[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ARKANSAS
August 27 ARKANSAS: Priest who cared for inmates remembered in prison MassVincentian priest served 9 years in Southeast Arkansas On a Tuesday afternoon in the chapel that Vincentian Father Louis J. Franz helped found at Tucker Maximum Security Unit in Jefferson County, Bishop Anthony B. Taylor celebrated Mass as guitars and the soulful voices of inmates in the prison band played. It was a simple Mass, no frills, and 3 Catholic inmates received Communion. It was a fitting memorial Mass for Father Franz, who fought for inmate rights and the abolishment of the death penalty and life without parole. He died July 11 from cancer at the age of 86. Sister Joan Pytlik, DC, diocesan social justice advocate, who has known Father Franz for about 30 years, spoke at the memorial Mass Aug. 14, saying it was a way both to remember his work and to prove him wrong. "Father Lou often told me about death, 'The 1st week they glorify you, the 2nd week they remember all your sins and the 3rd week they forget about you,'" she said. "Having died on July 11, we still are proving him wrong over a month later." The Mass invoked the Lord's mercy at every turn, with the responsorial psalm "The Lord attends to the groaning of the prisoners," the Gospel reading of Matthew 25:31-46 and, by divine coincidence, it was the feast day of St. Maximilian Kolbe, the patron saint of prisoners. Father Franz was ordained a priest on June 2, 1957, and spent his early priesthood in California and Missouri. He even served nine years as provincial of the Southern Province. From 1985 to 1993, Father Franz served parishes in Lincoln and Cleveland counties in Arkansas, mostly St. Justin Church in Star City. Bishop Andrew J. McDonald appointed Father Franz co-director of the Diocese of Little Rock prison ministry along with Deacon Frank "Buddy" King. After learning that many were sentenced to death for crimes because the lack of skilled legal representation, he founded Arkansas Churches for Life in 1987, a nonprofit funded by the Vincentians to help the poor, mentally ill and minorities afford proper counsel. In one case, Father Franz filed a motion with the Arkansas Supreme Court after a death row inmate was sentenced to death without any appeals, something the inmate requested. He said at the time, "The state cannot be hired to commit suicide," according to a 1998 Arkansas Catholic article. The court agreed any death penalty case should be required to be appealed. "He knew that many were mentally ill or deficient, depressed or not wanting to face their crime. He knew God in his mercy wasn't finished with them," Sister Joan said. Along with Sister Joan, Bishop Taylor and Renie Rule, an advocate for inmates and founder of the Paws in Prison dog training program, spoke about the impact Father Franz made in policy and heart. Though Bishop Taylor never met Father Franz, he said Pope Francis' recent change to the catechism to make the death penalty contrary to Church teaching in all cases "would have pleased Father Lou very much." "We can say to Father Lou, if you can hear us, the Church has finally caught up with you," Bishop Taylor said. Just as Pope Francis has called life in prison without parole the "death penalty in disguise," Father Franz echoed those sentiments in his most recent interview with Arkansas Catholic in 2017. "People don't know much about the prison system and sentencing system ... it's in-prison execution; that's what life without parole is," he said last year. Sister Joan told the roughly 10 inmates, 2 wardens and chaplain present at the memorial Mass that Father Franz would show up at trials of inmates in his Roman collar. He said in a 1998 Arkansas Catholic article, "I wanted it to be seen that the Catholic Church was concerned for the inmates and the families." The white-walled chapel, with tall, narrow windows of colored glass, was a dream of Father Franz and King, while Rule was one of the people he pushed to make that dream a reality. Though Rule, now executive director of Arkansas Hospice Foundation, had many irons in the fire, it didn't faze Father Franz, who told her "I will meet you tomorrow and we will begin working on this chapel." Rule was co-chair of the fundraising committee and took over after King's death in 2003 from a heart attack. Father Franz donated substantially to the chapel. "When you're ready to learn, a teacher will appear and Father Lou was that man for me," Rule said, adding that she tried to explain the next day at lunch how taking on the chapel project would be difficult, he simply replied, "Would you please pass the ketchup?" The chapel took 15 years to complete, and while Rule would get discouraged, Father Franz would remind her it took Moses 40 years to cross the desert. She said he emphasized, "You are on a journey and this journey will not be over until it's time. God knows what he is doing."
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ARKANSAS
April 27 ARKANSASexecution Convicted murderer executed; state puts 4th inmate to death in 8 days Witnesses describe execution; inmate was 'striving for breath,' AP editor says 3 minutes after his lethal injection began, Arkansas inmate Kenneth Williams began coughing, convulsing and lurching with sound that was audible even with a microphone turned off, media witnesses to his execution said. State news editor Kelly Kissel said that Williams' body lurched forward at 10:55 p.m., 3 minutes after the midazolam was administered. He described the movement as "when you're on a bumpy road and you hit a bump." Williams lurched forward 15 times in a period of 10 to 15 seconds, Kissel said. He then lurched forward more slowly 5 times and began "striving for breath," according to witnesses. The "labored breathing" continued until 10:59 p.m., Kissel said. An attendant performed a consciousness check at 10:57 p.m., checking Williams' pupils. Williams was pronounced dead at 11:05 p.m. Kissel, who has witnessed 10 executions — including 2 in which midazolam has been used — said this is the most he's seen an inmate move. A family member of Cecil Boren, who Williams killed after escaping prison in October 1999, said Williams showed "no change in his facial expression" to show any pain. Jodie Efird added that “Any amount of movement he had was far less than any of his victims.” Williams becomes the 4th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in Arkansas and the 31st overall since the state resumed capital punishment in 1990. Williams becomes the 10th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the USA and the 1452nd overall since the nation resumed executions on January 17, 1977. (sources: Arkansas Online & Rick Halperin) ___ A service courtesy of Washburn University School of Law www.washburnlaw.edu DeathPenalty mailing list DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty Unsubscribe: http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/options/deathpenalty
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ARKANSAS
