[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, CONN., GA., FLA., OHIO, TENN.
June 28 TEXAS: Courthouse shooter files death penalty appeal The attorney for the Jefferson County Courthouse killer has submitted an appeal of Bartholomew Granger's death-penalty conviction. Granger, 43, was convicted last year of capital murder in Galveston County for the March 14, 2012 shooting death of 79-year-old Minnie Ray Sebolt. Sebolt was caught in a hail of bullets as she walked into the Jefferson County Courthouse while Granger fired at his daughter's mother, Claudia Jackson, running toward the safety of the courthouse. Attorney Dough Barlow argued in his appeal that Granger should not have been sentenced to death because the transfer of intent statute used to convict his client is not a very often-used vehicle in a death penalty investigation. Jackson and Granger's daughter, whom he shot and then ran over with his vehicle, were witnesses against him in an aggravated sexual assault case in Criminal District Court. Granger's intent to kill his daughter's mother, which would have been capital murder because it would have been in commission of another, qualifying crime - retaliation against a witness - was transferred to Sebolt, who was shot by accident. Jefferson County Assistant District Attorney Waylon Thompson said he has received and responded to Granger's appeal of his death sentence. He said oral arguments before the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals might occur in 45-90 days. In addition to Granger, 3 other Southeast Texas men are on death row awaiting execution dates: John William King, 39, was sentenced to death Feb. 25, 1999 for chaining James Byrd Jr., 49, to the back of his pickup truck and dragging him down Huff Creek Road in Jasper until he died. King filed for appeal in October with claims of evidence that he was not at the scene of the hate crime. Jamaal Howard, 34, was sentenced to death in 2001 for the fatal shooting of a 42-year-old clerk who was working in a Silsbee Chevron station. After shooting Vickie Swartout in the chest, Howard made off with $114 in cash. Nelson Mooney, 58, was sentenced to death in 1984 in Liberty County for fatally shooting Raymond Garner, 63, of Houston. (source: Beaumont Enterprise) * Speakers share stories in stance against death penalty Personal stories were voiced as speakers urged listeners to act out against the death penalty. At 10 a.m. Friday in room C156 at the 2014 Texas Democratic State Convention, the Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement held a caucus urging listeners to act by signing a petition, handing out fliers and encouraging others to march in the 15th Annual March to Abolish the Death Penalty being held Oct. 25 in Houston. Speaker Delia Meyer said that she lost her brother because of the death penalty for a crime that he did not commit, and attested that death row victims should be treated as humans. We have to consider having some compassion and mercy, Meyer said. According to Death Penalty Information Center's Summary of 2013 Year End Report, Texas is responsible for the bulk of executions nationwide. Audience members voiced their condolences and approval of the abolishment of the death penalty as well. Whether they're guilty or innocent, they still have redeeming possibilities, Austin resident J.R. Seabott-Doty said. They could change. If they're mentally ill, they could still get care. There's always a redemption and rather than kill them, they could be educated or learn to do useful work. Speaker Jeanette Popp said she lost her daughter at the hands of a murderer. However, she said she does not support the death penalty because it is still taking the life of another human being. She stated she will not stain her or her daughter's hands with the murderer's blood. Today, I want to ask you in memory of my daughter to stand together, united and strong, Popp said. Speak in one loud voice they can't ignore. We will not tolerate being made accessories to murder. (source: The (Univ. Texas-Arlington) Shorthorn) CONNECTICUT: Connecticut high court to hear death penalty case The state Supreme Court will be hearing arguments on whether a man convicted of ordering the 1999 killings of a woman and her 8-year-old son in Bridgeport should have received the death penalty. The court will take up the appeal of Russell Peeler Jr. on Monday. Peeler was condemned to die for ordering his brother to kill Karen Clarke and her son, Leroy B.J. Brown. The boy was a key witness against Peeler in another murder case. Peeler's brother, Adrian, was sentenced to 20 years in prison after being acquitted of murder but convicted of conspiring to kill Clarke and her son. Russell Peeler raised 33 appeal issues, including the rejection of three black people for the jury and the 2012 repeal of Connecticut's death penalty for future murders only. (source: Associated Press) GEORGIA: Judge wants death penalty hearings
