[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, FLA., IND., N.MEX., CALIF.

[Rick Halperin]

Sept. 22



TEXAS:

Law firm recommends system for initial capital case appeals


A law firm that's been representing Texas death row inmates for more than 2 
decades is recommending the state establish a system for condemned prisoners to 
have better legal help during the initial appeal that follows their trial.

The Texas Defender Service this week released a report that examines what's 
known as direct appeals in death penalty cases. It cited "systemic weaknesses" 
in the way those appeals are handled, contending lawyers are overwhelmed by 
caseloads and underpaid for the time they spend on these cases, that some 
attorneys who do accept the cases are inadequately prepared and that no entity 
in the state is devoted to training or consulting with lawyers handling direct 
appeals.

"The direct appeal framework for Texas death penalty cases is fraught with 
structural weaknesses," the legal group concluded in its report, adding that 
those weaknesses heighten the likelihood that convictions and death sentences 
will be upheld when the appeals are reviewed by the Texas Court of Criminal 
Appeals, the state's highest criminal court.

In direct appeals, attorneys review the trial court record for potential 
errors.

The legal firm is calling on the Legislature to consider establishing a 
statewide capital appellate defender office to represent death row convicts in 
their direct appeals, a statewide appointment system with caseload controls and 
uniform pay rates, and appointment of 2 lawyers - rather than 1 now required - 
to handle direct appeals.

"Deficient representation squanders scarce criminal justice resources, 
undermines the integrity of the Texas criminal justice system and warrants 
immediate attention from stakeholders," the 56-page report said.

The group's recommendations are based on a review of documents from the 84 
direct appeals to the Court of Criminal Appeals during the 7-year period ending 
Dec. 31, 2015.

In its study, the Defender Service said it found the direct appeal attorneys 
had inadequate resources, excessive caseloads, inadequate briefing and showed 
"routine avoidance" to filing reply briefs and applying for review by the U.S. 
Supreme Court.

Capital murder defendants in need of legal help - most of whom are indigent - 
already have a regional public defender for trials in most rural areas of the 
state. State lawmakers in 2009 created the Office of Capital Writs to handle 
later appeals. The Defender Service is recommending such formal legal 
availabilities be extended to the direct appeals process, where it argues the 
quality of representation has remained "unexamined."

Roe Wilson, who heads the Harris County District Attorney's Legal Services 
Bureau, which handles capital case writs in the county that has sent the most 
inmates to death row, questioned the need for 2 defense attorneys to handle a 
direct appeal.

"In a direct appeal, you're limited to the record itself, there's no outside 
investigation," Wilson said Wednesday. "It literally comes down to reading the 
record, identifying claims, doing the legal research and writing. I don't know 
why it would take 2 people to do that."

The report, however, pointed out that county prosecutors have more ready access 
to resources, such as auxiliary staff. Of the 84 cases in the study, 2/3 were 
handled by solo practicing attorneys. None of the 84 convictions was overturned 
by the Court of Criminal Appeals. The death sentence was overturned in 3 of 
them.

Wilson said defendants have better chances later in the appeals writ process 
because factual claims outside the trial record can be presented and 
investigated.

"It's very difficult to get any case, not just a capital case, overturned on 
direct appeal because you are limited to exactly what???s in front of you," she 
said.

(source: Associated Press)

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

Capital Punishment should be controlled by state


It has been just over 5 months since Texas last executed someone. This is the 
longest stay in executions since 2008, when the Supreme Court was on recess and 
states could charge people with the death penalty but couldn't execute anyone. 
With this stay, Texas has only executed 6 people this year, meaning this could 
be the 1st year since the death penalty was reinstated in 1974 that Texas' 
execution count doesn't reach double digits. This has caused many to wonder 
about the future of the death penalty, instead of highlighting the true issue - 
that the death penalty is enacted differently throughout the 254 counties in 
Texas.

Leading the states, Texas has carried out 537 executions since 1982. But not 
all counties handle the death penalty in the same way.

"If Harris County was a state, it would be 2nd only to Texas [in number of 
executions]," Jim Marcus, clinical professor at and co-director of the UT Law 
School's Capital Punishment Clinic, said. "But there are 254 counties in Texas, 
and over a hundred of them haven???t used the death penalty."

If you are prosecuted in Travis County and cannot afford your own lawyer, the 
county is responsible for funding and appointing your defense lawyer. These 
appointments are often corrupt, with local judges choosing lawyers who aren't 
versed in defending capital punishment cases without state oversight. Other 
states have statewide indigent defense systems, where the defense lawyers are 
funded by the state - not the county - and are trained to handle capital 
punishment cases. In these states, each appeal is overseen by a state office.

