Aug. 17
TEXAS:
Looming Texas execution illustrates urgency of forgiveness
Next week Texas is scheduled to execute a death row inmate who never killed
anyone, and who may not even have known a crime was going to be committed. The
execution is not only out of touch with Pope Francis and the U.S. bishops, but
also growing public opinion against capital punishment.
Later this month, on August 24th, the state of Texas is slated to execute
Jeffrey Lee Wood - despite the fact that he has never killed anyone. In fact,
according to many accounts, Wood was not even aware that the man's death for
which he is being punished was going to occur.
And by all accounts, the execution of an individual who did not directly kill
another individual is exceedingly rare.
Tragically, this comes almost a year after Pope Francis called for the
abolition of the death penalty in his address to the United States Congress
last September, where he praised the U.S. bishops for their efforts in this
regard.
Continuing to further this cause, 16 bishops from the state of Texas have
co-signed a letter to Governor Greg Abbott pleading that he issue a stay in the
case.
"Mr. Wood has never taken a human life in his own hands," the bishops write.
"He was not even in the building at the time of the crime. It is extremely rare
for any person in the history of the modern death penalty to have been executed
with as little culpability and participation in the taking of a life as Mr.
Wood."
Now if you???re just hearing about this case for the first time, you may find
yourself scratching your head and wondering how such a strange sentence come
about in the first place. In short, it's the result of an old and peculiar
Texas law called the "Law of Parties," where prosecutors are not required to
prove that a defendant was a participant in committing the crime in
question-or, for that matter, even intended to participate.
Wood was found guilty for waiting outside a convenience store while another man
went inside and shot the clerk. Prosecutors charged that Wood and the other man
were in cahoots, but Wood has insisted he didn't know a crime would be
committed and in fact insisted that his friend not bring a gun to the store.
The other man, Daniel Reneau, was executed in 2002.
If Wood's case leaves you bewildered and questioning the aggressiveness in
which the state of Texas has traditionally pursued capital punishment cases,
then you're in good company.
Yet despite the pleas of the Catholic bishops and other protests on Wood's
behalf, the state of Texas seems intent on pursuing even the most extreme of
cases. Such a move not only puts the state at odds with Pope Francis, but also
growing public opinion that continues to shift away from support of capital
punishment, even in the most obvious cases of wrongdoing.
In recent years, television shows such as Making a Murderer, the hit podcast
series Serial's recounting of the case of Adnan Syed, and Michelle Alexander's
bestselling book The New Jim Crow have all contributed to a greater pubic
awareness of the inequalities of our criminal justice system.
Yet alongside a growing distrust that our legal system can render justice, I
would also like to hope we're becoming more open to something that Pope Francis
has been calling all Christians to practice with greater frequency:
forgiveness.
Earlier this month in Assisi, Pope Francis made it clear that if we are to
fully understand and participate in this Year of Mercy, then we must understand
that it is linked to the practice of forgiveness. This requires further action
than just ensuring innocent men aren't falsely charged with crimes they didn't
commit-it requires a disposition of forgiveness toward guilty parties, as well.
"The world needs forgiveness; too many people are caught up in resentment and
harbor hatred because they are incapable of forgiving," he noted. "They ruin
their own lives and the lives of those around them rather than finding the joy
of serenity and peace."
In that same address he went off script and added, "How truly difficult it is
for us to pardon those who have done us wrong!"
He revisited this theme just last week during his surprise visit to 20 former
prostitutes where he asked their forgiveness for the sins committed against
them by Christians-and then he went a step further asking their forgiveness for
not praying enough for them and others in similar situations.
As the penitential rite reminds us at the start of each Mass, we must ask
forgiveness for the things we have done-and what we have failed to do.
As Wood's terrible case in Texas serves to remind us, there are times in which
the law of the land is flawed and often fails to facilitate justice. But as
Pope Francis has continually called to our attention, there is a deeper law
written into our hearts that demands that we first recognize our own grievous
faults as a starting point towards forgiving others.
"Every life is sacred, every human person is endowed with an inalienable
dignity, and society can only benefit from the rehabilitation of those
convicted of crimes," stated Pope Francis in his address to Congress.
Perhaps in this Year of Mercy, we can begin to pave the way for rehabilitation
by recognizing that forgiveness is an essential part of building a Culture of
Life, both in extending that mercy to those who have been convicted, and those
of us who have been formally spared it as well.
