[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----S.C., FLA., OKLA., NEB., ARIZ., US MIL.

[Rick Halperin]

Nov. 20




SOUTH CAROLINA----impending execution

Dec. 1 chosen as date for 1st South Carolina execution in 6 years



On Dec. 1, for the 1st time since 2011 according to information available on 
the South Carolina Department of Corrections website, the state will put 
someone to death, the Associated Press reports.

Bobby Wayne Stone, age 52, will be executed for the 1996 murder of Sumter 
County sheriff's Sgt. Charlie Kubala, the AP reports, also saying that Stone 
confessed to shooting Kubala, but claimed it was an accident.

He was convicted of murder, 1st degree burglary and a firearms provision and 
sentenced to death in 1997, according to Department of Corrections documents. 
He has been awaiting execution ever since.

The murder occurred, according South Carolina Supreme Court documents, when a 
woman heard gunshots from her back yard and called her neighbor, who came over 
and called police. Stone had been drinking and wandering the woods around the 
woman's home firing 2 newly purchased firearms, and had already approached her 
home once before, leaving when asked, but after police had already been called.

Kubala was the officer that responded to that 1st call according to court 
documents, and returned when the second call was placed. When he arrived, Stone 
was on the side porch of the woman's home, banging on her door while holding a 
pistol. Kubala went around the side of the home, and from inside the woman and 
her neighbor heard someone yell "halt" or "hold it."

They then immediately heard 3 or 4 gunshots, according to court documents.

Kubala was shot twice, court documents reveal. Once in the neck and once in the 
ear. He died at the scene.

Stone was sentenced to death in 1997 according to The Sumter Item. That 
sentence was overturned in 2002. Then that reversal was itself reversed in 
2005.

South Carolina uses lethal injection to perform executions, The Sumter Item 
reports, using a blend of 3 drugs in the process, whereas some states have 
switched to using just 1. Those facing the death penalty can also opt to die by 
electrocution, The Item notes.

The most executions performed by the state in any 10 year period was 68, which 
happened between 1931 and 1940. The most performed in the last 20 years was in 
1998, when 7 people were put to death, according to the Department of 
Corrections.

Stone's most recent request for appeal was denied by the state's Supreme Court 
on March 29, 2017, according to court documents.

(source: islandpacket.com)








FLORIDA:

Sentencing phase begins in trial of Adam Matos, found guilty in murder of 4



The sentencing phase begins Monday in the trial of Adam Matos, convicted Friday 
of 1st degree murder in the deaths of his ex-girlfriend, her parents and her 
new bofriend.

Assistant State Attorney Chris LaBruzzo said prosecutors will proceed with 
plans to seek the death penalty. If the jury recommends death, the law now 
requires a unanimous decision.

Family members of the victims will be able to address the jury during the 
sentencing phase.

Matos had stunned trial spectators Wednesday by confessing from the witness 
stand. His attorneys wanted to put him back on the stand Thursday, but 
Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Mary Handsel said the additional questions weren't 
relevant.

Matos was found guilty of shooting to death ex-girlfriend Megan Brown, 27, and 
her father, Greg Brown, 52, and of beating to death Megan Brown's boyfriend, 
Nick Leonard, 37, and her mother Margaret Brown, 52.

(source: Tampa Bay Times)








OKLAHOMA:

Death penalty case postponed until February



The jury trial for a man charged in a double-murder case is postponed until 
February to give the defense more time to prepare, but prosecutors say they are 
still seeking the death penalty in the case.

The trial for Craig Stanford, accused of killing Aaron Lavers and Anthony 
Rogers inside their residence located in the 100 block of A Street NW on May 
17, 2016 was once again continued. Stanford faces charges of double-murder and 
is now expected to go to trial in February. No other cases went to trial during 
the November jury term.

Stanford faces charges that include a Bill of Particulars which allows the 
prosecution to seek the death penalty in the event of a conviction.

"It has been continued at the request of the defense over my objection," 
District Attorney Craig Ladd said. "The defense claims it needed more time to 
adequately prepare. I still intend to seek the death penalty in the case."

Ladd said that before a jury can impose a sentence of death, it is required to 
find the existence of an "aggravating circumstance" in a 2nd stage of the 
trial.

Prior to seeking the death penalty, Oklahoma law requires that the prosecution 
file a "Bill of Particulars" specifying which aggravating circumstance the 
prosecutor believes makes the case death penalty eligible.

Ladd said the Stanford trial would be the 2nd case in which he has sought the 
death penalty. In the 1st, the jury found the existence of an aggravating 
circumstance but sentenced the defendant to life without parole.

