[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----OHIO, KAN., KY., COLO., ARIZ., CALIF.

[Rick Halperin]

Dec. 12


OHIO:

Senate approves execution-secrecy bill


A bill shrouding parts of Ohio's execution process in secrecy cleared the Ohio 
Senate yesterday, with an added provision requiring a review of how killers are 
put to death amid ongoing legal questions over lethal injection.

The measure, which prison officials say is needed to ensure that Ohio can 
obtain the execution drugs from compounding pharmacies, now returns to the 
House, where approval is expected next week as the legislature wraps up its 
work for its 2-year session.

The Senate approved the measure 20-10 as minority Democrats voiced concerns 
over the lack of transparency to accompany the state's use of capital 
punishment. Three Republicans also voted against it.

The bill would forever keep confidential the identities of execution-team 
members and physicians and shield the identities of compounding pharmacies that 
prepare lethal-injection drugs for 20 years after their state contracts expire.

Prison officials contend they cannot obtain the drugs needed to conduct 
executions unless compounding pharmacies are assured they will not be 
identified and will be protected from potential retaliation.

The pharmacies "have become subjected to not just criticism but downright 
attack, boycotts and picketing at their homes," said Sen. John Eklund, 
R-Chardon. "Consequently many of these pharmacies have become unwilling ... to 
subject themselves to that aggravation."

The Senate Criminal Justice Committee added a 2-year sunset provision under 
which the law would expire unless the measure is renewed. Lawmakers want to see 
how the secrecy changes work before potentially extending them.

Execution-team members and pharmacies granted confidentiality during the 1st 2 
years would retain those protections even if the law expires.

The bill also calls for appointment of a joint Senate-House committee to review 
the "means and manner" by which Ohio executes the condemned amid controversy 
over the fatal drug combinations concocted to replace drugs no longer made 
available by their manufacturers.

Sen. Peggy Lehner, R-Kettering, a death-penalty opponent, voted against the 
bill. "Is there any irony to take the life of a convicted killer but then worry 
endlessly that we don't cause him any suffering?"

Sen. Bill Seitz, R-Cincinnati, who served 2 years on the Ohio Supreme Court's 
Death Penalty Task Force, said he recognizes that people are opposed to the 
death penalty, "but that is not what this bill is about."

Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction officials said yesterday that 
they did not request the review of the means of death of the condemned or the 
sunset provision and declined to comment on their inclusion.

(source: Columbus Dispatch)

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

Monroe murder suspect worked at victim's retirement community


Daniel French, the man accused of killing an 87-year-old Monroe woman, was an 
employee of the Mount Pleasant Retirement Community were she lived.

French, 56, of 1473 Flat Gap Road in Berea, Ky., began working at Mount 
Pleasant in 2003 and worked there until he resigned his position on Dec. 14, 
2011, according to a statement from the retirement community released Thursday. 
Neither police nor officials with Mount Pleasant would elaborate on they type 
of work French did there.

A Butler County grand jury indicted French for allegedly killing Barbara Howe, 
who was slain in October 2012. He is facing charges of aggravated murder with 
death penalty specifications, aggravated burglary and robbery, abuse of a 
corpse and tampering with evidence.

Howe's daughter, Donna Wesselman, wiped away tears as she hugged Monroe 
Detective Gregg Myers before he stepped to the podium with Monroe Police Chief 
Bob Buchanan during a news conference Thursday.

Myers has investigated the case from the beginning.

In September 2013, Myers told this newspaper that there was a person of 
interest in the case. On Thursday, he confirmed that person was French, but 
said little else about the case or the investigation.

Wesselman said she never lost hope her mother's killer would be found because 
Myers kept her and her family informed every step of the way.

"If it weren't for Gregg Myers ... he kept me sane through all of this," 
Wesselman said.

The Blue Ash woman said Myers once described the case and investigation as 
"like working on an all-white puzzle, and you only have the corner pieces."

