[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----KAN. COLO., IDAHO, WASH., USA

[Rick Halperin]

Feb. 16



KANSAS:

Kansas introduces bill to abolish death penalty


Lawmakers, faith leaders and activists convened at the Kansas state capitol to 
hear testimonies both for and against the death penalty on Feb. 13. Kansas is 
currently deliberating on House Bill 2167, which was introduced - with 
bipartisan support - in the House on Jan. 25 and aims to abolish the death 
penalty in the state and replace it with life imprisonment without parole.

The Committee on Corrections and Juvenile Justice heard seven people testify 
their support for the bill, as well as accepted the written testimonies from 
more than 20 other individuals to support it. Some of the individuals writing 
their support for the bill included exonerees Floyd Bledsoe, Eddie Lowery and 
Darryl Burton - all men who were wrongly convicted of murder in Kansas and 
Missouri. 5 different families of murder victims also wrote in their support 
for the bill.

Donna Schneweis, board chair of the Kansas Coalition Against the Death Penalty, 
represented the coalition at the hearing and reported that the room was 
"packed" with supporters of the bill.

"It is quite impressive how many Kansans from so many backgrounds came forward 
to speak up for abolition," Schneweis told NCR following the hearing.

Schneweis said that she was particularly moved by the testimony of Msgr. Stuart 
Swetland, president of Donnelly College.

"Opposition to the death penalty in no way lessens one's awareness of the evil 
that some are capable of committing. It does say that there is a better way. 
Death should never be seen as a solution to our problems; and it is not the 
solution to violent crime," Swetland was quoted as saying at the hearing.

No persons testified in person either against the bill or expressing neutrality 
to it. However, a few provided their written testimony to the committee. Kim 
Parker, the former chief deputy district attorney for Sedgwick County, provided 
the only neutral testimony. Those providing testimony against the bill were 
Derek Schmidt, Kansas attorney general, and Larry Heyka and Amy James, both 
murder victim family members.

Members of the Committee did not take a vote following the hearing.

This isn't the 1st time such a bill has been brought to the floor of the Kansas 
state government. In 2010, the senate was 1 vote short of replacing the death 
penalty with life without the possibility of parole according to the Catholic 
Mobilizing Network.

The current proposed bill was introduced and sponsored by eight Republican and 
seven Democrat representatives early this year. Robert Dunham, the executive 
director of the non-profit Death Penalty Information Center, sees the bill as a 
reflection of the emerging trends in terms of death penalty legislation.

"The only states that are left that are seeking to abolish the death penalty 
require bipartisan support for abolition efforts to succeed," Dunham said. 
"Opponents of the death penalty are moving away from the traditional, moral, 
economic and racial fairness issues to making arguments based on government 
overreaching. Do we trust the government to get the policy right?"

"The Kansas approach with Republicans taking the lead in a bipartisan effort is 
what we would expect to see ... in the new landscape," he continued. "That is, 
as fiscal and philosophical conservatives view the death penalty pragmatically 
instead of ideologically, they are concluding in greater numbers that the death 
penalty is a failed public policy. It's costly and ineffective for purposes of 
sound fiscal management, as well as because of the inability to fairly 
administer it and the risk to innocent lives."

If the bill were to pass, it would not be applied retroactively, leaving the 10 
inmates currently on death row still eligible for the death penalty. However, 
the state hasn't executed anyone since 1965.

Kansas' relatively small death row and lack of executions "shouldn't be a 
surprise," Dunham said.

"The single most likely outcome of a capital case is not that they'll be 
executed," he added. "The single most likely outcome is that the sentence will 
be overturned. Kansas sends relatively few people to death row, and there 
continues to be significant issues in those cases. So we can expect that the 
majority of Kansas cases will continue to be overturned."

"Now that's where Kansas gets another one of the patterns that we see in states 
that have gone to abolition. States that abolish the death penalty typically 
have small numbers of death sentences resulting in few, if any executions. And 
after a certain period of time the death penalty begins to look like it doesn't 
serve any purpose."

Dunham compared the proposed bill to the bill that was successfully passed in 
Nebraska in 2015 - which was later repealed in a referendum vote Nov. 8, 2016 - 
and a bipartisan bill that is currently moving through the Washington state 
senate. When asked about the chances that the Kansas bill will pass, Dunham 
said he doesn't "think you can predict that."

"What you can say is that there are a number of similarly situated states and 
there are bills moving forward, or bills that are introduced in a number of 
them," he said. "There will be close votes and it is impossible to predict what 
the results will be. Montana is another state that fits the profile that Kansas 
does. There was no opposition to the bill in the course of the public hearing. 
... It was a close bill but the bill did not move forward."

