October 27
TEXAS----impending execution
Human Rights Watch Letter in Support of Clemency for Roberto Ramos Moreno
Governor Greg Abbott
Office of the Governor
P.O. Box 12428
Austin, Texas 78711-2428
David G. Gutierrez, Presiding Officer
Executive Clemency Section
Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles
8610 Shoal Creek Blvd.
Austin, Texas 78757
Re: Letter in Support of Clemency for Roberto Ramos Moreno, TDCJ # 999062
Dear Governor Abbott and Presiding Officer Gutierrez,
We write to urge you to commute the sentence of Roberto Ramos Moreno, whose
execution is now scheduled for November 14.
International human rights law is predicated on recognition of the inherent
dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all people, including those who
have committed terrible crimes.[1] Human Rights Watch believes the inherent
dignity of the person cannot be squared with the death penalty, a form of
punishment that is unique in its barbarity and finality, and, as practiced in
the United States, a punishment inevitably plagued by arbitrariness, prejudice
and error. We therefore oppose the death penalty in all circumstances and in
all countries around the world.
In 2005, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights concluded that Mr. Ramos
Moreno received inadequate legal defense from his court-appointed trial lawyer,
which violated his fundamental right to due process and a fair trial.[2] In
addition, the Mexican government maintains that Mr. Ramos Moreno's consular
notification and visitation rights under Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on
Consular Relations were not respected.[3]
In addition to all of this, there is unique mitigating information in Mr. Ramos
Moreno's case. A mental health expert determined that Mr. Ramos Moreno suffers
from severe organic brain damage and has been afflicted with Bipolar Mood
Disorder for most of his life including at the time of the offense. Human
Rights Watch has called for the commutation of death sentences in other cases
involving individuals with serious mental health conditions.[4]
The United States stands increasingly alone in its pervasive use of the death
penalty. By retaining capital punishment in a world that has largely turned its
back on this practice, the US damages its reputation, causes friction with its
closest neighbors and allies, and undermines its own efforts to promote human
rights at home and abroad.
For all these reasons we urge you to commute the sentence of Roberto Ramos
Moreno.
Sincerely,
Alison Leal Parker
Managing Director, US Program
Human Rights Watch
(source: Human Rights Watch)
FLORIDA:
Death row: 17 inmates from Northwest Florida face the death penalty
Out of the most heinous murder cases in Northwest Florida history, just 17 of
them have ended with the convicted killer going to death row.
They've included Edward Zakrzewski, a former Eglin Air Force Base airman who
hacked his wife and 2 young children to death with a machete inside their Mary
Esther home; Norman Grimm, a Milton man who raped and killed his neighbor, then
dumped her body off the Pensacola Bay Bridge only to have the body hooked by a
fisherman the next day; and Steven Cozzie, a homeless Walton County man who
sexually assaulted and strangled a teenage girl on vacation in Seagrove Beach
with her family.
Their high-profile cases mostly transpired before the public eye and their
death sentences were met with satisfaction that justice had been served. But
although each case was different, one thing they all had in common was that
their shocking crimes gripped the region and left a lasting impression on many
in the Panhandle.
The Daily News looks back at some of the most shocking death penalty cases in
Northwest Florida's history, and where their cases are now.
Death row inmates from Northwest Florida
There are 17 inmates on death row from Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and Walton
counties, and none of them is currently scheduled for execution. They're
winding their way through the rigorous appeals process at the state and federal
level, and some are seeking to have their convictions thrown out entirely.
The last person to be executed from Okaloosa County was Dan Hauser, who was put
to death via lethal injection in 2000 for the 1995 murder of an Okaloosa Island
exotic dancer. Forty-year-old Anthony Bryan of Santa Rosa County was also
executed in 2000 for the 1983 slaying of a night watchman, and Arthur
Rutherford, another Santa Rosa County man, was put to death in 2006 for the
1985 robbery and killing of a woman for whom he had worked.
No inmate from Walton County has been put to death in Florida.
Florida has the second highest number of death row inmates in the country, with
354 as of April 1, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
California leads the country with 740 death row inmates.
The 17 Panhandle inmates on death row have served a combined 294 years in
prison, and most of them are still looking at several years before an execution
date is set.
The longest-serving death row inmate from Northwest Florida is Bruce Pace from
Santa Rosa County, who was convicted of murdering a taxi cab driver and
sentenced to death in 1989. The most recent addition is Shawn Rogers, who was
unanimously sentenced to death in December 2017 for the brutal killing of his
cellmate at the Santa Rosa Correctional Institution in March 2012.
