Francis A. Boyle Law Building 504 E. Pennsylvania Ave. Champaign, IL 61820 USA 217-333-7954 (voice) 217-244-1478 (fax) fbo...@law.uiuc.edu (personal comments only)
-----Original Message----- From: Boyle, Francis Sent: Saturday, April 02, 2005 11:26 AM To: Boyle, Francis; 'Florida_Support'; 'Death Penalty (Death Penalty)'; 'nppr...@compar.com'; 'thenobelpeaceprizetor...@yahoogroups.com'; deathpenalty...@yahoogroups.com Cc: 'Abraham J. Bonowitz'; 'Karl Keys Esq.'; 'Teresa Norris'; 'Sissel Egeland' Subject: RE: Terri Schiavo-- Read the FAQ Importance: High Despite repeated requests to Abe to be removed from his bogus little list because of his disgraceful act of censorship of my criticisms of Florida's judicial torture/murder/execution of Terri Schiavo, he has refused to do so. Consequently, I will putting Abolish on my Filter list. Adieu. Francis A. Boyle Professor of Law Board of Directors, Amnesty International USA (1988-92) Francis A. Boyle Law Building 504 E. Pennsylvania Ave. Champaign, IL 61820 USA 217-333-7954 (voice) 217-244-1478 (fax) fbo...@law.uiuc.edu (personal comments only) -----Original Message----- From: Boyle, Francis Sent: Saturday, April 02, 2005 9:59 AM To: Florida_Support; Death Penalty (Death Penalty); nppr...@compar.com; 'thenobelpeaceprizetor...@yahoogroups.com' Cc: 'Abraham J. Bonowitz'; Karl Keys Esq.; Teresa Norris; Sissel Egeland Subject: RIP:Terri Schiavo-- Read the FAQ Importance: High Abe censored me off the list because he did not like my comments about the judicial execution by Judge Greer of Terri Schiavo in violation of the Convention against Torture, the US Anti-Torture Statute, The Torture Victim Protection Act, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.And this despite the fact that he had posted on Schiavo himself. As a matter of principle, and standing in solidarity with Terri Schiavo and her family , I ask to be removed from this Abolish list for good. I want nothing more to do with Abe's bogus little list. I am deleting Abolish from my PAB. In the future, I will post on Florida Support and other DP lists. Francis A. Boyle Professor of Law Board of Directors, Amnesty International USA (1988-92) Francis A. Boyle Law Building 504 E. Pennsylvania Ave. Champaign, IL 61820 USA 217-333-7954 (voice) 217-244-1478 (fax) fbo...@law.uiuc.edu (personal comments only) -----Original Message----- From: Abolish - The Mailing List For People Working to Abolish the Death Penalty [mailto:abol...@maelstrom.stjohns.edu] On Behalf Of Abraham J. Bonowitz Sent: Saturday, April 02, 2005 9:49 AM To: abol...@maelstrom.stjohns.edu Subject: Read the FAQ Greetings All, Francis' membership on this list has now been set to restricted status and his posts will not come through to this list without first being approved by one of the list owners. Again, I offer a reminder to read the FAQ and stay within the posting guidelines. The link to the FAQ is at the bottom of every message posted to this list. --abe Abolish List Co-Owner, along with Karl & Teresa ************************************************************** THE ABOLISH LIST This list serves solely as a forum for the exchange of ideas and information by people who support alternatives to the death penalty and the immediate abolition of Capital Punishment. Abolist List FAQ: http://capitaldefenseweekly.com/abolishfaq.htm Archives: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/abolish.html ************************************************************** From fbo...@law.uiuc.edu Sat Apr 2 14:34:20 2005 From: fbo...@law.uiuc.edu (Boyle, Francis) Date: Tue Aug 16 12:15:44 2005 Subject: [Deathpenalty]RIP:John Paul II & Terri Schiavo-- Read the FAQ Message-ID: <3c9010c6652ab645bc025f2372a86bb219ddf...@mail.law.uiuc.edu> Just before he died the Pope authorized a spokesperson to state in his name that Terri Schiavo was murdered and that all the judges and politicians involved bore responsibility. fab. Francis A. Boyle Law Building 504 E. Pennsylvania Ave. Champaign, IL 61820 USA 217-333-7954 (voice) 217-244-1478 (fax) fbo...@law.uiuc.edu (personal comments only) -----Original Message----- From: Boyle, Francis Sent: Saturday, April 02, 2005 9:59 AM To: Florida_Support; Death Penalty (Death Penalty); nppr...@compar.com; 'thenobelpeaceprizetor...