[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----GA., MISS., CALIF.

[Rick Halperin]

Oct. 4



GEORGIA:

Ga. plans execution this month----Some states halt penalty until high
court rules on injection


Condemned killer Jack Alderman could be executed by lethal injection in
Georgia later this month under a warrant signed Wednesday, even though
several states have recently opted to hold off on executions until the
U.S. Supreme Court decides if that method is unconstitutional.

According to the warrant signed by Chatham County Judge Michael Karpf,
Alderman, who is condemned for the 1974 murder of his wife, can be
executed between noon Oct. 19 and noon Oct. 26. The Georgia Department of
Corrections is responsible for choosing a specific time for the execution
at its prison near Jackson, but one had not been set late Wednesday.

Alderman's execution was scheduled even though more than a dozen states
are under moratoriums, either self-imposed or ordered by a court, because
of questions about the three-drug method of lethal injection used in 37
states, including Georgia.

Courts in several states have faced the lethal injection question and have
reached differing conclusions. So last week the U.S. Supreme Court agreed
to hear a Kentucky case that asks whether lethal injection violates the
constitutional protection against cruel and unusual punishment. Lawyers
for the defendant in that case argued that lethal injection causes
excruciating pain.

"Clearly, the [U.S.] Supreme Court has said 'we are troubled by the
constitutionality of current lethal injection procedures and we're going
to hear the merits,' " said Tom Dunn, one of Alderman's attorneys.
Alderman's lawyers said they will appeal to stop his execution because of
the method the state uses.

Chatham County Chief Assistant District Attorney David Lock said his
office sought the warrant because "the courts in Georgia have not stayed
any execution" because of the lethal injection issue.

Alderman was convicted of killing his 20-year-old wife, Barbara Jean, on
Sept. 21, 1974, in Garden City just outside of Savannah. She was
bludgeoned, strangled and held underwater in a bathtub. Alderman and a
co-defendant, who has since been paroled, then loaded her body into the
trunk of a car and left the car partially submerged in a creek in
Effingham County.

On Monday, Alderman lost his last appeal of his conviction and sentence
when the U.S. Supreme Court said it would not hear his claim that his
lawyers were inadequate in his trial. That prompted the Chatham County
district attorney's office to seek a death warrant. Though he has
exhausted his appeals on his conviction, Alderman can still appeal based
on the legal injection issue.

His lawyers will most likely point out that Alderman has filed a lawsuit
challenging lethal injection similar to cases that stopped executions in
other states. Those lawsuits argue that the sedative that is the 1st of 3
drugs administered is not sufficient and that the condemned experiences
excruciating pain when the 2nd drug, a paralytic, and third drug,
potassium chloride, are administered.

Alderman's lawyers also are likely to note that the U.S. Supreme Court
agreed to hear the Kentucky lethal injection lawsuit that makes claims
identical to the ones Alderman makes in his lawsuit that is pending before
U.S. District Court Judge Beverly Martin.

Lethal injection opponents have questioned the use of three drugs when
only one is used to euthanize animals. Georgia administers 2 mgs. of
sodium pentothal and uses pancuronium bromide to paralyze the inmate and
potassium chloride to stop the heart. Opponents say the condemned, if not
adequately anesthetized, could experience pain when the second and third
drugs are administered but they cannot relay that information because they
are paralyzed. Yet execution witnesses see a peaceful death.

Alderman's death warrant was sought just a day after a court in Texas
stayed an execution that was set for Thursday in light of the high court's
decision to look at lethal injection. Last week, the Supreme Court stopped
another scheduled execution in Texas and Alabama voluntarily adopted a
moratorium.

Another Alderman attorney, Michael Seim of New York, said lawyers would
"do everything we can to prevent his execution by unconstitutional means.
The Supreme Court has said they are reviewing the very protocols they
intend to use on our client in two weeks. ... I can't believe that the
state of Georgia is going forward with an execution when even the state of
Texas, which has more executions than any state, has a moratorium. Rather
than wait for the Supreme Court, they have tried to slip this one through
the back door and execute him by unconstitutional means."

