Nov. 11 TEXAS----impending execution Execution set as murderer's final reprieve request denied The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles unanimously voted Monday to turn down condemned man George Whitaker's request for a reprieve. The board dismissed Whitaker's appeal in which he argued that jurors should have been told that he only would be eligible for parole after he served 40 years in prison. With all of his appeals exhausted, Whitaker, 37, is set to enter Texas' death chamber Wednesday. He was sentenced to die for the June 15, 1994, shooting death of Shakeitha Carrier, 17, a sister of his former girlfriend Catina Carrier, who had broken off their relationship 2 months before. Carrier's mother, Mary Carrier, was shot twice in the attack, and her sister Ashley, 5, was severely pistol-whipped. His execution is scheduled for Wednesday. (source: Houston Chronicle) ******************************************************** Please sign the petition-on-line for Rogelio Cannady. http://www.petitiononline.com/SaveRoy/petition.html VERMONT----federal death penalty trial Jacques' lawyers seek delay in defense Michael Jacques' attorneys are seeking additional time to prepare a death penalty defense for the Randolph man accused of killing 12-year-old Brooke Bennett earlier this summer. David Ruhnke and Jean Barrett, a New Jersey death penalty defense team representing Jacques in the federal case, filed a court motion late last month asking for an Oct. 5, 2009, deadline for prosecutors to say whether the death penalty will be sought. Federal prosecutors responded with a court motion Friday saying they still are deliberating on the death penalty option and would make a decision before April 2009 shortening by 6 months the timeline sought by the defendant. U.S. Attorney Thomas Anderson wrote in the Nov. 7 court motion that the courts may not interfere with internal Department of Justice deliberations on seeking the death penalty in Jacques' case. "The government opposes court intervention in its charging deliberations," Anderson wrote. "Such intervention would preclude the executive branch from obtaining information and reaching decisions with the time-frame it deems appropriate." The court feud over the use of the death penalty in the murder case comes less than a month after the 42-year-old Jacques was formally charged with Bennett's murder; he was held on other charges soon after her disappearance this summer. Prosecutors say Jacques, who was Bennett's uncle, lured the girl to his home on June 25 under the premise that she would be attending a pool party. Instead, police say he drugged, raped and killed her before leaving her body in a shallow grave about a mile from his home. The case shocked the small town of Braintree where Bennett lived and kicked off a series of off-session legislative hearings at the Vermont Statehouse focusing on how the state convicts and attempts to rehabilitate sex offenders. Jacques was a convicted sex offender. Lawmakers are scheduled to unveil those recommendations at a 3 p.m. Statehouse press conference Wednesday. Michael Mello, a professor at the Vermont Law School and a death penalty expert, said it is typical in these cases to see lots of pre-trial motions from both sides. But the move by the defense attorneys to dictate the timeline that the Justice Department can consider the death penalty is unusual, he said. "It is very surprising that the defense is trying to persuade Judge [William K.] Sessions to intervene in the Justice Department's decision-making process," Mello said. "That raises some real separation of power issues and places us in uncharted territory." Jacques' defense attorneys asked Sessions on Oct. 30 to set the following deadlines in the case before it goes to trial: April 2009 for the defense to present reasons why Jacques should not face the death penalty; May 2009 for prosecutors to make a recommendation to the Justice Department; August 2009 for a meeting between the defense and the committee that reviews death penalty cases; October 2009 for the prosecutors to file intent to seek the death penalty with the court. The accused killer's defense attorneys state that the evidence discovery process is still under way as prosecutors have made available to them "thousands of pages of documents, including statements by the defendant, hundreds of e-mails, the results of some scientific testing, the results of several search warrants, and other documents." But defense attorneys need more time to prepare a mitigation defense one that would either convince the Justice Department or a jury not to seek the death penalty against Jacques, they wrote. "The principle that 'death is different' is not simply the dramatic recitation of a self-evident truth; rather, it forms the bedrock of a death-penalty jurisprudence that is marked and defined by a justly deserved increased level of judicial attention to every step of the process through which the irrevocable sanction of death is sought and carried out," the attorneys wrote. But Anderson responded in a court filing late last week that the process to determine if the death penalty will be sought provides several opportunities for the defense to present their case. He suggests setting an April 2009 deadline for the Justice Department to file intent to seek the death penalty with the court. "Any court-imposed requirement that defendants be given the opportunity to present mitigating evidence before the Attorney General may proceed with his determination or controlling the timing of any such presentation would constitute a serious infringement of the Attorney General's constitutionally-deprived, and largely unfettered, prosecutorial discretion," he wrote. (source: Barre Montpelier Times Argus) **************** Lawyers Argue Over Death