March 5 PENNSYLVANIA: Prosecutors seeking death penalty against man accused of beating 2-year-old to death Luzerne County prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against a Hazleton man accused of beating a 2-year-old boy to death. Alexander L. Garcia, 20, is accused of torturing and beating Emanuale Gonzalez in December. 2 aggravating circumstances in the case - a child younger than 16 died and the death was caused by torture -justify the death penalty in this case, according to prosecutors. According to police, Garcia had beaten the child for several days, including hitting him on the face, dropping him in a bathtub and spanking him. Garcia lived with his girlfriend, Lillian Torres, the boy's mother, on Diamond Avenue since October. (source: The Citizens Voice) ******************* W. Pa. racial spree killer appealing death penalty A man on death row for a racially motivated shooting spree in suburban Pittsburgh that eventually left 6 people dead is appealing his sentence. 42-year-old Richard Baumhammers was an unemployed attorney living in his parents' home in the Pittsburgh suburb of Mount Lebanon on April 28, 2000, when he and shot his Jewish neighbor, 2 Indian men, 2 men of Asian descent and a black man. Prosecutors maintained Baumhammers, who is white, selected his victims because of their religious or ethnic background. Five victims died outright and the 6th victim left paralyzed died in February 2007 from complications from pneumonia. The state Supreme Court will hear the appeal Wednesday. (source: Associated Press) VIRGINIA: Gov. Kaine vetoes death penalty expansion that would've included murder planners Gov. Timothy M. Kaine vetoed bills Wednesday that would expand the death penalty to include people who assist in a murder, not just the primary killer. Kaine's veto of House and Senate bills now sends both back to the legislature for override votes before Saturday's scheduled adjournment. "Virginia is already 2nd in the nation in the number of executions we carry out," Kaine said in a message explaining his veto. In the Democrat-controlled Senate, the legislation passed with 24 votes, 3 short of the 2/3 margin necessary to override the Democratic governor. In the House, however, it passed with at least 12 more votes than the 67 necessary to pass the bill over the governors veto. The expansion of the so-called triggerman rule is an effort to expose close accomplices in murder cases to capital punishment. In Virginia, only the person directly responsible for a homicide can be executed for it. There are exceptions for murders for hire, hits ordered by drug dealers and killings that result from a terrorist plot. The state Supreme Court has also repeatedly held that if there is more than 1 "immediate perpetrator" of a capital murder, all involved may receive the death penalty. The court cited that theory and the terrorism exception in upholding the death sentence of John Allen Muhammad, 1 of 2 snipers whose October 2002 attacks killed 10 people, wounded 3 and terrorized the Washington, D.C., area. The bill's supporters cited several cases in which a killer was not sentenced to die because of the death penalty. Kaine, a Roman Catholic who acknowledged his personal aversion to the death penalty while running for governor 3 years ago, had vetoed similar legislation last year, and the veto stood. "I do not believe that further expansion of the death penalty is necessary to protect human life," he said. On the Net: Track HB 933 and SB560: http://leg1.state.va.us/081/lis.htm (source: Associated Press) ILLINOIS: Death penalty sought in slaying Cook County prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty for Reginald Potts, the man accused of killing pharmaceutical rep Nailah Franklin last year. Franklin, 28, went missing in September 2007. Her partly decomposed body was found 10 days later in a wooded area of Calumet City. Potts had an on-and-off dating relationship with Franklin -- and maintains he had nothing to do with her death. Prosecutors charged Potts in December but held off on deciding whether to seek the death penalty. On Tuesday, assistant state's attorney Maria McCarthy told Judge Thomas Gainer the state would seek it because the murder was "cold and calculated" and occurred while Potts was engaged in other felonies against Franklin. "We're not surprised by their decision," said Potts' lawyer, Robert Johnson. "We're prepared to meet each and every allegation." (source: Chicago Sun-Times) NEBRASKA: Former Texas prosecutor to speak out against death penalty A former Texas prosecutor will be in Lincoln today to speak out against the death penalty as part of an effort to sway Nebraska lawmakers to repeal the state's death penalty laws. Sam Millsap will speak about his experiences working as District Attorney in Houston. During his term, he successfully prosecuted a man who was executed by lethal injection in 1992. 