April 26
ARKANSAS:
Arkansas Death Row Inmates Claim New Execution Law Is Unconsitutional
Arkansas' just-approved execution law is as badly flawed as the version it
replaced, according to a lawsuit filed Friday, which argues the new law's
protocols are unconstitutional and puts inmates at risk for an agonizing death.
The lawsuit was filed in Pulaski County Circuit Court on behalf of six death
row inmates, who argue that the law approved by legislators last month still
violates existing law and is unconstitutional. The Arkansas Supreme Court last
year tossed out the state's previous execution law, saying the Legislature had
ceded too much control to Correction Department administrators in carrying out
executions.
Arkansas hasn't executed an inmate since 2005 due to court challenges, and
inmates' attorney Jeff Rosenzweig said he expects this legal effort to kick
around the courts for quite a while.
"I think these are meritorious claims that I think will take the courts a while
to sort out. We're dealing with a brand new statute, new procedures and a lot
of complicated evidentiary issues," Rosenzweig said.
The suit argues that the new procedures from the Legislature call for the use
of an anti-anxiety drug and phenobarbital, a slow-acting barbiturate, in "a
completely untried combination and quantity of drugs that will take hours to be
injected and to reach their peak effect, that will produce agonizing and
degrading effects during the procedure, and that will severely and permanently
injure - but may not kill - the prisoners."
Rosenzweig attacked the new measure on several points, one of which that the
new law is in conflict with a 1983 law and "the well-settled state law
principle that a sentence must be in accordance with the statutes in effect on
the date of the crime."
He repeats a concern that was raised about the previous law - that specifics
are left to prison officials when it comes to deciding which barbiturate to use
in executions. Rosenzweig also alleges problems with how the executioners are
chosen by the department.
The Legislature consulted with Attorney General Dustin McDaniel's office while
the new law was being developed. Rosenzweig said he expected the new law to
leave openings for a challenge.
"The attorney general was the one who pushed the law in 2009, which got set
aside. I'm not completely surprised," Rosenzweig said.
The Arkansas Attorney General's Office is responsible for the state's response,
and a spokesman for the office said Friday that lawyers are reviewing the suit
but had no further comment.
The Associated Press learned last week that the state had obtained doses of
lorazepam, an anti-anxiety drug, and phenobarbital, a slow-acting barbiturate
used to treat seizures, to use for executions. Prison spokeswoman Shea Wilson
said phenobarbital was on a list of FDA-approved barbiturates in court papers
filed by lawyers for the inmates in a previous case.
In a letter obtained by the AP this month, federal public defender Jenniffer
Horan told Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe that phenobarbital takes effect more
slowly than other drugs used to execute prisoners and that it carries a
"substantial risk of a lingering and inhumane death."
The Death Penalty Information Center said no state has ever used phenobarbital
in an execution.
Correction Department Director Ray Hobbs is the defendant in the suit, filed by
inmates Stacey Johnson, Jack Jones, Jason McGehee, Bruce Ward, Kenneth Williams
and Marcel Williams.
(source: Huffington Post)
******************************
US inmates sue over death penalty
6 death row inmates sued Arkansas state prison officials on Friday, claiming
execution procedures adopted by legislators last month will put them at risk
for an agonizing death.
The inmates claim the state's planned use of a slow-acting barbiturate violates
their right to be killed swiftly. They asked a state judge to prevent the
Department of Correction from carrying out any execution.
Lawyers for the inmates said that when their clients were convicted, Arkansas
law required that they be given a "lethal quantity of an ultra-short-acting
barbiturate in combination with a chemical paralytic agent until the
defendant's death."
Procedures adopted last month call for the use of an anti-anxiety drug and
phen, a slow-acting barbiturate, in "a completely untried combination and
quantity of drugs that will take hours to be injected and to reach their peak
effect, that will produce agonizing and degrading effects during the procedure,
and that will severely and permanently injure - but may not kill - the
Prisoners," the lawyers wrote.
Aaron Sadler, a spokesman for Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, says the AG's
office received the lawsuit and was reviewing it.
Attorney Jeff Rosenzweig, who filed the suit, said the new law includes
problems similar to the old law, such as allegedly violating separation of
powers between the Legislature and the Correction Department.
The Arkansas Supreme Court tossed out the state's previous execution law,
saying the Legislature had ceded too much control to Correction Department
administrators in carrying out executions. Legislators this year adopted a
revised law, directing that inmates be killed with a barbiturate but leaving
the specifics to prison officials.
