[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, FLA., TENN., ARK., MO., , NEB., COLO., CALIF.

[Rick Halperin]

August 30



TEXAS----stay of impending execution

Stay of Execution


A senior federal judge granted a stay of execution for a man condemned to death 
for killing an elderly woman during a burglary 2 decades ago.

Ruben Gutierrez, 41, had been scheduled to die on Sept. 12 at 6 p.m. for 
murdering 85-year-old Escolastica Harrison at the Harrison Mobile Home Park on 
Morningside Road in Brownsville in 1998.

A Cameron County jury in the 107th state District Court convicted Gutierrez 
based on evidence that he befriended Harrison so he could rob her of some of 
the $600,000 in cash that she had hidden in her home. According to police, 
Harrison didn't like banks and kept her money in a suitcase in her trailer 
home. An autopsy showed she had been stabbed 13 times with 2 different 
screwdrivers and was also beaten.

Senior U.S. District Judge Hilda Tagle granted the stay of execution on Aug. 
22.

"Allowing the execution to proceed, however, would deny Gutierrez any 
meaningful opportunity to conduct an investigation into the factual and legal 
basis of potential claims," Tagle wrote in her order.

New lawyers appointed to represent Gutierrez early this month made the request 
on Aug. 10, and argue they need more time to learn about Gutierrez and go 
through the massive case record.

"Through no fault of his own, Mr. Gutierrez is before this Court less than a 
month before his scheduled execution with counsel who were appointed to his 
case within the past 10 days," the motion for a stay of execution states.

Gutierrez's previous attorney said in court documents that she didn???t believe 
she had the expertise to represent the man at this stage of his litigation, and 
Tagle's order notes that the attorney is no longer allowed to practice in the 
5th Circuit Court of Appeals because of rude behavior toward court staff.

The motion for stay of execution notes that Gutierrez's former attorney never 
disclosed that to him.

The condemned man's new attorneys mention in their motion for stay of execution 
that they may prepare civil rights litigation, need time to apply for clemency 
in an attempt to commute Gutierrez's death sentence to life without parole, and 
also need to investigate what kind of efforts Gutierrez's trial attorneys put 
into DNA testing crime scene forensic evidence.

Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz said the stay of execution is 
regrettable.

"We're terribly disappointed there was a stay granted," Saenz said.

However, on Monday, the Texas Solicitor General's Office filed a motion to 
vacate the stay of execution, Saenz said.

"We're hoping to hear something as early as this week," he said. ???We're 
hoping the execution will go forward."

If the stay of execution is not lifted, Saenz expects Gutierrez's attorneys 
will file a request to DNA test crime scene forensic evidence, to which the 
DA's Office will object.

During a brief interview Wednesday afternoon, Saenz contended that Gutierrez 
had previously conducted DNA testing on the forensic evidence in the case, 
which the man's new attorneys contend in the motion to stay the execution has 
never happened in the case.

Gutierrez claims he organized the burglary, but did not take part in it and 
that DNA testing would corroborate his claim.

"Mr. Gutierrez has fought for nearly a decade to have the forensic evidence in 
his case DNA tested - including fingernail scrapings, blood stains, and hair 
evidence. To date, none of it has been tested," the motion for stay of 
execution states.

Saenz has called the DNA claim hogwash, and in a previous interview said 
Gutierrez confessed to the crime and that his co-defendant testified Gutierrez 
was an active member in the crime.

Harrison's family was disappointed in the news, Saenz said.

"The disappointment is much more compounded by the fact that it???s this close. 
They've been waiting for years to get to this point, which is doubly 
disappointing," Saenz said.

Every time the execution gets set back, the family has to relive the crime and 
anguish, he said.

Harrison's surviving sister, who is up in age, wants to see the man executed, 
Saenz said.

"She's holding on because she wants to see this come about," he said.

