Sept. 22
TEXAS:
Law firm recommends system for initial capital case appeals
A law firm that's been representing Texas death row inmates for more than 2
decades is recommending the state establish a system for condemned prisoners to
have better legal help during the initial appeal that follows their trial.
The Texas Defender Service this week released a report that examines what's
known as direct appeals in death penalty cases. It cited "systemic weaknesses"
in the way those appeals are handled, contending lawyers are overwhelmed by
caseloads and underpaid for the time they spend on these cases, that some
attorneys who do accept the cases are inadequately prepared and that no entity
in the state is devoted to training or consulting with lawyers handling direct
appeals.
"The direct appeal framework for Texas death penalty cases is fraught with
structural weaknesses," the legal group concluded in its report, adding that
those weaknesses heighten the likelihood that convictions and death sentences
will be upheld when the appeals are reviewed by the Texas Court of Criminal
Appeals, the state's highest criminal court.
In direct appeals, attorneys review the trial court record for potential
errors.
The legal firm is calling on the Legislature to consider establishing a
statewide capital appellate defender office to represent death row convicts in
their direct appeals, a statewide appointment system with caseload controls and
uniform pay rates, and appointment of 2 lawyers - rather than 1 now required -
to handle direct appeals.
"Deficient representation squanders scarce criminal justice resources,
undermines the integrity of the Texas criminal justice system and warrants
immediate attention from stakeholders," the 56-page report said.
The group's recommendations are based on a review of documents from the 84
direct appeals to the Court of Criminal Appeals during the 7-year period ending
Dec. 31, 2015.
In its study, the Defender Service said it found the direct appeal attorneys
had inadequate resources, excessive caseloads, inadequate briefing and showed
"routine avoidance" to filing reply briefs and applying for review by the U.S.
Supreme Court.
Capital murder defendants in need of legal help - most of whom are indigent -
already have a regional public defender for trials in most rural areas of the
state. State lawmakers in 2009 created the Office of Capital Writs to handle
later appeals. The Defender Service is recommending such formal legal
availabilities be extended to the direct appeals process, where it argues the
quality of representation has remained "unexamined."
Roe Wilson, who heads the Harris County District Attorney's Legal Services
Bureau, which handles capital case writs in the county that has sent the most
inmates to death row, questioned the need for 2 defense attorneys to handle a
direct appeal.
"In a direct appeal, you're limited to the record itself, there's no outside
investigation," Wilson said Wednesday. "It literally comes down to reading the
record, identifying claims, doing the legal research and writing. I don't know
why it would take 2 people to do that."
The report, however, pointed out that county prosecutors have more ready access
to resources, such as auxiliary staff. Of the 84 cases in the study, 2/3 were
handled by solo practicing attorneys. None of the 84 convictions was overturned
by the Court of Criminal Appeals. The death sentence was overturned in 3 of
them.
Wilson said defendants have better chances later in the appeals writ process
because factual claims outside the trial record can be presented and
investigated.
"It's very difficult to get any case, not just a capital case, overturned on
direct appeal because you are limited to exactly what???s in front of you," she
said.
(source: Associated Press)
*************************
Capital Punishment should be controlled by state
It has been just over 5 months since Texas last executed someone. This is the
longest stay in executions since 2008, when the Supreme Court was on recess and
states could charge people with the death penalty but couldn't execute anyone.
With this stay, Texas has only executed 6 people this year, meaning this could
be the 1st year since the death penalty was reinstated in 1974 that Texas'
execution count doesn't reach double digits. This has caused many to wonder
about the future of the death penalty, instead of highlighting the true issue -
that the death penalty is enacted differently throughout the 254 counties in
Texas.
Leading the states, Texas has carried out 537 executions since 1982. But not
all counties handle the death penalty in the same way.
"If Harris County was a state, it would be 2nd only to Texas [in number of
executions]," Jim Marcus, clinical professor at and co-director of the UT Law
School's Capital Punishment Clinic, said. "But there are 254 counties in Texas,
and over a hundred of them haven???t used the death penalty."
If you are prosecuted in Travis County and cannot afford your own lawyer, the
county is responsible for funding and appointing your defense lawyer. These
appointments are often corrupt, with local judges choosing lawyers who aren't
versed in defending capital punishment cases without state oversight. Other
states have statewide indigent defense systems, where the defense lawyers are
funded by the state - not the county - and are trained to handle capital
punishment cases. In these states, each appeal is overseen by a state office.
