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

[Rick Halperin]

Sept. 30



OKLAHOMA:

Oklahoma County prosecutors seek death penalty for man accused of rape, murder 
in The Village----Albert Ray Johnson II, 47, was ordered to stand trial by 
Oklahoma County Special Judge Larry Jones after his girlfriend testified about 
the assault which spanned the night of June 12 and morning of June 13 at 2952 
Lakeside Drive. Prosecutors seek the death penalty.


Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for a man accused of raping his 
girlfriend and her friend before fatally beating the friend at a house in The 
Village.

Albert Ray Johnson II, 47, was ordered to stand trial by Oklahoma County 
Special Judge Larry Jones after a preliminary hearing Monday afternoon. The 
prosecution called one witness, Johnson's girlfriend, who testified about the 
alleged assault.

Authorities said the attack started the night of June 12 and continued into the 
next morning.

Johnson is charged with 11 counts, including 1 count of 1st-degree murder, 2 
counts of 1st-degree rape and 2 counts of kidnapping.

He is accused of beating and raping his girlfriend and her friend, Rachel 
Rogers, 24, who died at a local hospital June 13.

Johnson's girlfriend testified that the incident started when Johnson was 
visited at her home by his federal probation officer, who concluded that 
Johnson was drunk.

After the probation officer left, Johnson threatened his girlfriend and sliced 
her leg with a kitchen knife. He then demanded she call 2 of her friends, 
including Rogers, over to the home.

"He just said he would work a deal or a trade. He said he wouldn't kill my 
daughter in front of me if I brought them over there," the woman testified 
Monday.

The 2nd friend arrived at the house after Rogers was inside, but the girlfriend 
was able to shoo her away, she testified.

Rogers and the woman were then raped for hours and beaten with multiple objects 
while the girlfriend's 8-year-old daughter slept, she testified.

The woman was eventually put in a closet while Rogers was beaten several more 
times. Eventually, the woman was freed by her daughter and 911 was called, she 
testified.

Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater announced a bill of particulars 
setting forth 5 aggravating circumstances, which allow prosecutors to seek the 
death penalty.

In this case, they are: a previous violent felony conviction; a crime committed 
while serving a sentence for that conviction; risk of death to one or more 
people; a continuing threat to society; and that the crime committed was 
especially heinous and cruel.

Johnson remains in Oklahoma County jail without bail.

He has spent more than 20 years in prison for convictions of rape, kidnapping 
and robbery, according to the state Corrections Department and federal records. 
He was released from prison in October.

(source: The Oklahoman)

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

DA likely to seek death penalty in beheading----Okla. man charged with 
1st-degree murder in woman's beheading


Alton Alexander Nolen, 30, was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder and 
attempted murder in the beheading of a 54-year-old woman last week at his 
former workplace in Oklahoma and an attack on another woman, said Cleveland 
County District Attorney Greg Mashburn.

Nolen was also charged with a third felony, assault with a deadly weapon, the 
prosecutor said. The attempted murder charge is also called assault and battery 
with a deadly weapon, Mashburn said.

"It is highly likely I will seek the death penalty in this case," Mashburn 
added.

Nolen, a recent convert to Islam, is accused of carrying out the attacks 
Thursday at a Vaughan Foods processing plant soon after he learned he'd lost 
his job there.

Nolen was trying "to get revenge on certain people he felt responsible" for his 
job loss, Mashburn said.

The knife used in the attack came from Nolen's home, Mashburn said.

The FBI is also investigating the attack because Nolen "was saying Arabic terms 
in the attack," Mashburn said.

Nolen's Facebook page uses the name Jah'Keem Yisrael. The cover photo appears 
to be of fighters holding weapons. The postings include all-caps messages about 
Islam and quotations from the Quran.

Police said Nolen walked into the Vaughan Foods front office Thursday and 
attacked one of the first people he encountered, Colleen Hufford, 54. He 
severed her head with a knife and then attacked Traci Johnson, 43. Johnson is 
in stable condition at a nearby hospital for treatment of "numerous wounds," 
according to police.

