August 30
TEXAS----stay of impending execution
Stay of Execution
A senior federal judge granted a stay of execution for a man condemned to death
for killing an elderly woman during a burglary 2 decades ago.
Ruben Gutierrez, 41, had been scheduled to die on Sept. 12 at 6 p.m. for
murdering 85-year-old Escolastica Harrison at the Harrison Mobile Home Park on
Morningside Road in Brownsville in 1998.
A Cameron County jury in the 107th state District Court convicted Gutierrez
based on evidence that he befriended Harrison so he could rob her of some of
the $600,000 in cash that she had hidden in her home. According to police,
Harrison didn't like banks and kept her money in a suitcase in her trailer
home. An autopsy showed she had been stabbed 13 times with 2 different
screwdrivers and was also beaten.
Senior U.S. District Judge Hilda Tagle granted the stay of execution on Aug.
22.
"Allowing the execution to proceed, however, would deny Gutierrez any
meaningful opportunity to conduct an investigation into the factual and legal
basis of potential claims," Tagle wrote in her order.
New lawyers appointed to represent Gutierrez early this month made the request
on Aug. 10, and argue they need more time to learn about Gutierrez and go
through the massive case record.
"Through no fault of his own, Mr. Gutierrez is before this Court less than a
month before his scheduled execution with counsel who were appointed to his
case within the past 10 days," the motion for a stay of execution states.
Gutierrez's previous attorney said in court documents that she didn???t believe
she had the expertise to represent the man at this stage of his litigation, and
Tagle's order notes that the attorney is no longer allowed to practice in the
5th Circuit Court of Appeals because of rude behavior toward court staff.
The motion for stay of execution notes that Gutierrez's former attorney never
disclosed that to him.
The condemned man's new attorneys mention in their motion for stay of execution
that they may prepare civil rights litigation, need time to apply for clemency
in an attempt to commute Gutierrez's death sentence to life without parole, and
also need to investigate what kind of efforts Gutierrez's trial attorneys put
into DNA testing crime scene forensic evidence.
Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz said the stay of execution is
regrettable.
"We're terribly disappointed there was a stay granted," Saenz said.
However, on Monday, the Texas Solicitor General's Office filed a motion to
vacate the stay of execution, Saenz said.
"We're hoping to hear something as early as this week," he said. ???We're
hoping the execution will go forward."
If the stay of execution is not lifted, Saenz expects Gutierrez's attorneys
will file a request to DNA test crime scene forensic evidence, to which the
DA's Office will object.
During a brief interview Wednesday afternoon, Saenz contended that Gutierrez
had previously conducted DNA testing on the forensic evidence in the case,
which the man's new attorneys contend in the motion to stay the execution has
never happened in the case.
Gutierrez claims he organized the burglary, but did not take part in it and
that DNA testing would corroborate his claim.
"Mr. Gutierrez has fought for nearly a decade to have the forensic evidence in
his case DNA tested - including fingernail scrapings, blood stains, and hair
evidence. To date, none of it has been tested," the motion for stay of
execution states.
Saenz has called the DNA claim hogwash, and in a previous interview said
Gutierrez confessed to the crime and that his co-defendant testified Gutierrez
was an active member in the crime.
Harrison's family was disappointed in the news, Saenz said.
"The disappointment is much more compounded by the fact that it???s this close.
They've been waiting for years to get to this point, which is doubly
disappointing," Saenz said.
Every time the execution gets set back, the family has to relive the crime and
anguish, he said.
Harrison's surviving sister, who is up in age, wants to see the man executed,
Saenz said.
"She's holding on because she wants to see this come about," he said.
