[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----PENN., S.C., FLA., OHIO, COLO., CALIF., USA

[Rick Halperin]

July 21



PENNSYLVANIA:

Wolf asks court to uphold death-penalty ban


Gov. Wolf Tuesday asked the state Supreme Court to ignore Attorney General 
Kathleen Kane's challenge to his death-penalty moratorium, arguing that the 
justices already have decided to consider a similar petition brought by the 
Philadelphia District Attorney.

In a court filing that responds to Kane's petition, Wolf also repeated the 
claim he's made since February: That he has the right under the state 
Constitution to stay executions as he awaits a Senate report on capital 
punishment.

The death-penalty issue has presented yet another challenge to Wolf, this time 
from members of his own party, as he tries to carry out a sweeping agenda that 
sharply contrast with that of his Republican predecessor.

The 1st-year governor is in a protracted fight with Republicans over his 
budget, now 3 weeks overdue. He's also tangling with the GOP in the state's 
courts over the director of Pennsylvania's Office of Open Records, Erik 
Arneson, whom Wolf fired in January.

The state's Commonwealth Court reinstated Arneson last month, saying the 
governor had overstepped his authority. Wolf is appealing the case to the 
Supreme Court.

Kane filed her petition before the state high court on July 6, asking the 
justices to allow the execution of Hubert L. Michael Jr., a York County man who 
confessed to murdering a teenager two decades ago. Kane, a Democrat, said Wolf 
abused his powers, ignoring state law and a jury's verdict when he issued 
temporary reprieve to the killer.

Philadelphia DA Seth Williams, also a Democrat, made an almost identical 
argument in February regarding Terry Williams, who was sentenced to die in 1984 
for the killing of Amos Norwood, a Germantown church volunteer. The state 
Supreme Court decided in March to review the DA's petition, scheduling a Sept. 
10 hearing.

Responding to Kane on Tuesday, Wolf's attorneys argued that "judicial economy 
would be frustrated by requiring the parties to submit redundant briefing each 
time a prosecutor challenges a gubernatorial reprieve."

Currently 186 people are on death row in Pennsylvania. But only 3 have been 
executed since Pennsylvania reinstated capital punishment in 1978 - 2 in 1995, 
the the 3rd in 1999. All 3 had ended their appeals and asked to be executed.

A month after taking office, Wolf issued his moratorium, which he said would 
continue until after he gets the report of a task force studying the future of 
capital punishment.

"This decision is based on a flawed system that has been proven to be an 
endless cycle of court proceedings as well as ineffective, unjust, and 
expensive," Wolf said in February.

(source: philly.com)






SOUTH CAROLINA:

South Carolina death row inmates won't be executed anytime soon----SCDOC 
director 'unsuccessful in acquiring lethal injection drugs'


As South Carolina's top prison boss, Bryan Stirling must be able to carry out 
an execution when given the order.

But Stirling told WYFF News 4 Investigates if an order to execute a death row 
inmate came tomorrow, his agency would not be able to comply.

"The anti-death penalty people have been very effective in stopping drug 
companies from selling lethal injection drugs to states," Stirling said. "Once 
we tell these companies who we're with, the conversation stops."

South Carolina is one of many states whose death penalties are on hold because 
of drug companies' refusal to supply pentobarbital, a sedative used in lethal 
injection cocktails.

Stirling said he is deciding whether another sedative, midazolam, could be a 
suitable substitute for pentobarbital.

Last year, midazolam was blamed for a botched execution in Oklahoma. But this 
summer, the drug was deemed constitutional by U.S. Supreme Court.

Stirling said he wants to make sure midazolam is right for South Carolina.

"The Supreme Court talked about some of the folks in other states suffering for 
almost an hour. We would have to be comfortable that that would not happen," 
Stirling said.

When Dylann Roof, 21, was charged with the shooting deaths of nine people at 
Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston, Gov. Nikki Haley told NBC's "Today Show" 
that Roof should receive the ultimate punishment.

"We absolutely will want him to have the death penalty. This is the worst hate 
that I have seen and that the country has seen in a long time," Haley said.

Stirling said his agency has not been pressured to speed up its search for 
lethal injection drugs in the wake of the Charleston church shootings.

He said until the state creates a shield law to protect the names of companies 
that supply these cocktails, manufacturers will be reluctant to sell them.

(source: WYFF news)






FLORIDA:

Judge rules James Rhodes not disabled, could face death penalty


A Duval County judge ruled James Rhodes is intellectually sufficient to face 
the death penalty if convicted. He's accused of killing 20-year-old Shelby 
Farah 2-years ago during a robbery at the MetroPCS store she was working at.

