[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, LA., DEL., MO.
Aug. 15 TEXAS: Supreme Court Outlawed Executing Mentally Retarded, But Texas Does It Anyway Last week Texas killed Marvin Wilson-the 484th person the Lone Star State has executed since the death penalty was reinstated in 1977. Wilson's execution became national news because he was mentally retarded: his IQ had been measured at 61. He was also my client. When I first met Wilson nearly 7 years ago, he was soft spoken, almost shy. His reading and writing skills were around the level of my son's, who was 5 at the time. He told me getting convicted of murder was good because it gave him an opportunity to learn a lot of things. I asked him what he meant. He said, You know, how to live on your own and things. In 2002 the Supreme Court ruled in Atkins v. Virginia that it was unconstitutional to execute the mentally retarded. You might think that would have ended the execution of the mentally retarded, but you would be wrong. Why? Because Texas executes the mentally retarded anyway, and the federal courts don't seem to care. In a 2004 decision the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals issued a decision called Ex parte Briseno, which basically said it is OK to execute people who are mentally retarded, so long as their retardation is mild. That is not what the Supreme Court said in Atkins. In fact, it is pretty much the opposite of what the Supreme Court said. Without putting too fine a point on it, doing the opposite of what the Supreme Court says is what is known as being lawless. Which raises the question: If you do something over and over again, and court after court appears not to care, is it still lawless? Let's not dance on the head of that pin just yet. Instead, some background: Wilson's legal team, which included 5 lawyers as well as 5 law students from the University of Houston, where I teach, asked both state and federal courts to halt his execution. We had several arguments, but the one incontestable proposition was that Wilson was mentally retarded. 5 IQ tests and testimony from numerous witnesses proved it. During the state court litigation, the only psychological expert to express an opinion testified that he was retarded. The state neither undermined his testimony nor had its own expert dispute that claim. So if the Supreme Court says you cannot executed the mentally retarded, and the only expert to testify says Marvin Wilson was retarded, how is it possible he got executed? Welcome to Texas! Here's an interesting statistic: nationwide, about 4 in 10 death-row inmates raising Atkins claims have prevailed. But in Texas, that number is 1 in 4. One possible explanation for the disparity is that Texas does not send as many mentally retarded people to death row. But I've been a death penalty lawyer for more than 20 years, and I can tell you firsthand that explanation doesn't fly. Which leaves the 2nd, and true, explanation: Texas has found a way to circumvent the Constitution, and neither the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit nor the Supreme Court appears to care. That might surprise you, if you believe in that thing called the rule of law, but death-penalty lawyers in Texas aren't surprised, because this has happened before. In 1989 the Supreme Court handed down a decision called Penry v. Lynaugh. The case involved an inmate, Johnny Paul Penry, with an IQ in the mid-50s. The court in that case declined to prohibit the execution of the mentally retarded, but it did say that the Texas system was fundamentally broken, because juries had no way to spare certain defendants from death, even if they believed those defendants should be sentenced to life in prison. Doing the opposite of what the Supreme Court says is what is known as being lawless. But if you do something over and over again, and court after court appears not to care, is it still lawless? I gave an interview after that decision saying its consequences would be dramatic; I predicted scores of death-row inmates in Texas would benefit. But I was young and naive. I did not realize Texas would ignore the decision, and that the Fifth Circuit and the Supreme Court wouldn't care. But that is precisely what happened. Over the next 15 years, more than 100 inmates with powerful so-called Penry claims got executed. They argued their juries had not had any way to sentence them to life in prison rather than death, even if those juries had wanted to spare them. Yet neither the Texas courts nor the Fifth Circuit nor even the Supreme Court did a thing. Finally, a decade and a half later, after nearly everyone with a Penry claim had already been executed, the Supreme Court broke its silence and issued a searing rebuke to both the state court and the Fifth Circuit, saying they were being unfaithful to the ruling in Penry. The rebuke was treated as a big deal by the national media. Overlooked was the fact that the Supreme Court knew what had been going on in Texas all along.
