[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, DEL., GA., ALA., OHIO, N.MEX., CALIF., ORE.

[Rick Halperin]

aug. 20



TEXAS----stay of impending execution

Execution Halted for Jeff Wood, Who Never Killed Anyone


The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has halted the execution of Jeff Wood - a 
man who never killed anyone - 6 days before he was set to die by lethal 
injection. The order was issued on his 43rd birthday.

The court issued a brief, 2-page order Friday afternoon sending the case back 
to the original trial court so it can examine Wood's claim that a jury was 
improperly persuaded to sentence him to death by testimony from a highly 
criticized psychiatrist nicknamed "Dr. Death." The order creates the 
possibility that Wood's death sentence could be thrown out, though not his 
conviction.

"The court did the right thing by staying Mr. Wood's execution," Wood's 
attorney Jared Tyler said shortly after the order came down. "[He] is grateful 
for the opportunity to prove that his death sentence is unwarranted."

Wood's upcoming execution has gained national attention and highlighted Texas' 
felony murder statute, commonly known as the law of parties, which holds that 
anyone involved in a crime resulting in death is equally responsible, even if 
they weren't directly involved in the actual killing. Recently, conservative 
state representatives have spoken out and written letters to the parole board 
in hopes of saving Wood's life.

Wood was convicted in the 1996 murder of convenience store clerk Kriss Keeran 
in Kerrville, even though he was sitting outside in the truck when his friend, 
Daniel Reneau, pulled the trigger.

During his sentencing trial, prosecutors brought in Dr. James Grigson, 
nicknamed "Dr. Death" because of how often he testified for the state in 
capital murder trials, to examine if Wood would be a future danger to society 
if he was given life without parole instead of death. A jury can only sentence 
someone to death if it unanimously agrees that person would present a danger.

In his recent appeal to the Court of Criminal Appeals, Wood's lawyers claimed 
Grigson lied to jurors about how many cases he had testified in and how often 
he found the defendant to pose a future danger. He also misled the jury by 
omitting the fact that he was ousted from the American Psychiatric Association, 
Wood's appeal claimed.

Throughout his career testifying in capital murder trials, the number of times 
Grigson claimed to have examined defendants for future dangerousness would 
change randomly and often drastically, the appeal states.

In the late 1980s, for example, Grigson testified in one trial that he had 
examined 180 to 182 cases, but 7 months later, he claimed to have reviewed 156. 
And a year and a half later, the number jumped to 'no fewer than 391,' 
according to the appeal.

But no matter the raw number of cases, he always claimed he found about, or 
sometimes exactly, 40 % of defendants to not be a future danger.

The order instructs the trial court to not only examine Grigson's truthfulness, 
but to consider Wood's argument that Grigson's opinion was based on junk 
science. Grigson did not examine Wood himself but based his projection of 
Wood's future dangerousness on a hypothetical person presented by the state. 
The practice was condemned by the American Psychiatric Association.

The appeal also claimed that Grigson misled the jury by omitting the fact that 
he was ousted from the association for reasons relating to how he reviewed 
capital murder defendants. In 1995, the association's Board of Trustees voted 
to expel Grigson after an investigation revealed that his method of predicting 
future dangerousness in capital cases violated the association's practice.

3 jurors from Wood's trial have said they would have discounted Grigson's 
testimony if they'd known of the expulsion, according to the appeal.

Wood's scheduled Aug. 24 execution was thrust into the national spotlight 
because of the rarity of executions under felony murder statutes. But 
conservative lawmakers in Texas, who believe in the death penalty under the law 
of parties, also lost sleep over the case.

State Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, had been lobbying the Texas Board of Pardons 
and Paroles and Gov. Greg Abbott to change Wood's sentence or issue a stay. 
Leach said he didn't believe Wood was a part of the murder. He had collected 
signatures from more than 50 fellow House members on a letter asking that 
Wood's sentence be commuted to life.

Rep. James White, R-Woodville, wrote a letter to the board as well, asking for 
a change of sentence in order to "preserve the legitimacy of the Law of 
Parties." And Rep. David Simpson, R-Longview, wrote a similar opinion piece for 
The Texas Tribune.

Presiding Judge Sharon Keller and Judge Lawrence Meyers dissented on the 
court's ruling. Judge Elsa Alcala, though concurring with the court's order, 
wrote her own opinion, claiming that the court should have sent back other 
claims to the trial court.

