[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., VA., ALA., ARIZ., CALIF.

[Rick Halperin]

Nov. 9



TEXAS:

Lawyers file emergency motion to stop execution of mentally ill Texas inmate 
---- Motion could be last available option for Scott Panetti, who believes he 
is being executed because of a satanic plot by state of Texas


Attorneys for a Texas death row inmate with schizophrenia are attempting to 
stop his execution with an emergency motion, calling for a mental evaluation.

The motion could be one of the last available options to stop the execution on 
3 December of Scott Louis Panetti, who has been mentally ill for almost 3 
decades, and believes he is being executed because of a satanic plot carried 
out by the state of Texas.

"Mr Panetti's severe mental illness has infected every stage of his capital 
case," said Kathryn Kase, 1 of 2 attorneys who have represented Panetti for 
almost a decade. "His execution now would cross a moral line and serve no 
penological purpose."

Panetti was sentenced to death for shooting dead the parents of his estranged 
wife, in front of her and the couple's 3-year-old daughter in 1992. Attorneys 
argue that Panetti should not be executed because he does not understand why he 
is being killed. Attorneys say Panetti believes his execution is being 
orchestrated by Satan through the state of Texas, to stop him preaching the 
Gospel of Jesus Christ to the condemned.

For almost 20 years, Panetti's case has been heard from western Texas district 
courts all the way to the US supreme court, which ruled in 2007 that the case 
should be re-evaluated. The case has attracted the attention of many 
high-profile mental health experts, including the American Psychological 
Association, which wrote a "friend of the court" brief on Panetti's behalf. The 
National Alliance on Mental Illness issued an editorial protesting against his 
execution.

On 16 October his execution was scheduled, after the highest court rejected 
attorneys' attempts to clarify standards of competency. Panetti's attorneys say 
they only learned his execution had been scheduled through a newspaper notice, 
2 weeks later.

"The state's conduct would be disturbing if this were a routine case," said 
attorney Gregory Wiercioch, who has represented Panetti for about a decade, 
"but it is unconscionable in a death penalty case where the district attorney 
himself did not believe Scott Panetti was competent to represent himself at 
trial."

Panetti has suffered from mental illness for more than three decades, having 
begun to show signs of paranoia as early as 1978. In 1986, the Social Security 
Administration found Panetti too ill to work, and entitled him to government 
benefits. A few months earlier, his wife told Waco hospital workers that 
Panetti believed the devil was in their furniture and had therefore buried it 
in the backyard before nailing the curtains shut. Before the murder of his 
wife's parents, he was hospitalised a dozen times.

At his trial, Panetti insisted on representing himself while wearing a TV 
cowboy costume and a purple bandana. He attempted to subpoena more than 200 
people, including the pope, Jesus Christ and John F Kennedy. He fell asleep 
during trial, rambled incoherently and threatened the jury with an imaginary 
rifle. His standby attorney called the trial a "judicial farce".

Despite this, and the supreme court-ordered re-evaluation of the case, in 2008 
Panetti was found fit to be killed by the state.

"Panetti was mentally ill when he committed his crime and continues to be 
mentally ill today," wrote judge Sam Sparks, for the federal court of the 
western district of Texas in that 2008 ruling. "However, he has both a factual 
and rational understanding of his crime, his impending death, and the causal 
retributive connection between the 2.

"Therefore, if any mentally ill person is competent to be executed for his 
crimes, this record establishes it is Scott Panetti."

In 2014, the supreme court declined to clarify the insanity standard. In its 
2007 ruling, dissenting justices called the ruling "a half-baked holding that 
leaves the details of the insanity standard for the district court to work 
out".

Attorneys' latest motions ask for Panetti to be re-evaluated before the state 
executes him. He was last evaluated in 2008.

(source: The Guardian)






PENNSYLVANIA:

After nearly a year without violent deaths, Chester County has 2 homicides in a 
week


The relative peace and tranquility of life in Chester County was shattered last 
week after 2 horrific murders, both incidents of domestic violence, shocked 
area residents just days apart.

After nearly a year without a reported homicide in the county 2 people, a young 
child and a single mother of 2, lost their lives in 2 unrelated but equally 
violent incidents that have recast light on the grim realities of abuse and 
domestic violence.

Jacinda Miller, 41, was shot and killed in a YMCA parking lot on Monday night 
in West Brandywine as she arrived to teach a 6 p.m. fitness class. Her 
murderer, estranged boyfriend Dennis Cassel, fatally turned the gun on himself 
as police arrived, according to law enforcement officials.