The Associated Press learned last week that the state had obtained doses of
lorazepam, an anti-anxiety drug, and phenobarbital, a slow-acting barbiturate
used to treat seizures, with which to kill its condemned prisoners. Prison
spokeswoman Shea Wilson said phenobarbital was on a list of FDA-approved
barbiturates in court papers filed by lawyers for the inmates in a previous
case.
In a letter obtained by the AP this month, federal public defender Jenniffer
Horan told Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe that phenobarbital takes effect more
slowly than other drugs used to execute prisoners and that it carries a
"substantial risk of a lingering and inhumane death."
The Death Penalty Information Center said no state has ever used phenobarbital
in an execution.
The lawsuit by the inmates - Stacey Johnson, Jack Jones, Jason McGehee, Bruce
Ward, Kenneth Williams and Marcel Williams - names Correction Department
Director Ray Hobbs.
Arkansas' last execution was in 2005.
(source: SAPA)
NEBRASKA:
Nebraska lawmakers could repeal death penalty this year
When Brad Ashford was first elected to the Nebraska Legislature in 1986, he
supported the death penalty.
Nebraska hasn't executed a prisoner since 1997 and has struggled to find
lethal-injection drugs since the electric chair was ruled cruel and unusual
punishment.
"It seemed to me that there are certain crimes that are so heinous that require
that the death penalty be applied," he said.
But today, Ashford is one of many Nebraska lawmakers who have changed their
thinking on this life and death issue - to the point where a death penalty
repeal might pass the Legislature and get to the governor's desk this year.
"The problem is there are lots of heinous crimes committed, and some just as
heinous as others don't receive the death penalty," Ashford said.
The state's longest-serving senator, Ernie Chambers, has waged a quixotic war
against the death penalty in Nebraska, faithfully proposing a bill to abolish
it every year since 1973 (except the 4 years he was term-limited out of
office). The closest he's come to victory was in 1979, when the bill passed
26-22 but was vetoed by then-Gov. Charley Thone.
This session, Chambers' bill - which would change the death penalty to life
imprisonment without parole - was advanced by the Judiciary Committee Ashford
chairs by a surprising 7-0 vote.
Ashford said national sentiment toward the death penalty is changing, and
that's reflected in the Nebraska Legislature. 6 states have abolished capital
punishment since 2007, for a total of 18 overall that forbid it.
"There's a lot of skepticism nationally and, I think, in Nebraska, on the death
penalty," he said. While he calls it a "fool's gambit" to try to count the
votes on a volatile issue like this, the veteran senator senses "significant
support" in the Legislature.
DNA evidence has proven people have been wrongly convicted, sentenced and
killed, Ashford said. Nebraskans need look no farther than the "Beatrice 6"
that were wrongly convicted of the 1985 rape and murder of a Beatrice woman.
"There are innocent people that are on death row - clearly, unequivocally,"
Ashford said. "Life imprisonment is a real option for these killers."
MOMENTUM: Sen. Brad Ashford senses "significant support" for abolishing capital
punishment in the Nebraska Legislature.
The death penalty is used inconsistently, he said, with some people getting
20-year sentences, others getting life and others death for equally heinous
crimes. It???s fitting that the U.S. government and military can still use the
death penalty for crimes of treason and terrorism, he said.
Politicians' views on the death penalty have been used as political weaponry in
the past, but Ashford thinks that weapon has lost its potency. He also believes
the U.S. Supreme Court may throw out the death penalty.
Sen. Colby Coash, R-Lincoln, was one of several conservatives on the Judiciary
Committee to vote to advance the bill to the floor this year. Coash thinks the
bill has a better chance of passing this session than it did last year, with an
influx of new lawmakers.
"A lot of my colleagues, I think some of them are changing their minds about
it," he said. "I think they???re coming to the realization that it's never
going to be implemented. That we will never actually use it. So if we aren't
going to use it, maybe we should think about saving the taxpayers some money
and get it off the books."
The question is whether there are enough votes to override a likely veto by
Gov. Dave Heineman, who has said he strongly supports the death penalty.
"The reality is you probably gotta count to 30 to get this done," Coash said.
11 men are on death row in Nebraska, and taxpayers foot the bill for both the
defense and prosecution in often numerous appeals. The state has struggled to
find lethal-injection drugs since 2009, when the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled
the electric chair as cruel and unusual punishment. Nebraska's last execution
was in 1997, and none of its death row inmates are scheduled for execution amid
a legal challenge over a lethal injection drug.
