[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, CONN., PENN., FLA., LA., OHIO

[Rick Halperin]

Aug. 13



TEXAS:

David Conley, alleged killer of 6 children, says they were becoming 'monsters'


Inside a segregation cell in a Houston jail, David Conley waits, passing the 
time talking to reporters about the tumultuous relationship he had with his 
on-again, off-again girlfriend over more than a decade. Earlier this week, he 
was charged with numerous counts of capital murder after he allegedly slipped 
through an unlocked window at her home and fatally shot her, her common-law 
husband and her 6 children - 1 by 1 - in the back of the head.

Authorities said Conley, 49, killed Valerie Jackson, 40, her husband, Dwayne 
Jackson, and the 6 children, including his son, 13-year-old Nathaniel.

"I love Nate. I love Nate to death," he told KPRC-TV earlier this week. Though, 
he said, he has questioned for years whether he is the child's biological 
father.

Conley spoke Wednesday about the children who were growing into "monsters" and 
Jackson whom he blamed for letting them run wild "like they were gangsters."

"I understand how it looks, but it's not like that," he told the Houston 
Chronicle. "The Bible says, 'Thou shall respect your mother and father or your 
days shall be short. I'm not God, but you know, then, I'm the man of the 
house."

Conley said his attorney advised him not to talk about the allegations against 
him but in an interview he told a KHOU-TV reporter: "I'm only human."

In jailhouse interviews, Conley has instead focused on his relationship with 
Jackson who, over the years, bounced back and forth between him and Dwayne 
Jackson. He claimed Valerie Jackson had cheated on him with Dwayne - a "demon" 
and a "monster" who was "harassing" him.

"He tried to pimp out over me and take everything, rule over my house. How 
would you feel?" he told KPRC-TV. "Dwayne was a monster and Valerie, she was no 
Good Samaritan either. They did evil things all the time."

Conley also said Jackson wouldn't discipline the children so they were "growing 
up to be monsters," talking back and refusing to clean up after themselves.

"They were disrespectful, rude in school," he told the TV news station. "I'm 
not saying they're dead because of that. I'm not even saying I killed them."

When Conley met Jackson in 1999, he said, he was "trying to do the right thing 
in life." He had been in trouble for auto theft, cocaine possession and evading 
arrest, according to court records. The next year, the 2 had a daughter.

Jackson's mother has reportedly had custody of the daughter for years.

Around that time, Conley was arrested and charged in a domestic violence 
dispute. Jackson told police Conley had cut her neck, punched her in the face 
and wrapped an electrical cord around the baby's neck. The handling of that 
case became an issue this week after he was charged in the murders when local 
media reported that, given Conley's previous felony convictions, the prosecutor 
in that case could have sought the maximum sentence - 25 years to life - but 
opted in 2002 to accept a plea deal instead for 5 years behind bars.

Conley said the domestic abuse allegations against him "were all lies."

"Basically what happened to that case is what happens with so many domestic 
violence cases: The victim recanted her story," Jeff McShan with the Harris 
County District Attorney's Office told KHOU-TV.

McShan said Jackson then blamed the alleged abuse on an ex-boyfriend.

"We went all the way up to the trial date hoping she would tell the truth about 
what happened, show up for court, but we couldn???t even locate her," he said.

Conley and Jackson then reportedly had a son, Nathaniel, though Conley said 
paternity was never proven.

For years, Jackson went back and forth between Conley and Dwayne Jackson. "I 
never tried to hold her back," Conley told the Houston Chronicle, "but then she 
would always try to run off and be with him." Conley had 5 children with Dwayne 
Jackson.

Early on, Conley was reportedly married to another woman. His estranged wife, 
Vernessa Conley, told Fox News that Conley had abused her years ago.

"He grabbed me by my hair and dragged me out of the bed and he drug me over the 
floor and he took an extension cord, the orange ones that you use," she said, 
"and he wrapped it around my neck and I blacked out."

"If I hadn't left he probably would have killed me," she added.

