July 29 ILLINOIS: Decision on death penalty delayed -- Man charged in stabbing deaths In Bloomington, a McLean County judge gave prosecutors until Sept. 16 to decide whether they will seek the death penalty against a Bloomington man charged in the stabbing deaths of 2 women. State's Attorney Bill Yoder was expected to disclose during a hearing Thursday whether he'd seek death against Leo Guider. But Judge Ronald Dozier extended the deadline. Meanwhile, the prosecution and defense await results of DNA testing. Guider, 40, faces 6 counts of 1st-degree murder in the stabbing deaths of Normal residents Lorraine Fields, 41, and Lakeisha Tyus, 26. Prosecutors say the two women were killed Dec. 18 at Guider's home in the 500 block of West Front Street. Yoder would not discuss the role or importance the pending DNA tests would have in the case. "We're just trying to make a very thorough and complete examination of this case before we make our election," Yoder said of his upcoming decision on whether to seek the death penalty against Guider. Items the prosecution and defense agreed to submit for DNA testing likely will not be ready for two weeks, Yoder said. A swab from a knife, a swab from a bag of crack cocaine, cloth from a jacket, a mop and a gold cap from a tooth are currently undergoing testing. The defense hopes the tests implicate another suspect, while prosecutors hope they produce evidence against Guider. Assistant Public Defender Jim Tusek did not return a phone call on Thursday. Guider is eligible for death under Illinois law because he's accused of killing multiple victims. Prosecutors typically consider factors such as a defendant's criminal past and the level of violence in a particular crime when they choose whether to seek the death penalty. (source: Pantagraph) ALABAMA: Photos too painful for families in Moore trial Members of the victims' families cried, averted their eyes and left the courtroom as the prosecution displayed bloody crime-scene photos during the capital murder trial of Devin Moore on Thursday. Alabama Bureau of Investigation agent Darren Blake walked jurors through a diagram showing them where all the bodies lay. He testified that the evidence showed Moore, who is charged with 6 counts of capital murder on 3 different charges, shot Fayette police Officer James Crump in the head while the injured officer was lying on the floor. Moore also is accused of shooting Fayette police Officer Arnold Strickland and dispatcher Leslie "Ace" Mealer on June 7, 2003, while being booked on a stolen auto charge. He has pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of a serious mental defect to the charges. The defense claims a childhood filled with abuse and neglect gave Moore post-traumatic stress disorder and that the disorder triggered the shooting. His lawyers also claim that Moore was programmed to react by compulsively playing the video game "Grand Theft Auto." Blake reviewed photos that showed the officers where they died. Strickland was on his side with his head under a chair and blood beneath his head, while Crump lay on his face in a huge pool of blood. Close-ups showed both men had head injuries. In a confession read to the court Wednesday by ABI Agent Johnny Tubbs, Moore claimed that he never intended to kill the officers. He said he "freaked out" when Strickland started yelling after Moore grabbed Strickland's gun. The confession said that he fired at both officers and the dispatcher until they hit the floor. However, Blake pointed to a wound in Crump's head. The bullet appeared to enter the top back part of his head and exit between his neck and shoulder, Blake said. Earlier testimony said there was a chip on the floor beneath Crump where the bullet exited, suggesting a coup de grace shot. Blake said he originally found 5 shell casings and 5 wounds in the officers' bodies. He assumed that a bullet found in a ceiling light fixture had gone through Crump's head. However, when investigators rolled Crump over, they discovered another shell casing between Crump's legs and the chipped floor beneath Crump's body. Blake said he eventually came to believe the bullet in the light fixture was a miss. Earlier, ABI fingerprint expert Gail Peters testified that she matched fingerprints from the stolen Toyota Camry that Moore was in when he was arrested and from Strickland's gun to prints taken off Moore at the Lowndes County, Miss., and Tuscaloosa County jails. Judge James Moore recessed court at noon Thursday until 9 a.m. Monday morning. He said a witness had a conflict and could not be in court. (source: The Tuscaloosa News) OHIO: Deters to seek death penalty in murders of cab driver, child Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters will seek the death penalty in 2 Cincinnati murder cases he says are symptoms of a wider problem: increasingly violent criminals and a lack of support for police. Deters announced the murder indictments Thursday and said the 2 accused men are the latest examples of criminals who are more willing than ever to resort to violence. George Williams, of Avondale, is charged in the shooting death of cab driver Timothy Deger on July 19, while Matthew Carrovillano, of North College Hill, is accused of raping and murdering his girlfriend's 18-month-old daughter on July 23. "This is outrageous conduct and people in this community need to say, 'Enough is enough,'" Deters said. "It's almost a level of lawlessness we haven't seen before in Cincinnati." He said second-guessing of police and recent police department reforms have made some officers wary of aggressive police work that could prevent violence. Deters' comments follow months of warnings and rhetoric from city officials about gangs and gun violence. All 4 mayoral candidates have made curbing violent crime a cornerstone of their campaigns. Crime statistics, however, show that violent crime rates have, for the most part, remained steady over the past 3 years. The city's homicide numbers fell from 75 in 2003 - the most since 1977 - to 66 in 2004. The city has 45 homicides so far this year, compared to 44 at the same time last year. Total calls for police service dropped slightly from 2003 to 2004, as did the number of aggravated assaults. Rapes and robberies rose slightly. Although the statistics show little change, Deters and others have said the numbers don't reflect what's happening on the streets. They say criminals now are more likely to use guns, which raises the level of violence. Police statistics don't distinguish gun violence from other assaults, but emergency rooms are reporting more gunshot wounds. Until five years ago, the number of gunshot victims treated at University Hospital each year averaged in the low 100s. This year, the hospital is on pace for 300 or more. "We're seeing a marked increase in violence," said Dr. Jay Johannigman, director of University Hospital's division of trauma. In Deger's death, Williams and two others - Mary Rosemond, 