Aug. 21
TEXAS:
Iraq war veteran arraigned in death of former U.S. military sniper
An Iraq war veteran accused of fatally shooting former U.S. Navy SEAL Chris
Kyle, a decorated sniper, and another man at a shooting range in Texas was
arraigned Tuesday on 2 counts of capital murder, his attorney said.
Eddie Ray Routh, 25, was indicted in July on 2 counts of murder in the February
shooting deaths of Kyle, and Kyle's friend, Chad Littlefield, at the upscale
Rough Creek Lodge resort about 50 miles southwest of Fort Worth.
Routh, who is being held on $3 million bond, appeared in Erath County court for
his arraignment on the charges, defense attorney R. Shay Isham said.
Routh would be eligible for life without parole or the death penalty if
convicted. His trial is scheduled to begin October 21.
Kyle and Littlefield had taken Routh to the shooting range to help him relax
and deal with personal problems, police have said.
Routh is accused of killing them, then fleeing in Kyle's truck to his sister's
house in the Dallas suburb of Midlothian, where he confessed to shooting Kyle
and Littlefield, police said.
In a 911 emergency call, Routh's sister and her husband told a dispatcher Routh
suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and had been hospitalized at a
mental institution, police said.
Kyle served 4 combat tours of duty in Iraq and elsewhere and was awarded 2
Silver Stars and 5 Bonze Stars for bravery, according to his book, "American
Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in Military History."
Kyle's book, "American Gun - A History of the U.S. in Ten Firearms" became a
best seller after it was published in June.
(source: Reuters)
PENNSYLVANIA:
Death penalty looms in kidnapping case
A York County man could face the death penalty in connection with the
kidnapping and possible murder of his girlfriend's 7-month-old son.
Ummad Rushdi, who is charged with kidnapping Hamza Ali on Aug. 4, allegedly
confessed to his brother that he had killed the baby then buried the body in an
unknown location. His preliminary hearing on the kidnapping charges was
continued Monday morning.
Investigators from Upper Darby, Delaware, Lancaster and York counties have been
searching for the missing tot for 2 weeks.
Deputy District Attorney Stephanie Wills, who heads the Criminal Investigation
and Pretrial Division of the Delaware County District Attorney's office, said
homicide charges could be filed even if the baby's body is not located.
"We're evaluating as to whether or not this is a death penalty case," Wills
told reporters after the brief court proceeding.
Security was tight for the preliminary hearing before Magisterial District
Judge Harry Karapalides.
Shackled and handcuffed, Rushdi, 30, glared at lead investigators Detective
Capt. George Rhoades Jr. as he was brought before the judge. Investigators Mike
Pecko, Ed Silberstein, Brad Ross and Rhoades were also present, prepared to go
forward with the hearing.
(source: Daily Local)
SOUTH CAROLINA:
Trial date set for man accused of killing Aiken Public Safety officer
A trial date has been set for the man accused of murdering an Aiken Public
Safety officer in December 2011.
The trial for 20-year-old Stephon Morrell Carter, of Aiken, is set to begin
Nov. 3, 2014, according to a consent scheduling order signed in June by Circuit
Court Judge Clifton Newman. Carter is charged with 1st-degree murder in the
shooting death of Master Public Safety Officer Scotty Richardson on Dec. 20,
2011.
He is also charged with the attempted murder of Public Safety Officer Travis
Griffin.
The Second Judicial Circuit Solicitor's Office has filed notice that it will
seek the death penalty against Carter.
"The Court requested that the State and the defense consult on a proposed
scheduling order setting target dates for answering discovery requests, filing
known motions, holding hearings to dispose of motions, and the commencement of
trial," the document stated.
Pending motions in the case were scheduled to be heard on July 8 at the
Richland County Courthouse. The order goes on to lay out deadlines for the
state and the defense for filing motions and providing evidence.
By July 7, 2014, the defense is ordered to file "all motions relating to or
challenging the imposition of the Death Penalty, a challenge to the jury array,
and/or any motions regarding the evidence in aggravation," according to the
order.
Hearings on motions will be held through July and August of 2014 as needed, and
by Sept. 8, 2014, the defense and state are ordered to file proposed jury
instructions, jury questionnaires and any motions dealing with jury selection.
