[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----OKLA., NEB., COLO., ARIZ., CALIF., WASH., USA

[Rick Halperin]

Nov. 8


OKLAHOMA:

2 gang members arrested over murder of pregnant HBO reality star prostitute

--Suspected Indian Brotherhood gang members Russell Hogshooter, 37, and 
Johnathan Cochran, 35, arrested on Wednesday in Oklahoma --The victims included 
Brooke Phillips, 22, who had worked for a legal Nevada brothel called Moonlite 
Bunny Ranch, which was featured on HBO

--Each of the victims was repeatedly shot and stabbed and their bodies set on 
fire

--Miss Phillips and another victim were pregnant at the time of their deaths


2 alleged shooters were arrested this week in the 2009 deaths of a pregnant 
prostitute featured on HBO's Cathouse TV series and 3 others.

Suspected gang members Russell Hogshooter, 37, and Johnathan Cochran, 35, were 
caught on Wednesday in Delaware County, Oklahoma.

The victims included Brooke Phillips, 22, who had worked for a legal Nevada 
brothel called Moonlite Bunny Ranch, near Carson City, which was the subject of 
an HBO series.

The other victims were Milagros Barrera, 22, Jennifer Ermey, 25, and 
32-year-old Casey Mark Barrientos.

Barrientos, a drug dealer, was believed to be the target of the shooting.

Each of the victims was repeatedly shot and stabbed before their bodies were 
set on fire.

A friend of Miss Phillips said at the time of her death that she was not 
involved in drugs and had been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The friend said: 'Brooke never used drugs. She barely even drank. But she did 
date a drug dealer on and off.'

Denny Phillips, 36, is scheduled to go to trial in the case in April. He's 
charged with 6 counts of 1st-degree murder because Miss Phillips and Miss 
Barrera were pregnant when they were killed. He is also charged with conspiracy 
to commit murder.

Phillips was allegedly a chief in the Indian Brotherhood gang and planned the 
killings. His former girlfriend said in court last year that he had bragged 
about the murders.

'He liked to brag. When he was describing the murders, it sounded like 
bragging,' Kelsey Day testified in February 2013 at a preliminary hearing for 
Phillips.

Day, who was dating Phillips when the November 2009 killings occurred, said 
Phillips had provided details of the victims' deaths that made her believe that 
he was there.

Phillips has pleaded not guilty and if convicted could face a death sentence or 
life in prison.

In 2012, David 'Hooligan' Allen Tyner, 33, pleaded guilty to 6 counts of 
1st-degree murder and received consecutive life prison sentences.

Tyner, a member of the Cherokee Nation who had worked as a drug dealer's 
bodyguard, was arrested soon after the shootings when he was identified by a 
witness who managed to flee the drug den.

The former Marine and cage fighter finally told detectives in the past few 
weeks that he had not committed the crimes alone, newsok.com reported.

Federal Marshalls captured Hogshooter and Cochran on Wednesday. The pair, who 
are also believed to be in the Indian Brotherhood gang, have not yet been 
charged.

Hogshooter was found with a handgun when he was arrested.

Investigators allege Barrientos ran a drug and prostitution ring out of a south 
Oklahoma City house where the victims were killed. Phillips and Tyner allegedly 
were involved in illegal drug sales with Barrientos and plotted to kill him 
because they weren't happy with the amount of money they were being paid.

In May 2012, Tyner pleaded guilty to 6 counts of 1st-degree murder and was 
sentenced to consecutive life prison sentences without the possibility of 
parole in a plea agreement to avoid a possible death penalty.

Michael Mease, a federal inmate serving time on a weapons charge, testified 
that he befriended Phillips while both were incarcerated at a federal prison in 
Terre Haute, Indiana, in 2012.

Phillips was serving a 7-year sentence on charges related to a shootout in 
Tulsa in April 2010.

'He told me he was involved in the murders,' Mease testified last year. 'He 
told me it was over some bad drug business ... he said he wasn't there at the 
scene, but he was watching closely.'

Mease said he notified authorities of Phillips' statements because Phillips 
showed no remorse for the deaths of the women in the house, while noting that 
another man who had been inside the home had escaped when the gunfire began.