Mark Vaughan, the company CEO and a reserve deputy with the Oklahoma County 
Sheriff's Office, confronted and twice shot Nolen, authorities said.

Nolen is now hospitalized, Mashburn said.

(source: CNN)






COLORADO:

Is the death penalty dead in Colorado?


On the evening of October 13th, 1997, Gary Lee Davis, a convicted murderer and 
rapist, was put to death by lethal injection at the Colorado State 
Penitentiary. The last time any Colorado inmate was put to death.

During the last 17 years, according to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, 
there have been over 2,600 murders in Colorado but only 3 men are on death row: 
Nathan Dunlap, Sir Mario Owens and Robert Ray.

In the last year, 2 triple murderers, Harry Mapps and Jacob Vanwinkle, didn't 
face the death penalty despite their victim's family members requesting that 
punishment.

"Our lawmakers and our Governor are flat ignoring that. The only thing they 
have success on is making sure the murderers get more fresh air," said Jim 
Stotler, whose daughter, Mandy Folsom, was murdered by Vanwinkle.

Back in May, Governor John Hickenlooper granted Nathan Dunlap an indefinite 
reprieve.

That decision is what Stotler believes played into the decision to not pursue 
the death penalty.

"When our kids and grand kids were murdered they had stopped Dunlap's execution 
which affected us because the decision was made that they weren't going after 
it because you've got a Governor who's not gonna let it happen anyway," Stotler 
said.

Cost is another factor that plays into pursuing capital punishment.

Some estimates show it costs 20 times as much to prosecute a capital murder 
case as it costs to prosecute a 1st degree murder case where the death penalty 
is not pursued.

If a District Attorney chooses to pursue the death penalty, taxpayers of that 
county foot the bill of the prosecution. All 3 men on death row were convicted 
in the Denver metro area which has a large tax base.

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

Van Winkle sentenced, victim's parents split on death penalty


Jaacob Van Winkle was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

The victim's family says they were optimistic since this was the last time 
they'd have to see a man who, in their words, is pure evil.

But they are split on whether Van Winkle should've got the death penalty.

Van Winkle's sentence means he will never leave prison alive.

"It's the best the system could do. We have to accept it," said Jim Stogler, 
Mandy Folsom's father

"My life stopped on March 9. That was my best friend, those kids were 
everything to me," said Dawn Wassle, Mandy Folsom's mother.

But Van Winkle's conviction came as the result of a plea deal, with the death 
penalty off the table.

"The risks associated with seeking a death penalty as a sentence, the chances 
that the execution would never actually happen or take place, as we've seen in 
other cases of this nature, the chances that the individual being executed 
being very low. We determined the best course of action was to accept the 
guilty pleas," said Thom Ledoux, district attorney.

It's something that doesn't sit well with Mandy's father.

"Our lawmakers and our governor are flat ignoring that. The only thing they 
have success on is making sure the murderers get more fresh air," Stogler said.

He said Colorado's death penalty is, in his words, upside down.

"When our kids and grandkids were murdered, they had stopped Dunlap's execution 
which affected us because the decision was made that it wasn't going after 
because you've got a governor who's not going to let it happen anyway," Stogler 
said.

But Mandy's mother is glad the process is over and that her surviving teenage 
granddaughter didn't have to testify.

"I'm really happy this is done and over. We didn't have to have a long trial," 
Wassle said.

Under Colorado law, life without parole means there is no chance of any 
release.

Van Winkle is also serving an additional 200 years for a previous child sex 
conviction.

(source for both: KRDO news)






ARIZONA:

Potential Jodi Arias jurors dismissed in droves


It might have been an omen that nearly every prospective juror in the courtroom 
raised a hand when the judge asked if they knew who Jodi Arias was.

On Monday, 300 of them filed into the Maricopa County courtroom where Arias 
will be sentenced to life or death for the 2008 murder of her lover, Travis 
Alexander. By the end of the day, only 133 remained.

Some had work conflicts, many said they were not willing to give up TV news and 
newspapers for the duration of the trial. A few told the judge that they didn't 
speak English - in English, or elementary Spanish.

