[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----USA, TENN., ILL.
April 23 USA: Executed in U.S. may be awake as they suffocate The drugs used to execute prisoners in the United States sometimes fail to work as planned, causing slow and painful deaths that probably violate constitutional bans on cruel and unusual punishment, a new medical review of dozens of executions concludes. Even when administered properly, the three-drug lethal injection method appears to have caused some inmates to suffocate while they were conscious and unable to move, instead of having their hearts stopped while they were sedated, scientists said in a report published Monday by the online journal PLoS Medicine. No scientific groups have ever validated that lethal injection is humane, the authors write. Medical ethics bar doctors and other health professionals from taking part in executions. The study concluded that the typical "one-size-fits-all" doses of anesthetic do not take into account an inmate's weight and other key factors. Some inmates got too little, and in some cases, the anesthetic wore off before the execution was complete, the authors found. "You wouldn't be able to use this protocol to kill a pig at the University of Miami" without more proof that it worked as intended, said Teresa Zimmers, a biologist there who led the study. The journal's editors call for abolishing the death penalty, writing: "There is no humane way of forcibly killing someone." Lethal injection has been adopted by 37 states as a cheaper and more humane alternative to electrocution, gas chambers and other execution methods. But 11 states have suspended its use after opponents alleged it is ineffective and cruel. The issue came to a head last year in California, when a federal judge ordered that doctors assist in killing Michael Morales, convicted of raping and murdering a teenage girl. Doctors refused, and legal arguments continue in the case. More than 2,000 executions In 2005 alone, at least 2,148 people have been killed by lethal injection in 22 countries, especially China, where fleets of mobile execution vans are used, the editors write, citing Amnesty International figures. Of the 53 executions in the United States in 2006, all but one were by lethal injection. The new review was written by many of the same authors who touched off controversy when they published a 2005 report suggesting that many inmates were conscious and possibly suffering when the last of the drugs was given. That report was criticized for its methodology, which relied on blood samples taken from prisoners hours after executions. The new paper looked at the executions of 40 prisoners in North Carolina since 1984 and about a dozen in California, plus incomplete information from Florida and Virginia. The authors analyzed details such as the dose the inmates received, their weight and the time they needed to die. Most states use three drugs -- thiopental, an anesthetic; pancuronium bromide, a nerve blocker and muscle paralyzer; and potassium chloride, a drug to stop the heart. Each is supposed to be capable of killing all by itself, but if not, the anesthetic is supposed to render the inmate unconscious while the other drugs do the job. In 33 North Carolina executions, the average death time was 10 to 14 minutes, depending on the combination of drugs used, the authors report. Calculating each inmate's actual dose, based on his or her weight, they concluded that some did not receive enough. "The person would feel either asphyxiation or the burning sensation associated with the potassium," said Dr. Leonidas Koniaris, a surgeon and co-author at the University of Miami. "The potassium would cause extreme discomfort, something like being put on fire." Even the final drug did not always prove fatal as intended. At least one California inmate required a 2nd dose, and the California warden has said additional doses were used in 2 other executions, the study reports. Death penalty proponents complained the report's conclusions were based on scant scientific evidence. "It's more like political science than medical science," said Mike Rushford, president of Criminal Justice Legal Foundation in Sacramento. Steve Stewart, prosecuting attorney in Clark County, Indiana, where an execution is scheduled for May 4, said the simple solution seemed to be to give a higher dose of the anesthetic, which probably would not satisfy opponents who see all methods as barbaric. "It doesn't matter a whole lot to me that someone may have felt some pain before they were administered poison as a method of execution," he said. Dr. Mark Heath, an anesthesiologist at Columbia University Medical Center who has studied lethal injection cases, took issue with some of the paper's conclusions, but said it generally showed that concerns about lethal injection in its current form "are well-justified." Editors said they sent the manuscript to 3 independent medical experts for review -- an anesthesiologist, a forensic pathologist and someone in charge
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news---worldwide
April 23 IRAQ: Army deserters to be executed Iraqi soldiers who desert their units now face execution, according to a decree by the countrys Presidential Council. The offense is the latest of nearly 200 others convicted Iraqis are to be punished with death penalty. The council slapped 3-year imprisonment on absentee soldiers. The harsh penalties come following reports of large-scale desertion from army ranks in the wake of the latest surge in rebel attacks against U.S. and Iraqi forces. The penalties are also applicable to the cadets of military academies in the country. Turning desertion into an offense punishable by death comes amid mounting criticism from human rights groups that Iraq has become one of the worlds highest users of death penalty. Amnesty International, for example, says that more than 100 people have been hanged since mid-2004 after unfair trials and 270 others are on the death row. (source: Azzaman.com) * Iraq now one of world's leading users of death penalty Iraq has become one of the world's leading users of the death penalty, according to figures published last week by Amnesty International. The human rights group says at least 65 people were executed by the Iraqi authorities last year, a total surpassed only by China, Iran and Pakistan. More than 270 people have been put to death in Iraq since the US military handed authority to the Iraqi Government in August 2004. Comparisons to the situation under Saddam Hussein are difficult because his regime obscured the number of people it sentenced to death. However, Amnesty says that, in some cases, the laws brought in by the new Iraqi Government are even stricter than those from Saddam's time. (source: Belfast Telegraph) TANZANIA: Tanzania to abolish death penalty Tanzania is beginning to review its position on outlawing the death penalty after being put under pressure from human rights watchdogs. Tanzania's Justice Minister Mary Nagu said the process will include collecting people's views on the matter and added that "the government through the Law Reform Commission has already initiated the process of reviewing the law relating to the death penalty." She also said the government has been put under fierce pressure from human rights groups to abolish the practice. The state-run Kenya National Commission on Human Rights has called on the Tanzanian government to change the law and abolish the practice, saying, "The death penalty constitutes a violation of