May 8 NEW YORK: Foes speak out against NY death penalty plan As lawmakers weigh reinstating the death penalty in New York, anti-death penalty groups and state Senate Democrats voiced their concerns on reimplementation yesterday. After Trooper David Brinkerhoff died in pursuit of an armed suspect accused of shooting another officer late last month, Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno (R-Brunswick) and many of his Republican colleagues urged the reintroduction of capital punishment for cop killers. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) focused instead on gun safety and police armor. Later, it was learned that the trooper had been killed by friendly fire. "Instead of grandstanding on a death penalty proposal they know will not become law, the Senate leadership should be taking steps to tackle both wrongful convictions and keeping illegal guns out of the hands of would-be perpetrators," said state Sen. Eric Schneiderman (D-Manhattan). It was expected the issue would be brought to the Senate floor yesterday, but a Senate spokesman said that would most likely occur next week. Schneiderman urged caution on the legislation, saying, "The Senate has chosen to vote first, ask questions later." He spoke to reporters flanked by fellow Manhattan Democratic Sens. Liz Krueger and Thomas Duane. Among anti-death penalty activists speaking out yesterday was David Kaczynski, brother of convicted Unibomber Ted Kaczynski; Janice Grieshaber, mother of a murder victim; members of the religious community; and Jeffrey Deskovic, 34, who served 16 years in prison for a rape and murder he did not commit. He was cleared of the charges after DNA evidence was reviewed. "It is unconscionable that the legislature would even consider bringing the death penalty back without reforms to slow the rate of wrongful convictions," Deskovic said. 26 inmates serving lengthy prison terms have been exonerated in New York since 1991, 23 of which were cleared due to DNA evidence. (source: Newsday) ****************** Legislature should tackle "wrongful convictions" before "grandstanding on the death penalty," capital punishment opponents say A number of state lawmakers joined Albany Bishop Howard Hubbard, New Yorkers Against the Death Penalty Executive Director David Kaczynski, murder victim's mother Janice Grieshaber and Jeffrey Deskovic, recently freed after serving 16 years in prison for a Peekskill murder he did not commit, to urge state senators to say no to reinstating the death penalty in New York State. "Instead of grandstanding on a death penalty proposal they know will not become law, the Senate leadership should be taking steps to tackle both wrongful convictions and keeping illegal guns out of the hands of would-be perpetrators," said Schneiderman. Kaczynski expressed sympathy for the families of Utica Police Officer Thomas Lindsey and State Trooper David Brinkerhoff, both killed in the line of duty last month, but said the life without parole is the preferred maximum sentence for those convicted of killing police officers or others. Kaczynski called proposals by Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno to reinstate the death penalty "an empty gesture," and lauded Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver's call to honor the memory of the officers by cracking down on the availability of illegal weapons. Deskovic pointed to the 26 New York inmates freed in recent years after post-conviction investigation established their innocence. "It happened to me and it could happen to you," said Deskovic, who last week looked on as a Westchester Supreme Court justice sentenced a man for the murder that Deskovic was wrongfully convicted for. "It is unconscionable that the legislature would even consider bringing the death penalty back without reforms to slow the rate of wrongful convictions." Janice Grieshaber, whose daughter Jenna was killed in Albany in 1997 by a paroled violent offender, formed The Jenna Foundation for Nonviolence in her memory and lobbied tirelessly for passage of Jenna's Law, which mandates inmates serve longer sentences and are subject to post-release monitoring. But Grieshaber has been a consistent voice against the death penalty. "Punishment for violent crime must be swift and sure, but the death penalty is neither," said Grieshaber. "Instead of pressing to reinstate the death penalty, lawmakers should address realistic proposals to fight against the violence that threatens us all." (source: Mid-Hudson News) *************** 2 who helped put Ronell Wilson on death row to be sentenced Their testimony was vital in helping prosecutors put Ronell Wilson on death row for murdering undercover detectives James Nemorin and Rodney Andrews. Today, Jessie Jacobus and Mitchell Diaz will be sentenced for their part in the execution-style slayings that occurred during a botched gun buy-and-bust inside the cops' unmarked Nissan Maxima on