[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----OHIO, TENN., IND., ILL., MO.
Nov. 11 OHIO: Ohio lawmakers looking to keep execution drug sources secret State lawmakers are preparing to introduce legislation to address legal concerns about Ohio's administration of the death penalty, likely including language to keep secret the names of sources of execution drugs. Republican House Speaker Bill Batchelder and Republican Senate President Keith Faber mentioned the potential law changes during a post-election conference in Columbus Thursday, where they discussed legislation that could be passed by the two chambers before the end of the year. We are looking at language in that area, Batchelder said concerning capital punishment. That may come up before we go home. Faber added, We anticipate that we're going to work with the attorney general and the prosecutors on trying to get something done on that. Batchelder said the legislation has been drafted, and he anticipated its introduction in coming days. He declined to offer specifics about what would be included in the bill, though he said it would address issues that have arisen from court decisions related to the death penalty. We have a problem in the sense that some of the federal judges have held that our existing system does not provide due process safeguards for those who have been convicted of homicide, he said. Executions have been on hold for most of the year, after a federal judge stayed scheduled lethal injections while state prison officials consider changes to the execution process. In August, U.S. District Court Judge Gregory L. Frost ruled the state of Ohio and any person acting on its behalf is hereby stayed from implementing an order of execution of any Ohio inmate issued by any court of the state of Ohio until Jan. 15, 2015 or until further order from the court. Frost issued a comparable stay earlier in the year, following the prolonged death of Dennis McGuire in January and a subsequent decision by the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction to increase the dosage of 2 drugs used in lethal injections. McGuire, who received a capital sentence for the rape and murder of a pregnant Preble County woman, was the first inmate executed using a new 2-drug combination. The process took about 25 minutes, and witnesses described him gasping for breath. State prison officials who reviewed his execution said McGuire was asleep and not conscious and did not experience pain, distress or air hunger during his lethal injection. The next scheduled execution, pending additional delays, will be Ronald Phillips Feb. 11. Phillips, who was convicted in the 1993 rape and murder of a 3-year-old girl in Akron, was originally scheduled for execution last year, but Kasich temporarily postponed the lethal injection after the inmate asked to determine whether he could donate organs to ailing family members. Drug Issue Under execution protocols adopted last year, state prison officials could purchase lethal injection mixtures from so-called compounding pharmacies - a change that was made after the manufacturer of such drugs refused to sell them for use in executions. But Attorney General Mike DeWine said last month state prison officials have had difficulties finding pharmacies willing to provide the state's lethal injection drug because they don't want to be identified publicly. This is something that the legislature has to look at, DeWine said last month. The legislation to be considered by lawmakers in coming weeks could call for the names of companies that sell execution drugs to the state to be kept private. I think the general idea is to let the department of corrections acquire those things in private and not to have to disclose publicly where they're getting their drugs from, Faber said. Who they buy their drugs from I don't think is necessarily relevant to what their mission is. He added, As long as Ohio has a capital punishment, we need to make sure it's carried out fully, fairly and in consistency with the law. So that's going to be our question. Another possibility would be allowing the import of execution drugs from overseas, Batchelder said. (source: The Daily Record) Rufus Gray indicted on aggravated murder charges in slaying of 12-year-old stepdaughter A Cuyahoga County grand jury Monday indicted Rufus Gray on charges of killing his 12-year-old stepdaughter Oct. 30. The indictment charges Gray, 59, of Cleveland, with aggravated murder, attempted murder, felonious assault, aggravated burglary, domestic violence and possessing weapons while a convicted felon. He will appear in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court on Friday for his 1st appearance. County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty's office is expected to consider filing additional charges that could bring the death penalty. An internal committee of the prosecutor's office considers slayings that could bring the death penalty. The committee then makes a
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----OHIO, TENN., IND., ILL., MO.