Elisabeth Semel, a law professor at the University of California,
Berkeley, and once head of the American Bar Association's death penalty
representation project, said though the justices agreed to hear a lethal
injection challenge, it is impossible to predict what the justices will do
with regard to cases like Alderman's.

But Semel questioned whether the Georgia attorney general's office is
testing the high court.

"What is to be gained by pushing this at this juncture? The judicious
thing for everybody in every state is to wait and see what the Supreme
Court decides and go from there," Semel said.

*************************

Georgia will keep pushing for death penalty, says attorney general----But
U.S. Supreme Court will hear challenge to lethal injection


While the U.S. Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to hear a Kentucky case that
challenges lethal injection, Georgia's attorney general said he will
continue pushing death penalty cases until a court tells him to stop.

"The U.S. Supreme Court, in accepting the Kentucky case, did not enter a
stay or other prohibition against other states proceeding with their
executions," Attorney General Thurbert Baker said. "Unless and until such
an order is entered by an appropriate court, I will continue to fulfill my
obligations under the law and vigorously fight to uphold the sentences
imposed for these heinous crimes."

On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review a Kentucky
challenge to lethal injection. It has never looked at that method nor did
it ever review the constitutionality of any other method.

Experts say the decision involving Kentucky will have nationwide
implications. Georgia and 35 other states with the death penalty use the
same 3-drug combination that is at issue in Kentucky.

Like challenges to lethal injection filed in Georgia and at least 4 other
states, 2 Kentucky death row inmates complained that lethal injection
amounted to cruel and unusual punishment. The inmates, Ralph Baze and
Thomas Clyde Bowling Jr., argued in their 2004 suit the condemned could
suffer excruciating pain but be unable to cry out if they were not given
enough sedative, the 1st of the 3 drugs used in lethal injections.

"This is probably one of the most important cases in decades as it relates
to the death penalty," said David Barron, the public defender who
represents Baze and Bowling.

Executions are on hold in a dozen states because of similar lawsuits or
pending the outcome of the Supreme Court argument, which has not been
scheduled.

"There is a lot of belief that it's potentially very painful and
torturous, and there's no reason to do it that way," said Atlanta defense
attorney Jack Martin, who has 2 death penalty cases pending. "There are
other ways to possibly do it. It never made any sense to me that if you're
going to do lethal injection why do it in a way that you wouldn't use on
animals."

Some court challenges have pointed out usually only 1 drug is used to
euthanize animals.

"All the other states that use lethal injection probably need to wait and
hear what the Supreme Court says," said Richard Dieter, executive director
of the Death Penalty Information Center.

But Georgia will not be one of the states waiting, Baker said.

While there are 107 men 1 women on death row in Georgia, no executions are
scheduled. There has been 1 execution this year and there were none in
2006.

But next week the Supreme Court is expected to consider whether to hear
the final appeals of 3 Georgia men who have exhausted all other avenues.

If they are not granted a hearing, the state could be immediately set
execution dates for Jack Alderman, condemned for the 1974 murder of his
wife in Chatham County; William Lynd, sentenced to die for the 1988
Christmas week murder of his live-in girlfriend Berrien County murder; or
Curtis Osborne, on death row for the 1990 murders of a man and woman in
Spalding County.

Alderman, meanwhile, has another case pending. His is one of the lawsuits
that challenge the method of execution like the challenge and lawsuits
that have gone in favor of the inmates in California and Tennessee.

"What it means for this [Alderman's] case is there's no way a court can
evaluate whether this method of execution is constitutional or not because
the [U.S.] Supreme Court has said 'we have to give some guidance,'"
Alderman attorney Michael Siem said. "While that is pending, we would hope
the state of Georgia will not issue any [execution] warrants."

