[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, WASHINGTON

[Rick Halperin]

Jan. 26



TEXAS:

Former Supreme Court Justice Confirms Texas Once Executed An Innocent 
Man----Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens acknowledged 
evidence that Texas put an innocent man to death for a murder in the 1980s.



During a lecture at the University of Florida on Jan. 20, retired Supreme Court 
Justice John Paul Stevens acknowledged evidence that proved "beyond a shadow of 
doubt" that Texas executed an innocent man in the 1980s.

Stevens referred to a book The Wrong Carlos by Columbia Law School professor 
James Liebman, saying that it had sufficiently demonstrated that "there is a 
Texas case in which they executed the wrong defendant and the person they 
executed did not in fact commit the crime for which he was punished."

Stevens, a strong opponent of the death penalty, made the comments during a 
Jan. 20 lecture where he shared suggestions to improve the U.S. Constitution, 
including the abolishment of the death penalty.

The Wrong Carlos "uncovers evidence that Carlos DeLuna, a poor Hispanic man 
with childlike intelligence who was executed in Texas in 1989, was innocent," 
according to the book's website.

De Luna, 27, was executed in 1989 for the murder of Wanda Lopez, a convenience 
store clerk, during a 1983 robbery in Corpus Christi.

16 years after Texas, which holds the country's most active death chamber, 
executed De Luna, the Chicago Tribune published a 3-part investigative series 
uncovering evidence that strongly suggested that a man named Carloz Hernandez 
was the one who murdered Lopez.

The series was based on a comprehensive investigation into De Luna's case by 
the Columbia DeLuna Project led by Liebman.

The Tribune interviewed Hernandez's relatives and friends who recounted how 
"the violent felon repeatedly bragged that De Luna went to death row for a 
murder Hernandez committed."

>From the Tribune:

The newspaper investigation, involving interviews with dozens of people and a 
review of thousands of pages of court records, shows the case was compromised 
by shaky eyewitness identification, sloppy police work and a failure to 
thoroughly pursue Hernandez as a possible suspect.

In 2006, U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Antonin Scalia, famously said that there 
had not been a single case of an innocent man being executed.

Scalia stated, "[There has not been] a single case - not one - in which it is 
clear that a person was executed for a crime he did not commit. If such an 
event had occurred ... the innocent's name would be shouted from the rooftops."

Stevens, while referring to Scalia's comments, said, "But now I think Jim 
(Liebman) has found a case that one cannot deny."

In advocating for abolishing the death penalty, Stevens said, "I think it's a 
sufficient argument against the death penalty ... that society should not take 
the risk that that might happen again. Because it's intolerable to think that 
our government, for not really powerful reasons, runs the risk of executing 
innocent people."

(source: BuzzFeed.com)








WASHINGTON:

Seattle city leaders urge state legislators to abolish death penalty



Mayor Ed Murray, all 9 Seattle City Council members and City Attorney Pete 
Holmes have signed a letter calling for the Seattle delegation to the state 
Legislature to pursue "safe and just alternatives" to the death penalty.

"There is no credible evidence showing that the death penalty deters homicide 
or makes our communities safer," the letter says. "Instead, pursuing capital 
punishment diverts precious resources from critical public safety programs, 
delays final resolution for victims' families and has serious implications for 
racial and social equity."

Council President Tim Burgess discussed the letter, dated Jan. 26, at the 
council's Monday morning briefing, saying, "There's a false promise around the 
death penalty."

Capital punishment is neither swift nor sure, he said, referring to long legal 
delays.

"I think there is a sense that the evidence against the death penalty is 
mounting," Burgess said afterward, citing Gov. Jay Inslee's personal moratorium 
last year on signing any death warrants while he is governor.

The 2-page letter says 18 states have abolished the death penalty for the same 
overall reasons listed in the council letter.

"Now it is time for the Legislature to take up this conversation," the letter 
says, noting that of the 9 current inmates on death row in Washington an 
average of 17 years has passed since they committed their crimes.

Historically, appeals have led the majority of death sentences in Washington to 
be reversed and converted to life without parole at cost of millions of dollars 
and years or decades of uncertainty for the victims' families, the letter says.

Further, the letter says, the death penalty raises the specter of executing an 
innocent person. Nationwide, there have been 150 cases where death-row inmates 
have been exonerated as scientific investigative techniques improve, the letter 
says.

The letter also points to recent research suggesting the death penalty is 
applied disproportionately, with juries 4.5 times more likely to impose capital 
punishment on a black defendant than similarly situated white defendants.

Singling out the impact on Seattle and King County taxpayers, the letter says 
the county's costs have risen to more than $15 million to pursue the death 
penalty against 2 people accused of the slayings of 6 people in Carnation in 
2007 and a man charged with the 2009 killing of Seattle police Officer Timothy 
Brenton. Trials are currently under way in King County for one of the Carnation 
defendants, Joseph McEnroe, and Brenton's alleged killer, Christopher Monfort.