"I would also remand claims ... in which applicant alleges that his 
participation in the offense and his moral culpability are too minimal to 
warrant the death penalty, that evolving standards of decency now prohibit the 
execution of a person who was convicted as a party to a capital offense, and, 
more generally, that Texas's death-penalty scheme should be declared 
unconstitutional because it is arbitrary and fails to target the worst of the 
worst offenders," Alcala said.

(source: Texas Tribune)

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

Texas Halts Execution Of Non-Triggerman Over Questions Of 'Dr. Death' 
Testimony----Wood was convicted as an accomplice to murder, with a 
controversial psychiatrist testifying that he would commit more violence.


The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Friday halted an execution planned for 
next week of a man convicted as an accomplice to a murder he did not commit in 
a case that raised questions about how the state applies the death penalty.

Jeffery Wood, 43, was scheduled to be executed on Aug. 24 by lethal injection. 
He was convicted of taking part in a 1996 convenience store robbery during 
which clerk Kriss Keeran was fatally shot.

In its decision, the appeals court asked a lower court to review his sentence 
and claims from Wood's lawyer that it was obtained in violation of due process 
because it was based on false testimony and false scientific evidence.

Wood's lawyer questioned a witness for the prosecution, forensic psychiatrist 
Dr. James Grigson, who told a court in the 1990s Wood would commit future acts 
of violence and was a threat to society.

Grigson, nicknamed "Dr. Death" for his willingness to testify against people 
facing the death penalty, was expelled from the Texas Society of Psychiatric 
Physicians and the American Psychiatric Association for ethical violations: 
making diagnoses of capital murder defendants without first examining them.

"The court did the right thing by staying Mr. Wood's execution and authorizing 
his claims related to Dr. Grigson's false testimony during the sentencing phase 
to be considered on the merits," said Jared Tyler, Wood's lawyer.

Wood was unarmed in a vehicle outside the store when it was robbed. Prosecutors 
have said Wood knew the clerk might be shot. Wood's lawyers said he was unaware 
that a robbery was underway.

Wood's roommate at the time, Daniel Reneau, was convicted of pulling the 
trigger and executed on June 13, 2002.

"I am not aware of a case where a person has been executed with so minimal 
culpability and with such little participation in the event," Tyler said in an 
interview.

Under Texas' "Law of Parties," a person can be charged with capital murder even 
if the offense is committed by someone else.

After he heard a shot, Wood entered the store to help Reneau steal a cash box, 
safe and security video system.

10 people have been executed as accessories to felony murder since the United 
States reinstated the death penalty in 1976, according to the Death Penalty 
Information Center, which monitors capital punishment.

5 have been in Texas, which has executed more people than any state since the 
death penalty was reinstated.

(source: Reuters)

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

Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present----19

Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982----present-----537

Abbott#--------scheduled execution date-----name------------Tx. #

20---------August 31----------------Rolando Ruiz----------538

21---------September 14-------------Robert Jennings-------539

22---------October 5----------------Barney Fuller---------540

23---------October 19---------------Terry Edwards---------541

24---------November 2---------------Ramiro Gonzales-------542

25---------December 7---------------John Battaglia--------543

(sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin)






DELAWARE:

Death penalty ruled violation of Constitution


The Delaware Supreme Court has ruled that the state code related to the death 
penalty violates the U.S. Constitution.

"What we address today is not whether capital punishment is categorically 
constitutional or not. In this regard, the United States Supreme Court has 
recently said that, as a matter of federal constitutional law, the death 
penalty is constitutional," reads the Aug. 2 opinion, in part.

The Court's 148-page opinion was in response to a U.S. Supreme Court decision 
from a case in January - Hurst v. Florida, which found that Florida's death 
penalty law violated the Constitution because it gave judges the ultimate power 
to impose the death penalty.

"Specifically, Hurst prompted the question of whether our death penalty statute 
sufficiently respects a defendant's Sixth Amendment right to trial by jury," 
reads the opinion.

The opinion states that, on Jan. 28, the Superior Court certified five 
questions of law to the Supreme Court for disposition following Hurst.

