[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----DEL., LA., ARK., IOWA, WYO., MONT., USA

[Rick Halperin]

Oct. 12



DELAWARE:

DE Supreme Court sends McCoy death case back to judge


A death penalty case is headed back to Superior Court but state justices have 
not overturned the conviction or the death sentence for Isaiah W. McCoy. 
Instead the full Delaware Supreme Court sent McCoy's case back to have Kent 
County Resident Judge William L. Witham Jr. better explain one of his rulings 
during jury selection.

In an opinion written by Justice Henry duPont Ridgely, the Supreme Court asked 
Witham to articulate his reasons for not allowing McCoy, who acted as his own 
attorney, to remove a potential juror from the panel. Normally, during jury 
selection, each side is allowed to remove potential jurors if they have a good 
reason.

In this case McCoy, who is black, used his "preemptory strikes" to remove 
fourteen Caucasian jurors and prosecutors objected to McCoy appearing to remove 
jurors based on their race. Ethnicity is not a valid reason to bar someone from 
a jury.

The judge initially dismissed the objection but when prosecutors objected again 
to McCoy barring a different juror, Witham upheld the objection saying McCoy 
failed to articulate a legitimate reason for excluding the juror and he was 
seated on the panel.

The justices said the trial judge did not explicitly cite the law regarding 
such jury challenges and did not offer a detailed explanation of why the juror 
was allowed on to the panel. So the justices sent the case back with 
instructions to the judge to offer a more detailed explanation for his ruling.

McCoy was convicted and sentenced to death for the May 4, 2010 slaying of James 
Mumford during a drug deal gone away in the rear parking lot of Rodney Village 
Bowling Alley. The deal was supposed to be for 200 ecstasy pills and crack 
cocaine but during the transaction, in Mumford's car, witnesses said McCoy 
pulled out a gun and shot Mumford.

(source: delawareonline.com)






LOUISIANA:

Lockport triple-slaying case heads to court Monday


Attorneys for a man accused of fatally stabbing a Lockport woman and her 
daughters in their apartment are seeking to bar the death penalty and move the 
trial out of town, Lafourche District Court records show.

Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office David Brown, 36, of Houma and Texas, is 
charged with 3 counts of 1st-degree murder in the Nov. 4, 2012, deaths of 
29-year-old Jacquelin, 7-year-old Gabriela and 20-month-old Izabela Nieves.

Brown is set to stand trial April 20.

The Capital Defense Project of Southeast Louisiana, led by New Orleans-based 
attorney Kerry Cuccia, has filed 16 motions to be presented Monday in Judge 
Jerome Barbera's courtroom in Thibodaux.

Prosecutors, led by Lafourche Parish District Attorney Cam Morvant II, are 
seeking the death penalty for Brown.

Brown's attorneys want the judge to rule out the death penalty because they 
claim it contradicts modern decency standards, doesn't follow consistent 
guidelines and has been imposed on innocent people, according to court 
documents. They cite prejudiced and uninformed jurors as other reasons capital 
punishment shouldn't be considered in the trial.

The defense also seeks to move the trial out of Lafourche Parish. The public 
has already decided Brown is guilty and should be executed, meaning he would 
not get a fair trial in the parish, the attorneys claim.

In addition, Brown's attorneys have filed a request for the prosecution to 
identify photographs to be used as evidence. The defense does not want 
"gruesome" images from the crime scene and autopsies to be included in the 
trial.

The Nieveses' bodies were found in a fire set to cover up the killings, the 
Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office has said. Detectives also believe Brown 
sexually assaulted Jacquelin and Gabriela.

(source: Daily Comet)






ARKANSAS:

Judge To Rule On Motions In Fort Smith Machete Slaying


A Sebastian County Circuit Court judge will issue a written ruling on more than 
40 motions in the capital-murder case of a man accused of killing 2 men with a 
machete.

Gregory Aaron Kinsey, 21, faces 2 counts of capital murder in the June 26, 
2013, deaths of Brandon Prince, 39, and Nathan Young, 32, both of Fort Smith. 
Police found the 2 men dead outside a duplex in the 1600 block of North D 
Street. Sebastian County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Shue is seeking the death 
penalty.