(source: Brownsville Herald)
*********************
Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present----35
Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982----present-----553
Abbott#--------scheduled execution date-----name------------Tx. #
36---------Sept. 26---------------Troy Clark--------------554
37---------Sept. 27---------------Daniel Acker------------555
38---------Oct. 10----------------Juan Segundo------------556
39---------Oct. 24----------------Kwame Rockwell----------557
40---------Nov. 7-----------------Emanuel Kemp, Jr.---------558
41---------Dec. 4-----------------Joseph Garcia-----------559
42---------Jan. 30----------------Robert Jennings---------560
(sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin)
*************************
Paxton: Lethal Injection Forever----A.G. joins amicus brief in opposition to
Missouri man's request for death by lethal gas
Never put it past Texas to throw its support behind state killings. Attorney
General Ken Paxton joined 15 other states' attorneys general on Monday to file
a joint amicus brief in support of the state of Missouri in its lethal
injection protocol case now pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. In March,
SCOTUS stayed Russell Bucklew's execution for fear that the deadly injection
would cause him to asphyxiate on his own blood. Bucklew has requested an
alternative execution method - specifically lethal gas instead of pentobarbital
- which he argues is his Eighth Amendment right. The 16-page brief argues that
Bucklew's challenge asks SCOTUS to "modify its precedents and alter" its Eighth
Amendment rule for "determining when a constitutional violation exists in the
first place." Additionally, it notes that the number of carried out lethal
injections continues to decline due to "efforts by death-penalty opponents to
limit the supply of execution drugs," and that existing protocols across the
U.S. are valid. The brief concludes that Eighth Amendment rights shouldn't
"force States" to find alternative methods of execution that "differ for every
individual circumstance." In an email statement, Paxton wrote, "If prisoners
are allowed to bring claims challenging methods of execution without satisfying
the Supreme Court's settled requirement to identify an alternative, the states
would undoubtedly face a flood of lengthy and costly lawsuits resulting in
indefinite delays of executions."
(source: Austin Chronicle)
FLORIDA:
Man is sentenced to death for killing gay couple on Boxing Day, saying they
'deserved to be put down'
A Florida man, who described gay people as a "disgrace," has been given the
death penalty for murdering a gay couple he met on Craigslist back in 2010.
Peter Avsenew, 32, was convicted last year of murdering Kevin Adams and Steven
Powell at their home in Wilton Manors, reports Local 10 News.
Adams and Powell were found shot dead and wrapped in blankets on Boxing Day in
2010.
Avsenew, a sex worker, met the couple after he placed an advert on Craigslist.
He moved in with them a couple of weeks before their deaths.
In court, the prosecution alleged that the 32-year old was found in possession
of the couple's car, an SUV, adding that he had used their credit cards.
The defence claimed that Avsenew stole the items after discovering that the
couple were dead.
Avsenew's mother turned him in to police after he arrived at her home in
central Florida unexpectedly and then made suspicious comments to her.
She also testified against him in court.
The sex worker reportedly showed no remorse over the murders, and sent a
hand-written letter to Broward County Judge Ilona Holmes, following his
conviction in 2017.
"It is my duty as a white man to cull the weak and timid from existence," he
wrote, according to Local 10 News. "I will always stand up for what I believe
in and eradicate anything in my way. Homosexuals are a disgrace to mankind and
must be put down. These weren't the first and won't be the last."
He also allegedly said in June: "I wholeheartedly have nothing to lose and I'm
going to take it out on everybody I can," reports Local 10 News.
Speaking in court via video link, Avsenew's mother explained: "I said: 'Is the
car stolen?' and I think you told me the car wasn't stole."
She added: "I told him he was making me an accessory to whatever he'd done...he
just laughed, he said: 'Don't worry about it.'"
She said that she then found suspicious images on Avsenew's computer, so she
told a friend, before calling the police.
(source: pinknews.co.uk)
TENNESSEE:
Death in Our Name----The execution of Billy Ray Irick raises hard questions
The recent execution of Billy Ray Irick caused me to pause and ponder what I
really think about the death penalty. It had been such a long time since
Tennessee executed an inmate that I just had not been confronted with the
emotions stirred by such a finality.
Should I even have an opinion?
In some ways, I think it's not my place to have an opinion on how justice was
served here. I'm not a member of victim Paula Dyer's family, nor of Irick's.
I'm not connected to anyone who was part of the investigation, trial or
sentencing. Each one of these folks has been forced to have an opinion on what
constitutes justice.
But of course, in one very important way, I am both entitled to and responsible
to have an opinion. So are you. We are all Tennesseans, and a story so well
written by the Scene's Steven Hale ("The Execution of Billy Ray Irick," Aug.
