April 18
OHIO----impending execution
Arthur Tyler, slated to die May 28 in controversial capital case, asks Ohio for
mercy; Arthur Tyler has been on Ohio's death row for 3 decades.
Arthur Tyler, who has been on Ohio's death row 3 decades for the murder of a
produce vendor during a robbery in Cleveland, has asked the Ohio Parole Board
to commute his sentence to life in prison with a chance of parole.
The parole board will hold a clemency hearing April 24 to hear Tyler's pleas.
The board will make a recommendation to Gov. John Kasich, who will ultimately
decide Tyler's fate.
He is scheduled to be executed May 28.
Tyler's case has been controversial because he was 1 of 2 people convicted in
the killing of Sanders Leach, but the only one sentenced to die. And there are
questions as to who actually pulled the trigger.
Tyler's co-defendant, Leroy Head, confessed almost immediately. Head admitted
to police, family and friends that he shot Leach in a struggle for the gun
during the March 1983 robbery attempt, according to court records.
He signed a confession, but later changed his story, telling prosecutors that
Tyler fired the gun.
Tyler was convicted of aggravated murder and aggravated robbery and sentenced
to die. Head pleaded guilty to the same charges and was sentenced to prison. He
was released in 2008.
Tyler's lawyers, in a brief filed with the parole board, said Tyler recognizes
he shares responsibility for Leach's death. But they urge clemency be granted,
commuting his death sentence to life imprisonment with parole eligibility.
"Ideally, Arthur Tyler should be granted parole and released from prison for
time served, they wrote. "As we will demonstrate, Arthur Tyler did not shoot
Mr. Leach. Head falsely testified against Mr. Tyler in order to save himself
from the death penalty."
(source: Cleveland.com)
*****************
Castile ruled competent; Accused of fatally stabbing 11-week-old baby
A Sandusky man accused of fatally stabbing his cousin's infant in May is
competent to stand trial.
Denzel Castile, 20, made an appearance in an Erie County courtroom Wednesday
morning for the 1st time since he was admitted to the Northwest Ohio
Psychiatric Hospital last spring.
Castile allegedly stabbed his cousin's 11-week-old child, Athena Castile, in a
relative's Dewey Street home May 16. After a brief tussle with relatives, then
with police, Castile was arrested.
He was charged with aggravated murder, felonious assault and assault on a
police officer, and a grand jury later indicted him on a charge of aggravated
murder. And, given Athena's age, he now faces the possibility of the death
penalty.
Relatives later told police Castile displayed a noticeable change in mental
status following his 1st year at the University of Toledo. Athena's death came
shortly after Castile returned home for summer vacation.
Castile pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity last summer. In October, Dr.
Lucia Hinojosa conducted a psychological evaluation on Castile and determined
he did not fully understand his legal charges, nor could he assist in his own
defense. Castile has remained in the care of the hospital ever since.
At Wednesday's hearing, however, Hinojosa issued a new opinion after further
evaluation.
Castile is now competent to aid his attorneys, Jeff Whitacre and Peter Rost, in
his defense, Hinojosa stated in a report that Erie County Common Pleas Court
Judge Tygh Tone read at the hearing.
One more key evaluation is necessary before the court proceeds with Castile's
case.
Because Castile entered a plea of "not guilty by reason of insanity," doctors
must now determine if he was legally insane when he allegedly stabbed Athena,
Erie County prosecutor Kevin Baxter said.
If they decide he was indeed legally insane at the time, Baxter said he'll
likely ask for a 2nd opinion in the interest of being thorough.
At that point, Castile's legal proceedings will move forward, with the doctors'
opinions included as evidence, Baxter said.
In the meantime, Castile will continue his stay at the Toledo psychiatric
hospital.
At Wednesday's hearing, more than 1/2 the seats in the courtroom were filled by
family of Castile and Athena. Some shed tears, while others could be heard
saying "We love you Denzel" as he walked into the courtroom.