The trial is expected to last between three and four weeks, with jury selection
beginning on Nov. 3, 2014, according to the document.
Carter is accused of shooting Richardson and Griffin following a traffic stop
on Brandt Court in Aiken on Dec. 20, 2011.
Griffin was treated and released from the hospital, but Richardson died early
in the morning of Dec. 21 from his injuries.
Carter was also shot during the incident and was released from the hospital
several days later. Columbia attorney Casey Secor signed the order as Carter's
attorney.
(source: Aiken Standard)
FLORIDA:
Scott reschedules Marshall Lee Gore execution
Gov. Rick Scott has pushed back the execution of a former escort service owner.
In a Monday letter to the warden of Florida State Prison, Scott set the new
execution date for Oct. 1 at 6 p.m.
The Florida Supreme Court ruled last week that Marshall Lee Gore was sane
enough to be executed. Scott rescheduled Gore's execution for Sept. 10, but
changed it Monday at the request of the attorney general.
Scott signed a death warrant for Gore on May 13. Gore had been scheduled to die
in July by lethal injection. But a judge halted Gore's execution to consider
whether he was mentally ill.
Gore was convicted in the 1988 slaying of Robyn Novick, a 30-year-old exotic
dancer. In addition to Novick, Gore also was sentenced to death for the 1988
slaying of Susan Roark.
(source: Associated Press)
******************
Judge declares mistrial in Richard McTear baby death case
A Tampa mother's unexpected testimony has temporarily derailed the trial of the
man accused of killing her infant son and flinging him from a car on Interstate
275.
A judge declared a mistrial Tuesday in the murder case of Richard McTear,
ruling that Jasmine Bedwell had poisoned proceedings in the newly launched
trial by testifying that McTear threatened to shoot her son in the face and
urinate on him.
The accusation - gasped out amid tears by the 22-year-old Bedwell soon after
she took the stand as the state's key witness Monday afternoon - had originally
emerged in a 2010 trial at which McTear was found not guilty of battering her.
Hillsborough Circuit Judge William Fuente ordered last year that the alleged
threat should not come up at McTear's trial over the 2009 killing of
3-month-old Emanuel Murray Jr.
"The jurors heard testimony they should not have heard under any circumstances.
In this court's conclusion, a mistrial is necessary," Fuente said Tuesday
morning. "I'll say this: I do this with extreme reluctance. I'm not suggesting
that any counsel did anything inappropriate."
McTear, 25, is charged with first-degree murder. Prosecutors say he attacked
Bedwell, his then-girlfriend, and threw her baby across the room in May 2009.
He then drove off with the child and threw him out the window on I-275 near
Fowler Avenue, prosecutors say.
If convicted, McTear could be sentenced to death.
The mistrial ruling will require a new round of jury selection, which attorneys
said would likely not happen before December. McTear will remain in jail as he
awaits a new trial.
On Monday, Assistant State Attorney Ron Gale had asked Bedwell about phone
calls from McTear the day before Emanuel's death. Bedwell said McTear had
called her and "told me that he was going to come over and shoot my baby in the
face and p--- on him, in his face, and he was going to kill both of us."
Assistant Public Defender Mike Peacock immediately asked the judge to declare a
mistrial, pointing to the court's previous order that the accusation was not
admissible.
Gale acknowledged Bedwell's testimony was "clearly...a violation" of the order
but said he had not expected her to refer to the March 2009 phone call, which
took place about six weeks before Emanuel's death.
On Tuesday morning, Gale told Fuente he had not specifically told Bedwell in
advance not to bring up the alleged threat.
"I did not instruct her during our preparation that 'you are not to say this
specifically,'" Gale said. "It did not come up."
Gale revealed another twist that could have been problematic had the trial
proceeded.
He said he had learned that Bedwell, while waiting to take the stand Monday at
the State Attorney's Office, was receiving text messages from her current
boyfriend.
That boyfriend: Emanuel Murray Sr., the baby's father, who was in prison on gun
charges when his son died.
While watching the trial Monday, he began firing off "angry" texts to Bedwell
when he learned from testimony that she had conducted a sexual relationship
with another man besides McTear while Murray was incarcerated.
