[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----PENN., S.C./GA., FLA., TENN., UTAH., MONT., ORE., USA

[Rick Halperin]

Feb. 14



PENNSYLVANIA:

Wolf halts death penalty in Pa.

Pennsylvania's death penalty - used just 3 times since 1978 but as 
controversial as ever - was shelved by Gov. Wolf on Friday until after he gets 
the report of a task force studying the future of capital punishment.

Acting on concerns he first expressed during last year's campaign, the new 
governor cited a wave of exonerations nationwide and questions about the 
effectiveness of executions.

"This decision is based on a flawed system that has been proven to be an 
endless cycle of court proceedings as well as ineffective, unjust, and 
expensive," Wolf said.

Death penalty opponents lauded the news, while supporters condemned it. For 186 
inmates on the state's death row, it means a reprieve. For one, the reprieve 
could not be more timely.

Wolf's decision means there will be no execution on March 4 for Terrance 
Williams, 48, a former star quarterback at Germantown High School sentenced to 
death for the 1984 murder of Amos Norwood, a 56-year-old Germantown church 
volunteer.

Wolf's predecessor, Gov. Tom Corbett, signed Williams' death warrant last 
month.

In reversing that decision and announcing the moratorium, the new governor said 
it "is in no way an expression of sympathy for the guilty on death row, all of 
whom have been convicted of committing heinous crimes, and all of whom must be 
held to account.

"The guilty deserve no compassion, and receive none from me," Wolf added. "I 
have nothing but the deepest appreciation for the work of victim advocates, and 
sympathize and stand with all those who have suffered at the hands of those in 
our society who turn to violence."

Williams' lawyers have been fighting for years to stop his execution, 
contending, among other reasons, that prosecutors withheld evidence that 
Williams' victim had sexually abused teenage boys. After the reprieve, Shawn 
Nolan, chief of the Federal Defender's death penalty unit in Philadelphia, 
thanked Wolf on Williams' behalf.

"The Pennsylvania Senate has recognized the need for the commonwealth to 
examine the capital punishment system," Nolan said. "In light of the ongoing 
bipartisan state legislative commission, and given all of the well-documented 
problems with Pennsylvania's death penalty, the governor's decision to grant a 
reprieve and issue a moratorium is appropriate."

In 2011, the state Senate authorized a task force to comprehensively study the 
death penalty and whether it can be legally and effectively administered in 
Pennsylvania. The task force was to have issued its report in December 2013, 
but the deadline has been extended.

32 states have capital punishment, including Pennsylvania and Delaware. New 
Jersey abolished the death penalty in 2007. In Pennsylvania, the debate about 
capital punishment - why it is not used more often versus why it should be 
allowed at all - has never stopped.

Wolf's order ignited it anew, as well as questions about his power to do so.

House Speaker Mike Turzai (R., Allegheny) and Majority Leader Dave Reed (R., 
Indiana) accused Wolf of "overstepping his authority."

"His death penalty moratorium is, in reality, a political statement without 
public discourse or input. Or, apparently, without any consideration for those 
the victims left behind," the GOP leaders said in a statement.

Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (R., Jefferson) and Senate Majority 
Leader Jake Corman (R., Centre) agreed, calling the moratorium "ideologically 
driven."

But State Sen. Daylin Leach (D., Montgomery) used the occasion to reintroduce 
his bill - for the 4th consecutive session - to abolish Pennsylvania's death 
penalty.

Outside the Capitol, the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association called 
Wolf's action "a misuse of his power [that] ignores the law" and said he had 
"turned his back on the silenced victims of cold-blooded killers.

"A moratorium is just a ploy," the prosecutors association added. "Make no 
mistake, this action is not about waiting for a study - it's about the governor 
ignoring duly enacted law and imposing his personal views against the death 
penalty."

Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams called Wolf's action "an injustice 
to the citizens of this state."

"If the governor wants to be a man of his convictions, he should debate this 
issue publicly and try to persuade the legislature and the people to change the 
law," Williams said. "But he has no moral or legal right to nullify judicial 
rulings and legislative statutes."

Williams said the people most grateful for Wolf's moratorium are "the 
guiltiest, cruelest, most vicious killers on death row."

The Pennsylvania State Troopers Association called the moratorium a "travesty" 
and "a sad day for Pennsylvania."

It cited the moratorium's potential impact on prosecutors' announced intent to 
seek the death penalty for Eric Frein, charged with the Sept. 12 ambush killing 
of State Police Cpl. Bryon Dickson and wounding of Trooper Alex Douglass in 
Northeast Pennsylvania.

Marc Bookman, director of the Philadelphia-based nonprofit Atlantic Center for 
Capital Representation, said the governor's action was "very thoughtful 
considering the flaws that seem more apparent every day."

Philadelphia Catholic Archbishop Charles Chaput said he was "very grateful to 
Gov. Wolf for choosing to take a deeper look into these studies, and I pray we 
can find a better way to punish those who are guilty of these crimes."

