[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----NEB., N.MEX., COLO., UTAH, ARIZ., CALIF., USA

[Rick Halperin]

Aug. 18



NEBRASKA:

In challenge to state's death penalty law, inmate argues that a jury, not 
judges, should decide his fate


A Nebraska death row inmate challenged the state's death penalty law Wednesday 
based on a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down capital punishment 
in Florida.

The motion for post-conviction relief argues that Nebraska unconstitutionally 
requires a 3-judge panel to make the final sentencing decision in capital 
cases. The motion cites the Supreme Court opinion released this year in Hurst 
v. Florida, which said the U.S. Constitution requires juries to decide the 
critical elements of a death sentence.

"The Nebraska statutes, which allow a panel of judges, not a jury, to make 
findings authorizing a death sentence, violates this central constitutional 
tenet repeated in Hurst," Omaha lawyer Alan Stoler wrote in the motion.

A similar legal challenge that relied on the Hurst ruling prompted the Delaware 
Supreme Court to strike down that state's death penalty this month.

Stoler filed the motion in Scotts Bluff County District Court on behalf of 
Jeffrey Hessler, convicted of the 2003 1st-degree murder of 15-year-old Heather 
Guerrero of Gering. Hessler abducted the girl as she was delivering newspapers, 
then drove her to an abandoned farmhouse, where he raped her before shooting 
her in the head.

The jury that convicted Hessler identified aggravating circumstances necessary 
to warrant a death sentence, said Suzanne Gage, spokeswoman for Attorney 
General Doug Peterson. Jurors who heard all of the evidence in the case 
determined that Hessler???s actions were "especially heinous, atrocious, cruel, 
or manifested exceptional depravity."

"The Attorney General's Office will defend the motion, which we expect will be 
as unsuccessful as Hessler's other 2 failed post-conviction cases," she added.

The new legal challenge comes as advocates on both sides of the death penalty 
ramp up efforts to sway Nebraska voters, who will be asked Nov. 8 to decide a 
referendum on the Legislature???s 2015 repeal of capital punishment.

This week, death penalty backers released poll results indicating that a strong 
majority of Nebraskans support capital punishment. Meanwhile, opponents 
unveiled an economic analysis that says the state spends $14.6 million annually 
to maintain the death penalty.

Hessler's new challenge won't be decided before voters go to the polls, so it 
most likely becomes moot if the repeal survives. But his case will proceed if 
voters keep the death penalty on the books, and Hessler will try to convince 
the Nebraska Supreme Court to strike down the law.

In Hurst v. Florida, the U.S. Supreme Court negated a death penalty sentencing 
scheme that required juries to make a recommendation to the judge on 
sentencing. The final decision, however, rested with the judge.

The Supreme Court said the Florida law violated the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. 
Constitution, which guarantees the right to a jury trial.

Nebraska's system is similar, but not identical, to Florida's.

In Nebraska, a 2nd trial takes place after a defendant is convicted in a death 
penalty case. The same jury that decided guilt also decides whether aggravating 
factors exist to justify the defendant's execution.

If the jury finds that aggravating factors were present in the murder, a 
three-judge panel is convened to determine if they outweigh any mitigating 
factors in the defendant's favor. The 3 judges also must determine if the death 
sentence is warranted and, if so, whether it is excessive or disproportionate 
to the penalty imposed in similar cases.

After making the necessary determinations, the judges impose the sentence.

"Those findings are elements of the crime of capital murder," Stoler said in a 
legal brief. "As a result, these elements must be found by a unanimous jury, 
not a judge."

Hessler, 37, is 1 of 10 men on Nebraska's death row. He was sentenced in 2005 
and lost his appeal to the State Supreme Court 2 years later.

He has filed 2 other post-conviction appeals, which were unsuccessful. His 
newest motion will be heard by District Judge Randall Lippstreu.

(source: Omaha World-Herald)

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

Nebraska death penalty backers unveil campaign website


A group that wants to reinstate Nebraska's death penalty in the November 
election has unveiled a website and online video to make its case to voters.

