[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----OHIO, N.MEX., COLO., IDAHO

[Rick Halperin]

March 1



OHIO:

Court to hear arguments in Ohio death penalty resentencing


The Ohio Supreme Court plans to hear arguments next month on the death penalty 
resentencing of a man convicted of plotting the killing of his girlfriend's 
ex-husband.

The court has scheduled a hearing for April 19 on a judge's 2012 order that 
Nathaniel Jackson be put to death for the 2001 murder of Robert Fingerhut near 
Warren in northeastern Ohio.

The 44-year-old Jackson was first sentenced to death in 2002. That sentence was 
overturned after the state Supreme Court reprimanded a judge and prosecutor for 
teaming up to write sentencing orders for Jackson and Jackson's co-defendant, 
Donna Roberts.

Authorities say Jackson shot Fingerhut twice in the back and once in the head 
after Roberts let Jackson into the home to wait for Fingerhut to return.

(source: Associated Press)

**********

Surviving victim can testify in Eric Hendon's triple-murder case; Summit County 
judge denies defense request for sanctions


The surviving victim in a triple murder will have her day in court.

Summit County Common Pleas Court Judge Amy Corrigall Jones on Monday denied a 
request for sanctions against Summit County prosecutors in Eric Hendon's murder 
case. One of the requested sanctions would have barred Ronda Blankenship, who 
survived the shooting rampage that left her boyfriend and his 2 teen-age 
children dead, from testifying.

Blankenship was pleased by Jones' long-awaited decision on the sanctions 
question.

"She definitely wants to testify," said Elizabeth Well, an attorney for the 
Ohio Crime Victim Justice Center who is representing Blankenship. "She was very 
happy."

Hendon's defense attorneys claimed sanctions were warranted because of 
prosecutors withholding evidence in Hendon's case and being uncooperative about 
information sought from Blankenship. The other sanctions defense attorneys 
Brian Pierce and Don Malarcik sought were a dismissal of the charges against 
Hendon or the removal of the death-penalty specification.

Prosecutors, however, argued they had taken the required steps in the case and 
that the sanctions weren't warranted.

Corrigall Jones agreed in her brief written order.

"We have complied with all of the court's orders, followed the law in this case 
and provided the defense with all evidence they are entitled to," said Brad 
Gessner, chief counsel for Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh. "We 
will continue to stand with and fight for the victim in this case."

Malarcik, though, said he and Pierce are looking out for the best interest of 
their client in the capital case.

"We will continue to fight for a fair trial on behalf of Eric Hendon and insist 
that the prosecutor's office plays by the rules," he said.

Jury selection is underway in Hendon's trial, with testimony expected to start 
in late March.

Eric Hendon and his younger brother, Michael, were charged in the New Year's 
Eve 2013 shooting spree at the Barberton home of 42-year-old John Kohler, 
Blankenship's boyfriend. Kohler; his stepdaughter, Ashley Carpenter, 18; and 
her brother, David Carpenter-Kohler, 14, died of gunshot wounds to the head 
during a home invasion for a stash of marijuana and drug money. Blankenship was 
stabbed in the cheek and shot in the head, losing her left eye.

Michael Hendon was convicted of multiple counts of aggravated murder and 
sentenced to life in prison with no parole.

Blankenship was a key witness in Michael Hendon's trial, testifying that Eric 
Hendon was the principal offender. However, an entry in Blankenship's diary 
that surfaced in October showed she identified Michael Hendon as the family's 
attacker. Prosecutors say she simply mixed up the names but has been consistent 
in her physical descriptions of her attackers.

The journal entry led defense attorneys to seek Blankenship's medical and 
psychological records, any electronic devices she used to communicate about the 
case and her email and social-media passwords.

Concerned about the personal information being sought, Blankenship contacted 
the Ohio Crime Victim Justice Center, a nonprofit organization based in 
Columbus that provides legal help to victims in criminal proceedings.

Well has filed 2 appeals with the Ninth District Court of Appeals challenging 
Corrigall Jones' initial order for Blankenship's personal items and the release 
of her medical records to attorneys.

(source: ohio.com)






NEW MEXICO:

Death-penalty repeal put guards', cops' lives on line


Now that a plot by convicted murderers to kill the head of the New Mexico 
prison system and his top intelligence chief has been uncovered by the FBI, 
it's worth harkening back to New Mexico's repeal of the death penalty and 
then-Gov. Bill Richardson's celebrated trip to the Roman Colosseum to bask in 
the glow of humanitarianism.

In March 2009, the Journal recommended that state legislators and the governor 
preserve the death penalty at minimum for the murder of law enforcement and 
corrections officers, because "when you put on a uniform and a badge you should 
also be able to put on a little extra protection against people who would kill 
you just because you wear that uniform and that badge. You shouldn't be set up 
and abandoned by a system that puts your life on the line - and no one else's."

