Jan. 26
IOWA:
Families blast death penalty stance; They say lawmakers' refusal to reconsider
the issue hurts.
The families of slain and missing children emotionally criticized state
lawmakers Friday, saying they have been victimized again by the Legislature's
refusal to consider reinstating the death penalty.
Drew and Heather Collins of Evansdale, whose daughter and niece disappeared
while riding bicycles last July and were found dead near Readlyn in December,
appeared at a Statehouse news conference with state Sen. Kent Sorenson, R-Milo.
They were joined by Noreen Gosch, whose son, Johnny, 12, was never found after
he was abducted in West Des Moines while delivering The Des Moines Register in
1982, and several more parents of slain children.
Sorenson plans to introduce a package of legislation next week that includes
the reinstatement of capital punishment in certain cases when children are
murdered.
However, Sen. Robert Hogg, D-Cedar Rapids, chairman of the Iowa Senate
Judiciary Committee, has said the death penalty debate has already been settled
in Iowa and he won???t allow the bill to be considered.
Drew Collins said it isn't fair for Hogg to hold the death penalty bill
hostage.
"If his child was missing, I don't think he would feel the same way. This is
not how this country is set up. As the parent of a murdered child, it just
makes me sick that this is not even open for debate," he said.
Noreen Gosch said she respects the opinions of legislators such as Senate
Majority Leader Michael Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, who say they oppose the
death penalty on moral grounds.
"But this isn't about him. It is about little kids," Gosch said. "What if
somebody took your child and savagely murdered them, and then, God willing,
they were caught and then all they got was some time in jail?"
Capital punishment won't stop child abductions, but it may prevent someone from
killing a child, Gosch added. "The criminals know we don't have it, and it can
be a deterrent," she contended.
Hogg said in an interview Friday that he feels terrible for the families of
8-year-old Elizabeth Collins and her cousin, 10-year-old Lyric Cook-Morrissey,
and the tragic circumstances of their deaths. He said that is why he believes
lawmakers must provide police agencies with resources to catch perpetrators.
Hogg noted that the Legislature repealed the death penalty in 1965 and the last
time there was a vote on the capital punishment - in 1995 - the Senate
overwhelmingly voted 39-11 to oppose it.
"There are legislators in both parties who just morally think it is wrong for
the state to be in the business of the death penalty, and we are not going to
go through that process," Hogg said.
Others who appeared at Friday's news conference included Adonnis Hill, father
of Donnisha Hill, who was kidnapped in Waterloo and murdered in 2006, and Tom
and Jan Nichols, whose daughter, Lindsay, 22, was slain in Jesup in March 2012
by her former boyfriend, Dr. Timothy Roses, 44, who then took his own life.
Sorenson said his proposal - which he describes as "limited capital justice" -
would apply to circumstances that involved the combination of 1st-degree murder
and either 1st-degree kidnapping or 1st-degree sexual assault, committed
against the same minor.
He also proposes chemical castration for sex offenders who abuse children,
elimination of earned prison time for serious sex offenses, electronic
monitoring of sex offenders and a system of notifying hunters when a child is
missing where they normally hunt.
Rep. Chip Baltimore, R-Boone, who chairs the Iowa House Judiciary Committee,
said Friday that he couldn't comment on Sorenson's proposals because he didn't
know the details.
"I am always interested in talking with people, especially citizens who feel
like they are not being heard," Baltimore said. "But I make no promises that we
will run legislation or hear legislation, especially when I haven't seen it."
(source: Indianapolis Star)
*******************
Iowa senator pushes death penalty bill
A state senator will push for public hearings on the death penalty in the Iowa
Senate and House of Representatives as he files legislation to bring capital
punishment back to Iowa.
Sen. Kent Sorenson, R-Milo, has championed the idea of reintroducing the death
penalty in Iowa since the abduction and killing of Elizabeth Collins, 8, and
Lyric Cook, 10, last summer in Evansdale.
