Feb. 28 USA: Benefit of death penalty overlooked Steven Asin provides a few reasons to abolish the death penalty and there is good faith debate on both sides of this argument ("Death penalty repeal is sound policy," Feb. 21 letter). However, Mr. Asin overlooks one critical benefit to the death penalty; it may be the most effective negotiating tool for law enforcement. Ironically, murderers become very concerned with life when its their own that hangs in the balance. Possible imposition of the death penalty often results in plea bargains that spare the victims family from reliving the murder. The best local example is the case of Bruman Alvarez, who killed 5 people in Potomac in 1995. In exchange for taking the death penalty off the table, he spared everyone the pain of a trial. Plea bargaining away a death penalty also results in agreements to locate where bodies have been disposed. It seems to me that this certainly provides comfort to a victim's family. Chester Speed, Bethesda (source: Letter to the Editor, (Md.) Business Gazette) PENNSYLVANIA: Death penalty out in Flanigan Park fatal shooting case The Philadelphia man accused of killing 19-year-old Michael K. Riley and wounding a teenager on the busy basketball courts of Flanigan Park on March 27, 2006, chose to waive his right to a jury trial Monday afternoon in exchange for the district attorney's agreement to withdraw the death penalty. First Assistant Public Defender Nicole J. Spring said discussions about an exchange in the case against Kyion Ball are "relatively recent." Jury selection which was to span over three days was scheduled to begin this morning. Ball, 24, is accused of approaching Riley, pulling a gun out from the pocket of his hooded sweatshirt and firing 3 shots at him from behind, a prosecution witness testified at Balls preliminary hearing. A stray bullet struck 16-year-old Anthony Barasky in the back of his right arm. The teen, who was treated for his injuries at Williamsport Hospital, previously testified that he never saw the shooter. The trial was scheduled to take place over two weeks, Spring said, with the first week dedicated to the guilt phase and the second week dedicated to the penalty phase. She now expects the trial, which will begin March 12, to last only 4 days. District Attorney Michael A. Dinges said time was one of the many factors he considered when agreeing to withdraw the death penalty in exchange for a nonjury trial. "Basically, with a nonjury trial, you're in a situation where its just one person and there's no chance of a hung jury," he said. "Generally, it's a better procedure for the commonwealth and theres clearly a cost savings to the county as well." County Judge William S. Kieser was to preside over the jury trial but because he has heard and ruled on many pre-trial motions in the case, the trial is now scheduled to take place before Judge Dudley N. Anderson. "Sometimes things come up in pre-trial motions that shouldn't come up at trial," Spring said. "We thought, and he (Kieser) agreed, that he'd heard some things that could influence his decision one way or another if he thought the evidence was a close call." Ball will stand trial on several charges, including an open count of criminal homicide, possessing instruments of a crime, carrying a firearm without a license, aggravated assault and recklessly endangering another person. Spring declined to comment on the defense team's strategy. (source: Williamsport Sun-Gazette) OHIO----female faces federal death sentence Moonda asks judge for no death penalty Donna Moonda is asking a federal judge to declare the death penalty unconstitutional or at the very least take it off the table in her upcoming trial. The Sharpsville, Pa., woman accused in the May 13, 2005, shooting death of her millionaire urologist husband, Dr. Gulam Moonda, on the side of the Ohio Turnpike filed a slew of motions late last week. Moonda is being held in the Medina County Jail in Ohio until her June 4 trial in which she will face the death penalty if found guilty. Moonda also is seeking to bar any testimony from nonfamily members on the impact of Dr. Moonda's death. A motion in federal court in Akron filed by Moonda's attorneys specifically asks to exclude friends and patients from testifying in the matter. Moonda, 47, was arrested and charged in July 2006 after her former boyfriend, Damian Bradford, agreed to cooperate with authorities. Bradford, 25, of Beaver County, Pa., had been set to go on trial in Dr. Moonda's death when he told authorities he shot Dr. Moonda at the urging of the urologist's wife. Police have said Bradford and Donna Moonda met in an outpatient drug rehabilitation program in Beaver County and began an affair. Bradford has been promised a 171/2-year prison sentence in exchange for his testimony. U.S. District Court Judge David O. Dowd, as of late Monday afternoon, had not ruled on Moonda's motion. (source: Youngstown Vindicator) CONNECTICUT: Death Penalty Rules Unfair After grilling 5 of the state's top prosecutors last week, lawyers for convicted murderer Jesse Campbell III apparently made their point that in Connecticut, as in other states, the process for seeking the death penalty is unfair, inexact and perhaps unconstitutional. Jurors in Mr. Campbell's case deadlocked on whether to order him executed, which opened the door to the constitutional challenge. Testimony by the prosecutors showed that they pretty much play by their own rules when it comes to deciding whom to target for capital punishment. Moreover, none of the 5 had ever consulted with the panel of senior state's attorneys that was created to advise on capital cases. It should follow that without a consistent set of guidelines, the chances of receiving the death sentence depend upon which prosecutor is trying the case. A defendant in Waterbury, for example, is 3 times more likely to be sentenced to death than a defendant in Windham. Prosecutors can't say with certainty that they would all have arrived at the same decision in the same cases. In fact, they maintain that the state constitution protects their right to be arbitrary. Fortunately, the state's Supreme Court isn't as certain as the prosecutors are about that unfettered right. If it were, the court would not have ordered them to testify in Mr. Campbell's case. 7 more regional state's attorneys are scheduled to testify next month. It would be surprising if the pattern of testimony set by the first 5 - that the death penalty is unequally applied - were to change. Capital punishment is ineffective in stopping crime, unjust, inhumane and should be abolished. Short of that, there should at least be formal written guidelines on how to employ it in Connecticut. (source: Editorial, Hartford Courant) MARYLAND: Death penalty forum rescheduled at church A free forum on Repeal of the Death Penalty, postponed due to February snows, has been rescheduled for March 7 at 7:30 p.m. at the Towson Unitarian Universalist Church, 1710 Dulaney Valley Road. Co-sponsored by the Baltimore County League of Women Voters and the Towson Unitarian's Adult Education Committee, the forum is being organized by Maryland Citizens Against State Executions. It will include presentations by the mother of a murder victim and a man who was sent to death row and later found innocent. Legislation to repeal Maryland's death penalty has been filed in Annapolis and has the backing of Gov. Martin O'Malley. Call 410-343-2072 for forum information. (source: MyWebPal.com)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----USA, PENN., OHIO, CONN., MD.
Rick Halperin Wed, 28 Feb 2007 18:20:56 -0600 (Central Standard Time)