(source for both: Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

*********************************

Sister of Georgia Death Row Prisoner Troy Anthony Davis Leads Campaign to
Save His Life


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Martina Correia joins us to talk about the case of her brother, Troy
Anthony Davis. Davis has been on death row since 1991 for a murder he says
he did not commit. With no physical or DNA evidence or a murder weapon,
the prosecutors case rested entirely on eyewitness testimony. But 7 of the
9 non-police witnesses said they were coerced by police and have since
recanted their testimony. 9 witnesses have also implicated another man in
the murder. Georgia's Supreme Court will hear arguments next month on
whether Davis should get a new trial.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We now turn to the case of Troy Anthony Davis, who was scheduled to be
executed by lethal injection in Georgia on July 17 of this year. Less than
24 hours before his scheduled execution, the Georgia State Board of
Pardons and Paroles agreed to consider additional evidence and granted him
a 90-day stay.

Davis has been on death row since 1991 for a murder he says he did not
commit. He was convicted for killing a white police officer Mark Allen
McPhail. With no physical or DNA evidence or a murder weapon, the
prosecutor's case rested entirely on eyewitness testimony. But since 1991,
7 of the 9 non-police witnesses said they were coerced by police and have
since recanted their testimony. 7 witnesses have also implicated another
man in the murder.

Georgia's Supreme Court announced Monday that it would hear arguments on
November 13 as to whether Davis should get a new trial. Meanwhile, the
Board of Pardons and Paroles postponed its decision on commuting Davis's
execution until the Supreme Court decides on whether to grant Davis a new
trial.

Davis turns 39 next week. He has been on death row for almost 16 years.
Supporters have planned a community march for justice in Savannah on
October 13th. In a moment well be joined by Troy Daviss sister, Martina
Correia. But first, lets turn to Troy Davis in his own words. He was
interviewed from prison in July by Naji Mujahid of DC Radio Co-op and a
reporter with Free Speech Radio News.

Troy Davis, speaking from prison last July. He was was interviewed by Naji
Mujahid of DC Radio Co-op and a reporter with Free Speech Radio News.

Martina Correia is Troy Davis's sister and a leading advocate against the
death penalty. She has also been active on raising awareness about breast
cancer and was honored by the National Breast Cancer Coalition this
Monday. She joins us now in the firehouse studio in New York.

AMY GOODMAN: We turn now to -- well, its Troy Anthony Davis Day at
American University, where students are learning about the case of a death
row prisoner. Juan?

JUAN GONZALEZ: Well, Anthony Davis was scheduled to be executed by lethal
injection in Georgia on July 17th of this year. Less than 24 hours before
his scheduled execution, the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles
agreed to consider additional evidence and granted him a ninety-day stay.

Davis has been on death row since 1991 for a murder he says he did not
commit. He was convicted for killing a white police officer Mark Allen
McPhail. With no physical or DNA evidence or a murder weapon, the
prosecutor's case rested entirely on eyewitness testimony. But since 1991,
seven of the nine non-police witnesses said they were coerced by police
and have since recanted their testimony. 9 witnesses have also implicated
another man in the murder.

Georgia's Supreme Court announced Monday that it would hear arguments on
November 13 as to whether Davis should get a new trial. Meanwhile, the
Board of Pardons and Paroles postponed its decision on commuting Daviss
execution until the Supreme Court decides on whether to grant him a new
trial.

Davis turns 39 next week. He has been on death row now for almost 16
years. Supporters have planned a community march for justice in Savannah
on October 13.

In a moment, well be joined by Troy Davis's sister, Martina Correia. But
first, lets turn to Troy Davis in his own words. He was interviewed from
prison in July by Naji Mujahid of DC Radio Co-op and a reporter with Free
Speech Radio News. This is Troy Davis.