But the Legislature and Richardson fully repealed the death penalty that year, 
and in doing so, they set up and abandoned the likes of Corrections Secretary 
Gregg Marcantel and his Security Threat Intelligence Unit chief Dwayne 
Santiestevan. Now a federal indictment charges 3 convicted and incarcerated 
murderers with conspiring with a convicted drug trafficker on the outside to 
kill Marcantel and Santiestevan.

And why not? They've got nothing to lose.

Anthony "Pup" Ray Baca, 52, Roy Paul Martinez, 43, Robert Martinez, 51, and 
Christopher Garcia, 40, have pleaded not guilty to the charges; Garcia isn't 
charged in the conspiracy to kill Santiestevan. All 4 are alleged members of 
the Syndicato de Nuevo Mexico, a prison gang formed in the aftermath of the 
deadly 1980 New Mexico state penitentiary riot.

It bears noting that while 33 inmates were gruesomely murdered in that riot, no 
guards were killed. New Mexico had the death penalty then, with killing a law 
enforcement officer in the line of duty one of the "aggravated circumstances" 
that made a crime death-eligible.

Now SNM, New Mexico's largest and most violent prison gang known for ordering 
"hits" on fellow inmates, has allegedly branched out and up when it comes to 
targets. That's likely because state law no longer differentiates between the 
murder of an incarcerated killer and a law-abiding citizen entrusted with 
keeping society safe from killers. But it should.

In the A&E TV series "Behind Bars: Rookie Year," a New Mexico corrections 
officer says, "The No. 1 most important part about prison gangs is 'mess with 
them and God only knows what will happen.' I know a lot of these guys; they 
have the ability to reach out and touch somebody."

According to the federal indictment, and thanks in part to New Mexico no longer 
protecting its law enforcement and corrections officers from murderers, they 
have tried.

(source: Editorial Albuquerque Jounral)






COLORADO:

Attempt to allow 'death penalty phase' retrial in class 1 felony cases dies in 
committee


A bill that would have allowed a second jury to "retry" the aggravation and 
penalty phases of a death penalty case, in the event the original jury couldn't 
reach a unanimous verdict, died in committee Monday afternoon.

Death penalty advocates say it's an issue that could still end up before 
voters.

House Bill 16-1233, sponsored by Rep. Kim Ransom, R-Douglas County, would have 
changed the sentencing process for class 1 felonies when the death penalty is 
being sought.

It would have created an aggravation phase requiring the prosecution to prove 
one or more aggravating circumstances beyond a reasonable doubt.

It would have also created a penalty phase where the defendant had the burden 
to prove one or more mitigating circumstances by a preponderance of evidence, 
with the jury determining unanimously whether the mitigating circumstances call 
for leniency.

If jurors couldn't reach a unanimous verdict, the bill established a procedure 
for a (single) retrial of the aggravation and penalty phases.

18th Judicial District Attorney George Brauchler said the bill would have "put 
us closer" to getting a realistic shot at justice.

"In the State of Colorado, we have an extra step that no one else has," 
Brauchler said. "Jurors can substitute their own individual, reasoned moral 
judgment for any factual or legal findings they previously found. This is a 
bill that says, 'listen, if we're going to have such a subjective, different 
situation to get through, 1 person shouldn't be allowed to hang up the 
process.'"

The DA was referring to the theater shooting case where jurors determined that 
James Holmes was guilty of multiple counts of 1st Degree Murder and that there 
were multiple aggravating factors, but still 1 juror held out against the death 
penalty.

But opponents of the bill said allowing a 2nd jury to come in and retry the 
aggravation and penalty phase would have disrespected the original jury's 
overall decision.

"We shouldn't basically say, 'well, you didn't reach the right verdict, so 
we're going to throw out your decision,'" said Peter Severson of the Lutheran 
Advocacy Ministry of Colorado. "Our belief, as a church, is that it should not 
be easier to reach a death penalty verdict. The system we have in place is 
there for a reason. We should respect the conscientious decision of those 
jurors."

One of the jurors in the Holmes case feels otherwise.

"I gave 4 months of my life to that case," she said. "It came down to one 
person overruling the others. That shouldn't be the end of it," she said.

But there wasn't enough support in the House State, Veterans and Military 
Affairs Committee to make the change. Lawmakers voted 6 to 3 to postpone the 
bill indefinitely.

(source: thedenverchannel.com)






IDAHO:

Decision whether Jacob Lyn Marshall will face death penalty moved to end of 
March


The decision that whether Jacob Lyn Marshall will face the death penalty has 
been extended until March 31, 2016. Twin Falls prosecutor Grant Loebs said that 
he requested the extension because the investigation is not complete. Marshall, 
of Jackson, is accused of killing Kent Storrer on July 25, 2015.

The deadline for a trial was originally set for Dec. 31, 2015. Then the judge 
granted another extension until Feb. 29. Marshall waived his right to a speedy 
trial in October when his defense attorney asked for the initial extension.

(source: KMVT news)