Aug. 8
TEXAS----2 Mexican nationals may face death penalty
Death penalty real possibility for Border Patrol agent shooting suspects
Although hundreds gathered, it was quiet as slain U.S. Border Patrol Agent
Javier Vega, Jr. was laid to rest Thursday at Heavenly Grace Cemetery in La
Feria.
Agent Vega was shot in the chest Sunday, allegedly by 30-year-old Gustavo
Tijerina and 40-year-old Ismael Hernandez - both Mexican nationals.
They are now both charged with capital murder.
Action 4 News Legal Analyst John Blaylock said, now, it's up to the Willacy
County District Attorney Bernard Ammerman to decide if he will seek the death
penalty.
"The fact that they are Mexican nationals almost plays no part in it," Blaylock
said. "These people were here in America, in Texas (and) they are subject to
our laws and our penalties, so they have to suffer the consequences the DA
thinks are appropriate."
Some of Vega's family members who spoke to Action 4 off-camera, said a death
sentence would be the only fitting punishment for this crime.
Blaylock said agent Vega's good standing as a community member, as well as the
community's outrage about his senseless death will likely weigh-in on the
punishment when the time comes.
"The community is particularly outraged because of the pattern of behavior -
these people are predators and they had robbed people at gunpoint in the past,"
Blaylock said. "It seems like it was just a matter of time before someone got
hurt or killed."
The Mexican Consulate is likely to intervene on behalf of Tijerina and
Hernandez if state prosecutors do pursue a death sentence.
It will also be a drawn-out, costly process for which tax-payers will carry the
burden, since both suspects will probably have court appointed attorneys.
It's a possibility that the DA will offer a plea of life without parole, but
Blaylock said it's more likely he'll go for the tougher punishment.
"He's going to be in a predicament where he needs to send a message - a strong
message - that you can't be robbing fishermen at gunpoint in this county or in
the state," Blaylock said, "and he'll have almost no choice but to seek to the
death penalty."
(source: valleycentral.com)
GEORGIA:
Event underscores faith perspective on death penalty
More than 85 people, at varying stages in the journey to oppose capital
punishment, attended an inaugural event of Georgia Catholics Against the Death
Penalty Aug. 2 at the Chancery of the Archdiocese of Atlanta.
"Restoration, Reconciliation and Forgiveness: A Catholic Perspective on the
Death Penalty" featured speakers, group discussions, a question-and-answer
session and afternoon Mass.
Some of those who attended have long been involved in prison ministry, while
others are just beginning to learn more about the church's teachings regarding
the death penalty.
Lisa Gerold, parishioner of St. Peter Chanel Church in Roswell and a lay
Carmelite, has always believed use of the death penalty is wrong. Gerold began
writing letters to offer spiritual support to a prisoner in one of Georgia's
correctional facilities about a year ago.
"Life is not ours to take," said Gerold. Having more information, made
available through awareness events, helps her to speak "a little more
confidently" about her position.
The program featured three speakers who have direct experience either through
ministry or by providing legal representation to death row inmates: Sister of
Mercy Camille D'Arienzo, a contemporary of Congregation of St. Joseph Sister
Helen Prejean and author of the audiobook "Stories of Forgiveness"; Florida
attorney Dale Recinella, author of "Now I Walk on Death Row"; and Amy
Vosberg-Casey, staff attorney with the Georgia Resource Center, a nonprofit law
office providing free representation to death row inmates.
"It's a lot different than people who think they know what they're talking
about," said Gerold about the presentations.
When discussing capital punishment, Gerold used the analogy of a parent not
giving up on a child just because they had done something wrong, but rather
attempting to correct the child.
"I think what happens is you shut down your heart," Gerold said of pursuing the
death penalty.
Other speakers at the program were John and Kimberly Starbuck, parents of
shooting victim Meleia Willis-Starbuck. John Starbuck, who also lost his
retired police officer grandfather to murder, talked courageously about
forgiveness.
Meleia, Starbuck's stepdaughter, was killed when a friend fired a gun into the
air to break up a fight. She was a freshman at Dartmouth College and very
active in social justice, including work with homeless and battered women.
"I thought of what Meleia stood for," said Starbuck, who first met her when she
was 9 months old.
When Starbuck's grandfather was murdered years prior, an uncle pushed for the
death penalty in conjunction with the crime.
"I disagreed with him. I did not say anything. I was so numb to life
thereafter," said Starbuck.
