[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., FLA., ALA., OHIO, CALIF., USA

[Rick Halperin]

Dec. 14



TEXAS:

Texas leads the nation in executions, but its death row population is 
dropping----Texas executed more people than any other state this year, but 
fewer new death sentences has led to a shrinking death row population.



The number of inmates on Texas' death row dropped again this year, continuing a 
decades-long trend.

The decline is caused largely by fewer new death sentences and more reduced 
punishments in recent years, according to end-of-year reports released Thursday 
by groups critical of the death penalty in Texas and across the country. But 
Texas still held more executions than any other state.

"Prosecutors, juries, judges, and the public are subjecting our state's death 
penalty practices to unprecedented scrutiny," said Kristin Houle, executive 
director of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, in the release of 
the group's annual report. "In an increasing number of cases, they are 
accepting alternatives to this flawed and irreversible punishment."

Kent Scheidegger, legal director of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, 
which has supported death penalty practices in legal cases throughout the 
country, said he agrees that the decline is partially due to shifting attitudes 
among jurors and prosecutors, but added that death sentences are also down 
because there has been a drop in the murder rate nationwide.

"The support for the death penalty for the worst crimes remains strong," he 
said.

There are currently 234 inmates living with death sentences in Texas, according 
to the state's prison system. That number has been dropping since 2003. The 
death row population peaked at 460 in 1999, according to the Bureau of Justice 
Statistics.

Here's how the death row population has changed over the last year:

7 men were executed.

The same number of men were put to death this year as in 2016, which had the 
fewest executions in 2 decades. But even with its relatively low number, Texas 
was still the state with the most executions in the country. This isn't unusual 
given that the state has put to death nearly 5 times more individuals than any 
other state since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, according to the 
Death Penalty Information Center.

Texas accounted for 30 % of the nation's 23 executions in 2017. Arkansas was 
2nd in the country with 4. Last year, Georgia put more people to death than 
Texas - the 1st time Texas hasn't been responsible for the most executions 
since 2001.

4 more men got cells on death row.

1 more person was sentenced to death this year than in 2015 and 2016, when only 
3 men were handed the death penalty in each of those years.

The number of new sentences, which ranged in the 20s and 30s each year in the 
early 2000s, dropped in 2005 after jurors were given the option to sentence 
convicts to life without the possibility of parole as an alternative to the 
death penalty. Before then, if a capital murder convict wasn't sentenced to 
death, he or she would be eligible for parole after 40 years. About 10 people 
in Texas were sentenced each year after that until the additional decrease in 
2015. 2 men died while awaiting execution.

Joseph Lave and Raymond Martinez both died this year before they were taken to 
the death chamber, even though they had had extended stays in prison. Lave 
passed away more than 22 years after his murder conviction, and Martinez had 
lived more than 30 years with a death sentence.

4 men had their sentences changed from death to life in prison.

2 U.S. Supreme Court decisions this year have so far resulted in the reduction 
of 3 death sentences to life in prison. The high court ruled against Texas in 
the death penalty cases of Duane Buck and Bobby Moore.

Buck reached a plea agreement with Harris County prosecutors to change his 
death sentence to life in October after a February ruling by the court said his 
case was prejudiced by an expert trial witness who claimed Buck was more likely 
to be a future danger because he is black.

In Moore's case, the justices invalidated Texas' method for determining if a 
death-sentenced inmate was intellectually disabled and therefore ineligible for 
execution. Though Moore's case has yet to be resolved (Harris County has asked 
the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to reduce his sentence to life), 2 other 
men on death row with intellectual disability claims received life sentences 
after the ruling.

Another man this April received a new punishment hearing in a 1991 murder and 
pled guilty, landing four consecutive life sentences over the death penalty, 
according to the Texas death penalty report.

9 men narrowly escaped execution - for now.

Executions were scheduled - then canceled - for 9 men this year. 6 were stopped 
by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in light of pending appeals, and one was 
stopped by a federal court, the report said.

1 man, Larry Swearingen, evaded execution in November because of a clerical 
error, and convicted serial killer Anthony Shore's death was postponed because 
prosecutors were concerned he would confess to the murder for which Swearingen 
was convicted.

(source: Texas Tribune)








PENNSYLVANIA:

Convicted killer asks judge for DNA test of evidence 35 years after murder



Convicted killer James J. Koedatich wants his DNA tested to prove he did not 
rape and murder Parsippany teenager Amie Hoffman in 1982, his lawyer told a 
judge Wednesday.

Koedatich, who was found guilty of murdering Deirdre O'Brien, 25, of Mendham 
Township 2 weeks after Hoffman was killed, sought to reopen just the Hoffman 
case. He filed a motion earlier this year to have his DNA compared to semen 
found in Hoffman's body during her autopsy.

Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Christopher Schellhorn said he is actively 
working with multiple agencies to determine whether slides containing the semen 
have been retained by authorities, including the state Medical Examiner's 
Office and the Morris County Medical Examiner's Office.

"My office is coordinating with all the offices involved," Schellhorn told 
Superior Court Judge Paul Armstrong.

