[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., GA., OHIO, UTAH, USA

[Rick Halperin]

Jan. 27




TEXAS----execution

A man convicted of committing a fatal robbery at a Balch Springs Subway shop 
weeks after he was fired from his job there was executed at a Texas prison.


43-year-old Terry Edwards was put to death by lethal injection late Thursday 
for the $3,000 holdup at a Subway restaurant where 2 employees were gunned down 
in 2002.

Multiple appeals before the high court temporarily delayed the punishment for 
more than 3 hours. Edwards' attorneys had asked the justices to reopen his case 
to investigate claims that a court-appointed lawyer earlier in the appeals 
process provided deficient help by abandoning him. The court 2 weeks ago agreed 
to review the case of another Texas death row inmate who raised claims about 
poor legal help.

Another appeal before the high court Thursday night raised questions about 
whether the pentobarbital Texas uses in lethal injections should be tested for 
its potency before Edwards is put to death.

The court order setting Edwards' execution had given the state a 6-hour window, 
ending at midnight, to carry out the punishment. Edwards was convicted of a 
2002 robbery at a Balch Springs Subway sandwich shop where 2 employees were 
killed.

He was sentenced to die in 2003 for the shooting deaths of Tommy Walker, 34, 
and Mickell Goodwin, 26. Edwards had been fired from the Subway where they 
worked weeks earlier, and prosecutors said he killed the 2 before fleeing. 
Witnesses said Edwards later was seen dumping a .38-caliber handgun in a trash 
can across the street from the store. He was arrested the same day and found 
with $3,000 from the store.

But Edwards' lawyers say he wasn't the triggerman in the deadly robbery. They 
allege that the lead prosecutor in the trial elicited false testimony from a 
forensic expert and unconstitutionally cherry-picked jurors so that the black 
defendant faced an all-white jury. They also contend that the prosecutor 
withheld statements from witnesses who said they saw Edwards' cousin inside the 
restaurant at the time of the murders and fleeing out the front door. They say 
Edwards' cousin, who committed the robbery with him and is eligible for parole, 
was the gunman.

The lawyers sought to delay Edwards' execution and allow the county to assign 
Dallas County's Conviction Integrity Unit to the case, citing "grave concerns" 
about the validity of the conviction.

State lawyers, however, argue in court documents that Edwards planned and 
participated in the robbery, knowing that the victims would be shot. They also 
contend that multiple witnesses identified Edwards and that he made 
incriminating statements while he was in a police car after his arrest. In a 
recording of his statements, Edwards was heard to say that he had "messed up" 
and got 2 murders.

"None of applicant's allegations exculpate him as a party to the capital 
murder, nor undermine confidence in the jury's verdict," Jaclyn O'Connor 
Lambert, an assistant Dallas County district attorney, wrote in a court 
pleading.

Edwards becomes the 2nd condemned inmate to be put to death this year in Texas 
and the 540th overall since Texas resumed capital punishment on December 7, 
1982. He becomes the 22nd condemned inmate to be put to death since Greg Abbott 
became governor of Texas.

Edwards becomes the 3rd condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the 
USA and the 1445th overall since the nation resumed executions on January 17, 
1977.

(sources: Dallas Morning News & Rick Halperin)

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

Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present----22

Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982----present-----540

Abbott#--------scheduled execution date-----name------------Tx. #

23---------February 2---------------John Ramirez----------541

24---------February 7---------------Tilon Carter----------542

25---------March 7------------------Rolando Ruiz----------543

26---------March 14-----------------James Bigby-----------544

27---------April 12-----------------Paul Storey-----------545

28---------June 28------------------Steven Long-----------546

29---------July 19-----------------Kosoul Chanthakoummane---547

(sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin)

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

----impending execution

Death Watch: A Death Sentence for $1.25----John Ramirez goes to the gurney for 
a murder committed during a robbery


John Henry Ramirez, 32, gets Texas' next dose of lethal injection on Thursday, 
Feb. 2. He was sentenced to death in 2008 after murdering Pablo Castro in 
Corpus Christi during an alleged robbery.

