Oct. 11
INDIANA:
Quadruple homicide suspect allowed to marry in jail
A Marion County judge has ruled that the suspected triggerman in 4 homicides
can get married in jail.
Kenneth "Cody"Rackemann has been petitioning to marry his fiancee, Tia
Brassfield, as he awaits trial on 4 murder charges. The Marion County
prosecutor's office is seeking the death penalty for Rackemann.
Marion Superior Court Judge Kurt Eisgruber initially denied the request, but
said he'd reconsider after he heard from the Marion County Sheriff's Office. In
a response filed last week, the Sheriff's Office listed restrictions that need
to take place if Rackemann and Brassfield were to marry in jail.
The ceremony will be performed by the jail chaplain. Brassfield must be the
only non-Sheriff's Office staff at the ceremony and witnesses must be provided
by the agency, according to documents. Rackemann's attorney also is allowed to
attend.
All conditions about the jail wedding, including date and location within the
jail, will be set by the jail commander, according to documents. The Sheriff's
Office also will not allow photographs or any physical contact between the
bride and groom.
Prosecutors objected to the request because of the cost that will be incurred
to ensure security during the ceremony.
Rackemann, 24, is accused of killing 3 people and wounded 1 during a robbery in
a Southeastside drug house in February. The alleged triggerman faces murder
charges in the fatal shootings of Walter "Buddy" Burnell, 47; Jacob Rodemich,
43; and Kristy Sanchez, 22; and the wounding of Hayley Navarro, 21.
Rackemann, his cousin Anthony "Ant" LaRussa, 26; Valencia Williams, 21; and
Samantha Bradley, 20; are charged with murder, robbery and conspiracy to commit
robbery. When he ran out of bullets and could not get a shotgun to fire,
Rackemann allegedly directed Williams to kill the wounded Navarro. All 4 murder
suspects participated in the robbery attempt, authorities said.
Prosecutors believe the slayings were committed during a botched robbery at
Burnell's house, where large quantities of methamphetamine, heroin, marijuana
and prescription narcotics were sold, witnesses told investigators. Court
documents said Rackemann worked as security for Burnell.
A smiling Brassfield said she's glad that their rights to get married will no
longer be denied. She said she and Rackemann have been together since 2007.
"I'm excited. I cannot wait. I love him," Brassfield said. "Why else would you
want to get married?"
(source: Indianapolis Star)
KANSAS:
Families of Carr brothers' victims seek removal of 2 Kansas Supreme Court
justices
The experience was excruciating.
Friends and family members of the victims of Jonathan and Reginald Carr had to
listen to judges and lawyers bring up all the ugly details of the murders again
after 14 years as they sat through the Carrs' death-penalty appeal hearing
before the Kansas Supreme Court in December.
"It was like they were talking about the weather," said Amy Scott James, who
dated Brad Heyka, 1 of 5 people killed by the brothers in 2000 in Wichita.
When the hearing was over they they left the room shell-shocked, James said.
"We were very offended just at how they conducted themselves," she said. "They
were very arrogant and very rude at how they treated the people who presented."
In July, the court rendered its decision: By a 6-1 majority, it overturned the
Carrs' death sentences and struck down 3 of each man's 4 capital murder
convictions.
James said Friday that 10 of the victims' family members have formed an
organization opposing the retention of 2 of the justices who were part of that
decision.
Kansans for Justice wants voters to remove justices Lee Johnson and Eric Rosen
from the court in November. Supreme Court justices stand for retention every 6
years. Johnson and Rosen are the only court members up for retention this year.
"Our family was devastated by the murderous crime spree of the Carr brothers,"
Mark Befort, brother of 1 of the victims, Jason Befort, said in a written
statement. "We had to re-live the hideous acts when the Carr brothers were
tried 2 years later.
"Now the Kansas Supreme Court has voted to either eliminate these verdicts or
force all of the family members and surviving victims to have to once again
re-live those crimes in court, or see these guilty verdicts erased. This is an
outrage and we will be fighting from now through November 4 to get Kansans to
understand the injustice the Kansas Supreme Court is creating."
Despite the ruling, prosecutors have said the Carr brothers still face life
sentences for the lone capital murder conviction.
"The results of the decision by the Supreme Court creates 1 certainty: Jonathan
and Reginald Carr will not be released from prison," Sedgwick County District
Attorney Mark Bennett said at the time.
Bennett and Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt issued a joint statement that
same day saying they would review the opinions and work together "to determine
the next steps that must be taken in these cases."
Rosen, one of the justices, said Friday: "I have been recognized by victims and
their families, media covering criminal proceedings, and a variety of
organizations, including a former attorney general, for my compassion and
sensitivity toward crime victims. At the same time, my colleagues and I have a
legal and ethical duty to uphold the constitution and the laws of the state of
Kansas, which sometimes are at odds with victims' or their families' wishes."
He said he couldn't comment further on pending or future matters before the
court.
Johnson wasn't available for comment.
'Perfect trial'
In their ruling, the majority on the court said they overturned the Carrs'
death sentences because the district court judge who presided over the
brothers' trial - the late Paul W. Clark - was in error when he refused to hold
separate sentencing proceedings for the men.
