[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, FLA., ALA., USA
Jan. 20 TEXAS: As an Attorney, Death Penalty Enthusiast Ted Cruz Really Loved Describing Brutal Crimes Texas Senator and presidential candidate Ted Cruz has never exactly hidden his passion for the death penalty - it's a love that speaks its name over and over whenever he talks in public. As the New York Times lays out today, his passion took a somewhat more unseemly form when he was a Supreme Court Clerk, where he seemed to take unusual relish in laying out the details of violent crimes. Cruz has always been pro-death penalty and a staunch advocate for keeping the system churning along just as it currently kills people (except, as Mother Jones pointed out, in 2010, when as a private practice attorney, he represented a wrongfully convicted man who spent 14 years on death row). He may have gotten some of that from his father; Rafael Cruz has argued from the pulpit that God himself is pro-death penalty. That enthusiasm made itself evident when he was clerking for Supreme Court Justice William H. Rehnquist in 1996, the Times writes, and became known for his colorful briefs on death penalty appeals, which "often dwelled on the lurid details of murders that other clerks tended to summarize in order to quickly move to the legal merits of the case." That's unusual for a dry, dispassionate SCOTUS brief, and really made old Ted stand out at the office, a fact he himself was not unaware of. Per the Times: "I believe in the death penalty," Mr. Cruz wrote in his book "A Time for Truth." As he saw it, it was his duty to include all the details and "describe the brutal nature of the crime." "Liberal clerks would typically omit the facts; it was harder to jump on the moral high horse in defense of a depraved killer," he wrote. Cruz's love of death began even before that, in fact, during a clerkship at federal appellate court in Virginia with Judge J. Michael Luttig. Luttig's father was killed by a 17-year-old would-be carjacker named Napoleon Beazley in 1994. The horrible incident created a bond between Cruz and Luttig, who began working for the judge soon after. A very strong and slightly macabre bond, again, per the Times: Mr. Cruz became devoted to Mr. Luttig, whom Mr. Cruz has described as "like a father to me." During his clerkship, he presented his boss with a caricature of him and other clerks pulling a stagecoach driven by the judge. According to someone who saw the illustration, there was a graveyard behind them with headstones representing the number of people executed in their jurisdiction that year. One thing we can say about Ted Cruz: the man's character is consistent. (source: jezebel.com) FLORIDA: Denise Lee's killer among death penalty cases to be reviewed In another sign of the impact of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down a key part of Florida's death-penalty sentencing system, the state Supreme Court has issued orders allowing 6 death row inmates to file briefs about how the ruling might apply to their cases. That includes the sentence of Michael King, who was convicted in September 2009 in the abduction, rape and killing of North Port's Denise Lee, 21. The same jury that convicted King also recommended 12-0 that he die for the crimes. The Florida Supreme Court's orders, issued Tuesday, are in cases that already had been scheduled for oral arguments during the `st week of February. The orders will allow lawyers for the inmates and the state to file briefs next week about the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in advance of the oral arguments. The U.S. Supreme Court, in an 8-1 decision, found Jan. 12 that Florida's system of imposing death sentences was an unconstitutional violation of the Sixth Amendment right to trial by jury because it gave too much decision-making power to judges instead of juries. A key question is whether - or how - the ruling might apply to people already sentenced to death. Besides King, Tuesday's orders allow briefs to be filed on behalf of Richard Knight, convicted in a Broward County case; Raymond Bright, convicted in a Bay County case; Dontae Morris, convicted in a Hillsborough County case; Jacob John Dougan, convicted in a Duval County case; and Eric Lee Simmons, convicted in a Lake County case, according to court documents. In a motion filed Friday in the Florida Supreme Court, Morris' attorneys said the breadth of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling was "unanticipated" and that it should apply to Morris' case. The Florida Supreme Court also will hear similar arguments Feb. 2 in the case of Cary Michael Lambrix, who is scheduled to be executed Feb. 11. Lawyers in Attorney General Pam Bondi's office have argued that the U.S. Supreme Court ruling should not affect Lambrix, who has been on death row for more than 3 decades. (source: Herald Tribune) * Shelby Farah's mother to ask state not to execute Rhodes if found guilty Shelby Farah's mother is scheduled to
