death penalty news September 23, 2005
NEW JERSEY: Suspect in Warren murder will not face death penalty The Warren County Prosecutor's Office will not seek the death penalty if an Easton man charged with murdering his former girlfriend is convicted, authorities said Thursday. Alonzo Brown, 49, of the 600 block of James Street, is also charged with the attempted murder of a Glassboro, N.J., man. Brown allegedly shot the two victims Aug. 6, 2004, outside the Clarion Hotel and Conference Center on Route 22 in Pohatcong Township. Early on in the case, prosecutors notified the court they might seek the state's ultimate penalty if Brown is convicted of murder. Warren County Prosecutor Thomas Ferguson said Thursday the decision against seeking the death penalty followed a lengthy review of the case by the prosecutor's death-penalty committee. "We looked at the facts of the case as we know them and the law surrounding the death penalty in New Jersey," Ferguson said. He said the committee concluded a death sentence could not be sustained in the Brown case. The prosecutor declined to discuss specifics since the case is pending. "I think they made the appropriate decision in not seeking the death penalty," said defense attorney Bruce Farrier. Farrier said his client, jailed since the shootings, "is holding up well under the circumstances." In court Thursday, Farrier rejected a plea bargain offered by the assistant prosecutor trying the case, Angela Borkowski. The offer called on Brown to plead guilty to murder and attempted murder. The rejected plea agreement recommended a life sentence (30-year minimum) on the murder and a consecutive 20-year prison sentence on the attempted murder. Authorities said plea negotiations are continuing and the case is now headed to a grand jury. Carmen L. Santiago Gonzalez, 36, of Allentown, was pronounced dead at the scene of the 12:10 a.m. shooting. She died of a single gunshot wound to the chest, authorities said. Brown and Gonzalez had recently ended a romantic relationship, sources said. The accused murderer worked as a cook at the hotel at the time of the shootings. Gonzalez's companion that night, Theodore P. Harris, 45, of Glassboro, was shot three times, authorities said. Family members have said he has undergone several surgeries and that one of the bullets remains lodged near his spine. Brown is also charged with weapons offenses and three counts of pointing a gun at a man who intervened in the shootings. He is additionally charged with possession of the .38-caliber handgun he allegedly used to shoot the victims and possession of a .22-caliber handgun allegedly found in his vehicle, authorities said. Brown is being held at the Warren County jail in lieu of $1 million bail. Court papers show he admitted to the shootings when interviewed by investigators. (source: The Express-Times) FLORIDA: Man, 24, May Get Death Penalty A judge ruled Thursday that a 24-year-old man convicted of executing two cousins in April 2000 isn't retarded and remains eligible for the death penalty. After listening to testimony and arguments from prosecutors and Wright's lawyers, Polk Circuit Judge Dick Prince decided that Tavares Jerrod Wright could still be sent to death row for killing James Felker, 18, and David Lee Green, 21. Wright is scheduled for sentencing Thursday. On Nov. 13, a jury convicted Wright of abducting Felker and Green on April 21, 2000, from a Winn-Dixie parking lot in North Lakeland then fatally shooting them in an orange grove near Polk City. The trial of Wright's co-defendant, Samuel Pitts, 25, remains on hold as prosecutors appeal a ruling that suppresses statements Pitts made to detectives. After hearing the jury's verdict, Wright waived his right to have the jury recommend a life or death sentence. He agreed to let Prince make the decision without a jury recommendation. The judge requested that experts evaluate Wright to determine whether he is mentally retarded. Under Florida law, the death penalty cannot be imposed upon a mentally retarded defendant. Prosecutors argued that several psychological experts determined Wright's IQ to be between 75 and 82. The experts testified that an average IQ is about 100 and that scores below 70 would likely mean someone was retarded. "Clearly, Mr. Wright has been tested since he was 9- or 10-years-old up until just a couple months ago," said Assistant State Attorney John Aguero. "He's never been found to be retarded." The defense maintained that Wright's IQ must be considered along with the effects of other mental health problems. But Prince concluded that Wright did not meet the statutory requirements of a mentally retarded defendant. (source: The Ledger)