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----N.C., CALIF., OHIO, ARIZ., MONT.
Aug. 15 NORTH CAROLINA: DA seeks death penalty for man involved in death of a delivery driver The District Attorney's Office will seek the death penalty for at least 1 man accused of being involved in the death of a delivery driver that happened earlier this summer. Authorities indicted 6 people in connection to the murder of Zhen Bo Liu, according to the District Attorney's Office. Liu was killed June 14 while trying to make a delivery for China King, where he was employed. His body was found inside a car near 13th and Queen Streets. According to Police Chief Ralph Evangelous, the 6 people involved ordered approximately $48 worth of food, shot Liu, took the food, went back to a house where they sat down to eat together. The DA's office said the following people were indicted on murder charges: --Dwayne Haughabook, 20 --Mustafaa Friend, 15 --Rasheed Thompson, 16 --Manije Johnson-Martin, 16 Authorities plan to seek the death penalty for 20-year-old Haughabook in this case. Marvin White, 18, and Nathan Lawrence, 16, were indicted for robbery with a dangerous weapon. District Attorney Ben David said the case is a priority to his office and that in North Carolina, a 16-year-old is considered an adult. Judge J.H. Corpening said the 15-year-old can't face capital punishment, but can spend the rest of his life in prison. Assistant District Attorney Jason Smith said investigators learned through the interview process that the 15-year-old shot Liu in the foot and Haugabook shot him in the face, using different weapons. (source: WECT News) CALIFORNIA: End death penalty for dollars and sense My office sought the death penalty in dozens of cases when I was the Los Angeles County district attorney for eight years, and chief deputy district attorney for four. The cases had horrific and compelling facts; I had no problem seeking death sentences. But though I never was squeamish, I now fully support Proposition 34 to replace the death penalty with life in prison with no possibility of parole. Here's why. California's death penalty is broken beyond repair, hideously expensive, and inevitably carries the risk of executing an innocent person. The hundreds of millions of dollars we throw away on this broken system would be much better spent on solving and preventing crime and investing in our kids' schools. I have no qualms with the death penalty in theory. I do, however, object to the way it is carried out in practice. We condemn murderers to death row with the hope of delivering severe punishment for their crimes. Yet the reality is that these criminals enjoy special status. Fan mail, private cells, their own personal television and other special privileges are not what I envisioned when I sought the death penalty as district attorney. I am sure that is not what family members of victims envisioned either. What's more, the costs of this dysfunctional system are staggering. There's special housing, legal teams and a double trial process, among other costs. The Office of the Legislative Analyst in California found that replacing it with life in prison without parole could save us $130 million every year. We are on track to spend $1 billion on this broken system over the next five years. All for what? Most inmates die of old age. We need to stop the waste wherever we can. We need that money for police and teachers, not a death row that exists in name only. And a sinister problem lurks with the death penalty: the possible execution of an innocent person. I'd like to think that not one innocent person has been sentenced to death in California, but the truth is, we don't know. The only way to be sure we will never make an irreversible mistake is to vote yes on Proposition 34 in November. Let me be clear: I am no less adamant about punishing heinous killers now. Proposition 34 is tough justice. Convicted murderers and rapists will remain in prison until they die, with no hope of ever getting out, and will have to work and pay restitution for their crimes. The time is now to invest our scarce resources where they can do the most good. Fighting crime and funding education are sound investments. We can no longer afford to prop up a system that works only in theory while it robs us of precious tax dollars. California is ready for justice that works for everyone. (source: Opinion; Gil Garcetti is the former Los Angeles district attorneySan Francisco Chronicle) OHIO: Error removes, returns convict to death row An error made by a judge took Nathaniel E. Jackson off of death row for about 2 years, but that same judge put him back on death row Tuesday. Judge John M. Stuard of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court resentenced Jackson, 40, to the death penalty for conspiring with Donna Roberts in 2001 to kill Roberts' husband, Robert Fingerhut, in the home Fingerhut and Roberts shared in Howland. Roberts is also on death
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----CALIF., S.C.
