[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----CONN., PENN.,N.C., FLA.

[Rick Halperin]

Sept. 17



CONNECTICUT:

Killing capital punishment in Connecticut


The old saw has it that "exceptions prove the rule." They prove the rule 
precisely because they are exceptions.

In Connecticut's politicized Supreme Court, exceptions have BECOME the rule. 
That is what happened when Justice Richard N. Palmer constructed his decision 
on the Constitutionality of Connecticut's death penalty on a dissent in Glossip 
v. Gross, a case in which a challenge to the death penalty on Constitutional 
grounds had been denied by the U.S. Supreme Court, which upheld Oklahoma's 
lethal injection protocol. The decision was a narrow one, but Justices Stephen 
G. Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg managed in their dissent to import larger 
issues.

In the same manner, Mr. Palmer inflated his decision by importing into it 
extraneous detail. Mr. Palmer's decision rested upon putative changes in 
"contemporary standards of decency," a catch-all objection used by other courts 
to judicially repeal constitutionally passed laws justices feel are no longer 
necessary, a process that does indeed violate contemporary standards of 
judicial review. Mr. Palmer determined that "the death penalty is no longer 
consistent with standards of decency in Connecticut and does not serve any 
valid penological objective." In virtually every poll addressing the issue of 
justices who imperiously imagine themselves to be cultural psychologists and 
mini-legislators, the public has determined by wide margins that appellate 
courts should say what the law is and observe a necessary constitution modesty 
in rendering their decisions.

In a concurring opinion, Justices Flemming Norcott and Andrew J. McDonald, 
newly appointed to Connecticut's Supreme Court by Governor Dannel Malloy, 
strayed even further from the proper matter under review by stressing 
allegations of racial and ethnic discrimination. Charges that Connecticut's 
judicial system is rife with discrimination have been percolating in the 
appellate courts for decades; no decisive judgment on the issue has been 
rendered. Since the Connecticut Supreme Court decision striking down the death 
penalty rests entirely on Connecticut's Constitution and not the U.S. 
Constitution, the highly attenuated decision of the court may not be appealed 
to the nation's highest court.

Chief Justice Chase T. Rogers' stinging dissent is, unlike Mr. Palmer's initial 
non-appealable dictat, as thoughtful as it is devastating. "The majority's 
determination that the death penalty is unconstitutional under our state's 
constitution," Ms. Rogers wrote, "is based on a house of cards, falling under 
the slightest breath of scrutiny ... Every step" of the majority's opinion, Ms. 
Rogers wrote, was "fundamentally flawed."

The Chief State's Attorney has requested that the whole concurring opinion of 
Justices Flemming Norcott and Andrew J. McDonald should be stricken from the 
record, a motion characterized in 1 newspaper as "extraordinary." However, 
extraordinary concurrences can only be ameliorated by extraordinary means. 
Justice McDonald should have recused himself from any deliberation concerning 
Connecticut's death penalty. Mr. McDonald was 1 of 2 co-chairs of the state's 
Judiciary Committee - the other was Mike Lawlor, now Mr. Malloy's meddlesome 
Under Secretary for Criminal Justice Policy and Planning -- who were chiefly 
responsible for mounting opposition to the death penalty in the General 
Assembly. As such, Mr. McDonald is incapable of rendering a disinterested 
opinion on any matter touching the death penalty.

So then, we have a decision on the death penalty rendered by a partisan, highly 
politicized Connecticut Supreme Court that relies on a DISSENT issued in a U.S. 
Supreme Court decision that UPHELD the death penalty; the Connecticut Supreme 
Court's faulty decision was roundly and properly denounced by Chief Justice 
Chase Rogers as a house of cards that would fall apart at the slightest touch; 
the chief argument wielded by Justice Palmer - that "community standards" 
require the court to abolish the death penalty - is preposterous nonsense, 
according to multiple juries that sentenced to death the 11 convicted murderers 
awaiting punishment on death row; 1 of the Justices assenting to the majority 
decision, Mr. McDonald, is inescapably and irretrievably prejudiced against the 
death penalty - and, just to round off this repeating loop of absurdities - the 
decision of the Court, resting entirely upon the state rather than the U.S. 
Constitution, cannot be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, where it would be 
quickly overthrown by thoughtful jurists more rigorous than Mr. Palmer.

