[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----S.C., TENN., ARK., WASH.

[Rick Halperin]

June 10



SOUTH CAROLINA:

Judge denies bond to duo charged in Myrtle Beach bathroom murder case



A judge denied bond for 2 men accused of murdering a 24-year-old in a bathroom 
off Ocean Boulevard earlier this week.

Sylvester Bellamy, of Georgetown, was supposed to start work as a groundskeeper 
for Myrtle Beach on Saturday. Instead, his accused killers were in a city jail 
in handcuffs and jail-issued orange jumpsuits hearing how they could face the 
death penalty for Bellamy's killing.

Myrtle Beach Municipal Judge J. Scott Long denied bond for Terence Isacc 
Blackwell and Earl Rafel Gaddis, Jr. as they face General Sessions charges. The 
2 will have the chance to ask for bail before a circuit court judge later this 
summer.

Gaddis faces charges of murder, possession of a weapon during the commission of 
a violent crime, possession of a stolen pistol, possession with intent to 
distribute marijuana, unlawful carrying of a pistol and 2 counts of possession 
of a controlled substance.

(source: myrtlebeachonline.com)








TENNESSEE:

Parents of slain Dickson County boy face more charges, possibly death penalty



The parents of Joe Clyde Daniels face additional charges, including the 
possibility of the death penalty.

Joseph and Krystal Daniels were arraigned Friday morning after being indicted 
by a special grand jury.

Joseph Daniels faces felony premeditated murder and aggravated child abuse 
charges. His wife, Krystal, has been indicted for failing to prevent aggravated 
child abuse and neglect and later hindering the investigation.

The district attorney also indicated it could be a death penalty case, but a 
final decision has not yet been made.

5-year-old Joe Clyde was initially reported missing from his Dickson County 
home in early April. His father confessed to killing him a few days later. He 
has been jailed ever since.

Krystal Daniels was arrested several days later and remains jailed. She is 
expected to go to trial next March.

Joe Clyde's remains have not yet been recovered. A search is scheduled for 
Saturday.

(source: clarksvillenow.com)








ARKANSAS:

Panel formally levels claims against Arkansas judge over death-penalty 
protest----Judge broke 9 conduct rules, it says



Arkansas' judicial watchdog agency filed formal charges Friday against Pulaski 
County Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen over his 2017 death-penalty protest, 
launching a high-stakes case with potential sanctions ranging from counseling 
to removal from office.

The charges -- a result of a special counsel's investigation -- initiates 
public, noncriminal proceedings in a matter that involves free speech, freedom 
of religion and the judiciary's impartiality, as well as the death penalty and 
property rights.

Griffen and the Arkansas Supreme Court filed dueling complaints against each 
other in April 2017 after the high court sanctioned the judge from hearing any 
cases involving the death penalty. A special counsel's investigation into 
Griffen's complaint against the Supreme Court is ongoing.

Griffen had been photographed while he lay on a cot during a public 
demonstration outside the Governor's Mansion on Good Friday last year -- the 
eve of what was then scheduled to be a series of seven Arkansas executions over 
11 days.

Earlier that day, April 14, 2017, Griffen effectively put the state's execution 
plans on hold by ruling in favor of a drug supplier that tried to stop the use 
of its medication in lethal injections.

A "statement of allegations" released by the state Judicial Discipline and 
Disability Commission accuses the judge of violating up to nine rules in the 
Arkansas Code of Judicial Conduct.

It also accuses him of violating "Canon 1," which says a judge must "uphold the 
independence, integrity and impartiality of the judiciary" and "avoid 
impropriety and the appearance of impropriety."

Griffen's attorney, Michael Laux, said in a news release that the judge is a 
victim of a "vindictive" investigation.

"We're, unfortunately, not surprised by today's announcement," Laux said by 
phone. "However, we are extremely dismayed by the lack of effort and diligence 
that appears to have gone into the investigation. We will have a full-throated 
response to issue on Monday."

