Sept. 30
FLORIDA:
Sievers murder trial set to start Tuesday at the Fort Myers courthouse
In a matter of days, two of the people accused of murdering a beloved doctor
are expected to finally face justice.
Teresa Sievers was murdered 4 years ago. Mark Sievers, 51, and Jimmy Rodgers,
29, will go on trial for the murder of the doctor on Tuesday morning. If
convicted, they could face the death penalty.
Teresa’s husband, Mark, is accused of hiring Wayne Wright, who is also
suspected of hiring Jimmy to carry out the murders.
Just twenty days before her murder, Teresa told Mark his “helicoptering is
making her crazy.” She goes on to say he cares more about her than himself.
However, it is the text message that Mark sent on the morning of her murder
that is eerie. He told her, “Good morning babe. I love you.”
Teresa, 46, had the back of her head bashed in and was found face down on the
kitchen floor on June 29, 2015.
Lee County Sheriff’s Office deputies said her husband orchestrated the entire
murder. He even took out 5 insurance policies on his wife, worth a combined
total of $4 million.
Initially, the judge set a trial date for June 3, but it was backed due to
delayed DNA reports and dozens of motions that had not been sorted through yet.
In August, attorneys for Mark and Jimmy said they received 4,700 pages of
discovery from the Federal Bureau of Investigation evidence analysis report and
need more time to review them.
Mark’s attorney said they are not ready for a Tuesday trial due to the
severance motion granted to Rodgers. That means this allows him to have a
separate trial from Mark.
“Every time we come to court, we receive more and more material,” said Kathleen
Fitzgeorge, the attorney for Jimmy. “We can’t go right up to Oct. 1 wondering
if we’re going to be to be ready or not.”
“The expert may go through 2000 of those pages in a day and decide it’s
worthless,” said Bruce Kyle, the Lee County judge presiding over the case. “I
need more information; he needs to review it; we’re still set for trial. Motion
denied.”
There are many reasons why this trial is taking so long. We have also received
new details in the murder case. Mark and his attorney tried to keep the jury
from seeing extremely graphic pictures from the crime scene, but the judge
denied that motion.
(source: WINK news)
*****************
Family remembers 9-year-old Felecia Williams after jury recommends death for
her killer
A day after the jury recommended death for the man convicted of murdering
9-year-old Felicia Williams, her family is working to keep her memory alive.
"She was a great person, lovable, sweet, kind," said Jenny Brinson, her aunt.
The family gathered Sunday, sharing memories of the young girl.
"My sister was the best and she had so much to offer the world. It’s really sad
the way she left this world, but she’s in a better place you know and her
legacy will live on forever in our hearts," said her sister, Mecia Williams.
"I just want my sister to know that I love her I’m so proud of her that she put
up a good fight until the very end and that I will never ever ever forget her,"
said her sister, Charlecia Adams.
This week, a jury convicted Granville Ritchie of sexually battering and killing
Williams. The jury unanimously recommended he receive the death penalty.
Following the verdict, her mother says justice has been served.
"As long as I know he’s in that box for the rest of his life, that’s all I care
about because my daughter is up under all that dirt in a box for the rest of
her life," said Felecia Demerson on Friday.
One day later, loved ones are focused on the little girl's life.
"We're still gonna keep her name alive and we’re still gonna celebrate her. I’m
gonna celebrate her til the day I die," said Brinson.
"And I want people to remember we can prevent stuff like this from happening. I
want you all to say her name. I want you to be on the lookout I want you to
protect your neighbor’s children," said Mecia Williams.
(source: ABC News)
MISSOURI----impending execution
Death Penalty Opponents Rally to Prevent Scheduled Execution
Death penalty opponents have mobilized in an attempt to block next week’s
scheduled execution of Missouri inmate Russell Bucklew.
He’s been sentenced to death for the 1996 murder of Michael Sanders of
southeast Missouri’s Cape Girardeau. Missourians for Alternatives to the Death
Penalty, the NAACP, ACLU, and others want Governor Parson to stop Bucklew’s
execution and argue that his brain condition could cause him to suffer a cruel
death.
Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty says it intends to host a
watch party for Becklew. They say they will mourn when he dies or rejoice if
Gov. Parson spares him.