Coash was pro-death penalty until 1994, when the state executed Harold "Walkin
Willie" Otey by electric chair, marking the state's 1st execution since the
infamous Charles Starkweather sat in the chair 35 years prior.
MERCURIAL: Sen. Ernie Chambers has introduced legislation to end the death
penalty since 1973, but says the Legislature is mercurial, and he won't try to
predict whether his bill will pass this year.
"It was pretty ugly," he said. "There was a tailgate the night he was
executed."
As a pro-life person, Coash said he's "trying to stay true to my faith."
"I don't want to see babies killed in the womb and I don't want to see inmates
killed by the state," he said. "It's not about being soft on crime, it's about
common sense."
Coash filed an amendment this week gutting Chambers' bill, taking out "an essay
about how bad the state was." For example, Chambers' bill calls "the existing
capital punishment scheme" a "failure" that has "taken an unacceptable toll on
the state's reputation for simple fairness, basic decency and care for the
dignity of human life."
"This state rejects the concept that by killing it can teach its residents not
to kill," Chambers' version says.
Sen. Mark Christensen, R-Imperial, abstained from voting on the bill in
committee, but said today he's leaning toward opposing the bill based on
feedback from his constituents. He said if the bill doesn't pass, next year he
may introduce a bill requiring DNA or video evidence in order for the death
penalty to be carried out.
He said death penalty supporters have gotten complacent, with few showing up
for the committee hearing while a long line showed up to support abolishing
capital punishment.
"I think it'll be very close," Christensen said. "Supporters think they got
near 30 (votes)."
Chambers doesn't count votes and doesn't like to speculate about his bill's
chances.
"The Legislature is a mercurial operation," he said. "It's very changeable and
unstable, so what appears to be going in a certain direction today may take the
opposite direction tomorrow."
The bill is expected to hit the floor in mid-May.
"Naturally, I'm hoping it will pass," he said. "I will do everything I can to
bring that to pass."
(source: Watchdog.org)
USA:
Rushing To Judgment
For many who remember the terrible crime, the huge outcry and the media circus
around the 1989 "Central Park Jogger" case, which was BIG national news, it may
have come as a surprise to learn that all 5 of the teenagers convicted were in
fact innocent.
But it probably shouldn't have.
The film The Central Park 5, recently premiered on PBS, offers an important
cautionary tale about how a rush to judgment, fueled by all-in media coverage
of a particularly heinous crime, increases the chances that criminal justice
officials will make critical mistakes, or engage in deliberate misconduct. The
Reggie Clemons case, tainted by allegations of police abuse during the
investigation and prosecutorial misconduct during the trial, is a reminder that
a process compromised in this way can result in a death sentence.
At the other end of the spectrum, a rush to judgment can occur when there is a
callous indifference on the part of authorities toward a crime they may
perceive as less important because it was committed in a marginalized
community. That's what seems to have happened in the Carlos De Luna case, where
an almost certainly innocent man was put to death for a crime another man named
Carlos probably committed.
The existence of the appeals process has created another kind of rush to
judgment, at least in capital cases. It was a desire to speed up executions
that led Congress in 1996 to pass (and President Bill Clinton to sign) the
Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA), a law designed to limit
federal habeas corpus appeals.
But short-circuiting the appeals process can lead to major injustices. As only
the most current terrible example, AEDPA was recently cited by two federal
judges to bar Georgia death row inmate Warren Hill from appealing his death
sentence, even though every doctor who has examined him now says he is
"mentally retarded," which would make it unconstitutional to execute him.
The clear lesson: judgment should not be rushed.
Which is why it is so disturbing that officials in executing states like
Arizona and Florida are seeking ways to speed up their death penalty systems.
Florida especially, which has sent 24 people wrongly to death row - more than
any other state - ought to be looking to slow things down, not speed them up.
So should Arizona, where 8 people have been exonerated and freed from death
row, the 6th most of any state.
In California there is a proposal to speed up executions despite the fact that
almost half the state's voters recently opted to abolish capital punishment
altogether. Even more unsettling is that this proposal also seeks to resurrect
the state's infamous gas chamber.
Executions are irreversible and any policy that seeks to rush prisoners to the
gallows is a formula for disaster. As the only punishment that takes place at
the end of the appeals process (a prison sentence begins the moment a
conviction is secured), death sentences create a perverse incentive to race
through appeals toward what is euphemistically called ???finality???, even
though such rushing only increases the chances of an irreversible mistake.
