[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., GA., ALA., LA.

[Rick Halperin]

April 27




TEXAS:

Jury selection continues in Risner capital murder trial


The long process of jury selection continued Tuesday in the capital murder 
trial of a former police officer accused of fatally shooting Little 
River-Academy Police Chief Lee Dixon.

David Gene Risner, 59, of Little River-Academy, faces the possibility of the 
death penalty in the June 2014 slaying.

Jury selection started in early April at the Bell County Justice Center. 
Attorneys started with a prospective juror pool of 209 and have narrowed down 
that number to about 45-50 people. Of those, 16 have been questioned and 4 have 
been struck from the potential pool, Georgetown defense attorney Russell Hunt 
Jr. said Tuesday.

"We're interviewing about 8 people a day," said Hunt, who has been an attorney 
in several death penalty cases.

For weeks, groups of prospective jurors have gathered in the 27th District 
Court before Judge John Gauntt to fill out multipage questionnaire forms and be 
interviewed by attorneys in the case. Prospective jurors have been individually 
interviewed for a various amounts of time, from 15 minutes to more than an 
hour, so the process has been rigorous, attorneys said.

Death penalty cases often take longer to get to a trial setting, Bell County 
District Attorney Henry Garza said Tuesday.

"This process takes a period of time," Garza said.

Jury selection is expected to last a few more weeks, he said.

Once a jury and alternates have been seated, they will begin to hear testimony 
in the case, possibly in late May.

Dixon went to 103 S. Allison Drive in Little River-Academy to check on a man 
who reportedly had a gun. The chief told a dispatcher that he didn't need help, 
but later came back on the radio to ask for assistance just before callers 
reported a shooting at that residence.

Dixon, 54, was killed on Risner's front porch. Risner called 911 and reported 
that he shot a police officer at his home, an arrest affidavit said. Dixon died 
from 2 shotgun wounds, an autopsy showed.

Risner's case is the 3rd in which Garza has sought the death penalty since he 
took office in 2001.

Denard Manns was executed on Nov. 13, 2007, for the 1998 rape, murder and 
robbery of 26-year-old Michelle Robson in Killeen.

Richard Tabler is currently on death row after his conviction in 2007 for 
killing 2 men in Killeen on Thanksgiving weekend in 2004. That case is under 
appeal.

(source: Temple Daily Telegram)





PENNSYLVANIA:

Forensic to the max: A murder case deserves full facts on DNA evidence


Courts are reluctant to overturn convictions, even in the face of new arguments 
and evidence. It is crucial to get things right the first time, especially in 
murder cases where defendants face the death penalty.

Last week, the state Superior Court declined to hear an appeal from Michael 
Robinson, charged with double homicide. His lawyers were seeking to overturn a 
decision by Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Jill E. Rangos, denying him 
information about a computer program the prosecution is using to link his DNA 
to the case. In light of high-profile cases involving misapplication of 
forensic evidence, the request was reasonable. Disclosing the information would 
help to ensure a fair trial.

Mr. Robinson faces the death penalty if convicted of the 2013 shooting deaths 
of Lawrence Short, 29, of Clairton and Tyrone Coleman, 18, of Duquesne. The 
Allegheny County district attorney's office has linked him to the killings with 
a DNA program developed by Mark Perlin and his Oakland company, Cybergenetics. 
On its website, the company says the program, TrueAllele, is especially useful 
in complex cases and more accurate than human interpretation of DNA test 
results.

Mr. Robinson's attorneys want access to the source code powering the program so 
they can make sense of Dr. Perlin's findings, test them and cross-examine him. 
But prosecutors opposed the request, calling the information proprietary and 
the disclosure unnecessary because the results could be validated by other 
means. Judge Rangos ruled that the information wasn't material to the defense 
and that disclosure could hurt the doctor's business.

With Superior Court declining to hear an appeal, a question hangs over the case 
even before a jury has been seated.

Computer programs shrouded in secrecy do not inspire confidence in the justice 
system. Surely the judge could order release of the source code while including 
provisions to protect Dr. Perlin's intellectual property. Cybergenetics says 
its program is intended to ???help ensure that the guilty are convicted and 
that the innocent are freed." In Mr. Robinson's case, that will mean giving 
defense attorneys a peek behind the curtain. Mr. Robinson's life is on the 
line.

(source: Editorial Board, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)






GEORGIA:

Georgia inmate in historic death penalty case gains perspective


William Henry Furman, a convicted murderer whose objections to the death 
penalty once suspended executions across the United States, is finally a free 
man.

The 73-year-old has been living in a Salvation Army shelter in Macon, Georgia 
since late last month, when he was released from state prison after a quarter 
century behind bars.

