Sept. 16
CONNECTICUT:
Death penalty phase begins in Conn. triple murde
Despite an uncertain fate for Connecticut's repeal of capital punishment, the
state is moving ahead with the penalty phase of a trial involving a man
convicted of killing 2 adults and a 9-year-old girl on a Bridgeport street in
2006.
Jury selection in the penalty phase of Richard Roszkowski's trial began Monday
in state Superior Court in Bridgeport. A 12-member panel will hear evidence and
decide whether the 48-year-old former Trumbull resident should get lethal
injection or life in prison without the possibility of release.
Roszkowski's lawyers had objected to a new penalty phase, noting the state
Supreme Court is still deciding whether the state's repeal of the death penalty
last year is constitutional.
The state got rid of the death penalty but only for murders committed after
April 24, 2012. Defense lawyers say eliminating capital punishment for some
people and keeping it for others is unconstitutional. The Supreme Court is
mulling the issue in the case of death row inmate Eduardo Santiago.
(source: Associated Press)
OHIO:
Report finds falsified log of prison checks on Ohio death row inmate who killed
himself
1 and possibly 2 prison guards apparently falsified an electronic log
documenting checks on a death row inmate who committed suicide just days before
his execution was to go forward, according to an Ohio prison report released
Monday.
Video evidence shows prison rounds started later than indicated by the log and
came in 1-hour increments instead of every half hour as ordered for that unit,
the report says.
The report also says all 6 officers on death row units that night were relief
officers without training specific to death row, and one of the two officers
was still on probationary status.
The 9-page review does not say whether the guards, if they had followed the
rules, could have prevented the Aug. 4 death row suicide of condemned killer
Billy Slagle. Slagle was just minutes away from being placed on close
observation that is mandatory in the 72 hours before an execution.
His Aug. 7 execution appeared on track despite the plea for mercy from the
prosecutor in Cuyahoga County, home to Cleveland, who argued that Slagle should
never have received a death sentence.
Prosecutor Tim McGinty cited Slagle's age - he was just 18 when he fatally
stabbed his neighbor Mari Anne Pope - and a long history of drug and alcohol
addiction. McGinty said under his office's current policy he would not have
pursued a death penalty charge.
The report comes at a time of heightened awareness of prison suicides in Ohio.
An inmate at Lebanon Correctional Facility in southwest Ohio committed suicide
last week, just days after convicted Cleveland kidnapper and rapist Ariel
Castro hanged himself in his cell with a bedsheet on Sept. 3.
Slagle, 44, also died not knowing that his attorneys planned a last-minute
appeal, based on evidence provided by McGinty that Slagle had been offered a
plea deal before his 1988 trial but his original attorneys never informed him.
The two corrections officers named in the review have been placed on paid
administrative leave as the prisons agency investigates. Someone "did falsify
the electronic log book for rounds," the report said.
Messages were left with the union representing prison guards about the
allegations. Slagle's attorneys said they weren't aware of the report until
provided a copy by The Associated Press. They did not immediately comment on
its contents.
The report also singles out lighting in death row cells, saying the cells are
too dark and inmates continue to block windows with paper and other material.
Based on recommendations in the report, the prisons agency will begin relying
on mental health experts to determine if the pre-execution 72-hour watch period
should be lengthened for individual inmates.
********************
Mom charged in slayings of her 2 kids
Southern California authorities have charged a woman with killing her 2
children, who were supposed to have been returned to their father in Georgia
during the weekend.
Orange County prosecutors say 42-year-old Marilyn Edge was charged Monday with
two counts of murder with special circumstances. She is eligible for the death
penalty if convicted.
Edge is accused of murdering her 9-year-old daughter Faith and 13-year-old son
Jaelen on Saturday. Their bodies were found in a Santa Ana hotel room.
The cause of death has not been released.
An attorney representing Edge's ex-husband says the suspect lost custody of her
children last week and was expected to return them to Georgia on Sunday.
(source for both: Associated Press)
INDIANA:
Isom death-penalty trial defense costs nearly $700K
The Indiana Public Defender Commission has reported total defense costs in the
Kevin Isom death penalty case at nearly $700,000 as of Monday with half that
amount returned to Lake County.