Gale said the texts might have violated court rules about witnesses not being
exposed to other witnesses' testimony.
Bedwell was not present in court Tuesday.
The Hillsborough State Attorney's Office declined to comment on the mistrial
ruling.
Bob Dekle, a professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, said
unplanned testimony happens more than lawyers would like.
In death penalty cases such as McTear's, Dekle said, judges are particularly
cautious about ensuring proper trial procedure, since convictions are
intensively reviewed on appeal.
"Things that would not even provoke a yawn at the appellate level in a grand
larceny case will get you a reversal in a death penalty case," he said.
Public Defender Julianne Holt praised the steps Fuente had taken to ensure a
fair trial.
"Although he expressed reluctance, I think we all understand that here, in this
country, a fair trial is paramount," Holt said. "We need to, I think, greatly
respect the fact that the judge had the courage to do what he did today."
Juror Lori Reyes of Tampa said that the ruling was frustrating in light of the
time she had devoted to the trial but that Bedwell's statement would have been
"very difficult" to ignore.
"When I first heard that, the first thing that went through my mind was
'premeditated,' " she said, referring to the premeditated murder charge against
McTear.
(source: Tampa Bay Times)
***************************
Law & Disorder: 2nd jury recommends death penalty for Kaczmar
A 2nd Clay County jury has recommended that Leo Louis Kaczmar III go to death
row for killing his father's girlfriend.
Kaczmar, 29, was convicted of first-degree murder in the December 2008 stabbing
of 49-year-old Mary Ruiz at least 50 times before setting a fire to conceal the
crime. He also was convicted of arson and attempted sexual battery.
He was sentenced to death, but the Florida Supreme Court ordered a new
sentencing.
The attempted sexual battery conviction was thrown out because the medical
examiner found no evidence on Ruiz's body. Kaczmar told a friend earlier in the
night that he was hoping to get Ruiz high on drugs so he could have sex with
her, but that circumstantial evidence wasn???t enough to justify a conviction,
the Supreme Court ruling said.
Since the attempted sexual battery was cited by prosecutors as an aggravating
factor in why Kaczmar deserved death, the death sentence must be thrown out and
a new sentencing hearing held, the ruling said.
On Tuesday another jury unanimously recommended Kaczmar be executed instead of
serving life in prison.
Circuit Judge William Wilkes will decide whether to follow the jury's
recommendation at a later date.
(source: Florida Times-Union)
***********************************
Prosecutors press for single trial in Brevard deputy's death; Defense concerned
about prejudicial statements from each of their clients
Attorneys for the 2 people accused of fatally shooting Brevard County Sheriff's
Deputy Barbara Pill last year say the duo should go to trial separately to
avoid creating a "circuslike atmosphere" in the courtroom, in the words of one
of the lawyers.
Prosecutors, though,want onetrial, saying separate proceedings would be a waste
of tax dollars.
Both sides made their cases Circuit Judge Morgan Reinman in an hourlong hearing
Tuesday. Reinman said she would decide by Sept. 13.
Attorneys for both Brandon Bradley and Andria Kerchner argued that
"incriminating" statements made by the other defendant during police interviews
could jeopardize their own client's cases.
"You cannot ensure a fair trial if you introduce their video statements at
trial and they cannot cross-examine the person making the statements," said
Michael Pirolo, an assistant public defender assigned to Bradley's case. That
would be an issue if one suspect's statements were used but the suspect decided
not to testify.
Kerchner at first said she didn't know the name of the shooter but later
identified him as Bradley.
In a separate police interview, Bradley claimed Kerchner handed him the murder
weapon.
Assistant State Attorney Jim McMaster said he would show the judge the
statements before they would be used to be sure they would not create prejudice
among jurors.
"This is going to be a long and expensive trial and trying it twice for no
reason makes no sense," the prosecutor said. A tentative trial date has been
set for late January and is expected to take 5 weeks.
Kerchner's attorney, Michael Bross said Kerchner's case may not be ready to go
before a jury for another year.
"This court is not obligated to look at cost. With all due respect, the court
is obligated to look at what is fair and just," he said, later adding it would
be "circuslike" to hold a single joint trial.