2 men were convicted in the grandfather's death. The older of the 2 was a model
prisoner, turned his life around, and has been out of prison for 20 years. The
younger of the 2 was just 17 when he went into prison, suffered abuse there and
died out on the street after parole.
"He became the worst of the worst," said Starbuck. "They don't have the
resources to get out of it," he said.
Meleia's killing was not a death penalty case, and the perpetrator, Chris
Hollis, received a sentence of more than 20 years for voluntary manslaughter.
Starbuck felt that the young man could be reformed and supported the minimum
sentence versus life in prison.
Starbuck said he doesn't judge the families of murder victims who support the
death penalty as punishment for the crime that took the life of their loved
one.
"For me, it was a question of justice on a larger scale," he said.
Starbuck's wife, Kimberly, spoke briefly about the loss of her daughter and in
support of her husband.
"This has become John's passion," she said.
In the months following Meleia's death, Kimberly would get in the car late at
night, calling John to ask why she shouldn't drive off a cliff.
"Our lives are changed forever. I will never recover from that," she said.
Recinella is a lay chaplain serving on behalf of the Catholic bishops in
Florida's prisons including death row, which has 400 inmates. A lawyer who
surrendered the right to practice in order to help death row inmates, Recinella
spoke at length about restorative justice, an approach that seeks to repair the
harm done and that focuses on both victims' families and the families of
inmates.
Recinella said that the 2 most isolated groups are the families of the
condemned and the families of murder victims.
"Nobody knows how to deal with that pain," he said.
Recinella emphasized that in his view every execution is a homicide.
In Florida, the death row cells are 6-by-9 feet without air conditioning.
"They are being held in cages until we kill them," said Recinella.
Years ago, Recinella nearly died from a bacterial infection after eating a raw
oyster. He didn't just have a near death experience.
"No, I got the lecture," said Recinella. "(God) told me what he thought about
what I was doing with his gifts."
And what Recinella said in response to God was "give me another chance."
It was a Southern Baptist preacher who called Recinella and invited him to come
to a prison on Florida's panhandle. He told the man he'd pray about it, trying
to buy himself time, but his family all voted in favor.
Now he's known as "Brother Dale" and prays with both Catholic and non-Catholic
inmates, while his wife supports the families of prisoners and victims.
Recinella said that retired wardens are finally talking about what
participating in executions is doing to the staff members.
"Killing is not for them," he said.
He spoke of the 3 traumatized daughters of a man set to die, who had to be
peeled away from his last embrace. "Killing is not for them," he repeated.
The death penalty offers a "circle of torment," he said.
Recinella posed the question aloud that most want to ask. "What about the
victim's family?"
He related the story of a young woman who came to witness the execution of the
man who murdered her beloved aunt. Everyone kept telling her, "You'll feel
better. You'll have closure," he said.
After the inmate died, the loved one stood up with fists raised and said, "Is
that it? Is that all there is?"
Many supporters of the death penalty will use Scripture such as an "eye for an
eye" when discussing their stance. Recinella spent 5 years researching the
death penalty as the law of the early Hebrews. He found that the death penalty
provided for in Jewish law featured 44 mandatory requirements of substantive
law and procedural law to determine how and when someone was executed.
Recinella compared America's death penalty to that of the Bible's and found
that it didn't match up with a single requirement.
"They cannot support the death penalty based on Scripture," said Recinella.
"Restorative justice is God's justice."
Vosburg-Casey of the Georgia Resource Center is currently working with one
death row inmate who has a "strong innocence claim."
The Nebraska native said her Catholic upbringing focused on the "seamless
garment of life," and she has taken it to heart in her work.
The Georgia Resource Center defends 80 to 90 % of the inmates on death row.
"We are not to take life at any stage," she said. But her true motivation is
the "blessing I have to get to know these people that society has thrown away,"
she said.
Vosburg-Casey acknowledges that the majority of those sentenced to death have
killed someone.
"That's not something I overlook or forget," she said.
Everyone can play a critical role in fighting against the use of the death
penalty, but her focus is narrower. "My focus is saving my client from death
... from execution," said Vosburg-Casey.
Participants received information from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops,
statistics on the use of the death penalty, prayers and Scripture that support
abolishing the death penalty. A Declaration of Life, widely distributed by
Sister D'Arienzo, was included in a packet of information. The form is a
personal declaration that can be admissible in court as a victim's statement
should the signer be murdered. It states non-support of execution as a means of
punishment.
