[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ARK., KAN., CALIF., USA, US MIL.

[Rick Halperin]

Dec. 12




ARKANSAS:

Arkansas Man Goes to Trial for Allegedly Beating Man With Ax



An Arkansas man will stand trial in a capital murder case after being accused 
of beating another man to death with an ax handle.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that 36-year-old Randall Jordan is 
scheduled for trial Tuesday in connection with the death of 59-year-old Larry 
Eugene Jones. Jordan faces a conviction that carries possible death penalty for 
beating Jones with an ax handle as he slept in his bed in June 2016.

Crawford County reports show Jordan had been living with Jones but was kicked 
out of Jones' house. Reports say a woman who was staying at Jones' house at the 
time witnessed the attack and contacted Jones' family members.

Reports say Jones' son confronted Jordan and drove his father to the hospital. 
An autopsy report says Jones died from head and brain injuries shortly after.

(source: Associated Press)








KANSAS:

U.S. Supreme Court lets death penalty stand for man who murdered Kansas sheriff



The U.S. Supreme Court is letting a death sentence stand for a southeastern 
Kansas man who fatally shot a sheriff during a 2005 drug raid.

The high court declined Monday to review Scott Cheever's case a 2nd time. 
Cheever faces lethal injection for killing Greenwood County Sheriff Matt 
Samuels as Samuels tried to serve a warrant at Cheever's rural home about 75 
miles northeast of Wichita.

Cheever acknowledged shooting Samuels, but his attorney argued Cheever was too 
high on methamphetamine for the crime to be premeditated.

The Kansas Supreme Court in 2012 ordered a new trial for Cheever because 
prosecutors used a court-ordered mental evaluation from a different trial 
against him. The U.S. Supreme Court reversed that decision in 2013.

The Kansas court then upheld Cheever's death sentence last year.

(source: Associated Press)








CALIFORNIA:

California Chief Justice Expects More Death Penalty Lawsuits



The California Supreme Court has largely upheld the new, expedited death 
penalty procedure voters approved last November through Proposition 66, but the 
chief justice expects more challenges.

In a roundtable discussion with reporters, Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye 
suggested 2 areas she thinks the court will likely have to rule: She says 
Proposition 66 puts competing pressures on the state's pool of attorneys who 
represent death row inmates in a certain type of appeal, called habeas corpus 
petitions.

"This entity, the Habeas Corpus Resource Center - that was originally 
contemplated to provide the attorneys for these habeas corpus petitions - are 
now having their salaries reduced, even though the effort is that they take on 
more work," Cantil-Sakauye says. "So I'm not sure how that's going to work 
out."

The measure also requires attorneys who do not work on capital cases to accept 
them, when death penalty attorneys are booked up.

Cantil-Sakauye did not take part in the Proposition 66 decision, since she 
oversees the state's courts, which must implement it.

(source: Capital Public Radio News)

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

Prosecutors seek death penalty in torture-murder of 8-year-old



Closing arguments concluded Monday morning and deliberations were beginning in 
the penalty phase of the trial for Isauro Aguirre, convicted of brutally 
beating his girlfriend's 8-year-old son to death.

A jury is being asked to recommend whether Aguirre, 37, should be sentenced to 
death or life in prison without parole. Prosecutors are seeking the death 
penalty for Aguirre.

Previous testimony convinced the 7-woman, 5-man panel of jurors Gabriel 
Fernandez, of Palmdale, died in May of 2013 after months of torture and abuse. 
Jurors also found true the special circumstance allegation of murder involving 
the infliction of torture, making Aguirre eligible for capital punishment.

Among several family members, Gabriel's biological father, Arnold Contreras, 
served as one of the prosecution's witnesses. He said he felt guilty and 
hopeless and "should have been there" when he learned that his son had been 
beaten and was on life support.

Jurors were shown photos of Gabriel's tortured body lying on an autopsy table 
with injuries from head to toe and heard testimony from a Los Angeles County 
sheriff's detective that he had never seen a child with that many injuries in 
his 26-year career in law enforcement.

In court on Monday, prosecutor Jonathan Hatami gave the closing arguments.

"Death penalty is justified for what the defendant did to Gabriel Fernandez," 
Hatami urged the jury. He then put a blown up picture of Gabriel in front of 
the jury and asked them to always remember what this case is about.

Hatami told the jury the case is not about the defendant, his family or a paid 
prison expert. He reminded the jury about all the weapons he brought in that 
were used on Gabriel.

"There's nothing worse in our society than a grown man murdering and torturing 
a little boy," Hatami said.

He added that Gabriel didn't get a trial, didn't get pretrial motions -- 
Aguirre was the jury and the judge.

Hatami continued speaking to the jury, saying that as if they were all in a 
nightmare, they all heard how Gabriel was handcuffed and put in a box with a 
sock in his mouth.

"He was cold, afraid," he said, recalling that Gabriel had to defecate and 
urinate in that box, was forced to eat cat litter, cat feces and eat his own 
vomit.

Gabriel's emaciated body had nine BBs in it, broken ribs, a fractured skull and 
a bruised and burned penis. He suffered unimaginable amount of pain in the 
hands of the defendant, the prosecutor added.