On Friday, Circuit Court Judge Stephen Tabor told Terri Chambers and Katherine 
Streett, co-counsel with the Arkansas Public Defender Commission, and Chief 
Deputy Prosecutor Linda Ward he should have written findings to them no later 
than Tuesday.

Jury selection for the death-penalty trial is scheduled for Nov. 13-14, with 
the trial scheduled to begin Nov. 17. Defense attorneys signaled their belief 
the trial could go into the week of Thanksgiving.

Tabor heard brief testimony Friday from 3 officers who took Kinsey into 
custody. 2 testified when Kinsey was asked if he knew why they were there, 
Kinsey replied, "because I stabbed those 2 guys" or something similar. The 3rd 
officer testified that Kinsey asked, "did they both die?"

The defense is seeking to suppress that statement, arguing Kinsey wasn't given 
his Miranda warning before the question, "Do you know why we're here?" was 
posed. Streett withdrew a motion to suppress statements Kinsey made to police 
after he was arrested and Mirandized.

Tabor, describing it as thinking practically and not legally, said in light of 
the defense withdrawing its motion to suppress Kinsey's later statement to 
police, he wondered how much effect suppressing that statement would have on 
the case.

Ward said not having that statement wasn't that harmful to the prosecution, 
although she'd like it to be admitted at trial.

On Friday, Streett also asked the judge to compel more than one dozen Fort 
Smith police officers who've refused to meet with the defense to sit down for 
interviews by defense counsel.

Just before 10 p.m. June 26, 2013, Fort Smith police responded to a stabbing 
call at the duplex, where they found Prince and Young dead from extensive cuts 
with a sharp instrument. A witness, Nathan Maynard, 21, who lived in the unit 
next door, told police he was sitting with Prince and Young drinking beer on 
the front porch when they noticed a man, later identified as Kinsey, acting 
suspiciously as he walked down a nearby alley, the Times Record reported in 
June 2013.

Maynard said Prince and Young confronted Kinsey about what he was doing before 
the situation escalated. Kinsey threw down grocery bags he was carrying and 
pulled a machete from his pants. Maynard told his friends to back off, but 
Kinsey continued to go after them with the blade. Maynard said he tried to help 
Prince and Young, and struck Kinsey with a piece of wood. Maynard locked 
Prince's 2 sons, ages 15 and 2, inside.

Kinsey told police he was walking home from the Dollar Store when he thought he 
saw a man who used to date his mother. Kinsey was looking in the backyard when 
he was approached by Prince, Young and Maynard, who were "argumentative" toward 
him, he said. Kinsey told police he attacked Prince and Young after he told 
them to back off and he felt they weren't going to let him go, according to an 
arrest warrant affidavit.

Kinsey told the detectives he kept cutting until he heard a gurgling noise in 
Young's throat. When asked if he sharpened the machete, Kinsey replied, 
"Indeed."

He remains at the Sebastian County Adult Detention Center without bond.

(source: swtimes.com)






IOWA:

Exclusive IPR Interviews for Dead Man Walking, featured this week on Opera in 
October


This summer the Des Moines Metro Opera presented their 42nd Festival Season at 
Blank Center for the Performing Arts on the Simpson College campus in 
Indianola. The mainstage performances included Verdi's La Traviata, Jake 
Heggie's Dead Man Walking and Rossini's Le Comte Ory. Heggie's work, based on 
the book of the same name by Sister Helen Prejean, tells the story of a nun 
acting as a spiritual guide to a death-row inmate who was found guilty of 
murder. It offers a haunting inside look at capital punishment in America. Here 
is what Opera News and Opera Today had to say about the Des Moines Metro 
Opera's production:

"The venue itself was perhaps the most perfect space imaginable to invest the 
work with such soul-stirring impact. In that moment before we dared break the 
silence with applause, someone a couple rows behind me broke out in heaving 
sobs. I cannot imagine a more powerful production of this engrossing opera." - 
Opera Today

"This was one of the most shattering evenings I have ever spent in a theater." 
- Opera News

"As the murderer Joseph de Rocher, David Adam Moore is also now surely without 
equal in this part." - Opera Today

"In Elise Quagliata, the creators may have found their most powerful Helen 
yet." - Opera Today