(source: Brownsville Herald)

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

Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present----35

Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982----present-----553

Abbott#--------scheduled execution date-----name------------Tx. #

36---------Sept. 26---------------Troy Clark--------------554

37---------Sept. 27---------------Daniel Acker------------555

38---------Oct. 10----------------Juan Segundo------------556

39---------Oct. 24----------------Kwame Rockwell----------557

40---------Nov. 7-----------------Emanuel Kemp, Jr.---------558

41---------Dec. 4-----------------Joseph Garcia-----------559

42---------Jan. 30----------------Robert Jennings---------560

(sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin)

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

Paxton: Lethal Injection Forever----A.G. joins amicus brief in opposition to 
Missouri man's request for death by lethal gas


Never put it past Texas to throw its support behind state killings. Attorney 
General Ken Paxton joined 15 other states' attorneys general on Monday to file 
a joint amicus brief in support of the state of Missouri in its lethal 
injection protocol case now pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. In March, 
SCOTUS stayed Russell Bucklew's execution for fear that the deadly injection 
would cause him to asphyxiate on his own blood. Bucklew has requested an 
alternative execution method - specifically lethal gas instead of pentobarbital 
- which he argues is his Eighth Amendment right. The 16-page brief argues that 
Bucklew's challenge asks SCOTUS to "modify its precedents and alter" its Eighth 
Amendment rule for "determining when a constitutional violation exists in the 
first place." Additionally, it notes that the number of carried out lethal 
injections continues to decline due to "efforts by death-penalty opponents to 
limit the supply of execution drugs," and that existing protocols across the 
U.S. are valid. The brief concludes that Eighth Amendment rights shouldn't 
"force States" to find alternative methods of execution that "differ for every 
individual circumstance." In an email statement, Paxton wrote, "If prisoners 
are allowed to bring claims challenging methods of execution without satisfying 
the Supreme Court's settled requirement to identify an alternative, the states 
would undoubtedly face a flood of lengthy and costly lawsuits resulting in 
indefinite delays of executions."

(source: Austin Chronicle)






FLORIDA:

Man is sentenced to death for killing gay couple on Boxing Day, saying they 
'deserved to be put down'


A Florida man, who described gay people as a "disgrace," has been given the 
death penalty for murdering a gay couple he met on Craigslist back in 2010.

Peter Avsenew, 32, was convicted last year of murdering Kevin Adams and Steven 
Powell at their home in Wilton Manors, reports Local 10 News.

Adams and Powell were found shot dead and wrapped in blankets on Boxing Day in 
2010.

Avsenew, a sex worker, met the couple after he placed an advert on Craigslist. 
He moved in with them a couple of weeks before their deaths.

In court, the prosecution alleged that the 32-year old was found in possession 
of the couple's car, an SUV, adding that he had used their credit cards.

The defence claimed that Avsenew stole the items after discovering that the 
couple were dead.

Avsenew's mother turned him in to police after he arrived at her home in 
central Florida unexpectedly and then made suspicious comments to her.

She also testified against him in court.

The sex worker reportedly showed no remorse over the murders, and sent a 
hand-written letter to Broward County Judge Ilona Holmes, following his 
conviction in 2017.

"It is my duty as a white man to cull the weak and timid from existence," he 
wrote, according to Local 10 News. "I will always stand up for what I believe 
in and eradicate anything in my way. Homosexuals are a disgrace to mankind and 
must be put down. These weren't the first and won't be the last."

He also allegedly said in June: "I wholeheartedly have nothing to lose and I'm 
going to take it out on everybody I can," reports Local 10 News.

Speaking in court via video link, Avsenew's mother explained: "I said: 'Is the 
car stolen?' and I think you told me the car wasn't stole."

She added: "I told him he was making me an accessory to whatever he'd done...he 
just laughed, he said: 'Don't worry about it.'"

She said that she then found suspicious images on Avsenew's computer, so she 
told a friend, before calling the police.

(source: pinknews.co.uk)






TENNESSEE:

Death in Our Name----The execution of Billy Ray Irick raises hard questions


The recent execution of Billy Ray Irick caused me to pause and ponder what I 
really think about the death penalty. It had been such a long time since 
Tennessee executed an inmate that I just had not been confronted with the 
emotions stirred by such a finality.

Should I even have an opinion?

In some ways, I think it's not my place to have an opinion on how justice was 
served here. I'm not a member of victim Paula Dyer's family, nor of Irick's. 
I'm not connected to anyone who was part of the investigation, trial or 
sentencing. Each one of these folks has been forced to have an opinion on what 
constitutes justice.

