[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----N.C., S.C., ALA., OHIO, ARK., NEV., CALIF., USA

[Rick Halperin]

Sept. 5



NORTH CAROLINA:

Family failed him first; then the System did



I watched him die 15 years ago, and I still talk to him sometimes. I talked to 
him a lot in the weeks after he was killed and thought maybe I was going a 
little crazy. And then I thought, it's probably normal to go a little crazy 
when you see somebody killed 10 feet in front of you, somebody you knew really 
well and cared about and tried so hard to save.

I'm talking about my client, Quentin Jones, who was executed at 2 a.m. on Aug. 
22, 2003. Quentin was 18, homeless, and addicted to drugs in 1987, when he 
robbed a convenience store with an Uzi 9 mm pistol. The store camera caught 
most of the crime on tape. You can't see Quentin shooting Edward Peebles, who 
had stopped in for coffee after playing music with his friends, but you can 
hear it. Like Quentin, Peebles had a young daughter. During Quentin's capital 
sentencing hearing, the 2 toddlers played together in the back of the 
courtroom.

At the execution, Peebles's daughter sat behind me, softly crying. Her 
grandfather, Peebles's father, sat next to me in a 3-piece, blue-striped suit. 
On my other side were Quentin's uncle and younger brother. While Quentin lay on 
the gurney waiting to be poisoned, his brother signed to him. As children, 
they'd learned sign language because they had a cousin who couldn't hear. 
Quentin mouthed his love for us and an apology to Peebles's family.

This wasn't new. Quentin had confessed and pleaded guilty. He told the police 
and the jury he was sorry. In my meetings with him, he frequently and 
consistently expressed his regret and sorrow for the deep pain he had caused 
the Peebles family. He never tried to evade responsibility for what he did.

Quentin also had extraordinary insight about his life and compassion for those 
who failed him: a mother who struggled with drug addiction and a father who 
faced his own demons. Quentin was the oldest son and, to help his family, he 
turned to the crack-infested streets of Baltimore, joined a gang and entered 
the drug trade.

Despite a diagnosis of PTSD rooted in his experience of childhood trauma, 
Quentin grew up during 16 years on death row. He never finished high school, 
but in prison he read and studied. He wrote poetry and embraced spirituality, 
becoming a devout Muslim. He maintained relationships with his family, despite 
distance and poverty that made it difficult for them to visit. A psychologist 
was so touched by his work with Quentin that he came to the prison the day of 
the execution to say goodbye, and ended up staying through to the bitter end. 
Every lawyer who ever represented Quentin urged the governor to commute the 
death sentence.

Over the 9 years I represented Quentin, I came to know his family, and they 
were at the prison all day and into the night of the execution. On that 
terrible day, the worst moment was telling Quentin's family that the governor 
had denied clemency, there was nothing left, their son and brother would be 
killed in 90 minutes.

A social worker and I then went to give Quentin the news. When we told him, and 
started sobbing, he gathered us into his arms and comforted us. Quentin was so 
much more than the worst thing he'd done. I often wondered, as I have with 
other clients, what he might have accomplished if someone had taken the time to 
see his potential as a child and to rescue him from the violence that 
surrounded him.

In the weeks after the execution, I thought of little else.

I wished so much then and still wish now that I'd been able to convey Quentin's 
humanity to the judges who ruled in his case and the governor who decided 
against commutation. Perhaps they, and the jurors who sentenced Quentin to 
death, thought they were rooting out evil, teaching a lesson, meting out 
justice.

What I saw was another killing that perpetuated a cycle of violence and trauma 
that continues to play out in many lives, including mine.

(source: Gretchen Engel is executive director of the Center for Death Penalty 
Litigation. She has received the Paul Green Award from the NC-ACLU Legal 
Foundation for her work against the death penalty----Richmond County Daily 
Journal)








SOUTH CAROLINA----female may face death penalty

York County woman charged with poisoning husband could face death penalty



The York County wife charged with murder in the death of her husband could face 
a death penalty trial because she allegedly used poison in the killing.

Lana Sue Clayton initially lied to police, telling them her husband had an 
illness after he was found dead, according to a July 21 police incident report. 
Then she confessed after lab tests showed that Steven Clayton died from 
poisoning.

Sabrina Gast, York County's Coroner, told The Herald her office has ruled that 
Steven Clayton's death is a homicide, with poison being the cause.

