[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., GA., ALA., MISS., OHIO
Oct. 7 TEXAS: Supreme Court Rejects 4 Death Row AppealsThe U.S. Supreme Court rejects the appeals of 3 Texas inmates facing execution. The U.S. Supreme Court, without comment on Monday, rejected the appeals of three Texas men convicted of murder. Gregory RusseauM The high court refused to review the case of 44-year-old Gregory Russeau, an East Texas man condemned for the slaying of a 75-year-old auto mechanic during a robbery in Tyler more than a decade ago. Russeau was convicted and sent to death row for the fatal beating of James Syvertson at his auto repair shop. Syvertson's wallet and car were stolen. Russeau was arrested the next day in Longview in the stolen car. Russeau's initial death sentence was thrown out on appeal and he was sentenced a second time. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in March rejected an appeal that argued his trial legal help was deficient and that trial prosecutors used planted evidence against him. Derrick Dewayne Charles The court then rejected the appeal of 32-year-old Derrick Dewayne Charles, a Houston man on Texas death row for the slayings of 3 people at their home 12 years ago. Last November, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected arguments he had shoddy legal help at his trial. A Harris County jury in 2003 decided he should die for strangling his 15-year-old girlfriend, Myiesha Bennett, raping and strangling her 44-year-old mother Brenda Bennett, and fatally beating his girlfriend's 77-year-old grandfather, Obie Lee Bennett. Charles, then 20, was arrested a day after the 2002 attack at the Bennetts' Houston home. At the time, he was on parole following a burglary conviction. He confessed to the slayings. Robert Ladd The court also refused rejected the appeal of 57-year-old Robert Ladd's appeal, a Texas death row prisoner convicted of the slaying of a Tyler woman at her apartment. In April, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had turned down his appeal that he's mentally impaired and ineligible for execution. Ladd was convicted of killing 38-year-old Vicki Ann Garner in 1996. She'd been beaten with a hammer and her body, bound at the legs and wrists, was set on fire. At the time, Ladd was on parole after serving 13 years in prison for pleading guilty to 3 other slayings in Dallas. In 2003, he received a reprieve from the 5th Circuit about 9 hours before his scheduled execution. Scott Louis Panetti The highest court refused to consider an appeal from 56-year-old Scott Louis Panetti, convicted of fatally shooting his in-laws at their Fredericksburg home more than 20 years ago in front of his estranged wife and young children. Attorneys contend that Panetti is so delusional he can't understand why he was convicted and condemned. A year ago, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with state lawyers and rejected arguments that Panetti is incompetent to be executed. Panetti's attorneys then took their case to the Supreme Court. Panetti has a history of mental problems and his case has made multiple trips through the courts. He was convicted of killing in-laws Joe and Amanda Alvarado. (source: nbcdfw.com) Supreme Court rejects appeal The family of a Mount Pleasant woman who was brutally raped and murdered 18 years ago can finally look forward to her killer receiving the death penalty. Vicki Ann Garner, a member of the Mount Pleasant High School class of 1977, was killed on Sept. 25, 1996 in Tyler. The convicted killer, Robert Charles Ladd, was sentenced to death less than a year later, on Aug. 27, 1997. On Monday, her family received word that the U.S. Supreme Court has denied Ladd's appeal. Members of Garner's family now hope a date can be set for Ladd's long-awaited visit to the death chamber in Huntsville. Her younger sister, Teresa Wooten, said she got a call from a member of the state Attorney General's staff Monday morning. I cried. It was very emotional. It's been a long time coming, and it was like reliving the whole thing, Wooten said. As a result over the years of being driven by the need to find justice for Vicki, today she serves as the sexual assault director at the SAFE-T center here in Mount Pleasant. Wooten said the state AG's office will now contact the district attorney in Tyler to set a date for Ladd's execution. On September 25, 1996, Vicki Ann Garner was found dead in her home. She had been raped and strangled to death. In addition, her home was robbed and then set on fire. A police investigation quickly connected Ladd to Garner's murder. Ladd's DNA was found on Garner, his hand print was found in Garner's kitchen, and Ladd had sold a TV set that had been taken from Garner's residence in exchange for crack cocaine. Soon after, Ladd was indicted for capital murder, because the murder occurred during the commission of burglary, robbery, sexual assault, and arson. On August 23, 1997, a Texas state
