[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, OHIO, ARIZ., NEV., USA

[Rick Halperin]

July 25



TEXAS----impending execution

Set for execution, death row inmate alleges legal fraud in hopes of a 
stay----With 2 days left before TaiChin Preyor's scheduled execution, his 
lawyers have tried just about everything to stop it. That includes alleging 
that his previous counsel committed fraud.



With 2 days left before TaiChin Preyor's scheduled execution, his lawyers have 
tried just about everything to stop it. That includes alleging that his 
previous counsel - a disbarred California attorney and a probate and real 
estate lawyer who reportedly relied on Wikipedia to research Texas legal 
procedure - committed fraud against a federal court.

So far, they've had no luck.

Preyor, 46, is set to be executed Thursday night for the 2004 killing of a 
20-year-old San Antonio woman during a home invasion. If he doesn't receive a 
stay, it will be the state's 5th execution of the year - and end the unusually 
long 4-month lull in Texas' death chamber.

In recent weeks, Preyor's attorneys have filed a flurry of pleas, with the 
Texas governor and in state and federal court. They have argued Preyor should 
be spared the death penalty because his original attorney overlooked an abusive 
childhood and because his appellate attorneys were incompetent.

The Texas Tribune thanks its sponsors. Become one. "Even if you are someone who 
believes that there is a role for the death penalty to play with respect to 
certain crimes, there has to be a baseline there that the person ... was 
capably and competently represented throughout all of his proceedings," said 
Cate Stetson, one of Preyor's current attorneys. "And that baseline clearly was 
not met here."

On Monday afternoon, both the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals and a federal 
district court rejected Preyor's requests for a stay. Preyor will appeal now to 
the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Texas and Bexar County have requested that the execution proceed, noting that 
it "has been postponed for over a year in order to accommodate [Preyor] and his 
attorneys, but at the expense of the victims and the state's interest in 
finality."

In court, Bexar County prosecutors accused Preyor of breaking into Jami 
Tackett's apartment in the early hours of a February morning. Tackett was in 
bed with Jason Garza, who testified that Preyor attacked and stabbed him before 
he ran away to call for help. With Garza gone, Preyor stabbed Tackett multiple 
times, killing her. He was arrested at the scene covered in her blood.

Preyor claimed he acted in self-defense. In a statement to police, he said 
Tackett, who sold him drugs, had invited him over and ambushed him with Garza. 
Preyor said he pulled out his knife after the 2 began attacking him and that he 
didn't intend to hurt Tackett "that bad."

A jury was unconvinced. They found him guilty and sentenced him to death.

Preyor's current attorneys aren't focusing on his conviction but on his death 
sentence. They argue the lawyer who represented Preyor during his sentencing, 
Michael Gross, failed to present evidence about Preyor's abusive childhood, 
which they argue could have swayed a jury to give him life in prison.

"Gross failed to hire a mitigation specialist, failed to investigate known red 
flags regarding Preyor's childhood, neglected to interview family members 
regarding Preyor's childhood and social history, and neglected to follow up on 
not 1, but 2, medical professionals' recommendations that Preyor be screened 
for mental illness or other executive-function issues affecting his capacity 
and judgment," Stetson and attorney Hilary Sheard wrote in a filing to the 
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals last week. "The cumulative effect of these 
omissions was disastrous."

But Gross said in an affidavit filed to the court that he "adequately" 
represented Preyor, and talked to many family members, school officials, 
friends and even Preyor himself, none of whom mentioned abuse. "If they had 
given me any such information, I would have developed that evidence and 
presented it as mitigation at trial," Gross said in his affidavit.

Sheard and Stetson argue concerns about Gross' representation should have been 
raised during Preyor's appeals. Preyor blames this on his unusual appellate 
lawyers.

After becoming frustrated with Preyor's court-appointed lawyer during his 
post-conviction appeal, Preyor's mother turned to Philip Jefferson, a disbarred 
California attorney who claimed he was retired, according to Preyor's most 
recent court filing. Preyor claims Jefferson did most of the heavy lifting in 
the case and had Brandy Estelle, a California attorney who specialized in 
probate and real estate law, file documents to the court.

Estelle relied on Wikipedia to research Texas habeas procedures, Preyor 
alleged, and Preyor's appeals were denied in federal court.

"The federal habeas petition filed in this court ... was so abysmal that it 
subsequently became an exemplar, circulated among habeas attorneys, as an 
example of what not to do," Preyor's attorneys wrote.

