August 29
TEXAS:
Harris County D.A. to seek death penalty against 2nd alleged MS-13 gang member
in informant slaying
Douglas Alexander Herrera-Hernandez, 20, is charged with capital murder in Fort
Bend and Harris counties.
His nickname was Terror and his alleged crime was brutal.
But now the MS-13 gang member could be headed for death row after District
Attorney Kim Ogg formally gave notice that her office has decided to seek a
death sentence against a Salvadoran immigrant accused in the retaliatory group
killing of a teenage Houston police informant.
In an expansive case with seven men charged, Douglas Alexander
Herrera-Hernandez is now the 2nd person facing the possibility of the state's
harshest punishment for the 2016 murder in a Fort Bend park.
"We will not tolerate this behavior," said prosecutor Lisa Collins, who is
handling all 7 of the capital murder cases connected to the teen's death. "The
criminal element has to take prosecution seriously and I think that's what we
do by being consistent and making sure that each case is held to the highest
standards."
The decision comes amid a changing landscape for capital punishment in the
place historically most fond of it. Though earlier this month Harris County
sent its 1st man to death row in 4 years, Ogg has overseen taking 4 killers off
the row and decided to stop seeking the ultimate punishment in a handful of
cases once possibly headed there.
"Part of it is an indication that her administration is taking a more
progressive view of criminal justice issues," said Robert Dunham, executive
director of the Death Penalty Information Center, "but part of it is a
significant national decline and whatever administration was in would be
pursuing the death penalty less frequently and settling more cases."
The accused killer's lawyer did not respond to a request for comment.
On the night of June 13, 2016, Herrera-Hernandez and four of his associates
allegedly lured 16-year-old Estuar Quinonez to Buffalo Run Park in Missouri
City. Some of the men hid in the bushes, lying in wait as the others led the
teen down a gravel trail.
Estuar and one of his eventual killers were sitting on a bench trying to smoke
pot out of a plastic bottle around 11 p.m. when another member of the crew
fired the 1st shot, according to court records.
One by one, they all shot the teen, continuing to fire until he stopped moving,
records show.
The next morning, a jogger was the first to spot the boy's body, lying in the
trail. Initially, she thought he'd collapsed from the heat - and then she saw
the puddle of blood around his head.
Police quickly realized the teen might be a gang member, and a few calls later
they found his contact at Houston police, a sergeant who showed up and
identified Estuar as an informant.
The killing, the sergeant said according to court filings, looked like a hit in
retaliation for helping police with an MS-13 case. A suspected local gang
leader, Omar Torres, had allegedly ordered the murder from inside the county
jail - where he was facing another murder charge for the brutal killing of Noe
Mendez 4 months earlier.
After the hit on the teen, Torres was facing another charge: capital murder. 6
others were targeted with the same charge, including 5 men who are accused of
shooting the teen, and one accused of delivering the deadly orders.
When police began making arrests, most of charges were brought in Fort Bend
County. There, prosecutors had not yet decided whether to seek death sentences
when they opted to transfer the proceedings to Harris County in the interest of
continuity. By trying the cases in the same county, 1 prosecutor could handle
them all.
"It was just about efficiency and consolidation," said Fort Bend County
prosecutor Matt Banister.
After the switch to Harris, a committee of prosecutors here decided to seek a
death sentence against Torres.
"He was already in jail for murdering a guy; it was an MS-13 gang shooting,"
Assistant District Attorney Colleen Barnett said in May. "He arranged to have
that witness killed and we believe that was just a really bad act that he
committed."
A few weeks later, the district attorney's office decided to seek the same
punishment for Herrera-Hernandez, who was also accused in another killing. It
was the additional murders that made those 2 cases stand out; it's less likely
prosecutors will seek death sentences for the others accused in Estuar's
killing, Collins said. 2 of the others charged aren't eligible for capital
punishment because they were under 18 at the time of the crime.
Though the committee's decision in Herrera-Hernandez's case marks the district
attorney's 2nd move to seek the death penalty in a new case this year, Ogg's
record on capital punishment is more mixed. In the 20 months she's been in
office, the state has taken 4 killers - Duane Buck, Calvin Hunter, Michael
Norris, and Robert Campbell- off death row. Last year, for the 1st time in more
than 3 decades, no Harris County killers were executed and no new death
sentences doled out.
At the same time, Ogg's office has decided to no longer pursue a death sentence
in at least 9 cases, including some men who were sent back from death row for
retrials.