April 27 ARKANSAS: Arkansas execution delayed as U.S. Supreme Court hears appeals A plan by Arkansas to execute an inmate was delayed on Thursday as the U.S. Supreme Court heard last-minute appeals from the man convicted of murdering a cheerleader, who then escaped from prison and killed 2 other people before being captured again. The state, which had not held an execution in 12 years until this month, has already put three inmates to death since April 20. It had planned to execute Kenneth Williams, 38, by lethal injection at 7 p.m. CDT ( GMT) at its Cummins Unit prison. Arkansas had initially planned to execute eight inmates in 11 days in April, the most of any state in as short a period since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. Four of those executions were halted by various courts. The unprecedented schedule, set because a drug in the state's execution mix expires at the end of April, prompted criticism that Arkansas was acting recklessly. It also set off legal filings that raised questions about U.S. death chamber protocols, troubled prosecutions and difficulties in obtaining lethal injection drugs. Hours before Thursday's planned execution, however, lawyers for Williams filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court, seeking to halt the proceedings on grounds including that Arkansas failed "to provide Mr. Williams a forum to litigate his claim that he is intellectually disabled." A U.S. District Court and courts in Arkansas have already rejected other motions seeking to halt the execution. Williams, sentenced to life without parole for the 1998 murder of 19-year-old college cheerleader Dominique Hurd, broke out of a maximum-security prison in 1999. He murdered Cecil Boren, 57 at his farmhouse, shooting him multiple times. Williams then stole Boren's pickup truck and fled to Missouri, where he slammed his vehicle into one driven by delivery man Michael Greenwood, 24, killing him. "We've been waiting a long, long time for this," Genie Boren, the widow of Cecil Boren, was quoted as saying by local TV broadcaster Fox 16. But Greenwood's daughter, Kayla Greenwood, sent Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson a letter on Thursday asking him to spare Williams. "His execution will not bring my father back or return to us what has been taken, but it will cause additional suffering," the letter said. In 2005, Williams sent a letter to a local Arkansas paper where he confessed to killing Jerrell Jenkins on the same day as the cheerleader. (source: Reuters) ___ A service courtesy of Washburn University School of Law www.washburnlaw.edu DeathPenalty mailing list DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty Unsubscribe: http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/options/deathpenalty
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ARKANSAS
April 26 ARKANSASimpending execution Victim's family asks for state of Arkansas to spare murderer's life The family of a man from the Ozarks who was killed by an escaped murderer almost 2 decades ago said they do not want his killer to be executed. "I believe justice has already been served. He hasn't been able to kill anyone else. Executing him is more of revenge," said Stacey Yaw, who was Michael Greenwood's wife. Kenneth Williams is set to die on Thursday. He's 1 of 8 inmates who Arkansas scheduled for execution by the end of the month before its supply of a key execution drug expires. 4 of the 8 condemned men got judicial reprieves; 3 of them were put to death; only Williams is still set for execution. Michael Greenwood of Springfield and his wife had just found out they were expecting twins when Williams escaped from an Arkansas prison. Williams led law enforcement officers on a chase in a stolen truck and crashed into Greenwood's work truck near Urbana, north of Buffalo, and killed Greenwood. Now Greenwood's family asks for his killer's life to be spared. "I miss him when I'm with my grandkids, I wish he was there to see them, too; little things they do, proud moments," Yaw said. Greenwood's family feels his absence every day. "He was a great guy. He was a tough guy. He was a funny guy. He was a great guy," Yaw said. They do not want anyone else to feel this pain, even Greenwood's killer. "Sometimes the right thing is hard to do, but it is the best option," said Michael Greenwood's son, Joseph Greenwood. That is why they ask for Kenneth Williams' life to be spared. "Everyone can change and I definitely believe in 2nd or even 3rd chances, because it's what's right," said Joseph Greenwood. For them that chance is making sure the killer gets to see his family 1 last time. The victim's family just bought Williams' daughter and granddaughter plane tickets; so, they could get here before the execution. "It's just not right. It's just not right. She didn't do anything ever and now she is going to be a victim," Yaw said. They are helping Williams' last wish come true for the sake of his daughter, Jasmine. "If I was Jasmine, I would want somebody there for me. We are all humans, we are all here together, we have to be here for each other," said Kayla Greenwood, who is Michael Greenwood's daughter. "We experience what she felt. She is getting ready to lose a father and me, my brother, and sister all lost a father. It sucks and we feel really bad for her. Even though he killed our father," said Joseph Greenwood. This will be the 1st time that Williams has ever seen his granddaughter. "At least that can be something good and beautiful that can come out of something so horrible," Kayla Greenwood said. The Greenwood family invited us to drive along with them to meet Jasmine and her daughter on Wednesday. (source: KSPR news) *** 4 Arkansas Executions Are Tied to the Expiration Date of a Drug That Does Not Work in Lethal Injections According to Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, the lives of several death row inmates hinge on chemistry. Earlier this year, Hutchinson scheduled 8 executions during 10 days in April because, he said, the state's supply of midazolam expires at the end of the month. This chemical is 1 of 3 that Arkansas uses for lethal injections, the current standard for enacting the death penalty in U.S. states that have not outlawed the practice. Courts have blocked 4 of the executions, but the others are proceeding. All this because of an expiration date on a drug that many experts believe should never have been included in the execution cocktail. In several states, midazolam is the 1st of the 2 or 3 drugs used for lethal injections. It belongs to a family of chemicals called benzodiazepines, psychoactive drugs used primarily for treating anxiety. Midazolam is basically like valium. "It mellows you out," says Lee Cantrell, who teaches clinical pharmacy at the University of California, San Francisco, and directs the San Diego division of California's poison control system. After getting the midazolam, prisoners in Arkansas are injected with pancuronium bromide, which paralyzes them, and then potassium chloride, which stops the heart. But the use of midazolam is extremely controversial, mainly because of its inadequate effects. The original 1st component in chemical executions was a more powerful anesthetic, such as sodium thiopental. This drug is a barbiturate, the kind used for general anesthesia during surgery. Many states still use sodium thiopental or pentobarbital, another drug in the same family, to put inmates under prior to killing them. With a barbiturate, the individual is unconscious when the heart-stopping chemical is injected into his or her bloodstream. That does not happen with benzodiazepines. Both types of chemicals rely on a protein called GABA, short for
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ARKANSAS
April 24 ARKANSASexecution (#2) Arkansas death row inmate Marcel Williams executed Marcel Williams was the second death row inmate to be executed by the state of Arkansas Monday night. Williams was put to death by way of lethal injection. The drugs were administered at 10:16 p.m. and Williams was pronounced dead at 10:33 p.m. Marcel Williams did not have any last words. Williams was convicted of killing Stacy Rae Errickson, a 23-year-old mother of 2, in Jacksonville in 1994. Errickson's family declined to comment immediately following the execution. Williams becomes the 3rd condemned inmate to be put to death this year in Arkansas and the 30th overall since the state resumed capital punishment in 1990. Williams becomes the 9th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the USA and the 1451st overall since the nation resumed executions on January 17, 1977. (source: KATV news & Rick Halperin) ___ A service courtesy of Washburn University School of Law www.washburnlaw.edu DeathPenalty mailing list DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty Unsubscribe: http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/options/deathpenalty
