May 15 TEXAS: Cop killer gets death penalty----Athens jury hands down verdict in murder of deputy Randall Wayne Mays on Tuesday was sentenced to die for the May 17, 2007, fatal shooting of Henderson County Sheriffs Deputy Tony Ogburn. Ogburn, 61, was 1 of 2 HCSD officers killed after responding to a domestic disturbance at Mays' Payne Springs residence that day. The other was HCSD Investigator Paul Habelt, 63. A 3rd deputy, Kevin Harris, Suffered a leg wound in the shootout. Mays is the 1st Henderson County defendant to be sentenced to death since Betty Lou Beets in 1985. His attorney, Bobby Mims of Tyler, said a different lawyer has been appointed to handle Mays' automatic appeal to the death sentence. Family and friends of Ogburn and Habelt hugged and congratulated each other moments after the sentence was handed down by 392nd District Court Judge Carter Tarrance. Ogburn's son, Tony Ogburn Jr., gave a statement outside the courtroom, saying he can't yet find a way to forgive Mays for the death of his father. "I know I'm going to have to," Ogburn Jr. said, "but not now." Mays was found guilty of the capital murder of Ogburn last Friday. (source: Corsicana Daily Sun) ******************** Reversal Builds Case for Moratorium Ironically, Thomas Clifford McGowan Jr. became a free man the same day the U.S. Supreme Court freed states to resume executions. McGowan's case illustrates why Texas and other states should maintain a moratorium on capital punishment. McGowan was a 26-year-old day laborer in 1985, when a 19-year-old rape victim picked his picture out of a police lineup. Tentative at first, when pressed for a decision by a police officer, the young woman said McGowan was the man who raped her. So, McGowan went to prison for more than 22 years -- almost 1/2 his life. This spring, DNA tests proved McGowan did not commit the crime. Judge Susan Hawk recommended McGowan go free, and he's out of jail while the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals considers Hawk's decision. He became the 16th Dallas County inmate to be exonorated by DNA tests during the past 7 years. The same day McGowan walked free, the Supreme Court ruled the 3-step process Kentucky uses to administer capital punishment does not violate the Constitution's ban on "cruel and unusual punishment." The ruling virtually freed states to move forward with lethal injection as a method of execution. Fortunately, McGowan's wrongful conviction couldn't earn him the death penalty. He might have died an innocent man. Strong advocates of the death penalty might counter that McGowan was not sentenced to execution, so his case has no bearing on capital punishment. Of course, they would be wrong. McGowan's case illustrates the fallibility of the U.S. justice system, which is fallible simply because human beings are fallible. Problem is, a mistake that takes a person's life is irreversible. And courtroom mistakes do happen. Nationwide, 215 people convicted of crimes have been exonerated by DNA evidence, according to The Innocence Project, an organization dedicated to reversing wrongful convictions. 16 of the people who have been exonerated spent time on death row. Without intervention, they could have been executed for crimes they did not commit. 32 states have exonerated convicts. Texas leads the way, with 31 reversals. As science improves, the pace of exonerations increases. In the first 11 years DNA-based exonerations were possible, 63 people were set free. In the past 8 years, 152 wrongful convictions were overturned. The Innocence Project identifies at least 7 causes of wrongful conviction. Those causes and the number of cases involving Texans are eyewitness identification, 24; unreliable/limited science, 9; false confessions, 3; forensic science misconduct, 4; government misconduct, 3; informants/snitches, 2; and bad lawyering, 0. (The number totals more than 31, because some cases involved multiple causes.) While many Christians -- for theological reasons -- are among the strongest advocates of capital punishment, the McGowan case should prompt Christians and other citizens of goodwill to promote a moratorium on capital punishment. Several reasons stand out: "We seek justice. Justice for murderers is one of the strongest arguments for capital punishment. But in light of so many wrongful convictions, justice should be an equally strong argument for refraining. Putting an innocent person to death is the ultimate act of injustice that can be imposed by the state. "Life is precious. Set aside whatever you think about actual murderers and rapists, we cannot contend anything but that the lives of people who are wrongfully convicted are precious and should be protected, even if the guilty die in prison of old age instead of on a gurney by lethal injection. "We say we love others and want them to go to heaven. Then how can we consider the possibility of wrongfully sending an innocent person to eternity