Pennsylvanians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty released statements from 6 
members, including relatives of murder victims such as Megan Smith, whose 
father and stepmother were murdered in 2001 in Lancaster County.

"I applaud Gov. Wolf for recognizing that Pennsylvania's capital punishment 
system is broken in so many ways," Smith said. "It costs far more than 
imprisoning murderers for life. It is inconsistent and arbitrary, and it 
sometimes sentences innocent people to die."

Pennsylvania authorizes the death penalty only for people convicted of 
1st-degree murder: a malicious premeditated killing. If the prosecutor does not 
seek the death penalty in a 1st-degree murder case, or if a jury does not 
impose a death sentence after a defendant is found guilty of 1st-degree murder, 
the sentence is life in prison without chance of parole.

In the abstract, Pennsylvanians overwhelmingly support the death penalty. A 
2003 poll by Quinnipiac University showed that 67 % favored the death penalty, 
and 28 % opposed it, and 4 % responded "Don't know."

When the same poll asked respondents to choose between the death penalty and 
life in prison with no chance of parole, support for capital punishment fell to 
50 %. 42 % favored life in prison, and 8 % responded, "Don't know."

Regardless of the polls, Pennsylvania juries have shown increasing reluctance 
to impose a death sentence when it is an option. Only 3 people were sentenced 
to death in 2014, from Fayette, York, and Montgomery Counties, and only 4 in 
2013.

Of the 3 people executed since Pennsylvania reinstated capital punishment in 
1978 - 2 in 1995, the last in 1999 - all 3 had ended their appeals and asked to 
be executed.

As of Feb. 2, according to state prison officials, 183 men and 3 women were on 
death row in Pennsylvania, confined to their cells 23 hours a day.

Wolf during the campaign said he would not sign death warrants until concerns 
have been addressed about avoiding executing an innocent person.

"Our concern is about what to do to ensure that in executing people we are as 
certain as certain can be that we are not executing people who are innocent," 
said Marissa Bluestine, legal director of the Pennsylvania Innocence Project.

Philadelphia civil rights lawyer David Rudovsky noted that - beyond the 
question of innocence - more than 100 Pennsylvanians have been taken off death 
row because their trials were found to have been unfair.

During his term as governor, Corbett signed 48 death warrants, although no 
executions occurred under his watch.

Last fall, Corbett stayed the execution of Hubert L. Michael Jr., who confessed 
to murdering a York County teenager 2 decades ago. Corbett's decision came 
after state officials could not acquire lethal injection drugs.

The drugs needed for lethal injections are becoming harder for states to obtain 
because some manufacturers have refused to sell them for that purpose. Some 
states, including Pennsylvania, have resorted to obtaining them from 
compounding pharmacies.

Pennsylvania's death penalty is also under at least 2 challenges in the state 
and federal courts.

On Friday, U.S. District Judge Yvette Kane in Harrisburg granted judgment to 
the commonwealth in a suit challenging the death penalty for violating the U.S. 
Constitution's Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

Rudovsky, who filed the suit, said he was unsure if he would appeal Kane's 
ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Rudovsky said he would go before the state Commonwealth Court on March 11 in a 
related challenge, arguing that the state cannot legally execute anyone using 
other than the original drug cocktail the legislature wrote into the 1978 law 
reinstating capital punishment.

Rudovsky said the state law requires use of sodium thiopental, a "ultra 
short-acting barbiturate," to anesthetize the condemned person before the 
lethal drugs are administered. The drug is no longer manufactured because of 
its use in capital punishment.

(source: philly.com)

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

Death penalty case against alleged cop killer Eric Frein continues despite ban



In the hours after Gov. Tom Wolf announced a moratorium on executions in 
Pennsylvania, opponents invoked 1 infamous name more than any other: Eric 
Frein.

The 31-year-old Monroe County man garnered national media attention after 
allegedly ambushing 2 state troopers, killing 1, and fleeing into the 
mountains. Upon his capture 48 days later, Pike County District Attorney Ray 
Tonkin vowed to seek the death penalty.

"Today's action by Governor Tom Wolf does not serve as any legal impediment to 
my office's pursuit of justice in the criminal case against Eric Matthew 
Frein," Tonkin said, in a written statement Friday.

Many law enforcement organizations and politicians, however, suggested Friday 
that the moratorium could derail the capital murder trial against the 
self-proclaimed survivalist.

"The concern with a blanket moratorium is that it removes a tool district 
attorneys may use in prosecuting cases against accused killers such as Eric 
Frein," wrote Senate Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson County, and Majority 
Leader Jake Corman, R-Centre County, in just one example.

Wolf's moratorium will prevent convicted death row inmates from being executed 
pending the results of a Senate-backed inquiry into the practice. It will not, 
however, stop prosecutors from seeking the death penalty or juries from handing 
it down.

Indeed, a de facto ban has been in place since 1999 as death row inmates filed 
appeals, obtained reprieves from governors of both parties or died in prison. 
Since 1977, Pennsylvania has executed just three people, each of whom 
voluntarily waived their right to appeal.

