Sept. 18
TEXAS---- impending execution
South Texas Gang Member Set for Execution Thursday
Robert Gene Garza says he was 9 or 10 when he joined a far South Texas street
gang called the Tri-City Bombers.
By age 20, he was on death row, convicted of participating in a 2002 gang
ambush in Donna in the Rio Grande Valley where four women were shot dead. He's
also been linked to another shooting where 6 people were killed in Edinburg.
The now 30-year-old Garza is facing execution Thursday evening in Huntsville.
His lethal injection would be the 12th this year in Texas and likely the last
to use the state's existing supply of pentobarbital as the execution drug.
Texas prison officials have said their inventory is expiring and they'll need
to find another source or another execution drug.
Another punishment is scheduled for next week.
(source: Associated Press)
*************
Texas Death Penalty System in Urgent Need of Reform: Report
The Texas Capital Punishment Assessment Team, organized by the American Bar
Association (ABA), today issued a comprehensive report with recommendations to
help ensure fairness and accuracy in the state's death penalty system.
"Evaluating Fairness and Accuracy in State Death Penalty Systems: The Texas
Capital Punishment Assessment Report" is the culmination of a 2-year review of
Texas capital punishment laws, procedures and practices by an assessment team
of former judges, prosecutors, elected officials, practitioners and legal
scholars.
"A just system of capital punishment in our legal system requires procedures
that ensure that only those deserving of the ultimate punishment are sentenced
to death, and that the public have confidence in the adequacy of the criminal
justice system to that task," said Jennifer Laurin, Professor at the University
of Texas at Austin School of Law, and chairwoman of the Assessment Team.
"Texans cannot accept less than the strongest system of checks and balances to
ensure that our capital punishment system is fair and minimizes the risk of
wrongful convictions and unjust executions."
Former Gov. Mark White, who oversaw 19 executions during his term, said, "I
know that no decision is as weighty or significant as whether or not to allow
an execution to go forward" and that he is "pleased that this report brings
into clear focus the current state of the death penalty system in Texas and
recommends prompt action to protect the innocent and provide a fair and
accurate system for every person who is sentenced to death."
Paul Coggins, former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, noted
that mistakes in the administration of the death penalty lead to serious public
safety concerns with the innocent being convicted, possibly facing execution,
while a guilty perpetrator remains free to commit additional crimes. Such a
flawed process exacts an intangible toll on victims' families.
"State and federal courts spend significant time and resources correcting
errors in capital cases - errors that could have been prevented - to the
detriment of the vast majority of Texans who rely on the justice system every
day. We can do better," Coggins said.
Recent reforms like the Michael Morton Act, improved handling of eyewitness
identifications, and creation of new institutions like the Criminal Justice
Integrity Unit, the Regional Public Defender for Capital Cases and the Office
of Capital Writs have all strengthened capital punishment procedures in Texas.
Despite recent progress, assessment team members have identified a number of
areas in which the state's death penalty system fall far short.
Notably, the Lone Star State appears out of step with better practices
implemented in other capital jurisdictions, failing to rely upon scientifically
reliable evidence and processes in the administration of the death penalty, and
providing the public with inadequate information to understand and evaluate
capital punishment in the state.
The nearly 500 page report states that the system could be helped with a myriad
of reforms to correct short-comings in death penalty administration, including
defense services, procedural restrictions and limitations on state
post-conviction and federal habeas corpus proceedings, jury instructions, an
independent judiciary, racial and ethnic minority representation, and mental
retardation and mental illness.
Of the 500-page Report, team member and former Chairman of the Texas Department
of Criminal Justice Charlie Terrell noted, "This document catalogues numerous
reasons why I asked to have my name taken off the death row unit in
Huntsville."
(source: PR Newswire)
CONNECTICUT:
Killer's fate may hinge on Torrington man's case
No jurors were picked in the 1st day of the new sentencing phase of death
penalty case involving a Connecticut man who fatally shot 2 adults and a
9-year-old girl in 2006.
Selection of jurors to decide the sentence of Richard Roszkowski, 48, will
resume today in state Superior Court in Bridgeport. Whether he will ever face
execution is likely to hinge on a state Supreme Court decision in the case of
former Torrington resident Eduardo Santiago, who remains on Connecticut's death
row.
Roszkowski was convicted and sentenced to death in 2009. A judge overturned the
death sentence because of an error during jury instructions and ordered a new
penalty phase.
