[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., N.C., OHIO, ARK., MO.

[Rick Halperin]

Feb. 21



TEXAS:

George W. Bush's finest hour as governor of Texas



George W. Bush did several things as president that earned my praise, although 
he would do many others - like starting 2 wars - that drew my harsh criticism.

But during his 5-year tenure as governor of Texas, there is really only one 
action by Bush I regarded as praiseworthy and even heroic, especially for one 
who at the time brandished the "tough guy" image and had campaigned as the 
candidate who would be harsh on criminals.

During his governorship, Bush presided over 152 executions, more than any other 
governor in the history of the state - until his successor Rick Perry came 
along. There were 278 people put to death on Perry's watch.

The most noted death penalty case under Bush was that of Karla Faye Tucker who, 
in 1998, became the 1st woman to be executed in Texas since 1863.

There was much pressure from all over the world for the governor to commute her 
sentence to life or, at the very least, to grant a 30-day reprieve for the 
woman who had become a born-again Christian while on death row.

Bush, who already had higher political ambitions, would not budge.

In a statement denying the delay, in which he acknowledged receiving calls for 
mercy as well those demanding accountability, the governor said it was his 
"responsibility to ensure our laws are enforced fairly and evenly without 
preference or special treatment."

When Bush allowed Karla Faye Tucker to die, capital punishment opponents saw 
little hope that anyone else on death row would ever receive anything 
resembling mercy from the governor.

Then, 4 months later, Bush did the noble thing in the case of Henry Lee Lucas, 
a notorious serial killer - and also a notorious liar, because it was 
determined that he didn't commit nearly the number of murders to which he 
confessed.

Lucas was a 1-eyed drifter who had killed his mother and probably a couple of 
other women before being arrested in Texas in 1983 on a charge of unlawful 
possession of a firearm.

While in custody, he began confessing to numerous unsolved murders in Texas and 
across the country. The number of victims he claimed to have killed eventually 
got up to 600, with jurisdictions clearing their books of more than 200 
previously unsolved cases based on Lucas' confessions.

He was convicted of 10 murders, including that of an unidentified woman found 
north of Austin who was known simply as "Orange Socks," because that's all she 
was wearing when her body was discovered. For various crimes, Lucas received 6 
life sentences, 210 years in prison and the death penalty for the Orange Socks 
killing.

As it turned out, the case for which Lucas was sentenced to die is one 
authorities became certain he could not have committed. Research by journalists 
for a Dallas newspaper, as well as time-lines established by investigators, 
showed that Lucas was likely in Jacksonville, Fla., at the time of the murder.

On the recommendation of Texas Attorney General Jim Mattox, and over the 
objection of the Williamson County district attorney, the Texas Board of 
Pardons and Parole advised Gov. Bush to grant a 270-day reprieve and to commute 
the Lucas' death sentence to life.

Bush agreed, noting, "The 1st question I ask in each death penalty case is 
whether there is any doubt about whether the individual is guilty of the crime. 
While Henry Lee Lucas is guilty of committing a number of horrible crimes, 
serious concerns have been raised about his guilt in this case."

I contend that this was Bush's finest hour as governor.

Greg Abbott should show the same courage and halt the scheduled March 5 
execution of Rodney Reed. There is credible evidence that Reed is innocent.

(source: Opinion Bob Ray Sanders; Fort Worth Star-Telegram)

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

Family of murdered pregnant teen will seek death penalty



A grieving mother told Eyewitness News that the killer of her teenage daughter 
and unborn granddaughter deserves the death penalty.

Bexar County Sheriff deputies arrested 19-year-old Courtney Velasquez on Friday 
for capital murder. They said he confessed to relatives he drowned, then burned 
the body of his pregnant girlfriend.

What started as a grass fire on near Schuwirth Rd near FM 1346 turned out to be 
the scene of a crime. It's now a place where the family of 18-year-old Dawanna 
Thomas go to grieve.

Pregnant girlfriend murdered

"My love will never end for her," said Tear Bedford, the mother of the teen.

Authorities arrested Thomas' boyfriend Friday. They said Velasquez violently 
killed her. Thomas' mother told Eyewitness News her daughter feared for her 
life.