At the same time, a 3-year-old boy was enduring an unimaginable horror just 
miles away. Scotty McMillan was pronounced dead at Brandywine Hospital on 
Tuesday night after enduring 3 days of torture and abuse in a West Caln mobile 
home.

McMillan's mother and her boyfriend, Jillian Tait and Gary Lee Felenbaum, were 
arrested on murder charges following McMillan's death. Prosecutors said they 
would seek the death penalty for both due to McMillan's age and due to the 
alleged torture he endured.

In the wake of Miller and McMillan???s murder, local advocates for victims of 
domestic violence spoke out against such crimes and urged other victims to seek 
help if they are enduring abuse.

"Our hearts go out to the families, all of us have been impacted by this 
horrible tragedy," said Dolly Wideman-Scott, the CEO of the Domestic Violence 
Center of Chester County. "Unfortunately it's an issue that happens in every 
community, and we have to step up and confront it."

Wideman-Scott was joined by Terry Moody, the domestic violence center's 
communications director, who acknowledged that Miller's death was "eerily 
similar" to the murder of Kimberly Hvizda in 2012. Both women were ambushed 
outside of their workplace by an estranged spouse.

Moody said one way the center reaches out to combat such violence is to educate 
employers about the realities of domestic violence in the workplace, including 
helping employers recognize the signs that an employee may be experiencing 
abuse.

Miller's death was the 3rd time a Chester County mother was murdered by an 
estranged spouse in as many years, Moody noted. In April 2013 Jamica Woods was 
gunned down inside her East Fallowfield home, allegedly at the hands of 
boyfriend Gregory Tywman.

Wideman-Scott also spoke about McMillan's death, and noted that his murder 
serves as a sad reminder that violence against children is also far too common.

"We are very saddened to hear of the vicious death of Scotty McMillian, 
allegedly by a household member. Scotty, a defenseless child should not have 
been subjected to the brutal beating by an adult in a home environment that 
should have been safe and secure. Violence has no place in a child's life," 
Wideman-Scott said, noting that 30 to 60 % of perpetrators of intimate partner 
violence also abuse children in the household (NCADV, 2013).

On Friday night, at a vigil held for both victims at the Gateway Church, a 
coworker of McMillan's alleged killers said there were signs that something was 
not right. She said coworkers suspected Felenbaum was capable of violence.

"There were signs. He was very threatening. He seemed like a scary, angry, 
threatening man," said Tracy Nagle, who worked with both Tait and Felenbaum at 
the Sadsbury Walmart.

Both Moody and Wideman-Scott stressed that victims must remember that they are 
not alone, that help is always available, but also reminded those who are not 
directly affected by such violence to withhold judgement and remember that the 
victims are not to blame.

Both said that several recent high-profile cases of domestic violence involving 
NFL players have helped to raise awareness about the issue, but added that 
advocates continue to emphasize that the issue is one that affects all races, 
genders, and socioeconomic classes.

"We want to continue to remind the community that it is not only their (the 
victims) problem, it is all of our problem," Wideman-Scott said. "It is, 
unfortunately, everywhere. We have to let individuals know that it's not their 
fault and that they should trust others to help them get through their 
situation."

Unlike the cases of Hvizda and Woods, there was no documented history of 
violence between Miller and Cassel prior to Monday's shooting. Law enforcement 
officials said there was no record of any violent confrontations between the 
couple and Miller had never sought to obtain a protection from abuse order, as 
Woods and Hvizda had.

The fact that there was no record of violence or abuse does not necessarily 
mean none had taken place, Wideman-Scott said.

"Many victims of abuse may not connect with law enforcement or organizations 
like ours," she said. "They may believe the violence is going to stop, or they 
believe they can handle it on their own."

Citing statistics that claim 1 in 4 American adults will become victims of 
domestic violence in their lifetime, Moody said about 60,000 women in Chester 
County face the potential of abuse in Chester County. The domestic violence 
center provides services to between 3 and 4000 people a year.

"We know what we're serving is only the tip of the iceberg," Moody said.

In an effort to reduce the number of abusive relationships that result in 
fatalities, local police departments have begun using a Lethality Assessment 
Program (LAP) that guides officers who respond to an apparent domestic violence 
situation.

The protocol consists of 11 questions that help assess the situation and inform 
the victims if they seem to be in danger of further violence or death.

"When a victim is made aware of services earlier on the risk of death 
decreases," Wideman-Scott said.

Other statistics reveal other startling trends, including figures that reveal 
one in three teenagers will experience "dating violence" within the 1st year of 
a relationship, Moody said. Those trends have led the domestic violence center 
to increase its outreach efforts in area schools in an effort to educate young 
people, both potential victims and potential abusers.

