[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, GA., FLA., ALA., OHIO
Oct. 3 TEXASimpending executions 2 Texas inmates set to die this month lose at Supreme Court The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused appeals from 2 convicted killers facing execution in Texas this month, including 1 inmate set to die next week. The high court, without comment, declined to review appeals from death row inmates Robert Pruett and Anthony Shore. Pruett, 38, is set to die Oct. 12 for the fatal 1999 stabbing of a corrections officer at a South Texas prison where he already was serving a 99-year sentence for his involvement in another killing. Shore, 55, is scheduled for lethal injection Oct. 18 for the 1992 slaying of a 21-year-old woman in Houston. Pruett's attorneys have long questioned the evidence in his case. They have sought additional DNA testing of evidence used to convict him of the December 1999 killing of Daniel Nagle, a 37-year-old officer at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's McConnell Unit near Beeville, about 85 miles southeast of San Antonio. Pruett was serving 99 years for murder at the prison for participating with his father and a brother in a neighbor's slaying. Evidence showed the killing of the corrections officer stemmed from a dispute over a peanut butter sandwich that Pruett wanted to take into a prison recreation yard in violation of rules. Pruett testified at his 2002 trial in Corpus Christi that he was innocent in Nagle's death. His attorney, David Dow, a law professor at the University of Houston, did not immediately respond to a phone message seeking comment Monday. In 2015, Pruett came within hours of execution before his punishment was stopped by a state judge. Shore, who confessed to killing the 21-year-old woman, 2 teenage girls and a 9-year-old girl, is known in Houston as the "Tourniquet Killer" because his victims were tortured and strangled with handmade tourniquets. The slayings connected to Shore went unsolved for years until DNA evidence linked him to the sexual assault of 2 relatives who were juveniles. He subsequently confessed to the killings and was convicted in 2004 in the slaying of 21-year-old Maria del Carmen Estrada. Her body was found in 1992 in the drive-thru lane of a Dairy Queen. Shore's lawyer, Knox Nunnally, had hoped his client's death sentence could be reduced to life in prison. He has said Shore suffered from traumatic brain injury. Nunnally didn't immediately respond to a call for comment on the Supreme Court ruling. The justices on Monday also refused the appeals of 3 other Texas death row inmates: Kwame Rockwell of Fort Worth; Jaime Cole, from Ecuador and convicted in Houston; and Garcia White of Houston. None of them has an execution date. Rockwell, 41, received a death sentence for the 2010 killing of 22-year-old Fort Worth convenience store clerk Daniel Rojas during a robbery. A bread deliveryman also was killed in the holdup. Cole, 47, was sent to death row for the fatal 2010 shootings of his estranged wife, Melissa Cole, 31, and her 15-year-old daughter, Alecia Castillo, at their apartment in Houston. White, 54, was convicted in the fatal stabbings of twin 16-year-old sisters, Annette and Bernette Edwards, in 1989 in Houston. He was charged but not tried for killing their mother, and was linked to 2 other slayings. (source: Associated Press) U.S. Supreme Court denies Houston serial killer's appeal, execution date set The U.S. Supreme Court slapped down a Houston serial killer's bid for life Monday, propelling "Tourniquet Killer" Anthony Shore 1 step closer to his Oct. 18 date with death. Now, the 55-year-old murderer's hope hangs on last-ditch efforts in the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. "We are disappointed," said Knox Nunnally, the Houston attorney representing Shore through the federal appeals process. Currently the only Houston killer with a scheduled execution date, Shore was convicted of 1 count of capital murder in 2004 - even after he confessed to 3 others. His brutal killing streak started at least as far back as 1986, when he slaughtered 14-year-old Laurie Tremblay. 6 years later, he raped and murdered 21-year-old Maria del Carmen Estrada then ditched her naked body outside a Spring Branch Dairy Queen. In 1994, he killed his youngest victim, 9-year-old Diana Rebollar. A year later, he murdered 16-year-old Dana Sanchez, who disappeared while hitchhiking to her boyfriend's house in north Houston. But the cases turned cold and the crimes went unsolved for nearly 2 decades, until Shore was arrested for molesting family members. As a convicted sex offender, the former telephone technician's DNA went on file and eventually investigators matched it to the Estrada case. When police confronted him, he calmly confessed to Estrada's brutal murder along with the 3 others. After he was convicted the following year, he stunned onlookers in court by asking for the death penalty.
