[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----GA., ALA., ARK., MO., NEB.

[Rick Halperin]

August 25



GEORGIA:

Defense asks to delay capital trial of man accused of killing girlfriend, 
infant son


The trial in Columbus' only pending death-penalty case could be delayed again.

Accused of killing his girlfriend and their infant son before setting their 
home afire in 2014, Brandon David Conner so far is set for trial Oct. 1 before 
Superior Court Judge William Rumer, but his attorneys have asked for that to be 
postponed.

Attorneys J. Mark Shelnutt and William Kendrick say they have not received 
crucial discovery evidence related to quality control and other administrative 
procedures at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab conducting DNA 
tests for the prosecution.

The prosecution, led by District Attorney Julia Slater with the aid of Senior 
Assistant District Attorney Don Kelly and Assistant District Attorney Wesley 
Lambertus, counters that the information the defense seeks is not covered under 
law governing pretrial discovery, and must be obtained by other means, such an 
open-records request.

Judge Rumer has asked both sides to file proposed court motions and any legal 
arguments by Monday, saying he will rule later.

The case had been delayed before. It was set to go to trial in late January, 
but had to be postponed because some of the same attorneys were involved in 
another prominent case coming to trial in Judge Gil McBride's court, the brutal 
murders of a grandmother, son and granddaughter, found dead Jan. 4, 2016, in 
Columbus' Upatoi area.

In that case, Rufus Burks, Raheam Gibson and Jervarceay Tapley were charged in 
the slayings of Gloria Short, 54; her son Caleb Short, 17; and granddaughter 
Gianna Lindsey, 10; found dead in the Shorts' 3057 Bentley Drive home. Police 
said Gloria Short and her granddaughter were beaten and stabbed to death, and 
the son was fatally bludgeoned.

After Gibson and Tapley agreed to plead guilty, only Burks went to trial. He 
was found guilty of felony murder and other charges.

Conner is accused of fatally stabbing girlfriend Rosella "Mandy" Mitchell, 32, 
and killing their 6-month-old son Dylan Ethan Conner before setting their 1324 
Winifred Lane home afire on Aug. 21, 2014.

Attorneys in a series of court hearings in the years since have been arguing 
about the evidence, most recently debating which photographs the jury should 
see. Shelnutt and Kendrick say some of the images are so graphic they only will 
prejudice the jury against their client.

During a hearing on July 6, the defense had narrowed its objections to 18 of 
the 144 photos related to the case, 2 showing the charred bodies at the crime 
scene.

A new motion

Now Shelnutt and Kendrick argue they need more time because the crime lab has 
not provided information on its administrative procedures, data a defense 
expert needs to review to judge the lab's performance.

In a hearing Tuesday, Shelnutt outlined some of the information they want:

-- Administrative documentation, meaning all documents related to anyone who 
worked on the Conner case, and noting any variance in crime-lab procedures.

-- Any corrective action reports noting unexpected test results, any reports 
that were amended for reasons other than typographical errors or other minor 
issues, and any reports on the reliability of test results.

-- The laboratory's accreditation documentation related to the quality of its 
management.

-- Laboratory personnel reports regarding disciplinary actions or other 
issues.

-- Reports related to quality control, including qualifying tests on 
equipment, studies, and the "performance parameters" of the lab's DNA testing.

The defense expert will need all of that information, and sufficient time to 
review it, to assist the attorneys in defending Conner, Shelnutt said.

"This is not discovery," Kelly told Rumer, arguing the courts have ruled a 
crime lab's internal documentation related to its operation is not subject the 
law on disclosing prosecution evidence, and the district attorney's office does 
not collect or maintain such records.

The defense is supposed to get that information on its own, Kelly said.

"The answer to this is they need to file an Open Records Act request with the 
GBI," Kelly said. The act covers all government records subject to public 
disclosure on demand.

The prosecution is opposed to any further delay, Kelly said, noting the trial 
date still is 6 weeks away.

The evidence

The fire at Mitchell's Winifred Lane home was reported at 12:35 a.m. About 30 
minutes later, Officer Jason Swails saw Conner's blue 2001 BMW turn from 
Wynnton Road onto Cedar Avenue in midtown before Conner parked near Davis 
Broadcasting, where he worked. Conner then sat in the car for 10 minutes, the 
officer said.

