[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----LA., ARK., OHIO, MO., NEB., UTAH
March 27 LOUISIANA: Debate continues over Glenn Ford, death penaltyADA Dale Cox on death penalty: 'I think we need to kill more people' No one in the Caddo Parish District Attorney's office ever said Glenn Ford is an innocent man even though a murder conviction and death sentence handed up by a jury in 1984 were dismissed and vacated in June. He may very well be or he may not be, said First Assistant District Attorney Dale Cox, who signed the dismissal papers leading to Ford's freedom from death row. Even Cox's boss, District Attorney Charles Scott, said there is considerable evidence Ford, freed from Louisiana State Penitentiary on March 11, 2014, may have been a principal to armed robbery in the Nov. 5, 1983, shooting death of Shreveport jewelry Isadore Rozeman. The reason that is potentially important is under armed robbery he could still be in the penitentiary. I'm not saying he is guilty of armed robbery, I'm saying the evidence might have led to a charge of armed robbery, Scott said. So bottom line, does Scott, who was not the DA when Ford was convicted in December 1984, think Ford should be a free man? No comment, Scott responded. While Scott has remained guarded and tight-lipped in his response to questions about Ford, Cox was more forthcoming in 2 separate interviews this week, including lengthy explanations about changing viewpoints on the death penalty as a punishment for 1st-degree murder convictions. National exposure Cox's stated support of the death penalty and other comments about Ford's case are largely in response to a letter written to The Times last week by attorney A.M. Marty Stroud III, the man who formerly held Cox's position as 1st assistant DA and as such was the lead prosecutor in convicting Ford. Stroud, now anguished over his part in a man not guilty of murder sitting on death row almost 30 years, has apologized to Ford via the letter. The wrongful conviction, he said, serves as an example of the need to repeal the death penalty, which he calls barbaric. But the dueling opinions are an example of the national dialogue created when portions of Stroud's letter were repeated through perhaps hundreds of online and print reports, stretching from coast to coast and across the ocean. Many complimented Stroud for his willingness to publicly apologize for his role in the conviction of a man who spent decades behind bars for a murder he didn't commit, while others once again debated the pros and cons of the death penalty, especially the possibility that a man not guilty of murder was slated for execution. Ford's reaction to Stroud's apology and the firestorm it created is unknown. Because of his declining health, all interviews have been suspended until further notice, attorney Kristin Wenstrom said. Ford, 65, is being treated for Stage 4 lung cancer in New Orleans and may only have eight months or less to live, according to a physician's diagnosis in February. He only learned of his fate following his release from Angola, even though health problems plagued him prior to that. 'Kill more people' In his letter, Stroud questioned whether the justice system can be fairly and impartially imposed with the death penalty still in play. He calls it state assisted revenge. Cox disagrees the justice system is defective, saying it is only as good as the people who work in it. Even so, convicting an innocent man is a prosecutor's worst nightmare, he said. He remains committed to the death penalty as a morally justifiable punishment even though his personal position has changed from an anti-stance to support over the past 35 years, just as Stroud started out in favor of it then moved to opposition. Cox said he's too often witnessed the enormous toll homicides take on the victim and survivors. Barbarians with no remorse for their crimes, serial killers, baby killers of all races and genders demonstrate to Cox more barbaric behavior over a planned execution. However, Cox is not a believer the death penalty serves as a deterrent to other homicide cases. It's not a deterrent if it goes fast, but we can't get it done fast enough. I'm a believer that the death penalty serves society's interest in revenge. I know it's a hard word to say and people run from it, but I don't run from it because I think there is a very strong societal interest as a people, Cox said. I think (revenge) is the only reason for it. I think we need to kill more people. ... I think the death penalty should be used more often. It has come to the place in our society where it is used less often, and I think crime in our society has expanded so expeditiously ... that we're going the wrong way with the death penalty that we need it more than ever and we're using it less now, he said. 'Not the shooter' Approximately 10 months passed from the time Caddo Parish prosecutors learned in 2013 of new information implicating someone other
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----UTAH, NEV., ARIZ., CALIF.
