[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., N.C., FLA., ALA., OHIO
Sept. 12 TEXAS: Family and nun fight for retrial as man convicted by all-white jury faces death Supporters of Rodney Reed, scheduled for execution in November, point to racial bias and questionable evidence “He never had a chance.” That’s what Sandra Reed said at the start of a rally in front of the Texas governor’s mansion calling for a retrial for her son, Rodney Reed. Reed, 51, has been on death row in Texas since 1998 and is scheduled to be executed on 20 November for murder. But an array of supporters even beyond his own family, ranging from some relatives of the woman he was convicted of killing to a world-famous nun, argue that Reed is innocent and is a casualty of a criminal justice system beset by errors and racial bias. In 1998, Reed, who is African American, was convicted – by an all-white jury – of the 1996 murder of 19-year-old Stacey Stites. His family has spent years trying to get his case overturned and he is represented by the Innocence Project, the not-for-profit group that focuses on DNA testing to exonerate wrongly convicted people and campaigns to reform the system. Reed’s lawyers filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Texas last month, after repeatedly being thwarted in their demands for DNA testing of the murder weapon, a leather belt used to strangle Stites. His lead attorney, Bryce Benjet of the Innocence Project, said continued refusal to perform the test violates Reed’s constitutional rights. And Reed’s case has caught the attention of the Texas state representative Vikki Goodwin. “I don’t think anyone can say he is guilty without a shadow of a doubt,” Goodwin said. “I don’t believe we should carry out the death penalty when there’s doubt about the truth of the case.” During the original trial, DNA from the Stites case matched Reed, but he said he was having a secret affair with her to avoid scandal in a small Texas town, especially because Reed is black and Stites white. Reed’s legal team believes new evidence presented at a retrial would prove that Jimmy Fennell, Stites’s fiancé at the time of her death, was the murderer. Fennell was a police officer for Georgetown, near Austin, at the time, and was later sentenced to 10 years in prison for a different crime stemming from allegations that he kidnapped and raped a woman while on duty. The lawsuit is the latest in a series of actions to get Reed a retrial. Three weeks before he was scheduled to die by lethal injection, on 5 March 2015 in the Texas state penitentiary, his lawyers filed an appeal to the criminal appeals court, citing multiple problems with his conviction and urging a stay of execution and a retrial. That same month, the US supreme court declined to review Reed’s case. In the August 2019 lawsuit, the Innocence Project lawyers claim there are “multiple additional items of evidence” collected during the murder investigation in a “condition suitable for DNA testing”. The suit also argues that that Fennell couldn’t keep his testimony straight and failed his polygraph tests and that he acted “suspiciously” following Stites’ death, including closing his bank account and disposing of his truck. Fennell’s “inconsistent statements” about his whereabouts on the night of 22 April 1996 are significant because the condition in which Stites’s body was found on 23 April indicates she was “murdered several hours before” her body was found, the suit claims. “Prominent forensic pathologists have reached the un-rebutted conclusion that Fennell’s testimony that Ms. Stites was abducted and murdered while on her way to work around 3:30AM is medically and scientifically impossible,” the lawsuit claims. Several complaints were filed against Fennell alleging “racial bias and use of excessive force at the Giddings Police Department where he worked”, and he was overheard several times saying that if Stites cheated on him, “he would kill her” and “he specifically stated he would strangle her with a belt”, the suit said. Fennell was initially a suspect but investigators focused on Reed after his DNA was discovered inside Stites’s body, and a jury concluded that Reed raped and strangled Stites after intercepting her on the way to work, a timeline his lawyers argue has been discredited. Supporters think there are other issues at play. “Race was a big factor in this case. A ‘Jim Crow trial’, an all-white jury, none of his peers,” Sandra Reed told the Guardian. Benjet said there was data showing racial disparity in “most if not every” aspect of the US criminal justice system. Sister Helen Prejean, an anti-death penalty activist and author of the book Dead Man Walking, visited with Reed’s family in 2015 as his previous execution date neared. Her book about the death penalty and the subsequent film changed many people’s perspectives in the US on capital punishment. She tweeted about Reed’s case in 2015. She has followed the case eve
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., N.C., FLA., ALA., OHIO
March 3 TEXASimpending execution Texas Gives Rosendo Rodriguez Execution Date of March 27, 2018 Rosendo Rodriguez III is scheduled to be executed at 6 pm CDT, on Tuesday, March 27, 2018, at the Walls Unit of the Huntsville State Penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas. 37-year-old Rosendo is convicted of the murder of 29-year-old Summer Baldwin and her unborn child in 2005. Rosendo has spent the last 9 years on Texas' death row. Rosendo grew up being abused by his domineering and alcoholic father. Rosendo attended Texas Tech. He was serving as a US Marine Corp reservist, and was in Lubbock, Texas for training at the time of the murder. Prior to his arrest, Rosendo worked as an office clerk and in food service. He had no prior prison record, however, following his initial arrest, he was also discovered to have murdered 16-year-old Joanna Rogers in 2004. Summer Baldwin's body was found stuffed inside of a suitcase in a Lubbock, Texas city landfill on September 13, 2005. Summer was a prostitute and a witness in federal counterfeiting case, making her death of interest to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Finical records obtained by the federal government showed that Rosendo Rodriguez's debit card was used to buy an identical suitcase in WalMart the day before Summer's body was discovered. Video surveillance also showed Rodriguez with Summer. Financial records also showed that Rodriguez rented a hotel room. Hotel records showed that he signed in under the name "Thomas" Rodriguez. Police arrested Rodriguez at his parent's home in San Antonio, Texas. 