[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----OKKLA., UTAH, DEL.

[Rick Halperin]

Jan. 5



OKLAHOMA----execution

Okla. inmate executed for fatal stabbing in 1994


An Oklahoma inmate who recently attempted suicide was put to death Thursday 
evening for killing a man during a knife fight nearly 2 decades ago, marking 
the nation's 1st execution this year.

Gary Roland Welch, 49, was given a lethal injection at the state penitentiary 
in McAlester for fatally stabbing 35-year-old Robert Hardcastle in Miami, Okla. 
He was pronounced dead at 6:10 p.m.

Welch's execution came nearly three weeks after he tried to kill himself by 
slitting his throat with a smuggled shaving razor. Prison officials and Welch's 
own court-appointed attorney insisted he was sane and understood his fate.

Welch maintained that he only killed Hardcastle in self-defense.

He remained defiant at a hearing last month before the state Pardon and Parole 
Board, telling the board he wasn't "here today crying, begging or sniveling for 
my life."

"I did what I had to do," Welch told the panel. "I didn't intend to kill him, 
but I certainly didn't intend for him to kill me, either." The board voted 3-2 
to deny clemency.

After Welch's suicide attempt on Dec. 16, prison guards rushed him to a 
hospital where he was treated before being returned to death row. He was 
evaluated by a psychiatric unit based at the prison and deemed competent to be 
executed because he was aware of what was going to happen to him and why — the 
standard required for death row inmates in Oklahoma.

Nothing in Welch's court record indicated that the issue of his sanity or 
mental capacity was ever raised, and prosecutors presented evidence at the 
pardon and parole hearing suggesting that Welch was a bully in prison who 
enjoyed watching violent movies, pushed around other inmates and was once 
caught with a homemade knife in his cell.

The question of Welch's mental state was addressed this week by his 
court-appointed attorney, Robert Wyatt, who insisted his client knew what he 
was doing and added that the suicide attempt could have been influenced by 
Welch's belief that he "never got a fair shake" because he was given the death 
penalty for murder instead of a lesser charge, such as manslaughter.

"He always felt the system was against him, and as a result of that, that 
influences how a person reacts," Wyatt said this week. "(Welch) said openly at 
the pardon and parole hearing, that during his stay at the Oklahoma State 
Penitentiary, he's always been treated fairly."

According to court records, several witnesses testified they saw Welch and a 
co-defendant, Claudie Conover, beating and stabbing Hardcastle outside of 
Hardcastle's Miami home on Aug. 25, 1994. Conover also was sentenced to death, 
but his sentence was later reduced to life without parole. He died in prison 
from natural causes in 2001.

Ben Loring, the lead prosecutor in the case, recalled Welch's self-defense 
argument as flimsy.

"The problem was, nothing matched up," Loring told The Associated Press this 
week. "None of the physical evidence matched up to what he was saying."

Loring said Welch had "ample opportunity" to stop the assault but continued 
with the beating. At one point, Loring recalled, Conover ended up with the 
knife and was walking to the car with it. That's when Welch got a broken beer 
bottle and continued slashing Hardcastle, he said.

"It just went way too far,' Loring said. "I'm not a big proponent of the death 
penalty, but if anybody deserved it, I felt the case (for a death sentence) 
should have been presented to a jury."

Welch's suicide attempt marked the second time in nearly 20 years that an 
Oklahoma death row inmate tried to kill himself rather than face a state 
execution.

Hours before condemned killer Robert Brecheen's execution in 1995, he attempted 
to overdose on sedatives and anti-anxiety pills he had hoarded in his cell. He 
was rushed to a hospital, had his stomach pumped and was returned to the death 
chamber, where he was executed hours later.

Welch becomes the 1st condemned inmate to be put to death this year in Oklahoma 
and the 97th overall since the state resumed capital punishment in 1990. It 
marks the 2nd consecutive year that the initial execution in the USA occurred 
in Oklahoma; last year Billy Alverson was put to death on Jan. 6 and was 
followed by the execution 5 days later of Jeffrey Matthews. Oklahoma has 
carried out more executions than any state except Texas (477) and Virginia 
(109) since the death penalty was re-legalized on July 2, 1976.

Welch becomes the 1st condemned inmate to be put to death this year and the 
1278th overall since the nation resumed executions on January 17, 1977.

(sources: Associated Press & Rick Halperin)






UTAH:

Ogden police shooting likely death penalty case


Investigators converged on a cordoned- off Ogden neighborhood Thursday to 
continue the grim task of investigating the shooting death of a veteran 
policeman and the wounding of five other officers in a fierce shootout.

The investigators seemed to be focused Thursday morning on collecting evidence 
from the barren backyard of the home of suspect Matthew David Stewart, 37, of 
3268 Jackson Ave.

Stewart was wounded in the gun battle Wednesday night when a dozen agents with 
the Weber-Morgan Narcotics Strike Force attempted to serve a warrant at his 
residence. He sustained non-life threatening injuries and is under guard at 
Ogden Regional Hospital.