March 27 UTAH: Utah comes under fire for reinstating death penalty by firing squad as backup Utah is now the only state to allow firing squads for executions when the primary method of lethal-injection drugs aren't available. The state currently does not have any lethal injection drugs on hand. Governor Gary Herbert signed HB 11 into law on March 23, 2015. Those who voiced opposition to this bill are primarily arguing against capital punishment in general and that decision has already been made in our state, said Marty Carpenter, spokesman for Gov. Herbert. Prior to this, the firing squad was an option, but was only allowed for inmates who chose this method before it was eliminated in 2004. The American Civil Liberties Union and other opponents of the death penalty say that measure is a step backwards in time. Members of Utahns for Alternative Death Penalty gathered over 6,000 signatures on a petition against the bill urging the Governor to veto it. Despite a close vote in the House, The Utah legislature passed HB 11, the Firing squad bill, by a nearly 2/3 majority. Opponents call the bill, 'state-sponsored murder' and want future legislatures to reconsider execution all together. In the past 40 years, Utah is the only state to carry out such a death sentence with 3 executions by firing squad since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976. In total, 34 states use capital punishment. All those states use lethal injection as the primary method of execution. 8 states have electrocution as a secondary method for execution, 4 use the gas chamber, 3 use hanging and 2 use the firing squad. Oklahoma offers firing squad only if lethal injection and electrocution are found unconstitutional. (source: KCSG news) American prelates criticize death penalty Bishop John Wester of Salt Lake City criticized Utah's reinstatement of death penalty by the firing squad. No human law can trump God's law, he said. Taking a human life is wrong, a slap in the face of hope, and a blasphemous attempt to assume divine attributes that we humble human beings do not have. Bishop Wester's remarks followed recent statements by Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles and the bishops of Nebraska calling for the repeal of the death penalty. Catholic teaching allows the use of the death penalty under certain clear and specific conditions, said the state's bishops. We do not believe that those conditions exist in Nebraska at this time. For this reason, the Catholic bishops of Nebraska, guided by prudence and the teaching of the Church, support legislative efforts to repeal the death penalty and reform our criminal justice system. (source: catholicculture.org) NEVADA: Nowsch defense prepares for death penalty hearing For the 1st time, both suspects charged in the murder of Tammy Meyers appeared in court on Thursday. When the accused accomplice of Erich Nowsch tried to say something, the judge told him to be quiet. At this point, nobody knows what Derrick Andrews was trying to say to the courtroom, and what he told police after he was arrested has also not been revealed. The defense team for Nowsch, the accused trigger man, says that's problematic for their case. Andrews and Nowsch are both accused of the same crimes, murder and attempted murder, in the shooting death of local mother Tammy Meyers. District Attorney Steve Wolfson has made it clear the state isn't ruling out the death penalty at least for Nowsch. His defense is preparing for a hearing before the committee next week. Right now they're in hot water because they say the state hasn't released all the evidence in the case, including anything his alleged co-conspirator told police about that night. When you ask how he's going to influence the impact of this case it's really impossible to tell, and the state has made it impossible by withholding evidence with regard to Mr. Andrews, Defense Attorney Conrad Claus told Action News. Claus also said the state hasn't provided all of Nowsch's interview with police. The defense team is working to figure out if Nowsch said anything prior to being read his rights. It looks like there's a gap in our audio tape at the jail, he said. Andrews tried to speak to the courtroom Thursday but the judge intervened, saying he needed to protect his rights. District Attorney Steve Wolfson said he's not ready to comment on whether he will seek the death penalty for Andrews. (source: KTNV news) * Court schedules death penalty hearing for Nowsch A hearing on the death penalty for 1 of the suspects in the shooting death of a Las Vegas mother in February has been scheduled for April 1. Erich Nowsch pleaded not guilty to the charges this morning at the Regional Justice Center. His trial date had earlier been scheduled for May 26. Derrick Andrews, who police say was the driver for
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----USA
