[Deathpenalty] [POSSIBLE SPAM] death penalty news----TEXAS, DEL., GA., CALIF.

[Rick Halperin]

Jan. 17



TEXAS----female death sentence reduced

Woman's death sentence in slaying of couple reduced


If Chelsea Richardson felt relief at her death sentence officially becoming a 
life sentence, she did not show it in court Tuesday.

The 27-year-old did not visibly react when visiting Judge Steve Herod accepted 
the sentencing agreement reached by prosecutors and her defense attorney for 
the 2003 murders of Rick and Suzanna Wamsley of Mansfield.

In a baggy yellow jail jumpsuit and dark-rimmed glasses, Richardson only spoke 
to acknowledge that she waived her right to appeal.

The hearing was mostly formality. The state's highest criminal court overturned 
the death sentence for Richardson in November. She was condemned by a Tarrant 
County jury in 2005 for the deaths of her boyfriend's parents in Mansfield.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that the punishment phase of 
Richardson's trial was affected by misconduct by a former prosecutor who 
withheld evidence from the defense.

Richardson and her boyfriend, Andrew Wamsley, were convicted of capital murder 
in separate trials.

Authorities said Andrew Wamsley, Richardson and a friend, Susana Toledano, 
killed the couple so that Andrew Wamsley could inherit his parents' $1.56 
million estate.

Richardson was the only one to receive the death penalty.

Under the new sentence, she must serve 40 years before she is eligible for 
parole, though she will get credit for time served.

Relatives of Richardson and the Wamsleys attended Tuesday's hearing. 
Richardson's mother, Celia Richardson, said afterward that she still believed 
her daughter to be innocent.

She said she felt that her daughter was being "swept under the carpet" after an 
error-filled police investigation and trial.

"Totally screwed up," she said, describing her daughter's case.

Rick and Suzanna Wamsley's family members released a statement through a 
district attorney's office spokeswoman.

In the statement, they said they supported the plea bargain because the 
alternative would have meant returning to court for a new penalty phase, and 
reliving the painful details of the crime once again.

Family members said they plan to "fight paroles" for all the criminals 
involved.

"There is no such thing as closure for such a tragedy," the statement said. 
"Our family will be reminded of this horror each anniversary of Rick and Suzy's 
death, each holiday without them, all of the family celebrations without them."

The hearing lasted about five minutes. After Herod pronounced the sentence, 
Richardson whispered something to her attorney, ran a hand through her long 
brown hair, adjusted her glasses and walked with a courtroom officer out the 
door.

(source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram)






DELAWARE:

Statement of Governor Jack Markell Regarding the Commutation of Sentence of 
Robert Gattis


Pursuant to my authority under Article VII, Section 1 of the Delaware 
Constitution, I have decided to commute the sentence of Robert Gattis to life 
in prison without the possibility of parole, subject to the conditions set 
forth below.

I realize my decision may cause pain to the family and friends of Shirley Slay. 
For that, I deeply apologize.

In reaching this conclusion, I give great weight to the decision of the Board 
of Pardons. In the exercise of its constitutional duties, the Board thoroughly 
reviewed Mr. Gattis’s application for clemency and the State’s response. The 
Board studied the entire historical record of this case, carefully listened to 
the statements made by parties on both sides, and had the opportunity to look 
Mr. Gattis in the eyes and question him. Having done so, the Board took the 
unusual and perhaps historic step of recommending, by a 4-1 margin, that Mr. 
Gattis’s death sentence be commuted to life without parole. I take the Board’s 
considered decision seriously.

Over the last two decades, executions pursuant to death penalty sentences 
imposed by the State have proceeded only in the absence of an objection from 
the Board of Pardons and the multiple courts having jurisdiction over the case. 
In essence, the multiple checks and balances that are in place have 
historically been in alignment before the extraordinary action of executing a 
criminal defendant proceeds. While I have supported the imposition of the death 
penalty in the past and I consider Mr. Gattis’s crimes to be heinous, I am not 
prepared to move forward with imposition of the sentence in this case.

I undertake this commutation after thorough review of the record presented and 
substantial contemplation. I have read Mr. Gattis’s application for clemency, 
the state’s response, and Mr. Gattis’s reply. I have reviewed the many 
affidavits submitted. I have spent substantial time considering the harm 
endured by Ms. Slay and her family, Mr. Gattis’s history, and the merits of the 
clemency application. I have prayed. At the end of the day, although I am not 
free from doubt, I believe moving forward with the execution of Mr. Gattis is 
not appropriate under the totality of the circumstances. After my review, I 
find myself in agreement with the four members of the Board of Pardons who 
concluded the mitigating evidence here is sufficiently substantial that an act 
of clemency on my part is warranted. In doing so, I am committed to the fact 
that Mr. Gattis will spend his remaining life in prison and will pose no threat 
to public safety.

