[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ALABAMA
Jan. 25 ALABAMA: U.S. Supreme Court halts execution of Alabama man for 1985 murder David Beasley The U.S. Supreme Court halted the planned execution on Thursday of an Alabama man convicted of murdering a police officer in 1985 after attorneys petitioned to spare the man’s life, arguing that he had suffered several strokes that left him unable to remember the crime. Vernon Madison, 67, has spent more than 3 decades on death row for killing Mobile police officer Julius Schulte. In the appeal this week, Madison’s lawyers said he is not competent to be executed because he is legally blind, cannot walk without assistance and is unable to recall the murder or understand his punishment. ”His mind and body are failing,” lawyers wrote in the petition. Alabama prison spokesman Bob Horton said the state will not execute Madison as planned because of the U.S. Supreme Court order. “The application for stay of execution of sentence of death presented to Justice Thomas and by him referred to the Court is granted pending the disposition of the petition for a writ of certiorari,” the Supreme Court said, without elaborating on the reason for its decision. In 2016, the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Madison was no longer legally eligible to be executed because of his memory loss. But the U.S. Supreme Court in November reversed that decision, saying court precedent had not established “that a prisoner is incompetent to be executed because of a failure to remember his commission of the crime.” Madison’s attorneys asked justices to reconsider the case. They said in their petition that the state failed to disclose that a court-appointed psychologist who evaluated Madison was addicted to narcotics and had been suspended from his practice for forging prescriptions, making his findings invalid. Lawyers for Alabama argue that Madison’s own expert witness has testified that he understands what he was tried for and “the meaning of a death sentence.” According to court records, Madison killed Schulte during a domestic dispute that Madison was having with his girlfriend. Madison appeared to leave his girlfriend’s home after retrieving his belongings, but then crept up behind Schulte as he sat in his patrol car and shot him twice in the back of the head with a .32-caliber pistol. Madison, who is black, was sentenced to death in 1994 in his third trial after his first two convictions were thrown out on appeal for racial discrimination in jury selection and other prosecutorial misconduct. (source: Reuters) ___ 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----worldwide
Jan. 25 LEBANON: Military Tribunal issues death penalty over soldiers deaths The Military Tribunal Wednesday issued the death penalty for 2 men found guilty of involvement in the beheading of 2 Lebanese soldiers. Bilal Mikati was given the death penalty for the execution of soldier Sgt. Ali al-Sayyed on Aug. 28, 2014, and for involvement in executing soldier Pvt. Abbas Medlej on Sept. 6, 2014. The Tribunal, headed by Brig. Gen. Hussein Abdullah, also sentenced Mikati's cousin, Omar Mikati, to death after finding him guilty of involvement in Medlej's beheading as well as mutilating Sayyed's body. They 2 soldiers were killed by Daesh (ISIS) after being taken hostage when the militants and Jabhat Fatah al-Sham - previously known as the Nusra Front - briefly overran the northeastern town of Arsal. Bilal al-Atar was also sentenced to death for belonging to Ahmad Mikati's militant group and planning to establish a so-called "wilayah" or province of Daesh's self-proclaimed caliphate. Among the verdicts issued, the Military Tribunal sentenced Ahmad Kasha to 7 years in prison for belonging to terrorist groups and attacking Army posts on Aug.2, 2014. Abdullah al-Jghabeer was acquitted of the charges of kidnapping Army soldiers. They are among the 23 suspect handed verdicts, the Military Tribunal sentenced some to life while others were acquitted. Although the death penalty is still part of the Lebanese penal code, no death sentences have been carried out since 2003. Most often the sentence translates to life in prison. (source: The Daily Star) MALAYSIA: Lorry driver to hang for trafficking over 45kg of drugs A lorry driver was sent to the gallows by the High Court here today after being found guilty of counts of trafficking over 45 kg of drugs, 2 years ago. Judicial Commissioner Datuk Mohamad Shariff Abu Samah meted out the sentence against S. Gopi Kumar, 33, after finding that the prosecution had succeeded in raising reasonable doubt at the end of the defence's case. Mohamad Shariff said the court found that the accused had control, possession and knowledge of the drugs found in his Proton Perdana car and at his rented house, which he moved into in 2015. "I do not believe the excuses given by the accused that he did not know about the drugs found in the car and at the house on grounds that they (car and house) were accessible to the public," he said. Gopi Kumar committed the offence in his car at Jalan 10/18A, Taman Mastiara, Batu 5, Jalan Ipoh, Sentul here at 12.45am on June 22, 2016, and at his home on Jalan 15/18A in the same area at 1.45am on the same date. For that, he was charged under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which carries a mandatory death penalty upon conviction. The court also sentenced the man to four years' jail and five strokes of the cane for another charge of being in possession of 16.2 gm of methamphetamine in the same house at the same time and date. He was ordered to serve the jail sentence from the date of his arrest on June 22, 2016. A total of 11 prosecution witnesses and 1 defence witness - the accused himself, were called to testify in the trial which