"Because answering the certified questions requires us to interpret not simply 
the Sixth Amendment itself, but the complex body of case law interpreting it, 
we have a diversity of views on exactly why the answers to the questions are 
what we have found them to be. But that diversity of views is outweighed by the 
majority's collective view that Delaware's current death penalty statute 
violates the Sixth Amendment role of the jury as set forth in Hurst."

The 1st, and perhaps most pressing of the certified question was whether, under 
the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, a sentencing judge may, 
in a capital jury proceeding, independent of the jury, find the existence of 
any aggravating circumstance, statutory or non-statutory, that has been alleged 
by the State for weighing in the selection phase of a capital sentencing 
proceeding.

The Delaware Supreme Court ruled the State's law was unconstitutional, with 
Justices James T. Vaughn Jr. dissenting in part.

"In my view, 11 Del. C. # 4209 complies with the Sixth Amendment to the United 
States Constitution so long as the jury has first found the existence of at 
least one statutory aggravating factor unanimously and beyond a reasonable 
doubt."

Other justices, however, did not agree.

"I join with a majority of my colleagues in concluding that Delaware's current 
death penalty statute conflicts with the Sixth Amendment of the United States 
Constitution," wrote Chief Justice Leo Strine, "...if the core reasoning of 
Hurst is that a jury, rather than a judge, must make all the factual findings 
... necessary for a defendant to receive a death sentence, then Delaware's 
statute cannot stand."

"The answer to Question 1 is no. In Hurst, the United States Supreme Court held 
that: the Sixth Amendment requires a jury, not a judge, to find each fact 
necessary to impose a sentence of death," added Justice Randy J. Holland.

Following the release of the opinion, many voiced their approval of the Court's 
findings.

"As a former member of the Board of Pardons, I have had more occasion to 
contemplate the death penalty than most. Over the last several years, after a 
lot of study and reflection, I've come to the conclusion that it's a punishment 
that is too flawed for it to be considered fair or just. I support the Supreme 
Court's opinion in its ruling today," said U.S. Rep. John Carney (D-Del.) in a 
statement.

"I applaud the Supreme Court's finding that the state's death penalty law is 
unconstitutional," said Gov. Jack Markell in a statement that day. "As I have 
come to see after careful consideration, the use of capital punishment is an 
instrument of imperfect justice that doesn't make us any safer.

"The important concerns of death penalty proponents must be balanced by the 
examples of flawed testimony, innocent people on death row being exonerated, 
and other facts that weigh strongly against the use capital punishment. While I 
would have supported abolishing the death penalty legislatively, it is my hope 
that today's decision will mean that we never see another death sentence in our 
state."

"As of today, Delaware no longer has a death penalty. We join the ranks of 19 
other states in the United States without capital punishment. We are proud to 
join with the 7 other states, such as Maryland, New Jersey and Nebraska, that 
have eliminated their death penalties since 2007," said Kathleen MacRae, 
executive director of the ACLU of Delaware Inc. in a statement following the 
opinion.

"We call on all Delawareans to honor this ruling by our highest court and 
oppose any effort by the General Assembly to 'fix' our death penalty statute. 
The death penalty is an antiquated system broken beyond repair. It has no place 
in our criminal justice system."

Early this week, Delaware Attorney General Matt Denn's office said they will 
not appeal the opinion to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"After carefully reviewing the Delaware Supreme Court's opinion regarding the 
constitutionality of Delaware's current death penalty statute, the Attorney 
General has decided not to appeal the decision to the United States Supreme 
Court," read the statement. "He has concluded that, even if the United States 
Supreme Court reversed the opinion on federal constitutional grounds, that the 
Delaware Supreme Court would ultimately invalidate Delaware's current death 
penalty statute based on the Constitution of the State of Delaware.

"The Delaware Supreme Court has repeatedly stated that the Delaware 
Constitution provides rights to a jury trial that are independent of and in 
some instances more expansive than those provided by the Sixth Amendment to the 
United States Constitution. Litigating and appealing these issues - a process 
that would likely take years before issues of both federal and state 
constitutional law were resolved - would likely not only bring about the same 
result, but would also deny the families of victims sentencing finality."

While the Aug. 2 decision did not address the 12 people who are currently 
serving on death row in the state, the Attorney General's Office said it does 
not believe the opinion applies retroactively.

