[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----N.H., FLA., ALA., OHIO., MO.

[Rick Halperin]

Feb. 25




NEW HAMPSHIRE:

Suspend the death penalty


I write, as the brother of a murder victim, in support of SB 463, which would 
suspend the death penalty in New Hampshire until "such time as methods exist to 
ensure that the death penalty cannot be imposed on an innocent person."

While New Hampshire has a criminal justice system that is more effective and 
fair than those in many other states, no justice system is currently immune 
from wrongfully convicting and then executing an innocent person in a capital 
murder case. Such a terrible event would deeply weaken the credibility of our 
justice system.

Losing a loved one as the result of a brutal crime is a heart-rending 
experience that alters one's life forever. But executing the person convicted 
of the murder and subsequently learning that the person was innocent would 
greatly compound the anguish and pain of the victim's family.

New Hampshire should follow the lead of other states in acknowledging our 
present inability to be certain that the death penalty is not incorrectly 
imposed. If we do so, those who kill people will still face a lifetime of 
imprisonment, but we will avoid the possibility of making a tragic and horrible 
mistake that can never be undone.

JOHN TOBIN

Concord

(source: Letter to the Editor, Concord Monitor)






FLORIDA:

Don't tweak the death penalty, end it


Editor: Now that the Florida state execution machine has been put on hold 
because of the unconstitutionality of courtroom judges overruling jury 
sentences in capital cases, the time is ripe to consider abolishing the death 
penalty altogether.

Instead of tweaking the procedure by which this extreme penalty is imposed, why 
not use this temporary moratorium as an opportunity to get rid of it, as 18 
U.S. states and the District of Columbia have already done?

Ours is the only western nation that executes its own citizens. Sadly, our rate 
of executions puts us among the world's top executing nations - China, Iran, 
Saudi Arabia and Iraq - which are hardly regimes to be admired. As of Oct. 15, 
2015, there were 2,959 prisoners awaiting execution. The fact that 156 
condemned prisoners have been exonerated and released from U.S. prisons in 
recent years suggests that a lot of wrongful prosecutions and convictions are 
occurring in U.S. courts.

Here in Florida, 26 death row prisoners have thus far been exonerated since the 
death penalty was restored in 1973.

That makes Florida 1st in the number of exonerees of any state. Unfortunately, 
Florida is also 2nd in the number of new death sentences imposed and of 
prisoners awaiting execution. With about 400 currently on Florida's death row, 
it seems highly possible that some of these prisoners might also have been 
erroneously condemned. Wouldn't just 1 such fatal injustice be too many?

We are fortunate to live in one of the world's officially designated 
"compassionate" cities. Under the Compassionate St. Augustine program, small 
groups are now meeting to discuss ways to make our criminal justice system more 
evenhanded. Now is a perfect time to learn more about the flawed death penalty 
system and move toward effective alternatives to an extreme punishment that 
serves no deterrent purpose and cheapens the value of human life.

L.R. Tokarz

St. Augustine

(source: Letter to the Editor, St. Augustine Record)

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

Accused killer could still face death penalty----Defense has asked state 
attorney to take death penalty off table


The man accused of shooting and killing a cellphone store manager in 2013 could 
still face the death penalty if convicted of murder when he heads to trial.

James Rhodes appeared in court Wednesday as attorneys on both sides argued 
motions that would take the death penalty off the table in the slaying of 
20-year-old Shelby Farah.

Rhodes' attorneys said they are seeking a plea deal that would keep him in 
prison for the rest of his life. It's a deal the victim's mother wants 
prosecutors to take.

But the State Attorney's Office has not accepted it.

State lawmakers are coming up with a new death penalty plan after a U.S. 
Supreme Court ruling invalidated Florida's death penalty law.

Rhodes' attorney argued Wednesday that because of that decision in January, 
which ruled that Florida's method of sentencing people to death was 
unconstitutional, that the death penalty in this case should not be an option.

The state argued that even though the Supreme Court asked for the death penalty 
to be looked at, it was constitutional.

The judge also heard arguments from the state and defense about a potential 
plea for Rhodes.

His attorney said he is willing to plead guilty to murder and get 2 consecutive 
life sentences plus 20 years in state prison. There wouldn't be a trial, he 
could not appeal and the death penalty would not be an option.

Prosecutors said they have no objection to a plea, but want the death penalty 
to be an option for a jury during sentencing.

Darlene Farrah, the victim's mother, wants the state to accept Rhodes' plea.

