Nov. 10 TENNESSEE: Court stays execution of Shelby killer A federal court in Memphis stayed the execution of a Shelby County man on Wednesday, less than a week before he was scheduled to be put to death. Donnie Johnson, 53, was convicted in 1985 of suffocating his 30-year-old wife, Connie, on Dec. 8, 1984 by stuffing a plastic garbage bag into her mouth. In August, the Tennessee Supreme Court set a Nov. 16 execution date, but U.S. District Judge Bernice Donald granted Johnson a stay because of 2 other death row cases - Abu-Ali Abdur'Rahman and Philip Workman - pending in the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Cincinnati. "The Court finds that the Petitioner has established that he maintains a likelihood of success on his motion for relief from judgment," the order said. "Given this Court's and the Sixth Circuit's treatment of similar cases, the Court finds that the equities favor issuance of a stay of execution in this matter." The 2 other death row cases both deal with claims of prosecutorial misconduct, an issue Johnson has also raised. Johnson's federal public defender, Chris Minton, declined to comment, citing a new policy by his office not to speak to the media. Sharon Curtis-Flair, spokeswoman state Attorney General Paul Summers, also declined to comment. Johnson was convicted after a work-release inmate, Ronnie McCoy, testified that he left Johnson and his wife alone for about 15 minutes at a camping center that Johnson managed. McCoy said he came back, found her dead and helped Johnson dispose of her body by leaving it in her van at the Mall of Memphis, where it was found the next day. Johnson has maintained his innocence and accuses McCoy of robbing and killing his wife. Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Adolpho A. Birch was the only dissenting justice for setting an execution date in August. Birch wrote he believed Johnson raised a valid legal issue when he showed that his trial counsel had previously represented McCoy, which represented a conflict of interest. (source: Associated Press) ALABAMA: Jurors hand Dothan man second death sentence in triple homicide Jurors in Houston County Tuesday recommended the death penalty -- a 2nd time -- for a Dothan man already convicted on capital murder charges in an 8-year-old triple homicide case. Last year the Alabama Supreme Court overturned the death sentence given to Jerry Jerome Smith because defense lawyers were not allowed to introduce mitigating evidence about mental retardation in Smith's family. Smith was originally convicted in 1998 for the execution-style killings of Willie Flournoy of Dothan, Theresa Ann Helms of Wicksburg and David Bennett of Midland City. The murders occurred in 1996. District Attorney Doug Valeska said Flournoy was targeted because of a 15-hundred dollar drug debt. He said the other victims were slain for no apparent reason. Valeska also argued that despite Smith's low I-Q, he was smart enough to run a street-level drug operation and hide the weapon used in the killings. (source: Associated Press) ARKANSAS: Arkansas Prosecutors Seek Death Penalty For Oklahoma Man In Bentonville, prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty for an Oklahoma man who was charged with capital murder in the killing of a former Maysville fire chief for financial gain. Billy Joe Wolfe Jr., 34, of Jay, Okla., was being held without bond in the death of William Chetlee Janes on Dec. 3. Wolfe was arrested in Oklahoma for the murder and extradited to Arkansas. He also faces charges that he kidnapped Janes and his girlfriend, who witnessed the shooting. Authorities say Janes was shot to death on his couch and a woman at the home was abducted and then raped. According to an affidavit, Janes was shot in the head with a .22 caliber rifle. Wade Alan Taff told authorities that he went to Janes' home with Wolfe to buy marijuana and that Wolfe shot Janes after arguing with him. A pretrial hearing was set for Feb. 10. A jury trial was scheduled for April 25. (source: Associated Press) NEBRASKA----new death sentence Nebraska man gets death sentence for bank robbery In Madison, a Nebraska court has sentenced a 23-year-old man to death for a botched bank robbery in which 4 employees and a customer were killed. Last December, a jury convicted Jorge Galindo of 5 counts of murder for his part in the 2002 shooting deaths at a U-S Bank branch about 90 miles northeast of Omaha. Surveillance tapes show the gunmen were in the bank for only 40 seconds. It was one of the deadliest heists in U-S history. Galindo showed no emotion as the verdict was read. His lawyer says he'll appeal. The 3-judge panel rejected defense arguments that Galindo's judgment was clouded by drugs and that he faced pressure from the ringleader. They said his cooperation with police doesn't outweigh his lack of remorse. The ringleader and another defendant also face the death penalty. They're awaiting sentencing hearings. A 4th man was convicted of acting as a lookout, and sentenced to 5 life terms. (source: Associated Press) KENTUCKY: Fletcher ignoring problems with Bowling execution Dear Editor: Gov. Ernie Fletcher has set a date of Nov. 30 for Kentucky's third execution since 1976. The condemned man is Thomas C. Bowling. He was found guilty of shooting Tina and Eddie Early in 1990. Bowling is marginally retarded and thus incapable of helping much in his own defense. His clemency petition states that when he was a child, "his mother had to lay out his clothes and force him to get dressed for school. He continuously appeared to be in a 'dreamy' state as he stared into space and failed to respond to anyone who attempted to gain his attention. He could not comprehend his parent's instructions and had to be told what to do over and over again. Even into his teenage years, ... his parents had to force him to take showers and inspect him to make sure he was clean for school." Bowling's trial lawyers did not raise this issue, and were generally ineffective. They failed to present any witnesses during the guilt/innocence stage of his trial. The evidence against him is purely circumstantial. Prosecutors failed to establish any motive. No witness was able to pick Bowling out of a line-up. Ballistic evidence failed to link Bowling's gun to the shooting victims. The lethal injection procedure used by Kentucky and many other states is often a form of torture. After injecting an anesthetic, the executioner then administers Pavulon, which induces complete muscular paralysis and lung collapse, and finally a chemical that causes a heart attack. Toxicology evidence indicates that Edward Lee Harper, the last person executed in Kentucky, was very likely conscious during his entire execution. He would have experienced the agony of drowning and of having a heart attack while Pavulon made it impossible for him to show his pain by a gesture or facial expression. The use of Pavulon in euthanizing animals is condemned as inhumane by the American Veterinary Medical Association. But the state of Kentucky is about to use it once more on a human being. Governor Fletcher, a doctor and lay preacher, has been told about these problems, but he has decided to ignore them. Perhaps the good doctor is catering to his political base, the constituency that proclaims its dedication to "moral values." Brian Cooney -- Danville (source: Letter to the Editor, Danville Advocate-Messenger) TEXAS----impending executions Execution reset for S.A. graduate The execution of a former San Antonio resident has been reset for next week after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to consider his case. Troy Kunkle, who killed a father of two during a joyride to Corpus Christi 20 years ago, is scheduled to die Nov. 18. Now 38, the Roosevelt High School graduate came within 9 hours of lethal injection in July when the Supreme Court stayed the execution pending further review. That stay dissolved last month when the court refused to hear the appeal. Kunkle's lawyers had argued that the Nueces County jury might have spared the teenage defendant if they had heard about child abuse and other hardships he endured. (source: San Antonio Express-News) ********************** Pending Execution Of McWilliams No final appeals are pending for convicted killer Frederick McWilliams as he faces execution Wednesday night in Huntsville. The 30-year-old former warehouseman was condemned for the 1996 shooting death of Alfonso Rodriguez during a car theft in Houston. At the time of the slaying, McWilliams was on probation for armed robberies and had been linked to other holdups. The U.S. Court earlier this year refused to review the case. A defense attorney says appeals have been exhausted for McWilliams. A clemency petition and a request for a 180-day reprieve for McWilliams were rejected by the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. His execution would be the 22nd this year in Texas and the second in as many nights in Huntsville. (source: KXAN News)