Reinman will also consider whether partially redacting the incriminating
statements would make them usable in trial. But defense attorneys said that may
just confuse a jury.
Bradley, 23, is accused of pulling the trigger on Pill, 52, during a traffic
stop shortly after a robbery at a motel on U.S. 192. Kerchner, 21, was a
passenger in the vehicle and is also accused of murder. Both are being held in
jails pending trial. Kerchner appeared in court Tuesday, but Bradley did not.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Bradley but have not decided if
Kerchner will also face the death penalty.
Kerchner's attorneys are scheduled to return to Judge Reinman's courtroom on
Friday. Bross said his client was under the influence of several medications
and substances and couldn't understand what she was saying to police after her
arrest. He's asking that those statements be forbidden from use during trial.
That hearing is expected to take a day or more.
(source: Florida Today)
*******************
Florida man found guilty of murder in teen's violent death
A Florida man was found guilty on Tuesday of 1st-degree murder in a 2011 case
of a teen who was lured by text message to an ambush where he was shot,
dismembered and incinerated.
Michael Bargo, now 21, faces the death penalty for killing 15-year-old Seath
Tyler Jackson whose remains were shoveled into paint cans and discarded,
according to an arrest affidavit.
The jurors will return to the courtroom at a later date to begin a second phase
of the trial to determine whether Bargo is sentenced to death as requested by
prosecutors or to life in prison.
4 co-defendants, including 2 teenage girls, previously admitted their roles in
the murder and are serving life prison sentences, according to court records.
Their statements helped authorities piece together what happened.
According to an arrest affidavit, the 2 girls, then-18-year-old Charlie Kay Ely
and 15-year-old Amber Wright, helped lure Jackson via text message to a home in
Summerfield, northwest of Orlando.
Bargo, along with then-16-year-old Kyle Hooper and 20-year-old Justin Soto,
beat and shot Jackson, put him in a bathtub and tried to break his kneecaps so
he could be folded and stuffed in a sleeping bag, according to a report by
Marion County Sheriff.
When they noticed Jackson was still alive, Bargo shot him again and they threw
his body in the sleeping bag into a fire pit that had been lit before Jackson
arrived, authorities said. His remains were put into paint cans.
2 days later, Hooper told his mother what happened and later told investigators
the house was cleaned with bleach. Investigators found no clear motive other
than that Bargo allegedly did not like Jackson.
After both sides rested in the trial, Bargo changed his mind and asked to
testify on his own behalf.
Bargo's lawyer, Charles Holloman, argued to the jury that his client was guilty
but not of the premeditated 1st-degree murder as charged.
(source: Reuters)
ALABAMA:
Birmingham man sentenced to death for slayings of 3 relatives
A Birmingham man was sentenced to death this afternoon for his conviction in
the 2010 stabbing deaths of three relatives, including his 12-year-old cousin.
Dontae Callen, 20, was sentenced by Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Laura
Petro.
"This is a senseless, senseless case," Petro said during the hearing.
Petro told Callen there has been no reasonable explanation given for his
actions. "It is one of the more heinous cases I have seen. ... 3 people are
dead for absolutely no reason," she said.
Callen was convicted of capital murder charges by a jury in July in the Oct.
29, 2010 stabbing deaths of his aunt, Bernice Kelly, 59; and his cousins
Quortes Kelly, 33; and Aaliyah Budgess, 12, and setting fires in the apartment
after the slayings.
Callen had confessed to police.
The jury had recommended that the judge sentence Callen to death.
Before imposing the sentence, Petro heard from several of the more than dozen
Callen relatives who were in the audience - several who argued against the
death penalty and one, speaking on behalf of the others, who agreed with it.
Lisa Brown, the daughter of Bernice Kelly speaking on behalf of her and Aaliyah
Budgess' mother, said that she believed the jury's recommendation for death was
just. "There was no reason for him to do what he did," she testified.
Brown said that she had a brother who is mentally disabled and she still has to
tell him that their mother won't be coming back. "Each time I have to do that
it just tears a piece of my heart out," she said.
