[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ALABAMA
February 6 ALABAMA: Court grants Muslim death row inmate stay of execution The U.S. Court of Appeals has granted a stay of execution for a Muslim death row inmate in Alabama as he continues his ongoing bid to have an imam present at his execution. Domineque Ray on Monday motioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for a stay after a federal district court judge denied a stay last week. The absence of his imam in Alabama's death chamber would violate his constitutional rights, as the state has an established practice of including a Christian prison chaplain in previous executions, Ray's lawyers argued in court filings. Ray was sentenced to death for the 1995 rape and fatal stabbing of 15-year-old Tiffany Harville of Selma. Months before his death penalty trial, he was sentenced to life for a 1994 slaying of two teen brothers, The Associated Press reports. (source: Montgomery Advertiser) ___ 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
February 6 BANGLADESH: 4 receive death penalty for murdering minor in Sylhet 4 people have been sentenced to death for killing a schoolboy in Chatak upazila of Sunamganj district in 2015. Sylhet Divisional Speedy Trial Tribunal Judge Rezaul Karim passed the order on Wednesday. The condemned convicts are: Imam of the local mosque Suwebur Rahman Sujon, Rafiqur Rahman, Zahid Ahmed, and Saleh Ahmad. Saleh was tried in absentia as has yet to be arrested. The court also fined the convicts Tk20,000 each. According to the prosecution, Mostafizur Rahman Imon—of Batirkandi village under Chatak upazila of Sunamganj upazila—son of Zahur Ali, a Saudi expatriate, was kidnapped by the convicts on March 27, 2015. Later, the kidnappers killed him after receiving the ransom money. The victim's father filed a case in this connection. On April 8, 2015, police arrested Sujon from Kadamtoli Bus stand area, in Dhaka, after tracking his mobile phone. Upon further interrogation and investigation police recovered a knife— plus the skull and bones of Imon—from a haor area in Batirkandi village. On November 21, 2016, police submitted a charge sheet against 7 people. (source: Dhaka Tribune) INDIA: Judge breaks nib, signs death sentence for murder convict Session Judge, Senapati, A Nou-tuneshwari Devi has awarded death sentence to the main convict involved in the murder of Pukrihongbam Memi Chanu in August last year, apart from awarding life imprisonment to a co-convict and 3 years and 6 months imprisonment respectively to two other women convicted in connection with murder case. The Court also directed a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to be paid to the victim’s family. The quantum of punishment was announced today after the sentence hearing of the case against the main convict Yumkhaibam Rohit alias Rajesh (29) s/o Y Ri-jauddin of Khergao Makha Leikai, Kshetrigao, co-convicts Md Farish Shah (18) s/o (L) Faruk Shah of Kshetrigao Thambalkhong Makha Leikai, Rehana (50) d/o Abdullah of Khergao Makha Leikai, Kshetrigao, Farjina (23) d/o Habi of Khergao Makha Leikai, Kshetrigao, as well as another individual (who has since been acquitted from the case) Leishangthem Nungchanba alias Ramesh (35) s/o Yaima of Leishang-them Awang Leikai. It may be recalled that yesterday, the Court convicted Rohit under section 302 (murder) and 201 IPC (for causing disappearance of evidence) and Md Farish Khan under section 302 (murder), 201 IPC (for causing disappearance of evidence), 34 IPC (common intention) and 213 IPC (taking gift to screen an offender from punishment). The Court also convicted Rehana under section 201 IPC (for causing disappearing of evidence) and Farjina under section 202 IPC (for intentional omission to give information of offence by person bound to inform). All the convicted individuals were brought from Sajiwa Central Jail and Manipur Central Jail for the sentence hearing today before the Court. During the sentence hearing, Koshia Mao, Additional Public Prosecutor, submitted that Rohit was convicted for murder which is heinous offence and mentioned that one can hardly imagine what torture and brutality, the victim must have faced during the crime. The APP continued that Rohit hit the victim on her head with a wooden stump and then hit her several times on the head and face with a stone pestle while the co-convict Md Farish Khan strangulated her using a rope. The APP conveyed that this has to be taken into consideration while granting punishment to Rohit and added that not only this, after the commission of the murder, he (Rohit) removed all the gold ornaments worn by the victim before packing the dead body inside the gunny bags. He then went to Rashid & Sons Jewellery Store, Masjid Road, Imphal and sold off the gold ornaments for Rs 59, 000. After selling off the ornaments, Rohit came back to his locality and on the way he met Farish and gave him Rs 7000 so that Farish would remain silent and refrain from disclosing about the crime to anyone. The APP continued that thereafter, in the midnight of August 14, at about 11.30 pm, Rohit and Farish brought the dead body on a bicycle (with Rohit steering and Farish pushing the cycle from the back) and headed towards Iril river and dumped the dead body into the river. The APP prayed for awarding capital punishment to the prime convict explaining that if he is made to live in this society, other innocent woman will become his prey and he will continue to outrage the dignity of other women. The APP further prayed for awarding proper punishments to the co convicts Md Farish Shah, Rehana and Farjina as per the law. On the other hand, the defense counsels of the main convict Y Rohit and co-convict Md Farish Shah submitted that both the convicts are orphans and their family (wife and children) are living in miserable and pitiable conditions. Claiming that there are no previous
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----WYO., MONT., IDAHO, WASH.
