Oct. 11
TEXAS:
Appeals court upholds conviction, death penalty for John Allen Rubio
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled on Wednesday to uphold the conviction
and death penalty for Brownsville child killer John Allen Rubio.
Brownsville police arrested Rubio and his common-law wife Angela Camacho for
the murders and decapitations of their three children back in March 2003.
Rubio was convicted and given the death penalty back in November 2003 while
Camacho got a life sentence.
A higher court granted Rubio a new trial, which ended with him being found
guilty and sentenced to death again back in in August 2010.
Rubio's case has been tied up in courts for the appeals process ever since.
The Court of Criminal Appeals issued a ruling on Wednesday morning saying that
the court unanimously rejected Rubio's four arguments as being "without merit."
According to the ruling, the court upheld the Augsut 2010 conviction and the
death penalty.
(source: Valley Central News)
GEORGIA:
Closing arguments delayed in accused cop killer's trial
The jury in the William Woodard death penalty trial is expected to begin
deliberating by week's end, with closing arguments expected Thursday.
The week began with Woodard, 34, testifying that he acted in self-defense when
he shot 2 off-duty DeKalb County police officers moonlighting at an apartment
complex.
"DeKalb County will shoot you 1st and ask questions later," said Woodard, who
has a history of drug arrests and convictions. He testified that officers Eric
Barker and Ricky Bryant were "jumping and beating me" before firing shots that
missed.
Prosecutors will argue that it was Woodard who shot 1st on Jan. 16, 2008,
before fleeing Victory Crossing apartments only to return to finish off the
officers. He and Herbie Durham were pulled over after the officers said they
smelled marijuana coming from a car driven Durham.
Durham testified Woodard would not hand over his license, prompting Bryant to
pull him from the car. Durham said he then heard about 8 shots. Once the
shooting stopped, he said, he got out of the car and saw the officers on the
ground.
"One of them I knew wasn't going to make it, but the one I thought was Barker I
hoped he would," Durham said.
Several other witnesses testified that Woodard was the aggressor. DeKalb County
District Attorney Robert James asked Woodard how he managed to avoid the
bullets he alleged were fired by the 2 officers.
"I guess by the grace of God," Woodard said.
Defense attorney Dwight Thomas portrayed his client as the victim, telling
jurors that Woodard was devastated by the shooting.
"The officers offered him no choice," Thomas said.
(source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
SOUTH DAKOTA----impending execution//volunteer
Moeller: 'It's time,' South Dakota judge dismisses lethal injection appeal
The judge in the convicted killer Donald Moeller's case has dismissed a
constitutional challenge to South Dakota's execution method.
On October 4, Moeller appeared in federal court as part of an appeal of South
Dakota's 1 drug method of lethal injection. However, at the hearing Moeller
told the court, "I want to pay what I owe. I believe the death penalty is just
in this case."
Moeller is scheduled to be executed no early than 12:01 a.m. during the week of
Sunday October 28 through Saturday November 3.
On Tuesday October 9, Moeller sent a letter to Judge Piersol requesting his
Arkansas attorneys, who are challenging South Dakota's execution methods as
cruel and unusual punishment, to be dropped from as his representation and
asking for his federal case to be dismissed.
South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announced Wednesday that Judge
Lawrence Piersol dismissed the constitutional challenge. Jackley said in a news
release that the dismissal does not change the state's plans for Moeller's
execution.
"The state is committed to performing an execution according to constitutional
standards," Jackley said in a news release. "For 22 years Donald Moeller has
remained silent concerning his role in Becky's death. It is important to her
family that Moeller has finally admitted his guilt."
Moeller said he agrees, saying at the hearing, "It's time. If the rape and
murder of Rebecca O'Connell does not deserve the death penalty, then I guest
nothing does."
(source: KSFY News)
****************************
Judge lets Donald Moeller cancel appeal; Just weeks away from execution, killer
tells court: 'It's time'
A convicted killer scheduled to die in three weeks knew what he was doing when
he canceled his final appeal, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.
Donald Moeller's court-appointed lawyers from Arkansas have been arguing South
Dakota's drug protocol for ending the inmate's life will cause him significant
pain, rendering the process unconstitutional. But Moeller himself said last
week that he does not object to the state's plans and wants the appeals - and
his life - to end.
Mark Marshall, the Rapid City lawyer who has represented Moeller in his appeals
for more than a decade, informed the judge on Oct. 2 that the 60-year-old
inmate was ready to die. But the Arkansas lawyers objected, so U.S. District
Judge Lawrence Piersol called Moeller into court two days later.
"It's time," Moeller told the judge, admitting his guilt for the 1990 crimes.