Preyor also alleged that Estelle committed fraud against the court by hiding 
Jefferson's role and requesting payment for her legal services from the 
appellate court, even though Preyor's family had already paid her.

Estelle did not respond to requests for comment for this story, and Jefferson 
could not be reached for comment. But on Monday afternoon, a federal court 
dismissed that fraud allegation, saying Estelle "competently represented" 
Preyor.

"There has been no showing of any attempt to defile the court, much less 
egregious misconduct that rises to the level of bribery or fabrication of 
evidence," District Court Judge Fred Biery wrote.

Preyor has also requested that the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles and Texas 
Gov. Greg Abbott grant him clemency and commute his sentence to life in prison. 
The board is expected to vote on his case Tuesday afternoon, but rarely 
recommends relief to the governor. Abbott has not stopped an execution since 
taking office in 2015. "Mr. Preyor experienced severe sexual and physical abuse 
as a child, but that compelling mitigation evidence has never been heard by any 
court," Stetson said Monday evening after the court rulings. "The appellate 
courts or the Governor should allow Mr. Preyor the opportunity to be 
represented by capable, competent, and licensed attorneys before his execution 
proceeds."

(source: Texas Tribune)

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

Capital case bears more scrutiny



We have had the case of the Sleeping Lawyer. Then came the case of the Drunk 
Lawyer. Now we have the case of the Disbarred Lawyer.

As governor of Texas, I authorized 19 executions. Since then, I have seen many 
cases of profoundly deficient lawyering for people who were sent to death row. 
But what happened to TaiChin Preyor, who is scheduled for execution on July 27, 
is beyond the pale.

Mr. Preyor was convicted of a murder in San Antonio and sentenced to death in 
2005. His mother, Margaret Mendez, would do anything to save her son's life. A 
longtime employee of the U.S. Postal Service, she did not have hundreds of 
thousands of dollars to spend on a dream team to get her son's conviction 
reversed.

Ms. Mendez's niece introduced her to Philip Jefferson at a Thanksgiving dinner 
in 2007. Mr. Jefferson presented himself as a "retired" lawyer. In reality, he 
had been disbarred in California almost 20 years earlier. He claimed to be 
associated with Johnnie Cochran, who famously won a not guilty verdict for O. 
J. Simpson, and Ms. Mendez was understandably impressed. He said that due to 
his "retired" status, he would have to bring in an associate to sign and file 
documents.

Thus began an extraordinary fraud not only on Mr. Preyor's mother but also the 
courts. The lawyer who worked at Mr. Jefferson's direction, Brandy Estelle, had 
a probate, estate planning and real estate law practice in California. She had 
no experience in death penalty cases.

Ms. Estelle did not disclose to the courts that Mr. Jefferson was guiding the 
litigation or that the 2 sought duplicate payments from both Ms. Mendez and the 
5th Circuit Court of Appeals. All told, Ms. Mendez paid $45,000, cleaning out 
her savings and retirement funds, while Ms. Estelle sought compensation from 
the 5th Circuit for some of the same work without Ms. Mendez's knowledge.

No one will be surprised to learn that the "representation" the disbarred Mr. 
Jefferson and the unqualified Ms. Estelle provided was shockingly deficient in 
ways that are rarely seen. They filed a habeas corpus petition on Mr. Preyor's 
behalf that had no citations to the record or evidence outside the record. The 
federal court denied the petition, finding that it disregarded applicable 
habeas law.

Most disturbingly, Mr. Jefferson and Ms. Estelle completely missed the fact 
that Mr. Preyor's trial counsel had conducted a subpar investigation into Mr. 
Preyor's background. If he had provided effective assistance, he would have 
found and presented compelling mitigation evidence about Mr. Preyor's 
childhood, which was replete with violence and sexual abuse.

The violence and sexual abuse that Mr. Preyor experienced does not excuse his 
crime, but it could have led the jury to a greater understanding. If only 1 
juror had heard the mitigation evidence and been persuaded that Mr. Preyor was 
not the "worst of the worst," he would be serving a life sentence today.

It's not too late to fix this disturbing injustice. In May - a short 8 weeks 
before Mr. Preyor's scheduled execution date - the U.S. District Court for the 
Western District of Texas authorized funding for new attorneys, with valid law 
licenses, to investigate and prepare a case for Mr. Preyor. These attorneys 
have filed a clemency petition asking Gov. Greg Abbott to commute his death 
sentence to life or, at the least, grant a reprieve to allow his new attorneys 
to complete their work.