March 27 USA: Executions, Doctors, The U.S. Supreme Court, And The Breath Of Kings Editor's note: This post is part of a series stemming from the 3rd Annual Health Law Year in P/Review event held at Harvard Law School on Friday, January 30, 2015. The conference brought together leading experts to review major developments in health law over the previous year, and preview what is to come. A full agenda and links to video recordings of the panels are here. The relationship between medicine and capital punishment has been a persistent feature of this past year in health law, both at the level of medical ethics and Supreme Court review. Our story starts in Oklahoma, where the execution of Clayton Lockett was botched on April 28, 2014. National Institutes of Health (NIH) bioethicist Seema Shah described the events in question: Oklahoma was administering a new execution protocol that used the drug midazolam, a sedative that is often used in combination with other anesthetic agents. Oklahoma had never used this drug in executions before; in fact, only a few states had experience with using the drug in lethal injection. Florida had previously used this drug in lethal injections, but with a dose five times higher than what was indicated in Oklahoma's protocol. If the execution had gone as planned, Clayton Lockett would have first received midazolam; been declared unconscious, then received vecuronium bromide (a paralytic/neuromuscular blocking agent that would restrict his movements), and finally received potassium chloride (the drug likely to end his life). A few minutes after officially being declared unconscious, Lockett mumbled statements including the word, Man. He began breathing heavily, writhing, clenching his teeth and straining to lift his head off the pillow. Prison officials prevented the witnesses from seeing the rest of the proceedings by closing the curtains. The Department of Corrections then called off the execution and unsuccessfully tried to resuscitate Lockett, and Lockett eventually died of a heart attack more than 45 minutes after the execution began. Although a Department of Corrections official stated that Lockett's veins exploded, an autopsy examination performed by a forensic pathologist hired by death row inmates appears to contradict official reports. This report concluded that even though prison officials decided to inject the drugs into Lockett's femoral vein (which is a more difficult and risky procedure), Lockett's surface and deep veins had excellent integrity. Another execution that was scheduled to occur that same night has now been stayed for 6 months, pending an investigation into Mr. Lockett's execution. On July 23, 2014, Arizona encountered a problem with the same drug in the execution of Joseph Wood, wherein the condemned inmate allegedly gasped for almost 2 hours before dying. The executions have prompted 2 important but different kinds of responses. In this post I write about the role of medical ethics and the U.S. Supreme Court's response. Medical Ethics In an opinion from 1994, dissenting from the denial of certiorari in the death penalty case of Callins v. Collins, Justice Harry Blackmun famously wrote, From this day forward, I no longer shall tinker with the machinery of death, and concluded that he was instead obligated simply to concede that the death penalty experiment has failed. 2 decades later, in May 2014, shortly after the botched Oklahoma execution, Bob Truog, Mark Rockoff, and I argued in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) that physicians should take a similar position: that they should no longer tinker with the machinery of death and avoid participation in executions altogether. Our argument received significant discussion in the media, on Rachel Maddow's MSNBC show, and elsewhere. We hope it will prompt further changes. In our article, we advance several reasons why physician involvement in execution is problematic. This involvement co-opts the medical profession in a problematic way: History is replete with examples of efforts by governments to co-opt the power and status of the medical profession for state purposes that are not aligned with the goals of medicine. For example, physicians have engaged in interrogations involving torture, at least in part because the skills and knowledge of these professionals enables them to maximize the prisoner's temporary pain and suffering while minimizing the risk of permanent disability or death. It also medicalizes retribution. That is, [e]xecution is, intrinsically, the involuntary taking of the life of another human being, an act that can never be aligned with the goals of medicine. Regardless of whether execution is justified - and there are those who contend that in some circumstances capital punishment may be - it must never be perceived as a medical procedure. By playing on the imagery of a scene
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
