[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, FLA., OHIO, TENN., MO.

[Rick Halperin]

June 14



TEXAS:

Death Watch: Intellectually Disabled or Mentally Ill?----3 cases raise the 
question

The Court of Criminal Appeals granted its first stay of execution of the year, 
and now Smith County man Clifton Williams will face a new hearing instead of 
lethal injection, which was scheduled for June 21. Williams was sentenced to 
death in 2006 for killing a 93-year-old woman in a home robbery gone wrong. 
He's spent the last decade fighting his sentence to little reward, but on May 
23, his attorneys filed an appeal contending Williams is "intellectually 
disabled" and therefore not subject to execution.

Atkins v. Virginia, a 2002 Supreme Court case, determined that executing people 
with intellectual disabilities qualifies as cruel punishment and violates the 
Eighth Amendment, but the CCA decision on Williams is the result of a more 
recent Supreme Court ruling on Texas death row inmate Bobby Moore, who SCOTUS 
concluded was sentenced in part on outdated medical research on intellectual 
functioning. Indeed, Texas had been using material from 1992, as well as 
guidelines based in part on Lennie from John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men - 
factors that advanced "lay stereotypes" and made Texas an "outlier" in 
comparison to other states' handling of similar cases.

Williams now awaits examination. His Atkins hearing won't take place until that 
occurs. He has a hearing in Smith County District Court on June 21, to appoint 
substitute counsel.

Meanwhile, Moore's case appears to be headed down a different path. On June 6, 
the CCA upheld its ruling that he is competent enough for execution, and agreed 
to adopt current medical standards going forward (the same ones that moved the 
needle the other way in Williams' case), but the judges believe even under the 
new framework, Moore "failed to demonstrate adaptive deficits sufficient to 
support a diagnosis of intellectual disability."

And a similar conversation continued last week in the 5th Circuit Court of 
Appeals, where Andre Thomas was granted, in part, a certificate of 
appealability to file a brief and have his recently denied appeal reviewed. In 
2005, Thomas was sentenced for killing his ex-wife, her baby, and their young 
son. He spent the months leading up to the murders claiming to hear voices from 
God and cutting himself, and in the course of the murders cut out the hearts of 
the 2 children and stored the organs in his pocket, before trying to kill 
himself. Later, in jail, he gouged out his right eye. Unsurprisingly, 3 
psychologists concluded Thomas suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. Though his 
trial attorney argued he was too ill to be given the death penalty, an 
all-white jury disagreed. (Thomas is black; his ex-wife was white.) 3 years 
later, he pulled out his other eye and ate it.

Unlike Williams and Moore, who used Atkins to further their appeals, Thomas is 
mentally ill - meaning he suffers from a disorder, as opposed to intellectual 
functioning and adaptive behavior limitations (i.e., intellectual disability). 
The 5th Circuit denied only 1 of Thomas' 5 COA issues: whether execution of the 
severely mentally ill violates the Eighth Amendment, stating "this issue is 
foreclosed under our precedent." Though the U.S. still allows mentally ill 
inmates to be executed, the 5th Circuit's approval might just force a Supreme 
Court decision.

(source: Austin Chronicle)

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

"Blood Will Tell" investigation, death row with disabilities



On this week's TribCast, Emily talks to Evan, Jolie and the New York Times 
Magazine and ProPublica's Pamela Colloff on Pam's 2-part "Blood Will Tell" 
series on blood spatter analysis and the state's consideration of intellectual 
disabilities in death row cases.

On this week's TribCast, Emily talks to Evan, Jolie and the New York Times 
Magazine and ProPublica's Pamela Colloff on Pam's 2-part "Blood Will Tell" 
series on blood spatter analysis and the state's consideration of intellectual 
disabilities in death row cases:

In Blood Will Tell, Pam told the harrowing story of Joe Bryan, a small-town 
Texas school principal who's been imprisoned for decades for the murder of his 
schoolteacher wife - based on blood spatter analysis that remains in question 
as a forensic science. Pam made some pretty big news on the TribCast: Bryan has 
just been denied parole again. He's 77 and has congestive heart failure and is 
on his 3rd pacemaker.

In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that people with intellectual 
disabilities aren't eligible for the death penalty, and just over a year ago, 
the court knocked down Texas' method of determining whether death row inmates 
qualified as intellectually disabled. Jolie talks about 2 recent cases where 
the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals used new standards to uphold one death 
sentence and delay another.

Thanks for joining us! We'll see you next week.

(source: Texas Tribune)








FLORIDA:

Convicted killer asks for new sentence in infamous Hillsborough murder case



On June 27, 1998, 49-year-old Vicki Robinson was murdered by her 15-year-old 
daughter Valessa in her Carrollwood home.

Valessa's boyfriend, 19-year-old Adam Davis, and their friend Jon Whispel were 
all part of the attack that took Robinson's life.

