[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----OKLA., KAN., S.DAK., WYO., USA

[Rick Halperin]

Feb. 12



OKLAHOMA:

AG Talks Creating A State-Run Lethal Injection Drug Pharmacy


In the middle of a controversial investigation into the state's lethal 
injection, Attorney General Scott Pruitt is talking about the future. He wants 
the state to open its own compounding pharmacy to mix and create the deadly 
cocktail of drugs that have become harder to get a hold of.

"Accessing those drugs, buying those drugs is very challenging because there 
are limitations placed upon those by the manufacturers," Pruitt said Thursday.

Right now, the state uses a private pharmacist in Texas that was responsible 
for sending the wrong drug for the executions of Charles Warner and Richard 
Glossip. In those instances potassium acetate was used in the case of Warner 
and nearly used on Glossip. Potassium chloride is the correct drug according to 
state protocol.

Pruitt said a state run compounding pharmacy would remove the need for a 
private "middle-man" pharmacy potentially increasing safety, efficacy and 
transparency for the development and testing of the deadly 3-drug cocktail used 
in lethal injection executions.

"It would be better if we took that all out of the equation, made the state the 
center piece of compounding those drugs and then providing access to defense 
council and others who want to test the efficacy of those drugs," he said.

There are several hurdles however. Oklahoma does not have a license from the 
Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) that other states have that allows them to hold 
the lethal injection drugs for an extended period of time. Only a handful of 
states currently hold licenses, including Arizona and Texas.

Compound pharmacies can also register with the Federal Drug Administration, but 
are not required to do so under federal law, according to DeathPenaltyInfo.org.

Access to the drugs is also becoming more difficult. Drugs like pentobarbital 
have been blocked by European manufacturers that have said they don't want 
their drugs used in executions.

Pruitt blamed opponents of the death penalty for the lack of access. He said 
they campaigned against the use and the companies buckled under the pressure.

"The states have a responsibility to the families and to the justice system to 
carry out this responsibility in a sober and responsible way," Pruitt said.

But not everyone is so sure. Ryan Keisel, Executive Director at Oklahoma ACLU 
said Oklahomans should be asking a different question all together.

"It's not how can we come up with new and novel or innovative ways to execute 
people, but should we be in the business of executing people at all?" he asked.

The pharmacy would also mean a new cost for tax-payers as the state's budget 
hole ballooned again this week to $1.3 billion.

"Roads and bridges are falling apart, schools are moving to 4 days a week ... 
and here they want us to double down to give them a longer leash to carry out 
the ultimate authority? It seems backward to me," Kiesel said.

Pruitt says the pharmacy actually could be a cost saving measure, but didn't 
say how much. He added the talk of a compounding pharmacy was only just an idea 
that he has spoken to legislators about in the past, but there was no formal 
proposal or bill to create one.

When asked about the ongoing investigation, Pruitt said the pharmacy and the 
investigation had "very little or nothing do with" the other. He said there 
were no problems with the neither state's protocol, nor the drugs themselves, 
but that the administration of the lethal cocktail of components was what is 
being investigated.

5 executions are on hold pending the conclusion of a grand jury investigation 
that was started in September 2015. Pruitt did not answer a question about when 
the investigation would be complete, and said he "couldn't get into it at this 
point, but we will soon."

His spokesperson, Aaron Cooper, said the jury meets at the end of February and 
their findings, if a decision is made, should be made public, barring an order 
to seal the findings from a judge.

The Department of Corrections declined to comment on this story Thursday.

(source: news9.com)

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

Defendant in Moore beheading repeats request for death penalty; judge holds off


A murder defendant told a judge Thursday he still wants to plead guilty and be 
given a death sentence for beheading a co-worker at a Moore food distribution 
plant.

"As a Muslim, we are not afraid to die," Alton Alexander Nolen said.

Nolen told the judge he wanted to waive any further hearings and go ahead and 
plead guilty Thursday. He said he already had thought about the consequences of 
agreeing to the death penalty.

He said he would not accept life in prison or life in prison without the 
possibility of parole as punishments.

His intentions have put him at odds with his court-appointed defense attorneys, 
who contend he is not mentally competent to make that decision.

