[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----KY., ARK., MO., COLO.

[Rick Halperin]

Feb. 25



KENTUCKY:

Webb seeks reforms to state death penalty policies



Some members of the Kentucky Senate are pushing for changes with the state's 
death penalty policies, hoping that by addressing issues from different angles, 
at least 1 proposal will stick in this year's legislative session.

Sens. Robin Webb, D-Grayson, and Gerald Neal, D-Louisville, are working to 
tackle Kentucky's rather controversial death penalty policies with 3 pieces of 
legislation.

Webb held a press conference Tuesday at the Capitol to discuss her bill (SB190) 
seeking to enact several reforms to current policies.

She made clear her bill is not angled toward abolishing the death penalty, but 
rather to "ensure it's fair" and that an innocent person is not executed.

Webb cited a 2011 study by the American Bar Association, which listed 95 
specific areas of Kentucky's current policy that it felt needed adjustment. The 
ABA Kentucky Assessment Team then spent more than 2 years studying the 
administration of the death penalty in Kentucky.

"Our review led us to the inescapable conclusion that our current system is 
deeply flawed and in serious need of reform. The Kentucky Assessment Report was 
released over 3 years ago and, to date, not a single recommendation was been 
implemented," said Linda Sorenson Ewald, co-chair of the Kentucky Penalty 
Assessment Team.

Ewald brought with her to the press conference a large spiral bound book full 
of these recommendations.

Webb said since she has not heard any opposition, nor additional suggestions, 
in response to the assessment's release, it is time for her bill on reforms to 
be heard.

Some of these reforms include prohibiting the execution of the severely 
mentally ill; requiring interviews of suspects to be recorded for better 
accuracy in courts; requires ongoing training and competency on death penalty 
issues for law enforcement, public defenders, prosecutors, corrections officers 
and judges; and creates a statewide database of information for ongoing capital 
cases.

(source: Daily Independent)

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

Calls Intensify for Execution Moratorium in Kentucky



On back-to-back days late last week, separate courts overturned convictions in 
two cases of men on Kentucky's death row.

Those reversals have amplified calls from critics of the state's death penalty 
system to at least place a moratorium on executions.

Retired law professor Linda Ewald was co-chair of an 8-person team of lawyers 
and retired judges that found a multitude of problems with Kentucky's death 
penalty system. The group's American Bar Association report was issued in 
December 2011. "I'm disappointed that the governor didn't suspend executions, 
although we haven't had an execution in many years," Ewald says.

In reversing the death penalty conviction of Michael St. Clair on Thursday, the 
Kentucky Supreme Court ruled evidence was "improperly admitted" during his 
trial. On Friday, a federal appellate court ruled in Roger Wheeler's case that 
a potential juror was "erroneously struck from the jury."

Ewald says the ABA report she coauthored uncovered 95 specific concerns about 
Kentucky's death penalty system.

"Well, I think it's a bit disconcerting that Kentucky has the death penalty and 
that we've assessed this in such a way to demonstrate that there are very 
serious problems in its administration," she states. Ewald says she's 
encouraged by legislation (SB190) filed earlier this month by state Sen. Robin 
Webb, D-Grayson, which attempts to address lineups, interrogations, eyewitness 
testimony and biological evidence.

"I think it's a little misleading to say nothing has been done," she says. "I 
think people are working on this. These are changes that are going to require 
legislation. They're going to require changes in court rules. They may require 
public hearings."

Ewald adds while Kentucky was at the forefront in passing a post-conviction DNA 
testing law, problems remain with how biological evidence is handled after a 
trial.

"Unfortunately, Kentucky doesn't have any uniform protocols for preserving and 
retaining evidence after a conviction," she says. "And so, there's the risk 
that it's not being maintained properly. There's the risk that it's lost and 
won't be available.

"The ABA report called the system "broken and fatally flawed," but Ewald says 
it was not, in her words, "an abolition document." She says the report did not 
address whether Kentucky should have a death penalty.

(source: publicnewsservice.org)








ARKANSAS:

Arkansas panel OKs eliminating death sentence as penalty



A proposal to abolish Arkansas' death penalty is heading to the state Senate.

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday approved legislation that would 
eliminate the death penalty as a sentencing option in capital murder cases.

Arkansas has 32 inmates on death row but hasn't executed anyone in nearly a 
decade due to legal challenges over the state's lethal injection procedures.

State Sen. David Burnett, a former judge and prosecutor, said he no longer 
believes the death penalty is a deterrent to violent crime. The bill by the 
Osceola Democrat faces opposition from some prosecutors who say the death 
penalty helps while negotiating plea bargains with defendants.

