[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----FLA., MISS., OHIO, USA

[Rick Halperin]

Oct. 9



FLORIDA:

Deliberations underway in death penalty phase of Gary Morales murder trial


The jury has begun deliberations in the penalty phase of the Gary Morales 
murder trial. The judge gave instructions around 12 p.m., with the jury 
breaking about 15 minutes later.

Eriese Tisdale, found guilty of the 1st-degree capital murder of St. Lucie 
County deputy during a traffic stop in 2013, now faces life in prison or the 
death penalty.

The jury that found Tisdale guilty must make the life-changing decision.

Prosecutors say Tisdale made a choice the day he chose to pick up a gun and 
kill Morales.

"( Gary) knew it could be his last day and it was," said Tom Bakkedahl, an 
Asst. State Attorney. "Gary Morales was a son, brother, a friend, a husband and 
a dad. Gary Morales was human and now Gary is dead because one person made 
choices."

Bakkedahl argues the death penalty is deserved in this case because the murder 
of a law enforcement officer carries a greater weight for punishment.

"Each day when they pull someone over we know they are armed. They don't know 
if we are armed," Bakkedahl said during closing arguments of the penalty phase 
of the trial.

"I know I'm going home today safely. Those who wear the uniform and the badge, 
it's different for them to walk out the door each and every day. They don't 
know if they are coming back," said Bakkedahl.

"Do you know whose fault it is?" Bakkedahl asks the jury. "It's nobody's but 
his," Bakkedahl said pointing directly at Tisdale in the courtroom.

Defense attorneys argued Tisdale's upbringing by a single mom in a poor 
community factor into his crime.

"We are not comparing Eriese to the bad choice he made that day," Mary 
Celidonio, Asst. Public Defender argued. "(Eriese) ended his life that 
day--that minute and 48 seconds changed the lives for many."

"The fear inside Eriese is real. How he reacted that day is unreasonable, 
irrational and senseless," Celidonio said before resting their case in closing 
arguments.

(source: CBS news)






MISSISSIPPI----female will face death penalty

Bishop faces death penalty in May killing


A Tupelo woman was formally charged with capital murder Friday morning for the 
May killing of her boyfriend.

Leah Bishop, 45, was arraigned in Lee County Circuit Court. Bishop did not 
speak to Judge Paul Funderburk during the brief court session. She entered a 
plea of not guilty through her attorney, Lori Basham.

Bishop is accused of killing Jessie Traylor, 65, on Sunday, May 17, and leaving 
his body in the 1807 Rollingwood Drive home that police said the couple had 
shared for about 2 weeks. Tupelo police discovered Traylor 3 days later after 
getting a call from the Jones County Sheriff's Office, who found Bishop's 
lengthy, handwritten manifesto in Laurel. She reportedly confessed in the 
21-page document.

The same night Traylor was found, Bishop was arrested in Winnsboro, Louisiana, 
after she was stopped at a roadblock for a suspended driver's license. She was 
returned to Lee County days later and charged with capital murder.

She has remained in jail since May under a $1 million bond. Friday, Funderburk 
ordered her held without bond on the recommendation of the state. Assistant 
District Attorney Josh Wise said the state is seeking the death penalty in the 
case. Officials said it could be up to 18 months before the case goes to trial.

(source: Mississippi Journal)






OHIO:

Death-penalty opponents marching from Lucasville to Columbus


Cars and trucks whizzed by about a dozen people walking on blistered feet on 
Thursday along Rt. 23.

The group of death-penalty opponents were on day 4 of an 83-mile, weeklong 
journey to Columbus, where they plan to hold a rally on Saturday near the 
Statehouse.

Among those walking are a Texas-based Baptist minister, a previous death row 
inmate exonerated a decade ago and the son of Dr. Sam Sheppard, the 
Cleveland-area man convicted of killing his pregnant wife, whose case drew 
national media attention in the 1950s.

With a start at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility, the prison near 
Lucasville where executions in the state are conducted, the group wants an end 
to the death penalty after a bout of botched executions and questions about 
lethal-injection drugs in Ohio and across the country.

"It's just wrong," said Derrick Jamison, 54, who served time on death row in 
Ohio for 20 years starting in 1985. "Shouldn't nobody have the right to say who 
should live or die."

Jamison considers himself a "survivor" of death row after he was exonerated for 
the killing of a nightclub owner in Cincinnati. Oct. 25 marks both the day 
Jamison was sent to and released from prison. As he celebrates 10 years since 
his release, Jamison admits that while many inmates on death row are indeed 
guilty, there are also innocent men.

"If you make a mistake with the death penalty, you can't go get a person out 
the grave and say 'Oh, my bad,' and they're (the state) making too many 
mistakes," he said.

Ohio's last execution was Jan. 16, 2014, when Dennis McGuire struggled and 
gasped for several minutes before succumbing to a combination of drugs not used 
before. The next execution is scheduled for January but as of August, the state 
was still trying to find drugs to use.

While lawmakers passed and Gov. John Kasich signed a bill intended to make 
getting execution drugs easier by keeping the source secret, a bipartisan House 
bill introduced this past summer calls for an end to the death penalty in the 
state.

"Ohio has an option, it's called life without parole," said Terry Collins, 
former director of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections. 
During his time with the department, Collins said he witnessed more than 30 
executions. He now works to educate Ohioans about the death penalty and 
advocates for its abolition.

"I think a nationwide discussion about the death penalty has certainly changed 
whether, not just Ohio, but if the United States needs the death penalty," he 
said.

Sam Reese Sheppard, whose father appealed a death-penalty conviction to the 
U.S. Supreme Court, said despite peoples' mixed opinions on the issue, he said 
Ohioans have been receptive to open conversation. "We've been on the road the 
past few days, and even if people disagree with us they're usually not vengeful 
or obnoxious about it."