(source: news4jax.com)






OHIO:

Ohio AG appeals new trial order for death row inmate


The Ohio attorney general has told the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that 
his office will appeal a judge's order granting a new trial to a man on death 
row for the slaying of a Cleveland police officer in 2000.

Attorney General Mike DeWine said in a statement Monday that he strongly 
disagrees with last week's ruling. A federal judge in Toledo said 44-year-old 
Quisi Bryan should get a new aggravated murder trial in the killing of Wayne 
Leon at a Cleveland gas station because a prosecutor improperly excluded a 
black woman from the jury because of her race.

Bryan didn't dispute killing Leon during his trial and the jury recommended the 
death penalty. He's also serving lengthy prison sentences for multiple rape 
convictions.

(source: Associated Press)






COLORADO:

A Look at Colorado's Record on the Death Penalty


Colorado theater shooter James Holmes will be sentenced to either death or life 
in prison without parole after the penalty phase of his trial, which starts 
Wednesday. Either way, Holmes can expect to spend decades in prison. Here's a 
look at Colorado's record on the death penalty:

LAST EXECUTION

Colorado has executed only one person since 1967, Gary Lee Davis, who was put 
to death in 1997 for kidnapping and raping Virginia May, 33, near her Byers 
home, then shooting her 14 times with a .22-caliber rifle.

****

EXECUTION METHOD

Colorado law calls for lethal injections to be applied at the Colorado State 
Penitentiary in Canon City.

****

DEATH ROW

Colorado has no physical "death row." Inmates awaiting execution are held with 
others serving lesser sentences in "management control units" at the Sterling 
Correctional Facility in southern Colorado. These units are more closely 
monitored than other parts of the maximum security prison, but inmates awaiting 
capital punishment live in similar conditions.

****

WHO'S ON IT

NATHAN DUNLAP: Dunlap, now 41, was sentenced to die in 1996 for the shooting 
deaths of 4 workers - including 3 teens - who were cleaning a Chuck E. Cheese 
restaurant in Aurora. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected his last guaranteed 
appeal in February 2013, but Gov. John Hickenlooper granted him an indefinite 
reprieve in May 2013, nearly 20 years after his conviction and just three 
months before he was set to die. A future governor could lift the reprieve.

SIR MARIO OWENS: Owens, now 30, was sentenced to die 2008 for the shooting 
deaths of Javad Marshall-Fields and his fiancee, Vivian Wolfe. Marshall-Fields, 
21, was scheduled to testify against Owens and another man in a separate 
slaying. He and Wolfe, 22, were killed in 2005 while sitting in a car in 
Aurora. Appeals are pending.

ROBERT RAY: Ray, now 29, also was sentenced to die in 2009 for the shooting 
deaths of Javad Marshall-Fields and Vivian Wolfe. Marshall-Fields was set to 
testify against Ray and Sir Mario Owens in a separate slaying. Appeals are 
pending.

(source: Associated Press)






CALIFORNIA:

Hongli Sun Could Face Death Penalty in Fatal Stabbing of Wife's Former Boss and 
Lover


An Irvine engineer faces, at best, life in prison without the possibility of 
parole and, at worst, the death penalty if he is convicted of murdering an 
Irvine dentist who'd had an affair with the defendant's wife, who'd worked at 
the same dental office.

In charging 38-year-old Hongli Sun with felony assault with a deadly weapon and 
sentencing enhancements for great bodily injury and the personal use of a 
deadly weapon, the Orange County District Attorney's office (OCDA) added a 
felony count of special circumstances murder by lying in wait. That means the 
district attorney or a special panel of prosecutors could decide at a later 
date to pursue the death penalty.

Sun, who was being held without bail, was expected to be arraigned some time 
today at the Central Jail in Santa Ana.

The allegation of lying in wait with the intent to murder stems from Sun being 
accused of sitting in his Mercedes SUV Saturday afternoon, seeing 54-year-old 
Xuan Liu walking in the parking lot and intentionally driving toward the older 
man, who was hit by the vehicle.

"As Liu attempted to stand up, Sun is accused of getting out of his SUV and 
approaching the victim with a knife. Sun is accused of stabbing Liu," reads an 
OCDA arraignment statement that notes Liu was pronounced dead at the scene as a 
result of his injuries.

Liu had a dental practice in Irvine, where Sun's wife, Huaying Chen, worked 
last summer. Sun and Chen married in Singapore in 2003 and separated in Orange 
County on Sept. 16.

In divorce papers reviewed by City News Service, Chen listed Liu as her 
"boyfriend." But she and Sun, who have an 8-year-old son together, later 
reconciled and stopped divorce proceedings in November.

