[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----MISSOURI
Urgent Action MULTIPLE CONCERNS AS MISSOURI EXECUTION SET Marcellus Williams, aged 48, is due to be executed in Missouri on 22 August for a 1998 murder. He maintains his innocence of the crime. An African American, he was tried before an almost all-white jury. Two of the four federal judges to review his case have concluded that he received constitutionally inadequate representation at his sentencing. Write a letter, send an email, call, fax or tweet: * Calling on the governor to stop the execution of Marcellus Williams and to commute his death sentence; * Noting the circumstantial nature of the case, the lack of forensic or eyewitness evidence against the defendant, and the reliance on the notoriously unreliable form of evidence, jailhouse informant testimony; * Expressing concern at the prosecutor’s dismissal of African Americans during jury selection, and that the jury never heard mitigating evidence of the defendant’s background of severe abuse, poverty and mental disability Friendly reminder: If you send an email, please create your own instead of forwarding this one! Contact below official by 22 August, 2017: Office of Governor Eric Greitens PO Box 720, Jefferson City, MO 65102, USA Fax: +1 573 751 1495 Email (via website): https://governor.mo.gov/get-involved/contact-the-governors-office (Note: if you do not have an address in the US, select “outside the US” where it asks for your state, and write in “0” where it asks for your zip code) Twitter: @EricGreitens Salutation: Dear Governor ___ A service courtesy of Washburn University School of Law www.washburnlaw.edu DeathPenalty mailing list DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty Unsubscribe: http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/options/deathpenalty
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
July 26 SAUDI ARABIA: Amnesty: Saudi should stop 'bloody execution spree'Rights groups urge kingdom to halt executions of 14 men, reporting that at least 66 have been beheaded so far this year. Amnesty International has urged Saudi Arabia to abandon what it termed a "bloody execution spree", after reports that 14 more men are set to be executed. The kingdom has already beheaded at least 66 people this year, the rights group said on Monday, as it decried the Saudi Arabian supreme court's decision to uphold death sentences against the group convicted of crimes related to their involvement in protests. Amnesty also said it learned on Sunday that the Specialised Criminal Court (SCC) in Riyadh upheld the death sentences for 15 other men accused of spying for Iran. In June 2016, the SCC sentenced to death the 14 men charged with crimes relating to protesting in what Amnesty says was a "grossly unfair mass trial". They were convicted of a wide array of crimes that include bomb making, theft, robbery, participation in riots and shooting at security vehicles, among others. Court documents showed that the men claimed they had been tortured until they confessed to the allegations. "By confirming these sentences, Saudi Arabia's authorities have displayed their ruthless commitment to the use of the death penalty as a weapon to crush dissent and neutralise political opponents," Samah Hadid, Director of campaigns for the Middle East at Amnesty International, said in a statement. "King Salman's signature is now all that stands between them and their execution. He must immediately quash these death sentences which are a result of sham court proceedings that brazenly flout international fair trial standards." Amnesty added that Saudi authorities had executed at least 26 people over the past 3 1/2 weeks - an average of more than 1 execution a day. Meanwhile, as of Wednesday, the UK-based rights group Reprieve had obtained more than 32,000 signatures on a petition to cancel the executions. 'Utterly shocking' Earlier this month, Reprieve lambasted Saudi Arabia for upholding a death sentence for 23-year-old Munir Adam, a partially deaf and blind man who was allegedly tortured into a confession. Police are accused of torturing Adam, who was arrested during protests in 2012, until he lost all hearing in one ear, despite medical records proving his disabilities. The group called on US President Donald Trump, who visited Saudi Arabia in May, to intervene on Adam's behalf. "Munir's case is utterly shocking - the White House should be appalled that our Saudi allies tortured a disabled protester until he lost his hearing then sentenced him to death on the basis of a forced 'confession'," Maya Foa, director of Reprieve, said in a statement at the time. Foa went on to accuse Trump of having "emboldened the kingdom to continue the torture and execution of protesters". On July 11, Saudi authorities executed 4 Shia Muslim men convicted on charges of "terrorism" for alleged attacks against police and participating in protest-related violence against security forces. On January 2, 2016, the kingdom executed 47 prisoners convicted of various offences, among them prominent Shia religious leader Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, who had led protests against the government and its Sunni religious leaders. Nimr's execution prompted demonstrations in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province and other countries of the Middle East. In Iran, protests turned violent with demonstrators storming the Saudi embassy, prompting Riyadh to cut diplomatic ties with Tehran. Saudi Arabia has one of the world's highest rates of execution. Minority Shia Muslims have long complained of marginalisation and discrimination in the Sunni-ruled kingdom, and demand political and economic reforms. source: aljazeera.com) ___ A service courtesy of Washburn University School of Law www.washburnlaw.edu DeathPenalty mailing list DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty Unsubscribe: http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/options/deathpenalty