March 27 UNITED KINGDOM/PAKISTAN: Calls for ministers to intervene in the case of a Pakistani blasphemy accused Ministers are facing calls to intervene in the case of a Pakistani Christian woman condemned to death for blasphemy. Human rights campaigners said ministers could use their links with the country to demand a reprieve for Asia Bibi who was convicted of blasphemy in 2010 after an argument with Muslim co-workers. The call comes as a UK-wide petition calling for the release of the woman tops half a million signatures. Aid to the Church in Need, a global charity which aims to halt the persecution of Christians across the globe, has also called on the Consulate of Pakistan in Glasgow to encourage its government to carry out a review of the case. Lorraine McMahon, head of operations in Scotland for the charity, said: What is the Scottish Government doing to hold the Pakistan Government to account? It must utilise the strong business and cultural links between Scotland and Pakistan and the relationship External Affairs Minister Humza Yousaf has built up with Pakistani Government. She added that the UK Government had doubled aid to Pakistan to over ???400 million per annum and had expressly stated that this money is aimed at tackling extremism. She said: However, over that same period our research shows that acts of intolerance and violence have increased and that few if any steps have been taken to alter current legal frameworks that clearly intimate religious minorities and only make the situation worse. The Change.org petition was organised by university student Emily Clarke, who was moved by the plight of Ms Bibi, the 1st woman to be sentenced to death in Pakistan, with the number of signatures rising to more than 570,000. The High Court in Lahore upheld her death sentence last October while her family is making a last chance appeal to Pakistan's Supreme Court. Minister for Europe and International Development Mr Yousaf said: The Scottish Government strongly opposes the death penalty in all circumstances, and believes it to be the most fundamental violation of human rights. Scottish Ministers have consistently raised this issue through the UK Government and with the authorities in Pakistan. Scotland has a strong and enduring commitment to securing democracy, the rule of law and fundamental human rights across the world. Respect for human rights, the rule of law and democratic principles is critical to the stability of all nations and territories, and the Scottish Government is committed to ensuring we make a contribution to that effort as a good global citizen. We are deeply concerned by all incidents of religious persecution and have called on the Foreign Secretary to outline how the UK Government plans to engage further with international governments and faith leaders to tackle the persecution of religious minorities around the world. (source: heraldscotland.com) ** IHC stays triple-murder convict's execution A Division Bench (DB) of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) Thursday granted stay in the execution of capital punishment to Raees Ahmad, a convict of triple-murder, after his counsel adopted before the court that a settlement is being struck between his client and the victim family. The IHC dual bench comprising Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Aamir Farooq stayed the execution of death sentence to the triple murder convict and directed the counsel to produce the compromise deed before the court till March 30 and deferred the proceedings in this matter till then. Presently, the convict Raees Ahmad is imprisoned at Adiala Jail Rawalpindi and he was scheduled to be hanged on the morning of March 27 (today). An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) awarded death penalty to him in 1999 for charges of triple murder. Raees Ahmed of Bara Kaho was awarded death sentence by a local court in 1999 for triple-murder. Later he had filed appeals against the sentence that were dismissed by the high court and Supreme Court of Pakistan. His brother and father were also awarded sentence of imprisonment and they died inside the jail while serving the sentence. The counsel for Raees appeared before the IHC dual bench and informed the court that a settlement is being struck with the victim family. Therefore, he requested the court to issue directions to halt the execution of death sentence to his client. After hearing the arguments, the division bench stayed the execution and adjourned the hearing in this matter till March 30 for further proceedings. (source: The Nation) INDONESIA: Executions near as Indonesia's supreme court rejects petition Attorney General M. Prasetyo praised the Supreme Court's (MA) decision to reject a second case review petition filed by Philippines national Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso, adding that the decision helps clear the way for the Attorney General's Office (AGO) to carry
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., DEL., S.C., FLA., ALA.