Ogden Assistant Police Chief Wayne Tarwater said during a Thursday morning news 
conference that Stewart has a “limited criminal history” but did not elaborate. 
He also did not release any information about a possible motive for the 
shooting.

Weber County Attorney Dee W. Smith told reporters that Stewart likely faces a 
charge of aggravated murder, which carries the death penalty, and additional 
charges of attempted aggravated murder.

Jared Francom, a member of the Ogden Police Department since 2005, died early 
Thursday morning of his wounds.

Other officers wounded are Shawn Grogan, Kasey Burrell and Michael Rounkles, 
all of the Ogden Police Department; Sgt. Nate Hutchinson, Weber County 
Sheriff’s Office; and Jason VanderWarf, Roy Police Department.

VanderWarf was treated at Ogden Regional Medical Center and released Thursday.

Hutchinson was in stable condition with multiple gunshot wounds while Grogan, 
Burrell, Rounkles remained in critical condition Thursday at McKay-Dee 
Hospital.

Tarwater said the shooting occurred when a dozen strike force officers 
attempted to execute a "knock" arrest warrant for a narcotics offense at 
Stewart’s home. Officers knocked on Stewart’s door and when no one answered 
entered the house and were fired upon, he said.

Authorities declined to say what type of weapon or weapons were used, how many 
shots were fired and how the suspect was injured.

Tarwater said police had heard that Stewart has a military background, but that 
had not been confirmed.

Lt. Darin Parke, who heads the Weber-Morgan Narcotics Strike Force, said it 
isn’t unusual to deploy as many as a dozen officers to execute a search 
warrant.

He said officers assigned to the task force are well trained, adding that 
Francom was one of the most experienced members of the unit.

About 40 officers from various Weber County law enforcement agencies converged 
on McKay-Dee Hospital and Ogden Regional Hospital in solidarity immediately 
after the shooting, said Tarwater.

"This is a law enforcement family," he said explaining the shooting has had a 
deep and profound effect on law officers throughout the area. "The law 
enforcement community is grieving."

Mayor Mike Caldwell, whose first day in office was Wednesday said the shooting 
is tragic.

"I can’t imagine a more difficult thing to be put into on your first day on the 
job," he said at the news conference. "It’s a little overwhelming. There are 
six families that have been forever changed by last night’s events. We are here 
to support them."

Weber County Sheriff Terry Thompson echoed Tarwater’s comments about the 
broader effects of the shooting.

"All the strike force agents involved in this tragic incident reacted 
honorably, with courage, fidelity and valor in the face of significant danger 
that has claimed the life of a fellow officer," he said. "We train and prepare 
for deadly force incidents hoping that we will never find ourselves or our 
fellow officers in deadly peril yet are ever willing and prepared to step up 
and to serve our fellow citizens and each other."

Thompson also paid tribute to Francom.

"We have lost a brother," he said. "We will grieve this loss knowing that 
officer Francom laid down his life for his friends and community. He will be 
sorely missed."

Roy Police Chief Greg Whinham, his voice chocked with emotion, told reporters 
at the press conference that Francom and the other wounded officers should be 
honored for their service.

"As I worked and watched these noble officers go about their duties I have been 
honored to be counted among them," he said.

(source: Standard-Examiner)






DELAWARE----death sentence overturned

Judge Throws Out 1991 Murder Conviction, Death Sentence ---- Prosecutors were 
left stunned in the case of Jermaine Marlow Wright, who had been on death row 
for 21 years.


A Delaware man who has been on death row for 21 years has had his murder 
conviction overturned.

Jermaine Marlow Wright, 39, may soon be released on bail after a hearing that 
left prosecutors speechless. On Tuesday, Superior Court Judge John A. Parkins 
said that he had “no confidence” in the evidence against Wright and in response 
he overthrew Wright’s murder conviction. Parkins plans to hold a hearing next 
week that appears likely to release the defendant on bail.

In 1991, Wright was sentenced to death twice for the fatal shooting of a 
66-year-old liquor store clerk during a store robbery. Although Parkins called 
the death of the clerk, a 66-year-old amputee who was filling in for his 
brother, the owner, “brutal and senseless,” he says that the chief 
investigating police officer “did not advise the prosecutors of evidence” which 
may have shown that Wright was innocent.

“…The court stands as a guardian of the constitutional rights of every citizen, 
including those of the defendant,” Parkins said, “and that is what this court 
has done today.”

Wright isn’t the only one who has been wrongly convicted, however. A study by 
Ohio State University suggests about 10,000 people in the U.S. may be wrongly 
convicted of serious crimes each year. Additionally, since 1989, when the 1st 
DNA exoneration took place, there have been 281 post-conviction DNA 
exonerations in the nation, according to the Innocence Project.

The news of Wright’s release comes just months after Philadelphia’s district 
attorney decided to stop seeking the execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal, and amidst 
news that Illinois signed into law a legislation abolishing death sentences in 
its state.

Perhaps the controversial death of Troy Davis and others is making those in the 
legal system think twice about punishing prisoners to death.

(source: BET News)