[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, S.C., FLA., ALA., TENN., OHIO

[Rick Halperin]

Jan. 11




TEXAS:

Choosing jurors in death penalty case of Isidro Delacruz will take time



Among several hundred San Angelo residents summoned to the McNease Convention 
Center for jury duty Thursday morning will be the 1st jurors to hear a capital 
murder case here this millenium.

Isidro Miguel Delacruz, 27, stands accused of capital murder in the death of 
his ex-girlfriend's 5-year-old daughter, Naiya Villegas, after he allegedly 
broke into her mother's home in the 2700 block of Houston Street on Sept. 24, 
2014. The girl died at Shannon Medical Center from a neck wound.

If convicted of capital murder, Delacruz will face the death penalty or life 
imprisonment.

The last death penalty trial the town saw was in May 1999, when a Tom Green 
County jury sent Luis Ramirez to death row in the slaying of Nemecio Nandin.

Ramirez had hired a hit man to kill Nandin for $1,000 in April 1998. Court 
documents said Ramirez had issues with Nandin, a fireman with an appliance 
repair service on the side, because Nandin was having a relationship with 
Ramirez's ex-wife.

Co-defendant Edward Bell lured Nandin to a secluded area in San Angelo under 
the pretext of repairing a washing machine. Nandin was handcuffed and walked to 
a shallow grave, where Bell shot and killed Nandin.

Bell was sentenced to life in prison by a district court in Midland.

Ramirez, a laborer and carpenter, was 35 when he was sent to death row in 1999. 
He maintained his innocence till the end and was executed Oct. 20, 2005.

"I did not murder him. I did not have anything to do with his death," Ramirez 
said on his execution day. "And to you, my family and friends, I love you 
dearly. Even though I die, that love for you will never die."

51st District Attorney Allison Palmer, who is prosecuting Delacruz's trial, 
said local prosecutors have tried other capital murders in recent years, but 
the death penalty was not sought. She said this is the first time she has 
sought a death sentence that has gone to trial.

Allison Palmer is prosecuting the Delacruz case.

"Anytime we decide to seek the death penalty, we take that decision very 
seriously, and that decision is left to the discretion of the district 
attorney," said . "It's not delegated to an assistant. It's not delegated to 
another agency. It's not delegated to the investigating agency. It's not the 
victim's family's decision. It's the decision of the district attorney. And so 
anytime I make that decision, I am very careful."

Some 350 to 400 San Angelo residents have been summoned to appear at the 
McNease Convention Center specifically for Delacruz's case.

Jury selection for a typical trial is generally a 1-day process, with jurors 
chosen from a pool of up to 100 people.

But the process of selecting 12 jurors and 2 alternates to take on the task of 
determining not just guilt or innocence, but potentially life or death is a 
long, drawn-out affair. Preliminary selection from a larger-than-usual jury 
pool is followed by weeks of group examination and individual probing by 
prosecutors and defense attorneys.In addition to general jury examination, 
potential jurors will go through individual examination, which take weeks to 
accomplish.

"You're meeting with each potential juror individually, and that's what makes 
the voir dire process take a lot longer," Palmer said. "If you're not seeking 
the death penalty, jury selection doesn't necessarily take any longer than any 
other (cases).

Palmer said the trial duration could also take longer than a typical murder 
trial, and the approach is different compared to cases in which the death 
penalty is not sought.

"When the death penalty is being sought, there's no range of punishment and 
jurors aren't asked to assess death or assess life without parole, they're 
asked special questions," Palmer said.

The punishment hinges upon the number of jurors answering "yes" or "no" to the 
series of questions.

"And so in order for them to have enough evidence to be able to answer those 
questions, the punishment phase can take a little longer than a typical other 
jury trial."

Defense attorneys are court-appointed from the Regional Public Defender for 
Capital Cases: lead counsel Robert R. Cowie and William P.H. Boyles.

19th District Judge Ben Woodward is overseeing the trial.