March 27 TEXAS: Passing legislation is step toward death penalty reform Re: Death Penalty Fixes Needed - Bills address embarrassments in Texas' system, Monday Editorials. As the chair and members of the American Bar Association's Texas Capital Punishment Assessment Team, we appreciated your recent editorial. Our team, which consisted of attorneys, legal scholars and former judges, spent 2 years reviewing current death penalty laws and practices. In 2013, we issued a comprehensive report detailing dozens of recommendations for improving the fairness and accuracy of our state's death penalty system. These include enacting a statute banning the application of the death penalty to people with intellectual disabilities and increasing access to DNA testing - the subject of 2 bills cited in your editorial. The report also emphasized the need for greater transparency to support public confidence in Texas' death penalty. Requiring prosecutors to notify defendants of requests to set execution dates - another bill cited in your editorial - is an obvious component of transparency. Texans cannot accept a capital punishment system with structural impediments to fairness, transparency and assurance that wrongful convictions and executions do not take place. Passing the legislation cited here is an important 1st step toward correcting significant shortcomings, and we urge all lawmakers to support these critical reforms. Jennifer Laurin, Royal Ferguson and Paul Coggins, Austin (source: Letter to the Editor, Dallas Morning News) PENNSYLVANIA: Families of victims speak out on death penalty moratorium Families of victims whose killers sit on death row had the chance to testify on Thursday afternoon about Governor Tom Wolf's moratorium on the death penalty. Each family had a different view, but all agreed ... something needs to change. One by one, those who've suffered the loss that some of us can't ever imagine, spoke from the heart. Trista's killer is alive and well. Being able to see the sun, able to sleep every night, said Morgan Eng, the brother of Trista Eng. A capital prison inmate is given a capital sentence, not life in prison for a reason, said Suzanne Eng, the mother of Trista Eng. The mother and brother of a York County teen who was killed in 1993 say the governor's imposing of a moratorium on the death penalty has taken away their closure. How would you feel if for 21 1/2 years there was still no closure to your loved ones? We now feel that Governor Wolf is now making sure our family and every other victim's family has no closure, said Morgan Eng. Representative Ron Marsico, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, agrees with the Eng family. He thinks Gov. Wolf has over stepped his boundaries. I think it's wrong. I think that we have laws on the books right now. That those that are convicted by prosecutors and found guilty by juries and sentenced to death by this commonwealth. We should go ahead and follow through with this law, said Rep. Marsico, who represents part of Dauphin County. But, not every victim's family whose killers sit on death row want that death sentence. I don't need that to heal, and I don't want any part of it and I don't want that for me. That's not what justice is for me, said Linell Patterson, the daughter of 2 victims. Linell Patterson's step-brother and 2 of his friends were convicted of killing her father and step-mother. She made a connection with the family of one of her parent's killers. She realized, they would have to suffer the same loss. She says that's not justice. I need to heal, the death penalty won't help me heal, said Patterson. But besides each family's different view, both agree the way the system works now, is broken. The appeals process must be drastically changed. It needs to be reworked both on the state and national levels, said Suzanne Eng. When Gov. Wolf issued the moratorium last month, he announced that he wants to hear recommendations of the Pennsylvania Task Force and Advisory Committee on capital punishment before making any further decisions. That committee's report is expected by the end of the year. (source: Fox News) DELAWARE: Death Penalty Repeal to Full Senate in Delaware The repeal of Delaware's death penalty inched forward this week with a Senate committee approving the legislation that excludes the 15 inmates currently on death row. Senator Karen Peterson is cosponsor of the measure. And, the Stanton Democrat along with other supporters of repeal says that capital punishment is not only costly but has been applied in a morally discriminatory fashion. This is not the 1st time that repeal has headed to the full Senate for approval. But, the measure faces strong opposition in the state House of Representatives from law enforcement and top Democratic leaders. House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf is a retired state trooper who