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, FLA., ALA., USA
Jan. 13 TEXASnew execution dates Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present13 Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982present-531 Abbott#scheduled execution date-nameTx. # 14-January 20---Richard Masterson-532 15-January 27---James Freeman-533 16-February 16--Gustavo Garcia534 17-March 9--Coy Wesbrook--535 18-March 22-Adam Ward-536 19-March 30-John Battaglia--537 20-April 6--Pablo Vasquez---538 21-April 27-Robert Pruett539 22-June 2---Charles Flores---540 (sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin) FLORIDA: Supreme Court: Florida death penalty system is unconstitutional Florida's unique system for sentencing people to death is unconstitutional because it gives too much power to judges - and not enough to juries - to decide capital sentences, the Supreme Court ruled Tuesday. The 8-1 ruling said that the state's sentencing procedure is flawed because juries play only an advisory role in recommending death while the judge can reach a different decision. The decision could trigger new sentencing appeals from some of the 390 inmates on the Florida's death row, a number second only to California. But legal experts said it may apply only to those whose initial appeals are not yet exhausted. The court sided with Timothy Lee Hurst, who was convicted of the 1998 murder of his manager at a Popeye's restaurant in Pensacola. A jury divided 7-5 in favor of death, but a judge imposed the sentence. Florida's solicitor general argued that the system was acceptable because a jury first decides if the defendant is eligible for the death penalty. Writing for the court, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said a jury's "mere recommendation is not enough." She said the court was overruling previous decisions upholding the state's sentencing process. "The Sixth Amendment requires a jury, not a judge, to find each fact necessary to impose a sentence of death," Sotomayor said. The justices sent the case back to the Florida Supreme Court to determine whether the error in sentencing Hurst was harmless, or whether he should get a new sentencing hearing. Justice Samuel Alito dissented, saying that the trial judge in Florida simply performs a reviewing function that duplicates what the jury has done. Under Florida law, the state requires juries in capital sentencing hearings to weigh factors for and against imposing a death sentence. But the judge is not bound by those findings and can reach a different conclusion. The judge can also weigh other factors independently. So a jury could base its decision on one particular aggravating factor, but a judge could then rely on a different factor the jury never considered. In Hurst's case, prosecutors asked the jury to consider 2 aggravating factors: the murder was committed during a robbery and it was "especially heinous, atrocious or cruel." But Florida law did not require the jury to say how it voted on each factor. Hurst's attorney argued that it was possible only 4 jurors agreed with 1, while 3 agreed with the other. Sotomayor said Florida's system is flawed because it allows a sentencing judge to find aggravating factors "independent of a jury's fact-finding." 3 of Florida's current death row inmates were sentenced over the jury's life recommendation. But no judge had overridden a jury recommendation in a death penalty case since 1999, according to state officials. The Supreme Court ruled in 2002 that a defendant has the right to have a jury decide whether the circumstances of a crime warrant a sentence of death. Florida's American Civil Liberties Union is calling on state officials to re-examine the sentences of all death row inmates. But Stephen Harper, a law professor who runs the Death Penalty Clinic at Florida International University, said it's unlikely the Supreme Court ruling will open the door for most Florida death-row inmates to new sentencing hearings. He said the Florida decision is based on a previous Arizona ruling that was already found not to be retroactive. "In general, it will not be retroactively applied," Harper said. But he added that Florida inmates whose initial appeals have not been exhausted may be able to argue that the latest decision applies to them. And, he said, any capital cases that are awaiting trial would likely be delayed while state legislators and the Florida Supreme Court sort out the next steps. Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi said her office is reviewing the ruling. News of the high court's decision stunned Florida legislators. Florida House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, who learned of the ruling while he was giving a speech to open the state's annual
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----TEXAS, FLA., ALA., USA
