May 3 CONNECTICUT: Death penalty issue still alive in General Assembly The House of Representatives defeated a bill in March that would have abolished Connecticut's death penalty, but that doesn't mean the debate is over. With New England's 1st execution in 45 years looming, the state Senate is considering whether to debate legislation - possibly as early as Wednesday - that would tweak the capital punishment law and likely allow senators to debate the merits of the death penalty. Sen. Andrew McDonald, D-Stamford, co-chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said it is important to some senators that they also have an opportunity to debate the death penalty given convicted serial killer Michael Ross' scheduled May 13 execution. "Clearly, it is an issue of social importance in the state and I think legislators should be on record where their position is one way or the other," McDonald said. On March 30, the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives, on an 89-60 vote, defeated a bill that would have replaced the state's death sentence with life in prison without the possibility of release. That would have meant the death sentences for Ross and the others on death row would become life sentences. Death penalty opponents don't expect there is enough support in the Senate, also controlled by Democrats, to abolish the death penalty. However, Kim Harrison, a lobbyist for the Connecticut Conference of the United Church of Christ, said she expects greater support for abolition than five or six years ago. "I think in a week before the 1st execution in 45 years, both houses should speak on it, even if we can't win," Harrison said. Ross, 45, has admitted killing 8 young women in Connecticut and New York in the early 1980s and raping most of them. He was sentenced to death for four of those murders. His execution date has been delayed several times pending examination of his mental competency. According to the bill before the Senate, if a jury is unable to make an unanimous decision during the penalty phase of a death penalty case, the jury would be discharged and the defendant automatically sentenced to life in prison without chance of release. "This would conform Connecticut to the overwhelming majority of death penalty states," Rep. Michael Lawlor, D-East Haven, co-chairman of the Judiciary Committee said last month. Under current law, a new jury would be impaneled to revisit the penalty question. The bill also allows the victims and defendant involved in a death penalty case to make a statement to the jury before members begin deliberating. (source: Associated Press) GEORGIA: Death penalty sought in dismemberment killing Authorities will seek the death penalty against a couple accused of killing and dismembering a Bibb County man. Bibb County District Attorney Howard Simms made the death penalty announcement Tuesday when 24-year-olds Crystal Mae Wagner and Shay Allen Morey were indicted by a grand jury on charges of malice murder, felony murder, concealment of a death, and theft by taking for allegedly killing the woman's ex-husband. Morey and Wagner were arrested Feb. 15 after Bobby Gene Wagner was stabbed in the chest, then hacked up in a bathtub, hauled to Twiggs County and dumped in the woods, investigators said. The 3 of them had been living at the Travel Inn near Interstate 475 for some time before his death. Crystal Wagner told investigators she waited roughly 30 minutes in a car while Morey purchased the mallet, hacksaw and hatchet used to cut Wagner's body to pieces in the motel room bathtub, Lt. Aubrey Evins said at a February court hearing. The couple then allegedly drove Carver's car to rural Twiggs County and dumped the body, the knife and the tools. These were found Feb. 15 in the woods off Ga. 18. (source: Associated Press) NEW JERSEY: Inmate with DNA defense is rebutted The prosecutor said not all samples from the 1987 rape and murder had been tested. He wants additional results. Assertions by defense attorneys that DNA test results exonerate a man convicted of a 1987 rape and murder were "grossly overstated" because not all of the biological samples were analyzed, Burlington County Prosecutor Robert D. Bernardi said yesterday. "They did not analyze other items collected which may still link Larry Peterson to the crime scene," he said. "Absent additional testing, it would be irresponsible to the public and the victim's family to consent to a new trial at this time." Peterson, 54, is seeking to have his conviction overturned based on DNA tests, which were not used in New Jersey at the time of his 1989 trial. He is serving a 40-year term for the rape and murder of Jacqueline Harrison, 25, of Pemberton Township, a mother of two. Peterson also is from Pemberton Township, where the crime occurred. Prosecutors had sought the death penalty. Bernardi said the samples presented at trial were the only ones that had been tested. His office has already spoken with officials at the New Jersey State Police laboratory about testing additional samples collected during the investigation. A rush has been ordered by the Attorney General's Office. Bernardi said that if the results did not place Peterson at the crime scene, he would not oppose the motion for a new trial, which defense attorneys filed Wednesday. Vanessa Potkin, an attorney with the Innocence Project in New York who is handling Peterson's case, said the additional testing was welcomed. "We are confident it will further vindicate Larry," she said. "We urge them to do it as quickly as possible." Peterson was convicted after 4 people testified that he had confessed. Prosecutors introduced hairs found at the scene that they said microscopically matched Peterson's. They theorized that scratch marks on his forearms were defensive wounds and noted that Harrison had blood and skin under her fingernails. After a decade of fighting for DNA testing, Peterson was granted it by an appeals court in December 2003. None of the semen, hair or skin samples tested belonged to Peterson, according to the motion filed by Potkin. "People lie; DNA doesn't," she said. The genetic profile gleaned from the samples was entered into a criminal-justice database, but the DNA did not match anyone on file, Potkin said. "If this crime happened today, there is