The video released Tuesday highlights crimes committed by Nebraska's death row 
inmates. Nebraskans for the Death Penalty says the ad is intended to reinforce 
that, to keep the death penalty on the books, voters need to vote to repeal the 
legislation which abolished it.

Nebraska lawmakers eliminated the death penalty in May 2015, overriding Gov. 
Pete Ricketts' veto. A petition drive partially financed by Ricketts gathered 
enough signatures to prevent the law from going into effect until voters decide 
whether to retain it.

The video is narrated by Steve Zimkilton, the voiceover actor featured in the 
television series Law & Order.

(source: Associated Press)

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

Attorney General's Offices Releases Capital Appeal Stats


The Attorney General Office has released its own capital punishment statistics 
after the anti-death penalty group "Retain A Just Nebraska" released theirs on 
Monday.

"We looked at that report and we find absolutely no basis for those numbers," 
said Attorney Genreal Doug Peterson in response to Dr. Ernie Goss's recent 
economic report.

Attorney General Peterson's office provided numbers of its own stating only 1 % 
of appeals involve capital punishment.

"The reason that is true is because any person that has been sent on a 1st 
degree murder case is typically those individuals who are always defended by a 
public defender," Peterson added.

Economic Professor Dr. Goss said Nebraska would save 14.6 million dollars if 
inmates on death row get life without parole instead.

"And I think from observation what comes from the attorney general which is 
provided with response to The Goss study is really disappointing I think this 
is the perfect example as to why tax payers get frustrated with government 
because there is no numbers here," said Dan Parsons, Spokesperson of Retain A 
Just Nebraska. "There's no numbers if the attorney general wants to have a 
conversation an honest conversation on how much the Nebraskans spend on the 
death penalty we'd welcome that."

(source: nebraska.tv)






NEW MEXICO:

Governor to seek reinstatement of death penalty in New Mexico


Gov. Susana Martinez said Wednesday she intends to seek reinstatement of New 
Mexico's death penalty.

Martinez's announcement comes in the aftermath of Friday's shooting death of 
Hatch police Officer Jose Chavez.

Chavez, 33, was killed during a traffic stop.

The state of New Mexico has charged Jesse Denver Hanes, 38, of Columbus, Ohio, 
with killing Chavez. If convicted of murder in the state case, Hanes faces life 
in prison. Hanes also faces charges at the federal level, but those charges 
wouldn't warrant the death penalty, Elizabeth Martinez with the U.S. Attorney's 
Office told KVIA. Hanes is also wanted in Ohio in connection to the July 
shooting death of 62-year-old Theodore Timmons. Ohio does have the death 
penalty.

"People need to ask themselves, if the man who ambushed and killed 5 police 
officers in Dallas had lived, would he deserve the ultimate penalty," said 
Martinez, in a prepared statement. "How about the heartless violent criminals 
who killed Officer Jose Chavez in Hatch and left his children without their 
brave and selfless dad? Do they deserve the ultimate penalty? Absolutely. 
Because a society that fails to adequately protect and defend those who protect 
all of us is a society that will be undone and unsafe."

In announcing her support for the death penalty, Martinez also referenced the 
May death of Ashlynne Mike, 11. Tom Begaye Jr., 27, of Waterflow, New Mexico, 
has been charged with killing Mike.

"I feel the same about those who sexually abuse and murder young children," 
Martinez said. "I think of poor Ashlynne and the horror she went through. Does 
the monster who killed her deserve the ultimate punishment? Yes - absolutely."

Michael Lonegran, press secretary for Gov. Martinez, said attempts to get the 
death penalty reinstated will begin in January.

"Yes, the Governor will pursue this as part of her legislative agenda," said 
Lonegran, in an email to the Sun-News.

Before she was governor, Martinez served as district attorney of New Mexico's 
third judicial district from 1997 until 2011.

Current third judicial District Attorney Mark D'Antonio responded quickly upon 
hearing of Martinez's plans.

"Currently, my priority is prosecuting the death of Officer Chavez," D'Antonio 
said. "But I'm open to conversations about reinstating the death penalty.

"The death penalty should be the last resort for the worst of the worst, and in 
certain situations like cop-killers."