I believe there are rare cases where the death penalty is the appropriate 
punishment. If we are to have capital punishment, we must afford defendants the 
protections that are enshrined in our Constitution. The Sixth Amendment is 
clear that the accused shall have the right to the assistance of counsel. At 
its most basic, that means a qualified lawyer with a law license, not one who 
has been prohibited from practice.

The integrity of our system demands that Mr. Preyor's claims receive a fair 
hearing before his execution can proceed.

(source: Commentary; Mark White served as governor of Texas from 1983 to 1987 
and Texas attorney general from 1979 to 1983----San Antonio Express-News)

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

Texas 7 Prison Escapee On Death Row Loses Federal Appeal



A death row inmate who was part of the notorious "Texas 7" gang of escaped 
prisoners has lost a federal court appeal, moving him a step closer to 
execution.

Joseph Garcia has been turned down at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. 
Attorneys for the 45-year-old Garcia argued he had deficient legal help at his 
trial and during earlier appeals.

After their December 2000 breakout from a South Texas prison, the gang 
committed numerous robberies, including the Christmas Eve holdup of a sporting 
goods store in the Dallas suburb of Irving where a police officer, 29-year-old 
Aubrey Hawkins, was killed.

The fugitives were captured in Colorado after a 6-week national manhunt. One 
killed himself there.

Garcia and 2 others remain on death row. 3 have been executed.

(source: Associated Press)

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

Man accused of letting migrants die in hot truck may face death penalty



The truck driver accused of smuggling at least 39 people in Texas over the 
weekend could face the death penalty or life in prison after 10 of the people 
died from being locked in the man's unventilated trailer in 100-degree heat, 
prosecutors announced Monday.

One of the deadliest cases of human smuggling in the U.S. in recent memory was 
discovered early Sunday morning, when San Antonio police found that a truck 
parked outside a Walmart was stuffed with undocumented immigrants. The truck's 
refrigeration system did not work, the driver, James Matthew Bradley Jr., later 
told investigators - and by the time police found them, at least people had 
already died from heat exposure and asphyxiation.

Another 30 people were taken to local hospitals. 2 later died - including 1 
overnight on Sunday, just hours before Bradley arrived in court Monday morning 
for the federal crime of smuggling illegal aliens. Under that law, smugglers 
can face the possibility of the death penalty if any of the people they're 
transporting die.

According to the prosecutors[ complaint, Bradley told investigators that he was 
traveling from Laredo, Texas, to San Antonio, and he did not know that people 
were in his truck until he stopped at the Walmart. Once he realized there were 
people in his truck, he called his wife and tried to help them.

He did not dial 911. The immigrants were only discovered when 1 approached a 
Walmart employee and asked for water.

"The South Texas heat is punishing this time of year. These people were 
helpless in the hands of their transporters," Richard L. Durbin Jr., the U.S. 
attorney for the Western District of Texas, said in a statement before charges 
were filed. "Imagine their suffering, trapped in a stifling trailer in 
100-plus-degree heat."

(source: vice.com)








OHIO----impending execution

Pharmacology profs call drug in Ohio execution 'unsuitable'



15 pharmacology professors are arguing to stop the impending execution of a 
condemned Ohio killer on grounds that a sedative being used is incapable of 
inducing unconsciousness or preventing severe pain.

In a brief filed at the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, the professors called the 
record on the sedative midazolam "profoundly troubling" and said it's 
"unsuitable" as an execution drug.

Their filing comes as Ohio prepares to resume executions after a more than 
3-year hiatus.

WKYC's Monica Robins spoke about the new filings and other factors ahead of 
Wednesday's execution on our Facebook Live.

Ronald Phillips is scheduled to die Wednesday for the 1993 rape and killing of 
his girlfriend's 3-year-old daughter in Akron.

Phillips and 2 other inmates have asked the high court for stays as they appeal 
Ohio's lethal injection method. Phillips is also pursuing a separate 
age-related stay.

(source: Associated Press)

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

Ronald Phillips Set to Die in Ohio's 1st Execution in 3 Years



Father Lawrence Hummer had been told the lethal injection of Dennis McGuire 
would probably take about 5 minutes. Just about that much time had passed when 
something ghastly happened.

