[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----PENN., FLA., OHIO, ARK., MO.

[Rick Halperin]

Nov. 4




PENNSYLVANIA:

After 38 years on death row, Philly man gets new trial - and another guilty 
verdict



It took 32 years of legal filings from his cell on death row, but Robert "Sugar 
Bear" Lark finally got a new trial.

On Friday, the jury delivered its verdict. Guilty. Again.

Prosecutors said it was a straightforward case. On Feb. 22, 1979, Lark put on a 
ski mask, stuffed a gun in his belt, walked into a fast-food store at Broad 
Street and Erie Avenue, and shot dead the store owner, Tae Bong Cho, a 
36-year-old father of 2. The slaying was the night before a preliminary hearing 
for Lark, who had robbed Cho at gunpoint months earlier.

"He killed him in a brazen manner, and then he boasted about it," Assistant 
District Attorney Andrew Notaristefano said in his closing argument.

The defense argued that Philadelphia police detectives systematically provided 
incentives and threats to induce witnesses to talk. Some had open cases or 
probation violations when they testified.

"They were handpicked," Lark's court-appointed lawyer, James Berardinelli said. 
"What made someone an elite detective back in 1979 when Frank Rizzo was still 
mayor was a heck of a lot different from what makes an elite detective today."

The jury, which found the prosecutor's version of events to be credible, will 
now have to decide whether Lark, 63, will face the death penalty once again. 
Given a statewide moratorium and the stances of the candidates running for 
district attorney here, some are calling it the last death-penalty case in 
Philadelphia.

It was Lark's 3rd trial: The 1st resulted in a mistrial, the 2nd in a 
conviction. His charges included not only the murder of Cho but also the 
kidnapping of a woman and her 2 children - he escaped into their house before 
police captured him and remained there for 2 hours - and terroristic threats 
against Charles Cunningham, the prosecutor in Lark's robbery case.

But in 2012, he won the right to yet another trial, after persuading a federal 
judge that the prosecutor had stricken black jurors simply because of their 
race - a practice that is illegal but was standard operating procedure for 
Philadelphia prosecutors, according to a training tape of former Assistant 
District Attorney Jack McMahon that became public in the '90s. Half the jury 
for this trial was black.

Proving the case beyond a reasonable doubt 38 years after the fact - when some 
witnesses are dead and others' memories have faded - was a complicated matter.

For those witnesses who are now deceased, testimony had to be reenacted - the 
prosecutor, defense lawyer, and judge all reading lines along with an actor in 
the witness box.

Some other witnesses, brought in from out of state and, in at least one case, 
from federal prison, adamantly contradicted the testimony they gave at the 
previous trials in the 1980s.

One, Linda Timbers, who is the mother of Lark's daughter, said the statement 
police had taken in 1980 was false. According to the statement, she'd been with 
Lark waiting in line for a movie when a man named Stanley Coleman came up and 
discussed the murder with Lark. She said that Lark had never taken her to a 
movie, that she did not know a Stanley Coleman, and that she had not heard 
about the murder.

"If somebody talked to me bragging about a killing, I would remember that," she 
said. If she did sign a statement, she insisted, it was out of exhaustion. "It 
seems like I wasn't going to be able to go home with my children to get 
something to eat unless I signed it."

Another witness, James Spencer, previously testified that Lark had boasted to 
him about the murder, but he recanted that statement on the stand. A 3rd 
testified he now has no memory of the events. A 4th gave similar testimony; she 
said she was a drug addict desperate to get out of the interrogation room and 
get her next fix when she made her statement to police.

The defense argued those recantations were clear evidence that the earlier 
testimony had been tainted - either by prosecutors' promises to offer lenient 
treatment on open cases or by police threats of implication in the case.

For example, Spencer was facing 4 open cases; 2 were thrown out after he 
testified. "This is someone who had a motive to fabricate," Berardinelli said.

Notaristefano, on the other hand, said Spencer's recantation was further proof 
of Lark's campaign of terror: Spencer, he said, "has to take the witness stand 
so he can recant everything in public in front of the defendant, so that his 
family can be safe."