3 weeks after his arrest, Rodriguez confessed to the murder of Summer. According to his confession, the 2 engaged in consensual intercourse. Rodriguez claimed that he killed Summer in self-defense when she came after him with a knife. As police continued their investigation, they discovered that Rodriguez was also linked to the disappearance of teenager Joanna Rogers, who had been missing for over 1 year. Like Summer, Joanna's body was also found stuffed in a suitcase in a landfill in Lubbock, Texas. In exchange for confessing to Joanna's body, Rodriguez's attorney negotiated a deal which would spare him from the death penalty, reduce the murder charge, grant him immunity for Joanna's murder, and sentence him to life in prison. On the day the plea bargain was to occur, Rodriguez's attorney said that for the past 24 hours, Rodriguez had maintained that he did not understand anything he was being told and then told the trial judge that he did not understand the questions being asked of him. The plea bargain did not go forward and Rodriguez's attorney withdrew from the case. Rodriguez was assigned new counsel and the trial began in 2008. Rodriguez argued that his combat training kicked in, causing him to murder Summer when she attacked him with a knife. He further alleged that he had no knowledge that she was pregnant. The prosecution alleged that he sexually assaulted Summer before killing her by strangulation and disposing of the body. Rodriguez was convicted and sentenced to death in April 2008. Please pray for peace and healing for the families of Summer Baldwin and Joanna Rogers. Please pray for strength for the family of Rosendo Rodriguez. Please pray that if Rosendo is innocent, lacks the competency to be executed, or should not be executed for any other reason that evidence will be presented prior to his execution. Please pray that Rosendo may come to find peace through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, if he has not already. (source: theforgivenessfoundation.org) Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present30 Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982present-548 Abbott#scheduled execution date-nameTx. # 31--Mar. 27Rosendo Rodriguez III--549 32--Apr. 25Erick Davila---550 33--May 16-Juan Castillo--551 (sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin) 3 Murder Suspects Escape Texas County Jail by Scaling Wall 3 murder suspects escaped a Texas jail Friday morning and were briefly on the loose before being apprehended. The men, who were accused of murder in separate incidents, escaped from Bexar County Detention Center in downtown San Antonio. Jacob Anthony Brownson, Luis Antonio Arroyo and Eric Trevino were discovered missing at around 10:40 a.m. local time and were apprehended in a restaurant less than an hour later. The woman who drove the trio's getaway car was also arrested. In a press conference, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said that the inmates cut a hole in the mesh of a 20-foot-tall fence and used bedsheets to escape. After getting to the street, the men were picked up in a white sedan. "Definitely a good ending to what was a tense situation. We are continuing to investigate ... we'll start
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., N.C., FLA., ALA.
June 1 TEXAS: Death Row Solitary: 'Their Walls Have Driven Them Mad' Anthony Graves emerged from solitary confinement over 6 years ago to become a national crusader for justice reform, but it took a recent report by researchers at the University of Texas at Austin to add new urgency to his campaign to reform the practice in his own state. Graves spent more than 18 years in the Texas prison system, including 16 years in the all-solitary Allan B. Polunksy Unit, after being convicted for murders that he didn't commit. He was released in 2010 after DNA evidence helped exonerate him - but the trauma of his nearly 2 decades behind bars is with him still. Graves started his own foundation - with about $250,000 the state compensated him for the years he was wrongfully imprisoned - to support his efforts. His argument that solitary confinement on death row is inhumane has been reinforced by the study published earlier this spring by the Human Rights Clinic at the University of Texas School of Law-Austin, entitled "Designed to Break You: Human Rights Violations on Texas' Death Row." The study's title, he believes, couldn't be more accurate. "Every day you have something going on in solitary confinement," Graves, who spent some 12 years of his solitary confinement on death row, told The Crime Report. "From men going insane, to men dropping their appeals, to men overdosing on their medication - and some men not even being men because their walls have driven them mad." Texas death row inmates, according to the report, are subjected to a total ban of visits from attorneys, friends and family; "substandard" physical and psychological health care; and lack of access to what human rights activists would consider "sufficient" religious services. "Prolonged solitary confinement has overwhelmingly negative effects on inmates' mental health, exacerbating existing mental conditions, and causing more prisoners to develop mental illness for the 1st time," the report said. As of April 2017, 233 men were on death row in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's Polunksy Unit in Livingston, which "Texas Tough" author Robert Perkinson called the "most lethal" death row prison "anywhere in the democratic world." Another 6 women are housed in death row at the Mountain View Unit in Gatesville. According to the UT-Austin study, inmates on death row spend an average of 14 years and 6 months housed there - most of the time in solitary. According to a 2014 ACLU brief, Texas death-row prisoners had most of the same privileges as those in the general prison population until 1999, when they were effectively confined to permanent solitary confinement until their execution. Under current conditions, according to the report, inmates on solitary are confined to 8 by 12-foot cells for at least 22 hours per day, and are banned from socializing or eating with other inmates. Inmates are only able to see out a small window in their cells by rolling their mattresses and standing on them. A bill calling for an Office of Independent Oversight Ombudsman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), which would increase transparency in the prison system was considered by the Texas legislature this session, but failed to move forward. The problem is not confined to Texas. According to the UT-Austin Human Rights Clinic researchers, more than 3,000 death row inmates across 35 states are in solitary confinement. Most are isolated due to their original capital conviction - and not for behavior while in prison. Some states have reformed conditions. 7 - California, Alabama, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio and Indiana - now allow visits on death row with family and attorneys, for example. But the number of exonerations has focused attention on what happens to all prisoners who experience solitary confinement. Graves said he was fortunate to have a support system when he was released from prison. However, he says he suffered from PTSD, sleep deprivation and loneliness. He was so used to having only himself for company that he had a difficult time adjusting to the company of others. "It's like landing on Mars," Graves said of his return to civil society. "The whole word has changed, and you have to deal with that. You're starting to feel like maybe you can't make it out here and you start to deal with it psychologically. "The sad part is there are no facilities or programs trying to deal with these issues." He believes inmates held in solitary confinement are set up for failure when it comes to rehabilitation, and that runs counter to the purpose of any criminal justice system. Considering that even inmates on death row could be released, as he was, on new evidence that exonerates their charges, authorities should not exclude those inmates from reform measures. Researchers found "self-injury" is 8 times more likely, and suicide 5 times more likely, in Texas' s
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., N.C., FLA., ALA., NEB.
