[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----KY., COLO., ARIZ., CALIF., USA

[Rick Halperin]

Nov. 15



KENTUCKY:

Date set for accused I-75 killer's capital murder trial----Man accused of 
killing woman he abducted


A man accused of killing a woman he abducted from Kentucky will go on trial 
next year.

Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell said Friday that Terry Froman's murder 
trial will begin Aug. 3, 2015.

Froman, 41, is accused of fatally shooting Kim Thomas after being stopped by 
police on Interstate 75 on Sept. 12.

Froman is also accused killing Thomas' 17-year-old son, Michael Mahoney before 
abducting Thomas from her Kentucky home.

Mahoney was found dead, shot multiple times, at the woman's home in Graves 
County, Kentucky, Sheriff Dewayne Redmon said.

Redmon said Mahoney was trying to protect Thomas from Froman when he was shot 
to death.

Froman was Thomas' estranged boyfriend, Redmon said.

Froman is charged with two counts of aggravated murder, 2 counts of kidnapping 
and 1 count of discharging a firearm on a private premises. If convicted, 
Froman could face the death penalty.

Fornshell said a grand jury in Graves County, Kentucky has already indicted 
Froman on charges related to the killing of Mahoney. The Kentucky case will be 
held after the Ohio case, and it will also be a death penalty case.

(source: WLWT news)

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

Kentucky drops 2-drug executions, reworking method


Kentucky is dropping its proposed use of a 2-drug execution method after the 
prolonged deaths of inmates in 2 other states that used a similar means to 
carry out death sentences.

In a filing Thursday in Franklin Circuit Court, prosecutors cited "recent 
events in other states" as the reason for seeking to rewrite the regulations 
over the next 6 months. The move came just less than 2 months after Judge 
Phillip Shepherd ordered the state to be prepared to explain how and why it 
chose the 2-drug method and the doses proposed.

Kentucky, which modeled its execution process on Ohio's, proposed using 
compounded drugs and of using midazolam and hydromorphone.

2 states have used midazolam in a 2-drug protocol: Ohio and Arizona. Both of 
their executions in 2014 were prolonged, accompanied by the inmates' gasping.

Jennifer Brislin, a spokeswoman for the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety 
Cabinet, said the experience of Ohio and Arizona left questions about the 
effectiveness of the drug combination.

"The Commonwealth of Kentucky will not take any risks with its protocols for 
lethal injection; therefore, we are going to eliminate this methodology from 
our regulations," Brislin said.

Lethal injections have undergone scrutiny in recent years as the drugs used to 
carry out the process have become tougher for states to get as pharmaceutical 
companies barred their use for executions. It wasn't immediately clear Friday 
morning if Kentucky is the 1st state to drop the 2-drug concept without having 
used it first.

"It's oftentimes not always clear what states are doing," said Deborah Denno, a 
Fordham University law school professor who studies the death penalty.

Richard Dieter, head of the Death Penalty Information Center in Washington, 
D.C., said other states including Oklahoma and Louisiana have 2-drug methods on 
the books, but haven't used them and, given what happened in Ohio and Arizona, 
are unlikely to in the future. "I also think Ohio and Arizona will abandon it, 
having used it with bad results," Dieter said.

Executions in Kentucky have been on hold since 2010 when Judge Shepherd took 
issue with how executions were handled.

Executions in Ohio have been on hold since January, when inmate Dennis McGuire 
gasped and snorted during a 26-minute execution that raised questions about the 
two-drug method used to put him to death that had never been tried. Problems 
with this combo were further underscored in July when it took nearly 2 hours 
and 15 doses of injection drugs before Joseph Wood died in Arizona.

The issue is the latest in the decade-long battle over how Kentucky executes 
people and whether the current system passes constitutional muster and was 
properly adopted. But, it is also a complicated issue because, by law, doctors 
in Kentucky are not allowed to take part in executions or any part of the 
execution process. That left the decisions about how executions work up to 
lawyers reviewing what other states did in their lethal injection methods.

The delays are angering some families of victims, who see other states carrying 
out executions but watch as Kentucky remains stalled in its efforts.

"Find a way to write the law so it is supported by the judicial system," said 
Keri Preter, whose aunt, 36-year-old Deborah "Debbie" Pooley, was raped and 
killed in 1987 in northern Kentucky. "Close the loopholes. Save taxpayer money 
and resources. There is no reason that an execution cannot be carried out in a 
humane way."

Several death row inmates sued the state over how executions were carried out 
in the months before the state prepared to execute 58-year-old Gregory L. 
Wilson for Pooley's killing. As part of that lawsuit, Shepherd expressed 
concerns about how the state would determine if an inmate is mentally disabled 
and whether the use of a 3-drug mixture caused an unconstitutional amount of 
pain and suffering before stopping Wilson's execution in 2010.

