[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, ALA., KAN., IDAHO, USA

[Rick Halperin]

Jan. 29


TEXAS----impending executions

Death Watch: 2 More Executions Will Make 3 in 5 Weeks----Executions accelerate 
in 2015

Texas has set a brisk pace for executions in 2015: 2 men are scheduled for the 
gurney this week, which will bring the tally to 3 in the 1st 5 weeks of the 
year. That would have been 4, but Garcia Glen White received a stay Tuesday, 
Jan. 27, of his scheduled Jan. 28 execution.

White was sentenced to death in 1995 for the murders of Bonita Edwards and her 
twin 16-year-old daughters, Annette and Bernette (see "Death Watch: Homicide, 
Drugs, Mental Incapacity," Jan. 23). Earlier this month, his attorneys Mandy 
Miller and Patrick McCann had asked the Court of Criminal Appeals to consider 
White's "borderline intelligence," as well as the murky situation surrounding 
his 1995 confession (which he offered without counsel despite indicating to 
authorities that he'd prefer an attorney be present). Miller and McCann also 
asked the judges to appoint a special administrator to ensure that the drugs 
used to kill White wouldn't cause any constitutionally barred suffering.

Miller told the Chronicle on Tuesday that the CCA did not explain why it had 
decided to stay the execution, only providing that a reprieve had been issued. 
Said Miller: "That's a good thing."

Robert Charles Ladd is set for execution today, Thursday, Jan. 29. The 
57-year-old was convicted of raping and killing Tyler resident Vickie Ann 
Gardner in 1997, while he was out on parole for the 1978 murders of Dallas 
woman Vivian Thompson and her 2 infant children, Latoya and Maurice.

After being handed his death sentence in August 1997, Ladd and attorney Sydney 
Young stayed quite busy trying to spare his life. Ladd was originally scheduled 
for execution in April 2003, but he received a last-minute stay after Young dug 
up records indicating Ladd had scored 67 on an IQ test when he was 13. (The 
U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that anyone with an IQ below "approximately 70" is 
mentally incompetent and thus ineligible for the death penalty. Prison testing 
conducted in 1978 registered Ladd's IQ at 86.) In the end, the 5th Circuit 
Court of Appeals upheld the finding that Ladd was competent, and he was sent 
back to death row.

The U.S. Supreme Court denied an appeal last October, and Ladd was briefly 
scheduled for execution on Dec. 11, 2014. That date got rejected by the Texas 
Department of Criminal Justice, and on Dec. 4, he received the January 
execution date.

Last week, through American Civil Liberties Union attorney Brian Stull, Ladd 
filed for a stay of execution on the grounds of mental incompetence.

The state will follow Ladd's execution with Donald Keith Newbury's on 
Wednesday, Feb. 4. The 52-year-old made national headlines 14 years ago when he 
and 6 other inmates escaped from the John B. Connally Unit 60 miles south of 
San Antonio and embarked on a 6-week crime spree through Texas and Colorado.

Newbury - an experienced burglar serving a 99-year sentence for the 1997 
robbery and aggravated assault of a woman in an Austin-area hotel - and his 6 
cohorts escaped from Connally Unit on Dec. 13, 2000, by overpowering 9 civilian 
maintenance supervisors, 4 correctional officers, and 3 unassociated inmates, 
stealing their money and clothes, robbing the prison armory, and making off in 
a truck owned by the prison. They left the truck at a Wal-Mart in nearby 
Kenedy; the next day, they robbed a Pearland Radio Shack.

No one caught a trace of the "Texas 7" for 2 weeks. But on Christmas Eve in 
Irving, Texas, an off-duty cop responded to a call reporting that Newbury and 
his fellow escapees were in the midst of robbing an Oshman's Sporting Goods. 
The cop, 29-year-old Aubrey Hawkins, showed up at the store, immediately came 
under fire, and was ultimately shot 11 times. Newbury and company completed the 
robbery (reportedly stealing at least 40 more guns in the process), ran over 
Hawkins' body with the truck they'd also stolen, and set off for Colorado, 
eventually settling into an RV park outside of Colorado Springs. They spent the 
first weeks of 2001 posing as a religious group within the area.

Hawkins' murder set off a multistate manhunt. 1 man, Larry Harper, killed 
himself when he learned that authorities were closing in on them. 4 of the 
remaining escapees were found in the RV park on Jan. 21. 2 days later, 
authorities arrested Newbury and 1 other in a Colorado Springs hotel.

