[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----OHIO, IND., NEB., COLO., UTAH

[Rick Halperin]

Sept. 24



OHIO:

Forensic pathologist describes extent of Glenara Bates' fatal injuries


Bruises. Scars. Burns. Open sores. Missing teeth. Marks that were "consistent 
with" being whipped with belts. A gash in Glenara Bates' forehead that was 
possibly a day old.

On Friday, a forensic pathologist testified at the death penalty trial of Glen 
Bates that some of the head injuries suffered by his daughter typically are 
caused by "shaking or swinging."

The pathologist, Dr. Jennifer Schott, testified as photographs of the injuries 
that covered Glenara's emaciated body were shown on a large video screen in 
front of the jury box. Glenara weighed 13 pounds when she died on March 29, 
2015.

Some jurors were visibly disturbed by the images. One appeared to be on the 
verge of tears during much of Schott's testimony.

"There's been an attempt to sew the skin together with regular sewing thread," 
Schott said about the head wound.

She said many of Glenara's injuries overlapped. The cause of death was battered 
child syndrome, acute and chronic head injuries, and starvation.

During much of Friday's testimony, Bates stared blankly toward a video monitor 
on the defense table. When a close-up autopsy photo of Glenara's face was 
shown, he appeared to close his eyes.

Glen Bates says he isn't responsible for the beating and starvation death of 
his 2-year-old daughter, despite evidence so damning his attorneys "begged" him 
to take a plea deal.

Bates, 34, chose to stand trial on charges that could lead to a death sentence 
rather than plead guilty to aggravated murder and face a minimum prison 
sentence of 15 years to life.

"I'm not going to deny that we argued for a plea," one of his attorneys, Norm 
Aubin, told Judge Megan Shanahan earlier this week after Bates unexpectedly 
announced he wanted to fire them. "We begged, we argued, we used logic, we used 
other attorneys."

"If I could have made him take the plea, I would have made him take the plea," 
Aubin added. "We also explained to him why he should take the plea, which is 
that the evidence in the case is what it is."

Shanahan denied Bates' request, and the trial went forward in Hamilton County 
Common Pleas Court, with prosecutors presenting their case over 3 days. Closing 
arguments are set to begin Monday.

The most significant evidence may have been the testimony of Glenara Bates' 
10-year-old sister, who said Glen Bates - the day before Glenara died - held 
Glenara by the legs and "swung" her into a wall.

Bates' attorneys have directed blame at his onetime girlfriend, 30-year-old 
Andrea Bradley. Bates lived off and on with Glenara, Bradley and several of her 
children in a rented house in East Walnut Hills. Bradley, whose case is being 
handled separately, faces the same charges - aggravated murder, murder and 
child endangering. She also faces the death penalty and has turned down at 
least one plea deal.

At the time of her arrest, she was about 7 months pregnant with Bates' child, 
their 3rd together. All the children have been placed in foster care.

Bates' trial is the 1st death penalty case to go to trial in Hamilton County 
since 2014, according to court records. In that case, Daniel Davis was found 
guilty in the strangulation and stabbing death of a 79-year-old man. The jury, 
however, declined to recommend a death sentence.

Shanahan told jurors on Friday to pack overnight bags, in case they can't reach 
a verdict Monday. She said they would be sequestered in a hotel, something 
court officials said happens in all death penalty cases.

The trial also featured Bates' video-recorded statements to Cincinnati police 
detectives.

Jurors saw how, in an interview on the day of Glenara's death, he expressed no 
sorrow or outrage when detectives showed him photos of her numerous and often 
gruesome injuries.

After several times denying he had done anything, he said Glenara once "fell" 
on her head after he "was holding her by her legs, up in the air."

When asked about several bite marks found on Glenara's arm and chest, he said 
they were his after detectives said they would compare dental impressions.

"We'd be playing, like, doggie gonna get ya' ... and I'll shake her," he said. 
"I probably bit her too hard. Something like that."

Bates' attorneys rested their case Friday without calling any witnesses.

