[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ALA., KAN., COLO.

[Rick Halperin]

Oct. 9



ALABAMA:

Federal suit seeks to block Alabama execution


An Alabama death row inmate has filed a federal lawsuit arguing that the 
state's new lethal injection drug combination has never been tried on any 
prisoner in the United States and amounts to cruel and unusual punishment.

Boston attorney Aaron Katz filed the suit Wednesday night in Mobile on behalf 
of inmate Christopher Lee Price.

The suit asks a federal judge to block the state from using a new, 3-drug 
combination to execute Price.

The state prison system developed the combination after running out of one of 
the drugs in its old execution protocol. Alabama has not had an execution since 
2013 because of the shortage, but state Attorney General Luther Strange asked 
the Alabama Supreme Court last month to set execution dates for Price and eight 
other inmates using the new drug combination.

Price was sentenced to death for the killing and robbery of Fayette County 
minister Bill Lynn in 1991.

Another death row inmate, Tommy Arthur, filed papers with the Alabama Supreme 
Court last week objecting to the new drug combination.

Strange's office, which will defend the state against the suit, did not 
immediately respond to requests for comment.

Alabama had previously used to use sodium thiopental or pentobarbital as the 
1st drug in the combination to make an inmate unconscious, but it could no 
longer obtain those drugs. The suit said the new combination calls for 
midazolam hydrochloride, and it "will not induce general anesthesia sufficient 
to prevent an individual from perceiving and feeling pain." The suit cites 
executions in Arizona, Ohio and Oklahoma where midazolam hydrochloride was used 
and inmates gasped for gasped for air or writhed and groaned.

State lawyers have defended the new drug protocol and noted that Florida has 
used midazolam hydrochloride without the problems cited in the suit.

According to the Death Penalty Information Center, Florida and Oklahoma have 
used midazolam hydrochloride as part of a three-drug protocol, and Ohio and 
Arizona have used it as part of a 2-drug protocol.

Alabama follows the 1st drug with the paralytic agent rocuronium bromide to 
stop breathing and then potassium chloride to stop the heart. Florida's 3-drug 
protocol uses a drug to cause paralysis, but it is not the same one Alabama 
uses, according to the suit.

The suit says Alabama's 3-drug combination has never been tried on any U.S. 
prisoner and has never been approved for use by any state or federal court.

(source: Associated Press)






KANSAS:

Death penalty trial possible in quadruple murder


A Kansas man could face the death penalty for the murder of a mother and her 3 
young children last November.

David C. Bennett Jr., 23, is accused of sexually assaulting Cami Umbarger, 29, 
hours before returning to her home in southeast Kansas to strangle her and her 
children - Hollie Betts, 9, Jaxon Betts, 6, and Averie Betts, 4.

A judge found probable cause for Bennett to stand trial for capital murder - or 
alternatively 4 counts of 1st-degree murder, 1 count of rape and 3 counts of 
criminal threat - after a hearing Wednesday.

Details of the crime were first made public during the hearing.

Bennett and Umbarger met at a club in Independence, Kan., about 30 miles from 
her home in Parsons, in June or July 2013, said Tabetha Edie, a friend of 
Umbarger, during the hearing. Afterwards, Bennett persistently contacted 
Umbarger by phone, text and online, Edie said. The contacts were threatening.

Edie said she saw messages on Umbarger's computer at the nursing home where 
they both worked in which Bennett threatened to assault her and called her a 
whore.

Another friend said she listened to a call early last November in which Bennett 
threatened to kill Umbarger and her children.

A former police detective described investigating a video posted by Bennett to 
his Facebook page in which he threatened to kill someone, though he did not say 
whom. Bennett was referred to a state hospital for a mental health screening.

Late last November - on the weekend before Thanksgiving - another friend of 
Umbarger, Steven Trammell, said he received a call at 5 or 6 a.m. Saturday. 
Umbarger said Bennett had broken into her home while she slept and sexually 
assaulted her.

(source: normantranscript.com)






COLORADO:

Aurora releases report on response to deadly 2012 Colorado theater shooting


The city of Aurora released a heavily redacted 188-page report Wednesday about 
the emergency response to the July 20, 2012, deadly movie theater shooting.

12 people were killed and 58 others were injured at the midnight showing of 
"The Dark Night Rises" at the Century Aurora 16 Multiplex Theater. James Holmes 
stands accused of the shooting and is awaiting trial. Prosecutors are seeking 
the death penalty.

The report was ordered released by a judge in August and the city had until 
Tuesday to appeal.The report says the 1st police unit arrived less than 2 
minutes from the 1st 911 call and multiple responders arrived within 3 minutes 
and details what went right and what went wrong on the night of the shooting.

"The combined actions of Aurora police, fire and public safety communications 
saved all the injured who had suffered survivable wounds. Police apprehended 
XXXXXXX (James Holmes) immediately upon arrival at the scene. These optimum 
results were obtained thanks to many individual police officers and 
firefighters making sound emergency decisions under great pressure."

"Overall, there probably could not have been much better deployment and results 
than the Aurora police achieved. They deployed on the fly, with 
self-deployments initially, then gradually implementing more formal incident 
command. The 1 large exception to the success was the inadequate relationship 
with fire department command during the key part of the incident, but that did 
not affect the outcome - at least not this time."

More than 80 recommendations were added to the report that could have made the 
response better, including better communication between police and fire 
responders.

"While there are things to improve, as is always found in hindsight, the City 
of Aurora should be proud of its response to the largest civilian shooting in 
U.S. history, and the largest mass casualty incident in Aurora's history. ... 
The outcome could not have been better in terms of lives saved and a rapid 
arrest," the report says. "The neighboring jurisdictions and federal agencies, 
especially the FBI, provided excellent, timely assistance in force.

"The City is aware of the lessons learned, and has already taken measures to 
implement changes. It is hoped that the findings and recommendations will be 
useful to other jurisdictions as well."

(source: Fox News)