@yahoogroups.com' Cc: 'Abraham J. Bonowitz'; Karl Keys Esq.; Teresa Norris; Sissel Egeland Subject: RIP:Terri Schiavo-- Read the FAQ Importance: High Abe censored me off the list because he did not like my comments about the judicial execution by Judge Greer of Terri Schiavo in violation of the Convention against Torture, the US Anti-Torture Statute, The Torture Victim Protection Act, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.And this despite the fact that he had posted on Schiavo himself. As a matter of principle, and standing in solidarity with Terri Schiavo and her family , I ask to be removed from this Abolish list for good. I want nothing more to do with Abe's bogus little list. I am deleting Abolish from my PAB. In the future, I will post on Florida Support and other DP lists. Francis A. Boyle Professor of Law Board of Directors, Amnesty International USA (1988-92) Francis A. Boyle Law Building 504 E. Pennsylvania Ave. Champaign, IL 61820 USA 217-333-7954 (voice) 217-244-1478 (fax) fbo...@law.uiuc.edu (personal comments only) -----Original Message----- From: Abolish - The Mailing List For People Working to Abolish the Death Penalty [mailto:abol...@maelstrom.stjohns.edu] On Behalf Of Abraham J. Bonowitz Sent: Saturday, April 02, 2005 9:49 AM To: abol...@maelstrom.stjohns.edu Subject: Read the FAQ Greetings All, Francis' membership on this list has now been set to restricted status and his posts will not come through to this list without first being approved by one of the list owners. Again, I offer a reminder to read the FAQ and stay within the posting guidelines. The link to the FAQ is at the bottom of every message posted to this list. --abe Abolish List Co-Owner, along with Karl & Teresa ************************************************************** THE ABOLISH LIST This list serves solely as a forum for the exchange of ideas and information by people who support alternatives to the death penalty and the immediate abolition of Capital Punishment. Abolist List FAQ: http://capitaldefenseweekly.com/abolishfaq.htm Archives: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/abolish.html ************************************************************** From fbo...@law.uiuc.edu Sat Apr 2 14:36:10 2005 From: fbo...@law.uiuc.edu (Boyle, Francis) Date: Tue Aug 16 12:15:44 2005 Subject: [Deathpenalty]FW: John Paul II & Terri Schiavo-- Read the FAQ Message-ID: <3c9010c6652ab645bc025f2372a86bb219ddf...@mail.law.uiuc.edu> Francis A. Boyle Law Building 504 E. Pennsylvania Ave. Champaign, IL 61820 USA 217-333-7954 (voice) 217-244-1478 (fax) fbo...@law.uiuc.edu (personal comments only) -----Original Message----- From: Boyle, Francis Sent: Saturday, April 02, 2005 2:34 PM To: Boyle, Francis; 'Florida_Support'; 'Death Penalty (Death Penalty)'; 'nppr...@compar.com'; 'thenobelpeaceprizetor...@yahoogroups.com'; 'Sissel Egeland' Subject: RIP:John Paul II & Terri Schiavo-- Read the FAQ Just before he died the Pope authorized a spokesperson to state in his name that Terri Schiavo was murdered and that all the judges and politicians involved bore responsibility. fab. Francis A. Boyle Law Building 504 E. Pennsylvania Ave. Champaign, IL 61820 USA 217-333-7954 (voice) 217-244-1478 (fax) fbo...@law.uiuc.edu (personal comments only) -----Original Message----- From: Boyle, Francis Sent: Saturday, April 02, 2005 9:59 AM To: Florida_Support; Death Penalty (Death Penalty); nppr...@compar.com; 'thenobelpeaceprizetor...@yahoogroups.com' Cc: 'Abraham J. Bonowitz'; Karl Keys Esq.; Teresa Norris; Sissel Egeland Subject: RIP:Terri Schiavo-- Read the FAQ Importance: High Abe censored me off the list because he did not like my comments about the judicial execution by Judge Greer of Terri Schiavo in violation of the Convention against Torture, the US Anti-Torture Statute, The Torture Victim Protection Act, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.And this despite the fact that he had posted on Schiavo himself. As a matter of principle, and standing in solidarity with Terri Schiavo and her family , I ask to be removed from this Abolish list for good. I want nothing more to do with Abe's bogus little list. I am deleting Abolish from my PAB. In the future, I will post on Florida Support and other DP lists. Francis A. Boyle Professor of Law Board of Directors, Amnesty International USA (1988-92) Francis A. Boyle Law Building 504 E. Pennsylvania Ave. Champaign, IL 61820 USA 217-333-7954 (voice) 217-244-1478 (fax) fbo...