April 17
SOUTH CAROLINA:
South Carolina and the Death Penalty
There are 2 very high-profile capital murder cases in the headlines this week:
one in Massachusetts, with the Boston Marathon bomber the defendant, and one
here in South Carolina, with a former North Charleston policeman as the
defendant. The cases are very different. Each provides us with the opportunity
to rethink when, how often, and why we as a society condemn convicted murderers
to death.
The argument in favor of the death penalty is much easier to make in the case
of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the surviving Boston Marathon bomber. His crime was
heinous. As of this writing, his trial for the crime itself is over; he has
been found guilty on 30 counts, including killing 3 people and injuring over
250 others. Everyone with a television has been a witness to the act itself.
The victims were utterly innocent, and the killers were politically motivated
individuals whose sole purpose was to instill terror - and, in their minds, to
have vengeance against the country who had in their eyes committed murder on a
vastly larger scale, in the Middle East.
In this country, our laws do not allow for vengeance killings. The death
penalty itself is allegedly not about vengeance, it is about justice and about
deterrence. In our nation we profess to follow the Judeo-Christian teaching
that "Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord." Renounce "eye-for-an-eye" vengeance,
our religion tells us.
It is a statistically proven fact that the death penalty does not deter murder.
Terrorists are not deterred by the prospect of their own death; indeed, many
terrorist killings are suicide bombings. The south has by far the most death
penalty executions in the nation. All but 897 out of 2040 such executions since
1976 have taken place in the south, and 635 of those 897 took place in Texas
and Oklahoma. The northeast has seen just four (4). And yet the murder rate in
the south is higher, not lower, than in the northeast. If deterrence worked,
the south would have the nation's lowest murder rate, and we don't.
Justice should be the answer. Justice, that is, seen as the greatest punishment
for the crime. If I were to glance into the troubled psyche of the 21-year-old
Tsarnaev, I would dread much more the prospect of spending some 70 years in
prison than being put to death in a year or 2. Should not justice take that
into account?
Then there is the case of North Charleston's Michael T. Slager, the former
police officer whose act of murder - not yet come to trial - has also been seen
by anyone with a television set. His act was much less heinous than that of
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. He killed an unarmed man who was running away at the time.
His crime took place in South Carolina, where there are currently 47 inmates in
prison on death row - and not in Massachusetts, where none have been executed
in over 30 years. Is the death penalty more appropriate for Slager than for
Tsarnaev? Here's a different question: given those numbers, is the death
penalty more likely for Slager than for Tsarnaev?
I would argue that vengeance is the only reason for the death penalty, and it
is not a good reason. Unlike Tsarnaev or Slager, most murderers are not
captured on video. According to the "Death Penalty Information Center," while
those 2040 executions were taking place, 140 people have been released from
death row having been determined innocent after their sentencing. If we agree
to execute only those we are most sure are guilty, we as a society are still
statistically certain to execute some innocent men and women. We should not
take that step, even in cases as obvious as that of Tsarnaev - much less that
of Slager, whom geography has placed here in South Carolina, unlike
Massachusetts a confirmed "death penalty state." It should not be about
vengeance. It should be about justice. Justice does not require us to kill
people, even murderers. We are better than they are.
(source: Opinion, Robert Scott; Edgefield Advertiser)
********************
Without a drug supplier, South Carolina faces moratorium on executions
Trying to overcome pharmaceutical companies??? reluctance to be associated with
capital punishment, S.C. lawmakers are considering a law guaranteeing secrecy
to manufacturers that provide drugs needed to execute death-row inmates.
Department of Corrections Director Bryan Stirling told the House Judiciary
Constitutional Laws Subcommittee on Thursday that the last set of drugs the
state had expired in September 2013. Since then, the state has had no way of
executing death-row inmates, he said, until it can obtain more through a
different provider or the inmate chooses South Carolina's only other option -
death by electrocution.
"I'll just put everybody on notice that we could have someone come in tomorrow
and say, 'I choose to waive my appeals and I want to die,'" said Stirling.
If that happened, he said, the state would be unable to carry out the death
penalty.