A collection of black and white photos called "Execution Night" by Scott
Langley was on exhibit for the program.
The event also included a remembrance of the late Father Austin Fogarty, who
died in January. Father Fogarty visited the death row inmates at the Georgia
Diagnostic and Classification State Prison in Jackson weekly, praying with
them, celebrating Mass and baptizing some.
"He had been doing that for a long time," said Deacon Richard Tolcher, director
of the archdiocesan prison and jail ministry. "Let us offer this day for him."
(source: The Georgia Bulletin)
**************************
Cook DA seeks death penalty in double murder
A man accused of beating a woman and toddler to death in Cook County could be
put to death if he's convicted.
District Attorney Dick Perryman announced Thursday his office will seek the
death penalty in the case of a horrific May 2013 double murder. It's the 1st
capital punishment case for his office in years. The last person WALB was able
to find who received a death sentence in the Alapaha Judicial Circuit was
William Earl Lynn, back in 1990. Perryman says going after the death penalty is
not an easy decision.
33-year-old Lisa Hall and her 15-month-old daughter Jersi were found beaten to
death inside their Cook County home in May of 2013. On Thursday, the district
attorney in charge of prosecuting the case said he will seek the death penalty
for the accused murderer. Investigators say 32 year-old Bo Rutland beat the
mother and little girl to death with a baseball bat.
"I had to give a lot of thought and a lot of prayer because [the death penalty
is] a very serious matter," said the D.A.
Perryman wouldn't talk about a motive or details of the case on Thursday. He
said one of the biggest things he considered when deciding whether to seek the
death penalty was whether his office could spare the resources for such a huge
undertaking.
"Our biggest challenge is gonna be, because of the size of our office and
because we're so small and we're such a rural circuit, is gonna be time
management and how much resources trying a death penalty case is gonna
consume."
Now that the decision has been made, it also means that it may take a lot
longer for the case to go to trial. "Probably more than a year," said Perryman,
when asked how long, specifically it could be before the case goes to trial.
Regardless of how long it does take to go to trial, Perryman said deciding to
seek the death penalty was the right decision. "Considering the nature of this
case and the horrific facts involved, it's certainly appropriate under Georgia
law," said Perryman.
Rutland remains in the Cook County Jail on a $1.6 million bond.
(source: WALB news)
FLORIDA----female to face death penalty
Kimberly Lucas: State will seek death penalty for Jupiter woman charged with
killing girl
Prosecutors will seek the death penalty for the Jupiter woman charged with
killing a 2-year-old girl.
40-year-old Kimberly Lucas is accused of killing her former partner's daughter
Elliana Lucas-Jamason and attempting to kill the girl's brother.
Friday morning a judge reviewed the status of the case at the Palm Beach County
Courthouse.
Newly-released documents are shedding more light into the moments after Elliana
was killed.
According to the report, Lucas was driven around for several hours and
questioned by Jupiter police.
Police say she told them she didn't remember what happened.
Investigators say the 2-year-old was found dead in the bathtub. An alleged
suicide note police say Lucas left at the scene referred to a church sermon she
had heard.
Lucas has another court hearing November 18th.
(source: WPTV news)
ALABAMA:
Sergio Moorer faces death penalty for murder conviction
An Escambia County man is facing the death penalty after being found guilty of
murder.
Sergio Moorer was convicted Thursday of killing 68 year old John Hall in
August, 2011 and stealing Hall's SUV.
Investigators say Moorer confessed to beating Hall with a brick, forcing
gasoline down his throat and setting him on fire.
Hall's remains were found in the woods behind Marcus Point Apartments.
The penalty phase of Moorer's trial will begin Monday, August 11th.
(source: WEAR tv news)
LOUISIANA:
State accesses drug for execution from Lake area hospital
A Lake Charles hospital filled a request from the State Department of
Corrections for a medicine used to relieve pain and suffering... But as it
turns out the state obtained the medicine for use in an execution.
Recent botched executions have created more scrutiny about the drugs used for
the death penalty, their effectiveness and where they come from. And as
Christopher Sepulvado's execution date approached - an online news outlet - The
Lens - began investigating the source of drugs to be used for his lethal
injection. The execution is on hold.. But The Lens found out 1 drug -
hydromorphone - was obtained from Lake Charles Memorial Hospital.