Hannah Street in Tompkinsville on March 10, 2003. Jacobus, 21, of Stapleton, and Diaz, 22, of Tompkinsville, each face a minimum of 15 years to life and a maximum 25 years to life in prison when they appear in front of Justice Leonard P. Rienzi at state Supreme Court, St. George. Jacobus and Diaz pleaded guilty to 2nd-degree murder charges at state Supreme Court 4 days after the shootings under a plea deal in which both agreed to testify against Wilson. Of 6 reputed Stapleton Houses Bloods members who were arrested in the wake of the double-cop slaying, only Jacobus and Diaz took the stand against Wilson during trial at Brooklyn Federal Court in November. Diaz told jurors he handed the .44 caliber murder weapon to Wilson in a hallway inside an apartment building on Victory Boulevard -- where Diaz lived with his mother -- as Nemorin, Andrews and Jacobus waited outside in the car. Jacobus provided jurors with graphic details of sitting next to Wilson when Wilson shot the 2 detectives. The hulking 6-foot-3, 320-pound accomplice also led detectives to an apartment on Van Duzer Street around the corner from the murder scene where Wilson stashed the gun. Their cooperation is expected to tip the scales toward a minimum sentence. Assistant U.S. attorneys Jack Smith, Colleen Kavanagh and Morris Fodeman noted during the trial and the penalty phase that letters would be written to the sentencing judge regarding the pair's testimony. A 3rd member of the gang, Omar Green, pleaded guilty with Jacobus and Diaz to charges of second-degree murder in exchange for a cooperation agreement. But prosecutors declined to put Green on the stand after he reportedly changed his story regarding Wilson's knowledge that Nemorin and Andrews were police officers prior to the shootings. Green, 22, of Warren Street, also faces up to 25 years to life in prison when he is sentenced by Rienzi May 14. Unlike Jacobus and Diaz, Green will not go in front of the judge with the benefit of a letter from federal prosecutors stating that his cooperation helped lead to Wilson's conviction and recommending a minimum sentence. Jacobus, Diaz and Green have been in federal custody since November 2004, after Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Donovan handed the case over to federal prosecutors to make Wilson eligible for the death penalty following the state Court of Appeals decision that capital punishment was unconstitutional. For security reasons, the Bureau of Prisons does not list where each of the trio of cooperating witnesses is currently locked up. Wilson sits on Death Row at the United States Prison in Terre Haute, Ind. His attorneys filed an appeal to overturn the capital sentence on March 30, the day after U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis sentenced Wilson to die by lethal injection. A federal prosecutor said it could take "at least 10 years" before the appeals are exhausted and the sentence carried out. 2 others arrested in connection with the double-cop murders -- Paris Bullock and Michael Whiten -- chose not to cooperate with authorities. Bullock, 24, pleaded guilty in December 2005 to federal charges of racketeering and narcotics conspiracy, and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Whiten, 23, admitted to the same charges and is serving a term of 27 years behind bars. (source: Staten Island Advance) NEW HAMPSHIRE: Ayotte lays out formal case for death penalty ---- Filing details history of violent behavior Citing a criminal history that began in 1996 when Michael Addison, then 16, was charged with beating his mother and threatening to kill her, Attorney General Kelly Ayotte formally filed notice yesterday that she intends to seek the death penalty against Addison if he is convicted of fatally shooting Manchester Police Officer Michael Briggs last fall. Addison, 27, is charged with capital murder in the shooting death of Briggs, a 35-year-old Concord father of two. The day after Briggs was shot and Addison was arrested, Ayotte announced that she would seek the death penalty in the case. Yesterday, she filed an official notice of her intention to do so, as required by state law. Richard Guerriero, Addison's lead public defender, said he plans to fight it. "We intend to fight all these charges in court and also the death penalty," Guerriero said. Ayotte's notice listed several aggravating factors, or factors intending to show why Addison deserves the death penalty. If he is found guilty of capital murder, a jury will weigh the aggravating factors against mitigating factors identified by Addison's defense attorneys to decide his sentence: either life in prison or death. There are 2 types of aggravating factors, and Ayotte's notice lists both. Statutory aggravating factors are laid out in the state's death penalty law. A jury must find unanimously that at least 2 exist to consider sentencing someone to death. Nonstatutory aggravating factors can