'That was unexpected, because everyone in the house was supposed to die,' Mease 
said.

He said Phillips told him they were supposed to leave no witnesses.

(source: Daily Mail)






NEBRASKA:

Anti-death penalty series draws ex-prison official as speaker


A former prison warden who oversaw executions in Oregon will speak at a series 
of events in Nebraska sponsored by opponents of the death penalty.

Frank Thompson, who also served as a warden in Arkansas, will start a speaking 
tour Sunday with stops in Columbus and Fullerton, followed by the annual 
Nebraskans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty fundraising reception Monday 
in Omaha.

Thompson, who oversaw the only 2 executions to take place in Oregon in the past 
52 years, believes that public safety and taxpayers would be better served by 
replacing the death penalty with life without the possibility of parole.

Last year, a proposal in Nebraska to do that had the backing of a majority of 
state senators, but the bill was blocked by a filibuster by supporters of 
capital punishment.

Thompson will also talk about the trauma executions exact on corrections 
workers and the inherent risks of lethal injection.

His appearances will be:

-- Sunday at 2 p.m. at St. Isidore Catholic Church, Columbus: 5 p.m. at St. 
Peter Catholic Church, Fullerton.

-- Monday, 7 p.m. at the annual Nebraskans for Alternatives to the Death 
Penalty reception at the Harper Center at Creighton University in Omaha.

-- Tuesday, noon at the Saunders County Museum, Wahoo; 7 p.m. at the Hastings 
College French Chapel in Hastings.

(source: omaha.com)






COLORADO:

Judge expands Aurora theater shooting jury pool from 6,000 to 9,000 prospective 
jurors; Murder trial for James Holmes set to start June 3


The judge in the Aurora movie theater shooting case is expanding the jury pool 
from 6,000 to 9,000 prospective jurors for the trial that's scheduled to start 
in June 2015.

"It will be much easier to call off prospective jurors who are not needed than 
it will be to adjust if there are insufficient prospective jurors," Arapahoe 
County District Judge Carlos A. Samour Jr. said in an order Friday.

Defendant James Holmes awaits trial for killing 12 people and injuring 70 in 
the July 2012 attack at the Century 16 theater in Aurora. He has pleaded not 
guilty by reason of insanity and the prosecution is seeking the death penalty.

Jury selection is scheduled to start on Jan. 20, when the 1st group of 250 
prospective jurors will be summoned for the selection process. Prospective 
jurors will begin by completing a court-approved juror questionnaire. Those who 
progress through selection process will eventually face questions by defense 
attorneys, prosecutors and the judge.

The judge said groups of 250 prospective jurors will be summoned for each daily 
selection session. Samour has allotted about four months to select 12 jurors 
and 12 alternates.

Jury selection had been set to start on Dec. 8. But defense attorneys obtained 
a delay, saying they need extra time to address any issues arising from Holmes' 
second sanity evaluation.

Opening statements in the trial are scheduled to start on June 3.

(source: thedenverchannel.com)






ARIZONA:

Jodi Arias Trial Update News 2014: Judge Delays Arias' Death Penalty Trial


A Maricopa County Superior Court judge has postponed the Jodi Arias' sentencing 
trial while a higher court considers a ruling on the controversy over secret 
witness testimony.

The controversy began on Oct. 30 when Judge Sherry Stephens kicked the media 
and public out of the courtroom during the trial without explanation, just 
before an unidentified witness took the stand. In response, a media coalition, 
which included The Arizona Republic and 12 News, filed an appeal in order to 
regain access to the trial.

On Monday, a 3-judge panel at the Arizona Court of Appeals placed that decision 
on hold, re-opening the courtroom to both journalists and the public, reports 
AZ Central.

The delay is the result of an Arizona appeals court ruling that stays a 
decision by Superior Court Judge Sherry Stephens to ban media and the public 
from the courtroom for testimony from the 1st witness called by Arias' defense.

After meeting with attorneys from both sides, on Tuesday the judge delayed 
witness testimony until at least Nov. 12, according to The Arizona Republic. By 
then, the controversy over making the trial secret should be resolved by higher 
courts, reports Radar Online.