"If the rape and murder of Rebecca O'Connell does not deserve the death
penalty, then I guess nothing does."
In a written ruling Wednesday, Piersol accepted Moeller's request, concluding
Moeller was capable of making decisions about his own fate and that the
Arkansas lawyers were not representing his interests.
"During the court's extensive questioning of Moeller, he was at all times
articulate and coherent with regard to the nature of his (appeal) and the
consequences of abandoning the action. Furthermore, Moeller admitted
kidnapping, raping and murdering Rebecca O'Connell, and expressed his belief
that he had done an evil thing in raping and killing 'that little girl,' and
that he had to pay for his action,'" Piersol wrote.
He continued: "Moeller fully comprehends the consequences of the stipulation to
dismiss this action and is adamant that the stipulation to dismiss be upheld."
The consequences are death by lethal injection, sometime between Oct. 28 and
Nov. 3. State agents will use pentobarbital, the drug Moeller's Arkansas
lawyers raised concerns about. Scott Braden, the lawyer Piersol removed from
the case on Wednesday, declined to comment on the ruling.
Attorney General Marty Jackley said the state will proceed with its plans for
Moeller.
"The state is committed to performing an execution according to constitutional
standards," he said in a prepared release. "We have safeguards in place to
assure a humane and dignified execution process for every inmate on South
Dakota's death row."
Another death row inmate, Eric Robert, is set to die by lethal injection next
week for murdering corrections officer Ron Johnson during a failed escape
attempt in 2011.
PENNSYLVANIA:
Death penalty sought in Monroe County double homicide
A Pocono Summit man accused of fatally shooting 2 men over a debt will face the
death penalty if a jury finds him guilty of criminal homicide, Monroe County
District Attorney E. David Christine Jr. announced Wednesday.
Following more than an hour of testimony at a preliminary hearing Wednesday,
Magisterial District Judge Anthony D. Fluegel ruled there was enough evidence
to send Luis Vasquez, 28, to trial for allegedly shooting to death Bertoldo
Velez, 55, and Joseph King, 38, in Coolbaugh Twp. Park on Aug. 16. After the
hearing, Mr. Christine said he would seek the death penalty against Mr. Vasquez
because the case involves 2 murders. At the hearing, investigators said a
passer-by found a backpack in a drainage ditch about 100 yards from Mr.
Vasquez's home, weeks after the crime. Police sent items in the bag, which
included a .45-caliber handgun, a T-shirt, jeans and latex gloves, to a lab for
DNA testing.
Tests indicated the DNA of Mr. Vasquez and Mr. Velez was on the T-shirt and on
the latex gloves, Detective Richard Luthcke of the Pocono Mountain Regional
Police Department testified. A blood stain on the pants matched Mr. Velez's
DNA, the detective testified.
At the park, police took into evidence a rock found near Mr. Velez's body,
which they believe was smashed into his head.
"The entire top half (of his head) was gone," Officer Derek Chaffee testified.
Testing indicated Mr. Vasquez and Mr. Velez's DNA was on the rock, the
detective testified.
As for the .45-caliber handgun, police recovered several .45 caliber shell
casings at the scene of the crime, according to court testimony.
Mr. Velez and Mr. King were shot multiple times. Investigators believe Mr.
Vasquez killed Mr. Velez and Mr. King because they were demanding he pay off a
$20,000 loan Mr. Velez gave him, according to court testimony.
Mr. Vasquez was paying $300 every week or so. About $150 went to pay the loan's
principal and the rest went to interest, Detective John Bohrman testified.
Mr. Velez and Mr. King were at the park to collect the debt.
(source: The Times-Tribune)
*********************
Breakiron attorney: death penalty should be quashed
A Uniontown attorney contended that prosecutors should not be able to retry a
man in a 1987 homicide, or in the alternative, should not be allowed to seek
the death penalty in the case.
Mark David Breakiron, 50, of Hopwood was convicted of 1st-degree murder and
sentenced to death for killing Sandra Martin, 24, of Smithfield at Shenanigan's
Lounge in German Township. However, Breakiron's murder and robbery convictions
were overturned by a federal court when a judge found that evidence of benefits
for prosecutors' key witness, Ellis Price, were withheld from Breakiron's trial
attorney. Price, the judge found, also lied on the stand about the nature of a
prior criminal conviction, and prosecutors did nothing to correct it.
Earlier this year, Breakiron's attorney, Samuel J. Davis and Dianne Zerega,
argued that prosecutors should be able to seek the death penalty again because
there is no evidence to support the aggravating factors of torture and robbery.
They also argued that Breakiron should not be retried because of the
prosecutorial misconduct that ultimately overturned his convictions.
Fayette County Judge Steve P. Leskinen rejected those claims, prompting an
appeal to the state Superior Court.
