[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, S.C., FLA., ALA., ARK.

[Rick Halperin]

March 23



TEXAS:

Legislature must fix Texas death penalty



Texans who support capital punishment might want to believe that the system has 
evolved into an excruciatingly fair, airtight application of society's utmost 
punishment.

If only that were the case, this newspaper might not stand with opponents of 
state-sponsored killing.

Each year brings a new set of execution dates that expose weaknesses in the 
system and offend the sense of justice. We trust that state lawmakers are alert 
to them and are willing to apply fixes.

Take Texas law on executing the intellectually disabled. Actually, there really 
isn't a law, despite the Supreme Court's 2002 landmark imperative against 
executing people with low IQs. The Texas response relies in part on a Court of 
Criminal Appeals ruling suggesting that someone like the fictional, dull-witted 
character Lennie in Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men is the type who ought to 
be spared the executioner's needle. Allusions to American literature have no 
place in deciding life-and-death matters in Texas.

The Legislature has neglected its duty to put greater specificity in the law, 
despite a steady flow of condemned inmates whose mental abilities have been in 
question.

Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, has legislation (SB 226) to remedy this. It would 
have the courts treat questions of intelligence like sanity questions, 
impaneling a jury to decide the matter before trial. Today, the same jurors who 
decide guilt-innocence also decide whether a person they just convicted is 
bright enough to be killed. The Ellis bill would separate the matters and take 
emotion out of the mix. This bill should pass and fill an embarrassing void in 
Texas law.

It was also embarrassing for the state when lawyers for mentally ill killer 
Scott Panetti discovered in the Houston Chronicle on Oct. 30 that his execution 
date had been set 2 weeks prior and was just weeks away. That's right: There 
was no direct, official notification to counsel that the state obtained a death 
warrant - and the clock was ticking toward an appeals deadline.

The remedy for this shamefulness would be companion bills by Rep. Senfronia 
Thompson, D-Houston, (HB 2110) and Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, D-McAllen, (SB 
1071). Texans should not tolerate stealth death warrants.

Nor should Texans tolerate the idea of an execution before all relevant 
evidence has been tested for DNA evidence that might bear on the case. Yet 
that's not a guarantee today, because of a screwy court decision requiring a 
defendant to prove "a reasonable likelihood" of biological material that could 
be tested. How might a defendant produce that proof if not through testing? 
Hence, a remedy by Ellis (SB 487) to eliminate this Catch-22 in state law.

This list of fixes could go on, but we'll mention just 1 more: the right of 
Texans to know everything about the execution process. That means everything - 
right down to the drugs used, their supplier and expiration dates. A bipartisan 
bill (HB 1587) by Reps. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, and Tony Tinderholt, 
R-Arlington, would secure the public's right to know.

(source: Editorial, Dallas Morning News)








SOUTH CAROLINA:

Triple murder suspect says he needs new lawyers to get fair trial



A Cherokee County man who could face the death penalty if convicted in a 2010 
triple murder said he wants to fire his lawyers and get new representation.

Cass Smith called the FOX Carolina newsroom Sunday from the Cherokee County 
Detention Center. He said he had filed a motion to get new representation that 
a judge is expected to hear this week.

Smith is accused of shooting and killing his ex-girlfriend, Suzanne Bridges, 
her boyfriend, Harold Lick, and Bridges' 15-year-old daughter, Margaret Wenner, 
in April 2010.

Investigators said Smith shot the 3 victims through a window of a mobile home 
on Emily Lane in Cowpens.

Smith talked to FOX Carolina's cameras on the night he was arrested. He 
apologized for the shootings and said he didn't know the teenager was in the 
house when the shooting happened. Smith said he had been depressed and felt 
betrayed over the break-up.

Smith, who has been held in the Cherokee County Detention Center since his 
arrest, said Sunday that he was unhappy with his state appointed lawyers' 
current defense strategy.

"I wrote 4 motions to dismiss my attorneys in the last 4 years," Smith said.