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----MD., N.C., UTAH, IDAHO
March 27 MARYLAND: Bring back the death penalty in Md. The man authorities describe as 'Public Enemy No. 1' will likely spend the next 50 years in prison at taxpayer Baltimore's very own Public Enemy No. 1 has been sentenced to life plus 240 years for a double murder (Killer gets life plus 240 years, flips off top prosecutor, March 24). As a result, 27-year-old Darryl Anderson, who has a long rap sheet, will likely spend the next 50 years or so living off the Maryland taxpayers who were so inclined to ban the state's death penalty in 2013. Capital punishment was largely repealed because liberal forces were successful in getting voters to believe the lie that it was a racial issue instead of a judicial issue. Those voters believe the magic money tree will pay to cage up these animals. Fools. This creep is the poster boy for the death penalty: In the words of Assistant Baltimore City State's Attorney Angela Diehl, It is apparent from his 10-year history [in the state prison system] it has done nothing to rehabilitate Mr. Anderson. To all those who were so overjoyed to see capital punishment repealed in our state, just think about all the Darryl Andersons you are supporting. Maybe our new governor can reintroduce a bill to repeal the death penalty ban. One can only hope. Brian Spector, Easton (source: Letter to the Editor, Baltimore Sun) NORTH CAROLINA: Death penalty sought in murder case A Hamptonville man who was charged with murder in the death of his mother pleaded not guilty in Yadkin County Superior Court this week. The state will be pursuing this as a death penalty case, said Yadkin County Clerk of Court Beth Holcomb. Andy Eric Collins, of 4161 Emily Drive, was charged with the 1st-degree murder of his mother, Azelyne Collins, on March 13, 2014. According to a press release from the Yadkin County Sheriff's Office, Azelyne Collins, 82, of 4748 Old Highway 421, Hamptonville, was reported missing on Oct. 15, 2013. Collins was reported missing by her daughter, Cindy McQueen, who arrived at her mother's home on Oct. 15, 2013 to pick her up to attend the High Point furniture market where the 2 had a sales booth. Investigators determined that Collins had attended the High Point furniture market on Oct. 14, 2013, and was last seen driving away from Darwin's Restaurant on Hoots Road in Hamptonville later that day. A silver alert was issued and a search conducted by the Yadkin County Sheriff's Office and local and state agencies. On Oct. 16, 2013 investigators discovered Collins' body in her silver Honda van in a heavily wooded area off Rocky Branch Road in Hamptonville. Sheriff Ricky Oliver said it was obvious upon discovery of the body that she did not die of natural causes. The medical examiner ruled the cause of death as strangulation. Investigators with the Yadkin County Sheriff's Office and the State Bureau of Investigation canvased the neighborhood and began interviewing the family of the victim. It was determined that the last person to see Collins alive was her son Andy Collins, who lived a short distance from where the van was discovered. According to court documents, the district attorney recently submitted a 2,800-page investigation report from the State Bureau of Investigation. Collins' attorney also withdrew from the case this week. His new appointed attorney will be David Freedman of Forsyth County. As the case is now a capital case, Collins also will be appointed a second attorney. His next scheduled court appearance is June 1. (source: yadkinripple.com) UTAH: Why We Should Finally End The Death Penalty - For Good The state of Utah just approved killing prisoners via firing squad - a development that's at once deeply horrifying and, in a strange way, encouraging. It's horrifying, because rather than recognizing the barbarism of the death penalty, Utah is moving toward even greater barbarity in the service of executions. But, perhaps the brutal image of a group of armed executioners standing before a human being and pulling the trigger will help convince us, once and for all, to finally bring an end to the death penalty. The death penalty in America is already, rightfully, fraught with plenty of controversy. After all, among the nations of the world, the U.S. is in the distinct minority that still practice capital punishment. According to Amnesty International, in 2013, only 22 countries carried out executions. The list includes Sudan, Iran, Yemen, China, Somalia, and the United States. And, our executions, arguably inherently inhumane, are getting more so: In 2014, a year in which the United States executed 35 people, at least 4 of the executions were botched, to use New Republic editor Ben Crair's words, making it the worst year in the history of lethal injection. In July, Arizona attempted to execute Joseph Rudolph Wood III, but the drugs pumped into his veins took almost
