[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----N.J., PENN., FLA., LA., OHIO

[Rick Halperin]

Sept. 3



NEW JERSEY:

Fiocchi to Sponsor Death Penalty as Deterrent for Cop-Killers


Assembly Republican Sam Fiocchi is calling for the reinstatement of the death 
penalty for anyone convicted of killing a law enforcement official in the line 
of duty. Fiocchi will sign on as a sponsor of A-2429, which reverses the ban on 
capital punishment that was enacted in 2007. Tuesday, an Illinois police 
officer was killed which follows the cold-blooded murder of a Texas police 
office last Friday.

"These heinous and callous acts are intolerable and show a total lack of regard 
for those who protect the public," said Fiocchi, R-Cumberland, Cape May and 
Atlantic. "Communities are in shock and families are emotionally scarred at the 
indefensible actions of individuals with such little respect for life. These 
senseless acts must stop and reinstating capital punishment for those found 
guilty will suffer the appropriate consequences under this bill."

24 officers have been murdered in the line of duty this year throughout the 
country. The bill which has been stalled in the Legislature since 2011 
reinstates the death penalty in New Jersey for the murder of a law enforcement 
officer in the line of duty.

(source: Cape May County Herald)






PENNSYLVANIA:

We must abolish capital punishment, says man who was exonerated from death row


As the 122nd U.S. death row exoneree and the 6th in Pennsylvania, I've got some 
things to say about why we need to abolish the death penalty.

I was sentenced to death for a crime of which I am innocent. Since 1976, 154 
people in the U.S. have been exonerated after being condemned to death. On Nov. 
15, 2005, I was acquitted after DNA evidence showed that the blood at the crime 
scene didn't match mine or that of the victims.

I am, gratefully, living proof that the system is broken beyond repair. I live 
every day knowing that the state wanted to kill me despite my innocence. The 
guilty must be held accountable for their crimes, but we must do so without 
taking the unconscionable risk of executing another innocent person. Yes, I 
said "another." Learn about Cameron Todd Willingham and Carlos de Luna, just to 
name 2.

Gov. Tom Wolf's moratorium on executions is a step in the right direction, but 
the only way to ensure that we don't end up with the blood of an innocent 
person on our hands is to abolish the death penalty entirely.

HAROLD WILSON, Accomac, Virginia

(source: Letter to the Editor, pennlive.com)






FLORIDA:

Circuit Judge Upholds Use Of Lethal Injection Drug


Setting the stage for another Florida Supreme Court death-penalty debate, a 
Central Florida judge has rejected death row inmate Jerry Correll's arguments 
that 1 of the drugs in the state's execution protocol could subject the 
convicted killer to cruel and unusual punishment.

Correll "has not presented sufficient scientific proof to establish that the 
application of Florida's lethal injection protocol is unconstitutional as 
applied to him," 9th Judicial Circuit Judge Jenifer M. Davis ruled last week.

The Florida Supreme Court in February put Correll's execution --- ordered by 
Gov. Rick Scott in January --- on hold, pending the outcome of a U.S. Supreme 
Court decision regarding Oklahoma's lethal-injection protocol.

In June, a bitterly divided U.S. Supreme Court signed off on the use of the 
drug midazolam, the 1st of a 3-drug lethal cocktail also used in Florida. The 
high court found that Oklahoma prisoners failed to prove that use of the drug 
"entails a substantial risk of severe pain."

After the June decision, the state Supreme Court refused to grant Attorney 
General Pam Bondi's request to lift the stay on Correll's execution. Instead, 
the justices asked Davis to rule on Correll's arguments that midazolam poses a 
heightened risk to him because of his alleged brain damage and history of drug 
use.

But Davis decided that Correll, convicted of the 1985 stabbing deaths in 
Orlando of his ex-wife and their 5-year-old daughter as well as his 
ex-mother-in-law and her sister, failed to prove that the drug was likely or 
very likely to have a "paradoxical" reaction on the inmate.

(source: WUSF news)

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

Sanel Saint Simon Rejects Plea Deal, Could Face Death Penalty


Sanel Saint Simon, the man accused of killing Florida teen Alexandria Chery 
last summer, rejected a plea deal Aug. 10, the Orlando Sentinel reported. If he 
had accepted the deal, Saint Simon, 44, would have faced life in prison. Now, 
he could face the death penalty if convicted of first-degree murder for the 
16-year-old girl's death.

"The state will pursue the death penalty," state attorney's spokeswoman Angela 
Starke said. "With the rejection of the plea, he will face a jury trial."

Saint Simon has pleaded not guilty.