February 7 WYOMING: Death penalty vote a proud moment for Wyoming House “Riveting.” It’s not a word I’ve ever used before in connection with the Wyoming Legislature, and I’ve covered about 20 sessions over the past four decades. But it’s the best descriptor I can think of for the debate in the House last Wednesday over the proposed repeal of the state’s death penalty. It was an emotional, thoughtful and somber discussion of a topic I never thought would make it to the floor, much less pass the House 36-21 on final reading Friday. I’ve covered capital murder cases and read a ton of books about serial killers and other heinous criminals, but my basic belief on the matter hasn’t wavered: The death penalty is wrong, for many reasons. The state should not have the right to take a person’s life. Most of the world agrees with me; 142 nations have abolished the death penalty either in statute or practice, while the 56 that still have capital punishment — China, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan etc. — aren’t exactly the beacons of civic virtue we should hope to emulate. The ultimate penalty is applied unevenly in America, with a highly disproportionate number of minorities on death row. Far too many people have been executed in this country who were later found to be innocent, and hundreds of the convicted killers have languished on death row for an average of 17 years. The huge fiscal impact of the appeals process drains states’ budgets as taxpayers must cover the costs incurred by both the state and defense for convicted murderers who cannot afford attorneys. But that doesn’t mean I haven’t wrestled with the thought, deep inside, that some crimes are so horrific that a justly convicted killer doesn’t deserve to live. So I listened intently as Rep. Jared Olsen (R-Cheyenne), the young attorney who sponsored the death penalty repeal bill, explained his reasoning in his opening statement to his House colleagues. Olsen said that when he circulated a draft of what became House Bill 145-Death Penalty Repeal 2 among potential co-sponsors, he was asked how he would feel if the murder victim was a member of his family. “My gut actually said, ‘Yeah, I would want that person put to death,” Olsen said. “But you know what? That’s what’s wrong with the system. My gut is wrong. It’s not based on reason. “Ask yourself if it’s reason, or it’s blind [justice], or if it’s nothing but fear and anger,” he said. My anti death penalty convictions might also be erased in seconds if a member of my family was the victim. But Olsen has it right. It’s not the state’s responsibility to seek revenge for crimes. It must punish the guilty, but not solely for the sake of retribution. Olsen asked a fundamental question: “How much authority do we want to rest in our government?” He noted that since 1973, 150 former death row inmates have been exonerated in the U.S. “Some say we need a swifter justice system,” the attorney said. “But what if we had one? There’s far too great a risk for imperfect people managing a [criminal justice] system.” The last person the state of Wyoming executed was Mark Hopkinson in 1992. I covered the small protest on the front lawn of the Capitol when he was put to death at the Wyoming State Penitentiary in Rawlins. It was a frigid night, and I remember looking at the light in then Gov. Mike Sullivan’s office window and hoping he would stop the damn thing from happening. Hopkinson was convicted of ordering the murders of Evanston attorney Vincent Vehar, his wife Beverly and son John, and was sentenced to 3 consecutive life terms. He was sentenced to death for ordering the murder of Jeffrey Green while Hopkinson was in prison for hiring Green to kill an Arizona attorney in an unsuccessful bombing plot. I don’t doubt his guilt in any of the four murders, but I could not see the point of the state taking his life, and I still don’t. Nothing would bring the Vehars or Green back. I think life without the possibility of parole is a just sentence, and arguably one that is even tougher on an inmate than lying on a gurney and being given a lethal dose of chemicals. Knowing that one is going to spend the rest of his or her life locked up without any hope of ever getting out would be a living hell on earth. During the House debate the thoughts of Rep. Danny Eyre (R-Lyman) also turned to Hopkinson. Eyre noted that he grew up with the murderer and also knew Hopkinson’s victims. “He did some terrible things,” said Eyre, who had been a death penalty supporter. “When that actual execution took place, I knew he was guilty and he’d ruined many lives, but it was a dark and sad day.” Rep. Art Washut (R-Casper) is a retired police officer. You could have heard a pin drop on the House floor as he recalled having to tell three young children that their mother had been killed and their father was probably going to prison,
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., VA., GA., FLA., ALA.