As part of their production of Heggie's Dead Man Walking, the Des Moines Metro 
Opera hosted several community outreach opportunities including a screening of 
the movie adaption, an art exhibit, a discussion with panelists from the opera 
and from Drake University Law School discussing the American Death penalty, and 
discussions with both composer Jake Heggie and humanitarian author Sister Helen 
Prejean. Iowa Public Radio had special access to both Heggie and Sister Helen, 
as well as 2 of the lead vocalists from the DMMO's production, mezzo soprano 
Elise Quagliata who portrayed Sister Helen and baritone David Adam Moore who 
sang the role of inmate Joseph De Rocher. Listen to in-depth responses to the 
production of Dead Man Walking in the exclusive interviews below, and tune in 
to Iowa Public Radio's Opera in October series this weekend to hear the full 
performance of Dead Man Walking on Saturday, October 11 at 7:00 p.m. and again 
on Sunday, October 12 at 8:00 p.m.

(source: Iowa Public Radio)


WYOMING:

Matthew Shepard's parents: Why we didn't push for the death penalty for our 
son's killers


Today (12 October) marks the 16th anniversary of the death of Wyoming student, 
Matthew Shepard. His parents have spoken out about homophobia, hate, their 
son's death and the work of the Matthew Shepard Foundation

Matthew Shepard was killed in a brutal gay bashing that shocked the world. He 
was abducted and tortured by 2 men, before being left to die - tied to a fence 
- near the town of Laramie, Wyoming.

Discovered 18 hours later, he was taken to hospital but died 6 days later on 12 
October 1998 from the severe head injuries that he had suffered. He was 21.

His attackers were arrested and eventually sentenced to 2-consecutive life 
sentences each for the crime. His parents, Judy and Dennis Shepard subsequently 
created the Matthew Shepard Foundation, to raise awareness around homophobia 
and diversity.

On Friday (10 Oct), ahead of the anniversary of Matthew's death, they spoke to 
Canada's Daily Xtra about the Foundation's work in raising awareness and ways 
to tackle homophobia.

'People fear what they don't know or understand. Sometimes that fear leads to 
violence, hatred, bias, prejudice: all those things,' says Judy.

'We find that cities, like for example Toronto, you find a more accepting 
environment because diversity is a part of everybody's everyday life.

'When you go to a more rural area, in the States or even in Canada, you find 
less acceptance because they see no diversity. They don't understand it exists, 
they don't know what it is so they're fearful of it. Stereotypes reign supreme 
where there's no diversity.'

They speak about the experience of attending their son's funeral, and avoiding 
'haters' who picketed the event because their son was gay. Judy, magnanimously, 
dismisses those who chose to protest at her son's funeral as 'silly'.

They also say why they didn't push for Matthew's killers to receive the death 
penalty - despite his father initially wanting to do so.

'Judy convinced me otherwise,' says Dennis. 'And she was right. If you put them 
in prison, where no-one remembers them, they're not on death row where they can 
go through the appeals and possibly get out on [a] technicality, they don't 
become martyrs for something horrendous like that, to encourage others ... plus 
we didn't have to worry about our other son having to go through the turmoil of 
them possibly getting out on parole.'

'Court appearance after court appearance for mandatory appeals ...' adds Judy. 
'I just wanted it to be over. I don't want to ever see them again. And this is 
how we did that.'

'And she was right to convince me,' says Dennis. 'And it took a lot of 
convincing.'

As he had to return to work abroad, Dennis credits his wife as the force behind 
the movement to keep equal rights in the public eye. He said Matthew would be 
hugely 'proud' of the work she had done since his death.

'It's still a mystery to a lot of people why some would be gay and some 
straight,' says Judy.

'I think ultimately people have to realize that you are who you are: It isn't a 
choice you made; you just are who you are. The more folks in the gay community 
who tell their stories, and someone realizes, "Oh, I adore and respect my 
neighbor and they're gay", their whole perspective of what the gay community 
represents is changed. And the more we do that, the closer we are.'

(source Gay Star News)






MONTANA:

Olsen, Pinnochi compete for House District 19 seat


Elaine G. Olsen

Office sought: House District 19

Political party: Democrat

Age: 63

Birthdate and place: Oct. 11, 1950, in Deer Lodge

Home: Hardy Creek, Cascade

Occupation: Claims adjuster, retired

Family: Husband, Gary Fritz; grown son and daughter.

