Sept. 20
CALIFORNIA:
DA to seek death penalty for L.A. serial killer already on death row
Prosecutors today said they planned to seek the death penalty for a man already
on death row for killing 10 women and now charged with killing 4 other women.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge George G. Lomeli ordered Chester Turner, 46,
to return to court Nov. 14 for a pretrial hearing.
Turner -- who was sentenced to death in 2007 for murdering 10 women between
1987 and 1998 -- was charged last year with murdering 4 women between 1987 and
1997.
The newest charges involve the deaths of Debra Williams, who was found dead
Nov. 16, 1992, at the bottom of a stairwell that leads to a boiler room at 97th
Street School, and Mary Edwards, who was found dead Dec. 16, 1992, in a carport
outside a motel at 9714 S. Figueroa St., less than a quarter-mile from the
school where Williams' body was discovered.
He also is charged with the June 5, 1987, slaying of Elandra Bunn and the Feb.
22, 1997, killing of Cynthia Annette Johnson.
Turner, an Arkansas native, was described by prosecutors as the city of Los
Angeles' most prolific serial killer when he was sentenced to death in July
2007.
In addition to his death sentence, Turner was sentenced to a separate 15-
year-to-life term for the 2nd-degree murder of the unborn baby of 1 of his
victims, Regina Washington, who was found dead in September 1989.
Along with Washington's slaying, Turner was convicted in April 2007 of
1st-degree murder for the killings of:
-- Diane Johnson, who was found dead in March 1987 and is not related to
Cynthia Johnson;
-- Annette Ernest, who was found dead by a passing motorist in October 1987;
-- Anita Fishman, who was killed in January 1989;
-- Andrea Tripplett, who was 5 1/2 months pregnant with her 3rd child when she
was strangled in April 1993. Turner was not charged with killing her unborn
child because it was not considered viable under the law in place at that time.
-- Desarae Jones, who was killed in May 1993;
-- Natalie Price, whose body was found outside a home in February 1995;
-- Mildred Beasley, whose body was found in a field in November 1996;
-- Paula Vance, who was strangled in February 1998, during the commission of a
rape, which was caught on a grainy black-and-white surveillance videotape in
which the assailant's face cannot be seen; and
-- Brenda Bries, who was found dead in the Skid Row area in April 1998.
Turner lived within 30 blocks of each of the killings -- with Bries' body
discovered in downtown Los Angeles just 50 yards from where he was living at
the time, according to prosecutors.
Turner was linked to those killings through DNA test results after being
arrested and convicted of raping a woman in the Skid Row area in 2002.
After Turner was sent to death row, detectives from the Los Angeles Police
Department's Robbery-Homicide Division continued to investigate the 4 murders
with which he has since been charged.
(source: Contra Costa Times)
KENTUCKY:
Prosecutor to seek death penalty in double-homicide case
A man accused of murdering his mother and girlfriend in 2010 could be sentenced
to the death penalty if he is convicted by a jury.
Commonwealth's Attorney David Smith said Wednesday he will file a motion next
week indicating he will seek the death penalty if John Payne's case goes to
trial.
Under Kentucky law, a prosecutor can seek a sentence of death in a murder case
only if certain aggravating factors are present in the alleged crime. In
Payne's case, he is accused of killing more than 1 person, which is one of
those factors.
Payne, 38, was set for trial Oct. 8. However, the trial has been pushed back to
April 15 so an older murder case can be tried on that date.
Payne's April trial is expected to last 2 weeks, Smith said at the status
hearing in Madison Circuit Court.
Payne is accused of shooting his mother, Cornelia Gayle Mullins, 55, and
girlfriend, Meredith King, 32, to death in the Hillsdale Avenue home the 3
shared. The women's bodies were found Dec. 4, 2010 by police.
Judge Jean Chenault Logue ruled in February that Payne was mentally competent
to stand trial.
Several of King's family members wearing ribbons and T-shirts emblazoned with
King's photo attended the status hearing.
Payne also is charged with 2nd-degree escape after detention center officials
say he tried to leave the jail Oct. 22 when the trash was being taken out.
Payne is scheduled to be court again at 1:30 p.m. Feb. 20 for another status
hearing.
(source: Richmond Register)
NEW YORK:
Theater Review----When Justice Makes You Gasp; 'The Exonerated,' Revived at the
Culture Project
There's a distinct sound made by audience members watching "The Exonerated."
It's a sharp exhale, part incredulous, part angry, and delivered with a wince
or a shake of the head. That sound is a visceral reaction to stories of people
unjustly sentenced to die. It staves off the compulsion to cry out, or maybe
just to cry.
10 years after its New York premiere ???The Exonerated??? still has the power
to unsettle. This documentary play recounts the tales of 6 former death-row
inmates, using their own words, from court transcripts, interviews and letters.
