April 28
TEXAS----impending execution
Texas inmate asks US supreme court to block execution over lack of evidence
---- Robert Pruett alleges he was framed by other inmates in killing of guard
Daniel Nagle but prosecutors said Pruett was upset over disciplinary infraction
A Texas inmate who was convicted of murder based on testimony from other
prisoners has asked the US supreme court to block his scheduled execution on
Tuesday night.
No physical evidence linked Robert Pruett to the murder of Daniel Nagle, a
corrections officer stabbed with a sharpened metal shank inside his office in a
prison near Corpus Christi in 1999.
"Not a single iota of physical evidence connected Mr Pruett to this crime,"
lawyer David Dow said in a federal court filing.
But several inmates testified that they either saw Pruett attack Nagle or heard
him talk about planning the assault. Some were granted favourable treatment
including recommendations for early parole as a reward for their testimony.
Prisoners willing to testify on Pruett's behalf backed out for fear of
reprisals.
Only 2 weeks earlier, Nagle had addressed a rally at the Texas statehouse and
demanded a pay raise for corrections officers, warning that staff shortages
were so acute that lives were in danger.
Pruett, now 35, argued that he was framed by others who wanted Nagle dead
because they feared he was about to expose a drug smuggling and money
laundering ring at the prison. 3 days after the murder there was an 80-strong
riot in the prison. The following month, 3 guards at the same unit were charged
with money laundering on behalf of inmates.
The Texas Observer wrote in 2000: "About a month before his death, Nagle's name
was reportedly discovered on a 'kite', a clandestine note from 1 inmate to
another. The warden reportedly warned Nagle that the note was a hit list, and
that one or another prison gang wanted the officer dead."
The prosecution contended that Pruett killed Nagle in a fit of pique because
the officer disciplined him for eating a packed lunch in an unauthorised area.
The torn-up disciplinary report was found next to his body. DNA testing on the
murder weapon was inconclusive. Pruett had a cut on his hand, which he said
came from a gym accident.
He was 20 at the time of the murder and serving a 99-year sentence for being an
accomplice, aged 15, in a killing committed by his father. He was convicted and
sentenced to death by a jury in 2002 and has mounted numerous unsuccessful
appeals. The federal 5th circuit court denied an appeal last Friday, but
acknowledged that trial testimony had disclosed "problems with the inmates'
credibility".
The case has attracted international attention and was featured in a BBC
documentary, Life and Death Row. Pruett has a website on which he has posted
his autobiography and repeatedly insisted he is innocent.
Pruett would be the 7th inmate executed in Texas this year. His death had been
expected to use up Texas's remaining supply of pentobarbital, a sedative it
employs as the sole drug in its lethal injection protocol.
The state has struggled to source fresh stocks this year but the planned
execution of Richard Vasquez was stayed last week, suggesting that prison
officials will be able to carry out Tuesday's judicial killing and the
scheduled death of triple-murderer Derrick Charles on 12 May. The state's
ability to proceed with the 2 executions it has scheduled in June is less
certain.
A spokesman for the Texas department of criminal justice declined to comment on
drug supplies.
(source: The Guardian)
*************
Texas inmate asks US Supreme Court to block execution
Attorneys for a man convicted of stabbing a Texas corrections officer to death
over a disagreement about a peanut butter sandwich are asking the U.S. Supreme
Court to block his execution.
35-year-old Robert Pruett is scheduled for lethal injection Tuesday evening in
Huntsville for killing Daniel Nagle in 1999.
The 37-year-old officer was working at the McConnell Unit about 85 miles
southeast of San Antonio where Pruett was serving a 99-year sentence for his
role in a Houston-area killing.
Evidence at Pruett's trial showed he was upset Nagle had written a disciplinary
report after the prisoner tried to take a peanut butter sandwich into a
recreation yard in violation of rules. Pruett's lawyers insist he's innocent
and that another inmate or corrupt prison guards were responsible for Nagle's
death.
(source: Associated Press)
NORTH CAROLINA:
Day 228 of Gov. McCrory denying justice to Henry McCollum and Leon Brown
Monday marks the 228th day that Governor Pat McCrory has refused to grant a
pardon of innocence to Henry McCollum and Leon Brown, the two Robeson County
men who both spent 31 years in prison for a rape and murder they did not
commit.
