[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TENN., OKLA., COLO., ARIZ., NEV.

[Rick Halperin]

Oct. 3



TENNESSEE:

Death Penalty Upheld in Grisly Memphis Murders


The Tennessee Supreme Court upheld the death penalty for a man convicted of 6 
counts of 1st-degree murder, including in the brutal deaths of his brother and 
2 nephews.

As recounted in the court's opinion, Jessie Dotson went to his brother Cecil 
Dotson's house in Memphis on Saturday, March 1, 2008, to watch a University of 
Memphis basketball game with his father Jessie Sr., his brother, his 5 nephews, 
Cecil's fiancee Marissa Williams, and his half-brother William Waddell.

Jessie Sr. left because the game was not coming in on Cecil's television, and 
Waddell left later that night, the opinion said.

Dotson was not ready for work Sunday morning when Jessie Sr. came to pick him 
up. He later called his dad, explained he had gotten in a fight with his 
girlfriend, and went out to dinner with Waddell that night.

Erica Smith, the mother of one of Cecil's children, was unable to reach Cecil 
on Sunday and feared something was wrong. When he did not show up for work 
Monday, she decided to call the police.

The officers sent to Cecil Dotson's house discovered a gruesome scene when they 
arrived that evening, the opinion said.

"Officer Randall Davis arrived first. As he walked in the front door, he could 
'smell the dead bodies.' The storm door was closed but the interior door was 
partially open, and he could see a person's foot lying on the floor inside," 
the ruling states. "Entering the front door, Officer Davis discovered four 
adult bodies, later identified as Cecil, Ms. Williams, Hollis Seals, and 
[22-year-old] Shindri Roberson. All appeared to have sustained multiple gunshot 
wounds. Officer Davis did not check for vital signs because it was obvious to 
him that they were deceased."

Davis then discovered 9-year-old C.J. in the bathtub with a knife in his head 
but still alive. Dotson's 4-year-old nephew Cemario was found dead in one 
bedroom, and 2 others appeared to be dead in another room. Cecil II was 
pronounced dead but Cedrick was still alive when paramedics found him.

A 5th nephew of the assailant, 2-month-old Ceniyah, was found alive.

The officers noted that the bodies of Cecil and Roberson were staged with 
marijuana and crack cocaine strewn on or near them.

A firefighter who responded to the scene described the bathroom as a "mess" 
with "blood everywhere," according to the ruling. He described seeing C.J. with 
a knife in his head as the worst thing he has ever seen in his life.

Dotson had killed Cecil and his fiancee, Seals, Roberson, Cemario and Cecil II, 
according to the ruling. He had also attacked C.J., Cedrick and Ceniyah with 
kitchen knives and wooden boards.

A jury convicted Dotson of 6 counts of premeditated 1st-degree murder and 3 
counts of attempted murder. He was sentenced to death for each of the 6 murder 
convictions and also given 3 40-year consecutive sentences for the attempted 
murder charges.

The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed Dotson's convictions and 
sentences, but state law requires that the Tennessee Supreme Court also review 
death sentences.

On Tuesday the justices held that Dotson's death sentences are not excessive 
compared to similar cases in Tennessee.

"This case is not identical to these earlier capital cases primarily because 
the murders and assaults the defendant perpetrated are some of the most 
horrendous ever committed in Tennessee. However, taken as a whole, this case is 
by no means 'plainly lacking in circumstances consistent with those in similar 
cases in which the death penalty has been imposed'," wrote Justice Cornelia 
Clark. "Thus, we conclude that the sentences of death are not excessive or 
disproportion to the penalties imposed in similar cases."

The Tennessee Supreme Court held that Dotson's warrantless arrest was based on 
probable cause, including the testimony of his nephew C.J. - who not only 
witnessed, but was a victim of the crimes. Delaying an arrest to question a 
victim about possible motives was not necessary in this instance, Clark wrote.

"C.J. testified at trial, and the defendant had an opportunity to question him 
on cross-examination about his motivations for identifying the defendant as the 
perpetrator," the judge wrote. "The record contains no evidence that C.J. had 
any ulterior motive for identifying his uncle, the defendant, as the 
perpetrator of these crimes."

Evidence also supports the jury's finding of statutory aggravating 
circumstances in the murders and assaults, the court ruled.

"The proof established that each victim was stabbed repeatedly and severely 
beaten and that the physical abuse was beyond that necessary to cause death," 
Clark wrote. "The proof is more than sufficient to support the jury's finding 
of this aggravating circumstance."

The court has scheduled Dotson's death sentences to be carried out on Nov. 17, 
2015.