Nov. 5 TEXAS: "An Eye For An Eye" by Israeli Documentary Filmmaker Ilan Ziv Premieres Oct. 28, Shifts Election Focus From Division To Forgiveness The powerful documentary AN EYE FOR AN EYE, comes to select U.S. theaters beginning October 28th with a message of forgiveness and healing for a country racked by divisive rhetoric. Directed by award winning filmmaker Ilan Ziv, AN EYE FOR AN EYE tells the story of death row inmate Mark Stroman, and the friendship he ultimately forges with one of his surviving victims Rais Bhuiyan, who sets about to save Stroman from death row as part of his Muslim faith. As part of the film's message of tolerance and forgiveness, and its anti-death penalty position, film director Ilan Ziv will host select Q & A's following screenings. Film Synopsis: In the weeks following 9/11, dozens of attacks against Muslims, Sikhs and other minorities were reported across America. Among the perpetrators was Mark Stroman, who began "hunting Arabs," as he described his nightly prowling. He set targets on anyone he thought came from the Middle East. His victims happened to be immigrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and India. He killed 2 and partially blinded a young man from Bangladesh. He was arrested, convicted and sentenced to death. In a rare twist of fate, in the weeks before an impending execution, his only surviving victim became his biggest advocate - Rais Bhuiyan, a devoted Muslim, began a campaign to spare Mark's life in the name of Islam and mercy. With unprecedented access and in-depth interviews, the film charts this riveting drama of revenge, change and forgiveness. At its heart is the profound bond forged between Stroman and the Israeli born filmmaker Ilan Ziv. For the first time in Mark's life, the narrative of hate starts to wear off as he begins a journey inward that challenges some of his most intolerable thoughts about the people and the world he lives in. A powerful human drama that carries a warning and a message of hope in our troubled times. View the trailer for the film at: https://youtu.be/VQkpn92X5Xs (source: digitaljournal.com) PENNSYLVANIA: After mistakenly facing death penalty, confessed Bethlehem killer wins new trial Nearly a decade ago, Paul Serrano III pleaded guilty to a brazen murder in Bethlehem, accepting a life sentence as prosecutors threatened to seek his execution if he went to trial. But this week, Serrano's plea was thrown out and he was granted a new trial, after the justice system realized the death-penalty charges he originally faced were illegal and shouldn't have been brought against him in the first place. That's because Serrano was 17 years old when he self-admittedly gunned down a 15-year-old boy during a gangland hit in which he went to the wrong apartment and opened fire on the wrong person a week before Christmas 2006. Though the shooting occurred just 24 days short of Serrano's 18th birthday, he was protected from the death penalty by a landmark ruling two years before in which the U.S. Supreme Court found it was cruel and unusual punishment to sentence juveniles to death. Chickasaw Country, in south-central Oklahoma, is rich with Native American culture and Western history, an unprecedented destination for lovers of our country's historical landscape. Museums and historic sites will bring it to life, from the trailhead days of yore to the vibrant heritage of today. But his age went unnoticed, apparently, by Northampton County prosecutors, Serrano's own lawyers and the judge. "He was 17 at the time, and they pleaded him out as an 18-year-old," Serrano's latest attorney, Tyree Blair, said Friday. "I don't know how you miss that." On Wednesday, Judge Emil Giordano vacated Serrano's guilty plea to first-degree murder and the life-without-parole sentence that resulted. Giordano found the August 2007 plea wasn't knowing and voluntary, given that Serrano entered into it in exchange for prosecutors withdrawing their efforts to seek his death. "It was overlooked," said District Attorney John Morganelli, who personally handled Serrano's case. "It was overlooked by everyone." Giordano ordered a new trial as the now 27-year-old Serrano rejected a new plea offer from Morganelli. Under it, Serrano would have again admitted to 1st-degree murder, and would have received a sentence of 30 years to life. On Friday, Morganelli called Serrano a "knucklehead" for not taking the deal, saying authorities continue to have a "very good, strong case" against him despite the passage of time. On Dec. 18, 2006, Serrano shot 15-year-old Kevin Muzila in the chest after knocking on the door of the boy's West Union Boulevard home, according to court records. Police said Serrano was carrying out gang orders to kill a man who was a rival drug dealer. But Serrano mistakenly went to the next-door apartment and emptied his pistol without looking to see who answered, police sai
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., N.C., FLA. ALA., LA.