James Swetz, who briefly represented Frein after his arrest, said he doesn't 
understand why his former client is being used as an example.

"The thing people must remember is that if Eric Frein is convicted of this 
homicide, he will die in prison," he said. "He will never get out. It's life 
without parole. His life, on a daily basis, will be restricted. He will be 
subject to violence in prison. He will never again see the light of day."

Even before the moratorium, Swetz said, that would be Frein's future. It would 
likely be many, many years before execution would even be a possibility.

"That is not lenience," he said. "That is punishment."

Michael Weinstein, Frein's current attorney, did not immediately respond to a 
request for comment.

Swetz, who also serves as president of the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal 
Defense Lawyers, said he supports the moratorium, as it Wolf recognizes many of 
the shortcomings in the existing system that could allow innocent people to be 
executed.

"We applaud Gov. Wolf in recognizing that nobody should face the death penalty 
as a criminal sanction while these flaws exist," he said.

Chris Borick, a Muhlenberg College political science professor, said invoking 
Frein's name is simply effective political messaging.

"It's a story that struck a lot of emotional chords and opponents to the 
moratorium say, 'I'm going to try to use his case to help fight for my 
position'," he said. "It doesn't surprise me at all."

Tonkin himself said that he disapproves of the moratorium because it "usurped 
the authority of the legislature and courts" and may lead to more "pain and 
confusion to families who have suffered the actions of the worst criminals."

That moratorium, however, will have little effect on the case against Frein, he 
said.

"A jury of 12 citizens will . . . determine the appropriate sentence," he said.

(source: pennlive.com)

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

see: 
http://abc27.com/2015/02/13/wolf-moratorium-reignites-debate-over-death-penalty/

(source: ABC news)

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

Bishop Gainer lauds death penalty moratorium; 'just punishment can be attained 
without resorting to execution'



The head of the Harrisburg Catholic Diocese on Friday welcomed the decision by 
Gov. Tom Wolf to place a moratorium on the death penalty in Pennsylvania, 
potentially halting the process for 186 prisoners who've received a death 
sentence.

Bishop Ronald Gainer along with the the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference, the 
church's legislative arm in the state, noted in release that the Catholic 
Bishops of Pennsylvania have long been advocating for an end to the death 
penalty in Pennsylvania "because the modern penal system provides alternatives 
to taking the lives of the guilty. Punishment should reflect our belief in the 
inherent human dignity of each person, and taking a life to avenge the death of 
another does not create a culture of life."

In the statement, Gainer and the conference said that people convicted of 
capital offenses must be punished effectively and appropriately for their 
crimes.

"Family and friends of victims, and society as a whole, demand this. Just 
punishment, however, can be attained without resorting to execution," the 
release said." Even the most violent offenders who commit heinous crimes still 
have a dignity given by God."

Since 1693, the commonwealth has executed 1,043 prisoners. Wolf said the 
state's current death penalty is "a flawed system that has been proven to be an 
endless cycle of court proceedings as well as ineffective, unjust and 
expensive."

Wolf's 1st action was a temporary reprieve to Terrance Williams, who was 
scheduled to be executed on March 4. Williams was convicted of two murders he 
committed as a teenager in 1984.

Gainer pointed out that in "Living the Gospel of Life," U.S. Bishops write that 
Catholics are called to respect every human life, "including the lives of those 
who fail to show that respect for others."

"Society will not benefit from imposing the death penalty, nor will it be 
harmed by showing mercy," the statement from diocese reads. "By turning away 
from the death penalty, we are embracing hope, not despair. Today's 
announcement breaks the cycle of violence that so plagues our society. We hope 
that this spirit of respect for human life is shown throughout all laws and 
policies of the Commonwealth."

(source: pennlive.com)

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

Facts About Pennsylvania's Death Penalty



Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf announced a moratorium on executions in Pennsylvania 
on Friday. Some details about his action, the reaction and the death penalty:

THE GOVERNOR'S ACTION:

Wolf said the moratorium will be in effect at least until he receives the 
results of a legislative study on the topic. He called the current system of 
capital punishment "error prone, expensive and anything but infallible."

--

REACTION FROM PROSECUTORS:

The state prosecutors' association said the governor had no authority to impose 
such a moratorium, and said some sort of legal response was likely.

--

PENNSYLVANIA'S DEATH ROW:

The state currently has 183 men and 3 women on death row. The most recent 
addition is Raghunandan Yandamuri, who was sentenced in November for killing a 
10-month-old baby and her grandmother in a botched ransom kidnapping.

???--

NOTABLE DEATH ROW INMATES:

Among the condemned are George Banks, who killed 13 people, including f5 of his 
children, in 1982; Richard Baumhammers, who was convicted of killing 5 people 
in a 2000 shooting rampage that targeted ethnic minorities; John Lesko and 
Michael Travaglia, who killed a rookie police officer and 3 other people during 
an 1980 "kill for thrill" spree; and Mark Spotz, who shot his brother to death 
after an argument over a gerbil in 1995 and then went on to kill 3 women on 
successive days.

