[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----TEXAS, CONN., PENN., VA., FLA.
Dec. 31 TEXAS: Investigators tracked KFC case for decades James Stroud remembers sitting at the home of his longtime buddy who had gone missing, offering comfort and encouragement to his friend's parents and pregnant wife. After painful hours of waiting, the phone rang. Almost simultaneously there was a knock on the door. Both messengers brought the same terrible news: David Maxwell was dead. Maxwell had been shot in the head and dumped near an oil field, along with four others who disappeared the night before from the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant where they worked in the small East Texas town of Kilgore. That's how the whole family found out, recalled Stroud, at the time a 20-year-old college student and a pall bearer at Maxell's funeral. I can't even tell you what it's like. That 1983 day was one of many Stroud would spend focused on what became known as the Kentucky Fried Chicken killings. Years later, as Rusk County sheriff, he investigated what is 1 of Texas' longest unsolved murder cases, helping lay the foundation for 2 murder indictments announced in November. Now 43, Stroud is convinced divine guidance led him to go from a business major into law enforcement. He's equally certain God was instrumental on the day, as a rookie sheriff, he got a visit from a retired FBI agent who helped breathe new life into the investigation. I'm at a point at my life where I can look back and know that God knew exactly what he was doing, even when I didn't know it, said Stroud, who now runs a deli and Christian gift shop in downtown Henderson. It was after 10 p.m. on a Friday night in September when robbers showed up at the KFC on the main drag through Kilgore, a town of about 11,000 that was the hub of the 1930s East Texas oil rush. About an hour later, assistant manager Mary Tyler's daughter arrived to pick her up from work. Tyler, 37, wasn't there. Neither were her co-workers Opie Ann Hughes, 39; a Kilgore College fraternity brothers Joey Johnson, 20; Monty Landers, 19; and Maxwell. Investigators would later find blood was on the floor and a cash register tape showing about $2,000 had been in the cash box. On a road that led to an oil field about 15 miles south of Kilgore, an oil field worker that Saturday morning made the ghastly discovery. The five KFC workers had been shot in the head from behind. Maxwell, Johnson, Landers and Tyler were lined up. Hughes was about 50 yards away. It just doesn't seem like that long ago, Stroud said. We were just kids. I was just a kid. But at that time, the thing that bothered me the most was that Lana was pregnant. ... She's going to have a baby and she's going to be by herself. In 1990, Stroud joined the Kilgore Police Department. 6 years later, at age 33, he was elected sheriff and inherited an office where big file cabinets were filled with KFC case information. I think there was feeling for a long time that people just didn't think the case could be solved, Stroud said. Not long after taking office, he met retired FBI agent George Kieny, who had spent a good part of his career working the case with the FBI and for a year with the Texas attorney general's office. I remember asking: Can it be solved? He said he felt it could be, Stroud said. The following year he again bumped into Kieny, and the two talked for a half hour about the case at a downtown Henderson storefront. That was the day, in Stroud's mind, where the investigation took an important turn. He hired Kieny part time. Instead of trying to come up with some new idea, we decided to look at everything from the beginning, every report that had been written, every statement that had been taken, and gather all the evidence we could gather in the case, Stroud said. The investigation long had been a roller coaster. Multiple locations. Multiple victims. Multiple law enforcement agencies. Multiple tips. Evidence sent to multiple labs. A grand jury investigated in 1985 but returned no indictments. About a decade later, a torn fingernail found on one victim led to an indictment, but capital murder charges were dropped when tests showed the nail was not the suspect's. Kieny had been with the FBI office in Tyler since 1971 and arrived in Kilgore 2 days after the bodies were discovered. His role was to pursue out-of-state leads. After two years, the Texas Rangers, in charge of the investigation, asked that Kieny be assigned to the case full time. Eventually, he had to turn his attention to other cases and away from the KFC killings. Instead of working at it every day, you worked it when something came up. That's what we did for many years, he said. Kieny retired from the FBI in 1995, and then went to the Texas attorney general's office. He resigned not long after the office lost interest in the KFC case when the fingernail indictments fell through. He continued to stay in touch with Rusk County investigators over the few years, helping them follow-up on leads until Stroud asked him in 2001
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news-----LA., USA, OHIO, ILL., ARIZ.
