Jan. 29
JANUARY 29, 2018:
SOUTH CAROLINA:
Support For Firing Squads Is Growing
South Carolina is 1 of 32 states which (like the federal government) allows for
capital punishment in response to certain offenses - however it no longer carry
out death sentences.
In fact it hasn't for years ...
There's a death row in the Palmetto State - it was recently relocated as a
matter of fact - but executions have been effectively discontinued. None have
taken place since 2011, and several condemned inmates who were scheduled to
meet their maker in recent years have seen their sentences commuted to life in
prison.
What gives?
Like many other state prison systems, the S.C. Department of Corrections (SCDC)
has been unable to purchase 1 of the drugs needed to perform lethal injections.
No American companies manufacture the substance, and the European companies
that produce it refuse to sell it in America. Why? Because they oppose capital
punishment.
One prominent Palmetto State prosecutor has had enough of the impasse ...
"I think we should bring back the firing squad," S.C. first circuit solicitor
David Pascoe told The (Charleston, S.C.) Post and Courier this week.
According to the solicitor, shooting condemned inmates would be more humane
than electrocuting them - which is the only other method of capital punishment
currently allowed by the state (condemned inmates currently have the right to
"elect" electrocution, but if they decline to make a choice lethal injection is
the only allowable method).
We agree wholeheartedly - although our long-standing support for firing squads
has nothing to do with the method's "humanity" - and everything to do with
ushering in a new era of capital punishment in the United States.
"Capital punishment has become an absolute joke in the United States," we wrote
3 years ago.
Actually, it's always been a joke ...
From 1976 through 2016, only 1,442 inmates were put to death in the United
States - the vast majority of them by lethal injection. That averages out to
only around 37 executions per year. By contrast, 17,250 people were murdered in
the United States in 2016, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI).
In other words it's pointless having a debate over whether capital punishment
is a deterrent to aggravated murder because it simply isn't carried out with
anything resembling sufficient frequency.
Pascoe has gained statewide notoriety for his leadership of #ProbeGate, an
ongoing investigation into corruption in state government. The Democratic
prosecutor has won high marks for his handling of the case up to this point -
although he has staked the entire investigation (and his own political future)
on a high-stakes plea deal involving 2 of the top targets of the probe.
If that deal unravels - and there are rumors it is unraveling - then all bets
are off.
In the meantime, though, Pascoe's position on the issue is already prompting
legislative action.
State representative Joshua Putnam - a candidate for secretary of state this
spring - introduced a bill several years ago to bring back firing squads.
Unfortunately, the measure didn't receive the support of his colleagues.
Undeterred, Putnam said he will refile the bill this session - citing Pascoe's
comments as the impetus.
Good ... we support Putnam in his efforts. And we would encourage his
colleagues in the S.C. General Assembly to get on board with his bill this
time. Furthermore, we would encourage all officeholders and candidates for
state and legislative elections to make their views known on this subject.
As we've previously noted, this isn't just about providing a deterrent to
violent crime on our streets - it's a key component of stemming out-of-control
violence within our state's prison system. And saving taxpayers' money in the
process.
As we wrote last November in an expansive piece detailing our solutions for the
epidemic of prison violence, bringing back the death penalty is a key component
of our definition of "sentencing reform."
"Some may disagree with us, but we don't believe convicted murderers should get
'3 hots and a cot' for life courtesy of state taxpayers," wrote at the time.
"That's especially true in regards to individuals who continue to kill people
behind bars."
"If you murder someone with malice aforethought and there is incontrovertible
evidence of your guilt, we believe you should be put to death " we wrote.
"Period."
Unfortunately, that's not happening now ... nor has it ever really been the law
of the land.
South Carolina's leaders have become soft on crime - lulled into the
politically correct embrace of America's liberal zeitgeist - and the results
speak for themselves.
It's time for them to toughen up ...
(source: fitsnews.com)
FLORIDA:
The ultimate oxymoron -- living on death row
No matter where you stand on the issue of the death penalty, many Americans
would agree that the process is deeply flawed.
By the time someone actually faces execution in Florida, they have often been
living on death row - an oxymoron if there was one - for at least 10 years and
frequently much longer.
Eric Scott Branch was convicted more than 20 years ago for the murder of a
University of West Florida student. Word came down last week that the Feb. 22
execution will proceed as planned. In other words, Branch will have outlived
his victim by nearly 25 years. During those years, he, or she, has been a guest
of the Florida Department of Corrections, with state-funded food, housing and
medical care.
No one wants an innocent person put to death and it's in everyone's best
interest to have an effective appeals process in place. But if death by
execution seems inhumane to some, so too might living for 25 years with a death
sentence hanging over your head. And the slow appeals process may not be as
foolproof as we'd like it to be. The group Floridians for Alternatives to the
Death Penalty keeps a record of death row inmates exonerated over the years.
