Jan. 8
FLORIDA:
Bill calls for unanimous juries in death penalty cases
After the Florida Supreme Court ruled that a new death-penalty law was
unconstitutional, the chairman of the Senate Criminal Justice committee Friday
proposed requiring unanimous jury recommendations before defendants could be
sentenced to death.
The proposal (SB 280), filed by Sen. Randolph Bracy, D-Orlando, was an opening
move as lawmakers prepare to grapple with the death-penalty sentencing system
during the legislative session that starts March 7.
The U.S. Supreme Court last January ruled that the sentencing system was
unconstitutional because it gave too much power to judges, instead of juries,
in determining whether inmates should be put to death.
The Legislature quickly passed a law to try to address that ruling. As part of
that law, the Legislature required at least 10 of 12 jurors to recommend the
death penalty, a departure from a longstanding law that required a simple
majority.
But the Florida Supreme Court in October ruled that jury recommendations must
be unanimous for the death penalty to be imposed.
Bracy's bill would match that requirement. Senators last year backed requiring
unanimous jury recommendations but ran into opposition in the House and from
prosecutors.
That led to a compromise to require recommendations by at least 10 jurors.
(source: news4jax.com)
INDIANA:
Vann can file death penalty appeal, judge says
A Gary man facing the death penalty can make an appeal with his claims that
Indiana's death penalty statute is unconstitutional, a Lake County judge
decided Friday.
Darren Deon Vann, 45, is charged in the deaths of 7 women, and he is 1 of 2
defendants in Lake County potentially facing the death penalty. Last year,
Vann's attorneys argued that Indiana's death penalty statute is
unconstitutional, but Judge Samuel Cappas denied that claim, following suit
with rulings on previous challenges in other prior Indiana death penalty cases.
Vann's defense team appeared in a Lake County court Friday morning without its
client and asked Cappas to be able to appeal that ruling to the Indiana Supreme
Court. While prosecutors believed that Cappas was correct in his ruling last
year, they didn't object to the defense attorneys being able to appeal, said
Michelle Jatkiewicz of the Lake County prosecutor's office. Cappas granted the
defense's motion.
The Friday hearing also addressed the state's request for Vann to provide a
handwriting sample. Vann allegedly wrote a letter to Lake County Prosecutor
Bernard Carter that "makes statements pertaining to the state's case,"
according to a court filing, and the state wants a handwriting sample to
compare to the letter. The defense and state have gone back and forth about the
request for a handwriting sample for months, and Cappas set a hearing for March
31 on the matter where each side can call experts and witnesses.
His case continues as discovery is still being sorted through, Jatkiewicz told
the court Friday, including DNA hair analysis, cellphones and the handwriting
sample.
Lake County prosecutors previously requested the death penalty for Vann, as he
faces charges in connection with the deaths of Anith Jones 35, of Merrillville;
Afrikka Hardy, 19, of Chicago; Teaira Batey, 28, of Gary; Tracy Martin, 41, of
Gary; Kristine Williams, 36, of Gary; Sonya Billingsley, 52, of Gary; and Tanya
Gatlin, 27, of Highland.
(source: Chicago Tribune)
CALIFORNIA----new female death sentence
Former tribal chair sentenced to death for slaughtering family members during
hearing to evict her
A Placer County jury has decided that Cherie Louise Rhoades should be sentenced
to death for the 2014 murder of 4 people, 3 of them her relatives.
The decision late Thursday came after 3 days of testimony before the same jury
that convicted Rhoades in December of 4 counts of 1st-degree murder and 2
counts of attempted murder. It took the jury about 3 1/2 hours on Thursday to
decide to impose the death penalty.
Rhoades, 47, of Cedarville, used a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun in a shooting
rampage Feb. 20, 2014, at the Cedarville Rancheria Tribal Headquarters, where
she and her son were the focus of a hearing to decide whether they should be
evicted from tribal housing.
A former chairwoman of the 35-member tribe, Rhoades emptied a gun and then
grabbed a butcher knife to stab people during the hearing, according to police
reports.
Rhoades had been suspended as chairwoman pending a federal investigation into
allegations that she embezzled at least $50,000 from the tribe.
Pronounced dead at the scene were Rurik Davis, 50, Rhoades' brother; Angel
Penn, 19, her niece; Glenn Calonicco, 30, her nephew; and Shelia Lynn Russo,
47, a tribal administrator who managed evictions. Melissa Davis and Monica
Davis were both injured.
The trial, which was moved from Modoc County to Placer County, was delayed by
the death of Judge John T. Ball. Judge Candice Beason was assigned to the case
and has presided over the trial held in Roseville.
She is scheduled to sentence Rhoades on April 10 in the Modoc County
Courthouse.