Dec. 31 LOUISIANA: Lee granted extension in death sentence appeal Attorneys for convicted serial killer Derrick Todd Lee have been granted a 5-month extension in his death sentence appeal. Lee was convicted of murdering Charlotte Murray Pace and sentenced to death in East Baton Rouge Parish in October of 2004. Lee's appeal attorney, Marcia Widder, says her New Orleans office was devastated by Hurricane Katrina and she needs extra time to prepare her defense. Prosecutor John Sinquefield says he agreed with the decision because there's no doubt Katrina did cause a major disruption to Widder's office. In her motion, Widder argued that she has not seen a copy of the court record in the case... a record she terms voluminous. Widder also sent out a warning to the court, saying she anticipated having to ask for even more time in the future. Sinquefield says he'll examine each petition individually before deciding whether to dispute them. (source: Associated Press) USA: Year in Death IN 2005, 60 people were executed in the United States -- a tiny increase from the 59 people put to death in 2004. This figure represents at least a temporary leveling off of the precipitous decline of capital punishment in the United States since 1999, when the states executed 98 people. Yet beneath the surface, signs -- albeit inconsistent signs -- of the death penalty's decline continue. According to data from the Death Penalty Information Center, new death sentences fell dramatically again this year -- to an estimated 96 from 125 in 2004 and 276 in 1999. The overall population of death rows around the country likewise continued to fall. And this year had a remarkable development: a state effectively abolishing its death penalty. After the courts struck down New York's capital punishment law, the state legislature consciously declined to pass a new one. Even the death-happy state of Texas is making progress. This year, it executed 19 people -- well below its average of the past decade and fewer than 1/2 of the 40 people it put to death in 2000. What's more, the state legislature passed a statute allowing juries to impose life in prison without parole as an alternative to capital punishment. Though it is 2nd to Texas in executions since 1976, Virginia -- thanks to a courageous commutation by outgoing Gov. Mark R. Warner -- did not execute anyone this year. There was some movement against the trend as well. The intense regional concentration of the death penalty, which had become particularly pronounced in recent years, seemed to fade a bit this year. More states carried out executions than in 2004, and more of them were outside of the South -- the death penalty's heartland. Moreover, while state legislatures have been reining in capital punishment, Congress has been pushing the other direction. The federal death penalty keeps expanding, and Congress this year has been flirting with dangerous legislation to erode federal review of state capital convictions. That said, the overall tendency is unmistakable: At least for now, with crime and murder rates low and the threat of wrongful convictions on people's minds, the death penalty does not have the same attraction that it once had. Finally ending the death penalty in America, however, will not happen quickly. Despite any number of DNA exonerations and some serious questions raised about whether innocent people have been executed, public support for capital punishment remains unnervingly strong, if not quite as strong as it was a few years ago. What is possible now is to begin translating the apparently lessened enthusiasm for executions into laws that permit it less often. In only a few states does capital punishment operate as a day-to-day feature of the criminal justice system. In some states that permit it, it is never -- or almost never -- used at all. The example of New York shows that when policymakers are forced to confront the utility of a largely theoretical death penalty, they may turn their backs on it or at least restrict it. It is time for opponents of the death penalty to begin systematically offering other states that opportunity as well. (source: Editorial, Washington Post) * Will the Real USA Please Stand Up? It is amazing the power of mythology over logic -- mythology which people can accept and believe regardless of all facts and evidence to the contrary, mythology about who they are, where they live, what their history is. It seems to me that no industrial nation suffers more under the weight of its own myths than the United States. I remember as a child how in school each morning we would have to repeat a pledge to the American flag, and we heard again and again how great, wealthy, and democratic the United States is. These things were told as eternal truths, and never questioned, while we simultaneously learned about the scientific method and the importance of factual assessment and logical analysis. I would like
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----CALIF., GA.
