May 6 USA: Death Row Inmates Plead for Humanity----Given the Chance to Say a Last Statement, Many Sing Their Own Praises "Let's ride" were the last words spoken by Michael Richards before the syringes containing a lethal concoction of chemicals were pumped into his veins in Texas' Huntsville death chamber Sept. 25, 2007. Richards was the last man to make the long walk from death row to the death chamber before an unofficial moratorium was placed on executions that same day when the Supreme Court began to deliberate on the constitutionality of the three-drug lethal injection method. As with each person executed for a crime, Richards got to state his own epitaph, and while some remain defiant, many use that last breath to try to redeem themselves. The grim and often haunting tradition of a doomed inmate's last words will resume today -- 3 weeks after the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of lethal injection April 16 -- when William Lynd will be led into Georgia's death house. Lynd, who has spent 17 years on death row for killing his girlfriend in 1988 with 3 shots to her face, will be the first execution in the United States in more than 7 months. But what Lynd will say, should he decide to speak at all, is likely to include one of the many themes heard in the last statements made by the condemned. Texas Death Row Execution #386 'I Love You All I Am Ready Warden' Larry Traylor, the director of communications for the Virginia State Department of Corrections, has witnessed more than 40 executions and told ABCNEWS.com that the final words of offenders typically possess a sort of "very calm anger." "Some are very repentant and some are not," said Traylor. "A lot of times they may ignore us and not say a thing." Virginia is 2nd only to Texas as the state with the most executions, having carried out 98 executions since the death penalty's reinstatement in 1976 compared to Texas' 405. Some, in their last moments, defy reason or compassion. Granville Riddle, for example, was the 295th person put to death in Texas and until his very last breath argued his good character. "I would like to say to the world, I have always been a nice person," said Riddle, who was 19 when he was convicted of murdering an Amarillo, Texas, resident with a tire tool during a break-in. "I have never been mean-hearted or cruel." And a few, either from a perverse taunting of society or a plea for a posthumous exoneration, insist on their innocence. "There have been those who have said that they're innocent, but in the last 40 or so that's generally been a small percentage," said Traylor. "The larger percentage say nothing or ask God for forgiveness." In Georgia, the most recent final statement was that of John Hightower, who was executed in June 2007. Hightower, 63, apologized for what he had done and thanked his family for standing by him, according to Paul Czachowski, the spokesman for the Georgia Department of Corrections who witnessed the execution. "Some last statements are pretty simple. The No. 1 theme was that offenders tend to give well wishes," said Scott Vollum, who studied 292 execution cases that occurred in Texas from 1982 to 2002 as research for his book "Last Words and the Death Penalty: Voices of the Condemned and Their Co-Victims." "They express their love and good luck to family and loved ones and sometimes express words of encouragement to other inmates," said Vollum. "Others even wish the [victims' families] peace and closure." Upon his execution, David Herman, Texas execution No. 110 and one of the cases Vollum studied, said, "[I]f my death gives you peace and closure, then this is all worthwhile." Herman, 39 when he was executed, was convicted of the 1989 murder of a 21-year-old topless dancer. Whether Acknowledging Guilt or Not, All Want Sense of Humanity After well wishes, Vollum's research showed references to religion, requesting forgiveness, expressing gratitude and pleading their innocence were among the more common themes among last statements. "To see people asserting themselves in the moments before they're going to die is fascinating," said Vollum, who did not witness an execution during his research of the Huntsville death chamber. "Most people don't have the opportunity to do that, and it's an odd thing to see a lot of them trying to redeem themselves." 12 of the 292 cases Vollum studied explicitly referred to their desire to humanize themselves. "You have these individuals who are defiled -- and rightfully so, they're capital murderers," said Vollum. "They're dehumanized, depicted as animals in a lot of ways. And so at the very point of their death, it's interesting to see them trying to make something out of their lives." (source: ABC News) ***************** Death-row cons not as lucky as horse How is it that a veterinarian is able to euthanize a 1,000-pound Thoroughbred quickly and humanely, whereas the punishment of lethal injection often continues to be applied in such a manner as to approach cruel and unusual punishment? What do those who treat animals know what seems to escape doctors dealing with people who walk on two feet? Philip Barnett,----Scottsdale (source: Letter to the Editor, Arizona Republic) NEW HAMPSHIRE: Brooks' lawyers say NH not equipped for death penalty Through intricate arguments over finer points of the state's criminal code that suggested they believe the state is ill-equipped to prosecute a death penalty case, lawyers for accused murderer and former Derry millionaire John "Jay" Brooks attacked the prosecution's case against their client yesterday. In a lengthy hearing that focused on highly technical debates over wording, Brooks' attorneys tried to have indictments against him thrown out, suggesting the state's laws governing conspiracy crimes don't apply to the capital murder charges filed against their client. Brooks is accused of masterminding a plot to murder trash hauler Jack Reid at a Deerfield farm in 2005 -- and then potentially striking the final blow. If convicted, Brooks could be the 1st person executed in New Hampshire since 1933. Earlier this year, Brooks' attorneys, several of whom are nationally known anti-death penalty