[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, N.H., S.C., FLA., ALA., MISS.

[Rick Halperin]

Feb. 19



TEXAS----new execution date

Rolando Ruiz has been given an execution date for July 27; it should be 
considered serious.

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

Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present----16

Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982----present-----534

Abbott#--------scheduled execution date-----name------------Tx. #

17---------March 9------------------Coy Wesbrook----------535

18---------March 22-----------------Adam Ward-------------536

19---------March 30-----------------John Battaglia--------537

20---------April 6------------------Pablo Vasquez---------538

21---------April 27-----------------Robert Pruett---------539

22---------May 11-------------------Terry Edwards---------540

23---------June 2-------------------Charles Flores--------541

24---------July 14------------------Perry Williams--------542

25---------July 27------------------Rolando Ruiz----------543

(sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin)






NEW HAMPSHIRE:

Extend the death penalty, don't suspend it


Late last month, the Senate Judiciary Committee took under consideration Senate 
Bill 463, which would suspend the New Hampshire death penalty until such time 
as methods exist to ensure that the penalty would never be imposed on an 
innocent person. I opposed the bill at the time along with several police 
groups and associations.

Though the bill is only two sentences long, it is flawed in many ways. First of 
all, former Chief Justice John Broderick claimed that the bill would not 
prevent prosecutions from going forward, but merely the imposition of the death 
penalty.

Unfortunately, the bill language is very clear that the provisions of RSA 630:

1, relative to capital murder are suspended. How could someone be prosecuted 
under a suspended statute? That makes no sense.

Furthermore, the question of who will determine what methods will exist to 
ensure perfection are unexplained and undefined. Who will determine when 
success has been attained in finding flawless methods leading to a conviction? 
How will they do it? Will it be the executive branch through the attorney 
general? Will it be a court after a finding of perfection? Will it be the House 
or Senate judiciary committees or the full Legislature? No one knows. Nothing 
in the bill explains how, when, and where the determinations will be made.

The sponsors figure they increased the chance of passage by grandfathering in 
Michael Addison, who is currently on death row. The 2nd sentence of the bill 
says that it would not apply to anyone convicted prior to its effective date. 
The problem with that is that the states that have taken up the repeal or 
suspension of the death penalty have all held that it is incompatible with 
repeal to then proceed with executions under prior law.

In the case of State v. Santiago, the Connecticut Supreme Court last year said 
"no state or nation has executed someone after a prospective only repeal of the 
death penalty." Thus, the potential is clear for Addison to challenge his 
execution if the death penalty is otherwise suspended for everyone else in the 
future.

Our death penalty statute is very limited to situations such as killing of law 
enforcement, prison guards, etc. and was drafted in 1974 by Warren Rudman as 
Attorney General and me, as legal counsel to the governor, to meet new 
constitutional standards at the time. But now, rather than repeal or 
suspension, we should face the current reality of terrorism and mass murders by 
protecting our citizens through careful limited expansion of the death penalty.

Former House Majority Leader Jack Flanagan (R-Brookline) will offer an 
amendment today at a hearing on HB 1552 to extend the definition of capital 
crimes to cover terrorism, defined as killing 4 or more people in a less than 
12-hour period, as well as death by weapons of mass destruction.

Rep. Flanagan's amendment does not require that the death penalty be imposed, 
but it helps to ensure that if there were a horrendous event in New Hampshire, 
that the penalty would be available as a tool of prosecution. If the federal 
courts struck down a prosecution because of violations of constitutional 
rights, then at least the state avenue would be open based on evidence obtained 
by state law enforcement.

The bill would also serve as notice to would-be terrorists that if caught 
alive, they would be subject to the ultimate price that a government can impose 
after due process of law as permitted by Part I, Article 15, of our state 
constitution.

Last October, in a campaign event here, Hillary Clinton said that she would not 
abolish the death penalty but preserve it for "certain egregious cases." I am 
sure she would agree that weapons of mass destruction or terrorist acts would 
qualify because the federal government already makes those crimes subject to 
the death penalty in the United States Code.

Back in 1974, the kinds of worldwide events occurring now were never 
contemplated. Rep. Flanagan's approach is better than that of Senate Bill 463 
given our current reality of mass killings and terrorism.