In July 2004, Ramirez and 2 female friends jumped Castro outside of the 
convenience store where he worked. Nueces County prosecutors charged that 
Ramirez and his friends spent the night cruising around town looking to rob 
people for drug money when they spotted Castro taking out the trash. Ramirez 
attacked the store clerk with one accomplice, beating him, and stabbing him 29 
times. They also allegedly stole $1.25 from Castro's pockets before returning 
to the van where the other accomplice waited. A police chase ensued, but 
Ramirez escaped. His 2 friends were caught, and eventually testified against 
him.

Ramirez evaded arrest for 4 years, spending time in Mexico, where he became a 
father. He eventually returned to Texas with his family, and was arrested in 
2008. Ramirez pleaded not guilty, but the jury returned a quick guilty verdict. 
DNA evidence found Castro's blood in Ramirez's van; strands of Ramirez's DNA 
were found on Castro's body. During the punishment hearing, the defense only 
called one witness - Ramirez's father - though according to court records, 
Ramirez asked they not call a second witness. Ramirez has since admitted that 
he didn't want his family history dragged into the case.

Ramirez's direct appeal was denied in 2009. He filed for relief in 2010, 
arguing that trial prosecutors failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that 
the murder was committed during a robbery; without the underlying felony, 
Ramirez would've likely been sentenced to life in prison. Appellate attorneys 
also claimed that prosecutors at Ramirez's trial conducted an "improper" 
elimination of potential jurors, and that Ramirez was erroneously shackled 
during trial, which unfairly tainted the jurors' view of their client. Texas 
Court of Criminal Appeals denied his plea in 2012, as did the 5th Circuit Court 
of Appeals last February. In May, Ramirez appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, 
but was denied 5 months later.

Last week, Corpus Christi news network KIII released a short interview with 
Ramirez. He said: "I'm not going to ask [Castro's family] to forgive me 'cause 
I think about it and I don't know how I'd react if someone killed a close 
family member - a father or a brother. I know it's hard. I wouldn't want to ask 
them to forgive me, I just want to ask them to know that I'm sorry."

Ramirez would be the 3rd Texan executed this year. Kosoul Chanthakoummane, 
previously scheduled for execution on Jan. 25, saw his death date rescheduled 
for July 19. (His attorney Gregory Gardner told the Chronicle that the forensic 
science used to convict him at his trial has since been debunked.)

(source: Austin Chronicle)






PENNSYLVANIA:

Bucks County judge orders new trial for death-row inmate in 2007 Warminster 
Township killings


Bucks County Common Pleas Court Judge Alan M. Rubenstein, acting on a request 
by the District Attorney's Office, ordered a new trial on Jan. 26 for death row 
inmate Alfonso Sanchez, 35, who had been convicted of 1st-degree murder in the 
2007 shooting deaths of 2 people in Warminster.

The District Attorney's request came after the office's appellate division, 
reviewing Sanchez's ongoing appeal, discovered a prosecutorial mistake that 
occurred at the time of Sanchez's trial in 2008.

On September 30, 2008, a Bucks County jury found Sanchez guilty of 2 counts of 
1st-degree murder and 15 related counts in the October 2007 shooting deaths of 
Lisa Diaz and Mendez Thomas. Both victims died of gunshots to the head, fired 
at close range in a Warminster apartment.

The verdicts came after a 7-day trial before Rubenstein, who on October 22, 
2008, formally sentenced Sanchez to death for murdering Diaz, 27, and to life 
in prison for murdering Thomas, 22.

The error, a failure to turn over lab reports pertaining to DNA testing, "was 
legally material to (Sanchez's) defense at trial," and therefore justifies a 
new trial, Deputy District Attorney Jill Graziano, a member of the appellate 
division, told Rubenstein at a brief hearing on Jan. 26.

Graziano said the District Attorney's Office immediately provided copies of the 
lab reports to Sanchez's appellate attorneys upon discovering them and 
determining that they had not been previously disclosed.

District Attorney Matthew D. Weintraub praised his staff for identifying the 
error and disclosing it promptly to Sanchez's attorneys.

