[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----MO., UTAH

[Rick Halperin]

July 14



MISSOURI----execution

David Zink executed in Missouri for 2001 murder


David Zink has been executed by lethal injection, becoming the 5th convicted 
killer put to death in Missouri this year and the 17th since the state resumed 
lethal injections in November 2013.

His death sentence was carried out at 7:33 p.m. at the Eastern Reception, 
Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre, and he was pronounced dead 
at 7:41 p.m., according to Dept. of Corrections spokesman Mike O'Connell.

Zink also provided a final statement before being put to death:

"I can't imagine the pain and anguish one experiences when they learn that 
someone has killed a loved one, and I offer my sincerest apology to Amanda 
Morton's family and friends for my actions. I hope my execution brings them the 
peace and satisfaction they seek.

"I also have to apologize to the 2nd set of victims, my family and friends, 
that had the unfortunate circumstance of developing emotions which will now 
cause them pain and suffering upon my execution. I kept my promise to fight 
this case for their benefit, and although unsuccessful to prevent the 
execution, we have been successful in exposing some serious flaws that offend 
the basic concept of the American Justice System.

"For those who remain on death row, understand that everyone is going to die. 
Statistically speaking, we have a much easier death than most, so I encourage 
you to embrace it and celebrate our true liberation before society figures it 
out and condemns us to life without parole and we too will die a lingering 
death."

Shortly before the execution, Gov. Jay Nixon denied Zink's clemency request in 
a brief statement:

"After serving a prison sentence for rape and kidnapping committed in Texas, 
David Zink abducted, sexually assaulted and murdered Amanda Morton. These acts 
were brutal and horrifying, and a jury determined that the appropriate 
punishment for her murderer was the death penalty. The guilt of David Zink in 
this crime is unquestioned, and my denial of clemency upholds the jury's 
decision.

"As this matter proceeds to its conclusion, I ask that the people of Missouri 
remember Amanda Morton, and keep her and her family in their thoughts and 
prayers."

Shortly after the execution, Attorney General Chris Koster also released a 
brief statement:

"The horror and fear 19-year-old Amanda Morton must have felt after being 
kidnapped by David Zink that July night is truly unimaginable. David Zink 
callously took a young woman's life, and it is fitting he pay by losing his 
own."

Updated 7:07 p.m. -- The Missouri Dept. of Corrections has been given clearance 
to begin the lethal injection of convicted killer David Zink. The U.S. Supreme 
Court has denied Zink's request for a stay of execution, and Gov. Jay Nixon has 
denied his request for clemency. Both decisions were made public around 6:50 
p.m. tonight. Zink was convicted of 1st-degree murder, kidnapping and rape in 
the 2001 death of Amanda Morton. According to police reports, Zink rear-ended 
Morton's car on Interstate-44 near Strafford on July 12, 2001.

Her car was found abandoned on the side of the highway, with the motor still 
running and the headlights on. Morton's purse, credit cards and medication were 
also found in the car.

A missing person's report that aired on TV that night caught the attention of a 
motel owner in Camdenton, who told police that the missing woman was Morton, 
and that she was with Zink when he checked in. Police used the information 
provided by the motel owner to track Zink down and arrest him.

Zink led police to a cemetery where Morton's body had been buried. He gave 2 
videotaped confessions in which he described how he killed Morton; he said that 
his motive for the killing was to avoid returning to prison. Zink had been 
released by authorities in Texas after serving 20 years of a 33-year sentence 
for kidnapping and raping a woman there.

Zink also described killing Morton in a videotaped interview that aired 
recently on Fox affiliate KTVI in St. Louis.

Zink served as his own lawyer during his trial in 2004 and had sought to have 
the charges against him reduced to involuntary manslaughter. The attorneys who 
now represent him argue that he should not have been allowed to represent 
himself.

They, along with several anti-death penalty activists, also say that Zink 
suffered brain damage when he contracted meningitis-encephalitis as a child.

He was also the lead plaintiff in Zink, et. al. v. Lombardi, which challenged 
the constitutionality of Missouri's lethal injection protocol. However, the 
U.S. Supreme Court has decided not to hear that case after upholding a similar 
challenge to lethal injection in a case from Oklahoma.

