[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
URGENT ACTION APPEAL - From Amnesty International USA -- For a print-friendly version of this Urgent Action (PDF): http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa30711.pdf UA: 307/11 Issue Date: 19 October 2011 Country: Iran IRANIAN KURDS AT RISK OF IMMINENT EXECUTION The death sentences against Loghman Moradi and Zaniar Moradi, two members of Iran's Kurdish minority have been upheld by the Supreme Court. They could now be executed at any time. Zaniar (or Zanyar) Moradi and Loghman (or Loqman) Moradi were sentenced to public hanging on 22 December 2010 by Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court. They have been convicted of "enmity against God" (moharebeh) and "corruption on earth" for allegedly murdering the son of a senior cleric in Marivan, Kordestan province, north-eastern Iran, on 4 July 2009. They have also been convicted of participating in armed activities with Komala, a Kurdish opposition group. The trial reportedly lasted 20 minutes but the two men appealed the sentences. A 12 October 2011report stated that the Supreme Court had upheld the verdicts. According to information, Loghman and Zaniar Moradi have been verbally notified of the Supreme Court's decision. Amnesty International is investigating reports suggesting that Zaniar Moradi was 17 at the time of his arrest. Zaniar Moradi and Loghman Moradi were arrested respectively on 1 August 2009 and 17 October 2009 in Marivan. They were held by the Ministry of Intelligence for the first nine months of their detention, when no charges of murder were brought against them. They were moved several times between detention facilities and, at or around the beginning of December 2010, were finally transferred to Section 4 of Raja'i Shahr Prison in Karaj, northwest of Tehran. Loghman and Zaniar Moradi then wrote a letter in which they stated that during their interrogation session by the Ministry of Intelligence they were forced to "confess" to the allegations of murder after being tortured for a period of 25 days and threatened with rape. Both men were denied access to adequate medical treatment. PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in Persian, English or your own language: -Urging the Iranian authorities not to carry out the executions of Loghman Moradi and Zaniar Moradi; -Calling on them to commute the death sentences of Loghman Moradi and Zaniar Moradi and anyone else on death row, including other Kurdish political prisoners; -Expressing concern that neither Loghman Moradi nor Zaniar Moradi had a fair trial, and urging the Iranian authorities to investigate the allegations that they were tortured and to bring to justice anyone found responsible for abuses and to disregard as evidence in courts "confessions" which may have been coerced. PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 29 NOVEMBER 2011 TO: Leader of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Sayed 'Ali Khamenei The Office of the Supreme Leader Islamic Republic Street – End of Shahid Keshvar Doust Street, Tehran, ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN Email: info_lea...@leader.ir Twitter: "Call on #Iran leader @khamenei_ir to halt the execution of Loghman Moradi and Zaniar Moradi" Salutation: Your Excellency Head of the Judiciary Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani [care of] Public relations Office Number 4, 2 Azizi Street Vali Asr Ave., above Pasteur Street intersection Tehran, ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN Email: bia.j...@yahoo.com (In subject line: FAO Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani) Salutation: Your Excellency And copies to: Secretary General, High Council for Human Rights Mohammad Javad Larijani High Council for Human Rights [Care of] Office of the Head of the Judiciary Pasteur St., Vali Asr Ave. south of Serah-e Jomhouri, Tehran 1316814737, ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN Email: i...@humanrights-iran.ir (subject line: FAO Mohammad Javad Larijani) ** Iran does not currently have an embassy in the USA instead please send appeals to: Iranian Interests Section c/o Embassy of Pakistan 2209 Wisconsin Ave NW Washington DC 20007 Tel: 202 965 4990 Fax: 1 202 965 1073 Email: reque...@daftar.org Please check with the AIUSA Urgent Action Office if sending appeals after the above date. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Loghman Moradi and Zaniar Moradi's letter from prison also stated that during interrogations by the Ministry of Intelligence, Zaniar Moradi was repeatedly asked about his father, Eghbal Moradi, who lives in Iraq's Kurdistan province. The letter further describes that Zaniar Moradi was tied to a bed, lashed and subsequently threatened with rape prior to his "confession". Kurds, who are one of Iran's many minorities, live mainly in the west and north-west of the country, in the province of Kordestan and neighboring provinces bordering Kurdish areas of Turkey and Iraq. They experience discrimination in the enjoyment of their religious, economic and cultural rights (see: Iran: Human rights abuses against the Kurdish minority, (Index: MDE 13/088/2008), 30 July 2008 available at: http://
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----MD., PENN., ALA.