Callen's grandmother, Beatrice Brown, however, asked the judge to spare her
grandson's life. "I don't know why he did this ... for him to do something like
this he had to be out of his mind," she said.
Deputy Jefferson County District Attorneys Patrick Lamb and Julie McMakin had
prosecuted the case and had sought the death penalty.
"If you apply the law in the state of Alabama this case requires the death
penalty," Lamb said after the sentencing. "The family felt that justice
required the imposition of the maximum penalty allowed under the law."
Defense attorneys Ron Thrasher and Don Colee had argued for the judge to
override the jury's recommendation for the death penalty. Among their arguments
were that Callen hadn't been in trouble before, that he has a low IQ, he was
only 6 weeks past his 18th birthday when the slayings happened, and that he
didn't have a stable home life, bouncing around among family as a child and
teen - including awhile with Bernice Kelly.
Thrasher, after the hearing, said it will now be up to an appeals court. "I'm
just against the death penalty and I think life without the possibility of
parole is a more appropriate sentence," he said.
"There is no one who wins in this case," Thrasher said.
Petro has appointed Callen an appellate attorney and today set a hearing for
Oct. 16 to consider a motion she expects to get for a new trial. That's the 1st
step in the death penalty appeals process.
(source: al.com)
OHIO:
Prosecutors to decide on death penalty for man charged in deaths of 3 Ohio
women found in bags
A trial date has been set for an Ohio man accused of killing three women whose
bodies were found wrapped in trash bags.
Michael Madison is scheduled to be tried on aggravated murder and kidnapping
charges in Cleveland beginning Feb. 28. He also faces gross abuse of a corpse,
rape and weapons charges.
Madison waived his right to a speedy trial during a brief court hearing
Tuesday. He already had pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors will meet next month to decide whether to seek the death penalty.
Police in East Cleveland discovered the 1st of 3 bodies on July 19 after
getting a call about a foul odor. Madison was arrested that day after a brief
standoff with police.
A coroner ruled that 2 of the 3 women were strangled.
******************
Execution cost, possible mental illness debated as Ohio death row inmate seeks
life in prison
A lawyer for a truck driver sentenced to die for killing his boss and another
man has asked the Ohio Supreme Court to give the inmate life in prison instead,
arguing the cost of execution would be an unnecessary burden for taxpayers.
The Blade (http://bit.ly/12nPJ2J ) in Toledo reports justices on Tuesday
questioned that argument and seemed more interested in whether inmate Calvin
Neyland Jr. was mentally ill.
Neyland was convicted of fatally shooting the two men at Liberty Transportation
outside Toledo in 2007 as he was about to be fired.
The now 49-year-old Neyland was diagnosed with paranoid personality disorder,
and an earlier court case referenced mental illness.
Prosecutors argue he functioned reasonably and had a mental condition, not
mental illness.
The Supreme Court didn't immediately rule.
(source for both: Associated Press)
******************
Attorney: Client's execution too pricey; High court hears argument on Wood
Co.'s only death row inmate
The cost of executing Calvin C. Neyland, Jr., for two 2007 slayings at a
Perrysburg Township trucking company represents an unnecessary burden on
taxpayers, his attorney argued Tuesday in urging the Ohio Supreme Court to set
aside his death sentence.
"So your argument is that, because it's so expensive, the alternative should be
imposed of life without parole?" Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor asked.
"Exactly," Toledo attorney Spiros Cocoves said.
The argument didn't seem to resonate.
"There's certain actions by the government that are appropriate for the
government expenses," Chief Justice O'Connor said. "For example, the penal
system itself is a very expensive proposition, but that's one of the functions
of government. ... So I don't understand how the expense issue becomes
something that we need to take into consideration. Isn't that a policy decision
for the legislature?"
Neyland, 49, fatally shot his former boss, Douglas Smith, 44, of Sylvania
Township, and the company's corporate safety director, Thomas Lazar, 58, of
Belle Vernon, Pa., during a meeting in which Neyland was to be fired on Aug. 8,
2007.
Neyland was at first considered a valued truck driver, but his behavior became
increasingly erratic to the point that customers were complaining. A traffic
accident in which Neyland was at fault prompted the meeting. Mr. Smith had
worried aloud about the meeting and had asked Mr. Lazar to attend.
