[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, CONN., N.C., ALA.

[Rick Halperin]

Aug. 25



TEXAS----impending execution

Nicaragua pleads with US to call off execution


Nicaraguan officials and activists called on the United States Monday to cancel 
the execution in Texas later this week of Bernardo Tercero, the only Nicaraguan 
national on death row in the US.

Tercero is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection Wednesday for killing 
high school English teacher Robert Berger while robbing a Houston dry cleaning 
business in 1997.

The impending execution has sparked protests in Nicaragua, which abolished 
capital punishment in 1979, when the leftist Sandinista rebels came to power.

For us here in Nicaragua, where we don't have the death penalty and embrace a 
spirit of humanitarianism and solidarity, it seems pathetic to be on the verge 
of a Nicaraguan citizen's execution," said the country's ambassador to the 
Organization of American States, Denis Moncada.

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has been pleading for clemency for Tercero 
with US officials "at the highest level," including President Barack Obama, 
Moncada told Channel Two news.

Activists have called a demonstration later in the day to demand Tercero be 
spared.

Nicaraguan national Bianca Jagger, a campaigner for the abolition of the death 
penalty, is one of those leading the protest movement.

"His execution would constitute an egregious miscarriage of justice," she wrote 
in an online petition signed by more than 500 people.

Jagger, the ex-wife of Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger, said Tercero had 
"abysmal" legal representation and that his case was fraught with errors.

Church leaders in the majority Catholic country also joined the appeal.

"I call with all my heart on the US authorities to accept the petitions to save 
Bernardo Tercero's life," said Cardinal Miguel Obando.

(source: Global Post)






CONNECTICUT:

Death Penalty Abolition Ruling Leaves Racial Disparity Argument Unresolved


For years, death penalty opponents have claimed that prosecutors are far more 
likely to argue for capital punishment for people of color than for white 
defendants.M

Several years ago, a group of death row inmates challenged their sentences, 
arguing that decisions on who should be charged with capital felony and made 
eligible for a potential death sentence in Connecticut were made with racial 
bias. More than half the men who were on death row are African-American, though 
blacks comprise about 10 percent of the state's population.

While that racial disparity argument was shot down by a trial judge in 2013, 
the case, In re Death Penalty Disparity Claims, has remained on appeal before 
the state Supreme Court. That appeal became moot this month when a divided 
court ruled it was unconstitutional to execute those who were on death row when 
the General Assembly in 2012 repealed the death penalty for future murder 
cases. Those who were on death row will now serve life sentences.

However, the racial disparity issue was not a moot point for retired Justice 
Flemming Norcott Jr., who was part of the panel that repealed the death 
penalty, and Justice Andrew McDonald. They took the opportunity to pen a 
23-page decision on the topic despite it having little to do with the merits of 
Eduardo Santiago's criminal case, which gave rise to the justice's majority 
opinion.

"We write separately to express our profound concerns regarding an issue of 
substantial public importance that will never be resolved by this court in 
light of the majority's determination that the imposition of the death penalty 
is an unconstitutionally excessive and disproportionate punishment," wrote 
Norcott and McDonald. "Specifically, we cannot end our state's nearly 400-year 
struggle with the macabre muck of capital punishment litigation without 
speaking to the persistent allegations of racial and ethnic discrimination that 
have permeated the breadth of this state's experience with capital charging and 
sentencing decisions."

The decision proceeded to discuss the history of racial disparity in death 
sentences in Connecticut and elsewhere for decades, even centuries.

The justices noted that of the 160 executions in the state's history, more than 
1/2 the defendants were black. They said since 1693, only black men have been 
executed for rape in Connecticut, and each for the rape of a white woman. In 
contrast, they wrote, in almost 400 years, no white person has ever been 
executed in Connecticut for the murder of a black person.

"It may be that every black man ever executed for raping a white woman and 
every Native American ever executed for murdering a white man in Connecticut 
was guilty as charged, and received his due process and his proper punishment 
under the laws then in effect," the justices wrote. "But white men in 
Connecticut have also killed Native Americans over the past 400 years, and 
raped black women. None has ever hanged for it.

"To the extent that a criminal justice system operates such that only racial 
minorities are subject to execution for their participation in interracial 
crimes, the fact that those executed are guilty as charged is of little 
succor," the justices continued. "To the extent that such biases, however 
subconscious, invariably continue to influence who is charged with and 
sentenced to the ultimate punishment, the death penalty likely would be hard 
put to survive constitutional scrutiny."