Aug. 15 CALIFORNIA: Ending death penalty would fuel crime Should California preserve the death penalty for vicious murderers? That's the real question for voters considering Proposition 34. It's not about saving money or preventing the execution of innocent people. Those are political statements by special interests who have consistently fought against capital punishment. Prop. 34 is their latest effort, complete with a catchy name and slick sales pitch. We oppose Prop. 34 from the perspective of a father forced to bury his 12-year-old little girl after she was raped and murdered, and a district attorney who has taken an oath to defend and protect innocent citizens. Should it pass, Prop. 34 would embolden violent criminals. Make no mistake; criminals will take advantage of leniency and act brazenly without fear of consequences. A death sentence is given to fewer than 2 percent of convicted murderers. It is reserved for cases with a separate finding of special circumstances attributed to crimes so violent that juries unanimously decided capital punishment was warranted. For example, serial killer Robert Rhoades kidnapped 8-year-old Michael Lyons as he was walking home from school. Rhoades tortured and raped the little boy for 10 hours, stabbing him 70 times, before slitting his throat and dumping his body in a river. Prop. 34 lets these killers escape the death penalty and requires taxpayers to spend tens of millions of dollars to provide them with lifetime health care and housing benefits. Supporters also claim eliminating capital punishment ensures innocent people won't be executed. They blur the significant difference between not guilty and innocent, which is dishonest. Gov. Jerry Brown has stated there are no innocent people on California's death row. Prop. 34 proponents believe that life in prison without parole should be California's maximum punishment. Patricia Pendergrass has experience with how a life sentence can mean nothing. Behind the walls of Folsom Prison, while serving a life sentence for the murder of a teenage girl, Clarence Ray Allen planned and ordered the execution of Pendergrass' brother Bryon Schletewitz and 2 others. For that, he earned a death sentence. The harshest insult Prop. 34 supporters make is that the death penalty is too expensive. Never mind that the initiative takes $100 million from California's general fund. Proponents' born-again fiscal conservatism is hypocritical because they are the ones who have for decades disrupted the system by filing endless legal appeals. Other states afford criminals due process while enforcing the death penalty. We can, too. Join us and protect California by voting no on Prop 34. (source: Opinion; Stephen M. Wagstaffe is the San Mateo County district attorney. Marc Klaas is the father of 12-year-old Polly Klaas, who was murdered by Richard Allen DavisSan Francisco Chronicle) SOUTH CAROLINA: Death penalty under serious consideration in Irmo double homicide Fifth Circuit Solicitor Dan Johnson said Wednesday morning he is seriously considering going for the death penalty in the double homicide case against Brett Parker. It's on the table and being given serious consideration, Johnson said. We are looking at it. Johnson declined to set a date by which he might make a decision on whether to seek the death penalty against Parker, accused of killing his wife and a friend in April at his Ascot Estates home in what law officers have called a premeditated crime. The Richland County Sheriff's Department in July charged Parker, 42, with 2 counts of murder. Warrants in the case say on April 13 he shot to death his wife, Tammy Jo, 44, and family friend Bryan Capnerhurst, 46, at the Parkers' $760,000 home in the upscale Ascot Estates subdivision in the Irmo area. Prosecutors have said the motive in the case was to collect his wife's life insurance, which they said was nearly $1 million. They said Parker used 2 guns in the incident. Parker has told officers that Capnerhurst killed his wife, and then, in self-defense, he grabbed a gun and killed Capnerhurst. In July, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott, whose detectives investigated the case, said that Capnerhurst worked for Brett Parker's illegal sports gambling business. Lott, who called Parker a bookie, said gambling was behind the shootings but was not the sole motive. Federal authorities are also examining alleged sports betting evidence found at the Parkers' home. On