Russell Bucklew also severely attacked his ex-girlfriend and beat two of her
relatives over the heads with a hammer. Parson spokesperson Kelli Jones says
the governor has consistently supported capital punishment when merited by the
circumstances and all other legal remedies have been exhausted and when due
process has been satisfied.
(source: KTTS news)
**********************
Is Gov. Mike Parson going to force Bucklew to die gruesome death in Tuesday
execution?
Lawyers for Russell Bucklew, who is scheduled to die by lethal injection in
Missouri on Tuesday, describe him in their clemency petition as “a man of
profound Christian faith, a loyal and true friend, a caring son, and a man
repentant for his crimes.”
But you don’t have to believe that he’s a different man now — “free from his
debilitating prescription opioid addiction and steadied by the positive
influence of faith” — to know why Gov. Mike Parson should commute his death
sentence.
Nor do you have to think that the “often violent and chaotic environment” in
which Bucklew’s lawyers say he grew up changes anything.
Our editorial board supports the abolition of the death penalty. It was in
response to Bucklew’s case that we wrote last year that, “It’s long past time
to acknowledge that there are many reasons the state should stop executing
prisoners. Even for the most egregious crimes, and with no exceptions.”
But you don’t have to agree with our view to see why a grisly death at our
collective hand is a dishonorable answer to 51-year-old Bucklew’s bloody
behavior 23 years ago.
Bucklew has a rare medical condition called cavernous hemangioma, which causes
malformed blood vessels. His lawyers argue that the many tumors in his head,
nose and throat could burst and make him choke on his own blood as he’s being
put to death.
“He is likely to suffocate on his own blood for multiple minutes experiencing
excruciating pain,” said Cassandra Stubbs, ACLU Director of the Capital
Punishment Project.
If this doesn’t amount to the “cruel and unusual punishment” outlawed by the
Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, we’re not sure what would.
And whether he deserves to die a horrible death is not even the right question.
The real question is whether we deserve to have this done on our behalf.
Bucklew’s condition makes it “highly likely that the state’s protocol will
cause a visually gruesome execution that will traumatize corrections personnel
and witnesses alike,” the clemency petition says.
During a 2016 Missouri Senate debate over the death penalty, opened by a
Republican who opposes capital punishment on religious grounds, Parson said he
disagreed with his Catholic colleague: “There are cold-blooded killers out
there.”
There are, of course, and no one disputes that Bucklew was one. He was
convicted of first-degree murder in the March 1996 shooting death of
27-year-old Michael Sanders. Bucklew also kidnapped his ex-girlfriend from
Sanders’ home, raped her and shot at the Missouri State Highway Patrol officers
who came after him.
Former Cape Girardeau County Prosecutor Morley Swingle, who argued the death
penalty case, recently described Bucklew as “just a purely evil sociopath” and
a perfect example of “the reason we have the death penalty in the state of
Missouri; to deal with people like this.”
People whose death only highlights how brutal, capricous and unevenly applied
capital punishment really is?
Parson, who signed Missouri’s highly restrictive new abortion law, blocked for
now by a federal judge, frequently says that “all life is precious.” Now he has
a chance to show that he means it.
Otherwise, as the clemency petition says, “The ghastly execution process will
be observed and documented by a mix of witnesses from the state, defense and
media. The aftermath of Russell’s execution will have a lasting impact on those
present to witness the moment and will likely affect the public’s attitude
about the death penalty and, in particular, how this state carries out the
ultimate punishment.”
But we don’t have to watch a man choke on his own blood to know this execution
is wrong.
(source: Editorial Board, The Kansas City Star)
USA:
Sheriff: Arrest made in killing of SC postal worker----Announcement of arrest
made during victim’s funeral
The Williamsburg County Sheriff’s Office says an arrest has been made in
connection with the death of a Williamsburg County postal worker.
Trevor Seward, 22, has been arrested on a state murder charge in connection to
the shooting death Irene Pressley, according to the United States Postal
Inspection Service. Irene Pressley was shot Monday in Andrews as she delivered
mail.
Seward was reportedly seen shortly before the incident holding what was believe
to be an AR-15, according to the affidavit.
Multiple .223 shell casings were found near the scene on Senate Road, according
to the sheriff’s office. A fingerprint was found on a United States Postal
Service package that was recovered from the crime scene by the USPS forensics
division that was later confirmed to be that of Seward.
