[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN. N.C. ALA., LA., TENN.

[Rick Halperin]

May 2



TEXAS:

DA Will Seek Death Penalty In Deadly Double Shooting



McLennan County District Attorney Abel Reyna announced Friday his office is 
seeking the death penalty for a man who is accused of capital murder in a May 
13, 2014 double shooting.

Todric McDonald, 28, is accused of killing Justin Javier Gonzalez, 24, and 
Ulysses Gonzalez, 30, both were shot to death inside an apartment at the Pecan 
Tree Apartments in the 2600 block of Grim Avenue.

The 2 victims were cousins.

Reyna said the killings were particularly brutal, but could not shed any light 
on the motive for the shootings.

Online McLennan County Jail records show McDonald is held in lieu of $1,506 
million in bonds on the capital murder and 6 other charges.

Neither man actually lived in the apartment but had been there visiting 
friends, Waco police Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton said at the time of the shootings.

They were inside the apartment when 1 or more suspects entered and gunfire 
erupted, Swanton said.

Both men were pronounced dead at the scene.

McDonald was arrested on May 16, 2014, after a short chase that reached speeds 
of 85 miles per hour on a city street.

A female and a toddler were in the car with him, police said.

McDonald also was named in an indictment charging evading arrest in a vehicle 
in connection with a chase on the day of his arrest and for 1 count of 
aggravated assault and 2 counts of aggravated robbery in separate incidents, 
also reported in May.

The aggravated assault charge stems from another shooting incident that 
happened in the 2300 block of Morrow just 5 hours before the double murder 
happened.

A co-defendant in that shooting, Tony Olivarez, also was named in an indictment 
charging aggravated assault.

Olivarez remains held in the McLennan County Jail in lieu of $504,000 bond.

(source: KWTX news)








PENNSYLVANIA:

Death penalty case moves forward against Ashtabula man accused of causing fatal 
injuries to baby



The death penalty case is moving forward against a 23-year-old Ashtabula man 
accused of causing fatal injuries to a 6-month-old baby while camping in 
Washington County, Pa., authorities said.

Chad Chadwick's defense attorneys are reviewing the discovery and obtaining 
experts to review the baby's medical records, said Mark Aaron, district 
attorney in Clarion County, Pa.

Chadwick was arraigned in May 2014 on charges of criminal homicide, conspiracy, 
aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of children, simple assault and 
reckless endangerment, according to court records.

Chadwick was on a holiday camping trip with his girlfriend's infant nephew and 
2 other children Labor Day weekend 2013, babysitting for the children's 
parents, who live in Geneva, the baby's family members have said.

Police said the youngest of the three children, 6-month-old Zeke Hamilton, was 
later found in a car seat, and had suffered injuries to his head, chest and 
arms. Zeke was rushed to Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh, and spent 11 weeks 
in a coma. He died Nov. 15, 2013.

The Allegheny County medical examiner ruled the death a ???non-accidental blunt 
force trauma to the head," reports show.

Pennsylvania State Police arrested Chadwick in January 2014 at home in 
Ashtabula, with the help of local law enforcement, Ashtabula Police Chief 
Robert Stell has said.

Aaron has said he is seeking the death penalty based on the aggravating 
circumstance that the victim of the homicide was a child under 12 years of age.

No date has been set for Chadwick's trial.

(source: Star Beacon)








NORTH CAROLINA:

North Carolina lawmakers approve bill to resume executions



North Carolina lawmakers on Wednesday approved a measure aimed at resuming 
executions after nine years. The law removes the requirement to have a doctor 
present at all lethal injections and instead would allow nurses, physician's 
assistants or paramedics to oversee lethal injections in the state. North 
Carolina's House of Representatives passed the legislation in an 84-33 vote. 
The measure still must pass the Senate. Currently there are 149 inmates on 
death row in North Carolina. The state has not executed any inmates since 2006, 
partially due to conflicts with policy changes of the North Carolina Medical 
Board. The Medical Board believes physician participation in capital punishment 
is a departure from the ethics of the medical profession. However, in September 
2007 a state judge ruled that the North Carolina Medical Board does not have 
authority to discipline doctors that participate in state death penalty 
procedures.