But despite a more progressive approach overall, Ogg hasn't entirely eschewed
capital punishment. Her office is still pursuing death sentences in a handful
of other cases that are grisly holdovers from previous administrations. 2
serial killers - Danny Bible and Anthony Shore - have been put to death under
her watch, and a man convicted of killing a Houston police officer is now
scheduled for execution next year.
(source: Houston Chronicle)
OHIO:
Serial killer Anthony Kirkland sentenced to death by Hamilton County judge
Anthony Kirkland, in his 49 years on earth, killed 3 women and 2 teenage girls.
On Tuesday, when sentencing Kirkland for the deaths of 13-year-old Esme Kenney
and 14-year-old Casonya Crawford, Hamilton County Judge Patrick Dinkelacker
told Kirkland he had no regard for human life and imposed the death penalty.
So, in determining whether a life prison term or the death penalty was an
appropriate sentence, Dinkelacker imposed the death penalty.
"If not you, Mr. Kirkland, then who?" the judge said.
Dinkelacker gave Kirkland an opportunity to speak on his behalf, prompting
Kirkland to offer a diatribe on his prison money woes, which was not what the
judge had in mind.
"It makes me sick to my stomach that you will talk about money in prison when
you killed 2 teenage girls," Dinkelacker told him.
More than a half dozen deputies flanked Kirkland during the sentencing. Members
of Esme's family, though not her parents who no longer live in Cincinnati,
quietly watched the sentencing. Casonya's grandmother and mother attended as
well.
"He is a monster," Patricia Crawford, Casonya's grandmother, said of Kirkland
after the sentencing.
Kirkland, 49, was sentenced for murdering Casonya in 2006 and Esme in 2009.
He's already serving life prison terms for the deaths of Mary Jo Newton, 45 and
Kimya Rolison, 25, both in 2006. Kirkland served a 16-year prison term for
killing Leona Douglas, 28, in 1989.
Judge Dinkelacker agreed with the jury and issued the death penalty in the
retrial of Anthony Kirkland for the deaths of Esme Kenney, 13, and Casonya
'Sharee' Crawford, 14. Cincinnati Enquirer
Kirkland was released for from prison in the 1989 killing in 2003. He killed
the 4 women and girls before police caught up to him in 2009 after he kidnapped
and killed Esme near her Winton Hills home.
Assistant Hamilton County Prosecutor Mark Piepmeier praised everyone involved
in capturing Kirkland. He singled out Cincinnati Police K-9 Officer Jenny
Ernst, who took it upon herself to look for Esme shortly after she went
missing, and even though police were skeptical at first that something bad had
happened. He also mentioned detectives Keith Witherall and Bill Hilvert, who
spent hours coaxing a confession out of Kirkland.
Kirkland was previously sentenced to death for killing the teenagers, but the
Ohio Supreme Court overturned the sentence saying Deters' statements during
closing arguments "were improper and substantially prejudicial" when he said
Kirkland was already serving life prison terms and that Esme and Casonya's
deaths should not be "freebies."
Deters sought the death penalty again, resulting in a 2-week hearing last month
with a new jury.
Kirkland's lawyers argued their client was physically, sexually and mentally
abused as a child, resulting in post-traumatic stress disorder that left him at
times unaware of what he was doing. Their plea for Kirkland was life in prison.
Jurors disagreed, returning the death recommendation in 2 1/2 hours.
Hamilton County Prosecutor Joseph Deters said the state of Ohio cannot kill
convicted serial killer Anthony Kirkland soon enough. Kirkland was sentenced to
die by Judge Dinkelacker.
Deters said after sentencing the death sentence "can't be imposed fast enough."
Dinkelacker set the execution for March 7, 2019, exactly 10 years after Esme's
death. But appeals will likely delay it.
As Kirkland left the courtroom he made one last comment to the judge.
Kirkland: "Have a nice life."
Dinkelacker: "You too."
(source: Cincinnati Enquirer)
******************************
'Have a nice life,' 'You too': Judge sentences convicted serial killer to death
A judge sentenced a convicted Cincinnati serial killer to death Tuesday
morning.
"Have a nice life," were the last words spoken by Anthony Kirkland, 49, to
Judge Patrick Dinkelacker as he exited the courtroom, following his death
sentence.
"You too," responded the judge after reading the verdict aloud.
That was not the only tense moment between the convicted serial killer and the
judge during Tuesday's sentencing.
