Sept. 11 NEW JERSEY: Death penalty debate expected amid more property tax reform talks The cost of the state's seldom-used death penalty will dominate debate at the Legislature this week as relatives of murder victims get their say. A death penalty study commission is scheduled to meet Wednesday to take testimony from witnesses, including relatives of murder victims. Officials want to hear whether there is a major cost difference between the death penalty and life in prison without parole. The special commission formed last year has until mid-November to give recommendations on whether New Jersey's capital punishment law needs to be either revised or abolished. The state has 10 men on death row, but the law that created the commission imposed a moratorium on executions until 60 days after the panel completes its work. No execution was imminent. New Jersey reinstated the death penalty in 1982 but hasn't used it since 1963. Sharon Hazard-Johnson, whose parents were killed in their Pleasantville home in 2001 by death row inmate Brian Wakefield, has been wary of the commission's work. "I am very concerned that this is a bid to abolish the death penalty," she said. Death penalty foes are hopeful that will happen. New Jerseyans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty recently released a report that detailed how 25 New Jerseyans were convicted of crimes they didn't commit. "Our state is not immune from the types of errors that result in an innocent person being sentenced to die," said Celeste Fitzgerald, the group's executive director. (source: Associated Press) ******************* Punishment is not a deterrent To the Editor: With 2 bills currently in the Assembly and one in the Senate to abolish the death penalty and replace it with life without parole, I hope that everyone in the state is in agreement. The death penalty should be abolished. Since America's 1st execution in 1630 of John Billington, one of the original Mayflower voyagers, the death penalty has failed to prove it is an effective deterrent. Other facts worth considering besides the barbarianism of it, is the cost. Doing away with the costly and lengthy appeals process will save taxpayers a great deal of money. Anyone who believes life in prison with no chance for parole is not a just punishment needs to visit a maximum security prison, or at least talk to someone who has been on the inside. As a civilized society, it should be our duty to abolish this practice and seek alternatives. At a cost of $975 million a year of state tax dollars going to house prisoners, I would think it is past due we start looking into alternatives. In estimation, near 60 % of inmates in prison are non-violent offenders. Cutting costs being spent on prisons can be put into creating more job opportunities and affordable housing, which will, in turn, lower our crime rates. We need to begin fighting drugs and crime with our brains, brawn has failed long enough. ANDRE X. LATALLADE----Budd Lake (source: Letter to the Editor, The Daily Record) PENNSYLVANIA: Prosecutor drops death penalty Centre County District Attorney Michael Madeira has decided not to seek the death penalty against a State College man charged with murdering a Penn State student in February. The jury selected for the trial will be forced to pick between two options -- declare Andrew A. Rogers, of 224 Nimitz Ave., not guilty or sentence him to life in prison, Madeira said. Rogers is charged with 1st- and 3rd- degree murder for allegedly placing a garbage bag over Youngcheol Park's head and beating him with a bottle and baseball bat at Rogers' house. Although no trial dates are yet in place, Rogers will have a pretrial hearing to discuss any pending motions Sept. 14. Rogers' court-appointed attorney Deborah Lux said she anticipates trial dates to be discussed sometime in the near future. According to court documents, Rogers said Park, 24, was a friend of his and had been visiting prior to the homicide. Rogers said he was first attacked by "Sweet" -- an unidentified third party present at the time of the incident -- but Park joined the brawl as it escalated, according to court documents. In August, Madeira said he does not believe "Sweet" actually exists. Rogers said he fought and killed Park, according to court documents. He also admitted to taking Park's wallet, containing about $250, the morning after the homicide, according to court documents. For the last 6 months, Madeira has been attempting to prove an aggravated circumstance -- intent to rob the victim prior to the homicide -- which would allow the jury to sentence Rogers to death. "Since that time, I've been reviewing the evidence, talked to investigators and have been going over scenarios," Madeira said. "The reason we are withdrawing the notice of aggravating circumstances is because I do not believe we can meet our burden." He added that the current evidence is not sufficient to prove Rogers intended to rob the victim prior to killing him. Lux said this development will not have a significant effect on her case because Rogers is claiming self-defense, but she is glad to not have the "ultimate punishment" as an option. She added that the court process will move significantly faster now that the death penalty is no longer an option. "It's a tremendous relief," she