Without a cell phone, and limited access to news, Furman spoke tersely about 
capital punishment that is most actively applied today in the U.S. South, while 
31 states still have a death penalty on the books.

His home state of Georgia is scheduled to carry out its 5th execution of the 
year on Wednesday night, using laws that were rewritten after the U.S. Supreme 
Court spared Furman in a landmark 1972 case.

"I still believe the death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment," said 
Furman during a recent interview with Reuters at state parole offices in Macon.

His hair speckled with gray after 26 years in prison, the wiry former 
construction worker spent his first weeks on the outside waiting for his Social 
Security payments to begin.

He wants to share his experiences with young people, counseling them to avoid 
the alcoholism and petty crimes that led to his conviction for a 1967 murder.

He recalls drinking heavily the night before he broke into a home in Savannah, 
Georgia. After the homeowner woke up, Furman fired a pistol through a closed 
door, killing 29-year-old William Joseph Micke Jr.

"Why did I pull that trigger?" Furman still asks himself.

In 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Furman v. Georgia that the death 
penalty was unconstitutional, in a complex ruling where justices found states 
were applying it arbitrarily.

More than 500 other inmates on death row nationally were spared and the ruling 
prompted states to rewrite capital punishment laws to tighter standards.

Released on the murder charge in 1984, Furman was sent back to prison in 2006 
on an unrelated burglary charge.

Critics say the death penalty remains arbitrarily enforced, with 2 states - 
Georgia and Texas - responsible for 10 of the 12 executions performed so far 
this year.

"You are looking at a death penalty that is not nationally imposed," Robert 
Dunham, executive director of the non-profit Death Penalty Information Center, 
said in a telephone interview.

Furman has advice that could quell the debate: "I can tell anybody who wants to 
commit a murder, 'Leave it alone.'"

(source: Reuters)






ALABAMA:

Kennedy silent in capital murder retrial


The arguments were one sided today in Carlos Kennedy's 2nd capital murder 
trial, as the man who appealed his own death sentence in order to represent 
himself had little to say.

Kennedy was arrested and charged with raping and killing 69-year old Zoa White 
with a clawhammer after breaking into her Springhill Avenue home in June 2010 - 
a capital offense that resulted in his death penalty conviction just 3 years 
ago.

However, that verdict was overturned by the Alabama Supreme Court last July. 
Based on the ruling, Kennedy - who had requested to defend himself - was denied 
a constitutional right when he was forced to be represented by a 
court-appointed attorney.

In the 1st trial, Mobile's Jason Darley was assigned as Kennedy's standby 
counsel but was promoted to primary counsel after former Circuit Court Judge 
Rusty Johnston deemed Kennedy unfit to act as his own lawyer.

Despite the verdict being overturned, there was - and is - substantial physical 
evidence against Kennedy including matching blood samples, fingerprints and 
palmprints all discovered at the scene of White's murder.

Kennedy wore dress pants and a shirt and spoke with a cordial tone to Presiding 
Judge Charles Graddick and retired prosecutor Jo Beth Murphree, who 
successfully prosecuted his 1st trial and returned from retirement specifically 
to try Kennedy again.

When asked questions, Kennedy would give answers and provided some input into 
what exhibits would be submitted as evidence in the absence of the jury. 
However, Tuesday morning, he did not cross-examine the state's witnesses, which 
included White's daughter Laurie Miller and grandson Landon Miller.

At the age of 13, Landon initially discovered the broken window at his 
grandmother's house that led police to the scene of her murder. As the 
witnesses went through their recollections of that day, Kennedy sat in silence, 
declining to ask any follow-up questions.

He also passed up the opportunity to cross-examine MPD crime scene investigator 
Jason Bullock, who walked the jury through much of the physical evidence 
against him. Due to a scheduling error, Bullock was the last witness called to 
the stand on Tuesday afternoon.

Leaving the courtroom after reliving the gruesome crime scene for the 2nd time 
in 3 years, Miller said she still doesn't understand why she and her family 
have been put back in this situation.

"They said he didn't get to defend himself the 1st time, but it doesnt appear 
he's trying to defend himself today," Miller said. "He had his chance, and he 
hasn't had any questions or offered any suggestion as to why we're here again 
to do this all over. Nobody wants to do this the 1st time, let alone again."

White said Kennedy's silence gives the appearance he's just wasting time.

Despite Kennedy's silence, his standby counsel Darley said it???s obvious his 
client is competent, though he did describe Tuesday's proceedings as 
"different."

"He's not made any comments yet, but there's still a lot of the trial left. So, 
it remains to be seen how it will develop," Darley added. "You can tell he 
understands what's going on. He's communicating with the judge and he's taking 
notes."