"The defendant stole Gabriel's innocence," Hatami said, as at least 1 juror 
cried and wiped tears away.

"He must have felt abandoned by everybody. The defendant isolated him," Hatami 
went on."That day that the defendant beat Gabriel to death, he was in the 
bedroom. He picked Gabriel and carried him like trash and discarded him in the 
living room. No man with good in him would do that."

The prosecution said death was merciful to Gabriel's pain and suffering: "When 
Gabriel needed (someone) the most, no one was there to hold him."

In return, the defense asked the jurors to give Aguirre life in prison without 
parole. They added that throughout his time in jail, Aguirre has not had a 
single rules violation, and with a life sentence, he will "never hurt anyone."

Throughout the penalty phase, defense testimony has tried to convince the court 
that Aguirre was a model citizen until he met Pearl Fernandez.

Hatami told the jury that after all the testimony this week, "we need you to 
understand that the defendant is not a victim. His is family is not a victim. 
His friends are not a victim. No one who ever abuses a child could be a 
victim."

The defendant was relatively smart and sophisticated, the prosecutor said. He 
was involved in welfare fraud, was a security guard, worked in elderly care - 
"he could have just left," he added.

"The just punishment, the appropriate punishment? I don't need to tell you what 
it is because you already know," Hatami said in closing.

Gabriel's mother, Pearl Fernandez, is awaiting her own trial for murder.

(source: ABC news)








USA:

Terrorism offenders deserve death penalty - Trump



Individuals, convicted of terrorism charges, deserve "the strongest penalty 
allowed by law," including death penalty, U.S. President Donald Trump said on 
Tuesday.

On Monday, a man detonated a bomb inside a New York City subway passageway near 
the Port Authority Bus Terminal, injuring 3 people.

The blast perpetrator sustained wounds in the explosion, too.

Authorities said the explosion was a terrorism-related attack.

"Those convicted of engaging in acts of terror deserve the strongest penalty 
allowed by law, including the death penalty in appropriate cases.

"America should always stand firm against terrorism and extremism, ensuring 
that our great institutions can address all evil acts of terror," Trump said in 
a statement.

The New York Police Department identified the Port Authority attack suspect as 
27-year-old Akayed Ullah.

The media reported that Ullah was a Bangladeshi immigrant who lived in New 
York's borough of Brooklyn and used to work as a taxi driver and as an 
electrical.

NBC News broadcaster reported, citing law enforcement officials, that the 
suspect said he had detonated the explosive device after spotting a holiday 
display.

Media have drown connections between the New York attack and the 2016 terror 
act at a Berlin Christmas market, which resulted in 12 people dead and 56 
others injured.

The individual reportedly told investigators he perpetrated the attack in the 
name of the Islamic State terror group to avenge the deaths of Muslims around 
the world.

The broadcaster also reported, citing police, that the bomb, used by the 
suspect on Monday, was made from a pipe, a 9-volt battery, matches, and 
Christmas tree lights.

The New York Times newspaper, in turn, reported, citing law enforcement, that 
Ullah said he had committed the blast in retaliation for the U.S. airstrikes in 
Syria and other countries, targeting IS members.

Also, Ullah told investigators he had been radicalised online.

Trump's recent statement is not the first in which the US president has called 
for death penalty for terrorism offenders.

Trump made the similar statement concerning perpetrator of the Nov. 1, terror 
attack in New York's Lower Manhattan, where a man drove a truck into a bike 
path, killing 8 people and injuring 11 others.

(source: P.M. News)

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

Physicians speak out against fentanyl-assisted executions: 5 things to know



Both Nevada and Nebraska are pushing to be the first states in the nation to 
use fentanyl for criminal executions, drawing pushback from death penalty 
opponents and some physicians, according to a report from The Washington Post.

Here are 5 things to know.

1. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid 50 times more potent than heroin. The 
substance has been a major contributor to the rising rates of opioid-related 
deaths across the country in recent years. More than 50 % of people who died of 
opioid overdoses in 10 states tested positive for fentanyl in the 2nd half of 
2016.

2. The push for fentanyl-assisted suicide comes as states are struggling to 
obtain drugs long used for lethal injection. Pharmaceutical companies are 
refusing to supply these drugs for the purpose of execution. The situation has 
spurred some states to implement new methods of execution and others to 
resurrect methods from bygone eras. For example, Florida, Ohio and Oklahoma 
have turned to novel drug combinations to carry out executions, while some 
states have passed laws sanctioning firing squads (Utah) or the electric chair 
(Tennessee) as backup options when lethal injection isn't available, according 
to the Post.

3. Supporters of capital punishment blame opponents for the current situation, 
as support for the death penalty has waned in recent years, according to Pew 
research data cited by the The Pew data suggests support for the death penalty 
among the public hit a 40-year low in 2016.

"If death penalty opponents were really concerned about inmates' pain, they 
would help reopen the supply," said Kent Scheidegger of the Criminal Justice 
Legal Foundation, an advocacy group for crime victims. "[Opponents] caused the 
problem we're in now by forcing pharmaceuticals to cut off the supply to these 
drugs. That's why states are turning to less-than-optimal choices."

