March 16
TEXAS----impending execution
Death Watch: A Question of Premeditation----Adam Kelly Ward set to die March 22
Shortly after 10am on June 13, 2005, 22-year-old Adam Kelly Ward was out front
of his parents' home in Commerce, Texas, washing a car, when he started arguing
with Michael Walker, a code compliance officer sent to take photographs of the
home after the Wards had grown noncompliant on an unsheltered storage
violation. Ward's father, Ralph, came outside to try to diffuse the situation,
but in talking with Walker, realized his son had disappeared. Worried about the
gun his bipolar and oft-agitated son kept in his bedroom, Ralph ran off to look
for Ward, advising Walker to leave the property. Walker retreated to his truck
and called for law enforcement's assistance. Moments later, however, before
Ralph could find his son, Ward ran up to Walker's truck and shot the code
compliance officer - 9 times in all.
In his confession, Ward told authorities that he believed the "city" was
perpetually after his family, and that he feared for his own life after he and
Walker started arguing. That worked against him, however, as prosecutors were
able to point to the initial argument - plus a history of run-ins between the
Ward and Walker families and the fact that Walker was unarmed - and charged
Ward with shooting the officer in retaliation. Ward's trial attorneys attempted
to argue that their client's mental state was too inept to conceive any
prepared retaliation, but he was convicted of capital murder in June 2007 and
sentenced to death. Habeas efforts filed at the state and federal levels have
focused on Ward's lifelong troubles with mental illness, beginning with a
bipolar diagnosis at age 4. Ward couldn't stay in school, couldn't keep a job,
and in turn could not move out of his parents' deteriorating and often violent
house. His habeas attorneys also pointed to a number of problems with the trial
in general - like the fact that a friend and collaborator of the prosecution,
Dr. Paul Zelhart, was seen having lunch and talking with jurors during the
trial.
Ward's efforts for relief failed in federal court in March 2014. His appeal to
the U.S. Court of Appeals was denied in Jan. 2015. He got word that the U.S.
Supreme Court refused to hear his case 9 months later, and on Nov. 6, he
received his execution date. He's currently set for execution at 6pm on
Tuesday, March 22. He'll be the fifth Texan executed this year, and the 536th
since the state reinstated the death penalty in 1976.
(source: Austin Chronicle)
***************
Ward execution date nearing
Last minute appeals continue to be filed, although an execution date is set in
less than 2 weeks for a Commerce man, convicted of capital murder for the
killing of one of the city's code enforcement officers almost 11 years ago.
Adam Kelly Ward is set to die on the evening of March 22.
Last fall, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of Ward's 2007
conviction and sentence to death by lethal injection for the 2005 death of
Michael "Pee Wee" Walker.
In January 2015 the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also rejected Ward's
formal appeal. Ward's attorneys had argued Ward's trial counsel was deficient.
The court also denied a writ of habeas corpus filed in Ward's behalf in 2014.
In the writ, Ward contended his conviction and death penalty sentence were
unconstitutional because he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel,
was not tried by an impartial jury, and is severely mentally ill.
The court reviewed the case and in a 63-page opinion denied the writ in a
unanimous ruling, also noting Ward failed to make a substantial showing of the
denial of a constitutional right. Ward's defense counsel then filed the formal
appeal with the court.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, in a February 2010 ruling, also denied an
appeal raised by Ward.
Walker was working as a code enforcement officer for the City of Commerce and
shortly after 10 a.m. on June 13, 2005 he was taking photos of alleged code
violations at the home where Ward lived on Caddo Street. The 3 engaged in a
verbal altercation, which ended when Ward shot Walker as many as nine times
with a .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol.
In order to have been convicted of capital murder, the prosecution had to show
Ward knowingly and intentionally either obstructed Walker's ability to do his
job or retaliated against Walker for doing his job as a public servant, while
in the course of committing the murder.
Defense attorneys attempted to show Ward may have been psychotic and suffering
from paranoid delusions at the time of the shooting.