But of course, in one very important way, I am both entitled to and responsible 
to have an opinion. So are you. We are all Tennesseans, and a story so well 
written by the Scene's Steven Hale ("The Execution of Billy Ray Irick," Aug. 
16, 2018) reminds us that it's our responsibility as citizens of this 
community, this state and this nation to determine if we think the death 
penalty was warranted in this case, and in future cases. In the same way that 
we have the responsibility to vote and the responsibility to review each 
candidate carefully, we have the responsibility to decide if we feel that our 
state and federal laws are proper and reflect our values. It is a weighty 
responsibility, and one we tend to ignore in the haste and hustle of our lives. 
But it is a responsibility that our country asks of us, and a responsibility 
that our forebears sacrificed to preserve.

The death penalty is one of our most difficult and divisive governing policies. 
I thought Steven's piece highlighted the contrasts between the gruesomeness of 
Irick's crime and the chaos of his personal life, and the clinical, impersonal 
nature of our law enforcement process and judicial system. His reflections 
brought home the unsettling nature of the situation, no doubt about it.

But the news coverage detailing the last day of little Paula Dyer's life was 
more unsettling.

Are there crimes too terrible to be punished by a life in prison? The awfulness 
done to little Paula Dyer, with her young brothers locked in the next room, 
hearing her screams but unable to do anything to save her? It is an 
unimaginable crime that surely deserves the worst punishment we can administer. 
But reading the description of Irick's execution and thinking about how he may 
have suffered as he died is unsettling too.

We have the responsibility to protect our children. We have the responsibility 
to make sure the people who commit heinous crimes pay for what they did. But 
who decides what that price should be? Ultimately, it is you and I, in the 
decisions we require from our elected officials and from our judicial system.

The fierce debate rekindled by this execution should not be allowed burn out. 
We should debate capital punishment again and again. Was Billy Ray Irick's 
execution cruel? Was it unusual? If so, was that by design? I don't know. But 
we should be willing to openly question our decision to allow executions.

As unsettled as I am about the reports of Irick's final minutes, I still come 
back to little Paula Dyer. What were her final minutes like? Her death was 
cruel. Her death was unusual. She received completely undeserved, intentional 
punishment.

Billy Ray Irick was cruel. He deserved punishment. But did he deserve death? 
Was he mentally unfit? The state of Tennessee, our elected governor and the 
Supreme Court of the United States said he was fit to die for his crimes. He 
has certainly paid the price for them. It is only little Paula Dyer's family 
and the good Lord above who can decide if he has been forgiven for them.

Bill Freeman is the co-owner of FW Publishing, the publishing company that 
produces the Nashville Scene, Nfocus and the Nashville Post----The Nashville 
Scene)






ARKANSAS:

Court Won't Revive Judge's Lawsuit Over Execution Protest


A federal appeals court says it won't revive an Arkansas judge's lawsuit 
challenging his disqualification from execution cases for participating in an 
anti-death penalty demonstration outside the governor's mansion.

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied a motion to reconsider a 
three-judge panel's decision to dismiss Pulaski County Circuit Judge Wendell 
Griffen's lawsuit against the Arkansas Supreme Court justices.

Griffen was photographed on a cot outside the governor's mansion last year 
wearing an anti-death penalty button and surrounded by people holding placards 
opposing executions. Earlier that day, Griffen blocked the state from using a 
lethal injection drug over claims that the state had misled the manufacturer. 
The state Supreme Court prohibited Griffen from handling any execution-related 
cases following the demonstration.

The court's 1-page order did not elaborate on the ruling. The three-judge panel 
in July said Arkansas had "compelling interests" in protecting the public 
perception of an impartial judiciary.

Griffen has argued that his disqualification from hearing such cases violated 
his constitutional rights. His attorney, Mike Laux, said he planned to appeal 
to the U.S. Supreme Court. He said a 2002 ruling from the high court found that 
preserving the "appearance" of judicial impartiality isn't a compelling state 
interest.

"Here, there is zero evidence of bias in any of Judge Griffen's rulings and 
none was presented to the court," Laux said. "Thus, by elevating 'appearances' 
to this stature, the 8th Circuit respectfully got it wrong, and we have begun 
preparing papers to seek relief from the high court."

A disciplinary panel last week said it wouldn't dismiss an ethics complaint 
against Griffen over the demonstration. That case now heads to the state's 
Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission, which could recommend Griffen's 
suspension or removal from the bench if it finds the judge violated rules of 
conduct.

