[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----LA., OHIO, ILL., ARK., MO., CALIF., USA

[Rick Halperin]

March 22



LOUISIANA:

Baton Rouge public defenders to stop taking some cases this summer without more 
money, serious offenders may be released without lawyers


A year after instituting a hiring freeze to cope with a mounting funding 
crisis, East Baton Rouge Parish's chief public defender said Monday his office 
will stop accepting some new cases in both juvenile and state court come July 1 
if the financial fortunes of the state and his office don't improve in a hurry.

Mike Mitchell said that would mean the parish's Public Defenders Office would 
only handle cases where defendants are jailed on serious felony charges, 
pushing everyone else to a waiting list where they would be assigned attorneys 
as those felony cases are resolved.

"I think it will clog up the system so badly that the courts will have no other 
choice but to start releasing people who are even charged with serious crimes," 
Mitchell warned Monday, the same day the state Legislative Auditor's Office 
released an independent report showing the 19th Judicial District Public 
Defenders Office is using up its remaining reserves.

For those who believe the man who has led the Public Defenders Office since 
1994 is merely crying wolf, Mitchell assured them he is not - although his 
counterpart in the District Attorney's Office is skeptical and believes public 
defenders statewide could manage resources better.

"This is a real crisis. This is not a manufactured crisis," Mitchell said 
during an interview in his office. "I don't get any satisfaction in telling the 
public we can't continue to operate in the manner we've been operating, and I 
don't think the public wants that."

Mitchell is projecting a $175,000 budget deficit by June 30, the 1st 
end-of-the-fiscal-year shortfall his office has encountered during his more 
than 2 decades at the helm of the office. That office had $1.2 million in 
reserve just 6 years ago, but Mitchell said those funds have been spent.

Across Louisiana, public defender offices are complaining of shortfalls, mostly 
stemming from drops in fines and fees on traffic citations. Louisiana is unique 
across the country in financing much of its public defense through court costs 
paid by the guilty.

But some of the problem also stems from Louisiana's larger budget shortfalls. 
Like Mitchell, state public defender Jay Dixon is holding his breath as the 
Louisiana Public Defender Board waits to see if the Legislature will cut its 
annual funding from $33 million to as low as $13 million - a devastating cut 
that would mean a loss in state funding of some $1 million to Mitchell's 
office.

"We're pretty much in a wait-and-see mode," Dixon said Monday in reference to 
the possible massive cut to his office's funding. "We're hoping that won't 
happen.

Mitchell's office is among 14 of the state's 42 local public defender offices 
restricting services they offer to indigent defendants because of monetary 
constraints, Dixon said.

But East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore III said part of the 
problem might be in how the state Public Defender Board spends its money, 
saying local offices might not find themselves in their current predicament if 
the board didn't spend 1/3 of its budget on a few private law firms to 
exclusively handle death penalty cases.

"The amount that the state board receives is virtually identical to what the 
state provides for all district attorneys," he said Monday. "Some claim that 
the local funding the district attorneys receive from parishes is substantially 
more support than local public defenders receive. This claim ignores the 
reality that local public defenders get twice as much money from traffic and 
other court costs than do district attorneys."

Moore said his office receives $1 million in court fines, $2 million in state 
government funding and $6 million in parish funding, while Mitchell's office 
receives almost $4 million in court costs, nearly $2 million in state funding 
and no parish funding.

That amount of funding appears proportional, he said, because the District 
Attorney's Office, unlike the Public Defenders Office, handles each and every 
criminal case. Moore said he is operating with three attorney and three 
investigator positions unfilled but cannot restrict his services.

The independent auditor's report prepared by certified public accountant 
William P. Gaines Jr. and released Monday says the 19th Judicial District 
Public Defenders Office recognizes it is unlikely the office will have the 
resources available to operate beyond the end of June "at its present 
capacity."

"The office's revenue streams are unpredictable and remaining reserves were 
utilized in the current year to satisfy operating obligations," stated the 
report, which was for the fiscal year through the end of last June.

Mitchell said the solution would be for his office starting July 1 to stop 
accepting juvenile or misdemeanor cases or those of anyone charged with a 
felony who isn't sitting in jail.

"I hope to work with the Court and others to find a solution before these 
devastating steps become necessary," Mitchell wrote in a Feb. 26 letter to 
local judges.

