Jan. 21
TEXAS----impending execution of foreign national
Father of Mexican facing execution in U.S. prays for retrial
The father of Mexican inmate Edgar Tamayo, scheduled for execution in Texas on
Wednesday, insists his son is innocent, and that his family is praying for a
re-trial after the Mexican government said the sentence violated international
law.
Hector Tamayo, who will visit his son on Wednesday, told local radio he has
faith God will halt the execution.
Edgar Tamayo, 46, was convicted of killing a Houston police officer in 1994
while he was in the United States illegally.
"It is unjust what they want to do, knowing full well that he is not the guilty
one, that he didn't kill the cop," Hector Tamayo said on Tuesday, speaking from
Texas. "We have faith in God that the execution will be stopped and there will
be a new trial.
"He tells us, his mom and I, that we must be strong, that only God has the last
word."
The Mexican government said on Sunday the execution violated a 2004 ruling by
the United Nations' International Court of Justice, which has demanded that the
death sentences of 51 Mexican inmates, including Tamayo, be re-examined.
The Court ruled the prisoners were not made aware of the right to consular
assistance at the time of their arrests.
2 of the 51 inmates have already been executed.
The Mexican Foreign Ministry said it attempted to stay the execution through
various channels, including petitions in Texas courts and from high-ranking
Mexican officials.
The case has drawn attention from across the world. Tamayo said his family had
received letters of support from at least 67 countries.
In September, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry wrote a letter to Texas
Governor Rick Perry urging him to reconsider Tamayo's execution because it
could make it more difficult for the United States to help Americans in legal
trouble abroad.
So far, there has been little sign Texas is willing to reconsider, arguing that
it is not bound by the International Court of Justice ruling.
(source: Reuters)
CONNECTICUT:
Death penalty trial continued
The death penalty trial of a former Trumbull man, convicted of the 2006 murders
of a city woman, her 9-year-old daughter and a Milford landscaper, was
continued for nearly 2 weeks on Tuesday, after defense lawyers disclosed more
than 1,000 pages of documents they intend to use in their case.
Superior Court Judge John Blawie agreed to delay the trial of Richard
Roszkowski until Feb. 3 to give prosecutors time to examine the documents.
The jury has already heard 3 weeks worth of testimony, and the defense is
expected to present at least a week and a half more before jurors decide
whether to sentence the 48-year-old former handyman to death, or to life in
prison without release.
Last year Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, an opponent of the death penalty, signed a law
abolishing it for any new crimes. However, the law left in place the 10 men
currently on death row. That portion of the law is currently under appeal.
In May 2009, a Bridgeport jury found Roszkowski guilty of 2 counts of capital
felony, 3 counts of murder and 1 count of criminal possession of a firearm for
the Sept. 7, 2006, shooting deaths of 39-year-old Holly Flannery, her daughter,
Kylie, and 38-year-old Thomas Gaudet. Although the same jury that convicted
Roszkowski of the crime subsequently found he should get the death penalty, the
verdict was overturned and a new penalty hearing was ordered.
Roszkowski, Flannery's former lover, shot her and Gaudet each once in the head
on Seaview Avenue. Witnesses said Flannery begged, "Don't do it in front of my
daughter," as Roszkowski held her in a headlock and put the gun to the back of
her head.
He then chased the girl down the street, shooting her in the back of the thigh,
in the face and finally the side of the head at close range.
Roszkowski's lawyers did not deny that he killed the victims, but they
presented nationally recognized medical experts and death penalty opponents who
testified Roszkowski has brain damage caused by car crashes, hepatitis and
long-term drug use.
(source: Connecticut Post)
ALABAMA:
Shorter Death Row appeals equal less time to save sinners: 'We're dealing with
souls here'
Retired Catholic Bishop David Foley of Birmingham is in Montgomery today to
speak out against an effort to shorten the appeal time in death penalty cases,
which he says also shortens the amount of time left to save an inmate's soul.
House Bill 194 in the Alabama Legislature, called the "Fair Justice Act," seeks
to reduce the time between sentencing and execution by streamlining the appeals
process. The House and Senate Judiciary Committees scheduled a joint public
hearing today. Votes are expected as soon as Wednesday.