Cleveland County District Judge Lori Walkley told him she would not accept his 
guilty plea yet, saying she wanted to give him more time to think about it.

Nolen is scheduled to be in court again May 20 and could plead guilty then. If 
he does plead guilty, another date will be scheduled for his sentencing.

Delay is normal

In planning multiple hearings, the judge is following legal guidelines for 
cases where a murderer essentially volunteers for the death penalty. The judge 
noted she had a duty to protect the integrity of the system and was going to 
move slow rather than fast.

In a 2006 decision, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals complimented a 
Canadian County judge for repeatedly offering to allow a murderer to change his 
mind "at virtually every stage of the proceedings."

Nolen, 31, is charged with 1 count of 1st-degree murder, 1 count of assault and 
battery with a deadly weapon, and 4 counts of assault with a dangerous weapon.

Nolen, who cut fruit at the plant, is accused of beheading co-worker Colleen 
Hufford inside Vaughan Foods on Sept. 25, 2014, shortly after he was suspended 
for making racial remarks. He also is accused of assaulting 3 other workers who 
tried to stop him as he cut Hufford's neck.

He is accused of then trying to behead another co-worker and of charging with a 
knife at the company's chief operating officer, who shot him.

Nolen, a Muslim convert, had started working at the plant in January 2013 while 
at a halfway house for felons finishing prison sentences, records show. He 
lived in an apartment in Moore near the plant.

Hufford, 54, of Moore, appears to have been chosen at random. She was attacked 
from behind.

Nolen's intentions to plead guilty and accept a death sentence first were 
revealed in testimony at a competency hearing in October.

At the conclusion of the hearing, the judge found him to be mentally competent 
despite those intentions.

"The fact that he does not agree with the strategy of his attorneys does not 
mean he is incompetent," Walkley wrote in a 3-page order.

(source: The Oklahoman)

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

Governor Fallin's Legal Counsel Steps Down Amid Execution Investigation


A 3rd high-ranking official associated with Oklahoma's death penalty protocols 
stepped down Thursday. Governor Mary Fallin's legal counsel Steve Mullins 
announced his resignation after working for the governor since February 2012.

Mullins testified before the grand jury in October into investigations of 
Oklahoma's executions. The death penalty has been under scrutiny in the state 
after a series of troubled executions, including a botched execution in 2014 
when Clayton Lockett writhed and moaned on the gurney for more than 40 minutes 
and 1 last year where the wrong drugs were used to carry out the death penalty.

Former Oklahoma State Penitentiary warden Anita Trammell and Department of 
Corrections director Robert Patton have also resigned.

The grand jury is scheduled to release its findings next week. All executions 
are currently on hold in Oklahoma.

In his resignation letter, Mullins said he is taking a voluntary buyout and is 
trying to "better control stress" in his life.

Before working for Fallin, Mullins served as assistant United States Attorney 
for the Western District of Oklahoma and a senior legal advisor for the 
Department of Justice.

(source: KGOU news)






KANSAS:

House members press for repeal of Kansas death penalty----Advocacy focuses on 
cost of trial, appellate process paid by taxpayers


A bipartisan group of state representatives advocated Thursday for repeal of 
the Kansas death penalty as a step toward alleviating a steep financial 
obligation weighing on a state government struggling to deal with a projected 
deficit.

Reps. Steven Becker, R-Hutchinson, John Bradford, R-Lansing, and Boog 
Highberger, D-Lawrence, expressed support for repeal of the state's capital 
punishment statute during a news conference at the Capitol organized by the 
Kansas Coalition Against Death Penalty.

Becker said many aspects of the death penalty warranted scrutiny and debate, 
but Kansans could focus on financial benefit of dropping from the criminal code 
of the option of executing inmates convicted of murder. Murder trials in 
district court and years of appeals guaranteed to result from death sentences 
are costly.

"The death penalty is such an inefficient practice in our state that could 
truly save millions of dollars," Becker said. "Yesterday, we had about a 5-hour 
debate on the floor on our state budget and this morning we received a Supreme 
Court opinion that I think requires us to come up with about $54 million more 
for public education in the state. We are desperate for money and one of the 
sources we could find would be the repeal of the death penalty."