(source: Sacramento Bee)
USA:
US seeks death penalty in airport shooting----The shooting killed 5 and wounded
6 Friday in Florida
While investigators try to figure out the motive of an Iraq war veteran accused
of killing five travelers and wounding six others at a busy international
airport in Florida, the suspected gunman was charged and could face the death
penalty if convicted.
Esteban Santiago, 26, was charged with an act of violence at an international
airport resulting in death - which carries a maximum punishment of execution -
and weapons charges.
Santiago told investigators that he planned the attack, buying a 1-way ticket
to the Fort Lauderdale airport, a federal complaint said. Authorities don't
know why he chose his target and have not ruled out terrorism.
"Today's charges represent the gravity of the situation and reflect the
commitment of federal, state and local law enforcement personnel to continually
protect the community and prosecute those who target our residents and
visitors," U.S Attorney Wifredo Ferrer said.
Authorities said during a news conference that they had interviewed roughly 175
people, including a lengthy interrogation with a cooperative Santiago, who is a
former National Guard soldier from Alaska. Flights had resumed at the Fort
Lauderdale airport after the bloodshed, though the terminal where the shooting
happened remained closed.
FBI Agent George Piro said Santiago spoke to investigators for several hours
after he opened fire with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun that he appears to have
legally checked on a flight from Alaska.
"Indications are that he came here to carry out this horrific attack," Piro
said. "We have not identified any triggers that would have caused this attack.
We're pursuing all angles on what prompted him to carry out this horrific
attack."
Investigators are combing through social media and other information to
determine Santiago's motive, and it's too early to say whether terrorism played
a role, Piro said. In November, Santiago had walked into an FBI field office in
Alaska saying the U.S. government was controlling his mind and forcing him to
watch Islamic State group videos, authorities said.
"He was a walk-in complaint. This is something that happens at FBI offices
around the country every day," FBI agent Marlin Ritzman said.
Santiago had a loaded magazine on him, but had left a gun in his vehicle, along
with his newborn child, authorities said. Officers seized the weapon and local
officers took him to get a mental health evaluation. His girlfriend picked up
the child.
On Dec. 8, the gun was returned to Santiago. Authorities wouldn't say if it was
the same gun used in the airport attack.
U.S. Attorney Karen Loeffler said Santiago would have been able to legally
possess a gun because he had not been judged mentally ill, which is a higher
standard than having an evaluation.
Santiago had not been placed on the U.S. no-fly list and appears to have acted
alone, authorities said.
The attack sent panicked witnesses running out of the terminal and spilling
onto the tarmac, baggage in hand. Others hid in bathroom stalls or crouched
behind cars or anything else they could find as police and paramedics rushed in
to help the wounded and establish whether there were any other gunmen.
Mark Lea, 53, had just flown in from Minnesota with his wife for a cruise when
he heard three quick cracks, like a firecracker. Then came more cracks, and "I
knew it was more than just a firecracker," he said.
Making sure his wife was outside, Lea helped evacuate some older women who had
fallen, he said. Then he saw the shooter.
"He was just kind of randomly shooting people," he said. "If you were in his
path, you were going to get shot. He was walking and shooting."
Over the course of about 45 seconds, the shooter reloaded twice, he said. When
he was out of bullets, he walked away, dropped the gun and lay face down,
spread eagle on the floor, Lea said.
By that time, a deputy had arrived and grabbed the shooter. Lea put his foot on
the gun to secure it.
Lea went to help the injured and a woman from Iowa asked about her husband, who
she described. Lea saw a man who fit his description behind a row of chairs,
motionless, shot in the head and lying in a pool of blood, he said. The man,
Michael Oehme, was identified as one of the dead victims on Saturday.
Santiago had been discharged from the National Guard last year after being
demoted for unsatisfactory performance. Bryan Santiago said Saturday that his
brother had requested psychological help but received little assistance.
Esteban Santiago said in August that he was hearing voices.
"How is it possible that the federal government knows, they hospitalize him for
only four days, and then give him his weapon back?" Bryan Santiago said.
His mother declined to comment as she stood inside the screen door of the
family home in Puerto Rico, wiping tears from her eyes. The only thing she said
was that Esteban Santiago had been tremendously affected by seeing a bomb
explode next to two of his friends when he was around 18 years old while
serving in Iraq.
Santiago, who is in federal custody with no bail, will face federal charges and
is expected to appear in court Monday, Piro said.
It is legal for airline passengers to travel with guns and ammunition as long
as the firearms are put in a checked bag - not a carry-on - and are unloaded
and locked in a hard-sided container. Guns must be declared to the airline at
check-in.
Santiago arrived in Fort Lauderdale after taking off from Anchorage aboard a
Delta flight Thursday night, checking only one piece of luggage - his gun, said
Jesse Davis, police chief at the Anchorage airport.
(source: Associated Press)
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