[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----N.H., VA., ALA., OHIO

[Rick Halperin]

September 10




NEW HAMPSHIRE:

Death Penalty Repeal



The bill repealing the death penalty, Senate Bill 593, faces an up-hill battle. 
The Senate voted 14-10 to approve the bill, which is not sufficient to 
override.

2 Democrats from Manchester voted against the bill, the dean of the Senate Lou 
D'Allesandro, as he always does, and Kevin Cavanaugh.

Those 2 are not likely to change their votes. Michael Addison sits on death row 
for killing Manchester police officer Michael Briggs and the fear is a repeal 
would commute Addison's sentence.

The House voted 223-116 to repeal, close to a 2/3 majority but not quite there.

(source: manchesterlink.com)








VIRGINIA:

Death is not the answer



Since June, the Roanoke Times has written multiple stories about the murders of 
3 innocent young people who worked at the Bent Mountain Bistro: Brandon Dekle, 
Cole Kennedy, and Miranda Trump. The man charged with their murders is Trevor 
Charles, an 18-year-old male who might or might not have been mentally ill at 
the time of the alleged slayings. Regardless of his mental state, in early 
August a Roanoke County grand jury indicted Charles of capital murder. As of 
the writing of this op-ed piece, the Roanoke County Commonwealth Attorney's 
Office has not decided whether to pursue the death penalty. I am writing to 
urge them not to do so.

Thirty years ago, politicians and prosecutors across Virginia fully embraced 
the death penalty, and stories about the men of the row and their final moments 
in the death house filled state newspapers. The occupants of death row included 
the violent, the mentally ill, and the factually innocent. And until a series 
of Supreme Court cases stopped the practice, Virginia was executing inmates who 
were profoundly mentally handicapped as well as prisoners who were juveniles 
when they committed their crimes.

Today the current death row at Sussex I State Prison in Waverly, Virginia, only 
holds three condemned men: Anthony Juniper, Mark Lawlor and Thomas Porter. The 
smaller population represents a nation-wide trend in which prosecutors are 
pursuing fewer death sentences and governors and judges are signing fewer death 
warrants. Simply put, an increasing number of public officials, or the voters 
who elected them, have concluded that capital punishment is bad public policy. 
What explains this trend?

First of all, studies have shown that the death penalty costs more than trying 
someone for 1st-degree murder and sentencing them to life without parole. 
Hundreds of thousands of dollars more. This is not to say that the mere act of 
killing an inmate is prohibitively expensive. It's the investigation, the 
trial, and the appeals which gobble up millions of dollars. One example will 
suffice. According to Richard Dieter, the former head of the Death Penalty 
Information Center, during a 20-year period death penalty cases in Maryland 
cost taxpayers an additional 186 million dollars. Studies out of Colorado, 
Indiana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and, Pennsylvania report similar findings, 
concluding that capital murder cases can cost 4 to 6 times more than 1st-degree 
murder cases.

Hence, here are some questions to consider. Are the taxpayers of Roanoke County 
willing to help foot this bill? Does the death penalty provide such a 
significant benefit to the community that taxpayers are happy to divert needed 
revenue from our schools, our roads, and our police department and spend them 
to execute an individual rather than incarcerate him for the rest of his life? 
Even if we believe that someone deserves to die for his crimes, how much are we 
willing to pay to carry out this sentence?

When asked why they support the death penalty, many Americans point to the fact 
that it deters - not only does it prevent the individual offender from killing 
again, but it deters others from committing similar crimes. There is, however, 
no solid empirical evidence to support this argument. Yes, a dead offender can 
no longer inflict violence on a community. But neither can an offender in a 
super-max facility. Moreover, the type of individuals who commit crimes 
eligible for the death penalty do not first engage in the sort of rational, 
cost-benefit analysis ("is the benefit from killing this person outweighed by 
the probability of getting caught and executed") which is necessary for 
deterrence theory to work. In point of fact, some academics have argued that 
executions lead to a rise in crime rates because it sends the signal to the 
general public that murder is acceptable in some instances. This is called "the 
brutalization effect."