"At the time our Judgment of Dissolution was entered, we each believed 
irreconcilable differences caused the irremediable breakdown of our marriage, 
However, we were both mistaken ...," reads a court filing. "For a host of 
personal, cultural, and religious reasons, we do not want any public record to 
reflect that we are divorced. Even if such record is later changed, a harmful 
stigma could result. Therefore, it is imperative to us that this stipulation 
and order by entered today."

The divorce was vacated by the court on April 24.

(source: Orange County Weekly)






USA:

'We must recommit ourselves to end' death penalty, USCCB chairmen say


The Catholic faith tradition "offers a unique perspective on crime and 
punishment, one grounded in mercy and healing, not punishment for its own 
sake," two bishops said in a statement renewing the U.S. Catholic church's push 
to end the death penalty.

"No matter how heinous the crime, if society can protect itself without ending 
a human life, it should do so. Today, we have this capability," wrote Cardinal 
Sean O'Malley of Boston and Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami.

The 2 prelates are the chairmen of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' 
Committee on Pro-Life Activities and the Committee on Domestic Justice and 
Human Development, respectively.

The message, dated July 16, commemorated the 10th anniversary of the bishops' 
Catholic Campaign to End the Use of the Death Penalty and their message "A 
Culture of Life and the Penalty of Death," which accompanied the campaign.

The U.S. bishops, who have long advocated against capital punishment, began the 
ongoing campaign in 2005.

It asks people to pray for victims of crime and their families and to reach out 
to support them. It also calls for educating people about church teaching on 
the death penalty and criminal justice; working for legislation to end capital 
punishment; and changing the debate in favor of defending life.

In November 2005, the bishops approved the statement on the death penalty 
calling on society to "reject the tragic illusion that we can demonstrate 
respect for life by taking life." It built on the 1980 statement by the bishops 
that called for the abolition of capital punishment.

"We urged a prudential examination of the use of the death penalty, with the 
aim of helping to build 'a culture of life in which our nation will no longer 
try to teach that killing is wrong by killing those who kill. This cycle of 
violence diminishes all of us,'" O'Malley and Wenski said in their joint 
statement.

The 2 prelates cited "significant gains" made on the issue over the past 
decade.

Several states, including New York, New Jersey, New Mexico, Illinois, 
Connecticut, Maryland and most recently Nebraska, have ended the use of the 
death penalty, and other states have enacted a moratorium. Death sentences are 
at their lowest level since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976.

In Kansas in February, a measure to abolish the death penalty there ultimately 
failed, but the state Catholic conference praised senators for their 
"impassioned and thoughtful" debate on the issue.

Even with such progress, "there is still a great deal of work to be done, and 
we must recommit ourselves to end this practice in our country," O'Malley and 
Wenski said.

They also noted Pope Francis' call to end use of the death penalty and said 
that in light of the upcoming Year of Mercy that he declared, which is to begin 
Dec. 8, "[we] renew our efforts in calling for the end of the use of the death 
penalty."

"Pope Francis, like his predecessors, provides a clear and prophetic voice for 
life and mercy in calling for all people of good will to work to end the use of 
the death penalty," Wenski added.

"In anticipation of Pope Francis' visit to the United States in September, we 
join our voices with his and continue our call for a culture of life," he said. 
"As a people of life, we say it is time for the U.S. to abandon use of the 
death penalty."

(source: National Catholic Reporter)

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

Death penalty debate rekindled by SCOTUS ruling


A Supreme Court ruling that Oklahoma's method of lethal injection does not 
constitute "cruel and unusual punishment" has rekindled discussion of capital 
punishment among evangelicals and the high court's 9 justices.

"I do not believe that the death penalty is inherently cruel or unusual 
punishment if the governing authorities hand it down as the most extreme form 
of dispensing justice and every effort has been made to ensure the guilt of the 
individual," said Shane Hall, pastor of First Southern Baptist Church in 
Oklahoma City. "The key for the Christian in the midst of this discussion 
centers upon the power of the Gospel.

"Our desire should not be to see a continual expansion of the use of the death 
penalty," Hall told Baptist Press in written comments. "Instead, we should 
desire that the transformative power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ would take 
such a hold upon this nation that the necessary use of the death penalty would 
become less and less. We can support our governing authorities meting out 
justice for the good of society, while loving our neighbors by proclaiming the 
Gospel of Jesus Christ, which will transform not only the individual but also 
society as a whole."

In a 5-4 decision, the court ruled June 29 that Oklahoma may use the sedative 
midazolam to render inmates unconscious during the lethal injection process. 
Oklahoma was unable to obtain barbiturates traditionally employed during 
executions because pharmaceutical companies have become unwilling to sell them 
for use in capital punishment, the New York Times reported.

Writing for the majority, Justice Samuel Alito said 3 death row inmates failed 
to demonstrate that using midazolam results in a substantial risk of severe 
pain. Alito also said the inmates, all of whom have been convicted of murder, 
failed to identify an alternate method of execution that would be preferable.

