas home. Sparks, 45, became the 16th inmate put to death
this year in the U.S. and the 7th in Texas.
“I am sorry for the hard times. And what hurts me is that I hurt y’all … even
y’all, too,” Sparks told his relatives and friends who watched through a death
chamber window, turning his head at one point to address family members of his
victims who stood behind a separate window.
As the lethal dose of pentobarbital began, he said, “I love you all” and then
added, “I feel it.”
He took 2 deep breaths almost immediately, snored 3 times and then all movement
ceased. He was pronounced dead 23 minutes later, at 6:39 p.m. CDT.
7 more executions are scheduled this year in Texas, the nation’s busiest
capital punishment state.
Prosecutors said the attack in September 2007 began when Sparks stabbed his
wife, 30-year-old Chare Agnew, 18 times as she lay in her bed. Sparks then went
into the boys’ bedroom and separately took them into the kitchen, where he
stabbed them. Raekwon was stabbed at least 45 times.
Sparks then raped his 12- and 14-year-old stepdaughters, authorities said.
“The day when the situation was going on, he said that we wouldn’t make it,”
one of the stepdaughters, Lakenya Agnew, said after witnessing Sparks’
execution. “Twelve years later, we’re both standing here. … I want him to know
we’re not suffering. We’re hurt emotionally but physically we’re fine.”
She added that Sparks being put to death “kills the nightmare.”
The Associated Press usually doesn’t name victims of sexual assault, but Agnew
spoke publicly and identified herself.
On Wednesday with the execution time approaching, the U.S. Supreme Court
declined a request by Sparks’ attorneys to stop the lethal injection. They had
alleged his trial jury was improperly influenced because a bailiff wore a tie
with an image of a syringe that showed his support for the death penalty. In
the ruling, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote that while she didn’t disagree with
the denial, she found the bailiff’s actions “deeply troubling.”
Sparks also had alleged a prosecution witness at his trial provided false
testimony regarding his prison classification if a jury chose life without
parole rather than a death sentence.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday declined to stop the execution
on claims he was intellectually disabled, saying his attorneys had not
presented sufficient evidence to show Sparks was mentally disabled and his
attorneys had failed to raise such a claim in a timely manner.
In August, the 5th Circuit did grant a stay for Dexter Johnson, another Texas
death row inmate who also claims he is intellectually disabled. In that case,
the appeals court ruled Johnson had made a sufficient showing of possible
intellectual disability that needed further review.
“My co-counsel and I may have lost this battle, but we remain undeterred
soldiers in the enduring war for capital conviction integrity,” said Seth
Kretzer, one of Sparks’ appellate attorneys.
After being arrested, Sparks told police he fatally stabbed his wife and
stepsons because he believed they were trying to poison him. Sparks told a
psychologist that a voice told him “to kill them because they were trying to
kill me.”
Sparks’ lawyers had argued he suffered from severe mental illness and had been
diagnosed as a delusional psychotic and with schizoaffective disorder, a
condition characterized by hallucinations.
A psychologist hired by Sparks’ attorneys said in an affidavit this month that
Sparks “meets full criteria for a diagnosis of” intellectual disability.
The Supreme Court in 2002 barred execution of mentally disabled people but has
given states some discretion to decide how to determine intellectual
disability. However, justices have wrestled with how much discretion to allow.
Sparks’ attorneys said that at the time of his trial, he was not deemed
intellectually disabled, but that changes since then in how Texas makes such
determinations and updates to the handbook used by medical professionals to
diagnose mental disorders would have changed that.
On whether Sparks’ jury was improperly influenced by the bailiff’s tie with an
image of a syringe, the Texas Attorney General’s Office said the jury forewoman
indicated she never saw the tie and had no knowledge of it affecting the
jurors.
The attorney general’s office said the testimony from the prosecution witness
on prison classification was corrected on cross-examination.
“Sparks committed a heinous crime which resulted in the murders of 2 young
children. He is unable to overcome the overwhelming testimony” in his case, the
attorney general’s office said in its court filing with the Supreme Court.
