[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----PENN., N.C., S.C., GA., FLA., LA., CALIF., WAsh., USA

[Rick Halperin]

July 23



PENNSYLVANIA:

Poll: Should mom charged with throwing baby off bridge face death penalty?


Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin announced this week he would seek 
the death penalty in a case that shocked the public - a young Allentown mother 
accused of throwing her 1-year-old son off a city bridge before jumping off 
herself.

Prosecutors have discretion in making this call, which would allow the 
prosecution to seek the death penalty if the defendant, 20-year-old Johnesha 
Perry, were convicted of 1st-degree murder. "Aggravating" factors must be cited 
to justify the argument for capital punishment, such use of torture, committing 
another felony at the time of the murder, putting others at grave risk, etc.

The aggravating factor in the Perry case, Martin said, is the killing of a 
child.

In the event of a 1st-degree murder conviction, the defense may present 
"mitigating" factors to oppose the death penalty, such as a defendant's mental 
history or impairment. Public defender Kim Makoul said the defense plans to 
focus on Perry's mental state at the time of the incident.

Witnesses say Perry put the boy on the railing of the Hamilton Street bridge, 
gave him a kiss and pushed him into the Lehigh River before jumping herself. 
She survived; the baby died days later.

Making this a capital case ensures, in the case of a death sentence, a review 
by the state Supreme Court and probably a long appeals process that - given the 
recent history of such cases - won't result in execution. Right now the state's 
death-penalty law is being blocked, if temporarily, by Gov. Tom Wolf's 
moratorium on executions.

(source: lehighvalleylive.com)

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

Wolf, in new court filing, defends use of death row reprieve


Pennsylvania's governor argued in a court filing Tuesday that he has nearly 
unlimited power to grant reprieves to death row inmates, and he asked the state 
Supreme Court to deny a challenge to his use of that authority.

Gov. Tom Wolf's lawyers were responding to a request by state Attorney General 
Kathleen Kane, a fellow Democrat, that the justices nullify his moratorium on 
executions. They said the "broad and unfettered executive power" has been in 
practice since the 17th century.

"Because the governor's power of reprieve is not otherwise limited by the 
Pennsylvania Constitution, this court has no cause to intervene or restrict the 
governor's exercise of this purely executive power in this case or any other," 
his lawyers wrote.

Wolf said the legal issues raised by Kane's office in the case of convicted 
killer Hubert Lester Michael Jr. are similar to those already pending before 
the Supreme Court in a separate reprieve, issued for inmate Terrance Williams, 
that is being challenged by Philadelphia's district attorney.

Wolf wants the court to deny the attorney general's petition or put it on hold 
until the Philadelphia case is heard, partly to avoid duplication and avoid 
wasting judicial resources. Oral arguments in the Williams reprieve challenge 
are scheduled for September.

"The legal issue raised by and the arguments advanced in the attorney general's 
petition are fundamentally indistinguishable from those presented" in Williams' 
case, Wolf's lawyers said.

Kane spokesman Chuck Ardo said the attorney general's office was reviewing 
Wolf's response but feels strongly that "1 size does not fit all in this 
matter. And we will continue to seek justice."

Kane, in her petition filed 2 weeks ago, argued Wolf's action was blatantly 
unconstitutional and a threat to the justice system. Wolf announced the policy 
of reprieves shortly after taking office this year, calling the current death 
penalty system "error-prone, expensive and anything but infallible."

He said he would continue to issue them for imminent executions at least until 
he receives the results of an overdue report by a legislative commission on the 
death penalty in Pennsylvania.

Michael is on death row for shooting 16-year-old Trista Eng in York County in 
July 1993.

Pennsylvania has executed only three people since the death penalty was 
legalized in the 1970s, the most recent in 1999.

(source: Associated Press)






NORTH CAROLINA:

Activists argue for more transparency for NC death penalty


Human rights groups and the sponsor of a bill changing North Carolina???s death 
penalty law agree that the law limits transparency for the process, but they 
disagree on whether the public has a right to know more about the drugs used to 
kill people.