After the hearing, Farrah stuck by her call for the state to stop seeking the 
death penalty for her daughter's accused killer.

"I'm not feeling sorry for him. It takes everything out of me when I go in the 
courtroom and look at him it really does," Farrah said. "He was old enough to 
know wrong from right when he did it. He needs to suffer the consequences. I 
mean, he took away an innocent life, but I don't think the consequence should 
be death."

Rhodes' next hearing is set for 9 a.m. March 21. The legislative session will 
be over by then and the state will likely have a new death penalty law by then.

If there's no plea bargain, Rhodes' trial is scheduled to start in May.

Farah wrote an opinion piece for Time magazine on the subject, titled "My 
Daughter's Killer Should Not Get the Death Penalty."

Rhodes is charged with 1st-degree murder in the killing of Shelby Farah during 
a robbery of a Brentwood cellphone store.

Police said that after several hours of questioning, Rhodes confessed.

Police said Farah was found dead after officers responded to a report of an 
armed robbery at the store on Main Street near 21st Street.

Police said Rhodes pointed a gun at the 20-year-old and demanded money. They 
said she cooperated and after she handed him the last bit of money, he fired 4 
rounds, killing her.

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

Tensions spill out as lawyers and victim's mother seek to avoid death sentence 
for James Rhodes


Darlene Farah has an empty feeling every time she leaves the Duval County 
Courthouse.

That feeling returned again Wednesday after she sat through another hearing for 
James Xavier Rhodes, 24, the man accused of murdering her daughter, 20-year-old 
phone store manager Shelby Farah.

"I just feel empty and spent every time I leave here," Farah said. "And by the 
time I've pulled myself back together, it's time for another hearing."

But Farah's empty feeling also included a sense of frustration and anger at the 
prosecutors in the case, and Farah told the Times-Union she will continue to 
speak out about her unhappiness. Farah wants prosecutors to allow Rhodes to 
plead guilty and be sentenced to life without parole. The State Attorney's 
Office is seeking to put him on death row over Farah's stringent objections.

Defense attorneys are asking Circuit Judge Tatiana Salvador to allow the plea, 
with Assistant Public Defender Debra Billard arguing that Florida has no legal 
death-penalty law right now because of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

Assistant State Attorney Bernie de la Rionda disagreed and said if Rhodes 
pleaded guilty the state would still seek to put him on death row. De la Rionda 
argued that the U.S. Supreme Court only found the state's procedures 
unconstitutional, not the death penalty itself.

Salvador issued no rulings Wednesday, but Farah's frustration appeared to reach 
a boiling point during the hearing and it led her to confront de la Rionda, 
Assistant State Attorney Matthew Polimeni and spokeswoman Jackelyn Barnard 
afterward. Farah and the prosecutors spent a half-hour in a hallway outside the 
courthouse having something between an argument and a discussion.

Prosecutors declined to comment after it broke up, but Farah said she was angry 
over how de la Rionda explained her opposition to executing Rhodes during the 
just concluded hearing.

De la Rionda told Salvador that Farah didn't want Rhodes put on death row 
because she didn't want to endure years of appeals. Farah said that was true, 
but not the only reason she was opposed to the death penalty.

"He didn't say anything about how I thought the state helped make him who he 
is," Farah said. "They bear some of the blame for what happened."

Defense lawyers have said Rhodes was born to parents addicted to drugs and 
alcohol, abandoned at a young age and then physically and sexually abused while 
a ward of the state.

Public Defender Matt Shirk also argued in a letter to Corey last week that 
Rhodes should be allowed to plead to life in prison to spare Farah and her 
family any more pain. The letter also said the agreement would save the costs 
and time of a death-penalty trial and subsequent appeals.

Shirk also asked that Corey consider this similar to waiving the death penalty 
and accepting a plea for Jarred Harrell, who killed and sexually assaulted 
7-year-old Somer Thompson in 2009. Her mother consented to 6 life sentences for 
Harrell.

Corey has not responded to the letter, but during Wednesday's hearing de la 
Rionda argued that the state could not defer to the victim's family when 
prosecutors believe that a crime justifies a death sentence.

"While Ms. Farah has suffered immensely, and we respect her wishes, we cannot 
let victims' families decide whether we should seek the death penalty," de la 
Rionda said.

The families of victims in cases like this are allowed to give a statement to 
the jury when they're considering whether to impose death, but the families 
usually only speak about what it's been like losing their loved one and don't 
tell the jurors what they'd like to see happen.