Oct. 19 MARYLAND: Death penalty not ruled out in Md. slain mom case The top prosecutor in Maryland's Montgomery County says he may consider pursuing the death penalty against a man charged with killing his estranged wife and who's suspected in the death of his stepson. But State's Attorney John McCarthy says it's too early to discuss capital punishment if Curtis Lopez, who was arrested last week in North Carolina and will be returned to Maryland to face charges, is convicted. He says he's not sure Lopez is eligible for the death penalty under Maryland requirements. Lopez is accused of killing Jane McQuain, who was found beaten and stabbed to death in her Germantown home. Police on Tuesday found the body of 11-year-old William McQuain in a wooded area of Clarksburg. An autopsy is being done to determine the cause of death. (source: Associated Press) * Death penalty on table in slain mother-son case Montgomery County's top prosecutor says his office will consider whether to pursue the death penalty against a man charged with killing a Germantown woman and suspected in the death of her son. State's Attorney John McCarthy said Wednesday that "it is far too early" to say whether capital punishment is warranted for Curtis M. Lopez. The 45-year-old is charged with 1st-degree murder in the killing of his wife, Jane McQuain. But, McCarthy said, the death penalty is "something that I think has to be considered" in the case. Lopez is also suspected of killing 11-year-old William McQuain -- Jane McQuain's son and Lopez's stepson. The boy's body was found in a wooded area in Clarksburg near Interstate 270 on Tuesday. McCarthy said his office will determine whether the case has the aggravating factors that would make Lopez eligible for capital punishment under Maryland law. Those factors include: if the murder was committed during certain felonies, if the perpetrator tried to kill more than 1 person at once, if the victim was killed for financial gain, if the victim was a public safety official and if the victim was someone who was being held as a hostage. Lopez is still in custody in North Carolina, where he was arrested last week. Montgomery County Police Chief Thomas Manger said Lopez would be extradited to Maryland within 2 weeks. Jane McQuain was found beaten and stabbed to death in her apartment on the 13100 block of Briarcliff Terrace on Oct. 12. Police are still determining exactly when and where William, a 6th-grader at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School, was killed. Surveillance video from the morning of Oct. 1 shows the boy and Lopez at a Germantown storage facility, and William is wearing clothing similar to the clothes on his body when it was found, according to police. Manger said Wednesday that detectives gathered additional surveillance footage from a gas station about a tenth of a mile from where William's body was found. That video, from the early afternoon of Oct. 1, shows William and Lopez at the station. In both videos, police said, the child did not appear to be in distress. "It certainly narrows the timeline for us," Manger said of the second video. Manger said police are still investigating whether William or her mother was killed first, but believe both were slain in a 24-hour span. Police say McQuain had been dead for 10 to 12 days when her body was found last week. Officers went to the home after a friend called authorities, saying he hadn't been able to contact her. (source: Washington Examiner) PENNSYLVANIA: Capital punishment bill approved by Pa. Senate The state Senate has approved legislation that would establish a procedure for determining whether a defendant in a death penalty case has an intellectual disability. Under Senate Bill 397, the attorney for the defendant could request a hearing prior to trial to determine if the defendant is constitutionally ineligible for the death penalty due to mental retardation. The burden of proof would be on the defendant. If the trial judge finds for the defense, the trial would proceed as a non-capital trial. A version of the bill, sponsored by Sen. Mary Jo White, has passed the Senate overwhelmingly in three prior legislative sessions, but has yet to receive final passage. The measure now goes to the House of Representatives for consideration. (source: WHTM News) ALABAMA: Quick Facts — The Death Penalty in Alabama • Between 1812 and 1965, 708 people were executed in the state of Alabama. 18 were women. • The primary method of execution was hanging in Alabama until the state’s electric chair, known as “Yellow Mama,” was introduced in 1927. That person was Horace DeVaughan, who was executed on April 8, 1927. • 1 person was shot as an alternative to hanging. • The 1st person hanged in the state of Alabama was Eli Norman, who was executed on December 19, 1812, for murder in Madison County. • Alabama is 1 of
[Deathpenalty] [SPAM] death penalty news----worldwide----INDIA, LEBANON, INDONESIA