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ARIZ., NEV., WASH., USA
Oct. 7 ARIZONA: Potential jurors questioned at Arias penalty trial Lawyers began individually questioning prospective jurors for the penalty phase retrial of convicted murderer Jodi Arias, the next step in the effort to pick an impartial panel that will determine whether she receives the death penalty or life in prison. Potential jurors answered questions Monday about their views on the death penalty and whether they can fairly judge the evidence. 1 prospective juror was asked about her distrust of psychologists, while another discussed moral objections to the death penalty. Roughly 175 prospective jurors remain out of an initial group of 400 who were brought in for questioning last week. The retrial is expected to last into December. Arias was convicted of murder last year in the 2008 killing of her ex-boyfriend in Arizona, but jurors couldn't agree on a sentence. (source: Merced Sun-Star) NEVADA: Death penalty stands in '06 killing, dismemberment The Nevada Supreme Court has upheld the death penalty for a former math teacher convicted of killing his wife in a Las Vegas hotel room, then dismembering and cooking parts of her body. Justices issued a 5-2 decision Thursday saying there were no errors that merited a new trial for 74-year-old John Matthias Watson III Prosecutors say Watson lured his wife to Las Vegas from their Ontario, California home in 2006 on the pretense of celebrating her 50th birthday. But prosecutors say he planned the murder of Everilda Evie Watson for more than a month out of fear she'd take his money in a divorce. Prosecutors say Watson shot her, then cut her up with a band saw and wrote letters from jail admitting he cooked part of the body. (source: Associated Press) WASHINGTON: Jury selection in trials for Carnation murders could take months On Christmas Eve 2007, 6 members of an extended family were shot to death in a home in Carnation. After years of delays, the 1st of 2 aggravated murder trials is underway with jury selection that could take several months. This week, groups of 8 to 10 potential jurors are sitting in a courtroom in Seattle, answering questions from attorneys and a judge, mostly concerning their opinions about the death penalty. Joseph McEnroe and Michele Anderson are each charged with 6 counts of aggravated murder for the shooting deaths of Anderson's parents, her brother and sister-in-law and their 2 small children. Jury selection started last summer with the county sending out 3,000 summonses, hoping about 650 people would respond. But the number of people who came in the door were more than we expected, said King County jury manager Greg Wheeler. Almost 750 responded. In 2010, Superior Court Judge Greg Canova presided over the aggravated murder trial of a man who killed 4 neighbors and set their Kirkland house on fire. It was going to be more difficult to select a jury because of people's strong feelings on one side or the other of the issue of the death penalty. So, Judge Canova started with 600 potential jurors. From that jury pool, with scheduling in advance, a set number of jurors to appear every day in subsequent weeks, it took us roughly 6 to 8 weeks to pick this jury. Judge Canova said that the jury that heard that 2010 capital case was a good cross section of the community, not just old people or employees of companies that pay their workers' salary during jury duty. The jury convicted Conner Scheirman and then voted again to sentence him to death. In the Carnation case, McEnroe is 1st to go to trial. The trial court is hoping to pick a final jury of 17, including alternates, just before Christmas. Then, the trial could last 4 months. You might wonder how anybody could sit on a jury that long, other than the retired or unemployed. Particularly with juror pay of $10 a day, unchanged since the Eisenhower administration, according to Wheeler. A few years ago, King County was part of a pilot project to gauge the need to raise jury pay, using minimum wage as a suggested increase. The results surprised all of us, frankly, said Judge Canova. The bottom line was, there was no appreciable increase in the number of people who were able to serve on jury duty. The Anderson-McEnroe case has dragged on due to multiple legal issues, including changes in defense attorneys and a challenge to the prosecutor's application of the death penalty. At one point, the trial judge tossed the death penalty but it was reinstated earlier this year by the State Supreme Court. The prosecution attempted to get a new judge assigned to the case, which would have meant even further delays. No trial date has been set for Michele Anderson. Oral arguments are scheduled for this Friday in King County Superior Court in a competency hearing. She has been found competent to stand trial in previous hearings. When opening statements are heard next year in the McEnroe trial,