Friday's announcement marks the 1st formal charges the state's judicial 
disciplinary commission has filed against a sitting judge since July 2017, when 
Saline County Circuit Judge Bobby McCallister was accused of failing to pay 
income taxes. McCallister ultimately agreed to resign.

The Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission's full-time staff attorneys 
recused from the cross investigations into Griffen and the state's high court. 
Rachel Michel of Mississippi led the investigation into Griffen. J Brent 
Standridge of Benton was appointed to investigate the judge's complaint.

Griffen will be given the opportunity to request depositions and copies of 
investigative materials, and he has the option to file a motion to dismiss the 
charges. The case will proceed similar to a civil matter.

A 9-member panel -- 3 judges, 3 attorneys and 3 public members -- will preside. 
Unless the charges are dismissed or settled, the panel will decide by majority 
vote whether the evidence is "clear and convincing" enough to prove the 
allegations.

If the allegations are proven, the commission has a range of sanctions at its 
disposal, including a public reprimand or mandated professional counseling. It 
could also recommend that the Arkansas Supreme Court take stronger action, such 
as a suspension or removal from office.

The statement of allegations said Griffen is subject to sanctions in Arkansas 
Code Annotated 16-10-410, which provides for the removal of a judge from office 
under a number of circumstances, including "willful violation" of the Arkansas 
Code of Judicial Conduct.

Griffen's April 14, 2017, ruling granted a temporary restraining order 
requested by McKesson Corp., which had accused the state Department of 
Corrections of skirting company rules to obtain a batch of vecuronium bromide. 
Arkansas uses the drug, a paralytic that prevents breathing, as the second in 
its 3-part lethal injection process.

"It had the effect of stays of execution in the executions ... which Judge 
Griffen would not have otherwise had authority to enter," the statement of 
allegations says. Also that day, he attended an "anti-death penalty rally" and, 
later, a Good Friday prayer vigil, the charges say.

"Judge Griffen holds a right to free speech, but once Judge Griffen asserted 
his free speech in unequivocal opposition to the death penalty, he had an 
obligation to disqualify himself in every case effecting the death penalty," 
the allegations say.

Griffen, who also has a pending federal civil rights lawsuit against Arkansas 
Supreme Court justices, has said the prayer vigil "remembered that Jesus was a 
subject of capital punishment." Griffen participated in a similar demonstration 
this year on Good Friday.

"Again, I lay on a cot in silent prayer," he wrote in an April 18 post to his 
blog, called Justice is a Verb! "Again, I had my Bible. Again, I wore a button 
calling for an end to the death penalty."

The disciplinary commission's allegations cite photographs and signs from the 
2017 demonstration as evidence contrary to Griffen's statement that he lay on 
the cot "in solidarity with Jesus." It says the "placard on Judge Griffen's 
body did not refer to Jesus or His crucifixion."

"While the [commission] has no basis on which to evaluate Judge Griffen's 
motive or to question any good faith belief, the record fails to support any 
primary religious motive of anti-death penalty vigil, but the record does 
establish that Judge Griffen was dressed in what appears to be a traditional 
inmate jumpsuit or a reasonable facsimile thereof, and he was wearing a button 
or sign that compelled the State of Arkansas to 'end the death penalty,'" the 
allegations say.

(source: nwaonline.com)








WASHINGTON:

Last juvenile sentenced to die in Washington re-sentenced to 48 years



The last juvenile to receive the death penalty in Washington was re-sentenced 
to 48 years in prison Friday, marking the end of a long road for the family 
members of the woman he was convicted of raping and murdering.

Kitsap County Superior Court Judge Sally Olsen sentenced Michael Furman to a 
minimum of 48 years to life, which means he will be eligible for release in 
about 18 years. He has already served about 30 years.

Furman was 17 when he raped and killed 85-year-old Ann Presler in her home on 
April 27, 1989. Furman had been going door to door looking for odd jobs, and 
Presler had agreed to pay him to wash her windows. While working inside, Furman 
bludgeoned Presler to death with several different objects.

In 1990, Furman was charged as an adult and was sentenced to death after a jury 
found him guilty of aggravated 1st-degree murder. However, the state Supreme 
Court outlawed the death penalty for juveniles in 1993, and Furman was given a 
sentence of life in prison without parole.