(source: Opinion; Chuck Douglas is a former Superior and Supreme Court 
Justice----Union Leader)






SOUTH CAROLINA:

SC bill would conceal lethal injection drug suppliers


South Carolina lawmakers are looking for a compromise in a bill that would 
render information about lethal injection drugs a secret, a change that may 
enable the state to resume executions.

The state uses a 3 drug protocol: pentobarbital, pancuronium bromide, and 
potassium chloride. The corrections agency does not have the first 2 drugs and 
has not been able to acquire them.

Officials believe S.553, which would conceal details of the drug procurement 
process, would make it easier for the state to acquire execution drugs. But on 
Thursday a Senate committee held up the legislation without debating it, citing 
a need address the differences with the parties involved.

Mandy Medlock, executive director of Justice 360, which opposes the bill, said 
the committee's lack of approval on Thursday, if only temporary, was a positive 
step.

She was less hopeful about the prospect of finding common ground.

"We're interested in what everybody has to say, but it's a very black and white 
issue. Either it's a secret or it's not," said Medlock.

After S.C. Department of Corrections Director Bryan Stirling became the agency 
director in the fall of 2013, he was told the execution drugs had recently 
expired and that no companies would sell them to the agency. The department is 
required to carry out the sentence of the court and has no position on the 
death penalty.

Stirling said opponents have been "very successful" at obtaining information 
through open records laws and other legal means about the companies that supply 
the drugs. Activists then contact the companies on the issue, resulting in 
manufacturers refusing to sell specific drugs to corrections departments across 
the country.

S. 553 would help South Carolina officials respond.

"This would give us something that we can go to the companies and say, 'Here is 
your protection. They will not target you,'" Stirling said in an interview 
Thursday. "It's basically expanding the execution team, and saying the people 
that supply the drugs would be protected, also, along with the current 
execution team."

If the bill does not pass, the agency chief said, "We'll do everything we can 
to seek these drugs, but we're running into road block after roadblock."

Laura Hudson, executive director of the S.C. Crime Victims' Council, was 
dismayed by Thursday's lack of progress on S.553.

"A crime victim would never want the wrong person accused, much less put to 
death. But the longer you delay it, (invokes) that old statement of 'justice 
delayed is justice denied,'" she said.

"You have to wait years and years and years and years before someone is finally 
put to death. The opposition (to S.553) is just another delay to not do the 
death penalty. We have the death penalty in this state. Exercise it."

Medlock said the extra week or so would allow lawmakers' constituents to engage 
in the debate.

"The fact that it has been delayed gives us more time to let the public know 
that this is going on," she said. "The public can contact the senators to let 
them know how they feel about it. ... Some people might be in favor of the 
bill, but I think in general, folks are against the idea of the government 
keeping secrets form us."

The organization argues that keeping lethal injection drugs secret would result 
in a greater risk of botched executions, and that information needed for any 
investigation would be hidden. Additionally, it says S.553 would give special 
secret status to drug companies, stifling scrutiny and public debate.

Justice 360 represents death row inmates and advocates for specific reforms 
aimed at addressing systemic flaws in the capital punishment process.

The death penalty in South Carolina:

-- No inmates were added and four were removed from South Carolina's death 
row, with no executions, in 2015.

-- At the end of 2015, there were 44 men and no women awaiting execution.

-- The last execution in South Carolina was in 2011 when Jeffrey Motts dropped 
his appeals. He had strangled his cellmate while serving life sentences for 
murdering 2 relatives.

-- Current death row inmates by race: 59 % black, 39 % white, 2 % Hispanic.

[source: Death Penalty Resource and Defense Center]

(source: blufftontoday.com)






FLORIDA:

House Approves Ten-Juror Death Penalty


The Florida House is moving forward with a new capital sentencing scheme after 
the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the existing system just over a month ago. 
But even with last minute changes, lawmakers are hesitant to completely embrace 
unanimity.

Under current Florida law, juries in capital cases are supposed to issue an 
advisory sentence. Rep. Ross Spano (R-Dover) explains it's the next step the 
Supreme Court took issue with in Hurst v. Florida.

"If the judge sentences the defendant to death the judge must make written 
findings as to which aggravating circumstances he or she finds that enhance the 
penalty," Spano says. "It is this issue allowing the judge to find the elements 
of a crime that enhance the penalty to capital punishment that the court found 
unconstitutional in Hurst."