"You get the death penalty not for having committed the worst crime, but for
having the worst lawyer," Marcus said. "Texas has chronically and
systematically underfunded the defense for years."
This underfunding is partially due to the defense council not being funded by
the state, as many anti-death penalty advocacy groups will attest. Tuesday the
Texas Defender Service released a report that highlighted the many mistakes
that have been made with death penalty cases from Jan. 2009 to Dec. 2015, and
recommended Texas create a state office to oversee death penalty appeals.
In a state where the penal code allows capital felonies to be their own crimes,
and where the jury is asked questions that distance them from the severity of
the punishment they so often dole out, having a good defense attorney is a
basic and necessary human right. A statewide indigent defense system that is
funded by the state and forces every death penalty appeal to be overseen by a
state office is the only way Texas can hope to account for the disparity in
numbers of executions between its different counties. With a system like this
in place, it could mean fewer people sent to death row, and that Travis County
and Harris County resemble each other enough in their justice systems to make
their being a part of the same state more plausible.
(source: Emma Berdainer is a philosphy junior from Boulder, Colorodo--The
(Univ. Texas) Daily Texan)
****************
Law firm recommends system for initial capital case appeals
A law firm that's been representing Texas death row inmates for more than 2
decades is recommending the state establish a system for condemned prisoners to
have better legal help during the initial appeal that follows their trial.
The Texas Defender Service, in a report examining what's known as direct
appeals in death penalty cases, cites "systemic weaknesses" in the way those
appeals are handled. The legal firm contends lawyers are overwhelmed by
caseloads and underpaid for the time spent on these cases, that some attorneys
who do accept the cases are inadequately prepared and that no specific state
entity is devoted to training or consulting with lawyers handling direct
appeals.
The group, among its recommendations, is calling for establishment of statewide
capital appellate defender office to represent death-sentenced convicts.
(source: Associated Press)
*******************
Unusual misstep in Rodney Reed case prompts request for new judge
Rodney Reed wants a new judge to potentially review his request for DNA
testing, after an assigned judge appears to have made an "inexplicable" error
by simultaneously signing and adopting two opposing orders, according to Reed's
attorney.
Assigned Senior Judge Doug Shaver's apparent mistake relates to Reed's request
for post-conviction DNA testing on multiple pieces of evidence, which Reed's
attorneys say could help exonerate the death-row inmate. A Bastrop jury
sentenced Reed to death for the 1996 killing of Stacey Stites. She was found
strangled and sexually assaulted on the side of a road outside Bastrop.
The state has opposed further DNA testing. The latest issue arose after the
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals sent the issue back to Shaver and asked him to
make additional findings on Reed's appeal for post-conviction DNA testing.
To argue their cases, both the state and Reed submitted findings of fact and
conclusions to Shaver. The state argued against further DNA testing, and Reed
argued for it. On Sept. 9, Shaver signed both the state's facts and conclusions
against DNA testing, as well as Reed's facts and conclusions for DNA testing.
"This is extremely irregular, and frankly alarming, that a judge would make
such an egregious error in a death penalty case. In my seventeen years
practicing law, I've never seen a judge make a mistake like this," said Benjet
in an email. "None of the experienced lawyers and retired judges I've talked to
about this had seen anything like it either. It's really inexplicable how a
judge can make diametrically opposite rulings on the same issues, in the same
case, at the same time."
In light of Shaver signing both parties' proposed findings, the state has asked
the Court of Criminal Appeals to remand the issue back to the convicting court,
so it "may clarify which of the parties' findings - all of the State's, all of
Appellant's, or certain findings from both - it intended to adopt as its own,"
according to a state motion.
Reed's attorneys have asked the Appeals court to make a decision on matter. If
the Appeals court sends the issue back to the convicting court, Reed wants a
new judge to be assigned.
"This court, the parties, and the public can no longer have confidence in
Senior Judge Shaver's continued assignment on this case," Reed attorneys say in
their opposition to the state's motion to remand.
Reed has maintained his innocence since he was convicted in 1998. In 2015, the
Appeals court paused Reed???s execution less than 2 weeks before it was set to
occur.
Reed's supporters say the state's original case against Reed has been
undermined by multiple new pieces of evidence introduced since his conviction.