Even if one were to discount certain of the allegations of sexual abuse 
recently alleged by Mr. Gattis (as the Board did), the fact remains that Mr. 
Gattis’s family background is among the most troubling I have encountered. As 
one of his former attorneys stated in an affidavit, the additional evidence 
about Mr. Gattis’s childhood “puts Mr. Gattis, his case, and his potential 
defenses to capital murder in an entirely different light.” This substantial 
dysfunction, abuse and neglect Mr. Gattis experienced as a youth does not in 
any way excuse the cowardly murder of Ms. Slay.

This commutation in no way relieves Mr. Gattis of his moral or legal guilt, and 
I am mindful of the fact that an innocent victim lost her life on the night of 
May 9, 1990. That is why I have conditioned Mr. Gattis’s commutation on the 
following: (1) Mr. Gattis shall forever drop all legal challenges to his 
conviction and sentence, as commuted; (2) Mr. Gattis shall forever waive any 
right to present a future commutation or pardon request and agree to live out 
his natural life in the custody of the Department of Correction; (3) Mr. Gattis 
will be housed in the Maximum Security Unit of the James T. Vaughn Correction 
Center for the remainder of his natural life, unless constitutionally required 
medical care is necessary; and (4) Mr. Gattis, after consultation with counsel, 
shall knowingly, willingly and voluntarily accept these conditions, as 
determined by the Superior Court. With these conditions, Ms. Slay’s loved ones 
can at least know that they will never have to go through the painful process 
again of trials, hearings or requests for release.

My decision is among the most difficult I have had to make in all my years in 
public service. But in light of the Board’s unprecedented decision and the 
reasons set forth above, I believe it is the correct one under the 
circumstances. My thoughts and prayers are with the loved ones of Shirley Slay 
during this difficult time.

(source: Office of the Governor)

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

A Death Penalty Commutation


On Tuesday, Gov. Jack Markell of Delaware commuted the death sentence of Robert 
Gattis to life without parole. In doing so, he said he gave “great weight” to 
the careful decision of the state board of pardons to recommend that the 
sentence be commuted, the first such recommendation the board has made since 
the death penalty was reinstated there in 1974. As a condition of the 
commutation, which is supported by a long list of former judges and 
prosecutors, Mr. Gattis is expected to waive all legal challenges and live out 
his life in prison.

Gattis killed his girlfriend in 1990 after an angry quarrel. The pardons board 
wrote that before the murder, “Mr. Gattis complained to medical professionals 
of mental illness and involuntary violent impulses” from the extreme and 
continuing sexual abuse he suffered as a child. The governor called this 
background “among the most troubling I have encountered.” Mr. Gattis’s lawyers 
failed to submit much of the ample proof about his mental illness and its 
devastating effects. The board was able to take full account of that mitigating 
factor.

Even though state law does not require a unanimous jury vote on death, 4 
members of the pardons board were troubled by the jury’s 10-to-2 split on the 
penalty because they believe such verdicts should be unanimous.

Some board members also noted the great disparity in sentences among serious 
murder cases. The difference in penalties for other murders in domestic 
disputes and Mr. Gattis’s sentence “offends a moral sense of proportionality,” 
the board said in its recommendation.

For one board member, the rationale for life without parole is more basic. 
“When the taking of life is not required as a matter of self-defense,” he 
explained, “one cannot ethically or morally take that act.” Commuting Mr. 
Gattis’s sentence meets the imperative of justice. Imposing the death penalty 
in his case, as in any case, would have been grossly unjust.

(source: Editorial, New York Times)

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

Delaware Gov. Commutes Deeply Contested Death Sentence


Delaware Governor Jack Markell made history today when he announced that he 
would commute the death sentence of Robert Gattis to life in prison. 2 days 
ago, the Delaware Board of Pardons for the 1st time in its history recommended 
that the death sentence be commuted. Gov. Markell cited that “unusual and 
perhaps historic” recommendation when he made the announcement.

Robert Gattis was convicted and sentenced to die in 1992 for the murder of his 
girlfriend Shirley Slay, and was scheduled to die by lethal injection later 
this week. Serious questions had been raised about the severity of the 
sentence, and a number of issues led opponents of the death penalty and others 
— the Delaware News Journal editorialized in favor of clemency for the first 
time in its history — to call on the governor to commute Mr. Gattis’ sentence.

They are some of the same issues that come up all over the country when 
problems with the death penalty system are analyzed and debated:

•The evidence of the horrible physical and sexual abuse that Mr. Gattis 
suffered from the time he was a small child was never consider by a jury or the 
sentencing judge, as it would be if the case were tried today. By the time 
appellate attorneys discovered this evidence and tried to introduce it, the 
judicial process was too far advanced andprocedural obstacles were too high to 
surmount.

