[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, ALA., OHIO, NEB., ARIZ., USA

[Rick Halperin]

Aug. 24



TEXAS----impending execution

An Austin Resident is Scheduled for Execution This Week


A Harris County resident, Bernardo Aban Tercero, is scheduled for execution 
after 6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2015, pursuant to a court order by the 232nd 
District Court, said a press release from The Attorney General of Texas Ken 
Paxton's office.

A Harris County jury found Tercero guilty of murdering a man by the name of 
Robert Berger during an aggravated robbery in October 2000.

According to the facts of the case, Berger, on March 31, 1997, and his young 
daughter entered a Park Avenue Cleaners in Austin near closing time, and at 
about the same time, an employee, Ricardo Toruno, unlocked the back door of the 
cleaners to take the trash out to the dumpster. As Toruno made his way back 
inside, one of Tercero's accomplices put a gun to Toruno's head and accompanied 
him through the door. Tercero then entered the cleaners and proceeded to the 
front of the store where the manager, Michelle Johnson, testified that Tercero 
said something to Berger, but the man did not respond. Tercero then grabbed 
Berger by the arm and pushed him back. Berger attempted to get away from 
Tercero, but the gunman shot him in the back of the head, and he fell to the 
ground. During this exchange, one of the robbers with Tercero demanded money. 
Afterward, Tercero and his accomplice fled the cleaners through the back door 
with a cash drawer each in hand.

The press release stated that during his testimony, Tercero said he robbed the 
cleaner because he and his live-in girlfriend, Marisol Lima, were having 
economic difficulties. Lima, who worked for Park Avenue Cleaners with her 
sister told Tercero that he could easily get money from it and the 3 of them 
discussed how to commit the robbery. Tercero and the sisters "cased" the dry 
cleaners the day before the incident and devised a pager code so Lima's sister 
could page Tercero and his accomplice when there were no customers in the shop. 
Tercero also testified that when he pulled out his gun in the dry cleaners, 
waved it in the air, and asked for money, Mr. Berger began to advance on him. 
The 2 men began struggling over the firearm and "the gun went off."

However, Tercero's story did not coincide with witness testimony.

According to this testimony, after the robbers escaped the dry cleaners with 
the money from the cash drawers, Tercero stayed with another woman, Sylvia 
Cotera, who he later told about the shooting. He told her he did so because the 
person didn't have any money and that made him mad. He also told Cotera that he 
shot Berger because he was afraid he had seen his face and could identify him. 
He then threatened Cotera with burning down her apartment if she said anything.

Additional evidence in the case showed this incident wasn't Tercero's 1st 
run-in with the law for a similar crime. Tercero previously robbed 3 men at 
gunpoint in his home country, Nicaragua, where he shot 1 victim and kidnapped 
his 4-year-old son. He also shot at officers who pursued him.

On November 20, 1997, a Harris County grand jury indicted Tercero for the 
capital murder of Robert Berger during the robbery. He was sentenced to death 
on October 20, 2000. Tercero filed an application for state habeas corpus 
relief and pro se petition for a write of habeas corpus, but was denied. On May 
19, 2015, the 232nd state district court issued an order setting Tercero's 
execution date for Aug. 26, 2015.

(source: sanangelolive.com)

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

see: http://www.amnestyusa.org/get-involved/take-action-now/
usa-stop-the-execution-of-bernardo-aban-tercero-ua-17615

(source: Amnesty International USA)






ALABAMA:

Dad "potentially" faces death penalty in death of toddler son


The Houston County District Attorney Doug Valeska called the case filed against 
a Dothan father "potentially" a death penalty case in connection to the death 
of his 2-year-old son.

Valeska spoke shortly after the 1st appearance in court for Jose Rosales, 25, 
of Fortner Street, held Monday morning in front of District Court Judge 
Benjamin Lewis.

Lewis informed Rosales he currently faces a felony 1st-degree domestic 
violence-assault charge.

Valeska told the court during the hearing he expected to hear results from the 
victim's autopsy later Monday.

Deputies with the Houston County Sheriff's Office arrested Rosales late 
Saturday night.

Rosales, son, Jose Rosales, Jr. was pronounced dead in the emergency room at 
Flowers Hospital at 4:54 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.