Mumia Abu-Jamal, convicted in the 1981 killing a Philadelphia police officer, 
was on death row for 3 decades in a case that drew international attention. He 
is now serving life without parole after his death sentence was thrown out.

--

RECENT HISTORY OF EXECUTIONS:

Pennsylvania has executed 3 people since the U.S. Supreme Court revived the 
death penalty, each of whom had given up on his appeals. Gary Heidnik, one of 
the inspirations for the Buffalo Bill character in "The Silence of the Lambs," 
was executed in 1999 for killing 2 women he had imprisoned in his Philadelphia 
home. Leon Moser was executed in 1995 for the 1985 murders of his wife and 2 
daughters in suburban Philadelphia. Keith Zettlemoyer was executed in 1995 for 
the 1980 killing of a friend who planned to testify against him.

--

WHY PENNSYLVANIA HAS HAD FEW EXECUTIONS:

Some say there is opposition to the death penalty among judges on the 3rd U.S. 
Circuit Court of Appeals or attribute it to aggressive tactics by lawyers who 
defend people facing execution. Others argue death sentences are overturned 
because of problems in how those cases are handled, and that capital defendants 
often do not receive adequate representation at trial.

--

DEATH ROW IN THE UNITED STATES:

The Death Penalty Information Center says there are currently 3,054 people 
awaiting execution across the country. 32 states have the death penalty, while 
18 states and Washington, D.C., prohibit it. 35 people were executed in the 
U.S. last year.

(source: Associated Press)

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

Reform Movement Commends PA Governor Wolf for Moratorium on Death Penalty



In response to the Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf's newly declared moratorium 
on executions, Rachel Laser, Deputy Director of the Religious Action Center 
issued the following statement:

Today, Governor Tom Wolf announced a moratorium on the death penalty in 
Pennsylvania, acknowledging that the flawed system is "error prone, expensive 
and anything but infallible." The decision will be in effect at least until the 
Governor receives and reviews the forthcoming report from the Pennsylvania Task 
Force and Advisory Commission on Capital Punishment that has been underway for 
about four years. There are currently 183 men and 3 women on death row in 
Pennsylvania who could be affected. The Governor clarified that his actions 
should not be taken as an expression of sympathy for the guilty on death row, 
but are based on the fact that the system has proven to be an "endless cycle of 
court proceedings as well as ineffective, unjust and expensive."

The Reform Movement has formally opposed the death penalty since 1959, noting 
the sanctity of human life. Our resolution states: "there is no crime for which 
the taking of human life by society is justified and that it is the obligation 
of society to evolve other methods in dealing with crime." Though the Torah 
does mandate death for some crimes, the rabbis of the Talmud intentionally made 
the mandate's application so complex and difficult, that it became virtually 
impossible to use. We learn in Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5 that causing a single life 
to perish is the same as "caus[ing] a whole world to perish."

In this spirit, we are encouraged by the actions of Governor Tom Wolf. There 
are 31 other states that still have laws allowing the death penalty and we will 
continue to fight against it until the practice has been abolished throughout 
our country.

(source: Religious Action Center----The Religious Action Center of Reform 
Judaism is the Washington office of the Union for Reform Judaism, whose nearly 
900 congregations across North America encompass 1.5 million Reform Jews, and 
the Central Conference of American Rabbis, whose membership includes more than 
2,000 Reform rabbis. Visit www.rac.org for more.)

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

Death Penalty Focus Applauds Pennsylvania's Death Penalty Moratorium, Urges 
Golden State to Follow Suit



Newly elected Governor Tom Wolf placed a moratorium on executions in 
Pennsylvania today until concerns about the fairness of the state's death 
penalty system are addressed.

The Governor's action is part of a growing movement to abandon the practice. 
Pennsylvania is the 4th state in 4 years to impose a moratorium on the death 
penalty, in addition to 6 states that have abolished the practice since 2007.

"I think Governor Wolf realizes that when you have more exonerated prisoners 
than executed prisoners in 30 years, the system handed to you was obviously 
broken," said Nick Yarris, who was exonerated by DNA evidence after serving 21 
years on Pennsylvania's death row.

According to the Death Penalty Information Center's 2014 Year End Report, the 
country saw the lowest number of death sentences handed down in 40 years and 
the lowest number of executions in 20 years. Though California still houses the 
largest death row in the country, a Field Poll last year found that support for 
the death penalty was falling rapidly, with voters' support at its lowest point 
in half a century.

"I applaud the decision by Governor Wolf to join the growing number of states 
putting a stop to this costly and broken system," said Matt Cherry, executive 
director of Death Penalty Focus. "The writing is on the wall: it's time for 
California to follow suit and officially abolish the death penalty."