Professional experience: 15 years as a workers' compensation adjuster for 
Montana State Fund, Argonaut Insurance, and several self-insured companies

Military experience: None

Political experience: No previous experience with elected office, but I have 
served as a director and officer on several boards.

Campaign website: No

Why are you running as a Democrat?

I am running as a Democrat because I believe as a society we need to be aware 
of the struggles of some of our countrymen and find a way to help. As the 
wealth in this country becomes more concentrated into the banks of a few, more 
of our citizens have difficulty keeping jobs, providing insurance and college 
educations for their family. I believe the Democrat Party shows a deeper 
awareness and concern for our neighbors.

Should the state eliminate the death penalty and opt for life without parole?

The United States is one of three of the biggest countries in the world that 
still has the death penalty. I would prefer that Montana eliminate the death 
penalty. Several news articles have discussed the mistaken incarceration of a 
man found to be innocent after many years. Nope, the death penalty should be 
eliminated

Randy Pinocci

Office sought: House District 19

Political party: Republican

Age: 50

Birthdate and place: Sept. 27, 1964, Race Track

Montana Home: Sun River

Occupation: Printing

Family: Wife Svetlana 3 children; Anastasia, Aleksandra, Isabella

Professional experience: Worked in printing for 31 years. Political consulting 
for 18 years.

Military experience: None.

Political experience: Worked on over 100 campaigns over the years. Benefactor 
member of the NRA. On the board of directors of the Montana Shooting Sports 
Association. I was Conrad Burns's statewide Director.

Campaign website: None.

Why are you running as a Republican?

The Republican party supports lower taxes,smaller government, property rights, 
states rights, gun rights, water rights and free markets. Recently a majority 
of Democrat leaders support the opposite.

(soucre: Great Falls Tribune)






USA:

The death penalty and questions of morality


Since 1973, 144 people have been exonerated from death row, which is bad enough 
without knowing that an estimated 4 % of those executed were wrongly accused. 
That means 120 out of 3,000 inmates currently on death row could be innocent 
and that countless lives have been needlessly lost. Beyond wrongful 
sentencings, there is no argument that actually proves any validity for the 
death penalty. No matter how you put it, killing someone is cruel, and 
inflicting violence on a person for the violence they inflicted upon others is 
downright absurd.

A serious problem in states where the death penalty is permitted is the 
technique used to kill inmates on death row. Currently in Ohio there is a ban 
on executions caused by questioning the efficiency of lethal injection. The 
drugs used were reported to take between 30 minutes to 2 hours to work. Even 
with claims that there are non-cruel ways to conduct the death penalty, lethal 
injection is clearly cruel.

There is no decent way to kill someone, and mistakes like this are completely 
avoidable by abolishing the death sentence. The United States is one of the 
only industrialized countries with the death penalty; 58 countries out of 196 
in the world have not yet abolished the death sentence and states without the 
death penalty have lower murder rates.

In "A Dead Man Walking" by Sister Helen Prejean, a young boy is questioning the 
death penalty. "Patrick had asked why people wanted to kill Mr. Sonnier. 
'Because they say he killed people,' Bill had answered. 'But, Dad', Patrick had 
asked, 'then who is going to kill them for killing him?'" The innocence of a 
child questioning something he deems so illogical carries so much power. How do 
we justify this heinous act when it is exactly what we are trying to correct?

Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "Hate begets hate; violence begets violence; 
toughness begets a greater toughness." The death penalty has never in history 
been proven or even seemed to decrease crime because it's impossible to 
decrease violence with violence.

Homicide and brutality in the United States is never going to be solved with 
the death penalty, so why do we do it? Some argue for closure, others to make a 
point, and some even argue that it's more financially effective than keeping 
someone in jail for life. But being jailed alone provides closure and incites 
fear in future criminals. If what it really comes down to is what is profitable 
versus a person's life, I would like to think of the government as being humane 
enough to choose justly. In the words of Sister Helen Prejean, "I realize that 
I cannot stand by silently as my government executes its citizens. If I do not 
speak out and resist, I am an accomplice."

(source: Commentary; Madeline Welch is a Marshfield High School junior----The 
Marshfield Mariner)