[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----S. DAK., NEV., WASH., US MIL., USA

[Rick Halperin]

Jan. 21



SOUTH DAKOTA:

Salgado should sit in prison if he wants death penalty



Following a jury's verdict last week convicting Maricela Diaz of murder and 
kidnapping, South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley said he would be 
reviewing Alexander Salgado's testimony from the trial.

Salgado is the father of Diaz's child and was her boyfriend during the 2009 
murder of Jasmine Guevara. In 2010, Salgado admitted to killing Guevara as a 
part of a plea deal, which included a promise to testify against Diaz during 
her trial. In exchange for Salgado's promise to testify, the prosecution agreed 
not seek the death penalty for Salgado.

Salgado was brought into the courtroom during Diaz's trial and was nothing 
short of combative. He answered a few questions about his background, but 
became disruptive with vulgar language and finally refused to testify 
altogether.

The judge ordered Salgado to answer questions, or be held in contempt of court. 
The judge also told Salgado, "If you refuse to answer under oath today, I may 
make the determination that you're unavailable and then the state will be 
allowed to give the jury testimony you gave during the juvenile release 
hearing."

Salgado responded by cursing and saying, "Do what you got to do."

Following the case, Jackley said he would review Salgado's testimony to see if 
he was in violation of his plea agreement. If Salgado was in violation, the 
attorney general will then pursue "the appropriate remedy," he said in a 
statement after the trial.

In a phone interview Tuesday with The Daily Republic's editorial board, Jackley 
said he has not reviewed Salgado's testimony from the trial, and he won't make 
any decisions until after Diaz is sentenced, which will be weeks away.

Our immediate reaction after Salgado's testimony, or lack thereof, is that he 
was likely being combative so he could receive the death penalty. Salgado has 
been in custody since the murder, now for more than five years, and the 
26-year-old probably has realized he would rather die than spend the rest of 
his life behind bars.

We'll never actually know if Salgado was being resistant in court to increase 
his chance at the death penalty, but the reaction, "Do what you got to do" 
leads us to believe that was exactly his motive.

If Salgado actually wants the death penalty, we feel he should sit in prison. 
He probably was in violation of his plea agreement on the stand, and he likely 
did that on purpose. But someone who committed such a heinous crime as Salgado 
- who, with Diaz, stabbed and burned Guevara in the trunk of a car - shouldn't 
have a decision in the matter.

Perhaps the best punishment for Salgado is for him to live with what he did. 
The death penalty is too easy of a way out for him.

(source: Mitchell Daily Republic Editorial Board)








NEVADA:

Man Awaiting Death Penalty for Shooting FBI Agent Is Ordered Released from 
Prison



A man convicted in the 1990 shooting death of an FBI special agent has been 
ordered released from death row in Nevada, KLAS-TV reports.

U.S. District Judge Miranda Du said Jose Echavarria must be released within 60 
days barring the prosecutors willingness to retry the case.

Du said then-Clark County District Judge Jack Lehman never disclosed his bias, 
thereby violating the constitutional rights of the defendant.

Echavarria is accused of shooting Special Agent John Bailey in a bank in Las 
Vegas while the 2 wrestled for a gun.

Turns out, Judge Lehman had been investigated by Bailey earlier and never 
disclosed the relationship.

"The evidence submitted by Echavarria shows, beyond any dispute, that Agent 
Bailey had been centrally involved in conducting the investigation of the trial 
judge, and that the alleged fraud and the FBI investigation were of such 
significance that they would have had serious implications for the trial 
judge," Du wrote.

(source: ticklethewire.com)








WASHINGTON:

Death penalty prosecution in WA costs $3M



A new study from Seattle University examined the cost to taxpayers if 
prosecutors seek the death penalty in aggravated murder cases.

Researchers found that it costs more to seek the death penalty in these cases 
by more than $1 million on average. The study shows it costs $2.01 million to 
try someone for aggravated murder. But it's estimated to cost $3.07 million in 
a case where prosecutors announce they are seeking death. The estimates are 
considered conservative by researchers.

Death penalty cases are considered much more complicated, because the 
Washington state Supreme Court has set high standards for what needs to happen 
these cases.

"Death is different," said Robert Boruchowitz, Attorney and Seattle University 
professor on the team of researchers behind the study. "The lawyers have to do 
more work when they are defending these cases. The judges at the trial court 
have to be more careful, the prosecutors have to be more careful."

The study also suggests that 75% of cases that were headed for the death 
penalty were reversed anyway. Boruchowitz says since 2010, the number of death 
penalty cases have been slowing down.