"Whether [the Kansas bill] succeeds will depend on local factors. Individual 
legislatures decide after their constituents talk to them," he said.

(source: Kristen Whitney Daniels in an NCR Bertelsen editorial 
intern----Natonal Catholic Reporter)






COLORADO:

The undeniable logic for ending Colorado's useless death penalty----Colorado 
can no longer even get capital convictions. Even a case as repulsive as the 
Aurora theater shootings have been unable to persuade a jury to murder the 
convict for his horrific crime. The only thing that adds up from these cases is 
the massive bill taxpayers must pony up to prosecute a death penalty case, just 
to lose it. And even if there's a win, the exorbitant expense of decades of 
appeals and special prison accommodations only compounds the folly


Ending Colorado's death penalty is no longer just about doing the right thing; 
it's about doing the only thing the state can.

We have long argued that the death penalty is a repugnant, barbaric holdover 
from an unenlightened society, putting Colorado and much of the United States 
in the dubious company of North Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Russia.

It's a tragedy that Senate Bill 95 died in a state Senate committee Wednesday 
night on a party-line vote, but it's not too late to try the measure in the 
State House, and let the public persuade partisan Republicans how very wrong 
they are on this issue.

The arguments against the death penalty, which is simply revenge murder, are 
compelling and unequivocal:

-- The death penalty is not a deterrent to crime. This has been substantiated 
in numerous studies, numerous times. Murder is almost always the result of 
severe psychological illness, drugs, alcohol or passion. None of those causes 
are affected by executions or any other laws.

-- The death penalty is not equally or fairly applied in Colorado, or anywhere 
in the country. Murder for murder, it is a far greater percentage of poor 
minorities who are handed the death penalty than richer, whiter murderers. And 
in Colorado, every person on death row got there from an Arapahoe County court, 
although heinous murder cases arise across the state. Had Chuck E. Cheese's 
murderer Nathan Dunlap committed his sadistic 1993 crime anywhere but in 
Aurora, he would have been given life without parole.

-- The death penalty is obscenely expensive. A recent study of the death 
penalty in Maryland shows that it costs about $3 million to bring a death 
penalty convict to the death chamber. The same capital case without the threat 
of death penalty costs about $1 million, according to the study. Death penalty 
states have spent billions of dollars on capital punishment systems since they 
were re-authorized in 1978.

-- Even for those who have no qualms about killing people back for their 
crimes, the death penalty is ineffective because it simply takes so long to 
invoke. Not long ago, the average death sentence was 28 years, now down to 
about 18 years. A full 25 % of capital punishment cases still die of natural 
causes before they make it to the death chamber. Dunlap killed 4 employees of 
the Aurora Chuck E. Cheese's restaurant in 1993. It took 20 years to pull a 
date for his execution 2 years ago, set aside by Gov. John Hickenlooper.

If that's not convincing enough, and if the moral argument against savagely 
murdering another human for any reason isn't compelling, consider that the 
capital punishment system simply doesn't and can't work. More than 1 Aurora 
Sentinel story has pointed out that even if Colorado were able to get a death 
penalty case to the execution chamber, the state cannot obtain the drugs it 
needs to carry out such an execution.

And Colorado can no longer even get capital convictions. Even a case as 
repulsive as the Aurora theater shootings have been unable to persuade a jury 
to murder the convict for his horrific crime. The only thing that adds up from 
these cases is the massive bill taxpayers must pony up to prosecute a death 
penalty case, just to lose it. And even if there's a win, the exorbitant 
expense of decades of appeals and special prison accommodations only compounds 
the folly.

Once again, state Senate Minority Leader Lucia Guzman, D-Denver, offered a bill 
that addresses only future cases, calling for life in prison without parole for 
the worst of the worst cases to come before future courts. Her arguments for 
ending the death penalty are especially persuasive because she knows first-hand 
every nuance of a death penalty case. Her 73-year-old father was murdered while 
working in a convenience store in 1975. She has since steadfastly worked to 
help us all understand that revenge isn't justice.

"It wouldn't bring justice to my daddy, all that he was, all that he did," 
Guzman said previously. "Because it was an act of violence, but my daddy was 
never a violent man."

It's time to end the expensive, barbaric, ineffective and broken 
revenge-killing system in Colorado. The state House should revive the issue, 
and every state lawmaker should vote yes on what is the only way forward.

(source: Editorial, Aurora Sentinel)

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

Sen. Rhonda Fields asks to sit out of death penalty repeal hearing


Sen. Rhonda Fields, a Democrat who supports the death penalty, will not be 
sitting on a committee Wednesday when a repeal proposal comes back to the 
legislature.

Fields said she does not want to be a voice in the middle of the debate as the 
Senate Judiciary Committee discusses a proposal to eliminate capital punishment 
in Colorado.

