May 7 TEXAS: Executions on the upswing At a time when execution chambers across the country sit unusually idle, Texas is putting more Bexar County murderers to death than ever before. This week's execution of a kidnapper who shot his victim over an open grave will be the year's 4th for a local killer, matching the county's previous record set in 1998. By 2007's end, the total is expected to reach twice as high. The 5th, 6th and 7th are already scheduled and an 8th may soon follow, pushing the number well above the 0.5 executions the county has averaged annually since Texas introduced the electric chair in 1924. The spike appears especially pronounced because, for the moment, San Antonio's share of executions rivals the rest of the country's outside Texas. Only four executions have occurred outside Texas so far this year. Identifying all the dynamics that drive execution rates is difficult if not impossible, but the work of 2 local lawyers at opposite ends of the process helps explain this year's burst of Bexar County retribution. All but 2 of the cases originated during Steve Hilbig's tenure as district attorney in the 1990s, when local homicide rates peaked and then dropped sharply. Hilbig's 2 terms yielded 22 death penalties, according to state records, a 57 % climb over the same previous span. At one point, his staff obtained 3 separate death sentences within 6 days. "Was there a conscious effort to use the death penalty? The answer is no," recalled Hilbig, now an appeals court judge. "But I was certainly aware it was there and we used it in appropriate cases." As the convicts appealed, they bumped into federal and state laws enacted in the mid-1990s. Designed to speed up executions, the new rules limited claims death row inmates could file and almost certainly contributed to Bexar County's current spate of execution dates. Eventually, the inmates' appeals reached the windowless office of Yogi McKelvey, a staff attorney in the local federal courthouse and a walking encyclopedia of San Antonio's capital crimes. 5 years ago, McKelvey started working full-time with the federal judges to review the death penalty challenges that are measured by the box load. The first year, the lawyer waded into the cases that could be stacked 3 crates high. By 2002's end, only one was ready for a judge to decide, but the pace soon quickened. With McKelvey's help, the judges completed 5 cases in 2003, 7 in 2004 and still more the next year. "2005 was without a doubt the busiest year we've had in terms of disposing of death penalty cases," he said. That year, the federal judges completed a dozen, including all but one of the local cases that are scheduled to end this year with lethal injections. Perhaps more than any other factor, this burst of productivity fixed the cases on similar timelines and set the stage for a cluster of executions. Next, the cases traveled in close succession to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. By early this year, they'd arrived at the end of the legal line, the U.S. Supreme Court. Typically, when the high court rejects a death penalty appeal from Bexar County, the state attorney general's office contacts local prosecutors. This year, the e-mails kept coming and the phone kept ringing. "We've noticed in the past couple weeks that we've been getting calls from the attorney general's office saying: 'OK, this guy's done. Set an execution date. This guy's done. Get an execution date,'" said Alan Battaglia, the Bexar County district attorney's chief of appeals. This flurry of execution dates would avenge a grim collection of robberies, gang violence, ransom demands and murder-for-hire that together claimed 11 victims. One victim, a 29-year-old USAA employee named Theresa Rodriguez, died in her driveway, shot by a hit man solicited by her husband. The triggerman, Rolando Ruiz, arrived on death row in 1995. Since then Rodriguez's father has waited while the convict challenged the adequacy of his defense. Whenever Texas executed inmates, Eddie Sanchez would notice the dates of their crimes. Often, he'd wonder why they'd reached the Huntsville gurney more quickly than his daughter's killer. A dozen years passed before the call came last month. Ruiz's final day had been scheduled for July 10. The date would add to the sudden increase in executions of inmates from Bexar County, but nothing about the pace of the actual sentence appeared abrupt or accelerated to Sanchez. "It's a delayed justice," he said. (source: San Antonio