@law.uiuc.edu (personal comments only) -----Original Message----- From: Abolish - The Mailing List For People Working to Abolish the Death Penalty [mailto:abol...@maelstrom.stjohns.edu] On Behalf Of Abraham J. Bonowitz Sent: Saturday, April 02, 2005 9:49 AM To: abol...@maelstrom.stjohns.edu Subject: Read the FAQ Greetings All, Francis' membership on this list has now been set to restricted status and his posts will not come through to this list without first being approved by one of the list owners. Again, I offer a reminder to read the FAQ and stay within the posting guidelines. The link to the FAQ is at the bottom of every message posted to this list. --abe Abolish List Co-Owner, along with Karl & Teresa ************************************************************** THE ABOLISH LIST This list serves solely as a forum for the exchange of ideas and information by people who support alternatives to the death penalty and the immediate abolition of Capital Punishment. Abolist List FAQ: http://capitaldefenseweekly.com/abolishfaq.htm Archives: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/abolish.html ************************************************************** From rhalp...@mail.smu.edu Sat Apr 2 22:42:35 2005 From: rhalp...@mail.smu.edu (Rick Halperin) Date: Tue Aug 16 12:15:44 2005 Subject: [Deathpenalty] death penalty news----CALIF., PENN., IND., TEXAS, VER. Message-ID: <pine.wnt.4.44.0504022242260.2804-100...@its08705.smu.edu> April 2 CALIFORNIA: Bloody clothing prompts query in Cooper case -- COVERALLS: A former deputy explains why he discarded possible evidence in 4 slayings. Cooper hearing-- A former deputy acknowledges he violated Sheriff's Department policy when he disposed of coveralls that might have been evidence in the murder investigation. Another former deputy testifies he doesn't remember initialing the form to dispose of the coveralls. A former San Bernardino County deputy admitted Friday that he improperly destroyed bloody coveralls collected during the investigation that led to the conviction of Kevin Cooper for the 1983 murders of 4 Chino Hills residents. Who made that decision was the crux of the evidentiary hearing Friday in U.S. District Court in San Diego, where 2 former Yucaipa substation deputies were subpoenaed to testify. Cooper remains on San Quentin Prison's death row after a federal appeals court stayed his execution in February 2004 to allow evidence to be reviewed. Cooper was convicted in 1985 of the knife-and-hatchet murders in Chino Hills of Doug and Peggy Ryen, both 41; their 10-year-old daughter, Jessica; and friend Christopher Hughes, 11. The Ryens' son, Joshua, 8, survived despite having his throat slashed. Attorneys for Cooper have requested various scientific tests to exonerate their client. After the slayings, Diana Roper of Mentone called deputies to say she found potentially bloody coveralls in a closet at her home. She told Deputy Fred Eckley that they belonged to her estranged boyfriend or husband, Lee Furrow, who was on parole at the time after serving time for strangling a woman to death. Roper has since died. In 1984, Eckley testified that the coveralls possibly had blood "splattered and splashed" below the knees and were covered with sweat, dirt, manure and hair. Testifying at Friday's hearing, Eckley, who is no longer a deputy, acknowledged that he threw out the coveralls. "When I ran it by the supervisor, we didn't think it (Roper's story) had much credibility," he said. Eckley said that he sent paperwork about the coveralls to homicide investigators and district attorney's officials. After not hearing a response for six months, he decided they must not be of value. On Dec. 10, 1983, he filled out a form to dispose of the coveralls. According to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department procedure manual at the time, the property should have been retained until the case was completed. "So if you disposed of those coveralls on Dec. 10, 1983, you violated that rule," said David Alexander, Cooper's attorney. "It appears that way," Eckley