"(Velasquez) didn't want nothing to do with the baby he kept calling me saying 
he wanted to get an abortion, I said we don't believe in abortion I said my 
baby is going to have the baby," said the mother.

According to the affidavit, Velasquez's relatives came forward to police. A 
family member told detectives that he picked up Velasquez near a fast food 
restaurant near Rittiman Road and Highway 35 and that Velasquez pants were 
"wet". The relatives then told police that Velasquez said "I can't believe I 
did it", "I killed her" and "I drowned her at the creek by Rittiman Road".

The affidavit goes on to say that Velasquez continued to tell his relative "I 
took her clothes off, put her in a bag and put a log over it, up under the 
bridge...". The relative then told police Velasquez said They told detectives 
that he said he was "going to take her body and burn it somewhere".

"Justice has not been served for him just because he is locked up," said the 
grieving mother. "I'm seeking death penalty for whoever had hands in this 
because that was my 1st grandbaby."

Velasquez is charged with capital murder of Thomas and her unborn child.

(source: KENS news)








PENNSYLVANIA:

A Time Out for the Death Penalty



Is declaring a "time out" to the death penalty in Pennsylvania an abuse of the 
governor's power "ignoring duly enacted law," as prosecutors have claimed, or 
is it a much needed opportunity to step back?

Even a years-long moratorium would be a blink of the eye compared to what Nick 
Yarris endured before he was exonerated by DNA tests in 2004, after 21 years on 
Pennsylvania's death row. Now Yarris is part of the reason why Pennsylvania 
Governor Tom Wolf announced a death penalty "time out" in Pennsylvania, which 
has the fifth largest death row in the nation. In reaching his decision Wolf 
concluded: "Pennsylvania's system is riddled with flaws, making it error prone, 
expensive, and anything but infallible."

Yarris' case shows just how much can go wrong in a high-stakes murder 
investigation. His case was not initially treated as part of a death penalty 
"system." He was arrested by local police after being pulled over. The incident 
turned south when he got into an altercation with the officer. In lockup he 
read in the newspaper about a serious rape and murder investigation and made a 
misguided offer to assist the local police. Detectives proceeded to interrogate 
Yarris and without recording the initial conversation, they later asserted 
without any notes or documentation, that he had offered 2 key details about the 
murder that had never been made public. He supposedly volunteered that the 
victim had been raped and that her Chrysler Cordoba had a brown "landau" (or 
fake convertible) roof.

The police also located eyewitnesses. They did not initially identify Yarris at 
lineups and described someone who looked different. Yet at trial they said they 
thought they saw Yarris at the shopping mall where the victim was abducted on 
the day of the crime. The potential malleability and unreliability of 
eyewitness memory is set out in detail in a landmark new National Academy of 
Sciences report [PDF] (by a committee which I should note I participated in). 
The police also tried to bolster their case by tracking down a jailhouse 
informant who claimed Yarris had bragged about the shaky eyewitness evidence in 
the case (and the inconclusive forensics), making the weakness of the 
prosecution's case all seem like a sinister plan. I describe this troubling 
testimony in my book, "Convicting the Innocent."

It was not an even fight at trial. Yarris had a lone defense lawyer (today two 
lawyers, plus investigative and expert resources are recommended for death 
penalty trials). The lawyer was privately retained???for just $1,500???and the 
trial judge refused the defense much needed experts to explain, for example, 
why someone like Yarris might falsely confess or why he posed no danger 
justifying a death sentence.

Yet the prosecution's house of cards fell apart decades later when a DNA test 
was finally obtained. Yarris' civil rights case later settled in the millions.

The problems that sent Yarris to death row persist in Pennsylvania to this day. 
There is still no statewide requirement that entire interrogations be 
electronically recorded to prevent contamination by law enforcement. (This 
despite how failure to record may lead to prosecution losses more often than 
wrongful convictions). There are no state guidelines on interrogating the 
mentally ill or intellectually disabled. There are no state requirements that 
best practices for lineups, like those recommended by the National Academy of 
Sciences, be adopted. Indeed the Pennsylvania Supreme Court just ruled [PDF] 
that expert testimony on such false confessions is not admissible (although 
approving experts on eyewitness memory).

