[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----OHIO, ARK., MO., NEB., MONT., ARIZ.

[Rick Halperin]

Feb. 11




OHIO:

State postpones executions again, adds 5 more


Gov. John Kasich has postponed 8 scheduled executions as the state continues to 
work through legal challenges and attempt to locate supplies of the drugs it 
uses to put inmates to death.

The move Feb. 10 comes a couple of weeks after a federal magistrate judge 
blocked 3 executions that were scheduled through April, ruling that the new 
lethal injection process adopted by the state was unconstitutional.

Ronald Phillips, who was convicted in the brutal rape and murder of an Akron 
girl in 1993, was scheduled to be executed next week. He's now scheduled for 
execution on May 10.

Gary Otte, who faced a March 15 execution date in the killing of 2 people in 
Cuyahoga County in 1992, has been moved to June 13.

And Raymond Tibbetts, facing an April 12 execution for the murder of his wife 
an an elderly man in Hamilton County in1997, was pushed back to July 26.

The postponements continue a years-long legal challenge over Ohio's lethal 
injection protocols, following the execution of Dennis McGuire in January 2014.

McGuire, who received a capital sentence for the rape and murder of a pregnant 
Preble County woman, gasped for breath during what witnesses described as a 
prolonged procedure under the state's 2-drug execution method.

In early 2015, state prison officials abandoned that combination, switching to 
2 different drugs, though that protocol has not been used.

The state and others have struggled to find supplies of execution drugs, after 
manufacturers blocked their use for lethal injections. State law changes 
enabled the purchase of drugs from compounding pharmacies, under legislation 
that allowed the names of those businesses to be kept secret, but prison 
officials have not identified or obtained supplies in that way.

In October, state prison officials announced a new 3-drug lethal injection 
protocol, using midazolam, rocuronium bromide and potassium chloride. But a 
federal magistrate judge last month ruled the new process was unconstitutional, 
noting in documents, "The court concludes that use of midazolam as the 1st drug 
in Ohio's present 3-drug protocol will create a 'substantial risk of serious 
harm' or an 'objectively intolerable risk of harm'"

The governor's office announced Friday that a pending review by the Sixth 
Circuit Court of Appeals was not expected to be completed in time 
already-scheduled executions.

According to the governor's office, "Accordingly, these delays are necessary to 
allow the judicial process to come to a full resolution, and ensure that the 
state can move forward with the executions."

Asked earlier this month whether the state would ever in a position to execute 
inmates, Kasich responded, "I don't know. I just don't have the answer to that 
We have a guy that raped and murdered a 3-year-old girl. He's next in line. I 
can't tell the judges what to do. Some of them are probably philosophically 
opposed to the death penalty. No matter what we do, they're going to remain 
opposed to it. I don't have any better answer to that."

He added, "I would like to proceed. There's no joy or anything in this. It's 
just it's a matter of justice, particularly for the families that have been 
aggrieved. We'll do the best we can."

Kasich has postponed executions on several occasions since McGuire's death. 
Other dates that were pushed back Feb. 10 included:

Alva Campbell, Jr., convicted in the 1997 murder of a Franklin County man, to 
Sept. 13 from May 10.

William Montgomery, convicted in the 1986 murder of 2 women in Lucas County, to 
Oct. 18 from June 13.

Robert Van Hook, convicted in the 1985 murder of a Hamilton County man, to Nov. 
15 from July 26.

Jeffrey A. Wogenstahl, convicted in the 1991 murder of a Hamilton County girl, 
to April 17, 2019, from Sept. 13.

Melvin Bonnell, convicted in the 1987 murder of a Cuyahoga County man, to April 
11, 2018, from Oct. 18.

More than 30 executions are scheduled through early 2021.

(source: Twinsburg Bulletin)

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

Ohio governor delays 8 executions as court fight continues


Gov. John Kasich on Friday delayed 8 executions as a court fight continues over 
the constitutionality of the state's lethal injection process.