People, authorities, and the media will continue to rush to judgment. Heinous
crimes, understandable emotional reactions, media frenzies and political
pressures guarantee it. All the more reason we should abolish capital
punishment altogether, to avoid rushing right into the most terrible injustice
of all.
(source: Brian Evans, Amnesty International USA blog)
ILLINOIS:
Former Supreme Court Justice Moses Harrison dies
Former Illinois Supreme Court Justice Moses W. Harrison II died Thursday.
Harrison, the father of Madison County Associate Judge Clarence Harrison and an
early and outspoken critic of the state's death penalty, died at Baptist
Hospital in St. Louis after a long illness, according to statements issued
today by the Supreme Court and Madison County chief judge's office.
Harrison, 81, held the Fifth District seat on the state Supreme Court from 1992
to 2002, the last 2 years of which he served as the chief justice.
Chief Justice Tom Kilbride in a statement described Harrison as a former
colleague, friend and mentor who will not only be remembered as a prominent
judge and a great man, but as someone who "never lost sight of the common man."
"His commitment to equality and fairness went well beyond his simple, succinct,
yet superlative opinions," Kilbride said. "He treated all people in all
stations in life with the same kindness, dignity and respect."
Kilbride added, "That fundamental decency guided his work as a judge, and his
work guided Illinois law. Illinois is a sadder place today because of his
death, but it will forever be a better place because of his life."
Chief Judge Ann Callis said in a separate statement that, "Harrison was not
only a legal scholar, but one of the most gracious people I have ever had the
privilege to know."
"Our bench was blessed to have him as a Judge, and out district was further
blessed to have his illustrious service on the Illinois Supreme Court," she
said.
In a 2002 Supreme Court news release announcing his retirement, Harrison said
his small-town upbringing in Collinsville instilled within him a philosophy
that "the reason for our existence is to help other people."
"I also learned that the way you should judge people is how they treat the
other people around on a day-to-day basis," Harrison said in 2002, when he
stepped down from the bench for "personal reasons."
Harrison, according to the court???s release, began his legal career in private
practice in East St. Louis and Collinsville after earning his law degree from
Washington University's School of Law in St. Louis in 1958.
He was appointed a circuit judge in the Third Judicial Circuit Court in 1973
and 5 years later, was appointed to the Fifth District Appellate Court. In
1992, he was elected to the Supreme Court.
In the 2002 release, the Supreme Court noted that Harrison earned a reputation
"for demonstrating a commitment to justice and human welfare, writing either in
the majority or dissent, to defend the poor, the weak, the young and the
elderly against corporate or governmental policies which went against their
interests."
One of the more well-known dissents Harrison delivered came in November 1998,
when he wrote that the state's death penalty was unconstitutional because "the
execution of an innocent person is inevitable."
About 3 months later, according to the court's 2002 release, death row inmate
Anthony Porter was exonerated and released after someone else admitted to the
murders that put him behind bars.
"There are some who say Chief Justice Harrison was the 1st to call for a stop
to executions in Illinois," the court's 2002 release states.
Not even a year after Harrison issued a public statement in 1999 that said the
governor had the constitutional power to stop executions, the release notes
that former Gov. Ryan issued a moratorium on the state's death penalty.
In April 2000, Harrison discussed the Illinois death penalty on "60 Minutes"
with Mike Wallace, according to the release from Callis' office. He also
appeared in the movie, "Too Flawed to Fix: The Illinois Death Penalty
Experience."
"When asked how he saw his role," the release states that "he said, 'It is to
protect ordinary citizens against wrongdoing by the government, large
corporations and powerful individuals.'"
Callis' release notes that there will be a private family funeral, but that
memorials can be made to St. Michael's Episcopal Church, 111 O'Fallon Troy
Road, O'Fallon, IL 62269 or the Justinian Society of Lawyers Scholarship Fund,
734 N. Wells St., Chicago, IL 60610.
(source: Madison Record)
ARIZONA:
Fateful week ahead: Arias trial nears dramatic end
Jodi Arias is days away from learning her fate, and HLN will bring you every
second of the dramatic conclusion of her trial.
If Arias is convicted of first-degree murder for brutally killing her
ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander, she could face the death penalty via lethal
injection.
Arias testified that Alexander's sexual and physical abuse culminated in a
violet confrontation that forced her to kill him in self-defense. He was found
with multiple stab wounds, a gunshot wound to the head and his throat was slit.
If the jury believes Arias, she could be free to pursue her dreams of starting
a family and a career in photography.
