[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----GA., VA.
July 19 GEORGIAexecution Execution 'worth it' for family, killer says A Spalding County man was executed Monday for the 1983 kidnapping, sexual assault and strangulation of his 2-year-old niece, whom he then dumped in nearby woods. Eddie Albert Crawford, 57, was pronounced dead at 7:49 p.m., 12 minutes after prison officials administered a lethal dose of drugs through his veins and after 20 years on death row, 2 trials and a 7-month delay since his execution was originally scheduled for December. Crawford was convicted in 1984 for the murder of 29-month-old Leslie Michelle English. After the injection, Crawford took a deep breath, gulped and yawned. His breathing grew progressively shallow before he died. In his final words, Crawford said, There hasn't been a time in the last 21 years I wouldn't have laid down my life for little Leslie. I don't remember anything. But if this will give them peace, it [the lethal injection] was well worth it. Another of Leslie's uncles, Sammy English, witnessed the execution on behalf of the family. About 25 friends and family of the girl gathered outside the prison, where they cheered and clapped as a van brought out Crawford's body after the execution. I don't think there will ever be final closure, said Peggy English Ridgeway, a cousin of Leslie's. I don't think there ever is when you lose a child. But I do think it eases the pain in their hearts. About 15 anti-death penalty demonstrators also gathered outside the prison. Lawyers for Crawford raised last-minute doubts about his guilt. Former O.J. Simpson lawyer Barry Scheck, co-director of the New York-based Innocence Project, argued unsuccessfully to have several pieces of evidence taken from the crime scene tested for the presence of DNA. But William T. McBroom, the top prosecutor for Spalding County, dismissed the appeals as a ploy to spare a guilty man's life. Crawford was connected to the girl's death by hair and carpet fibers found on her body, eyewitness statements and conflicting accounts he gave to police. Authorities say Crawford killed Leslie as revenge against her mother -- his sister-in-law -- who had spurned Crawford's sexual advance the night before the murder. The Georgia Supreme Court stopped Crawford's execution just hours before it was to be carried out last December. Crawford's lawyers were hoping a post-conviction DNA testing law passed by the Georgia General Assembly in 2003 would allow them to test a baby blanket, sheets, a pair of trousers and other items taken from the crime scene. But in June, the Supreme Court ruled that the Crawford case failed to meet one of the guidelines required by the new law: the possibility that DNA evidence could change the outcome of a guilty verdict. The court ruled that other evidence presented at Crawford's trial was enough to secure a conviction. McBroom, the prosecutor, said he has no doubts Crawford killed Leslie. McBroom said he had DNA tests done recently that matched a blood stain on a shirt worn by Crawford with DNA taken from Leslie's hair. Scheck said he was seeking new, more sophisticated DNA tests of the hairs that are not available in Georgia crime labs. He said not testing the evidence further was unconscionable. I don't know whether Eddie Crawford is guilty or innocent, Scheck said a few hours before the execution. But I do know for certain there are DNA tests that are not being performed that might demonstrate that proposition [of innocence]. Crawford becomes the 2nd condemned inmate to be put to death this year in Georgia and the 36th overall since the state resumed capital punishment in 1983. Crawford becomes the 34th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the USA and the 919th overall since America resumed executions on January 17, 1977. (sources: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Associated Press Rick Halperin) Georgia man executed for 1983 rape and murder of 2-year-old niece Eddie Albert Crawford was executed by injection Monday for kidnapping, raping and murdering his 2-year-old niece in 1983. Crawford, 57, was pronounced dead at 7:49 p.m. after 20 years on death row, 2 trials and a 7-month delay since his execution was originally scheduled for December. Prosecutors argued at trial he sneaked into the house and kidnapped the girl after her mother - his sister-in-law - refused to have sex with him. Crawford claims he blacked out after heavy drinking and doesn't remember what happened. The U.S. Supreme Court wouldn't stop the execution earlier Monday, although 3 of the court's more liberal members supported giving Crawford a stay to conduct DNA testing of hairs found on the girl's body. An application for a stay of execution and petition for rehearing was denied by the court at 6:59 p.m., just before the scheduled time of the execution. Another request for a stay was denied on a 5-4 vote at 7:35 p.m. (source: Associated Press) VIRGINIAimpending execution Peninsula
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----worldwide
July 20 PAKISTAN: Pakistani gets death sentence for murder The Southern Bangkok Criminal Court yesterday sentenced a Pakistani man to death and another to life in prison after they were found guilty of the murder of an Indian businessman more than 3 years ago. A third defendant was acquitted due to lack of evidence. Mohammed Yusuf, 49, received the death sentence on charges of murder and attempted murder. A second defendant, Moham-med Salim, 41, was also sentenced to death but his punishment was commuted to life imprisonment after he pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with the court. Sher Khan, 40, the 3rd defendant, was acquitted because of lack of evidence. The killing of Michael de Souza, an Indian jeweller, in September 2000 was linked to a gang war with roots in the Bombay underworld. The defendants were accused of storming into de Souza's Bangkok apartment and shooting him in an attack aimed at his guest, notorious Bombay gangster Chota Rajan. De Souza's wife, Sangeeta Sharma, was also injured in the shooting. Rajan was seriously injured in the shooting, and later escaped from a Bangkok hospital. He is wanted by Thai police for illegal entry into the country and the use of a false passport. He is also wanted in India for a range of crimes including extortion and murder. Rajan's associates blamed the attack on a rival Indian gangster, Dawood Ibrahim, who directs his Bombay gang from Karachi, Pakistan, and Dubai, United Arab Emirates, according to AP. Rajan once was the right-hand man of Ibrahim, but later broke away and set up his gang. (source: The Nation) BANGLADESH: Man cashes in on in-law's death sentence Abdus Sattar's death sentence in the Yasmin rape and murder case has put in tatters the life of his 18-year-old daughter Salma Akhter who is facing a divorce threat from her in-laws. Constable Abdus Sattar, Sub-Inspector (SI) Mominul Islam and police-van driver Amrita Lal Day await execution at Rangpur Central Jail next month. Yasmin, 14, was raped and murdered in Dinajpur in 1995, an incident that sparked violent mass protest in the district and elsewhere. Taking advantage of the precarious condition of Sattar's family, Salma's husband is now demanding Tk 1 lakh in dowry and threatening her with divorce for non-compliance. What is my fault? Salma sobbed to newspersons during their visit to her parents' home in Chandkhana Hazipara village in Domar upazila. She is now with her mother there. They are now trying to cash in on our distressed mental and social condition, she said. Salma was married to Abdur Rouf, son of Mofizuddin of Dhakkhin Balapara village in Dimla upazila in June last year. Her grandfather and relatives arranged the marriage. She said her in-laws knew about her father's death sentence during the marriage. Her octogenarian grandfather Kofibur Rahman and uncle Abdul Hamid said some of Abdur Rouf's relatives led by Tabibur Rahman, former chairman of Balapara Union Parishad, visited them several times in recent days for negotiation. They are demanding Tk 1 lakh in dowry or to get divorced. We are now penniless after running Sattar's case for long by selling land, cattle and trees, Kofibur said. (source: The Daily Star) LIBYA/BULGARIA: Medics' Verdicts Due to Mistranslation Libyan Court has neglected scientific facts on the account of mistranslated evidence when ruling the death sentences of HIV-infection charged medics, according to the Nature magazine. The science magazine cites Prof Luc Montagnier, who claimed that the verdicts are based on evidence mistranslating recombinant from English into Arabic. Alongside his colleague Prof Vittorio Colizzi, the AIDS discoveror has prepared a report as part of the evidence in the AIDS trial. Prof Montagnier has used the term recombinant to describe natural matching of natural viruses, but Arabic translation said they were genetically modified, thus suggesting human intervention. Earlier in July the Benghazi HIV case was presented at the largest ever International AIDS Conference held in Bangkok. The forum's 17,000 delegates were introduced in detail into the trial, which has so far resulted in death sentences for 5 Bulgarian nurses and one Palestinian doctor. The verdicts are being appealed by boosted defense team. (source: Novinite)
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----TEXAS
July 20 TEXAS: Stays linked to new appeal strategies 9 Texas killers' executions have been postponed this year, raising hopes among capital punishment opponents that new and successful avenues for appeal may be gaining momentum. Although the Texas Attorney General's Office does not keep annual statistics about stays of execution, it confirmed that all of the cases in question involved issues of mental retardation or the age of the defendant at the time of the crime. Both issues have gained traction at the highest judicial levels. Jim Harrington, director of the Texas Civil Rights Project, an organization of lawyers who pursue civil rights cases, said he believes the recent spate of stays does not mean the end of the death penalty in Texas, but perhaps a mellowing in its application. The Supreme Court found in 2002 that executing the mentally retarded amounted to cruel and unusual punishment, an Eighth Amendment violation. Attention to the issue was heightened in June, when the Supreme Court reversed a decision by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, saying a Texas death row inmate's claims of mental retardation were not considered. In an opinion written by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, she accused the 5th Circuit of paying lip service to the principles of the appellate process and not following Supreme Court guidelines. Meanwhile, the high court is expected to hear arguments this fall in a Missouri case that could determine whether executing people who were under the age of 18 at the time of the crime is constitutional. On Monday, Canada, Mexico and other U.S. allies asked the Supreme Court to end such executions, arguing that they violate widely accepted human rights norms and the minimum standards of human rights set forth by the United Nations. The Supreme Court set 16 as the minimum age for imposing the death penalty in 1989, but the Missouri case could reflect what some consider a shifting philosophy, illustrated by 31 states that have abolished executions for juvenile killers. Texas is not one of them. However, many states appear to be holding off on such executions until hearing the high court's opinion. Tom Kelley, a spokesman for the Texas Attorney General's Office, noted that Texas joined Alabama in its amicus filing in the Missouri case. In that document, Alabama's attorney general argued that there is no magic in the age 18 and that some teenagers do understand the wrongfulness of their actions. A teenager who plots like an adult, kills like an adult, and covers up like an adult should be held responsible for his choices like an adult, the brief states. In Texas, 27 of the 456 prisoners on death row committed their crimes at the age of 17. An untold number could be considered mentally retarded, although a Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokeswoman acknowledged that some inmates who do not fit the description have used the issue to their advantage. It's a shame because there are people who can genuinely make an argument, Michelle Lyons said. It's not good when people abuse the system. Not all claims of mental defect are successful. In May, Texas executed Kelsey Patterson, 50, a paranoid schizophrenic who murdered a Palestine businessman and his secretary in 1992. In a highly unusual move, the Texas pardons board recommended clemency but Gov. Rick Perry rejected it. Overall, however, the pace of lethal injections in the nation's most active death penalty state appears to have slowed. So far, 10 people have been put to death in Texas; last year, a total of 24 were executed. Anzel Keon Jones was 17 when he killed a Paris, Texas, woman and sexually assaulted her mother. His execution was stayed Feb. 25 after Jones' attorney, Richard Burr, argued that the Constitution forbids executing criminals under the age of 18 as cruel and unusual punishment. Burr said teenage convicts could be punished in other ways. Anzel Jones was 17 at the time. His brain wasn't fully developed. He was confused, compulsive and he made a bad decision, Burr said. He will spend the rest of his life in prison. That's harsh punishment. J. Kerye Ashmore, an assistant district attorney in Grayson County who prosecuted Jones, said most Paris residents would be outraged if the punishment does not get carried out, noting that Jones cut a woman's throat in front of her mother, sexually assaulted an 80-year-old woman, cut her throat and set her house on fire. Ashmore said he has no hesitation about putting Jones to death. His age was taken into consideration. It's acceptable in our state if a person is 17 and they did something, he said. Also this year, one death penalty sentence was commuted to life in prison after the defendant was deemed retarded. And Houston prosecutors withdrew requests for execution dates for Efrain Perez and Raul Omar Villarreal, both 28, because both were 17 when they kidnapped, raped and strangled two high school girls. The prosecution is awaiting the high court's decision
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----ARK., IOWA, N.Y., CALIF., VA.
July 20 ARKANSAS: High Court Case Highlights Death Penalty for Juveniles A U.S. Supreme Court case involving executions of criminals who committed crimes as juveniles could affect Arkansas law. The case has focused worldwide attention on a practice some world leaders say violates the minimum standards of human rights. The high court has agreed to hear a case from Missouri, where the state Supreme Court declared juvenile executions unconstitutional last year. Arkansas is among the American states where convicts who killed as juveniles can be executed. In Arkansas, convicts who were as young as 14 when the capital crime occured can be put to death. In 2001 and again last year, the Arkansas Legislature rejected changes in current law. The only other sentence for a capital crime in Arkansas is life in prison without the possibility of parole. (source: KAIT News) IOWAfederal death penalty trial Iowa Prepares for Death Penalty Case On a fall day in 2000, FBI agents following a jailhouse tip began digging in the gentle hills of northern Iowa near Mason City. The site would yield a terrible discovery. Beneath the ground lay the bodies of four people - including a federal informant and 2 girls. The remains showed signs of beating and torture; 2 were bound with duct tape, socks stuffed in their mouths. The following month, another body was unearthed nearby. The man prosecutors blame for the murders goes on trial next month. Iowa doesn't have capital punishment, but because the case is being tried in federal court, the death penalty is in play - making it the state's first death penalty case in more than 40 years. Expected to last three months, it could also be one of the longest in state history and the most expensive. There's no doubt this is going to be a big case here, said David McCord, a Drake University law professor who teaches death penalty law. We don't have that many mass murders in Iowa. Dustin Honken, 35, a convicted drug kingpin, is accused of the execution-style slaying of the three adults and two children in 1993. Honken, currently serving a 27-year prison sentence for a 1997 drug conviction, has pleaded innocent to the federal murder charges. Prosecutors cited several reasons why they believe Honken should be put to death. The killings involved torture or serious physical abuse and substantial planning, prosecutors said. They also mention the grief that the victims' families have suffered. Days before a 1993 court appearance on drug charges, Honken and girlfriend Angela Johnson set out looking for Greg Nicholson, a street dealer turned federal snitch who had agreed to tell a grand jury about Honken's multistate methamphetamine operation, police said. That July night, Nicholson, along with his girlfriend Lori Duncan and her 2 young daughters - 10-year-old Kandi and 6-year-old Amber - vanished. Duncan and her daughters were apparently the victims of circumstance, having allowed Nicholson to move into their home a week after he betrayed Honken to authorities. Together with Nicholson, they were shot with a semiautomatic pistol and buried near a grove of trees. Their lives were snuffed out by a person ... leaving us numb and staggered with disbelief, the Rev. Jim Stiles said during a funeral service July 11 for Duncan and her daughters, two weeks after a judge released the remains for burial. A few months after the murders, another federal informant, 32-year-old Terry DeGeus, disappeared. On Nov. 5, the day DeGeus was last seen, witnesses say he dropped his daughter off at his mother's before meeting with Johnson, a former lover. When they were reported missing, nobody around here expected them to be found killed, said Kevin Pals, who worked the case as a police officer. But after the bodies were found, the case became far more important to people here. The impact was one of shock. Nobody believed that this sort of thing could happen here in northern Iowa. Without DeGeus and Nicholson as witnesses, drug charges against Honken were dropped. Honken was a suspect in the murders from the start. But lacking bodies, investigators couldn't pin the crimes on him - at least until Johnson allegedly began sharing details of the slayings with a fellow jail prisoner. Johnson allegedly gave inmate Robert McNeese hand-drawn maps showing the location of the graves and details of how the bodies were disposed. She hoped McNeese would pass it on to another inmate serving a life sentence willing to confess to the murders, prosecutors said. Johnson, 40, also faces the death penalty when she goes on trial next year on 5 counts of aiding and abetting in the slayings. U.S. District Judge Mark Bennett has approved using the maps as evidence in Honken's trial. Death penalty experts say the final legal bill for the 2 trials likely could exceed $2.5 million after the costs of any appeals are calculated, making them the most expensive criminal cases ever argued in Iowa. Honken also will
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----ALA., USA
July 20 ALABAMA: Alabama AG brief opposes juvenile death penalty ban A U.S. Supreme Court brief filed by Alabama's attorney general argues that the death penalty should not be banned for juveniles. Alabama Attorney General Troy King submitted his friend-of-the court brief in April and uses as examples seven Alabamians sentenced to death for crimes committed when they were 16 or 17. King argues that the Alabama cases leave little room for doubt that at least some adolescent killers most assuredly have the mental and emotional wherewithal to plot, kill and cover up in cold blood. They should not evade full responsibility for their actions by the serendipity of chronological age, King wrote. His brief is filed in Roper v. Simmons, a Missouri case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. The state of Missouri appealed the case after the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that executing people who committed their crimes as juveniles was unconstitutionally cruel. Groups arguing against executing juveniles include Nobel Peace Prize winners, the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the Child Welfare League of America, 48 nations including the European Union, dozens of religious groups and the American Bar Association, which filed their own brief in the case Monday. Older adolescents behave differently than adults because their minds operate differently, their emotions are more volatile and their brains are anatomically immature, the psychiatrists argued. Executing adolescents does not serve the recognized purposes of the death penalty. Offering grisly details of children being stabbed, King gave as his first example the Shelby County case against Mark Duke, convicted of killing his father, his father's girlfriend and her young daughters. Duke was 16 at the time. Alabama is one of 19 states that permit the execution of juveniles, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. 5 of those states - Delaware, Texas, Utah, Oklahoma and Virginia - signed on to King's brief. With 14 juvenile offenders on death row, Alabama has more than any state except Texas. The state has not executed a juvenile since 1961. Various problems in the cases against the juveniles have dragged some of the appeals out for decades. Timothy Davis, one of the convicts listed by King, has been locked up since 1978, when he was 17. He is now 43. All juvenile offenders executed in Alabama have been blacks convicted of crimes against whites, said Victor Streib, a professor at Ohio Northern University who tracks juvenile death penalty cases. In his brief, King details several crimes in which there were multiple victims, including cases of young children and elderly people killed by teens. He writes that a constitutional rule taking capital punishment off the table for all such offenders would have no footing in the real world, it should be rejected. (source: The Birmingham News) USA: Advocacy Groups Urge High Court to Ban Death Penalty for Juveniles More than a dozen Nobel Prize winners, 50 foreign countries, former U.S. diplomats, the nation's largest doctors' organization and several child advocacy groups urged the Supreme Court on Monday to ban executions of individuals who committed murder when they were juveniles. The pleas came in friend-of-the-court briefs filed in Roper vs. Simmons, a case the Supreme Court will consider in October. The advocacy groups contend that the death penalty for juveniles violates evolving standards of decency, serves no legitimate purpose and is excessive in light of a growing body of evidence showing that the mental capacity of juveniles is limited. Executing juvenile offenders violates minimum standards of decency now adopted by nearly every other nation in the world, including even autocratic regimes with poor human rights records, said Thomas R. Pickering, a career diplomat and former undersecretary of State for political affairs who served in Democratic and Republican administrations. Countries whose human rights records are criticized by the United States have no incentive to improve their records when the United States fails to meet the most fundamental, baseline standards, said the brief filed on behalf of Nobel laureates, including former President Carter, former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, Polish labor leader Lech Walesa and the Dalai Lama. Five nations - the United States, China, Congo, Iran and Pakistan - have executed juvenile offenders in the last 4 years, according to the brief submitted on behalf of the diplomats. In no other area of human rights does the United States consider these nations to be our equals, the brief said. The Supreme Court last considered the issue in 1989, when it ruled that it was permissible to execute a person who had committed murder at the age of 16 or 17. The court earlier had rejected the death penalty for murderers 15 or younger. The high court is being asked to
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news------NEVADA
July 20 NEVADAnew execution date New order signed for Nevada execution A new warrant was signed Tuesday for the execution of Terry Jess Dennis, convicted of strangling a woman in Reno. Dennis, who was scheduled to die by lethal injection Thursday, had his date with death delayed when Washoe District Judge Janet Berry last week ruled the initial execution warrant was flawed. Berry signed a new order setting the execution at the Nevada State Prison in Carson City for the week of Aug. 9. Dennis was not present in the courtroom at his own request, lawyers said. Dennis was convicted of killing Ilona Strumanis, 51, an Eastern bloc immigrant who he had recently met. The 2 spent several days in a motel room on a beer-and-vodka binge. He told police he strangled Strumanis with a belt in March 1999 after she made fun of him when he was unable to perform sexually and questioned his claim that he killed enemy soldiers while serving as an Air Force clerk in Saigon. Dennis, who has a history of alcoholism, mental illness and failed suicide attempts, has withdrawn all his appeals and said he'd rather die then spend the rest of his life behind bars. A psychiatrist's report said depression and self-hatred prompted Dennis to refuse any more appeals. Michael Pescetta, assistant federal public defender, has appealed the case to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. In a brief filed with court, Pescetta argued the execution would amount to state assisted suicide, given Dennis' previous failed efforts on his own But the attorney general's office countered that Dennis has been found mentally competent by the courts, and his past mental illness is irrelevant. That appeal is pending. (source: Associated Press)
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----CALIF., KAN.
July 20 CALIFORNIA: Detective: Unable to rule out other suspects in Peterson case, still investigating alibis Scott Peterson's defense lawyer on Tuesday continued to shift the case to other potential suspects he claims could have killed Laci Peterson, but authorities failed to check out fully. Detective Ray Coyle already testified that Modesto police investigating Laci Peterson's disappearance questioned hundreds of registered sex offenders and parolees, but decided not to follow up even though they couldn't verify many of their alibis. Atttorney Mark Geragos repeatedly got the detective to acknowledge that police closed the cases on many of the offenders, marking the files complete, without eliminating them as suspects. Holding a list of names in his hand, Geragos asked the detective about several sex offenders with sketchy alibis, including one possible suspect whom Coyle said confessed to the crime. The man's admission was discounted because he had severe mental problems and wasn't on medication, prosecutor Rick Distaso later pointed out. He said he murdered a female named Lisa Peterson, right? ... He said the only witness was the dog ... He said he broke her neck? defense attorney Mark Geragos asked Coyle when he first took the stand Monday. Yes, Coyle replied. Geragos continued to tick off more names Tuesday as he worked to create reasonable doubt in the jurors' minds that Peterson killed his pregnant wife. Under questioning by prosecutors, Coyle said many of the offenders' stories -- more than 51 % -- checked out, though that didn't necessarily eliminate them as suspects. A lot of them had alibis, Coyle said. Why was the list created? Distaso asked. What was the goal? It was sort of like 'Round up the usual suspects.' It was a starting point. ... We had really not much to go on in the beginning and it was suggested that something of this type could have been done by a person who was a convicted felon or a sex predator, Coyle said. He added that efforts to track down the offenders did not dilute authorities' suspicions that Peterson was the killer. Distaso also pointed out that a number of the offenders were elderly, dead, sick or incarcerated. Coyle was originally called by the prosecution last week to testify about the extensive search for evidence at Peterson's home, but Geragos quickly turned the witness in favor of the defense with questions about the sex offenders and parolees who lived near the Peterson's Modesto home. The detective said Monday that after police tracked down 285 of the 309 sex offenders and parolees living in the area, they closed most of the files without ruling them out as suspects or confirming their whereabouts on Dec, 24, 2002, the night Laci Peterson was reported missing. Coyle said he was still working to track down the remaining 24 offenders. One of those contacted said he was out of state visiting his sister on that Christmas Eve, yet police were never able to substantiate his story, Coyle said. That was the extent of the investigation as far as you know? Geragos asked. Yes, Coyle said. Another registered sex offender listed his address as a homeless mission less than a mile from the Peterson home, Geragos said. He was contacted by police, but authorities were unable to verify where he had been the day Laci vanished. Didn't have any alibi so to speak, is that correct? Geragos asked. Correct, Coyle said. Did that constitute a completed investigation? Geragos prodded. Yes, Coyle replied. Prosecutors allege Peterson murdered his pregnant wife, Laci, in their Modesto home on or around Dec. 24 , 2002, then drove to San Francisco Bay and dumped the body. Peterson acknowledges being on the bay that day, but said he went fishing alone and returned to an empty home. Geragos asserts that someone else abducted and killed Laci, then framed her husband. The remains of Laci Peterson and the couple's fetus washed ashore just 2 miles from where Peterson claims he was fishing. He could face the death penalty or life without parole if convicted on the double-murder charges. Earlier Monday, Detective Henry Dodge Hendee testified under cross-examination that residue from 7 suspicious stains collected from Peterson's pickup truck were not blood, and that no incriminating evidence was found in a large tool box in the bed of the vehicle. Prosecutors allege Peterson used the tool box to conceal Laci's body during the drive from the couple's home to the bay. Geragos peppered the detective with questions about tests on other stains found in the Peterson kitchen, bedroom and on a pair of gloves taken from Peterson's truck, repeatedly asking, What were the results? Negative, Hendee replied. Hendee said a spot on the inside driver's door of Peterson's truck did test positive for blood. Peterson previously told authorities he had cut his hand and they would likely find his blood on the truck. Geragos then asked Hendee about a hair found inside the tool box,
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----VA., UTAH, OHIO
July 21 VIRGINIAimpending execution Clemency Sought for Mentally Ill Va. Killer A Hampton, Va., man who fatally shot his wife and 2-year-old son suffers from bipolar disorder and should therefore not be executed tomorrow night, his attorneys said yesterday. In their request for clemency to Virginia Gov. Mark R. Warner (D), attorneys for Mark W. Bailey said their client has faced a continuous struggle with his mental illness that was not considered by the jurors who sentenced him to death. He also deserves leniency because he served in the Navy for a decade, including during the Persian Gulf War, they said. Bailey's attorneys are asking Warner to commute his sentence to life without possibility of parole. This was really the single act of violence in his entire life and, in addition, his record of military service is described as outstanding. In the end, the question is whether we'll all be judged by our single worst act, said one of Bailey's attorneys, Robert Lee of the Virginia Capital Representation Resource Center. Bailey, 34, awoke early the morning of Sept. 10, 1998, and shot his wife, Katherine, 22, 3 times in the head with a borrowed pistol as she slept in their Hampton home, according to court records. He then twice shot their son, Nathan, as the toddler was climbing out of bed. Before leaving for work, Bailey cut the screen of a bathroom window and slashed the telephone cord in an effort to convince police that an intruder committed the killings, according to a synopsis of the case outlined in a Virginia Supreme Court opinion. Bailey initially denied any involvement in the killings, but he confessed eventually. Bailey later said he committed the crime because of his wife's infidelity, according to court records. The couple, who were first cousins once removed, had been having marital problems. Lee said Bailey's mental illness heightened his sense of despair. Tim Murtaugh, a spokesman for Virginia Attorney General Jerry W. Kilgore (R), said yesterday that his office believes the jury's sentence should be upheld. Here is a guy who murdered his wife and 2-year-old child and then took steps to make it look like a break-in had occurred. He then went to work as though nothing had happened, Murtaugh said. These are not the actions of someone who doesn't know what he's doing. But Bailey's lawyers said the Hampton jury that sentenced Bailey to death did not get a complete picture of their client's mental problems. Lee said jurors did not know that Bailey had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder by a state physician while he was awaiting trial. Bailey, a former Navy submariner, received several commendations during his naval career, Lee said, but he also had bouts of depression that were offset with manic periods. Lee also noted that there is a history of mental illness in Bailey's family. The National Gulf War Resource Center, a Silver Spring-based veterans group, also has written a letter to Warner encouraging him to commute Bailey's sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Steve Robinson, the center's executive director, said that the group is not asking to excuse Bailey's crimes but that it believes Bailey's mental illness and military service should be considered when determining the punishment. The Virginia Supreme Court and federal courts have denied Bailey's appeals. Now only the U.S. Supreme Court and Warner can intervene. If Bailey is executed, his would be the 3rd execution in Virginia this year. Sniper Makes Appeal To High Court in Va. Prince William County prosecutors never proved that John Allen Muhammad fired the bullet that killed Dean H. Meyers during the 2002 sniper rampage in the Washington area, so the trial judge should not have allowed a jury to consider the death penalty, Muhammad's attorneys argued in their appeal this week to the Virginia Supreme Court. The legal claim by Muhammad's defense team is one of 102 assignments of error raised in a 140-page brief filed late Monday in Richmond. The brief is the beginning of what could be a long appeals process that could lead to the federal court system and last for years. Muhammad, now 43, and Lee Boyd Malvo, 19, were arrested in a parked car in Frederick County after 13 people had been shot, 10 fatally, during a three-week period in October 2002. The rifle believed to have been used in all the shootings was found in the car, along with a laptop computer mapping out the locations of some of the killings. Malvo's fingerprints and skin cells were found on the rifle, and the teenager admitted firing the gun in conversations with jail guards and investigators. But Muhammad did not talk to investigators, and no physical evidence linked him to the rifle. The 2 suspects were tried separately in different counties. Prince William prosecutors called Muhammad the mastermind of the shootings, and Fairfax County prosecutors said Malvo was the triggerman. Prince William
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----worldwide
July 21 PAKISTAN: Hitmen given death for killing SSP activist An additional district and sessions judge announced the death penalty for 2 hitmen of the outlawed Sipah-i-Muhammad Pakistan (SMP) on Tuesday, for killing an activist of banned Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) in 1996. Another activist, Shah Zaman, was sentenced to life imprisonment. The court imposed a fine of Rs 0.1 million each on the 3 activists, who would have to undergo three years imprisonment if the fine was not paid. The court acquitted Provincial Parliamentary Secretary Allah Bakhsh Samtia, Nazim Union Council Malik Mushtaq Ahmed Samtia, Dr Abdul Rashid, Ijaz Ahmed Siyal and Ghulam Akbar Baloch in the same case. The proceedings of the case were held in Dera Ghazi Khans district jail. Eight assailants who belonged to the defunct SMP opened fire on members of SSP Mueed Mohsin and AshfaqAhmed alias Kaka in 1996, said court officials. Both were injured but Mueed Mohsin died. The police submitted a challan against eight people, Qamar Abbas, Munawar Abbas, Shah Zaman, Malik Allah Bakhsh Samtia, Malik Mushtaq Ahmed Samtia, Dr Abdul Rashid, Ijaz Ahmed Siyal and Ghulam Akbar Baluch. IG gives police 15 days to solve Alan Cox case: Inspector General Police Saadatullah Khan ordered SHOs of the Multan police force to solve the murder of British educationist Alan Cox and arrest the robbers who looted Bandhan Jewellers and 4 other traders, within 15 days or face immediate suspension. Former Inspector General of Police, Syed Masud Ali Shah had already transferred SP Investigation, Sikandar Hayat, because of his failure to arrest the killers of Alan Cox and appointed Khurshid Ali in his place. Intelligance agencies declared the Cox murder an act of terrorism after police failed to find any clues about the killers, 50 days after the murder. (source: Daily Times) CHINA: Main culprits of crime ring executed 4 main culprits of a 60-memberorganized crime ring were executed Tuesday in Shaoyang city, central-south China's Hunan Province. The execution was ordered in a public trial for a final appeal by the Hunan Provincial Higher People's Court with the warranty from the Supreme People's Court, said local sources. The 4 executed were Yao Zhihong, also known as Little Hongbao, who masterminded the ring, He Jianbiao, Li Zhibing and Zhou Limin. The men were convicted of crimes ranging from organizing, leading and joining the organization, to organizing prostitution or aiding murder and assault. 3 other members on the group were also given death sentences but with reprieves. The remaining 53 members were sentenced to jail terms ranging from one year to life. The 1st trial was held on December 3, 2003 and, afterwards, 36 criminals members of the group, including Yao, appealed to the higher court. The verdict of the first court was upheld. The crime group took shape in the latter half of 1997. (source: Xinhuanet News) ZIMBABWE: 'Mercenaries' trial to open in Zimbabwe The trial of 70 men accused of plotting to topple the government of oil-rich Equatorial Guinea is due to begin in a makeshift courtroom at a maximum security prison on Harare's outskirts. The men -- all of them South African passport holders -- were arrested at Harare International Airport more than 4 months ago when their Boeing 727 landed to pick up weapons from the state arms manufacturer. Authorities have accused the alleged soldiers of fortune -- whose countries of origin include Angola, Namibia and Democratic Republic of Congo as well as South Africa -- of being on their way to join another 15 suspected mercenaries in Equatorial Guinea to overthrow longtime leader Teodoro Obiang Nguema. They deny the charges, claiming they were hired to guard diamond mining operations in the DRC and needed the weapons from Harare as protection against rebel attacks. The alleged leader of the group is Briton Simon Mann, a former member of the crack SAS regiment who also set up private security outfits in the 1990s that protected Angolan oil installations from rebels and were involved in Sierra Leone. For the families of the suspected mercenaries, the trial brings the men one step closer to possible extradition to Equatorial Guinea where they could face the death penalty or a long jail term in Malabo's notoriously harsh prisons. The families fear that President Robert Mugabe will grant a request from Equatorial Guinea to extradite the men for trial in Malabo once the trial is over. Defence lawyer Jonathan Samkange confirmed to AFP that his clients would be appearing before a magistrate in the makeshift courtroom at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison. Samkange said some relatives who travelled to Zimbabwe for the trial visited the men in jail on Tuesday. They're okay, he said about the men. The lawyer confirmed that the trial would definitely go ahead Wednesday. We should be starting at 10:00 am (0800 GMT), he added. Initially scheduled for Monday, the trial was
[Deathpenalty]RE: Boilerplate UA by AI on LI
also, let us never underestimate the importance of an AI/UA--it once saved the lives of 2 of my clients. fab, AIUSA Board (1988-92) Francis A. Boyle Law Building 504 E. Pennsylvania Ave. Champaign, IL 61820 USA 217-333-7954 (voice) 217-244-1478 (fax) fbo...@law.uiuc.edu mailto:fbo...@law.uiuc.edu (personal comments only) -Original Message- From: Boyle, Francis Sent: Wednesday, July 21, 2004 9:45 AM To: 'Abolish - The Mailing List For People Working to Abolish the Death Penalty' Cc: nppr...@compar.com; 'Rick Halperin'; Death Penalty (Death Penalty); Sissel Egeland; 'florida_support-subscr...@yahoogroups.com' Subject: Boilerplate UA by AI on LI Amnesty is correct to state that they do not have the resources to investigate and put out a separate Urgent Action for everyone here in the United States. But they certainly have the resources to put together a standard, boilerplate UA against Lethal Injection that they can issue when they have decided not to particularize a UA for someone. That would serve two functions: First, for those of us who want to mobilize against an execution, we can use the UA. Second, it will further promote the idea that LI constitutes torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment--the core value of AI. So dont take no for an answer. Keep pressuring them to draft a standard, boilerplate UA against LI. fab, AIUSA Board (1988-92) Francis A. Boyle Law Building 504 E. Pennsylvania Ave. Champaign, IL 61820 USA 217-333-7954 (voice) 217-244-1478 (fax) fbo...@law.uiuc.edu mailto:fbo...@law.uiuc.edu (personal comments only) -- next part -- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/private/deathpenalty/attachments/20040721/bbb39c22/attachment.htm From rhalp...@mail.smu.edu Wed Jul 21 11:57:28 2004 From: rhalp...@mail.smu.edu (Rick Halperin) Date: Tue Aug 16 12:14:19 2005 Subject: [Deathpenalty]death penalty newsUSA Message-ID: pine.wnt.4.44.0407211057200.1676-100...@its08705.smu.edu For Immediate Release: Contact: AIUSA Press Office July 19, 2004 (202) 544-0200 x 302 Amnesty International, Other Nobel Peace Laureates Jointly File Amicus Curiae Brief Urging End to the Juvenile Death Penalty (Washington, DC) - Today, former Nobel Peace prize winner Amnesty International and fifteen other Nobel Peace laureates jointly filed an amicus curiae brief to the United States Supreme Court urging an end to the execution of juvenile offenders. The country's leading child advocacy groups, medical associations, legal organizations, and faith communities joined with them in filing friend of the court briefs in the case of Roper versus Simmons, which will determine the constitutionality of the juvenile death penalty. While customary international law explicitly prohibits the execution of juvenile offenders, the United States is the only country in the world that proclaims its legal right to do so. Since 1998, the United States has executed 13 juvenile offenders while the entire rest of the world carried out 8 such executions. The briefs filed in this case highlight the distinctiveness of children as a protected class and focus on issues ranging from adolescent cognitive development to the treatment of minors within international human right law. When it comes to the juvenile death penalty, the US justice system stands in sorry isolation from the international community, said Dr. William F. Schulz, Executive Director of Amnesty International USA (AIUSA). While we pay lip service to the rhetoric of protecting our children, our enthusiasm for executing the young is unparalleled and is considered shameful by the rest of the world. In October 2004, the case of Roper v. Simmons will allow the US Supreme Court to weigh the constitutionality of executing individuals who were under age eighteen at the time of the crime. The Simmons case will be an opportunity for the US to conform to international human rights standards and to genuinely honor the obligations that we have to protect the rights of our children, said Sue Gunawardena-Vaughn, Director of AIUSA's Program to Abolish the Death Penalty. With almost total unanimity among the international community that state-sponsored execution of children is unconscionable and unlawful, it is time for this human rights tragedy to end once and for all, concluded Schulz. ###
[Deathpenalty] FW: [aalshumanrights] Civil Resistance to State Crimes
The DP is a State Crime too. fab. Francis A. Boyle Law Building 504 E. Pennsylvania Ave. Champaign, IL 61820 USA 217-333-7954 (voice) 217-244-1478 (fax) fbo...@law.uiuc.edu mailto:fbo...@law.uiuc.edu (personal comments only) -Original Message- From: Boyle, Francis [mailto:fbo...@law.uiuc.edu] Sent: Wednesday, July 21, 2004 2:48 PM To: AALS Human Rights Subject: [aalshumanrights] Civil Resistance to State Crimes -- aalshumanrights: an e-mail forum for law professors on human rights -- Francis A. Boyle Law Building 504 E. Pennsylvania Ave. Champaign, IL 61820 USA 217-333-7954 (voice) 217-244-1478 (fax) fbo...@law.uiuc.edu mailto:fbo...@law.uiuc.edu (personal comments only) -Original Message- From: Robison, Carol Sent: Wednesday, July 21, 2004 2:22 PM To: Boyle, Francis Subject: Precis The Right of Civil Resistance to Prevent State Crimes by Francis A. Boyle With the Regan/Bush administrations' ascent to power in January of 1981, the peoples of the world have witnessed governments in the United States of America that have demonstrated little if any respect for fundamental considerations of international law, international organizations, and human rights, let alone appreciation of the requirements for maintaining international peace and security. What we watched instead is a comprehensive and malicious assault upon the integrity of the international legal order by a group of men and women who were and still are thoroughly Machiavellian in their perception of international relations and in their conduct of both foreign policy and domestic affairs. This is not simply a question of giving or withholding the benefit of the doubt when it comes to complicated matters of foreign affairs and defense policies to a U.S. government charged with the security of both its own citizens and those of its allies in Europe, the Western Hemisphere, and the Pacific. Rather, the Reagan/Bush administrations' foreign policy represented a gross deviation from those basic rules of international deportment and civilized behavior that the United States government had traditionally played the pioneer role in promoting for the entire world community. Even more seriously, in many instances specific components of the Reagan/Bush administrations' foreign policy constituted ongoing criminal activity under well-recognized principles of both international law and U.S. domestic law, in particular the Nuremberg Charter, the Nuremberg Judgment, and the Nuremberg Principles. In direct reaction to the Reagan/Bush administrations' wanton attack upon the international and domestic legal orders, tens of thousands of American citizens engaged in various forms of civil resistance activities in order to protest against distinct elements of a U.S. foreign policy that grossly violated basic principles of international law and human rights. These citizen protests led to numerous arrests and prosecutions by federal, state, and local governmental authorities all over the country. Soon thereafter, this author began to give advice, counsel and assistance to individuals and groups who had engaged in acts of civil resistance directed against several aspects of the U.S. government's foreign policy: the Nuclear Freeze Movement, the Sanctuary Movement, Greenpeace International, the Anti-Apartheid Movement, the Plowshares Movement, the Pledge of Resistance Campaign, Gulf War resisters, among others. I also participated in the defense of individuals who were not part of formal movements but nevertheless resorted to civil resistance to protest against the U.S. government's policies on nuclear weapons and nuclear deterrence, Central America and the Caribbean, Southern Africa, Europe, the Middle East, etc. In addition, I have also helped defend active duty members of United States armed forces who were persecuted and prosecuted because of their acts of conscience and principle. For example, in the fall of 1990, I served as Counsel for the successful defense of U.S. Marine Corps Lance Corporal Jeff Paterson, the first military resister to Bush Sr.'s Gulf War I. Then I represented U.S.M.C. Lance Corporal David Mihaila in a successful effort to obtain his discharge from the Marine Corps during Bush Sr.'s Gulf War I as a Conscientious Objector. Corporal Mihaila was the Clerk of the Court for the Paterson court-martial proceedings and was motivated to apply for CO status as a result of my oral argument for Corporal Paterson. Then at the start of 1991 I served as Counsel for the defense of Captain Dr. Yolanda Huet-Vaughn, who was court-martialed by the U.S. Army in part because of her refusal to administer experimental vaccines to soldiers destined to fight in the Bush Sr. Gulf War I. Later on, I served as Counsel for the defense of U.S. Army Captain Lawrence Rockwood, who was court-martialed for his heroic efforts to stop torture in Haiti after the Clinton
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news --- UTAH; S.D.; CALIF.