Kasich's announcement postponed the execution of a condemned child killer 
scheduled for next week until May and moved 7 other procedures months into the 
future.

The Republican governor said the timing of arguments before a Cincinnati 
federal appeals court necessitated the delay. The court is hearing Ohio's 
appeal of a federal judge's order finding the state's latest execution process 
unconstitutional.

Kasich said he's confident Ohio will win the appeal but that the court calendar 
didn't provide enough time to prepare for executions scheduled this month, next 
month and April.

"These delays are necessary to allow the judicial process to come to a full 
resolution, and ensure that the state can move forward with the executions 
after the appeal is settled," Kasich said.

The delay also leaves open the possibility that, should the appeal reach the 
U.S. Supreme Court, Neil Gorsuch, President Donald Trump's nominee for the 
court's vacant 9th seat, will be confirmed and able to hear the case.

The delay was another setback for death penalty supporters who hoped that new 
supplies of drugs obtained by Ohio last year would allow executions to move 
forward after a 3-years-plus delay.

The state has said it has enough drugs for 4 executions, but records obtained 
by The Associated Press indicate Ohio could have enough on hand to put dozens 
of killers to death.

Ronald Phillips, scheduled to die Feb. 15 for raping and killing his 
girlfriend's 3-year-old daughter in Akron in 1993, is now set for execution May 
10.

Also Friday, the Ohio Parole Board rejected a clemency request by Gary Otte, 
who shot 2 people to death in back-to-back robberies over 2 days in suburban 
Cleveland in 1992. The board cited the "heinous" nature of the killings. Kasich 
on Friday moved Otte's execution date from March 15 to June 13.

At issue is a federal judge's ruling last month rejecting the state's latest 
proposed 3-drug execution method, which hasn't been used in Ohio.

As part of that decision, Magistrate Judge Michael Merz said Ohio didn't prove 
that the st drug in its current 3-drug process, the sedative midazolam, doesn't 
present a substantial risk of harm.

Merz also said the possibility exists that Ohio could obtain the barbiturate 
pentobarbital.

Ohio says it has made numerous unsuccessful efforts to find pentobarbital. In a 
court filing last week, state attorneys said they asked 7 other states for the 
drug.

The prisons agency also tried in vain to obtain the active ingredient in 
pentobarbital in hopes of having a compounded version made, the filing said.

The filing says Ohio asked Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Texas 
and Virginia for the drug.

"None of those states agreed to provide pentobarbital to Ohio," according to 
the filing, which summarized a sealed deposition by Stephen Gray, the prison 
agency's in-house lawyer.

The filing doesn't say when Ohio made those requests. Of the 7 states, only 
Georgia, Missouri and Texas appear to have reliable sources of pentobarbital 
when needed. Those states won't reveal the source.

Executions have been on hold since January 2014 when Ohio used a never-tried 
2-drug combo that it then abandoned.

The prison system says a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year permitted 
midazolam's use.

"Ohio has the capability to perform constitutional executions now. It should be 
permitted to do so," Thomas Madden, an assistant attorney general, said in 
Ohio's appeal.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati has scheduled arguments for 
Feb. 21.

The prisons system changed its execution process because it can't find 
pentobarbital, said Gary Mohr, the agency's director, who said the agency is 
"comfortable" with its position before the appeals court.

"This is a serious responsibility, and we work hard to carry out executions in 
a humane manner, with the utmost respect for the law, for victims, and for 
justice," Mohr said in a statement provided to The Associated Press. "That 
commitment is unwavering."

The state also said in its filing:

- Ohio can't import pentobarbital or its active ingredient from a foreign 
manufacturer because the state's application to add pentobarbital to its 
current federal importer registration hasn't been acted on in 4 months.

- Even if Ohio had a license to import the drug, it hasn't identified any 
company that would provide it.

(source: Associated Press)

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

Parole board rejects clemency plea from Gary Otte in Parma murders


The Ohio Parole Board has recommended that Gov. John Kasich reject the clemency 
request of an inmate sentenced to die for killing 2 people in Parma in 1992.