be anything else intended to show why someone deserves the death penalty. The filing is the most comprehensive summary to date of the case the state will likely make against Addison. Here are the factors alleged in Ayotte's notice: Statutory aggravating factors Addison purposely killed Briggs. Addison purposely inflicted serious bodily injury that resulted in Briggs's death. Addison purposely engaged in conduct that he knew would create a grave risk of death to someone who did not participate in the offense and that resulted in Briggs's death. Addison, while committing capital murder, knowingly created a grave risk of death to at least one person other than Briggs. Addison killed Briggs to avoid or prevent a lawful arrest. Nonstatutory aggravating factors As a 16-year-old living in Boston, Addison assaulted and beat Cheryl Kiser, identified in court records as his mother, and threatened to kill her. A juvenile at the time, he was charged with assault and battery, and threatening to commit a crime. (It's unclear from the notice whether he was found guilty. Ayotte could not be reached last night.) 4 months later, Addison, still 16, hit a fellow teenager in the head, pointed a loaded revolver at him and pulled the trigger twice. The gun didn't go off. Addison was charged with assault with intent to kill, assault and battery, possession of a firearm and possession of a firearm without a license. He pleaded guilty to all four charges. A day after his 17th birthday, Addison stole another teenager's hat and stabbed him in the back with a knife. When the teenager fell to the ground, Addison kicked him. He was charged with armed robbery and 2 counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. He pleaded guilty to all 3 charges. When he was 23, Addison and another man, Mathys Morgan, held a third man hostage in a car in Londonderry. Addison and Morgan threatened to beat him if his friend didn't pay a $500 drug debt. Addison was charged with false imprisonment and pleaded guilty. When he pleaded guilty to false imprisonment, Addison was also charged with violating probation by committing a crime. Addison is charged with 2 counts of armed robbery. The police say he and his accomplices robbed customers at El Mexicano Restaurant in Manchester on Oct. 10, 6 days before Briggs was shot. The next day, the police say, Addison and his accomplices robbed a Hudson 7-Eleven. He has not yet stood trial on the charges. (One accomplice, Teresia Shipley, pleaded guilty last week to helping rob the 7-Eleven.) Addison is charged with reckless conduct/criminal threatening. The police say he and his accomplices shot a gun at a Manchester apartment the day before Briggs's death. He has not yet stood trial on the charge. Addison is charged with 4 counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The police say he had a gun during the El Mexicano robbery, the 7-Eleven robbery, the Manchester apartment shooting and Briggs's shooting. He has not yet stood trial on the charges. Addison "enlisted others," namely his Manchester girlfriend and her friend, to flee New Hampshire to avoid being arrested after Briggs was shot. (His girlfriend and her friend drove Addison to his grandmother's apartment in Dorchester, according to court papers.) Addison "placed or may have placed another in danger of serious bodily injury by disposing of the firearm he used to murder" Briggs by leaving it outside in a Manchester neighborhood, Ayotte wrote. Addison "has engaged in a continuing pattern of criminal and violent conduct, has threatened others with violence and has demonstrated low rehabilitative potential," Ayotte wrote. She added that he "is likely to commit criminal acts of violence in the future." Ayotte also wrote that Addison harmed Briggs's family because "of the victim's personal characteristics as an individual human being and the impact" of his death, which "has caused the Briggs family extreme emotional suffering." (Briggs's parents live in Epsom. His wife, Laura, and their 2 boys, ages 8 and 11, live in Concord.) Addison is 1 of 2 people in New Hampshire currently charged with capital murder. Ayotte announced last month that she also plans to seek the death penalty against multimillionaire John "Jay" Brooks, who the police say hired men to kidnap and kill a Derry man in 2005. Murder for hire and murdering a police officer are 2 of the 6 crimes that can be punished with death. If Addison is found guilty, he will be the 1st person to be executed in New Hampshire since 1939. His capital murder trial is scheduled to begin in September 2008. (source: Concord Monitor) NEW MEXICO: Attorney challenges death penalty----2nd suspect in Portales couple's death awaits May court date. The constitutionality of the death penalty statutes in New Mexico was argued in a pre-trial hearing Monday in the Roosevelt County District courtroom in the case of a man accused of killing a retired Portales couple