(source: Associated Press)




MISSOURI:

Sister of murder victim asks Supreme Court to reject Bucklew appeal


The sister of the man killed by death-row inmate Russell Bucklew is asking the 
U.S. Supreme Court to end the "perpetual litigation" of his appeals and give 
his victims and their families closure by allowing his sentence be carried out.

Melissa Sanders is the sister of Michael Sanders, who was murdered by Bucklew 
in March 1996 in Cape Girardeau County. She and victim-advocacy group Arizona 
Voice for Crime Victims have filed a friend of the court brief arguing 
Bucklew's now 2 decades of appeals have caused immeasurable harm to his victims 
and their families.

Bucklew is asking the high court to declare that an execution by lethal 
injection would be cruel and unusual punishment. He has a disease that causes 
blood-filled tumors susceptible to rupture, and his attorneys argue the 
pentobarbital used in executions would cause complications.

Sanders, and victim advocates filing the brief, argue Bucklew???s years of 
appeals following his sentencing by a Boone County jury -- the case was moved 
here on a change of venue -- are attempts to manipulate the courts and have 
exacerbated the suffering of his victims and their families.

"Bucklew's violent crimes exacted an unspeakably cruel toll on his victims and 
their families," the filing states. "But that was just the beginning of their 
suffering. Bucklew has pursued a manipulative, dilatory litigation strategy 
that has robbed his surviving victims of even the smallest measure of closure 
and peace."

Bucklew's murder of Sanders and abduction of victim Stephanie Ray on March 21, 
1996 took place with 4 children present. 2 of those children were Sanders' 
sons, who joined the amicus ask the death sentence be carried out so they might 
find closure.

John Michael Sanders was 6-years-old when Bucklew forced his way in and shot 
his father dead. Bucklew then took a shot at John Michael and missed before 
abducting Stephanie Ray in front of her 2 daughters. He then tortured and raped 
Ray repeatedly before a shootout with the state highway patrol ended in his 
capture.

John Michael's younger brother Zach struggles with the events of that night, 
one of the first memories for the then 4-year-old, according to the amicus. 
Michael's father Jerry, according to the brief, has suffered due to delays in 
Bucklew's sentence being carried out, as have the parents of Ray, who Bucklew 
assaulted in their home after escaping jail while awaiting trial.

"Not surprisingly, the academic literature confirms what the experiences of 
families like the Sanders makes painfully clear," the brief states. "Long after 
the immediate loss and physical trauma are over, crime victims and their loved 
ones continue to suffer from psychological wounds that refuse to heal. Courts 
frequently overlook the ways in which delayed proceedings compound that harm 
and exacerbate the initial injuries victims suffer."

The filing states Bucklew has also used his disease to manipulate the appeals 
process. He knew in 2008 his disease might provide some basis for a challenge 
to the state's execution method, but did not use it as the basis of an appeal 
at that time, the attorneys wrote.

"Yet despite his obvious awareness of a possible as applied challenge based on 
his condition, Bucklew refused for years to bring such a challenge," the brief 
states. "Instead, he brought or joined a series of facial challenges - always 
ensuring that his as-applied challenge was at the ready for later use."

Bucklew did not bring his Eighth Amendment-based challenge until May 9, 2014, 2 
weeks before his execution date. The U.S. Supreme Court granted a stay pending 
resolution in the lower courts.

"Having held that challenge in reserve for years, Bucklew was able to secure a 
stay of execution from this (Supreme) Court while Missouri's other capital 
defendants could not, and he staved off dismissal of his new as applied claims 
despite the dismissal of the other defendants' facial challenges," the filing 
states.

The case was sent back to the lower courts and the Eighth Circuit Court of 
Appeals approved Bucklew's execution in March. However, Bucklew then filed a 
petition in the U.S. Supreme Court challenging the Eighth Circuit decision.The 
Supreme Court again blocked the execution and agreed it would hear the case.

"For more than 2 decades, the pain and grief suffered by Michael Sanders' 
family - including his 2 boys who watched their father die at Bucklew's hands - 
has been compounded by the interminable delays in executing Bucklew's sentence. 
Although there is no doubt that Bucklew murdered Michael Sanders - and 
assaulted, kidnapped, and raped Stephanie Ray - their families continue to 
await justice and closure," the brief states.