The parallels between Pennsylvania's death penalty system and California's 
system are undeniable. Pennsylvania has spent over $350 million on the death 
penalty over a period of time during which only 3 people have been executed and 
it currently houses the 5th largest death row in the country. Similarly, 
California could save $130 million a year by abolishing the death penalty, 
which has been on hold since 2006. This has placed California in 1st place for 
the largest death row in the nation.

[source: Death Penalty Focus]

(source: prnewswire.com)








SOUTH CAROLINA/GEORGIA:

Alter death penalty law



The trial in Aiken County for a man accused of killing a police officer was 
over before it even began when Solicitor Strom Thurmond Jr. struck a plea deal 
with the defendant. If Stephon Carter pleaded guilty to murder, then they 
wouldn't seek the death penalty.

In South Carolina and Georgia, for a person to receive the death penalty the 
jury has to vote unanimously. This is the reason the solicitor was hesitant to 
pursue it. Even with this in mind, the solicitor still should've pushed for 
death for Stephon Carter because of this being a heinous crime. Officer Scotty 
Richardson was not offered any plea deals when he was viciously gunned down by 
a thug in Aiken in 2011. The government should be the sword of God, and the 
guilty party should be hanged in public in front of the courthouse.

I'm calling for both state legislatures of Georgia and South Carolina to change 
the law that requires a unanimous decision by a jury for the defendant to 
receive the death penalty. When heinous crimes are committed, it should only 
take a simple majority of jurors for the person to receive the death penalty.

The government should put the fear of God in these thugs who commit heinous 
crimes. Punishment should be swift and just!

Daniel Martin

Blythe

(source: Letter to the Editor, Augusta Chronicle)








FLORIDA:

Twice-convicted murderer facing death penalty in Orlando woman's slaying



Nearly 13 years after a College Park mom was found strangled and stuffed into 
the trunk of her car, the man thought to have killed her is facing the death 
penalty.

Teresa Green's former neighbor, 48-year-old Demorris Andy Hunter, is the 
suspect in her death.

In 2003, he was arrested in Texas about 9 months after Green's body was found, 
but because of his violent past and another pending murder case involving a 
woman on the West Coast, he was not brought back Florida to face his charges 
until this month.

Hunter, who was booked into the Orange County Jail about 11:30 p.m. Feb. 5, 
will finally face first-degree murder charges for Green's slaying. His bail has 
been denied, and jail officials have noted that he is not to be released. 
Before his arrest, Hunter was featured on the long-running television show, 
"America's Most Wanted," and had been listed as a fugitive on the FBI website.

According to jail records, Hunter is already serving a life sentence in the 
March 26, 2002, death of 41-year-old Ivora Huntly of Oakland, Calif. Huntly was 
shot to death when she tried to stop Hunter from beating another woman, 
investigators said at the time.

Shortly after Huntly's death, witnesses reported seeing Hunter running from the 
scene. But before he could be arrested, police said, Hunter took a 
cross-country trip and moved to Orlando's College Park neighborhood.

He moved into an apartment in the same building Green shared with her 
14-year-old son.

Green's son was staying with a friend the night of the incident. Police said 
Green had a party at her home on May 25, 2002. The party wrapped up about 2:30 
a.m. the next day. Shortly afterward, witnesses told police, Hunter and Green 
got into an argument.

That day, exactly 3 months after Huntly's death, was the last time anyone saw 
Green alive.

Hours after the argument, Hunter was seen driving Green's car and abandoning it 
at a Sanford drugstore. Another neighbor said Hunter admitted that he "did 
something really bad" before borrowing his van and using it to flee to Texas.

That van was later found burned in an abandoned parking lot in Houston, where 
Hunter was eventually arrested.

Even before Green and Huntly were killed, police say, Hunter was convicted in 
the death of a 3rd woman. He was sentenced to 13 years in California's Folsom 
State Prison in that case.

(source: Orlando Sentinel)

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

Clearwater man pleads guilty to murder in hopes of getting death penalty



In a rare case of a man attempting to arrange his own execution, a Craig Wall 
pleaded guilty on Friday to murdering his girlfriend, and also pleaded no 
contest to murdering their infant son.

Wall is seeking the death penalty for himself, a defense attorney said during a 
court hearing. Prosecutors made it clear that's exactly what they are seeking 
as well.

And the parents of victim Laura Taft, who came to the hearing Friday afternoon, 
agree the death penalty is called for.

"I just feel like my daughter's looking down on us saying, 'Mom we're almost 
done,'" said Taft's mother, Rhonda Lyon-Buttitia, after Wall entered his pleas. 
"She didn't deserve this ... neither did the baby."

She said she hopes Wall does receive the death penalty. "Why should he get to 
breathe when my daughter does not get a chance to breathe?"

Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Philip Federico accepted Wall's pleas, and 
scheduled a "penalty phase" trial beginning Feb. 23. Although Wall is now 
guilty of both murders, this next step is legally necessary so Federico can 
rule whether the death penalty is appropriate.