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ARKANSAS
April 24 ARKANSASexecution Arkansas death row inmate Jack Jones executed Jack Harold Jones was put to death by the state of Arkansas Monday night by way of lethal injection. Authorities began administering the execution drugs at 7:06 p.m. and Jones was pronounced dead at 7:20 p.m., according to the Arkansas Department of Correction. Asked if he had any last words, Jones said the following: "Well, I just want to let the James family and Lacey [know] how sorry I am. I can't believe I did something to her. I tried to be respectful from the time I took and become a better person. I hope I did better. I hope over time you could learn who I really am and I am not a monster. There was a reason why those things happened that day. I am so sorry Lacey, try to understand I love you like my child." Jones also gave a written statement to his attorney to read: "I want people to know that when I came to prison I made up my mind that I would be a better person when I left than when I came in. I had no doubt in my mind that I would make every effort to do this. I'd like to think that I've accomplished this. I made every effort to be a good person - I practiced Buddhism and studied physics. I met the right people and did the right things. There are no words that would fully express my remorse for the pain that I caused." Jones, 52, was convicted and sentenced to death in the 1995 rape and murder of 34-year-old Mary Phillips at her accounting office in Bald Knob. He was also convicted of the attempted murder of Phillips' 11-year-old daughter Lacy. Following the execution, Lacy told the media, "I'm glad it's done." The Supreme Court of the United States denied two requests for a stay for Jones, allowing for the execution to proceed. Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge released a statement following the execution: "This evening, Lacey Phillips Manor and Darla Phillips Jones have seen justice for the brutal rape and murder of their mother, Mary Phillips. Mary was performing her job as a bookkeeper in Bald Knob on June 6, 1995, when she was strangled to death with a coffee pot cord while her 11-year-old daughter Lacey clung to life a few feet away after being choked and beaten. The Phillips family has waited far too long to see justice carried out, and I pray they find peace tonight." Jones is the second Arkansas death row inmate to be executed in less than a week. Jones becomes the 2nd condemned inmate to be put to death in Arkansas this year and the 29th overall since the state resumed capital punishment in 1990. Jones becomes the 8th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the USA and the 1450th overall since the nation resumed executions on January 17, 1977. (sources: KATV and Rick Halperin) ___ A service courtesy of Washburn University School of Law www.washburnlaw.edu DeathPenalty mailing list DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty Unsubscribe: http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/options/deathpenalty
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----ARKANSAS
April 24 ARKANSAS: Arkansas Supreme Court rejects death row stays The Arkansas Supreme Court has rejected requests for stays of execution from two inmates set to die in the nation's first double execution since 2000. Jack Jones Jr. and Marcel Williams had asked the state's highest court to stop their executions, which are set for Monday night. Arkansas is trying to use a sedative that expires at the end of the month, and if the men don't receive lethal injections as scheduled their executions will be off indefinitely. The state has said it has no new source for midazolam. In separate one-paragraph orders, justices said they would not reopen the men's cases and refused to issue stays of execution. Jones is scheduled to die at 7 p.m., with Williams' execution set for 8:15 p.m. A federal appeals court on Monday also rejected a stay request for Jones, while a stay request from Williams is still pending. (source: Associated Press) ___ A service courtesy of Washburn University School of Law www.washburnlaw.edu DeathPenalty mailing list DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty Unsubscribe: http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/options/deathpenalty
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ARKANSAS
April 20 ARKANSASexecution Arkansas executes death-row inmate Ledell Lee After a series of challenges to the U.S. Supreme Court failed, Ledell Lee was put to death by lethal injection Thursday night in the 1st execution in Arkansas since 2005. Lee, who was sentenced to death in 1995 for the killing 2 years earlier of Debra Reese in Jacksonville, was the first to die of 8 inmates whose executions were scheduled over 11 days this month. 3 others whose deaths were scheduled before Lee — Bruce Earl Ward, Don Davis and Stacey Johnson — had their lethal injections halted through court challenges. Lee pursued multiple appeals in the hours before his death, and while some resulted in temporary stays that pushed his lethal injection past its original 7 p.m. scheduled start time, none spared his life before the death warrant expired at midnight. Lee was pronounced dead at 11:56 p.m., 12 minutes after the execution process began. He was 51. Lee did not make a final statement. On Feb. 9, 1993, Lee bludgeoned Reese to death with a tire iron that her husband had given her as a form of protection. Lee was arrested within an hour of Reese's death after some of the cash taken from her wallet was used to pay a bill at a Rent-A-Center store. Reese's family declined to speak to reporters after the execution and said they would release a written statement later. Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge noted that the family "has waited more than 24 years to see justice done." "I pray this lawful execution helps bring closure for the Reese family,” Rutledge said. 3 other executions are scheduled for next week. Lee becomes the 1st condemned inmate to be put to death this year in Arkansas and the 28th overall since the state resumed capital punishment in 1990. Lee becomes the 7th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the USA and the 1449th overall since the nation resumed executions on January 17, 1977. (sources: Arkansas Online & Rick Halperin) ___ A service courtesy of Washburn University School of Law www.washburnlaw.edu DeathPenalty mailing list DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty Unsubscribe: http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/options/deathpenalty
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ARKANSAS