Some of those convicted were nowhere near the scenes of the crimes. A few were
connected to the victims by the thinnest of threads. Whatever the case, their
stories remain troubling.
"I finally volunteered to give what they call a 'vision statement' - a
hypothetical account of what I would have done if I had killed my parents,"
says Gary Gauger, a former inmate played here by a wisely understated Brian
Dennehy. Such an account might jog memories of where he was on the day of the
murders, he was told during some 12 hours of interrogation.
Exhausted, Gary agreed to give the statement, all the while denying his
involvement. That version was then used by the police as his confession. Years
later 2 other men were found guilty of the crime.
Similarly somber, mind-boggling tales are made increasingly intense by being
delivered in a matter-of-fact way in this dark, spare reading, directed by Bob
Balaban. Issues of race, law enforcement and the death penalty are raised, of
course (though conflicting accounts and other gray areas are skirted). But by
focusing primarily on individuals, the play, by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen,
packs a greater wallop - the personal is always more affecting than the
polemic.
"So I'll just give you a moment to reflect," Sunny Jacobs (a gentle, marvelous
Stockard Channing) says of her time in prison. "From 1976 to 1992, just remove
that entire chunk from your life, and that's what happened."
Again, you hear that sound from the audience.
This production features 10 actors; 6 are full-time, and 4 roles are filled by
rotating cast members (Ms. Channing, Mr. Dennehy, Delroy Lindo and Chris
Sarandon on the evening I went). There's not a false performance in the
90-minute show. (The theater at the Culture Project, however, was uncomfortably
hot, a distressing - and, I hope, rectified - oversight for a stationary work
that demands your complete attention.)
In the end, despite horrific situations and years of incarceration, a few of
these former inmates seem to have found a kind of peace. You may wonder how
that's possible, given their ordeals. Perhaps, as one suggests, they've just
let go of the malice in their hearts. Or, perhaps, they think of others who
were innocent but who weren???t released in time.
"The Exonerated" continues through Nov. 4 at the Culture Project, 45 Bleecker
at Lafayette Street, East Village.
(source: New York Times)
UTAH:
Motion to suppress open-court confession expected in Lovell case
Defense attorneys will be filing a motion to suppress Doug Lovell's sworn,
open-court confession from the stand to the 1985 murder of Joyce Yost.
Lovell, 54, got off death row in July 2010 after almost 17 years there, when
the Utah Supreme Court ruled he could withdraw his guilty plea to the murder,
citing technical errors when the plea was entered in 1993.
Lovell is still serving a 15-years-to-life term for the 1985 rape of Yost. She
disappeared that year. Lovell wasn't charged with her murder until 1992. A year
later, he pleaded guilty to the slaying and was sentenced to death.
At his 1993 sentencing hearing, Lovell detailed in sworn testimony his killing
of Yost, 39, of South Ogden, strangling her to prevent her from testifying
about the rape.
"Yes, it is conceivable that it's not admissible at trial," said Mike Bouwhuis,
Lovell's lead public defender. "We are targeting the sentencing testimony."
Bouwhuis said there is case law that "suggests" statements at sentencing can't
be used against a defendant if the case is later overturned.
"It creates a disincentive to be open and forthcoming at sentencing if you know
it might be used against you. . . There's this idea that you reverse everything
and start over when you succeed on appeal," he said.
Exactly when the motion will be filed is up in the air, with recent complaints
about his defense from Lovell in letters to 2nd District Judge Michael Lyon and
the Utah Supreme Court to be dealt with first.
Deputy Weber County Attorney Gary Heward said prosecutors were aware the
suppression motion was coming and was almost completed, but now it's on hold
since Lovell's complaints were raised earlier this month.
"We will obviously verify what they claim and conduct our own review to see if
the law allows (the jury) to hear his sworn testimony from 1993," Heward said.
He said it's too early to tell if the case law Lovell's defense team is
alluding to is tied to a homicide case, or a lesser crime.
"If it's a more serious crime, is it more likely admissible? I don't know the
answer to that," he said.
In 1993, Lovell spent 5 weeks trying to lead authorities to where he said he
buried Yost in Ogden Valley, a search that included backhoes and a cadaver dog.
Prosecutors were willing to forgo execution if Lovell could lead them to her
remains.
When nothing was found, Heward and fellow Deputy Weber County Attorney Bill
Daines asked for and received the death penalty for Lovell from the late 2nd
District Judge Stanton Taylor.
Heward and Daines are prosecuting the case again.
(source: Standard-Examiner)
SOUTH DAKOTA:
Judge upholds SD man's conviction, death sentence
A circuit judge has upheld the conviction and death sentence of Charles Russell
Rhines for the 1992 slaying of a man during the burglary of a Rapid City
doughnut shop, South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley said Wednesday.
