[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----N.C., FLA., LA., ORE.

[Rick Halperin]

Dec. 13




NORTH CAROLINA:

Moore and Berger play politics with the NC death penalty



The fact that North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate President 
pro-tem Phil Berger are lawyers makes their latest political gambit against 
Gov. Roy Cooper and Attorney General Josh Stein all the more shameless.

The 2 legislative leaders have called on Cooper and Stein to restart the death 
penalty in the wake of deaths of prison workers in Pasquotank Correctional 
Institution. 4 inmates are charged in the deaths, and prosecutors in Pasquotank 
say they'll seek the death penalty.

But for Moore and Berger to act as if Cooper and Stein, both of whom support 
the death penalty, are standing between criminals and the death penalty is 
absurd. Neither the governor nor the AG can restart the death penalty, which is 
under legal challenge on a multitude of grounds, as it is in many states. 
That's why no one has been put to death by the state in more than 10 years. 
Some of the challenges have to do with the method of execution. Then there are 
the objections of doctors who don't want to participate in the taking of a 
life.

The best decision on the death penalty would be to end it. Life without parole 
is a punishment of supreme consequence and suffering. And should someone 
convicted of a capital crime be found to be innocent - something that has 
happened - a punishment can be corrected if that punishment is something short 
of death.

The point here, though, is that the legislative leaders are so eager to knock 
on Cooper and Stein, 2 popular, extremely competent Democrats, that they'll 
demagogue the death penalty when they know that as long as legal challenges are 
pending, the death penalty can't be restarted as if the task were just like 
turning on a light switch.

Legislative leaders could do something constructive to boost prison safety, 
however. Instead of cutting virtually all agencies in state government (again, 
done in part to hurt the Cooper administration???s ability to serve the people 
who toppled a Republican to put Cooper into office), they could introduce 
legislation to boost salaries for prison guards and other personnel and thus 
make it possible to draw more people into that line of work.

More guards, better paid, would translate directly - directly - into safer 
prisons. Some of the problems in that state's prisons have had to do with 
inmates getting the drop on guards at a time when additional guards would have 
prevented that situation.

The crisis in prisons certainly could be interpreted as an emergency, one that 
could be addressed by the state's rainy day fund, now at an astounding $1.8 
billion. Lawmakers who complain they can't go to the fund for something like 
prisons are insulting the intelligence of the people. Lawmakers could pass 
needed legislation to approve that money quickly - if they took some time off 
from attacking Cooper and Stein and instead decided to work with them.

(source: Editorial, The News & Observer)








FLORIDA:

Ayala's office to seek death penalty for man accused of killing Winter Park 
nanny



State Attorney Aramis Ayala's death penalty review panel recommended the 
harshest sentence for a man accused of kidnapping and killing a Winter Park 
nanny.

Ayala's spokeswoman announced the panel's decision Tuesday, the same day an 
Orange County grand jury indicted Scott Edward Nelson on a 1st-degree murder 
charge.

Nelson, 53, is accused of killing Jennifer Fulford, who lived in Altamonte 
Springs and worked in Winter Park.

Last week, Winter Park police announced they were charging Nelson with 
1st-degree murder, kidnapping with a weapon, burglary of a home with an 
assault, carjacking, robbery and tampering with a witness to hinder 
communication with law enforcement.

Fulford's body was found in a wooded area in southwest Orange County. Her 
wrists and ankles were bound, court records show, and her face was wrapped in 
duct tape.

Fulford, 56, went missing on Sept. 27 in Winter Park. She was stabbed and 
suffocated before being dumped in the woods, according to court documents.

Nelson has been in federal custody since his arrest Oct. 1 for violating 
conditions of his probation. His defense lawyer in the federal case questioned 
his mental competency. He is scheduled to have a hearing in an Orlando federal 
courtroom Dec. 18.

Court records show Nelson previously served a 5-year prison sentence for a 2010 
bank robbery in Daytona Beach. He has a history of mental illness and substance 
abuse.

This marks the 3rd case in which Ayala's panel will seek the death penalty 
since the Florida Supreme Court ruled that she must consider the punishment. 
Ayala announced in March that she would not pursue it in any case, sparking a 
battle with Gov. Rick Scott.

(source: Orlando Sentinel)

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

State Attorney's office recommends death penalty in Jennifer Fulford homicide



State Attorney Aramis Ayala's Death Penalty Review Panel unanimously 
recommended the death penalty for the man accused of killing Winter Park 
personal assistant Jennifer Fulford.