In paperwork filed earlier this week, Davis contended that the commonwealth's
own doctor could not testify during Breakiron's initial trial that aggravating
circumstance of torture existed when Martin was killed. He argued in the filing
that prosecutors had to prove that Breakiron "specifically intended to inflict
considerable pain and suffering that was separate and apart from the pain and
suffering he inflicted during the killing itself.
(source: Herald Standard)
FLORIDA:
Justices stay Fla. execution 2 days until Oct. 18
A convicted mass killer has received at least 2 more days of life.
The Florida Supreme Court granted 64-year-old John Errol Ferguson a 2-day stay
of execution Thursday so the justices can hear another appeal. The stay expires
at 4 p.m. on Oct. 18
Ferguson has spent 34 years on death row for killing 8 people in South Florida.
6 victims died in a drug related, execution-style mass killing in Carol City.
Ferguson also was convicted of killing 2 Hialeah teenagers on their way to a
church meeting.
Ferguson's lawyers have asked a trial judge in Bradford County to overturn Gov.
Rick Scott's finding that he is not insane. The high court anticipates getting
an appeal regardless of how the judge rules. The decision is expected Friday.
(source: Associated Press)
******************
Gadsden jury recommends death penalty for Quincy man; Marvin Cannon was
convicted in Christmas Eve 2010 fatal stabbing
A Gadsden County jury recommended the death penalty on Wednesday for a Quincy
man found guilty in the fatal stabbing of a man on Christmas Eve 2010.
Marvin Cannon was convicted of all 5 counts - 1st-degree murder, attempted
1st-degree murder, armed robbery, attempted armed robbery and arson - in the
attack that left 1 man dead and another injured.
Cannon and another man robbed and stabbed Zecheriah Morgan, 58, of Marianna,
and Sean Neel, of Chattahoochee. Morgan died from multiple stab wounds while
Neel recovered from his injuries.
On the day of the crime, Morgan and Neel picked up Cannon and Anton McMillan
near Quincy and drove to the rural Flat Creek Road area, said Investigator
Robert Maxwell of the Gadsden County Sheriff's Office.
The victims believed they were going to buy corn from the men.
Deputies arrived on the scene, found McMillan nearby and arrested him. Cannon
was arrested days later in a Quincy hotel, said GCSO Capt. Jim Corder.
McMillan, also of Quincy, has not been tried due to questions about his mental
capability.
The jury's decision was between life in prison without parole or the death
penalty.
After final arguments were given - in which Cannon's life as a farmhand and
family man were discussed, as well as details of the killing - the jury
deliberated for an hour before reaching their decision.
Cannon will be sentenced Nov. 2.
(source: Tallahassee Democrat)
********************************
Death penalty recommended for Morgan's killer
In a split vote, a Gadsden County jury recommended the death penalty Wednesday
for Marvin Cannon, the man convicted on Monday of 1st degree murder in the
death of Jackson County resident Zack Morgan. The vote was 9-3 in favor of the
death penalty, and came after about 90 minutes of deliberation. Judge Jonathan
Sjostrom, who presided over the trial, will make the final decision on penalty.
A hearing on the matter is set for Nov. 2, according to the lead prosecutor in
the case, Assistant State Attorney Rick Combs.
In December 2010, Morgan was stabbed at least 30 times in a Gadsden County corn
field, where he'd gone to obtain hunting corn from Cannon. The friend who had
accompanied Morgan there, Sean Neel, was stabbed as well but survived. Morgan,
Neel, Cannon and Anton McMillian, a companion of Cannon, were all in Morgan's
truck, with Morgan behind the wheel, when Cannon turned on Morgan and Neel.
Neel was stabbed 1st as the 4 men travelled into the field. Morgan yelled at
Neel, Neel opened the door and bailed out, and Morgan floored the accelerator
after Neel was thrown clear. These actions by Morgan may have been what saved
Neel's life; he was able to run to a nearby home and summon a resident to the
scene. Neel stayed at that house while the resident entered the field with a .
357 magnum firearm and drove to Morgan's truck. The resident found Morgan there
stabbed to death and his truck crashed into a tree. He also found McMillian,
and held him at gunpoint until authorities could arrive. Cannon had fled but
was captured a few days later at a motel in Quincy.
On Monday, after about 3 hours of deliberation, the jury had convicted Cannon
of 1st degree murder, attempted 1st degree murder, armed robbery with a deadly
weapon, attempted armed robbery with a deadly weapon, and arson of a vehicle.