The crime was brutal - the teens held Vicki Robinson down and tried to inject 
her with bleach. When that didn't work, Davis used a knife to cut her throat.

All 3 were found guilty of the murder, but only Davis was given a death 
sentence. Now he is asking for his sentence to be reduced to life in prison.

Tampa Attorney DeeAnn Athan represented Valessa at trial.

"You have to look at the big picture, you can't be myopic and look at just what 
happened," Athan said. "Valessa was 15 years old. I've heard a lot of people 
say 'I don't care how old she was.' Well, you have to care about children."

She is opposed to the death penalty and feels Davis should have never been 
given the sentence, pointing out the jury was split on the decision of a death 
sentence.

"It was almost equally split and just that one vote that put him over to the 
death penalty," said Athan.

She points out Davis had a difficult life growing up.

"I think you had a 19-year-old who had no direction in life, had lost a parent. 
And so, you know, even though he is 19 and responsible for his actions, there 
are reasons that things happen," said Athan.

A hearing has been set up for August to hear arguments in Davis' request.

(source: WFLA news)

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

Bargo attorney has until March to prepare for resentencing



A judge set deadlines in the case of Michael Shane Bargo, sentenced to death in 
2013 by a 10-2 vote. The Florida Supreme Court has since ruled that death 
penalty verdicts must be unanimous.

Instead of the requested 13 months, a Marion County judge ordered Wednesday 
that defense attorneys will have 9 months to prepare for the resentencing of a 
death row inmate.

Fifth Circuit Judge Anthony Tatti set a series of deadlines for attorneys in 
the case of Michael Shane Bargo, 26, who murdered Seath Jackson, 15, in 2011 
and was sentenced to death in 2013. The last of those is March 4, 2019, when 
Tatti said the case will go to trial.

"I'm very unlikely to entertain any change to this schedule short of something 
drastic," Tatti said.

Bargo is 1 of 4 Marion County murderers granted a resentencing under Florida's 
new death penalty scheme. The Florida Supreme Court granted his resentencing in 
June 2017.

Defense attorney Candace Hawthorne had requested the trial be pushed to August 
2019 to properly prepare because there have been "significant developments" in 
psychology and neuroscience since Bargo's incarceration that demands 
reevaluations, and that she must review the entire proceedings leading up to 
Bargo's original trial to evaluate them and provide proper representation, 
according to a motion filed in May.

She added that preliminary investigation into Bargo's life has unearthed 
"several issues that have not yet been explored." Defense attorneys can use 
anything from the defendant's life to argue against the death penalty, 
according to capital case jury instructions.

Although she did not get her requested timeline, Hawthorne thanked Tatti for 
the extension.

"I appreciate the court's review of our motion and resetting dates as the court 
feels appropriate," she said.

Tatti urged both the state and defense to start preparation immediately, 
especially in setting up experts to evaluate Bargo.

Bargo - along with co-defendants Amber Wright, 21; Kyle Hooper, 22; Charlie 
Ely, 24; and Justin Soto, 26 - was convicted of Seath's murder in August 2013. 
His co-defendants all received life sentences.

In April 2011, the group worked together to lure Seath to a house where they 
beat him, shot him and burned his body. His remains were placed into paint 
buckets and dropped into a water-filled quarry. Bargo was the ringleader.

Bargo's conviction still stands, but his sentence was overturned after the 
Florida Supreme Court ruled in October 2016 that death penalty verdicts must be 
unanimous jury decisions. Bargo's 2013 jury sentenced him to death with a 10-2 
vote.

Neither of the 2 Marion County defendants who have gone to trial under the new 
rules were sentenced to death.

No next court date was set.

(source: ocala.com)








OHIO:

Parole board to hear former juror's death sentence regrets



The Ohio Parole Board on Thursday planned to hear from a juror who recommended 
that a convicted killer be sentenced to death, but now believes he should be 
spared.

At issue is the case of death row inmate Raymond Tibbetts, who is set to die in 
October for killing Fred Hicks at Hicks' Cincinnati home in 1997.

After the parole board voted 11-1 last year against mercy for Tibbetts, 
ex-juror Ross Geiger came forward and said jurors were not given enough 
information about Tibbetts' tough childhood.

In a Jan. 30 letter to Ohio Gov. John Kasich, Geiger said he believes he and 
other jurors were misled about the "truly terrible conditions" of Tibbetts' 
upbringing.

When Tibbetts was a boy, he and his brothers were tied to a single bed at 
night, were not fed properly, were thrown down stairs, had their fingers beaten 
with spatulas and were burned on heating registers, according to Tibbetts' 
application for mercy last year.

"After reviewing the material, from the perspective of an original juror, I 
have deep concerns about the trial and the way it transpired," wrote Geiger. 
"This is why I am asking you to be merciful."