Wilson, along with inmates Ralph Baze, Thomas C. Bowling, Robert Foley, Brain 
Keith Moore and Parramore Sanborn, are plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

Kentucky has executed 3 inmates since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 
1976, with the last execution in 2008.

(source: Associated Press)






COLORADO:

Prosecutors: Henthorn made claim to wife's $4.5M life insurance policy after 
she died


A man facing 1st-degree murder charges in the death of his 2nd wife made a 
claim to her $4.5 million a day and a half after she fell to her death at Rocky 
Mountain National Park, prosecutors have said.

Harold Henthorn is accused of killing his 2nd wife, Toni. She died after 
falling 140 feet on Deer Mountain in 2012.

Henthron, 58, was indicted on Nov. 6 on a charge of 1st-degree murder. He's 
accused of killing his wife, although details in the case have not yet been 
made public.

He has pleaded not guilty.

According to an order of detention, "within a day and a half of Toni Henthorn's 
death, the defendant had caused a claim to be made against 1 of the 3 life 
insurance policies in effect."

Henthorn said that "he personally had not caused any claims to be made on any 
of the insurance policies and had, instead, requested that the insurance 
companies not pay any benefits until the investigation into his wife's death 
was complete," the document said.

It goes on to describe Henthorn's wealth saying he has had no job or income in 
the last 15 years but has access to about $1.5 million in liquid assets in bank 
accounts and investment accounts.

The wealth was 1 reason why Judge Kathleen M. Tafoya ordered him to be held 
without bond.

Other court documents show federal investigators conducted electronic and 
photographic surveillance of Henthorn's Highlands Ranch home.

Meanwhile, authorities in Douglas County say they have reopened their 
investigation into the death of Henthorn's 1st wife, who was crushed by a car 
and killed in 1995.

Sandra Henthorn was changing a tire on Colorado 67 near Sedalia when the car 
slipped off the jack and crushed her.

She also had a life insurance policy that was worth roughly $500,000.

Prosecutors have noted similarities between the deaths of the 2 women including 
the fact that they both died in remote areas with not witnesses and both had 
life insurance policies.

If convicted, Henthorn would face mandatory life in prison and possibly the 
death penalty.

(source: KDVR news)

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

Judge in Colorado cinema massacre case rejects defense bid to remove himself


A judge overseeing the Colorado theater massacre case on Friday rejected a bid 
by lawyers defending accused gunman James Holmes to remove himself from 
presiding over the forthcoming murder trial, court documents show.

Public defenders filed a motion this week asking Arapahoe County District Court 
Judge Carlos Samour to recuse himself for what they called his "hostile and 
demeaning" tone toward the defense.

Samour denied the motion, and while acknowledging that he has been blunt and at 
times employed "flowery language" in his rulings, he dismissed claims that he 
had been unfair. He said it was important for him to stay on the case to avoid 
further delays in the proceedings.

Holmes, 26, has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to opening fire inside 
a suburban Denver movie theater during a screening of the Batman film "The Dark 
Knight Rises."

12 moviegoers were killed and dozens wounded in the July 2012 shooting rampage.

Prosecutors have charged Holmes with multiple counts of 1st-degree murder and 
attempted murder, and said they will seek the death penalty for the former 
neuroscience graduate student if he is convicted.

Although they have conceded that Holmes was the lone shooter, defense lawyers 
have challenged nearly every piece of evidence amassed against their client, 
and Samour has ruled against them in most instances.

While noting that it is not unusual for a judge to deny motions in any case, 
defense lawyers in their pleading accused Samour of unleashing "a barrage of 
insults" at them.

Samour at various times has referred to defense positions as frivolous, 
lackluster, anemic and halfhearted, the defense motion said.

The judge said he holds Holmes' attorneys "in high regard" and has used 
colorful language and metaphors in addressing pleadings from both side as well 
as from other parties who have weighed in on the case.

"It is critical, especially in a death penalty case, that the rulings issued by 
the Court are free of ambiguity," Samour wrote.

Jury selection is set to begin in January, and Samour said 9,000 jury summonses 
will be sent to county residents. He has told both sides to be ready to present 
their opening statements on June 3.

(source: Reuters)






ARIZONA:

Jodi Arias Death Penalty Trial: Prosecutors and Defense Lawyers in Arias Death 
Penalty Trial Deny Deleting Porn Evidence


The prosecution and the defense in the Jodi Arias sentencing retrial continued 
to accuse each other of allegedly deleting pornographic files from Travis 
Alexander's computer.

On Monday, defense lawyers filed a motion stating that either the prosecution 
or local police destroyed evidence that Alexander visited multiple porn 
websites by deleting files from his computer. According to the defense, the 
files would have helped to bolster their case that he was a sexual deviant who 
used Arias for sex. As a result, they asked the judge to dismiss all charges, 
or at least remove the death penalty as a sentencing option.

Defense lawyer Kirk Nurmi also claimed that a forensic computer expert found 
that pornographic images were removed from the computer during a 3-hour period 
on June 19, 2009.