(source: Coastal Point)






GEORGIA:

Attorney: Roswell teens murder suspect could face death penalty


New details emerged in the murder of 2 teens in Roswell on Friday and 11Alive's 
legal analyst believes the death penalty is on the table for the suspect.

Jeffrey Hazelwood, 20, is accused of killing 2 teens in Roswell behind a Publix 
grocery store on Aug. 1.

There was raw emotion inside a Fulton County courtroom as a Roswell detective 
described the gruesome and bizarre murder confession by Hazelwood.

Natalie Henderson's parents listened as the detective detailed the murders of 
their daughter and Carter Davis behind the grocery store.

"At this point he said that he shot her," answered the detective. "Where did he 
shoot her?" asked the attorney. "In the head," said the detective.

Friday night, 11Alive News legal analyst Phil Holloway weighed in on the 
details he heard in court.

"When you take into account there were 2 victims and they died the horrific 
death that they did die, which could only be described as tortuous in nature, 
that would make this case eligible under the law for the death penalty," 
Holloway said.

The detective testified that Hazelwood confessed to following Henderson and 
Davis behind the grocery store. He watched them for a while before moving in. 
He said he pistol-whipped and then shot Davis in the head.

According to the detective, Hazelwood admitted to sexually battering Henderson 
before killing her.

The autopsy shows the alleged killer later posed the bodies.

"It shows that he clearly has thought about this, it shows that his mind does 
not work the way most people's mind works, it shows that he has some 
sociopathic tendencies," Holloway said.

The detective testified writings they discovered appear to show Hazelwood 
wanted to be an assassin.

"They will use that as motive, they will say that is someone who has a desire 
to kill, they have thought about this, they have planned it," Holloway said.

Hazelwood's attorneys mentioned specific mental issues after Friday's hearing.

Holloway believes that's because insanity is the only possible defense no 
matter how tough it is to prove.

"He said somebody told him to do it whether that person exists or not; he said 
he wanted to be an assassin - those 2 things go to motive and when a prosecutor 
can prove a solid motive it'll go a long way towards defeating a claim of legal 
insanity," Holloway said.

A Georgia jury can say someone is mentally ill and still guilty of a crime. 
That's different from legally insane.

It shows they knew the difference between right and wrong. It also leaves life 
in prison and the death penalty as sentencing options.

It's still very early in the case and it now goes to a grand jury for a 
decision in September.

(source: 11alive.com)






ALABAMA:

Attorney General supports bills increasing penalties for crimes against police 
officers


Alabama Attorney General, Luther Strange has vocally come out in support of 3 
bills introduced in the Alabama Legislature during the current special session. 
The bills could provide tougher penalties for crimes committed against law 
enforcement officers.

In a press release statement, Strange voiced his support for house bills 48, 49 
and 52.

"Law enforcement stand watch against threats and face danger every day in order 
to keep us safe," said Strange. "They have our backs and it is important to 
show them that we have theirs.

House bill 48, proposed by State Rep. (R) Chris Sells adds two aggravating 
circumstances (murder where the victim is a law enforcement officer and murder 
where the victim is a child under the age of 14) to the list of statutory 
aggravating circumstances that make a defendant eligible for the death penalty.

The bill adds the language from 2 existing capital offenses to make 
corresponding aggravating circumstances consistent with these capital offenses.

House bill 49 has been presented by State Rep. (R) Connie Rowe. The bill 
provides stiffer penalties for crimes against law enforcement officers and 
provides for a pay raise for Alabama Law Enforcement Agency officers.

It makes the crime of assault in the 2nd degree a Class B felony, when a person 
causes a physical injury with the intent of preventing a law enforcement 
officer from performing a lawful duty. Currently, assault in the 2nd degree is 
a Class C felony while assault in the 1st degree is a Class B felony.

The 3rd bill, House bill 52 proposed by State Rep. (R) Phillip Pettus expands 
the definition of hate crimes. The bill will include victims who are employed 
or perceived as employed as a law enforcement officer, firefighter, emergency 
medical services personnel, or rescue squad member.

Strange is urging lawmakers to get behind the bills during the current 
legislative session.

"These bills introduced in the Alabama House demonstrate Alabama's support for 
our law enforcement by increasing the penalties for violent crimes committed 
against them and I urge lawmakers to ensure they pass," said Strange.