Because of recent business burglaries in the area, Swails questioned Conner and 
saw the suspect was shaking and sweating, and apparently had blood on him, the 
officer said.

Conner told Swails he had just left work, which Swails didn't believe because 
he'd seen Conner turn off Wynnton Road and park. Conner then altered his story, 
claiming he'd left work to get some food, but changed his mind and returned, 
Swails said.

Swails arrested Conner for breaking a city law against lying to police. Because 
police routinely search suspects being detained, officers checked Conner's 
pockets, and found a bloody, yellow dishwashing glove, a bloody baby wipe, a 
cigarette lighter and an extended grill lighter.

Learning of the bodies found on Winifred Lane, they had Conner's BMW impounded, 
and got a warrant to search it. Inside they found a bag of bloody clothes, a 
bottle of bleach and a bent steak knife with blood on the handle, they said.

Rumer on Sept. 20, 2016 and June 14, 2017, denied defense motions challenging 
the search and seizure of evidence against Conner.

Arson investigators in 2014 searched the burned home with a dog that alerted to 
flammable liquids poured in 3 places. They also found a gas can stored in a 
closet. An autopsy revealed Mitchell was stabbed multiple times in the throat 
and torso. Authorities have not said how the infant died.

On April 14, 2015, a grand jury indicted Conner for murder, aggravated battery, 
1st-degree arson and using a knife to commit a crime. 6 days later, Slater 
filed notice she would seek the death penalty.

Conner's is the 2nd case in which she has sought the death penalty since taking 
office in 2009. The 1st was the fatal shooting of local radio disc jockey Heath 
Jackson during a burglary at his Carter Avenue home on Sept. 7, 2010.

In May 2013, defendant Ricardo Strozier pleaded guilty to Jackson's homicide 
and a string of related crimes. Judge Gil McBride sentenced him to life in 
prison without parole.

(source: Columbus Ledger-Enquirer)






ALABAMA:

Man competent for death penalty trial in slayings of wife and 7-year-old son, 
judge rules


Stephen Marc Stone has regained mental competency to stand trial in the 
slayings of his wife and 7-year-old son, a Madison County judge ruled.

In 2 orders issued Tuesday, Circuit Judge Donna Pate ruled Stone is competent 
to stand trial and denied a defense motion to ban judicial override.

"Neither ruling was a surprise," said Madison County Chief Trial Attorney Tim 
Gann. "We felt confident he would be found competent."

Pate previously deemed Stone incompetent and ordered he be treated and 
re-evaluated by mental health professions.

To again rule on Stone's competency, Pate reviewed reports written by 4 
doctors. The most recent report came in March from Dr. Amber H. Simpler, a 
clinical psychologist at Taylor Hardin Secure Medical Facility. Taylor Hardin 
is part of the Alabama Department of Mental Health, where Stone was treated.

"Upon consideration of said reports, the court finds that defendant's 
competency has been restored to him and he is now competent to stand trial," 
Pate wrote in an order on Tuesday.

Defense Attorney Larry Marsili said he expected the judge would deem Stone 
competent for trial. But "because of the previous ruling deeming Mr. Stone 
incompetent, it was a necessary step of the process," Marsili said in a 
statement to AL.com. "We will now simply continue on with what we have been 
doing -- which is preparing to represent Mr. Stone at his trial."

Stone's trial is set for Jan. 28, 2019 -- nearly 6 years after his wife and son 
were killed.

He is charged with 2 counts of capital murder for the strangling deaths of 
7-year-old Zachary Stone and 32-year-old Krista Stone. Their bodies were found 
at the family's Chicamauga Trail home in south Huntsville on Feb. 24, 2013.

The death penalty

If Stone is convicted, prosecutors will seek the death penalty. The jury will 
vote on whether he should be executed or sentenced to life in prison without 
the possibility of parole.

Defense attorneys Marsili and Brian Clark filed a motion asking Pate to 
prohibit herself from exercising judicial override in the case. Judicial 
override allows judges to reverse juries' sentencing recommendations.

In a written order on Tuesday, Pate denied the defense motion.

