Jan. 25
FLORIDA:
Man defending himself in death penalty trial takes the witness stand
There is a huge reason many defendants choose not to testify at their trials:
Cross-examination.
But Khalid Pasha, 69, is not like many defendants. Facing the death penalty, he
opted not for an attorney specially qualified to handle capital cases. Instead,
he chose himself.
And facing physical evidence that he murdered his wife and her daughter, he
told a story that placed him at the murder scene with them alive, then
happening upon their bodies, then driving away without telling anybody.
Robin Canady, 43, and Ranesha Singleton, 20, were found dead the night of Aug.
23, 2002, their throats slit, in the most remote corner of the complex where
they worked, the Woodland Corporate Center on Waters Avenue.
Deputies stopped Pasha as he was leaving the complex. They found fresh blood on
his face and clothes and on a knife inside his van.
On Thursday, he told jurors his wife called him to the complex that night. He
was with her and her stepdaughter in her car, but they were separated at one
point. And the next time he saw them, they were dead.
The blood on his suit? He cradled one of the bodies - the innocent act of a man
who had just lost his family. Earlier, he said he had killed a rabbit.
The knife in the van? He'd never seen it. Except that he later said it was from
his yard. But he didn't put blood on it.
Why didn't he call for help on 1 of his 2 cellphones?
Why didn't he tell deputies?
"I'm not from Florida," he said. "I know people down here are friendly. Where
I'm from...Indiana...you don't communicate with people you don't know."
Assistant State Attorney Jalal Harb questioned Pasha like a prosecutor might in
a movie - ardent, accusatory:
"Isn't it true, Mr. Pasha, that was the guilty conscience in you, sir?"
"You're very unlucky. Isn't that what you think you are?"
"You killed these two ladies. The question is why?"
But Pasha insisted he was telling the truth.
The jury reconvenes this morning.
(source: Tampa Bay Times)
ARIZONA:
8 from county sit on death row
The trial of Mohave County's only pending death penalty case begins Feb. 1 with
jury selection.
Darrell Bryant Ketchner, 54, is the county's only pending capital criminal
case. He faces the death penalty for the July 4, 2009, murder of Ariel Allison,
18, and shooting and stabbing her mother in Kingman. 3 other children escaped
the rampage.
There are 120 men and 3 women sitting on death row in Arizona.
The men are housed at the Arizona State Prison Complex-Eyman near Florence. The
women are housed at ASPC-Perryville near Goodyear.
Executions take place at the central unit at ASPC-Florence.
Of the 123 death row inmates, 77 are caucasians, 24 are Mexican Americans, 15
are African Americans and 3 Native Americans.
The most recent execution was Richard Stokley, who was executed Dec. 5 for
killing 2 girls in Cochise County.
Daniel Wayne Cook, 51, was the most recent Mohave County inmate to be executed.
He was put to death in August 2012 for beating, torturing and killing a man and
a 16-year-old boy in Lake Havasu City in July 1987.
Brad Lee Nelson, 42, was sentenced to death in December 2009 for the 2006
beating death of Amber Leann Graff of Golden Valley. The Arizona Supreme Court
upheld his conviction and sentence in April 2012. His attorney is again
appealing his case.
Charles David Ellison, 47, of Lake Havasu City, was sentenced to death in
February 2004 for killing an elderly Kingman couple in 1999.
Frank Anderson, 64, was sentenced to death in December 2002 for killing a
Golden Valley family in August 1996. Anderson's co-defendant, Bobby Poyson, 36,
was sentenced in September 1998 for murdering the same family. Anderson also
has an appeal hearing scheduled for September.
The oldest inmate, Graham Saunders Henry, 66, was convicted and sentenced in
February 1995 of kidnapping and killing an elderly Las Vegas man in a remote
desert about 40 miles north of Kingman in June 1986.
Danny L. Jones, 48, was sentenced to death in December 1993 for the murder of a
Bullhead City man, his grandmother and his 7-year-old daughter in March 1992.