This is how great Republics are ruined.

In Connecticut's 1 party state, desperate republicans and democrats -- note the 
lower case designations - rely on a disinterested court to call legislators to 
their constitutional obligations. But alas, the court, the last bastion of 
republican and democratic government, is in danger of becoming a mere appendage 
of one-party Democratic rule. Gone is judicial independence, a fierce guardian 
of our liberties under law; gone is the separation of powers upon which 
republican government precariously rests. And the result of the concentration 
of power and the dissolution of independent political bodies is, as Justice 
Rogers rightly warns us, "a house of cards" resting precariously on the whimsy 
of self-interested politicians.

(source: Opinion; Don Pesci, New Haven Register)






PENNSYLVANIA:

Johnesha Perry, 19, Could Get Death Penalty In Murder Of 1-Year-Old, But Is It 
Too Extreme?


Johnesha Perry, the 19-year-old mother who allegedly kissed her 1-year-old baby 
boy goodbye before throwing him from a 52-foot tall bridge in Pennsylvania, is 
trying out the insanity defense, according to a new report.

Lehigh Valley Live reports that Perry will plead insanity, which could be 
helped along by the fact that Perry herself jumped from the bridge, but 
survived the deadly plunge.

Zymeir Perry's small body was found 700 yards downstream from the Hamilton 
Bridge in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in May. The infant survived being thrown 
from the bridge and was rushed to a local hospital, where he died 6 days later.

Johnesha Perry jumped moments after allegedly pushing him.

Perry was, at first, charged with attempted homicide, endangering the welfare 
of a child, and aggravated assault. The charges were later upgraded following 
Zymeir's death.

According to a July report from the Morning Call, Perry was arraigned from her 
hospital bed. At that time, she did not have an attorney, but has since 
procured a defense team, including lawyer Gavin Holihan, who reacted to the 
District Attorney's consideration of the death penalty for Johnesha Perry 
"extreme."

"It's an extreme penalty. Reasonable people will agree that this is not that 
type of case," Holihan said.

Captain William Reinik of the Allentown Police department told local media that 
Perry was competent at the time of her arrest, and that she knew what she was 
doing.

Witnesses of the botched murder-suicide attempt told officials that Perry took 
Zymeir out of his stroller, then threw him over the bridge. Perry then climbed 
over the bridge's railing and jumped. Witnesses also told police that Perry 
said it was her time before she plunged into the water.

Zymeir was found floating in the Lehigh River, heading towards the town of 
Bethlehem. He had been in the water an estimated 5 minutes before officers 
jumped in and brought him to shore.

Captain Renik highly commended the officers who came to Zymeir's aid.

"I commend these 2 officers for actually going into the river and pulling him 
out and doing CPR," Renik said.

Joseph Lanetta of the Allentown Police Department pulled Zymeir from the cold 
water and immediately performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, while another 
officer performed CPR.

Johnesha Perry is no stranger to law enforcement. Her first time being charged 
with a crime involved 2 counts of aggravated assault and 1 count of endangering 
the welfare of a child.

(source: inquisitr.com)






NORTH CAROLINA:

Marshville teen indicted on 1st-degree murder charge in slaying of Monroe man


A Marshville teen has been indicted on a 1st-degree murder charge in connection 
with the July killing of a Monroe man.

Union County prosecutors are still deciding whether to seek the death penalty 
in the case, District Attorney Trey Robison said. A hearing where prosecutors 
have to announce that decision has not been set yet.

Jadis Deon'Tae Cole, 18, was indicted on charges of 1st-degree murder, robbery 
with a dangerous weapon and obstruction of justice in the death of Carroll 
Willis Griffin, 30. Griffin was found shot to death beside his car on East 
Hudson Street in Monroe in the early morning hours of July 11.

Griffin had 8 children and helped provide for another child, Monroe police 
spokesman Pete Hovanec said.

Cole was a student at South Providence School in Waxhaw, police records show. 
South Providence is an alternative school for students in grades six though 12 
who have difficulty in a traditional school environment, according to Union 
County Public Schools.

Court and police records provided more details of a case that Hovanec said 
"point toward a drug deal going bad."

