[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, ARK. KAN., NEB., WASH., USA

[Rick Halperin]

Oct. 7



TEXAS----new execution date

Kosoul Chanthakoumanne has been given an execution date for January 25, 2017; 
it should be considered serious.

(sources: MC/Rick Halperin)

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

Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present----20

Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982----present-----538

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

21---------October 19---------------Terry Edwards---------539

22---------November 2---------------Ramiro Gonzales-------540

23---------December 7---------------John Battaglia--------541

24---------January 11---------------Christoper Wilkins----542

25---------January 25---------------Kosoul Chanthakoumanne----543

26---------February 7---------------Tilon Carter----------544

27---------April 12-----------------Paul Storey-----------545

(sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin)






ARKANSAS:

Jury in Arkansas killing out 9 1/2 hours, to return; suspect told police he was 
preparing for zombie apocalypse


Jurors deliberated for more than 9 1/2 hours Thursday in the capital murder 
trial of a man accused of killing a 90-year-old woman but didn't emerge with a 
verdict as the evening wore on.

Craighead County Circuit Judge Cindy Thyer told the jury of 6 men and 6 women 
to return to court today at 8:15 a.m. to continue their deliberations.

Richard Jordan Tarver, 31, of Bay is charged in the July 3, 2015, slaying of 
Lavinda Counce, also of Bay.

Prosecutors say Tarver entered Counce's home, forced her into the trunk of her 
car and then drove her to a cornfield east of the Craighead County town where 
he shot her.

After the slaying, police say he drove her car to the NEA Baptist Memorial 
Hospital on U.S. 49 in Jonesboro and left it in the hospital parking lot, then 
walked to a friend's house behind the hospital and asked for a ride back to his 
Bay home.

Tarver's wife, Samantha Tarver, testified Wednesday that her husband stayed 
with her all day that July 3, other than to go to a nearby Wal-Mart to buy cat 
food.

Prosecutors contend that Tarver fatally shot Counce because he wanted to see 
what see what it was like to kill someone.

Tarver confessed to the shooting when arrested July 17, 2015, and prosecutors 
played a 59-minute video of his confession during the trial. In it, Tarver said 
he had watched multiple episodes of the television program The Walking Dead the 
evening before the killing, and wanted to prepare for a zombie apocalypse by 
learning what it felt like to shoot someone.

Randel Miller, a Jonesboro attorney defending Tarver, said Tarver concocted the 
confession because investigators threatened to arrest his wife and take away 
his children if he didn't admit to killing Counce.

The jury began deliberations at 1 p.m. Thursday in Jonesboro, and at 3:25 p.m. 
they asked bailiffs if they could watch the confession video again. At 5:30 
p.m., deputies took several boxes of pizza to the jurors.

At 9:30 p.m., Thyer asked jury members if they wanted to go home for the 
evening, but jurors opted to stay for another hour before she released them for 
the evening.

As jurors deliberated, attorneys milled around the courthouse. Tarver sat with 
his parents on a courtroom bench and joked with them.

Tarver is also charged with kidnapping, residential burglary, abusing a corpse 
and possession of a defaced firearm.

In his closing statement Thursday morning, Miller said Tarver was concerned 
about his wife when authorities entered his home on the evening of July 17, 
2015, and arrested him. Samantha Tarver has several medical conditions, 
including dangerously low blood pressure, and her husband feared the stress of 
the arrest would harm her, Miller said.

"'Please don't hurt my wife,'" Miller quoted Tarver as pleading with police 
that night. "'Please don't hurt my wife.'

"It's important to understand his frame of mind," Miller said.

Miller contended that Craighead County investigator Justin Rolland threatened 
Tarver that he would arrest his wife and turn his two daughters over to the 
state Department of Human Services. Miller told jurors that Rolland placed 
Tarver in a sheriff's vehicle and told him details of Counce's slaying.

In the video confession, Tarver outlined specific items of the case.

In his closing, Prosecuting Attorney Scott Ellington said there was no way 
Tarver would know so many details if he had not killed Counce.

"You didn't see a false confession," Ellington told jurors. "You saw the most 
credible witness the state has.

"What we all know about the death of Mrs. Counce comes from that video," he 
said.

Ellington is seeking the death penalty. If the jury returns with a guilty 
verdict, it will then decide if Tarver should be executed or given a life 
sentence without parole.