The jury will be back on Tuesday to determine whether Lark will return to death 
row.

Prosecutors offered to take the death penalty off the table if Lark would waive 
his right to appeal. But as Judge Steven R. Geroff stated the offer, Lark 
interjected.

"I reject that," he said.

He wants to keep fighting the case.

(source: The Inquirer)








FLORIDA:

Doctor: Death row inmate's upbringing was 'perfect storm' to create problems



A psychologist argued a former Santa Rosa inmate facing the death penalty for 
the murder of his prison cellmate was raised in a "perfect storm" of factors to 
make him unstable and impulsive.

In August, Shawn Rogers, 47, was convicted of 1st-degree murder in the death of 
24-year-old Ricky D. Martin. Martin and Rogers shared a cell in the state's 
Santa Rosa Correctional Institution in 2012, where Rogers bound, beat and 
stabbed Martin in what was reportedly a racially motivated attack.

After finding Rogers guilty of the murder, a jury unanimously recommended he be 
sentenced to death. However, Rogers gets the opportunity to present mitigating 
evidence directly to a judge in a last-ditch effort to be sentenced to life in 
prison rather than death.

In a hearing Friday morning, Dr. Jethro Toomer - a Miami-based forensic and 
clinical psychologist - took the stand for the defense and testified that 
Rogers' childhood trauma had an extremely adverse impact on his development.

Toomer said for children to develop into "normal functioning" adults, they need 
to grow up in an environment of safety, saneness, nurturance and 
predictability. He said Rogers had none of these things.

"Not only were (these factors) missing, but the onset was early," Toomer 
testified. "Mr. Rogers' records reflect at age 2, he was in (protective) 
placement already."

Toomer said Rogers had bounced between 7 foster homes by the age of 9, had been 
abandoned by his mother and had been exposed to violence. Toomer briefly 
referenced Rogers suffering "blows to the head," but provided no context for 
the statement.

The psychologist said Rogers showed signs of toxic stress disorder, which can 
occur when a child undergoes constant and prolonged adversity without the 
support of an adult. He said the disorder impairs the child's development, 
making them less capable of controlling impulses, of appreciating the 
consequences of their actions and of weighing alternate solutions to problems.

He described it as a near-perpetual state of fight or flight, noting those with 
the disorder are "unable to manage stress" and "the human reflex for survival 
remains elevated or is easily triggered."

Toomer said in decades of experience, he had not seen another individual raised 
in a "perfect storm" of negative influences like Rogers.

Still, Toomer's assessment was based on one interview with Rogers in October 
and a partial review of documents related to his case. Toomer admitted on cross 
examination Rogers had been seen by multiple other doctors, none of whom 
mentioned toxic stress disorder.

Prosecutors also pointed out that Rogers had been functional enough to 
represent himself at trial, which required planning, scheduling and questioning 
witnesses. They also noted Rogers had been capable of premeditation, stating 
Rogers admitted he plotted to kill a white person in retaliation for the 2012 
shooting of black teenager Trayvon Martin.

The prosecution and the defense are scheduled to file their positions to Judge 
John Simon in writing in the coming weeks, with Simon then issuing a sentence 
at a final hearing. Simon did not set a definitive date for the hearing, but 
estimated it could come before the end of the month.

(source: Pensacola News Journal)

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

Florida considers eliminating death penalty, restoring voting rights to felons



Florida's Constitution Revision Commission is submitting proposals to amend the 
state's constitution.

Every 20 years, a group of appointees and lawmakers meet to talk about 
amendments to the constitution for voters to decide on.

"It's unique to nowhere else in the United States," said Jimmy Patrons, Chief 
Financial Officer for the state. "At least a revision commission for appointees 
from that generation to come together and present new ideas that help adjust 
our state's constitution with the citizens that are living in the state at the 
time."

With more than 70 proposals from commissioners this year, some of the more 
interesting ideas include restoring voting rights to felons who have completed 
their sentences.

"I don't have any problem with it, if they've done their time and they're on 
the right path," said Bear, a Panama City Beach local.