When Mitchell announced a hiring freeze last March, he said his office was 
eliminating 6 attorney positions, an investigator and an administrative 
position through attrition.

Mitchell said Monday he can't promise there won't be future layoffs as the 
state budget crisis worsens.

"I am looking at eliminating other positions," he said.

Mitchell said one potential solution to the problem would be to partially fund 
the Public Defenders Office through the city-parish.

(source: The Advocate)






OHIO:

Brunswick murder trial: James Tench takes the stand


The capital murder trial of James Tench, the Brunswick man accused of killing 
his mother in 2013, entered its 4th week with Tench taking the witness stand.

Tench, 30, is charged with aggravated murder, murder, aggravated robbery and 
evidence tampering in the Nov. 13, 2013, death of Mary Tench, 55. He faces the 
death penalty if convicted.

The jury is expected to begin deliberations when court resumes at 9 a.m. today 
before Common Pleas Judge Joyce V. Kimbler.

Tench already is serving a 5-year prison sentence at the Richland Correctional 
Institute in Mansfield for a restaurant robbery in Strongsville.

Defense lawyers Kerry O'Brien and Rhonda Kotnik attempted to show the jury 
Monday that Tench had explanations for personal difficulties in his life that 
were occurring in late 2013.

The line of questioning covered events in the days leading up to when Mary 
Tench's body was found Nov. 12, 2013, in her SUV about a half mile from the 
Brunswick home she shared with her son.

Tench answered questions from defense and prosecution lawyers for more than 3 
hours in the morning and afternoon sessions.

In testimony about his relationship with ex-girlfriend Christina Kyker, Tench 
said he supplied her with a debit card linked to his bank account. He testified 
he would spend only what money he made, but when she had access to his account, 
she spent what he made and more, causing his account to become overdrawn 
multiple times.

Tench was asked why he didn't close his account or stop Kyker from using the 
debit card. Tench replied that Kyker had convinced him not to take the card 
away from her, but he was going to do so eventually anyway.

Tench said he saw his mother writing checks to pay bills prior to her 
disappearance. He said he was forging checks belonging to her without her 
knowledge, which is why he robbed the restaurant in Strongsville. He said he 
wanted to replenish some money to her account.

He also was asked why he didn't go to his mother right away about the money 
issues, but instead tried to cover everything up.

Tench replied his mother died not know that he had robbed the restaurant and he 
didn't know why he didn't speak to her about finances.

County Prosecutor Dean Holman asked Tench whether he had rehearsed the answers 
he gave to questions from his lawyers.

"Yes, a little," Tench replied.

The morning lineup of defense witnesses included a friend of Mary Tench; James' 
deceased father's brother, Gregory Tench; a childhood friend and her mother; 
and a clergyman affiliated with the Cuyahoga County Jail.

Gregory Tench testified he was hunting in Arkansas when he found out from his 
nephew James that Mary Tench was missing. He said he packed up as soon as he 
could and headed to Ohio. Gregory Tench said he thought James sounded 
distraught because his mother was missing.

Cheryl Turner, a friend of Mary Tench, testified that holidays at the Tench 
home on Camden Lane in Brunswick weren't anything out of the ordinary and that 
family members talked with one another "like normal."

Also Monday, the subject of Mary Tench's health was brought up.

Mary Tench was scheduled to have a procedure to remove a cyst from her ovary, 
which James Tench said doctors initially were unsure was cancerous. He said 
tests later showed the cyst was benign.

Tench said he called his sister, Jennifer Swain, to try to convince their 
mother to go to the doctor right away. But Mary declined, saying she would have 
the doctor look at a different problem involving her nose when she went in for 
her procedure.

According to James Tench, Mary "banged up her face" when she fell going to get 
the newspaper in the driveway of their Brunswick home. She put on her deceased 
husband's boots, a men's size 11, went outside and fell in the driveway, 
injuring her nose the day before the gynecological procedure.

Turner, Mary Tench's best friend since college, told the jury she agreed to 
take Mary to her procedure. Under questioning from defense lawyers, she said 
she noticed a scab on Mary's nose in 2013, but it could have been a few months 
before the procedure took place.

James Tench???s childhood friend, Felicia Fedarko, formerly of Brunswick and 
now from Olmsted Falls, testified they were "best friends since 6th or 7th 
grade." She said she and James "hung out" on a daily basis growing up.

