[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, VA., N.C., S.C., GA., FLA., LA.

[Rick Halperin]

Dec. 6



DECEMBER 6, 2017:





TEXAS:

Delacruz appears in court; capital murder trial slated



A San Angelo capital murder suspect appeared in court Tuesday for the 1st time 
since his trial was postponed last-minute in July.

Isidro Miguel Delacruz, 27, stands accused in the slaying of Naiya Villegas - 
his ex-girlfriend's 5-year-old daughter - on Sept. 2, 2014. Prosecutors are 
seeking the death penalty.

119th District Judge Ben Woodward made several rulings on Tuesday and laid out 
the rules with attorneys, including the conditions and etiquette to follow on 
some of the more convoluted aspects of the trial.

Woodward allowed digital media presence outside of the courthouse and the 
McNease Convention Center - where jury selection from a pool of 350-400 people 
will take place Jan. 11.

He ruled Delacruz will be addressed as "the accused" and the child will be 
referred by her name rather than the "complaining witness."

Trial had been slated to begin July, but Woodward granted a continuance because 
of some last-minute disclosures of evidence by local law-enforcement agencies.

Woodward told attorneys he hopes to finish the case in mid-March.

There are 23-pages of potential witnesses to be called.

51st District Attorney Allison Palmer is prosecuting the case.

Defense attorney Robert Cowie, of the Lubbock Regional Public Defender for 
Capital Cases, is court appointed.

(source: gosanangelo.com)

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

Capital murder indictments unsealed against 2 prison inmates in 2006 beating, 
arson death



2 prison inmates from Waco have been formally charged with capital murder in 
the beating and arson death of a woman in 2006.

Tony Wayne Swinnie, 46, and Gerald Wayne Brown, 60, were charged in sealed 
indictments last Wednesday that were unsealed and made public on Tuesday. Waco 
police charged Swinnie with capital murder in May 2007 in the June 2006 death 
of Gloria Campos Viera, but he was not indicted in that case until last week.

Neither McLennan County District Attorney Abel Reyna nor his first assistant, 
Michael Jarrett, returned phone messages Tuesday, leaving it unclear why the 
DA's office did not pursue an indictment in the case for more than a decade, 
including the last 4 years of former DA John Segrest's term.

One reason could be that Swinnie is serving a life prison term in the August 
2006 aggravated robbery of Martha Jane's Liquor Store and a consecutive life 
term in the July 2006 assault of a 67-year-old man in Dallas County.

The fire at Viera's house, 512 N. 16th St., was classified as arson, and an 
autopsy showed she died from blunt force injuries to her head and neck and 
smoke inhalation.

Judge Ralph Strother of Waco's 19th State District Court sentenced Swinnie to 
life in prison after a jury convicted Swinnie of smashing a liquor bottle over 
the head of Martha Jane Ezar, assaulting her with a cash register and then 
threatening Ezar's grandchildren before fleeing that former package store at 
1500 Colcord Ave.

In sentencing Swinnie, Strother said, "Mr. Swinnie, you have turned yourself 
into a human predator and a modern-day barbarian. You seek out the defenseless 
and unsuspecting."

A year later, a Dallas County jury sentenced Swinnie to life in prison after he 
knocked out a 67-year-old man with a single punch and robbed him while standing 
in line at a McDonald's in Grand Prairie.

Court records show Brown was sentenced to 40 years in prison for arson in 1993 
and released on parole in April 2004. He was sent back to prison in March 2011 
after violating his parole.

Brown has a projected release date in 2021.

It was not clear Tuesday if the DA's office intends to seek the death penalty 
in the 2 cases.

(source: Waco Tribune)








VIRGINIA:

Trial delayed for man accused of killing wife, Prince William officer

Ronald Hamilton - the man accused of shooting 3 Prince William County police 
officers after killing his wife last year - won't face a jury until August, now 
that his trial has been delayed a second time.

Hamilton's lawyers and county prosecutors agreed on the delay in a Nov. 6 
hearing in Prince William County Circuit Court, pushing back proceedings that 
were originally set to begin March 5.