Roszkowski killed ex-girlfriend Holly Flannery, 39; her 9-year-old daughter
Kylie, and Thomas Gaudet, 38, in Bridgeport. Authorities say Roszkowski wrongly
believed Flannery was having an affair with Gaudet.
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
deciding that question in Santiago's case.
It's not clear when the state Supreme Court will issue a ruling in Santiago's
case. Justices heard arguments in April.
Santiago, 34, was sentenced to death for killing a man in West Hartford in
2000. But the state Supreme Court overturned his sentence and ordered a new
penalty phase last year, 2 months after the death penalty repeal took effect.
Santiago's lawyers argue that eliminating the death penalty for future crimes
only violates the constitutional rights to equal protection and due process.
Roszkowski's public defenders also lost an effort to get their client declared
incompetent to stand trial. In July, Judge Robert Devlin rejected a defense
request to have Roszkowski undergo another competency exam. Roszkowski had been
declared incompetent for the penalty phase but was later deemed competent after
undergoing psychiatric exams and treatment.
A jury convicted Roszkowski and decided he should get the death penalty in
2009. But a judge overturned the sentence because of an error made during jury
instructions and ordered a new penalty phase.
Jury selection in the penalty phase is expected to take several weeks, a court
clerk said Monday. Jurors are scheduled to begin hearing evidence in January.
(source: Associated Press)
OHIO----new execution date
Raymond Tibbetts has been given an execution date for October 15, 2014; it
should be considered serious.
(source: MC/RH)
*********************
Ohio governor rejects mercy for condemned killer who shot 2, including police
officer
Gov. John Kasich on Wednesday rejected mercy for a condemned killer of 2 men,
likely ensuring the death row inmate's execution will proceed next month.
Harry Mitts Jr. is scheduled to die by injection on Sept. 25 for killing the
men, including a suburban Cleveland police officer, during a 1994 outburst at
an apartment. His attorney previously said no other appeals were planned.
As is his practice in death penalty cases, Kasich didn't explain his reasoning
except to note the Ohio Parole Board unanimously recommended against mercy on
Aug. 27.
Mitts uttered racial slurs before shooting his first victim, John Bryant, who
was black, according to court records. He fired on 2 police officers as they
approached his apartment where he'd taken refuge, wounding one and killing the
second, Garfield Heights Sgt. Dennis Glivar.
At trial, Mitts' attorney argued that Mitts suffered an alcoholic blackout that
night and didn't know what he was doing.
But the lawyer handling Mitts' appeals and clemency request says there was no
basis for that defense.
Attorney Jeff Kelleher says Mitts' original lawyer missed the chance to tell
the full story: that Mitts was depressed and caused the disturbance in hopes of
committing suicide by being shot by police.
Mitts knows what he did, takes responsibility, is remorseful and is not and
never has been a racist, Kelleher says.
"He was an angry, upset person who did something totally unexpected," Kelleher
said in August. "It's not the person he was before, it's not the person he's
been since."
Kelleher said Wednesday that he wasn't surprised by the governor's clemency
denial. Yet, he added, he is disappointed that the state would insist on going
ahead with Mitts' execution "in the face of botched executions, a spate of
suicides and the public's decreasing support for the death penalty."
Last month, death row inmate Billy Slagle killed himself just a few days before
his scheduled execution. A state report on Slagle's suicide released Monday
alleges one and possibly two prison guards falsified an electronic log
documenting checks on Slagle.
Mitts told parole board members in an early August interview that he would
leave the clemency decision up to them.
"Mitts indicated that while he could easily cope with a lifetime of
imprisonment, he is also prepared to go home to Jesus," according to the Aug.
27 report by the parole board in recommending against clemency for Mitts.
In its unanimous ruling, the board said it wasn't convinced Mitts had taken
full responsibility for the crime and it rejected his claim that the shooting
wasn't racially motivated.
"Given the multiple deaths, the racial animus underlying Bryant's death, and
the law enforcement victims Mitts targeted, Mitts' case is clearly among the
worst of the worst capital cases," the board said.
Even though the original lawyer's alcoholic blackout tactic didn't work, it's
unclear what other legal strategy could have produced a different result, the
board added.
The state's supply of its execution drug, pentobarbital, expires at month's
end, and Mitts will be the last person put to death with that drug in Ohio if
the execution is carried out.
The Department of Rehabilitation and Correction has said it will likely
announce its new execution method by Oct. 4.
(source: Associated Press)
NEBRASKA:
Death penalty, good time debate looms
Remember a few weeks ago when I told you how to make an election-tracking chart
for the 2014 primary election? Well, you're going to have to add a few more
names to the Republican gubernatorial hopefuls.