Fedarko said she never observed Tench criticizing or acting mean to his mother 
during their friendship.

In July 2013, however, they lost contact because of Kyker. Fedarko said she and 
Kyker never met.

Fedarko said she heard through mutual friends in November 2013 about Tench 
being arrested, so she reached out to him. She testified she wrote him letters 
"when it all started," also communicating by phone at times.

Fedarko's mother, Diane Fedarko of Brunswick, also took the stand Monday.

Diane Fedarko said James Tench had babysat her grandchild, Felicia's son, when 
the child was 4 or 5 years old.

She explained that when she found out Mary Tench was missing, it was through 
her daughter's friends.

When the Fedarkos were able to contact James Tench, Diane Fedarko said he was 
upset and scared, echoing Gregory Tench's comments about how James acted during 
visits and phone calls.

Diane Fedarko and Mary Tench never met during their children's friendship, she 
said.

Earlier in the morning, the Rev. Neil Walters, a chaplain at the Cuyahoga 
County Jail, testified.

In the time he's known James Tench, Walters said he observed that Tench "was 
friendly and stressed ... and we had nice chats. He didn't scare me away."

He added that he and Tench met regularly, about every week. Tench, being 
Catholic, received sacraments and Walters said they would pray together.

The chaplain said inmates "don't have to be a card-carrying Catholic" to pray 
with or perform religious acts.

(source: Medina County Gazette)

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

3 indicted in robbery, murder of KSU student


A Portage County grand jury March 16 handed up a 6-count indictment against 3 
men accused of murdering a Kent State University during a robbery on Super Bowl 
Sunday.

At least 1 of the 3 could face the death penalty as a result of his alleged 
crimes.

Damantae D. Graham, 19, of Akron; Marquis C.T. Grier, 17, of Massillon; and Ty 
A. Kremling, 17, of Stow, are charged with 1 count each of aggravated murder, 
aggravated burglary, aggravated robbery, and 3 counts of kidnapping.

The charges are the result of a Kent Police Department investigation into the 
shooting death of Nicholas W. Massa, an 18-year-old KSU freshman from Westlake 
who was slain in an off-campus apartment during an attempted robbery on Feb. 7.

Graham was an adult at the time of the alleged crimes, making him eligible for 
the death penalty under Ohio law, Portage County Prosecutor Victor Vigluicci 
said. Grier and Kremling, who were juveniles at the time, are not eligible for 
the death penalty, but could receive a maximum prison term of life without 
parole.

The specifications to the charges allege that the teens used firearms in the 
commission of the crimes, and committed the murder "with prior calculation and 
design" while committing burglary, kidnapping and robbery. Each firearm 
specification carries the potential for three additional, mandatory years in 
prison for each suspect.

The kidnapping charges were filed because the trio of suspects allegedly held 
Massa and 2 other men against their will during the incident. One of the 
alleged victims identified Kremling by name to a 911 dispatcher.

Graham was arraigned on the charges in Portage County Common Pleas Court on 
Friday, where he pleaded not guilty. Judge Laurie Pittman appointed attorneys 
Frank Beane and Anthony Koukoutas to represent him, according to court records.

He currently is being held in the Portage County jail on $800,000 cash bond in 
another case, following a November 2015 incident during which he led Brady Lake 
police on a chase that ended in Ravenna Township.

Grier and Kremling are being held in the Portage-Geauga Juvenile Detention 
Center in Shalersville on $2 million bond each. They were arraigned Monday in 
Pittman's courtroom and both pleaded not guilty.

Kremling was a junior at Stow-Munroe Falls High School at the time of his 
arrest.

Graham's prior arrest

Graham, then 18, was arrested after a Brady Lake police officer attempted to 
stop his black 2002 Kia on S.R. 59 at Erie Street in the village just before 
noon on Nov. 4, 2015.

He allegedly drove over lawns and sidewalks, ignored stop signs, passed a 
stopped school bus and other cars in no-passing zones, among other alleged 
traffic violations, before bailing out of the car and fleeing on foot into the 
3800 block of Richardson Avenue. A loaded 9mm Ruger handgun was recovered from 
the vehicle.

A grand jury indicted Graham on Dec. 28, 2015, on charges of failure to comply 
with the order or signal of a police officer, a 3rd-degree felony; carrying a 
concealed weapon and improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle, both 
4th-degree felonies; resisting arrest, a 2nd-degree misdemeanor; and illegal 
passing of a school bus, a minor misdemeanor.