July 26, Judge DeAndrea Benjamin denied bond for Parker from the Richland County jail, despite pleas from his defense lawyers that he has no criminal record and posed no public threat. Parker remains in custody at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center off Bluff Road. (source: The State) ___ DeathPenalty mailing list DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Aug. 15 SINGAPORE: Will death penalty changes affect him? In September last year, he was convicted of murdering a man. His appeal against the conviction, which carries the mandatory death penalty, was dismissed. But can recent proposed changes to the death penalty see a change in Fabian Adiu Edwin's situation? Under changes proposed in Parliament last month, death may no longer be the mandatory penalty in certain murder and drug trafficking cases. Rather, judges will be given the discretion to decide on a death sentence or life imprisonment for such cases, said Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Teo Chee Hean, and Law Minister K. Shanmugam at the time. Yesterday, Fabian's lawyer, Mr Anand Nalachandran, attempted to persuade the Court of charges other than that of murder. Factors such as Fabian's conduct after the attack - he went back to Malaysia and returned the next day for work - and his low intelligence showed he did not appreciate the fatal injuries that could have and did ensue, he said. But the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, upholding Fabian's conviction under Section 300C of the Penal Code. This is the offence of murder committed with the intention of causing such bodily injury as ordinarily causes death. It is 1 of 3 types of murder charges for which the mandatory death penalty may be removed. Intention to kill Under the proposed law, only one type of murder charge - where there is an intention to kill - will carry this penalty. Once it is in place, accused persons who meet the requirement can choose to be considered for resentencing. All executions have been deferred since the review on the death penalty was initiated a year ago. Fabian could be eligible for resentencing, Mr Nalachandran said. But for now, the petition for clemency will be prepared in due course. As and when such amendments are enacted, we will review the provisions and advise (Fabian), he said, adding that Fabian is aware of the recent announcements. Lawyer and former district judge Edmond Pereira said it was unlikely Fabian would benefit from the proposed changes. Pointing out that Edwin's conviction and failed appeal came before any changes in law, he said: A change in the law doesn't mean that all cases falling under the affected sections will be immediately reconsidered. If the Court of Appeal had found merits in Fabian's case, they would have allowed the appeal. Lawyer Shashi Nathan, who currently has 4 or 5 cases which might be affected by any new rulings, added that while amendments to the mandatory death penalty are being welcomed, there are still issues to be ironed out. For murder, for example, an issue would be the complex nature of its facts. How the offence is classified is important, and is sometimes a matter of interpretation, he said. What is certain though, is the proposed amendments give some hope. Any lawyer who has a client on death row would say the same - we'll try our best to save his life, said Mr Nathan. About The Case Construction worker, Fabian Adiu Edwin, 22, was riding his bicycle on the night of Aug 23, 2008, with his friend Ellarry Puling, 28, a cleaner. Both were looking for victims to rob, and found Mr Loh sitting at a Sims Avenue bus stop, with a phone to his ear. With Ellarry as lookout, Fabian attacked, using a 513g wooden block - about 45cm long, 5cm wide, and 4cm thick - to strike Mr Loh on the head. His skull fractured, Mr Loh died in hospital 4 1/2 hours later. In March this year, Ellarry was jailed 19 years with 24 strokes of the cane for a lesser charge of robbery with hurt, in addition to 5 more similar charges for separate incidents. And in September last year, Fabian was found guilty of murder. (source: The New Paper) ___ DeathPenalty mailing list DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty Search the Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/deathpenalty@lists.washlaw.edu/ ~~~ A free service of WashLaw http://washlaw.edu (785)670.1088 ~~~
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----USA, ARIZ., GA., FLA.