Newbury had amassed a long rap sheet before he went to prison in 1997. He was 
arrested at the age of 18 for robbery. Awaiting trial in Travis County Jail, he 
got in a fight, was sent to a section of the jail for misbehaving inmates, and 
became part of a failed escape attempt. He got a 10-year sentence for the 
robbery, was eventually released, but stopped reporting to his parole officer 
after he decided he might be accused of a robbery committed by his roommate. 
While in violation of his parole, Newbury robbed a Chief Auto Parts and went 
back to prison on a 15-year sentence. Out on parole after 5 years, Newbury 
struggled to support his extended family and began committing robberies again 
after losing a job.

At Newbury's trial for the murder of Hawkins, defense attorneys tried to 
portray him as a product of his abusive upbringing, citing an absent father, 
unloving mother and sister, and other troubles at home. The jury, unmoved, 
sentenced him to death, along with the other surviving members of the Texas 7. 
2 of the men, George Rivas and George Rodriguez, were executed in 2012 and 
2008, respectively.

Attorney William Harris has filed a number of appeals claiming insufficient 
counsel during Newbury's trial. In 2012, Newbury won a stay of his original 
execution date - Feb. 1, 2012 - after Harris argued that Newbury should be 
spared while justices consider an Arizona case that questioned whether death 
row inmates are entitled to a certain standard of counsel during initial 
appeals. The U.S. Supreme Court also ordered a review of allegations (for all 4 
of the remaining Texas 7) in June 2013, but the 5th Circuit of Appeals upheld 
the sentences during that review in early July. On Jan. 2, 2014, a final motion 
for a stay of execution was denied.

If Ladd and Newbury are both executed, they will be the 522nd and 523rd inmates 
executed since Texas reinstated the death penalty in 1976.

(source: Austin Chronicle)








ALABAMA:

Shelby County capital murder case advancing to jury trial April 20



A Shelby County judge this afternoon denied an attempt by defense attorneys to 
strike down an indictment containing a capital murder charge against a Chelsea 
man accused of killing his grandmother in 2012.

Defense attorneys representing Daniel Scott Gentry, 27, argued before Circuit 
Judge William H. Bostick III that their client's indictment should not contain 
a capital murder offense based on the allegations in the case.

Bostick denied the motion argued by defense attorney Mickey Johnson of Pelham 
as Gentry's case proceeds to a jury trial set to begin April 20. The defendant 
continues to face a single charge of capital murder, which carries the death 
penalty as a potential punishment.

Gentry in August 2012 pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of mental 
disease or defect to the capital murder charge contained in the indictment 
dated June 2012. The indictment accuses him of killing Carrie Elaine Gentry 
sometime on March 28-29, 2012.

Carrie Elaine Gentry was a minister who allowed her grandson to live with her 
after he underwent drug rehabilitation.

The indictment alleges Daniel Gentry killed his grandmother by possibly 
stabbing her with a knife, striking her with a hammer, choking her or causing 
her asphyxiation with his hands or other object.

Carrie Gentry had disappeared about a month from her 65th birthday, and divers 
on April 10, 2012, located her inside her vehicle in about 40 feet of water in 
a Leeds quarry.

Dressed in bright orange Shelby County jail clothes with chains around his 
wrists, ankles and waist, Daniel Gentry sat at a table and listened to the 
discussion about his case this afternoon. Also representing him is defense 
attorney Victor Portella, who also attended the hearing.

Johnson argued the alleged details of the crime do not constitute a capital 
offense. "I do not believe ... that there is any part of this particular 
offense that would make it a capital offense other than it occurred indoors" at 
the victim's residence, he told the judge.

The indictment alleges that Gentry committed murder when he was "unlawfully in 
a dwelling of another," which is the crime of burglary.

Because it was inside, "that doesn't make it any more egregious than if it 
occurred in a yard," Johnson said.

The prosecution, represented by Stephanie Billingslea and Leigh Gwathney of the 
Alabama Attorney General's Office, disagreed with the defense's argument.

"What makes this case a capital is that a murder was committed during the 
course of a burglary," Billingslea told the judge.

(source: al.com)








KANSAS:

Abolish the death penalty



There is a long list of reasons why Kansas needs to abolish the death penalty 
and there is no sensible reason for us to keep this dysfunctional system. The 
last time the state of Kansas executed a person was exactly half a century ago. 
Yet the death penalty is still part of our criminal justice system, consuming 
millions of tax payers' dollars which could more wisely be spent on pro-active 
law enforcement, social and mental health programs that could help prevent 
violent crimes. With a human life at stake, it is necessary that death penalty 
cases go through a prolonged process of pre-trials, trials, prolonged appeals 
and re-trials. This time-intensive process is necessary in order to avoid the 
risk of executing an innocent person, but it also costs 4 times more than 
trials where life in prison without parole is pursued. In addition, this 
lengthy process puts murder victim family members through elongated trauma.