Backers of the bill say it is unfair to victims' families that decades can
elapse between sentencing and execution. Defense lawyers say the shortened
appeal window could result in the execution of innocent people.
But Foley wanted a chance to speak about the spiritual impact of shortening the
appeal time for inmates.
"I want to see as long a period of time as possible for them to be converted,"
Foley said. "We're dealing with souls here."
Foley said he hoped to speak at the hearing on behalf of himself and his
successor, Bishop Robert Baker, head of the Catholic Diocese of Birmingham, who
is in Washington, D.C., to take part in the March for Life on Wednesday. Foley
did not get a chance to speak at the hearing.
"It is not just about the convicted man," Foley said. "It's also about the
conscience of the people of Alabama. Legislators have to be able to assure the
people that before almighty God, everything has been done justly. An extended
amount of time has to be provided."
Foley said that he has been taking part in prison ministry for more than 4
decades as a priest and bishop, and knows that even the worst criminals can
repent and save their souls.
"The longer a man is kept alive, the better chance there is to come to a full
realization of what he's done, be deeply sorry, and to know that he has
reconciliation and redemption," Foley said. "It???s a time for conversion."
Currently, a person given the death penalty has a series of direct appeals,
first to the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, and then to the Alabama Supreme
Court and the U.S. Supreme Court. After those are complete, the defendant can
begin Rule 32 appeals, post-conviction appeals that look at other issues such
as the trial lawyer's competence.
The proposed legislation would run both sets of appeals simultaneously. Capital
defendants would be required to file Rule 32 petitions within 180 days of
filing their first direct appeal. Death Row inmates could still make federal
appeals.
"It's not for us to say this is too long a period," Foley said. "The poor and
vulnerable of the state are the ones that are not protected. That's why we have
the time extended. Every one of us will stand before Almighty God and justify
our lives. It's not just for the innocent, it's for the guilty. I believe the
people of Alabama are people of faith who want to see the justice of God done."
(source: al.com)
KANSAS:
Senate panel wraps hearings on death penalty----Bills to repeal capital
punishment, speed appeals on docket
A Kansas Senate committee concluded public hearings Tuesday on bills repealing
capital punishment and speeding the state court process for consideration of
appeals by the condemned.
Sen. Jeff King, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the panel
would debate possible amendments next week before voting on Senate Bill 126
that replaces a death sentence with life chance of parole and Senate Bill 257
setting rigid deadlines for filing briefs, conducting oral arguments and
issuing rulings in capital cases.
The procedural reforms would trim to about 3 years all appellate action before
the Kansas Supreme Court on capital cases.
"To put victims' families through another motion for extension, another motion
for extension and another motion for extension is unacceptable," said King, an
Independence Republican.
The repeal legislation is considered a long-shot politically in the
Republican-led Senate, but King's endorsement of the procedural measure makes
it a candidate for passage.
Both pieces of legislation prompted impassioned testimony from family members
who lost a loved one to murder and by individuals exonerated after placed on
death row in other states.
Ray Krone, who was falsely convicted at two trials in Arizona for a 1991
murder, said a lengthy appellate battle culminated with discovery of evidence
leading to conviction of another man. His case took more than 10 years to reach
exoneration.
"I'm one of those people you're talking about," Krone said. "I was sentenced to
death for something I didn't do. To shorten the constitutionally guaranteed
appeals process of a death penalty case only increases the risk that innocent
people like me will be executed."
Laura O'Sullivan, associate clinical professor at the University of
Missouri-Kansas City's law school, said 105 people held on death row at U.S.
prisons had been exonerated since 1989.
"The majority of these cases involved official misconduct and perjured
testimony only revealed through the diligence of attorneys and investigators
through the appellate process," O'Sullivan said.
Sen. Greg Smith, an Overland Park Republican and member of the judiciary
committee, said the balance of justice was warped by campaigns to find
wrongdoing by prosecutors while unethical conduct of defense lawyers went
largely unexamined.
"How many defendants tell the truth on the stand?" asked Smith, whose daughter
was murdered in 2007.
Sen. Julia Lynn, R-Olathe, said the justice system's capacity to allow the
guilty to avoid punishment should be part of debate.
"My fear is we have guilty people going free," she said.
(source: Topeka Capital Journal)
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