Shortly after that ruling, the gears of state began turning in Florida's 
capital. The state Supreme Court is weighing what the case means for existing 
death row inmates, and the Legislature is developing a new sentencing system 
for capital cases. The key sticking point between the chambers is unanimity.

Both agree on unanimity in assigning guilt.

Both agree on unanimity in finding aggravating factors in the penalty phase.

But where they disagree is the final step - recommendation of the death 
penalty. The House doesn't believe unanimity should be necessary.

"The jury may recommend a sentence of death or life imprisonment without the 
possibility of parole," Spano explains. "However, to recommend a sentence of 
death they must do so after weighing mitigating circumstances, and a minimum of 
9 jurors must concur in the recommendation. If fewer than nine jurors concur a 
sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole will be the 
jury's recommendation to the court."

And in service of that argument, Spano and others turn to cases like Ted Bundy. 
The recommendation of death there was 10-2. Meanwhile, supporters of sticking 
with unanimity throughout the process point out the higher requirement often 
means juries just end up deliberating longer. And in Bundy's case, even if the 
jury didn't make it to 12 votes, he'd still be spending life in prison.

But Rep. Daryl Rouson (D-St. Petersburg) says there's another reason for 
raising the bar on capital punishment.

"Florida leads the nation in death row exonerations - leads the nation," Rouson 
says. "Wouldn't you think it would be an appropriate step to require unanimity 
at all levels so that persons are certain and not divided on the issue of the 
death penalty."

Wednesday, the House budged - but not by much. Rep. Charles McBurney 
(R-Jacksonville) offered an amendment moving from 9 votes to 10 before 
recommending the death penalty.

"The amendment changes the jury sentencing recommendation from 9-3 to 10-2," 
McBurney says. "The jury would still have to find unanimously that the 
aggravating factor exists, but it would require at least 10 jurors to give a 
recommendation of death."

"Likewise if less than 10 jurors determine the defendant should be sentenced to 
death," he goes on, "the jury's recommendation to the court will be a sentence 
of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole."

Rep. Joe Geller (D-Aventura) summed up how many supporters of unanimity feel.

"Chances are when this comes up for debate on the full bill tomorrow, I'm 
probably going to be voting down," Geller says. "But on this amendment I would 
urge everyone - whatever side of the aisle, and whatever side of this debate 
you???re on - to support representative McBurney's amendment."

Thursday the House took up and approved the measure with McBurney's changes 
attached. It now heads to the Senate.

(source: WFSU news)

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

Melendez: The death penalty risks innocent lives - I know


There is a real and human cost every time Florida's death penalty makes 
mistakes. I know. I was sentenced to death in Florida for a murder I didn't 
commit.

In a 9-3 vote, the jury in my case recommended death, and that???s the sentence 
the judge gave me. By luck, critical new evidence emerged - in the form of a 
taped confession from the real killer - proving my innocence after 16 years on 
death row. God only knows how many others did not have my good fortune and were 
executed in spite of their innocence.

As one of the lucky ones, I was released from prison and able to start a new 
life after my nightmare on death row. I'm thankful to be alive, but remain 
deeply troubled by the flaws in Florida's death penalty that almost killed me, 
many of which remain unaddressed.

The U.S. Supreme Court decision last month striking down Florida's death 
penalty law as unconstitutional brought much needed attention to these flaws. 
Now it's up to Florida to respond.

Without a working death penalty in the state, lawmakers in Tallahassee are 
scrambling to pass a revised law. The House has proposed a bill that would do 
the bare minimum to address the problems raised by the Supreme Court ruling. 
The Senate, however, has taken a more thoughtful approach in offering broader 
reforms to Florida's death penalty, including the requirement of a unanimous 
jury recommendation to sentence someone to death.

Florida desperately needs to take the latter approach, and my case helps 
demonstrate why.

The jury in my case was not unanimous in its decision to recommend a death 
sentence; it voted 9-3. Coincidently, the House proposal in response to the 
Supreme Court ruling would merely require that same low bar - a 9-3 jury vote - 
to sentence someone to death. Cases like mine illustrate how this proposal 
raises the risk of mistakes.