An American Bar Association report [PDF] in 2007 found still additional 
systemic problems in Pennsylvania. It takes special expertise and resources to 
handle a death penalty case. But in Pennsylvania there is no statewide 
authority to ensure adequate death penalty lawyers are appointed. Each county 
handles indigent defense on its own, with predictable failures to provide a 
sound defense. In addition racial disparity has not been studied; the governor 
noted data is simply not being collected. The governor should be applauded for 
allowing a bipartisan Task Force and Advisory Committee (chaired by Senators 
Daylin Leach and Stewart Greenleaf) to carefully study the problem without 
looming execution dates interrupting their work.

There is no rush. It took more than 20 years to uncover Yarris' innocence. 
Although many complain of protracted litigation delays in capital cases, that 
same litigation has exonerated those facing the nightmare of a wrongful 
execution. As more states have stepped back from the death penalty and others 
have become deadlocked in litigation over secret drug protocols and botched 
executions, it is refreshing to see calmer heads prevail in Pennsylvania.

Until criminal investigations and capital litigation are fixed on the ground, 
we cannot place upon them the exorbitant weight of a death sentence. And until 
that day comes, in Pennsylvania and in each of the other remaining death 
penalty states, we need to give the death penalty a time out.

(source: Guest Commentary; Brandon L. Garrett received his JD from Columbia 
University School of Law and is currently a law professor at the University of 
Virginia School of Law. He is the author of "Convicting the Innocent" and "Too 
Big to Jail: How Prosecutors Compromise With Corporations."----The Jurist)

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

Man convicted of killing Homewood girlfriend, 2 kids appeals death sentence



A man convicted of gunning down his Homewood girlfriend and her 2 children 
didn't get a fair trial because prosecutors were allowed to exclude jurors 
hesitant about the death penalty and allowed to use a confession he made after 
suffering a traumatic brain injury, the man claims in a death sentence appeal 
filed Friday in federal court.

An Allegheny County jury in 1996 convicted Gerald Watkins, 45, and sentenced 
him to death for the July 20, 1994, murders of Beth Ann Anderson, 30, Kevin 
Kelly, 9, and newborn Melanie Watkins.

All 3 were shot multiple times with a .22 caliber weapon.

The state Supreme Court on Feb. 9 denied his petition for a new appeal hearing.

His federal appeal claims that excluding 8 potential jurors who hesitated about 
whether they supported the death penalty violated his constitutional rights to 
a trial by an impartial jury.

"Even the slightest hesitation regarding capital punishment was treated as 
grounds for dismissal," federal public defender Christi Charpentier says in the 
appeal.

A brain injury Watkins suffered after the murders rendered him incapable of 
intelligently waiving his Miranda rights when he confessed to police, she said.

Watkins was treated at a New York hospital for the head injury and told doctors 
he couldn't remember how he became injured. He was arrested in Harlem on May 5, 
1995.

2 Pittsburgh police detectives who drove Watkins back to Pittsburgh testified 
that he confessed to the murders during the drive and he subsequently signed a 
written confession.

At trial, he denied making the confession, claimed police forged his signature 
and that he was on the Pennsylvania Turnpike driving to New York when the 
murders happened.

2 witnesses put Watkins at his girlfriend's house minutes before the murders. 
Another witness said Watkins called him a day or so after the murders, 
confirming he had committed them. The witness said Watkins threatened to kill 
him unless he helped collect some money other people owed Watkins.

(source: Triblive.com)

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

The death penalty won't bring my dad back



When I heard about Gov. Wolf's decision to declare a moratorium on executions 
in Pennsylvania, I felt a surge of pride for my home state. Pennsylvania is 
finally taking a critical look at the death penalty, much like a scientist has 
to take a critical look at all angles of an experiment.

And no one better to take a critical scientific look than my dad, Terry. He was 
the kind of dad who was in love with math and science, lights and gears, 
energy, and solving equations, and he showed me all of it with a sense of joy 
and fun. He's probably the reason I am now a middle-school math teacher. 
Tragically, he was brutally murdered before he ever got a chance to see just 
how he influenced my career.

In September 2001, when I was a senior in college, my dad and stepmother, Lucy, 
were tortured and killed in their Lancaster County home by my adopted 
stepbrother, Michael Bourgeois, and his acquaintances.