The questions that need to be answered are whether the slides have been 
retained and whether the samples are of sufficient quality to undergo DNA 
testing, attorneys said. If the samples are found, Koedatich would willingly 
provide a DNA sample for comparison purposes, his lawyer said. Testing would 
occur at a State Police laboratory.

Schellhorn noted that Koedatich's DNA was not tested against the samples from 
Hoffman's body in 1982 because the science was not established at that time. 
The Prosecutor's Office is not opposed to the testing. DNA was found to be 
scientifically reliable as evidence in New Jersey courtrooms in 1996.

Koedatich's motion pertained only to the rape and murder of Hoffman, 18, who 
was abducted on Nov. 23, 1982 after leaving her job at the Surprise Store at 
the Morris County Mall in Hanover Township. Her body was found 2 days later in 
a water holding tank in Randolph Township. The Parsippany Hills High School 
senior and cheerleader had died of multiple stab wounds.

Koedatich also was convicted of kidnapping and murdering O'Brien, Dec. 5, 1982. 
His motion does not seek to reopen the O'Brien slaying.

"Back then they couldn't determine whose semen that was," Bilinkas said after 
the hearing. "They didn't do DNA testing. Now, with all the procedures, they 
clearly can determine whether it was Mr. Koedatich."

If viable samples are found, compared to Koedatich's DNA and show he was not 
the source of the semen, the Hoffman case would be re-opened.

Hoffman's parents have since died, but her sister has been notified of the 
motion. Prominent victim's rights advocate Richard Pompelio is in touch with 
Hoffman's sister and was in court Wednesday for the brief hearing.

"He's got nothing else to do in prison. One of the many jailhouse lawyers put 
this idea in his head," Pompelio previously said of the motion.

Extra security was in place for Koedatich's appearance, including the state 
corrections officers, Morris County sheriff's officers and members of the 
Sheriff's Office Emergency Response Team.

Koedatich's appeals of the 2 convictions have long been exhausted and he is 
serving consecutive life sentences at New Jersey State Prison.

His trials for the Hoffman and O'Brien murders were capital punishment cases in 
which the death penalty was sought. The O'Brien jury was not unanimous in 
voting for death so his sentence was life. The Hoffman jury voted for the death 
penalty but the Supreme Court reversed and remanded for a new death penalty 
phase. The new jury did not vote for the death penalty.

According to 1982 published reports, women in Morris County were warned not to 
travel alone at night following the 2 murders. Koedatich brought himself to the 
attention of law enforcement in January 1983 by stabbing himself in the back 
then telling police he was run off the road and stabbed by an assailant. His 
vehicle was inspected as part of the investigation and a county sheriff's 
officer noticed the tires on Koedatich's car matched the tire prints left at 
the scene of O'Brien's abduction in Morris Township.

Koedatich also served 11 years in prison after being found guilty of killing 
his roommate in Florida in the 1970's. According to news accounts, while 
serving that sentence he killed another inmate, but it was ruled self-defense. 
He was released from the Florida prison in 1982, a few months before the murder 
of the 2 Morris County women, according to news accounts.

(source: daily record.com)

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

Cosmo DiNardo may still face death penalty in Bucks County murders



The suspect in the murders of 4 men, whose bodies were found buried on a Bucks 
County farm this past summer, may end up facing the death penalty after all.

Cosmo DiNardo, 20, had previously made a deal with prosecutors that would allow 
him to avoid the death penalty if he helped investigators.

On Wednesday, the Bucks County district attorney's office filed a notice in 
court that indicates prosecutors reserve the right to seek the death penalty if 
DiNardo is convicted and stops helping in the investigation.

DiNardo along with his cousin and alleged accomplice, 20-year-old Sean Kratz, 
are due in court for an arraignment Thursday.

A separate court filing on Wednesday indicates Kratz still faces the death 
penalty in this case.

Authorities say the four victims were lured to the farm and then shot back in 
July. Their bodies were then moved with a backhoe, burned and buried.

DiNardo is facing charges of conspiracy, murder, abuse of a corpse and robbery 
in connection with the deaths of Dean Finocchiaro, Jimi Patrick, Mark Sturgis 
and Tom Meo.

Their bodies were discovered in July buried on a DiNardo family farm in 
Solebury.

(source: WPVI TV news)








FLORIDA:

Santa Rosa County jury weighs death penalty in murder of Milton couple



A Santa Rosa County jury that convicted a man of murdering a Milton couple over 
oxycodone pills must now decide whether to recommend the death penalty in the 
case.

Last week, the same jury found Derrick Ray Thompson, 45, guilty of 2 counts of 
1st-degree murder for killing Steven and Debra Zackowski.

Thompson was doing electrical work at a home the Milton couple was building in 
2014 and was being paid for the work in opioid pills. Thompson told the jury he 
became addicted to painkillers after he hurt his back at work 2 years ago.

Thompson believed Steven Zackowski was shorting him on pills, and on July 20, 
2014, he went to the couple's home and shot and killed them both.

The state is seeking the death penalty for Thompson, claiming his actions were 
premeditated.

But defense attorney Michelle Hendrix claimed Wednesday that Thompson's 
debilitating addiction rendered him unable to comprehend what he was doing.

She said he bought the gun used in the murders the day before because he was 
planning to commit suicide.

