[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----PENN., VA., N.C., GA., FLA., ALA., TENN.

[Rick Halperin]

March 18



PENNSYLVANIA:

Death penalty warrant delayed for Millcreek man


The warrant in Erie County's only active death penalty case is now delayed just 
2 days after it was signed.

Earlier this week, the death warrant was signed for 46 year old Stephen 
Treiber, the Millcreek man convicted of the arson death of his 2 year old 
daughter.

The stay of execution was granted because Treiber has appealed his case to 
federal court.

Only 3 people have been executed in Pennsylvania since the late 70's, and all 3 
dropped their appeals.

(source: yourerie.com)






VIRGINIA:

The death penalty does not bring closure----Foregoing the death penalty for 
Jesse Matthew is the best way to ensure justice and peace


In the fall of 2014, the University and surrounding community mourned the loss 
of then-2nd-year student Hannah Graham. When investigators connected cab driver 
Jesse Matthew to the abduction and murder of Hannah Graham, he was charged with 
1st-degree murder. Originally, Matthew was set for trial on July 5, but on 
March 2, 2016, Matthew had a hearing in which he pleaded guilty to the killings 
of Hannah Graham and Morgan Harrington. While this plea deal resulted in the 
withdrawal of a murder charge against Matthew, he was sentenced to 4 
consecutive life sentences, for which there is absolutely no prospect of 
parole. Matthew is off the grid, for good. It is reasonable to believe Matthew 
only pleaded guilty in an effort to escape the fate of the death penalty. It is 
reasonable to believe it is unfair for a man who cut short the life of a young 
woman to avoid the highest capital punishment for his crimes. Yet, plea 
bargains provide healing for the family and friends left in the wake of adverse 
events and cease a cycle of violence that would have otherwise continued with 
the criminal's execution.

Parents of both Graham and Harrington have expressed their gratitude for this 
plea bargain, as they will not have to endure the torment and pain of a month's 
long trial in the midst of their continued healing. John Graham, father of 
Hannah Graham, spoke out on the decision in an article on the matter: "Our 
overriding priority was that Matthew will never be able again to inflict his 
depravity on young women. Matthew's deeds show that he is far too dangerous 
ever to be allowed to be free." This plea will spare continued anguish for the 
families and friends who have had to endure immeasurable amounts of pain over 
the past year and a half. I believe if Matthew had been sentenced with the 
death penalty, we would be continuing this cycle of violence (in essence, 
capitulating to criminal negligence and irrationality.) It does not seem 
logical that families and friends can receive total closure by witnessing the 
execution of another human being, as that is what happened to their very own 
loved one. There is no doubt a criminal of this capacity should be punishable 
to the utmost degree, but I do not think we have the right to kill.

In 2005, Matthew was also accused of attacking and attempting to murder a 
Fairfax woman identified as "RG." He pleaded guilty, yes, but before doing so, 
he made the victim testify, made her relive the horror she had been trying to 
escape from since its occurrence. He made her fly around the world to tell a 
courtroom what happened to her on that fateful day. She had to look at his face 
again. Then, and only then, did he admit to the evidence. In order to get 
Matthew to this point of submission, this woman had to relive her worst 
nightmare that had become a reality all those years ago. Since Matthew pleaded 
guilty at his hearing, the Graham and Harrington families do not have to suffer 
again like the first victim did. Without this woman having the courage to 
testify, he may not have pleaded and gotten to this point of closure.

Thus, plea bargains play a major role in the avoidance of the death penalty, 
which validates their usefulness in the justice system. Yet, Susan Funaro 
challenges this notion when she asks, "If the deal removes the murderer from 
society for life, isn't it the best form of justice served?" I do not see how 
justice is adequately served here, for a sentence to execution is in essence 
modeling the behavior it ultimately seeks to prevent: killing.

