[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., ALA., LA., OHIO, ILL., OKLA., NEB., COLO.

[Rick Halperin]

May 15



TEXAS----impending execution

San Antonio lovers' lane killer denied clemency, both appeals 2 days before 
scheduled execution



Death row inmate Juan Castillo lost two appeals and was denied clemency on 
Monday. Now, he's scheduled to die Wednesday in the Huntsville execution 
chamber.

Through 15 years of darkness, June Castillo has seen flashes of hope.

Once, a man showed up at her door claiming to have proof of her son's 
innocence. Another time, a stranger called to offer an apology from the "real" 
killer.

There were the whispered prayers, and the cancelled executions.

"You get so scared," she said. "The bad days come and you think, 'What am I 
going to do?' And then there's the good days - and then the devil hits again."

And that's what it felt like on Monday when the 73-year-old's son - death row 
inmate Juan Castillo - was denied a bid for clemency, and lost 2 different 
late-stage appeals. Now, the condemned lovers' lane killer is scheduled to die 
by lethal injection on Wednesday.

"It is deeply disappointing," Castillo's clemency lawyer Greg Zlotnick said 
late Monday, urging the governor to issue a 30-day reprieve so a legal team can 
continue fighting the case in court.

The now-37-year-old was sent to death row in 2005 for the slaying of rapper 
Tommy Garcia, Jr. t2 years earlier.

Prosecutors said Castillo and three others had teamed up to plan a robbery in a 
deserted San Antonio lovers' lane. It was Castillo's girlfriend, Debra 
Espinosa, who lured the 19-year-old musician to a secluded spot with the 
promise of sex and drugs, according to court filings.

2017 did not see a new low in executions, though they're still down 
significantly over past years.

As they sat in the car making out, 2 men in ski masks - later identified as 
Castillo and his friend Francisco Gonzales - stormed the Camaro. They tore 
Garcia from the vehicle and Castillo shot him 7 times, according to court 
records.

Afterward, Espinosa ran to a nearby house and started banging on the door for 
help. She and Gonzales were picked up not far from the scene.

They both agreed to testify in exchange for a reduced sentence, while the 4th 
suspect - Gonzales' girlfriend Teresa Quintero - netted a 20-year term for 
robbery.

But Castillo has long maintained that he didn't do it. In fact, he said, he 
wasn't even there. Before trial, he said he spent the night with a friend - 
though the man never agreed to testify, according to court records.

And in the years since his conviction, some pieces of the case have become a 
little hazier. Investigators never had forensic evidence tying him to the 
scene, and one of the key witnesses against him - a jailhouse informant - 
recanted his testimony.

In recent months, defense lawyers made that recantation a cornerstone of their 
appeals, including one that won him a stay of execution. But when the case was 
sent back to a lower court, the judge rejected it within a day, before the 
defense had a chance to weigh in.

Last week, attorneys entered a filing poking holes in two other state witnesses 
and accusing prosecutors of withholding evidence. But on Monday, the Texas 
Court of Criminal Appeals turned down that claim, hours after the Supreme Court 
rejected an appeal centered on the recanted testimony.

Amanda Marzullo of Texas Defender Services, the non-profit legal group handling 
his appeals, expressed dismay at Monday's court outcomes.

"There are serious issues with his case, which was no court has given 
meaningful review," she said.

Wednesday's execution date is Castillo's 4th in a year. Last May's date was 
rescheduled after prosecutors failed to give 90-day notice to the defense. 
Then, a September execution was pushed back in the aftermath of Hurricane 
Harvey, and a December death date was called off in light of the jailhouse 
snitch.

"I have cried so doggone much for the past month," June Castillo said. "I can't 
cry anymore."

As of Monday evening, there were no pending appeals in the case.

If everything continues as scheduled, Castillo will be the 6th man executed in 
Texas this year - and his mother plans to be there to watch.