Court psychologist Jill Poorman evaluated Wall to make sure he is mentally 
competent and truly understands the consequences of his plea. He does, Poorman 
said in court.

"I feel he's just resigned to the fact that this is what he needed to do," she 
said.

Wall also indicated he wanted to spare Taft's family the pain of a trial, but 
Lyon-Buttitia and father John Bredeson said later they didn't believe that.

During many courtroom appearances since the 2010 murders, Wall has frequently 
displayed erratic behavior, sometimes blurting out that he did kill Taft but 
denying that he killed their son.

On Friday, there were no similar antics, except when Federico asked him a 
standard question: Was he currently under the influence of alcohol or drugs?

"I wish," he said.

By seeking his own execution, Wall is taking a highly unusual step. But 
Federico said Wall seems to understand his legal rights, better than other 
defendants who have come before him in recent years.

During the penalty phase trial, prosecutors will present evidence of 
"aggravating factors" that argue in favor of Wall's execution. Typically in a 
case like this, defense attorneys present evidence of "mitigating factors" that 
argue against the death penalty.

But in this case, Wall has indicated he wants to present this evidence himself. 
This means the person in charge of preventing the execution is the man who 
wants to be executed.

During Friday's hearing, Wall asked if there was any kind of points system for 
weighting the mitigating factors. Federico said there was no such mathematical 
formula. Wall also rambled for a bit about how different Florida Supreme 
justices might rule in his case.

Wall has lived a troubled life, and spent 14 years in prison for robbery with a 
deadly weapon and armed burglary. He met Taft shortly after getting out. Their 
baby, Craig Wall Jr., also called "CJ," was born shortly after Christmas 2009.

But 5 weeks later, the boy was dead, having suffered broken ribs and brain 
trauma. Wall was considered a suspect almost immediately, but he was not 
arrested right away.

When Wall did get arrested a few days later on a separate charge, the fact that 
he was a suspect in his baby's death - stated clearly on an arrest affidavit - 
was never mentioned in court. He was released on bail. The Pinellas-Pasco State 
Attorney later acknowledged the case was not handled according to proper 
procedures.

3 days after getting out of jail, police said, Wall crashed through a sliding 
glass door of Taft's apartment and stabbed her to death.

(source: Tampa Bay Times)








TENNESSEE:

Tennessee Supreme Court To Decide If Death Row Inmates Can Challenge The 
Possibility Of Electrocution



The Tennessee Supreme Court on Friday agreed to decide whether a death row 
inmate can properly challenge the constitutionality of the possibility of 
electrocution as a method of execution.

The lawsuit by 34 death row inmates challenges several aspects of Tennessee's 
death penalty protocol. In an order filed Friday, the Court agreed to hear the 
State's request to dismiss the plaintiffs' challenge to electrocution as a 
method of execution, asserting that none of the plaintiffs is subject to 
execution by electrocution at this time.

Although there has not been a final decision in the case at the trial court 
level, some elements of the lawsuit have already been subject to appellate 
review. In addition to this claim regarding electrocution, the Supreme Court is 
considering whether the identities of those involved in the execution process - 
including medical examiners, pharmacists, and physicians - must be revealed to 
the death row inmates as a part of the discovery process.

The case will be heard by the Supreme Court in oral arguments on May 6 in 
Knoxville.

(source: The Chattanoogan)








UTAH:

House barely passes firing squad bill



Tensions ran high Friday when the vote to reinstate Utah's firing squad stalled 
at 35-35 in the Utah House of Representatives.

After a dramatic pause while remaining representatives were called to the House 
to cast their votes, HB11 eventually passed by just 5 votes, 39-34, with 1 
lawmaker changing their vote. It now advances to the Senate for further 
consideration.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clearfield, would legalize firing squad 
executions in Utah if drugs needed for lethal injections aren't available 30 
days before the date of the death warrant or if lethal injection executions 
become unconstitutional.

"It is never easy to talk about taking another life," Ray said, "but in our 
judicial system, we have a means that requires that sometimes."

Utah may need a "backup" method to lethal injections, he said, in the wake of 
recent botched executions that have led to a U.S. Supreme Court case with 
Oklahoma that may cause lethal injection executions to become unconstitutional.

Utah potentially faces the risk of a situation similar to Oklahoma's case if 
the state continues to carry out lethal injections, as drugs previously used 
for lethal injections have become unavailable because European pharmaceutical 
companies that sell the drugs oppose the death penalty and refuse to sell to 
U.S. prisons, Ray said.

"What we're doing here is trying to avoid a costly legal battle in carrying out 
what the courts have asked us to carry out," he said.

On the House floor, Ray asked his fellow representatives to remember the debate 
of Utah's death penalty was not "germane" to his bill, as HB11 only concerns 
the method to carry out what has already been established as part of the 
state's justice system.

Rep. Sandra Hollins, D-Salt Lake City, said she refuses to vote in favor of a 
bill that gives a tool to carry out the death penalty. The freshman lawmaker, 
who is black, said capital punishment is sentenced by a process that is 
"fraught with errors" and negatively affects the community she represents.