The state office reimburses defense costs in death penalty trials at the rate
of 50 % versus a rate of 40 % for noncapital cases.
Isom, 47, was convicted and sentenced to death in February for the 2007
slayings of his wife and two stepchildren at the family's Miller Beach home.
Costs in the 5-week trial far surpassed those of the county's last death
penalty case, that of Darryl Jeter, found guilty in 2006 in the shooting of
Indiana State Trooper Scott Patrick in 2003.
Final defense costs for Jeter, who ultimately was sentenced to life without
parole, were reported as $411,907 with the county reimbursed $205,954.
In contrast to Jeter's trial, the Isom trial was hampered by numerous delays, a
longer trial and 2 rounds of jury selection.
As of Monday, the state office reported total defense costs in the Isom trial
at $693,188 with the county reimbursed a total of $346,594.
Nonattorney costs totaled $299,711 for experts, investigators, mitigation
specialists, videographer, transcripts, travel, telephone and copying. Of that
total, the county recouped $149,855.
The latest figures do not include the cost of Isom's appeal.
In addition to defense costs, county officials have reported the cost of jury
payroll, lodging and food at some $200,000.
Fearing capital costs might top $500,000, the Lake County Council approved
additional funds, capping costs at $750,000.
(source: NW Indiana Times)
ALABAMA:
Anniston man found guilty of capital murder in police officer's death
After 3 hours of deliberation Monday afternoon, a Lee County jury found Joshua
Russell, 26, of Anniston guilty of capital murder in the 2011 killing of
Anniston police officer Justin Sollohub.
During the trial, which began Sept. 9, jurors had the option of finding Russell
guilty of capital murder, guilty of manslaughter or not guilty. On Tuesday, the
jury will decide whether to recommend Russell a sentence of life in prison
without the possibility of parole or the death penalty.
(source: Opelika-Auburn News)
COLORADO:
Sanity evaluation of Colorado theatre shooting suspect due from state mental
hospital
Both sides in the Colorado theatre shootings soon will get their first look at
a long-awaited opinion from a state psychiatrist on whether James Holmes was
insane when he killed 12 people and injured 70.
The report, due Sept. 16, won't be the final word on Holmes' mental state.
That's up to the jury in next year's trial.
But it will be a critical piece of evidence as jurors consider whether Holmes
should be committed indefinitely to the state hospital, or whether he should be
sentenced to life in prison or execution.
Holmes faces murder and attempted murder charges, and prosecutors are seeking
the death penalty.
His lawyers acknowledge he was the gunman but say he was having a psychotic
episode. Holmes has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
(source: Associated Press)
CALIFORNIA:
Marin Prosecutor: Serial Killer Deserves to Die
Convicted serial killer Joseph Naso deserves to die for the murders of 4
prostitutes and likely the murders of 2 other women, a Marin County prosecutor
said Monday morning.
During her one-hour closing argument in Marin County Superior Court in San
Rafael, Deputy District Attorney Dori Ahana told the jury that philosophical
arguments about the morality of the death penalty are not the subject of their
deliberations.
"What punishment does the defendant deserve for killing 6 women? The answer is
the death penalty," Ahana said.
Naso, 79, of Reno, Nev., was convicted Aug. 20 of strangling Roxene Roggasch,
Tracy Tafoya, Pamela Parsons and Carmen Colon. Their bodies were found off of
rural roads in Contra Costa, Marin and Yuba counties between 1977 and 1994.
The death penalty applies to the slayings of all but Roggasch, because it was
not in effect when her body was found in Marin County in 1977.
The prosecution presented evidence during the penalty phase of the trial that
Naso also killed Bob Dylan groupie Sara Dylan. Her skull was found in Nevada
County in 1992, and Sharieea Patton's body was found on the shore of San
Francisco Bay in Tiburon in 1981.
Their deaths can be considered aggravating evidence to support the jury's
recommendation of the death penalty.