Nearly 1/4 of the prospective jurors so far said they just could not be 
impartial given what they know about Jodi Arias.

(source: Arizona Republic)






CALIFORNIA:

Carson Mother Charged With Murdering Her 3 Children, Pleads Insanity


A 30-year-old woman charged with stabbing her three daughters to death pleaded 
not guilty Monday by reason of insanity.

Carol Ann Coronado entered her plea after Los Angeles Superior Court Judge 
Charlaine Olmedo unsealed a Sept. 22 indictment of Coronado on 3 counts of 
murder and 1 count of attempted murder.

Coronado is due back in court on Oct. 17 for a pretrial hearing to be held in 
Compton.

She is charged with trying to kill her mother, who found the children's bodies 
May 20 at the family's home in an unincorporated area near Carson.

The girls' grandmother went to an address in the 1000 block of West 223rd 
Street after having a telephone conversation with her daughter that worried her 
that afternoon.

Coronado's mother ran out of the house screaming after seeing the girls - 
Sophia, 2, Yazmine, 16 months, and Xenia, 2 months - stabbed to death.

The father of the children, who was outside working on a car, then called 911.

A neighbor said Coronado was covered in blood and naked except for a blanket 
when she was taken away by sheriff's deputies. She was initially hospitalized 
with self-inflicted stab wounds, then transferred to a jail ward at Los Angeles 
County+USC Medical Center.

Several knives were taken from the home as evidence.

Coronado was initially charged in May and pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors chose 
to seek an indictment to speed up the time to trial.

At her original arraignment, defense attorney Stephen Allen said Coronado's 
husband, Rudy, was standing by her. Allen said his client suffered from 
postpartum depression and that her family was unsure what to look for or how to 
deal with the illness.

Coronado was briefly in the Army after high school, but her military career was 
cut short by an injury, according to police.

The indictment includes special circumstance allegations of multiple murders 
and personal use of a knife as a deadly/ weapon, making Coronado eligible for 
the death penalty.

(source: mynewsla.com)






USA:

How the Death Penalty Saves Lives----Capital punishment curbs criminal behavior 
and promotes a safer country.


On Sept. 10, Earl Ringo Jr. was executed in Missouri. Before you decide whether 
or not this is right, consider what Ringo did.

In July 1998, Ringo and an accomplice planned to rob a restaurant where Ringo 
had previously worked. Early one morning, they followed delivery truck driver 
Dennis Poyser and manager-in-training Joanna Baysinger into the building before 
shooting Poyser to death and forcing Baysinger to hand over $1,400. Then, Ringo 
encouraged his partner to kill her. A jury convicted Ringo of 2 1st-degree 
murders.

Some crimes are so heinous and inherently wrong that they demand strict 
penalties - up to and including life sentences or even death. Most Americans 
recognize this principle as just.

A Gallup poll from May on the topic found that 61 % of Americans view the death 
penalty as morally acceptable, and only 30 % disagreed. Even though foes of 
capital punishment have for years been increasingly vocal in their opposition 
to the death penalty, Americans have consistently supported capital punishment 
by a 2-to-1 ratio in murder cases. They are wise to do so.

Studies of the death penalty have reached various conclusions about its 
effectiveness in deterring crime. But a 2008 comprehensive review of capital 
punishment research since 1975 by Drexel University economist Bijou Yang and 
psychologist David Lester of Richard Stockton College of New Jersey concluded 
that the majority of studies that track effects over many years and across 
states or counties find a deterrent effect.

Indeed, other recent investigations, using a variety of samples and statistical 
methods, consistently demonstrate a strong link between executions and reduced 
murder rates. For instance, a 2003 study by Emory University researchers of 
data from more than 3,000 counties from 1977 through 1996 found that each 
execution, on average, resulted in 18 fewer murders per county. In another 
examination, based on data from all 50 states from 1978 to 1997, Federal 
Communications Commission economist Paul Zimmerman demonstrated that each state 
execution deters an average of 14 murders annually.