Smith said the presiding judge was expected to consider the request for new 
representation in hearing to be held the week of March 23.

Smith said his lawyers want to argue that he suffers from an intellectual 
disability, which Smith said is untrue.

"That is false defense that they're wanting to bring to the table because I've 
worked for 20 years in big industrial companies like Timken," Smith said. "I 
worked there 14 years. And see, the jury's not going to buy that..."

Smith said his lawyers used a similar defense when they represented Ricky Lee 
Blackwell, who was sentenced to death in the 2009 murder of an 8-year-old girl.

"I don't think that that was a fair trial for him (Blackwell), and I don't 
think they're trying to give me a fair trial in mine," Smith said.

Smith's major point of contention surrounds a recording of a 911 call from the 
day of the murders. Smith said the call contains crucial information about the 
case and his lawyers do not want to use the call as part of their defense.

"I think that it (the 911 call) really helps my case," Smith said. "I think 
that my attorneys have a personal issue with my case instead of a professional 
one. And I don't think that's fair toward me, because like in any situation of 
a case, there's a reason why things happen, you know, in a case. I know in the 
story that was publicized against me in the newspaper said that I went up there 
to my ex-wife's house in a jealous rage and, you know, because I had lost her 
to another man, but that wasn't true."

Smith said there are many more details in the story that are explained in the 
911 call.

"I think the victims have a right to know what happened in the case," Smith 
said. "I think my family has right to know, and it's not going to be presented 
in that way if I'm represented by these attorneys because they're trying to go 
around everything that truly happened and I'm trying to tell the truth. You 
know, whether if I get the death penalty or not I just want a fair trial, and I 
don't think I'm going to get that from my attorneys."

Prosecutors initially denied a request filed by Smith's lawyers in 2010 which 
Stated Smith would plead guilty to the killings and serve life in prison 
without parole if prosecutors would agree not to seek the death penalty.

Former 7th Circuit Solicitor Trey Gowdy said that the state would seek capital 
punishment.

"A jury needs to determine what the proper punishment is for an alleged triple 
homicide," Gowdy said in 2010.

Since then, Smith said his lawyers had not attempted to make any other plea 
deals.

"I don't really think that my lawyers are trying to work out a plea with me. 
They haven't done, you know, like any defensive strategy in my case," Smith 
said. "It's just really constitutionally unfair you know for me."

Smith said he has the constitutional right to a fair trial and he will fight to 
make sure he gets one.

"I was always a well-respected person in the community, Smith said. "I paid my 
taxes. I paid my child support. I always tried to do things right in my life 
until that situation that happened in April of 2010."

If his request for new legal representation is denied, Smith said he will 
consider representing himself as a last resort.

Smith said he has purchased a legal dictionary and has been researching ways to 
file motions and represent himself but does not feel confident that he could 
defend himself in a trial.

"I really don't want to represent myself because I know that would be bad 
because I don't know how to do a trial," Smith admitted.

(source: foxcarolina.com)








FLORIDA:

Setting death penalty standards



A state Senate bill endorsed in committee last week would rectify a 
longstanding weakness in Florida's death-sentencing standards.

The changes, if they become law, might make it harder for a court to hand down 
a death sentence because juries would have to show far more rigor in 
deliberating whether to recommend the "ultimate penalty."

That would be an important advance from Florida's current process, which does 
not require a unanimous vote when juries recommend death. (In the earlier 
guilt-finding phase, a unanimous verdict is required.)

The simple-majority standard makes Florida an ???outlier??? among the 31 states 
that allow the death penalty. Most set tougher standards. The U.S. Supreme 
Court has noted the discrepancy and will hear a Florida case about this in its 
session beginning next fall.

Meanwhile, the state Senate's Criminal Justice Committee took up reforms last 
week, endorsing Senate Bill 664 by a 5-0 vote.