(source: Associated Press)
******************************
Death Watch: As Execution Pace Quickens, a 30-Day Stay for Barbee----Meanwhile,
Randy Halprin loses 5CA appeal and Rodney Reed supporters fight for justice
Stephen Barbee has at least 30 more days to live after the Texas Court of
Criminal Appeals on Monday stayed his execution, which had been scheduled for
Oct. 2. The court wants to determine if Barbee's Sixth Amendment rights were
violated at his 2005 Tarrant County trial, when his lawyer admitted to the jury
that his client beat and suffocated his pregnant girlfriend and her 7-year-old
son – but without the "conscious objective or desire" to kill them. The
admission was likely a strategy to spare Barbee the death penalty; he said it
came as a complete surprise.
Barbee insisted in two subsequent appeals that he told his lawyer he wanted a
defense emphasizing innocence and would never have consented to an admission of
guilt. Both appeals were rejected. But in May 2018, a ruling from the U.S.
Supreme Court breathed new life into his argument. In McCoy v. Louisiana, the
court explicitly stated that it is the defendant – not the lawyer – who has the
right to decide the defense. Barbee's appellate attorney, Richard Ellis, filed
a last-minute petition in August saying the court's new ruling made the
admission of guilt a clear violation of Barbee's right to a fair trial.
In its ruling, the CCA ordered attorneys from both sides to interpret whether
the standard in McCoy is a new law that must be applied retroactively. If it is
found to be so, the court asks if it should apply to Barbee's case – given that
he has confessed and recanted multiple times – and if there must be evidence
that Barbee objected to his lawyer's admission during the trial or only
afterward. The attorneys have 30 days to respond.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused on Monday to consider damning
allegations of prejudice in the case of Randy Halprin, scheduled for execution
on October 10. Halprin, who is Jewish, filed an appeal with the court on
September 6 alleging that Vickers Cunningham, the judge in his 2003 trial,
referred to him as a "goddamn kike" and "fuckin' Jew" at the trial's
conclusion. Halprin's lawyers say Cunningham's bias tainted the trial and
denied Halprin due process. Citing voluminous Supreme Court precedent – and
much proof of Cunningham's bigotry – they requested a stay of execution and new
trial. But the 5CA judges said technical rules bar Halprin from bringing the
appeal. They did, however, offer this helpful footnote: "Cunningham's racism
and bigotry are horrible and completely inappropriate for a judge." Halprin was
a member of the notorious Texas Seven, a group of inmates who broke out of jail
in 2000 and killed Irving police officer Aubrey Hawkins. When caught, all
received death sentences. Halprin and Patrick Murphy are the last still alive;
Murphy is scheduled to die in November.
On Tuesday, attorneys for Rodney Reed – scheduled for execution on Nov. 20 for
the murder of Stacey Stites – asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review new
evidence in his case. Reed's 1998 conviction was based solely on the fact that
semen found in Stites' body matched his; no other evidence connected him to the
crime. He has claimed he was having an affair with Stites at the time of her
murder.
Reed's lawyers ask the court to consider 2 recent developments. First, new
testimony has come to light that Stites' fiancé, Jimmy Fennell – the original
suspect – made conflicting statements about where he was on the night of the
murder. Second, the medical examiner whose assertions pointed the finger at
Reed has since recanted his testimony.
Reed has a strong claim of innocence; the latest revelations are just the tip
of the iceberg. His case will be dealt with at greater length in weeks to come,
but suffice it to say his trial was marked by many familiar elements of
structural bias: racism, mishandling of evidence, witness intimidation, and
prosecutorial overreach.
Reed's family held a rally for him on Sept. 21 in Bastrop. The 2-hour event
featured remarks by exonerated death row inmates, former police officers,
pastors, and family members. They demanded DNA testing of evidence relating to
his case, something multiple courts have rejected.