(source: KXAN news)
************************
Rick Perry, Who Oversaw Executions of Over 200 People, Makes It to 2nd Round of
Dancing Show
The beautiful thing about the infectiously cheesy Dancing With the Stars is
that all the contestants have often fraught, disappointing histories. Many of
the "celebrities" haven't had real acting roles in decades; one Olympic swimmer
recently peed on a gas station and fled a South American country. One of them
has overseen more executions than any governor in modern history. Lives lived,
you know!
ABC hit us with a 2-night 2nd week of the 23rd season - 4 hours of beautiful
competition between mostly retired adults. Monday evening's show was Television
Night, during which competitors had to do a themed dance to an assigned
television show (if you were on one, that's the one you were assigned). So,
Marilu Henner and Derek Hough danced to the Taxi, Maureen McCormick and Artem
Chigvintsev did Brady Bunch with a guest appearance from Florence Henderson,
Jake T. Austin (voice of Diego) and Jenna Johnson did an unsettlingly sexy
interpretation of children's cartoon Go Diego Go!
Former governor and failed presidential candidate Rick Perry, whose 234
executions equal more than the next 2 highest execution states combined, and
partner Emma Slater did a quickstep to the Green Acres theme song. It was
goofy, down-homey, and made us forget for a little over a minute that he also
vetoed a bill that would've excluded mentally disabled from the death penalty
and fought vigorously to be able to execute minors!
Ultimately, Diego-voice Jake T. Austin, who said it was "ironic" that he and
his dance partner were both born in 1994, was sent home, probably because his
fanbase isn't allowed to use a telephone without parental supervision.
Perry, who is by far the worst dancer on the show, snuck through to the 3rd
week - likely with his large contingent of Texas voters who think it's
admirable that Perry only met 1 person on death row during his entire tenure as
governor who he thought deserved to live! Even among those who forensic experts
said were maybe innocent!
Bobby Finger, Jezebel staff writer and Texan, suggested a title for this
article: "We Now Know How Rick Perry Sleeps at Night: By Exhausting Himself
With Dance."
(source: jezebel.com)
FLORIDA:
Supreme Court of Florida could rule on fate of nearly 400 death row
inmates----State's method of imposing death sentences ruled unconstitutional
The Supreme Court of Florida could rule as early as Thursday on the fate of
nearly 400 death row inmates after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last January
that the way in which death sentences are handed down in the state is
unconstitutional.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Florida's method is unconstitutional because
the jury doesn't have the final say.
The first question facing Florida courts is what to do with the 388 people on
death row. Jacksonville lawyer Richard Kuritz, representing 1 inmate, argued in
June that they should all automatically be resentenced to life in prison.
"Absolutely, because when we start drawing a line, that's where the problem is
going to be is because the statute has been declared unconstitutional," Kuritz
said. "The sentencing scheme, well, it's the same scheme we've been using since
the reinstatement of the death penalty case."
The 2nd question facing the court is whether the state's new death sentencing
law, which lawmakers passed last spring, goes far enough because it requires 10
of the 12 jurors to agree on a death sentence.
Former Supreme Court Justice Raoul Cantero was in court this week lecturing on
the death penalty. He wrote a decade ago that that Florida must adopt a
unanimous jury if it wanted to continue to impose death sentences.
"But the Legislature refused to do it, and I think the law has evolved since
then, and I think the time has come," Cantero said. "I don't think 10-2 repairs
the deficiencies in the statute."
No matter what the court decides, it's likely to face multiple appeals that
could take a long time.
Without the 10-2 compromise, lawmakers said there would be no death penalty at
all. In the end, not requiring a unanimous jury might have the same result.
(source: news4jax.com)
******************
The 2 questions SCOTUS has to answer about Florida's death penalty
The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled Florida's death sentencing rule
unconstitutional, and now the court has 2 questions to answer.
The Supreme Court ruled that the way Florida imposes death sentences was
unconstitutional because the jury didn't have the final say.
The 1st question facing Florida Courts? What to do with the 388 people on death
row.
In June, Jacksonville lawyer Richard Kuritz, representing one inmate, argued
they should all automatically be re-sentenced to life in prison.
"Absolutely, because when we start drawing a line, that's where the problem is
going to be is because the statute has been declared unconstitutional," Kuritz
says. "The sentencing scheme. well, it's the same scheme we've been using since
the reinstatement of the death penalty case."
The 2nd question facing the court is whether the state's new death sentencing
law, which lawmakers passed this spring, goes far enough because it only
requires 10 of the 12 jurors to agree on death.