She said she was aware the case was presented to the grand jury, but did not 
get word from Butler County Prosecutor Michael Gmoser about the indictment 
until minutes after French was arrested Wednesday.

"Yesterday was the day I have waited for, for over 2 years," Wesselman said. "I 
just feel like a weight has been lifted off my back."

While there will be months of waiting for criminal proceedings for French, 
Wesselman said for her the arrest was closure. "Our mother was wonderful. She 
was just a beautiful, wonderful person ... so full of life," Wesselman said. 
"If there is a silver lining, I am left with wonderful memories of my mother."

Buchanan said the arrest is the result of a collaborative effort of many 
different agencies and citizens of the city.

Myers was specifically recognized by the chief for his work.

"Gregg has worked on this case since the very beginning and has worked 
tirelessly to bring the case to this point. He will tell you that he has been 
assisted by so many professionals throughout this investigation, and this is 
true; but without his efforts, it is my opinion that this case would have 
remained unsolved," Buchanan said.

Gmoser called the crime one of the most heinous he has seen in his career.

"The shear brutality and diabolical nature of this case really is unparalleled 
in the history of this county," Gmoser said. "In my 40-some years of being an 
attorney here, I've never seen anything as horrific as this in the planning and 
the diabolical nature. It really is an unusual case."

Howe was last seen alive Oct. 27, 2012, when she left her cottage at Mount 
Pleasant Retirement Village in Monroe. She was found dead 4 days later in the 
trunk of her red Cadillac that was abandoned in the parking lot of Woodridge 
Apartments in Middletown.

Gmoser remained tight-lipped about information surrounding the case on Thursday 
and did not attend the news conference.

Howe's cause of death was never released, and Gmoser said that information will 
not be revealed until it is presented at trial.

French's arrest was made public Wednesday afternoon when he was taken into 
custody about 1:55 p.m. Middletown police Detectives Rich Bush and Jon Hoover, 
along with Assistant Prosecutor Brad Burress traveled to Kentucky to make the 
arrest. French was booked into the Rockcastle County Kentucky Detention Center 
shortly after 4 p.m. Wednesday.

French will appear in a Kentucky courtroom for an extradition hearing and could 
be arraigned on the charges by the middle of next week. The case is assigned to 
Butler County Common Pleas Judge Jennifer McElfresh. Gmoser said he will try 
the case with Burress.

A background check of French indicates he has ties to Middletown, living at 
several addresses there as well as Franklin dating back to 1990. The most 
recent was on Bonita Drive in May 2012. He has no criminal background in Butler 
County, according to police and a public records search by this newspaper. The 
only court cases involving him are for civil matters and 2 divorces.

In a written statement, Stan Kappers, the executive director at Mount Pleasant, 
said French met employment requirements and passed a background check and 
screening that included finger printing and a felony and misdemeanor criminal 
convictions and driver's licence record check though an independent 3rd party 
provider.

"I am personally sickened by the thought that anyone previously associated with 
this community could have been involved in this tragic crime," Kappers said in 
the statement.

(source: Dayton Daily News)






KENTUCKY:

Ryan Champion Could Face the Death Penalty if Convicted


A Trigg County man accused in the killing of his parents, sister and an 
acquaintance could face the death penalty if convicted.

Prosecutors say they believe Champion enlisted help from 22-year-old Vito 
Riservato in murdering his family. He then shot and killed Riservato.

In the arraignment Wednesday, Trigg County prosecutor G.L. Ovey said if 
Champion is convicted, he'll seek the death penalty.

Champion has pled not guilty to all charges.

He will next appear in court Feb. 13.

(source: WKMS news)

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

Not Guilty Plea, Possible Death Penalty In Family Killings


A western Kentucky man accused in the slayings of his parents, sister and an 
acquaintance has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, complicity to murder 
and complicity to kidnapping.

Prosecutors say they believe 36-year-old Ryan Champion enlisted help from 
22-year-old Vito Riservato in killing his family, and then killed Riservato. 
All 4 died of gunshot wounds at the Champion family's home in Cadiz.

