JUNE 2005 EXECUTION ALERT Scheduled Executions: June 2: Jerry Paul Henderson: (AL) http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=7 78 June 7: Alexander Martinez (TX) http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=8 04 June 9: Robert McConnell (NV): http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=6 65 June 22: Michael A. Lambert (IN): http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=6 66 June 30: Charles Dean Hood (TX): * alert will be posted to www.ncadp.org <http://www.ncadp.org/> Alabama Jerry Paul Henderson June 2, 2005 6:00 p.m. CST http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=7 78 On June 2, 2005, the state of Alabama is scheduled to execute Jerry Paul Henderson, a 58-year-old white man, via lethal injection for the January 1984 murder of Jerry Wayne Haney in Talladega County. Henderson killed Jerry Haney, his brother-in-law, on Jan. 1, 1984, in a murder-for-hire scheme orchestrated by Jerry Haney's wife, Judy. In May 1988, Henderson was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death. Judy is currently serving a life term of imprisonment without the possibility of parole for her involvement in her husband's death. The murder-for-hire scheme was apparently hatched after Judy and her children, Tonya and Gary, came to stay with Henderson and his wife, Judy's sister, in December 1983. Judy and the children fled to the Henderson's home in an effort to escape Jerry Haney's aggressive personality and abusive behavior. Evidence and testimony indicates that Jerry Haney possessed an "uncontrollable temper." That temper often manifested itself in the forms of physical and verbal abuse. Speaking of the December 1993 visit by Judy and her children, Henderson stated, "Judy mentioned that Jerry was coming after them [and] Tonya went into hysterics, saying that she didn't want her daddy to come get her [.] I could see terror in her eyes. Excuse me. I've never mistreated or hurt [a] child. I don't believe-I become very angry when somebody does. I'm sorry, but it's just in me. I can't stand it, I just become over angry and I just couldn't control myself." A pre-trial psychological evaluation of Henderson demonstrated that his inability to "control himself" was a result of a troubled upbringing. Henderson was shipped around to various relatives throughout his childhood, never feeling as though he was truly loved by anyone-with the exception of his grandmother. Sadly, she passed away when Henderson was just 10-years-old. A psychologist testified at trial that this experience of a nomadic childhood, marked by feelings of dejection, produced in Henderson a "feeling to protect children." Henderson has argued that his sentence was largely a product of ineffective assistance of counsel-claiming that his trial counsel put on virtually no defense during the trial's guilt/innocence phase and introduced only a minimal amount of mitigating evidence at sentencing. There may be some merit to Henderson's claim that his trial counsel performed deficiently. After all, it is difficult to fathom Henderson receiving zealous representation from a lead counsel who, at the trial's plea proceedings, asked the prosecution, "Do you think we will be to the sentencing phase by Thursday?" Unfortunately, Henderson's ineffective assistance of counsel claim was procedurally barred after he waived his right to a petition that would have allowed him to preserve the claim. Henderson contends that this waiver was not done knowingly, as he did not fully understand the petition. Instead, he claims that the waiver was done on the suggestion of the attorney that was representing him at the time, whom he had met for the first time only one day prior. If this is indeed true, it is very troubling, especially since this attorney possessed strong conflicts of interest-conflicts he failed to disclose to Henderson prior to representing him. Not only was the attorney's brother one of the prosecutors in Henderson's trial, but he possessed a strong friendship with Jerry Haney's brother. These conflicts of interest, coupled with comments made by the attorney since then, call into serious question whether he truly had Henderson's best interests at heart while representing him. Please contact Gov. Bob Riley and request that he halt the state of Alabama's planned execution of Jerry Paul Henderson. Texas Alexander Martinez June 7, 2005 6:00 p.m. CST http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=7 79 On June 7, 2005, the state of Texas is scheduled to execute Alexander Martinez, a 28-year-old Latino man, for the August 2001 murder of a 45-year-old Caucasian prostitute in Harris County. Martinez stabbed the prostitute to death on August 12, 2001 in the city of Houston. He does not deny responsibility for the murder nor attempt to justify his actions. Instead, he expresses deep regret and remorse. "There was no justification for what I did," says Martinez, "I am ashamed for what I did and I am a firm believer that actions speak louder than words." Martinez was convicted of first-degree murder on December 6, 2002 and sentenced to death. His conviction and sentence were affirmed on mandatory direct appeal. At a hearing on May 20, 2004, Martinez waived his right to all further appeals. In a recent letter in which he attempted to offer an explanation as to why he chose to forego his appeals, Martinez stated, "I don't want to be what I have come to be in this life. I don't want to simply exist in this life. I want to live a life where I have free will and choices to make for myself." He further remarks, "I have nothing to live for." Martinez's desire to be executed appears to be fueled by feelings of despair and hopelessness. By permitting Martinez's execution to proceed, Texas may very well be merely assisting in the suicide of a depressed individual. Please contact Gov. Rick Perry and express your conviction that Martinez's life should be spared. Nevada Robert McConnell June 9, 2005 9:00 a.m. pacific http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=8 04 The state of Nevada is scheduled to execute 32-year old Robert McConnell, a white man, on June 9, 2005 for the August 2002 murder of Brian Pierce in Washoe