A long, arduous process
The reason it can take several decades for inmates like Bruce Pace to be put to
death is due to a lengthy appeals process afforded to death row inmates, said
John Molchan, an assistant state attorney who is in charge of the homicide
major crimes unit in Pensacola. He has prosecuted nine death sentence cases in
Santa Rosa and Escambia counties.
First, on any capital case in which the death penalty is given, there's an
automatic direct appeal to the Florida Supreme Court, to include the sentence
as well as the conviction. Molchan said it's the 1st step in the process for
appellate court proceedings.
If the Supreme Court upholds the sentence and conviction, the 2nd option is a
motion for post conviction relief, in which the inmate can "basically attack
the performance of his counsel," Molchan said.
"Basically it's another check on the system," he said. "The inmate can attack
counsel for doing or not doing certain things during the course of the trial."
The motion for post-conviction relief requires a hearing in which the defendant
- not the state - has the burden to prove that ineffective counsel led to his
or her conviction. If the court rules in the defendant's favor, the state can
appeal that decision.
If not, the defendant can then appeal to the Florida Supreme Court or the
federal court.
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling in January 2016 further muddled the state’s death
penalty cases. The case Hurst v. Florida struck down as unconstitutional
Florida's death penalty sentencing system because it gave too much power to
judges rather than juries. A jury now must decide unanimously that a defendant
be sentenced to die.
Justices have said the Hurst ruling applies only to cases that occurred since
June 2002. 6 of Northwest Florida's death row inmates have sought reviews of
their penalty under Hurst.
Once all appeals are exhausted, the governor's office will look at the case and
issue a death warrant. A trial court reviews the warrant and attorneys will
continue to ask for a stay of execution, and ultimately the inmate will be put
to death within a 60-day period if all resources are spent.
Below is a synopsis of some of the more heinous death penalty cases to have
taken place in Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and Walton counties.
OKALOOSA COUNTY
Frank Walls is a serial killer who was convicted in 1988 for the murders of
Edward Alger and Ann Louise Peterson in 1987. He also pleaded no contest to
killing Audrey Gygi and admitted to murdering Tommie Lou Whiddon and Cynthia
Sue Condra. All 5 murders occurred between 1985 and 1987, most in the vicinity
of Ocean City, close to where Walls lived. Sheriff's Office investigators from
the time recalled the town being "terrorized" during that time period.
Walls requested Hurst relief at the trial level and was denied. He subsequently
filed a petition on June 19, 2018, asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review the
case. Additionally, another hearing will be held in February 2019 on the issue
of intellectual disability.
Edward Zakrzewski was given the death penalty for killing his wife, Sylvia, his
7-year-old son Edward and 5-year-old daughter Anna in their Mary Esther home.
Sylvia had asked for a divorce not long before the killings. She was beaten and
strangled, while the children were butchered with a machete. Zakrzerski fled to
Hawaii and lived with a family there until his case aired on the "Unsolved
Mysteries" television program and he turned himself in.
Zakrzewski filed a motion for post-conviction relief and requested relief under
Hurst, but the trial court denied his motion on Feb. 16, 2018. His legal team
has appealed that decision to the Florida Supreme Court, where it is pending.
Jeffrey Hutchinson is a convicted quadruple-murderer who was sentenced to die
for killing his girlfriend, Renee Flaherty, 32, and her 3 young children,
Geoffrey, 9, Amanda, 7, and Logan, 4 on Sept. 11, 1998. Hutchinson's crime was
described as "heinous, atrocious and cruel," especially because the children
realized what was happening to them. Hutchinson used a pistol to shoot all of
them. The motive for the killings was apparently a fight between Flaherty and
Hutchinson.
Hutchinson's attorneys filed a motion asking that he be given Hurst relief
(despite the fact that he asked for a judge trial in the death phase), but that
was denied in the trial court. His appeal to the Florida Supreme Court also was
denied. He asked the U.S. Supreme Court on July 19, 2018, to review his case,
and the request is pending.
