April 2
TEXAS----impending execution(s)
Texas inmate to die April 9 loses Supreme Court appeal----US Supreme Court
refuses to review case of convicted East Texas killer set to die next week
The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to review the case of a Texas death row
inmate who's set to die next week for an East Texas slaying more than 2 decades
ago.
The high court made no comment Monday in rejecting the case of 50-year-old
Ricky Lynn Lewis.
The Tyler man was on parole for a third burglary conviction when he was
arrested for breaking into a Tyler-area home in September 1990, fatally
shooting the man who lived there and raping the shooting victim's wife. He also
stole the woman's truck and killed her dog.
She managed to climb out a bathroom window after the attack and call police.
Her testimony at his capital murder trial helped send Lewis to death row.
Lewis faces lethal injection April 9.
(source: click2houston.com)
****************************
Execution date for El Pasoan on death row delayed
The execution of an El Paso man convicted in the beating death of his
girlfriend's 19-month-old son in 2000 has been delayed for a 2nd time.
Rigoberto Avila Jr., 40, had been scheduled to be put to death next week. His
execution was originally scheduled for Dec. 12, 2012.
Following a court hearing this morning, 41st District Judge Anna Perez ruled
additional time is necessary to allow Avila's defense attorneys to explore
possible new evidence of Avila's innocence. Perez also ordered that a new
execution date be scheduled for July 10.
No reason is given for the previous delay delay.
Avila was sentenced to death by the same El Paso jury that convicted him in the
death of Nicolas Macias, who was fatally beaten while Avila was baby-sitting
his girlfriend's 2 young sons on Feb. 29, 2000.
During the trial in 2001, state prosecutors alleged Avila repeatedly kicked and
stomped Nicolas, causing injuries so severe that the boy's organs were ripped
from his spine. Paramedics also found a bruise on Nicholas' abdomen in the
shape of a footprint.
A pediatric surgeon who operated on Nicolas testified he had observed similar
injuries to the ones found on Nicolas' abdomen when a person "had jumped out of
a vehicle going 60 miles an hour."
Avila, who testified during his trial, denied injuring the boy, but according
to his police statement he admitted to stomping on the boy because he was
jealous of the attention the boy's mother, Marcelina Macias, was giving the
child.
Avila had been babysitting Nicolas and the boy's older brother at the time of
Nicolas' death, while Marcelina Macias was attending a college class.
According to an "execution alert" newsletter from the Texas Coalition to
Abolish the Death Penalty, Avila's new defense attorney, who was appointed to
the case just last month, has discovered possible evidence that Nicolas was
injured by a sibling while the 2 were mimicking wrestling moves.
Officials with the coalition also state Avila signed the confession after a
detective woke him up while he was sleeping and told Avila he needed to sign
the second statement because the detective needed to clarify some information.
Avila assumed "it was essentially the same as the earlier statement, Mr. Avila
did not read it, but simply affixed his signature at the end. This statement,
which Mr. Avila has consistently said was not true, was used against him at
trial."
Avila is one of 11 El Pasoans currently on death row. The last El Pasoan
sentenced to death was Fabian Hernandez in 2009. Hernandez was convicted in the
2006 slayings of his wife, Renee Urbina Hernandez, and her friend, Arthur Lee
Fonseca.
The El Pasoan who has been on death row the longest is Cesar Fierro, who was
sentenced to death in February 1980 for the shooting death of taxi driver
Nicolas Castanon on Feb. 27, 1979.
(source: El Paso Times)
****************
Texas woman's execution now set for June
A state district judge has reset to June 26 this week's scheduled execution of
a Dallas-area woman for the robbery-slaying of a 71-year-old retired college
professor more than 15 years ago.
51-year-old Kimberly McCarthy was set to die Wednesday in Huntsville.
State District Judge Larry Mitchell's action formalizes an agreement last week
between Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins and McCarthy's attorney
that her punishment should be put off until the fate of death penalty-related
bills now in the Texas Legislature is determined. Lawmakers are about halfway
through their 6-month session.
McCarthy's attorney, Maurie Levin, contends the jury in her case unfairly was
selected on the basis of race.
McCarthy was condemned for the 1997 killing of Dorothy Booth at Booth's home in
Lancaster, about 15 miles south of Dallas.