Houston County Coroner Robert Byrd said Saturday rescue units were called to a 
home on Fortner Street at about 4:18 p.m. Following the death, the Houston 
County Sheriff's Office initiated an investigation.

Valeska said Sheriff Donald Valenza, Sheriff's Capt. Bill Rafferty and the case 
investigator contacted him multiple times over the weekend about the 
circumstances surrounding the death of the 2-year-old boy.

"We'll know more later today as to what happened to the child," Valeska said.

Valeska declined to talk about the specifics of what investigators believe 
happened to the child. But he said the case could "potentially" be capital 
murder, death penalty case. He said because the victim was less than the age of 
14 makes the case "potentially" death eligible.

"I can't say it's a death penalty case until we have the cause of death from 
the pathologist," Valeska said.

Valeska said the child was taken to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences 
in Montgomery for an autopsy.

Court records show a warrant obtained by sheriff's investigators Monday morning 
charged Rosales with felony first-degree assault domestic violence by shaking 
the victim, Jose Rosales Jr, by force.

No other details have been released by the Houston County Sheriff's Office. But 
the Dothan Eagle was told Sheriff Donald Valenza will hold a press conference 
at a later time.

Rosales is held without bail at the Houston County Jail. Lewis set a bail and 
preliminary hearing for Rosales on Sept. 4. He also appointed attorney John 
Steensland III to represent him in court.

(source: Dothan Eagle)






OHIO:

Medina County judge says death penalty remains possible in Brunswick mother's 
killing


A Medina County judge will not take the death penalty off the table for a 
Brunswick man accused of killing his mother.

James D. Tench, 29, faces capital punishment in a case that charges him with 3 
counts of aggravated murder, 2 counts of murder, aggravated robbery, kidnapping 
and tampering with evidence.

He pleaded not guilty during his September 2014 arraignment in Medina County 
Common Pleas Court.

Judge Joyce Kimbler rejected the defense's argument that Ohio's death-penalty 
statutes violate the U.S. Constitution and international law. The judge wrote 
that the claims could be "summarily rejected" and "lack merit."

Defense attorneys Kerry O'Brien and Rhonda Kotnik argued the death penalty 
violates the Eighth Amendment protection against cruel and unusual punishment.

"Ohio's methods, modes and procedures for lethal injection violate the 
constitutional protection against cruel and unusual punishment by effectively 
torturing the condemned person to death," the attorneys wrote in a December 
motion.

Neither O'Brien nor Medina County Prosecutor Dean Holman were immediately 
available for comment Monday.

Ohio's death-penalty statute came under increased scrutiny last year following 
the controversial execution of murderer Dennis McGuire. Executions have been on 
hold in Ohio since then but are set to resume in January.

Kimbler also rejected a defense motion to instruct the jury to consider mercy 
if Tench is convicted, and to prevent prosecutors from arguing against mercy.

Tench is accused in the Nov. 12, 2013 death of his mother, Mary Tench, 55, of 
Brunswick.

Mary Tench was found dead inside her car on Carquest Drive in Brunswick around 
2:20 p.m. Nov. 12. Medina County Coroner Neil Grabenstetter said she died from 
multiple blunt trauma injuries to the head and neck. The impact fractured her 
skull.

Tench pleaded guilty last year to robbing a Strongsville restaurant and is 
currently serving a 6-year prison sentence at the Richland Correctional 
Institution.

Kimbler ruled on more than 50 motions last week, many of which addressed 
criminal procedure, jury selection and privacy. Other notable rulings included:

The judge denied a motion for a change of venue. The judge ruled the request 
was premature, but could be remade if a voir dire examination of potential 
jurors reveals that pretrial publicity has prevented Tench from obtaining an 
impartial trial.

Kimbler denied a motion requesting that Tench be allowed to appear at pretrial 
hearings without restraints. Tench will be allowed to appear at trial without 
restraints.

Kimbler denied the defense's request to restrict public access to court 
documents on the Medina County Clerk of Court's website. The defense did not 
prove that public access would infringe upon Tench's right to a fair trial, the 
judge wrote in her ruling.

(source: cleveland.com)






NEBRASKA:

Nebraska Seeks Death Drugs From India


The ACLU asked Nebraska's U.S. attorney to investigate state officials' 
attempts to import lethal injection drugs from India, though the state has 
outlawed the death penalty.