(source: Christopher White, cruxnow.com)
VIRGINIA:
Decision delayed on death penalty for Henrico man accused of killing parents
A Henrico County prosecutor has asked for another month to decide whether to
pursue the death penalty for William Roy Brissette, who is accused of killing
his parents on Easter Sunday.
Henry J. Brissette III, 59, and Martha B. Brissette, 56, were found shot to
death March 27 in their home in the 3800 block of Forge Road, where their son
also lived. Police said it was William Brissette who called them after the
shooting.
Brissette, 23, is charged with 2 counts each of capital murder and use of a
firearm. If convicted, the punishment for a capital offense is life
imprisonment or death.
In June, Henrico Circuit Judge James Stephen Yoffy gave Henrico Commonwealth's
Attorney Shannon Taylor until Tuesday to decide whether she will pursue the
death penalty. On Tuesday, Taylor asked to delay her decision until September
to allow her staff and her to comb through what she called "voluminous" medical
records subpoenaed in the case.
"It is an important decision," said Yoffy, agreeing to the delay.
Capital defender Doug Ramseur, who along with Jeffrey Everhart is representing
Brissette, said the delay should not affect their timeline. A trial date is
tentatively set for next June, although Ramseur originally asked for up to 2
years to prepare for trial.
Brissette appeared in court Tuesday with a full beard, eyes glued to the floor,
and a grin on his face. He broke into silent laughter during the brief motions
hearing. He was the only one laughing.
Yoffy also denied 2 motions from Brissette's attorneys on Tuesday. In 1 motion,
they asked that the personal information of the members of the grand jury that
indicted Brissette be released, including their names and addresses, to
determine whether any discrimination occurred. Prosecutors argued, and the
judge agreed, that there was no reason to believe the grand jury had been
selected in any prejudicial manner.
In a 2nd motion, the defense asked that the court find unconstitutional a
statute governing the appointment of mental health experts to evaluate an
indigent capital defendant, because it differs from another statute for capital
defendants who can afford to hire their own expert.
Brissette's attorney argued that the statute not only requires a report from
mental health experts who evaluate poorer defendants, but also demands that the
defense share the report with the prosecution before trial. Neither is required
of well-off capital defendants.
While he applauded their "creativity," Yoffy said the defense had not proved
that indigent defendants were a "suspect class," meaning that they are likely
the subject of discrimination.
(source: Richmond Times-Dispatch)
FLORIDA:
Floridians prefer life without parole over capital punishment for murderers
Support for the death penalty is at historic 40-year lows according to the
Gallup poll, which has been tracking attitudes on the issue since the 1930s.
Pew Research Center's last national poll found support to be as low as 56 %.
But support for the death penalty may actually be even weaker than these polls
reveal because pollsters routinely fail to ask the most telling question: Do
you prefer the death penalty or life in prison without parole for persons
convicted of 1st-degree murder?
My latest research in Florida, which is consistent with my polling in several
other states, indicates that a large majority of Florida citizens have a strong
preference for a sentence of life in prison without parole over the death
penalty when they are given the option of lifetime imprisonment in a survey.
I conducted a recent poll of a representative group of nearly 500 jury-eligible
Floridians. It showed that when respondents are asked to choose between the 2
legally available options - the death penalty and life in prison without parole
- Floridians clearly favor, by a strong majority (57.7 % to 43.3 %), life
imprisonment without parole over death. The overall preference was true across
racial groups, genders, educational levels and religious affiliation.
In this sense, citizens in Florida are like their counterparts across the
country in their preference for life without parole over the death penalty for
persons convicted of murder, and also in their doubts about certain aspects of
our nation's system of death sentencing.
For instance, my research also showed that a majority of Floridians oppose
sentencing the seriously mentally ill to death; they do not believe the death
penalty deters murders; and they believe that most religious opinion is against
capital punishment.
This strong preference for life without parole exists even though 2/3 of
respondents (68.9 %) mistakenly believe that the death penalty is cheaper to
administer than life without parole, something that virtually every study of
the issue has indicated is incorrect. As this misconception is debunked, it may
well strengthen the already strong preference for life without parole.
A sizable minority of Floridians (40.2 %) also erroneously believe that persons
serving life without parole will get out of prison at some point. If more
citizens were disabused of this mistaken belief, this too would likely increase
Floridians' preference for life without parole.
