[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, FLA., ALA., LA., OHIO, KY.

[Rick Halperin]

April 19




TEXAS:

Condemned inmate avoids execution with life sentence for Houston crime spree


A North Carolina man who spent years on Texas' death row awaiting execution was 
sentenced Monday to 4 consecutive life sentences, a plea bargain that Harris 
County prosecutors hope will keep him behind bars for the rest of his life.

Randolph Mansoor Greer, 43, was on death row until 2011, when the U.S. Supreme 
Court handed down a ruling that meant he and dozens of condemned inmates would 
get new sentencing hearings because of insufficient jury instructions.

Those cases, called Penry retrials because of the Supreme Court case, have been 
winding their way through Houston's courts for years. Some have successfully 
been retried as death penalty cases, others have gotten plea bargains with 
elaborately structured pleas to ensure the former death row inmates are never 
free.

Since Texas did not have a punishment of life in prison without parole when 
those crimes were committed, prosecutors and families of victims have worried 
that even a capital murder conviction in these cases might one day lead to 
parole. The decision to grant parole is made by prison officials with the Texas 
Department of Criminal Justice under the law at the time of the crime.

On Monday, Greer was sentenced to 4 consecutive life sentences in a Texas 
prison after pleading guilty to capital murder and other crimes he committed 
during a 1991 spree in the Houston area, according to the Harris County 
District Attorneys Office.

"26 years after committing a murderous crime spree, Mr. Greer has been 
resentenced to 4 consecutive life terms without parole," First Assistant Tom 
Berg said Tuesday. "Greer, now 43, has been incapacitated and will never again 
pose a threat to public safety."

Prosecutors said his crime spree spanned 6 months. In separate incidents, he 
abducted and sexually assaulted 2 Houston area women who survived the attacks.

He also robbed from a business, stole a car, and shot and killed Walter Chmiel, 
owner of the Alamo gun shop in Bellaire.

Greer also committed a capital murder in North Carolina as well as sexual 
assaults, robberies and a home invasion.

Prior to new sentencing, prosecutors consulted with survivors and the families 
of victims, Berg said.

Defense attorneys Allen Tanner and Gerald Bourgue said it was a just result.

"It was an agreement based on the fact that he was 18 at the time, and he's 
been a model inmate ever since then," Tanner said. "We think his prison record 
was helpful for him."

Tanner also said mitigation experts combed through records and witnesses in 
North Carolina and Cleveland and were expected to testify about how Greer's 
troubled childhood led him to a life of crime.

(source: Houston Chronicle)






FLORIDA:

Death penalty will be pursued against man accused of shooting Sanford mother, 
son----Suspect Allen Cashe faces 1st-degree murder charges


The death penalty will be pursued against Allen Cashe, who is accused of 
killing a mother and her son and shooting 4 other people, was indicted Monday 
on 1st-degree premeditated murder charges, according to the Seminole County 
State Attorney's Office.

Cashe was indicted Monday on 1st-degree premeditated murder charges in 
connection with the deaths of Latina Herring, 35, and her 8-year-old son, 
Branden Christian. Officials on Tuesday filed a notice of intent to pursue the 
death penalty in that case.

Cashe was also indicted on 4 counts of attempted 1st-degree murder with a 
firearm in connection with the shootings of Latina Herring's father, 
60-year-old Bertis Herring; Latina Herring's youngest child, 7-year-old Brenden 
Christian; and 2 bystanders, Rakeya Jackson, 18, and Lazaro Paredes, 43.

Sanford police released body camera footage of Cashe and Herring had been 
arguing about a set of keys hours before the double fatal shooting on March 27. 
Police encountered the couple twice before the shooting, but no arrests were 
made.

Cashe left Herring's home in Sanford after the 2nd police encounter, then 
returned around 6:20 a.m. with an AK-47, police said. Cashe is accused of 
opening fire on the family as they were sleeping.

Herring was shot 7 times and killed in her bedroom, police said.

Her 2 sons were sleeping on the couch when they were shot 3 times, the report 
said. Bertis Gerard Herring was shot 5 times in another bedroom.

