Jan. 5
VIRGINIA:
No justice in Va. for Justin Wolfe
A civilized society seeks to hold its citizens responsible for their actions.
That is 1 reason for our courts and system of justice, and it was one reason
for the trial of Justin Michael Wolfe in Virginia.
Prosecutorial missteps in this case made that objective impossible to achieve.
These are not mere technicalities; they cut to the heart of our system of
justice. What could be worse than encouraging a witness to lie by threatening
to give him the death penalty if he doesn't? But the prosecution is accused of
doing just that in this case, and not once but twice - once after the appellate
judge threw out the case for that very reason.
The death penalty is sometimes defended as applying only to the worst of the
worst. But to this voter, that description would more appropriately apply to
the prosecutor than to the defendant in the Wolfe case.
Herbert C. Puscheck, Alexandria
(source: Letter to the Editor, Washington Post)
IDAHO:
Serial killer Joseph Duncan returns to Boise for competency hearing
One of the state's most notorious killers is back in Boise for a court hearing.
Joseph Edward Duncan III is in solitary confinement at the Ada County Jail,
where he arrived Thursday about noon. U.S. marshals transported him on a
private plane from a federal prison in the Seattle area.
Duncan, 49, is on federal death row for the kidnapping, rape and murder of a
northern Idaho boy. At issue is whether the 5-time convicted killer was
competent when he waived his right to appeal his death sentences, which a
federal jury imposed in August 2008 after a 3-week trial in Boise.
Duncan represented himself during the trial, but a team of federal defense
attorneys stood by to assist. They were led by noted anti-death penalty lawyer
Judy Clarke, whose clients have included Unabomber Ted Kaczynski and Tucson,
Ariz., gunman Jared Loughner.
The attorneys appealed to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals against Duncan's
wishes and said they didn't feel that he was mentally competent.
That court ruled last March that Lodge should have held a competency hearing
before allowing Duncan to waive his right to appeal the sentence in November
2008.
Court documents filed by prosecutors in preparation for next week's hearing
reveal for the 1st time that Duncan explained in detail his decision to act as
his own attorney and to waive his right to appeal during interviews with FBI
Special Agents Mike Gneckow and Gail Gneckow after his sentencing. No other
details were provided, and the U.S. Attorney's Office declined to comment.
Duncan pleaded guilty to 10 federal felonies in December 2007 for kidnapping
9-year-old Dylan Groene and his sister, Shasta, in May 2005, and for killing
Dylan. He had pleaded guilty in Kootenai County in October 2005 to killing the
children's mother and brother, Brenda Groene and Slade Groene, and Brenda's
fiance, Mark McKenzie.
He's now represented by Michael Burt and Randall Martin of San Francisco.
Transcripts and audio excerpts from the FBI interviews are listed as evidence
in court documents filed by prosecutors on Friday. Other evidence includes
letters Duncan wrote to attorneys and the judge who presided over his murder
case in Riverside County.
Duncan said in a letter to Lodge after his death penalty sentencing that any
appeals filed on his behalf would be against his will. But in December 2010, he
wrote a 2-page handwritten letter saying his brother had died and he wished to
proceed with the appeal because he was his mother's only remaining child, The
Spokesman-Review reported.
Under the 9th Circuit's order, If Lodge rules Duncan was competent, he'll
return to death row in Terre Haute, Ind. He had been in the Seattle-area
facility since his last Boise court hearing, in May.
If Lodge rules Duncan wasn't competent, the longtime federal judge will also
decide whether the killer was competent when he acted as his own attorney. If
not, the court will convene a new jury to decide whether Duncan should receive
the death penalty.
Duncan has been ruled competent several times by court-appointed experts and by
a judge and jury, as well as by mental health staff in the federal prison
system. The defense witnesses expected to testify at this hearing also
testified at Duncan's competency hearing in Riverside County, Calif., where a
jury of 12 and a judge found him competent in August 2009. Duncan then pleaded
guilty to murder in March 2011 as his lawyers stood by. He was charged in
Riverside County after he implicated himself in the 1997 murder of 10-year-old
Anthony Martinez during interviews after his arrest in Coeur d'Alene. He's also
suspected of killing 2 sisters in the Seattle area in 1996, 11-year-old Sammy
Jo White and 9-year old Carmen Cubias.
Documents filed by federal prosecutors say Duncan showed his mental competency
throughout his crimes.
A fugitive sex offender, Duncan put together a crime kit and evaluated
potential victims and potential abuse locations before settling on the Groene
home in Wolf Lodge Bay, just a few miles east of Coeur d'Alene. He stalked the
family with night vision goggles in May 2005 before tying up Brenda Groene and
Mark McKenzie and beating them to death with a claw hammer, along with
13-year-old Slade. Duncan then drove Dylan Groene, 9, and his sister Shasta,
then 8, to a remote campsite in western Montana, where he abused them for weeks
before shooting Dylan to death and returning to Coeur d'Alene with Shasta.
People at a local Denny's recognized her at the restaurant on July 2, 2005, and
called police, leading to her rescue and Duncan's arrest. The girl now lives
with her father, Steve Groene.
Prosecutors also point to Duncan's actions during the hearing, where he
objected several times to evidence presented by prosecutors, including a
graphic video of him abusing Dylan. Duncan told the court he didn't want to say
anything in front of the jury because he didn't want it to be seen as
prejudicial, but he "strongly" objected because "this video will be turning the
jurors into my victims so that I will be tried not by a jury of peers, but a
jury of victims."
At the end of the trial, Duncan warned jurors: "You people really don't have
any clue yet of the true heinousness of what I've done."
Duncan will be transported to and from the federal courthouse by U.S. marshals.
He is the only Idaho murderer who is on federal death row.
(source: Idaho Statesman)
ALABAMA:
Ala. lawmaker seeks to end death penalty
Once again, an Alabama state senator plans to go after the death penalty. So
far all efforts to end capital punishment have gone nowhere in the state
legislature. Selma Sen. Hank Sanders says it's a practice that needs to come to
an end.
"Capital punishment in Alabama as in other places really has been something
reserved for poor people," Sanders said.
Sanders is pushing several bills. One to eliminate capital punishment, one to
put a moratorium on capital punishment, limit the death penalty for mentally
challenged, juvenile offenders and restrict judges' sentencing authority.
"We spend a lot of money on capital punishment in Alabama. I don't have the
figures. We have spent a whole lot of money on so-called capital crime. I think
we can do better," Sanders said.
Alabama voters remain split over the controversial issue.
"African Americans in this state receive a lot more and quicker than others. So
for the state of Alabama I think should be outlawed," Wanda Spillers said.
"I'm pretty conservative about it. I think it should be left as it is. There
should be serious punishment or a plan for serious crime," Matthew Sensintaffer
said.
Some Alabama lawmakers tell FOX6 News they don't believe the legislature will
end capital punishment. Still, Sanders is not giving up. He says it's too
important of issue not to have a serious debate this year. He also points to a
large number of inmates sitting on Alabama's death row.
"Either we have more bad people in Alabama or there is a something wrong with
our system. I don't think there are more bad people in Alabama," Sanders said.
(source: WBRC)
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