In contrast to Florida, most states require a unanimous jury recommendation to 
sentence someone to death. Along with Delaware and Alabama, Florida remains an 
outlier by allowing death sentences even in cases when not all the jurors 
support it. This aspect of Florida's death penalty opens the door to costly 
legal challenges.

Even more worrisome is Florida's track record of wrongfully sentencing people 
to death. Serious errors have been too common in Florida's use of the death 
penalty. Florida leads the nation in the number of people wrongfully sentenced 
to death and later exonerated - 26 - a clear and convincing sign that the 
current death penalty law is broken.

A perverse aspect of Florida's laws is that they require a unanimous jury 
verdict for a conviction in all crimes, even a misdemeanor, but do not require 
unanimity when sentencing someone to death. How does that make any sense? Extra 
safeguards are most needed when a life is on the line.

Taking the life of a person is the gravest of all acts that our government can 
do. It is unique in its finality and irrevocability. Once executed, a person 
can never be released from the grave.

Given this reality and Florida's shameful record of convicting and sentencing 
innocent people to death, lawmakers should pass a bill that provides the 
greatest possible protection against executing the innocent. They can do this 
by requiring jury unanimity in order to impose a sentence of death.

Such a law is constitutionally and morally compelled. Although a unanimous jury 
requirement will not completely guard against the execution of the innocent, it 
is an important step in the right direction.

(source: Commentary; Juan Melendez now lives in Albuquerque. He is one of 156 
individuals nationwide, and 26 in Florida, to be wrongfully sentenced to death 
and later exonerated. He was convicted in 1984 for the murder of Delbert Baker, 
owner of an Auburndale cosmetology school. Melendez's case is detailed in "Juan 
Melendez 6446," a 2009 documentary produced for the Civil Rights Commission of 
Puerto Rico--The Ledger)

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

onfusion over death penalty muddies Pinellas man's plea deal


Prosecutors want to seek the death penalty in the case of Carlos Benito Jones, 
accused of killing three people and committing an armed robbery in 2011.

But after the U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 12 struck down Florida's procedure for 
sending convicts to death row, Jones' attorneys asked Pinellas Circuit Judge 
Philip Federico if their client could plead guilty in exchange for life in 
prison.

"I'm at a loss to understand how anything other than life would be the maximum 
penalty right now in this case," Federico said in court Jan. 28 over the 
objections of the Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney's Office. "There is no death 
penalty."

The case has now come to a halt after a stay was issued from the 2nd District 
Court of Appeal as it reviews a petition from prosecutors to restrain Federico 
from presiding over the case.

"We just have an opinion and the judge has one," said Chief Assistant State 
Attorney Bruce Bartlett. "We have to have an appellate court see who's going in 
the right direction."

It is the latest example of how judges in Tampa Bay are interpreting the 
Supreme Court's Hurst vs. Florida decision, which ruled it is unconstitutional 
for juries to play only an advisory role while judges make the ultimate 
decision in death penalty cases.

Jones' case began in 2011, when he and his brother, Isidro Santiago Jones, were 
arrested on charges of killing 3 people in Clearwater and robbing a man at 
gunpoint in Dunedin.

He is facing a 1st-degree murder charge in the shooting death of 34-year-old 
Zorana Lebedic, who was killed as she biked home from a Scientology class in 
downtown Clearwater in 2011. Isidro's trial is also pending.

According to court records, a public defender asked Federico Jan. 13 if he 
could set a plea and sentencing hearing for Jones, 29, in light of the Hurst 
decision.

"I'm inclined to accept what the defense is offering under all of the 
circumstances," the judge said.

Assistant State Attorney Douglas R. Ellis objected, stating in court that Hurst 
did not find the death penalty itself unconstitutional, and that the 
Legislature was expected to revise the statute soon. This week, passage of a 
new law was a step closer after lawmakers determined that at least 10 of 12 
jurors must agree to impose a death sentence.

Ellis filed a motion to recuse Federico, stating that the judge was 
interjecting himself in plea negotiations, records state. Federico denied the 
motion.

But it wasn't over for the state. Prosecutors filed an emergency petition with 
the appeals court, which ordered Feb. 5 that the case could not move forward 
until their petition was reviewed.

"The state is being forced to stand by while the trial court allows a capital 
defendant to receive a life sentence," the petition reads.

The Pinellas-Pasco Public Defender's Office has since responded, contending 
that Federico was only announcing the current state of the law.