Alexandria vanished from her family's home in Orange County on July 28, 2014. 
When she was found she had stab wounds and skull fractures, the autopsy showed. 
Police said Saint Simon beat her to death and then tried to hide her body in a 
wooded area, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

When police started their search for Alexandria, Saint Simon lied to police 
officers and tried to clean the blood from the apartment where he allegedly 
beat her and the car in which he reportedly transported her body, investigators 
said.

Saint Simon is charged with giving false information to law enforcement during 
a missing person investigation and aggravated child abuse, in addition to 
1st-degree murder. His trial is set for March, court records showed.

(source: ibtimes.com)






LOUISIANA:

State panel will take a new look at Louisiana public defender funding


The financial plight of Louisiana's struggling public defenders is poised to 
get a fresh look with the kick-off of a panel to delve into how the state's 
offices spend their money.

The Indigent Defense Review Committee was created after state Rep. Alan 
Seabaugh, R-Shreveport, pulled a measure during this legislative session aimed 
at canceling the Louisiana Public Defender Board's oversight of death penalty 
cases, which annually cost 1/3 of the state money allocated for indigent 
defendants.

This new team will study the board's standards, fiscal priorities, composition 
and potential conflicts of interest.

It comes as a wave of public defender offices across the state, including the 
one in East Baton Rouge Parish, have recently restricted services because of 
funding problems.

"I think this group was formed because of the idea that ... we need to look at 
the operation of the board to see if there's anything we can suggest that they 
can do more with the money they already have," said Jerome Barbera, a retired 
judge from Thibodaux, who summed up one of the objectives of the group about an 
hour into the 1st meeting Tuesday. The team has 8 members, including former 
prosecutors, judges, criminal defense lawyers, attorneys for state agencies and 
the legislative auditor.

One of the main issues discussed Tuesday was whether money spent by the public 
defender board on death penalty cases is a big part of why the organization 
doesn't have enough money to pay for lawyers for other defendants. Former 
Beauregard Parish District Attorney David Burton raised the question of whether 
spending 1/3 of the state funding on capital cases is a strategy by defense 
lawyers to "spend the state into submission" and get rid of the death penalty 
in Louisiana.

Funded by the Legislature, the public defender board receives around $33 
million in state funds each year and spends about $11 million on capital cases. 
Those cases, which must be staffed by more experienced attorneys, amount to 
less than a 1/2 of 1 % of the total public defender caseload, according to the 
resolution to create the committee.

But the committee's mission also reflects the tug-of-war between those who 
believe public defenders truly need more money, and those who think the state 
supervising board might be mismanaging funds.

"I don't know of another agency in state government, or in any government 
anywhere, that when they run out of money, or when they start running short on 
money, they get to say, 'I quit,'" said Pete Adams, executive director of the 
Louisiana District Attorneys Association, accusing the defenders board of 
operating without any oversight.

"It has no incentive to be fiscally responsible," he said.

That allegation is untrue, said Tiffany Simpson, LPDB's director of legislative 
affairs. She said the organization has its budget approved by the Division of 
Administration, submits annual reports and is audited regularly.

Much of the local funding for the defender offices is from court costs such as 
traffic fines, but those amounts are unpredictable and have been declining, 
said State Public Defender James "Jay" Dixon Jr.

The committee, which asked to see more documentation on the inner workings of 
the public defender board, is scheduled to meet 4 more times before presenting 
its findings before the 2016 legislative session.

(source: The Advocate)

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

La. Supreme Court uphold death penalty conviction of Caddo man


The Louisiana Supreme Court upheld the conviction and death penalty sentence of 
a Caddo Parish man convicted of killing his pregnant girlfriend and her unborn 
child.

In an opinion released Tuesday, the state's highest court affirmed Lamondre 
Tucker's death penalty sentence for the 2008 murder of Tavia Sills.

Sills was murdered a few weeks after she told Tucker he was the father of her 
unborn child. DNA testing later determined that was not the case, court 
documents say. Sills was last seen leaving her home with Tucker who came to 
pick her up.

Fisherman later discovered her body floating in a secluded pond off of Legardy 
Street. According to the court record, Tucker kidnapped Sills, shot her twice 
in a secluded location, planned or attempted to set her on fire and shot her 
again. He then used a branch to push her body out into the pond.

He was convicted in 2011.

According to court records, Tucker appealed his conviction and sentence raising 
55 assignments of errors combined into 21 arguments. Some of his claims were: 
insufficiency of evidence, the trial court erred in denying motions to suppress 
statements police officers obtain by allegedly exploiting his immaturity and 
having a biased and non-representative jury.

According to the supreme court, Tucker's attorneys objected that the death 
qualification process was disproportionately excluding prospective blacks 
jurors after the state challenged a potential black juror because of his 
opposition to the death penalty.

However, the defense did not assert a Batson challenge at the time nor did it 
accuse prosecutors of challenging prospective jurors based on race.