It has not been decided whether prosecutors will seek capital punishment 
against Lana Sue Clayton for allegedly using a poison commonly found in eye 
drops.

Under South Carolina law, 1 aggravating factor that prosecutors can use to seek 
the death penalty is "killing by poison," state law shows.

Willy Thompson, 16th Circuit Deputy Solicitor, said Tuesday it is "far too 
early in the case" for any consideration of the death penalty.

Lana Clayton was arrested Friday.

In South Carolina the decision to seek the death penalty is solely up to 
prosecutors. Kevin Brackett, 16th Circuit Solicitor, said prosecutors have not 
received a case file from York County Sheriff's office and there have been "no 
discussions' on whether the case might be viewed as a potential capital case.

Brackett, who has decried South Carolina's death penalty process as a "sham" 
because of lengthy appeals and other problems that leave victims' families 
dealing with courts for decades, declined further comment.

As of late Tuesday, Lana Clayton had not hired a lawyer to defend her, 
according to York County Clerk of Court officials. She remains in the York 
County jail without bond.

Lana Clayton is accused of using the chemical called tetrahydrozoline commonly 
found in eye drops to poison her husband from July 19 to July 21. Steven 
Clayton was found dead at the bottom of the stairs in his upscale Lake Wylie 
waterfront home July 21 by his wife, police said.

When officers responded to the home July 21, Lana Clayton told officers her 
husband "had been suffering from vertigo for several days."

Lana Clayton told officers she left her husband ill upstairs while she went 
outside to "mow the grass" on July 21.

Lana Clayton told responding deputies her husband "had not left the upstairs 
bedroom much during this illness" when she came back in from outside and found 
him "face down in the foyer at the foot of the stairs."

Police and prosecutors have not released a motive for the crime. The couple 
lived in a home worth $822,000, county records show. Additionally, Steven 
Clayton had founded and operated a national business called Physical Therapy 
Resources.

(source: heraldonline.com)








ALABAMA:

Lowndes Co. Man Acquitted of Murder on a Mission to Inspire



A Lowndes County man is speaking out after being acquitted of murder - and 
spending more than 5 years in jail.

Alfonso Green of Hayneville was looking at life in prison - or the death 
penalty - when he was arrested on capital charges more than 5 years ago.

A jury acquitted Green of murder about a month ago - and today he's a free man.

But he says his time in prison has changed his life forever.

"To go to prison for something you didn't do and you facing the death penalty, 
put me in the position where I had to get to know God. I'm talking about beyond 
the shadow of a doubt," he said.

Now Green says he makes it a special point to talk to children about actions 
and consequences - decision-making - and conflict resolution.

(source: alabamanews.net)








OHIO:

Jury selection to take weeks in Greene County capital murder trial



The capital murder trial for 1 of 2 brothers accused in the 2017 double murder 
of William "Skip" Brown and Sherri Mendenhall started this morning at the 
Greene County Common Pleas Court.

Jury selection is underway, and the process is expected to last approximately 2 
weeks because it is a capital murder case, according to Dennis McManes, 
logistics coordinator for Judge Michael Buckwalter's courtroom.

Merrick, 27, is charged with murder and aggravated murder, along with his 
brother, Bret Merrick, 25, in the Jan. 15, 2017, shooting deaths of Yellow 
Springs neighbors Brown and Mendenhall.

Brown and Mendenhall were neighbors of the Merrick brothers in a duplex near 
Yellow Springs.

The brothers could face the death penalty if convicted.

Bret Merrick's trial is scheduled to start in October.

(source: WHIO news)








ARKANSAS:

Fragstein suspects charged with capital murder, possible motives 
revealed----Prosecutors have alleged that 2 teenagers are responsible for the 
murder of 72-year-old Elvia Fragstein, and are alluding to a motive for the 1st 
time.



2 young men are now facing serious charges related to the strangulation death 
of an elderly woman murdered in July.

16-year-old Robert Smith III and 18-year-old Tacori Mackrel appeared before a 
Faulkner County Judge Tuesday, Sept. 4. The teens are facing capital murder, 
kidnapping and aggravated robbery charges in connection with the murder of 
72-year-old Fragstein.

Fragstein was last seen alive on July 7 going inside a Conway TJ Maxx. She was 
found murdered in Jefferson County days later.

