June 8
TEXAS: Judge terminates parental rights of Texas death row inmate A judge in Beaumont today terminated the parental rights of a woman sent to death row for the 1998 slaying of her newborn son. Kenisha Berry has 4 surviving children -- daughters who are 9 and 7, a 3-year-old son and a 1-year-old girl. The youngest girl was found abandoned in a ditch last June, but survived. That 2003 investigation and D-N-A evidence led jurors in February to convict Berry of capital murder in the November 1998 death of her infant son. The boy's body was discovered in a Beaumont trash bin. Berry's 4 children will be placed with their aunt and uncle -- Joyce and Edward Johnson of Beaumont. The judge also terminated the parental rights of the father of the 3 oldest children. The Johnsons want to adopt those 3 youngsters. The father of the youngest girl will be allowed supervised visits as he seeks custody of her. (source: Associated Press) ***************************** Perry's duty: Show mercy to Joe Lee Guy Unless Gov. Rick Perry rethinks his constitutional duty to grant commutations in appropriate cases, a tragic injustice could soon befall Texas Death Row inmate Joe Lee Guy. Perry appears hesitant to grant clemency to Guy, despite unprecedented agreement among trial officials that Guy's death sentence should be commuted. A presiding judge, the district attorney and 2 sheriffs from Hale County, where Guy's crime occurred, all support clemency. And in a rare move, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles in January unanimously urged Perry to commute Guy's death sentence. This support for clemency among those who would ordinarily advocate carrying out the execution might seem surprising, until you learn of the circumstances that led to the death sentence. Guy was convicted of felony murder for acting as an unarmed lookout in a robbery during which storekeeper Larry Howell was killed and his elderly mother wounded. In a striking instance of sentencing disparity, Guy received the death sentence, while the actual killers and instigators of the crime were given life sentences. For most chief executives, such disparity in punishment would be considered adequate grounds for clemency. In 1857, President James Buchanan commuted a death sentence after others involved in the murder received only prison sentences -- because, he said, the inconsistency would "impair and diminish that absolute confidence which ought to be reposed in a verdict in which the life of a human being is to be taken away." Ohio Gov. Thomas Herbert, faced with a similar situation in 1948, set aside a death sentence, not out of sympathy for the defendant, but because "in America we pride ourselves on doing comparative justice." More recently, authorities in North Carolina, Florida, New Jersey, California and Georgia have commuted death sentences owing to sentencing disparities comparable to that confronting Guy. Yet the case for clemency for Guy rests on more than this disparity. Guy's trial was appalling in its inadequacy. According to court filings, his defense attorney was addicted to drugs and even snorted cocaine in the car on the way to the courthouse for Guy's trial. As if this weren't bad enough, the attorney hired an untrained "investigator" who developed an inappropriate relationship with the surviving victim, which caused her to name the investigator as heir to her substantial fortune. In an affidavit, the investigator later admitted this relationship "caused me to conduct my investigation in a way that was damaging to Joe Lee Guy getting a proper defense." The clemency power, which in Texas is vested in both the Board of Pardons and Paroles and in the governor, is designed to remedy such flagrant injustices. Although the board has done its job in recommending clemency, Perry has been reluctant to act on its recommendation, choosing to wait and see whether the federal courts will intervene. His inaction is wrong. The narrow review that federal courts give to habeas corpus petitions is far less suited to remedying Guy's death sentence than the governor's broad clemency authority. Complicated legal technicalities often prevent federal courts from acting, even in the face of blatant errors. But the opposite is true of the governor: once the parole board has made a favorable recommendation, he is duty-bound to consider all of the circumstances and act to remedy profound injustices. Perry's "wait-and-see" approach assumes that clemency today is little more than a quasi-judicial appeal that should be denied if the courts don't act. Indeed, Perry voiced this view in refusing to follow a recommendation that clemency be granted to mentally ill inmate Kelsey Patterson, noting that the courts had "determined there is no legal bar to execution." Patterson was executed last month. This is a myopic vision of clemency. Historically, Americans have vested their executives with unique authority to remit punishments meted out by the courts. As Alexander Hamilton explained, the clemency power is needed to assure that justice is not "too sanguinary and cruel." What our country's founders appreciated is that clemency is a proper, necessary part of our justice system that can allow -- indeed, require -- the executive to act as a check on the courts. And in exercising this power, governors have a