Kirkland killed Esme Kenney, 13, Casonya Crawford, 14, Kimya Rolison, 25 and
Mary Jo Newton, 45, between 2006 and 2009.
The judge announced March 9, 2019 would be the day Kirkland is put to death,
"which happens to be 10 years to the date that you took the life of Esme
Kenney," said Judge Dinkelacker.
Before Dinkelacker handed down the sentence, Kirkland's defense attorney
Richard Wendel asked for "mercy" and for life in prison without the possibility
of parole.
Wendel argued that Kirkland suffered severe childhood abuse, a toxic
developmental environment, physical abuse, emotional and physical neglect,
psychological abuse, domestic violence, sexual abuse, mental illness, substance
abuse, and separation from his parents.
"He's confused as to why he would kill people that did not deserve it," said
Wendel.
Despite Wendel's argument of abuse, the judge disagreed that the argument held
up.
"The court does not count that Mr. Kirkland suffered from brain damage that
contributed to his inability to conform to the law and by conform to the law I
mean not viciously killing human beings," said Judge Dinkelacker, adding there
was 'very little' mitigation in Kirkland's favor.
Kirkland was also allowed to make a final plea to the judge before his sentence
was announced.
In a moment that did not sit well with the judge, nor Hamilton County
Prosecutor Joe Deters, Kirkland and his defense attorney asked for his court
costs to be waived.
Kirkland said he makes a $3 a month assisted payment, but the court clerk's
office is asking for $25 a month. Kirkland argued that he only gets $16 a month
and his current court costs total $9,000.
His attorney asked if there was anything else Kirkland would like to tell the
judge before the sentence was handed down.
"Basically everything that was said in my sworn statement and I stand by that.
That's basically it if that's what we're getting at," Kirkland said.
Judge Dinkelacker was not pleased that Kirkland used his time to talk about his
court costs.
":It makes me sick to my stomach to have you stand here and talk about your
money in your prison account when we are talking about 13 and 14-year-old kids
that were killed by you," said Dinkelacker.
During Kirkland's recent resentencing, a jury unanimously recommended death.
Kirkland strangled three of his victims and burned each of their bodies,
telling police in his 8-hour confession, "Fire purifies."
"I would say this and I mean it from the bottom of my heart I took an oath to
follow the law and I will do that to do otherwise is morally, legally,
philosophically, and theologically wrong," said Judge Dinkelacker, "So we as a
people, believers in the rules of law and justice, are going to have the death
penalty imposed on the worst of the worst; then if not you, Anthony Kirkland,
than who?"
Dinkelacker said he made his decision without any regret.
"May your victims now rest in peace," said Dinkelacker after pronouncing
sentence.
Kirkland's defense attorney says he plans to appeal.
Before exiting the court room, Kirkland tried to speak to the judge once more.
"I have a question, your honor, on a comment you just made," said Kirkland.
"You know what? I don't care," said Judge Dinkelacker, cutting Kirkland off.
Outside the courtroom, Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters did not mince
words when it came to Kirkland.
"He is a homicidal piece of garbage. That's what he is," said Deters.
Deters said that Kirkland showed no remorse.
"He needs to be executed, period. I hate to be so cold and callous about it but
he needs to be executed and as far as I???m concerned, it can't happen soon
enough," said Deters.
The prosecutor noted that religious figures have spoken out against the death
penalty, but he said Kirkland can't be forgiven.
"He ought to be on Fountain Square, gone, executed. Everyone can see what
happens to people like that, and that???s the end of the story," said Deters.
The family of Casonya Crawford was in court for the sentencing.
"I guess the next time I see him, he'll be laying down. It's over for me, it's
over," said Casonya's mother, Tanika Crawford.
(source: WSFA news)
NEBRASKA:
Discussing death penalty alternatives
A conversation with Matt Maly for Nebraskans for Alternatives to the Death
Penalty
Matt Maly, Operations Coordinator for Nebraskans for Alternatives to the Death
Penalty, took time out to visit with the Nebraska City News-Press on Friday,
Aug. 24, to discuss the Carey Dean Moore case and the future of capital
punishment. The feature was to be a pod cast, but, due to poor audio quality,
is being released as a transcript.
On Carey Dean Moore's execution:
I think it was a terrible thing for our state. We gave up a whole lot to get
that execution. He was on death row for 38 years and so that means we were
wasting millions of tax payer dollars and put the victims' families through
almost four decades of pain and suffering and waiting. We totally abandoned our
commitment to transparency. This execution was done with secret drugs and we
still don't know exactly what happened which I think is contrary to our values.