Elizabeth's parents joined Sorenson and parents of other missing and murdered
children at a Capitol news conference, where the senator outlined 5 pieces of
legislation he plans to introduce this session. Iowa abolished the death
penalty in 1965.
There's little chance of the death penalty returning this session, either,
since Senate Judiciary Chairman Robb Hogg, D-Cedar Rapids, said the bill won't
make it through his committee.
"Just saying that it's not open for debate, that's not how this country was set
up," said Drew Collins, Elizabeth's father.
Struggling to find the words, Drew tensed as he spoke.
"As a parent of a murdered child, it makes me sick that it's not even open to
debate," he said. "1 person holding us hostage is unfair, and it victimizes us
one more time."
Sorenson is introducing 5 pieces of legislation. The bills would:
-- Allow for the death penalty when a person commits 1st-degree murder and
either 1st-degree kidnapping or 1st-degree sexual abuse against the same minor.
-- Require the chemical castration of people who commit serious sex crimes
against victims 12 years old or younger.
-- Eliminate earned time in prison for serious sex offenses.
-- Require the electronic monitoring of sex offenders.
-- Immediately notify hunters when a missing child is reported.
"Swift justice, as well as capital justice, we gotta have it, OK?" Adonnis Hill
said, smacking his hands together for emphasis as his eyes started to water.
"It's not about politics. If it was about politics, I wouldn't be here. It's
just about being concerned and wanting to do something for a change. The change
is now, not yesterday, not tomorrow and we need to get this bill passed."
Hill's daughter, Donnisha, was abducted from Waterloo and killed more than six
years ago. He was joined by Noreen Gosch, whose son, Johnny Gosch, has been
missing since 1982, and Tom and Jan Nichols, whose daughter, Lindsay, was
killed in March 2012.
Each supported Sorenson's 5-point proposal and the public hearings, but it
remains to be seen how the legislation will fare when it is introduced.
"There are very few people who think the death penalty is a deterrent for
horrible crimes. Texas has a lot of horrible crimes, and they have the death
penalty," Iowa State University political science professor Steffen Schmidt
said. "The way we do the death penalty, you might as well forget it. It's
dragged out over 10 or 15 years before it's executed, and most people have
forgotten (about the crime)."
(source: Sioux City Journal)
**************************
Death Penalty Bill Proposed
The death penalty in Iowa was abolished nearly 50 years ago, but an Iowa
Senator says it's time to bring it back.
Friday, a group of parents of murdered children came together to push for the
bill and several others to deter sex offenders.
"What's going on with our kids, they're being taken and murdered, and if we
don't protect our own children, and what we're doing it's not working," says
Elizabeth Collins Father Drew Collins.
Collins and his wife Heather say things might have turned out differently if
Iowa had the death penalty. They say their daughter, Elizabeth and her cousin
Lyric might still be alive.
The girls disappeared last July and were found dead 5 months later.
Senator Kent Sorenson will introduce a bill to reinstate the death penalty next
week.
"This is something we need to enact to protect the children of the state," says
Senator Sorenson.
The death penalty would come into play in cases where 2 Class A felonies are
committed, such as a kidnapping and a murder.
"If you kidnap in Iowa your sentence is life, if you kill in Iowa your sentence
is still life, there is no incentive to keep the child alive. Will this stop
totally abductions, no, but it might stop someone from taking that final step
and murdering a child," says Johnny Gosch's Mother Noreen Gosch.
Gosch's son Johnny was kidnapped 30-years ago, and he still remains missing to
this day.
"We are tired of seeing our kids go out the door to school and wondering if
they'll ever come back," says Gosch.
However, the bill hasn't seen much support and although Governor Terry Branstad
has said he supports capital punishment in limited circumstances, his
spokesperson says it's unlikely the bill will reach the Governor's desk.
"The Governor believes if there are 2 Class A felony's committed that the death
penalty is an appropriate punishment, the Governor does realize that the death
penalty doesn't have a high likelihood of advancing this year," says Governor
Brandstad's Communications Director Tim Albrecht.
Senator Sorenson knows this is an uphill battle.