New Mexico's death penalty was abolished on July 1, 2009. Because of crimes 
committed before the death penalty ended, 2 men - Robert Ray Fry and Timothy 
Allen - remain on the state's death row.

Since 2001, only one execution has been conducted in New Mexico. Terry Clark 
was executed by lethal injection on Nov. 6, 2001. He was convicted of the July 
17, 1986 murder of 9-year-old Dena Lynn Gore, of Artesia.

In the past 50 years, 3 executions have happened in New Mexico, and 28 have 
been conducted since statehood in 1912. Before Clark's execution, David Cooper 
Nelson was executed Aug. 11, 1960 in the state's gas chamber, and James Larry 
Upton died in the electric chair on Feb. 12, 1956.

(source: Las Cruces Sun-News)

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

NM Gov. Martinez to pursue the death penalty next legislativ


Governor Susana Martinez will pursue the death penalty as part of her 
legislative agenda in January, said Mike Lonergan, a spokesperson with the 
governor's office.

Martinez Wednesday ordered flags across the state to be lowered in honor of 
slain Hatch Police Officer Jose Chavez. Martinez says the senseless killing 
during a traffic stop Friday is a tragic reminder of the dangers law 
enforcement officers face every day.

"People need to ask themselves, if the man who ambushed and killed 5 police 
officers in Dallas had lived, would he deserve the ultimate penalty? How about 
the heartless violent criminals who killed Officer Jose Chavez in Hatch and 
left his children without their brave and selfless dad? Do they deserve the 
ultimate penalty? Absolutely," Governor Martinez said, Because a society that 
fails to adequately protect and defend those who protect all of us is a society 
that will be undone and unsafe."

Jesse Denver Hanes, of Columbus, Ohio, faces a 1st-degree murder charge in 
Chavez's death. Authorities say Hanes also is a suspect in Ohio in the death of 
a 62-year-old man near Chillicothe.

The death penalty was abolished in New Mexico in 2009.

Wednesday, Elizabeth Martinez with the U.S. Attorney's Office said if 
convicted, Hanes cannot get the death penalty. "The federal crimes against 
Hanes are not death penalty eligible," she said, "The United States, therefore, 
cannot seek a capital sentence for Hanes if he is convicted on the charges 
against him"

Hatch Mayor and State Representative Andy Nunez is very vocal on the death 
penalty. He says the issue hits close to home, now more than ever, following 
the death of officer Jose Chavez. Nunez attended a hearing Wednesday in 
Albuquerque where lawmakers were discussing drafting a bill to reintroduce the 
death penalty in the next legislative session.

If presented, Nunez said he'd be in favor. "I'm for the death penalty because I 
just believe in that. You know, back in the old days we used to hang people. 
I'm an old timer, and if these guys know they're going to do something, they're 
going to shoot a policeman or kill a kid or something like that, they know 
they're going to die if they get caught. I believe less of them will be doing 
it," Nunez said.

The Las Cruces Catholic Diocese adamantly opposes the death penalty. "The 
Catholic Church believes it is morally wrong to take the life of another person 
no matter how egregious their acts are unless there is no other possible 
alternative," David McNeill, Chancellor of the Las Cruces Catholic Diocese.

Funeral services for Chavez, who was 33 and a father of 2, are set for Sunday 
at New Mexico State University's Pan American Center. Chavez was a 2-year 
veteran of the Hatch Police Department.

(source: Associated Press)

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

New Mexico governor to seek return of death penalty


New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez wants the state Legislature to reinstitute the 
death penalty, KOB confirmed Wednesday.

Legislation to bring back the death penalty could be introduced during next 
January's session. New Mexico abolished the death penalty in 2009.

The news comes days a fugitive from Ohio allegedly shot and killed Hatch Police 
Officer Jose Chavez during a traffic stop. Earlier Wednesday, Martinez ordered 
flags to be flown at half-staff to honor Chavez.

The accused shooter, Jesse Hanes, faces 1st-degree murder charges.

In a statement to KOB, Martinez said the person who commits such crimes like 
slaying a police officer or sexually abusing and killing a child deserves the 
"ultimate penalty."