Becker said proponents of repeal speak of moral objections or criminal justice 
issues, yet the state should no longer ignore economic incentives of reform. 
The state's current budget deficit could reach nearly $200 million over through 
mid-2017.

"The cost savings is such an issue in our fiscal, our financial environment in 
the Statehouse that it has risen to the top, I think, as to the strongest 
argument," Becker said.

Kansas reinstated the death penalty in 1994, but has not performed an execution 
in more than 50 years. There are currently 9 people held under death penalty 
sentences in Kansas.

The 3 legislators at the news conference said they would prefer Kansas law be 
changed to replace capital punishment with a penalty of life in prison without 
the possibility of parole.

Becker and Bradford are sponsors on House Bill 2515, which would abolish the 
death penalty and create the crime of aggravated murder. Repeal would not be 
retroactive, however, and would apply to cases filed after July 1, 2016. The 
House has not conducted a committee hearing on the bill, while a parallel 
version in the Senate died in committee.

Bradford said bipartisan support for this shows the importance of repealing the 
death penalty.

"This isn't partisan, it's a moral issue," Bradford said.

The Coalition Against Death Penalty argues the cost for the state goes up as 
more cases lead to conviction and appeals filed in existing cases. The 
coalition advocates for reallocation of the budget devoted to capital cases to 
other areas of public safety.

"There are much better uses for the resources that we???re using for the death 
penalty in the state of Kansas," Highberger said.

He said he understood the severity of the crimes in cases where the death 
penalty was sought, but the Legislature must acknowledge flaws with the death 
penalty. "This isn't about the seriousness of the crimes," he said.

In January, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against 3 Kansas inmates whose death 
sentence had been vacated in decisions issued by the Kansas Supreme Court. The 
nation's highest court focused on sentencing procedures in appeals by inmates 
Jonathan and Reginald Carr, who went on a Wichita murder spree in 2000. The 
other appeal involved a 3rd inmate, Sidney Gleason, who was convicted in a 
double murder.

(source: Topeka Capital-Jourrnal)






SOUTH DAKOTA:

Prosecutor's cost in death penalty case: $100


The steep legal costs associated with the death penalty are well documented. It 
isn't uncommon for expenses to exceed $1 million in the lead up to an 
execution.

Which is why a prosecutor's claim about the cost of trying a capital murder 
case caught some by surprise this week in Pierre.

Speaking at a legislative hearing for a proposal to abolish the death penalty 
in South Dakota, Minnehaha County State's Attorney Aaron McGowan said the James 
McVay murder trial cost his office $100.

Can that be right?

"That was for a hotel room for the arresting officer out of Wisconsin," McGowan 
said.

His office didn't have to hire expert witnesses, calling on county law 
enforcement, a penitentiary deputy, the coroner and a friend and family member 
of the victim, Maybelle Schein.

"We were able to try the case within our normal operating costs without a lot 
of additional expenses - other than the hotel room referenced," McGowan said.

The $100 figure doesn't include the cost of staff and other regular operations, 
and it doesn't tell the full story about where costs add up in death penalty 
cases.

The prosecutors' expenses are just a sliver of the overall cost of capital 
cases, said Robert Dunham, executive director of the nonprofit Death Penalty 
Information Center.

"From an economic perspective, the death penalty cases can be pursued cheaply 
by the prosecution, but when they do so, they are imposing a tremendous 
financial cost on other parts of the government and taxpayers across the 
state," Dunham said.

Mike Butler, a defense lawyer in Sioux Falls who has tried 4 death penalty 
cases, said he doesn't doubt McGowan's accounting of the McVay case, but it's 
also not a good representation of a typical death penalty case.

McVay's confession, the evidence and the fact that he was an unsympathetic 
figure simplified the case. Butler said the only real decision for the jury to 
make was whether to sentence McVay to death.

"From an evidentiary point of view it was simple, straight-forward case," 
Butler said.

Dunham said that McGowan only spent $100 outside of his normal budget stands 
out to him.

"Well, if that is in fact true," Dunham said, "it is a shame it cost so little 
to take someone's life."