He's asking the Judiciary Committee to hold a public hearing to allow citizens
to give their 2 cents.
"I want to find common ground, this should not be a Republican and Democratic
issue," says Senator Sorenson.
Senator Sorenson also plans to introduce other bills, all aimed to deter sexual
offenders.
They include a chemical castration bill, eliminating earned time for serious
sex offenses, and requiring sex offenders to wear electronic monitoring devices
during conditional release.
Senator Sorenson also plans to introduce a bill that would notify hunters to
search their hunting grounds when a child goes missing immediately.
(source: WHO TV News)
************************
Lawmaker seeks death penalty bill; Bill will go to the Senate Judiciary
Committee, but the chairman says the panel will not take up the proposal.
A Republican lawmaker was backed by the parents of children slain or missing as
he called Friday for the reinstatement of Iowa's death penalty.
Milo Sen. Kent Sorenson announced he would introduce a measure that would
establish capital punishment for the 1st time since the 1960s. The death
penalty would be limited to people convicted of 1st-degree murder in which a
victim was kidnapped or sexually abused or if the victim was a child.
"This is something we need to enact to protect the children of our state,"
Sorenson said.
The bill will go to the Senate Judiciary Committee, but Chairman Rob Hogg said
the panel won't take up the proposal. Hogg, D-Cedar Rapids, said life in prison
is a severe penalty and that the state should "focus all our resources instead
on training law enforcement to solve the over 150 unsolved murders we have in
Iowa."
Among the 6 parents standing with Sorenson were Heather and Drew Collins, whose
daughter Elizabeth was killed after disappearing last July with her cousin,
Lyric Cook. Their bodies were found in December.
Asked about the likelihood that no action will be taken on the death penalty
bill, Drew Collins said, "It makes me sick that this is not open for debate."
Sorenson said he hasn't given up on the bill, arguing there is bipartisan
support for the proposal and that he would urge House and Senate leaders to
allow public hearings.
Iowa repealed capital punishment in 1965. State law allows life sentences for
convictions of murder and the most serious cases of sexual assault and
kidnapping.
The last concerted effort to reinstate the death penalty came as part of Gov.
Terry Branstad's campaign platform in his 1994 run for governor. The House
approved a capital punishment bill but it died in the Democrat-controlled
Senate.
Branstad spokesman Tim Albrecht said the governor still supports the death
penalty in limited cases and will give Sorenson's bill consideration should it
reach his desk.
Parents at the news conference said Iowa's current law doesn't give criminals a
reason to keep their victims alive. They said a death penalty could make people
think twice before killing someone.
"Will this stop abductions? No. But it may stop someone from killing a child,"
said Noreen Gosch.
Her son, Johnny, disappeared in 1982 while delivering newspapers in West Des
Moines and has never been found.
Adonis Hill, whose 13-year-old daughter Donnisha was killed in 2006, demanded
change in the death penalty law. Donnisha stepped off her school bus at the
wrong stop, then was taken to Illinois and killed.
"These perpetrators need to be done away with," Hill said. "Change is now. It's
not yesterday. It's not tomorrow. We need to get this bill passed."
Sen. Jeff Danielson, D-Cedar Falls, said statistics have indicated capital
punishment doesn't deter killings, and he argued Iowa's current law is as tough
as the death penalty.
"Iowa has a death penalty," Danielson said. "It's called life in prison without
parole."
The cost of prosecuting death penalty cases makes them difficult for
governments, said Andrea Lyon, an Illinois death penalty defense lawyer. She
noted that 1 reason Illinois abolished capital punishment 2 years ago was
because it cost the state so much to prosecute.
"The cost to try, convict and imprison someone for life is 1/4 of what it costs
to give them the death penalty," she said.
Sorenson will also propose four other pieces of legislation next week that
would put harsher penalties on convicted murderers and sex offenders.
One would require certain sex offenders who commit crimes against a child
younger than 12 to undergo chemical castration or take a hormonal pill that
reduces the sex drive.