Philosopher Immanuel Kant believes "whoever has committed murder, must die," 
for there is no other substitute for the "satisfaction of justice." But, if the 
alternative can allow further healing and comfort to those who suffer the most 
pain, we must not kill solely in the name of justice, for the family and 
friends left behind are not receiving proper closure by witnessing the killing 
of another human being, which is what brought them to this point in the first 
place. In cases comparable to those of Graham and Harrington, the decision 
seems to fulfill the expressed satisfaction of justice. Barry Scheck 
participated in a debate on the role of the death penalty in our society, 
rightfully asserting that "This system is incapable not just of determining 
who's guilty or innocent in the final analysis ... but reliably figuring out 
who should die or who shouldn't. We shouldn't be tinkering with the machinery 
of death." Ending the cycle of violence brings justice and peace to those who 
are left to bear the pain of the loss of a loved one.

(source: Opinion; Lucy Siegel is a Viewpoint writer----The (Univ. Va.) Cavalier 
Daily)






NORTH CAROLINA:

Remembering our friend Darryl Hunt


Darryl Hunt, who died March 13, was a long-time employee of the N.C. Coalition 
for Alternatives to the Death Penalty and a tireless warrior in the fight to 
end North Carolina's death penalty. Tarrah Callahan was Darryl's co-worker and, 
more importantly, his friend. This post appeared originally on NCCADP's blog.

On Sunday, I looked around the room at Emmanuel Baptist Church with pain and 
joy at the more than 150 people who, with just a few hours' notice, had rushed 
to Winston-Salem to honor Darryl Hunt. Person after person stood up to share a 
story or an experience about how Darryl had changed their lives. I struggled to 
come up with one story that encompassed Darryl, and I just couldn't. There are 
too many layers of the complicated person that was Darryl Hunt.

He was the most genuine and authentic person I've ever known. His courage and 
commitment to being "a voice to the voiceless" was unrivaled. Every time I 
talked to him, he was putting up money from his own personal account to help 
anyone he could. When we found out that an execution date had been set for Troy 
Davis in Georgia, Darryl called me and said we had to get buses of students 
down to march in Atlanta for Troy. When it looked like we weren't going to be 
able to raise funds to cover the buses, Darryl just called the company and paid 
for them himself. When I arrived at Emmanuel Baptist Church the following 
morning, I saw huge crowds of people waiting to get on the buses. On that 
Sunday, as on this past one, they showed up at the church with only a few 
hours' notice. When it came to setting the agenda for the fight for justice, 
Darryl spoke and people listened.

To truly know Darryl was to acknowledge his complicated soul. He was wrongfully 
incarcerated at such a young age. He became a man in prison, without the 
benefit of free will to figure out who he was. But even without the ability to 
make the simplest decisions by himself, Darryl Hunt always knew exactly who he 
was. And he never wavered.

We would fight sometimes because I would get so frustrated at his refusal to 
take care of himself. We stood vigil for Troy Davis' execution in Georgia just 
after Darryl suffered a massive stroke. As we waited in the excruciating heat, 
he would not stop to eat or take a break from the heat. Finally, after hours of 
pestering, we compromised and he agreed to drink some water and eat a Snickers 
bar. Darryl just couldn't be bothered by the inconvenience of taking care of 
himself. He was on a mission to change the world and ensuring his own 
well-being was an afterthought.

At the same time, Darryl was a simple man who wanted simple things. He loved to 
sit in the yard and watch the deer. He loved to fish. He loved to watch the 
same old Western movies he'd seen so many times that he'd memorized them. 
Crowds, attention, fame - all overwhelmed and embarrassed him. He didn't see 
himself as the rock star for justice that we all knew him to be.

We must acknowledge the systemic oppression that slowly crushed Darryl. So many 
of those close to him are blaming ourselves, wondering what we could have done 
to save him. How could a person who was so loved by so many feel alone? We must 
abandon this magical thinking. Darryl knew how much we loved him; he just 
couldn't escape the emotional and psychological torture that were his reality. 
And finally, in the midst of horrific pain from advanced cancer, he succumbed 
to the wounds that he had been ignoring for so long.

The world will not be the same without Darryl. But we will not let his legacy 
die with his physical body. We will continue to fight for the reforms he 
championed. We will remind the world that "innocence matters." And when we 
finally see the end of the death penalty, he will be with us to celebrate.

(source: Tarrah Callahan, ncpolicywatch.org)






GEORGIA-----impending execution

Vigil at Jackson prison March 31 for inmate Joshua Bishop


The execution of death row inmate Joshua Bishop is scheduled for Thursday, 
March 31, at 7 p.m. As part of an effort to increase the Catholic presence at 
death penalty prayer vigils, organizers have scheduled a bus trip that day for 
those who want to participate in a prayer vigil on the grounds of the Georgia 
Diagnostic and Classification State Prison in Jackson. All are welcome to 
participate.

