[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, DEL., N.C., FLA., OHIO, TENN., KY.

[Rick Halperin]

Oct. 23



TEXAS:

Death Watch: San Antonio Gun Brother----Appeals denied for Paredes and 2 others


Ultimately, it mattered not whom Miguel Paredes killed but rather if his trial 
jury could determine that he assisted in or enforced the deaths of 2 of 3 
individuals who lost their lives in September 2000. Paredes was only 18 at the 
time and affiliated with San Antonio's Hermanos de Pistoleros Latinos. His 
boss, John Saenz, had gotten mixed up in a bad drug deal with Adrian Torres, 
gang leader of SA's Mexican Mafia. Saenz brought Torres to his house one Sunday 
afternoon while Paredes and an accomplice, Greg Alvarado, were waiting 
respectively in the garage and an adjacent bedroom.

Torres didn't leave alive; neither did Shawn Cain and Nelly Bravo, who rode 
with Torres to Saenz's house. Paredes and Alvarado came out of their respective 
hiding spaces after the Mafia members entered; with Saenz, they shot and killed 
all 3 visitors. Their bodies were found a few days later in Frio County, 
southwest of San Antonio, where they'd been bound and burned and left by 
Paredes and other Pistoleros. All involved parties were arrested 2 days later, 
Sept. 19, 2000, except for Alvarado, who was caught several days later.

Testimonies from Saenz's neighbor as well as his brother Eric, a member of the 
Pistoleros who doubled as an informant for the San Antonio office of the U.S. 
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, linked Paredes to the murders. Eric's 
testimony, which detailed both onsite realizations after the shootings, as well 
as information gleaned from a conversation he had with his brother, revealed 
Paredes to have said that Eric "should have been there, that I would have had 
some fun." He further testified against Paredes by saying the 18-year-old, 
known as "Fat Boy" within HPL circles, "didn't look like [the murders] fazed 
him," while John "looked like he was not in his right mind" during the period 
of time in which gang members rid Saenz's house of the bodies.

Paredes was found guilty of capital murder and, after being painted as a young 
gang member with an already established history of crime violence (including 
murder, kidnapping, and the burning of a woman's body after she'd overdosed on 
drugs), sentenced to death on Nov. 9, 2001. His primary accomplices - Alvarado, 
who pleaded guilty, and Saenz, who claimed self-defense - were both handed life 
sentences.

In November 2003, Paredes began a series of applications for habeas corpus 
relief that largely hung on 5 grounds. Beginning with a state effort and 
concluding with a federal appeal, he argued that he'd been made subject to a 
grand jury that, at 8% Hispanic, wasn't "a fair cross section" of the community 
(at the time, Bexar County was 34% Hispanic); that he received ineffective 
trial counsel; that the trial court erred in allowing the jury to conclude that 
Paredes killed or intended to kill any 2 of the 3 victims (and not specifically 
pin 2 exact murders on him); that the Texas capital sentencing statute is 
"arbitrary and capricious and violates the Eighth Amendment because it contains 
vague and undefined terms for aggravating factors"; and that the trial judge 
"uncritically and unconditionally accepted the prosecutor's findings without 
any judicial guidance."

Each effort for relief was eventually denied. Some - such as Paredes' claims 
against proper representation on the jury and against the effectiveness of his 
trial counsel - were procedurally barred from review. An Aug. 2010 appeal to 
the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was refused on many of the same grounds. 
5 months later, in January 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court refused Paredes' writ 
of certiorari.

Paredes is set to be executed on Tuesday, Oct. 28. He'll be the 11th inmate 
executed this year, and 519th since the reinstatement of Texas' death penalty 
in 1976.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Earlier this month in unrelated cases, the U.S. Supreme Court refused an appeal 
from 32-year-old Derrick Dewayne Charles, a Houston native who'd been sentenced 
to death in 2003 after being found guilty of strangling his 15-year-old 
girlfriend Myiesha Bennett, raping and strangling her 44-year-old mother Brenda 
Bennett, and fatally beating his girlfriend's 77-year-old grandfather Obie Lee 
Bennett. And last Tuesday, the 5th Circuit refused an appeal from Raphael 
Holiday, convicted of killing his 18-month-old daughter and her 2 half-sisters 
when he set their Madison County house on fire in September 2000. Neither of 
the 2 have yet to receive their execution dates.

