[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ALABAMA
June 8 ALABAMAexecution Robert Bryant Melson executed for 1994 triple slaying most recent mugshot from the ADOC Tonight Alabama death row inmate Robert Bryant Melson was executed by lethal injection for the 1994 slayings of 3 fast food restaurant workers in Gadsden. It was the 2nd execution for Alabama in 2 weeks. The execution of Melson -- convicted of numerous counts of capital murder, attempted murder, and robbery in the shooting at Popeye's -- was delayed by federal and state appeal courts on his requests for a stay. The execution was set for 6 p.m. at Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, but did not begin until 9:55 p.m. Commissioner Jeff Dunn made a statement at the media center following the execution. He read a statement from Tamika Collins' family, part of which said, "[Melson] feels that he should not suffer a little pain... what does he think those three people felt?... I see no feeling for anyone but himself." A cousin of Tamika Collins also wrote a statement. It said, "The day has finally arrived... it does not change the acts he so violently carried out." The cousin, whose name was not given, also said of Collins' late father, "This was a day he waited for." Collins mother and two sisters witnessed the execution. No family members of Melson were present. Dunn said he was not aware of any other executions planned, but the Department of Corrections has supplies of the lethal drugs if necessary. Melson was officially pronounced dead at 10:27 p.m. When asked if he had any last words, Melson shook his head "no." His hands were shaking before the execution began at approximately 9:59 p.m. For approximately 7 minutes, Melson appeared to have slightly labored breathing. His breathing then slowed, and he did not respond to a consciousness check by a corrections officer before the 2nd 2 drugs in the 3-drug execution method-- which stop the heart and breathing-- were administered. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall released the following statement Thursday night after Melson's execution: "Robert Melson's decades-long avoidance of justice is over. For 23 years, the families of the three young people whose lives he took, as well as a survivor, have waited for closure and healing. That process can finally begin tonight." Melson becomes the 2nd condemned inmate to be put to death this year in Alabama and the 60th overall since the state resumed capital punishment in 1983. Melson becomes the 13th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the USA and the 1455th overall since the nation resumed executions on January 17, 1977. (sources: al.com & Rick Halperin) ___ A service courtesy of Washburn University School of Law www.washburnlaw.edu DeathPenalty mailing list DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty Unsubscribe: http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/options/deathpenalty
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ALABAMA
June 8 ALBAMA: Temporary stay granted for death row inmate Robert Melson The U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily halted the death of an Alabama inmate as it reviews his request to block his execution over questions regarding a sedative’s effectiveness. Justices issued the temporary stay Thursday evening about 15 minutes before 46-year-old Robert Bryant Melson was scheduled to be executed by lethal injection. Melson was convicted of killing three people during a 1994 robbery of a fast food restaurant. Melson’s attorneys argued that Alabama plans to use an ineffective sedative that will not render Melson unconscious before other drugs stop his lungs and heart. They cited the December execution in which an Alabama man coughed and heaved for 13 minutes. His attorneys argued the execution showed “the horrific results of using midazolam in a way it was never intended _ as an anesthetic.” The Alabama attorney general’s office had asked for the execution to proceed arguing the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld midazolam’s use and allowed other executions to proceed using it. Alabama has executed three inmates using midazolam. (source: Associated Press) ___ A service courtesy of Washburn University School of Law www.washburnlaw.edu DeathPenalty mailing list DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty Unsubscribe: http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/options/deathpenalty
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ALABAMA