death penalty news July 21, 2004 UTAH: Prosecutors Seeking Death Penalty in 1976 Murder Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against the man accused in a 28-year-old cold case murder. Gayle Gilbert Benavidez was charged yesterday with capital murder in the death of a 24-year-old woman near a Salt Lake City halfway house back in 1976. Carolyn Sarkensians was found raped and strangled near the halfway house where Benavidez had been living following a 1975 conviction for raping a 15-year-old girl. A recent D-N-A test linked Benavidez to the crime. Benavidez has a lengthy criminal record dating back to 1973 that includes two rape convictions. (source: AP) == SOUTH DAKOTA - possible federal death penalty trial U.S. officials talk death penalty procedures for Sjodin case The U.S. Attorney for North Dakota traveled to Washington this week to discuss the possibility of seeking the death penalty for the man charged in the killing of University of North Dakota student Dru Sjodin. Drew Wrigley, U.S. Attorney for North Dakota, said he met with the Justice Department's Capital Case Unit on Tuesday. The group helps federal prosecutors follow the legal requirements in death penalty cases. I want to make sure we don't have any undue bureaucratic delay,'' Wrigley said. Wrigley said the meeting was not attended by U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, who will make the final decision whether to seek the death penalty for Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. Ashcroft will not begin considering the case until he gets Wrigley's recommendation and hears from the defense. Wrigley wouldn't comment on when he would make his recommendation. Rodriguez, 51, a convicted rapist from Crookston, Minn., is charged with kidnapping that resulted in the death of Sjodin, 22, of Pequot Lakes, Minn., who disappeared from a Grand Forks mall last November. Her body was found April 17, in a ravine near Crookston. Rodriguez has pleaded not guilty. Rodriguez's trial is still at least months away. In June, U.S. District Judge Ralph Erickson postponed the trial until prosecutors decide whether to seek the death penalty. The process, once it reaches Ashcroft, usually takes at least four months, though it varies case by case, said Dick Burr, a Houston attorney who serves on the federally funded Death Penalty Resource Council. There's really no way that those of us outside of the Justice Department can predict it,'' said Burr, whose council helps defense teams in capital cases. (source: AP) == CALIFORNIA: Prosecutors Attack Peterson's Character Prosecutors in Scott Peterson's murder trial are again portraying the former fertilizer salesman as a lying philanderer who didn't act the part of a grieving husband after his pregnant wife, Laci, vanished. Modesto police Detective Richard House testified Tuesday that Peterson rented a private mailbox on Dec. 23, 2002, a day before he reported Laci missing. On Jan. 9, 2003, House said, Peterson received a letter to the mailbox from his mistress, Amber Frey. Prosecutors allege the affair was the motive for the slaying. Prosecutor Dave Harris then asked House about a wedding album of the Petersons, implying Scott Peterson intended to throw out the photographs less than two months after Laci went missing. House testified Peterson rented a storage unit that was packed with miscellaneous items, including the pictures in a small wastebasket, when police searched it Feb. 18. Under cross-examination by Mark Geragos, Peterson's lawyer, House acknowledged that it didn't look like the photos had been thrown away. Last week, prosecutors implied a plastic pitcher found in a warehouse where Peterson stored his small boat was the mold for cement anchors they allege he later tied to Laci's body before dumping it in San Francisco Bay. But a detective acknowledged that forensic analysis indicated the pitcher was not the mold, and in a courtroom demonstration the anchor was clearly not a fit. Experts said Tuesday that the state's case against Peterson appeared to be suffering. If you can't convince your own detective about your theory, how do you convince the jury? said former San Francisco prosecutor Jim Hammer, who is watching the trial. It's devastating if the jury begins to believe the DA is telling half the truth. House was scheduled to take the stand again Wednesday. Prosecutors allege Peterson murdered his wife in their Modesto home on or around Christmas Eve 2002, then drove to the bay and dumped the body. Peterson claims he was fishing alone on the bay that day and returned to an empty home. Geragos asserts Peterson was framed by the real killer. The remains of Laci Peterson and the couple's fetus washed ashore just two miles from where Peterson claims he was fishing. He could face the death penalty or life without parole if convicted on the double-murder charges. Earlier Tuesday, defense
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news---worldwide
July 22 BANGLADESH: 5 get capital punishment for double murder in Keraniganj 5 young men were today awarded death penalty, 4 in absentia, by the district court for murder of a father and his minor son at Keraniganj 11 years ago. Shafiqul Islam was handed down the death sentence on the dock while Masud, Nazrul Islam alias Naju, Mister alias Choto Mister and Arif remained fugitive. They were also fined Tk 40,000 each. According to the prosecution, the convicts chopped to death Sharif Hosdsain (40), grocery shop owner at Malopara Barishoor bazar, for asking payment of cigarette they took from the shop on July 13, 1993. His 9-year old son Khokan, who saw his father murdered, was also chopped to death. Police arrested Shafiqul, Masud and Arif following the double murder. They confessed their guilt and named accomplices Nazrul Islam and Choto Mister in the murder. How Masud and Arif secured bail from the court to go into hiding remains a mystery. There was also no effort to arrest Nazrul and Choto Mister, family sources of the victims said in the court verandah. After examining 18 witnesses additional judge Qamrul Hossain Molla pronounced the verdict in a crowded court. (source: matamat.com)
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----TEXAS, WASH.
July 22 TEXAS: Schizophrenic's lawyers will get to fight execution Lawyers for schizophrenic murderer Scott Panetti will get a chance to argue in federal court that their client's mental illness makes him incompetent to be executed. U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks on Wednesday denied the state's motion to dismiss Panetti's claim of incompetency. Sparks authorized funds for experts and investigators, and set an Aug. 23 hearing. Last February, Sparks halted Panetti's execution one day before Panetti was to be put to death for the 1992 murders of his estranged wife's parents. The execution stay allowed Panetti's lawyers to ask the state trial court to determine whether he understands that he is to be executed and why. A psychiatrist and psychologist appointed by state District Judge Stephen Ables of Gillespie County determined that Panetti is competent after they jointly interviewed him for an hour. They described Panetti as uncooperative and interested only in filibustering about the Bible and the Lord. But the 2 concluded that Panetti deliberately and persistently chose to control and manipulate our interview situation by deflecting the interview into religious topics. They said although Panetti chooses not to discuss the reason that he is to be executed, he has the ability to understand. San Antonio lawyer Michael Gross said he will use the investigative authority Sparks allowed to have different mental health experts meet with Panetti. He said he also plans to interview inmates and nearby cells and prison workers familiar with Panetti. Panetti has a long history of mental illness and represented himself wearing a purple cowboy costume during a circus-like 1995 trial in Fredericksburg. (source: Houston Chronicle) *** Experts Profile Christina Chavez It could involve the state seeking the death penalty. Do you understand that, young ladies? Those were the strong words from Judge Jack Hunter for to the 2 women accused of murdering Times Market clerk Pablo Castro. Both 20-year-old Christina Chavez and 30-year-old Angela Rodriguez sat quietly as they were formally charged with capital murder. Neither one made any comments for reporters. Each is being held on a million dollar bond. They're also charged with aggravated robbery. So what would drive 2 women to attack a man they didn't know for barely any money? The family of Christina Chavez say they are as shocked as everyone else to hear that Christina was involved in this horrible murder. Her cousin says it is completely out of her character. The city has heard of 20-year-old Chavez as a senseless accused killer of Pablo Castro but to her family she is a good person. So good her cousin she grew up with thinks of her as a sister. Her cousin says, She's always been a real nice person to talk to. Christina grew up with her aunt and cousins and attended Roy Miller High School. She dropped out in ninth grade. Christina gave birth to 5 kids. Sadly, one died 4 years ago. Christina estranged herself from the family and started a relationship with Angela Rodriguez and her friends. Dr. Carlos Estrada, an expert in criminal behavior, says that it is typical for someone who is alienated from their family to cling on to a replacement group. Christina's cousin has one message for the family of Pablo Castro. My heart goes out to the family. She did a horrible thing, she says. Chavez has had a rough life but her cousin does not want that to be used as excuse for her behavior, she says she wants justice to be served. (source: KZTV News) * Cold Case Solved after 18 Years Police say an 18-year-old murder case was solved Wednesday after DNA evidence points to a possible killer. Cynthia Salazar's body was found naked, dumped in the Medina River and Applewhite Road in 1986. Investigators say she was raped and strangled. After re-visiting the case, and taking DNA samples from several suspects, Bexar County's cold case squad says Julian Lasser is Salazar's killer. They found the match after running DNA tests through the prison system. Lasser is currently serving time for another crime also involving sexual assault. He was about to be released from prison in 3 days. Lasser faces the death penalty if convicted since he is accused of 2 crimes, raping and murdering Salazar. (source: VOAI News) Autopsies by former examiner reviewedSeveral cases got a second look after questions about neutrality A former Harris County associate medical examiner accused of botching an autopsy that led to a young mother's imprisonment has come under scrutiny in several other cases in which her conclusions were later contested or revised. The work of Dr. Patricia Moore, who now performs autopsies in Montgomery County, is the focus of renewed debate since officials recently reclassified one of her 1999 autopsies from homicide to undetermined. The cause of 2-month-old Daniel Lemons' death is
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----ILL., LA., N.J., S.C.
July 23 ILLINOIS: State to seek death penalty Kane County prosecutors announced Thursday they will seek the death penalty for Joseph Foreman, the Batavia man who is accused of leading police on a manhunt after beating his ex-wife into a coma and kidnapping and killing his former mother-in-law. Foreman, 38, didn't bat an eye when prosecutors announced the decision. It will be the fifth time in Meg Gorecki's tenure as Kane County State's Attorney that she has given prosecutors the OK to seek the ultimate penalty. So far, only one of those eligible for the death penalty, Luther Casteel of Elgin, has actually made it to death row. Defense attorney David Kliment tried to dissuade Gorecki from seeking the death penalty by pointing out Foreman's history of drug abuse and hospitalizations for bipolar disorder as recently as the early 1990s. He also pointed to what he called an unusual childhood growing up with grandparents in Florida and Kentucky. Kliment declined to say what was unusual about Foreman's upbringing, but did say he was investigating to see if there was abuse. Kliment said he would not be seeking an insanity plea. Prosecutor Bob Berlin said the decision to seek the death penalty was based on a combination of factors from information gleaned by the county's death penalty review board. The board investigated things such as Foreman's criminal history, education, family history and any discipline problems he had while staying in the Kane County jail on $5 million bond. The committee and prosecutors also talked with numerous family members of the victim in Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan before deciding to seek the death penalty. Lisa Payne, Foreman's ex-wife who was injured in the attack, supports the move to put Foreman on death row. The moratorium former Gov. George Ryan put on executions in 2000 remains, but individuals can still be sent to death row to await execution by lethal injection in the event the moratorium is lifted. Foreman is charged with 1st-degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated kidnapping and aggravated domestic battery for an April 9 attack in the Lorlyn Circle apartment he shared with his ex-wife, Payne, and her visiting mother, Linda Duchaine. Police allege Foreman confessed to clubbing Duchaine, 49, of Aurora, Wis., and Payne, 32, in the head with an oak bookcase rail. Duchaine died and Payne was temporarily in a coma. Foreman was found April 14 hiding in an attic in an Aurora house. Thursday, Foreman pleaded not guilty to all of the charges and requested a jury trial. Death penalty trials typically move slowly, so officials don't expect to go to trial for another 12 to 18 months. If Foreman is found guilty of 1st-degree murder and the jury declines to ask for the death penalty, life without parole or between 20 to 100 years with parole are options. (source: Daily Herald) LOUISIANA: Lafayette Grand jury set in Gillis inquiry A Lafayette Parish grand jury is set to hear evidence Wednesday in the case of Sean Vincent Gillis, who is accused in a series of killings in the Baton Rouge area and the death of an Acadiana woman. Gillis has admitted killing 8 women from 1994 until his arrest by Baton Rouge authorities in April. Days after Gillis was taken into custody, Lafayette Police said he confessed to the October 2000 death of Marilyn Joyce Nevils. Police say Gillis admitted that he had picked the woman up in Lafayette, killed her and then dumped her body on a levee in East Baton Rouge Parish. Prosecutor Keith Stutes says the case, as it stands now, is based largely on Gillis' confession, but investigators have been working to corroborate his statements with physical evidence. Stutes says at least one piece of physical evidence has been found, but he declined to comment on what it was. District Attorney Mike Harson said his office is seeking a first-degree murder indictment against Gillis. The charge carries a possible death penalty. (source: Associated Press) NEW JERSEY: South Jersey Man Reindicted In Death, Burning Of Infant Son A Burlington County father has been reindicted on a murder charge in his infant son's death, a case taken back to the grand jury because of a state Supreme Court decision regarding New Jersey's death penalty. Kevin Abrahams, 27, of Burlington City was originally indicted last year in the 2002 death of 8-month-old Sage Tyler Morgan-Abrahams, whose body was subsequently burned in a fireplace. Prosecutor Robert D. Bernardi announced a year he planned to pursue the death penalty in the case. In February, the state Supreme Court ruled that grand jurors considering homicide cases should decide if there are circumstances that could warrant the death penalty. Before the ruling, prosecutors made the call on whether to pursue a capital case. The indictment returned Thursday charges Abrahams with capital murder and hindering apprehension, Bernardi said. Authorities allege Abrahams beat the infant in a fit of rage
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----OHIO, N.Y., USA
July 23 OHIO: It's time for state to stop the killing Ohio is on a killing spree. We're on a roll. 2 in 1 week. 6 in one year. We're 2nd only to Texas this year in the number of executions. Do you feel safer? Have your taxes gone down? Isn't that what was supposed to happen once we started killing inmates? If the death penalty is a deterrent, why do we keep reading about people shooting their fathers, offing their drug dealers, stabbing their lovers? Why hasn't the death penalty scared people straight? Ohio has killed 14 people since a mentally ill inmate volunteered to go first and the governor let him. Back in 1999, Wilford Berry made front-page news. Executions have become so routine you have to dig in the paper to find them. Ohio killed Scott Mink this week. Call it state-assisted suicide. Mink dropped his appeals and went willingly. He goes on record as the quickest sentence carried out since Ohio reinstated the death penalty in 1981. What a shame. Ohio is charging full speed ahead, killing off a backlog of inmates on death row while states across the country have put moratoriums on executions. Illinois and Maryland suspended their executions to study flaws in the system. Illinois found 13 innocent people. The governor commuted the sentences of all 167 inmates on death row. The governor said: Our capital system is haunted by the demon of error: error in determining guilt, and error in determining who among the guilty deserves to die. The fact that we haven't examined Ohio's system should haunt us. Justice isn't foolproof. Sometimes it's full of fools. Investigations elsewhere have uncovered lawyers who failed to interview witnesses, who slept during trials, who showed up drunk. One missed an appeal deadline because he believed his client deserved to die. Then you have law enforcement officers who mishandled DNA. Add prosecutors who relied on unrecorded confessions after long interrogations with no attorney present, on a single eyewitness or on jailhouse snitches who got deals to testify. But our politicians won't stop the killings. Tough on crime gets you elected. Mercy doesn't. No, we're putting them to sleep like dogs. It's better than their victims got, you say. Of course it is - if you're 100 percent sure they're guilty. Even so, what does it say about us that we'd rather kill a man than keep him locked up? It says that we're after revenge. And whom do we execute? Poor guys. Guys with IQs 5 points above retarded. Guys who suffer from schizophrenia. We killed Jay D. Scott. A court ruled that he was mentally ill but sane enough for Ohio to kill him. We killed John Byrd Jr. He was sentenced to die back when life without parole wasn't a sentencing option. We killed Lewis Williams Jr. Guards had to carry him into the death chamber. One attorney said the evidence against him was questionable, that prosecutors used jailhouse informants and there were no witnesses to the crime. I'm not guilty. Please God help me! Williams screamed. What if he was telling the truth? At last count, more than 100 death row inmates have been exonerated across the country. Ohio needs a moratorium on the death penalty. If someone doesn't call for one, we may soon overtake Texas as the country's most notorious serial killer. (source: Column, Regina Brett, Cleveland Plain-Dealer) NEW YORK: Perspective: Who Deserves to Die? A Time to Reconsider The Court of Appeals wrongly declared New York's death penalty unconstitutional, but rightly declared it in need of reform. No doubt the Legislature and Governor George E. Pataki can, as they have announced they are prepared to do, easily remove and replace the singularly stupid jury deadlock provision, which informs a jury split between life-without-parole, or death, that unless they unanimously agree on one or the other, the judge must sentence the convicted murderer to an even less severe life with parole eligibility. Rather than embrace a quick fix as the Legislature and governor seem intent on doing, however, we should pause and reflect, deliberate and debate. This is a rare opportunity to rethink, revise, refine New York's death penalty so that we may more nearly impose the death penalty on all, but only those who truly deserve to die. Abolish Capital Felony Murder (NYPL 125.27 vii): First, New York should drop the felony-murder aggravating circumstance. Felony murder--- the most common death penalty situation --- covers many different types of killers and killings. Across the United States, robbery (and burglary) have put more killers on death rows than all other aggravating circumstances. Instinctively and morally, we feel that killing for money makes a murder worse. And the statute specifies a pecuniary motive as a separate aggravating circumstance. Robbers almost always rob for money, but they rarely kill for it. There is nothing about a robbery, alone, that makes an intentional killing that accompanies it even worse. Where the
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----worldwide
July 23 CHINA: China convicts 52 of baby trafficking, sentences some to death, life in prison A court convicted 52 members of a baby-trafficking gang Friday, sentencing the ringleaders to death or life in prison. The case included a highly publicized incident in March in which 28 baby girls, none older than 3 months, were found hidden in nylon tote bags aboard a long-distance bus, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. The convictions highlighted the scale of China's thriving black market in babies and came less than two weeks after police announced the arrests of 95 people in northern China in an unrelated baby-trafficking ring. In the ruling Friday, a court in the city of Nanning sentenced gang leaders Xie Deming and Cui Wenxian to death, Xinhua said. Four others were given suspended death sentences, a penalty that is often later commuted to life in prison. 5 gang members received life in prison, while 40 others were sentenced to at least 18 months, Xinhua said. One person was convicted but received no penalty, the report said without explanation. The ring was based in the city of Yulin in the southern region of Guangxi, one of China's poorest areas. Chinese authorities say thousands of children are abducted or bought from poor families every year for sale to childless couples. Girls are sometimes sold as brides in rural areas with fewer women. The trade is driven in part by China's birth control policy, which limits most couples to one child. The limit prompts some parents to kill baby girls in hopes of trying again for a boy. A purchased child that is registered as adopted doesn't trigger the large fines or other penalties imposed by the one child policy. According to Xinhua, Xie bought infants from midwives, health care workers or other baby-traffickers in Yulin and passed them on to Cui, who had them smuggled to buyers as far away as northern China. Babies were drugged to keep them asleep while being smuggled, leading to at least one death, Xinhua said. The baby girls found in March at a rest stop in Guangxi were bound for the eastern province of Anhui, according to police. They said they were acting on a tip when they searched the bus. The Xinhua report named 12 employees of 2 Yulin hospitals who allegedly sold babies for $12 to $24 each. Authorities said earlier that no families had claimed the babies rescued in March, and the report Friday gave no details of what happened to them. Local officials said they might wind up being raised in orphanages. Communist authorities -- led by Mao Zedong, who famously remarked that women hold up half the sky -- prided themselves on raising the status of women. Upon taking power in 1949, they ended the prewar custom of selling unwanted daughters to brothels or as servants. But the trade has flourished amid looser social controls and tighter enforcement of birth control rules meant to limit the growth of China's population of 1.3 billion people. In the case earlier this month, authorities on July 13 announced the arrests of gang members who they said sold 76 infants bought from clinics in the northern city of Hohot, capital of the Inner Mongolia region. (source: Associated Press)
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----USA
July 23 USA: The U.S. Supreme Court has finally scheduled a date for arguments in Roper v. Simmons. This is the juvenile death penalty case out of Missouri. The case will be argued at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 13. (source: National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty)
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----TEXAS, NEV.
July 23 TEXAS: Judge rules for Bell, against Chester Criminal District Judge Charles Carver today recommended to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals that Walter Bell Jr.'s death sentence be commuted to life in prison because he is mentally retarded. Carver found, however, that Elroy Chester had failed to prove he was mentally retarded. The judge recommended that his death sentence stand. Bell, 50, has been on death row since 1975, longer than any other inmate. He was sentenced to death by injection for the murders of Ferd and Irene Chisum of Port Arthur. He has been convicted 3 times in the July 1974 slayings and twice sent to Texas' death row, now located in the Polunsky Unit in Livingston. Carver concluded that Bell's death sentence was unconstitional because of his mental retardation. Chester was given the death penalty in 1998 for shooting Port Arthur firefighter Willie Ryman III, who was trying to save his 2 teenage nieces from being raped. Chester also admitted to killing John Henry Sepeda, 78, Etta Mae Stallings, 87, Cheryl DeLeon, 40, and Albert Bolden Jr., 35, who was his brother-in-law. The killings, all in the Pear Ridge neighborhood of Port Arthur, took place during a spree of home burglaries from 1997 to 1998. (source: Beaumont Enterprise) NEVADA: New execution date set for Nevada death row inmate An Aug. 12 execution date was scheduled Friday for Terry Jess Dennis, convicted of strangling a woman during a March 1999 vodka-and-beer binge in a Reno motel room. Dennis, 57, was scheduled to get a lethal injection this week, but the execution was delayed when Washoe District Judge Janet Berry last week ruled the initial execution warrant was flawed. Berry on Tuesday signed a new order setting the execution at the Nevada State Prison in Carson City for the week of Aug. 9. State Prison Director Jackie Crawford followed up by scheduling Aug. 12 as the date. Dennis was convicted of killing Ilona Strumanis, 51, an Eastern bloc immigrant who he had recently met. He told police he strangled Strumanis with a belt after she made fun of him for being unable to perform sexually and questioned his claim that he killed enemy soldiers while serving as an Air Force clerk in Saigon. Dennis, who has a history of alcoholism, mental illness and failed suicide attempts, has withdrawn all his appeals and said he'd rather die then spend the rest of his life behind bars. A psychiatrist's report said depression and self-hatred prompted Dennis to refuse any more appeals. Michael Pescetta, assistant federal public defender, has filed a next-friend appeal with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, which plans to hear arguments on the case on Monday. In a brief filed with the court, Pescetta argued the execution would amount to state assisted suicide given Dennis' previous failed efforts on his own. But the attorney general's office countered that Dennis has been found mentally competent by the courts, and his past mental illness is irrelevant. Dennis, raised in Washington state, has been described by former classmates and friends as a nice person who sang in his high school choir but who also got hooked on drugs and alcohol as a teenager. Court records state Dennis claimed he had been drinking since he was 13 or 14 years old, had been jailed at age 14 for marijuana use, and had made his first of as many as a dozen suicide attempts in 1966. Dennis was convicted in 1979 in Snohomish County Superior Court, Wash., for assault and also had a 1984 conviction in the same court for arson and assault, and spent about 2 1/2 years in prison before moving to Reno in 1995. Dennis' execution would be the second this year in Nevada. His close friend on death row, Lawrence Colwell Jr., 35, was executed March 26 for the 1994 strangling of an elderly tourist in Las Vegas. (source: Associated Press)
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----worldwide
July 26 SINGAPORE: Singapore death penalty challenged The death penalty in Singapore will be challenged today as lawyers begin a court appeal to save an Australian man from the gallows. Melbourne sales executive Nguyen Tuong Van, 23, has been on death row in Changi prison since March when a Singapore court found him guilty of smuggling almost 400g of heroin from Cambodia via Singapore. Nguyen's Australian barrister, Lex Lasry, QC, said the appeal would question the constitutionality of the death penalty there. Singapore made the death penalty mandatory for drug traffickers and murderers in 1975. Lasry said the appeal, in Singapore's High Court, would also question evidence given in Nguyen's original trial. If the appeal is lost, Mr Lasry will lodge a submission for clemency with Singapore's President S. R. Nathan. (source: The (New Zealand) Herald)
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----USA, ALA.
July 26 USA: Shameful superlative -- U.S. leads world in execution of young offenders A first kiss, a first time behind the wheel, a first college-entrance exam -- these are the experiences of teen-hood. Death row shouldn't be one of them. The United States is one of just five countries that still executes offenders who committed murder when they were younger than 18. In this, it joins an infamous group of nations including Iran, the Sudan and China, reviled the world over for abusing their citizens. Even among so abhorrent a crowd, America stands out. It put to death more offenders who committed crimes as young teenagers in the past 13 years than the rest of the world combined. It did so even as medical science revealed that adolescents' brains are markedly different from adults'. The part of the brain that controls reason is still developing in the teen years. Emotion and instinct may have more sway over human reaction in teenagers and young adults. In other considerations, the state recognizes that children are not the same as adults. That's why they are prohibited from offering their lives in military service or performing the civic duty of voting until they're 18. They're banned from drinking until they're 21. But the country persists in treating children as adults, ascribing them with all the reason and intellect of a mature person when meting out the final judgment, the penalty of death. The United States deserves the scorn of its peers for continuing so barbaric a practice. It received it in spades last week. Forty-eight nations, 14 Nobel Peace Prize winners and dozens of medical, international and religious groups filed legal briefs urging the U.S. Supreme Court to halt executions of death row inmates who committed murder before they turned 18. International embarrassment, however, won't win the day come October when the high court takes up the Missouri case, Roper v. Simmons. In 1993, Christopher Simmons broke into Shirley Crook's home, bound and gagged her and drove to a bridge, where he shoved her to her death. He was 17. A jury found Simmons guilty, and he was sentenced to die. But the Missouri Supreme Court, in a 4-3 ruling, overturned the sentence. Four justices on the U.S. Supreme Court are on record opposing the death penalty for young murderers, citing the U.S. Constitution's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. But, so far, a fifth justice has been unwilling to overturn the court's 1989 decision permitting states to execute offenders who committed their crimes at 16 or 17. Of the 37 states that execute convicted murderers, 19 allow 16- and 17-year-olds to be put to death. Shamefully, Florida is one of them. Florida Sen.Victor Crist, a Tampa Republican and an enthusiastic supporter of the death penalty, has tried for 5 years to persuade lawmakers to raise the age to 18. Each year it fails in the heat of House members' extremist rhetoric. We hope the U.S. Supreme Court will recognize that the death penalty does little but promote vengeance and justify a killer's own logic -- it's acceptable to take a life. In a righteous nation, the state-sanctioned killing of children -- even those who have killed another -- cannot be tolerated. (source: Editorial, Daytona Beach News-Journal) ALABAMA: 3 young people charged with capital murder. Victim, whose burned body was found Thursday, and 3 suspects are all from Bay Minette 3 people were arrested Saturday night and charged with capital murder in the death of 18-year-old Scottie Weaver of Bay Minette, whose burned and decomposed body was found near Old Brady Road on Thursday. The suspects were identified by the Baldwin County Sheriff's Office as Robert Porter, 18, Nichole Bryars Kelsay, 18, and Chris Gaines, 20, all of Bay Minette. Baldwin County District Attorney David Whetstone said Sunday that investigators determined early in the investigation that more than one assailant was involved. It was obviously a homicide from the beginning; there were signs of foul play, Whetstone said. Once the autopsy took place, that convinced us that more than 1 person was involved. Whetstone said investigators had not yet determined what weapon caused his death. We are double-checking the wounds to make sure they are what we believe them to be, Whetstone said. I wouldn't want to say now, because if the wounds are what we think they are, it's pretty gruesome. Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. John Murphy said in a news release Sunday morning that Gaines and Kelsay were roommates of the victim at his residence in the Dobbins Trailer Park in the Pine Grove community. The suspects were arrested after they were questioned at the sheriff's office in Bay Minette. All 3 were being held at the Baldwin County Corrections Center on Sunday awaiting a bond hearing today. Whetstone said the motive for the slaying is believed to be robbery, although investigators are checking into another possible motive. He declined to elaborate. There's
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news --- ILLINOIS
death penalty news July 26, 2004 ILLINOIS: A Chilling Look at the Death Penalty I kept thinking of the Scottsboro Boys while watching Deadline, a new documentary by filmmakers Katy Chevigny and Kirsten Johnson. I sensed them looking on with approval as the film illuminated the circumstances surrounding George Ryan's struggles with capital punishment issues during his tenure as governor of Illinois. In January 2000 Ryan imposed a moratorium on the death penalty in his state. He told CNN: We have now freed more people than we have put to death under our system -- 13 people have been exonerated and 12 have been put to death. There is a flaw in the system, without question, and it needs to be studied. He appointed a panel to examine the issue. Deadline will air July 30 on NBC's Dateline program. It includes interviews with several opponents of capital punishment who argue persuasively that such cases often involve race, poverty, bad lawyering and police misconduct. The Scottsboro case had all of that in abundance. The nine defendants, black and poor, were accused of raping two white women on a Tennessee freight train in 1931. Representing them at their Chattanooga trial were an alcoholic real-estate attorney who showed up drunk on the first day and a forgetful septuagenarian who hadn't set foot in court for years. Despite the absence of supporting evidence, all nine defendants were tried and convicted in two hours. Eight were sentenced to death. The youngest, 12-year-old Roy Wright, received life in prison. The Scottsboro Boys eventually got better representation and, after six years of court battles, were exonerated and finally regained their freedom. For decades afterward, the Scottsboro Boys became synonymous with the kind of gross miscarriage of justice that can place the wrong person on death row. Their arduous experience was frequently cited by opponents of capital punishment, who achieved a victory in 1972 when the Supreme Court called a halt to government-sponsored executions. That triumph proved short-lived when the court allowed the reinstatement of the death penalty in certain states in 1976. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, 921 people have been executed since then. Deadline includes chilling interviews with men who came perilously close to being part of that number. Anthony Porter, for instance, was two days from death when a group of students from Northwestern University found evidence that cleared him. Among the most compelling speakers is Gary Gauger, a farmer who was convicted of killing his parents and sentenced to death in 1993. He was cleared in 1996 when a three-judge panel overturned his conviction. Interspersed with such segments is riveting testimony from the nine days of clemency hearings held in Illinois in October 2002, during which a prisoner review board evaluated the cases of 142 of the 160 inmates on the state's death row. The comments from victims' families are heartrending and, while helping to remind viewers that the inmates aren't the only ones deserving of compassion, they also show why the issue of capital punishment is so perplexing. It is possible, however briefly, to listen to the agonizing speech of a bereaved individual and join them in their desire for vengeance. But how to balance that genuine grief against due process of law? And what if our all-too-human desire for vengeance targets the wrong person? What if it targets the right person? Will executing them bring our loved one back? Attorney and best-selling author Scott Turow served on Ryan's panel. In the film, he expresses little concern with executing someone such as serial killer John Wayne Gacy. But, Turow asks, Can we construct a capital system that only executes John Wayne Gacy without also executing the innocent or undeserving? Such questions show why capital punishment is a hot potato for both liberal and conservative elected officials, none of whom want to be viewed as soft on crime. As illustration of the death penalty's nonpartisan significance, Deadline takes note of Bill Clinton's refusal to the stop the execution of a mentally handicapped Arkansas man in 1992, and calls attention to George W. Bush, who allowed 152 executions during his six years as governor of Texas. Ryan, who had already decided not to run for re-election, ultimately decided to commute the sentence of every death-row inmate in his state. Other politicians have considerably less latitude. While they dither, DNA tests and other evidence continue to reveal the presence of innocent people on death row. The latest and 114th inmate to be exonerated since 1973 is Gordon Steidl, released on May 28. His home state? Illinois. (source: Washington Post)
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----TEXAS, USA, ILL.
July 26 TEXAS: Punishment Phase Of Murdered Sisters' Trial Resumes--Jurors Convict Man Of Killing 3 Sisters After Victims' Sibling Ends Relationship In Houston, the punishment phase of a trial against a man convicted of killing 3 young sisters will continue Monday. Anthony Quinn Francois, 36, was convicted Thursday of killing 3 sisters in September 2003 after the siblings' 16-year-old sister, Shemika Patterson, broke up with him. Patterson's sisters -- Britanny Patterson, 10; Ashley Patterson, 11; and Nikesha Patterson, 15 -- were shot to death as they slept inside their southeast Houston home. Francois was also accused of shooting the 16-year-old girl and her mother, Sheila Patterson, 34, in their heads and backs. They survived their injuries. Police said Francois got into an argument with his ex-girlfriend, Shemika Patterson, and then opened fire in the family's home in the 8100 block of Rockrose around 5:30 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2003. Prosecutors said Francois went into a violent rage after the 16-year-old ended the couple's relationship. Testimony began Monday in Francois' capital murder trial. Jurors got the case Thursday at 9:30 a.m. and reached a verdict by noon. Francois' videotaped confession was played during the trial. In it, he said, What was bothering me is that she had made up her mind that she didn't want to be with me no more. I love her and I feel like she was playing with me and she don't understand. When asked about the gun and shooting the girls, Francois replied on the tape, I lost control. I had it in my hand and the room was dark. And then it's like over and over, and some say do it, some say don't do it. The victims' family was pleased with the guilty verdict. Justice has been served, said Tracy Jackson, the victims' aunt. He preyed upon a family of five females. There were no men living there and that's what I call a coward. The fight wasn't between those children. It was between him and Shemika. I feel really sorry for him. He just looked really pitiful now and I just hate things got to work out the way it's working out, but justice is going to be justice, regardless of what I say. It's going to be . whatever, said Dorothy Patterson, the victims' grandmother. Prosecutors are asking for the death penalty. Defense attorneys said Francois' life should be spared. We believe that there is a reason that there is some redemptive factors in his life that would mitigate the punishment and that's what we're all about, said Loretta Muldrow, Francois' defense attorney. The punishment phase of the trial began Thursday afternoon. According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Francois has been in and out of the state prison system 5 times since 1988. He was paroled after serving time for burglary with intent to steal, possession of cocaine, and possession of a controlled substance between 1988 and 1991, but returned to prison on parole violations, the records show. He served nearly an entire 10-year sentence handed down in 1992 for robbery with a deadly weapon before being released in May 2001, and served his full sentence of a year for car theft until his release in May, the records show. (source: KPRC News) USA: 6.9 million in jail, or on parole or probation A record 6.9 million adults were incarcerated or on probation or parole last year, nearly 131,000 more than in 2002, according to a Justice Department study. Put another way, about 3.2 % of the adult U.S. population, or 1 in 32 adults, were incarcerated or on probation or parole at the end of last year. A record 4.8 million adults were on probation or parole in 2003, about 73,000 more than the year before. About 70 percent of adults involved in federal, state or local corrections systems fall into this category. The states of California and Texas together accounted for about 1 million. The number of adults on parole after serving a prison sentence rose by 3.1 % from 2002 to 2003, to more than 774,500 people. That compares with an average annual rise of about 1.7 % since 1995 for those on parole, a figure that has been increasing at a much slower rate than those in jails (4 % a year), in prison (3.4 %) and on probation (2.9 %). Since 1995, states around the country have increased the use of mandatory parole after prison release and cut down on use of discretionary releases overseen by parole boards, the report says. The report, released Sunday, focused most on the characteristics of those on probation or parole. Its findings include: -- Almost 1/2 of all probationers were convicted of a felony, with 25 % convicted of a drug violation. -- Washington state had the highest number of people on probation per 100,000 population, at 3,767. New Hampshire had the lowest rate at 426. -- Of the 2.2 million people discharged from probation in 2003, 3 out of 5 met the conditions of their supervision. Another 16 % were jailed because of a rule violation or a new crime, with 4 % becoming fugitives. --
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----NEV., N.C., NEB.