Ward was found mentally competent to stand trial in a separate hearing which
occurred even as a jury was being impaneled to consider guilt or innocence on
the capital murder charge.
(source: Herald-Banner)
****************
My Regrets as a Juror Who Sent a Man to Death Row ----"If I could have done
anything, it would have been to deadlock the jury, but I didn't have the
personal strength to do that."
In 2008, Sven Berger got a letter instructing him to report for jury duty. He
ended up on the jury of Paul Storey, a young black man on trial for the
shooting death of Jonas Cherry, an employee at a putt-putt mini golf chain in
Hurst, Texas (near Fort Worth). There was little doubt about guilt, but Storey
was facing the death penalty, and Berger, along with 11 other jurors, had to
decide whether he should die for the crime.
They unanimously decided he should, and Storey is still on death row. But 2
years after the trial, a lawyer handling Storey's appeals called the jurors and
discovered that Berger was having second thoughts.
The lawyer showed Berger a new report from a psychologist, detailing Storey's
"borderline intellectual functioning," history of depression, and other
"mitigating evidence" Storey's lawyers had not presented during the trial.
Berger wrote in an affidavit that had he heard this evidence, "I would not have
voted for the death penalty."
Today, Berger works as a software engineer in Olympia, Wash. We spoke by phone
and email over several weeks about his experience sentencing Storey to death,
and his subsequent regrets. Here's his account of that experience.
D uring jury selection, when lawyers for both sides asked me questions, I saw
Paul Storey in the courtroom. He was skinny, wearing a suit that clearly didn't
fit him, and his tie was tied poorly - way too long. (I wore suits every day so
I noticed that sort of thing.) He appeared to be friendly, though he didn't
make much eye contact.
Maybe he was coached on how to behave.
I don't believe I met the other jurors until the trial began, and I was the
youngest by maybe 10 years. The presentation of evidence was incredibly long,
and actually boring for a while. Everyone was a little tense, which makes sense
considering that nobody really wanted to be there.
Once we found Storey guilty - the case against him seemed airtight: he'd
confessed to the shooting multiple times - lawyers made their cases for and
against the death penalty over a period of 2 or 3 days. At one point, the
defense presented evidence that Storey stayed out of trouble in jail during the
time leading up to the trial, and participated in Bible study. I felt 2 ways
about this: avoiding conflict is always good, but the whole finding religion
thing made me suspicious of his intentions. I imagined a stereotypical
prisoner, pretending to find God on the inside only to increase his chances of
parole, or whatever. I'm sure this is unfounded, but we've all seen crime
dramas or movies where some "reformed" criminal gets out just to inflict more
harm.
To give someone a death sentence in Texas, the jury has to decide that he is
capable of committing violent crime again in the future1. I didn't believe that
from what I saw - I just didn't get the feeling he was dangerous. Maybe it was
a gut feeling. But the other jurors seemed anxious to deliver the death
penalty, except for 1 woman, who might have been sympathetic.
Texas is unique among death penalty states in requiring jurors to decide that a
defendant will be a "continuing threat to society."
It was a very stressful situation, and my brain tends to block that sort of
thing out, which makes recall difficult. But I know we didn't deliberate long -
one to 2 hours, maybe. The room was pretty quiet; it felt like everyone came in
already knowing how to vote.
All the other jurors thought he should be put to death.
If I could have done anything, it would have been to deadlock the jury, but I
didn't have the personal strength to do it. I was 28, and not a mature 28. I've
grown quite a lot since then, but at the time, I was really uncomfortable
speaking out. Once we were asked to decide a sentence, I felt a rush of
adrenaline and my stress level shot up. I couldn't have been the only one. In
times like that, I know I don't think as clearly or rationally. I almost feel
that in a case like this, jurors should be required to deliberate for some
minimum amount of time.
When we delivered the sentence, it was quite emotional. That 1 woman juror -
the one I thought had been sympathetic, like me - began to weep. I handed her
my handkerchief.
The decision says something about who you are, and a lot of people don't want
to look at the part of themselves that's willing to kill someone, to send them
to death.