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, GA., FLA., ALA., OHIO, KY., MONT., USA
Feb. 19 TEXAS: Conference held in Austin to abolish the death penalty A group of Texans wanting to get rid of the penalty heard a different perspective on the act of executing someone during a conference Saturday in Austin. The Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty brought together people who think it's unfair - and should go away. The group invited journalists who have witnessed executions to explain why it's an important issue to discuss. "Whether you're for it or against it, whether that coverage takes place is extremely important. I think that a lot of people who are advocates either for it or against it don't know the back story as far as what goes into the reporting on the death penalty, how sometimes the stories can be pretty dark, pretty looming, very graphic in a lot of ways," said Ryan Poppe. Democratic lawmakers have filed bills in the Texas House and Senate to abolish it. However, Poppe says it will likely see the same fate as past bills to do the same. It likely will not even come up for a vote. (source: KXAN news) ** Activists Want Texas' Death Penalty Abolished as Executions Decline Data from the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty shows fewer inmates were executed in 2016 than in 2015 - a trend the group says continues to go down. "I think it's time to get rid of it," said Brian Stolarz, defense attorney. Opponents of the death penalty say juries are becoming more aware of the risk of a wrongful conviction. "We also see juries in cases demanding higher standards of evidence. There have been 157 people nationwide and 13 here in Texas who were wrongfully convicted and released from death row," said Kristin Houle, executive director of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. Defense attorneys say the political climate has changed and so have minds. "We have a case with no physical evidence, no science at all in the case. Just witness interviews, witness statements and other things, and a man who was innocent was going to die," said Stolarz. 2 bills have been filed at the state capitol; 1 would get rid of the death penalty for people convicted under Texas' law of parties and the other would abolish the death penalty altogether. Additionally, fewer prosecutors are seeking capital punishment "because they have the option of life in prison without parole and also because many of them don't want to burden their counties with the exorbitant expense of a death penalty trial," said Houle. Some argue the state ought to practice restorative justice - where those convicted have a chance to repent and rehabilitate. "Even people who have done bad things cannot be judged on that one bad thing alone. People are greater than the one bad thing they do," said Stolarz. So far, 18 states plus DC have abolished the death penalty. (source: twcnews.com) *** Lawmaker wants state funds for death penalty attorneys A Republican Texas lawmaker is trying to pass a bill that would create and fund a statewide office of appellate attorneys to represent death row inmates. Last week, Rep. James White, R-Hillister, filed House Bill 1676 to create the Office of Capital Appellate Defender. The state-funded office would represent inmates sentenced to death who can't afford their own lawyer in their direct appeals to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals - the time when convicts can raise issues from their trial. Currently, the convicting court appoints an approved lawyer for this step of the appeals process and the prosecuting county pays the bill. White, who represents 5 rural counties in East Texas, said the bill is one way to help struggling counties that have had to raise property taxes while dealing with unfunded state mandates, such as paying for indigent defense. And as chairman of the House Corrections Committee and representative of the district that houses most of Texas' death row inmates, he wants to ensure the state is being thorough when handing down the harshest penalty it can impose. White has estimated the office would cost $500,000 a year, which could put the bill in jeopardy as lawmakers work to tighten the state???s budget for the coming biennium. (source: The Texas Tribune) GEORGIA: Man gets new life sentence for killing officer 25 years ago A man sent to death row 23 years ago for killing an Atlanta police officer has been given a new sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole. Atlanta-Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard said in a news release Friday that 45-year-old Norris Speed agreed to the new punishment to avoid another possible death sentence during a new penalty hearing ordered by an appellate judge. Speed was convicted in 1993 of malice murder in the December 1991 slaying of Atlanta officer Niles Johantgen. But an appeals judge threw out Speed's death sentence in 2010, ruling a sheriff's deputy gave improper a
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, GA., FLA., ALA., OHIO, NEB., USA