On March 31, the evening will begin with a prayer service in the Chancery of 
the Archdiocese, 2401 Lake Park Drive, SE, Smyrna, at 4:15 p.m. The bus, 
sponsored by the archdiocesan Prison and Jail Ministry will depart at 4:30 p.m. 
from the Chancery and will return at approximately 10 p.m. A light snack and 
water bottles will be available. The ride is free.

The late Archbishop John F. Donoghue baptized Bishop in 1999 on death row. 
Since his baptism, Bishop has faithfully attended Mass every Thursday and has 
been a frequent participant in the sacraments.

Bishop is a talented artist and a leader in the death row Catholic community. 
He wrote an article for the Georgia Bulletin in 2014 about his friend, the late 
Father Austin Fogarty, and he was the subject of a 2nd article later that year. 
He is well known by clergy and lay volunteers alike.

(source: The Georgia Bulletin)






FLORIDA:

Judge moves Tisdale's sentencing date by a week


The sentencing date for the man convicted of gunning down St. Lucie County 
sheriff's Sgt. Gary Morales in 2013 has been moved from April 22 to April 29, 
court officials said Thursday.

Circuit Judge Dan Vaughn didn't give a reason for rescheduling the sentencing 
of Eriese Tisdale, 28, who in October was found guilty of 1st-degree murder of 
a law enforcement officer stemming from a Feb. 28, 2013 traffic stop in Fort 
Pierce.

A jury voted 9 to 3 in favor of recommending execution for Tisdale. The only 
other punishment option is life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Tisdale's sentencing has been pending for months after the U.S. Supreme Court 
in January ruled Florida's death penalty was unconstitutional. That 8-1 ruling 
came 3 days before Tisdale was to be sentenced.

The law was found unconstitutional because jurors served an advisory role while 
judges had the final say in death penalty cases. A new Florida law, which 
doesn't affect Tisdale's sentencing, was signed last month by Gov. Rick Scott. 
It requires at least 10 out of 12 jurors recommend execution for it to be 
carried out.

(source: TCPalm.com)

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

Death penalty back on the table for man accused of killing neighbors


A new ruling from a court of appeals has put the death penalty back on the 
table for a Brevard County man accused of killing his neighbors.

William Woodward was scheduled for trial last month, but his attorneys 
successfully argued that the only appropriate sentence for a conviction would 
be life in prison.

Woodward is charged in the 2012 Labor Day shooting deaths of Gary Lee Hembree 
and Roger Picior and the attempted murder of Timothy Blake.

A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling struck down Florida's procedure for imposing 
the death penalty, and Woodward's attorneys argued that, even if he was 
convicted, it wouldn't justify the death penalty.

"What the judge did was, back at the time, he simply noted the fact that there 
was no death penalty in effect at the particular time we were going to trial," 
Robert Berry, Woodward's attorney, said.

The state wanted the death penalty back on the table and the 5th District Court 
of Appeals ruled in the state's favor on Wednesday.

"The ruling means that the death penalty is still a viable option and on the 
table for any pending cases, but the 5th DCA has certified this question as one 
of great public importance, so it will be reviewed and a final decision will be 
made by the Florida Supreme Court," State Attorney Phil Archer said.

The defense said it's asking for a rehearing and if it's not granted one, it 
will seek review from the state Supreme Court. The defense has 14 days left to 
request a rehearing.

(source: WFTV news)

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

After law change prosecutors again seek death penalty against mom accused of 
murder


Now that Florida again has the death penalty a local mom accused of killing her 
son could once again be facing death.

Egypt Robinson's attorney previously asked the trial judge to take the death 
penalty off the table after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the method the 
state used to impose the penalty was unconstitutional.

State Lawmakers changed the rules this session and Gov. Rick Scott signed those 
changes into law. On Thursday Prosecutors filed a response saying that they 
could once again seek the death penalty for Robinson thanks to the change in 
the law.

Circuit Judge Michael Overstreet has not yet ruled on the motions.