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----OKLA., KAN., NEV., CALIF., WASH., US MIL., USA
June 28 OKLAHOMA: Oklahoma County jury chooses death for murder-for-hire mastermindFabion DeMargio Brown, 26, will be put to death for the murders of his estranged wife, 23-year-old Jessica Brown, and her unborn daughter, an Oklahoma County jury decided Friday afternoon. The mastermind of a murder-for-hire plot will be put to death for the fatal shooting of his estranged wife and her unborn child, a jury decided Friday. Fabion DeMargio Brown, 26, was convicted Thursday in Oklahoma County District Court on 2 counts of 1st-degree murder and conspiracy. Jurors returned Friday for the sentencing phase of the trial and chose the death penalty. Brown was convicted of murdering Jessica Brown, 23, and her unborn daughter, Ryleigh, Jan. 11, 2012, in her Midwest City home. Prosecutors acknowledged that Brown did not pull the trigger. Jurors heard testimony that he paid a gunman $250 for the crime. Brown's eyes widened and his head dipped briefly when the judge read the punishment. He remained silent as he was led from the courtroom to jail. Nothing was going to bring my daughter and granddaughter back. Hopefully no other family will have to go through this at his hand, Jessica Brown's mother, Judy Richardson, said after the sentence was announced. The couple's 2 children are in her custody. All they know is that dad is in time-out, Richardson said. My thoughts always turn to the family on these verdicts and I'm glad the family finally has this behind them. It doesn't bring their daughter back, but it does bring them some sense of finality and some sense of justice under the law, First Assistant District Attorney Scott Rowland said. I'm pleased that they finally got that. It's a tragic case all around, he said. Defendant was own lawyer Fabion Brown represented himself during the trial. He asked Friday for a continuance of the penalty phase and to be represented by attorneys. District Judge Ray Elliott denied both requests. Jurors heard from Jessica Brown's sister, who read a statement about how the family's lives have been impacted by the murders. Fabion Brown's mother testified on his behalf. She told jurors that his stepfather was an alcoholic Vietnam veteran who regularly physically, mentally and emotionally abused her 2 sons. Fabion Brown also tried to use his Army National Guard and Army Reserve service to convince the jury to spare his life. He joined the military at 17 and volunteered for deployment. He said he was stationed in Iraq for just less than a year. I stand before you and ask for a sentence less than death, he said to the jury. He had the opportunity to do so many things. He chose to harass, scare and assassinate Jessica Brown, Rowland argued in a closing argument. He sent a hired killer into the home of his kids and his wife and baby Ryleigh in the dead of night, Rowland said. The 3 other co-defendants in the case made plea agreements and have been sentenced already. Brodic Lontae Glover, 22, pleaded guilty in August to 2 counts of 1st-degree murder and accessory to murder. Glover, the gunman, was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. The driver of the getaway car, Laquan Ashley, 19, pleaded guilty in September to being an accessory to 1st-degree murder and was sentenced to 8 years in prison. Fabion Brown's girlfriend, Emily Ann Matheson, 25, pleaded guilty to 2 counts of 1st-degree murder in November and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Ashley and Matheson both testified against Fabion Brown at trial. (source: The Oklahoman) Jury Calls For The Death Penalty For Fabion Brown A jury calls for the death penalty for Fabion Brown. The jurors decided Brown deserved the death penalty for orchestrating a murder-for-hire plot to kill his estranged wife and her unborn baby. Brown defended himself throughout the trial, but he changed his mind and asked to have an attorney represent him in the punishment phase Monday morning. The court decided it was too late in the process to make a change. In the fight for his life, Brown told the jury he respectfully disagrees with the guilty verdict. He gave them several things to consider in making their decision. Brown asked the jury to spare his life because he served in the military, voluntarily went to Iraq and suffers from PTSD as a result. He also revealed that his stepfather abused him as a child and he spent time in foster care. Judy Richardson, Jessica McPherson Brown's mother sat through the trial - and even took the stand asking for justice, As long as Fabion can not do this to another family I do not care what punishment he receives, Richardson said following the verdict. It won't give them [victim's family] closure, it won't bring their loved ones back, but I hope it gives them some sense of justice, said First Assistant District Attorney Scott Rowland of Oklahoma County. The jury unanimously