Express-News) ************************* Murder trial for Killeen man set to begin today The capital murder trial for a 22-year-old Killeen man accused of participating in the 2005 killing of a Fort Hood captain in his Harker Heights home begins today at the Bell County Justice Complex. Matthew Allen Harris is charged with capital murder in the June 3, 2005, death of Capt. Jason Luz Gonzalez. Harris has been in the Bell County Jail since June 20, 2005, on a pair of bonds totaling $2 million. In July 2006, Harris testified against his three co-defendants, offering a confession in open court. Russell J. Alligood, 24, a former 1st Cavalry Division soldier, Brandon Lee Hammock, 16, and Erik Leonard Siperko, 18, all of Harker Heights, were found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison. Negotiations between the defense and the state broke down, and despite Harris' testimony and subsequent confession, he requested a jury trial. "That's his right," First Assistant District Attorney Murph Bledsoe said, who will be the lead prosecutor in the case. Harris' testimony last summer revealed a chain of events that began weeks prior to Gonzalez's death with a string of car burglaries in Harker Heights and Nolanville. "Russell came up with the idea of robbing a house and everyone agreed to participate," Harris testified. On June 3, 2005, the group scouted around for a house to rob, turning onto Iron Jacket Trail in Harker Heights. Gonzalez's white truck was sitting in the driveway. After peering into a bedroom, where they saw Gonzalez sleeping, Harris testified that they decided to proceed with the robbery. Harris said Siperko kicked in the back door and went with Hammock through the kitchen to the master bedroom. Harris and Alligood started to walk into the house. "I could hear someone yelling, Get down,' and then a gunshot," Harris said, describing how he and Alligood ducked behind the wall between the kitchen and hallway. Siperko came running toward the back porch with Hammock following. Harris testified that he saw Hammock pointing a .22-caliber gun through the kitchen window from the porch, telling Gonzalez to get down. Gonzalez was shot 4 times - in the chest, back, cheek and back of the head. With the captain's body lying on the kitchen floor, the 4 proceeded with the robbery with Harris and Alligood returning a couple of hours later to steal more items, including the captain's truck, which was eventually recovered by police from Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir. When he returned to the house the second time, Harris said he avoided, as much as possible, the kitchen, where Gonzalez's body lay, covered in blood. Judge Martha Trudo of the 264th District Court will be presiding over the case, the 2nd such capitol murder trial in her court in 3 months. She presided over the Richard Tabler case at the end of March, a trial in which Tabler received the death penalty, and she is also scheduled to preside over the trial of former Fort Hood soldier Tim Payne beginning May 21. (source: Killeen Daily Herald) NEW YORK: Bishop Hubbard speaks out against death penalty The debate over the death penalty continued at the capital on Monday as religious leaders joined lawmakers to argue against reinstating the law. Albany Roman Catholic Bishop Howard Hubbard spoke along with a murder victim's mother and a recently exonerated man, who served 16 years for a murder he didn't commit. All joined lawmakers to say capital punishment inhumane and they argue that statistics show it does not deter crime. Hubbard speaks against death penalty----Religious leaders joined lawmakers to argue against reinstating the law. Some legislators said the bill is being rushed to a vote without any discussion. "They have not done their job. We are preceding with willful indifference to the truth in the Senate if they bring this to a vote this week." says Sen. Eric Schneiderman, (D) Manhattan. Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno has been spear-heading the push to reinstate the death penalty, at least for those who kill members of law enforcement. This push comes after several murders of officers and state troopers over the past year or so. (source: Capital News) ****************** Senate set to vote on death penalty for cop killers later this week A Catholic bishop, the brother of the Unabomber, the mother of a murdered girl and a man who spent 16 years in prison for a killing he didn't commit led a coalition Monday urging state legislators to oppose a bill to reinstate the death penalty for cop killers. The Republican-led state Senate is set to vote on such a measure later this week. It comes about 2 weeks after a state trooper was killed by friendly fire in a shootout with a suspect in the Catskill Mountains and a month after a Utica police officer was killed during a traffic stop. And although Gov. Eliot Spitzer backs capital punishment for cop killers, there appears to be only a minority of support in the Democrat-led Assembly. At a news conference, opponents said the death penalty does not deter crime or make up for the loss of a loved one. Further, the advance of DNA -evidence technology has cleared about 200 wrongfully convicted inmates around the country, a fact that should scare off lawmakers from allowing an irreversible sentence, they said. One of the activists on hand was Jeffrey Deskovic, who was freed in 2006 after serving half his life in prison for a crime he didn't commit. Deskovic was a 16-year-old Peekskill (Westchester County) student who falsely confessed, after 7 hours of interrogation, to the rape and murder of a classmate. His DNA didn't match that found on the victim, but he was convicted and wasn't released until 2006. Just last Wednesday, the real killer was sentenced for the crime. Deskovic urged lawmakers to consider the consequences of wrongful convictions. "What kind of message is it sending to say we don't care if innocent people are executed?'' said the 34-year-old who now lives in Dobbs Ferry. Others on hand included Biship Howard Hubbard of Albany, David Kaczynski (brother of Unabomber Ted Kaczynski) and Janice Greishaber, mother of Jenna Greishaber whose murder led state legislators to strictly limit parole for violent offenders. The state Senate considered voting on the death-penalty measure on Monday. That would have coincided with a Democratic fundraiser set for 5 p.m. in Manhattan, putting Democrats in a political bind. The vote is now likely to fall later in the week. (source: Gannett News Service) **************** Senate Won't Pass Death Penalty - Today Senate Republicans are holding off on a vote on the death penalty until later this week at the earliest. But it isnt because a group of anti-death penalty activists campaigned in the Legislative Office Building today. A spokesman for the GOP senators said the conference wasnt ready to pass the bill Monday but could do so on Wednesday or next week. Bishop Howard Hubbard, wrongly convicted murder suspect Jeffrey Deskovic, 3 Senate Democrats, New Yorkers Against the Death Penalty and other groups lobbied against the measure in a lengthy press conference. "They have not done their job," Sen. Eric Schneiderman, D-Manhattan, said about the Republicans. He said the Senate should not vote until hearings are conducted to prove that capital punishment does not reduce violent crimes and murder. (source: Albany Times Union) ARIZONA: Arizona death row inmate to sit out clemency hearing The 1st person scheduled to be executed in Arizona since 2000 will not appear at a clemency hearing Tuesday because he wants to die, his lawyer said. The hearing for Robert Charles Comer, 50, is scheduled at 8:30 a.m. in the office of the Arizona Board of Executive Clemency in Phoenix. Clemency hearings typically offer death row inmates their last chance to seek mercy. But Michael Kimerer, Comer's attorney, said his client decided in 2000 that he wants to die and hasn't changed his mind. "He just wants to get this over with," Kimerer said Monday. Comer is scheduled to be executed on May 22. That's unless the clemency board decides to recommend otherwise to Gov. Janet Napolitano, who would then have to decide whether to grant clemency. If the board decides against clemency, Napolitano would not need to approve that decision, said Duane Belcher, chairman and executive director of the clemency board. Belcher said Comer's presence is not required. Kimerer said he would appear at the hearing to make Comer's wishes known to the board. Juan Martinez, who will argue for the Maricopa County Attorney's Office against clemency, declined to comment Monday, citing the pending matter. Instead, he referred to a letter he submitted to the clemency board in advance detailing Comer's crimes. In 1988, Comer was convicted of killing an Apache Lake camper and then subjecting a young Chicago couple to a night of terror and repeated rapes during a drive through wilderness areas. Besides the 1st-degree murder and armed robbery conviction for the shooting