Nebraska's unicameral Legislature banned capital punishment on May 20 and 
overrode the governor's veto on May 27, becoming the 19th state to prohibit 
execution.

On Aug. 20, the ACLU of Nebraska wrote to U.S. Attorney Deborah R. Gilg, asking 
her to investigate "Nebraska's ongoing efforts to obtain lethal injection drugs 
from a foreign source."

The letter claims that Nebraska has tried or is trying to get sodium thiopental 
and pancuronium bromide, despite explicit knowledge and court orders that 
importation of foreign-made sodium thiopental is illegal.

The Omaha World-Herald reported that the state tried to get the drugs from 
India on July 31, for $54,400.

Sodium thiopental and pancuronium bromide are the first two drugs in typical 
three-drug combinations used for lethal injections.

The ACLU letter claims: "State officials have had direct contract with DEA 
officials informing them the products they seek to import cannot be brought 
into the U.S.," and that "Harris Pharma, the seller of the drugs, is the same 
company that provided illegal sodium thiopental to Nebraska in 2011."

ACLU of Nebraska Executive Director Danielle Conrad said in a statement: "State 
officials have been told repeatedly by federal authorities that there is no 
legal way to import the drugs, yet they continue to repeat a suspect claim in 
various recent media reports that they are working with federal officials to 
secure the drugs. The facts don't add up. Nebraska taxpayers deserve a straight 
answer."

Nebraska last executed a prisoner in 1997, by electric chair. After large 
pharmaceutical companies stopped providing lethal injection drugs due to public 
pressure, some states resorted to buying them from compounding pharmacies. 
These purchases have been challenged in court.

Nebraska has been unable to obtain legal supplies of a three-drug cocktail it 
required to kill people after its old method was outlawed by the state's 
supreme court.

"The materials enclosed demonstrate a protracted effort of months to obtain 
illegal drugs despite clear and unequivocal notice that their conduct was 
prohibited by federal law," ACLU of Nebraska legal director Amy Miller wrote in 
the Aug. 20 letter.

"Given the state's concrete and active efforts to violate federal law, we 
request your office initiate an investigation."

Miller told the U.S. attorney that Nebraska sent Customs forms to Harris Pharma 
in India on July 31 this year. "It appears that despite all warnings from 
federal agencies, the state of Nebraska is continuing to move forward with 
their plan to have illegal drugs sent into the U.S.," Miller wrote.

After the Legislature overrode his veto, Republican Governor Pete Ricketts 
called it "a very dark day for public safety" and vowed to fight to reinstate 
the death penalty.

He has since insisted that he will continue to pursue a way to execute the 10 
inmates on Nebraska's death row, despite the legislative ban.

Ricketts and his billionaire father, TD Ameritrade boss Joe Ricketts, are 
bankrolling a petition drive for a ballot initiative to reinstate the death 
penalty.

The World-Herald reported that the Ricketts father and son have donated more 
than $300,000 for the petition drive. They need valid signatures of at least 5 
% of registered voters by the end of August to qualify the measure for the 
ballot.

(source: Courthouse News)






ARIZONA:

Jury deliberations resume for man charged in double killing


Jury deliberations are scheduled to resume Monday at the trial of an Arizona 
man charged with killing his brother and fatally shooting his 6-year-old nephew 
who witnessed the crime.

Monday marks the 2nd day of jury deliberations for Christopher Rey Licon.

Authorities are seeking the death penalty against the 24-year-old in the 
December 2010 killings of his half brother, Angel Jaquez, and Jaquez's son, 
Xavier Jaquez.

Licon has mounted an insanity defense.

Prosecutors say Licon killed his brother in the Phoenix townhome they shared 
over a drug dispute and then kidnapped and fatally shot his nephew in an alley 
20 miles away.

Investigators believe the boy either saw or heard his father die and was killed 
by his uncle out of fear that the child would snitch on Licon.

(source: Associated Press)






USA:

Remember Jose Rivera when you think about the death penalty


On June 20, 2008, Correctional Officer Jose Rivera was attacked by 2 inmates at 
the U.S. Penitentiary at Atwater, Calif. One inmate held Rivera down while the 
other, Jose Cabrera Sablan, stabbed Rivera 20 times with an 8-inch shank. After 
7 years of litigation, Sablan finally accepted a plea agreement to serve the 
remainder of his life in prison.

