[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, VA., N.C., FLA., OHIO, IND.
Oct. 21 TEXAS: With jury chosen, court takes up final pretrial matters in capital murder case Final pretrial matters were discussed Thursday at a hearing in the case of Billy Joel Tracy, a Texas prison inmate facing the death penalty in the July 2015 beating death of a correctional officer at the Barry Telford Unit. Tracy's lead defense attorney, Mac Cobb of Mount Pleasant, Texas, said he intends to supplement a previously filed motion for a change of venue in the case with additional arguments and copies of news articles after 102nd District Judge Bobby Lockhart said he is willing to rule on the issue. A jury of 7 men and 5 women was seated earlier this month after weeks of jury selection. 2 women will serve as alternates. Texarkana lawyer Jeff Harrelson, who also represents Tracy, said the defense would have stricken two of the existing jurors had Lockhart allowed them more "strikes" than the 17 they exercised during the selection process. Lockhart said the average age of the jury is 48. He said the youngest juror is 24, that more than 1/2 of the jurors are college educated, and that the group is racially diverse. Assistant District Attorney Kelley Crisp said the state is working with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to quickly acquire employment records for witnesses expected to testify for the state who currently or formerly worked in prison units where Tracy has been housed. Crisp also addressed the matter of experts expected to testify for the defense in the event Tracy is found guilty and the trial enters a second phase to determine punishment. "Are they qualified? Is this reliable science?" Crisp said. "We don't even know what kind of hearing we're having. Is this hard science? soft science? This could go on for days." Crisp said the state wants the opportunity to review reports such as "brain scans" and the underlying science on which the defense experts will base their testimony and opinions so that she can raise any challenges to their testimony before the punishment phase of trial begins. Both sides are entitled to question expert witnesses about their qualifications and the data, studies or theories, for example, on which they rely and seek a ruling from the judge as to whether the testimony should be admitted during the trial. If the jury finds Tracy, 39, guilty, the court will have at least a couple of days to conduct hearings before the date for punishment testimony is scheduled to begin. Lockhart said Thursday that he expects the guilt-or-innocence phase of trial to take about a week. The punishment phase is scheduled to begin Nov. 1, in the event Tracy is convicted. Tracy is accused of beating Correctional Officer Timothy Davison, 47, to death the morning of July 15, 2015, during a routine walk from a prison day room back to Tracy's 1-man cell in administrative segregation. Tracy, who had allegedly packed all of his personal belongings before walking out of his cell for an hour of recreation, attacked Davison after slipping his left hand free of its cuff. After knocking the officer to the floor, Tracy allegedly grabbed Davison's metal tray slot bar and used it to pummel him. The attack reportedly was captured on video surveillance from multiple angles and is expected to be played for the jury during the 1st phase of trial. Tracy's prison history began in 1995 when he was sentenced to a 3-year term for retaliation in Tarrant County, Texas. 3 years later, Tracy was sentenced to life with parole possible, plus 20 years for burglary, aggravated assault and assault on a public servant in Rockwall County, Texas. In 2005, Tracy received an additional 45-year term for stabbing a guard with a homemade weapon at a TDCJ unit in Amarillo, Texas. Tracy was sentenced to 10 years in 2009 for attacking a guard at a TDCJ unit in Abilene, Texas. The jury has the option of sentencing Tracy to life without the possiblity of parole or death by lethal injection. (source: Texarkana Gazette) VIRGINIA: Death penalty option removed for man in parents' slayings Prosecutors say a Virginia man accused of fatally shooting his parents on Easter Sunday in 2016 will no longer face the possibility of the death penalty. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports Henrico Commonwealth's Attorney Shannon Taylor filed a formal notice Thursday in the capital murder case against 24-year-old William Roy Brissette. "Based on the information ... provided to date, we felt it was the appropriate action to take at this time," Taylor told the newspaper. But she declined to discuss specifics as to why prosecutors decided to withdraw the death penalty as an option. 59-year-old Henry J. Brissette III and 56-year-old Martha B. Brissette were found dead March 27, 2016, in the home they shared with their son. Brissette has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and was found incompetent in April. (source: Associated Press) NORTH CAR