"You get the death penalty not for having committed the worst crime, but for 
having the worst lawyer," Marcus said. "Texas has chronically and 
systematically underfunded the defense for years."

This underfunding is partially due to the defense council not being funded by 
the state, as many anti-death penalty advocacy groups will attest. Tuesday the 
Texas Defender Service released a report that highlighted the many mistakes 
that have been made with death penalty cases from Jan. 2009 to Dec. 2015, and 
recommended Texas create a state office to oversee death penalty appeals.

In a state where the penal code allows capital felonies to be their own crimes, 
and where the jury is asked questions that distance them from the severity of 
the punishment they so often dole out, having a good defense attorney is a 
basic and necessary human right. A statewide indigent defense system that is 
funded by the state and forces every death penalty appeal to be overseen by a 
state office is the only way Texas can hope to account for the disparity in 
numbers of executions between its different counties. With a system like this 
in place, it could mean fewer people sent to death row, and that Travis County 
and Harris County resemble each other enough in their justice systems to make 
their being a part of the same state more plausible.

(source: Emma Berdainer is a philosphy junior from Boulder, Colorodo--The 
(Univ. Texas) Daily Texan)

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

Law firm recommends system for initial capital case appeals


A law firm that's been representing Texas death row inmates for more than 2 
decades is recommending the state establish a system for condemned prisoners to 
have better legal help during the initial appeal that follows their trial.

The Texas Defender Service, in a report examining what's known as direct 
appeals in death penalty cases, cites "systemic weaknesses" in the way those 
appeals are handled. The legal firm contends lawyers are overwhelmed by 
caseloads and underpaid for the time spent on these cases, that some attorneys 
who do accept the cases are inadequately prepared and that no specific state 
entity is devoted to training or consulting with lawyers handling direct 
appeals.

The group, among its recommendations, is calling for establishment of statewide 
capital appellate defender office to represent death-sentenced convicts.

(source: Associated Press)

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

Unusual misstep in Rodney Reed case prompts request for new judge


Rodney Reed wants a new judge to potentially review his request for DNA 
testing, after an assigned judge appears to have made an "inexplicable" error 
by simultaneously signing and adopting two opposing orders, according to Reed's 
attorney.

Assigned Senior Judge Doug Shaver's apparent mistake relates to Reed's request 
for post-conviction DNA testing on multiple pieces of evidence, which Reed's 
attorneys say could help exonerate the death-row inmate. A Bastrop jury 
sentenced Reed to death for the 1996 killing of Stacey Stites. She was found 
strangled and sexually assaulted on the side of a road outside Bastrop.

The state has opposed further DNA testing. The latest issue arose after the 
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals sent the issue back to Shaver and asked him to 
make additional findings on Reed's appeal for post-conviction DNA testing.

To argue their cases, both the state and Reed submitted findings of fact and 
conclusions to Shaver. The state argued against further DNA testing, and Reed 
argued for it. On Sept. 9, Shaver signed both the state's facts and conclusions 
against DNA testing, as well as Reed's facts and conclusions for DNA testing.

"This is extremely irregular, and frankly alarming, that a judge would make 
such an egregious error in a death penalty case. In my seventeen years 
practicing law, I've never seen a judge make a mistake like this," said Benjet 
in an email. "None of the experienced lawyers and retired judges I've talked to 
about this had seen anything like it either. It's really inexplicable how a 
judge can make diametrically opposite rulings on the same issues, in the same 
case, at the same time."

In light of Shaver signing both parties' proposed findings, the state has asked 
the Court of Criminal Appeals to remand the issue back to the convicting court, 
so it "may clarify which of the parties' findings - all of the State's, all of 
Appellant's, or certain findings from both - it intended to adopt as its own," 
according to a state motion.

Reed's attorneys have asked the Appeals court to make a decision on matter. If 
the Appeals court sends the issue back to the convicting court, Reed wants a 
new judge to be assigned.

"This court, the parties, and the public can no longer have confidence in 
Senior Judge Shaver's continued assignment on this case," Reed attorneys say in 
their opposition to the state's motion to remand.

Reed has maintained his innocence since he was convicted in 1998. In 2015, the 
Appeals court paused Reed???s execution less than 2 weeks before it was set to 
occur.

Reed's supporters say the state's original case against Reed has been 
undermined by multiple new pieces of evidence introduced since his conviction.

