[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, VT., FLA., ALA., OHIO, IND., KY., CALIF.

[Rick Halperin]

Oct. 4



TEXAS:

Texas Man's Death Sentence Thrown Out Over Racist Testimony



Duane E. Buck barged into his girlfriend's Texas home after she broke up with 
him and killed her and a friend. Later that morning in July 1995, he fired a 
rifle at his stepsister, who survived because the bullet just missed her heart.

His guilt was never in doubt, and Mr. Buck, 54, who is black, was sentenced to 
death by lethal injection. But concerns about testimony from a psychologist in 
the sentencing phase - that black people were more dangerous than white people 
- raised concerns about the role of race in the jury's decision and led the 
case to reach the Supreme Court.

In February, the Supreme Court ordered a new sentencing trial for Mr. Buck, 
calling the psychologist's testimony racist. In a Houston courtroom on Tuesday, 
Mr. Buck pleaded guilty to 2 counts of attempted murder, including the shooting 
of his stepsister, in a deal that exchanged the death penalty for a life 
sentence plus 2 60-year terms.

"This case can accomplish something," said Kim Ogg, the Harris County district 
attorney. "It can close a chapter in the history of our courts, in that they 
will never again hear that race is relevant to criminal justice or to the 
determination of whether a man will live or die. Race is not and never has been 
evidence."

After Mr. Buck's conviction in 1997, his lawyer called Walter Quijano, a former 
chief psychologist for the state prison system, to the stand during the 
sentencing phase. Mr. Quijano, who had evaluated Mr. Buck, testified that race 
could be a factor in predicting whether a person posed a future danger to 
society.

A prosecutor asked Mr. Quijano, "The race factor, black, increases the future 
dangerousness for various complicated reasons - is that correct?"

"Yes," the psychologist replied.

The psychologist's answers became the basis of an appeal claiming that Mr. Buck 
had not been properly represented by his lawyer.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., writing for the Supreme Court's majority in 
a 6-to-2 ruling, said Mr. Quijano's testimony "appealed to a powerful racial 
stereotype - that of black men as 'violence prone.'"

Mr. Buck will be moved from death row in Texas, where more than 230 inmates 
await lethal injection, and he will be eligible for parole in 2035. Ms. Ogg 
said her office would work to ensure he is never granted release.

Over the years, Mr. Buck had an unusual advocate in his stepsister, Phyllis 
Taylor, who had forgiven him and had argued for his release from death row. Ms. 
Taylor said in a statement on Tuesday she was thankful that Ms. Ogg had reached 
a deal to avoid another sentencing trial.

"The thought of going through another trial was just too much to bear," Ms. 
Taylor said.

(source: New York Times)



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

New charges filed on death row inmate Duane Buck



Duane Buck, whose 1997 death penalty case went to the U.S. Supreme Court and 
was sent back to Harris County for a retrial because of concerns about 
racially-biased testimony, is expected in court Tuesday on new charges.

2 additional charges of attempted murder were filed last week by the Harris 
County District Attorney's Office in connection with the 1995 shooting rampage 
that landed Buck on death row.

Buck, 53, was sentenced to death for the slaying of his girlfriend, Debra 
Gardner, and her friend, Kenneth Butler, after Buck and Gardner had an 
argument. He returned to her home after a night of drugs and alcohol in July 
1995, broke in and started shooting, witnesses said.

In the new charge, he is accused of attempting to kill his sister, Phyllis 
Taylor, who was shot and survived. The 2nd new charge alleges that he attempted 
to kill Harold Ebenezer, who was also at the home when Buck returned and 
started shooting.

He is expected in court Tuesday, where he will be arraigned by state District 
Judge Denise Collins on the new charges.

The U.S. Supreme Court earlier this granted Buck a new sentencing hearing 
because of testimony from an expert who testified that he was more likely to be 
dangerous in the future because he is black.

The hearing means he could be re-sentenced to death or life in prison.

