Oct. 15
OHIO:
Man faces death penalty after being convicted of killing off-duty Akron cop
Kenan Ivery faces the death penalty after a Summit County jury found him guilty
of aggravated murder in the death of off-duty Akron police officer Justin
Winebrenner.
The jury of 6 men and 6 women Thursday found Ivery guilty of planning the
calculated killing. The case will now move to the death-penalty phase.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys will present evidence to the jury, who will
recommend to Summit County Judge Alison McCarty whether Ivery should be
executed or spend the rest of his life in prison. If they recommend death,
McCarty can chose to sentence him to death row or life in prison.
If the jury recommends life in prison, McCarty must adopt that recommendation.
The jury also found Ivery guilty on charges relating to the shooting of 4
others on Nov. 16 at Papa Don's Pub on East Market Street and for illegally
carrying the gun he used in the shooting.
Akron Police Chief James Nice and Summit County Sheriff Steve Barry were among
the estimated 70 people who attended the hearing.
Winebrenner's father, Rob Winebrenner, a retired Barberton police officer,
dabbed tears from his eyes as the verdict was read. Ivery's family members
cried following the verdict.
The jury began deliberating on Tuesday.
The shooting happened after Ivery was thrown out of the bar after a woman
complained that he was aggressively flirting with her.
Winebrenner's fiancée, Tiffany Miller, is a co-owner of the bar and asked Ivery
to leave. Miller testified that several patrons overheard Ivery tell
Winebrenner that he should slap her.
Ivery disputed that he returned to the bar to retaliate. Instead, he said he
came back to retrieve a box of chicken wings before he left. He testified that
he felt intimidated and began shooting when Winebrenner and several other
patrons — David Wokaty, David Eisele and Michael Capes surrounded him.
Bar surveillance video showed 3 of the men push Ivery out of the bar as he
fired 4 gunshots. Winebrenner was shot twice.
Capes was shot in the foot. Wokaty was shot in the stomach. Prosecutors said
Ivery flashed his gun 3 times and the men rushed him to keep him from harming
anyone.
Winebrenner died at Akron City Hospital. Akron police arrested Ivery in a
nearby field.
(source cleveland.com)
MISSOURI----impending execution
Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty
Execution Alert:
Ernest Lee Johnson, with a 67 IQ, Faces Execution on November 3
Ernest Lee Johnson, a 55 year-old intellectually disabled man, is scheduled to
be executed by the
State of Missouri on November 3, 2015. Even though the U.S. Supreme Court held
that the execution
of the intellectually disabled was prohibited by the Eighth Amendment to the
Constitution, Atkins v.
Virginia 536 U.S. 304 (2002), the State of Missouri persists in pursuing Mr.
Johnson’s execution all
the while ignoring the significant medical history supporting the finding that
he is intellectually
disabled and, therefore ineligible for the death penalty.
The Supreme Court recently noted in Hall v. Florida, a decision further
affirming the Eighth
Amendment protections against the execution of the intellectually disabled:
No legitimate penological purpose is served by executing a person with
intellectual disabilities. To do so contravenes the Eighth Amendment, for to
impose the harshest punishments on an
intellectually disabled person violates his or her inherent dignity as a human
being.
Hall v. Florida, 572 U.S. ___ (2014)(internal citations omitted). In Ernest’s
case, MADP seeks to
have the Governor or the Courts finally recognize the inherent truth that
Ernest Lee Johnson is
intellectually disabled and should not be put to death.
Ernest Johnson’s IQ is 67
Ernest Johnson’s intellectually disability (IQ of 67) was affirmed by both
Defense and State
experts. However, the State’s expert never testified. It is virtually unheard
of for the State not
to present expert testimony to rebut the Defense’s case of intellectual
disability. Yet they opted
not to put their expert on the stand since he had also found Ernest to have an
IQ of 67. His report
was admitted at trial anyway because Defense expert Dr. Denis Keyes, who did
testify, had reviewed
it.
Interestingly, Ernest Johnson tested at an IQ of 63 at age 12. Defense expert
Dr. Denis Keyes
testified that Ernest Johnson is intellectually disabled and, thus, ineligible
for execution under
current law. However, the prosecution inappropriately targeted Ernest’s
abilities to play basketball
and conduct activities of daily living to suggest he could not be
intellectually disabled. Many
individuals with intellectual disabilities succeed in catching the bus, and
engaging in a range of
activities; nonetheless, their impairments in the areas of analytical reasoning
still exist. Standard and accepted methodologies for diagnostic assessment
reject the approach taken by the
prosecutor in Ernest’s case.
