[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----MO., UTAH, CALIF., US MIL.

[Rick Halperin]

Feb. 23




MISSOURI:

Death Penalty Discussion: Distinguished Lecturer sheds light on Missouri's 
death penalty


Roman Catholic Nun and state execution opposer Helen Prejean led the Northwest 
Missouri State community in conversation about the death penalty.

The Distinguished Lecture Series was held in the Charles Johnson Theater at 
7:30 p.m. Feb. 15 with the assistance of Distinguished Lecture Series Committee 
Chair Kenton Wilcox.

"The opportunity to cooperate with the Seminary (Conception Abbey) was part of 
why we chose her as a speaker," Wilcox said. "She is also an internationally 
recognized voice, she has experiences that are not already represented on 
campus and her topics address interdisciplinary concerns, all of which help the 
Distinguished Lecture Series address its mission."

Prejean taught at the Congregation of St. Joseph before beginning work at Hope 
House in the New Orleans St. Thomas Housing Project. She also served on the 
board of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty for 10 years, and 
was the chairperson for 3 years.

"The death penalty is one of the great moral issues facing our country, yet 
most people rarely think about it, and very few of us take the time to delve 
deeply enough into this issue to be able to make an informed decision about 
it," Prejean said on her website.

Prejean acts a national voice for issues concerning the death penalty and works 
to help form the Catholic Church's outright objection to state executions. She 
is also part of the organization, Ministry Against The Death Penalty, that 
"believes in the dignity of all people and fosters creative, reflective and 
educational programs that awaken hearts and minds, inspire social change and 
strengthen our democracy's commitment to human rights," according to their 
website.

"If you want a litmus test about what you think about God, look at the death 
penalty," Prejean said in her presentation. "What kind of God wants the death 
of a human being to pay for their sins? It's about life. He said before you, 
choose life. Love and forgiveness are the opposite of hate. You can't call an 
act of love shackling a person to a chair and then killing them."

The process of lethal injection normally involves the use of 3 drugs. The 1st 
is used to induce unconsciousness, the 2nd causes muscle paralysis and the 3rd 
stops the heart.

Missouri is 1 of 18 states that still use the death penalty for particularly 
heinous crimes, such as murder. Missouri law authorizes the use of lethal 
injection or lethal gas as valid forms of execution.

(source: nwmissourinews.com)






UTAH:

House deals with 2 death-penalty bills


In an unusual pair of votes, the Utah House on Tuesday supported expanding the 
state's death penalty - but later also approved a study on how much the death 
penalty costs the state financially, seen as perhaps a preliminary step toward 
eliminating it.

By the slimmest-possible 38-37 vote - with House Speaker Greg Hughes summoned 
from an outside meeting to break what had been a tie - the House passed HB176 
to add human trafficking resulting in a fatality to penalties that could bring 
the death penalty.

An hour later, representatives voted 72-0 to pass HB187 to study exactly how 
much more death sentences cost compared to sentences of life without the 
possibility of parole.

Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clearfield, pushed the bill to expand the death penalty, 
calling human trafficking "one of the most heinous crimes out there.... When 
you cause the cause of death of somebody during trafficking, I think that 
warrants at least giving the prosecutor the opportunity to charge with the 
death penalty."

Ray was asked if it made sense instead to wait for the study on death penalty 
costs before expanding it.

"I'm not willing to say we're not going to carry out a penalty because of the 
cost," he said. "As long as we have the death penalty, this bill is not a 
discussion about the death penalty itself, it's just we have a really heinous 
crime. We have a death penalty, and it would warrant ... having this under the 
law."

Rep. Steve Handy, R-Layton, sponsor of the study on the cost of capital 
punishment, said a few years ago the Legislature did a quick study on the issue 
- and figured it cost $1.6 million more to handle all the appeals and costs of 
a death sentence over 20 years compared to a life without parole sentence.

He said that figure has been criticized as too high or low. So his bill now 
calls for a much more thorough study on the costs.

"We like to make data-driven decisions," he said. "In this instance, we don't 
have enough data."

