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

[Rick Halperin]

July 19



MASSACHUSETTS:

Should cop killers face the death penalty?



Following the death of Weymouth Police Sgt. Micheal Chesna, Governor Charlie 
Baker renewed his call for the death penalty for cop-killers.

Sgt. Chesna was shot and killed in the line of duty Sunday morning.

Prosecutors said his killer, Emmanuel Lopes, hit Sgt. Chesna with a rock, took 
his gun and killed him.

After Chesna's murder, Gov. Baker is once again asking lawmakers to pass 
legislation requiring the death penalty for those who kill police officers.

The death penalty ended in Massachusetts in 1984, but there have been efforts 
to bring it back since then. Republican state lawmakers brought up the death 
penalty after Yarmouth Police officer Sean Gannon was shot and killed in April.

Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno said he supports Gov. Baker on this issue.

"I agree with Governor Baker, if it's beyond reasonable doubt there has to be a 
sense of mutual respect when it comes to law and order," Mayor Sarno said.

Gov. Baker said that he and Lt. Governor Polito have started serious 
conversations with the law enforcement and criminal justice community about 
this issue.

(source: WWLP news)








NORTH CAROLINA:

Teen accused of gunning down Charlotte mother could face death penalty



Antonio Shine, 19, will appear before a judge on Thursday to learn whether he 
will face the death penalty for the murder of Maria Echeverria de Gomez outside 
her east Charlotte apartment in April.

Shine is the 1st of 4 teens to be charged in the death of Echeverria de Gomez.

Police said Shine and 3 other teens robbed Echeverria de Gomez and shot her to 
death outside her apartment complex on Barrington Drive while she was waiting 
for a ride to work.

Echeverria de Gomez's slaying sent a wave of emotion through the largely 
Hispanic east Charlotte neighborhood.

The other 3 suspects are just 15, 16 and 17 years old. They all face murder and 
robbery charges.

(soruce: WSOC TV news)








FLORIDA----new and impending execution date

Rick Scott signs death warrant for Florida inmate convicted of 1992 Miami 
murder



Nearly 26 years after a woman was beaten and stabbed to death in her Miami-Dade 
County home, Gov. Rick Scott on Wednesday said her murderer should die by 
lethal injection on Aug. 14.

Scott signed a death warrant for inmate Jose Antonio Jimenez, who was convicted 
in the October 1992 killing of 63-year-old Phyllis Minas, whose neighbors heard 
her shout, "Oh God! Oh my God!" during the attack, according to court 
documents.

Jimenez, now 54, would be the 1st inmate put to death by lethal injection in 
Florida since Feb. 22, when Eric Branch was executed in the 1993 murder and 
sexual assault of University of West Florida student Susan Morris. Jimenez also 
would be the 28th inmate executed since Scott took office in 2011 - the most of 
any Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, a state 
Department of Corrections list shows.

Scott signed the death warrant after the Florida Supreme Court on June 28 
rejected an appeal by Jimenez, who was convicted of the murder in 1994.

The appeal was rooted, at least in part, in a January 2016 U.S. Supreme Court 
ruling in a case known as Hurst v. Florida and subsequent Florida Supreme Court 
decisions. The 2016 U.S. Supreme Court ruling found Florida's death-penalty 
sentencing system was unconstitutional because it gave too much authority to 
judges, instead of juries. The Florida Supreme Court subsequently said juries 
must unanimously agree on critical findings before judges can impose death 
sentences and must unanimously recommend the death penalty.

In Jimenez's case, a jury unanimously recommended to the trial judge that he 
should be sentenced to death. But Jimenez's attorney argued in a May brief that 
the jury was not required to make critical findings "beyond a reasonable doubt" 
and that, as a result, the death sentence was invalid.

The Supreme Court, however, has rejected numerous similar arguments from 
longtime Death Row inmates. Justices have said the new sentencing requirements 
that resulted from the Hurst decision apply to cases since June 2002 - and not 
to earlier cases. The U.S. Supreme Court in June 2002 issued a ruling known as 
Ring v. Arizona that was a premise for striking down Florida's death-penalty 
sentencing system in 2016.

"Jimenez was sentenced to death following a jury's unanimous recommendation for 
death," the Florida Supreme Court wrote in the June 28 decision. "His sentence 
of death became final in 1998 (after an earlier appeal). Thus, Hurst does not 
apply retroactively to Jimenez's sentence of death."

Jimenez was accused of killing Minas during a burglary. Neighbors tried to 
enter the home through an unlocked front door after hearing Minas' cries, but 
Jimenez slammed the door shut, locked it and fled by going onto a bedroom 
balcony, according to court documents.

(source: Orlando Weekly)

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

Maine man convicted in NH triple murder faces death penalty for killing 
cellmate



The Maine man convicted of killing 3 men in Conway, New Hampshire in 2007 is 
now facing the death penalty for killing his cellmate in Florida.