Cashe is accused of shooting Jackson and Paredes as he was fleeing the area.

Assistant State Attorney Dan Faggard and the lead Sanford Police Department 
investigator presented information to the Grand Jury before the indictment was 
returned late Monday afternoon.

Cashe also faces charges of burglary of a dwelling with assault or battery with 
a firearm, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and shooting into a 
dwelling.

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

Aramis Ayala used direct verbiage from anti-death penalty group, emails 
show----State attorney consulted few death penalty supporters


Emails obtained by News 6 show that embattled Orange-Osceola State Attorney 
Aramis Ayala used direct phrasing from an anti-death penalty group during a 
March 16 news conference in which she announced her office would not pursue 
capital punishment cases.

On February 15, Stefanie Faucher of the 8th Amendment Project emailed a message 
to Ayala that read, "It was really great speaking to you yesterday. I look 
forward to working with you to support your decision."

The organization believes the death penalty is unconstitutional, according to 
its website.

Attached to Faucher's email was a document titled "The Death Penalty is Broken 
Beyond Repair," which Faucher referred to as a "message map," that outlined 
several concerns with capital punishment.

Addressing the potential harm to victims, the document states, "The death 
penalty traps victims' families in a decades-long cycle of uncertainty (and) 
court hearings ... (while) forcing them to endure years of waiting for an 
execution that may never come."

One month later, during a news conference announcing she would not be pursuing 
death penalty cases, Ayala repeated several of those phrases, some nearly 
word-for-word, News 6 has discovered. "I have learned that death penalty traps 
many victims' families in decades-long cycle of uncertainty, court hearings, 
appeals and waiting," Ayala said. "They are left waiting for an execution that 
may never occur."

A state attorney spokeswoman dismissed the similarities, pointing out that the 
document Ayala received from the anti-death penalty organization referenced 
topics that Ayala never discussed in her news conference, such as the risk of 
executing innocent inmates.

Ayala's news conference also noted other reasons for opposing the death penalty 
not included in the document, such as Ayala's belief that the death penalty 
does not deter crime, a spokeswoman said.

Ayala's office reiterated to News 6 on Tuesday that Ayala arrived at her 
decision to not seek the death penalty shortly before her news conference 
announcing her opposition to it.

"From the time she took office, (Aramis Ayala) has been extensively researching 
the death penalty, speaking to people including her executive team and 
organizations on all sides of the issue who are involved with the criminal 
justice system," state attorney spokeswoman Eryka Washington said.

Emails obtained by News 6 confirm that Ayala communicated with several 
organizations that oppose the death penalty, including Fair and Just 
Prosecution, Fair Punishment Project and the 8th Amendment Project.

When News 6 inquired about death penalty supporters who Ayala consulted, 
Washington identified only one by name: Deborah Barra, Ayala's chief assistant, 
who has worked for the state attorney's office for more than 12 years.

Barra disagrees with her boss' decision not to pursue death penalty cases, 
Washington said.

Besides Barra, the state attorney spokeswoman said Ayala also consulted with 
the African American Council of Christian Clergy (AACCC), which Washington 
originally described as being "pro-death penalty".

"That is absolutely false," said AACCC president Bishop Kelvin Cobaris, who 
denies his organization met with Ayala as she was researching capital 
punishment.

"There was a meeting held the day before (Ayala's) announcement was made," 
Cobaris said. "She spoke to us about what she was doing."

Cobaris also disputes the state attorney office's characterization that AACCC 
supports the death penalty.

"Our organization cannot make that statement," Cobaris said. "That is not our 
stance, for or against (the death penalty)."

The state attorney spokeswoman later acknowledged she had mistakenly described 
the AACCC as being in support of the death penalty. Instead, Ayala spoke with a 
few specific members of the religious organization who were personally in favor 
of capital punishment, Washington said.

The state attorney spokeswoman did not immediately provide News 6 with the 
names of those clergy members.

"The AACCC does not mandate positions on controversial matters, but respects 
the varied opinions of our individual constituency," said Cobaris. "Any 
statement of position claimed to have been made by the AACCC on the issue of 
State Attorney Aramis Ayala's position on the death penalty is inaccurate and 
may or may not reflect the opinions of members of the organization, but not the 
organization as a whole."