in hell? (source: Editorial, Baptist Standard) MISSISSIPPI----impending execution State Supreme Court Refuses Stay of Execution The Mississippi Supreme Court has refused a stay of execution request for Earl Wesley Berry. Berry's attorney's had asked the court to delay the May 21 execution to allow a hearing. Lawyers wanted to argue that the state's method of execution is unconstitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court recently gave the go-ahead after holding Mississippi's and several other state's executions while it considered a Kentucky case. The decision will likely be taken to a federal appeals court. (source: WLBT News) OHIO: Man charged in Harper homicide could face death penalty A Detroit man charged with aggravated murder is expected to be arraigned on his charge this afternoon in Erie County Common Pleas Court. Aaron Gipson, 31, faces the death penalty if convicted. He was arrested earlier this week in connection to the March death of Sandusky resident Calvin Harper Jr. Harper was found shot to death in his Parkview Boulevard home. A Georgia man has also been charged in the case. He awaits extradition to Ohio. (source: Sandusky Register) NORTH CAROLINA: Death Penalty Again A Topic In General Assembly The death penalty is again a big topic of discussion among Raleigh lawmakers just 1 day after the General Assembly reconvened. Executions have been on hold since January of 2007 after the North Carolina Medical Board threatened to punish doctors who took part in executions. State law required a doctor to be present. The Council of State -- the top elected statewide leaders -- approved changes to execution requirements, but that change is now tied up in court. A special hearing was held at the General Assembly Wednesday on the death penalty. Clips from a documentary called "At the Death House Door" prompted discussion on the topic. The film is based around the experiences of a former Texas death row chaplain and was made by the Independent Film Channel. Tuesday, Republican Leadership brought up the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling which accepts the most common protocol for execution. "Do we or do we not have a death penalty for murder in North Carolina?" State Rep. Paul Stam. "It's past time for the assembly to keep having it both ways when it comes to the death penalty." State Rep. Rick Glazier, who participated in the special hearing, said he thinks the legislature will let the courts make a decision on the current unofficial moratorium. But like other panelists, he said lawmakers can, and could, take up related issues in the criminal justice system. "Working for more reliability and public confidence in judgments and decisions of the courts -- those issues we may well be looking at, continuing to look at," Glazier said. Glazier is sponsoring a bill which would basically increase compensation for convicted felons who have received a pardon of innocence. He said it's a step toward ensuring the system works correctly. "I think all of our goals are to make sure we convict the guilty, but that we don't go ahead and convict someone who is innocent," Glazier said. (source: NBC News) *************************************** Death penalty documentary drives pleas for more scrutiny Rep. Rick Glazier and others called on leaders across the country Wednesday to scrutinize the death penalty and its application to help prevent executing innocent inmates. Glazier, a Cumberland Democrat, spoke in the legislative auditorium as part of a panel that included legal scholars, a filmmaker, a minister and a Chicago Tribune investigative journalist. The discussion stemmed from the national premiere of a documentary, "At the Death House Door." The film, co-directed by Peter Gilbert and Steve James, is set in Texas and explores the effects of the death penalty on those closest to the process -- mainly the condemned inmates and a death row chaplain who was responsible for comforting them before the execution. "Many victims are created when one man is put to death," Gilbert said. 2 themes quickly emerged during the discussion: the effect of race on criminal cases and wrongful convictions. On Wednesday, Glazier wore a button encouraging people to "Support the Racial Justice Act." Co-sponsor for that legislation, he said that race can not be ignored as factor in convictions. "There is too much anecdotal and statistical evidence to say that race doesn't play a role, because it does," he said. The Racial Justice Act would allow condemned inmates to use statistics to try to prove their race was the reason prosecutors sought the death penalty against them. The bill was passed last year by the House and is pending consideration by the Senate. It is unclear of whether the Senate will consider the bill during the current session, Glazier said. "Those of us involved are hopeful that they will," Glazier said. "It's an issue that's not going