began on June 14, 2017. DPP Ahmad Nazneed Zulkifli prosecuted, while Gopi Kumar was represented by counsel New Sin Yew. (source: The Sun Daily) SINGAPORE: Singapore Announces Medical Cannabis Research, Despite Maintaining Death Penalty for Cannabis Trafficking A Singaporean government body has announced its upcoming research into synthetic cannabinoids for medical purposes, a curious step in a country that continues to impose the death penalty for certain cannabis offences. In early January, the National Research Foundation (NRF) - a government body - announced that it would be investing $25 million SGD (13.4m pounds) into a Synthetic Biology Research and Development Programme. One of the programme's 4 projects is entitled Synthetic Cannabinoid Biology: Repurposing Nature for Tomorrow's Therapeutics. The NRF hopes that this project will allow the future delivery of "life-saving therapeutics derived from the cannabis plant in a sustainable manner". The NRF accepts that cannabinoids, the chemical compounds found in the cannabis plant, can be used to treat a variety of ailments. However, as the cannabis plant is illegal in Singapore for any purpose, the NRF has commissioned this project with the intention of harnessing the medical potential that cannabinoids offer without the government having to change its drug legislation. By studying the molecular structure of cannabinoids, the project aims to "discover cannabinoid genes for the sustainable production of [synthetic] medicinal cannabinoids and their derivatives". Cannabinoids can be used to alleviate chronic pain, spasticity, and several other ailments or symptoms. Medical cannabis is legally prescribed and consumed in several countries, including
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----IND., ARK., MO., ARIZ.
Jan. 25 INDIANA: Trevor McDonald talks about returning to Death Row Trevor 5 years since Sir Trevor McDonald first visited Indiana State Prison, a follow-up ITV documentary sees the news veteran meet the inmates of the maximum-security facility once again. Georgia Humphreys hears more about his eye-opening experience, plus his views on the changing world of journalism. After interviewing Saddam Hussein, entering the secret world of the Mafia and reporting from war zones, you'd think nothing would shock Sir Trevor McDonald anymore. And yet, upon returning to Indiana State Prison's death row for his latest documentary, that was far from the case. "I found the place more awful this time," he says sadly, before explaining: "The prison was on lockdown, for 5 weeks. "The concomitant of all that is the place is very grubby, and dirty and they're shouting and screaming because they don't want to be locked in for 24 hours a day. "I did leave there desperately needing a drink," he admits, perhaps in an attempt to lighten the mood slightly. It's 5 years since the news veteran first visited the maximum-security facility, one of America's most dangerous. The follow-up, ITV's Death Row 2018 With Trevor McDonald, sees him talk to both new arrivals at the prison, and some familiar faces. "I couldn't get these people quite out of my mind," the former newsreader confesses quietly, when asked why he wanted to go back. "I think this is probably my last visit. They're getting on, and I'm getting on, and another 5 years, a lot of them wouldn't be there." The programme shows how the future of the death penalty in the state of Indiana remains uncertain. While there have been no executions at the prison since Sir Trevor last visited, he arrives to find a new death chamber has been built. But, the Trinidad and Tobago-born presenter explains, the Europeans have stopped supplying the "killer drugs" needed for the executions - and so the prisoners are just left awaiting their fate. It's clear how much meeting these men has impacted Sir Trevor, especially as he discusses the plight of one inmate, Paul McManus, at great length. Once sentenced to death for killing his wife and children, Paul has now been given life without parole, and so must spend the rest of his life inside. "Before, although he didn't particularly want to die, he knew that he would, at some stage," remarks Sir Trevor. "So, adjusting his mind to that difference was becoming a great psychological problem for him. "We talked on a nice sunny day, and you could see the barbed-wire fences all around, and he was looking and thinking, 'Is this where I'm going to spend the rest of my life?' And he's not 50 yet. "That's a new kind of storyline for us really, and a new take on the last adventure." While all the inmates' stories are undeniably shocking, William Gibson is a particularly memorable face featured in the hour-long documentary. Convicted of killing and mutilating 3 women, he had never spoken publicly about his crimes before. And, during his interview, he gloats that there might yet be more victims to be found. How did Sir Trevor feel listening to him talk so candidly? "I mean, dirty," he muses. "Somebody boasting about killing people like that and saying, 'I may have killed even more', it's out of my mental range. "I think shame is a very important part of the human condition; you must be ashamed, you must regret, you must have remorse," he continues. "1 or 2 o'clock in the morning, when he's lying in his cell, what does he think?" With a soft, bemused chuckle, he adds: "I thought he was very, very strange - and that's using a very kind word." It seems there's a real hunger for programmes about crimes and prisons, particularly American ones, in the UK. Asked why, Sir Trevor, who has 3 grown-up children and lives with his wife in London, says: "There is, in all our lives, a normality to which we all aspire. A civilised, dignified kind of life where you get up and go to work and you make money, you go home, you see your kids. "Some of these people are just off the scale, and I think we get fascinated by the lives of these people. And we keep trying to find out why, why, why do they do this?" The affable Sir Trevor has never shied away from asking difficult questions, having conducted some of the highest profile television interviews of all time - including Nelson Mandela days after his release from prison. His iconic career, which started in the West Indies, before moving to the UK in 1969, has spanned over 50 years - he became ITN's 1st black reporter in 1973 and later, was made the 1st sole reporter of News At Ten. And on the topic of the ever-changing world of journalism, the award-winning broadcaster says: "I would be a little bit more bold about fake news. "Sometimes fake news is something which is said about somebody which they don't like, and so they
