[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS
July 17 TEXASexecution Christopher Young, death row inmate from San Antonio, executed for deadly A Texas prisoner was executed Tuesday evening for the fatal shooting of a San Antonio convenience store owner after courts turned down appeals that the state parole board improperly rejected the inmate's clemency request because he's black. Christopher Young, 34, never denied the slaying, which was recorded on a store surveillance camera, but insisted he was drunk and didn't intend to kill 53-year-old Hasmukh "Hash" Patel during an attempted robbery after drinking nearly two dozen beers and then doing cocaine that Sunday morning, Nov. 21, 2004. Asked by the warden if he had a final statement, Young said he wanted to make sure his victim's family knew he loved them "like they love me." "Make sure the kids in the world know I'm being executed and those kids I've been mentoring keep this fight going," he added. As the lethal dose of the sedative pentobarbital began taking effect, he twice used an obscenity to say he could taste it and that it was burning. "I taste it in my throat," he said. As he slipped into unconsciousness, he said something unintelligible and began taking shallow breaths. He stopped moving within about 30 seconds and was pronounced dead at 6:38 p.m. CDT. 25 minutes had passed since he was first given the lethal drug. Young's attorneys sued the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles after the panel last week rejected a clemency plea where they argued Young was "no longer the young man he was when he arrived" on death row, that he was "truly remorseful" and that Patel's son did not wish the execution to take place. In their federal civil rights suit, Young's lawyers argued a white Texas inmate, Thomas Whitaker, received a rare commutation earlier this year as his execution was imminent for the slaying of his mother and brother. Young is black and race improperly "appears to be the driving force in this case," attorney David Dow said in the appeal that sought to delay the punishment. A federal judge in Houston dismissed the lawsuit and refused to stop the execution, then hours later Tuesday the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals turned down an appeal of that ruling. Young's attorneys did not take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Stephen Hoffman, an assistant Texas attorney general, said the lawsuit was a delay tactic, improper, speculative and "legally and factually deficient." Young and his lawyers argued he no longer was a Bloods street gang member, had matured in prison and hoped to show others "look where you can end up." "I didn't know about death row," Young told The Associated Press recently from prison. "It needs to be talked about. You've got a whole new generation. You've got to stop this, not just executions but the crimes. Nobody's talking to these kids. I can't bring Hash back but I can do something to make sure there's no more Hashes." According to court documents, Young sexually assaulted a woman in her apartment with her three young children present, then forced her to drive off with him in her car. She managed to escape, and records show he drove one block to the Mini Food Mart where owner Patel was shot. He was arrested 90 minutes later after picking up a prostitute and driving to a crack house where the stolen car was parked outside and spotted by San Antonio police. From prison, he denied the sexual assault, although court records said DNA tests confirmed the attack. He said he shot Patel in the hand and the bullet careened into Patel's chest, killing him. The surveillance camera recorded both video and audio of the shooting and two customers in the parking lot identified Young as the shooter. Mitesh Patel, whose father was killed by Young, said he supported Young's clemency bid because "nothing positive comes from his execution" and carrying out the punishment would leave Young's three teenage daughters without a father. The victim's son met privately with Young in prison Monday. "I don't agree with the state's choice to execute him," he told the San Antonio Express-News after the meeting. Young said the shooting stemmed from a dispute he believed involved the mother of 1 of his 3 children and the store owner. The woman, however, lied to him, he said. "He was not a bad dude at all," Young said. "I was drunk. We knew the victim. The whole confrontation went wrong. I thought he was reaching for a gun and I shot." Young said he excelled at chess and violin, cello and bass but "all that stopped" and he joined the Bloods when he was about 8 after his father was shot and killed in a robbery. Young became the 8th prisoner put to death this year in Texas, 1 more than all of 2017 in the nation's busiest capital punishment state. He becomes the 35th condemned inmate to be put to death since Greg Abbott became Governor of Texas, and is the 553rd inmate to be executed since the state r