Although such painstaking and lengthy trial processes are designed, in-theory, 
to avoid the risk of executing innocent lives, serious mistakes do happen. No 
human system is infallible-and in many states flaws and corruptions have cost 
the lives of the innocent while leaving murder victim families empty handed. 
Since 1973, 150 innocent people have been exonerated from death row. Another 18 
people have already been put to death, despite overwhelming doubt of guilt. 
Kansas has an effective alternative to the death penalty - life in prison 
without possibility of parole. Assessed from every angle, the death penalty is 
an ill-advised public policy. By abolishing the death penalty now, Kansas can 
ensure the needs of society are met, while avoiding the risk of taking innocent 
lives in the future. In order to get an all-rounded understanding about the 
death penalty, I invite Kansans to learn the facts from academic researches, 
stories of murder victim families, testimonies of innocent exonerees, views of 
faith leaders and insights of law enforcement officials. I also ask Kansans to 
make their voices heard by contacting their legislators now urging them to opt 
for a fiscally responsible public policy and vote yes on the repeal bill 
presented this legislative session. Helpful links:

http://ksabolition.org/http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/ Writers contact contact 
info. Ewnetu Tsegaw , Wichita (source: Letter to the Editor, The Kansan)








IDAHO:

Unlikely allies align to oppose Idaho's execution secrecy plan



An unlikely consortium of political groups has aligned to oppose the Idaho 
Department of Correction's plan to add more secrecy to state executions. The 
American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho, the Idaho Freedom Foundation and 
Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty, three groups not always 
aligned on policy, have come out against the department proposal, which would 
shield from public disclosure the names of execution chemical suppliers.

Members of the Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee introduced the bill last 
week, and the measure awaits more discussion in that panel.

Kathy Griesmyer, the legislative liaison for the ACLU of Idaho, suggested the 
measure flies in the face of public transparency. "To be fully accountable, 
Idaho must provide the public, defendants and courts information about the 
process to ensure it is humane and in compliance with state and federal laws 
and the U.S. Constitution," she told IdahoReporter.com.

"This amendment to Idaho statute not only would shield the identities of those 
involved in carrying out state executions, but it would also limit both public 
and court access to knowledge surrounding the type of drugs being used and the 
source of the drugs," she added.

The legislation would insert into state code legal blocks preventing disclosure 
of the names of agency staffers and medical personnel participating in the 
execution process. The measure would also give the agency broad power to block 
disclosure of "any information" that would prevent the state from carrying out 
executions.

Parrish Miller, a policy analyst for the Idaho Freedom Foundation, suggested 
the line of code might give the state too much latitude. "It could conceivably 
include the time and place where the execution is carried out, and even the 
identity of the person being executed," Miller wrote Tuesday. Marc Hyden, the 
national policy coordinator for Conservatives Concerned about the Death 
Penalty, said politicos on his side of the ideological fence should feel deep 
skepticism of the measure.

"Conservatives should always be skeptical when the state attempts to shroud its 
activities in secrecy," Hyden wrote in an email. "The people of Idaho deserve 
to know where their taxes are being spent and what those funds are purchasing."

But the state agency wants onlookers to know the changes they want only reflect 
how its workers already conduct executions.

"We're asking for this change not because the IDAPA rule is inadequate, but 
because of the importance we place on this issue," Department of Correction 
spokesman Jeff Ray explained.

"Think of it this way: Reporters, in some circumstances, rely on anonymous 
sources. The reporters promise the sources their identities will not be 
revealed," Ray added. "Likewise, the Department of Correction relies on a team 
of dedicated professionals to fulfill legislative and judicial intent in 
carrying out sentences of death."

Ray didn't address the need to protect chemical suppliers from disclosure. He 
did say the agency has received records requests for that information in the 
past, but used state administrative rules to block the queries.

State administrative rules also already protect from disclosure the names of 
staffers and medical attendants who carry out executions.

Josh Tewalt, one of the agency's prison administrators, told the Senate panel 
the state needs to block disclosure due to recent media attention surrounding 
botched executions in Arizona and Oklahoma.

Still, skeptics don???t buy into the agency's pitch.

"It is perhaps unsurprising - in light of these horrific occurrences - that the 
companies manufacturing these drugs would want to retreat behind a cloak of 
anonymity, but the answer to abject government failure is not to hide the truth 
from the public," Miller cautioned.

Hyden warned the measure could lead to some nefarious activities.