"It's our belief that once we've had a fair hearing in this matter, he won't be 
found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt," said Smith's attorney, Ron Davis.

According to the affidavit, when Mackrel was originally questioned about the 
murder, he said he hadn't been to Conway and didn't know Smith. Outside of 
court Tuesday, Mackrel's attorney, Bill James, said they're cousins.

"It's easy to say things, it's a lot harder to prove it. We've got to see what 
the discovery is, go forward with our investigation and see where we are at 
then," James said.

When shown photos of himself with Smith at the Conway Commons when Fragstein 
was kidnapped, Mackrel told investigators a white male had forced him to commit 
the crime, but could not give a further description.

"In this case, we are confident that we have the 2 people responsible for the 
crime in custody and charged," Carol Crews, the prosecuting attorney for this 
case, said.

In open court, she told the defense a DNA analysis was available for them in 
discovery, alluding to the fact the state's evidence goes far beyond 
circumstantial.

That same affidavit says it was a gang called "the murder gang" that led police 
to the suspects' doorsteps.

"That information is listed in the affidavit, that these suspects' affiliation, 
or at least knowledge of a group with that name is part of how law enforcement 
was able to identifify who they were and ultimately present them with the case 
file that led us to file charges,??? Crews said.

"There's no reason to believe he is affiliated with it. I have no information 
that has anything to do with it," James said.

Though both young men facing the same charges for the same crime, they're 
facing very different outcomes. Mackrel could face the death penalty for the 
capital murder charge.

"I kind of get the idea they are going to seek the death penalty, so I'm not 
happy about that, but we will just have to deal with it," James said.

Because he's a juvenile charged as an adult, Smith could face as few as 28 
years behind bars. Which is likely why his attorney requested their cases be 
separated on the docket.

"One of the requirements of not having trials together are cross-implicating 
statements. My client has denied all involvement in this case," Davis said. 
"I'm not certain that's the case with the other young man."

Both men pleaded not guilty and requested a bond hearing. Davis also requested 
Smith be moved to juvenile court and also get a mental evaluation. Both have 
also scheduled pretrial hearings in October.

(source: KTHV news)

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

Conviction in Arkansas murder could mean death penalty for Marinette man



A Marinette man with a history of stealing identities for profit may find 
himself facing the death penalty if convicted of a similar offense that led to 
a murder in Hot Springs last month.

Kevin K. Buerke, 26, is the main suspect in the Aug. 22 death of Betty 
Slaughter, 80, of Hot Springs, where Buerke has been living, according to the 
Associated Press. Her burned body was found Aug. 25 in a cemetery near Hot 
Springs.

Buerke pleaded not guilty to murder Friday in Garland County Circuit Court in 
Arkansas. Prosecutors say they intend to seek the death penalty in the case. He 
is scheduled for a hearing in October.

Buerke had gone to a local bank on the day of Slaughter death to present 
counterfeit paperwork purporting to grant him power of attorney for Slaughter, 
the Hot Springs Sentinel-Record reported Tuesday.

Footage from a neighbor's surveillance camera showed a man in a gold Ford 
Explorer at Slaughter's home on the day before her death. Investigators linked 
the vehicle to Buerke and found blood matching Slaughter's in the vehicle, the 
newspaper said.

Buerke, whose nickname is "Spooky," according to the Wisconsin Department of 
Corrections, was convicted in Marinette County in 2014 of obtaining money 
through misappropriation of identity, a felony. A 2nd count of the same offense 
and one of misdemeanor theft were dismissed but read into the record, according 
to Wisconsin court records.

He was sentenced to 14 months in prison and three years of extended 
supervision.is listed on the department's website as being on active community 
supervision in Sturgeon Bay. He was scheduled for mandatory release from 
supervision on May 9, 2022.

He also was convicted of theft out of Door County for an offense that happened 
around the same time. He was sentenced to an additional year of probation in 
that case.

His probation was revoked in October 2016, but he was released from prison to 
extended supervision in May. Online court records do not indicate the reason 
for the probation revocation.

He also has convictions in Marinette County for burglary and theft from 2009.

(source: greenbaypressgazette.com)



NEVADA:

Suspect in killing of Vietnamese tour leaders goes to court



A convicted felon accused of killing 2 Vietnamese tour leaders at a Las Vegas 
Strip casino-hotel made multiple court appearances Tuesday following his return 
in custody to Nevada from California.