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----US MILITARY
June 28 US MILITARY: Death Penalty a Possibility in Bergdahl Case A United States citizen military person recently deserted his Army post of duty, potentially endangering all his fellow military members of an Army unit in Afghanistan. At this writing not all details of the incident have been revealed, but the perpetrator, Bowe Bergdahl, Sergeant, US Army, has been identified positively. The entire country along with perhaps the citizens of Afghanistan and most of the international community are learning more details of the incident as the days go by. I will try to stay within the known confines of the event. But we can be certain that the official charges to be imposed on Bergdahl will be Desertion in Time of War in an active war zone for which the official punishment could be the death penalty. There is now and will be much controversy with the potential death sentence. Without doubt another schism of 'anti' and 'pro' groups will be at each others' throats and in their faces with their pleas for lenience for the perpetrator (in this case it should be spelled perpetraitor) as that is what he is to his fellow service members upon whom he laid the possibility of danger and as it has already proven to be a death sentence for others. These innocents, just in the days following Bergdahl's desertion, 6 of his former comrades-in-arms lost their lives while searching for the missing Sergeant. Details have not been released on those deaths. But in the short time since this action began the entire mission of the organization has been dealt a serious blow to continuity and overall protection to the entire personnel contingent along with precious weapons and materials. This is a not a situation of mixed-up formation or blown assignments causing some injuries, this is a flagrant violation of standing orders of maintaining a soldier's post which has already caused the command the loss of 6 PERSONS all active duty combat assignment people. It gives more credence to the validity of the death penalty for A PERSON who violates orders and directly causes death for 6 OTHERS. Our 'anything but' Commander in Chief and his National Security Advisor, the unreliable Susan Rice have botched up the information released to the public as reported in National Review Online, June 03, 2014 article Why Team Obama Was Blindsided by the Bergdahl Backlash, by LCol. Ralph Peters, US Army (Ret.), wherein Peters stated: The president and Ms. Rice seem to think that the crime of desertion in wartime is kind of like skipping class. Colonel Peters, a seasoned veteran in reporting on military happenings and related stories, does not mince words and always lays the blame where it should be. In this case, with the CIC and his Advisor, who is not a particularly reliable person for that responsibility. Here's more of the Colonel's comments: Congratulations, Mr. President! And identical congrats to your sorcerer's apprentice, National Security Adviser Susan Rice. By trying to sell him as an American hero, you've turned a deserter already despised by soldiers in the know into quite possibly the most-hated individual soldier in the history of our military. I have never witnessed such outrage from our troops. Peters explained further about Rice appearing on a Sunday talk show, described Bergdahl as having served 'with honor and distinction.' Those serving in uniform and those of us who served previously were already stirred up, but that jaw-dropper drove us into jihad mode. Peters added, Nobody in the inner circle of Team Obama has served in uniform. It shows. That bit about serving with 'honor and distinction' is the sort of perfunctory catch-phrase politicians briefly don as electoral armor. Even our ineffective Commander-in-Chief has lately been bitten by the saying the wrong things at the wrong time syndrome as we have all witnessed with his botching of the scandalous happenings at what seems to the public to be the entire Veterans Administration medical facilities or ignoramusly chewing gum during the memorial services for the WWII soldiers in a French cemetery. These very unclassy and gauche Obama moments have not gotten past Col. Peters who noted in his column that he has so little understanding of (or interest in) the values and traditions of our troops that he and his advisers really believed that those in uniform would erupt into public joy at the news of Bergdahl's release... They also brought about the remark a handful of paragraphs above that Obama and Ms. Rice placed desertion on a par with 'skipping class.' As Peters reminds us, Obama and Rice have no idea of how great a sin, desertion in the face of the enemy, is to those in our military. The only worse sin is to side actively with the enemy and kill your brothers in arms. Nor, during the recent VA scandal, had the president troubled himself to host the families of survivors of those vets who died