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----N.C., S.C., FLA., ALA., OHIO
Jan. 25 NORTH CAROLINA: Donovan Richardson sentenced to life in prison for 2014 double murder A Wake County jury on Wednesday sentenced Donovan Richardson to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murders of 2 elderly men nearly 4 years ago in Fuquay-Varina. The verdict capped several hours of deliberations in which the jury could have sentenced him to death penalty. Jurors found him guilty of the murders of two senior citizens - Arthur Lee Brown, 78, and David Eugene McKoy, 66 - on July 19, 2014 at their Howard Road home. Richardson was 1 of 3 men accused in the crime: Gregory Crawford pleaded guilty in May 2016 to charges of 1st-degree murder, robbery with a dangerous weapon and burglary in connection with the slayings. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Kevin Britt was charged with 2 counts of 1st-degree murder, robbery with a dangerous weapon and burglary. He has not been sentenced yet, but he did plead guilty to being an accessory to murder. He also testified against Richardson during his trial. The jury began deliberations on Tuesday after attorneys finished their closing arguments. While formally sentencing Richardson, Judge Graham Shirley pointed out in no uncertain terms that Richardson will never taste freedom again in his life. "You have a life expectancy of 52.35 years, so I want you to know for the next 27.5 million minutes of your life that (prison) is where you are going to remain," Shirley said. "Never to be a free man again." Wednesday's decision was the 9th time Wake County prosecutors have sought the death penalty in the last decade in a case, but was rebuffed when the jury handed down a life sentence. "This was a case that we felt strongly (that) under the law (and) under the facts of the case, it was appropriate to go to a jury on that issue," said Lorrin Freeman, the Wake County district attorney. "And we respect the jury's decision." Prosecutors said the 2 men did not deserve to die in their own home. "This is everybody's worst nightmare of 2 men who worked hard (and) loved their families (but) were murdered in the sanctity of their home at night," Freeman said. Rick Gammon, the defense attorney, said he and his client, respected the jury's decision. "He's not good, but he's not as bad as he could be quite frankly," he said. "He's very appreciative of the jury's consideration." (source: WRAL news) SOUTH CAROLINA: S.C. Senate panel advances bills to address lethal injection drug shortage for death penalty A South Carolina Senate subcommittee advanced 2 bills Wednesday that would help the state work around a long-running shortage of lethal injection drugs to carry out the death penalty. The 1st measure would protect the identity of pharmaceutical companies that provide the drugs needed for lethal injections. Gov. Henry McMaster called on the Legislature to pass such a bill, known as a "shield law" or "secrecy law," in November. The 2nd bill under consideration would allow the state to use the electric chair for executions if a lethal injection is not possible. Under current law, death row inmates are given the right to choose between electrocution and lethal injection. Both bills are sponsored by state Sen. William Timmons, R-Greenville. The committee favorably reported both by a 3-1 vote. The lone objector was Sen. Marlon Kimpson, D-Charleston, who argued the shield law would reduce public transparency. "I think we're going to find ourselves in more legal trouble than where we started," Kimpson said. The full committee is scheduled to consider both measures on Feb. 1. If approved there, the bills would head to the Senate floor for a vote. Privacy "I'm glad we were able to move the legislation forward so that the full committee can take a look at it," said Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield. "I think everybody has to acknowledge that there's a problem right now that the Department of Corrections can't carry out the law." All 35 death row inmates in South Carolina are currently winding through the legal appeals process, so there are not any executions the state could not complete due to the drug shortage. Massey said he hopes the measures can move forward before the state reaches that point. "It's important that people know that the law will be carried out," Massey said. "So it would be a bit of a stain if the state has a law and does not empower the agencies of the state to carry out the law." (source: Post and Courier) * South Carolina must be able to carry out death penalty While it can be a controversial topic, South Carolina has the death penalty. This has been the law in our state for a very long time. There are 2 ways for this punishment to be carried out: by electrocution or by lethal injection. Under current state law, a person sentenced to death may choose which method is used for execution.