April 20 ARKANSASimpending execution Supreme Court denies stay, more appeals possible A divided Supreme Court has rejected appeals that would have put off the execution of Arkansas inmate Ledell Lee. Advertisement More appeals to the high court were possible Thursday night. The four liberal justices dissented from a court order late Thursday that would not only have stopped Lee's execution, but also three more the state intends to carry out before the end of the month. That's when its supply of a key execution drug expires. New justice Neil Gorsuch voted with the majority of five to deny the stay of execution sought by Lee and the other inmates. Justice Stephen Breyer said he was troubled that the main reason for wanting to proceed with the executions was the looming expiration of the drug midazolam. Breyer asked, "Why these eight? Why now?" Arkansas had scheduled eight executions over an 11-day period before the end of April, when its supply of one lethal injection drug expires. The first three executions were canceled because of court decisions. Legal rulings have put at least one other in doubt. (source: 4029tv.com) ___ A service courtesy of Washburn University School of Law www.washburnlaw.edu DeathPenalty mailing list DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty Unsubscribe: http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/options/deathpenalty
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ARKANSAS
April 20 ARKANSASimpending execution Arkansas poised to carry out first execution since 2005 Arkansas was poised Thursday to carry out its first execution since 2005 after officials scrapped the third of eight lethal injections that had been planned before the end of the month in the face of court challenges. A ruling from the state Supreme Court allowing officials to use a lethal injection drug that a supplier says was obtained by misleading the company cleared the way for Arkansas to proceed to execute Ledell Lee on Thursday night, although he still had requests for stays pending with a federal appeals court and the U.S. Supreme Court. Temporary stays from the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court delayed Lee's execution until at 9:15 p.m. central time, to give them time to review his case. The U.S. Supreme Court by a 5-4 vote rejected appeals that would have halted Lee's execution, but more were pending before the high court Thursday night. Arkansas dropped plans to execute a second inmate, Stacey Johnson, on the same day after the state Supreme Court said it wouldn't reconsider his stay, which was issued so Johnson could seek more DNA tests in hopes of proving his innocence. The state originally set four double executions over an 11-day period in April. The eight executions would have been the most by a state in such a compressed period since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976. The state says the executions need to be carried out before its supply of one lethal injection drug, midazolam, expires on April 30. Three executions were canceled because of court decisions, and legal rulings have put at least one of the other five in doubt. Lee was set to be executed for the 1993 death of his neighbor Debra Reese, who was struck 36 times with a tire tool her husband had given her for protection. A prison spokesman said Lee on Thursday declined a last meal and opted instead to receive communion. Justices on Thursday reversed an order by Pulaski County Circuit Judge Alice Gray that halted the use of vecuronium bromide, one of three drugs used in the state's lethal injection process, in any execution. McKesson Corp. says the state obtained the drug under false pretenses and that it wants nothing to do with executions. McKesson said it was disappointed in the court's ruling. "We believe we have done all we can do at this time to recover our product," the company said in a statement. Justices also denied an attempt by makers of midazolam and potassium chloride — the two other drugs in Arkansas' execution plan — to intervene in McKesson's fight over the vecuronium bromide. The pharmaceutical companies say there is a public health risk if their drugs are diverted for use in executions, and that the state's possession of the drugs violates rules within their distribution networks. The legal maneuvers frustrated Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who had set the execution schedule less than two months ago. The state's elected prosecutors also criticized the roadblocks to the execution plans. "Through the manipulation of the judicial system, these men continue to torment the victims' families in seeking, by any means, to avoid their just punishment," the prosecutors said in a joint statement issued Thursday. The Arkansas Supreme Court said in a 4-3 ruling that it would not reconsider its decision to stay Johnson's execution. Attorney General Leslie Rutledge's office said she would not appeal that decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. Lawyers for the state have complained that the inmates are filing court papers just to run out the clock on Arkansas' midazolam supply. Prisons director Wendy Kelley has said the state has no way to obtain more midazolam or vecuronium bromide. At one point in the proceedings before a federal judge last week, Arkansas Solicitor General Lee Rudofsky declared, "Enough is enough." New justice Neil Gorsuch voted with the majority of five on the U.S. Supreme Court to deny the stay of execution sought by Lee and the other inmates. Justice Stephen Breyer said in a dissent he was troubled by Arkansas' push to execute the inmates before its supply of midazolam expires. "Apparently the reason the state decided to proceed with these eight executions is that the 'use by' date of the state's execution drug is about to expire...In my view, that factor, when considered as a determining factor separating those who live from those who die, is close to random," Breyer wrote. (source: Assocciated Press) ___ A service courtesy of Washburn University School of Law www.washburnlaw.edu DeathPenalty mailing list DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty Unsubscribe: http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/options/deathpenalty
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news---ARKANSAS
April 19 ARKANSAS: Arkansas Supreme Court halts 1 death-row inmate's execution The Arkansas Supreme Court on Wednesday night halted the execution of Stacey Johnson, which was scheduled for Thursday. The Arkansas Supreme Court has halted one of two executions set for Thursday, saying the condemned inmate should have a chance to prove his innocence with more DNA testing. Stacey Johnson claims that advanced DNA techniques could show that he didn't kill Carol Heath, a 25-year-old mother of two, in 1993 at her southwest Arkansas apartment. In a 4-3 ruling late Wednesday afternoon, the state's highest court issued a stay for Johnson and ordered a new hearing in lower court for Johnson to make his claims. Johnson was set for execution Thursday night along with inmate Ledell Lee, who is also seeking a stay in a separate case. (source: Arkansasonline.com) ___ A service courtesy of Washburn University School of Law www.washburnlaw.edu DeathPenalty mailing list DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty Unsubscribe: http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/options/deathpenalty
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ARKANSAS
April 17 ARKANSASstay of 2 impending executions Split Arkansas court blocks 2 executions A divided Arkansas Supreme Court granted stays of executions for 2 Arkansas inmates while the U.S. Supreme Court takes up a separate case next week concerning access to independent mental health experts by defendants. The Arkansas court ruled 4-3 Monday to block the executions for Bruce Ward and Don Davis, who were originally scheduled to be put to death Monday night, though stays had been issued in separate court cases challenging their executions and six others planned this month. Writing in a dissent, Associate Justice Shawn Womack lamented the court’s ruling. He wrote that Ward and Davis have had “decades of appeals” and that the victims’ families deserved closure. A spokesman for Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge had no immediate comment on the court’s ruling. (source: Washington Post) ___ A service courtesy of Washburn University School of Law www.washburnlaw.edu DeathPenalty mailing list DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty Unsubscribe: http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/options/deathpenalty