"He started struggling for breath," said Hummer, who knew McGuire from Masses 
he celebrated for Ohio's Catholic death-row prisoners and volunteered to be a 
witness at his January 2014 execution.

"I was trying to calm his children down when all of a sudden I heard audible 
gagging. I thought it was another witness, but when I looked back to [McGuire], 
he was the one gagging," Hummer said. "Your instinct is to help or stop it, but 
of course nobody could do a thing."

According to multiple witnesses, McGuire gasped, snorted and heaved for up to 
15 minutes before he was finally pronounced dead, ending Ohio's longest 
execution - and its 1st using an untested 2-drug cocktail.

More than 3 years later, Ohio has not put another prisoner to death. But after 
a tangled journey through the court system and an international search for 
chemicals, that could be about to change.

Unless the U.S. Supreme Court steps in, child-killer Ronald Phillips will be 
strapped to a gurney at the state prison in Lucasville on Wednesday evening and 
given an injection of 3 chemicals - 1 of which was used on McGuire and in 
several other executions that did not go as planned.

Phillips, 44, was convicted of raping and beating to death his girlfriend's 
daughter, Sheila Marie Evans, in 1993. The Ohio parole board said it was 
"clearly among the worst of the worst capital crimes."

"Its depravity is self-evident," the panel said in denying clemency. "Words 
cannot convey the barbarity of the crime. It is simply unconscionable."

Phillips was originally scheduled to die in 2013, but Ohio ran out of the drug 
it used, the barbituate pentobarbital, and was unable to buy more because 
opponents of capital punishment convinced pharmaceutical companies to stop 
selling it to executioners.

The state adopted a new protocol: the sedative midazolam, followed by a massive 
dose of the opioid hydromorphone. Phillips would have been the 1st to receive 
it, but he won a delay with a request to donate his organs to relatives.

The state eventually rejected the donation idea, but it bought Phillips some 
time. The result was that in the meantime, McGuire became the 1st and only Ohio 
inmate executed with the experimental combination.

A review by prison officials concluded that McGuire - who raped and fatally 
stabbed a woman who was 8 months pregnant - did not suffer any distress. But 
after McGuire's family sued and midazolam came under fire for botched 
executions elsewhere, Ohio abandoned the 2-drug injection.

Its plan was to instead use a drug it relied on for more than a dozen years, 
sodium thiopental. But that drug is no longer made in the United States, and 
the Food and Drug Administration warned the state to drop plans to import it 
from overseas.

Switching gears, Ohio then adopted a 3-drug injection that several other states 
have been using: midazolam for sedation, following by a paralytic and the 
heart-stopping potassium chloride.

Despite its newfound popularity - Arkansas used it to kill 4 prisoners in 8 
days - the formula is controversial. Critics say midazolam doesn't protect 
inmates against the pain of the other 2 drugs and thus violates the 
constitutional protection against cruel and unusual punishment.

A challenge out of Oklahoma was taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court, which 
declined to ban midazolam. But in January, a federal magistrate judge halted 
plans to restart executions, finding the use of the sedative created "a 
substantial risk of serious harm."

An appeals panel upheld that ruling, but was then reversed in a decision by the 
full court, which gave Ohio the green light to move ahead with Phillips' 
execution. Although he and other inmates have appealed to the nation's highest 
court, chances for a reprieve are increasingly slim.

In a response to Phillips' appeal, Ohio's attorney general argued its latest 
formula has a reliable track record.

"Ohio, a late adopter of the midazolam 3-drug protocol, chose it only after it 
was adopted by several States, used in over a dozen prior executions, 
authorized by many courts, and upheld by this Court," the state wrote in its 
brief.

Not all the executions have been problem-free, however, as 15 pharmacologists 
pointed out in a brief filed Monday. Last year, witnesses in Alabama reported 
that Ronald Bert Smith coughed and heaved for 13 minutes. Arizona swore off 
midazolam after Joseph Wood took 2 hours to die after getting the same kind of 
injection used on McGuire.

The coalition Ohioans to Stop Execution says it's just too risky for Ohio to 
restart its execution machinery with midazolam in the mix. It delivered 
petitions signed by 100,000 state residents to Gov. John Kasich's office on 
Monday.