"Whenever we discover that a mistake has been made, justice requires that we 
act promptly to set it right," he said.

Assistant Federal Defender Stuart Lev, whose office has represented Sanchez 
during his appeals, expressed appreciation for the District Attorney's 
disclosure.

"I thank and respect the Commonwealth for its candor in this matter," Lev told 
Rubenstein.

Weintraub and Graziano stressed that prosecutors do not believe that the DNA 
evidence in any way exonerates Sanchez for the homicides. They expressed 
confidence that he again will be found guilty.

"The Commonwealth continues to believe the evidence of (Sanchez's) guilt 
remains overwhelming and we intend, once again, to try Alfonso Sanchez for the 
deaths of Lisa Diaz and Mendez Thomas and to again seek the death penalty for 
those crimes," Graziano said in court. "To that end, we are asking your Honor 
to vacate the judgment of sentence and order that a new trial be held in this 
matter."

Rubenstein said he would notify President Judge Jeffrey L. Finley of his order, 
adding that Finley would oversee appointing a judge and new defense counsel to 
handle the re-trial.

Below is Graziano's full statement, which was delivered during the Jan. 26 
hearing.

Statement of Deputy District Attorney Jill Graziano

Your Honor, rather than conducting additional evidentiary hearings, as was 
previously scheduled, the Commonwealth is today agreeing that Petitioner is 
entitled to Post-Conviction Relief Act (PCRA) relief and we are asking the 
court to order a new trial. With your Honor's permission, I would like to make 
a record regarding the reasons for this agreement.

In reviewing the prosecutor's trial file from 2008 for purposes of 
investigating Petitioner's 2016 PCRA claims, our office became aware that, 
during the course of discovery in this case, the prosecution turned over to 
trial counsel police reports and evidence vouchers indicating that evidence had 
been collected and sent to Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) Bethlehem lab. 
However, no lab reports were turned over in discovery and it appears, both from 
the trial record and our investigation, that both the prosecution and defense 
at the time proceeded to trial on the mistaken belief that no DNA testing had 
been performed.

During the course of investigating Petitioner's PCRA claims, however, our 
office identified 2 separate labs that had been generated as part of this case. 
The first was dated August 18, 2008 - prior to the start of trial - and was 
generated by the PSP Bethlehem serology lab. It indicated that blood samples 
had been obtained from underneath victim Lisa Diaz's fingernails and were being 
sent to the PSP lab in Greensburg for DNA testing.

The 2nd lab report had been issued by PSP Greenburg on October 23, 2008, the 
day after Petitioner was sentenced by your Honor to death in the murder of Lisa 
Diaz and a term of life imprisonment for the murder of Mendez Thomas. Of 
relevance to these proceedings, this October 2008 lab report indicated that DNA 
evidence had been found under the fingernails of victim Lisa Diaz which was 
consistent with the DNA profile of Petitioner's co-defendant, Stephen Miranda. 
Notably, Petitioner's defense at trial was that Stephen Miranda was the shooter 
in this case. Although Miranda was Lisa Diaz's then-boyfriend, and thus, it was 
not exceptional that his DNA would be found under her fingernail, the 
Commonwealth recognizes that this DNA evidence was legally material to 
Petitioner's defense at trial.

During our investigation in 2016, our office further determined that neither 
the August 2008 lab report nor the October 2008 were disclosed to Petitioner's 
trial counsel in 2008. They are now in Petitioner's possession as our office 
immediately provided copies of the lab reports and lab notes to Petitioner's 
current counsel upon discovering these items and determining that they had not 
been previously disclosed.

Your Honor, the Commonwealth does not believe that this information concerning 
Stephen Miranda's DNA in any way exonerates Petitioner. We still firmly and 
unequivocally believe that Alfonso Sanchez murdered Lisa Diaz and Mendez 
Thomas. Nonetheless, we also recognize that the Commonwealth had a duty and an 
obligation to turn over the lab reports to Petitioner in 2008 at a time when 
they could have been used by trial counsel to advance Mr. Sanchez's proffered 
defense. Through inadvertence and oversight, the Commonwealth failed to fulfill 
that obligation.