(source: KXAN news)

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

Rick Perry, Who Oversaw Executions of Over 200 People, Makes It to 2nd Round of 
Dancing Show


The beautiful thing about the infectiously cheesy Dancing With the Stars is 
that all the contestants have often fraught, disappointing histories. Many of 
the "celebrities" haven't had real acting roles in decades; one Olympic swimmer 
recently peed on a gas station and fled a South American country. One of them 
has overseen more executions than any governor in modern history. Lives lived, 
you know!

ABC hit us with a 2-night 2nd week of the 23rd season - 4 hours of beautiful 
competition between mostly retired adults. Monday evening's show was Television 
Night, during which competitors had to do a themed dance to an assigned 
television show (if you were on one, that's the one you were assigned). So, 
Marilu Henner and Derek Hough danced to the Taxi, Maureen McCormick and Artem 
Chigvintsev did Brady Bunch with a guest appearance from Florence Henderson, 
Jake T. Austin (voice of Diego) and Jenna Johnson did an unsettlingly sexy 
interpretation of children's cartoon Go Diego Go!

Former governor and failed presidential candidate Rick Perry, whose 234 
executions equal more than the next 2 highest execution states combined, and 
partner Emma Slater did a quickstep to the Green Acres theme song. It was 
goofy, down-homey, and made us forget for a little over a minute that he also 
vetoed a bill that would've excluded mentally disabled from the death penalty 
and fought vigorously to be able to execute minors!

Ultimately, Diego-voice Jake T. Austin, who said it was "ironic" that he and 
his dance partner were both born in 1994, was sent home, probably because his 
fanbase isn't allowed to use a telephone without parental supervision.

Perry, who is by far the worst dancer on the show, snuck through to the 3rd 
week - likely with his large contingent of Texas voters who think it's 
admirable that Perry only met 1 person on death row during his entire tenure as 
governor who he thought deserved to live! Even among those who forensic experts 
said were maybe innocent!

Bobby Finger, Jezebel staff writer and Texan, suggested a title for this 
article: "We Now Know How Rick Perry Sleeps at Night: By Exhausting Himself 
With Dance."

(source: jezebel.com)






FLORIDA:

Supreme Court of Florida could rule on fate of nearly 400 death row 
inmates----State's method of imposing death sentences ruled unconstitutional


The Supreme Court of Florida could rule as early as Thursday on the fate of 
nearly 400 death row inmates after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last January 
that the way in which death sentences are handed down in the state is 
unconstitutional.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Florida's method is unconstitutional because 
the jury doesn't have the final say.

The first question facing Florida courts is what to do with the 388 people on 
death row. Jacksonville lawyer Richard Kuritz, representing 1 inmate, argued in 
June that they should all automatically be resentenced to life in prison.

"Absolutely, because when we start drawing a line, that's where the problem is 
going to be is because the statute has been declared unconstitutional," Kuritz 
said. "The sentencing scheme, well, it's the same scheme we've been using since 
the reinstatement of the death penalty case."

The 2nd question facing the court is whether the state's new death sentencing 
law, which lawmakers passed last spring, goes far enough because it requires 10 
of the 12 jurors to agree on a death sentence.

Former Supreme Court Justice Raoul Cantero was in court this week lecturing on 
the death penalty. He wrote a decade ago that that Florida must adopt a 
unanimous jury if it wanted to continue to impose death sentences.

"But the Legislature refused to do it, and I think the law has evolved since 
then, and I think the time has come," Cantero said. "I don't think 10-2 repairs 
the deficiencies in the statute."

No matter what the court decides, it's likely to face multiple appeals that 
could take a long time.

Without the 10-2 compromise, lawmakers said there would be no death penalty at 
all. In the end, not requiring a unanimous jury might have the same result.

(source: news4jax.com)

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

The 2 questions SCOTUS has to answer about Florida's death penalty


The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled Florida's death sentencing rule 
unconstitutional, and now the court has 2 questions to answer.

The Supreme Court ruled that the way Florida imposes death sentences was 
unconstitutional because the jury didn't have the final say.

The 1st question facing Florida Courts? What to do with the 388 people on death 
row.

In June, Jacksonville lawyer Richard Kuritz, representing one inmate, argued 
they should all automatically be re-sentenced to life in prison.

"Absolutely, because when we start drawing a line, that's where the problem is 
going to be is because the statute has been declared unconstitutional," Kuritz 
says. "The sentencing scheme. well, it's the same scheme we've been using since 
the reinstatement of the death penalty case."

The 2nd question facing the court is whether the state's new death sentencing 
law, which lawmakers passed this spring, goes far enough because it only 
requires 10 of the 12 jurors to agree on death.