16, 2018) reminds us that it's our responsibility as citizens of this
community, this state and this nation to determine if we think the death
penalty was warranted in this case, and in future cases. In the same way that
we have the responsibility to vote and the responsibility to review each
candidate carefully, we have the responsibility to decide if we feel that our
state and federal laws are proper and reflect our values. It is a weighty
responsibility, and one we tend to ignore in the haste and hustle of our lives.
But it is a responsibility that our country asks of us, and a responsibility
that our forebears sacrificed to preserve.
The death penalty is one of our most difficult and divisive governing policies.
I thought Steven's piece highlighted the contrasts between the gruesomeness of
Irick's crime and the chaos of his personal life, and the clinical, impersonal
nature of our law enforcement process and judicial system. His reflections
brought home the unsettling nature of the situation, no doubt about it.
But the news coverage detailing the last day of little Paula Dyer's life was
more unsettling.
Are there crimes too terrible to be punished by a life in prison? The awfulness
done to little Paula Dyer, with her young brothers locked in the next room,
hearing her screams but unable to do anything to save her? It is an
unimaginable crime that surely deserves the worst punishment we can administer.
But reading the description of Irick's execution and thinking about how he may
have suffered as he died is unsettling too.
We have the responsibility to protect our children. We have the responsibility
to make sure the people who commit heinous crimes pay for what they did. But
who decides what that price should be? Ultimately, it is you and I, in the
decisions we require from our elected officials and from our judicial system.
The fierce debate rekindled by this execution should not be allowed burn out.
We should debate capital punishment again and again. Was Billy Ray Irick's
execution cruel? Was it unusual? If so, was that by design? I don't know. But
we should be willing to openly question our decision to allow executions.
As unsettled as I am about the reports of Irick's final minutes, I still come
back to little Paula Dyer. What were her final minutes like? Her death was
cruel. Her death was unusual. She received completely undeserved, intentional
punishment.
Billy Ray Irick was cruel. He deserved punishment. But did he deserve death?
Was he mentally unfit? The state of Tennessee, our elected governor and the
Supreme Court of the United States said he was fit to die for his crimes. He
has certainly paid the price for them. It is only little Paula Dyer's family
and the good Lord above who can decide if he has been forgiven for them.
Bill Freeman is the co-owner of FW Publishing, the publishing company that
produces the Nashville Scene, Nfocus and the Nashville Post----The Nashville
Scene)
ARKANSAS:
Court Won't Revive Judge's Lawsuit Over Execution Protest
A federal appeals court says it won't revive an Arkansas judge's lawsuit
challenging his disqualification from execution cases for participating in an
anti-death penalty demonstration outside the governor's mansion.
The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied a motion to reconsider a
three-judge panel's decision to dismiss Pulaski County Circuit Judge Wendell
Griffen's lawsuit against the Arkansas Supreme Court justices.
Griffen was photographed on a cot outside the governor's mansion last year
wearing an anti-death penalty button and surrounded by people holding placards
opposing executions. Earlier that day, Griffen blocked the state from using a
lethal injection drug over claims that the state had misled the manufacturer.
The state Supreme Court prohibited Griffen from handling any execution-related
cases following the demonstration.
The court's 1-page order did not elaborate on the ruling. The three-judge panel
in July said Arkansas had "compelling interests" in protecting the public
perception of an impartial judiciary.
Griffen has argued that his disqualification from hearing such cases violated
his constitutional rights. His attorney, Mike Laux, said he planned to appeal
to the U.S. Supreme Court. He said a 2002 ruling from the high court found that
preserving the "appearance" of judicial impartiality isn't a compelling state
interest.
"Here, there is zero evidence of bias in any of Judge Griffen's rulings and
none was presented to the court," Laux said. "Thus, by elevating 'appearances'
to this stature, the 8th Circuit respectfully got it wrong, and we have begun
preparing papers to seek relief from the high court."
A disciplinary panel last week said it wouldn't dismiss an ethics complaint
against Griffen over the demonstration. That case now heads to the state's
Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission, which could recommend Griffen's
suspension or removal from the bench if it finds the judge violated rules of
conduct.