After we delivered the death sentence, we were told we could leave out the
front and talk to press or go out a back door.
Everyone took the back door.
I felt guilty about what happened. And sad. And a little helpless. I talked
with my parents and my wife about how it bothered me. Eventually I started
saying, "I don't think I made the right call." I had a friend, a police
officer, who was a sounding board, and he tried to make me feel better, saying
Storey's sentence would be appealed and the case would last a long time.
Storey's mother made a Facebook page for him. I considered sending a friend
request, but then I thought if anyone looked into it and found out, it would be
weird. Maybe once a month, I'd look at the page, which had pictures of him in
prison - I was curious to see how he was doing or if he got clemency. But Texas
doesn't do that very often.
I've always wanted to contact Storey, yet it never felt right. What would I
say? What would he say? I'm not sure I'd be open to speaking with someone who
helped ensure my own execution.
(source: themarshallproject.org)
PENNSYLVANIA:
Death warrant signed in only local death penalty case
The death warrant has now been signed in Erie County's only active death
penalty case. It's not expected to be carried out anytime soon.
Corrections Secretary John Wetzel signed the warrant for 46-year-old Stephen
Treiber.
Treiber was convicted for the 2001 arson death of his 2-year-old daughter in
Millcreek.
The warrant will be delayed because Governor Tom Wolf has issued a stay on
executions in Pennsylvania. Trieber has asked for a federal appeal.
(source: yourerie.com)
*************
Frein's attorneys file motion to move trial from Pike County
Citing news reports that referred to accused cop killer Eric Matthew Frein as a
monster, lunatic and coward, his attorneys filed a motion Tuesday to move his
trial to a court outside of Pike County.
Attorney William Ruzzo and Michael Weinstein say extenswive pre-trial
publicity, including dozens of news articles and campaign literature
distributed by Pike County District Attorney Ray Tonkin, poisoned the jury
pool, making it impossible for Frein to get a fair trial there.
The motion asks a judge to transfer the trial to another county or, in the
alternative, bring in a jury from another county to hear the case.
Frein, 32, of Canadensis, is charged with fatally shooting Cpl. Bryon K.
Dickson II of Dunmore and wounding Trooper Alex T. Douglass of Olyphant in an
ambush outside the state police barracks in Blooming Grove on Sept. 12, 2014.
He was captured on Oct. 30, 2014 following a 48-day manhunt. Tonkin is seeking
the death penalty. Frein pleaded not guilty and is jailed in Pike County
Correctional Facility awaiting trial.
Local and national news media organizations inundated Pike County and
surrounding areas with inflammatory and sensationalized news reports before and
after Frein's capture, the motion says. Those reports, which include coverage
of various tributes and honors bestowed upon the victims, continue today.
"More than a year after the death of Dickson and the wounding of Douglass,
there is not a segment of the population in Pike and Monroe counties which has
not been touched by the defendant's case," the attorneys say.
The motion specifically cites 107 articles in area newspapers, including The
Times-Tribune, and hours of television broadcasts aired by WNEP-TV, WBRE-TV and
several other television stations.
Tonkin and/or his supporters made the situation worse, the attorneys say,
distributing four campaign flyers during his successful 2015 bid for
re-election that repeatedly referenced the word "murder" or "murderer" along
with Frein's name or face, "clearly indicating (the) defendant is guilty of
murder without being tried."
The motion notes one particularly poignant flyer that featured Dickson's
mother, Darla Dickson, who is quoted as saying "Ray Tonkin is the only person I
trust to bring justice for my son Bryon."
"The use of defendant's name and image as political fodder by the very district
attorney who will prosecute him is a clear example of the sensational and
inflammatory nature of the pretrial publicity in this case," the attorneys say.
The coverage clearly impacted residents, the attorneys say, as evidenced by
letters to the editor and postings on social media sites. They cite one letter
to the editor written by a state representative, who says the death penalty is
"reserved for people like Eric Frein" who "are beyond redemption."