A trial in that case is scheduled to begin in Pittman's courtroom on April 19, 
according to court records.

(source: The Stow Sentry)






ILLINOIS:

Justice System Life and Death in the Criminal Justice System


Illinois is at the epicenter of both profound corruption and reform in criminal 
justice. We lead the nation in false confessions, yet our state made 
international news by ending the death penalty.

What is it like to be on the front lines of defending clients in death penalty 
cases? What happens to innocent people on death row?

Hear the firsthand accounts from an attorney and an investigative journalis.

Tom Verdun was a 15-year member of the Murder Task Force who defended numerous 
clients facing the death penalty and now serves as Senior Staff Attorney of the 
James B. Moran Center for Youth Advocacy. Pamela Cytrynbaum is an investigative 
reporter who has covered death penalty cases around the country and is now the 
Executive Director of the Chicago Innocence Center.

Both will speek at 7 p .m. on Thursday, March 24 at Bookends and Beginnings, 
1712 Sherman Ave., in Evanston.


(source: evanstonnow.com)






ARKANSAS:

Justices Chuck Waiver by Schizophrenic Killer


Arkansas courts improperly let a schizophrenic man who raped and killed his 
12-year-old niece waive his right to appeal, the state Supreme Court ruled.

Karl Roberts confessed in May 1999 that he had taken his niece, Andria Brewer, 
to a secluded area, raped her, and strangled her to death to hide what he did.

After Roberts was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death in May 
2000, he filed to waive his rights to appeal and post-conviction review.

The circuit court in Polk County, Ark., found that Roberts had the ability to 
knowingly and intelligently waive those rights, and the state Supreme Court 
affirmed in 2003.

But on the day of his scheduled execution in January 2004, Roberts obtained a 
federal stay of execution.

That court agreed three years to hold Roberts' petition for habeas corpus in 
abeyance, giving him an opportunity to "convince the state courts that he did 
not competently waive his right to appeal and seek state post-conviction 
relief" and to seek relief for all unexhausted claims.

Roberts filed the necessary petitions and the state Supreme Court agreed to 
reopen the case in February 2013, demanding an updated competency evaluation.

Before that hearing occurred in September, however, Roberts began walking back 
his efforts.

In a May 2013 letter to the federal court??????, Roberts said he no longer 
wished to proceed with post-conviction relief, claiming he was motivated by a 
sense of justice and the desire to provide closure to Brewer's family.

He repeated that sentiment at September hearing, and the circuit court 
dismissed his petition for post-conviction relief, finding that he was 
competent and had the capacity to waive his post-conviction rights.

With Roberts having changed his mind again, the state Supreme Court reversed 
4-3 Thursday.

"Both experts testified that Roberts' mental illness affects his ability to 
make a rational decision about waving his post-conviction rights," Associate 
Justice Rhonda Wood wrote for the majority.

Even the state's expert implied that Roberts' psychosis "impacts his ability to 
choose between life and death and knowingly and intelligently waive his 
post-conviction rights," Wood added.

Roberts' letters asking for waiver do not sufficiently prove competency, the 
ruling states.

"Roberts' auditory hallucinations may affect the content of his letters since 
he frequently hears voices when he writes," Wood wrote. "Despite our belief 
that the trial court is in the best position to assess credibility and weigh 
the evidence, in this case we are left with a firm conviction that a mistake 
has been made. We hold that the circuit court was clearly erroneous when it 
concluded that Roberts was competent to waive post-conviction review."

The 9-page ruling prompted 2 dissents.

"The circuit court declined to address [Roberts'] 6 issues and instead made a 
general, sweeping finding of competency to waive," Chief Justice Howard Brill 
wrote in the 1st, joined by Justice Paul Danielson. "This finding, in my view, 
does not rise to the level of a 'more exacting duty' required by the circuit 
court in a death-penalty case."

Justice Courtney Hudson Goodson added: "The circuit court had the first-hand 
opportunity to observe Roberts and to assess the credibility of the expert 
witnesses. On this record, the circuit court could well conclude that Roberts 
understands the choice between life and death and that his decision to waive 
further review is knowingly and intelligently made."

Roberts was represented by federal defender Jennifer Horan and assistant 
federal defender Scott Braden.

Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge represented the state with Assistant 
Attorney General Vada Berger.