As such, our office believes that the right thing to do is to concede that 
Petitioner is entitled to PCRA relief by way of a new trial. The Commonwealth 
continues to believe the evidence of Petitioner's guilt remains overwhelming 
and we intend, once again, to try Alfonso Sanchez for the deaths of Lisa Diaz 
and Mendez Thomas and to again seek the death penalty for those crimes. To that 
end, we are asking your Honor to vacate the judgment of sentence and order that 
a new trial be held in this matter.

(source: buckslocalnews.com)






GEORGIA:

Catholic bishops don???t want death penalty in Murray case


The Catholic bishop of the diocese that covers the Augusta area is joining the 
Catholic bishop of St. Augustine, Fla., in asking the district attorney not to 
seek a death sentence for the man accused of killing an elderly priest.

The Bishop Felipe J. Estevez of the Diocese of St. Augustine, Fla., Archbishop 
Wilton D. Gregory of the Archdiocese of Atlanta and the Bishop Gregory J. 
Hartmayer of the Diocese of Savannah are holding a news conference at 11 a.m. 
Tuesday outside the Richmond County Judicial Center and John H. Ruffin Jr. 
Courthouse.

In a news release from St. Augustine, the Catholic bishops announced they are 
calling on District Attorney Ashley Wright to reverse her decision to seek the 
death penalty if Steven J. Murray is convicted of murder in Burke County 
Superior Court for the killing of the Rev. Rene Robert, a St. Augustine priest.

Wright is to be sworn in as an Augusta Judicial Circuit Superior Court judge on 
Monday afternoon. Until the governor appoints an attorney to replace her as 
district attorney, Chief Assistant Hank Syms will be in charge of the office.

Estevez wrote to Wright in May about Robert's signed and notarized 4-page 
"Declaration of Life" that declares should he die by another person's hand 
regardless of the circumstances, he did not want that person subjected to the 
death penalty. Estevez said he never received a reply from Wright.

As Wright told the St. Augustine Record, the decision to seek a death sentence 
if a jury convicts Murray of murder is based on the facts of the case and the 
law, not public opinion or sentiment.

Murray is accused of killing Robert during a criminal rampage in April that 
ended with Murray locking the 71-year-old priest in the truck of his car and 
taking him to a remote spot on River Road in Burke County. The priest who had 
ministered to Murray was shot and left to die alone.

In December, Estevez received a petition signed by nearly 7,000 Catholics in 
his diocese asking that Robert's request be honored.

(source: The Augusta Chronicle)






OHIO:

Federal judge: Ohio's 3-drug death penalty cocktail poses 'substantial risk of 
serious harm'


A federal magistrate judge on Thursday barred the use of a 3-drug cocktail the 
state of Ohio planned to use to execute death-row inmates, declaring the method 
the state prefers to be unconstitutional.

Magistrate Judge David Merz of Dayton also halted the executions of 3 inmates 
scheduled to be executed in the coming months, 2 of which came from Northeast 
Ohio.

Merz, in his 119-page order, ruled that there were enough problems with all 3 
of the drugs Ohio intends to use in its execution protocol to warrant this 
disallowance. 2 states, Arizona and Florida, have discontinued the use of 1 of 
the drugs, named midazolam.

"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' as required by (Supreme Court 
precedent)," Merz wrote.

The ruling is a success for the inmates challenging Ohio's execution protocols 
and anti-death-penalty advocates who have sought to chip away at the state's 
ability to execute people since executions resumed in 1999. It may be short 
lived, though, as the ruling is all but guaranteed to be appealed.

A spokeswoman for Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine's office said the office is 
reviewing the decision.

Ohio hasn't executed anyone since January 2014, when it took killer Dennis 
McGuire 25 minutes to die from a previously unused execution drug combination. 
McGuire was administered a cocktail that included midazolam. Witnesses said he 
appeared to gasp several times during his execution and made loud snorting or 
snoring sounds.