The attorney representing the media argued that conducting a trial behind 
closed doors and shrouded in secrecy would set a new precedent in the U.S. 
legal system.

"We have just heard the risk of being kept in perpetual confusion, and darkness 
looms in this case unless the court steps in and enforces the first amendment 
rights of the press and public," said attorney David Bodney, according to Fox 
10 Arizona.

He added that exclusion of the press and public violated the U.S. and Arizona 
Constitutions, along with the Arizona Rules of Criminal Procedure. Not only 
does the state and the defendant have a right to a public trial, but "it's the 
public's right to a fair trial," too, Bodney noted.

On the other hand, Arias' attorney countered that his witnesses don't feel 
comfortable testifying on behalf of Arias in public and feared for their 
reputations, livelihoods and lives.

"All mitigation witnesses, to the point where no viable case can be put 
forward, were threatened to the point they would not come forward and testify, 
and all defense witnesses were threatened," Kirk Nurmi said. "There are certain 
witnesses who feel threatened."

(source: Latin Post)






CALIFORNIA:

Ex-Marine sentenced to death for killing couple


A 27-year-old former Marine was sentenced to death Friday for the 2008 murders 
of a Marine sergeant and his wife in their Southern California home.

Superior Court Judge Christian Thierbach sentenced Kesaun Sykes after jurors 
recommended earlier this year that he receive the death penalty, the Riverside 
County district attorney's office said in a statement.

Sykes is 2 of 3 former Marines sentenced to death for the murders of Marine 
Corps Sgt. Jan Pietrzak and Quiana Jenkins-Pietrzak. A 4th was sentenced to 
life in prison without parole.

Authorities say Sykes, Kevin Cox, Emrys John and Tyrone Miller went to the 
couple's home near Murrieta in October 2008 to rob them and forced their way 
inside. Pietrzak was assaulted and his wife sexually assaulted before they were 
killed. The pair were found bound and shot in the head.

Deputy District Attorney Daniel DeLimon said Sykes participated in the sexual 
assault and began trying to set fire to the home before the couple were killed.

"He earned his place on death row," DeLimon said. "If people are still alive, 
and you're trying to burn the house down on top of them, obviously, you are in, 
you are in all the way."

Sykes' lawyer, Doug Myers, said he recognizes the loss and pain suffered by the 
victims' loved ones, but Sykes did not deserve the death sentence, adding that 
his client was outside the home when the killings occurred.

"A death sentence for Kesaun, who was not the actual killer, who did not direct 
the killings, and who was exposed to such awful abuse and neglect throughout 
most of his life, was not warranted," Myers said.

(source: Associated Press)

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

Female faces possible death penalty----Death penalty considered for Alturas 
mass murder suspect


The Modoc County District Attorney is considering the death penalty for Cherie 
Lash, the woman accused of killing 4 people in Alturas. Lash is accused of 
opening fire at an eviction hearing in Alturas back in February.

She shot 6 people at the Ceaderville Rancheria, ultimately killing 4 people.

District Attorney, Jordan Funk said if his department does decide to seek the 
death penalty this would be the 1st case he knows of in Modoc County.

Today, Funk met with prosecutors who have worked on death penalty cases, he 
said on Monday he plans to announce his decision.

Philip Russo, the husband of 1 of the shooting victims, Shelia Russo, reflected 
on the loss of his wife.

"You know all those little things that she's missed out on, you know, she 
didn't get to see her son's 1st year of high school, she didn't get to see her 
daughter enter college, enter University," explained Russo with tears in his 
eyes.

Philip said his wife, known for being caring and outgoing, died before 
experiencing some of the key parts of her children's lives.

"You know. All those simple things in life, that were taken away from her."

According to Philip, his wife died trying to shield a friend at the rancheria 
from gunfire.

Now, 9 months after the tragedy, Philip has moved to Redding but the horror of 
what happened is still fresh in his mind.

Every day he fights to make sure his wife is remembered, and the person 
responsible is held accountable. "I would like to see the killer receive the 
death penalty. In this case there's no question of guilt. It's all on 
videotape, she planned it. It was heinous, it was calculated, you know she 
executed 4 people," said Philip.