(source: Houston Chronicle)

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

Texas inmate set to die this week loses Supreme Court appeal



A 36-year-old San Antonio man set for execution this week for a robbery-slaying 
more than 14 years ago has lost an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Attorneys for Juan Castillo argued his due process rights were violated related 
to trial testimony from a jail inmate who said Castillo, while locked up 
awaiting trial, told him about killing 19-year-old Tommy Garcia Jr. The inmate 
years later recanted his testimony, submitting an affidavit saying he made up 
the story.

State courts ruled the affidavit wasn't credible and the Supreme Court Monday 
declined to review Castillo's arguments.

Castillo is set for execution Wednesday in Huntsville.

The high court Monday also declined an appeal from Eric Williams, condemned for 
the 2013 killings of Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland and his 
wife.

(source: Associated Press)

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

Defense lawyers allege financial conflicts as prosecutors seek death penalty in 
honor killing case



Special "pro tem" prosecutors tapped to handle capital murder cases can make 
tens of thousands of dollars in extra money by choosing to seek the death 
penalty over life in prison, a financial incentive that defense attorneys are 
challenging in a high-profile Houston case.

Lawyers for Ali Mahwood-Awad Irsan - a Muslim patriarch accused in a pair of 
brazen "honor killings" - say the life-or-death decisions made by appointed 
prosecutors raise the specter they could be influenced by the potential for 
bigger paychecks under the pay system set up for court appointments.

Now, pointing to possible conflicts, defense attorneys are asking a judge to 
boot the pro tems from the case before Irsan's trial, slated to start later 
this month. Other defense attorneys agree the system could raise questions 
about fairness.

"This is clearly unconstitutional and violates the defendant's right to a 
disinterested prosecutor," said Amanda Marzullo, executive director of the 
nonprofit defense group Texas Defender Services.

Anna Louise Emmons, 1 of the 3 pro tem prosecutors assigned to the Irsan's 
case, pushed back against claims of a conflict.

"We made our decision on what to seek based on the case itself," she said, "We 
would have absolutely no scruples, no ethics, if we based it on a financial 
situation."

'Honor killings'

The Jordanian-American patriarch was charged with capital murder in 2015, 3 
years after the slaying of 30-year-old Iranian activist Gelareh Bagherzadeh.

At first, the killing sparked conspiracy theories of an assassination ordered 
by Tehran. But police quickly zeroed in on Irsan, his wife and then-21-year-old 
son. Together, police alleged, the family had planned and carried out the 
killing of Bagherzadeh as she pulled into her parents' Galleria townhome in 
January 2012.

Then, less than a year later, Irsan's son-in-law, 28-year-old Coty Beavers, was 
gunned down inside the couple's apartment. He'd told friends beforehand that if 
he was ever found dead, Irsan was to blame.

Both slayings, authorities said, were driven by Irsan's ire over his daughter 
Nesreen's decision to marry Beavers, a Christian. Bagherzadeh, a fervent 
Christian convert and Nesreen's best friend, encouraged the marriage.

But when Irsan was finally arrested in a Montgomery County SWAT raid in 2014, 
it was not for the slayings but for a Social Security scam. That same day, the 
Harris County District Attorney's Office filed murder charges, only to drop 
them later.

In 2015 - the same year Irsan, his wife and another daughter were sentenced to 
federal prison for the Social Security scam - prosecutors charged Irsan with 
capital murder. 2 years later, they hit his son with the same charge.

Pro Tems Appointed

Initially, the cases were handled by prosecutors with the Harris County 
District Attorney's Office. But in 2017, Kim Ogg took over the office, ousted 
some of the old guard and brought in a new crop of attorneys, including First 
Assistant District Attorney Tom Berg.

In February 2017, the district attorney's office asked to be recused from the 
case because another attorney at Berg's firm represented 1 of the state's 
witnesses.

Sometimes - as when Montgomery County District Attorney Brett Ligon handled the 
case of cop killer Shannon Miles - judges hand the case to salaried lawyers 
with the state attorney general or other district attorney offices when the 
prosecutors ask to be recused.

In the Irsan case, however, the judge appointed 3 former county prosecutors as 
the pro tems: Jonathan Stephenson, Marie Ann Primm and Emmons.