Monroe police are working with the State Bureau of Investigation. On a search 
warrant affidavit by an SBI agent, the agent wrote that Griffin is "known by 
this applicant and other law enforcement officers" to sell marijuana in the 
Monroe area, and that Griffin "uses his cell phone to sell marijuana."

On July 10, Griffin was calling and texting a phone - later determined to be 
Cole's - "related to the purchase of marijuana from Griffin," according to the 
affidavit. Griffin sent a text about where to meet and received a response at 
12:17 a.m. July 11 of "Hudson?"

The last text Griffin received from the other phone was "U see me" at 12:32 
a.m., records show.

20 minutes later, Monroe police were dispatched to the 500 block of East Hudson 
Street for a possible assault. When they arrived, they found Griffin's body 
next to his 2014 Kia Optima in the parking lot of an apartment complex.

The front doors were open and the keys were in the ignition.

2 witnesses told authorities they saw a male walking away from the car's 
passenger side very fast, according to the affidavit.

Griffin was robbed of $110 cash and marijuana, and killed with a handgun, 
according to Cole's arrest warrant.

A search of Griffin's Kia turned up 4 grams of marijuana, 4.4 ounces of 
marijuana in a baggie, a spent projectile and a Glock handgun, records show. 
The Glock was not the murder weapon, Hovanec said.

A review of police records found that the phone number Griffin had texted was 
involved in a 911 hang-up in May. When a 911 operator called that number back, 
the caller identified himself as Jadis Cole and said he accidentally had hit 
the emergency call button, according to the search warrant affidavit.

Cole was arrested July 17. His court-appointed attorney, Bobby Khan of Monroe, 
could not be reached for comment.

Cole has misdemeanor convictions for assault on a government official/employee 
and assault inflicting serious injury, records show. He also has pending trials 
on misdemeanor charges of simple possession of drugs and resisting a public 
officer.

Griffin had felony convictions for marijuana possession and delivering 
marijuana, records show. He also had misdemeanor convictions of carrying a 
concealed weapon, possession of stolen goods/property, attempted breaking or 
entering a building, resisting a public officer and disorderly conduct.

(source: Charlotte Observer)






FLORIDA:

Jury Recommends Life In Prison For 'Big Tony In Businessman's Slaying


A South Florida jury has recommended life in prison for Anthony "Big Tony" 
Moscatiello in the mob-connected 2001 slaying of a prominent businessman.

The jury's decision of life instead of the death penalty was a recommendation 
for Broward County Circuit Judge Ilona Holmes, who will make the final 
sentencing decision and must give "great weight" to the jury's advice.

Moscatiello, 76, showed no reaction when the jury's decision was announced. He 
was convicted in July of murder and murder conspiracy in the fatal shooting of 
Konstantinos "Gus" Boulis during a dispute over lucrative gambling ships. Trial 
evidence showed Boulis was shot by a hit man hired by Moscatiello, a reputed 
member of New York's Gambino crime family once headed by "Teflon Don" John 
Gotti.

Co-defendant Anthony "Little Tony" Ferrari was previously convicted and is 
serving a life sentence. A 3rd conspirator, James "Pudgy" Fiorillo, pleaded 
guilty and testified for prosecutors after serving more than 6 years behind 
bars.

Boulis, 51, was slain on Feb. 6, 2001, during a struggle for control of the 
SunCruz Casinos fleet, which he had sold to businessman Adam Kidan and his 
partner, former Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Kidan was paying Moscatiello 
and Ferrari thousands of dollars each month to handle security and other 
services - payments that would end if Boulis regained control.

Assistant State Attorney Brian Cavanagh urged jurors in a closing argument to 
recommend the death penalty for a crime he called a cold-blooded murder 
orchestrated by Moscatiello to protect his SunCruz profits.

"Anthony "Big Tony" Moscatiello commissioned an execution, an assassination of 
Gus Boulis," Cavanagh said. "He did it not for vengeance, not for passion, not 
by accident or misfortune, not some sort of self-defense. He did it for money."

Moscatiello attorney Sam Halpern, however, told jurors that the death penalty 
should be reserved for the worst killers - terrorists, serial killers, those 
who slay children - and that Moscatiello would be punished enough by living out 
his days behind prison walls with no chance of parole.