Nov. 2 TEXASnew execution date John Ramirez has been given an execution date for Feb. 2; it should be considered serious. Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present20 Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982present-538 Abbott#scheduled execution date-nameTx. # 21-December 7---John Battaglia539 22-January 11---Christoper Wilkins540 23-January 25---Kosoul Chanthakoummane541 24-January 26---Terry Edwards-542 25-February 2---John Ramirez--543 26-February 7---Tilon Carter--544 27-April 12-Paul Storey---545 28-June 28--Steven Long---546 (sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin) PENNSYLVANIA: Prosecutors drop death penalty in '92 killing The York County District Attorney's Office is no longer seeking the death penalty against a man who's waiting for a retrial in the killing of his girlfriend, who was stabbed and cut more than 200 times and found covered in bleach over 24 years ago. Daniel Jacobs, 45, of York, is already serving life in prison without the possibility of parole for the death of his 7-month-old daughter, Holly. But, he's been waiting for another trial in the killing of Tammy Lee Mock, 18, for about 10 years, because his case has been in limbo. Both were found in the bathtub of the couple's apartment on West King Street near South Richland Avenue in York on Feb. 16, 1992. It's unclear why the District Attorney's Office made the decision, which is mentioned in court documents dated on Friday. Chief Deputy Prosecutor Tim Barker, one of the attorneys who's handling the case, could not immediately be reached. Initially, Jacobs was found guilty of 1st-degree murder in Mock's killing and sentenced to death. But federal appeals courts threw out his punishment and conviction, in 2001 and 2005, respectively. In September, Common Pleas Judge Harry M. Ness ruled that Jacobs is competent to stand trial, but that he cannot serve as his own lawyer. He has since filed a motion asking the judge to reconsider the decision. Kevin Hoffman, an attorney who's been appointed to represent Jacobs, said he will most likely have to prepare for the case to go trial. But, he said, it will be "some time" before one is held. Now, Hoffman said it will be a "more straightforward process." That's because the attorneys will not have to pick a jury for a death penalty case, nor present additional testimony - if there's a conviction. Jacobs is expected back in court on Dec. 1. (source: York Daily Record) NORTH CAROLINA: Time to end NC's death penalty There is a deadly battle going on in the courts of the United States. It has lasted for decades. The battle is between those favoring the death penalty and those opposed to it. In North Carolina we have 150 people on death row. 55 North Carolina Counties have prisoners on death row. 45 counties have no one there. It is clear that people in certain counties have been more likely to receive a death sentence than others. For instance, Durham County has no one on death row. Its neighbor, Wake County has ten. Guilford County has 3 prisoners on death row. Yet, its neighbor, Forsyth County, has 12. The last execution in North Carolina was on August 18, 2006, 10 years ago. There are many things that keep prisoners from being executed in North Carolina. Here are 6 of them: 1. The legislature passed the Racial Justice Act. It made it extremely difficult for death sentences to be upheld on appeal. That law has been repealed, but the result is that most (if not all) death sentence cases are under appeal. Resolution of this problem will take months - perhaps years. 2. The law requires a doctor to be present during executions. However, both the American Medical Association and the North Carolina Medical Board have ruled that doctors should NOT be present at executions. In response to this, the legislature has passed a law which states that participation in executions is not the practice of medicine. The intent was to protect doctors who attended an execution from discipline by medical boards. It is unlikely that this law will entice doctors to participate in executions. Whether it is practicing medicine or not, it is still helping to kill someone. Second, the propriety of that law will continue to be litigated. 3. The State has to find the appropriate drugs to cause death. Many companies have refused to sell the drugs to states that will use them in executions. Then, once the chemicals are picked, there will be legal challenges to those particular chemicals. 4. It will be at least 2 years before executions are scheduled. The passing of 12 or more years from the last execution will make it more unpleasant to restart executions. Judges will
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., N.C., FLA., ALA., LA., UTAH, ID., CALIF.
May 3 TEXAS: District Attorney to Seek Death Penalty for 3 in San Angelo Capital Murder Case On Aug. 31, 2015, at approximately 4:05 a.m., 4 suspects forced entry into 69-year-old William Valdez's home, demanding money before they shot him. The gunshot caused severe injury to Valdez, and resulted in the loss of a kidney, spinal chord injury and a perforated colon. Valdez succumbed to his injuries on Sept. 16. The 4 suspects involved in the case, Elisa Victoria Losoya, 29, Eric Martinez, 26, Fernando Lavaris, 29, and Jonathan Marin, 27, all from San Angelo, were arrested for the crime and indicted on Nov. 23, 2015 for Capital Murder by Terror Threat. Last month, on April 5, 2016, 51st District Attorney Allison Palmer submitted the State of Texas' Notice of Intent to Seek the Death Penalty should Losoya, Lavaris and Marin be found guilty. On Nov. 23, 2015, Palmer submitted the State's intent to waive the death penalty on Martinez. According to court documents, during the early morning hours of Aug. 31, William's son, G. Valdez, heard his dog barking and someone banging on his sliding glass door. G. Valdez went outside to the front yard and observed Losoya in the driveway. Losoya approached G. Valdez and told him they needed to talk. "[G. Valdez] was fearful and retreated back inside the house to call police," said the complaint. "[He] locked the front door. [He] heard [the] sliding glass door being broken into as he entered his bedroom." At that point, G. Valdez closed his bedroom door and heard the front door being kicked open. He heard a male voice ask, "Where's the money?" The man also warned, "Do not call the police." That's when G. Valdez heard gunshots in his father's bedroom. Because he was fearful of being shot, G. Valdez waited before exiting his bedroom. "[G. Valdez] observed the back door open and believed [Losoya] and an unknown male had fled through [it]," read the complaint. G. Valdez found his father on the floor by his bed, and stayed with him until SAPD officers arrived. The complaint notes that William Valdez had been shot under his left arm, approximately 4-6 inches from his armpit. When officers arrived, they assisted William with his gunshot injury and transported him to Shannon Hospital for emergency surgery. Later, G. Valdez was presented with a composed photo lineup and positively identified Losoya, who "frequents his game room (Silver Sweeps) businesses." G. Valdez