(source: Associated Press)
*******************************
Executions under Rick Perry, 2001-present-----254
Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982-present----493
Perry #--------scheduled execution date-----name---------Tx. #
255-------------April 9------------------Ricky Lewis----------494
256-------------April 16------------------Ronnie Threadgill----495
257-------------April 24------------------Elroy Chester--------496
258-------------April 25----------------Richard Cobb-----------497
259------------May 7--------------------Carroll Parr---------498
260-------------May 14--------------------John Quintanilla Jr.--499
261-------------May 15-------------------Jeffrey Williams-----500
262------------June 26-------------------Kimberly McCarthy----501
263--------------July 10------------------Rigoberto Avila, Jr.----502
264-------------July 18------------------Vaughn Ross----------503
265-------------July 31-------------------Douglas Feldman-----504
(sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin)
********************
Former resident's execution delayed again
A former Greenville resident, twice convicted of the murder and robbery of a
Dallas County woman, will not be facing the death penalty this week.
The Associated Press reported Monday that a state district judge reset
Wednesday's scheduled execution of Kimberly Lagayle McCarthy to June 26.
McCarthy was born in Greenville in 1961, but was living in Dallas County at the
time of the murder. McCarthy was twice convicted of the July 1997 murder of her
neighbor, Dorothy Booth, 71.
State District Judge Larry Mitchell's action formalizes an agreement last week
between Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins and McCarthy's attorney
that her punishment should be put off until the fate of death penalty-related
bills now in the Texas Legislature is determined.
McCarthy's attorney, Maurie Levin, contends the jury in her case unfairly was
selected on the basis of race.
McCarthy's original 1998 conviction on a charge of capital murder was
overturned on appeal. McCarthy was convicted of capital murder again in October
2002.
According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, McCarthy had worked as
an occupational therapist, waitress, home health care worker and laborer and
had previously been convicted and sentenced to prison on a charge of forgery,
but was released on parole in December 1991.
According to trial transcripts, on July 21, 1997 McCarthy entered Booth's home
under the pretense of borrowing some sugar and then stabbed Booth 5 times, hit
her in the face with a candelabrum and cut off her left ring finger in order to
take her diamond ring. McCarthy then took the victim's purse and its contents,
along with her wedding ring, and fled in Booth's car. Later, McCarthy bought
drugs with the stolen money, used the stolen credit cards, and pawned the
stolen wedding ring.
McCarthy is believed to be among the 1st Hunt County natives to face the death
penalty. McCarthy would also be only the 5th woman, and the 3rd black woman, to
be executed in Texas since 1854.
(source: Banner-Herald)
PENNSYLVANIA:
Hitman Admits to Killing 8 People for Philly Drug Lord; Testimony could result
in death-penalty conviction for drug lord
A hitman who helped kill a family of 6 to retaliate against a drug informant
testified Monday his drug gang had made a pact to kill the mother of any member
who snitched.
The 2004 firebombing, among the worst witness retaliation killings in city
history, killed informant Eugene Coleman's mother plus his cousin, his infant
son and 3 other children. Coleman was in prison at the time.
Hitman Lamont Lewis testified for several hours Monday in the death penalty
trial of Philadelphia drug kingpin Kaboni Savage, who's already serving a
30-year drug sentence and now is charged with running a violent racketeering
enterprise that killed 11 people, including Coleman's family.
Lewis, who said he and his cousin, trial defendant Robert Merritt, had
committed the arson, calmly detailed the predawn crime. He said he had expected
only Coleman's mother and brother to be home. He said he was "shell-shocked" to
hear the body count on the morning news.
"We both were really messed up about what happened," Lewis said.
He said he had broken down the door and fired 2 gunshots to see if anyone was
downstairs.
"A lady screamed, 'Who's that?'" Lewis testified.
Merritt then tossed 2 burning cans of gasoline inside the row house, Lewis
said.
Savage also was in prison when he's accused of ordering the hit through his
sister, Kidada Savage, who also is on trial.
The Savage siblings and Merritt have pleaded not guilty. At the beginning of
the trial, defense lawyers painted Lewis as violent and treacherous.
Lewis explained why he agreed to carry out the killings.
"That's what I did for the team," he said. "That's my role."
Lewis, 36, expects to serve at least 40 years in prison but be spared the death
penalty in exchange for his testimony. He said his family has been put in the
witness protection program.
