[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, VA., FLA., ALA., MISS.
May 7 TEXASimpending execution Lawsuit: Controversy should delay Texas execution Texas prison officials must reveal the source of their lethal injection drugs to avoid an incident as horrific as last week's bungled execution in Oklahoma, attorneys for a Texas death row inmate argued Tuesday in an attempt to delay his upcoming execution. Lawyers for Robert Campbell filed a federal civil rights lawsuit citing the Oklahoma execution that went awry when an intravenous line of lethal drugs became dislodged, a failure that went unnoticed for 21 minutes. The inmate, Clayton Lockett, later died of an apparent heart attack. Oklahoma prison authorities have blamed a collapsed vein, not the drugs, for the injection problem, though an investigation is ongoing. Campbell's lawyers argue that the problem is the secrecy surrounding the drugs, and that the drug supplier's name is necessary to obtain and test the efficiency of the drugs - arguments that have been rejected by federal courts in Texas and other states in recent months . The possible cause of Mr. Lockett's botched execution are all issues that have been, are, or could be problematic in Texas, according to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Houston. There is a substantial risk that Mr. Campbell's execution could be as horrific as Mr. Lockett's. Texas' Department of Criminal Justice, which is among the named defendants in the lawsuit, does not comment on pending litigation, agency spokesman Jason Clark said Tuesday. Like several other states, Texas has refused to identify the source of its execution drug by citing possible threats of violence to the supplier if it's disclosed. Texas uses a single drug, pentobarbital, while Oklahoma used a 3-drug combination. Campbell's attorneys said it doesn't matter that different drugs were used in Oklahoma, because all of the potent drugs have potentially serious side effects. The risk to inmates like Campbell, who was convicted of abducting, raping and killing a woman in 1991, derives primarily from the secrecy of the entire process - not the individual drug that might be used in one execution vs. the next, the lawsuit argues. Questions about execution procedures have drawn renewed attention from defense attorneys and death penalty opponents in recent months as states have been forced to scramble to find new sources of execution drugs. Several drugmakers, including many based in Europe, have refused to sell drugs for use in executions. The issue surfaced in Texas - the nation's most active death penalty state - when it replenished its execution drug stock in late March. But the U.S. Supreme Court rejected appeals that focused on secrecy surrounding the drug supplier's name, and 3 Texas inmates have been executed since then. To move forward without hesitation despite full awareness of the grave risks and possibly torturous results ... should not be countenanced by a civilized society, nor tolerated by the constitutional principles that form the basis of our democracy, Campbell's attorneys said. Oklahoma officials tried for 51 minutes to find a vein in Lockett's arms and feet before inserting an IV through his groin. That vein collapsed, but the dislodged line was under a sheet and wasn't discovered until 21 minutes after the execution began, according to a report from the state's prison chief. Another vein wasn't viable and the state didn't have another dose of lethal drugs nearby, so the execution was stopped, but Lockett died about 10 minutes later. The autopsy report on Lockett will take two to three months to complete. Campbell, 41, is set to die next Tuesday for the 1991 slaying of a Houston woman, Alexandra Rendon, who was abducted while putting gas into her car, robbed, raped and shot. Campbell was 18 at the time and on parole after serving 4 months of a 5-year sentence for robbery. His lawyers also have other appeals in the courts, arguing that his execution should be halted because he is mentally impaired and that legal help he received at his trial and in earlier stages of appeals was deficient. (source: Associated Press) ** Bedford man faces death penalty after jury quickly convicts him for stabbing girlfriend, her sons A Tarrant County man who killed his estranged girlfriend and her 8-year-old son in their Bedford apartment last spring was convicted of capital murder Wednesday. Cedric Ricks, 39, could face the death penalty in the May 1, 2013, slaying of 30-year-old Roxann Diana Sanchez, and her 8-year-old son, Anthony Reyes Figueroa, according to the Tarrant County DA's office. Ricks also attacked Anthony's big brother, Marcus, and he testified in the trial. The 13-year-old said he survived by mimicking the gurgling sound his brother made as he died, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The couple's 9-month-old baby was found unharmed in the apartment. The
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----WYO., ORE., WASH., USA, US MIL.