The lack of jury trials, though notable, is not all that uncommon.

"A majority of our cases are resolved by plea agreements. This practice is true 
statewide. In some instances, the defendant enters a 'blind plea' and his/her 
sentence is decided exclusively by the judge," Ladd said. "Blind pleas are 
entered when the defendant admits guilt but feels the prosecutor's plea offer 
is too punitive."

Ladd said his office files more than 2,000 criminal cases per year in Carter 
County, making the plea agreement process a necessity due to a lack of 
resources.

"A typical jury trial takes about 2-3 days on the average and we only have 2 
courtrooms in the courthouse that include jury rooms. If we decided to enter no 
plea agreements, then there is simply not near enough time to have full-fledged 
trials on each of the matters," Ladd said. "Plea agreements can be custom 
tailored to fit different situations. If a victim has incurred expenses as a 
result of crime, for example, then the payment of restitution would be included 
in the agreement. In cases which involved homicide or some sort of felonious 
assault, we typically confer with the victims and/or the victims' families and 
seek their blessings before making a plea offer."

Ladd said the number of trials his office requests can vary from one docket to 
the next.

"We've had dockets in the past 2 years where we conducted as many as 8 jury 
trials in a 2-week period and some jurors were required to serve on 3 jury 
trials," Ladd said.

The previous jury term had 3 cases go to trial, two cases were for manslaughter 
and 1 was for assault and battery with a deadly weapon. The May docket had 3 
jury trials as well, 2 cases of manslaughter and 1 for felony DUI.

(source: The Daily Ardmoreite)








NEBRASKA:

University of Nebraska professors investigate support of death penalty



The majority of citizens in the United States still support the death penalty, 
but the amount of people who support the punishment has decreased in past 
years, according to research studied by University of Nebraska professors.

Criminology and criminal justice professor Amy Anderson from the University of 
Nebraska Omaha and professor of sociology Philip Schwadel from the University 
of Nebraska-Lincoln worked together to analyze the demographics of people who 
support the death penalty and to find out why the amount of support has 
changed.

The professors looked over data collected in the past decades by the General 
Social Survey. They discovered the demographics of a person can influence their 
opinion. Crime rates also affect whether a person supports the death penalty.

In the 1980s and 1990s during the American crack epidemic more people supported 
the death penalty, according to the data analyzed.

Additionally, research showed an individual's religion, political affiliation, 
gender or race can also affect their opinion. Catholics were less likely to 
support the punishment compared to non-Catholics, and males were more likely to 
support the death penalty.

The white population was the most favorable for the death penalty, and 
Republicans showed more support than non-Republicans.

Anderson and Schwadel also discovered that age affects people's opinion of the 
death penalty. People who are younger were not as supportive. Middle-aged 
people tended to be more so, until ages 50-55 when individuals became less 
supportive of the punishment.

"There's a hypothesis that as you get older, you become more conservative," 
Anderson said in a Nebraska Today press release. "This suggests that's true to 
a certain age, and then it trends back down."

According to a Nebraska Today news release, the researchers thought middle-aged 
people were more likely to support the death penalty because of their ethics 
and their desire to protect their families.

"We found robust age effects, but not generational effects," Schwadel said in a 
Nebraska Today press release. "Generation doesn't matter a lot, but age and 
time period matter a lot."

(source: dailynebraskan.com)








ARIZONA:

Who are the women on death row in Arizona?



There are currently 3 women on death row in Arizona, and 1 woman who was 
executed.

Sammantha Allen was sentenced to death August in the killing of her 10-year-old 
cousin, Ame Deal. Her husband, John Allen, was also sentenced to death on 
Thursday, making Sammantha and John the first couple in the state to be sent to 
death row, according to the Arizona Department of Corrections.

Allen is the 4th woman to be sentenced to death in Arizona. She joins Wendi 
Andriano and Shawna Forde, who are currently on death row. The Arizona State 
Prison Complex - Perryville is where female death row inmates are housed.

Eva Dugan

Crime: January 1927

Executed: February 21, 1930

Dugan was found guilty of killing Arthur Mathis, a rancher near Tucson.

Dugan grew up a frontierswoman, floating from town to town for work. She met 
Mathis in Tucson, and he hired her immediately to work as his housekeeper. The 
Prescott Courier from May 1979 implies the relationship was a kind of 
arrangement.

A young man named Jack moved in with Mathis and Dugan, then Mathis was never 
seen again. Dugan and Jack skipped town.

Dugan and Jack sold Mathis' car in Amarillo, Texas, the Pima County Sheriff 
discovered. Dugan was tracked to New York and arrested for grand larceny.