(source: Austin Chronicle)

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

Let an innocent man spend his last days at home


Max Soffar, an innocent man on death row in Texas, has just a few months to 
live.

He's dying of liver cancer, and his last wish is to hold his wife, Anita, in 
his arms.

His lawyers continue to present evidence of his innocence to the courts. But a 
false confession Soffar signed 34 years ago, as a drug-addled and brain-damaged 
youth, will likely keep him locked away - unless Gov. Rick Perry intervenes.

Soffar is spending his last days locked in a cell the size of a small bathroom 
for 23 hours per day. His only breaks are for brief showers and recreation in a 
cage. Aside from the guards who shackle him and the medical staff who care for 
him, he has no human contact. Soffar sees his wife and others allowed to visit 
him but, separated from them by glass, can't touch them. He sits on a metal 
stool bolted to the floor, peering through the window, straining to position 
his cancer-ravaged body comfortably.

Soffar's case is like others I've seen in my years with the Innocence Project. 
He signed a police statement confessing to involvement in a notorious Houston 
triple murder, but the 3 days of interrogation weren't recorded. No other 
evidence inculpates him - no fingerprints, no witness identification and no 
forensic evidence. And like the recent exoneration of our death row client 
Damon Thibodeaux, Soffar???s confession doesn't match the facts. An appellate 
judge found that Soffar's statement "appears to be a tale told by one who heard 
about the robbery-murders rather than by one who committed them."

Indeed, nearly 30 % of DNA exonerations (including death penalty cases) involve 
false confessions. Again and again, our clients have described an overwhelming 
pressure to confess, even when their statements are false, when police isolate 
them from the world for hours or days, tell them they're lying, cut them off at 
every turn and threaten devastating consequences if they don't concede.

Proving that a confession in a death penalty case was false can be extremely 
difficult. For Soffar, whose case doesn't have DNA evidence to support his 
innocence, this has meant decades of legal work - efforts that still need more 
time. Time that he no longer has. For Soffar and so many others, I wish DNA 
evidence were as easy to come by as TV shows and movies suggest. In truth, 
fewer than 10 percent of crime scenes contain DNA that could identify the true 
perpetrator. The coffee cup, the cigarette butt - these are lucky breaks, not 
the norm.

Take the recent exonerations of Henry McCollum and Leon Brown in North 
Carolina. Like Soffar, they were youths (ages 19 and 15) and intellectually 
disabled when they falsely confessed to murder and rape. Like Soffar, they were 
sent to death row based only on statements the police wrote and asked them to 
sign; no other evidence linked them to the crime. Like Soffar, their 
interrogations weren't recorded. And just like in Soffar's case, the jury never 
heard about a far more plausible suspect in the crime. For McCollum and Brown, 
there was a key difference: The crime's perpetrator left his DNA at the scene 
on a cigarette butt.

The DNA revolution has freed many innocents. But the lesson we should learn is 
that the practices leading to wrongful convictions - including coercive and 
manipulative interrogations - occur throughout the criminal justice system. And 
they occur whether or not DNA evidence exists that proves innocence. One simple 
fix, already required in 24 states, 850 other jurisdictions and recently 
adopted by the FBI, is to videotape interrogations from Miranda warnings 
forward. This reform, recommended years ago by Texas' Timothy Cole Advisory 
Panel on Wrongful Convictions, should be at the top of the Texas Legislature's 
list when it convenes next year.

But Soffar's only hope to die at home lies with the governor. The Texas Board 
of Pardons and Paroles recently denied Soffar's petition for clemency. Citing 
the absence of an execution date for him, the board said, "It has been 
determined that Mr. Soffar's request will not be considered by the Board at 
this time." But nothing in Texas law requires Perry to accept the board's 
absurd refusal to decide this issue now, before Soffar dies. The governor can 
and should order a more comprehensive review.

Governor Perry, this isn't a question of politics, of being for or against 
capital punishment, or even of whether Max Soffar is guilty or innocent. It's a 
humanitarian appeal - an issue of mercy, compassion and human decency.

Please allow Max to die in peace, close to his loved ones who have suffered 
greatly for so long.

(source: Barry Scheck, tribtalk.org)






DELAWARE:

Accused murderer one step closer to Delaware trial----Mathew Burton could face 
death penalty in death of Nicole Bennett----Matthew Burton is 1 step closer to 
being extradited to Delaware to face trial for the 2012 death of Nicole 
Bennett. Burton has been fighting extradition in order to have his trial in 
Maryland, where he would not face the death penalty.


