[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----PENN., LA., OHIO, MO.

[Rick Halperin]

Nov. 18


PENNSYLVANIA:

Northampton County judge delays death sentence of Michael Ballard


A Northampton County judge on Tuesday delayed the execution of 5-time killer 
Michael Ballard so the death row inmate could try to enter lawsuits challenging 
Pennsylvania's lethal injection methods.

Over and over, Northampton County Judge Emil Giordano asked Ballard if he was 
certain he wanted to forgo his rights to appeal his death sentence. Did he 
receive effective legal counsel? Did he receive a fair trial? Did he his 
punishment fit his crimes?

Over and over, the death row inmate said yes.

"You do understand that death is death -- meaning that death is final?" 
Giordano asked.

"Yes," said Ballard, handcuffed to a wheelchair and guarded by Northampton 
County sheriff's deputies.

At the end of the 45-minute hearing, Giordano ruled Ballard is competent to 
make the decision and was knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily giving up 
his rights to dispute his death sentences.

But Ballard's recent efforts to enter state and federal lawsuits against the 
drugs used to put inmates to death meant his Dec. 2 execution date could not be 
carried out, Giordano ruled. District Attorney John Morganelli did not 
challenge the stay, saying if Giordano didn't grant the delay, another judge at 
a more distant court would.

For months, Ballard has said he will not appeal his sentence, which had put him 
on the fast track for death in a state that has not executed a prisoner in 15 
years. When federal attorneys attempted to enter a defense on his behalf to the 
U.S. Supreme Court, Ballard wrote the high court, saying they were not acting 
on his behalf.

A cautious Giordano ordered Ballard in August to undergo a mental evaluation to 
make sure he was competent to waive his appeal rights. Psychologist Frank 
Dattilio testified Tuesday that Ballard was competent. His findings and 
Ballard's denials ended the efforts of Jonathan Lee Riches, a Pennsylvania 
inmate and Internet celebrity, who lobbed baseless accusations that Ballard was 
mentally unfit to make the decision and that he had been mistreated by his 
attorneys and prison officials.

Giordano was required to go through each of Riches' claims, including that one 
of Ballard's attorneys was biased because of a sexual relationship with a 
relative of one of Ballard's victims, that prison officials didn't provide him 
adequate nourishment and that Ballard was mentally ill. Ballard became visibly 
annoyed as Giordano addressed Riches' briefings.

"He needs psychological help," Ballard said. When Giordano continued to sort 
through the accusations, Ballard interrupted and asked the judge to move on. "I 
don't want to give him the platform he's seeking."

After the hearing, defense attorney Michael Corriere said Ballard was pleased 
with the outcome. He has maintained to attorneys that he does not want to fight 
his execution, and Giordano's rulings put everything in place.

"It's his choice to make, and obviously he's competent," Corriere said.

Morganelli said he was satisfied with the outcome as well. Despite Ballard's 
instance that he won't, the death row inmate has until June 23, 2015, to change 
his mind about his appeal process. There was little chance Ballard's execution 
would occur before that date, Morganelli said.

Death row cases in Pennsylvania have been delayed for years because federal 
judges who oppose the death penalty keep overturning their executions, 
Morganelli said. Ballard's insistence on barring federal defense attorneys from 
interfering on his case, his overwhelming guilt and the lack of extenuating 
circumstances remove many of the roadblocks these cases normally face, 
Morganelli said.

"I do believe Michael Ballard will face the death penalty carried out," he 
said.

Ballard pleaded guilty to the 2010 murders of his ex-girlfriend Denise Merhi, 
her father Dennis Marsh, her grandfather Alvin Marsh and her neighbor Steven 
Zernhelt. A Northampton County jury sentenced him to death for each of the 
murders. He previously pleaded guilty to killing Donald Richard in 1991.

(source: Express-Times)

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

Jury now deciding if Hicks should get death penalty


Closing arguments have concluded in the sentencing of Charles Ray Hicks, 
convicted Friday in Monroe County Court of murdering and dismembering a 
Scranton woman in 2008.

The jury is now deliberating whether Mr. Hicks should get life in prison, or 
the death penalty.

Mr. Hicks, 40, of Coolbaugh Twp., was found guilty of killing 36-year-old 
Deanna Null, then cutting up her body and dumping it, wrapped in garbage bags, 
along interstate highways in Monroe and Lackawanna counties.

All death penalties are automatically reviewed by the Supreme Court of 
Pennsylvania, which can cancel the sentence.

Today, on the 2nd and final day of sentencing, the jury heard from several 
witnesses for the defense who said Mr. Hicks has been a role model for other 
prisoners during his years in the Monroe County Correctional Facility.

Derek Oliver, a former prison guard who now visits the jail as a Jehovah's 
Witness, explained that he conducts Bible study with Mr. Hicks and said a lot 
of inmates look to him for "wisdom."