TROY ANTHONY DAVIS: I just want to tell everybody how thankful I am for
their prayers, their support, and want them to continue to stand up for
whats right, because anybody can be put in my particular situation.

It's time for the young brothers out there in the street to do what's
right, to educate themselves and the younger brothers and teach them how
to turn their life around in the right direction, open up your own
businesses, make sure that you've got yourself in check so that you will
have a better chance in life to survive and won't be the product of the
system.

It's time for the sisters to embrace their brothers, the ones who are
doing wrong, to talk to them and encourage them to do right.

But most of all, it's time for people in general to stand up for
everything that they feel is not right and to speak out and let their
voice be heard.

My situation is a situation that should have never happened. But together,
if we pull together as a people, I'll be coming home. And when I come
home, we can bring more brothers and sisters out, bring them home, gather
them together, and, as one people, we can make a change in this wicked
world.

AMY GOODMAN: Troy Davis, speaking from prison last July. Martina Correia
is Troy Daviss sister, a leading advocate against the death penalty. She
has also been raising awareness about breast cancer, fighting for her own
life, as well as her brother's. This Monday, she was just honored by the
National Breast Cancer Awareness Coalition. She was honored, along with
Sheryl Crow and the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, joining us now in our
firehouse studio.

Welcome to Democracy Now!

MARTINA CORREIA: Thank you for having me.

AMY GOODMAN: Today is Troy Anthony Davis Day at American University. What
does that mean?

MARTINA CORREIA: Well, Professor Gemma Puglisi and Richard Stack were so
interested in Troys case. They were unaware of what was going on, and they
heard the news, and they started investigating what was going on. And so,
they are at the School of Communications, and they were so impacted by
whats happening, and the students there, that they decided that they
wanted to do a Troy Anthony Davis Day. And they are going to be educating
the entire campus at American University about Troys case and getting more
people involved. And it's really interesting, because they've already
developed a syllabus around his case. And so, several law schools across
the country -- Harvard, Emory University, Mercer -- they're all doing
various similar things, but today is Troy Anthony Davis Day.

AMY GOODMAN: What do you think is most important for people to understand?
Among the issues, 7 of the 9 non-police witnesses --

MARTINA CORREIA: Yes.

AMY GOODMAN: -- they implicated at the time. What was the scene at the
time, and now what are they saying?

MARTINA CORREIA: Well, most of these witnesses were very young. A lot of
them had criminal histories. Some of them were drug-addicted, various
other problems. And they felt threatened. They were intimidated in their
statements --

AMY GOODMAN: This was late at night?

MARTINA CORREIA: Late at night, 1:00 in the morning. They couldn't see
what was going on. And most of them had no idea of what took place. They
didn't even have an identity of the perpetrator. And it was really
amazing, because when the actual perpetrator went to the police department
with a lawyer, everything turned on Troy. And so, they had to --

AMY GOODMAN: Explain the scene. It was in a parking lot?

MARTINA CORREIA: This happened at the Burger King parking lot in Savannah,
Georgia, where a homeless man was being attacked over a can of beer. He
was being pistol-whipped. And Troy and a 16-year-old tried to intervene.
And the person with the gun turned the gun on Troy and, you know, said,
"Get out of here! You don't know me. Stay out of my business!" And Troy --
they left the scene.

And later, shots were heard. And it was an off-duty police officer coming
outside to intervene, as well, and the person turned and fired on an
off-duty police officer. I don't know if they knew it was a police officer
or they just turned in reflex and fired, but the police officer was shot
and he was killed. And about 6 hours later, no one knew what happened, and
this person walked into the police station and said Troy did it.

JUAN GONZALEZ: And he has always maintained his innocence.

MARTINA CORREIA: Yes.

JUAN GONZALEZ: The difficulty he had in trying to get some of this new
evidence reviewed, a federal law intervened, effectively, to prevent that.

MARTINA CORREIA: Yes.

JUAN GONZALEZ: Could you talk about that?