Matthew Burton is 1 step closer to being extradited to Delaware to face 
1st-degree murder charges in the 2012 death of Nicole Bennett.

The Maryland Court of Special Appeals upheld a decision by the Circuit Court of 
Worcester County Sept. 30 to deny a writ of habeas corpus, filed by Burton to 
block his extradition to Delaware. While the writ was denied, Burton's 
extradition was stayed until the end of his Maryland appeals.

David Paulson, spokesman for the Maryland Attorney General's Office, said 
Burton's appeals window is still open until the Court of Special Appeals issues 
a mandate on the case, expected within the next 30 days.

Meanwhile, Delaware prosecutors await the end of Burton's appeals in Maryland, 
so he can be returned to Sussex County for trial.

"Mr. Burton is 1 step closer to facing justice in Delaware," Delaware 
Department of Justice spokesman Jason Miller said.

Maryland Gov. Martin O???Malley had signed Burton's extradition back to 
Delaware in Oct. 2013, according to court documents, but under Maryland law, 
Burton had the right of appeal to the Maryland Court of Special Appeals.

Burton wants to keep the case in Maryland, according to the Court of Special 
Appeals opinion, because in Maryland, Burton would not face the death penalty; 
O'Malley signed a repeal of the state's death penalty in May 2013. In Delaware, 
Burton could receive the death penalty if convicted of 1st-degree murder.

Maryland has withdrawn charges against Burton, who will be charged in Delaware 
with 1st-degree murder, 1st-degree murder during the commission of a felony and 
1st-degree rape.

Jurisdiction in the case became an issue because Bennett's body was found off a 
rural road in Worcester County, Md., but Delaware and Maryland State Police say 
the crime took place in Sussex County.

A passer-by found Bennett's body on an embankment off of Swamp Road, Worcester 
County, on June 15, 2012. An autopsy by the Office of the Chief Medical 
Examiner in Baltimore determined she had been asphyxiated. Her husband, Kevin, 
reported her missing when she did not come home from Bay Shore Community Church 
in Gumboro, where she had worked late the evening of June 14, 2012. Burton 
worked as custodian at the church. The Bennett family has filed a wrongful 
death suit against the church for employing Burton, who had a history as a sex 
offender.

Police found Bennett's car parked at the church, locked with her personal 
belongings inside; police later learned Burton, the church custodian, was also 
at the church while she was there. Bennett's body was found 6 miles from the 
church. DNA evidence gathered by Maryland State forensic technicians connected 
Burton to the crime. A U.S. Marshal's Task Force arrested Burton July 6, 2012, 
following a traffic stop on Route 1 near Rehoboth Beach.

(source: CapeGazette.com)

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

Delaware board nixes commutation for killer


Delaware's Board of Pardons has refused to hear a commutation request from a 
killer whose sentencing led to changes in Delaware's death penalty law.

James Llewellyn Jr. is 1 of 4 men convicted of robbing and murdering 2 armored 
car guards in December 1990. The defendants all received life sentences after 
jurors could not unanimously agree on the death penalty.

The killings so outraged the public that legislators held a special session in 
1991 to change the law, giving judges the final say on whether to impose the 
death penalty after considering a jury's recommendation.

After reviewing a recent petition by Llewellyn, pardons board members agreed 
that they would not recommend commutation of Llewellyn's sentence, and that 
there was no reason to hear from him when they meet Thursday.

(source: Associated Press)






NORTH CAROLINA:

NCCU program focuses on exoneration of brothers


The exoneration of two half-brothers who falsely admitted to murdering an 
11-year-old girl shows that confessions aren't always true, according to an 
attorney for one of the men.

"The only evidence that linked these two young boys to the crime was their 
confessions, which later turned out to be false," attorney W. James Payne said 
Tuesday. "A key learning point is that just because individuals may confess to 
crimes doesn't mean that they actually did them."

Payne spoke Tuesday at the N.C. Central University School of Law about the 
September exonerations of Henry McCollum and Leon Brown after they served 30 
years in prison. Payne was Brown's lawyer.

The men were freed after a presentation in Robeson County Superior Court by the 
North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission showed that DNA evidence linked 
another man to the 1983 crime.

