Jan. 14
DELAWARE:
Death penalty appropriate for 'horrible' crimes
It has been a hard 18 months for first responders in Delaware where 5 brave and
selfless public safety officers have been murdered in the line of duty: 3
firefighters on the Wilmington Fire Department, Lt. Christopher Leach, Senior
Firefighter Jerry Fickes and Senior Firefighter Ardythe Hope; one correctional
officer, Lt. Stephen R. Floyd Sr.; and one State Trooper, Cpl. Stephen J.
Ballard.
Some crimes are so horrible that only the possibility of facing a death penalty
has any chance of deterring a conscious, deliberate and planned murder. And so,
the voters should make known their support for H.B. 125 when it comes before
the Senate for a vote in January.
HB 125 has been carefully vetted by the Delaware Department of Justice to
correct any procedural questions under our present death penalty statute and to
meet all constitutional objections as to fairness and non-discrimination in its
application. It allows the death penalty only in "exceptional aggravating
circumstances" and only if 12 citizens on the jury agree as to its necessity
and the trial judge joins with them.
After dutiful consideration of all the evidence, shouldn't a jury of 12
Delaware citizens, taken from all walks of life, have the option of unanimously
determining that death is a more fitting penalty than life in prison for
certain unspeakable crimes?
1 such "exceptional aggravating circumstance" we all should care deeply about
is the murder of any law-enforcement officer, corrections employee,
firefighter, paramedic, emergency medical technician, fire marshal or fire
police officer while such victim was engaged in the performance of official
duties.
Another is whenever a murder was outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible or
inhuman in that it involved torture. Further, was the defendant previously
convicted of another murder or manslaughter or of a felony involving the use
of, or threat of, force or violence upon another person?
The February 2017 murder of correctional officer Steven Floyd by 16 convicted
felons, incarcerated in our Smyrna maximum security prison, crystallizes some
of these issues - 4 of his killers already are serving sentences of life in
prison. So how can another life sentence punish them for his brutal murder or
how can it deter them from murdering other public safety officers in the future
within our prison? Moreover, I know that he was brutally tortured for over 16
hours in ways which defy imagining.
And so, I urge that there are and can be "exceptional aggravating
circumstances" when a death penalty may be appropriate in the eyes of 12 of our
fellow Delaware citizens and an experienced Delaware judge.
Does your senator agree? Are he or she for or against the death penalty for the
murders I describe? How will they vote on H.B. 125?
Time is of the essence here. The 1st-degree murder trial for the person who
allegedly killed 3 firefighters is scheduled for March 2018, so justice delayed
will be justice denied for their families or their orphan children.
(source: Thomas Neuberger is a Wilmington attorney with the Neuberger Firm who
is running for Delaware attorney general----delawarestatenews.net)
SOUTH CAROLINA:
Should South Carolina return to using the electric chair? Lawmakers face a
controversial choice
South Carolina lawmakers have a decision to make: Is the electric chair an
appropriate method of execution, or is it antiquated and barbaric?
A bill discussed Tuesday by state Sen. William Timmons, R-Greenville, would
allow the state to electrocute death row inmates if lethal injection drugs
remain unavailable, even if the inmate chooses lethal injection.
But the chair remains controversial as an instrument of death.
Plagued by gruesome, botched executions since its inception in the late 1800s,
critics say it should be abandoned as cruel and unusual. Law enforcement
officials, in the meantime, say that as long as the death penalty remains on
the books in South Carolina, they need a way to carry out the sentence.
"Proponents of electrocution ... argued that it was quicker, safer and more
humane than hanging or the firing squad," said Robert Dunham, executive
director of the Death Penalty Information Center, a national nonprofit that
educates on issues related to capital punishment.
On Aug. 6, 1890, William Kemmler, a convicted murderer, became the first person
in the U.S. to be executed by the chair, according to Dunham and information on
the nonprofit's website.
It didn't go well.