A more recent study by Kenneth Land of Duke University and others concluded 
that, from 1994 through 2005, each execution in Texas was associated with 
"modest, short-term reductions" in homicides, a decrease of up to 2.5 murders. 
And in 2009, researchers found that adopting state laws allowing defendants in 
child murder cases to be eligible for the death penalty was associated with an 
almost 20 % reduction in rates of these crimes.

In short, capital punishment does, in fact, save lives. That's certainly not to 
say that it should be exercised with wild abandon. Federal, state and local 
officials must continually ensure that its implementation rigorously upholds 
constitutional protections, such as due process and equal protection of the 
law. However, the criminal process should not be abused to prevent the lawful 
imposition of the death penalty in capital cases.

Moral indignation is an appropriate response to inherently wrongful conduct, 
such as that carried out by Earl Ringo Jr. While the goal of lower crime 
through deterrence is worthwhile, lawmakers need to place special emphasis on 
the moral gravity of offenses in determining the proportionality of punishment.

The execution of Ringo was morally just. And it may just save the lives of 
several innocents.

(source: Opinion, US News & World Report)

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

Cruel, Unusual and Arbitrary----The death penalty is ineffective and 
indefensible.


The death penalty is an unnecessary evil.

3 years ago, the world watched in horror as the state of Georgia executed Troy 
Anthony Davis, despite evidence of his innocence and outcries from Pope 
Benedict XVI, former President Jimmy Carter and many others who rallied, signed 
petitions and marched for Davis' life. Sadly, their pleas went unheeded.

But the Davis case was a game-changer. People who never paid much attention to 
the death penalty gained an understanding of how fallible it is. In the last 
three years, momentum has been on the side of death penalty opponents: Two 
states (Connecticut and Maryland) have abolished capital punishment entirely, 
and two more (Oregon and Washington) have placed a moratorium on the practice. 
Gallup reports that support has dropped to a 40-year low, while the percentage 
of people who say they oppose the death penalty has more than doubled, 
according to the Pew Research Center, from 18 % in 1996 to 37 % last year. 
Concerns are growing across the political spectrum, and we have reason to 
believe those numbers will increase.

The reasons for abolishing the death penalty are as varied as those who wish 
for abolition, but a number of high-profile exonerations from death row have 
surely played a role. Just this month, Henry Lee McCollum and Leon Brown, who 
had already served 30 years in a North Carolina prison, were released after DNA 
evidence proved conclusively that another man was the killer. To date, 146 
people have been exonerated nationwide.

Now, the burden of proof is on proponents of capital punishment to demonstrate 
why this arcane and increasingly bizarre practice should continue. Since 1976, 
only 2 percent of U.S. counties have been responsible for the majority of cases 
that lead to executions, according to a 2013 report from the Death Penalty 
Information Center. Fewer people are being sentenced to death, and the number 
of executions continues on a downward trajectory.

As the death penalty becomes rarer, it also becomes even more arbitrary and 
less defensible. Supporters have yet to demonstrate that it produces a tangible 
good. The practice does not, for example, lead to more safety. A 2008 survey of 
police chiefs from across the country ranked capital punishment last among 
methods to reduce violent crime.

Instead, the harm caused is real. We can't bring a wrongfully executed person 
back to life. And each execution takes its toll on prison employees, judges, 
prosecutors, defense attorneys and families of both victims and prisoners. One 
factor contributing to the notoriously botched execution of Clayton Lockett in 
Oklahoma in April was the increased stress on corrections workers tasked with 
conducting 2 executions in 1 day.

The greatest damage is to our collective souls and the values of fairness and 
justice we hold dear. As long as the death penalty remains, we will sentence to 
death and execute innocent people. We will unfairly sentence people to death 
based on race, class or what county they happen to be in. We will accept that 
scarce resources will be devoted to killing a handful of prisoners while crime 
prevention programs and victim support services will go wanting. Good is 
defined as moral, upright, virtuous, wholesome and blameless. None of these 
terms can be associated with capital punishment. If our society seeks to be 
good, we should end the practice for that reason alone.

(source: Opinion; Diann Rust-Tierney--US News & World Report)