Dec. 31 CALIFORNIA: No public hearing for inmate Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Friday he would not hold a public clemency hearing for Clarence Allen, who is scheduled to be executed Jan. 17 for ordering the murder of 3 people in 1980. Allen, 75, is the oldest man on death row, and is asking Schwarzenegger for mercy because he uses a wheelchair, is deaf and blind and suffers from other medical conditions. Schwarzenegger has denied clemency to the 3 other condemned prisoners who have asked him since taking office 2 years ago. Schwarzenegger could hold a private clemency hearing, as he did earlier this month for Stanley Tookie Williams, the Crips gang co-founder executed 2 weeks ago. Schwarzenegger, as California's chief executive, sets the rules on clemency petitions. The governor's office has not announced whether Schwarzenegger would hold private hearings, or whether he would grant clemency to Allen. While serving time for murder at Folsom State Prison in 1980, Allen was sentenced to death for hiring a hit man who murdered 3 people at a Fresno market. Allen had the trio killed because he feared their testimony would hurt his chances of prevailing at overturning his murder conviction on appeal, prosecutors said. The convicted hit man, Billy Ray Hamilton, also is on death row. Prosecutors said Hamilton was following Allen's orders when he killed Bryon Schletewitz, Douglas Scott White and Josephine Rocha. Allen also is petitioning the California Supreme Court to block his execution, saying it would be unconstitutionally cruel because of his medical condition. Allen suffered a heart attack in September. (source: Associated Press) ** Judaism behind barsChaplain finds congregation at San Quentin I call them my congregation. But whether or not they can get to chapel is another story. Carole Hyman is speaking about Beth Shalom, the congregation at San Quentin State Prison. For the past year, she has served as the Jewish chaplain at the Marin County prison. In this maximum-security facility with the only death row for male prisoners in the state of California, her congregants are mostly lifers, with some condemned to be executed. And since death row prisoners cannot attend services in the chapel, she must go to them. Others must make their way through several security checkpoints in order to get to the chapel. On a recent Saturday morning, four prisoners showed up to attend services in a nondescript room with a sign reading Congregation Beth Shalom over the door. The same space doubles as a mosque for the Muslim prisoners; the Christian church and Native American sweat lodge are right next door. The chapels are in a courtyard just inside the prison's black iron gates. With its ark, Torah and tallits draped over chairs, Beth Shalom has some of the trappings of a synagogue anywhere - except for the congregants, all dressed in light-blue uniforms. Remarkable diversity Hyman, who is petite with large glasses, wears a suede kippah around the prison. She often plays a CD with Jewish songs during services. The Torah is smaller than usual, and was donated decades ago. Describing the size of Hyman's congregation is difficult, because prison is not a place where Jews often want to be out as Jews, she said. But among those who do identify as Jews, there is a remarkable diversity. Some formerly secular Jewish prisoners become Orthodox while in prison, and request kosher food. Then there are those who take an interest in Judaism and attend services, or take Hymans Bible study class, yet its clear they have no Jewish background and were not born Jewish. She makes no distinction, and administers to them all. If an inmate tells me he wants to practice Judaism and if he's sincere and demonstrates his commitment to it, then I consider him Jewish, she said. There are some 6,000 prisoners at San Quentin, and more than 600 of them are on death row. Hyman visits more than 10 Jews regularly who are condemned to die. Citing the Jewish concepts of the yetzer ha'ra and yetzer ha tov (the impulse to do bad and the impulse to do good), she said, I haven't met anyone here that I don't recognize the humanity of. Hyman, 58, has an unusual background for a prison chaplain. Originally from Maryland, she grew up in a Reform household. She entered Ohio State University as a student, but dropped out in 1969 to move to California. It was a time of great turmoil in this country, and suddenly English and philosophy didnt seem terribly relevant, she explained. She moved to Marin, got married and gave birth to 2 daughters. Only after that did she return to finish college. Later, the family moved to Sonoma County. Though she was hardly a wine drinker, the grapevines of her environs piqued her interest. She was also interested in agriculture, so she did some preparatory classes until she could enroll at U.C. Davis. Eventually, she got a masters degree in viticulture and enology. She
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news-----worldwide
