Nov. 20
TEXAS:
DA's office pursuing death penalty for Angelina double-murder suspect
Prosecutors with the Angelina County District Attorney's Office will be
pursuing the death penalty for a Lufkin man accused of stabbing his girlfriend
and her brother to death in July.
An attorney for Terrance Demound Barnes, 32, said in District Judge Paul
White's court Monday that her understanding was the state is pursuing the death
penalty for her client.
Attorneys from both sides were in court to go over different pre-trial motions.
Barnes is scheduled to go on trial in August of 2013.
Authorities believe Barnes stabbed his girlfriend, Rosa Pina, and her brother,
Pepe Pina, to death at their residence on John Kolb Road on July 26. He was
arrested in the area that night, following a massive manhunt. Authorities say
he confessed to the stabbings.
(source: KTRE)
GEORGIA:
Death sentences overturned for man who killed family
The Georgia Supreme Court on Monday threw out death sentences imposed by a
DeKalb County jury against a man who killed his wife and the couple's
2-year-old twin sons.
In a unanimous decision, the court upheld the murder convictions against
Clayton Jerrod Ellington but sent the case back for a new sentencing trial. The
court said Ellington's lawyers should have been allowed to ask prospective
jurors whether they would have automatically imposed the death penalty in a
case involving the murder of children.
When Ellington's death sentences, imposed for each of the 3 murders, were
handed down in 2008, it was the 1st time a DeKalb jury had sentenced someone to
death in almost 2 decades.
DeKalb District Attorney Robert James said his office "intends to continue to
pursue justice and seek the death penalty in this case for this horrendous
crime."
Using a claw hammer, Ellington bludgeoned to death his wife, Berna, and their
twin children, Christian and Cameron, at the family's home near Lithonia on May
17, 2006. Prosecutors said Ellington, obsessed with a new girlfriend, committed
the murders because he wanted out of the relationship.
Then-Superior Court Judge Anne Workman, who presided over the trial, prohibited
Ellington's lawyers from asking prospective jurors if they believed a life
sentence was severe enough punishment for a person convicted of deliberately
killing a child.
She also barred Ellington's lawyers from telling prospective jurors the case
was about deceased children. She only allowed questions about it if the jurors
brought up the issue themselves.
Justice David Nahmias, writing for the court, said Ellington's lawyers were
entitled to ask the prospective jurors whether they would have automatically
voted for death in a case involving child murders.
The questioning of prospective jurors is "the engine of selecting a jury that
will be fair and impartial," Nahmias wrote.
"As to the jury's decision on the sentences in this case, our experience in
criminal justice matters and simple common sense indicate that the fact that 2
of the victims were young children was the critical issue," the ruling said.
There were other aggravating factors in the case, but ???the 1st point the
average person would note in describing this case is that Ellington murdered
his two 2-year-old sons."
Nahmias noted that the DeKalb prosecutor who strenuously objected to any
inquiry about the jurors' views on child victims understood the power of that
fact. He focused on the twin boys' deaths from the time he made his opening
statement to when he argued for a death sentence, Nahmias wrote.
Jury selection revealed that a few prospective jurors knew, because of pretrial
publicity, or surmised that the case involved deceased children. One juror was
in tears when she discussed the issue of child murder victims, while another
said death was the only sentence he would give in such a case. These jurors
were excused on grounds they could not be impartial, the ruling said.
(source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
FLORIDA:
State seeks death penalty for man accused of killing 2 prostitutes
The state is seeking the death penalty for James Maxwell, the Port Orange man
accused of killing 2 prostitutes, the Volusia County State Attorney's Office
said Monday.
Prosecutors filed their motion on Friday.
Maxwell, 44, is charged with strangling Chastity Starr on Jan. 15, 2011 and
Pamela Sue Will on Sept. 10, 2010. Starr's body was found buried in Maxwell's
yard in June. Will's body was found in January 2011 behind an Ormond Beach
business where Maxwell once worked.
(source: Orlando Sentinel)
NORTH CAROLINA:
Death penalty restrictions may relax
Although 4 capital trials were held this year in North Carolina, no new death
sentences were imposed - but that could soon change.
The last execution in the state was carried out in 2006, but legal obstacles to
the state's use of the death penalty could be relaxed.
Rep. Paul Stam, R-Wake, said use of the death penalty has been a subject of
litigation, which included the N.C. Medical Board's claim that it was unethical
for a doctor to participate in an execution.
He added that as soon as executions for those convicted of pre-meditated,
deliberate murders with aggravating factors continue, the punishment will serve
as a deterrent to future homicides.
But Peg Dorer, director of the N.C. Conference of District Attorneys, said the
pursuit of the death penalty is a litigious and time-consuming process.
She said the families of the victims might not be willing to endure the
lengthiness of such a trial when there is no guarantee of closure.
"Death penalty cases are going to be a 10- to 20-year process, and the death
sentence might not be carried out," she said.
Jim Woodall, district attorney for Orange and Chatham counties, said
prosecutors now seek the death penalty in fewer cases.
"Juries are much more reluctant to impose the death penalty than they have been
in the past," he said.
Woodall said one reason for the decrease is the fear of wrongful convictions.
Juries are also keenly aware of high profile exonerations, he added.
Elizabeth Koch, a staff attorney at the Center for Death Penalty Litigation,
said juries presented with the option are rejecting the death sentence more
often.
"I think it's an indication of where juries are in terms of their willingness
to impose death penalties," she said.
She added that the 2001 creation of Indigent Defense Services, which provides a
state attorney to defendants who cannot afford legal fees, ensured competence
in attorneys appointed to capital cases.