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Oct. 7 KENYA: Court hands 6 Kisumu fishermen death sentence for murder of 2 colleagues 6 fishermen charged with the murder of 2 of their colleagues have been sentenced to death by the Homa Bay High Court. David Ongata Opiyo, William Ayugi, Tilleny Odhiambo,Silas Onyango Odongo, Peter Otieno and Tiberius Ododa Nyangero were found guilty of murdering Lameck Olima Ochieng and Felix Ouma Odhiambo on the night of August 16 and 17, 2010 at Dhogunda beach, Usao sub location in Suba district, Nyanza. A 7th suspect, Paul Ochieng Oketch did not attend the court proceedings. After carefully evaluating the evidence from both sides, this court has no doubt in its mind that on the material night Opiyo, Ayugi, Odhiambo, Odongo and Onyango, with others not before the court, killed Lameck, Justice David Majanja said reading the ruling. Majanja delivered the ruling as signed off by by Kisumu High Court Judge Lady Justice Esther Maina. The prosecution lined up 16 witnesses and submitted identification, recognition, malice aforethought and common intention before the court. The prosecution argued that even though the incident took place at night all the eye witnesses testified that the torches the attackers had and moonlight exposed their faces. A witness who was with the deceased escaped. He told the court that on the material day, the suspects approached them in two boats at around 2am demanding fish and money. He said they were armed with spears, pangas and stones. When they declined, the accused pelted them with the stones but he dove into Lake Victoria for safety. The fisherman said he hid under the water hyacinth for 45 minutes and saw the accused leaving with the deceased. He said the light enabled him to identify them as childhood friends. He later reported the matter to the families of the deceased and recorded a statement with the police. The court also heard that the nature of the injuries inflicted on the deceased and the other evidence presented were clear proof that the accused had intentions to kill. The accused requested a fair ruling saying they are their families' sole breadwinners and denied the charges against them. I have considered the statements made in mitigation, however the law of Kenya is clear, it describes only 1 penalty for the offense of murder which you have been convicted of, and that is the sentence of death, Majanja read. I therefore sentence Opiyo, Ayugi, Odhiambo, Odongo and Onyango accused to death for the murder of Lameck, but since the death sentence cannot be enforced twice, the sentence in respect to Felix is left in the abeyance, Majanja continued. The 6th accused, Tiberius Obada was sentenced to death in respect to Odhiambo's murder. They accused have 14 days to appeal the ruling. (source: The Star) IRAN: Iranian convicted in controversial murder case could escape execution An Iranian woman facing a death sentence in a murder case that some have labeled a miscarriage of justice may be spared the gallows, Iranian judicial officials said. Authorities were seeking consent from the family of the victim to vacate the capital judgment against Reyhaneh Jabbari, according to an Iranian judiciary spokesman, Gholam Hussein Mohseni Ezhei, who made the comments Monday at his weekly news conference. Meanwhile, the semi-official Iranian Students News Agency quoted the nation's justice minister, Mustafa Pourmohammadi, as saying that the hanging of Jabbari would be put off for at least 40 days. Observers said the comments likely meant that Iranian authorities had decided to commute the death sentence for Jabbari, whose case has been widely circulated on various social media forums. It was not clear if Jabbari could face more prison time if spared execution. Fears that her execution was imminent were raised late last month when she was moved to another prison, but then quickly returned to her original lockup. Jabbari was arrested in 2007 and sentenced to death in 2009 for the murder of Morteza Abdolali Sarbandi, a doctor and former Intelligence Ministry employee, according to a report by Human Rights Watch. The New York-based rights watchdog has called on Iranian authorities to cancel the execution. The case against her is murky, defense lawyers say. Jabbari admitted stabbing Sarbandi in the neck, but said that he had attempted to assault her sexually, Human Rights Watch said. She also asserted that a 3rd person may have been responsible for the death, according to Human Rights Watch. Her lawyers have contended that the case was not properly investigated and that Jabbari did not receive a fair trial. In April 2014, Human Rights Watch said, Iran's judiciary halted Jabbari's execution to review the conviction and death sentence. Reached via cellphone, Jabbari's attorney, Parisa Ghanbari, said, God willing, I will get a pardon from the victim's family and save her life. A friend of Jabbari