July 26 NEVADA: Appeals court hears Nevada death row inmate's case A federal appeals court was urged Monday to let a Reno lawyer intervene on a next-friend basis in an effort to block the scheduled Aug. 12 execution of Terry Jess Dennis for strangling a woman in Reno in March 1999. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in an hour-long telephone conference call, listened to the plea and to opposing arguments from the state attorney general's office. Michael Pescetta, an assistant federal public defender, argued the execution would amount to state assisted suicide given Dennis' previous failed attempts - as many as a dozen - to take his own life. But Deputy Attorney General Bob Wieland countered that Dennis has been found mentally competent by the courts, and his past mental illness is irrelevant. Pescetta, arguing for Reno attorney Karla Butko who sought the next-friend status, said the circuit court must consider the statement of a psychiatrist that the death row inmate's desire to die stems from his mental illness. He added there's no other expert testimony to contradict that. Wieland countered that the court records show that Dennis fully understands the consequences of his decision against appealing his death sentence, and the next-friend petition should be rejected. Dennis, 57, was convicted of killing Ilona Strumanis, 51, an Eastern bloc immigrant who he had recently met, during a vodka-and-beer binge in a motel room. He told police he strangled Strumanis with a belt after she made fun of him for being unable to perform sexually and questioned his claim that he killed enemy soldiers while serving as an Air Force clerk in Saigon. Dennis, who has a history of alcoholism, mental illness and failed suicide attempts, has said he'd rather die then spend the rest of his life behind bars. A psychiatrist's report said depression and self-hatred prompted Dennis to refuse any more appeals. Dennis, raised in Washington state, has been described by former classmates and friends as a nice person who sang in his high school choir but who also got hooked on drugs and alcohol as a teenager. Court records state Dennis claimed he had been drinking since he was 13 or 14 years old, had been jailed at age 14 for marijuana use, and had made his 1st suicide attempt in 1966. Dennis was convicted in 1979 in Snohomish County Superior Court, Wash., for assault and also had a 1984 conviction in the same court for arson and assault, and spent about 2 1/2 years in prison before moving to Reno in 1995. Dennis' execution would be the 2nd this year in Nevada. His close friend on death row, Lawrence Colwell Jr., 35, was executed March 26 for the 1994 strangling of an elderly tourist in Las Vegas. (source: Associated Press) NORTH CAROLINA: Gamble Faces the Death Penalty in 11-year-old's Death Lee County DA, Tom Locke confirmed that he will seek the death penalty against 19-year-old, Victor Gamble. Gamble has already been indicted on first degree murder charges in the killing of 11-year-old Bradley Way. Authorities say Gamble broke into Bradley's home to rob the place. That's when investigators say Gamble beat the boy to death. The district attorney would not comment on his specific arguments for the death penalty, but said aggravating circumstances could be argued because he says the murder was especially brutal and the murder happened during a kidnapping, both of which are elements that he says warrant the death penalty. Right now, Victor Gamble is in the Lee County Jail without bond. A trial date has not been set. (source: WTVD News) DA to seek death penalty in slaying of Lee County boy A man will be put on trial for his life to face charges of breaking in and killing an 11-year-old boy who was home alone while his parents worked, District Attorney Tom Locke said Monday. Locke said the slaying would be presented to a jury as a heinous and atrocious crime that qualified to be punished with a death sentence. Bradley Way, 11, was found in an abandoned mobile home near his Lee County home on July 11. The fact that the murder occurred in the course of a kidnapping can be aggravating circumstances, he said. Victor Jermaine Gamble, 20, of Cameron, was charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping, breaking and entering, larceny, and possession of stolen goods. An autopsy report shows Way was beaten about the head, stepped on and kicked. He had skull fractures, bleeding in the brain and drag marks. It was a very brutal beating, Locke said. Gamble also was charged with taking jewelry from Way's home that he later pawned, the sheriff's department said. He was traced after fingerprints were found at the Way home. (source: Associated Press) NEBRASKA: State's death penalty again focus of appeal As expected, the state's longest-term death-row inmate appealed his sentence Monday - arguing that use of the electric chair constitutes cruel and unusual
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----CALIF., ARIZ., MISS.
July 26 CALIFORNIA: Court overturns death sentence of man who killed his neighbors The California Supreme Court on Monday overturned the death sentence of a Whittier man who in 1986 murdered his next-door elderly neighbors and burglarized their home. Larry Lucas killed Mary Marriott, 75, and husband Edwin, 85. They were victims of multiple stab wounds. Now 54, Lucas claimed he did not remember the murders, which were perhaps driven as a result of a daylong drug binge of methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin. A jury convicted him and sentenced Lucas to death. In commuting the death sentence to a life term, the Supreme Court found the defendant had inadequate legal counsel. His attorneys did not put on any evidence in the penalty phase of the trial for why the jury should spare him. The justices found Lucas suffered severe emotional and physical abuse by his parents as a child. He was housed in an institution for abused and neglected children that was staffed by violent adults. His medical reports showed that, as a child, he was the victim of cruel abuse. A reasonable probability exists that the jury would have found in this evidence some explanation for petitioner's criminal propensities and some basis for the exercise of mercy, Chief Justice Ronald George wrote. It was the 2nd time the justices reversed a death sentence in as many weeks. The case is In re Larry Douglas Lucas, S050142. (source: Associated Press) ARIZONA: Court upholds murder convictions, overturns death sentences A Pima County man who killed his sister and her fiance will get a new sentence under an Arizona Supreme Court ruling. The Supreme Court unanimously rejected Shad Armstrong's appeal that he was a victim of prosecutorial misconduct and upheld his conviction in the shotgun slayings. The court said Armstrong had received a fair trial in the February 1998 killings of his sister, Farrah, and Frank Williams in Three Points. However, the justices issued a separate ruling that overturned Armstrong's death sentences, ruling that a jury could have decided sentencing issues differently than the judge who sentenced Armstrong on Dec. 7, 2000. Prosecutors contended that Armstrong plotted to kill his sister after learning she planned to return to Oklahoma to confess to a burglary they had committed in Texas. The ruling was the latest in which the state high court has reviewed death-penalty cases after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said juries, not judges, must decide whether factors exist that could warrant a death sentence. With the ruling in Armstrong's case, the state has now reviewed 18 cases, upholding one man's death sentence and ordering resentencings for 17 others. The ruling said there was no question that Armstrong's 2murders in the case could be counted as an aggravating factor for a possible death sentence. However, Armstrong's alleged motivation as an aggravating factor and the decision by the sentencing judge to give little weight to mitigating factors cited by Armstrong could have been decided differently by a jury, the Supreme Court said. 2 accomplices who testified against Armstrong were sentenced to prison. The case is State vs. Armstrong, CR-00-0595-AP. (source: Associated Press) MISSISSIPPI: Death Penalty will be Sought in Car Salesman's Death More details were revealed Monday in the death of a well-known Florence car salesman. 21 year-old Jermaine Donnell Rodgers and 16 year-old Deandre Dampier are charged with capitol murder, auto theft, and possession of stolen property. The prosecution says the nature of the crime warrants the death penalty. A Florence Police Department investigator revealed in a preliminary hearing on Monday that Five-Star Auto Salesman Harry McGuffee was shot once in the eye and 3 more times in the right side of the head. The victim in this case was a very kind, compassionate, Christian man, said Rankin County District Attorney David Clark. This is a very heinous crime. We feel that the death penalty is the only thing fair under the circumstances. During questioning the investigator said hand written car titles were found at Jermaine Rodgers' apartment in Simpson County along with a green Ford Mustang and a black Jeep Cherokee which came from McGuffee's dealership. The investigator also said he found a pair of Nike Air Jordan sneakers stained with blood in Rodgers' apartment. He said a test showed a match with McGuffee's DNA profile. The investigator further explained during cross examination that Rodgers' story didn't match Deandre Dampier's; one points the finger at the other as to who initiated the crime. After the preliminary hearing, many of Rodgers' and Dampiers' closest relatives and friends expressed grief for both sides. Well, we're saddened, but we also pray for the victim's family as well, said Reverend Rickey O'Quinn, Pastor of New Hymn Baptist Church. They must be going through difficulty as well. Both suspects have been life-long
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----worldwide
July 26 INDONESIA: New law unlikely to affect Bali bombers Indonesia is likely to proceed with the execution of 3 men convicted for the Bali bombings in 2002 and continue holding 30 others serving lesser sentences in spite of a ruling that implied their convictions under a new terrorism law were unconstitutional. Jimly Asshiddiqie, the chief justice of Indonesia's new constitutional court, held a rare briefing for foreign journalists yesterday to make it clear the ruling would not affect the cases of the Bali bombers. The constitutional court on Friday threw out a law that had allowed an anti-terrorism statute introduced after the bombings in 2002 - in which 202 people were killed - to be applied retrospectively so it could be applied to the bombers. But the chief justice said Friday's ruling could itself not be applied retrospectively under the law establishing the court. He said that meant cases still awaiting appeals may be affected but those of individuals whose avenues of appeal had been exhausted would not. All the cases decided when the law was valid are still valid, he said. Of the 33 people convicted for the Bali bombings, 28 have already had their routes of appeal exhausted. A senior judicial official argued that in special cases, judges would still be able to allow the use of the new terrorism laws on crimes committed before its introduction, as long as standard criminal laws were also used. That could affect future prosecutions including that of Abu Bakar Bashir, the detained radical cleric accused of leading Jemaah Islamiah, the al-Qaeda-linked group blamed for the Bali bombings. Police have said they plan to charge him under the terrorism laws. A lawyer for the Bali suspects, Wirawan Adnan, said the question of whether the court's decision applies to individual cases may have to be decided by the country's supreme court. But he also said chances of successfully challenging convictions now appeared slim. Separately, former general Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono topped the 1st round of Indonesia's 1st direct presidential election and faces incumbent Megawati Sukarnoputri in a September 20 run-off, election officials said yesterday, Reuters reports from Jakarta. The results of the July 5 poll were delayed by several hours after a blast in the election commission offices briefly halted final counting. Nobody was injured. Mr Yudhoyono won 33.6 % of the 1st round vote. Mrs Megawati came 2nd with 26.6 %. With no candidate gaining more than 50 % of the vote, a run-off between the top 2 is required. Former armed-forces chief Wiranto came 3rd with 22.15 % and had threatened earlier to challenge the count, citing irregularities. (source: The Financial Times)
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----worldwide
July 27 PAKISTAN: The Pakistan connection and the US silence over an execution Omar Shiekh, a British-born Islamist militant, is waiting to be hanged in Pakistan for a murder he almost certainly didn't commit -- of the Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in 2002. Both the US government and Pearl's wife have since acknowledged that Sheikh was not responsible. Yet the Pakistani government is refusing to try other suspects newly implicated in Pearl's kidnap and murder for fear the evidence they produce in court might acquit Sheikh and reveal too much. Significantly, Sheikh is also the man who, on the instructions of General Mahmoud Ahmed, the then head of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), wired US$100,000 before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to Mohammed Atta, the lead hijacker. It is extraordinary that neither Ahmed nor Sheikh have been charged and brought to trial on this count. Why not? Ahmed, the paymaster for the hijackers, was actually in Washington on Sept. 11, and had a series of pre-Sept. 11, top-level meetings in the White House, the Pentagon, the National Security Council, and with George Tenet, then head of the CIA, and Marc Grossman, the under-secretary of state for political affairs. When Ahmed was exposed by the Wall Street Journal as having sent the money to the hijackers, he was forced to retire by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. Why hasn't the US demanded that he be questioned and tried in court? Another person who must know a great deal about what led up to Sept. 11 is Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM), allegedly arrested in Rawalpindi on March 1 last year. A joint Senate-House intelligence select committee inquiry the following July stated: KSM appears to be one of bin Laden's most trusted lieutenants and was active in recruiting people to travel outside Afghanistan, including to the US, on behalf of bin Laden. According to the report, the clear implication was that they would be engaged in planning terrorist-related activities. The report was sent from the CIA to the FBI, but neither agency apparently recognized the significance of a bin Laden lieutenant sending terrorists to the US and asking them to establish contacts with colleagues already there. Yet the New York Times has since noted that American officials said that KSM, once al-Qaeda's top operational commander, personally executed Daniel Pearl ... but he was unlikely to be accused of the crime in an American criminal court because of the risk of divulging classified information. Indeed, he may never be brought to trial. A fourth witness is Sibel Edmonds. She is a 33-year-old Turkish-American former FBI translator of intelligence, fluent in Farsi, the language spoken mainly in Iran and Afghanistan, who had top-secret security clearance. She tried to blow the whistle on the cover-up of intelligence that names some of the culprits who orchestrated the Sept. 11 attacks, but is now under two gagging orders that forbid her from testifying in court or mentioning the names of the people or the countries involved. She has been quoted as saying: My translations of the Sept. 11 intercepts included [terrorist] money laundering, detailed and date-specific information ... if they were to do real investigations, we would see several significant high-level criminal prosecutions in this country [the US] ... and believe me, they will do everything to cover this up. Furthermore, the trial in the US of Zacharias Moussaoui -- allegedly the 20th hijacker -- is in danger of collapse, apparently because of the CIA's reluctance to allow key lieutenants of Osama bin Laden to testify at the trial. 2 of the alleged conspirators have already been set free in Germany for the same reason. The FBI, illegally, continues to refuse to release agent Robert Wright's 500-page manuscript Fatal Betrayals of the Intelligence Mission, and has even refused to turn the manuscript over to Senator Richard Shelby, vice-chairman of the joint intelligence committee charged with investigating the US' Sept. 11 intelligence failures. And the US government still refuses to declassify 28 secret pages of a recent report on Sept. 11. It has been rumored that Pearl was especially interested in any role played by the US in training or backing the ISI. Daniel Ellsberg, the former US defense department whistleblower who has accompanied Edmonds in court, has stated: It seems to me quite plausible that Pakistan was quite involved in this ... To say Pakistan is, to me, to say CIA because ... it's hard to say that the ISI knew something that the CIA had no knowledge of. Ahmed's close relations with the CIA would seem to confirm this. For years the CIA used the ISI as a conduit to pump billions of US dollars into militant Islamist groups in Afghanistan, both before and after the Soviet invasion of 1979. With CIA backing, the ISI has developed, since the early 1980s, into a parallel structure, a state within a state, with staff and informers estimated by
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news --- USA
death penalty news July 27, 2004 USA: No longer pushing the death penalty The Democratic party platform that will be adopted this week includes one particularly significant change from the platforms adopted by the party conventions of 1992, 1996 and 2000. During the platform-writing process, the drafting committee quietly removed the section of the document that endorsed capital punishment. Thus, for the first time since the 1980s, Democrats will not be campaigning on a pro-death penalty program. Why the change? Simply put, on the question of execution, John Kerry is a very different Democrat from Bill Clinton and Al Gore. Clinton and Gore, while surely aware that capital punishment is an ineffective and racially and economically biased vehicle for fighting crime, were willing to embrace it as a political tool. When he was running for the presidency in 1992, then Governor Clinton even rushed back to Arkansas during the 1992 campaign to oversee the execution of a mentally-retarded inmate. With Clinton and Gore steering the party's policies, Democratic platforms explicitly and frequently endorsed capital punishment. But Clinton and Gore are no longer at the helm. And, as of tonight, the party will no longer be on record as supporting the death penalty. Asked about the removal of the pro-capital punishment language, U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., the chair of the committee that drafted the document, explained that, It's a reflection of John Kerry. Kerry, who is often accused by his Republican critics of flip-flopping, is made of firmer stuff than most politicians when it comes to the issue of capital punishment. He opposes executions in virtually all cases -- making an exception only after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, when he said he would consider supporting capital punishment, in limited cases, for foreign terrorists. On the domestic front, Kerry has earned high marks from death penalty critics. Last fall, when the Students Against the Death Penalty project of the American Civil Liberties Union rated the nine candidates who were then seeking the Democratic presidential nomination on a variety of death penalty-related issues, Kerry and Congressional Progressive Caucus co-chair Dennis Kucinich were the only two who received perfect scores. Kerry opposes the execution of juveniles, supports greater access to DNA testing for death row inmates and argues that studies reveal serious questions, racial bias, and deep disparities in the way the death penalty is applied. Kerry was a cosponsor of the National Death Penalty Moratorium Act of 2001 and of the National Death Penalty Moratorium Act of 2003. I know something about killing, Kerry says, referencing his service in Vietnam as a swift-boat commander. I don't like killing. That's just a personal belief I have. Polls show a majority of Americans support the death penalty in at least some instances. But since the late 1980s, enthusiasm for capital punishment has been slipping. Many Americans, including some political leaders such as former Illinois Governor George Ryan, have come to question the morality of state-sponsored executions, as the use of DNA analysis has led to the exoneration of dozens of death-row inmates. Still, the death penalty remains a divisive issue. Not since 1988 has either major party nominated a critic of capital punishment for the presidency. The 1988 Democratic nominee, former Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis, was attacked by that year's Republican nominee, George Herbert Walker Bush, for opposing the death penalty. Whether Kerry will face similar attacks from Bush's son, an enthusiastic backer and frequent practitioner of state-sponsored executions during his days as governor of Texas, remains to be seen. But the volatility of the issue may explain why Democrats have been so quiet about the shift in platform language. It is notable, however, that, in addition to Kerry's home state of Massachusetts, eleven other states bar executions. Among them are a number of the battleground states that could decide the November election, including Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan, Maine and West Virginia. (source: The Nation)
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news --- worldwide
death penalty news July 27, 2004 SINGAPORE / AUSTRALIA: Singapore court defers judgment in Australian death penalty case Singapore's appeals court reserved judgment Monday in a death-penalty case against an Australian convicted of smuggling heroin, saying it wants more time to look at evidence - especially why the drugs had different weights when tested by policeand a lab. The decision by the three-judge panel to defer judgment against Nguyen Tuong Van - who faces the gallows if his appeal fails and the president doesn't grant clemency - means legal proceedings will be extended days or weeks in a case that dates from December 2002. Chief Justice Yong Pung How told the court that the discrepancy in drug weight has never happened before in such a case. Admittedly it is only a marginal difference, but we have to be very careful, Yong said. Nguyen, 23, a salesman from Melbourne, was arrested Dec. 12, 2002 at Changi International Airport in transit between Cambodia to Australia. During a routine passenger search, officers found Nguyen was carrying two packets of heroin, one taped to his back and a second in his bag. Singapore has some of Asia's toughest anti-drug laws, like a mandatory death penalty for anyone convicted of possessing more than 15 grammes (0.53 ounces) of pure heroin. When weighed at the airport, Nguyen's two packets weighed 381.66 grammes (13.46 ounces) and 380.36 grammes (13.42 ounces), according to the written judgment of Judge Kan Ting Chui, who heard Nguyen's case. But when weighed later at a lab, the packets weighed 361.64 grammes (12.76 ounces) and 370.94 grams (13.08 ounces) respectively, according to the same written judgment, dated March 20, 2004. We will wait and see what happens, Lex Lasry, Nguyen's Australian attorney, said outside the courtroom. (source: AP)
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news --- S.D.
death penalty news July 27, 2004 SOUTH DAKOTA: Neil Frame May Face Death Penalty In Saleswoman Killing A 41-year-old Rapid Valley man accused of killing a door-to-door magazine saleswoman from California still doesn't know whether prosecutors will seek the death penalty against him. Neil Frame turned himself into authorities on April 26th, five days after 21-year-old Kristina Moore of Lancaster, California, came to his home to sell magazines. Her nude body was found in a field near Hermosa. An autopsy indicated she suffered a blow to the head and was strangled. Frame has pleaded not guilty to the charge. State authorities are waiting for results from a forensics lab in Minnesota before deciding whether they'll seek the death penalty. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for August 23rd. (source: AP)
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news --- correction
Friends, the title of my former posting reading SOUTH DAKOTA should be CALIFORNIA. My apologies! Best regards, Joerg.
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----USA
July 27 USA: Court should end juvenile executions Christopher Simmons was 17 and should have just graduated from high school at the time a Missouri jury sentenced him to death. A decade later, his sentence is the subject of a U.S. Supreme Court case, scheduled for oral arguments in the fall. Justices would erase an outrage by abolishing the death penalty for people who commit crimes as juveniles. Besides the United States, only China, Pakistan, Iran and the Democratic Republic of the Congo permit executions for offenses by 16- and 17-year-olds. In this country, 31 states, including Kansas, have laws exempting juveniles from capital punishment. The Missouri Supreme Court tried to move the state in the right direction last year by ruling that the execution of juvenile offenders violated the state constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. That ruling relied on a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court decision that outlawed the execution of offenders who are mentally retarded. The state judges contended that the national consensus against executing people who are mentally retarded also applied to juveniles. Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon, never one to let the chance of an execution slip away without a fight, appealed the state Supreme Court decision. He said it was the legislature's job to decide legal ages for the death penalty. A broad coalition of religious, medical and psychiatric groups have filed briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court appealing for a ban on executions for crimes committed by juveniles. These groups presented compelling testimony that juveniles have less capacity than adults to reason and consider consequences. The court also received briefs from the European Union and dozens of countries, including Canada and Mexico. They contended that the execution of juveniles isolated the United States from the international community. If his death sentence were revoked, Simmons would still spend the rest of his life in prison for the heinous 1993 murder of Shirley Crook, 46. No court ruling can right that enormous wrong. But capital punishment for crimes committed by the young is another wrong - one that Supreme Court justices can stop. (source: Editorial, Kansas City Star)
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news --- worldwide
death penalty news July 28, 2004 ZIMBABWE / UNITED KINGDOM: Ex-SAS officer may face death penalty in coup conspiracy trial A British national will go on trial today on charges of leading a plot to oust the government of the oil-rich west African state of Equatorial Guinea. Simon Mann, a 49-year-old former SAS officer and old Etonian, will face serious charges under Zimbabwe's security laws which could result in the death penalty if he is convicted. Mr Mann is currently being held in solitary confinement in a Zimbabwean prison. Yesterday, 67 men held on charges of plotting a coup in Equatorial Guinea pleaded guilty to violating Zimbabwe's immigration and civil aviation laws when their plane landed in Harare in March. Mr Mann and two others were already in Zimbabwe when the plane landed and did not face these charges. Today, though, he will be charged with conspiracy to overthrow a legitimate foreign government and with purchasing arms of war without a licence. Mr Mann was on the tarmac at Harare International Airport when his 67 co-accused landed in an ageing Boeing 727 from South Africa. He is accused of having been waiting to load weapons he had bought from Zimbabwe's state arms manufacturer, Zimbabwe Defence Industries (ZDI). Mr Mann said the arms were for guarding a mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). But Zimbabwe authorities said Mr Mann had planned to join his co-accused in the plane and lead them into overthrowing the Equatorial Guinea government using the weapons. This would be achieved in liaison with an advance party of 15 men who were arrested in the West African country following Mr Mann's arrest in Harare. Mr Mann, who had previously been linked to various mercenary activities across Africa, is expected to argue that his purchase of arms was legitimate. He had made similar purchases before and the ZDI had not insisted on him possessing a licence before buying the arms. They seem to want to nail Mr Mann more ... We will see how it goes, said Jonathan Samkange, Mr Mann's lawyer. The Independent is reliably informed that the ZDI's managing director, Mr Tshinga Dube, who was at the airport to help Mr Mann load the arms was incensed by the latter's arrest as it had cost him a good regular customer. But it is alleged that Mr Mann was paid millions of pounds by exiled Equatorial Guinea politicians as advance payment for the plot. He would later be rewarded with oil concessions and more money if successful in overthrowing President Theodro Mbasogo Nguema's regime. Mr Mann, who has been kept in solitary confinement, at times in handcuffs and leg irons for long periods, looked pale and demoralised at the makeshift court room at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison yesterday. The families of his 67 co-accused are hopeful the men would receive lighter sentences and be deported back to South Africa. However, there remains the prospect of extradition to Equatorial Guinea, where anyone found guilty of involvement in the plot could face execution. (source: The Independent)
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----OKLA., VA., N.Y.
July 30 OKLAHOMA: Court overturns death sentence, citing attorney's incompetence In Denver, an appeals court Thursday overturned the death sentence of Roderick L. Smith, an Oklahoma City man convicted of murdering his wife and four stepchildren. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals concluded 3-0 that at least 1 juror might have blocked the death sentence if Smith's trial attorney had adequately defended him. I was over my head, the attorney, Kenneth Watson, testified in a hearing at which Smith claimed Watson had done such a poor job at the penalty phase that his constitutional rights to a fair trial were violated. The appellate judges said Watson had done a halfhearted job in defending Smith. Mr. Watson made no attempt to explain (to jurors) how ... (Smith) could commit such a horrendous crime, although mental health evidence providing such an explanation was at his fingertips, the judges said in a 49-page decision. They upheld Smith's conviction and ordered that his sentence be reconsidered in Oklahoma County District Court where he could receive a lesser sentence. Smith was convicted of the 1993 murders of Jennifer Smith and her children ranging in age from 6 to 10. Court summaries showed Roderick Smith told detectives that he and his wife fought with a knife when he told her he had been laid off from his job and that her sons came to her defense. Watson had no experience in death penalty cases and told the trial judge he didn't feel competent to defend Smith. The appellate judges said significant mitigating evidence existed about Smith's mental retardation, brain damage and troubled background, and Watson should have given it to jurors. (source: The Oklahoman) VIRGINIA: Muhammad Gives Waist Chain the Slip Sniper John Allen Muhammad wriggled out of a waist chain during a break in a pretrial hearing in Fairfax County yesterday, then calmly walked back into the courtroom with the chain still attached to his handcuffs. The hearing resumed for less than a minute before a sheriff's deputy noticed that the chain was not around Muhammad's waist. Fairfax Circuit Court Judge Jonathan C. Thacher abruptly adjourned the hearing and left the courtroom. Muhammad was hustled into an adjacent holding cell, and the chain was replaced. The chain could have been used as a weapon, but it wasn't, Lt. Tony Shobe of the Fairfax sheriff's office said after the hearing. The hearing then proceeded without incident, though the waist chain was gone after lunch, and Muhammad stood behind the lawyers at a bench conference with his arms free. The death row prisoner was still in handcuffs and leg shackles and closely guarded. The 1st hearing on pretrial motions in Muhammad's second capital murder trial held few other surprises. Thacher declined a defense request to disqualify Fairfax prosecutors from the case, and the defense withdrew its motion to move the trial out of Fairfax, though it may be refiled. The day ended with a 10-minute bench conference in which Muhammad's attorneys apparently raised the issue of postponing Muhammad's trial, set for Oct. 4. After the hearing, court officials said Thacher had ruled that the contents of that conference, and all bench conferences, would be sealed from the public for the entire trial. No reason was given for sealing the on-the-record comments, which are typically available. Muhammad, 43, is being prosecuted in Fairfax in the October 2002 slaying of Linda Franklin outside the Seven Corners Home Depot. He was convicted last fall by Prince William County authorities for the killing of Dean H. Meyers, part of a string of 10 fatal shootings in a three-week period. A jury sentenced him to death. Fairfax sheriff's officials did not classify yesterday's maneuver by Muhammad as an escape attempt, but it was the 2nd instance of odd behavior. Muhammad entered the courtroom barefoot. Shobe said Muhammad refused to wear shoes, and deputies decided not to force the issue. Muhammad was handcuffed, and a waist chain was threaded through the cuffs to keep his hands close to his body. Shortly before noon, Thacher took a 15-minute recess. Shobe said that while Muhammad was seated in his holding cell, he placed his hands beneath his legs and shook his way out of the chain. The chain then hung from Muhammad's wrists, though it was not obvious when he walked back into court. Deputies watched him during the hearing and noticed that the chain was not around his waist. After the chain was replaced and Muhammad returned, Thacher admonished him. This is the one and only security violation I will tolerate, Thacher said, warning that he could impose electric shock devices to keep Muhammad secure. After lunch, deputies decided not to put the chain back on Muhammad, Shobe said. Muhammad was still cuffed and shackled. Defense attorney Peter D. Greenspun argued that Commonwealth's Attorney Robert F. Horan Jr. and all Fairfax prosecutors should be tossed off the case because Horan
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----worldwide
URGENT ACTION APPEAL -- 3 August 2004 UA 237/04 Death penalty / Fear of imminent execution CHAD Adelin Abdel Ali (m) Mahamat Zele Abdel Ali (m) Abdel Ali Matman (m) Djamal Alhabo (m) Mado Ahmat (m) Ousmane Belil (m) Ammadis Khamis (m) Assanin Albeshir (m) Alfadil Ali (m) Alhabo Brahim (m) Azele Saleh (m) Fadoul Albachar (m) Ahmat Izzo (m) Mahamat Arabi (m) Izzo Adelil (m) Alfadil Abdulkarim (m) Soumain Khamis (m) Koursi Youssouf (m) Ammour Idriss Fadoul (m) - all herders The 19 men named above were sentenced to death on 30 July 2004 following their conviction by the criminal court in the capital, N'Djam'na, of the murder, or complicity in the murder, of 21 peasant farmers who were killed in Ma'bogo, southern Chad, in March 2004, as well as the wounding of 10 other peasant farmers and the theft of livestock. Amnesty International is concerned that the men could be executed imminently. Adelin Abdel Ali was reportedly identified by the prosecution as the leader of the group which carried out the murders, which followed a conflict between local peasant farmers and herders. Five other men were acquitted. Nine men were executed in November 2003, in the first judicial executions in Chad in 12 years. Four of the men had been sentenced to death the month before, after an unfair trial in which evidence reportedly extracted under torture was accepted in court. When they were executed, the men had not even exhausted the limited appeals procedure open to them. The 19 death sentences imposed on 30 July are the first since the November 2003 executions. The Chadian legal system does not respect the right to a full appeal against either conviction or sentence, in capital cases, in contravention of international law. The only recourse open to those sentenced to death is to submit a cassation plea on grounds of gross errors of fact or law to the cassation chamber of the Supreme Court. If successful, the case is sent back for retrial. If unsuccessful, the convicted prisoner may appeal for presidential clemency. The 19 men's lawyers have submitted a cassation plea to the Supreme Court. BACKGROUND INFORMATION Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Chad has ratified and is therefore bound by, states that ''Everyone convicted of a crime shall have the right to his conviction and sentence being reviewed by a higher tribunal according to law.'' Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all countries and in all circumstances, because it is a state-sanctioned violation of the right to life and the right not to be subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment. It is of special concern to the organization when the right to a full appeal, a fundamental component of a fair trial, is not guaranteed. RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible: - condemning the murder of 21 peasant farmers, wounding of 10 others, as well as the theft of livestock which took place in Ma'bogo in March 2004; - expressing concern that the 19 men (giving names) sentenced to death on 30 July 2004 in N'Djam'na, after being convicted of these crimes, may be at risk of imminent execution; - expressing concern that Chadian law does not fully guarantee the right to appeal, and that this is a violation of international law; - calling on the Chadian authorities to ensure that all trials conform to international standards of fairness as required by international human rights treaties to which Chad is party, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; - calling on President Idriss D'by to commute the death sentences to a humane punishment if and when the cases come before him. APPEALS TO (please note it can be very difficult to get faxes through): President of the Republic: Son Excellence G'n'ral Idriss D'by Pr'sident de la R'publique Pr'sidence de la R'publique BP 74 N'Djam'na, Chad Fax:011 235 51 45 01/ 52 44 73 Salutation: Monsieur le Pr'sident/Your Excellency Minister of Justice: Monsieur Pahime Kalzeube Ministre de la Justice et Garde des Sceaux Minist?re de la Justice N'Djam'na, Chad Fax: 011 235 51 60 94 (via Ministry of Communication and government spokesperson) Salutation: Monsieur le Ministre / Dear Minister Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and African Integration: Monsieur Nagou Yamassoum Ministre d'Etat des Affaires 'trang?res et l'Int'gration africaine Minist?re des Affaires Etrang?res N'Djam'na, Chad Fax: 011 235 51 91 22 Salutation: Monsieur le Ministre / Dear Minister COPIES TO: Newspapers Notre Temps Email:ntemps.pre...@intnet.td N'Djam'na Hebdo Email:n...@intnet.td Le Progr?s Email:prog...@intnet.td L'Observateur Email:observer.pre...@intnet.td. Ambassador Hassaballah Ahmat Soubiane Embassy of the Republic of Chad 2002 R St. NW Washington DC 20009 Fax: 1 202 265 1937 Please send appeals immediately. Check
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news --- S.C., CALIF.,
death penalty news August 4, 2004 SOUTH CAROLINA: Prosecutor to seek death penalty in Abbeville standoff Prosecutors will seek the death penalty against one of the people involved in a 13-hour standoff last year in an Abbeville home that started with the killing of two law enforcement officers. Solicitor Townes Jones said he served Steven Bixby, 36, with a notice to seek the death penalty Tuesday in a courtroom in Abbeville County. Jones wouldn't say whether he would ask for the death penalty for Bixby's parents - 75-year-old Arthur, who authorities say was in the home with his son during the standoff, and 71-year-old Rita Bixby, who authorities say planned an ambush on the officers with her husband and son. But lawyers for both Steven and Rita Bixby say they won't be surprised if all three of them end up fighting for their lives. I think they're going to seek death against the whole family, said Bill Nettles, one of Steven Bixby's attorneys. Rita Bixby, who turns 72 on Wednesday, was in the same courtroom later Tuesday afternoon for an arraignment. Prosecutors didn't serve her with a death warrant, but her lawyer Joseph Smithfield said all indications show they will seek the death penalty against her. Arthur Bixby's lawyer could not be reached for comment. South Carolina's death row has no women and the oldest of 69 inmates there is 60, prison statistics show. Steven and Arthur Bixby have been indicted on two counts of murder in the deaths of the officers, as well as kidnapping, conspiracy and 12 counts of assault and battery with intent to kill in firing on State Law Enforcement Division agents during the standoff at Arthur Bixby's home. Rita Bixby is charged with conspiracy to commit murder and accessory before the fact of murder. Authorities have said the Bixbys were angry that they would lose a small amount of land as state Highway 72 was widened in front of their home. Abbeville County Sheriff's Sgt. Danny Wilson went to the home on Dec. 8, a few days after the Bixbys threatened a construction crew putting up survey stakes. Wilson was walking into a trap that day because the Bixbys planned to ambush the next law officer that came to their property, SLED Chief Robert Stewart said shortly after the standoff. State constable Donnie M. Ouzts was killed about an hour later responding to the Bixby home to check on Wilson. Steven and Arthur Bixby barricaded themselves inside the house, while Rita Bixby went to a nearby apartment and threatened to kill bystanders if anyone harmed her son or husband. She would surrender peacefully after several hours. Later that night, Stewart said, Steven and Arthur Bixby started shooting hundreds of rounds at officers in what the SLED chief said was the biggest gunfight he has seen in his 30 years in law enforcement. Steven Bixby surrendered about 11 hours into the standoff, and Arthur Bixby, shot once in the chest, gave up about two hours later. All three of the Bixbys are in custody. No trial dates have been set. (source: AP) CALIFORNIA --- federal death penalty: Prosecutors seek death penalty for three defendants in kidnapping-murder case Federal prosecutors said Tuesday they will seek the death penalty for three of five people accused of kidnapping and killing five Russian immigrants whose bodies were found in a reservoir near Yosemite National Park. The notices were filed for defendants Jurijus Kadamovas and Iouri Mikhel, both 38, and Petro Krylov, 31. The notices came after a revised indictment was filed Thursday that stated the three were also charged with attempting to escape from the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles. The three are charged with the killings along with Natalya Solovyeva, 29, and Aleksujus Markovskis, 30. Prosecutors have said those two will not face execution. The bodies of four of the victims, who had been suffocated, were pulled from a Sierra foothills reservoir in March 2002. Alexander Umansky, 35, of Sherman Oaks, ran a car stereo and electronics shop; Georgy Safiev, 37, of Beverly Hills, had a film production company; Nick Kharabadze, 29, of Woodland Hills, was Safiev's chief executive; and Rita Peckler, 39, of Encino, was a bookkeeper for Safiev's Matador Media. The revised indictment also alleges the defendants kidnapped and killed Meyer Muscatel, 54, a wealthy San Fernando Valley homebuilder whose body was found in the reservoir in October 2001. Authorities contend the defendants abducted two of the victims in an attempt to gain access to their wealthy friends and business partners, then killed them after ransom arrangements had been made. The defendants allegedly killed Umansky even after his family had wired $235,000 in payments, some of it after he was already dead, prosecutors said. The notices filed Tuesday said Kadamovas and Mikhel participated in kidnap-slayings in Turkey in 2000 and Cyprus in 2001.
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ALA., UTAH, CALIF., ARK., TENN., IND.
Aug. 4 ALABAMAimpending execution Victim's son: Death in pastSays he long ago forgave Hubbard for mother's murder Johnny Montgomery closed the case on his mother's murderer long before the state scheduled the execution of James Barney J.B. Hubbard. After 2 jury trials and numerous appeals, Hubbard, a 74-year-old Alabama inmate on death row for more than 26 years, is scheduled to die Thursday for the 1977 killing of Lillian Montgomery in Tuscaloosa. But Johnny Montgomery, 58, won't be at Holman Prison at Atmore to witness Hubbard's execution with his family. He quit drinking 14 years ago and decided to put Hubbard and his mother's death behind him. Justice should be served in this case, Montgomery said, but he couldn't wait that long. That guy controlled my life for a long time - I had to move on, said Montgomery, a father and triathlete who owns Oxford Realty in Homewood. If I could bring my mother back, sure I'd go down there and watch him die, but I can't. He could die 4 days from now or 4 years from now, and it wouldn't make any difference to me. I've forgiven him. If I hadn't, he'd still be controlling my life. You can choose life and blessings or you can choose death and curses. J.B. Hubbard chose death. I chose life. Jimmy Montgomery, 66, said he respects his brothers feelings, but he can't find it in his heart and soul to forgive Hubbard. He said his family has waited too long for justice - so long that he's considered vigilante justice on more than one occasion. There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about my mama being shot by the man we tried to help, Jimmy Montgomery said. The state has wasted a lot of time and money in the appeals system. I may get sick and throw up, but once this guy is dead, at least justice is done. Hubbard's attorney, Alan D. Rose of Boston, sent a letter to Gov. Bob Riley on July 26, asking him to commute Hubbard's sentence to life without parole because his client's poor mental and physical health would make an execution cruel and unusual. Rose also filed an appeal Monday in the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, asking judges to block the execution because Hubbard is too old and sick. Lillian Montgomery sponsored Hubbard and gave him a place to live after he was released from prison in 1976 for killing another man, David Dockery, in Tuscaloosa County. Hubbard, who has two children, eight grandchildren and a great-grandchild, has always maintained his innocence, claiming Lillian Montgomery committed suicide, Rose said. Rose said Hubbard would be the oldest person to be executed in Alabama history and the oldest person executed in the United States since 1941. He is frail and harmless, Rose said, eating little and spending most days in bed sick. His ailments include Hepatitis A, B and C, diverticulosis, hypertension, emphysema, prostate cancer, arthritis, chronic back pain, and dementia, Rose said. Hubbard is addicted to alcohol, mildly retarded and was once diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic, Rose said. He's not sufficiently competent to be executed, Rose said. We're not suggesting he be released, but have his sentence commuted to a life term without parole. It's not too lenient to let this man die in prison of natural causes. During Hubbard's trial, prosecutors showed jurors a picture of Lillian Montgomery lying on the floor with her false teeth blasted through the back of her head, Jimmy Montgomery said. When Lillian Montgomery pleaded for her life, Hubbard shot her twice in the head and once in the shoulder, he said. Jimmy Montgomery said Hubbard may be old and sick, but he's never known sickness and pain like Lillian Montgomery and her family. I have no sympathy for that man at all. In fact, I've gone through life toting a lot of hatred for him, Jimmy Montgomery said. Are we worried about this guy's health? My God! He blew my mama's head off. Assistant Attorney General Clay Crenshaw said the state is responding to yet another appeal in Hubbard's case, but it's unlikely that federal appeals judges will delay the execution any longer. No evidence has been presented proving that Hubbard is incompetent to face execution, he said. Crenshaw said he expects to have a final ruling in the case by Thursday, when Hubbard is scheduled to die by lethal injection at 6 p.m. There is no reason to grant a stay, Crenshaw said. He hasn't presented any evidence that he is incompetent. He understands why he's in prison and all of the circumstances surrounding his execution. He's made burial plans. Neither Gov. Riley nor officials in his office returned phone calls Monday about the Hubbard execution. Whether or not Hubbard's fate is decided Thursday, Johnny Montgomery said he will be working with 150 alcoholics at Bradford Health Services in Warrior, as his family does every month. God led me down this path. I've got peace and contentment, Johnny Montgomery said. I've got 2 beautiful daughters. They never saw their grandmother, and
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news-----ALABAMA
August 4 ALABAMA: Federal court denies Alabama's oldest death row inmate stay of execution A federal appeals court today refused to block the execution of James Barney Hubbard. The state's oldest death row inmate is scheduled to die by lethal injection tomorrow (Thursday) night. The 74-year-old convicted double-murderer asked the 11th U-S Circuit Court of Appeals to block his execution, arguing he is too old and sick to be put to death. Hubbard contends that because of his advanced age and mental incompetence, his execution would be a form of cruel and unusual punishment. He was recently diagnosed with dementia by a psychologist and claims that he is suffers from several other health-related ailments. Hubbard was sentenced to die for the 1977 killing of 62-year-old Lillian Montgomery, a Tuscaloosa woman who befriended him after he served a prison sentence for another killing, also in Tuscaloosa County in 1957. (source: Associated Press)
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----TEXAS, ALA., LA.