Witnesses from a nearby business saw Neyland leave Liberty Transportation after
the gunshots. Mr. Lazar died from multiple gunshot wounds; Mr. Smith was killed
by a single gunshot in the head.
Neyland was convicted of fatally shooting his former boss, Douglas Smith, 44,
of Sylvania Township, right, and a company employee, Thomas Lazar, 58, of Belle
Vernon, Pa., left, on Aug. 8, 2007.
Neyland was convicted of 2 counts of aggravated murder on Oct. 30, 2008. He is
Wood County's sole death row inmate.
The high court did not immediately rule. The justices expressed more interest
in whether Neyland suffered from a mental illness.
"There are facts in this defendant's behavior leading up to the murders in
question that, it would seem to me, would merit coming to our attention,"
Justice Paul Pfeifer said.
Neyland was diagnosed with paranoid personality disorder, a condition that
falls short of mental illness. But one doctor did diagnosis him with mental
illness. There was also reference to a 1999 diagnosis of mental illness when
Neyland was in the court on bad-check charges.
Neyland's paranoia was exacerbated during the trial by the leg restraints,
likely making him less cooperative with his defense, Mr. Cocoves said.
He said Neyland's illness worsened over time.
"It wasn't until these tragic homicides that it finally came to somebody's
attention to get him treatment," he said.
But Gwen Howe-Gebers, chief assistant county prosecutor, argued that Neyland
functioned reasonably in his daily life, holding down a job and paying his
bills.
"It was a more a mental condition than a mental illness," she said.
But Justice William M. O'Neill pointed to the 1999 diagnosis.
"I'm troubled when we're asked to ignore the record of mental illness and
accept only the record of a personality disorder," he said. "Clearly, he has a
personality disorder because he killed 2 people."
Justices O'Neill and Pfeifer oppose the death penalty. Justice O'Neill has
refused to vote to schedule execution dates, but Justice Pfeifer has voted to
set the dates despite his opposition.
(source: Toledo Blade)
****************
OH lawmaker wants to expand death penalty to sex crimes
An Ohio lawmaker wants to use the death penalty as an option for the most
serious sex crime convictions.
State Representative John Becker of Union Township in Clermont County proposed
House Bill 244 following the Ariel Castro case in Cleveland.
For more than 10 years, Castro held 3 women captive in his Cleveland home. Now,
he's spending life plus 1,000 years in prison for crimes of aggravated murder,
rape, kidnapping and more.
He was spared the death penalty for a plea deal to hundreds of charges.
However, that may not last much longer thanks to Becker's proposal.
"This is only for the most heinous crimes, and it was the Ariel Castro case in
Cleveland that prompted this bill," said State Rep. John Becker (R-OH) District
65.
House Bill 244 is modeled after a law in South Carolina.
Under this proposal, charges of aggravated rape, aggravated rape of a child,
aggravated sexual battery, aggravated sexual battery of a child, and aggravated
unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.
For these crimes to apply to the death penalty, Becker has outlined a set of
criteria. They include a conviction, a past conviction for a sex crime and
aggravated circumstances.
"When you're talking about the death penalty, it's something very serious.
You're taking away somebody's life, and it certainly should not be done for
light and transient causes," Becker added.
But consider this -- According to Ohio's Department of Rehabilitation and
Correction, it costs taxpayers $164.06 to house an inmate for a day. Plus, in
1990 it took about eight years to execute a death row inmate in America. In
2011, the average was 16 ??? years, so says the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
So, if more people wind up on death row, taxpayer costs could rise.
Becker claims he had that in mind when drafting the bill.
"The prosecutors and the judicial system would have to look at that saying 'is
this case heinous enough that we want to spend taxpayer money to go down that
road,'" said Becker.
A Mason man says the death penalty obviously can't be reversed, but as far as
taxpayer dollars go, he admits he can't control that.
"I'm paying my taxes like I'm asked to. If they choose to spend it a certain
way, or on those things, then there's not a whole lot I can do about it," Brock
Glover told FOX19.
The bill is still a proposal. The legislation could soon be reviewed by a House
committee for consideration.
(source: WXIX News)
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