The Death Penalty Information Center breaks down Kemmler's execution as
follows:
According to the Buffalo News, Kemmler - who was intellectually disabled -
asked correctional officers: "Don't let them experiment on me more than they
ought to."
After an initial 17-second administration of high-voltage electric current, a
doctor declared Kemmler dead. Then Kemmler let out a deep groan and witnesses
reportedly screamed "Turn on the current!"
Reports of the execution say that "After 2 minutes the execution chamber filled
with the smell of burning flesh. Two witnesses fainted. Several others were
overcome with severe attacks of nausea." Newspapers called the execution a
"historic bungle" and "disgusting, sickening and inhuman."
While the organization does not take a stance for or against the death penalty
itself, Dunham said he believes legislators have a duty to be honest about the
brutality of methods like the electric chair.
"We don't want people tortured to death," he said. "For the most part, history
has spoken on the electric chair. (States) are not capable of carrying out
executions on the electric chair without gruesome errors."
Of the 158 executions by electric chair since 1973, 10 were botched, according
to the nonprofit's website.
Law enforcement officials, including S.C. Department of Corrections Director
Bryan Stirling, say that while the death penalty remains on the books, there is
an obligation to carry out the sentence.
But a nationwide shortage of lethal injection drugs has effectively put a stop
to that method.
"If we do have a notice for death, we cannot carry it out," Stirling said.
"This is something we have to take very seriously."
S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson said he fully supports Timmons' bill.
"The death penalty has already been upheld as constitutional in South
Carolina," Wilson said. "This bill would just allow the state to carry out the
jury???s unanimous verdict."
Charleston County Sheriff Al Cannon said he believes it's perfectly reasonable
for the Legislature to consider a bill offering an alternative to lethal
injection, given the nationwide drug shortage, but he said lawmakers should be
receptive to any concerns brought by their constituents.
"The General Assembly is a representative government," Cannon said. "They
should be responsive to the public. I certainly believe that there is a place
for the death penalty. There are crimes that are so heinous that (it) is
appropriate."
Nicknamed "Old Sparky," South Carolina's electric chair was first used in 1912
to execute William Reed, a black man from Anderson County, according to a News
and Courier article published on Aug. 4, 1912.
Reed confessed to "attempted assault on a white woman," according to the
article, which touted the chair as quick, civilized and humane with its 1,950
volts of electricity, "sufficient to cause instant death."
The electric chair remained the only method of execution in South Carolina
until June 8, 1995, when lethal injection was introduced. After that point, an
inmate could choose between injection or the chair.
On June 20, 2008, James Earl Reed became the most recent inmate to be executed
by the electric chair in South Carolina. None have chosen the chair since.
For the time being, it appears lawmakers have some time to make their decision.
None of the 35 inmates on death row are currently scheduled for execution,
according to Jeffrey Taillon, a spokesman for the Department of Corrections.
A state Senate subcommittee is scheduled to discuss the bill on Wednesday, and
the full Corrections and Penology Committee will meet the following day,
depending on what the subcommittee decides.
For some, like attorney Diana Holt who was called in to file a last-minute
appeal before James Reed's execution, there's a simpler solution than debates
over execution methods.
"They should just get rid of it," Holt said. "The death penalty exponentially
inflates the cost of these proceedings and victims' families get dragged
through the (appeals) process. Juries aren't sentencing people to death
anymore."
(source: The Post and Courier)
FLORIDA:
Is the cost of Florida's death penalty too high?
The death penalty draws deeply on time, financial resources, surviving
families' emotions
13 years later, Bill Belanger is waiting for the ultimate punishment against 2
of the men who burst into a house and stabbed and bludgeoned his daughter,
Erin, and 5 other young people to death in the Deltona mass murder.
The 4 death sentences each against 2 of the killers, Troy Victorino and Jerone
Hunter, were struck down last year in the wake of the legal turmoil over
Florida's death penalty which sprung numerous convicts from death row.
"I've always felt that there are crimes so heinous, so depraved it just calls
for the person to be executed," Belanger said in a phone interview.