'And they are not alone. Across the nation, victims suffer immeasurable harm 
from decades-long delays in executing sentences - delays that rob victims' 
families of even a modicum of peace and closure."

A number of death penalty opponents, including a group of former corrections 
officers, and civil rights advocacy organizations are also opposing Bucklew's 
death penalty. The case is set for argument Nov. 6.

(source: Columbia Daily Tribune)






NEBRASKA:

Drug companies drop lawsuit to keep Nebraska from using their products in 
executions


2 pharmaceutical manufacturers will suspend their legal fight to prevent 
Nebraska from using their products in lethal injection executions.

Fresenius Kabi filed a notice Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the 
voluntary dismissal of a lawsuit that unsuccessfully tried to keep Nebraska 
from using drugs that the company believed were its in the Aug. 14 execution of 
Carey Dean Moore. Sandoz Inc. withdrew a motion to intervene in the same 
lawsuit.

Both companies made a late attempt to keep the state from going ahead with 
Moore's execution, arguing that they would suffer serious financial harm if 
their products were linked to a lethal injection.

Nebraska carried out its 1st lethal injection using diazepam, fentanyl, 
cisatracurium and potassium chloride. Fresenius Kabi presented evidence that 
the potassium chloride was its product, while Sandoz argued that the 
cisatracurim could have been made at one of its plants.

Lawyers with the state argued that prison officials obtained the drugs 
legitimately, and the state refused to halt the execution.

The state's supply of potassium chloride will expire Friday, and the 
cisatracurium expires Oct. 31. Although prison officials have said they are 
working to obtain fresh supplies, they also recently said they have no 
immediate source to replace the drugs.

Like many drug companies, Fresenius Kabi and Sandoz require their suppliers to 
sign contracts preventing the sale of their products for use in capital 
punishment.

Just days before the execution, Senior U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf denied 
a restraining order sought by Fresenius Kabi. The judge said he would not 
frustrate the will of Nebraska voters, 61 % of whom voted in 2016 to overturn a 
legislative repeal of capital punishment.

The judge's ruling was upheld on appeal by the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of 
Appeals. Company officials decided not to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Moore, 60, was put to death with the 4-drug combination after spending 38 years 
on death row. He was convicted of the 1979 slayings of Omaha cabdrivers Reuel 
Van Ness and Maynard Helgeland.

Nebraska had gone 21 years between executions. The last one was carried out 
with the electric chair before the method was ruled unconstitutional in the 
state.

(source: Omaha World-Herald)

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

Death penalty opinions based on resource scarcity and evolution

Public opinion about the death penalty is largely based on resource scarcity 
and evolution, according to a new international study by researchers at the 
University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Hamilton College.

Assistant professors of psychology Ashley Votruba from UNL and Keelah Williams 
from Hamilton College discovered a link between per-capita income levels and 
public opinion about the utilization of the the death penalty, as reported in 
an article by Nebraska Today.

Participants in Votruba's study were shown two different scenes with images and 
descriptions that either indicated a strong or weak economy. The participants 
were then asked to take a survey on what their opinions of the death penalty.

"In 2 experiments, resource availability perceptions were manipulated for 
participants to see if perceived scarcity would lead to more support for the 
death penalty - and it did," Votruba said.

Her study indicated support for the death penalty goes beyond political or 
religious affiliations as well. Public perception of the death penalty largely 
has to do with evolutionary psychology, rather than personally held beliefs, 
Votruba said.

"Who supports and who does not support the death penalty is often thought of as 
culturally, religiously or politically based," she said. "Our findings indicate 
that the effects of resource availability - or a good economy versus a bad 
economy - on death penalty attitudes go above and beyond effects of 
socioeconomic background or political affiliation."

Votruba's study reveals that perceptions about the availability of resources 
and an individual's decision making skills are biologically intertwined. 
Environmental conditions affect the human psyche whether or not people are 
conscious of its influence, she said.

"From our understanding of evolutionary psychology, we know that the 
environment matters, even though people may not be conscious of how it is 
affecting their decisions," Votruba said.

Votruba and William's research is backed up by international data that 
demonstrates a link between nations with lower human development and their 
likelihood of having the death penalty or not.