February 6 TEXAS: DNA testing results released on death row case of Larry Swearingen More than a year after prosecutors agreed to DNA testing on decades-old evidence in a Montgomery County death row case, the results are in - and they didn't reveal anything new. Most of the aging evidence sent to the lab didn't show any male DNA at all, prosecutors said, while the genetic material pulled from cigarette butts found near Melissa Trotter's body only traced back to the hunters who found her. "Everything (the defense) requested to be tested has been tested at this point," said Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Kelly Blackburn. Now, with no pending appeals and no new DNA to help validate his claims of innocence, convicted killer Larry Swearingen could be one step closer to yet another execution date. "Unfortunately, the testing we did really didn't move the ball," said Bryce Benjet, a defense attorney with the Innocence Project. "At the end of the day, it was useful to the extent that it can show that we tested every item and none of that testing has pointed to Larry Swearingen." The 47-year-old was sentenced to die two decades ago for the murder of a Montgomery College student. In the years since, the Willis man has fended off the state's repeated attempts to execute him, lobbing a slew of appeals, including multiple pleas for testing on pantyhose and cigarettes found in the woods near the slain woman's body. Prosecutors and defense lawyers finally came to a testing agreement in late 2017, after years of back-and-forth over various proposals. In addition to the cigarette butts and some of the slain teen's clothes, the lab analyzed hair stuck in a knot tied in the torn pair of pantyhose used in the murder. Though the strands looked like they may have belonged to someone other than Trotter, the 2-decade-old sample didn't net any DNA for testing, Benjet said. Attorneys also asked for testing on a different piece of pantyhose found near Swearingen's trailer after the crime. Whether that's the other half of the pair used in the killing has been a point of dispute, but testing on it showed some DNA pointing to Swearingen – and nothing pointing to Trotter. The last time anyone saw Trotter alive was on Dec. 8, 1998, when she and Swearingen were spotted together in the community college library. Afterward, a biology teacher caught sight of Trotter leaving the school with a man. Hair and fiber evidence later showed that she'd been in Swearingen's car at some point before she vanished. Swearingen's wife testified that she came home that evening to find the place in disarray - and in the middle of it all were a lighter and cigarettes believed to belong to Trotter. Swearingen later filed a burglary report, saying his home had been broken into while he was out of town. That afternoon, he placed a call routed through a cell tower near FM 1097 in Willis - a spot prosecutors say he would have passed while heading from his house to the Sam Houston National Forest where Trotter's decomposing body was found 25 days later. Crime scene investigators recovered biological material from the scene - but there was never any conclusive link to Swearingen. Instead, he was convicted and sentenced to death based on what courts later described as a "mountain" of circumstantial evidence. Since he was sent to death row in 2000, he's had at least 5 execution dates set and canceled. In 2017, he made national headlines as the result of a plot with another condemned prisoner, serial killer Anthony Shore. Shore, who has since been executed, was allegedly planning to wrongly confess to Trotter's slaying in the final minutes before his death. But authorities got wind of the supposed scheme, and called off Shore's execution date to investigate further. Then, the courts called off Swearingen's death date a month later - not because of the plot or any concerns about his possible innocence, but because of a clerical error. Afterward, lawyers on both sides of the case agreed to testing, a process that's dragged out for more than a year. Currently, Swearingen doesn't have any appeals pending, but Benjet – who is handling the case along with Houston-based attorney James Rytting – hinted at the possibility of more court filings ahead, including claims questioning the cell phone forensics used to pinpoint Swearingen's location. (source: Houston Chronicle) CAPITAL MURDER: Panola Co. officials look at May 2020 trial for father accused in 2-year-old's death A capital murder trial for a father accused in the death of his 2-year-old son is not expected to take place until at least May 2020, prosecutors and defense officials said Monday. According to our newspaper partners, the Panola Watchman, that's because both the Panola County District Attorney's Office and Braylyn Sheppard's defense attorneys will need to line up expert