On the other hand, Felicita Nieves Perez, whose daughter and 2 grandchildren
were killed by Luis Toledo is fine with him spending the rest of his life in
prison. That's the penalty Circuit Judge Raul Zambrano will impose at
Toledo???s sentencing Friday after a jury could not unanimously agree to
recommend the death penalty.
"If you asked me, I'm better with life in prison with no parole at all," Nieves
Perez said. "This way, it's for sure he will not hurt anybody out there. The
whole process was very stressful, thinking that he could get away with it. It
could happen."
Critics of the death penalty say it is an arbitrary, costly and cruel
punishment. They argue the process is cruel not only for the person being
executed but for the murder victims??? families who wait for years as
cumbersome cases wind their way to trial and appeals and never actually see the
murderer executed.
Others say the death penalty is the law and should be applied when appropriate.
One of the critics is 7th Circuit Public Defender James Purdy, who said that
based on the number of people on death row it would take nearly 150 years to
execute them all, meaning many victims' families will never see the death
sentences carried out.
"What you have is a problem where they never have closure," Purdy said of
victims families. "If it were a life sentence where they knew that person was
going to die in prison, they could get on with their lives. And that's the real
cruel joke of the death penalty on the victims' families."
As of Jan. 12, 350 inmates were on Florida's death row, down from about 400
before the death-penalty was temporarily halted and sentences overturned.
Purdy applauds the Florida Supreme Court ruling requiring unanimity on jury
death recommendations.
"We have had people executed in Florida on a majority vote and to me that's
unconscionable," Purdy said. "The most severe sentence that you can give
someone didn't require a unanimous jury verdict like everything else in the
criminal justice system does."
Purdy also stressed that some innocent people have been executed across the
nation and that's a horrible mistake that cannot be undone.
Since 1973, 161 people on death row were exonerated, according to the Death
Penalty Information Center. Florida led the way with 27 exonerations since 1973
with Illinois coming in 2nd at 21. 31 states still have the death penalty,
according to the center.
Seventh Circuit State Attorney R.J. Larizza said the office works hard to make
sure it seeks the death penalty in appropriate cases and that no one that's
innocent is charged with a crime.
"Well, first all, we don't seek the death penalty for glory. We do it for
justice and the bottom line is you have to do the work up front. You have to do
your due diligence at the very beginning of these homicide cases," Larizza
said.
Politics and death
Larizza said public opinion or politics have nothing to do with the decision to
seek the death penalty.
"We don't do this," said Larizza (bringing his right index finger to his mouth
as if wetting it and then sticking it up in the air to test the wind
direction). Public opinion says we should seek it and so we do," Larizza said.
"We have to be blind. We have to put away the politics when we are doing our
job. We have to make decisions on the facts and the law."
One state attorney in Florida tried to do away with the death penalty in her
circuit, which covers the Orlando area: Aramis Ayala, who became Florida's 1st
ever African-American state attorney when she was elected in 2016. Ayala's
views on the death penalty did not come up during her campaign to defeat
incumbent Jeff Ashton. But soon after taking office, Ayala made those views
clear by announcing she would not seek the death penalty against anyone.
That set off a battle with Gov. Rick Scott who took potential death penalty
cases away from her and gave them to State Attorney Brad King. The issue was
decided by the Florida Supreme Court which sided with Scott and ruled that
Ayala's blanket refusal to impose the death penalty was a failure to exercise
discretion.
When asked whether she thought she could have still won election had she come
out against the death penalty, Ayala said she had no way of knowing.
"That's a hypothetical that I think is almost impossible, because at that point
there was never a discussion of it," she said.
The U.S. Supreme Court struck down the process Florida followed to impose the
death penalty because it gave too much power to judges and not enough to
juries. Later the Florida Supreme Court required that jury recommendations for
death be unanimous.
"My biggest concern with the death penalty was the arbitrary nature by which I
believed it was being sought," Ayala said in a phone interview. "I'm supposed
to administer justice in a proper way and for me to make a decision on who
lives and who dies there needed to be a very clear process."