"Our society is broken and we must come together to take a stand against 
violence. The Domestic Violence Center is appealing to the Chester County 
community to come together to have a 'Call to Action' in ending violence in the 
home today, right now," Wideman-Scott said.

(source: Daily Local)






VIRGINIA:

Wrongful-death claim settled in Va. toddler death


Court records show a psychologist will pay $550,000 to settle a wrongful-death 
claim in the death of a toddler whose father is accused of killing him in 
Manassas in 2012.

The boy's mother, Hera McLeod, had fought against unsupervised visits for her 
15-month-old son with his father, Joaquin Rams. After the boy died, McLeod sued 
psychologist Margaret Wong for finding that it was safe for the boy, Prince 
Rams, to be with his father unsupervised.

The Washington Post (http://wapo.st/1uaz2FK) reports that the settlement was 
entered in Fairfax on Oct. 17. That's the same day that prosecutors revealed 
that Virginia's chief medical examiner had changed the official ruling on the 
cause of the boy's death from drowning to "undetermined."

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Rams, who maintains his 
innocence.

(source: Associated Press)






ALABAMA:

Jury suggests death penalty in child murder case


A jury has recommended the death penalty for a man who was convicted in the 
deaths of his 2 young children.

Jurors in Mobile County, Alabama voted 10-2 on the sentence for John DeBlase 
and Circuit Judge Rick Stout has set his sentencing for Dec. 11.

DeBlase was convicted last week of capital murder in the deaths of his 
4-year-old daughter Natalie and his 3-year-old son Chase. Investigators have 
said the children were strangled and their bodies were buried near Citronelle, 
Alabama and Vancleave, Mississippi.

DeBlase and his common-law wife Heather Keaton have each blamed each other for 
the children's deaths.

Keaton has also been charged in the case and is expected to go to trial at a 
later date.

(source: Associated Press)



ARIZONA:

Jodi Arias trial: Judge delays death penalty retrial until Nov. 12


The sentencing retrial of Jodi Arias is facing another delay after the judge 
decided to postpone the courtroom proceedings for a week.

The judge decided to halt the witness testimony until November 12 after hearing 
the appeals of the press and to reconsider the surprising decision of Maricopa 
County Superior Court Judge Sherry Stephens last Thursday to let an 
unidentified defense witness to testify behind closed doors.

The legal teams from both sides are still talking with Stephens to find out the 
next steps for the case after the three-member appeals court decision ruled in 
favor of the media organizations, including three Arizona TV stations as well 
as The Arizona Republic.

Judge Stephens made the decision to bar the media and the public in her 
courtroom Thursday to allow an unidentified witness who does not want to 
broadcast the testimony, yet she allowed the family of Arias' victim Travis 
Alexander to remain inside the courtroom since it is stipulated in the Arizona 
law.

Meanwhile, Aria's parents broke their silence about the case by posting a video 
online, pleading for their supporters to donate money for funding the legal 
expenses of their daughter.

The video titled "A Message from Bill and Sandy Arias" was posted on 
Justice4Jodi.com and appeals to all those who believe that their daughter is 
innocent, saying that all the collected donations on the website will be use to 
"to obtain the best legal representation possible for [Arias'] appeals."

The couple also said that Justice4Jodi.com is the only website that their 
family and their legal team actually endorse. They also said that the site is 
being run by their family.

However, the video had been removed in the website 2 days after it was 
downloaded without any explanation.

Jodi's parents also warned against giving donations on other websites. "We 
don't know whether...these donations will ever reach Jodi," Arias' father Bill 
said while her mother Sandy said "personally guarantee that all funds raised 
will be for Jodi's defense and no other purchase."

Jodi Arias was convicted on May 8, 2013 for killing Alexander, her boyfriend at 
the time. The retrial is meant to decide the penalty that she has to face after 
the first set of jury failed to make a decision.

(source: Christian Today)






CALIFORNIA:

Judge sets December hearing in latest legal maneuver by attorneys for man 
accused of officer's slaying----Conflict of interest looms for defense team


Defense attorneys for a Fairfield man accused of the gunshot slaying of a 
veteran Vallejo police officer have found themselves in the position of 
convincing a judge they should be allowed to stay on the case.

