[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, LA., TENN., NEB., WASH., USA

Fri Jul 13 08:54:22 CDT 2018

July 13

TEXAS:

Nephew details 'hit list' in Houston 'honor killings' death penalty trial

The 33-year-old nephew of a Jordanian immigrant facing the death penalty 
testified Thursday that his cousin confessed he committed murder and was 1 of 3 
family members at the scene of the alleged "honor killing" that shocked 
Houston.

It was the strongest evidence yet tying Ali Mahwood-Awad Irsan, a 60-year-old 
fervent Muslim with 12 children, to a pair of "honor killings" in 2012 that 
included the death of his own son-in-law.

Ahmed Garcia testified he was staying with Irsan when 1 of the patriarch's 
adult sons told him about gunning down an Iranian woman near the Galleria area.

(source: Houston Chronicle)

LOUISIANA:

Louisiana seeks 1-year extension in halt to executions

Louisiana authorities are seeking a court order that would rule out any 
executions in the state for at least one more year.

A lawsuit challenging the state's lethal injection protocols has blocked 
Louisiana from carrying out any death sentences since 2014. Its last execution 
was in 2010.

In a court filing Wednesday, an attorney for the state asked for a 12-month 
extension in the court order temporarily staying all executions.

Jeffrey Cody, the state's lawyer, says litigating the case now would be "a 
waste of resources and time." He asked U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick to 
postpone a July 17 status conference for the litigation and extend the 
court-ordered halt in executions for 1 additional year "because the facts and 
issues involved in this proceeding continue to be in a fluid state."

"It is hoped that, by July 2019, the facts and issues ultimately to be 
litigated will have become more settled and the parties will then be in a 
better position to proceed forward with the litigation," Cody wrote.

Dick didn't immediately rule on Cody's request. The case was reassigned to Dick 
in January after the death of U.S. District Judge James Brady, whose order had 
temporary blocked all executions.

Drug shortages have forced Louisiana's corrections department to rewrite its 
execution plan several times since 2010. Under the current execution protocols, 
the state's primary method is a single-drug injection of pentobarbital, a 
powerful sedative. The alternative method is a 2-drug combination of the 
painkiller hydromorphone and the sedative midazolam. The corrections department 
has none of those drugs in its inventory, according to department spokesman Ken 
Pastorick.

Louisiana has 71 inmates on death row. The state's last execution was in 
January 2010, when prison officials put to death Gerald Bordelon, who was 
convicted of killing his 12-year-old stepdaughter in 2002.

Gary Clements, an attorney for a convicted child killer who sued to block his 
execution, said the state's request is "probably pretty reasonable under the 
circumstances" give the "fluid" state of the litigation.

(source: The Republic)

TENNESSEE:

Inmate's lawyers look for holes in lethal injection rules during death penalty 
challenge

Lawyers challenging Tennessee's lethal injection guidelines on Thursday 
suggested the state's rules surrounding executions were unclear and incomplete, 
issues they believe could spur the illegal torture of inmates.

On the 4th day of a civil trial brought by 33 Tennessee death row inmates, 
attorneys for the inmates spent hours questioning Department of Correction 
leaders about a revised protocol for lethal injections released last week.

While questioning the warden at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution, where 
the state's only execution chamber is located, federal public defender Jerome 
Del Pino established that prison staff practiced lethal injections without 
instructions from the pharmacy slated to provide the three-drug injection 
cocktail.

The protocol released July 5 requires that the lethal injection components 
should be "transferred, stored and maintained in accordance with the pharmacy."

"Wouldn't you want to have all the directions that you're supposed to follow in 
carrying out an execution?" Del Pino asked Warden Tony Mays.

Mays acknowledged those instructions have not been available during previous 
practice runs, but added that "once we receive them we will follow to the 
letter."

The state is scheduled to execute Billy Ray Irick, a 59-year-old Knoxville man 
convicted of the 1985 rape and murder of a 7-year-old girl, on Aug. 9.

