August 31 TEXAS: BEST DEFENSE Career spent helping the poor----Texas' 1st public defender calls it quits after 30 years of service Houston's federal public defenders: - The beginning : Office started in 1974 with 5 attorneys. - And now : 54 attorneys. - Case load : Handles about 22,000 cases per year, including 7,000 felonies. -- The idea of a government-paid lawyer representing poor clients was less than popular in 1974, when Roland Dahlin became the 1st federal public defender in Texas. "There was public and political resistance to the concept of providing public assistance to citizens accused of crimes in (1974), especially funded by the government," attorney Mike DeGeurin recalled. DeGeurin, now one of Houston's most successful defense attorneys, was one of five lawyers Dahlin hired when he founded the office. Dahlin, 69, who retired Monday after 30 years as public defender for the Southern District of Texas, shrugged off the disapproval of many of his former colleagues at the Harris County District Attorney's Office and built a staff that top defense attorneys consider the best in the city. Young, able lawyers are eager to land a spot on the public defender's staff because of its reputation, said Robert Fickman, vice president of the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association. When Houston's best defense attorneys gathered at the federal courthouse recently to learn about the implications of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that could affect federal sentencing, the lecturer was Assistant Public Defender Brent Newton. Defense attorneys commonly seek advice from the Public Defender's Office because of its reputation and expertise, said lawyer George "Mac" Secrest, who worked for Dahlin before entering private practice. "The office is completely contrary to the conception that if you have a court-appointed lawyer, they must stink," Fickman said. "If you have a court-appointed lawyer and he comes from the Public, you're pretty lucky." The office also has gained the respect of its foes. "(Dahlin) is the best public defender in the country," said former federal prosecutor Ron Woods, now in private practice. "He has always run an excellent office, hired the best people and has the best people in the country." Even so, the office's achievements are largely unknown outside the legal community. It issues no press releases, and its attorneys only grudgingly divulge information to reporters. The low profile reflects Dahlin's demeanor. "He's low-key, the most modest man you will ever meet," Fickman said. "Just walking down the street you would think he was a shoe salesman." Unlike most other government jobs, Dahlin had to re-apply for his job every four years and pass the scrutiny of a panel of judges and lawyers. The chain of events that led to the Dallas native's appointment in 1974 began with the U.S. Supreme Court's 1963 ruling in Gideon v. Wainwright that every American accused of a crime has a right to counsel. Congress created public defenders' offices, but they were not required. By 1974, the only districts within the jurisdiction of the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals to adopt them were those based in Atlanta and Miami, Dahlin said. The 5th Circuit - which now covers Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana - then also included Alabama, Georgia and Florida. The 8 federal judges then in the Southern District of Texas, which now has 20, believed a public defender's office could cut costs and ensure more effective representation, Dahlin said. He resigned as assistant Harris County district attorney and hired five attorneys - 3 for Houston and 1 each for Brownsville and Laredo. The office now has 54 attorneys handling about 22,000 cases per year, including 7,000 felonies, Dahlin said. Public defenders handle about 75 % of all court-appointed cases. The rest are assigned to private attorneys. The office, which has 13 investigators, is up against the U.S. Attorney's Office, which can draw on the resources of federal investigative agencies, including the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service and postal inspectors. Margie Meyers, 48, who worked for Dahlin for 15 years, was appointed to replace him. She said she plans no changes. (source: Houston Chronicle) ********************************** Agofsky does not get new trial U.S. District Judge Thad Heartfield Friday denied a new trial to an inmate condemned to die for killing another man behind bars. Shannon Wayne Agofsky, 33, a federal prison inmate, was convicted July 16 in the brutal beating death of inmate Luther Plant. According to a ruling issued Friday, Shannon Agofsky's claims that his case had been harmed when a sealed defense document was faxed from the Bureau of Prisons to the U.S. Attorney's Office were groundless. The fax contained the names of inmate witnesses defense attorneys intended to call in Agofsky's trail. FBI agents subsequently went to the prison and attempted to question the inmates, who refused. Agofsky's counsel claimed its defense strategy was revealed when the prosecution got hold of its list of witnesses. Defense further claimed its case was harmed when inmates' credibility was questioned, based on their refusal to talk to FBI agents. Heartfield's ruling found Agofsky's defense strategy was not undermined. "There was no mystery as to the role self-defense would play in this trial," Heartfield's order stated. Further, he found the inmates' credibility was not harmed because they gave valid reasons for refusing to talk to FBI agents. (source: The Beaumont Enterprise) ALABAMA----impending exeution date//volunteer