May 17
NEVADA:
Nevada execution chamber construction moving forward despite drug cutoff
The Nevada Department of Corrections is moving forward with the construction of
a new execution chamber at Ely State Prison despite the announcement that the
drugmaker Pfizer will not allow its drugs to be used for lethal injections.
Pfizer became the last of about 25 Food and Drug Administration-approved
drugmakers globally to officially cut off access, The New York Times reported
last week. The company manufactures seven drugs that can be used in executions.
Brooke Keast, public information officer for the Nevada Department of
Corrections, said the project is proceeding.
"Medication manufacturing can change at any given time," she said in a
statement. "And if we receive a court order to execute, we can't say the reason
for not following orders is DOC infrastructure."
A Nevada prison official told the Review-Journal in July 2015 that the agency
would use the drugs midazolam and hydromorphone to administer a lethal
injection.
Both of these drugs are manufactured by Pfizer.
"Pfizer makes its products to enhance and save the lives of the patients we
serve," the company said in a statement on Friday. "Consistent with these
values, Pfizer strongly objects to the use of its products as lethal injections
for capital punishment."
The Nevada Legislature in the 2015 session approved spending $858,000 to build
a new execution chamber at Nevada???s maximum-security prison at Ely. The
current chamber is in the now-closed Nevada State Prison in the capital.
Nevada has the death penalty and is required by law to use lethal injection for
executions.
State officials in December approved a nearly $94,000 contract with the
architectural and engineering firm of Kittrell Garlock & Associates of Las
Vegas to design the new execution facility.
The last execution, by lethal injection, occurred at the Nevada State Prison on
April 26, 2006, when Daryl Mack was put to death. Mack was executed for the
rape and murder of a Reno woman, Betty Jane May, in 1988.
(source: Las Veags Review-Journal)
CALIFORNIA:
3 men eligible for death penalty plead not guilty
3 suspects arrested in connection with a deadly shooting appeared in court on
Monday.
Jeffrey Tapia, 20, Ricky Cortex, 19, and Daniel Marquez, 20, all pleaded not
guilty on all charges connected to the murder of 31-year-old Benjamin Mendoza.
They were arrested on suspicion of murder, conspiracy and participation in a
criminal street gang and are all eligible for the death penalty.
Mendoza was killed on May 11 near Madison Street and Del Mar Drive. His family
said they do not believe Mendoza was connected to the suspects in any way. "We
don't know if the victim was just in the wrong place at the wrong time," said
the Kern County Sheriff's Office spokesman Ray Pruitt.
The suspects are being held without bail and are expected to be back in court
on May 25.
(source: bakersfieldnow.com)
*************
Death sentenced for man convicted of ordering victim's death----In courtroom
outburst, defendant denies wrongdoing in 2011 shooting by gang members. Judge
rejects his last-minute moves to switch attorneys.
A 41-year-old Moreno Valley man, described in court as a gang shot caller, was
sentenced to death Monday, May 16, for ordering the shooting of a Moreno Valley
man after a home-invasion robbery 5 years ago.
What likely was his last appearance in a Riverside County Superior Court room
repeated some elements that made the case stand out.
Romaine Martin had a closed-door hearing with Judge Candace J. Beason over a
request to get rid of his attorneys, not his 1st such request, and the judge
denied it. He withdrew a motion for a penalty-phase retrial that had been
prepared by his trial defense attorneys. Last month and again Monday, the judge
rejected his requests to hire new attorneys. In both cases, the attorneys had
not communicated with the court in advance about the requests.
In an outburst, Martin said his rights had been violated, denied responsibility
for the crimes and turned to victim Jerry Mitchell Jr.'s family members and
said, "I pray for you."
The judge warned that his conduct may warrant gagging, but after a break and
talk with courtroom deputies, who numbered up to 8 at one point, Martin kept
quiet.
In a brief statement to the court during the sentencing hearing, the victim's
father, Jerry Mitchell Sr., said Martin deserved to die and asked if it was
possible to put Martin "in front of the line on death row." The father was
consistently in the courtroom for proceedings over the 5 years, often
accompanied by relatives and friends.
A jury found Martin guilty in January of charges including murder as an aider
and abettor, robbery, being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and
committing a crime in furtherance of a criminal street gang, according to court
records. The same jury recommended the death penalty after a separate
penalty-phase trial in February.