Trigg prosecutor G.L. Ovey has said it started out as a murder-for-hire scheme, 
but "it didn't end up that way."

Along with the arraignment on Wednesday, Ovey filed notice that he intends to 
seek the death penalty in the case if Ryan Champion is convicted.

Media report Champion's new attorney, Tom Osborne, maintained his client's 
innocence and asked that a trial date be set as soon as possible.

(source: Associated Press)






KANSAS:

Jury convicts Billy Frank Davis Jr. of 2 counts of capital murder, 8 other 
charges


A Shawnee County District Court jury convicted Billy Frank Davis Jr. on 
Thursday afternoon of 2 counts of capital murder, one court of premeditated 
1st-degree murder and 7 other counts linked to the slaying of an 8-year-old 
girl in 2012.

When the guilty verdicts were read at 4:15 p.m. for the 2 counts of capital 
murder, Randy Irvin and Angela Ortega, parents of the victim, Ahliyah Nachelle 
Irvin, wept silently in their seats.

By the time guilty verdicts were read for all 10 charges, several relatives and 
friends of the child were nodding their heads, yes. When verdicts are about to 
be read in emotional high-profile cases, spectators often are warned not to 
make any noisy displays of celebration. By the time the jurors said they had 
decided the verdicts, they had deliberated 17 hours over Tuesday, Wednesday and 
Thursday. It had appeared jurors might be unable to decide verdicts in the case 
and would be deadlocked, perhaps forcing a second trial of Davis before a new 
jury.

Tension was high in the courtroom in the moments after jurors filed in and the 
verdicts were read.

When the victim's relatives and friends first stepped outside the courthouse, 
several let off steam with high-pitched yips.

In addition to the homicide counts, the jury convicted Davis of rape of the 
child, aggravated kidnapping of the child, burglary, 2 counts of aggravated 
burglary, and 2 misdemeanor counts of criminal damage to property.

Soon after Irvin was reported missing on March 13, 2012, a police officer found 
her body stuffed in a clothes dryer in the basement of a Topeka apartment 
building at 2413 S.E. Bellview. She had been beaten, raped and choked.

Court will resume at 9 a.m. Friday, when jurors will begin the process of 
deciding whether to recommend the death penalty for Davis or a life sentence.

During more than 13 hours of deliberations before the Thursday lunch break, 
jurors hadn't asked any questions other than to request to view the videotaped 
Topeka police questioning of Davis.

Immediately after returning from lunch Thursday, jurors submitted a question to 
the judge in the capital murder trial.

Contents of the question weren't made public, but a family member of the victim 
said the question was whether there is a time frame for "intent." Prosecutors 
and defense attorneys talked with Shawnee County District Court Judge David 
Debenham about the written question, and the judge returned a written answer.

The question of intent was crucial. To convict Davis of the homicide counts and 
other charges, jurors had to find the crimes were committed intentionally.

On Friday, prosecutors will offer aggravating circumstances to support imposing 
the death penalty.

Those factors can include that the defendant committed the crime in an 
especially heinous, atrocious or cruel manner, and the defendant has an earlier 
felony conviction in which great harm, disfigurement or death occurred to a 
victim.

Jurors must vote unanimously to impose the death penalty.

Defense attorneys will offer mitigating circumstances on why jurors shouldn't 
recommend the death penalty.

There isn't a limit to the mitigating factors, which can include mercy, a lack 
of significant criminal history by the defendant, the defendant's family 
background, and the defendant's emotional and mental health history.

The vote of only one juror can block imposition of the death penalty. Jurors 
also can come up with their own mitigating circumstances.

Witnesses can be called during the sentencing phase of the trial. During the 
guilt phase of the trial, the defense didn't offer any testimony on Davis' 
background.

During closing arguments, chief deputy district attorney Jacqie Spradling told 
jurors Davis intentionally killed the child to hide he had sexually assaulted 
her.