A Senate committee on Thursday endorsed to a bill clarifying that executions 
are exempt from the state's rulemaking requirements. That would allow officials 
to find new drugs for lethal injection faster, and with less public review. The 
bill also prohibits the disclosure of where those drugs are manufactured.

The bill's sponsor says if people knew where the drugs were made, protesters 
would begin showing up at the manufacturing plants.

The House-passed bill could get a vote in the Senate next week.

(source: Associated Press)






SOUTH CAROLINA:

Roof gets legendary death penalty lawyer Bruck; Judge Gergel to preside; Bruck 
won life sentence for SC child killer Susan Smith


It is shaping up to be a court battle for the ages.

Legendary death penalty lawyer David Bruck has just been appointed lead defense 
lawyer for accused racist killer Dylann Roof, according to federal court 
records.

Records filed this morning also showed that U.S. Judge Richard Gergel of 
Columbia, who now presides over court in Charleston, will be the trial judge.

Bruck, who got his start in South Carolina defending death penalty cases in the 
early 1980s, won a life sentence in the nationally publicized case of child 
killer Susan Smith, now in state prison for drowning her children in a Union 
County lake.

Since then, Bruck has been involved in hundreds of death penalty cases across 
the country, including most recently the case of the Boston Marathon bomber.

Roof is accused of nine counts of murder in state court in the shooting deaths 
of nine African-Americans on June 17 at a Charleston church, Mother Emanuel 
AME. He was indicted Wednesday for federal hate crimes violations and killing 
people in a church.

All the crimes, state and federal, that Roof is accused of are death penalty 
eligile. However, a formal decision to seek the death penalty has not been made 
by either state or federal prosecutors.

(source: The State)






GEORGIA:

Jamie Hood makes bid to have jury spare his life


In an attempt to save his life, Jamie Hood is trying to convince a jury he was 
wronged by a corrupt legal system that falsely imprisoned him.

Acting as his own attorney, he sought this morning to basically re-try his 1997 
armed robbery case in which he was found guilty and sentenced to 12 years in 
prison.

Hood wants to convince jurors his conviction was a significant factor when he 
gunned down 2 Athens-Clarke County police officers in 2011. After a 4-week 
trial, jurors on Monday convicted Hood of murdering one of the officers, 
attempting to murder the other officer, and also of murdering a civilian in 
2010.

The trial is now in the penalty phase, in which the jury is hearing evidence 
that will guide it when deciding whether to impose the death sentence.

The prosecution on Wednesday presented victims' family members and others who 
described the devastation Hood's actions had on their lives.

Hood is presenting witnesses of his own. As he did during the guilt-innocence 
phase of the trial, Hood is blaming perceived police brutality and corruption 
for making him pull the trigger on the officers. His alleged wrongful armed 
robbery conviction - which was upheld by the Georgia Court of Appeals - was 
another example of how he believes he's been wronged by the legal system. He 
believes prosecutors and police conspired to cover up the shooting death of his 
brother by police officer in 2001.

Already harboring a distrust of authorities, Hood said in the trial he shot 
Senior Police Officer Tony Howard out of fear he was going to be killed, just 
as his brother was. At the time, Hood was a suspect in a kidnapping and Howard 
was attempting to arrest him. He also told jurors he shot and killed SPO Elmer 
"Buddy" Christian because the officer witnessed him shoot and wound Howard, and 
"it was kill or be killed."

Hood told jurors that prior to pulling the trigger on both officers, he heard 
his dead brother's voice telling him, "Don't let them do you like they done 
me."

A potential witness on Hood's list for the trial's penalty phase is Dr. Debra 
Gunnin, a forensic psychologist from East Central Georgia Regional Hospital who 
examined Hood following his arrest for shooting the 2 officers.

For now, Hood is focusing on his alleged "illegal" conviction for the armed 
robbery.

Nearly the entire morning session of the penalty phase today was consumed by 
testimony from Athens defense attorney Jim Smith, who represented Hood in the 
previous trial nearly 2 decades ago. Smith told jurors the prosecution's case 
was mostly based on what he called the victim's questionable identification of 
Hood as the robber.