Roger W. Murray, 42, and his brother, Robert W. Murray, 48, were sentenced to
death in October 1992 for the May 1991 shotgun slaying of a Grasshopper
Junction couple.
(source: Mohave Daily News)
****************
Inside The Mind Of Accused Murderer Jodi Arias
In a few short weeks, Jodi Arias has become the most talked-about criminal
defendant since Casey Anthony.
The 32-year-old photographer is fighting for her life in an Arizona courtroom,
where she faces charges of stabbing her ex-boyfriend, shooting him in the face,
and slitting his throat 4 years ago.
Since the investigation began, she's changed her alibi -- and her lawyers --
several times. In early January, the prosecution began presenting damning
evidence, including photos that they contend tie Arias to the grisly murder
scene and recorded interviews in which she says one puzzling thing after the
next.
The ultimate challenge for those who are watching the trial -- and for the
jurors who will decide the case -- is how to make sense of the contradictions
in her statements and of Arias herself.
"People aren't really talking about her demeanor and how it fits a particular
personality profile," Dr. Scott Bonn, a crime expert and assistant professor of
sociology at Drew University told The Huffington Post.
"She is really a walking embodiment of sociopathy in many ways," Bonn
continued. "The ironic thing about that, I believe, is that is part of the
intrigue. There's a disconnect: How can this pretty young woman be responsible
for this reprehensible, incomprehensible act?"
Arias is accused of butchering Travis Alexander, her ex-boyfriend, on June 4,
2008 while he was in the shower of his Mesa, Ariz., apartment. He was found
dead days later on June 9. When questioned by police, Alexander's friends and
family members indicated that Arias should be questioned.
Bonn has not interviewed Arias and can only speculate on the reasons for her
behavior based on her actions, media appearances and police interviews -- of
which there is no shortage.
Arias, according to testimony in court, was jealous of Alexander seeing other
women and allegedly slashed the tires on his vehicle twice. After those
incidents, his new girlfriend received a harassing email from a "John Doe."
Alexander suspected that Arias was responsible, and told friends that he
suspected Arias had hacked into his Facebook account.
Based on his observations of the police interviews and evidence presented at
trial, Bonn said it is his opinion that Arias was "completely obsessed" with
Alexander.
"In her own twisted way, she was infatuated and in love with him," he said.
"[Arias] was totally obsessed with him," Alexander???s close friend Sky Hughes
told The Huffington Post. "She wouldn't let him go. Whenever he would try to
sever all ties, she would threaten to kill herself ... He would tell her he
didn't want anything to do with her, and she would show up at his house. We
knew it was her. We didn't want it to be her, but [we] just knew it was."
Like Bonn, Sheila Wendler, a forensic psychiatrist with the Hawaii Department
of Public Safety, Corrections Division, has not personally examined Arias but
can speak in general terms regarding similar cases.
Wendler said it is not uncommon in cases such as this for the perpetrator to
have characteristics of borderline personality disorder.
"[This would include] unstable interpersonal relationships and intense fear of
abandonment or rejection by their partner," Wendler said. "They may react in
extreme ways to avoid abandonment, including becoming suicidal, self-mutilate
or react with intense anger, which they may have difficulty to control. These
women can become cruelly punitive toward whom they perceive as rejecting them."
Wendler added, "Their mood is usually unstable and may vary from happiness to
anger to euphoria or to despair all in the same day."
When police initially questioned Arias, she said she last saw Alexander in
April 2008.
"I would never want to hurt him ... if I was going to ever try to kill
somebody, I would use gloves. I have plenty of them ... I did not take his
life," Arias told a police detective in a July 15, 2008, taped interview that
was played at her murder trial.
When police later discovered hair and a bloody print found inside Alexander's
home that belonged to Arias, she changed her story and admitted she had been
present when Alexander was killed but said she was not responsible. She said
two unidentified intruders had murdered him and she managed to escape.
"I'm not the brightest person, but I don't think I could stab him, I'd have to
shoot him ... The least I could do is make it as humane as possible," Arias
told police.