replied. Former Senior Deputy Ken Schreckengost also testified Friday about how deputies handled and disposed of property and evidence in 1983. Schreckengost retired in 1997. His initials were on Eckley's disposition form in 1983 when the two were good friends. Schreckengost said that, while the initials looked like his, he did not remember reviewing the form. "Do you remember anything about this form?" asked Norman Hile, another attorney for Cooper. "No, I don't. It's been 23 years," Schreckengost said. Holly Wilkens, the state deputy attorney who is handling the Cooper case, said a federal judge decided in 1997 that the coveralls had no bearing on the investigation. In addition, Wilkens said, Furrow had left with a friend of Roper's on the night of the murder. Another hearing will be held in the same courthouse April 22. Mary Ann Hughes, mother of victim Christopher Hughes, has continued to attend court hearings since her son died. After Friday's hearing, she said she is frustrated with seeing the same issues rehashed. "There will always be another theory," she said. "There will always be another witness until a judge puts an end to this." (source: The Press-Enterprise) PENNSYLVANIA: County appealing case The Cambria County district attorney is seeking to reinstate the 1st-degree murder conviction of a death row inmate accused of killing an 80-year-old woman. District Attorney David Tulowitzki has filed a notice of appeal in the case against Ernest Simmons, a 47-year-old man convicted of robbing and killing Anna Knaze in her Johnstown home in May 1992, Tulowitzki said Thursday. Tulowitzki is asking the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia to overturn the ruling of federal Judge Sean McLaughlin, who in February ordered a new trial for Simmons, saying prosecutors withheld evidence. McLaughlin called Simmons' 1993 conviction "fundamentally unworthy of confidence," saying he discovered a pattern of prosecutorial misconduct. Robert Dunham, Simmons' attorney, could not immediately be reached for comment at his office Friday. (source: The Herald Standard) INDIANA: Prosecutor In 10-Year-Old's Murder Struggles For Funds To Try Suspect A shortage of funds is hampering the prosecution of the man accused of killing 10-year-old Katie Collman in January. The prosecutor says his office is nearly broke and county leaders say they'll have to raise taxes to pay for Charles Hickman's trial this fall. This fall, Jackson County Prosecutor Steve Pierson will try Charles "Chuckie" Hickman for murdering 10-year-old Katie Collman, a crime that gripped Kentuckiana. On Thursday, he begged county leaders for $1,500 in gas money. "This is for gas to run the investigator, in general. Richard runs out and serves subpoenas, he's driven to state prison to interview witnesses who happen to be incarcerated." There's no money for gas, no money for paper -- let alone the hundreds of thousands it will cost to prosecute Hickman for Collman's murder. "I have $700 in my office supplies account," Pierson said, "to last the rest of the year. And I have somewhere between 5,000 and 6,000 pages of Discovery I'll be required to give just to Mr. Hickman's lawyer alone." Faced with a budget deficit of more than $700,000 this year even without the trial, Jackson County Council President Ed Koerner says the no expense will be spared to bring Katie's killer to justice. "If we have to raise taxes, if that brings justice for a little girl's death, I think it's worth it," he said. Koerner has asked the state for financial help, which might be forthcoming if the county seeks the death penalty against Hickman. "There has been, I think, some areas in the state that money has come in to help offset the cost, yes." Crothersville residents were stunned that justice is tied to money. "I still don't see an issue with money," said one woman. "What's money got to do with it?" Harriet Thompson says there must be a way to solve the money problem. "Perhaps, under these circumstances, they could get someone to come in and not charge quite as much because it is a child." "The state and the county, they need to come up with some other way to come up with this money to try this man," said Barb Pearson. Blind justice? maybe not. "Money is what makes the