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----OHIO
July 26 OHIOexecution Ohio child-killer Ronald Phillips executed at Lucasville Ronald Phillips could not avoid his 7th execution date. After 6 postponements, the 43-year-old Summit County man was executed Wednesday for a murder he committed 24 years ago, a week into Bill Clinton's 1st term as president. Phillips' victim was Sheila Marie Evans, the 3-year-old daughter of his then-girlfriend. The time of Phillips' death was 10:43 a.m. at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility near Lucasville. There were no complications. Watching as Phillips died on the other side of a large glass window were Renee Mundell, the deceased girl's half-sister, and Donna Hudson and John Evans, her aunt and uncle. Also witnessing his brother's execution was William Phillips. The execution was delayed a few minutes to permit the condemned prisoner to visit with his brother, who was late arriving at the prison. Had she lived, Sheila would have been 27 years old. She was just 3 when, over 2 or 3 days in January 1993, she was beaten, repeatedly raped anally, thrown against a wall, dragged by her hair, and punched so hard in the abdomen by Phillips that it killed her. While there was no doubt about Phillips' guilt - he confessed to the crime after lying at first - his legal appeals have extended for years. Most recently, the court fight focused on Ohio's changing lethal injection protocol, with Philips' attorneys arguing that the combination of drugs to be used was flawed and could be compared to "burning at the stake." The 3 drugs, used in combination for the 1st time in Ohio, were 500 milligrams of midazolam hydrochloride, a strong sedative; 1,000 milligrams of rocuronium bromide, a muscle relaxer, and 240 milligrams of potassium chloride, used to stop the heart. A total of 6 syringes were used, 2 for each drug. On 6 previous occasions, Phillips received reprieves from the courts or Gov. John Kasich, who was forced to shuffle execution dates due primarily to a lack of necessary lethal-injection drugs. However, the state secured a supply of drugs in October, Kasich denied Phillips request that his sentenced be commuted to life without parole, and the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the case Tuesday night - although a pair of justices dissented. The case puts Ohio in the national spotlight because the state had not held an execution since Jan. 16, 2014, when Dennis McGuire struggled, coughed and gasped through a 26-minute death marathon. That triggered a series of legal appeals and a struggle to find suitable execution drugs. European drugmakers have essentially shut down the supply of lethal chemicals to U.S. prisons, but Ohio legislators passed a law permitting the state to secretly buy lethal-injection drugs from compounding pharmacies that mix chemicals to customer specifications. Prison officials hired a contractor to buy drugs from abroad, but federal regulators stopped the purchase. Ohio resumed capital punishment in 1999 after a 36-year hiatus. All 53 people executed since then have been men. Phillips received 6 stays of execution, once to pursue the possibility of donating a kidney to his ailing mother, but the surgery never happened, and his mother died. Last week, a coalition of clergy members, former corrections professionals, exonerated inmates and representatives of Ohioans to Stop Executions held a Statehouse press conference urging Kasich, who is a Christian, to "follow his faith" by sparing Phillips' life. Also joining the opposition were former Attorneys General Jim Petro and Lee Fisher. A federal judge in Dayton and a 3-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with Phillips' lethal-injection argument, but Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine appealed to the full 6th Circuit, which ruled 8-6 against Phillips, clearing the way for his execution. The Ohio Parole Board, which is required by law to make a recommendation to the governor in capital-punishment cases, voted 10-2 against clemency for Phillips in December. The board also had voted unanimously against clemency for him in 2013. Phillips becomes the 1st condemned inmate to be put to death this year in Ohio and the 54th overall since the state resumed capital punishment in 1999. Phillips becomes the 15th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the USA and the 1457th overall since the nation resumed executions on January 17, 1977. (sources: The Columbus Dispatch & Rick Halperin) ___ A service courtesy of Washburn University School of Law www.washburnlaw.edu DeathPenalty mailing list DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty Unsubscribe: http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/options/deathpenalty