Usually that's to the benefit of the defense, since most family members want 
the death penalty, but it's the opposite in this case.

During Wednesday's hearing de la Rionda indicated that the prosecution would 
not allow Farah to tell jurors she preferred life. Billard said that if Farah 
did, the jury would almost certainly vote against death.

Farah smiled when asked about that afterward.

"When have you ever known me not to say what I feel," she said.

Rhodes is charged with killing Sheplay Farah while robbing the Metro PCS store 
on North Main Street in Jacksonville. According to police reports, Rhodes 
pulled a gun and shot her in the head after she gave him several hundred 
dollars.

The killing was captured on surveillance video.

Billard said there was no reason to seek death and the entire case could be 
resolved Wednesday if Salvador would just allow Rhodes to plead guilty and be 
sentenced to life.

"It's so troubling that the state attorney won't take her wishes seriously," 
Billard said of State Attorney Angela Corey. "Ms. Corey claims she's focused on 
victims, and that's admirable, but there we have a victim's family who has been 
asking for this for 18 months."

But Salvador expressed doubt about issuing any rulings due to the uncertainty 
of the death penalty in Florida.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Jan. 12 that Florida's death-penalty procedures 
are unconstitutional because the final decision on whether someone is sentenced 
to life or death is made by a judge instead of a jury. The Florida Legislature 
is now attempting to pass new procedures and appear likely to pass something in 
the next few days that requires at least 10 jurors to vote in favor of the 
death penalty in order for a defendant to receive such a sentence.

"If the Legislature comes up with new scheme, we then have to address how it 
applies to Mr. Rhodes," Salvador said. "If they fail to pass something, then we 
can deal with whether we can go forward with this case."

The next pretrial in the case will be March 21, which will be after the Florida 
Legislature adjourns for the year.

(source for both: news4jax.com)






ALABAMA:

Change: Alabama Innocence Inquiry Commission would now review only death row 
cases


An Alabama legislative bill aimed at creating a commission to review the 
innocence claims of felons, was changed in committee Wednesday to only include 
the review of death row inmates' cases.

The bill would also set a moratorium on executions in Alabama until June 2017 
as the new panel is put in place.

The Alabama Senate Judiciary Committee committee approved the new version 
before it was sent for a full vote before the senate.

Meanwhile, Alabama's Attorney General and the sponsor of the bill argued over 
what the bill would do in statements issued Wednesday.

State Sen. Dick Brewbaker, R-Pike Road, stated in an email to AL.com that the 
substitute bill narrowed the scope from all felonies to only death penalty 
cases, tightened up the immunity language, and added another lawyer to the 
proposed Alabama Innocence Inquiry Commission.

The commission would fall within the Administrative Office of Courts. The bill 
also establishes a procedure for a person convicted of a capital crime and 
sentenced to petition for a hearing before the commission "in order to present 
credible, verifiable evidence of innocence that has not previously been 
presented at trial or considered at a hearing granted through post-conviction 
relief (in court)."

The bill states it would "authorize the commission to hear the evidence and, at 
its discretion, refer the case back to the court of original jurisdiction for 
additional judicial review."

"The bill is necessary to insure the integrity of our death penalty statute," 
Brewbaker stated in his email. "Given the fact that Alabama has had several 
high profile exonerations lately, it seems appropriate to make doubly sure of a 
person's guilt before we execute them."

Among the exonerations in the past year has been Anthony Ray Hinton, who spent 
nearly 3 decades on Alabama's death row before new testing on the gun in the 
case was inconclusive. Hinton was released in April.

Hinton's attorney, Bryan Stevenson founder and executive director of the 
Montgomery-based Equal Justice Initiative, had called for the formation of 
conviction integrity units in Alabama to deal with claims of innocence after 
Hinton's release.

"The bill is necessary to insure the integrity of our death penalty statute" - 
Republican State Sen. Dick Brewbaker

A public hearing was held on the bill before the Alabama Senate Judiciary 
Committee on Wednesday. The committee voted 10-0 to approve the substitute bill 
and forwarded it to a full vote of the senate.

One of the opponents of the commission is Alabama Attorney General Luther 
Strange.

Strange, in a statement issued Wednesday, called the legislation flawed and 
that it would effectively delay justice for crime victims while making it more 
difficult to carry out executions in Alabama.