Former Supreme Court Justice Raoul Cantero was in the court this week lecturing 
on the death penalty. A decade ago he wrote that Florida must adopt a unanimous 
jury if it wanted to continue to impose death.

"But the legislature refused to do it and I think the law has evolved since 
than, and I think the time has come," says Cantero, "I don't think 10-2 repairs 
the deficiencies in the statute."

No matter what this court decides, it's likely to face multiple appeals that 
could take a long time.

Without the 10-2 compromise, lawmakers say there would be no death penalty at 
all. But in the end, not requiring a unanimous jury may have the same result.

(source: WCTV news)






INDIANA:

Pence puts politics ahead of fairness for innocent man


Indiana Gov. Mike Pence refuses to pardon an innocent man, apparently because 
he is so very afraid of offending a single Donald Trump voter.

We have seen how Trump compulsively puts political self-interest before fair 
play and decency. Now we have to wonder if Pence, his vice presidential running 
mate, is cut from the same cheap cloth.

Pence's general counsel this week notified a lawyer for Keith Cooper of 
suburban Country Club Hills that Cooper must pursue a lengthy and pointless 
legal proceeding - likely to take years - before Pence will even consider a 
pardon. That might sound reasonable to a non-lawyer, but it is in reality an 
unnecessary and unjustifiable barrier to ending this case fairly.

Cooper, originally sentenced to 40 years in an Indiana prison for armed 
robbery, was freed after 10 years in 2006, and the evidence of his innocence is 
overwhelming. But the felony remains on his record, making it hard for him to 
work up to better jobs or get compensation for his wrongful conviction and time 
in prison. No one can give him his 10 years back, but he certainly deserves 
better.

So what is Gov. Pence doing about that? Ducking.

Pardoning a man who has been convicted of a serious crime - even if the 
underlying case falls apart and the suspect is freed - is often seen as 
politically risky by governors. Nobody wants to look soft on crime, even if 
pardoning an innocent man is hardly being soft on crime.

Here in Illinois, for example, Bruce Rauner is the 3rd successive governor to 
refuse to pardon Gordon "Randy" Steidl, who spent 17 years in prison - 12 of 
them on death row - for a 1986 double murder he did not commit. Since being set 
free, Steidl has been a leading voice for the abolition of the death penalty, 
and he has helped change legislators' minds in many states. But his request for 
a pardon goes unanswered.

In Cooper's case, the victims who originally identified him and the Elkhart 
County prosecutor who originally helped put him behind bars all agree Cooper is 
innocent. A jailhouse informant who testified against Cooper recanted in 2003. 
In 2014, the Indiana Parole Board concluded that Pence should pardon Cooper.

And yet, Pence refuses to grant the pardon.

Cooper faced a difficult choice in 2005, when the Indiana Court of Appeals 
overturned the conviction of his co-defendant in the armed robbery case. The 
co-defendant eventually was awarded $4.9 million for his wrongful conviction. 
Cooper at that time was offered a choice between a new trial - with no quick 
resolution and the outcome in doubt - or walking out of prison immediately 
while remaining a felon. He chose the latter, partly because his family had 
been living in a shelter and needed help.

Proof that Cooper's case went off the rails is irrefutable. A key piece of 
evidence is the DNA from a customized baseball cap with rhinestones. The hat, 
worn by a perpetrator, fell off during a scuffle during the armed robbery for 
which Cooper was convicted. But it did not match Cooper???s DNA. In 2004, a 3rd 
DNA test linked the hat to a different man, who was serving time for a 2002 
murder in Benton Harbor, Mich.

Governors can delay action on pardons, or refuse them, as they wish. Like the 
right of kings, from which this power descends, it is always their call.

But Pence has made a bad call, as best we can see it, and for the worst of 
reasons - bald political self-interest.

(source: Chicago Sun-Times Editorial Board)






NEW MEXICO:

Attorneys: Reinstating death penalty could cost millions


The governor wants to reinstate the death penalty after several children and 
police officers were killed this year.

But, if Gov. Susana Martinez gets her way, the New Mexico Public Defender's 
Office says it will cost the state millions of dollars.

"(It is) just a tremendous investment of time, trauma and money, and for what? 
We never actually use it," Jeff Buckels, the office's supervising attorney, 
said.

He helped abolish the death penalty in 2009.

"The numbers on this were all run through the Legislature in 2009, and I'm 
certain nothing's changed," he said.