Gary Otte made his plea for mercy in an interview with the Parole Board in 
January. The board considered arguments at a hearing earlier this month.

Otte is scheduled to die by lethal injection June 13. His execution date was 1 
of 8 rescheduled as a result of a lawsuit by inmates over Ohio's lethal 
injection protocol. The Kasich administration announced the new execution dates 
Friday.

What was the crime?

On Feb. 12, 1992, Otte shot 61-year-old Robert Wasikowski in the head and stole 
$413 after talking his way into Wasikowski's home at the Pleasant Lake 
apartment complex. The next day, Otte forced his way into Sharon Kostura's 
apartment in the same complex and shot her in the head. He stole $45, car keys 
and a checkbook from the 45-year-old woman.

A Cuyahoga County court convicted Otte guilty of 2 counts of aggravated murder 
and other crimes later that year. His received death sentences for both of the 
killings.

What did Otte's lawyers argue?

At the clemency hearing, Otte's lawyers argued his life should be spared 
because he was repeatedly bullied as a child and that bullying led to drug and 
alcohol use and depression that led him to commit his crimes.

Otte's trial lawyers failed to effectively present mitigating evidence that 
could have prompted his trial court to reject a death penalty in favor of life 
in prison, his lawyers argued. Life without parole, which wasn't an available 
sentence when Otte was tried for his crimes, would be a fitting and just 
punishment, they said.

What did the parole board decide?

The parole board rejected Ott's arguments, voting 11-0 against clemency.

The report now goes to Kasich, who ultimately will decide Otte's fate.

(source: cleveland.com)






ARKANSAS:

Jail guard's slaying death-penalty case


Miller County Prosecuting Attorney Stephanie Black said Thursday that her 
office intends to seek the death penalty for an Arkansas prison inmate accused 
of beating one female guard to death and seriously injuring another at the 
Miller County jail in December.

Tramell Mackenzie Hunter, 27, has been formally charged with capital murder of 
a law enforcement officer in the line of duty in the death of correctional 
officer Lisa Mauldin and with 1st-degree battery of a law enforcement officer 
in the line of duty for injuries he allegedly inflicted on correctional officer 
Damaris Allen.

Hunter faces the possibility of a death sentence or life without the 
possibility of parole if found guilty of capital murder in Mauldin's death, and 
the possibility of 10 to 40 years or life in prison if found guilty of battery 
in the assault of Allen.

Hunter is accused of attacking Mauldin, 47, at about 1 p.m. Dec. 18 in the 
jail's kitchen, according to a probable cause affidavit. Hunter used his hands 
to inflict fatal injuries on Mauldin, according to the affidavit, and was met 
by Allen, 35, as he tried to leave the kitchen.

"Hunter struck Allen in the face, knocking her to the floor," the affidavit 
said. "Hunter then struck Allen with her portable radio. Hunter dropped the 
radio and struck Allen with his fist several times. Hunter then ran out of the 
kitchen and was apprehended in the hallway by other detention deputies."

Hunter was serving a 15-year sentence for aggravated robbery and 2 counts of 
felony domestic battery as part of a plea bargain in Pulaski County, court 
records show. Case documents show that Hunter's convictions stem from a Jan. 
27, 2010, confrontation at a relative's home in Little Rock.

Hunter shot his uncle when the uncle tried to stop him from stealing his 
mother's car and then fired a 2nd shot, striking his mother, before driving 
away in her rented Dodge Charger, according to case records. Hunter's mother 
and uncle survived.

Hunter told investigators he intended to kill himself when his funds were 
exhausted. He said he left town and switched the plates on the car after 
spending a couple of nights in Texarkana before heading to the 
Houston/Galveston area.

(source: arkansasonline.com)






MISSOURI:

Craig Wood willing to take life in prison to avoid death penalty, attorney says


Craig Wood is willing to spend the rest of his life in prison if, in exchange, 
the Greene County prosecutor drops his pursuit of the death penalty, according 
to an exclusive interview with Wood's attorney.

