July 27 CALIFORNIA: Judge sentences Marcus Wesson to death In Fresno, Marcus Wesson was sentenced to death Wednesday for the murder of 9 of his children, many of whom were born of incest and sexual abuse. "Marcus Delon Wesson, it is the judgment and sentence of this court that you shall suffer the death penalty," Judge R.L. Putnam said after moving testimony from several members of Wesson's family. Jurors recommended the death penalty for Wesson on June 29, after convicting him of 9 counts of 1st-degree murder. They also found Wesson guilty of sexually abusing his daughters and nieces. California law says the trial judge must uphold a jury's verdict unless it conflicts with the law or the evidence. The judge earlier Wednesday had said the evidence presented in the case supported the jury's recommendation of death. Putnam also sentenced Wesson to 102 years in prison for 14 counts of sexually abusing his daughters, and the nieces who grew up in his household. "Justice was served today," Fresno County District Attorney Elizabeth Egan said. The 2 young women who had escaped the Wesson home and were trying to reclaim the children they had with the defendant as a result of sexual abuse spoke about how much they missed their kids. "Those were not children who belonged to you," said Sophina Solorio, whose son Jonathan died in Wesson's home on March 12, 2004, along with six other children, a teenager and a 25-year-old woman. "It was not your decision to take them away from this world." But several of Wesson's surviving children and his wife, Elizabeth Wesson, declared their undying love and support for the man the judge said had such control over his family that "they did his bidding until their death." Daughter Kiani Wesson, who had testified that there's nothing wrong with sexual contact between a father and daughter, defended her father even though the 2 children she had with him were killed in the massacre. She blamed the deaths on her cousins and their demands to get their children away from the household. "I am proud of all my family, of the way we were raised," she said, her voice breaking as she faced the judge. Putnam said months of testimony showed the defendant's "mind-numbing history of domination, exploitation and control" of his children. Wesson's attorneys had filed a motion asking the judge to grant their client a new trial, or reduce his sentence to life in prison, both of which were declined. They said in court documents the judge made mistakes in instructing the jurors. Other instructions might have led the jury to find Wesson's actions did not qualify him for the death penalty. There also is "reasonable doubt" the oldest victim, Sebhrenah Wesson, pulled the trigger, killing her siblings then herself of her "own free will," and not as part of a conspiracy involving the defendant, defense attorney Pete Jones said. To qualify Wesson for the death penalty, the jurors had to convict him of at least 2 1st-degree murders. Prosecutor Lisa Gamoian said whether Wesson pulled the trigger, or if Sebhrenah Wesson did the job for him, the young woman's upbringing - a sad story of sexual abuse, harsh physical punishment and deprivation - prevented her from acting independently of the defendant, who was her father, her husband and the man she believed was her connection to God. Wesson dominated his large clan, bred through incest over generations, Gamoian said. He preached to them and limited their access to education and the outside world until he had complete financial, physical and emotional control over their lives, she said. Part of those teachings involved choosing death over police interference with the family, Gamoian said. The conflict began after 2 of Wesson's nieces escaped from the home went back to try to get the children they had with the defendant through sexual abuse. He resisted, and the police were called. A standoff ensued, with Wesson ducking into a back bedroom of the home, and police negotiating with him from the outside. Eventually, he walked out, spattered with blood. Police found nine dead bodies. During the penalty phase of the trial, Wesson's defense called his sister, Cheryl Penton, to tell jurors about the defendant's childhood with an alcoholic father who moved the family several times. The judge said that "continued love of him by some family members" was the only mitigating factor he could find. Jurors who attended Wednesday's hearing said they felt vindicated by the judge's ruling. "It was hard - we had a lot of sleepless nights," juror Alex Florez said. "It was a lot of work, but this is closure for us - to feel we've done our civic duty." After the sentencing, Gamoian spoke to the media about the case for the 1st time since she took it. "A great weight was lifted off my shoulders," Gamoian said. (source: San Jose Mercury News) *************************** Judge Backs Jury On Death Penalty In Fresno Slayings----Marcus Wesson Guilty Of Killing 9 Of His Children, Abusing Daughters, Nieces A Fresno man was sentenced to death Wednesday for the killings of 9 of his children, many of whom were born of incest and sexual abuse. The judge handed down the death sentence to Marcus Wesson today after the jury convicted him of 9 counts of murder. They also found Wesson guilty of sexually abusing his daughters and nieces. California law says the trial judge must uphold a jury's verdict unless it conflicts with the law or the evidence. The judge said earlier that the evidence presented in the case supported the jury's recommendation of death. (source: Associated Press) MISSISSIPPI: Death row inmate argues his shackles tainted George Co. jury pool The appearance of a defendant in a George County courtroom in shackles tainted prospective jurors and requires a new trial under