August 5 TEXAS: Death penalty sought in Higgins death Jury selection is set to begin Jan. 5 in the capital murder trial of a career criminal charged with the death of Laura Powell Higgins on Dec. 19, 2002. We will be seeking the death penalty in this case, Harris County Prosecutor Denise Nasser said. Lamar Baskin, 44, was indicted by a Harris County Grand Jury last week on capital murder charges in connection with the death of the Perry Homes model-home decorator. He is one of the worst people we've had in Harris County from the standpoint of random acts of violence, Nasser said. He attacked people for no reason, she said. Several of the victims cooperated with his demands. They gave him everything they had and he still shot them. I'm happy he's off the streets, Nasser said. Higgins is believed to be 1 of 5 people Baskin shot and robbed in a crime spree that ended shortly after her murder, Nasser said. Ballistics on the bullets from the 5 shooting victims link the crimes and a witness ties Baskin to the weapon that fired those rounds, Nasser said. Higgins and a Houston man were both killed as a result of the shootings. Raffique Karamath, 59, was shot to death in his print shop at 6119 Jessamine in Houston. Baskin is also linked to three sexual assaults through DNA evidence, Nasser said, adding that no other crimes that occurred after Higgins' murder have been linked to Baskin. Baskin left Houston for Atlanta shortly after the murder, she said. He was arrested on an unrelated robbery charge shortly after his return several months later, she said. Baskin was in jail on that robbery charge when he was charged with capital murder for Higgins' death in June. Baskin's prior history and all of the other shootings linked to him, as well as the sexual assaults, will be presented to the jury during the punishment phase of his trial, Nasser said. He is a habitual felon, she said. He's been to prison at least two times and he has a prior conviction for aggravated robbery. Baskin remains in jail with no bond, Nasser said. I think the police did an incredible job, ultimately catching him and investigating the case, she said. (source: The Citizen Online) ALABAMAimpending execution High court asked to spare 74-year-old's life The Supreme Court is expected to decide today whether Alabama can execute a 74-year-old convicted murderer whose lawyer says the man is too old to be put to death. James Hubbard, convicted in 1982 of killing a 62-year-old Tuscaloosa woman, would be the oldest person executed since the Supreme Court restored capital punishment in 1976. On Wednesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit refused Hubbard's appeal to stay his execution. His lawyer, Alan Rose of Boston, Mass., then asked the Supreme Court to take the case. He is scheduled to receive a lethal injection tonight. Hubbard suffers from dementia, hypertension, hepatitis and acute back pain, Rose said in an interview. Rose argues that Hubbard's life should be spared because his mental state makes him unable to understand his death sentence. A 1986 Supreme Court decision forbids executing the mentally ill. Rose says he believes this is the first time a death row prisoner has argued that the case applies to dementia, a mental disorder associated with old age. He's old and he's sick and he doesn't have much longer to live, Rose said. Executing him would serve no purpose. Alabama officials say the age argument is a last ditch attempt to avoid the death penalty by a convict who has used years of appeals to forestall execution. He meets with his family regularly, (and) there is no evidence from the prison psychiatrist that he is incompetent, said Clay Crenshaw, the Alabama assistant attorney general who is contesting Hubbard's appeal. He didn't even raise the issue until his execution date had been set. ... It's definitely a last-minute thing. Hubbard was convicted of robbing and killing small-business owner Lillian Montgomery in 1977. Montgomery had given Hubbard a place to stay a year earlier after he had served 19 years on another murder conviction. He argued at trial that the woman had committed suicide after she and Hubbard shared several drinks. Federal law does not place a maximum age on executions. This year, an Associated Press survey found that 2 states, Arizona and California, had prisoners under death sentences in their 80s. Death rows in Florida, Indiana and Ohio held inmates in their 70s. Arizona appears to have the nation's oldest death row inmate: V. Leroy Nash, 88. Nash was sentenced to death for killing a clerk during a gold bullion store robbery in 1982, when Nash was 67. If the Supreme Court turns down Hubbard's appeal, he still could be spared by Alabama Gov. Bob Riley. Ken Wallis, Riley's legal adviser, said Wednesday that Riley would wait for the Supreme Court's decision before acting on a clemency petition that Hubbard filed last week. (source: Associated Press)
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news-----TEXAS
August 5 TEXAS: New Doubt Cast on Crime Testing in Houston Cases The police crime laboratory in Houston, already reeling from a scandal that has led to retesting of evidence in 360 cases, now faces a much larger crisis that could involve many thousands of cases over 25 years. Six independent forensic scientists, in a report to be filed in a Houston state court on Thursday, said that a crime laboratory official - because he either lacked basic knowledge of blood typing or gave false testimony - helped convict an innocent man of rape in 1987. The panel concluded that crime laboratory officials might have offered similarly false and scientifically unsound reports and testimony in other cases, and it called for a comprehensive audit spanning decades to re-examine the results of a broad array of rudimentary tests on blood, sperm and other bodily fluids. Elizabeth A. Johnson, a former director of the DNA laboratory at the Harris County medical examiner's office in Houston, said the task would be daunting. A conservative number would probably be 5,000 to 10,000 cases, Dr. Johnson said. If you add in hair, it's off the board. The official whose testimony was challenged, James Bolding, said in a telephone interview that he did not recall the particular case. But Mr. Bolding said that both his scientific work and his testimony were always careful and professional. When he testified in 1987, he was the supervisor of the laboratory's serology unit. He later became the head of its DNA unit. His testimony helped convict George Rodriguez, who has served 17 years for raping a 14-year-old girl in 1987. DNA results have now cleared him, according to court-ordered testing, and the papers to be filed Thursday will seek his release. As in many of the 146 DNA exonerations across the country, the new information also calls into question the scientific evidence used to convict Mr. Rodriguez in the first place. A re-examination of the work by the Houston crime laboratory is already under way, but only of the DNA evidence used to convict people. That effort involves hundreds of cases and has produced a staggering workload, prosecutors in Houston say. One man has been exonerated, and significant problems have arisen in at least 40 cases. The discovery of flawed work in the laboratory that led to the Rodriguez conviction would seem to require similar reviews of its work, legal experts said, but prosecutors would not immediately say what they will do or whether they will oppose Mr. Rodriguez's release. Barry Scheck, one of Mr. Rodriguez's lawyers, said that Harris County was the worst place in America for a crime laboratory scandal. We know already that they couldn't do DNA testing properly, Mr. Scheck said. Now we have a scandal that calls into question many thousands more cases. And this jurisdiction has produced more executions than any other county in America. Since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, Texas has executed 323 people, 73 for crimes in Harris County. A state audit of the crime laboratory, completed in December 2002, has found that DNA technicians there misinterpreted data, were poorly trained and kept shoddy records. In many cases, the technicians used up all available evidence, making it impossible for defense experts to refute or verify their results. Even the laboratory's building was a mess, with a leaky roof contaminating evidence. The DNA unit was shut down soon afterward, and it remains closed. Police officers and prosecutors vowed to retest DNA evidence in every case where it was used to obtain a conviction. The size of that job, far smaller than the one called for by experts in the Rodriguez case, has involved many thousands of hours. It's massive, said Marie Munier, the assistant district attorney supervising the re-examinations. If you had asked me when it happened would it take us over 2 years to complete this, I would have said: 'You're crazy. No way.' Maybe if they'd gotten 50 or 100 people, she added, they could have gotten it done faster. Ms. Munier said retesting has resulted in one exoneration, that of Josiah Sutton, who was released last year after serving more than four years for a rape he did not commit. Though DNA is often thought of as a tool for exonerations, prosecutors in Mr. Sutton's case had used it to convict him, submitting false scientific evidence asserting that there was a solid match between Mr. Sutton's DNA and that found at the crime scene. In fact, 1 of 8 black people, including Mr. Sutton, shared the relevant DNA profile. More refined retesting cleared him. Ms. Munier said her office had overseen retesting in 360 DNA cases so far. In 18 cases, they were unable to confirm the original H.P.D. results, she said, referring to the Houston Police Department. In 21 cases, I am told by H.P.D. that additional testing is in progress because the first tests did not confirm the original results. In six cases, the retests confirmed the original inclusion or
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news --- N.Y., ILL.
death penalty news August 5, 2004 NEW YORK: Jury rejects death penalty in case A federal jury rejected death as a sentence Thursday for two men convicted of killing a government informant, bringing an emotional end to a case in which the trial judge had concluded the federal death penalty was unconstitutional. Alan Quinones and Diego Rodriguez will be formally sentenced in September to life in prison after the jury announced its conclusion after less than two hours of deliberations. Relieved relatives of the defendants quietly sobbed after the verdict was announced by an anonymous jury that had convicted Quinones and Rodriguez several days earlier in the 1999 murder of informant Edwin Santiago. U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff had warned spectators they would be ushered from the courtroom by U.S. marshals if there were outbursts as the verdict was read. The rejection of the death penalty was met with such quiet that Rakoff felt obligated to tell the jury he had ordered the muted response. Even before the case went to trial, Rakoff made it a focus in the nation's death penalty debate by declaring the federal death penalty statute unconstitutional in July 2002. Rakoff said too many innocent people have been executed and that the federal death statute amounted to the state-sponsored murder of innocent human beings. His ruling energized death penalty challengers. The National Association of Defense Attorneys and the American Civil Liberties Union Capital Punishment Project submitted papers on appeal. But the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan in December 2002 overturned Rakoff's ruling, finding that only the Supreme Court can change well-settled law. The government then proceeded with its death-penalty case against Quinones and Rodriguez. Prosecutors argued for death, saying the murder of the informant in the Bronx was particularly heinous because the two drug dealers tortured and strangled their victim and then burned the body. The defense argued that the defendants had terrible childhoods. The case marked only the second time in Manhattan that a federal jury has considered whether the death penalty should be imposed since the 1953 execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Since then, the death penalty statute has changed considerably, placing much more responsibility with jurors. In the Rosenbergs' 1951 trial, the law called for the judge to impose death in a capital crime unless the jury recommended mercy. Under current law, a separate penalty hearing is held following a conviction for a capital crime. The jury's decision is binding unless a judge finds it to be tainted. In 2001, two men convicted of conspiracy in the 1998 terrorist bombing of two U.S. embassies in Africa were sentenced to life in prison when a jury rejected the death penalty for each of them. (source: AP) == ILLINOIS: Death Penalty Off The Table In Du Quoin Murder Case Perry County Circuit Judge James Campanella Tuesday approved a timetable for discovery, motions and trial in the case against Du Quoin murder suspect J.D. Bagley. Judge Campanella's orders tells both the office of State's Attorney David Stanton and Bagley's attorney to have all of their discovery work completed by July 30, 2004; all motions must be filed on or before September 3, 2004; all responses to motions must be filed on or before September 10, 2004; that a hearing on all motions will be set for September 17, 2004 and set the case for trial on October 18, 2004. Tuesday was a long day for all sides trying to put the case back on track for a September trial. Judge Campanella also entered an order honoring Stanton's request to take the death penalty off the table should Bagley--charged in the November 2003 murder of Marshall Irvin of Du Quoin--be convicted. Stanton commented this morning that things change about what we believe happened and upon critical review of the alleged murder, the case does not lend itself to seeking the death penalty. I do not believe that it would pass judicial review compared to other cases in Illinois, he said. Stanton's petition to seek a term of natural life in prison includes an amended information that includes three counts of first degree murder, armed robbery and concealment of a homicide. Normally, a conviction would carry a 20-60 year term, but Stanton believes the crime was so cruel as to warrant the sentence of natural life. Stanton comments in his notice to seek life imprisonment that The murder of marshall Irvin by the defendant was accompanied by an exceptionally brutal and heinous behavior indicative of wanton cruelty and that the murder of Marshall Irvin was in a cold, calculated and pre-meditated manner pursuant to a preconceived plan, scheme or design to take a human life by unlawful means and the conduct of the defendant created a reasonable expectation that the death of a human being would result
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news-----worldwide
URGENT ACTION APPEAL UPDATE-INDIA 5 August 2004 Further Information on UA 206/04 issued 22 June 2004 and follow-up issued 9 July 2004 Death Penalty/Imminent Execution INDIA : Dhananjoy Chatterjee (m) The President of India has rejected the mercy petition which Dhananjoy Chatterjee's family submitted on 24 June. The state authorities are preparing for his execution, which will not take place before 26 August. Some Indian human rights groups are campaigning against the execution but there has been widespread popular support for the death penalty in this case. Chatterjee's execution was scheduled for 25 June, but was stayed the day before so that the President could consider the mercy petition. This was the second mercy petition presented to him in this case; he had rejected an earlier one in June 1994. In 1989 an Indian court commuted the death sentence imposed on one Gyasi Ram to life imprisonment, on the grounds that he ''had suffered the mental agony of living under the shadow of death for far too long.'' Gyasi had been awaiting a decision on a mercy petition for eight years. According to Indian press reports, in view of the ''inordinate delay'' in the case (Chatterjee has been on death row for 13 years), his lawyer plans to move a petition in the Supreme Court under Article 32 of the Constitution, under which it is possible to petition the Supreme Court for the enforcement of fundamental rights, such as the right to life. It is very unusual for such petitions to succeed. Dhananjoy, a private security guard, was sentenced to death in August 1991 for the rape and murder of an 18-year-old schoolgirl in her apartment in Calcutta on 5 March 1990. The evidence against him was reported to be purely circumstantial, but the Supreme Court ruled that his guilt was ''amply evident'', and imposed the death penalty. He had been due to hang in February 1994, but the execution was postponed twice, and then simply did not take place, apparently because of a bureaucratic oversight. BACKGROUND INFORMATION Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases as a violation of the right to life and the right not to be subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and is concerned that prolonged detention of people under sentence of death may amount to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment. A number of judgements in India and other countries have ruled that long waiting periods for prisoners facing execution amount to inhuman or degrading punishment, or are brutalizing to the human spirit. The death penalty is an inherently unjust and arbitrary punishment, however heinous the crime for which it is inflicted. Studies globally have shown that it is more likely to be imposed on those who are poorer, less educated and from marginalized segments of society. The death penalty is irrevocable, yet the risk of error in its application is inescapable. Amnesty International recognizes the need to combat violent crime, but there is no convincing evidence that the death penalty deters crime more effectively than other punishments. RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible: - expressing regret that the President has rejected the mercy petition filed on behalf of Dhananjoy Chatterjee; - expressing unconditional opposition to the death penalty as a violation of the right to life and the right not to be subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and emphasizing that the death penalty has never been shown to be a more effective deterrent than other punishments; - expressing concern that keeping Chatterjee on death row for 13 years may amount to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, and pointing out that at least one other prisoner in this position has had his death sentence commuted. APPEALS TO: President: His Excellency A P J Abdul Kalam Office of the President Rashtrapati Bhavan New Delhi 110 004 India Fax: 011 91 11 2301 7290 Salutation: Your Excellency Ambassador Embassy of India 2107 Massachusetts Ave. NW Washington DC 20008 Fax: 1 202 483 3972 Email: ambassa...@indiagov.org Please send appeals immediately. Check with the Colorado office between 9:00 am and 6:00 pm, Mountain Time, weekdays only, if sending appeals after September 15, 2004. Urgent Action Network Amnesty International USA PO Box 1270 Nederland CO 80466-1270 Email: u...@aiusa.org http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/ Phone: 303 258 1170 Fax: 303 258 7881 -- END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL UPDATE -- *** URGENT ACTION APPEAL UPDATE-INDONESIA 5 August 2004 Further Information on UA 209/04 issued 24 June 2004 and re-issued 12 July 2004 Death penalty/Fear of imminent execution INDONESIA Ayodhya Prasad Chaubey (m), aged 65, Indian national Meirika Franola alias Ola (f), aged 34,
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----TEXAS
August 5 TEXASjuvenile faces death penalty Barber says teen admitted shooting coupleWhile on the run near Dallas, Acuna befriended the witness After a teenage boy allegedly shot and killed an elderly Baytown couple last year, he fled to Dallas, got a haircut, tried to buy computers and brandished a gun in a motel room when he saw a security guard, according to testimony Wednesday. He was very nervous and jumpy, Adolfo Michael Jimenez, 44, a man who befriended Robert Acuna in the Dallas area, testified. He told me he was on the run because he had shot a couple people. Acuna, 18, is charged with capital murder in the fatal shooting deaths in November of James Carroll, 75, and his wife, Joyce, 74. Each died from a single gunshot wound to the head at their new home in the 4200 block of Copper Creek, across the street from Acuna's home in the Country Club Estates subdivision, police said. Their daughter, who had stopped by for a visit, found the bodies Nov. 12. Prosecutors say Acuna stole cash, jewelry and credit cards from the couple and drove their car to the Dallas area. If convicted, Acuna, who was 17 at the time of the shootings, could be executed. He has pleaded not guilty. Acuna was arrested Nov. 17 in a motel room in Garner outside Dallas. The Carrolls' missing 1989 Pontiac with the couple's credit cards and a .38-caliber revolver on the front seat was found parked at the same motel, police said. Jimenez, a barber, testified Wednesday that he cut Acuna's hair and then rented him a room at the motel because Acuna was too young to rent a room. Jimenez said he met Acuna at the motel Nov. 13. Acuna later offered to buy Jimenez a computer and a printer as birthday gifts, saying money is no object because he was using his father's credit cards. He tried to use the cards, but was declined. Defense attorneys suggested Jimenez knew the cards were not Acuna's and that he encouraged the teen to use them. Jimenez denied it in his testimony. (source: Houston Chronicle) * Dallas man: Acuna claimed he killed 2 people The man with whom Robert Aaron Acuna was staying upon his arrest for the murders of James and Joyce Carroll testified Wednesday that the Baytown teenager told him that he had killed two people, one of them an elderly man. Adolfo Mike Jimenez, a self-employed auto mechanic in Dallas, was the principal witness during the second day of Acuna's capital murder trial. Acuna, 18, faces the death penalty or life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 40 years if convicted. Under questioning from Harris County Assistant District Attorney Renee Magee, Jimenez testified he met Acuna in the stairway of a Dallas-area motel on the night of Nov. 13, a day after authorities believe the Carrolls were shot to death in their Country Club Estates home. Jimenez, 44, who said he lived in the motel for about 5 months, testified that Acuna asked him if he knew of any nearby shopping malls. The two went to Jimenez' room and talked for about 2 hours, he said. Jimenez said Acuna told him he had graduated from high school in the Houston area and just had moved to Dallas. The next morning, Acuna asked Jimenez if he could go with Jimenez while he did some work, and the 2 rode in the Pontiac that Acuna had driven to the motel, Jimenez testified. During the course of the day, Jimenez testified, he mentioned that his birthday was the next day. Jimenez said Acuna told him that he would buy him a gift using his father's credit card, and that money was no object. Jimenez testified that he wanted a computer, so the men went to a Radio Shack that he frequented. Earlier, Mark McFarland, a sales associate at the store, testified that he had known Jimenez for about 5 years. He testified that on Nov. 14, Jimenez entered the store with a young Latin male. McFarland identified Acuna as the man who was with Jimenez. McFarland testified that the pair tried to charge more than $5,000 worth of computer equipment and other merchandise on credit cards under the name James M. Carroll. He said Acuna told him that was his name. McFarland testified that both credit cards were declined, but that no reason was given on the card reader. The 2 men then left the store, leaving the credit cards behind, he said. Jimenez testified that later that night, while he was walking to the motel office to pay his rent, Acuna called him into his room and asked if a security guard outside was a police officer. Jimenez said Acuna was acting very nervous, jumpy. At some point, he testified, Acuna brought out a handgun and said that if the security guard had been a cop, Acuna might have had to shoot the guard. Jimenez testified that Acuna held the gun to his own cheek, and that Jimenez told him to put the gun away. Jimenez, who earlier had admitted to being a convicted sex offender who had spent time in prison, testified that he didn't want the gun around because he was afraid being around a weapon could put
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----S.DAK., ALA., S.C., N.Y.
August 5 SOUTH DAKOTA: Death-row inmate takes appeal to U.S. Supreme Court An appeal by South Dakota death-row inmate Charles Russell Rhines will be considered during the October term of the U.S. Supreme Court. Rhines, 48, wants the high court to decide if his future appeal strategy may be limited. A 3-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last October that Rhines must choose between continued appeals in state or federal court. The decision overturned U.S. District Judge Karen Schreier of Sioux Falls, who had ruled in 2002 that Rhines could continue in state court with issues not exhausted there while his federal habeas corpus petition was put on hold. Rhines was found guilty of 1st-degree murder for fatally stabbing Donnivan Schaeffer, 22, at a Rapid City doughnut shop on March 8, 1992. Schaeffer worked at the shop and was killed during a burglary. Rhines has alleged that he did not get a fair trial and that he illegally received the death penalty. He is one of four men on death row in South Dakota and is considered to be the closest to execution. The last execution in the state took place in 1947 when George Sitts, 33, was electrocuted after killing 2 South Dakota lawmen while on the run from a murder in Minneapolis. Sitts died a few minutes after being led from his cell to the electric chair. Wearing a black hood with blinders over his eyes, he was given alternating shocks of 2,300 volts and 575 volts. Sitts, who had earlier been in jail and prison for other crimes, kept his bravado to the end. His final statement was: In my experience, this is the first time the authorities ever helped me escape (from) prison. If Rhines is executed, he will first be numbed by a fast-acting sedative and then his heart will be stopped by a lethal drug. Electrocution was repealed by the 1984 Legislature, which decided that future executions should be more humanely done by lethal injection. John Schlimgen and Roberto Lange, 2 Sioux Falls attorneys representing Rhines, argue in a written brief to the U.S. Supreme Court that a one-year restriction on federal habeas corpus proceedings does not expire while state habeas proceedings are pending. In an effort to shorten the lengthy appeal process in death-penalty cases, Congress passed a law in 1996 that limits the time to file federal habeas corpus petitions to one year after completion of direct appeals. The Anti-terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act also restricts the scope of review by federal judges and generally limits prisoners to a single federal appeal; a 2nd appeal is allowed only if new evidence of innocence is convincing. State lawyers who are fighting Rhines' legal maneuvers would not be reached Wednesday. They were attending a death-penalty conference in Portland, Ore. One of those lawyers, Deputy Attorney General Craig Eichstadt, has said in the past that Rhines should not be allowed to continue his appeal efforts in both state and federal courts. Eichstadt also has argued that Rhines cannot legally bring up some issues not raised earlier. (source: Associated Press) ALABAMA - impending execution Protests don't halt preparation to execute 74-year-old prisoner With numerous pleas before the courts and Gov. Bob Riley to stop the execution, Alabama authorities Wednesday continued preparations for the lethal injection today of 74-year-old James Barney Hubbard. Hubbard would be the oldest person to be executed in the United States since 1941. At age 74, with all of his illnesses and his documented dementia, regardless of that you think about the death penalty, there is no deterrent value or any other purpose served by putting Mr. Hubbard to death, said Hubbard's attorney, Alan Rose of Boston. Hubbard, the oldest inmate on Alabama's death row, was convicted of the 1977 slaying of Lillian Montgomery, a 62-year-old Tuscaloosa storeowner who took him in after he was paroled from prison in another murder. He has been on death row 27 years. During incarceration, Hubbard has developed dementia, cancer, emphysema and hepatitis. His attorneys have based appeals on his age and his medical and psychological problems, saying it would be cruel and unusual punishment to execute him. He's confused. A psychologist has pointed out that Hubbard is unable to understand any complex procedure. His memory is extremely poor. He's in constant pain, and he can only walk with great difficulty and great pain, Rose said. Rose this week filed briefs with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, but the court Wednesday refused to block the execution and he filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court. We also continue to have high hopes for our pleas before Governor Riley, Rose said. I have confidence that Governor Riley will do the right thing and commute to life without possibility of parole. By late Wednesday, the governor had not intervened or commented publicly. Spokesman John Matson said Riley had received more than 100 requests to
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----CALIF.
August 5 CALIFORNIA: Peterson trial delayed while defense investigates new evidence Scott Peterson's murder trial will be delayed until early next week so the defense can investigate recently discovered evidence, the judge announced Thursday after a closed-door session with the lawyers. Defense lawyer Mark Geragos said outside court that the evidence is potentially exculpatory and was reluctantly turned over by the prosecution. No details about the evidence were announced. Trial testimony is expected to resume on Tuesday. The announcement about the trial delay came after Judge Alfred Delucchi consulted with defense and prosecution lawyers in his chambers Thursday morning. A separate evidence debate led to a shouting match between attorneys Wednesday afternoon after jurors were removed from the courtroom. Geragos loudly complained that prosecutors had failed to inform the defense about a problem with the testimony of a woman who said Peterson seemed nonchalant as he searched through photos of his missing wife. The problem was that on the eve of her testimony, the woman failed to identify any of the photos she later testified about. How many times am I going to have to get discovery by cross-examination? Geragos shouted. The judge, clearly angry, upbraided the apologetic prosecutor, Rick Distaso, and struck the woman's testimony from the record. Prosecutors allege Peterson killed his wife, Laci, in their Modesto home on or around Dec. 24, 2002, then drove to the bay and dumped her weighted body from a small boat he had purchased just weeks earlier. The badly decomposed remains of Laci Peterson and the couple's fetus washed ashore in April 2003, not far from where Peterson said he went on a solo fishing trip the day she vanished. (source: Associated Press)
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----ALABAMA
Aug. 5 ALABAMA: Supreme Court denies stay of execution to aging Alabama inmate A 74-year-old condemned murderer was denied a stay by the U.S. Supreme Court as he neared a scheduled execution Thursday that would make him the oldest inmate put to death in the United States in decades. In a 5-4 decision, the high court denied a stay for James Barney Hubbard, whose attorney contended it would amount to cruel and unusual punishment to execute an inmate so old and mentally incompetent. Hubbard, Alabama's oldest death row inmate, was scheduled to die at 6 p.m. CDT by lethal injection at Holman Prison for the 1977 murder of 62-year-old Lillian Montgomery of Tuscaloosa. She was shot in the head and robbed after befriehnding Hubbard, who had been released from prison after serving 19 years for a 1957 killing. He had also asked for a commuted sentence from Gov. Bob Riley, who after the Supreme Court's decision said he would not block the execution. He said Hubbard had committed a heinous and violent crime. Justice has not been swift in this case, but justice must be delivered, Riley said. Defense Attorney Alan Rose said Hubbard would be the oldest person executed in the United States in 63 years. In his filing with the Supreme Court, Rose said that Hubbard's age-based execution claim appears to raise a novel issue, but added that it is in line with claims of cruel and unusual punishment made by others based upon their status. The state, in response, said the age and dementia claims should have been made earlier and are now barred by law. Murderers especially repeat killers like Hubbard do not deserve 'leniency' merely because their life of crime does not result in the imposition of a death sentence until later in life, the state's response said. Hubbard, in his federal appeals, said he didn't speak up about his mental state and health sooner because the conditions were related to his aging and didn't exist when he was younger. Court filings on his behalf say he has been diagnosed with dementia, along with other ailments. The state's response said dementia does not automatically mean a person is mentally incompetent and that Hubbard had not sought mental treatment during his recent decades as a condemned inmate. Hubbard appealed to the high court Wednesday after the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a 2-1 vote denied the request for a stay. In the Supreme Court's 5-4 decision, the stay was denied by Chief Justice William Rehnquist and Justices Sandra Day O'Connor, Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy and Clarence Thomas. Justices John Paul Stevens, David Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer would have granted the stay. Records from the Death Penalty Information Center show Hubbard would be the oldest U.S. prisoner put to death since executions resumed in 1977 with approval of the U.S. Supreme Court. According to the Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, Hubbard would be the oldest person executed in the United States since 1941, when James Stephens of Colorado was executed at age 76. (source: Associated Press)
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----ALA., TENN., PENN., LA.
August 5 ALABAMAexecution Alabama executes aging inmate for 1977 murder A 74-year-old condemned murderer was executed Thursday after courts and the governor refused to prevent him from becoming the oldest U.S. inmate put to death in decades. James Barney Hubbard died by lethal injection at 6:36 p.m. at Holman Prison near Atmore. Hubbard was executed for the 1977 murder of 62-year-old Lillian Montgomery of Tuscaloosa. She was shot in the head and robbed after befriending Hubbard, who had been released from prison after serving 19 years for a 1957 killing. Hubbard becomes the 1st condemned inmate to be put to death this year in Alabama, and the 29th overall since the state resumed capital punishment in 1983. Hubbard becomes the 37th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the USA and the 922nd overall since America resumed executions on January 17, 1077. (sources: Associated Press Rick Halperin) TENNESSEE: Workman Denied ClemencyExecution Scheduled For Aug. 26 The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole board voted Thursday to deny clemency to a man convicted and sentenced to death for the beating death of his girlfriend's 2-year-old daughter. The board voted 4-1 against clemency for Windel Ray Workman, 46, who is to be executed Aug. 26 for the Jan. 10, 1987, death of Amber Holman. Holman was the daughter of Workman's live-in girlfriend. Court documents indicate he had a history of abusing the child, eventually killing her with multiple blows to the head and abdomen. Court documents indicate that 3 doctors testified the child's death was caused by blunt trauma and that her injuries were consistent with being hit by a fist, a hard object such as a board or being picked up by her legs and slammed into a wall. (source: Associated Press) PENNSYLVANIA: Death Penalty Sought in Murder Case Delaware County prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against a man accused of killing 2 people in a botched robbery attempt in Upper Darby. 24-year-old William Rankins of Philadelphia was formally arraigned on murder charges in Media today. He pleaded not guilty. Police say Rankins and 22 year old Darryl Williams, Junior murdered Jamie Durham and Jawaun Ellis as they sat in a car on LaCarra Drive. Police are still looking for Williams. (source: WPVI News) LOUISIANA: Trial opens in Louisiana serial killings In Port Allen, a woman who said she survived a nearly fatal attack by a man suspected of 7 killings in south Louisiana pointed to the defendant in court Thursday, telling him, While my eyes were closed, I did not forget your face. Diane Alexander was the 1st witness in the 1st trial for Derrick Todd Lee, who was arrested last year. Authorities say DNA evidence links him to the women's deaths. Lee, 35, is being tried for 2nd-degree murder in the death of Geralyn DeSoto, 21, who was found in a pool of her own blood in January 2002 in West Baton Rouge parish. A conviction would bring a life sentence. Lee also faces at least 3 other trials - 2 death penalty cases in other slayings, and an attempted rape-murder case in the attack on Alexander. I feel good he's caught, because had he not been caught, he'd probably still be on a killing spree, Alexander testified. Lee's attorney Tommy Thompson asked for a mistrial after Alexander made the killing spree comment, saying that she improperly referred to crimes that are not supposed to be mentioned in the trial. Prosecutors in DeSoto's slaying are allowed to use evidence from Alexander's case and only one of the other slayings. State district Judge Robin Free rejected Thompson's motion, saying Alexander did not refer to any specific crime. Alexander testified that in July 2002, Lee forced his way into her mobile home and beat her nearly unconscious after claiming to be lost. He fled after her son arrived at the trailer, she said. Pictures of Alexander taken after she was assaulted showed her with eyes swollen shut, head cuts and a puncture wound in one arm. In his opening statement, prosecutor Tony Clayton detailed the bloody DeSoto crime scene, saying she had been stabbed in the back and the side and that her throat had been slashed. He savagely, brutally sucked the life out of that child, Clayton said. Clayton said experts will testify that DNA found under DeSoto's fingernails could only have come from males in Lee's family, because Lee has peculiar markings that are rarely seen in DNA. In his opening, Thompson asked jurors to listen to both sides of the case and to form their own opinions on whether DNA is the magic bullet that prosecutors claim. (source: Associated Press)
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news-----OKLAHOMA
August 5 [friends---the following item was put out earlier under the heading of TENNESSEEthat was incorrect.the story relates to a death row inmate in Oklahoma..Philip Workman, on death row in Tennessee, has an execution date for September 22my apologies for the error and confusion] OKLAHOMA: Workman Denied ClemencyExecution Scheduled For Aug. 26 The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole board voted Thursday to deny clemency to a man convicted and sentenced to death for the beating death of his girlfriend's 2-year-old daughter. The board voted 4-1 against clemency for Windel Ray Workman, 46, who is to be executed Aug. 26 for the Jan. 10, 1987, death of Amber Holman. Holman was the daughter of Workman's live-in girlfriend. Court documents indicate he had a history of abusing the child, eventually killing her with multiple blows to the head and abdomen. Court documents indicate that 3 doctors testified the child's death was caused by blunt trauma and that her injuries were consistent with being hit by a fist, a hard object such as a board or being picked up by her legs and slammed into a wall. (source: Associated Press)
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----CONN., CALIF., ALA., ILL.
Aug. 5 CONNECTICUT: Man could face death penalty for West Hartford killing A Torrington man faces the possibility of the death penalty after being convicted Thursday in a murder-for-hire plot in which he was to receive a broken snowmobile. The 12-member jury convicted Eduardo Santiago Jr. of capital felony and other crimes after little more than one day of deliberations and a 6-day trial. The jury will return to court Tuesday to begin hearing evidence on whether Santiago, 24, should die by lethal injection. If he is sentenced to death, Santiago would become the 8th man on Connecticut's death row. The state has not executed anyone since 1960, but the state Supreme Court has now heard appeals from every death row inmate. Santiago was found guilty of shooting Joseph Niwinski, 45, in his left temple as he slept in December 2000. Authorities said Santiago was so enthusiastic about the plot that he made a rifle silencer out of a plastic soda bottle and wrote Joe, Niwinski's nickname, on the gun's bullets. Prosecutors Donna Mambrino and John Fahey argued that Santiago was asked to kill Niwinski by Mark Pascual, a 39-year-old Torrington machine shop owner. Authorities said Pascual became infatuated with Niwinski's girlfriend and hoped he could win her affections by having Niwinski killed. Pascual testified in Santiago's trial that he agreed to give Santiago a pink-striped snowmobile with a broken clutch in exchange for killing Niwinski. Pascual avoided a possible death sentence by agreeing to testify against Santiago and another man, Edwin Snelgrove, who is charged in another homicide case. Snelgrove is accused of killing 32-year-old Carmen Rodriguez of Hartford, whose partially clothed remains were found in a trash bag in Hopkinton, R.I., in 2002, 4 months after she disappeared. Authorities said Pascual obtained information about the Snelgrove case while in prison. Pascual is facing 25 to 110 years in prison under the deal. Another man in the Niwinski case, Matthew Tyrell, 23, of Winsted, pleaded guilty to helping plan Niwinski's killing and entering his apartment with Santiago after they found a key in a mailbox. Tyrell, who also testified against Santiago, is serving a life sentence. Defense lawyers Kevin Randolph and John Franckling did not call any witnesses in Santiago's case. In his closing argument, Randolph tried to cast doubt on the credibility of Pascual and Tyrell, saying both avoided potential death penalties by agreeing to testify against Santiago. (source: Hartford Courant) CALIFORNIA: Bishop-murder jurors vote for death penalty In a Martinez courtroom Tuesday, a 10-woman, 2-man jury decided Justin Alan Helzer should be put to death for 5 murders 4 summers ago. In addition, to Helzers receiving the death penalty for murdering Selina Bishop, 22, of Woodacre and an elderly couple in Concord, the jurors decided he should be sentenced to prison for life without possibility of parole for helping dismember Bishops mother, Jenny Villarin, 45, of Novato and her friend James Gamble, 54, of Laytonville. Although there is no evidence that Helzer was present for the murders of Vil-larin and Gamble, who were murdered in Bishops Woodacre apartment, he helped cut up all 5 victims, put their bodies in duffel bags, and dump them in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. Liberty or death After a week of testimony where relatives of victims spoke of their loss, Helz-ers friends pleaded for the jurors to spare his life. However, that may not have been what Helzer himself wanted. Shortly before the penalty phase of the trial ended, the 32-year-old defendant interrupted court proceedings to ask that he be either freed or exe-cuted. Although Helzer showed no emotion when the verdict was read, his mother Carma Helzer, several jurors, and even Judge Mary Ann OMalley were in tears. In the jury box, witnesses held hands and con-soled each other. Elsewhere in the court-room, however, one witness shouted, Yes! The formal sentencing by OMalley will occur in a month. Also to be sentenced are Justins brother Glenn Taylor Helzer, 35, and their housemate Dawn Godman, who will receive 38 years to life in exchange for testifying against Justin. Godman has admitted taking part in the conspiracy to murder Bishop, the daughter of Forest Knolls rock guitarist Elvin Bishop; her mother, a bartender at the Papermill Creek Saloon in Forest Knolls; her friend Gamble; and Ivan, 85, and Annette, 78, Stineman of Concord. Twisted schemes Their deaths were part of a number of twisted schemes masterminded by Glenn Taylor to hasten Jesus Christs return to earth by killing Mormon leaders. (The older Helzer had previously been excom-municated from the Mormon Church.) Among the schemes training Brazilian orphans as assassins, plying wealthy executives with drugs and prostitutes, and ex-torting $200,000 from the Stinemans, who had been Glenn Taylors clients when he worked for a stock brokerage. Glenn Helzer used
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----ALA., CALIF., UTAH, N.Y., FLA.