His brother Rodrick Reed told the Chronicle the family will be very busy in
coming weeks getting Rodney's story out. They travel to Dallas on September 27
for a rally, then will stage a running protest at the Governor's Mansion and
Capitol from September 30 to October 4. They fly to Los Angeles on October 5 to
appear on the Dr. Phil show (Dr. Phil recently interviewed Reed on death row).
From Los Angeles they travel to Ohio to meet with Sister Helen Prejean, the
activist played by Susan Sarandon in the film Dead Man Walking. They then
travel to protests in New York City and Washington, D.C., before returning to
Texas for the 20th Annual March to Abolish the Death Penalty on October 19.
Robert Sparks was executed on Wednesday after the Supreme Court refused to
review his appeal. Sparks' lawyers had complained of false testimony in his
trial and the inappropriate conduct of a bailiff. Sparks was the 7th man
executed by the state this year; 7 more are scheduled to die by Dec. 11.
(source: Austin Chronicle)
*********************************
Judge assigned to El Paso shooting case recuses herself, saying she knew one of
the victims
The judge presiding over the case of a man accused of killing 22 people at an
El Paso Walmart has recused herself. She said in a statement that she knew one
of those killed on August 3.
State District Judge Angie Juárez Barill announced her recusal from the capital
murder case of Patrick Crusius in a statement issued Wednesday, a week after
her assignment to the case.
She also noted that her term of office ends in December 2020 since she's
running for chief justice of the 8th Texas Court of Appeals and not her present
seat. She said the case could go to a judge reasonably sure of seeing it
through to completion.
The 21-year-old Crusius, of Allen, Texas, remains jailed without bond charged
with capital murder of multiple persons. Prosecutors say they'll seek the death
penalty.
Prosecutors have said Crusius surrendered to police after the attack saying,
"I'm the shooter," and that he was targeting Mexicans.
A manifesto believed to have been written by the suspect and uploaded to the
web forum 8chan expressed concerns about the growing Hispanic population of
Texas. Officials have referenced the document and said the shooting may have a
"nexus" to a hate crime.
(source: CBS News)
********************************
Free Rodney Reed! Urgent organizing to stop another execution in Texas
The historic Kerr Community Center in Bastrop, Texas, was filled to the rafters
on Sept. 21 as chants of “Free Rodney Reed!” echoed off the walls. Family,
supporters, activists, preachers, attorneys and death row exonerees all spoke
to the standing-room-only crowd about the science and the evidence that has
proved Rodney Reed did not commit the murder for which he was sent to death row
in 1998.
Nation of Islam Minister Robert L. Muhammad of Austin declared: “For over 20
years the Reed family has been asking for the truth to be heard. Test the DNA,
find the truth and bring it out. We woke up today in a country, a state, a city
where the history of injustice is written in blood. Whether it’s what happened
to the Chinese when they were brought here, or the Africans when they were
brought here, or the Indigenous people who were already here, or poor white
people–we know and understand what injustice looks like. Now, we are demanding
justice!”
Justice being denied
Reed, who is African American, was accused of murdering a young white woman he
was having a relationship with, Stacey Stites. She was also engaged to a cop,
Jimmy Fennell, who had said publicly that if Stites ever cheated on him he
would strangle her with a belt. That is precisely how Stites was murdered. The
same year Reed was convicted of Stites’ death, Fennell pleaded guilty to raping
a woman in his custody as a police officer, for which he spent 10 years in
prison.
Now the Bastrop County District Attorney has given Reed a Nov. 20 execution
date — set just one day after the local newspaper ran a story about the Reed
family protesting at the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington. This apparent
retaliation angered Reed’s Innocence Project attorneys. They have filed a
federal civil rights suit against the state of Texas because DNA testing has
been repeatedly denied.
“We know DNA testing can secure evidence of innocence to support Reed’s claim,
and the denial of such testing violates his constitutional rights,” said Bryce
Benet, one of Reed’s attorneys.
