[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, ME., DEL., FLA.

[Rick Halperin]

Jan. 26



TEXAS----impending execution

Media Advisory: James Garrett Freeman scheduled for execution


Pursuant to an order entered by the 329th Judicial District Court of Wharton 
County, James Garrett Freeman is scheduled for execution after 6:00 p.m. on 
January 27, 2016.

On March 16, 2007, James Garrett Freeman shot and killed Texas Game Warden 
Justin Hurst, an on-duty peace officer. On November 7, 2008, the 329th Judicial 
District Court of Wharton County, Texas entered a judgment of conviction 
against him for capital murder and sentenced him to death. On January 25, 2016, 
the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles voted not to recommend a commutation of 
sentence.

FACTS OF THE CRIME

On March 16, 2007, Texas Game Warden Jonathan Blackburn attempted to pull over 
Freeman suspecting that he discharged a gun from his truck. Freeman fled and 
led officers on a ninety-minute chase ranging in speeds from 45 to 100 miles 
per hour. After officers disabled Freeman's truck with spike strips, he emerged 
from the vehicle firing handgun at officers, emptying the magazine. Officers 
returned fire as Freeman used his vehicle for cover. Freeman then fired an 
AK-47 assault rifle at the officers. Game Warden Justin Hurst attempted to 
return fire, and Freeman shot and killed him.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On November 7, 2008, Freeman was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to 
death in the 329th Judicial District Court of Wharton County, Texas. The Court 
of Criminal Appeals (CCA) affirmed the conviction and sentence on direct appeal 
in a published opinion on March 16, 2011. The Supreme Court denied his petition 
for certiorari on January 17, 2012. The CCA denied his state application for 
writ of habeas corpus on December 12, 2012.

Freeman then filed a habeas petition in federal district court. The United 
State District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, 
denied his claims, dismissed his federal habeas petition, and denied him a 
Certificate of Appealability (COA) on December 22, 2014. The Fifth Circuit also 
denied a COA on June 9, 2015. Finally, the Supreme Court denied his petition 
for a writ of certiorari on January 11, 2016.

On August 12, 2015, the 329th Judicial District Court of Wharton County entered 
an Execution Order and issued a Death Warrant setting Freeman???s execution for 
January 27, 2016 after 6:00 p.m.

(source: texasattorneygeneral.gov.)

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

Wharton County death row inmate denied clemency


The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles denied clemency on Monday for a Wharton 
County man who killed a game warden.

James Garrett Freeman's execution is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday.

Freeman, who has been on death row since 2008, is requesting that he be granted 
a life sentence instead.

The board's vote not to recommend Gov. Greg Abbott grant Freeman clemency was 
unanimous, Public Information Director Raymond Estrada said.

Freeman was convicted for the March 17, 2007, capital murder of Justin Hurst.

Freemen led law enforcement on a 2-hour chase after another game warden 
attempted to pull him over after observing Freeman shoot a bird on a fence with 
a .22-caliber rifle.

The chase ended with a shootout near the Lissie Cemetery, in which a pistol and 
an AK-47 were used. Hurst, 34, was struck by a bullet.

Wharton County First Assistant District Attorney Nathan Wood said clemency is 
not about raising legal issues with one's case but persuading the governor to 
do something other than what the court decided.

Clemency is not often granted, but Freeman, 35, has exhausted his appeals, Wood 
said.

"Death penalty litigation is only limited by the creativity of the attorney for 
an inmate scheduled for execution," he said.

"There are examples in history of last minute filings that have resulted in a 
stay of execution, which is why we can't ever say, 'it looks like the execution 
is going to go forward as scheduled.' You can just never tell."

"I am both pleased and grateful for the board's decision as I believe his 
sentence is just," Wharton County District Attorney Ross Kurtz added.

The attorney who sent the request for clemency to the Board, Donald Vernay, of 
Rio Rancho, N.M., could not be reached for comment Monday afternoon.

(source: Victoria Advocate)






MAINE:

In a radio interview expressing his support for the death penalty, Maine Gov. 
Paul LePage says with a laugh that he wants to use the guillotine to execute 
drug traffickers


The governor's office said Tuesday the remark on WVOM was just a joke to 
illustrate his support for tougher penalties for drug crimes.

During the interview, LePage laughed when he talked about using the guillotine 
to chop off the heads of drug dealers at public executions.

"I think what we ought to do is bring the guillotine back," he said.

LePage in the past has voiced his support for the death penalty for drug 
dealers. The Legislature, however, has a long history of rejecting capital 
punishment, which was abolished in 1887 in response to a botched hanging.

(source: Associated Press)






DELAWARE:

Death penalty repeal to get House hearing Jan. 28


Death penalty repeal will get a vote in the state House of Representatives 
Thursday.

Senate Bill 40, sponsored by Sen. Karen Peterson, D-Stanton, and Rep. Sean M. 
Lynn, D-Dover, eliminates capital punishment in the state, except for those 
convicted of 1st-degree murder before the act goes into effect.

The state has 14 men on death row, all convicted of 1st-degree murder.

SB 40 has faced fierce opposition from Delaware's law enforcement community, 
including Speaker Peter C. Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth, a retired state trooper.

Introduced in the Senate in March, the bill barely passed April 2 by an 11-9 
vote. Assigned to the House Judiciary Committee 2 weeks later, it appeared to 
be stalled until Jan. 21, when committee Chairman Larry Mitchell, D-Elsmere, 
voted in favor of sending it to the full House.