advocates, argued the state's death penalty statute is like a rusty musket, hung on the wall for decoration, but dangerous to use. The processes and methods the state has to try someone for a death penalty case are poorly equipped to handle an actual modern trial, they argued. Yesterday, that theme was hinted at again several times. Monica Foster, a death penalty expert brought in from Indiana, asked Superior Court justice Robert Lynn to consider splitting the trial into two parts -- a guilt phase, where arguments over the facts of the crime could be aired, and a sentencing phase, where arguments over the death penalty would be made. While common in other states, Foster pointed out there is no precedent for that in New Hampshire since there is no specific legislation regarding such a split in death penalty cases. Foster also suggested that 2 juries might be drawn -- one to decide guilt and one that could decide the death penalty. Another death penalty expert working for Brooks, David I. Bruck, argued the defense's case for having several of the indictments thrown out, suggesting the state was struggling to find appropriate wording for indictments against Brooks because the crime they are trying to prosecute him on doesn't fall specifically within the statutes set up by the Legislature. Brooks has been indicted twice -- accused of essentially the same crime, but with slightly different wording -- but yesterday, prosecutors would not say which one they wanted to go with. After a debate over what wording was appropriate to use in indictments about conspiracy crimes, Assistant Attorney General Karen Huntress told Lynn that despite the technicalities being argued in court yesterday, the state still had a strong overall case against Brooks. "I think we are splitting hairs," she said, "Because in the end, the state is going to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that there was a lengthy and purposeful plan to kill this man." According to the accusations against Brooks, he believed Reid had stolen several storage containers of his property from him during a move to Las Vegas, Nev., in 2003. Plots to get Reid began as far back as then, prosecutors have alleged, but it wasn't until 2005 that Reid set in motion the plan to kill Reid. According to the indictments against Brooks, Reid was lured to the farm with a story that there was a trash-hauling job for him to give an estimate on. Once there, prosecutors say, Reid was set upon and struck in the head with a hammer by Michael Benton. Benton has already pleaded guilty to murder and agreed to testify against Brooks. After Benton struck, prosecutors alleged, Reid continued to struggle and Brooks may have struck the fatal blow. Brooks, Benton and several other co-conspirators then cleaned up the scene and helped dump Reid's body in Massachusetts, in the back of his own dump-truck. (source: Union Leader) ******************** For judge, key decisions just beginning in death penalty case Judge Robert Lynn is beginning to set the groundwork for the future of capital punishment in New Hampshire. Yesterday, he considered a series of challenges by lawyers for John "Jay" Brooks that could ultimately steer the course of the state's first capital murder trial since 1982. The judge is expected to rule over the next several weeks. Brooks, 55, a multimillionaire businessman, hopes his five-member legal team can knock out indictments that peg him as the ringleader of an effort to kill Derry resident Jack Reid, 57, on June 27, 2005. Defense lawyers claimed yesterday that prosecutors misapplied the law when indicting Brooks on 1 counts of capital murder, and single counts of conspiracy to commit capital murder and 1st-degree murder. They also hope to steer the course of selecting jurors who could sit during 2 trials 1 that would determine guilt or innocence, and possibly a 2nd one to decide if Brooks deserves to be executed. Prosecutors maintained yesterday that the state is well within its rights to seek the death penalty against Brooks, accusing him of planning Reid's murder with 4 other men in a murder-for-hire plot that was 2 years in the making. "I think we are splitting hairs because the state plans to show there was a lengthy plan to kill this man," Assistant Attorney General Karen Huntress told Lynn. Prosecutors plan on showing evidence that Brooks qualifies for the death penalty for 2 reasons. They say he engaged in murder for hire and a kidnapping when he and others lured Reid to a Deerfield farm. New Hampshire's capital murder law has been used only once to prosecute someone since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976. That case in 1982 ended with an acquittal. Prosecutors hope to keep their indictments against Brooks intact as they pursue more information about the 2005 killing from other defense lawyers involved in Brooks' case. Prosecutors have asked for Lynn's approval to depose Las Vegas lawyer Richard Wright, who briefly represented Brooks and met with 2 co-defendants about a year before they were arrested. Senior Assistant Attorney General Janice Rundles said Wright agreed to hand over files of his meetings with the 2 men if he was ordered by a judge. Lynn questioned yesterday whether he has any power to compel Wright to cooperate with New Hampshire authorities because Wright is not established as a lawyer in this state. "I'm somewhat uncomfortable issuing an order in which I question my jurisdiction just because somebody will comply with it," Lynn said. Salem defense lawyer Patrick Donovan, hired by Wright, won a brief extension to fight the request yesterday. Lynn did not indicate how he might rule on efforts to dismiss indictments against Brooks. He spent more than 2 hours questioning prosecutors and defense lawyers about their arguments. New Hampshire has executed only 3 people in the last century. The last execution was in 1939 with the hanging of Howard Long of Alton for molesting and then killing a 10-year-old boy. Brooks is scheduled to go to trial in August. (source: The Eagle-Tribune) MARYLAND: Death Row Inmate Wants Sentence Overturned Fighting death for the fourth time. A death row inmate convicted of killing an Eastern Shore theater manager is fighting to get his sentence overturned. 