(source: arkansasonline.com)






KANSAS:

Court didn't let Carr brothers 'off the hook'


The embellishment "the Kansas Supreme Court let the Carr brothers off the hook" 
is nothing new. But its continued use by Gov. Sam Brownback and his political 
allies since its derided inclusion in a 2014 campaign ad is fodder for a 
political power grab in the November election.

The power grab opportunity is too good for the politicians to pass up. 7 
justices sit on the Kansas Supreme Court. 5 of them are on the November ballot. 
Voters will cast a yes-or-no vote to keep each justice. Unseating 5 justices 
allows Brownback to stack the court with his replacements.

The politicians' criticism is false.

Since their arrests, the infamous Carr brothers are in lockup. There's no 
chance for releasing them. The evidence of their unspeakable crimes is 
overwhelming. A Sedgwick County jury rightly convicted them after a lengthy 
trial.

Each brother appealed his conviction, complaining of legal errors during the 
trial. But the Kansas Supreme Court upheld each brother's conviction for 
capital murder, which carried with it a life sentence.

The court also upheld Reginald Carr's conviction of 32 crimes and Jonathan 
Carr's conviction of 25 crimes, which significantly added prison time on top of 
the life sentences.

That's not letting the brothers "off the hook." They're in prison. The Supreme 
Court didn't spare the brothers from eventually receiving the death penalty. 
They will either die in prison, or the state will put them to death.

Trial court judges and Supreme Court justices have the solemn responsibility of 
ensuring justice by guaranteeing the defendant a fair trial and considering all 
the evidence, including the victim's testimony and society's concerns. That's 
justice. Justice administered in a fair and impartial manner based on the law.

The court is doing that. Recently, it upheld the death sentence of John E. 
Robinson Sr., the serial killer from Olathe who stored the bodies of some of 
his victims in barrels.

People of good will can differ on important issues surrounding the death 
penalty. But peddling misinformation about death penalty decisions or equating 
a justice's qualifications to serve with an unwavering support for every death 
sentence raise serious questions whether the politicians want a fair discussion 
of the issues.

Clearly, the relationship between the governor and his political allies and the 
court is souring. The politicians passed and signed a law stripping the court 
of administrative powers over lower courts and another law threatening funding 
for the entire court system. They supported a bill allowing the Legislature to 
impeach justices based on court decisions they do not like. They propose a 
constitutional amendment allowing the governor to pick the court's justices.

The current tension is owing in large part to a series of court decisions about 
funding K-12 public schools.

The politicians are strategically using the court's death penalty case to upset 
the public. They see too much political value in waving around photos of scary 
criminals. Focusing the public on the gruesome details of the crimes. Speaking 
misconceptions about what the court has done. And saying the court won't 
enforce the death penalty when that's not true.

Kansans must oppose this power grab.

At risk are checks and balances essential to a separation of powers, and fair 
and impartial courts based on the rule of law and the Constitution.

F. James Robinson Jr. is a Wichita attorney.

(source: Opinion; kansas.com)






NEBRASKA:

Nikko Jenkins tells judge he wants November death-penalty hearing to proceed


Convicted murderer Nikko Jenkins told a judge Friday that he didn't want to 
withdraw his plea of "no contest" in order to proceed to his November 
death-penalty hearing in the hopes of getting out of solitary confinement.

Jenkins, visibly angry and yelling in Douglas County District Judge Peter 
Bataillon's chambers before the hearing, rattled off his interpretation of his 
legal options to the judge. Douglas County Public Defender Tom Riley, who had 
filed the motion to withdraw the plea, told Jenkins he was making a mistake and 
that he was misunderstanding the judicial system.

Jenkins told Bataillon he was ready for his Nov. 14 death-penalty hearing 
because he has a right to a speedy trial. He said that once he's sentenced, he 
would hope to join general prison population -- even if that means being on 
death row -- because he could have access to such perks as the law library and 
religious services.

"These court proceedings have been prolonged over 3 years. I'm prepared to have 
these matters come to a conclusion," Jenkins said. "If the taxpayers knew how 
much these hearings were costing the State of Nebraska, they would be siding 
with me on this matter."