the most fundamental right, the right to life". The panel also calls on the Kenyan parliament to stop the practice. Under Tanzanian law, murder and high treason are the only crimes punishable by the death penalty. In Kenya, however, all capital offences such as murder, attempted murder, robbery with violence and treason are punishable by death. Nevertheless, the country hasn't executed anyone since 1987. (source: Press TV) LIBYA: Death row medics await their fate In Tripoli, a Libyan court is to hear final evidence next Sunday in the slander trial of 6 foreign medics already on death row for allegedly injecting more than 400 Libyan children with HIV-tainted blood, the presiding judge announced. Salem al-Hamri accepted a defence request for a week's adjournment to study court papers in more detail at a new hearing in the Libyan capital on Sunday. Defence lawyers had expressed concern that a 3rd police officer would join the existing plaintiffs in accusing the 5 Bulgarian nurses and 1 Palestinian doctor of defamation over allegations that their confessions were extracted through torture. But in the event no new plaintiffs emerged at Sunday's hearing. The six medics have been in custody for eight years and were condemned to death in 2004. The accused said their "confessions" in the HIV trial were forced from them under torture, including beatings, electric shocks and being threatened with dogs. The slander charge carries a maximum penalty of 3 years in prison. The nurses are Kristiana Valcheva, Nassia Nenova, Valia Cherveniachka, Valentina Siropoulo and Snejana Dimitrova, and the doctor is Ashraf Ahmad Juma. The medics, largely viewed as scapegoats by the international community, maintain their innocence based on testimony by foreign health experts who said the AIDS epidemic in Libya's 2nd city of Benghazi was sparked by poor hygiene. The 6 launched a last appeal against their death sentences on February 17. EU parliament president Hans-Gert Poettering called on the Libyan authorities on Friday to free the medics. (source: AFP) QATAR: Doha court commutes death sentence A DOHA court of appeal yesterday commuted a death penalty given to a Philippine expatriate in a murder case to 10 years in jail. The expatriate, Rolando Stanislaus Bildamin, had been sentenced for killing his "girlfriend." Legal sources said the appeal court reduced the sentence as it believed the crime, which took place on August 4, 2004, was a "be
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----TENN., CALIF.
April 23 TENNESSEE: Tennessee Should Broaden Temporary Halt on Executions to Review Every Aspect of Death Penalty System Team of Tennessee Legal Experts Lists Many Problems in State Capital Crime System A team of Tennessee legal experts, working under the auspices of the American Bar Association Death Penalty Moratorium Implementation Project, today cited problems in the state's use of capital punishment that range from excessive caseloads and inadequate standards for defense counsel to racial disparities and inadequate review of death row inmates claims of actual innocence. The team concluded that Tennessee's death penalty system is so flawed that a temporary halt in executions should be continued to permit a thorough review of every aspect of capital punishment administration in the state. It urged Gov. Phil Bredesen to continue past May 2 a stay he initially imposed on Tennessee executions to examine protocols for administering lethal injection, the execution method used in the state. "Gov. Bredesen clearly has given sober consideration to how executions are carried out in Tennessee," said American Bar Association President Karen J. Mathis. "Now it is time for him, and for the state as a whole, to devote even more thorough analysis to how the state reaches the decision to sentence someone to death. The families and friends of capital crime victims in Tennessee, the people accused of committing those crimes, and the citizens who place their trust in their legal system deserve better justice than they are now receiving," she said. The ABA neither supports nor opposes either the death penalty or any particular means of carrying out executions, but it does urge a moratorium on executions in each jurisdiction until fairness and due process are assured in death penalty cases. The Tennessee report has not been presented to the ABA's policy-making arm, the House of Delegates, and so does not constitute association policy. The recommendation to continue a temporary halt in executions in Tennessee is the product of a 3-year study by a team of seven prominent state lawyers. Evaluating state systems against ABA protocols for a fair and accurate capital case system that complies with constitutional standards, the team found Tennessee meets only 7 of the standards, partially meets 31 of them, and fails to comply with 26 of them. The team was unable to access adequate information to assess Tennessees compliance with 29 of the protocols. The Tennessee Death Penalty Assessment Team included a former prosecutor, a federal judge, defense lawyers and lawyers in private practice. Dwight L. Aarons, chair, is an associate professor of law at the University of Tennessee College of Law, teaching courses on criminal law, advanced criminal law and the death penalty. The team issued 14 specific recommendations, in addition to urging continuation of the moratorium to broaden review of the state system. They are: Create an independent commission to review claims of factual innocence, with power to investigate, hold Create an independent statewide authority to appoint, train and monitor defense, appellate and post-conviction lawyers in capital cases Require preservation and storage of all biological evidence in capital cases as long as defendant remains incarcerated Develop statewide protocols to standardize decisions about which cases are charged as capital crimes Increase qualification standards and monitoring procedures for defense, appellate and post-conviction lawyers in capital cases Provide a right to post-conviction counsel before, not after, filing of post conviction petitions Amend court rules to allow defendants to obtain expert and investigative services at any time after being charged, providing an opportunity to demonstrate why a capital charge may be inappropriate Include in proportionality review cases in which the death penalty could have been sought but was not, and cases in which the penalty was sought but not imposed Require judges presiding over trials resulting in first degree murder convictions to file complete proportionality reports Assure each death row inmate an opportunity for a hearing before the Board of Pardon and Parole Redraft capital jury instructions to prevent misunderstandings Sponsor a state study to determine if there are disparities in capital sentencing based on race, socio-economic status, geography or other factors Exclude from eligibility for execution people with serious mental disorders Adopt a uniform state standard to determine defendants competency through trial, appeals and post-conviction proceedings. The full report and an executive summary, including charts that identify specific recommendations and state compliance levels, are available on the ABAs Web site at http://www.abavideonews.org/ABA340. Additional information about the Death Penalty Moratorium Implementation Project and the assessment project is also posted there. Tennessee is the sixth of e
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----FLA., N.C., OHIO, NEB.