He also acknowledged killing several people unrelated to Savage's group,
including a woman he shot in the face because she had stabbed her quadriplegic
drug dealer boyfriend. He said the boyfriend paid him to kill her.
Lewis, speaking in a flat, dry voice, said he started selling $2 vials of
cocaine for a dealer named Pumpkin when he was 15 or 16, lured by the chance to
make money for a trip to an amusement park.
"My first half-hour out there, I must have made $100 or $200,'' he said.
Within months, he was a mid-level distributor, and before long he had his own
drug corner.
Ronald "Pumpkin'' Walston was killed in the summer of 2001. Lewis has a tattoo
honoring him on his neck.
Lewis and Merritt have large tattoos across their chests that say "Ride or
Die.'' According to Lewis, the term "ride" means to go to trial rather than
cooperate with authorities.
"Riding is what the defendants are doing," he said in the heavily guarded
courtroom, a few feet from Savage, "and I guess I'm dying because I'm
cooperating."
(source: NBCPhiladelphia)
OHIO----impending execution
Condemned Ohio man who sexually assaulted baby says he didn't intend to kill
6-month-old girl
Condemned killer Steven Smith's argument for mercy isn't an easy one. Smith
acknowledges he intended to sexually assault his girlfriend's 6-month-old
daughter but says he never intended to kill the baby.
The girl, Autumn Carter, of Mansfield, died because Smith was too drunk to
realize his sexual assault was killing the child, Smith's attorneys were
telling the Ohio Parole Board on Tuesday. And Ohio law is clear, they say: a
death sentence requires an intent to kill the victim.
"The evidence suggests that Autumn's death was a horrible accident," his
attorneys, Joseph Wilhelm and Tyson Fleming, said in a written argument
prepared for the board.
They continued: "Despite the shocking nature of this crime, Steve's death
sentence should be commuted because genuine doubts exist whether he even
committed a capital offense."
Smith, 46, was never charged with sexual assault, meaning the jury's only
choice was to convict or acquit him of aggravated murder, his attorneys say.
The Richland County prosecutor said Smith continues to hide behind alcohol as
an excuse, and calls Smith's actions "the purposeful murder of a helpless baby
girl."
Prosecutor James Mayer told the board in his own written statement that the
girl's injuries are consistent with a homicide that contradicts Smith's claim
he didn't intend to kill the girl.
"The horrific attack upon Autumn Carter showed much more than Smith's stated
purpose," Mayer said.
Mayer said Monday he didn't know why Smith wasn't charged with rape, but said
it wasn't part of a trial strategy.
The attack happened early in the morning of Sept. 29, 1998, in the Mansfield
apartment of the girl's mother, Kaysha Frye, a woman Smith had been dating
about 6 months.
Frye was awakened after 3 a.m. by a naked Smith, who placed Autumn beside her
in bed, according to records prepared for the parole board hearing. Frye
realized the girl wasn't breathing, told Smith he'd killed her, then ran to a
neighbor's house for help.
Smith, known to consume as many as 12 beers a day, had had several beers
earlier in the evening and had a blood-alcohol content of .123 - well above the
legal limit for drivers - when he was tested almost 8 hours later, at 11 a.m.,
records show.
Smith had unsuccessfully tried to have sex with his girlfriend the evening
before the attack, according to records. The prosecutor argued that Smith's
assault of the girl was revenge for Smith's failure to perform with Frye.
Smith's attorneys dispute this, saying the girlfriend was not upset with Smith.
Prosecutors presented evidence at trial that Smith's attack lasted as long as
30 minutes, during which time Smith beat the girl to death.
Expert witnesses for Smith conclude he may have accidentally suffocated the
girl within 3 to 5 minutes while he lay on top of her, according to Smith's
clemency petition.
Smith's attorneys have an uphill battle in their argument because of the "moral
repugnancy" surrounding the claim of partial innocence, said Doug Berman, an
Ohio State University law professor and death penalty expert.
"But if the lawyers for this defendant can legitimately assert that the
evidence doesn't show or support that this was an intentional killing, not only
is it appropriate to bring this up at clemency, I think they're obliged,
representing their client appropriately, to stress this point," Berman said.