Rhines was convicted in 1993 fatally stabbing 22-year-old Donnivan Schaeffer.
Authorities contend that Schaeffer, a part-time employee at the doughnut shop,
surprised Rhines during the March 1992 burglary.
The South Dakota Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Rhines'
conviction in 1996, but Rhines filed secondary appeals that were tied up in
state and federal courts.
In the secondary appeal filed in state court, Rhines argued South Dakota's
death penalty law was unconstitutional. He also contended that prosecutors
violated his rights, that the judge at his trial improperly dismissed a lawyer
and that his defense layer was ineffective during his sentencing.
Jackley said the decision by Circuit Judge Thomas L. Trimble of Rapid City to
uphold Rhines' conviction can still be reviewed on appeal by the South Dakota
Supreme Court and federal courts.
"The Schaeffer family has waited more than 20 years for justice in their son's
case," Jackley said in a written statement. "The trial court's ruling is an
important step in holding Rhines accountable for his horrific actions to the
Schaeffers and the community."
Neil Fulton, who is representing Rhines as federal public defender for the
Dakotas, said Wednesday he had not yet seen Trimble's ruling.
"We need to review the decision and determine whether we want to pursue any
appeal in state court," Fulton said.
Fulton said Rhines still has a challenge pending in federal court that can
proceed once he exhausts his claims in state court.
"We'll need to discuss this with Mr. Rhines and make a decision on how to
proceed," Fulton said.
(source: Associated Press)
GEORGIA:
We are still Troy Davis----Marlene Martin of the Campaign to End the Death
Penalty remembers the legacy of Georgia death row prisoner Troy Davis on the
1-year anniversary of his murder.
It's difficult to mark the 1-year anniversary of the execution of Troy Anthony
Davis by the state of Georgia on September 21. Difficult for so many reasons.
It's difficult to be reminded that he was executed despite overwhelming proof
of his innocence. That he was executed even though nearly all of the witnesses
who testified against him at his original trial came forward to say their
testimony hadn't been true. These witnesses were the overwhelming reason for
Troy's conviction in the first place, since no physical evidence ever linked
him to the crime. But all that had no bearing on his conviction or sentence, as
far as the court system was concerned.
It's difficult to remember just how unresponsive the state was to the cries for
justice. Martina Correia, Troy's incredible sister, who fought nonstop for his
freedom, would often say that the system doesn't care whether Troy is innocent
or not, just whether legal procedures were followed correctly. That's just
sick--that the law can be about following procedure at the expense of justice.
Troy knew this all too well as he fought from inside the belly of the beast for
20 long years. "Georgia would rather kill me, an innocent man, that admit they
made a mistake," he once wrote.
It's difficult to think that Troy never did win his freedom. Never got to be a
free man, never got to spend time with his mom, who died shortly before Troy
was executed. Never got to help take care of Martina, who was dying of cancer
as she fought her determined struggle for Troy. He wasn't able to be with her,
or to help raise Martina's only son DeJaun, after Martina succumbed to the
cancer, only a month and a half after Troy's execution.
What you can do
The Campaign to End the Death Penalty will hold its annual convention on
November 2-4 in Austin, Texas. Find out more at the CEDP website.
If you would like to support the Campaign, contribute to the Costella Cannon
Fund, which helps bring former prisoners family members and murder victims'
family members to the convention.
It's difficult to be reminded that struggle didn't win that ending--that
despite all our efforts, we lost.
But--and here's the big but--it wasn't all for naught. Because of the struggle
for Troy, built up over years and years of small meetings and small efforts,
this injustice that took place against a poor Black man in Georgia took on
enormous proportions.
Millions of people in the U.S. and around the world were horrified to see Troy
executed. They were horrified to see President Barack Obama and Attorney
General Eric Holder--also African American, both of them--stand by and do
nothing in the face of this injustice.
Our efforts fell short. We weren't quite powerful enough to stop the machinery
of death from moving forward. We weren't powerful enough to make those who said
they couldn't do anything recognize that they could and should. But we came
close. And we did more to expose the realities of the death penalty system than
years of quiet work within in the courts.
As Troy was strapped to the execution gurney for hours, waiting on the Supreme
Court to make its final decision in his case, I hope he was picturing all of
the actions taking place for him around the world.
I do know that he and his sister would both be so proud of the people who have
kept Troy's name alive. Abolitionists all over the U.S. and the world will
remember Troy on September 21--remember that the fight goes on. They would be
heartened to know that activists were bringing the injustice that Troy suffered
into the movements struggling for something better--like the woman at an Occupy
Wall Street encampment who said, when asked her name, that she was "Troy
Davis."
That is the best way to press on--to let the injustice we mark on this day fuel
our determination to stay the course and keep up the fight. We got you, Troy
and Martina. We'll keep holding you up.
(source: Marlene Martin, Socialist Worker)
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