[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----NMEX, UTAH, NEV., ARIZ., USA

[Rick Halperin]

July 20



NEW MEXICO:

Group scores criminal justice legislation



A New Mexico advocacy group supporting criminal justice reform efforts released 
its report card Wednesday on legislation from the 2017 regular legislative 
session. Specifically, the group, NM SAFE, analyzed legislation aimed at 
changing criminal penalties.

At a press conference, a few members of the group spoke about the analysis and 
what it means for New Mexico.

Tanya Romero with the Esperanza Shelter for Battered Families said the state 
needs more reforms instead of tougher criminal penalties.

"Domestic violence, a good percentage of it, is through historical trauma," 
Romero said. "It is time for us to break the cycle, it is time to educate many 
about the acts of violence."

Steve Allen, with the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico, criticized 
Gov. Susana Martinez for vetoes of bills NM SAFE supports.

"It's great idea after great idea that this governor refuses to get on board 
with," Allen said. "We are never going to move this state forward with 
proactive, creative criminal justice reform until we have a new governor in 
office."

Martinez's office did not comment on the group's criticisms before press time.

Of the 2-dozen proposals NM SAFE looked at, only 1 became law. The rest either 
failed in committee or was vetoed by Martinez.

Martinez signed a bill that limits when school officials can physically 
restrain a student. The bill was a bipartisan effort, sponsored by Rep. Jim 
Smith, R-Sandia Park, and Rep. Debbie Armstrong, D-Albuquerque.

The legislation with the worst grades were generally sponsored by Republicans 
and focused on increasing criminal penalties. A high profile bill from the 
House aimed at reinstating the death penalty, for example, received an "F," the 
lowest possible grade.

NM SAFE, which includes various advocacy groups and community members, said the 
death penalty bill sponsored by Rep. Monica Youngblood, R-Albuquerque, "fails 
every element of the SAFE test and is the ultimate misguided public safety."

The group also gave low grades to proposed penalty enhancements like including 
crimes against police officers and first responders as protected classes under 
the state's hate crime law and bolstering the state's "3 strikes law."

Bills that focused on alternatives to criminal sentences or eliminated 
punishments, like one that proposed to legalize recreational cannabis, received 
higher grades.

NM SAFE also praised legislation that focused on reform and prevention rather 
than punitive actions after crimes are committed.

A bill that would have increased penalties for crimes involving firearms, for 
example, received a "C" for focusing too heavily on increased sentences and not 
on gun control.

"Rather than incarcerating after-the-fact, the only way to prevent gun violence 
is to make guns unavailable to high risk individuals," the report read.

In its report, NM SAFE wrote each bill was judged on its ability to make New 
Mexico safer, whether it was apolitical, fiscally responsible and whether there 
is sufficient evidence to support the respective bill.

NM SAFE is made up of 30 groups and individuals and was created in October 
2016, when Gov. Susana Martinez called for a special session primarily focused 
on increasing criminal penalties.

(source: nmpoliticalreport.com)








UTAH:

Ending the death penalty would save money and save souls



19 states have abolished the death penalty. Utah isn't one of them. In fact, 
Utah is the only state in the modern era to use the firing squad. That's not 
something to shout from mountaintops.

Granted, Utah doesn't see many capital offense cases. Since 1976 Utah has 
executed seven people. Utah currently has nine inmates on death row. But on 
these most important of cases, attorneys struggle to get paid. This tension 
between budgets and priorities puts attorneys in the unfortunate position of 
choosing between zealous representation, which ethics require, and adequate 
representation, or even barely-competent representation.

Death penalty cases require a specialized skillset. In 2008 the state Supreme 
Court noted it would start overturning death penalty sentences and sending 
cases back for re-sentencing if qualified attorneys were not available to take 
the cases.

Yet counties are still limiting the pool of qualified attorneys by capping case 
costs at a rate that makes representation, especially by solo practitioners, 
economically impractical. Unnecessarily strict limits on the number of 
defendant visits and witness, investigative and expert resources is completely 
inapposite to zealous representation.

The state's Division of Finance has capped payment for a capital offense case 
at $60,000. If you reduce an attorney's rate to $100 an hour, $60,000 equates 
to 15 weeks at 40 hours a week. Few attorneys work 40 hours a week, and no 
capital offense cases are ever resolved in 15 weeks.