April 23 FLORIDA: Community awaits justice20 years after rampage, Cruse sits on death row 2 decades ago today, William Byran Cruse killed 6 and wounded 14 during a shooting spree in Palm Bay. 2 years later, he was sentenced to death. But as Cruse, the oldest person on Florida's death row, turns 80 this year, officials say it's unlikely he'll be executed before his natural life ends. Despite an insanity defense at trial, it wasn't until 5 years ago that the courts declared him incompetent, which stalled his execution. "You can see he's a madman," said State Attorney Norman Wolfinger, who prosecuted Cruse in 1989. "Whether or not he will ever be competent to be executed is questionable. Certainly I have my doubts that we will ever get to that point." That likelihood angers some, who think Cruse has lived too long since his murderous rampage on April 23, 1987. "Don't have a death penalty if you're not going to use it," said Satellite Beach resident Ronald Grogan Sr., whose son was one of two Palm Bay police officers killed by Cruse. "The system is not doing what it's supposed to do," he said. "When he was sent to prison, he wasn't like he is now. But if you leave somebody in there for 20 years, anyone is going to go bats." But others, including the woman the killer took as a hostage, believe Cruse was insane from the start. "If he's not going to be executed, then it's a crying shame that he wasn't found insane and hospitalized for the last 20 years," said Robin Mucha, who still lives in Brevard. Also adding to the possibility that Cruse's execution won't go forward: a moratorium imposed on the Florida death penalty late last year because of complications with an execution. The governor's office is reviewing a report issued in March, and a decision is expected soon. Nightmare begins Late that Thursday afternoon 20 years ago, Cruse, a 59-year-old retired librarian, stormed out of his home on Palm Bay's Creel Road to confront teens bouncing a basketball in a neighbor's driveway. He was holding a shotgun. Police said he had run-ins with them before, and he fired and wounded a 14-year-old boy. Then Cruse went back inside and retrieved an assault rifle. He continued to fire shots at his neighbors' homes as he drove away. Cruse took his white Toyota Tercel to the corner of Palm Bay Road and Babcock Street, where he opened fire on 2 Florida Tech students, killing both. 2 other men were shot and injured as well. Cruse then drove his car farther south. There he shot and killed 67-year-old Ruth Greene, who was leaving the Publix Supermarket. Cruse drove across Babcock and stopped at Winn-Dixie. Officer Gerry Johnson arrived at the store and was shot in the leg. He emptied his revolver at Cruse, but missed. Johnson scrambled from his car and tried to reload. Cruse stalked after him and shot him in the head. In the weeks before he snapped, police would learn that Cruse was taunted by neighborhood children and often argued with them. There was an indecency report filed, and Cruse, who hated homosexuals, later would tell investigators that Publix employees thought he was gay. 'A little shootout' Just before he killed the officer, Cruse took aim at Ruben Torres, a 39-year-old mailman at the time, who had stopped at Winn-Dixie to buy shrimp for dinner. When Torres went to the front of the store to pay, he saw employees and other customers on the floor and Cruse in the parking lot. "I looked toward the glass doors, and I guess William Cruse saw me because he shot at me right through the doors and everything I had in my hand went flying," Torres recalled. "After that I crawled up to the window and saw him walking across the parking lot. I don't know where I got the strength from, but I took the doors off the track and got out of the store." As Cruse killed Johnson, Torres ran to his car and ducked. "I got my gun out of my glove compartment and we started a little shootout," he said. "I was shooting at him and he was shooting at me." When Torres' went back to his car for more ammunition, a police officer stopped him, thinking he was a 2nd gunman. Originally criticized, Torres since has been credited with distracting Cruse, which allowed people to escape from Winn-Dixie. He still has the nickel-plated, silver-handled pistol he used that night. "Nobody ever called me a hero, they called me a vigilante," he said. Tear gas ends siege When Officer Ron Grogan arrived at the scene, Cruse shot 8 times through the windshield, killing him. The officer had been married only 2 months. Cruse then ran into Winn-Dixie, firing at people fleeing through a back exit. He shot 52-year-old Lester Watson in the back. 45 minutes after firing shots at his neighbors, Cruse found 2 women hiding in the restroom. One he let go; the other, Robin Mucha, would become his hostage. The siege ended 6 hours later when Cruse released Mucha and came out soon after, as tear-gas canisters were shot into the store. Cruse's
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, OKLA., KY., USA
April 23 TEXAS: San Antonio death-row inmate loses high court appeal A street gang member condemned for his role as the driver of the car used during a fatal shooting amid a night-long robbery spree lost an appeal Monday before the U.S. Supreme Court. Kenneth Eugene Foster, 30, in his third appeal to the high court, had been arguing his capital murder conviction in the 1996 shooting death of Michael LaHood Jr., 25, was unconstitutional. A federal district judge had agreed with Foster that the Bexar County jury that convicted him and decided he should be executed may not have properly determined he acted recklessly in the slaying, a condition of his death sentence. The judge also agreed with Foster's questioning of whether he played a major role in the activities leading to LaHood's death. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last October, however, reversed the lower court ruling and Foster asked the Supreme Court to review the reversal. The justices Monday refused. Foster does not have an execution date. Mauriceo Brown, 31, 1 of his 3 companions during the 1996 robbery wave, was executed last year. Brown was identified as the LaHood's shooter. Brown, 31, confessed that he and the others were high on marijuana and alcohol when they were arrested about an hour after the shooting. Brown and Foster received death sentences. Dwayne Dillard and Julius Steen received long prison terms. The attack capped a spree by the gang members who called themselves the Hoover 94 Crips. The men were cruising San Antonio, robbing people, and at least 4 others were reported as victims that night. With Foster driving, they spotted LaHood and his girlfriend driving in separate cars and began following them, winding up at LaHood's driveway at about 2 a.m.. According to testimony, Brown jumped out, walked up to LaHood, demanded his car keys, then opened fire when LaHood couldn't produce the keys. LaHood, shot through the eye, died instantly. Less than an hour later, Foster was pulled over for speeding and driving erratically. All of them were on probation for earlier felonies and were arrested for LaHood's death. Brown blamed the shooting on Dillard, now serving life for killing a taxi driver across the street from the Alamo 2 weeks before LaHood was killed. Steen testified at Brown's trial and received a life sentence in a plea bargain. Brown testified the shooting was in self-defense, that he believed LaHood had a gun and that he heard it click. Authorities, however, never found another weapon near LaHood's body. Foster and Brown were tried jointly. Foster argued that because he did nothing more than agree to commit and participate in the robberies, his death sentence was improper. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals earlier upheld Foster's conviction and sentence under the state's law of parties, which makes a participant in the act that leads to a slaying as culpable as the actual killer. (source: Associated Press) Family BadgeJustices to eye Texas death case Incoherent as it might be, the babbling of a murderer from Fredericksburg could soon offer new insight into the recently reconfigured Supreme Court and its approach toward capital punishment. This week, the justices will consider whether schizophrenic death row inmate Scott Panetti must be spared because, as the court said previously, it's cruel and unconstitutional to execute the insane. Part of what makes the case a potential guidepost is that the newest justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito haven't yet said much about capital punishment and only a thin layer of Supreme Court precedent directly addresses psychosis and the death penalty. Ultimately, any ruling on the execution of a mentally ill inmate who jabbers about satanic persecution will call on the court to conduct a gut check, said Douglas Berman, an Ohio State University law professor. "At some point, it's just, 'Wow, this goes too far' or 'It doesn't go too far,'" said Berman, who teaches a death-penalty course. "It strikes me that those cases tend to be the most revealing." Panetti's long history of bizarre behavior is only one of several elements that add intriguing potential to the case, which will be debated during oral arguments Wednesday. The case presents an opening for the justices to further scale back the death penalty's reach, a potential trend that began before Roberts and Alito joined the court, with rulings protecting juveniles and inmates with mental retardation. The case also offers the justices another chance to rebuke the courts that monitor Texas' use of the death penalty. Several recent reversals have suggested some justices believe the state too readily ignores flaws in capital convictions. This term, the court is reviewing four death cases from Texas. Many believe Panetti owes his spot among them partly to his outlandish performance at the trial, where he babbled at times and wore cowboy garb while acting as his own lawyer. Panetti ha
[Deathpenalty] FW: [AALSMIN-L] Harvard's Kangaroo Law School for Torturers
d. Groucho Marx would have had a field day with them: Harvard is to Law School as Torture is to Law. The Harvard Law School Faculty and Deans torture the Law. Do not send your children or students to Harvard Law School where they will grow up to become racist war criminals! Harvard Law School is a Neo-Con cesspool. * Francis A. Boyle is a frequent contributor to Global Research. Francis A. Boyle Law Building 504 E. Pennsylvania Avenue Champaign IL 61820 USA 217-333-7954 (voice) 217-244-1478 (fax) (personal comments only) -- next part -- An embedded and charset-unspecified text was scrubbed... Name: ATT3901283.txt Url: http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/private/deathpenalty/attachments/20070423/e18f8fbb/attachment.txt
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----TEXAS
FYI
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
April 21 AUSTRALIA: Call for campaign against death penalty The federal government must take a "strong and principled" approach to opposing the death penalty whenever and wherever it is applied, former ALP national president Barry Jones told a public forum attended by more than 100 people on April 19. The forum was organised by Australians Against Capital Punishment. The AACP was established by Lee and Christine Rush as part of their campaign for clemency for their son. Scott Rush was arrested in Bali in April 2005 by Indonesian authorities, acting on information from the Australian Federal Police. Lee Rush addressed the forum and pointed out that his son, and the other "drug mules", were being punished harshly, while the real organisers of the international drug trade were largely untouched. Other speakers included associate professor Patrick Keyzer, Tim Goodwin from Amnesty International and Reverend David Pitman from the Uniting Church. (source: GreenLeft) IRAQ: Iraq death penalty raises concerns: Amnesty report warns of greater brutalization as government executes more criminals, some after rushed trials. The trial of Mohammed Munaf on charges of kidnapping three Romanian journalists in 2005 lasted about an hour, his lawyer said. And even though no witnesses testified, he said, the Iraqi-born U.S. citizen was sentenced to hang. Munaf's case is under appeal and he has not been executed, but Amnesty International said Friday that about 100 convicts had been hanged since Iraq reinstated the death penalty 3 years ago, including many whose cases were rushed through the system without due process. The London-based human rights group said the trend could lead to further brutalization of the war-torn nation, but the Iraqi government asserted that the executions were the best way to send the message that it was serious about ending violence. "We're just shy of 100" hangings, said Bassam Ridha, a legal advisor to Prime Minister Nouri Maliki. "That's nothing compared to what these insurgents are doing to the Iraqi people." On one day in February, 14 people were hanged across the country for crimes such as terrorism, murder and rape, Ridha said. Each day, he said, Iraqi citizens call his office to demand more executions, telling him that if the government executed more people, there might be more stability in Iraq. Tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians have died in shootings, bombings, mortar attacks and other violence linked to sectarian warfare since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003. A U.S.