The bill would require unanimity in order for a jury to issue a recommendation 
to a judge that a death sentence be imposed. But in procedures leading up to 
that recommendation, the bill would make another important change as the jurors 
weigh so-called aggravating factors - at least 1 of which is required to 
justify a death sentence.

"The jury must certify in writing that each aggravating circumstance used to 
support its recommendation of death was found to exist beyond a reasonable 
doubt by a unanimous vote," according to the legislative analysis of SB 664. 
That's significant because, under the bill, the judge would be allowed to 
consider "only the aggravating factors unanimously found to exist by the jury," 
the analysis notes.

Under current practice, the jury is required neither to list any of the 16 
aggravating factors nor to agree unanimously on them.

Under SB 664, jurors also would have to agree unanimously that aggravating 
factors outweighed mitigating factors.

If signed into law, these changes would take effect for cases in which the 
sentencing process begins on or after July 1.

The proposal could reduce the number of death appeals that crowd the state 
Supreme Court's docket. It also stands to reason that the jurors' deliberations 
would slow down - becoming more painstaking and cautious. According to the 
legislative analysis, "there may be more death penalty cases taken to trial, 
rather than pleas entered, because it will be less likely that a defendant will 
receive the death penalty under the bill's provisions."

Of 296 cases in Florida heard from 2000 through 2012, only 102 of the death 
recommendations were based on supermajority or unanimous agreement from the 
jurors.

Requiring unanimity, as SB 664 would do, might result in more 
life-without-parole sentences. That could rub voters the wrong way. A majority 
say they support the death penalty; many simply object to how long it takes the 
state to execute the condemned.

Yet Florida also leads the nation in the number of death row inmates later let 
go because of post-conviction exonerations and dismissed charges.

Coming so perilously close to executing the wrong people is a sign that the 
process needs more thoroughness, deliberation and clarity for jurors. SB 664 
could help with all those aspects. We urge lawmakers to approve this 
legislation.

(source: Ocala Star Banner)








ALABAMA:

Penalty phase of the Joyce Garrard trial set to begin Monday



The jury that convicted Joyce Garrard of capital murder will be the same one 
hearing arguments Monday about whether the 49-year-old should receive life in 
prison without parole or be put to death.

The penalty phase begins at 9 a.m. in the Etowah County Courthouse. The 
prosecution is expected to make arguments as to why Garrard should be executed.

The defense is expected to counter with why her life should be spared. In order 
to recommend a death sentence, at least 10 of the 12 jurors must vote in favor 
of it.

In Alabama, a jury's recommendation is just that, a recommendation. The 
ultimate decision will rest with the judge.

Now the 49 year old was convicted Friday evening of capital murder. Prosecutors 
say Garrard killed her granddaughter in 2012 by forcing 9-year-old Savannah 
Hardin to run non-stop as punishment for lying about eating a candy bar.

Savannah collapsed, and had a seizure. She died a few days later.

If Garrard does receive a death sentence, she'll become the 4th woman currently 
on Alabama's death row.

The child's step-mother, Jessica Mae Hardin, is also awaiting trial for her 
alleged role in Savannah's death. Prosecutors say she failed to intervene or 
help the 9-year old.

(source: WBRC news)

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

Action in Tommy Arthur case put on hold



A federal court decision this week has put on hold any action in death-row 
inmate Tommy Arthur's case, including a May court hearing, until the U.S. 
Supreme Court hears arguments about the effectiveness of the lethal injection 
drug midazolam.

The order last Wednesday from U.S. District Chief Judge Keith Watkins cites 
other delays in death row cases in Alabama.

Watkins' ruling said, "... the state has conceded that the best course of 
action is to stay decisions on the lethal injection cases across the board 
until Glossip is decided."

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in late April. A decision is 
expected by the end of June.

Arthur was set for execution in February, his 6th execution date in more than 
30 years on death row. It was stayed last month, and Watkins said Arthur was 
entitled to a trial on his objection to the state's lethal injection formula 
and to a final decision on the merits of his claims. That trial was to be held 
in U.S. District Court on May 5.

