[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., VA., OHIO, FLA., S. DAK., NEB., USA

[Rick Halperin]

Feb. 10



TEXAS----impending execution

Texas death row inmate moves one step closer to execution


The U.S. Supreme Court refused Wednesday to reconsider its refusal of the case 
of a 42-year-old man set to die next week for the slaying of a suburban Dallas 
liquor store clerk.

The high court, without comment Wednesday, rejected the request from Gustavo 
Garcia, who's scheduled for lethal injection Feb. 16.

Garcia was 18 in December 1990 when Craig Turski, 43, was shot to death during 
a holdup in Plano.

Authorities tied him to a 2nd slaying a month later, also in Plano.

Garcia's attorneys contended 2 prospective jurors at his trial improperly were 
excused.

The justices initially refused to review his case last month.

Garcia was 1 of 7 inmates involved in at attempted escape from death row in 
1998.

(source: Associated Press)






PENNSYLVANIA:

DA gets more time to mull death penalty in officer slaying


A western Pennsylvania prosecutor will have until March 26 to decide whether to 
seek the death penalty against a man charged in the shooting death of a police 
officer.

31-year-old Raymond Shetler Jr. is charged in Westmoreland County in the Nov. 
28 death of Officer Lloyd Reed after the officer responded to a domestic call 
in St. Clair.

District Attorney John Peck said Tuesday that he would study several factors 
and wanted to hear about any mitigating circumstances in the case.

Jurors in death penalty cases weigh such factors against aggravating factors, 
which Peck said would include the killing of an officer and the defendant's 
criminal record.

Peck said relatives of the victim have taken no position on the death penalty 
but are "looking for guidance and direction from me."

(source: Associated Press)






VIRGINIA:

House votes to allow electric chair as fallback option for executions


The Virginia House of Delegates passed legislation Wednesday to allow inmates 
to be executed via electric chair if the state lacks the necessary drugs for 
lethal injection.

The bill passed on a 62-33 vote after Del. Jackson H. Miller, R-Manassas, 
delivered a graphic retelling of the 2006 murder of Richmond's Harvey family. 
The killer in that case, Ricky Javon Gray, is scheduled to be executed March 
16, but the the Virginia Department of Corrections has said it lacks the drugs 
needed to put Gray to death.

"This isn't expanding the death penalty, said Miller. "But the case I just told 
you about is exactly why we have this punishment on our books."

Condemned Virginia inmates have been able to choose between lethal injection 
and the electric chair since 1995. Just seven of 87 inmates executed since then 
have chosen the chair.

Miller has argued that the state's ability to "carry out justice" could be 
jeopardized if an inmate chooses lethal injection and no drugs are available.

The bill, House Bill 815, now goes to the Senate.

(source: Richmond Times-Dispatch)






OHIO:

Ohio Mental Health Advocates Push


Execution Exemption for Defendants with Serious Mental Illness

Learn more at www.OAMIE.org

The Ohio Alliance for the Mental Illness Exemption (OAMIE) was represented 
before the Senate Criminal Justice Committee in testimony today by former Ohio 
Senator Bob Spada, who serves on the board of directors of the National 
Alliance on Mental Illness of Ohio, a convener of the Alliance.

"We believe that those who commit violent crimes while in the grip of a 
psychotic delusion, hallucination or other disabling psychological condition 
lack judgment, understanding or self-control," said Spada. "Until such time as 
the U.S. Supreme Court decides on this question, the responsibility for 
prohibiting the execution of such individuals in Ohio rests with the Ohio 
General Assembly."

Spada attached to his written testimony a statement from OAMIE partners to the 
members of the Committee in support of S.B. 162, legislation which will 
prohibit the execution of defendants with specific mental illnesses at the time 
of the crime.

Also testifying today were Professor Daniel T. Kobil of Capital University Law 
School, on behalf of more than 50 Ohio law professors who have signed a letter 
to the legislature in support of S.B. 162, and Dr. Jeffrey L. Smalldon, a 
forensic psychologist who has provided expertise on mental health issues in 
numerous Ohio capital cases. Today's testimony has been posted in addition to 
all past proponent and interested party testimony at 
http://oamie.org/s-b-162-testimony/.

The proposed legislation, which to-date has had only one opponent testify over 
the course of 6 hearings, is supported by leading organizations concerned with 
mental health issues in Ohio, including the following: National Alliance on 
Mental Illness of Ohio, Ohio Psychiatric Physicians Association, Ohio 
Psychological Association, Ohio Council of Behavioral Health & Family Services 
Providers, Ohio Association of County Behavioral Health Authorities, Mental 
Health and Addiction Advocacy Coalition, Buckeye Art Therapy Association, Ohio 
Empowerment Coalition, and the National Association of Social Workers - Ohio 
Chapter.