Dec. 7 TEXAS: Hearing the voices of those bearing the brunt MORE THAN 60 people gathered for the Campaign to End the Death Penalty's (CEDP) annual convention, held in Austin, Texas, in mid-November. The CEDP was formed 20 years ago to challenge the most barbaric aspect of the U.S. criminal injustice system: capital punishment. It has stood out from other anti-death penalty and criminal justice reform organizations because it has put death row prisoners and their families at the center of the struggle, emphasizing the humanity of the victims of this system. This year's convention was no different. Lawrence Foster, the 87-year-old grandfather of Kenneth Foster Jr., who faced down the death penalty in Texas in 2009, gave the opening remarks for the conference. Standing before us in his casual blazer and gray Chuck Taylors, his presence reminded us what is possible. His grandson Kenny was charged under the unjust "law of parties" law in Texas, which makes defendants who are merely present when a crime is committed just as culpable as the person who committed it. So even though he was in his car with the windows rolled up when someone was shot and killed, Kenny was charged along with the shooter and given the death penalty. In 2007, he came within 6 hours of being executed before his sentence was commuted to life. Lawrence Foster was a tireless fighter for his grandson the whole time, speaking at press conferences and demonstrations and helping to organize various events to mobilize the public behind the call to save Kenny. But the fact that Kenny remains incarcerated and--if the system has its way--will die in prison means that justice still has not been served. Lily Hughes, the CEDP's national director, spoke during the opening plenary, discussing the state of the death penalty today and explaining why its use has declined and the importance of our movement connecting to the broader fight around criminal justice. In a session on "2 Cases of Injustice: Stop the Execution of Rodney Reed and Louis Castro Perez," both Sandra Reed, Rodney's mother, and Delia Perez Myers, the sister of Louis Castro Perez, spoke about the fight for their loved ones and their continued determination to stop the execution system. It wasn't lost on anyone in the room that both cases are in their critical last legal stages. Delia Perez Myers described her anger over evidence that was only recently discovered because prosecutors had buried it. Meanwhile, Sandra said she and her family remained focused on the struggle for Rodney. "We have to keep fighting" Sandra said. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - AFTER THE plenary sessions, there were workshops to take on issues such as "The Torture of Solitary," where presenter Randi Jones Hensley taped out markings on the floor to show the small space that prisoners are confined to when stuck in solitary confinement for up to 23 hours a day. "Just imagine what that's like--to be in that small space day after day after day. And many prisoners spend years of their lives there. It's an inhumane and unjust punishment." Mark Clements, a former police torture victim from Chicago who spent 28 years unjustly incarcerated, also spoke at the workshop and brought home the deplorable conditions of today's prisons: "They treat you worse than a dog." Student Blaine Anderson, who was attending the CEDP's convention for the first time. approached another presenter, journalist Liliana Segura, to say that "this is one of the best conferences I've ever been to, and I've attended many prison justice-type conferences." Anderson said she had never really thought about how family and loved ones are affected by the injustice system, and how moved she was listening to people whose lives have been forever altered. That power probably came through most clearly when Terri Been, whose brother Jeff Wood is currently on Texas death row, also under the unjust "Law of Parties" rule, spoke from the audience. Choking back sobs and surrounded by her sons who took turns consoling her, Been talked about what it was like when Jeff came within hours of being executed in 2008: I just couldn't do it, I just could not go in and watch them kill my brother--even though he wanted me there. And I just don't know what else I can do. I can't sleep, I'm a nervous wreck. They want to kill my brother, and I don't know how to protect him. While the pain of family members like Terri Been was real and shared throughout the conference, so was the determination to fight. LaKiza--the sister of Larry Jackson, who was killed over a year ago by an Austin police detective, who followed him and shot him in the back--spoke about her continued pursuit of justice. The cop, Charles Kleinert, was indicted for murder, but a judge threw out the indictment--that ruling is being appealed. "We are going to keep up the pressure because I am not about to give up," LaKiza said. -
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, GA., FLA. ALA., OHIO, KY.