"The death penalty disproportionately affects people of color and people of 
lower socioeconomic status," Hollins said. "Instead of ensuring Utah has 
multiple ways of killing people, we should be ensuring that all Utahns are 
equal before the law."

Rep. Brian King, D-Salt Lake City, also opposed the bill, saying firing squad 
executions are "barbaric" and will damage Utah's image.

King said continuing Utah's capital punishment would be a "fiscally 
irresponsible decision" because "it costs nearly twice as much to prosecute a 
death penalty case than a life-in-prison case."

"Utah has a real chance to be a moral and fiscal leader on this issue," he 
said. "We know how expensive the death penalty is. We know the death penalty 
does not deter criminal activity. There is no right or humane way to kill 
people. We should be looking for ways to make Utah better, not worse."

House Speaker Greg Hughes, R-Draper, said he doesn't understand the debate over 
methods of execution. He said Friday's close vote on the firing squad bill was 
more suited to a debate over capital punishment.

"It escapes me that we're having such a prolonged debate on the niceties of, or 
what doesn't offend our senses about, capital punishment," Hughes said.

He said he doesn't see the controversy over using a firing squad to carry out 
executions. What Hughes paid closest attention to in the debate, he said, was 
the contention that firing squads cause the least amount of pain.

"When you talk about the way you're doing it, if it's offensive to people to 
think about, well, think about what you're doing," the speaker said. "I just 
don't get it."

Sen. David Hinkins, R-Orangeville, will be proceeding as the bill's Senate 
floor sponsor. Ray said while he's already found support of HB11 from some 
senators, it's unclear how his bill will fair in the Senate.

Senate President Wayne Niederhauser, R-Sandy, said it's too early to predict 
whether the firing squad bill will pass the Senate. He said he hasn't thought 
too much about the bill because he's been busy with other key issues this 
session, including Medicaid expansion and a gas tax increase.

"Now we'll get serious about the bill and have some caucus meetings about it 
and see what the will of the Senate is," Niederhauser said.

Sen. Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan, said the issue needs to be dealt with because of 
legal challenges to lethal injections in other states.

"I think it's a very important issue," Hillyard said. "Until we clear up the 
issue about whether injunction would work, I think there is a cloud over the 
death penalty issue. And you resolve it by having the firing squad as an 
alternative."

Senate Minority Caucus Manager Jim Dabakis, D-Salt Lake City, said he opposes 
the death penalty and doesn't like the bill. But, he suggested, if it's going 
to be considered, it should be amended to require executions be broadcast over 
the Internet for all to see.

"If we do it, let's stream it live," Dabakis said. "If the purpose of it is for 
deterrence and we're willing to live with the death penalty, maybe we ought to 
get it out there. It seems a bit barbaric these days, but we're going to have 
to deal with it."

(source: Deseret News)








MONTANA:

Legislature hears bill to eliminate Montana's death penalty



A bill to eliminate Montana's death penalty is before the Legislature this week 
and today, lawmakers heard testimony about murder, punishment, forgiveness and 
the lives that are forever changed.

Randy Steidl spent 12 years on death row before being exonerated, convicted for 
a double murder he didn't commit. He says, "...I'm just 1 of 150 exonerated 
former death row inmates struggling to regain what is left of our lives."

That's the sort of injustice proponents of House Bill 370 want to prevent by 
repealing Montana's death penalty.

The bill's sponsor Representative David "Doc" Moore (R-Missoula) recounted 4 
different homicides that have affected his life.

Moore state, "And to me, personally, I couldn't imagine a worse fate than being 
locked up in prison for the rest of my life."

Jessica Crist, Lutheran Bishop testified for the bill stating, "State-supported 
vengeance flies in the face of everything Jesus lived and died for."

Susan Debree's daughter was born 49 years ago on Valentine's Day. Her 1990 
death by a gunshot in Great Falls never led to an arrest or conviction.

DeBree says, "To survive and to continue living myself, I had to choose to 
learn to walk in the road of forgiveness."

Pastor Matt Randles of the Evangelical Covenant Church said, "When we think of 
the death penalty, it's like this Ferrari without an engine. It's very, very, 
very expensive. And it doesn't get us anywhere."

Crist added, "'Vengeance is mine,' said the Lord. 'Not ours.'"

Some lawmakers opposing the repeal have had personal experiences with murder.

Representative Tom Berry's son was tortured and murdered by drug dealers 15 
years ago.

Representative Tom Berry (R-Roundup) said, "The killer brandished a 9mm pistol 
and shot my son in the face as he was begging for his life."

The killer's guilty plea spared Berry's family from involvement in a lengthy 
trial, but it only came because the threat of the death penalty.

Berry added, "The proponents to repeal the death penalty talk about closure. 
'Oh. The appeals go on and on and on.' Well, about 15 years from now, I got to 
go up there and I'm gonna oppose the killer of my son getting out of jail."