She said most people convicted of murder don't get the death penalty.
"So how do you look at 1 person and say your family member wasn't killed in the
right way so they are not going to get a death sentence and 'Oh, you know what,
yours went through a little more torture so we are going to seek death. The way
that it's set up is unfair to set up this hierarchy," Ayala said.
The cost of death
The state is paying for Toledo's defense. The most recent available cost
figures are from Nov. 29 and were at $119,000. Of that, the largest expenses
were about $20,000 depositions and transcripts; $18,000 for investigative; and
$67,000 for doctors. The total costs for Toledo???s trial are still being
tallied.
The combined cost for the defense of the four people convicted in the 2004
Deltona mass murder was $1.9 million, according to the Justice Administrative
Commission.
Victorino and Hunter were given multiple death sentences in the mass killing.
But since none of the jury recommendations were unanimous they were overturned.
Another person convicted in the killings, Michael Salas, was sentenced to life
in the killings. And a fourth, Robert Cannon, 31, pleaded guilty to avoid a
possible death sentence and is serving life.
Killed in the massacre were Erin Belanger, 22; Michelle Nathan, 19; Roberto
???Tito??? Gonzalez, 28; Jonathan Gleason, 17; Francisco ???Flaco??? Ayo-Roman,
30; and Anthony Vega, 34.
Troy Victorino's defense costs the state $652,059; Jerone Hunter's $796,623;
Michael Salas' $229,235; and Robert Cannon, $232,371, according to the Justice
Administration Commission.
The tally for Victorino and Hunter will continue to grow as prosecutors seek to
send them back to death row.
Death-penalty cases draw on a lot more legal resources, said Mark Schlackman,
senior program director for the Florida State University Center for the
Advancement of Human Rights.
"It is substantially more expensive," he said.
Michael Nielsen, who is 1 of Toledo's 3 defense attorneys, said that
death-penalty murder cases are twice if not 3 times as expensive as those
without the death penalty.
Purdy said too much money is spent on the death penalty.
"We have a criminal justice system that's run on a Volkswagen budget but we
have a death penalty system that's run like a Cadillac," Purdy said.
Larizza said money is not a consideration when deciding whether a person
deserves the death penalty.
"I'm not going to say that to the family members of murder victims and say it's
too expensive. We will find a way to pay to seek death in cases where we think
that's the right thing to do and when we don't we won't and usually the
victims' family agree with us. That's what we strive for."
Belanger said that the death penalty does take too long to impose. But rather
than doing away with it, legislators should correct the process so that the
penalty is applied in a reasonable amount of time.
"Fix it. Fix it," he said, the 2nd time louder than the 1st.
Belanger agrees that the death penalty should not be about retribution.
"No, it shouldn't be. It shouldn't be about payback," said Belanger, adding
that it's not about deterrence either.
"People have said to me on the other side of the issue 'Well, you know, it's
not a deterrent.'" Well, it's not called a death deterrent. It's called a death
penalty. It's a penalty."
(source: The Daytona Beach News-Journal)
ALABAMA:
Arrest in shooting death of 89-year-old man
Mobile Police have made an arrest in the shooting death of 89-year-old John
Higby.
Police have arrested 28-year-old Gregory O'Neal Hackett for the crime. Hackett
has been charged with capital murder.
It appears a $5,000 reward in this case convinced someone or maybe more than 1
person, to come forward with information. MPD announced the reward on Monday.
Days later, police say, it paid off.
Pleading his innocence in handcuffs, Greg Hackett was pretty chatty on his way
to metro jail Friday afternoon. He's facing a capital murder charge, which
doesn't require a bond.
It's not the 1st time Hackett has walked in front of cameras. Police say he was
caught on surveillance video, cutting through an apartment complex, not far
from where 89-year-old John Higby was gunned down two days after Christmas.