(source: Sandusky Register)
*****************
Division over death penalty; Ohio justice says he's not surprised
Divisions were to be expected on a panel that spent more than 2 years studying
capital punishment in the state, the chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court
said as the group wraps up its work.
The panel convened in 2011 by Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor finalized its
recommendations last week and now awaits a dissenting report from prosecutors
on the committee who disagreed with some proposals.
"There was going to be some really divisive topics and going to be
diametrically opposed positions," O'Connor told The Associated Press on
Tuesday. "I'm not surprised. And I think it's healthy."
Recommendations include reducing the number of crimes eligible for the death
penalty and creating a statewide board that would have the final say over death
penalty charges in the state. Defense attorneys, judges, prosecutors and
capital punishment experts sat on the committee.
Many recommendations focused on reducing the role that race plays in capital
punishment. Data show in Ohio and other states the killers of white victims are
more likely to receive a death sentence than those who kill blacks.
O'Connor, a Republican and former county prosecutor, has said the goal of the
committee was a fair, impartial and balanced review of the state's 3-decade-old
death penalty law. She made it clear from the start abolishing capital
punishment was not on the table.
Implementing the panel's 56 recommendations would reserve the death penalty for
the worst of the worst criminals as lawmakers envisioned when they enacted the
1981 law, according to supporters of the proposals.
Prosecutors said the recommendations would make it virtually impossible to
sentence anyone to death in Ohio.
Many of the proposals would require lawmakers' support, while others could be
approved as Supreme Court rules. O'Connor said she hopes lawmakers take a
comprehensive approach to any recommendations they consider.
********************
Ohio man given death sentence for 1983 slaying seeks mercy, says co-defendant
was shooter
A man sentenced to death for a Cleveland produce vendor's 1983 slaying should
be granted mercy partly because a second defendant repeatedly admitted being
the shooter, defense attorneys argued in a clemency application Thursday.
Attorneys for Arthur Tyler also alleged that a jury was coerced into issuing a
death sentence and that a prosecutor and some of Tyler's defense attorneys at
trial had a conflict of interest.
"The unfairness in the proceedings has plagued this case for decades," the
defense request to the state parole board says.
A spokesman for the Cuyahoga County prosecutor's office said the prosecutor had
no comment Thursday but the office plans to file a statement next week with the
board. The board makes a recommendation to the governor, who has the final say
on whether to grant clemency.
Tyler, 54, is scheduled to be put to death May 28.
His attorneys contend in the clemency application that a 2nd man imprisoned in
the case was responsible for the shooting and confessed to multiple people but
falsely testified against Tyler in court.
Prosecutors blocked efforts to have the co-defendant present the true version
of events under oath before a judge, the defense said. And the man was released
from prison nearly six years ago, according to the clemency application.
Tyler's attorneys are arguing in a separate lawsuit that he has health problems
that put him at risk of suffering during lethal injection. Tyler has a history
of heart problems and diabetes and risk factors including high blood pressure,
breathing difficulties and being overweight, according to the complaint filed
in federal court in Columbus earlier this month.
The complaint argues that lethal injection drugs would amount to cruel and
unusual punishment. The drugs are the only execution method under Ohio law.
(source for both: Associated Press)
TENNESSEE:
Measure allowing use of electric chair for executions headed to governor
Tennessee could electrocute death row inmates if lethal injection drugs are
unavailable under legislation that's headed for Republican Gov. Bill Haslam's
desk.
The Senate voted 25-3 on Thursday to agree to changes to the legislation made
by the House, which approved the measure 68-13 the day before.
The legislation keeps lethal injection as the preferred method for executions,
but allows the electric chair if the state were unable to obtain the necessary
drugs or if lethal injections were found unconstitutional.
And electrocutions would be allowed regardless of when the crime was committed.
Under Tennessee law, death row inmates could choose to be electrocuted if their
crimes were committed before 1999, when lethal injection became the preferred
method.
There are 76 inmates on Tennessee's death row, including 1 woman.
(source: Associated Press)
ILLINOIS:
Darrow was 'attorney for the damned'
Clarence Seward Darrow once quipped, "I have suffered from being misunderstood,
but I would have suffered a hell of a lot more if I had been understood."