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, VA., N.C., FLA., OHIO
May 31 TEXAS: Capital murder trial nears for suspect in girl's death Trial is weeks away in the case of capital murder suspect Isidro Miguel Delacruz, 26, who is accused of killing his ex-girlfriend's 5-year-old daughter on Sept. 2, 2014. Delacruz is scheduled to appear for a pretrial hearing at 2 p.m. Wednesday, before 119th District Court Judge Ben Woodward. He is slated for another pretrial hearing July 10, before his trial begins on July 31. Delacruz had been expected to stand trial earlier this year. That was delayed in January after Woodward granted a motion from the defense requesting more time to prepare for trial. Delacruz has made more than a dozen court appearances since his arrest the day of the girl's death. He has been in custody at the Tom Green County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail since. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Delacruz, who allegedly used a knife to cut the throat of Tanya Bermea's daughter, Naiya Villegas. A jury could also choose punishment of life in prison if Delacruz is found guilty. Delacruz was arrested at his ex-girlfriend's home in the 2700 block of Houston Street following a domestic violence call about 2:30 a.m. Sept. 2, 2014, according to police. According to the arrest affidavit, Delacruz forced his way into Tanya Bermea's house through a bathroom window at the rear of the home the day of Naiya's death. Bermea told police she ran from the house and called for her mother, Jesusita Bermea, while Naiya remained at home, according to the affidavit. When the 2 women arrived at the residence Delacruz wouldn't let them inside, so they left to get Delacruz's mother, Elizabeth Delacruz, to help them get Delacruz out of the house. When the 3 women returned, Tanya Bermea said she saw her daughter with a slit throat and Delacruz covering the wound with paper towels, according to court documents. Tanya Bermea told police that when she walked into the home, Delacruz punched her several times, pushed her outside onto the sidewalk and began to choke her, according to court documents. Police found blood throughout the house and outside the home - in the bathroom, living room and kitchen; on a walkway leading from the front door of the residence to the street; and on the bedding in Tanya Bermea's bedroom leading to Naiya's room. Police searched the area and found a knife, according to court documents, and indicated that Delacruz had a laceration on the back of his left upper arm. (source: San Angelo Standard-Times) VIRGINIA: Could Travis Ball face death penalty? The man accused of shooting and killing a Virginia State Police special agent remains behind bars after a judge denied him bond. Travis Ball, who was arraigned in court Tuesday morning, is charged with malicious wounding and firearms charges in connection with last week's shooting death of Virginia State Police Special Agent Michael Walter. Why isn't he charged with murder? That question has flooded our social media pages in recent days. Essentially, the charges against him right now are enough to keep him locked up. And that's all investigators need as they work to build a strong case against him. When police tracked down Ball early Saturday morning in Lancaster County, they arrested him for malicious wounding and firearms violations. At the time, VSP Special Agent Walter was still clinging to life. After Walter was pronounced dead, people expected more serious charges against the man suspected of killing him. 8News Legal Analyst Russ Stone believes they're coming. "I fully expect within the next month or so, you will see additional charges placed that will probably become a lot more serious than malicious wounding," Stone explained. Stone says that as long as Ball is in custody, police and prosecutors are going to take their time putting together a case against him. It's an investigation that could lead to the death penalty. "That's the kind of thing because it involves the death penalty that the prosecutors are going to be careful about," Stone said. "They're not going to just do it on a whim, they're going to want to review as much as evidence as possible and then make a fully informed, intelligent decision as to what to charge." Stone says prosecutors could file more serious charges against Ball at any time, but it's more likely they will take the case to a grand jury. (source: WRIC news) NORTH CAROLINA: Wilmington man held without bail in beating death A Wilmington man charged with murder after the victim of a May 10 beating died was denied bail Tuesday during his first appearance in New Hanover County Superior Court. The man and his 16-year-old son were charged with murder in the death of Gregory Gineman, 58, of Wilmington, according to the Wilmington Police Department. Gineman was beaten as he and a friend rode bicycles just before midnight in the 200 block of Myrtle Avenue, po
