August 13
TEXAS:
DA to seek death penalty for Cedric Marks
The Bell County District Attorney’s office will seek the death penalty for
Cedric Marks if he is convicted.
"We have filed with the district clerk our notice that we will seek the death
penalty in the Cedric Marks case, in connection with the murders of Michael
Swearingin and Jenna Scott," Bell County District Attorney Henry Garza
confirmed Monday.
(source: The Temple Daily Telegram)
FLORIDA:
State seeks death for man accused in Tampa bus driver's slaying ---- The
Hillsborough State Attorney's Office filed a notice in the case of Justin Ryan
McGriff, accused of slashing the throat of HART bus driver Thomas Dunn
Prosecutors will seek a death sentence for a man accused of stabbing to death a
Tampa bus driver.
The office of Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren filed a notice of
intent to seek the death penalty late last month in the case of Justin Ryan
McGriff, who is charged with 1st-degree murder in the May 18 killing of Thomas
Dunn.
Surveillance videos captured the attack on Dunn, 46, whose throat was cut as he
steered a Hillsborough Area Regional Transit bus along N Nebraska Avenue.
Photographs from the recording, which were used as evidence in a pretrial
detetion hearing in May, show a man, whom police identified as McGriff sitting
in the rear of the bus. He removes something from his pants pocket, according
to court testimony, then walks forward and stands behind the driver.
"God bless you," McGriff said, according to court testimony.
"What was that?" Dunn asked.
"God bless you," he repeated.
"Thank you," Dunn said. "God bless you, too."
After that, McGriff lunged forward, slitting Dunn’s throat, according to
police.
Dunn steered the bus to the right and hit the brakes as he collapsed. As
passengers panicked, McGriff forced his way out the bus door, police said.
Officers later spotted him nearby and arrested him.
In June, McGriff’s public defenders suggested that he may be mentally ill. One
of McGriff’s roommates told police that his behavior in the days before his
arrest was erratic, according to a court document.
A judge appointed 2 doctors to determine whether he is competent to proceed
toward trial. If he is declared incompetent, he would likely spend time in a
state hospital before the case against him could continue.
Warren, who became the county's top prosecutor in 2017, has been reluctant to
seek death sentences in cases where a defendant’s mental health is in question.
If McGriff is ultimately convicted of murder, prosecutors will have to prove
the existence of at least one "aggravating circumstance” before a jury weighs
whether a death sentence is justified. Prosecutors cited 4 such circumstances
in Dunn’s slaying, among them that the crime was "especially heinous,
atrocious, or cruel" and that it was done in a “cold, calculated, and
premeditated manner."
The law requires that a unanimous jury recommendation to impose a death
sentence. Otherwise, the penalty is life in prison.
(source: tampabay.com)
TENNESSEE----impending execution Lawyers, Advocates Seek Halt to Execution of
Stephen West in Tennessee
Advocates from a variety of backgrounds are urging Tennessee Governor Bill Lee
to stop the August 15, 2019 execution of Stephen West (pictured), saying that
West did not commit the murder and urging the governor not to execute a man who
is severely mentally ill.
In a July clemency petition that is pending before the governor, West’s lawyers
argue for mercy based upon his innocence of murder and his debilitating
psychological vulnerabilities. Though they concede that West was present at the
murders of Wanda Romines and her daughter, Sheila Romines, and that he raped
Sheila, West’s lawyers maintain that his co-defendant, Ronnie Martin, fatally
stabbed the victims. The petition says that because of the chronic extreme
abuse and trauma he experienced as a child, "Steve was not psychologically
equipped to deal with the terrible situation he found himself in" and
disassociated when he saw Martin killing the women.
The clemency petition asks what it calls "[a]n important question"--if Steve
did not intend for either victim to be killed, how could he just stand by and
watch while Martin did? The answer to this question," the petition suggests,
"lies in Steve’s own tragic background." The petition describes the relentless
abuse and neglect West endured, which included his mother beating him so hard
with a broom that it snapped, his parents denying him food, and ongoing
beatings that resulted in his ankles being broken at least seven times. The
extreme trauma, the petition says, caused or exacerbated West’s severe mental
illnesses, including schizophrenia and post-traumatic stress disorder. West’s
parents retained a lawyer to defend him at trial, but instructed counsel not to
discuss or present evidence relating to his family background. As a result, his
jury never heard this evidence.
The clemency plea has received support from a Vanderbilt law and psychiatry
professor, 4 great-great-granddaughters of Tennessee Gov. Albert Houston
Roberts, and religious groups.
In an August 9 op-ed for The Tennessean, Vanderbilt University law and
psychiatry professor Christopher Slobogin argues that West’s case exemplifies
why executing people with severe mental illness is "highly questionable."
Slobogin writes that West deserves serious punishment if he is not legally
insane, but, he says, "the death sentence is meant only for the truly depraved,
and West does not fit that category." Slobogin also believes that West’s mental
health has continued to deteriorate during his time on death row, and he may be
competent to be executed only as a result of heavy antipsychotic medication.