"The death penalty repeal deserves a full debate, and I believe the people of 
Colorado should determine if it's justifiable. But I don't think tomorrow I 
should be a part of that decision, just based on my own personal and unique 
experience that I bring," Fields told ColoradoPolitics.com Tuesday afternoon.

The Aurora lawmaker brings to the conversation a heart-wrenching story after 
her son was murdered by 2 men sitting on death row. Javad Marshall-Fields and 
his fiancee, Vivian Wolfe, were gunned down in 2005 as the 2 were expected to 
testify in a pending murder case.

Sir Mario Owens and Robert Ray were both sentenced to death for their 
involvement in the murders, though they are moving through a lengthy appeals 
process.

"I don't want to do anything to undermine or interfere with the work that's 
already being done on both sides. I just want the justice system to play out 
the way it should," Fields said.

An ardent supporter of the death penalty in the past, Fields said her position 
on the issue is "maturing as it relates to my experience and the murder of my 
son."

"It's not that I'm wavering on my support . But with time, I'm still grieving, 
I'm still heartbroken because of the death of my son, and this is traumatic.

"I haven't changed my opinion, it's well documented. So, I don't need to be on 
that forefront. I don't need to be the mouthpiece anymore for that."

Fields will be replaced on the Judiciary Committee by Sen. Irene Aguilar, 
D-Denver, who plans to support the measure to repeal the death penalty. The 
effort is sponsored by Senate Democratic Leader Lucia Guzman of Denver. Aguilar 
said she has already received several phone calls from people trying to sway 
her opinion.

With Fields no longer sitting on the committee, the bill is expected to fail on 
a party-line vote.

The Judiciary Committee is scheduled to meet at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.

In 2013 - when Democrats controlled the legislature - Fields sponsored a bill 
that would have asked voters to decide in 2014 whether to abolish the death 
penalty. But she spiked the legislation after a separate measure in the 
legislature at the time failed, which also would have repealed the death 
penalty.

Much of the debate at the time was driven by comments from Gov. John 
Hickenlooper, a Democrat, who signaled that he didn't believe Coloradans were 
ready to repeal the death penalty. The governor at the time expressed 
"conflicting feelings." In 2014, Hickenlooper outlined his reasons for opposing 
the death penalty.

Aguilar said she was happy to swap with Fields, stating, "I had told her that 
if at any time it was hard for her, that I would be happy to substitute, and 
this is the only time that she felt like she wanted to not be in there."

Fields believes it should be up to voters to decide the issue, but she added 
that there is justice in capital punishment.

"Someone took my son's promise, and his future," she said. "They're sitting on 
death row. The people who did this to my son see the highest level of penalty 
that the state has to render. A jury did that, not just once, but twice."

(source: Colorado Springs Gazette)

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

Death penalty sought for man accused of killing 2 people in Colorado Springs


Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for a man who is accused of killing 2 
people in Colorado Springs last May.

Glen Galloway is the prime suspect in the murders of Janice Nam and Marcus 
Anderson. Anderson disappeared the day before Nam was killed. His body was 
later found in a storage unit on N. Century Street, near N. Nevada Avenue and 
E. Fillmore street.

Galloway was in court Wednesday and will be back in court next week.

The Colorado Springs Gazette reports that this is the 1st time in 10 years that 
El Paso County prosecutors have sought the death penalty.

Colorado's last execution was in 1997

(source: KRDO news)






IDAHO:

Prosecutor weighs death penalty in teen's murder


The Twin Falls County prosecuting attorney is considering whether to seek the 
death penalty against two Buhl men charged with murdering a high school student 
last year.

Grant Loebs has 60 days to make his decision, though he told a judge Wednesday 
he hoped to make a decision before the deadline.

"I told the judge I would try to decide it as soon as I could," Loebs told the 
Times-News.

That decision could be made by March 27, the next time the suspects are due in 
court.

Gerardo Raul Chavez, 19, and Jose Daniel Alvarez, 20, pleaded not guilty 
Wednesday to felony counts of murder and intimidating a witness.

They're accused of the drive-by slaying of Canyon Ridge freshman Vason Lee 
Widaman, 15, who was gunned down May 7 while riding his bicycle on Northern 
Pine Drive and North College Road West. The shooting shocked the community and 
remained unsolved until Chavez and Alvarez were arrested more than 7 months 
later, on Dec. 20.

During Wednesday's hearing, attorneys said Chavez and Alvarez will likely be 
tried together beginning July 11.

They each face up to life in prison on the murder charge and could face the 
death penalty depending on Loebs' decision.