Other bills would eliminate time earned for good behavior, provide for
electronic monitoring of sex offenders and expedite searches for missing
children.
(source: Associated Press)
KANSAS:
Cheatham 'elated' by court's decision to give him new trial
Phillip D. Cheatham Jr. said he was "elated" to learn Friday he would receive a
new trial in the 2003 shooting deaths of 2 Topeka women.
In a phone interview from prison, he said he believes an alibi witness his
attorney failed to call in the 1st trial could result in a different
verdict.<>P> "I'm just glad they finally performed the task they were sworn to
do," Cheatham said of the Kansas Supreme Court's decision to overturn his
conviction in the capital murder case.
In a unanimous ruling, the court said its confidence in the jury's verdict was
"shaken to the core" by Dennis Hawver's numerous mistakes as Cheatham's
attorney.
Cheatham's mother, Linda Perry-Grigsby, cried with joy when she learned her
son, once sentenced to death row, would receive a new trial.
"I just thank God my son is getting another chance to prove his innocence,"
Perry-Grigsby said. "He's getting another chance to prove he didn't commit this
horrible crime. He's been saying it all the time. He's been saying he didn't do
it. I just thank God. It's been a long, hard row to hoe, but we're going to get
there."
Perry-Grigsby works as a loan officer in Kansas City and has been emotionally
outspoken in her son's defense. Cheatham said he was en route to Chicago at the
time of the shootings, and at his new trial he plans to present a witness who
will testify to his whereabouts.
Among the mistakes cited in Friday???s ruling, Hawver failed to notify
prosecutors of an alibi defense in time to present evidence for an alibi at
trial.
The attorney's shortcomings also include the following:
--Hawver wasn't familiar with American Bar Association guidelines for death
penalty cases and hadn't represented a client in a murder case in more than 20
years.
--Hawver declined to accept funds made available through the Board of Indigent
Defense Services that could have been used to hire investigators.
--Hawver agreed to work for Cheatham for a flat fee of $50,000. ABA guidelines
say flat fees are inappropriate because they "discourage lawyers from doing
more than what is minimally necessary."
--Hawver only spent 60 hours preparing for the trial as he continued to work on
other cases while also running for governor.
--Hawver informed jurors of Cheatham's 1994 manslaughter conviction, which
prosecutors wouldn't have been allowed to mention before the sentencing phase.
Hawver asked prospective jurors if the conviction would bother them, then asked
his client to describe the shooting in detail while on the stand.
Before the jury, Hawver referred to Cheatham as a "professional drug dealer"
and "shooter of people."
Because of the "inflammatory characterizations of his own client to the jury,"
the high court ruled, "our confidence in the outcome of the jury's verdict is
shaken to its core. These particular errors cannot be excused and require a new
trial."
The decision left Perry-Grigsby "overwhelmed" and in tears.
"I'm not a detective," she said. "I don't know what evidence they have on him.
But I just know, whatever it was, it wasn't fair to him. From what I
understand, there was no forensic evidence on him, only the word of the young
lady who said it was Phillip."
During the 2005 trial, Annetta Thomas identified Cheatham as the man who shot
and killed her 2 friends at their southeast Topeka duplex. She said Cheatham
left her to die after shooting her multiple times and pistol-whipping her in
the head as she lay on her front porch.
"I just asked God to let me live long enough to tell them who did it," Thomas
said. "I just kept saying it over and over: 'God, please, let me live long
enough to tell them who did it.'"
Other witnesses testified Cheatham was ordered to kill the women by his boss,
Tracey Smith, who was convicted of running a drug-dealing operation out of her
clothing store.
Prosecutors pointed to phone calls between Cheatham and Smith placed
immediately after the shootings and also revealed Cheatham, an aspiring rap
artist, had penned a song titled "Prove Me Guilty."
But Hawver believed his client was innocent, partly because he had told
Cheatham to leave town the day before the shootings. For that reason, the high
court ruled, Hawver should have withdrawn from the case and taken the stand as
an alibi witness.