(source: cincinnati.com)

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

Attorneys for Danny Lee Hill say judge will deny request for new trial


A filing by attorneys for Danny Lee Hill, 49, says the judge considering a 
possible retrial for the death-row inmate has indicated she will deny the 
request.

The filing by attorneys Sarah R. Kostick and Vicky Ruth Adams Werneke renews 
their request to Judge Patricia A. Cosgrove for a hearing on the question.

Judge Cosgrove is a visiting judge hearing the case on assignment from the Ohio 
Supreme Court.

The Wednesday filing says Judge Cosgrove told the parties in an Aug. 8 
telephone conference that she would have a hearing next Thursday and Sept. 30 
to hear evidence on the motion for new trial.

But it adds that Aug. 17 Judge Cosgrove told the parties by telephone that the 
hearing was "revoked," and she would issue an opinion on whether to grant a new 
trial shortly.

Hill and another defendant, Timothy Combs, were convicted of raping, torturing 
and burning Raymond Fife, 12, in a wooded area along Palmyra Road on Sept. 10, 
1985, as Raymond rode his bicycle to a Boy Scout meeting. Raymond died 2 days 
later from his injuries. An expert witness said the bite marks were made by 
Hill.

(source: vindy.com)

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

Suspected serial killer indicted for aggravated murder; potentially faces death 
penalty


The Ashland County Grand Jury ha issued a 23-felony-count indictment against 
Shawn Grate.

The indictment includes 2 charges of aggravated murder which is punishable 
either by life in prison or the death penalty.

The charges against Grate are related to the deaths of Elizabeth Griffith and 
Stacey Stanley and the kidnapping of an unknown woman this month.

Authorities are also investigating Grate for the deaths of 3 other women.

The indictment also references 2 unoccupied mobile homes in Ashland County, and 
the Miflin Flea Market. Sources tell 10TV none of those locations are related 
to any of the victims, and that Grate broke into the mobile homes and slept in 
at lease one because he was homeless.

Among Grate's former co-workers at the Sav-A-Lot in Ashland, his indictment 
brings a sigh of relief for one woman who doesn't want to be identified.

"He would follow me around the store and continually try to talk to me. He 
would get angry at our manager," she said.

The woman says Grate invited her over to his apartment but she turned him down.

"I thought to myself I'm glad I didn't go home with him. I mean there was no 
lure there and he was creepy," she said.

10TV has also learned Grate worked as a landscaper at the Mansfield Holiday Inn 
last fall.

(source: 10tv.com)






INDIANA----death sentence overturned

Appeals court overturns Indiana death row inmate's conviction


A federal appeals court overturned the triple-murder conviction of an Indiana 
death row inmate on Friday and granted him a new trial due to key evidence that 
was withheld in earlier trials, the man's attorney and court documents said.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit in Chicago voted 6-3 to overturn 
the conviction of Wayne Kubsch for the 1988 murders of his wife Beth Kubsch, 
her ex-husband Rick Milewski and his son Aaron Milewski.

A videotaped police interview with neighbor Amanda Buck, who was then 9, could 
have helped challenge the prosecution's timeline of events if it had been 
introduced as evidence, the court said.

The tape was never shown to a jury because Buck was later unable to retell the 
events she described to police during the interview.

"Amanda's statement was exculpatory. If the statement were factually accurate, 
then Kubsch would be innocent," court documents said.

The documents added that while the state was not wrong in its decision to 
exclude the tape from earlier trials, a precedent set by the U.S. Supreme Court 
made clear that it must now be entered.

The interview is "the only available information tending to corroborate 
Kubsch's claim of innocence," court documents said.

Alan Freedman, Kubsch's attorney, said by telephone he was relieved by the 
decision. Freedman said he spoke to his client earlier in the day to tell him 
the news.

Kubsch was tried twice for the murders. He was convicted both times and also 
recommended for the death penalty both times.

Beth Kubsch was found in September 1988 stabbed to death and wrapped in duct 
tape in the basement of a home in Mishawaka, Indiana.

Rick and Aaron Milewski were found in the same basement stabbed multiple times 
and shot in the mouth, according to court documents.