County. McConnell began dating April Robinson in 2000. In the spring of the following year, Robinson ended her relationship with McConnell. McConnell was terribly distraught over the break up, but Robinson quickly moved on. She soon began dating Pierce and roughly eight months later, the couple became engaged. McConnell never fully recovered from his breakup with Robinson. He candidly admitted at trial, "I should have got [some] counseling maybe to deal with some [.] issues." His closest friends attested to his inability to shake his feelings for Robinson, labeling McConnell as "very, very depressed" and "suicidal." McConnell's emotional turmoil erupted on the evening of Aug. 7, 2002 and led to his decision to take Pierce's life. McConnell was arrested less than a week later and charged with first-degree murder and two lesser offenses. Prior to the plea proceedings, McConnell fired his court-appointed attorneys and requested permission to represent himself, which was subsequently granted by the court. He then entered guilty pleas for all charges. The pleas were accepted and the trial moved into the sentencing phase. During sentencing, McConnell expressed sincere remorse for the death of Pierce. He stated, "It hurts me now [.] I am sorry for what I did [.] I really am." He explained that the murder was a result of severe "emotional duress." McConnell also stated that if a death sentence was imposed by the jury, he would accept it and forego all appeals if it would help Pierce's family achieve closure and lessen their grief. After McConnell chose not to present a closing statement, the jury retired for deliberations. They emerged about 2 hours later and sentenced McConnell to death for the killing of Pierce. With the exception of an automatic appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court that he reluctantly allowed the Nevada Public Defender's Office to file on his behalf, McConnell has remained steadfast to his pledge to waive his appeals. In a motion that he filed with the court after his trial, McConnell stated, "I accept this sentence and wish to proceed with that punishment." Of the 11 people who have been executed in Nevada since the state's reinstatement of capital punishment in 1973, 10 have been so-called "volunteers," like McConnell. Because a high proportion of "volunteers" are believed to suffer from some form of mental illness, the state of Nevada should not permit its death row inmates to expedite their deaths by waiving their appeals. Please write to Gov. Kenny Guinn and request that he not allow the execution of Robert McConnell to proceed. Indiana Michael A. Lambert June 22, 2005 12:00 a.m. EST http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=8 05 The state of Indiana plans to execute 34-year-old Michael Lambert, a white man, on June 22, 2005 for the December 2002 murder of Officer Gregg Winters in Delaware County. Lambert consumed an excessive amount of alcohol on Dec. 27, 1990. He began drinking during the afternoon hours and continued to drink heavily throughout the remainder of the day and well into the evening. A patron of a bar that Lambert went to that evening described his demeanor as "wild-eyed." Clearly, he was heavily intoxicated. In the early morning hours of Dec. 28, Muncie police spotted Lambert attempting to crawl under a car in order to go to sleep off his drunkenness. Lambert was subsequently arrested for public intoxication. Officer Winters handcuffed Lambert, placed him into the backseat of his cruiser, and then proceeded to drive him towards the local jail. At some point during the commute, Lambert managed to obtain access to a pistol that was located on his person and shot Officer Winters multiple times. Officer Winters passed away 11 days later as a result of the gunshot wounds. Lambert was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Officer Winters. At trial, a toxicology expert testified that Lambert's decision to shoot Officer Winters was likely influenced by his high level of intoxication. Nevertheless, a jury found him guilty of the offense and sentenced him to death. On direct appeal, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled that a large portion of the victim impact testimony offered during the sentencing phase of Lambert's trial had been erroneously admitted. The justices then determined that this inadmissible testimony might have impacted the jury's decision to sentence Lambert to death. However, rather then send the case back to trial for resentencing, the justices reweighed the aggravating and mitigating factors and determined that the imposition of a death sentence was proper. In a dissenting opinion, Justice Boehm expressed his conviction that sentencing in capital cases should be done solely at the trial level due to the gravity of the potential sentence. He wrote, "I do not believe it is customary for this or any appellate court to originate a sentence as opposed to reviewing and revising a sentence imposed by the trial court. There may be circumstances when that action is appropriate, but this is not one of them." Perhaps neither the jury nor the justices would have imposed a death sentence had they been made fully aware of all of the mitigating factors in Lambert's case. Much to Lambert's detriment, mitigating evidence pertaining to his mental condition was not presented at trial. Dr. Edmund Haskins, a neurophysiologist, and Dr. Robert Smith, a clinical psychologist, separately examined Lambert following the trial. Their findings indicate that Lambert suffers from "organic brain dysfunction, dysthymia, and substance dependence with antisocial and dependent personality features." Haskins and Smith both concluded that these conditions may hinder Lambert's ability to control his impulses and act in accordance with the law. The execution of the mentally ill is a deplorable violation of international human rights standards. In April 2000, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights urged all states that maintain the death penalty "not to impose it on a person suffering from any form of mental disorder" and "not to execute any such person." (source: National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty)
