[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, FLA., MISS., OHIO, NEB.

[Rick Halperin]

Jan. 27




TEXAS:

Texas prisoner dies of lethal injection after last-minute appeal fails ---- The 
US supreme court rejects a plea from Terry Edwards' attorneys for stay of 
execution and reinvestigation of 'flawed' murder conviction


There was no clear gunshot residue from the murder weapon on his hands and no 
blood from either victim on his body or clothes. Yet Terry Edwards has been put 
to death in Texas as the result of a conviction his attorneys argue was deeply 
flawed and potentially tainted with racial bias.

After the federal 5th circuit appeals court denied his petition on Wednesday, 
Edwards' final hope for a stay of execution and a fresh examination of his case 
rested with a last-day appeal to the US supreme court.

But that failed and Edwards, 43, died of lethal injection at 10:17pm on 
Thursday at the state's death chamber in Huntsville, said Texas department of 
criminal justice spokesman Jason Clark in a statement.

"Yes, I made peace with God. I hope y'all make peace with this," Edwards said 
before he was put to death, according to the statement released by Clark.

The execution was the 540th in Texas since the supreme court reinstated the 
death penalty in 1976, the most of any state.

Edwards was fired from his job at a Subway in suburban Dallas in 2002 for 
suspected theft of money. He returned a couple of weeks later with his cousin, 
Kirk. The sandwich shop was robbed and 2 employees were shot dead.

Mickell Goodwin, 26, and the store manager, Tommy Walker, 34, died from 
close-range bullet wounds on 8 July 2002. A witness reported seeing Terry 
Edwards dumping a gun into a bin across the street. He was arrested soon 
afterwards and convicted in 2003.

Kirk Edwards pleaded guilty to robbery in exchange for a 25-year sentence with 
the possibility of parole. Terry, who in contrast to his cousin had no history 
of violence, according to his lawyers, received the death penalty.

At trial the prosecution asserted that Terry Edwards pulled the trigger, 
telling the court that he went to Subway "with murder in mind, with greed in 
mind, with evil in his heart". But in appeals his lawyers have claimed that he 
was not the killer and that his cousin is a more likely culprit.

Under Texas's "law of parties", accomplices can be sentenced to death even if 
they do not personally commit murder. Texas has executed more people since 1976 
than the next 6 states combined. Last year it put 7 prisoners to death by 
lethal injection, while Georgia led the nation with nine. Edwards would be the 
2nd inmate executed by Texas this month. The state has 7 more scheduled for 
later in the year.

Edwards' attorneys have also cast doubt on the fairness of the jury selection 
process. They said in a statement that prosecutors "removed all eligible 
African Americans from the jury pool of 3,000 citizens [143 of whom were 
questioned] and seated an all-white jury to decide the fate of an African 
American man charged with murdering 2 white people".

They say they have obtained a strike list that next to the names of 32 of the 
questioned potential jurors has a handwritten, encircled "B" that could stand 
for "black".

"When we saw the strike list with B's next to potential jurors names we were 
stunned," John Mills, one of the attorneys, said.

In May last year the supreme court ruled in a case known as Foster v Chatman 
that the conviction and death sentence of a black man convicted of killing a 
white woman in Georgia in 1986 was unconstitutional because of the way 
potential black jurors were excluded. In that case, prosecutors marked the 
names of possible black jurors with a "B" on lists.

But in Edwards' case, Mills said that they have been unable to obtain juror 
questionnaires. These would indicate jurors' races and allow cross-referencing 
with the strike list, perhaps proving the theory that "B" means "black". The 
questionnaires appear to have been lost.

The 43-year-old's current team raised a common claim in death penalty cases: 
inadequate counsel.

The defence called as a witness a trace evidence analyst who ended up 
testifying on cross-examination that Terry Edwards could have removed 2 of the 
3 chemical components typically found in gunshot residue from his hands, 
perhaps from sweating or wiping it off. But Edwards' attorneys say a review 
they commissioned last year by a former FBI agent contradicts this, and argues: 
"The testing and evidence introduced at trial raises very serious questions of 
reliability."

Mills also said it looks as if the district attorney's office has closed off 
access to the conviction integrity unit, a branch of the office that was set up 
in 2007 to review cases in the wake of a spate of wrongful convictions in the 
county.

"We're concerned that the district attorney's office is no longer interested in 
having the unit look at the case," he said. A spokeswoman for the office did 
not respond to a request for comment but told the Dallas Morning News it was 
not true that the unit was ever assigned to the case or that communication was 
cut off.