The solution to underfunded capital cases, of course, is to abolish the death 
penalty. As English jurist William Blackstone famously stated, "It is better 
that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer." There is 
something wrong with a nation that mistakenly puts its citizens, mostly poor, 
and disproportionately black, to death.

More than 159 people have been freed from death row after evidence of their 
innocence exonerated them.

Since 1976 1,456 people have been put to death under the death penalty. Of 
those, 34.5 % were black, yet only 13.3 % of the American population is black. 
96 % of states that have studied race and the death penalty found 
discrimination.

Even aside from mistaken and racists convictions, the death penalty as a 
deterrent to murder is ineffective. The 2014 FBI Uniform Crime Report showed 
that the South, which accounts for more than 80 % of executions, has the 
highest murder rate. If the death penalty is supposed to deter murder, it isn't 
working.

Fiscal analysts have estimated it costs an additional $1.6 million to litigate 
a capital offense case. But repudiating the death penalty is more than an 
opportunity to save money. It's an opportunity to save souls.

(source: Editorial, Salt Lake Tribune)

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

Mair found competent to stand trial for 2016 trailer park shooting



ed of shooting a Cedar City resident to death in June 2016 has been found 
competent to stand trial for murder.

Police say Mark Mair, 28, shot 34-year-old Justin Bruce Hanna in the Reber 
Court Trailer Park; Hanna died as a result of the multiple gunshot wounds from 
a .40-caliber handgun. At a hearing Tuesday in the 5th District Court, Judge 
Keith Barnes ruled Mair had been found mentally competent in 2 separate 
evaluations. While both evaluations said he was fit to stand trial, the 
evaluators did indicate other mental health issues. The exact findings are 
unknown at this time as the results of the evaluations are private.

"We're fine with the court making that finding, but based on the other 
information confirmed in that diagnosis we feel Mr. Mair's mental health is an 
issue and will continue to be an issue throughout this case," defense attorney 
Douglas Terry said. "We will monitor that and proceed accordingly."

Mair was arrested and charged with aggravated murder after more than 36 hours 
on the run in July 2016. He's also facing charges for 1 1st-degree felony count 
of aggravated burglary and 7 counts of felony discharge of a firearm in 
connection with the alleged murder.

It is not known how the victim knew his alleged killer, but court documents 
reveal that the woman Hanna had been in bed with at the time of the shooting 
had previously been romantically involved with Mair "a few days prior." He 
pushed a fan through the bedroom window before firing multiple shots at Hanna, 
according to the report.

Police also found a large amount of illegal drugs in the trailer during an 
investigation of the crime scene.

Following the shooting, Mair allegedly fled the state with 2 females and 
another male. Mair and 19-year-old Elcha Hatch, who was accused of driving the 
getaway vehicle, were arrested at a home in Grand Junction, Colorado, the next 
day following a 4-hour police standoff.

Hatch and 2 other individuals previously accused of helping Mair evade capture 
were all charged with obstruction of justice. The charges against the three 
have since been cleared.

In the courtroom Tuesday, Mair again expressed his dissatisfaction with his 
attorney. In April, Mair submitted a letter to the court requesting a change of 
counsel due to multiple grievances with Terry, primarily the lack of 
communication. His family is currently seeking private counsel.

"I told you in the letter I don't feel like I have a good working relationship 
with my attorney," Mair said to Barnes.

Mair initially requested the preliminary hearing be continued for 2 to 3 months 
as they determine whether private counsel is an option. But Iron County 
Attorney Scott Garrett pushed for the preliminary hearing to be scheduled as 
normal due to the slow movement in the case.

The case will be a year old on Monday. No major progress has been made since 
that time.

Barnes agreed, encouraging Terry and Garrett to schedule a one-day preliminary 
hearing "reasonably soon."

But the question about Terry's performance isn't off the table. If Mair's 
family doesn't hire an attorney, Barnes will weigh Mair's complaints before 
determining whether his current defense team is suitable to continue to 
represent him or if someone else needs to be appointed.