"Concealing the source of the death penalty drugs has nothing to do with 
national security," Hyden said. "So, there is no reason why the state should 
keep expenditures of public funds like this a secret. This form of secrecy in 
the hands of the government often leads to corruption and abuse."

(source: Idahowatchdog.org)








USA:

Boston bombing trial: The media is frustrated by the many restrictions imposed 
in the Tsarnaev case



The Boston press corps is frustrated with the U.S. District Court in Boston.

Compared to the U.S. Supreme Court or to courts in many other countries, the 
federal court has never seemed particularly accessible to journalists - no 
video or audio recording or photography of the proceedings is ever allowed, and 
transcripts are quite difficult to get. But local court reporters say they have 
never faced the sorts of restrictions imposed by Judge George O'Toole in the 
case of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the suspected Boston Marathon bomber. The bulk of 
the filings in the case are under seal - including at least 1 defense motion 
that was excerpted at length by the Boston Globe before the judge sealed it 
last week - and reporters are excluded from seeing or hearing much of the 
courtroom discussion that would customarily be public.

The trial is in the voir dire stage, the individual interview part of selecting 
a jury. On Wednesday, the Boston Globe filed a motion requesting public - which 
is to say, media - access to some of the challenges made to juror candidacies 
by the lawyers on either side and the judge's rulings on these challenges. Some 
of the process is obvious: Several times a day, the judge will cut an interview 
short because it is clear the juror cannot be seated. This happens in 1 of 2 
situations. If a juror is so obviously dead-set on voting for the death penalty 
or, conversely, if a juror is unequivocally opposed to the death penalty, both 
sides may agree on the spot that the person cannot meaningfully participate in 
the penalty phase of the trial. (In capital punishment cases, it is the jury 
that decides whether a defendant who has been found guilty is to be executed).

Over the last couple of weeks of voir dire the prosecution and the defense have 
worked out a system for signaling to each other and then to the judge that they 
agree the person is unsuitable for jury and that the interview can be cut 
short. Sometimes, it is obvious that serving on the jury would pose an 
extraordinary hardship. 1 juror last week said that his employer had agreed to 
pay him for three days of his jury service. After he was allowed to leave the 
courtroom, defense attorney David Bruck quipped, "It will probably take longer 
than that." The judge originally projected that the trial would last 3 to 4 
months, but at this point jury selection has been going on for more than 3 
weeks and is nowhere near completion.

The court has interviewed 98 people so far, and it would appear that most of 
them cannot serve on the jury, either because they hold strong beliefs about 
Tsarnaev's guilt or about the death penalty. Each side has 23 peremptory 
challenges, meaning it can exclude that many people from the final jury pool 
without explanation; this means that in order to seat 18 people (12 voting 
members and 6 alternates), the court has to settle on at least 64 suitable 
candidates at the end of voir dire. The court has averaged 15 people a day, but 
we don't know how many of those have been cleared for the next round; those 
decisions are made in camera at the end of each day. If the Globe's motion is 
granted, we would learn how far the process has advanced.

In open court, Judge O'Toole has said that he doesn't want to tell jurors 
directly that they have been excused because he doesn't want to "coach" other 
candidates on how to get out of jury duty in this case. That may be part of the 
reason he has closed the afternoon discussions to the press - though he has not 
explained this decision. Nor has he explained the decision to exclude 
journalists physically from the courtroom.

On the 1st day of voir dire, the ban was total; reporters crowded into 2 
smaller courtrooms and watched the proceedings through a video link. The link 
proved unreliable, with either the video or the sound, and sometimes both, 
disappearing at various times. The camera was placed so high up behind the 
juror that reporters could only occasionally glimpse a bald pate or a full head 
of gray hair while the juror was sitting down. The reporters complained loudly.

By the following day the court had laid new cable and moved the camera. Now 
reporters could tell that all but 1 or 2 of the jury candidates were white and 
the majority were middle-aged. But the journalists questioned the restrictions 
themselves - after all, even during last year's trial of notorious Boston 
gangster Whitey Bulger on the same floor of the same courthouse, the courtroom 
was full of reporters for the voir dire.

On day 3, proceedings began an hour late because the judge was apparently 
considering the press corps' complaints. Now two pool reporters would be 
allowed into the courtroom. Since then, the number has been negotiated up to 
three, and the journalists are also gradually eating away at the amount of time 
the court spends with the microphones turned off; with every passing day, the 
media can hear a little more of the banter. Still, no one has been able to hear 
any of the chats that go on between Tsarnaev and public defender Miriam Conrad, 
who sits to his right. These conversations are the rare moments when the 
defendant does not look bored verging on absent. He appears to joke with 
Conrad, and she appears to find his remarks very funny.

(source: Washington Post)