"Senate Bill 237, if passed into law, would only serve to hinder the delivery 
of justice in capital murder cases," Strange stated. "In a system where death 
row inmates already wait for decades before their sentences are carried out, SB 
237 (the bill) would only create further delays by encouraging the filing of 
frivolous, last-minute challenges."

"Senate Bill 237 is unnecessary as death row inmates already have access to a 
process to establish innocence under the Rules of Criminal Procedure. 
Furthermore, the bill would supplant the role of the current judicial system by 
creating a 'fourth layer of appeals' outside of the review already provided by 
the circuit courts, Court of Criminal Appeals, and the Alabama Supreme Court," 
Strange stated.

The bill also takes the final determination of guilt or innocence away from 
juries and courts and gives it to a commission of appointed officials and a 
super-judicial three-judge panel, Strange stated. The decision of the 
commission and the 3-judge panel would be unchecked, with no provision for 
appellate review of their findings, he stated.

Strange urged senators to join him and the victims of violent crime in 
"standing on the side of justice and oppose this bill."

Brewbaker responded to Strange's statements.

"If the current process is as sound as he says, why do we continue to see 
people exonerated after decades in prison?," Brewbaker stated in his email. 
"Further, by the time the bill comes to the Senate floor the moratorium will 
only apply to cases where there is credible new evidence that a jury has not 
heard, a very small minority of capital cases."

"The Commission is set up to render quickly without enriching a bunch of 
lawyers and stringing out the process," Brewbaker wrote. "His (Strange's) 
assertion that it would significantly lengthen the process is incorrect. The 
rhetoric about "standing on the side of Justice" sounds more like a sound bite 
than a serious discussion about a very serious issue."

(source: al.com)

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

Death penalty moratorium bill moves toward Alabama Senate


Some death penalty cases would get an extra review, and executions put on hold 
until mid-2017, under a bill approved by an Alabama Senate committee Wednesday.

In a unanimous vote, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill to create 
an Innocence Inquiry Commission to review capital murder convictions when new 
evidence of a convict's innocence emerges. The bill would also halt executions 
in Alabama until June 1, 2017. The committee's vote moves the bill to the full 
Senate for consideration.

"If we're going to take this on ourselves, to execute someone, if we're going 
to take away their ability to accept Christ and all the other things that go 
with being alive, we have an obligation to be absolutely sure the people we're 
executing are guilty," said Sen. Dick Brewbaker, R-Montgomery, the bill's 
sponsor.

Brewbaker, a death penalty advocate, said a review of death penalty cases is 
needed to shore up the public's confidence in the death penalty. He cites 
recent exonerations of felons in Alabama, and notes that some other death 
penalty states, such as North Carolina, have review panels in place.

Brewbaker's bill would create an eight-member panel that could review death 
penalty cases looking only at claims of innocence, returning those cases to the 
original court if they believe the evidence of innocence is strong. The bill 
originally covered all felony cases; an amended version approved by the 
committee Wednesday would allow review only of capital crimes.

There are 184 people on Alabama's death row. The longest-running case dates 
back to 1979. Inmates typically challenge the fairness of their trial or the 
constitutionality of lethal injection in appeals courts.

Brewbaker has said he's concerned about innocence claims that don't get heard 
by the court. At least one death row inmate - William Kuenzel, convicted the 
1980s murder of a Sylacauga convenience store clerk - has argued that a missed 
filing deadline kept his claim of innocence from being heard by a court. 
Kuenzel's lawyers have asked the Alabama Supreme Court to grant him a new 
trial.

State prosecutors said the bill would add time and expense to an already 
lengthy death penalty process.

"Just look at North Carolina," said Thomas Govan, a lawyer for the Alabama 
Attorney General's office. "Most of the petitions that have been filed are 200, 
300, 400 pages."

He said a death penalty moratorium would delay executions even of inmate's 
who've confessed to their crimes.

"There's simply no reason for an outright moratorium on the death penalty," he 
said.

Victims of Crime and Leniency, a victim's advocacy group that was still 
undecided about the bill last week, has also come out against Brewbaker's 
measure.

"Victims do not want an innocent person executed," Grantham said. "We just want 
the appeals nightmare to end."

Stephen Stetson, a lawyer for the group Alabama Arise, said the innocence panel 
was need as a "recognition of human frailty" in the justice system.

"This in an instance when we want to be 100 percent sure," Stetson said.

At least one Democrat on the committee, Sen. Hank Sanders, D-Selma, has called 
for a death penalty moratorium before. Republicans on the committee said they 
supported capital punishment, but still supported sending the bill to the full 
Senate for debate.