(source: The Daily Nebraskan)

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

Transparency died in Nebraska Aug. 10, 2018


Aug. 10, 2018 is the day transparency died in Nebraska. So, while many of you 
were complaining about POTUS or Congress, here's what happened in Lincoln on 
that day that should be a bigger concern. A federal judge ruled that the state 
can kill one of its citizens despite the protests of a drug company that didn't 
want its products used for such purposes. And, he said, the state doesn't have 
to reveal where it got the drugs in the first place.

In Lancaster County District Court, a judge ruled that a legislative committee 
cannot exercise legal rights granted to it and subpoena a state official to 
answer questions about the aforementioned drug protocol.

In doing so, the judge sided with what's believed to be a 1st-ever lawsuit from 
the state Attorney General against the Legislature. The Legislature's special 
legal counsel, retired state Supreme Court Justice William Connolly, said it 
was the 1st he's seen in some 50 years of practice.

Do I have your attention yet?

That's the death of transparency. The courts just gave state government the 
right to do things in secret. No disclosure. "We don't have to answer your 
stinking questions."

But wait, there's more. Aug. 14, the day the state killed death row inmate 
Carey Dean Moore, it took 29 minutes from the first injection to the 
pronouncement of death. The curtain separating the witnesses from the death 
chamber was closed for 14 minutes.

Thus, whether or not the execution of Moore with a unique set of drugs went 
smoothly has been left to speculation.

Members of the media who witnessed Moore's death by lethal injection described 
his reactions to the drugs as rapid and heaving breaths, coughing, gradual 
reddening of the face and hands, and then a purple cast to the skin.

About 15 minutes into the procedure, about a minute after Moore's eyelids 
appeared to open slightly, Corrections Director Scott Frakes, who was in the 
room with the condemned prisoner, said something into his radio and the 
curtains closed for the media witnesses. The curtains did not open again for 14 
minutes, 6 minutes after Lancaster County Attorney Pat Condon pronounced Moore 
dead.

The curtain closing is significant since it hindered transparency and true 
reporting of the effects of the drugs. One of the media witnesses, Brent Martin 
of Nebraska Radio Network, said in Missouri, where he witnessed 13 executions, 
the curtain was open the entire time of the execution until the declaration of 
death.

Longtime death penalty opponent Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha likened the 14 
minutes to the problematic 18.5 missing minutes from the White House secret 
tapes during the Nixon-Watergate era. You can bet the topic will come up 
numerous times during the next legislative session. And well it should.

Robert Dunham, executive director of the national Death Penalty Information 
Center, said what happened in Nebraska was the least transparent of any 
execution in recent times. "Nobody drops the curtain so that you cannot see the 
moments when the prisoner dies," he told the Lincoln Journal Star.

(source: Opinion, J.L. Schmidt, a registered Independent, is the Nebraska Press 
Association's statehouse correspondent----Kearney Hub)






COLORADO:

Colorado capital punishment: Could Christopher Watts face the death penalty?


If the Weld County District Attorney makes the call, a jury could decide if the 
Colorado man accused of killing his pregnant wife and 2 daughters faces the 
death penalty if convicted of the crimes.

Christopher Watts, 33, is accused of killing his wife, 34-year-old Shanann, and 
daughters, 4-year-old Bella and 3-year-old Celeste. He has been formally 
charged with 9 felonies: 3 counts of 1st-degree murder, 2 counts of 1st-degree 
murder of a person under the age of 12 while being in a position of trust, 1 
count of unlawful termination of a pregnancy and 3 counts of tampering with a 
deceased body.

During a press conference Aug. 20 announcing the official charges against 
Watts, Weld County District Attorney Michael Rourke said his office had not 
made a decision on whether to seek the death penalty.

"(It's) way too early to have that conversation," Rourke said.

Here's what Rourke and his office will likely be weighing as the case moves 
forward:

Does the case against Christopher Watts qualify for the death penalty?

Watts has been charged with 9 felonies, 5 of which are Class 1 felonies, the 
most severe type of crime.

In Colorado, the prosecution may seek the death penalty for Class 1 felonies - 
which include things like 1st-degree murder and treason - if they are able to 
prove at least 1 aggravating factor in the case and prove any aggravating 
factors outweigh any mitigating factors.

The district attorney's office has 63 days after Watts' arraignment, where 
he'll plead guilty or not guilty, to file a statement of intent to seek the 
death penalty.

Watts' arraignment hasn't been scheduled yet.