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
July 17 TURKEY: Child tragedies reignite death penalty calls in Turkey A string of cases in which missing children were found dead has reignited calls to reinstate the death penalty in Turkey, but some see political motives behind the outcry. The Turkish media in recent weeks has been awash with stories of missing children, some of whom have met a tragic end. On July 2, the body of a 4-year-old girl was found outside a village in the eastern province of Agri, where she had gone missing 18 days before while the family was visiting relatives. On June 30, the security forces dug up the body of an 8-year-old girl in Polatli near Ankara. The girl, who had been missing for a week, was reportedly tortured, sexually abused and strangled to death. On July 8, a 2-year-old boy was found dead outside his village in the southeastern province of Bitlis a day after he went missing. Also on July 8, the security forces recovered the body of a speech-handicapped 6-year-old boy in a mountainous area in the southern province of Hatay, about a week after he vanished while in the company of a mentally challenged relative. The problem of missing kids is not new for Turkey. Gamze Akkus Ilgezdi, a lawmaker for the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), last week submitted a proposal for a parliamentary inquiry on the issue. According to Ilgezdi, an average of 32 children go missing every day in the country. Why, then, is a long-overlooked problem now becoming a top item in the news? To put it briefly, media organizations in Turkey have begun to change their editorial policies. News about social problems are bound to gain weight in the coming period because they carry little political risk. Yet the increasing focus on neglected or abused children is positive, regardless of the reason. Persistent media coverage of cases of missing children could raise sensitivity on the issue, not only among the public but also among politicians. 2 years ago, a proposal for a parliamentary inquiry into the problem, submitted by a deputy from the Nationalist Action Party (MHP), failed to materialize, as members of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) voted against the move. Will Ilgezdi's proposal stand a better chance of acceptance in the new parliament now? In remarks to Al-Monitor, the CHP lawmaker said, "If conscience takes the lead, the proposal will be accepted and a comprehensive inquiry will follow into the cases of missing children. According to my research, children are being used in terrorist activities and for organ trafficking, besides sexual abuse." Whether parliament will set up an inquiry commission remains to be seen, but the simmering public anger over child abuse has rekindled calls to reinstate the death penalty. MHP leader Devlet Bahceli, who ahead of the June 24 polls called for an amnesty for a wide range of convicts, has now brought up the death penalty. The MHP continues to be a critical partner for the ruling party after the AKP lost its parliamentary majority. In a Twitter post June 30, Bahceli said, "Whether execution or the toughest of sentences and isolation, vile barbarians deserve it. ... They cannot escape it. They will face up to all consequences of their cowardice and treachery." In a s2nd tweet July 2, Bahceli openly referred to child abuse. "Punishing child murderers in the toughest and most severe way is an inevitable requirement of justice and a duty of humanity and honor," he said. "Everyone should know that we will follow this up to the end." Turkey abolished capital punishment in 2004 as part of its effort to align with EU norms. Even before that, no one had been executed in the country since 1984 under a de facto moratorium on the execution of death sentences. Social media is abuzz with calls to bring back the death penalty, and a number of petition campaigns are underway on change.org. Yet opposition to the death penalty is equally vocal. Zafer Ozbilici, the head of the Association of Families with Missing Relatives, believes the struggle against child abuse should be waged through other means. "Even the Code of Hammurabi [Babylonian code of law] before Christ stipulated death for child abductions, but the problem has persisted and grown over the millennia," Ozbilici told Al-Monitor. "I am concerned the death penalty would not only fail to decrease the deaths of children, but would lead to their increase because pedophiles, aware of the death sentence they face, would be more inclined to murder the children they abuse to avoid being caught." According to Ozbilici, Turkey should instead launch a systematic effort to control pedophiles. "We should draw up a map of pedophilia. There are various methods of detecting individuals inclined to abuse. By putting such a system in place, one can ensure a close monitoring of potential offenders," he said. "And what are we doing at present? We raise hell whe
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