"I have some concerns about the long-term ramifications of the bill," said Sen. 
Phil Williams, R-Rainbow City. "I don't think it will pass." Still, he said, 
the matter was important enough to go to the full Senate.

Brewbaker said he was open to further amendments, but he also told committee 
members it was important to have another layer of review in place.

"We need to make sure the process is as good as we think it is," he said.

(source: The Anniston Star)






OHIO:

Death penalty trial begins for Brunswick man accused in mother's killing


Jury selection began this week in the death penalty trial of a Brunswick man 
accused of killing his mother.

James D. Tench, 30, is accused of beating his 55-year-old mother Mary Tench to 
death in November 2013 after she confronted him about his debts and about the 
fact that he used her credit card to buy concert tickets, court records say.

James Tench is charged with three counts of aggravated murder, 2 counts of 
murder, aggravated robbery, kidnapping and tampering with evidence.

Jury selection began Monday in Medina County Common Pleas Court and is expected 
to end Tuesday or Wednesday, Medina County Prosecutor Dean Holman said. The 
remainder of the trial is expected to last at least 2 weeks.

Mary Tench was found dead Nov. 12, 2013 inside her car on Carquest Drive in 
Brunswick. Medina County Coroner Neil Grabenstetter said she died from several 
blunt trauma injuries to her head and neck. The impact fractured her skull.

James Tench pleaded guilty in 2014 to robbing a Strongsville restaurant and is 
currently serving a five-year prison sentence at the Richland Correctional 
Institution.

Judge Joyce Kimbler has yet to rule on whether the state can introduce evidence 
that James Tench stole money from his mother before she died. Kimbler will also 
rule on whether the Strongsville robbery is admissible, Holman said.

The state also intends to present evidence that James Tench attacked his mother 
after she confronted him about using her credit card to buy concert tickets, 
and that he assaulted his former fianc???e when she broke off their engagement, 
court records say.

"Evidence that Tench violently attacked people when confronted with adverse 
information is relevant to Tench's motive and intent," prosecutors wrote in the 
motion.

Each aggravated murder count carries the potential sentences of death, life in 
prison without parole, or life in prison with the possibility of parole after 
30 or 25 years. If James Tench is convicted on all counts, prosecutors will 
decide which aggravated murder or murder charge will carry the sentence, Holman 
said previously.

(source: cleveland.com)






MISSOURI:

Death penalty under review in Missouri legislator


Republican Sen. Paul Wieland from Imperial introduced Senate Bill 816 which 
aims to repeal the death penalty in Missouri.

SB 816 would completely repeal the death penalty in Missouri for those 
convicted of 1st degree murder as well as for anyone who has been sentenced to 
death before August 28, 2016.This is the 1st time in years that the Republican 
led state debated a capital punishment bill.

A bipartisan lawmakers group argued the case of capital punishment Monday with 
colleagues. The group plans to end capital punishment completely in the state.

According to the Associated Press, Missouri has executed 18 killers in a span 
of over 2 years.

The Republican senator has received grass root support from Missouri 
Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty. Wieland, a practicing 
Catholic, is anti-abortion and opposes capital punishment.

"I'm a pro-life Catholic and I believe that if you're going to be pro-life, you 
should be pro-life on both ends of the spectrum," Wieland said.

Sen. Kurt Schaefer, former prosecutor of Attorney General Jay Nixon, has argued 
in defense of keeping the death penalty. Schaefer learned from personal 
experience how prosecutors face tough standards when sentencing a criminal on 
death row.

"The idea that somehow the victim in this whole thing is the defendant, who, 
after this whole process was found guilty is outrageous." Schaefer said.

Many have argued capital punishment as "Cruel and unusual punishment" which is 
against the constitution. Pre-law student Katie Brown examines both sides on 
the penalization.

"From an ethical and financial standpoint, the revocation of the death penalty 
in Missouri is appropriate and even necessary, especially when considering the 
costs associated with it. From the ethical standpoint, our Constitution 
recognizes the deliberate taking of another life as murder and has declared 
that illegal," Brown said. "In some ways the death penalty is exactly the type 
of thing the Constitution aims to control, prohibit, not encourage. I may not 
agree with the revocation personally, but from a legal standpoint can 
understand its purpose and proposal."

As of now, the bill has not received enough support to take more action on it 
any further. However, Wieland believes it is a victory the bill was even up for 
debate.

(source: Northwest Missourian)