That money could be spent separately on high-quality preschool for 1,300 
children, or a public-health program for 3,000 families with children from 
pregnancy to age 2, or hire 30 police officers for 5 years, Burgess said after 
the council briefing.

Those efforts prevent crime and keep the community safer, while the death 
penalty does not, Burgess said.

(source: Seattle Times)

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

The False Promise of the Death Penalty



3 high-profile death penalty trials are underway in King County Superior Court, 
related to the 2009 assassination of Seattle Police Officer Timothy Brenton and 
the 2007 Christmas Eve mass murders of 3 generations of the Anderson family in 
Carnation. Both crimes were horrific, senseless acts of hatred and violence 
that caused incredibly searing pain, suffering, and loss for the victims' 
families, friends, neighbors, and the broader community.

But, the death penalty delivers nothing more than a false promise.

I was a Seattle police officer in the 1970s. I spent many nights in my patrol 
car doing exactly what Officer Brenton and his partner, Britt Sweeney, were 
doing when they were shot. As a councilmember, I went to Harborview the night 
Officer Brenton died. I spoke briefly with Officer Sweeney. The targeted murder 
of Officer Brenton strikes a deep chord of grief within me. As a father of 
three and grandfather of 2, the slaying of the Andersons does the same.

I want swift and certain justice delivered to their killers, but the death 
penalty won't provide that swiftness or certainty.

Some people believe they are safer because of the death penalty; they're not. 
The death penalty does not deter homicides and does not make our communities 
safer. A review from the National Research Council concludes that no credible 
evidence exists to suggest that it does.

Some people believe justice is better served by the death penalty; it's not. 
The pursuit of capital punishment delays final resolution for victims' families 
and communities, inflicting even further pain and suffering. Of the 9 current 
offenders on Washington's death row, an average of 17 years has passed since 
the year of their crime. 17 years! There is no swiftness or certainty in that 
reality.

At the end of the long road of appeals, the majority of Washington's death row 
inmates have had their sentences converted to life in prison without the 
possibility of parole. Spending millions of dollars and dragging victims' 
families through years and sometimes decades of uncertainty only to end up in 
the same place (a sentence of life without parole) is not a worthwhile exercise 
of justice. And moving faster is not a viable option; the appeals processes and 
protections exist for a very important reason: 150 innocent individuals and 
counting have been exonerated from death rows across the country. We make 
mistakes, but there's no room for error when it comes to administering the 
death penalty.

Some people believe we administer the death penalty fairly; the evidence shows 
we do not. A University of Washington professor's analysis of Washington's 
aggravated 1st-degree murder cases suggests the death penalty is applied 
disproportionately across Washington. Juries were 4.5 times more likely to 
impose a death sentence on a black defendant than on similarly situated white 
defendants.

Why do I make these points now? It's certainly not to minimize the trauma, the 
grief, and the pain experienced by those most closely connected to the tragic 
deaths of Officer Brenton and the Anderson family. I make these points now 
because these cases serve as examples of how the death penalty leaves us with 
missed opportunities for safer communities and a better justice system.

Earlier this month, a report from Seattle University found that, on average, 
death penalty cases in Washington cost about 1.5 times more than other 
aggravated 1st-degree murder cases, including post-conviction incarceration 
costs. This amounts to more than $1 million per case in extra costs.

The costs of the current King County cases have risen above $15 million. This 
is no trivial sum: $15 million could mean 30 more police officers patrolling 
our streets for 5 years. It could deliver to more than 3,000 families the 
support of the Nurse-Family Partnership, an early intervention program for 
1st-time, low-income mothers and their babies that is proven to reduce 
involvement in the criminal justice system later in life. It could provide 
high-quality preschool for more than 1,300 children, another proven investment 
that reduces criminal behavior. It could enhance staffing on police "cold case" 
investigative teams, or provide stronger victim support and advocacy services.

The death penalty does not strengthen or protect the women and men of our 
police departments, it will not deter future acts of violence or murder, it 
will not bring meaningful and positive change to our communities, and it cannot 
be administered both quickly and fairly. This is the false promise of the death 
penalty.

18 states have abolished capital punishment in favor of safe and just 
alternatives, including 6 in the last 8 years. Governor Jay Inslee's moratorium 
on executions last year was an appropriate 1st step; let's go further and 
finish the job by abolishing the death penalty. We'll save millions of dollars 
that could be used more effectively and we will achieve the type of justice we 
really deserve - swift, certain, and fair.

(source: Editorial; Tim Burgess is president of the Seattle City 
Council----Seattle Times)