Aug. 16
MISSISSIPPI:
Judge told to review death row inmate's disability claim----Anthony Carr
convicted in 1990 slayings
The Mississippi Supreme Court is telling a circuit judge to reconsider his
ruling that upheld the death penalty for an inmate who said he's intellectually
disabled and therefore ineligible for execution.
Anthony Carr was 1 of 2 men convicted in the 1990 slayings of Carl and Bobbie
Jo Parker, their 12-year-old son Gregory and 9-year-old daughter Charlotte.
Sparsely populated Quitman County had to raise taxes to pay for the defense of
Carr and Robert Simon Jr., who both still await execution.
In May 2011, Simon's execution was only four hours away when a federal appeals
court ordered a halt to consider his intellectual disability claim. The 5th
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected his appeal in March.
(source: WAPT news)
ARKANSAS:
Prosecutor considers death penalty for suspect in Sebastian County deputy's
death
Sebastian County Prosecutor Daniel Shue said Monday he will undertake a review
to seek the death penalty for Billy Monroe Jones, the accused killer of a
county sheriff's deputy last week between Hackett and Greenwood.
Jones, 35, was charged Monday in Sebastian County Circuit Court with capital
murder and 10 counts of attempted murder for the shootout with police officers,
all Class Y felonies. Jones was also charged with injuring an animal used by
law enforcement, a Class D felony, being an "habitual criminal" and being a
felon in possession of a firearm, a Class B felony. He will be arraigned before
Judge J. Michael Fitzhugh at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
Hackett Police Chief Darrell Spells was grazed with a bullet that morning when
responding to a domestic disturbance call at 4722 Arkansas 253. The funeral for
Cpl. Bill Cooper of the Sebastian County Sheriff's Office is set for 10 a.m.
Tuesday at the Fort Smith Convention Center.
"Pursuant to the Due Process Clause of the United States Constitution and the
Arkansas Constitution, a careful, deliberate consideration must be conducted
before exercising prosecutorial discretion in this regard," Shue wrote of
seeking the death penalty for Jones.
Shue went on to state that if a prosecutor automatically seeks the death
penalty in every capital murder case without "the exercise of proper
judiciousness" then the decision could be the basis for reversal at some later
date.
. Prior to the incident Aug. 10, Jones was expected in court before Fitzhugh on
Aug. 18 for a Feb. 16 arrest for felony possession of oxycodone, being a felon
in possession of a firearm and carrying a weapon, also a felony. He was out on
a $5,000 bond.
(source: swtimes.com)
ARIZONA:
Death Row Inmate Gets Another Hearing
The Ninth Circuit on Monday ordered an Arizona death row inmate's 1-day-late
habeas corpus petition to be heard and determined on its merits.
Theodore Washington and 2 co-defendants, Fred Robinson and James Mathers, were
convicted and sentenced to death in 1987 for shooting Robinson's common-law
wife's step-mother.
Mathers' conviction was overturned by the Arizona Supreme Court due to
insufficient evidence.
Robinson's sentence was reduced to 67 years to life because of an improper
sentence enhancement.
Washington's federal habeas petition was denied on June 8, 2005. He had 30 days
to file an appeal, but his legal team made a mistake and filed the appeal on
July 11, 1 business day after the deadline. He then had a 30-day grace period
to explain why the filing was late, but due to a court error he didn't learn
about the late filing until2 1/2 months later.
The timeliness issue seemed to be a hurdle that could not be cleared. The
district court denied Washington's petition to have the judgment vacated and
re-entered so as to make his appeal timely. Then a 3-judge panel of the Ninth
Circuit decided that it lacked jurisdiction to hear the case.
But the Ninth Circuit decided to rehear the case en banc, and Judge Morgan
Christen, who delivered the 7-4 decision, wrote that this is an extraordinary
case.
"(W)e conclude that when Congress adopted the Federal Rules, it entrusted the
courts with the essential task of identifying the rare cases that warrant
reentry of judgment for purposes of restoring the right to appeal," Christen
wrote. "Of the thousands of judgments entered by district courts each year,
only a handful have been found to warrant this type of relief. We conclude that
Washington's is one of them."
Christen found it crucial that for 2 1/2 months the district court's docket was
empty after Washington filed his notice of appeal, and the district clerk did
not send the notice to the appellate clerk in that time. Washington's attorneys
could not have known from checking the docket that the notice was late. They
would have had to recalculate, unprompted, when the notice was due.
"Washington's lawyers are responsible for the initial late filing, but we
cannot say they lacked diligence for failing to detect their late filing in
time to seek an extension. The district court abused its discretion in
concluding otherwise."