The 33-year-old Army veteran is facing a slew of charges, including capital 
murder and 1st-degree murder, in connection with one of Prince William's most 
high-profile shootings in recent memory. Police believe Hamilton shot and 
killed his wife, Crystal, at the couple???s home on Lashmere Court in 
Woodbridge, then opened fire on police responding to a 911 call about the 
incident. Officer Ashley Guindon was killed, while officers Jesse Hempen and 
David McKeown were wounded.

Hamilton's attorneys have indicated in a series of pre-trial motions that they 
believe he is mentally unstable, perhaps as a result of his service in the Iraq 
War, and have told prosecutors repeatedly that he is willing to enter a guilty 
plea if they agree to take the death penalty off the table. But Commonwealth's 
Attorney Paul Ebert and his deputies filed a notice in circuit court on Sept. 
13 that they intend to seek the death penalty in the case, continuing Ebert's 
preference toward capital punishment over the course of his long career.

But it will be months before a jury decides whether Hamilton becomes the 1st 
person since 2010 executed for a crime in the county. He was originally set to 
go to trial in June, but his attorneys pressed for a delay until March 2018 
over concerns about the workload associated with the case. Hamilton is 
represented by a pair of lawyers with the state's capital defense program, in 
addition to private attorney Gene Hart.

A flap over some of the county's document filing practices has pushed 
Hamilton's trial even deeper into 2018.

On Oct. 3, county prosecutors filed notice that they would introduce evidence 
at trial about Hamilton's past encounters with law enforcement, including a 
series of assault accusations in several different states and domestic disputes 
with his wife over the past few years.

That move incensed Hamilton's lawyers, who claimed that the filing came far 
later than a court-imposed deadline of December 2016 would allow. In a motion, 
they wrote that this delay would "greatly impede" their preparation for trial 
by putting them at a disadvantage in investigating those incidents.

In a response, prosecutors stressed that the defense has had access to 
information about most of the incidents for months, but they conceded an 
"oversight" led to their office only preparing a formal filing in October.

But Hamilton's lawyers argued that it was actually a "pattern and practice" for 
Ebert and his deputies to miss similar deadlines, noting that the "issue has 
recurred in every death-eligible capital case handled by the specific 
prosecutors in this case and their office in the past since at least 2010."

(source: insidenova.com)








NORTH CAROLINA:

Prosecutors mulling death penalty for Pasquotank inmates charged in failed 
prison escape



Prosecutors are expected to meet Wednesday morning to discuss a possible 
harsher punishment for 4 inmates allegedly involved in a deadly attack at the 
Pasquotank Correctional Institution.

The purpose of the hearing is to determine if the state will seek the death 
penalty against those inmates accused of trying to escape.

State officials say the inmates started a fire in the facility's sewing plant 
in October. According to police, the inmates then tried to escape the prison, 
but were caught before leaving the prison yard. During the chaos, several 
people were hurt and hospitalized. 4 prison workers died in the attack.

Prosecutors charged the inmates with 1st-degree murder in connection with the 
incident. In October, the inmates were indicted on several other charges, 
including burning a public building, felony riot and assault with a deadly 
weapon.

The prison has remained on the lockdown since the deadly attack. Meanwhile, the 
prison's sewing plant where the ambush happened has been closed indefinitely.

The capital penalty determination hearing is scheduled to take place at 11 a.m.

(source: WAVY news)








SOUTH CAROLINA:

Attorneys for man charged with killing 2 during bank robbery in Conway ask for 
more time



The man charged with the deadly CresCom Bank robbery this past August appeared 
in federal court Monday afternoon and his attorneys pleaded for more time.

Brandon Michael Council Sr., 32, went before a judge for a pre-trial/status 
conference and the attorneys who represent him said the case is moving too 
fast, saying it is moving at "unprecedented speed" and they can't adequately 
represent Council at the pace it's going.

Police say Council killed Donna Major, 59, of Conway, and Kathryn "Katie" 
Skeen, 36, of Green Sea, during an armed bank robbery on Aug. 21 in Conway.

He has been charged federally and locally, but Monday's hearing was for the 
federal case only. Council pleaded not guilty during a hearing in October.

But prosecutors say the case isn't moving faster than others, noting that the 
case is moving at the same rate as Dylann Roof's.

Prosecutors wanted an April deadline for arguments for and against the death 
penalty so that the Department of Justice can review.

But Council's attorney's argued that April deadline was too soon and said they 
won't be able to prepare reasons against the death penalty that fast.