July 17 CANADA: Mass murder and capital punishment Recent mass shootings in the United States have tended to confirm Canadians' sense that such events can't happen here. Similar events in Canada are not numerous, but those that have occurred are not well known. In particular, the biggest mass murder in Canada before Air India is almost unknown outside Quebec, where it occurred in 1949. It also involved an attack involving an airplane, but the murderer was motivated by misguided love rather than politics. 3 people hanged as a result of the 23 deaths that ensued, and one might have thought that their crime would have legitimated the death penalty for a long time. Yet, less than a decade after the last of these three went to the gallows in 1953, Canada saw its last state executions. Why? Joseph-Albert Guay had a jewelry business in Quebec City and he also serviced the north shore of the St. Lawrence as far as Baie-Comeau. His marriage to Rita Morel was unhappy, and he began an affair with a teenaged waitress, Marie-Ange Robitaille. Divorce being almost impossible in Quebec at the time, Guay resolved to murder his wife in order to marry Robitaille. His plan combined elements of great cunning with extreme naivete, such as his purchase of a $10,000 insurance policy on the very day of his wife's murder. Guay arranged for his wife to fly to Baie-Comeau via Canadian Pacific Air Lines on Sept. 9, 1949, on a pretext connected to his business. He then persuaded a watchmaker friend, Genereux Ruest, to make a bomb out of dynamite, batteries and an alarm clock. Ruest's sister, Marguerite Ruest-Pitre, who had helped facilitate Guay's affair with Robitaille, purchased the dynamite. She then delivered the package with the bomb to the airport at the last minute, as a parcel needing delivery to Baie-Comeau. Guay had planned for the bomb to go off when the plane was over the Saint Lawrence River. Given the river's depth and the state of forensic science at the time, it would not have been possible to reconstruct the events leading up to the crash. A 5-minute delay in departure ruined these calculations. The bomb went off as scheduled, killing the 4 crew members and all 19 passengers, including Guay's wife, but while the plane was over land, not water. Investigators quickly determined the true cause of the crash. Guay's attempt to cash in the insurance policy three days after the disaster naturally aroused suspicion and, within 2 weeks, he was arrested. There was little doubt that Guay would hang for the murders, and he was executed in January 1951. Ruest and Pitre were charged as accomplices; both protested that they had been misled by Guay, but juries did not believe them. Ruest was hanged in July 1952 and his sister in January 1953. Pitre had the distinction of being the last woman hanged in Canada. Prime Minister Louis St-Laurent and his cabinet could commute death sentences to life imprisonment, but they did not do so frequently. On average, only 36 % of all death sentences were commuted while St-Laurent was in office, leaving some 80 persons to die on the gallows between 1948 and 1957. The big change came with Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, a criminal defence lawyer who had seen the capital punishment process up close and did not like it. Commutations shot up to 79 % while he was prime minister. Only 14 persons were hanged on his watch (1957-63), including the last 2 people executed in Canada. Why did Guay's crime have so little impact on the fate of capital punishment? The notorious Coffin case provides part of the answer. In July 1953, the bodies of 3 American hunters were found in the woods of the Gaspe. Local resident Wilbert Coffin was found to have some items of theirs in his possession. His murder conviction, based on circumstantial evidence, was upheld on appeal, and the Supreme Court denied special leave to appeal. Amid public suspicion that Coffin had been railroaded due to American pressure to find a culprit, the cabinet reluctantly agreed to refer the matter to the Supreme Court. 5 judges said they would have confirmed the conviction, while 2 would have ordered a new trial. St-Laurent's cabinet did not interfere and Coffin was hanged in February 1956. Concerns about Coffin's possible innocence re-energized the abolition movement in Canada, pushing the recent Guay murders into the background, as did the death sentence given to 14-year-old Steven Truscott after his controversial conviction for the murder of Lynne Harper in 1959, even though it was commuted in 1960. Guay's final words, accurate at the time, turned out not to be prophetic - "Au moins, je meurs celebre," translated to "At least, I die famous." (source: Philip Girard is a legal historian and professor at Osgoode Hall Law School. He is also associate editor at the Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal Historylawtimesnew.com) IRAN: Man Sentenced to D
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TENN., ARK., MO., COLO., UTAH, ARIZ., WASH.