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
July 26 BARBADOS: Condemned men freed The Trinidad-based Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) Tuesday quashed the convictions of the 2 Barbadian men, who were sentenced to death for the 2006 murder of Damien Alleyne. The CCJ, which is Barbados' highest court, ruled that Vincent Edwards and Richard Haynes' convictions could not be upheld due to the presentation of insufficient evidence by the Director of Public Prosecutions. The only evidence linking the appellants to the murder was their alleged oral confessions made in separate interviews with officers of the Royal Barbados Police Force while at the Glebe Police Station on July 19, 2007, almost a year after Alleyne's murder. As such, Queen's Counsel Andrew Pilgrim had argued that there was no case for his clients to answer and after considering the argument, Justice Winston Anderson ruled that the 2 death row inmates should be allowed be walk free. In a concurring judgment, Justice Adrian Saunders also acknowledged that, prior to the Evidence Act, an accused person could be convicted solely on an alleged oral confession, provided that the jury was warned that such a conviction may be unsafe. However, the CCJ pointed out that the purpose of the Evidence Act, which was passed by the Parliament of Barbados in 1994, was "to reform the law relating to evidence in proceedings in courts" and to apply "standards that are more stringent than the common law, [compel] the judiciary to be guided by fresh approaches and [require] the executive to make available to the police new technologies". Therefore, the evidence against Edwards and Haynes had to be reliable, especially given that the punishment on the statute books in Barbados for murder was death. "Based on the spirit of the Evidence Act, alleged confessions made while in police custody could only meet this standard where it was supported by sound or video recordings of or by some other independent evidence linking the accused to the offence. For example, evidence from a witness other than another police officer or some form of forensic evidence (e.g. DNA or fingerprint). In this case, there was no other evidence and as such the judge should have dismissed the case against the appellants," the Trinidad-based court said. Justice Saunders was also of the view that even if the evidence was sufficient, the judge did not properly warn the jury in accordance with the Act. Back in November 2015, the CCJ had rejected an earlier application filed on behalf of the 2 accused men and ordered that their case be sent back to the Barbados Court of Appeal. At the time, Edwards and Haynes, who were convicted of murder in June 2013 and sentenced to death, were challenging the unconstitutionality of the mandatory death penalty, but the CCJ had sent the matter back to the Barbados Court of Appeal for a determination of how that issue should be resolved. (source: Barbados Today) EGYPT: Ibrahim Halawa trial adjourned for 28th timeIbrahim has been incarcerated for almost 4 years without trial Ibrahim Halawa has learned that there has been yet another adjournment in his mass trial in Cairo. Ibrahim, who faces a possible death penalty, has spent almost four years in prison awaiting trial. At today's hearing, the prosecution summed up its case and presented its final arguments. The defence case will now begin, though it's understood there are no remaining witnesses to be called. Commenting on the case Colm O'Gorman, Executive Director of Amnesty International Ireland said: "Amnesty International has conducted a thorough, independent review of the prosecution evidence and concluded that Ibrahim was arrested solely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of assembly and expression. He is a Prisoner of Conscience. "Today's adjournment - the 28th - means that he will continue to be unjustly incarcerated in an Egyptian prison. "This young Irish citizen has spent 1,439 days imprisoned, when he should rightfully be at home in Dublin with his family, friends and loved ones. His ongoing detention is an inexcusable violation of both international and Egyptian law. "Given the length of his imprisonment and the horrific circumstances of his detention, Amnesty International continues to be gravely concerned for both his mental and physical wellbeing. "We reiterate our call on the Egyptian authorities to drop all charges against Ibrahim and to order his immediate and unconditional release. We also urge the Irish Government to continue working on his behalf and to use every means at their disposal to secure his release." Ibrahim Halawa was 17 years old when he was first detained in August 2013. He faces a mass trial alongside 493 other defendants. He was arrested, along with his 3 sisters, while taking sanctuary in the Al Fath mosque. While his sisters were released on bail, Ibrahim has been incarcerated for almost 4 years without t
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, FLA., OHIO, TENN., ARIZ.
