June 23 CALIFORNIA: Jury recommends death penalty for man convicted of murdering Rosamond beauty queen The man convicted last week of the 1978 rape and murder of a young Rosamond woman should die by lethal injection, a Kern County jury recommended Wednesday morning. The jury contemplating the fate of Larry Kusuth Hazlett Jr., 56, returned its verdict in the death penalty phase of his trial after less than a day of deliberations. Kern County District Attorney Ed Jagels had called Hazlett a "vicious monster" and called for the jury to return a death verdict. But Deputy Public Defender Dale Armitage had pleaded for the jury to return with a recommendation of life in prison without the possibility of parole, saying Hazlett had become a good citizen and family man in the decades since the killing and would not get out of prison even if jurors rejected the death penalty. Hazletts fate now rests with Judge Michael Bush, who must consider the jurys recommendation but is not bound to follow it. However, it would be uncommon for the judge not to impose the recommended sentence. Bush will formally impose sentence on July 14. Hazlett was victim Tana Woolleys next-door neighbor when the 20-year-old college student was found dead in her apartment Oct. 25, 1978. She was Miss Rosamond in 1976. The case was cold for years until an investigator cracked open the case. DNA found at the crime scene later was proved to be Hazletts and he was arrested in 2002. William Woolley, Tanas father, said the jurys decision was justified, although he had mixed feelings about the death penalty and feels sorry for Hazletts family. "If an animal kills somebody, you kill the animal," Woolley said. "Hes an animal." (source: Bakersfield Californian) ******************* Death Penalty Sought For Accused Valentine's Day Killer----Suspect Is Believed To Kill Two Former Girlfriends Officials announced Wednesday they would seek the death penalty for the man they think killed two of his ex-girlfriends. Authorities suspect Mark Jeffery Brown, 45, killed Faye Williams, 40, last year on Valentine's Day. They also believe he killed Charmaine Cannon, 37 in June of 1995. Brown, 44, and Williams lived together for 8 years, but she had started dating someone else shortly before her death. Witnesses say they were arguing in their City Heights apartment the day she disappeared. 7 weeks later, her body was found in a riverbed along the Otay River valley in Chula Vista. Police said that after they took Brown into custody, they were able to use DNA evidence to connect him to Cannon's killing. Although Brown's trial is scheduled for October, it's not expected to begin until 2005. (source: NBC News San Diego) ************************** Prosecutor seeks death penalty in two girlfriend killings Prosecutors will seek the death penalty for a man accused of killing his former girlfriend last year and strangling another ex- girlfriend 9 years ago, it was announced today. Mark Jeffery Brown, 45, is charged with the Feb. 14, 2003, murder of 40-year-old Denny's waitress Faye Williams, and the June 28, 1995, murder of 37-year-old Charmaine Cannon. A special circumstance of multiple murders also is alleged. Deputy District Attorney Tracy Prior told Judge William Kennedy that her office will seek Brown's execution if he is convicted of all charges. After Brown was arrested for killing Williams, investigators found evidence - through advanced DNA testing unavailable in 1995 - that tied him to Cannon's murder, police said. A trial date is tentatively set for Oct. 4, but the proceedings are not expected to begin until next year. That's because Brown's attorney recently discovered a conflict and handed off the case to another lawyer. A status conference is scheduled for July 21. Williams' body was found on May 3, 2003, in the Otay River Valley near the Coors Amphitheatre in Chula Vista. The defendant was in jail on an arson charge at the time. Cannon's body was found in a City Heights apartment in 1995 by county marshals serving an eviction notice. (source: San Diego Union-Tribune) *********************** Marital Arts Teacher Faces Death Penalty A martial arts teacher is being ordered to stand trial for allegedly killing a man with a chokehold. Rafiel Torre was held for trial yesterday in connection with the 2001 death of Bryan Richards. The 32-year-old Rancho Cucamonga man was found in the bed of his pickup truck in the parking lot of a supermarket. Torre is charged with murder with a special circumstance of murder for financial gain and could be eligible for the death penalty if convicted. Prosecutors contend that Torre killed the man because he was having an affair with his wife and to collect on Richards' one million dollar life insurance policy. A former friend testified yesterday that Torre said he acted in self-defense after Richards went to his martial arts studio with a gun and confronted him about the affair. Torre has pleaded not guilty. (source: KABC TV News) US MILITARY: Local soldier won't face death penalty in spy case The local soldier accused of trying to spy for the al-Qaida terrorist network will not face the death penalty, the Army said Wednesday. National Guard Spc. Ryan Gibson Anderson of Lynnwood was arrested in February after a sting operation by the Army and federal officers. He was charged with attempting to give intelligence to the enemy, attempting to aid the enemy and providing information to people he believed were members of al-Qaida. Anderson, who graduated from Everett's Cascade High School in 1995 and converted to Islam about 5 years ago, had his 1st military court appearance in May. Fort Lewis officials said Wednesday he will not face the death penalty, and will face arraignment for a general court-martial on Friday. The arraignment is expected to last 15 minutes. Anderson is an armor crewman in Alpha Company, 1/303rd Armor Regiment of the 81st Armor Brigade. He was taken into custody on the eve of his brigades deployment to Iraq. In charges filed earlier, the Army claimed Anderson tried to give intelligence to the enemy on Jan. 23 and Feb. 10 about U.S. Army troop strength, movements, equipment, tactics, and weapon systems, as well as "methods and means of killing U.S. Army personnel and destroying U.S Army weapon systems and equipment." (source: Everett (Washington) Herald) USA: Violent culture creates apathy about torture Re: Connect the dots on prison torture The apathy of the American public regarding the torture of Iraqi and Afghan