MARTINA CORREIA: Well, in 1991 was when Troy was sent to death row, and
shortly after, Newt Gingrich de-funded the Georgia Resource Center and all
the resource centers that actually protected death row inmates or defended
them. So they went from having eight, ten lawyers and investigators to 1
or 2 handling 80 cases. So what took place was, from 1991 to 1996, when it
was crucial in Troys habeas hearing, he had no attorney, and the Resource
Center kept telling the courts, "Well, you know, we don't have enough
money to defend him." So when the witnesses start recanting, there was no
one to take their information. And then, when we did start getting the
information in 1996, the courts say, "Well, you should have brought that
up at habeas, so there's nothing you can do about it now." So thats what
we've been fighting, a technicality that says, with the [Effective] Death
Penalty and Anti-Terrorism Act, that you dont have to look at actual
innocence if you had a procedural bar and you took too long to bring forth
new evidence.

AMY GOODMAN: So, talk about what happened. We spoke to you in July.

MARTINA CORREIA: Yes.

AMY GOODMAN: You were walking in for the hearing.

MARTINA CORREIA: Yes.

AMY GOODMAN: Troy was about to be executed.

MARTINA CORREIA: Yes.

AMY GOODMAN: And explain the decision then and now the decision of the
Georgia Supreme Court.

MARTINA CORREIA: Well, Troy's clemency hearing was the longest clemency
hearing in the history of Georgia. I mean, our portion was 5 hours itself,
and they had to cut it off, and then the prosecutor's side was about 3
hours. And they came back and decided to give Troy an up-to-90-day stay.

But what took place was, 5 of the 7 witnesses who recanted came forward,
including the man who was being attacked that night, and said, "I never
saw Troy Davis in the parking lot." One gentleman said he was a police
snitch, and the police had paid him several times to lie on people, and
that he just went by the headlines, and the police gave him everything
else. Another witness stated he couldn't read and write. The police
officer was giving them pre-typed statements. So nobody knew what was
going on, but they were threatened and intimidated. And they came before
the Georgia Parole Board, and they said that under oath. And I think that
was a pivotal thing, because we've been saying this all along. But to hear
the witnesses actually say this -- and they had no reason to come forward
now, because they're being attacked. Even one of our state senators said
that the witnesses should be arrested now for telling the truth.

JUAN GONZALEZ: And your hopes, in terms of the Georgia Supreme Court
hearing? How has the climate in Georgia changed in recent years in terms
of the death penalty?

MARTINA CORREIA: I think Troy's case has really exposed the death penalty
in the South: the racism; the recantation; the coercion; the witnesses,
how they were treated; no physical evidence; no DNA; no gun. And all of
your witnesses have come forward, and your case is falling apart. But it
shows that Georgia still wants to hide this untruth by pushing forward
with the execution. But so many people nationally and internationally have
come forward that they're under the microscope right now, and I think
thats why the Georgia Supreme Court is stepping in.

AMY GOODMAN: Martina Correia, you just were here for the National Breast
Cancer Coalition Fund annual dinner, honored by Sheryl Crow, House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi. They called you "the star of the south." Your face adorns
the Breast Cancer mobile vans going out into the community through
Savannah. How do you fight for your own life and for your brother's?

MARTINA CORREIA: Well, it's amazing, because when I go into my
oncologist's office, I always seem to get in the same exam room, and
there's a saying on the wall by Robert Schuller that says, "Don't think
about all the things you have lost, but the things you have left to do."
And I have dedicated my life to saving the life of my brother, because
there's times when I couldnt get up and take care of myself, and my mother
took care of me. And my brother has been on death row professing his
innocence all these years, and hes only been concerned about me and my
family and our health. And if he can be on death row and be the same type
of person that he's always been, then I can fight for him on the outside,
and I will continue to do that with every breath that I have.