Patrick Berrigan, Wood's attorney from the public defender's capital case 
division, said he sent a letter to Greene County Prosecutor Dan Patterson on 
Oct. 31 telling the prosecutor Wood is willing to plead guilty to murdering 
10-year-old Hailey Owens in 2014 and agree to a life sentence without the 
possibility of parole.

Berrigan told the News-Leader about the proposal Thursday. He said the crimes 
Wood is accused of committing - snatching Hailey off the street, taking her 
back to his house, raping her and killing her - are "terrible" and "egregious."

Berrigan said what separates Wood from other people recently sentenced to death 
in this country - like church-shooter Dylann Roof in South Carolina - is 
remorse.

"Craig Wood has a great deal of remorse about this case," Berrigan said. "Some 
people would find that persuasive, or at least a factor, in decisions about 
life or death."

Berrigan said this week he hasn't heard back from the prosecutor about the 
proposal.

4 months after Wood was charged in 2014, Patterson said he would pursue the 
death penalty against Wood, citing a Missouri statute that allows the death 
penalty if a crime is "outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible or inhuman."

Patterson said Friday that ethics rules prohibit him from publicly discussing 
possible plea negotiations.

"At this point, we are still proceeding with the prosecution of the case," 
Patterson said.

Stacey Barfield, Hailey's mother, said after a pretrial court appearance 
Wednesday that it is difficult for her to sit through the proceedings.

Attorney David Ransin, who represents Hailey's parents, said Hailey's parents 
want to avoid a trial, but the most important thing for them is coming to a 
resolution that is "air-tight."

"We want it done right," Ransin said.

Ransin said the worst thing for the family would be for Wood to plead guilty 
and for the family to think everything was behind them, only for the case to be 
opened back up if Wood appealed his conviction.

Ransin said he believes Patterson is still gathering information about the 
case.

"My understanding is that Dan's position is there is more to be done and more 
information to be obtained before he is comfortable fulfilling his duty to the 
state, to the community as well as the family to make the right decision with 
regard to accepting a plea or proceeding to trial," Ransin said.

Patterson said he is listening to input from Hailey's family as the case moves 
forward.

"As in all cases, we talk about these things with the family and will consider 
the victim's family's input as we move along," Patterson said.

Patterson said other factors are also considered in death-penalty cases, 
including the facts of the case, the defendant and the interests of the 
community and the state.

After a 2nd rescheduling last year, Wood's trial is now set for October.

If Wood goes to trial and is found guilty, there would be a separate proceeding 
to decide whether or not to put Wood to death.

4 days after Hailey's death, an estimated 10,000 people marched in a 
candlelight vigil for Hailey on Commercial Street in Springfield. The Jefferson 
Avenue footbridge, where the march ended, was illuminated in purple, Hailey's 
favorite color.

Many others in Springfield left their porch lights on in memory of Hailey and 
donated to her memorial fund.

Berrigan, Wood's attorney, has been working capital cases for three decades. He 
said the majority of the death-penalty cases that he has worked have ended with 
negotiated pleas.

Wood, 48, has been charged with kidnapping, rape and murder in connection with 
Hailey's death on Feb. 18, 2014.

Springfield police say the girl's body was found wrapped in garbage bags in 
Wood's basement, hours after witnesses saw someone matching Wood's description 
grab Hailey off the street near her home.

Berrigan acknowledged this week that prosecutors have a strong case against 
Wood. He said he has no idea whether they will accept his plea offer.

Wood took the stand briefly during a pretrial court appearance last year, and 
during cross-examination, he said he was high on meth during the time frame in 
which he is accused of abducting and killing Hailey.

Much of the recent court proceedings in the case have dealt with mental 
evaluations for Wood, and what rights prosecutors have to see notes from 
psychologists and to have their own psychologist interview Wood.

In Jefferson City, Hailey's parents have been focused on legislation that would 
speed up Missouri's Amber Alerts, which are issued for abducted children.