Wayne Kubsch was in severe debt, and 2 months before the murders had taken out 
a $575,000 life insurance policy on his wife, court documents said.

During his 1st trial, prosecutors argued that he killed his wife to collect the 
money from the policy.

(source: Reuters)

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

Prosecutor faces discipline for press comments over ruling for killer


Johnson County Prosecutor Bradley Cooper faces possible professional sanctions 
for comments he made to the Indianapolis Star and the Associated Press after a 
judge ruled a man facing the death penalty wasn't competent to be executed.

Cooper was a deputy prosecutor and among the first witnesses to see the body of 
18-year-old Franklin College student Kelly Eckart in 1997 after her body was 
discovered in a ravine near Camp Atterbury in Brown County. She had been 
abducted, raped and murdered. Michael Overstreet was convicted of her rape and 
murder and sentenced to death in 2000.

After Overstreet failed to gain post-conviction relief that would spare him 
from lethal injection in 2013, the Indiana Supreme Court authorized a 
successive PCR petition on the claim that Overstreet was insane.

Justice Robert Rucker wrote for the court that a psychiatrist's evaluation of 
Overstreet opined that he "does not have, and does not have the ability to 
produce, a rational understanding of why the State of Indiana plans to execute 
him."

When Johnson Superior Judge Cynthia Emkes recused herself from the subsequent 
post-conviction proceeding because she had presided over Overstreet's criminal 
trial, the case ultimately was assigned to a judge in St. Joseph County, about 
165 miles away. In November 2014, St. Joseph Superior Judge Jane Woodward 
Miller granted Overstreet's petition.

The Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission's complaint against Cooper 
claims he committed professional misconduct for comments he made in the wake of 
Miller's ruling. The complaint seeks appropriate sanctions against Cooper's 
license to practice law.

According to the commission, Cooper told The Star:

"I was angry and suspicious when this case was sent to a distant judge who is 
not accountable to the Johnson County citizenry or a grieving mother who 
couldn't even afford to drive up for the hearing. The idea that this convicted 
murdering monster is too sick to be executed is nothing short of outrageous and 
is an injustice to the victim, her mother, the jury and the hundreds of people 
who worked to convict this animal."

The commission also cited this statement Cooper made to AP:

"Once this case got shipped to a distant judge who is not beholden to the 
voters and citizens of Johnson County, it didn't surprise me that she didn't 
want to create the headache for herself by keeping with this case ... I think 
the idea that this rapist murderer is basically too sick to be executed is 
ridiculous."

Eckart's parents, Dale and Connie Sutton, told IL in 2011 they planned to 
continue showing up at Overstreet's hearings until the death sentence was 
carried out.

Cooper is charged with violating Rule of Professional Conduct 8.2(a), which 
states, "A lawyer shall not make a statement that the lawyer knows to be false 
or with reckless disregard as to its truth or falsity concerning the 
qualifications or integrity of a judge, adjudicatory officer or public legal 
officer, or of a candidate for election or appointment to judicial or legal 
office."

Cooper, who's represented by Indianapolis attorneys James Voyles and Jennifer 
Lukemeyer, acknowledged the comments in his response to the commission's 
complaint, but he denied the comments were a violation of Rule 8.2(a).

In his response to the complaint, Cooper said of his comment to The Star that 
"He emotionally responded to an inquiry from a reporter ... and did so via text 
messaging."

A month after Overstreet was ruled incompetent, Attorney General Greg Zoeller 
announced his office would not appeal after determining the decision comported 
with prior U.S. Supreme Court rulings.

Cooper's disciplinary hearing is set for 1:30 p.m. Oct. 5. Like the 
post-conviction proceeding, it will take place far from where Overstreet was 
convicted. The hearing will be in Richmond, about 80 miles from the courthouse 
in Franklin. Hearing officer and Wayne Superior Court Judge Charles Todd Jr. 
will preside.

((source: The Indiana Lawyer)

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

Judge weighs death penalty challenges


2 Lake County men charged with murder face possible death penalty sentences if 
convicted by juries during their trials.

Defense attorneys for Darren Vann and Carl Blount challenged the 
constitutionality of Indiana's death penalty in separate hearings Thursday 
before Lake County Criminal Court Judge Samuel Cappas.

