[Deathpenalty]death penalty news---IOWA, TENN.

[Rick Halperin]

July 12



IOWA----re--federal death penalty trial

Iowa Prepares First Death Penalty Case In 40 Years


Days before his 1993 federal court appearance, drug kingpin Dustin Honken
and girlfriend Angela Johnson allegedly set out looking for a street
dealer turned federal snitch.

Prosecutors say the couple found Greg Nicholson, who had recently agreed
to tell a grand jury about Honken's multistate methamphetamine operation.
That night, Nicholson, along with his girlfriend and her 2 young
daughters, vanished. A few months later, another federal informant, Terry
DeGeus, disappeared.

7 years later, the FBI began digging in the hills of northern Iowa near
Mason City on a tip. The bodies of all 5 showed signs of beating, and
torture.

Honken faces trial next month in federal court in Sioux City on 5 counts
of 1st-degree murder in what will be the 1st death penalty case in Iowa in
more than 40 years. Iowa has no death penalty.

Expected to last 3 months, it could also be one of the longest in state
history and the most expensive on record.

(source: Associated Press)






TENNESSEE:

State study suggests uniform rules for death penalty cases


A state report on the cost of 1st-degree murder trials shows some
prosecutors seek the death penalty only in "worst of the worst" cases but
others are more prone to pursue executions.

Monday's report by the Tennessee Comptroller's Office of Research suggests
legislators provide uniform rules for prosecutors to use in deciding when
to seek the death penalty.

The House Judiciary Committee requested the report in October 2002 to help
show the cost of the death penalty.

It shows death penalty trials cost taxpayers an average of about $47,000.
That is 48 % more than the average cost for life-without-parole trials and
49 % more than the average for trials in which prosecutors seek life
sentences with the possibility of parole.

The report says differences in prosecutors pursuing the death penalty pose
problems for defense attorneys.

(source: Associated Press)