Buckels says death penalty cases are more expensive because more is at stake, 
so cases usually take more time, require specialized attorneys and a more 
extensive jury selection.

According to 2009 legislative documents, court administrators said seating a 
jury typically costs about $8,000, but in a death penalty case, it's closer to 
$25,000.

Buckels also says a lot of convictions are often appealed.

He believes life without the possibility of parole is an appropriate 
alternative: less expensive, and "it doesn't involve killing someone who in the 
end could be proved innocent after they're gone," he said.

Senate Democrats and the Archdiocese of Santa Fe have also voiced their 
opposition.

(source: KOAT news)

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

Reject Martinez call for NM death penalty


We, the Catholic bishops of New Mexico, find the decision by Gov. Susana 
Martinez to place the reinstatement of the death penalty on the agenda of a 
special legislative session to be irresponsible.

The Legislature spent a decade debating the issue, ending with a bipartisan 
vote that ended the practice of a state-sanctioned death penalty. This was a 
definitive decision and had ample discovery of evidence and debate. That 
decision should remain final.

The abomination of taking a life, the death penalty, needs to be addressed in a 
general session where full debate, in front of numerous committees, can examine 
all the facts and legislators can hear all public comment.

New Mexico faces the crisis of children being abused. Our utmost priority must 
be to work together to protect and prevent harm to our children, not 
reinstating state-sanctioned violence. Violence does not end violence.

The death penalty does not prevent the death of children. The current financial 
crisis of the state damages the ability for state programs to deliver critical 
prevention services. These are the issues at hand for a special session.

It is evident that the governor has chosen to use the deaths of police officers 
and children to drive a politically motivated action to place the death penalty 
on a very short special session purely for the purpose of politics and campaign 
jockeying.

We call on the governor to recant her call for placing this on the agenda of 
the special session. We also call on the legislators to reject this proposed 
agenda item in the special session.

Pope Francis has called for a world-wide end to the death penalty. We oppose 
the reinstatement of the death penalty in New Mexico.

If there were to be a debate on this, the integrity of the process should be 
protected by all. This irresponsible move by the governor is ignoring the 
immensity of the issue.

The national trend is to end the practice of using the death penalty. The 
evidence of innocent persons unjustly convicted and on death row that has been 
brought to light by DNA, for example, illustrates the unethical and problematic 
use of the death penalty.

The governor is attempting to create a distraction from the numerous crises 
taking place in New Mexico. The financial and social crises of the state need 
the full attention of our legislators.

(source: Guest Column; The Most Rev. John C. Wester / Archbishop Of Santa Fe 
The Most Rev. James Wall / Bishop Of Gallup And The Most Rev. Oscar Cantu / 
Bishop Of Las Cruces----Albuquerque Journal)



CALIFORNIA:

Wozniak to get death sentence on Friday


Convicted double-murderer Daniel Wozniak, a community theater actor from Costa 
Mesa, is scheduled to be sentenced on Friday, a judge determined on Wednesday.

Judge John D. Conley could follow a jury's recommendation that Wozniak be 
sentenced to death, after more than 6 years of court hearings.

The case was delayed as Wozniak's defense attorney, Assistant Public Defender 
Scott Sanders, alleged systemic misconduct by Orange County prosecutors and 
sheriff's deputies involving the use of jailhouse informants.

Sanders was able to persuade a judge to removed the entire District Attorney's 
Office from the penalty phase for Scott Dekraai, who pleaded guilty to shooting 
8 people at a Seal Beach salon in 2011 and awaits sentencing, in another one of 
his cases. The ruling is under appeal.

In the Wozniak case, Conley found no evidence of misconduct and cleared the way 
for the trial to begin last year.

On Wednesday, the judge denied Sanders' final effort to delay sentencing so he 
could respond to accusations by Prosecutor Matt Murphy.

"I'm only interested in the case of Mr. Wozniak," he said. "I think the 
bickering between you 2 has clouded your judgment."

Wozniak, 31, was convicted in December of killing 2 friends for money to pay 
for his wedding and honeymoon.

On May 21, 2010, Wozniak lured Sam Herr, 26, to the Joint Forces Training Base 
in Los Alamitos and then shot and killed him. The actor returned the next day 
and cut off Herr's head, a hand and a forearm and tossed the body parts in Long 
Beach's El Dorado Park.

In an attempt to throw police off of his trail, Wozniak used Herr's cellphone 
to lure Juri "Julie" Kibuishi, 23, to Herr's apartment. Prosecutors said 
Wozniak then shot and killed her.