Wood's parents, Jim and Regina Wood, have teamed up with the Barfields to 
advocate for the legislation, which has been dubbed Hailey's Law.

(source: Springfield News-Leader)






NEBRASKA:

Gov. Ricketts says Nebraska moving forward to carry out capital punishment


Gov. Pete Ricketts says his administration is moving to carry out executions in 
wake of voter approval of the death penalty.

Ricketts has signed off on a lethal injection protocol drafted by the 
Department of Correctional Services. The governor says the department is 
working on plans to revive capital punishment. He says there is no timeline at 
present to carry out executions.

Ricketts says the administration is simply carrying out the will of the people.

"The vast majority of Nebraskans voted to keep capital punishment as a tool for 
public safety; 61% of the folks voted in favor of it," Ricketts tells 
reporters. "So, it's really up to us now in state government to be able to 
carry out the will of the people and be able to implement those sentences."

Voters in November overturned the Unicameral's repeal of the death penalty.

Nebraska has 10 inmates on death row. The state last carried out an execution 
20 years ago.

Corrections officials revised the initial lethal injection protocol it proposed 
following a public hearing on it, removing a provision that would have kept 
secret the supplier of lethal injection drugs.

State Sen. John Kuehn of Heartwell sponsors LB 661 which would allow state 
officials to withhold information that would identify individuals or businesses 
making, compounding, or prescribing drugs for lethal injection. The Government, 
Military, and Veterans Committee heard public testimony on the bill Thursday.

Ricketts says his administration will push forward with or without the measure.

"Other states have passed this as a way to do it," Ricketts says. "We've got a 
protocol right now that we're working on with regard to regulations. Whether we 
have a shield law or not, we're going to pursue our regulation. Certainly, 
again, I'll let the legislature vet through their process. Other states have 
passed shield laws as a way to help them. So, this certainly has potential."

Sen. Kuehn has testified that 15 or the 31 states with the death penalty have 
shield laws. He says he has modeled his bill after a shield law adopted in 
Georgia.

Nebraska does not have the drugs needed to carry out an execution by lethal 
injection.

(source: nebraskaradionetwork.com)

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

New bill would keep suppliers of lethal injection drugs secret in Nebraska


A proposal keep the suppliers of death penalty drugs secret gets a mixed 
reaction in the Capitol Thursday.

Supporters and opponents lined up to testify on LB 661.

The measure offered by Sen. John Kuehn, of Heartwell, would create an exemption 
in the state's open records law.

The drugs, the make-up and testing of the compounds would all be public, except 
for names of individuals and companies who provide the drugs for an execution.

"Disclosing the identity of suppliers subjects them to very real risk of harm, 
violence and harassment that would prevent the state from obtaining compounds 
to preform state obligations," Kuehn told the Legislature's Government, 
Military and Veterans Affairs Committee.

He said that Nebraskans sent a clear message when they voted overwhelming by 61 
% to keep the death penalty, and lawmakers have a responsibility to fix the 
system.

Corrections director Scott Frakes testified that the states that have carried 
out lethal injection executions all have similar "shield laws."

"I firmly believe this bill is needed to remove a tool that death penalty 
opponents will continue to use to frustrate and stymie the will of the voters," 
Frakes said.

But opponents argued it could allow the state to obtain the drugs through shady 
methods.

"It may be a thief. It may be a crooked company,"Alan Peterson, who represents 
a death row inmate, said.

Peterson said the state has a long tradition of open records.

That information will come out anyway, because a state shield law wouldn't 
provide protection in federal courts, where most death penalty cases end up.

"This isn't going to stop that. So the compelling reason is don't sacrifice, 
along with the person who is being killed, the transparency of state 
government.

That's really a sacrifice," Peterson said.

Other opponent said that if this law was in place, Nebraskans would never have 
known the state paid $54,000 to Harris Pharma, an overseas broker, to obtain a 
lethal injection drug it never received.