At the Sept. 21 rally three death row exonerees spoke from Witness To
Innocence, an organization composed of and led by death row survivors and
family members. “I have no doubt in my mind that Rodney is innocent!” said Gary
Drinkard, who spent almost six years on Alabama’s death row before exoneration
in 2001. Also speaking were Albert Burrell, who did 13 years at the infamous
Angola State Penitentiary in Louisiana, and Ron Keine who was on death row in
New Mexico for three years for a crime that a cop finally admitted to having
committed.
A system ‘working just as designed’
During the 2-hour rally, the audience hung on every word. From the children to
the elders, emotions ranged from anger to inspiration to horror to commitment
to love. Each talk educated the crowd that the criminal justice system has
nothing to do with justice. The racism the system is based on affects everyone.
The highlighted guest of the evening was Texas exoneree Anthony Graves, who was
freed in 2010. He reminded the audience that awaiting execution doesn’t just
affect the people on the row: “Let’s talk about my mom. She was on Death Row
with me for 18 ½ years and two execution dates. I watched as over 400 men went
to their deaths, and some of them were innocent.
Graves said to loud applause: “People talk about fixing a broken system, but
it’s not broke. It’s working just as it was designed to work. But this system
has never worked for us. Let’s talk about throwing the whole system out and
creating one fair system that works for all of us.”
This past summer, Reed’s family began the Reed Justice Initiative, designed to
spread information about the case, pressure public officials to recognize the
frame-up of Reed and stop his execution. The initiative has rallied at the
Texas Capitol, protested outside the governor’s mansion, demonstrated every day
for a week at the DA’s office, and issued press statements on each of the three
Texas executions in August and September. Noted activist and author of “Dead
Man Walking,” Sister Helen Prejean, has taken up Reed’s case. There will be
protests at the governor’s mansion daily from Sept. 30 through Oct. 4.
Reed’s mother, Sandra Reed, ended the evening by telling everyone present that
she loved them and thanked them for their activism and support: “Our family has
grown throughout the decades we’ve been fighting for my son because all of you
are now our family.”
And Rodrick Reed, 1 of Reed’s 5 brothers, promised: “We are going to work every
single day to free my brother. We only have 60 days left to stop his execution
and we’re not stopping to rest.”
For more information, go to Reed Justice Initiative on Facebook and
justice4rodneyreed.org. Mail letters of support to Rodney Reed #999271,
Polunsky Unit, 3872 FM 350 South, Livingston, TX 77351.
(source: Workers World)
*********************************
Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present----47
http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/death_row/dr_scheduled_executions.html
Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982----present-----565
Abbott#--------scheduled execution date-----name------------Tx. #
48---------Oct. 10----------------Randy Halprin-----------566
49---------Oct. 16----------------Randall Mays------------567
50---------Oct. 30----------------Ruben Gutierrez---------568
51---------Nov. 6-----------------Justen Hall-------------569
52---------Nov. 13----------------Patrick Murphy----------570
53---------Nov. 20----------------Rodney Reed-------------571
54---------Dec. 11----------------Travis Runnels----------572
55---------Jan. 15-----------------John Gardner------------573
56---------Mar. 11----------------Carlos Trevino----------574
(sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin)
USA----impending/scheduled executions
With the execution of Robert Sparks in Texas on September 25, the USA has now
executed 1,506 condemned individuals since the death penalty was re-legalized
on July 2, 1976 in the US Supreme Court Gregg v Georgia decision.
Gary Gilmore was the 1st person executed, in Utah, on January 17, 1977. Below
is a list of further scheduled executions as the nation continues its shameful
practice of state-sponsored killings.
NOTE: The list is likely to change over the coming months as new execution
dates are added and possible stays of execution occur.