The stories she told police are contradicting and inconsistent, and yet she
told each one with "unabashed, cold and calculating clarity," Bonn said.
In Sept. 2008, Arias gave a jailhouse interview to the Arizona Republic. She
again denied killing Alexander.
"God knows I'm innocent. I know I'm innocent," said Arias. "I had nothing to do
with his murder. I would never hurt him. He was my friend."
That same month Arias was again on TV, telling the TV show "Inside Edition" the
story she had told police about the 2 intruders.
"No jury is going to convict me ... because I'm innocent, and you can mark my
words on that one: No jury will convict me," Arias told "Inside Edition."
In August 2011, HuffPost obtained court documents that indicated that Arias had
changed her story yet again -- this time claiming self-defense. In the most
recent version, Arias, according to the documents, claimed she was a victim of
"sexual and physical abuse" by Alexander and killed him in self-defense.
"This self-defense position that she is taking is the third in a series of
realities that she's created, none of which is consistent with the other," Bonn
said. "It's consistent with a sociopath personality. She's so narcissistic and
enamored with herself that she thinks she can make it believable."
In addition to borderline personality disorder, women like Arias often meet the
criteria for both sociopathy or psychopathy, according to Wendler.
"The characteristics of psychopathy include disregard and violation of other
people's feelings, wishes and rights," Wendler told HuffPost. "These
individuals use deceitfulness and manipulation to obtain what they want
(pleasure, profit, etc.). They are often called pathological liars. They are
self-centered and show reckless disregard for the safety of others; they lack
empathy towards their victims and have little or no remorse about their
criminal actions."
Arias' trial began on Jan. 2 of this year, and prosecutors rested their case on
Jan. 17. Arias' lawyers will begin to present their case on Jan. 29. According
to Bonn, she will likely need to take the stand if she wants to convince the
jury that she killed Alexander in self-defense.
"The only way it's going to have any veracity with the jury is if she takes the
witness stand. I think she has to -- absolutely has to -- in order for it to
play for the jury. And if she comes off as the battered woman, then maybe she
has a shot," Bonn said.
The alleged premeditation in the case, however, will be hard to disprove.
Prosecutors have painted a picture for the jury in which Arias stole a handgun,
rented a car at considerable distance from her home and drove to Alexander's
apartment with the intent to kill him and afterward crafted an elaborate alibi.
Bonn acknowledged the apparently premeditative aspects of the crime, but said
that in his opinion, things could have gone one way or another, assuming Arias
killed Alexander in 2008.
"I think she went there prepared to kill and what probably happened -- and
would be consistent with a sociopathic emotional outburst -- is he might have
shoved it in her face about going with another women or something along those
lines that triggered her jealously and she snapped. I think that's a very
likely scenario," Bonn said.
And Bonn suggested the self-defense theory might not be too far-fetched -- at
least to Arias' way of thinking.
"In her mind, she felt like the jilted woman," he said. "It's narcissism, [to]
always see things from her perspective, her needs and her desires. In her mind,
this really may be self-defense because she believes she was wronged -- 'How
dare he be with another woman when he is hers?' Sociopaths create a reality
that fits the event."
Bonn added, "The rage and retribution demonstrated by the brutal slaying of
Travis is very consistent with the emotional volatility of a sociopath. In her
narcissistic mind, Travis deserved to die for betraying her."
Wendler agreed with Bonn, saying individuals like Arias will blame the victim
for "deserving their fate."
"These individuals may have a grandiose view of themselves and be arrogant,"
she said.
Arias' trial is expected to last until mid-April. If convicted, she could face
the death penalty.
(source: David Lohr, Huffington Post)
CALIFORNIA:
On this date in history: Charles Manson is convicted
On January 25, 1971, Charles Manson and 3 female co-defendants were found
guilty of their roles in the Tate-LaBianca murders in Southern California.
We point this out today because at the time, no one ever would have believed
that Charles Manson would still be hanging out in prison 42 years later.