On cross-examination District Attorney Ken Mauldin had Smith affirm there was 
other evidence, including Hood being found in a car with a gun following the 
armed robbery.

After a jury convicted him in 1997, Hood was granted a new trial due to Smith 
providing "ineffective assistance of counsel." A 2nd jury convicted Hood in 
1999.

Hood this morning wanted to call as a witness the armed robbery victim. 
Earlier, he told jurors he wanted to look at George McKeehan in the face and 
confront him about having fingered him 18 years ago.

When McKeehan did not show up this morning, Hood told the judge he wanted to 
file a motion to have his witness arrested and brought to court. The judge told 
Hood to have his investigator make another attempt to get him to court.

(source: Athens Banner-Herald)






FLORIDA:

Families testify in life or execution recommendation for Jacksonville murderer 
Randall Deviney


A jury will decide Thursday whether to recommend the state kill Randall Deviney 
or sentence him to life in prison.

Prosecutors and Deviney's defense attorneys will present evidence arguing 
whether the crime warrants the death penalty. Deviney has been convicted twice 
now of murdering Delores Futrell, his 65-year-old Westside neighbor, by 
slitting her throat in 2008. He was 19 at the time, and he's 25 now.

The Florida Supreme Court threw out the first conviction because the court said 
Jacksonville police didn't honor his right to remain silent.

A 2nd jury again found him guilty last week.

His sentencing hearing began Thursday at 8:30 a.m.

The 12 jurors will present their vote on the death penalty. The vote doesn't 
have to be unanimous.

If the jurors' recommend execution, Circuit Judge Mallory Cooper will have 
another hearing where she will consider more evidence. She will make the 
ultimate decision about the fate of Deviney.

Jurors listened to the emotional words of 2 daughters and a sister of Futrell 
who tried to paint a picture of what her loss has meant to them.

Jackie Blades, Futrell's oldest daughter and a 12-year Navy veteran, said she 
suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder because of her mother's death.

"She was my mother, sister, friend and my support," she said. "But that's not 
sufficient. I have to tell you about her smile."

Futrell's other daughter wasn't in court, but someone else read a statement 
from her.

"She was always there when I needed her," wrote Helen Futrell-Stewart. "Now 
when something comes up I am reminded she is gone. We will never have a 
mother-daughter talk again."

Her sister, Debra Wright, spoke of how Futrell sacrificed for her children and 
of how her long-time boyfriend quickly deteriorated after her death.

The defense called on Deviney's father to speak of his troubled childhood.

His father and mother were convicted of murdering an infant son before 
Deviney's birth.

When he was 3, Deviney's younger brother, Wendell, stabbed him, though his 
father called it an accident.

Michael Deviney spoke of how his wife was arrested for battering him and of his 
later failed marriages to other women.

He said he believed Deviney's mother sexually abused him.

Prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda pointed out that the Department of Children and 
Families never found any proof of sexual abuse.

Deviney's father said he and his then-wife had sex in front of him, so he knows 
his son was exposed to sexual activity.

(source: Florida Times-Union)



LOUISIANA:

Judge grants new trial for death row inmate Rogers Lacaze, accused in notorious 
1995 triple murder


Rogers Lacaze, who was shipped to Louisiana's death row 20 years ago along with 
former New Orleans Police Department Officer Antoinette Frank for the most 
infamous New Orleans massacre in a generation, will get a new trial on 
1st-degree murder charges, a judge ruled Thursday.

In a blockbuster, 128-page decision, retired Judge Michael Kirby found "a 
structural error" in Lacaze's trial on 3 counts of 1st-degree murder - namely, 
that one of the jurors, David Settle, was a commissioned law enforcement 
officer at a time when they were legally barred from jury service.

Kirby, a retired Plaquemines Parish and Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal judge, 
also found merit to some of the other claims by Lacaze's attorneys, who have 
argued for years that his case was botched by Orleans prosecutors, the judge at 
his trial and his own, now-deceased trial attorney.

His lawyers with the New Orleans-based Justice Center claimed his conviction 
was the result of an unconstitutionally slipshod defense, biased jurors and the 
suppression of key evidence by prosecutors with former District Attorney Harry 
Connick's office.