Despite the state attorney's prior statement that Ayala spoke with people "on 
all sides of the issue who were involved with the criminal justice system," 
Washington provided no indication that Ayala sought advice from any legal 
experts outside of her own office who support the death penalty.

Ayala's March 16 news conference focused on Markeith Loyd, who is accused of 
murder in the shooting deaths of Sade Dixon and Orlando police Lt. Debra 
Clayton. Ayala said she would not pursue the death penalty against Loyd, before 
adding that she would not seek death in any case that she prosecutes.

(source for both: clickorlando.com)






ALABAMA:

Ala. Senate approves nitrogen gas as execution option


The Alabama Senate on Tuesday voted to offer condemned inmates the option to 
die by nitrogen suffocation, a method of execution untested on humans but which 
supporters argue might provide a more humane method of death than other 
methods.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Trip Pittman, R-Montrose, passed the chamber 25 to 
8 after majority Republicans ended debate on the measure. It goes to the House 
of Representatives.

Like other states, Alabama faces challenges carrying out executions by lethal 
injection, its main method since 2002. The state has struggled to obtain 
supplies of sedatives needed for the procedure, and the current drug used - 
midazolam - has been criticized for not providing sufficient sedation to 
protect against the pain of the remaining two drugs, which paralyze the muscles 
and stop the heart.

Media witnesses to the execution of Ronald Bert Smith last December said Smith 
gasped and coughed for 13 minutes after receiving midazolam; the execution took 
34 minutes. Smith's attorneys said it showed "he was not anesthetized at any 
point during the agonizingly long procedure."

Nitrogen hypoxia would involve placing a mask on a condemned inmate, or putting 
the individual in a chamber. The oxygen available would be replaced by 
nitrogen, resulting in death. Oklahoma approved it as an alternative execution 
method in 2015. Mississippi recently approved it as an alternative method.

Pittman argued nitrogen hypoxia -- in which an inmate, covered with a mask or 
secured in a chamber, has their oxygen supply replaced with nitrogen -- could 
provide a more humane method of execution.

"It leads to quick unconsciousness, (and) death without any residual issues 
with carbon monoxide," he said.

While executions by gas chamber occurred until 1999, the method typically 
involved the use of hydrogen cyanide. As with other execution methods, gas 
became controversial for long or drawn-out executions; witnesses said Jimmy Lee 
Gray, executed by gas in Mississippi in 1983, was seen smashing his head into 
an iron bar to achieve unconsciousness.

Nitrogen hypoxia has been used to euthanize animals, though guidance from the 
American Veterinary Medical Association recommends it chiefly for birds and 
encourages the use of a sedative if used on larger animals. But no state has 
carried out an execution using the method.

"As with a number of the proposed execution methods, it will involve human 
experimentation," said Robert Dunham, executive director of the Death Penalty 
Information Center in Washington, D.C., an anti-death penalty group. "It's 
obviously unethical to conduct experiments. It has not been used in 
involuntarily taking someone's life."

The proposal is an option; under the law, the primary method of execution would 
remain lethal injection. Inmates can also choose death by electric chair. If 
all 3 methods were found unconstitutional, the bill authorizes the Department 
of Corrections to employ a constitutional method of execution, such as firing 
squad.

Democrats objected to the bill.

"The (method) that has been passed has not been tested . . . we don't know what 
it's going to cost us," said Sen. Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro.

Pittman's bill initially would have allowed inmates to choose death by firing 
squad, but Pittman replaced it in a Senate committee earlier this month, saying 
hypoxia would be more humane.

The bill requires the Alabama Department of Corrections to develop the methods 
of nitrogen execution.

The Senate also approved legislation sponsored by Sen. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster, 
that would require condemned inmates appealing their sentence to raise 
collateral issues like the effectiveness of counsel at the same time they make 
their direct appeal of their sentence. The collateral issues, known as a Rule 
32 appeal, are currently raised after direct appeal. The effect of the change, 
if passed into law, would shorten the appeals process on death sentences.