believes, based on the unknown male's statement referencing money, that a robbery attempt had taken place. In addition to William's injuries, Detective Jason Chegwidden and SAPD Crime Scene personnel recovered a bullet and bullet fragments from the scene. Additionally, 2 9mm casings were recovered. Losoya, Lavaris and Marin will be the 1st capital murder suspects to face the death penalty in Tom Green County in almost 17 years. The last individual to face the death penalty in Tom Green County was Luis Ramirez, who was sentenced to death by a jury on May 14, 1999 for the murder of San Angelo Firefighter Nemecio Nandin. He was executed Oct. 20, 2005. At the time, in regards to the death penalty, Palmer said, "We have to do what we believe is the right thing; we do what we believe justice dictates, and we try to stay with what we believe our community standards have been." Recently, Palmer stated she will not confer with San Angelo LIVE! on any of her cases; however, she acknowledged the rise in capital murders since 2013 previously, and said execution will always remain an option in capital murder cases unless repealed by the Texas Legislature. (source: sanangelolive.com) PENNSYLVANIA: Prosecution cites DNA evidence as trial begins in killing of Wolfe sistersProsecution relying on DNA evidence to link Allen Wade Jr. to the crime scene. Defense says case is sloppy and contaminated. Matthew Buchholz and Sarah Wolfe had been together about 8 months after meeting in May 2013 on an online dating site. So, on Feb. 7, 2014, when Sarah, 38, didn't show up for work at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, her colleague sent Mr. Buchholz a message asking if he could check on her. He immediately drove to her home on Chislett Street to see if she was there. As he was knocking on the door, a Pittsburgh police officer arrived to check on Susan Wolfe, Sarah's sister, because she had not shown up at work as a teacher's aide at the Hillel Academy in Squirrel Hill that day. "It was not like either one of them not to show up," he said. After Mr. Buchholz drove to his nearby home to get a spare key, he and the officer went inside. First, Mr. Buchholz glanced in the living room and saw nothing. Then, he noticed that the basement door was ajar. He stuck his head down the steps. "I just saw a pair of bare legs in the basement," he testified Monday. "I immediately pulled back and shouted for the officer." As he turned to run out o
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., N.C., FLA., ALA.
Feb. 10 TEXASnew execution date Killer at Dallas-area Subway store holdup set to die in May A 42-year-old man sent to death row for a fatal shooting during a Dallas-area sandwich shop robbery in 2002 has received an execution date. Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Jason Clark said Tuesday convicted killer Terry Darnell Edwards is scheduled for lethal injection May 11. The U.S. Supreme Court in November refused to review his case. Edwards was convicted of killing 26-year-old Mickell Goodwin at a Balch Springs Subway store where she worked. The store manager, 34-year-old Tommy Walker, also was gunned down. Evidence showed Edwards had been fired from the sandwich store a few weeks before the July 2002 shootings. About $3,000 was taken in the holdup. Edwards is among 10 inmates scheduled for execution in the coming months in Texas, the nation's most active death penalty state. (source: Associated Press) * Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present15 Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982present-533 Abbott#scheduled execution date-nameTx. # 16-February 16--Gustavo Garcia534 17-March 9--Coy Wesbrook--535 18-March 22-Adam Ward-536 19-March 30-John Battaglia537 20-April 6--Pablo Vasquez-538 21-April 27-Robert Pruett-539 22-May 11---Terry Edwards-540 23-June 2---Charles Flores541 24-July 14--Perry Williams542 (sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin) ** Man Found Incompetent for Trial in Houston Deputy's Death A Houston man accused of fatally shooting a sheriff's deputy at a gas station last summer has been ruled mentally incompetent to stand trial for capital murder. State District Judge Susan Brown ordered 31-year-old Shannon Miles be sent to a mental hospital. After four months of medication and treatment, his competency will be re-evaluated. Harris County prosecutors Tuesday didn't dispute arguments from Miles' lawyers that he's schizophrenic and doesn't understand the seriousness of the legal proceedings. Miles is a charged in the Aug. 28 slaying of Harris County Deputy Darren Goforth. The deputy was shot 15 times while putting gasoline in his patrol car. If convicted, Miles could face the death penalty. Records show Miles has been committed to mental health facilities at least twice in recent years. (source: Associated PressP *** Prosecutors said this death row inmate was dangerous because he's black. Now he's asking the Supreme Court for a new trial 20 years ago, a psychologist testified that a Texas man facing the death penalty was more dangerous because he was black. Now, after years of legal wrangling, he???s facing his last chance to get the death sentence overturned. In 1995, Duane Buck shot and killed his former girlfriend and her friend in Houston. He never contested his guilt. During his trial, Buck's defense attorney called a psychologist named Walter Quijano to testify. On direct examination, Quijano noted that blacks and Latinos were "over-represented in the criminal justice system." Then on cross-examination, the prosecutor asked Quijano if "the race factor, black, increases the future dangerousness for various complicated reasons." Quijano said yes. Based on that testimony, Buck asked the Supreme Court to give him a new trial in a petition filed last week. His attorneys argue that because Buck's lawyer at the time did not object to this testimony, he should get a 2nd hearing on the grounds of ineffective assistance of counsel, a violation of his Sixth Amendment rights. In order to sentence an inmate to die, Texas law requires a jury to find that they will be a danger to the public in the future. The prosecutor stressed Quijano's testimony about Buck's race during his closing argument, and the jury sentenced him to death. "He was basically saying because you're black, you need to die," Buck told a documentary filmmaker. "My lawyer didn't say anything and nobody else, you know, the prosecutor or the judge, nobody did. It was like an everyday thing in the courts." Quijano testified about black people being especially dangerous in 6 death penalty cases. The Texas Attorney General - now-U.S. Senator - John Cornyn admitted in 2000 that Quijano's race-based testimony was "inappropriate." The other 5 defendants sentenced to death after his testimony have all received new hearings, but prosecutors continue to object to a hearing for Buck. It's unclear whether Quijano is still practicing. Phone calls to a number listed in his name did not go through. The Supreme Court stayed Buck's execution in 2011 but then denied him a new trial. I
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., N.C., FLA., ALA.