The previous prosecutors had already planned to seek a death sentence. But when 
the new attorneys took over, Emmons said, they reevaluated the case and, again, 
decided to seek death. The case has forced them to step back from their normal 
legal practices.

"We take our job extremely seriously," Emmons said.

Stephenson and Primm did not return requests for comment.

Irsan's legal team, Allen Tanner and Rudy Duarte, filed a motion in April 
asking a judge remove the prosecutors from the case over possible conflicts.

Trying a non-death capital case involves roughly 800 hours of preparation and 
10 days of trial, the legal team said. A death case requires around 1,600 hours 
of preparation and 30 days in trial. Based on the hourly pro tem pay - which is 
the same $150 an hour appointed defense lawyers get - prosecutors can net about 
$124,500 more in a death case than in a non-death capital case, they said.

"The financial interest of the pro tem prosecutors, at a minimum, created 
opportunities for conflicts to arise and created at least the appearance of 
impropriety," attorneys wrote. "This is the threshold required by the Supreme 
Court to reverse a conviction."

Moving forward, prosecutors may have an incentive not to change their minds and 
offer life in prison, according to defense attorneys.

"The decision to seek death is an ongoing process on the part of a prosecutor," 
Marzullo said. "Defense attorneys often continue to present prosecutors with 
new arguments for mercy as they are discovered until the eve of trial."

Anthony Osso, 1 of the attorneys representing Irsan's son, Nasim Irsan, is 
making similar arguments in his case, as prosecutors decide whether or not to 
seek death against him.

"It's just the appearance of impropriety that's a problem," said Osso, who 
previously served as a pro tem and chose not to pursue a death sentence. "You 
can't have an appearance of impropriety seeking death."

Capital defense lawyer David Dow worried that the impact could be more than 
just appearances.

"It's hard to imagine that the prospect of a larger payday would not matter in 
the decision-making process," he said.

Long-time defense lawyer Patrick McCann highlighted other potential concerns 
with the appointments, including the lack of racial diversity and the pro tems' 
prosecutorial background.

"These are life-time prosecutors who are now given carte blanche after learning 
their trade in one of the biggest 'win at all costs' cultures in the country," 
he said.

'Pretty ridiculous'

Some in the legal community panned the concerns raised in court filings.

"It's insulting to suggest that they would seek death just to bill some extra 
hours," said Murray Newman, a former prosecutor now doing defense work. "I 
mean, lawyers are unscrupulous but, damn, that's pretty ridiculous."

Toby Shook, a Dallas lawyer who's served as a pro tem in the past, didn't see 
the appearance of conflict as inherently problematic.

"As long as the fact situation fits the situation where you've seen DAs seek 
death in the past, then it's not a problem," he said.

Shannon Edmonds, a staff attorney with the Texas District and County Attorneys 
Association, pointed out that death cases get 2 defense attorneys appointed.

"So it benefits the defense, too," he said. "If it's a conspiracy for them to 
make money as prosecutors, it would also be a conspiracy to line their 
opponents' pockets."

(source: Houston Chronicle)








PENNSYLVANIA:

Prosecutors to seek death penalty for inmate accused of killing another inmate



For the 2nd time in 2 weeks, Somerset County District Attorney Lisa 
Lazzari-Strasiser announced intentions to seek the death penalty for an inmate 
accused of killing another inmate inside SCI Somerset.

Dale Wakefield is accused of killing fellow inmate Joshua Perry while they were 
both inside the prison's Restricted Housing Unit in January.

In Pennsylvania, prosecutors must prove 1 aggravated circumstance for a case to 
be eligible for the death penalty. According to documents read into the record 
during Wakefield's arraignment Monday, Lazzari-Strasiser found multiple 
factors, including the fact that Wakefield was already serving a life sentence 
for homicide and that there was torture allegedly involved in the killing.

During a brief exchange as he was led out of the courthouse, Wakefield told a 6 
News reporter that he is representing himself because he doesn't trust 
court-appointed attorneys.