June 8 ALABAMAimpending execution Alabama Supreme Court denies stay: Execution of Robert Bryant Melson Tonight Alabama Death Row inmate Robert Bryant Melson is set to die by lethal injection for the 1994 slayings of three fast foot restaurant workers in Gadsden. It would be the second execution for Alabama in two weeks. Meanwhile, Melson -- convicted of numerous counts of capital murder, attempted murder, and robbery in the shooting at Popeye's -- is awaiting action by federal and state appeal courts on his requests to stay the execution set for 6 p.m. at Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore. Melson was granted a temporary stay last week, but the Supreme Court of the United States vacated the stay Tuesday night. The stay of the execution was lifted in an order issued by Associate Justice Clarence Thomas. Three of the nine Supreme Court associate justices-- Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, and Sonia Sotomayor-- said they did not want to vacate the stay of execution, according to the order. Wednesday morning, John Palombi and Leslie Smith with the Federal Defenders for the Middle District of Alabama filed a motion to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals and one to the Alabama Supreme Court for stays. In the state supreme court motion, Melson's attorneys say the federal courts have yet to rule on whether Alabama's method of execution is unconstitutional and violates the eighth amendment. The lawyers' filing to the 11th Circuit states that Melson has a likelihood of winning an appeal on his challenge to midazolam, the first drug in the lethal three-drug method. Melson's attorneys asked the 11th Circuit to stay the execution pending the results of Melson's challenge. The challenge, which lists four other inmates as petitioners, concentrates on midazolam, the first drug in the execution cocktail. Melson and the other inmates claim the drug does not completely sedate a person so that they cannot feel the pain of the second and third drugs in the cocktail, which stop the heart and breathing. In the state supreme court motion, Melson's attorneys say the federal courts have yet to rule on whether Alabama's method of execution is unconstitutional and violates the eighth amendment. A lower court had dismissed the challenge, but Melson's attorneys appealed to the 11th Circuit and asked for a temporary stay last week. That temporary stay was granted last Friday before being struck down Tuesday by SCOTUS. On April 15, 1994, Melson and Cuhuatemoc Peraita robbed the Gadsden Popeyes Chicken and Biscuits restaurant, where had previously worked. After taking approximately $2,100, the men herded the four Popeye's employees into the store's freezer. Moments later, survivor Bryant Archer said, the freezer door opened and Melson began firing. Nathaniel Baker, 17; Tamika Collins, 18; and Darrell Collier, 23, were all fatally shot in the freezer; Archer was shot five times, but was able to stand up, walk to the office, and call police. When officers arrived, Archer told police one of the attackers was Peraita. Archer also said Peraita drove a black Monte Carlo, so police issued a lookout bulletin for the vehicle. Melson and Peraita were arrested about an hour later. After his conviction in 1996, Melson has been on death row at Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore. Peraita was originally sentenced to life in prison, but moved to death row in 2001 after fatally stabbing another Holman inmate. Robert Melson is set to be executed Thursday for his role in the Popeye's shooting of 1994, which left three people dead. Bryant Archer, the surviving victim, speaks out to AL.com about the shooting and his life now. According to a spokesperson for Gov. Kay Ivey on Wednesday, the governor received a request for clemency from Melson. Alabama has already carried out three executions using the three-drug protocol that Melson is challenging, including the May 25 execution of Tommy Arthur in which the 11th Circuit denied a stay. Two other Alabama inmates who were executed -- Ronald Bert Smith and Christopher Brooks -- also were co-plaintiffs in the case with Melson. Court documents filed in Melson's case argue the state's switch to midazolam from pentobarbital during executions has caused a "method of execution that has failed to work properly in four states, including Alabama." During Smith's Dec. 8 execution, he heaved, coughed and gasped for breath for about 13 minutes after apparently being administered midazolam. At times his left eye also appeared to be slightly open. He underwent two consciousness tests to make sure he couldn't feel pain before the execution continued. Smith's attorneys called it "botched," but Alabama Prison Commissioner Jeff Dunn said Smith's execution went as outlined in the prison system's execution protocol. Archer will not attend the execution, he said, because of a previously planned vacation with his wife and childr
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