The state hasn't executed anyone since 2005, when Eric Nance was put to death 
for the murder and attempted rape of a Malvern teenager.

(source: Arkansas Online)








MISSOURI----new execution date

Missouri sets execution date for Normandy man who killed ex-wife's boyfriend in 
1998



The Missouri Supreme Court on Wednesday set a mid-April execution date for 
Andre Cole, a man from Normandy who stabbed his ex-wife's boyfriend 22 times.

Cole, 52, has been on death row since his conviction in St. Louis County in 
2001. He killed Anthony Curtis on Aug. 21, 1998, at a house in north St. Louis 
County.

Cole is scheduled to die by lethal injection at the state prison in Bonne 
Terre. According to the order by the Missouri Supreme Court, the death warrant 
is good for a 24-hour period, starting at 6 p.m. on April 14.

The victim, Curtis, was a 34-year-old Navy veteran from St. Louis. He was 
stabbed or slashed 22 times with a butcher knife. One of the wounds was 8 
inches deep. It had pierced his back, shaved a rib, punctured his lung and cut 
his aorta.

Prosecutors at trial said that Cole was angry over child-support payments.

Cole and his wife, Terri Cole, divorced in 1995. He was ordered to pay child 
support for the couple's two children, but missed several payments. He was 
ordered to pay $3,000 through payroll deductions.

The 1st deduction appeared on his Aug. 21, 1998, paycheck. On the day his 
paycheck was garnisheed for back child support, Cole broke into the his 
ex-wife's home, in the 10100 block of Castle Drive, by throwing a car jack 
through a glass patio door.

The jury found that Cole then killed Curtis and wounded Terri Cole, who was 
also stabbed several times. Terri Cole survived and testified against her 
ex-husband at the trial.

Curtis, who lived in the 5600 block of St. Louis Avenue, died at a hospital.

In addition to 1st-degree murder, the jury also convicted Andre Cole of assault 
and two counts of armed criminal action.

Cole's defense attorney at the St. Louis County murder trial, Dorothy Hirzy, 
indicated in her opening statement that Andre Cole broke into the house to 
confront Terri Cole about custody of their children and was attacked by the 
couple. Hirzy suggested Curtis and Terri Cole stabbed each other after Andre 
Cole fled.

(source: stltoday.com)








COLORADO:

More jurors dismissed in Aurora theater shooting trial because of death penalty 
reservations



3 jurors in the Aurora theater shooting trial were told Tuesday to return for 
the group questioning phase, bringing the total through 8 days of individual 
questioning to 34.

The jurors retained included 1 man whom the defense wanted dismissed because 
they said he was biased in favor of the death penalty.

The man, a middle-aged white man in a wheelchair, said he believed in "an eye 
for an eye" and said in a particularly heinous case, he would have trouble 
opting for a life sentence.

Public defender Katherine Spengler, 1 of the lawyers for accused gunman James 
Holmes, said the man had a "presumption" of a death sentence, which makes him 
an unfair juror.

Prosecutors and Judge Carlos Samour Jr. disagreed. Samour said the man proved 
during follow-up questioning that he could put aside his feelings on the death 
penalty and make a fair decision.

"I think he can be fair and impartial. I think he will be fair and impartial," 
Samour said.

Another juror who was retained previously worked as a volunteer victim advocate 
for Aurora police but said she could set aside her feelings about crime victims 
and be an impartial juror.

Even if she heard from victims and their families, the woman said she could 
judge Holmes fairly.

"At the end of the day, Mr. Holmes is still someone's family member, still 
someone's loved one," she said.

A man, who said he worked at a gas station and was a former drill sergeant at 
the end of Vietnam, was retained after he said the death penalty was warranted 
in some cases, but only after careful deliberation.

The prosecution and defense have largely agreed about the jurors who have been 
dismissed or retained for the next phase so far, but in a few cases like 
Tuesday's they have sparred.

Among the jurors released Tuesday were a man who now lives in Weld County and 
by law can't serve on a jury in Arapahoe County, a woman getting married in the 
middle of the trial, and a woman who said jury service would be a financial 
hardship. 3 jurors in the morning were excused because they said they couldn't 
sentence Holmes to death.

Including the initial phase of jury selection that started in January, the 
trial has lasted 23 days so far. Opening statements were expected to start in 
May or June, but with jury selection moving quicker than planned, Samour has 
said the trial could start in April or May.

The defense has asked for a delay several times but Samour has rejected their 
requests.

Holmes sat quietly at the defense table Tuesday wearing a blue button-up shirt.

Court is in recess until Wednesday morning.

(source: Aurora Sentinel)