When Representative Roy Hollandsworth (R - Brady) was 6 month old, a man killed 
his father.

Hollandsworth said, "My mother, and my oldest brother lived in terror that he 
was going to come back and finish the job. The death penalty takes that away."

Montana has executed 3 people since 1976; there are currently 2 prisoners on 
Montana's death row.

(source: KRTV news)








OREGON:

Oregon's Disgraced Governor Could Save 34 Lives on His Way Out



Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber, who is resigning from office amid scandal, has an 
opportunity to put a positive spin (for some) on his exit.

Kitzhaber, a former emergency room doctor, placed a moratorium in 2011 on all 
executions in the state. He said it was one of his proudest achievements as 
governor. But once he resigns, proceedings on those executions will resume. 
That is, unless he commutes the sentences of 33 men and 1 woman.

That idea is floated by The Oregonian, which points out that Kitzhaber's 
replacement, Secretary of State Kate Brown, could also continue the moratorium 
or commute the sentences. Brown is a progressive politician and, incidentally, 
will be America's 1st openly bisexual governor.

The current occupant of that office was pressured into resigning after a series 
of reports exploring his fiancee's conflict of interest. Cylvia Hayes was 
apparently in a relationship with Kitzhaber and working in his office while 
simultaneously receiving income from firms with business before the state. 
Another Oregonian article suggests the couple simply needed the money, though 
that's no excuse. The U.S. attorney's office is looking into any wrongdoing.

Kitzhaber would not be the 1st governor to commute a large group of inmates, 
nor would his commutation be the biggest. Illinois Gov. George Ryan took more 
than 150 souls off death row in 2003.

(source: truthdig.com)








USA:

The death penalty----A reprieve



Does the death penalty deter crime? Benjamin Rush, one of America's founding 
fathers, did not think so. Alongside Benjamin Franklin he helped reform 
Pennsylvania's harsh penal code. By 1794 Pennsylvania limited the death penalty 
to cases of 1st-degree murder; in 1834 the state led the nascent nation in 
ending public executions. Today Pennsylvania took another big step closer to 
doing away with capital punishment altogether.

Tom Wolf, the state's new Democratic governor, has announced a moratorium on 
all executions until he reviews a forthcoming report from a committee created 
in 2011 to research the matter. Terrence Williams, who was scheduled to die on 
March 4th, has been granted a temporary reprieve. Mr Williams was sentenced to 
death in 1986 after being convicted for murder. Having filed a number of 
appeals, he has sat on "death row" for nearly 3 decades.

He is far from alone. There are 186 inmates on death row in the Commonwealth of 
Pennsylvania. Only Alabama, California, Florida and Texas have more prisoners 
awaiting execution. Pennsylvania's governors have signed 434 death warrants 
since 1976, but only 3 prisoners have been executed in the state since then, 
and only one since 1999.

If the death penalty is so rarely used, why have it at all? A number of states 
are asking this question. Concerns that the punishment is meted out unfairly or 
in a way that is painful to prisoners inspired Colorado, Oregon and Washington 
to halt the practice over the past few years. 18 other states have abolished 
it, most recently Maryland in 2013. New Hampshire nearly put an end to 
executions last year. Some suggest California, which has the most death-row 
inmates, could be next. A federal judge called the state's death-penalty system 
"unconstitutional" and "completely dysfunctional" in July 2014. (Here we argue 
why it should be abolished.)

Mr Wolf claims to be sure of Mr Williams's guilt. But there is always a risk 
that an innocent prisoner will be executed. 5 people on death row were 
exonerated each year, on average, between 2000 and 2011. 6 were exonerated last 
year alone. In Pennsylvania 6 death-row inmates have been found innocent since 
1976. One, Harold Wilson, was exonerated within days of being executed. 
Another, Nicolas Yarris, was finally set free after 2 decades on death row.

Pennsylvania's capital sentencing system is "error prone, expensive, and 
anything but infallible," says Mr Wolf. The governor is also worried that race 
and poverty play too big a role in how prisoners are sentenced. 2/3 of 
Pennsylvania's death-row inmates are racial minorities, and most of them are 
poor.

Most Americans still support the death penalty, but that number is falling, 
from 80% in 1994 to 60% in 2013, according to Gallup. Voters increasingly say 
it would be better to punish murderers with life in prison without parole. 
Stories of botched executions have encouraged this shift. Because a number of 
companies have refused to sell drugs to be used to kill people, several states 
have been experimenting with the chemicals in their lethal injections. In some 
cases, the effects have been gruesome. When Clayton Lockett, a convicted murder 
in Oklahoma, was given a cocktail of potassium chloride, midazolam and 
vecuronium bromide in April 2014, he writhed and groaned in pain, dying from a 
heart attack 43 minutes later. In January the Supreme Court agreed to hear a 
case challenging three pending executions in Oklahoma. The inmates contend that 
Oklahoma's drug cocktail violates the 8th amendment's ban on cruel and unusual 
punishments.

(source: The Economist)