"There is a plethora of evidence being uncovered," Nurmi told the court, 
reports Reuters.

"Among the files that were deleted are several that are easily recognizable as 
pornographic websites," read the motion, according to CBS 5.

In response to the motion, prosecutors argued on Wednesday that such computers 
files never existed, and that if anything went missing from Alexander's 
computer, it was done by Arias' previous attorneys. They also stated that the 
computer in question was infected by a virus.

"If the history was altered, it was changed by defense counsel, not the state," 
Martinez wrote in his motion.

Mesa police officers have also testified in both Arias' original trial last 
year and her sentencing retrial that pornography was never found on the 
computer.

On Thursday, Arias' former attorney Maria Schaffer denied allegations directed 
at her, saying that when she and her team viewed Alexander's computer on June 
19, 2009, it was in a room with Deputy Maricopa County Attorney Juan Martinez 
and Mesa police Det. Esteban Flores.

"It was physically impossible for us to delete files. We were never left in the 
room alone," said Schaffer, according to USA Today.

The judge denied the defense request to delay the trial based on the 
allegations and stated that a hearing on the motion would be held at a later 
date.

(source: Latin Post)






CALIFORNIA:

New murder charges allege Berkeley suspect attempted to rape elderly stabbing 
victim


Murder charges filed Friday against an 18-year-old Berkeley man accused of 
stabbing a 72-year-old Emeryville woman during an attempted carjacking allege 
that the teen tried to rape the victim.

Nancy Jo McClellan died Oct. 8, less than three weeks after Kamau Berlin 
allegedly stabbed her twice in the neck while trying to steal her 2000 Honda 
Civic at Russell and Otis streets in Berkeley.

Berlin, a Berkeley High student, was arrested in the neighborhood shortly after 
the Sept. 19 attack with blood on his clothes. According to police, 2 witnesses 
identified him as McClellan's attacker and he also implicated himself in jail 
phone calls.

Berlin was charged with attempted murder and attempted carjacking before 
McClellan's death and has delayed entering a plea to look for a private 
attorney.

On Friday, the Alameda County District Attorney's Office amended his criminal 
complaint to charge him with special circumstances murder in the course of an 
attempted rape, attempted carjacking and a robbery. He was also charged with 
attempted rape, elder abuse resulting in death, 2nd-degree robbery, and 
attempted carjacking with a deadly weapon.

Neither police nor prosecutors could immediately comment Friday on what they've 
learned since Berlin's initial charging that led them to allege that an 
attempted rape occurred.

The charges mean Berlin is eligible for a death penalty prosecution. If 
convicted as charged, he faces a minimum of life in prison without the 
possibility of parole. He is being jailed without bail and is scheduled to 
enter a plea to the charges on Jan. 9.

(source: San Jose Mercury News)






USA:

Alleged Bay Area gang members charged with July murder


3 alleged members of the 19th Street Surenos street gang were arraigned in 
federal court Thursday on murder, racketeering and firearms charges following a 
probe by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security 
Investigations and the San Francisco Police Department into a gang-related 
killing that occurred in July.

Miguel Ortiz, 27, of San Francisco; Antonio Castillo, 26, of San Bruno; and 
Marvin Cortez, 24, of San Francisco were arrested Wednesday on charges detailed 
in a superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury earlier this 
month, which was unsealed Thursday. The defendants appeared in court Thursday 
before U.S. Magistrate Jacqueline Scott Corley. All 3 are currently in custody 
pending a detention hearing.

According to the indictment, the 3 men conspired to conduct the affairs of the 
19th Street Surenos street gang through a pattern of racketeering activity that 
included murder, drug trafficking, witness tampering and obstruction of 
justice. The 19th Street Surenos is a Hispanic street gang that claimed part of 
San Francisco's Mission District as its territory. As a Sureno gang, the 19th 
Street Surenos warred against rival gangs, notably the various Norteno gangs in 
the Bay Area.

In addition to conspiring to conduct the affairs of the 19th Street Sure???os, 
all 3 defendants are also charged with conspiring to commit murder in aid of 
racketeering; conspiring to commit assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of 
racketeering; committing a gang-related murder on July 19, 2014; possessing, 
carrying, and using a firearm in furtherance of or during and in relation to a 
crime of violence; and using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence 
resulting in murder.

The superseding indictment details the various racketeering and firearms 
charges, originally returned by the grand jury on March 6, 2014, against 14 
other members of the 19th Street Surenos gang.

2 of the offenses charged in the indictment, murder in the aid of racketeering 
and using a firearm in the commission of a murder, can result in the death 
penalty. The other violations charged in the indictment carry maximum sentences 
ranging from 3 years to life in prison.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew M. Scoble, 
Kimberly Hopkins, and Laurie K. Gray aided by Christine Tian and Ponly Tu.

(source: Imperial Valley News)