23, and Andre Woodcock, 19 - are accused of jumping into the cab to rob Deger with a gun. Rosemond is Williams' sister and Woodcock is his cousin. Both face murder and robbery charges and up to 33 years in prison. Deters said the crime in Carrovillano's case does not involve a gun but does involve another young, violent offender. He is accused of raping and beating to death the baby, Kaylee Schnurr, while the girl's mother was out. The mother will not be charged, Deters said. "The only thing she's probably guilty of is picking a horrible boyfriend," he said. The leader of Cincinnati's police union, Harry Roberts, applauded Deters for linking the charges Thursday to growing violence on the streets and what he sees as a lack of support for police. Roberts and some other officers have complained often about recent reforms brought about by a federal investigation and the settlement of a racial profiling lawsuit. Roberts said the reforms lead to second-guessing and, sometimes, discipline against officers who were just doing their jobs. But supporters of the reform agreements say the recent changes are designed to help police do their jobs and to encourage more interaction with residents. They say that should reduce violence, not increase it. (source: Cincinnati Enquirer) *********************** Justice keeps case in court U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens' removal of a lower court's deadline to try or free Kenneth Richey provides both sides plenty of time to prepare for that possible new trial. Adhering to a deadline made no sense. The public will be better served by waiting for the Supreme Court's decision on whether it will hear the case. Stevens on Wednesday placed Richey's new trial on hold and removed the 90-day deadline set by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Putnam County Prosecutor Gary Lammers is no longer bound by a Sept. 1 deadline to have a new indictment against Richey; otherwise, the man convicted of killing a child would have walked free. Richey will remain on death row rather than move to Putnam County's jail to await trial. A 3-judge panel found Richey guilty and sentenced him to death for the June 1986 fire that killed Cynthia Collins. Richey lost round after round of appeals until his case went before the 6th Circuit Court. In a 2-1 ruling, that court tossed Richey's conviction, ordering the state to retry or release Richey within 90 days. Stevens smartly removed that deadline Wednesday. Richey, who has dual U.S.-British citizenship, has said to media on both sides of the Atlantic that he wants to prove his innocence. Richey's lawyer, Ken Parsigian, told The Lima News he doubts the Supreme Court will hear the case. If Parsigian is right, Richey should be as pleased with Justice Stevens as prosecutors are. Stevens might have ensured both sides another day in court. (source: Editorial, Lima News) VIRGINIA: Death row inmate's father tells jury about his son ----A jury will decide whether Daryl Atkins is retarded. A psychologist also testifies Thursday. Like many children, Daryl Atkins began riding a bike with training wheels about age 5. But his training wheels stayed on until he was 10. Atkins' father, Phil Atkins, used to help his son practice riding, privately, out of the gaze of others, so his son wouldn't be embarrassed, he told a jury in York-Poquoson Circuit Court on Thursday. The jury in this unprecedented trial must decide whether Atkins, 27, meets the state's definition of a mentally retarded person - someone with significantly subaverage intellectual functioning as measured by intelligence tests, with limited social, conceptual and adaptive skills that started before age 18. If jurors determine that Atkins is retarded, his death sentence will be commuted to life. But if they decide that he isn't retarded, Atkins may still be executed. Daryl Atkins was convicted of capital murder in 1998 for killing 21-year-old Langley Airman Eric Nesbitt after Atkins and another man forced Nesbitt to withdraw money from an ATM. The other man, William Jones, testified against Atkins and received a life sentence. In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court barred executions of the mentally retarded after Atkins' case was appealed there. But the high court didn't determine whether Atkins was retarded, leaving it to Virginia to decide. During cross-examination this week, prosecutors have questioned whether Atkins' IQ scores - 59, 74, 67 and 76 - reflect mental retardation or low intellect. They've also suggested that Atkins' poor academic performance resulted from choices he made to avoid study, while using drugs and drinking alcohol. Phil Atkins told jurors his son couldn't do laundry, operate a lawn mower, drive a car, make decisions or take care of himself. But York-Poquoson Commonwealth's Attorney Eileen Addison asked Phil Atkins if he was aware that his son thought he got his girlfriend pregnant as a teenager. She asked if he was aware that his son contracted a sexually transmitted disease in high school. Phil Atkins said he knew about those situations. Phil Atkins, a sheet metal worker, told jurors that he was born with a sixth finger on each hand, just like his son, Daryl. He also said that his brother was mentally slow and that he himself wasn't very intelligent compared with others. "I knew I was kind of slow growing up," he said. "I tried to keep out of the spotlight." There was testimony earlier Thursday from Gary Siperstein, a University of Massachusetts professor who specializes in developmental psychology with a focus on children with disabilities. He said Atkins showed significant limitations in abstract thinking, consistent with mental retardation. Siperstein reviewed Atkins' IQ test scores and school achievement test records and interviewed him in prison. Siperstein said that during the interviews, he asked Atkins to explain various proverbs so he could test his abstract thinking ability. Siperstein asked him to explain the proverb: People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. He said Atkins told him: Stones break glass, and if a person's glass is broken they can turn around and break your glass. Siperstein said Thursday, "It showed no ability for abstract thinking." He said others would explain the proverb by saying that if you have weaknesses, don't point out others' weaknesses because they can point out weaknesses in you. He also asked Atkins to explain the meaning of the proverb: You can't tell a book by its cover. He said Atkins replied: It means that people look bad but that doesn't mean they are bad. Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Ben Hahn said he didn't see anything wrong with Atkins' answer. "It seems to be a perfect response that people looking bad doesn't mean they are," he said. Siperstein said that, as with other answers, Atkins put himself in the response and views things in a simple, concrete manner. (source: The Daily Press)