"I mean, they have rights just like you and I," said Samuel Irvin, another 
Panama City Beach local.

Also on the list of possibilities: eliminating the death penalty as a 
punishment for capital crimes.

"The death penalty, I think, is a good deterrent," Irvin said.

"Taxpayers are spending a horrendous amount of money for these people to go to 
trial and so forth. I believe everybody deserves a second chance, but the 
heinous ones, I'm sorry," said David Owrey, a Bay County local. "You knew what 
you were doing when you did it."

Eliminating salaries for school board members and those serving on state 
university boards of trustees made the list.

Another proposal makes money available for students to go to college.

"I'm all for helping somebody to get what they need so they can be prosperous 
and have a good job in the future," Owrey said.

The public submitted close to 800 proposals for the Constitution Revision 
Commission to consider.

Since the Commission last met in 1997, the state's population has gone up by 5 
million people.

(source: WTVY news)

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

Jury rejects death sentence for woman who killed roommate for insurance money



acqueline Luongo killed her roommate for money. Prosecutors proved it, a jury 
decided. But the same jury decided Luongo did not deserve to be executed for 
the murder.

In September 2014, she handcuffed Patricia Viveiros, 68, and wound a roll of 
duct tape around her head, cutting off the victim's air supply so that she knew 
she was going to die for at least a few minutes before she passed out.

Luongo stuffed Viveiros' body in a garment bag and left her to rot in her own 
closet for days. During that time, Luongo put on a blond wig and, pretending to 
be Viveiros, cashed checks to profit from her crime.

The jury agreed with all of the allegations made by prosecutors at Luongo's 
murder trial in April, but late Thursday jurors also decided that Luongo should 
not be put to death.

Broward Circuit Judge Dennis Bailey sentenced Luongo to life in prison, a 
mandatory term, along with 30 years for hiring a man who turned out to be an 
undercover detective to kill her 1-time girlfriend, Maria Calderon, who alerted 
police to Viveiros' murder.

Luongo's case was the first in Broward to be considered under Florida's latest 
death penalty law. Before 2016, a jury could recommend death by a simple 
majority. Now jurors must unanimously find that the prosecution proved 
"aggravating factors" that warrant death.

In Luongo's case, the jury agreed with prosecutors Shari Tate and Lanie Bandell 
that the crime was "heinous" and committed for financial gain, but did not 
agree that capital punishment was warranted.

Suspect in Deerfield roommate slaying was taken in by victim in time of need, 
say friends.

Over hearings that lasted 3 days, defense lawyer Phyllis Cook presented 
numerous "mitigating" factors for the jury to consider, including alleged abuse 
suffered by Luongo at the hands of her brother as they were growing up, 
conflict between Luongo's Catholic upbringing and her sexuality, and faithful 
attendance at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

Jurors did not indicate how many of them voted to execute Luongo, but under the 
current law, only 1 has to reject death in order to spare Luongo's life.

Viveiros' family declined to comment after the jury came back with its 
decision.

(source: sun-sentinel.com)

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

Florida man sentenced to death for killing wife, 5 kids



A Florida man received 6 death sentences for the murders of his wife and 5 
children 8 years ago.

Mesac Damas was sentenced Friday morning by Collier Circuit Judge Christine 
Greider, bringing resolution to one of the most horrifying Southwest Florida 
murder case in recent memory.

"In reaching this decision, the court is mindful that, because death is a 
unique punishment in its finality, its application is reserved only for those 
cases where only the most aggravating and least mitigating circumstances 
exist," Greider said at the end of the 1 1/2-hour long proceeding.

It was September 2009 when Damas brutally killed his wife, Guerline Dieu Damas, 
32, and the couple's 5 young children - Michzach, 9, Marven, 6, Maven, 5, 
Megan, 3, and Morgan 1 - slicing their throats with a filet knife inside their 
North Naples townhouse. At the time, Collier Sheriff Kevin Rambosk called the 
killings "the most horrific and violent event" in county history.

Damas, now 41, fled to Haiti, where he was born and raised, but authorities 
soon located him.