Dec. 31 CANADA: Prison ministry teaches need for giving unconditional love Unconditional love. That's the answer Andy gives me. I'll get to the question a little later. Andy is a gentle little man, almost blind, but a greatly gifted musician. He's also a lifer who's served 30 years and is getting out soon. We are talking at Frontenac Institution, a minimum-security federal prison in Kingston, after the Sunday evening chapel service. I had come to chapel in some trepidation, not knowing what to expect. I was there for 3 reasons: First, the passage from Matthew's Gospel about visiting prisoners had been that morning's reading in church. That passage bugs me. It's like a thumbtack in my back pocket, reminding me of an uncomfortable reality I'd just as soon avoid. I live in Kingston, Canada's Prison Central, with no fewer than 9 federal penal institutions within easy reach. To make this a little more immediate: I live 6 blocks away from Paul Bernardo. 2nd, people from my church are involved in prison ministry. Through them, I'd come to realize that there is a whole underground spiritual movement afoot in this town focused on federal offenders: prison chaplains, of course, but also many laypeople visiting inmates, looking after inmates' families and parolees, working with offenders who were being reintroduced to outside life, running spiritual awakening weekends (called Kairos weekends) and follow-up services inside prisons. It's as though there's an underground network of spiritual care-giving for federal offenders and those who deal with them, and it helps make connections in this beautiful, strange, oddly disconnected city. 3rd, my own personally beloved murderer - call him Toby - was in deep trouble. This was a guy I'd grown to love when we worked alongside each other in the fall of 2003, chopping onions in a kitchen that serves meals to the poor 3 times a week. I wasn't the only person who loved him, by any means. We all did. Toby was very special - bright, thoughtful, infinitely patient and invariably courteous, someone who belonged more at Queen's University than in a federal prison. After a horrible childhood, he'd committed a violent but unpremeditated murder when he was 18. I met him not long before he was finally paroled and moved away from Kingston. In his mid-30s, he was newly married to a wonderful young woman and doing well. But now all who loved Toby were grieving, me included. He'd blown it, offended again big-time, and fetched up back in The System, this time probably for more decades than I want to think about. I wanted to wring his neck, frankly, but I also needed to know what I could do for him. I prayed for those whom Toby had hurt, but they weren't mine to care for. Toby was; I knew that in my gut. So what did Toby need most? That was the question I asked Andy, after telling him Toby's story. Andy's answer - unconditional love - didn't surprise me. It's what I would have expected. It's what Sister Helen Prejean offers those on death row in the U.S. It's about the only thing that can turn a soul around. Andy is (Andy knows this) God's beloved child as well as a sinner, and therefore capable of healing. That, Andy told me, is what Toby has to learn. The only way Toby's going to learn it is to experience that love from others - love not in spite of what he's done, or for anything he could ever do, but simply for who he is. That's the healing, transforming thing. It's counterintuitive. Faced with a Paul Bernardo, we want to hurt him as badly as he's hurt others; we want to lock him up and throw away the key. We want him to suffer, big-time. And Paul Bernardo will indeed spend the rest of his days behind bars. But there are those - me among them - who feel that letting someone rot in jail does not make things better; it's only another life wasted and does nothing for the victims. Revenge does not bring closure or healing. An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind. Radical as it might sound, Paul Bernardo is also God's child, because all people are God's children. His deeds can't be undone, and those who he has hurt deserve all the dignity and support we can give them. But that doesn't mean he can never be redeemed, or can't experience God's love. Much as we'd like, we can never cut God off from anyone, whatever he or she has done. We don't have that power. The Rev. Fergie Wilson, chaplain at the Regional Treatment Centre (the psychiatric facility inside Kingston Pen) says that a spiritual conversion, like that in AA, is the one thing most needful to help offenders reintegrate safely into society, especially when it's coupled with ongoing spiritual support. Jeff McGregor, chaplain at Pittsburgh Institution (the minimum-security facility paired with Joyceville Institution) tells of the inmates who are transformed and who build safe communities for each other within those walls. Finding my way slowly into prison ministry, I don't ask prisoners what they've done to