Oct. 18 INDIA: India's hang man kept waiting India's Supreme Court last week postponed the hanging of Ajmal Kasab for the November 26, 2008, Mumbai terrorist attacks in Mumbai, highlighting a national dilemma over the death penalty. The apex court passed the stay order on October 10, the day the European Union plans to mark each year as "World and European Day against the Death Penalty". The United Nations too is campaigning worldwide for a ban on death sentences. Whether or not India's Supreme Court judges knew the impending significance of October 10, they permitted 24-year-old Kasab to join 300 others estimated to be on India's death row. Some of the convicts there have been waiting in it for years as mercy petitions are filed; others are simply waiting for the hangman. New Delhi's Tihar Jail, Asia's largest prison, has a daily count of prisoners on death row written in white chalk on a black notice board high up on the wall in the main foyer that separates the outer gates and the inner prison premises. There are also 1,242 inmates serving a life sentence in the sprawling nine-jail complex in the Janakpuri area, western New Delhi. Tihar houses over 12,000 inmates - nearly double its capacity of 6,250. Not helped by the fact that since 1989, not a single member of the death row at the prisoner has been executed. "21 people [19 males, 2 females] are currently on death row in Tihar," Sunil Gupta, Law Officer of Tihar Prisons, told Asia Times Online. "With passage of time, most of them turn religious, remorseful or become more depressed. But the terrorists on death row usually express no remorse - they continue trying to justify their killings." It was in 1989 that Tihar last saw the "Black Warrant", a black envelope that the court sends to jail officials when all mercy petitions have been rejected which sets the date for a hangman to enter the jail. Satwant and Kehar Singh were executed for assassinating prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1983. They shot her with their machine guns while on duty as her bodyguards, and after Indira had expressed her trust in them. Others awaiting the noose include terrorist Afzal Guru for the attack on parliament on December 13, 2001, that brought India and Pakistan closest to a full-fledged war since 1971; Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan for assassinating Rajiv Gandhi, Indira Gandhi's son and former prime minister, in 1991. Both death penalty cases face more political than legal challenges. India, having executed just two people since 1995, appears stuck between abolishing the death penalty and using it only in very exceptional cases. The Supreme Court ruled in 1983 that the death penalty should be imposed only in "the rarest of rare cases”. On August 26, 1995, Sudhakar Joshi was hanged in Pune's Yerawada jail. He had confessed to robbing and murdering his employer and his two children. In August 2004, a security guard Dhananjoy Chatterjee was hanged in West Bengal for raping and murdering a schoolgirl in 1990. He claimed he was innocent. India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are the only South Asian countries with the death penalty, while Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and even military-ruled Myanmar have abolished it. Pakistan and Bangladesh carried out executions this year. Neighboring China is the acknowledged world leader in death sentences, with an average of 5,000 people executed annually, sometimes in front of spectators. Though Chinese delegates were not exactly overcrowding the International Commission against the Death Penalty (ICPD) meeting in Geneva, on October 10 and 11, China was the primary focus of the ICPD's fourth such meeting. "Experience in Europe has taught us that the death penalty does not prevent an increase in violent crime, nor does it bring justice to the victims of such crimes," said a declaration issued by Catherine Ashton, European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. "Any capital punishment resulting from a miscarriage of justice, from which no legal system can be immune, represents irreversible loss of human life." Guarding against the slightest miscarriage of justice is largely why 104 countries have abolished the death penalty. Thirty-five other countries have a formal moratorium on executions. India belongs to neither club, but is it not a very active member among the 58 countries that do have the death penalty. India's quandaries sometimes involve complicated legal equations with countries that have outlawed executions. Portugal this month revoked the extradition of gangster boss Abu Salem to India for the 1993 Bombay bomb blasts, as India's courts were seen to be violating Lisbon's condition that he would not face the death penalty. The accused mobster has since refused to attend court hearings in India until his extradition case is heard. Similarly, Professor Devender Pal Singh Bhullar, who faces execution for killing 9 bystander
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----IDAHO, PENN., USA, ORE.