Aug. 15 USA: Death by IQ: US inmates condemned by flawed tests Texas puts man with 61 IQ to death. This was just one of the lurid headlines that greeted the execution on 7 August of Marvin Wilson, killed by lethal injection at Huntsville State Penitentiary for the murder of a police informant in 1992. Was he a child-like simpleton or a streetwise criminal? Both pictures were painted in court as experts contested conflicting IQ test scores and other lines of evidence. For Wilson, time ran out, but lawyers for dozens of other inmates on death row in the US are trying to prove that their clients are intellectually disabled, allowing their sentences to be commuted to life imprisonment. What is disturbing, according to some researchers who specialise in psychometric testing and intellectual disabilities, is that executions may go ahead because some courts refuse to accept two key scientific facts surrounding IQ testing. First, the tests have a margin of error, which means that a score should be interpreted as lying within a range, not a hard-and-fast number. There is measurement error in any score, says Edward Polloway of Lynchburg College in Virginia, co-chair of a task force on the death penalty for the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD). Second, some inmates are being condemned to death by inflated IQ scores obtained using older intelligence tests. This inflation stems from the Flynn effect - the perplexing observation that, across a population, IQ scores using any particular test rise over time. In the US, scores climb by about 3 points per decade. According to James Flynn of the University of Otago in New Zealand, failing to correct for the effect that bears his name creates a lottery in which eligibility for execution in the US depends on the test that happens to be used. Cases like Wilson's have proliferated since 2002, when the US Supreme Court ruled that executing people with an intellectual disability - then called mental retardation - amounts to cruel and unusual punishment and is therefore unconstitutional. For someone to be classed as intellectually disabled, it is necessary to demonstrate significant limitations in intellectual functioning (usually taken to mean an IQ of 70 or below) and in adaptive behaviour - such as problems with literacy, social skills and the ability to handle money. These deficits must also have been present before the age of 18. However, the Supreme Court did not stipulate how intellectual functioning and adaptive behaviour should be measured, leaving that to individual states to decide. This has led to wide variation in how such cases have played out. In 2009, researchers at Cornell Law School in Ithaca, New York, analysed the cases of 234 death-row inmates who claim they are intellectually disabled. Overall, 38 per cent of the claims were judged valid, but the success rate varied from as high as 17 out of 21 claims in North Carolina to 3 out of 26 in Alabama (Tennessee Law Review, vol 76, p 625). There are several reasons for the variation, including whether courts take into account the measurement error inherent in IQ scores - the fact that an individual, tested repeatedly, would not achieve the same score every time, but rather a distribution of scores clustered around their true IQ. Florida has closed the door on measurement error: in 2007 its Supreme Court made a landmark ruling that Roger Cherry, a double-murderer who had scored 72 on an IQ test called the WAIS-III, was not intellectually disabled. The test has a standard error of measurement of about 2.5 points, so Cherry's true IQ could have been below 70. The court backed a strict cut-off of 70, and Cherry remains on death row. Failing to correct for the Flynn effect can have even bigger consequences, as courts frequently consider IQ scores using tests introduced more than a decade earlier - meaning scores can be inflated by 3 or more points (see Life or death, below). Why scores on an IQ test should slowly rise over the years remains a mystery. It probably does not mean that everyone is getting smarter. Instead, a range of factors may be involved, including increasing familiarity with psychometric testing and growing exposure to complex visual media such as computer games. Whatever the explanation, the Flynn effect is now well established, and IQ tests must be recalibrated from time to time to return the average score to 100. The scientific consensus that the Flynn effect is real has not, however, translated into a legal consensus that corrections should be applied to the IQ scores of people sentenced to death. There's always a fight over it, and the judge decides in each case, says Cecil Reynolds of Texas AM University in College Station. A specialist in psychometric testing, Reynolds has testified as an expert witness on behalf of death-row inmates. Even where measurement
