[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----TEXAS, S.C.

[Rick Halperin]

March 22



TEXAS----execution

Texas executes man in 2005 murder of city code enforcement worker


A Texas man on death row for killing a worker who was on his property looking 
for city code violations was put to death Tuesday.

Adam Ward was given a lethal injection for shooting and killing Michael Walker, 
a code enforcement officer who was taking photos of junk piled outside the Ward 
family home in Commerce, about 65 miles northeast of Dallas.

Ward had said the 2005 shooting was in self-defense, but the 44-year-old Walker 
only had a camera and a cellphone.

Ward's attorneys, both at his trial and later for his appeals, described him as 
delusional and mentally ill. Hours before his execution, the U.S. Supreme Court 
rejected an appeal that argued his mental illness should have disqualified him 
from the death penalty.

The 33-year-old Ward thanked his supporters, expressed love for his parents and 
said he hoped "some positive change can come from this."

But he insisted the shooting was not a capital murder case. "This is wrong 
what's happening. A lot of injustice is happening in all this," he said.

"I'm sorry things didn't work out," he added later. "May God forgive us all."

He was given a lethal dose of pentobarbital and as it took effect, he took a 
deep breath followed by a smaller one. He then stopped moving.

He was pronounced dead at 6:34 p.m. CDT - 12 minutes after the drug started to 
flow into him.

Ward became the 9th convicted killer executed this year nationally and the 
fifth in Texas, which carries out capital punishment more than any other state.

In their appeal to the Supreme Court, Ward's attorneys argued the high court's 
ban on executing mentally impaired prisoners should be extended to include 
inmates like Ward who have a severe mental illness and that putting him to 
death would be unconstitutional because of evolving sentiment against executing 
the mentally ill.

The justices have ruled mentally impaired people, generally those with an IQ 
below 70, may not be executed. However, the court has said mentally ill 
prisoners may be executed if they understand they are about to be put to death 
and why they face the punishment.

State attorneys, who said evidence showed Ward's IQ as high as 123, said the 
late appeal did not raise a new issue, meaning it was improper and without 
merit. They also disputed claims of changing attitudes about executing the 
mentally ill.

Evidence of Ward's delusions, paranoia and bipolar disorder was presented at 
his 2007 trial and resurfaced in earlier unsuccessful appeals. The Supreme 
Court last October had refused to review Ward's case. A clemency petition for 
Ward before the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles was rejected Friday.

In a videotaped statement to police following his arrest, Ward said he believed 
Commerce officials long conspired against him and his father, described in 
court filings as a hoarder who had been in conflict with the city for years. 
Evidence showed the Ward family had been cited repeatedly for violating housing 
and zoning codes.

Witnesses said Walker was taking photos of the Ward property on June 13, 2005, 
when he and Ward got into an argument. Walker told Ward he was calling for 
assistance, then waited near his truck. Ward went inside the house, emerged 
with a .45-caliber pistol and started firing. Walker was shot 9 times.

"I think the only thing he was there for was harassment," Ward told The 
Associated Press last month from prison.

Ward met with his parents earlier Tuesday. They did not attend his execution.

Dick Walker, the father of the man killed by Ward, watched Ward's punishment 
and said it "put the cap on the mental anguish, the torture of the last 10 1/2 
years."

"I'm just glad this part of my life is over with," he said after the execution. 
"My son will never leave me. There's always going to be a hole in a person's 
heart. My son was my best friend.

"I can focus on more positive stuff now."

Ward becomes the 5th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in Texas and 
the 536th overall since Texas resumed capital punishment on December 7, 1982. 
He becomes the 18th condemned inmate to be put to death in Texas since Greg 
Abbott became governor of the state in January 2015.

Ward becomes the 9th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the USA 
and the 1431st overall since the nation resumed executions on January 17, 1977.

(sources: Associated Press & Rick Halperin)

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

Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present----18

Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982----present-----536

Abbott#--------scheduled execution date-----name------------Tx. #

19---------March 30-----------------John Battaglia--------537

20---------April 6------------------Pablo Vasquez---------538

21---------May 11-------------------Terry Edwards---------539

22---------June 2-------------------Charles Flores--------540

23---------June 21------------------Robert Roberson-------541

24---------July 14------------------Perry Williams--------542

25---------July 27------------------Rolando Ruiz----------543

26---------August 23----------------Robert Pruett---------544

(sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin)






SOUTH CAROLINA:

Solicitor seeks death penalty in Sunhouse murder cases


Solicitor Jimmy Richardson says his office will seek the death penalty against 
a man accused of killing 2 convenience store clerks in separate robberies in 
January 2015.

Fifteenth Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson announced Tuesday he served notice 
of intent to seek the death penalty against McKinley Lee Daniels, 34, of Loris. 
Daniels is charged with 2 other men in connection with the separate fatal 
shootings of 2 Horry County convenience store clerks last year.

Notice that Richardson plans to seek the death penalty was served Tuesday to 
Daniels and his attorneys, James Galmore and Bill McGuire.

Certified copies of 2 warrants charging Daniels with 2 counts of murder in the 
shooting deaths of Bala Paruchuri and Trisha Stull were served Tuesday, 
Richardson said. Paruchuri was fatally shot Jan. 2, 2015, and Stull was fatally 
shot Jan. 25, 2015, during separate robberies of 2 convenience stores in Horry 
County.

In Paruchuri and Stull's deaths, Daniels is charged with 2 counts of murder, 1 
count of attempted murder, 2 counts of armed robbery, 2 counts of possession of 
a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, failure to stop for a blue 
light, possession of a stolen vehicle and resisting arrest.

Daniels is also charged with armed robbery and possession of a weapon during 
the commission of a violent crime in connection with an unrelated incident Jan. 
25, 2015, at another convenience store located in the Lake Arrowhead area of 
North Myrtle Beach.

The 2 other men charged along with Daniels are Jerome Jenkins Jr., 21, of Loris 
and James Elbert Daniels Jr., 28, of Nichols.

Last week, Richardson filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty to 
Jenkins, also on 2 counts of murder in Paruchuri and Stull's deaths.

James Daniels has not been served a notice to seek the death penalty, 
Richardson said. All suspected killers remain in jail.

(source: WBTW news)