August 6 ALABAMA: U.S. Supreme Court, Riley refuse to stop execution Dressed in a white prison uniform, strapped to a gurney with his arms outstretched, almost angelic, a silver-haired James Barney Hubbard died peacefully by lethal injection Thursday. At 6:36 p.m., the 74-year-old from Bibb County became the oldest person ever to be executed in the state of Alabama, and the oldest in the United States since 1976, the year the death penalty was reinstated. Outside Holman Correctional Facility, three women from a local Roman Catholic Church, one a nun named Sister Lillian, protested the execution with candles. Hubbard, who had been on death row for more than 26 years for the 1977 slaying of Lillian Montgomery of Tuscaloosa, nodded that he understood when Warden Grantt Culliver read the death order at 6:13 p.m. The 1st drug was administered through IVs in both arms at 6:17 p.m. Hubbard yawned twice and fell asleep with his mouth slightly open. I tell you what, I would have liked to have seen the electric chair in use today, or maybe even a firing squad, said Jimmy Montgomery, the 66-year-old son of Lillian Montgomery. He looked like he died too peacefully to me. I would have liked to have seen him suffer a little more, the way mama did. That would have given me a bit more satisfaction. But I am glad to see this part of our life end. Earlier in the day, shortly after Hubbard was served his last meal the U.S. Supreme Court denied a stay of execution for Hubbard by a 5-4 vote. Alabama Gov. Bob Riley, who under state law has the power to grant reprieves and commutations, said later that he had no intention of interfering with the execution. It is a very sad day, said Alan D. Rose, Hubbard's attorney. The state of Alabama has taken the life of a 74-year-old man. The U.S. Supreme Court did not do its job today. It could have saved a sick, frail man's life. It makes no sense. Through the execution, Montgomery, his wife, Ruth, and sister Jeanette Parrott held hands in a witness room opposite of the one that held Hubbard's daughter, Barbara McKinney, attorney and spiritual adviser. We love each other, said Parrott, who was 1 of 6 Montgomery family members who made the trip to Atmore on Thursday. We were holding each other because we were there for each other. Hubbard showed no emotion, and when asked if he had any last words, he shook his head and said, No. Looking sickly and so pale the tattoo on his right arm and blue veins in his head stood out, he looked at McKinney for about 30 seconds before closing his eyes and waiting for the lethal injection process to begin. Steve Hayes, executive assistant for Alabama's Department of Corrections, said McKinney is claiming Hubbard's body. It is not known where he will be buried. His daughter stood by his side in these last days, Rose said. She did her job. Hubbard was convicted twice in Montgomery's death. In June 1980, an execution date was set for July 11, 1980, but a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court declared Alabama's death penalty law unconstitutional. Hubbard was retried and sentenced to death at the retrial. His 1st conviction happened within 20 years of a 2nd-degree murder conviction in the 1957 death of David Dockery in Tuscaloosa County. He was released on the state's good time incentive act in 1976. Less than a year later, he shot 62-year-old Lillian Montgomery in the shoulder, head and face. She was left to die alone on the kitchen floor of her apartment on U.S. Highway 82, about 3 miles south of Tuscaloosa. I know it was tough on Hubbard's daughter to watch her daddy die, Jimmy Montgomery said. But he never showed any remorse. I was looking for him to say something to us today. I thought hed say he was sorry for all the pain he caused our family. You know, the shot to my mother's head was so bad it blew her false teeth down her throat. She didn't deserve to die like that. Hubbard has maintained his innocence throughout his tenure on death row. In a letter he wrote to Lillian Montgomery's granddaughter, Janet Voss, he said that he knew God and that he loved her grandmother very much. I don't see how you kill somebody you love, Voss said Thursday. He took something precious from me. For years, Hubbard had been on several medications, including pain relievers and antidepressants. He claimed to prison medical personnel and a psychologist that he was in constant pain from various stomach and prostrate problems throughout his tenure on death row and that he couldnt sleep well. Hubbard, raised in a farm family, grew up in Bibb County and in Tuscaloosa. He worked as a carpenter in Tuscaloosa and in Texas before he was convicted of murder. On Wednesday and Thursday, he had about 15 visitors. He had 4 visitors from the Kairos Organization, a spiritual group. Hubbard leaves behind 2 grown children. McKinney, 53, used to visit him regularly. She has 6 children, 4 of them adopted. Hubbard also has a son, John, who has 2 children. David
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news---worldwide
News Release Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty International AI Index: ASA 21/027/20045 August 2004 Indonesia: Execution of Indian national is step backwards The execution of Ayodhya Prasad Chaubey marks a step backwards for human rights in Indonesia. The 65-year-old Indian national was sentenced to death for drug-trafficking in 1994. His execution today is the first in the country in over three years. The execution is a violation of the right to life and a serious blow to the respect for human rights in Indonesia, said Catherine Baber, Asia Pacific Deputy Director at Amnesty International. By carrying out this execution, Indonesia is moving sharply against the global trend towards abolishing this inherently cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. Amnesty International is concerned that Ayodhya Prasad Chaubey's trial might not have met international fair trial standards. He reportedly did not have access to lawyers or interpreters during the initial police investigation and so was denied an opportunity to prepare a defence or to fully understand the charges against him. The possibility of error in any justice system means that every execution carries the risk of killing the innocent. We are particularly concerned about the risk that the death penalty may be applied in error -- especially in a judicial system which is still in need of reform, said Catherine Baber. This risk is highlighted by the allegations of shortcomings in Ayodhya Prasad Chaubey's trial, and by concerns about corruption within the judiciary expressed by the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers following his visit to Indonesia in 2002. Two Thai nationals convicted of the same crime also face the death penalty after their appeals for presidential clemency were rejected in July 2004. Saelow Prasert, a 62-year old man, and Namsong Sirilak, a 32-year-old woman, are among 11 drug-traffickers whose appeals were rejected in June and July. While Amnesty International recognizes that governments need to address the trade and use of illicit drugs, the organization is convinced that the death penalty will not provide the solution. There is no convincing evidence that the death penalty acts as a more effective deterrent against crime than any other form of punishment. The organization is urging the Indonesian authorities to declare a moratorium on executions, with a view to abolishing the death penalty. Background At least sixty-seven people are believed to be on death row in Indonesia. Despite pro-death penalty statements by the government, particularly for drug trafficking, executions are rare. The last known execution took place in May 2001 when two men were executed for murder. Prior to this, there had been no executions for six years. In recent years, an increasing number of death sentences have been handed down to those convicted of drug trafficking. Of the eight death sentences handed down by courts of first instance this year, seven have been for drug-related offences committed by foreign nationals. In June and July 2004, President Megawati Sukarnoputri rejected clemency for eleven people convicted of drug-related offences. All documents on Indonesia ar http://amnesty-news.c.topica.com/maacwxCaa8YVRbb0havb/ * You may repost this message onto other sources provided the main text is not altered in any way and both the header crediting Amnesty International and this footer remain intact.
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----TEXAS, ALA., OHIO
August 6 TEXAS: Death-row inmate wins appeal A man facing the death penalty for an Amarillo businessman's 1990 stabbing death should receive a new sentencing hearing or a life sentence, a federal judge has ruled, but prosecutors plan to appeal the decision. In a ruling issued Monday, U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson cited a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision and said Randall County jurors should have had special instructions to consider mitigating evidence before sentencing Brent Ray Brewer, 34, to death. In the appeal, Brewer's attorney, Michael D. Samonek of Dallas, claimed the trial court's refusal to permit a special issue or instruction on mitigating evidence violated Brewer's constitutional rights. In 1991, Brewer, then 21, was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death for the stabbing death of Robert Doyle Laminack, 66. On April 26, 1990, Brewer and Kristie Lynn Nystrom persuaded Laminack to give them a ride to the Amarillo Salvation Army, and the pair rode in the back seat. After traveling about a block, Brewer stabbed Laminack several times in the neck while Nystrom held Laminacks arm to prevent him from fighting back. Brewer and Nystrom took about $140 from the victims wallet. Nystrom pleaded guilty to capital murder and received a life sentence. According to federal court records: During his trial, witnesses testified Brewer was severely depressed and was involuntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital three months before the slaying. While undergoing treatment, Brewer met Nystrom, a topless dancer, and witnesses later testified Brewer was dominated and controlled by Nystrom, who continued to have a romantic relationship with him after he was released from the hospital. In her ruling, Robinson cited previous Supreme Court rulings, one of which clarified standards affecting some death penalty cases. The evidence petitioner presented at trial - his abused childhood, his severe depression, his involuntary commitment shortly before the murder, and his domination by Kristie Nystrom - fits within this expansive definition, Robinson's ruling says. This evidence is the sort that might serve as a basis for a sentence less than death. Robinson's ruling says jurors could have viewed evidence presented at Brewer's trial as either mitigating or aggravating. The mitigating evidence presented may have served as a basis for mercy even if a jury decided that the murder was committed deliberately or that (Brewer) posed a continuing threat. Without an instruction, much less a special issue on mitigation, this evidence was out of the jury's reach, Robinson's ruling says. Failure to submit an instruction on mitigation evidence was an unreasonable application of federal law and Supreme Court precedent. Randall County Criminal District Attorney James Farren on Thursday questioned Robinson's ruling. Farren said his office and Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott's staff will appeal the decision to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. We believe that this is clearly contrary to existing law. We believe the court has misread the law and we feel confident that on appeal the 5th Circuit will read the law differently, Farren said. (soure: Amarillo Globe News) ALABAMA: JOINT PRESS RELEASE AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF ALABAMA 207 Montgomery Street, Suite 825 Montgomery, AL 36104 (334) 265-2754 Contacts: Kimberly Parker, Staff Attorney 334-265-2754 x203 ACLU of Alabama Lucia Penland, Executive Director 334-264-7416 Alabama Prison Project Esther Brown 334-499-0003 Project Hope to Abolish the Death Penalty ACLU OF ALABAMA, ALABAMA PRISON PROJECT AND PROJECT HOPE TO ABOLISH THE DEATH PENALTY CONDEMN THE EXECUTION OF JAMES B. HUBBARD MONTGOMERY, ALA. --James Barney Hubbard was executed in the name of the citizens of the state of Alabama today, August 5, 2004 for the murder of Lillian Montgomery. Our thoughts go out to the families of both Mrs. Montgomery and Mr. Hubbard. Mr. Hubbard was 74 years old and was terminally ill as the result of prostate and colon cancer, hepatitis A, B and C. He spent twenty-seven years on Alabamas death row; he did not present a danger to society. There was evidence that Mr. Hubbard was also borderline mentally retarded and suffered from dementia, calling into question whether he was competent to be executed as is required under the law. In Ford v. Wainwright, decided in 1986, the Supreme Court held that the execution of the mentally ill was unconstitutional and that this prohibition was firmly rooted in law. Justice Thurgood Marshall wrote, Whether its aim be to protect the condemned from fear and pain without comfort of understanding, or to protect the dignity of society itself from the barbarity of exacting mindless vengeance, the restriction finds enforcement in the Eight Amendment. We will never know if Mr. Hubbard was incompetent to be executed. When the state filed its motion to set an execution date for Mr. Hubbard, his
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----NEV., USA, ALA., IDAHO, CALIF.
August 7 NEVADAimpending execution//volunteer Nevada executions follow precise procedures Unless Terry Jess Dennis asks for a last-minute stay, the condemned inmate will be led through a submarine-type door into the Nevada State Prison's death chamber and be executed at 9 p.m. Thursday. Dennis will have already had his final meal, coffee, cigarettes or a cigar if he wants in a last night cell just outside the half-century-old death chamber. Before his last meal, Dennis will be able to send out letters and make final phone calls. He might choose to give away his personal items to other inmates. The condemned man can receive visits by the chaplain, warden or prison director. Dennis' brother already visited him, and no other family members are expected. Dennis has requested a set of clean prison denims, and has asked for cigarettes during his final days, prison spokesman Fritz Schlottman said. To guard against suicide attempts, a death watch guard keeps an eye on the convict at all times. Dennis can't have any electrical items, such as a radio or television, although they can be placed in the corridor just outside the cell. A few hours before the execution, Dennis will be given a sedative to relax him and discourage any last-minute resistance. About half an hour before the execution deadline, Dennis will be brought into a 9-by-12-foot, beige-painted room. There he will be strapped to a gurney with 8 automobile seat belts. If he can't or won't walk to the death room, guards will carry him in. While lying on the gurney, Dennis will be able to see two bare light bulbs and the old exhaust pipe that was used to fill the room with cyanide gas until the Legislature discontinued the practice in 1983. If he turns his head, Dennis will see a heart monitor. Through a 3-panel window on his right he can see the nine witnesses who are required by law to watch his execution, plus a dozen or so other witnesses who will stand in a 13-by-20-foot viewing room. Behind him, a one-way mirror hides the faces of 2 prison employees in a closet-sized executioners room. Unless the red phone outside the death chamber brings last-minute legal relief, the prison workers will pump 3 injections through tubes running out of the wall and into the prisoner's veins. The 1st is an overdose of a downer that can cause death. Another stops breathing, and a 3rd stops the heart. A few minutes later if all has gone as scheduled, a doctor will pronounce Dennis dead. Window shades on the death chamber windows will be pulled down, the needles removed from his arm, and the body transported to a mortuary. 2 and possibly 3 other locations at the prison were used before James Williams was executed in the current death chamber in 1950 for murdering a co-worker in Elko. 21 condemned men have died in the chamber since. Those executions are among 52 at the state prison since 1901, when it was designated as the location for all executions in the state of Nevada. Jesse Bishop, convicted of murder in a Las Vegas casino robbery, was the last person to be executed in the chamber by lethal gas, in 1979. Since then, all executions have been by lethal injection. Bishop and the other condemned men who followed him were table jumpers, guard parlance for inmates who didn't resist as they were led to the death chamber and strapped into a chair or onto the gurney that's now used. Sebastian Bridges' execution on April 21, 2001, wasn't so typical. Wearing his brown, double-breasted Pierre Cardin suit and shiny, new black shoes, Bridges appeared calm at first. But then he broke down, sobbing and screaming, You want to kill me like a dog. Still Bridges wouldn't appeal. Had he done so, even at the last minute, the execution would have been called off. (source: Associated Press) USA: Religious students' politics cross lines Strongly religious college students have conservative views on sex, abortion, gay rights and drugs, but more liberal views on gun control and the death penalty, a new study says. The study by UCLA's Higher Education Research Institute polled nearly 3,700 college juniors at 46 schools across the country, and found that 1/5 of college students are highly religious. A similar percentage said they have little interest in religion. Those 2 groups have widely divergent views on a number of social issues, the study found. While 80 % of the least religious students said they felt casual sex was acceptable, only 7 % of the most religious students felt the same way. The least religious students were more than 3 times as likely to support legalized abortion, while highly religious students were more than twice as likely to support laws prohibiting homosexual relationships. But while highly religious students tend to be more conservative than less religious students on certain issues, they can be more liberal on other issues, the study found. Compared to those with little or no religious interests, a higher percentage of
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news-----worldwide
August 8 INDONESIA: Drug traffickers deserve death sentence: Amien National Mandate Party (PAN) leader Amien Rais said on Saturday he agreed with the government's recent decision to execute Indian national Ayodya Prasad Chaubery, who had been sentenced to death for a major drug offense. I agree that drug traffickers should be given the death penalty because they are killing our youth, Amien said after attending a gathering of Muhammadiyah, the 2nd-largest Muslimorganization in the country, which he once headed. Indonesia executed Chaubey on Thursday, almost 10 years after he was sentenced to death for smuggling 12 kilograms of heroin into the country, despite appeals from local and international institutions. However, Amien reminded that protests by certain quarters against the death sentence should also be heeded because they were based on reasonable arguments. He acknowledged, however, that from a purely religious point of view, drug traffickers deserved to be put to death, he said. Amien said capital punishment for drug traffickers was not a violation of the principles of human rights because if they remained alive, their actions would result in the death of others. (source: The Jakarta Post)
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news-----OKLAHOMA
August 8 OKLAHOMA: Nichols set to get life a 2nd time Already serving life in federal prison, Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols is set to be sentenced to life in state prison Monday, and his attorneys say he may use the occasion to speak publicly for the 1st time since he went on trial. The possibility of a statement gives new hope to victims' families who question whether the bombing conspiracy was limited to Nichols and bomber Timothy McVeigh. Some day I hope that Terry will come forward and tell the truth, that God will lead him to tell the truth, said Tina Tomlin, whose husband, Department of Transportation special agent Rick Tomlin, was killed in the April 19, 1995, bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. I've always felt that there were others unknown involved, said Gloria Chipman, whose husband, Robert Chipman, was killed in the state Water Resources Board building across the street. Nichols, 49, was convicted in state court on May 26 on 161 counts of murder but was spared the death penalty when his jury deadlocked on a sentence. He never testified during his state and federal trials and said nothing after he was convicted in federal court. However, he is seriously considering making a statement in court before state District Judge Steven Taylor sentences him Monday to more life terms. He has a legal right to make a statement to plead for mercy, express remorse or apologize to victims. It's one of the things that could happen, lead defense attorney Brian Hermanson said. Defense attorney Creekmore Wallace said he does not know what Nichols might say. I hope he lets us see it first, Wallace said. Nichols was sentenced to life in prison without parole in 1998 on federal involuntary manslaughter and conspiracy convictions for the deaths of eight federal law enforcement officers. Jurors at that trial also deadlocked on whether to sentence Nichols to death. The state charges are for the other 160 victims and 1 victim's fetus. McVeigh was convicted of federal conspiracy and murder charges and executed on June 11, 2001. Paul Howell, whose daughter, federal credit union employee Karan Howell Shepherd, was among the victims, and survivors of other victims said they were disappointed Nichols was not sentenced to death. I thought if anywhere that we could get a just sentence, it would be here in Oklahoma with our own people. Evidently, something went wrong, Howell said. I think Nichols considers himself pretty damn lucky. The chief prosecutor, Oklahoma County District Attorney Wes Lane, said he was satisfied that there has finally been resolution of the case even without the death penalty. We have kept our word. We have held him accountable, Lane said. Nichols will have 10 days after he is sentenced to appeal his conviction and sentence, but Wallace said the attorneys are urging Nichols not to appeal. Hermanson said a successful appeal that invalidated the conviction and sentence could result in a 2nd state trial and another attempt to secure a death penalty. (source: Associated Press)
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news --- U.S. / MASS.; FLA.; U.S.
death penalty news August 9, 2004 MASSACHUSETTS -- possible federal death penalty D.A.: Back off, Ashcroft: Conley fights feds over death penalty Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley, fearful the feds could alienate black leaders helping battle back violence in Boston, is urging Attorney General John Ashcroft not to seek lethal injection for a 25-year-old Dorchester gangster charged with killing a rival. The Boston DA sent a personal appeal asking Ashcroft to spare Cape Verdean drug dealer Brima Wurie from becoming the third young black male in Massachusetts to face federal execution, the Herald has learned. The Hub's past success at stemming urban bloodshed has always depended on community leaders and black churches banding together with cops, according to Conley's office. District Attorney Conley fears the death penalty could drive a wedge between that membership,'' said Conley spokesman David Procopio. Conley declined to release a copy of his letter. He's opposed to the use of the death penalty and I'm not,'' said Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Michael J. Sullivan. Sullivan won't say whether he recommended the death penalty for Wurie. He sent a secret letter to Ashcroft after extensive review, including meetings with his alleged victim's family. Wurie is accused of the racketeering murder of rival Luis Carvalho in a Boston garage on Feb. 17, 2000. Federal prosecutors claim Wurie was part of a Cape Verdean street gang dubbed the Stonehurst Crew, whose members were responsible for 18 shootings from 1998-2000, while dealing crack and marijuana. The TenPoint Coaltion, whose leaders helped drive down spiraling murder rates in Boston a decade ago, oppose the use of the federal death penalty in fighting street violence, citing racial and socioeconomic disparities in use of the law. Out of 20 men on federal death row, 17 are minorities. Two black Boston men could be headed to join them. Darryl Green and Brendan Morris face trial in federal court next year for the murder of a gang rival during the 2001 Carribean Festival after Ashcroft approved a death case. Uniformly, we are against the death penalty being imposed in this case, but that doesn't mean that if it were carried out, that we'd stop cooperating with law enforcement in the future,'' said the Rev. Raymond Hammond, co-founder of the Ten Point coalition. ``It would create some strain, but it wouldn't burn bridges. We're never going to stop working to stop our children from being killed on the streets.'' Lawyers for Wurie are slated to argue for his life this fall before a special panel in Washington. They aren't optimistic their words, or Conley's, will change the federal government's headlong push for executions. It would be outrageous for them to seek the death penalty in this case,'' said Wurie's attorney Elizabeth A. Lunt. (source: Boston Herald) = FLORIDA: 4 charged with first-degree murder in deaths of 6 An ex-convict who blamed a young woman for taking his video game system and clothes recruited three teenagers to stab and beat her and five others to death, investigators said Sunday. The 22-year-old woman was singled out for an attack so vicious that even dental records were useless in trying to identify her. Some of the victims were attacked in their sleep, according to authorities. The victims' bodies were found Friday in a blood-spattered home. All four suspects have been charged with first-degree murder and armed burglary, the Volusia County sheriff's department said. Suspected ringleader Troy Victorino, 27, of Deltona, was very guarded during questioning, Sheriff Ben Johnson said. Three 18-year-olds were also arrested Saturday: Robert Cannon of Orange City and Jerone Hunter and Michael Salas, both of Deltona. All four were jailed in Daytona Beach while awaiting bail hearings today. Johnson wants prosecutors to seek the death penalty, saying, These families will never get over this. The attack was the culmination of events revolving around a nearby vacant home owned by one of the victim's grandparents and used by squatters as a party house. The four men and two women who were slain had reported being harassed by the alleged assailants. Investigators struggling to find a motive for the slayings believe the victims were killed over the theft of some clothes and an Xbox game system owned by Victorino, the sheriff's office said. All four suspects were armed with aluminum bats when Victorino kicked in the locked front door, according to arrest records. The group wore black clothes and scarves on their faces, grabbed knives inside and attacked victims in different rooms of the three-bedroom house, police said. The victims, some of whom were sleeping, did not put up a fight or try to escape, Johnson said. All had been stabbed, but autopsies determined the cause of death was the beating injuries. Victorino has spent eight of the last 11
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news --- worldwide
death penalty news August 9, 2004 IRAQ / UK: UK to lobby Iraq on death penalty The UK is to urge the interim Iraqi government to abolish the death penalty which has just been reintroduced there. Ann Clwyd, UK special representative on human rights in Iraq, said she was sorry the penalty had returned. We will continue to lobby the government to abolish it as we do with other states, she told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme. But she said she understood the interim government had a duty to bring the security situation under control. She had recently met Iraq's deputy prime minister who, she said, told her there had been a great deal of debate and soul searching about the death penalty's re-introduction. Al-Jazeera The interim government has brought back the death penalty, which was suspended after the fall of Saddam Hussein, for crimes including murder, kidnapping and drug dealing. It is being seen as necessary to maintain law and order. Ms Clwyd also said the decision to close down Arabic TV network al-Jazeera for a month was regrettable. She understood there were concerns about the way the network operated and claims that it breached basic journalistic ethics, she said. But action should be taken by independent regulation not government censorship, she told Today. Ms Clwyd also said she was surprised that arrest warrants had been issued for two key Iraqi political figures, Salem Chalabi and his uncle Ahmed Chalabi. Ahmed Chalabi is wanted on counterfeiting charges, and his nephew Salem Chalabi, the head of the tribunal trying Saddam Hussein, is sought on suspicion of murder. Both men have denied the charges. Ms Clwyd said both men would be ready to face the charges. She warned they would be in danger if they were imprisoned in Iraq as so many former members of the regime are held in its jails. (source: BBC online)
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----FLA., CALIF., OHIO, USA, MD.
August 8 FLORIDA: A QUESTION OF JUSTICE20 years after a man's execution, doubts over his guilt haunt case; Some legal experts say that since the death penalty's return in the 1970s, at least 38 executions have occurred despite indications of innocence or strong doubt of guilt. James Adams' is one such case. Edgar Brown, the deceased, and James Adams, the executed, were raised in distant worlds until their lives collided in Case No. 73-284 in St. Lucie County Circuit Court. Adams, the black, illiterate son of a Tennessee sharecropper, was executed for killing Brown, a wealthy, white rancher beaten to death with a fireplace poker on a crisp fall morning in 1973. Yet, 20 years after 2,000 volts of electricity took Adams' life, questions about his guilt still linger, long after the deaths of many witnesses from old age and assorted maladies, and years after crucial evidence was destroyed or lost. From the start, his case was clouded with accusations of flawed evidence- gathering and racial inequity. At trial, he was represented by a rookie assistant public defender busy juggling other cases while assigned to a major murder case. At the Brown family's request, in contrast, the state was aided by special prosecutor Raymond Ford, then among Florida's top lawyers. There were no fingerprints taken from key items stolen from the victim's home, no eyewitnesses to the killing and no questions asked at trial about certain conflicting facts. Hair believed by appeal lawyers to belong to the killer was tested after the murder. It came from a black person. It wasn't from Adams. Justice came swiftly. Adams was tried, convicted and sentenced to death a mere 4 months after the murder inside the rancher's family estate. At best, a Herald examination found, State vs. Adams was built on circumstantial evidence. Today, it would likely take much more to secure a murder conviction and carry out an execution in such a case. But DNA evidence, the foremost forensic arbiter in today's justice system, was not in play when Adams' fate was sealed. For every piece of circumstantial evidence pointing to Adams' guilt, countering circumstantial evidence argued for his innocence. 'He said, 'I didn't do this, but I'm going to die for this,' Adams' widow, Daisy Mae Carswell, said recently from her modest Fort Pierce house, the same house she lived in 31 years ago. It's something I really believed in my heart. The prosecution, to this day, is sure it got the killer. I felt like the evidence, although circumstantial, was very strong, said case prosecutor R.N. Koblegard III, now in private practice in Fort Pierce. THE MAIN CHARACTERS A LEADING TOWN FIGURE AND A LOWLY LABORER Edgar Rollins Brown, cowboy hat atop his head, cigar in mouth, was a sturdy fixture in this aged Treasure Coast community. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, he was chief sheriff's deputy while his brother, the late B.A. Brown, ruled as county sheriff, according to archives of The Fort Pierce News Tribune. A lifelong resident active in both church and lodge, Brown was known to carry $1,000 to $1,500 in his left trouser pocket. He became a well-known rancher, horse breeder and president of the St. Lucie County Cattlemen's Association. Few here knew James Adams. He was born in Covington, Tenn., in 1936, and his father was an uneducated farmer who was felled by a heart attack in 1951 at age 48. Adams' housewife mother bore 10 children, according to a family history compiled by Florida's Department of Corrections. The family was poor. Adams did not know what a restaurant was until he was 20 years of age, the DOC report says. Like his father, his education came at the farm, not the schoolhouse. He began picking cotton at age 5. When his father died, Adams became head of the household. Soon, he ran into trouble with the law and got locked up. He fled Tennessee, landed in Fort Pierce, married and took work as a pipe layer. Months after Adams' arrival, Brown died his brutal death. THE ATTACK TAKES PLACE SUSPECT PASSES LINEUP, IS IMPLICATED OTHERWISE On the day of the murder, Nov. 12, 1973, on the poor side of town, Adams joined others in a card game at the squat apartment of a pregnant 15-year- old named Vivian Nickerson. He skipped his $2.50-an-hour construction job that day. About 10:30 that morning, 12.2 miles away, Edgar Brown returned home to get a jacket. A brown Rambler was parked in the driveway. When he went inside, an intruder was ransacking the house. The robber grabbed a large fireplace poker and beat Brown as he desperately tried to fend off blows. Foy Hortman, owner of a fertilizer company working at the estate that day, was close to the house at the time of struggle. A month before trial, Hortman was asked to describe the voice he heard coming from inside. Well, it sounded kind of strained, more like a woman's voice, he testified, according to a deposition. It didn't sound like Mr. Brown. Hortman saw someone about 30 to 35 years old
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----TEXAS, LA., NEV. VA.
August 8 TEXAS: BEATTY'S MOTHER LOVED HER SON Carolyn Ruth Click told her granddaughter that she did not like her son - but she loved him. The punishment trial began Saturday for Tracy Lane Beatty, 43, who was convicted of capital murder after a jury deliberated for 6 hours Friday. He now faces life in prison or the death penalty. Beatty brutally killed his 62-year-old mother and buried her nude body in a shallow grave behind her mobile home in Whitehouse Nov. 25. He also drained her credit card and bank accounts to buy drugs and alcohol, tried to sell her car and gave away her personal items. Beatty's daughter, Tamara Beatty, 20, had a close relationship with her grandmother, she testified Saturday. She began crying as she showed the jury the ring she wore that belonged to Ms. Click. Ms. Beatty said she did not understand why her father hated his mother so much - it was something she never talked about with Ms. Click, although her grandmother did tell her Beatty had been sent to jail for assaulting her before. Beatty let Ms. Click know how he felt about her but she still loved her son. That's her son; she loved him, no matter what. She'd say, 'I don't have to like your daddy, but I love him and I always will,' Ms. Beatty said. Ms. Beatty said she never had a relationship with her father, whom she could recall seeing 6 times in her life. She said she does not desire to have him in her life. My mother was my daddy, she said. Beatty divorced Ms. Beatty's mother when she was a baby. He wrote his daughter letters from jail when she was a child, some of which portrayed hateful things about Ms. Click, she said. Also in the letters from prison, Beatty would sometimes tell Ms. Beatty she was worthless and referred to her with obscene names. Beatty was paroled to his mother's house in October and the pair visited Ms. Beatty and her child that month, she said. CONTINUED THREAT Beatty will continue to commit criminal acts of violence and be a continued threat to society, Smith County District Attorney Matt Bingham said during opening statements. Nearly his entire life, Beatty has used and sold drugs, and while in the penitentiary, he routinely threatened and degraded prison employees, Bingham said. While in jail awaiting his trial, Beatty made a metal shank that was nearly a foot long and a leg holster for the weapon, he said. Defense attorney Robert Perkins told the jury that during the punishment phase of the trial, the state would show it exactly why prosecutors were so mad during the guilt/innocence phase. A day after he was convicted of capital murder, Beatty shed the coat and tie he had been wearing all week and sported a white shirt with its sleeves rolled up. He wrote in a notepad or leaned back in his chair throughout the trial Saturday and showed no emotion. Smith County sheriff Detective Noel Martin testified about Beatty's criminal history and the authenticity of documents the state submitted into evidence. Beatty has been in and out of jail and prison, beginning when he was a teenager. He has served time for assaults, drug and gun charges, theft, aggravated assault on a correction officer and injury to a child. In 1986, he was at home alone with his 18-month-old niece, whose mother later found unexplainable marks on the child's head and burn marks on her stomach. Beatty was later convicted of aggravated assault of a child. Bingham said Beatty burned his niece with an electrical cord and cigarettes, hit her in the face and bit her on her back. The toddler was found hiding in her closet. Beatty said he was high on drugs and alcohol at the time, according to a report read by Martin. The mother of the child and Beatty's former sister-in-law, Donna Jaquette, testified about the injuries her daughter suffered. She said her daughter was taken away from her for about a week by Child Protective Services because of the incidents. Ms. Jaquette said her smart daughter changed after the injuries. She lost the sparkle in her eye, wasn't as playful and slept all of the time. A report Martin read stated Beatty admitted he had been addicted to methamphetamine since he was 14 years old. He began using marijuana at age 10, used cocaine at 14 and later became addicted to meth and sold drugs to support his habit. Martin also read several disciplinary reports of about 10 instances where Beatty allegedly threatened prison guards. There were also reports of assaulting a correctional officer, fighting with inmates and carrying contraband. The punishment trial will continue in Judge Jack Skeen Jr.'s 241st District Court on Monday. The jury has been sequestered for the remainder of the trial. First Assistant District Attorney Brett Harrison and Chief Felony Prosecutor April Sikes are representing the state with Bingham, while Ken Hawk is also defending Beatty. (source: Tyler Morning Telegraph) Law tough on wrongly convicted In America, we profess you are innocent of a
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----LOUISIANA/USA
NATIONAL COALITION TO ABOLISH THE DEATH PENALTY -- PRESS RELEASE CONTACT: David Elliot, NCADP Communications Director 202-543-9577, ext. 16 cell phone: 202-607-7036 dell...@ncadp.org www.ncadp.org 920 Pennsylvania Ave. SE Washington, D.C. 20003 *** 115 AND COUNTING: RYAN MATTHEWS IS LATEST FORMER DEATH ROW INMATE TO BE FREED DUE TO ACTUAL INNOCENCE Aug. 10, 2004 - Charges were dropped this week against a Louisiana man who spent nearly five years on death row for a crime he did not commit, making him the 115th former death row inmate in the United States to be freed due to actual innocence. Ryan Matthews is the 7th former death row inmate in Louisiana to be cleared of murder. He is also the state's third African American juvenile proven to be wrongly convicted and sentenced to death. There are many reasons to oppose capital punishment, said David Elliot, communications director for the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. One reason is that we are sending innocent people to death row to await execution. Another reason is that statistics increasingly are pointing to racial disparity, not just among those who are sentenced to death but also among those who are sentenced to death but are factually innocent of the crime for which they were convicted. Of the 115 people who have been exonerated, 68 are believed to be people of color and 47 are believed to be white. Louisiana is tied for third in the number of exonorees, behind Florida and Illinois, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Matthews was convicted for the robbery and murder of grocer Tommy Vanhoose. Louisiana prosecutors this week dropped charges against Matthews after seven different DNA tests completed on the mask, shirt and glove worn by the gunman in Vanhoose's murder turned up negative. One test, of the mask, matched the DNA of another man who is in prison for an unrelated murder. The death penalty in America is not merely flawed; it is broken and beyond repair, Elliot said. The fact that we are convicting and sentencing innocent people to death is chilling for three reasons. First, it is a life-wrecking experience for those who spent years on death row for a crime they did not commit. Second, it means we may well be executing innocent people. And third, it means crimes are going unsolved, which constitutes a continued threat to public safety. *** The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty was founded in 1976 and is the only fully-staffed national organization devoted specifically to abolishing the death penalty. NCADP is comprised of more than 100 local, state, national and international affiliates.
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news-----TENN., NEV., USA, OHIO, PENN.
August 10 TENNESSEEnew execution date State Supreme Court sets execution date for Johnson The Tennessee Supreme Court has scheduled a November 16th execution date for a Shelby County man convicted of murdering his wife. The justices today set the execution date for 53-year-old Donnie E. Johnson, who was convicted and sentenced to death by a Memphis jury in 1985 for the murder of his wife, Connie Johnson. Authorities said she suffocated after a large trash bag was forced into her throat in an office where her husband worked. A work-release inmate, Ronnie McCoy, testified that he left Johnson and his wife alone for about 15 minutes before coming back and finding her dead. McCoy said he helped Johnson dispose of the body by leaving it in her van at the Mall of Memphis. (source: Associated Press) NEVADAnew execution date set (not serious) Another Nevada inmate scheduled for execution, but stay likely Nevada death row inmate Robert Ybarra Jr., sentenced to die for a 1979 torch murder of an Ely girl, had an Aug. 27 execution date set Tuesday by prison officials. But a court stay is likely. The date was set by Nevada Department of Corrections Director Jackie Crawford after the prison received an execution warrant that had been signed Friday by District Judge Steven Dobrescu of Ely. If the execution is held, it would be only 2 weeks after Thursday's scheduled execution of Terry Jess Dennis, who pleaded guilty to strangling a woman in Reno in 1999 and wants to die. However, Ybarra has a pending appeal in U.S. District Court, Reno, and Michael Pescetta, an assistant federal defender, said a request for a stay of Judge Dobrescu's order will be filed with the state Supreme Court. The federal case is pending and is nowhere near completion, Pescetta added. In such cases, stays are routinely granted. Ybarra was sentenced to die for the rape and torch murder of Nancy Griffith, 16. The victim, found wandering on a road near Ely, had been set afire with gasoline after she was assaulted and beaten. She died the next day in a Salt Lake City hospital. Ybarra's fingerprints were found on a gasoline can at the scene, and bootprints and tire tracks there matched his boots and his truck tires. A Sacramento native, he had just taken a job on an oil rig in Ely when the crime occurred. Since his 1981 conviction, Ybarra has filed appeals and petitions in district courts, the state Supreme Court, federal district courts and the U.S. Supreme Court. (source: Associated Press) USA: Doing a Death Penalty Claxton's Way is Overkill! I am always surprised when I read my name in someone else's column. I am flattered too, that anyone would think an opinion of mine is worthy of agreement or rebuttal, or even mention. I have one e-pen pal that has called all columns in Useless-Knowledge.com trivial and censorious. I find that interesting. Why would someone look at a murderer like double killer, O.J. Simpson, or double killer, Mark Hacking, or the killer of more than 160 Oklahomans, Tim McVeigh; shrug their shoulders and suggest it was okay; that we shouldn't judge the murderers; that we should keep them alive or outright free them; or that we should allow them the freedom of prison life with three square meals a day; be nice to them, write books about them and eventually release them on parole if they promise to be good and never kill anyone ever again? I would never say that. Now, granted, O.J. Simpson was acquitted. So he gets away with murder. Oh! Come on! Argue with me that he really didn't do it. Tim McVeigh was permitted a pleasant, drug induced exit from the real world; while the jury still hasn't been seated for the Hacking murders. But a standard has been established. Everyone in America still gets a trial. Now, I want to say everyone gets a FAIR trial, but there is nothing fair about actual murderers being allowed to go free. If you have enough money, or can get enough money to pay the lawyers who take money cases like murders, then fairness does not enter in. It is all about winning and building a reputation to make more money. So, only poor people get the death penalty in America. Now, if those opposed to the death penalty really wanted to completely thwart the system of justice that demands a life for a life; they would all get together, take up a collection, and get all these killers Johnny Cochran and a pair of ill fitting gloves. CASE DISMISSED! I'm sorry. Murderers deserve to die. Murderers are not civilized people needing understanding. Murderers are anti-social predators who do not care one minute for innocence or morality. Someone must always be dead for a murderer to feel satisfied. It is interesting that anyone would want Osama Bin Laden on trial. He is a proven killer that, if found in his cave tomorrow, should kiss a burning flamethrower or the barrel of a Mark 19 Grenade Launcher. I would kiss the soldier who pulled that trigger. (Yes, Yes, I know that's not very
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----CALIFORNIA
August 10 CALIFORNIA: Star witness Frey testifies of affair with Scott Peterson Scott Peterson's one-time lover testified Tuesday that her 1st blind date with him culminated in a hotel room tryst, revealing the 1st details of an affair the government says led Peterson to murder his pregnant wife. Amber Frey, the government's star witness, held a black bag in front of her face to block cameras as she was driven to the courthouse, and then spoke so softly on the witness stand that the judge had to ask her to get closer to the microphone. With short, clipped answers to questions from prosecutor Dave Harris, Frey said she didn't know Peterson was married that night, Nov. 20, 2002, a little more than a month before Laci Peterson vanished. She said they danced in a karaoke bar before going to a nearby hotel. She said he went to some lengths to court her, pouring champagne and putting a strawberry in her glass. They had sex later that night, she said. The next morning, he left her his cell phone number, not his home number. Prosecutors have spent much of their case trying to establish that Peterson's affair with the massage therapist, and hopes for financial gain, were his motives for killing his pregnant wife. Frey's lawyer, Gloria Allred, said Frey will probably be on the stand for a considerable amount of time. Defense lawyers do not deny the affair or even that Peterson was a cad. But they say Peterson's decision to cheat on his wife did not make him a murderer. Defense attorneys also have contended it would be ridiculous to think Peterson would kill his wife to be with a woman he had known a little more than a month. But Frey's testimony suggested that she and Peterson quickly got serious. On their second date, he carried her 22-month-old daughter while they went hiking, and later that day he gave the girl a children's book. Then, he cooked seafood lasagna with wine before he and Frey had sex again. He made the comment that there would be many more corks ... many more bottles to share, testified Frey. The next day, Dec. 3 - she gave Peterson a car seat and the key to her house, and asked him to pick up her daughter at day care. He said he would be honored, recalled Frey, who returned home to find him warming up the previous night's dinner. Then all three went out to buy a Christmas tree and, after decorating it, Frey and Peterson had sex for a third time. Peterson's defense has questioned Frey's motives and the timing of her communications with police, but Allred said outside court that Peterson wormed his way into her life and then repeatedly lied to her before and after his wife disappeared. She is a victim of Scott Peterson's deception, Allred said outside the courthouse, adding that after Frey learned that Laci was missing she immediately informed law enforcement. Before Frey began her testimony, Judge Alfred A. Delucchi briefly took the lawyers into his chambers, but no details were released about the closed-door session. Last week, the judge delayed the trial so both sides could investigate recently discovered evidence. Defense attorney Mark Geragos called that evidence potentially exculpatory. Prosecutors have not commented on the evidence, citing the judge's gag order. Prosecutors allege Peterson killed his wife in their Modesto home on or around Dec. 24, 2002, then drove to San Francisco Bay and dumped her weighted body from a small boat he had purchased just weeks earlier. The decomposed remains of Laci Peterson and the couple's fetus washed ashore in April 2003, not far from where Peterson said he launched a solo fishing trip the day she vanished. (source: Associated Press)
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news --- N.Y., TEXAS
death penalty news August 11, 2004 NEW YORK: Pataki Introduces Bill to Restore Death Penalty Gov. George E. Pataki introduced a bill this week to fix a provision of the state's capital punishment law that was recently invalidated by New York's highest court. But even the governor's aides said it stood little chance of passing. The governor's bill, introduced in the State Senate late on Monday, would overhaul a central part of the law that the Court of Appeals said was flawed and violated the State Constitution. The June 24 ruling effectively suspended the death penalty in the state. Specifically, the court found that the statute improperly required judges to tell jurors in capital cases that if they deadlocked and failed to reach a verdict during the penalty phase of a trial, the judge would impose a sentence that would leave the defendant eligible for parole after 20 to 25 years. The bill to fix the flaw proposed two changes. First, juries would be given a third option, imposing a sentence of life in prison with parole when sentencing convicted murderers. Previously, they could only dole out sentences of either capital punishment or life in prison without parole. Second, if a jury deadlocked, a sentence of life without parole would be imposed, and juries would be told of that provision before sentencing. The proposal would apply both to pending cases and to crimes committed prior to the effective date of any change in the law, a legislative analyst said. Viewed politically, the governor's release of the bill seemed to put the Democratic Assembly speaker, Sheldon Silver, in a bit of a spot before the fall elections, raising the issue of whether he would help push through the measure or let stand a sense of satisfaction among some Democrats that there is now a de facto moratorium on imposing the death penalty. Even before the details of the bill could be digested, however, an aide to the governor was saying that the legislation was effectively dead, because of a perceived lack of interest in the Assembly. But a spokeswoman for Mr. Silver said the governor's bill was still being studied and the matter was still the subject of negotiation. There were broad conversations on a variety of different options,'' Eileen Larrabee, the spokeswoman, said Tuesday. After the court ruled, the governor, Mr. Silver and Joseph L. Bruno, the Republican State Senate majority leader, all pledged to correct the flaw in the death penalty law. Nevertheless, Democrats in the Assembly held a meeting in which many members expressed serious misgivings about reviving the law, enacted in 1995 after Mr. Pataki pushed for it in his successful election campaign against Mario M. Cuomo, an ardent opponent of capital punishment. Still, with support from Republican Assembly members, many lawmakers said a fix to the death penalty law could still pass in the Assembly, and Mr. Silver weeks ago had said it would be helpful for him to see a proposal. John E. McArdle, a spokesman for Mr. Bruno, said the bill the governor sent up was identical to the latest proposal put forth by the Assembly, a contention that Ms. Larrabee disputed. For his part, Mr. Bruno said he would like to fix the death penalty law this week. (source: New York Times) TEXAS: Acuna jury sequestered until sentence decided Robert Aaron Acuna's mother implored a Harris County jury Tuesday to spare her son's life, while the adult son of James and Joyce Carroll asked the same jury for justice for his slain parents. Acuna, 18, of Baytown, was convicted Friday for the Nov. 12 shooting deaths of the elderly couple in their Country Club Estates home. Following closing arguments in the penalty phase of the capital murder trial, jurors spent more than five hours deliberating before District Judge Mike Anderson sequestered them for the night in a downtown hotel. Jurors will resume deliberations at 9 a.m. today. Acuna, who was 17 when he killed his elderly neighbors, faces the death penalty or life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 40 years. Barbara Acuna, the defendant's mother, called her middle son a wonderful child and denied that he was involved in the Carrolls' deaths during her testimony. She was the last witness to testify during the defense's case in the penalty phase. Under questioning by lead defense attorney Bob Loper, she described Acuna as a shy and caring son who loved spending time at home and with other relatives. Acuna said that on Nov. 13, the night the Carrolls' bodies were discovered by their daughter, Acuna made the decision not to consent to a police search of her son's pickup truck, which the family found abandoned in the neighborhood the night before. She said the decision was made after consulting with Candy Elizondo, the attorney representing Acuna in an aggravated robbery charge in which the teenager was accused of accosting a 75-year-old
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----N.Y., CALIF., FLA., ALA., MISS.