-Iraqi security plan launched in mid-February has put thousands of additional troops on the ground, but the bloodshed continues. Attackers are finding ways to evade the checkpoints and searches that have become a feature of daily life here. On Friday, they attached a bomb to a bicycle in an open-air bicycle market in Salman Pak, south of Baghdad. At least 1 person was killed and 3 people were wounded in the blast. Salman Pak is a mixed town, with a slight Shiite Muslim majority. In Baghdad, two people died in separate mortar attacks. In southwest Baghdad, shooting broke out around a Shiite mosque as people arrived for prayers, and at least two people died. There were conflicting accounts of the incident. In a statement, the U.S. military said American troops on patrol came under fire from the direction of the mosque. During the ensuing shootout, with U.S. helicopters providing cover, 2 suspected insurgents were killed, the military said. But a Shiite cleric, Sheik Suhail Uqabi, delivered a sermon in Sadr City in which he accused troops of killing at least three worshipers in the incident. The U.S. military announced the death of a Marine in an attack overnight south of Baghdad. The Marine died when a rocket was fired into a military base in Mahmoudiya, a statement said. At least 3,316 U.S. troops have died in the Iraq theater since the March 2003 invasion, according to the website icasualties.org, which monitors the military casualties. Unfair trials alleged Executions were common during Saddam Hussein's 34-year regime, but the death penalty was suspended after his fall in 2003. It was reinstated by the new Iraqi government in August 2004, and more than 270 people have been sentenced to death since, Amnesty International says. The 51-page Amnesty report says that in 2006 alone, 65 people, including two women, were hanged in Iraq. That figure was surpassed only by China, Iran and Pakistan. The numbers are especially troubling given Iraq's population of about 27 million compared with the other countries, which have tens of millions more people, said Carsten Jurgensen, one of the researchers. The report says some executions, including that of a former aide to Hussein, were carried out despite international observers' concerns that the cases had been mishandled or rushed through the system. "We fear that ... because people have been sentenced to death after unfair trials, the return to the dea
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TENN., NEV., ILL., USA
April 21 TENNESSEE: Selmer residents weigh in on Winkler verdict The preacher's wife, Mary Winkler, was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in the death of her husband Matthew. The preacher murder thrust the small town of Selmer into the national spotlight and now that the verdict is in people in the small town have a lot to say. The folks in Selmer have spent the last year trying the Mary Winkler case in the court of public opinion. Now that a real jury has made its decision, many have the same reaction. A lot of people say Winkler's time on the stand and details of spousal abuse may have saved her time in prison by winning sympathy. "Until you've been in a situation like that or helped someone in a situation like that I don't think you have any idea how traumatizing that can be," says Selmer resident Jackie Prather. Angie Willard watched much of the trial and feels bad for Mary Winkler and Matthew Winkler's family. "For his family's sake and stuff it's probably good she had to serve some time. But I'm glad she's not getting the 1st degree murder," adds Willard. Brian Doles says the verdict would have been tougher had Winkler been a man, "he'd probably got life or the death penalty." That sentiment was heard a lot and started a lot of arguments. "I own a business and some of the employees went this way, some went that way and had pretty heated discussions," says Jack Davis. An employee at one hotel says she got in such a heated argument with a co-worker she had to leave work. Then there was the mother and daughter who fought just hours after the verdict because of their varying opinions. The discussion won't end anytime soon and is sure to heat up when Winkler is sentenced. Winkler is staying with a friend in McMinnville, Tennessee awaiting her May 18th sentencing. She's also named in a $2 million wrongful death lawsuit filed by Matthew's parents on behalf of the couple's 3 daughters. And Mary Winkler is waiting for a Judge in Jackson, Tennessee, to decide whether she can see her girls. (source: WMC-TV) NEVADA: Mack asked for death penalty "I will ask for the death penalty," Darren Mack told Washoe County District Attorney Richard Gammick, in an e-mail Mack wrote from Mexico one week after his estranged wife was stabbed to death and their divorce judge was shot in his chambers. "And (I) want it agreed on prior to surrender," Mack said in his list of conditions that Gammick read aloud during one of five conversations that Gammick recorded from June 19 to 22 -- the week after the June 12 crimes. The transcript of the phone calls was released for the first time on Thursday in a motion filed by Mack's lawyers, Scott Freeman and David Chesnoff. The motion asked the court to throw out those recordings and transcripts because, they say, Gammick recorded the phone calls illegally. Gammick denies that, saying he had a federal court order to record the calls. The recordings are the 1st glimpse of Mack's state of mind after the stabbing and shooting he is accused of committing, and reveals the negotiations that began while Mack was hiding somewhere near Mazatlan, Mexico and ended 11-days later with his surrender in Puerto Vallarta and return to Reno. Mack was charged with the murder of Charla Mack and the attempted murder of Washoe District Family Court Judge Chuck Weller. He pleaded not guilty and filed a motion Thursday adding "not guilty by reason of insanity" to his plea. His trial is set for Oct. 1. Soon after Mack returned to Reno, Gammick recused himself and the Washoe County District Attorney's office from the case because of his long friendship with Mack and his involvement in his surrender. Clark County Assistant District Christopher Lalli and Chief Deputy District Attorney Robert Daskas took over last July, and about a week later, announced that they would not seek the death penalty. It's unclear when Mack began communicating Gammick, but the first recorded call occurred at 2:30 p.m. on June 19 -- a Monday -- and followed an e-mail that Mack had sent to Gammick laying out the conditions of his surrender. "Did you get the e-mail?" Mack asked Gammick. "Yes," he replied, and began reading each item Mack listed. "Number one, I will surrender only to Richard Gammick and who he wants to bring," Gammick read. "I trust him, I am unarmed and will go peacefully." Another condition: Mack wanted his friend and Reno attorney Mike Laub to join Gammick at the surrender. And then Gammick read Mack's request to be executed. "That one I cannot answer for you at this time," Gammick told Mack in response. "We've got laws that have to be met. I can not promise you we're going to get you the death penalty." "That's fine," Mack replied. "I just want it to be on record that, uh, I'm not going to fight that." Mack's note said that he was defending himself from "yet another attack from Charla," and said he was sure that people would want "someone to really pay for this." Since h
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----IND., CALIF., VA., GA., FLA.
