[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., S.C., FLA., ALA., OHIO
May 11 TEXASimpending execution Death Watch: The Capital of Capital PunishmentTilon Carter set for execution - again For the 2nd time this year, Tilon Carter faces execution - this time, he's set for Huntsville's gurney next Tuesday, May 16. Carter was convicted of capital murder in 2006 in Tarrant County, for the robbery and suffocation of 89-year-old James Eldon Tomlin. He received a stay in January based on a technicality involving the filing of his death warrant, so the Court of Criminal Appeals ordered the lower court to reset Carter's execution date. Carter has exhausted his appeals, but maintains that Tomlin's death was accidental. Robin Norris, his attorney, did not respond to requests for comment. The resetting of execution dates combined with last-minute stays is one of several injustices highlighted in "Designed to Break You: Human Rights Violations on Texas' Death Row," a recent report from the Human Rights Clinic at the UT School of Law. The yearlong study focused on the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's repeated resetting of execution dates, inmates' limited access to religious services, and - most significantly - the Polunsky Unit's use of solitary confinement. Texas has been dubbed the Capital of Capital Punishment. Since the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, the state has executed 542 people. (Carter would bump that to 543.) Oklahoma and Virginia have the 2nd and 3rd most deadly death rows, each with 112 executions. Texas' death row inmates spend 22-24 hours a day in solitary. Though the TDCJ allows inmates up to 2 hours of "recreation" time daily, the report notes: "In practice, death row inmates often do not receive outdoor [time]." And even outside, the so-called "yard" is a slightly larger cell closed off by high concrete walls and caging over the top, which limits natural light. It's typical for death row inmates to spend more than a decade living in these conditions prior to their execution. Mandatory confinement has been required since the men's death row was transferred from Huntsville to the Polunsky Unit in nearby West Livingston in 1999. All human contact has been banned as well. The TDCJ's severe use of solitary and isolation has been called inhumane by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the Organization of American States, and the European Convention on Human Rights. The UT report states the use of solitary, to such a degree, is incredibly detrimental to inmates' mental health - most noticeably those already suffering from mental illness. In what is dubbed "death row syndrome," prisoners report experiencing severe depression, memory loss, suicidal tendencies, and more. The study summarizes, they're "effectively subject to a severe form of psychological torture every day of their lives." Asked for a response to the study, Jason Clark, the TDCJ's director of public information, told us: "Offenders on death row are individuals who've been convicted of heinous crimes and given the harshest sentence possible under the law. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice will continue to ensure it fulfills its mission of public safety and house death row offenders appropriately." According to Ariel Dulitzky, a UT Law professor and the director of the Human Rights Clinic, TDCJ declined to meet with the clinic over the course of the study, and has yet to respond to a follow-up request made earlier this month. However, Dulitzky said the clinic hopes this report will secure a "complete ban" of mandatory solitary confinement. In the interim, the clinic is advocating for the prohibition of confinement for all inmates with mental health problems, for the implementation of "physical contact visits with families and attorneys, communal religious services," and for improvements to health care. (source: Austin Chronicle) ** Convicted rapist, murderer to get off death row A convicted rapist and murderer will be removed from death row due to new evidence and changes in the law, according to the Harris County District Attorney's Office. Robert James Campbell, 44, was sentenced to death in the 1990's for the murder of Alexandra Rendon. Rendon, a Houston bank teller, was kidnapped from a gas station and driven to a remote location in south Houston in 1991. Campbell and an accomplice raped and robbed her. Campbell then fatally shot Rendon in the back as she tried to run away. Campbell was set to be executed in 2014, but the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals halted the punishment at the last minute. The court allowed defense attorneys to pursue an appeal, which claimed Campbell was mentally impaired due to his low IQ, and ineligible for the death penalty. A 70 IQ is the minimum threshold set by the court. The appeal has been pending ever since. Then Wednesday morning, prosecutors with the Texas Attorney General???s Office filed a request for the case t