•Gattis was not the “worst of the worst” and his sentence was unduly harsh. 
There were at least 16 Delaware murder cases with similar, or more egregious, 
facts that resulted in life in prison without parole or a lesser sentence. Of 
these 16 cases, 5 where death penalty cases, at the end of which the jury 
and/or the judge decided that death was not an appropriate punishment.

•The jury verdict in the Gattis case was not unanimous. Back in 1991, the state 
legislature changed the system to allow the judge to make the final decision on 
death with a less-than-unanimous jury vote — a system that is only followed by 
Delaware, Florida and Alabama.

Clemency is an intricate and necessary part of a fair and impartial system of 
justice and the Gattis case is a perfect example of why. We applaud Gov. 
Markell for making this important decision.

(source: ACLU Blog)






GEORGIA:

Ga. death row inmate refuses to file habeas appeal


Nicholas Cody Tate could delay his execution at the end of this month for years 
if he filed a new round of appeals. But his refusal to do so has made his death 
sentence for the murders of 2 people one of the fastest-moving in recent memory 
in Georgia.

In the glacial-paced world of death penalty law, Tate's death sentence for the 
2001 killings of a woman and her 3-year-old daughter moved through the appeals 
process quickly. That's because he refused to challenge his conviction and 
sentence by filing a habeas appeals in state or federal court.

His current and former attorneys won't comment on why Tate, who is 31, won't 
let them file the appeal. But the transcript from a 2009 court hearing helps 
illuminate his thoughts on the process.

"You caught me red-handed," he said during the hearing, when he waived his 
motion for a new trial. "None of my rights were violated ... I choose to waive 
any and all future appeals."

A Paulding County judge last week cleared the way for his execution, and state 
officials on Tuesday scheduled the lethal injection for Jan. 31 at 7 p.m. Death 
penalty opponents say Tate's case highlights the problems with capital 
punishment.

"The appeals process exists as a safeguard to protect the integrity of the 
judicial process," said Kathryn Hamoudah, who chairs Georgians for Alternatives 
to the Death Penalty. "Proceeding without is tantamount to allowing state 
assisted suicide."

According to court records, Nicholas Tate and two of his younger brothers, 
Dustin and Chad, purchased ammo, duct tape and knives at a local sporting goods 
store in December 2001 and then plotted to use the weapons to burglarize the 
home of Chrissie Williams, who they believed had a stash of drugs and money.

When they arrived at the home, Chrissie's 3-year-old daughter Katelyn answered 
the door, and chaos ensued. The men tried to knock Chrissie out with a stun 
gun, but when she didn't lose consciousness they taped her mouth and eyes shut 
and handcuffed her hands to a bed.

They moved Katelyn to another room, where Nicholas Tate removed her pajamas and 
sexually assaulted her. Nicholas Tate, who prosecutors say led the plot, 
ordered Chad to silence the girl because she recognized him. Chad Tate 
unsuccessfully tried to strangle her with a telephone cord, and he then used 
Nicholas' knife to slit her throat.

Dustin Tate fled the house in fear. Nicholas Tate put a seat cushion over 
Chrissie's head as she lay bound to the bed, firing one shot through the pillow 
to kill her.

The 3 brothers then fled Georgia and traveled to Mississippi where they 
captured a 23-year-old woman from a gas station where she worked and forced her 
into an SUV. The three later released the woman but kept her car as they sped 
toward Oklahoma.

The Tate brothers abandoned their weapons at a motel and drove to El Reno, 
which is about 30 miles outside of Oklahoma City. They then contacted their 
parents in Dallas, Ga., who helped them negotiate their surrender to police.

Nicholas Tate pleaded guilty to murder charges in November 2005 and was 
sentenced to death a month later. His brothers also admitted to committing the 
violence. They are serving life sentences in prison.

Nicholas Tate filed a motion for a new trial in 2006, but three years later he 
had a change of heart. That's when he said he wanted to waive all future 
appeals, and a trial judge accepted his request, nothing that he was coherent 
and articulate.

His attorneys went ahead with a direct appeal, asking the Georgia Supreme Court 
to overturn the sentence. Among the arguments they made was that the punishment 
was disproportionate because neither of his 2 brothers were sentenced to death.

But the court's June 2010 ruling rejected that argument along with the others 
in upholding the death sentence. The court ruled that Chad Tate, who was 15 at 
the time of the killings, wasn't eligible for the death penalty and that Dustin 
Tate's life was spared because he was neither the killer nor the "driving 
force" behind the victims' deaths.

(source: Deseret News)






CALIFORNIA:

Iraq veteran charged with killing 4 homeless men


An Iraq war veteran accused of killing 4 homeless men in Orange County, 
California by stabbing his victims dozens of times each was charged on Tuesday 
with 1st degree murder.

Former U.S. Marine Itzcoatl Ocampo, 23, was charged with 4 counts of 1st degree 
murder, and he could be eligible for the death penalty, Orange County District 
Attorney Tony Rackauckas said.

(source: Reuters)