away." A few legislators attended the discussion, including 2 more of the bill's primary sponsors, Rep. Earline Parmon and Rep. Larry Womble, both Forsyth Democrats. Sen. Daniel Clodfelter, D-Mecklenburg, and representatives from anti-death penalty groups also attended Wednesday's meeting. In North Carolina, executions remain on hold despite a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that upheld Kentucky's lethal injection method. North Carolina's method is similar, using the three-drug combination. The 1st renders the inmate unconscious, the 2nd paralyzes all muscles except the heart and the 3rd stops the heart. Glen Chapman, who is black, spent almost 14 years on death row before he was released in April after Catawba's top prosecutor dismissed murder charges against him. "He's not bitter ... but I haven't reached that level of acceptance," one of his attorneys, Jessica Leaven, said. "He will never have any justice." Wayne Uber was one of few in attendance who expressed skepticism about the actual of innocence of freed inmates. The victims' families shouldn't be overlooked, he said. (source: News & Observer) CONNECTICUT: Prison Safety Questioned After Death Row Stabbing A stabbing on death row Wednesday drew state police to a Connecticut prison for the 2nd time in 2 days, prompting one legislator to express concerns about safety in the system. Though state police and prison officials would provide few details, sources said Daniel Webb stabbed fellow death row inmate Russell Peeler Jr. in the head with a pen around 1:30 p.m. at Northern Correctional Institution in Somers. Peeler, who was said to have developed a friendship with Webb by talking through their cells, was transported to a hospital from the prison, but was expected to recover. The stabbing occurred a little more than a day after inmate Kevin Cales was stomped to death by another inmate at McDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Suffield. "I think those 2 incidents on the heels of each other definitely raise concerns," said state Sen. John A. Kissel, R-Enfield, a member of the judiciary committee. "We need to make sure that our correctional facilities are secure and safe, and that means giving our prison officials the necessary tools and manpower to do their jobs." In Wednesday's attack, it was not clear how Webb and Peeler were able to interact; normally, death row inmates are not allowed contact with one another, or with any other inmates. Webb, 45, has been on death row since 1991, when he was sentenced in the 1989 Hartford slaying of Diane Gellenbeck, a 37-year-old bank executive. Peeler, 36, was sentenced to death last year for ordering the 1999 killing of an 8-year-old Bridgeport boy, Leroy "B.J." Brown Jr., who was to testify against him in a murder trial. He also ordered the killing of the boy's mother, Karen Clarke. In Tuesday's incident, Cales was attacked while he was eating lunch in a common area of the high-security unit at McDougall-Walker. Correction and police sources identified Cales' attacker as Waldemar Rivera, who, they say, was meting out "prison justice" for 1 of the 5 deaths Cales caused in a 2006 crash that followed a car chase. Rivera, 18, has not been charged in the incident. Correction sources have said Rivera was somehow related to Cales' ex-girlfriend, Maryneliz Jimenez, or 1 of her 4 friends who were killed in the crash on May 27, 2006. On that day, Cales had been stalking Jimenez, with whom he had a son, and chased her car at speeds up to 120 mph on the Chamberlain Highway in Berlin. Jimenez's car went off the road in a crash so horrific emergency crews had to retrieve a body from a tree. Cales was eventually convicted of 5 counts of manslaughter, and on Tuesday, when he was attacked, he was less than 2 months into a 79-year prison sentence. He died Tuesday at about 10:30 p.m. "Things work in strange ways," said Juanita Jimenez, Maryneliz's mother, who was surprised and saddened by Cales' death. "My condolences do go out to the family." As for a possible connection between her daughter and Rivera, Jimenez said her ex-husband has a nephew named Waldemar Rivera, but he is in his 30s, and he never knew her daughter. It is not clear if the Waldemar Rivera that Jimenez knows is related to the Waldemar Rivera allegedly involved in the incident. Meanwhile, Juanita Jimenez and her husband are raising the son Cales fathered with Maryneliz. The last time the boy, Sinciere Jimenez, saw his father was about six months before the 2006 crash, when he was about 3 months old. He is now 2. Cales' death, Jimenez said, compounds her sense of loss. "I hate to say it, but it is another tragedy," she said. "I really wanted him to pay for what he did, but in the way that is supposed to be paid." (source: Hartford Courant)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, MISS., OHIO, N.C., CONN.
Rick Halperin Thu, 15 May 2008 21:35:12 -0500 (Central Daylight Time)