Aug. 11 NEW YORK: Pataki Introduces Bill to Restore Death Penalty Gov. George E. Pataki introduced a bill this week to fix a provision of the state's capital punishment law that was recently invalidated by New York's highest court. But even the governor's aides said it stood little chance of passing. The governor's bill, introduced in the State Senate late on Monday, would overhaul a central part of the law that the Court of Appeals said was flawed and violated the State Constitution. The June 24 ruling effectively suspended the death penalty in the state. Specifically, the court found that the statute improperly required judges to tell jurors in capital cases that if they deadlocked and failed to reach a verdict during the penalty phase of a trial, the judge would impose a sentence that would leave the defendant eligible for parole after 20 to 25 years. The bill to fix the flaw proposed two changes. First, juries would be given a 3rd option, imposing a sentence of life in prison with parole when sentencing convicted murderers. Previously, they could only dole out sentences of either capital punishment or life in prison without parole. Second, if a jury deadlocked, a sentence of life without parole would be imposed, and juries would be told of that provision before sentencing. The proposal would apply both to pending cases and to crimes committed prior to the effective date of any change in the law, a legislative analyst said. Viewed politically, the governor's release of the bill seemed to put the Democratic Assembly speaker, Sheldon Silver, in a bit of a spot before the fall elections, raising the issue of whether he would help push through the measure or let stand a sense of satisfaction among some Democrats that there is now a de facto moratorium on imposing the death penalty. Even before the details of the bill could be digested, however, an aide to the governor was saying that the legislation was effectively dead, because of a perceived lack of interest in the Assembly. But a spokeswoman for Mr. Silver said the governor's bill was still being studied and the matter was still the subject of negotiation. There were broad conversations on a variety of different options, Eileen Larrabee, the spokeswoman, said Tuesday. After the court ruled, the governor, Mr. Silver and Joseph L. Bruno, the Republican State Senate majority leader, all pledged to correct the flaw in the death penalty law. Nevertheless, Democrats in the Assembly held a meeting in which many members expressed serious misgivings about reviving the law, enacted in 1995 after Mr. Pataki pushed for it in his successful election campaign against Mario M. Cuomo, an ardent opponent of capital punishment. Still, with support from Republican Assembly members, many lawmakers said a fix to the death penalty law could still pass in the Assembly, and Mr. Silver weeks ago had said it would be helpful for him to see a proposal. John E. McArdle, a spokesman for Mr. Bruno, said the bill the governor sent up was identical to the latest proposal put forth by the Assembly, a contention that Ms. Larrabee disputed. For his part, Mr. Bruno said he would like to fix the death penalty law this week. (source: New York Times) CALIFORNIA: Death Penalty to Be Sought in Fresno Case In Fresno, prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty against a man charged with shooting 9 of his children in his Fresno home. The announcement was made Tuesday after a careful review of the facts and applicable law, according to a news release from the office of Fresno County District Attorney Elizabeth Egan. Marcus Wesson's public defender, Peter Jones, told The Fresno Bee that he was not surprised. From our standpoint, we have been preparing on the assumption that they would seek the death penalty, Jones said. Obviously, our hope was that they would elect not to. A hearing was scheduled Wednesday to discuss delaying the trial from Sept. 14 until mid-December. Wesson is charged with shooting 9 of his children, ages 1 to 25, on March 12. Officers were called to his home by 2 women who were trying to retrieve their children from inside the Wesson household. Wesson, 57, is also accused of 13 sex crimes, including rape, with each of the victims believed to be family members. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. (source: Associated Press) FLORIDA: Alleged Leader in Fla. Killing Had Record When he was 16 years old, the suspected ringleader of a home invasion last week that left 6 people dead promised he would never commit another crime if a judge was lenient on an auto theft charge he faced. I never want to return here again, Troy Victorino wrote the judge in 1993 in a letter from the Volusia County Correctional Facility. But the judge sentenced him to 4 years in prison and 2 years of house arrest, according to court records released Tuesday. Over the next few years, Victorino repeatedly returned to jail and prison. Victorino, 27, is now
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----worldwide
August 11 IRAQ: Divisions Loom over Iraq Death Penalty The Danish military has suspended its handover of prisoners to British forces because of the reinstatement of Iraq's death penalty - an issue that could have broader implications and divide coalition partners working with the police of a now-sovereign Iraq. We wish to know for certain that people in our custody won't be handed over to face the death penalty, Danish Defence Minister Soeren Gade said in Washington. Britain maintains that European conventions against capital punishment do not apply in Iraq. The 25-member European Union bans capital punishment, and leading members made clear last month that they held that line even if the death penalty applies to Saddam Hussein. But Denmark's decision was a reminder of the legal complexity of authority in Iraq. The Ministry of Defence says that its troops mostly patrolled jointly with Iraqi police, and when arrests were made, the suspects automatically went into Iraqi custody. Britain, like Denmark, is obliged under the European Convention on Human Rights not to extradite prisoners who could face the death penalty. But Britain contends that the human rights convention does not apply in Iraq, as it is a sovereign territory that is not signed up to the accord. Coalition forces operate in Iraq under authority of the Iraqi government, which reinstated the death penalty for murder, endangering national security and distributing drugs. Danish soldiers, who operate under British command in Iraq, had previously handed over captured insurgents and suspected criminals to British forces. Under a preliminary agreement, the Danes must give their approval before the British turn those prisoners over to Iraqi authorities. Until that loose agreement becomes more explicit, we're making a suspension so we don't risk ending up having the Iraqi government executing someone who was originally detained by Danish troops, Danish Defence Ministry spokesman Jakob Winther said. Danish troops usually arrest only 1 or 2 Iraqis per month in the relatively peaceful southern part of the country. Until the issue is resolved, Danish soldiers will detain potential prisoners themselves. (source: The Scotsman)
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news---TEXAS, ALA., ARK.
August 11 TEXASnew juvenile death sentence Acuna gets death penalty A Harris County jury sentenced Robert Aaron Acuna to death Wednesday for killing his elderly Baytown neighbors last year. Acuna, 18, of Baytown was convicted of capital murder Friday in the shooting deaths of James Carroll, 75, and his wife, Joyce, 74, in their Country Club Estates home, just across the street from Acuna's family home Nov. 12. Acuna was 17 and attended Sterling High School at the time of the Carrolls' murders. Prosecutors offered no explanation for why the Sterling High School junior killed his neighbors, stole their car and drove to Dallas. Acuna, who worked part-time at Wendy's and owned his own car, was arrested 5 days later at a motel. Following a trail of purchases made on the Carrolls' credit cards and a sighting of James Carroll's 1989 Pontiac by a Dallas police officer late Nov. 12, Baytown detectives arrested Acuna Nov. 17 in a Dallas-area motel room, where he was staying with another man, Adulfo Jimenez, who now will be a prosecution witness. In the parking lot of the motel, police found a .38-caliber revolver, the type of gun used is the murders, inside the Pontiac. (source: The Baytown Sun) * another new death sentence Beatty Sentenced To Death A Smith County man gets the death penalty for murdering his mother and burying her body in their backyard. Tracy Lane Beatty, 43, of Whitehouse was sentenced this afternoon. He was charged with capital murder for the crime he committed last December. Under Texas law, Beatty will automatically get the chance to appeal the judge's ruling. The last time someone in Smith County was sentenced to death was in October 2002. Gregory Russeau was found guilty of killing a 75-year-old man. (source: KLTV News) ALABAMAnew death sentence Death penalty ordered -- Bessemer judge sentences Hueytown man for 2001 slaying For the 1st time in 20 years, a Bessemer Division judge Tuesday handed down the death penalty. Circuit Judge Teresa Petelos sentenced Michael Lee Brown to death for the October 2001 killing of Betty Kirkpatrick of Hueytown. Brown, 27, of Hueytown, told the judge he had nothing to say before she sentenced him. During the proceedings he fidgeted at the defense table and often looked at his family seated in the front row. Five deputies and a bailiff lined the walls. This was a vicious and senseless murder, Petelos said before sentencing Brown. You murdered an elderly lady who knew and trusted you. Prior to Tuesday, Harry Nicks was the last person to be sentenced to death in a Bessemer Cutoff court. He remains on Death Row for the 1983 killing of a Bessemer shop owner. After Tuesday's sentencing, Brown turned and winked at his family as he was being led from the courtroom. I'm relieved, Kirkpatrick's cousin, Patsy South, said afterward. He showed no remorse. I really want to thank the jurors. He got what he deserved. In June, a jury took 30 minutes to convict Brown of murder, and 30 minutes more to recommend that he die for his crime. Brown, a father of 7, was already serving a life sentence on an unrelated robbery. Brown lived near the 66-year-old Kirkpatrick in Hueytown. He did odd jobs for her and called her grandma. He was convicted of breaking into her home and killing her. He tried to smother her, prosecutors said, but after she didn't die fast enough, Brown cut her throat, almost decapitating her. He made away with $91, some costume jewelry and Kirkpatrick's 1986 Thunderbird. The state called no witnesses during the Tuesday sentencing hearing, and instead entered Brown's criminal history against him. Family friend Shirley Cooley testified at the hearing on Brown's behalf. She said she considered Brown a part of her family and that she often visited him in jail and talked to him over the phone. We talk about family and the Bible, she said. We love him. Defense lawyer Bill Neumann put Hueytown detective Chuck Hagler on the stand Tuesday. Hagler said that there may be other suspects connected to the crime. Neumann questioned Hagler about fingerprints found at the scene that don't match Brown's. Brown had testified during his trial he was at the scene of the crime, but did not commit murder. We're happy that we could help the family of Betty Kirkpatrick find justice, but there are no winners, said Assistant District Attorney David Michaels, who prosecuted the case with Ted Mills. (source: Birmingham News) ARKANSASexecution date//volunteer Killer's Death Date Set Crawford County Prosecutor Marc McCune said he plans to attend the Sept. 28 execution of Rickey Dale Newman, a Fort Smith man convicted in the brutal slaying of a Fort Worth, Texas, woman near Van Buren. Gov. Mike Huckabee on Tuesday set Newman's execution date, just a week after Attorney General Mike Beebe sent a letter requesting the date. Newman has waived all appeals of his conviction and death sentence, which came during a
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----worldwide
August 11 INDIA: Hangman not informed about Dhananjoy's execution date Hangman Nata Mullick said on Wednesday that he was mentally prepared to hang the rape and murder convict Dhananjoy Chatterjee on August 14, but was peeved at not being informed by the authorities about the date of the hanging. Mullick, who was put under a round the clock security cover in his south Kolkata residence, said that he had been confined to his house by security guards and not allowed to go out. But till Wednesday morning no official had informed him about the date of the hanging. Since I am going to do such a tough job, I should have been informed well in advance, but till now I do not have any official intimation. I came to know about the date from the media, an angry Mulick said. The West Bengal Government on Tuesday decided to carry out the execution order of Chatterjee after his mercy plea was rejected by the President a week ago. (source: Press Trust of India) * Family not to collect Dhananjoy's body or witness execution The family of death row convict Dhananjoy Chatterjee, today said they would neither witness his scheduled hanging on Saturday nor collect the body afterwards. Dhananjoy's father Bangshidhar, who was today officially notifed of the date of the execution by the Bankura district administration said we will not see our son being hanged. We are also not interested in collecting his body. Bangshidar, Dhananjoy's mother Belarani, and wife Poornima, have stopped taking food and water since they learnt of the execution date yesterday, police said. Bankura Police Superintendent Anil Kumar, said a watch was being kept on the family, with policemen deployed around the house. Dhananjoy had been convicted and sentenced to death for raping and killing a schoolgirl, Hetal Parekh, at her Bhowanipore residence in the metropolis in 1990. (source: The Hindu)
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----worldwide
August 11 EUROPEAN UNION/INDONESIA: EU condemns Indonesia's first execution in 3 years The European Union expressed its dismay Wednesday at Indonesia's 1st execution for 3 years after an elderly Indian man was shot dead by firing squad for drug smuggling. Ayodhya Prasad Chaubey, 67, was executed last Thursday in Medan, the capital of North Sumatra province, despite last-minute appeals from the EU, the Indian government and Amnesty International. The European Union has learned with dismay that despite previous expressions of concern of the EU and human rights organisations to the Indonesian authorities, Indonesia has carried out an execution in Medan, the 25-nation bloc's Dutch presidency said in a statement. In doing so, Indonesia has abolished its de facto moratorium on the death penalty. The EU urges the Indonesian government to refrain from carrying out more executions and thereby reinstall the de facto moratorium, it said. The government of Indonesia, however, has vowed to continue with executions of convicted drugs traffickers. It says 2 Thai nationals who were sentenced alongside Chaubey in 1994 are next in line for the death penalty. The previous executions in Indonesia were carried out in 2001 on 2 people convicted of multiple murder 12 years earlier. Theirs were the 1st executions in 6 years. (source: Agence France Presse)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----TEXAS, VA., N.Y., ARIZ., OKLA.
August 11 TEXAS: Families React To Elderly Couple Murderer's Sentencing18-Year-Old To Receive Death By Lethal Injection Jurors sentenced a Baytown teen to death Wednesday for murdering his elderly neighbors in November 2003 Convicted Killer's Mother Calls Prosecutors 'Bloodthirsty' Robert Acuna, 18, faced death by lethal injection or life in prison with the possibility of parole in 40 years for the execution-style murders of James and Joyce Carroll, 75 and 74 respectively, in their suburban home Nov. 12. Michelle Cressy, the victims' daughter, spoke directly to the murderer Wednesday after the sentencing was handed down. I told him that I didn't want him to think about what he did to my parents because I think he obviously got gratification from it. I want him to think about what he did to his parents and the impact it is going to leave on them for a very long time, Cressy said. Acuna's mother, Barbara, said her son does not belong in the adult criminal justice system. This goes to prove that the Harris County District Attorney's Office is bloodthirsty. They never should have tried this case as a death penalty case, Barbara Acuna said after the sentencing trial ended. Jurors were handed the case Tuesday afternoon and had to make a life or death decision, despite the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to reconsider whether executing people for crimes committed at age 17 is unconstitutional. Assistant District Attorney Renee Magee said Texas law permits executions for crimes committed by 17-year-olds, and the district attorney's office believed the circumstances of Acuna's case made it appropriate to seek death. If the Supreme Court rules such executions are unconstitutional, death sentences in those cases would be commuted to life sentences, she said. The convict's mother said prosecutors did not have any evidence that tied her son to the elderly couple's murder. She told Local 2 Monday that someone else killed the couple. Acuna was found in Dallas 5 days after the killing, driving the couple's car with the murder weapon and stolen items inside. He was reportedly living with a convicted sex offender in a motel. Prosecutors said the then-17-year-old was living like a gangster, adorned in gold chains and tooth caps. Defense attorneys did not call a single witness during the initial phase of the trial; however, they called several family members during the punishment phase of the trial to try and spare the convict's life. Prosecutors offered no explanation for why the Sterling High School junior killed his neighbors, stole their car and drove to Dallas. Jurors deliberated for less than 3 hours before finding Acuna guilty Friday. The penalty phase began immediately after jurors convicted him. (source: Click 2 Houston.com) VIRGINIA: Supreme Court vacates stay of execution A closely divided U-S Supreme Court today lifted a stay of execution for a man convicted of killing a Christiansburg woman. The court voted 5-to-4 to allow the state to execute James Reid for the 1996 slaying of 80-year-old Annie Mae Lester. Reid bashed Lester in the head with a milk can, strangled her and stabbed her 22 times. A judge found the crime was so vile that it warranted the death penalty, but the Fourth U-S Circuit Court of Appeals granted a stay of execution in December, 1 day before Reid was scheduled to die by injection. The Supreme Court gave NO reason for lifting the stay. The 4 justices who disagreed with the decision were the more liberal members of the court: John Paul Stevens, David Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer. (source: Associated Press) NEW YORK: Senate bill seeks to reinstate state's death penalty Albany -- Proposal addresses court concern by giving default sentence of life without parole The state Legislature came out Tuesday with the first glimpse of a proposed new death penalty law that could be applied retroactively. If the proposal becomes law, two men charged with killing a police informant in Troy could face a death sentence even though the killing happened last year. The death penalty law on the books at that time was later ruled unconstitutional. The new law would give juries a third sentencing option in addition to death and life without parole and would require a tougher judge-imposed sentence in cases where juries deadlock on the sentence. The state Court of Appeals struck down New York's 1995 death penalty law because of the sentencing guidelines given to jurors. Under that statute, a deadlocked jury unable to choose between death or life without parole would be told that the defendant would receive a lighter sentence -- 20-25 years to life in prison, with the possibility of parole. The court ruled that the instructions could coerce jurors into voting for a death sentence to avoid the possibility of the defendant's release. Under the proposed law, juries would have the option to choose a sentence of 20-25 years to life, with
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----Action: Clemency for James Allridge ----TEXAS
Greetings. For those of us who want to write letters to the Board of Pardons and Parole, the addresses are below. Please be mindful that James Allridge has caused pain and suffering for Brian Clendennen's family that most of us cannot presume to know, and this should be acknowledged in our letters. In supporting a commutation for James, we are not seeking to minimize the magnitude of the tragedy for the Clendennen family. Our letters need not be lengthy, they should simply explain why we feel James' death sentence should be commuted to life. The letters should be specifically about James and not contain general condemnations of the death penalty or challenges to the morality of the State of Texas or board members (this will only alienate the reader). Remember that our audience (the BPP) reviews about 20 to 40 of these cases a year and votes to allow the overwhelming majority of executions. So, our letters should address what it is about James that has convinced us that he should receive a commutation. Please forward this information to any and all of your contacts that you feel would like to support this action. Here are some of the facts that will be contained in his clemency petition. By tomorrow, I hope to post a link to his clemency petition. (source: Nancy Bailey, TCADP) * James has accepted responsibility for his actions and is genuinely sorry for what he did. * S.O. Woods, former Chairman of the Classification Committee for TDCJ-ID and a thirty-year veteran of the Texas prison system, has thoroughly reviewed James' records from his 19 years of incarceration and concluded that James poses no threat to prison staff or other prisoners and would adapt well to general population. Mr. Woods has not taken a position one way or the other regarding James' request for clemency, he has simply reviewed James' records and offered an expert opinion that James is not a dangerous prisoner. * Two former death row prison guards support James' request for clemency. The first says that James is a model inmate, has probably saved the lives of guards, and would be a good example for other general population prisoners. According this guard, James -- who seeks only a life sentence -- has rehabilitated himself enough to be let back into society. The second guard states that James is a model inmate who never gave the prison staff or other inmates any trouble. According to the second guard, James would be no threat if his death sentenced is commuted. * 4 of the jurors who sat on his jury believe James' sentence should be commuted based on his rehabilitation and good conduct in prison. * On death row, James has been a calming influence on other prisoners and a productive member of the prison community. James is an asset to the prison community because he helps the younger inmates adjust to prison and be both productive and non-violent. * Even in prison, James remains a valued family member and friend to many. He has also produced beautiful art. * Rehabilitation, traditionally, is a basis for commuting a death sentence to life. Earlier this year, the State of Georgia commuted the death sentence of Willie James Hall based on his excellent behavior in prison. A DeKalb County jury gave Hall the death sentence for the 1988 stabbing of his estranged wife, Thelma Carlisle Hall, in a Clarkston apartment. The savage knife attack was recorded while she was on the telephone with a 911 dispatcher, according to the 01/27/04 edition of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Mr. Allridge's case closely parallels Mr. Hall's. In both, members of the jury supported the commutation and both had no criminal record before the murder. * Based on interviews with those who knew him, James was a good, hardworking young man with a bright future. However, he idolized his older brother Ronald. Ronald suffered from untreated mental illness from a very early age and throughout his life, and he killed a school classmate when he was 15. Because James idolized his older brother, he was blind to the fact that his loyalty to, and confidence in, his brother was misplaced. Those that knew James well consistently report that it was James' unwavering devotion to his brother that led him into a dark period following Ronald's release from prison during which he and his brother committed serious crimes, a period that was otherwise out of character for James. Again, James accepts full responsibility for Brian Clendennen's death, this information is offered only to explain what led to the crime. Ideally, letters should arrive between August 16th and 20th. Here are the addresses for the board members and the Governor: Rissie Owens, Board Presiding Officer 1300 11th St., Suite 520 P.O. Box 599 Huntsville, TX 77342-0599 936-291-8367 Fax Elvis Hightower, Board Member 1300 11th St., Suite 520 P.O. Box 599 Huntsville, TX 77342-0599 936-291-8367 Fax Jose L. Aliseda, Board Member West Lacy St.
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news --- CALIF., N.Y.
death penalty news August 11, 2004 CALIFORNIA: Date, place of Wesson's death penalty trial to be decided A Fresno County judge decided to hear arguments about a proposed delay and a change of venue in murder suspect Marcus Wesson's trial on Aug. 20, following a discussion in court Wednesday. Judge R.L. Putnam said that he would not make a snap decision on any of the issues being discussed. On Tuesday, Fresno County District Attorney Elizabeth Egan released a statement saying the prosecution would seek the death penalty in the case against Wesson, who is charged with killing nine of his family members. The 57-year-old Fresno man is also accused of 13 sex crimes, including rape, against victims who are believed to be his family members. Wesson has pleaded innocent to all charges. Prosecutor Lisa Gamoian said she could not comment on the case. Peter Jones, the public defender representing Wesson, said outside court that whenever the state seeks to put a human being to death, it's a grave, serious matter. But for now, Jones said, he is concentrating on getting his client through the guilt phase. Our concern is proving that Mr. Wesson did not commit the homicides on March 12, he said, alluding to the day when police entered Wesson's home after a standoff and found nine bodies stacked in a back bedroom. The decisions on delaying the trial for 90 days, and moving it to another county, as requested by Jones, were put off so that both sides have the opportunity to review material that shows local media coverage of the crime and a survey that would show possible bias on the part of local residents. Wesson has repeatedly opposed any delay in the case, and has asked to have his right to a speedy trial respected, but he did not comment during Wednesday's hearing. Jones said he is working diligently to meet both Wesson's right to a fast trial and to effective representation. That puts the burden on us, he said. The trial is set for Sept. 14. If Jones' request for a delay is granted, it could be postponed until December. Wesson is being held without bail in Fresno County Jail. Prosecutors seek death penalty against Fresno man Prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty against a man charged with shooting nine of his children in his Fresno home. The announcement was made Tuesday after a careful review of the facts and applicable law, according to a news release from the office of Fresno County District Attorney Elizabeth Egan. Marcus Wesson's public defender, Peter Jones, told The Fresno Bee that he was not surprised. From our standpoint, we have been preparing on the assumption that they would seek the death penalty, Jones said. Obviously, our hope was that they would elect not to. Judge R.L. Putnam on Wednesday scheduled arguments for Aug. 20 on a defense request to delay the trial from Sept. 14 until mid-December and to move it to another county. Wesson is charged with shooting nine of his children, ages 1 to 25, on March 12. Officers were called to his home by two women who were trying to retrieve their children from inside the Wesson household. Wesson, 57, is also accused of 13 sex crimes, including rape, with each of the victims believed to be family members. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. (source for both: AP) NEW YORK: Senate adopts 'fix' on death penalty law The state Senate voted Wednesday to alter the sentencing provisions of the state's death penalty law to remove procedures declared unconstitutional in June by the state's highest court. The legislation stipulates that when a jury deadlocks over the punishment of a defendant who has been found guilty of a capital crime, that offender will get life without parole. It also creates a third option for juries deciding the correct punishment in a capital case, life in prison with the possibility of parole. On June 24, the state Court of Appeals said the sentencing methods of the capital punishment statute were unconstitutional because if a jury deadlocks between execution and life without parole as the punishment, the trial judge sentences the defendant to a parole-eligible term of up to life in prison. The judges said that option might lead some undecided jurors to vote for death by lethal injection because they cannot bear the thought of a defendant someday being paroled. The ruling effectively cleared the four inmates from death row in New York and put prosecutions seeking executions for murderers on hold. The measure approved 37-22 by the Republican-controlled Senate Wednesday was worked out with Gov. George Pataki. But the willingness of the Democrat-dominated state Assembly to take up the bill, or any measure that might resume death penalty prosecutions was unclear. This is a highly technical issue with many constitutional implications and we are looking at it, said
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news --- worldwide
death penalty news August 12, 2004 INDIA: Man sentenced to death for killing wife Search for More News Malappuram (Ker), Aug 12: A fast track court here has sentenced to death a 32-year-old man for brutally killing his wife for not submitting to his sexual desires. Manjeri additional district sessions Judge (fast track court-I), K P Sujatha awarded capital punishment to the convict, Basheer alias Kuttippa yesterday after finding him guilty of murdering his wife, Naseera (23) in the presence of their two children aged seven and three on April 11, 2003. According to prosecution, Basheer, who was in the habit o harassing his wife for not fulfilling his sexual needs, turned wild on one such occasion and began attacking her. Though neighbours rushed to the house on hearing her loud cries, Basheer turned them back stating that it was their family affair and that there was no need for their intervention. Naseera had received as many as 120 stab injuries in the attack. Of the 49 witnesses recorded in the case, 19 of them were examined. The court said the death sentence to Basheer was for the severe cruelty meted out by him to his wife for the sole reason that she did not agree to his sexual urge. That Naseera failed to lodge a complaint about the frequent harassment was no excuse to lower the punishment, the court observed. Basheer can now appeal against the judgement in the high court within a month. (source: Chennai Online)
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----NEV., TEXAS
August 12 NEVADAimpending execution Execution scheduled for tonight She challenged him and set him off, Terry Jess Dennis, still drunk, told the police detective. This woman whose name he couldn't remember, with whom he had been drinking and having sex for days, didn't believe he had killed people in Vietnam -- taunted him, saying he wasn't capable of killing anyone, Dennis told the officer. I proved her wrong, Dennis said on that March 1999 evening after he had finally swallowed enough vodka to muster the courage to call the police and report: I have a dead person in my room. A person, he confessed, he had strangled 3 or 4 days before, 1st with a belt and then with his hands. Tonight, after dropping all appeals in his case, Dennis, 57, is scheduled to be strapped on to a gurney in the state's execution chamber for killing Ilona Straumanis, a 51-year-old Russian emigrant who, besides a cousin in Illinois, left behind no trace of family to notify of her passing. He's ready to go, said Mike Bilodeaux of Portland, Ore., one of Dennis' only friends - most other friends and family are long gone. He doesn't seem to have any fear of it, said Bilodeaux, who has visited Dennis several times as the execution date approached. He is determined not to be a doddering old man in the prison, being the target of every punk in the place. But one of Dennis' former lawyers and a federal public defender see it differently. They have argued all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court that the execution is simply a means Dennis is using to carry out a suicide he has been unsuccessful at completing himself. His long history of mental problems clearly shows, they have said in their appeals, that Dennis is not competent to make decisions about his case. The lower courts have ruled otherwise, and a ruling on whether to stay the execution was expected from the Supreme Court by this morning. Dennis could stop it up to the last minute, but his friend said that's unlikely. Drinking binge turns into nightmare He met her on the street in front of a casino, Dennis told detectives. Straumanis had told him that her 2 black eyes were from a man she had been seeing. Dennis invited her to his motel, he recalled, and they remained in the room for almost a week, averaging a fifth of vodka each day, along with some beer. She started asking personal questions, he said. When she pressed him and then challenged him about his ability to kill, he lost it, he told police. He reached down for his belt, put it against her neck and began to strangle her. Then he used one hand to cover her mouth and the other to pinch her nose, he said. Dennis later told police that he looked at Ilona as being a victim and himself as a predator, according to a transcript of the police interview. He said that he felt at peace about it and he could do this without giving a f- about anybody, the detective said in his report. He said she was nobody to him and that he killed her because he knew he could. He also said that she was easy and that she was really a pathetic soul, the detective said. When police arrived at the motel, Dennis told them that he was a nut, according to reports. He said he had mental problems and had been to the Nevada mental hospital. He also had been drinking a lot, he told police. I'm certified and I'm registered with the VA hospital, Dennis told the officers. I've been off my medication for about a week and I think something went wrong. He also said that he had been admitted to the Veterans Affairs hospital in Reno and had been red flagged when he told doctors that he was thinking about killing someone. He was released about a week later, Dennis told police - a decision with which he disagreed. Somebody should of stopped me somewhere along the line, don't you think? Dennis told the detective. Alcoholic blackout? Bilodeaux said Dennis remembers nothing of his statements to police. The killing and subsequent interview occurred during an alcoholic binge that wiped out most of his memory, Bilodeaux said. The retired electrician said he knows about these types of events, having been a sober alcoholic for 27 years. I'm a little distressed about it, Bilodeaux said of the execution. He said he truly believes in the death penalty and said it's appropriate for the murderer who locks 2 people in the trunk of their car and sets it on fire and listens to their screams. But not this case, he said. Dennis was in an alcoholic blackout when the murder occurred, he said. It's not an excuse, but it should count for something, he said. He just went down the tube, Bilodeaux said. He's just a regular guy like me. But Bilodeaux said he understands Dennis' decision to drop his appeals. He didn't want to spend the rest of his life in prison, he said. No matter where he goes he has to be chained up and shackled. And he's never going to see freedom again. Cruel killing, criminal history Chief Deputy District Attorney Dan Greco views
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----CALIF., TENN.