Thomas D'Amore, the lead prosecutor on the case, denied any wrongdoing and said 
he did not attempt to strike black people from the jury. D'Amore said he is 
sure that the trial unfolded properly and that the correct verdict was reached: 
"There is no doubt, there is overwhelming evidence, he is guilty of capital 
murder."

(source: The Guardian)






FLORIDA:

State Lawmakers File Death Penalty Fix


Florida is on the cusp of joining nearly every other death penalty state in 
requiring a unanimous jury sentence.

Florida's capital sentencing process is stalled after the state's high court 
rejected provisions allowing executions on the recommendation of only 10 out of 
12 jurors. Rep. Chris Sprowls (R-Palm Harbor) has filed a measure in the House, 
and he says the aim is fix a problem without creating new ones.

"The Supreme Court of Florida indicated that they believed based on 
constitutional law both federally and in the state that it would need to be 
unanimous," Sprowls says. "What the bill does is take a minimalist approach, 
goes into the current death penalty scheme and changes the 10 to 2 verdict 
recommendation to unanimous."

He explains lawmakers on both sides of the aisle want to see the matter 
settled.

"What they want to see is s working death penalty statute in the state of 
Florida," Sprowls says. "The best way to ensure that, to ensure both the 
constitutionality and that it works for victims and their families, is to 
change it from 10-2 to unanimous to comply with the decision so that we know 
we've complied."

"And therefore," he goes on, "as we move forward out of session we know that 
victims and families have the opportunity to utilize the death penalty should 
it be appropriate."

Ocoee Democrat Randolph Bracy is carrying a similar bill in the Senate.

(source: WFSU news)






MISSISSIPPI:

State lawmakers discuss death penalty----Bill would allow electric chair, 
firing squad


On Thursday, a state House committee approved legislation to explicitly 
legalize the current drugs Mississippi plans to use to execute death row 
inmates.

The bill also calls for backup methods of executions to be allowed, including 
the gas chamber, firing squad and electric chair.

The bill moves to the House for more debate.

The state has faced repeated court challenges and lawsuits in which death row 
inmates claim they will experience pain during their executions and that the 
state cannot effectively sedate them beforehand.

No executions have been carried out in the state since 2012.

(source: WAPT news)






OHIO:

Trumbull Co. Prosecutor: Death penalty delay undermines confidence in justice 
system


A month before Ohio was set to restart executions again, a federal judge found 
the new lethal injection process unconstitutional.

It is a decision that has ripple effects across the state, including the 
valley. One local prosecutor said that it undermines confidence in the system.

One day after Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins asked to set the 
execution date for serial killer Stanley Adams, a federal judge in Ohio put 3 
upcoming executions on hold.

"They have found that the cocktail that they put together to end peoples lives 
or to administer the death penalty is unconstitutional because it is cruel and 
unusual because it will prolong and actually make the person suffer before they 
die," stated attorney Dave Betras.

The judge found that the 1st of 3 drugs used, the sedative midazolam, creates a 
"substantial risk of serious harm."

Betras said that problems like this arise when doctors cannot be involved in 
the process since they take an oath to save lives.

The last execution in the state was three years ago, when it took 26 minutes 
for rapist murderer Dennis McGuire to die. He was seen gasping and snorting. 1 
of the 2 drugs used was midazolam.

Use of midazolam in Oklahoma was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court and other 
states are administering the death penalty, so Watkins questioned another 
delay.

"My question is when are we going to get justice. If you don't like the death 
penalty, no problem with the constitutional structure that we have in this 
country, and some states have done it - repeal it. We don't need monkey 
wrenches in the system," commented Watkins.

He feels that it is unfair to the victims' families.

"We cannot spend our resources over and over again for the same thing, it 
undermines confidence in our system of justice," Watkins stated.

The state is appealing the decision.

(source: WFMJ news)

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

Defense: Man shouldn't face death penalty in 2014 slayings


Defense attorneys for a man accused in the 2014 shooting deaths of a pregnant 
woman and three others in Cleveland say he's intellectually disabled and 
shouldn't face the death penalty.

Cleveland.com reports (http://bit.ly/2iZO67Z ) court records filed by attorneys 
for 20-year-old James Sparks-Henderson II cite school records that show his IQ 
was measured at 73 in 2010.

Court records say Sparks-Henderson's lawyers found a mental health expert to 
examine him last year. The report was filed under seal in November.