Payne said police got confessions from the men, who were mentally handicapped. 
At the time they were arrested, McCollum was 19 and Brown was 15.

They were accused of a grisly slaying. An autopsy showed that the girl, Sabrina 
Buie, died from suffocation after a stick was used to push panties down her 
throat. She was raped and her nude body found in a field in the small Robeson 
County town of Red Springs.

A story told by a high school student led police to McCollum and Brown, who 
were interrogated for more than four hours by three officers.

Payne said there were "huge" inconsistencies in the stories they told police - 
"big, fat inconsistencies." But they signed confessions and were charged with 
murder and convicted. McCollum, now 50, ended up on death row before he walked 
out of Central Prison in Raleigh last month.

Brown walked out of Maury Correctional Institution in Greene County the same 
day.

Both men initially got death sentences, which were overturned. At a second 
trial, McCollum was sent to death row again, and Brown was convicted of rape 
and sentenced to life in prison.

Superior Court Judge Douglas Sasser last month overturned the convictions, 
saying the fact that another man's DNA was found on a cigarette butt near the 
girl's body contradicted the case presented by prosecutors.

A man who is in prison for committing a similar murder in Red Springs less than 
month after Sabrina was killed is being investigated for possible connection to 
the girl's death. But so far, he has not been charged.

Also speaking at the program was Sharon Stellato, associate director of the 
North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission, a state agency that looks into 
claims of false convictions. The commission's work helped bring about the men's 
exoneration.

Stellato said no DNA was ever found that linked McCollum or Brown to the crime.

Since the commission began its work in 2007, it has helped exonerate seven 
people in North Carolina.

"What many people don't know about the commission is that we often confirm 
guilt," she said. "We're a neutral fact-finding agency, out there seeking the 
truth."

Tuesday's event was sponsored by the NCCU Law Innocence Project and the Death 
Penalty Project.

(source: The Herald-Sun)






FLORIDA----impending execution

Gadsden County murderer files appeal weeks before execution


Gadsden County man Chadwick Banks, who was convicted of the double murder in 
the 1992 slaying of his wife and stepchild, filed an appeal with the Florida 
Supreme Court Tuesday.

Banks was scheduled to be executed by lethal injection Nov. 13.

A letter submitted to the court by Banks' attorney Terri L. Backhus of Tampa 
appeals the denial of a Oct. 15 motion to vacate judgement.

Banks, now 43, was on probation for 2 aggravated assault charges when he 
entered the Gadsden County home of his wife Cassandra Banks around 2:30 a.m. 
and shot her in the head while she slept.

He then went into the bedroom of his 10-year-old stepdaughter Melody Cooper and 
raped her before also shooting her in the head.

After pleading no contest to the crimes, Banks was found guilty of 2 counts of 
1st-degree murder and one count of sexual assault on a victim under 12 years 
old by a Gadsden County jury in 1994. The jurors voted 9-3 to recommend the 
death penalty.

His direct appeals have been denied by the Florida Supreme Court. Following the 
denial of his 1st appeal, the court called the double murders "heinous, 
atrocious and cruel" enough to warrant death.

"In the early morning hours, Banks sat outside the trailer for several minutes 
before entering. He then shot his wife as she lay sleeping," said the court in 
1997.

He appealed again in 2001, but the high court again denied his request.

If he is executed, Banks would be the 19th Florida death row inmate killed 
during Scott's 1st term in office, the most of any Florida governor. Banks 
would be the 89th prisoner executed since 1979 following reinstatement of the 
death penalty in Florida.

(source: Tallahassee Democrat)

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

Florida debate turns bitter over executions


The 3rd and final debate between Florida Republican Gov. Rick Scott and 
Democratic challenger Charlie Crist was dominated by personal attacks in one of 
the closest governors races in the country.

In the debate, hosted by CNN and affiliate WJXT in Jacksonville, the two 
candidates took aim at each other in a showdown that covered a wide range of 
topics, including economic policies, the death penalty, and voting rights for 
felons.

Death penalty

A heated moment came when Crist accused Scott of delaying an execution so that 
his attorney general could attend a political fundraiser.

"She asked me to delay it because it didn't work on the dates that she thought 
it was going to be on," Scott said in response. "She apologized."

In September 2013, Pam Bondi apologized for delaying the planned execution of 
Marshall Lee Gore, a notorious rapist and murderer, because it conflicted with 
a fundraiser.