According to the DSM-V (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders),
Intellectual
Disability involves impairments in language, reading, writing, math,
reasoning, knowledge and
memory; in empathy, social judgment, interpersonal communication skills, and
the ability to make and
retain friendships; personal care, job responsibilities, money management,
recreation, and
organizing school and work tasks.
Ernest Johnson has been intellectually disabled his entire life.
Ernest’s mother abused alcohol and drugs, starting as early as when she was 10.
Her use escalated as
time went on. By the time she was 18 and pregnant with Ernest, she was downing
several pints of
whisky and gin each week in addition to consuming sedatives. She had a serious
history of
intoxication as well as several associated hospital admissions. She prostituted
herself out for
money to support her addictions. When that wasn’t enough, she prostituted her
children out,
including Ernest. Ernest watched his mother steal from the men while he would
be made to have sex
with them. She rewarded Ernest’s childhood prostitution with alcohol and drugs,
thus turning him
into an addict. Later, Ernest’s mother married a man who physically and
sexually abused Ernest...
In addition to brain damage from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and major traumas
during his developmental
years, Ernest suffered two severe brain injuries. At age 8, Ernest fell off a
cotton trailer,
hitting his head on the concrete, rendering him unconscious. As a teen, Ernest
was struck on the
head with a chair and again suffered loss of consciousness. His sister brought
him to the emergency
room. In addition, Ernest’s elementary school records confirm his long-standing
intellectual
disability. He repeated both second and third grade. He received Special
Education from third
through eighth grade. He was held back again in 9th grade. The only class he
earned satisfactory
grades in was PE. Eventually, unable to succeed, Ernest dropped out three
months into his second
year in 9th grade.
Ernest’s intellectual disability, originating in early childhood, coupled with
his IQ score of 67,
means that Ernest’s death sentence violates current prohibitions against cruel
and unusual
punishment as set forth in the U.S. Supreme Court decisions in Atkins v.
Virginia (2002) and Hall v.
Florida (2014), as well as Missouri’s own laws. He should be facing life
without parole.
Join us in calling on the Governor to halt this execution. Email him with this
link, tweet
@GovJayNixon or call him at 573-751-3222.
Contact Attorney General Chris Koster to urge that he ensure justice by halting
Ernest's execution. Call 573-751-3321.
Contact your Missouri Senator and Representative to urge them to ensure that
the death penalty is
administered with accuracy and fairness for all. To find your
legislator: http://www.senate.mo.gov/legislookup/default.aspx
(source: MADP)
USA:
Breaking Down The Death Penalty Debate
The death penalty has been used in the U.S. for more than two centuries. And
it's still one of the most hotly debated issues in the country.
"I still think it has a deterrent capability," said Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn.
That's one of the biggest arguments in favor of it — that the possibility of
death as a punishment prevents people from committing capital crimes.
But that's a hard claim to back up. A 2009 study said 88 percent of the
criminologists polled did not believe fear of the death penalty prevents
capital crimes.
But other research found fewer homicides occurred in Texas in the months
before or after an execution. Although some say the model used in that research
could have been flawed.
The Constitution is also frequently brought up in the death penalty discussion.
Many say it goes against the Eighth Amendment, which protects citizens from
"cruel and unusual punishment."
Lately, that debate has focused on the method used to execute criminals.
In June of this year, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in favor of Oklahoma's use of
a controversial drug cocktail used in multiple botched executions. In January,
one man sentenced to death writhed in pain for hours before the drug mixture
killed him.
Justice Antonin Scalia argued that because the Fifth Amendment appears to
consider the death penalty, it can't be considered unconstitutional. (Video via
C-SPAN )
Another issue frequently brought up in the death penalty debate is potential
flaws or biases in the court system.
Many point to the high number of minorities who are sentenced to death.
42 % of death row inmates are black, while only about 13 % of the entire U.S.
population is black .
And one study found that since 1973, about 4 % of people sentenced to death
were wrongfully convicted.
The death penalty debate isn't going away. Aside from 4 years in the 1970s,
capital punishment has been permitted in the U.S. since 1790.
(source: KIVI TV news)
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