Ahana and Deputy District Attorney Rosemary Slote have argued the slayings were
done by a sexually sadistic killer who took pleasure in the victims' suffering
and deaths and was only concerned with his sexual self-gratification.
The cause of the deaths was strangulation by nylons or pantyhose, Ahana said.
"Nylons are sexually arousing," Ahana said. And she said they allowed Naso to
control how long the victims suffered and when they died.
"He can play God," Ahana said.
Sighting testimony that it takes 2 to 5 minutes for someone to die of
strangulation, Ahana started a 2-minute timer during which the courtroom was
silent.
The prosecution also introduced Naso's "rape diary" that chronicles his alleged
sexual assaults over several decades.
"He did not kill every woman he came across. He chose his victims," Ahana said.
Like other sexually sadistic killers, Naso hid his true self from his family
and friends, she said.
"He has always survived on his ability to charm and manipulate. But in his
heart of hearts, he is a cold-blooded, ruthless killer," Ahana said.
She said the only ones deserving of sympathy are the victims and their
families.
Naso was expected to give his closing argument Monday afternoon.
(source: San Rafael Patch)
*****************
Marin jury hears closing arguments before deciding on Naso death penalty
Joseph Naso should get the death penalty for a "lifetime of devastation, a
lifetime of violence" that robbed at least six women of their lives and
traumatized many others, a Marin County prosecutor argued Monday.
Naso, 79, has no remorse, no feelings for the victims, and even now denies
responsibility for his crimes, said Deputy District Attorney Dori Ahana.
"He enjoyed their suffering, he enjoyed their pain - tying them up and dumping
their bodies, like garbage," Ahana said.
The prosecution concluded its part of the death penalty phase Monday morning
with a stream of grisly crime scene photos and a reminder of the children left
motherless by the crimes.
As the jury and audience sat in silence, Ahana let a 2-minute timer run down to
0:00 - a demonstration of the time Naso's victims spent struggling for air, in
mortal terror, as the last seconds elapsed on their lives.
Naso is scheduled to deliver his closing argument Monday afternoon.
Naso was convicted last month of killing and dumping 4 women in the 1970s and
1990s, including Roxene Roggasch, 18, whose body was found west of Fairfax in
1977. The others were found in Contra Costa and Yuba counties.
Prosecutors also presented evidence, but did not file charges, alleging that
Naso killed two other women and raped or assaulted many others. The other
alleged murder victims were Sharileea Patton, whose body washed up in Tiburon
in 1981, and Sara Dylan, a nomadic Bob Dylan groupie who was killed in 1992 in
or near Nevada County.
If the jury is not unanimous on the death penalty, the default verdict will be
life without the possibility of parole. Prosecutors would have the option of
retrying the death penalty phase.
(source: Marin Independent Journal)
****************
DA's office undecided on death penalty for Salinas men accused in 6-year-old's
slaying
Edmundo Pulido and Bernardo Camacho are a study in contrasts - 1 is tall where
the other is short, 1 is thin where the other is stout, one sports a pony tail
and the other a circular patch of hair on an otherwise bald head.
But the 2 Salinas men have 1 thing in common: Both could see the death penalty
for their alleged involvement in the 2010 death of 6-year-old Azahel Cruz,
felled in his kitchen by a stray bullet in what prosecutors say was a
retaliatory gang shooting.
After 2 days of evidence during the preliminary hearing for the 2 Salinas men,
Monterey County Superior Court Judge Pamela Butler ruled there is sufficient
evidence to hold both over for trial in Azahel's death. With the inclusion of
several special conditions for both men, the case is death penalty eligible,
said prosecutor David Rabow.
However, that determination has yet to be made, he said. If the death penalty
is ultimately off the table, both could face a potential sentence of life in
prison without parole if convicted.
Monday marked the 2nd day of testimony in the hearing. On Friday, prosecutors
brought an unnamed confidential informant to the stand who testified he'd heard
a confession from Camacho, 21, the day after the March 23, 2010, shooting. A
Monterey County District Attorney's investigator later testified a 2nd
informant wore a wire while jailed with Pulido, 21, and elicited information
that Pulido drove the car in the drive-by shooting.