State officials and the courts put executions on hold until the state picked a 
new lethal-injection drug combination of midazolam, rocuronium bromide and 
potassium chloride last October. The challenge that led to Merz's ruling 
Thursday was also borne out of McGuire's execution.

During a hearing earlier this month, Merz heard testimony on all 3 drugs. His 
ruling Thursday said that the state cannot use any cocktail that contained 
potassium chloride or rocuronium bromide, a paralytic agent, since the state 
told a court in a previous proceeding that it would not use such drugs during 
future executions.

Those scheduled to die in the next few months included:

- Ronald Phillips, an Akron man convicted 1993 for raping his girlfriend's 
3-year-old daughter and beating her to death. His execution was scheduled for 
Feb. 15.

- Gary Otte, an Indiana man who shot and killed 2 Parma residents during 
robberies in 1992. His execution was scheduled for March 15.

- Raymond Tibbetts, a Cincinnati-area man convicted in 2001 for murdering 
Judith Sue Crawford and Fred Hicks. His execution was scheduled for April 12.

Ohio has had trouble in recent years getting drugs to use for lethal injections 
in part because pharmaceutical companies don't want their products used for 
killing people.

In 2014, state lawmakers passed a secrecy law hoping to encourage small-scale 
drug manufacturers called compounding pharmacies to make its lethal-injection 
drugs. That law was challenged, though courts have declined to declare the law 
unconstitutional.

(source: cleveland.com)






UTAH:

Death penalty bills resurface in Utah


State Representative Paul Ray is, once again, pushing bills that propose to 
expand the death penalty in Utah.

House Bill 176 aims to make any human trafficker that causes the death of 
another person eligible for capitol punishment.

His second bill, not yet numbered, would make any person who murders a police 
officer with a premeditated plan eligible for the death penalty. That bill 
would have exclusions for someone who kills an officer during the commission of 
another crime.

That means any of the people who are accused of killing police Utah officers in 
recent years, would not have qualified for the death penalty under such a law.

"There are just certain people that need to be terminated," said Ray.

Both bills could face opposition if another bill surfaces to repeal the death 
penalty in Utah.

Last year, the repeal bill died before there could be a full debate or a vote.

Marine Lowe of the ACLU said the group is working with other death penalty 
opponents in the community to bring back another repeal bill this year. Details 
are still being worked out, she said.

Randy Gardner, the brother of Ronnie Lee Gardner who was the man last executed 
in Utah, is among those speaking out against the death penalty.

His brother was executed by firing squad in 2010 for killing 2 people in the 
80s. Gardner said the death penalty makes victims out of the family members of 
those who are executed.

"I don't condone what my brother did but I don't condone state sanctioned 
murders either," he said.

Last year, in the last hour of the legislative session, Gardner interrupted 
lawmakers by yelling about his grief over his brother's death and by holding 
posters that showed his brother's autopsy pictures.

Opponents of death penalty in Utah include the ACLU, The Catholic Diocese, Utah 
Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and Libertas Institute.

Opponents say the the death penalty contribute to a culture of violence, is 
costly because it often does not lead to executions but long, drawn-out pain 
for victims because they don't see closure.

Ray said his 2 bills have support including from victims of inmates on Utah's 
death row.

Ray said he has staff members crunching numbers to prove that the death penalty 
doesn't waste tax dollars. He said the numbers are not available yet.

(source: KUTV news)






USA:

Accused Florida Airport Shooter Faces Death Penalty


A federal grand jury has indicted Esteban Santiago Ruiz on 21 charges connected 
to the deadly shooting at the Fort Lauderdale, Florida airport on January 6, 
the US Department of Justice said in a press release on Thursday.

"A federal grand jury sitting in Broward County returned a 22 count indictment 
against Esteban Santiago Ruiz (Santiago) in connection with the mass-shooting 
at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on January 6, 2017," the 
release stated.

Santiago, 26, is accused of killing 5 people and injuring 45 others. He 
reportedly conducted the attack on behalf of the Islamic State terror group.

Santiago faces a maximum penalty of death or life in prison. He is due to be 
back in court for arraignment on the charges on January 30.

(source: Reuters)