2 weeks ago, in an unrelated case, Lazzari-Strasiser announced that she was 
seeking the death penalty for Paul Kendrick, who was accused of killing Sgt. 
Mark Baserman inside the prison this year.

The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections did not immediately respond to an 
email seeking comment about what the department is doing to improve safety at 
the prison.

As for Wakefield's self-representation, Judge Gregory Geary informed him Monday 
that while he is allowed to represent himself in court, the court is not 
obligated to "cushion" any of the possible negative impact that decision could 
carry.

Wakefield complained to Geary in court that he is only allowed 2 hours per week 
to study in the law library at SCI Greene, where he is currently being held. He 
also requested that one of his handcuffs be removed during the hearing so he 
could take notes.

The request to remove the handcuffs was denied and Geary said Wakefield's 
request for more time to work on his case would be considered at a future 
hearing.

(source: WJAC TV news)








ALABAMA:

Convicted killer back in court for 6th time to be sentenced



Despite convictions for murdering 3 people more than 20 years ago a Dothan area 
man returns to court for a 6th time this week to be sentenced.

A jury found Jerry Jerome Smith, who is now 47, guilty of shooting the victims 
at what Dothan police describe as a "crack house." Those killed in 1996 include 
40-year old Willie James Flournoy, 26-year old Theresa Ann Helms, and 29-year 
old David Lee Bennett.

Until now, either the death penalty imposed was overturned on appeal or a jury 
failed to agree on whether he should be put to death or serve life in prison 
without parole. Those are the only 2 options in capital murder cases.

His last sentencing hearing was in November 2016 when a mistrial was declared 
after a jury couldn't decide the issue. Juries, in Alabama, recommend 
punishment but the final decision is that of a judge.

Smith's defense has centered primarily on his mental capacity with evidence 
presented that he may be slightly retarded. Prosecutors, though, claim he knew 
what he was doing when he fired the deadly shots that left a 4th person 
wounded.

Unless an agreement between the district attorney and defense counsel is 
reached, jury selection would begin Monday.

The sentencing hearing will likely take most of the week to complete.

(source: WTVY news)








LOUISIANA:

U.S. high court throws out Louisiana death row inmate's conviction



The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday threw out a Louisiana death row inmate's 
conviction for a 2008 triple murder, finding that his lawyer violated the man's 
constitutional rights by ignoring his objections and telling jurors the 
defendant killed the victims.

The court ruled 6-3 that Robert McCoy, 44, should receive a new trial. McCoy 
was convicted of killing the mother, stepfather and son of his estranged wife 
in Bossier City, Louisiana. All were shot in the head at close range.

The legal question was whether McCoy's right to legal representation at trial 
under the U.S. Constitution???s Sixth Amendment was violated.

McCoy's previous lawyer Larry English told the jury during the 2011 trial that 
McCoy had killed the 3 victims. English's aim was to convince jurors that McCoy 
should be found guilty of 2nd-degree murder instead of the more serious 
1st-degree murder in the hope that his client would avoid the death penalty.

"Larry English was placed in a difficult position; he had an unruly client and 
faced a strong government case. He reasonably thought the objective of his 
representation should be avoidance of the death penalty," Justice Ruth Bader 
Ginsburg wrote on behalf of the court.

But, she added, because McCoy maintained his innocence, "a concession of guilt 
should have been off the table."

While the Supreme Court has shown little inclination to overturn the legality 
of capital punishment, the justices regularly rule in favor of death row 
inmates who raise concerns about the circumstances of their convictions. On 
March 21, the court allowed a Texas death row inmate to try to secure public 
funds to press his claim that his trial lawyers made errors that could enable 
him to avoid execution.

The Supreme Court's ruling on Monday set a new precedent on whether a lawyer 
can concede a defendant's guilt over the client's stated objections.

After McCoy was convicted of killing his estranged wife Yolanda McCoy's mother 
Christine Young, stepfather Willie Young and son Gregory Colston, he obtained 
new lawyers and said he had been deprived of effective assistance of counsel at 
trial. This claim was rejected by the trial court and the Louisiana Supreme 
Court.