"Hawver most certainly could have provided a measure of credibility to
Cheatham's claim that he was in or on his way to Chicago," the ruling said.
On Friday morning, an officer at the Hutchinson Correctional Facility told
Cheatham he had a phone call from his attorney. Cheatham said he figured the
court must have reached a decision.
"I felt elated," Cheatham said. "I told (my attorney) I'm happy for us, but the
information they used to make their decision has been available all along."
Cheatham said he was frustrated because it had been more than 2 years since
Supreme Court justices heard his appeal in November 2010.
In response, court spokesman Ron Keefover said "death penalty cases are
considered very carefully because (of) their nature."
(source: Capital-Journal)
*********************
Kansas high court orders new capital murder trial
A Topeka man convicted of 2 2003 murders deserves a new trial in part because
his previous attorney provided ineffective representation, the Kansas Supreme
Court ordered Friday.
Phillip D. Cheatham was convicted in Shawnee County in 2005 of killing Annette
Roberson and Gloria Jones and wounding a 3rd victim, Annetta Thomas, at a
Topeka home.
Justice Dan Biles wrote in Friday's opinion that Cheatham was denied a fair
trial in part because his attorney at the time, Dennis Hawver of Ozawkie, did
not put enough effort into preparing for the case. The justices said the 200
hours Hawver spent working on Cheatham's defense was "appallingly low for a
death penalty defense and even more stunning when all but 60 of those hours, as
Hawver testified, were spent in trial."
"Specifically, we hold that counsel's performance was deficient in several
respects, which were most seriously problematic when he volunteered to the jury
that Cheatham had a prior voluntary manslaughter conviction and referred
repeatedly to his client as a 'professional drug dealer' and 'shooter of
people.' This denied Cheatham his right to a fair trial," Biles wrote.
Shawnee County District Attorney Chad Taylor said the decision to retry the
case was not based on anything the state did or didn't do during the 1st trial.
Taylor and 1 of his deputy district attorneys will prosecute the case and again
seek the death penalty.
"We're disappointed to see it come back," Taylor said. "The hard part about
this is when you have to put the witnesses and victims through another trial."
A spokesman for Attorney General Derek Schmidt said the office was reviewing
the decision but declined to comment further.
Cheatham, 40, is being housed in maximum security custody at the state prison
in Hutchinson. He was convicted on drug charges in 1991 and involuntary
manslaughter in 1995. Both cases occurred in Wyandotte County.
During the appeals process, Shawnee County District Court Judge Mark Braun
ruled Cheatham's death sentence should be set aside based on comments Hawver
made during the sentencing portion of the case, but that the convictions should
stand.
The decision to resentence Cheatham was based on Braun's conclusion that Hawver
"had no business taking on a death penalty case."
Hawver was representing Cheatham on unrelated drug charges at the time of the
shootings. Cheatham was arrested and being held in Chicago in December 2003
when he was charged in Topeka for the shootings. Cheatham originally was
assigned a public defender to represent him on the murder charges until Hawver
became the attorney of record.
According to testimony, Hawver said he maintained a busy practice, with about
60 % of his cases civil and 40 % criminal. Hawver tried 3 noncapital murder
cases before 1985 before taking on the Cheatham case. He had said he never
tried or participated in a death penalty case and was not on a list of
qualified capital case attorneys maintained by the state Board of Indigent
Defense.
Hawver said he took the case knowing Cheatham had no means to pay for legal
services. Hawver also said he never had intended to use his own money to pay
for Cheatham's expenses and there was no written fee agreement though the two
had discussed a flat $50,000 fee for defense. Hawver also testified that he
took the case out of the "heart-felt belief" that Cheatham was innocent of the
crimes.
The justices said the fee arrangement between Hawver and Cheatham constituted a
conflict of interest and affected the adequacy of his defense. Hawver testified
during the proceedings that he told Cheatham he would be taking other cases to
make a living and that he also was contemplating a run for governor.