Gang members believed mistakenly that Mitchell, who had no gang ties, had
$10,000 stashed in his Carnation Lane condominium. Several broke in on May 27,
2011, but the only loot they took was household goods, according to testimony.
The burglars left, but about 10 minutes later 3 returned after Martin learned
that participant Deontray Robinson knew Mitchell, and Martin ordered Robinson
to kill him, according to trial testimony.
Neighbors called 911 and as Mitchell stood in his doorway waiting for help to
arrive, he was shot 5 times and died.
The judge called Mitchell, 27, a law-abiding young man and a caring person. She
contrasted that with Martin whose "criminal history is long and violent,"
beginning as a juvenile. "He has used his gifts, unfortunately, for evil."
The shooter, Robinson, 26, of Palm Desert, was convicted last year and
sentenced to life in prison without parole. Robinson's trial initially included
Martin as a 2nd co-defendant, but when it was discovered that the judge had
been Martin's defense attorney in a 1996 robbery case, the judge recused
himself and the trial proceeded for Robinson only.
1 more defendant faces trial soon and another one pleaded guilty and agreed to
testify against other defendants.
(source: The Press-Enterprise)
****************
Death penalty ordered in MoVal murder
Prosecution of a 5-year-old murder case in Moreno Valley is over for 1
defendant, but another is pursuing an appeal.
A Superior Court judge Monday upheld a jury's recommendation that Romaine
Martin, 41, should suffer the death penalty. Martin's accomplice, Deontry
Robinson, 26, was convicted of murder and robbery, and was given a no-parole
prison term when a jury could not decide if the death penalty was appropriate.
Prosecutors charged the 2 men, members of a street gang, with confronting Jerry
Mitchell, Jr. outside his Moreno Valley apartment in May 2011. Mitchell was
forced inside, shot and killed as the suspects carried out a home invasion
robbery.
Prosecutors said that the robbers mistakenly thought Mitchell had $10,000 in
cash hidden in his apartment.
(source: Inland News Today)
*****************
California considers making its own lethal drugs for the death penalty
Under new rules proposed by the California Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation, prison officials would be allowed to manufacture barbituates to
carry out the death penalty at its own compounding pharmacies, immunizing
prison officials from the growing problem of pharmaceutical companies refusing
to sell lethal drugs for the purpose of killing the condemned.
Last week, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced it would no longer allow
states to buy its drugs to put people to death.
Pfizer's decision won't affect California because it does not manufacture the 4
drugs prison officials propose to use in the new regime now under
consideration.
(source: scpr.org)
*****************
Explain why death row inmates cost so much
I read your editorial "End California's death penalty? Start the debate" (May
15). It started with, "The Democrats who control the California state
government are in an ambitious mood of late."
You, our newspaper, seemed to revel in the efforts of Jerry Brown, Gavin
Newsom, Kevin de Leon, Lorena Gonzalez and the old Democratic stalwarts Rose
Bird, Cruz Reynoso and Joseph Grodin and their ability to turn the state of
California into a cultural cesspool. I do have 1 question.
Who is on the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice and
how did they determine it costs 10 times more to keep someone on death row than
those imprisoned for life?
Do the people on death row live in a Hilton hotel and eat steak and lobster
three meals a day?
Frank Fleming
San Diego
(source: Letter to the Editor, San Diego Union-Tribune)
WASHINGTON:
Yakima County prosecutor on considering death penalty for MoneyTree killings
The Yakima County Prosecutor is currently trying to decide whether to pursue
the death penalty in the Moneytree double homicide case.
Manuel Verduzco is charged with 1st-degree aggravated murder after being
accused of shooting 2 women to death. This is only the 4th time in nearly 30
years where the death penalty has been considered in Yakima County.
Marta Martinez and Karina Morales-Rodriguez were ready to start their work day
at Moneytree one March morning when court records say a former employee,
26-year-old Verduzco, shot and killed them.
He was arrested hours later and could now face the harshest penalty under state
law.
"This is one of the greatest decisions that I'll ever make," said Yakima County
Prosecutor Joe Brusic.
Prosecutor Brusic is deciding whether this crime calls for the death penalty.
Verduzco has been charged with 2 counts of 1st-degree aggravated murder.
Defendants need to have at least one aggravator to be considered for the death
penalty. Verduzco faces 3. They further a crime by making it more violent or
intensified. For instance, Verduzco is accused of murdering multiple people and
accused of doing it while in the act of a burglary.
"Things change dramatically if any prosecutor files a notice seeking the death
penalty," said Brusic.