(source: San Angelo Standard-Times)








SOUTH CAROLINA:

S.C. lawmakers to consider electrocuting death row inmates if lethal injection 
drugs unavailable



South Carolina lawmakers are set to discuss a proposal Wednesday afternoon that 
would allow the state to execute death row inmates using the electric chair if 
lethal injection drugs are not available.

Under current law, criminals sentenced to the death penalty in South Carolina 
can choose whether to die by lethal injection or electrocution.

But because the state does not currently have access to the necessary drugs to 
complete a lethal injection, authorities have not been able to execute anyone 
in 6 years.

A bill proposed by state Sen. William Timmons, R-Greenville, would allow the 
state to electrocute death row inmates if those drugs remain unavailable, even 
if they elect for lethal injection.

Privacy

The Senate Corrections and Penology Study Committee is scheduled to meet at 2 
p.m. Wednesday to debate the measure.

S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster has also called on the Legislature to pass a "shield 
law," which would allow companies to sell the drugs to the state confidentially 
in order to avoid public scrutiny.

(source: Post and Courier)

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

Todd Kohlhepp victims plead with senators to improve South Carolina system for 
executions



Victims of Upstate serial killer Todd Kohlhepp on Wednesday pleaded with 
senators to improve the state's execution system after the state's prisons 
director said his agency no longer has the ability to carry out lethal 
injections.

Sen. William Timmons of Greenville, a former prosecutor, has proposed 2 bills 
to change that. The 1st would shield firms that supply lethal injection drugs 
and the 2nd would require those sentenced to death to be executed in an 
electric chair if lethal injection is not available.

The Senate panel that took both bills up heard testimony and asked for 
additional information before adjourning. Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, 
who chairs the subcommittee, said he believes the panel will meet again soon 
and pass out at least 1 of the bills.

"I think some of the attention over the last couple of months has educated 
legislators as to how big of an issue it is," he said. "Right now I'm 
optimistic something will move forward. I think there clearly is a problem. 
It's a problem for solicitors. It's a problem for the Department of Corrections 
and we need to try and fix it."

Timmons said he is hopeful both of his bills will pass.

(source: Anderson Independent Mail)








FLORIDA:

Convicted killer represents himself in courtroom where he faces death sentence



Against the advice of the defense lawyers he fired and the judge who repeatedly 
gave him the opportunity to change his mind, convicted killer Peter Avsenew sat 
in front of a Broward jury Wednesday to defend himself against a prosecution 
team seeking to have him executed.

Avsenew, 33, was found guilty in November of the 2010 murders of Kevin Powell 
and Stephen Adams, a Wilton Manors couple who took him in after he posted a 
sexually suggestive ad on Craigslist.

The same jury that found him guilty listened to testimony Wednesday and will 
hear closing arguments Thursday to decide whether Avsenew deserves to be 
sentenced to death. An execution can be ordered only if the jury recommends it 
unanimously. Otherwise, Avsenew will be sentenced to life behind bars.

Prosecutor Shari Tate opened Wednesday's proceedings by reminding jurors that 
they already know most of what they need in order to find that the aggravating 
circumstances justify the death penalty.

Avsenew began staying with Adams and Powell in late 2010 and, after gaining 
their confidence, killed them, stole their money, credit cards and car, went 
shopping for outdoor supplies and fled to North Florida, where his mother 
eventually turned him in, according to trial testimony and court records.

"We now move on to something you all swore to consider - could you be open to 
the death penalty?" Tate said. "That's the decision you're here for now."

When it was his turn to speak, Avsenew punted, waiving an opening statement and 
declining to question prosecution witnesses, including Adams' sister.

Avsenew had been represented during the trial by Assistant Public Defender Gabe 
Ermine, whose colleague Phyllis Cook was prepared to handle the penalty phase 
after the conviction. But 2 weeks after the jury returned its guilty verdict, 
Avsenew fired his lawyers and told Broward Circuit Judge Ilona Holmes he wanted 
to represent himself.

In court Wednesday, Holmes asked Avsenew at every opportunity to reconsider - 
during breaks, after each conversation outside the jury's presence, and after 
lunch. Each time, he politely declined.

Ermine and Cook sat in the gallery with the rest of the public, standing by to 
take over if Avsenew should change his mind. He never did.

