Sept. 15
USA (MICHIGAN):
Death penalty decision in Lansing killing delayed in federal court in Grand
Rapids
The government has delayed making a recommendation on whether alleged members
of a violent Lansing street gang will face the death penalty in an alleged
drug-related killing.
Federal prosecutors were to advise U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker on Friday
if any of the 5 remaining defendants would face the death penalty.
But the government requested an adjournment because U.S. Attorney Patrick Miles
Jr., appointed this summer by President Barack Obama, needed to familiarize
himself with the case before making a recommendation to U.S. Attorney General
Eric Holder.
The Justice Department received Miles' recommendation on Aug. 16, and wants to
schedule mitigation conferences with certain defendants and their attorneys.
"Because of that, a final decision is not likely to be made until January
2013," Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy VerHey wrote.
Mustafa Abdul-Qadir Al-Din, Walee Abdulazeem Al-Din, Charles Kunta Lewis Sr.,
Ralphael Remier Crenshaw and Nicholas Brown await trial in the July 23, 2010,
killing of Shayla Johnson during a robbery at her Lansing home.
Demetris Kline and Dion Lanier are serving 20-year sentences in federal prison
after they earlier pleaded guilty to charges.
The government says the defendants are part of gang called the "Block Burners,"
who robbed others of cocaine and marijuana then sold it themselves. They face
multiple charges.
Johnson was taken from her home, forced into the trunk of a vehicle and shot
when she resisted, an indictment says.
In court records, a defense attorney called the crime "barbaric."
"Members and associates of this gang promoted and were actively involved in
acts of violence, often involving firearms, in efforts to obtain drugs and drug
proceeds by way of force, threats of force, armed robbery and kidnapping for
profit for their own personal gang," VerHey wrote in court records.
He said that Johnson's killing was done in "an especially heinous, cruel or
depraved manner."
(source: Michigan Live)
CALIFORNIA:
Prop. 34 and Seeking to End the Death Penalty
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for the arsonist who started the 2003
Old Fire in the San Bernardino Mountains. The jurors will make that decision,
but California voters will have a say too. Proposition 34 on the November
ballot would end the death penalty in California and replace it with life in
prison without the possibilility of parole.
If passed, Prop. 34 would reverse another ballot measure, Prop. 7, which voters
passed in 1978. Sacramento attorney Don Heller wrote that voter initiative at
the request of then-State Senator John Briggs.
"I wrote it with the intent of writing a perfect legal document. Which I did.
It was well crafted. It met all the constitutional standards and it's never
been overturned in any aspects by the US Supreme Court." Heller says.
Jerry Brown was governor at the time, and celebrated crime sprees like the
Manson killings and 2 assassination attempts on President Gerald Ford were
still fresh in voters' minds. Heller remembers California as a western state
with a taste for frontier justice, and Prop. 7 got more than 71 % of the vote.
"It was a culture of hanging 'em high from the big oak tree," Heller recalls.
"It was a western mentality of free thinkers and speedy punishment for criminal
behavior."
But executions in California were anything but speedy. Since Prop. 7 passed,
California has executed just 13 men and the death row population has grown from
zero to more than 700. The average time between conviction and execution is
nearly 18 years.
Kent Scheidegger of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation in Sacramento says
his group has pushed time and again to reduce that wait by streamlining legal
appeals.
"If the legislature would do its job and pass the reforms correctly, and we've
had bills in committee many, many times and they've always been killed in
committee, we could get this done," Scheidegger says.
Scheidegger strongly opposes Prop. 34, saying simply the inmates on death row
deserve to die.
"These are crimes far worse than the typcial murder. These are cases of serial
rape and torture, people torturing and murdering children, and life in prison
without parole simply isn't a sufficient punishment," he says.
But Don Heller, who wrote California's death penalty law, kept an eye on it as
it was implemented. And he didn't like what he saw.
"One of the things I noticed immediately, which surprised me, was that the
qualitiy of lawyers representing defendants in death penalty cases was
suboptimal," Heller says.