Former Supreme Court Justice Raoul Cantero was in the court this week lecturing
on the death penalty. A decade ago he wrote that Florida must adopt a unanimous
jury if it wanted to continue to impose death.
"But the legislature refused to do it and I think the law has evolved since
than, and I think the time has come," says Cantero, "I don't think 10-2 repairs
the deficiencies in the statute."
No matter what this court decides, it's likely to face multiple appeals that
could take a long time.
Without the 10-2 compromise, lawmakers say there would be no death penalty at
all. But in the end, not requiring a unanimous jury may have the same result.
(source: WCTV news)
INDIANA:
Pence puts politics ahead of fairness for innocent man
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence refuses to pardon an innocent man, apparently because
he is so very afraid of offending a single Donald Trump voter.
We have seen how Trump compulsively puts political self-interest before fair
play and decency. Now we have to wonder if Pence, his vice presidential running
mate, is cut from the same cheap cloth.
Pence's general counsel this week notified a lawyer for Keith Cooper of
suburban Country Club Hills that Cooper must pursue a lengthy and pointless
legal proceeding - likely to take years - before Pence will even consider a
pardon. That might sound reasonable to a non-lawyer, but it is in reality an
unnecessary and unjustifiable barrier to ending this case fairly.
Cooper, originally sentenced to 40 years in an Indiana prison for armed
robbery, was freed after 10 years in 2006, and the evidence of his innocence is
overwhelming. But the felony remains on his record, making it hard for him to
work up to better jobs or get compensation for his wrongful conviction and time
in prison. No one can give him his 10 years back, but he certainly deserves
better.
So what is Gov. Pence doing about that? Ducking.
Pardoning a man who has been convicted of a serious crime - even if the
underlying case falls apart and the suspect is freed - is often seen as
politically risky by governors. Nobody wants to look soft on crime, even if
pardoning an innocent man is hardly being soft on crime.
Here in Illinois, for example, Bruce Rauner is the 3rd successive governor to
refuse to pardon Gordon "Randy" Steidl, who spent 17 years in prison - 12 of
them on death row - for a 1986 double murder he did not commit. Since being set
free, Steidl has been a leading voice for the abolition of the death penalty,
and he has helped change legislators' minds in many states. But his request for
a pardon goes unanswered.
In Cooper's case, the victims who originally identified him and the Elkhart
County prosecutor who originally helped put him behind bars all agree Cooper is
innocent. A jailhouse informant who testified against Cooper recanted in 2003.
In 2014, the Indiana Parole Board concluded that Pence should pardon Cooper.
And yet, Pence refuses to grant the pardon.
Cooper faced a difficult choice in 2005, when the Indiana Court of Appeals
overturned the conviction of his co-defendant in the armed robbery case. The
co-defendant eventually was awarded $4.9 million for his wrongful conviction.
Cooper at that time was offered a choice between a new trial - with no quick
resolution and the outcome in doubt - or walking out of prison immediately
while remaining a felon. He chose the latter, partly because his family had
been living in a shelter and needed help.
Proof that Cooper's case went off the rails is irrefutable. A key piece of
evidence is the DNA from a customized baseball cap with rhinestones. The hat,
worn by a perpetrator, fell off during a scuffle during the armed robbery for
which Cooper was convicted. But it did not match Cooper???s DNA. In 2004, a 3rd
DNA test linked the hat to a different man, who was serving time for a 2002
murder in Benton Harbor, Mich.
Governors can delay action on pardons, or refuse them, as they wish. Like the
right of kings, from which this power descends, it is always their call.
But Pence has made a bad call, as best we can see it, and for the worst of
reasons - bald political self-interest.
(source: Chicago Sun-Times Editorial Board)
NEW MEXICO:
Attorneys: Reinstating death penalty could cost millions
The governor wants to reinstate the death penalty after several children and
police officers were killed this year.
But, if Gov. Susana Martinez gets her way, the New Mexico Public Defender's
Office says it will cost the state millions of dollars.
"(It is) just a tremendous investment of time, trauma and money, and for what?
We never actually use it," Jeff Buckels, the office's supervising attorney,
said.
He helped abolish the death penalty in 2009.
"The numbers on this were all run through the Legislature in 2009, and I'm
certain nothing's changed," he said.
Buckels says death penalty cases are more expensive because more is at stake,
so cases usually take more time, require specialized attorneys and a more
extensive jury selection.