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., S.C., FLA., ALA., OHIO
Aug. 21 TEXAS: Iraq war veteran arraigned in death of former U.S. military sniper An Iraq war veteran accused of fatally shooting former U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, a decorated sniper, and another man at a shooting range in Texas was arraigned Tuesday on 2 counts of capital murder, his attorney said. Eddie Ray Routh, 25, was indicted in July on 2 counts of murder in the February shooting deaths of Kyle, and Kyle's friend, Chad Littlefield, at the upscale Rough Creek Lodge resort about 50 miles southwest of Fort Worth. Routh, who is being held on $3 million bond, appeared in Erath County court for his arraignment on the charges, defense attorney R. Shay Isham said. Routh would be eligible for life without parole or the death penalty if convicted. His trial is scheduled to begin October 21. Kyle and Littlefield had taken Routh to the shooting range to help him relax and deal with personal problems, police have said. Routh is accused of killing them, then fleeing in Kyle's truck to his sister's house in the Dallas suburb of Midlothian, where he confessed to shooting Kyle and Littlefield, police said. In a 911 emergency call, Routh's sister and her husband told a dispatcher Routh suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and had been hospitalized at a mental institution, police said. Kyle served 4 combat tours of duty in Iraq and elsewhere and was awarded 2 Silver Stars and 5 Bonze Stars for bravery, according to his book, "American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in Military History." Kyle's book, "American Gun - A History of the U.S. in Ten Firearms" became a best seller after it was published in June. (source: Reuters) PENNSYLVANIA: Death penalty looms in kidnapping case A York County man could face the death penalty in connection with the kidnapping and possible murder of his girlfriend's 7-month-old son. Ummad Rushdi, who is charged with kidnapping Hamza Ali on Aug. 4, allegedly confessed to his brother that he had killed the baby then buried the body in an unknown location. His preliminary hearing on the kidnapping charges was continued Monday morning. Investigators from Upper Darby, Delaware, Lancaster and York counties have been searching for the missing tot for 2 weeks. Deputy District Attorney Stephanie Wills, who heads the Criminal Investigation and Pretrial Division of the Delaware County District Attorney's office, said homicide charges could be filed even if the baby's body is not located. "We're evaluating as to whether or not this is a death penalty case," Wills told reporters after the brief court proceeding. Security was tight for the preliminary hearing before Magisterial District Judge Harry Karapalides. Shackled and handcuffed, Rushdi, 30, glared at lead investigators Detective Capt. George Rhoades Jr. as he was brought before the judge. Investigators Mike Pecko, Ed Silberstein, Brad Ross and Rhoades were also present, prepared to go forward with the hearing. (source: Daily Local) SOUTH CAROLINA: Trial date set for man accused of killing Aiken Public Safety officer A trial date has been set for the man accused of murdering an Aiken Public Safety officer in December 2011. The trial for 20-year-old Stephon Morrell Carter, of Aiken, is set to begin Nov. 3, 2014, according to a consent scheduling order signed in June by Circuit Court Judge Clifton Newman. Carter is charged with 1st-degree murder in the shooting death of Master Public Safety Officer Scotty Richardson on Dec. 20, 2011. He is also charged with the attempted murder of Public Safety Officer Travis Griffin. The Second Judicial Circuit Solicitor's Office has filed notice that it will seek the death penalty against Carter. "The Court requested that the State and the defense consult on a proposed scheduling order setting target dates for answering discovery requests, filing known motions, holding hearings to dispose of motions, and the commencement of trial," the document stated. Pending motions in the case were scheduled to be heard on July 8 at the Richland County Courthouse. The order goes on to lay out deadlines for the state and the defense for filing motions and providing evidence. By July 7, 2014, the defense is ordered to file "all motions relating to or challenging the imposition of the Death Penalty, a challenge to the jury array, and/or any motions regarding the evidence in aggravation," according to the order. Hearings on motions will be held through July and August of 2014 as needed, and by Sept. 8, 2014, the defense and state are ordered to file proposed jury instructions, jury questionnaires and any motions dealing with jury selection. The trial is expected to last between three and four weeks, with jury selection beginning on Nov. 3, 2014, according to the document. Carter is accused of shooting Richardson and Griffin following a traffic stop on Brandt Court in Aiken on Dec.