"People need to ask themselves, if the man who ambushed and killed 5 police 
officers in Dallas had lived, would he deserve the ultimate penalty? How about 
the heartless violent criminals who killed Officer Jose Chavez in Hatch and 
left his children without their brave and selfless dad? Do they deserve the 
ultimate penalty? Absolutely," Martinez said. "Because a society that fails to 
adequately protect and defend those who protect all of us is a society that 
will be undone and unsafe.

"And you know, I feel the same about those who sexually abuse and murder young 
children. I think of poor Ashlynne [Mike] and the horror she went through. Does 
the monster who killed her deserve the ultimate punishment? Yes - absolutely."

Peter Simonson, executive director for the American Civil Liberties Union of 
New Mexico, criticized Martinez's decision. He said the return of the death 
penalty would move the state backward instead of forward, and he called 
permanent incarceration for heinous crimes more effective.

"We know that the death penalty is plagued with racial disparities and is too 
often used to execute innocent people and people with serious mental 
disabilities and illnesses," Simonson said. "In a time when states are 
increasingly moving away from the death penalty, the governor proposes to 
return us to a time when we wasted millions of taxpayer dollars on this 
antiquated, inhumane, and unjust practice."

(source: KOB news)






COLORADO:

Colorado should repeal the death penalty


The Denver Post reported on July 25 a growing dissatisfaction with the death 
penalty appeals process - leading Jeanne Adkins, a former state representative 
from Douglas County, to say she is "almost to the point where I would say, 
'Let's do away with it and save the taxpayers the money.'" Agreed, let's do 
away with Colorado's death penalty.

The significant financial burden on our state associated with death penalty 
cases is well-documented. In Colorado, death penalty trials cost on average 
about 20 times more than a trial for life without parole, or LWOP. The average 
death penalty trial costs $3.5 million versus about $150,000 for a LWOP trial.

LWOP cases required an average of 24.5 days of in-court time, while the death 
penalty cases required 147.6 days. LWOP cases take an average of 526 days to 
complete. 2 of Colorado's death cases (Sir Mario Owens and Robert Ray) are more 
than 3,650 days old and still no final decision.

Choosing to select which truths we tell ourselves about the death penalty costs 
much more than taxpayer dollars. Distorting the facts surrounding our 
state-sanctioned killing is dangerous because having a death penalty law allows 
us to pretend it delivers justice when it does not.

Views about the death penalty are formed, nurtured and held in splendid 
isolation from facts about the resources required to execute a prisoner, the 
factors that determine who receives the death penalty, how often the state 
kills truly innocent people and the extent to which the death penalty does not 
deter crime.

Supporters of the death penalty believe the law represents justice. Sounds 
right. But dig below and realize the state is actually killing to show killing 
is wrong. Is this revenge or justice? Does the state rape rapists, burn 
arsonists, blind "peeping toms"?

If we really believe killing is wrong, then it should be wrong for the state to 
kill. If killing is wrong, the state would set the example and not kill, 
particularly when life without parole is punishment enough.

While money and resources (judges, juries, lawyers, court rooms, witnesses) are 
critical factors in deciding if Colorado should do away with the death penalty, 
more compelling reasons support Colorado's repeal of the death penalty.

The growing number of exonerations based on "actual innocence," not a legal 
technicality, show our system of justice fails to protect the innocent. 
Nationally, roughly 5 innocent people are exonerated yearly.

Nationwide, 1 person is exonerated for every 10 executed. Would you fly a plane 
knowing 10 % of the time you would have made the wrong decision?

Given this error rate, in truth, we do not know locally or nationally how many 
innocent people our criminal justice system has killed or will kill because the 
system is deeply flawed and data show us why.

Public and private data, collected for years, repeatedly describes capital 
punishment as a lottery shaped by poor quality of the defense lawyers, race of 
the accused or the victim and the county and state in which the crime occurred.

Between 2000 and 2010, states with the death penalty had murder rates 25-46 % 
higher than states without the death penalty.