Conley and Jackson's troubles came to a head last month when Conley allegedly 
attempted to discipline Jackson's 10-year-old with a belt. Police said she 
tried to grab the belt from him but he slammed her head into a refrigerator. 
Police issued a warrant for his arrest.

Conley told the Houston Chronicle he left the house that he claims he shared 
with Jackson and went to a motel. Ultimately, he decided to move out but, when 
he realized he didn't have anywhere else to go, he went back, according to 
KPRC-TV.

On Saturday morning, Conley discovered Jackson had changed the locks, police 
said, so he slipped through an unlocked window. At some point that morning, 
Jackson's brother, Earl Yanske, who was in Montana, said he heard Conley was in 
the house. He tried to call Conley. No answer. Then a family member phoned 
police.

Deputies went to the home several times throughout the day but nothing seemed 
amiss. Finally, about 11 p.m., Yanske said, his cellphone rang. It was Conley, 
returning his call.

"'I need to ask you a question,'" Conley said, according to the Houston 
Chronicle. "'Did you kill my sister?'"

"He said, 'Yes, I did.' . . . There was totally no emotion in his voice."

Outside the home, authorities saw a body through the window.

"Deputies on scene forced entry into the home and were immediately met with 
gunfire," Harris County Chief Deputy Tim Cannon told the Associated Press. "The 
deputies withdrew from the home."

Authorities waited for the sheriff's office SWAT team to arrive and, after an 
hours-long standoff with police, negotiators finally got Conley to emerge.

Inside the home, police found the victims. The children were identified as 
Nathaniel, 13, Dwayne, 10, Honesty, 11, Caleb, 9, Trinity, 7, and Jonah, 6.

Now the same prosecutor who gave Conley a plea deal in 2002 will face him again 
and, this time, could seek the death penalty, KHOU-TV reported.

"We're talking about a span of 3 to 4 months before that decision will be 
made," Harris County district attorney Devon Anderson told reporters.

Conley is set to appear in court again Sept. 15.

(source: Washington Post)






CONNECTICUT:

Connecticut Supreme Court Expected to Rule on Fate of Death Row Inmates


Connecticut's Supreme Court is expected to release a decision today that could 
decide the fate of the inmates currently on the state's death row.

When Connecticut abolished the death penalty in 2012, it was "prospective." The 
law ended capital punishment for crimes committed after the death penalty 
repeal was passed. Eleven inmates were on death row at the time.

Arguing before the state's highest court in 2013, lawyers for Eduardo Santiago 
said the law was unconstitutional.

Santiago was sentenced to lethal injection for a murder-for-hire killing in 
2000. In 2012, the state Supreme Court ordered a new penalty hearing for 
Santiago after ruling the trial judge withheld key evidence. It left Santiago 
still eligible for the death penalty because his crime was committed before the 
new death penalty law was enacted.

In an appeal before the Supreme Court, Santiago's attorneys challenged the 
constitutionality of Connecticut's death penalty. They said decisions on who 
lives and who dies should not be based upon something as arbitrary as the date 
of a law's repeal.

Lawyers for the state argued that the court should either uphold or invalidate 
the entire thing because they said this was a choice for another constitutional 
branch of government: elected representatives.

(source: WNPR news)

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

High court may decide fate of Connecticut's death penalty


Connecticut's Supreme Court has told lawyers it will release a decision 
Thursday that could decide the fate of the inmates currently facing the 
possibility of execution in the state.

In comes in an appeal from Eduardo Santiago, whose attorneys argue lawmakers 
improperly passed a death penalty repeal three years ago that only outlawed 
capital punishment for future crimes.

Santiago was sentenced to lethal injection for the murder-for-hire killing of 
45-year-old Joseph Niwinski in West Hartford in 2000. The state Supreme Court 
ordered a new penalty hearing in 2012, saying the trial judge wrongly withheld 
key evidence.

That decision came just after lawmakers repealed the death penalty for murders 
committed after April 24, 2012, leaving Santiago and those on death row still 
facing the possibility of execution.