(source: Houston Chronicle)








VERMONT:

'The Exonerated': A Play At UVM Presents Stories From Death Row



The Exonerated tells the story of 6 death row inmates who were wrongfully 
convicted and later had their convictions overturned and were released. We're 
talking to the director and an actor from a new production of the play at the 
University of Vermont. We'll discuss the play itself and the big issues it 
explores around incarceration and the justice system.

We're joined by Gregory Ramos, chair of UVM's theater department and director 
of the production. And by Randall Harp, who plays the character of Robert Earl 
Hayes and is also a UVM philosophy professor.

The Exonerated will run at UVM beginning Wednesday, Oct. 4 through Sunday, Oct. 
8.

(source: vpr.net)








FLORIDA----impending execution

2 days before execution date, death row inmate speaks out----Convicted killer 
Michael Lambrix of Plant City is set to die Thursday



2 days before his scheduled execution, Michael Lambrix decided he won't go 
quietly.

For an hour at Florida State Prison Tuesday, the convicted murderer talked 
about life and death, his last meal and upcoming funeral, and criticized a 
court system that he has long insisted would not consider evidence that would 
spare his life in the killings of Clarence Moore and Aleisha Bryant in 1983.

"It won't be an execution," Lambrix told reporters. "It's going to be an act of 
cold-blooded murder."

Lambrix, 57, who dropped out of school in Plant City, said he killed Moore in 
self-defense after Moore killed Bryant during a long night of drinking near 
LaBelle. He was convicted largely on the testimony of a friend, Frances Smith, 
who was with him that night. They borrowed a neighbor's shovel and he buried 
both victims.

Lambrix had walked away from a prison work release program and said he didn't 
report the killings to police because he knew he faced a long sentence for his 
escape.

His 1st trial ended in a hung jury, and he was convicted of 2 counts of 
1st-degree murder at a retrial in 2 divided jury recommendations (8-4 and 10-2) 
that are now unconstitutional. Smith subsequently said she had an affair during 
the trial with an investigator for the state attorney's office.

Lambrix has been on death row for nearly 34 years. The governor who signed his 
first death warrant, Bob Martinez, left office in 1991.

Prison rules allow for a condemned inmate to hold a press conference or group 
interview before an execution, but most do not.

Lambrix was in handcuffs and leg irons, and a corrections officer loosened the 
metal chain around his waist and fitted him with a microphone. He sat at a 
wooden table that featured the Florida Department of Corrections' motto: 
"Inspiring success by transforming one life at a time."

Lambrix went on a hunger strike last month to protest his death sentence, but 
ended it after 12 days. He said his final meal will be a Thanksgiving-style 
turkey dinner, which is what his mother promised to cook if he was exonerated.

As Thursday's scheduled execution by lethal injection draws closer, Lambrix and 
his lawyers are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene.

Attorney William Hennis of Fort Lauderdale said he filed a motion with the 
court Tuesday and Lambrix, a prolific writer, sent a 25-page handwritten 
request to the nation's highest court from his cell.

Lambrix's case has wound through state and federal courts for more than 3 
decades. Gov. Rick Scott signed Lambrix's death warrant on Nov. 30, 2015, but 
the state Supreme Court postponed his execution after the groundbreaking 
decision known as Hurst v. Florida in January 2016.

The state court decided that Hurst did not apply to Lambrix's case because he 
was originally sentenced before 2002, under a policy that death penalty lawyers 
have described as "partial retroactivity." Various other legal challenges were 
dismissed on procedural grounds.

"We have a process that's more about the politics of death than the 
administration of justice," Lambrix said.

Attorney General Pam Bondi has repeatedly and successfully argued that Lambrix 
should be executed.

At various points Tuesday, a rambling Lambrix voiced regret at not giving 
police a statement when he was first arrested in 1983, and for not later 
accepting a deal offered by prosecutors of a sentence of up to 24 years if he 
pleaded guilty to 2nd-degree murder.

Had he accepted that offer, Lambrix would have been released from prison more 
than a decade ago.