In Chief Justice Chase Rogers' dissent, she argued that Norcott and McDonald's 
opinion "is based on unfounded assumptions and cherry-picked opinions."

"I believe that it undermines the institutional integrity of this court for 
Justices Norcott and McDonald to express their views on such an important issue 
when the court as a whole, which might well have agreed with those concurring 
justices' analysis if the court had been able to address the issue in the case 
in which it was actually litigated, is now barred from considering it," wrote 
Rogers.

In their opinion, Norcott and McDonald addressed the chief justice and said she 
has authored concurring opinions in the past that discussed issues not before 
the court. "As we have explained, one of our goals in authoring this concurring 
opinion has been to highlight the racial disparity issue for consideration by 
other courts and legislative bodies," the two justices wrote. "That has long 
been considered a legitimate function of a concurring opinion."

Several legal experts were impressed with the concurrence.

"There's no doubt that concurrence and the actual majority opinion will be used 
by courts and death penalty abolitionists across the country as a road map to 
abolish the death penalty," said David McGuire, legislative and policy director 
for the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut. McGuire helped pen an 
amicus brief in Santiago supporting the death penalty repeal.

Todd Fernow, director of the University of Connecticut School of Law's criminal 
law clinic, applauded the concurrence, opining that it was clear McDonald and 
Norcott did not want the racial disparity issue to simply be "mooted out" by 
the majority's decision to repeal the death penalty.

"Obviously, this is something that was a passionately held conclusion reached 
by these two justices after a lot of reading and a lot of study," said Fernow. 
"As a last thing he's going to write for the court, Justice Norcott really felt 
he had to write it and I commend him for it."

With that said, Fernow is uncertain whether there will be any practical use for 
the concurring opinion in future cases. He could foresee it spearheading a 
legislative committee tasked with looking at racial disparity in the criminal 
justice system. He does not expect the racial disparity arguments regarding the 
death penalty to be shifted to run-of-the-mill murder convictions.

"It's very hard to make that translation," said Fernow. "It's probably going to 
be easier in the bail context where the disparate impact is measurable in so 
many different ways."

For example, is a black defendant getting bail set at $1 million while a white 
defendant's bail is $100,000? Are white defendants more easily affording bail 
than minority defendants, and how does that correlate with suburban and urban 
environments as their background? "That may benefit ultimately from this sort 
of analysis," said Fernow.

Otherwise, Fernow does not see too many scenarios in court where the same kind 
of racial disparity argument will continue to apply. He said he could see a 
lawyer saying something along the lines of, "Your honor, the state wouldn't be 
pushing for life in prison if we were talking about a poor black victim."

"You've got to be very careful how strategically you go about this stuff," 
Fernow said.

Fernow said the circumstances are different for approaching such an argument in 
a death penalty phase hearing, as preventing the death penalty is the defense 
lawyer's sole goal. If there's a basis for bringing up racial animus then, "You 
do it. You've got nothing to lose," Fernow said. That same approach, he said, 
may not go over in a regular murder case.

(source: Christian Nolan, Connecticut Law Tribune)






NORTH CAROLINA:

Race and the court's biggest decision


Craig Hicks and Dylann Roof are both charged with multiple counts of murder in 
the shooting deaths of several people. Both could face capital punishment. Both 
received national attention.

But another factor might play a major role in their trials: They???re both 
white men accused of killing people of color.

Roof, 21, is charged with 9 counts of murder in the deaths of nine black 
members of Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church during a Bible study on 
June 17 in Charleston, S.C. Hicks, 46, is charged with 3 counts of murder in 
the deaths of Muslim-American university students Deah Barakat, Razan Abu-Salha 
and Yusor Abu-Salha on Feb. 10 in Chapel Hill.

Racial bias in capital punishment

According to fresh data from a report by the Death Penalty Information Center, 
criminal defendants are significantly less likely to receive a death sentence 
for killing people of color than for killing white people.

The data shows that since 1976, more than 75 % of U.S. homicide cases where the 
killer was executed involved white victims, though only 50 % of all homicide 
victims are white.