Zink becomes the 5th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in Missouri 
and the 85th overall since the state resumed executions in 1989; only Texas 
(527), Oklahoma (112), Virginia (110 and Florida (90) have executed more 
inmates since the re-legalization of the death penalty in the USA on July 2, 
1976.

Zink beomces the 18th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the USA 
and the 1412th overall since the nation resumed executions on January 17, 1977.

(sources: stlpublicradio.com & Rick Halperin)

***********

Missouri executes man for killing 19-year-old


A Missouri inmate who killed a 19-year-old woman after sexually attacking her 
and tying her to a cemetery tree has been executed.

55-year-old David Zink was put to death by injection Tuesday at a state prison 
south of St. Louis after the U.S. Supreme Court and Gov. Jay Nixon declined to 
intervene.

Zink was a paroled sex offender in 2001 when he abducted Amanda Morton after 
hitting her car on an Interstate 44 exit ramp a mile from her home. He told 
investigators he feared his drunken fender-bender could violate his parole and 
send him back to prison.

Jurors convicted Zink in 2004 and recommended a death sentence.

Corrections Department spokesman Mike O???Connell said Zink was pronounced dead 
at 7:41 p.m.

(source: Washington Post)






UTAH:

Utah death row inmate challenges possible use of firing squad if lethal drugs 
unavailable


A Utah death row inmate appealing his sentence of death by firing squad says 
the execution method is cruel and unusual punishment. Utah recently approved 
the use of a firing squad as a backup if lethal injection drugs are not 
available.

Ron Lafferty argued in court documents that the firing squad will cause a 
lingering, unnecessarily painful death.

Lafferty, 74, initially chose to die by firing squad when he was sentenced 30 
years ago and such a choice was available. His lawyers now argue that he wasn't 
legally competent to do so.

The case could test whether the firing squad is constitutional, said Kent Hart 
with the Utah Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

"It's a gruesome death," Hart said Tuesday.

Utah is the only state that allows executions by firing squad if lethal 
injection drugs aren't available. Utah lawmakers said the approval was a 
practical matter of choosing a backup plan to the drugs that have come under 
increasing scrutiny.

Opponents, however, say firing squads are barbaric.

Lafferty is the longest-serving death row inmate in Utah and one of the inmates 
who is closest to a possible execution date. He was convicted in the 1984 
deaths of his sister-in-law, Brenda Lafferty, and her baby daughter. He claimed 
the killings were directed by God because of the woman's resistance to his 
beliefs in polygamy.

His opposition to a firing squad was voiced Friday in a federal court motion 
asking a judge to put his case on hold so he could pursue complaints about 
evidence handling and testimony. His lawyers also argued that lethal injection 
is unconstitutional.

No deadline was set for U.S. District Judge Dee Benson to rule on the motion. 
The state currently has no lethal injection drugs on hand.

The argument that the death penalty is unconstitutional is common in death 
penalty appeals, said Utah lawyer Greg Skordas.

"Those motions are filed in every death penalty case in Utah that I've ever 
seen," he said.

But in the Lafferty case, attorneys could call experts to testify about 
suffering during firing squad executions.

Tom Brunker, the state attorney who oversees capital cases, has said he expects 
the constitutionality of the method to be tested the first time it comes up, 
though that's likely years away.

Under the Utah law signed in March, inmates would be executed by firing squad 
if the state is unable to get lethal injection drugs a month in advance. Utah 
lawmakers had stopped offering inmates the choice of firing squad in 2004, 
saying the method attracted intense media interest and took away attention from 
victims.

Utah is the only state in the past 40 years to carry out such a death sentence, 
with 3 executions by firing squad since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the 
death penalty in 1976.

The last was in 2010, when Ronnie Lee Gardner was put to death by 5 police 
officers with .30-caliber rifles. Gardner killed a bartender and later shot a 
lawyer to death and wounded a bailiff during a 1985 courthouse escape attempt.

(source: Associated Press)