That same broker was accused of re-directing drugs for executions that were 
supposed to go from medical uses in developing countries.

But, Sen. Kuehn argued that this issue goes beyond just executions.

He said that because of harassment, companies have cut back producing 
anesthetics that are also used in other medical procedures.

Kuehn said that caused dangerous medical shortages.

"How many medical patients will suffer have less-than optimal medical or 
surgical care, or die, to protect convicted death row inmates," Kuehn said.

In January, Gov. Pete Ricketts approved a new execution protocol that would 
allow the director of corrections to select which drugs would be used in a 
execution.

(source: KETV news)






MONTANA:

Montana Death Penalty Repeal Bill Narrowly Defeated


A bill asking for the end of capital punishment was narrowly voted down in the 
Montana House today.

Days after hearing testimony from clergy, young conservative lawmakers, and an 
exonerated death-row inmate from Arizona asking for the end of capital 
punishment, state lawmakers voted against their request.

The bill, HB-366, introduced by Adam Hertz, a freshman Republican from 
Missoula, was voted down largely along party lines - Democrats voting in favor 
of abolishing the death penalty and Republicans tending to vote against.

Shortly before the House Judiciary committee voted, Representative Lola 
Sheldon-Galloway, a Republican from Great Falls, passed out a picture of her 
sister-in law and asked the lawmakers on the committee to imagine something - a 
daughter, being murdered, beaten with a pop bottle and stabbed in the throat, 
eventually running out of blood. Then she gets tossed in the trunk of a car.

Lola Sheldon-Galloway says the bill, which would replace the death penalty with 
life without parole, was too weak in its language. She says some people, 
convicted of heinous crimes, shouldn't be able to leave a prison alive.

"There is a better option, than this particular legislation," Sheldon-Galloway 
says. "And I will definitely vote no on it, for that reason."

When the bill was introduced earlier this week, no-one testified against it. 
Before the vote, Representative Shane Morigeau, a Democrat from Missoula, asked 
lawmakers to consider the mistakes that can be made in the death penalty 
system.

"We are not perfect in our sentencing," Morigeau says. "We make mistakes all 
the time. And I think sentencing 1 person to death and making a mistake one 
time, is 1 time too many."

The bill to abolish capital punishment failed 10 votes to 9. Attempts to remove 
the death penalty from Montana's books have failed in every legislative session 
this century. There are currently 2 men sitting on death row.

(source: mtpr.org)

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

Panel tables bill to abolish Montana's death penalty


A legislative committee has tabled a bill that would abolish Montana's death 
penalty.

The House Judiciary Committee voted 10-9 Friday against advancing the measure 
to the full House. The bill could be revived, but it is likely dead for the 
legislative session.

Bills to abolish the state's death penalty have failed in every legislative 
session since 1999, which is as far back as the Legislature's online 
bill-tracking archive goes.

Executions in Montana were blocked in 2015 when a state judge ruled that the 
state doesn't have access to one of the drugs that can be legally used in 
lethal injections.

There are 2 inmates on the state's death row. The state's last execution was in 
2006.

(source: Associated Press)






ARIZONA:

Family of Phoenix woman oppose death penalty in murder case


The family of a Phoenix woman who's accused of killing her 3 young sons last 
year are again speaking out against prosecutors' plans to seek the death 
penalty.

Octavia Rogers had a status conference in her case Thursday. Her next court 
hearing is May 1.

Rogers was indicted by a Maricopa County grand jury in the deaths last June of 
8-year-old Jaikare Rahaman, 5-year-old Jeremiah Adams and 2-month-old Avery 
Robinson.

Authorities say the 3 children were fatally stabbed and partially dismembered.

Rogers has pleaded not guilty. She remains in custody on 3 charges of 
premeditated 1st-degree murder.

Prosecutors say Rogers deserves the death penalty because the killings were 
committed in an especially heinous, cruel or depraved manner.

An attorney for Rogers' family says his clients will fight against that plan.

(source: Associated Press)