If the jurors are taking their duty seriously, Arias' fate isn't decided yet,
and some of the most critical moments of the trial are yet to come.
Closing arguments are scheduled for next Thursday and Friday. It's the last
chance the attorneys have to persuade the jurors to convict Arias or to acquit
Arias.
The jurors have heard a lot of testimony throughout the trial, but the
attorneys haven't always been able to explain the significance of the
testimony. Attorneys use the closing arguments to "connect the dots."
Some attorneys like to save a surprise for closing arguments, because it's the
last thing the jurors will hear before they begin their deliberations.
Closing arguments can provide memorable moments such as when O.J. Simpson
defense attorney Johnnie Cochran coined the famous term, "If it doesn't fit,
you must acquit."
But don't forget there is one day of testimony left in Arias' trial. Court will
not be in session until next Wednesday, when the defense is expected to call
one last witness to refute new evidence prosecutor Juan Martinez introduced
during his rebuttal.
(source: HLN TV News)
CALIFORNIA:
Death sentence handed down for second time in carjack killing case
A death sentence was handed down today for 1 of 2 men convicted of carjacking,
kidnapping, robbing and killing a 55-year-old Indio resident.
Carlos Contreras, 34, was convicted in February of the May 7, 2008, murder of
Daniel Kuzawa, and jurors found true special circumstance allegations of murder
in the commission of a robbery, kidnapping and carjacking.
The same panel determined that Contreras deserved the death penalty, and
Riverside County Superior Court Judge David B. Downing uphold the
recommendation rather than sentencing the defendant to life in prison without
parole.
Co-defendant Daniel Cervantes, 35, was also convicted in Kuzawa's murder and
was sentenced to death on April 12.
Kuzawa was found by a field worker. He had been shot in the head and chest at
close range on the dirt shoulder of Pierce Street south of Airport Boulevard.
His wrists and neck were bound with electrical cable.
Deputy District Attorney Manny Bustamante said Cervantes held a gun on the
victim while Contreras tied up Kuzawa in his own truck as he pleaded for his
life.
Kuzawa's credit card was used at a Shell station in Coachella early on the
morning of his death. Contreras was arrested that night, after authorities
stopped a vehicle in which he was a passenger. While trying to flee, he
disposed of a gun believed to be the weapon used to kill Kuzawa, Bustamante
said.
Contreras had gunshot residue on his hands and was in possession of Kuzawa's
wallet, a round of ammunition and a credit card belonging to a man he shot a
few days before, the prosecutor said. He was also carrying Kuzawa's insurance
and Costco cards, Bustamante said.
A search of the Coachella home where Contreras lived with his parents turned up
an ATM receipt from the Fastrip station and spools of cable of the type used to
bind Kuzawa, according to Bustamante.
Contreras was additionally convicted of shooting Walter Garrett in the jaw and
shoulder near Dillon Road and Vista Del Sur in Coachella, and stealing and
burning his pickup truck on May 3, 2008, as well as robbing, kidnapping and
carjacking Sandra Jaramillo on April 28, 2008, in Palm Desert.
Contreras was also convicted of having property stolen from a La Quinta man and
unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition.
He was sentenced to life in prison for shooting Garrett and for kidnapping
Jaramillo, and 25 years to life for a gun use allegation.
(source: KESQ News)
*****************
Killer, rapist gets death penalty
A man convicted of 1 murder and multiple rapes, including 1 in Costa Mesa, will
receive the death penalty.
Waymon Livingston, 29, of Stanton, was convicted in February of 1 felony count
of special-circumstances murder in the commission of sodomy, 3 felony counts of
forcible rape and 1 felony count of aggravated assault.
An Orange County Superior Court judge on Wednesday approved a jury's
recommendation to sentence Livingston to death.
Livingston was convicted of strangling and raping a masseuse in a Costa Mesa
motel room in 2007, according to the Orange County District Attorney's office.
The masseuse was 1 of at least 6 victims.
A jury also found him guilty of murdering a 21-year-old Sacramento resident
working as a prostitute.
Livingston killed her in an Anaheim hotel room in 2007 and was later linked to
the crime through DNA evidence, according to the D.A.
The jury that convicted Livingston in February recommended last month that he
receive the death penalty.
(source: Daily Pilot)
_______________________________________________
DeathPenalty mailing list
DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu
http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty
Search the Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/deathpenalty@lists.washlaw.edu/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A free service of WashLaw
http://washlaw.edu
(785)670.1088
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