(source: Courthouse News Service)






OKLAHOMA:

Oklahoma unveils new execution procedures


5 months after the gruesomely botched execution of Oklahoma convict Clayton 
Lockett, the state has released new procedures following a review. The new 
guidelines will require more training for execution staff and increases the 
dosage of the sedative used in Lockett's execution, but questions remain about 
the execution drugs and the ethics that surround the concept of the death 
penalty.

And in Oklahoma, thanks to changes to its policies on media observers, if 
something goes wrong when at another next execution, the state will have more 
power to keep the public from knowing if anything goes wrong.

The new policy cuts the number of media observers allowed at executions by more 
than half, from 12 to 5, and it allows state officials to remove witnesses from 
the viewing area and to close the curtain on an execution if the inmate is 
still conscious after 5 minutes.

Even before the new protocols were announced, members of the media were 
fighting for the right to see more of the execution process. The American Civil 
Liberties Union filed a lawsuit in August against the state to try and force it 
to allow broader press access to executions, from the insertion of IV lines 
through to the pronouncement of death.

These new policies show that Oklahoma is more concerned with protecting itself 
than in making sure their executions don't violate Eighth Amendment protections 
against cruel and unusual punishment, Lee Rowland, Staff Attorney for the 
ACLU's Speech, Privacy & Technology Project, told msnbc. The suit argues that 
the press has a First Amendment right to observe executions, a right some 
courts have already upheld.

"The state's response to evidence that death penalty is not being administered 
properly is to make it harder to get that evidence," Rowland said. The 
lawsuit's goal is "full access to witness the initial procedures, and to 
witness the entire proceeding warts and all. These are exactly the parts of the 
death penalty it's most important for the press, and by extension the public, 
to have access to."

It was members of the press, Rowland said, that revealed Lockett was conscious 
during his execution, not the official state report on the execution. "The need 
for public oversight is absolutely too important in the death penalty context 
to be outweighed by other concerns," Rowland said.

A representative from the Oklahoma Department of Corrections did not respond to 
requests for comment by press time.

On April 29, Clayton Lockett's execution went horribly wrong, when prison 
officials injected Lockett with an untried 3-drug cocktail. During the nearly 
45 minutes between the start of the lethal injection process and Lockett's 
death from a heart attack, Lockett appeared to groan, convulse, and struggle to 
speak. Officials closed the curtain to the observation room before the end of 
the ordeal.

After April's debacle, Republican Governor Mary Fallon ordered a top to bottom 
review of the state's execution protocols. An autopsy of Lockett found that 
execution staff spent an hour trying to find a suitable vein before settling on 
the groin as an injection site.

States with the death penalty have been scrambling to find drugs to use in 
lethal injections as drug companies have refused to provide drugs for 
executions. States have turned to compounding pharmacies to mix the drugs, 
keeping information about the source and exact makeup of drugs secret. Critics 
say this secrecy increases the likelihood of contamination and error, and many 
inmates have unsuccessfully challenged states in an attempt to learn more.

Oklahoma's next execution is scheduled for November 13, when Charles Warner is 
scheduled to be put to death. Warner's May 8 execution was postponed for 6 
months so the state could review its execution protocols. There are 2 more 
executions scheduled to take place this year.

It is unclear whether the ACLU's lawsuit will have any impact on the procedures 
for Warner's scheduled execution.

(source: MSNBC)






COLORADO:

Udall tiptoes through Dunlap, death penalty minefield


Colorado Republicans Thursday started blasting around a clip of Democratic Sen. 
Mark Udall, telling SMNBC that he "accepts" Gov. John Hickenlooper's decision 
to grant an indefinite reprieve last year to murdered Nathan Dunlap 3 months 
before his scheduled execution.

But Udall didn't quite say that he agrees with the decision itself - and 
wouldn't even after being pressed for more specifics by FOX31 Denver - only 
that he "accepts" the governor's right to make such a decision.

Here's what Udall told MSNBC's Kasie Hunt, who asked if he thought 
"Hickenlooper was enforcing the death penalty appropriately?"

"The constitution here in Colorado gives the governor leeway when it comes to 
the death penalty," Udall said. "I accept the governor's decision. I do think 
it's time to have a broad conversation in Colorado about the death penalty."

"Do you think Nathan Dunlap should be executed?" Hunt asked.

"I think Nathan Dunlap is a monster. The crime Nathan Dunlap committed was 
beyond belief; at a minimum, he should spend the rest of his life in jail."

"But you're okay with him not being executed?" Hunt pressed again.

"Like I said, I accept the governor's decision."