Aug. 9 TEXAS: Judge hearing Lave's appeals sides with state in Herman Sporting Goods case State District Judge Andy Chatham has issued findings in a case stemming from the grotesque Herman Sporting Goods killings from 1992, concluding that the defendant's challenges to his death penalty conviction are without merit. That was the gist of recommendations Chatham made to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in response to a writ seeking a new trial for Joseph Roland Lave. The CCA had sent the matter to the trial court for fact-finding, and it now will consider those recommendations. It's a good bet that the CCA affirms Chatham and Lave loses this one. The case involves the fatal slashing and beating deaths of best friends Justin Marquart and Fred Banzhaf, both employees of the Richardson store, and a non-fatal attack on manager Angie King. She had her throat slashed and head bashed in with a hammer, but survived to call 911. I lived in Richardson then (as now), and my daughter knew the boys. It was one of those horrible crimes a community never forgets. Partly for that reason, I was signed up to be a witness for Lave's execution in 2007, and I interviewed him just hours before he was to be put to death. But DA Craig Watkins asked the court to withdraw the execution warrant because of unresolved questions about whether evidence was shared. Like many people in the community, I was repulsed by the crimes and was convinced that justice was served. Now, I don't know. I must admit surprise at Chatham's conclusions, having watched several days of testimony last winter. Some of it hinges on Lave's lawyers not meeting their burden of proof. Chatham also found the prosecutor in the case a more credible witness than both of the trial attorneys; where he got that, I can't figure. Among other things, Lave's appellate lawyers alleged that prosecutors withheld exculpatory evidence from the defense, including information that a co-defendant had admitted the fatal attack. The trial lawyers testified before Chatham that they were never told by prosecutor Dan Hagood that King had, essentially, changed her story over time, from originally saying there were 2 intruders in the store and finally, shortly before trial, recalling a 3rd. Here's what Chatham concluded about the lawyers' testimony: The Court finds unreliable the testimony of Mr. Franklin and Mr. Turley that they were not aware at the time of trial of the varying statements made by Ms. King. The Court finds that the passage of time and failure to maintain adequate notes has prevented Richard Franklin and Hal Turley from accurately remembering the information provided by the State to the defense team prior to trial. The Court finds that Applicant has failed to meet his burden of proving that the State failed to disclose Mr. King's pre-trial statements to trial defense counsel. The account of a 3rd intruder meant prosecutors could zero in on Lave, who's the most unlikely of the 3 conspirators to get to the death penalty. The instigator, James Langston, also a store employee, was killed in a shootout with cops, and another accomplice, Timothy Bates, cut a deal with prosecutors to finger Lave as the killer in return for a life sentence. The shifty Bates told conflicting stories to authorities about his version of events; they took one of them to the jury in Lave's death penalty trial to get the conviction. One element of this case may never get the airing that it would if the trial were happening today: It's clear to us now how unreliable witness testimony is. Most of the exonerations proven through DNA involve cases in which a rape suspect was identified through eyewitness testimony that turned out to be wrong. The Herman Sporting Goods case involves witness testimony of a different sort - not eye-witness, but ear-witness identification (pardon the term). Angie King never saw Lave. She saw Langston come in the store and knew who he was; she saw Bates, who was unknown to her; she never saw Lave, but testified that she heard a 3rd voice. Jurors decided, without ever hearing Lave, that the voice must have been his. Given these facts and the opportunity to sow doubt among jurors, I think a good defense attorney could get Lave off today, if it even went to trial. The defense would bank on what's been called the CSI Syndrome. It refers to expectations on the part of jurors. They watch TV dramas about crime forensics, where everything can be proved in a laboratory. They want that kind of proof, especially in a death penalty case, and especially with the foreknowledge that the criminal justice system has gotten it so wrong so many times. Today, I don't think DA Watkins brings the kind of case that his predecessor was able to make against Lave. It's ironic, though, that a guy who's renowned for unraveling criminal cases that should never have been brought is now defending the prosecution of a cas
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, GA., FLA., ALA., OHIO, TENN.