But defense attorney Julia Spainhour told jurors that Davis was so full of 
cocaine and alcohol, he didn't have the mental wherewithal to form the intent 
to kill the girl.

"'I didn't intend to kill her; I didn't intend to hurt her,'" Spainhour said 
Davis told Topeka police detectives.

During instructions to the jury, the judge told them "voluntary intoxication" 
may be a defense when the defendant is unable to form the necessary intent to 
kill, to kidnap and to commit several other offenses. Spainhour told jurors 
that "voluntary intoxication" applied to Davis.

After Davis was convicted, Sharon Miller, a grandmother of Ahliyah Irvin, said 
in a note that justice had been done in the case.

"Even though Ahliyah will never go to the prom or fall in love or grow up to 
have a family, justice has been done to the point that this man will never be 
able to take another baby's life (or) be able to traumatize a family of another 
victim," Miller wrote.

"We all still miss the loss of our beautiful Ahliyah, her touch, her smile, her 
loving hugs, but we as a family know she is in heaven smiling down on us and is 
happy now."

In a handwritten note provided to the Topeka Capital-Journal, Sharon Miller, 
the grandmother of Ahliyah Nachelle Irvin, had the following message:

Justice has been served...even though Ahliyah will never go to the prom or fall 
in love, or grow up to have a family...justice has been done to the point that 
this man will never be able to take another baby's life, be able to traumatize 
a family of another victim. He has had his control during all of this...but now 
we have the control back. We all still miss the loss of our beautiful Ahliyah, 
her touch, her smile, her loving hugs but we as a family know she is in Heaven 
smiling down on us and is happy now and looks down on us letting us know 
everything is going to be OK now. - Grandma Sharon

(source: Topeka Capital Journal)






COLORADO:

Judge denies request to delay Holmes trial; Jury selection will begin on 
January 20, 2015


Arapahoe County District Court will move forward with plans to send summonses 
to 9,000 potential jurors on Thursday for the movie theater shooting trial. The 
jury selection process would start next month.

Arguing that they need more time to prepare for the trial, attorneys defending 
James Holmes asked for a delay of "2 to 3 months." They said that they needed 
the time to review new evidence, witnesses and the latest sanity evaluation 
report.

District Court Judge Carlos Samour flatly denied them the extra time.

"Because the Court has absolutely no doubt that defense counsel can be ready to 
proceed to trial on January 20, the motion fails," he wrote in his order.

Holmes faces 166 charges for allegedly opening fire in a crowded Aurora movie 
theater on July 20, 2012. 12 people were killed in the shooting and 70 others 
were injured.

He was arrested that day and a preliminary hearing was held in January of 2013 
where a judge determined he should be put on trial. Since then, however, the 
scheduled trial date has been repeatedly delayed for a variety of reasons -- 
including a 2nd sanity evaluation.

"The perception of justice is as important as justice itself. If the citizenry 
loses trust in the administration of justice, it matters little whether justice 
is done in a particular case," Samour wrote. "To delay this trial unnecessarily 
or improperly solely on the basis that it is a death penalty case would only 
promote the cynical view -- sadly held by many -- that the justice system is 
broken."

In his 19 page order, Samour examined each of the defense's reasons for 
requesting a delay and found none were sufficient reason to grant that request.

"A postponement would deprive the prosecution of its right to a speedy trial, 
violate the Victims' Rights Act, interfere with the public's interest in the 
speedy and final disposition of this case, run counter to the interest of 
justice, and further erode the public's confidence in the justice system," he 
wrote.

Summonses for the 9,000 potential jurors will be sent on Dec. 11, according to 
a footnote in the order. The process of narrowing the field to 12 jurors and 12 
alternates will begin on Jan. 20.

Samour also recently refused to bar the death penalty as a possible punishment 
in the case, if Holmes is convicted.