(source: Courthouse News)

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

Motions challenge constitutionality of capital curder Laws


An attorney for 1 of 3 men charged in a fatal Springdale shooting filed 
challenges to the state's capital murder and death penalty statutes in 
Washington County Circuit Court on Monday.

3 men were standing near a car when 4 men in a blue Ford Focus pulled up and 
demanded to know their gang affiliations, according to police. 1 of the 3 said 
he was in a gang, and 1 of the people in the car opened fire, killing Jimmy 
Rodriguez, 20, last April 11 in Springdale.

Jose Delatorre, 18, believed to be a passenger, is charged with accomplice to 
capital murder. Delatorre's next court date is March 30.

Tony Pirani, Delatorre's attorney, filed motions seeking to dismiss charges 
against Delatorre on the grounds the state's capital murder statute is 
unconstitutionally vague and overlaps the 1st-degree murder statute. Another 
motion seeks to have the death penalty statute declared unconstitutional on the 
grounds of cruel and unusual punishment.

The motions are standard in capital cases and are typically denied.

Rodolfo Martinez, 18, who police believe to be the gunman, is charged with 
accomplice to capital murder and accomplice to the unlawful discharge of a 
firearm from a vehicle. Martinez has a court date of April 13.

Giovanni Vasquez-Sanchez, 17, who police believe to be the driver, is charged 
with accomplice to capital murder and accomplice to the unlawful discharge of a 
firearm from a vehicle. Vasquez-Sanchez is charged as an adult and has a March 
28 court date.

All 3 men pleaded not guilty in May.

Martinez and Delatorre face life in prison without parole or the death penalty 
if convicted. Vasquez-Sanchez, because of his age at the time, isn't subject to 
the death penalty. Unlawful discharge of a firearm from a vehicle is a felony 
punishable by 10 to 40 years or life in prison.

Pirani filed a number of pretrial motions in January, including a motion to 
throw out the charges filed against Delatorre as insufficient to provide a 
basis for the death penalty, arguing it doesn't set forth any aggravating 
circumstances. Attorneys for Martinez filed similar motions in July.

Prosecutors haven't said if they'll seek the death penalty against Martinez or 
Delatorre.

(source: Democrat Gazette)






MISSOURI:

Appellate court sends Ernest Johnson death penalty challenge back to district 
court


The Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday dismissed the case of a man 
condemned to death for a 1994 triple murder in Columbia, ruling it did not have 
jurisdiction over the case because of a timing issue, and sent the case back to 
U.S. District Court.

Jeremy Weis, one of Ernest L. Johnson's attorneys, said he will confer with his 
partner, W. Brian Gaddy, and will likely file an amended complaint in U.S. 
District Court for the Western District of Missouri, which ruled in October 
that Johnson had failed to state a claim challenging his execution.

In the appeals court's 4-page opinion, the 3-judge panel ruled that because of 
the timing of the case, with Johnson's death warrant expired, they had no 
jurisdiction. Johnson's Nov. 3 execution was stayed when the U.S. Supreme Court 
sent the case back to the appellate level at about 6:30 p.m. that day.

"Johnson has had ample time to prepare an amended complaint," the appellate 
panel wrote Monday. "The State has not established a new execution date, and 
Johnson is free to move for leave to amend his complaint without the pressure 
of a scheduled execution."

Sentenced to death for the February 1994 murders of Mary Bratcher, 46, Mable 
Scruggs, 57, and Fred Jones, 58, in a robbery at a northeast Columbia 
convenience store, courts twice overturned the sentence, but a 3rd was upheld.

Gaddy and Weis have argued that because of a benign brain tumor Johnson had 
removed in 2008, he experiences occasional seizures, dizziness and a loss of 
balance. Doctors removed 15 to 20 % of his brain. His condition is likely to 
cause severe pain when pentobarbital, Missouri's drug of choice for executions, 
is administered, violating the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and 
unusual punishment, the attorneys argued.

U.S. District Court denied the stay in late October, with the circuit court 
following. Within days, Johnson's attorneys appealed to the Supreme Court. 
Missouri Assistant Attorney General Michael Goodwin and Gaddy argued the case 
before the appellate panel Jan. 13 in St. Louis.