The defense questioned expert witness Daniel Buffington, a forensic 
pharmacologist, about the impact of opioid addiction on patients.

He told the jury that everyone has a different tolerance level, but anyone who 
uses a drug will eventually gain a tolerance to it that pushes them to continue 
using more of it.

Thompson was prescribed increasing doses of oxycodone without much medical 
oversight, Buffington said. In the months before the Zackowskis' murders, he 
was being prescribed 135 pills per month.

"The drive for the substance begins to interfere with even everyday 
activities," Buffington said.

Prosecutor John Molchan asked Buffington how many opioid addicts had committed 
1 murder - let alone 2 - and Buffington said he did not have those statistics.

Thompson wiped tears from his eyes as his former high school friend, Kevin 
Cobb, described their friendship and Thompson's reserved, quiet nature.

Cobb said he has been writing to Thompson during his incarceration, and the 2 
men have discussed faith and Thompson's remorse.

When asked about Thompson's demeanor, Cobb said he was "broken."

The defense rested its case at about 2 p.m., and the state then brought forward 
its only witness.

Forensic psychologist Gregory Prichard said the defense's argument that 
Thompson didn't understand the criminality of his actions was irrelevant 
because of what Thompson did after the murders.

Police claim Thompson stole the Zackowskis' truck and drove to Panama City, 
where he killed another man, Allen Johnson. Thompson then allegedly stole 
Johnson's truck and drove to a hunting camp in rural Alabama, where he was 
eventually apprehended.

Thompson still faces 1 count of murder in Bay County for Johnson's death.

The jury will begin deliberating the death penalty portion of Thompson's case 
Thursday morning. Under new Florida law, the jury must unanimously recommend 
the death penalty for it to be imposed.

(source: Pensacola News Journal)

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

State Attorney Ayala not alone in missing death penalty deadline



When Orange-Osceola State Attorney Aramis Ayala missed a key deadline this fall 
to seek the death penalty against an accused murderer, Gov. Rick Scott blasted 
the elected prosecutor.

"It is absolutely outrageous that Aramis Ayala failed to seek justice in the 
case against Emerita Mapp," the governor said in a Nov. 17 statement. "I have 
been clear that I stand with the victims of crime and their families and they 
deserve answers from the State Attorney's Office on how this critical deadline 
was not met."

Likewise, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi expressed dismay with Ayala for 
missing the death penalty filing deadline by 3 weeks.

"What (Ayala) did is inexcusable in failing to meet a deadline required in a 
capital case," Bondi said in a statement earlier this week. "In no way do we 
condone her behavior. She continues to demonstrate that she is incompetent and 
unwilling to handle capital cases."

Yet when David Aronberg, the state attorney of Palm Beach County, recently 
missed a similar deadline to seek the death penalty in a murder case there, 
Scott and Bondi offered no public criticism.

Likewise, the governor and attorney general have not publicly demanded answers 
from Aronberg about why his office missed the filing deadline by 2 weeks.

"Only State Attorney Ayala has issued a blanket statement that their office 
wouldn't seek the death penalty," the governor's office told News 6.

Representatives with Scott's office did not answer specific questions posed by 
News 6, including whether the governor had contacted the Palm Beach County 
State Attorney's Office about its delinquent death penalty filing.

"This is like comparing apples and oranges," said Bondi's spokesperson, Whitney 
Ray, who confirmed the attorney general's office has not issued any statements 
critical of Aronberg's missed death penalty deadline.

"State Attorney Ayala has been defiant in following the law, whereas Aronberg's 
office made one mistake," Ray said.

Palm Beach County prosecutor misses death penalty deadline

In October, Aronberg's office was 14 days late in filing court papers required 
to seek the death penalty against Tashane Chantiloupe.

Authorities in Boca Raton said Chantiloupe gunned down an acquaintance who had 
been a key witness in a previous criminal case against the accused murderer.

Under Florida law, prosecutors must file a notice to seek the death penalty 
within 45 days of the defendant's arraignment.

Aronberg's spokesperson declined to comment on why the deadline was missed, 
saying it would be in appropriate to comment on a specific case that is still 
being prosecuted by their office.

Aronberg has filed a motion in court attempting to seek capital punishment 
against Chantiloupe despite missing the filing deadline.

Unlike Aronberg, Ayala has been a vocal opponent of the death penalty.

"(Aronberg's) office seeks death in approximately 35 % of all 1st-degree murder 
cases and Ayala seeks them in none," Ray said. "(It's) an oversight versus a 
state attorney who refuses to follow the law."

Ayala previously fought death penalty

While Ayala has not personally directed her office to seek capital punishment, 
a panel of her employees tasked with making such decisions has filed death 
penalty notices in 3 homicide cases, 2 of which remain open.

Ayala has previously expressed reluctance to seek capital punishment, citing 
its high cost, lack of deterrence and lengthy appeals process. In March, Ayala 
announced her office would not seek capital punishment in any case prosecuted 
by her office.

Ayala's decision prompted Scott to reassign more than two dozen potential death 
penalty cases to a neighboring state attorney's office. In response, Ayala 
unsuccessfully sued the governor, claiming he overstepped his authority by 
removing cases from her office.