Julius Damiano Deangilo Trotter stood in shackles and sought time to hire a 
lawyer for his defense in the double-murder and robbery case.

Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Harmony Letizia gave him until Oct. 4 to do so.

Trotter, 31, is accused of stabbing Sang Boi Nghia and Khuong Le Ba Nguyen to 
death before their bodies were found June 1 in a room at the Circus Circus 
hotel.

District Attorney Steve Wolfson has not yet decided whether to seek the death 
penalty if Trotter is convicted.

Deputy public defender Joseph Abood accompanied Trotter during three separate 
court appearances at which Trotter wasn't asked to enter pleas.

In separate cases, he is accused of armed robbery, burglary with a weapon and 
felony lewdness.

Abood and a prosecutor, Pamela Weckerly, declined to comment outside court.

Trotter remains jailed without bail.

Nghia owned a tour business in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and Nguyen was a tour 
employee. Police said they arrived in Las Vegas with a tour group from Los 
Angeles a day before their bodies were found.

Hotel security went to their room on the 21st floor at the request of tour 
members worried that the two hadn't shown up for a trip to the Grand Canyon.

Trotter was arrested a week later in Chino, California, after a car chase.

(source: Sacramento Bee)

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

Drug companies to receive name of Nevada's execution doctor



A judge ruled Tuesday that the Department of Corrections must reveal the name 
of the attending physician in the planned execution of Scott Dozier, but the 
name may be revealed only to the attorneys who represent the makers of drugs in 
the state's lethal injection protocol.

Assistant Solicitor General Jordan Smith, who represents the prison system, 
told District Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez that publicly revealing the name could 
lead to death threats.

Todd Bice, an attorney for Alvogen Inc., which makes the sedative midazolam, 
said the company's lawyers wanted to ensure that the doctor who is expected to 
oversee capital punishment is a licensed physician.

Gonazalez said the identity of the state's doctor must be turned over in court 
documents "for attorneys' eyes only."

The manufacturers of 2 other drugs in Nevada's 3-drug lethal injection protocol 
have joined Alvogen's lawsuit against the state, arguing that their companies 
would suffer irreparable harm should the execution go forward as planned.

Dozier's execution has been halted twice in Clark County District Court, most 
recently on July 11, hours before he was scheduled to die.

The prisoner, who waived his appeals in late 2016, was sentenced to die in 2007 
after first-degree murder and robbery convictions in the slaying of Jeremiah 
Miller. The victim's torso was found on April 25, 2002, in a suitcase that had 
been dumped in a trash bin at a Las Vegas apartment complex.

Dozier also had a murder conviction in the Arizona slaying of Jasen "Griffin" 
Greene before he was brought to Nevada to face charges in Miller's death. 
Dozier would be the 1st prisoner executed in Nevada since 2006.

Gonzalez is expected to hear further arguments Wednesday in the fight over the 
use of the 3 drugs in Nevada's lethal injection cocktail.

(source: Las Vegas Review-Journal)








CALIFORNIA:

Madera man accused of killing his family pleads not guilty



The Madera man accused of killing 2 of his family members and stabbing his 
cousin pleaded not guilty in court. Deijon Walker appeared via video from the 
Madera County Jail on Tuesday.

A family member, Joel Miller, said it was his 1st time seeing his cousin since 
he allegedly killed Betty and Tonya Terrell.

"I feel sorrow. I feel hurt. I feel angry. Everything all into one. At the same 
time I want what's best for my cousin because I love him, as my family does 
also," Miller said.

Walker is facing 2 counts of murder, and a count of attempted murder. Attorneys 
said the case could be eligible for the death penalty.

He was arrested on August 30 after police said he killed the Terrell women 
inside their Madera home, then ran outside and stabbed his cousin, Jazmine 
Miller, in her car. Action News spoke to Jazmine on Monday. She said they were 
all inside the home hanging out and talking moments before the incident.

Madera investigators believe he may have been in a drug psychosis when he 
stabbed his family.

"That's the number one thing I'm looking at right now. They've alleged special 
circumstances which make him eligible for the death penalty, but if he was 
under a psychosis at the time, I don't think he should be facing the death 
penalty," Defense Attorney Craig Collins said.

Family members say he may have taken Xanax the day of the incident, but they 
aren't sure what made him snap.