Both sets of attorneys stated that the state's death penalty violates the U.S. 
Constitution's 6th amendment and cited other court cases from Indiana and other 
states.

Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter and Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Michelle 
Jatkiewicz participated in both hearings for the state of Indiana, defending 
Indiana Code 35-20-2 governing the death penalty sentences.

The team of Gojko Kasich, Mark Bates and Matthew Fech represented Darren Vann, 
who waived his right to be present at the hearing.

A suspected serial killer, Vann, 45, faces murder charges in the 2014 
strangling deaths of Afrikka Hardy, 19, of Hammond, and Anith Jones, 35, of 
Merrillville. Hardy's body was found in a bathtub inside a motel room in the 
3800 block of 179th Street in Hammond.

In a separate case, Vann is facing murder charges in the homicides of Teaira 
Batey, Kristine Williams, Tracy L. Martin, Sonya Billingsley and Tanya Gatlin. 
All 5 women were found dead in October 2014 in vacant buildings in Gary.

Blount, 28, is accused of killing Gary Patrolman Jeffrey Westerfield on July 6, 
2014. He appeared for the hearing with defense attorneys Richard C. Wolter Jr., 
Robert Varga and Thomas Vanes.

In addition to Carter and Jatkiewicz, deputy prosecuting attorneys David 
Urbanski and Michael Toth represented the state in Blount's case.

After listening to the arguments and asking a number of questions during both 
hearings, Cappas took the matters under advisement.

The judge set a ruling on both challenges to the Indiana death penalty on Dec. 
2.

(source: nwitimes.com)






NEBRASKA:

Omaha judge using Nikko Jenkins case to influence death penalty vote, Ernie 
Chambers says


The Nebraska state senator who sponsored the repeal of the death penalty said 
Friday that he thinks an Omaha judge is using Nikko Jenkins to manipulate 
voters into overturning the repeal at the polls.

Earlier this week, Douglas County District Judge Peter Bataillon scheduled a 
Nov. 14 death-penalty hearing for Jenkins, convicted of the 2013 killings of 4 
Omaha residents.

The judge set the hearing for after the Nov. 8 general election, during which 
Nebraska voters will decide whether to reinstate capital punishment. State Sen. 
Ernie Chambers of Omaha mailed a letter to the judge criticizing him for 
setting a date for the hearing now instead of waiting until after the election 
to schedule it.

"I am extremely chagrined that you would behave, as a judge, in a manner that 
apparently is designed to have an influence on the outcome of the vote," 
Chambers wrote.

Bataillon was out of the office Friday afternoon and could not be reached for 
comment.

Lawmakers repealed the death penalty in 2015, which ignited a petition drive by 
capital punishment supporters to put the repeal on hold until voters could 
decide the issue at the ballot box.

If not for multiple delays related to questions over the mental capacity of 
Jenkins, he would have been sentenced by now. Jenkins pleaded no contest to 
murdering 4 people within 3 weeks of his release from prison in 2013, where he 
had served the previous decade for 2 carjackings.

Bataillon has declared Jenkins competent to undergo sentencing.

The judge announced the hearing date in a written order released Tuesday. In 
his letter, Chambers said he believed that the judge's timing was intended to 
send a message.

"Your purpose was to signal voters that if you don't want this murderer to 
escape the appropriate punishment for his crime, you had better vote to retain 
the death penalty," Chambers wrote in his letter.

The senator also noted that a day after news coverage of the judge's order, a 
letter appeared in The World-Herald's Public Pulse section that said executing 
Jenkins would be a strong reason to repeal the repeal.

(source: Omaha World-Herald)






COLORADO:

Arraignment continued for man accused in Centennial rampage as death penalty, 
insanity plea are weighed ---- Kevin Lee Lyons faces 12 felony counts in the 
April 4 shootings


An arraignment for the man accused of shooting and killing a doctor and 
wounding 2 women in an April rampage through his Centennial neighborhood was 
continued on Friday amid the possibility that prosecutors could seek the death 
penalty and his defense team might pursue an insanity plea.