Oct. 25 OHIO: Convicted murderer indicted in stabbing death A Youngstown man who already served 30 years in prison for murder was indicted on an aggravated murder charge Thursday in the stabbing death of a Columbiana County woman and he could face the death penalty. David Hackett, 51, was indicted by a Mahoning County grand jury on one count each of aggravated murder with death penalty specifications and rape, and 2 counts of kidnapping. The rape and kidnapping charges carry repeat violent offender specifications. He is being held on a $2 million bond. Police said Hackett stabbed Collena Carpenter, 30, of Homeworth, dozens of times. Her body was found Oct. 14 lying in a pool of blood on the ground on West Avenue across from the old city water department building on the city's West Side. A pile of her belongs was found a short distance away. Detectives said Hackett and Carpenter knew each other. Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction records show Hackett was convicted in 1979 of aggravated murder and aggravated robbery from a case originating in Mahoning County. He was paroled in April of 2009. (source: WKBN News) * Test for the truth In May, the Ohio Supreme Court opened the door to new DNA testing in the case of Tyrone Noling. A 5-2 majority reversed a lower court decision and sent the question to Judge John Enlow of the Portage County Common Pleas Court. Earlier this month, attorneys for Noling filed a motion asking the court to permit testing of additional evidence. The request makes sense - if the objective is justice, or at least addressing the mounting doubt about the Noling conviction. A jury found Noling guilty of the 1990 killings of Cora and Bearnhardt Hartig in their house in Atwater Township. He has resided on death row the past 17 years. The indictment of Noling didn't come until 5 years after the episode, described by prosecutors as a robbery that turned into murder. Key to the conviction was the testimony of 3 friends of Noling at the scene. They long ago recanted, citing coercion by the prosecution. On their own, these reversals might be played down. Striking is how they fit into a pattern, the case against Noling having eroded so substantially. Noling and his friends were involved in earlier robberies in Alliance. At the Hartig house, there was no physical evidence linking them to the crime. Nothing was taken from the house. If many in prison proclaim their innocence, know further that Noling's gun didn???t match the murder weapon. He passed a polygraph test. 4 years ago, attorneys for Noling learned through a public records request about an alternative suspect. The information wasn't shared at the trial. Yet the person in question lived near the Hartigs and eventually murdered a young woman. He received a death sentence and was executed. Noling wants to apply the more sophisticated DNA testing of today to a cigarette butt found on the driveway. (He already has been excluded.) A search for the truth requires such a step. So does state law, the legislature in 2010 expanding the concept of a definitive DNA test. As the Supreme Court stressed, a test must be performed if it hasn???t been conducted yet and the outcome could be determinative, or likely change the result of a trial. Find the presence of an alternative suspect, including a 2nd possibility, an insurance agent for the Hartigs who refused to take a polygraph, and that surely would be the result. It would be especially so in view of the collapsing case of the prosecution on other fronts. Logic follows: If the cigarette butt is tested, then a jewelry box and shell casings should be tested, too. The prosecution has argued that both were touched by the killer. Recent advances in DNA testing make possible gaining decisive evidence from each item. An opportunity exists to clear up the many uncertainties about whether Tyrone Noling murdered the Hartigs. More, the state must take necessary care to ensure that Ohio avoids the grievous mistake of executing an innocent man. (source: Editorial, Akron Beacon Journal, Oct. 23) *** Youngstown man could face death penalty for murder of former Columbiana County woman The indictment of a Youngstown man for the stabbing death of a former Homeworth, Ohio woman includes a specification for the death penalty. The Mahoning County Grand Jury handed up a 4 count indictment Thursday against 51-year-old David Hackett for allegedly murdering 30-year-old Collena Lynn Carpenter. The indictment also charges Hackett with kidnapping and rape. Investigators tell 21 News that Carpenter had been stabbed more than sixty times before her body was found in a vacant lot along West Avenue in Youngstown last week. Carpenter had been staying with Hackett and his fiancee in Youngstown. At the time Carpenter's death,Hackett was out on parole from a life sentence for a