SANTA ROSA COUNTY
Norman Grim was arrested in Oklahoma on July 31, 1998, for the July 27, 1998,
rape and murder of his neighbor, Cynthia Campbell. Campbell's body was hooked
by a fisherman on the Pensacola Bay Bridge. Grim was found guilty of 1st-degree
murder and sexual battery with use of a deadly weapon. He was unanimously given
the death penalty after he instructed his lawyers not to present any mitigating
evidence at his death penalty hearing. Prosecutors say Grim beat Cynthia with a
hammer and stabbed her 11 times with a knife.
Grim's Florida appeals are completed and he asked for a U.S. Supreme Court
review on Aug. 6, 2018. His case is pending there.
WALTON COUNTY
Steven Cozzie was a 22-year-old homeless man who was convicted of murdering
15-year-old Courtney Wilkes in a secluded nature trail in Seagrove Beach.
Wilkes was on vacation with her family and became acquainted with Cozzie, who
asked to walk with her on the beach on the afternoon of June 16, 2011. Instead,
Cozzie strangled her nearly to death, then beat, stripped and raped her.
Cozzie's direct appeal was denied by the Florida Supreme Court, and the
conviction and death sentence were affirmed. He then filed a petition with the
U.S. Supreme Court, requesting Hurst review, and that was denied in April 2018.
The case currently is in post-conviction proceedings in trial court.
(source: nwfdailynews.com)
TENNESSEE----impending execution
With His Execution 6 Days Away, Zagorski Files Challenge Against Electric
Chair----Zagorski's attorneys: While better than lethal injection, 'such a
death is still utterly barbaric'
With his Nov. 1 execution just days away, Edmund Zagorski is challenging the
legality of the electric chair slated to kill him.
In a complaint filed in federal court this afternoon, Zagorski's attorneys
argue that an execution in Tennessee's electric chair constitutes cruel and
unusual punishment, and is therefore unconstitutional. But they also make the
case that Zagorski’s constitutional rights were violated when he was faced with
a stomach-turning choice: be killed by lethal injection and experience what
medical experts have described as torture, or die in the electric chair.
From the complaint: "This suit is filed because the State of Tennessee has
coerced Mr. Zagorski - with the threat of extreme chemical torture via a
barbaric three-drug lethal injection protocol - to choose to die a painful and
gruesome death in the electric chair. Such a death is clearly cruel and
unusual, albeit to Mr. Zagorski less cruel than the threatened chemical
torture."
Elsewhere in the complaint, Zagorski's attorneys write of the electric chair
that "while to Mr. Zagorski (if not necessarily to all others) the suffering
from this horrifically contrived contraption will be less odious, and,
hopefully of much shorter duration, than death by lethal injection, such a
death is still utterly barbaric."
The complaint also claims that prison officials had trained for an execution by
electrocution, and tested the chair, prior to Zagorski's original Oct. 11
execution date. Still, the execution was called off when Gov. Bill Haslam
granted Zagorski a temporary reprieve, ostensibly for executioners to prepare
to use the electric chair.
Finally, Zagorski's attorneys argue that the state's execution protocol blocks
Zagorski's access to the courts by allowing only 1 attorney to witness his
execution - and not giving that attorney easy access to a phone.
Zagorski chose electrocution over lethal injection on the eve of his original
execution date earlier this month. He is one of 42 Tennessee death row
prisoners who have the right to choose between the 2 methods because they were
convicted before the state adopted lethal injection. Even so, the state
initially rejected Zagorski's request to switch methods.
In the affidavit indicating his preference for the chair, though, Zagorski
stated that he was "not conceding that electrocution is constitutional." In
fact, he stated that he believed both electrocution and Tennessee's lethal
injection protocol were unconstitutional. The Tennessee Supreme Court had
upheld the state's lethal injection protocol hours earlier, but medical experts
have expressed certainty that the 3-drug cocktail - which was used to execute
inmate Billy Ray Irick in August - causes tortuous pain, akin to being buried
alive and burned alive.
Zagorski's attorney Kelley Henry said he was choosing the lesser of 2 evils and
described his choice this way in a legal filing: "Either allow the state to
subject him to an execution by lethal injection where the evidence establishes
the last 10-18 minutes of his life will be spent in utter terror and agony, or
request to be electrocuted which will end his life by burning his organs
causing his body to be mutilated and experiencing excruciating pain for
(likely) 15-30 seconds."
(source: nashvillescene.com)
*******************
Tennessee death row inmate asks court to stop electrocution
A Tennessee death row inmate asked a federal court to stop his looming
execution, but a judge has quickly rejected most of the inmate's attorneys'
arguments.
