[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----N.H., GA., MO., ALA., FLA.

[Rick Halperin]

Nov. 19



NEW HAMPSHIRE:

Court papers show NH cop killer offered to plead


Newly released court documents show that the man who murdered a
Manchester, N.H., police officer 2 years ago offered to plead guilty to
avoid the death penalty.

Prosecutors rejected Michael Addison's offer, and he has now been
convicted and is awaiting a decision by the jury about whether he will be
sentenced to die. That penalty phase of the trial is scheduled to start
Friday.

The Concord Monitor says neither prosecutors nor the defense has commented
publicly on the subject. The relevant court papers were sealed until
Tuesday.

(source: Associated Press)






GEORGIA:

DA to seek death penalty


Theron Ramon Plummer is scheduled in court for his arraignment hearing
Dec. 12.

The Floyd County District Attorneys office has filed notice that it
intends to seek the death penalty in the case of a Rome man charged with
killing his estranged wife in May.

Theron Ramon Plummer is accused of repeatedly shooting Kimberly Ware on
May 25 at the 34 Woodland St. residence where she had moved in with
relatives to get away from him.

The two were separated and in the process of getting a divorce. There had
been a history of domestic violence, police said.

The motion, filed by District Attorney Leigh Patterson, states the murder
exhibits the aggravating circumstances needed to seek the death penalty.

The motion cites 2 circumstances  the murder was committed during the
commission of an aggravated battery and was "wantonly vile, horrible or
inhuman that it involved torture, depravity of mind, or an aggravated
battery to the victim."

Plummer is charged with felony murder, aggravated assault, commission of a
crime by a convicted felon using a firearm, possession of firearms by a
convicted felon and 1st offender, 1st-degree cruelty to children and
probation violation.

He is also charged with 2 misdemeanor counts of 3rd-degree cruelty to
children for threatening and pointing or aiming a gun or pistol at
another.

He is scheduled for arraignment before Superior Court Judge Tami Colston
on Dec. 12.

History of the case

The morning of May 25 Plummer had taken the children out to eat, stated
authorities, and then returned them to the Woodland Street residence.

The indictment states that Plummer told one of their children that he was
going to kill Ware, showing the child a pistol and telling him "I know you
are in on it."

An argument between Plummer and Ware escalated and he allegedly took a .25
caliber pistol and shot her multiple times  she was pronounced dead at the
scene.

Plummer fled. He was eventually arrested in the Anniston, Ala., area on
May 28 and returned to Floyd County where he is in jail without bond.

(source: Rome News-Tribune)






MISSOURI:

Look ahead: Organization wants moratorium on Mo. death penalty----MoDOT
presents annual accountability report


Pete Rahn, director of the Missouri Department of Transportation, will
present the agency's annual accountability report to the Joint Committee
on Transportation Oversight at 10:00 a.m. Weds. Nov. 19 in Hearing Room 3
of the State Capitol.

Rahn will discuss the need for investing in transportation and recap
progress made in the past year. The committee, comprised of Senate and
House legislative leaders, meets annually to review MoDOT's operations and
finances and hear testimony on future plans.

Missouri business city councils, houses of worship, and organizations have
ratified over 300 resolutions calling for a moratorium on executions while
Missouri's death penalty is being studied.

The Moratorium Now! Campaign is made up of civic and religious
organizations from across the Show-me state.

They will hold a news conference Weds. Nov. 19 at 11:00 a.m. on the First
Floor Rotunda of the State Capitol. The news conference will have several
guest speakers, including St. Louis Alderman Terry Kennedy, who introduced
the Moratorium resolution passed by the City of St. Louis in 2006.

On the organization's Web site they say Missouri is the 4th highest state
for the number of executions and in the last decade 3 Missouri men were
sentenced to death for crimes they didn't commit.

(source: KRCG News)






ALABAMA:

G King asks execution date for Trawick


Attorney General Troy King has asked the Alabama Supreme Court to set an
execution date for Jack Trawick, who was convicted in the 1992 murder of a
Birmingham woman.

According to court records, Trawick abducted Stephanie Gauch near her
apartment after she had returned from a shopping mall. She was stabbed to
death and beaten with a hammer.

Trawick was sentenced to death in 1994.

In a statement Tuesday, King said there are no pending challenges to the
validity of Trawick's conviction and death sentence. King said the inmate
has exhausted his state and federal appeals.

(source: Associated Press)






FLORIDA:

Convicted murderer to hear sentence today


A case that changed the law regarding dating violence will head into its
final phase in court. Andrew Allred, 21, could face the death penalty or
life in prison.

He will be sentenced today at the Seminole County Courthouse. Prosecutors
say he pled guilty to murder. His sentencing is scheduled for 4 p.m.

Allred was convicted of killing Tiffany Barwick and her friend Michael
Ruschak on September 24, 2007. Barwick told deputies about Allred's
harassment and death threats.

Even though she notified law enforcement, it didn't stop Allred from
breaking into Rushchak's house and killing them.

In July, the Governor signed a new law called the Barwick/Ruschak Act. It
now helps protect victims of violence in dating relationships and gives
law enforcement officers more power to make arrests if there is probable
cause.

Before, only married people had protection.

(source: MyFoxOrlando)