..."the Court finds that there is no prohibition against judicial override in 
this case," Pate wrote.

? The Alabama legislature last year passed a law banning judicial override. But 
prosecutors say that change doesn't apply to Stone, who was charged before the 
ban took effect with Gov. Kay Ivey's signature on April 11, 2017.

Has judicial override actually ended in Alabama?

Lawyers for a Huntsville capital murder convict are disputing a judge's ability 
to sentence the man to death.

The defense attorneys said in court records that the law "fails to directly 
address the circumstances here: Specifically, a case where a defendant is 
charged...prior to April 11, 2017, but neither convicted, nor sentenced before 
April 11, 2017. Mr. Stone falls into this gap created by the Statute's 
ambiguity."

Marsili told AL.com the defense was seeking clarification on the judge's 
position on judicial override.

"Whenever you are trying a death-penalty capital case, there needs to be a 
thorough preparation in all aspects of the case -- including jury selection," 
Marsili said in the statement. "Knowing in advance what the Court's position is 
with regards to Judicial Override allows us to approach our preparations for 
the case with a clear understanding."

Gann said prosecutors are pleased with both of the judge's rulings.

"We're ready to move forward," he said.

(source: al.com)





i

ARKANSAS:

Gardner sentenced to death for killing


Scotty Ray Gardner was sentenced to death at 12:38 p.m. Wednesday.

The Gardner trial was the 1st death penalty case in Faulkner County in nearly 
36 years.

A jury of 7 women and 5 men deliberated for about 15 minutes Tuesday afternoon 
before finding Gardner guilty of capital murder in the 2016 strangulation death 
of Susan "Heather" Stubbs after learning her body hungered for air in her final 
moments.

Jurors reconvened with court officials Wednesday morning in Faulkner County 
Circuit Court to determine whether he would spend the rest of his life behind 
bars or sentence him to death.

Tears streamed down the faces of nearly every juror as they listened to victim 
impact statements prior to determining Gardner's fate. Family members also wept 
in the audience as Jerry Stubbs and Victoria Smith took to the stand and told 
court officials how Heather's death affects them daily.

Jerry, Heather's father, shared several photos of Heather, featuring her early 
years and recalling the days she would sit on his lap in church.

"When we first got the news, we couldn't believe it -- it couldn't be heard. 
We've all had our crying times," he said as he began to weep while describing a 
series of photos depicting Heather's younger days. "We miss her dearly. For the 
first 5 or 6 years [of her life], she only sat in my lap in church."

Losing her mother is a struggle that Smith said she battles with constantly.

A man who dated her mother for 5 months caused her a great deal of grief as she 
faces the loss of her mother every single day, Smith said as she described 
Gardner as "a nightmare" that stormed into her life and a fool who stole a 
great woman's life.

Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Carol Crews, just as she did with Jerry, 
allowed Smith to describe the joy she felt in the moments captured on several 
photos taken of her and her mother. Some of the photos displayed before the 
court featured Heather and her 2 sons, Kameron and Keagan. These particular 
photos of Heather and her boys were taken at Toad Suck Park 2 days before 
Gardner strangled her to death with a curling iron cord in March of 2016.

After listening to one of his ex-wives testify against him Wednesday morning, 
Gardner became irate and told his attorneys not to have anyone testify on his 
behalf.

"Oh, I'm ready to go," he said at 10:15 a.m. "There's no one here for me."

Gardner's statements were made minutes after Sue Ordndorff, whom he was married 
to in April 1990, testified on the pain he'd caused her.

The couple was legally married for about 3 years. However, they separated in 
the fall of 1990 after Gardner attempted to shoot Ordndorff to death.

Ordndorff said she was 6 months pregnant with Gardner's son when he shot her 7 
times, also striking a friend of hers 3 times while her 12-year-old son was 
present.

Per the defendant's request, the defense counsel did not call anyone to testify 
on his behalf.

Instead, attorney Katherine Streett pleaded with jurors not to sentence the 
57-year-old man to death.

"Don't hold yourself to his standard," she said, looking at each juror. "You 
hold the life of another person -- a flawed person -- and you have to decide 
his fate."

Crews reminded jurors before they left the courtroom to deliberate of the pain 
and suffering Heather endured in her final moments.