It was a shocking murder, at a usually joyful time of year. An innocent grocery
run turned deadly when police say Hackett shot and killed Higby during an
apparent robbery in the Dauphin Square Shopping Center parking lot, in broad
daylight. For a couple of weeks, Hackett was on the run, and the community was
on edge. That changed on Friday.
"It is truly a relief for us as a department to be able to bring justice to the
family to be able to bring closure to a family that had to suffer such a loss
in particular at the time of year it occurred."
A clear sigh of relief from Mobile Police Chief Lawrence Battiste and homicide
detectives, who are starting the new year with a big arrest, thanks to the
surveillance video and the community's help.
"[With] some of the video footage, we were able to get some people came forward
and again the community stepped forward to help us at that point," said
Battiste.
Police say because of that help, an alleged murderer is now off the streets. If
convicted, Hackett could face the death penalty. He'll likely have a bond
hearing on Monday, but once again, there is no constitutional right to bond for
capital charges, so he will most likely stay in jail for quite some time.
(source: WALA news)
LOUISIANA:
15 local murder cases set for trial this year
15 murder cases are set for trial this year in Terrebonne and Lafourche
parishes
All dates are subject to change.
In Louisiana, 1st- and 2nd-degree murder convictions carry mandatory life
sentences without the possibility of parole. For 1st-degree murder, prosecutors
may also seek the death penalty.
A principal, or accomplice, can face the same penalty even if he or she doesn't
commit the actual murder.
This list does not include manslaughter, vehicular homicide or negligent
homicide cases. It also doesn't include anyone charged with murder who is not
yet set for trial.
LAFOURCHE
Jerrard Major Sr., of Raceland, is set for trial May 8 in Judge Walter Lanier's
courtroom. He is charged with 2 counts of 2nd-degree murder in the shootings of
41-year-old Nikki Landry, of Larose, and 54-year-old Harry Lefort, of Cut Off.
Their bodies were found Sept. 22, 2013, in Landry's apartment on West Fourth
Street.
TERREBONNE
Zamante Alvis, of Houma, is set for trial Tuesday in Judge Juan Pickett's
courtroom. He is charged with 2nd-degree murder in the July 10, 2016, shooting
of 17-year-old Roderick Davis Jr. in Scott Lane Park. The Houma resident's body
was found the next day.
Michael Diggs, of Houma, is set for trial Tuesday in Pickett's courtroom. He is
charged with 2 counts of 1st-degree murder in the June 29, 2016, shootings of
23-year-old John Darjean and 29-year-old Troy Deroche, both of Houma. Darjean's
body was found outside an apartment building on Thomas Drive, and Deroche's was
found in a car on East Street.
Travelyn Gims, of Houma; Jerod Mosely, of Houma; and Landry Watkins Jr., of
Bourg, are set for trial Tuesday in Pickett's courtroom. They are charged with
2nd-degree murder in the April 19 death of 25-year-old Da'Ronte Howard, of
Ashland. Howard was shot outside of a home on Larry Street.
Raashon Rainey, of Gray, and Malcolm Vanburen, of Schriever, are set for trial
Tuesday in Pickett's courtroom. They are charged with 2nd-degree murder in the
shooting of 49-year-old Steven Portier, of Gray. Portier's body was found Dec.
23, 2014, inside his home on Gaidry Street.
Walter Rosario-Colon, of Houma, is set for trial Tuesday in Pickett's
courtroom. He is charged with 2nd-degree murder in the death of 23-year-old
Antonio Aguado, of Houma. Aguado was hit in the head with a pool stick at a bar
on Grinage Street and died Sept. 19, 2016.
Miranda Gilley, of Houma, is set for trial Jan. 22 in Judge George Larke Jr.'s
courtroom. She is charged with 2nd-degree murder in the July 11 stabbing of
24-year-old Jessica McGehee, of Houma, at the Belmere Luxury Apartments.
Joshua Calloway, of Houma, is set for trial Feb. 20 in Judge Randy
Bethancourt's courtroom. He is charged with 2nd-degree murder in the shooting
of 56-year-old Kerry Randolph, of Houma. Randolph's body was found July 10,
2016, in a pickup truck outside a bar on Howard Avenue.