On Monday, defense attorneys Romano Clark and Miguel Hernandez - representing,
respectively, Camacho and Pulido - called that testimony into question,
pointing out the 1st informant lied to police as recently as several weeks ago
in an unrelated case and the 2nd was motivated by murder charges of his own to
illegally extract a confession from Pulido.
Butler largely disagreed, noting "it defies logic" that the 1st confidential
informant would put himself at odds with the gang by giving police Camacho's
confession during a February 2012 traffic stop in which he faced no charges.
Although the man waited a year - and earned several charges himself making him
eligible for prison - before he agreed to testify, Butler said she doesn't
believe the man is so conniving as to hold onto the confession to save his own
skin at an unknown later date.
She found probable cause exists to hold both Camcho and Pulido for trial on
1st-degree murder with gang enhancements and special circumstances for the
drive-by nature and for committing the crime in furtherance of a criminal
street gang. Both also face charges for the use of a firearm in the crime and
for active participation in a street gang.
On Friday, when Pulido waived his right to a preliminary hearing for a December
2010 Castroville murder he's accused of, he opened himself up to the
possibility of a special multiple murders circumstance. On Monday that decision
came full circle when Butler found it possible he could be held to answer on
both murders.
Earlier in the day Friday, Rabow played several excerpts of audio gathered via
one of the confidential informant's wires. Although mostly unintelligible,
Salinas police Detective Thomas Larkin on the stand told the court the 2 were
speaking about the Azahel Cruz killing. But Hernandez later objected to the
legality of the tapes and pointed out that the confidential informant was doing
most of the talking in the recording.
Salinas police Officer Masahiro Yoneda, of the violence suppression unit, later
defined Camacho as an active Norteno and Pulido as a dropped-out Norteno, both
specifically of the Salinas Acosta Plaza sect. He explained his findings were
based on police reports, descriptions of the 2 men and the people with whom
they associated.
Clark and Hernandez later took issue with the last criterion, noting in none of
the associations listed were their clients arrested. Hernandez noted Pulido was
not spotted wearing gang indicia and never asked to register as a gang member.
Both are scheduled for arraignment at 8:30 a.m. Oct. 2 in Courtroom 3.
(source: The Californian)
USA:
Death penalty defendant in Henning Post Office killings due in court Tuesday
Chastain Montgomery is due in court Tuesday for a pretrial hearing in the
Henning Post Office murders, as prosecutors continue their attempts to secure a
federal death sentence - something that has happened just once in Tennessee
during the past 25 years.
Former U.S. Atty. David Kustoff, now in private practice, said the case - in
which 2 federal postal employees were gunned down at work in the post office in
Lauderdale County - merits the death penalty, but said a death sentence is far
from a foregone conclusion.
"It's just a more stringent process to pursue the death penalty at the federal
level," he said.
Prosecutors say Montgomery and his 18-year-old son, later killed in a shootout
with police, teamed to rob the post office. In a confession defense attorneys
want to suppress, the father told investigators he "lost it" upon realizing the
robbery was going to net him $63 - not the $25,000 he anticipated.
Chastain Montgomery - a former corrections and youth services officer - is
accused of firing 1st, shooting postal clerk Paula Robinson, 33, five times, as
his son shot letter carrier Judy Spray, 59, four times on Oct. 18, 2010.
The only Tennessee defendant awaiting federal execution is Rejon Taylor,
sentenced in Chattanooga in 2008 for the carjacking, kidnapping and murder of
an Atlanta businessman, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, a
national nonprofit based in Washington, D.C.
Taylor was 1 of 70 defendants sentenced to die in the federal system since the
reinstatement of the federal death penalty in 1988. 3 have already been
executed, including 2 murderers from Texas in 2001 and 2003 and Oklahoma City
bomber Timothy McVeigh in 2001.
The only known federal execution in Tennessee dates back to 1927, according to
the federal Bureau of Prisons' website. Clyde Arwood, who murdered a federal
agent during a moonshine raid in Lauderdale County, died by electrocution Aug.