(source: al.com)

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

Teen arrested for allegedly killing, burning body of Korean War vet


Gene Emory Dacus often sacrificed his own comfort for that of others.

At the turn of the 1950s, he was one of many young men who shipped off to 
Korea, fighting a war half a world from his home in Georgia. After the war 
ended in 1953 and his 3 sons - 1 of whom is disabled - finished school, he 
moved with his wife Earnestine to Birmingham, Ala., to care for his 
grandparents. There, he was embraced by his neighbors, for whom he often cut 
the grass - even at 85 years old - in order to keep the neighborhood looking 
tidy.

As his neighbor Helen McComb told AL.com, "He's been here forever. People here 
loved Mr. Gene. He was very sweet to all of the children. He kept our 
neighborhood clean."

After his wife passed away in 2005, he cared for his now 60-year-old disabled 
son in the house, alone.

"[He was a] Good man. Uncomparably good man," Robert Stanley, a relative, told 
WBRC.

His son, Gary Dacus, credits his own success to his father's example.

"He taught me good rules and I have a lot of my father in me," he told AL.com. 
"I'm a successful person for that. ... He was the most kindhearted gentleman 
you ever met. He never met a stranger, and he helped anybody he could."

On Wednesday, neighbors alerted Stanley, a neighbor and relative of Dacus, that 
they smelled smoke and saw fire coming from the backyard of Dacus's house. They 
thought maybe his RV had caught fire, or that someone had set fire to it - they 
had seen a young black man running through a nearby alleyway with a red 
gasoline jug.

Stanley sent his son to investigate.

But the camper wasn't on fire. What he found was far more shocking and 
horrifying.

It was Dacus' body, in the backyard of the home he lived in for more than 50 
years, quietly engulfed in flames.

"My son was the one that found him," Stanley told WBRC. "The neighbors said 
they thought the camper was on fire. He went around back to see if the camper 
was on fire, and it was Gene."

McComb, a neighbor, saw Stanley's son emerge from the yard.

"I could see something burning," she told AL.com. "Then a guy ran out yelling 
somebody had burned up Mr. Gene."

Dacus was pronounced dead at the scene by Birmingham Fire and Rescue, WCMH 
reported.

Video taken by WIAT shows the place where he body was found - now just a 
charred black hole starkly contrasting with the bright green grass surrounding 
it.

Police found the young man with the jug, who turned out to be 18-year-old 
Thomas Sims. Sims was already awaiting trial in connection with an armed 
carjacking of a 2013 Toyota RAV earlier in the year.

On Thursday, Sims was charged with capital murder for the killing of Dacus, 
meaning that he could potentially receive the death penalty. He is being held 
on no bond, according to AL.com. It is unclear if he has a lawyer or if he has 
entered a plea.

Birmingham Police Lt. Sean Edwards told AL.com that it appears Dacus and Sims 
got into an argument, before the teenage doused him with gasoline and lit him 
on fire.

"It's disheartening to see someone this young go to this level of violence," 
Edwards said. "To me, what he did to that elderly gentleman is evil at its 
finest."

As police are awaiting autopsy reports, it's unclear at this time if Dacus had 
died before he was burned, but Gary hoped so.

"The only thing I can hope to God for is that he was dead before he was 
burned," Gary told the newspaper. "You expect your parents to die before you, 
but to die a horrendous death like that is unimaginable. My father's death is a 
tragic loss. The community lost one of its pillars."

In a press conference, Birmingham Police Chief A.C. Roper said, "This homicide 
shocks the conscience of any reasonable person. Our hearts are hurting for the 
victim, his family and our community. The suspect actually confessed to this 
crime but we have not received any logical justification to explain what 
happened."

One oddity that might point toward a motive is that Dacus' truck was missing, 
and it had been a subject of concern for the man during his final days.

3 weeks prior to Dacus's death, his car was stolen from his house and hasn't 
been recovered. He was worried his pickup truck, a 1999 white Dodge Ram with a 
blue hood, would meet the same fate, so he drove it onto his lawn, AL.com 
reported.

That truck went missing around the time of his death, though it's unclear 
exactly when. Police are searching for it and have said the capital murder 
charge stems from the theft of that trunk. They also think a 2nd person could 
be involved and are searching for a 2nd suspect.