in 2005. Defense attorney Gary Mitchell of Ruidoso has filed four motions on behalf of his client, Stanley Bedford, with each seeking to have the death penalty removed. He presented oral arguments pertaining to thre e of those motions before 9th Judicial District Judge Steven Quinn. Mitchell said because the New Mexico Legislature hasnt acted to correct the death penalty statute following the U.S Supreme Court ruling, the statute itself is unconstitutional. Prosecutor Michael Cox of the State Attorney General's Capital Crimes Unit, who is assisting the District Attorney's Office with the case, said the argument is a red herring. "You're citing apples and arguing oranges," Cox said. "The cases are dealing with different things than the death penalty." Cox said in New Mexico the prosecution meets the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt before the death penalty phase even begins. "The only way a jury can find Bedford not guilty is without intent to kill," Cox said. "We can't even get to the death phase until a jury has made this finding." Mitchell also argued that race would also be a factor in the case. His client is black. The victims were white. "Race does play a part, like it or not, in what jurors do," Mitchell said. Mitchell cited studies that showed that black males were more apt to be convicted and more apt to receive the death penalty than other defendants. "The reason we're here has nothing to do with the race of the defendant, it has to do with the defendant's decision to (not) take a plea," Cox said. Cox said Bedford and co-defendant Jerry Fuller, who is white, had identical plea deals offered. He said the only difference in sentence offered was because of prior convictions on Bedford's part. Fuller accepted a sentence of 127 years in prison in October of last year and began the sentence in January. Quinn told the attorneys he hoped to make a ruling by the end of the week. Attorneys also learned Monday that an extremely low return on juror summons might only result in a pool of 140. Both sides had agreed earlier that at least 200 would be needed. The judge was going to request further notices be sent out. The trial is set to begin May 21 in Albuquerque. (source: Clovis News Journal) NORTH CAROLINA: Convicted sex offender to face death penalty A convicted sex offender will face the death penalty in the brutal early morning killing of a west Greensboro woman last fall. Tony Savalis Summers, 32, of Greensboro, is charged with rape and 1st-degree murder in the Nov. 7 death of Lavell Williams. On Monday, a judge found his case qualifies for the death penalty. Assistant District Attorney Stephen Cole described the following scenario while giving the court a brief outline of the case: Summers broke into Williams' McIntosh Street home about 5 a.m. the day she died. She was raped and then taken downstairs and stabbed. Her body had more than 40 wounds and she was bound with shoelaces. All three of Williams' children daughters ages 16 and 11, and a 5-year-old son were home. The two daughters were also bound and stabbed. The oldest was able to escape after 7 a.m. and ran to a neighbor's home. Summers fled in a pickup and was later involved in a hit-and-run, Cole said. He was arrested the next day and confessed to police. Cole said the state is waiting for an analysis of forensic evidence that he expects will tie Summers to the crimes. It includes a shirt found in Williams' home that Summers' wife recognized. Summers is facing a slew of charges related to Nov. 7. He was indicted on charges of 1st-degree murder, 2 counts of assault with intent to kill, 2 counts of rape, 3 counts of burglary, 3 counts of kidnapping, and felony hit-and-run, court records show. He was convicted of on 2 2nd-degree sex offense charges in 1993 and of failing to register as a sex offender in 2001. He was released from prison in January 2005 on the most recent charge. Cole asked the court to certify the case as eligible for the death penalty based on Summers' previous sex offense conviction; the heinousness of the crime; and the accusation that the murder occurred during the commission of other crimes. Superior Court Judge Henry E. Frye Jr. agreed that the case qualified. No trial date was set because of scheduling problems for a specialist hired by the defense team and for one of Summers' attorneys. Cole asked that the case not be put on hold too long. "I've got a witness list that includes children," Cole said. "I don't want this to linger." Instead of setting a trial date, Frye ordered a conference in August to see if the scheduling issues would be resolved by then. Williams' children have left Greensboro for New Jersey where they lived with their mother prior to moving here. They have relatives there. (source: News-Record)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----N.Y., N.H., N.M., N.C.
Rick Halperin Tue, 8 May 2007 12:47:50 -0500 (Central Daylight Time)