The walkers, sponsored by Ohioans to Stop Executions and other groups, will 
hold a community dialogue at 7 p.m. today at 1021 E. Broad St. They also invite 
people to join the end of their walk Saturday at 10 a.m. from 1500 S. 4th St. 
The rally will take place at noon Saturday in front of Trinity Episcopal 
Church, 125 E. Broad St.

(source: Columbus Dispatch)

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

Death row exonerees come to Cleveland to promote abolishing executions


After spending decades in prison and years on death row for a murder in 
Cleveland that he did not commit, Kwame Ajamu has committed his life to 
abolishing the death penalty.

Ajamu joined execution abolitionist groups and death row exonerees from across 
the country who gathered in Cleveland Friday morning to press their message 
ahead of Saturday's World Day Against the Death Penalty conference in North 
Olmsted.

Kwame Ajamu speaks about abolishing death penaltyKwame Ajamu on Oct. 9, 2015 
talks about life after prison following a press conference promoting the 
abolition of the death penalty. He spent years on death row after being 
wrongfully convicted of a Cleveland murder.

"We hope that we can end this atrocity today," Kwame said during a tearful 
press conference. "We hope that tomorrow's newspapers would say that there's no 
more death penalty. We know that this won't happen, but this is our goal."

Ajamu, who was known as Ronnie Bridgeman, was put on death row after being 
wrongfully convicted in 1975 of murdering a money order salesman with his 
brother and best friend.

The convictions of all three men were tossed after they collectively spent more 
than 100 years behind bars.

"If there's anything that I would beg for this country, for this world to 
listen to is the heartfelt cries and pleas of myself and fellow comrades who 
have been exonerated from death," Ajamu said.

He stood with about 20 men and women who were once on death row and are now 
members of Witness to Innocence, a national group of exonerees fighting to end 
state-sponsored executions.

Too many innocent people have been put to death, said Ohioans to Stop 
Executions Director Kevin Werner.

"If the legislature is bent on keeping the death penalty, they should at least 
make sure there are no mistakes," Werner said.

He suggested reforming the justice system to prevent wrongful convictions and 
setting higher standards for the execution process.

There are 24 people scheduled to be executed in Ohio in the next 4 years, 
Werner said.

State Rep. Nickie Antonio, a Lakewood Democrat who also spoke at the press 
conference, has introduced legislation that would do away with executions.

"The best reform is to abolish capital punishment and replace it with a 
sentence of life without parole," Antonio said. "It is time to execute justice, 
not to execute people."

Saturday's conference in North Olmsted is one of many events scheduled 
worldwide for World Day Against the Death Penalty.

The public event will feature workshops and talks from Cuyahoga County Common 
Pleas Judge Nancy Margaret Russo, World Coalition Against the Death Penalty 
President Elizabeth Zitrin and others.

The conference is set to begin at 9 a.m. at St. Clarence Church.

(source: cleveland.com)

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

Death row survivors meet in downtown Cleveland


In a press conference at Trinity Cathedral in downtown Cleveland, 
Representative Nickie Antonio, D-13, welcomed dozens of members of Witness to 
Innocence, the national organization of wrongly convicted and exonerated death 
row survivors.

Antonio joined with them in calling for an end to the death penalty in Ohio and 
other reforms to prevent wrongful executions. She was introduced a bill with 
bi-partisan sponsorship.

The event coincided with worldwide activities around the international World 
Day Against the Death Penalty on October 10th.

Among others peaking was Kwame Ajamu who was formally exonerated of the 1975 
murder for which he was convicted and sentenced to death in Cuyahoga County 
Common Pleas Court.

Ajamu was 17 years old at the time he was placed on Ohio's death row, and said 
he still harbors a lot of bitterness from 27 years of wrongful incarceration. 
Ajamu has dedicated his life to ending capital punishment in Ohio.

Witness to Innocence, Ohioans to Stop Executions, death row exonerees and their 
loved ones and supporters gathered earlier at St. Clarence Church in North 
Olmsted, Ohio as part of their effort to increase support for abolition of 
capital punishment.

(source: WTAM news)






USA:

Amnesty International USA Statement on 2015 World Day Against the Death Penalty


The 13th annual World Day Against the Death Penalty will take place on 
Saturday, October 10th. Activists and organizations will hold events around the 
globe to call for the universal abolition of capital punishment. In recognition 
of the day, Steven W. Hawkins, Executive Director of Amnesty International USA, 
released the following statement:

"In just the past few weeks, three people have been sent to the death chambers 
in the United States. One of those executed did not commit the murder she was 
sentenced to die for, and another showed strong signs of intellectual 
disability.

"The tally nearly reached 4 executions in just over a week's time, but for the 
bungling of an execution in Oklahoma. The state procured the wrong drug to kill 
the prisoner, only realizing the mistake at the very last minute. Now the 
state's Attorney General is investigating what went wrong.

"In fact, just about everything is wrong with the capital punishment system. 
It's fundamentally broken and should be ended once and for all.

"Thankfully the death penalty is in decline in the United States and around the 
world. Last year, executions in the United States were at a 20-year low, and 
death sentences were at their lowest level since 1976. What's more, 19 states 
plus the District of Columbia have banned capital
punishment, and 7 other states have not carried out an execution in 10 years.

"It's really just a handful of states that are still aggressively pursuing 
executions. Texas, Oklahoma, and Missouri, in particular, are moving further 
and further away from national standards of decency. Globally, 140 countries 
have abolished the death penalty in law or practice, and only 22 carried out 
executions last year.

"The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. The 
United States cannot practice it and claim to be a human rights leader on the 
global stage. Now is the time to end capital punishment for good."

(source: Amnesty International USA)