147 aggravated murder cases in Washington State from 1997-2014 were examined 
for the 7 month study. Of those cases, 39 were death penalty cases.

(source: KING news)

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

Trial starting for accused cop killer, Christopher Monfort



The trial of a man accused of killing a Seattle police officer in 2009 is 
beginning Tuesday.

Christopher Monfort pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the 2009 murder 
of Officer Timothy Brenton.

Brenton was shot as he sat in his patrol car on Halloween night in the Leschi 
neighborhood. His partner, Officer Britt Sweeney, was wounded but survived.

Monfort is charged with aggravated murder, attempted murder and arson.

Prosecutors said nine days before Brenton was shot, Monfort firebombed four 
police vehicles at a city maintenance yard. Prosecutors have said that he was 
conducting a "1-man war" on police.

Monfort was shot and paralyzed during his takedown by officers at a Tukwila 
apartment building.

Police searched his apartment and storage area to find guns, assembled bombs 
and bomb-making materials.

Pictures taken by detectives showed some of the materials police said Monfort 
used to blow up and burn several police vehicles.

Some of the bombs had long time-delay fuses attached to bottles of gasoline and 
duct-taped to propane canisters with nails tacked on to inflict maximum damage, 
according to police.

Another picture showed the military-style assault rifle police believe Monfort 
used to kill Brenton.

If convicted, prosecutors say they plan on seeking the death penalty, but he 
cannot be executed while Gov. Jay Inslee, who imposed a moratorium on the death 
penalty, is in office.

Another death penalty case begins Tuesday. Joseph McEnroe is accused of killing 
6 of his girlfriend's family members in Carnation in 2007.

His girlfriend, Michele Anderson, is also charged with aggravated murder in the 
case, but has not yet gone to trial.

(source: KIRO TV news)








US MILITARY:

Defense in Robins death penalty case seeks to unseat Guantanamo judge



A Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, airman who faces the death penalty if 
convicted at court-martial later this year has asked the trial judge to recuse 
himself.

Why? Because the judge, Col. Vance Spath, has also been tapped to preside over 
an upcoming trial at Guantanamo Bay.

In a motion filed Jan. 15, defense counsel Lt. Col. David Frakt cites a 
regulation change signed this month that he says makes Spath ineligible to 
oversee any other trial until the conclusion of his duties at Guantanamo.

The Jan. 7 revision signed by Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work states that 
once detailed to the Military Commissions Trial Judiciary, "military 
commissions shall be the military judge's exclusive judicial duty."

"We have what appears to be a disconnect," Frakt said in a Jan. 20 interview 
with Air Force Times. "We have an order that appears to direct Col. Spath to 
stop judging, and yet he's still judging."

The government, in a response filed late Tuesday, disputes the defense's 
motion, arguing "there is no evidence that the change was meant to force judges 
to disqualify themselves from courts-martial on which they are present 
presiding."

Frakt's client, Senior Airman Charles Amos Wilson III, is charged with killing 
his fiancee and her unborn child in August 2013.Wilson's next motion hearing is 
scheduled for March 9 - days after the 2-week period Spath reserved for 
pretrial hearings in the Guantanamo case, according to the Miami Herald, which 
first reported on the defense motion.

Spath scheduled the Georgia hearing and appears to be planning to preside over 
it, Frakt said.

At Guantanamo Bay, Spath will preside over the case of Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, 
the alleged mastermind behind the October 2000 suicide bombing of the USS Cole 
while docked at a port in Yemen, killing 17 U.S. sailors and injuring scores of 
others.

No trial date has been set for Nashiri, according to the Miami Herald.

"I don't believe Col. Spath would take it upon himself to defy a lawful order 
from the deputy secretary of defense," Frakt said. "So I am assuming that 
someone has given him permission to continue judging or has directed him to 
continue judging, which suggests that there has been some kind of deal worked 
out. What we would like to know is what deal has been made."

In an email statement, Air Force spokesman Maj. Pete Hughes said the Judge 
Advocate General's Corps is working with its counterparts across the services 
as well as the military commission to comply with the regulation change.

"While we work the details of implementation, Col. Spath remains the Chief 
Trial Judge of the [Air Force] Judiciary," Hughes said.

In its Jan. 20 response to the defense motion, the government argues that Frakt 
has misinterpreted the Jan. 7 regulation change, which Frakt refers to as an 
order.

The revision "does not state ... that all military judges are to refrain from 
serving as a trial judge on any case not arising from the Military Commissions. 
It certainly is not an 'order' to do so or even a non-binding request," 
according the 8-page response. "A plain, practical reading ... shows that it is 
intended to allow the individual services to determine their trial judges' 
duties."