March 28 TEXAS: Legislature must fix Texas death penalty; THE POINT - Lawmakers have neglected their duty to put greater specificity in the law. Texans who support capital punishment might want to believe that the system has evolved into an excruciatingly fair, airtight application of society's utmost punishment. If only that were the case, this newspaper might not stand with opponents of state-sponsored killing. Each year brings a new set of execution dates that expose weaknesses in the system and offend the sense of justice. We trust that state lawmakers are alert to them and are willing to apply fixes. Take Texas law on executing the intellectually disabled. Actually, there really isn't a law, despite the Supreme Court's 2002 landmark imperative against executing people with low IQs. The Texas response relies in part on a Court of Criminal Appeals ruling suggesting that someone like the fictional, dull-witted character Lennie in Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men is the type who ought to be spared the executioner's needle. Allusions to American literature have no place in deciding life-and-death matters in Texas. The Legislature has neglected its duty to put greater specificity in the law, despite a steady flow of condemned inmates whose mental abilities have been in question. Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, has legislation (SB 226) to remedy this. It would have the courts treat questions of intelligence like sanity questions, impaneling a jury to decide the matter before trial. Today, the same jurors who decide guilt-innocence also decide whether a person they just convicted is bright enough to be killed. The Ellis bill would separate the matters and take emotion out of the mix. This bill should pass and fill an embarrassing void in Texas law. It was also embarrassing for the state when lawyers for mentally ill killer Scott Panetti discovered in the Houston Chronicle on Oct. 30 that his execution date had been set 2 weeks prior and was just weeks away. That's right: There was no direct, official notification to counsel that the state obtained a death warrant - and the clock was ticking toward an appeals deadline. The remedy for this shamefulness would be companion bills by Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, (HB 2110) and Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, D-McAllen, (SB 1071). Texans should not tolerate stealth death warrants. Nor should Texans tolerate the idea of an execution before all relevant evidence has been tested for DNA evidence that might bear on the case. Yet that's not a guarantee today, because of a screwy court decision requiring a defendant to prove "a reasonable likelihood" of biological material that could be tested. How might a defendant produce that proof if not through testing? Hence, a remedy by Ellis (SB 487) to eliminate this Catch-22 in state law. This list of fixes could go on, but we'll mention just one more: the right of Texans to know everything about the execution process. That means everything - right down to the drugs used, their supplier and expiration dates. A bipartisan bill (HB 1587) by Reps. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, and Tony Tinderholt, R-Arlington, would secure the public's right to know. (source: Editorial, Odessa American) PENNSYLVANIA: Montgomery County taxpayers pay $105K to defend double killer Montgomery County taxpayers will have to pick up a tab of more than $100,000 in legal fees for a man who insisted on representing himself at trial and ended up with 2 death sentences. Judge William R. Carpenter has ordered the county to pay defense attorney Stephen G. Heckman, the court-appointed trial counsel for Raghunandan Yandamuri, $60,000 for his work in Yandamuri's behalf, and defense lawyer Henry S. Hilles III, Yandamuri's court-appointed penalty phase counsel, $45,600 for his efforts to save Yandamuri's life. A jury last October convicted Yandamuri on 2 1st-degree murder charges stemming from the October 2012 stabbing death of 61-year-old Satyavathi Venna and the suffocation death of Saanvi Venna, her 10-month-old granddaughter, in a botched kidnapping-for-ransom. Heckman, appointed trial counsel by the court in November 2012, performed 952.8 hours of legal services for Yandamuri including 165 hours of in-court time and 787.8 hours of out-of-court time, according to a detailed billing that Heckman provided the court. In capital cases, Montgomery County pays court-appointed lawyers $75 an hour for out-of-court work and $150 an hour for in-court time, according to Court Administrator Michael R. Kehs. However, each case is also reviewed on an individual basis by the president judge and administrative judge, Kehs added. The court last July set a cap of $30,000 but that does not pertain to this case since both lawyers were appointed prior to the cap, he added. After repeated attempts to change Yandamuri's mind, Judge Steven T. O'Neill granted Yandamuri's request to
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., N.C., FLA., ALA., MISS., LA.