Avsenew presented no witnesses on his behalf, and Holmes scheduled closing 
arguments for Thursday, warning Avsenew that he will not be permitted to 
discuss any aspects of the case that were not presented during the November 
trial or Wednesday???s penalty phase.

(source: Sun Sentinel)

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

Ax murder case may go to trial in July



Durant Aundrey Smith faces the death penalty and charges of aggravated battery 
with a deadly weapon and violating a domestic violence injunction. He is 
accused of attacking Amanda Christia with an ax on Feb. 24, 2017. She died a 
few days later.

An Anthony man charged with 1st-degree murder for allegedly killing his 
ex-girlfriend with an ax in February 2017 will, lawyers hope, go to trial in 
July.

Durant Aundrey Smith, 39, faces the death penalty and additional charges of 
aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and violating a domestic violence 
injunction. He is accused of attacking his ex-girlfriend Amanda Christia, 33, 
of Silver Springs, with an ax, hitting her several times in the head. She died 
a few days after the attack at Ocala Regional Medical Center.

In July 2010, Christia was granted a permanent injunction against Smith 
prohibiting him from having contact with her. But he frequently called Christia 
to harrass and threaten her. She changed her phone number several times, but 
Smith always found her new number.

Attorneys said during a status conference on Wednesday that they have deposed 
10 witnesses so far and have about 35 left before going to trial, which is 
expected to last no more than 3 weeks.

"It's not a complicated case," said Assistant State Attorney Amy Berndt, who is 
prosecuting the case.

Defense Attorney Steven Laurence believes he will be ready for trial in July if 
everything goes as planned.

Smith went to Christia's house Feb. 24, 2017, to pick up his belongings, 
according to a police report. Brittany Suber, 23, was at the house and said 
Smith and Christia were outside when she heard screaming.

Suber went outside and saw Smith hitting Christia in the head with the metal 
end of an ax several times. Suber was able to get Smith away from Christia, but 
then he started hitting her with the ax. He then picked up a large piece of 
wood and hit her several times. Suber was able to get away, but had a broken 
arm and bumps and bruises on her head.

When Suber fled, she told police, Smith went back to attacking Christia. The 
pair's 13-year-old daughter saw the attack and called 911.

Death penalty trials have 2 phases: guilt and penalty. Smith will face a jury 
of 12, who will decide if he is guilty or not of the charges. If he is found 
guilty, that same jury will then decide whether he should be sentenced to death 
or life in prison without the possibility of parole. A sentence of death must 
be an unanimous decision.

Smith is 1 of 5 Marion County defendants facing the death penalty. His next 
court appearance is scheduled for June 5.

(source: ocala.com)

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

Death penalty sought for accused MS-13 gang member in Lake Worth murders



Processors announced they intend to seek the death penalty for an alleged MS-13 
gang member accused of murdering 2 men in Lake Worth.

The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office arrested 20-year-old Victor Manuel 
Fuentes of El Salvador in November as a suspect in the murders of Lucio 
Velasquez-Morales, 33, and Octavio Sanches-Morales, 25.

In the arrest report, detectives said Fuentes admitted to targeting 
Velasquez-Morales on South H Street and 10 Avenue South in Lake Worth the 
morning of October 30. The report said Fuentes and his "associates" were in a 
car, he got out and pointed a gun at the victim and robbed him.

Detectives reported Fuentes also confessed to robbing and shooting 
Sanches-Morales to death in a Lake Worth alley.

PBSO also arrested 4 juveniles in connections with the murders. Detectives said 
they are believed to be gang members as well.

A trial date has not been set yet.

Fuentes is additionally charged with attempted 1st-degree murder for stabbing a 
teen in Lake Worth, according to court records.

(source: WPTV news)

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

Prosecutors Want Death Penalty For Man Convicted Of Killing Gay Couple



A man convicted of killing a gay couple in their Wilton Manors home represented 
himself for his sentencing phase.

Peter Avsenew fired his attorneys after he was convicted.

On Wednesday, the judge was making sure he was ready to go it alone.