"For 20 years Rogers Lacaze has been asking for what every defendant is 
entitled to: A competent attorney and a fair trial in front of an impartial 
jury," said Blythe Taplin, Lacaze's attorney. "While we disagree with some of 
the findings in the court's order, this is the only just result. Mr. Lacaze 
looks forward to his day in court."

In his ruling, Kirby said he found the evidence of Lacaze's guilt 
"overwhelming" but that the juror question alone warranted a new trial.

Kirby found that Settle, who had a history as railroad police agent with arrest 
powers, remained silent when the question came up of whether jurors had 
backgrounds or family members in law enforcement.

"Even if there is a plausible explanation for his silence here, I cannot fathom 
a legitimate reason for him not speaking up when the trial court directly asked 
the first row of his panel if anyone was related to anybody in law 
enforcement," Kirby wrote. "I find that at the time Mr. Lacaze was tried for 3 
counts of 1st-degree murder there was present on the jury 'a badge-wearing 
law-enforcement officer' whose presence thereon offended the impartial trial 
guarantee of Article I, Section 16 of the Louisiana Constitution under the 
controlling jurisprudence at the time of the trial."

Lacaze's attorneys also argued that the death sentence for Lacaze, 38, was 
unconstitutional because Lacaze is mentally disabled. Kirby said they could 
take that question up in the next trial.

Kirby remanded Lacaze without bond, meaning he'll remain behind bars while 
Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro's office decides its next 
move.

Christopher Bowman, a spokesman for Cannizzaro's office, said, "We are 
reviewing it right now. We do intend to appeal it."

The decision comes almost exactly 20 years after a jury found Lacaze guilty of 
3 counts of 1st-degree murder in the killing of Frank's partner, Officer Ronnie 
Williams II, 25, and siblings Cuong Vu, 17, and Ha Vu, 24, inside the Kim Anh 
restaurant in New Orleans East.

The March 4, 1995, slayings marked a low point in both image and morale for an 
NOPD that was beset by corruption charges and an explosion of deadly street 
violence, with the city's murder rate about double what it is today. It had 
peaking in 1994 at 421 murders.

Ron Williams, the father of Ronnie Williams II, scoffed at the ruling and the 
lengthy post-conviction appeal process that led to it.

"Rogers Lacaze and Antoinette Frank both deserve the death penalty for their 
part in Ronnie's murder," he said. "There has been no information during the 
proceedings that suggests they didn't do it. The only thing was some wild 
stories that their defense attorneys concocted to diffuse the situation."

He added, "Crime is going to keep getting worse unless the criminals are made 
to answer for the crimes, and we don't have that now."

(source: New Orleans Advocate)






CALIFORNIA:

DA agrees to overturn death penalty conviction to save tax payers money


A man convicted of 1st degree murder in the death of a Bakersfield woman, has 
had his death sentence changed to life without parole.

The Kern County District Attorney agreed to the change because she says 
fighting it would have wasted tax payer dollars.

Clarence Ray, 59, confessed to the 1984 Bakersfield murder of Kathy Lynn Hyde, 
31, while he was already in prison in Michigan for a murder there.

After his confession to the Bakersfield murder, a jury here convicted him of 
1st degree murder in 1989 and Ray was sentenced to death.

The D.A. says since Ray was already serving life without parole in Michigan, he 
would not be turned over to California until he died. Michigan officials even 
told the D.A. that they do not turn over inmates to states where the death 
penalty is used. Michigan does not have the death penalty.

Recently 2 attorneys working on Ray's behalf petitioned a Kern County judge to 
have Ray's death penalty sentence overturned.

The D.A. could have fought the petition, but since Michigan won't turn Ray over 
and fighting the petition could have cost the D.A.'s office more than $100,000, 
it was decided to agree to what is called a stipulation.

The stipulation was an agreement to allow the death sentence to be changed to 
life without parole.

The 2 sides took the stipulation to Kern County Superior Court Judge Michael 
Delostritto on Wednesday and he agreed to change the sentence.