First off, he was sentenced to death. Then California got rid of the death
penalty, and his sentence was commuted to life in prison. But even so, this was
a paranoid delusional schizophrenic drug addict. He petitioned to serve as his
own attorney, and when that was denied he carved an "X" into his forehead with
a razor blade. He later replaced that disfigurement with a swastika carved
between his eyebrows. Somehow this didn't seem like a man who would make it to
age 78, and yet here he is, and he seems physically healthy enough to stick
around for a while.
Over their years of incareration, the 3 women - Susan Atkins, Leslie Van Houten
and Patricia Krenwinkel - stopped using drugs, straightened themselves out and
became lucid, productive people. They pursued degrees, worked in prison
ministries and expressed sincere remorse for their horrible crimes. Atkins died
in 2011. Krenwinkel and Van Houten remain in prison.
By contrast, Manson remains as crazed as ever. When TV journalists show up
looking to interview him, he babbles incoherently and practically foams at the
mouth.
(source: Daily Press)
**************************
Riverside County DA rotates star prosecutor out of homicide
He prosecuted Ray Oyler, the Esperanza Fire arsonist sentenced to death after
being convicted of murdering 5 U.S. Forest Service firefighters in 2006.
He prosecuted Earl Ellis Green, sentenced to death after being convicted of
murdering RPD Officer Ryan Bonaminio in 2010.
Senior Deputy DA Michael Hestrin was arguably the star of the RivCo DA's
homicide unit. Over 8 years, he won 7 death penalty cases. In 2010, he was
named Outstanding Prosecutor by the California District Attorneys Association.
But last November, Hestrin, who's considering a 2014 run for DA, was "rotated"
out of homicide and into the gang unit. A normal rotation or a way to nudge a
potential rival out of the limelight?
DA Paul Zellerbach: "I'm concerned and bothered by the fact that you're even
asking me about one person. We do and have historically had rotations in the
DA's office every 6 months."
Z'Bach said 4 attorneys have been rotated out of homicide since he's been in
office. At least 3, including Hestrin, hold key positions in the deputy DA's
union, which endorsed ex-DA Rod Pacheco over Z'Bach in 2010.
But Z'Bach notes that union board member Jared Haringsma was rotated into
homicide. "Our relationship with the association has no impact" on these moves,
some of which are based on DA office needs, some on "professional growth" of
lawyers rotated out or in.
John Aki, a long-time homicide attorney and prez of the deputy DA's union,
calls Hestrin "the best trial lawyer in our office." His rotation? "Very, very
odd. I think it was political. I think Paul Zellerbach saw Michael Hestrin as a
potential threat." So much of a threat, said Aki, that Hestrin "hasn't been
getting any (new homicide) cases since Paul took office."
Z'Bach: "I don't have a political agenda. If it was politically motivated, why
didn't I do it 2 years ago? Why didn't I reassign the Bonaminio murder? If this
were politically motivated, he'd (Hestrin) be in Blythe or trying misdemeanor
cases."
Instead, Z'bach says Hestrin has one of the "most choice assignments" in the
DA's office: a trial team leader in the gang unit. Hestrin didn't sound quite
as enthused. "I'm handling burglaries and robberies that are gang-related."
Also, "a few attempted murders."
Zellerbach called Hestrin "a good trial attorney, but I have a lot of good
trial attorneys who are deserving and wanting to be in the homicide unit." But
homicide's John Aki dismissed what he called Zellerbach's
"give-everybody-a-chance" policy. "We don't see ourselves as a Little League
team."
The political spin on the Hestrin move disappoints the DA. "It appears to be
very self-centered and very selfish and obviously they're not concerned about
the good of the office. I'm trying to instill a more global view rather than
what's in it for me personally."
Hestrin is close-mouthed, for now: "I'm in gangs and that???s my assignment and
I'm doing my best." He has told Z'Bach he is thinking about running for DA.
If he does, his all-important ballot designation likely won't say, "Homicide
Prosecutor."
(source: Press-Enterprise)
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