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ARKANSAS----Urgent Action: Legal Representation In Spotlight As Execution Set (USA: UA 84.17)
ARKANSAS: Urgent Action LEGAL REPRESENTATION IN SPOTLIGHT AS EXECUTION SET Ledell Lee, aged 51, is due to be executed in Arkansas on 20 April for a murder committed in 1993. There have been serious concerns about his legal representation. Write a letter, send an email, call, fax or tweet: * Calling for clemency for Ledell Lee and for his death sentence to be commuted; * Expressing concern at the serious issues relating to legal representation provided to Ledell Lee; * Explaining that you are not seeking to condone violent crime or to downplay its consequences. Friendly reminder: If you send an email, please create your own instead of forwarding this one! Contact below official by 20 April, 2017: The Honorable Asa Hutchinson, Governor of the State of Arkansas State Capitol, Suite 250, 500 Woodlane St, Little Rock, AR 72201, USA Fax: +1 501 682 3597 Email: http://governor.arkansas.gov/contact-info/ (use US detail) Salutation: Dear Governor ___ A service courtesy of Washburn University School of Law www.washburnlaw.edu DeathPenalty mailing list DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty Unsubscribe: http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/options/deathpenalty
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ARKANSAS----Urgent Action: Execution Set For Crime Committed At Age 20 (USA: UA 78.17)
Urgent Action EXECUTION SET FOR CRIME COMMITTED AT AGE 20 Kenneth Williams, aged 38, is due to be executed in Arkansas on 27 April for a murder committed during a prison escape in 1999. Twenty years old at the time, he asserts he is not the same person he was then, and can contribute to society if allowed to live. Write a letter, send an email, call, fax or tweet: * Calling for clemency for Kenneth Williams and for his death sentence to be commuted; * Explaining that you are not seeking to excuse violent crime or to minimize the suffering caused; * Pointing out that the death penalty denies the possibility of rehabilitation and reform of individuals, and does nothing to further our understanding of the roots of and responses to human violence. Friendly reminder: If you send an email, please create your own instead of forwarding this one! Contact the official by 27 April, 2017: The Honorable Asa Hutchinson, Governor of the State of Arkansas State Capitol, Suite 250 500 Woodlane St Little Rock, AR 72201 USA Fax: +1 501 682 3597 Email: http://governor.arkansas.gov/contact-info/ (use US detail); or i...@governor.arkansas.gov (asking for email to be forwarded to governor) Salutation: Dear Governor ___ A service courtesy of Washburn University School of Law www.washburnlaw.edu DeathPenalty mailing list DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty Unsubscribe: http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/options/deathpenalty
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ARKANSAS
March 29 ARKANSAS: Arkansas Faces Lawsuits Over Plan To Kill 8 Men In 10 DaysOne expert called the state's death penalty plans "mind-boggling." Arkansas' plan to execute 8 death-row prisoners within 10 days next month has been attacked as cruel and unusual in 2 federal lawsuits. Suits filed Monday and Tuesday seek preliminary injunctions halting the four double executions scheduled from April 17 to April 27, alleging the rush violates the condemned men's constitutional rights. The suits name Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) and Department of Corrections Director Wendy Kelley as defendants. At a time when use of the death penalty is in gradual decline across the U.S., Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge announced last month the state would begin executing inmates who had exhausted state-level appeals. Arkansas hasn't executed anyone in 12 years, and now seeks to jump-start lethal injections in ways that depart from its own protocols and the typical practices of other states. "This is way outside the norms," said Rick Halperin, a death penalty expert at Southern Methodist University, said of the Arkansas execution schedule. "This state hasn't carried out an execution in 12 years. Now they want to do 8 in 10 days. It's a bit mind-boggling." Double executions are uncommon, even in active death-penalty states like Texas. After Oklahoma's botched lethal injection of Clayton Lockett in 2014 - which had been part of a scheduled double execution - Texas recommended spacing its executions at least a week apart. Missouri recently adopted a rule limiting executions to no more than once a month. The lawsuits against Arkansas say the pace of the scheduled executions and the state's secretive lethal injection protocol violates inmates' rights to counsel and access to courts. The state Department of Corrections did not respond to several requests for comment. Attorneys for the prisoners say there simply won't be enough time to defend each client in the complex and fast-moving legal process that death warrants trigger. Attorney Jeff Rosenzweig, a sole practitioner who represents 3 of the 8 men scheduled to die and is co-counsel for a 4th, said the scheduled procedures are inconsistent with how the state used to run executions. Back in the 1990s, he said, prison authorities were mostly "extremely cooperative" allowing lawyers access to the inmates, informing counsel of developments and [allowing] more than 1 lawyer to witness the execution. "Of course, this was all before a couple of things," Rosenzweig said by phone Tuesday. "There was a legislative decision to slap a veil of secrecy over so much of [the process]. And secondly, in terms of communication with the court, we weren't dealing with a substance that was" as controversial - the drug used to make the lethal injection cocktail. Attorneys from the federal public defender's office represent 2 of the condemned inmates and serve as co-counsel for 2 others, including a pair of clients set to be executed on the same day. "Attorneys with multiple clients "will potentially be required to challenge the execution process up until moments before, or even during, the execution itself," one of the lawsuits says. "Then they will have to continue challenging that process for another client just minutes after watching another client die." Dale Baich, an assistant federal defender in Arizona who has worked on death-row cases for 3 decades, said what the attorneys are being asked is "impossible to do." "To have three clients [facing execution] in a week ... it's outrageous," Baich said. "It's unprecedented." The short notice also reduces time for the clemency process, which violates the inmates' right to due process, according to the lawsuit filed Tuesday. The Corrections Department will only allow 1 attorney in the death chamber for each execution. Other states don't generally restrict who the condemned selects as witnesses (family, friends, lawyers and spiritual advisors are typical), but do limit the number of witnesses due to the small capacity of most witness rooms. Capacity for Arkansas, lawyers said, doesn't appear to be a credible issue, as the state can't even find enough volunteers to serve as witnesses. 5 of the 8 men scheduled to die have filed clemency petitions. Hearings on the petitions are scheduled in the 30 days prior to their scheduled executions - a window normally blacked out, lawyers said. Attorneys further argued they are restricted to 1 hour to present evidence supporting clemency for each client, instead of the normal 2. (source: Huffington Post) ___ A service courtesy of Washburn University School of Law www.washburnlaw.edu DeathPenalty mailing list DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty Unsubscribe: http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/options/deathpenalty