"In North Carolina, the odds of receiving a death sentence rose by 3.5 times 
for defendants whose victims were white," the report states.Nationwide, a 
minority - 43 % - of death row inmates are white, though whites make up the 
vast majority - about 78 % - of the U.S. population.

Frank Baumgartner, a UNC political science professor who specializes in capital 
punishment in the U.S., said if the victim in a capital case is white, it's 
dramatically more likely to lead to execution.

He said that on the rare occasion white killers are given the death penalty for 
killing people of color, it's often in cases of blatant racism or extremism.

"When you look at those particular cases, they're Ku Klux Klan, they're Aryan 
Nations, they're a white supremacist prison gang that kills another prisoner," 
he said.

Death penalty support wavering

Kristin Collins, a spokeswoman for the Center for Death Penalty Litigation in 
Durham, said that while racism in capital punishment is a well-documented 
phenomenon, the popularity of the death penalty in general is on the decline in 
the U.S.

"It's always a response that we hear to a big, high-profile crime - that we 
need the death penalty," she said. "I actually feel like public opinion is 
trending away from the death penalty. A whole bunch of states have repealed it 
just in the past 10 years, and many other states are no longer using it, 
including North Carolina."

No execution has taken place in North Carolina since 2006.

Collins said a capital conviction can hurt the families of victims by drawing 
out the legal process for decades, since defendants can appeal the sentence 
several times.

"We've seen some families really suffer a lot waiting decades for this 
execution that they think is going to make them feel better, but it never 
comes," she said.Baumgartner said only about 30 % of capital convictions in 
North Carolina result in execution.

"If they go for the death penalty rather than agree on a sentence of life 
without the possibility of parole, Mr. Hicks will get enhanced legal 
protections; he'll have more attorneys, he'll have guaranteed appeals," he 
said. "The average person on death row has already been there 15 years."

Yousef Abu-Salha, a cousin of Yusor Abu-Salha and Razan Abu-Salha, said the 
victims' family is focusing on returning to their normal lives in the wake of 
the tragedy rather than fixating on Hicks' upcoming trial.

"It's going to be a long and painful process, but we have faith in our justice 
system. Our faith and our people mean more to us than the fate of a murderer," 
he said. "The hurt hasn't gone away, but we will continue to live as proud 
Muslim-Americans."

The 'lone wolf' narrative

Since the tragedies in Chapel Hill and in Charleston, various media outlets 
have tried to explain the crimes by examining the mental health and personal 
history of Hicks and Roof.

Both acts were immediately viewed as hate crimes, but in Hicks' case, police 
and state prosecutors have said the motivation behind the Chapel Hill shooting 
was a long-standing parking dispute - a statement contested by the victims' 
families, UNC's Muslim Students' Association and several other 3rd parties.

The hesitation to label violent crimes by white perpetrators as acts of terror 
is a way the media criminalizes people of color while giving white people the 
benefit of the doubt, said Lisa Wade, an expert in race and gender in the 
media.

Wade said that it's common for white killers to be treated like "lone wolves" 
who do not represent their race or gender, and that people of color don't 
receive the same treatment.

"There's a very strong association in American culture between black people and 
criminal activity. If there's an assumption that members of a less dominant 
racial group are 'up to no good' anyway, we see violent crime as one of the 
normal things that happen to people who are 'up to no good,'" she said. 
"Because we elevate whiteness and we define a white person as the upstanding 
citizen, when a white person commits a violent crime, our global view is 
challenged."

Wade said because whiteness and maleness are dominant traits in American 
society, they become invisible in the context of crime.

"We're looking at this epidemic of white men doing these crimes, and yet 
whiteness and maleness and their intersection is not part of the media's 
discussion. Nobody is asking, 'What's wrong with the white guy?' even though 
it's a very clear pattern."

(source: Daily Tarheel)






ALABAMA:

Mom: Death of toddler was accidental ---- Dad charged with forcefully shaking 
2-year-old son


The mother of a toddler killed over the weekend called her son's death an 
accident.

Gena Redden said she and Jose Luis Rosales Sr. only just obtained full custody 
of their 2-year-old again earlier this month. Redden spoke Monday about what 
she believed happened to their 2-year-old, son Jose Luis Rosales Jr.

"I was at the grocery store and Jose Sr. said the baby must've fallen out of 
the bed," Redden said. "I believe Jose."