Courts in several states have barred the forcible medication of prisoners to
make them competent for execution. But even where the prisoner has been
medicated for other reasons, Slobogin says, such synthetic competency presents
an ethical dilemma. "An American Psychiatric Association Task Force has stated
that treating a condemned prisoner for the purpose of enabling an execution
‘violates the fundamental ethical norms of the mental health professions,’" he
writes. “While there is no indication that the state’s doctors are medicating
West solely to ensure his execution, or that their goal is anything other than
alleviating suffering, the fact remains that their treatment may well be what
is making execution possible.” He believes that a commutation from Gov. Lee is
the best solution.
In a separate Tennessean op-ed, four great-great-granddaughters of former
Tennessee Gov. Albert Houston Roberts have urged Gov. Lee to halt all
executions, beginning with West’s. They compare the governor’s clemency power
to the decision Governor Roberts made to ratify the 19th Amendment, granting
women the right to vote - a choice that cost him political allies and
re-election. "We know that stopping the killing of West will not be the one
decision that will fix our prisons and schools, but it will show our state that
you are willing to act on principle when you have the chance by taking the
right step for this next few minutes," the women write. Their op-ed concludes
with a personal challenge for the governor: “Our great-great-grandfather’s
legacy is a testament to his personal and political courage,” they write. "Will
you be remembered for being merciful and just or for the number of men you
killed?"
Religious advocates have also called on Lee - who stressed his Christian faith
during his campaign for office - to stop executions, and Tennessee’s death-row
prisoners have asked him to visit death row and pray with them. In a 1-sentence
letter to Lee, 32 death-row prisoners - including West - wrote: "We understand
you are a man of faith and we would like to ask you to please come pray with
us." A group called March4Mercy, which includes prison volunteers and
activists, held a 2-day vigil outside the governor’s office as they delivered
the letter. Evangelical author Shane Claiborne said, "Jesus said, ‘when I was
in prison you came and visited me,’ and that is their request."
West’s clemency petition also highlights his dedication to his Christian faith,
which has led him to have a positive impact on other prisoners. He served on
the board of Men of Valor, a prison ministry that helps prisoners rehabilitate
themselves. Lee said he is considering West’s clemency request. "These
decisions are very difficult and deserve a lot of deliberation. And that’s what
we’re doing. I wrestle with this very much, because it’s a very difficult
decision. But we’re in that process."
(source: Death Penalty Information Center)
ILLINOIS:
Republican lawmaker to introduce death penalty bill----‘Light years’ of DNA
technology advancement will ensure ‘no wrongful convictions,’ McSweeney says
A Republican state lawmaker is calling for the resurrection of the death
penalty in Illinois after two mass shootings in the U.S. and recent gun
violence in Chicago.
Barrington Hills Rep. David McSweeney said he will either sponsor or co-sponsor
some version of a measure overturning the abolishment former Gov. Pat Quinn
placed on capital punishment 8 years ago. Former Gov. George Ryan had placed a
moratorium on the death penalty in 2000.
At the time, Quinn said Illinois should not have a system in place that might
result in the erroneous execution of citizens. McSweeney said "eliminating the
death penalty was a terrible mistake."
"It has been a complete failure," he said.
Mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, on Aug. 3-4 killed 31
people. In Chicago last weekend, 4 people were killed and 43 injured in
gun-related violence, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
"Texas officials are pursuing the death penalty against the coward racist who
targeted Mexican Americans in El Paso. We should have that tool in the state of
Illinois," McSweeney said. "The time to act is now, because the death penalty
is a deterrent that we need to protect our citizens. No one can argue the state
of Illinois is a model for how to fight crime."
In part, Quinn’s argument for signing legislation making Illinois the 16th
state to abolish capital punishment was the lack of advancement in DNA testing,
McSweeney said. But DNA technology has progressed "light years" beyond its
stage in 2011, he added, to be the "key to ensuring there are no wrongful
convictions."
"I want to make sure there are safeguards," he said.
According to a Pew Research Center study published last year, 54 % of Americans
support capital punishment for those convicted of murder. That number is up
from 49 % 2 years prior. 39 % of people oppose the death penalty.
McSweeney is not the only Illinois politician to express support for capital
punishment. In an unexpected move last year, former Republican Gov. Bruce
Rauner proposed reviving the death penalty by using his amendatory veto power
on a firearms measure that needed his signature to become law.
The legislation would have extended the 72-hour waiting period for gun
purchases to include assault weapons. Rauner wrote in his veto message that the
proposal did not go far enough to prevent gun violence incidents and other
public safety concerns.
His addition would have created a new category of crime - a "death penalty
murder" - that encompassed anyone 18 or older who killed 2 or more people
"without lawful justification" or if the victim is a police officer.
“The ultimate public safety objectives of this bill would be better served with
comprehensive solutions," he wrote, which included a ban on bump stocks, the
addition of mental health and law enforcement personnel in schools, and
"reintroducing the death penalty for the most egregious cases."