After the Florida Supreme Court ruled that Ayala had a legal obligation to 
consider capital punishment on a case-by-case basis rather than implementing a 
blanket policy against it, the state attorney established a panel of 
prosecutors to review potential death penalty cases.

Since September, Ayala's 7-member panel has unanimously recommended capital 
punishment in 3 cases, including Mapp.

In Mapp's case, Ayala blamed the missed death penalty filing deadline on Scott 
for failing to reassign the case to neighboring State Attorney Brad King.

"The governor missed it," Ayala told News 6, pointing out that other murder 
cases filed before and after Mapp's arrest had been reassigned to King. "If you 
look at the timeline, it was the governor who said he was reviewing it."

"It is outrageous State Attorney Ayala is attempting to pass the blame for her 
failure," Scott said in response. "Let's be clear - State Attorney Ayala failed 
to meet this deadline and she alone is responsible for not fighting for justice 
for the victims in this case."

Last week, Ayala announced that Mapp had agreed to a plea deal in which she 
will be sentenced to life in prison.

"The prosecutor felt it was in the best interest of justice to honor the offer 
(of life in prison), which was relayed prior to the 45-day (death penalty 
notice) deadline," Ayala said. "As a result of this plea, Emerita Mapp will 
ultimately die in prison and the family of the victims will not have to endure 
the long and difficult process associated with a death penalty trial."

Ayala cites missed deadline in Palm Beach County case

In a letter sent to the governor Monday, Ayala referred to the Chantiloupe case 
now being prosecuted in Palm Beach County.

In that case, the state attorney's office has filed a motion arguing that the 
delay in filing a death penalty notice has not violated the accused murderer's 
rights.

"To automatically punish the state for the 2-week delay in this nascent capital 
case would improperly elevate form over substance," Aronberg wrote.

In the motion, Aronberg cites several Florida laws he believes will allow him 
to seek the death penalty against Chantiloupe despite the missed deadline.

Prior to reaching a plea agreement with Mapp, Ayala suggested her office might 
use a similar legal strategy to keep the death penalty on the table.

"We were well-aware of relevant case law supporting the legal argument that a 
missed deadline creates no prejudice," Ayala wrote in her letter to the 
governor.

(source: clickorlando.com)








ALABAMA----new execution date

Execution date set for convicted killer in Alabama who is terminally ill



The Alabama Supreme Court on Wednesday set an execution date for a man who has 
spent 30 years on the state's death row.

Doyle Lee Hamm, 60, is scheduled to die on Feb. 22, 2018, according to 
Wednesday's order. Hamm has been at Holman Prison since December 1987 after 
being convicted in the murder of Patrick Cunningham.

Cunningham, an employee of Anderson's Motel in Cullman, was killed during a 
robbery that apparently netted about $410. In the course of the investigation, 
Hamm confessed to the murder; in exchange for being allowed to plead guilty to 
lesser offense, 2 accomplices testified against him. Hamm was from Mississippi 
at the time.

His lawyer said in a press release also issued Wednesday that Hamm is 
terminally ill and that execution would constitute "cruel and unusual 
punishment," in violation of the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. 
Attorney Bernard E. Harcourt, his lawyer and a professor of law and political 
science at Columbia, said Hamm has been battling cranial and lymphatic cancer 
for over 3 years. Treatment for the illness has compromised his veins, and 
lethal injection would likely cause "cruel and needless pain," according to 
papers filed by Harcourt, who has represented Hamm since 1990.

"What we're litigating right now is the specific venous protocol for lethal 
injection as applied to Doyle's situation, given his lymphatic cancer, rather 
than the general cruelty of the drug cocktail in Alabama," says Harcourt, the 
Isidor and Seville Sulzbacher Professor of Law, Professor of Political Science, 
and executive director of the Eric H. Holder Initiative for Civil and Political 
Rights. "Overall, I have to say, it's inhumane to execute somebody who's at the 
end of his life suffering and battling with cancer."

Harcourt retained Dr. Mark Heath, an anesthesiologist and professor of medicine 
at Columbia University, to examine Hamm in late September 2017. Heath assessed 
Hamm's condition by using Harcourt's tie as a tourniquet to probe for veins 
because corrections officials did not allow him to bring medical equipment into 
the prison.

"There are no accessible veins on [Hamm's] left upper extremity (arm/hand) or 
either of his lower extremities (legs/feet)," Heath found. Use of one 
"potentially accessible" vein on Hamm's right hand "would have a high chance of 
rupturing the vein and being unsuccessful," he added in a written statement 
Harcourt filed with the court.

The inability of corrections personnel to inject the drugs properly could 
"cause Mr. Hamm to become paralyzed and consciously suffocate" and would be "an 
agonizing death," said Heath, whose research has documented problems in the 
administration of lethal injections nationwide.

7 % of lethal injections in the U.S. between 1890 and 2010 were botched, 
according to data compiled by the Death Penalty Information Center.

Harcourt asked the court to order corrections officials to disclose how they 
would successfully complete venous access for the execution, to appoint a 
special master to oversee a proper medical examination in advance, and to 
approve an agreed-upon protocol to "humanely achieve lethal injection."