LCMH officials say they don't intend to get involved in a debate about the
death penalty, but they do confirm, when the drug was provided, it was intended
for medical use.
"We were contacted back in January, our pharmacist here at Memorial, from a
pharmacist at the Hunt Medical Center, saying that they needed the drug,
hydromorphone, for a medical patient and at that time we complied with the
request. At no time did Memorial believe or was led to believe that the drug
would be used for an execution," said Matt Felder, spokesman for LCMH.
Memorial Hospital Board Member, Judge Gene Thibodeaux, says in the article
they've been assured it will not happen again. Thibodeaux did not want to
appear on camera.
Still, the difficulty and secrecy surrounding execution drugs is a growing
concern. Defense attorney Tom Lorenzi is on the Louisiana Public Defender
Board.
"I understand their being upset. It has to do with health care, like first do
no harm. There's a lot of people that are very much in favor of the death
penalty that think that it's wrong for many health care companies to say we
don't want to be part of killing people. But then health care companies in
general are in the business of trying to help people, not to help kill people,"
said Lorenzi.
A bill to allow State Department of Corrections to hide information about its
execution drugs was shelved in the end during this past legislative session.
Such issues will likely be resolved in the courts.
"The drugs, if that's how we're going to do this, should be subject to testing
and a protocol that ensures that they're going to be effective such that there
is not going to be a cruel and inhumane death," said Lorenzi.
We called the Louisiana DOC for comment but have not heard back from them.
(source: KPLC tv news)
INDIANA:
Indiana officials say death penalty protocol is sound
With the possibility of an execution occurring yet this year, Indiana officials
are standing by their death penalty process, despite controversies over
prolonged lethal injections in other states.
Doug Garrison, chief communications officer for the Indiana Department of
Corrections, said officials are confident they have the right death penalty
protocols in place to prevent the types of problems that recently marred
executions in Arizona, Oklahoma and Ohio.
Michael Overstreet - who was sentenced to death in July 2000 for the 1997
murder, rape, and confinement of Kelly Eckart, an 18-year-old freshman at
Franklin College - is likely to be the next inmate to face lethal injection.
"He is the closest to reaching the end of the appeals process," Garrison said.
No execution date is set but Garrison said it could be later this year.
The last Indiana execution was that of Matthew "Eric" Wrinkles in 2009.
Overstreet's execution comes as states across the nation are struggling to deal
with criticisms over the punishment and problems securing the drugs necessary
to do lethal injections.
Indiana and many states use a 3-drug protocol to perform an execution, while
others use 2 drugs and some just 1.
The 1st drug in a 2- or 3-drug method has often been sodium thiopental, a
sedative used to make inmates unconscious before other drugs are administered.
But the drug's American manufacturer has stopped making it and its European
counterpart has banned its export to the United States for executions.
3 states - Ohio, Oklahoma and Arizona - used the sedative midazolam in recent
executions - and all took longer than expected, raising questions about whether
the punishments crossed a constitutional line to become cruel and unusual.
In early May, Indiana officials announced they would switch to Brevital - an
alternative sedative.
Now, officials say they have enough Brevital on hand for the next execution,
even though executives from its maker - Par Pharmaceutical - say they don't
want it used in that way. "The state of Indiana's proposed use is contrary to
our mission," the company said in a statement.
Par Pharmaceutical went on to say the company is working with its partners to
establish distribution controls on Brevital to "preclude wholesalers from
accepting orders from departments of corrections."
Similar problems have led officials in many states to remain mum about names of
the drugs they use, an attempt to protect the companies that supply them.
"The difficulties that many states have had in finding the drugs necessary for
lethal injections is a warning to states not currently carrying out executions
that problems in this area are likely to arise," said Richard Dieter, executive
director of the Death Penalty Information Center. "Each state carries out its
own decision-making on issues such as the death penalty."
And those decisions have become more complicated. The Pew Research Center has
found that a majority of Americans still favor the death penalty but the margin
has been shrinking. A 2013 Pew survey found 55 % of Americans said they favor
the death penalty for convicted murders, the lowest level of support in the
past 2 decades. 25 years ago, that number was 78 %.
The reasons for shifting opinions are varied, but they include publicity about
cases in which inmates have been found innocent.