Murder defendant Henry Albert Smith Jr., 40, appeared in the Fairfield 
courtroom of Solano County Superior Court Judge Peter B. Foor on Friday where 
he indicated he would need to do further investigation into a potential 
conflict of interest between Smith and the Solano County Public Defender's 
Office. Smith has been represented by a team of attorneys from the public 
defender's office since his Nov. 17, 2011, arrest on suspicion of the gunshot 
slaying of Vallejo police Officer and Vacaville resident Jim Capoot.

Smith is charged with murder, robbery and being a felon in possession of a 
handgun in connection with the case.

However, in September, prosecutors added a new allegation that Smith had 
suffered a prior felony conviction in 1995 for an assault with a firearm.

Smith's defense attorneys opposed the added allegation, one of their arguments 
being that Smith is alleged to have been given ineffective assistance of 
counsel in the handling of that case.

Smith was also represented by the public defender during the alleged 1995 
assault with a firearm case and now attorneys for Smith could have a conflict 
of interest in trying to establish that an attorney from their own office 
failed to represent him adequately.

Foor set 1:30 p.m. on Dec. 18 for a hearing into the possible conflict of 
interest and a motion by defense attorneys to remove the latest prior felony 
allegation.

Recently, defense attorneys sought to disqualify Foor from presiding over the 
case.

Last week, an outside judge appointed by the state Judicial Council to decide 
the matter issued a ruling denying the motion.

Smith was apprehended in a North Vallejo neighborhood on Nov. 17, 2011 
following the pursuit of an alleged bank robber.

According to preliminary hearing testimony in 2012, Capoot chased the suspect 
into a North Vallejo backyard where he was slain.

Smith was apprehended down the street from where the shooting occurred. 
Officers recovered a .40-caliber Glock semi-automatic handgun in his left-front 
pocket, police testified.

A criminalist with the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office testified that three 
bullet casings were recovered in the back yard. Those shell casings were 
analyzed by a firearms and toolmarks examiner for the same agency. The examiner 
testified that the shell casings were traced back to the gun found on Smith.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in their case against Smith and a 
jury trial is scheduled to begin April 15, 2015.

Smith has pleaded not guilty and remains in Solano County Jail custody without 
bail.

(source: Times-Herald)

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

McStay family homicides: Business associate arrested, charged with deaths


A Riverside County man has been arrested in connection with the slaying of a 
Fallbrook family inside their home in 2010 and whose remains were unearthed in 
shallow graves in the Mojave Desert near Victorville nearly one year ago, law 
enforcement officials announced Friday.

Flanked by the victims' family members and his law enforcement colleagues, San 
Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon announced during a news conference the 
arrest of longtime suspect Charles "Chase" Ray Merritt, 57, of Homeland, on 
suspicion of killing Joseph McStay, 40, his wife, Summer, 43, and their 2 
children, Gianni, 4, and Joseph Jr., 3.

Merritt, a business associate of Joseph McStay at the time of the killings, was 
arrested Wednesday in Chatsworth and booked into the West Valley Detention 
Center in Rancho Cucamonga, where he is being held without bail, McMahon said.

Merritt was charged Thursday with 4 counts of murder, with special 
circumstances of multiple murder that make him eligible for the death penalty, 
San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael A. Ramos said.

"This was a cold, callous murder of an entire family," Ramos said during the 
news conference. "We should have a decision in the very near future as to 
whether we???ll pursue the death penalty."

Authorities would not disclose the suspected motive for the crimes.

Merritt appeared in Victorville Superior Court on Friday for an arraignment, 
which Judge Raymond Haight postponed until 1:30 p.m. Wednesday until it can be 
determined whether Merritt will retain private counsel or be assigned a deputy 
public defender. Members of both the McStay family and Merritt's family were 
present for the hearing.

"I love you, brother," a man with a blonde ponytail and using a walking cane 
cried to Merritt as he was being led from the courtroom by a bailiff following 
the hearing. Members of Merritt's family declined to comment.

The San Diego County Sheriff's Department and FBI had been investigating a 
missing persons case from the time the McStay family was last seen in February 
2010 until the time their skeletal remains were discovered by an off-road 
motorcyclist near Victorville, west of the 15 Freeway and north of Stoddard 
Wells Road, on Nov. 11, 2013. Evidence found at the grave sites tied Merritt to 
the killings, McMahon said. He would not divulge specifics on what that 
evidence was due to the ongoing investigation.

The McStays were buried in 2 pits, about 1 to 2 feet deep, 2 bodies to a grave, 
McMahon said.

McMahon said Merritt is the only suspect at this time. The killings are 
believed to have occurred inside the McStay home in Fallbrook, and blunt force 
trauma is the suspected cause of death for each victim, McMahon said.