Mair's 2nd case, a felony drug case for methamphetamine distribution resulting 
from a 2016 controlled buy conducted by the Iron/Garfield/Beaver Counties 
Narcotics Task Force, will continue to take a backseat. The matter was set out 
for Dec. 12 as the capital homicide case proceeds.

In the year since the alleged murder, court proceedings have moved at a glacial 
pace. The preliminary hearing was continued multiple times after the state's 
primary witness, Chandra Davis, fled Iron County. Court documents indicate 
Davis was with Hanna at the time of the murder. She was arrested in November 
2016 on an outstanding drug distribution warrant, but she is considered to be 
missing again after she failed to appear for a sentencing earlier this year.

Garrett is confident there is enough evidence for the preliminary hearing to 
still go forward without Davis' testimony.

If convicted, Mair could still face the death penalty. The state still has the 
option to file a notice of intent to seek the death penalty up to 60 days after 
the arraignment.

(source: The Spectrum)








NEVADA:

Nevada judge orders prosecutors to deliver execution warrant----Scott Dozier's 
days may be numbered unless he tries to stop the clock on death



If Scott Dozier is executed in Nevada, he will get what he wants, according to 
a defense attorney, Scott Coffee. On Tuesday, prosecutors were ordered by 
District Judge Jennifer Togliatti to pen and deliver an execution warrant by 
next week. The state's law mandates that after the judge signs the order, 
convicted killer Dozier must be executed after 60 days but not in excess of 90 
days. Dozier might be executed by the end of October.

Brooke Keast, spokeswoman for Nevada's Department of Corrections, said the 
execution can happen if corrections officials are court-ordered to "make it 
happen." Keast didn't explain how the state can carry out an execution warrant 
in light of earlier reports that the ability to attain the necessary recipe for 
the Lethal Injection protocol proved futile.

Dozier has been on death row almost 10 years - post his murder conviction. On 
October 31, 2016, he wrote the judge and requested that the process affecting 
his appeal be terminated and conveyed that he wanted to "be put to death."

Mental evaluation finds 'no grounds' to interfere with killer's death wish

To be certain that the murderer fully grasped the request he penned, Togliatti 
ordered a psychiatric evaluation. The outcome was a 13-page evaluation by a 
doctor who wrote there is "no grounds," such as mental, psychological, or 
health, to conflict with the condemned killer's choice to be executed.

The killer wasn't in court on Tuesday when Togliatti read from the evaluation 
report but is expected to be present at a hearing on July 27, which is when the 
judge could sign his execution warrant.

His expressed goal, he told Togliatti earlier in the year, is to be executed 
"first and foremost."

On Tuesday, Tom Ericsson, the killer's attorney, told Togliatti that his 
client's stance still stands. Contrary to his lawyer's direction and counsel, 
Dozier is firm about waiving his appellate rights. He described his client as 
"quite adamant" about his position on the subject.

Condemned man murdered and mutilated victim

Dozier landed himself on death row following a 4-week trial December 2017 for 
murdering and, then, mutilating 22-year-old, Arizonan Jeremiah Miller at the 
(now) closed La Concha Motel. He also robbed his victim of $12,000 that Miller 
took with him from Phoenix to Las Vegas to buy materials that were needed to 
make methamphetamine.

The killer cut up Miller's torso into 2 pieces - discovered in a suitcase and 
in a trash bin at an apartment complex April 2002. The victim's head, lower 
legs, and lower arms were never found.

In Arizona 2005, he was convicted and received 22 years in prison for 
2nd-degree murder.

He shot to death a man, age 27, then, stuffed the man's body in a plastic 
container. He dumped the man's body near Phoenix in the desert.

Killer made the call to halt appeals

His attorney Ericsson informed the judge that Dozier wanted the right to go 
ahead with post-conviction appeals if Nevada was not able to execute him. In 
less than a month, he stopped his appeals after prison authorities announced 
that they received no response to 247 requests sent when the state searched 
for, at least, 1 of the drugs used in its lethal injection protocol.

Since Nevada's Legislature reinstated capital punishment in 1977, 12 inmates 
have been executed. 11 of those executed voluntarily stopped appeals. Coffee is 
a defense attorney who has dealt with approximately 20 capital punishment cases 
in 15 years. As well, he analyzes death penalty cases in the United States. He 
is anticipating that there will be some type of intervention.