There is also no evidence Spath's role at Guantanamo will conflict with his 
duties in the Georgia case, the response continued. "In the absence of evidence 
by the defense that there is a basis for disqualification of Colonel Spath, the 
defense's claims fail."

But Frakt called the Nashiri case "tremendously complex ... with certainly 
scores of very complex motions. It's tremendously time-consuming," Frakt said. 
"The Wilson case is also very complex. We anticipate dozens of pre-trial 
motions," including at least 30 at the March hearing.

"There is a legitimate question of whether this is too much for one judge to 
handle. Obviously, given enough time, he can handle it. But the question is 
what kind of time pressures or constraints is Judge Spath being placed under," 
Frakt said. "Our overriding concern is to have a judge who is able to devote 
the necessary time and attention to our case without external pressures or any 
time constraints."

As the judge presiding over the Georgia case, Spath will decide at the March 
motions hearing whether or not to recuse himself. The defense can appeal the 
ruling.

The case against Wilson

Wilson, a support team member with the 461st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, was 
arrested in August 2013 and charged with killing his fiancee, Tameda Ferguson, 
who was 8 1/2 months pregnant. Ferguson was found shot to death at her home in 
Dawson, Georgia, about 100 miles south of Robins.

The case was referred to court-martial as a capital case in October, although 
it is highly unlikely that Wilson would be put to death if convicted. The 
military last executed 1 of its own more than 50 years. The Air Force has not 
carried out a death sentence since 1954, when 2 airmen were executed for the 
rape and murder of a Guam citizen. Only 1 airman sits on death row: Former 
Senior Airman Andrew Witt, who was also stationed at Robins when he stabbed to 
death a fellow airmen and his wife and nearly killed a third person in 2004.

In addition to the charges stemming from the slaying of Ferguson, Wilson also 
faces arson and murder charges in connection with a fire in his rental home 
nearly 2 years earlier, in October 2011. Authorities have alleged Wilson 
conspired with Demetrius Hardy, a civilian employee at Robins, to set fire to 
Wilson's trailer to collect insurance money. Hardy died in the blaze.

9 months after the fire, Wilson was arrested for allegedly driving his pickup 
truck toward a technical sergeant, dragging her by her hair and firing a gun at 
her from the window of his home.

Both cases were being handled by civilian authorities at the time Ferguson was 
killed. The Air Force has since taken over jurisdiction.

A court-martial for Wilson has tentatively been scheduled for June 22, the 
Miami Herald reported.

(source: Air Force Times)








USA:

James Holmes trial: Jury selection starts in Colorado theatre shooting trial



The 1st time James Holmes appeared in court, he wore chains and an orange jail 
jumpsuit and looked dazed, with his hair dyed a comic-book shade of orange.

As jury selection began Tuesday in the Colorado theatre shooting, it was a far 
different Holmes at the defence table: The jail uniform was replaced with 
khakis, an untucked blue shirt with white stripes and a blue blazer. His hair, 
now a dark brown, was neatly trimmed.

The former graduate student whose attorneys acknowledge he opened fire at a 
midnight "Batman" movie back in 2012 also had a curly, medium-length beard and 
wore oval-shaped reddish glasses. No restraints were visible, though the judge 
had ordered him to be tethered to the floor in a way the public couldn't see 
for the trial.

Holmes' more conventional appearance was an indication that the case was 
drawing closer to the time when a jury would see the defendant accused of 
killing 12 people and wounding 70 others at a suburban Denver theatre. But 
first attorneys have to sort through thousands of potential jurors.

Court officials initially summoned a jury pool of 9,000 people, the largest in 
the nation's history. But that figure later fell to 7,000 after some summons 
could not be delivered and some people were excused. The pool will be winnowed 
to a handful in the weeks ahead.

It could take until June to seat the jurors and alternates for a trial that 
might last until October.

Holmes, who has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to murder and 
attempted murder charges, could get the death penalty if convicted.

The 1st wave of jurors arrived in court after undergoing 2 security screenings. 
They heard instructions from the judge before they would fill out 
questionnaires.

Judge Carlos Samour suggested earlier that attorneys might not have to screen 
all the prospective jurors before beginning to select panelists. He said the 
process could stop after a few thousand people are screened if both sides agree 
they have a large enough pool of people.

The defence objected to the use of a video during the trial, saying prosecutors 
gave it to them too late. The video is apparently from the jail where Holmes 
has been held, but its contents have not been made public.

The judge also went over ground rules for jury selection and the trial, urging 
attorneys on both sides to be professional and respectful.