Oct. 19 IDAHOnew and impending execution date Execution date set for death row inmate A 7th District Judge has scheduled death row inmate Paul Ezra Rhoades to be executed next month. He would be the 1st person put to death in Idaho since 1994 and the state's 2nd execution since 1957. Rhoades, who was convicted of killing 3 people in Idaho Falls and Blackfoot in 1988, is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Nov. 18. Seventh District Judge Jon Shindurling issued the death warrants Wednesday. The inmate executed in 1994, Keith Wells, voluntarily gave up his appeals and asked to be put to death. Rhoades was given 2 death sentences for the sexual assault and murder of Idaho Falls teacher Susan Michelbacher, 34, whose bullet-ridden body was found in March 1987. He also was given 2 death sentences for the 1st-degree murder and kidnapping of Stacy Dawn Baldwin, 24, a Blackfoot convenience store clerk who was shot to death in February 1987. Rhoades was also sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty to the March 1987 shooting death of Nolan Haddon, 21, a Blackfoot man who worked at an Idaho Falls convenience store. The death warrants issued by Shindurling on Wednesday were for the murders of Michelbacher and Baldwin. Rhoades still has legal avenues to possibly prevent an execution. He has filed a federal lawsuit against the state, saying Idaho's method of lethal injection amounts to cruel and unusual punishment and that problems with the lethal injection system would render his execution unconstitutional. The state has asked the federal court to throw out that lawsuit. The case has been assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald Bush. Bush could decide to issue a stay of execution while the lawsuit works through the court system. If he declines to issue a stay and the lawsuit isn't resolved by Nov. 18, the execution might move forward as planned. Additionally, Rhoades could ask the Idaho State Parole Commission for clemency. If the parole commission decides to consider his request, it will likely make a recommendation to the governor to either grant or deny clemency. Only Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter has the authority to grant the clemency request. Officials with the Idaho Department of Correction have been working for months to get the execution chamber at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution ready for use. Department Director Brent Reinke told the Board of Correction on Friday that an execution team is in place and the team has been holding regular practices in anticipation of an execution. (source: KTVB News) PENNSYLVANIA: Death penalty sought in slay case The Washington County District Attorney's office will pursue the death penalty for a Coal Center man accused of robbing and killing a 92-year-old neighbor. Prosecutors filed a notice of aggravating circumstances against David A. McClelland, 56, who is accused in the stabbing death of Evelyn Stepko. District Attorney Steve Toprani said one aggravating circumstance was that Stepko's death occurred during the commission of a felony. The decision was announced during formal arraignments Tuesday for the 3 suspects in the case - David A. McClelland, his son, David. J. McClelland, 36, and the elder McClelland's wife, Diane McClelland, 48. Common Pleas Judge Paul Pozonsky presided over the hearing. Prosecutors contend David A. and David J. McClelland had been robbing Stepko for months prior to her death. On July 22, David A. McClelland, was charged with criminal homicide, burglary, robbery/inflicting serious bodily injury, theft by unlawful taking, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities and 3 counts of conspiracy. David J. McClelland was charged with criminal homicide, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, receiving stolen property, aiding in the consummation of a crime and three counts of conspiracy. At the time of Stepko's death, David J. McClelland was a part-time Washington Township police officer. He has since left the force. He once served as a Monongahela police officer. David A. McClelland was ordered to stand trial during a preliminary hearing July 27 in Central Court. His son waived his right to a preliminary hearing Aug. 10. Diane McClelland was charged Aug. 22 with criminal conspiracy to commit homicide, receiving stolen property, hindering apprehension or prosecution, dealing with proceeds of unlawful activities, and criminal conspiracy. Stepko kept large amounts of cash in the house where she had lived all of her life, police said. Investigators said they recovered about $82,000 from her house. Steve Fisher, chief of staff for the district attorney's office, said David A. McClelland's trial will be planned first, possibly as early as the spring. Toprani was noncommittal on whether David J. McClelland would testify against his father. "Obviously, this case is building as we continue
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ALABAMA
Oct. 19 ALABAMAimpending execution Baby killer set to die A man who begged for death after admitting to killing his 6-month-old son will get his wish Thursday evening. Christopher Thomas Johnson is scheduled to be executed at 6 p.m. Thursday at Holman Prison in Atmore. He was convicted in 2006 of beating to death his 6-month-old son, Elias Ocean Johnson. During Johnson’s trial he chose to fire his public defenders and represent himself during the last day of the trial. He contended that they did not tell him he could be convicted of manslaughter — he wanted to be executed instead. After taking the stand on the final day, Johnson confessed to the crime that left the infant boy dead. Before Johnson’s testimony, a forensic pathologist testified that Elias died of blunt force trauma, and that the baby had at least 85 injuries. She also said the child had blood in its stomach and lungs. Johnson testified that he killed his son because he hated his wife, Dana Johnson. After a 15-minute confession, Johnson was convicted on capital murder charges by the jury. Following the conviction, Johnson told the judge and jury that