Feb. 23 TEXAS: Barbee Guilty Of Murder; Could Get Death Sentence In Fort Worth, a Tarrant County jury has found Stephen Barbee guilty of capital murder. Barbee was convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend Lisa Underwood and her 7-year-old son Jayden. Underwood was pregnant when she was killed, and mistakenly thought Barbee was the father. Prosecutors said Barbee killed Underwood and her son and buried their bodies in a shallow grave in northern Tarrant County. Police said Barbee led them to the grave. The punishment phase is now underway. Jurors could sentence Barbee to death. (source: CBX News) *** Hopes of Death Row bride A mother from Manchester has married a death row prisoner facing execution for murder who has won a dramatic reprieve. Rachael Ford, 32, wed but has never touched convicted killer Tony Egbuna Ford. Even holding hands is forbidden under the tough Texas jail rules. Their romance began after she wrote letters of support to him. She said: He proposed and I accepted straight away - I'd never felt that way before. She is flying to America tomorrow after an appeal gave them more time to try to prove his innocence. The couple actually met for the 1st time last October - on their wedding day - and Rachael had been due to fly to Texas tomorrow on a heartbreaking journey to watch him receive the lethal injection next month. But new DNA evidence emerged that is currently being examined. Glass The nearest to physical contact Rachael has had with her husband is putting her hand up towards his against the reinforced glass at the prison where Ford, 32, has been on death row for 13 years. Rachael, who has a 12-year-old daughter from a previous relationship, said: Initially, he tried to warn me off by stressing he was very near the end of his appeals - but I told him it didn't matter if he had 10 years or 10 days left. Rachael hopes Ford will be cleared of murdering a Hispanic teenager 15 years ago but if he isn't the 1st time she will be able to touch him is when he is dead. Ford has always denied killing Armando Murillo, 18, in a robbery. He claims mistaken identity. Rachael started writing to death row inmates as a teenager after joining an organisation that supports them. Rachael: 'I'm no Death Row groupie' AS SHE sits in the living room of her neat terraced home, Rachael Ford knows what people will think of her. I know because I've thought the same things myself about death row wives. What possesses a woman to marry a man waiting to be executed? And she says: I'm no Death Row groupie. The last thing I imagined would happen when I started writing to Tony was that I would actually marry him. But as soon as I started reading about him, I knew we were so alike. I researched his case extensively before asking if there was anything I could do. An articulate mother of 1, Rachael doesn't fit in to the mad, sad or desperate category. And her petite frame belies a steely resolve which helps in the face of vilification from pro-death penalty campaigners in America. When they found out I'd married Tony they wrote some awful things about me, but I'd rather know than bury my head in the sand. Rachael's husband, Tony Egbuna Ford, a convicted murderer, is on death row in Texas, the state that executes more prisoners than any other in America. For the past 13 years he has protested his innocence from a tiny cell furnished with a metal bunk and toilet. He is locked up for 23 hours a day. Letters Although Rachael is legally married, consummation is off the agenda. The couple have only seen each other through the reinforced glass separating them at visiting time at the prison where he was due to be given the lethal injection on March 14 - until an appeal succeeded earlier this month. But Rachael feels her husband knows her more than her own mother as a result of hundreds of letters exchanged between them. When I first started writing to him, neither of us was interested in a relationship - Tony was nearing the end of his appeals. I just wanted to offer support. I know how women are viewed who get involved with men on Death Row and I certainly didn't want to be seen as one of them. But we both realised that something was happening beyond our control. People don't appreciate that if you are writing to someone as intensely as we have you get to know them very well indeed as you are discussing issues like politics, religion that you tend to avoid in the early stages of a relationship. Rachael was raised in Bolton and educated at the private Bolton School after winning a scholarship. The 1st time she actually met Ford was on the occasion of their marriage last October. Trying to find a judge who was prepared to marry us was no mean feat, but luckily we found a female judge who was sympathetic. Tony wasn't there for that. I was accompanied by his mum and his sister. Tony is the strongest man I know. I have only had to live with this for 18 months. He had already been on