JUAN GONZALEZ: In your conversations with him after the decision of the
parole board and the court, the last time you talked to him, how was he
feeling?

MARTINA CORREIA: Troy is very confident. His family loves him. And he
feels that, you know, he said that God did not bring him this far to leave
him, even when they had him on death watch. And he said that it was so
funny, because he was talking about a radio. He hadn't seen a radio in
eighteen years, and I gave him a radio and a small TV. But his focus was
that innocence would prevail, and no matter what took place, the name of
Troy Anthony Davis will be heard around the world, and people would
finally know the truth.

AMY GOODMAN: So, in November, what do we expect to hear?

MARTINA CORREIA: Well, in November, I'm prayerful that with all the
attention and things going on and the truth, that the courts will come in
and do what's right and give Troy a new trial. That's all hes ever asked
for, for the witnesses to be able to tell the truth without duress.

October 13th, we're going to have a march in Savannah. It will be the
first justice march in Savannah since the civil rights era. And we're
going to march down the street, and we're going to tell people that
innocence matters and we're demanding a new trial for Troy Anthony Davis.

AMY GOODMAN: Martina Correia, we will continue to cover this case. I want
to thank you for being with us. Martina is Troy Anthony Davis's older
sister, an anti-death penalty activist, a breast cancer activist, visiting
us here in New York.

To purchase an audio or video copy of this entire program, click here for
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(source: Democracy Now!)






MISSISSIPPI:

U.S. high court rejects case----Supreme Court refuses to hear appeal of
Mississippi death-row inmate


The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal from Mississippi
death-row inmate Eddie Lee Howard Jr., who sought a new trial because his
attorney failed to put on testimony to debunk bite-mark evidence.

Howard was appealing a ruling from a Mississippi court in 2006 that while
the attorney's action was wrong, the error wasn't bad enough to throw out
Howard's conviction and order a new trial.

On Monday, the Supreme Court, without comment, denied Howard's request to
hear his appeal.

Howard was tried twice for the 1992 stabbing death and rape of 82-year-old
Georgia Kemp of Columbus. Part of the evidence against Howard were bite
marks on the woman's body that a dentist testified matched impressions of
Howard's teeth.

His 1994 capital murder conviction and death sentence were thrown out by a
Mississippi court, which ruled that prosecutor's reliance on the bite
marks was unsound.

Howard was retried in 2000 and again was sentenced to death. The 2nd
conviction and sentence were upheld by the Mississippi court in 2003.

Between Howard's two trials, the Mississippi court ruled in a 1999 case
that bite-mark evidence can be used in Mississippi.

In his post-conviction claim, Howard said his attorney should have hired
an expert to counter the testimony of Dr. Michael West. West, a forensic
odontologist, testified his examination of a cast of Howard's teeth could
not exclude Howard as the biter, and that he could not state with any
certainty that Howard was the biter.

The Mississippi court said the trial record showed defense attorneys in
both trials consulted with an expert but decided not to call him as a
witness amid concerns he might agree with West. The Mississippi court said
Howard did not prove that his trial would have turned out differently had
an expert testified on his behalf.

In another case, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal of
death-row inmate Xavier Brown, who also had attacked his attorney's work.
A Mississippi court ruled in 2006 that it was Brown who tied the hands of
his attorney.

The state court refused to allow Brown to pursue a post-conviction appeal
in Lamar County Circuit Court.

Brown was sentenced to death in 2002 in a murder-for-hire case. He was
convicted in the shooting death of Felicia Newell of Hattiesburg. The
Mississippi court upheld the conviction and sentence in 2004.

Prosecutors said Brown was allegedly ordered to kill Newell by her
ex-husband, who later committed suicide. On Feb. 26, 1998, Newell was
found slumped over the steering wheel of a car outside an apartment
complex in Hattiesburg. She died a short time later of a gunshot wound.

