[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, ALA., OHIO, CALIF., USA
June 20 TEXAS: Thousands in jury pool for Zoe Hastings murder trial Work has started on finding a jury for the trial of a man accused of killing an 18-year-old Dallas woman in 2015. About 3,000 Dallas County residents will be called in and fill out questionnaires so prosecutors and lawyers can find 12 people in the death penalty case of Antonio Cochran. He's accused of stabbing Zoe Hastings to death and dumping her body in the minivan she was driving in a creek after kidnapping her from an East Dallas Walgreens in Oct. 2015. The trial is set to start in late October, but to get there the jury selection process is starting 4 months out. The goal of the 19 page, 200-plus question document is to help prosecutors and defense attorneys know who the jurors are. Nearly 1/4 of the questions are about potential jurors' views on capital punishment. Jury consultant Kacy Miller analyzed the questionnaire. "The state is looking for jurors who are willing to give the death penalty," Miller said. "The defense also needs jurors who are willing to give the death penalty -- but maybe just not as frequently." Recent Dallas County juryies have said no to the death penalty for quadruple murderer defendant Erbie Bowser and another convicted killer, Juan Andrade. Both juries in those cases opted for life in prison without parole. When there is a guilty verdict in a death penalty case jurors must then answer 2 questions: Is the person a continuing threat to society? Is there no reason worth saving their life? Heath Harris, former First Assistant Dallas County D.A. who is now in private practice, has tried death penalty cases from both the prosecution and defense table. "Seems like there's an increase in whether people feel like the death penalty is a deterrent," Harris said. But the death penalty and how it's administered has also itself, seemingly, been on trial of late. Some courts are debating whether its practice is humane. Plus, several exonerations across the country - including death row inmates ??? are also impacting potential jurors and making it more difficult to get a unanimous death penalty verdict. "It's absolutely more difficult today," said attorney Robert Udashen. "When I first started practicing law police and prosecutors always wore the white hats and juries trusted anything prosecutors and police officers said." Udashen says the overall climate change towards police grand juries and prosecutors has caused jurors to think long and hard before voting yes to the ultimate punishment - death. (source: Fox News) *** HCSO: Mom charged with capital murder in daughter's death A mother has been charged with capital murder in the stabbing death of her 4-year-old daughter in west Harris County. According to the Harris County Sheriff's Office, 34-year-old Laquita Lewis was charged with capital murder Monday morning. The single mother of 4 has been denied bail and faces life in prison or the death penalty if convicted. Prosecutors said that Lewis allegedly stabbed her child, Fredricka Allen, multiple times in the chest and left her on the floor of the master bedroom. Neighbor Burim Hoax is having a tough time dealing with the news. "I couldn't believe that happened. Bad news. I didn't have any idea what happened last night and I still don???t believe," he said. Hoax says 4-year-old Fredricka would greet him in the apartment complex parking lot almost every morning. "She would say to me, good morning." Family members say they got some text messages from the Lewis. She basically told them she hurt Fredricka. Those family members called 911 and urged deputies to come check on the girl at the Timberwalk Apartment Homes located in the 5600 block of Timber Creek Place. Deputies found that little girl dead inside her home just before 9 p.m., but investigators think she was stabbed to death earlier in the day. Investigators said the mother was in a car accident and rushed to a hospital around 6 p.m. It was there at the hospital that deputies say the mother started texting family, apologizing for what she had done. Deputies also say, earlier in the day, the woman got into a fight with her boyfriend. "We don't really know what the catalyst of that argument was," said Thomas Gilliland, spokesman for the Harris County Sheriff's Office. "Obviously it was some sort of, enough to escalate to where she killed the 4-year old. Now, Lewis is in custody. The scene was so bad that chaplains were out here to console family members of the little girl, as well as the deputies who discovered her body. "There's not enough words to describe the horrible death of this child," said Gilliland. According to the Harris County DA's office, Lewis was charged in November for making a terroristic threat during a Thanksgiving incident in which she brandished a knife at her 16-year-old son. Lewis, who at the time had no prior
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news---TEXAS, ALA., OHIO, CALIF., USA, IOWA