Defense attorneys said they still need to look at the police report and look 
into Walker's history.

"You have to get records basically from his whole life, right up to the event," 
Collins said.

While Miller agreed that there needs to be punishment, he said the last thing 
his family needs is another life taken from them.

"They wouldn't want that for him. If it was a drug situation, at least he could 
spend his life in jail. The death penalty would just cause more pain for our 
family because it'll be another loss for our family," Miller said.

Prosecutors would not comment on the arraignment.

Walker's preliminary hearing is expected to start on September 14.

(source: ABC News)

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

Palm Springs police killing suspect John Felix could avoid death penalty if he 
lacks intelligence



A defendant's intelligence will be evaluated in an attempt to keep him from 
facing the death penalty if convicted in the 2016 killings of 2 Palm Springs 
police officers.

John Hernandez Felix appeared in Riverside County Superior Court on Tuesday to 
begin the process of scheduling a so-called Atkins hearing, which is 
tentatively set for Oct. 9 at the Larson Justice Center in Indio. He's accused 
of killing officers Jose "Gil" Vega and Lesley Zerebny on Oct. 8, 2016, and 
prosecutors said later that month they would seek the death penalty for Felix.

Atkins hearings resulted from a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that executing 
people with intellectual disabilities violates the Eighth Amendment's ban on 
cruel and unusual punishment. According to court documents, the evaluation 
process may involve checking if Felix suffers from adaptive behavior deficits 
to his conceptual, social and practical skills.

Discussions were rescheduled to Monday because Felix's attorney, John Patrick 
Dolan, was handling a separate case in Riverside. Tuesday's court appearance 
lasted only a matter of minutes.

Riverside County Deputy District Attorney Manny Bustamante couldn't comment on 
the discussion due to a court order preventing both parties from speaking to 
reporters.

2 of Vega's relatives attended Tuesday's brief hearing. They wouldn't comment 
on the Atkins hearing, but they lamented that Felix is still going through the 
legal process after being arrested nearly 2 years ago.

"I just hate that it's taking so long," said Vega's brother, Eddie Vega.

The officers were killed while responding to a routine domestic violence call 
along North Cypress Road in Palm Springs. A woman, believed to be Felix's 
mother, had called 911 to report that her son was causing a disturbance.

During last year's preliminary hearing, investigators testified the disturbance 
began over a television remote control. A memorial was set up outside the Palm 
Springs Police Department following the deaths of officers Gilbert "Gil" Vega 
and Lesley Zerebny. They were killed Oct. 8 while responding to a domestic 
disturbance.

When the officers arrived at the house, Felix refused to open the front door. 
According to Palm Springs police, Felix told the officers he would shoot them 
if they did not leave, then he opened fire through the door with an AR-15 
rifle.

Vega, a 35-year member of the force who was months from retirement, and 
Zerebny, a new mom who had recently returned from maternity leave, were fatally 
wounded. A third officer was injured but survived.

The shooting then led to a 12-hour standoff, with an army of police officers 
and sheriff's deputies surrounding Felix's home. Eventually, a SWAT team used 
tear gas to flush Felix out the back door, then subdue him with 
less-than-lethal weapons.

Felix claimed he couldn't remember the shooting, but 2 psychologists did not 
support the defendant's claims that he had amnesia.

Vega and Zerebny are the 3rd and 4th Palm Springs police officers to die in the 
line of duty, and the 1st since the 1960s. A stretch of Highway 111 renamed in 
their memory runs 4 miles from West San Rafael Drive near the visitor's center 
to the entrance of the Windy Point community at Overture Drive.

(source: Palm Springs Desert Sun)








USA:

Potential jurors due in Rutland federal court for death penalty retrial



Potential jurors for the upcoming death penalty retrial of a man charged with 
abducting and killing a Vermont woman in 2000 are expected to appear in court.

The 1st of about 700 potential jurors are scheduled to appear Tuesday in 
federal court in Rutland to fill out jury questionnaires.

After the initial screening reduces the number down to about 60, the final 
selection of a 12-person jury with four alternates will begin Oct. 1. Opening 
statements for the trial have not yet been scheduled.

Fell was convicted in 2005 and sentenced to death for the 2000 killing of Terry 
King, who was abducted when she arrived for work at a Rutland supermarket, but 
the conviction was thrown out in 2014 due to juror misconduct.

(source: Associated Press)