Michael Woodbury, of Windham, is serving 3 life sentences in a Florida prison.

Woodbury pleaded guilty in May to 1st-degree murder in the beating death of his 
cellmate.

Court documents show Woodbury barricaded the cell door and beat his cellmate 
with a lock for more than 2 hours last September.

The penalty phase in the case will begin Monday to determine whether Woodbury 
receives a life sentence or the death penalty.

(source: WMTW news)

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

Michael Jones: Death penalty hearing for accused nurse killer----Diana Duve 
strangled in 2014

A judge heard arguments Wednesday in the death penalty case of Michael Jones, 
accused of strangling his 1-time girlfriend, Diana Duve, back in 2014.

As the hour-long hearing wrapped up, Duve's mother Lena Andrews addressed Jones 
from the back of the courtroom.

"Jones, go back to your cage!", Andrews said as she stared down Jones before 
leaving the courtroom in tears.

Duve was a Vero Beach High grad, and a nurse in Indian River County. Her body 
was found in the trunk of her own car in Melbourne.

Jones is a former bank wealth management adviser.

Defense attorneys filed 10 different motions regarding the death penalty in 
this case. 1 was to prevent the prosecution from presenting victim impact 
statements to the jury. The state said on that particular motion, the law has 
been settled.

"It would be an absolute miscarriage of justice to deny them their right to 
explain the uniqueness of Diana in this case to this jury," said Assistant 
State Attorney Tom Bakkedahl.

After the hearing, Circuit Judge Cynthia Cox said she would take the motions 
under advisement. No trial date has been set. The next status hearing is 
scheduled for September.

(source: WPTV news)

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

Man faces death penalty for killing estranged wife, friend



A Florida man faces a possible death sentence for killing his estranged wife 
and her friend.

The Florida Times-Union reports that 38-year-old James Terry Colley Jr. was 
found guilty Wednesday of 1st-degree murder. St. Johns County jurors will 
return next week to decide whether Colley should be executed or serve a life 
sentence.

Authorities say Colley went to Amanda Colley's home in August 2015 after 
appearing in court for violating an injunction for stalking her. Prosecutors 
say he shot his wife and her friend, Lindy Dobbins, as they begged for their 
lives. Authorities say Colley also shot and wounded 2 of his estranged wife's 
other friends.

(source: Associated Press)








LOUISIANA:

Attorney General refuses to represent Gov in federal death penalty challenge 
case



"I discovered the biggest obstacle to getting justice for our State's crime 
victims was neither the federal case nor the difficulty obtaining drugs: it has 
and continues to be your unwillingness to proceed with any executions". That's 
part of what the Louisiana Attorney General wrote in a letter sent to Governor 
John Bel Edwards Wednesday.

And it's the latest controversy brewing between the AG's Office and the 
Administration.

General Landry says the State has not carried out an execution since 2010 in 
part because of pending federal litigation, and according to Landry in part 
because Governor Edwards refuses to.

Now the A.G. says he'll no longer represent the Department of Corrections in 
the federal case at the center of the controversy.

Landry sent the Governor a letter telling him that his unwillingness to proceed 
with any executions is an obstacle in getting justice for the families of crime 
victims.

For years the A.G.'s Office has been representing the DOC in a federal case 
called Hoffman vs Jindal, in which the 3-drug execution procedure used by 
Louisiana is being challenged as unconstitutional.

Recently the DOC filed a motion in federal court voluntarily agreeing to stay 
and delay executions for another year according to Landry.

That prompted the letter, which reads in part,"In light of your 
Administration's latest decision to not pursue justice for victim's and their 
families and to unnecessarily tie the DOC's hands by ceding control to a 
federal court, I have directed DOJ attorneys to withdraw from further 
representing the DOC in this case. My decision does not come lightly or without 
exhaustive efforts to get your Administration to work with our team to bring 
our state's most monstrous criminals to justice."

The AG's Solicitor General, Liz Murrill filed the motion for the AG's removal, 
saying she believes the DOC is refusing to move forward with executions at the 
direction of the Administration.

"The litigation provides an excuse for the Administration to not move forward, 
just like we saw this week when you go into a federal court and voluntarily 
agree to a stay that lasts an entire year again, again, and again and you say 
you can't do it because of a federal court order, you've created a self 
fulfilling order," said Liz Murrill, the Solicitor General.

The A.G.has asked Governor Edwards to change his position.

But Governor Edwards calls the AG's actions "political grandstanding", and 
writes " In the one year since the state last requested a stay, which the 
Attorney General signed on and supported at the time, nothing has changed - the 
drugs are not available and legislation has not passed to address concerns of 
drug companies or offer alternative forms of execution.

The Governor's reaction contradicts the AG's initial claim that his office has 
attempted numerous times to work with Governor Edwards and the DOC in order to 
find a solution to the legal hurdles.