13 years later, an investigative report by the Houston Chronicle raised serious questions about the man's guilt. Now, Millsap says he has to face the fact that an innocent man may have been put to death. Millsap will speak this morning in the State Capitol's Rotunda. (source: Associated Press) US MILITARY: Trio of Marines could face death penalty in SoCal shooting In California, 3 U.S. Marines could face the death penalty after a judge's ruling in the case of a fatal shooting last fall. A judge ruled Tuesday that 23-year-old Ramon Hernandez, 20-year-old Glenn Landers and 21-year-old Anthony Vigeant be tried on a charge of 1st-degree murder during an attempted armed robbery. The trio are accused in the death of David Pettigrew. Long Beach Police Detective Patrick O'Dowd says Hernandez confessed he shot Pettigrew because Landers and Vigeant claimed the 22-year-old owed them cocaine and cash for a laptop he had promised to buy. Hernandez, a corporal who was awarded a Purple Heart after sustaining a significant head injury during the Iraq war, had been stationed at Camp Pendleton in San Diego with Landers and Vigeant, who are cousins. (source: Associated Press) *********************************** (Female) Soldier could face death penalty in double slaying In Washington, Pierce County prosecutors say a Fort Lewis soldier who allegedly shot 2 fellow soldiers Saturday is expected to be charged today with aggravated 1st-degree murder, which could result in the death penalty if she is convicted. Army Spc. Ivette Gonzalez Davila, 22, is being held without bail in the Pierce County Jail as the Pierce County Sheriff's Office and military police continue to investigate the slayings of Timothy and Randi Miller in their Parkland home. Police and prosecutors allege Davila shot the couple, then kidnapped their 6-month-old daughter, who was recovered unharmed Sunday at Fort Lewis. Pierce County Deputy Prosecutor Ed Murphy said Tuesday that prosecutors plan to file the murder charge, which has only two possible penalties in Washington state: death or life in prison without parole. Murphy said a decision on whether to seek the death penalty had not been made. Authorities were led to Davila on Sunday after she told a fellow soldier that she was caring for the child because she had killed Timothy and Randi Miller, according to court papers. Davila said she was angry with Randi Miller, 25, who she said had an affair with her ex-boyfriend, so Davila shot Randi Miller in the bedroom and shot Timothy Miller, 27, while he was in the shower, court papers said. After the slayings, Davila cleaned the crime scene and took the baby to Home Depot, where she purchased muriatic acid, according to court papers. Davila then returned to the home, dragged Randi Miller's body into the bathtub and poured the acid on both bodies "to get rid of them," court documents say. Military police reported they had recovered a handgun, a receipt from Home Depot for the acid and Randi Miller's purse from Davila's barracks at Fort Lewis, court documents say. Davila has not given investigators a detailed description of what happened at the home in the 700 block of 110th Street South, said Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer. Sheriff's detectives and military officials are investigating the case jointly, Troyer said. "We have who did it. Now it's a matter of finding out what led up to it," Troyer said. Troyer said the Millers' child, Kassidy, is in foster care but will soon be turned over to relatives of the slain couple. The child was found uninjured by authorities at Fort Lewis, Troyer said. Karen Lee, spokeswoman for the state Department of Social and Health Services, said child-welfare officials plan to place the child with a relative. She declined to say who will gain custody of the child. "Our goal is to hopefully have a relative placement before [Wednesday] afternoon," Lee said. (source: Seattle Times)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----PENN., VA., ILL., NEB., US MIL.
Rick Halperin Thu, 6 Mar 2008 00:24:48 -0600 (Central Standard Time)