"This is, I guess, what Carlos had requested the 1st time around - to be able 
to represent himself. I'm only in this case if he needs me."

Whether Kennedy has plans to offer a defense before the end of the trial is 
still unclear. He's being kept in police custody, so he wasn't able to comment 
after the courtroom was dismissed this afternoon.

Either way, Miller said trying to get justice for her mother's murder for a 2nd 
time has been "tough" on her as well as her family members.

"We're ready for it to get over with, to get justice and move on," she added.

Kennedy's 2nd trial for capital murder will continue at 10 a.m. on April 27.

(source: lagniappemobile.com)






LOUISIANA:

District attorneys take aim at Louisiana Public Defender Board spending on 
death penalty cases

With about 1/3 of annual state funding for public defense going to private law 
firms representing clients facing capital murder charges, Louisiana's public 
defender board finds itself on the hot seat.

Many local public defender offices are struggling financially, laying off staff 
and pulling out of some of their cases. Facing this "restriction of services" 
in courts across the state, the Louisiana District Attorneys Association and 
the East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney's Office are making an issue of 
the capital spending priority, accusing the state public defender board of 
fiscal mismanagement and an underhanded attempt to abolish the death penalty.

The state public defender, who is hired by the Louisiana Public Defender Board, 
vehemently denies the accusations, saying the group spends its insufficient 
resources responsibly.

Board officials say the expenditure on death penalty litigation actually helps 
local offices, as state-funded non-profit firms take over these complicated and 
expensive cases.

LDAA executive director Pete Adams said he can't understand the focus on 
capital cases, saying the state public defender board is ignoring "fiduciary 
responsibility to taxpayers with misguided fiscal priorities."

"When you run out of money, you have to make tough choices. Are you going to 
spend 1/3 of your state money on capital prosecutions, of which there are very 
few?" he asked.

East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore III noted that the state 
board is better funded today than at any time in its history, saying offices 
should be able to make ends meet.

"No question they're holding us hostage to obtain more funding. That's all it 
is," he said. "It affects public safety."

The dispute has spilled over into the Louisiana Legislature, where a bill that 
would reconfigure the legislatively-created LPDB and require it to allocate 65 
% of its annual funding to local public defender districts has cleared the 
House of Representatives and moved to the Senate side. The measure, by Rep. 
Sherman Mack, R-Albany, has been referred to the Senate's Committee on 
Judiciary B.

Some local public defenders agree with the bill's goals. With roughly 33 of the 
state's 42 public defender districts restricting the services they provide, 
Reginald McIntyre, the chief public defender for the 21st Judicial District of 
Livingston, St. Helena and Tangipahoa parishes, says its vital that local 
districts get as much money from the LPDB as possible.

"I don't like to see any district in (restriction of services). It damages the 
system," he said, noting that the 21st Judicial District Public Defenders 
Office has been financially fortunate enough not to have to curtail services. 
"Without the public defender offices, you don't have a smooth running court."

State Public Defender Jay Dixon acknowledges the LPDB has been spending about 
1/3 of its $33 million state appropriation on capital cases: Nearly $6 million 
on trial level capital representation through contracts with the Baton Rouge 
Capital Conflict Office, Capital Defense Project of Southeast Louisiana in New 
Orleans and other nonprofit law offices; and another $4 million-plus on capital 
appellate and post-conviction representation, again through contracts with 
groups such as the Capital Post-Conviction Project of Louisiana and Capital 
Appeals Project, both in New Orleans.

But Dixon disputes the narrative being pushed by prosecutors.

Money needs to be spent on capital cases because the stakes - a possible 
execution if a defendant is found guilty - are so high and the work is so labor 
intensive, he said.

"It's not that we prioritize capital (cases) over everything else," he said.

He also noted that the state board was not created to totally fund the 42 
public defender districts but to supplement the bulk of their funding that 
comes from court fees.

Dixon said the total public defense budget in the state is $66 million, when 
the local funding is included, so the state board is spending only 1/6 of that 
budget on capital murder cases. He also says 75 % of the total public defense 
funding goes to local districts.

He bristled at the suggestion that the private law firms his office contracts 
with to handle capital cases are getting rich off the setup.

"I can't think of a more economical use of your funds. We go with nonprofits," 
he said. "The myth that they're making millions is a bunch of hooey."

"Intentionally created"

The tensions over how public defender money is spent have been building for 
some time. Last spring, Adams wrote a response to a 2014 Louisiana Public 
Defender Board report calling for additional state funding. He complained 
public defenders were essentially ginning up a crisis.