Edmund Zagorski chose electrocution over lethal injection and is scheduled to
die on Thursday. In a complaint filed Friday, Zagorski's attorneys argue it was
unconstitutional to force him to decide between two gruesome and painful forms
of death.
The lawsuit asks that Tennessee be barred from executing Zagorski by either
method. It also asks the court to order Tennessee to allow two attorney
witnesses with access to a phone in case anything should go wrong.
On Friday night, U.S. District Judge Aleta A. Trauger declined most of the
arguments, but she ordered the state to respond by Monday on the issue of
having attorney witnesses present with phone access during the execution.
(source: Associated Press)
SOUTH DAKOTA----impending execution
Berget To Be Executed Monday Afternoon
Rodney Berget's execution time and date have been set.
The South Dakota State Penitentiary said Berget will be executed at 1:30 p.m.
on Monday, Oct. 29. Director of Prison Operations and Warden Darin Young
announced the time on Friday morning. State law requires a public announced of
the scheduled day and hour of execution no less than 48 hours before the
execution.
In 2003, Berget was convicted of attempted murder in Lawrence County and
kidnapping in Meade County. He received a life sentence for each conviction.
Then on the morning of April 12, 2011, Berget and Eric Robert attempted to
escape from the penitentiary. During that attempt, they killed Correctional
Officer Ron RJ Johnson.
(source: keloland.com
**********************
Execution Date Set For Rodney Berget
An execution date has been set for South Dakota death row Inmate Rodney Berget.
Darin Young, Director of Prison Operations and Warden of the South Dakota State
Penitentiary, has ordered Berget's execution for Monday, October 29th, at 1:30
p.m.
Berget was found guilty of attempted murder in 2003, and sentenced to life in
prison. While incarcerated, Berget killed prison guard Ronald Johnson during an
escape attempt in 2011.
(source: KDLT news)
********************
Reaction from both sides of the debate on Berget's execution
Rodney Berget has a date with death. The Department of Corrections set Oct. 29
at 1:30 p.m. as the execution date for the convicted murderer.
Berget and his accomplice, Eric Robert, murdered corrections officer Ronald
"R.J." Johnson during an escape attempt in 2011.
This 4th execution this century in South Dakota is stirring up a lot of
controversy as to whether or not the death penalty should be carried out. But
people on all sides of the debate agree on one thing, they just want closure
for the victim's family.
"At this point, the conviction and the sentence went to the supreme court
twice, and there were 2 appeals associated with that," South Dakota Attorney
General Marty Jackley said. "Then part of the habeas proceedings, which are
after the conviction and the sentence there was an issue with respect to
whether or not he was psychologically disabled or had the mental capacity to
have a sentence of this nature carried out. The state prevailed on that, and he
did not appeal."
Now, Berget will face the death penalty, but not alone. Denny Davis, from South
Dakotans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty will be there.
"I am going to walk with him to the execution table," Davis said. "I don't want
to see him suffer alone. It won't only be me, but it will be probably several
of the chaperons in the prison."
Attorney General Marty Jackley says South Dakota has always had the death
penalty. But he says the state uses it sparingly and only for defendants who
are dangerous to the public.
"Mr. Berget demonstrated already serving 2 life sentences that he won't stop
hurting people, and it's because of that conduct and because of the
circumstances and in the need to protect the public," Jackley said.
But those against the death penalty say from a moral standpoint killing another
human being is wrong. Davis has spoken to Berget about the issue several times.
"He said, I've been in prison too long, and I'm ready to go," Davis said. "So,
I have honored those wishes, even though I am a person of life, and I've tried
to talk him out of it. He said 'No Denny, this is my time to go.'"
"This will be my 3rd and final capital punishment as our attorney general,"
Jackley said. "You know, personally, this isn't easy, but frankly, if this was
easy, I shouldn't be handling these cases. Well, we can't undo this tragedy and
bring back Officer Johnson to his family, we can certainly ensure that Rodney
Berget doesn't ever harm anybody again."
When asked about the method they would use in Berget's execution, Jackley said
it is what they call a "drug cocktail." By law, Jackley can not give out any
details about the drugs.
The other inmate involved in the attempted escape and killing of Johnson, Eric
Robert, was executed in 2012.