Jan. 16 TEXAS: Judicial system won't work if jury box is empty Inconvenient. Can't afford it. Too busy. Boss won't give me time off from work. A summons for jury duty - the invitation to participate in a cornerstone of democracy that people in most countries can only dream about - too often inspires only excuses. Studies have found that one of the greatest barriers to serving on a jury is economic. People simply cant afford to take time off work - in many cases without pay - for the grand sum of $6 per day. That doesnt pay for courthouse parking and a sandwich for lunch, much less make a dent in the monthly rent or utility bill. But Texas lawmakers are offering a helping hand. On Jan. 1, a new law, Senate Bill 1704, increased juror pay from $6 to a minimum of $40 per day after the 1st day of service - a 500-plus percent increase. The new provision, long recommended by the Texas Supreme Court and various legal organizations, should take some of the economic sting out of jury service. Too busy? Most of us have many demands on our time, and thats showing up in declining jury participation. In Texas' largest counties, almost 3/4 of all those called for jury service simply don't show up. Yet our highest elected leaders have found time to serve. Recently, President Bush said he intends to answer a jury summons from McLennan County, where his Crawford Ranch is located. And Texas Gov. Rick Perry reported to the Travis County Courthouse in 2002 when called for a municipal trial. Their willingness to serve despite many pressing demands highlights the importance of citizen participation in preserving the rule of law in our democratic system. They recognize that our judicial system will not work if the jury box is empty. Our founders treasured the jury trial, along with voting, as the two great pillars of citizen control over government. Thomas Jefferson described the system as the only anchor ever yet imagined by man by which a government can be held to the principles of its constitution. In the 19th century, Alexis de Toqueville observed: The institution of the jury . . . places the real direction of society in the hands of the governed . . . and not that of the government. The Texas Constitution has 2 separate guarantees of the right to a jury trial. Texas jurors decide not only guilt or innocence but assess punishment as well. They decide more types of civil disputes than jurors in most states. If your life and property were at stake, youd want the best possible jury, not just the best that could be obtained among the one in 4 citizens who bothered to show up. We talk a lot about how to get and keep good judges in Texas, but good juries are just as important. When large numbers of people avoid jury service, we all suffer. Obviously, the plaintiffs and defendants in a particular lawsuit need good jurors. But the entire public depends on a strong, honest jury pool to render verdicts that keep us safe, secure and prosperous. At a time when our soldiers are risking their lives, the least we can do for our country is to sacrifice a little time and money to keep our justice system strong. Lets each resolve to make answering the call to jury service a New Years resolution for 2006. (source: The Amarillo Globe-News - Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, is a state senator who represents Senate District 25 and is co-author of SB 1704. Fred Heldenfels IV, president and CEO of Heldenfels Enterprises Inc., is a member of the board of directors of Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse of Central Texas) ALABAMA: Text of Justice Parker's op-ed page article The text of Alabama Supreme Court Justice Tom Parker's op-ed page article: In 1997, a vicious thug entered the home of a pregnant Alabama woman. He raped and repeatedly stabbed her, then fled, leaving her to die in a house with three other children. Police acted swiftly and caught the attacker, Renaldo Adams, literally red-handed with blood. After a fair trial, Adams was convicted of rape and murder and given the death penalty. It took the jury less than 30 minutes to recommend his execution. As an Assistant Attorney General under then Attorney General (now U.S. Sen.) Jeff Sessions, I helped prosecute Adams and was satisfied that the Alabama jury chose the punishment that best fit his crime. Consequently, I was shocked to learn that the Alabama Supreme Court just freed Adams from death row. Although I am now a justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, I had to recuse from any involvement in Adams' case because I helped prosecute him. Because I believe the Court's decision illustrates a serious problem with our judicial system, however, I write to explain what I regard as a failure to defend our constitution and laws against activist federal judges. You see, my fellow Alabama justices freed Adams from death row not because of any error of our courts but because they chose to passively accommodate - rather than actively resist - the unconstitutional opinion of
