Feb. 3 CALIFORNIA: Bright Enough to Die? The U.S. has outlawed execution of the mentally retarded. Now it's up to the state high court to decide on what grounds to spare them. Before he went to prison, Anderson Hawthorne drove a car, held down a job, cared for a mentally ill brother and did chores in his family's home in South-Central Los Angeles. But Hawthorne also was regarded as slow in school, where he made it only to the 9th grade. He mispronounced simple words and had difficulty reading. At age 12, he couldn't countpocket change or read street names, and knew his ABCs only up to the letter M. He could write, but just his name and the date, and didn't know his address or telephone number. His IQ has been measured between 86 and 71; the average IQ is 100. Now his life may depend on a question soon to be decided by California's highest court: Is Anderson Hawthorne mentally retarded? Hawthorne, 44, lives on California's death row - sentenced in 1986 for 2 gang murders in Los Angeles. Among his 640 fellow death-house residents are at least 30 other inmates who, their lawyers say, are mentally retarded. Many more are expected to make similar claims as they obtain lawyers. Those claims could lead to the biggest exodus from death row in California since the state high court last struck down California's death penalty - later reinstated - in 1976. 3 years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that executing the mentally retarded violates the Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Dozens of people around the nation already have left death rows as a result, and many more cases are pending, said Richard Dieter, executive director of the Washington-based Death Penalty Information Center. Instead of being executed, convicted killers found to be mentally retarded are being sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. But the high court's ruling left uncertain who is truly retarded. Each state is supposed to develop its own rules. The call in some cases is not an easy one. Measurements of intellectual shortcomings are not always precise and can vary by test and tester and even change over time. "When you get on the borderline of mental retardation, it is an interpretative job," said UC Davis psychology professor Keith Widaman. "There are times when it is essentially a judgment call, and I could understand it going either way." Experts don't agree completely on what mental retardation means. The American Assn. on Mental Retardation has changed the definition 10 times since 1908. Until 1973, an IQ of less than 85 was thought to show mental retardation. Recognizing the disability's stigma, the association lowered the threshold to 70. The change was spurred in part by a successful class-action lawsuit in California that found schools had placed a disproportionate number of black children in programs for the retarded. Now, the association says an IQ of up to 75, allowing for a margin of error in testing, indicates mental retardation if a person also shows a significant problem with behavior, including conceptual, social and practical skills, before the age of 18. Experts said the mentally retarded often deny their disability and can mask it. In court they may appear contemptuous of proceedings when in fact they have no understanding of what is happening around them. "Because it is a stigma, they have fought tooth and nail their whole lives to find ways to hide from people that they have any deficits in their intelligence," said Lynne Coffin, a former state public defender and now executive director of a California association of criminal defense lawyers. And even attorneys can be fooled. Coffin said she has had clients who have hidden from her their inability to read. "What the general public doesn't understand," she said, "is that most prisoners do not want to bring up the issue of mental retardation." The stigma is so great that state Senior Assistant Atty. Gen. Dane Gillette believes it will limit the number of death row prisoners who claim to be mentally retarded. "I understand there are at least some inmates who absolutely will not condone this claim," Gillette said. If their sentences were reduced to life without parole, mentally retarded inmates would return to a general prison population where their disability might make them vulnerable, the prosecutor said. Because the mentally retarded have strengths as well as weaknesses, the disability can go undetected. A study of 50 mentally retarded adults, starting in 1959 and with follow-ups until the 1970s, found that some adults with IQs ranging from 50 to 70 had blended into society. They groomed themselves, worked, drove and married. One man with an IQ of about 50 was illiterate and asked someone else to fill out a job application for him. He landed a job as a Teamster truck driver and kept it, said UCLA professor of anthropology and psychiatry Robert E. Edgerton, who did the study in Southern California. A mentally retarded woman Edgerton followed was at one point engaged to marry a man who did not realize she was retarded. Rather than reveal her disability, she broke off the relationship and never married, the professor said. "The common misperception by many people is that people with mild mental retardation are really different than the rest of us," said Widaman, who served on a national research council committee on mental retardation. "And that is not really true." Scores on IQ tests may reflect the varied expertise and neutrality of the examiners. A psychologist hired by the defense may be more likely to find retardation than an expert hired by the prosecution. Denis Keyes, professor of special education at the College of Charleston, S.C., was asked to determine whether convicted murderer Robert Alton Harris, who had killed two San Diego teenagers, was mentally retarded before his execution in 1992. Keyes said he found that Harris had an IQ of 86. "He did not qualify, and I backed off that case," Keyes said. "But they found two psychologists who said he was retarded." Even if the examiners are unbiased, an