While being transported from Haiti back to Florida, Damas confessed his guilt 
to the Daily News. Did you kill them? Yes, I did. Why? Only God knows.

He was driven to kill by the devil, he said. He wanted death. He wanted to be 
buried with his family. He expected to go to heaven.

This focus on God and religion and spirits and demons would continue throughout 
his time in the Collier County jail and during his court appearances. Early on 
he was prone to courtroom outbursts, begging to be put to death and imploring a 
courtroom gallery to come to Jesus. He has maintained that he was "possessed by 
demons" at the time of the crime.

In jail he fasted, leading to drastic weight fluctuations. He was, he said, 
trying to starve out the demons. He also shared his Christian faith with other 
inmates.

It was a lapse in faith before the killings had left him vulnerable to a 
demonic attack or hex, he would later tell a defense expert, a specialist in 
Haitian religion.

His court case was marked by fits and stops - a trip to a state mental 
hospital, challenges to the state's death penalty law, and a rotating door of 
public defenders and judges (Greider was the 4th judge to oversee Damas' case).

Toward the end, Damas virtually shut down in court, refusing to participate in 
hearings or speak with his court-appointed lawyers. He wanted to represent 
himself in court; a request that was denied.

In early September, Greider allowed Damas to plead guilty to the 6 counts of 
1st-degree murder. He waived his right to a jury. He also waived his right to 
have his attorneys present mitigating evidence in his favor.

On Tuesday, when Greider asked Damas if he still wanted to waive his right to 
mitigating evidence, he refused to speak. Instead, he wrote her a note.

"Go ahead, continue your work, may my blood be upon your shoulders."

He signed the note, "COG" - Child of God.

(source: USA Today)

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

Death row and executions in Florida: An overview from 1827 to now



There are 356 people on death row in Florida, 2nd only to California. Mesac 
Damas will be the 357th Florida inmate on death row and only the 2nd from a 
Collier County case, joining Brandy Bain Jennings, who was sentenced to death 
in 1996 for killing 3 people during a holdup of a Naples Cracker Barrel 
restaurant. There are 5 death row inmates from Lee County.

Florida has executed 94 people since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. 
The most recent inmate executed was Michael Lambrix, 57, on Oct. 5, for killing 
2 people after a night of drinking in 1983. The 1st known execution in Florida 
was in 1827, when Benjamin Donica was hanged for murder.

Florida leads the nation with 27 death row exonerations since 1973, followed by 
Illinois with 20 and Texas with 13.

Florida allows inmates to choose whether they will be executed by electrocution 
or lethal injection. The state's 3-legged electric chair was constructed from 
oak by Department of Corrections personnel and installed at the Florida State 
Prison in Raiford in 1999. It replaced the state's original electric chair, 
built from oak in 1923.

The executioner in Florida is a private citizen who is paid $150 per execution.

[sources: Florida Department of Corrections, Death Penalty Information Center, 
Associated Press]

(source: Naples Daily News)








OHIO:

Death penalty trial for Hamilton drive-by shooting pushed back again



The death penalty trial of a Hamilton man charged with a 2016 drive-by shooting 
that killed two men was scheduled to begin in February, but has been continued 
again.

Michael Grevious II, 24, of Maple Avenue, is 1 of 4 who was facing the death 
penalty if convicted in the murder-for-hire shooting that happened after a 
fatal shootout at the former Doubles Bar on the city's west side.

Just days before trial in September, Grevious' attorney David Washington 
requested a continuance because an expert had not completed work in the case. 
Butler County County Common Pleas Judge Greg Stephens granted the continuance 
and rescheduled the trial for Feb. 26.

On Friday, Washington and Grevious again appeared before Stephens because a 
problem with scheduling an expert continued.

While Stephens said he was not in favor of continuing the trial again, he 
wanted to assure nothing occurred to get the case overturned for a retrial in 
the future.

The new trial date for Grevious is April 16.

"I am taking it as a guarantee the mitigation expert will be available," 
Stephens told the defense team.