The state has contended that Johnson's lawyers have failed to state a claim in 
their arguments because they had not fulfilled the requirement of detailing how 
the state can use a different method to kill Johnson that could reduce the 
chance of pain. On the other hand, Gaddy and Weis have argued that citing the 
state law that allows for lethal gas to be used in executions, the only other 
option available by law in Missouri, is sufficient.

Nanci Gonder, spokeswoman for the attorney general's office, said in an email 
the appellate court found the district court did not issue a final judgment and 
Monday's ruling is "not final until the expiration of the 15-day period during 
which time either party may seek a rehearing." Gonder said the office is 
reviewing the ruling.

Weis said the circuit's opinion is a "pretty straightforward ruling" but noted 
it did not rule on the case's arguments. The district court ruled in October 
without much litigation, and this time, Weis said, he hopes they can argue the 
case to its end.

"We're a long way away from ever getting a ruling on the actual merits of Mr. 
Johnson's brain tumor claim," Weis said.

(source: Columbia Daily Tribune)


CALIFORNIA:

Arraignment starts for man accused in deaths of 2 men near Roseville


Joshua Daniel Smith faced a judge Monday in the killings of 2 men found shot 
and set ablaze last June near Roseville as prosecutors laid out special 
circumstances that could mean the death penalty for the Sacramento man.

Smith's arraignment will resume Tuesday in Placer Superior Court in Auburn 
before Judge Angus Saint-Evens, when Smith, 38, is expected to be assigned an 
attorney.

Smith sat at the end of a row of in-custody defendants waiting for his turn 
before Saint-Evens inside the judge's Placer County jail courtroom, eyeglasses 
perched atop his head, tattoos along his neck and above an eyebrow. He faces a 
string of charges tied to the deaths including 2 counts of murder and that he 
used a gun to commit the crimes.

Prosecutors also allege that Smith has gang ties, that he committed the crime 
in service to the Southside Park Nortenos criminal street gang, and allege as a 
special circumstance that he lay in wait before firing the shots and setting 
the 2 men on fire.

Prosecutors say Smith carried out the brutal slayings of Jason John Benson, 33, 
and Warren Alexander Galsote, 34, on June 25, 2015. Both men were shot in the 
head on rural Annabelle Avenue near Roseville and Granite Bay and set ablaze. 
Prosecutors alleged Smith targeted Galsote because he witnessed a crime.

A neighbor on Annabelle Avenue rushed from his home to put out the fire only to 
discover the 2 men, soaked in gasoline, investigators said. The men died 2 days 
later at an area hospital.

Defense attorney Martin Jones of Madera-based firm Ciummo & Associates, Placer 
County's contracted public defender, asked Saint-Evens to delay Smith's 
arraignment to March 28. He said the firm had reached the negotiated limit of 
homicide cases its attorneys are able to accept in Placer County.

Saying he was "very uncomfortable" with granting a delay, Saint-Evens ordered 
Smith and attorneys to return Tuesday to select defense counsel and complete 
the proceedings.

Smith was arrested Thursday and transported to Placer County from the 
Sacramento County jail, where he had been held on other charges since July, 
according to a Placer County Sheriff's Office news release. A no-bail warrant 
for his arrest was issued by Placer County in February, sheriff's officials 
said.

(source: Sacramento Bee)





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

Judge in 'Grim Sleeper' trial to angry defense lawyer: 'Chill'


The already sensational "Grim Sleeper" serial killer trial took more twists 
Monday when the judge bluntly told the defendant's lawyer to "chill" after his 
repeated outbursts.

"I'm going to have a stroke," defense lawyer Seymour Amster claimed to Judge 
Kathleen Kennedy during a session with the jury and TV camera out of the 
courtroom but with spectators -- including some of the victims' relatives -- 
witnessing the legal wrangling. The session came as the defense prepared to 
begin its case, following the prosecution's presentations earlier.

Lonnie David Franklin Jr. is accused of being the Los Angeles-area serial 
killer known as the Grim Sleeper.

Amster's frustrations were fueled by the judge's response to his subpoena of 
Los Angeles Police Department records. Those records focus on "chain of 
custody" evidence that prosecutors say links the victims to accused killer 
Lonnie Franklin Jr., but that the defense argues is flawed evidence.

The judge called Amster's subpoena too broad, said she planned quash it and 
wanted it narrowed.

Amster, his head bobbing in apparently anger, exclaimed that the defense was 
"now going to rest. We now have no defense."