[Deathpenalty]death penalty news-----worldwide
Dec. 31 IRAN: Iranian Womens Group Hits Out at Death Sentence on Teen Girl Defaazzanan, an NGO supporting and defending womens rights in Iran, has joined the protest against the execution of Delaraa Daraabi (she was reported as Delaraam in our 1st report) It is now clear that sexuality is not a factor in this case. However, if the sentence is carried out, Iran will again be acting against the United Nations International Convention on the Rights of the Child which the country not only signed, but ratified (only the USA and Somalia have not ratified). We make no apologies that is is not a gay or lesbian story. The plight of Delaraa has to be brought to the attention of all sections of the global village. The following is the translation from Persian of Defaazzanans call for further national and international support against Delaraas execution: A young girl by the name of Delaraa has been sentenced to public execution of hanging in the Northern city of Rasht (a port city of the Caspian Sea). Since coming to power of the Ahmadinejaad, the regimes atrocious suppressive machine has accelerated the torturing and killing of Iranian youths and women. The young Delaraa, who is convicted of murdering a relative, said that she was engaged to a young man and together they attempted to burgle a rich relatives house in order to provide for the expenses of their upcoming marriage. During the burglary, the rich relative woman was murdered. The court sentenced her to hanging whereas her fianc only received a few years imprisonment. Delaraa, at the time of the incident, was only 17 years old and her fianc had told her that because of her age she would not be punished and that is why she admitted to the murder. However, she has consistently denied the allegation and states with sadness and sorrow how could she have killed a close relative when she has never even hurt a fly before? Delaraa, an artist who has been painting since childhood, has been kept in Rasht prison. The International Committee against the death sentence is protesting against this sentence and demands the quashing of the sentence. We plead to all the international organisations and defenders of human rights to take immediate actions and officially protest and condemn the Islamic regime. During the last year, seven young Iranians, whether under 18 or committed their alleged crime when under 18, have been executed and many more have received such sentences. The hanging of children and teenagers in Iran is an appalling and horrible atrocity, which must be met by the strong reaction of the international community. Delaraa, at the time of the committing the alleged crime - even if she was the perpetrator - was only 17 years of age and does not deserve such a sentence under any law except the anti-women laws of the Mullahs in Iran. The executions of children and teenagers are a savage breach of human rights, which is abolished all over the world. However, everyone knows now that the Mullahs regime is trying to further suppress the Iranian youths and women by their atrocities and create fear amongst them. We must actively protest against this inhumane sentence and call out everywhere for what crime the deprived-of-rights teenage girls and women of this land should be tied to the hanging poles? And call out to the world that the young Iranian women are being sentenced to torture, imprisonment by a bunch of hateful and anti-women freaks who at night do their supererogatory prayers and in the day engage in their corrupt conducts an thievery of the nations wealth. We, the freedom loving and resistant Iranian women will fiercely demonstrate our protest if this sentence is carried out. So, let the regime of Mullahs know that they cannot continue their savage atrocities and we, the young and aware Iranian women are not prepared to stay silent or inactive. (source: UK GayNews) 2 executions, 6 death sentences, including three stonings, in 1 week The state-run IRNA news agency reported on December 28 the public hangings of 2 men in Ahwaz, Iran (capital of the southwestern province of Khuzistan). The 2, identified as Naim Abdoullah Kh. (a.k.a. Rahim) and Jalil H., had been condemned to death on charges of warring against God by the Ahwaz Revolutionary Court. The clerical regimes judiciary also issued a death sentence for a 22 year-old woman according to the Etemad daily on December 25. The daily Joumhouri also reported that 3 men were each given 2 death by hanging sentences and 1 death by stoning sentence in the northern Iranian province of Mazandaran. The daily Hamshahri reported on December 22 that the death sentence for a man identified as Taghi had been upheld. The same day, IRNA reported that a prisoner named Jasem Chak had been condemned to death in Shiraz on charges of hooliganism. These bring the number of hangings and death sentences in the past week to 2 and 6 respectively. The Iranian Resistance condemns the