He also complained he was convicted and sentenced to death in a courthouse that 
had a Confederate flag in front. The flag has since been removed.

The Louisiana Supreme Court denied all of Tucker's claims.

(source: Shreveport Times)

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

Accused murderer in Sunset could face death penalty


The 2nd of likely many court dates for Harrison Lee Riley, who is accused of 
killing 2 people in Sunset including a police officer, has been slated for 9:30 
a.m. Sept. 23 at the St. Landry Parish Courthouse.

The defense and prosecution will meet for the 2nd time after addressing motions 
Friday filed by Riley's attorney, Christine Lehmann, to preserve the crime 
scene for the defense to examine.

Crime scene investigators with the St. Landry Parish Sheriff's Office completed 
their work Thursday at the Sunset Mini Food Mart, into which Riley drove a 
stolen car, and the home on Anna Street, where, Sheriff Bobby Guidroz says, he 
killed Shameka Johnson and officer Henry Nelson.

The Louisiana Department of Corrections has custody of Riley, Guidroz said. But 
he wouldn't be more specific, he said, for security reasons.

"He's just not in St. Landry Parish," Guidroz said.

Investigators with the Louisiana Capital Assistance Center, which is defending 
Riley, planned this week to comb the crime scenes, allowing property owners to 
go in and out of the structures. The center, based in New Orleans, represents 
people in Louisiana facing the death penalty.

Lehmann filed several motions for the Sept. 23 hearing, including an order to 
record considerations made by grand jury and for disclosure of evidence, a 
clerk with the St. Landry Parish Courthouse said Wednesday.

CPAC Director Richard Bourke declined to comment on the case.

Riley could eventually be charged with 1st- or 2nd-degree murder, Lafayette 
attorney Alfred Boustany said. If charged with 1st-degree murder, the only 
possible sentences are life in prison without parole or execution.

Riley is currently charged with 5 counts of attempted 1st-degree murder, 
obstruction of justice and 2 counts of aggravated criminal damage to property 
after driving a stolen vehicle through the front of a store occupied by 2 
people.

The obstruction of justice charge stems from a fire inside the store room of 
the Sunset Mini Mart after Riley was apprehended. Police said Friday they 
believe Riley started the fire.

(source: KLFY news)






OHIO:

Ohio Supreme Court sets execution date for 1992 killer of 2 Parma residents


The Ohio Supreme Court on Wednesday set a March 15, 2017, execution date for an 
Indiana man guilty in the shooting deaths of 2 Parma residents during 1992 
robberies.

The ruling follows years of appeals by Gary Otte to the 8th Ohio District Court 
of Appeals, federal district courts, the Ohio Supreme Court, and the U.S. 
Supreme Court.

Otte will get a clemency hearing about a month before his execution, and the 
date of the execution could still be pushed back.

There are 141 inmates on death row in the state. Otte is now the 24th death row 
inmate with a scheduled execution date. Executions are supposed to resume in 
January, provided that the state finds a provider of lethal injection drugs.

Otte, 43, is also part of a pending 2011 lawsuit that argues the lethal 
injection method used by Ohio is "torturous, lingering, and undignified."

Cuyahoga County assistant prosecutor Christopher Schroeder said he spoke to the 
victims' families, and they were happy to hear the news. He said justice for 
the families "is long overdue."

On Feb. 12, 1992, Otte asked 61-year-old Robert Wasikowski to use his 
telephone. When Wasikowski let him into his home at the Pleasant Lake apartment 
complex, Otte shot him in the head and stole $413.

The next day, Otte forced his way inside the home of 45-year-old Sharon Kostura 
at the same apartment complex, shot her in the head, and stole $45, her car 
keys, and her checkbook.

Court records show Otte waived his right to a jury trial, and a 3-judge panel 
found him guilty of multiple counts of aggravated murder and sentenced him to 
death.

Otte's case has gone through four rounds of appeals, including several to the 
U.S. Supreme Court, which refused to hear the case.

Cuyahoga County prosecutors asked the Ohio Supreme Court to set an execution 
date on June 19.

"The prosecuting attorney now asks for the only relief that will bring finality 
to this case: the setting of an execution date," the motion says.

In a response, assistant federal public defender Joseph Wilhelm argued that 
there's "no compelling government interest" to execute Otte now, and expressed 
concern that the death penalty is randomly enforced in Ohio.

"To a casual observer of Ohio's capital sentencing regime it would appear that 
a coin flip, a lightening strike, or the whim of a decision maker provides the 
difference between a life sentence and the death penalty for a multiple 
murderer," Wilhelm wrote.

He also argued the federal civil suit Otte is a part of challenging Ohio's 
execution methods should be resolved first. The federal defender's office 
declined to comment.

(source: cleveland.com)