Hawver frequently has been a candidate for public office, including a bid in
2012 as the Libertarian candidate for the 2nd District U.S. House seat.
Biles wrote that the court found it "distressing" that Hawver didn't
familiarize himself with the rigors of a death penalty defense and seek
assistance or necessary resources to defend his client.
"It flies in the face of common sense that he so effortlessly dismissed the
offer from the BIDS executive director to publically provide assistance," Biles
wrote.
Cheatham's case is the second death penalty sentence to be reversed by the
Kansas Supreme Court in the past year.
In August, the justices ordered a new trial for Scott Cheever, who was
convicted of the 2005 shooting death of Greenwood County Sheriff Matt Samuels.
The conviction was set aside when the justices ruled a psychiatrist should not
have been allowed to testify about Cheever's psychological records without his
consent. Schmidt has appealed the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
(source: Associated Press)
ALABAMA:
Current Text for SB30
SB30-----By Senator Sanders
RFD Judiciary----Rd 1 05-FEB-13
SYNOPSIS: Under existing law, a person who commits a capital offense may be
sentenced to death or life without parole. This bill would repeal the death
penalty.
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT
To amend Sections 13A-5-39, 13A-5-43, 13A-5-44, and 15-18-100, Code of Alabama
1975, relating to the death penalty; to remove death as a potential punishment
for commission of a capital offense; to remove provisions relating to
sentencing and the sentencing hearing; and to repeal Sections 13A-5-45,
13A-5-46, 13A-5-47, 13A-5-48, 13A-5-49, 13A-5-50, 13A-5-51, 13A-5-52, 13A-5-53,
13A-5-55, 13A-5-59, 15-18-80, 15-18-81, 15-18-82, 15-18-83, 15-18-84, 15-18-85,
and 15-18-86, Code of Alabama 1975.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. Sections 13A-5-39, 13A-5-43, 13A-5-44, and 15-18-100, Code of
Alabama 1975, are amended to read as follows: ???13A-5-39.
"(1) CAPITAL OFFENSE. An offense for which a defendant shall be punished by a
sentence of death or life imprisonment without parole according to the
provisions of this article.
"(2) DURING. The term as used in Section 13A-5-40(a) means in the course of or
in connection with the commission of, or in immediate flight from the
commission of the underlying felony or attempt thereof.
"(3) EXPLOSIVES and EXPLOSION. The terms shall have the meanings provided in
Section 13A-7-40(2) and (3).
"(4) BURDEN OF INTERJECTING THE ISSUE. Shall be defined as provided in Section
13A-1-2(14).
"(5) MURDER and MURDER BY THE DEFENDANT. Shall be defined as provided in
Section 13A-5-40(b).
"(6) PREVIOUSLY CONVICTED and PRIOR CRIMINAL ACTIVITY. As used in Sections
13A-5-49(2) and 13A-5-51(1), these terms refer to events occurring before the
date of the sentence hearing.
"(7) UNDER SENTENCE OF IMPRISONMENT. As used in Section 13A-5-49(1), the term
means while serving a term of imprisonment, while under a suspended sentence,
while on probation or parole, or while on work release, furlough, escape, or
any other type of release or freedom while or after serving a term of
imprisonment, other than unconditional release and freedom after expiration of
the term of sentence.
Section 13A-5-43.
"(a) In the trial of a capital offense the jury shall first hear all the
admissible evidence offered on the charge or charges against the defendant. It
shall then determine whether the defendant is guilty of the capital offense or
offenses with which he is charged or of any lesser included offense or offenses
considered pursuant to Section 13A-5-41.
"(b) If the defendant is found not guilty of the capital offense or offenses
with which he is charged, and not guilty of any lesser included offense or
offenses considered pursuant to Section 13A-5-41, the defendant shall be
discharged.
"(c) If the defendant is found not guilty of the capital offense or offenses
with which he is charged, and is found guilty of a lesser included offense or
offenses considered pursuant to Section 13A-5-41, sentence shall be determined
and imposed as provided by law.