(source: KSFY news)
**********************
State to Seek Death Penalty if Child Death Suspect Convicted
The state plans to seek the death penalty if a man accused of killing a 1
1/2-year-old child in Minnehaha County is convicted. 38-year-old Keith Cornett
faces several charges including murder in the death of his stepson in a Dell
Rapids home in December 2016. An autopsy found 6 blows to Hayden Wigton's head
and bite marks.
The Argus Leader reports prosecutors filed a notice of intent this week to seek
the death penalty if Cornett is convicted. A jury ultimately would decide if
that sentence would be appropriate.
The court has assigned Cornett public defenders who have murder trial and death
penalty experience. The trial is scheduled for March.
(source: Associated Press)
CALIFORNIA:
Death penalty an option for John Hernandez Felix in Palm Springs police murder
trial
The death penalty remains an option for John Hernandez Felix, after a judge
ruled that the suspect charged with the murders of two Palm Springs police
officers does not have a mental disability that would bar him from potential
execution.
Today's hearing at the Riverside Superior Court in Indio followed several days
of testimony by doctors, a parole officer, and a school representative about
Felix's mental abilities. In what is called an Atkins hearing, the death
penalty can be considered cruel and unusual punishment if it is found that a
suspect has an intellectual disability.
Michelle Perris, one of the prosecuting attorneys, argued to Judge Anthony
Villalobos in Friday's hearing that Felix did not meet the standard for an
Atkins ruling.
"None of the doctors ever diagnosed the defendant with a sub-average
intellectual ability," Perris said. "There is no question that this defendant
does not fit the bill for an Atkins judgment."
While largely silent during the hearing, John Dolan, Felix's defense attorney,
submitted an 82-page statement to the court days before, in an attempt to make
that case that his client should not be considered for the death penalty.
"I submitted a lengthy brief and I will not repeat what's in it," Dolan said
during the hearing.
Dolan’s report contains the findings of the various intellectual ability tests
that the doctors conducted on Felix since his arrest in 2016. Dr. Hilda
Chalgujian and Dr. Michael Gilewski reported on behalf of the defense, and Dr.
Jennifer Bosch on behalf of the prosecution.
Dr. Chalgujian concluded that Felix has deficits in his brain functioning. Dr.
Gilewski concluded that Felix has severe impairment in the area of learning and
memory which would be considered a moderate intellectual disability. Dr. Bosch
concluded that Felix has no deficits whatsoever.
Additionally, the report describes Felix's trouble with school and his
struggles to keep a job. Felix's grades dropped significantly when he was in
high school, and he failed to show up for several standardized tests. While he
worked for about a year and a half preparing food at the Desert Regional
Medical Center and at Las Casitas Restaurant, he abruptly stopped showing up to
both jobs.
What challenges he had, the report shows, were made worse by his substance
abuse starting at a young age. Felix told Bosch, that he began using marijuana
in middle school, around age 12 or 14, drinking alcohol at the age of 17 and
using methamphetamines by the age of 18. After high school, his parents no
longer wanted him to live in the house due to his substance abuse. Felix said
he lived on the streets or with friends, according to the report.
The report found that Felix was using drugs heavily when just a few months
after his 26th birthday his mother called the police to their home after a
fight had broken out between Felix and his sister.
"All he could remember about that day was that he had been using
methamphetamines for some time and could not recall the exact days, but he said
that it was about a week," Dolan said in the report. "He said he was having an
argument with his sister, and then the next thing he remembered was an
explosion and then his sudden awareness of being drenched in sweat, feeling
weak, smoke everywhere, it being hard to breathe, and a drive to get outside"
Dolan said in the report that Felix was not aware that he allegedly murdered 2
police officers until he first met with his lawyers after being arrested.
Felix, dressed in a dark blue suit, sat quietly with his hand folded in front
of him on the table while Villalobos explained his final ruling.
"There did not appear to be any problems with him communicating his thoughts
and desires," Villalobos said. "His mother and father said that he had no
problem helping with groceries and chores. He was able to navigate the bus
system when he needed to. His problems began when he started doing drugs and
hanging around gang members."
In October 2016, Palm Springs police officers Jose "Gil" Vega and Lesley
Zerebny were gunned down and a 3rd officer was injured at the front door of
Felix's residence. Felix was taken into custody 12-hours later, after a
prolonged standoff with police.
Felix was charged with 2 counts of murder, 6 counts of attempted murder,
illegal possession of an assault rifle, and violations of the parole terms from
his previous convictions. He was sentenced to 4 years in prison for an
attempted murder plot in 2009 and was arrested in 2013 for fighting with police
officers at his residence.