May 7 WYOMING: Time to put the death penalty behind use Editor: The Wyoming Tribune Eagle reported an upcoming meeting of the Joint Judiciary Committee. They will hear a request by Wyoming Corrections to consider alternatives to lethal injection as a means to execute condemned inmates. It is important to note the Wyoming Legislature earlier this year rejected a bill that would have specified firing squads if lethal drugs were not available. The Cheyenne Tribunal Eagle stated: Many states have had problems getting execution drugs, and several inmates in other states have asserted that uncertainty about the source of drugs violates their rights. The reason states are unable to purchase the drugs is primarily due to a shortage of sodium thiopental. In 2011 the European Union barred German and Danish drug manufacturers from selling the compound to prisons in the United States. With no federal standards on the drug cocktail used in an execution, each state is left to its own determination of what is an appropriate protocol. On April 29, Clayton Lockett experienced a botched execution in Oklahoma and later died of a heart attack. One witness stated, ???It was a horrible thing to witness. This was totally botched. Unfortunately, Lockett was not the 1st nor will he be the last to experience a botched execution. As our legislators meet to consider such a morally charged issue, I hope they will consider ending the death penalty in the State of Wyoming. Not since Dale Eaton was sentenced in 2004 has a jury in given the death penalty to a convicted murderer. Is it possible that with the alternative sentence of life without parole, which means what it says, our citizenry has determined the death penalty is no longer a viable option? Besides a possible change in attitude by Wyoming citizens, our legislators know the cost for both the prosecution and defense when a penalty of death is pursued. Finally, the Department of Corrections knows the horrific experience of an execution and the subsequent post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms experienced by employees at the Wyoming State Penitentiary in Rawlins. There are many good reasons to put the death penalty behind us. THE REV. CARL GALLINGER, Cheyenne (source: Letter to the Editor, Casper Star Tribune) OREGON: Jayson Jaynes faces new charges, possible death penalty in Debbie Higbee Benton murder Clackamas County prosecutors charged Jason Jay Jaynes with aggravated murder Tuesday. Jaynes, already charged with conspiring to kill Deborah Higbee Benton, now faces a possible death sentence. Jaynes, his mother Susan Ellen Campbell, and former Gladstone police sergeant Lynn Edward Benton were charged with murdering Higbee Benton in May 2011. Higbee Benton. Lynn Benton's wife, was found dead in her Gladstone beauty shop May 28, 2011. She had been shot, beaten and strangled. Campbell was arrested a month later. So far, prosecutors have not stated a motive for the crime or the person who murdered Higbee Benton. Campbell admitted that she shot, but did not kill, Higbee Benton. This is an especially serious charge, Circuit Judge Kathie Steele said during Jaynes' brief arraignment Tuesday afternoon. Yes, said Jaynes, who raised his eyebrows and nodded his head in acknowledging the obvious. Prosecutor John Wentworth declined to comment on what led to the new, more serious charge. The indictment, however, provides a clue. Craig Allen Smith, who spent 2 weeks in the Clackamas County Jail and was lodged in the same unit as Jaynes, testified before the grand jury, according to the May 2 indictment. Smith also testified last month at Jaynes sex crimes trial Smith said Jaynes had admitted having sex with underage girls and provided details. Jaynes also may have disclosed information about Higbee Benton's murder. The latest charges are certain to delay the trial of Jaynes and Benton, now scheduled for February 2015. Jaynes will get a new attorney because his current attorney, Charles A. Moore, is not qualified to handle death penalty cases. It will take time for the new lawyer to review the mountain of evidence in the case. Here are some key developments in Higbee Benton case: June 2012: Campbell arrested and charged with murder. November 2012: Campbell pleads guilty to attempted aggravated murder. Her plea agreement calls for her to serve 15 years in prison in return for her cooperation.Charges filed against Benton and Jaynes. September 2013: Jaynes indicted on sex abuse and other charges involving underage girls. December 2013: Jaynes discloses information about the sex crimes, and possible the Higbee Benton murder, to another Clackamas County Jail inmate. April 2014: Jaynes convicted on sex crimes charges. Sentencing scheduled for May 21. (source: The Oregonian) WASHINGTON: After Okla. botched execution, ban death penalty in Wash. In light of the botched execution in
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