(source: Associated Press)
MISSOURI:
Sister of murder victim asks Supreme Court to reject Bucklew appeal
The sister of the man killed by death-row inmate Russell Bucklew is asking the
U.S. Supreme Court to end the "perpetual litigation" of his appeals and give
his victims and their families closure by allowing his sentence be carried out.
Melissa Sanders is the sister of Michael Sanders, who was murdered by Bucklew
in March 1996 in Cape Girardeau County. She and victim-advocacy group Arizona
Voice for Crime Victims have filed a friend of the court brief arguing
Bucklew's now 2 decades of appeals have caused immeasurable harm to his victims
and their families.
Bucklew is asking the high court to declare that an execution by lethal
injection would be cruel and unusual punishment. He has a disease that causes
blood-filled tumors susceptible to rupture, and his attorneys argue the
pentobarbital used in executions would cause complications.
Sanders, and victim advocates filing the brief, argue Bucklew???s years of
appeals following his sentencing by a Boone County jury -- the case was moved
here on a change of venue -- are attempts to manipulate the courts and have
exacerbated the suffering of his victims and their families.
"Bucklew's violent crimes exacted an unspeakably cruel toll on his victims and
their families," the filing states. "But that was just the beginning of their
suffering. Bucklew has pursued a manipulative, dilatory litigation strategy
that has robbed his surviving victims of even the smallest measure of closure
and peace."
Bucklew's murder of Sanders and abduction of victim Stephanie Ray on March 21,
1996 took place with 4 children present. 2 of those children were Sanders'
sons, who joined the amicus ask the death sentence be carried out so they might
find closure.
John Michael Sanders was 6-years-old when Bucklew forced his way in and shot
his father dead. Bucklew then took a shot at John Michael and missed before
abducting Stephanie Ray in front of her 2 daughters. He then tortured and raped
Ray repeatedly before a shootout with the state highway patrol ended in his
capture.
John Michael's younger brother Zach struggles with the events of that night,
one of the first memories for the then 4-year-old, according to the amicus.
Michael's father Jerry, according to the brief, has suffered due to delays in
Bucklew's sentence being carried out, as have the parents of Ray, who Bucklew
assaulted in their home after escaping jail while awaiting trial.
"Not surprisingly, the academic literature confirms what the experiences of
families like the Sanders makes painfully clear," the brief states. "Long after
the immediate loss and physical trauma are over, crime victims and their loved
ones continue to suffer from psychological wounds that refuse to heal. Courts
frequently overlook the ways in which delayed proceedings compound that harm
and exacerbate the initial injuries victims suffer."
The filing states Bucklew has also used his disease to manipulate the appeals
process. He knew in 2008 his disease might provide some basis for a challenge
to the state's execution method, but did not use it as the basis of an appeal
at that time, the attorneys wrote.
"Yet despite his obvious awareness of a possible as applied challenge based on
his condition, Bucklew refused for years to bring such a challenge," the brief
states. "Instead, he brought or joined a series of facial challenges - always
ensuring that his as-applied challenge was at the ready for later use."
Bucklew did not bring his Eighth Amendment-based challenge until May 9, 2014, 2
weeks before his execution date. The U.S. Supreme Court granted a stay pending
resolution in the lower courts.
"Having held that challenge in reserve for years, Bucklew was able to secure a
stay of execution from this (Supreme) Court while Missouri's other capital
defendants could not, and he staved off dismissal of his new as applied claims
despite the dismissal of the other defendants' facial challenges," the filing
states.
The case was sent back to the lower courts and the Eighth Circuit Court of
Appeals approved Bucklew's execution in March. However, Bucklew then filed a
petition in the U.S. Supreme Court challenging the Eighth Circuit decision.The
Supreme Court again blocked the execution and agreed it would hear the case.
"For more than 2 decades, the pain and grief suffered by Michael Sanders'
family - including his 2 boys who watched their father die at Bucklew's hands -
has been compounded by the interminable delays in executing Bucklew's sentence.
Although there is no doubt that Bucklew murdered Michael Sanders - and
assaulted, kidnapped, and raped Stephanie Ray - their families continue to
await justice and closure," the brief states.