Mitchell said he still opposes the legislation, but wanted it to get a proper 
hearing.

"As a retired New Castle County police officer, I am personally opposed to 
repealing capital punishment," he said in a statement. "However, it is clear to 
me that this issue deserves to be presented to all members of the House for 
debate and an up-or-down vote.

"Some of my fellow colleagues in the Democratic caucus want to see this bill on 
the House floor, and I agree with them."

Lynn said he was pleased.

"I would like to thank Rep. Mitchell for recognizing the importance of bringing 
this bill forward and Speaker Schwartzkopf for keeping his commitment to 
putting SB 40 on the floor for a debate and up-or-down vote," Lynn said in a 
statement.

In the past, Lynn has called the death penalty "intellectually, morally and 
legally bankrupt."

"I feel strongly that capital punishment has no place in our criminal justice 
system today," he added. "I hope that my colleagues will have a healthy and 
civil debate on this important issue."

Delaware abolished capital punishment in 1958 and reinstated it in 1961 when 
the General Assembly overrode a veto by Gov. Elbert N. Carvel.

Gov. Jack Markell has said he supports efforts to pass SB 40.

Delaware's death penalty could come under additional review following a recent 
U.S. Supreme Court ruling. Ruling in a Florida case, the justices said a state 
law that allows judges instead of juries to impose capital punishment was 
unconstitutional. Delaware has a similar law, according to the state Department 
of Justice.

(source: Sussex Countian)






FLORIDA:

Death penalty needs unanimous juries


The Florida Legislature is on deck to respond to the U.S. Supreme Court's Hurst 
v. Florida opinion striking down Florida's capital case sentencing process on 
the opening day of the 2016 state legislative session.

The nation's high court held Florida's process violated the Sixth Amendment 
under Ring v. Arizona (2002) that requires juries, not judges, to determine the 
requisite number of aggravating factors in any given capital case, essentially 
the legal threshold to impose a death sentence.

In some respects, the Legislature has been on deck since 2005 when the Florida 
Supreme Court decided State v. Steele, which distinguished Ring while urging 
the Legislature to require unanimous juries to recommend death sentences. 
Florida is an outlier - the only state among 31 remaining death penalty states 
that allowed penalty phase juries to render advisory verdicts involving both 
the presence of aggravators and recommendations of death by 7-5 votes.

A unanimous jury is required to convict at trial, and all other states except 
Alabama and Delaware require some form of unanimity in penalty phase 
proceedings.

Before Hurst, penalty phase jurors considered an arguably unwieldy number of 
aggravators enumerated in Florida law without specifying. Hypothetically, 7 
jurors could find different aggravators and five find none, which in practical 
terms was sufficient to recommend death despite no specific agreement on any 
aggravator.

In 2006, an American Bar Association released a report that incorporated issues 
raised in Ring and Steele along with a range of other concerns involving the 
fairness, accuracy and impartiality of Florida's death penalty process - it 
took no position on capital punishment.

In 2013, The Florida Bar Board of Governors reached consensus in support of 
state officials conducting a comprehensive review of Florida's entire death 
penalty process by all branches of government, which it reaffirmed last year 
and was one we initially proposed in 2011. Essentially, no such review has been 
conducted in Florida. Like the ABA report, the Florida Bar addressed process 
issues not capital punishment per se.

The ABA passed a resolution last year urging all states to require unanimity 
for these purposes.

Some claim requiring unanimous jury recommendations would allow serial killers 
like Ted Bundy and Aileen Wuornos to avoid death sentences because their 
penalty phase juries weren't unanimous. Not necessarily. Research by Scott 
Sundby from the University of Miami School of Law indicates if unanimity is 
required more rigorous analysis ensues which changes the nature of the 
deliberations - when 9 or more jurors favor a death sentence the likelihood of 
achieving unanimity is greater when a jury is so charged.

While Hurst doesn't specifically address unanimity, a logical place for the 
Legislature to begin is a bill we helped shape that would require unanimity for 
findings of specific aggravators and recommendations of death. Sen. Thad 
Altman, a Viera Republican, has filed this bill repeatedly over the past 
several sessions - it can be readily modified to address Hurst.

On Feb. 2, Florida's high court will hear oral arguments regarding how broadly 
Hurst should apply to Florida's death row population of nearly 400 within the 
context of a case wherein Gov. Rick Scott signed a death warrant and a Feb. 11 
execution date is pending.

The state will likely argue for limited application. Others will assert Hurst 
should be applied broadly given Florida's sentencing scheme was declared 
unconstitutional.

When the Senate Criminal Justice Committee convenes Wednesday to take on the 
work necessary to restore Florida's process, taking a minimalist approach - a 
tack generally favored by prosecutors and Florida's attorney general - could 
risk further constitutional attack given the unanimity issue alone, apart from 
various other process concerns noted in credible studies like the 2006 ABA 
report.

Regardless of whether one supports or opposes capital punishment, justice would 
be well-served if the Legislature were to require unanimous penalty phase 
juries and respond favorably to The Florida Bar's call for a comprehensive 
review when addressing the constitutional infirmities specifically raised by 
the U.S. Supreme Court in Hurst.

(source: Op-Ed; Raoul Cantero is a former state Supreme Court justice and now 
practices law in Miami. Mark Schlakman is senior program director for Florida 
State University's Center for the Advancement of Human Rights, and served on 
the ABA's Florida Death Penalty Assessment Team----News-Press)