The inmates' challenge rests on the 1st component in the state's 3-drug lethal 
injection cocktail, midazolam. Midazolam is meant to render the inmates unable 
to feel pain before they are executed, but witnesses called Wednesday said 
inmates executed in other states appeared to be alert and in pain after getting 
doses of midazolam.

State attorneys have disputed this characterization, and plan to question a 
physician who says midazolam is effective.

Del Pino focused a significant amount of his questioning on the protocol's 
directions if midazolam fails to render an inmate unconscious. The warden, not 
a physician, is supposed to test to see if an inmate is still awake after the 
midazolam dose, according to the protocol.

The protocol calls for a 2nd dose of the drug if an inmate is still alert after 
the 1st round, but doesn't say what to do if the 2nd dose is ineffective.

Mays said he would consult the physician on site and might contact the 
commissioner for the Department of Correction, but those steps aren't spelled 
out in the state's directions.

The inmate's lawyers closed the 4th day of the trial by questioning Tony 
Parker, the commissioner for the Department of Correction. His testimony is 
expected to continue Friday.

Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle is presiding over the case in Davidson County 
Chancery Court and is expected to make a ruling at the trial's conclusion.

(source: The Tennessean)

NEBRASKA:

Court Records: Death penalty sought for Aubrey Trail

According to court documents, the death penalty will be sought in the case of 
Aubrey Trail, 1 of the 2 people accused of killing 24-year-old Sydney Loofe in 
November, 2017.

According to the court documents, Special Deputy Attorney of Saline County 
Sandra Allen stated they will attempt to find aggravating circumstances since 
Trail "has a substantial prior history of serious assaultive or terrorizing 
criminal activity," and "the murder manifested exceptional depravity by 
ordinary standards of morality and intelligence."

The documents also state that authorities believe Trail did "purposely and with 
deliberate premeditated malice kill Sydney Loofe."

According to a probable cause affidavit, Sydney Loofe's dismembered remains 
were found in garbage bags east of Clay Center on December 4th and 5th.

The documents also reveal security video from Home Depot in Lincoln on November 
15 shows Aubrey Trail and Bailey Boswell purchasing tools and supplies believed 
to be used in the dismemberment and disposal of Loofe's body.

The court records indicate at that time, Loofe was still alive, and began her 
shift at Menards later that day.

In addition, a forensic pathologist determined the cause of death to be 
homicidal violence including strangulation.

According to court documents, Trail acknowledged he strangled her to death with 
an extension cord and Boswell assisted in cleaning up the crime scene and 
disposing of Loofe's body.

Trail is due in Saline District Court for an arraignment on Friday morning at 
9:30 a.m.

(source: WOWT news)

WASHINGTON:

NPI poll finds 69% of Washingtonians favor life in prison alternatives to the 
death penalty

An overwhelming majority of Washingtonians would rather send convicted 
murderers to prison for life than execute them, a recent poll commissioned by 
the Northwest Progressive Institute has found.

A total of 69% of respondents surveyed said they preferred 1 of 3 life in 
prison alternatives to just 24% who said they preferred the death penalty.

8% said they were not sure.

This significant finding suggests that a consensus is building among the people 
of Washington State for a sorely needed human rights and criminal justice 
reform. Washingtonians don't need to be convinced that replacing the death 
penalty with life in prison alternatives makes sense ... it's what they already 
believe.

Here is the question we asked and the responses we received:

QUESTION:

Of the following list of choices, which punishment do you prefer for people 
convicted of murder: life in prison with NO possibility of parole, life in 
prison with NO possibility of parole and a requirement to work in prison and 
pay restitution to the victims, life in prison with a possibility of parole 
after at least forty years, or the death penalty?