In the past 30 years, the death penalty's been considered 3 times in Yakima
County.
The closest the county's ever been to the death penalty was after a couple was
brutally stabbed and murdered in 1988 while eating dinner at their home in
Parker. The Nickoloffs were killed by 2 17-year-old's, who took off with 2
televisions.
Both defendants, Herbert Rice Junior and Russell McNeil, got life in prison
without parole.
"Herbert Rice Junior being alive is an insult to our parents and this community
and to the state," said a victim's family member at Rice Junior's sentencing
hearing.
Rice Junior was the closest our county's ever gotten to putting someone on
death row, with an 11 to 1 vote by jurors.
"The homicides were exceptionally serious and rocked Yakima County and still
does," said Brusic.
The death penalty was then considered again after the execution-style killings
of 21-year-old Ricardo Causor and his 3-year-old daughter Mya in 2005 in
Yakima. Commissioners said at the time going for the death penalty could cost
more than $2 million.
The prosecutor, Ron Zirkle, ultimately decided against it. One defendant, Jose
Sanchez, was later sentenced to life in prison and the other, Mario Mendez, was
sentenced to 30 years.
The most recent time the death penalty was considered in Yakima County was in
2011 against Kevin Harper.
"It almost needs to be air tight without any doubt," said former prosecutor Jim
Hagarty.
This was the triple homicide case in West Valley in 2011 where 3 members of the
Goggins family were attacked, killed and robbed. Prosecutor Hagarty decided not
to pursue the death penalty after consideration and no one took blame for the
murders.
"The system as a whole is impacted," said Brusic. "It's an exceptionally
serious decision."
A decision Prosecutor Brusic has requested more time to make. He says death
penalty cases involve a closer look at evidence and the responsibility of
trying to understand the suspect.
"My job is to make sure I know everything I can within reason about who
[Verduzco] is," said Brusic.
Brusic wouldn't speculate on what it could cost. He did note it's more
expensive with the need for a much larger jury pool, an extra public defender
from Seattle and more time on all ends.
Aggravated murder suspects undergo one regular jury trial but then have a
penalty phase if found guilty -- that's where jurors decide if they get death
or life without parole.
Unlike some other states, the county foots the majority of the bill with the
possibility of some reimbursements.
"Right now, money is not a factor in any decision I would make," said Brusic.
Brusic now has until July 15th to make the decision on whether he wants to
pursue the death penalty.
(source: KIMA TV news)
USA:
Another Drug Company Distances Itself From Death Penalty
Drug companies are forbidding states with the death penalty from using their
drugs to perform lethal injections in an effort to preserve their big brands,
but it's coming with some unintended consequences, according to one legal
expert.
Pfizer announced last week it will block its drugs from being used in lethal
injections. More than 20 drug companies have adopted similar restrictions,
leaving states that use the death penalty scrambling to find supplies and
looking into other methods to carry out executions.
"The pharmaceutical companies are big brand names and so they have stakeholders
and they have brand images and bottom lines to protect, so they're taking these
steps as business decisions in the best interest of their brand names," said
Megan McCracken, legal counselor at the University of California at Berkeley's
Death Penalty Clinic.
McCracken said drug companies first began telling states that they don't want
their products involved with capital punishment as early as 2001.
"But it's only more recently, since 2011, that pharmaceutical companies have
taken more effective concrete steps to actually prevent. Department of
Corrections from getting their drugs," said McCracken. "The policy has always
been there, it's just that more recently they have put what they call
restrictive distribution systems in place to actually stop the states from
purchasing the drugs."
As pharmaceutical companies make their drugs unavailable, states are responding
by passing laws to make their death-penalty procedures confidential.
"It makes it very difficult for the public, for the courts and for condemned
prisoners to really know how an execution is going to proceed -- like exactly
what drug will be used, who made it and how the state will use it," McCracken
said.
Additionally, some states have attempted to illegally import unapproved drugs
from overseas. On several occasions in recent years, federal agents have denied
execution drugs into the United States.
Compared to death by electric chair or firing squad, lethal injections were
widely seen as the more humane form of capital punishment. But McCracken said
new research is calling that into question.
She added that the shortage of drug products to perform lethal injection hasn't
led to a kind of de facto end to state-assisted executions. Moreover, the
federal government, which also enforces the death penalty, is expect to release
a new protocol based on recent research and the drug restrictions.
(source: Wisconsin Public Radio)
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