4. Physicians opposed to fentanyl-assisted executions say the substance could 
result in botched executions. Nevada's planned execution for an inmate 
originally set for November called for the injection of diazepam (Valium), 
fentanyl and the drug cisatracurium, which would paralyze the muscles.

"If the first 2 drugs don't work as planned, or if they are administered 
incorrectly, which has already happened in so many cases ... you would be awake 
and conscious, desperate to breathe and terrified but unable to move at all," 
Mark Heath, MD, a professor of anesthesiology at Columbia University, told the 
Post. "It would be an agonizing way to die, but the people witnessing wouldn't 
know anything had gone wrong because you wouldn't be able to move."

5. A judge postponed the Nevada execution last month over concerns about the 
paralytic element of the drug mixture. The case is awaiting review by Nevada's 
Supreme Court.

(source: Becker's Hospital Review)








US MILITARY:

Military court denies Hennis request for additional support, but says Army 
could still provide funds



A military appeals court ruled last month that it was unable to force the 
government to provide additional support to the defense of convicted killer 
Timothy Hennis.

But a panel of 5 judges said there was nothing preventing the Army from 
providing that support, which includes a request to pay for the services of a 
lawyer with experience in capital cases, a mitigation specialist and a fact 
investigator.

The requests stem from an appeal of Hennis's 2010 convictions of killing a 
mother and two of her children near Fort Bragg. Hennis is currently awaiting a 
death sentence as a result of those crimes.

The case has received national attention and became the focus of several 
television specials, at least one book and a television miniseries. The 
attention was brought about not only for the crimes, but also the unique way 
the case played out in various courts.

Kathryn Eastburn and 2 of her daughters - 5-year-old Kara and 3-year-old Erin - 
were found killed in May 1985 at their Summerhill Road home off Yadkin Road. A 
3rd child, then-22-month-old Jana, was found alive.

At the time, Kathryn Eastburn's husband, Gary, was in the Air Force and 
training in Alabama. Hennis, who had adopted a dog from the Eastburn family 
shortly before their deaths, quickly became a suspect.

The Fort Bragg soldier was tried first in 1986, where he was convicted in 
Cumberland County Superior Court and placed on death row. But after winning an 
appeal, Hennis was found not guilty during a new trial in Wilmington in 1989.

Hennis resumed his Army career, retiring in 2004 as a master sergeant. The Army 
brought him out of retirement two years later after DNA evidence not available 
at the earlier trials linked him to the murders.

After the 2010 court-martial at Fort Bragg, a military judge sentenced Hennis 
to death, stripped him of his rank and forced him to forfeit his pay and 
allowances. Hennis currently is incarcerated at the the U.S. Army Disciplinary 
Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where he is 1 of 6 inmates currently on 
the military's death row.

Hennis's request for additional funds is part of a mandatory review of his 
convictions of 3 counts of premeditated murder.

An opinion filed Nov. 20 denying the motion, states the U.S. Court of Appeals 
for the Armed Forces does not have the constitutional, statutory or regulatory 
authority to meet Hennis's request. It comes after an Oct. 10 hearing on the 
topic in Washington.

In the opinion, authored by Judge Kevin A. Ohlson, the court explains that its 
hands are tied. But it also notes "that Congress has clearly expressed its 
preference that military members charged with capital offenses be provided with 
learned counsel in the near future, federal law requires the provision of 
learned counsel upon request in federal death penalty cases, and most state 
jurisdictions which still have the death penalty have established minimum 
qualifications for counsel in such cases."

"Nevertheless, in deciding a motion such as the one now before us, this Court's 
task is not to require 'what is prudent or appropriate, but only what is 
constitutionally [and statutorily] compelled,'" Ohlson wrote. "Appropriate 
personnel in the Army Judge Advocate General's Corps are not similarly 
constrained, however, and may most certainly do what is 'prudent' and 
'appropriate' in the instant case."

During the October hearing, judges warned the Army that it needs to take the 
request by Hennis seriously.

"You're playing a very dangerous game," one judge said after chiding the Army 
lawyers arguing against Hennis's motion.

"You can win the battle and lose the war," the judge said. "The concerns the 
appellant are raising at this point about standards - they don't go away ... 
The fact that we can't do anything now doesn't make this whole thing go away."

Another judge said the government was playing "a morbid game of chicken" in 
regards to the case.

Capt. Tim Burroughs, the lead lawyer defending Hennis, has stated in court 
motions that he does not have the experience or resources to properly represent 
Hennis.

"Capital cases are among the most complex, long-lasting and specialized cases 
we try in our system," he said. "The case of Timothy Hennis is certainly no 
exception."

According to a motion filed in the appeal, Burroughs represents more than 2 
dozen other soldiers in various stages of appeal, has never defended an accused 
at trial, participated in a murder trial or prosecuted a case of comparable 
complexity.

Over 5 years, 7 other Army defense lawyers have represented Hennis, Burroughs 
has argued. None have had the experience or resources to represent Hennis, none 
were able to review the entire record of trial and none have been assigned 
longer than 2 years.

(source: Fayetteville Observer)