[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----IDAHO, ILL., MO.

[Rick Halperin]

Oct. 21




IDAHO:

Jury in Boise to resume deliberations in murder trial


A jury in Boise will resume deliberations tomorrow in the case of a man
already on death row who is accused of killing a second woman.

Erick Hall is charged with the 2003 1st-degree murder and rape of Cheryl
Hanlon.

It's the second murder trial for Hall, who was convicted and sentenced to
death in the 2000 slaying of flight attendant Lynn Henneman, whose body
was discovered along the Boise greenbelt.

A DNA sample taken after Hall was arrested and charged with Hanlon's
slaying linked Hall to Henneman's murder.

If he is convicted of 1st-degree murder in Hanlon's death, prosecutors say
they will again seek the death penalty.

(source: KPAX-TV)






ILLINOIS:

Murderer's sentence can't end mom's pain: Killer was caught, but 'I'll
never get to hug my daughter'


Sometime this weekend, Vicki Holman will pay a visit to her daughter
Erica's grave, as has been her custom ever since the 23-year-old was found
murdered in a Humboldt Park alley in March 2003.

In a routine she has followed several times a week during all that time,
Vicki will kneel, say a prayer and talk to Erica, telling her she loves
her.

But this time will be different. This time Vicki has news to share.

Vicki will tell Erica that "the animal" was sentenced this week to the
maximum 60 years in prison for doing this to her.

"That's what I call him, the animal," Holman says, referring to Elpidio
Cruz Colon, 29, the man convicted of raping, beating, stabbing and finally
strangling Erica in an apparently random killing too savage to describe
here in detail.

At least, "the animal" is what Vicki calls Colon when she isn't calling
him "the bastard."

Vicki Holman is entitled to her anger, and, in a way, she's fortunate she
has some place to direct it.

'My life is not the same'

It seemed unlikely she'd ever have such a chance when she contacted me 2
years ago trying to draw attention to her daughter's then-unsolved
slaying.

"I want people to know about her. I want them to know she was somebody's
daughter," Vicki said back then in words that hit home. "She wasn't no
Laci Peterson, but she was my daughter."

No, the death of Erica Holman -- an unwed, unemployed high school dropout
with a young daughter of her own -- did not tug at the public's
heartstrings like Laci Peterson. In fact, it merited no mention at all in
the newspapers when her body was discovered, and with each passing month,
the likelihood grew that the crime would never be solved.

But dogged detective work by Chicago Police officers Anthony Wojcik, Frank
Skorek and Kenneth Berris yielded a breakthrough in November 2005. Using
DNA evidence, Colon was charged with the murders of both Erica and Cruz
Flores, an 82-year-old woman also killed in 2003, when she was found dead
in her bathtub with one of her breasts cut off.

This summer a jury convicted Colon of Erica's murder, and on Thursday,
Criminal Court Judge Michael Toomin passed sentence. He also is slated to
hear the case against Colon for the murder of the older woman. In that
case, prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty.

>From the start, Vicki Holman has been looking for something to ease her
pain. She used to think it would come when the killer was caught, and then
she thought it would come when he was sentenced to prison. What she's
found is that it only helps so much -- and not much at that.

"My life is not the same. Everybody thinks it's hunky-dory now, but it's
not. I'm not the same," she says. "I'm able to cope. I'm able to take care
of my kids. But it's not the same. I'm better than what I was, but there's
times I just break down and cry."

2nd murder could bring death penalty

She worried Thursday's sentencing might be one of those times, so she
allowed Catherine Sanders, the lead prosecutor on the case, to read her
victim impact statement to the judge instead of standing up there herself.
At this point, Vicki said she considers Sanders, fellow prosecutor Joseph
Keating and victim-witness assistant Maria Godinez to be members of her
family.

When Sanders assured Vicki afterward in the hallway outside court that
Colon is "never getting out," it came as welcome news but couldn't erase
the anguished look on her face.

That's because, while the justice system has given Vicki everything it has
to offer, in the final analysis, there is no justice when your first-born
child is snatched off the street by an animal.