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ARKANSAS----Urgent Action: Fair Trial Concern Revisited As Execution Looms (USA: UA 67/17)
Urgent Action FAIR TRIAL CONCERN REVISITED AS EXECUTION LOOMS Stacey Johnson, aged 47, is scheduled to be executed in Arkansas on 20 April for a 1993 murder. Three state Supreme Court Justices argued that he was deprived of a fair trial by being denied access to information regarding the credibility of a key witness against him. Write a letter, send an email, call, fax or tweet: * Calling for clemency for Stacey Johnson and for his death sentence to be commuted; * Noting the selective use of the therapist/patient privilege, which three state Supreme Court judges said led to an unfair trial by keeping from the defence information about the credibility of a key prosecution witness; * Explaining that you are not seeking to condone violent crime or to downplay its consequences. Contact these two officials by 20 April, 2017: Important note: Please do not forward this Urgent Action email directly to these officials. Instead of forwarding this email that you have received, please open up a new email message in which to write your appeals to each official. This will help ensure that your emails are not rejected. Thank you for your deeply valued activism! The Honorable Asa Hutchinson, Governor of the State of Arkansas State Capitol, Suite 250, 500 Woodlane St, Little Rock, AR 72201, USA Fax: +1 501 682 3597 Email: http://governor.arkansas.gov/contact-info/ (use US detail) Salutation: Dear Governor ___ A service courtesy of Washburn University School of Law www.washburnlaw.edu DeathPenalty mailing list DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty Unsubscribe: http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/options/deathpenalty
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ARKANSAS----Urgent Action: Execution Set Despite Diagnosis Of Schizophrenia (USA: UA 66/17)
Urgent Action EXECUTION SET DESPITE DIAGNOSIS OF SCHIZOPHRENIA Bruce Ward is scheduled to be executed in Arkansas on 17 April. He has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. In custody since 1989, he has been on death row for nearly 25 years. Thirty-two years old at the time of the crime, he is now aged 60. Write a letter, send an email, call, fax or tweet: * Calling for clemency for Bruce Ward and for his death sentence to be commuted; * Noting that Bruce Ward has been diagnosed with the serious mental disability of paranoid schizophrenia, with the same doctor concluding that the prisoner did not have a rational understanding of his punishment; * Explaining that you are not seeking to condone violent crime or to downplay its consequences. Contact below official by 17 April, 2017: Important note: Please do not forward this Urgent Action email directly to these officials. Instead of forwarding this email that you have received, please open up a new email message in which to write your appeals to each official. This will help ensure that your emails are not rejected. Thank you for your deeply valued activism! The Honorable Asa Hutchinson Governor of the State of Arkansas State Capitol, Suite 250, 500 Woodlane St, Little Rock, AR 72201, USA Fax: +1 501 682 3597 Email: http://governor.arkansas.gov/contact-info/ (use US detail) Salutation: Dear Governor ___ A service courtesy of Washburn University School of Law www.washburnlaw.edu DeathPenalty mailing list DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty Unsubscribe: http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/options/deathpenalty
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ARKANSAS
Urgent Action: Clemency Board To Hear What Jury Never Did (USA: UA 60/17) Urgent Action CLEMENCY BOARD TO HEAR WHAT JURY NEVER DID Marcel Williams, aged 46, is due to be executed in Arkansas on 24 April. The jury never heard any mitigating evidence about his childhood of severe abuse and trauma. That evidence is now before the clemency board which will consider his petition on 27 March. Write a letter, send an email, call, fax or tweet: * Calling for clemency for Marcel Williams and for his death sentence to be commuted; * Expressing concern that the jury heard no evidence about his background of poverty, deprivation and abuse and its effects, noting that the only judge to hear this evidence said that the death sentence should not stand; * Explaining that you are not seeking to condone violent crime or to downplay its consequences. Contact these two officials by 24 April, 2017: Important note: Please do not forward this Urgent Action email directly to these officials. Instead of forwarding this email that you have received, please open up a new email message in which to write your appeals to each official. This will help ensure that your emails are not rejected. Thank you for your deeply valued activism! Arkansas Parole Board Two Union National Plaza 105 W Capitol Avenue #500 Little Rock, AR 72201-5730, USA Fax: +1 501 683-5381 Salutation: Dear Board Members The Honorable Asa Hutchinson Governor of the State of Arkansas State Capitol, Suite 250 500 Woodlane St, Little Rock, AR 72201, USA Fax: +1 501 682 3597 Email: http://governor.arkansas.gov/contact-info/ (use US detail) Salutation: Dear Governor ___ A service courtesy of Washburn University School of Law www.washburnlaw.edu DeathPenalty mailing list DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty Unsubscribe: http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/options/deathpenalty
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ARKANSAS
July 26 ARKANSAS: Arkansas AG's office argues death penalty An assistant Arkansas attorney general has asked the state Supreme Court to overturn a lower court ruling that the state's death penalty law is unconstitutional. Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Merritt said in a brief filed Friday that Pulaski County Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen was incorrect in his February ruling that the law violates the separation of powers. Griffen ruled that the Legislature gave too much authority to the Correction Department when it designated the agency director as the person who picks the drug for lethal injections. Attorney Jeff Rosenzweig - who represented the death row inmates who challenged the law - told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (http://bit.ly/1AjNGwB ) that he had not read the brief but said an appropriate response will be filed. No one has been executed in Arkansas since 2005. (source: Associated Press) ___ DeathPenalty mailing list DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty Search the Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/deathpenalty@lists.washlaw.edu/ ~~~ A free service of WashLaw http://washlaw.edu (785)670.1088 ~~~
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ARKANSAS