individual's IQ score may not be static. IQ can change by as much as 10 to 15 points in a lifetime, Keyes said. In fact, for reasons that are not well understood, overall IQ is rising at a rate of 3 points every 10 years, researchers believe. As they consider Hawthorne's case, in which a ruling is expected any day, the state Supreme Court justices will have to sort through all those complications. In ruling against executing the retarded, the U.S. Supreme Court held that such executions were forbidden by the Constitution's ban on "cruel and unusual" punishment. But the justices also said they were reluctant to come up with their own definition of retardation. In California, the Legislature responded to that ruling by passing a bill banning execution of people who have "significantly subaverage intellectual functioning" along with deficits in behavior before the age of 18. But the law applied only to future defendants, not those already on death row. Defense lawyers and prosecutors generally have been able to reach agreement before trial on whether defendants facing capital charges are among the 2% to 3% of the population that is mentally retarded, lawyers said. But once someone has already been tried and sentenced to death, the state's investment in executing the inmate is much greater, and the claims are harder fought. In California, prosecutors have conceded that only two inmates of the nearly 640 on death row may be mentally retarded and should have hearings to examine their mental abilities. The state is fighting the rest of the petitions. California prosecutors would like the state Supreme Court to define retardation using a precise IQ level, such as 70 or below, in addition to deficits in life skills. "We believe you have to adhere to some number, and whatever number, you have to stick to it," said Deputy Atty. Gen. Robert S. Henry, who is representing the state in Hawthorne's case. Henry also would like the state high court to limit the number of inmates who would be entitled to court hearings on the question of retardation. The court could use the Hawthorne case to set ground rules for similar cases. "If you are going to allow everybody on death row to receive a hearing on the basis of one doctor who is willing to say he is mentally retarded, be prepared for 600 hearings," Henry said. Henry said Hawthorne suffers from learning disabilities, not mental retardation, and observed that Hawthorne also has claimed to be a victim of post-traumatic stress and fetal alcohol syndrome. "We are convinced this guy is nowhere near being mentally retarded," Henry said. "He is a gang leader who killed two Crips." Hawthorne's lawyer and experts, who have interviewed his early schoolteachers, relatives and employers, disagree. Deputy Federal Public Defender Harry Simon, who represents Hawthorne, declined to permit his client to be interviewed. The test that indicated Hawthorne could have an IQ as high as 86 was a group test that should not be used for diagnostic purposes, Simon said. Hawthorne took the test with other children when he was 7 or 8. Before he killed 2 rival gang members in 1982, Hawthorne shined shoes and worked for a man who rehabilitated buildings, Simon said. The former boss told defense investigators that "I had to tell him everything to do, but he worked hard." As for Hawthorne's being a wily, cunning gang leader, as the prosecution contends, Simon said, "How much did it really take to go up to a group of people and shoot into it? Certainly if he was easy to dupe, how hard would it be for fellow gang members to say, 'Here is a gun, go shoot these people'?" (source: Los Angeles Times) PENNSYLVANIA: D.A. won't seek death penalty against accused killer of Widener student Brendan Khalif "Bullet" Summers, accused in the May 3, 2003, shooting death of Widener University student John Paul Lacey, will not be facing a death penalty when he is tried on first-degree murder and related charges. Assistant District Attorney Stephanie Wills Monday said that Summers' youthful age of 18 was a prime consideration in deciding not to seek capital punishment in the case. The victim's twin brother, Richard Lacey, 22, said he was in agreement with the decision. "Life in prison is better than death," he said. "I'd rather he suffer in prison for the rest of his life, so that he can live every day knowing what he did was wrong." Lacey, a 21-year-old college student, was shot during a robbery near Walio's Frog Pond, on the edge of the Widener's campus in the 1600 block of Providence Avenue, Chester. Summers, of Chester, was officially arraigned Wednesday by Judge Joseph Cronin in Lacey's killing. On the advice of defense attorney Stephen Molineux, the defendant stood mute, and the judge entered a routine not guilty plea. The arraignment date marks the time limit when the prosecution must alert a defendant about a death penalty. The short, stocky Summers, who showed no reaction, remained handcuffed during the proceedings, which also included hearings on several defense motions. Wills presented testimony from Detective Michael Palmer of the county criminal investigation division. He was called to show that Summers' statement, in which police say the defendant admitted his part in Lacey's killing, was given voluntarily. Molineux is seeking to have the confession suppressed. In his motion, Molineux charged that the statement was taken in "violation of the defendant's constitutional rights" and that it was given under "duress, coercion and/or subterfuge." Cronin said he will rule next week on that petition as well as a separate issue as to whether Summers and co-defendant Jaliek Williams, 17, also of Chester, should stand trial together. Molineux is asking the court to order consolidated trials. Defense attorney Scott Galloway, who represents Williams and was in court, expressed agreement to the joint trials. "I have no objection," said Galloway. Consolidated trials could pose a problem for the prosecution since both Summers and Williams have given police conflicting statements. The affidavit of probable