Killer could change mind about his execution

Dozier could change his mind and appeal to try stopping his execution up until 
the 11th hour prior to when the death sentence is exacted. Another way it may 
be halted is by a third party, without a direct tie to the case like the 
American Civil Liberties Union, trying to intervene by filing a legal 
challenge.

If his client is executed, Dozier's lawyer said, it's not because Nevada wanted 
it. It will be because it's what Dozier wants. If his client is put to death, 
Coffee said it isn't anything other than "state-assisted suicide."

(source: blastingnews.com)

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

2 missed chances



There were several issues Nevada's legislators debated in 2017 but could not 
develop a consensus to move forward on, even in the Democratic caucuses.

One bill, Assembly Bill 237, would have eliminated the death penalty in Nevada, 
while another, Senate Bill 261, would have allowed terminally ill patients to 
choose to die with a doctor's assistance.

Nevada hasn't executed anyone since 2006 and will be unable to carry out the 
death penalty in the foreseeable future as the lethal drugs needed to do so are 
unavailable, but legislators still refused to give up the ultimate punishment. 
AB 237, sponsored by Assemblymember James Ohrenschall, D-Las Vegas, didn't even 
make it out of the Judiciary Committee, chaired by another Democrat who works 
as a public defender in his day job.

There have always been a handful of legislators, such as Sen. Joe Neal and 
Assm. Bernie Anderson, who were strongly opposed to the state having the power 
to execute its citizens, but their numbers have never reached critical mass. 
Some progress has been made over the years in restricting the death penalty 
from being applied to certain sub-populations such as youth and persons with 
mental retardation, but Nevada has never come close to prohibition altogether.

Despite arguments that death penalty cases cost far more than non-death penalty 
cases and studies that show it is disproportionally applied to poor, minority 
populations, it's not likely that Nevadans will change course and switch to the 
abolition side in 2019. After all, the state spent $900,000 over the last 2 
years to build a new execution chamber at Ely State Prison. But legislators 
should be encouraged to consider further restrictions on the death penalty and 
prohibit its use for people with a severe mental illness.

States are uneven in the application of the death penalty for this population, 
with some using a standard of "rational understanding" of the punishment before 
it can be applied. Research has shown that many people on death row do suffer 
from severe mental illness. The American Bar Association has endorsed proposals 
to ban the practice just as it is prohibited for children and the 
intellectually disabled.

(source: newsreview.com)








ARIZONA:

rocedural issues stall death penalty case



The prosecutor in the case of a Bullhead City man accused of killing a child is 
still seeking names of expert witnesses and other evidence.

Justin James Rector, 29, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of 
8-year-old Isabella Grogan-Cannella on Sept. 2, 2014. He is also charged with 
kidnapping, child abuse and abandonment of a dead body after allegedly 
strangling the girl and leaving her body in a shallow grave near her Bullhead 
City home.

Deputy Mohave County Attorney Greg McPhillips issued a status report Tuesday on 
the death penalty case that is approaching its third year. The prosecutor said 
he has had no communication with Rector's defense attorney, Gerald Gavin, since 
a June 2 hearing.

"The status of this case is that nothing is happening," McPhillips said.

At the request of Grogan-Cannella's family, McPhillips will file a motion 
asserting speedy trial rights on the victim's behalf. The case has stalled and 
the prosecutor is asking the judge to move the case along at a faster pace.

McPhillips, who picked a psychiatrist in October 2015, is asking to complete 
mental health exams. The defense attorneys have still not disclosed Rector's 
mental health records. Seven mental health experts have been hired by the 
defense but none of those experts nor their reports have been disclosed.

Trial cannot be held until the mental health exam is done and the sanity issue 
has been resolved.

The attorneys also have stalled on completing interviews. McPhillips has 
requested but not received dates for interviews. He also said he has not 
received disclosure from the defense. No names and addresses of witnesses to be 
called at trial, no expert witnesses, evidence, mitigating circumstance, 
mitigating witnesses or mitigating evidence have been disclosed, he said.

As far back as Nov. 4, 2016, Superior Court Judge Lee Jantzen has ordered the 
defense to disclose all mitigation experts by Jan. 13, which has not been done. 
McPhillips is asking the judge to impose sanctions on the defense.