"The purpose of a motion for disqualification is not to allow a party to move 
from judge to judge until finding one to agree with the party's desired 
position," Assistant Public Defender Sara B. Mollo wrote to the court.

Federico is the latest judge in Tampa Bay in the spotlight for making comments 
in court on the Hurst decision.

In January, Pinellas Circuit Judge Michael Andrews rejected prosecutors' notice 
to seek the death penalty in the case of a Pinellas Park father accused of 
killing his infant daughter because the death penalty did not exist in Florida.

Last week, he rescinded his order, but concluded the death penalty could be 
sought only if new sentencing guidelines were in place before the start of the 
trial, scheduled for Feb. 29.

In Hillsborough, Circuit Judge Samantha Ward ruled this month that there 
"currently exists no statutory authority in Florida under which the State can 
seek the death penalty."

(source: Tampa Bay Times)






ALABAMA:

Lawmakers propose 'innocence' panel to review Alabama felony cases


A member of the Alabama Senate wants to create an Innocence Inquiry Commission 
to review felony convictions.

Sen. Dick Brewbaker, R-Montgomery, says the state needs an extra layer of 
review to boost the public's confidence in the death penalty.

"For states that have active death penalty statutes, you need to make 
absolutely sure the process has integrity, and that you're not executing people 
that are innocent," Brewbaker said.

Brewbaker filed a bill in the Senate this week that would create an 
eight-member board within the court system that would hear cases of inmates who 
claim they're actually innocent of the crimes of which they were convicted.

If the board concludes the inmate is innocent, they'd send the case back to the 
courts with a request for review by a judge.

Brewbaker said the board is needed because in the appeals process, courts are 
often focused on procedural issues. He said the board would have to be 
convinced of "actual innocence," not reasonable doubt or procedural issues, in 
order to send a case back to the courts.

The commission could hear any felony case, not just capital cases. But 
Brewbaker, a death penalty supporter, said he decided to pursue a commission 
after learning that other death penalty states have them.

"We've had some very high-profile exonerations lately, which ought to give 
anybody pause, and make us wonder if the system is as good as we think it is," 
Brewbaker said.

According to the National Registry of Exonerations at the University of 
Michigan, four felony inmates in Alabama were exonerated in 2015. One of those, 
Anthony Ray Hinton, was on death row.

Janette Grantham, director of the victims' rights group Victims of Crime and 
Leniency, said she and her colleagues are reviewing the bill line by line. She 
said the group didn't oppose the core purpose of the bill - to make sure people 
in prison are in fact guilty.

"Victims don't want someone who is not guilty to go to prison," she said. "But 
we haven't looked thoroughly at the whole bill yet."

The bill already has 8 co-sponsors in the 35-member Senate, including President 
Pro Tempore Del Marsh, R-Anniston.

"I talked with Sen. Brewbaker on that," Marsh said. "He explained there have 
been situations where there have been people on death row who, if you look 
strictly at procedural elements, they do not get a hearing, but he thinks 
there's evidence in some cases that warrant another hearing."

How the bill would play in the House is unclear. Speaker Mike Hubbard said 
Thursday that he hadn't heard about the bill.

Thursday was the 7th day of the 30-day legislative session. Lawmakers typically 
meet 2 to 3 days a week, which means the bill would likely have until May to 
pass both houses.

(source: The Anniston Star)

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

Motion to bar death penalty denied, capital murder trial set for May


Lauderdale County Circuit Judge Mike Jones has denied for the 2nd time a motion 
to bar the death penalty from the upcoming capital murder trial of Mark 
Montgomery.

After a 30-minute hearing Thursday, Jones denied the motion filed by the 
defense team of Vicki Willard and Jean Darby. The defense team based the motion 
on a recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in regards to a Florida death 
penalty case.

Montgomery, 39, 5306 Lauderdale 10, Florence, is charged in connection with the 
March 17, 2014, shooting deaths of 2 women near Cloverdale.

The trial is scheduled for the week of May 16. Lauderdale County District 
Attorney Chris Connolly has said he plans to seek the death penalty if 
Montgomery is convicted of capital murder.

Willard said in Florida, like Alabama, after a guilty verdict in a capital 
murder case the jury makes a recommendation to the judge about the sentence.