world go 'round," Pierson said. "Everybody knows that." Pierson says his operating budget had already been reduced by more than 50 percent -- from $278,000 to $161,000 -- before Collman's murder. A death penalty case could cost the county as much as half a million dollars. (source: WAVE 3 News) TEXAS: ODIS HILL, FORMER GREGG COUNTY DA, DIES Odis R. Hill, a former Gregg County district attorney praised by friends and colleagues as a talented lawyer and mentor to others, died after a car accident Thursday night in Van Zandt County. He was 62. Glenn Perry, a friend and former law partner of Hill's, said by phone Friday that the legal and law enforcement professions in Longview are shocked by the news of his death. Perry had known Hill since 1975 and still shared office space with him in Longview. "He was a champion of the underdog," Perry said. "There's no telling how many people in this world he's helped out - both legally and outside the legal profession." Perry said he will be "sorely, sorely missed." According to a Texas Department of Public Safety fatality report, Hill was headed westbound on Interstate 20 at about 11:15 p.m. Thursday when he lost control of his vehicle, sliding across the median into eastbound lanes of traffic. Hill's vehicle struck a truck-tractor semi-trailer heading east. Hill, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected from his vehicle, according to the report. The roads were wet at the time of the accident. Perry said Hill was en route to Dallas for a business meeting set for Friday morning. Hill was a Longview attorney, admitted to the State Bar of Texas in 1966. He served as district attorney in Gregg County from 1975 to 1980. He prosecuted Joseph Stanley Faulder, a Canadian citizen who was convicted and sentenced to die for the 1975 murder of a Gladewater woman. The case gained attention because Faulder was in the eye of an international legal storm regarding the death penalty and whether he was properly notified of his legal rights as a Canadian. He was put to death in June 1999. Longview attorney Clifton "Scrappy" Holmes said he had known Hill since childhood. He tried cases against him when he was a district attorney, and they tried cases together as well. Holmes said they tried the 1st federal capital murder case after the death penalty was reinstated in the federal system in 1990. Holmes said Hill was a good friend, a good family guy and a good lawyer - "one of the best." Perry also said Hill was one of the best friends he ever had. "He had a wonderful capacity to relate to people. He liked people. He could relate to people of any walk of life," he said. He also had a great ability to talk and reason with people, he said, "which, of course, made him a terribly effective politician when he was in politics and an incredibly effective lawyer." Perry said Hill served as a mentor to generations of criminal defense lawyers. Gregg County District Attorney Bill Jennings said that during a 23-year-span, he learned a great deal from Hill "and a lot of it was about life." "Odis loved people and treated everyone with the same amount of respect," Jennings said in a prepared statement. "Odis would represent people for free if he believed in their position. Odis had so many friends you had difficulty picking a jury with him on the other side of a case. You never knew who he had helped in his walk through this world." Jennings said that in his opinion, Hill "was the best criminal defense lawyer in the state of Texas." Perry said not only was Hill "one of the best lawyers I ever knew and one of the best lawyers in Texas, he's just about the best granddaddy I ever heard of." He said Hill was a good family man, who was "crazy" about his grandchildren. "If you knew him, you just liked him," Perry said. "He had a great capacity to enjoy life. If you were around him, you kind of enjoyed life too." (source: Tyler Morning Telegraph) VERMONT----re: federal death penalty trial Vt. to see 1st death penalty case in 40 years Jury selection is due to begin next month in U.S. District Court in Burlington for Vermont's 1st death penalty trial in almost half a century. If federal prosecutors have their way, a Vermont jury will convict and then sentence to death Donald Fell for kidnapping Teresca King in Rutland and taking her to New York state where she was beaten to death as she pleaded for her life. Vermont doesn't have a death penalty but the federal government has jurisdiction in the case because King's death involved crossing state lines. Both defense attorneys and prosecutors are reluctant to discuss the specifics of the case so close to trial. But Fell's attorney, Alexander Bunin, an Albany, N.Y.