July marked the 1-year anniversary of the shootout at Doubles Bar that killed 1 
person and wounded 7 others. The shooting sparked retaliation violence on the 
afternoon of Aug. 3, 2016, that killed 2 people.

According to prosecutors, Grevious, 1 of the men allegedly involved in the 
Doubles shootout, hired Zachary Harris to kill Orlando Gilbert for $5,000.

Then on the afternoon of Aug. 3, 2016, a Chevrolet pickup truck driven by 
Melinda Gibby pulled up next to a black Ford Mustang occupied by Gilbert and 
Todd Berus. Tony Patete, the front seat passenger of the truck, opened fire 
with an AK-47 multiple times, killing Gilbert and Berus, according to court 
documents.

Grevious is charged with aggravated murder and felonious assault for the 
Doubles shootout.

In August, Gibby, 35, of Lancaster, pleaded guilty to 2 counts of aggravated 
murder. The defense and prosecutors agreed to a sentence of 30 years to life 
for Gibby, but her sentencing is not scheduled until February 2018. She avoided 
the possibility of a death sentence if convicted in a jury trial.

Last month, Zachary Harris, 25, of Columbus, pleaded guilty to 2 counts of 
aggravated murder in the retaliation shooting and received a sentence of life 
in prison without the possibility of parole.

Butler County Prosecutor Michael Gmoser said Gibby will not be sentenced until 
after her cooperation in the trials of the others.

Patete, 23, of Newark, is charged with 2 counts of aggravated murder. He is 
scheduled to stand trial on Dec. 4.

(source: Dayton Daily News)

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

Ill inmate suggests firing squad as execution alternative



A Franklin County killer scheduled to die on Nov. 15 for the slaying of an 
18-year-old man said officials should execute him by firing squad because his 
breathing problems and poor veins make him too ill to be killed by lethal 
injection.

But, a federal judge didn't buy the argument.

Ohio lawmakers could quickly approve legislation allowing the firing squad to 
be used as an alternative execution method for the 1st time in the state, 
attorneys for death row inmate Alva Campbell said in a court filing late last 
month.

Campbell's attorneys argued that the method would not require access to his 
veins, which is important given that last month a prison nurse failed to find 
veins suitable for inserting an IV on either of his arms. Campbell also 
indicated an allergy to the 1st drug used in the state's 3-drug injection 
process, his attorneys said.

Death by firing squad is a "known, feasible, readily implemented and available 
alternative execution method and procedure" that substantially reduces the risk 
that Campbell would suffer serious harm by injection, his lawyers said.

Federal Judge Michael Merz, of Dayton, rejected the argument for a firing squad 
execution on Tuesday, noting Campbell didn't offer evidence in support of the 
method during a recent weeklong hearing. He also questioned whether lawmakers 
would pass a law allowing it. "Execution by firing squad would be unlawful 
because (state law) requires the use of lethal injection," he wrote.

In 2015, Republican Gov. John Kasich ruled out the firing squad as an option in 
Ohio. At least 2 U.S. states allow the firing squad, including Oklahoma, which 
permits it if other methods aren't available.

On Friday, Merz also rejected Campbell's overall claims that Ohio's lethal 
injection process raises an unconstitutional risk of serious harm because the 
1st drug may not render inmates completely unconscious. Merz previously 
rejected similar arguments by Raymond Tibbetts, scheduled to die Feb. 13 for 
fatally stabbing a man in Cincinnati in 1997.

While "surgeries should be pain-free, there is no constitutional requirement 
that executions be painless," Merz said in last week's ruling.

Campbell's attorneys are deciding whether to appeal.

"We are disappointed with today???s decision, particularly in light of the 
disturbing evidence from recent executions using midazolam conducted in Ohio 
and other states," they said.

Campbell uses a walker, relies on an external colostomy bag, requires 4 
breathing treatments a day and may have lung cancer, according to his lawyers 
and court records.

He was also regularly beaten, sexually abused and tortured as a child, his 
attorneys said.

The Ohio Parole Board rejected Campbell's request for mercy last month. Kasich, 
who has spared some inmates while rejecting clemency for others, will have the 
final say.