McCoy, arrested in Idaho days after the murders, has maintained his innocence, 
saying he was out of state at the time. When he was arrested, a gun linked to 
the murders was found in the 18-wheeler truck in which he was traveling.

By the time of the 2011 trial, the relationship between client and lawyer had 
broken down. English, hired by the defendant's parents, believed the evidence 
against McCoy was overwhelming and had sought to negotiate a plea deal with 
prosecutors that would result in a life sentence. McCoy rejected that plan.

(source: Reuters)

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

Supreme Court Rules for Death Row Inmate Betrayed by His Lawyer



The Supreme Court issued rulings on Monday in favor of a death row inmate whose 
lawyer disobeyed his instructions.

The death penalty case concerned Robert McCoy, who was sentenced to death in 
Louisiana after his own lawyer told the jury Mr. McCoy had committed a triple 
murder.

Mr. McCoy had insisted that he was innocent and had told his lawyer, Larry 
English, that he wanted to clear his name. But Mr. English pursued a different 
strategy in the 2011 trial, hoping that a candid acknowledgment of his client's 
actions would earn him credibility during the trial's sentencing phase.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, writing for the majority in the 6-to-3 decision, 
said Mr. English was not entitled to disregard his client's instructions. His 
disloyalty, she wrote, required a new trial.

"We hold that a defendant has the right to insist that counsel refrain from 
admitting guilt, even when counsel's experienced-based view is that confessing 
guilt offers the defendant the best chance to avoid the death penalty," Justice 
Ginsburg wrote. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Anthony M. 
Kennedy, Stephen G. Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan joined her opinion.

In dissent, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. wrote that Mr. English had not conceded 
his client's guilt but only that he had killed his victims. Mr. English 
continued to maintain that his client was not guilty, Justice Alito wrote, by 
arguing that he lacked the intent required to make him guilty of 1st-degree 
murder. Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil M. Gorsuch joined Justice Alito's 
dissent.

Mr. McCoy was convicted of the 2008 killings of Christine Colston Young, Willie 
Young and Gregory Colston, who were the mother, stepfather and son of Mr. 
McCoy's estranged wife. There was substantial evidence that he had done so and 
some reason to think that Mr. McCoy's belief in his innocence was delusional.

But there was no dispute about Mr. McCoy's instruction to Mr. English. He was 
adamant that he was innocent and that others had committed the crimes. Mr. 
English disagreed.

During his opening statement at the trial, Mr. English used the strategy he had 
promised. "I'm telling you," he told the jury, "Mr. McCoy committed these 
crimes."

In the end, Mr. English's trial strategy failed. Mr. McCoy was convicted and 
sentenced to death. He appealed to the Louisiana Supreme Court, saying his 
lawyer had betrayed him. The court ruled against him.

The decision relied on a unanimous 2004 ruling from the United States Supreme 
Court in Florida v. Nixon, which said lawyers need not obtain their clients' 
express consent before conceding guilt in a capital case. But the ruling did 
not address whether it was permissible for a lawyer to disregard a client's 
explicit instruction to the contrary.

Justice Ginsburg wrote that the new case, McCoy v. Louisiana, No. 16-8255, 
raised that question.

"Larry English was placed in a difficult position; he had an unruly client and 
faced a strong government case," she wrote. "He reasonably thought the 
objective of his representation should be avoidance of the death penalty. But 
McCoy insistently maintained: 'I did not murder my family.' Once he 
communicated that to court and counsel, strenuously objecting to English's 
proposed strategy, a concession of guilt should have been off the table."

(source: New York Times)

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

Man on death row for Rapides quadruple murders returns to court



Darrell James Robinson, the man convicted and sentenced to death in 2001 for 
the 1996 murders of 3 adults and an infant in the community of Poland in 
Rapides Parish, is back in court in Rapides Parish this week.

Robinson was convicted of the shooting deaths of Billy Lambert, 50, Carol 
Hooper, 54, Maureen Kelley, 37, and Kelley's 10-month-old son, Nicholas. 
Robinson was staying with Lambert at the time and working for him.