(source: Montgomery Advertiser)

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

Senate votes to allow execution by nitrogen gas


Alabama could become the 3rd state to allow death row inmates to be executed by 
nitrogen gas - an execution method that has so far never been used - under a 
bill approved Tuesday by the Alabama Senate.

The Alabama Senate voted 25-8 to add nitrogen gas to lethal injection and the 
electric chair as allowable methods of execution in the state. The bill now 
moves to the Alabama House.

"No state has carried out an execution using nitrogen hypoxia," said Robert 
Dunham of the Death Penalty Information Center. He said Mississippi and 
Oklahoma also allow execution by nitrogen gas but have not used it.

The pace of executions has slowed in Alabama, partly because of ongoing legal 
challenges to lethal injection methods.

Sen. Trip Pittman, the Republican bill sponsor, said Alabama needs another 
execution method as lethal injection faces court challenges. Pittman had 
originally proposed a firing squad as an execution method, but the bill was 
changed in committee.

Under the bill, an inmate could choose to be put to death with nitrogen gas 
instead of lethal injection. It would also allow the state corrections 
commissioner to choose another constitutional execution method if 
electrocution, lethal injection and nitrogen gas are all found 
unconstitutional.

The legislation met with pushback from some lawmakers who called it 
experimentation.

"It has never been tried before," said Sen. Vivian Davis Figures, D-Mobile.

(source: Tuscaloosa News)






LOUISIANA:

Murderer of 4-year old girl still trying to escape death penalty


A convicted murderer and rapist from Calcasieu Parish continues his efforts to 
escape the death penalty.

In 2001, 4-year old Mary Jean Thigpen was playing outside when she was abducted 
by Jason Reeves.

He took the girl to his sister's grave, sodomized the child, then stabbed her 
14 times.

Reeves has been on death row at Angola since 2004, but made a trip to court in 
Lake Charles on Tuesday for a post-conviction hearing.

He's now claiming his trial attorneys were ineffective and is asking for a new 
trial - without the death penalty.

Calcasieu Parish Assistant District Attorney Carla Sigler, who prosecuted 
Reeve, said at trial there was overwhelming evidence that Reeves was the 
killer. His defense attorney did the job, and Reeves had a fair trial.

"This is a horrifying case involving the death and the gruesome sexual assault 
of a 4-year old child. There's not a lawyer on earth that could have gotten 
Jason Reeves off," she said.

Sigler said between legal proceedings and incarceration, we, the taxpayers, 
have already spent close to $1 million on Reeves.

She added his appeals will likely continue for years.

(source: KPLC news)

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

LCCB hope to abolish Louisiana'a death penalty----It is time to affirm life 
without exception: The death penalty is not acceptable (Statement issued April 
18, 2017)


3 centuries ago in the year 1722 our state of Louisiana performed its 1st 
recorded legal execution. Since that act we have dealt with this stain of the 
death penalty carried out by our state in the names of its citizens. This 
current legislative session allows us in a renewed way to move beyond this dark 
reality of our state's history and toward a state that affirms life without 
exception. Therefore the Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops unequivocally 
supports both Senator Claitor's SB 142 and Representatives Landry and Pylant's 
HB 101.

Saint Pope John Paul II, in his historic papal encyclical Evangelium Vitae (The 
Gospel of Life), discussed at great length the distinction between a culture of 
life and a culture of death. In truth, our culture oftentimes mirrors a culture 
of death rather than one of life. It is clear that the use of the death penalty 
does not serve as an instrument to address the deep-rooted issues that are the 
cause of widespread violent crime within our society. Instead it is a 
"solution" that seduces us into believing that the taking of a life solved a 
problem, and in fact forces us further into a culture of death.

Saint Pope John Paul II proclaims "that not even a murderer loses his personal 
dignity, as God himself pledges to guarantee this. For this reason whoever 
attacks human life, in some way attacks God himself" (Evangelium Vitae, #9). In 
making this statement, Saint Pope John Paul II reminds us of our call to the 
foundational theme of Catholic Social Teaching - The Life and Dignity of the 
Human Person - and that we are to uphold human dignity which does not 
discriminate between the innocent and guilty. Given that life is valued above 
and beyond all else, we must advocate for an alternative to the death penalty.