Penalty Deadline----Defense Lawyers Push For Deadline Federal prosecutors and defense lawyers in the case of a Randolph man charged with raping and killing his 12-year-old niece are arguing over whether the government should face a deadline to decide if it wants to seek the death penalty against Michael Jacques. In papers filed in federal court in Burlington, defense lawyers David Ruhnke and Jean Barrett asked the government be required to decide by Oct. 5, 2009, whether to seek the death penalty against Jacques, 42. Prosecutors said they expect to decide by April whether to seek the death penalty . But they argue the court should not impose a deadline. Jacques is charged in the late June abduction of 12-year-old Brooke Bennett, whose body was found near his home a week later. (source: WPTZ News) GEORGIA: BRIAN NICHOLS TRIAL----Jurors sent home til Wednesday in Nichols case; Jury will then start hearing evidence to determine whether to impose death penalty Brian Nichols won another delay in his death-penalty trial Monday when the judge put off testimony to give defense lawyers time to prepare for witnesses to try to save Nichols from execution. A Fulton County jury convicted Nichols Friday of 54 crimes, including four murders, and the prosecution was planned to start calling witnesses to make its case for lethal injection. Defense lawyers had argued they needed to know which witnesses on the states 600-person witness list are likely to testify and on what topic. Superior Court Judge James Bodiford ordered jurors to return Wednesday at 8:40 a.m. "Justice got in the way of efficiency today," Bodiford told jurors. Bodiford ordered prosecutors to prepare a one-paragraph summary on each witness they expect to call. Lead prosecutor Kellie Hill to said she would also make the witnesses available for defense lawyers to question before they testify . Bodiford and the lawyers will meet at 1 p.m. Tuesday to resolve any legal issues at the Atlanta Municipal Court building, which is otherwise closed for Veterans Day. "Anything we can possibly foresee, we're going to resolve in the next 48 hours so we can use your time efficiently," Bodiford told jurors. Much criticism has been aimed at the Nichols' case for the frequent delays in bringing it to trial. Most of the delays happened under Senior Superior Court Judge Hilton Fuller, whom Bodiford replaced last February after Fuller resigned from the case. Bodiford has kept the case moving saying he feared the delays were undermining public confidence in the judiciary and has said he expects a jury decision on whether Nichols should receive lethal injection or life in prison after Thanksgiving. Initial projections said the trial would last until after Christmas. Nichols, 36, shot to death 4 people on March 11, 2005, after he escaped from his holding cell at the Fulton County Courthouse where he was on trial for rape. He escaped by overpowering his guard, taking her gun and leaving her brain-damaged and then went to his courtroom where he shot to death the judge and court reporter inside the courtroom, killed a pursing deputy outside the courthouse, and an off-duty federal agent later that day. He pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, saying delusions that he was leading a "slave revolt" against an unjust justice system compelled him view the killings as acts of war. 93 witnesses testified during the 32-day guilt-or innocence phase of the trial. The case was moved to Atlanta Municipal Court since three of the shootings happened at the Fulton County Courthouse, making the building a crime scene. Court rules generally prohibit jurors from visiting crime scenes on their own during a trial. Defense lawyers wanted to delay bringing the jury back until Wednesday afternoon to give them time to resolve legal issues that morning if necessary. Bodiford refused, saying they would work into the night Tuesday if necessary so they would be ready. "This case has already had enough stops and starts," Bodiford said. (source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution) OKLAHOMA: 2 city men face trial in dancers slaying 2 Oklahoma City men accused of killing an exotic dancer in a robbery attempt discussed the shooting shortly before they were arrested in August, a witness testified Monday. Laverie O. Franklin was "wigging out and asked Nicco Travon Barnett why he had shot the woman they had tried to rob several days earlier, Franklins cousin said. "He (Barnett) said he shot the girl because she was stabbing him," the woman testified during a preliminary hearing. She said Franklin was adamant the July 31 shooting that killed Vanessa Swaissi "shouldnt have happened." An Oklahoma County judge ruled Monday there was sufficient evidence to hold Barnett, 18, and Franklin, 21, for trial on 1st-degree murder charges. The 2 men will be arraigned Dec. 12 to allow prosecutors to consider whether to pursue the death penalty in the case. (source: The Oklahoman) ****************** Double-murder retrial begins in Tulsa The retrial of a man on charges he killed a Tulsa woman and an Owasso man is under way in Tulsa. Victor Miller is charged with first-degree murder in the August 1999 deaths of 77-year-old Mary Bowles and 44-year-old Jerald Thurman. Prosecutors say Miller and George Hanson carjacked Bowles from a Tulsa mall parking lot and took her to a remote area of north Tulsa where Thurman happened to be picking up a load of dirt. Investigators say Miller shot Thurman to death while Hanson shot Bowles. Miller's 2002 conviction and death sentence was overturned while Hanson's conviction was upheld. Hanson is appealing his death sentence. (source: Associated Press)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, VER., GA., OKLA.
Rick Halperin Tue, 11 Nov 2008 13:15:48 -0600 (Central Standard Time)