The judge can override the jury's recommendation.

"The U.S. Supreme Court has declared this unconstitutional, and since the 
Alabama statute is similar to the Florida statute, the death penalty should be 
barred from consideration in this case," Willard told Jones.

Connolly said Alabama's death penalty has been reviewed and upheld before by 
the U.S. Supreme Court.

"The capital law in Florida had been upheld many times also. The U.S. Supreme 
Court said the law needed to be changed," Willard added.

Jones said when the Florida case was before the U.S. Supreme Court, "there was 
an Alabama case there as well that could have been reviewed by the judges, but 
they chose not to," Jones said. "That to me says the U.S. Supreme Court viewed 
the Alabama and the Florida statutes as different. That is my ruling as well, 
so the motion is denied."

Montgomery was indicted in December 2014.

He is accused of killing Clo Ann Taylor Stoner and Joanna Strickland Butler.

The 2 women and a dog were killed inside the house of Montgomery???s brother at 
5398 Lauderdale 10, about a half mile east of Alabama 157.

Deputies said Stoner, 57, of Casey Lane, Florence, and Butler, 40, who had 
previously lived in Thompson's Station, Tennessee, were found inside the 
residence's living room.

Montgomery also is accused of shooting the dog that was in a kennel in the 
house.

The preliminary autopsy indicated the women were shot multiple times in the 
head, authorities said.

During an arraignment hearing in January, Montgomery pleaded not guilty and not 
guilty by mental defect to 2 counts of capital murder and 1 count of aggravated 
animal cruelty.

(source: Times Daily)






MISSISSIPPI:

2 charged with capital murder in Bruce shooting


A Calhoun County couple is facing the death penalty in connection with a fatal 
shooting in Bruce.

Calhoun County sheriff Greg Pollan said capital murder charges were field 
against JaShon Coleman, 21, of Derma, and Breanna Westmoreland, 17, of Banner. 
If convicted of capital murder, the only sentencing options are death or life 
in prison without parole.

An officer on patrol spotted a car in the parking lot of the Bruce Bait Shop on 
Highway 32 West around 12:30 a.m. Friday. When the officer looked inside the 
car, he found James Pratt, 31, of Weir, who had been shot multiple times. Pratt 
was pronounced dead at the scene.

The investigation lead authorities to Coleman, who worked with Pratt at the 
Haworth seating plant in Bruce. The factory is located less than a half-mile 
from the bait shop.

"From what we had learned, the 2 men were in the vehicle and Coleman tried to 
rob Pratt," said Pollan. "The victim resisted and was shot and killed.

"Coleman then got out and got into the car driven by his girlfriend, 
Westmoreland."

Coleman is charged with capital murder, armed robbery and possession of a 
stolen firearm. Westmoreland is charged with capital murder and strong-arm 
robbery. Pollan said official consulted with District Attorney Ben Creekmore's 
office in the decision to charge Westmoreland as an adult.

The weapon believed to have been used in the killing was recovered.

This is the 2nd capital murder in 2 months in Calhoun County, population 
15,000.

In mid-December, Vintrell Bobo, 21, and Rocdriques Denton, 24, both of Calhoun 
City, were arrested by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and Calhoun 
County Sheriff's Department and charged with capital murder.

The men were allegedly involved in a home invasion at 9-B Private Road 2001 in 
Pittsboro that left 24-year-old Kenneth Patterson Jr., of Pittsboro, dead. 
According to officials, Bobo was injured during an exchange of gunfire.

(source: Digital Journal)

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

Court denies review of Charles Ray Crawford's rape conviction


The Mississippi Supreme Court will not review the ruling in an appeal of a rape 
conviction for Charles Ray Crawford.

Crawford, 50, argues he received poor legal representation during his trial in 
1994.

He says his attorney failed to challenge jury instructions and failed to object 
to inadmissible testimony and prejudicial prosecutorial comments.

Crawford is on death row for the 1992 slaying of Kristy Ray in the Chalybeate 
community in Tippah County.

In his arguments to have the rape conviction dismissed, he says prosecutors 
used the conviction when seeking the death penalty in Ray's death.

The Mississippi Supreme Court denied his appeal in August and on Thursday, on a 
5 to 4 vote, opted not to rehear the appeal.

(source: WTVA news)