The Orange County Grand Jury issued a 1st-degree murder indictment against 
Scott Edward Nelson Tuesday morning, and a death notice was filed, according to 
the State Attorney's office. Nelson is also charged with the kidnapping of 
Fulford.

Nelson confessed to killing and kidnapping Fulford, according to court 
documents. Fulford disappeared in September from a Winter Park home on Webster 
Avenue, where she worked.

Investigators say Nelson entered the home with a cutting instrument and 
kidnapped Fulford on Sept. 27. He later killed the woman.

Fulford's body was found 3 days later in a wooded area off Apopka-Vineland Road 
in Orange County. The medical examiner determined the cause of death was stab 
wounds and asphyxia.

Nelson confessed to the crimes in mid-November, said authorities.

The Berman family, who employed Fulford, released a statement Tuesday afternoon 
in regards to the death penalty recommendation.

"While there is little comfort to be found in this terrible ordeal, we are 
grateful that the grand jury has seen this matter for what it is - an 
inexcusable and unexplainable act of violence," wrote the Bermans. "Our hope is 
that this matter will continue to move forward through the justice system with 
a proper conclusion and allow us to focus on Jennifer Fulford's memory rather 
than on the man who took her life."

(source: mynews13.com)

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

Prosecutors likely to decide by Jan. 25 on death penalty in Seminole Heights 
murders



Prosecutors will likely know before the end of January whether they will seek 
the death penalty for the man accused in the four Seminole Heights murders.

A judge set the next court appearance for Howell Emanuel Donaldson as Jan. 25 
and asked prosecutors Tuesday morning if they would know their intentions 
regarding capital punishment by then.

"Most likely," said Assistant State Attorney Scott Harmon.

Donaldson, 24, was not present for his arraignment on 4 1st-degree murder 
charges. His attorneys waived his appearance and entered 4 pleas of not guilty.

But seated in a packed courtroom gallery were families of 2 people Donaldson is 
accused of killing.

"If he did it, he's got to pay for it," said Gloria Felton, sister-in-law to 
Ronald Felton. She said she wasn't sure about the death penalty.

"I think there's consequences for actions and that's all I'm going to say," 
said Yury Gutierrez, cousin to Monica Hoffa.

Florida court rules give prosecutors 45 days from the date of a defendant's 
arraignment to decide whether to seek capital punishment. The decision rests 
with State Attorney Andrew Warren.

Though he has taken a reserved approach to the death penalty in other cases, 
Warren has left it as a possibility for Donaldson. The wishes of the victims' 
families will be one factor he considers in making the decision, he said.

A grand jury indicted Donaldson last week on 4 counts of 1st-degree murder in 
the deaths of Felton, Hoffa, Benjamin Mitchell and Anthony Naiboa. The 4 were 
all shot in the southeast Seminole Heights neighborhood in Tampa throughout 
October and November.

The murders terrorized the neighborhood and spurred the Tampa Police Department 
into a massive search for a killer.

Donaldson was arrested Nov. 28 after he gave a food bag with a gun inside to a 
fellow employee of an Ybor City McDonald's, according to an arrest report. The 
employee notified police, who tested the weapon and determined it was the same 
one used in all 4 homicides.

Donaldson remains jailed without bail.

(source: Tampa Bay Times)

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

FR. PHIL EGITTO: Bearing witness makes a statement about Florida's death 
penalty



Florida's death penalty system is broken and unjust.

I go to every Florida execution and I bring dozens of people with me. I've been 
doing this for nearly 20 years because I believe our presence outside the 
execution chamber is contributing to a changing tide in our state and in our 
country. Death sentences are down, and support for the death penalty keeps 
dropping. I believe if we don't go we are basically agreeing with the death 
penalty. So we go because we want to tell the governor, lawmakers and all of 
humanity that the state is killing "not in my name."

It all started for me in 1976 when Florida reinstated the death penalty. I was 
a student in Gainesville at the University of Florida. I was outraged that the 
state was going to go backward. Within a few years I began attending vigils 
outside the Florida State Prison.

Today, I am a Catholic priest in Daytona Beach. I believe all life is sacred 
and a gift. My faith says life is given by God and it is taken by God, and that 
the death penalty goes against the basic dignity of human life. Pope Francis 
has made it very clear: Catholics should be opposed to the death penalty. He 
recently shared how doctrine continues to grow and adapt to the times in which 
we live. Francis acknowledged the Catechism previously allowed for capital 
punishment when society could not be kept safe, but that with modern prisons 
the situation no longer exists.