(source: The Denver Channel)






ARIZONA:

Arias trial: Police expert admits porn on computer


In the end, even a Mesa Police computer technician admitted that there was 
pornography on a computer that belonged to Jodi Arias' victim, Travis 
Alexander.

The hearing stretched out over 3 days in 3 separate weeks in Maricopa County 
Superior Court. It ended Thursday afternoon, and now it is up to Judge Sherry 
Stephens to decide whether to drop the prosecution's intent to seek the death 
penalty because of prosecutorial misconduct.

She has questions to answer.

How did it come to pass that there was so much porn when a Mesa Police 
detective and a police computer expert had testified in Arias' 1st trial that 
there was none?

And who deleted tens of thousands of files? Was it a deliberate act of 
misconduct by police or prosecutors? A stupid mistake when the computer was 
turned on without following basic crime scene and evidence rules? Or a wanton 
lie by the defense computer experts?

Arias' attorneys, Jennifer Willmott and Kirk Nurmi, and their forensic expert, 
Bryan Neumeister, led the court through a description of the porn sites that 
had been visited and the computer viruses that had infected Alexander's 
computer because of porn viewing.

Prosecutor Juan Martinez tried over the course of the 3 days to blame a prior 
defense team for the deletions and then accused Neumeister.

Neumeister said Martinez lied and told the prosecutor repeatedly that he didn't 
understand computers.

On Thursday, Martinez presented another Mesa Police expert and focused on 
"clones" that had been altered by Neumeister. Willmott objected repeatedly that 
the clones were irrelevant because the alterations were the natural by product 
of analysis; the original copy was unchanged, she said, and they still were 
full of porn.

Perry Smith, the Mesa Police expert, admitted that there was porn.

Arias, 34, was found guilty of 1st-degree murder in May 2013. Alexander, 30, 
her sometime lover, was found dead in the shower of his Mesa home in June 2008. 
He had been shot in the head and stabbed nearly 30 times, and his throat had 
been slit.

During her 1st trial, Mesa police officers testified that there were no viruses 
or pornography on Alexander's computer. Martinez called Arias a liar for saying 
there was. And he took Arias to task for alleging that Alexander was sexually 
attracted to children and that she had walked in on him while he was 
masturbating to photos of young boys. Martinez roundly drubbed Arias for the 
allegation.

In closing arguments Thursday, Nurmi said the state should not be allowed to 
continue going forward with the death penalty because the case is based on 
testimony that's not true.

"Let's put an end to this circus," he said Thursday. "Any further proceedings 
will be based on false evidence," he added.

"This case is more about prosecutorial misconduct than it is about evidence," 
he said.

Martinez countered by saying "This is a fact-driven inquiry." Those facts, he 
said, show "no misconduct at all."

Martinez said that the defense attorneys were pointing the finger at the 
prosecution and "perhaps they should point it at themselves, he said.

Judge Sherry Stephens took the matter under advisement and informed the lawyers 
that the jury will return and the trial will resume on Monday.

(source: Arizona Republic)

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

Case tossed vs. woman held 22 years in son's death


In a scathing critique of Arizona's criminal justice system, a state appeals 
court on Thursday ordered the dismissal of murder charges against a woman who 
spent 22 years on death row in her son's killing.

The Arizona Court of Appeals said the charges against Debra Jean Milke in the 
1989 death of her son Christopher can't be refiled. A three-judge panel said it 
agrees with Milke's argument that a retrial would amount to double jeopardy.

The court held that prosecutors' failure to turn over evidence that could have 
helped Milke's defense was egregious, calling the actions "a severe stain on 
the Arizona justice system."

"Nondisclosure of this magnitude calls into question the integrity of the 
system and was highly prejudicial to Milke," the court wrote. "In these 
circumstances - which will hopefully remain unique in the history of Arizona 
law - the most potent constitutional remedy is required."

Authorities say Milke dressed her son in his favorite outfit and told him he 
was going to see Santa Claus at a mall in December 1989. He was then taken into 
the desert outside Phoenix by two men and shot in the back of the head.