Colorado Republicans were quick to fire off a press release with links to the 
interview, looking to ensnare Udall in the same political trap that 
Hickenlooper has struggled to navigate.

"Sen. Mark Udall and Gov.John Hickenlooper are wrong to deny justice to the 
families who lost their loved ones due to this convicted mass murderer," said 
Owen Loftus, spokesman for the Colorado GOP. "The death penalty is used 
sparingly in Colorado and only for the most heinous crimes.

"It is time we elect a governor and a senator who will stand up for victims and 
families, instead of a heinous mass murderer."

FOX31 Denver asked Udall's campaign if it's correct to infer from Udall's 
statement that he "accepts" Hickenlooper's decision that he agrees with it, as 
Republicans have been quick to extrapolate.

"Mark believes Nathan Dunlap is a monster who brutally killed innocent 
Coloradans," said Udall's campaign spokesman, Chris Harris, sticking to the 
same delicate script as his boss.

"As long as he never sees the light of day again, Mark won't insert himself 
into the legal issues surrounding his case. He respects Colorado's 
constitution, which grants powers to the Governor, and accepts the Governor's 
decision."

Udall, who is narrowly trailing Gardner in the last five public polls of 
Colorado's U.S. Senate race, is clearly trying to avoid letting Colorado's 
death penalty debate become a focal point in his race as it has in the state's 
gubernatorial contest - by refusing to explicitly say whether or not he agrees 
with the reprieve itself.

Republicans have blasted Hickenlooper's reprieve as "cowardly" and cite it 
constantly as evidence of the governor's difficulty making tough, firm 
decisions.

Interestingly, the Denver Post's editorial board praised the decision in its 
endorsement of Hickenlooper that was posted Friday afternoon.

"Hickenlooper's decision to give Nathan Dunlap an open-ended reprieve from the 
death penalty pleased almost no one on either side of that divide - we'd have 
preferred he commute the sentence to life in prison without parole - but he 
knew that would be the case when he announced it,??? the Post editorial board 
writes.

"And yet he went ahead with his unpopular call because he believed it was the 
right one. Sometimes leadership involves ignoring polls."

(source: KDVR news)






ARIZONA:

Jodi Arias Trial: Prospective Jurors Say Arias Should Get the Death Penalty


Some of the prospective jurors in the Jodi Arias trial said after the were 
eliminated from contention that they think Arias deserves the death penalty.

The jury pool started at 400 people but more than 1/2 have been eliminated 
because of reasons including that they said they had already made up their 
minds about the case.

Some of the previously prospective jurors vented their anger as they left on 
Wednesday.

"I watched every second of the trial online, and she's guilty as sin. They're 
wasting our taxpayer dollars, and she needs to get to prison ... death row!" 
Barb Patterson told Arizona Central.

"I already think she deserves the death penalty," Whitney McGinn added.

Arias was convicted last year of murdering her lover Travis Alexander, who was 
found dead in June 2008, but the jury deadlocked when it came to the sentencing 
phase.

Out of the 400 jurors, more than 200 were eliminated.

There are now 176 candidates that advance to the next stage, returning for 
small group questioning. 16-18 will be sworn in to decide whether Arias should 
get the death penalty or just life in prison.

Most of the potential jurors raised their hands when asked "has anyone heard of 
this case?" but not everyone, reported KTAR.

"The next was the million dollar question and it went something like this, 
'could you decide this case based only on the evidence presented in the 
courtroom' and oftentimes the judge followed it up with something akin to 
'could you set aside what you have heard in the media.' Well, you guessed it, 
there were many that could not," the broadcaster reported.

The other potential jurors were eliminated when asked if they could stay away 
from the news and social media, and asked if it would cause hardship. 
"Considering the court has this retrial scheduled out to just before Christmas, 
many had conflicts."

Opening statements in the new sentencing phase are scheduled to start on 
October 20.

(source: The Epoch Times)






NEVADA:

Death penalty stands in '06 killing, dismemberment


The Nevada Supreme Court has upheld the death penalty for a former math teacher 
convicted of killing his wife in a Las Vegas hotel room, then dismembering and 
cooking parts of her body.

Justices issued a 5-2 decision Thursday saying there were no errors that 
merited a new trial for 74-year-old John Matthias Watson III.

Prosecutors say Watson lured his wife to Las Vegas from their Ontario, 
California home in 2006 on the pretense of celebrating her 50th birthday. But 
prosecutors say he planned the murder of Everilda "Evie" Watson for more than a 
month out of fear she'd take his money in a divorce.

Prosecutors say Watson shot her, then cut her up with a band saw and wrote 
letters from jail admitting he cooked part of the body.

(source: Associated Press)