Teleconferencing in from Ft. Myers, Florida, Jerel Johnson told the jury that 
he shared a cell with Mr. Hicks starting in 2009. That happened while he was 
facing his own murder charge, for which he has since been acquitted. Mr. 
Johnson was in a "very dark place" during his time in the maximum security 
wing, he said, but Mr. Hicks' kindness helped get him through it.

The defense also called neuropsychologist Carol Armstrong, Ph.D., who evaluated 
Mr. Hicks this summer. Dr. Armstrong told the jury that Mr. Hicks had an 
psychological impairment, struggling with attention, concentration and memory.

In his only cross examination of the day, Monroe County First Assistant 
District Attorney Michael Mancuso questioned the neuropsychologist on the 
tests, which revealed that Mr. Hicks had scored very high on the reading and 
verbal portions.

On Monday, Mr. Hicks' mother and sisters pleaded for mercy, while his former 
fiancee said the man became a different person when he used drugs, and once 
threatened to kill her. Mr. Hicks has told investigators he and Ms. Null 
engaged in a drug-fueled sexual relationship.

(source: The Times-Tribune)






LOUISIANA:

Court delays lethal injection trial at state's request


Lawyers for a convicted child-killer and the state Department of Corrections 
were supposed to be in federal court Monday to schedule a trial on the 
constitutionality of Louisiana's method of executing prisoners.

Instead, the trial and Christopher Sepulvado's pending execution have been 
delayed for at least seven months as Louisiana figures out the best way to 
carry out the death penalty.

By the time of the next hearing, Louisiana's execution drugs will have expired.

And the state law saying how executions are to be carried out - and whether 
such details are to be kept secret - could change, too.

Sepulvado, who was convicted of beating his stepson with a screwdriver and then 
submerging his body in scalding water, has won several stays of execution in 
the past 2 years. He argues that the state's method of lethal injection 
violates his constitutional protection against cruel and unusual punishment.

(source: bayoubuzz.com)






OHIO:

Bill might eventually identify Ohio execution drugmaker


The secrecy surrounding future Ohio executions might be lifted, but only a 
decade after the fact.

Withholding the name of the supplier of drugs used in executions is the latest 
wrinkle in proposed state legislation aimed at allowing capital punishment to 
resume next year.

House Bill 663, introduced just last week, is on a fast track: It's tentatively 
scheduled to be amended in a committee meeting today and voted out on 
Wednesday. That would move it to the Ohio Senate, with an eye to getting it on 
Gov. John Kasich's desk by the end of the year.

The bill would shield the identity of manufacturers and sellers of drugs used 
in lethal injection, as well as physicians and members of the execution team 
who participate in the process.

One amendment to be offered in the House Legislative and Policy Oversight 
Committee would make the drug information public in 10 years instead of keeping 
it secret permanently.

If the bill passes, it will blow past significant opposition from the Ohio 
Public Defender, the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, the Ohio Newspaper 
Association, Statehouse Democrats and John G. Greiner, a First Amendment 
attorney from Cincinnati who questions the measure's constitutionality.

Greiner said in a letter sent to Attorney General Mike DeWine that the language 
of the bill conflicts with the Ohio Constitution in several places, including a 
provision prohibiting access to execution-drug information by any entity, 
including the courts. Greiner said that "does not square" with Section 4.01 of 
the Ohio Constitution, which vests power with the Ohio Supreme Court and other 
lower courts.

DeWine said in an interview that he will take a 2nd look at the language of the 
bill to ensure it isn't overly broad.

"Our lawyers who drafted it obviously believe it is constitutional. We are very 
open and will certainly go back and take a look at this thing to see if there 
are unintended consequences."

DeWine said he does not set policy; that is up to the General Assembly.

Reps. Jim Buchy, R-Greenville, and Matt Huffman, R-Lima, said in introducing 
the bill that "Changes are necessary because Ohio and other states have 
exhausted their options for purchasing chemicals used in lethal injection."

Huffman said yesterday that he expects the legislation to be revised to allow 
for redacting specific information rather making everything private as in the 
current version.

The subject arose when Ohio prisons Director Gary Mohr informed DeWine that he 
doesn't think the agency can obtain the necessary drugs to proceed with the 
Feb. 15 execution of Ronald Phillips and others to follow next year without 
being able to guarantee anonymity to drug sellers. The state will most likely 
buy the drugs from a "compounding pharmacy," which mixes drugs to customer 
specifications. Big drug companies, most of them in Europe, refuse to sell 
drugs for use in executions.

Public Defender Timothy Young, in testimony prepared for today's meeting, said 
his primary concern about the bill is, "No one has any idea what the ultimate 
consequences of this bill might be." He said blocking the courts from obtaining 
information "raises separation-of-powers issues at both the state and federal 
level.

"No matter your position on the death penalty, H.B. 663 is bad legislation for 
Ohio. I understand the frustration with years-long litigation that drives this 
bill. But this legislation sacrifices so much of what we all know about good 
government: openness, transparency, accountability, oversight and limits on 
governmental intrusion into contracts, private businesses and the medical 
profession."