'And they are not alone. Across the nation, victims suffer immeasurable harm
from decades-long delays in executing sentences - delays that rob victims'
families of even a modicum of peace and closure."
A number of death penalty opponents, including a group of former corrections
officers, and civil rights advocacy organizations are also opposing Bucklew's
death penalty. The case is set for argument Nov. 6.
(source: Columbia Daily Tribune)
NEBRASKA:
Drug companies drop lawsuit to keep Nebraska from using their products in
executions
2 pharmaceutical manufacturers will suspend their legal fight to prevent
Nebraska from using their products in lethal injection executions.
Fresenius Kabi filed a notice Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the
voluntary dismissal of a lawsuit that unsuccessfully tried to keep Nebraska
from using drugs that the company believed were its in the Aug. 14 execution of
Carey Dean Moore. Sandoz Inc. withdrew a motion to intervene in the same
lawsuit.
Both companies made a late attempt to keep the state from going ahead with
Moore's execution, arguing that they would suffer serious financial harm if
their products were linked to a lethal injection.
Nebraska carried out its 1st lethal injection using diazepam, fentanyl,
cisatracurium and potassium chloride. Fresenius Kabi presented evidence that
the potassium chloride was its product, while Sandoz argued that the
cisatracurim could have been made at one of its plants.
Lawyers with the state argued that prison officials obtained the drugs
legitimately, and the state refused to halt the execution.
The state's supply of potassium chloride will expire Friday, and the
cisatracurium expires Oct. 31. Although prison officials have said they are
working to obtain fresh supplies, they also recently said they have no
immediate source to replace the drugs.
Like many drug companies, Fresenius Kabi and Sandoz require their suppliers to
sign contracts preventing the sale of their products for use in capital
punishment.
Just days before the execution, Senior U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf denied
a restraining order sought by Fresenius Kabi. The judge said he would not
frustrate the will of Nebraska voters, 61 % of whom voted in 2016 to overturn a
legislative repeal of capital punishment.
The judge's ruling was upheld on appeal by the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals. Company officials decided not to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Moore, 60, was put to death with the 4-drug combination after spending 38 years
on death row. He was convicted of the 1979 slayings of Omaha cabdrivers Reuel
Van Ness and Maynard Helgeland.
Nebraska had gone 21 years between executions. The last one was carried out
with the electric chair before the method was ruled unconstitutional in the
state.
(source: Omaha World-Herald)
******************************
Death penalty opinions based on resource scarcity and evolution
Public opinion about the death penalty is largely based on resource scarcity
and evolution, according to a new international study by researchers at the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Hamilton College.
Assistant professors of psychology Ashley Votruba from UNL and Keelah Williams
from Hamilton College discovered a link between per-capita income levels and
public opinion about the utilization of the the death penalty, as reported in
an article by Nebraska Today.
Participants in Votruba's study were shown two different scenes with images and
descriptions that either indicated a strong or weak economy. The participants
were then asked to take a survey on what their opinions of the death penalty.
"In 2 experiments, resource availability perceptions were manipulated for
participants to see if perceived scarcity would lead to more support for the
death penalty - and it did," Votruba said.
Her study indicated support for the death penalty goes beyond political or
religious affiliations as well. Public perception of the death penalty largely
has to do with evolutionary psychology, rather than personally held beliefs,
Votruba said.
"Who supports and who does not support the death penalty is often thought of as
culturally, religiously or politically based," she said. "Our findings indicate
that the effects of resource availability - or a good economy versus a bad
economy - on death penalty attitudes go above and beyond effects of
socioeconomic background or political affiliation."
Votruba's study reveals that perceptions about the availability of resources
and an individual's decision making skills are biologically intertwined.
Environmental conditions affect the human psyche whether or not people are
conscious of its influence, she said.
"From our understanding of evolutionary psychology, we know that the
environment matters, even though people may not be conscious of how it is
affecting their decisions," Votruba said.
Votruba and William's research is backed up by international data that
demonstrates a link between nations with lower human development and their
likelihood of having the death penalty or not.