Last week, the group released a statement from a retired judge who headed a 
court-appointed task force on the death penalty in Ohio and who complained that 
most of the panel's major recommendations have not been implemented - although 
none of those centered on execution drugs.

The state is saying little beyond its legal papers. Kasich's office referred 
inquiries to the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, which issued a 
brief statement: "Ohio intends to fulfill its statutory obligation of carrying 
out court-ordered executions in a lawful, humane and dignified manner."

The last time the state came close to executing Phillips, a prison medical team 
had trouble identifying a good spot for the injection, he later told a court.

"I guess the Lord hid my veins from them," he said.

Whatever happens Wednesday could have implications for the future of executions 
in Ohio. If there's a glitch or worse, prison officials will be under pressure 
to once again retool the protocol. If it unfolds as planned, the state will 
have momentum to move forward with more executions.

That's a prospect Hummer, the Catholic priest who witnessed McGuire's 
execution, dreads. He said he is still haunted by what he witnessed in the 
death house 3 years ago.

"It was a horrendous experience," he said. "It's something that never goes 
away."

He may be called upon to do it again.

"I have 2 guys who come to mass every week who are due to be executed next 
year, and I told them, 'I'll be there for you if you wish,'" Hummer said. "I 
can't abandon the guys I've been with. I mean, how can I not do it?"

(source: NBC News)

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

Resuming Executions in Ohio Will Not Serve Justice



After a 3-year hiatus, the state of Ohio is scheduled to resume executions this 
week. Ronald R. Phillips is scheduled to be put to death on July 26, despite 
outcry from groups including human rights organizations, faith leaders, 
correctional officers, and exonerated former death-row prisoners.

"While much of the country moves away from the death penalty, Ohio will be 
taking a devastating step backward should they move forward with this 
execution," said James Clark, senior campaigner with Amnesty International USA. 
"The capital punishment system is broken beyond repair, and must be abandoned."

(source: Amnesty International USA)

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

Diocese of Southern Ohio objects to reinstatement of death penalty



Despite much objection, the state of Ohio will end its current hold on the 
death penalty and proceed with its first execution in 3 1/2 years on July 26th, 
2017.

The Diocese of Southern Ohio, in partnership with other community faith 
leaders, and a host of death row exonerees, is urgently encouraging Governor 
Kasich to reconsider the reinstatement of this punishment given the state's 
questionable history of wrongful convictions and botched executions.

"While certain crimes can be difficult to forgive, we must remember that we are 
all children of God," Bishop Thomas Breidenthal said. "As Christians, we should 
respect human life as precious, and not sanction death via our very human, and 
sometimes flawed, criminal justice system."

Those looking to learn more or get involved with the movement are encouraged to 
contact their respective congress person or senator and ask them to halt this 
process, or by signing the petition via the link below:

http://otse.org/faith_leader_letter/?utm_content=bufferfec48

About the Diocese of Southern Ohio

The Episcopal Church is home to more than 25,000 people in Southern Ohio. Our 
communities of faith can be found in Cincinnati, Columbus and Dayton, and in 
farm towns and county seats all across the southern half of Ohio.

We are led by the Rt. Rev. Thomas E. Breidenthal. As bishop, he offers 
spiritual leadership in partnership with the clergy and people of this diocese.

We are part of a larger, global community. The Episcopal Church has its roots 
in the Church of England and is part of the Anglican Communion. There are about 
2.4 million Episcopalians in the United States and sixteen other countries and 
more than 70 million Anglicans worldwide.

(source: The Global Dispatch)








ARIZONA:

Lawsuit Seeks Details on Suppliers of Death Penalty Drugs



News organizations will clash with Arizona prison officials over the First 
Amendment at a trial to determine whether the public has a right to know who 
supplies execution drugs and the qualifications of people who carry out the 
death penalty.

The Associated Press, Arizona Republic and other news operations are seeking 
the information in a lawsuit filed after the 2014 death of Joseph Rudolph Wood, 
who was given 15 doses of a 2-drug combination over nearly 2 hours in what his 
attorney called a botched execution.

The trial is set to begin Tuesday in Phoenix.

Similar challenges to the death penalty are playing out in other parts of the 
country that seek more transparency about where states get their execution 
drugs.

States are struggling to obtain execution drugs because European pharmaceutical 
companies began blocking the use of their products for lethal injections.

In the Arizona case, the news organizations say information about executions 
has historically been open to the public and that journalists witness 
executions as proxies for the general public.