Even after all these years, I still don't understand the motivation for this 
crime. Michael, who was 17 at the time of the murder, is serving a life 
sentence. One of the other culprits, Landon May, is on Pennsylvania's death 
row.

The crime came as a complete surprise, and it turned my life upside down for a 
while. I was angry, hurt, helpless and full of nightmares.

A year later, as we prepared for the trials, I was presented with the notion 
that "justice would be served for me" and the death penalty would be sought for 
May.

What was a gut reaction in the office of the district attorney that day - that 
I just wanted my dad back, and death for someone else was so far removed from 
the things that mattered - became a long journey of educating myself about the 
death penalty and deciphering the meaning of the word "justice."

In the 14 years since my parents' deaths, I have come to 2 solid conclusions.

Most importantly, I want to live a full and joyful life without carrying the 
heavy load of bitterness and hatred that the death penalty brings. On this 
journey, I've had the opportunity to connect with people who have been through 
tragic situations like mine, and I have seen that this is possible. It is a 
choice and it takes a lot of work.

Second, I've figured out what justice actually is: It's everyone getting what 
they need to heal. In a story like mine, it's a victim's surviving family 
members being supported in the aftermath of a terrible crime. It's guidance on 
how to navigate the funeral, the trial, the money, the grief. It's the 
community getting what it needs in the form of safety and crime prevention 
programs, and the offenders being taken out of the community. It's also the 
offenders getting what they need - accountability, counseling, safety as well. 
All of these needs can be met without the death penalty.

It is clear to me - having seen the offenders in my case get both life and 
death sentences - that killing someone who has already been removed from the 
community is not necessary. It is not justice.

Pennsylvania's capital punishment system is broken in so many ways. It costs 
far more than imprisoning murderers for life. It is inconsistent and arbitrary. 
It is difficult to carry out. And we'll never be able to completely eliminate 
the possibility that an innocent person could be executed.

But all that aside, my voice is of a victim's family member who still just 
wants her dad back. The death penalty system, no matter how hard it tries, 
simply cannot do that. And it won't honor my father or stepmother to do more 
killing now.

Long ago, I made a choice to keep my dad with me every day and refocus my life 
away from a killer I never knew. Thank you, Gov. Wolf, for deciding to halt 
executions and take a closer look at the death penalty. (source: Commentary; 
Megan Smith lives in Asheville, N.C.----The Morning Call)








NORTH CAROLINA:

DA undecided on death penalty in Mount Holly double killing



Gaston County District Attorney Locke Bell has not yet decided if he will seek 
the death penalty for the man accused of killing his girlfriend and her teenage 
son.

Peter Rivers, 41, is charged with 1st-degree murder in the deaths of his 
live-in girlfriend, Bridget Berry, 38, and her son, Treyvon "T.J." Berry, 17. 
The bodies of mother and son were found in their Mount Holly home after the 
house was set on fire.

Bell says he is still reviewing the case and will announce a decision on 
whether to seek the death penalty in court.

Rivers has been indicted by the grand jury on both counts. He is in Gaston 
County Jail without bond.

(source: Gaston Gazette)








OHIO:

3 to face death penalty----Arrests made in Uniopolis murder case



3 men were indicted this week in the June slaying of an Uniopolis man beaten to 
death inside his home.

All 3 will face the death penalty, Auglaize County Prosecutor Ed Pierce said 
Friday.

Aaron M. Dietrich Sr., 26, of Wapakoneta, Joseph R. Furry, 30, of Van Wert, and 
James P. Dinsmore, 28, all are charged with 2 counts of aggravated murder, and 
1 count each of aggravated burglary, kidnapping and intimidation of a witness.

The arrests come this week, about 8 months into a lengthy investigation, 
Auglaize County Sheriff Al Solomon said.

"I'm very pleased with these arrests. There is more work that needs to be 
done," Solomon said. "This brings hopefully some justice to the victims and the 
victim's family."

The men are charged in the June 9 death of Charles Hicks, 54, who was found 
dead in his upstairs apartment at 2 Main St., Uniopolis. Deputies were called 
to the apartment at 4:30 p.m. that day over a deceased man.

Solomon and Pierce would not discuss a motive or say how the three men became 
suspects. All 3 are being held on $5 million bonds.