1507-------Oct. 1-------------Russell Bucklew----------Missouri
1508-------Oct. 10------------Randy Halprin------------Texas
1509-------Oct. 16------------Randall Mays-------------Texas
1510-------Oct. 30------------Ruben Gutierrez----------Texas
1511-------Nov. 3-9-----------Charles Rhines-----------South Dakota
1512-------Nov. 6-------------Justen Hall--------------Texas
1513-------Nov. 7-------------James Dailey-------------Florida
1514-------Nov. 13------------Patrick Murphy-----------Texas
1515-------Nov. 20------------Rodney Reed--------------Texas
1516-------Dec. 5-------------Lee Hall Jr.-------------Tennessee
1517-------Dec. 9-------------Daniel Lewis Lee---------Federal - Ark.
1518-------Dec. 11------------James Hanna--------------Ohio
1519-------Dec. 11------------Travis Runnels-----------Texas
1520-------Dec. 11------------Lezmond Mitchell---------Federal - Ariz.
1521-------Dec. 13------------Wesley Purkey------------Federal - Mo.
1522-------Jan. 13-----------Alfred Bourgeois----------Federal - Tex.
1523-------Jan. 15-----------Dusten Honken-------------Federal - Iowa
1524-------Jan. 15------------John Gardner---------------Texas
1525-------Jan. 16-----------Kareem Jackson------------Ohio
1526-------Mar. 11----------Carlos Trevino---------------Texas
(source: Rick Halperin)
PENNSYLVANIA:
Death penalty sought for man after shooting
A Lycoming County man was arrested last month after being involved in a deadly
shooting.
21-year-old Ikeem Fogan is charged with robbing a local convenience store and
killing a customer. The Lycoming County District Attorney’s Office is now
seeking the death penalty against Ikeem Fogan for his part in the deadly
shooting at the Uni-Mart on West Fourth Street.
Police say 21-year-old Ikeem Fogan shot 48-year-old Rhonda McPeak of
Williamsport while robbing the Uni-Mart on West Fourth Street back on August 4.
“It was scary. Weird, you know. Good thing I didn’t come in that day,” store
employee Michael Poblete said.
“It’s sad. It’s really sad. There’s an innocent person that’s dead because of
somebody just wanted to make a little bit of money,” Felicia Welch of
Williamsport said.
Now the Lycoming County District Attorney’s Office is seeking the death penalty
for Fogan.
“Under Pennsylvania law, where you believe there is enough for 1st-degree
murder, which we do, which we believe in this particular case and under the
circumstances of this case, we believe that there are aggravating factors under
the law,” Lycoming County District Attorney Kenneth Osokow said.
Osokow says Fogan committed 1st-degree murder in the course of a felony, which
in this case, was the robbery as well as creating a great risk of death to
another person in the store.
“The 3rd factor is the victim was a prosecution witness to a murder or other
felony committed by the defendant that was killed for the purpose of preventing
his testimony against the defendant in any criminal preceding,” Osokow said.
And the 4th…
“The victim was being held by the defendant as a shield or hostage and in this
case, we believe the evidence shows that he held the victim in front of her
while he committed the robbery. She was a shield if the clerk had pulled out a
weapon or anything,” Osokow said.
The DA says, assuming this case goes to trial, it is ultimately up to the judge
or jury to decide if Fogan will receive the death penalty, after hearing the
evidence of the aggravating factors.
“If you are willing to kill somebody, I think your life should not be around
because, oh you get out and you do it again,” Welch said.
Fogan waived his arraignment, which was scheduled for this past Monday. His
attorney and the district attorney are slated to meet October 28 for a status
update.
If the district attorney is going to offer any deals, it will be at that
update.
(source: WBRE news)
FLORIDA----new execution date
DeSantis signs death warrant in 1985 murder of 14-year-old girl in Pinellas
County
More than 34 years after the nude body of a 14-year-old girl was found in
Pinellas County, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday signed a death warrant for
convicted murderer James Dailey.
DeSantis scheduled a Nov. 7 execution for Dailey, who would be the 3rd inmate
put to death since DeSantis took office in January. The others were Gary Ray
Bowles, who was executed in August for a 1994 murder in Jacksonville, and Bobby
Joe Long, who was executed in May for a 1984 murder in Hillsborough County.