Robinson, who has failed in prior appeal attempts, is now trying to have his 
conviction and sentence vacated based on claims by post-conviction attorneys 
that the original prosecutor on trial, Mike Shannon, may have withheld evidence 
from Robinson's attorney at the time, Mike Small. It's a claim the Rapides 
Parish District Attorney's Office and Shannon himself have repeatedly denied. 
Shannon is not allowed to be deposed.

Judge Patricia Koch, who sits on the civil bench, is overseeing this criminal 
matter.

Hugo Holland, a seasoned special prosecutor who specializes in death penalty 
cases around the state, is overseeing the matter for the state. He is joined by 
Carla Sigler.

Maltilde Carbia is heading up Robinson's post-conviction team.

2 motions were heard Monday morning. The first filed by the state had to do 
with an effort to quash any testimony from Greg Wampler, an assistant district 
attorney in Rapides Parish. The 2nd filed by the state addresses a delay by 
Robinson's attorneys in providing readable DNA results from a witness scheduled 
to testify later in the week to them. The state has said that they have been 
unable to download the files.

"It is not our job to go find software," said Sigler.

Judge Koch held off on ruling in the motion to quash for now. She said 
Robinson's attorneys must provide the DNA results to a DNA expert that the 
state hires.

Robinson's attorneys have hinted at extensive testimony involving a red jacket 
at the scene of the crime that had foreign DNA and the name of Mark Moras.

"2 witnesses place Mark Moras at the scene of the homicides," said Carbia. The 
state has emphasized that Moras also lived with and did work for Lambert.

Stuart James, an expert in blood stain analysis, testified Monday morning for 
the defense. He showed a series of crime scene photos taken at the time.

James also highlighted foreign DNA found on a red jacket at the scene.

The topic of blood from infant Nicholas Kelley found on the top of Robinson's 
shoe also came up. The defense for Robinson has always argued that Robinson 
found the bodies and ran. The defense has stressed that no footprints were 
found at the scene. But, Holland offered a theory that Robinson's footprints 
near Nicholas Kelley may have been covered by pooled blood and the blood on the 
top his shoe got there in the process of the baby's murder.

"Unless the laws of gravity were suspended...it's interesting that the blood 
was on the shoe lace and not the bottom of the shoe," said Holland.

Holland also addressed the theory that Robinson's attorneys were alluding to 
about Mark Moras being involved. Holland said that there would be DNA from 
Moras because he lived in the house.

Later on in the day, John Nixon, a firearms expert for Robinson's team also 
testified about gunshot residue and evidence he looked at including a t-shirt, 
shorts, jeans, and shoes.

Testimony is expected to continue throughout the week. News Channel 5 has 
learned that Mike Small is supposed to testify on Friday.

(source: KALB news)








OHIO:

Opening arguments begin in Youngstown death penalty case



Opening arguments are happening in a death penalty case in Youngstown.

Monday, prosecutors are laying out their case against Lance Hundley.

He's accused of beating Erika Huff to death in 2015.

Huff's body was found inside of her Cleveland Street home after a fire was set 
there.

Prosecutors believe that Hundley set that fire. He is also accused of beating 
Huff's mother.

He's facing several charges including aggravated murder, attempted murder and 
aggravated arson.

(source: WKBN news)




ILLINOIS:

Rauner Proposes Reinstating Death Penalty for Some Cases----Illinois hasn't put 
a criminal to death since 1999's execution of Andrew Kokoraleis



Gov. Bruce Rauner on Monday proposed the return of the death penalty in 
Illinois for certain cases.

The announcement came as Rauner made an amendatory veto of HB1468, which would 
put a 72-hour waiting period on the sale of assault weapons in Illinois. 
Currently, there is a 72-hour waiting period for all handguns and a 24-hour 
waiting period for other rifles, shotguns and long guns.

The amendatory veto included 5 critical improvements to public safety in 
addtion to the 72-hour waiting period, Rauner said.