When a district attorney seeks the death penalty, the jury must first find the 
defendant guilty of the qualifying charge(s).

Then, in a separate sentencing hearing, the same jury must unanimously agree 
that the defendant should receive the death penalty.

During that sentencing hearing, the jury will listen to arguments on 
aggravating and mitigating factors for the defendant as described under state 
law.

Mitigating factors include any evidence presented that could show cause for a 
lesser sentence. These include things like age, mental status or emotional 
state when the crime was committed, among others.

Aggravating factors are any circumstances that increase the severity of the 
crime. Aggravating factors include, for example, intentionally killing an 
on-duty police officer or elected official, killing a pregnant woman or child 
under the age of 12, committing the crime for monetary gain, intentionally 
killing 2 or more individuals, among others.

If jurors unanimously agree that the aggravating factors outweigh the 
mitigating factors, then they could choose the death penalty. But, if they 
believe that the mitigating factors outweigh the aggravating ones or they can't 
come to a unanimous decision, then the defendant would face life in prison 
without the possibility of parole.

History of capital punishment in Colorado

Capital punishment was reinstated in Colorado in 1975, but since then only 1 
person has been sentenced to death. Gary Davis, who was convicted of murder and 
rape, was executed by the state in 1997.

Since then, there have been a few notable cases where the state sought the 
death penalty, but the jury in the case returned a life sentence.

After a lengthy trial in 2015, James Holmes was sentenced to life in prison 
without the possibility of parole for a 2012 movie theater shooting in Aurora 
that killed 12 people and injured dozens of others. In that case, the jury 
could not reach a unanimous decision on the death penalty.

There are 3 people on death row in Colorado right now:

Nathan Dunlap, who was convicted in the shooting deaths of 4 people in a Chuck 
E. Cheese in 1993.

Mario Owenswas sentenced to death in 2008 for killing Javad Marshall-Fields and 
his fiancee Vivian Wolfe, who were both prosecution witnesses in a murder trial 
involving Owens.

Robert Ray was convicted of ordering the killings of Marshall-Fields and Wolfe, 
who were set to testify against Ray and his co-defendant, Owens, in the 
shooting death of Gregory Vann.

All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in court. Arrests and charges are 
merely accusations by law enforcement until, and unless, a suspect is convicted 
of a crime.

(source: coloradoan.com)






CALIFORNIA:

Today in History: Murderous couple sentenced to death----The couple was 
convicted of the murder of 2 women 3 years prior to their sentencing.


Cynthia Coffman and James Marlow were sentenced to death in San Bernardino, 
California on this day in 1989 for the 1986 murders of Corinna Novis and Lynel 
Murray.

Coffman first met Marlow in May 1986, just after he was released from prison. 
Marlow, a career criminal, had been locked up for stealing his 6th wife's car.

An earlier stint in Folsom prison had earned him the nickname of 'The Folsom 
Wolf'. Coffman and Marlow hit it off so fast that within weeks they were 
travelling the country together.

In late July 1986, Marlow and Coffman were married in Tennessee. As a wedding 
gift, Coffman received a tattoo on her butt that read 'Property of the Folsom 
Wolf'. The couple moved back West, sponging off relatives until they made it to 
California in October.

On 7 November, 1986, in Redlands, California, Corinna Novis disappeared from an 
ATM. Just 5 days later, Lynel Murray was kidnapped from outside the dry 
cleaners where she worked in Orange County.

On 11 November, Novis' chequebook was found in a dumpster along with some 
papers that had Marlow's and Coffman's names on them. A lodge owner in Big Bear 
City reported that they had recently checked in.

Over 100 men joined a search party that eventually caught the couple who were 
hiking through the mountains in clothes that had been stolen from Murray's dry 
cleaners.

Following their arrests, Coffman confessed to the murders. Coffman's attorneys 
said that she loved Marlow but that he battered, brainwashed and starved her, 
so she did not run from Marlow when the crime spree began.

They went on trial in July 1989, and on this day in 1989 were sentenced to 
death. Coffman was the 2st woman to receive a death sentence in California 
since the reinstatement of the death penalty in that state in 1977. A further 
trial in 1992 convicted her of another murder, for which she received a 
sentence of life imprisonment.

Both Coffman and Marlow remain on death row.

(source: roodepoortrecord.co.za)