Strong statements of Pope Francis echoes the foundational principles laid out 
by Saint Pope John Paul II's, Evangelium Vitae. In a 2015 letter to the 
president of the International Commission Against the Death Penalty, our Holy 
Father stated that the death penalty "is an offense against the inviolability 
of life and dignity of the human person, which contradicts God's plan for man 
and society ... It does not render justice to victims, but rather fosters 
vengeance. For the rule of law, the death penalty represents a failure, as it 
obliges the state to kill in the name of justice. Justice can never be wrought 
by killing a human being." To this end, we must ask ourselves whether or not 
there is vengeance in our hearts. In many ways that which we fear - violence 
itself - has forced us to become proponents of violence. Just as the pursuit of 
justice should never be perverted by vengeance, fear should never darken the 
ever-shining light of life.

We remain deeply aware of the pain and grief that victims suffer, especially 
those who have lost a loved one through the crime of murder or crimes of 
violence. We pledge to deepen our commitment to persons who have suffered such 
violence, anguish and pain. Our opposition to the death penalty is not intended 
in any way to diminish what victims and their families have suffered. On the 
contrary it is a statement which affirms the lives of those lost and the 
ultimate value of life in general. The stark reality is that capital punishment 
fails to bring back life that has been lost. It does not provide healing, 
reconciliation, or even peace to those impacted. Our merciful heavenly Father 
does provide such things to us when we turn to Him and ask for his love to be 
poured out onto us.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church calls us to recognize the balance that 
must exist between a state which needs to protect its citizenry as well as the 
appropriateness of the punishment it uses to do so. "If, however, non-lethal 
means are sufficient to defend and protect people's safety from the aggressor, 
authority will limit itself to such means ... Today, ... the cases in which the 
execution of the offender is an absolute necessity are very rare, if not 
practically nonexistent" (CCC 2267). We believe that in Louisiana, a just 
alternative to the death penalty already exists. In 1979, Louisiana adopted a 
statute requiring all persons convicted of 1st degree murder to serve a life 
sentence without benefit of parole if they were not executed for such crimes. 
Therefore life imprisonment is the appropriate alternative given that it 
reflects a culture of life by valuing life itself.

The Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops asks all men and women of good 
faith, especially those members of the Louisiana legislature, to search their 
heart in an effort to seek mercy and love to support the repeal of the death 
penalty and aid in building a culture of life. We renew the call issued in our 
1994 statement Violence in Our Society: Death is Not the Answer. "We must 
believe in the all-powerful redemptive love of God which can change hearts, 
convert people, and renew all things ... We must be a people who see the value 
of a human life that others might think to be worthless. We must be a people 
who give praise to the God of all possibilities whose powerful Spirit of Love 
can renew the face of the earth." The time is upon us to affirm life without 
exception here within our great state of Louisiana.

(source: diocesealex.org)






OHIO:

Appeals court upholds ruling against use of midazolam in Ohio executions


Ohio is responsible for many firsts in regards to the death penalty: it was the 
1st state to suggest using the drug midazolam for execution and the 1st to 
attempt using a single lethal injection drug protocol.

New to that list is the first state to have a ruling upheld in circuit courts 
against midazolam, according to Robert Dunham, the executive director of the 
Death Penalty Information Center.

On April 6, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit upheld a previous 
preliminary injunction, barring the usage of midazolam in Ohio's lethal 
injection drug protocol. The case was filed by 3 death row inmates who were 
previously scheduled for execution. The injunction provides a temporary stay of 
execution until the case is overturned or another drug protocol is found.

The decision follows a previous preliminary injunction from Magistrate Judge 
Michael Merz of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio Jan. 
26. That ruling followed a 5-day evidentiary hearing in which experts spoke on 
the constitutionality of midazolam - a drug most frequently used for sedation. 
The inmates argued that the drug violated their Eighth Amendment right against 
cruel and unusual punishment. The Ohio courts agreed.