(soruce: Argus Leader)

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

Do you think South Dakota should repeal the death penalty


ttp://www.yankton.net/poll_93239872-d0f4-11e5-9ac1-57687676f0af.html

(source: Yankton Press)






WYOMING:

Social-issue bills fail in House


Wyoming will remain 1 of 5 states in the nation without a hate crimes law.

The state's House of Representatives handily voted down a bill Thursday that 
would have created extra penalties for violent crimes committed because of the 
victim's race, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or 
national origin.

Rep. Charles Pelkey, D-Laramie, sponsored the proposal that would have 
increased prison time for the bias-motivated offenses by 25 %.

He said there should be stronger punishments for these types of crimes because 
they are more "egregious" than typical violent felonies.

"They are, in essence, an assault against the entire community," he said.

The proposal needed a 2/3 majority vote for it to be introduced. But it was 
defeated with only 10 of the 60 members supporting it.

Rep. Bob Nicholas, R-Cheyenne, was among those who opposed the measure.

He said the extra punishments are not needed. And he said proving that a crime 
has a bias component would be a difficult task for judges or juries.

"I would submit to you that a murder is a murder," he said. "And if you kill 
someone or maim them, the penalties are severe enough."

Death penalty abolishment fails

The proposal was one of several bills that the House rejected Thursday - the 
2nd-to-last day for the introduction of new bills.

The House also voted down a proposal to abolish the death penalty in the state.

Bill sponsor Rep. Cathy Connolly, D-Laramie, said this would save the state 
money on costly trials and appeals and prevent a scenario where an innocent 
person is executed.

"The vast majority of countries have abolished the death penalty," she said. 
"So whether it's for moral or religious reasons or financial reasons to the 
state or counties, let's eliminate the death penalty."

But Rep. Bill Pownall, R-Gillette, said the death penalty can be meaningful for 
the victims or their families.

"Don't forget the victims in all these cases," he said. "That is one thing I 
think we are lacking."

(source: Tribune Eagle)






USA:

With death penalty decision uncertain, judge delays Dylann Roof's federal trial


A federal judge on Thursday delayed Dylann Roof's trial in the deadly attack on 
Emanuel AME Church because prosecutors still have not decided whether to seek 
execution.

Roof could face the death penalty on 9 of his 33 charges in federal court, but 
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Richardson said the decision by Washington-based 
Justice Department officials could take another 2 months.

Such delays in high-profile federal cases are typical. After the Boston 
Marathon bombings in April 2013, it took then-Attorney General Eric Holder more 
than 9 months to announce he would seek the death penalty against Dzhokhar 
Tsarnaev.

Nearly 8 months have passed since Roof's arrest.

Attorneys for the 21-year-old Eastover resident already have said he would 
plead guilty if the government opts against capital punishment.

U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel urged prosecutors during a hearing Thursday 
in downtown Charleston to inform him promptly of any development so a trial 
date can be set.

"There are obviously important and alternate paths to go here based on that 
decision," the judge said.

Roof's federal charges in the June 17 shooting of 9 black parishioners at the 
Calhoun Street church include civil rights violations. Officials have called 
the shooting a hate crime.

Because of the delays in the federal case, Roof is likely to be tried 1st in 
state court in July. State prosecutors already have said they would pursue the 
death penalty.

Thursday's hearing in federal court served as a chance for Roof's defense team 
and prosecutors to update Gergel on the status of the case. Roof, who remains 
at Charleston County's jail, was not there.

Attorneys did not address the prosecution of Roof's friend, 21-year-old Joey 
Meek of Lexington County, whose trial was delayed earlier this month as his 
lawyers continue to pore over evidence. Meek faces up to 8 years in prison on 2 
felony counts of not alerting police when Roof talked about his scheme and of 
later lying to FBI agents about how much he knew.

Evidence in the cases continues to flow at a steady clip.

Roof's defense team, led by attorney David Bruck, last month got a hard drive 
full of data, and the FBI has since authored more reports, Richardson said.

While Richardson said the government would be ready for a trial soon, Bruck 
said his ability to defend his client depends on the death penalty decision. A 
trial could be avoided, he said, if Roof pleads guilty and gets life in prison.

Roof already had waived his right to a speedy trial because his lawyers need 
time to review "vast amounts" of evidence to defend him in a death penalty 
trial, Bruck said.