Heller calls himself a conservative Republican. But he now believes his ballot
measure in his words, was "a colossal mistake" that needs to be changed. He's
supporting Proposition 34.
"I'm a believer in law and order. I think that's the primary objective of
government is protecting society. But I don't believe capital punishment works.
And if it doesn't work, change it," Heller says.
Governor Jerry Brown won't say -- not yet anyway -- whether he supports Prop.
34. But last year he cancelled plans for a new Death Row at San Quentin Prison.
"Can't afford it," he said.
(source: California Report)
***********************
DA undecided on death penalty for murder suspect
The district attorney hasn't decided whether to seek the death penalty against
a man who is charged with killing an Oxnard teenager more than 32 years ago,
according to prosecutors.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Bill Haney said Friday that Thomas Young, 65,
of Fairfield, Ala., has been charged with the murder and rape of 15-year-old
Stacy Knappenberger.
Haney said Young is also charged with the special circumstance that the rape
was committed during the commission of a murder, which makes it possible for
the death penalty to be sought against him.
Haney said District Attorney Greg Totten will decide later whether he will seek
the death penalty if Young is convicted.
Young was linked to the killing by DNA evidence collected at the crime scene in
1980, investigators said.
Young, who was arrested Sept. 6, is fighting extradition, Haney said.
Haney said he had prepared the extradition paperwork and will get a Ventura
County Superior Court judge to certify it so he can submit it to Gov. Jerry
Brown, and it can be forwarded to the governor of Alabama.
Knappenberger was found dead at her home in the 5300 block of South J Street on
July 30, 1980. Investigators said evidence showed she was stabbed to death and
apparently sexually assaulted, and she also suffered blunt-force trauma.
Oxnard police re-examined the case in 2000. They said a genetic match came back
2 years ago through a national databank that identified Young as a suspect, and
he was arrested after additional testing and investigation.
(source: Ventura County Star)
***************************
Only Female Exoneree in U.S. Speaks in Fresno
At just 17-years-old, Sabrina Butler's 9-month-old son who had a heart
condition, stopped breathing.
"When you're 17 and scared what are you supposed to do," said Butler.
She tried to resuscitate him as she rushed him to the hospital. Doctors were
not able to save him. The very next day, Butler was arrested for child abuse
because of the bruises that were left by her resuscitation attempts. She was
convicted of capital murder and was sentenced to death row. Butler explained,
"Being on death row is no joke. To sit in a room knowing they are going to take
your life, is the hardest thing. I wouldn't wish that on my enemy. I know I had
God and one day the truth would come out."
5 years later, Butler was exonerated and freed. The court said the prosecution
didn't prove that the incident was anything more than an accident. She has
since written a book about her experience. She also speaks to large groups
across the country in hopes of abolishing the death row penalty. Her latest
stop was St. Paul Newman Center, in Fresno.
"If they made the mistake with me, I'm sure there are a lot of people that need
help and they have nobody else to speak to them so I feel like this is what I'm
supposed to do," said Butler.
She is also studying to be a criminal investigator. She hopes to help others
and eliminate wrongful convictions once and for all. She said, "We as a people
shouldn't judge a book by its cover. I was judged by my cover and the case was
not done right. People are falsely accused of crimes every day. I think the
justice system is flawed and it needs to be fixed."
Sabrina Butler is now married and has 2 children. Her book is set to be
released late September.
It's now believed that the baby may have died from either kidney disease or
from sudden infant death syndrome.
(source: KSEE News)
********************
Doing away with the death penalty
Re "Dump the death penalty," Column, Sept. 13
I appreciate George Skelton's endorsement of Proposition 34. Spending $184
million a year keeping the death penalty in effect while firing teachers and
firefighters makes no sense.
I do have one bone to pick with Skelton, though. While it may be true that no
one knows of an innocent having been put to death in California, that doesn't
mean it couldn't happen. I have met Frankie Carillo, a young man who was
exonerated after having spent 20 years on death row. If it weren't for the
lengthy appeals process that death penalty proponents complain about, he might
not be alive today. Then we would all have blood on our hands.