Many friends and family members, including fellow Army veterans who served with 
Herr in Afghanistan, are expected to attend the hearing. Those closest to the 
victims will give statements in court before the sentence is handed down.

(source: Orange County Register)

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

Judge says evidence supports death verdict in murder case


Wednesday morning, an Alameda County Superior Court judge said the 
"overwhelming weight" of the evidence against convicted double murderer Darnell 
Williams Jr. "supports the jury's verdict of death" from earlier this year.

The hearing is ongoing and is slated to continue after lunch with victim impact 
statements from individuals tied to the case. The official sentencing has not 
been handed down.

The jury's recommendation earlier this year was the 1st death penalty sentence 
in Alameda County under the leadership of District Attorney Nancy O'Malley.

Williams, 25, of Berkeley was convicted by a jury in May, after nearly a month 
of testimony, of 2 fatal shootings in 2013. The victims were 8-year-old Alaysha 
Carradine and 22-year-old Anthony "Tone" Medearis III, a father of 3.

Wednesday, Judge Jeffrey Horner appeared poised to uphold that sentence and 
said the aggravating factors were "so substantial" that "death is warranted." 
He said the jury's ruling appeared appropriate due to the extensive evidence 
and testimony presented in the case.

Authorities said Williams killed Carradine in Oakland in July 2013 as 
retribution for the fatal shooting earlier that day of his longtime friend 
Jermaine Davis in Berkeley.

Carradine was a guest at a sleepover at the home of the wife and children of 
the man authorities say killed Davis. According to court testimony, Williams 
went to that home and opened fire, intent on exacting revenge by killing the 
former girlfriend and children of the man believed to have killed his friend.

Medearis' killing took place following a fight at a dice game in West Berkeley 
less than 2 months later. According to authorities, Williams planned to rob 
Medearis and wanted to kill him because of allegations he had "snitched" to 
police during an earlier incident.

(source: berkeleyside.com)

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

Decades-old photo links serial killer Rodney Alcala to yet another slaying, 
this one in Wyoming, prosecutors


Nearly 4 decades after a pregnant woman's body was found on a Wyoming ranch, 
prosecutors have connected her death to one of California's most prolific 
serial killers, Rodney Alcala.

On Tuesday, prosecutors in Sweetwater County, Wyo., charged Alcala with the 
1977 killing of Christine Ruth Thornton after discovering a photo that Alcala 
had snapped of her before her death. The aging photograph was found among 
Alcala's possessions by Huntington Beach police, but it was only recently that 
the dead woman's sister recognized Thornton among the images.

The photo was among several publicized by Huntington Beach detectives after 
Alcala was sentenced to death in 2010 for killing 4 women and a 12-year-old in 
the late 1970s. The photo was spotted by Thornton's relatives in 2013.

Known as the "Dating Game" killer because he appeared on the popular television 
program decades ago, the former photographer has also been convicted of killing 
2 women in New York. Investigators believe the 73-year-old is responsible for 
scores of other deaths. They made some photos public in the hope that they 
would produce leads.

Prosecutors confronted Alcala with the photo at California's Corcoran State 
Prison. Alcala told prosecutors that he did indeed take the picture, but 
insisted that Thornton was alive when he left, Erramouspe said.

When asked if he killed the 28-year-old Thornton, Alcala responded: "You're 
crazy."

"But he said some things that help tie him to the murder," Erramouspe said. "He 
likes to talk."

Prosecutors say Alcala met Thornton, who was from Texas, during a road trip and 
buried her in a remote area. She was 6 months pregnant at the time.

Thornton's family never knew what happened to the expectant mother, but 
contacted Huntington Beach police when they saw her photo. 2 of Thornton's 
siblings submitted DNA samples to a national missing person's database, which 
also contained DNA from the Wyoming body, which had remained unidentified for 
decades. In July 2015, the database connected the samples and alerted Wyoming 
authorities that the deceased was likely Thornton.

So far, DNA recovered from the body also includes that of a Latino male, 
according to prosecutors. Erramouspe said samples are being sent to an FBI lab 
for further testing to see if they belong to Alcala.

The prosecutor said he is seeking to bring Alcala to Wyoming to get justice in 
the 1977 killing, but no timeline exists for the move.

Alcala's crimes stretch back to 1968, when he raped and beat an 8-year-old girl 
- crimes he was convicted of 4 years later.