Chief District Judge Carlos A. Samour Jr. pushed back the hearing, in which 
defendants typically enter a plea, to November at the request of Kevin Lee 
Lyons' attorneys.

Samour mentioned the possibility that the 18th Judicial District Attorney's 
Office is deciding whether to seek capital punishment in the case and that 
Lyons' defense team might be pursuing a not guilty by reason of insanity plea.

"I am willing to continue this, and I understand the reasons for it," Samour 
said.

Lyons, 46, faces 12 felony counts in the April 4 shootings. The charges include 
1 count of 1st-degree murder after deliberation, 5 counts of attempted 
1st-degree murder and 4 counts of attempted 1st-degree murder of a peace 
officer.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Elizabeth Oldham declined to directly say if 
prosecutors were considering seeking the death penalty, but said such a 
decision would have to come within 63 days after Lyons' arraignment. Factors, 
such as the manner of the killings and how many people were at risk of death, 
would need to be weighed.

"They would consider it, George Brauchler, the elected district attorney, and 
make a decision," she told reporters after Friday's hearing.

Lyons is accused of unleashing a hail of gunfire on his Centennial 
neighborhood, killing Dr. Kenneth Atkinson as the doctor ran out of his home to 
help 2 women. The 65-year-old physician was taken to a hospital, where he was 
pronounced dead.

1 of the women wounded in the shooting was Lyons' wife, Elizabeth Lyons. 
Authorities identified the 2nd woman as Laurie Juergens.

Lyons had been acting "weird" and saying "crazy stuff" for days before the 
alleged shootings, his wife told investigators. Defense attorneys have hinted 
that they might seek a a defense based on his mental health.

Lyons' competency came into question during his 1st court appearances when he 
made several loud outbursts. Samour in April, days after the rampage, ordered 
Lyons to be evaluated and eventually found him ready to stand trial in June.

Lyons, shackled and clad in red jail clothes, did not speak during Friday 
morning's brief hearing in Arapahoe County. At times he bowed his head as 
roughly a dozen supporters of the shooting victims looked on from the gallery.

Lyons is being held without bond.

(source: Denver Post)






UTAH:

Death penalty debate ignites in Utah


Utah is a death penalty state, although inmates are rarely executed. Utah's 
last execution took place in 2010. If the Catholic Diocese had its way, it 
would be the last.

The Diocese of Salt Lake City led a legislative push earlier this year to 
repeal the death penalty, but it didn't have much momentum. Now, church 
officials say, support is growing.

"We're seeing nationally, a lot of states recognizing just how horrific and 
useless this penalty is," said Jean Hill, government liaison for the Catholic 
Diocese of Salt Lake City. "We want to get people to start talking to their 
legislators about it now."

The church argues that the execution process for death-row inmates is most 
difficult on the victims and their families and breeds more anger and 
resentment.

"When we bring out the death penalty, we know it's going to be a 20, 30 year 
process and we know we're going to relive every moment of that crime over and 
over and over again during that process," said Hill.

On the other side of this debate, Rep. Paul Ray from Clearfield.

"It's not like we're giving it to everybody, but there is a place for it," he 
said.

Ray not only supports the death penalty, but he thinks more murderers should be 
executed.

"You have the individual that goes into prison; life without parole. There is 
nothing that keeps them from killing other inmates or prison officials, because 
they got the worst penalty that they can get," he said.

Ray introduced legislation that brought back the firing squad as a secondary 
method to execute inmates.

"Some of these people are monsters and they cannot be rehabilitated, there is 
answer for that too. It is a deterrent," said Ray, adding that if an inmate was 
scheduled to be executed today, they would be shot to death. "You can't get the 
cocktail for lethal injection anymore, which is why I brought it back."

The church is supporting new legislation to repeal the death penalty next year 
and admits it may not pass, but they're confident it's not that far off.

"Firing squad, lethal injection, it doesn't matter your method. Bottom line is, 
you are responding to a violent act with a similarly violent act and that is 
not the message that we need to send," said Hill.

(source: KUTV news)