The state released a list of 43 relatives and friends who are visiting Lambrix 
at the sprawling state prison in Starke, including his parents, 3 children, 
close friends and pen pals. The state's Catholic bishops have called on Scott 
to stop the execution, and prayer vigils are scheduled around the state this 
week.

Lambrix, who smiled and made small talk with the officers guarding him, said 
he's "spiritual" but not religious. As he faces death, he said Tuesday: "I have 
no doubt whatsoever that I'm going to wake up into a better existence."

(source: Associated Press)








ALABAMA----impending execution

Alabama seeks to proceed with execution of death row inmate Jeffery Borden



Alabama on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to let it proceed with an 
execution of a man convicted of killing his estranged wife and father-in-law in 
1993.

The Alabama attorney general asked the nation's high court to overturn an 
injunction blocking Thursday's execution of Jeffery Lynn Borden, 56.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday stayed Borden's execution 
through Oct. 19. Borden is challenging the humaneness of Alabama's 3-drug 
lethal injection combination that begins with the use of the sedative 
midazolam. The 3-judge panel ruled that there should be time to let Borden's 
challenge play out in court.

"We recently held that there is a genuine issue of material fact regarding 
whether Alabama's current method of execution violates the Eighth Amendment's 
prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment and remanded for further 
proceedings," the panel wrote.

State lawyers argued that the U.S. Supreme Court has allowed several executions 
to proceed using the same drug protocol, and that Borden "presents nothing new 
that would justify a stay."

"Alabama has already carried out 4 executions using this protocol," lawyers for 
the state wrote in the Monday court filing. "Any questions concerning 3-drug 
midazolam protocols have effectively been answered."

Borden was convicted of killing his wife, Cheryl Borden, and her father, Roland 
Harris, during a Christmas Eve gathering in Jefferson County in 1993.

The state attorney general's office wrote that trial testimony showed Borden, 
who was separated from his wife, brought their 3 children to the gathering at 
Harris' house after a weeklong visit. As his estranged wife was helping to move 
the children's belongings, Jeffrey Borden shot her in the back of the head in 
front of their kids, state attorneys said.

An attorney for Borden said previously that the Alabama inmate is mentally ill 
after a head injury and had a diminished ability to control himself or 
understand the full implications of his actions.

(source: Associated Press)








OHIO:

Death penalty possible for man accused of killing pregnant girlfriend



A man has been indicted on several counts of aggravated murder in the case of a 
pregnant woman found dead in Goshen Township.

Natasha Wilson and her unborn child were found dead in Wilson's home the 
morning of Aug. 30.

Steven Todd Mages has been indicted on a slew of charges in the case, including 
3 counts of aggravated murder, all of which include the death penalty 
specification. Other charges include attempted murder, 2 counts of kidnapping, 
domestic violence, and grand theft of a motor vehicle.

Mages' bond was set at $3 million.

(source: Fox News)








INDIANA:

Man prosecutors say killed Southport police officer appears in court on death 
penalty motion



The man accused in the shooting death of Southport Police Officer Lt. Aaron 
Allan is waiting to learn if his own life will be in the balance.

Marion County Sheriff's deputies escorted Jason Brown to court for a hearing 
Monday morning on the prosecutor's request for the death penalty. Brown kept 
his head down as the deputies escorted him to court.

Superior Criminal Court Judge Sheila Carlisle heard the formal motion filed by 
prosecutors asking for a death penalty trial. If granted, the death penalty 
trial would happen if Brown is found guilty during his murder trial. A jury 
would have the responsibility of deciding if he should receive a death 
sentence.

Monday morning's hearing lasted only a few minutes.

"The judge just pretty much advised him of the filing that the state made, read 
it to him. He already knew about it and that was pretty much it," said Brown's 
attorney Denise Turner said.

Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry announced last week he would seek a 
capital punishment. Curry believes there are enough aggravating circumstances 
to warrant the death penalty.

Court documents filed by Curry's office say when Lt. Allan tried to rescue 
Brown from his overturned car, Brown opened fire on the Southport officer.