Philip said he understands there are some who might question the death penalty, 
such as the cost.

"How do you put a dollar figure on justice?" asked Philip.

He knows other may also question the morality of the death penalty.

"I can understand that, but again, until you live in my life and know the agony 
I'm going through then you base your decision after having experienced it."

(source: KRCR TV news)

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

Man charged with killing California couple, young sons


An ex-convict was charged on Friday with 4 counts of murder in the slayings of 
a couple and their 2 young sons whose skeletal remains were found buried last 
year in the California desert, police and prosecutors said.

The suspect, Charles "Chase" Merritt, 57, was described by police as a former 
business associate of the father, Joseph McStay, who was reported missing with 
his wife and two boys in February 2010 from the family's Southern California 
home.

Merritt, arrested without incident in Los Angeles on Wednesday, is believed to 
have acted alone, though investigators are keeping mum about any motives for 
the killings, San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon.

The 4 victims - McStay, 40, his wife, Summer, 43, and their 2 sons, 4-year-old 
Gianni and 3-year-old Joseph Jr. - died of blunt-force trauma, the sheriff 
said. According to police, they were killed inside their home in the San Diego 
County community of Fallbrook on Feb. 4, 2010.

San Bernardino County authorities took over the investigation last November 
after their remains were unearthed near Victorville, about 70 miles northeast 
of Los Angeles. The shallow graves were located when a motorcyclist reported 
finding what he thought were human bones in the desert.

Merritt faces the death penalty if convicted, county prosecutor Michael Ramos 
said, declaring, "This is a cold and callous murder of an entire family."

Merritt, looking drawn and tense, said nothing during his first court 
appearance on Friday, and no plea was entered. The judge ordered him to remain 
held without bond until an arraignment set for next Wednesday.

Defense lawyer Robert Ponce left the courtroom after the hearing without 
speaking to reporters.

The lead homicide detective, Sergeant Chris Fisher, told a news conference that 
Merritt had at least 2 prior felony convictions and served 2 state prison 
terms.

Fisher said McStay and Merritt each had owned his own decorative-fountain 
business and that McStay had asked Merritt "to make some custom waterfalls."

"They started working together, became friends (and) that's how their 
relationship started," Fisher said. He added that the two men had a meeting at 
a restaurant the day of the slayings.

But he revealed nothing of what detectives knew of that encounter or what 
evidence led investigators to Merritt.

McStay's mother, Susan Blake, told reporters at the courthouse that her son had 
loaned Merritt "quite a bit of money," but she did not elaborate.

(source: Reuters)






WASHINGTON:

4chan murder suspect could face death penalty in Washington


The man who police said killed his girlfriend and posted photos of her body on 
the Internet website 4chan has been charged with aggravated 1st degree murder - 
a charge that could come with the death penalty.

David Kalac, 33, was arrested in Oregon Wednesday, a day after the killing. He 
returned to the Kitsap County Jail shortly before 5 p.m. Thursday.

Kalac was arrested Wednesday night nearly 200 miles from the crime scene after 
a daylong manhunt.

"I killed Amber Coplin," Kalac wrote, according to court documents. "I 
strangled her with my hands, then a shoelace I had. ... She pissed me off."

Kalac was taken into custody Thursday in Wilsonville, part of Clackamas County, 
Oregon. The arresting officer said Kalac actually approached him and calmly 
explained he wanted to surrender.

"It ended peacefully which is good," Lt. Earl Smith with the Kitsap County 
Sheriff's Office. "No one else was hurt.

"There's still a lot of work to be done. Just because a suspect is taken into 
custody doesn???t end the investigation there's a lot work to be done."

Police responded to the couple's apartment after Coplin's 13-year-old son found 
her body. The boy's father told KIRO 7 that the teen's mother was covered when 
he found her - not in the disturbing manner that police said Kalac posted 
online.

"It's a terrible thing," Steve Boyer with the Kitsap County Sheriff's Office. 
"It's an ugly, ugly crime and I just hate seeing this stuff."

Kalac wrote about strangling the woman and his plan to be fatally shot by 
police, officers said. He posted the comments and photos anonymously on 4chan, 
but authorities confirmed they were from him, Kitsap County sheriff's Deputy 
Scott Wilson said.