In 2013, Gov. John Hickenlooper noted: "If the state of Colorado is going to 
undertake the responsibility of executing a human being, the system must 
operate flawlessly. Colorado's system for capital punishment is not flawless. A 
recent study co-authored by several law professors showed that under Colorado's 
capital sentencing system, death is not handed down fairly. Many defendants are 
eligible for capital punishment but almost none are actually sentenced to 
death. The inmates currently on death row have committed heinous crimes, but so 
have many others who are serving mandatory life sentences."

We know capital punishment does not save the state money and resources, is not 
a deterrent and we don't know how many innocent people we have killed or will 
kill in the future. So, let's do away with this law.

Research these matters and learn how broken, expensive and ineffective our 
system of capital punishment is. A place to start: death 
penaltyinfo.org/documents/FactSheet.pdf.

(source: Guest Column' Kathleen Hynes, Ph.D., is a volunteer speaker for the 
ACLU of Colorado, traveling the state talking about important civil liberties 
issues, including doing away with the death penalty----The Gazette)






UTAH:

Bail hearing set for man accused in husband's fire death


A Utah man who could face the death penalty in the house-fire death of his 
restaurateur husband will have a bail hearing in September.

Court records show the Sept. 8 hearing was set Wednesday in the case of 
47-year-old Craig Crawford.

He's accused of setting the fire in May, shortly after 72-year-old John 
Williams filed for divorce and unsuccessfully sought a restraining order.

Prosecutors say Crawford watered the plants outside while his trapped husband 
called for help. Authorities say Williams died of smoke inhalation.

Williams was a well-known LGBT pioneer in Utah who owned the popular Market 
Street Grill and other restaurants.

Crawford is facing aggravated murder and arson charges. Prosecutors haven't 
decided whether to seek capital punishment.

(source: Associated Press)






ARIZONA:

Why does Arizona have one of the largest death row inmate populations?


Our partners at PolitiFact found that California has the largest death row in 
the Western Hemisphere . But where does Arizona rank -- and why?

Arizona trails California, Florida and Texas, but is among the top 10 in states 
with death penalties for the size of its death row inmate population.

By the numbers

Arizona Department of Corrections spokesman Andrew Wilder points out that the 
state's death penalty has had several pauses. The law was inactive from March 
1963 to April 1992 -- and again from November 2000 to May 2007.

The state's last execution took place in July 2014 , but executions have 
remained on hold because of a lawsuit involving the use of execution drugs.

"Nothing is imminent in Arizona in terms of executions resuming," Wilder said. 
"That case needs to get resolved."

Arizona currently has 120 inmates on death row, 2 more than in 2014.

Slower executions

Since 2007, Arizona has had 15 executions -- with a high of 6 in 2012. But that 
pales in comparison to other states, which execute inmates faster. And that may 
be one reason behind Arizona's high number.

"Texas is pretty swift, they convict more on state capital charges," Wilder 
said.

And besides challenges to Arizona's death penalty, inmates usually have 
multiple chances to appeal. PolitiFact notes that in California, attorneys are 
able to "delay justice" by filing frivolous appeals.

What's next?

Executions remain on hold because of the execution drug lawsuit.

(source: ABC news)






CALIFORNIA----female faces death penalty

Prosecutors will seek death penalty against Tami Huntsman


A Salinas mother accused of killing 2 children in her care will face the death 
penalty if convicted.

Wednesday morning prosecutors announced they are seeking the ultimate sentence 
against Tami Huntsman.

Huntsman collapsed in her chair, broke down in tears, and sobbed when she heard 
the decision.

Huntsman and her boyfriend, Gonzalo Curiel, are accused of murdering 6-year-old 
Shaun Tara and 3-year old Delyha-Tara in a small Salinas apartment in November 
of 2015.

Investigators said the couple drove the children's bodies 300 miles north to 
Redding, Calif., and hid them in a storage locker. Law enforcement officers 
found their bodies in the storage locker on Dec. 13, 2015. At the time they 
were found, Salinas Police Chief Kelly McMillin said, "In my 32-year career, 
this is the most egregious child abuse homicide case I've ever seen."

The Tara siblings were Huntsman's niece and nephew. Autopsies concluded that 
Delylah and Shaun died in Salinas from longterm child abuse.