Execution date set for local convicted killer A Dothan man convicted of murdering his employer in the woods near Headland in 1998 and then using his debit card to obtain money to buy drugs will die by lethal injection in September. The Alabama Supreme Court on Monday set a Sept. 30 execution date for David Kevin Hocker. Hocker last year waived his right to appeal his capital murder conviction. He has been waiting on death row at Holman Prison in Atmore since 2000. Assistant Alabama Attorney General Clay Crenshaw said it is unusual for a convicted felon on death row to waive his right to appeal a capital sentence, but Hocker repeatedly told his office he didn't want an attorney and wanted to be executed for his crime. "He's been pretty consistent in writing letters to us," Crenshaw said. "He waived his appeals because he did it and he said he wanted to tell the truth about what happened and acknowledge the horrible act that he did." Hocker was convicted in October 2000 and sentenced to death for the March 1998 stabbing death of Jerry Wayne Robinson. Hocker was employed by Robinson, who owned Webb Detailing when the murder took place. Hocker had a history of brushes with the law and was living in a downtown Dothan motel and didn't have a car. On the day of the stabbing Robinson and Hocker went to a Dothan hardware store to buy materials to build a dog pen. Hocker lured Robinson to Headland where he planned to rob him by asking him to drive him there to pick up a microwave. According to testimony during his trial, Hocker stabbed Robinson in the chest and brutally beat him. He dragged Robinson's body into a wooded area near a field in Headland and took Robinson's truck and debit card which he later used to make cash withdrawals to buy $400 worth of crack cocaine. The investigation began after Robinson's wife, Connie, called police to report her husband missing after hadn't returned home from his trip to Dothan. Hocker was later observed in Dothan driving Robinson's 1996 GMC pickup truck. Mobile County sheriff's deputies found Robinson's truck abandoned in their jurisdiction and picked up Hocker 2 days after the murder for allegedly taking Robinson's truck. Hocker later led investigators to Robinson's body in a wooded area adjacent to a dirt lane in Headland. Robinson's body was found with a knife broken off in his chest. Hocker was known to sometimes sleep in the woods in the area where the body was recovered. Investigators later learned Hocker had planned to kill Robinson at his office that day but didn't do it because someone else was at work in the office that day. Hocker admitted to a Henry County judge to killing Robinson during his first appearance in court, but during his trial claimed he did it because Robinson had made sexual advances toward him. Three witnesses who testified during the trial refuted Hocker's claims about Robinson being a homosexual. A presentence investigation revealed Hocker had a history of violent behavior dating back to his early childhood which was filled with physical and emotional abuse by his father, who committed suicide when Hocker was 8 years old. Hocker's appeal of his capital murder conviction was rejected in April 2002 by the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals. He later made peace with God, apologized for his actions, and repudiated his earlier claim that Robinson had made unwanted sexual advances toward him as untrue. Houston County District Attorney Doug Valeska said Hocker's actions were deserving of the death penalty and that he has admitted what he did and is ready to accept his punishment. "Hocker is guilty," Valeska said. "He is ready to take his punishment and man enough to do it. He should get it. He told the judge he didn't want to appeal any more. It's time." Valeska said Hocker's case shows the death penalty is a deterrent when the appeals process isn't dragged out for 20 years. "It takes too long for death penalty sentences to be carried out. We're waiting 10, 15, 20 years to get any justice," Valeska said. "He admitted his sin and wanted to pay for his crime against the state and is hoping the Lord will forgive him." Pat Yeomans, Hocker's mother, said she is saddened to learn her son will die but knew it was coming for a long time. "I've been living with this shadow for all these years," Yeomans said. "I was well aware it could be anytime. He has been locked up long enough. This won't be any worse than having him locked up." Yeomans, who also apologized to Robinson's family years ago for her son's actions, said she takes comfort in the fact that prison turned her son's life around. "I have a wonderful son now. I am just thankful for that," Yeomans said. "Had he been out on the street I don't know if we would have been able to turn him around unfortunately." Execution is set for 6 p.m. on Sept. 30. Brian Corbett, spokesman for the Alabama Department of Corrections, said Hocker will be moved to a special holding cell near the execution chamber the Tuesday before he is set to receive lethal injection. He will be allowed to receive visitors and take phone calls the day of the execution. "He will remain in that cell up until execution time except for visitation time," Corbett said. The state will allow witnesses to be present during the execution including members of the victim's family. Hocker will be allowed to have up to three witnesses if he chooses, Corbett said. Valeska indicated he will be present at Hocker's execution. Alabama's last execution was on Aug. 5. The last man executed from Dothan was Herbert Richardson on Aug. 18, 1989 for the murder of Rena Mae Collins. (source: Dothan Eagle) CONNECTICUT----new