The General Assembly did not vote on Rauner’s proposal, effectively running out
the clock on the bill. Before Rauner’s push last year, Illinois’ staunchest
supporter of the death penalty in state politics arguably was former Republican
Rep. John Cavaletto, from Salem. Cavaletto’s last iteration of a measure to
reinstate the death penalty would have applied to persons older than 18 who
were convicted of 1st-degree murder for killing a police officer, firefighter,
employee of a correctional agency, or a child; or for killing more than 1
person.
Cavaletto’s legislation never moved out of committee, and McSweeney said he
knows he faces an uphill battle with the Democratically-controlled General
Assembly. "This one will have a lot of opposition. I don’t think it’s going to
happen in the short run, but it’s an issue I will continue to focus on -
through public education and through pointing out and proving the advances in
DNA technology," he said. "I believe it’s the right thing to do."
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, a Democrat, filed legislation to strike the use of
capital punishment by the federal government. The move came after President
Donald Trump’s administration announced last month it would resume the use of
the death penalty for the 1st time in 16 years.
"Try as we might, we cannot escape the fact that the death penalty in America
is disproportionately imposed on minorities and poor people,"
Durbin said in a news release.
But McSweeney said a capital punishment measure is worth having a discussion
about in a committee hearing.
"There needs to be a coordinated effort between state officials and the federal
government to once and for all end this problem of violence in the city and in
our state," he said. "We need to get tough on crime again in this state and
defend our citizens."
(source: saukvalley.com)
MISSOURI----female spared death penalty
Pamela Hupp sentenced to life in prison without parole
Pamela Hupp was sentenced to life in prison with no parole Monday Aug. 12 after
pleading guilty to murder in a bizarre plot that claimed a man’s life back in
2016.
Hupp entered an Alford plea, a somewhat complex legal term which means she does
not admit guilt, but acknowledges the state had enough evidence to convict her
beyond a reasonable doubt.
The guilty plea took the death penalty off the table.
In addition to the life sentence, Hupp was also sentenced to 30 years for armed
criminal action.
"This culminates a 3-year effort to bring some justice and closure to the
victim’s family," said St. Charles County Prosecutor Tim Lohmar. "Every bit of
air she will breathe for the rest of her life will be from the inside of a
prison cell that's got to give some satisfaction by those who have been
victimized by her."
Prosecutors have long said that Hupp lured Louis Gumpenberger to her O’Fallon,
Missouri home in 2016 with the intent to frame someone else connected to a
separate murder from 2011. Gumpenberger was fatally shot once he arrived at
Hupp’s home.
Prosecutors said the motive was to frame Russ Faria.
Faria’s wife, Betsy Faria, was murdered in 2011 in Lincoln County. Faria was
originally convicted but later acquitted. Hupp was a key figure in the case.
She collected life insurance in the case and some speculate if she was involved
in the murder.
Evidence seemed to be mounted against Hupp, who was charged within weeks of
Gumpenberger’s murder. Police searched her car and the safe in her home. One
key clue: money found in Gumpenberger’s pocket on the day he was killed almost
exactly matched the serial numbers of currency found in Hupp’s home. Data from
Google maps also showed Hupp was outside Gumpenberger’s home a half an hour
before the shooting. Prosecutors claimed she lured him to her home. Hupp has
claimed that Gumpenberger was an intruder and that she shot him in
self-defense.
In court Monday, Gumpenberger's sister called Hupp a serial killer and said it
was unfortunate she didn't get the death penalty.
His mother agreed.
"I don’t care what [Hupp] has to say, if she says anything it wouldn’t have
been real. It's obvious she doesn’t care," said Margaret Burch, Louis' mother.
"She had the chance to put her hands on my son and I didn’t get that chance to
do with her."
Her criminal case has now been three years in the making. Prosecutors announced
they would seek the death penalty in the case and due to heightened public
scrutiny, a judge also had ruled that jurors would have to be brought in from
Clay County, on the other side of the state.
A trial was scheduled in September 2018, then in June of 2019, but both dates
were continued.
Russ Faria is suing numerous officials in Lincoln County in federal court,
regarding the case against and his ultimate acquittal.
"I would have like to see her (Hupp) allocated to her crimes, but relieved
because she will be locked up and wont be able to kill anyone again," Faria
said after the guilty plea.
Experts have also scrutinized the death of Hupp’s mother, Shirley Neumann.
Neumann fell from her third floor balcony at a senior living home back in 2013.
Though the death was initially ruled accidental, a medical examiner later
changed the death report to say it was "undetermined." Hupp was the last person
to see her mother alive.
She has not been charged or implicated in either her mother or Betsy Faria’s
deaths.
Hupp faced a judge in St. Charles County Court at 2:00 pm Wednesday in the
Gumpenberger case and entered her plea.
At a press conference later, Lohmar noted Hupp's Alford plea doesn't mean she
has to formally confess.
"I don’t think she had the courage to say that she did it. She’s a coward and
she’s been manipulative since day one," he said.
She will be sentenced on August 12.
(source: KMOV news)
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