Lethal injection and execution methods have been at the forefront of the death 
penalty debate for the past few years. Earlier this week the US Supreme Court 
heard oral arguments on the constitutionality of Oklahoma's lethal injection 
procedure. Oklahoma became the face of the legal injection drug debate last 
year after death row inmate Clayton Lockett died of an apparent heart attack 
shortly after doctors called off a failed attempt to execute him using a lethal 
injection drug called midazolam. Also in April the Delaware Senate voted to 
repeal the death penalty, but the legislation includes an exemption for the 15 
inmates currently on Delaware's death row. In March Utah Governor Gary Herbert 
signed a bill to restore the firing squad as a method of execution, making Utah 
one of the few states with that option. Like in Oklahoma, if drugs used for 
lethal injections are unavailable, a firing squad would be allowed.

(source: jurist.org)








ALABAMA----female may face death sentence

Judge to decide Lisa Graham's fate on May 28



A Phenix City woman convicted of capital murder for her actions in hiring a 
worker to kill her daughter will find out whether she is sentenced to life in 
prison or death on May 28th.

In March, a jury recommended the death penalty for Lisa Graham after she was 
found guilty of capital murder in the 2007 killing. Judge Jacob A. Walker, III 
will either confirm the jury's recommendation and sentence her to death or 
sentence her to life in prison.

During the sentencing phase, jurors heard from Lisa Graham's mother and a 
doctor who diagnosed Graham with depression and anxiety.

Graham's attorney wanted jurors to consider her son, Kevin Graham, Jr., and 
lack of criminal history in the sentencing process.

The prosecution said Graham's daughter will never be able to live her life 
since her own biological mother took that away from her.

After an hour of deliberations, the jury came back with a 10-2 recommendation 
for the death penalty.

Russell County District Attorney Kenneth Davis was thankful that closure had 
finally come.

"Of course the first thing I think of is we have a resolution after 8 years. 
You have murder, terrible brutal murder, almost 8 years ago and you know it is 
well past time that there be a resolution. So I am thankful for that," Davis 
said.

Graham was convicted of hiring Kenny Walton to kill her 20-year-old daughter 
Shea Graham. Police found her body on Bowden Road in Russell County in 2007.

During the 5 days of testimony, Walton admitted on the stand to shooting Shea 
Graham 6 times the night of July 5th.

The prosecution had a final plea to jurors to convict Lisa of capital murder 
while making its closing arguments. The defense hinted that Walton may have 
killed Shea for other reasons.

(source: WRBL news)








LOUISIANA:

Prosecutor focuses on DNA samples in Carquest murder trial, testimony likely to 
continue throughout weekend



Attorneys spent much of Friday listening to testimony from Louisiana State 
Police employees in the 2nd day of Lee Turner Jr.'s capital murder trial.

A State Police firearms examiner, according to the Advocate, testified that 9 
shell casings found inside an Airline Highway auto parts store warehouse where 
2 employees were shot to death in 2011 were fired from a .380-caliber 
semiautomatic pistol discovered in thick brush behind the store.

Turner, who was 21 at the time, is accused of shooting and killing his then 
co-workers Randy Chaney and Edward Gurtner at the auto parts store with 
intentions on robbing the store. Gurtner and Chaney were found shot to death 
shortly after the store closed on Sunday, March 27.

Turner, who was hired less than 2 weeks before the incident, previously worked 
at other locations, one on Plank Road and another on Government Street.

A State Police DNA crime analyst testified late Friday that he could not 
exclude Turner's DNA found on a safe inside the store or the handgun found at 
the scene.

Crime analysts, according to East Baton Rouge Parish First Assistant District 
Attorney Tracey Barbera, cannot definitively say whether someone's DNA was 
found on a particular item but they can narrow down the possibilities.

Attorneys will continue to hear witness testimony throughout the weekend.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Turner, which would be the 1st 
death penalty prosecution in East Baton Rouge Parish since 2010.