he wanted to die. After the jury recommended the death sentence, the judge agreed to their recommendation and sentenced Johnson to death. During his time in prison, Johnson refused to appeal his conviction. The case has been reviewed by the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, which upheld the court’s decision by vote of 5-0. Inmates typically have the right to appeal death sentences until the hour of the execution. However, Brian Corbett with the Alabama Department of Corrections said if Johnson has missed necessary deadlines in the appeals process, last-minute appeals would not be possible. Corbett said Johnson will spend the next 2 days at Holman Prison with extended visiting privileges until Thursday. “Generally speaking, he has the opportunity for extended visitation from around 9 a.m. until about 4 p.m.,” Corbett said. “Then he will be moved back into a cell adjacent to the lethal injection chamber.” (source: Brewton Standard) ___ DeathPenalty mailing list DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty Search the Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/deathpenalty@lists.washlaw.edu/ ~~~ A free service of WashLaw http://washlaw.edu (785)670.1088 ~~~
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Oct. 19 EUROPEAN UNION/JAMAICA: The EU's crusade against capital punishment JAMAICA is a Christian country which upholds its constitutional right to invoke the death penalty in cases of capital murder. If the accused is convicted, the judge may apply the death penalty or life imprisonment, as the death penalty is no longer mandatory. No executions have taken place in Jamaica since the 1980s, and inmates on death row are likely to have their sentences commuted to life imprisonment, according to the Pratt and Morgan ruling handed down by the UK Privy Council, which ruled that should the accused be incarcerated for more than five years without execution, the sentence must be commuted to life imprisonment. In recent times, killings in Jamaica have retrogressed to an unprecedented degree of barbarity involving mutilation, dismemberment and lately decapitation of men, women and children. It is at this juncture that Jamaica diverges from the EU's crusade to rid the world of capital punishment which is considered inhumane and violates human dignity, and should therefore be abandoned. The argument that capital punishment is not a deterrent continues. Is there a person alive who would not seriously reconsider their murderous intent if their life could be lost? The indomitable human spirit is forever concerned about self-preservation, evidenced by the existence of relative peace in the world due to the presence of nuclear weapons which so far have prevented another world holocaust. There is an overwhelming belief that capital punishment is effective, and that any depiction of cruelty and inhumane treatment for the accused should be expressed, instead for the victims and their families. Furthermore, human activists are slow to condemn the killing of law enforcement officers who are the society's first defence against crime and violence. These unsung heroes belong in the Christian category that believes that "no greater love hath any man than to lay down his life for a friend". Another reason advanced for opposition to capital punishment is the possibility of jury error resulting in the conviction of an innocent person that constitutes a miscarriage of justice. Much public attention has been drawn to condemned prisoners who have been proved innocent by DNA evidence and therefore set free. The same DNA evidential technology could be applied proactively to determine the person's guilt or innocence, minimising jury error to an infinitesimal possibility. Religious opposition is also based on the premise of jury error. The example of the adulterous woman, condemned to death by stoning who was justifiably forgiven by Jesus, omits the fact that she did not commit murder in which case had she done so, the outcome would have been different. Since time immemorial the death penalty has been part of Christian teaching and is stated in the Roman Catholic Catechism under Article 2266 as follows: "Legitimate public authority has the right and the duty to inflict punishment proportionate to the gravity of the offence". Roman Catholics should also refer to Articles 2260 and 2267 in the new Catechism which received its Imprimatur from Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, thus: "Assuming that the guilty party's identity and responsibility have been fully determined, the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor". While Jamaica has not executed any death-row inmates since the 1980s, this is not the case with our major trading partner to the north, the United States, whose lifestyle is closely emulated in Jamaica and is better deserving of attention by the EU's crusade. For example, the average time spent on death row before execution is 14 years! So much for the limit imposed by the Pratt and Morgan ruling! So far this year in America, 33 executions have been carried out. Last year, 46 inmates were put to death and 52 were executed in 2009 by lethal infection. The US Federal Supreme Court has ruled that lethal injection is not inhumane and should continue to be used for its intended purpose. In November 2007 the United Nations voted on a non-binding resolution on a death penalty moratorium and ultimate abandonment that resulted in 99 votes in favour, 52 against with 33 abstentions and was rejected by Jamaica, a sovereign state whose domestic laws are determined by its Constitution and enforced by its government without any meddling by non-elected world organisations. Other Caribbean countries voted against, including China, Singapore and the United States. The US representative stated: "The US recognises that supporters of this resolution hold principled positions on the issue of the death penalty. Nonetheless, it is important to recognise that international law does not prohibit capital punishment." The US
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----PENN., NEB., CALIF., FLA.