Brown's family attended the hearing, seeing him for the 1st time since the 
shooting.

"I am trying to get my client and his family through it," said Turner.

After the hearing, the judge ordered Brown returned immediately to the 
Department of Correction for safety reasons.

Eyewitness News asked his attorney why Brown remained so subdued in court.

"That's a tough question. That's hard to describe. He has never been in any 
kind of trouble before," Turner said.

Turner also expressed sympathy for the Allan family in the wake of his death as 
a police officer and public servant. She is working to put together a defense 
team to help her defend Brown.

(source: WTHR news)








KENTUCKY:

Former death row inmate advocates in Carter County



Former death row inmate Ray Krone was in Carter County recently to talk about 
being sentenced to death in Arizona for a crime he didn't commit. Krone was 
later cleared by DNA evidence. Submitted photo.

On a recent night at the Carter County Public Library, Ray Krone told his story 
of being convicted and sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit in the 
state of Arizona.

Krone, who spent 10 years in prison for murder, was spared the death penalty 
when DNA testing exonerated him. After 3 years on death row, innocence proven, 
Krone endeavored to take his story to the forefront of the fight to abolish the 
death penalty. Partnering with anti-death penalty advocate Sister Jean Prejean 
in 2003, the Witness to Innocence organization was founded.

The organization is led by innocent death row survivors, and their loved ones, 
to bring an anti-death penalty message to the forefront of society and 
politics.

There was a meet and greet prior to Krone sharing his story with the guests.

"We should have a sense of protection, and safety and security in our country 
when we didn't do anything wrong," Krone stated. "They took me downtown in an 
interrogation room for 3 hours and grilled me," he added.

Krone was a patron at the bar where the murder victim in question was employed. 
Krone went after work with his teammates to the bar to practice throwing darts. 
The murder victim also played darts with Krone and his friends, but was never 
romantically involved. However, a co-worker said the victim was dating Krone.

This led police to Krone's home for questioning. Within a very short time, 
Krone had hair and blood samples taken for testing.

"They said you're under arrest for murder," Krone said, describing the day of 
his arrest. This began his 10-year quest to prove his innocence. Krone credits 
the advances in DNA testing and technology for saving his life.

After further testing, the DNA evidence on the clothing of the victim matched 
the DNA of another person within the database. This proved his innocence, which 
he had maintained throughout his entire travail.

Krone previously supported the death penalty before the circumstances that led 
to his harrowing story. The experience has caused him to shift his focus 
towards a movement that he hopes will bring about the abolishment of the death 
penalty. Krone was the 100th person exonerated from the death penalty since its 
reinstatement. Krone, and Witness to Innocence, are touring Kentucky to bring 
their message to the people of the Bluegrass State. The event was sponsored by 
the American Civil Liberties Union, the Kentucky Coalition to Abolish the Death 
Penalty and Witness to Innocence. A book is being written about Krone, entitled 
"Jingle Jangle," authored by Jim Rix. For more information about Krone and 
Witness to Innocence, visit witnesstoinnocence.org.

(source: Daily Independent)








CALIFORNIA:

Jury calls

USA:

Federal Death Penalty Trial Starts For Ailing Inmate In Springfield



A death penalty trial has started for an ailing man charged with an attack at a 
federal prison hospital in Missouri that killed one fellow inmate and injured 
another.

The Springfield News-Leader reports that 61-year-old Ulysses Jones Jr. went on 
trial last week on charges of using a makeshift knife to kill 38-year-old 
Timothy Baker as he slept in 2006 at the U.S. Medical Center for Federal 
Prisoners in Springfield. Court records say the other inmate survived.

Defense attorney Thomas Carver says Jones is slowly dying of end-stage renal 
disease. Jones already is serving a life sentence for 2 robberies and murders 
in 1979 and 1980 in Washington, D.C.

Baker, who is from Ohio, had served about 1/2 of his 6-year sentence for a 
cocaine-related conviction when he was killed.

(source: Associated Press