A judge has scheduled a March 10 hearing to decide if the case should remain a 
death penalty case.

Police have said a masked gunman killed 3 people in a home and then fired into 
a car, killing a woman and her unborn child.

(source: WHIO news)






NEBRASKA:

Gov. Ricketts signs death penalty protocol----New death penalty protocol for 
Nebraska


Governor Pete Ricketts signed the protocol for carrying out death penalty 
sentences in Nebraska and delivered it to Secretary of State John Gale.

"The Department of Corrections was responsive to feedback provided in the 
public hearing," said Governor Ricketts. "Finalizing the protocol will help 
carry out the will of the people of Nebraska in regards to the death penalty."

According to state documents, the Director of the State of Nebraska Department 
of Correctional Services will determine which substance or substances and 
quantity are to be used in the execution.

The director's choice of substances may be based on its availability. The plan 
outlines that the substances must be intravenously injected. The quantity must 
also be sufficient to cause death without infliction of pain.

Inmates will be notified at least 60 days prior to the Nebraska Attorney 
General request of an execution warrant from the Nebraska Supreme Court. The 
inmate must be notified of what substance, or substances will be used, the 
quantity and if more than 1 substance will be used. They must also be informed 
on the order the substances will be administered.

The protocol includes an "execution team" that includes the director, the 
warden of the penitentiary, a public information officer, an escort team (to 
provide security for the prisoner) an IV team and a pharmacist or 
pharmaceutical chemist.

The state's death penalty has faced logistical problems for years that have 
prevented them from obtaining the necessary lethal injection drugs.

Under the new protocol, the substance or substances may be directly purchased 
of obtained through the Department Pharmacy or obtained through any other 
appropriate source, including pharmaceutical or chemical compounding.

Nebraska hasn't executed an inmate since 1997, when it used the electric chair. 
The state has never used the old protocol which included a 3-drug protocol 
consisting of sodium thiopental, pancuronium bromide and potassium chloride. 
Nebraska's previous 3-drug protocol faced repeated legal challenges. The state 
also struggled to legally acquire sodium thiopental, 1 of the required drugs.

Nebraska voters reinstated the death penalty in November, overturning the 
Legislature's decision to abolish the punishment.

(source: WOWT news)

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

Death penalty protocol gets final approval


A final version of the state's execution protocol was signed Thursday by Gov. 
Pete Ricketts and delivered to Secretary of State John Gale.

Ricketts said the Department of Correctional Services was responsive to 
feedback provided in a Dec. 30 public hearing.

Because of opposition to keeping the source of execution drugs confidential - 
opponents cited a violation of Nebraska's public-records laws and lack of 
transparency - the Corrections Department had said it would strike a paragraph 
in the proposed protocol that authorized that.

The 1st version of the protocol allowed the director to keep secret any records 
or information identifying a person, company, or entity supplying the substance 
or substances for lethal injection.

The department may be coming at that from a different angle, however.

Sen. John Kuehn of Heartwell has introduced a bill (LB661) in the Legislature 
that would make records confidential if that could lead to the identity of a 
person or entity that manufactures, supplies, compounds, or prescribes the 
drugs to perform a lethal injection. That bill has been routed to the 
Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee, where it is more likely 
than in the Judiciary Committee to be advanced to the full Legislature.

The protocol was revised shortly after Nebraskans voted in November to continue 
using the death penalty. That vote came after the Legislature voted to repeal 
it and substitute life in prison for 1st-degree murder convictions.

10 men in Nebraska have death sentences for 1st-degree murder convictions. No 
one, however, has been executed in Nebraska since Harold Lamont "Wili" Otey in 
1994, John Joubert in 1996 and Robert Williams in 1997.

The newly revised protocol would allow the Corrections Department to use 
whatever appropriate lethal injection drugs are available, and would give only 
the inmate information on what drug(s) would be used and in what quantity 60 
days before a request for a death warrant.

"Finalizing the protocol will help carry out the will of the people of Nebraska 
in regards to the death penalty," Ricketts said.

3 Nebraska death row inmates, Carey Dean Moore, Jose Sandoval and John Lotter, 
have exhausted their state and federal appeals, according to Attorney General 
Doug Peterson, and could be f1t in line to have execution dates set.

A copy of the final protocol will be made available on the Secretary of State's 
website at www.sos.ne.gov, according to Ricketts.

(source: Lincoln Journal Star)