The court said it wasn't expressing an opinion on Milke's guilt or innocence, 
though it heavily criticized authorities for staking much of their case on a 
detective with credibility problems.

A federal appeals court threw out Milke's 1st-degree murder conviction in March 
2013, saying prosecutors knew about a history of misconduct by the detective 
but failed to disclose it. Maricopa County prosecutors were preparing for a 
retrial.

Milke's appellate attorney, Lori Voepel, was ecstatic at the victory, which 
prosecutors could appeal to the state Supreme Court.

"We're all thrilled," Voepel said. "We still have the gag order so we can't say 
much more than we're all thrilled with the opinion."

Milke has been free on bail since September 2013 as she awaited retrial.

A spokesman for Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery had no immediate 
comment.

"This is really a sock in the gut - it's a cheap shot," said Arizona Milke, 
Christopher's father and ex-husband of Debra Milke. "She shouldn't walk free, 
because she's guilty."

Milke was convicted in 1990. The original case rested largely on her purported 
confession, which Phoenix police Detective Armando Saldate did not record. He 
has since retired, and The Associated Press has made repeated efforts to reach 
him for comment.

That left jurors with Saldate's word alone that she told him about her 
involvement. Milke has maintained her innocence and denied she ever confessed.

In its ruling overturning Milke's conviction, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of 
Appeals cited numerous instances in which Saldate committed misconduct in 
previous cases, including lying under oath and violating suspects' rights. The 
federal appeals court also asked the Justice Department to investigate whether 
Saldate had committed civil rights violations.

Prosecutors insist Milke is guilty, but Saldate has claimed he fears potential 
federal charges if he testifies at a retrial, based on the appeals court 
accusations of misconduct.

In December, Superior Court Judge Rosa Mroz granted Saldate's request to assert 
his Fifth Amendment right, allowing him to refuse to take the stand.

The state Court of Appeals overturned that ruling in April and said Saldate 
would be forced to testify at the retrial. Both county and federal authorities 
said they don't intend to seek charges against the detective based on any of 
the accusations leveled by the federal appeals court.

Saldate's attorney countered that authorities had offered no guarantees that he 
wouldn't face charges in the future based on his testimony, and an appeal to 
the state Supreme Court was expected.

Judge Mroz had previously said that if Saldate didn't testify again, the 
purported confession likely couldn't be used at her retrial.

Milke's defense sought dismissal of the entire case against her, noting in a 
previous motion that "the only direct evidence linking defendant to the crimes 
is the defendant's alleged confession to Saldate."

The 2 men convicted in Christopher's death did not testify against Milke and 
remain on death row.

Milke, whose mother was a German who married a U.S. Air Force military 
policeman in Berlin in the 1960s, has drawn strong support from citizens of 
that nation and Switzerland, neither of which has the death penalty.

Milke's mother died in Germany in August after a battle with cancer. A week 
earlier, a judge had denied Milke's request for permission to travel to Germany 
to visit her sick mother.

(source: Associated Press)






CALIFORNIA:

Deputies in Dekraai case told to testify again----Judge wonders if they misled 
the court about informants.


A judge on Thursday ordered at least 2 Orange County sheriff's deputies accused 
of lying in prior testimony about the use of jailhouse informants to return to 
court for more questioning.

In ordering a new round of testimony, Orange County Superior Court Judge Thomas 
Goethals reopened a hearing on whether to block the death penalty for Scott 
Dekraai, who admitted gunning down eight people in Seal Beach in 2011.

Dekraai's attorney Scott Sanders recently alleged in court motions that at 
least two deputies falsely testified when they said they could not remember 
where and when certain inmates were moved, even though the information easily 
could be retrieved through an electronic database kept by the sheriff's 
department.

The court is trying to determine whether Dekraai was placed in jail near a 
prolific informant by chance, or if their proximity was part of a scheme 
orchestrated by prosecutors and police to gather more evidence.