On the drug protocol:
We knew when the death penalty was reinstated in 2016 that were was no sources
to the standard old 3-drug cocktail and so the only way that there would be any
chance of resuming executions was to do it by experimentation with some secret
source which is what they did, which was really alarming to anybody who
believes in transparency and anybody who believes in limited government. Even
if you support capital punishment in theory this isn't anything to mess around
with. This is a really serious process for the state to under take. There is no
room for secrecy or experimentation and there is certainly no room for error.
They found something from who knows where that they thought might work and it
was successful in killing him but they closed the curtain for 14 minutes during
the execution so we still don't know exactly what happened and there is a
chance we will never know.
What's the alternative to capital punishment?
The alternative is clear and simple. It's life in prison without the
possibility of parole. If Carey Dean Moore was sentenced to life 38 years ago,
he would have been hauled out of the court room and began serving his sentence
immediately and anonymously. We would have locked him up, thrown away the key
and forgot about him and we wouldn't be having this conversation today.
Instead, we dragged out the process. We told the victims 7 times that the
execution was coming and the first 6 times we said, "Oops, not today." And
we've put this killer's face on the front page of the paper countless times all
throughout the state. I think the much better thing to do is to save money,
just lock him up , throw away the key and forget about him.
On the issues of life term inmates gaining freedom or life sentenced persons
attempting to kill corrections officers or other inmates because they fear no
higher penalty.
First of all, the idea that someone could get a life sentence and then somehow
get out is absolutely incorrect. The attorney general said so himself. The only
way you can come before a parole board in Nebraska, much less get parole is to
serve 1/2 of your sentence, so half of your term in years. If you have an 80
year sentence, then once you've served 40, you are eligible for a parole board
hearing. if you are sentenced to life, that can't be cut in half. You can't
serve half of a life sentence so there is no way that you could get parole. For
the state correctional officers, I think we all recognize that Nebraska's
Department of Corrections is in a crisis. There are all kinds of problems in
that department. It needs a whole heck of a lot of help in a whole lot of
different ways with over crowding, mandatory overtime and staffing issues. To
think that executions are going to help correctional officers is just crazy.
The death penalty costs tax payers $14.6 million, more than life without
parole, every single year. I think it would be great if we could take those
resources and invest them back into the Department of Corrections in more
helpful ways like more training for officers and better pay. Let's do things,
like more programming in our prisons, that are going to make prisons safer
rather than wasting it on the execution program that still doesn't work.
Is the death penalty on its way out?
Absolutely. That's the direction we've been moving for the last 10 to 15 years,
not only in Nebraska but across the nation. Drug companies are becoming more
vocal that they don't want their products used in executions. It's getting
harder and harder to find sources for the drugs. And more states are moving
toward repealing the death penalty for a number of reasons. Largely, it's the
conservative sides of legislatures that are joining the cause and seeing it as
a wasteful, ineffective big government program. So it's definitely on its way
out. We are seeing death sentences and executions be less each year. We did
this execution after 21 years without one.
Now these drugs have expired and we have no source for any of these 4 again. It
was the 1st in 21 years and I belive the last execution in the state of
Nebraska and that's a good thing. I think eventually, we are going to move on,
repeal this and then be done once and for all.
On other methods of execution:
It's certainly not going to be that we are going to reinstate the electric
chair in Nebraska. That has been ruled cruel and unusual punishment by our
state supreme court. Lethal injection has become the standard throughout the
country.There has been a little bit of talk from other states trying to
experiment with the gas chamber and other methods like that. It's very unlikely
just because the state courts throughout the country and federal courts. Even
if you think that's humane, you still have to abide by the law. They just have
their hands tied in certain ways by the legislatures and by court precedent.
Beyond that, I think the bigger issue is that this is really a bigger thing
than the means of execution, regardless of how it comes: firing squad, hanging,
lethal injection, electrocution, whatever. The big problems with this system,
as a government program, which is what it is.. is that it costs too much, it
wastes millions of dollars in tax payer money, it prolongs the pain and
suffering the victim's families and forces them to relive the details of their
loved one's murder for decades and decades and it risks executing an innocent
person, which is particularly why the Catholic Church and other faith
traditions are opposed to it. The government doesn't do anything with perfect
accuracy. All these problems are the weightier part of the issue and are
germain no matter what the method of execution happens to be.
(source: Nebraska City News-Press)
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