June 8 ALGERIA: Algerians Call for Reinstating Death Penalty for Child Killers Algerians have been under shock since the brutal killing of a 10-year-old boy in a town in al-Oued province this week. A farmer found the body of Bilal buried in an isolated place a week after his disappearance. The boy was last seen riding his bicycle near his family home. His murder brought back discussions on reinstating the death penalty which has been frozen since the execution in 1993 of 4 extremists accused of carrying out a deadly bombing at Algiers' airport a year earlier. The parents of children found dead after their kidnapping began urging Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika this week to reinstate the death penalty for child killers. Bilal's grieving father demanded utmost punishment for his son's abductors and murderers. "The criminals wanted to steal the innocence of my boy who was playing like the rest of the children in the neighborhood," he said. He also urged security forces to swiftly carry out their investigation to find the perpetrators. Several such crimes have hit different Algerian provinces in the past 3 years. One of the most brutal murders was the killing of Yassine Bebshar in southwest Algeria last year. The boy's hands were cut after he was knifed to death. Investigators discovered that the murderer was a woman who wanted to use Yassine's hands in witchcraft. Another incident that has shocked public opinion was the death of 5-year-old Nohal who had come to Algiers with her mother to attend her uncle's wedding. The girl disappeared minutes after arriving in the capital. Her body was found in the suburbs a week later. According to investigators, the perpetrator was her uncle's friend who wanted to take vengeance as a result of a business dispute with the groom. (source: Asharq Al-Awsat) IRANexecution Prisoner Hanged on Murder Charges A prisoner identified as Homayoun Toolabi was reportedly hanged at Khorramabad Prison on murder charges. According to close sources, the execution was carried out on the morning of Tuesday June 6, and the prisoner was held in prison for 5 years prior to his execution. Homayoun Toolabi was reportedly transferred to solitary confinement on Monday June 5 in preparation for his execution. (source: Iran Human Rights) *** Christian Convert Faces Death-Sentence Deportation from Sweden to Iran An Iranian actress who left Islam for Christianity has twice been denied asylum in Sweden and could be sent back to Iran where the penalty for conversion includes death. Aideen Strandsson told CBN News she secretly converted to Christianity while still living in Iran. "I read the Bible and I understood what Jesus said about peace, about love, about kindness, and in my heart I became a Christian when I was in Iran," she said in an interview with CBN's Dale Hurd. Three years ago, she moved to Sweden and publicly proclaimed her new faith, but her application for asylum has been denied by government officials and an immigration court. "They felt that, they don't believe I am in danger and I think that's the reason," she said. The Islamic regime in Iran persecutes Christians. House churches are raided and closed, and leaders are imprisoned and often beaten and tortured. The regime follows Sharia law, which calls for the death penalty for apostates -- those who leave Islam to follow another faith. "Everybody knows about the situation in Iran and in Islam. In Sharia, converting religions is not acceptable and punishment for this issue is death," Strandsson said. Her attorneys continue to fight her asylum case, but with 2 denials Strandsson says her situation is dangerous. "I don't know what will happen to me, I know the punishment for me in Iran is death...I think about Jesus will help me. I face deport(ation) and I don't know what will happen, just I have hope in Jesus, it's just the last hope I have in my life." (source: cbn.com) IRAQ:execution Iraqi forces execute hospital employee suspected of ISIS links, journalist tells RT Details of the gruesome murder of a hospital employee by members of an elite Iraqi counter-terrorist unit have been shared by photographer Ali Arkady, who in an interview with RT, recalled that the man was shot after soldiers suspected him of trying to lead them into a trap. The original 12-second smartphone clip depicting the cold-blooded murder of an unidentified Iraqi was allegedly recorded by the Iraqi Emergency Response Division (ERD) in December 2016. It shows a man, whose arms are tied behind his back, trying to run away from his executioners before being murdered in broad daylight by his captors. The details of the apparent extrajudicial execution were made public by Arkady, a freelance filmmaker who between October and December of last year, documented the accomplishments and atrocities of the ERD - the Iraqi spec
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----OHIO, ARIZ., NEV., CALIF., USA