April 21 INDIANAimpending execution Man to be executed pleads for clemencyHe tells Parole Board he didn't intend to kill. A man scheduled to be executed in two weeks for the murder of a 77-year-old neighbor asked Friday that he be spared, saying he was trying to retrieve his mother's belongings and did not intend to kill the man. David Leon Woods tried to place some of the blame for his problems on his mother and his friend during a 50-minute clemency hearing at the Indiana State Prison. He said he had a tumultuous relationship with his mother and was constantly trying to gain her approval. "I was always trying to seek her love that I never really experienced growing up," Woods said. He said his mother, Mary Pilkington, accused him of doing things he didnt do and setting him up for police. Woods said he went to Juan Placencias home in Garrett with 2 friends in April 1984 to break in and retrieve some items his mother had left at her former boyfriend's house. He said his mother told him nobody would be home and no one answered when he knocked on the door. When Woods broke in, though, suddenly Placencia was there. Woods said he didn't recognize him at first even though Placencia was a friend. "I was startled. Nobody was supposed to be there," Woods said. "It was just a reaction." Woods said he had been drinking and using drugs before going to Placencia's house. He said he stabbed Placencia once in the stomach and then went to the telephone to call for help. But he said Placencia made a threatening motion with a baseball bat, warning him not to call anyone. Woods said Placencia then said to him: "Why are you doing this?" Woods said when Placencia started to make noises, his friend told him to shut Placencia up, so he stabbed him some more. "All of a sudden I just started seeing red. I seen a picture of my mother's face. There she is, lying at me again. It's repeating. Every time I do something for my mother it seems like I end up getting in trouble for something," he said. "I wasn't seeing Juans face. I was seeing my mother." When Parole Board member Valerie Parker asked Woods why he didn't just call Placencia to get the belongings, he said he never gave it a thought. When she asked why he listened to his friend, Woods said: "It was total chaos. It was just a mess. I was confused." Woods told the Parole Board that he found religion while in prison and was at peace with what he had done. "The hardest part was forgiving myself. But Im doing this through Jesus Christ, my personal savior," he said. "I never thought I would be able to forgive myself in a million years. Only through Jesus Christ I was able to do this." He finished the hearing by apologizing to his family and friends and Placencia's family. (source: Associated Press) Mother pleased with life sentence for girl's killer The mother of a 12-year-old girl who was abducted and killed in 2004 said she's satisfied that a judge sentenced her daughter's killer to life in prison. Jeffrey Voss, 42, was sentenced Friday to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The Indianapolis man had struck a plea deal in February to avoid the death penalty. He declined to speak during his sentencing hearing for the death of Christina Tedder, who was last seen on Christmas Eve 2004 at a gas station near her apartment complex on the city's east side. Her body was found days later in a creek near McCordsville in Hancock County. "I think (he will) suffer a lot more having life in prison," the girl's mother, Michelle Tedder, said after the hearing. "I'm happy with the decision everybody made and feel confident that justice has been served." Christina's 16-year-old brother, William Mendoza, testified that he dearly loved his sister. "I know God says I should forgive you. But I can't," Mendoza said. "I hate you with all my heart. I hate you for what you did to my sister." (sources: Niwitimes.com & Associated Press) * Garrett slayer seeking clemency from board A Garrett native facing execution next month asked for mercy Friday but told the Parole Board to grant the wishes of his victim's family - most of whom want him put to death. David Leon Woods, 42, faces execution May 4. He has been on death row since 1985 for the stabbing death of 77-year-old Garrett resident Juan Placencia. Woods, wearing a red jumpsuit with his hands shackled, sat facing the parole board during a hearing at the Indiana State Prison. Woods told the board that if the family of Placencia - a father of 13 - doesn't feel he shows remorse, he should be put to death. Friday's hearing was held so parole board members could explore the nature of Woods' crime, his prior criminal record and his conduct while incarcerated and make a recommendation for the governor. A public hearing where friends and family of Woods and his victim can testify is scheduled for Monday in Indianapolis. Woods will not be in attendance.
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----OHIO, WYO., LA., S.DAK., PENN.
