[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----OKLA., CALIF.

[Rick Halperin]

Aug. 1



OKLAHOMA:

Oklahoma City federal judge rules against murderer who killed 10-year-old 
Purcell girl in 2006


An Oklahoma City federal judge has rejected a notorious murderer's legal 
argument that he is ineligible for the death penalty because he is severely 
mentally ill.

Kevin Ray Underwood, 36, argued that a death sentence in his case would be an 
unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment.

"This claim has no basis in precedent," U.S. District Judge Timothy DeGiusti 
wrote in a 75-page opinion.

Underwood is on death row for killing a 10-year-old Purcell girl in 2006 
because of his cannibalistic fantasies.

The grocery store employee admitted that he killed a neighbor, Jamie Rose 
Bolin, tried to have sex with her body and used a dagger to try to remove her 
head. He said he became disgusted with himself and did not eat any of the body.

He told an FBI agent, "I'm going to burn in hell."

The girl's body was found in a large, blue taped-shut plastic tub in the bottom 
of the bedroom closet of Underwood's apartment.

The U.S. Supreme Court in 2002 barred executing mentally retarded criminals. In 
2005, it barred executing those who committed their crimes as juveniles.

Underwood's attorneys argue it is now time to extend the ban to the severely 
mentally ill. They point to a 1958 U.S. Supreme Court opinion that what is 
considered cruel and unusual punishment can change based on "the evolving 
standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society."

The judge disagreed, pointing out "there are no relevant state trends" toward 
such a ban.

"This Court has only located one state that bars the execution of the mentally 
ill, and that state has ended the death penalty for all future offenses," the 
judge wrote.

Diagnosed disorder

At his 2008 trial, jurors were told Underwood had been diagnosed with 
schizotypal personality disorder.

His latest attorneys told the federal judge he has been rediagnosed with 
Asperger's syndrome. The attorneys described the mental illness as an organic 
brain condition and developmental disorder characterized by obsessive 
preoccupations, emotional immaturity, lack of empathy, poor social judgment and 
poor impulse control.

The judge also rejected other legal arguments made by Underwood, mostly about 
his 2008 trial. Underwood complained about his own trial attorneys, the 
prosecutors, a "biased" juror, "improper" victim-impact testimony, "irrelevant" 
testimony and other issues.

The judge did agree the victim's father and mother should not have been allowed 
to tell jurors they wanted the death penalty. However, the judge found that 
error harmless, given the overwhelming evidence of Underwood's guilt and the 
overwhelming evidence the murder was "especially heinous, atrocious or cruel."

The opinion was issued Thursday.

(source: The Oklahoman)






CALIFORNIA:

Karlsen's California fate in judge's hands


Nearly 3 years after Karl Karlsen admitted murdering his son in Seneca County, 
a judge in California will decide if Karlsen stands trial for allegedly killing 
his 1st wife.

A preliminary hearing was held last week in Calaveras County, Calif., on the 
1st-degree murder charge Karslen faces. He is accused of setting a fire that 
caused the death of Christina Karlsen in 1991.

The hearing started Monday, and testimony ended Friday afternoon. Among those 
testifying were Seneca County Undersheriff John Cleere and members of Karlsen's 
family.

In an email Thursday from California, Cleere said he testified Tuesday. A 
digital copy of Karlsen's nearly 10-hour interview at the Seneca County 
Sheriff's Office in November 2012 was admitted. On that tape, Karlsen confessed 
to killing his 23-year-old son, Levi, in 2008 - a death that was ruled 
accidental when it first happened.

Karlsen pleaded guilty to 2nd-murder in November 2013. He admitted causing a 
pickup truck on a wobbly jack to fall on Levi at Karlsen's Yale Farm Road home 
in Varick, then leaving him there to die while he attended a funeral in the 
Penn Yan area.

Karl Karlsen collected on a $700,000 life insurance policy he took out on Levi 
just weeks before his death.

Seneca County Sheriff's Office investigators apprehended Karlsen after the 2012 
confession. That came after Karlsen's 2nd wife, Cindy, secretly taped several 
conversations between the 2 - they were estranged at the time - that reportedly 
included admissions by Karlsen that he killed Levi.

The judge in the California case, Thomas Smith, told attorneys he wanted to 
review the interview with Karlsen in Seneca County before resuming the hearing 
Tuesday. Following closing arguments by the attorneys at that time, he is 
expected to make a decision if the case will go to trial.

During his testimony, Cleere also submitted a certified record of conviction 
and testified about Karlsen's guilty plea.

"I had a chance to visit Christina and Levi's gravesite - that meant a lot to 
me," Cleere said in the email. "It was nice to catch up with the family members 
too."

If convicted of the murder charge in California, Karlsen could face the death 
penalty. Following Christina's death in the fire, Karlsen collected $200,000 on 
a life insurance policy he had bought just weeks before she died.

Karlsen saved his 3 young children, including Levi, from the house but told 
police he could not save Christina. Police officially listed Christina's death 
as accidental, but family members suspected Karlsen killed her.

After Karlsen was charged with killing Levi, California investigators reopened 
their case.

Seneca County Judge Dennis Bender sentenced Karlsen to 15 years to life in 
prison. Karlsen, who was incarcerated at Clinton Correctional Facility, is 
eligible for parole in 2027.

He was extradited to California earlier this year.

(source: Finger Lakes Times)