? They argued that the release of the information helps the public determine 
whether executions are carried out humanely and promotes public confidence in 
the criminal justice system.

"The public cannot meaningfully debate the propriety of lethal injection 
executions if it is denied access to this essential information about how 
individuals are being put to death by the state," lawyers for the news 
organizations said in the lawsuit.

The Arizona Department of Corrections didn't have an immediate comment Monday 
on the trial. The Arizona Attorney General's Office, which is defending the 
state at trial, didn't return phone calls and an email seeking comment.

State law prohibits the disclosure of information that would identify anyone 
serving on an execution team.

The state said that confidentiality extends to suppliers of the drugs used. An 
Arizona prisons official has suggested that previous disclosures about 
suppliers have led other vendors to refuse to provide the drugs.

Other plaintiffs in the case include the Guardian News & Media, Arizona Daily 
Star, CBS 5 (KPHO-TV) and 12 News (KPNX-TV).

The news organizations won a partial victory last year when U.S. District Judge 
Murray Snow ruled the state must let witnesses view the entirety of an 
execution, including each time drugs are administered.

Snow concluded that witnesses to Wood's death couldn't see that he was 
receiving additional doses of the drugs after the first ones failed to kill 
him.

A new execution protocol issued in January will let witnesses see the 
injections through a camera in a room where the drugs are loaded into an 
inmate's IV line.

Last month, the state settled a separate lawsuit filed by death-row inmates who 
alleged that Arizona's prisons chief had abused his discretion in the methods 
and amounts of drugs used in executions. The agreement limited the power of 
prison officials to change execution drugs at the last minute.

There are now 118 prisoners on death row in Arizona.

(source: Associated Press)








NEVADA:

History of capital punishment to be covered at Dangberg park in Minden



Historian Patty Cafferata will present "By Gas, Rope, Bullet or Poison: A 
History of Capital Punishment in Nevada" on Saturday, July 29, at 10 a.m. at 
the Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park.

Distinguished Nevada lawyer and former district attorney, Patty Cafferata, will 
share the fascinating history of the death penalty as practiced within Nevada. 
Cafferata will describe the methods of execution the state has used since its 
territorial days in 1860 through the present, including death by hanging, 
firing squad, lethal injection and the gas chamber.

Nevada was the 1st state in the union to make use of fatal gas when it put to 
death Gee Jon. Through colorful commentary, Cafferata will bring to life Jon's 
story along with some of the state's other interesting murderers, including the 
only woman executed in Nevada: Elizabeth Potts.

"Patty Cafferata is an engaging historian. Her books and talks on Nevada 
literally bring our history to life," said the park's events manager, Kim 
Harris.

(source: Nevada Appeal)








USA:

Prosecutors Given More Time to Decide on Death Penalty for Adam Purinton in 
Killing of Kansas Engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla



The fate of the federal case against Adam Purinton is still up in the air.

A federal judge July 20 allowed prosecutors more time to make their final 
decision on whether they will seek the death penalty against Purinton, who was 
arrested in February and charged with the killing of Indian American engineer 
Srinivas Kuchibhotla.

The judge granted the prosecutors a 6-month stay in the federal hate crime 
case, according to a KansasCity.com report.

"A stay would give the parties appropriate time to investigate and present 
aggravated and mitigating factors bearing upon the death penalty decision," 
U.S. District Judge Carlos Murguia said in his order, according to the report.

The report added that the stay in the federal case means that Johnson County 
prosecutors will proceed first in their 1st-degree murder case against 
Purinton.

Purinton, 52, allegedly shouted "Get out of my country" before opening fire on 
Kuchibhotla, 32, and his friend Alok Madasani at Austins Bar and Grill in 
Olathe, Kan.

Kuchibhotla was killed in the shooting, while Madasani and intervener Ian 
Grillot were shot but survived.

Purinton was arrested in Missouri some 70 miles away hours later.

Several months after the state charges were filed in Johnson County, federal 
prosecutors filed the hate crime charge against Purinton, alleging that he 
targeted Kuchibhotla and Madasani "because of their actual and perceived race, 
color, religion and national origin," the report noted

While the maximum penalty for the murder charge is life in prison, the federal 
charge carries a potential death sentence, it said.

Purinton is being held in the Johnson County Detention Center. His preliminary 
hearing on the murder charge is scheduled for Sept. 18.

(source: Associated Press)