I believe if we had thousands of people gathered together outside of the 
Florida State Prison during future executions that the governor and legislators 
would listen. The fact is, Florida's death penalty system is broken and unjust. 
Studies show racial bias in how it is applied and statistics show Florida leads 
the nation in death row exonerations. Money wasted on a death penalty that does 
nothing to make us safer could be much better spent on victim advocacy, crime 
prevention or even programs to reduce recidivism rates. Restorative justice 
programs could be instituted.

I find it to be interesting, and of no coincidence, that most of the times when 
we are holding vigils during executions there is a bizarre and unexplainable 
weather event or strange phenomenon. One time there was torrential rain and 
lightning, but above the exact location of the execution there were beams of 
bright sun streaming through an opening in the dark sky. It was as if the 
person who had just been executed was being transported to heaven.

Another time, the boyfriend of the victim of the man being executed was 
standing with us. He did not support the execution and felt strongly that 
killing begets more killing. As he was standing there waiting for the execution 
to take place a bird flew out of the sky and landed on one of his hands. I had 
never seen anything like it before or since. I remember another time we were 
suddenly in a swarm of bees, like one would only see in a movie, yet none of us 
were stung. I take these experiences as signals from the heavens that God is 
watching and calling upon us to seek peace and reconciliation in instead of 
seeking revenge.

When people are willing to voice that the death penalty is wrong and that it 
isn???t solving anything, others start to recognize that the state of Florida 
does not need to execute people. The next time an execution is scheduled I hope 
you will join us and add your voice to the chorus, "not in my name."

(source: Egitto is pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Daytona 
Beach----Letter to the Editor, The Daily Commercial)








LOUISIANA:

State announces plan to seek death penalty for Matthew Sonnier



Matthew Sonnier, the man accused of murdering 3 people with the help of his 
sister back in October, was back in Rapides Parish court on Tuesday.

Sonnier was indicted in November for the murders of Jeremy Norris, Kendrick 
Horn, and Latish White. Sonnier was back in court on Monday for a few things; 
first was his arraignment.

Sonnier pleaded not guilty to 3 counts of 1st degree murder, obstruction of 
justice, criminal conspiracy, and carrying of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Prosecutor Hugo Holland also announced that the State plans to seek the death 
penalty. Also, there was a motion filed to determine Sonnier's source of funds.

Sonnier's next court appearance is set for February 1. He is being represented 
by Thomas Alonzo, an attorney who handles capital cases out of Lafayette.

(source: KALB news)








OREGON:

State hasn't decided whether murder suspect will face the death penalty



The Douglas County District Attorney has not yet decided if it will pursue the 
death penalty against a Myrtle Creek man arrested in May for the alleged murder 
of another Myrtle Creek man, and kidnapping his girlfriend and her daughter.

Troy Russell Phelps, 34, was in a Douglas County Circuit Courtroom Monday 
morning as attorneys presented their cases on a motion to dismiss some of the 
kidnapping counts against him.

Phelps is accused of killing 26-year-old Brandon Michael on May 31 near Lawson 
Bar between Riddle and Canyonville, and the state has yet to determine if it 
will pursue the ultimate penalty in the aggravated murder case.

Police said Michael, who had recently moved to Douglas County from the La Pine 
area before the shooting, died from multiple gunshot wounds from a small 
caliber handgun.

On Monday, Circuit Court Judge Ann Marie Simmons refused to dismiss counts 1 
and 2 of 2nd degree kidnapping, but a 3rd count was dismissed.

"She made it very clear that the state can't pursue multiple theories in either 
of those 2 counts,"said defense attorney Mark Sabitt. "One which alleges both 
the commission and the attempted commission of sex abuse. The state agreed that 
their theory was that it was by forcible compulsion, and not that the alleged 
victim was incapable of consenting," Sabitt said.

"1 count is going to go away but the other 2 are fine," said Steve Hoddle, the 
prosecutor with the district attorney's office. They were simply looking at the 
indictment and saying whether or not it sufficiently stated the charge against 
Phelps."

Phelps was charged with 2 counts of 2nd degree kidnapping in addition to the 
aggravated murder charge.

Police said he abducted Michael's girlfriend and her baby and took them to a 
residence in Myrtle Creek, after Michael was killed.

Judge Simmons said she is the judge who signed the search warrant affidavits 
that law enforcement submitted in their investigation, and, if either side 
challenged the searches, she would assign that to another judge to make the 
decision. But neither side has indicated that it would be an issue in their 
case.

A date for the trial has not yet been set, but another status check is set for 
Jan. 18 in Judge Simmons courtroom, and the prosecution could decide at that 
time whether it will seek the death penalty.

(source: The News-Review)