Harcourt has fought to have Hamm's death sentence reduced to life in prison 
without the possibility of parole, arguing, among other things, that Hamm was 
sentenced based on an unconstitutional prior conviction and after ineffective 
assistance of counsel. In 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Hamm's 
appeal.

Harcourt is assisted in the appeal by 2 students, Nika Cohen and Phoebe Wolfe, 
both in their 3rd year at Columbia Law School. Egon Von Conway, a 2017 graduate 
of Columbia College; Isadora Ruyter-Harcourt, a 2016 graduate of Barnard 
College; and Anna Krauthamer, executive coordinator of the Columbia Center for 
Contemporary Critical Thought, are also working on Hamm's case and supporting 
the legal team.

In court papers, Harcourt points to the case of David Nelson, a death row 
inmate in Alabama whose veins were found to be unusable. Heath examined Nelson 
and testified on his behalf. Nelson's execution was stayed in 2003; he died in 
prison in 2009.

Hamm's execution is the 2nd one already set for 2018.

The Alabama Supreme Court set Jan. 25 for the execution of Vernon Madison, who 
was convicted of killing a Mobile police officer more than 30 years ago. The 
U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled Alabama can execute Madison-- who claimed to 
be mentally incompetent and was granted a stay of execution in 2016.

(source: al.com)

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

Appeals court upholds decision in death penalty case



The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals upheld an Etowah County Circuit Court 
ruling dismissing a death-row inmate's post-conviction petition.

Timothy Scott Boyle was convicted and sentenced to die after the 2005 death of 
his girlfriend's 2-year-old daughter.

The girl was taken to a Gadsden hospital Oct. 26, 2005, and later died as a 
result of brain swelling from a blunt force trauma injury to her head. She also 
was found to have bruises and a cigarette burn.

At trial, her then-5-year old sister testified that Boyle hit the girl's head 
on a car door while putting her in her car seat about a week before her death, 
and that the night before she went to the hospital, he threw the toddler 
against the side of the bathtub and held her head underwater several times.

The sister said Savannah threw up in the bed they shared that night, and the 
next morning, she could not wake her.

Evidence at the trial included vomit-stained sheets investigators found at the 
Rainbow City apartment.

Boyle's attorneys sough post-conviction relief claiming he had ineffective 
counsel during his trial and in the sentencing portion of his trial in 2009.

In March, Etowah County Circuit Judge David Kimberley dismissed the motion.

Boyle's lawyers appealed the decision to the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, 
which upheld Kimberley's decision.

(source: gadsdentimes.com)








OHIO:

Mentor-on-the-Lake death penalty case: New trial confirmed by Ohio Supreme 
Court



It's official.

The former Perry Township man who was sentenced to death row for a Mentor 
woman's rape and murder will get a new trial.

The Ohio Supreme Court has refused to reconsider its previous decision that 
reversed Joseph Thomas' convictions.

Thomas was found guilty in 2012 for the death of Annie McSween.

The 49-year-old victim's body was found on Nov. 26, 2010, in a wooded area 
outside of Mario's Lakeway Lounge in Mentor-on- the-Lake, where she worked as a 
bartender.

Lake County Prosecutor Charles Coulson said he is disappointed the high court 
did not grant his request to reconsider the case.

"In my opinion, the court's reasoning for reversal was both factually and 
legally flawed as pointed out in our motion for reconsideration," Coulson said. 
"Now we will have to retry the case."

A new trial date before Lake County Common Pleas Judge Richard L. Collins Jr. 
had not yet been scheduled.

Thomas will remain in prison until trial, the prosecutor said.

After Thomas was convicted, Collins chose to adopt the jury's recommendation of 
death rather than downgrade the sentence to life in prison. In a 4-3 vote in 
October, the Supreme Court overturned the death sentence and ordered a new 
trial be scheduled for Thomas.

The Lake County Prosecutor's Office then filed a motion for reconsideration, 
arguing that the high court's majority neglected to fully analyze the issues, 
confused legal standards and failed to use its own law, instead "cherry-picking 
cases from outside Ohio" to make its decision.

McSween was strangled and stabbed multiple times in the neck and back on Black 
Friday. The power lines to the bar had been cut, and McSween and 2 other women 
had their tires slashed.

Thomas has maintained his innocence and claimed he had no motivation to commit 
the crime.

Although Thomas had frequently been seen carrying a blue pocketknife before 
that night, it was not recovered during the criminal investigation. At trial, 
prosecutors introduced five other knives Thomas owned, describing them as "full 
Rambo combat knives."

Justice Terrence O'Donnell wrote the court's lead opinion, which determined the 
trial court committed plain error by admitting those 5 knives that prosecutors 
knew were not used in the crime into evidence. The majority found a reasonable 
probability that the error affected the outcome of the trial, and that reversal 
was necessary to prevent a manifest miscarriage of justice.

"The state claims that the Court has ignored Ohio cases on this evidentiary 
issue, in favor of cases from other jurisdictions. That is a false and unfair 
accusation," Thomas' appellate lawyer Timothy F. Sweeney argued.

The 3 dissenting justices found the prosecution presented substantial evidence 
to support the jury's verdict independent of the admitted knife evidence.