For instance, in 1902, the warden of Cook County Jail in Chicago invited Darrow
to address the inmates under his charge. His remarks reflected the iconoclastic
views that made him one of America's most notable, and notorious, attorneys.
"I do not believe," he began, "there is any sort of distinction between the
real moral conditions of the people in and out of jail. One is just as good as
the other."
Acorn fell not far from the tree
Darrow was born on April 18, 1857, on his family's farm in Kinsman, Ohio. His
father was an arch-abolitionist and outspoken religious free thinker who was
called the "village infidel." His mother was active in support of women's
suffrage and rights.
He attended but did not graduate from the University of Michigan Law School,
and passed the Ohio bar in when he was 21.
Darrow worked in Democratic politics and as a Chicago city attorney, after
which Illinois Gov. John Altgeld got him a job as corporate lawyer for the
Chicago & Northwestern Railway Co.
For the defense
In 1894, Darrow abruptly quit the railroad and defended Eugene V. Debs, who was
head of the American Railway Union and leader of the strike against the Pullman
Co. The strike ended after 30 people were killed in riots. Though Darrow won a
partial victory, Debs went to jail.
That year, he also defended Patrick Prendergast, the accused killer of Chicago
Mayor Carter Harrison Sr. He lost, and Prendergast was hanged. He was the only
one of Darrow's clients to be executed.
In 1911, Darrow represented the McNamara brothers, who bombed the Los Angeles
Times building, killing 21 people, during a union fight against the newspaper.
The brothers went to jail, and Darrow was charged with attempting to bribe
jurors. He was acquitted of 1 charge and received a hung jury in the other. In
exchange for avoiding another trial, Darrow agreed not to practice law in
California.
Attorney for the damned
When his 1st murder case ended with his client's execution, Darrow became an
ardent opponent of the death penalty, and gravitated to some of America's most
heinous and controversial cases.
His most famous murder trial was his defense of the "thrill killers," Nathan
Leopold and Richard Loeb, who he successfully kept from execution.
Because of H.L. Mencken's coverage, Darrow's defense of Tennessee high school
teacher John T. Scopes against charges of violating the Butler Act, which
forbade teaching the theory of human evolution, is considered his most
memorable. Darrow came out of retirement to face William Jennings Bryan in
1925. He lost; Scopes was fined $100.
'More poet than lawyer'
Darrow was more interested in people than justice, writing:
"I was dealing with life, with its fears, its aspirations and despairs. With me
it was going to the foundation of motive and conduct and adjustments for human
beings, instead of blindly talking hatred and vengeance and that subtle,
indefinable quality that men call 'justice' and of which nothing really is
known."
(source: The Tennessean)
MISSOURI:
Missouri bishops urge opposition to death penalty
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
The state of Missouri has executed 5 individuals in the last 5 months. This
represents a dramatic escalation of executions taking place in our state.
As Catholic Bishops we have consistently opposed the use of the death penalty.
This ultimate penalty promotes a culture of death and undermines respect for
human life, the dignity of the human person, the conditions for the common
good, and definitively removes from the offender the possibility of redeeming
himself (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #2267).
At the same time we reiterate and affirm our support for, and solidarity with,
the families and loved ones of murder victims. As we bear witness to the Gospel
message of Christ, we call for a new response to violence that upholds the
sacredness of all human life.
The canonization of John Paul II on April 27th, Divine Mercy Sunday, provides
an opportunity for reflection on the death penalty and the need to take action
to oppose it. Saint John Paul II, himself a victim of a serious shooting, was
an outspoken opponent of the death penalty. In his historic visit to St. Louis
in 1999, he called for "a consensus to end the death penalty, which is both
cruel and unnecessary."
We urge you to let your lawmakers know of your opposition to the death penalty
and to ask them to find other ways to impose punishment on offenders that does
not resort to taking another's life and add to the use of violence as a
solution to society's problems.