According to 2009 legislative documents, court administrators said seating a
jury typically costs about $8,000, but in a death penalty case, it's closer to
$25,000.
Buckels also says a lot of convictions are often appealed.
He believes life without the possibility of parole is an appropriate
alternative: less expensive, and "it doesn't involve killing someone who in the
end could be proved innocent after they're gone," he said.
Senate Democrats and the Archdiocese of Santa Fe have also voiced their
opposition.
(source: KOAT news)
******************
Reject Martinez call for NM death penalty
We, the Catholic bishops of New Mexico, find the decision by Gov. Susana
Martinez to place the reinstatement of the death penalty on the agenda of a
special legislative session to be irresponsible.
The Legislature spent a decade debating the issue, ending with a bipartisan
vote that ended the practice of a state-sanctioned death penalty. This was a
definitive decision and had ample discovery of evidence and debate. That
decision should remain final.
The abomination of taking a life, the death penalty, needs to be addressed in a
general session where full debate, in front of numerous committees, can examine
all the facts and legislators can hear all public comment.
New Mexico faces the crisis of children being abused. Our utmost priority must
be to work together to protect and prevent harm to our children, not
reinstating state-sanctioned violence. Violence does not end violence.
The death penalty does not prevent the death of children. The current financial
crisis of the state damages the ability for state programs to deliver critical
prevention services. These are the issues at hand for a special session.
It is evident that the governor has chosen to use the deaths of police officers
and children to drive a politically motivated action to place the death penalty
on a very short special session purely for the purpose of politics and campaign
jockeying.
We call on the governor to recant her call for placing this on the agenda of
the special session. We also call on the legislators to reject this proposed
agenda item in the special session.
Pope Francis has called for a world-wide end to the death penalty. We oppose
the reinstatement of the death penalty in New Mexico.
If there were to be a debate on this, the integrity of the process should be
protected by all. This irresponsible move by the governor is ignoring the
immensity of the issue.
The national trend is to end the practice of using the death penalty. The
evidence of innocent persons unjustly convicted and on death row that has been
brought to light by DNA, for example, illustrates the unethical and problematic
use of the death penalty.
The governor is attempting to create a distraction from the numerous crises
taking place in New Mexico. The financial and social crises of the state need
the full attention of our legislators.
(source: Guest Column; The Most Rev. John C. Wester / Archbishop Of Santa Fe
The Most Rev. James Wall / Bishop Of Gallup And The Most Rev. Oscar Cantu /
Bishop Of Las Cruces----Albuquerque Journal)
CALIFORNIA:
Wozniak to get death sentence on Friday
Convicted double-murderer Daniel Wozniak, a community theater actor from Costa
Mesa, is scheduled to be sentenced on Friday, a judge determined on Wednesday.
Judge John D. Conley could follow a jury's recommendation that Wozniak be
sentenced to death, after more than 6 years of court hearings.
The case was delayed as Wozniak's defense attorney, Assistant Public Defender
Scott Sanders, alleged systemic misconduct by Orange County prosecutors and
sheriff's deputies involving the use of jailhouse informants.
Sanders was able to persuade a judge to removed the entire District Attorney's
Office from the penalty phase for Scott Dekraai, who pleaded guilty to shooting
8 people at a Seal Beach salon in 2011 and awaits sentencing, in another one of
his cases. The ruling is under appeal.
In the Wozniak case, Conley found no evidence of misconduct and cleared the way
for the trial to begin last year.
On Wednesday, the judge denied Sanders' final effort to delay sentencing so he
could respond to accusations by Prosecutor Matt Murphy.
"I'm only interested in the case of Mr. Wozniak," he said. "I think the
bickering between you 2 has clouded your judgment."
Wozniak, 31, was convicted in December of killing 2 friends for money to pay
for his wedding and honeymoon.
On May 21, 2010, Wozniak lured Sam Herr, 26, to the Joint Forces Training Base
in Los Alamitos and then shot and killed him. The actor returned the next day
and cut off Herr's head, a hand and a forearm and tossed the body parts in Long
Beach's El Dorado Park.
In an attempt to throw police off of his trail, Wozniak used Herr's cellphone
to lure Juri "Julie" Kibuishi, 23, to Herr's apartment. Prosecutors said
Wozniak then shot and killed her.
Many friends and family members, including fellow Army veterans who served with
Herr in Afghanistan, are expected to attend the hearing. Those closest to the
victims will give statements in court before the sentence is handed down.