a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, a defense attorney argued Wednesday. Prosecutors, however, said the trial judge determined that any glimpse that prospective jurors got of Fred Sanford Spicer Jr. was accidental and fleeting and did not prejudice the case. Spicer was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death in 2003 in George County. Prosecutors said Spicer was arrested in 2001 after he was stopped in Pascagoula while driving a vehicle registered to a man found dead at his home. Authorities said a deputy discovered the body of Edmond Herbert, 42, also of George County, when he went to the man's house to ask why Spicer had his vehicle. The 2 men lived together, according to prosecutors. Prosecutors said Spicer killed Hebert by striking him in the head with a sword while Herbert was sleeping. Andre de Gruy, director of the Office of Capital Defense Counsel, said in arguments Wednesday before the Mississippi Supreme Court that Spicer was brought into the courtroom in civilian clothes and with leg, arm and waist restraints. When the defense complained, the trial judge concluded the incident was unintentional and those in the courtroom got only a fleeting glimpse of the restraints, said Assistant Attorney General Melanie Dotson. "There is a common law right to be free of shackles before the jury ... there are exceptions" which include a risk of escape and how dangerous a defendant is, Dotson said. Du Gruy said the U.S. Supreme Court in May found it is unconstitutional to force capital murder defendants to appear before juries in shackles during the penalty phase of trial. That decision came in a Missouri case. The nation's high court said shackling almost always implies that authorities consider the offender a danger to the community, a factor juries weigh in considering a sentence. The Supreme Court had already held that people on trial could be shackled only if prosecutors had a strong argument for it. The May decision extended that rationale to sentencing hearings in capital murder cases. The majority decision noted that restraints that could be hidden from a jury are available, and left room for court personnel to visibly handcuff or chain defendants only if they pose a special security risk. Critics of restraints contend that prosecutors try to misuse them to scare juries into sentencing people to death. Supporters contend that defendants can be dangerous - especially if they already know they're facing at a minimum life behind bars. Du Gruy said before May's ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court had never said that a defendant appearing in shackles before a jury was a violation of the Constitution. With the Missouri case, du Gruy said prosecutors are required to prove that no prejudice occurred. "The jury was only exposed for a second or two," said Justice Chuck Easley. "We are to take the liberal view that every time someone is shackled and every time a jury sees him there is a mistrial?" Du Gruy and Dotson told the Mississippi court that the George County judge did not individually question the prospective jurors about what they saw. Dotson said the judge was not asked to do so. Dotson argued that the officer who brought Spicer into the courtroom testified that the shackles were only briefly visible and she did not know how many of the people in the courtroom were in the jury pool. "The court looked at it in hindsight," Dotson said. "It is possible for one to 2 seconds someone who may or may not have been in the jury panel may have seen a man walking in in civilian clothing and recognized he had shackles and recognized he was the defendant. The judge made an on-the-record determination ... it was brief and inadvertent." The Mississippi Supreme Court has held in the past that the shackling of a defendant is allowable within the discretion of the court, but should be used as a last resort. The justices said it is allowable to protect the decorum or dignity of the trial process or the safety of trial participants or to prevent escape. "If appearance in shackles is against the law, should we determine it is inherently prejudicial and that the state presented no justification of presenting Mr. Spicer in shackles?" asked Justice Jess Dickinson. Du Gruy said the U.S. Supreme Court found shackling is "inherently prejudice and the burden shifts to the state. The state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt there was no prejudice." Du Gruy said law enforcement officers are not prohibited from putting prisoners in shackles for transportation but the restraints are to be removed before the defendant enters the courtroom. Dotson said the George County judge was not faced with a pretrial decision that Spicer was a flight risk or a danger. "Inadvertence cannot be decided before a defendant gets to the courtroom," Dotson said. "There is no evidence even now that any juror saw the defendant (in shackles)." (source: Associated Press) PENNSYLVANIA: Rendell signs execution warrant In Harrisburg, Gov. Ed Rendell on Wednesday signed the death warrant of a Schuylkill County man convicted of murdering his grandmother and uncle in 1993. Daniel M. Saranchak, 37, an inmate at Graterford state prison, was scheduled for a lethal injection on Sept. 22. Saranchak, who confessed to shooting his 78-year-old grandmother and 57-year-old uncle as they slept at home in East Norwegian Township, was sentenced to death in 1994. Rendell has signed 40 death warrants since taking office in 2003. The 3 people executed in Pennsylvania since the death penalty was reinstated in 1978 all ended their appeals voluntarily. As of July 1, 216 men and 5 women were on the state's death row, according to the state Department of Corrections. (source: Associated Press)