Sims now awaits court dates in 2 cases - the previous unrelated carjacking and 
now a capital murder case relating to Dacus. Those dates have not been set.

(source: Stars and Stripes)


OHIO:

Trial set for next month in Massillon murder case


A court hearing took place Friday in the Leeroy Rogers case. A Sept. 2 pretrial 
was scheduled for the Massillon man who is accused of killing 2 women.

A judge continues to review some of the more than 40 motions filed in the case 
of a Massillon man who is accused of killing 2 women.

Leeroy W. Rogers Sr., 59, faces 2 counts of aggravated murder, 2 counts of 
kidnapping and weapons-related charges. He could be sentenced to death if 
convicted.

However, Stark County Common Pleas Judge Chryssa Hartnett said at Friday's 
hearing that she hasn't ruled yet on a defense request to dismiss the death 
penalty component of the case. She's reviewing the prosecution's response 
opposing the motion.

A trial is set to begin on Sept. 20 with jury selection. The next pretrial is 
Sept. 2. The abundance of motions filed is not unexpected in a death penalty 
case. Hartnett has ruled on several of them.

Rogers is accused of killing Kimberly S. Clupper, 47, whose body was found in 
the spring of 2015 in South Sippo Park in Massillon and Kendra Carnes, 23, who 
was found dead in August 2015 in Newman Creek. Both women died from gunshot 
wounds to the head, according to the Stark County Coroner's Office.

The defense contends that a previous U.S. Supreme Court ruling finds Ohio's 
"capital sentencing scheme" to be unconstitutional in violation of the Sixth 
Amendment. The Stark County Prosecutor's Office counters in its filing that the 
Supreme Court ruling deals with elements of Florida's death penalty law that 
are not applicable to Ohio's.

Both the aggravated murder and kidnapping charges have repeat violent offender 
specifications stemming from an earlier conviction in Texas. In 2004, Rogers 
was sentenced to 10 years in prison on felony charges in Texas.

At Friday's hearing, Hartnett briefly discussed the status of various motions, 
including those related to juror questionnaires, courtroom decorum and what 
photos will be permitted to be introduced during the trial.

Harnett recently overruled a defense motion to suppress evidence in the case 
related to the search of a residence in Massillon. Prosecutors argued that a 
warrant was not required because officers had received the consent of someone 
who lived at the home.

(source: Massillon Independent)






NEW MEXICO:

While Other States Repeal Death Penalty, New Mexico Wants to Bring It Back


In the aftermath of the recent shooting death of a Hatch police officer, Gov. 
Susana Martinez said Wednesday she will push during next year's 60-day 
legislative session to reinstate New Mexico's death penalty -- at the least for 
child-killers and those convicted of murdering law enforcement officers.

Martinez, a former prosecutor, backed legislation to reimpose the death penalty 
immediately after taking office in 2011, but the proposal stalled that year in 
the Democratic-controlled Legislature, and the issue has not been part of the 
governor's agenda in recent years.

In a statement Wednesday, the 2-term Republican governor told the Journal, "A 
society that fails to adequately protect and defend those who protect all of us 
is a society that will be undone and unsafe.

"People need to ask themselves, if the man who ambushed and killed five police 
officers in Dallas had lived, would he deserve the ultimate penalty? How about 
the heartless violent criminals who killed Officer Jose Chavez in Hatch and 
left his children without their brave and selfless dad? Do they deserve the 
ultimate penalty? Absolutely."

Nationally, there's been a movement away from the death penalty in recent 
years. 19 states, including New Mexico, currently do not have death penalty 
laws on their books, and 4 states -- Illinois, Connecticut, Maryland and 
Nebraska -- have abolished capital punishment in the past 5 years, according to 
the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Allen Sanchez, executive director of the New Mexico Conference of Catholic 
Bishops, said Wednesday that the Roman Catholic Church will fight the effort to 
reinstate the death penalty.

"We've been through this debate," Sanchez said in an interview. "As sad as (the 
Hatch police officer) shooting is, we believe the governor is just trying to 
create a distraction from what's going on in New Mexico with poverty and need."

The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico also vowed to oppose the 
latest death penalty effort, which could emerge as a campaign issue during this 
year's election cycle. All 112 legislative seats are up for election, and 
control of both the state House and Senate are at stake.