death sentence Death penalty in killing A Hartford jury is sending a former Torrington man to Connecticut's death row. The jury today concluded that 24-year-old Eduardo Santiago should get the death penalty in a murder-for-hire case. Santiago has been convicted of killing a West Hartford man in exchange for a snowmobile. Santiago killed Joseph Niwinski in December of 2000 for Mark Pascual as Niwinski slept in his West Hartford apartment. Matthew Tyrell, a co-defendant, is serving a life sentence after taking a pre-deal 2 years ago. He testified against Santiago, as did Pascual. Pascual has accepted a plea deal and is to be sentenced to between 25 and 100 years. (source: Associated Press) VIRGINIA: Judge rejects sniper's double jeopardy claim A judge Monday rejected arguments from convicted sniper John Allen Muhammad that a second death-penalty prosecution in the 2002 killing spree would violate his constitutional protection against double jeopardy. Circuit Judge Jonathan Thacher agreed with Fairfax County prosecutors who said Muhammad lawyer Jonathan Shapiro's argument twisted the meaning of double jeopardy -- putting someone on trial twice for the same crime. Muhammad was convicted and sentenced to death last year for the October 9, 2002, murder of Dean Harold Meyers in Prince William County -- one in a string of sniper attacks over three weeks that instilled fear throughout metropolitan Washington. Prosecutors in Fairfax County are now seeking a capital murder conviction for the slaying of FBI analyst Linda Franklin. Commonwealth's Attorney Robert F. Horan Jr. said the 2nd prosecution is necessary in case the initial death sentence is overturned on appeal. Muhammad's lawyers, however, say the 2nd death-penalty case is tantamount to double jeopardy since prosecutors in Prince William presented not only evidence of Meyers' murder, but also extensive evidence of Franklin's slaying in order to elevate the crime to capital murder and pursue the death penalty. Also on Monday, Thacher delayed a ruling on defense claims the Franklin case violates Muhammad's right to a speedy trial. Defense lawyer Peter Greenspun said because Muhammad was indicted in November 2002, he was entitled to a trial as soon as April 2003 under Virginia's speedy trial law. Horan countered that the law, which requires a trial within 5 months, pertains to the time of arrest; Muhammad was not formally arrested until May. On Tuesday, Thacher will hear arguments on a defense motion for a change of venue. The 1st trials of Muhammad and accomplice Lee Boyd Malvo were moved out of northern Virginia because of intense publicity and the fear that swept the region during the sniper killings. (source: Associated Press) CALIFORNIA: DEATH PENALTY FOCUS For Immediate Release For More Information: Lance Lindsey: 415-243-0143 August 31, 2004 CALIFORNIA SENATE ESTABLISHES COMMISSION TO STUDY FLAWS OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM -- Convictions of Innocent Persons, Systemic Flaws Targeted Death Penalty Focus, the nation's largest membership-based organization working to abolish capital punishment in America, applauds the historic action taken last Friday by the California State Senate, which voted to create a commission to "study and review the administration of criminal justice in California." A copy of the resolution follows. The new commission, entitled the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice, is empowered to study the extent to which California's criminal justice system has failed in the past, resulting in wrongful executions or the wrongful conviction of innocent persons, and "to examine ways of providing safeguards and making improvements in the way the criminal justice system functions" in the nation's largest state. The members of the commission will be appointed by the Senate Rules Committee. The Senate voted 23-12 to create the commission, with four senators abstaining or not voting. John Burton, outgoing President Pro-Tem of the Senate, introduced the resolution. Creation of the justice commission follows a series of reports and developments drawing attention to the flaws of California's criminal justice system in general, and its death penalty system in particular. 2 recent cases of wrongful conviction in California involved Harold Hall, released last week after serving 19 years for a double murder that he did not commit, and Thomas Lee Goldstein, who served 24 years before he was able to prove his innocence. Both men were convicted in Los Angeles County and both convictions were based, in part, on unreliable testimony from informants. In January, 2003, the Santa Clara Law Review published a lengthy study of California's death penalty system, and identified more than 80 flaws including the lack of standardized, independent DNA testing; lack of state-wide qualifications, education and training of judges and lawyers handling capital cases, and the lack of training for homicide detectives and lawyers regarding the unreliability of "jailhouse snitches." "We applaud the Senate's vision in taking this important step," says Lance Lindsey, executive director of Death Penalty Focus. "But the only way to be 100% sure that California doesn't wrongfully execute someone is to declare a 'time out' on executions until we know for sure whether our criminal justice is working or not." More than 630 people await execution on California's death row. The Senate resolution calls for the new commission to submit its findings and recommendations to the legislature and the governor by December 31, 2007. Stefanie L. Faucher---Program Director, Death Penalty Focus (source: Death Penalty Focus)