(source: Times-Picayune)

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

Judge: Reeves not disabled, maintains death sentence



Judge Mike Canaday on Friday ruled Jason Manuel Reeves is not intellectually 
disabled and can be put to death for killing a Moss Bluff girl in 2001.

Reeves was convicted of 1st-degree murder in the death of Mary Jean Thigpen, 
the Moss Bluff child whose body was found in LeBleu Cemetery days after her 
disappearance in 2001. Reeves was sentenced to die in 2012, but his execution 
was delayed after his attorneys requested a review of Reeves' intellectual 
ability.

A 5-day hearing was held in March 2015. The state argued Reeves is not 
intellectually disabled and should be put to death. The state noted Reeves was 
not diagnosed as intellectually disabled until after his conviction, and that 
the diagnosis came from experts hired by the defense.

The defense claimed Reeves is intellectually disabled and therefore not 
eligible for the death penalty.

(source: KPLC news)

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

Man indicted in death of Monroe woman



A Ouachita Parish grand jury has indicted a Monroe man on a charge of 
1st-degree murder in the death of 85-year-old Shirley Cagle in her home last 
week.

Prosecutors say 26-year-old Robert Nelson could face the death penalty if 
convicted.

Assistant District Attorney Neal Johnson said Thursday he hasn't decided 
whether the prosecution will pursue the death penalty.

Cagle was well known in the community from her role as the long-time assistant 
director of the Ouachita Council on Aging. She was the sister of state Rep. 
Frank Hoffmann.

Nelson was arrested last week after police responded to a burglary complaint.

Monroe criminal defense attorney LaValle Salomon told The News-Star 
(http://tnsne.ws/1GBSduh) he expects to be retained by Nelson's family in the 
murder case.

(source: Associated Press)








TENNESSEE:

Supreme Court to hear arguments on challenge to electrocution



The Tennessee Supreme Court will hear oral arguments next week regarding 
whether a death row inmate can properly challenge the constitutionality of 
electrocution as a possible method of execution.

The Court will consider only 1 issue of many that are part of a lawsuit by 34 
death row inmates challenging Tennessee's death penalty protocol. The 
electrocution issue is before the Supreme Court as an interlocutory appeal - 
that is an appeal of only part of a case that is continuing in a lower court.

The Court agreed to hear the State's request to dismiss the plaintiffs' 
challenge to electrocution as a method of execution. The State asserts that 
none of the plaintiffs are currently subject to execution by electrocution, 
making their challenges unready for litigation at this time

Although there has not been a final decision in the case at the trial court 
level, some elements of the lawsuit have already been reviewed by the Supreme 
Court. In addition to hearing this claim regarding electrocution, the Supreme 
Court ruled in March that the state was not required to release to the 
plaintiffs the names of those involved in carrying out an execution in 
Tennessee.

The Schofield case is among seven cases in which the Court will hear oral 
arguments in Knoxville on May 5 and 6. The others are:

(source: local8now.com)

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

Minister on death row recalls moments before men died----'What I saw ... was a 
lot of broken spirits and a lot of broken people,' Frank Bainbridge says. 
'People who had committed terrible things - and had terrible things happen to 
them.'



In the minutes before his execution, Robert Glen Coe finished his brief remarks 
and was asked by the prison warden if he wanted a prayer.

Coe turned to the chaplain, Deacon Frank Bainbridge, and together they began to 
recite the Our Father. Then the chaplain read Psalms 23, a version Coe favored. 
"The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want."

Bainbridge remembers that day in 2000, when Tennessee carried out its 1st 
execution in 40 years, and he recalls what it felt like to take part in the 
intimate moments before a man's death.

There had been many times before when Bainbridge questioned what he should be 
doing with his own life. But there, at the foot of the gurney to which Coe was 
strapped for lethal injection, Bainbridge sat. His left hand on a red Bible, 
his right hand on Coe's knee.

"That was one occasion I knew I was exactly where I was supposed to be," the 
79-year-old says. "I was his disciple in that setting."

Coe is just 1 of the many Tennessee inmates to whom Bainbridge has ministered.