Perhaps the most remarkable finding from my research was the fact that support
for the death penalty plummeted to just 29 % when respondents were told that
the prisoners serving life without parole would be required to work in prison
and could be directed to give part of their earnings to the victims' families.
Support eroded even further when respondents were also told that the money
currently spent on capital trials - at least $1 million additionally per case -
could be used instead to investigate and prosecute unsolved rapes and murders.
In that scenario, three out of four Floridians favored life without parole over
the death penalty.
What this research demonstrates is that Floridians' attitudes on the death
penalty are complex. Their preferences change depending on the range of options
presented to them. The go-to polling question, "Do you support the death
penalty?" rarely captures the nuance of how voters are thinking about this
issue. That question offers a limited and often flawed snapshot of voter
attitudes, capturing only abstract support or opposition, but failing to expose
strong preferences and deeper pragmatic thinking.
When Floridians are asked to decide between the legally available options for
persons convicted of 1st-degree murder - the death penalty or life in prison
without parole - my research shows that a substantial majority prefer life.
(source: Craig Haney is a Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the
University of California, Santa Cruz, and co-director of the University of
California Criminal Justice & Health Consortium. His research was conducted
between April and July and involved more than 500 jury-eligible Floridians. The
margin of error is plus or minus 3 % points----Tampa Bay Times)
***************
Lawyer for Rasheem Dubose, man sentenced to death in 2006 killing of DreShawna
Davis, facing suspension
A prominent Jacksonville lawyer is facing a 91-day suspension for his conduct
in the case of Rasheem Dubose, sentenced to death for the killing of 8-year-old
DreShawna Davis.
Richard Kuritz, one of the most well-known criminal defense attorneys in
Jacksonville, has agreed to accept the suspension of his law license to settle
a complaint brought against him by The Florida Bar. The complaint stems from
how Kuritz behaved after a juror contacted him after Dubose had been convicted
and the jury had recommended he get the death penalty.
That juror, Tomi Chavez, called Kuritz after jurors had recommended death and
said she was bullied by other jurors into the conviction and sentence
recommendation. Chavez said other jurors, in a racist manner, made fun of the
way Dubose spoke, researched the case on their cellphones while they
deliberated and debated whether a teardrop tattoo on his face was a gang symbol
or a sign that he'd killed someone.
But while Kuritz was handling Dubose's appeal, which hinged on Chavez's
allegations, he also represented Chavez for 2 traffic tickets and in a civil
personal injury lawsuit. The trial judge who sentenced Dubose to death,
Lawrence Haddock, also accused Kuritz of writing out an affidavit that Chavez
signed and then pretending that another lawyer had written it.
As part of Kuritz's suspension, he will lose all of the court-appointed clients
he now represents. The suspension must still be signed off on by the Florida
Supreme Court, which could choose to impose a harsher penalty.
Bar spokeswoman Francine Walker said Kuritz will not automatically get his law
license back after the suspension concludes. Under Bar rules a lawyers
suspended for over 90 days must prove he has been rehabilitated before his law
license will be returned.
The decision on whether Kuritz has been rehabilitated will be made by 7th
Judicial Circuit Judge Elizabeth Blackburn, who was appointed as the "referee"
by the Florida Supreme Court to hear Kuritz's bar complaint.
According to Florida Bar rules, "the reinstatement process can take several
months, as Bar counsel must investigate the petition for reinstatement, and the
matter goes back to the original referee for a hearing."
Kuritz did not respond to a request for comment on Monday.
Kuritz has been Dubose's lawyer since 2006 when he was arrested in DreShawna's
death. In July 2006 Dubose fired at least 20 shots at a Third Avenue house in
retaliation for being robbed at gunpoint and forced to drop his pants an hour
earlier by DreShawna's uncle. DreShawna was in the house and the only one
killed. Dubose's brothers, Tajuane and Terrell, also fired into the home and
were sentenced to life in prison.
DreShawna became the face of Jacksonville's state-leading homicide rate and
galvanized city leaders to do something about it. The Jacksonville Journey
anti-crime initiative was launched soon afterward.
Kuritz got a hung jury in the 1st trial, but Dubose was convicted and sentenced
to death by Haddock in the 2nd trial after jurors recommended death by an 8-4
vote.
Kuritz continued to represent Dubose on appeal and took Chavez's allegations to
the Florida Supreme Court. Rather than ruling on the appeal, justices sent the
case back to Haddock to conduct a hearing on Chavez's allegations.