14, 1943, at the Tennessee State Penitentiary in Nashville.
Unlike state cases, federal prosecutors have several additional hurdles before
they can seek the death penalty.
First, prosecutors and defense attorneys must go to Washington to argue to a
panel of U.S. Department of Justice attorneys whether a case merits the death
penalty. The panel makes a recommendation to the U.S. Attorney General.
If the Attorney General sides with prosecutors, the case heads to a U.S.
District Court judge.
In the Henning Post Office case, Montgomery's attorneys, Anne Tipton and
Michael Scholl, are asking U.S. Dist. Court Judge Jon McCalla to block a death
penalty trial, arguing in motions that their client's IQ is 61, below the
threshold of 70, a common benchmark to determine mental deficiency. In a
landmark Virginia case in 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court declared the execution
of inmates with "mental retardation" unconstitutional.
Attorneys for both sides plan to discuss the issue during a brief hearing in
Memphis federal court Tuesday. A full hearing is set to start Sept. 30 and
could last 2 to 3 weeks.
If McCalla rules that Montgomery is not mentally disabled, prosecutors then
must convince a jury to convict Montgomery and vote for death.
(source: Memphis Commercial Appeal)
**********************
Disruptive 9/11 suspect ejected from Guantanamo courtroom
An accused September 11 conspirator was hustled out of the Guantanamo war
crimes courtroom on Monday when he refused to stop shouting during a chaotic
hearing that was cut short because one of the lawyers was ill.
"I have the right to talk!" Yemeni defendant Ramzi Binalshibh yelled in
English.
After he ignored repeated warnings to be quiet, the judge ejected Binalshibh
for disruptive conduct and guards in camouflage uniforms escorted him out of
the courtroom at the Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base in Cuba.
The judge, Army Colonel James Pohl, was questioning the 5 defendants about
whether they understood their right to be present in court in order to assist
in their defense.
Binalshibh and the alleged mastermind of the hijacked planes plot, Khalid
Sheikh Mohammed, responded with complaints about restrictions imposed during
their meetings with lawyers.
The judge said he would deal with that issue later. Mohammed eventually
relented but Binalshibh persisted, complaining loudly of sleep deprivation,
among other things.
"You cannot make me stop talking," he yelled at the judge.
"Remove him now," the judge ordered after several warnings. The exchange
continued as 3 guards led Binalshibh away out of microphone range but the judge
appeared to have the last word: "Yes I can."
Court was recessed about 20 minutes after it started so ailing defense lawyer
Cheryl Bormann could go to the hospital emergency room.
Bormann, who represents Yemeni defendant Walid bin Attash, was hoarse and
barely able to speak. Her doctor ordered bed rest and court was adjourned until
9 a.m. EDT on Wednesday.
The judge was expected to decide this week whether to halt pretrial hearings in
the slow-moving case until early next year to allow time to fix ongoing
problems with the Pentagon computer system.
At a hearing in August, defense lawyers said their emails and work files were
vanishing and that prosecutors and defense lawyers had temporarily been given
access to each other's files.
Pentagon technicians were scheduled to testify this week about the extent of
the problems and how much time and money it would take to fix.
Technical advisers have said it would take at least 3 months once a contract
was signed and money allocated.
The 5 defendants are alleged al Qaeda conspirators who could be executed if
convicted of charges that include mass murder, terrorism and hijacking.
The defendants were captured in 2002 and 2003 and were first charged at
Guantanamo in 2008. The tribunals and the charges were revised by the Obama
administration and the defendants were arraigned on the current version in May
2012.
A week after the United States observed the 12th anniversary of the hijacked
plane attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people, the chief prosecutor, Army
Brigadier General Mark Martins, said he sympathized with those who have grown
frustrated that the trial still had not started.
He said the case was complex and the court was methodically working its way
through the litigation.
"I want this thing to move. Justice delayed at some point really is justice
denied," Martins told journalists at the Guantanamo base on Sunday.
"I feel the impatience of those who want it to move faster. That said, we don't
want to rush to failure and we want to do justice, not set some sort of
standard that's based purely on speed."
(source: Reuters)
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