Jantzen previously said he expects to set a trial date and order a mental 
health exam at the next hearing. Rector's next hearing is set for July 28. The 
trial was originally set to begin October 2016.

(source: Mohave Valley Daily News)

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

Suspect in Bullhead girl's murder allegedly attacks detention officer



A man facing the death penalty for the alleged murder of a young girl in 2014 
fought with a detention officer Tuesday afternoon in the Mohave County Jail, 
according to law enforcement.

Justin James Rector, 29, of Bullhead City allegedly became aggressive towards 
the detention officer, who had entered Rector's cell to remove a shirt that was 
hanging from a vent.

"They got into a brief struggle where punches were thrown," a press release 
from the Mohave County Sheriff's Office stated.

Rector was charged with aggravated assault on a detention officer, a felony.

He also is facing charges for 1st degree murder, kidnapping, child abuse and 
abandonment of a dead body for the Sept. 2, 2014 death of Isabella "Bella" 
Grogan-Canella.

Rector was a friend of the girl's mother, Tania Ann Grogan, and was staying at 
the family home in Bullhead City when the crime occurred. Police said Bella was 
last seen at about 11:30 p.m. that night by her older sister.

Bella's mother and stepfather were not home at the time, and the children were 
being watched by their grandmother. The parents were later arrested on drug 
charges, and the mother remains in prison after being sentenced to 5 years with 
the Arizona Department of Corrections in September 2015 for selling dangerous 
drugs.

Police questioned Rector the next day about the girl's disappearance and found 
his alibi was false.

He allegedly buried her body in a shallow desert grave about a quarter-mile 
from her home. FBI investigators were able to match shoe prints at the 
gravesite to Rector's shoes.

The Mohave County Medical Examiner's office first reported there was no 
physical evidence the girl had been sexually assaulted, but it was later 
revealed that her hymen was missing and there were hemorrhages in her vaginal 
wall.

Prosecutors are now seeking the death penalty against Rector. Mohave County 
Superior Court Judge Lee Jantzen previously ruled there were "aggravating 
circumstances," including the girl's age and cruelty of the crime, to support 
the state's position.

But Rector has been awaiting trial since October, as trial dates are repeatedly 
postponed. According to a status report filed in Mohave County Superior Court 
on July 18, Rector's defense has not submitted necessary mental health records 
to move forward with a trial.

The filing added that there has been no defense filed other than general 
denial, there have been no names of witnesses submitted and there has not been 
evidence or mitigating circumstances disclosed to the court.

The state intended to file motions to compel action and added the defense was 
in violation of court order for failing to provide exerts by the assigned date 
of January 13, 2017, the filing stated.

(source: Havasu News)








USA:

Watch Ethel Rosenberg's sons on 60 Minutes this Sunday!



This Sunday, July 23rd, 60 Minutes will rebroadcast their groundbreaking story 
examining the controversial trial and executions of my grandparents, Ethel and 
Julius Rosenberg. It will air at 7:00 pm ET/PT on CBS.

The report features interviews with my father Robert and my uncle Michael, who 
were 6 and 10 years old???when their parents were killed. It also highlights 
the evidence showing Ethel was not a spy and her execution was wrongful, which 
led to our nationwide campaign last year asking President Obama to exonerate my 
grandmother.

The Rosenbergs were young parents and left-wing activists who were convicted of 
conspiracy to commit espionage and executed by the U.S. government in 1953, at 
the height of the McCarthy Era. They were accused of giving "the secret of the 
Atomic Bomb" to the Soviet Union.

60 Minutes filmed the segment in the wake of the groundbreaking evidence 
showing Ethel was not a spy and her execution was wrongful, which launched the 
nationwide campaign asking President Obama to exonerate Ethel. The report 
features interviews with Rosenberg sons Robert and Michael Meeropol and others. 
It explores the Rosenbergs' controversial trial and execution for the so-called 
"crime of the century."

If you're unable to watch live, the segment will be available on the 60 Minutes 
website for several weeks after the broadcast.

* 60 Minutes

* Sunday, July 23rd

* 7pm ET/PT on CBS

* http://www.cbsnews.com/60-minutes/

(source: Jennifer Meeropol, Executive Director)