The battle over the surreptitious use of jailhouse informants, and the 
withholding of evidence retrieved from those informants, has exploded beyond 
the Dekraai case. At least 3 other felony cases have unraveled because evidence 
was withheld or informants were misused by prosecutors and police, and more 
cases are being scrutinized based on Sanders' investigation.

In August, Goethals ruled there was prosecutorial misconduct in the Dekraai 
case. But the judge said it not enough to warrant blocking a death sentence for 
Dekraai in the killing of his estranged wife, Michelle Fournier, and 7 other 
people - Randy Fannin, Michele Fast, Christy Wilson, David Caouette, Victoria 
Buzzo, Laura Webb Elody, and Lucia Kondas - who were at the salon where 
Fournier worked. Goethals is reconsidering that ruling because of new 
allegations that deputies might have been deceptive on the witness stand.

Goethals indicated Thursday he still might not ban the death penalty in the 
Dekraai case. Instead, the judge said he might severely limit the evidence that 
can be used against the defendant when the case returns to court Jan. 16.

In a previous interview with the Register, Orange County Sheriff Sandra 
Hutchens said her department studied transcripts of the deputies' court 
testimony and found nothing amiss.

But Hutchens did say the deputies were unprepared to testify - and for that, 
she takes the blame.

"I have not seen anything that would lead me to believe any of the deputies 
were deliberately trying to mislead anyone," Hutchens said. "I think the 
department failed them by not providing appropriate training."

Hutchens explained that until recently the department did not have a formal 
policy on handling jailhouse informants, some of whom made up to $1,500 a day 
to coax confessions out of defendants in wired cells.

The Dekraai death penalty case has lingered for 3 years, mostly because of the 
informant battle. This has frustrated many people connected to the case, 
including Paul Wilson, the husband of victim Christy Wilson.

"I'm tired of hearing the excuses," Wilson said Thursday. Then, mentioning the 
county district attorney, who was not at the hearing, he added: "Tony 
Rackauckas has failed."

Wilson then turned to Dekraai, sitting shackled in an orange jumpsuit, and 
said, "You will always be the coward who killed my wife ... Look at Mr. Sanders 
and tell him to stop. Be a man, the man you wish you could be."

(source: Orange County Register)

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

Faria Beach Murder Trial Impacted By California Supreme Court Ruling----Gag 
order prevents district attorney from commenting


A unanimous California Supreme Court ruling, announced on Thursday morning, 
impacts a possible death penalty case in Ventura County.

Joshua Packer is accused of killing Brock and Davina Husted and their unborn 
child in May 2009 at their Faria Beach home.

Public defenders want Chief Deputy District Attorney Michael Frawley taken off 
the case because his children were in the same Youth Life Ministry years before 
the murders.

The court ruled that an evidentiary hearing should be held to decide the 
matter.

Chief Deputy Public Defender Michael McMahon hopes his client can avoid the 
death penalty by offering to plead guilty in return for a sentence of life 
without parole.

McMahon issued the following statement; "I have no doubt that Mike Frawley 
truly believes he can be fair and impartial, but research proves that we are 
often blind to our own biases and personal embroilment. Endless litigation of 
this issue would serve no one's interest. We are heartened that the Chief 
Justice and the unanimous Supreme Court looked hard at the known facts and 
agreed that the evidence already presented supports the inference that Mike 
Frawley's personal entanglement in the case has interfered with and will 
continue to interfere with the defense's ability to investigate and present 
potentially significant mitigating evidence on the issue of Life or Death. The 
additional evidence which we would submit at an evidentiary hearing will 
clearly establish that someone unrelated to the witnesses should prosecute the 
case or, better yet, settle the case for Life without Possibility of Parole, an 
offer that has been on the table the entire time."

Prosecutors said a gag order prevents them from commenting on the ruling or 
case.

To read the opionion go to, www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/S213894.PDF

(source: KEYT news)