July 26 TEXAS: Death row inmate Scott Panetti to get further competency review Scott Panetti, 59, remains on death row in Huntsville, convicted of killing a Fredericksburg couple in 1992. "It's still so fresh in my mind, " said Rowena Alvarado. Alvarado's parents, Joe and Amanda Alvarado, were shot and killed by Panetti. Panetti was the couple's son-in-law, and married to Rowena's sister. "We never saw it in him." Panetti has already been sentenced to death and has been granted stays of execution. From the very beginning, Panetti's case has been about mental illness. Panetti's attorneys claim he's suffered from severe mental illness for nearly 4 decades and that he's also a paranoid schizophrenic. Panetti represented himself during his 1995 trial, he also dressed up as a western TV cowboy and tried to subpoena the Pope, John F. Kennedy, and Jesus Christ. "We had no idea, nor did he have any episodes. He was just a normal guy," Alvarado went on to say. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has now returned Panetti's case to the federal district court in Texas to further review Panetti's competency. "The taxpayers have been paying for this for many years, and that is just not fair for us," added Alvarado. While Alvarado says she has forgiven Panetti. "I'm kinda in between because I do feel that the death penalty would be too good for him," she said. Panetti's legal team issued the following statement: "We are grateful that the court found that Mr. Panetti's nearly 4 decades of documented schizophrenia and severe mental illness provided a sufficient showing to obtain experts and resources to pursue the claim that he is currently incompetent for execution. And we are grateful to the Texas Defender Service for their support, which allowed us to obtain a stay and to litigate on behalf of Mr. Panetti in the Fifth Circuit. Mr. Panetti has not been evaluated by any mental health experts since 2007 and his severe mental illness has only worsened while in prison. We are confident that when the lower court is presented with all the evidence, it will find that Mr. Panetti, a schizophrenic man who insisted on representing himself at trial and attempted to subpoena the Pope, John F. Kennedy, and Jesus Christ, is not now competent for execution. Ultimately, commuting Mr. Panetti's sentence to life in prison without parole would keep the public safe and affirm our shared beliefs in a humane and moral justice system." (source: foxsanantonio.com) FLORIDA: 'NICOLE WAS LEFT TO DIE': Prosecutors call 1st witnesses in Sean Bush death penalty trial Jurors heard the 1st day of testimony Monday as prosecutors began laying out their case against Sean Alonzo Bush, who is facing the death penalty should he be convicted of 1st-degree murder in the death of his estranged wife Nicole Bush. During her opening statement in Circuit Judge Howard Maltz's St. Johns County courtroom, Assistant State Attorney Jennifer Dunton told the all-white jury that Nicole Bush was shot 5 times in the face, stabbed, and beaten with an aluminum baseball bat in the early morning hours of May 31, 2011, in her Julington Creek townhome. "Nicole was left to die, but she didn't die right away," Dunton said. Instead, she explained, the mother of 2 managed to get a phone call out to a friend who, in-turn, called another friend who called 911 and travelled to the home to see what was the matter. Jurors heard from both of those friends Monday morning as well as the 1st responding deputy and a paramedic who was at the scene. The 1st friend, Tracie Walker, testified that she only heard Nicole Bush whisper "help" into the phone when she answered a call around 6 a.m. When the call went silent, Walker called another friend, Lenora Jerry, who said that she called Nicole Bush who answered but was "whispering" like "she was struggling to speak." Jerry said her friend told her, "Send help, I can't make it to the door." A deputy, she said, arrived at the home shortly after she made it to Julington Creek. That deputy, Graham Harris, told jurors that he found Nicole Bush lying in a pool of a blood in the doorway to her bedroom. She was wearing only a bra and a pair of ripped underwear. Lieutenant Michelle Grant with St. Johns County Fire Rescue, who was a paramedic at the time, described some of the efforts to save the woman and the wounds that were apparent at the scene. Grant said Nicole Bush had at least 1 exit wound from a gunshot on top of her head and was suffering from a good deal of swelling. She said she appeared "like her head was dipped in blood." Grant and Harris both testified that Nicole Bush was speaking somewhat when they began rendering aid but she could not identify who attacked her. Nicole Bush died later that day after being flown to a Jacksonville hospital. Through the testimony of St. Johns County Sheriff's Office crime scene techni