April 21 OHIOimpending execution Filiaggi seeks to halt his execution--State Supreme Court will consider request for stay James Filiaggi has said for months he's prepared to die and wouldn't try to stop his execution slated for Tuesday. Apparently, he's changed his mind. On Friday, Filiaggi's attorneys filed requests with the Ohio Supreme Court and the U.S. District Court in Southern Ohio seeking to stop the execution, saying that "after a period of indecision'' Fliaggi now wants to join a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Ohio's execution methods on the grounds it's cruel and unusual. In his motion, Jeffrey Gamso, one of Filiaggi's attorneys, said that the lethal injection method used by the state would "cause him to be tortured to death." The drugs used in the procedure will leave the 41-year-old "conscious, but trapped in a paralyzed body wracked with the pain of suffocation and a heart attack," Gamso wrote. The turnabout was surprising in that it came after Filiaggi steadfastly refused to ask either the Ohio Parole Board or Gov. Ted Strickland to spare him of the sentence that was handed down after being convicted of the 1994 shooting death of his former wife, Lisa Filiaggi. The Parole Board recommended earlier this year that Filiaggi, who told them he was ready to die and wouldn't beg for his life, not be granted clemency. And Thursday, Strickland announced that he agreed with the Parole Board and would allow Filiaggi's sentence to be carried out. The filing throws into question whether the execution will take place Tuesday. Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections spokeswoman Andrea Dean said the prison system will move forward with the execution process until told to stop. Ohio Supreme Court spokesman Chris Davey said the court is considering Filiaggi's request for an emergency stay of execution. Meanwhile, the federal court is expected to rule Monday whether Filiaggi should be allowed to join the 2004 lawsuit filed by death row inmate Richard Cooey, who was sentenced to death for the 1986 rape and murder of 2 women, including one from North Ridgeville. Deputy First Attorney General Brian Laliberte said Friday that the federal court will consider arguments from both sides that must be filed over the weekend. He said if Filiaggi is granted a reprieve by the U.S. District Court, the state will appeal to the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. If it loses there, it will appeal again to the U.S. Supreme Court. Filiaggi's attorneys did not return calls seeking comment Friday, but Laliberte said he assumes they will similarly appeal if the decision doesn't go their way. He said he didn't know if that complicated legal process can be completed by the scheduled 10 a.m. execution time on Tuesday. "If past experience teaches us anything, it's that a delay on Tuesday could happen," he said. Kenneth Lieux, one of Filiaggi's trial attorneys, expressed relief that his former client had renewed his efforts to avoid execution. Lieux said the death penalty has no place in a civilized society. "The eye-for-an-eye stuff doesn't serve any societal purpose," he said. During the original trial, Lieux said, he and now county Common Pleas Judge James Burge argued that Filiaggi suffered from a serotonin imbalance. Without that "filter" on his emotions, Lieux said, Filiaggi was incapable of telling right from wrong. While it wasn't exactly an insanity defense, it raised questions about Filiaggi's mental health that could have prevailed during the appeals process, Lieux said. Jackie Rentas, Burge's longtime secretary and one of those Filiaggi is scheduled to visit with this weekend, said she was surprised Filiaggi had decided to renew his efforts to stay alive. He has repeatedly told her during phone calls and letters from the Mansfield Correctional Institution cell where he spends 23 hours a day that he was ready to die. "I don't want him to go because he's my friend, but I wouldn't want to live like that," she said. Rentas said Filiaggi committed a crime, but it's not up to the state to execute him. "I truly love Jim Filiaggi," she said. "It's wrong what he did; I can't condone what he did, but he's still a human being." Georgette Huff, Lisa Filiaggi's stepmother and the widow of her father, Richard Huff, said Thursday that her husband wanted Filiaggi to die for killing his daughter. Richard Huff never liked Filiaggi, she said. "The moment Rick laid eyes on him, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up," she said. Huff said James Filiaggi's killing of Lisa left wounds in the family that will never heal. "She was just so enthusiastic," she said. "She just always had a sense of possibility." (source: Chronicle-Telegram) * Killer now seeks to stop execution James Filiaggi in January said he was ready to die and instructed his attorneys to remain silent during a parole hearing when it was their chance to fight to have his death
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----TEXAS
April 21 TEXAS: DA may seek death penalty in Evans case Anderson County District Attorney Doug Lowe said he will need additional time before deciding whether to seek the death penalty against a capital murder defendant accused of brutally stabbing a 27-year-old Palestine man to death last summer. Jeramy Lee Kennedy, 29, of Palestine was arrested April 3 and charged with capital murder in connection with last June's stabbing death of 27-year-old Jarod Lee Evans. An autopsy performed on Evans' body at the Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences in Dallas showed he sustained a total of 57 sharp force injuries of the head, neck, upper chest, hands and left side of the chest. One of the wounds penetrated 6 inches into the left side of Evans' chest, perforating part of the lung and the heart, according to the autopsy report. Under state law, a person convicted of capital murder is either sentenced to death or life in prison. The district attorney would have to file notice at some later date if he chooses to seek the death penalty against Kennedy who was formally indicted on the capital murder charge earlier this week. "I want to spend some time seriously deliberating the appropriateness in this case of committing the county's resources to the extreme effort a death penalty case requires," Lowe said. "The victim's coordinator and I will visit with the victim's family to get their input. And sometimes justice can be served by sentencing a person to prison for the rest of their life." Kennedy is currently being held at the Anderson County Jail in lieu of a $1 million bond set by 349th State District Judge Pam Foster Fletcher. A bond reduction hearing was held Friday at the request of the defendant's attorney, Stephen Evans, but the judge did not lower Kennedy's bond. Shortly after Kennedy's arrest, Palestine Police Det. Nick Webb told the Herald-Press that authorities chose to charge the suspect with capital murder because he allegedly stole a "small amount of money" from the victim during the commission of the murder. Autopsy results showed that Evans had multiple controlled substances and other drugs in his body at the time of his death. Although no testing was performed on Kennedy, police said other evidence supported that the suspect also was using drugs around the time of the alleged offense. Authorities have said Evans was found deceased at his Westwood residence on Ferguson Road during the early afternoon hours of June 24, 2006 by a relative. "There was a large volume of blood in the dining room and kitchen area (of the residence)," Webb told the Herald-Press earlier this month. "A DNA standard" was obtained from Kennedy shortly after the discovery of