Jenkins wanted to introduce evidence on his behalf at the death-penalty 
hearing, but Riley said that's appropriate for a trial, not a sentencing. 
Jenkins waived his right to a trial and other rights when he pleaded no 
contest, Riley added.

"The screed you just heard is proof positive that the defendant does not 
understand the process," Riley told the judge. "He's talking about he wants a 
speedy trial. He has already (pleaded), there is no trial."

After a 15-minute break to allow Riley and Jenkins to confer in the judge's 
chambers, Riley told Bataillon he did not think Jenkins was competent and asked 
the judge to revisit the issue.

"I know we"ve been down this road, but I don't know how ... I can ethically 
proceed," Riley said.

Bataillon accepted Jenkins' decision not to withdraw the plea but would not 
reconsider Jenkins' competency. The Nov. 14 death penalty hearing will proceed.

Jenkins also alleged that Riley wanted to continue to hold hearings because 
Riley would make money from the case.

"I believe it's financially motivated. It's a very high-profile case, and he's 
getting paid a lot of money for this case," Jenkins said. "He doesn't want this 
cash cow to be swept from under him right now."

Riley shook his head. Bataillon sternly told Jenkins that Riley held an elected 
position.

"(Riley) is paid a set salary," Bataillon said. "They don't receive any more or 
less money because of you or anybody else. You understand that?" Before the 
hearing, Jenkins, in the judge's chambers, could be heard from the courtroom 
screaming such words as "Ku Klux Klan" and "incompetence."

After the hearing, Riley said, "You try to save people from themselves." He 
said he plans to file motions to contest the validity of the death penalty, 
which Bataillon said would not affect the Nov. 14 hearing.

Bataillon declared Jenkins competent to face a death-penalty hearing in the 
August 2013 murders of Juan Uribe-Pena, Jorge Cajiga-Ruiz, Curtis Bradford and 
Andrea Kruger.

(source: Omaha World-Herald)






WASHINGTON:

Death penalty decision expected in Moneytree murder case


A Selah man should learn Friday morning whether he will face the death penalty 
for the fatal shooting of 2 clerks at a Yakima Moneytree store.

A status hearing in Manuel Verduzco's case is set for 9 a.m. in Yakima County 
Superior Court.

Yakima County Prosecuting Attorney Joe Brusic earlier said he would announce 
his decision in Verduzco's case regardless of whether defense attorneys had 
finished providing him with information about their client. Verduzco's 
attorneys said at the last hearing in September that they were still gathering 
facts intended to sway Brusic from filing a death penalty motion, known as a 
mitigation packet.

Verduzco is charged with 2 counts of aggravated 1st-degree murder in the March 
26 deaths of Karina Morales-Rodriguez and Marta Martinez. If Brusic opts not to 
pursue the death penalty, Verduzo would face life in prison if convicted of the 
charges.

Morales-Rodriguez, 27, of Yakima and Martinez, 30, of Toppenish were opening 
the Moneytree store at the corner of South First and East Walnut streets for 
business when they were each shot once in the head. Verduzco is a former 
Moneytree employee.

(source: Yakima Herald-Republic)






USA:

Repeal or Reform? Death Penalty Voter Decisions for 3 States


California's dysfunctional death penalty faces a fate in November that seems 
fitting: voters can put it out of its misery, or fix it so it does what it 
promises. The state is among 3 where voters will make decisions on capital 
punishment.

California's ballot initiatives - one would repeal capital punishment, the 
other would speed up appeals so convicted murderers are actually executed - are 
fueled by those who agree only that the current system is broken, leaving 
murder victims' kin grieving and the condemned languishing on death row.

Meanwhile, voters in Nebraska will be asked whether they want to reinstate the 
death penalty and Oklahoma residents will decide whether to make it harder to 
abolish it.

In California, more than 900 convicted murderers have been sent to death row 
since 1978 - but only 13 have been executed in the state. Many more have died 
of natural causes and no one has been put to death in more than a decade after 
a judge ordered an overhaul to the state's lethal injection procedure.

The votes for the 3 states come amid an evolution for capital punishment in the 
U.S.

Executions have mostly been in decline since the turn of the century and last 
year reached their lowest level in 25 years, with 28 prisoners killed. Capital 
punishment has been either legislatively or judicially repealed in 8 states 
since 2000, according to Robert Dunham, executive director of the Death Penalty 
Information Center.