The state would not be prejudiced if the appeal were heard, Christen wrote, so
it should be heard, especially given that this is a death penalty case and
Washington's co-defendants have received relief.
"Dismissal of Washington's appeal would prevent any appellate review of the
denial of his potentially meritorious habeas petition, yet it was a court error
that prevented Washington from seeking an extension of time expressly allowed
by the Rules."
Judge Jay Bybee, however, in 1 of 2 dissenting opinions, said the Ninth Circuit
lacks jurisdiction.
"[The majority] has utterly failed to explain how a claim-processing rule like
Rule 60(b) can be used to undermine a jurisdictional, statutory filing
requirement promulgated by Congress," Bybee wrote. "And it ignores the
consequences of its decision today: that in allowing relief under Rule 60(b)
from an untimely appeal, the court puts a hole right through the Rule 4(a)
timing requirements, now giving parties up to a year to attempt to pursue an
appeal."
Washington was represented by Gilbert Levy of Seattle.
Charles Ryan, the respondent-appellee, was represented by Assistant Arizona
Attorney General Laura Chiasson and former Arizona Attorney General Terry
Goddard, of Tucson.
The case was also argued by Nathaniel Love from Sidley Austin in Chicago, Mark
Haddad with Sidley Austin in Los Angeles, and David Porter, co-chairman of the
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Amicus Committee.
None of the attorneys with listed phone numbers could be reached for comment.
The Arizona Attorney General's Office did not respond to a request for comment.
(source: Courthouse News)
CALIFORNIA:
Californians to decide death penalty's fate in November----2 opposing
initiatives to appear on ballot
California voters will decide the fates of 2 competing death penalty ballot
initiatives in November.
Prop. 66 would speed up the appeals process so that inmates face the death
penalty sooner, while Prop. 62 would eliminate the sentence.
Both initiatives promise to save the state money. Prop. 62 supporters believe
$150 million will be saved annually under their plan, while Prop. 66 supporters
tout an annual savings in the tens of millions of dollars.
Since 1978, the state has executed just 13 inmates, while 743 remain on
California's death row.
"It's a rare event, it should always be a rare event," Sacramento County
District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert said. "But, it's something that this
state has consistently said is an important public policy."
Schubert supports Prop. 66, believing it is important to give victim's families
that kind of closure.
Since she was elected as district attorney in 2014, Schubert has filed more
than 100 murder cases, and only 1 turned into a death penalty case.
"It's a very solemn decision that's made, but ultimately it's a decision that
is given to a jury," she said.
At a news conference Monday, Schubert introduced Sandy Friend, the mother of
8-year-old Michael Lyons, who was murdered in 1996 by Robert Rhoades.
"He used to tell me, 'I got my Superman cape on mom, don't worry I ain't gonna
get hurt,'" Friend said.
Rhoades was sentenced to death in 1999, but he still sits on death row.
Californians voted on the death penalty in 2012 when a ballot initiative that
would have abolished the death penalty narrowly failed to pass, receiving 48 %
of the vote.
Ron Briggs helped get the 2012 initiative, along with Prop. 62, on the ballot.
He believes taking away all the appeals process and leaving behind a life in
prison is punishment enough.
"Putting a guy in prison for the rest of his life, I think is perhaps even more
terrible a proposition than it is for the death penalty," Briggs said.
Under both propositions, anyone found guilty of murder would work to pay
restitution to the victim's family.
Friend sees it as a chance for closure or continuing a long nightmare.
"I want the sentence that the jurors gave us, the sentence that I felt was
justly deserved," Friend said.
Both propositions need a majority to pass.
If both pass, whichever gets more votes will take effect.
(source: KCRA news)
*********************
Rare look inside San Quentin Prison, home of death row
In just 3 months, voters have the chance to abolish the death penalty in
California or speed up the process. With interest running high on the issue,
San Quentin State Prison, home to the state's only death row, opened up and let
ABC7 I-Team Reporter Dan Noyes and our cameras in for a rare look inside.
The 1st impression one gets of San Quentin is how old the place is. Much of it
was built 100 years ago and there's nothing automatic about it. Each cell has
to be locked or unlocked by hand.
Within the different housing units -- North Segregation, East Block, Donner,
and The Adjustment Center -- there are 725 murderers, cop killers, child
killers and serial killers.
Joe Naso was convicted of killing 4 women in a Marin County Trial 3 years ago.
He's suspected of killing many more.
Noyes: "How many people did you kill"
Naso: "How many did you?"
Noyes: "That's easy, none. How about you?"