The children lived in an apartment at 501 Fremont St. with Huntsman, Curiel, 
12-year-old twins, and a 15-year-old boy. That is where the abuse began, police 
said.

Prosecutor Steve Somers said the decision to seek the death penalty was 
ultimately made by Monterey County District Attorney Dean Flippo. Flippo 
consulted with a team of prosecutors and interviewed the victims' family 
members.

Curiel and Huntsman are charged with murder, torture, child abuse, and mayhem.

"We spoke to several people, especially the children's father," Somers said.

Huntsman's attorney, Kay Duffy, left the courthouse and refused to speak to 
reporters Wednesday.

The attorney representing co-defendant Curiel said Flippo's decision made him 
physically ill.

"The idea that a government, to which I pay taxes which I help to support, is 
going to seek, in cold blood, (to) exterminate the life of a woman who has 
12-year-old twins," said Curiel's attorney Jeremy Dzubay.

Huntsman was pregnant when she was arrested last year. Jail and county health 
officials would not comment about whether Huntsman had given birth, nor about 
what happened to the baby.

A trial date has been set for February 6, and Somers wants the case to move 
forward to trial "with all deliberate speed."

"And the main reason for that is we have children witnesses. We have 3 children 
who are going to testify as witnesses and they need to move on with their 
lives," Somers said.

One of those witnesses is likely to be a 9-year old girl who was found to be 
severely abused. Her younger brother and sister were the murder victims.

Friends said Huntsman was caring for the Tara siblings because their biological 
mother died after she was struck by a car, and their father was in prison.

Since Curiel was a minor at the time of the murders, he faces life in prison 
without the possibility of parole if a jury finds him guilty.

Dzubay said he's not ruling out the possibility that the defense will seek to 
separate the 2 accused killers' cases, and file a motion to have the trial 
moved to another county.

(source: KSBW news)

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

Judge Shoots Down Actor's Bid to Avoid Death Penalty for Double 
Murder-Dismemberment ---- In an ongoing Orange County Superior Court battle 
convicted Los Alamitos murderer Daniel Patrick Wozniak's bid to avoid death 
penalty denied


The Los Alamitos Liberty Theater murderer was once again denied a chance to 
avoid the death penalty.

An Orange County Superior Court judge today again shot down attempts by a 
convicted Costa Mesa killer seeking more evidence of the handling of jailhouse 
snitches.

Orange County Superior Court Judge John Conley ruled in June to quash subpoenas 
for more information about the use of an informant in the case against Daniel 
Patrick Wozniak, who was found guilty of killing 2 people.

Wozniak's attorney, Scott Sanders, brought a motion to compel more information 
about a Santa Ana police investigator and others, but Conley rejected the 
motion and granted more motions to quash his subpoenas for other records 
related to an internal log kept by sheriff's deputies in the special handling 
unit.

In May, Conley granted an evidentiary hearing into allegations that informant 
Fernando Perez was improperly used to solicit incriminating evidence against 
Wozniak while the two were jailed together. That hearing was prompted by the 
recent discovery of the internal administrative log.

Sanders has raised constitutional questions about his client's case as 
prosecutors have continued to argue that sheriff's deputies were never part of 
the law enforcement team building a case against Wozniak.

Conley agreed with prosecutors. On June 20 when Conley ruled against Sanders in 
the informant issue, the judge remarked, "the issue of jail informants in the 
Wozniak case, in the court's view, is a dead-end road leading nowhere."

Wozniak is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 23. Conley is also expected to 
consider a motion for a new trial at that time.

Wozniak was convicted of killing 26-year-old Samuel Eliezer Herr and 23- 
year-old Julie Kibuishi. Jurors recommended the death penalty.

Wozniak was deep in debt in May 2010, facing eviction and without money for his 
pending wedding, when he concocted a plan to kill his neighbor, Herr, and throw 
police off the trail by making it look like Herr murdered and raped his female 
friend, Senior Deputy District Attorney Matt Murphy argued at trial.

Wozniak, who grew up in Long Beach, further tried to confound investigators by 
dismembering his 1st victim and dumping the body parts in the El Dorado Nature 
Center in Long Beach, Murphy said.