McCollum and Brown, both mentally disabled, were freed September 4 of last year
after the N.C. Innocence Inquiry Commission found DNA evidence that proved
another man had committed the crimes.
The 2 men need the pardon from McCrory to be eligible for financial
compensation from the state for the years they were wrongly incarcerated.
McCrory received the petition September 11 of last year, 228 days ago.
The Red Springs Citizen reported Friday that the local prosecutor's office and
the SBI are conducting further investigations into the case before McCrory
grants the pardon, despite the in-depth investigation by the Innocence Inquiry
Commission that resulted in the exoneration of McCollum and Brown.
So after spending 31 years behind bars for a crime they did not commit, the 2
men find themselves again waiting for justice.
(source: ncpolicywatch.org)
ALABAMA----death row inmate suicide
DA on Huntsville cop killer's suicide: 'His sentence is what has now happened'
Madison County District Attorney Rob Broussard convinced a jury that Benito
Albarran deserved the death penalty but he didn't expect today's news that
Albarran had killed himself in prison Sunday night.
"I was surprised by what Albarran did to himself but I was shocked when I heard
what he did to Officer Daniel Golden," Broussard said. "I'm surprised. It's
pretty rare that an inmate, even on death row, will go to such extreme
measures."
Albarran, 41, was convicted in 2008 for the Aug. 29, 2005 shooting death of
Golden, whose gun had jammed, outside the El Jalisco restaurant on Jordan Lane.
Golden had responded to a domestic disturbance call involving Albarran --who
had been drinking and using cocaine that day -- and his wife.
Broussard said it was the nature of that shooting that led prosecutors to seek
-- the death penalty for Albarran, who had entered the U.S. illegally from
Mexico.
"He had wounded Officer Golden and Officer Golden was helpless and
incapacitated, begging for his life, Broussard said. "And Albarran stood over
him and executed him.
"It was especially shocking and evil, the way Albarran committed the crime."
Albarran was convicted in June 2008 and a jury voted 10-2 that he should get
the death penalty. In Alabama, the trial judge has the final say in death cases
and Circuit Judge Karen Hall agreed with the jury's recommendation and
sentenced Albarran to die.
Albarran's direct appeals had been denied, but he was scheduled for a June
hearing on claims his attorneys had provided inadequate representation during
the trial and penalty phase of the case.
Albarran's Virginia-based appeals attorney Joseph Flood said Albarran had good
arguments to make in trying to overturn his death sentence. Flood said the
issues include the failure of Albarran's trial attorneys to pursue allowing him
to testify in the case.
Flood also said the lack of pre-trial interviews by defense counsel of two
doctors who examined Albarran was harmful at the trial, because it could have
addressed the question of whether Albarran was so impaired by drugs and alcohol
at the time of the shooting that he could not form the intent necessary for
capital murder.
Flood said Albarran had been overwhelmed with remorse since the time of the
shooting and had been depressed for several years. He said Albarran had several
times considered dropping his appeals, but had been somewhat hopeful that the
June hearing might address outstanding concerns.
Flood said Albarran, whose mother had died recently, had been moved to the
infirmary at Donaldson prison Bessemer because he was apparently suffering from
depression. He was found hanged last night shortly before 10 p.m.
Broussard said the Golden murder case had been "absolutely bursting with
emotion" and he had tried to stay emotionally detached to carry out his duties.
"The Golden family has experienced overwhelming emotions in this case," he
said. "And I'm sure the Albarran family is experiencing emotions now as well.
At every turn, he made decisions that not only greatly altered his life
ultimately, but altered a lot of good, innocent people's lives as well.
"His sentence is what has now happened, but I've got to admit I'm shocked the
way it has unfolded."
The Huntsville Police Department issued a brief statement this afternoon
advising that Chief Lewis Morris had been in contact with Golden's family
concerning Albarran's death.
(source: al.com)
MISSOURI:
Death penalty hearing delayed for convicted killer Bowman
The penalty phase of a trial for a man convicted of one killing and suspected
in 2 other deaths has been delayed again.
