Sept. 19
US MILITARY:
No death penalty in '09 Iraq deaths
An Army sergeant accused of killing 4 fellow soldiers and a Navy officer at a
mental health clinic on a military base in Iraq two years ago should be tried
for murder but should not face the possibility of execution because he suffers
from serious mental illness, a military judge recommended.
Sgt. John Russell, who is accused of opening fire at the combat stress center
at Camp Liberty near Baghdad in May 2009 in what would be the deadliest act of
soldier-on-soldier violence in the Iraq war, should be held accountable for his
actions and face a court martial on the five counts of premeditated murder he
faces, Col. James Pohl wrote in his recommendations issued Friday.
"However, in my opinion, the accused (sic) undisputed mental disease or defect
make the death penalty inappropriate in this case," wrote Pohl, who presided
over a 4-day preliminary hearing in August at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas.
An Army general will decide whether to accept Pohl's recommendation or not. A
time a place for a court martial to begin had not been set.
Russell, 46, was nearing the end of his 3rd tour in May 2009 when the attack
occurred. Days before the attack, he sought treatment at the center because he
felt he might harm himself. His attorneys contend that Russell was under stress
from multiple deployments in Iraq and was frustrated with what they have
described as inadequate mental health treatment.
2 evaluations were presented at the August hearing saying that Russell suffered
from severe depression "with psychotic features and chronic post-traumatic
stress disorder." A March 2011 evaluation said the major depression with
psychotic features was in partial remission.
James Culp, a civilian attorney assisting Army public defenders in the case,
said Friday that the testimony from the August hearing showed that his client
"was cracking apart."
Culp said it was significant that Pohl recognized that Russell was suffering
from mental illness and under severe stress at the time of the shootings.
"In the end, though, regardless of whether the convening authority does or does
not follow the recommendations, the underlying premise in Judge Pohl's
recommendation will remain true until the end of these proceedings," Culp said.
Government attorneys sought to show that whatever stress he faced, Russell
remained coherent enough just before the shootings in May 2009 to reflect on
his actions.
Russell's case has raised questions about the mental problems for soldiers
caused by repeated tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan and whether the Army's
mental health care is adequate. The case led to an investigation and a critical
report.
Killed in the shooting were Navy Cmdr. Charles Springle, 52, of Wilmington,
N.C., and 4 Army service members: Pfc. Michael Edward Yates Jr., 19, of
Federalsburg, Md.; Dr. Matthew Houseal, of Amarillo, Texas; Sgt. Christian E.
Bueno-Galdos, 25, of Paterson, N.J.; and Spc. Jacob D. Barton, 20, of Lenox,
Mo.
(source: Associated Press)
OHIO:
Prosecutors seek death penalty for Chishawn Slade, accused of murdering Euclid
man
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in the home invasion murder of a
Euclid man.
Chrishawn Slade, 21, of Cleveland, is accused of fatally shooting 34-year-old
DeJohn Dammons the evening of Aug. 29 at the victim’s Breckenridge Drive house.
Slade pleaded not guilty Monday in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court to four
counts of aggravated murder, two counts of aggravated burglary, 2 counts of
aggravated robbery, four counts of kidnapping, felonious assault and having
weapons under disability.
Dammons was found lying in the driveway near his car with a chest wound after
Euclid police responded to multiple 911 calls.
Officials said at least one other male held Dammons at gunpoint and struck his
30-year-old girlfriend in the face with the gun.
2 children who hid in the home were not injured, according to reports.
Police declined to comment further.
The case has been assigned to Judge Deena R. Calabrese.
Slade’s 1st pretrial is scheduled for Oct. 3.
(source: The News-Herald)
CONNECTICUT:
Death penalty looms in home-invasion trial
A man facing the death penalty in connection with a home invasion in
Connecticut that left a woman and her two daughter dead did not intended to
kill them, his lawyers said Monday.
Joshua Komisarjevsky, 31, is accused of killing Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her
daughters Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, during attacks at their home in
Cheshire on July 23, 2007. Steven Hayes, Komisarjevsky's alleged partner in the
crime, was convicted of the slayings last year and sentenced to death.
Komisarjevsky's attorney, Walter Bansley, said the man did not intend to kill
the three family members.