(source: patch.com)

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

Commentary: Get rid of California's death penalty


We all know the death penalty does not work.

A $5 billion price tag since 1978 to carry out 13 death sentences in 
California. Decades of delays while constitutionally guaranteed appeals are 
exhausted. The unavoidable risk of executing the wrong person. How is any of 
this smart justice?

The question goes to California voters this November through two ballot 
initiatives: Prop 62 and 66.

Prop 62 ends the death penalty and all its problems. It replaces a failed death 
penalty system with life in prison. California taxpayers will save $150 million 
a year, victim's families finally get the closure the death penalty promised, 
and there's zero chance of putting an innocent person to death.

That's why Prop 62 is supported, not only by this paper's editorial board, but 
by a diverse coalition of victims' families, exonerated former prisoners, 
retired judges and district attorneys, and faith, labor and civil rights 
leaders.

Prop 66, on the other hand, is backed by politicians and interest groups with a 
stake in the status quo. They say Prop 66 is a solution to our failed death 
penalty system. They are wrong. Prop 66 passes the death penalty's problems and 
costs to local courts and county budgets. It only makes things worse and more 
expensive.

Don't be fooled. Prop 66 moves death penalty appeals to local courts and adds 
new layers of bureaucracy. It builds mini-death rows at local prisons, leaving 
county taxpayers to pick up the bill. County budgets would be on the hook for 
defense attorney fees and expenses as well.

A new report by Loyola Law School's Alarcon Advocacy Center revealed the 
harmful impact Prop 66 would have in the Bay Area. In Alameda County, death 
penalty cases would take up 21 percent of local judicial resources. The cost of 
$4.5 million in attorney fees and legal expenses would be moved to the county 
budget. In Contra Costa County, it's 24 % of judicial resources and $2.7 
million. For Santa Clara County, it's 9 % and $2.1 million.

The worst part about Prop 66 is that it tries to cut corners on justice. In 
doing so, it increases the risk of executing an innocent person. Right now, 355 
death row inmates in California are waiting for court appointed counsel because 
there are not enough public defense attorneys with the experience and training 
to handle death penalty habeas petitions, a uniquely specialized area of law. 
Prop 66 forces unqualified attorneys to take death penalty cases. Mistakes will 
happen.

We know who is more likely to pay the price for a mistake. If we see evidence 
of discrimination throughout our justice system, why would the death penalty be 
any different? It's sadly not surprising to learn that 36 % of the inmates on 
death row are black. Or that, together with Latinos, they make up 60 % of the 
death row population.

Let's be real. The death penalty is way past fixing in California. There are 
747 inmates sit on death row. It would take 15 years to carry out all those 
sentences - if we did so at a rate that more than triples the Texas average. 
And that does not account for new death penalty convictions. An execution every 
week. Is that really the kind of state we want California to be? And at what 
cost, what risk?

Prop 66 costs a lot and makes the problems worse. It is deceptive and the wrong 
choice for California.

It's time to end this false promise of justice and replace the death penalty 
system with life in prison without parole. The only real solution to a failed 
death penalty is yes on Prop 62.

Darryl Stallworth is an Oakland resident and attorney. He spent 15 years in the 
Alameda County District Attorney's office and prosecuted more than 25 murder 
cases.

(source: Guest Commentary; Darryl Stallworth----East Bay Times)






USA:

Judge wants to close hearing on evidence in church shooting


A federal judge in South Carolina wants to close a hearing next month to 
consider a defense request to keep some evidence out of the trial of Dylann 
Roof in the Charleston church shootings.

U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel issued an order Tuesday setting a Sept. 1 
hearing. The order says he intends to close the hearing to protect Roof's right 
to a fair trial.

Gergel said making the evidence public before the court can consider whether it 
may be admitted could interfere with seating an impartial jury. Gergel also 
agreed to seal proposed questionnaires to screen potential jurors.

The 22-year-old Roof faces numerous federal charges in the shooting deaths of 
nine black parishioners at Emanuel AME Church in June 2015.

His death penalty trial is set for November.

(source: Associated Press)