June 8 OHIO: Death row inmate's request for new sentencing hearing denied Convicted killer Stanley Jalowiec has lost his latest effort to have his death sentence overturned. Lorain County Common Pleas Judge Chris Cook rejected a request from Jalowiec's attorneys to grant him a new sentencing hearing in a decision filed Wednesday. Jalowiec's lawyers had argued that a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that found Florida's death penalty process unconstitutional should also invalidate Ohio's death penalty law. Richard Cline, chief counsel for the Ohio Public Defender's Office Death Penalty Department, had argued in court documents filed earlier this year and during a hearing last month that the two laws had similar problems because both placed the final decision in deciding a death sentence in the hands of a judge, not a jury. But prosecutors countered - and Cook agreed - that the 2 death penalty laws were substantially different. In Ohio, Cook wrote, jurors make a recommendation to the judge overseeing the case on whether a death sentence should be imposed. If a jury recommends death, then a judge can sentence a defendant to death or reduce the sentence to a life prison term. If jurors recommend a life prison term, a judge cannot impose a death sentence. That is different from Florida, where judges were allowed to sentence a defendant to death even if jurors recommended a life prison sentence, Cook wrote. Cook also noted that Ohio's death penalty laws have survived legal challenges over the years, and the process is largely unchanged from when Jalowiec was sentenced to death in 1996 for his role in the killing of police informant Ronald Lally. That means, Cook wrote, that even if he were to grant Jalowiec's request for a new sentencing hearing, the process that would be followed would be mostly the same as it was 21 years ago. "Ohio's death penalty sentencing statute remains constitutionally sound and practically unchanged," the judge wrote. Cline largely declined to discuss Cook's decision Wednesday. "We'll review the judge's order and act accordingly," he said. Cook's decision is the 2nd blow to Jalowiec's legal efforts this year. Last month, the Ohio Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of decisions by lower courts not to grant him a new trial. Jalowiec, 46, claims to have been at his mother's house when Lally was shot, stabbed beaten and run over by a car in a Cleveland cemetery in 1994. Both a county judge and the 9th District Court of Appeals rejected his arguments that new evidence would prove it. Jalowiec also has been unsuccessful in his efforts to claim that his case was tainted by police and prosecutorial misconduct. In addition to Jalowiec, Raymond Smith was also sentenced to death for the Lally killing, but his sentence was later reduced to a life prison term after he was found be mentally handicapped. Jurors acquitted Daniel Smith, Raymond Smith's son, of involvement in Lally's death. (source: The Chronicle Telegram) ARIZONA: Child killer fights to avoid death penalty The case of a little girl killed almost 33 years ago is still alive in the courts today and we are getting a rare look at key evidence in the case. Frank Atwood was found guilty of killing 8 year old Vicki Lynne Hoskinson in 1984. He was sentenced to death. Now he is fighting appeals to stay alive, while the girl's family waits for his execution. In September 1984 Vicki Lynne Hoskinson got on her bicycle and rode off to mail a birthday card. Her family never saw her again. Frank Atwood was found guilty of killing her, in part on the strength of a mark of pink paint on his car bumper, that lab tests called a match for the paint on the little girl's pink bike. Evidence photos simulate Atwood's car hitting Vicki Lynne's bike. They also show a dent on the bumper that appears to fit the shape of one of the bicycle pedals. But 33 years later, Atwood is trying to avoid the death penalty by claiming that evidence was planted. Before 3 Federal judges from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, Atwood's lawyer, and an attorney for the state of Arizona argued over whether evidence from the car and bike can be believed. They also argued whether Atwood's original attorney made a mistake in Atwood's original trial that led to a death sentence. Atwood claimed he had been molested as a child, and he had a history of crimes against children. His original trial attorney kept that information out of the trial thinking it would make jurors more likely to convict. Now Atwood's appeals lawyer says that information might have avoided a death penalty. It is not clear when the judges will rule. The appeal could go all the way to the Supreme Court. (source: KGUN TV news) NEVADA: Trial set for next week in 9-year-old murder case Thomas Randolph had 6 wives. 4 are dead. On Monday, lawyers are scheduled to start picking jurors for
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, VA., GA., FLA., ALA., MISS., LA.