Jan. 16 ARKANSAS: Beebe: Would sign death-penalty repeal Gov. Mike Beebe says he would sign a bill to repeal the death penalty in Arkansas if the legislature sent it to him. Beebe was asked about a hypothetical bill banning capital punishment during a Wednesday meeting of the Political Animals Club. I'd sign it, Beebe said, going on to call signing a death warrant next to the hardest thing I've ever had to do. Beebe said he doesn't expect to see such a bill. The governor said he has signed four death warrants after doing extensive research - including reading trial transcripts - on each case, but because of additional appeals, none was carried out. No executions have occurred during Beebe's time as governor. It is an agonizing process whether you are for the death penalty or against the death penalty, Beebe said. He said his view has evolved over the years, noting that having to sign the death warrant is sobering. Speaking in response to a variety of questions at the meeting at the Governor's Mansion, Beebe also said he believes the sentencing-reform laws he backed are working. And, he said, he thinks hiring more school resource officers will be a better way to improve school safety than having a bunch of volunteers go up there with gun permits. Beebe spoke a day after his State of the State address to the legislature, during which he revealed a possible economic development project that would rank among the biggest in the state's history. Speaking after the meeting with reporters, Beebe declined to offer many more specifics. He said he believes a final hangup is the only obstacle to sealing the deal and he repeated a broad estimate offered Tuesday on the number of jobs it might create: A bunch. But, Beebe said, he believes it's likely the deal will come through and that Arkansas is not vying with other states to land it at this point. I think it's pretty good [odds] or I wouldn't have mentioned it, he said. (source: NWA Online) ___ DeathPenalty mailing list DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty Search the Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/deathpenalty@lists.washlaw.edu/ ~~~ A free service of WashLaw http://washlaw.edu (785)670.1088 ~~~
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ARKANSAS
Nov. 28 ARKANSAS: Anchor murder suspect could face death penalty Officials say forensic evidence gathered at the home of Anne Pressly led police to a man already suspected of raping a school teacher in eastern Arkansas. Police say 28-year-old Curtis Lavelle Vance of Marianna offered a DNA sample to detectives, and a test by the state Crime Laboratory linked Vance to the teacher's rape and Pressly's death. Pulaski County District Judge Lee Munson ordered Vance to be held without bond on a capital murder charge over Pressly's death. During a brief hearing at the Pulaski County jail, Vance said nothing while a public defender asked for a bond amount to be set. Vance did not enter a plea at the hearing. If convicted of capital murder, Vance could face either a life sentence or the death penalty. Marianna Police Detective Carl McCree told the Times-Herald of Forrest City and Little Rock television station KLRT that Vance faces rape and residential burglary charges. McCree did not return repeated phone calls Friday from The Associated Press. Vance was arrested Wednesday night for the October 20th attack on Pressly, who was a morning anchorwoman for Little Rock's ABC affiliate, KATV. (source: Associated Press)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----ARKANSAS
Oct. 11 ARKANSAS: Marcyniuk Asks Judge To Toss Death Penalty A West Fork man charged with killing University of Arkansas student Katie Wood is asking the judge to declare the death penalty unconstitutional. Zachariah Scott Marcyniuk, 29, is charged with capital murder and accused of killing Wood, 24, of Greenbrier, in early March. Wood was a senior English major. The basis for seeking the death penalty are Marcyniuk's prior felony conviction involving the use or threat of violence and the especially cruel and depraved manner in which he killed Wood, according to Prosecuting Attorney John Threet. A preliminary autopsy indicated Wood died of multiple stab wounds. Marcyniuk is also charged with burglary for breaking into Wood's apartment. The motion, filed Friday, to prohibit imposition of the death penalty contends that if jurors find even one aggravating circumstance, the death penalty becomes mandatory. The motion argues that makes the death penalty unconstitutional because it doesn't allow a jury to show mercy. The motion also says Arkansas law fails to provide a jury with guidance as to what degree of murder is appropriate, specifically 1st degree versus capital murder, and can lead to a jury arbitrarily choosing a verdict for a higher offense than is appropriate. Trial is set for the week of Dec. 8. (source: The Morning News)
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news------ARKANSAS
Oct. 24 ARKANSASfederal death penalty to be sought DEATH PENALTY SOUGHT IN SLAYING Federal prosecutors said Friday they would seek the death penalty for one of 3 men charged in a 2003 homicide at Pine Bluff. Vertis Clay, also known as Sinister Wayz, of Little Rock, was accused of the shooting death of Darryl Johnson, 38, whose body was found in a house in the 5400 block of Carbon Street on July 23, 2003, after relatives reported they had not seen him in several days. In a notice filed in federal court, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Volpe said the circumstances of the slaying warranted the death penalty if Clay is convicted. In September 2004, a grand jury at Little Rock said Clay and Darryl Walker, also of Little Rock, killed Johnson during the course of a drug trafficking offense. The indictment said Clay, Walker and Calvin Stovall, also known as Kid, conspired to distribute more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana between June 2002 and January 2004. A part of that conspiracy involved a burglary, robbery and the execution of co-conspirator Darryl Johnson to steal illegal drugs and money believed to be in Johnsons possession, the indictment said. The grand jury said Stovall hired Clay to break into Johnsons house and kill him and Clay hired Walker to help him. Clay and Walker went to Pine Bluff on July 18 and conducted a stakeout of Johnson and his residence, then returned to Pine Bluff July 19 and broke in while Johnson was not at home, the indictment charged. Clay and Walker waited until Johnson returned to the house on July 20 and Clay used a 40-caliber handgun to execute Darryl Johnson, then after his death, robbed him of his personal possessions, the indictment said. A superseding indictment filed with the court Friday said Walker participated in the slaying, and that it involved torture and serious physical abuse. The nature of the torture was not specified in the court filing. Clay, Walker and Stovall are scheduled for trial Feb. 13 at Little Rock with U.S. District Judge Bill Wilson Jr. presiding. (source: Pine Bluff Commercial)
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----ARKANSAS