"They could still choose the electric chair," Stirling said. "However, if they
came to us and said 'I want lethal injection,' we could not carry out that
sentence."
Rep. Walt McLeod, D-Little Mountain, called the conversation "gory" and
"macabre" but said the state had to look into how other states have handled the
nationwide shortage of lethal injection drugs.
In March, Utah became the only state to allow firing squads for executions when
no lethal injection drugs are available. Tennessee brought back the electric
chair last year for when the drugs run out but suspended the practice last week
amid legal challenges.
The House panel adjourned without a vote. The Senate's version died in
committee on a tie vote in March.
An attempt to revive it Thursday failed when senators balked at attaching it to
the budget instead of voting on changing state law.
States across the country have been struggling to find a method of execution
that will stand up to legal challenges. And obtaining lethal injection drugs
has been getting harder.
As manufacturers have refused to sell drugs to prisons for executions, prison
officials across the U.S. have turned to compounding pharmacies, which make
drugs specifically for individual clients. But those versions have also become
difficult to come by because pharmacists are reluctant to expose themselves to
possible harassment.
Last month, the American Pharmacists Association adopted a policy discouraging
its members from providing drugs for lethal injections, saying that runs
contrary to the role of pharmacists as health care providers.
South Carolina has 44 inmates on death row but doesn't have an execution set
for at least another 5 years, said Emily Paavola, executive director of the
Death Penalty Resource and Defense Center. 2 inmates were sentenced to death
last year, and the last execution performed in the state was in 2011.
Paavola and attorney Heath Taylor argued against the cloak of privacy, citing
past botched executions after the drugs were changed.
The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on whether Oklahoma's 3-drug
method of lethal injection is constitutional, after the botched execution of an
inmate who writhed and moaned before dying 43 minutes after being injected.
"The temptation to cut corners is always greater when no one is looking,"
Paavola said.
(source: The Post and Courier)
GEORGIA:
Problem with Georgia execution drug caused by storage at low temperature,
pharmacy expert says
A problem with a lethal injection drug that caused the last-minute postponement
of an execution in Georgia was likely caused by shipping and storing the drug
at a temperature that was too low, according to an analysis by a pharmaceutical
expert.
State officials on March 2 called off the scheduled execution of Kelly Renee
Gissendaner, saying the lethal injection drug they intended to use appeared
"cloudy."
The state Department of Corrections on Thursday released lab reports, a sworn
statement from a pharmaceutical expert hired by the state and a short video
showing a syringe of clear liquid with chunks of a white solid floating in the
solution.
"After viewing a video of the solution and learning about the shipment and
storage of the solution, my assessment of the formulation indicates that
pentobarbital had precipitated or fallen out of solution," University of
Georgia College of Pharmacy professor Jason Zastre wrote in a sworn statement.
There is no evidence that the solution was adulterated, Zastre wrote.
The compounded pentobarbital the department planned to use in Gissendaner's
execution had been shipped on frozen gel packs and stored at about 37 degrees
for more than seven days, Zastre wrote.
The most likely cause of the formation of solids is that the solution was
shipped and stored at a temperature that was too low, Zastre wrote. Another
possible cause could be that the pharmaceutical solvent used to dissolve
pentobarbital sodium during the compounding process could have either absorbed
some water or evaporated during preparation, he wrote.
"The State of Georgia can minimize the possibility of precipitation within the
solution by storing the solution at a controlled room temperature above 59
degrees Fahrenheit, and by assuring that the pharmacist preparing the solution
takes steps to minimize the possibility that the pharmaceutical solvent
evaporates or absorbs water during the pharmaceutical compounding process," he
wrote.
The department has reviewed the recommendations and plans to implement them,
Department of Corrections spokeswoman Gwendolyn Hogan said in an e-mail.
The day after Gissendaner's execution was halted, corrections officials
suspended executions in the state until the drug analysis was done. Hogan did
not immediately respond to an e-mail Thursday asking if the state planned to
immediately resume scheduling executions.
Gissendaner's attorneys did not have a comment on the analysis.