A final decision wasn't made today.

The judge says he'll be somewhat flexible and didn't set a court-ordered 
deadline.

He says he could have status hearings month to month to get updates from 
prosecutors and defense attorneys as to where they are in the case.

(source: WPDE news)








GEORGIA:

Shock Belt Tainted Ga. Death Penalty Trial, ACLU Lawyers Say



Lawyers for a Georgia death row inmate are asking for a new trial based on 
something the defendant was wearing during his original murder trial: a 
50,000-watt stun belt.

NOVA Security Group is the Florida company that makes the stun belt Rodney 
Young wore during his murder trial 5 years ago.

A promotional video for the product shows a series of defendants suddenly 
attacking people in courtrooms, except for the ones wearing stun belts. They 
fall to the ground seconds after they stand up.

"So the whole design is essentially for high-risk security transports and to 
enhance courtroom security for inmates or subjects that could be potentially 
violent, have a history of escape or escape attempts," said Brian Dillard, an 
instructor with NOVA security.

But lawyers for Rodney Young argued last week in court that none of that was 
the case for their client.

"In fact, all the testimony at the hearing was that our client was perfectly 
peaceful and perfectly well behaved in court," said attorney Brian Stull with 
the ACLU's Capital Punishment Project.

"There was a juror in this case, and he actually made a report to the court 
officers and said this guy looks very anxious, and that's making me anxious," 
Stull said. "I want you to make sure the security is high because I don't know 
why he's looking so anxious. And we know why."

The stun belt, Stull argued, not only terrified his client but made it hard for 
him to participate in the trial. Young's lawyers want a new trial, citing the 
device and a number of other reasons, including what they say is his 
intellectual disability. They expect a ruling to take months.

Young was convicted for the 2008 murder of his ex-fiancee's son in Newton 
County.

The use of a stun belt during trial did lead an appeals court in Indiana to 
throw out a death sentence there just this August.

The manufacturer said defendants are told how the product works before it's put 
on them, and that it's no more threatening than court officers already on hand.



FLORIDA:

State Attorney in hot seat after Gov. Scott demands answers on death penalty 
decision



In 6 days, State Attorney Aramis Ayala must answer to Governor Rick Scott as to 
why she failed to seek the death penalty in a violent murder case here in 
Central Florida.

The State Attorney has not commented on the issue.

Earlier this year Ayala said she wouldn't seek the death penalty in any case in 
the 9th Judicial Circuit. The Supreme Court said under Florida law, she has to 
review each case individually.

In response, she created a panel within her office to do just that and decide 
whether to recommend the death penalty.

Despite their recommendation to seek the death penalty in the case against 
Mapp, she didn't file to seek the death penalty.

Retired Judge Eaton says the law is pretty clear and now that the deadline has 
passed - death is off the table.

Now he says the question is whether this request from the Governor's Office 
could pose a threat Ayala's career as a state attorney.

"The law provides the Governor with the ability to suspend or remove any public 
official for malfeasance or non-malfeasance in office, and I don't know if 
negligence amounts to malfeasance," said retired Judge Eaton.

According to the notice from the Governor's office, they also ask for the 
billing documents from the time Ayala retained an attorney to represent her 
case against the Governor in that previously mentioned Supreme Court decision. 
She has until March first to supply those.

(source: baynews9.com)

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

Jury selection begins for man accused of murdering Milton couple, Bay County 
man



A man accused of killing 2 people in Milton was in a Santa Rosa County 
courtroom on Monday.

Jury selection began for Derrick Thompson. He's charged with 1st-degree murder 
in the deaths of Steven and Debra Zackowski.

They were killed in their Milton home in 2014.

Thompson is also charged with killing Allen Johnson in Bay County.

Prosecutors said, if convicted, they will seek the death penalty.

The trial was put on hold in January 2017 while the U.S. Supreme Court decided 
on Florida's revision of death penalty trial procedures.

The State Attorney's Office said jury selection could take up to 2 days.

(source: WEAR TV news)








LOUISIANA:

Shreveport man freed from death row files suit in hopes 'injustice never 
happens again'



The lawsuit filed by former death row inmate Rodricus Crawford is about more 
than justice for Crawford; it's about getting Caddo Parish officials to change 
their death-penalty-dealing ways, one of the now-freed man's attorneys said 
during a recent interview.