Landry says his office's research indicates the DOC already has the capacity to 
use a singe-drug called Pentobarbital, which is the same drug used in Texas.

(source: brproud.com)








OHIO----execution

Convicted killer of gay man dies via lethal injection in Ohio



Convicted murderer Robert Van Hook was was executed Tuesday via lethal 
injection - 33 years after he stabbed a man to death in a Cincinnati apartment.

He was the 56th person put to death in Ohio since the death penalty resumed in 
the state in 1999. His time of death at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility 
in Lucasville was 10:44 a.m. ET.

Van Hook, weeping, told his victim's brother, sister and brother-in-law he was 
"very sorry for taking your brother away from you."

The victim's neighbor found David Self, 25, nearly disemboweled in February 
1985 in his Cincinnati apartment, about 80 miles northeast of the prison. The 
gaping wound in his torso revealed his internal organs and was stuffed with a 
cigarette butt and the murder weapon itself: a paring knife.

Van Hook, now 58, arrived Tuesday morning at Lucasville and spent the day 
watching TV, sleeping, listening to music and talking to his family, according 
to spokeswoman JoEllen Smith of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and 
Correction.

He had a restless night without much sleep. This morning he received communion 
and was witnessed performing a Buddhist chant with a friend, she said.

On the night of the 1985 slaying Van Hook, 25 then, met Self at Subway bar, a 
downtown establishment popular among gay men. During the appeals process, Van 
Hook's defense team said "homosexual panic" may have prompted the killing.

However, Van Hook admitted to police he had been robbing gay men since he was 
15.

He pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. A panel of the 3 Hamilton County 
judges found him guilty and sentenced him to death.

In May, the Ohio Parole Board voted against clemency for Van Hook. Gov. John 
Kasich rejected his plea for clemency without comment.

Self's family supported the execution, telling the parole board last month that 
he is missed every day. A test of Van Hook's veins Tuesday, ahead of the lethal 
injection, didn't find any problems, Smith said.

Ohioans to Stop Executions protested at the Lucasville prison and in Columbus.

"Our thoughts are with the family of David Self, the family of Robert Van Hook, 
and those tasked with carrying out another state-sanctioned execution," said 
Kevin Werner, executive director of the anti-death penalty group.

In September 2017, the state put Gary Otte to death for the 1992 murders of 2 
people during robberies over 2 days in suburban Cleveland.

(source: USA Today)

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

Key witness in Cleveland death penalty trial, developer indicted over real 
estate deal



A Cleveland arson detective who served as a key witness in the capital murder 
trial of his nephew was indicted on felony charges that accuse him of forging 
the signature of one of the victims of the killing to sell property to a local 
real estate developer.

Damon Johnson, 46, was charged with grand theft, tampering with records, 
forgery, identity fraud and money laundering in the scheme that prosecutors say 
stretched from 2016 into 2017.

Also charged in the indictment were Arthur Fayne, principal of Business 
Development Concepts, Inc. and managing director of Community Integrated 
Services, and Fayne's secretary, Carolyn Swoope. Each faces charges of identity 
fraud and forgery. Swoope is also charged with tampering with records.

All 3 are set for a July 31 arraignment.

Damon Johnson, an arson detective with the city of Cleveland's fire and police 
departments, served as a key witness in the January trial of his nephew James 
Johnson.

James Johnson is accused of killing his cousin, Rashaad Bandy, and Bandy's 
roommate, Brandon James, during a robbery at the Archer Apartments in downtown 
Cleveland.

Damon Johnson told a jury that he saw James Johnson pull into a gas station the 
morning after the slayings and dump a bag that investigators say contained the 
same pair of Timberland boots that the shooter wore during the attack.

Judge Kathleen Sutula declared a mistrial after jurors convicted James Johnson 
in January. She barred defense attorneys and the prosecutor's office from 
disclosing the reason for the declaration. Prosecutors dropped the charges that 
included specifications that would make James Johnson eligible for the death 
penalty if convicted.

The 2nd trial is set to begin Monday.

James Johnson's attorneys, Kevin Cafferkey and John Gibbons, filed motions 
after the mistrial requesting records related to Damon Johnson and a Cleveland 
police report that was filed in November.

According to that police report, Bandy's aunt, Gloria Bandy, told police that 
Damon Johnson, who is her nephew, used her identification to forge paperwork in 
her name to sell 2 properties on Cleveland's East Side for a combined $40,000.

Records show that the 2 parcels of land, on St. Clair Avenue in the city's 
Collinwood neighborhood, transferred from Rashaad Bandy to Gloria Bandy 
beginning in December 2015, about a month before the killing.

The quit-claim deed did not finalize until June 2016, records show.

The property was again transferred via quit-claim deed in November 2017 from 
Gloria Bandy to Fayne's company, Community Integrated Services, records show. 
The sale price is listed in records as $175,000.

(source: cleveland.com)