cause states that Summers admitted he and 2 others - but not Williams - agreed to go to the Widener University area to "rob someone," climaxing in Lacey's fatal shooting. Summers states that Williams was not one of the assailants, according to statements in the case. Williams, who has had psychiatric problems, in an oral statement placed himself at the scene, according to police testimony in pre-trial hearings in his case. In Williams' statement, police said he placed the gun in Summers hand. In Summers statement, he admits being at the scene but said that another male named ''Gary'' is the shooter, according to authorities. Molineux, in asking for joint trials, raised the issue of "judicial economy" which he said is used all the time by the commonwealth to have defendants stand trial together. "The commonwealth's theory is they are co-conspirators and acted in concert," he said. "Certainly as co-conspirators they should be tried together." He also mentioned a prior case he had, in which the prosecutor "fought tooth and nail to have them consolidated." Wills argued that the law gives the commonwealth the discretion of deciding whether cases should be tried together. She said that the case against Williams, who was arrested in May 2003, is further along than Summers, who was taken into custody late last year. He is only at the arraignment stage and Williams' trial, for various reasons, has already been continued four times. Williams' trial is set for March 1. "This case, this homicide is a decision we have chosen not to join," said Wills. (source: The Daily Times) VIRGINIA----re----juvenile dp legislation Juvenile Death Penalty Bill Proposed State Delegate Vincent Callahan (R-34) introduced House Bill 1975 Monday, a bill that would change the age for the juvenile death penalty from 16 to 18 years old. "Theres something fundamentally wrong with executing children," Callahan said from his Richmond office. The bill was presented a week after Senate Bill 1078 was introduced by Sen. Patsy Ticer (D-30), calling for the same change. Sen. Ticer was unavailable for comment at the time of this publication. Testifying in favor of the bill were Melissa Goemann, director of the Mid-Atlantic Juvenile Defender Center at the University of Richmond and Dr. Jeffery Aaron from the Commonwealth Center for Children and Adolescents. "It is morally wrong" to execute offenders under the age of 18, Goemann said. "There is a strong international consensus against it. Even Pakistan and Iraq will not admit to the practice in their own countries." In her written testimony before the Senate last week, Goemann cited that 'only 7 states have actually executed a juvenile offended since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976,' and that in 2002, 'The United States was the only country in the world to execute those who committed an offense while under the age of 18.' "We hope Virginia follows many of the states and other countries and abolish the death penalty for juvenile offenders," she said. Recent studies have proven, medically at least, that "kids are not the same as adults, and theres a lot of research that shows that reason, judgment, planning, rational thought, that part of the brain doesnt fully develop until the early 20s and is actually the last part of the brain to fully mature," Aaron said. "Of course theres a challenge to that finding, that adolescents are different from each other, but theres no way of telling by looking at an adolescent, whos got the maturity and who doesn't," he said. If the process of executing juveniles under the age of 18 is allowed to continue, Aaron believes the punishment cannot fit the crimes committed due to lack of development." BOTH TICER AND CALLAHANS BILLS were tabled and sent to the Crimes Commission for further research. It is possible that the bills were tabled pending an upcoming Supreme Court hearing on the case of Roper vs. Simmons, the case of a 17-year-old Missouri youth convinced of abducting and killing a woman in 1993. The Missouri Supreme Court overruled a death sentence saying the punishment could be considered cruel and unusual because of his young age. "If the Supreme Court rules that carrying out the death penalty for those who are under 18 when committing a capital offense is unconstitutional, the current Virginia statute will be invalidated and the Crime Commission can work on a new statute," Goemann said. "If they allow the sentencing to stand, the Crime Commission can start researching from there." "I'm happy with the outcome," Callahan said. "The bill won't be passed right away, but the Crime Commission will be studying the issue." (source: The Connection) CONNECTICUT: Death row inmates hold hunger strike 5 death-row inmates waged a hunger strike Thursday, asking to be allowed recreation with one another and calling their solitary confinement "inhumane and tantamount to psychological torture." The inmates said their protest was not about serial killer Michael Ross, whose execution was put on hold this week after his attorney said Ross' living conditions could have contributed to his decision to forgo further appeals. The protest, publicized by a group that opposes the death penalty, was confirmed by Department of Correction spokesman Brian Garnett said. He declined to identify the participating inmates, who are at Northern Correctional Institution in Somers and are among 8 condemned to die in Connecticut. "The situation is being monitored," Garnett said. In a statement, the inmates said their request for communal recreation was "not unreasonable." At present, the inmates are alone in their cells 23 hours a day, and each gets an hour of solitary recreation outside the cells. "Death row inmates are extremely well-behaved and cause no problems or dangers to the correctional officers or each other," they said. The statement mentions the phenomenon know as "death row syndrome," a theory that solitary isolation can cause severe mental health problems and suicidal tendencies. They called the segregation "inhumane and tantamount to psychological