(source: news-herald.com)








CALIFORNIA----new death sentence

Jurors vote for death penalty for mother's boyfriend in torture killing of 
8-year-old Palmdale boy



Jurors on Wednesday voted for the death penalty for a man convicted of fatally 
torturing his girlfriend's young son - a savage slaying that led to sweeping 
reform within Los Angeles County's child-welfare system.

The verdict ended a murder trial in which jurors heard and saw disturbing 
evidence about how 8-year-old Gabriel Fernandez suffered repeated abuse at the 
hands of Isauro Aguirre, 37, who stared ahead expressionless as he heard the 
pronouncement.

After a bailiff escorted Aguirre from the courtroom, the jury forewoman read 
aloud from a public statement written by the panel, which had deliberated for 
about 7 hours over 3 days.

"We were plucked out of our everyday lives and brought together to serve," she 
said. "We came together to bring justice for Gabriel."

When paramedics arrived at the boy's Palmdale home on May 22, 2013, Gabriel was 
unconscious and had a cracked skull, broken ribs, burned and bruised skin, 
missing teeth and BB pellets lodged in his groin. He died 2 days later after 
being removed from life support.

During closing arguments in the penalty phase of Aguirre's trial, Deputy Dist. 
Atty. Jonathan Hatami told jurors that in the months leading up to the boy's 
death, the defendant had reveled in his brutalization, forcing Gabriel to eat 
cat feces and his own vomit. The boy slept in a small cabinet, the prosecutor 
said, with his ankles handcuffed, his hands bound and his mouth gagged with a 
sock.

"No human with a heart and soul could do that to an innocent little boy," 
Hatami told jurors, arguing that Aguirre hated the boy because he suspected he 
was gay.

As the prosecutor detailed the abuse - the boy was punched in the face with 
such force, he said, that skin was missing from his chin and nose - 2 jurors 
cried softly and several closed their eyes.

Hatami asked the jurors to "show the defendant the exact same mercy he showed 
Gabriel."

Deputy Public Defender John Alan also spoke of mercy, asking jurors to sentence 
his client to life in prison without parole, instead of death.

"Mercy isn't something that's ever earned," he said. "It's something that is 
freely granted."

Alan reminded jurors that during the trial, some of Aguirre's family members 
and co-workers at a retirement home, where he worked as a caregiver for elderly 
people, had testified that they hoped his life would be spared as they knew him 
to be "gentle, kind, patient, respectful." A juror shook her head.

The defense attorney said even the lesser sentence of life in prison was 
"severe" and terrified his client, adding that Aguirre likely has a learning 
disability.

Last month, during closing arguments in the guilt phase of Aguirre's trial, his 
other attorney, Deputy Public Defender Michael Sklar, said although his client 
"was completely out of control," he hadn't tried to kill the boy. Aguirre had 
acted in a burst of rage, the attorney argued, and therefore was guilty of 
2nd-degree murder, but not a higher charge.

Aguirre was convicted of 1st-degree murder on Nov. 15 and jurors also found 
true the allegation that the murder was committed using torture.

After the penalty was read Wednesday, the prosecutor appeared misty-eyed and 
held a tissue in his hand. Nearby, Gabriel's father sat solemnly, staring at 
the floor. As he walked out of the courtroom, he locked eyes with a sheriff's 
detective who helped investigate the case. "Thank you," he whispered. The 
detective nodded, patting him on the back.

Outside of the courthouse, a juror, who asked to be identified only as a 
25-year-old who works in social media, said even a death sentence didn't seem 
like "enough justice." Throughout the trial, she said, she woke up each morning 
with Gabriel on her mind - he was there, too, as she fell asleep each night. 
The photographs of his small, battered body - the bruises and blood on his neck 
- will stay with her forever, she said.

"It's heartbreaking," she said.

Gabriel's death led as well to criminal charges against L.A. County social 
workers, who left the boy in the home with his mom and her boyfriend despite 6 
investigations into abuse allegations involving his mother, Pearl Sinthia 
Fernandez, who is also charged with murder.

At a court hearing for the social workers earlier in the year, a judge said 
that their actions amounted to criminal negligence, adding that in the months 
before the boy's death "red flags were everywhere."

Sheriff's deputies also visited the home multiple times in the months before 
the killing and prosecutors noted in court papers that some of the deputies 
were later disciplined in connection with Gabriel's death.

Aguirre is scheduled to be sentenced on March 8.

(source: Los Angeles Times)

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

Alleged 1980 child killer charged with murder, could face death penalty



On Wednesday prosecutors filed a special circumstances murder charge against 
Mitchell Lynn Bacom for the 37-year-old kidnapping and homicide of a young teen 
girl, capping off the surprise announcement this week that the case had been 
solved.

Bacom, 63, is accused of of murdering 14-year-old Suzanne Bombardier in 1980 by 
stabbing her to death. The lone charge carries enhancements that accuse Bacom 
of burglary, kidnapping the young teen, and molesting her, which could make him 
eligible for the death penalty.

Bacom denied a reporter's request to interview him in jail Tuesday.

