[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----PENN., OHIO, IND., COLO.

[Rick Halperin]

September 23




PENNSYLVANIA:

Attorney William Ruzzo dead at 77; recalled as advocate for oppressed



Renowned Luzerne County defense attorney William Ruzzo died Saturday morning at 
Geisinger Community Medical Center in Scranton. He was 77.

A retired Luzerne County public defender, Ruzzo worked on numerous high-profile 
cases, including George Banks, who shot and killed 13 people on Sept. 25, 1982, 
in Wilkes-Barre and Jenkins Township.

Ruzzo was also part of the defense team for Mark Ciavarella, a former Luzerne 
County judge sentenced to 28 years behind bars for his part in the so-called 
"Kids for Cash" scandal that rocked Luzerne County.

In addition, Ruzzo helped defend Eric Frein, convicted of killing Cpl. Bryon 
Dickson outside the Blooming Grove state police barracks in Pike County and 
seriously wounding Trooper Alex Douglass.

Attorney Al Flora was a longtime friend of Ruzzo's and the 2 worked together on 
several cases. Flora said funeral arrangements for Ruzzo will be handled 
through the McLaughlin Funeral Home, Wilkes-Barre.

"I was with him when he died," Flora said. "He died at 7:30 (Saturday) 
morning." Flora said Ruzzo was at the Wayne County Prison on Thursday for a 
meeting with a client. He said Ruzzo collapsed and was taken to Wayne County 
Memorial Hospital and later transferred to Geisinger CMC in Scranton.

Flora said Ruzzo suffered a massive intracranial bleed and was placed on a 
respirator. Flora said he never regained consciousness.

"I talked to him on Wednesday," Flora said. "We go way back."

Flora said he took Ruzzo under his wing when Ruzzo entered law school.

"Everybody knows he was a Yankee fan, but he was an individual who simply lived 
the law," Flora said. "He truly believed in the Constitution and that the 
rights of every individual should be protected."

Flora said Ruzzo was a fearless advocate for the downtrodden - those in society 
who have been vanquished.

"He fought for them and their rights," he said. "He believed they were entitled 
to protection under our Constitution. He was a very compassionate, brilliant 
attorney. He could cite cases off the top of his head."

Flora said Ruzzo has 3 children, 2 sons and a daughter.

Ruzzo was living at Provincial Towers, South Main Street, Wilkes-Barre, 
according to his colleague.

Fighting back tears, Flora noted: "I haven't slept for 2 nights. He will be 
missed by many."

'Foremost expert'

Attorney Mark Singer, a public defender and a former assistant district 
attorney, called Ruzzo's passing "a great loss."

"He and I defended 2 death penalty cases together," Singer recalled. "He was a 
friend, a mentor and a great, great attorney who found his calling later in 
life."

“He quickly made an impact," Singer noted. "He was the foremost expert on the 
defense of the death penalty in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and perhaps 
the entire country. I was glad to have known him. He made us all better 
lawyers. He will be missed."

Ruzzo along with Attorney John Donovan, a public defender, represented John 
Michaels who, if convicted of murder and arson charges, faced life in prison.

Michaels was accused of setting a blaze to a boarding house on East Columbus 
Avenue, Pittston, in February 2004. Loretta Zampetti died in the blaze.

Prosecutors alleged Michaels intentionally set the fire after being evicted.

After a five-day trial in January 2005, a Luzerne County jury acquitted 
Michaels of all charges.

When Michaels, who spent nearly a year in prison, was set free hours after the 
verdict, Ruzzo - out of his own pocket - gave him money to help restart his 
life.

Retired judge Joe Cosgrove, 61, said Ruzzo was the most non-judgmental person 
he ever met.

"He was dedicated to preserve our civil rights and our civil liberties," said 
Cosgrove. "He will be deeply missed."

(source: timesleader.com)








OHIO----death sentence overturned

Appeals court overturns Ohio murder-for-hire death sentence



A man sentenced to die in an Ohio murder-for-hire case says statements alleging 
his involvement were hearsay, and a federal court has agreed and has thrown out 
his conviction and death sentence.

Friday's ruling came in the case of Ahmad Fawzi Issa, convicted of aggravated 
murder for arranging the killing of Maher Khrais, a Cincinnati convenience 
store owner shot outside his store in 1997.

Authorities say Issa paid a man $10,000 to kill Khrais at the request of 
Khrais' wife, Linda Khriss.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals gave Hamilton County prosecutors 6 months 
to retry the 48-year-old Issa or release him.

A message was left with the Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office, which could 
appeal the ruling.

(source: Associated Press)








INDIANA:

More mental exams for man accused of eating ex-girlfriend



A southern Indiana man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend and eating parts of 
her body will undergo more mental evaluations to determine whether he's 
competent to face trial.

Defense attorneys for Joseph Oberhansley say he remains suspicious and paranoid 
despite a Logansport State Hospital psychiatrist telling the Clark County judge 
in late July that his competency has been restored since he was committed there 
last year.

Oberhansley's lawyers say he "continues to express bizarre and irrational 
beliefs" when meeting with them and defense investigators.

Prosecutors allege Oberhansley broke into the Jeffersonville home of 
46-year-old Tammy Jo Blanton in September 2014, and that he raped her, fatally 
stabbed her and ate parts of her body.

A competency hearing was set Friday for Nov. 16. Prosecutors are seeking the 
death penalty.

(source: Associated Press)








COLORADO:

Weld DA faces tough decision about death penalty



Weld District Attorney Michael Rourke has already said he won't make the 
decision until next year, and yet, we don't envy how difficult it will be.

Rourke has to decide whether to try to put Christopher Watts to death.

Watts was charged with killing his pregnant wife and 2 young daughters aged 4 
and 3. That seems like an easy decision, right? Feed him to the wolves, right? 
Well, life rarely presents easy dilemmas.

Death penalty cases are expensive. Arapahoe County spent $1.9 million to 
prosecute James Holmes, the man who shot up a movie theater in Aurora, and the 
Death Penalty Information Center estimates more than $5 million in public money 
was spent on the case. The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado estimates 
that death penalty trials cost an average of $3.5 million, as opposed to the 
$150,000 it costs to try someone for life without parole.

We understand the death penalty seems to be invented for cases such as this 
one. Watts’ crime is incomprehensible. And yet, is his death worth millions of 
dollars to us?

Consider that since 1975, only 14 cases have ended in death sentences in 
Colorado. Three of those remain on death row. The state has carried out 1 
execution in more than 4 decades. Sentencing Watts to death, assuming Rourke 
meets the tough standards of a conviction, doesn't mean he will die.

It would take much longer to reach any kind of justice either way, given that 
death penalty cases take an average of 26 days just to seat a jury. It takes 
less than 2 days to seat one in a life-without-parole case.

We're not sure that any case is worth that. And yet, the crime Watts is charged 
with would seem to warrant some serious thought over it at least.

We hope, therefore, that the family of the victims gets the loudest voice in 
Rourke's decision. Ultimately he has to make the decision. But we also hope he 
listens to the family as hard as he listens to his pragmatic sense of justice.

(source: The Greeley Tribune Editorial Board)