May 7 PALESTINIAN AUTHORITYexecutions Gaza Government Executes 2 for Israeli Collaboration Gaza authorities have executed two men after finding them guilty of collaboration with the Israeli military. The Ministry of Interior said, in a statement, that the death sentence was carried out against collaborators P.K. by shooting and G.T. by hanging after they were convicted of collaborating with hostile entities and treason, contrary to Article 131, 144, and 148 of Palestinian Penal Code of 1979, Al Ray Palestinian Media Agency has reported. Both men had allegedly acted in cooperation with the Israeli occupation for over 9 years, during which they provided intelligence to the military leading to the killing and injury of various Palestinian resistance fighters, the destruction of metal workshops, and the recruiting of other collaborators. Although the death penalty is a part of the PA penal code, it requires the approval of the president, according to Ma'an. Since the mandate of Mahmoud Abbas was set to expire in 2009, the Hamas-run Ministry of Interior in the Gaza Strip has carried out the death penalty without the approval of the Palestinian Authority, in years following. According to Israeli human rights organization B'tselem, Hamas authorities in the Gaza Strip have carried out 16 executions since October of 2013. The PA has not carried out any executions since 2005. (source: International Middle East Media Center) PAKISTAN: SC summons AG for arguments in death row prisoner's case Supreme Court on Wednesday summoned Attorney General (AG) to give solid arguments and reasons about death penalty according to the law and Constitution. The direction was issued as a 3-judge bench, headed by Justice Nasir ul Mulk, resumed the hearing regarding death row prisoner's case. During the course of proceedings, Bririster Zafa Ullah Khan, counsel for Dr. Yaqoob Bhatti, Executive Member of Watan Party and a petitioner stated that the petition related to completion of life imprisonment besides pending executions, which had resulted into mental deterioration of prisoners due to inordinate and inexplicable delay. Citing the Amnesty International report titled Death Sentences and Executions 2013, Pakistan had the highest number of death sentences among the countries featured in the report. According to the report, he stated 8,526 people were on death row at the end of 2013 in Pakistan. He said in India there were 400 persons were on death row which is 7 times larger than Pakistan in population. In Pakistan roughly 8526 were on death row on murder and 450 prisoners on drug trafficking or manufacturing charges last year, he added. The Constitution guarantees a fair trial, not a perfect trial, so many prisoners should be released as they have spent more time than life imprisonment while awaiting decisions, he added. Khan also submitted additional documents before the bench in this regard which may allow becoming the party of constitutional petition pending in the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, Justice Mulk asked for Attorney General who was not present, and summoned him for next date of hearing to give arguments and reasoning about death penalty according to the law and Constitution. Later, the bench adjourned further hearing of the case till last week of the May. (source: Business Recorder.com) VIETNAM: Death penalty upheld for Vinalines ex-chairman Duong Chi Dung The Supreme People's Court has upheld the death sentence given to Duong Chi Duong, a former chairman of shipping company Vinalines. The final verdict was announced on May 7, after it was delayed late last month as the appeals court conducted more hearings on the case. The court also upheld the death sentence for Mai Van Phuc, general director of Vinalines. Other accomplices received prison terms between 4 and 22 years. Dung, who is also a former director of the Vietnam Maritime Administration, was charged with embezzlement and intentionally violating State regulations on economic management causing serious consequences. Court documents said Dung and his accomplices violated a number of regulations when purchasing an unusable floating dock from a Singaporean company for US$9 million, much higher than its real value of only US$2.3 million. Dung and 3 others - Mai Van Phuc, Tran Huu Chieu and Tran Hai Son - also appropriated nearly US$1.7 million from the deal. Dung was arrested in September 2012 after months on the run since the warrant for his arrest was issued on May 17, 2012. The Duong Chi Dung trial is one of the highest-profile corruption cases to be brought to court in recent years as Vietnam intensifies its effort to combat corruption. Earlier this week, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong told a national convention on corruption that graft prevention and eradication are important tasks in the sustainable development of the country and the regime.