While the defense lawyer frenetically paced and turned his back on the judge, 
the defendant, wearing a white shirt and peering through black-rimmed glasses, 
stared straight ahead.

Judge: 'Do your job'

"I'm not asking you to have a stroke," Kennedy told Armster. "I'm asking you to 
do your job."

Prosecutor Beth Silverman jumped into the fray, saying she was "disgusted by 
the County of Los Angeles" for paying hundreds of thousand dollars to defense 
lawyers. "He (Amster) doesn't play by the rules," she added.

"Don't keep on piping up," the judge warned Silverman, a deputy district 
attorney, during her skirmishes with the defense.

The trial for Franklin began last month, some 30 years after the 1st of the 
"Grim Sleeper" victims was found fatally shot, her body dumped in a South Los 
Angeles alley.

Franklin, a former garbage collector and police garage attendant, is charged 
with killing 1 girl and 9 women ranging in age from 15 to 35 over a span of 3 
decades. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

The killings for which Franklin is charged came in spurts that were 13 years 
apart, resulting in the nickname "the Grim Sleeper" for the period of apparent 
inactivity.

Franklin, 63, has pleaded not guilty.

The in-court dustups Monday elicited audible gasps from the gallery, including 
from family members of victims.

"That was just despicable," Porter Alexander, father of murder victim Alicia 
Alexander, told CNN in the courthouse. "What has (Armster's outburst) got to do 
with anything? I think it's just unacceptable."

Margaret Prescod, who formed the group Black Coalition Fighting Back Serial 
Murders, described the defense proceedings as "ridiculous ... so 
disrespectful."

After the judge told Armster to calm down and narrow his subpoena request, and 
following a courtroom break, the defense lawyer began his long-deferred opening 
statement to the jury.

Defense challenges evidence, witness

His strategy unfurled victim by victim, as Armster told the panel Franklin's 
DNA was not found in a couple of dozen investigative tests, including sexual 
assault kits, victims' clothing and, in 1 case, a makeshift body bag.

Amster also said he will challenge firearm evidence and he questioned the 
testimony of star prosecution witness Eneitra Washington, the lone survivor of 
the "Grim Sleeper" attacks.

The defense lawyer said Washington told a friend after being shot in the atack, 
"'They raped me' ... 'they' -- not a single person."

Earlier in the trial, prosecutor Silverman painted a picture of Franklin as a 
ruthless killer who preyed on victims' dependency issues by luring them with 
the promise of crack cocaine to what became to horrific deaths.

Silverman told jurors firearm and DNA evidence connects all the victims to the 
defendant.

(source: CNN)






USA:

Feds won't retry 3 men in 2 cold case murders


Thamud Eldridge, Kevin Allen and Galen Rose are going to prison, but not for 
murder.

A federal court jury found the 3 men guilty of several felony charges last 
month but, for the most part, deadlocked over their role in the cold case 
killings of Thedrus "Flap" Laster and Sam "Smokey" Jones Jr.

Federal prosecutors could retry Eldridge, Allen and Rose, but indicated Monday 
they have no plans to do so.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph M. Tripi said the government is confident the 3 
defendants will get significant prison sentences despite the jury's inability 
to reach a verdict on most of the murder charges. The 1 exception was Eldridge, 
who was found not guilty of taking part in Laster's murder.

Tripi wants U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara to hold the unresolved 
charges in abeyance until after the defendants' appeals on their convictions 
are decided. If the convictions are upheld, Tripi said the government will not 
retry Eldridge, Allen and Rose on the unresolved charges.

The verdict, which came after 6 full days of deliberations last month, left the 
jury split on Eldridge's and Allen's roles in the Jones murder and Rose's role 
in the Laster killing.

Laster, 35, was shot and killed during an April 2005 robbery in a Delaware 
Avenue apartment where he kept marijuana and cash. A few days later, Jones, 
another drug dealer, was shot and killed during a robbery in the basement of a 
home on Newburgh Avenue.

Despite the non-verdicts on the murder charges, the jury did find Eldridge and 
Allen guilty of racketeering conspiracy, firearms possession and robbery 
charges. Rose was found guilty of drug charges.

Originally a death penalty case, the government's prosecution of Eldridge, 
Allen and Rose was viewed early on as the 1st concrete effort to identify and 
prosecute the killers of Laster and Jones. The Department of Justice later 
withdrew the death penalty designation.

(source: The Buffalo News)