Both bills now go to the Senate for consideration.

(source: Salt Lake Tribune)






CALIFORNIA:

Mental Competency Hearing Set for Man Accused of 5 Homeless Attacks


A March 20 competency trial was set Wednesday for a man accused of attacking 5 
homeless men in various San Diego neighborhoods last year, killing 3 of them.

Jon David Guerrero, 40, was arrested last summer in connection with the crime 
spree. In October, he was found to be incompetent to stand trial and was sent 
to Patton State Hospital.

Guerrero was recently sent back to San Diego after doctors at Patton found him 
to be mentally competent to assist in his defense.

Deputy Public Defender Dan Tandon said he could challenge the finding at a 
trial next month, but won't know for sure until he reviews all the reports in 
the case. A status conference was set for March 1.

Guerrero is charged with three counts of murder and 2 counts of premeditated 
attempted murder, along with a special circumstance allegation of multiple 
murders. He could face the death penalty if convicted.

San Diego police said the victims were brutalized - 2 of them set on fire - as 
they slept on roadsides, in open areas and under freeway bridges.

The 1st attack in the series occurred last July 3. About 8 a.m. that day, the 
burning body of Angelo De Nardo, 53, was found underneath an Interstate 5 
offramp near the 2700 block of Morena Boulevard in Bay Park. Witnesses 
described seeing a man running across the freeway near Claremont Drive, 
carrying a gas can.

The following day, Shawn Mitchell Longley, 41, was found dead at a park on 
Bacon Street in Ocean Beach, and 61-year-old transient Manuel Mason was 
severely injured near Valley View Casino Center in the Midway district, 
according to police.

On the morning of July 6, Dionicio Derek Vahidy, 23, was gravely injured in 
downtown San Diego by an assailant who fled after leaving a towel burning on 
top of him. Vahidy died in a hospital 4 days later.

There are no indications that the suspect knew the victims, according to 
police.

Another attack happened shortly after 4:30 a.m. on July 15, when 2 San Diego 
Harbor Police officers in a squad car in the 1800 block of C Street heard 
someone underneath Interstate 5 in the East Village yelling for help, police 
said.

The officers pulled over and found a 55-year-old homeless man suffering from 
"significant trauma" to his upper body.

(source: timesofsandiego.com)






US MILITARY:

Former Robins airman gets life sentence in pregnant girlfriend's murder


A former Robins airman accused of killing his fiancee and her unborn child will 
serve life in prison without parole, but not the death penalty.

A military court-martial panel on Wednesday delivered their sentence on Charles 
Amos Wilson III.

He's a former support team member with the 461st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron.

Last week, Wilson was convicted of killing Tameda Ferguson, who was 8.5 months 
pregnant., back in 2013.

On Wednesday, the court-martial panel of Air Force officers and enlisted 
members delivered their sentence.

In addition to the life sentence, Wilson's rank was knocked down to E-1, a 
recruit's level. He loses all back pay and allowances and will be dishonorably 
discharged.

This is the last of 3 court-martial proceedings in the past year for Wilson.

In his 1st court-martial, Wilson was found not guilty of murder and arson 
charges as well as insurance fraud after a fire in his rental home killed 
Demetrius Hardy, a civilian employee at Robins.

In June, another jury found Wilson guilty of assault against a female Air Force 
technical sergeant back in 2012.

Robins Air Force Base released this statement on the sentence:

"The Air Force has great confidence in our military justice system which holds 
members accountable for their actions and provides a fair and efficient process 
for the just resolution of cases. Today, three-fourths of a panel of 13 officer 
and enlisted members sentenced Airman First Class Charles Amos Wilson III to 
Life without the eligibility for parole, a reduction to E-1, forfeiture of all 
pay and allowances and a dishonorable discharge for the premeditated murder of 
Ms. Tameda Ferguson and her unborn child. Airman First Class Wilson's crimes 
are an extreme departure from the high standards the Air Force sets for its 
people, and he is not representative of the exceptional Airmen serving and 
defending our nation."

(source: WMAZ news)