responsibility to look at each clemency case in way that is different from how the courts do. Looking dispassionately at Joe Lee Guy's troubling story, it is difficult to imagine a more compelling case for clemency. We can only hope that Perry becomes aware of the importance of discharging his vital responsibility before it is too late. (source: Kobil teaches at Capital University Law School in Columbus, Ohio, and writes extensively on clemency issues; Austin American-Statesman) *********************** Mom faces capital murder rap in 2-year-old daughter's death San Antonio police have arrested a mother on a capital murder charge in the death of her 2-year-old daughter. Kimberly Alexander, 24, was being held Monday night at the Bexar County Jail in connection with the death of Diamond Alexander-Washington. Saturday, police responded to an injured child report in the 4800 block of Raybon. When police arrived, EMS was treating the girl. According to police, adults at the scene couldn't explain the nature of the girl's injuries. The child was taken to University Hospital where she later died. The responding officer viewed the toddler's body at the medical examiner's office, noting bruises to the face and swelling in her arms and legs. After an autopsy, the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit called the officer and said the girl had died from injuries. Based on the reports, homicide detectives applied for and were granted an arrest warrant for Alexander. Mary Walker, spokeswoman for Child Protective Services, said the agency has investigated the mother since the girl's birth. Walker said the agency took custody of the girl in April 2002 because the mother tested positive for drugs. Staff members connected with the incident said there wasn't any history of violence, but they were concerned about neglect. She said Alexander finished all required service plans and after consultation the child was placed back with her in April 2004. "Ultimately it's the responsibility of the parents," Walker said. "We're devastated that something like this has happened. It's not possible to predict human behavior." (source: San Antonio Express-News) ********************** Mother arrested for death of child San Antonio police believe 24-year-old Kimberly Alexander killed her own daughter Saturday night. "From the reports that I saw from the officers that made the scene they felt from the very beginning that this just did not make a whole lot of sense, based on no explanation - no reasonable explanation for the injuries the child sustained," San Antonio Police Sgt. Gabriel Trevino said. Alexander is now facing capital murder charges - the standard penalty for someone who kills a child under the age of 6. EMS workers were called to the Springhill Apartment complex Saturday night to treat the child, 20-month-old Diamond Alexander-Washington. She was then taken by Airlife to University Hospital were she died Sunday afternoon. Child Protective Services stepped in to take care of Alexander's other children. "There was one other sibling, I believe an 11-month-old. We asked for an emergency custody order to remove that child from the risk, or from the home. We received that order and took that child into care Saturday," CPS spokesperson Mary Walker said. According to CPS workers, it was not the first time Alexander's children were removed from the home. They said Diamond had only recently been returned to her mother, as required by law. "We were absolutely stunned at the violence perpetrated upon this child because there was never any indication that the children in that home were abused in any way," Walker added. SAPD are taking the case seriously as the investigation continues. "If you hurt our children, we are going to come after you. We are going to see what we can do to put you behind bars. It's not going to be tolerated," Trevino said. If convicted, Alexander could face the death penalty. (source: News 9 San Antonio) ************************ Trial date set for local man accused in Upshur deaths In Gilmer, District Judge Lauren Parish set a July 12 trial date Monday for a Longview man accused of capital murder in the deaths of 2 men whose bodies were found in an Upshur County pond. William Glenn Bulington's lawyer said his client is eager for his case to be heard. "I feel his case would be prejudiced because the witnesses' memories might fade. We need to get their testimony as soon as we can," court-appointed attorney Matthew Patton IV said after Monday's hearing. "Mr. Bulington has been locked up a long time, and he wants a speedy trial." A spokeswoman for District Attorney Mike Fetter said prosecutors have not decided whether to seek the death penalty. Bulington is accused of shooting to death 44-year-old Keith Crutcher of Ore City and a second man who has not been identified. Authorities believe the men were killed in mid-December. The bodies were found by fishermen March 11. Bulington has been held without bond in the Upshur County Jail since his March 18 arrest. A Kilgore woman investigators say witnessed the killings is in the Gregg County Jail on an evidence tampering charge connected to the slayings and an unrelated prostitution count. Bond for Ruby Marie Tate is $101,000. Her bond was incorrectly reported in a June 3 article. (source: Longview News-Journal)