(source: Associated Press)






PENNSYLVANIA:

Death penalty a possibility in Wrightsville domestic homicide


Samantha Young tried in vain to protect herself as she was stabbed at least 49 
times, according to court testimony.

The 21-year-old mother, called Sami by friends and family, used her hands to 
try to shield herself from the attack, which is how her palms, hands and arms 
were repeatedly wounded, forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Johnson testified 
Wednesday at the conclusion of Marcus James Bordelon's preliminary hearing.

Bordelon, 22, of Chestnut Street in Wrightsville, remains in York County Prison 
without bail, charged with homicide, kidnapping, tampering with evidence, 
obstructing the administration of law, abuse of a corpse and conspiracy.

At the close of Wednesday's hearing, District Judge Robert Eckenrode determined 
enough evidence exists for Bordelon to stand trial in York County Court. He set 
Bordelon's formal court arraignment for Sept. 18.

The first part of Bordelon's preliminary hearing was held July 23 but a 
continuation was necessary because Johnson wasn't available to testify at that 
time, according to chief deputy prosecutor Tim Barker.

'Clusters' of wounds: Johnson performed an autopsy on Young's body April 21. He 
testified there were stab wounds and cuts all over her body, including clusters 
of stab wounds to her back and wounds to her neck, head, chest, arms and legs. 
The wounds penetrated into her heart, both lungs, liver and diaphragm, he said.

"There were at least 49 (stab wounds), and more than that, possibly," he said. 
"49 is probably a low number."

Johnson explained there were multiple stab wounds in various clusters - which 
he called co-mingling of pathways - "making it difficult to say whether (each 
wound) is 1 wound, 2 wounds or 3 wounds."

Johnson also testified that wounds to Young's face, elbows and stomach are 
consistent with being dragged, and that he found leaves, sticks and other 
debris in her hair and on her clothing.

He determined Young's cause of death to be multiple sharp-force trauma. There 
were no drugs or alcohol in her system, he said.

DA on death penalty: Barker and York County District Attorney Tom Kearney, both 
of whom were at the hearing, said they have not yet determined whether to seek 
the death penalty against Bordelon. Kearney said that decision will be made 
around the time of the Sept. 18 formal arraignment.

Kearney confirmed Bordelon's general homicide charge is being changed to 
1st-degree murder.

During the July 23 portion of the hearing, prosecutors added a number of 
charges to Bordelon's homicide charge, including kidnapping.

On Wednesday, Barker confirmed the felony kidnapping charge could be used as an 
aggravating factor for the death penalty, assuming prosecutors decide to make 
it a capital case.

Bordelon and Young, of York Township, have a daughter together but were no 
longer involved. Arteya was 1 year old and was visiting her father the night 
her mother was killed there, police said.

Young's family members have said Bordelon lured her to his home by telling her 
something was wrong with Arteya.

Charging documents filed by Wrightsville Police allege Bordelon used a stun gun 
to keep Young from leaving his home, and that he then stabbed her repeatedly.

Body in shed: Officers responding to his home on April 19 found Young's body in 
a locked shed in Bordelon's back yard, documents state.

Defense attorney Kevin Hoffman, who represents Bordelon, declined comment after 
the hearing.

Bordelon's girlfriend, Natasha Marie Stover, also remains in prison without 
bail, charged with homicide, conspiracy and related offenses.

Police allege Stover and Bordelon exchanged emails about him killing Young.

They also say Stover, 19, helped Bordelon move Young's car away from his home, 
then drove him to Home Depot to buy bleach and lime.

In July she waived her right to a preliminary hearing. Her defense attorney, 
Suzanne Smith, said it's possible Stover could offer to cooperate with 
authorities.

(source: York Daily Record)






FLORIDA:

Judge sets date for accused killer's trial----James Rhodes accused of killing 
Shelby Farah while robbing cellphone store


A new trial date has been set for the man accused in the execution-style 
killing of a 20-year-old clerk during a robbery 2 years ago.