In overturning the capital murder convictions, they said the instructions to
jurors had been flawed because the judge tied those capital murder charges to
the rape of the surviving victim rather than the deceased ones. The majority
also said 3 of the capital murder charges were duplicates of the 1st.
Justice Nancy Moritz was the lone dissenter.
The court by a 4-3 margin rejected the brothers' contention that all their
convictions should be overturned because they were not given separate trials.
The justices affirmed 25 of Jonathan Carr's 43 convictions; 32 of Reginald
Carr's 50 convictions were upheld.
The court's ruling sparked outrage around the state.
4 of the victims - Heyka, 27, Jason Befort, 26, Aaron Sander, 29 and Heather
Muller, 25 - were killed execution style in a snowy soccer field near K-96 and
Greenwich on Dec. 15, 2000. 1 person survived and testified against the Carrs
at their 2002 trial.
The other murder conviction came from the shooting 4 days earlier of
55-year-old Linda "Ann" Walenta during an apparent robbery and carjacking. She
later died from her injuries.
In an interview, Mark Befort said the case could be tried 100 times and the
verdicts against the Carrs would be the same, due to all the evidence against
them. That is why the court's decision makes no sense to him, he said.
"You don't have to have a perfect trial, it just has to be a fair trial, and we
gave them a fair trial," Befort said.
Befort said his 2 sons were young at the time of the original trial, but are
adults now.
"They don't know any of the details of what they (the victims) actually went
through," he said. "Now, they're going to get exposed to that stuff, and that
really makes me upset."
James said the move to oust Johnson and Rosen from the court isn't personal.
"I just do not think they should be on the bench," she said.
She didn't know whether the families would campaign against the other justices
who voted with the majority as they come up for retention.
"I think we're just really focusing on the situation as it exists," she said.
Kansans for Justice has established a website, www.kansansforjustice.com.
Family members have posted letters on the site urging voters not to retain the
2 justices.
Kim Voss, Jason Befort's sister, referred to the engagement ring she and Befort
had picked out for his girlfriend, the lone survivor, a week before the
murders.
"That ring ended up stolen and found in Jonathan Carr's pocket when he was
arrested," Voss wrote in her letter. "To this day, that ring is 'evidence,'
locked up in a closet should it be needed again. Unfortunately that is what the
Supreme Court has ordered 14 years later, two separate trials to parade the
evidence in front to 2 more juries."
Brad Heyka's father, Larry, said removing the justices will send a message
about what Kansas residents want and deserve from the judicial system.
"We do not need additional trials for the Carr Brothers and suffering and pain
from family, friends, and witnesses," his letter said.
(source: kansas.com)
COLORADO:
The church, the death penalty and politics
During Thursday night's 9NEWS gubernatorial debate, Gov. John Hickenlooper made
news by committing that he would not commute the death sentences of Nathan
Dunlap or any other inmate on Colorado's death row, but former Congressman Bob
Beauprez also shared a noteworthy explanation of his view of the death penalty
from a Catholic perspective.
9NEWS anchor Kyle Clark asked Beauprez: "You have said that your opposition to
abortion is rooted in your strong Catholic faith. You have called elected
pro-choice Catholic Democrats 'heretics.' I'm curious how you came to decide
that your church is right on sanctity of life for the unborn, but wrong on
sanctity of life as it applies to the death penalty, which you support."
Beauprez offered this response: "Because I've talked to, let me quote him,
Archbishop Chaput. And people are very confused about this and that's why I
went to him, as, I think, a credible source on what church doctrine is. Many
Catholic clergy believe, as the governor now says he does, that they're
anti-death penalty. But the Archbishop made it very clear to me. He said, 'Bob,
you pray on it, sleep on it, reach what is right for your soul and I'll back
you up, because church doctrine is not anti-death penalty.' I want to be very
clear about that..."
Archbishop Charles Chaput served as the Archbishop of Denver from 1997-2011,
when he assumed the same role with the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
A spokesman for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Kenneth Gavin, emailed 9NEWS a
statement about Beauprez's comments.
"As to Catholic belief: Both Scripture and long Church teaching uphold the
basic legitimacy of the death penalty. But the Church also teaches that in the
developed world, the circumstances requiring the death penalty for the purposes
of justice and public safety rarely exist. Therefore the death penalty should
not be used."
As to what the archbishop said to Beauprez, Gavin said Archbiship Chaput would
not be able to comment on private conversations years in the past.
Gov. Hickenlooper says he is opposed to the death penalty and would not sign
the order to execute convicted Chuck E Cheese killer Nathan Dunlap, instead
"pausing" the process and allowing the next governor to decide whether to
schedule his execution, or commute his sentence to life in prison.