"I'm never going to get my daughter back," said Vicki, 48, who grew up in
Ukrainian Village, raised her own five kids in the city and now lives in
Berwyn. "I'll never get to hug my daughter. I'm losing memory of her
voice."

Nothing will ever change that, but now Vicki is focused on Colon's second
trial, when she may testify during the death penalty phase, which
conceivably could result in Colon's execution at some point during her
lifetime.

And how would Vicki feel about that if the day came?

"I can't be the one to pull the lever, but I'm thinking, can I at least
watch?" she says. "I say an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. I'm
sorry. That was my baby."

Who am I to tell her that it still wouldn't ease her pain?

(source: Chicago Sun-Times)






MISSOURI:

Capital punishment in each state


A state-by-state look at the status of capital punishment.

---

Ala. - Choice of lethal injection or electrocution.

Alaska - No death penalty.

Ariz. - Lethal injection with a choice of lethal gas for those sentenced
before November 1992.

Ark. - Lethal injection with a choice of electrocution for those sentenced
before July 4, 1983. One execution was halted by a federal judge to allow
the inmate to challenge use of lethal injection.

Calif. - Choice of lethal injection or lethal gas. Executions have been
effectively halted due to issues surrounding lethal injections.

Colo. - Lethal injection.

Conn. - Lethal injection.

Del. - Lethal injection with a choice of hanging for those sentenced
before June 13, 1986. Executions have been effectively halted due to
issues surrounding lethal injections.

D.C. - No death penalty.

Fla. - Choice of lethal injection or electrocution. Executions have been
effectively halted due to issues surrounding lethal injections.

Ga. - Lethal injection.

Hawaii - No death penalty.

Idaho - Lethal injection or a firing squad if injection is "impractical."

Ill. - Lethal injection. The state has a formal moratorium on executions,
imposed by Gov. George Ryan in 2000.

Ind. - Lethal injection.

Iowa - No death penalty.

Kan. - Lethal injection.

Ky. - Lethal injection with a choice of electrocution for those sentenced
before June 1, 1998.

La. - Lethal injection.

Maine - No death penalty.

Md. - Lethal injection with a choice of lethal gas for those sentenced
before March 11, 1994. Executions have been effectively halted due to
issues surrounding lethal injections.

Mass. - No death penalty.

Mich. - No death penalty.

Minn. - No death penalty.

Miss. - Lethal injection.

Mo. - Statute allows for lethal injection or lethal gas. (Missouri has no
functioning gas chamber, however.)

Mont. - Lethal injection.

Neb. - Electrocution. Executions have been effectively halted due to a
challenge to the electrocution process.

Nev. - Lethal injection.

N.H. - Lethal injection or hanging if injection not possible.

N.J. - Lethal injection. The state has a formal moratorium on executions,
due to legislation passed in 2006. Previously, a 2004 decision by a state
appellate court had effectively halted executions.

N.M. - Lethal injection.

N.Y. - Lethal injection. The existing death penalty was declared
unconstitutional by the state's high court in 2004.

N.C. - Lethal injection. Executions have been effectively halted due to
issues surrounding lethal injections.

N.D. - No death penalty.

Ohio - Lethal injection. Executions have been effectively halted due to
issues surrounding lethal injections, although one was allowed to go
forward.

Okla. - Lethal injection with allowances for electrocution, then firing
squad should injection be deemed unconstitutional.

Ore. - Lethal injection.

Pa. - Lethal injection.

R.I. - No death penalty.

S.C. - Choice of lethal injection or electrocution.

S.D. - Lethal injection.

Tenn. - Lethal injection with a choice of electrocution for those
sentenced after January 1, 1999. Executions have been effectively halted
due to issues surrounding lethal injections, although 1 lethal injection
execution and 1 volunteer electrocution were allowed to go forward.

Texas- Lethal injection.

Utah - Lethal injection with a choice of firing squad for those sentenced
before March 15, 2004.

Vt. - No death penalty.

Va. - Choice of lethal injection or electrocution.

Wash. - Choice of lethal injection or hanging.

W.Va. - No death penalty.

Wis. - No death penalty.

Wyo. - Lethal injection with allowance for lethal gas if injection found
unconstitutional.

[source: The Death Penalty Information Center]

(source: Kansas City Star)