(source: Orange County Register)
**************************
Judge says evidence supports death verdict in murder case
Wednesday morning, an Alameda County Superior Court judge said the
"overwhelming weight" of the evidence against convicted double murderer Darnell
Williams Jr. "supports the jury's verdict of death" from earlier this year.
The hearing is ongoing and is slated to continue after lunch with victim impact
statements from individuals tied to the case. The official sentencing has not
been handed down.
The jury's recommendation earlier this year was the 1st death penalty sentence
in Alameda County under the leadership of District Attorney Nancy O'Malley.
Williams, 25, of Berkeley was convicted by a jury in May, after nearly a month
of testimony, of 2 fatal shootings in 2013. The victims were 8-year-old Alaysha
Carradine and 22-year-old Anthony "Tone" Medearis III, a father of 3.
Wednesday, Judge Jeffrey Horner appeared poised to uphold that sentence and
said the aggravating factors were "so substantial" that "death is warranted."
He said the jury's ruling appeared appropriate due to the extensive evidence
and testimony presented in the case.
Authorities said Williams killed Carradine in Oakland in July 2013 as
retribution for the fatal shooting earlier that day of his longtime friend
Jermaine Davis in Berkeley.
Carradine was a guest at a sleepover at the home of the wife and children of
the man authorities say killed Davis. According to court testimony, Williams
went to that home and opened fire, intent on exacting revenge by killing the
former girlfriend and children of the man believed to have killed his friend.
Medearis' killing took place following a fight at a dice game in West Berkeley
less than 2 months later. According to authorities, Williams planned to rob
Medearis and wanted to kill him because of allegations he had "snitched" to
police during an earlier incident.
(source: berkeleyside.com)
**************
Decades-old photo links serial killer Rodney Alcala to yet another slaying,
this one in Wyoming, prosecutors
Nearly 4 decades after a pregnant woman's body was found on a Wyoming ranch,
prosecutors have connected her death to one of California's most prolific
serial killers, Rodney Alcala.
On Tuesday, prosecutors in Sweetwater County, Wyo., charged Alcala with the
1977 killing of Christine Ruth Thornton after discovering a photo that Alcala
had snapped of her before her death. The aging photograph was found among
Alcala's possessions by Huntington Beach police, but it was only recently that
the dead woman's sister recognized Thornton among the images.
The photo was among several publicized by Huntington Beach detectives after
Alcala was sentenced to death in 2010 for killing 4 women and a 12-year-old in
the late 1970s. The photo was spotted by Thornton's relatives in 2013.
Known as the "Dating Game" killer because he appeared on the popular television
program decades ago, the former photographer has also been convicted of killing
2 women in New York. Investigators believe the 73-year-old is responsible for
scores of other deaths. They made some photos public in the hope that they
would produce leads.
Prosecutors confronted Alcala with the photo at California's Corcoran State
Prison. Alcala told prosecutors that he did indeed take the picture, but
insisted that Thornton was alive when he left, Erramouspe said.
When asked if he killed the 28-year-old Thornton, Alcala responded: "You're
crazy."
"But he said some things that help tie him to the murder," Erramouspe said. "He
likes to talk."
Prosecutors say Alcala met Thornton, who was from Texas, during a road trip and
buried her in a remote area. She was 6 months pregnant at the time.
Thornton's family never knew what happened to the expectant mother, but
contacted Huntington Beach police when they saw her photo. 2 of Thornton's
siblings submitted DNA samples to a national missing person's database, which
also contained DNA from the Wyoming body, which had remained unidentified for
decades. In July 2015, the database connected the samples and alerted Wyoming
authorities that the deceased was likely Thornton.
So far, DNA recovered from the body also includes that of a Latino male,
according to prosecutors. Erramouspe said samples are being sent to an FBI lab
for further testing to see if they belong to Alcala.
The prosecutor said he is seeking to bring Alcala to Wyoming to get justice in
the 1977 killing, but no timeline exists for the move.
Alcala's crimes stretch back to 1968, when he raped and beat an 8-year-old girl
- crimes he was convicted of 4 years later.