The public is invited to learn more about the legislation on our web page, 
www.OAMIE.org

(source: Ohio Alliance for the Mental Illness Exemption)

***********

'Voice of Experience' to explore death penalty


A Catholic priest and a former death row inmate are coming to Cincinnati to 
share their powerful story in a program called "Voices of Experience: The Death 
Penalty," at 7 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18, at St. Anthony Church in 
Madisonville.

Joe D'Ambrosio spent more than 20 years on death row for a crime he didn't 
commit. The Rev. Neil Kookoothe, who is also a nurse and an attorney, met 
D'Ambrosio during a pastoral visit to death row. Kooksoothe's unique skill set 
led him to discover the holes in the case keeping Joe there. The 2 became a 
team, and Joe finally walked off death row, a free man, in 2012.

"Voices of Experience" is sponsored by the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Ohioans 
to Stop Executions, St. Anthony Church and the Intercommunity Justice and Peace 
Center.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati is the 38th largest Catholic 
diocese in the country, with almost 500,000 Catholics, and has the 6th largest 
network of Catholic schools in terms of enrollment. The 19-county territory 
includes 211 parishes and 111 Catholic primary and secondary schools.

(source: disneydailynews.com)






FLORIDA:

Florida Gov. Remains Mum on How to Fix State's Death Penalty


Despite an ongoing emotional debate, Gov. Rick Scott is refusing to say how 
Florida should fix the state's death penalty law.

The Florida Legislature is currently divided over how to rewrite the law after 
the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the current sentencing method unconstitutional. 
Scott has not made any recommendations, and on Wednesday, he said that he won't 
weigh in until state legislators send him a bill.

Scott's decision to let legislators work out the details contrasts with former 
Gov. Jeb Bush. After botched executions threatened Florida's death penalty, 
Bush called a special session. The governor recommended changes that included 
the state's switch to lethal injection from the electric chair.

The House and Senate are at odds over whether a jury should unanimously agree 
to recommend a death sentence.

(source: nbcmiami.com)






SOUTH DAKOTA:

Bill sponsor: Death penalty overburdens counties, jurors


The main sponsor of a measure that would repeal the death penalty in South 
Dakota says the practice overburdens counties and traumatizes jurors and court 
personnel.

Republican Sen. Arthur Rusch is a former judge. He told the Senate State 
Affairs Committee on Wednesday that he's personally prosecuted a death penalty 
case and seen the damaging effects firsthand.

The committee carved out an hour and a half Wednesday to hear from proponents 
and opponents of the measure.

Rusch says death penalty cases are unfairly taxing on county governments and 
have long-term effects on those involved. He also says he doesn't believe the 
punishment is an effective deterrent on crime.

The committee voted down 2 measures to repeal or limit the death penalty in the 
2015 legislative session.

(source: Associated Press)






NEBRASKA:

Popular Democracy and Capital Punishment in Nebraska


2015 saw fewer individuals executed and fewer individuals sentenced to death in 
the United States than any year since 1991 and the early 1970s (pre-Furman v. 
Georgia), respectively. It was the 6th straight year that executions had 
declined. Many articles have been written about the slow decline of the death 
penalty in America.

Usually, discussions of the death penalty focus on Texas (though Oklahoma has 
been prominently featured of late). The state that I find fascinating, however, 
is Nebraska. In 2015, Nebraska became the seventh state to repeal the death 
penalty (not counting those states that made no provision for the death penalty 
when the Supreme Court's decision in Gregg v. Georgia reinstated the death 
penalty nationally). But after Nebraska's legislature repealed the death 
penalty (and overrode a gubernatorial veto on the same), events took a turn not 
seen in other states.

The Cornhusker state is one of a few where actions of the legislature can be 
overturned by referendum. Governor Pete Ricketts, who had vetoed the repeal 
only to see that repeal overridden, not only supported the referendum effort to 
overturn the repeal, he personally donated much of the financial backing for 
the initiative.

Per the Nebraska Constitution, once the repeal petition received enough 
signatures to get the referendum on the ballot, the repeal bill was suspended. 
On Westlaw, affected statutes, including repealed sections authorizing the 
capital punishment as well as new sections describing the effects of repeal and 
transition away from execution, are accompanied by a note that the legislated 
change "been suspended by operation of Article III, # 3, of the Nebraska 
Constitution; see Historical and Statutory Notes."