As the Church Lady from "Saturday Night Live" would say, "Isn't that special!"

When Sablan murdered Rivera, he was already serving a life sentence for murder, 
but there was the chance for parole, which at least for now has been 
eliminated. Nevertheless, Sablan is right back where he was, receiving this 
3meals a day and 1-hour rec time. Perhaps he's also receiving therapy in 
helping him cope with losing his parole.

Oh, the federal prosecutors talked a good game, announcing at the start that 
they would seek the death penalty, but in the end they caved.

The case was made to the public that seven years had already elapsed and 
despite a trial date having been set, it might take several more years before 
justice would finally be served and in the meantime, the taxpayers would have 
to carry the burden in paying Sablan's legal fees, not to mention his 3 meals a 
day and trips to the infirmary for unsightly cold sores.

The decision as expected has upset the family as well as the correctional 
community. Rivera's mother, Terry, told the media she was outraged. While 
noting that her son was also a U.S. Navy veteran who had served 2 tours in 
Iraq, she stated, "My son gave his entire life to his country. He believed in 
the justice system and it failed him."

The national president of the Council of Prison Locals was quoted, "We want to 
know that there's an ultimate consequence when someone takes the life of our 
correctional staff." That's how most citizens who have lost a loved one to 
violent criminal activity feel, and who unfortunately must languish with a 
lifetime of misery thanks to the bureaucratic milquetoast ways of our justice 
system. Or perhaps I missed something? Do we now have sanctuary prisons?

Despite their proclamations to the contrary, most prosecutors, judges and 
defense attorneys do not feel your pain. Their win-loss conviction stats, now 
that's another matter. The representatives of justice are very practiced at 
soothing the heightened emotions of the victim's families. "By putting the bad 
man in prison for life, he will no longer be able to hurt anyone else" is a 
common argument brandished, hoping to save themselves the effort of seeking the 
death penalty for the commission of a capital crimes. Then there is the 
approach suggesting that such cases "can go on for years and get real expensive 
and you'll have to go on living knowing that we will not be able to convict 
quickly." These politicians who represent the criminal justice system are quite 
proficient when convincing a victim's family that a plea agreement is 
preferable.

But as the family and friends of officer Rivera know all too well, inmates 
locked up for "life" can hurt and kill again. Those who are assigned the 
responsibilities of keeping us safe from those incarcerated must go to work 
each day knowing that in the blink of an eye, their own lives may be cut short.

According to a report by representatives for the National Institute for 
Occupational Safety and Health, "of all U.S. workers, correctional officers 
have one of the highest rates of nonfatal, work related injuries." And from 
1999-2008, there were 113 fatalities mostly due to attacks by inmates. Also, 
keep in mind that correctional officers are not allowed to carry guns, yet they 
find themselves dealing with confrontations with the same violent persons whom 
police arm themselves to the teeth against when engaging on the street.

So let's just tell it like it is: A criminal with a violent history is pretty 
likely to hurt another innocent again as long as he's drawing a breath, whether 
he's locked up for "life" or when he is paroled after some softie bureaucrat 
has determined that the subject is no longer a threat to society.

Why should there be any discrepancy when someone intentionally takes another 
person's life? Is the pain any less, say, for the family of 8-year-old Martin 
Richard, killed by the Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the Boston Marathon bomber, and, say, 
the family of New York Sheriff's Deputy Kevin Tarsia, murdered by David Sweat, 
the recent New York prison escapee who shot Tarsia 12 times and then ran him 
over in his getaway vehicle?

So when anti-death penalty organizations such as Amnesty International or 
Catholics Against Capital Punishment start shouting, "The death penalty is the 
ultimate, irreversible denial of human rights, "and then make claims of racism, 
poverty or mental health being factors used to deny perpetrators their rights, 
try not to let your heart break, and remember Jose Rivera. And don't be afraid 
to let your representatives know that justice and re-election should not be 
joined at the hip. Or if not, just drop a postcard to Sablan as he suns himself 
in the California prison yard as to how pleased you are knowing he's getting 
his 3 meals a day. And wondering when he's going to attack again.

(source: Bob Rinearson is resident of Fort Wayne----News-Sentinel)