Typically in special circumstances cases, the Contra Costa District Attorney's 
office forms a committee of veteran prosecutors to make a recommendation about 
whether to seek death. Recently-appointed DA Diane Becton, a retired judge who 
has spoken out against the death penalty, will have the final say.

If the death penalty is taken off of the table, Bacom will be looking at a 
possible sentence of life without parole, if convicted of murdering Suzanne.

"That process could take months," Deputy District Attorney Barry Grove said 
Wednesday, after he filed the case.

Bacom remains in county jail, and his arraignment has been scheduled for 
Thursday at 9 a.m. If he enters a plea, he is entitled to a preliminary hearing 
- where prosecutors publicly unveil the bulk of the evidence against him - 
within 60 days, but many defendants waive that right.

The unexpected news of Bacom's arrest has revived the shock and horror felt by 
the local community more than 37 years ago, when Suzanne turned up missing 
while babysitting 2 of her nieces.

Investigators determined that she was taken against her will during the early 
morning hours of June 22, 1980. Her body was found floating in the Antioch 
river 5 days later. Police recovered small, degraded biological material from 
her body, but it would take until 2017 before DNA technology improved enough to 
generate a usable profile, which was ultimately run through a federal database 
and matched to Bacom.

Bacom was employed as a truck driver who hauled chemical tanks and had held odd 
jobs over the years as both a truck driver and auto mechanic, according to 
Bacom's sister, Marsha Wooldridge.

Former lead investigators on the case said this week that Bacom knew the family 
and had tried to date Suzanne's sister, and their mother. He had been a 
longtime suspect in the killing, which went cold and frustrated all who worked 
on it. Local authorities credited retired Antioch police Cpt. Leonard Orman, 
who was hired back to work on this and other cold cases, with never forgetting 
Suzanne.

"Leonard is a pit bull when it comes to these cases and won't let go," Sgt. Tom 
Fuhrmann said after news of the arrest.

Bacom was convicted of attempted murder in 1973 after he sliced a woman's 
throat, and 25 years later admitted to a reporter he'd tried to kill her. 
Authorities say he is a person of interest in similar area killings, but have 
also cautioned against jumping to conclusions.

"You really need something tangible," said Paul Holes, chief of forensics for 
the Contra Costa District Attorney"s office. "It can't just be a suspicion."

(source: Contra Costa Times)








USA:

U.S. Sees 2nd Fewest Death Sentences and Executions in 25 Years



Public Support for Death Penalty Drops to 45-Year Low as 4 More Death-Row 
Prisoners Exonerated in 2017

Executions and death sentences remained near historically low levels in 2017, 
as public support for the death penalty fell to its lowest level in 45 years, 
according to a report released today by the Death Penalty Information Center 
(DPIC). 8 states carried out 23 executions, 1/2 the number of 7 years ago, and 
the 2nd lowest total since 1991. Only the 20 executions in 2016 were lower. 14 
states and the federal government are projected to impose 39 new death 
sentences in 2017, the 2nd lowest annual total since the U.S. Supreme Court 
declared the death penalty unconstitutional in 1972. It was the 7th year in a 
row that fewer than 100 death sentences were imposed nationwide.

The report, graphics, and audio clips are available at 
https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/YearEnd2017

"Perhaps more than any place else, the changes in Harris County, Texas are 
symbolic of the long-term change in capital punishment in the United States. 
For the 1st time since 1974, the county that has carried out more executions 
than any other did not execute any prisoner or sentence any defendant to 
death," said Robert Dunham, DPIC's Executive Director.

"Across the political spectrum, more people are coming to the view that there 
are better ways to keep us safe than executing a handful of offenders selected 
from a random death-penalty lottery. There will be times when numbers fluctuate 
- particularly following historic highs or lows - but the steady long-term 
decline in the death penalty since the 1990s suggests that in most of the 
country, the death penalty is becoming obsolete," Dunham said. DPIC provides 
information and analysis and tracks data on the death penalty, but does not 
take a position for or against capital punishment.

The new death sentences imposed in 2017 highlight the increasing geographic 
isolation and arbitrary nature of the death penalty, Dunham said. "By 
themselves, 3 outlier counties - Riverside, CA; Clark, NV; and Maricopa, AZ - 
were responsible for more than 30% of all the death sentences imposed 
nationwide. The other 3,140 counties and parishes imposed fewer new death 
sentences than even last year's record low." Riverside imposed 5 death 
sentences in 2017, Clark 4, and Maricopa 3, and no other county imposed as many 
as 2. It was the 2nd time in 3 years that Riverside sentenced more people to 
death than any other county.

States scheduled 81 executions in 2017, but 58 of them - more than 70 % - were 
never carried out. Nearly 75 % of executions took place in 4 states: Texas (7); 
Arkansas (4); Florida (3); and Alabama (3). But Texas's state courts stayed 
seven other executions using new laws to permit those prisoners to obtain 
judicial review of false or misleading evidence, and its execution total tied 
2016 for the fewest conducted by the state since 1996.

Systemic problems with racial discrimination, flawed or fraudulent forensic 
testimony, poor legal representation, and prosecutorial misconduct contributed 
to four death-row exonerations in 2017. In 1 exoneration this year, an 
African-American man in Louisiana had been convicted of killing his infant son, 
even though an autopsy showed his son died of natural causes.