In response, the Republican Kasich delayed Tibbetts' execution to give the 
parole board a chance to hear directly from Geiger and consider his claim.

In addition to the death sentence for killing Hicks, the 61-year-old Tibbetts 
also received life imprisonment for fatally beating and stabbing his wife, 
42-year-old Judith Crawford, during an argument that same day over Tibbetts' 
crack cocaine habit.

The 67-year-old Hicks had hired Crawford as a caretaker and allowed the couple 
to stay with him.

Hamilton County prosecutors have previously argued that Tibbetts' background 
does not outweigh his crimes. That includes stabbing Crawford after he had 
already beaten her to death, and then repeatedly stabbing Hicks, a "sick, 
defenseless, hearing-impaired man in whose home Tibbetts lived," they told the 
parole board.

(source: Associated Press)








TENNESSEE:

Tennessee must rely on 'black market drugs' for executions, attorney 
says----Many states, including Tennessee, previously used a drug called 
pentobarbital in lethal injections. However, manufacturers have largely stopped 
selling the drug to entities planning to use it for executions.



Tennessee prison officials do not have all of the drugs needed to carry out 
lethal injections, but the state's prison chief says he's confident those drugs 
can be obtained.

An attorney for death row offenders responded Tuesday, telling a judge the only 
way the department could get those drugs is through shady channels.

"Essentially, we're getting black market drugs for an execution here," said 
Kelley Henry, one of many attorneys representing more than 30 death row 
inmates.

1 of them, 59-year-old Knox County man Billy Ray Irick, is set to be executed 
Aug. 9. He was convicted of the 1985 rape and murder of a 7-year-old girl.

The inmates are suing the state, arguing the lethal injection protocol used to 
execute offenders is unconstitutional because it amounts to cruel and unusual 
punishment.

'I felt like if it was illegal, I would not do it'

During Tuesday's hearing in Davidson County Chancery Court, Henry cited a June 
5 deposition of Tennessee Department of Correction Commissioner Tony Parker 
taken for this lawsuit. The 358-page deposition reveals insight into Parker's 
knowledge of executions in the state and whether Tennessee has the drugs they 
want to use to put offenders to death.

In his deposition, Parker said earlier this year the state had the three drugs 
it needs to carry out an execution. But 2 of the drugs have since expired.

1, a powerful sedative called midazolam, expired June 1. This date appears to 
be the source of a Tennessee attorney general statement issued earlier this 
year: Attorney General Herbert Slatery told the state Supreme Court if 
executions were not completed by June 1, the availability of the necessary 
lethal injection drugs would be "uncertain."

Further complicating the department's task to find the drugs, the manufacturer 
of midazolam has asked the department to return all of its product because the 
company does not want it used in executions.

Parker said in the deposition the department refused this request because they 
believe they purchased the drug legally, and he intends to buy more in the 
future.

Asked whether buying the drug and using it in a way unintended and unwanted by 
the manufacturer is illegal, Parker said, "I'm assuming it's not illegal 
because it's - I felt like if it was illegal, I would not do it."

Manufacturers banning the use of their products in executions is a driving 
factor in Tennessee's search for lethal injection drugs.

'They are literally drowning'

Many states, including Tennessee, previously used a drug called pentobarbital 
in lethal injections. However, manufacturers have largely stopped selling the 
drug to entities planning to use it for executions.

Parker acknowledged this in his deposition, saying it would be fair to say the 
department has not had non-expired pentobarbital in its possession since the 
state's last execution in 2009.

Earlier this year, the state released a new execution method that relies on 
using 3 drugs. Advocates argue the medications essentially put an offender to 
sleep before stopping the lungs and the heart. Henry, pointing to botched 
executions using the method around the country, has repeatedly argued 
midazolam, the first drug used, frequently does not render an offender 
unconscious or unable to feel pain.

That means the 2nd and 3rd drugs cause pain: Henry has likened these feelings 
to drowning and burning alive.

In his deposition, Parker says he asked people in the corrections field about 
using midazolam and decided "for the most part" the drug worked as intended.

But he is aware of inmates still able to feel pain during executions using the 
drug. In fact, a potential supplier noted problems with the drugs in an email 
to Tennessee prison officials in September.

"Here is my concern with midazolam ... it does not elicit strong analgesic 
effects. The subjects may be able to feel pain from the administration of the 
second and third drugs. Potassium chloride especially," the supplier wrote.

"It may not be a huge concern but can open the door to some scrutiny on your 
end."

During the hearing Tuesday, Henry said she and her team plan to show during the 
upcoming trial evidence the drugs repeatedly do not work as intended. After 
reviewing 25 autopsies of offenders executed using midazolam, she says 21 
inmates showed signs of pulmonary edema, or fluid in the lungs.