In the 6th Circuit's 2-1 ruling on April 6, Circuit Judge Karen Nelson Moore, 
joined by Circuit Judge Jane Branstetter Stranch, wrote in her opinion that the 
inmates claim that likelihood that midazolam violated the inmates' Eighth 
Amendment right was "likely to succeed."

The opinion looked at the conclusions drawn during the evidentiary hearing in 
January. One expert witness for the plaintiffs, Craig Stevens, a professor of 
pharmacology at Oklahoma State University, concluded that the use of a 
midazolam as the 1st drug in a 3-drug protocol "is highly likely to cause 
intolerable pain and suffering," as it would not mask the effects from the 2nd 
and 3rd drugs.

According to Deborah Denno, a professor at Fordham University's law school who 
specializes in capital punishment issues, midazolam was originally Ohio's "plan 
b" to a protocol that began with sodium thiopental. After sodium thiopental was 
discontinued by the pharmaceutical manufacturer due to its usage in executions, 
midazolam became the state's go-to.

"The fact that the state that first introduced this drug as a viable drug to 
use for lethal injection has now held, or at least a lower court judge has held 
it to be unconstitutional is quite a statement," Denno said.

Dunham agrees that the ruling is important, however he feels the importance 
lies in what he calls the "fullest evidentiary hearing" on midazolam.

"This [hearing] was the 1st one that proceeded without artificial time 
pressures from execution warrants so the court was able to take the time that 
was necessary to fully hear the evidence," Dunham said, citing other hearings 
in Alabama, Oklahoma, Virginia and the U.S. Supreme Court where they ruled in 
favor of the state.

Much of the defense in the Ohio case rested on the 2015 Supreme Court decision 
in Glossip v. Gross, where the court ruled that Oklahoma's use of midazolam did 
not violate death row inmate Richard Glossip's Eighth Amendment right.

Denno, Dunham and the Court of Appeals agree that the Ohio decision benefited 
from additional history and facts that the Supreme Court case did not have.

"There's nothing that the Ohio court did that is inconsistent with the United 
States Supreme Court precedent, there's no legal judgment it made inconsistent 
with what other courts have done, it's just the judgment was based on different 
findings of fact," Dunham said.

Included in the Ohio evidentiary hearing was testimony surrounding the 
executions of Christopher Brooks and Ronald Smith, both from Alabama.

The most recent court opinion found that Brooks' "heaving" and Smith's 
"heaving, coughing, and flailing" during the execution "were attributable to 
midazolam's inability to prevent the pain caused by paralytic drugs and 
potassium chloride, rather than to other circumstances."

Ohio has a record of problematic executions. The ruling comes three years after 
the execution of Dennis McGuire, which involved midazolam. McGuire was the 1st 
inmate in the state to be executed with the state's then-new drug protocol of 
midazolam and hydromorphone.

Witnesses from McGuire's execution testified during the evidentiary hearing 
prior to Merz's ruling about the unusual events during his execution.

"I saw the stomach first. I saw what looked like a knot in his stomach ... and 
his stomach was moving. I had not seen that before," said Gary Mohr, director 
of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.

Alan Johnson, a reporter for The Columbus Dispatch also testified that McGuire 
"began coughing, gasping, choking in a way that I had not seen before at any 
execution. And I remember it because I relived it several times. Frankly, that 
went on for 12 to 13 minutes."

Ohio is also the only state with an inmate who survived a lethal injection 
execution. The Department of Corrections attempted to execute Romell Broom back 
in 2009. He is still waiting on death row.

"Ohio has always been at the forefront but it's also had a lot of problems, 
that's one reason it has been at the forefront of these execution methods," 
said Denno.

Denno, who notes that the state has already filed an appeal to the court's 
opinion, says it's difficult to predict what the ruling will mean for the 
state's injection drug protocol. She did say that typically states will find a 
different drug rather than spend their time and resources on trials. Arizona 
and Florida have already abandoned the drug.

It's also unclear what implications this ruling may have on other states and 
courts - namely for 8 inmates in Arkansas. Eight inmates from Arkansas were 
scheduled to be executed in a 10-day period starting April 17. One inmate, 
Jason McGehee, was granted a stay of execution April 6.