"Are you sure you don't want an attorney representing you? This is a death 
penalty case," asked Broward County Circuit Court Judge Ilona Holmes.

"I understand mam," responded Avsenew.

Prosecutor Shari Tate is asking the jury to recommend the death penalty in this 
case

"He didn't just take the life of 1 person, he took the like of 1 person, and he 
made the conscious decision, premeditated decision to take the life of a 2nd 
person," said Tate

. Back in November, a jury found Avsenew, 32, guilty of killing Kevin Powell 
and Stephen Adams back in 2010.

Avsenew had no reaction when the verdict was read even though he could be 
executed for the crimes.

Adam's sisters, who wept when the verdict came in, were troubled that Avsenew 
showed no remorse but said the outcome gave them some piece of mind.

Back in November, a jury found Avsenew, 32, guilty of killing Kevin Powell and 
Stephen Adams back in 2010.

Police say Avsenew shot and robbed Powell and Adams over Christmas of 2010.

Avsenew, who met the couple through Craigslist, stayed with them just a few 
days before the murder. The couple was reportedly trying to help Avsenew who 
was down on his luck.

Prosecutors said after killing the couple, Avsenew took their SUV and charged 
up their credit cards before reaching his mother's house in Central Florida.

Some of the most incriminating evidence against Avsenew came from his own 
mother who turned him in.

Prosecutors told the jury he deserves the death penalty because of the heinous 
nature of the murders.

"You saw the evidence, that you know that Stephen Adams was shot 9 times in the 
head. He was beaten in the head. Kevin Powell also had that giant laceration to 
his head and he was shot 2 times," said Tate.

Avsenew has denied killing Adams and Powell.

(CBS Miami)








ALABAMA----impending execution

U.S. Supreme court won't hear Mobile cop-killer's appeal



The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a request by a convicted Mobile 
cop-killer, who is scheduled to be executed Jan. 25, to rehear his appeal.

The U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) had ruled in November that Alabama can execute 
Vernon Madison, a death row inmate who claims to be mentally incompetent. 
Madison initially was granted a stay of his execution by SCOTUS just hours 
before his scheduled 2016 execution.

Madison, 67, one of Alabama's longest-serving death row inmates, was convicted 
in the April 1985 slaying of Mobile police officer Cpl. Julius Schulte.

In November, however, SCOTUS unanimously reversed its earlier decision, saying 
Madison can be executed. "More than 30 years ago, Vernon Madison crept up 
behind police officer Julius Schulte and shot him twice in the head at close 
range," that ruling stated.

In its ruling Monday to reject Madison's request for a rehearing, SCOTUS did 
not issue a written explanation.

Courts had been split on whether Madison was competent to be executed. Madison 
faced a state competency hearing before his scheduled 2016 execution, where he 
claimed several strokes he recently suffered affected his mental status and 
made him unable to remember his crimes or remember that he was on death row. 
The trial court denied Madison's petition, and said the execution could 
proceed.

But then the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Madison was incompetent and he 
could not be executed.

Madison's attorney, Angie Setzer with the Equal Justice Initiative, in an email 
to AL.com stated that the media have misreported what the Supreme Court has 
done in the case. "The Supreme Court has not concluded that Mr. Madison is 
competent to be executed; the Court has made it clear that is an unresolved 
question. What the Court said is that a federal court constrained by the 
restrictions imposed by federal habeas law cannot make that determination. The 
Court's decision denying rehearing affirms that judgment but Mr. Madison's 
competence to be executed is still yet to be decided.

(source: al.com)








TENNESSEE----female may face death penalty

Death-penalty defendant to be taken to psychiatric hospital



The Oak Ridge grandmother facing the death penalty in a 1st-degree murder case 
will be taken to a psychiatric hospital where her competency and mental health 
can be evaluated, according to Anderson County court records.

The defendant, Valerie Stenson, 53, is currently being held at the Tennessee 
Prison for Women in Nashville. She will be taken to Moccasin Bend Psychiatric 
Hospital in Chattanooga for an intake scheduled for 1:30 p.m. January 17, 
according to an order filed in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on 
Wednesday, January 3.