Prosecutors said Campbell's health claims are ironic given he faked paralysis 
to escape court custody the day he killed 18-year-old Charles Dials.

On April 2, 1997, Campbell was in a wheelchair when he overpowered a Franklin 
County sheriff's deputy on the way to a court hearing on several armed robbery 
charges, records show.

Campbell took the deputy's gun, carjacked Dials and drove around with him for 
several hours before shooting him twice in the head as he crouched in the 
footwell of his own truck, according to court records.

Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien calls Campbell "the poster child for the 
death penalty."

(source: The Columbus Dispatch)

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

An Unseemly Spectacle----Alva Campbell is next in line to be executed by the 
State of Ohio.



For the last month of his life, Campbell will have been intensely monitored: 2 
corrections officers watch him round the clock to ensure there is no suicide. 
The state is determined to do the killing itself.

In Campbell's case the monitoring creates a particularly gruesome display for 
those, like Jeffrey Wogenstahl, who share death row with him. Campbell is 
frail: he has had portions of his lung, thyroid, prostate, colon, and intestine 
removed and has a colostomy bag; he has problems related to his heart (and to 
cancer, pneumonia, sarcoidosis and MRSA); he is frequently short of breath; and 
he uses a walking frame. He moves slowly: if he leaves his cell, he and his 2 
watchers form a slow, macabre procession.

One may guess that his poor health is linked to the horrendous abuse and 
systematic torture that he suffered throughout childhood. A sociologist with 30 
years' involvement in capital cases refers to Campbell's childhood home as "a 
place of total chaos, turmoil, pain, and deprivation" and adds that he "never 
witnessed an upbringing as bad as Campbell's."

A forensic psychologist explains: "The violence that Campbell has exhibited as 
an adult is ... a barometer of the amount of trauma he experienced growing up."

At his trial, however, Campbell's lawyer neglected to make it plain that his 
client's detrimental experiences continued after he left the family home at age 
10; worse still, the prosecution claimed falsely that Campbell was eventually 
given the support needed to turn his life round. Campbell was failed at trial, 
just as he was failed during the critical years of his childhood.

Campbell's current lawyer believes that executing this terminally ill man when 
he is unable to walk or breathe without assistance would result in an "unseemly 
spectacle."

Governor Kasich has yet to announce whether he will grant clemency and stay 
Campbell's imminent execution. But for the inmates on death row, the unseemly 
spectacle of his grotesque death watch has already begun.

(source: 
https://jeffreywogenstahl.com/2017/10/28/jeffrey-wogenstahl-death-row-ohio-witness-to-unseemly-spectacle-of-alva-campbell/)








ARKANSAS----impending execution

Arkansas Death Row Inmate Wants Brain Examined If Executed



An Arkansas death row inmate scheduled to be executed next week wants his head 
to be removed after his death and his brain to be examined by a doctor, his 
attorneys said.

Jack Greene's last will and testament includes a request that his head be 
"surgically removed from my body and transported out of state to an independent 
medical examiner, such as Dr. Jan Garavaglia," a former medical examiner in 
Florida who had a reality television show.\

Garavaglia, reached by phone Friday, declined to comment on the request.

Greene, 62, is scheduled to be executed on Thursday. He was sentenced to death 
for the 1991 murder of retired pastor Sidney Burnett - who had accused him of 
arson - days after he killed his own brother.

Greene's attorneys say he suffers from severe mental illness and delusions. 
Greene claims in the will that the Arkansas Department of Corrections has 
caused him brain injuries and severe dementia, a connection he believes a 
medical examiner could prove.

"This is something he really insisted that he dictate to me and to write down," 
Greene's lawyer, John Williams, an assistant federal public defender, said in a 
phone interview Friday. "He wants to prove all the injuries that he believes 
have been committed against him."

An Arkansas circuit judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit seeking to halt the 
execution. Williams said they have appealed to the state Supreme Court.