torture." Medication and temporary suicide watches were not helpful solutions, they said, because inmates had to return to the same segregation and often spent decades there as their appeals wound their way through the courts. Ross' attorney has sought a hearing to examine whether Ross, who has moved to forgo further appeals and end his life, suffers from death row syndrome. The inmates said they understood Ross' actions but were not acting on his behalf. "What we are doing is simply refusing to eat for the duration, however long," they wrote. Robert Nave, executive director of the Connecticut Network to Abolish the Death Penalty, which forwarded the prisoners' concerns to members of the media, said his group is not involved in the protest and does not endorse it. A news release from the network said death row inmates have no direct contact with one another but can communicate in "rudimentary ways." The group said two death row inmates are not participating in the hunger strike because they are diabetic, but were involved in drafting the statement. Ross, who has confessed to eight murders in New York and Connecticut, would have become the 1st person to be executed in New England since 1960. Ross had hired attorney T.R. Paulding Jr. last year to press his effort to waive his appeals and be executed as soon as possible. Paulding had pursued his client's goal until Friday, after a federal judge criticized him for helping Ross end his life. Paulding said he needed to consider whether conditions on death row had affected Ross' mental state. On the Net: Corrections Department: http://www.ct.gov/doc Connecticut Network: http://www.nodp.org/cnadp (source: Associated Press) ************************ Should the Death Penalty be Restored in Connecticut The case has become a national breaking news story and issue that may change the lives of those locally and even affect some of us here at SHU. Michael Ross is a convicted serial killer who has admittedly murdered 8 young women in three states. As if that is not shocking and scary enough, the issue hits close to home when we find out that 6 of these 8 women were murdered locally in the state of Connecticut. When convicted and tried, Ross pled guilty, remorsefully admitting to the murders of these women. Ross received six death sentences in 1987, however the Connecticut State Supreme Court overturned these in 1994. The state is extremely hesitant to use the punishment of the death penalty despite the fact that this man is responsible for eight deaths. The last execution that took place in Connecticut was in 1960. In addition to that there has never been a death by injection, a penalty which Ross is facing. Since then, the state has used alternate forms of retribution for criminals such as life in prison. This case has been in limbo now for 18 years and will finally be put to rest this week, deciding if Ross will be put to death, or spend the rest of his life in prison without a date of release. The death penalty is and has always been a huge issue of debate. However, in this case it has become even more controversial because Ross has reportedly done much soul searching during his time of confinement and appears regretful. He says that he has accepted the death sentence has a form of repentance for the pain and suffering for those who he has killed and their families. He has urged the state to move forward promptly with his punishment. There have been many conflicting opinions including those of the public, the residents of Connecticut and especially the church who is anti-death penalty. Bishop Lori has been actively trying to repeal the death penalty, believing that Ross' life can be saved. He says, " As a community of faith and reason, as believers and citizens, we need to ponder carefully what is about to take place and then to make our voices heard." Bishop Lori, on behalf of the Catholic Church, pleas with Connecticut locals try protest this punishment, despite Ross' beg to carry through. This controversy hits us hard at SHU for few reasons. Primarily it is frightening to know that these murders have taken place locally in what we consider a safe haven here at school. Secondly, there are many conflicting opinions of what action should be taken considering the fact that SHU is a Catholic based school. However, not all students agree with the Catholic Church's view on what should happen to Ross. "I know this is a Catholic school, but this man killed 8 women, 6 in our area alone. That scares me and I think Connecticut should set an example to other potential murderers by putting him to death. I would feel a lot safer that way," said Leila Noujaim, a sophomore and local resident of Watertown. However there are other students who tend to disagree. "We shouldn't put him to death, giving him what he wants after he murdered eight helpless women. Put him in jail to suffer for the rest of his life and it will be example enough," said Michele Puzzo, a sophomore from Westchester, NY. There are many conflicting opinions here based on religious and personal beliefs about the death penalty. However, being that we are so close to the scene of the crime and the choice made may affect us, this issue has become more of a safety concern than a matter of belief. (source: Sacred Heart Spectrum) TENNESSEE: Prosecutors seek death penalty in Pigeon River double murder Prosecutors will seek the death penalty against a Sevierville man charged with 1st-degree murder in the deaths of 2 men whose bodies were found in the Pigeon River. District Attorney General Al Schmutzer filed notice that the state will seek capital punishment or life without the possibility of parole if 35-year-old Shannon Ted Adams is convicted. Adams' alleged victims, Butch Wayne Phillips of Sevierville and his uncle, Sherman "Hank" Ray Phillips of Dandridge, were discovered in the river in November. Both had been shot several times. Authorities have said Adams was dating Phillips' sister, but they haven't discussed a motive for the crimes. The trial date is set for July 19th. (source: Associated Press)