Dec. 10 TEXAS: Frullo challenger hopes to reform education, criminal justiceEd Tishler running on Democratic ticket for Texas House District 84. Ed Tishler wants to stop the death penalty and raise the minimum wage, but first to be elected to the Texas Legislature from Lubbock County. The political newcomer is running on the Democratic ticket for a seat in Texas House District 84, currently held by Republican John Frullo. He admits his party-affiliation places him as an underdog, but says he's ready for a challenge. "This is a heavily Republican district, and I'm running as a Democrat, so it will be difficult - but not impossible," he said. Tishler is a retired teacher, a father of 4 and a 32-year resident of Lubbock. He criticized the support his upcoming opponent gave for a state budget that contained spending cuts to education. Instead, he suggested reforming the state school system both financially and academically. He proposes smaller class sizes, more vocational education and lower-cost higher education. "Education is a big concern," he said. "I would like to see it adequately funded, and I would like to see programs instituted that ensure the success of students." Tishler also wants to reform the criminal justice system, from decriminalizing drug use to replacing the death penalty with life in prison. He pointed out statistics that indicate homicide rates are lower in states without capital punishment, suggesting Texas' high execution rate does not effectively deter crime. "Texas has one of the highest populations of people on death row, and still the homicide rate hasn't changed," he said. He also feels too high a number of prison and jail inmates are mentally ill, and mental health care could serve as a better alternative to incarceration in many cases. "It's a drain on the criminal justice system, and it's not helping people with mental problems," he said. Tishler also proposes raising Texas' minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to $10.10. "Certainly the head of household deserves a decent wage to keep him or her and the family out of poverty," he said. The candidate is opposed to voter-identification laws and supports establishing a state health insurance exchange. Among his other platforms is gender equality in salaries. "I would like to see women get equal pay for equal work, and make voting an easier right, rather than roadblocks be put in the way," he said. (source: Lubbockonline) GEORGIA: Some Georgia Inmates Under Life Sentence With Parole To Be Re-sentenced Some Georgia prisoners serving life sentences without parole will be resentenced after a recent state Supreme Court ruling invalidated the terms under which those inmates were punished. Those who qualify for resentencing would have been sentenced before they turned 18 and faced the death penalty. Stephen Reba, an attorney with Emory University's Barton Child Law and Policy Center, says the majority of those who will see new sentences would be about 30 years old today. "[The court decision] means they can't be resentenced to an illegal sentence, and the court has said life without parole is an illegal sentence," said Reba, who represents several men up for resentencing. Reba is referring to is a recent state Supreme Court decision in the case of Marcus Moore, in which the court unanimously ruled Moore was too young to receive a life sentence without parole under a 2005 U.S Supreme Court decision. In 2001, then-17-year-old Moore was found guilty of murdering Neiteka Wesbey and Corey McMillan, among other crimes committed in the commission of felony murder. Before the sentencing hearing, Moore entered a plea deal to avoid the death penalty. Under the terms, he agreed waive his rights to appeal in exchange for a life sentence without parole. "In order to receive a life without parole sentence on that charge at the time - the defendant had to be death penalty eligible - had to be noticed with the death penalty first - in order to receive a life without parole sentence," Reba said. But in 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court said in Roper v. Simmons it's unconstitutional to use the death penalty against offenders who were under the age of 18 at the time of their crime. That led the Georgia Supreme Court in October to unanimously rule Moore's sentence void. "Since they could not have been subjected to the death penalty at the time Mr. Moore's sentence was imposed, he could not have been subject to the possibility of life without parole," said WABE legal analyst Page Pate. Reba estimates about 10 men - all convicted of murder - would qualify for resentencing. Pate says while those men can't be resentenced to life without parole, the state Supreme Court decision doesn't prevent future juveniles from receiving that sentence, as Georgia sentencing law no longer ties life without parole to the death penalty. "Going forward, it's still an open