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----GA., OHIO, USA
Oct. 7 GEORGIA: Georgia: Court rules mean intellectually disabled murderer must die Nearly 14 years ago the state of Georgia asked 2 psychologists and a psychiatrist to evaluate a convicted killer named Warren Lee Hill Jr., who had filed a legal challenge to his death sentence on the grounds that he lacked sufficient intellectual capacity to understand why Georgia wanted him dead.. The psychiatrist, Thomas H. Sachy, who had no background in that kind of evaluation - he worked with brain injuries and seizure disorders - spent an hour with Hill, read some files, then shared his findings with the 2 psychologists, James Carter and Donald Harris, who together had spent 2 hours talking with Hill. They all concluded that Hill was malingering, understood what was happening and thus was eligible for execution. Should the Court review this decision, this case would, in its factual concept be a perfect and definitive decision in this area of the law. - Thomas H. Wilson, Georgia Superior Court judge Why? Because fresh affidavits by the three experts withdrawing their initial opinions came too far along in the legal process to be considered in Hill's newest challenge. At the same time, the case spotlights Georgia's bizarre state requirement that to avoid the death penalty a defendant must prove intellectual disability beyond reasonable doubt, the only state in the nation with such a stringent burden of proof (most others use the preponderance of evidence threshold, meaning the defendant is most likely intellectually disabled). So, no, states like Texas and Oklahoma don't have a lock on absurdity when it comes to the death penalty. Hill is not an embraceable petitioner. He was serving a life sentence for murder after shooting his girlfriend 11 times in 1986 when, four years later, he used a nail-studded board to beat a prison cellmate to death. He should be locked away from society and from fellow prisoners for the rest of his life. But Hill should not be executed, and that has come close to happening before. Beyond the general problems with the death penalty - the manipulation of the system by police and prosecutors, the inconsistent application, the base immorality of killing - Hill stands apart because of his intellectual disability. His IQ is 70, the threshold for determining disability, though that comes with a margin of error and in current practice should be viewed in conjunction with other observations of adaptive behavior, which covers many everyday social and practical skills, according to the American Assn. on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. The Supreme Court agrees. Earlier this year it tossed out Florida's use of a bright-line 70-IQ threshold for determining eligibility for execution, ordering that, in essence, states must follow the most up-to-date professional standards in making such evaluations - which was the right call. That followed the 2002 ruling in Atkins vs. Virginia that executing those with intellectual disabilities violates the 8th Amendment's proscription against cruel and unusual punishment. The initial evaluation of Hill by the three experts was hastily done. In 2000 Hill had challenged his death sentence on grounds of intellectual disability (known as mental retardation at the time), and the experts were asked to assess him. They did so on Dec. 6 and Dec. 11, completed their report on Dec. 12 and testified on Dec. 14. In affidavits signed in February 2013, all three men said that in reviewing their initial findings, other material about Hill's capacities that was unavailable to them at the time and advances in understanding how intellectual disabilities affect behavior, they now believe he suffers from an intellectual disability that would make him ineligible for the death penalty. Georgia's counter-argument is that the new affidavits are not credible because they are not based on fresh evaluations of Hill, and that the petition is invalid. The problem is Hill already lost appeals on similar grounds - including the appeal that led to the three experts' initial evaluation of him. But that was before the experts changed their opinions. Still, Georgia Superior Court Judge Thomas H. Wilson ruled last month that Hill has not cited any new law or any new evidence to overcome the procedural bar to raising an appeals issue that had already been settled. He also ruled that the Supreme Court's Florida decision requiring an expansive definition of intellectual disability did not apply to Hill's case. But then Wilson invited the state Supreme Court to take up the issue, essentially kicking the final decision upstairs. There is no public outcry calling for a change, but there exists the knowledge that this case involves the ultimate punishment and the defendant is at the end of his legal avenues of appeal, Wilson wrote in a 3-paragraph ruling. Should the Georgia Supreme Court not grant an