June 8 TEXASstay of impending execution Execution halted for man convicted in Texas real estate agent's murderThe Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Wednesday halted the execution of a man convicted in the murder of a McKinney real estate agent in 2007. Another Texas execution has been stopped by the state's highest criminal appellate court, giving relief to the man convicted in 2007 in the robbery and murder of a McKinney real estate agent. Kosoul Chanthakoummane, 36, was scheduled to die on July 19 after more than 9 years on death row. He was convicted in the 2006 stabbing death of Sarah Walker in the model home of a subdivision where she worked, according to court documents. On Wednesday morning, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals issued a stay of execution and sent his case back to the Collin County trial court to review claims of discredited forensic sciences. On July 8, 2006, a couple coming to view the model home found Walker dead, stabbed 33 times with a bite mark on her neck, according to a federal court filing. Her watch and ring were missing from her body. Bloody fingerprints found at the scene and DNA under Walker's fingernails linked the crime to Chanthakoummane, who was arrested nearly 2 months later. Chanthakoummane told police he went to a model home after his car broke down, and that he had cuts on his hands that could explain his blood at the scene, according to the filing. At trial, the state presented forensic experts who claimed the bite mark on Walker's neck and DNA at the scene pointed to Chanthakoummane. In 2016, a White House report concluded forensic bite-mark evidence was not scientifically valid. This is the 3rd time the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has halted a scheduled execution this year (2 of those scheduled executions were for the same man, Tilon Carter). Another execution was halted by a federal court. There have been 4 executions in the state this year. (source: Texas Tribune) Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present24 Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982present-543 Abbott#scheduled execution date-nameTx. # 25-July 27-Taichin Preyor-544 26-Aug. 30-Steven Long545 27-Sept.7--Juan Castillo--546 28-Oct. 26-Clinton Young--547 (sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin) *** Intellectually disabled death row inmate should be exempt from death penalty The Gospel compels Christians to speak for those without a voice and to advocate for society's most vulnerable members, including those with intellectual disability. For this reason, I feel compelled to speak out on behalf of Bobby James Moore, an individual with documented life-long intellectual disability who has spent the last 37 years on Texas' death row. While Christians have varying views on the death penalty, hopefully we can all agree no person with intellectual disability should be executed. As the U.S. Supreme Court recognized more than 15 years ago, "(n)o legitimate penological purpose is served by executing a person with intellectual disability" because such persons "do not act with the level of moral culpability that characterizes the most serious adult criminal conduct." While the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has been reticent to heed this message, it has both the legal and moral duty to do so now. And it should take an important 1st step here by reforming Moore's death sentence to life imprisonment. As a 13-year-old, Moore lacked a basic understanding of the days of the week, the months of the year, telling time, and the concept that subtraction is the reverse of addition. He failed the 1st grade twice and every grade after that before dropping out of school in the ninth grade. At age 14, his father - after subjecting Moore to years of severe mental and physical abuse - threw him out of the house because Moore still did not know how to read. Moore lived on the streets, eating out of garbage cans and sleeping in a pool hall. He survived largely due to the kindness of strangers. Then, at the age of 20, Moore was involved in a bungled grocery store robbery, in which he shot and killed a grocery store clerk. He has spent nearly 40 years on death row for that crime, which we all condemn. In 2014, a Harris County District Court judge held a 2-day hearing. After carefully listening to experts and witnesses, Judge Susan Brown applied current medical standards and determined that Moore is intellectually disabled and therefore exempt from the death penalty. She noted that Moore has an average IQ score of 70.66, which is well within the range of intellectual disability. And she found in her lengthy fact-finding that Moore's serious mental and social difficulties were very clear from early childhood. The judge's