Deputies with the Houston County Sheriff's Office obtained a warrant Monday 
charging the 25-year-old Rosales Sr. with felony 1st-degree domestic violence 
assault in connection with his toddler's death.

Court records show a warrant obtained by sheriff's investigators charged 
Rosales with shaking his son by force.

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

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

Sheriff Donald Valenza said he expected to release some information on the 
investigation after the completion of the toddler's autopsy.

District Attorney Doug Valeska, who attended Rosales' 1st appearance in court 
Monday, declined to talk about the specifics of what investigators believe 
happened to the child. But he said it could "potentially" be a capital murder 
case. He said the age of the victim 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.

The toddler was taken to state Department of Forensic Sciences in Montgomery to 
determine an official cause of death through an autopsy.

Rosales is being held without bail at the Houston County Jail. A preliminary 
hering is set for Sept. 4. District Judge Benjamin Lewis appointed attorney 
John Steensland III to represent Rosales in court.

Court records show Rosales appeared to have no criminal records except for a 
pending misdemeanor fishing without a license charge.

Redden recalled how Rosales Sr. called her from a neighbor???s phone after 
finding their son. He had been outside with their two older daughters after 
putting Rosales Jr. down for a nap. "He said he had laid him down because he 
said he said was tired," Redden said.

Redden said there was a history of Rosales Jr. jumping on the bed and falling. 
She said they had already notified officials with the Houston County Department 
of Human Resources of those occasions. She said the 2-year-old fell out of what 
she referred as a three-in-one bed, which was set up as a baby crib. She said 
their son went by the affectionate nickname of "Bubba."

"Bubba didn't deserve to go yet," Redden said. "Jose was an excellent father, 
and if he said it was an accident I believe him."

Redden said she and Rosales Sr. had lost custody of their son, who had been in 
foster care for around a year until February of this year. She said they were 
granted full custody again earlier this month.

"We had been investigated for anything and everything a parent can be 
investigated for, and we just got cleared," Redden said. "It was great to have 
him home, but I didn't get much time with him. I wish could've spent more time 
with him."

(source: Dothan Eagle)

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

Death row inmate: Alabama ignores my innocence


The latest Alabama inmate seeking freedom from death row maintains the state is 
wrongly ignoring his claims of innocence while his health fails behind bars, 
one of his attorneys said Monday.

Legal arguments filed by Donnis Musgrove contend the state is arguing about 
technicalities rather addressing legitimate concerns about the man's 1988 
conviction and death sentence.

Musgrove's appeal is currently in federal court, and the defense is asking the 
judge to rule quickly because the prisoner has lung cancer and was hospitalized 
last week in grave condition, said Cissy Jackson, one of his lawyers.

"We would love to get him out of prison ... so he could have some peace after 
being wrongfully imprisoned for so many years," said Jackson.

Out of the hospital and sent back to Donaldson prison near Birmingham, Musgrove 
will be treated in the prison infirmary for an indefinite period, Jackson said.

The attorney general's office declined to comment on Musgrove's legal 
arguments.

The state has argued that rules prohibit Musgrove from making new claims about 
being innocent and bar him from questioning evidence used in his trial, but 
prosecutors haven't directly addressed his arguments about being wrongfully 
convicted based on bogus evidence conjured by prosecutors and police.

Musgrove, 67, was sentenced to die for the gunshot killing of Coy Eugene Barron 
in 1986, but his attorneys maintain the prosecution falsified every piece of 
evidence against him, including witness statements and a shell casing that was 
used to link him to the slaying.

The defense earlier this year asked a federal judge in Birmingham to overturn 
Musgrove's conviction, and his lawyers filed a brief late Friday accusing the 
state of failing to address questions about innocence.

Prosecutors had no immediate response, and they won't necessarily have to file 
additional documents before U.S. District Judge David Proctor rules on 
Musgrove's bid for freedom.

Musgrove is trying to become the third inmate freed from Alabama's death row 
since April. Lawyers asked Proctor to rule quickly because of Musgrove's ill 
health.

Two other men have been released from Alabama's death row since April after 
winning appeals. One of them, Anthony Ray Hinton, was tried by the same 
Jefferson County prosecutor and judge who handled Musgrove's case, and the same 
ballistics expert was involved in each case.

Musgrove contends the evidence of wrongdoing in his case is more extensive than 
in the case against Hinton.

(source: Associated Press)