A distraught Michael McStay, Joseph McStay's brother, choked back tears during 
the news conference, thanking the team of homicide investigators and all other 
law enforcement agencies involved in the case for their hard work on finally 
bringing the case to resolution after nearly 5 years.

"This gives our family a little bit of closure," Michael McStay said. He said 
his brother was a great father who would do anything to protect his family.

"It's not really the outcome we were looking for, but it gives us courage to 
know they're together and in a better place," Michael McStay said of his late 
brother and his family. He asked the media to respect his family's privacy 
during their time of mourning. "My family appreciates all the support and the 
love we've been shown," he said.

McStay's mother, Susan Blake, said her deceased son and his family did not 
deserve what they got, but she knows they are in a better place, and she is 
happy to finally have some closure.

"I've always kept hope. I had to keep the faith for my family," Blake said 
following the news conference. "I know my son's family is in heaven, and my son 
is riding the waves of heaven."

In a statement Friday, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department commended the 
San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department on its "outstanding investigation."

"San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon has been in contact with San Diego 
Sheriff Bill Gore throughout this investigation and called yesterday to advise 
an arrest had been made in this matter," according to the statement. "While the 
discovery of the McStay family was not what all had hoped for, it did open new 
investigative and legal avenues. We hope this brings some measure of relief to 
the family."

The McStay family was last seen in February 2010. Video surveillance shows 
their white Isuzu SUV leaving their home the day of their disappearance, but it 
was unclear who was driving the vehicle, sheriff's Sgt. Chris Fisher said.

The vehicle was later found abandoned at the Mexican border in San Ysidro.

McMahon said there was no evidence to suggest the McStays were connected to 
Mexican drug cartels. That suspicion arose when the McStays' vehicle was found 
abandoned at the border and a family thought to be the McStays was seen on 
video surveillance crossing the border on foot.

"There is no indication that it was cartel-related," McMahon said of the 
homicides.

In the past year, homicide investigators in San Bernardino County have served 
60 search warrants in connection with the investigation and conducted more than 
200 interviews, as well as reviewing nearly 5,000 pages of reports handed over 
by the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. Detectives also received about 
250 tips in the case and followed up on every one, McMahon said.

"Our team worked tirelessly on this investigation. They left no stone 
unturned," sheriff's Cpl. Randy Naquin said.

Joseph McStay and Merritt were in the business of designing, manufacturing and 
selling fountains. Joseph McStay subcontracted work to Merritt, Michael McStay 
said.

Merritt's arrest came nearly a year after he granted an interview to the 
British tabloid the Daily Mail, in which he said Joseph McStay was his best 
friend and denied knowing anything about his disappearance or slaying. Merritt 
did say he maintained almost daily contact with Joseph McStay and received a 
telephone call from him at 8:28 p.m. on the day the McStay family went missing. 
Merritt told the reporter that he, regrettably, did not answer the phone 
because he was watching a movie with his girlfriend.

Merritt, a former Apple Valley resident, granted the interview with the 
European tabloid after the McStay family's remains were discovered in the 
Mojave Desert. Apple Valley is about 13 miles southeast from where the remains 
of the family were unearthed.

According to published news reports, Merritt has an extensive criminal history 
spanning more than a decade, from the late 1970s through April 2001. The crimes 
for which he was arrested and jailed include burglary, petty theft, receiving 
stolen property and grand theft. He served 2 stints in prison.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, at the request of 
the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, would not release any 
information Friday on Merritt's prior criminal convictions due to the pending 
investigation and prosecution.

"We have to respect them because they are the arresting agency," said Joe 
Orlando, spokesman for the California Department of Corrections and 
Rehabilitation.

(source: San Bernardino Sun)

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

Death row inmates don't deserve the benefit of the doubt


To the editor: I strongly disagree with The Times. As the mother of a murdered 
child, my views have changed. I was for the death penalty; now, I would rather 
have a murderer kept in solitary confinement for life. ("Even murderers are 
protected by the Constitution," Editorial, Nov. 5).

Alfredo Prieto, the convicted killer whose cause you take up, has a roof over 
his head, gets three meals a day, can exercise and is kept clean. These are 
basic rights that the people he murdered do not have.

There should be no argument as to whether death row inmates pose a substantial 
risk to the general prison population, as they have already shown how dangerous 
they are. Are we going to wait until one decides to hurt or kill a guard or 
inmate?

Prieto has been convicted for multiple killings and is implicated in more. 
Think of these victims and their loved ones. Let's get this right.

Barbara Pellicci, Culver City

(source: Letter to the Editor, Los Angeles Times)