Investigators say Robinson confessed to stabbing her 3-year-old son, Aries 
Acevedo in the abdomen, stuffing his body in a suitcase and then placing the 
suitcase in a pond behind her home in December.

Robinson is scheduled to appear in court on April 4. A trial date for her case 
has not been set.

(soruce: mypanhandle.com)






ALABAMA:

Man exonerated after 30 years in prison speaks at Neumann University


For approximately 30 years Anthony Ray Hinton was in jail waiting to be put to 
death for a crime he didn't commit.

The Alabama resident was convicted of 2 counts of capital murder in the deaths 
of 2 Birmingham restaurant workers who were killed during a robbery in 1985.

Aside from not being at the scene of the crime or even using a gun that used 
the same bullets prosecutors say were used in the murder, Hinton was convicted 
as the result of a racist southern judicial system.

With the help of the Equality Justice Initiative, Hinton was exonerated and 
released from prison on April 3, 2015.

Hinton spoke at Neumann University on Monday afternoon as the school's 2016 
criminal justice speaker, recanting his experiences of being a wrongly 
convicted man and his subsequent release.

Attorney Cathleen Price, who helped fight for his release with the EJI, 
introduced Hinton with a 5-minute video on his release that gave some insight 
into his life.

"That film can not show the 30 years of pure hell I went through," said Hinton, 
who spent almost his entire period of incarceration in a 5-foot by 7-foot 
isolation cell.

The period of hell started when his mother asked him to cut the grass at her 
house. Whilst in the middle of cutting, 2 detectives arrived at the house 
saying they had a warrant out for his arrest, not announcing for what crimes he 
allegedly committed. Hinton was identified by a white man who was shot by a 
black male in an unrelated robbery case.

When asked if he has a gun, he responded no, but he admitted that his mother 
owned a pistol which she kept in her room. It was taken from the house and 
incorrectly linked by the state to the use in the murders, therefore linking 
Hinton to the crime.

Claiming his innocence, a detective told him that it didn't matter because he 
was going to be convicted anyway for the following reasons: he was black; a 
white man is going to say he shot him whether he did or not; there will be a 
white prosecutor; there will be a white judge; and most likely an all-white 
jury. "I often tell people if I could meet that detective today I would reach 
out and shake his hand and tell him he was 4-out-of-5 correct," said Hinton, 
noting that maybe 3 jurors were black.

When he went to court and notified the judge he could not afford an attorney, 
he was appointed one.

"I didn't go to school for pro bono work," Hinton recalled his 1st attorney 
saying. "I remember the attorney looking at me and saying, 'all y'all always 
say you didn't do anything'." As he waited in jail for 2 years before the 
trial, Hinton said he only saw his attorney twice.

At trial, the attorney did not think he could afford a ballistics expert, so a 
visually-impaired civil engineer was brought in as Hinton's witness to testify 
that the bullets used in the crime were not the ones that could be used in his 
mother's gun, leading to no credible witness to oppose the state's stance that 
the bullets were a match. A polygraph test that Hinton passed was not allowed 
as evidence in the trial. He was convicted and sentenced to death.

Sometime later a lawyer was appointed to Hinton by the EJI, but after 3 years 
of work, the lawyer said he could get him life without parole. He was relieved 
of his duties.

"As I walked back to my cell, I was talking to myself and telling myself, 'I 
must be the dumbest person in the world. You just fired the only attorney you 
had,'" he said.

He eventually reached out to EJI's lead attorney Bryan Stevenson, who would 
meet with Hinton months later.

"From the moment I shook his hand I felt something that I've never felt before, 
and in that moment I knew, without a doubt, that God had sent me this vessel," 
he said.

Hinton asked Stevenson to find him a white ballistics expert in the south. Why?

"I knew a white a white man could understand the south," adding that lawyers 
from up north wouldn't "stand a chance" down there. He wanted someone to tell 
the truth.

Using more than 1 expert who said the bullets did not match, appellate courts 
refused to allow a new trial even with this new, crucial evidence.

Then came a personal blow to Hinton. On Sept. 22, 2002 he received word that 
his mother died.

"That day I died because my mother died. I didn't care anymore," said Hinton, 
wanting to drop anymore legal action to prove his innocence, but a voice told 
him to keep going.