James Rhodes, 23, is accused of shooting Shelby Farah after she handed over 
money during the robbery of the MetroPCS store on North Main Street in July 
2013.

Rhodes, who was ruled intellectually sufficient to face the death penalty by a 
Duval County judge last month, had his trial date set for May 2, 2016 at a 
hearing Wednesday morning.

Rhodes' defense team had asked that the trial be continued indefinitely until 
the U.S. Supreme Court rules in another Florida death penalty appeal.

In hearings last month, a defense psychologist testified that Rhodes is 
mentally competent for prosecution but is intellectually disabled, but a 
psychologist for the prosecution testified that he reviewed Rhodes' IQ scores 
going back to when he was 6 years old and found Rhodes is not intellectually 
disabled.

If he were found intellectually disabled, Rhodes could not legally be executed 
under Florida law.

Judge Tatiana Salvador denied a defense motion that would have prevented the 
state from seeking the death penalty.

The victim's family had actually hoped the death penalty would be taken off the 
table.

"It has nothing to do with us wanting him to get less time. I would love to see 
him sit in prison for the rest of his life," said Caleb Farah, Shelby's 
brother. "Since he is facing the death penalty, he will probably get the death 
penalty. He's going to get automatic appeals. You've got the guy that just came 
back after his death penalty (Randall Deviney), and it's a retrial. I can't 
even imagine doing this all over again."

Shelby's mother, Darlene Farah, said it was the ruling that she expected but 
dreaded, because it makes the case much more complex.

"Everybody knows a death penalty case is different," Darlene Farah said. "It's 
been 2 years, I'm tired. I'm drained. I'm exhausted emotionally, so I just want 
it over with so I can try to put structure and stability back into my 
children's lives and into my life."

(source: news4jax.com)






LOUISIANA:

La. death penalty study to define terminology of capital cases, costs


It's back to basics for the Capital Punishment Fiscal Impact Commission. The 
group met Wednesday for the 1st time since before the Legislative Session began 
in April.

"It's very important for us to revisit what the scope of this commission is," 
said Sen. J.P. Morrell, D-New Orleans, and the chairman of the commission.

Sen. Morrell said his group will not debate whether the death penalty is right 
or wrong. The New Orleans senator said he wants to hear data, not advocates on 
both sides pushing their cause.

"It's not this commission's job even to make a recommendation to the 
legislature as to what to do with the death penalty. It is to simply report the 
costs," said Sen. Morrell.

That notion was accepted unanimously by the rest of the commission. The group 
also agreed on what questions they need to answer before moving forward.

"We can't even agree on what a capital case is," said John DeRosier, District 
Attorney for Calcasieu Parish. "A capital case to me is a case where the 
district attorney's office has indicted for 1st-degree murder and indicated 
they're going to seek capital punishment."

But DeRosier said other jurisdictions do not use the same definition.

Another major part to determine is defining the costs of a capital case.

"Are we talking about days on a judge's docket, or hours in court, or are we 
talking about just dollars? We need to define that," said Remy Starns, a New 
Orleans attorney.

The commission will review death penalty studies done in other states. That's 
expected to help members answer Wednesday's questions by the next meeting.

"The first goal of this commission going forward will be to determine the 
methodology for quantifying costs, period," said Sen. Morrell.

One person was executed in Louisiana over the past decade. On Monday, Lee 
Turner, Jr., the convicted Carquest Auto Parts killer, became the state's 
newest member of death row. Sen. Morrell said Turner's case will likely be 
looked at extensively in the study.

The group will meet again in October.

Their original deadline to finish the study was New Year's Day 2016. That was 
changed to New Year's Day 2018 during the Legislative Session.

(source: WAFB news)

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

Forget the hot conditions. Why not abolish Death Row?


Hot enough for you? You'll hear that dumb question everywhere this week, but it 
would be a sadistic screw who asked it on Angola???s death row. The heat index 
there constitutes cruel and unusual punishment even while the temperature 
outside is normal.