Recalling the testimony given Tuesday by Chief Medical Examiner Charles Kokes 
from the Arkansas State Crime Lab, she stood before the jury and reminded them 
that Heather's body had a natural, primal urge to fight for life.

"She probably felt this uncertainty more than once," Crews said, noting that 
the 2 first began fighting on the bed before Gardner wrapped the curling iron 
cord around her neck.

Following about an hour of deliberations, the jury ultimately sentenced Gardner 
to death, making him the 1st man in Faulkner County to be sentenced to death 
since Ricky Ray Rector was sentenced on Nov. 11, 1982, in Conway officer Robert 
"Bob" Martin's shooting death.

Rector had been on the run for 3 days prior to shooting officer Martin after 
shooting Arthur Criswell in the throat and forehead at the dance hall at 
Tommy's Old-Fashioned Home-Style Restaurant in Conway.

Records show on March 21, 1981, Rector became angered one of his friends who 
was unable to pay the $3 overcharge was not allowed to enter the dance hall 
before ultimately pulling out a pistol and firing off 5 shots. He was sentenced 
to life in prison for shooting Criswell and to death for officer Martin's 
murder. Rector was executed Jan. 24, 1992.

Family members cried tears of sadness and relief after jurors handed down a 
sentence Faulkner County residents haven't seen in nearly 40 years.

Heather's sister Terri Adkison said while she was saddened of her sister's 
death, she hoped this case will bring about change and awareness of the 
extremities domestic violence can lead to.

Adkison said the relationship she shared with Heather was unique.

Because the 2 were 12 1/2 years apart, Heather was like a friend, was 
ultimately her sister, but also somewhat seemed like a daughter to her, Adkison 
said.

The 2 held each other up in times of need.

In remembering her sister, Adkison spoke of Heather's cooking.

It was a quality the family enjoyed, and something Heather loved doing.

Typically, she holds herself strong through the rough times. However, going 
back to Heather's cooking skills, Adkison said she eventually broke down over 
Heather's death while reaching up for a ranch seasoning packet.

"She made the best taco soup," Adkison said of her grocery store breakdown. 
"One day, I was reaching up for a ranch packet at the store and randomly, that 
memory hit me and that was it, I broke down and started crying in the middle of 
the store."

The packet of ranch seasoning added to the taco soup was her sister's secret 
ingredient in making "the best" taco soup, Adkison said.

Heather had a kind soul and a forgiving nature. These traits ultimately were 
Heather's downfall, Adkison said.

"She was sweet, kind, forgiving, almost to a fault," Adkison said, adding that 
Heather knew of Gardner's violent history, but forgave him and believed he'd 
changed his ways.

Through her sister's horrific murder, Adkison said she prays other women 
affected by domestic abuse be encouraged to seek help immediately and not 
suffer through the pain.

(source: couriernews.com)






MISSOURI:

Missouri Gov. Parson should spare the life of convicted killer Marcellus 
Williams


DNA tests have called into question the guilt of Marcellus Williams. And with 
the convicted killer's guilt still in doubt, Gov. Mike Parson should halt the 
Missouri man's execution.

Williams was sentenced to death in 2001 for the brutal stabbing death of a 
former St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter. But new evidence has raised questions 
about whether the wrong man was convicted of this crime.

Skin cells on the handle of the knife that was used in the murder are not from 
Williams, according to Innocence Project co-founder Barry Scheck.

Last summer, then-Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens stayed Williams' execution amid 
growing doubts about whether the death row inmate actually killed Lisha Gayle.

In the words of Rod Chapel, president of the Missouri NAACP State Conference, 
the evidence suggests Williams needs a fair shake at justice.

The onus could now fall on Parson after a panel of 5 retired judges heard 
arguments this week from attorneys representing Williams.

Parson will wait to decide whether to take any action until after the panel has 
completed its report and made its recommendation. But the governor has to know 
that innocent people have been executed for crimes they did not commit.

And he should not risk allowing that to be Marcellus Williams??? fate.

(source: Editorial Board, Kansas City Star)






NEBRASKA:

Legal battles continue over Nebraska's desire to use death penalty


Nebraska last week completed its 1st execution in 21 years when it put 
60-year-old Carey Dean Moore to death.