Haddock ruled in 2014 that the juror's allegations of misconduct were not
credible and blasted Kuritz for taking them to the Supreme Court on appeal
without revealing she was his client in unrelated cases.
Kuritz knew it was a conflict of interest, Haddock said, while also reporting
his behavior to the the Bar.
It is unclear what will now happen with Dubose. The Supreme Court has not ruled
on his appeal since the October 2013 oral argument. If it rules now, it'll be
basing the ruling on the arguments of a lawyer who was seriously disciplined
for his behavior in the case.
"What to do will be up to the [Florida] Supreme Court," said Stephen Harper, a
clinical professor at the Death Penalty Clinic and a law professor at Florida
International University. "It will look to see if there is any prejudice on the
appeal because of the lawyer's conduct."
If there is some prejudice, or even the appearance of prejudice, the high court
will probably have another lawyer redo the appeal, Harper said.
Kuritz was regularly appointed to represent indigent defendants in criminal
cases when the 4th Judicial Circuit public defender and the Florida Regional
Conflict Counsel could not represent someone. But judges stopped appointing
Kuritz after these allegations became public.
Caroline Emory, court counsel for the 4th Judicial Circuit, which is made up of
Duval, Clay and Nassau counties, said Kuritz could ask to be put back on the
list of lawyers who take on court-appointed clients once his suspension
concludes and he is reinstated.
It will be up to the judges of the 4th Judicial Circuit to determine whether he
gets back on the list, Emory said.
(source: jacksonville.com)
OHIO:
Officials seek death penalty for Worley ---- Suspect faces 19 counts in slaying
Fulton County prosecutors said Tuesday they are seeking the death penalty for
James Worley in last month's killing of 20-year-old Sierah Joughin.
A grand jury also on Tuesday returned a 19-count indictment against Worley on a
range of charges in the case.
Worley faces two counts each of aggravated murder, murder, abduction, felonious
assault, aggravated robbery, and possessing weapons while under disability. He
could not legally own weapons because of previous convictions of abduction and
cultivating marijuana.
The grand jury added 4 additional charges of kidnapping, and single counts of
possessing criminal tools, gross abuse of a corpse, and tampering with
evidence.
The aggravated murder charges carry death penalty specifications. All 19
charges stem from the kidnapping and murder of Ms. Joughin. While several of
the same charges are alleged in multiple counts, each is based on a different
section of Ohio law, county Prosecutor Scott Haselman said in a written
release.
In the release, Mr. Haselman said that while the indictment alleges multiple
counts of abduction, kidnapping, murder, and aggravated murder, "those counts
assert alleged violations that emanate from different subsections of the
relevant portions of the Ohio Revised Code."
Each count alleges Worley committed the act from about July 19, when Ms.
Joughin disappeared, to July 22, when authorities found her remains and
arrested Worley. Worley, 57, of rural Delta is incarcerated at the Corrections
Center of Northwest Ohio near Stryker.
Worley's indictment provides few specifics in the case. One kidnapping count
alleges Worley committed the act "with purpose to engage in sexual activity."
An autopsy found no physical evidence Ms. Joughin was sexually assaulted.
Prosecutors, citing Ohio law in the abuse of a corpse charge, alleged Worley
"recklessly treat[ed] a human corpse in a way that would outrage reasonable
community sensibilities."
Ms. Joughin, of Metamora, went missing July 19 while riding a bike in rural
Fulton County. Her remains were found along Fulton County Road 7. She was
handcuffed and died of asphyxiation, according to the coroner.
Worley was arrested on an abduction charge and later charged with aggravated
murder.
Local, state, and federal investigators spent several days searching Worley's
3-acre property. Investigators found a secret room in his barn, which contained
a freezer with blood in it and restraints, according to a search warrant
executed by the sheriff's office. No human remains were found on the property.
Worley was previously convicted of abducting then-26-year-old Robin Gardner on
July 4, 1990, as she biked near Whitehouse. He served 3 years in prison in that
case.
According to a warrant, Worley told a court-mandated therapist about that time
that he "learned from each abduction he had done and the next one he was going
to bury."
Worley is set for an initial appearance by video at 10:30 a.m. Friday.
A spokesman for Mr. Haselman said Tuesday the prosecutor again declined to
comment, as he has throughout the investigation. Worley's attorney, Mark
Powers, did not return an interview request.
(source: Toledo Blade)
*****************
Prosecutors Seeking Death Penalty in Ohio Student's Killing
Prosecutors in Ohio will pursue the death penalty against a man charged with
killing a college student who disappeared while riding her bicycle.