The women and 1 girl he has been convicted of killing in California are Jill 
Barcomb, 18, who was sexually assaulted, bludgeoned and strangled before her 
body was dumped in the Hollywood Hills in November 1977; Georgia Wixted, 27, 
who was sexually assaulted, strangled and beaten to death in her Malibu home a 
month later; Charlotte Lamb, 32, who was found dead in her El Segundo laundry 
room after she was raped and strangled with a shoelace in June 1978; Jill 
Parenteau, 21, who was strangled to death and left in her Burbank apartment in 
June 1979; and Robin Samsoe, 12, who disappeared near Huntington Beach Pier in 
June 1979, and whose body was discovered days later in the Sierra Madre 
foothills.

After his sentencing, Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas declared: 
"Rodney Alcala is the poster child for the death penalty."

Many of the detectives who worked the case believe Thornton won't be the last 
victim tied to the killer.

"Him being behind bars since 1979 probably saved a lot of lives," said Cliff 
Shepard, a retired cold case detective with the Los Angeles Police Department.

(source: Los Angeles Times)

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

Motion denied to separate trial for man accused of Sierra LaMar's disappearance 
from attempted kidnappings


A Santa Clara County Superior Court judge has denied a motion from a 
25-year-old man to hold separate trials on charges of kidnapping and murdering 
15-year-old Sierra LaMar in 2012 from 3 attempted kidnappings in Morgan Hill 
years earlier.

Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Vanessa Zecher denied a motion brought 
by Antolin Garcia-Torres to hold separate trials on charges surrounding 
Sierra's disappearance from the attempted kidnappings outside Morgan Hill 
Safeway grocery stores in March 2009.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Garcia-Torres, whose trial is 
expected to start later this year.

"Although there may be some potential prejudice to the charges remaining 
joined, the defendant has not made a clear showing of prejudice to support the 
granting of the Motion of Severance," Zecher wrote in a written order issued 
Tuesday.

Defense attorneys for Garcia-Torres argued in their motion that the Safeway 
parking lot incidents didn't show a link with Sierra's disappearance or 
indicate if the same person carried out the crime.

One of the women drove away as the suspect tried to open her car door and the 
other 2 victims were assaulted as they were either entering or exiting their 
vehicles, according to the defense attorneys.

Garcia-Torres was identified as a suspect through a latent fingerprint on a 
stun gun battery left behind in one of the attempted kidnappings, but the 3 
victims didn't identify him as a suspect, according to the defense attorneys.

In response to the defense's motion, prosecutors argued that the alleged crimes 
showed a common scheme and shared themes of intending to kidnap, stalking and 
assault.

The jury should determine if there's enough evidence to show Garcia-Torres' 
role in the other crimes, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said they anticipate that the Safeway victims' testimony at trial 
will make the attempted kidnapping charges equal to the ones in Sierra's case.

On March 16, 2012, Sierra was last seen at her home in unincorporated Morgan 
Hill and didn't make the bus stop for school. The girl's clothing and cellphone 
were found days after she went missing.

Garcia-Torres was arrested about 2 months after Sierra disappeared after her 
DNA was found in his red Volkswagen Jetta, prosecutors said.

Many organized searches have taken place in the 4 years after she was last 
seen, but her body hasn't been found.

(source: KRON news)

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

Polls: Voters favor legalizing pot, outlawing capital punishment ---- A 
majority of Californians support a proposition to legalize recreational 
marijuana and a plurality support repealing the death penalty, according to 2 
polls released Thursday. A poll by the Public Policy Institute of California 
also showed support for 2 tax measures on the November ballot.


Ballot initiatives that would make smoking marijuana for recreation legal for 
all adults and outlaw the death penalty have jumped out to big leads, according 
to 2 new polls released Wednesday night.

Prospects look especially strong for Proposition 64, the marijuana initiative, 
which has the support of 60 % of likely voters, a poll by the nonpartisan 
Public Policy Institute of California shows. The measure is opposed by 36 % of 
respondents, while only 4 % said they were undecided.

Proposition 62, which would replace the death penalty with lifetime 
imprisonment without parole, has a tougher road to passage, according to the 
Field Poll, done in conjunction with UC Berkeley's Institute of Government 
Studies.

The measure, which faces a competing state initiative, has the support of 48 % 
of likely voters, while 37 % oppose it and 15 % are undecided. The pollsters 
cautioned, however, that a nearly identical proposition 4 years ago enjoyed a 
similar lead before being defeated by an electorate that wasn't ready to soften 
sentences for some of the state's most violent criminals.

"The default position on any crime policy initiative is hard-line because 
criminals are not terribly popular in public opinion," said Frank Zimring, a UC 
Berkeley criminal justice professor who studies the death penalty.