St. Louis County prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for 63-year-old
Gregory Bowman, convicted of abducting and strangling a 16-year-old St. Louis
County girl in 1977. Bowman was also convicted of killing a 14-year-old girl
and a 21-year-old woman in Belleville, Illinois, in separate 1978 crimes, but
those convictions were overturned.
Bowman's penalty phase hearing was scheduled for Monday, but a court clerk said
it was delayed.
The clerk and a spokesman for county prosecutor Bob McCulloch did not know the
reason for the delay, or if the hearing has been rescheduled. Missouri's online
court reporting system did not list a new hearing date.
(source: Associated Press)
OKLAHOMA:
Gas chambers are cruel and unusual
AlternativePunishmentIn response to a shortage of drugs used in lethal
injection, several states that wish to executions as punishment are looking at
alternatives - 1 being the gas chamber.
This past week, Oklahoma governor Mary Fallin signed into a law a measure that
would institute the nitrogen-backed gas chamber, a law currently pending
approval from the U.S. Supreme Court.
Fallin said she believes "capital punishment must be performed effectively and
without cruelty," and the bill she signed gives Oklahoma another death penalty
option that meets that standard.
But considering execution by gas chambers in the past have caused asphyxiation
to inmates, often leaving them gasping for breath for in some instances almost
20 minutes, Fallin is severely mistaken.
Over the past year, a number of capital punishment cases employing lethal
injection have come under the national spotlight.
This is primarily because trials using lethal, experimental drug cocktails have
been deemed unsuccessful. Last year, Joseph Wood, an inmate convicted and
sentenced to death for the 1989 murder of his ex-girlfriend and her father, was
injected 15 times with a lethal dose of drugs.
A procedure which y should have been completed with 1 dose was protracted to
almost 2 hours. Witnesses who were at Wood's execution said Wood spent over an
hour of the execution "gasping and snorting."
An attorney for Wood said although he is not sure whether or not he suffered, 1
thing is certain: the 1st attempt was unsuccessful.
One of the prevailing reasons for using these "experimental" chemicals is the
fact that many states that still use capital punishment are running out of the
drugs for lethal injection.
Texas' state department confirmed last month that the state only had enough
dosage for one lethal injection left. Europe supplies the U.S. with many of
these drugs. Europe has placed an embargo on the drugs pentobarbital and sodium
thiopental, which are commonly used for lethal injection, so many states are
facing the same lack of drugs.
Catherine Ashton, who served as the vice president of the European Commission
at the time the embargo was passed, said it was passed as part of the European
Union's wider effort to eradicate the death penalty nationwide, according to an
article published by The Independent.
The gas chamber was a form of execution last used in the U.S. in Arizona in
1999. Since then, lethal injection has been the primary means for corporal
punishment.
Although the Supreme Court has never ruled on the constitutionality of the gas
chamber, several legal experts argue that the use of the chamber violates the
Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
In 1996, U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a decision by U.S. District
Judge Marilyn H. Patel in San Francisco three years earlier, who stated in her
decision that the gas chamber was "inhumane and has no place in civilized
society."
At the heart of the issue lies one question: Does the person being executed
feel pain during the gas chamber execution? This was the basis of the switch
for many states from electric chairs and gas chambers to lethal injections.
Fallin claims that these nitrogen-based gas chambers will have a similar effect
that proponents of lethal injection used to champion the penalty.
Hydrogen cyanide and carbon monoxide have been used in the past for the gas
chamber. Fallin says nitrogen gas would cause the person being executed to fall
unconscious almost immediately, therefore rendering the execution in a sense,
humane.
Dr. Joel Zivot, however, says it is "ethically impossible" to reach a
conclusion on execution procedures, since medicine does not position itself to
intentionally take a life.
Zivot, who is the assistant professor of anesthesiology and surgery at Emory
University School of Medicine, said, "There's no therapeutic use of nitrogen
gas, and there's no way to ethically or practically test if nitrogen gas is a
humane alternative," in an interview with the Huffington Post.
If scientists were to "test" an individual to see whether or not they
experienced pain during the procedure, there would be no way to tell whether or
not the deceased person experienced pain. It's a no-win situation.
It is not clear whether or not the death penalty should be abolished
completely.
There are several arguments for and against the form of punishment that are at
the very least worth considering.