(source: KUSA news)
MONTANA:
Fitzpatrick, Moretti compete for House District 20 seat
Steve Fitzpatrick
Office sought: House District 20
Political party: Republican
Age: 35
Birthdate and place: December 2, 1978, in Helena
Home: Great Falls
Occupation: Attorney
Family: Married to Julia (Handwerk) Fitzpatrick. 2 daughters, ages 6 and 3
Professional experience: Attorney. I practice civil litigation. My areas of
practice include products liability, insurance coverage, trusts and estates
litigation, personal injury, commercial litigation, and construction law.
Partner, Smith, Walsh, Clarke, and Gregoire, PLLP, Great Falls, Montana (2006
to present). Law clerk, Judge Thomas Honzel, Montana First Judicial District
Court, Helena, Montana (2004-2005). Arizona State University College of Law,
J.D. (2001-2004). Montana State University, B.S. in Biological Sciences
(1997-2001).
Military experience: None.
Political experience: Elected to Montana House of Representatives in 2010 and
2012 from House District 20. Served on Business and Labor, Natural Resources,
and Local Government committees in the 2013 session. Vice chairman of Local
Government committee. Currently serving on the Water Policy Interim Committee.
Campaign website: None.
Why are you running as a Republican?
I am a Republican because I believe the values of the Republican Party provide
the most effective way to make Montana the best place to live, start a business
and raise a family. I believe our state government should be fiscally
responsible and a good steward of public resources. In addition, I believe our
state government should improve economic opportunity for all Montanans by
lowering taxes, eliminating unnecessary regulation and encouraging responsible
natural resource development.
Should the state eliminate the death penalty and opt for life without parole?
I do not believe Montana should eliminate the death penalty. Although I do not
believe the death penalty is an appropriate punishment for all criminal acts,
there are some circumstances where the death penalty is an appropriate form of
punishment. The death penalty should only be imposed after a person is given a
full and fair opportunity to present evidence of innocence and where a jury
believes a person acted purposely to commit the crime.
Bob Moretti
Office sought: House District 20
Political party: Democrat
Age: 66
Birthdate and place: Dec 27, 1947, in Niagara Falls, N.Y.
Home: Great Falls
Occupation: College professor and community volunteer
Family: Wife, Muriel, and 2 children, Angela 38, Anthony, 42 (2 grandchildren)
Professional experience: September 1998 to present adjunct professor; 2011-2014
Great Falls school board trustee; 2007 assistant director/deputy health
officer, Cascade City-County Health Department; 1998-2006 chief of
environmental management, Malmstrom AFB; 1981-1998 deputy base civil engineer,
Malmstrom AFB.
Military experience: U.S. Navy 1967-1971, U.S. Air Force civilian 1976 to 2006
Political experience: Great Falls Public Schools trustee 2011-2014
Campaign website: morettiforhd20.weebly.com
Why are you running as a Democrat?
I am running as a Democrat because I want to share my experience and leadership
with the citizens of House District 20 on issues that affect them. I hope to
get important legislation passed instead of letting issues get bogged down. We
need to work together to solve problems.
Should the state eliminate the death penalty and opt for life without parole?
This is a difficult question, however, penalties are supposed to be a deterrent
to crimes. I believe that the death penalty as approved is appropriate for
certain crimes. Our justice system needs to be fair and reflect the feelings of
Montanans.
(source: Great Falls Tribune)
CALIFORNIA:
Convicted killer faces death penalty trial in Sacramento
Bryan Cordell Johnson has already been convicted in 1 strangulation killing. On
Friday, he was ordered to stand trial in a 2nd - and faces the death penalty if
he is found guilty in that one, prosecutors said.
Johnson, 49, is serving a 25-years-to-life term in prison for the November 2007
murder of Sofia Marta Marquez, 26, a transient whose body was found on an
onramp to Highway 99 in south Sacramento.
Johnson has since been charged in the July 17, 2007, rape and murder of Robin
Stephens, 42, in her Oak Hollow Drive apartment in Foothill Farms.
Sacramento Superior Court Judge Laurie M. Earl issued the holding order Friday
on Johnson after the testimony of sheriff's Detective Brian Meux linked him to
the strangulation of Stephens.
Meux cited the statements of several witnesses who told police that Johnson had
made sexually suggestive remarks about Stephens in the days before she was
slain and that he was seen near her apartment the night before her nude body
was discovered in her residence. "She was scared of him," 1 witness told
investigators that Stephens had told her before the killing, according to
Meux's testimony. Johnson, the witness said, "made a comment that he was going
to creep through her window" and rape her, Meux testified.
Witnesses said that Johnson and Stephens had done crack cocaine together,
according to Meux's testimony.
Despite the witness statements investigators obtained in the period after
Stephens' death, they were not able to put together a case to conclusively pin
responsibility on Johnson.
"We just didn't have enough evidence to point toward a specific person," Meux
testified.
A DNA hit in July 2009 connected Johnson to the Marquez killing, sheriff's
officials said 5 years ago.
Deputy District Attorney Donell Slivka said Friday that Johnson's genetic
material was found underneath Marquez's fingernails, although there was not
enough evidence to add a sex count to the killing of the woman.
DNA from the Stephens case provided the link that tied Johnson to her sex
killing, according to the Sacramento District Attorney's Office.
(source: Sacramento Bee)
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