He says he didn't kill anybody.
The man who murdered 12-year-old Polly Klaas, Richard Allen Davis, refused to
speak with us even though he's been writing letters to the ABC7 I-Team's Dan
Noyes for more than a year.
Perhaps the most infamous inmate at San Quentin is Scott Peterson. He usually
works out in an enclosed exercise yard but he chose to stay inside his cell
today to avoid the media.
To be able to speak to the inmates, Dan Noyes had to wear an anti-stab vest for
protection against prison shanks.
He was also required to sign a waiver -- the prison will not negotiate over
hostages, if he were to be taken.
Another inmate described what life is like at San Quentin.
"Very minimal human contact, conditions-not that good," convicted double
murderer Mila Johnson said.
Many inmates were happy to talk about their lives behind bars at the oldest
prison in California.
Some wanted to discuss their cases and how long they've been on death row.
William Dennis said he's been there for "28 years all together." He was
convicted of killing his ex-wife.
Asked whether the death penalty should be abolished or if executions should be
sped up, he said, "I think that it's a big waste of money to have the death
penalty and to try to speed it up is going to cost even more to do that."
As it stands now, inmates have a better chance of dying from natural causes or
suicide. There hasn't been an execution in 10 years because of challenges to
California's execution protocol -- the cocktail of drugs they use to kill a
condemned man or woman.
Jamar Tucker is on death row for killing 3 men. He told Dan Noyes, "Man, I'm
wrong and this what I got coming to me. Give it to me. Don't sit me, have me
sitting on the shelf 20 and 30 years. You told me you're were going to kill me.
Kill me already."
California's death row for women is at Valley State Prison in Chowchilla, with
just 21 inmates awaiting execution.
Everyone is interested in what happens in November when voters get to decide on
the future of the death penalty in California.
Facts about San Quentin:
--San Quentin was established in July 1852.
--It started on 20 acres of land purchased for $10,000.00.
--It was built by inmates who slept on a prison ship called the Waban at night
and worked on construction during daylight hours. --San Quentin was known as
the "Bastille by the Bay".
--It housed male and female inmates until 1933 when the women's prison at
Tehachapi was built.
--Today, the prison overlooks the bay on 432 acres located 12 miles north of
the Golden Gate Bridge.
--The maximum security cell block is called the Adjustment Center.
--Medical facilities are located in the Health Care Service Building.
--The prison has a minimum security firehouse.
--Visitors are allowed to see inmates on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays
--Attorneys are allowed to meet with clients Monday through Thursday.
--Condemned inmates can meet with their attorneys on Thursdays.
--San Quentin is home to California's only gas chamber.
--All of California's male death row inmates are located at San Quentin.
[source: http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Facilities_Locator/SQ.html]
(source: ABCV news)
USA:
Anti-death penalty veterans added to Roof's legal team
T2 lawyers with long records of death penalty defense have joined the legal
team of accused mass killer Dylann Roof.
Roof is facing the federal death penalty in the June 2015 killings of 9
African-Americans at a historic downtown Charleston church.
The lead attorney is still nationally-known death penalty expert David Bruck,
who practiced more than 20 years in South Carolina before setting up an
anti-capital punishment project center in Virginia.
In recent weeks, Bruck has been joined by:
-- Kimberly Stevens, an Asheville, N.C. lawyer who has represented defendants
in 35 death penalty cases, according to her profile.
-- Emily Paavola, legal director of Justice 360 of Columbia, an anti-death
penalty nonprofit group that works on S.C. death penalty cases and pushes for
changes. Paavola graduated from Cornell Law School, where she was taught by
John Blume, an S.C. native who, like Bruck, is a nationally-known anti-death
penalty lawyer.
Those additions come after Sarah Gannett, a long-time federal public defender
with extensive appellate experience, joined Roof's team in June.
In late July, Michael O'Connell, a Mount Pleasant criminal defense attorney,
left Roof's team. Working with Bruck, he had represented Roof since July 2015.
O'Connell declined comment on the decision.
With Bruck, Stevens, Paavola and Gannett, Roof now has 4 court-appointed
lawyers. All of them were approved by U.S. Judge Richard Gergel, who has said
he wants experienced lawyers defending Roof.
Mistakes by attorneys not versed in death penalty matters can result in
reversals of jury verdicts and expensive retrials.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jay Richardson and Nathan Williams are the main part
of the prosecution team. They are joined by Stephen Curran, Paige Fitzgerald
and Nicholas Murphy, all of whom work for the U.S. Department of Justice in
Washington.
(source: The State)
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