Eventually, Stevenson suggested taking the case to the Supreme Court.

"A man should never have to make a decision like that without a strong drink," 
Hinton said. Whiskey would have done it for him that night, but instead he 
drank a Coke.

When it was brought to the Supreme Court, they were unanimous in granting 
Hinton a new trial.

The state still didn't drop the case, and decided to track the murder weapon 
and the bullets. A state witness was asked to reexamine the bullets. Hinton 
said the witness "did not see" what he saw 30 years ago, and yet knew the 
bullets didn't match then.

"I spent an extra 16 years on death row for a crime they knew all along I did 
not commit," said Hinton fighting back tears.

On April 3, 2015, the state officially announced they were dropping the charges 
and Hinton became a free man.

He went back to live in his mother's home like he had 30 years ago. It had 
since been abandoned, but Hinton fixed it up with the best furnishings and a 
California king-sized bed, the latter being less luxurious than he'd thought.

"The problem is I didn't have the space to stretch," said Hinton who was so 
used to being in the fetal position in his small cell for the past 30 years. He 
also had to be re-accustomed to having his own bathroom and showering whenever 
he felt like.

He says he doesn't have any hard feelings or hatred to the people who convicted 
him and took away 3 decades of his life.

"I forgive them so I can live ... (to) enjoy the beauty God has blessed us 
with," he said, noting how he runs into the rain when others run out from it, 
and going outside to enjoy the stars and moon, things he has not done for half 
of his life.

"Imagine being locked up in a 5-by-7 ... for 30 years ... for something that 
you didn't do. I need you to join me in fighting against the death penalty 
every man and woman sent to death row for something that they didn't do."

(source: delconewsnetwork.com)






TENNESSEE:

Federal Court vacates McNish death penalty


The U.S. District Court ordered the 32-year-old death sentence of Carter 
Countian David McNish vacated and ordered the 1st Judicial District to conduct 
a new sentencing hearing or impose a lesser sentence on McNish within 180 days.

District Judge Pamela Reeves ruled McNish had some merit to his claim he had 
ineffective assistance from his legal counsel following his conviction because 
the counsel failed to consider mitigating circumstances about the abusive 
environment he grew up in, his family problems and his mental problems.

McNish was sentenced to death by a Carter County jury in 1984 following his 
conviction of 1st-degree murder in the April 5, 1983, of then 70-year-old 
Gladys Smith

Reeves said the record indicates McNish's case "bounced around from 1 attorney 
to the next during the state's post-conviction appeal proceedings, none of 
Petitioner's counsel thoroughly investigated the lack of mitigating evidence in 
the form of Petitioner's social, mental and family history."

During the post-sentencing phase, new evidence was presented from McNish's 
family members that described an abusive environment in which McNish grew up. 
Affidavits from the family members said McNish's mother was an alcoholic who 
drank throughout all her pregnancies, and his parents ran a bootleg alcohol 
business, using their children to deliver and hide the illegal alcohol.

The affidavits also indicated many strangers came to the McNish home to buy 
alcohol and his parents hosted all-night parties where his mother "got drunk 
and engaged in sexual relationships with the men. Some of these men also 
attacked the McNish children, and his parents did nothing to stop them. 
Petitioner's father, George McNish, abused his children, and his mother did not 
take the children to see a doctor because she did not want people to find out 
what he was doing to the children. In addition, petitioner had to watch his 
sisters being molested by his older brothers, some of whom also abused him."

McNish's older brother and sisters ran away from home at young ages. As a 
child, McNish did not go far from home, but he did climb high into trees and 
stay there as long as he could. He joined the Army at 17, but was discharged 
after a doctor discovered a birth defect when McNish suffered a back injury.

McNish said he had been self-medicating for his back pain and compounded this 
with pain medicine for headaches after he was injured in a car accident. McNish 
said he attempted suicide by overdosing on nerve pills. He was diagnosed with 
hysterical personality and drug dependence prior to the murder.

He also said he was taking a many as 80 pills of seconal, darvon, valium, 
nimbutal and meprobamate on a daily basis. Reeves said "having found that this 
claim has some merit, counsel's actions in ignoring this avenue that was 
potentially successful cannot be rationalized."

(source: Johnson City Press)