Evans' body, police have said. That evidence, along with many other items, was sent to the Texas Department of Public Safety crime laboratory in Waco for analysis, according to authorities. Police have described the suspect and victim as "longtime friends," adding, however, they had been involved in some type of ongoing disagreement immediately prior to Evans' death. The district attorney took time to laud the efforts of local police in the case. "I want to publicly acknowledge the hard work of the investigators, (Palestine Police) Detective James Muniz, who was the lead investigator, and detective Nick Webb, who provided invaluable assistance," Lowe said. (source: The Palestine Herald) *** Ending capital punishment The Dallas Morning News Editorial Board has reversed its century-old position on the death penalty, now arguing that the system is too flawed. What do you think? ___ After Texas executed Karla Faye Tucker, I became a strong opponent of the death penalty because the system fails to spare those who reform , almost always with God's help. However, I am now convinced that the death penalty serves a purpose in focusing death-row inmates on their impending meeting with the ultimate judge, and thus can promote profound reformation. F.M. Richbourg III, Arlington ** I also am a convert on this issue. I have always believed in the death penalty, but in light of the recent flood of cases overturned due to DNA tests, I can no longer support it. God gives us life and He has the sole power to take it away. As humans we are too imperfect to handle something that requires perfection. Dan Franklin, Highland Village ** Death is the only punishment fit for some of the inhuman acts done to victims in the news. When there is 100 % proof, with eyewitnesses and DNA, I am for the death penalty. Rather than the citizens bearing the monetary burden of a trial and years of appeals in open-and-shut cases, swift punishment is best. Sharon Burns, Mineral Wells ** Yes, Texas should do away with the death penalty, at least for the time being. Especially since Texas ranks the highest in overturned sentences due to DNA evidence. Kelley McElreath, Grand Prairie ** The death penalty will always
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide
April 22 SOUTH KOREA: South Korea considers revising some provisions on death penalty South Korea's justice minister said Sunday his ministry is considering revising some provisions on capital punishment. "Before making a decision on whether to abolish the death penalty, we are considering where there are some provisions that need to be scrapped," Justice Minister Kim Seong-ho said in an interview with the Seoul Shinmun, a local newspaper. (source: Yonhap News)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, N.Y.
April 22 TEXAS: Abolishing the death penalty Call adds to hopeful signs Re: "Death no more We cannot support a system that is both imperfect and irreversible," April 15 Editorials. I applaud The Dallas Morning News. As the editorial points out, the death penalty is "both imperfect and irreversible," which has led to wrenching cases of innocent people being released from death row and the strong possibility that innocent men have been put to death. Years of study have shown that the death penalty does little to deter crime and that defendants' likelihood of being sentenced to death depends heavily on whether they are rich or poor and the race of their victims. Fortunately, there also have been signs of progress. Governors who oppose capital punishment have been elected in several states, including Virginia and Maryland. Executions in 2006 were at a 10-year low. And legislators have mounted serious efforts to abolish the death penalty in Maryland, Montana, Nebraska and New Mexico. Those actions and your call to abolish the death penalty are signs that we are getting closer to a time when we can end capital punishment and restore some measure of fairness and integrity to our criminal justice system. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., Washington One mistake is too many Re: "Opposing a repeal Mike Hashimoto explains three reasons that Texas should continue capital punishment," April 15 Points. I commend your editorial calling for the abolition of the death penalty. It's a courageous stand. I also commend Mike Hashimoto's column opposing your board's position. He makes a reasonable and articulate case for the death penalty, one that ultimately I am not persuaded by. My primary reason for opposing the death penalty is expressed by the mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal: "Justice and truth are two such subtle points that our tools are too blunt to touch them accurately." We know that we've executed innocent people. How many is too many? For me, the number is one. Bill Holston, Dallas 2 reasons to keep death 2 important arguments against a death penalty moratorium have not been stated. As we have seen in recent years, prison escapes do happen. Several escaped prisoners killed an Irving police officer. Had they been executed, this courageous officer might still be alive. Silly as it sounds, no one who has been executed has escaped and hurt an innocent person. Second, without the possibility of a death penalty, those who are serving life without parole would have no incentive to follow prison rules. Even if they kill a guard or fellow inmate, no further punishment could be applied. Jim Brierton, Temple Death can't be taken back Congratulations on the reversal of your death penalty position. I came to the same conclusion when the governor of Illinois placed a moratorium on executions, after more than a dozen people on death row were exonerated by DNA evidence. We are now finding many people in Dallas County convicted of crimes but later proven innocent. The death penalty cannot be undone. As a citizen, I could not live with an innocent person being put to death in error. Bill Armstrong, Dallas Leaving out some injustice I applaud and join your call for a moratorium on the death penalty in Texas. If our system is about justice, let justice be done. Murdering a murderer is illogical and immoral. Additionally, I must take issue with Mike Hashimoto's editorial. He writes (in bold letters), "It's applied fairly, accurately and sparingly." He then spends the next nine paragraphs debunking the "death penalty opposition's myths." Not once does he mention the most glaring and pervasive injustices, that poor people are much more likely to be executed. They are more likely to be prosecuted, less likely to be offered a plea deal and more likely to lose their case because of inadequate representation. He also leaves the reader with the impression that he believes no innocents have been executed. Can he be so nave? Thank you for the courage of your editorial. Randy Richardson, Dallas Tired arguments in support Mike Hashimoto thinks his excuses for supporting state killing are unique, but like the death penalty itself, they are old and tired. The death penalty is not punishment, since the offender learns nothing from being murdered. Ignoring vast amounts of evidence, like Texas being one of the most dangerous states in the country to be a police officer, only sends the message he is not interested in the truth. It comes as no surprise that he looks at only half the facts when it comes to racism and the death penalty. It is not just the race of the offender that matters but the race of the victim. The overwhelming majority of people on death row are there for killing white victims. His conscience is clear, because he has drawn the line and stopped asking how the state murdering people for political gain is superior to any other excuse for killing som