Nebraska's last execution was carried out in 1997. There are currently 10 
individuals on death row in Nebraska. They'll find out in November what happens 
next.

(source: Max Milstein, Attorney Editor, Thomson Reuters Max is a Senior 
Attorney Editor for Thomson Reuters ----blog.legalsolutions.thomsonreuters.com)






USA:

'Headley can still get death sentence in U.S.'


Headley had agreed to plea-bargain with the U.S. government and was sentenced 
to 35 years in prison on terrorism charges, says the Special Public Prosecutor.

In a startling revelation, Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam claimed on 
Wednesday that Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative David Coleman Headley could 
still be sentenced to death by the U.S. court for his involvement in the 26/11 
Mumbai attack if he is found to be lying to the Indian court.

Headley had agreed to plea-bargain with the U.S. government and was sentenced 
to 35 years in prison on terrorism charges that would otherwise have attracted 
the death penalty there. Among the conditions in the plea-bargain is a 
commitment from Headley to depose truthfully before foreign judicial 
commissions.

The only question now is how India would prove whether or not Headley is lying, 
as most of the evidence and all his handlers are in Pakistan. And even if India 
had conclusive evidence that Headley was lying in the video deposition, would 
the appropriate U.S. authorities accept India's claims?

"Headley has given an undertaking before the U.S court that if he is not 
truthful in his replies before the court here, then the U.S government is 
entitled to seek the death penalty for him," Mr. Nikam told The Hindu. Mr. 
Nikam also claimed that only if he is satisfied with Headley's replies and only 
if he certifies it will Headley become an approver. Only his offer to become an 
approver has now been accepted. "The pardon granted to Headley is conditional 
and, according to the Indian law, the public prosecutor is authorised to 
forfeit the pardon. I will take a call only after the completion of evidence. 
Also, to decide if his pardon is to be forfeited or kept alive, I have to probe 
Headley on various angles and it can be decided after considering his entire 
evidence."

"Headley was handed a lesser punishment because of the plea-bargain and on the 
agreement that he would also be truthful in his deposition to foreign judicial 
commissions," a senior government official said. "The U.S can reopen the case 
if its finds that the agreement has been breached."

Mr. Nikam claimed he got the clearance from NSA Ajit Doval to make an offer to 
turn Headley into an approver. Later, when they presented the idea to Prime 
Minister Narendra Modi, he also concurred.

(source: The Hindu)

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

Judge Accepts Challenge of Law in Death Penalty Case----In an order issued 
Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Geoffrey Crawford said there was "strong 
disagreement" in "judicial and scholarly" circles about the legality of the 
death penalty


The federal judge hearing the death penalty retrial of a Vermont man charged 
with killing a Rutland supermarket worker more than 16 years ago said he was 
open to hearing a constitutional challenge of the federal death penalty law.

In an order issued Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Geoffrey Crawford said 
there was "strong disagreement" in "judicial and scholarly" circles about the 
legality of the death penalty.

"Preliminarily, and with an open mind about the arguments recently made by both 
sides, the court is looking at the constitutional challenge to the death 
penalty," Crawford wrote in the entry order dated Tuesday.

Crawford said that cases from the 1970s identified and tried to correct 
problems with the death penalty but "40 years later the question of a systemic 
violation of the Eighth Amendment remains."

Crawford scheduled a hearing for Feb. 26 so defense attorney for Donald Fell 
and prosecutors can discuss the details of the case and be ready for a hearing 
on the issues this summer.

Robert Dunham of the Washington-based Death Penalty Information Center said 
Crawford's ruling was an important development in the case.

"Judges don't grant evidentiary hearings if they don't have concerns about the 
issues," Dunham said.

Fell was arrested in 2000 shortly after the abduction and killing of Terry 
King, a North Clarendon grandmother. At the time, prosecutors decided the case 
should be heard in federal court. Vermont has no death penalty.

In 2002, the judge then hearing the case declared the federal death penalty 
unconstitutional. Two years later, an appeals court overturned that ruling, 
allowing the original trial to go forward.

Fell was convicted in 2005 and sentenced to death for the abduction and killing 
of King. A judge ordered a new trial because of juror misconduct. A second 
trial is scheduled for February 2017

Last fall, Fell's attorneys asked the court to rule the death penalty is cruel 
and unusual punishment prohibited by the Fifth and Eighth Amendments to the 
U.S. Constitution.

(source: NECN)