United States Postal Inspection Service spokesperson Jessica Adams said earlier
this week that if the person responsible for Pressley’s death is caught and
convicted, they could face a federal death penalty.
Arrest announced during funeral service
News of the arrest came on the same day as Pressley’s funeral in Andrews where
hundreds of people packed the sanctuary of Hopewell AME church Saturday. During
the funeral service, a speaker told the congregation of the arrest, prompting
cheers and praise from those who had gathered to pay their respects to
Pressley.
“She was the post office mama,” Postmaster Sharon Cameron said. “We keep her
picture as you can see. And we will honor her at that post office now and
forever.”
Friends and family say her death is a storm that has shaken the entire
community.
“An overpowering from the community, sending us cards, sending flowers,
condolences, coming in just to ask about her," Cameron said. "She was loved by
this community.”
Pressley’s sisters also spoke about her after the service.
“She loved the Lord with all of her heart and she taught us how to love each
other and how to forgive when things come up,” her sister, Elisha Hubbard said.
“I thank God for her today, I thank God for her life and how God kept her
through even a tragedy that took her life,” another of her sisters, Vernell
Oates, said.
Pressley, 64, died Monday in the Morrisonville Road area after being shot while
delivering the mail, deputies say. She worked with the U.S. Postal Service for
almost 22 years.
Since the shooting, residents of Williamsburg County placed white bows on their
mailboxes in memory of Pressley.
After the funeral, family members put Pressley to rest near her home at St.
Johns AME Church in Andrews.
(source: WBTV news)
*******************
Donald Trump Just Called For Adam Schiff To Be Put To Death, Expert Says In
Reading Of Trump’s Sunday Tweets ----In a series of tweets Sunday afternoon, as
read by one expert who has authored two books on the Trump-Russia scandal,
Donald Trump called for the death of member of Congress.
In a Sunday afternoon tweetstorm, reported earlier by The Inquisitr, Donald
Trump demanded to meet the whistleblower who filed a report against him,
accused anyone who gave information to the whistleblower of “spying,” and at
least in the interpretation of one expert who has authored two bestselling
books on the Trump-Russia scandal, called for the death of a sitting member of
Congress.
In one of his tweets, Trump singled out Adam Schiff, chair of the House
Intelligence Committee, saying, “I want Schiff questioned at the highest level
for Fraud & Treason.” The tweet echoed an statement by Trump on Thursday in
which he accused anyone who passed information to the still-unidentified
whistleblower of being a “spy” and of “treason.”
In the same remarks, Trump said that “in the old days,” the United States was
“smart with spies and treason,” adding, “we used to handle it a little
differently than we do now.” As The Inquisitr reported, his remarks appeared to
be a clear reference the death penalty, which remains on the books as the most
severe punishment for espionage — though no American has been executed by the
U.S. government as a spy since 1953.
But according to Seth Abramson, author of the books Proof of Collusion and
Proof of Conspiracy, Trump’s remarks about Schiff refer to the same penalty —
death.
“We know Trump knows the penalty for Treason, as he’s been talking about it — a
lot,” Abramson wrote on his Twitter account. “So this is terrifying.”
Abramson is not alone in finding Trump’s implied threats “terrifying.”
According to the CBS News program 60 Minutes on Sunday, reporting via the
show’s Twitter feed, the whistleblower now fears for his or her safety and has
been placed under “federal protection.”
Trump’s claims of “Fraud & Treason” against Schiff stem from Schiff’s
interpretation of Trump’s July 25 phone call with Ukraine president Volodymyr
Zelensky, in which Trump apparently attempted to pressure Zelensky into
launching a bogus “investigation” of Trump’s possible 2020 election rival Joe
Biden, in exchange for Trump allowing Ukraine to purchase defensive military
weapons.
Schiff liberally paraphrased Trump’s message to Zelensky in his opening
statement at a Thursday House Intelligence Committee hearing, which he
characterizes as “like a classic organized crime shakedown,” as seen in the
video below.
Though Schiff later described his paraphrase of Trump’s call as “parody,” Trump
in his Sunday tweets labeled Schiff’s monologue “totally inaccurate and
fraudulent” and accused Schiff of “lying to Congress,” before also saying that
Schiff should be “questioned” for “treason.”
“Trump Implies He Wants the Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence Put to Death for Investigating Him,” Abramson wrote, in his own
interpretation of Trump’s tweets.
(source: inquisitr.com)
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