Jan. 19 MISSOURI: Inmates seek IDs of executioners Lawyers for 5 death row inmates are pressing Missouri to provide the names of members of its execution team after a Post-Dispatch investigation revealed that one was a convicted stalker. In papers filed last week in federal court in Kansas City, the lawyers said the executioner's criminal record, detailed in a front-page story Jan. 13, raises questions about his "temperament and suitability" to help with executions. The newspaper reported that David L. Pinkley, a licensed practical nurse then on probation, worked on Missouri executions and was permitted to join a federal team that executed Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh in Indiana in 2001. Pinkley, originally charged with felonies for allegedly stalking and damaging the property of a man who had a relationship with his estranged wife, pleaded no contest to misdemeanors and received a suspended imposition of sentence. That cleared his record once he served two years on probation. State and federal prison officials knew this background, according to internal Missouri Division of Probation and Parole memos obtained by the paper. Those circumstances raise questions about the state's screening procedures and desire to have qualified executioners, claimed lawyers for convicted killers Reginald Clemons, Richard Clay, Jeffrey Ferguson, Roderick Nunley and Michael Taylor. Attorneys in Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon's office, which represents the Department of Corrections, have argued against giving the death row appellants more than general information about execution team members. State lawyers have invoked a Missouri state law, enacted last year, protecting the identities of current or former executioners, and making it easier for them to seek civil damages if their names are exposed. Lawyers for the condemned have argued that their right to information in a federal suit supersedes state law. In last week's filing, they argued that they should not have to rely on the news media for disclosures about executioners' backgrounds. John Fougere, a spokesman for Nixon's office, said, "The issues raised in this motion will be dealt with in the ongoing litigation with the Department of Corrections." The death penalty is on hold in 35 states and in the federal system while the U.S. Supreme Court considers arguments in a Kentucky lethal-injection case. The court is weighing arguments that the injection could inflict extreme pain, in violation of the Eighth Amendment freedom from cruel and unusual punishment. In interviews after the Post-Dispatch story, three St. Louis-area legislators on a committee that oversees the Department of Corrections criticized the agency for letting a probationer work at executions. The legislators, Sen. Maida Coleman, D-St. Louis; Sen. Harry Kennedy, D-St. Louis; and Rep. Belinda Harris, D-Hillsboro, said they would raise questions within the committee, which has the authority to investigate the department and compel testimony from officials. But the chairman of the committee said he did not think there would be any official inquiry. "If I would have proof that maybe the board of nursing took disciplinary action on this person, I think it might be a different situation," said Rep. Mark Bruns, R-Jefferson City. "Given the limited information I have on it right now, I don't think it would be prudent for the committee to launch an investigation into it." A check of the nurse's license record showed no discipline. Other members of the committee, which consists of 6 senators and 6 representatives, either said they had not read the Post-Dispatch story or did not return a reporter's calls and e-mails. Harris questioned the need for the state law protecting executioners' identities, and said the newspaper's findings alerted her to a problem. "I go to Bonne Terre all the time" to inspect the prison there, Harris said. "I never knew that there was a person on the execution team who had committed these violent acts." When the Legislature passed a law protecting executioners' names, "this is not what legislators had in mind," she said. She noted that the Department of Corrections had made it seem that anonymity for executioners was necessary to ensure it could attract and retain people qualified for the job. But in comments to the Post-Dispatch, agency Director Larry Crawford said its story in July 2006 identifying another execution team member had actually helped the state recruit executioners. Harris said Crawford's comments contradicted his justification for seeking the law. (source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch) OHIO: Canada Could Become Involved In Man's Prosecution Canadian officials could become involved in the case of a man accused of killing his wife and children. Michel Veillette is charged with stabbing his wife to death Jan. 11 and setting fire to their home, killing the couple's 4 children inside. Authorities in Warren County said they could seek the death penalty against Veillette, who moved to the area from Canada with his family 18 months ago. Canada abolished the death penalty 3 decades ago and typically fights to keep its citizens from facing execution in other countries, experts said. Veillette's attorney said his client's version of the events leading to his familys death differs greatly from the one investigators describe. "Regardless of your feelings on the case, if you have someone charged, you want your rights protected, too, and this man is innocent until proven guilty," said attorney Tim McKenna. "Anything he may have said to police, I would have to question the validity of, (because) he was heavily medicated, very injured." Veillette was released this week from a hospital for treatment of knife wounds and other injuries suffered when he jumped out of a window from the fire, and McKenna said the injuries left his client in bad shape. "He had significant scarring and stab wounds all over this body and burns," he said. "He was hurt pretty bad." McKenna said he was not sure whether the wounds were self-inflicted, as investigators have suggested. Canadian officials said in a statement that they are aware of the case, but declined further comment. (source: WLWT News) WASHINGTON: 3 charged with aggravated murder in Tacoma slashings 3 men have been charged with 2 counts each aggravated murder in the slashing of 2 men's throats at an apartment with a marijuana growing operation in September. Pierre Thelberg Spencer III, 26, pleaded innocent Thursday in Pierce County Superior Court. Bail was set at $5 million, and the clock began ticking on a 30-day deadline for prosecutors to decide whether to seek the death penalty in his case. The same charges were filed against Tyreek Deanthony Smith, 22, who was arrested Wednesday in Georgia, and Darrell Kantreal Jackson, 21, who was caught Thursday in Tacoma. A decision on the death penalty in their cases will be due within 30 days after they are arraigned. The only other penalty for aggravated murder is life in prison without parole. Spencer, Smith and Jackson are accused of killing Ruben P. Doria Jr., 24, and Abraham "Warren" Abrazado, 22, whose bodies were found Sept. 23 in Doria's apartment in the city's south end. Their throats had been slashed and Doria had been bound with duct tape. There were no signs of forced entry, but police said they seized 80 to 100 marijuana plants that were being grown in the apartment. Doria had a prescription for medical marijuana, and authorities believe he also sold large quantities of pot, according to documents filed in court. The bodies were found a day before a planned birthday party for Doria, a former Clover Park High School student who retired from the Air Force because of a head injury, friends said. (source: Associated Press) ALABAMA: Supreme Court sides with death row inmate on appeal issue The Alabama Supreme Court has reversed a lower court decision that blocked an appeal by a death row inmate. The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals had rejected Jarrod Taylor's last notice of appeal because it was signed by an out-of-state attorney not authorized to practice in Alabama. In an 8-0 decision Friday, the Supreme Court said the having the out-of-state attorney sign the notice of appeal was not grounds for dismissal. Taylor was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to die for the 1997 deaths of Steve Dyas and Bruce and Sherry Gaston by Dyas' car dealership in Mobile. In his first round of appeals, the Alabama Supreme Court upheld his conviction and sentence in 2001. Then he started a second round of appeals, with the notice of appeal signed by a New York lawyer who was helping Taylor because he was indigent. (source: Associated Press)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----MO., OHIO., WASH., ALA.
Rick Halperin Sat, 19 Jan 2008 15:57:28 -0600 (Central Standard Time)