A 2-week trial for Stenson had been scheduled for December 2017, but it was 
canceled and a mental health evaluation was ordered. It's not clear if or when 
the trial will be rescheduled.

Court orders filed in August and October called for a psychiatric evaluation of 
Stenson and a referral to Moccasin Bend, where experts can determine her 
competency to stand trial and her mental condition at the time of the crime 
(the insanity defense).

Stenson had previously been evaluated by State of Tennessee experts and 
determined to be competent to stand trial and to help with her defense.

But the order filed in Anderson County Criminal Court in August said a 
psychologist employed by Stenson was unable to complete an evaluation "due to 
the agitated state and mental health of the defendant. The expert did determine 
that the defendant is paranoid, delusional, and terrified, and when asking 
general questions about her case, the defendant began speaking in tongues and 
was unable to answer any questions from that point on or participate in the 
evaluation."

The next order, filed in October, said Ridgeview Psychiatric Hospital in Oak 
Ridge had referred Stenson to the Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute in 
Chattanooga for a maximum of 30 days.

An evaluation of competency to stand trial will determine whether Stenson has 
the ability to cooperate with her attorneys in her own defense, whether she is 
aware of and understands the criminal proceedings, and whether she understands 
the consequences.

An evaluation of mental condition at the time of the crime, the insanity 
defense, will determine whether Stenson was unable to appreciate the nature of 
the alleged crimes at the time they were committed and that they were wrong.

The results of the evaluation are to be reported back to Anderson County 
Criminal Court. It's not clear how long that might take.

Stenson was charged with 1st-degree murder in the April 17, 2011, death of 
Manhattan Inman, her toddler granddaughter. The child was found dead in a home 
on Teller Village Lane, and the Anderson County Grand Jury indicted Stenson for 
1st-degree murder and 4 counts of aggravated child abuse and neglect on March 
6, 2012. Aggravating circumstances in the death-penalty murder case included 
the age of the child and the age of the defendant; the heinous, atrocious, or 
cruel nature of the alleged crime; and the fact that the alleged murder was 
committed while Stenson was committing or was attempting to commit, or was an 
accomplice in, another major crime.

In 2013, Stenson was indicted on new charges: 9 counts of aggravated child 
abuse, aggravated child neglect, and aggravated child endangerment in cases 
involving 3 other children. Those charges were filed September 3, 2013. They 
included 3 counts each of aggravated child abuse, aggravated child neglect, and 
aggravated child endangerment.

Those offenses allegedly occurred between April 15, 2010, and April 15, 2011, 
and all three victims were under 18, the indictments said. The indictments said 
the abuse caused serious bodily injury to the children, or caused injury and 
the abuse was "especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel, or involved the 
affliction of torture."

(source: oakridgetoday.com)








OHIO:

Death-penalty trial begins for man accused of killing 2 in downtown Cleveland 
apartment



Jury selection is set to begin Wednesday in the case of a Shaker Heights man 
accused of the killing of 2 men during a 2016 robbery at a downtown apartment.

James Johnson faces the death penalty if he is convicted of the most serious 
charges tied to the Jan. 21, 2016 shooting deaths of Brandon Lamar James, 27, 
and Rasheed Bandy, 35.

Prosecutors say Johnson burst into the 8th-floor apartment of the Archer 
building on West 9th Street in Cleveland's Warehouse District.

Investigators said Johnson and another man, who has not been identified, were 
looking to steal marijuana from James and Bandy.

James was shot in the lower back and died at the scene. Bandy was shot in the 
head and died hours later at MetroHealth. 2 others inside the apartment were 
not hurt.

Witnesses identified Johnson in part because of a lazy eye, court records say.

Police searched for Johnson since they obtained a warrant for his arrest the 
day after the shooting. Muskegon, Michigan police officers arrested him Sept. 
10 during a traffic stop.

Johnson's is the 1st death penalty case to go to trial under Cuyahoga County 
Prosecutor Michael O'Malley, who took office in January of 2017.

Common Pleas Judge Kathleen Sutula will preside over the trial.

(source: cleveland.com)