Laurel Gord----Venice
--
What do we do when convicted murderers commit a 2nd, 3rd, 4th or 5th murder of
another inmate or a prison guard? Where will we find the guards who will work
in a prison with a general population laced with lifer-murderers? How will we
protect the other inmates in the general population from these murderers?
I suggest that dead killers don't kill again, and that the real problem is that
the death penalty is not swift and sure.
Jon D. Elder----Monterey Park
(source: Letters to the Editor, Los Angeles Times)
VIRGINIA:
Justin Wolfe Held Without Bail Until Retrial ---- On Oct. 15th, former death
row inmate Justin Wolfe will go back on trial for allegedly ordering the murder
of Daniel Petrole, Jr.
A Prince William County Circuit Court judge denied bail for former death row
inmate Justin Wolfe, who will stand trial again this October for allegedly
ordering the murder of his drug supplier, Daniel Petrole Jr., of Centreville,
in 2001.
Wolfe's retrial will go before a jury on Oct. 15 and is scheduled to last for 3
weeks.
The Chantilly man's previous conviction was thrown out due to what a federal
judge described as prosecutorial misconduct???but special prosecutor Raymond
Morrogh indicated to Judge Mary Grace O'Brien the state has enough evidence to
convict.
Morrogh, the commonwealth's attorney for Fairfax County, officially took over
the prosecution's case Friday, after Prince William County Commonwealth's
Attorney Paul Ebert and Assistant Commonwealth???s Attorney Richard Conway
recused themselves due to conflict of interest.
As Wolfe's family sat in the courtroom with anxious faces and arms linked,
Wolfe's defense attorney Matthew Engle, from the Innocence Project, delivered a
passionate argument for immediate release.
"Reinvestigation will take some time," Engle said. "Mr. Wolfe has already
served 11 years for a crime he didn't commit."
Engle said the packed courtroom was evidence Wolfe had strong community ties
and would not run away before the trial. Before the hearing began, the bailiff
had to turn away people because there were not enough seats. Engle said Wolfe's
stepfather, Ben Steinberg, owned a small business and would employ him to work
from home.
"Mr. Wolfe is not interested in fleeing prosecution," Engle said. "Mr. Wolfe is
interested in clearing his name entirely."
Morrogh argued bail was not appropriate for a capital murder case. He further
argued Wolfe's previous lifestyle--he allegedly sold hundreds of thousands of
dollars worth of drugs--showed he was a flight risk.
"His testimony, the testimony of other witnesses, and the police reports--it
seems to me that this defendant was absolutely involved in this murder. He
planned it and caused it to occur. He did it out of greed," Morrogh said.
"Justin Wolfe is many things, but innocent is not one of them."
The burden will be on Morrogh to prove that, as Wolfe's innocence is now
presumed. Last July, U.S. District Judge Raymond Jackson reprimanded both Ebert
and Conway for withholding crucial evidence from the defense. In August, a
federal appeals court upheld Jackson's decision to vacate Wolfe's convictions.
"Essentially, in an effort to ensure that no defense would be 'fabricated,'
Ebert and Conway's actions served to deprive Wolfe of any substantive defense
in a case where his life would rest on the jury's verdict," Jackson wrote.
Owen Merton Barber IV admitted to killing Petrole in 2001. His testimony
against Wolfe was critical in the 2002 trial. He later recanted and said he had
only testified to escape the death penalty.
O'Brien, the Circuit Court judge, said her decision to hold Wolfe was not easy,
given the circumstances.
"This is a very difficult case. It's one I've give a great deal of thought to,
because it's an unusual one," she said, before denying the motion to withhold
bail.
(source: Manassas Patch)
MISSOURI:
Reggie Clemons death penalty case reopened
The footage has aged, but the day is no doubt still vivid for those close to
what happened here on the Chain of Rocks Bridge over the Mississippi River on
April 4t 1991: 2 sisters, Julie and Robin Kerry, ages 20 and 19, raped and
pushed to their deaths.
"There are some times that he's very hopeful and there are some times there's a
resignation," said Jamala Rogers, Justice for Reggie.