On April 17 - the day Bruce Ward and Don Davis were to be executed - the 
Arkansas Supreme Court issued stays of execution for them. The state then asked 
the U.S. Supreme Court to step in, hoping that a ruling would allow the 
executions to continue. Right before midnight, when the signed death warrants 
would expire, the Supreme Court refused to step in and lift the stays.

As of April 18, there are still 5 more executions scheduled. There have been 
several suits filed on behalf of the inmates. Part of the argument presented by 
the lawyers is based on the constitutionality of midazolam.

"The difficulty in Arkansas is that like the proceedings in Oklahoma and in 
Virginia and Alabama, they're taking place under death warrant so there's an 
artificially pressed time period," Dunham said.

Karen Clifton of Catholics Mobilizing Network told NCR in a statement that 
"particularly in regards to the scheduled executions in Arkansas, where the 
state's supply of midazolam is serving as impetus for 7 executions in 10 days, 
this ruling provides further objection to the use of the death penalty."

The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hold a conference April 21 about a 
re-hearing petition from the inmates. Denno is unsure how much the Ohio 
decision will play into the court's decision, especially since Ohio is "not 
going along with their holding, basically."

The ruling does not bar further executions in Ohio but does mean the state may 
have to go back to the drawing board to find a new lethal injection protocol, 
as state's choices and supplies dwindle.

Ultimately, Clifton feels the ruling called into question "lethal injection as 
a humane way to carry out an execution."

"After this decision, we are once again faced with the question of the morality 
of the death penalty in this country. As Pope Francis has said, there is 'no 
humane way to kill another person.' This ruling provides one more reason why 
the death penalty is a failed system that denies the dignity due to every human 
person," Clifton said in her statement.

Dunham agrees, stating that this could be another step in removing midazolam as 
an execution drug.

"The difficulties states have are that the pharmaceutical manufactures don't 
want their medicines used in executions," he said. "So states have been looking 
for non-anesthetics to perform an anesthetic function and that simply doesn't 
work. That suggests that whatever happens from this point forward in the three 
drug protocol is going to be inappropriate. At a minimum, it's going to be 
human experimentation."

(source: National Catholic Reporter)






KENTUCKY:

Push in Rural Kentucky to Abolish Death Penalty


The push for multiple executions in Arkansas has shed a harsh light on the 
death penalty in America, especially in the South, where capital punishment is 
legal in every state including Kentucky.

Here in the Commonwealth, it's been 8/1/2 years since the last execution and 
abolitionists say it's time to make life without parole the maximum sentence. 
Rob Musick, a religion professor and chaplain at the University of Pikeville, 
said there are several reasons why support is growing in rural Kentucky to make 
the death penalty illegal.

"Specifically, when you use the idea of government waste of money," Musick 
said, "oftentimes when the government is over-reaching into our lives, when the 
government gets some things wrong."

Kentucky lawmakers repeatedly have rejected legislation to eliminate the death 
penalty, including during this year's recently completed legislative session.

Musick is one of the volunteers who will staff the Kentucky Coalition to 
Abolish the Death Penalty information booth at this year's Hillbilly Days. This 
event, the state's 2nd largest festival, runs Thursday through Saturday in 
Pikeville.

Musick said the reason he hears most from people who support the death penalty 
is that execution is a deterrent to crime. He disagrees.

"I say, 'Well, if that were being the case'," Musick said, "'then why do we see 
such an intense, violent crime-ridden country like ours where we have such gun 
crimes and mass shootings? If that really were working, wouldn't we see such 
less crime?'"

In 2011, the American Bar Association issued a report that found a myriad of 
problems with the state's death-penalty system, including its cost and 
duration. A recent poll found that when informed of those problems, 64 % of 
Kentuckians supported making life without parole the maximum sentence. So why 
hasn't the Kentucky Legislature acted?

"It has a lot to do with political courage and people just naming the elephant 
in the room," Musick said. "We know there are some key members of the House and 
Senate that are actually against the death penalty, but they don't want to put 
themselves out there yet, until they know it's a slam dunk."

(source: publicnewsservice.org)