Dailey, now 73, was convicted in the May 1985 murder of 14-year-old Shelly
Boggio, who had been hitchhiking with her twin sister near St. Petersburg,
according to a summary of the case released Wednesday night by DeSantis’
office. Dailey and another man, Jack Pearcy, later took Boggio to what was
described as a “deserted fishing area,” where her body was later found with
multiple stab wounds, according to the summary and court documents.
Pearcy, now 64, was sentenced to life in prison for the murder, while Dailey
received the death penalty.
In releasing the death warrant, DeSantis’ office included a 1994 resentencing
order that provided grisly details about Boggio’s death. It said the motive in
the crime was sexual battery.
“The victim’s body was found completely nude, floating in the Intercoastal
Waterway,” said the resentencing order by Circuit Judge Thomas E. Penick Jr.
“Her underwear was found on shore near areas of fresh blood. Shelly Boggio’s
jeans had been removed and thrown in the waterway. Potential physical evidence
of an actual sexual battery upon Shelly Boggio was lost because her body had
been floating in the waterway for an extended period of time. All of the
evidence and testimony presented established beyond a reasonable doubt that
Shelly Boggio at the very least was a victim of an attempted sexual battery.”
The judge also wrote that the victim was “brutally stabbed as she fought
frantically and continuously for her life” and that she had been dragged into
the waterway and held under water until she drowned.
State and federal courts have turned down a series of appeals filed by Dailey
since at least 1995, according to the death warrant.
The other executions ordered this year by DeSantis involved inmates who
committed multiple murders.
Bowles, 57, was sentenced to death for the murder of Walter Hinton, who was
found dead in 1994 n his Jacksonville mobile home. Bowles also was serving life
sentences for the 1994 murders of John Roberts in Volusia County and Albert
Morris in Nassau County. In addition, Bowles confessed to murdering men in
Georgia and Maryland, with evidence suggesting he targeted gay men.
Long, 65, was sentenced to death in the 1984 murder of Michelle Simms after
picking her up on Kennedy Boulevard in Tampa. In 1985. Long also pleaded guilty
to seven additional first-degree murder charges and numerous charges for sexual
batteries and kidnappings in the Tampa Bay region.
(source: Orlando Sentinel)
******************
Gov. DeSantis Signs Death Warrant for FL Execution #100
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a Death Warrant and scheduled the
execution of James Dailey for Thursday, November 7 at 6:00PM ET. Dailey was
convicted and sentenced to death for the 1985 killing of Shelly Boggio in
Pinellas County.
This would be the 100th FLORIDA EXECUTION since the death penalty restarted
in 1970’s. During that time, there have been 29 INNOCENT PEOPLE EXONERATED and
released from Florida's death row - nearly ONE exoneration for every THREE
executions. Please contact FL Gov. Ron DeSantis NOW and urge him to halt the
execution and Sign No More Death Warrants. Florida’s mistake ridden death
penalty is a hugely expensive, wasteful, racially biased big government
failure. It does nothing to keep Florida families safer and every year diverts
tens of millions of taxpayer dollars from solving unsolved homicides, effective
crime prevention, and vital assistance for the victims of violent crime and
their families.
Add to this that the State of Florida is continuing to execute people, in our
name, who were sentenced to death under a now-unconstitutional death sentencing
scheme.
Phone: 850-488-7146 (Mon-Fri 8am-5pm ET)
Direct Email: ron.desan...@eog.myflorida.com
or Email the Governor
Your help is needed for the work to be done. Please support Florida Death
Penalty abolition action campaigns to end the use of the Death Penalty.
Please post and share this message widely.
(source: Mark Elliott, Executive Director Floridians for Alternatives to the
Death Penalty----www.fadp.org)
*********************
Man guilty of raping, killing girl; faces death penalty
A Florida man has been convicted of raping and killing a 9-year-old girl.