death of Larry Pritchard, Comer also was convicted in Maricopa County Superior Court of sexual assault, armed robbery, kidnapping and aggravated assault for the attacks on the female camper and her boyfriend. Comer's girlfriend was with him at the time of the crimes and pleaded guilty to kidnapping and testified against Comer. Juneva Willis served nearly 6 years in prison before her 1994 release. The last execution in Arizona was in 2000. On the Net: Arizona Board of Executive Clemency: http://azboec.gov/ Arizona Department of Corrections: http://www.azcorrections.gov (source: Associated Press) LOUISIANA: Couple slain in BR home---- Charges filed in BR double homicide; Investigators have charged 19-year-old Trucko Stampley with 2 counts of 1st degree murder. Police: 4 deaths linked A retired couple found shot to death in their Goodwood Estates home Friday appears to be the third and 4th victims of what police describe as a "mass murderer," who struck earlier this week when he killed a teacher and her 80-year-old mother. "We had a teenager in our community, who for unknown reasons, went out on a rampage and killed 4 innocent people," Baton Rouge Police Chief Jeff LeDuff said. "Hes a mass murderer in my book and if you haven't heard from your elderly neighbors, go check on them now." A family friend discovered Friday the bodies of Charles and Ann Lynn Colvin, both 73, around noon inside their 1224 Thibodeaux Ave. home, police said. In an eerily similar scenario Wednesday, a co-worker found the bodies of Marie and Denise Pedescleaux, 46, in their Glen Oaks home at 5055 Crowne Ave. In both cases, cars were missing from the driveways. Based on physical evidence found at both houses, police said they believe Trucko Stampley, 19, 2442 Cherry St., killed all 4 people during home invasion robberies. In the Pedescleaux slayings, Stampley was booked into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison late Thursday on 2 counts of 1st-degree murder and being a fugitive from Terrebonne Parish after one victims car was discovered in Houma. Police were working late Friday to obtain an arrest warrant, which is needed to add 2 more counts of 1st-degree murder in the Colvin shootings. "This isn't over by a long shot," LeDuff said. "Our investigation will continue to see if there is anybody else out there who may have helped him. But right now, the evidence points to 1 person." A concerned neighbor Rita Walker became worried about her longtime neighbor and friend, Ann Lynn Colvin, when she received a call that her friends maid couldnt get inside Colvins home. "I had tried calling her the night before and no one answered, so I went over and let myself in," the 78-year-old retired nurse said. "As soon as I opened the front door I saw Charles. When I saw all the blood, I just thought he had died from a bleeding ulcer, that he bled to death. "And although Anns car wasnt there, it was just a natural impulse to call out for her." There was no answer. Police spokesman Cpl. L'Jean McKneely said Ann Lynn Colvin was found shot to death toward the back of the couple's rummaged house. McKneely said the Pedescleauxes were found in their kitchen. Denise Pedescleaux was shot once in the head. Marie Pedescleaux was shot once in the chest. Police said they believe Stampley was attempting to burglarize the womens home when the shooting occurred, McKneely said. "We do not think he knew his victims," he said. (source: The Advocate) NORTH CAROLINA: Convicted sex-offender to face death penalty in Nov. slaying Tony Savalis Summers will face the death penalty when he is tried in the brutal early morning killing of a west Greensboro woman last fall. Summers, 32, of Greensboro is charged with rape and 1st-degree murder in the Nov. 7 death of Lavell Williams. On Monday, a judge found his case qualifies for the death penalty because of Summers' previous conviction of rape, and the accusation that Williams murder occurred during the acts of burglary, rape and kidnapping. Williams, 32, was stabbed 40 times in her McIntosh Street townhouse. All 3 of her children were home, and 2 of them also were stabbed. Summers is facing a slew of charges related to the children as well, including assault with intent to kill and kidnapping. The children have left Greensboro and are living with relatives in New Jersey. (source: Greensboro News-Record)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, N.Y., ARIZ., LA., N.C.
Rick Halperin Mon, 7 May 2007 19:57:08 -0500 (Central Daylight Time)