"Mr. Moscatiello is never going to walk out of prison, ever," Halpern said. 
"It's not like he's getting a slap on the wrist."

Boulis, who also founded the Miami Subs restaurant chain, was fatally shot by 
hit man John "J.J." Gurino as he sat in his car in downtown Fort Lauderdale. 
Cars blocked Boulis in from front and back, with Gurino firing the fatal shots 
from a black Mustang that pulled up to the driver's side. Gurino was later 
killed in a dispute with a Boca Raton delicatessen owner.

Abramoff and Kidan were never charged in the Boulis killing. Both did serve 
federal prison sentences after pleading guilty to fraud in the $147.5 million 
SunCruz purchase. Abramoff also was the main figure in a Washington corruption 
scandal that resulted in charges against 21 people.

(source: CBS news)

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

Accused smuggler asks for bail


1 of 2 men accused of smuggling Cuban migrants in a boat that capsized in a 
storm south of the Dry Tortugas 7 years ago in which 5 people were presumed to 
have drowned wants a judge to grant him bail.

Suriel Quintana-Izquierdo and Ariel Salene-Torres were both indicted on April 
17, 2015 on 1 count conspiracy to encourage and induce aliens to enter the 
United States, resulting in death and placing in jeopardy the life of another, 
and 17 counts of alien smuggling. Both men could face the death penalty.

Assistant U.S. Public Defender Stewart Abrams, the attorney for 
Quintana-Izquierdo, asked Senior U.S. District Judge James Lawrence King this 
month to hold another detention hearing given his client's ties to South 
Florida, which lessens his risk of flight, according to court records.

Abrams told King that Quintana-Izquierdo would live with his girlfriend and 
mother of his 2-year-old daughter in West Palm Beach and that his girlfriend's 
parents would help him pay for his bail, records state.

Both her parents are willing to put up property for collateral for his bail, 
Abrams wrote.

Abrams further argued that the events for which Quintana-Izquierdo is charged 
happened about 8 years ago and "since that time, the defendant has been 
gainfully employed in the community and has not had any problems in regard to 
the criminal justice system."

Abrams asked King to set a $50,000 cash bail and a $100,000 personal surety 
bond, the latter of which would be co-signed by the girlfriend's parents. That 
means if Quintana-Izquierdo doesn't show up for trial, the parents would be 
required to pay the $100,000.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Emery opposes the request, Abrams wrote. Emery 
had not filed a response as of Wednesday and King has yet to issue a ruling on 
the matter.

Last month, King dismissed a request by Abrams to drop the indictment against 
Quintana-Izquierdo because the government repatriated 12 surviving migrants who 
told the Coast Guard both men rescued them when their chug overturned.

Everybody had to be rescued when Quintana-Izquierdo and Salene-Torres' boat 
overturned.

Abrams argued that those migrants' testimony was key to Quintana-Izquierdo's 
defense. He also argued that the government waited too long to bring charges 
against his client in order to "prejudice" the case.

Court records indicate his co-defendant Salene-Torres has yet to file any such 
motions.

Judge King set a trial date for Jan. 19 at the federal courthouse in Key West.

Case history

A commercial vessel spotted a boat on April 9, 2008 that capsized about 40 
miles south of the Dry Tortugas.

Key West-based Coast Guard Cutter Key Biscyane responded and found 12 Cuban 
migrants, as well as both defendants, clinging to the capsized hull of the 
vessel, Open WYD.

Migrants reportedly told officials they departed Orozco, Cuba with 17 migrants 
aboard bound for the United States but encountered a storm. The other 5 
migrants are believed to have drowned, records state. One body was recovered by 
a fisherman on April 11, 2008 near Elliott Key.

"Shortly before the Coast Guard arrived, the defendants told the migrants to 
say they had been rescued by the defendants, who had been out fishing," records 
state.

Federal agents inspected the Open WYD on April 15 after the rescued migrants 
were returned to Cuba and discovered 3 GPS units, 3 full 15-gallon fuel barrels 
as well as water bottles and food that appeared to be from Cuba, records state.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Lurana Snow ordered that both be detained without bail 
earlier this year, citing them as flight risks.

Court records filed in the Salene-Torres case don't include any biographical 
information.

Federal prosecutors and public defenders do not comment on pending cases.

(source: keysnews.com)