Rep. Antonio "Moe" Maestas, D-Albuquerque, called Wednesday's announcement 
politically driven and unwise, given a looming state budget shortfall.

"If she truly believes the death penalty is good public policy, then she should 
attach an appropriation to (the bill) and we can have a debate on that," 
Maestas said of Martinez.

Slaying of officer

The governor's announcement that she will renew her push to reinstate capital 
punishment comes less than a week after Hatch police officer Jose Chavez was 
shot and killed after making a traffic stop.

Jesse Hanes, a fugitive from Ohio, has been charged with murder in connection 
with Chavez's death. He also faces federal firearms charges. He was traveling 
with an accomplice on a cross-country trip funded by robbing banks and selling 
methamphetamine at the time their vehicle was pulled over, prosecutors have 
alleged.

Third Judicial District Attorney Mark D'Antonio, whose office filed the murder 
charge, indicated Wednesday that he would be receptive to reinstating the death 
penalty in certain cases.

"My priority is prosecuting the death of Officer Chavez, but I'm open to 
conversations about reinstating the death penalty," D'Antonio said in a 
statement. "The death penalty should be the last resort for the worst of the 
worst and in certain situations like for cop-killers."

Meanwhile, Martinez also cited the May killing of an 11-year-old Navajo girl 
near Shiprock in her statement about the death penalty. In that case, Tom 
Begaye Jr. is accused of kidnapping and murdering Ashlynne Mike.

"I think of poor Ashlynne and the horror she went through," the governor told 
the Journal. "Does the monster who killed her deserve the ultimate punishment? 
Yes -- absolutely."

Although legislation to reinstate the death penalty has not been drafted, the 
Governor's Office indicated it could apply to only certain types of cases.

"At minimum, we can all agree that it should apply to cop-killers and 
child-murderers," Martinez spokesman Chris Sanchez said.

2009 repeal

New Mexico had the death penalty on its books for years, but then-Gov. Bill 
Richardson signed legislation in 2009 repealing capital punishment and 
replacing it with a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility 
of parole.

Opponents of the death penalty had argued that capital punishment was not 
cost-effective, and Richardson, a Democrat, said at the time he signed the 
repeal bill into law that he did not have sufficient confidence in the criminal 
justice system to be the final arbiter of who lived and who died.

However, the bill applied only to crimes committed after its effective date and 
several inmates remain on death row in New Mexico.

Before abolishing the death penalty, New Mexico had executed just 1 inmate 
since 1960. That happened in 2001, when Terry Clark received a lethal injection 
after having been convicted of raping and killing Dena Lynn Gore, a 9-year-old 
Artesia girl.

(source: governing.com)






CALIFORNIA:

Suspect Arrested in Death of Cab Driver in Hollywood over $24.75 Fare----Najib 
Halibi beat a cab driver to death, because $24.75 was "more than Uber charges"


Najim Halibi Halibi was 1 of 3 passengers in a taxi shortly after 3 a.m. on 
Sunday when he allegedly got into a dispute with the driver, 47-year-old 
Asifawosen Alemseged, at a gas station in Hollywood.

Just before 3 am Sunday morning, Ethiopian cab driver Asfawosen Alemseged 
picked up 3 passengers in downtown LA. One passenger got back into the cab. A 
fist fight erupted over whether the cab fare was too high, because it was "more 
than twice what Uber charges" to drive passengers from downtown LA to 
Hollywood.

A Lakewood man was charged today with fatally attacking Alemseged, the Los 
Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced Friday. Witnesses say 
Alemseged died when his head hit the pavement. Others say the suspect beat the 
cabbie to death.

Najib Halibi (dob 5/25/82) was charged with 1 count of murder along with the 
special circumstance allegation of murder during the commission of a robbery, 
making him eligible for the death penalty.

Halibi is accused of exiting the taxi and reaching into the vehicle and 
grabbing Alemseged and going through his pockets. The victim also got out of 
the taxi and was allegedly beaten by Halibi, who fled the scene.

If convicted as charged, Halibi faces the death penalty or life in prison 
without the possibility of parole. A decision on whether to seek death will be 
made at a later date.

An LAYellowcab spokesman said that Alemseged was, "A nice man and well loved by 
passengers.. . . there are safeguards we have in place to protect our drivers, 
but you can't prevent everything."