Yet overshadowing the actual ruling, according to some media accounts, was a 
debate between the court's conservative and liberal justices over whether the 
death penalty is constitutional. In a 46-page dissent, Justice Stephen Breyer 
said he believes capital punishment likely violates the Eighth Amendment's ban 
of "cruel and unusual punishments." Justice Antonin Scalia responded that the 
death penalty cannot be unconstitutional because the Constitution mentions it 
explicitly.

In an opinion joined by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Breyer wrote, "Today's 
administration of the death penalty involves three fundamental constitutional 
defects: (1) serious unreliability, (2) arbitrariness in application, and (3) 
unconscionably long delays that undermine the death penalty's penological 
purpose. Perhaps as a result, (4) most places within the United States have 
abandoned its use."

Changes in capital punishment over the past 40 years, Breyer wrote, "taken 
together with my own 20 years of experience on this Court ... lead me to 
believe that the death penalty, in and of itself, now likely constitutes a 
legally prohibited 'cruel and unusual punishmen[t].'"

Scalia, joined in a concurring opinion by Justice Clarence Thomas, responded, 
"Not once in the history of the American Republic has this Court ever suggested 
the death penalty is categorically impermissible. The reason is obvious: It is 
impossible to hold unconstitutional that which the Constitution explicitly 
contemplates. The Fifth Amendment provides that '[n]o person shall be held to 
answer for a capital ... crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a 
Grand Jury,' and that no person shall be 'deprived of life ... without due 
process of law.' Nevertheless, today Justice Breyer takes on the role of the 
abolitionists in this long-running drama, arguing that the text of the 
Constitution and two centuries of history must yield to his '20 years of 
experience on this Court.'"

Scalia also argued it is "very likely" that the death penalty deters crime and 
appealed to philosophers who believed "that death is the only just punishment 
for taking a life."

R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, noted 
the debate among the justices and said the death penalty's background is 
"deeply rooted in a biblical worldview," citing Genesis 9.

"Once again, as so many times this term and in recent years, you have on the 
court two different ways of reading the Constitution," Mohler said June 30 on 
his podcast "The Briefing," "one reading it as a text and one instead reading 
[it] as a so-called living document that evolves along with the society. We can 
count on the fact that in fairly short order, it is likely that the Supreme 
Court will deal more comprehensively with the question of the death penalty."

The Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1791 against a 
backdrop of torturous capital punishment inflicted in the western world, as 
when Elizabeth I's physician was convicted of plotting to kill her, then 
hanged, cut down alive, mutilated and chopped into four pieces. That episode 
and other incidents of horrific capital punishment are detailed in Leonard 
Parry's "The History of Torture in England."

While Christians, with some notable exceptions, historically have supported 
capital punishment, Rick Durst, professor of historical theology at Golden Gate 
Baptist Theological Seminary, told BP that believers also have "spoken against 
cruel and unusual incidences" of it "since the publication of the Gospels and 
crucifixion of the Lord on the cross, and the centuries of malevolent 
persecution and execution of Christians of both genders and all ages."

"In the fourth century, Eusebius of Caesarea carefully recorded the infliction 
of cruel and unusual punishment on Christians throughout the Roman empire under 
various emperors," Durst said in written comments. "In 390, the order of the 
Christian emperor Theodosius I to suppress and revenge a rebellion in 
Thessaloniki, Greece, resulted in the deaths of as many as 7,000 persons. The 
Bishop of Milan, Ambrose, refused to serve communion to the emperor because of 
those executions. Ambrose received the emperor back into communion only after 
Theodosius promised to introduce legislation requiring a 30-day lag before 
execution in the case of death sentences."

Englishman John Fox's book of martyrs in the 16th century and Dutch Anabaptist 
Thieleman van Braght's "The Martyrs Mirror" in the 17th century likewise 
protested the unjust use of capital punishment, Durst said.

Among Baptists, Roger Williams, founder of First Baptist Church in Providence, 
R.I., published two works "detailing the cruel punishments of the colonial 
governments, regularly inflicted against non-conforming Baptists and others in 
the new colonies," Durst said.

A 2000 Southern Baptist Convention resolution supported "the fair and equitable 
use of capital punishment by civil magistrates as a legitimate form of 
punishment for those guilty of murder or treasonous acts that result in death."

In Oklahoma, Hall of First Southern Baptist stands in the Christian tradition 
of supporting capital punishment as long as it is applied justly.

Regarding Oklahoma's lethal injection procedure, Hall said, "Assuming the new 
drug now in use is able to bring about the same effect as the drug previously 
used, it is not 'cruel and unusual.'"

(source: Baptist Press)