The women and 1 girl he has been convicted of killing in California are Jill
Barcomb, 18, who was sexually assaulted, bludgeoned and strangled before her
body was dumped in the Hollywood Hills in November 1977; Georgia Wixted, 27,
who was sexually assaulted, strangled and beaten to death in her Malibu home a
month later; Charlotte Lamb, 32, who was found dead in her El Segundo laundry
room after she was raped and strangled with a shoelace in June 1978; Jill
Parenteau, 21, who was strangled to death and left in her Burbank apartment in
June 1979; and Robin Samsoe, 12, who disappeared near Huntington Beach Pier in
June 1979, and whose body was discovered days later in the Sierra Madre
foothills.
After his sentencing, Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas declared:
"Rodney Alcala is the poster child for the death penalty."
Many of the detectives who worked the case believe Thornton won't be the last
victim tied to the killer.
"Him being behind bars since 1979 probably saved a lot of lives," said Cliff
Shepard, a retired cold case detective with the Los Angeles Police Department.
(source: Los Angeles Times)
******************
Motion denied to separate trial for man accused of Sierra LaMar's disappearance
from attempted kidnappings
A Santa Clara County Superior Court judge has denied a motion from a
25-year-old man to hold separate trials on charges of kidnapping and murdering
15-year-old Sierra LaMar in 2012 from 3 attempted kidnappings in Morgan Hill
years earlier.
Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Vanessa Zecher denied a motion brought
by Antolin Garcia-Torres to hold separate trials on charges surrounding
Sierra's disappearance from the attempted kidnappings outside Morgan Hill
Safeway grocery stores in March 2009.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Garcia-Torres, whose trial is
expected to start later this year.
"Although there may be some potential prejudice to the charges remaining
joined, the defendant has not made a clear showing of prejudice to support the
granting of the Motion of Severance," Zecher wrote in a written order issued
Tuesday.
Defense attorneys for Garcia-Torres argued in their motion that the Safeway
parking lot incidents didn't show a link with Sierra's disappearance or
indicate if the same person carried out the crime.
One of the women drove away as the suspect tried to open her car door and the
other 2 victims were assaulted as they were either entering or exiting their
vehicles, according to the defense attorneys.
Garcia-Torres was identified as a suspect through a latent fingerprint on a
stun gun battery left behind in one of the attempted kidnappings, but the 3
victims didn't identify him as a suspect, according to the defense attorneys.
In response to the defense's motion, prosecutors argued that the alleged crimes
showed a common scheme and shared themes of intending to kidnap, stalking and
assault.
The jury should determine if there's enough evidence to show Garcia-Torres'
role in the other crimes, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said they anticipate that the Safeway victims' testimony at trial
will make the attempted kidnapping charges equal to the ones in Sierra's case.
On March 16, 2012, Sierra was last seen at her home in unincorporated Morgan
Hill and didn't make the bus stop for school. The girl's clothing and cellphone
were found days after she went missing.
Garcia-Torres was arrested about 2 months after Sierra disappeared after her
DNA was found in his red Volkswagen Jetta, prosecutors said.
Many organized searches have taken place in the 4 years after she was last
seen, but her body hasn't been found.
(source: KRON news)
***************************
Polls: Voters favor legalizing pot, outlawing capital punishment ---- A
majority of Californians support a proposition to legalize recreational
marijuana and a plurality support repealing the death penalty, according to 2
polls released Thursday. A poll by the Public Policy Institute of California
also showed support for 2 tax measures on the November ballot.
Ballot initiatives that would make smoking marijuana for recreation legal for
all adults and outlaw the death penalty have jumped out to big leads, according
to 2 new polls released Wednesday night.
Prospects look especially strong for Proposition 64, the marijuana initiative,
which has the support of 60 % of likely voters, a poll by the nonpartisan
Public Policy Institute of California shows. The measure is opposed by 36 % of
respondents, while only 4 % said they were undecided.
Proposition 62, which would replace the death penalty with lifetime
imprisonment without parole, has a tougher road to passage, according to the
Field Poll, done in conjunction with UC Berkeley's Institute of Government
Studies.
The measure, which faces a competing state initiative, has the support of 48 %
of likely voters, while 37 % oppose it and 15 % are undecided. The pollsters
cautioned, however, that a nearly identical proposition 4 years ago enjoyed a
similar lead before being defeated by an electorate that wasn't ready to soften
sentences for some of the state's most violent criminals.
"The default position on any crime policy initiative is hard-line because
criminals are not terribly popular in public opinion," said Frank Zimring, a UC
Berkeley criminal justice professor who studies the death penalty.