McMillian won't face trial any time soon. He is being held in the Mentally
Retarded Defendant Program at Florida State Hospital in Chattahoochee. He was
placed there some time ago and returned to the facility after a follow-up
hearing on his competency about 7 weeks ago. However, he has been deemed
"restorable and trainable," according to Combs, and the state is expected to
pursue prosecution if there is a positive competency determination in the
future.
(source: Jackson County Floridian)
*********************
Yes on Florida Supreme Court justices
The merit retention questions on Florida Supreme Court justices are generally
routine and attract little attention, because the court is well-respected and
has operated without scandal for decades. This year is different. This year, 3
justices are under an unprecedented political assault by the Republican Party
of Florida and outside conservative groups that are upset with some of the
court's decisions. Floridians should reject this attempt to intimidate and
politicize the state's highest court, and they should retain Justices R. Fred
Lewis, Barbara J. Pariente and Peggy A. Quince.
This is the most serious attempt to compromise the Supreme Court's independence
since the corruption scandals of the early 1970s that resulted in the
resignations of 2 justices and a reprimand of another. Following that political
disgrace, voters in 1976 amended the state Constitution to provide that all
justices - and judges on the district courts of appeal - be appointed by the
governor rather than elected by the voters. Every 6 years, voters decide
whether these justices and judges should be retained in a process called merit
retention.
The justices are not running against each other, and they are not on the ballot
because they did something wrong. Merit retention is an opportunity for voters
to consider whether the justices should remain on the court and are ethical,
impartial and qualified. It is not about voicing disagreement with some of the
court's opinions, but that is exactly what the state Republican Party is doing
in targeting these justices.
The state party points to a 2003 court opinion that ordered a new trial for a
man who had been sentenced to death for a particularly gruesome 1984 murder.
The issue hinged on whether the man's attorney acted appropriately and with his
client's permission, and the U.S. Supreme Court reached a different conclusion
and unanimously overturned the state court's decision. This case was clearly
chosen out of thousands of others to inflame the passion of voters.
The reality is that Republicans have been unhappy with the court because it has
served as an important check on the heavy handedness by Gov. Rick Scott and the
Legislature. It ruled Scott overstepped his authority shortly after taking
office last year by signing an executive order seizing control of the state
rulemaking process. Republican lawmakers, particularly outgoing House Speaker
Dean Cannon, were furious that the court removed three of the Legislature's
proposed constitutional amendments for the 2010 ballot because they were
misleading.
Persuading voters to remove the three justices on the November ballot would
enable Scott to appoint the replacements and stack the court. President
Franklin Roosevelt tried that in the 1930s with the U.S. Supreme Court. It did
not work then, and it should not work in Florida now. These justices are
well-qualified and there is no reason to remove them from the court.
The Florida Bar has polled its members about the Supreme Court justices since
the 1st merit retention vote in 1978. More than 7,800 lawyers participated this
time, and each justice won support for being retained by at least 89 %. That's
not even close.
Lewis, 64, was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1998 by the late Gov. Lawton
Chiles, and he won 67 percent of the vote in his last merit retention in 2006.
He graduated from the University of Miami law school and worked in private
practice in South Florida, specializing in civil trial and appellate
litigation.
As chief justice, Lewis founded Justice Teaching, which has placed thousands of
lawyers and judges in public schools to educate students in civic and legal
issues. Lewis also has been active in areas relating to mental illness issues
and the justice system, and he has won numerous awards for his work on other
topics such as promoting diversity and court access to persons with
disabilities.
Pariente, 63, received her law degree from George Washington University and was
appointed to the court by Chiles in 1997. She specialized in civil litigation
in South Florida before she was appointed as an appellate judge in 1993.
A former chief justice, Pariente has supported efforts to create alternatives
to prison such as Florida's drug courts. She also works to improve the handling
of cases involving families and children, and she was inducted into the Florida
Women's Hall of Fame in 2008. In 2006, Pariente won merit retention with 68 %
of the vote.
Quince, 64, received her law degree from Catholic University of America and was
appointed to the court by Chiles and Gov.-elect Jeb Bush in 1998. She worked as
a private attorney and then spent more than a decade in the state attorney
general's office, handling death penalty cases and other appellate criminal
cases.
A former chief justice, Quince became the 1st African-American woman to be
named to one of the district courts of appeal when Chiles appointed her in
1993. In 2006, she won merit retention with 68 % of the vote.
Lewis, Pariente and Quince are accomplished lawyers and justices, and there is
absolutely no reason to remove them from the Supreme Court. The politically
motivated campaign to oust them because of ideological opposition to a handful
of the court's opinions threatens the court's independence.
On the merit retention questions for Florida Supreme Court Justices R. Fred
Lewis, Barbara J. Pariente and Peggy A. Quince, the Tampa Bay Times recommends
a yes vote.
(source: Editorial, Tampa Bay Times)
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