August 12 CALIFORNIA: Peterson Told Frey He Loved 'The Shining' Prosecutors played for jurors a series of telephone calls Scott Peterson made to his mistress -- including one where he tells her The Shining is the best movie ever -- in their attempt to show his nonchalance just days after his wife went missing and bolster their theory that the other woman was his motive for murder. Jurors heard about a dozen calls Wednesday between Peterson and Amber Frey that were recorded as authorities searched for Laci Peterson. In one conversation, Peterson told Frey days after Laci's disappearance that the best movie ever made was the 1980 horror thriller The Shining, in which Jack Nicholson plays a man who tries to kill his wife. On that exchange Jan. 4, 2003, Peterson told Frey he was in Paris -- although he was in his hometown of Modesto. So what's the best movie of all? Frey asked. Oooh! The best movie ever made is 'The Shining,' Peterson replied. Frey briefly testified after the tapes were played. Prosecutor Dave Harris, in his final words to Frey on the stand Wednesday, asked if police, beginning Jan. 6, 2003, took her under their protection. She said Yes. Frey's testimony was to pick up there on Thursday. Gloria Allred, Frey's attorney, said the exchange about The Shining was the bombshell of Wednesday's developments. That, frankly, gives me more chills than when I saw the movie, Allred said after the hearing. Frey had told jurors that she began recording the calls at the request of police after discovering that her lover was not only married, but suspected in the disappearance of his pregnant wife on Christmas Eve in 2002. Officers from the Modesto Police Department bought her an electronic recording device. Ultimately more than 300 calls were recorded between Peterson and Frey, a massage therapist who has become the government's star witness in the double murder trial. Some of the calls, in which Peterson calls Frey sweetie, sweetheart and other pet names, were made on Dec. 31, 2002, the same day he attended a vigil in Modesto for his missing wife. I need a better vocabulary or a book or a thesaurus or something to find the right words to describe you, Peterson said on a Jan. 4, 2003, call played to jurors. Moments later he added: Maybe an author who's trained with language could give us a color picture. In an earlier taped discussion played to jurors, Frey asked: Do you want to be together with me? Well, I mean, obviously ... I think that we, you know, would be wonderful together, Peterson responds. It was legal for Frey to record the messages, even without a warrant, because it was done at the direction of the police, said Chuck Smith, a former San Mateo County prosecutor who is watching the trial. Prosecutors allege Peterson killed his wife in their Modesto home on or around Dec. 24, 2002, then drove to the bay and dumped her weighted body from a small boat he had purchased just weeks earlier. The remains of Laci Peterson and the couple's fetus washed ashore in April 2003, not far from where Peterson said he launched a solo fishing trip the day she vanished. (source: Associated Press) Tapes of Lovers' 'Embarrassing' Calls Played at Peterson Trial - Jury hears baby talk secretly recorded by the defendant's former girlfriend. Hoping jurors will believe that a cad could also be a killer, prosecutors continued their assault on Scott Peterson's character Wednesday, playing four hours of cooing, baby talk-punctuated phone calls between Peterson and girlfriend Amber Frey. As Peterson praises Frey as wonderful, amazing, and so special that he needs a better, bigger word to describe her, police and volunteers were combing rural Modesto for his missing, pregnant wife, Laci Peterson, who had disappeared only days earlier. Peterson, a Modesto fertilizer salesman who began an affair with Frey, a Fresno massage therapist, only weeks before Laci Peterson disappeared on Christmas Eve 2002, is on trial facing 2 counts of murder in the deaths of his wife and the child she was carrying when she vanished. Their remains washed up several months later in San Francisco Bay. The tapes of the telephone calls were played for the jury on the 2nd day of testimony from Frey, the prosecution's star witness. Despite the embarrassing nature of the tapes, they have so far yielded nothing that would tie Peterson to his wife's disappearance and murder. But prosecutors hope to show jurors that Peterson did not care about his wife and that he killed her, at least in part, to be with Frey. The tapes might have been between two starry-eyed teen lovers, except that each was hiding secrets from the other. Peterson's secret was that he was married to a woman whose disappearance was becoming a widely publicized crime story. Frey's secrets were that she eventually learned of his wife's disappearance, went to police and began recording her phone calls with him. Among the revelations from the
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----worldwide
August 12 INDONESIA: Thai Embassy seeks information on 2 Thai death row convicts The Thai Embassy in Jakarta has sought information from the Medan chapter of the Legal Aid Institute (LBH-Medan) on the condition of 2 Thai nationals convicted of drug trafficking. An official of the Thai Embassy asked the LBH-Medan office by phone about the condition of the two convicts, who are now in jail in Medan, Irham Buana Nasution of the LBH-Medan office said on Thursday. Namsong Sirilak, 34, and Saelow Praset, 58, together with Indian national Ayodhya Prasadh Chaubey, 67, were sentenced to death in 1994 for smuggling 12.19 kilograms of heroin into Indonesia. Chaubey was executed last week by a firing squad in Medan despite protests from international rights groups. The Indian was the 1st person executed in Indonesia since 2001. Meanwhile, the appeals for clemency filed by the 2 Thais were rejected last week by President Megawati Soekarnoputri. Representatives of the Thai Embassy plan to meet the two Thais, Irham Buana said as quoted by Antara. The European Union criticized Indonesia for putting to death the Indian drug dealer and urged the government on Thursday to halt all executions. The two Thais and the Indian were among 7 drug dealers on death row whose clemency appeals were turned down by Megawati last month. Megawati, in the midst of a tight reelection campaign, has vowed to get tough on drug smugglers. The EU urges the Indonesian government to refrain from carrying out more executions, the EU said in a statement sent to The Associated Press. The EU hopes that Indonesia will consider the abolition of the death penalty and enshrine this abolition in law. The EU is generally opposed to the death penalty and has lobbied Jakarta to ban it. But the government has taken an increasingly tough stand against drug offenders in recent years. About 25 people, many of them from African and Asian countries, have been sentenced to death for drug offenses. (source: The Jakarta Post)
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----TEXAS
URGENT ACTION APPEAL -- 12 August 2004 UA 246/04 Death penalty USA (Texas) James Vernon Allridge James Allridge (m), black, aged 41, is scheduled to be executed in Texas on 26 August 2004. He was sentenced to death in 1987 for the murder of a convenience store worker two years earlier. Brian Clendennen, a 20-year-old white male, was shot dead during the robbery of a Circle K store in Fort Worth on 4 February 1985. A jury convicted James Allridge of the murder and found that the defendant would likely commit future criminal acts of violence that would constitute a continuing threat to society if he was allowed to live, even in prison. In Texas, a jury has to answer this ''future dangerousness'' question in the affirmative before a death sentence can be passed. James Allridge was 22 years old at the time of the crime. He is now 41, having spent 17 years on death row. He is appealing for clemency on the grounds of his rehabilitation. He is said to have accepted responsibility for his crime and to be genuinely remorseful for his actions. His claim of rehabilitation is supported by a veteran official of the Texas prison system, and two former death row guards and several jurors from his trial are supporting his request for clemency. S.O. Woods worked for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Institutions Division (TDCJ-ID) for 31 years, rising to the level of Assistant Director as well as Chairman of the TDCJ-ID's Classification Committee. He has reviewed James Allridge's prison records and concluded that he poses no threat to prison staff or other inmates. He concluded that ''there's really no reason not to place him in general [inmate] population''. Two former death row prison guards support James Allridge's petition for clemency. One has said: ''James was the kind of prisoner that made everybody's life easier as far as being able to work around the death row inmates. James probably saved a lot of correctional officers' lives and they didn't even know it, just by calming the situation. James is deserving of clemency because he is the perfect role model inmate. I think if James was put back in [general inmate] population he would continue to be a good role model prisoner.'' A second guard has stated in an affidavit filed with the clemency petition that ''James would not be a threat to society if his death sentence were to be commuted to a life sentence. I am in favour of James being granted clemency.'' At least four of the jurors who sentenced James Allridge to death also support his request for clemency, based on his efforts towards rehabilitation, and his model behaviour in prison. In video testimony presented with the clemency petition, one of the jurors states: ''I really hope for James, for his sake and for others that he's touched in his time in prison, I really hope that he gets clemency and that he can just continue being a good example to other people.'' Other people, including family members, a former employer, people with whom he has corresponded over the years and other inmates, have also provided testimony in support of clemency. In prison James Allridge is reported to help younger inmates adjust to prison in a productive and non-violent way, and to have become an accomplished artist. In 1990 in Georgia, William Moore's death sentence was commuted. Among the reasons cited by the clemency board was Moore's exemplary prison record and remorse. In 1997 in Virginia, William Saunders's death sentence was commuted on the grounds of his rehabilitation. The judge and prosecutor from the trial supported clemency. In 2004, Willie Hall's death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. The Georgia clemency board cited Hall's exemplary prison record in its decision. In Texas, the Governor can grant clemency if the Board of Pardons and Paroles recommends that he do so. The Governor also has the power to grant temporary reprieves. Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all circumstances and all cases. Today, 117 countries are abolitionist in law or practice. Since executions resumed in the USA in 1977, 922 people have been executed nationwide. Texas accounts for 323 of these executions. RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible: - expressing sympathy for the family and friends of Brian Clendennen, and explaining that you are not seeking to excuse the manner of his death or to minimize the suffering it will have caused; - noting that James Allridge has accepted responsibility for the crime and is said to be genuinely remorseful; - noting that at least four of the jurors who voted for a death sentence on the basis that James Allridge would be a future danger to society, even in prison, now support clemency on the basis of his exemplary prison record and his efforts to achieve rehabilitation; - noting that support for his clemency petition also come from two prison guards and that his claim of rehabilitation is
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----VA., OHIO, N.Y., ILL., USA
August 12 VIRGINIA: Lethal Injection by Virginia Not Cruel, U.S. Supreme Court Says The U.S. Supreme Court lifted a stay of execution yesterday for a convicted Virginia killer who had argued that the state's method of carrying out lethal injection is cruel and unusual punishment. The 5 to 4 ruling clears a Circuit Court judge to set an execution date for James Edward Reid, 58, who was sentenced to death for the 1996 slaying of an 87-year-old Christiansburg, Va., woman. Reid's attorneys asserted that the combination of chemicals Virginia uses to carry out executions could cause the inmate to consciously suffer an excruciatingly painful and protracted death. Reid's execution was halted by a federal appeals court one day before its scheduled date last December. The high court gave no reason for granting a motion by Virginia Attorney General Jerry W. Kilgore (R) to lift the stay. Justices John Paul Stevens, David H. Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen G. Breyer dissented. James Turk, one of Reid's attorneys, said the defense will file a request for clemency with Virginia Gov. Mark R. Warner (D). Turk said Reid's life should be spared because a car accident left him suffering from brain damage and he has a long history of alcohol abuse. In 1997, Reid was convicted of capital murder and other charges in the slaying of Annie Lester. According to court records, Reid had occasionally done some odd jobs for Lester and the two had discussed the bible. Authorities said Reid went to Lester's house in October 1996, telling a friend he was going there to do some work. Once inside, he stabbed Lester with scissors and struck her on the head with a can of milk, court documents state. He also took off her clothes and ransacked her bedroom. Reid's attorneys had argued that the first chemical used in a lethal injection, a fast-acting anesthesia, could quickly wear off, even as the other drugs are administered. A second chemical paralyzes the inmate, rendering the inmate unable to show pain, the attorneys said. They said the third chemical, which causes cardiac arrest, could leave the inmate in extreme pain. Tim Murtaugh, Kilgore's spokesman, said that there is no validity in Reid's claim and that Virginia's method of carrying out executions has been tested in the courts. Murtaugh also noted that Lester was stabbed 22 times. If anyone had grounds to complain about undue pain, we believe it should be she, he said. (source: Washington Post) OHIO: Court clerk's mistake gives Ohio wrong information on a ruling A mistake by a clerk at a federal appeals court incorrectly informed Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro's office that the state had won an issue in a death penalty case when it actually had lost, officials said Wednesday. Ohio had asked the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider its earlier decision that set aside the aggravated murder conviction and death penalty sentence for John D. Stumpf, granting him a new trial for a woman's 1984 slaying. The court issued an order Monday denying Ohio's request to rehear the issue, but an employee in the court clerk's office mistakenly made a record entry saying the court had granted the state's request, the employee said Wednesday. Acting on that wrong information, the attorney general's office notified the family of the slaying victim that the state had won the right to argue for reinstatement of Stumpf's murder conviction and death sentence, said Kim Norris, a spokeswoman for the attorney general. Upon learning of the error Wednesday, Petro's office notified the family of Guernsey County slaying victim Mary Jane Stout that the state had lost its appeal, Norris said. They're very upset, Norris said of the family. This is a tragic mistake by the 6th Circuit clerk. The impact on the victim's family is impossible to measure. The state is considering whether to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, Norris said. Carol Heise, an attorney for Stumpf, said she is pleased the court denied the state's request for a rehearing. Stumpf, 43, remains on death row at the state's Mansfield prison while the appeal is pending. Beverly Harris, an employee of the 6th Circuit clerk's office, said Wednesday that she had incorrectly entered a notation into the court's records that the state's rehearing request had been granted, rather than denied. Stumpf's attorney said that Harris became aware of the error when they talked about the case. In April, a 3-judge appeals panel ruled 2-1 that Stumpf's guilty plea to aggravated murder was unconstitutional. The appeals court, reversing a 2001 lower court ruling, said then that Ohio would have the option to retry Stumpf within 90 days. Two appeals judges concluded that Stumpf wasn't fully informed as to the possible consequences of his plea, and that the state failed to meet its burden of demonstrating his plea was voluntary. Stumpf was sentenced to die because he was found to have committed murder to escape capture and
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----USA
August 12 USAre: City councils passing supporting a moratorium on USA executions Alabama and North Carolina are neck in neck with 28 and 27 local governments each. California comes in 3rd place with 15 local governments. And Connecticut leads the pack for abolition resolutions -- 2 city councils there have called for all-out repeal, including their repeal victory in the Hartford council on Monday. Below is the full list of city councils. If anyone else is working on a particular city and hasn't been in touch with us, let me know! We can provide materials, resources, phone banking, advice, and other assistance in your campaign. Warm wishes to all, Shari LOCAL GOVERNMENTS CALLING FOR A HALT TO EXECUTIONS Alameda County, CA Albany, NY Albany County, NY Asheville, NC Atlanta, GA Baltimore, MD Berkeley, CA Bessemer, AL Birmingham, AL Blacksburg, VA Boligee, AL Brighton, AL Brookline, MA Buffalo, NY Bullock County, AL Cambridge, MA Camden, NJ Camp Hill, AL Carrboro, NC Cary, NC Chapel Hill, NC Charlotte, NC Charlottesville, VA Chatham County, NC Chesilhurst, NJ Cincinnati, OH Cofield, NC Creedmoor, NC Davidson,NC Dayton, OH Detroit, MI Dobbins Heights, NC Durham, NC Durham County, NC East Palo Alto, CA Erie, PA Eutaw, AL Fairfield, AL Fayetteville, NC Five Points, AL Forkland, AL Gainesville, AL Garysburg, NC Gettysburg, PA Gordonville, AL Greenburgh, NY Greene County, AL Greensboro, NC Harrisburg, PA Hartford, CT (moratorium and repeal) Hayneville, AL Hays, TX Highland Park, NJ Hillsborough, NC Hobson, AL Jamesville, NC La Fayette, AL Leighton, AL Leverett, MA Lexington, VA City Council of Lincoln, NE Lowndes County, AL Macon, GA Macon County, AL Marin County Menlo Park, CA Midway. AL Montgomery County, MD Mosses, AL Mount Rainier, MD Mount Vernon, NY Nashville-Davidson County, TN New Castle, NY New Haven, CT (moratorium and repeal) New Paltz, NY New York City, NY Norlina, NC North Courtland AL Oak City, NC Oakland, CA Orange County, NC Palo Alto, CA Parmele, NC Philadelphia, PA Pittsburgh, PA Plymouth, NC Portola Valley, CA Prichard, AL Prince George's County, MD Princeton, NJ Rochester, NY Roper, NC Rouseville, PA Salinas, CA San Francisco, CA San Miguel County, CO Santa Clara County, CA Santa Cruz, CA Santa Fe, NM (repeal) Santa Monica, CA Sebastopol, CA Selma, AL Shippensburg, PA Sommors Point, NJ Sumter County, AL Syracuse, NY Takoma Park, MD Tallahassee, FL Taylortown, NC Thomasville, NC Travis County, TX Tuscon, AZ Uniontown, AL West Hollywood, CA White Hall, AL Wilcox County, AL Wilmington, DE Winfall, NC Winston-Salem, NC Yellow Springs, OH York, PA -- -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 3,300 groups, faith communities, and local governments endorse a moratorium on executions! Has YOURS? Get a sample resolution at www.quixote.org/ej -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Shari Silberstein Co-Director Organizer Equal Justice USA/Moratorium Now! a program of the Quixote Center PO Box 5206 / Hyattsville, MD 20782-0206 [phone] 301-699-0042 [fax] 301-864-2182 [web] www.quixote.org/ej [email] sha...@quixote.org
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----NEVADA
August 12 NEVADAexecution//volunteer Nevada death row inmate executed for 1999 Reno strangling Death row inmate Terry Jess Dennis, resolute to the end about not wanting any appeals, was executed Thursday night at the Nevada State Prison for strangling a woman in a Reno motel room in 1999. Dennis was led into the death chamber after a final meal. Earlier in the day, he spent nearly 3 hours with his brother, Gary Dennis, but said he didn't want to talk with his estranged wife, who tried to contact him by telephone. Gary Dennis told The Associated Press that his brother, who had attempted suicide numerous times over the years, didn't want to stop his lethal injection because he saw this as an easy way to go, relatively painless. Dennis becomes the 2nd condemned inmate to be put to death this year in Nevada and the 11th overall since the state resumed capital punishment in 1979. Dennis pleaded guilty to the killing of Ilona Strumanis, 51, during a vodka-and-beer binge in a motel room. A 3-judge panel sentenced Dennis to death. In a court hearing, Dennis said: Well, I'm not sure what the process is step by step, but in the end, without getting into a biblical standard of an eye for an eye or anything like that, basically, I took a life and I'm ready to pay for that with mine. Dennis said it was not the conditions on Nevada's death row at Ely State Prison that are causing him to proceed with his execution. He said they aren't any worse than one would expect. Dennis becomes the 38th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the USA and the 923rd overall since America resumed executions on January 17, 1977. (sources: Associated Press, Las Vegas Review-Journal Rick Halperin)
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----KY., LA., CALIF., NEV.
August 13 KENTUCKY: Lawsuit says execution by injection is torture Attorneys for 2 men on Kentucky's death row claim in a lawsuit that being executed by chemical injection or electrocution is a form of torture and should be declared unconstitutional. Thomas Clyde Bowling and Ralph Baze will ... be tortured to death if the state is allowed to carry out their death sentences, according to the suit filed in Franklin County Circuit Court by attorneys from the state Department of Public Advocacy. Bowling was convicted of murdering a young couple in Lexington and wounding their infant son in 1990. The U.S. Supreme Court has to decide whether to hear Bowling's final appeal. Baze ambushed and killed a sheriff and deputy in Powell County in 1992. His appeal is at the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, one step behind Bowling's appeal. Kentucky used the electric chair until the General Assembly adopted injection for execution in 1998. It has been used against one prisoner - Eddie Lee Harper of Louisville in 1999. Because Bowling and Baze already were on death row when the law was changed, they have to choose between injection and electrocution. The lawsuit alleges that an autopsy of Harper showed a low level of anesthetic in his bloodstream and that he probably was conscious and in pain when another drug designed to stop his heart seared through his body. (source: Associated Press) LOUISIANA: Conviction in frying pan murder overturned In Shreveport, the 1991 1st-degree murder conviction of a Houston man who was sentenced to life inprison for the beating death of a Bossier City man has been reversed. But Tuesday's decision by U.S. Magistrate Judge Roy S. Payne doesn't mean James Crandell will automatically be set free. Payne conditioned Crandell's release upon the state's plans to seek a new indictment against him. Bossier-Webster Parish District Attorney Schuyler Marvin already has plans to present Crandell's case to a Bossier Parish grand jury Sept. 7. We're going to re-indict and go back to square one, Marvin said. We objected to this and contested it, but we expected this decision. We intend to proceed forward and not seek an appeal before the Fifth Circuit. Crandell, 57, was convicted of killing Charles Parr, 48, in a room Crandell shared with his girlfriend, Gail Willars, at the Beacon Manor Motel in Bossier City in August 1989. Willarstold the jury of Parr getting rough with her. Crandell, who was hiding in a bathroom with Willars' son, hit Parr in the head with a frying pan. His body was stuffed inside a closet, where he eventually died. Crandell and Willars fled to Chicago, where they were arrested. Willars' son, Zachary, who was 9 at the time, witnessed the crime and testified at the trial. Gail Willars began traveling with Crandell after her husband died. She collected her husband's life insurance but after going through it, she turned to prostitution. Crandell's reversal was based upon a successful challenge to the manner in which grand jury foremen had been selected, specifically the exclusion of blacks as jury foremen within 20 or more years preceding Crandell's indictment. The long-standing rule in Louisiana was for the presiding judge to hand pick the foreman from the selected jury, sometimes using information gleaned from other court personnel on who would best be in charge of the special panel. In his ruling, Payne noted that Bossier Parish's mere 20 % black population does not provide a legal excuse for (zero) black foremen of 50 chosen. But Crandell's success also opens the door to the repeat possibility of his facing the death penalty. He received a mandatory life sentence because the jury hearing his case could not unanimously agree on a penalty. Federal law principals of double jeopardy or due process will not prevent the state from obtaining a death sentence when the original jury was hung on the sentencing issue, Payne wrote. (source: Associated Press) CALIFORNIA: Frey Pressed Peterson to Tell Her the Entire Truth Amber Frey, who until now had seemed almost naively dependent on Scott Peterson in their taped conversations, demanded that he tell her the truth about everything - including his wife's disappearance - in tapes played Thursday for the jury in his murder trial. After weeks of what many observers called an uninspired prosecution case, jurors Thursday heard some of the most gripping evidence yet as Frey, Peterson's girlfriend, told him she suspected he might have murdered his pregnant wife. Oh, my God, Peterson cried on the tape of a phone call on Jan. 6, 2003, less than 2 weeks after Laci Peterson disappeared and became the subject of a nationwide manhunt. I hope you know me well enough [to know] that I could never do something like this. No, she said, she didn't. Frey did not let up on the Modesto fertilizer salesman, who had told exotic stories of owning boats and condos and traveling the world. Although he never confessed to
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----worldwide
August 13 PHILIPPINES: 19 Abu Sayyaf rebels get death penalty in the Philippines A Philippine judge on Friday sentenced to death 19 Muslim Abu Sayyaf rebels who were among those who kidnapped several people during an attack on a southern town 3 years ago. Danilo Bucoy, a regional trial court judge, found the 19 accused guilty of kidnapping more than a dozen people during the attack on Lamitan town, Basilan province, 900 kilometres south of Manila, in June 2001. Among those sentenced to die was a cousin of senior Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon, one of five rebel leaders wanted by the United States. Court officials, however, clarified that only 13 of the 19 rebels who were sentenced to die are in the custody of the government. The others have escaped or were still at large. The attack on Lamitan occurred a few days after Abu Sayyaf rebels seized 20 people, including three Americans, from a resort in the western province of Palawan and brought them to Basilan. The rebels laid siege on a hospital and a church in the towns centre, triggering an almost day-long standoff with government soldiers. They were able to flee the area with more hostages despite being surrounded by troops. 2 of the 3 American hostages and a Filipino nurse seized in Lamitan were killed during their captivity, while the other hostages were either freed after paying ransom or were rescued by the military. The Abu Sayyaf is the smallest but most violent Muslim rebel group in the southern Philippines. The US has included the guerrillas in its blacklist of foreign terrorists due to alleged links to the Al Qaeda international network. (source: The Khaleej Times) MALAWI: Supreme Court confirms Chief Nyambi death sentence A panel of 3 Supreme Court of Appeal judges on Thursday upheld a judgement of the High Court to sentence Chief Nyambi of Machinga and 2 others to death. Delivering the unanimous judgement on behalf of Chief Justice Leonard Unyolo and Justice Anastazia Msosa, Justice Duncan Tambala said the appeal has failed due to the evidence adduced by the state in the lower court. After carefully examining the evidence which was adduced in the court below, the arguments which the counsel for the appellants and the state made in the court below and in this court and after considering the learned Judges' final directions to the jury, we are unable to find any error of such gravity as can lead us to find the verdict of the jury in this case unsafe, said Tambala. We confirm the verdict of guilty of murder returned by the jury against each appellant. The sentences and order imposed on the appellants are also confirmed, added Tambala. As the judge was pronouncing the judgement, the 3 - Yasin Daiton Ling'omba who is Chief Nyambi, George Allan and Rashid Willo - looked composed and were later taken to a waiting vehicle for prison. Willo is a juvenile and was detained during the President's pleasure. Their lawyer Arthur Makhalira said in an interview after the judgement he would plead for presidential clemency after exhausting all ways of trying to free his clients through the court process. Nyambi and the other 2 are accused of killing Patrick Ingolo who is alleged to have been caught stealing some maize, together with his wife, in the garden of Margaret Asikimu Kawinga, who is Chief Chamba and wife to the convicted chief. Evidence in the lower court was that the late Ingolo's wife, who was carrying a baby at her back and was pregnant that time was caught and brought to Chief Nyambi who assaulted her personally before ordering his chief messenger to lock her up in a cell. The court also heard that the deceased surrendered himself to Chief Chambas house and Chief Nyambi ordered that he should be tied with electrical wire and was subjected to beatings together with his wife until she lost consciousness. Witnesses told the High Court that Allan and Willo, assisted by one of Chief Chamba's watchmen, carried the deceased and his wife in wheelbarrows to their house and Ingolo is reported to have died a short distance from Chief Chambas house. The 3 appellants were contending that Ingolo died as a result of mob justice but the Supreme Court held a different view. The clear and overwhelming evidence pointed to the irresistible conclusion that it was the appellants who severely assaulted and even tortured the deceased and his wife on February 23, 2002, said Justice Tambala. They also alleged that the case was as a result of political issues after Chief Nyambi spoke at a public rally addressed by the former president Bakili Muluzi that the President had visited the area kumalecheleche (at the end of his term of office). But the Supreme Court observed in its ruling that the judge in the lower court properly directed the jury on the matter. It would appear to us that the issue of politics was brought into the case by the defence in order to improperly deflect the jury from a fair and careful consideration of evidence
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----Prisoner Executed: Stop Action on UrgentAction # UA 192/04 on Uzbekistan
URGENT ACTION APPEAL UPDATE -- 13 August 2004 Futher Information on UA 192/04 issued 4 June 2004 - Imminent Execution UZBEKISTAN: Azizbek Karimov (m), aged 25 Azizbek Karimov was reportedly executed in secret on 10 August, despite the fact that the United Nations Human Rights Committee had asked the authorities of Uzbekistan to stay the execution while it was considering allegations that his trial was unfair and that he was tortured and ill- treated in pre-trial detention. His mother had to be hospitalized when she suffered a heart attack on hearing the news of her son's execution. Azizbek Karimov had been sentenced to death in February 2004 on charges including ''terrorism'' and involvement in a religious extremist organization. He was reportedly beaten unconscious when he was arrested, and tortured in custody. No further action is requested from the Urgent Action network. Thank you for sending appeals. Urgent Action Network Amnesty International USA PO Box 1270 Nederland CO 80466-1270 Email: u...@aiusa.org http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/ Phone: 303 258 1170 Fax: 303 258 7881 -- END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL UPDATE --
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----TEXAS, ARK., N.Y., N.J., USA
August 13 TEXAS: Online sales of Death Row inmate's art investigated 2 state agencies are investigating whether condemned inmate James Vernon Allridge is violating Texas law and prison policies by selling greeting cards and other artworks over the Internet. Acting on complaints from crime-victims advocates, the Texas Attorney General's Office is reviewing whether Allridge's Web site, which features samples of his artwork and directions on how to order prints of his drawings of animals, flowers and landscapes, runs afoul of a 1997 statute that allows the state to seize the proceeds of those who profit from crimes. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice is looking into whether Allridge's enterprise violates the ban on inmates running for-profit business from their cells. All I can say is that our Office of Inspector General is conducting an investigation of that activity, said Mike Viesca, TDCJ's spokesman. Typically, Texas inmates can sell products made in prison craft shops -- leather works like belts and cowboy boots or carpentry efforts like cedar chests and wood carvings. The proceeds are deposited in commissary accounts, with which inmates can purchase toiletries, snacks and other personal items. But the head of the crime victims organization Justice For All said Allridge's Internet activity goes far beyond offering modestly priced arts and crafts. While many of his cards and drawings are sold for $10, prints of a large lion painting go for $465. The long and short of it is, it's blood money, said Dianne Clements, the group's president. If James Allridge were not on death row, no one would be buying his so-called artwork. He's not an artist. He's a murderer who draws pictures. Allridge is scheduled to be executed Aug. 26 for killing 21-year-old clerk Brian Clendennen -- himself an aspiring artist -- during a February 1985 robbery of a Circle K convenience store in Fort Worth. Allridge's lawyers are petitioning the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to recommend that Gov. Rick Perry commute the sentence to life in prison based on his near blemish-free record on death Row. The petition, delivered to the 6-member board Wednesday, contains samples of Allridge's drawings, along with statements from four jurors at his trial and several former prison workers who say that the inmate has been rehabilitated during his time in prison. Allridge's lawyer, Jim Marcus of Houston, scoffed at the notion that Allridge was peddling so-called murderabilia. I have not been notified of any investigation into James' artwork, Marcus said. But I do not think that the statute that prevents profiteering from one's crimes applies to James. Marcus said the law targets notorious criminals who might seek to market personal artifacts or mementos from their crimes. His client is doing neither, Marcus said. James is not notorious, he said. But Clements disagreed, saying that Allridge's works had caught the attention of actress Susan Sarandon, who last month visited the condemned man on death row in Livingston. Sarandon won an Oscar for her portrayal of Sister Helen Prejean, a Catholic nun who aids a condemned killer in the movie Dead Man Walking. If he were not notorious, how does he attract the attention of someone like Susan Sarandon? she said. (source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram) ** Plano homemaker still faces 2nd murder case after not guilty verdict Collin County jurors decided Thursday that a Plano homemaker's psychotic delusions left her unaware that it was wrong to drown her 2 young daughters last fall. Lisa Ann Diaz showed little reaction when state District Judge Mark Rusch announced a unanimous verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity, more than 11 hours after jury deliberations began in her capital murder trial. While Ms. Diaz avoided an automatic life prison sentence for the Sept. 25 death of her 5-year-old daughter, Briana, two important legal hurdles remain after Thursday's verdict. Ms. Diaz still faces a capital murder indictment for killing her youngest daughter, Kamryn, 3, on the same day, and she must undergo more psychiatric examinations before Judge Rusch decides whether the 33-year-old should be committed to a state mental hospital. Minutes after the jury's decision, Michelle Acevedo gave thanks to the jurors for coming to the same conclusions she has about her younger sister. I knew that my sister did not commit that crime in her right mind, Ms. Acevedo said, standing next to defense attorneys Robert Udashen and Darlina Crowder. I just want to thank God, and thank all our family and friends for their support and their prayers. Given the chance, Ms. Acevedo said she planned to give her sister a big hug and tell her how much I love her. Ms. Diaz's husband, Angel, was not present for the verdict, nor was her 16-year-old daughter from another marriage - both of whom testified on her behalf. Mr. Udashen said he believed a big factor in the verdict was
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----worldwide
August 13 INDIA/GLOBAL: Hanging is widely used worldwide for execution Hanging, the punishment awarded to Dhananjoy Chatterjee for the rape and murder of a schoolgirl, is the second most widely used method of execution in the world today after shooting. At least 115 men and 5 women were hanged in 10 countries during 2002 and at least 99 men and 1 woman in 2003, according to figures collated by various organisations. Hanging remains the standard method of execution in many countries besides India, notably Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, Pakistan, Bangladesh, several African countries and some Middle East countries, including Iran, Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait and Lebanon. It is also the lawful method in most Caribbean states and is an option to lethal injection in two US states, Washington and Delaware, which have carried out a total of three hangings since the reintroduction of the death penalty in the US in 1976. Hanging originated as a method of execution in Persia (now Iran) about 2,500 years ago for male criminals only, while women convicts were strangled for the sake of decency. It was the method of choice in many countries as it produced a highly visible deterrent without the blood and gore of beheading. In early times it was considered ideal because it was the simplest method to carry out, did not give the condemned person a particularly cruel death, by the standards of the day, made a good public spectacle as the prisoner was above the level of the viewers and because the equipment was easy to come by - a tree, a piece of rope and a ladder or cart, being available everywhere. Later simple gallows replaced the tree and later still trap doors replaced the ladder or cart as a means of getting the person suspended. Methods such as drowning, bricking up, hurling from heights, crucifixion, breaking on the wheel, stoning and burning were also used in various countries. Conservative estimates put the number of people hanged worldwide in the last 2,000 years at not less than half a million. From 1800 to 1964, some 5,508 people suffered death by hanging in Britain, while in the US, it is estimated that some 13,000 men and 505 women were hanged from the early 1600s up to 1996. There are 4 main forms of hanging -- short or no drop hanging, suspension hanging, standard drop hanging and measures, or long drop hanging. The last one is considered more humane than the other 3. Does the convict feel pain? Those who have witnessed modern hangings say death comes in milliseconds. Autopsy reports also indicate a quick death. However, according to Harold Hillman, a British physiologist who has studied executions, the dangling person probably feels cervical pain, and suffers from an acute headache, as a result of the rope closing off the veins of the neck. (source: Indo-Asian News Service)
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----TENN., NEV., OHIO
August 13 TENNESSEEnew death sentence Man Convicted of murdering 2 elderly women gets death penalty In Memphis, a man accused of killing 2 elderly women last year was sentenced today in court. James Christopher Riels will receive the ultimate punishment - death. Riels was hired by 1 of the victims to paint her east Memphis home. He admitted he killed the 2 elderly women last April in an attempted robbery. During this weeks trial it came out that Riels was on drugs and wasn't in the right frame of mind during the murders but in the end the jury determining his fate showed no remorse. This afternoon after almost 4 hours of deliberation the jury came back with the death penalty. Prosecutor Jerry Harris says, The defendants family is very honorable and we feel for them but the defendant deserved this -- this was one of the most heinous cases I've seen in my 30 years --- this is horrible. Both sides expect appeals but even if the death penalty should get overturned -- Harris says Riels will be locked up for the rest of his life. (source: WREG News) NEVADA: Condemned man's brother details final visit on Nevada death row The brother of Terry Jess Dennis, a Washington state man executed late Thursday for strangling a woman in Reno in 1999, said Dennis told him in their final meeting just hours before his lethal injection that he was sorry he screwed up his life - but wasn't remorseful about the murder. He said he wished he hadn't screwed up his life so bad, and went down this spiral of drugs and alcohol. He wished he would have been a better brother, father, friend, Gary Dennis told The Associated Press. But he said he didn't feel bad about the crime. I found that pretty disgusting that he wouldn't admit some remorse to me. The brothers grew up in Alderwood Manor, Wash., a suburb of Seattle. Gary Dennis, who declined to give his current residence, spent nearly three hours with his brother Thursday in a small visiting room at Nevada State Prison. He said he had no sympathy for murderers - but still urged his brother to consider an appeal that would have stopped his execution. But the condemned man refused, describing his lethal injection as an easy way to go, relatively painless, the brother said, adding that's what Dennis had said he wanted for several years. It's not like it happened yesterday and he made up his mind today, Gary Dennis said. Gary Dennis also said that during a Tuesday visit his brother told him it felt good to kill somebody. But on Wednesday, he said his brother - whose mental problems include bipolar disorder - told him he didn't remember much about it. During Thursday's final visit, Dennis, 57, also was asked by a prison staffer if he wanted to speak with his estranged wife, Bonnie Dennis, who tried to reach him by telephone. He said he didn't. Bonnie Dennis said she left a message stating, My heart is with him and my prayers, and I love him although I don't love the choices he made. Farewell. She also said that at Dennis' trial she saw his videotaped confession to police, in which he described in detail how he strangled Ilona Strumanis after several days of drinking vodka and beer and having sex in a motel room. She believed he wasn't exaggerating. I had been on the end of that same kind of rage, she said in a telephone interview, adding that when Dennis drank or used drugs he was like a demon. Court records show Dennis claimed he had been drinking since he was a teenager, had been jailed at age 14 for marijuana use and had made his first suicide attempt in 1966. His early substance abuse was confirmed by his brother, who said that as a teenager Dennis started hanging out with a bad crowd in their hometown of Alderwood Manor. About 20 years ago I told him to stay away because he was drinking, drugging, thieving a lot, Gary Dennis said. He was just somebody I didn't want around me. He was screwed up, he added. He was the most cynical person that I've ever been around. He just saw conspiracies in everything. After he was contacted late last year by lawyers trying to persuade his brother to appeal, Gary Dennis said he renewed contact. He said he decided to spend as much time as possible with his brother this week because I didn't want to regret later on not being there. During their final meetings, Gary Dennis said, We talked about fishing, different movies, events in our childhood. Basically he just wanted someone to talk to, so I listened a lot. He wanted to unload. He was nervous, but steadfast in his commitment to go through with the execution. I asked him how he'd feel when he went to the death chamber and he said he'd just be relieved it's over, Gary Dennis said. He added he arranged to have his brother's remains cremated. I'm having the ashes shipped to me and I'll put them in the creek where we used to fish when we were kids, he said. (source: Associated Press) OHIO: Conviction, death sentence upheld for Ohio inmate in killing of 4 In
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----worldwide
August 14 UNITED KINGDOM/IRAQ: Drop the death penalty, Clwyd tells Iraq Saddam Hussein should not face the death penalty, the Government's human rights envoy to Iraq has said. Iraq's interim government reinstated the death penalty for murder, endangering national security and distributing drugs earlier this month. Cynon Valley MP Ann Clwyd, Tony Blair's representative on human rights, said yesterday, I am sorry the death penalty has been reintroduced, because obviously the UK opposes the death penalty. And as it has been reintroduced, we will continue to lobby the government to abolish it as we do with other states that retain the death penalty. She said Iraq's deputy prime minister had described Iraqi society as brutalised during a recent visit she made to the country. He said there had been a great deal of debate in the interim government and soul searching, as he put it, about the introduction of the death penalty, she said. Salem Chalabi, the chief administrator of the special tribunal set up to try Saddam Hussein, said, If Saddam Hussein is convicted by a judge following a fair trial I would imagine that they would try and institute the death penalty. Mr Chalabi was this week accused of murder. A judge issued an arrest warrant for his involvement in the murder of an Iraqi civil servant. Mr Chalabi, nephew of former Washington favourite Ahmed Chalabi, who faces separate charges, denies the accusation. In an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Ms Clwyd yesterday said she knew Mr Chalabi and his uncle well and was surprised at the charges. Of Salem she said, I've always found him to be an extremely reliable and reputable person. She said he could be in danger if put in prison. Anybody working with the Iraq special tribunal is in danger every day. She also described Iraq's decision to shut down the Baghdad studios of Al Jazeera television as regrettable. (source: ic Wales) INDIA: Death penalty harsh: Malimath committee The public debate on death penalty has not gone unnoticed by Justice Malimath Committee, which describes it harsh and irreversible and recommends amendments in the IPC to make life imprisonment tougher. In its report to the government, the committee rues the lack of any provision in IPC to award a sentence higher than life imprisonment and lesser than death penalty to a convict. A death penalty is harsh and irreversible. The Supreme Court has held that death penalty should be awarded only in the rarest of rare cases, said the committee, constituted by the previous NDA government to suggest reforms in criminal justice system. Observing that US law provides for a higher punishment of imprisonment for life without commutation or remission, the report said it is desirable to prescribe a similar sentence in India too. It recommends that IPC be amended to include imprisonment for life without remission or commutation and suggests this be added as an alternative punishment wherever the IPC prescribed imprisonment for life as a penalty. (source: The Statesman) Death-row mates on the edge Mrinal Dutta has not been getting any sleep ever since the news trickled into his condemned cell at Presidency jail that Dhananjoy Chatterjee will be hanged. Sentenced to death in August 2003, Dutta has been frantically asking warders whether Dhananjoy has any chance of escaping the gallows. In Barrackpore, Randhir Jha, charged with murder, has sent an SOS to his lawyer to come up with a sure-fire strategy that will help him escape conviction. Across the city and suburbs, the Dhananjoy verdict has convicts suffering from situational stress disorder and hysterical behaviour. Criminal lawyer Nimai Ray says most convicts, specially those on death row and the ones charged under Sections 396 (dacoity and murder) and 302 (murder), are now extremely nervous. Understandably, most of them are terrified. They have closely followed the developments in the Dhananjoy case. I could feel the tension in the air. Some of them are quite depressed. City-based psychiatrists feel this sudden fear among convicts - especially those like Dutta and Jha, who have been sentenced to death or charged with murder - might give way to phobia and reactive depression, which result in a person forced to shut himself in the close confines of a cell. Dutta and 2 aides, all sentenced to death on August 21, had killed a man and dumped his body in a storeroom last year. Death row convicts are desperately trying to contact their lawyers to find out when their appeals against execution will come up for hearing. Other convicts, too, are behaving strangely of late, claims a warder at Presidency jail. R. Ghosh Roy, who has researched the personality of jail inmates, feels the next few days will see a change for the worse in the state of mind of convicts or accused lodged in jails. Another criminal lawyer, who doesn't want to be quoted, says his client, currently lodged at the Dum
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----TEXAS, GA., USA
August 14 TEXAS: Convicted murderer appeals 1996 ruling Sentenced to death for the brutal sex-related slayings of a 68-year-old grandmother and her 4-year-old blind granddaughter, Jose Noe Martinez found himself back in a Hidalgo County courtroom Friday for an appeals hearing. Martinez, now 28, appeared in an orange jumpsuit used by the Hidalgo County Jail inmates and leg shackles in Judge Noe Gonzalez's 370 th state District Court. Gonzalez will make a ruling by the 1st week of September as to whether Martinez received effective counsel during his trial. Alex Calhoun, his current attorney, said Martinez's attorneys didn't present evidence to a jury during his November 1996 trial that his mother might have sexually abused him. Martinez was 18 in February 1995 when he broke into the home of Esperanza Palomo, located across the street from where he was staying with his own grandmother in the small community of Madero in western Hidalgo County. Martinez stabbed the grandmother multiple times and then sexually assaulted her, according to Monitor archives. On the night of the double homicide, Palomo was babysitting her visiting granddaughter Amanda, who was asleep in a nearby room. Martinez also stabbed Amanda several times, including once in the neck, and ejaculated on her. He had been under the influence of Rohypnol, according to Monitor archives. Rohypnol, which is commonly known as a Roche pill or a date-rape drug when combined with alcohol, is a central nervous system depressant, according to the National Institute of Drug Abuse. A friend who saw Martinez later that night testified during the 1996 trial that Martinez confessed to the killings, according to Monitor archives. He kept saying 'I killed her,' said Robert Dennis Galvan, a friend and relative of Martinez's. After receiving his death sentence, Martinez turned to family members of the victims and said, It's not over yet, according to a profile of Martinez kept on the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's Death Row Web site. Palomo family members who sat through the entirety of the seven-hour hearings on Friday expressed frustration with the focus on Martinez's rights. All of a sudden, there's concern about his life, said Pete Luna, son of Esperanza Palomo. It's hard on us. It's hard for both families. Amanda's mother, Patty Palomo, said her daughter would be 14 years old today. Every day, we try to get to the next day, Palomo said. They were just special people in our lives that we always have in our hearts. No motive for the killings has been presented, Luna said. While on the stand during the 1996 trial, Martinez's mother, Alma Mancias Martinez, began crying and asked her son, Why did you do it? That same question remains with family of the victims, Luna said. We just want to know why, he said. The question has never been answered. Martinez's hearing Friday was part of his state habeas corpus appeals, the second of the 3 stages of appeals that death row convicts are entitled to, according to a guidebook on the death penalty put out by the Texas Attorney General. Martinez's direct appeals, which address any errors made during the trial, have already been exhausted. Gonzalez will make a ruling by the 1st week of September as to whether Martinez received effective counsel during his trial. If Gonzalez finds that he did receive adequate legal counsel, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals will review the case. If the criminal appeals court denies Martinez's claims, an execution date can be set by Gonzalez. Martinez still has a venue of federal appeals open to him. Ricardo Flores, now the Hidalgo County judge for child welfare cases, and Fela Olivarez were Martinez's defense attorneys during his original trial. Olivarez, who served as an assistant to Flores, had never handled a capital murder case before and had only had her law license for 2 years at the time she was appointed. In court Friday, Flores said he never interviewed any of Martinez's teachers or counselors for the trial. He also said he was unaware that Martinez had been sexually abused, although Flores suspected because of the nature of the crime. I had nothing, nobody saying 'Hey, this (sexual abuse) happened,' Flores said. A person on Texas' death row has an average of 10.43 years before execution, accoring to TDCJ. It costs the state $61.58 per day to keep an inmate on death row, states TDCJ statistics. At the end of the hearing, Gonzalez told sheriff's department deputies to return Martinez to death row. Martinez has been at the Hidalgo County Jail for the past two weeks in order to attend Friday's hearing. Ship him back to death row where he belongs, Gonzalez said. (source: The Monitor) ** Slayings in a small town---The deaths shake a community where the last homicide occurred 15 years ago When Anita Hulsey Bryant and her husband, Henry Lee Bryant III, moved to Dublin 2 1/2 years ago, she found her dream job. Through
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news-----worldwide
August 15 INDIA: Hangman breaks down after Dhananjoy's execution Dhananjoy Chatterjee was hanged to death on Saturday for the rape and murder, on March 5, 1990, of 14-year-old Hetal Parekh. Rapist and murderer Dhananjoy Chatterjee was hanged to death early on Saturday inside the high-security Alipore Central Jail - the 55th execution by hanging carried out in the country after Independence. The hanging took place on time and without any hitch amidst unprecedented security measures that put both the electronic and print media off limits. For hangman Nata Mullick, however, it was little short of traumatic. The official hangman of the West Bengal government, who pulled the lever of the gallows for the 25th and last time of his career, broke down immediately after the execution. This is my last hanging, said 83-year-old Nata, a 3rd generation hangman in his family. He said he was touched by Dhananjoy's composure till the last minute. Ami nirdosh, aamake ora mere phelche (I am innocent, but they are killing me), Dhananjoy said. The poor man kept pleading innocence, Nata recounted at his residence where he was brought in a stretcher after drinking too much to deal with his emotions. According to an unofficial report nearly a dozen people witnessed the hanging though no one was allowed to approach the prison gate. Dhananjoy, 42, convicted in 1991 for the rape and murder of schoolgirl Hetal Parekh, managed to avoid the hangman's noose for 13 years, following a series of legal appeals and clemency petitions. Dhananjoy Chatterjee's last wish was to be served sweets and curd before he took the long walk to the gallows early on Saturday. He also pleaded for a government job for a member of his family, but outside of Kolkata. He wanted to have sweets and curd and we offered him that, said IGP (Prisons) Joydev Chakraborty. However, the convict's eyes, which he wanted to donate, could not be preserved owing to legal wrangles. Also, to avoid possible trouble, his body was whisked away from the prison through a secret gate to the Keoratala ghat where it was cremated by a voluntary organisation. Dhananjoy bathed and offered prayers inside his cell. He was given a new shirt and pyjamas as per his wish, which he wore to the gallows, the IGP said. According to hangman Nata, Dhananjoy offered little resistance and even blessed Nata, his son and grandson when they sought to be forgiven for hanging him. It was only after looking at the rope approaching the platform that he appeared little nervous, Nata said. Protests and vigils Meanwhile, human rights organisation Manab Adhikar Surakha Manch (MASUM) and students from Bishop's College held candle-lit vigils about an hour prior to the execution to press for a last-minute scrapping of the death penalty, alleging that it was state sponsored murder. Armed with candles and placards that read Stop State Sponsored Murder members from the organisation stood near the barricades, about 100 metres from the jail and sang We Shall Overcome. Volunteers from Bishop's College also held placards against capital punishment. (source: Deccan Herald)
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----worldwide
August 16 INDIA: Days May Be Numbered For Hangman's Noose While Dhananjoy Chatterjee was hanged on the weekend for the rape and murder of a 14-year-old schoolgirl, the storm of protests and public debates generated by his case might see the end of capital punishment in India. Chatterjee paid for his crime 14 years after he was sentenced - years during which every possibility of escaping the noose, including a presidential clemency was exhausted. Those were also years during which public opinion seemed to have slowly but steadily swung in favour of the abolishment of the death sentence. As Chatterjee was marched up to the scaffold before dawn on Saturday hundreds of protestors held a candle-light vigil outside the Kolkata jail in a gesture unprecedented in this country for a man convicted for a heinous crime. A lift operator in the building where his victim, Hetal Parekh lived, Chatterjee had taken advantage of the fact that there was no one home to first sexually assault the girl and then strangle her in cold blood. The death sentence is rarely resorted to in India but the country is coming under increasing pressure to do away with it not only from human rights organisations but also from influential bodies like the European Union (EU). While Chatterjee awaited the results of his final mercy petition, the EU handed the Indian government a demarche on Jun 23 asking New Delhi to place before the president, as head of state, its views on capital punishment. Kiriti Roy spokesman for the Manab Adhikar Suraksha Manch (Human Rights Protection Forum), who led protests outside the jail, told reporters after the hanging that what had happened was ''state- sponsored murder. Although the idea that the state has no right to take away life goes back to the times of Asoka -- the ancient Indian ruler who converted to Buddhism -- modern-day Indians are less inclined towards compassion. Last year when India's Law Commission carried out a survey on the mode of capital punishment a surprising number of respondents used the opportunity to say they favoured public executions though this was not an option under consideration. Indeed the footage given to Chatterjee's executioner Nata Mallick by various television channels as he flexed and tested the noose for the benefit of the cameras seemed to betray, what to many seemed public depravity. The government believes that death by hanging was most 'humane' because the vascular, nervous, and respiratory systems are extinguished in a single moment. Why don't they get it over and be done with it, instead of subjecting television audiences including young children to this sickness? asked Kajal Dutta, a New Delhi housewife. Whatever public opinion may be, it is clear that there are few 'hanging judges' among members of India's higher judiciary. Even the august personages who finally sealed Chatterjee's fate were satisfied that they were dealing with a rare case which merited extreme punishment. Judges opposed to capital punishment include Leila Seth, a distinguished retired judge and author who is now a member of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI). She said democracy could not be allowed to degenerate into mobocracy and that capital punishment went against civilised behaviour. V.R. Krishna Iyer, another retired judge from southern Kerala, known for his sage-like pronouncements, has, in fact, been leading a movement against capital punishment for some years now. Our penal code provides for capital punishment for a wide variety of offences but the death penalty has never reduced these crimes in the country, Iyer told IPS. But the most compelling argument comes from women's rights activists like Flavia Agnes who believes that capital punishment has had little effect on either rape or murder. Many women's rights activists have changed their opinion on the value of deterrent punishment, she said in an interview. Agnes said what needed to be taken into account was the kind of people actually being sentenced in India's penal system. She pointed out that the rich and powerful easily get away scot-free while people from marginalised communities are on the receiving end of so-called justice. According to Amnesty International, some 80 countries have so far abolished the death penalty in the last 2 decades, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Mauritius, Nepal, South Africa, and Britain. India is among 90-odd countries that continue to retain capital punishment and this league includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cuba, Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United States. Fali Nariman, one of India's foremost jurists in India believes that the days of the death sentence in the country are numbered because the trend is against retaining it. Whether we like it or not, we would soon have to follow the global demand for the abolition of death penalties. (source: IPS News)
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news --- worldwide
death penalty news August 17, 2004 UZBEKISTAN: Uzbek blast trial restarts The trial is under way in Uzbekistan of 15 people allegedly involved in a series of suicide bombings and other violence in March. More than 40 people died in the carnage. The authorities have accused the 15 of belonging to an Islamic group with links to al-Qaeda. The trial originally began in July, but was adjourned after suicide bombers staged new attacks outside the US and Israeli embassies in Tashkent. The suspects sat silently in cages in the courtroom on Tuesday. Most of them are young men in their early 20s, dressed in tracksuits and flip flops, who gaze at the floor throughout the proceedings. Two are women kept in a separate cage and wearing the full veil of devout Muslims. The group could face the death penalty for the charges against them, mainly complicity in a series of killings that shocked the country in late March. It was the first time that suicide bombers had struck in Uzbekistan. It seems that the carnage was mainly caused by two young women who blew themselves up at a police drill yard outside a bazaar. The authorities say the suspects belong to a previously unknown Islamic group called Jamoat, or community. They say the group has links with international organisations, specifically al-Qaeda. Significantly, some of the accused have confessed to training in south Waziristan in the Pakistani borderlands close to Afghanistan, where the Pakistani army has been waging a long campaign against militants. The trial first got going in July, but was adjourned when three more suicide bombers blew themselves up at the US and Israeli embassies, and then at the Interior Ministry. (source. BBC) === PHILIPPINES: 2,856 Filipino workers in foreign jails: Foreign Department The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Tuesday said that there are currently 2,856 Filipino workers in foreign jails, 19 of whom are facing death penalty. According to the DFA's data, 13 Filipino workers were imposed with capital punishment in Saudi Arabia, five in Malaysia and one in the United States. Foreign Undersecretary and head of office of Migrant Workers Affairs Jose Brillantes said that the government is making necessary representations with the Saudi government to commute thesentence of the two Filipinos in death row, who were convicted by final judgment and may be headed in Saudi Arabia. We are doing everything we can to save the lives of these Filipinos. The same is being done to other Filipinos facing death penalty, Brillantes told a press briefing. While the case is in progress, the embassy usually adopts and recommends actions for amicable settlement, he explained. The government has extended every possible assistance within its resources, to the families and exhaust all remedies, legal andconsular, during the presidency of the case regardless of how longthe case lasts, he added. House Representative Juan Miguel Zubiri Monday raised an alarm over 2,856 Filipinos languishing in jails in 56 countries, whom hedescribed as POFW or prisoner-overseas Filipino workers. According to a 369-page report from the DFA, at least 673 POFWsare women and of those imprisoned in Saudi Arabia, 50 are minors, he said. There are more POFWs than officially listed because some of our foreign service posts were not able to submit their reports for a variety of reasons, he said. To repatriate them all, the country would need 20 Boeing 737 planes. Even in the tiny Maldives in the middle of the Indian Ocean, there was a Filipino in prison, Zubiri added. Enditem (source: Xinhua / Chinaview.cn) UNITED KINGDOM / IRAQ: Left-wingers hit out over Iraq PM visit Left-wing Labour anti-war activists have expressed anger over Tony Blair's plans to invite Iraq's prime minister to the party's annual conference. It has been reported that Iyad Allawi could be a special guest speaker at next month's gathering in Brighton. But some anti-war MPs and activists warn such a move would increase Labour divisions over the conflict when unity is needed ahead of the election. A Labour Party spokeswoman said the line-up of speakers at the conference had yet to be confirmed. Reports of the proposed invitation to Mr Allawi come as an Iraqi national conference in Baghdad is meeting to choose an assembly ahead of elections next year. Mr Allawi has faced some criticism for asking for help from US-led forces to help attack supporters of radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in the holy city of Najaf. Last year's international guest speaker at the Labour conference was Afghan leader Hamid Karzai in a show of support for his interim administration. The previous year it was ex-US president Bill Clinton. Mr Blair has repeatedly said people with different views about the war can unite about the need to back efforts to build a stable and democratic Iraq.