Greene tried to bring up the last will and testament in court Friday, but was 
silenced by a judge, Williams said. "I think it's important for people to 
understand what his mind is working like as he approaches his execution," 
Williams said.

It is unclear whether Greene's last will and testament could be fulfilled.

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson says he had reviewed "all documents, transcripts, 
and comments from interested mental health professionals," but he said Greene's 
testimony at his parole board made it clear to him that the death row inmate 
understood his punishment and his decision to kill Burnett.

"Numerous courts have reviewed the case and I am satisfied that the Supreme 
Court's standards have been met and that he is competent to be executed," 
Hutchinson said in a statement. "As normal, I will continue to review any 
additional relevant facts as November 9 approaches."

The governor's office said they had not had a chance to review Greene's will as 
of Friday evening. Hutchinson is traveling in China and Japan on a trade 
mission and will return on Nov. 7 - 2 days prior to Greene's scheduled 
execution date.

Two dozen Arkansas mental health professionals and the American Bar Association 
urged Hutchinson to "show mercy" because they believe Greene to be mentally 
ill.

"While the ABA does not take a position for or against the death penalty per 
se, nor is Mr. Greene's guilt in the tragic murder of Sidney Burnett in 
dispute, the ABA has significant concerns about whether the death penalty is 
the appropriate punishment in his case in light of his severe mental illness," 
Hilarie Bass, the president of the American Bar Association, wrote in a letter.

Arkansas put 4 death row inmates to death in April - its 1st executions in 
nearly a dozen years. It had originally scheduled 8 before the end of the month 
because the state's supply of the lethal injection drug midazolam was set to 
expire. 4 of those executions were blocked by the courts.

Greene's execution was scheduled after prison officials obtained a new batch of 
midazolam, but on Thursday the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that the state had 
to identify the drug's manufacturer. But the court also ruled that the state 
was not required to identify sellers and suppliers.

Arkansas officials have argued that the identities of manufacturers, sellers 
and suppliers should be hidden by the secrecy statutes surrounding Arkansas's 
execution laws. Otherwise, pharmaceutical companies would attempt to prevent 
the use of their drugs in executions, as 2 companies attempted during the April 
spate of executions.

"The Arkansas Supreme Court has correctly concluded that the lot, batch and 
control numbers on lethal injection drug labels should remain confidential 
under state law," Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge's office said in a 
statement. "While the Attorney General does not agree with other aspects of the 
Court's ruling, she is pleased that the Court agreed with her arguments on this 
point."

(source: NBC News)

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

Arkansas death row inmate dies after being found unresponsive in cell



An Arkansas death row inmate was pronounced dead minutes after he was found 
unresponsive in his cell at the Varner Unit, the Arkansas Department of 
Correction states.

ADC spokesperson Solomon Graves says inmate Roger Coulter was found by a 
correctional officer Friday at approximately 6:28 p.m.

He was pronounced dead nearly 40 minutes later.

Coulter was sentenced to death for capital murder by an Ashley County jury back 
in 1989.

(source: KATV news)








MISSOURI:

Death penalty possible for man guilty in kidnaping, murder that prompted Kan. 
Amber Alert



The latest on the trial of a former middle school coach accused of kidnapping, 
raping and killing a 10-year-old Missouri girl.

The case prompted an Amber Alert in Kansas in February 2014.

On Thursday, a jury found a former middle school football coach guilty of 
kidnapping a 10-year-old girl from a Missouri neighborhood in front of 
horrified witnesses before raping and killing her.

Jurors convicted 49-year-old Craig Wood of 1st-degree murder in the 2014 death 
of Hailey Owens.

Jurors will hear more arguments before deciding whether to recommend the death 
sentence. The defense didn't dispute that Wood killed the girl, but contended 
that Wood didn't deliberate first, as prosecutors allege.

During the trial, a witness testified that he was raking leaves when he saw 
Wood pull Hailey into a pickup truck. The man was unable to get to the girl. 
His wife called 911 and reported the truck's license plate, which led police to 
Wood's home. Hailey's body was in the basement. Prosecutors are seeking the 
death penalty.

(source: Associated Press)