Scott denied at the time that he knew the reason for the delay.

"Did you know it was for a political fundraiser?" Crist pressed.

"What would you like her to do?" Scott asked.

Crist went on to blast Scott for not answering questions.

The night got off to a breezy start, this time with no fan on stage for Crist 
and no protest from Scott.

"Everybody's comfortable here?" asked CNN's Jake Tapper, who co-moderated the 
debate with WJXT's Kent Justice. His question was a subtle reference to last 
week's seven minute standoff.

The debate quickly transitioned into a testy exchange with personal attacks 
over wealth.

Scott blamed Crist for the loss of more than 800,000 jobs while he was governor 
from 2007-2011, saying Crist is out of touch with average Florida voters 
because he grew up with wealth.

"I grew up with families that struggled. I don't know my natural father. I 
lived in public housing. I have an adopted dad," Scott said. "I didn't grow up 
with money. You did. You grew up with plenty of money. Charlie, you lost more 
jobs than any state but one."

Hammering back, Crist argued he was not responsible for the "economic meltdown" 
that occurred nationally during his tenure. He returned the attack against 
wealth, blasting Scott for being the one who's out of touch.

"You don't know me and you can't tell my story," Crist said. "But I know you 
are worth about $100 million or $200 million today and God bless you for that 
wealth, but the way you got it was pretty unsavory."

Scott, a former health care CEO, ran into controversy when his company, 
Columbia/HCA, was fined $1.7 billion for alleged Medicare fraud last decade.

Restoring rights for felons

Scott took a jab at Crist for bringing voting rights back to felons who had 
completed their sentences for nonviolent convictions.

"Here is Charlie's plan: You commit a heinous crime, as soon as you get out of 
jail, you get to vote. Stalk, you get to vote. You have intentional permanent 
disfigurement of a child and you walk out of jail and you get to vote," Scott 
said. Crist fired back, accusing Scott of "lying" and saying the restoration 
law only applied to nonviolent criminals.

(source: CNN)

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

Rick Scott Refuses To Say If He Knowingly Delayed An Execution For A Political 
Fundraiser


Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL) refused to say if he had knowingly granted a request to 
delay an execution so that Attorney General Pam Bondi (R) could hold a 
political fundraiser, repeatedly saying "she apologized" instead.

During a debate Tuesday night, the moderator asked Democratic nominee Charlie 
Crist if he believed that Scott did not take executions seriously. Crist hit 
Scott on the delay, saying, "Just this past year, an execution here in Florida 
was delayed by the governor so the attorney general could go forward and have a 
political fundraiser...to me and my way of thinking, that doesn't sound like 
someone is taking that solemn duty as seriously as they should."

Scott shot back, arguing that Crist "doesn't know all the facts." Crist, 
however, did not let it go, asking Scott repeatedly to explain what happened. 
"I asked him a simple question. Did the Attorney General ask you to delay the 
execution so she could go forward with her political fundraiser?" he asked.

"She asked me to delay it because it didn't work on the dates that she thought 
it was going to be on," Scott said. When Crist continued to push, Scott 
repeated "she apologized" 4 times, asking Crist "What would you like her to 
do?"

The execution in question was that of Marshall Lee Gore, who was sentenced for 
the murder of 2 women in the 1980s. Gore's execution, which was delayed several 
times due to questions about his sanity, was scheduled for September 10, the 
same day as Bondi's "hometown campaign kickoff." According to The Tampa Bay 
Times, Bondi's office asked for a delay, which Scott granted. Gore was executed 
on October 1st.

The sheriff who investigated one of the killings called the decision to delay 
the execution "a slap in the face, not only for the law enforcement officers 
involved but for the families who have waited 25 long years." Gore's lawyer 
said that when he asked for why the execution was delayed, the governor's 
office would only say that it was a request by the attorney general. Bondi 
later apologized, saying, "We absolutely should not have requested that the 
date of the execution be moved."

Since coming to office in 2011, Scott and Bondi have overseen over 18 
executions; Crist oversaw 5 during his term as governor. Scott has been 
criticized of his support for the 2013 Timely Justice Act, which reduced delays 
in the death penalty by reducing the amount of time between when the clemency 
process was exhausted and when the execution was carried out.

