[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----PENN., WIS., NEV.

[Rick Halperin]

June 21


PENNSYLVANIA:

D.A. to Seek Death Penalty in Berks Murder


Prosecutors will seek the death penalty for 2 men charged with a pair of
murders in Reading.


Alfredo Alicea and Peter Borelli are accused of killing Harvey Harris in
November 2004, and Jamar O'Bryant in March 2005.

Prosecutors now say they'll be tried for both murders at the same time,
but only face the death penalty for Harris's murder.

Prosecutors say the trial will be for both murders, because one
investigation led them to file charges in the other murder.

(source: WFMZ News)






WISCONSIN:

Death Penalty Advisory Referendum


It's been a controversial issue around the nation for decades.

Now Wisconsinites will be voting on it this November.

Legislators are having the public vote on an advisory referendum to
re-instate the death penalty in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin has the longest state ban of the death penalty in the nation.

It has been execution free for 153 years.

Now, legislators are asking voters, if they want it back.

This is the question voters will face November 7.

Should the death penalty be enacted in the state of Wisconsin for cases
involving a person who is convicted of 1st-degree intentional homicide, if
the conviction is supported by DNA evidence? With the last execution in
Wisconsin back in 1851, legislators are asking for your opinions.

"This is not the kind of thing that ought to deal out of emotion. We ought
to be dealing with this question out of logic and facts," says State
Senator Ron Brown.

The advisory referendum comes after hundreds of calls were made to
congressmen in reaction to the current Steven Avery case.

Right now, Avery is charged with the murder of Teresa Halbach, three years
after Avery's rape conviction was overturned by DNA evidence.

Representative Rob Kreibich says he is for the death penalty but only
under certain cases. "It should be an option for juries, victims families
in very narrow cases where guilt is no longer in doubt, says Kreibich.

Opponents, such as the Office of Public Defenders, say people need to
consider everything before voting for it.

They contend, there is no evidence the death penalty lowers crime rates.

"I think almost all experts would agree now that there isn't a deterrent
effect on capitol punishment on homicide," says Dana Smetana of the Office
of Public Defenders.

DNA has also become a major component in determining the case of the death
penalty in Wisconsin. Some say it's dependable and some, say it's not...

"Obviously with DNA that's another element that can cement the proof that
the perpetrator committed the offense," says Kreibich.

"You may have DNA at the scene but that doesn't mean that the person is
guilty of the homicide," says Smetana.

It's important to keep in mind that whatever the results come to this
November, the popular vote on the referendum will not necessarily cause
the death penalty to be re-instated.

(source: WEAU News)






NEVADA:

Guilty Verdict In Trialside Slaying; Death Sentence Possible


A Contra Costa County jury Wednesday found Robert Ward Frazier guilty of
felony murder with special circumstances in the death of a 49-year-old
Antioch mother on a Concord walking trail in 2003.

The jury of 8 women and 4 men deliberated less than four hours before
finding Frazier guilty of the 1st-degree murder, rape and forcible sodomy
of Kathleen Aiello-Loreck. They also found him guilty of 2 special
circumstances -- murder in order to commit rape and murder in order to
commit sodomy -- which makes him eligible for the death penalty.

The same jury will be decide whether or not to sentence Frazier to death
during the penalty phase of the trial.

Frazier, a 41-year-old Indiana man, appeared in court in bright yellow
jail clothing and looked straight ahead as the verdict was read.

Prosecutor John Cope was happy with the verdict.

"I think it's appropriate based on the evidence," Cope said outside the
courtroom after hearing the verdict. He could not comment further because
a gag order remains in place.

One of Aiello-Loreck's sons Eric Lyon, 25, said he wanted to thank Cope
for defending his mother.

"We're happy with the outcome of the verdict," he said. "And although it
doesn't bring back our mom, it makes us relax a little bit and it's just
an a emotional day."

During closing arguments, defense attorney Eric Quandt said that Frazier,
who had recently gone through a series of setbacks that left him homeless,
overheard the victim talking on her cell phone about homeless people and
snapped.

Quandt said that Frazier committed "a rash, impulsive, unplanned act" when
he killed Aiello-Loreck as she was taking a walk during her lunch break on
the afternoon of May 13, 2003.

The fact that Frazier struck Aiello-Loreck on the head with an iron fence
post, dragged her from the trail and continued to bludgeon her, causing
multiple skull fractures and severe brain damage, was not in dispute
throughout the case.

Cope painted a much different picture for jurors in his closing. In his
rebuttal, Cope said that Frazier had to have planned the attack and that
he did so in order to sexually assault the victim.

"Where is the evidence that Mr. Frazier snapped?" he asked. "Where is the
evidence that that he flew into an angry rage?"

Aiello-Loreck was still alive when police found her, but died from her
injuries several hours later at a nearby hospital. Police have DNA
evidence linking Frazier to the murder weapon and to body fluids found on
the victim.

(source: Fox News)