"We're going to be spending a lot of time together," Samour said.

The scope of jury selection and the trial are testaments to the logistical 
hurdles of trying the rare case of a mass shooter who survives his attack.

"The public is going to get an insight into the mind of a killer who says he 
doesn't know right from wrong," said Alan Tuerkheimer, a Chicago-based jury 
consultant. "It is really rare. It just doesn't usually come to this."

Shortly before 1 p.m., prospective jurors began walking into the courtroom. 
Some carried books or newspapers or looked at their cellphones as they waited 
to pass through a security station in the hallway.

The case has sparked an emotionally charged debate, with Holmes' parents 
begging for a plea deal that would save his life, while many survivors and 
family members of victims have demanded that he be executed.

After the July 20, 2012, shooting, the 27-year-old Holmes was arrested as he 
stripped off combat gear in the parking lot of the Century 16 movie theatre in 
Aurora.

If jurors convict him, they must then decide whether to recommend the death 
penalty. If Holmes is acquitted, he would be committed to the state mental 
hospital indefinitely.

Defence attorneys acknowledge Holmes was the gunman in the attack but say he 
was in the grip of a psychotic episode at the time.

Under Colorado law, defendants are not legally liable for their acts if their 
minds are so "diseased" that they cannot distinguish right from wrong. Part of 
the reason the case has dragged on is the battle over whether that standard 
applies to Holmes.

Few details on those arguments have been made public. Prosecutors and defence 
attorneys remain under a long-running gag order, and court documents detailing 
the issue have stayed under seal.

Holmes' sanity was evaluated by a state psychiatrist but the results were not 
made public. Prosecutors objected to the findings and persuaded a judge to 
order a 2nd evaluation. Those results were contested by the defence.

Prosecutors previously rejected at least one plea deal proposed by Holmes' 
attorneys, criticizing the lawyers for publicizing the offer and calling it a 
ploy meant to draw the public and the judge into what should be private plea 
negotiations.

Survivors of the attack and family members of victims have had a long time to 
get ready for a trial.

"We've all been to therapists and have talked to our families and have our 
support groups, so we're prepared," said Marcus Weaver, who was shot in the arm 
and whose friend Rebecca Wingo died in the attack. "It's going to be quite the 
journey."

Judge Samour called nearly nine times as many prospective jurors as were 
summoned in the ongoing Boston marathon bombing trial. That meant the county's 
600,000 residents had a nearly 1-in-50 chance of being selected.

(source: Global News)

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

The death penalty's uneven application



This week Nigeria joined Brazil and the Netherlands in recalling their Jakarta 
ambassadors in response to the executions of their citizens for drug 
trafficking on January 11. One Indonesian and foreign nationals from Malawi and 
Vietnam were killed the same day in what Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders 
described as "an unacceptable denial of human dignity and integrity." 
Meanwhile, in the U.S., jury selection began this month in the trial of 
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the accused Boston Marathon bomber, in the highest-profile 
American death penalty trial in years.

3 people have been executed already in 2015, bringing the total since 1977 to 
1,397. Of those, more than 1/3 have happened in Texas, whose 518 executions 
more than quadruple those of 2nd-place Oklahoma's 112. The number of killings 
nationally has abated since the 1999 high of 98, with 35 people being put to 
death in 2014. In a November interview with The Marshall Project, Attorney 
General Eric Holder delivered a blunt assessment of those the country has put 
to death:

"I disagree very much with Justice Scalia's certitude that we have never put to 
death an innocent person. It's one of the reasons why I personally am opposed 
to the death penalty. We have the greatest judicial system in the world, but at 
the end of the day it's made up of men and women making decisions, tough 
decisions. Men and women who are dedicated, but dedicated men and women can 
make mistakes. And I find it hard to believe that in our history that has not 
happened.

I think at some point, we will find a person who was put to death and who 
should not have been, who was not guilty of a crime."

Despite having just 5 % of the world's population, the United States 
incarcerates 25 % of the world's inmates; one in one hundred Americans are 
behind bars in the country's estimated 6000 jails, at an expense of $70 billion 
per year. New sentencing guidelines with a retroactive clause make 46,000 
inmates eligible for sentence reduction, and 16 states and the District of 
Columbia have abolished the death penalty, but the U.S. penal system still 
suffers from well-documented ethnic and racial disparities. This problem 
extends to the death penalty, which is applied less than evenly, with, 
according to the Marshall Project, cost serving as a deciding factor in 
localities that can't afford the trial and appeal processes. And if there is 
one thing that deserves equality and certitude, it is the state-sponsored 
killing of people.

(source: Reuters)