(source: thinkprogress.com)


OHIO:

Attorneys for accused serial killer Michael Madison seek special prosecutor for 
death-penalty case


Defense attorneys for accused serial killer Michael Madison want a judge to 
throw Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty's office off the case and 
appoint a special prosecutor.

McGinty on Wednesday blasted the move, calling it a delay tactic.

"This is why death-penalty cases take 15 to 20 years and cost millions of 
dollars: The defense will do anything to avoid trial, truth and 
accountability," McGinty said. "They believe they alone are doing God's work as 
they attempt to frustrate justice in these mass-murder cases."

Madison's attorneys John Greene, Christine Julian and David Grant filed a 
document in Common Pleas Court this week that indicates the request to remove 
McGinty stems from a controversial psychiatric examination of Madison, who is 
charged in the slayings of three women in 2013.

His trial is slated to begin Nov. 3 before Judge Nancy McDonnell, but that date 
is highly unlikely. If he is convicted, he could face the death penalty.

The case has stalled because of the evaluation, as the Ohio 8th District Court 
of Appeals and the Ohio Supreme Court are examining whether it was appropriate. 
On June 2, McDonnell ruled that prosecutors could have an expert interview 
Madison.

McGinty argued that Madison's attorneys had retained psychological experts, and 
prosecutors should be allowed to have their own expert.

Defense attorneys, however, said they will not make an issue of Madison's 
mental health at the trial, and they said the examination could violate 
Madison's right against self-incrimination, as he would be forced to answer 
questions.

Just days after McDonnell's decision, Madison's attorneys appealed to the Ohio 
8th District Court of Appeals. But the expert, Dr. Steven Pitt, already had 
begun examining Madison, and he was forced to stop after 3 hours.

In a hearing with attorneys in McDonnell's chambers, prosecutors said the notes 
and recordings of Pitt's evaluation had been placed "in a secure location where 
no one - including them or their staff - had access," according to the filing 
by Madison's lawyers.

But defense attorneys said that they have since learned "that some members of 
the prosecution team, including Prosecutor McGinty, have communicated with Dr. 
Pitt concerning what he learned during the Madison evaluation," the defense 
filing said. "Accordingly, the information provided about the accessibility of 
Mr. Madison's evaluation at that in-chambers conference was not accurate.

"In light of this development, Mr. Madison's defense team has serious concerns 
about the whereabouts and security of the data Dr. Pitt did obtain and his 
conclusions based thereon," the filing said.

The document said that if an appellate ruling indicates McDonnell was incorrect 
in ordering the examination, "the harm stemming from that decision is 
incurable, unless this prosecutor's office is removed from Mr. Madison's case 
and replaced by a special prosecutor."

Defense attorneys said McGinty has the "duty to prosecute crimes zealously. The 
public expects no less. What the public neither needs nor wants nor should 
expect is a prosecutor's office that oversteps its role and violates its 
obligation to do justice rather than seek victory - all at the expense of a 
defendant's right to a fair and reliable trial and sentencing."

A spokesman for McGinty's office, Joe Frolik, said the office will respond to 
the motion with its own filing. McDonnell will have a hearing on the issue Oct. 
27. Frolik said the office "refutes any idea that we have had access to the 
walled off information from Dr. Pitt."

McGinty, in his statement, ripped the request.

"Defense stalling tactics already have dragged this case out for 15 months," 
McGinty said. "Now they are shooting for nothing short of endless delay with 
yet another frivolous motion. They aren't even waiting for decisions on their 
previous motions, which they know will be dismissed soon. Instead they file 
this, using a false premise to ask for our office's removal from the case.

"They purposefully avoided proper procedure that required them to have the 
court psychiatric clinic examine the defendant first. They don't want a neutral 
professional examination. Instead they want a hired-gun shrink who is biased by 
his or her own moral opposition to the death penalty and who will find mental 
illness where a neutral professional would not. Then they refuse to cooperate 
with the court or any other psychiatrist so the jury hears only their tainted 
report."

Madison, 37, is charged with aggravated murder, kidnapping and rape. He is 
accused of killing Angela H. Deskins, 38; Shirellda Terry, 18; and Shetisha 
Sheeley, 28. Their bodies were found last July near his apartment off Hayden 
Avenue in East Cleveland.

In an interview with police, Madison admitted that he killed Sheeley, who had 
been missing since September 2012, according to court documents.