Many believe that the risk of executing the innocent is one of the leading 
factors behind the public's decrease in support for the death penalty. 
According to the Gallup poll, public support for the death penalty dropped by 5 
% in 2017, and Republicans registered a 10 % point drop since last year. This 
year's 55 % support marks the lowest level since 1972, just before the U.S. 
Supreme Court ruled the nation's death penalty laws unconstitutional.

The Death Penalty Information Center (www.deathpenaltyinfo.org) is a non-profit 
organization serving the media and the public with analysis and information on 
issues concerning capital punishment. DPIC was founded in 1990 and prepares 
in-depth reports, issues press releases, conducts briefings for the media, and 
serves as a resource to those working on this issue.

(source: Death Penalty Information Center)

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

Republicans reconsidering the death penalty



The mere idea of Republicans sponsoring death penalty repeal bills in great 
numbers was once considered an unlikely notion. However, Conservatives 
Concerned about the Death Penalty recently released a report revealing how 
Republicans are championing measures to end capital punishment at 
never-before-seen rates.

The shift is stunning. Consider this: From 2000 to 2012, the annual number of 
Republican repeal champions never rose above single digits. Yet, from 2013 
onward, the number surged and has been gaining momentum. In fact, in 2016, 
Republicans accounted for more than 1/3 of all sponsors nationwide, and there 
were 10 times as many elected Republican advocates that year than there were in 
2000. What's causing this massive shift?

The makeup of many legislatures across the country has been altered. Following 
the emergence of the limited government, constitutional Tea Party revolution 
beginning in 2009, numerous conservative activists were elected to state posts. 
As a result, legislatures have grown ever more conservative, and many of these 
Tea partyers, already suspicious of government's abuse of power, ultimately 
concluded that costs associated with implementing the death penalty clashed 
with their principles of fiscal restraint.

As many legislatures have swung to the right, their membership is also growing 
younger as more millennials are being elected. However, young Americans, 
especially Christian millennials, are statistically more likely to oppose the 
death penalty. Together, energetic Tea partyers and youthful legislators have 
joined with many of their more established Republican colleagues, including 
Catholics, who have disapproved of, or at least questioned, capital punishment 
for years. When these conservative factions intermingled, they realized that 
together they had a real chance at repealing the death penalty for the right 
reasons.

These same legislators have been emboldened by their constituents to take 
definitive action because voters across all population segments are turning 
against the death penalty. Support for the death penalty is at a 45-year low, 
with some surveys showing that a clear majority prefers repealing and replacing 
the death penalty. This polling is not lost on keen state legislators who 
maintain a pulse on their constituents' wishes. Furthermore, many capital 
punishment proponents simply aren't that supportive of the program. According 
to a Death Penalty Information Center poll, the majority of respondents claimed 
that they wouldn't vote against a legislator who supported repeal. With death 
penalty opposition rising and capital punishment supporters feeling less than 
impassioned, many freshman and veteran legislators alike feel that the time is 
right to make a move.

But what caused this drop in conservative support in the first place? While 
many had already been opposed to the death penalty, even steadfast proponents 
of capital punishment are shifting their views for a number of reasons. First, 
there has been an ongoing educational campaign to inform conservatives of the 
death penalty's many practical failures. Consequently, conservatives are 
recognizing that capital punishment is a broken government program that runs 
counter to conservatism's foundational tenets of valuing life, fiscal 
responsibility and limited government.

Moreover, the death penalty's high-profile failures are simply too much for 
Americans to ignore any longer. All too frequently new stories emerge of 
pitiable individuals being wrongly convicted and sentenced to die. The 
mistake-ridden program is also costly. Studies are continually released, 
exposing the death penalty's high costs to taxpayers. Meanwhile, the few states 
that still execute inmates far too often botch these executions - something the 
public clearly has no appetite for.

For other voters, their death penalty views boil down to confidence. According 
to the Pew Research Center, distrust in the government remains near a record 
high. From 2013 to the present, only around 22 % of Americans said they mostly 
trusted the government. This pervasive lack of trust extends to the 
government-run death penalty, too, and for good reason.

Finally, conservative political leaders are increasingly voicing their death 
penalty concerns. I, along with Oliver North, Jay Sekulow, Ron Paul, Michael 
Steele, Ramesh Ponnuru and others, have spoken at length about why Americans 
should oppose capital punishment. This has demonstrated to many Republicans 
that, as conservatives, they ought to work toward the death penalty's repeal.

For me as a conservative, I know that government acts are fraught with 
mistakes. As a Catholic, however, my opposition comes from a perspective of 
faith. I could not imagine Jesus pulling the switch to end a life - especially 
when there are alternatives that still protect the community.

As state legislatures undergo their makeovers, the public turns against the 
death penalty, and political leaders voice their capital punishment concerns, 
we should expect to see even more from Republican officials. Republicans will 
likely continue to sponsor repeal bills with increasing frequency and reverse 
the flawed criminal justice policies once advocated by their ideological 
predecessors of the 1980s and 1990s.

(source: Richard Viguerie is pioneer of political direct mail for conservative 
candidates and is the chairman of ConservativeHQ.com----washingtontimes.com)