However, if a state is to employ capital punishment as a means of punishing
individuals who commit heinous crimes, there needs to be a complete assurance
that the the means of execution is humane.
Otherwise, another method should be used. The nitrogen-based gas chamber method
does not meet that criterion and should not be employed.
(source: The Baylor (University) Lariat)
***********************
U.S. Supreme Court To Consider Constitutionality Of Oklahoma Death Penalty
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Wednesday on Oklahoma's
execution protocol, specifically whether the use of a particular drug in the
state's lethal cocktail is constitutional.
Midazolam has been at the center of much debate and legal wrangling since 2014,
when the sedative was used in a few problematic executions across the country,
including the lethal injection of Oklahoma inmate Clayton Lockett that April.
A state investigation later concluded that problems that occurred during
Lockett's execution, which lasted 43 minutes and caused him to writhe and speak
during a time he was supposed to be unconscious, were largely caused by an
improperly placed IV. But expert testimony in a December federal court hearing
suggested midazolam was a potentially dangerous drug to use in lethal
injections.
The federal judge in that case found the use of midazolam did not violate
inmates' Eighth Amendment protections against cruel and unusual punishment. But
a 5 to 4 Supreme Court vote denying the final appeal of Charles Frederick
Warner, an inmate who was put to death in January using the drug and the last
prisoner to be executed in Oklahoma, was enough for the justices to hear
arguments on the constitutionality of midazolam???s use. The court later
granted a request by state Attorney General Scott Pruitt to stay all of the
state's scheduled executions.
Focus On Midazolam
Since the court will be looking specifically at midazolam, the case likely will
only be significant to states that also use the drug, such as Ohio, Arizona,
and Florida, said Robert Dunham, executive director of the Death Penalty
Information Center.
The case is not an indictment of lethal injections as a whole, Dunham said,
and, in fact, the court could very likely focus not on the use of the drug
itself, but instead how it is administered.
"The court could say that it's unconstitutional because midazolam is an
inappropriate drug to be using and make it so that midazolam itself would be an
Eighth Amendment violation," he said. "But, they could say that the use of
midazolam without particular safeguards or in particular circumstances is
unconstitutional. So, I think the states are rightly waiting for the court to
act so that they can respond intelligently after the decision is announced."
If the court finds the drug or its application to be unconstitutional, Oklahoma
still has 2 other lethal combinations that do not require the use of midazolam.
However, those combinations utilize the drugs sodium thiopental and
pentobarbital, 2 drugs that have become increasingly difficult to obtain.
3 More Doses
The Department of Corrections has access to the ingredients of at least three
more doses of the three drug cocktail that includes midazolam, spokeswoman
Terri Watkins confirmed Thursday. She said the state also continues its search
for a reliable source of pentobarbital.
Dale Baich, one of the federal public defenders representing the inmates who
are challenging Oklahoma???s execution protocol, argues the expert testimony in
federal court in December was conclusive; midazloam is not an adequate
anesthetic and does not properly sedate inmates for lethal injection purposes.
He said other states, such as Texas and Georgia, have successfully been able to
obtain pentobarbital, and it is unclear why Oklahoma cannot obtain the drug due
to a lack of transparency in the state Department of Corrections.
Pruitt contends the use of midazolam has been upheld by multiple courts, and he
has no doubt the Supreme Court will rule similarly.
"All previous courts have ruled that the lethal injection protocol used by
Oklahoma is constitutional," he said in an emailed statement. "My office
believes the U.S. Supreme Court, after considering these facts, will also find
that Oklahoma's lethal injection protocol is constitutional and thus allow the
sentences for these heinous crimes to be carried out in accordance with the
law."
Death Penalty Support
Joseph Thai, presidential professor of law at the University of Oklahoma, said
while shining a light on the execution process is an important part of the
democratic process, he agrees with Pruitt that the Supreme Court will likely
rule to affirm the state's use of midazolam.
"Unlike bans on same-sex marriage, public opinion has not turned against the
death penalty with the same swiftness and sweep, and support remains entrenched
in states like Oklahoma that retain the death penalty," Thai said. "If the
Court upholds the execution method at issue, debate over the death penalty will
likely remain at a stalemate nationally, leaving its fate to state politics."
The court is expected to make a final decision sometime this summer.
(source: SW Times)
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