March 16 TEXASstay of impending execution Texas court halts officers' killer's execution An East Texas man set for execution this week for a shootout 8 years ago that left 2 sheriff's officers dead has won a reprieve from the state's highest criminal appeals court. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals late Monday stopped the scheduled execution of 55-year-old Randall Wayne Mays. Mays was set for lethal injection Wednesday evening in Huntsville for the fatal shootings at his home in Henderson County, about 55 miles southeast of Dallas. The court agreed with Mays' lawyers that additional review is needed to determine if Mays is mentally competent for execution. His punishment would have depleted the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's supply of pentobarbital used for lethal injections and now difficult to obtain for capital punishment. At least 4 Texas executions are scheduled for April. (source: Associated Press) Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present4 Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982present-522 Abbott#scheduled execution date-nameTx. # 5Apr. 9Kent Sprouse-523 6Apr. 15---Manual Garza-524 7---Apr. 23---Richard Vasquez--525 8---Apr. 28---Robert Pruett526 9---May 12Derrick Charles--527 10---June 18---Gregory Russeau--528 (sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin) PENNSYLVANIA: Jurors selected in death penalty case After 3 1/2 days of jury selection for the Jordan Clemons homicide trial, attorneys have chosen 5 people for the 16-member panel. Jury selection began Wednesday with Washington County Judge Gary Gilman posing group questions to 151 potential jurors. On Thursday, potential jurors were placed into groups of 20 to be interviewed individually. Assistant District Attorney Chad Schneider said each potential juror is being asked a series of 85 questions that will touch on varying qualifications for the case. Additionally, potential jurors were required to fill out a questionnaire that posed questions about the death penalty, among other things. The prosecution is seeking the death penalty. 12 people will serve as jurors, with 4 others to be chosen as alternates. Clemons, 26, formerly of Canonsburg, is accused of killing his ex-girlfriend, 21-year-old Karissa Kunco of Pittsburgh, in January 2012 and dumping her body in a wooded area of Mt. Pleasant Township. Kunco was last seen alive Jan. 11, 2012. State police allege that after killing her, Clemons dragged her naked body into the woods along Sabo Road and covered it with leaves, brush and a tree stump. Kunco, whose throat was cut, had a protection-from-abuse order against Clemons. Defense attorney Brian Gorman has declined to say if Clemons would testify during the trial, which is expected to start May 4. Gorman intends to argue that head injuries Clemons suffered while playing football and in several vehicle accidents, plus years of drug abuse, diminished his mental capacity. Any brain injury Clemons experienced could have been a factor in his ability to form criminal intent, Gorman said in court documents. Schneider plans to call roughly 20 witnesses, including Kunco's parents. Clemons also faces charges from a home invasion in Canonsburg Jan. 8, 2012, and is charged with flight to avoid apprehension in connection with an alleged assault of Kunco in December 2011. Clemons remains in Washington County Jail without bond. Jury selection is slated to continue for the rest of the week. (source: Observer-Reporter) NORTH CAROLINA: New Hanover DA awaits death-penalty decision in Lingo Street arson case After announcing last week that the state will seek the death penalty against the suspect in a deadly Carolina Beach arson fire, the fate of another accused arsonist charged with murder in Wilmington is hanging in the balance. "The (death penalty) panel has not yet met to determine whether we are going to proceed capitally," New Hanover County District Attorney Ben David said Monday. "Once the case is indicted, we will meet and know within 45 days if it will be on pace for capital murder." Harry Levert Davis, 24, is being held without bail in the New Hanover County jail on 2 counts of 1st-degree murder, 3 counts of attempted 1st-degree murder and 1 count of 1st-degree arson. He stands accused of killing 2 people by setting fire to 1901 Lingo St. Makayla Pickett, 14, born blind and autistic, woke her family, but died in the blaze. Her great-aunt and guardian, Pamela Pickett, 51, collapsed and died outside the home after helping 3 others escape. In a newly obtained affidavit in support of a search warrant for Davis' phone, a Wilmington Police Department investigator states Makayla's
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., N.C., FLA., ALA.
Jan. 22 TEXASimpending execution of foreign national Appeals Denied, Mexican National Set to be Executed Tonight in Texas A federal judge in Austin late Tuesday rejected last ditch appeals filed on behalf of Mexican citizen Edgar Tamayo, clearing the way for Tamayo's scheduled execution tonight in Huntsville, 1200 WOAI news reports. In a 3 page ruling, U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel said the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles had adequate information and adequate time to consider whether the denial of Tamayo's right to consult with the Mexican consul following his arrest for killing a Houston police officer in 1994 would have given Tamayo a better chance of avoiding the needle, and getting a life sentence instead. Sandra Babcock, an attorney for Tamayo, says the ruling, and Tamayo's execution, will place 'millions of Americans around the world in harm's way.' "If Texas proceeds with his execution, he would become the first Mexican national executed without any judicial review whatsoever of the powerful evidence that consular assistance would have resulted in a life sentence instead of the death penalty," Babcock told 1200 WOAI news following the ruling. Babcock and other advocates say if the U.S. doesn't allow consular consultations by foreign nationals arrested here, other nation's will not allow Americans basic rights to due process when they are arrested abroad. But Roe Wilson, the Harris County prosecutor who won the death sentence against Tamayo, says it's time that the judgment is carried out. "It has gone through every court that it can possibly go through, and many of those courts more than once," she said. "There is nothing further that could have been given to him." But Maurie Levin, another attorney for Tamayo, says she is examining options for a further appeal. "We are continuing to pursue our options for appeal, and vindication of Mr. Tamayo's right to review of the consular right violation in this case," she told 1200 WOAI news. "The failure of the Governor and Attorney General to honor their promises has tied the hands of at least the lower courts. It is dismaying that Texas' highest officials think so little of keeping their word. We are hopeful that the appellate courts will hold them to their promise, and that Mr. Tamayo will receive, for the first time, review of the abundant prejudice that resulted from the denial of his rights under the Vienna Convention. The U.S. Supreme Court, in Medellin v. Texas in 2008, ruled that rulings of the International Court of Justice, like the one that mandated consular review in the case of Mexican nationals convicted in U.S. courts, is not enforceable or binding on the states. Since then, Texas has executed 2 Mexican citizens for murders committed in the state. (source: WOAI News) Edgar Tamayo Arias Execution in Texas Being Fought by Mexican Officials Mexican officials are working to prevent one of the country's citizens from being executed by the state of Texas. United States Secretary of State John Kerry noted that the case could put Americans abroad at great risk. Edgar Tamayo Arias is a Mexican-born citizen currently serving time in prison in Texas. He was found guilty of murdering a Houston police officer, whom he shot 3 times in the back of the head. Mexican officials want him brought back to the country because he did not receive adequate representation from the Mexican country. "The Mexican government is opposed to the death penalty and has decided to use the necessary resources to protect its citizens who are in danger of receiving this sentence," the ministry told CNN. American officials are also worried about the ramifications Arias' execution could have on international relations. "I want to be clear: I have no reason to doubt the facts of Mr. Tamayo's conviction, and as a former prosecutor, I have no sympathy for anyone who would murder a police officer," Kerry said. "This is a process issue I am raising because it could impact the way American citizens are treated in other countries." Arias is scheduled to die by lethal injection on Jan. 22. He came to the U.S. when he was just 19 in order to find work. He is now 46 years old and has "mild mental retardation," according to reports. His death would upset relations between the U.S. and Mexico, as well as put the death penalty under further spotlight in Texas. Lawyers working on behalf of Arias have filed a lawsuit against Governor Rick Perry and the Texas Board of Pardons. The lawyers claim that Arias has not received a fair hearing for clemency and are withholding documents that could help the defense. "Mr. Tamayo was never informed of his right to contact the consulate, as is stipulated in the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations; and, unlike other Mexicans already executed, he has not been granted any form of judicial review," Sandra Babcock, one of Arias' lawye
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., N.C., FLA., ALA.