Experts will show pulmonary edema can't happen in a body where the lungs have 
stopped working. Henry argues this is clear evidence the inmates experienced 
"horrific torture."

"It is destroying their lungs and their lungs are filling with fluid. They are 
literally drowning ... they're feeling every single bit of it," Henry said.

'We're terrified of that'

Attorneys for the inmates and the state are arguing over the constitutionality 
of lethal injection. However, there's a chance the next Tennessee death row 
offender put to death will die not on a gurney, but in a chair.

Tennessee law allows the state to use the electric chair if the Department of 
Correction certifies drugs needed for lethal injection are not available.

Although Parker says the department is confident it can obtain lethal injection 
drugs, there is a legitimate chance it cannot. No state has ever certified it 
can't use one method of execution in order to use a different method, Robert 
Dunham, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, said in a 
March interview.

This uncertainty leaves the door open to the department deciding - potentially 
days or hours before an execution - that it planned to use the electric chair 
and not lethal injection, Henry said.

That puts clients at a distinct legal disadvantage, she said. This lethal 
injection lawsuit is set to go to trial July 9, a month before Irick is 
scheduled to die. If the state certifies at any moment that it plans to use the 
electric chair, and not lethal injection, Henry argues that leaves attorneys 
trying to prepare a completely different defense.

"We're terrified of that," Henry said.

However, the state pursuing the use of the electric chair would almost 
certainly prompt entirely new lawsuits, potentially delaying any execution.

The state has scheduled 2 more executions this year. Both would occur after 
Irick's execution date, but both could be delayed.

(source: WBIR news)








MISSOURI:

After governor's resignation, fate of Missouri man on death row in doubt



The fate of a Missouri man on death row for murder is in doubt after Gov. Eric 
Greitens stepped down last month amid a personal scandal. Greitens delayed 
Marcellus Williams' execution last summer. Williams, who has long maintained 
his innocence, is facing a death sentence for the 1998 murder of Felicia Gayle.

When Greitens delayed Williams' execution, he assigned a special board to 
re-examine the case, reports CBS News correspondent Jim Axelrod. But Greitens' 
resignation left the board in jeopardy - and Williams' future more unclear than 
ever.

Marcellus Williams Jr. prepared for his father's execution last August.

"Me and my father, we said our goodbyes," Williams Jr. said. "We said we loved 
each other, I loved him, he loved me."

But hours before the execution, Greitens granted Williams Sr. a temporary stay. 
Williams is convicted of stabbing Gayle, a former St. Louis-Post Dispatch 
reporter, 43 times with a butcher knife.

"There's enough doubt in this case that his sentence should at least be 
commuted," Innocence Project co-founder Barry Scheck said, adding, "The skin 
cells on the handle of the knife that was used in this murder are not from 
him."

When Greitens issued pardons before leaving office in June, Williams was not 
one of them.

"Why do you think he chose not to?" Axelrod asked.

"I'm really not sure," Williams Jr. said. "It's like, maybe he also never 
cared. So he's like, I'm leaving, I don't care. I do these five pardons and 
Marcellus, he can rot."

While in office, Greitens asked a special 5-person board to review the case. 
Now that he's gone, that board has since been canceled.

"I know the board was canceled. Will they meet? Will they make a recommendation 
to you and what will you do then?" Axelrod asked new Missouri Gov. Michael 
Parson.

"I would assume they would," Parson said. "I heard they're not going to. So I 
think once they make that recommendation, if they do meet, then we'll discuss 
that at the time."

"We've been following this case for a year," said activist and social media 
influencer Alison Brettschneider. She learned of the case days before Williams' 
scheduled execution and has since advocated for his exoneration.

"You're not a lawyer, you're not a politician... What are you bringing to 
this?" Axelrod asked her.

"I'm a person that cares and that's what the world needs more of," 
Brettschneider said.

The Missouri attorney general's office maintains Williams is guilty. Though 
Williams was not linked to the murder weapon, police found Gayle's clothing and 
her husband's computer in Williams' car.

In a statement, the attorney general's office told CBS News: "We will continue 
to defend the judgment of the jury and the many courts that have carefully 
reviewed Mr. Williams' case over 16 years."

In addition to 1st degree murder, Williams has been convicted of burglary, 
assault and attempted armed robbery.

"When people say to you, 'Hey, your dad was no Eagle Scout.' What's the answer 
to that?" Axelrod asked.

"Right... But he didn't harm, choke, slap punch and kill anyone. Someone did 
murder Mrs. Gayle, but it wasn't my father," Williams Jr. said.

In a statement to CBS News, Gayle's family said: "While we understand that 
Williams' sentencing fits a troubling pattern of racial disparity in the death 
penalty and that a case serious enough to warrant death is serious enough to 
warrant careful scrutiny, we would ask those on all sides to recognize that for 
the family, this is not policy, it is pain."

(source: CBS News)