The filing comes 1 month after Ruzzo and Weinstein filed motion to suppress
statements Frein made after his capture and a motion that challenges the
constitutionality of the death penalty. Tonkin will have an opportunity to
reply to each of the motions. A judge will issue a ruling at a later date.
(source: The Citizen's Voice)
NORTH CAROLINA:
Darryl Hunt's funeral to be held Saturday
Darryl Hunt, the man wrongfully convicted of rape and murder, and found dead
this weekend will be laid to rest on Saturday.
The 51-year-old was found in a vehicle this weekend on University Parkway in
Winston-Salem.
Police have not released any details surrounding his death.
Hunt spent nearly 20 years behind bars for the crimes. He was exonerated and
released from prison in 2004.
Once released from prison, Hunt advocated against the death penalty, pushed for
changes in the criminal justice system and helped people transition from prison
life to civilian life.
A celebration of Hunt's life will be held at Emmanuel Baptist Church in
Winston-Salem at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
(source: Fox News)
GEORGIA----impending execution
A clemency hearing has been set for a Georgia death row inmate set to be
executed later this month
A clemency hearing is set for a Georgia death row inmate set to be executed
later this month.
The State Board of Pardons and Paroles announced Tuesday that it will hear from
advocates for Joshua Bishop on March 30. Bishop is scheduled to die the next
day.
Bishop was convicted of murder and armed robbery in the 1994 beating death of
Leverett Morrison in Milledgeville.
The parole board is the only entity in Georgia authorized to commute a death
sentence.
Bishop, Morrison and Mark Braxley had been drinking and smoking crack on June
24, 1994. Prosecutors say Bishop tried to steal keys from Morrison, who was
sleeping, and beat Morrison to death when he woke up.
Bishop and Braxley dumped Morrison's body between 2 trash bins and burned his
Jeep.
(source: Associated Press)
******************
Execution date set in 1994 Millegeville murder case
A man convicted of a 1994 murder and armed robbery in Milledgeville is
scheduled to die by lethal injection on March 31 at the Georgia Diagnostic and
Classification Prison in Jackson, according to a news release from the Georgia
Board of Pardons and Paroles.
Joshua Bishop, now 41, was sentenced to die in the electric chair 2 years after
the June 1994 slaying of Leverett Lewis Morrison, a 43-year-old Milledgeville
native who had traveled from Savannah to visit his children that summer.
Morrison had been out drinking that evening with Bishop and Mark Braxley, a
57-year-old currently serving a life sentence for his part in the killing,
according to The Telegraph's archives. The 3 men returned to a mobile home off
Linton Road.
Bishop and Braxley planned to steal Morrison's Jeep Wagoneer. The 2 bludgeoned
Morrison's head and face with a blunt object, which was never found. After
Morrison died, the 2 men wrapped his body in a sheet, placed it near a trash
bin and burned his Jeep.
The U.S. Supreme Court denied Bishop's appeal request in October 2014, the
release said. The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles will meet March 30 with
representatives willing to advocate clemency for Bishop.
(source: macon.com)
FLORIDA:
State fights to keep death-penalty option in 1987 murder case
State prosecutors have challenged a local judge's decision keeping prosecutors
from seeking the death penalty against a man accused of raping and killing a
Lake Worth mother of 3 nearly 30 years ago.
The recent ruling puts the case of Rodney Clark in the 1987 murder of Dana
Fader in the league of a handful of Florida capital ones that were set for
trial but are now ensnared in a January U.S. Supreme Court decision deeming
Florida's death-penalty recommendation process unconstitutional.
Jury selection was supposed to have begun Thursday, but was postponed after
local prosecutors contested Circuit Judge Charles Burton's ruling that would
stop them from qualifying jurors to sentence Clark possibly to die if they
convicted him of Fader's murder.
Prosecutors responded by filing an emergency petition to Florida's 4th District
Court of Appeal on Friday, saying Burton's ruling was wrong. The court agreed
to stall the case and rule on the issue based on a newly revised death penalty
law.