On May 2, Bainbridge, a 35-year prison ministry veteran, will receive the 
inaugural Award for Compassionate Leadership presented by Dismas House of 
Nashville. Dismas is a transitional residential program that has helped more 
than 1,000 former offenders successfully re-enter society after leaving jail or 
prison.

Bainbridge is a man who has assisted many prisoners who may never have the 
chance to leave.

"What I saw, and what I found, was a lot of broken spirits and a lot of broken 
people," the now-retired minister says of his years sitting in maximum security 
cells. "People who had committed terrible things - and had terrible things 
happen to them."

As Bainbridge speaks, stained glass windows in the Cathedral of the Incarnation 
cast rainbows on his face.

It was at this Catholic church, four decades ago last Sunday, that Bainbridge 
received holy orders. Born in a house on Hayes Street, he converted to 
Catholicism at age 24, the year after he got out of the Marines. Not too many 
years later, he felt called to do more.

The 1st mass for which he ever presided was at the old Tennessee State 
Penitentiary, where he visited for 13 years as a catholic Chaplin. After it 
closed in 1992, he moved his service to Riverbend Maximum Security Institution, 
which now houses the majority of the state's male death row inmates.

There he would go at least 3 nights a week and share scripture with hardened 
men.

He would visit them in their cells, small boxes for 2 men with a toilet and a 
sink, where he could stand in the middle and touch the wall on either side. On 
some occasions, he would hold communion services in a broom closet. He visited 
1 prisoner every week, for 17 years.

Some of these men were wounded, he says - sometimes as much as those they had 
wounded. They were men who, as children, had been beaten. Burned. Broken. If 
all a person experiences as a child is violence, he says, if all he is made to 
feel is worthless, then that is how he will grow up.

"How can we expect them to turn out any differently?" he asks.

He found that by giving these men something real, something part of him, they 
would open up. They trusted him with their emotions, and that, in turn, brought 
healing to Bainbridge. It confirmed his faith.

With some he saw changed men, prisoners whose life sentences were long enough 
to clear their heads. Of course there were others, he says, where confinement 
made them mean. Men who became sociopaths. Some who need to be locked up 
forever.

But even then, deep inside them, something beats.

That rhythm is what called Bainbridge.

And when he retired in 2011, he believed it was time to get out of God's way. 
He doesn't understand his role in it all. Then again, he says, "I guess I don't 
have to."

What he does understand is this:

"God heals us through each other," he says.

With spirit and grace.

--

About Dismas House

Founded in 1974 by the late Father Jack Hickey, a Vanderbilt University 
chaplain, Dismas House is a nonprofit organization that provides transitional 
housing and support services to men coming out of prisons and jails.

The Dismas House Forgiveness Dinner is a fundraiser for the organization. 
Deacon Frank Bainbridge, a 35-year prison ministry veteran, will receive the 
inaugural Award for Compassionate Leadership at the event.

When: 6 p.m., Saturday

Where: OZ Arts Nashville (6172 Cockrill Bend Circle, Nashville)

Tickets: $150 per person. Purchase tickets or donate at www.dismas.org

Electrocution discussion in Tennessee Supreme Court

The Tennessee Supreme Court will hear oral arguments next week about whether a 
death row inmate can properly challenge the constitutionality of electrocution 
as a method of execution.

The electrocution issue is before the Supreme Court as an interlocutory appeal 
- meaning it is only part of a case that is continuing in a lower court. It is 
one issue of many that are part of a lawsuit by 34 death row inmates 
challenging Tennessee's death penalty protocol.

The Court agreed to hear the state's request to dismiss the plaintiffs' 
challenge to electrocution. The state asserts that none of the plaintiffs are 
currently subject to execution by electrocution, making their challenges not 
ready for litigation.

Although there has not been a final decision in the case at the trial court 
level, some elements of the lawsuit have already been reviewed by the Supreme 
Court. In addition to hearing this claim regarding electrocution, the Supreme 
Court ruled in March that the state was not required to release to the 
plaintiffs the names of those involved in carrying out an execution in 
Tennessee.

(source: The Tennessean)