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
June 28 VIETNAM: Drug-smuggling Australian sentenced to death in Vietnam An Australian of Vietnamese origin has been sentenced to death after trying to smuggle 4 kilograms (8.8 pounds) of heroin out of the country, state media in Vietnam said Saturday. Pham Trung Dung, 37, was caught with 2 suitcases containing the drugs at Tan Son Nhat airport in May last year while trying to return to Australia with his wife and children. Dung told a court in southern Ho Chi Minh City that he had been promised $40,000 by 2 unidentified men to transport the drugs, an online report by the Tien Phong newspaper said. Vietnam has some of the world's toughest anti-drug laws. Anyone found guilty of possessing more than 600 grams (20 ounces) of heroin, or more than 20 kilos of opium, can face death. Earlier this month, 6 people from a 25-member smuggling gang were handed death sentences for smuggling 620 kilos of heroin and 1,400 ecstasy pills in northern provinces. In January, authorities sentenced 30 smugglers to death in the country's largest ever narcotics case, involving scores of defendants and nearly 2 tonnes of heroin. Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said the ministry was working through diplomatic channels to provide assistance to Dung. Of course we do not support the death penalty in Australia ... we are providing consular support and advice, she said in comments to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs said it understood he had the right to appeal. Whether he decides to do so is a matter for the man and his lawyers, a spokeswoman said. According to media reports and an AFP tally, Vietnam has more than 700 prisoners on death row. Many have been sentenced for drug offences including dozens of foreigners - although it has been decades since a foreign citizen was executed. (source: ChannelNewsAsia) IRAQ: ISIS militants executed 160 captives in Iraq Human Rights Watch said Thursday that fighters inspired by Al-Qaeda had executed Iraqi soldiers en masse this month in Tikrit. In mid-June, militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) posted photos online of what they claimed to be the bodies of dozens of captured security forces members they had executed. Analysis of photographs and satellite imagery strongly indicates that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria conducted mass executions in Tikrit after seizing control of the city on June 11, 2014, Human Rights Watch said in a statement, using a different translation for the name of the same group. It suggested the death toll was between 160 and 190 men in at least two locations between June 11 and June 14. ISIS had claimed to have killed 1,700 Shiite soldiers in Tikrit, once a bastion of late dictator Saddam Hussein. HRW acknowledged that the number of victims may well be much higher than the bodies it found, as it underscored the challenge accessing the area. The photos and satellite images from Tikrit provide strong evidence of a horrible war crime that needs further investigation, said HRW emergencies director Peter Bouckaert. The rights group located 1 of the trenches filled with bodies by cross-checking against ground features and landmarks in the photographs released by ISIS. It also checked the information against satellite imagery from 2013 and photographs from Tikrit taken earlier that had been made publicly available. 2 trenches were at the same location, just steps from what was once Saddam's Water Palace. A 3rd trench could not be located. During an armed conflict, the murder of anyone not taking an active part in hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those in detention, is a war crime, HRW stressed. Murder, when systematic or widespread and committed as part of a deliberate policy of an organized group, can be a crime against humanity. The rights group has previously documented other serious crimes by ISIS. ISIS is committing mass murder, and advertising it as well, Bouckaert said. They and other abusive forces should know that the eyes of Iraqis and the world are watching. (source: Human Righs Watch) SYRIA: ISIS crucifies one of its own in Syria for corruption The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) on Friday executed and crucified one of its own men for corruption in Syria, a watchdog and jihadist sites said. Photographs posted on websites showed the body and bloodied head of a bearded man with a placard reading: Guilty: Abu Adnan al-Anadali. Sentence: execution and 3 days of crucifixion. Motive: extorting money at checkpoints by accusing drivers of apostasy.??? The text is signed by The prince of believers, thought to refer to ISIL chief Abu Baqr al-Baghdadi. Before being crucified, the man was killed by 3 bullets to the head at Bab in the north of Aleppo province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Mainstream