Treyvance Fanguy, of Houma, is set for trial Feb. 20 in Bethancourt's
courtroom. He is charged with 2nd-degree murder in the Aug. 8, 2013, shooting
of 20-year-old Vincent Naquin at Naquin's home on Louise Street in Houma.
Jalen Francis, of Chauvin, is set for trial Feb. 20 in Bethancourt's courtoom.
He is charged with 1st-degree murder in the Dec. 18, 2013, shooting of
25-year-old Elizabeth Davis, of Chauvin, in the Smithridge community.
Deandre Pharagood, of Thibodaux, is set for trial Feb. 20 in Bethancourt's
courtroom. He is charged with 1st-degree murder in the shooting of 87-year-old
Anthony Lirette. The victim's body was found Oct. 14, 2016, outside his home on
Bayou Black Drive.
Donovan Wright, of Thibodaux, is set for trial Feb. 20 in Bethancourt's
courtroom. He is charged as a principal to the 2nd-degree murder of 24-year-old
Alvin George III, of Houma. George was found shot and killed Oct. 7, 2016, in a
vehicle near Gray and West Main streets in Gray.
Jordan Cooks, of Lake Charles, is set for trial Feb. 26 in Judge David
Arceneaux's courtroom. He is charged with 1st-degree murder in the Dec. 31,
2016, shooting of 24-year-old Dondre Turner, of Houma. Turner was shot outside
a convenience store along West Park Avenue in Schriever.
Maurice Banks, Anthony Sylvester and Elward Williams, all of Houma, are set for
trial March 19 in Judge Johnny Walker's courtroom. Sylvester and Williams are
charged with 2nd-degree murder, and Banks is charged as a principal. They are
accused in the Oct. 28, 2015, shooting of 18-year-old Corey Butler, of Houma,
on Morgan Street.
Kyle Cedotal, of Houma, is set for trial March 19 in Walker's courtroom. He is
charged with 2nd-degree murder in the shooting of 24-year-old Robert Swan, of
Houma. Swan???s body was found Oct. 7, 2015, in a car on Bayou Black Drive in
Gibson.
(source: houmatoday.com)
MISSOURI:
Men exonerated from death row hope for change
2 men who spent years on death row for crimes they did not commit hope to sway
change when it comes to the death penalty in Missouri.
When a fellow inmate was killed at Moberly Correctional Center in 1983, Reggie
Griffin was charged with his crime.
Griffin, who at the time was serving time for assault, was sentenced to death.
"They had the wrong man," said Griffin.
Griffin has been exonerated, but it took years to get his freedom.
This man's story is not unique, Joseph Amrine was also wrongfully convicted of
a crime and put on death row.
Saturday, the 2 free men shared their stories with Missourians for Alternatives
to the Death Penalty at a meeting at a Kansas City church.
Amrine spent 17 years on death row, Griffin, 23 years.
Both were constantly reminded that their days were numbered.
"They tell you that if your appeals run its course we're going to kill you,"
said Griffin.
In 2011, Griffin's sentence was overturned. The judge ruling that prosecutors
withheld critical evidence that proved he wasn???t involved in the crime.
"Even though I'm home, I still feel like I lost," said Griffin.
Amrine, who was released from Jail in 2003, says that he was sent out into a
world he no longer recognized.
"When I came out they had cell phones, microwaves... there was just a lot of
stuff they had when I came out. They didn't even have microwaves when I got
locked up," said Amrine.
The 2 men sharing their stories in the hopes of encouraging change in Missouri.
"Who are they to say who lives and who dies? They're not God," said Griffin.
"If you find out after you kill somebody that they're actually innocent, what
are they going to pump life back into them?"
As of 2017, 158 men have been exonerated in the United States.
Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty report Missouri had 1
execution in 2017 and 1 new death sentence. The state has scheduled 1 execution
for 2018.
(source: KSHB news)
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