Since the early days of the case, Rogers has been by the side of 1 of the 4 men
convicted in the Kerry sisters' murders: Reggie Clemons, who, 21 years later,
still maintains he is innocent from a cell on death row.
"It's big, it's historic, it's huge," Rogers said. "This has been the day that
he's been waiting for."
On Monday, a Missouri Supreme Court appointed judge will open a hearing on
Clemons' case, reexamining old evidence from prosecutors and hearing claims of
a forced confession, police brutality, misconduct by prosecutors and racial
bias in jury selection.
And the court will likely hear from Clemons himself, who insists on taking the
stand.
"That's not a thing that most attorneys like to do but we'll be able to see him
in court this week," Rogers said.
"Most death row inmates to do not get access to this kind of process," said
Laura Moye, Amnesty International.
Clemons has supporters from around the world. His hearing is drawing interest
from groups who see systemic problems with the death penalty system.
"We find that his case is emblematic of many things that go wrong in death
penalty cases in the United States," Moye said. "His case reads like a
checklist of those problems."
The judge hearing Clemons' case could recommend a retrial, commute his
sentence, or leave Clemons on death row.
"Let's take another look at this system and let's make sure that we get the
right person, but also that justice is done for all sides including the murder
victim families," Rogers said.
The prosecutor in next week's case declined to comment before the hearing.
And NewsChannel 5 tried several times, unsuccessfully to reach the family of
the Kerry sisters. But they have said in the past that they believe Clemons is
manipulating the justice system.
(source: KSDK News)
OKLAHOMA:
Oklahoma man pleads guilty to murder in deaths of woman and 4 children, avoids
death penalty
An Oklahoma man accused in the deaths of his ex-girlfriend and her 4 young
children pleaded guilty Friday to 5 counts of 1st-degree murder, thus avoiding
a death sentence.
Joshua Durcho, 29, repeatedly broke down in sobs as relatives of the 5 victims
read statements in court. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole, a
deal that family members agreed to.
"The death penalty wouldn't have made me feel any better than him being locked
up forever," said Rhonda Rust, stepmother of Summer Rust, the woman who was
killed.
Durcho was charged with 1st-degree murder for the January 2009 strangling
deaths of 25-year-old Summer Rust and her children - 3-year-old Evynn Garas,
4-year-old Teagin Rust and 7-year-old daughters Kirsten and Autumn Rust - in
the family's El Reno apartment. Autopsies showed Rust and her children died
from "ligature strangulation," meaning they were strangled with something that
left marks on their necks.
Prosecutors said Durcho also sexually abused the 7-year-old girls.
"I never got to hear what she wanted to be when she grew up," said Crystal
Franklin, the grandmother of 3-year-old Evynn. "This is a closure to part of my
life. But I have the rest of my life to remember this terrible tragedy."
Franklin spoke directly to Durcho, who was weeping and had trouble standing at
times. "I do forgive you and may God be with you," she said.
One of Durcho's defense attorneys, John Echols, said Durcho met with family
members privately before the hearing. He said Durcho apologized to them, but
does not remember much of what happened the day of the killings.
"Everyone in the victims' families felt this was a better resolution," Echols
said.
Jury selection for Durcho's trial had been set to begin Monday and prosecutors
had sought the death penalty.
Last month, Dr. Shawn Roberson, a forensic psychologist with the Oklahoma
Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, testified that
Durcho???s mental functioning was "at the low borderline range." Nonetheless, a
judge rejected claims that Durcho is mentally disabled and ineligible for the
death penalty.
Oklahoma law bars death sentences if a defendant meets the state definition of
mental retardation, which includes an IQ of 70 or below and "significant
limitations in adaptive functioning," the real-life communications, self-care
and work and social skills people need to live independently and function
safely and appropriately. In addition, the onset of mental retardation must
occur before the age of 18.
Roberson said Durcho has been administered four IQ tests since he was 11 years
old and scored between 72 and 78 on the tests. The most recent tests were
administered in 2009 and 2010, and Durcho scored 72 on both.
(source: Associated Press)
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