Sept. 23 ARKANSASimpending volunteer execution Stay Filing Says Killer Innocent A motion asking for a stay of execution has been filed on behalf of condemned killer Rickey Dale Newman, who is scheduled to die by lethal injection Tuesday. Jennifer Horan, a federal public defender, filed the stay request Monday in Crawford County Circuit Court. A similar motion was filed Tuesday with the Arkansas Supreme Court. U.S. District Judge Robert T. Dawson appointed Horans office last week to represent Newman. However, Newman, in a written statement, fired the public defender's office Tuesday. The petition filed in Crawford County Circuit Court asks that Newman's execution be delayed so additional forensic testing can be conducted. There is every reason to believe that when the requested DNA testing is completed, it will be undisputed that Rickey Newman is actually innocent of the murder of Marie Cholette, for which he is scheduled to be executed on Sept. 28, the motion states. In its response to Horans motion, the Attorney General's office states that Newman does not want his execution stopped and that Horan's office no longer represents Newman. According to the statement, Newman fired the public defenders office because the attorneys were attempting to stop his execution. I never told them to stop my death at all. They (are) trying to stop my death against my wish. I want my death - 9-28-04 by law like the governor has set. The federal defender office is wrong to try to stop death without me ask them to. They must do as I ask by law, and I told (Public Defender) Bruce Eddy many times not to do anything to stop my death by execution by law. I do not want Bruce Eddy or any lawyer from the federal defender office to represent me, Newman wrote. Crawford County Circuit Judge Gary Cottrell has set a hearing on the motion for Friday at 1 p.m. The motion filed with the Supreme Court claims Newman is mentally ill and mentally retarded, and is not competent to waive his rights to a thorough and accurate review of his case. The federal motion also claims that Newman's trial attorney, Public Defender Robert Marquette, utterly misunderstood his ethical and professional duties when representing a defendant in a criminal case, especially an incompetent defendant and particularly in a capital case. The motion claims Marquette abdicated his responsibilities and allowed a mentally retarded, mentally ill man to determine the evidence the jury would hear and the conclusions that would be available for them to draw from it. At Mr. Newmans' behest he failed even to investigate and identify the multitude of such witnesses that were in fact available. He failed to introduce compelling exculpatory evidence that was available to him, including the fact that semen found on the blanket in which Ms. Cholette's body was found did not match Mr. Newman. The motion states that Newman urged Marquette to do nothing because he wanted to die, and Marquette complied. Newman's aunt, Betty Moore, also has filed a brief claiming that she does not believe it is in Newman's best interest to waive his appeals and allow the execution to proceed. Because of long-standing problems he has that go back to his very early childhood, I do not believe that Rickey is mentally competent to decide for himself whether he should give up his appeals and allow the state to execute him. He needs someone who loves him and cares about him to act for him, and I want to be that person, she wrote in an affidavit. Newman was convicted June 10, 2002, of capital murder in the slaying of Cholette. Authorities believe Cholette died Feb. 7, 2001. Her mutilated body was found in a makeshift tent near Lee Creek Park in Van Buren. Newman said he killed Cholette because she lied about being a member of a railroad gang. (source: The Times Record)
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----ARKANSAS
Sept. 29 ARKANSAS: High court wants issues addressed in death-row case The Arkansas Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered attorneys who fought successfully to stop, at least temporarily, the execution of Rickey Dale Newman to explain why and how justices should consider newly raised claims that Newman is mentally retarded. In June 2002, a Crawford County jury convicted Newman, 47, of killing and mutilating fellow transient Marie Cholette, 46. Her body was found Feb. 15, 2001, in a makeshift tent in the Lee Creek Park area of Van Buren. Newman - who testified at trial that he had a lot of fun killing her and making her hurt real bad - was set to die by lethal injection Tuesday night. Though he had waived his appeals, the Arkansas Supreme Court affirmed the Crawford County verdict in 2003 after an automatic review of the case. Last week, however, attorneys Julie Brain and Bruce Eddy with the federal public defender office in Little Rock, asked the court to stop the execution. They said that mental retardation and mental illness kept Newman from seeking to prove his innocence. They also cited a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Atkins v. Virginia, that says the execution of the mentally retarded violates 8th Amendment protections from cruel and unusual punishment. An attorney who has represented several death-row inmates said Tuesday that the Arkansas Supreme Court's ultimate decision in Newman's case will likely affect others on death row. That's because Arkansas' death-row inmates are raising mental retardation arguments in a number of cases, said Jeff Rosenzweig of Little Rock. Here's the situation: The court decided Atkins, but there are all kinds of issues open in Atkins... at some point, someone is going to sort these things out, Rosenzweig said. There are 38 men on Arkansas' death row. Arkansas outlawed the execution of the mentally retarded in 1993, but Rosenzweig said differences exist between Arkansas Code 5-4-618 and the Atkins decision. For example, Arkansas' law says that a defendant shall raise the special sentencing provision of mental retardation by motion prior to trial. The Atkins decision makes no such determination about when the issue of mental retardation must be raised. Newman has said he didn't want the public defenders arguing on his behalf. But Brain and Eddy said Betty Moore, referred to as Newman's aunt, should be allowed to act as his next friend and pursue review of the case. The Supreme Court granted the temporary stay on Friday, despite objections from Arkansas Attorney General Mike Beebe's office. Beebe's office is charged with defending all state court verdicts. In its subsequent opinion issued Tuesday, the Arkansas Supreme Court asked the two sets of attorneys to provide briefs on 4 issues. Those were: Whether Moore can act as next friend for Newman even though he has previously been found competent. A 1988 Arkansas Supreme Court decision titled Franz v. State set up a twopronged test of whether someone can be appointed as next friend. One part requires that a person be incompetent. The other part of the test requires that the person applying to be next friend have a sufficient relationship with the defendant. If Moore is designated a next friend, what jurisdiction does the court have to weigh the new allegations about Newman's mental retardation? What, under state law, can the Supreme Court do if it finds Newman is mentally retarded? Whether the U.S. Supreme Court's Atkins decision means that a mentally retarded convict, besides being immune to execution, also can't waive his rights to appeal. Federal Public Defender Jenniffer Horan was unavailable for comment after the court's ruling Tuesday afternoon, and a message left for Eddy was not returned. A spokesman for the attorney general's office, Matt DeCample, also would not discuss the ruling, saying only that attorneys in Beebe's office are preparing arguments to respond to the Supreme Court. We're just reading it ourselves, but obviously this is final confirmation that the [death] warrant will expire tonight with no execution, DeCample said Tuesday. In its legal filings last week, Beebe's office argued that even if Moore, who is the commonlaw wife of Newman's biological uncle, could prove that she had a significant relationship, she can't prove he is incompetent. A determination about his competency has already been made by the trial court and affirmed by the Arkansas Supreme Court, Assistant Attorney General Clayton K. Hodges said. After Newman expressed a desire to waive his appeals, the Supreme Court ordered that Newman be evaluated by the State Hospital. He was found competent. In their brief, Eddy and Brain said information from Newman's educational history wasn't adequately reviewed, and those documents - along with testimony from those who have known him - indicate he is retarded. Last month, a 40-year-old Arkansas inmate twice sentenced to die for the Oct. 31, 1994, shooting deaths of a