no way Larry Peterson would even be a suspect," she said. "There would be a John Doe warrant issued for the unidentified male whose DNA profile we now have." Nationwide, 158 people convicted of crimes have been exonerated through DNA testing since 1989, according to the Innocence Project. When a New Jersey Superior Court judge overturns a conviction, county prosecutors have discretion on whether to conduct a new trial or consider the person not guilty. Bernardi said that if Peterson got his conviction thrown out, he would try him again. The fact that DNA samples do not place him at the crime scene does not necessarily mean Peterson was not involved, the prosecutor said. "In our view, guilt or innocence ultimately will be determined by the courts and a jury in the event a new trial is ordered," Bernardi said, noting that Peterson's conviction was upheld by an appeals court. (source: Philadelphia Inquirer, April 29) USA: VH1's New Social Experiment 'BSTV' Tests How Far People Are Willing to Go for Fame and Fortune Premiering Sunday, May 15 at 10 PM* Blinded By The Limelight! Meet people willing to flip the switch on a death row inmate live on TV. Meet the men eager to get on TV by moving to a remote island inhabited only with lap dancers, where the guys can look but not touch. Meet the men who have agreed to gain hundreds of extra pounds for the chance to be famous. Can't believe these people exist? Well, believe it, they're all on VH1's new social experiment, "BSTV." Today, people will do just about anything to become a celebrity and celebrities are willing to endure just about anything to keep their fame. That has been proven no place more than on reality TV. Our nation has been glued to the television cringing as they watch people eat cow brains, lie to their family and friends and embarrass themselves all for a taste of fame. Just when you thought it couldn't go any further and people couldn't stoop any lower, welcome to VH1's new series, "BSTV," the show that tests people's limits to find out just how much "B.S." they'll put themselves through for a spot in the limelight. "BSTV" premieres Sunday through Friday, May 15 - 20 at 10 pm each night. New episodes will air every Friday at 10 pm, beginning Friday, May 27 (tape is available upon request). Each weekly episode invites real people and celebrities to participate in what they believe to be casting calls and pilot tapings for the latest and hottest new reality shows. What they don't know is that every audition is 100% fake. Each concept is pulled off by our cast of improv actors posing as the show's producers and talent. No matter how much "B.S." is doled out by our cast of accomplices, eager reality show wannabes and celebrities always seem ready to believe any bogus concept for their chance at fame. Celebrities who participated include: Dennis Rodman, Rachel Hunter, Katrina Campins, John Salley, Kimberley Locke, Traci Lords, Erik Estrada, Cindy Margolis, Tara Lipinski and more. "BSTV" is a production of VH1 in conjunction with Ealing Studios. Executive producers are Paul Garner, Rob Moore and Jim Biederman. Jill Leiderman, Michael Hirschorn and Jim Ackerman are executive producers for VH1. For more information and to see clips from "BSTV" log onto http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/bstv/series.jhtml *all times ET/PT Contacts: Lori Hornik/VH1 Christine Sefein/MTVN 212-846-7131 310-752-8798 (SOURCE VH1 Web Site: http://www.vh1.com ) (source: PR Newswire) CALIFORNIA: A Letter From Scott Peterson's Father Investigation a $4.13M lie Concerning the article "Peterson's final tab $4.13M" (April 22, Page A-1), it is time for some truth to be told. Modesto citizens bore the cost of the police department investigation and trial to put an innocent man on death row. Ron Grantski says the investigation was done professionally; ergo, a conviction was forthcoming. That is utter nonsense. The detectives in this case were anything but professional. They leaked lies to the media from day one. For example, a life insurance policy which was two years old was reported to the media to be just days old. The Modesto Police Department failed to follow up on solid leads and sightings. These leads did not fit the MPD's scenario. The police deliberately withheld exculpatory evidence - a woman saw Laci at the warehouse where the boat was kept. That would account for the single hair found in the boat, a hair that might have been Laci's. Expenditures of $4 million and the MPD, FBI and Department of Justice came up with one hair, which possibly belonged to Laci and which could have been where it was found by any number of means. My son has no history of violence or a police record that suggests he could be capable of anything like this. My son was convicted by the media, mostly because of lies leaked by the MPD. Pressure was brought to solve this crime (and) pin it on someone so the MPD wouldn't look inept. The MPD gave in to this pressure. My son was convicted because he had an affair. He was convicted by a jury full of hatred because of the way Scott was vilified in the media. He was convicted because of public opinion. Scott was not convicted of this crime under the standards required by law. The evidence presented did not meet the standards required to convict. Consider: There was no cause of death, no crime scene, no motive, not a shred of evidence in the home or truck, no background of abuse, not even a harsh word was heard from Scott to Laci by any witness - including Sharon Rocha or Laci's siblings or friends. The media manipulates our justice system in this country, and all you folks out there (especially in Modesto) should be scared as hell of what could happen to you and your families in this atmosphere of police corruption and media bias. The Modesto Police Department, by its behavior, made it clear it cared not one whit about truth or justice. The detectives and the chief were only interested in self-aggrandizement and their own careers. The power these people have (and utterly misused) is awesome. Because of them, a man is on death row and a family is hurting beyond all comprehension. Scott will be freed through the appellate process in time, mark my words. He is innocent, innocent, innocent. LEE PETERSON----Solana Beach (source: Modesto Bee)