Their tally presently stands at 27, dating back to 1973.
Ours is an imperfect system at best, one that likely at least occasionally
kills an innocent man and also allows guilty individuals to effectively
sidestep their sentences.
(source: Editorial, Northwest Florida Daily News)
TENNESSEE:
Death penalty, pre-trial publicity on the table during pre-qualification jury
selection in Eric Azotea double murder case
About 250 Carter County residents are expected to show up this morning in for
pre-trial jury certification on 2 issues relating to a double homicide 2 years
ago.
Those 2 issues are whether the potential juror can elect to impose the death
penalty and to determine what pre-trial publicity they've heard and how it has
affected their ability to sit as a fair and impartial juror. Each person will
be interviewed individually so as to not taint the rest of the potential
jurors. Logistics of the procedure will be tight as the actual voire dire will
take place in the Carter County Criminal Court jury room in Elizabethton while
the other potential jurors are seated in the courtroom.
Who's Involved
Eric Azotea, 46, of Johnson City, faces 2 counts of 1st-degree murder,
tampering with evidence and 2 counts of abuse of a corpse.
The victims were Amber Terrell, 22, and Arthur Gibson, Jr., 36. They were last
seen around Jan. 7 or Jan 8, 2015, by relatives in Kingsport. Their bodies were
found April 22 in the crawl space of Azotea's Woodland Drive residence in the
Pinecrest community of Carter County off the Milligan Highway near Johnson
City.
Prosecutors in the case are District Attorney General Tony Clark and Assistant
District Attorney General Dennis Brooks.
Investigators are Carter County Chief Deputy of Investigations Mike Little and
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Brian Fraley.
The defense team includes Gene Scott, Lesley Tiller and Dan Smith.
Criminal Court Judge Stacy Street will preside over the trial. What's At Stake
Death penalty. Prosecutors filed a notice in August 2015 to seek the death
penalty if Azotea is convicted. To seek the death penalty in Tennessee,
prosecutors must show one of a number of factors apply to the case. In Azotea's
case, the state relied on 2 factors when it filed the notice. One was that
Azotea was previously convicted of one or more felonies - other than the
present charge - whose statutory elements involve the use of violence to the
person. The second was that Azotea knowingly mutilated the body of the victims
after death. According to a 2004 Tennessee Comptroller's report, overall,
1st-degree murder cases in which the prosecution has filed a notice to seek the
death penalty cost more than life without parole and life with the possibility
of parole cases. Death penalty cases cost more because they are more complex,
more agencies and people are involved in the adjudication of the cases, both
the prosecution and defense spend more time in preparation and the appellate
process has more steps.
Pretrial publicity. As with most murder cases, Terrell and Gibson's deaths
received a lot of media attention. For one thing, the 2 were missing for 3
months before their bodies were found in a crawl space under Azotea's house.
Second, the homicides were particularly gruesome in that the victim's bodies
were partially burned after their deaths, and it all happened in a relatively
quiet Pinecrest neighborhood where homes are just a stone's throw away. With
the prosecution's decision to seek the death penalty, there was even more
public scrutiny in media coverage. Potential jurors have already filled out
questionaires that address their beliefs regarding the death penalty, so the
questioning to qualify them could move quickly.
Pre-trial Issues
Azotea's defense attorneys filed more than 4 dozen motions over the last 2
years, some regarding issues that could become part of the trial. A defense
motion seeks to suppress Azotea's video recorded statement to investigators,
which will be used in the case, but the defense is also likely to drill into
how officers obtained that statement and what pressure they used on Azotea.
Part of Azotea's agreement to make a statement hinged on an immunity deal for
his girlfriend, Kristen Jones. Early information in the investigation indicated
Jones may have been involved in the killings, but Azotea told investigators he
sent her to the store during the time he attempted to burn the victim's bodies.
The defense will also likely hammer investigators about how they pinpointed
Azotea's residence as a potential crime scene based on cellphone records from
Terrell's phone.
In a motion hearing last month, an expert on cellphone technology shredded the
process investigators used to obtain a search warrant for Azotea's residence.
Street went as far as to call the process "gross negligence," but ruled there
was no ill intent on the officers' part. They were basing their knowledge on
limited training they'd had on cell tower pings.
What's Next
Once the judge and attorneys weed out jurors who have already formed an opinion
about the case or who cannot vote for the death penalty and weeded those people
out of the larger pool, the case will recess until Monday, Feb. 5. That's when
attorneys will start the process to select a trial jury, likely consisting of
14 or more people, who will hear evidence in the case. The trial is scheduled
for 2 weeks - Feb. 5-16 - and because it is a death penalty case, the jury will
be sequestered during the proceedings.
Azotea has been in custody since his arrest April 22, 2015.
(source: johnsoncitypress.com)
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