Arthur is challenging the state's 3-drug lethal injection formula as possibly 
constituting cruel and unusual punishment. Specifically the challenge involves 
midazolam hydrochloride and whether it sufficiently renders an inmate 
unconscious before the other 2 execution drugs are administered.

(source: Times Daily)








ARKANSAS:

AG Rutledge: 8 death row cases ready for execution phase



With the Arkansas Supreme Court ruling this past week declaring the state's 
lethal injection procedures as constitutional, executions in Arkansas are set 
to move forward after a decade of being on hold.

Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, who appeared on this week's edition 
of Talk Business & Politics on KATV Ch. 7, said there are 32 inmates on death 
row, with 8 inmates having exhausted all of their appeals. Still, she said, 
carrying out the death penalty won't be immediate.

"This is not something that's going to happen in the next couple of weeks. I 
know there's quite a bit of angst and talk about that because of the Supreme 
Court's decision," said Rutledge, whose office works with the governor's 
administration to coordinate state executions.

She said the Department of Corrections must first obtain the drugs needed in 
order to carry out lethal injections.

"Once they do that, we'll be able to send the names to the governor," Rutledge 
said.

Prison systems around the country have had difficulty obtaining drugs for 
lethal injections as manufacturers have either refused to sell the drugs for 
execution purposes or they have decided against it to avoid the publicity and 
protests that accompany the sales.

Even for those inmates whose appeals are exhausted, Rutledge said she expects 
new rounds of lawsuits to occur.

"I am certain there will be litigation because of the seriousness of the issue 
at hand," she said.

Rutledge also said she's working with the state legislature to find ways to 
strengthen Arkansas' death penalty law.

"Some of the things that we're looking at are confidentiality of companies that 
provide the drugs necessary to carry out a lethal injection. Because of so many 
protests and public scrutiny that comes to those companies, many states have 
gone this direction in order to protect the private businesses," she said.

(source: thecitywire.com)

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

Innocent and on Death Row: A Conversation With Death-Row Exoneree Gary Drinkard



The National Lawyers Guild-UA Chapter will present Gary Drinkard on Tuesday, 
March 31, from noon to 12:50 p.m. in Leflar Law Building 342. Drinkard, a death 
row exoneree, will speak about his wrongful conviction and experience on 
Alabama's death row.

Drinkard was charged with the robbery and the murder of a 65-year-old 
automotive junk dealer in Decatur, Alabama. Unable to afford an attorney, he 
was assigned 2 lawyers who had no experience trying criminal cases. Despite his 
presence at home at the time of the murders and his debilitating back injury, 
he was convicted and sentenced to death in 1995. Surprisingly, the conviction 
primarily rested on testimonies given by his half-sister and her husband. Both 
faced charges for unrelated crimes; however, in exchange for testifying, his 
half-sister's charges were dismissed.

In 2000, the Alabama Supreme Court ordered a new trial due to prosecutorial 
misconduct and, with the help of the Southern Center for Human Rights, Drinkard 
won acquittal in 2001. The center later represented him before the United 
States Senate Judiciary Committee to illustrate the urgent need for competent 
lawyers for those facing the death penalty. Today, Drinkard lives and works in 
Alabama and remains active in the movement to abolish the death penalty.

The National Lawyers Guild is a national non-profit legal and political 
organization comprised of lawyers, legal workers, law students, and jailhouse 
lawyers, now celebrating 75 years since the guild's founding. It represents 
progressive political movements, using the law to protect human rights above 
property interests and to attain social justice.

This event is supported by the Student Activities Fee as a funded event by the 
Associated Student Government and is free to all currently enrolled University 
of Arkansas, Fayetteville, students who pay the student activities fee. For 
questions about the event or for accommodations due to disability please 
contact behime at uark.edu or 918-399-6153.

(source: University of Arkansas news)