State Auditor Mike Foley has made it official, he wants to be the Republican
nominee. The father of six who served a few years as the state Senator from
Lincoln's mostly Catholic and pro-life 29th District has given up a sure thing
run for another term as auditor to go after the top elected state job. He made
a name for himself in the non-partisan Unicameral introducing five
anti-abortion bills during his tenure.
As auditor, Foley hasn't been afraid to tackle the University of Nebraska
system and the burgeoning mass of, some say out-of-control, bureaucracy known
as the Department of Health and Human Services. He has brought light to the
fact that millions in available federal dollars have been left on the table by
inattentive department employees. Some have even lost their jobs as a result of
his audits and public announcement of same.
There's no doubt that he would appeal to the fiscal conservatives. Some fear he
may cut too much. Likewise, in a primary field already crowded with
term-limited seated state senators, Foley can be seen as a front-runner. Or at
least he was for a couple days until a familiar face, absent the oft-disparaged
red stocking cap, emerged as yet another Republican gubernatorial hopeful. Yes,
that millionaire Pete Ricketts.
The 49-year-old financial whiz-kid -- OK, his dad started Ameritrade -- who is
also part owner of the Chicago Cubs baseball team decided not to go after the
U.S. Senate seat being vacated by former Lincoln Mayor, governor and U.S. Ag
Secretary Mike Johanns.
Ricketts failed miserably in his attempt to unseat incumbent Democrat Ben
Nelson a few years ago and apparently learned an important lesson -- you can't
buy an election.
This time around he promises there will be no red stocking cap, used in a
senate race commercial in which his mom told him to be sure to wear his cap,
and he says he won't use massive amounts of his own cash. It will be
interesting to watch Ricketts re-invent himself as he tries to identify with
the mass of Nebraska voters who have no idea what it's like to have a lot of
money. Hopefully he'll be able to craft a campaign platform as well. A
Foley-Ricketts contest with some others in the background will be interesting.
Stay tuned. There are rumors that others may be inclined to jump in the already
crowded race.
Meanwhile, incumbent Gov. Dave Heineman has raised some eyebrows with comments
in support of Douglas County prosecutors seeking the death penalty in a
high-profile murder spree. That has also brought out State Sen. Ernie Chambers,
the leading opponent of the death penalty, who has played the race card in his
criticism of the current situation.
At issue is the arrest of Nikko Jenkins, a 26-year-old Omaha black man who was
recently released from prison under the state's good time laws and now faces
charges for the deaths of four Omaha people. Chambers said he was troubled
because the police investigation into the matter intensified only after a white
woman was identified as the fourth victim. A black man and 2 Hispanic men were
the other 3 victims. He questioned why investigators didn't appear to be more
aggressively seeking the person who purchased the ammunition used in those
killings until after Andrea Kruger, a white woman, was killed on Aug. 21. Omaha
Police said the department gives utmost attention to investigating every
homicide. Chambers said authorities apply a different standard when the victim
is white.
Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Brad Ashford of Omaha said the Jenkins' case
has also opened up the debate about good time in which a prisoner has his
sentence reduced by a day for every day he serves if he hasn't violated prison
policies. Jenkins has been in the criminal justice system since he was 17 and
was released early because of good time
(source: McCook Daily Gazette)
COLORADO:
Holmes' defense will be allowed new death penalty objections despite missing
deadline
The judge overseeing the movie theater shooting case is reversing his decision
to block 3 new objections to the death penalty.
District Court Judge Carlos Samour had rejected the 3 interrelated objections
because they were filed after an Aug. 30 deadline. In response, defense
attorneys filed a motion to request to be allowed to re-file the 3 objections.
"Defense counsel represent that they have been working diligently on this case,
and despite their best efforts, were unable to complete the 3 stricken motions
by the deadline," Samour wrote in the order announcing his decision. "The court
accepts his representation."
Prosecutors are pursuing the death penalty against defendant James Holmes, who
has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to killing 12 people and causing
injury to 70 others in an Aurora movie theater on July 20, 2012.
The 3 death penalty objections that will be resubmitted are all based on the
fact that that Holmes was not indicted by a grand jury. The filings argue that
pursing the death penalty without a grand jury indictment violates the Fifth
Amendment, violates the Cruel and Unusual Punishment of the Constitution and
violates the Colorado Constitution.
Because Samour is allowing the defense to file these arguments after the
deadline, he wrote he would be willing to extend the prosecution's deadline for
a response.
(source: thedenverchannel.com)
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