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
June 28 GHANA: Ghanaians advised to participate in national referendum A member of the Constitution Review Implementation Committee (CRIC) and a Legislative Drafting Consultant, Mrs Estelle Appiah, has advised Ghanaians to actively participate in the upcoming national referendum. The referendum, which will be organised jointly with the district and metropolitan assemblies, follows a recommendation by the CRIC. Mrs Appiah was speaking at the Central Regional stakeholders briefing of the work done by the CRIC at Elmina. She said at least 40 % of the voting population was expected to vote in the referendum, of which 75 % out of the 40 % was to vote in favour. She added that the committee was planning to issue 2 separate questions to deal specifically with the death penalty and other issues. Mrs Appiah said the committee had recommended the scrapping of the death penalty to be replaced with life imprisonment. She said after the 75 % of the voters had agreed to the amendment, the bill would be sent to Parliament for it to be passed and then the President would give his assent for it to become a law. The Constitution Review Commission (CRC) was set up on January 11, 2010 to consult with the people of Ghana on the operation of the 1992 constitution and on any changes that need to be made to the constitution. In accordance with Article 280 (1) of the constitution, the CRC submitted its report to the government on December 20, 2011. Mrs Appiah said the decision in the amendment was arrived at after reviewing 83,000 submissions from the general public and also consulting various stakeholders. She said the committee had already dispatched about 4,000 copies of its recommendations to district assemblies, religious bodies, non-governmental organisations, schools and professional institutions, among others. She said the recommendations included granting paternity leave to fathers, revision of retiring age, non-renewable tenure of executives of independent constitutional bodies, restricting traditional rulers from taking part in politics and giving the Media Commission more power to effectively manage the media. Presidential pardon Mrs Appiah, who talked about the amendments to be done to the entrenched and non-entrenched bills, said the committee had also limited the presidential prerogative of mercy to certain offences. She added that the President could not pardon offences such as genocide, treason, narcotics, murder and armed robbery. Swearing in of President Mrs Appiah said the committee recommended that the President-elect should be sworn in before the constitution of a new Parliament. She added that the Chief Justice's sole responsibility of swearing in the president had been widened to include high court judges. That, she said, would make the swearing in of the President easier even when the Chief Justice is not around. Mrs Appiah said under the recommendations, when a president was taken ill, the Vice-President would be sworn in as the acting President until the President recovered from his illness. She added that after the President had been confirmed by a board of medical team that he or she could not recover from his or her illness, the Vice-President would be sworn in as the active President. District elections Mrs Appiah said the committee had scrapped the system where the President directly appointed district and metropolitan chief executives and made provisions for the President to appoint 5 persons to be voted for in elections in the various assemblies. She said that would bring trust in the work of the chief executives. (source: GhanaWeb) IRANexecutions Mass execution of 11 prisoners in Ghezelhesar Prison of Iran On June 26, at least eleven prisoners from Wings 1, 2, 3 and 8 of Cell Block 2 of Ghezelhesar Prison were hanged in Karaj, according to HRDAI. The executed prisoners were between 25 and 40 years of age. 12 prisoners were transferred to solitary confinement in prison prior to the execution on Wednesday, June 25. 11 of them were then executed the next morning, but the execution of 1 of them, named Ghasem, was postponed. The names of some of the prisoners executed today are as follows: 1. Islam (surname unknown), from Wing 1, Cell Block 2. 2. Mahdi A'layi, 30 years old, was a prisoner of about 2 years in Wing 2, Cell Block 2. 3. KarimAziz Zadeh, 40 years old, was a prisoner of approximately 4 years in Wing 2,Cell Block 2. 4. Bahram Rezvan Panah, 40 years old, was a prisoner of more than 2 years in Wing 2, Cell Block 2. 5. Mohammad Eghbal, 31 years old, was a prisoner of approximately 1 1/2 years in Wing 2, Cell Block 2. 6. Karim Bagheri, 35 years old, was a prisoner of 2 years in Wing 2, Cell Block 2. 7. Davood Karami, 40 years old, was a prisoner of more than 3 years in Wing 2, Cell Block 2. 8. Borzoo Khosravi, 28 years old, was a prisoner of approximately 5 years in