The increase in quality of representation has allowed juries to form a more
complete picture of the defendant's background and why they committed the
crime, she said.
"When you see the defendant as a human being, it???s much harder to impose the
death penalty," she said.
Dorer said ultimately the decision rests with those on the jury, and for a
death sentence, it must be unanimous.
"As has always been the case, jurors are not quick to sentence someone to
death," she said.
Woodall said even though public opinion might favor the death penalty as an
option, a jury will look more deeply at the issue.
He added that there should be a definitive answer from legislators about the
death penalty in N.C.
"I would like to see the state legislature make a decision that they're going
to stand up and be counted," he said.
(source: The Daily Tar Heel)
CONNECTICUT:
Jury Begins Deliberating In Death Penalty Case In Rockville
Jurors began deliberating the fate of Jose Jusino Monday, but did not reach a
verdict. The jury will resume its work Tuesday morning.
Jusino, 25, is charged with murder in the death of his cellmate, Reynaldo
Robles, at Northern Correctional Institution in Somers on July 29, 2009. If
jurors find Jusino guilty, they'll then hear evidence in a penalty phase of the
trial to decide whether Jusino is guilty of capital felony, the state's death
penalty law.
Although Connecticut abolished capital punishment last spring, the legislature
left the death penalty in place for crimes committed prior to the change in the
law.
Jusino did not testify at his trial, but as his defense attorney, Michael
Fitzpatrick of Bridgeport, pointed out, he provided much of the evidence
against himself.
The jury heard from four correction officers to whom Jusino admitted his
involvement in the killing of Robles. Jurors also heard from a state police
detective who heard his confession, then had him sign a written statement in
which he confessed again. They viewed two letters and a communication to the
warden at Northern in which Jusino admitted to the killing, and viewed videos
on which he admitted killing Robles.
"This was a 2-man cell," Tolland State's Attorney Matthew C. Gedansky told the
jury during his closing argument. "This is not a whodunit crime."
Fitzpatrick asked jurors to consider whether Jusino's admissions to the killing
were boasting or embellishment.
"You have to decide, is he a good historian?" Fitzpatrick said. "Are his words
sufficiently reliable?"
He also suggested that Jusino snapped after listening to Robles complain about
his problems.
"What would compel someone to do this to someone who is dead?" Fitzpatrick
said, referring to the allegation that Jusino carved his gang affiliation and
nickname, King Guala, into Robles' chest. "Rage would compel some to do this."
Jusino is a "disturbed person," Fitzpatrick said, "who doesn't have the
temperament to sit for an hour and let someone else vent."
Gedansky told jurors that Fitzpatrick was asking them to speculate and instead
urged them to focus on the facts presented during the trial, including the
testimony of witnesses to whom Jusino confessed.
There's no evidence of rage, Gedansky said, but there is evidence of "cold,
calculated, decision-making."
The state contends Jusino killed Robles after Robles returned from a court
appearance. Jusino punched Robles in the head, knocked him out, then bound him
with ripped bedsheets, the state told the jury. He then strangled Robles and
carved his name into his chest.
Jusino is eligible to be charged with capital felony because he is serving a
30-year sentence for murder. Someone convicted of murder who is convicted a 2nd
time in another case can be charged with capital felony.
(source: Hartford Courant)
CALIFORNIA:
Prosecutors Seek to Jump Start Death Penalty
It's been 6 years since the state has executed a prisoner. In 14 cases, the
condemned men have no legal recourse left and are simply awaiting the state to
resume their lethal injections.
For some prosecutors, the wait has gone on long enough. All along the state,
requests are being made to abandon the questionable 3-drug lethal cocktail that
had been used as capital punishment. That cocktail was subject to a successful
lawsuit by 1 inmate who said that it can be so badly delivered as to force them
to suffer cruel and unusual punishment.
The 1-drug method has already been adopted in 6 states.
With the recent failure of Proposition 34, which would have done-away with the
death penalty, prosecutors are saying that they have a renewed mandate from the
state's voters, and a single-drug method would comply with that mandate.
However, courts are rejecting the requests for death warrants, pending federal
court decisions.
(source: publicceo.com)
*************************
Death penalty: difference between marathon and sprint to the finish
Father Michael Carson, pastor of Queen of Apostles Parish, San Jose, and a
long-time advocate against the death penalty, responded to the Nov. 6 defeat of
Proposition 34:
I have been asked what it means for California now that Proposition 34 has been
defeated. Proposition 34 would have removed the death penalty in favor of life
imprisonment with the possibility of parole.
Many people in the Diocese of San Jose sacrificed time with family, sleep, and
resources for this effort. The campaign was truly a grassroots effort, not only
in Santa Clara County, but also across California. Even though 34 did not pass
we still have reason to celebrate.
When I started this work some 18 years ago, the polls had support for the death
penalty running around 87 % in favor. The idea that 47 % of Californians would
one day vote against the death penalty was a dream, but that dream came true on
Nov. 6.
For the future, fellow abolitionists in the diocese and around the state will
be seeking to get the remaining 4 % so we can one day cross the finishing line
of this marathon. This recent election got the word out about the death
penalty. That alone made it a success.
We know that Christ embraces and celebrates his greatest gift of life in all of
us. That gift from the womb to the tomb needs to be constantly defended whether
this work is a sprint or a marathon to the finish line. We are here for the
duration, so we can echo St. Paul's words: "I have fought the good fight, I
have finished the race, I have kept the faith."
(source: The Valley Catholic)
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