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ARIZ., CALIF., USA
March 27 ARIZONA: 2009 capital punishment case back in local court A Mohave County judge ruled on several motions Wednesday concerning the county's only death row inmate. In December, the Arizona Supreme Court overturned Darrell Bryant Ketchner's conviction and sentencing for 1st-degree murder and burglary and remanded those charges back to Mohave County for a new trial. His conviction on 3 counts of aggravated assault and attempted murder was affirmed by the court. Ketchner, 57, was convicted in March 2013 of the 6 charges and sentenced to death for the murder charge. He previously pleaded guilty to a weapons charge and was sentenced to 15 years in prison on that charge. Ketchner's 1st hearing since the December ruling was held Wednesday before Superior Court Judge Rick Williams at his Bullhead City courtroom. Ketchner remains on death row at the state prison. The judge set the next hearing for April 27. In 1 defense motion, the judge denied a motion to extend time to file a motion to remand the case back to the grand jury. The judge also allowed the court to provide grand jury transcripts to Ketchner's attorney, David Goldberg. A 2nd attorney, required in death penalty cases, may be appointed at the next hearing. Williams heard Ketchner's 1st murder case and has been assigned to the case again. Williams was reassigned to Bullhead City in January and Ketchner will be his only felony criminal case. Ketchner again faces the death penalty for the murder charge. Justin Rector is the county's only other death penalty case, for allegedly murdering an 8-year-old Bullhead City girl in September. Ketchner entered his ex-girlfriend Jennifer Allison's Kingman home on the night of July 4, 2009, where she sat at the kitchen table with her 18-year-old daughter, Ariel Allison. Another daughter, her boyfriend, and three younger children belonging to Ketchner and Jennifer Allison were in another room. Ketchner started to hit Jennifer Allison, chased her outside and shot her in the head as she lay in the driveway. Ariel Allison was stabbed 8 times in her mother's bedroom. She later died. The other children escaped out a window. Jennifer Allison survived her wounds but had no memory of the attack. The Supreme Court ruled that testimony from a prosecutor's witness was inadmissible evidence that required Ketchner's conviction and sentence to be reversed. The prosecutor argued that Ketchner entered Jennifer Allison's home to kill her to take control of the family he was losing. Ketchner's defense attorneys admitted that their client killed Ariel Allison and the attack on her mother, but they argued that the murder was not premeditated but rather a sudden, volatile quarrel with heated passion and should not have been subject to a death sentence. (source: Mohave Daily News) CALIFORNIA: Kinder, gentler forms of capital punishment are still barbaric; No amount of sugarcoating will change the fact that the death penalty is immoral -- Capital punishment is intrinsically inhumane, no matter the cleaner ways we carry it out today The state of Oklahoma, which developed the nation's 1st lethal injection protocol for executions, may soon approve what lawmakers say is a new, even more humane way of killing people. Following the advice of a criminal justice professor who is also a former assistant attorney general of Palau - note the lack of medical background - the state Legislature now wants to try a method called nitrogen hypoxia.. Utah is also changing the way it ends the lives of condemned prisoners. This week, Gov. Gary Herbert signed a bill allowing execution by firing squad when no drugs are available to create lethal injection cocktails. Opponents immediately denounced the plan as barbaric and brutal. In California, the state has wrestled with updating its lethal injection protocol ever since a judge imposed a moratorium on it. Another judge ruled that California's capital punishment system is too arbitrary and too slow. In both cases, the judges said the state was violating the U.S. Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. There's nothing new about this debate over how to make executions kinder, gentler and less painful. And in one sense, that's reasonable. If the state is going to kill people, it should certainly try to minimize the moaning and writhing that has characterized so many recent executions. But on another level, this is a fool's errand, an exercise in sugarcoating. You can't make humane something that is intrinsically inhumane. The United States should long ago have joined most of the rest of the world in abolishing the death penalty. Not so much because there might be (and often is) pain and suffering involved but because capital punishment is flawed, expensive, subject to manipulation, applied disproportionately to minorities, not an effective deterrent and, at the end of the day, irreversible.