Among those improvements, was reinstating the death penalty specifically for 
mass murderers and those who kill law enforcement.

"There must be a burden of proof where a person is guilty beyond all doubt," 
Rauner said. "Guilt beyond any doubt for killing a police officer or committing 
a mass murder, we then will impose the death penalty in Illinois."

The proposal resembles ones proposed by other Illinois legislators in 2015.

Illinois hasn't put a criminal to death since 1999's execution of Andrew 
Kokoraleis. Then-Gov. George Ryan shortly afterward declared a moratorium on 
the practice, disturbed by evidence that more than a dozen death row prisoners 
were actually innocent. Quinn in March 2011 signed a bill officially ending 
capital punishment in Illinois and simultaneously commuted the sentences of 15 
prisoners.

(source: nbcchicago.com)








OKLAHOMA:

Death penalty case in 2016 beating death set for trial next spring



2 people facing the death penalty in the 2016 beating death and subsequent 
burning of a Tulsa man are scheduled to stand trial next spring, a judge 
decided Monday.

Gerald Keith Lowe Jr., 41, and Michaela Riddle, 26, are charged with 1st-degree 
murder, intimidation of a witness, kidnapping, desecration of a human corpse 
and committing a gang-related offense over the homicide of 23-year-old Courtney 
Palmer in November 2016.

District Judge Sharon Holmes, after arraigning both defendants, set their jury 
trial dates for April 22, 2019, with a pretrial status hearing scheduled for 
February. Lowe, through his attorney, entered a not-guilty plea to all charges, 
while Riddle had the court enter a not-guilty plea on her behalf.

The Tulsa County District Attorney's Office in November filed notice of its 
intent to pursue the death penalty against Lowe and Riddle based on its belief 
Palmer's slaying is especially atrocious, heinous and cruel, and that both 
could be considered a continuing threat to society.

The state's bill of particulars against Lowe also notes he has a past criminal 
conviction for a violent offense.

Lowe and Riddle, who were dating in 2016, are charged with causing Palmer's 
death by beating him inside a north Tulsa residence during a dispute tied to 
the Hoover Crips street gang. The 2, according to authorities, then transported 
his body to Muskogee, placed him inside a shallow grave and set him on fire.

Tulsa police found Palmer's body Dec. 15, 2016. The Oklahoma State Medical 
Examiner's Office determined Palmer died of "homicidal violence by multiple 
modalities."

A 19-year-old who witnessed the beating told Assistant District Attorney Isaac 
Shields during a preliminary hearing last year that Palmer had been attacked 
due to Lowe's and Riddle???s belief Palmer set up a person named "Duke," which 
Palmer denied.

Police said Palmer had been a witness to an altercation in which "Duke," 
identified in court as Carl Harris, had been shot at a south Tulsa apartment 
complex.

(source: Tulsa World)








NEBRASKA:

Judge to decide whether Nebraska must release death penalty records



Nebraska Corrections Director Scott Frakes said Monday that names and other 
identifying information about members of the state's execution team could be 
removed from documents that he has refused to release about lethal injection 
drugs obtained by the state.

"It's physically possible to do so, yes," Frakes said, testifying at a hearing 
for a case in which the ACLU of Nebraska, the Lincoln Journal Star and The 
Omaha World-Herald are asking a judge to force him to release the records.

But Frakes made it clear he was concerned redacting the information wouldn't 
prevent identities of execution team members from becoming public.

Those names are confidential under state law.

Even identifying the state's lethal injection drug supplier might compromise 
those team members' names, Frakes said. And if their names became public, he 
said, he fears execution team members or their families could be threatened or 
harassed.

Lancaster County District Judge Jodi Nelson ultimately will decide if the 
documents are public records and whether the state should be ordered to release 
them. The documents include photos of drug packaging, purchase orders, emails 
between a prison employee and the drug supplier and between the DEA and the 
prison, and an invoice related to the drugs.

Assistant Nebraska Attorney General Ryan Post said the entities seeking the 
records couldn't show that the employees wouldn't be identified if the records 
were released.