We invite you to be a visible witness against executions by participating in
local vigils and prayer services. Follow the lead of Saint John Paul II by
asking the governor to show mercy and spare the lives of those on death row.
Contact the Missouri Catholic Conference, the public policy agency of the
bishops of Missouri, for assistance in getting involved in these actions.
In this holy season of the year, let us acknowledge the sacredness of all human
life and work to end the executions in our state.
(source: The Catholic Key)
OKLAHOMA----impending executions
Oklahoma Justices Send Execution Case To Lower Court
Clayton Lockett and Charles Warner have sued the state seeking more information
about the drugs that would be used to kill them.
The Oklahoma Supreme Court says it is not the place for death-row inmates to go
if they want a stay of execution.
Justices said Thursday that the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals should take
up stay requests from 2 inmates scheduled to die in the next 2 weeks. The
appeals court had said previously it didn't have the authority because the
inmates hadn't met all technical requirements under the law.
Clayton Lockett and Charles Warner have sued the state seeking more information
about the drugs that would be used to kill them. They say they need stays of
execution so they can continue their challenge.
The justices wrote that the Court of Criminal Appeals erred in not taking up
the request.
Death penalty abolitionists and others who seek to end the death penalty will
protest the executions of two death-row inmates on the days of their
executions.
The Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty will host "Don't Kill for
Me" demonstrations at the governor's mansion followed by silent vigils on
Tuesday for death-row inmate Clayton Lockett and on April 29 for Charles
Warner.
The inmates have been in a legal battle with the state over the secrecy
surrounding which drugs are used in executions and their origins. The
executions are still scheduled to take place, despite pending litigation in the
case.
Lockett was found guilty of the 1999 shooting death of a 19-year-old woman,
Stephanie Nieman. Warner was convicted for the 1997 death of his roommate's
11-month-old daughter.
(source: Associated Press)
NEBRASKA:
Nikko Jenkins: Parolee Guilty Of Killing 4, Said Demons Made Him Do It
Nikko Jenkins has been found guilty of killing 4 people after a trial in which
he spoke in tongues and laughed as prosecutors recounted details of the
slayings.
The Omaha man had originally pleaded guilty to the 4 seemingly random murders,
but withdrew his plea after disagreeing with prosecutors' account of the
killings. He then pleaded no contest, and a judge found him guilty this week.
Jenkins' murder spree took place after he was released from prison, where
guards noted that he was incredibly violent and had homicidal tendencies.
In the trial that ended this week, he was found guilty of the August killings
of Jorge Cajiga-Ruiz and Juan Uribe-Pena, who had been lured to a park on the
pretense of having sex with 2 of Jenkins' female relatives. Both men were shot
in the head.
Nikko Jenkins was also found guilty of killing a man described as his "little
homie," Curtis Bradford. Jenkins lured him with the promise of a robbery, and
then had his sister shoot the man. Jenkins then told her she didn't do it right
and executed Jenkins himself.
The 4th murder victim was Andrea Kruger, a mother of 3 who was driving home
from her job to tend to her sick child. Nikko Jenkins was with 3 relatives
looking for an SUV to steal so they could rob people at a Lil Wayne concert,
and pulled in front of her car.
Jenkins pulled the woman out of the driver's side and then shot her in the
head, neck, and back.
But Nikko Jenkins argued with the assertion that she was killed during a
robbery, arguing during the trial that he had pulled off several car jackings
without hurting anyone. He said he would never kill unless his demon god,
Ahpophis, commanded him to.
"Kill them, destroy them, attack them," he said during the trial. "I was alone.
And weapons. And the demons and Ahpophis and Lucifer.
"They were attempting to kill me. So I killed them under orders of Ahpophis."
Nikko Jenkins will now move on to a death penalty hearing, which is likely to
take place this summer.
(source: The Inquisitr)
_______________________________________________
DeathPenalty mailing list
DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu
http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty
Search the Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/deathpenalty@lists.washlaw.edu/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A free service of WashLaw
http://washlaw.edu
(785)670.1088
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