(source: The Daily Nebraskan)
**************************************
Transparency died in Nebraska Aug. 10, 2018
Aug. 10, 2018 is the day transparency died in Nebraska. So, while many of you
were complaining about POTUS or Congress, here's what happened in Lincoln on
that day that should be a bigger concern. A federal judge ruled that the state
can kill one of its citizens despite the protests of a drug company that didn't
want its products used for such purposes. And, he said, the state doesn't have
to reveal where it got the drugs in the first place.
In Lancaster County District Court, a judge ruled that a legislative committee
cannot exercise legal rights granted to it and subpoena a state official to
answer questions about the aforementioned drug protocol.
In doing so, the judge sided with what's believed to be a 1st-ever lawsuit from
the state Attorney General against the Legislature. The Legislature's special
legal counsel, retired state Supreme Court Justice William Connolly, said it
was the 1st he's seen in some 50 years of practice.
Do I have your attention yet?
That's the death of transparency. The courts just gave state government the
right to do things in secret. No disclosure. "We don't have to answer your
stinking questions."
But wait, there's more. Aug. 14, the day the state killed death row inmate
Carey Dean Moore, it took 29 minutes from the first injection to the
pronouncement of death. The curtain separating the witnesses from the death
chamber was closed for 14 minutes.
Thus, whether or not the execution of Moore with a unique set of drugs went
smoothly has been left to speculation.
Members of the media who witnessed Moore's death by lethal injection described
his reactions to the drugs as rapid and heaving breaths, coughing, gradual
reddening of the face and hands, and then a purple cast to the skin.
About 15 minutes into the procedure, about a minute after Moore's eyelids
appeared to open slightly, Corrections Director Scott Frakes, who was in the
room with the condemned prisoner, said something into his radio and the
curtains closed for the media witnesses. The curtains did not open again for 14
minutes, 6 minutes after Lancaster County Attorney Pat Condon pronounced Moore
dead.
The curtain closing is significant since it hindered transparency and true
reporting of the effects of the drugs. One of the media witnesses, Brent Martin
of Nebraska Radio Network, said in Missouri, where he witnessed 13 executions,
the curtain was open the entire time of the execution until the declaration of
death.
Longtime death penalty opponent Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha likened the 14
minutes to the problematic 18.5 missing minutes from the White House secret
tapes during the Nixon-Watergate era. You can bet the topic will come up
numerous times during the next legislative session. And well it should.
Robert Dunham, executive director of the national Death Penalty Information
Center, said what happened in Nebraska was the least transparent of any
execution in recent times. "Nobody drops the curtain so that you cannot see the
moments when the prisoner dies," he told the Lincoln Journal Star.
(source: Opinion, J.L. Schmidt, a registered Independent, is the Nebraska Press
Association's statehouse correspondent----Kearney Hub)
COLORADO:
Colorado capital punishment: Could Christopher Watts face the death penalty?
If the Weld County District Attorney makes the call, a jury could decide if the
Colorado man accused of killing his pregnant wife and 2 daughters faces the
death penalty if convicted of the crimes.
Christopher Watts, 33, is accused of killing his wife, 34-year-old Shanann, and
daughters, 4-year-old Bella and 3-year-old Celeste. He has been formally
charged with 9 felonies: 3 counts of 1st-degree murder, 2 counts of 1st-degree
murder of a person under the age of 12 while being in a position of trust, 1
count of unlawful termination of a pregnancy and 3 counts of tampering with a
deceased body.
During a press conference Aug. 20 announcing the official charges against
Watts, Weld County District Attorney Michael Rourke said his office had not
made a decision on whether to seek the death penalty.
"(It's) way too early to have that conversation," Rourke said.
Here's what Rourke and his office will likely be weighing as the case moves
forward:
Does the case against Christopher Watts qualify for the death penalty?
Watts has been charged with 9 felonies, 5 of which are Class 1 felonies, the
most severe type of crime.
In Colorado, the prosecution may seek the death penalty for Class 1 felonies -
which include things like 1st-degree murder and treason - if they are able to
prove at least 1 aggravating factor in the case and prove any aggravating
factors outweigh any mitigating factors.
The district attorney's office has 63 days after Watts' arraignment, where
he'll plead guilty or not guilty, to file a statement of intent to seek the
death penalty.
Watts' arraignment hasn't been scheduled yet.