The D.A. says the change in sentence is largely procedural because Ray will 
likely never serve a day of the sentence since he is already doing life without 
parole in Michigan.

(source: kerngoldenempire.com)






WASHINGTON:

Jury reaches decision in death penalty case of convicted cop killer Christopher 
Monfort


A jury reached a verdict in less than an hour Thursday in the death penalty 
phase of a man convicted of killing a Seattle police officer in 2009. The 
verdict was to be read at 3:30 p.m.

A jury convicted Monfort last month of killing Officer Timothy Brenton. They 
also found him guilty of attempted murder for shooting Brenton's partner, Brit 
Kelly.

Monfort's lawyer says his life should be spared because of his mental illness 
and tough childhood.

On Wednesday jurors thought they might hear directly from the convicted cop 
killer.

Though he never testified during his murder trial, Monfort's lawyers insinuated 
he might be willing to speak on his behalf before jurors decide whether he 
receives the death penalty or life in prison.

Ultimately, Monfort decided not to talk. Still, prosecutors used his own words 
in court when they began arguing for the death penalty.

Prosecutor John Castleton played a jail house interview between a psychiatrist 
and Monfort.

When the doctor asked Monfort if he had any remorse for killing Seattle police 
officer Timothy Brenton, Monfort said, "No. I'm sorry it had to happen. I wish 
we didn't have any police brutality. I wish I didn't have to do anything. I'd 
much rather be doing other stuff."

On Halloween night 6 years ago, Monfort opened fire on a patrol car, killing 
Brenton and wounding his partner, Britt Sweeney. Monfort had earlier firebombed 
vehicles at a city maintenance yard.

"His goal was to kill as many police officers as he could," said Castleton. 
"His goal was to reign terror down on the city of Seattle and the Seattle 
Police Department."

Monfort's defense team urged jurors to spare him from the death penalty and 
consider his mental health, along with his rough childhood, when deciding his 
fate. They encouraged the jury to have mercy.

"If you want to give mercy, you can do so," said Stacey MacDonald. "You can 
still sentence him to a life sentence, a harsh sentence, based on mercy alone."

(source: Fox news)






USA:

Death sentence is considered in kidnapping death of 5-year-old Kansas girl ---- 
Marcas McGowan is facing federal charges in the kidnapping and death last year 
of 5-year-old Cadence Harris.


Federal prosecutors are considering whether to seek the death sentence for the 
man accused of kidnapping and killing an Atchison, Kan., girl last summer.

Marcas McGowan, 31, allegedly took 5-year-old Cadence Harris, his girlfriend's 
daughter, from their home in Atchison on July 18, 2014, after a domestic 
disturbance.

An ensuing police chase crossed into Missouri and back into Kansas before 
ending in Leavenworth, when McGowan crashed in a road construction area and was 
wounded in an exchange of gunfire with police.

Police found Cadence dead inside the vehicle with a gunshot wound to the head. 
According to court documents, the bullet appeared to have been fired by 
McGowan.

He initially was charged with murder in Leavenworth County District Court. In 
February, prosecutors dismissed the state murder charge after a federal grand 
jury indicted McGowan.

McGowan now faces federal charges of kidnapping, using a firearm during a crime 
of violence, being a felon in possession of a firearm and possessing a firearm 
after being convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence.

A court hearing scheduled for Thursday was continued at the request of his 
attorneys.

The defense asked for the delay until a decision is made on whether prosecutors 
will be authorized to seek the death sentence.

Local federal prosecutors must get authorization from the U.S. Department of 
Justice to pursue a capital case. Prosecutors in Kansas have submitted the case 
to the Justice Department's death penalty review board in Washington, D.C., 
according to a motion filed by McGowan's attorneys.

They expect a decision to be made within 90 days. If the review board approves 
the request, the final decision rests with the U.S. attorney general.

The defense said that although the current charges do not qualify for the death 
penalty, they expect prosecutors to seek another indictment containing a charge 
eligible for the death penalty.

McGowan is being held without bond. The next hearing in the case is scheduled 
for Oct. 21

(source: Kansas City Star)