prisoners is disheartening but not surprising. I wish Anne Applebaum had gone a step further and tried to highlight with her eloquence and insight the origin of this apathy. Is not this the same public that witnesses with righteous satisfaction the execution of prisoners, that calls for harsher punishment of convicted felons, that reacts to the news of assault weapons massacres with stronger support of the NRA and free access to guns? To add insult to injury, this same public feigns a righteous indignation toward abortion, while fostering the very culture of violence from which abortion and any other forms of assault to human life stem. The main legacy of the Reagan years, embraced and developed by the present administration, has been the loss of the sense of human decency. We have learned to feel good about ourselves by eliminating any sense of social guilt, a process also known as "blame the victim." We now justify revenge through capital punishment as "sense of closure." We blame the homeless for their own poverty, the sick for their own diseases, the innocent victims of shootings for not carrying a gun themselves. How different is this attitude from that of the soldiers who enjoyed torturing and humiliating potential terrorists? (source: Anne Applebaumn, Letter to the Editor, St. Petersburg Tribune) NORTH CAROLINA: Groups urge approval for death penalty moratorium More than a year ago, the state Senate approved a death penalty moratorium for North Carolina. That action sent it on to the House for consideration and that's where it has sat since. But several groups are trying to relight the fires of action on the issue. Members of the North Carolina Black Leadership Caucus, NAACP and the Triangle Urban League gathered at the legislative building on Wednesday to urge House leaders to allow the bill to come to a vote this session. Supporters said suspending the death penalty for 2 years would give the state time to study the system's flaws. "And if it says the moratorium has proven we are doing it in a fair way; if it proves that everything is going along fine, we've dotted our Is and crossed our T's, if the study said that, then our clients are still there. They're still locked up. They aren't going anywhere. You can crank up the killing machine all over again," said Rep. Larry Womble, N.C. Black Leadership Caucus. Currently the bill is in the rules committee. In order to gain approval, it would need to survive 1 vote at the committee level and 2 in the state House itself. (source; News 14) ************************ Black leaders call for death penalty moratorium vote in House Next to a large photo of two men exonerated of murder in the last 6 months, some of the state's top black leaders urged House members Wednesday to abandon politics and bring a proposed death penalty moratorium to a vote. Rep. Earl Jones, D-Guilford, was among those who argued that some lawmakers fear supporting the 2-year moratorium would hurt their re-election chances. "We are in a political year. People want to ignore that," Jones said. "Politics is a driving force. The elections are in November. That's the problem." Another problem is that House Co-Speakers Jim Black, D-Mecklenburg, and Richard Morgan, R-Moore, have agreed not to address any controversial legislation during this short session, so lawmakers can focus on crafting a balanced budget. Moratorium supporters contend they have a bipartisan coalition of at least 61 votes to bring the issue to the House floor. That would also be enough votes to pass the legislation, if the coalition remained intact. The Senate passed similar legislation last session, making history as the first Southern legislative body to approve a moratorium. The proposal would halt executions while the death penalty is studied for fairness. Prosecutions and sentencings would continue during the hiatus. "Our clients (death row inmates) are still there. They're not going anywhere," said Rep. Larry Womble, D-Forsyth. "You can crank up the killing machine again." A recent poll funded by the North Carolina Council of Churches, which supports the pause in executions, found that nearly two-thirds of the state's residents support a moratorium. Womble and others also pointed to a study released last week by the North Carolina Center for Public Policy Research that showed those who kill whites receive the death penalty twice as often than those who kill minorities. Black leaders also referred several times to the cases of Alan Gell and Daryl Hunt. Gell spent 6 years on death row for the fatal shooting of a Bertie County man before being released earlier this year after he was found innocent at a retrial. Gell's original conviction resulted from questionable testimony by two co-defendants, and the prosecutors who won that trial are now under investigation for withholding evidence. Hunt spent 18 years in prison for the slaying of a Winston-Salem woman before DNA evidence exonerated him in December and implicated another man, who has since confessed to the crime. "Why have a moratorium?" Larry Hall of the North Carolina Black Leadership Caucus asked while pointing to the photo of Gell and Hunt propped on an easel. "I think these 2 gentlemen say it all." In the absence of House action, Gov. Mike Easley should issue an administrative order halting executions and authorizing a study, said Melvin "Skip" Alston, president of the state branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. "We call upon the governor to do what is right," Alston said. "We're going to be holding him accountable." Easley has said he doesn't support a moratorium. "We're only asking for what is right," Alston said. "I think they should listen." (source: Associated Press) ILLINOIS: Murder suspect in Du Quoin will not face death penalty Officials in Perry County say they will not seek the death penalty against 21-year-old James Bagley if he is convicted in the brutal 2003 murder of 19-year-old Marshall Irvin. Irvins body was found in a Du Quoin apartment shared by Bagley and his girlfriend, 32-year-old Mindy Creekpaum on September 7, 2003. Irvin was stabbed with scissors and beaten with a sledgehammer. Perry County States Attorney David Stanton said if Bagley is convicted, they would seek a sentence of life in prison without parole. Meanwhile, Creekpaum will be tried in September on charged of murder and obstructing justice. Both are being held in the Perry County Jail in Pinckneyville on $100,000 bond. (source: Chicago Sun-Times)