"I really don't see any deficits," Judge Villalobos said. "Based on the
testimony and thousands of pages of evidence, I don't believe that the defense
has met the burden of proof."
Villalobos denied the Atkins motion and set December 5 as the date to begin
jury selection. The trial is expected to occur in late December or early
January 2019.
(source: Desert Sun)
OREGON:
Oregon murderer Acremant dies on death row----Was convicted in Medford killings
in 1995
A California man convicted of murdering a lesbian couple in Medford in 1995 and
a California man the same year died Friday morning on death row at the Oregon
State Penitentiary, the state Department of Corrections reported.
Robert James Acremant, 50, who died in his single-person cell, was convicted of
aggravated murder in 1997 and the prior year of 2 counts of 1st-degree
kidnapping and 1 count of 1st-degree robbery. He also was convicted of killing
a man in California
The Mail Tribune reports Acremant lured Roxanne Ellis and Michelle Abdill to a
Medford duplex apartment on Dec. 4, 1995, where he bound them with duct tape
and shot them in the head.
As with all in-custody deaths, Oregon State Police have been notified and the
state medical examiner will determine the cause of death, the agency said.
Prison officials released no further details about his death, but said, "DOC
takes all in-custody deaths seriously. The agency is responsible for the care
and custody of 14,800 men and women who are incarcerated in the 14 institutions
across the state."
Acremant's death sentence was reduced to life in prison in 2011 after he was
diagnosed as delusional and unable to aid in his own appeals. That reduced his
sentence to life without the possibility of parole for the murder, abduction
and robbery of Roxanne Ellis and Michelle Abdill.
Authorities say he remained on death row for the 1995 killing of Scott George
in Visalia, California.
Acremant had complained for years that he heard voices and claimed to have a
transmitter in his head so others could control him.
In 2011, Gov. John Kitzhaber announced a moratorium on executions in Oregon,
canceling a planned execution and ordering a review of the death penalty.
Current Gov. Kate Brown has since affirmed her commitment to the moratorium.
There are currently 30 inmates on Oregon's death row. Only 1 was convicted in
Central Oregon, Randy Lee Guzek, now 49, who was convicted and first sentenced
to death in 1988 in the murders of Rod and Lois Houser at their Terrebonne home
the previous year, when he was 18.
Guzek has been sentenced to death 3 more times since, after previous death
sentences were overturned on procedural grounds. The Oregon Supreme Court
upheld the most recent conviction in November 2015.
(source: KTVZ news)
*******************
A man who was sentenced to death for two Jackson County murders in 1997 was
found dead on Friday morning.
A man sentenced to death in 1997 for a double murder has died at the age of 50,
according to the Oregon Department of Corrections (DOC). Although Robert
Acremant was serving his sentence on Death Row, execution was not the cause of
his death on Friday morning.
"As with all in-custody deaths, the Oregon State Police have been notified and
the Medical Examiner will determine cause of death," the DOC said in a
statement on Friday.
Acremant was convicted in Jackson County for the kidnapping and murder of
Roxanne Ellis and Michelle Abdill in 1995 - business and life partners who were
committed "activists for gay and lesbian rights," according to former Medford
police officer Mike Moran. The double murder stirred fears that the perpetrator
was motivated by hate.
However, when authorities captured Acremant in California weeks later, they
came to believe that he had "conceived his plot as a robbery to finance his
infatuation with a Las Vegas stripper." Acremant did eventually admit that he
had known Ellis and Abdill were lesbians, which "was a factor in his actions,"
according to Moran.
Acremant would stay on death row at the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem from
his sentencing in 1997 until his death on Friday. Although Oregon has
maintained the death penalty since 1978, only 2 inmates have been executed
since then.
In 2011, NewsWatch 12 reported that Acremant would no longer face the death
penalty for his crimes in Oregon, and his sentence was altered to life in
prison without the possibility of early release or parole. The change occurred
due to Acremant's diagnosis with mental illness in the early 2000s.
Although DOC mental health professionals considered the possibility that
Acremant was faking or exaggerating his symptoms, none of the evaluators came
to that conclusion. Under federal law, the mentally ill cannot be given the
death penalty.
However, apparently because Acremant still faced the death penalty for crimes
he committed while in California, he would never leave death row in Salem.
(source: KDRV news)
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