"(d) If the defendant is found guilty of a capital offense or offenses with
which he is charged, the sentence shall be determined as provided in Sections
13A-5-45 through 13A-5-53.
Section 13A-5-44.
"(a) The selection of the jury for the trial of a capital case shall include
the selection of at least 2 alternate jurors chosen according to procedures
specified by law or court rule.
"(b) The separation of the jury during the pendency of the trial of a capital
case shall be governed by applicable law or court rule.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the defendant with the consent
of the state and with the approval of the court may waive the participation of
a jury in the sentence hearing provided in Section 13A-5-46. Provided, however,
before any such waiver is valid, it must affirmatively appear in the record
that the defendant himself has freely waived his right to the participation of
a jury in the sentence proceeding, after having been expressly informed of such
right.
Section 15-18-100.
"When any defendant is convicted and sentenced to death or to imprisonment in
the penitentiary, the presiding judge, if he is of the opinion that such
defendant should be pardoned, may postpone the execution of the sentence for
such time as may appear necessary to obtain the action of the Governor on an
application for commutation of the death sentence and action of the Board of
Pardons and Paroles on an application for pardon."
Section 2. This act shall apply to death sentences imposed before and after the
effective date of this act. All existing death sentences imposed prior to the
effective date of this act shall be commuted to life imprisonment without
parole.
Section 3. All laws or parts of laws which conflict with this act are repealed.
Specifically, Sections 13A-5-45, 13A-5-46, 13A-5-47, 13A-5-48, 13A-5-49,
13A-5-50, 13A-5-51, 13A-5-52, 13A-5-53, 13A-5-55, and 13A-5-59 of, and Article
5 (commencing with Section 15-18-80) of Chapter 18 of Title 15 of the Code of
Alabama 1975, are repealed.
Section 4. This act shall become effective immediately following its passage
and approval by the Governor, or its otherwise becoming law.
(source: openbama.org)
FLORIDA:
Convicted at murder retrial, pro se defendant says he wants lawyer for penalty
phase
On trial for the 2nd time for the murder of his wife and stepdaughter, Khalid
Pasha, who defended himself pro se, was convicted Friday by a Florida jury
after less than an hour of deliberation.
At his previous trial, it took the jury about 35 minutes longer, the Tampa Bay
Times reports. But that verdict was reversed on appeal, because Pasha, now 69,
was pressured into allowing an attorney he didn't want to represent him.
The penalty phase in his current case, to determine whether he will be
sentenced to death, is scheduled for Feb. 11. Pasha has decided he wants to be
represented there by a qualified private attorney, the newspaper notes.
(source: ABA Journal)
************************
Spencer Hearing Friday In SoBe Rape & Murder Case
In October, a Miami-Dade jury recommended giving Joel Lebron the death penalty
for abducting, robbing, gang-raping, and murdering Ana Maria Angel in 2002, but
Friday, he was back in court as attorney's began to present more evidence at a
"Spencer Hearing."
The hearing, before Miami-Dade Circuit Judge William Thomas, is where
prosecutors and defense attorneys can present arguments the jury was not
permitted to hear and allows the defense to try and sway the judge into a
lesser sentence of life in prison instead of the death penalty.
The judge will then take some time to prepare a written sentencing order, and
read it at a subsequent hearing.
In court Friday, a clinical psychologist has testified for the defense that
Lebron has been a model prisoner so far.
Ana Maria Angel and her boyfriend Nelson Portobanco were attacked 10 1/2 years
ago by Lebron and 4 others as the couple finished a South Beach moonlight
stroll.
Lebron wielded the knife and the gun used to kill Angel during the attacks. He
also admitted killing Ana Maria to avoid apprehension.
By a vote of 9-3, jurors recommended execution for Lebron.
The crime took place on the couple's 4-month anniversary. They had gone to
dinner and afterward, they walked on the sand in South Beach when they were
kidnapped and robbed.
Lebron and the men gang raped Angel in the back of their truck, then slit
Portobanco's throat, leaving him for dead alongside Interstate 95 in Broward
County. He survived and alerted police.