The decision comes as new charges were announced Tuesday against 57-year-old
James Worley.
A grand jury indicted him on kidnapping, tampering with evidence and corpse
abuse charges as well as abduction and aggravated murder.
Worley has been held without bond since authorities charged him with killing
20-year-old University of Toledo student Sierah Joughin.
Joughin's body was found in a cornfield on July 22, 3 days after she was
bicycling just west of Toledo.
Worley's attorney has declined to comment since the arrest. A message was left
with him Tuesday.
Worley was convicted in the 1990 abduction of a woman who was biking near
Toledo.
(source: Associated Press)
ARKANSAS:
Capital-murder count levied in Arkansas deputy's death
A Greenwood man was charged Monday with killing a Sebastian County sheriff's
deputy, wounding the Hackett police chief, shooting at other law enforcement
officers and wounding a police dog.
Prosecuting Attorney Dan Shue charged Billy Monroe Jones, 34, with one count of
capital murder in the fatal shooting of Deputy Bill Cooper, 66, and 10 counts
of attempted capital murder over the shots fired at officers who arrived at
Jones' rural home in response to a disturbance call Wednesday morning.
Cooper's funeral is 10 a.m. today at the Fort Smith Convention Center.
The officers named in the attempted capital-murder counts, according to court
records, were Hackett Police Chief Darrell Spells, who was wounded in the
shooting; Greenwood police officers Mason Redding and Dennis Wisner; Barling
police officer Keith Lindley; and Sebastian County sheriff's deputies Alex
Beauvais, Zachary Krieger, Mark Harris, Sgt. Charles Capps, Capt. Allan Marx
and Capt. Steve Cox.
Shue also charged Jones with one felony count of killing or injuring an animal
used by law enforcement or a search-and-rescue team. Kina, the Greenwood police
dog, was shot twice as she sat in a Greenwood patrol car that was struck by
several bullets.
Jones also was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Authorities have said a rifle was used in the shootings but have provided no
other details.
Jones, who has been held without bail in the Crawford County jail since his
arrest Wednesday, is to be arraigned at 9 a.m. Wednesday before Sebastian
County Circuit Judge J. Michael Fitzhugh.
Capital murder carries the death penalty in Arkansas. Shue said in a news
release Monday that he will carefully study the evidence before deciding
whether to pursue the death penalty against Jones. The other penalty for a
capital-murder conviction is life in prison without parole.
"I will examine the sufficiency of the evidence linking the defendant to the
offenses, the seriousness of the offenses, the defendant's culpability,
aggravating circumstances, mitigating circumstances and potential victim impact
evidence," he said in the release.
Arkansas State Police spokesman Bill Sadler said his agency is investigating
the shootings. Sebastian County Sheriff Bill Hollenbeck said last week that
state police were asked to conduct the investigation to allow sheriff's office
personnel time to mourn the loss of their fellow deputy.
Before Cooper's death, the last Arkansas law enforcement officer killed in the
line of duty was Johnson County sheriff's Auxiliary Deputy Sonny Allan Smith,
according to the Officer Down Memorial Page, a nonprofit website dedicated to
honoring law enforcement officers who die in the line of duty. Smith was killed
in May 2015 while investigating a burglary.
The Sebastian County sheriff's office received a call about 7 a.m. Wednesday
that Jones had gone to his father's property, next door to his, to take some
tools and pulled a gun on him before leaving.
Spells told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that he heard the call on the radio
and, like other deputies and officers, headed to Jones' property. He was about
a mile away from the property at a staging point when he heard that Cooper had
been shot and three other officers were taking fire.
Spells and Marx, the sheriff's SWAT team commander, led other officers toward
the mobile home. Vehicles that approached within 100 yards of the home were
fired at.
Spells said his vehicle took 7 to 9 bullets, 1 of which grazed his temple. He
abandoned his vehicle and jumped into a ditch.
While Capps provided cover fire, Marx told the Democrat-Gazette last week, he
and other officers pulled Cooper and Spells out of the line of fire and to
medical personnel who transported them to the hospital in Fort Smith.
Cooper was shot about 7:40 a.m. and died about 1:15 p.m., according to the
sheriff's office. Spells, who was wounded minutes after Cooper, was treated and
released from the hospital.
Jones surrendered about noon Wednesday.
(source: arkansasonline.com)
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