Authorities found the taxi driver, Asfawosen Alemseged, unconscious in the 
parking lot of a 76 gas station. Alemseged was rushed to a nearby hospital, 
where he later died, police said.

Investigators said it appeared Alemseged was first attacked over a fare dispute 
while he was inside the cab. "This is probably a fare dispute that escalated 
into a robbery, into a physical assault, to the victim's death," Lt. John 
Radtke of the LAPD said. Detectives said the altercation then continued outside 
the vehicle.

The suspect was believed to be a passenger who was being dropped off near the 
gas station. He was last seen fleeing the scene eastbound on Franklin Avenue, 
according to Radtke.

In a statement, Yellow Cab said Alemseged worked for the company for 24 years 
and that he was well known in his native Ethiopian community as a singer, 
musician, writer and artist.

The intersection of Beachwood Drive and Franklin Avenue was closed for several 
hours and has since reopened.

(source: Santa Monica Observer)






OREGON:

The Deciders


Hundreds of Clatsop County residents are being called to the fairgrounds in 
September for jury duty in the county's 1st death penalty trial in 15 years.

Residents will be screened on their attitudes toward capital punishment and 
whether they think they can be impartial. A pool of prospective jurors will 
move on to jury selection in the trial courtroom.

12 jurors, with 2 to 4 alternates, will serve in the case against Randy Roden, 
the live-in boyfriend accused of murdering his girlfriend's 2-year-old daughter 
and abusing her 2 sons in their Seaside apartment.

The last death penalty trial in 2001 involved Anthony Scott Garner, who fatally 
stabbed a woman on a motorboat in the Warrenton mooring basin and set the boat 
on fire to cover up the crime. Garner was found guilty and sentenced to life in 
prison.

Roden's trial is expected to last up to 2 months in Circuit Court. Jurors will 
not be sequestered. If the jury finds Roden guilty of aggravated murder, a 
penalty phase will determine a possible death penalty sentence.

"We need a large number of jurors because of the length of the trial," Judge 
Paula Brownhill said. "It may be a hardship for many people to serve 4 days a 
week for up to 8 weeks."

Questionnaire

At the county fairgrounds, jurors who are available for trial will be asked to 
fill out a lengthy questionnaire. Typically, questionnaires are not used in 
most trials. Since more than 300 potential jurors could be called for 
screening, the questionnaires will swiftly provide prosecutors and defense 
lawyers with information about each juror.

"The questionnaires help jury selection move more quickly because lawyers don't 
have to ask so many questions," Brownhill said.

The questionnaires will ask if potential jurors have heard about the Roden 
case, what they have heard about the case and if they can be fair. The surveys 
will also explore a possible juror's interests and beliefs, including their 
position on the death penalty.

The prosecution and defense will review the questionnaires prior to jury 
selection, when available jurors will be brought into the courtroom in groups 
of 6 for follow-up questions.

In the Garner case, which Brownhill also presided over, jurors were questioned 
individually in 15-minute segments, and it took more than a week to select 12 
jurors.

The lawyers in Roden's case would prefer individual interviews, but Brownhill 
plans to bring in people in panels of 6 to speed up the process.

Open minded

While scrutinizing potential jurors, both prosecutors and defense lawyers in 
Roden's case will look for people who do not have extreme views about the death 
penalty.

People who could never impose death for religious or political reasons, or who 
could not imagine any other fitting penalty for the crimes, will be excluded.

Clatsop County District Attorney Josh Marquis said lawyers are looking for the 
middle ground.

A qualified juror would have an open mind, have heard about the case but had 
not formed strong opinions, and would listen to the judge's instructions and 
follow the law.

If Roden is found guilty of aggravated murder, the jury decides the appropriate 
sentence. The jury would have to unanimously answer 4 questions in the penalty 
phase before sentencing Roden to death.

All 12 jurors would have to agree on the following questions:

Was the murder deliberate? Did the victim do anything to provoke the murder? Is 
the defendant likely to commit serious acts in the future? Should the defendant 
receive a death sentence?

If just o1 juror says "no" to 1 question, the sentence drops to life in prison 
without parole.

"Aggravated murder cases are the only cases where a jury makes the decision," 
Marquis said of sentencing. "The judge is bound by the sentence."

(source: Daily Astorian)