When a district attorney seeks the death penalty, the jury must first find the
defendant guilty of the qualifying charge(s).
Then, in a separate sentencing hearing, the same jury must unanimously agree
that the defendant should receive the death penalty.
During that sentencing hearing, the jury will listen to arguments on
aggravating and mitigating factors for the defendant as described under state
law.
Mitigating factors include any evidence presented that could show cause for a
lesser sentence. These include things like age, mental status or emotional
state when the crime was committed, among others.
Aggravating factors are any circumstances that increase the severity of the
crime. Aggravating factors include, for example, intentionally killing an
on-duty police officer or elected official, killing a pregnant woman or child
under the age of 12, committing the crime for monetary gain, intentionally
killing 2 or more individuals, among others.
If jurors unanimously agree that the aggravating factors outweigh the
mitigating factors, then they could choose the death penalty. But, if they
believe that the mitigating factors outweigh the aggravating ones or they can't
come to a unanimous decision, then the defendant would face life in prison
without the possibility of parole.
History of capital punishment in Colorado
Capital punishment was reinstated in Colorado in 1975, but since then only 1
person has been sentenced to death. Gary Davis, who was convicted of murder and
rape, was executed by the state in 1997.
Since then, there have been a few notable cases where the state sought the
death penalty, but the jury in the case returned a life sentence.
After a lengthy trial in 2015, James Holmes was sentenced to life in prison
without the possibility of parole for a 2012 movie theater shooting in Aurora
that killed 12 people and injured dozens of others. In that case, the jury
could not reach a unanimous decision on the death penalty.
There are 3 people on death row in Colorado right now:
Nathan Dunlap, who was convicted in the shooting deaths of 4 people in a Chuck
E. Cheese in 1993.
Mario Owenswas sentenced to death in 2008 for killing Javad Marshall-Fields and
his fiancee Vivian Wolfe, who were both prosecution witnesses in a murder trial
involving Owens.
Robert Ray was convicted of ordering the killings of Marshall-Fields and Wolfe,
who were set to testify against Ray and his co-defendant, Owens, in the
shooting death of Gregory Vann.
All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in court. Arrests and charges are
merely accusations by law enforcement until, and unless, a suspect is convicted
of a crime.
(source: coloradoan.com)
CALIFORNIA:
Today in History: Murderous couple sentenced to death----The couple was
convicted of the murder of 2 women 3 years prior to their sentencing.
Cynthia Coffman and James Marlow were sentenced to death in San Bernardino,
California on this day in 1989 for the 1986 murders of Corinna Novis and Lynel
Murray.
Coffman first met Marlow in May 1986, just after he was released from prison.
Marlow, a career criminal, had been locked up for stealing his 6th wife's car.
An earlier stint in Folsom prison had earned him the nickname of 'The Folsom
Wolf'. Coffman and Marlow hit it off so fast that within weeks they were
travelling the country together.
In late July 1986, Marlow and Coffman were married in Tennessee. As a wedding
gift, Coffman received a tattoo on her butt that read 'Property of the Folsom
Wolf'. The couple moved back West, sponging off relatives until they made it to
California in October.
On 7 November, 1986, in Redlands, California, Corinna Novis disappeared from an
ATM. Just 5 days later, Lynel Murray was kidnapped from outside the dry
cleaners where she worked in Orange County.
On 11 November, Novis' chequebook was found in a dumpster along with some
papers that had Marlow's and Coffman's names on them. A lodge owner in Big Bear
City reported that they had recently checked in.
Over 100 men joined a search party that eventually caught the couple who were
hiking through the mountains in clothes that had been stolen from Murray's dry
cleaners.
Following their arrests, Coffman confessed to the murders. Coffman's attorneys
said that she loved Marlow but that he battered, brainwashed and starved her,
so she did not run from Marlow when the crime spree began.
They went on trial in July 1989, and on this day in 1989 were sentenced to
death. Coffman was the 2st woman to receive a death sentence in California
since the reinstatement of the death penalty in that state in 1977. A further
trial in 1992 convicted her of another murder, for which she received a
sentence of life imprisonment.
Both Coffman and Marlow remain on death row.
(source: roodepoortrecord.co.za)
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