In his post-conviction petition, Brown said his lawyer didn't call any
witnesses, including Brown himself, and didn't put on any evidence during
sentencing that might have helped Brown avoid the death penalty.

The Mississippi court said the trial court record shows that Brown
instructed his lawyer not to call witnesses during the sentencing phase of
trial.

(source: Associated Press)






CALIFORNIA:

Decades-long effort brings inmate to top court again ---- Convicted killer
says eyewitness lied to avenge death of her father


A death row inmate who has spent 30 years trying to prove that he was
framed brought a 3rd appeal Wednesday to the state Supreme Court.

An attorney representing California's longest-serving death row inmate,
former Richmond resident Ronald Bell, and a state deputy attorney general
argued over whether a judge gave Bell a fair appellate hearing last year
when he ruled that a key eyewitness told the truth at his 1978 murder
trial.

Bell's attorney said the witness, Dorothy Dorton, testified against Bell
to avenge the killing of her father.

"There is certainly evidence of revenge," attorney Margaret Littlefield
told the panel of justices.

Deputy attorney general Ronald Matthias argued that the judge carefully
considered the testimony.

"When (a judge) sees a claim of such seriousness, (he) gets to the bottom
of it," he said.

The attorneys argued at a special Supreme Court session at Sonoma Country
Day School in Santa Rosa. Each year the state appellate courts offer
sessions in schools as a public service.

Bell, 57, has filed three appeals that have reached the state's high
court. These appeals included whether he was competent to stand trial,
whether the prosecutor committed misconduct at the trial and the one heard
this week contending that a witness lied. Legal rules set no limit on the
number of appeals a death row inmate can file.

Death row inmates sometimes lodge as many as a dozen appeals in state and
federal appellate courts, said Laurie Levinson, a Loyola University School
of Law professor.

"Multiple (appeals) are not that unusual, especially in a death penalty
case," Levinson said. "There's no limit. Ultimately it stops because they
run out of procedural arguments."

A jury found Bell guilty of murder, robbery and attempted murder in a Feb.
2, 1978, heist at Wolff's Jewelry Store in Richmond. He killed store clerk
Raymond Murphy and wounded another employee, John Benjamin. A finding that
he committed murder in the commission of robbery led to the death
sentence.

>From the start, Bell said that his brother, Larry Bell, was the killer and
that eyewitnesses misidentified him. Larry Bell was convicted of
1st-degree murder in another case 1 year later.

The chief eyewitnesses at Ronald Bell's trial included the daughter,
sister and another relative of Alcus Dorton, a man whom Bell killed 10
years earlier. He served a sentence in the California Youth Authority for
voluntary manslaughter.

The trio were in front of the jewelry store at the time. At trial, all 3,
including Alcus Dorton's 13-year-old daughter, Dorothy Dorton, testified
that Ronald Bell was the killer.

The jury deadlocked. Prosecutors brought Bell to trial again. That 2nd
jury told the judge it was deadlocked after 2 days but continued to
deliberate and eventually convicted Bell.

In 2001, a defense investigator for Bell met with Dorothy Dorton at
Carrow's Restaurant in El Cerrito and obtained a signed declaration in
which she said her aunt persuaded her to lie at the trial out of revenge.

In one more twist, she said in 2004 that she did not lie at the original
trial and that somebody forged her signature on the statement. A
handwriting expert said in court documents that the signature was
Dorton's.

Bell appealed and, Contra Costa Superior Court Judge Thomas Maddock held a
hearing in which Dorton testified that she did see Ronald Bell commit the
killing and robbery. Maddock ruled that she told the truth. Bell appealed
the decision to the state Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court justices will decide within 90 days whether Maddock made
an error. Bell has appeals pending in federal court to decide whether he
received competent counsel at his trial.

Matthias said after Wednesday's hearing that death row appeals are lengthy
in California, but they rarely span 4 decades.

"As long as (death penalty) litigation takes, this is really long," he
said.

(source: Mercury News)