Months later, a man bought some land near the Mathis ranch. He was driving 
stakes for a tent when he discovered a shallow grave. The red-headed remains 
were identified as Arthur Mathis.

Dugan was sentenced to death.

"If I was a flapper with pretty legs, I never would have been convicted and 
given the death penalty," she reportedly said.

Dugan was hanged February 21, 1930. When the gallows trap sprang, her body fell 
and she was decapitated.

The scene caused 5 people to faint.

Dugan's gruesome death lead to capital punishment reform in Arizona. A year 
after the horrific incident, Arizona stopped executions by hanging and began 
using the gas chamber.

Wendi Andriano

Crime: October 8, 2000

Andriano was found guilty of 1st-degree murder in the killing of her husband. A 
jury found Adriano had killed her husband, Joe Andriano, by beating him with a 
barstool and slitting his throat.

Joe Andriano had been diagnosed with a terminal illness when Wendi Andriano was 
pregnant with their 2nd child.

The night of Oct. 7, 2000, Wendi called 911 in the early-morning hours to get 
Joe medical help. She called a coworker in her apartment complex to help watch 
the kids. The coworker said he saw Joe lying on the floor in the living room. 
He was in the fetal position, vomiting and weak.

When paramedics arrived, Wendi sent them away, saying Joe was dying of cancer 
and had a do-not-resuscitate order. Paramedics left.

Andriano called 911 again at 3:39 a.m. Paramedics found Andriano in a bloody 
shirt, and Joe dead on the floor. There was a bloody barstool nearby. Joe had 
fatal head injuries and a stab wound to his neck.

The medical examiner determined Joe had been hit on the head at least 23 times. 
He also had sodium azide, a pesticide, in his system.

Andriano claimed she had tried to help Joe take his own life, and when the 
assisted suicide attempt failed, the two fought. Andriano said she hit Joe with 
a barstool in self defense.

Andriano was sentenced to death. She is appealing. She filed a federal habeas 
corpus appeal in April 2016.

Shawna Forde

Crime: May 30, 2009

Forde was found guilty in the 1st-degree murders of Raul and Brisenia Flores.

Forde, a rogue Minutemen leader on the Arizona border, burst into the Flores 
home in Arivaca, Arizona, in the middle of the night along with Jason Eugene 
Bush and Albert Robert Gaxiola.

Dressed in camouflage, Forde, Bush and Gaxiola claimed to be agents looking for 
fugitives. They took jewelry, then shot Raul Flores, his daughter, 9-year-old 
Brisenia, and his wife, Gina Gonzales.

Gonzales survived the attack by pretending to be dead. Gonzales was calling 911 
when the intruders came back. Gonzales fired a shotgun at them, wounding Bush.

Evidence showed Forde planned the attack, though Bush pulled the trigger. Both 
Forde and Bush were sentenced to death.

Sammantha Allen

Crime: July 12, 2011

Allen was found guilty in the killing of 10-year-old Ame Deal.

Sammantha and John Allen lived in a home near Broadway Road at 35th Avenue with 
Ame Deal and many others.

Ame faced severe abuse in the home, court documents said.

Deal died after she was locked in a plastic box that was left outside overnight 
in the Arizona summer. Deal was being punished for taking a popsicle. She died 
of suffocation and heat, according to court documents.

Sammantha Allen was sentenced to death. John Allen was later also sentenced to 
death in November.

(source: KVOA news)








US MILITARY:

US army doctor arrested for 'raping' 9-month-old daughter



In what is being termed as the most shocking crime, a US army doctor has been 
accused of raping one of his twin daughters before strangling her to death.

Officer named Christopher Paul Conway, 22, was charged with aggravated rape and 
homicide after his 9-month-old daughter was rushed to hospital with injuries 
consistent with being raped, the Sun reported.

Police were called to a property at 7.19am on Tuesday, November 14, to help 
administer CPR to the child. But shortly after she was taken to Tennova Health 
Care, she was pronounced dead at 8am.

Detectives now believe the child was sexually assaulted before a cord was 
wrapped around her neck, strangling her to death.

His bail was set at $100,000 for the rape charge, but he was denied bail for 
the homicide charge. If found guilty, he could face the death penalty.

Conway allegedly confessed to police, admitting to raping and killing his 
daughter. Jim Knoll, of the Clarksville Police Department said: 'The father was 
charged with the crime of criminal homicide and aggravated rape and has been 
booked into the Montgomery County Jail.' The girl's twin sister has since been 
removed from the home and placed in foster care.

According to his Facebook page, Conway is married and is a doctor in the US 
Army.

Conway is due to appear in court on November 21.

(source: arynews.tv)