Moore had been on death row for 38 years, and had stopped fighting the state's 
attempt to bring capital punishment back to life with his lethal injection 
death sentence.

That's not the case for the prisoner who was notified in November by the 
Department of Correctional Services of the drugs that would be used for his 
potential execution.

Jose Sandoval was sentenced to death along with Jorge Galindo and Erick Vela 
for the 2002 shootings and killings of Lisa Bryant, Lola Elwood, Samuel Sun, Jo 
Mausbach and Evonne Tuttle in a botched bank robbery attempt in Norfolk.

Even though Moore was notified of the drugs that would be used in his death 
sentence after Sandoval, the state sought his execution warrant first.

A department spokeswoman said the department has not requested a warrant for 
Sandoval from the Nebraska Supreme Court. But it is continuing to seek lethal 
injection drugs to replace those that will expire soon.

John Lotter is now the man who has been on death row the longest, but he has 
received no notification of lethal injection drugs to be used in his sentence.

Lotter and Marvin Nissen were convicted of killing Brandon Teena, a transgender 
man. They killed Teena in 1993 to silence him after he told police they had 
raped him. They also killed Lisa Lambert and Phillip DeVine, who lived in the 
same house in Humboldt as Teena and witnessed the killing. Lotter has 
maintained his innocence.

Attorneys for Lotter have alleged in a court filing that he is ineligible for 
the death penalty because he functions intellectually as a child.

Nearly nine months ago, ACLU of Nebraska filed a lawsuit on behalf of most 
death row inmates, including Sandoval and Lotter, that claims the ballot 
initiative that stopped the Legislature???s 2015 repeal of the death penalty 
was illegal.

The suit was an attempt to stop any executions, or even steps toward an 
execution, of Nebraska's condemned prisoners. But 8 months later, the state put 
Moore to death.

Sandoval told the Journal Star in November he intended to fight the execution.

Attorney Stu Dornan filed a motion in Madison County District Court in December 
arguing that Sandoval, 38, should be resentenced to life in prison or have 
another capital sentencing hearing.

The Legislature repealed the death penalty in May 2015, then nullified the 
governor's veto of the bill (LB268) with another vote. The repeal, Dornan said, 
went into effect Aug. 30 before it was suspended again because of an initiative 
referendum vote.

"Mr. Sandoval is subject to a uniquely cruel and unprecedented form of 
psychological suffering through alternating periods of relief and terror as he 
has been told that his life would be spared, and then told again that he would 
be executed," the motion said.

Briefs have been submitted in the ACLU lawsuit in Lancaster County and are 
awaiting scheduling of oral arguments.

Prisons director Scott Frakes said earlier this month, in an affidavit filed as 
the result of a motion by drug company Fresenius Kabi to stop the use of 2 
drugs in the execution of Moore, that he had no other source or supplier for 
the drugs to be used in future executions.

But he is still trying.

One of the drugs, the department's supply of potassium chloride, will expire 
Aug. 31, and Frakes said he has no other source or supplier for the drugs at 
this time. A 2nd drug, cisatracurium, will expire Oct. 31.

Laura Strimple, spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections, said in an email 
that it is the responsibility of the department to carry out the death sentence 
orders of the court, and that includes continuing to pursue procuring the 
necessary lethal injection drugs.

She said she would not speculate on whether the department would consider 
changing the drugs or the death penalty protocol.

ACLU of Nebraska Executive Director Danielle Conrad said Friday that individual 
constitutional rights are not decided at the ballot box, and did not give Gov. 
Pete Ricketts permission to violate the state's tradition of open government 
when carrying out government's most grave function, the death penalty.

"Next legislative session will see a wave of new reform and abolition efforts," 
Conrad said.

And ACLU of Nebraska intends to litigate the remaining legal and policy issues 
surrounding Nebraska???s death penalty, she said.

"We call on the governor to join us in seeking reform of our severely 
overcrowded and crisis-riddled prison system to advance true public safety 
goals," Conrad said. "Nebraska???s troubled history with the death penalty is 
not over and will saddle Nebraska taxpayers for years to come."

(source: The Columbus Telegram)