CALIFORNIA: ABOLISH

The referendum to repeal California's death penalty and replace it with life in 
prison without parole is a repeat of a 2012 ballot measure that failed 52 % to 
48 %. Only voters in Arizona and twice in Oregon have repealed the death 
penalty and both states later reversed course to reinstate it.

The California repeal effort is supported by defense lawyers plus luminaries 
including former President Jimmy Carter, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and hedge 
fund billionaire Tom Steyer.

Proponents of Proposition 62 argue eliminating it would save California $150 
million a year, mostly in reduced legal fees plus cheaper prison costs since 
death row inmates who get single cells could be double-bunked. California's 
finance director has estimated the proposed reforms to speed up the death 
penalty could save the state $30 million annually.

They also point to wrongful convictions. Kirk Bloodsworth, who spent nearly 9 
years in a Maryland prison for the sexual assault and bludgeoning death of a 
9-year-old girl in Maryland, was the 1st condemned inmate in the United States 
freed because of DNA results in 1993. Another man later pleaded guilty to the 
murder.

"If it can happen to an honorably discharged Marine with no criminal record or 
criminal history, it can happen to anybody in America," Bloodsworth said.

A majority of votes is needed for a ballot measure to pass in California. In 
the unlikely event both competing measures cross the 50 % threshold, the one 
with the most "yes" votes would take effect. If neither passes, the current 
system would remain in place.

CALIFORNIA: SPEED UP

California's prosecutors and law enforcement are leading the opposing measure 
to "mend, not end" capital punishment. They say Proposition 66 will begin to 
clear the legal bottleneck blocking the path to the death chamber at San 
Quentin State Prison.

"It shouldn't take decades upon decades," said Sacramento District Attorney 
Anne Marie Schubert, who helped draft the initiative. "I'm not a rabid dog 
about the death penalty, but I think it should be an option in the rarest of 
the most heinous cases that exist in our society."

The reformers want to trim state appeals of death sentences to five years, 
assigning some to trial judges and expanding the pool of lawyers taking cases. 
It would have no control over federal appeals.

Those seeking to abolish the death penalty say the reforms will result in 
incompetent lawyers being assigned appeals and forced to meet arbitrary 
deadlines that will overwhelm already strained trial courts.

Death penalty supporters point to heinous crimes and the grieving family 
members of victims who have long waited for justice.

Sandy Friend's 8-year-old son, Michael Lyons, was kidnapped, stabbed 70 to 80 
times with a knife and bludgeoned 20 years ago in Northern California. Robert 
Rhoades, the barber who murdered him, was also convicted of murdering and 
raping a young woman and sentenced to death for both cases.

"Robert Rhoades is just the poster child for the death penalty and there are 
people who are worse than him. These people are monsters," Friend said. "I'd 
like to see the last breath that Rhoades takes. I really would. I think that's 
what Michael had to endure."

NEBRASKA: REINSTATE

Lawmakers in Nebraska abolished the death penalty last year and voters there 
are being asked whether it should be reinstated.

Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts, who helped finance the ballot drive with 
$200,000 of his own money, insists lawmakers were out of touch with their 
constituents when they got rid of capital punishment.

Death penalty opponents have appealed to the state's conservative ideals, 
arguing the punishment is expensive and inefficient because no one has been 
executed in Nebraska since 1997.

Last month, Catholic leaders launched a statewide campaign urging voters not to 
reinstate the punishment and promised to raise the issue in church services 
before the election.

There are 10 prisoners on death row in Nebraska. The state's last execution was 
in 1997.

OKLAHOMA: KEEP IT AROUND

Voters in Oklahoma, where executions are on hold after mistakes in the past 2 
executions, will consider enshrining the death penalty in the state 
constitution, making it harder for legislators or courts to end it.

"There are people that are trying to remove the death penalty from being used," 
said state Rep. Lewis Moore, R-Arcadia, one of the measure's authors. "We 
wanted that to continue to be a viable alternative."

Among other things, the initiative declares that all death penalty statutes are 
in effect, that the methods of execution can be changed and that "the death 
penalty is not cruel and unusual punishment."

Oklahoma has 48 prisoners on death row. Its most recent execution was last 
year.

(source: Associated Press)