The indictments filed this week gives a glimpse into a possible motive. One of 
the death penalty specifications said Hicks was killed to prevent his testimony 
as a witness in a criminal case.

Hicks' autopsy report said he was beaten to death. It said he had crushing 
injuries to the front of his neck that led to him suffocating.

Hicks' coworkers and friends began looking for him the morning of his death 
after he failed to arrive at his job. People visited his building once. Later, 
they returned. When they entered the apartment through an open door, they 
spotted blood throughout the apartment, according to the autopsy report.

They left and called for emergency help. A deputy quickly arrived.

Hicks' body was found under a pile of blankets on a bed. The autopsy report 
said he had been dead for a while based on stages the body goes through after 
death. The time of death was placed sometime in the 28 hours after 8 p.m. June 
7, according to the report.

Hicks was bound. Someone used black duct tape to tie his wrists behind his 
back. Tape was also around his ankles.

The autopsy report lists numerous injuries associated with a severe beating 
including facial injuries and broken ribs. He had alcohol in his system.

The next step is an arraignment in Auglaize County Common Pleas Court. Furry's 
arraignment is scheduled for March 2. Arraignments for the others have yet to 
be scheduled.

(source: limaohio.com)








ARKANSAS:

Arkansas Supreme Court listens to oral arguments on lethal injection law



A case that examines whether a 2013 law gives the state's correction department 
too much authority in setting lethal-injection protocol is now before the 
Arkansas Supreme Court.

The court on Thursday heard oral arguments from an assistant state attorney 
general and a lawyer representing 9 death-row inmates, the Arkansas 
Democrat-Gazette (http://bit.ly/1vNvNC0 ) reported.

Pulaski County Judge Wendell Griffen last year put lethal injections on hold in 
the state. He said the law stipulating the department use a barbiturate wasn't 
adequate and gave the department too much leeway to decide what drugs to use 
and how they should be administered.

The ruling is a response to a 2013 lawsuit by the 9 death-row inmates who 
challenged the latest rewrite of the Method of Execution Act, which replaced 
the electric chair with lethal injection in 1983.

Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Merritt said during oral arguments that the 
law provides "sufficient guidance" to prison officials.

Josh Lee, the inmates' public defender, said that the statute also allows the 
correction department to decide whether medical personnel should be present at 
an execution.

"What the General Assembly has said is, 'We can have a quick and painless 
death, or a slow and agonizing death. Department of Correction, it's up to 
you,'" Lee said.

He also said in an email after the hearing that "This case is really not about 
the death penalty. It is about making sure that government agencies don't 
exceed their authority. Not just prisoners but also Arkansas businesses and 
ordinary citizens need government agencies to stay within the limits of their 
constitutional authority."

(source: Associated Press)


MISSOURI:

Columbia Residents work to Put the Death Sentence to Rest



Members of Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, or MADP, gathered 
at the Methodist Church in downtown Columbia Thursday to discuss reforming 
capital punishment procedures. Convener for the Columbia chapter of MADP, Jeff 
Stack, said the organization hopes to one day see the death penalty revoked. 
But for now, the immediate priority is to have it reformed.

"This gathering tonight is looking at a common ground, to try to have a system 
be as fair as possible, and to try and prevent wrongful convictions," Stack 
said. "That's at minimum what we should agree to as a civilized society."

University of Missouri law professor Paul Litton gave a presentation at the 
meeting. Litton spent 2 years working in a committee sponsored by the American 
Bar Association studying Missouri death penalty procedures. His presentation 
highlighted the weaknesses of capital punishment legislation and addressed 
common misconceptions regarding the death penalty.

"If you support it because you think that some people deserve it, have you 
thought about the moral costs?" Litton said. "About how it's often arbitrarily 
imposed or distributed? And 2nd, have you thought about the financial costs? 
Most people think it saves us money. It's not true."

Litton said studies have concluded that it costs up to 3 times more to pursue 
an execution than to convict a defendant to a sentence of life without parole. 
Litton said legislative changes would improve accuracy and fairness of capital 
punishment sentencing.

MADP will continue to lobby for a moratorium of Missouri's death penalty and 
promote reforms to capital punishment procedures.

(source: KBIA news)