ANSWERS:

Prefer Life In Prison ... (69% total)

... With No Possibility Of Parole: 10%

... With No Possibility Of Parole And A Requirement To Work in Prison And Pay 
Restitution To The Victims: 46%

... With A Possibility Of Parole After At Least 40 Years: 13%

Prefer The Death Penalty: 24%

Not Sure: 8%

Our survey of 675 likely 2018 Washington State voters was in the field May 
22nd-23rd, 2018. The survey used a blended methodology with automated phone 
calls to landlines and online interviews of cell phone only respondents. The 
poll was conducted by Public Policy Polling for NPI, and has a margin of error 
of +/- 3.8% at the 95% confidence level.

What we found most striking about the responses were that not a single 
subsample within the survey favored the death penalty... not even Donald Trump 
voters.

(Trump voters favor life in prison by the slimmest of margins: 48% of them 
picked 1 of the 3 alternatives, while 46% want to keep the death penalty.)

What this tells us is that there is broad agreement across the ideological 
spectrum for getting rid of the practice of putting convicted murders to death.

82% of those identifying as Democrats in our poll selected one of the life in 
prison alternatives, joined by 63% of those identifying as independents and 
supporters of a minor party, plus 54% of those identifying as Republicans.

There are ample reasons to oppose the death penalty.

It doesn't deter crime, it's actually cheaper to incarcerate murderers than it 
is to execute them, and it's a practice that has been ended in every other 
developed country except for the United States... not to mention many 
developing countries. But perhaps the best reason of all to abolish the death 
penalty is that it is discriminatory and unjust. Our courts are simply not 
infallible. Prosecutors make mistakes. Juries make mistakes. Judges make 
mistakes. A person who is innocent can be accused, tried, and executed for a 
murder they did not commit.

Since we cannot eliminate the possibility of error from our judicial system, we 
must eliminate the possibility that an innocent person will be put to death by 
getting rid of the death penalty once and for all - both here in Washington and 
elsewhere.

At NPI, we believe that all people have a right to live. Life, liberty, and the 
pursuit of happiness are the ideals that this country was founded on, with life 
being the first. Capital punishment is at odds with those values. It needs to 
be abolished.

A few months ago, the Washington State Senate adopted legislation to do just 
that. 21 Democratic senators and 5 Republican senators came together in a 
striking demonstration of bipartisan unity to pass Senate Bill 6052.

Although the bill received a hearing and a "do pass" recommendation from the 
House Judiciary Committee, it did not receive a vote on the House floor.

2019 can and must be the year that legislation to abolish the death penalty in 
Washington State gets all the way to Governor Inslee's desk.

Last year, when Attorney General Bob Ferguson and former Attorney General Rob 
McKenna joined forces to urge the Legislature to end capital punishment, The 
Seattle Times' Joseph O'Sullivan reached out to well known local pollster 
Stuart Elway for his thoughts on where Washingtonians stood on the issue.

Elway told O'Sullivan that a majority of voters here in Washington State may 
now oppose the death penalty. As O'Sullivan related in his article:

"I think it's one of those things where the people who are for it, are for the 
death penalty, are pretty strong and vocal, but I don't think they're in the 
majority," Elway said. "So it's sort of intensity on one side, versus numbers 
on the other side."

Our survey finding confirms Elway's guess. What's noteworthy, though, is that 
the majority in favor of life in prison alternatives is so huge. 69% is more 
than 2/3. It's unusual for this many people to be in agreement on issue that is 
widely considered to be so divisive. It turns out we're not as divided as we 
might think.

And that's some encouraging news considering the times we live in.

Anyone who is skeptical of this finding is welcome to take a look at the body 
of public opinion research that shows support for the death penalty falling 
across the country. Gallup has found declining enthusiasm for the practice of 
putting people to death for murder in recent years; so has Pew Research.

Pew released fresh numbers last month that weren't as good as its 2016 numbers. 
However, the new 2018 numbers are not worse than Gallup's 2017 numbers.