In a court filing on March 9, they asked a judge to prohibit the state from
proceeding with her execution until the court has concluded her constitutional
rights will not be violated. They also asked the judge to order the state to
disclose information necessary for a "meaningful investigation" into what
happened.
Lawyers for the state on Thursday filed a motion to dismiss Gissendaner???s
civil rights complaint. Her claim that she suffered anguish and fear in the
hours following the postponement of her execution because she didn't know if
the state would try to proceed the next day is unfounded and she is not
entitled to receive the additional information her lawyers requested, they
argued.
Along with their filing, they submitted copies of the laboratory reports and
Zastre's statement, as well as the video of the syringe.
Gissendaner is the only woman on Georgia's death row and would have been the
first woman executed by the state in 70 years. She was convicted of murder in
the February 1997 slaying of her husband, Douglas Gissendaner. Prosecutors said
she conspired with her lover, Gregory Owen, who stabbed Douglas Gissendaner to
death. Owen is serving a life prison sentence and is eligible for parole in 8
years.
DEVELOPMENTS IN OTHER STATES
-- South Carolina legislators might wait for a U.S. Supreme Court decision
before voting on a bill that prison officials say will help them secure a drug
they need for executions.
House Judiciary Chairman Greg Delleney said Thursday that there's a "good
possibility" his committee will wait to consider the ruling.
"I don't see any urgency to get ahead of the Supreme Court," said Delleney,
R-Chester.
A Judiciary subcommittee took no action on a bill that keeps secret the
information of any company or pharmacist who provides execution drugs. Last
month, a Senate committee rejected a similar bill on a 7-7 vote. That
committee's chairman, Sen. Mike Fair, of Greenville, withdrew his attempt to
insert the proposal into the state budget Thursday, saying he'll try to
resurrect the bill in committee later this session.
Department of Corrections Director Bryan Stirling said the privacy guarantee
should help his agency buy a drug used in the state's 3-drug lethal injection.
The state's supply of pentobarbital expired in 2013, and attempts to buy more
have failed.
-- Nebraska is considering repealing the death penalty amid a shortage of
lethal injection drugs, with legislation to eliminate capital punishment
clearing a major hurdle Thursday.
Lawmakers voted 30-13 to advance the bill that would replace capital punishment
with life imprisonment in 1st-degree murder cases. If that support holds, death
penalty opponents would have enough votes to override Republican Gov. Pete
Ricketts' promised veto.
A coalition of Republicans who voted for the bill cast the death penalty as a
wasteful and bungling government program, but Ricketts released a statement
urging them to reconsider.
Nebraska hasn't executed anyone since 1997 and has no way to carry out
sentences for the 11 men sitting on death row because its supply of sodium
thiopental, an anesthetic that's part of its execution protocol, expired in
December 2013. Ricketts and Republican Attorney General Doug Peterson have
vowed to find a solution, but the Department of Correctional Services has yet
to obtain a new supply.
(source: Associated Press)
FLORIDA:
Walton County Murderer Remains on Death Row
The Florida Supreme Court had bad news Thursday for a Walton County Murderer.
The high court refused to vacate Jesse Guardados conviction and death sentence
for the 2004 murder of 75 year old Jackie Malone.
Guardado failed to convince the court his defense attorney had been
ineffective.
Mrs. Malone had befriended Guardado, gave him money, and became his landlord.
She evicted him shortly before he robbed and killed her.
Guardado was on a crack cocaine binge, and in desperate need of money.
He went to the elderly victim's secluded home, bludgeoned her numerous times
with a steel breaker bar, stabbed her in the chest, and cut her throat.
Guardado received the death penalty after pleading no contest to 1st degree
murder.
(source: WJHG news)
ALABAMA:
Luther Strange urges Supreme Court to keep execution drug
Alabama is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a lethal injection drug that
the state plans to use at is next execution.Attorney General Luther Strange on
Wednesday filed the brief ahead of April 29 arguments regarding the
effectiveness of the sedative midazolam in rendering an inmate unconscious at
the start of executions.