"If Clark is permitted to go to trial while the State is precluded from seeking
the death penalty, it will be irreparably harmed," Assistant Attorney General
Celia Terenzio wrote in the request.
The appellate court this week gave defense attorneys 10 days to file a
response, but with an unfolding legal morass surrounding the issue statewide,
it could be months before Clark finds out whether prosecutors can still seek a
death sentence against him.
Clark has been in jail since 2013, ever since authorities tied him to Fader's
death through a DNA check on semen left at the crime scene.
Assistant State Attorney Reid Scott first asked Burton to postpone the case
this year, after the U.S. Supreme Court by an 8-1 vote effectively struck down
Florida's death penalty.
The problem with Florida's system, the Supreme Court ruled, was that a death
penalty recommendation only required a simple majority and judges were allowed
to make independent findings before imposing a sentence. All but 3 of the 31
U.S. states that have the death penalty require a unanimous vote for a death
sentence.
The ruling sent Florida lawmakers scrambling to create a new law that would fix
the system. As the bill wound its way through the state House and Senate,
Burton denied prosecutors' quest to seek death against Clark, saying the
Supreme Court's ruling meant there was no death penalty in Florida for the time
being.
That changed last Monday, when Gov. Rick Scott signed a law that now requires
at least 10 of 12 jurors to vote for death. Under the new law, judges also can
no longer override a jury's recommendation.
By then, Assistant Public Defender Elizabeth Ramsey had responded by invoking
Clark's constitutional right to a speedy trial, giving prosecutors just 60 days
to bring his case to trial.
On the eve of jury selection Thursday, Scott filed a new motion announcing the
state's intent to seek a death sentence against Clark based on the new law, but
Burton ruled that the state ran afoul of a law requiring them to provide a
legal basis for seeking a death sentence within 45 days of a defendant's
indictment.
Clark's case is not the only one before a Florida appellate court. The 2nd
District Court of Appeal is now considering the case of Steven Dykes, a
44-year-old Pinellas Park man against whom prosecutors are seeking a death
sentence for the shaking death of his 3-month-old daughter.
And Florida's Supreme Court is still trying to figure out how to apply the U.S.
Supreme Court ruling to Timothy Hurst, the man whose case was the basis for the
Supreme Court decision.
The state's new process also requires a jury to vote unanimously that at least
one aggravating factor supporting the death penalty exists, where previously
jurors had to agree generally that aggravating factors both existed and
outweighed mitigating factors.
(source: Palm Beach Post)
ALABAMA:
Towles gets death penalty a 2nd time for 2006 child killing
Kevin Andre Towles has been sentenced a 2nd time to die by lethal injection.
Etowah County Circuit Judge David Kimberley sentenced Towles this morning at
the Etowah County Judicial Center.
A jury in December found Towles guilty of capital murder in the 2006 beating
death of 5-year-old Geontae Glass. He had previously been convicted of the
crime in 2009 and was sentenced to die, but his verdict was overturned by the
Alabama Supreme Court.
The jury last year also unanimously recommended the death penalty for Towles.
Towles was accused of beating Geontae to death one weekend following a conduct
report at a Rainbow City elementary school. Then Towles and the child's mother,
Shalinda Glass, staged a kidnapping in order to dispose of the body.
Shalinda told authorities Geontae had been asleep in the back seat of her car
when the car was stolen from an Albertville service station. The boy was found
later in the car, dead in the trunk, at another home owned by Towles.
Authorities were able to discover the home when they found a utility bill
bearing its address when they conducted a search of another home Towles owned.
Shalinda later pleaded guilty to murder and is serving time in prison.
During the trial, Geontae's sister Shaliyah, now 16, testified she saw Towles
and the boy walk outside the home one Sunday morning, with Towles saying the
child "had to pay for something."
Later, Towles came back into the house carrying Geontae, she said, who she
never saw move or talk for the rest of the weekend until the incident at the
service station on Dec. 4, 2006.
(source: al.com)
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