KIRO 7 reporter Alison Grande has been following the story since Coplin was 
found dead Tuesday. She's was in court for Kalac's 1st appearance and will be 
tweeting updated leading up to her full report on KIRO 7 Eyewitness News 
starting at 5 p.m.

(source: KIRO TV news)






USA:

Massachusetts braces for 2 death penalty trials; The Massachusetts Legislature 
abolished the state's death penalty in 1984


As Massachusetts braces for the upcoming death penalty trial of the suspect in 
the Boston Marathon bombing, the state's other death penalty defendant is also 
heading back to court: Gary Lee Sampson, a drifter from Abington who confessed 
to carjacking and killing 2 men in Massachusetts and a third in New Hampshire 
during a weeklong crime spree.

A federal jury in Boston recommended that Sampson should be executed for his 
crimes. But the judge who presided at his trial later overturned that sentence, 
finding that a juror's lies about her background denied Sampson the right to be 
tried by an impartial jury.

Now Sampson faces a second sentencing trial with a new jury that will be asked 
to decide if he should be put to death. His re-trial is scheduled to begin in 
February, a little over a month after the trial of marathon bombing suspect 
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is set to begin in the same courthouse.

The Massachusetts Legislature abolished the state???s death penalty in 1984, 
but Sampson was prosecuted under the federal death penalty law and became the 
first person in Massachusetts sentenced to death under the federal statute.

The families of Sampson???s victims, who were stunned when U.S. District Judge 
Mark Wolf threw out the death sentence in 2011, are fuming over what they see 
as attempts by Sampson???s lawyers and the judge to delay the case indefinitely 
so Sampson will not be executed. The defense disclosed earlier this year that 
Sampson, now 55, has advanced cirrhosis of the liver.

"They have said Mr. Sampson is ill and is probably going to die sometime soon, 
and they are trying to keep this from coming to trial as long as they possibly 
can," said Michael Rizzo, the father of Jonathan Rizzo, 19, whose body was 
found behind a restaurant in Abington.

Jonathan Rizzo, a college student at George Washington University, was home for 
the summer and had just left his job as a waiter at a Plymouth restaurant when 
he picked up Sampson hitchhiking. In his confession, Sampson told police he 
assured Rizzo that he only wanted his car and would not hurt him. But instead, 
he tied him to a tree, repeatedly stabbed him and slit his throat.

Several days earlier, Sampson had hitched a ride from Philip McCloskey, a 
69-year-old retired pipe fitter from Taunton. Sampson told police he also 
promised McCloskey he wouldn't hurt him, but forced him to drive to a secluded 
spot in Marshfield, where he stabbed him 24 times.

Several days later, Sampson broke into a cabin in Meredith, New Hampshire, and 
strangled Robert "Eli" Whitney, a former city councilor in Concord.

Sampson continued his crime spree in Vermont, where he carjacked another man 
and broke into a house. Sampson called police himself and confessed.

In the lead up to Sampson's 2nd sentencing trial, federal prosecutors and 
Sampson's defense team have clashed bitterly.

Prosecutors asked Wolf to sanction Danalynn Recer, a nationally known death 
penalty lawyer, for violating the judge's order against communicating with a 
mental health clinician conducting a competency examination of Sampson. Wolf 
threatened to remove Recer from the case, but ultimately did not.

Sampson's lawyers tried unsuccessfully to remove 2 federal prosecutors because 
they had access to Sampson's mental health records and other information the 
defense says is confidential.

Prosecutors have also asked the judge to withhold legal fees from the defense 
for more than 25,000 pages of memos and motions challenging the 
constitutionality of the death penalty. Prosecutors say those challenges have 
been settled by earlier U.S. Supreme Court rulings and are merely an attempt to 
delay the trial.

Sampson's lawyers have not yet responded to the motion and did not return calls 
and emails seeking comment.

The families of Sampson's victims say they've been frustrated by the long 
process.

"Nobody is hearing about the families' side of this thing; all we're hearing 
about is the process and Sampson and his rights," Rizzo said. "It's important 
that people understand what we have to go through to try to get some semblance 
of justice."

(source: Associated Press)