An Oklahoma inmate challenged the drug as cruel and unusual punishment after it
was used in problematic executions.
The outcome of the Oklahoma case will directly impact the death penalty in
Alabama. The state last year announced a switch to a new drug combination that
begins with an injection of midazolam.
"These killers have raped and murdered children and stabbed prison guards to
death. It is outrageous for them to argue that lethal injection has too high a
risk of pain to be a constitutional method of execution. It is better than they
deserve," Strange said.
Death penalty states have struggled in recent years to find lethal injection
drugs after European manufacturers became hesitant to supply the chemicals for
use in executions.
Florida developed the new protocol using midazolam and has used it in 11
executions, lawyers for Alabama wrote.
"After watching Florida successfully execute inmates without incident, Alabama
and other states that were unable to obtain barbiturates began using midazolam
as well," lawyers for the state said.
"The fact remains that midazolam is the one of the best drugs the states have
available to render an inmate unconscious."
Alabama announced a switch to a new drug combination last year but has yet to
use it in an execution. Midazolam would be given at the start of an execution
to render an inmate unconscious before injections of rocuronium bromide and
potassium chloride stop an inmate's breathing and heart.
The Oklahoma inmate has argued that midazolam is ineffective as a sedative and
that he would feel the painful effects of the later drugs. Midazolam was used
in a botched Oklahoma execution last year when inmate Clayton Lockett took 43
minutes to die.
An Alabama death row inmate, Tommy Arthur, also challenged the proposed use of
midazolam. However, the litigation and executions in the state were put on hold
pending the outcome of the Oklahoma case.
Alabama is not a party in the Oklahoma case.
Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, Tennessee,
Texas, Utah and Wyoming joined Alabama in its court filing.
(source: Associated Press)
************************
Man on Alabama death row is freed after 15 years ---- William Ziegler's murder
conviction had been overturned but, threatened with a retrial, he struck plea
deal on lesser charge of aiding and abetting
An Alabama prisoner has become the 2nd within 2 weeks to avoid the state's
death penalty, agreeing to a plea deal that avoids his retrial on a murder
chanrge.
William Ziegler, 39, has argued he is innocent but pleaded guilty to aiding and
abetting in the killing of Russell Allen Baker to end the case. A Mobile county
judge gave him credit for the more than 15 years he already has served in
prison.
Ziegler was convicted of capital murder in 2001 and sentenced to die for
Baker's killing. Circuit Judge Sarah Stewart overturned Ziegler's conviction in
2012, indicating there were numerous errors and serious doubts about his guilt.
Prosecutors had said they planned to try him again but Ziegler instead was
allowed to plead guilty to the reduced charge.
During a hearing Stewart urged Ziegler to resist turning bitter and said she
knew he recognised God's grace. "I want you to appreciate that gift," she said.
"You need to be very careful with your gift ... The world is a very different
place than it was 15 years ago when you went to jail."
The decision came less than 2 weeks after another condemned Alabama prisoner
was freed after claiming he was innocent. Anthony Ray Hinton was released on 3
April after nearly 30 years on Alabama's death row for a pair of killings in
Jefferson county. Charges in the 1985 gunshot deaths of 2 fast-food workers
were dismissed after new testing on the defendant's gun could not prove it
fired the fatal shots.
Baker's body was found in a wooded area in Mobile county in 2000. Authorities
said Ziegler had argued at a party and Ziegler was convicted along with 3
accomplices.
But a key witness who claimed Ziegler had threatened Baker later recanted,
helping lead to Stewart's decision to overturn the case.
Ziegler's plea acknowledged that his conduct helped lead to Baker's death.
Relatives of both Ziegler and Baker, from Bayou La Batre, came away from the
hearing disappointed. O'Della Wilson, the defendant's mother, said she was
happy he would go free but angry that he had to plead guilty to any crime.
Baker's relatives were not happy Ziegler would be released. "He's a menace to
our society. He will be back," said Beth Johansen, the victim's aunt. "This is
not justice for our nephew."
(source: The Guardian)
_______________________________________________
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
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