"We look at the crime, look at the defendants as much as we can, look if there 
are any aggravating circumstances surrounding the crime," Loebs said of what 
goes into his decision. "We also look at what mitigating factors might be used 
in favor of the defendant in a sentencing context."

Loebs said he can't disclose whether he's leaning toward seeking the death 
penalty or not.

"I've been giving it thought since the crime first occurred," the prosecutor 
said. "But I have not been seriously considering all of the factors."

Both men are being held without bond, as is typical in 1st-degree murder cases. 
But Chavez informed the court this week he would seek a hearing on his bond, 
though the issue was not addressed Wednesday. His attorney said Chavez is 
finishing a 90-day jail sentence on a probation violation, and he would argue 
for a bond once that sentence is fulfilled.

Chavez and Alvarez are due in court March 27 for a status conference. A jury 
trial was set for July 11 through July 21.

(source: magicvalley.com)






WASHINGTON:

Death penalty repeal bill not expected to advance


An effort to abolish the death penalty in Washington state got a new push this 
year with strong backing from the governor and attorney general, but as in 
previous years, the measure is expected to stall in the Legislature.

A House bill on the issue is set for a public hearing before the House 
Judiciary Committee today, but it's not scheduled for a committee vote before a 
deadline Friday requiring most bills to be voted out of committees.

A Senate version of the bill has not been scheduled for a hearing, so it 
appears the measure will suffer the same fate as death penalty repeal efforts 
in previous years.

"At some point, I think we're going to end the death penalty in this state. 
We're unfortunately not going to do it this year," said Democratic Rep. Laurie 
Jinkins, chairwoman of the judiciary committee.

Without a promise that if the House passed its measure it would then receive a 
vote in the Senate, "there's not a big reason to push people to vote for it 
when you know ultimately what's going to happen," Jinkins said.

Gov. Jay Inslee imposed a moratorium on capital punishment in Washington state 
in 2014. As long as it's in place, death row inmates will remain in prison 
rather than face execution.

Inslee made the move as he reprieved Clark Elmore, who was sentenced to death 
for the rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl. Reprieves aren't pardons and 
don't commute the sentences of those condemned to death.

Elmore is the 1st death row inmate in the state to exhaust his appeals since 
the moratorium was put in place.

Republican Sen. Mike Padden, the chairman of the Senate Law and Justice 
Committee, said he respects the various feelings people have surrounding the 
death penalty and thinks that costs and time spent on appeals could be 
streamlined.

"I'm not a zealot for the death penalty," he said. "I think it should be 
reformed, but I do think there are some heinous crimes where it should be on 
the table."

Republicans hold a slight majority in the Senate and Democrats hold a slight 
majority in the House.

There have been 78 inmates, all men, put to death in Washington state since 
1904. The most recent execution in the state came in 2010, when Cal Coburn 
Brown died by lethal injection for the 1991 murder of a Seattle-area woman.

The death penalty has been overturned or abolished in 19 states and the 
District of Columbia. The latest was Delaware, where the state Supreme Court 
last year declared the law unconstitutional.

State Attorney General Bob Ferguson said this week that he knew this latest 
repeal bill would have an uphill battle and that he is "deeply disappointed" 
that the measure has likely stalled, especially because it has bipartisan 
support in the House and the Senate.

Inslee and Ferguson were joined by a bipartisan group of lawmakers from both 
chambers in announcing support for the repeal legislation sponsored by 
Republican Mark Miloscia in the Senate and Democratic Rep. Tina Orwall in the 
House.

The proposed bills would remove capital punishment as a sentencing option for 
aggravated murder and mandate instead a sentence of life in prison without 
possibility of parole.

A 2015 study from Seattle University found that death penalty cases in the 
state cost $1 million more than similar cases where capital punishment is not 
sought.

Ferguson said he believes the current system is broken and that "morally, it's 
not the right position for the state of Washington to have a death penalty."

"It's past time to repeal it and more than past time for the Legislature to at 
least take a vote," he said.

(source: Peninsula Daily News)






USA:

Jury selection in death penalty case could take 4 weeks


The judge who will be hearing the 2nd death penalty of a man charged with 
abducting and killing a Rutland supermarket worker in 2000 says jury selection 
in the case could take 4 weeks.

U.S. District Court Judge Geoffrey Crawford's comments were contained in a 
document filed in the case of Donald Fell, who is charged abducting Terry King 
when she arrived for work and later killing her.

Fell was convicted and sentenced to death in 2005, but his conviction was 
overturned in 2014 due to juror misconduct.

Juror orientation for Fell's 2nd trial began Tuesday. Formal jury selection 
begins Feb. 27 in federal court in Rutland.

Crawford says the trial itself is expected to begin in late March and last 2 or 
3 months.

(source: Associated Press)