Bottom line - a terrible and violent crime took the lives of three individuals 
who were just starting their adult lives. The person who committed those 
horrific acts should be permanently removed from society. Putting a needle into 
that murderer's arm and pumping him full of toxic chemicals, however, is not 
the answer. It's too costly and it doesn't make us safer. And, to paraphrase 
death penalty activist Sister Helen Prejean, how do we explain to our children 
that we believing in killing people to show that killing is wrong?

(source: Op-Ed; Todd Peppers is a full-time professor at Roanoke College and a 
part-time law school lecturer. He is co-author of two books on the death 
penalty----The Roanoke Times)








ALABAMA:

Trial for man accused of murdering 5 in Citronelle set to begin



He's accused of killing 5 people including a pregnant woman, now he's going to 
trial.

Derrick Dearman hacked some of his victims with an axe back in 2016. The 
trial's been delayed numerous times, despite Dearman's confession in 2016. He's 
waived his right to an attorney, so Monday, September 10, Dearman will face a 
jury, by himself.

As Dearman was escorted by police in 2016, he was asked by reporters if he 
would apologize to the families of the victims. He responded, "yes, yes, I 
sincerely and truly apologize."

He surrendered to police in Mississippi and told them he killed at least 1 
person near Citronelle.

The bodies of 5 adults, including a pregnant woman, were found in a home just 
outside of Citronelle on August 20, 2016.

Dearman was charged with 6 counts of capital murder. Investigators say he 
attacked the sleeping adults with an axe.

He also faces 2 counts of kidnapping, one of them Dearman's ex-girlfriend, 
Laneta Lester. She and a child were forced into a car before they were able to 
escape.

Dearman says he was high on drugs at the time; which is why his court appointed 
lawyers tried to insist he wasn't competent to stand trial.

"I don't know I was high I barely remember anything," said Dearman to reporters 
in 2016.

The judge denied the motion. But he kept the confession and honored Dearman's 
request to defend himself.

"I'm sorry and I deserve to die and that's all I got to say," said Dearman to 
reporters in 2016.

Dearman will stand before judge and jury and plead his case.

However, it is still possible he could enter a guilty plea and possibly avoid 
the death penalty.

(source: WKRG news)








OHIO:

Convicted murderer Shawn Grate to be charged in Richland County; execution 
delayed----Authorities say they believe Grate made his way from Richland County 
to Ashland County in the summer of 2016.

Richland County will pursue charges against convicted killer Shawn Grate, 
Prosecutor Gary Bishop said Friday.

Grate, 42, was convicted in May of the aggravated murders of Stacey Stanley, 
43, and Elizabeth Griffith, 29, at the end of a lengthy jury trial in Ashland.

The jury recommended the death penalty for Grate, and Ashland County Common 
Pleas Judge Ron Forsthoefel agreed.

The judge set Grate's execution date for Thursday - 2 years to the day of his 
arrest - but it will not happen for some time.

"He has to set a date as part of the sentencing," Ashland County Prosecutor 
Chris Tunnell said. "It's the initial date. It never happens (that quickly)."

Tunnell said a notice of appeal has been filed.

"That stays everything," he said.

In Richland County, authorities said Grate confessed to killing Candice 
Cunningham in June 2016. Her body was found behind the burned-out house at 1027 
Park Avenue East in Madison Township in September 2016.

The fire had been deemed suspicious.

Mansfield police also have investigated Grate for a possible connection to the 
death of Rebekah Leicy, whose body was found in an Ashland County woods in 
2015.

The convicted killer also reportedly confessed to killing a woman in Marion 
County between 2003 and 2005. She has not been identified.

Authorities say they believe Grate made his way from Richland County to Ashland 
County in the summer of 2016.

His 1-man crime spree ended after he kidnapped a woman prosecutors identified 
as Jane Doe. Grate raped her multiple times, but she managed to escape after 
calling 911 with Grate's phone on Sept. 13, 2016.

After Doe's rescue and the apprehension of Grate, Police found the bodies of 
Griffith and Stanley at a house at 363 Covert Court, just off downtown Ashland. 
Both women had been strangled. The vacant house, where Grate had been 
squatting, has since been demolished.

Grate is an inmate at Chillicothe Correctional Institution.

(source: WKYC news)