3 times before, attorneys for convicted murderer Jody Lee Miles have tried unsuccessfully to overturn his death sentence. On Monday, attorneys for Miles tried for a 4th time to get his sentence overturned, taking their case to the Maryland Court of Appeals. Miles has been on death row for 10 years. In 1998, a jury sentenced him to death for robbing and murdering Edward Atkinson, a theater manager. Robert Biddle says, "His death sentence was imposed illegally. That's what we contend." His attorneys point to a 2007 Supreme Court case they say sets a new precedent for this appeal. They argue jurors need to use the highest standard of proof when weighing aggravating circumstances with mitigating factors in a death penalty case. "It requires a much greater level of certainty to say something has been found beyond a reasonable doubt." Attorneys are seeking a new sentence for Miles. And they want all jurors in future trials to be instructed that there must be proof beyond a reasonable doubt to impose the death penalty. Biddle says, "To execute our client, he would need to be resentenced. There would have to be a new sentencing hearing where the jury would be properly instructed." Even if the court rejects this 4th appeal, it's unlikely miles will be executed anytime soon because of Maryland's current moratorium on the death penalty. In 2006, the Maryland Court of Appeals declared a moratorium on executions. Efforts to ban the death penalty failed this session in Annapolis, despite support from the Governor. Miles is awaiting execution at Supermax. It could take months before the court makes a ruling. (source: ABC News) ******************** Arguments heard in death row case appeal----Inmate was convicted in killing of Salisbury theater manager Lawyers for a Maryland death row inmate argued Monday that their client's sentence should be overturned because a jury didn't use the highest standard of proof when weighing aggravating factors of his crime with mitigating circumstances. But an assistant attorney general contended that courts have continually approved Maryland's method of considering the factors in a death penalty case. Robert Biddle, who is representing Jody Lee Miles in a case before the state Court of Appeals, contends that the process for weighing the circumstances of the crime is unconstitutional in Maryland, because it doesn't use the court's highest threshold of certainty. Miles is on death row for the 1997 robbery and shooting death of theater manager Edward Atkinson of Salisbury near Old Bradley Road in Mardela Springs. In a capital case, a jury is asked to recommend whether a person should receive a death sentence after the jury has convicted the accused beyond a reasonable doubt. When the jury decides whether to recommend a death sentence, it is instructed to weigh the crime's aggravating factors that warrant a potential death sentence with mitigating circumstances, such as a person's upbringing. Juries are told to make that decision based on a preponderance of the evidence, rather than the higher threshold of beyond a reasonable doubt. "We contend that the constitution requires that Maryland tell jurors you can't make that finding unless you find it beyond a reasonable doubt," Biddle said. Biddle based his argument largely on a U.S. Supreme Court case last year, Cunningham v. California. The court ruled that a defendant can't be subject to a greater potential sentence merely by a preponderance of the evidence, instead of beyond a reasonable doubt. James Williams, a Maryland assistant attorney general, argued that courts have continually approved using preponderance of evidence in weighing the aggravating and mitigating factors. He said capital cases were incompatible with the Cunningham case, which did not involve capital punishment. Miles is 1 of 5 men on death row in Maryland. 5 inmates have been executed since Maryland reinstated the death penalty in 1978. Wesley Baker, who was put to death in December 2005, was the last person to be executed in Maryland. The death penalty has been on hold in Maryland since 2006, when the Court of Appeals ruled that the state has not properly adopted a procedure for lethal injections. Executions cannot proceed until rules are put forth by Gov. Martin O'Malley's administration and approved by a joint committee of the legislature. The Maryland General Assembly has approved a study of capital punishment in Maryland. (source: Associated Press) PENNSYLVANIA: Jury selection in death penalty case----Rhode Island native on trial in murder of Bethlehem man during drug deal in 2006. In Easton, jury selection is expected to continue today in the trial of a Rhode Island native facing the death penalty in a 2006 murder in Bethlehem. Theodore Reddice, 33, is accused of killing Luis Raul Cruz while involved in a drug deal in April 2006. Cruz was shot 4 times in the back of the head while inside his apartment in the 400 block of Wyandotte Street. Attorneys are choosing a 12-person jury and 4 alternates. 2 jurors were chosen Monday, said Assistant District Attorney Robert Eyer. Reddice was the 3rd and final man wanted in connection with Cruz's murder and was arrested in July following a traffic stop for a cracked windshield in Rhode Island. The other 2 suspects were each found dead earlier this summer about 10 miles from each other. The body of Stephen K. Rivers, 27, was found June 18 at a hotel parking lot in Bristol Township, Bucks County. Township police said 29-year-old Phillip Everson, the other suspect in the Bethlehem murder, shot Rivers twice in the back. By the next morning, Everson also was dead. His body was found at a used car dealership in Trenton. In October 2006, the district attorney's office said it would seek the death penalty against Reddice based on his "significant history" of felony convictions and because he killed Cruz while committing a felony drug crime. (source: The Express-Times)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----USA, N.H., MD., PENN.
Rick Halperin Tue, 6 May 2008 10:51:16 -0500 (Central Daylight Time)