The Tampa Bay Times reports that 40-year-old Granville Ritchie was found guilty
Wednesday of 1st-degree murder, sexual battery and aggravated child abuse.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
Prosecutors say Ritchie was dating 9-year-old Felecia Williams' neighbor, Eboni
Wiley, in May 2014. Ritchie and Wiley were watching the girl one day and took
her to his mother's Temple Terrace apartment. Investigators say Ritchie
sexually assaulted and strangled the girl while Wiley went to buy marijuana.
Ritchie then hid the girl's body in a suitcase and later dumped her from a
causeway into Tampa Bay.
Wiley testified that the Ritchie told her that he gave Felecia money to buy
candy at a nearby store but never returned.
(source: Associated Press)
OHIO:
Prosecutors discuss opposition to Ohio bill prohibiting death penalty for
mentally ill inmates
Prosecutors in Ohio shared opposition to a bill that would prohibit the death
penalty for an inmate diagnosed with a mental illness at the time of the crime.
A press conference with several leading county prosecutors was held on
Wednesday afternoon.
House Bill 136, which was introduced in March 2019, would outlaw the death
penalty for inmates who are considered mentally ill at the time of the offense.
The bill would also require that any inmates currently on death row who can
prove they had a mental illness at the time of the crime be resentenced to life
in prison without parole.
Members of the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association and the Attorney
General’s Office that spoke included: •Portage County Prosecutor Victor
Vigluicci
•Allen County Prosecutor Juergen Waldick
•Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley
•Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien
•Lucas County Prosecutor Julia Bates
•Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell
•Carol O’Brien, Deputy Attorney General for Law Enforcement for Attorney
General David Yost’s office
The consensus from the group that oppose the proposal feel that the bill would
effectively end the death penalty in Ohio because inmates would likely claim
that they suffered a mental illnesses while committing the crime.
The Ohio House passed the bill in June 5 and is now awaiting approval from the
state Senate.
(source: WOIO news)
TENNESSEE:
Mental evaluation planned for convict Curtis Watson in prison escape
A mental evaluation by video conference will help determine whether a convict
accused of killing a Tennessee corrections administrator before escaping prison
is competent to stand trial, lawyers said Wednesday.
Attorneys for Curtis Ray Watson said during a hearing that a forensic
evaluation could take place in October for the 2-time felon.
Watson was on lawn mowing duties at West Tennessee State Penitentiary on Aug. 7
when he went to Debra Johnson's home on prison grounds and killed and sexually
assaulted the corrections administrator, authorities said.
Watson, 44, then escaped on a tractor and eluded law enforcement for 4 days
until his arrest, investigators said. He was arrested hours after he was
recorded on surveillance cameras outside a home in Henning, 10 miles (16
kilometers) from the prison.
Lawyers say the evaluation will likely be done by video because Watson is
behind bars at a maximum-security prison in Nashville, about 170 miles (274
kilometers) east of Ripley, where court proceedings are taking place.
"Typically, it's done in person, but typically, people are incarcerated more
locally," Davidson said. "This is kind of unusual."
The evaluation will determine whether Watson was sane when he engineered his
escape and whether he is competent to face court proceedings on charges of
1st-degree murder, especially aggravated burglary, aggravated sexual assault
and escape.
Watson has not entered a plea in the case. Prosecutors are considering seeking
the death penalty if Watson is convicted of the 1st-degree murder, Lauderdale
County district attorney Mark Davidson said.
Once the evaluation is done, it could take 3 to 4 weeks for doctors to complete
a report, defense attorney David S. Stockton told Judge Janice Craig during the
hearing.
Watson has been serving a 15-year sentence for especially aggravated
kidnapping. He also had been previously convicted of aggravated child abuse.
Watson had access to a tractor and a golf cart as a "trusty" — an inmate
granted special privileges as a trustworthy person, authorities said.
Johnson, 64, had been a state employee for 38 years and oversaw wardens at
several area prisons.
A hearing on the status of the mental evaluation is set for Nov. 21 in Ripley.
(source: Associated Press)
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