A 2012 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Miller vs. Alabama, found that juveniles 
convicted of aggravated murder cannot be automatically sentenced to life in 
prison. The decision held that sentencing courts must consider juveniles' 
"diminished culpability" before handing down a life sentence.

The ruling allowed Furman and 30 other inmates in the state to be resentenced, 
and it called back to the courtroom Presler's descendants, who have been 
fighting for years to keep him in prison.

"We're part of the 3rd generation," said Amy Jones, who was 9 when her 
great-grandmother was killed. "It's haunted all of us our whole lives."

Jones attended the hearing Friday alongside several of Presler's other 
grandchildren and great-grandchildren to hear Olsen's decision.

At a hearing in March, prosecutors asked for a 60-year to life sentence, 
meaning Furman wouldn't be up for parole until his late 70s. Furman's attorney, 
public defender Steve Lewis, argued that a 60-year sentence was 
unconstitutional and Furman should be eligible to apply for release now.

In her decision, Olsen discounted Furman's age as a mitigating factor in the 
crime. While research has shown that younger people tend to have poorer impulse 
control and judgment than adults, Furman was only 2 months shy of his 18th 
birthday when he killed Presler, she said.

The deliberate nature of the crime also showed Furman's responsibility, Olsen 
said. Before he beat Presler with several different vases, Furman wrapped the 
objects in rags to not leave fingerprints. He also disposed of his clothing 
after the fact and initially lied to detectives about whether he was in the 
home.

"This is not a reckless or impulsive act, but rather one of a clear, cold, 
calculating decision of a mind fully cognizant of future consequences," Olsen 
said.

Olsen did consider Furman's upbringing, which he told the judge in March was 
disturbing and violent. Furman's stepmother renamed him "Jason" because her own 
son was named Michael, and she made him sleep in the garage. She also made him 
shoot a litter of puppies they couldn???t afford. Furman began abusing drugs at 
a young age.

"The defendant experienced chronic instability, neglect, physical, sexual and 
emotional abuse, and there's no doubt it impacted his psychological 
development," Olsen said.

Olsen cited a specific Washington court case that ruled that a defendant who 
would be up for parole at age 68 amounted to a "de facto" life sentence. Under 
the new sentence, Furman would be eligible to apply for release when he is 65.

In an email to the Kitsap Sun, Lewis said Furman was "disappointed beyond 
measure" at Olsen's ruling and plans to appeal the sentence.

"We respectfully disagree with the conclusion that providing an opportunity for 
release for the first time at age 65 for a juvenile offender is providing that 
juvenile offender a "meaningful" opportunity at parole," Lewis wrote.

Presler's family watched in silence as the sentence was handed down. Furman was 
not in the courtroom but joined in by phone from Clallam Bay Correctional 
Facility. Afterward, the family described Olsen's ruling as "fair."

"What's good for 1 person is good for the other, and this is not just for our 
family, this is for all the other families, heaven forbid, that have to go 
through this," Jones said.

The horror of Presler's death and subsequent trial have dominated most of the 
memories of their great-grandmother for the past several decades. Jones' sister 
Robin Adams was 11 when Presler was killed. The oldest family members present 
at the hearing were in their 20s.

"We don't really talk about her life as a family because her life is so wrapped 
up in her death, and it's made it really hard, especially for us younger 
grandchildren," Jones said.

The family hopes this will be the last time they'll have to revisit Presler's 
death. If Olsen's sentence is found to be unconstitutional, the family would 
have to come back to court.

"We're in a club that no family ever wants to be in, which is murder," Adams 
said. "The problem is that it will never end for us until he dies."

For now, the sentence ensures Furman will remain in prison. But the family is 
still struggling with closure. Younger members of the family don't know much 
about Presler, because her grandchildren want to avoid passing along painful 
memories.

"We hope that the 4th and the 5th generation, that this is not something that's 
ever on their plate, that they ever have to think about," Jones said.

(source: Kitsap Sun)