Jan. 4 TEXAS: Estranged husband charged with killing pregnant wifeMissing pregnant woman's body found, husband arrested: A man whose estranged and pregnant wife vanished the day after Christmas has been arrested and charged with killing her. A man whose estranged and pregnant wife vanished the day after Christmas has been arrested and charged with killing her. Matt Sowders, 28, was taken into custody Thursday outside his parents' house here and charged with capital murder after volunteers searching for Melissa Sowders, 26, found a body in Cypress Creek that morning. The charge means that Matt Sowders could face the death penalty if convicted. U.S. marshals, Harris County Sheriff's deputies and Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force members were waiting with guns drawn when Sowders walked out of the house, about 20 miles northeast of Houston, with his father. "We were going to the bond place because we heard the warrant's been issued," said Sowder's father, David. "We were trying to comply." An autopsy will be performed, but investigators and family members believe the body is Melissa Sowder. Melissa and Matt Sowders have four children, according to The Houston Chronicle . But she and her husband of nine years filed for divorce in the fall. Her boyfriend, Jason Sanford, was the father of the child she was carrying. Melissa Sowders vanished Dec. 26 after dropping Sanford off at work at 6:15 a.m. CT. Matt Sowders had custody of their 4 children, and Melissa Sowders was supposed to meet her estranged husband and their youngest daughter at a Houston-area McDonald's that day, Sanford said. "She told me, 'OK, I'm here. He's here, I'm going to get off the phone,'" Sanford said. "Every time she had to meet with him to see her baby, she was always worried about it. He scares her." Deputies found Melissa Sowders' white Honda Accord on Friday night less than 4 miles away Interstate 45. Volunteers on horses had been searching along Cypress Creek in northwest Houston since Saturday. Sanford said investigators called him shortly after the body was found. "The detective called me asking what kind of tattoos were on her, and so I explained a couple of the tattoos that I could remember, stars that were on her side and a tattoo of Matt's name on her waistline," Sanford said. Melissa Sowders was two months pregnant with Sanford's baby. Matt Sowders was arrested on a charge of capital murder because of his estranged wife's pregnancy, meaning two lives were ended, Harris County District Attorney's Office officials told The Houston Chronicle. "It's been a long week," Sanford said. "And now a little hope, a little relief. ... It's hard." Her relatives rushed to the scene after hearing a body had been found. Amber Newsom, Melissa Sowder's younger sister, said she will cherish memories of the last time she saw the young mother and her children at a local park. Dustan Neyland, a lawyer that Matt Sowder hired Sunday, said he was shocked that his client was arrested. Matt Sowders is being held without bail and will make his 1st court appearance Monday. "It's kind of more of a shock that he was arrested today so quickly after a body was found without any kind of an autopsy or a cause of death being determined," Neyland said. (source: KHOU news) * Anti-death penalty groups should focus on wrongful incarcerations instead Re: "Dallas County DA leads in death penalty," Monday news story. The 12 death sentences, over a period of 7 years and nearly 2,000 homicides, include 7 multiple killings, 8 murdering and torturing women and children, and 2 deadly attacks on police officers. None involve doubt about the perpetrator's identity. The criticism seems to be much ado about nothing. Anti-death penalty groups would be of far greater service protesting the unjust incarceration of millions of Americans, hundreds of whom die in custody, for victimless crimes. Ken Ashby, Dallas (source: Letter to the Editor, Dallas Morning News) ** Lawyer looks for lessons in death David R. Dow, a Houston law professor and founder of the Texas Innocence Project, has handled the appeals of more than 100 death row inmates. In that his venue is Texas, which is particularly adept at applying the death penalty, Dow has been around death a lot. Dow explained in his 1st book, "The Autobiography of an Execution," that although he supports the death penalty in principle, he opposes it in practice because of the way it is administered. His new book, "Things I've Learned From Dying," is more personal. It deals with the deaths of his father-in-law, a death-row inmate and a family dog. Some might think it odd to compare a Doberman's last days to those of 2 humans. It's not, particularly in Dow's hands. He is a gifted storyteller. And regardless of your opinion on the death penalty, he sounds like good company. Dow's father-in-law,