"He has offered to plead guilty," said Bruck, who also represented Tsarnaev in 
the Boston trial. "Everybody knows that. That has been the position since the 
1st day of this case. The only issue is the government's decision to accept 
that plea."

Federal prosecutors have said that they planned to send their case to U.S. 
Attorney General Loretta Lynch's office in December. The Justice Department's 
Review Committee on Capital Cases typically makes a recommendation to Lynch 
within 90 days.

Though 2 representatives of the department's Civil Rights Division, which 
typically leads such prosecutions, attended Thursday's hearing, Richardson 
answered the judge's questions. The prosecutor said that many people must give 
input and express opinions before a decision is made.

"We feel like we are much closer," he said.

(source: The Post and Courier)

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

Unjust, inaccurate and expensive: The case against the death penalty


Many people believe that only guilty criminals get the death sentence. However, 
this is not true at all.

According to Michael McLaughlin's Huffington Post article "Shocking Number of 
Innocent People Sentenced To Death, Study Finds," more than 4 % of death row 
inmates are actually innocent. This points to a huge flaw in our court systems.

On top of this, most death row inmates are convicted without any incriminating 
DNA evidence.

If the United States courts put innocent people on death row with no DNA 
evidence, then why do we bother with "innocent until proven guilty?"

>From 1989 to 2012, The United States court system wrongly convicted over 2,000 
death row inmates. What most supporters of the death penalty do not realize is 
that every execution costs approximately 2 to 3 million dollars to be processed 
and carried out. If you multiply 2 million dollars by the 2,000 inmates wrongly 
convicted and sentenced to death row, you would find an extra four billion 
dollars that our country has wasted by murdering our own innocent people over 
the course of only 23 years. This is money our country cannot afford to waste.

Recent studies have shown that most of the people on death row are male, black, 
poor and younger than the average citizen. For example, from 1976 to 2012, 20 
white men were sentenced to death for the murder of African Americans. If you 
compare that to the 253 African Americans sentenced to death for the murder of 
white victims, you will notice that black Americans are judged and punished 
much more severely than white criminals for similar crimes. These racial 
differences imply that white lives are more important than black lives and that 
white deaths are taken more seriously.

If the government is persuaded by racism, how can we expect racism to end in 
our everyday society? For example, let's take a look at the case of Mahmood 
Mattan, a black man convicted for the murder of Lily Volpert, a local 
storeowner.

One day, Lily was sitting outside the back door of her shop when she noticed a 
"colored man" looking around inside. She went inside to help him and he 
continued on his way. Later in the day, an older woman entered the store and 
reported a "colored man" lingering outside of the shop. When the next customer 
entered Lily's shop, Lily was lying on the floor with her throat cut and over 
$100 stolen out of her drawer.

3 hours later, Mattan was arrested. Although there were no eyewitnesses, the 
prosecution accused Mattan of lying, their logic being that the only reason he 
would have to lie would be to cover "murderous activities."

Of the 41 witnesses who testified against Mr. Mattan, only 2 of them had 
evidence. He was found guilty and sentenced to death. 46 years after his 
execution, evidence was found that Mahmood Mattan was innocent and the court 
sent their apologies to his family. Mattan was executed due to the stereotype 
associated with the color of his skin.

Now let's take a look at how the execution of innocent people affects both the 
victims and the executed victim's families. Although the death penalty is meant 
to punish the criminal and give justice to the victim, the family members of 
both the criminal and the victim are often punished as well. For example, 
family members of the victim report that instead of giving them closure, the 
long appeals process of the death penalty prolongs their suffering. Both the 
family of the executed and the family of the victim often experience symptoms 
such as depression, grief, post-traumatic stress disorder and even suicide. 
Children of the innocently executed may have difficulty with healthy 
relationships, social situations and truancy.

The execution of the innocent is a major problem in the United States today. 
However, this is a problem that has a solution. I strongly believe that we 
should abolish the death penalty. Instead of execution, murderous prisoners 
should receive a sentence without a deadline. Not only does wrongful execution 
cause the United States to spend millions of dollars, but it also divides us 
among ourselves, separating us into whites and blacks. We need to stand 
together to make a change.

(source: Opinion, Jamie Pitera, The Miami Student)