In other words, Pew didn't find a higher level of support for the death penalty 
this year than Gallup did last year, when Gallup reported that Americans' 
support for the death penalty has dipped to a level not seen in 45 years.

Both pollsters report that nationwide support for the death penalty is below 
the levels seen in the 1990s and early 2000s. Our polling suggests that 
Washington is very much in the vanguard of a shift of public opinion that 
favors abolition.

4 states have succeeded in abolishing the death penalty during the past decade: 
Delaware (2016), Maryland (2013), Connecticut (2012), and New Mexico (2009). A 
total of 19 states no longer have the death penalty.

With a successful vote in next year's Legislature to end the practice of 
executing people, Washington could be the 20th. Let's make it happen.

(source: nwprogressive.org)

USA:

America's morbid fascination with the death penalty

Ever since certain people came to this land from elsewhere back in the day, and 
before this land began as a country, the death penalty in all of its various 
and hideous forms has been used against poor people and minority peoples for 
any and all reasons - and for no reason at all.

While it was most often said to be used for the purpose of "justice," history 
tells a completely different story. More likely than not, the death penalty has 
been used to settle scores, seek revenge, exact retribution, or condone 
outright murder of the powerless at the hands of the powerful.

This is the truth and the legacy of America's capital punishment system, where 
those who have capital don't get this kind of punishment!

Then there are the religious and political aspects of the death penalty, which 
are not separate as this country's Constitution says they are supposed to be. 
The religious people, whose very religious foundation is built upon 
forgiveness, don't - or aren't able to - forgive anyone who is different from 
them. They can forgive their own, but find fault in everyone else, especially 
those who are not of their class and/or race.

They claim that the man named Jesus Christ is their personal savior and that 
they follow his teachings, except when it comes to the condemnation of certain 
people, and the legal torture and murder of a person who was rightly or wrongly 
convicted of the crime of murder in the 1st degree.

This man named Jesus Christ, before he was executed himself, stated that he 
condemned no one, yet religious hypocrisy, classism and racism have helped to 
keep capital punishment - this historic and horrific crime against humanity - 
alive and well in this country.

The politics of class and race also help also fan the flames of oppression and 
unjustified killing in this country, which was founded to ensure the 
continuation of both. These are the people who are the state-sponsored 
murderers, who kill a convicted murderer to prove that murder is wrong. (The 
legal term for death by execution is "homicide.")

A controversial case

Kevin Cooper's case was a cause of former Chronicle columnist Debra J. 
Saunders. Here's a sampling of her columns and The Chronicle's most recent 
editorial:

May 31, 2018: "Editorial: Leave no evidence behind in Kevin Cooper case," 
http://bit.ly/2LaKAp7

July 24, 2015: "Kevin Cooper is still guilty; that's a 'Death Row' story, 
http://bit.ly/2uaIDCB

Dec. 14, 2010: "Kevin Cooper is guilty," http://bit.ly/2N2uqhY

May 14, 2009: "Kevin Cooper is guilty," http://bit.ly/2NHGh6b

June 26, 2005: "Kevin Cooper is guilty," http://bit.ly/2NHVSTs

Feb. 15, 2004: "The court that cried wolf," http://bit.ly/2KOAo9J

Jan. 30, 2004: "Follow the DNA," http://bit.ly/2m7caZq

That's not any form of justice. That is American hypocrisy at its best or at 
its worst, depending on who is telling the story.

In the meantime, this country's morbid fascination with the penalty of death 
continues, while its poor and minorities continue to be tortured and murdered 
by these hypocrites!

In struggle and solidarity, from death row at San Quentin State Prison.

(source: Opinion; Kevin Cooper, California Department of Corrections 
#C-65304-4-EB-82, was convicted for the 1983 murders of 4 people in San 
Bernardino County. Gov. Jerry Brown is reviewing Cooper's request for 
additional DNA testing Cooper believes will exonerate him. To comment, submit 
your letter to the editor at SFChronicle.com/letters----San Francisco 
Chronicle)