If executed, Smith would become the 51st inmate put to death in Ohio since the
state resumed executions in 1999. The state has enough of its lethal injection
drug, pentobarbital, to execute Smith and 2 other inmates before the supply
expires. 8 more inmates are scheduled to die from November through mid-2015.
(source: Associated Press)
VIRGINIA:
Man indicted in death of off-duty Norfolk officer
A suspect in the slaying of an off-duty Norfolk police officer in Virginia
Beach has been indicted on 2nd-degree murder, robbery and related charges.
Media outlets report that a Virginia Beach grand jury indicted 25-year-old
Kareem Hassan Turner on Monday.
The charges stem from the fatal shooting of 25-year-old Victor Decker in
October 2010. Police say Decker's body was found outside his pickup truck, near
a nightclub where he had attended a fundraising event.
Co-defendant Raymond Perry is scheduled to stand trial in February 2014. Perry
is charged with capital murder, robbery and a weapons charge. Prosecutors have
said they plan to seek the death penalty.
(source: Associated Press)
FLORIDA:
Fla. high court denies death row appeal
The Florida Supreme Court has denied the latest appeal of a death row inmate
scheduled for execution.
The court on Tuesday denied Larry Eugene Mann's request for what is called
"postconviction relief."
Gov. Rick Scott had signed a death warrant for Mann to be carried out by lethal
injection at Florida State Prison near Raiford on April 10.
Mann was convicted and sentenced to death for kidnapping and murdering
10-year-old Elisa Nelson in Pinellas County in 1980.
Mann's death sentence was overturned once because the trial court made a legal
error. He was resentenced to death and the Supreme Court then affirmed that
sentence.
Gov. Bob Graham signed Mann's first death warrant in 1986. Mann has appealed in
state and federal court since then.
**********************
Trial off until Aug. in Fla. businessman killing
Trial is off until late summer in the 2001 mob-style slaying of the former
owner of the Miami Subs restaurant chain and SunCruz Casinos gambling fleet.
A defense attorney's required knee surgery led a Broward County judge on Monday
to delay the trial of 2 men until Aug. 12. The trial had been scheduled to
start next week.
Konstantinos "Gus" Boulis was killed by a gunman who pulled alongside his car
on a Fort Lauderdale street. Facing the death penalty if convicted are Anthony
"Big Tony" Moscatiello and Anthony "Little Tony" Ferrari. Both have pleaded not
guilty.
Prosecutors say Boulis was killed in a power struggle over SunCruz. Boulis had
recently sold the business to former Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff and a
partner. They are not implicated in the murder
(source for both: Associated Press)
ARKANSAS:
Accused Execution-Style Killer Gets July Trial Date
A July trial date has been set for Eric Frankenhauser, accused of killing his
girlfriend execution-style in Fayetteville last August.
Frankenhauser was set to appear in Washington County Circuit Court before Judge
William Storey on Monday, but his trial has been scheduled to begin July 16,
court officials said. The trial date was rescheduled to give attorneys time to
receive the results of his mental evaluation, officials said.
Frankenhauser is charged with a Class Y capital murder punishable by the death
penalty or life in prison without parole, officials said.
He was sent to the Arkansas State Hospital on March 4 for a mental evaluation
to determine if he is fit to stand trial. The results of the mental evaluation
have not yet been released to attorneys, according to documents obtained from
the Washington County Circuit Clerk.
Mental evaluations are mandatory in capital murder cases, according to court
documents.
Shackled and wearing orange-and-white striped detainee garb, Frankenhauser
pleaded not guilty during his arraignment at the Washington County Detention
Center on Aug. 22 after Magistrate Judge Ray Reynolds read the felony charge
against him.
Not guilty pleas are common during felony arraignments during which defendants
are read the charges against them and are asked to enter a plea.
Frankenhauser, 40, was arrested in Franklin County, Ohio, in August in
connection with the shooting death of 39-year-old Jessica Stewart of
Fayetteville.
He was seen walking down a road 12 miles west of Columbus when he was stopped
by deputies and arrested without incident, said Fayetteville Police Chief Greg
Tabor.
Stewart was found shot in the head execution-style in front of a residence at
2228 W. Wedington Drive on Aug. 5, police said. She died the next day at
Washington Regional Medical Center.
Neighbors said Frankenhauser was Stewart's boyfriend.
(source: KFSM News)
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