July 17 TENNESSEE: Lethal injection trial: Bloody foam shows drugs cause pain, panic for condemned, expert says The next person executed by Tennessee will almost certainly suffer symptoms similar to drowning, if the state uses the lethal injection drugs it intends to purchase, attorneys for 33 death row inmates argued Monday in court. An expert medical witness testified in Davidson County Chancery Court that autopsies of previously executed inmates showed evidence the inmates suffered symptoms also typically found in drowning, after injection of toxins into the body or after exposure to toxic gas. The argument is key to this case: if death row inmates are essentially drowning during an execution, their attorneys say the state is conducting unconstitutional torture. The outcome of this case may have immediate ramifications. Tennessee plans to execute Billy Ray Irick on Aug. 9. The 59-year-old Knox County man has been convicted of the 1985 rape and murder of a 7-year-old girl. Central question: When does execution become torture? Attorneys for the death row inmates used expert witness Dr. Mark Edgar to explain why they believe certain lethal injection drugs cause torture. Edgar, a pathologist at Emory University, analyzed 27 autopsies of inmates executed around the country using a drug called midazolam. Tennessee plans to use a form of midazolam as the 1st of 3 drugs in its execution protocol. The Tennessee Department of Correction argues midazolam renders an offender unconscious and unable to feel pain. The next two drugs stop the heart and the lungs, according to the department. Later in this trial, the state plans to call a different medical expert who will testify the use of the proposed 3-drug protocol does not amount to torture. However, Edgar said his autopsy analysis repeatedly found evidence offenders were able to feel immense pain throughout their executions. He based that conclusion on finding evidence in 23 of 27 autopsies reviewed of a condition called pulmonary edema. In layman's terms, Edgar explained someone suffering from pulmonary edema shows signs of bubbles, froth or foam in the lungs or airways. "I was struck by the abnormalities in the lung," Edgar said, referencing his takeaways from his analysis of the autopsies. "In addition to that, the majority of them - over 85 % of them - showed pulmonary edema." These very small bubbles, foam or froth can cause immense pain and terror, Edgar said. "It's a medical emergency, and it's a state of extreme discomfort," Edgar said, describing the pain and panic induced by the final stages of pulmonary edema. 'Death penalty abolitionists' blamed for blocking Tennessee executions During a 15-minute cross-examination, attorneys with the Tennessee attorney general asked Edgar about a Georgia case where he also testified. In that case, he testified about an analysis of autopsies where the state used pentobarbital, a different drug. In those cases, he also found evidence some of the inmates suffered from pulmonary edema. To start the trial, the state argued death penalty abolitionists have prevented Tennessee from obtaining pentobarbital to use in its execution. Many states have been unable to obtain the drug because the manufacturer objects to its use in executions. Attorneys for the death row offenders argue Tennessee did not do enough to obtain pentobarbital. Using pentobarbital would result in less of a chance of pain when an inmate is executed, the attorneys stated in their opening trial brief. They argue midazolam has a different impact on an offenders body, allowing for pain that pentobarbital largely prevents. On Monday, an attorney for the death row offenders alluded to this argument after the attorney general's cross examination. She asked Edgar if an inmate put to death using pentobarbital or midazolam would feel pain from pulmonary edema, if the medication had not rendered the inmate unable to feel pain. (source: The Tennessean) ** Tennessee's Catholic bishops urge governor to halt upcoming executions Bishops J. Mark Spalding of Nashville, Richard F. Stika of Knoxville and Martin D. Holley of Memphis have written to Gov. Bill Haslam urging him to "use your authority as governor to put an end to the fast-track executions planned" in the state of Tennessee in the upcoming months. "It is within your power to establish your legacy as a governor of Tennessee who did not preside over an execution on your watch," the state's 3 Catholic bishops wrote. The last person to be put to death by lethal injection in Tennessee was Cecil Johnson in 2009, when Phil Bredesen was governor. The state has carried out a total of 6 executions since 1976, 5 of those during Bredesen's tenure. In Tennessee, the governor has sole authority to grant clemency to death-row inmates. There are currently 62 men and 1 woman on Tennessee's death ro
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, FLA., LA., OHIO, KY.