"An intentionally created fiscal emergency should not be accepted nor rewarded 
without verification," Adams wrote in his April 2015 response to LPDB report. 
"The threat of a work stoppage and appointment of private counsel to do the 
work of state and local agencies is designed to build support for additional 
LPDB funding."

The Legislature created the state board in 2007, replacing the 40-plus 
different local panels into one statewide entity. It was a move that won 
support from many in the criminal justice system and across the political 
spectrum, part of a push to beef up standards for public defense work and 
impose caseload limits for lawyers.

The LPDB's members are appointed, with the governor naming 6 of the 15 members. 
The rest are chosen by the Louisiana Supreme Court chief justice, the Louisiana 
State Bar Association president, Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense 
Lawyers, the Senate president, Louis A. Martinet Society, Louisiana Interchurch 
Conference executive director, and Louisiana State Law Institute's Children's 
Code Committee.

"The idea is to get a broad cross-section of the state," Dixon explained.

Prosecutors complain there are no local public defenders on the state board.

But Dixon says having a public defender presence on the board would be a 
conflict of interest, as the board not only dispenses money, but also requires 
the attorneys in local offices to meet certain standards.

Dixon says nobody except the district attorneys believes that public defense in 
Louisiana is sufficiently financed, adding that prosecutors far outspend public 
defenders.

And he rejects the allegation that funding capital defense organizations - who 
handle cases across the state - is geared toward doing away with the death 
penalty. "That is not what we're here for," he said.

Jean Faria, the LPDB's capital case coordinator, said all but 4 of the local 
public defender districts - the 15th (Acadia, Lafayette and Vermilion 
parishes), 21st (Livingston, St. Helena and Tangipahoa parishes), 36th 
(Beauregard Parish) and 41st (Orleans Parish) - have turned over capital case 
representation to the state board, which in turn contracts those cases out to 
nonprofit law firms that exclusively handle capital cases.

Across the state, Faria said public defenders with capital-case certification 
are "pulling themselves out in droves," or giving up capital defense work, 
which makes the nonprofit capital conflict groups even more vital.

"Doing capital defense is not financially rewarding. It's a losing 
proposition," Dixon added.

Some public defenders have said the certification and recertification processes 
have become so cumbersome that gaining or retaining capital certification is no 
longer worth the trouble.

Nineteenth Judicial District Public Defender Mike Mitchell, who recently 
announced layoffs of some staff, investigators and non-capital contract 
lawyers, said he is the only remaining certified capital-case lawyer in his 
office. Just a few short years ago, his office had no less than 5. One of those 
was Margaret Lagattuta, who was certified but decided not to seek 
recertification.

"There are many difficulties and obstacles for an attorney to practice capital 
defense," Lagattuta said. "There is no discretion in choosing experts and 
mitigation specialists."

Lagattuta also complained that these cases are "micro managed" by the state 
board.

Dixon and Faria said capital murder cases are inherently expensive due to the 
stakes involved and become even more costly when medical experts enter the 
equation.

Both declined to put a cost estimate on the price of defending an average death 
penalty case, which requires 2 certified lawyers per defendant.

"There's nothing average about (those) cases," Faria stressed, adding that 
Louisiana spends far less than many other states on capital defense work. Dixon 
said all states have those who argue too much money is spent defending capital 
cases.

The combined number of new and pending capital cases handled by local public 
defender districts and the contract offices has fallen steadily, from 235 (135 
by the districts and 100 by the contract groups) in 2008 to 131 (75 by the 
districts and 56 by the contract firms) in 2013, according to LPDB records.

Halting defense

If the LPDB takes a big hit in next year's budget - something every agency is 
preparing for as legislators consider ways to fill the state's budget deficit - 
Dixon said the agency has proposed a 65 reduction in capital defense spending, 
a cut that could bring capital cases to a halt.

"You can't provide what you can't pay for," he said.

Moore and Mark Dumaine, his chief of administration, argued the financial 
picture for public defenders in general would be much rosier if they would 
collect the $40 application fee that indigent defendants are supposed to pay. 
Moore said only about a fourth of that money is being collected in East Baton 
Rouge Parish, leaving more than $1 million outstanding. Across the state, he 
said, local public defenders collect less than 20 % of the application fees to 
which they are entitled.

Moore said judges could order payment, which would resolve a possible conflict 
of interest for public defenders who don't want to demand money from clients 
who say they can't afford an attorney.

That conflict is an issue for local offices, Dixon said, but he welcomed the 
state to assume the collection efforts.

"That $40 is almost a red herring. I invite the state to hire a collection 
agency to do it for us," he said. "Good luck."

(source: The Advocate)