Alongside the interstate in Palm Beach County, Lebron and another man marched
Angel down an embankment, into the brush near a sound barrier wall. Lebron shot
Angel in the back of the head as she begged for her life, her hands clasped in
prayer.
(source: CBS News)
LOUISIANA:
2 death penalty case appeals rejected
Appeals of 2 death penalty cases have been rejected, the Louisiana Supreme
Court announced Friday.
An attorney for one of the convicted murderers had argued that a lack of
information about the state's lethal injection formula poses risk of
paralyzing, mute and agonizing executions for death row inmates. The same
attorney argued for a 2nd inmate that state officials did not follow proper
administrative procedures when they adopted lethal injection for executions in
Louisiana years ago.
Supreme Court justices did not issue a written opinion in either case.
Gary P. Clements, attorney for condemned killer Christopher Sepulvado, already
had filed a motion with U.S. District Judge James J. Brady in Baton Rouge to
merge Sepulvado's complaint over the risk of excruciating pain from lethal
injections with that of death row inmate Jessie Hoffman.
Clements said late Friday that Brady had not yet ruled on the request by
Sepulvado to join Hoffman's suit. Sepulvado is scheduled for execution on Feb.
13.
Sepulvado, 68, of DeSoto Parish, was convicted in 1993 for the 1992 murder of
his 6-year-old stepson, Wesley Allen Mercer. The trial jury decided that
Sepulvado had beaten the boy unconscious with the handle of a screwdriver, then
immersed him in scalding bath water.
In rejecting an earlier appeal of Sepulvado's conviction, members of the
Louisiana Supreme Court noted the child had 3rd-degree burns over 58 % of his
body and his "scalp had separated from his skull due to hemorrhaging and
bruising."
Clements, director of the Capital Post Conviction Project of Louisiana, also
represents Nathaniel Code, 56, of Shreveport. Code's appeal was based on an
alleged failure by state officials to follow required administrative procedures
when they originally approved lethal injection for executions.
Asked whether Code will ask to join Hoffman's civil suit in Brady's federal
court, Clements said: "I really haven't made a decision on that yet. We will
see what happens."
Code does not yet have a scheduled execution date, Clements said.
Code was convicted in 1990 for the 1985 bathtub drowning of 34-year-old Vivian
Chaney; the stabbing and slashing death of Chaney's 17-year-old daughter,
Carlitha; and the shooting deaths of Chaney's brother, Jerry Culbert, and her
boyfriend, Billy Joe Harris.
The prosecution's opening statement in Code's trial is on the website of state
District Judge Scott J. Crichton, of Shreveport, who was the lead prosecutor in
that case.
Crichton can be heard telling jurors in his statement that Code also was
implicated in the 1984 slashing and stabbing death of another Shreveport woman,
as well as 3 other Caddo Parish residents in 1987.
Hoffman, like Code, does not have an execution date set yet. The 34-year-old
former New Orleans resident is represented by Houston attorney Michael D.
Rubenstein and New Orleans attorney Cecelia Trenticosta Kappel, of The Promise
of Justice Initiative.
Rubenstein and Kappel told Brady last month that Louisiana prison officials
refuse to divulge whether they have a sufficient supply of sodium thiopental to
ensure that death row inmates injected with pancuronium bromide and potassium
chloride will not suffer a protracted death that is silent, savage and
extremely painful.
Hoffman was convicted in St. Tammany Parish in 1998 for the kidnap, robbery,
rape and murder of 28-year-old advertising executive Mary "Molly" Elliot 2
years earlier.
Clements agreed Friday with Rubenstein and Kappel's argument as to the
possibility that death row inmates may be subjected to cruel and unusual
punishment if state officials do not answer questions about the supply of
sodium thiopental and the chemical formula that will be used in the death
chamber for future executions.
"Nobody can get their hands on it anymore," Clements said of sodium thiopental.
"And we don't know what they (state prison officials) are doing about that,
because they won't tell us."
(source: The Advocate)
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