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
March 27 INDONESIA: No clemency for death row convict Indonesia's Supreme Court rejected an appeal by a Filipina on death row for a judicial review of her case, bringing her closer to being executed along with several other foreign drug convicts. But in a bid to save the life of Mary Jane Veloso, Vice President Jejomar Binay renewed his appeal to Indonesian President Joko Widodo for the commutation of the death sentence of Veloso who was caught carrying a suitcase containing illegal drugs in Indonesia. Binay and the Department of Foreign affairs vowed to exert all efforts to save the life of Veloso whom they believe was innocent of the crime and was a mere victim of a drug smuggling syndicate. I am once again appealing to President Widodo's good heart for the commutation of the death sentence of our kababayan, Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso, who is scheduled be executed in Yogyakarta, Binay said in a statement. Veloso's request for clemency was among the 16 rejected by Indonesia's newly elected leader, President Widodo, on January 9. I ask this, with the deepest bond of brotherhood and friendship of our peoples, a bond that I am confident will only grow stronger in the years to come, Binay said. We are saddened that the Indonesian Supreme Court has chosen not to grant Mary Jane's lawyers' request for a judicial review of her case. Nonetheless, we reiterate the Philippines' full awareness and respect for Indonesia's laws and legal system, the Vice President said. In their appeal for judicial review, Veloso's lawyers argued that the Filipina was not provided with a capable translator during her trial. It should have been court appointed translator. Maybe he is not qualified during that time. That might have had an impact on the proceedings that happened before in relation to the accuracy of the translation, Jose said. Binay stressed that Veloso, a widowed mother of 2, was not part of any organized drug syndicate, saying she, too, was a victim. She was unwittingly taken advantage of by a person whom she gave her complete trust and confidence when the latter asked her to hand carry a piece of luggage containing illegal drugs, Binay said. The vice president previously wrote Widodo earlier this month to convey to Widodo the Filipinos' hope and prayer that the Supreme Court of Indonesia will look kindly and with compassion on the circumstances surrounding the case of Veloso. The United Nations human rights office has previously called on Indonesia to refrain from executing convicted drug smugglers, saying the death penalty won't stop the trafficking of illegal drugs. Last January 18, 6 drug convicts - 5 foreigners and an Indonesian - were executed, the 1st under Widodo's term. Veloso was earlier included in the next batch of death-row convicts scheduled to be executed in Nusakambangan Island. The list reportedly includes 3 Indonesian murder convicts, and convicted drug traffickers from Indonesia, Brazil, France, Ghana and Spain. Jakarta plans to execute all 10 of the convicts - including Veloso - at the same time, but said it will wait for any outstanding legal appeals to conclude. 3 Australians who are known as part of the Bali 9 drug-traffickers group had earlier been transferred to the island. The cases of Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, leaders of the so-called Bali 9 drug syndicate, are currently on appeal. (source: Manila Standard Today) *** Indonesia prepares to transfer Philippines drug convict for execution Indonesia is preparing to move a Filipina death row inmate for execution after she lost her appeal in the Supreme Court earlier this week, the attorney general's spokesman said on Friday. The planned executions of Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso and nine other mostly foreign drug traffickers has drawn international criticism after repeated pleas for mercy from the United Nations and various governments have gone unheeded by President Joko Widodo. Veloso will be moved from the city of Yogyakarta to the maximum security prison on Nusakambangan Island in Central Java, where the rest of the group awaits execution by firing squad. We can say that (Veloso's) case is done, the attorney general's spokesman Tony Spontana told reporters. There will be preparations to move her soon because the plan to execute all (10 convicts) at once hasn't changed. The attorney general's office has yet to announce a date for the executions. 4 other foreign nationals in the group have also lodged last-minute appeals against their death sentences, forcing the attorney general to hold off on the executions until all legal processes are seen through. 2 Australian prisoners are among those appealing their sentences. The Australian government has been pursuing an eleventh-hour campaign to save their lives, but Widodo has refused to budge, ramping up diplomatic tensions between the neighbors. Indonesia has