"Rodricus seeks justice not only for himself and for all that he lost, but also 
for people who might - God forbid - face similar circumstances," Crawford's 
attorney David J. Utter, counsel with The Claiborne Firm in Savannah, Georgia, 
said during a Louisiana Record email interview. "This lawsuit provides parish 
and city officials do the right thing by examining what went wrong in Rodricus' 
case, and instituting checks and balances to ensure such an injustice never 
happens again."

Those checks and balances were severely lacking when a Caddo District Court 
jury handed down the capital punishment sentence the following year against the 
Shreveport man in the 2012 death of his 1-year-old son Roderius "Bobo" Lott, 
according to Crawford's lawsuit.

"Mr. Crawford was convicted and sentenced to death based upon false evidence as 
a result of the failure of Defendants to conduct an unbiased autopsy based on 
professional standards of practice, and to properly train and supervise 
prosecutors in Caddo Parish," said the lawsuit filed Nov. 16 in U.S. District 
Court for Louisiana's Western District.

"Because of the lack of training and supervision and adherence to professional 
standards, the prosecution was illegally based upon both race and religion, and 
a complete indifference to the evidence. In addition, Mr. Crawford raises state 
law negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress claims; but for 
the reckless and willful conduct of defendants, Mr. Crawford would not have 
been prosecuted let alone convicted of capital murder."

In his lawsuit filed on behalf of himself and his minor daughter, Crawford 
claims he did not receive his constitutionally guaranteed right to a fair 
trial. Named defendants in the case include Caddo Parish Coroner's Office, 
Caddo Parish District Attorney's Office, Caddo Parish District Attorney James 
Stewart, former Caddo Parish District Attorney Dale Cox, Shreveport Fire 
Department and Coroner James Traylor. Crawford's lawsuit asks for a jury trial.

The Caddo Parish District Attorney's office did not respond to a Louisiana 
Record request for comment.

"Defendants knowingly participated in the investigation, arrest and capital 
prosecution driven by Caddo Parish, Louisiana's well-known history of racism 
and the arbitrary application of the death penalty," Crawford's lawsuit said. 
"But for Defendants' actions, no prosecution and conviction of Mr. Crawford 
would have occurred."

Crawford was taken into custody after bruises and other injuries were 
discovered on the child's body. Crawford reportedly told police his son had 
fallen in the bathroom and Crawford consistently maintained that he had never 
harmed his son.

His attorneys also consistently maintained that the jury relied on bad forensic 
science, and pointed to strong medical evidence that the child was suffering 
from pneumonia and died of sepsis.

"The conduct of the officials in this case, particularly the coroner Dr. 
Traylor and the prosecutor, were particularly egregious, outside the norm of a 
mistake or error," Utter said. "There was intentional misconduct."

By the time Crawford's conviction was overturned by the Louisiana Supreme Court 
in November 2016, Caddo Parish juries were widely noted for having sentenced 5 
people to death in 6 years, 38 % of the state's total death sentences.

The state's highest court ordered a new trial for Crawford after finding 
serious issues with the case, including unconstitutional exclusion of black 
jurors. Louisiana prosecutors dropped charges against Crawford this past April 
and he was freed soon after that.

"As the result of Defendants' unconstitutional, negligent and intentional acts, 
Mr. Crawford spent 4 years, 9 months, and 6 days illegally in custody," 
Crawford's lawsuit said.

Utter credited Baton Rouge lawyer Cecilia Trenticosta Kappel, his co-counsel in 
Crawford's lawsuit who is active with the Capital Appeals Project and the 
Promise of Justice Initiative, for much of the work done to exonerate Crawford.

"Cecelia is the real hero amongst the lawyers on the case," Utter said.

Crawford's lawsuit is necessary to get defendants and others to do the right 
thing, Utter said.

"Unfortunately, many innocent people who spent time in jail or prison have to 
file a lawsuit before officials will do what is right," Utter said, referring 
to the overturned murder conviction of Sabein Burgess in Maryland.

"Rodricus only filed because the officials responsible for this miscarriage of 
justice failed to apologize and offer to discuss a settlement that provided 
justice to him, his family and ensure something like this never happens again 
in Shreveport," Utter said.

(source: Louisiana Record)