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----VA., TEXAS/USA
August 17 VIRGINIAimpending execution//volunteer Man won't contest his executionHe is set to die tomorrow for Halifax slayings of 2 brothers and 1 brother's wife in 2002 James Bryant Hudson, who has given up all appeals, is set to be executed tomorrow night for the slayings of 3 people in Halifax County 2 years ago. According to the state attorney general's office, Hudson, 57, has not challenged his sentence and has instructed his attorney not to file any appeals on his behalf. He is scheduled to die by injection at 9 p.m. at the Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt. Hudson pleaded guilty last year to 1 count of capital murder in the deaths of Walter Stanley Cole, 56, and Thomas Wesley Cole, 64. The 2 victims were brothers. Hudson also pleaded guilty to the 1st-degree murder of Patsy Ayers Cole, 64, wife of Thomas Cole. The 3 July 3, 2002, slayings occurred in southern Halifax County about 5 miles from the North Carolina line and a few minutes' drive from South Boston. Hudson and the Cole brothers were distant relatives and neighbors along state Route 658, known as Virgie Cole Road. According to authorities, the Cole brothers were shot with Hudson's 12-gauge shotgun in a driveway that Stanley Cole shared with Hudson, and over which the men had a long-standing dispute. Wesley Cole, driving a pickup truck with his brother as passenger, pulled over as he encountered Hudson's truck on the driveway. After the men exchanged words, Hudson went to his pickup and returned with a shotgun. He shot Stanley Cole in the head as he sat in the truck. Wesley Cole was shot in the head when he fell in a ditch trying to flee. Hudson found Patsy Cole working in her vegetable garden and shot her before driving off and being arrested after a 23-hour manhunt. According to Virginia for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, Hudson will be the 2nd death-row inmate to be executed this year after deciding not to seek available appeals. Brian Lee Cherrix, executed on March 18, also had appeals that could have been filed. Hudson's lawyer, Robert Morrison, could not be reached for comment. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, nationally, there have been 105 volunteers since Gary Gilmore was executed by firing squad in Utah in 1977. Virginia's 1st execution after the U.S. Supreme Court's 1976 ruling was in 1982, when volunteer Frank J. Coppola was executed. Hudson would be the fourth person executed in Virginia this year and the 93rd since the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the death penalty to resume, in 1976. (source: Richmond Times-Dispatch) TEXAS/USA: When inmates create art, should they profit?The case of a Texas painter on death row treads the fuzzy terrain between 'murderabilia' and prisoners' rights. A lock of Charles Manson's hair. Dirt from the crawl space where John Wayne Gacy hid his victims. Foot scrapings from the Texas Railroad Killer. These are the types of items that are prompting states to ban prisoners and third-party brokers from profiting from the sale of crime memorabilia, or murderabilia. But what of prized poetry penned by a Florida man on death row? Artwork being sold around the world by a Texas death-row inmate? And a collection of short stories from women in a Connecticut prison, one of whom won a prestigious PEN award for her work? Is this murderabilia? A recent case in Texas is testing the limits of these new laws and leaving many to wonder whether creativity can be stifled - even when a person's rights have been stripped - and whether money made through art can be confiscated. The story centers around death-row inmate James Allridge, scheduled for execution Aug. 26 for his part in the murder of a Fort Worth convenience store clerk in 1985. Since that time, he has taught himself to draw and, for many years, has been helping support his legal defense by quietly selling his art over the Internet. But his status in the eyes of victims' advocates changed when actress and death- row opponent Susan Sarandon, one of his customers, visited him last month. At that point, Mr. Allridge became a celebrity, they say. You can paint all you want; you can draw all you want. But you shouldn't be able to profit off it, says Andy Kahan, director of Houston's Victims Assistance Center. Brian Clendennen was murdered for $300, and now his killer is gaining fame and notoriety and getting visits from Hollywood celebrities - and all because he killed somebody. Now Mr. Kahan, who pushed the murderabilia law through the legislature in 2001, wants to see it applied to Allridge. It would be the 1st application of the law anywhere in the United States. State lawyers are currently looking into the case. From his cell, Allridge has been selling colored- pencil drawings of animals, flowers, and nature scenes - $465 for a large print and $10 for a box of greeting cards. On his website, he says they have been purchased by celebrities such as Ms. Sarandon, Gloria Steinem, and
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----worldwide
August 17 NIGERIA: Death Penalty Abolition And Missing Fundamentals The debate on whether or not death penalty should be retained in our statutes has refused to abate. As a coalition of NGOs push a bill at the National Assembly for the abolition, Willy Mamah, a die hard abolitionist examines the strategies that could facilitate a moratorium for death penalty. In a recent death penalty abolition forum, I observed a crack in the abolitionist's camp. A journalist, a supposed death penalty abolition crusader, spoke up and stunned participants. Drawing curious distinction between her person as a journalist, who writes in favour of abolition, and her person as an individual, a concerned Nigerian, the journalist raised serious doubts about the utilitarianism of abolishing capital sentence in a country like Nigeria. Put briefly, her thesis was that Nigeria is not yet ripe for such a radical step, which will in fact impede safety, security and development. Illustrating her position with copious references to her recent encounter with violent criminals, my journalist friend concluded that we should discard the struggle for death penalty abolition or moratorium and concentrate energies on other issues like deepening democracy, increasing well-being and minimizing ill-being. When she was done, it was clear that retentionists, ie those in support of retention of capital sentence, have infiltrated the abolitionists' camp. But, I saw beyond that. It came across to me strongly that a thin line divides abolitionists and retentionists and anyone who fails to mind the gap can easily stumble to the other side. It also struck me that those who clamour for abolition have failed over the years to identify the missing implement in its toolkit of engagement, let alone taking any decisive steps to supply the missing fundamentals. As an unrepentant abolitionist, I feel called upon to lead this discussion in evaluating the abolitionist movement so far, particularly in calling attention to where the banana peels are carefully hidden. I do this because; this is a struggle we cannot afford to fail in. This is because if we fail, Africa fails and the current global march towards abrogation of this inhuman and unusual punishment will be stunted, because globalisation, no matter how conceived, will be a sham without Africa. The first problem we face in the abolitionists' camp is in the realm of conceptual clarification, worsened by absence of supporting statistics. The second area of concern borders on issues of co-ordination among stakeholders. This is compounded by the Nigerian mentality of everyone must be the boss. In an earlier reflection, I called this mentality, the big man's culture which I identified as the black man's burden Building coalition has become problematic and the scramble for floating NGOs can today equal that for setting up miracle centers. We dissipate energies and we fail to gather enough force to push for reform. The third gap is a follow up to the earlier ones and that is funding. No serious reform campaign can be undertaken in absence of funds. Local and international grants to push for issues like this come in trickles. Absence of funds is exacerbated by lack of political will. Government seems to be speaking from both sides of its mouth. No one can say for sure, whether government, at all levels are in support of abolition or retention or whether it is standing on the fence, which in fact implies standing nowhere. We will now examine the issues seriatim. Although we may not agree with the journalist who spoke as an individual, that abolition of capital sentence will impede safety, security and growth, it is indeed painful to observe that she may be speaking the minds of over 60% of Nigerians. Many Nigerians are getting frustrated about the current increase in violent crimes. In an answer to the enigma of crime, many are clamouring for the heads of violent offenders. Some have even gone a step further to constitute themselves into prosecutor, defence and judge, and that's why people have been stripped naked and burnt to ashes for stealing paltry sums of money or household items, like tooth paste, in a country like this where billions of naira are stolen armed with a pen. The abolitionists who should face the angry people in the streets with superior arguments that decimation of violent offenders is not the answer, regrettable are bereft of statistics. Hence, we lack the means to lead our society through a thorough self-examination, like, why are they criminals? Were they born criminals? Could it be that environmental factors, like failing governance have pushed them to crimes? Some of us, in the abolitionist camp do not seem to believe in the stuff they package for sale, since they easily trip to the other sides, once violent offenders confront them. We all know how boring it could be to listen to a preacher that does not believe in what he preaches. Our advocacy strategy is further weakened by
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----worldwide
August 18 CHINA: China curator gets death penalty for stealing relics The head of a relics protection department at a former Chinese imperial palace has been sentenced to death for stealing the artefacts he was meant to protect, the Xinhua news agency said yesterday. Li Haitao was found guilty of stealing 259 relics from the Eight Outer Temples, part of the World Heritage Chengde Mountain Resort site in central Hebei Province, and replacing them with fakes. The crimes took place between 1992 and 2002 when Li was head of the Cultural Relics Protection Department. Li pocketed more than 3.2 million yuan ($NZ586,100) and $US72,000 by selling 152 pieces of cultural relics he had stolen, Xinhua said. Police had seized more than 100 relics from his private collection, it said. The Intermediate People's Court of Chengde city also sentenced four of Li's accomplices to jail terms from between 2 and 5 years and fined them between 10,000 yuan and 100,000 yuan, it said. The sprawling, 300-year-old resort, a major tourist destination 150km northeast of Beijing, served as the temporary imperial palace of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) emperors Kangxi and Qianlong. It was listed by Unesco as a World Heritage site in 1994, Xinhua said. (source: Stuff.co.nz)
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----OHIO
August 17 OHIOnew execution date Oct. 13 execution date in place for Akron man An Oct. 13 execution date has been set for an Akron man on Ohio's death row. The Ohio Supreme Court set the date last week for Adremy Dennis, 28. A clemency hearing before the Ohio Parole Board is expected in September. A spokesman for the Ohio attorney general's office said Dennis has exhausted his procedural appeals. However, Dennis and fellow death row inmate Richard Cooey, also of Summit County, have a federal lawsuit pending against the state alleging its lethal injection practice constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. A similar lawsuit was filed earlier this year by 2 other death row inmates. The suit was dismissed on technical grounds and the inmates were executed. Lawyers with the Ohio public defender's office say those technicalities have been removed. Dennis is currently housed on death row at the Mansfield Correctional Institution. He was convicted in December 1994 of the Highland Square area robbery and shooting death of Kurt Kyle, 29, an avid stock car racer. Dennis, 18, with an accomplice, Leroy Lavar Anderson, 17, told police they were high and drunk and on a robbery spree the morning of June 5, 1994, when they encountered Kyle and a friend standing in the driveway outside Kyle's Bloomfield Avenue residence. Dennis held a sawed-off shotgun to Kyle's head and demanded money from the 2 men. The friend surrendered $15, but Kyle had no cash. He was shot in the head. At trial, Dennis admitted to the shooting, but claimed the shotgun fired accidentally. Anderson is serving a life sentence at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility near Lucasville, the location of Ohio's death house. Anderson is eligible for parole in 2022. (source: Akron Beacon Journal)
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news --- N.C.
death penalty news August 18, 2004 NORTH CAROLINA: District attorney won't seek death penalty in slaying Orange-Chatham District Attorney Carl Fox told a judge Tuesday that he will not seek the death penalty against Devin Scott Riggsbee, who is charged with killing a Hertford County deputy. Riggsbee and his brother, Phillip Jason Riggsbee, who is charged with being an accessory after the fact, appeared in Orange County Superior Court Tuesday for the monthly administrative review of the case. The question of whether Fox would seek the death penalty against Devin Riggsbee came up unexpectedly when Superior Court Judge Steve Balog asked Fox if he was going to request a death penalty hearing. Fox replied there were no aggravating factors that would make the case eligible for the death penalty and that he would not be asking for it. If the deputy had been acting in the line of duty, that would have been an aggravating factor, but he was off duty when he was killed, Fox said. Another aggravating factor could have been the large number of stab wounds he received, but Fox said he would use that evidence to try to prove first-degree murder, so he can't use it as an aggravating factor. A grand jury indicted Devin Riggsbee on the charge of first-degree murder, and a District Court judge found probable cause for the case to go to Superior Court on the first-degree murder charge. Nevertheless, Public Defender James Williams is likely to try to convince a jury that Riggsbee acted in self-defense or is guilty of a lesser charge than first-degree murder, such as second-degree murder or manslaughter. The deputy, Thomas Carrell Lewis, 24, was visiting friends in the Hillsborough area in May, and they drove to Chapel Hill to socialize at a bar. As they returned to Hillsborough, they encountered a car containing Devin and Phillip Riggsbee and two other men. After one of the occupants in Lewis's car got sick out the window at the intersection of N.C. 86 and Interstate 40 in Chapel Hill, the occupants in the Riggsbee vehicle began to laugh and make fun of him. That angered some of the occupants of the car Lewis was in. As both vehicles traveled west on I-40, the occupants of both vehicles began to yell obscenities and throw things at each other. At the bottom of the ramp of I-40 and Old N.C. 86, some of the occupants of both cars got out and began fighting. Lewis and Devin Riggsbee fell down an embankment, and as they were fighting, Riggsbee allegedly pulled out a knife and stabbed Lewis 35 times. Many of those stab wounds were in the side and back, according to an autopsy report. Doctors tried to save Lewis's life at UNC Hospitals, but they were unable to do so because he lost so much blood, Fox said. A trial date was set for Dec. 14. (source: The Herald-Sun)
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----CALIF.
August 18 CALIFORNIA: Police: Sharon Rocha lashed out at Scott Peterson after learning of mistress Sharon Rocha left court Monday while jurors heard taped phone calls between Scott Peterson and Amber Frey. When Laci Peterson's mother learned about Scott Peterson's affair with a masseuse, she angrily called her son-in-law and accused him of murder. According to documents obtained exclusively by Court TV's Catherine Crier, Sharon Rocha instantly suspected Peterson was involved in her daughter's disappearance when police met with her on Jan. 16, 2003, and told her about his affair with Amber Frey. Rocha wasted little time in confronting Peterson. You killed my daughter, didn't you? Rocha said, according to a phone transcript obtained exclusively by Crier. No I didn't, Mom, Peterson said. Stop lying. I'm tired of your lies, she said. Modesto Police decided to inform Scott and Laci Peterson's families of the fertilizer salesman's relationship with the massage therapist when they learned that the National Enquirer was going to break the news, according to a police report made available exclusively to Crier. Police informed the couple's parents on the same day, but separately. The report noted that up to that point, both families had remained united in their confidence that Scott Peterson was uninvolved in her disappearance. Not wanting the family to be caught without this knowledge, it was agreed that it would not impact negatively on the case and the potential prosecution of this case to inform them of this information, Detective Jon Buehler wrote in a police report dated Jan. 16, 2003. News of the affair triggered an emotional breakdown in Rocha, who sobbed in front of police and said, Why did he have to kill her? She didn't mince words when she contacted her son-in-law, who now stands accused of murdering his wife and unborn son. Since you've managed to lose all of my confidence in you, what I want to know is where's my daughter at, Scott? Rocha demanded, according to the transcript. I wish I knew, Mom, Peterson said. I wish I knew where she is. The conversation quickly escalated despite Peterson's repeated claims of innocence. You are such a f---ing liar. You make me sick, Scott, Rocha said. Tell me where Laci is. I want to be able to bury my daughter. Now tell me what you did with her. Laci Peterson's body and that of her fetus washed up on the San Francisco Bay in April 2003. Scott Peterson faces the death penalty if convicted. (source: Court TV) Wiretaps show Scott Peterson flattering mistress Amber Frey/'I ... threw up when you cried,' double murder suspect told her The day after his girlfriend went public with their relationship, Scott Peterson called Amber Frey to tell her how proud he was of her during her nationally televised press conference, according to tapes of the conversation played in court Tuesday morning. I wanted to say how brave you are and I am really glad you did that, Peterson told Frey in a brief conversation. It just shows what amazing character you have. Peterson called Frey again two hours later and continued to marvel at her strength during the press conference which was held in Modesto with police present. Peterson said hearing her pain made him literally sick to his stomach. I was ... so in awe, yet so proud of you, said Peterson, who told her he had listened to her press conference on his car radio. It also made me, well, I pulled over and threw up when you cried. Frey addressed a bank of television cameras and throngs of journalists in Modesto Jan. 24, 2003 after she discovered her name and information about her relationship with Peterson was reported on a Fresno radio station. Immediately, reporters and photographers began camping outside her workplace and Frey told Peterson she had no choice but to go public with their affair. Trapped in her Fresno massage studio, she called Modesto police, who picked her up and drove her to Modesto where the hastily called news conference was held. Peterson had reported his wife Laci missing Dec. 24, 2002 and had repeatedly denied his involvement in her disappearance or having a girlfriend. In reality, he had become involved with Frey 6 weeks before Laci disappeared and repeatedly lied to her about his marital status and travel plans. During phone conversations, which Frey was secretly recording for police, Peterson told her he was on a whirlwind European business trip when in truth he was holed up in Modesto being hounded by police and reporters. Peterson offered his girlfriend the truth about his martial status and about his missing wife only after Frey, working with police, coyly baited him in a conversation on Jan. 6, 2003. Peterson was arrested and charged with his wife's murder and that of their unborn baby after their bodies washed up on the Richmond shoreline in April, 2003. Tuesday marked the 5th day in the 12-week-old trial that jurors heard tape recorded
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news --- worldwide
death penalty news August 18, 2004 INDIA: Another Gets Death Penalty For Rrape-Murder Of Minor Barely few days after Dhananjoy Chatterjee was hanged for raping and murdering a 14-year-old girl, Hetal Parekh, in Kolkata in 1990, a sessions court in Ahmedabad on Wednesday sentenced to death a 34-year-old man for raping and killing a minor. While handing out the death sentence, Judge Z K Sayed said that the crime was more heinous than the one for which Dhananjoy was hanged, as the victim in the latest case was eight years younger. In the instant case, accused Kishen Marwari on May 27, 2003 lured Gunni Solanki with the promise of buying her ice-candy. Instead, he took her to an isolated spot and allegedly raped and killed her. After murdering her, Marwari then cut of Gunni's feet, took the anklets and sold them in the market. The judge, while giving his verdict, also took into consideration that he had cut of the girl's feet after murdering her. Wednesday's verdict came five days after Dhananjoy Chatterjee, sentenced to death for raping and murdering a 14-year-old girl in Kolkata in 1990, was hanged. Dhananjoy was sentenced to death for raping and murdering Hetal Parekh in her house in Bhowanipore on March 5, 1990. Human rights organisation Manab Adhikar Surakha Manch and some students of the Bishop's College held a vigil outside the Alipore jail, where the execution took place. (source: indolink.com)
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----worldwide
August 18 INDIA: Death penalty to stay, lethal injections mooted: Lethal injections could soon replace hanging as a mode of capital punishment, which the government Wednesday said it had no plans to abolish. In reply to questions in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Home Affairs S. Reghupathy said the Law Commission had recommended an amendment to the Criminal Procedure Code to allow the administering of lethal injections to death-row convicts. However, no time frame had been fixed for introduction and passage of such an amendment in both houses of parliament, the minister said. In India, death penalty is carried out by hanging and the latest instance of this mode of execution was the hanging of rapist-murderer Dhananjoy Chatterjee in a Kolkata prison Aug 14. An attempt to challenge hanging as a method of execution was turned down in 1983 by the Supreme Court, which said that hanging did not involve torture, barbarity, humiliation or degradation. Reghupathy said there was no proposal to abolish capital punishment and pointed out even the Law Commission favoured retaining the death penalty. No high court or even the Supreme Court has ever suggested reviewing or abolishing capital punishment in the country. There is no intention on the part of the government to do away with it, Reghupathy said. (source: New Kerala News) *** EU urges India to abolish death penalty The European Union on Wednesday expressed dismay at the execution of rapist and murderer Dhananjoy Chatterjee, urging the Indian authorities not to approve any further use of the death penalty. The EU urges the Indian authorities to refrain from carrying out more executions, and thereby reinstall the de facto moratorium, the Dutch presidency of the 25-nation EU said in a statement. The EU presidency noted that the execution represented the end of a de facto moratorium on the death penalty, which had existed in India since 1997. Furthermore, the EU hopes that India will consider to abolish the death penalty and to enshrine this abolition in law, it added. Dhananjoy was executed on August 14 in Kolkata after being convicted of raping and killing a schoolgirl. (source: Times Of India)
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----TEXAS
August 19 TEXAS: No MercyThe case of James Allridge raises familiar questions about the Texas justice system On August 26, Texas is scheduled to execute James Allridge III for the 1985 murder of 21-year-old Brian Clendennen, who died from 2 gunshots fired in the course of the botched robbery of a Fort Worth-area convenience store. At his trial, Tarrant Co. prosecutors argued that Allridge, then 21, killed Clendennen on Feb. 4, 1985, while on a crime spree with his 23-year-old brother, Ronald. (Ronald, implicated with James in a string of area robberies, had been sentenced to death in 1986 for the murder of Carla McMillian, killed during the robbery of a Whataburger a month after Clendennen's death. He was executed in 1995.) In 1987, after finding James Allridge guilty of Clendennen's murder, his trial jurors were faced with choosing a punishment: life in prison with a possibility of parole (after 20 years), or a death sentence. Allridge had no prior criminal record, but the jurors were not instructed to consider his past, or his troubled relationship with his brother Ronald (see Mitigating Circumstances, p.32). Instead, their determination would be based solely on their answers to the 2 special questions asked of Texas' capital-case jurors prior to 1990. First, they were asked, was the crime deliberate? And, 2nd, did they believe beyond a reasonable doubt that there is a probability that Allridge would commit additional acts of violence in the future, making him a continuing threat to society? If the jurors had answered no to either question, Allridge would have received a life sentence; but following deliberation, the jurors answered yes to both, and James Allridge was sentenced to die. (In 1993, Allridge also pled guilty to four counts of aggravated robbery stemming from the 1985 crimes. He received a life sentence.) After reading the verdict, District Judge Joe Drago III asked Allridge if there was anything he wanted to say. Allridge turned to face the Clendennen family and apologized for killing their son. The only thing on my mind at the time wasn't what the jury had decided what they were going to do to me or what my future might hold, none of that, Allridge recently recalled. It was that I wanted to say I was sorry to Brian's mom; that's what I wanted to do. A Question of Clemency 17 years later, James Allridge and his supporters - including 4 of the original jurors, his family, attorneys, 2 former death row prison guards, a retired prison system administrator, a Fort Worth city councilman, one of Allridge's former employers, and a handful of others - have joined forces to ask that the state Board of Pardons and Paroles and Gov. Rick Perry commute Allridge's death sentence to life behind bars. Allridge's bid for a life sentence is not based on a claim of innocence or on a lack of due process. Instead, his plea for commutation is based on his apparent rehabilitation while in prison and his quest for redemption - two factors that Allridge's supporters, criminal-justice reformers, and policymakers say should play a key role in Texas' clemency decisions, especially since the state's capital statute emphasizes, as it did in Allridge's sentence to death row, the future dangerousness of the accused. [W]e ask that you consider whether the interests of the criminal justice system - including deterrence and rehabilitation - are best served by executing a rehabilitated person who, while carrying responsibility and remorse for his actions in his heart, is trying to give something back by furthering the safety and stability of the prison environment and struggling to redeem himself, attorneys Jim Marcus and Lisa Fine wrote in Allridge's petition to the BPP. Our request for mercy is premised on the belief that the open-ended ability to commute a death sentence in Texas ... should be exercised in the extraordinary rare instance that a compelling record demonstrates true rehabilitation. Allridge's supporters say that in the 17 years he's been in prison he has become a model inmate - that he accepts responsibility for Clendennen's murder and strives for redemption, in behavior that he models for other inmates. He is a calming force on the row, and former guards say he has made the unit a safer place. He has honed his writing skills, teaches other inmates to read and write, and has taught himself to paint and draw. Allridge's art - primarily brightly colored, highly professional renderings of flowers in full bloom against a deep black background - has been featured in art shows across the country and in Europe and have attracted considerable attention - both positive and negative. To his supporters, Allridge's art is a symbol of his rehabilitation - a tangible and graphic example of the man he has become. It's quite natural that when people get out of a certain environment, they change, said Richard Deiter, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Death Penalty Information Center. It is
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----OKLA., USA
August 19 OKLAHOMA: Death row inmates testify in Tillman 3 death row inmates called the Tillman County Law Enforcement Center home recently, for just an extended stay. The inmates were transported from the McAlester, Okla., penitentiary. Two were to testify on the competency of convicted murderer Gilberto Hernandez Martinez, 53. The testimony was in support of the Eighth Amendment, which stipulates putting a mentally retarded person to death is cruel and unusual punishment. Martinez, the 3rd inmate, is currently serving a death row sentence for setting a fire in 1987 that killed Raynalda Castillo, 4, and Margaret Castillo, 3. At the time of the murders, Martinez was 37. After a hearing to determine Martinez's competency, a plea agreement was reached between prosecutors and defense attorneys. The plea will keep Martinez behind bars for the rest of his natural life. Had he been found incompetent in the hearing, he might have been eligible for release eventually. Officials say the victims' family signed off on the plea bargain because they were assured Martinez would never be set free. Another stipulation is that pending appeals for Martinez be dropped. (source: Times Record News) USA: Regime Change Rock In the studio with lefty redneck Steve Earle as he wraps up an album aimed at changing minds -- and swinging votes -- in November. STEVE EARL IS HAVING a tough time. He's in his recording studio outside Nashville crafting the 16th album of a 3-decade-long music career -- what he envisions as a political album -- and he doesn't have enough songs. For seven weeks, the time he had set aside for songwriting, Earle was sidelined by two kidney stones. (I've been through withdrawal for heroin and crack, he says, and this was worse.) But that was not his only distraction. Earle was also arranging a limited run of The Exonerated, a play about death row inmates wrongly convicted. Appearing with him in the production would be his recently departed girlfriend of five years. (She ran off, he notes, with her kids' soccer coach -- the middle-class equivalent of the tennis pro at the club. But it's my fault. I didn't pay enough attention to her.) Now, halfway through the two weeks scheduled for laying down the primary tracks, he is writing a song each morning and recording it in the afternoon and evening. And this day, as he leads his band for the 1st time through a ballad of an on-the-run special-ops warrior called The Gringo's Tale, his dog Beau, a three-year-old Australian Blue Heeler, throws up. It's on the power supply, Earle shouts from the soundproof booth where he and Beau are isolated. The session is interrupted, and Earle's younger brother, Patrick, runs the dog to the veterinarian. Sucking on a cigarette, Earle says, I can deal with losing girlfriends. He has been through six marriages with five wives. But, he adds, there are two things I won't be able to stand: losing that dog and seeing Bush reelected. He tosses the cigarette and heads back into the booth. The album under construction is Earle's attempt to stick it to Bush. This is no departure for Earle, who started in the music business as a professional songwriter in Nashville, became a shit-kicking country-rock star in the mid-1980s (with a gold-record album featuring the hit Copperhead Road). Then, after wasting years as a close-to-dead junkie, reemerged as an eclectic roots-rock veteran who easily shifts from bluegrass to rock to country to folk. Since the 1980s, Earle, a nine-time Grammy nominee, has been decrying capital punishment, and he has written several haunting tunes on the subject. (Ellis Unit One appeared on the album for the 1995 film Dead Man Walking.) He helped create the Justice Project, which promotes DNA testing to prevent wrongful execution. He has corresponded with 11 death row convicts; nine have been executed. All my guys have been guilty, he says, and he claims he has not cried since he witnessed the execution of one, Jonathan Nobles, in Texas in 1998. He's no longer looking for death-row pen pals: I can't watch anyone else die, he explains. I don't have it in me. Earle has not been a stranger to controversy. His last studio album, Jerusalem, released in 2002, took aim at HMOs, walled communities, and the war on drugs. But its most notorious track was John Walker's Blues. Earle intended the dirge-like tune as an examination of why a young American would enlist with Islamic extremists. (I'm just an American boy -- raised on MTV / And I've seen all those kids in the soda pop ads / But none of 'em looked like me / So I started lookin' around for a light out of the dim / And the first thing I heard that made sense was the word / Of Mohammed, peace be upon him.) But the song, released just a year after 9/11, was roundly condemned by conservatives as a hip-hip-hooray for the so-called American Taliban. Accused of hating America, Earle never backed down or apologized for damn thing, and despite the controversy -