-based public defender and a veteran of 2 state death penalty trials in Texas, said federal death trials are different. "The 1st phase is very fact based, it's the kind of trial that lawyers and people who watch cop shows are used to dealing with and understanding," said Bunin. "The big difference is there is a second trial on penalty where the issue before the jury is whether this particular human being deserves to die, has lost their moral entitlement to live," said Bunin. "In terms of atmospherics and legalities, it's a very different species of trial." Acting Vermont U.S. Attorney David Kirby said jury selection could take months. The trial itself could take six weeks to 2 months. A death penalty expert said he felt Fell could be sentenced to death. "It's pretty bewildering stuff because it's such an anomaly here. It's so un-Vermont," said Michael Mello, a professor at the Vermont Law School. "I think of Vermont as having a fairly liberal-progressive, political elite," said Mello. "I am not sure that's reflected in every day, ordinary Vermonters, the kind of folks who end up sitting on juries." Court records say Fell and Robert Lee, who were 20 and 21 at the time, were allegedly high on crack cocaine in November 2000 when they fatally stabbed Fell's mother Debra Fell and her friend Charles Conway in a Rutland apartment. Police said Fell and Lee then carjacked King, a 53-year-old Clarendon woman, in the parking lot of a downtown shopping plaza. Police said they drove to New York where King was beaten to death. Fell and Lee were arrested 3 days later in Arkansas. Fell and Lee were charged in federal court with carjacking and kidnapping with death resulting, which carries a possible death sentence. Lee hanged himself in prison in September 2001. Fell is being held without bail at the Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans. On May 3, attorneys will begin questioning a 1,000-member jury pool about their views on the death penalty. The number will be winnowed down to the 12-member jury with a yet-to-be determined number of alternates. "Basically anyone who says their views are so strong that they wouldn't be able to give both sides (of the death penalty issue) are excluded," Mello said. "In practice, most of the folks who end up getting tossed are death penalty opponents." The Fell case has taken on a high profile among federal death penalty watchers across the country. In 2002 U.S. District Court Judge William Sessions III, in a ruling as part of the Fell case, said the death penalty was unconstitutional. His opinion was subsequently overturned by the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in New York. Vermont hasn't executed a prisoner since 1954 and the state's last capital trial was in 1957; the defendant in that case was convicted but not executed. "There was every reason in the world not to seek the death penalty," Mello said of the Fell case. "It's an enormous expenditure of time and money, in the millions and the case will be tried by a judge who has already declared the federal death penalty unconstitutional in Vermont." Vermont had a potential capital case after the 1998 bombing in Fair Haven that killed Christopher Marquis. That case was settled in 1999 when the defendant, Chris William Dean, of Pierceton, Ind., then 37, pleaded guilty to a charge that he sent the bomb that killed Marquis to avenge a botched CB radio deal arranged over the Internet. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole. At that time U.S. Attorney Charles Tetzlaff said the difficulty of getting a jury to agree to execute Dean played into his decision to make the deal. Vermont federal prosecutors proposed a plea agreement with Fell that would have given him a life sentence. They were overruled by then-Attorney General John Ashcroft, Mello said. (source: Associated Press)