He told police that he did not remember killing Terry or Deskins, blaming his 
lack of memory on drinking and drugs.

(source: Cleveland.com)






TENNESSEE:

Inmates in Tennessee sue state to uncover execution methods


The 1st of 11 death-row inmates with scheduled execution dates in Tennessee did 
not meet the executioner as planned on Oct. 7. The Tennessee Supreme Court 
ruled

Sept. 25 to postpone Billy Ray Irick's execution, as he and the other 10 
death-row inmates with scheduled execution dates are in the middle of a complex 
lawsuit against the state.

In granting Irick's motion to postpone his execution, the Tennessee Supreme 
Court laid out strict rules concerning time limits for appeals and motions 
going forward to expedite court proceedings in Davidson County Chancery Court. 
Irick had his execution postponed once in light of the pending lawsuit.

He was convicted of raping and murdering a 7-year-old Knoxville girl he was 
babysitting in 1985. As of press time, the court had not yet set another date 
for Irick.

The inmates scheduled for execution through 2016 are suing the state of 
Tennessee over a few fundamental questions: What are the identities of the 
execution team? What method will the state use to execute them? What drugs will 
be used? Who manufactures them? And have they been adequately tested?

Attorneys for the inmates also challenge the state's alternative form of 
execution: the electric chair. The inmates and their lawyers are calling both 
methods "cruel and unusual."

On Aug. 22, attorneys for the inmates changed the scope of the lawsuit because 
of the new Tennessee law signed by Gov. Bill Haslam that allows the state to 
use the electric chair as a backup if the necessary drugs for lethal injection 
are unavailable. On Sept. 17, Davidson County Chancellor Claudia Bonnyman 
accepted an amendment to the lawsuit including objections to the 
constitutionality of using the electric chair.

Several pharmaceutical companies recently refused to sell their products, 
proven successful for use in executions in the past, if they were to be used in 
future executions.

Because of those refusals, Tennessee switched from using sodium thiopental - a 
deadly combo of 3 drugs - to just using pentobarbital. Before the court 
postponed Irick???s execution, the Tennessee Department of Corrections (TDOC) 
said it had enough pentobarbital on hand to carry out the execution via lethal 
injection.

"We are confident that we will have the necessary chemicals when needed," said 
Neysa Taylor, a spokesperson for TDOC.

By ushering in the return of the electric chair, Haslam made Tennessee 1 of 
only 8 states that remain in favor of using the device.

"Prior to the new law, an inmate was only subject to the electric chair in 
Tennessee if they chose to be," said Kelley Henry, federal public defender in 
Nashville.

Lethal injection is the primary method of execution in the 32 states that still 
have capital punishment, but some states allow inmates the option of 
electrocution, hanging, firing squad or the gas chamber.

Henry said that with the change Tennessee now "stands alone as the only 
jurisdiction in the world to involuntarily impose the electric chair on its 
condemned citizens."

The lawsuit also comes as botched lethal injections across the country have at 
times left inmates conscious, even sometimes gasping for air for several 
minutes after the procedure has been performed.

Daryl Holton, who was electrocuted in Tennessee in 2007 for murdering his 3 
sons and a stepdaughter in 1997, showed signs of being conscious after the 1st 
surge of electricity went through his body.

When Tennessee passed the law earlier this year to bring back the chair, 
Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, 
said courts should anticipate some challenges as inmates got closer to their 
execution dates.

"There certainly have been some gruesome electrocutions in the past, and that 
would weigh on courts' minds," Dieter said.

The next hearing in the Davidson County Chancery Court remains to be decided, 
but officials said it would likely be mid-October before the next round of 
motions are heard.

(source: realchangenews.org)






KENTUCKY:

Man accused of kidnapping, killing man could face death 
penalty----Elizabethtown murder suspect faces death penalty


A man accused of kidnapping and killing a man in Munfordville could face the 
death penalty if convicted.

Hardin County prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty for Octavio Correa.

Correa is now charged with capital murder.

Police said Correa and Tiffany Hodges kidnapped Saul Flores in July.

Hodges is charged with complicity to murder.

Investigators say Hodges told them she saw Correa shoot Flores in the head.

Correa and Hodges are being held at the Hardin County Detention Center in lieu 
of a $1 million cash bond.

Prosecutors did not say whether they would seek the death penalty against 
Hodges.

(source: WHAS news)