Oct. 19 PENNSYLVANIA: Death penalty sought for man accused in double slayingInvestigators allege Matthew Becker killed his pregnant girlfriend; Prosecutors cite aggravating circumstances in seeking deathIntelligencer Matthew Becker will face the death penalty when he is tried for allegedly killing his pregnant girlfriend, investigators said. Prosecutors on Tuesday filed a notice to seek the death penalty, citing multiple aggravating circumstances in the Aug. 12 homicide of Allison Marie Walsh and her unborn daughter. Police allege Becker, 22, shot Walsh in the head inside Becker's Mastersonville home after a disagreement over plans for the night. Walsh, 7 1/2-months' pregnant, died inside 2666 N. Colebrook Road. The unborn baby was taken to Hershey Medical Center but died as well. In the filing, prosecutors cite three specific aggravators and a catch-all aggravator to be presented at trial. They are: • Becker presented a grave risk to another person (the baby) when he fired the gun at Walsh. • There were multiple victims of a single act. • Walsh was in or beyond her third trimester of pregnancy at the time of the killing. Baby Alexandria was due almost one week ago. Assistant district attorneys Mark Fetterman and Deborah Greathouse are prosecuting the case. Fetterman filed the death-penalty paperwork Tuesday afternoon. Becker has been at Lancaster County Prison without bail since he was arrested Aug. 18. A trial is likely next year, unless a plea is made. Becker contends that he shot the woman by accident. At a preliminary hearing last week, troopers testified that Becker admitted to pointing a gun at Walsh. Dennis Charles, Becker's attorney, said the gun went off by accident. From the start, Becker proclaimed the shooting was accidental, Charles argued. Charles said the alleged offenses, even if proven true, warrant only manslaughter charges. However, troopers testified, there was a history of violence and threats in the couple's 1-year relationship. Calling the relationship one of "disharmony," troopers said that Becker himself admitted to threatening Walsh before with a weapon. One likely point of argument at trial will be whether Becker knew how to use the gun that was fired on the night of Aug. 12. Becker had bought the pistol — with Walsh by his side — hours before the shooting, it was said at the preliminary hearing. Charles said his client didn't know how to handle the weapon. Becker wasn't trained regarding its use at the gun shop, the lawyer said. Becker initially told police different versions of how the gun fired, troopers testified. None of the explanations was plausible, police said, because the gun had safety features to prevent misfires. (source: lancasteronline.com) NEBRASKA: Death penalty eyed in slaying Prosecutors may seek the death penalty in the case of a Mitchell man charged with killing his stepdaughter. Salvador Carl Lopez, 32, has been charged with 1st-degree murder in the Sept. 21 death of 8-year-old Kerra Wilson. He appeared for the 1st time in district court Tuesday. Prosecutor Joe Stecher, a Sioux County deputy attorney and a former U.S. attorney for the District of Nebraska, filed a notice of additional aggravating circumstances in the case, the necessary filing for the state to seek the death penalty in the case. In order to seek the death penalty, the state must indicate, and later prove, that at least 1 aggravating circumstance exists in the case. The complaint identified Lopez's attempt to conceal the crime or the perpetrator as the circumstance. The aggravating circumstance could come from Lopez's initial statements to police or other acts he committed as part of the crime that have not been released to the public. Investigators had searched for two days, beginning Sept. 21, for Kerra. Nebraska Commission on Public Advocacy attorney James Mowbray will represent Lopez, who is currently scheduled to be tried in March. Mowbray said after the hearing that the defense believes it is likely that it will need to seek a change of venue because of Sioux County's population. "Due to the lack of people, I believe we will have a problem seating a jury," he said. Sioux County has a population of 1,311 people. Mowbray said he believes it will be easier to seat a jury in Scotts Bluff County, which has a population of 36,970, despite extensive media attention. "(Potential Scotts Bluff County jurors) will know something about the case," Mowbray said. "Obviously, (the case) was on the national news. We won't get away from that, but we'll have an easier time . of finding 12 jurors in Scotts Bluff County." (source: Omaha World-Herald) CALIFORNIA: Death penalty subject of Sac State art exhibit Malaquias Montoya, an artist who created controversial works surrounding the debate on capital punishment, opened his exhibit in the Sacramento State Library Gallery A