"The number of exonerations from death row has had a profound effect on states
considering whether to abolish the death penalty," Dieter said. "Even if a
state has not had a serious miscarriage of justice in this area, they can see
that such mistakes can happen based on evidence from other states."
The death penalty is also expensive. According to the Legislative Services
Agency, simply trying a death penalty case in Indiana costs an average of
$449,887. Meanwhile, the average cost for a case resulting in life without
parole is $42,658.
32 states still have the death penalty on their books. Of the 18 without it, 3
have abolished executions since 2000.
Indiana currently has 13 inmates waiting on death row, with many having been
there for more than a decade. All still have appeals left.
All were convicted of murder. But to receive the death penalty, a prosecutor
must also prove 1 of 16 aggravating circumstances. The most common is the
commission of another serious felony, such as rape or attempted murder, at the
time of the original offense.
Other aggravating circumstances include a defendant's lack of remorse and his
or her criminal record.
Once convicted, an inmate has a number of appeals available and can be
represented by the Indiana Public Defenders Council. Once those appeals are
exhausted, an execution date is set and the inmate will be escorted to a
separate holding cell where he or she can have more visits.
The inmate also has the option of having a final meal prepared for them. "Some
ask for it, some don't," Garrison said.
While being transported to the execution chamber, the inmate will be put on a
gurney with lines placed in his or her veins.
Witnesses may be allowed, depending on whether the inmate wants them. Witnesses
are limited to the warden and assistants, prison chaplain, 2 physicians, 5
guests, and a spiritual advisor, along with 8 adult family members.
The Department of Corrections - which perform the execution and practices the
lethal injection process once every quarter - will establish a support room for
the victim's family, upon request.
The procedure for administering the state's 3-drug protocol will then begin,
just after midnight.
The 1st drug - Brevital, sodium thiopental or another sedative - will then be
administered, which is meant to force deep and painless unconsciousness. The
2nd one stops the respiratory system and the 3rd stops the heart.
But the process doesn't always go so smoothly.
Joseph Wood - executed earlier this year in Arizona - took almost 2 hours to
die by lethal injection. He was injected with an "experimental" cocktail. His
lawyers said the execution was illegal due to its cruel and unusual punishment.
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer said the execution was legal.
Dennis McGuire - an inmate on Ohio's death row - was given the same cocktail of
drugs and took 30 minutes to die, an execution that defense attorney Allen
Bohnert deemed as a "failed, agonizing experiment."
In April, Clayton Lockett - a death row inmate in Oklahoma - reportedly
appeared to regain consciousness after the drugs had been administered. He
later died of a heart attack.
(source: thestatehousefile.com)
KENTUCKY:
Lexington murder trial rescheduled for next June
A trial of a potential death-penalty case has been moved from October to June,
following a Fayette Circuit Court judge's decision on Thursday.
Judge Pamela Goodwine moved the trial of co-defendants Trustin B. Jones, 20,
his cousin, Desmond Jones, 23, and Robert Guernsey, 33, from Oct. 6 to June 1.
All 3 face the possibility of execution if convicted.
The 3 men are accused in the Sept. 3, 2013, murder and robbery of Derek
Pelphrey, a Bluegrass Community and Technical College student. Pelphrey, 23,
was shot to death as he sat in his car on Ridgepoint Road near Spangler Drive.
During a hearing Thursday, defense attorney Samuel Cox said he and co-counsel
Kim Green needed more time to prepare for the case, particularly in regard to
investigating the "mental-health issues" of their client, Trustin Jones.
Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Andrea Williams objected to the delay, saying
the defense "have had a year to determine any mental-health issues."
Williams said the trial date had been scheduled since January, and that members
of the Pelphrey family had already scheduled time when they could be off from
their jobs to attend the trial.
Goodwine said she wanted the case to be tried in October, too, but she relented
in changing the date because she didn't want the defense to appeal on the
grounds that there was not enough time to investigate mitigating factors.
After a long bench conference between the judge and all the attorneys, Goodwine
finally announced the new trial date. The trial is expected to go through June
26, 2015.
She scheduled an Oct. 14 hearing on motions that have already been submitted,
including one filed by Cox to declare the death penalty unconstitutional.
Any new motions must be filed by Aug. 22, and the commonwealth will have until
Sept. 15 to file a response.
"We will not continue this trial again," Goodwine said.
In another matter, Goodwine rejected a request to reduce the $60,000 bond of
Desmond Jones.
(source: kentucky.com)
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