July 17 TEXASnew execution date 'Very psychotic' Fort Worth killer who murdered bus rider gets November death date A Fort Worth killer once deemed too insane to execute now has a date with death. Emanuel Kemp of Tarrant County is slated for execution on Nov. 7 in the Huntsville death chamber, according to prison spokesman Jeremy Desel. The high-school dropout had been out of prison for just 5 days when he hijacked a public transit bus at knifepoint in 1987, forcing the driver to drive around town while he raped and murdered the only passenger, Johnnie Mae Gray. The 34-year-old died from 9 stab wounds to the chest and throat according to Texas prison records. The driver was stabbed in the neck but lived. Kemp was arrested 3 days later, and sent to death row the following year after a whirlwind 6-day trial. In the years after his conviction, Kemp was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, according to his attorney, Greg Westfall. "He has been very psychotic to entirely utterly out there since about 1990," Westfall said. By the mid-90s, a court deemed Kemp incompetent for execution. After years of medication, a higher court reversed that decision and he was given a death date in 1999. But with days to go, a federal court intervened and spared his life. In the years that followed, Kemp's attorneys raised claims of bad lawyering, violations of due process, questions about jury selection and denial of funds to get mental health experts. The courts rejected some of the arguments on technical grounds, and decided his mental health claims weren't "ripe." That is, he couldn't argue he was too insane to execute unless he had an execution scheduled. But, according to Westfall, even after he lost in federal court in the early 2000s, the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office under another administration agreed not to seek another death date. "It was agreed that he was too insane to execute," Westfall said. "But since then, the leadership there has changed and now they have sought an execution date. It was really out of the blue." The district attorney's did not address any prior agreements or considerations regarding an execution date, but did offer a statement late Monday. "The defendant has a court-appointed attorney, and there has not been an objection to the setting of this date by the defense," said spokeswoman Samantha Jordan. "Should a potential issue of mental illness be raised, we'll consider the evidence presented at that time." Currently there are no pending appeals, but Westfall said he plans to file claims questioning his client's competency for execution. The Lone Star State has executed 7 men this year. Including Kemp, there are 8 more death dates on the calendar. The next, Christopher Young, is slated to die Tuesday. (source: Houston Chronicle) Before his scheduled execution, Chris Young fights the Texas parole boardThe death row inmate claims that the parole board likely rejected his clemency petition because he is black. The argument highlights a long-standing criticism of clemency in Texas. In a final fight before his execution, set for Tuesday evening, Chris Young is targeting Texas' secretive clemency process. On Friday, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles unanimously rejected Young's clemency petition - often the final check in the death penalty process before an inmate is sent to the death chamber. Hours later, Young's lawyers filed suit against the board members, claiming that they likely voted against a recommendation to reduce his sentence or halt his execution because he is black. The filing highlights a long-established criticism of Texas clemency - the reasoning for the board's decision is unknown to the public, usually with individual members casting their votes remotely without comment or a hearing. Though members must certify that they do not cast their votes because of the inmate's race, they also don't have to give any reason for their decision. "Their procedures and everything else are internal; you don't get to see it," said Keith Hampton, a defense lawyer who worked on 2 of the 3 successful capital clemency petitions in Texas in the last 20 years. "They've got lawyers back there ... they all go over it, but I have no idea why they reject it, and they don't have to say why." Young's case is a long shot. A Texas appellate court previously upheld the boards' ability to explain rejections of clemency solely by vote counts. And the state noted in its response that the appeal doesn't point to any specific evidence of racial discrimination. Young was 21 when he entered Hasmukh Patel's San Antonio store in 2004 and fatally shot Patel during an attempted robbery, according to court records. He was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death in 2006. In his recent petition to the parole board asking for a