"The case simply doesn't get off the ground," he said.

Post argued that when the Legislature passed the law making the team members' 
identities confidential, it created an express exception to public-records 
laws.

He called the lawsuits a "back-door means to frustrate the state's ability to 
carry out the death penalty."

Shawn Renner, a Lincoln attorney who represents the newspapers, argued the 
documents are public records and the easy answer is to redact information that 
identifies execution team members and release the documents.

He suggested Frakes could ask the drug supplier to not release the name of the 
prison staff member who ordered the drugs.

Frakes said he hadn't done so, but could.

Renner said it seemed the state wanted those seeking the records to prove what 
someone else might do with the documents if they are released, which is 
impossible.

"The question here is, are they public records?" Renner said.

The prison's execution protocol originally proposed making the drug supplier 
confidential, he said, but that was removed from the final draft of the bill. 
And state Sen. John Kuehn introduced a separate bill (LB661) that would have 
made the drug supplier confidential, but it didn't pass.

"Legislatures are good places to make policy arguments. Courts are not," Renner 
said.

On the other side, Post said Frakes was concerned about just what Journal Star 
reporter JoAnne Young and World-Herald reporter Joe Duggan testified to: that 
if given information about the supplier they would investigate further. Which 
could lead to the name of a team member, he argued.

"This case is straightforward," he said. "We know that any time a shred of new 
information is released regarding the death penalty that death penalty 
opponents will investigate everything both upstream and downstream from that 
piece of information. And we can rest assured they will do so thoroughly."

And that's fine, Post said. But when they do, they'll discover an execution 
team member.

"And that is why we're withholding this information," he said, in asking the 
judge to dismiss the cases.

Young, Duggan and Amy Miller of ACLU of Nebraska all testified the prison had 
given out the same information prior to 2017 without raising that concern.

Attorney Spike Eicholt, who represented the ACLU, argued that what someone 
might do with the information is completely irrelevant.

"These are public records," he said.

Nelson took the matter under advisement.

(source: Lincoln Journal Star)








COLORADO:

Glen Galloway death penalty trial delayed; accused killer ordered out of 
courtroom



The ex-Fort Carson soldier at the center of El Paso County's 1st death penalty 
trial in a decade was ordered from the courtroom before the prosecution's 
opening statements Monday morning.

Double-murder defendant Glen Law Galloway had asserted an 11th-hour conflict 
with his defense team as proceedings began.

The judge then cleared the courtroom at Galloway's request, postponing opening 
statements, which were slated to begin at 9 a.m. The move came as 4th Judicial 
District Judge Gregory Werner asked if either side in the case wanted to raise 
any issues before bringing in the jury.

"Yes, I'd like a conflict hearing," Galloway, 46, said from his seat at the 
defense table.

When Werner responded that he had already ruled on a conflict between Galloway 
and his court-appointed public defenders, the defendant replied, "I've had new 
conflicts since last week."

Arguments over Galloway's request were heard in private. The courtroom was 
reopened within 15 minutes, after which Werner announced that the prosecution's 
opening statement would proceed without Galloway at the defense table.

The judge said he would check with Galloway after the prosecution's opening 
statement to see if the defendant could follow "proper decorum."

Galloway, a one-time helicopter mechanic who later worked for Atmel Corp., a 
Colorado Springs semiconductor manufacturer, faces multiple counts of 
1st-degree murder in the May 2016 slayings of his ex-girlfriend, Janice Nam, 
and a homeless man named Marcus Anderson. The 2 were fatally shot on 
consecutive days in May 2016, several months after Galloway cut off an ankle 
monitor and went into hiding.

The defendant has refused to dress up for the trial, showing up on the day of 
opening statements wearing an orange jail jumpsuit.

"Before we start, Mr. Galloway, did you agree to dress up today?" the judge 
asked.

"No," he replied.

His trial is expected to last 6 weeks - followed by several more weeks for a 
penalty phase should he be found guilty.

(source: Colorado Springs Gazette)