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Aug. 15 AUSTRALIA/MALAYSIA: Aussie to face death trial in December A Perth man facing the death penalty in Malaysia on drugs charges will be tried in December, a court has confirmed. Perth man Dominic Jude Christopher Bird, 32, appeared in the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Tuesday, where his trial was fixed to run over 5 days from December 3. A Malaysian High Court official confirmed the trial date to AAP on Wednesday. Bird was arrested by undercover officers on March 1 at a Kuala Lumpur coffee shop, where police allege he tried to sell them 167g of methamphetamine. The Australian has been charged under Section 39B of Malaysia's Dangerous Drugs Act, which carries a mandatory death penalty for possessing 50g or more of methamphetamine. He has also been charged with one count of drug use in relation to an allegedly positive urine test taken after his arrest. He has pleaded not guilty to both charges. A Perth woman, aged-care nurse Emma Louise L'Aiguille, 34, is being held in a Malaysian women's prison on similar charges, following her arrest on July 17. L'Aiguille was arrested with Nigerian man Anthony Esikalam Ndidi, after a police sting in downtown Kuala Lumpur allegedly found 1.005kg of methamphetamine under the seat of their car. 2 other Nigerian men - one believed to be L'Aiguille's boyfriend - escaped, but one of them is believed to have since been arrested. L'Aiguille's next mention date is October 1, when she may be formally charged. Accused drug offenders are tentatively charged under Malaysian law pending a chemist's report on the alleged substance. L'Aiguille has already been tentatively charged. Malaysia has executed 3 Australians for drug offences. Kevin Barlow and Brian Chambers were hanged in July 1986, followed by Michael McAuliffe in June 1993. (source: Sky News) UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Death sentence for Abu Dhabi drug smuggler Prosecutors told the criminal court that JA, from Pakistan, was arrested after he called a man in Dubai to tell him he had the drugs and would meet him in Mussaffah to sell them for Dh5,000. Police arrested him and his Dubai contact. JA was carrying a plastic bag, hidden inside a white cloth, which contained 80 capsules filled with a white substance that tests proved to be heroin. Police said he confessed to bringing in 642 grams of heroin through Abu Dhabi International Airport. But his lawyers argued in court that he was delivering the capsules without knowing what was in them. The court issued the death sentence, which is the maximum for drug dealing. There have been no cases of drug-related death sentences upheld by the Court of Cassation. (source: The National) SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Arabia to release 82 Egyptian prisoners Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz has pardoned and released 82 Egyptian prisoners on the occasion of Ramadan. Their names will shortly be sent to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, said Saudi Arabia???s ambassador in Cairo, Ahmed Qattan, today. President Mohamed Morsy was in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday to attend the Extraordinary Islamic Summit held in Mecca, along with leaders of Muslim countries, when the announcement was made. It's not yet clear whether Ahmed al-Gizawy will be among the released. Gizawy, a human rights lawyer, was arrested at the airport in Jeddah this year on 25 April for allegedly possessing large quantities of Xanax, a drug banned in Saudi Arabia. Prosecutors have sought the death penalty in his case, which has been adjourned to September. (source: Egypt Independent) EGYPT: Egypt Sentences 14 Terrorists to DeathA criminal court in Egypt sentences 14 members of a terrorist group to death for carrying out a string of terror attacks in the Sinai. A criminal court in Egypt on Tuesday sentenced 14 members of a terrorist group to death, the Egyptian daily Al-Masry Al-Youm reported. The 14 attacked a police station in the city of Arish in July of last year and killed army and police officers. The incident occurred on July 29, 2011, when the terrorists attacked the police department in the capital city of North Sinai Governorate. The ensuing crossfire left 2 police and army officers and 3 citizens dead. The attack came after a demonstration by a group believed to be Jihadists in which they raised Islamic banners. Al-Masry Al-Youm reported that the defendants faced charges of founding an illegal group, Al-Tawheed wa al-Jihad, which aims at suspending the provisions of the constitution and the law, hindering the work of state institutions and public authorities, using terrorism as a means of reaching goals, and assaulting police and armed forces personnel to disrupt public order, safety and security. They were also charged with stealing three automatic rifles, 125 bullets and explosive materials, the report said. The court had in previous sessions heard the testimonies of the witnesses, including the North