While voters in recent years have appeared to be moving leftward when it comes
to criminal justice issues, they seem increasingly stingy when it comes to
giving the state a bigger line of credit. PPIC found that only 47 % of likely
voters back Proposition 51, a $9 billion school facilities bond that Gov. Jerry
Brown is opposing as fiscally reckless.
Bond measures have historically started with about 60 % support, said Mark
Baldassare, PPIC's president and CEO.
"The governor has really stressed fiscal caution," he said, "and we're seeing
some fiscal caution in terms of how people are reflecting on school bonds."
Likely voters, however, appear to be more receptive to approving taxes that
won't affect most of them.
(source: Mercury News)
**************************
End the death penalty in California
On the ballot this Nov. 8 in California is Proposition 62.
This proposition would repeal the death penalty in our state and would make
life in prison without parole the maximum punishment that could be imposed for
crimes of murder.
My brother bishops and I in the California Catholic Conference are supporting
this effort.
It is time for us to end the death penalty - not only in California but
throughout the United States and throughout the world.
The Catholic Church has always taught that legitimate governments have the
right to impose the death penalty on those guilty of the most serious crimes.
This teaching has been consistent for centuries - in the Scriptures, in the
writings of the Church Fathers and in the teachings of the popes.
But in recent years, there has been a growing consensus that the use of the
death penalty can no longer be accepted. This consensus is reflected in the
Catechism of the Catholic Church, in the teachings of bishops??? conferences
around the world and in the teachings of Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI
and now Pope Francis.
On his final visit to our country in 1999, St. John Paul called the death
penalty "cruel and unnecessary." And it is true.
The reason is that every life is sacred and every person has a dignity that
comes from God. This is true for the innocent and it is true for the guilty. It
is true even for those convicted of the most violent crimes.
The Church has always opposed abortion and euthanasia because it involves the
direct and voluntary killing of innocent human beings. Obviously, the death
penalty is different. Those guilty of violent crime are not innocent.
But in opposing the death penalty we are also witnessing to the sanctity of
life. We are saying that even the most sinful and guilty lives are precious to
God and should not be taken by others.
The death penalty denies God's plan of mercy and justice. It violates the
condemned person's dignity and deprives him of the chance to change his heart
and make amends for his crimes.
In seeking an end to the death penalty, we never forget the victims of crime
and their loved ones. We entrust them to the Father of mercies and we pray that
he grant them healing and peace.
But we recognize that killing the criminal does not bring justice to the
victims. Our country has far more effective ways to bring murderers to justice
and to keep society safe from violent criminals.
Rather than condemn them to death, as Christians, we should pray for their
conversion and encourage their rehabilitation and ultimate restoration to
society.
For some criminals, this will never be possible. Their hearts are too damaged,
too cruel and hardened. But we know that conversion and repentance is God's
work, not ours.
We are encouraged by the witness of saints like St. Therese of Lisieux to
continue to pray for and work for the conversion of those on "death row." We
know that life belongs to God alone and we believe that there is no one who
cannot be touched by God's mercy and changed by his love.
The Church is not changing her teaching. Governments will always have the
justification to use the death penalty if it is necessary to carry out its task
of ensuring social order. What the Church is urging is that the government use
its discretion to show instead mercy as a testimony to the sanctity of human
life and to the possibility that every person can find redemption and
rehabilitation.
In this, we are following some of the great doctors of the ancient Church, such
as St. Ambrose and St. Augustine. In their times, they also urged government
authorities to show mercy in capital cases.
And, of course, we have the witness of Jesus Christ, who pardoned the woman
caught in adultery - a crime at the time that carried a mandatory death
sentence.
Something else I've been thinking about. We have a strange appetite for
violence in our popular culture. We allow children to play violent video games
and listen to music that demeans human dignity. For "entertainment," we watch
movies and shows in which fictional criminals take other people's lives and
commit unspeakable acts.
In this cultural context, I do not see how the death penalty can ever again
express society's ultimate value for human life. In this cultural context, the
death penalty can only function as 1 more killing.
In a culture of death, I believe mercy alone can be the only credible witness
to the sanctity of life and the dignity of the human person.
I urge all of you to continue to pray and reflect on this complicated issue. We
have established a website with resources to help in your reflection -
killingisntjustice.org.
Pray for me this week and I will be praying for you.
And may our Blessed Mother Mary help all of us to be faithful citizens and
witnesses to the culture of life in our time.
(source: Archbishop Jose Gomez, angelusnews.com)
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A service courtesy of Washburn University School of Law www.washburnlaw.edu
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