While voters in recent years have appeared to be moving leftward when it comes 
to criminal justice issues, they seem increasingly stingy when it comes to 
giving the state a bigger line of credit. PPIC found that only 47 % of likely 
voters back Proposition 51, a $9 billion school facilities bond that Gov. Jerry 
Brown is opposing as fiscally reckless.

Bond measures have historically started with about 60 % support, said Mark 
Baldassare, PPIC's president and CEO.

"The governor has really stressed fiscal caution," he said, "and we're seeing 
some fiscal caution in terms of how people are reflecting on school bonds."

Likely voters, however, appear to be more receptive to approving taxes that 
won't affect most of them.

(source: Mercury News)

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

End the death penalty in California


On the ballot this Nov. 8 in California is Proposition 62.

This proposition would repeal the death penalty in our state and would make 
life in prison without parole the maximum punishment that could be imposed for 
crimes of murder.

My brother bishops and I in the California Catholic Conference are supporting 
this effort.

It is time for us to end the death penalty - not only in California but 
throughout the United States and throughout the world.

The Catholic Church has always taught that legitimate governments have the 
right to impose the death penalty on those guilty of the most serious crimes. 
This teaching has been consistent for centuries - in the Scriptures, in the 
writings of the Church Fathers and in the teachings of the popes.

But in recent years, there has been a growing consensus that the use of the 
death penalty can no longer be accepted. This consensus is reflected in the 
Catechism of the Catholic Church, in the teachings of bishops??? conferences 
around the world and in the teachings of Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI 
and now Pope Francis.

On his final visit to our country in 1999, St. John Paul called the death 
penalty "cruel and unnecessary." And it is true.

The reason is that every life is sacred and every person has a dignity that 
comes from God. This is true for the innocent and it is true for the guilty. It 
is true even for those convicted of the most violent crimes.

The Church has always opposed abortion and euthanasia because it involves the 
direct and voluntary killing of innocent human beings. Obviously, the death 
penalty is different. Those guilty of violent crime are not innocent.

But in opposing the death penalty we are also witnessing to the sanctity of 
life. We are saying that even the most sinful and guilty lives are precious to 
God and should not be taken by others.

The death penalty denies God's plan of mercy and justice. It violates the 
condemned person's dignity and deprives him of the chance to change his heart 
and make amends for his crimes.

In seeking an end to the death penalty, we never forget the victims of crime 
and their loved ones. We entrust them to the Father of mercies and we pray that 
he grant them healing and peace.

But we recognize that killing the criminal does not bring justice to the 
victims. Our country has far more effective ways to bring murderers to justice 
and to keep society safe from violent criminals.

Rather than condemn them to death, as Christians, we should pray for their 
conversion and encourage their rehabilitation and ultimate restoration to 
society.

For some criminals, this will never be possible. Their hearts are too damaged, 
too cruel and hardened. But we know that conversion and repentance is God's 
work, not ours.

We are encouraged by the witness of saints like St. Therese of Lisieux to 
continue to pray for and work for the conversion of those on "death row." We 
know that life belongs to God alone and we believe that there is no one who 
cannot be touched by God's mercy and changed by his love.

The Church is not changing her teaching. Governments will always have the 
justification to use the death penalty if it is necessary to carry out its task 
of ensuring social order. What the Church is urging is that the government use 
its discretion to show instead mercy as a testimony to the sanctity of human 
life and to the possibility that every person can find redemption and 
rehabilitation.

In this, we are following some of the great doctors of the ancient Church, such 
as St. Ambrose and St. Augustine. In their times, they also urged government 
authorities to show mercy in capital cases.

And, of course, we have the witness of Jesus Christ, who pardoned the woman 
caught in adultery - a crime at the time that carried a mandatory death 
sentence.

Something else I've been thinking about. We have a strange appetite for 
violence in our popular culture. We allow children to play violent video games 
and listen to music that demeans human dignity. For "entertainment," we watch 
movies and shows in which fictional criminals take other people's lives and 
commit unspeakable acts.

In this cultural context, I do not see how the death penalty can ever again 
express society's ultimate value for human life. In this cultural context, the 
death penalty can only function as 1 more killing.

In a culture of death, I believe mercy alone can be the only credible witness 
to the sanctity of life and the dignity of the human person.

I urge all of you to continue to pray and reflect on this complicated issue. We 
have established a website with resources to help in your reflection - 
killingisntjustice.org.

Pray for me this week and I will be praying for you.

And may our Blessed Mother Mary help all of us to be faithful citizens and 
witnesses to the culture of life in our time.

(source: Archbishop Jose Gomez, angelusnews.com)