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

[Rick Halperin]

July 19



CALIFORNIA:

The Deterrence Myth: Prop 66 Death Penalty 'Reform' is just 'Fools Gold' for 
Californians


When Mike Ramos, the current district attorney for San Bernardino County (and 
candidate for California Attorney General), pleaded for Californians to send 
him one million dollars at the end of April -- so he could afford "paid 
petition gatherers" to collect enough signatures to qualify "the Death Penalty 
Reform and Savings Act of 2016" for placement on the November 8 ballot -- he 
asserted, "the threat, and application, of a working death penalty law in 
California is law enforcement's strongest tool to keep our communities safe."

Other than the proverbial bridge in Brooklyn, no bigger, more bald-faced 
balderdash has heretofore been sold to Californian voters.

Eviscerating the myth that the death penalty acts as a valuable deterrent, the 
Washington Post's Max Ehrenfreund soberly observed in 2014, that "there's still 
no evidence that executions deter criminals." Delving into scientific studies 
done on the subject for Newsweek, including a 2012 study by the National 
Academy of Sciences (comprised of our nation's brightest scientific minds), 
Stanford Law Professor John Donohue's assessment of the death penalty's 
deterrent value at the end of last summer was even bleaker. In a column called, 
"Does the death penalty deter killers?," Donohue resoundingly concluded: "There 
is not the slightest credible statistical evidence that capital punishment 
reduces the rate of homicide."

Instead of continuing such a deeply flawed policy, Donohue wrote: "A better way 
to address the problem of homicide is to take the resources that would 
otherwise be wasted in operating a death penalty regime and use them on 
strategies that are known to reduce crime, such as hiring and properly training 
police officers and solving crime." (Formerly a professor at Yale and 
Northwestern Law School, Donohue is one of the leading empirical researchers in 
legal academia.)

The shibboleth that the death penalty acts as a deterrent is just 1 of many 
reasons why "Proposition 66, 'The Death Penalty Reform and Savings Act of 
2016,' is Fool's Gold for Californians."

Savvy, streetwise, sophisticated Californians have a superlatively better, more 
effective alternative to vote for, called Proposition 62, "The Justice That 
Works Act of 2016." Proposition 62 would (1) replace the death penalty with 
life in prison without the possibility of parole; (2) require death row inmates 
to work and pay wages to their victims' families; and (3) save taxpayers a 
projected $150 million dollars a year.

Apart from finally ending California's ignominious and failed experiment with 
capital punishment -- making us a standard-bearer for other states where 
already, "practically speaking, the death penalty is disappearing" - do you 
know what's best about Proposition 62?

Unlike Proposition 66, the prospective benefits of Proposition 62 are not 
illusory, based on a bunch of baloney, glorified ballyhoo, or like death 
penalty proponents' deterrence argument - bunk.

(source: Stephen A. Cooper is a former D.C. public defender who worked as an 
assistant federal public defender in Alabama between 2012 and 
2015----citywatchla.com)






USA:

Roof's mental state emerging as key issue in Charleston church killings ---- 
State of mind would come into play when jurors weight death penalty or life in 
prison without parole


The mental state of Dylann Roof of Columbia, an avowed white supremacist, has 
emerged as a key issue in his upcoming federal death penalty trial for killing 
9 African-American church members.

Prosecutors and defense lawyers discussed procedural issues connected to Roof's 
state of mind at a hearing Monday before U.S. Judge Richard Gergel without 
revealing details about what conditions he might have.

Roof, 22, is scheduled to go on trial Nov. 7 for the hate crime killings at 
Mother Emanuel AME church in Charleston.

Before the June 2015 church shootings, Roof published a manifesto on the 
Internet in which he said he was going to start a race war.

His state of mind would come into play when jurors deliberate whether to 
recommend the death penalty or life in prison without parole.

His lead attorney, David Bruck, has repeatedly said Roof will plead guilty in 
return for a sentence of life without parole.

That offer came after Roof confessed to law enforcement to killing the 9 
parishioners during a Bible study meeting, with evidence against him also 
appearing to be overwhelming. The gun that Roof is said to have used has been 
recovered.

Much of the hearing was devoted to discussing when and how much of the results 
of separate pre-trial mental tests of Roof conducted by the prosecutors and 
defense lawyers would be divulged to each other in advance of the death penalty 
phase of the trial.

Evidence offered by defense lawyers against the death penalty is called 
"mitigation" evidence. Much of that, according to the discussion and filings, 
will revolve around results of current and future mental health tests of Roof.

Bruck agreed when Gergel asked "Am I right to say they (Roof's mitigation 
defenses) would fall under the broad umbrella of mental health issues?"

It is unknown what type of mental health issues will be presented at trial.

As part of the pre-trial jockeying by opposing lawyers, the timing of when to 
give mental health test results to the other side is a key issue.

Gergel ordered mental health examinations to be videotaped, but said he will 
decide later whether to delete some sections of video - as opposed to the audio 
- if thought to infringe on Roof's right to a fair trial.

Jury selection is scheduled to start Nov. 7. The trial is expected to go 
through Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons.

Roof, who waived his right to appear in court Monday, is scheduled to go to 
trial in state court in mid-January. Solicitor Scarlett Wilson is also seeking 
the death penalty on murder charges.

Gergel ordered Monday that the jury pool in the upcoming federal trial will be 
drawn from an area roughly south of a line from Georgetown County on the coast 
to Aiken County.

More than 20 relatives of those killed were at the hearing.

(source: thestate.com)