said. (source: The Daily Collegian) ILLINOIS: No R.I. murder suspects face death penalty Of the 6 men awaiting trial for murder in Rock Island County, none face the death penalty. One case, the Jan. 3 murder of Lemon Horton Jr. of E.M. Silvis, meets more than one requirement. Joshua Keith Larson, 22, has been charged with first-degree murder in Mr. Horton's death. It meets death penalty requirements because Mr. Horton was 74 at the time of his death and he was killed during the commission of a felony -- robbery. Others are awaiting trial for murders committed during felonies and drive-by shootings, both death penalty aggravating factors. Rock Island County State's Attorney Jeff Terronez said he won't seek the death penalty against Mr. Larson or any of the current murder suspects currently awaiting trial. "From my standpoint, there's a lot more than just the aggravating factors, than just if it meets the requirements," he said. "It's not like we're not considering it; it's just we're looking at all the factors." Since Illinois reinstated capital punishment in 1977, no one sentenced to death in Rock Island County has been executed. The latest capital murder case was in 1994 when Erik Birdsall of Moline was sentenced to death for shooting 2 Davenport teenagers -- one, Charles Kunkle, fatally -- on Big Island in 1993 and robbing them of $100 in food stamps. He was only on death row for 2 years before the Illinois Supreme Court overturned Mr. Birdsall's death sentence because he wasn't given a mental fitness hearing before trial. He later was sentenced to 100 years in prison instead. Also in 1994, Larry Simpson escaped the death penalty by a 10-2 vote by jurors after he was convicted of murdering 5-year-old Amber Sutton. Across the state, 12 people in Illinois have been executed since 1977, the last being on St. Patrick's Day in 1999. There are currently 8 men sitting on death row while the state continues its moratorium initiated in 2003 by then-Gov. George Ryan. "People have been sentenced to death since then, but no one has been executed," said Derek Schnapp, spokesperson for the Department of Corrections. The Illinois Supreme Court created a capital litigation bar to certify prosecutors and defense attorneys for capital cases under new rules enacted following the moratorium. In Rock Island County, 3 attorneys are certified to sit as lead council for the defense, while 1 is certified as co-counsel only. For prosecutors, four are certified for lead council, while 2 are certified as co-counsel. Mr. Terronez said if he feels a case meets the capital requirement, he'll prosecute it himself. "I'm going to be selective when I choose to implement it," he said. "There are aggravating factors that fit a lot of cases, but the aggravating factors have to outweigh the mitigating factors." A big part of choosing a capital case is a person's criminal history, he said. Another would be the likelihood of a conviction. "You only want to go into it with a strong case," Mr. Terronez said. Often, prosecutors will give defendants the option to plead guilty without trial to avoid the death penalty. Even as a Democrat, Mr. Terronez said he doesn't oppose the death penalty, but believes the moratorium was the right thing to do. The blanket commuting of all on death row to life sentences wasn't a good thing though, he said. "If there are people on death row for wrong reasons, the system needs to be looked at. When you're talking about taking someone's life away, you better be damn sure you're right," he said. Death penalty conditions According to Illinois law, the death penalty could be invoked if the offender was 18 or older at the time of the crime and: - The victim was a police officer, community policing volunteer, fireman, corrections employee, emergency medical technician, teacher or disabled. - The offender murdered two or more people or as the offense of terrorism. - The murder was part of a hijacking or contract-killing - The victim was killed, or received injuries from, an offender in the course of a felony or the other felony was "inherently violent." - The victim was killed to prevent investigation or prosecution. - The victim was under 12 or over 60 years old and was murdered by "exceptionally brutal or heinous behavior." - The offender was incarcerated by the Department of Corrections. - The murder was committed "in a cold, calculated and premeditated manner pursuant to a preconceived plan." - The offender was a leader of a calculated criminal drug conspiracy. - The murder involved torture. - The murder was committed by someone in a motor vehicle when the victim wasn't. - The victim was subject to an order for protection. Mitigating factors in the death penalty: - The defendant has no significant criminal history. - The murder was committed when the defendant was under "extreme mental or emotional disturbance." - The murdered individual consented to the homicidal act. - The murder was committed in self-defense. - The defendant wasn't present during the murder. - The defendant has a background of extreme emotional or physical abuse. - The defendant suffers from a reduced mental capacity. (source: Quad Cities Online)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----N.J., PENN., ILL.
Rick Halperin Mon, 11 Sep 2006 17:03:03 -0500 (Central Daylight Time)