So says the federal appeals court in New Orleans, though it must have choked on 
such a bleeding-heart opinion. What to do about it remains up in the air, 
however. While the appeals court agreed with trial judge Brian Jackson that 3 
inmates who filed suit are confined in unconstitutionally hellish conditions, 
the relief he prescribed was deemed excessive.

Plaintiffs have just requested a rehearing, so the conundrum may be bouncing 
around the courts for a while yet.

This absurd spectacle is a price we pay for retaining the death penalty, but 
there is clearly no desire to abolish it. It wouldn't make much difference if 
we did, however, because we have pretty much lost the stomach for executions. 
We have carried out only 2 this millennium, and the last one was in 2010. With 
the state unable to lay its hands on the drugs required to do the job, nobody 
else could be put to death until God knows when.

One sure way to settle the dispute over conditions would be to abolish death 
row. Missouri has been "mainstreaming" the condemned since 1991 and has found 
them no more of a threat to security than lifers, and rather less of one than 
parole-eligible inmates. Clearly some murderers will always be too dangerous to 
be integrated, but stuffing everyone under sentence of death into a small cage 
for years on end has little point beyond piling on the punishment.

Sure, there are such characters as might be said to deserve all the punishment 
that comes their way, but death row is an invitation to Eighth Amendment 
challenges.

When these 3 inmates filed suit, Jackson decreed that a heat index of 88 
degrees be maintained, but the appeals court concluded that "effectively" meant 
air conditioning all 4 wings of death row, where 85 men currently await their 
fate, and was thus a luxury too far.

The appeals court opinion, sounding a bit like a real estate ad, notes that 
Louisiana built a "new state-of-the-art prison facility to house death row 
inmates in 2006." It has windows that open, potable water, 1 fan for every 2 
cells and an ice chest on each tier.

Inmates can help themselves to ice during the 1 hour a day they are allowed to 
leave their cells, and may at other times ask for a few cubes, provided some 
are available to be passed through the bars. The ice machine cannot keep pace 
with demand and frequently breaks down. During the period when Jackson ordered 
the heat index to be monitored, it reached 108 degrees, and it must have 
exceeded that this week.

Since all 3 plaintiffs have medical complaints that render them extra 
susceptible to heat, the appeals court found they were entitled to cooler 
surroundings, but not necessarily air conditioning. More fans, ice, cold 
drinking water and daily showers should do the trick, especially if cool air 
were piped from the guards' pod to the tiers. Besides, under Jackson's 
injunction, the other 82 death row denizens would get the benefit of the cooler 
air to which only the 3 plaintiffs had laid claim.

Whatever happens, if the appeals court agrees to reconsider its ruling, the 
need to maintain a death row in ghoulish isolation is surely open to question 
now that inmates may expect to spend many years, if not decades, there. They 
may not be any lower down the moral turpitude scale than many Angola lifers 
anyway, and are also similar in that they will in all likelihood die of old age 
there. Angola is naturally escape-proof.

Angola's death row is such a barbarous institution, regardless of the heat 
index, that compelling reasons should be required to justify its existence. 
Those reasons are by no means obvious these days.

(source: James Gill; The Advocate)






OHIO:

Death Penalty Possible for Suspect Accused of Stabbing Man, Children as Young 
as 2

Akihiko Clayton is now under indictment in Hamilton County on counts of 
aggravated murder, aggravated burglary, aggravated robbery, attempted murder, 
and felonious assault. Police say he fatally stabbed a man and injured 4 
children in an apartment on Chesterdale Circle on July 2.

Clayton allegedly forced his way in to 33-year-old Emilio Ramirez's apartment, 
and stabbed him to death. Prosecutors say Clayton stabbed four children in the 
apartment: twin 2-year-old girls, a 7-year-old boy, and a 14-year-old boy. All 
of the children survived.

He's been held in Kenton County, though, ever since police say he robbed a bank 
in Cold Spring. Clayton allegedly used a gun when he robbed the US Bank on 
Alexandria Pike on July 14.

(source: www.700wlw.com)