"The evidence you are about to hear will shake your confidence in humanity,"
Bansley said as the trial began Monday in New Haven Superior Court. "The deaths
that occurred were senseless, unnecessary and tragic."
Revisiting the invasion
In a case that galvanized Connecticut, authorities said the two paroled
burglars broke into a Cheshire home in July 2007.
'The evidence you are about to hear will shake your confidence in humanity.'—
Walter Bansley, defence lawyer Authorities said Hayes and Komisarjevsky broke
into the house, beat Dr. William Petit and forced his wife, Jennifer
Hawke-Petit, to withdraw money from a bank while the rest of the family was
held hostage in their home.
Michaela and her older sister Hayley were tied to their beds and doused in
gasoline before the house was set ablaze. Their heads were covered with pillow
cases, and the girls died of smoke inhalation.
The gruesome crime subsequently become fodder in a failed attempt to abolish
Connecticut's death penalty.
Defence lawyers blame co-accused
Bansley admitted Komisarjevsky spotted Hawke-Petit and Michaela at a
supermarket, followed them home and later returned to the house with Hayes to
break in to steal money. He admitted Komisarjevsky beat Petit with a baseball
bat, tied up the family and masturbated in Michaela's presence.
But he said the evidence shows Hayes raped and strangled Hawke-Petit, got the
gas, poured it around the house and lit the fire.
Bansley said Hayes was worried about his DNA at the scene and told
Komisarjevsky they would have to burn the house down and kill the family. He
said Komisarjevsky was "stunned" and quoted from his confession to police that
he told Hayes, "I'm not killing anyone. No one is dying by my hand today."
Bansley portrayed Komisarjevsky as panicked and indecisive, claiming he suffers
from "cognitive difficulties" that make him unable to make quick decisions in
stressful situations.
The co-accused's lawyers tried a similar tactic during the 2010 trial. They
claimed that Komisarjevsky was the mastermind behind the crime, and that he was
the one that escalated the violence. They failed to persuade jurors to spare
Hayes the death penalty despited portraying him as a clumsy, drug-addicted
thief who had never been violent before the 2007 home invasion.
Prosecutors say both men to blame
Prosecutors have repeatedly said both men were equally responsible for the
crime.
On Monday, prosecutor Michael Dearington addressed the jury for only a few
minutes, explaining the charges and the tragic nature of the crime.
Komisarjevsky's attorney noted Petit family supporters were wearing pins in
memory of the victims. The defence has expressed concerns about such displays,
saying they endanger their client's right to a fair trial.
Donovan called the supporters "the Petit posse," sparking a prosecutor's
objection.
(source: Associated Press)
VIRGINIA:
Judge rules Gleason sane enough to face death penalty
3-time convicted murderer Robert Gleason, 41, is sane enough to opt for the
death penalty, a judge decided Monday.
Wise County Circuit Judge John C. Kilgore allowed Gleason to waive any
automatic appeals intended to stave off the two death sentences handed down
weeks ago.
“I would find that you are making a decision to waive an appeal knowingly,
voluntarily and intelligently … and that you understand the consequences of
your actions,” Kilgore said at Monday’s competency hearing.
Gleason asked for the death penalty when representing himself throughout the
four-day sentencing hearing that began Aug. 31. He threatened to kill again
unless put on death row.
Gleason initially landed a life jail sentence for fatally shooting Virginia
trucker Michael Keith Jamerson, 53, on May 8, 2007 in Amherst County.
For that conviction, Gleason was serving time in Wallens Ridge State Prison,
Big Stone Gap, along with his mentally ill cellmate, 63-year-old cellmate
Harvey Watson Jr.
On May 8, 2009, Gleason tied him, gagged him with a sock, beat him, strangled
him and left him covered under a blanket in the bottom bunk for 15 hours until
guards noticed.
On July 28, 2010, Gleason was at Red Onion maximum security prison in Pound
when he strangled Alexander Aaron Cooper, 26, with a length of braided
bedsheet.
Hours later, Gleason told officers during a videotaped confession that he
killed Cooper as a favor to someone.
He pleaded guilty to both prison strangulations.
(source: TriCities.com)
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