(source: Columlbus Dispatch)






MISSOURI----impending execution

Missouri inmate Leon Taylor demands US supreme court halt execution ---- 
Governor Jay Nixon considering clemency appeal over the conviction of Taylor, 
56, for killing a gas station attendant in Kansas City in 1994

Attorneys for Missouri inmate Leon Taylor asked the supreme court to halt his 
execution on Tuesday, citing several concerns that led to the death sentence 
for the convicted killer.

Taylor, 56, is scheduled to die early Wednesday for killing gas station 
attendant Robert Newton in suburban Kansas City in 1994, in front of Newton's 
8-year-old stepdaughter. Taylor would be the 9th man put to death in Missouri 
this year and the 11th since November 2013.

The appeal notes that Taylor's original jury deadlocked and a judge sentenced 
him to death. When that was thrown out, an all-white jury gave Taylor, who is 
black, the death sentence.

In 2002, the supreme court ruled that only a jury could impose a death 
sentence. Taylor's lawyers contend that a Missouri ruling after the supreme 
court decision led the state to commute at least 10 other death sentences for 
inmates sentenced by a judge to life in prison - everyone except Taylor.

Attorney Elizabeth Carlyle said Taylor essentially has been penalized for 
successfully appealing his 1st conviction.

"It is difficult to imagine a more arbitrary denial of the benefit of a state 
court decision," Carlyle wrote in the appeal to the supreme court.

Governor Jay Nixon is also considering a clemency petition. In addition to the 
racial concerns, the petition cites abuse Taylor suffered as a child, saying 
his mother began giving him alcohol when he was 5 and that he later became 
addicted to alcohol and drugs.

According to court records, Taylor, his half-brother and half-sister decided to 
rob a gas station on April 14, 1994. Newton was at the station with his 
stepdaughter.

Taylor entered the store, drew a gun and told Newton, 53, to put $400 in a 
money bag. Newton complied and the half brother, Willie Owens, took the money 
to the car.

Taylor then ordered Newton and the child to a back room. Newton pleaded for 
Taylor not to shoot him in front of the little girl, but Taylor shot him in the 
head. He tried to kill the girl but the gun jammed, so he locked her in the 
room and the trio drove away.

"She had the gun turned on her," said Michael Hunt, an assistant Jackson County 
prosecutor who handled the case. "It didn't fire. If it had fired, we'd have 
had a double-homicide."

Hunt said the child's testimony at trial was pivotal in the death sentence.

"You can imagine what a horrible crime this was, but when you see it coming out 
of a young person like that, it was hard to listen to," Hunt said.

Taylor was arrested a week later after police responded to a police-tip hotline 
call.

(source: The Guardian)

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

Leon Taylor Execution: Attorneys File Last-Minute Appeal


Leon Taylor's execution is scheduled for 12:01 a.m. Wednesday morning. However, 
his attorneys have asked Missouri's Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals to grant a 
stay. In their appeal, Taylor's attorneys argue that their client's sentence is 
unjust. In addition to the appeal, Taylor's attorneys have requested clemency 
from Missouri Governor Jay Nixon.

In 1994, Leon Taylor was arrested and charged in the death of Robert Newton. 
According to reports, Taylor shot and killed the 53-year-old gas station 
attendant in front of his 8-year-old daughter. Witnesses said the suspect 
attempted to shoot the child as well. However, he fled the scene when his gun 
malfunctioned.

Following his arrest, Taylor argued that Newton's shooting was accidental. He 
claims the gun "fired accidentally," and he denies accusations that he 
attempted to shoot the 8-year-old girl.

Ironically, the little girl was the prosecution's star witness. Prosecutor 
Michael Hunt said the child's testimony made a strong impact during the trial. 
According to Hunt, "there was not a dry eye in the jury."

Although Taylor was convicted of murder, the jury was unable to reach a 
unanimous decision during the sentencing phase. As the jury was deadlocked, 
Taylor was sentenced to death by a judge.

In 2002, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that capital punishment must be 
imposed by a jury. Therefore, Leon Taylor's original sentence was overturned. 
As reported by The Guardian, the defendant was granted a sentencing re-trial. 
However, the new jury reaffirmed the judge's decision. Leon Taylor was once 
again sentenced to death by execution.

In their appeal, Taylor's attorneys underlined the fact that their client, a 
black man, was sentenced to death by an all-white jury. For this reason, the 
attorneys suggest their client's sentence was racially motivated. In their 
request for clemency, the attorneys explained that Taylor had a troubled 
childhood and struggled with addictions to alcohol and drugs.

Although Taylor has apologized and expressed remorse, Newton's family continues 
to struggle with their loss. As reported by KansasCity.com, his brother, Dennis 
Smith, believes Leon Taylor has "been blessed with 20 years he shouldn't have 
had."

"I know executing him won't make it right. Nothing will make it right. But it's 
the right way to go and I think [the appeals] went on too long."

It is unclear whether the appellate court or the governor will halt Leon 
Taylor's execution. If the execution moves forward as planned, it will be 
Missouri's 11th death by lethal injection in the last 12 months.

(source: inquisitr.com)