[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----NEV., WASH., USA, US MIL.

[Rick Halperin]

Jan. 24



NEVADA:

Lawyers: Nevada Execution Plan Worse Than Pet Euthanasia----Attorneys for a 
Nevada death row inmate whose execution is on hold are telling the state 
Supreme Court that his execution using a never-before-tried lethal injection 
protocol would be less humane than veterinary euthanasia.



Nevada's plan to put a death row inmate to death using a 1st-of-its-kind lethal 
injection plan could be less humane than putting down a pet, the condemned 
man's attorneys told the state Supreme Court on Thursday.

Scott Raymond Dozier's lawyers also point in court filings to a medical 
expert's opinion that the proposed three-drug protocol using the sedative 
diazepam, the powerful opioid painkiller fentanyl and the paralytic 
cisatracurium poses a "high probability" risk of a "botched execution" 
resulting in unnecessary and unconstitutional pain and suffering.

"Nevada wants to be the first state in the nation to kill condemned inmates by 
suffocation via paralysis of the diaphragm muscles," federal public defenders 
say in the 145-page court filing. The diaphragm controls breathing.

A spokesman for state Attorney General Adam Laxalt declined to comment about 
the new court filing, which responds to a 65-page appeal his office filed Dec. 
15 on behalf of prison officials.

(source Associated Press)








WASHINGTON:

Is it the Legislature's job to decide the fate of the death penalty?



The effort to abolish the death penalty in Washington state is once again back 
before state lawmakers. This time, however, Democrats control both chambers and 
backers are hopeful they may be able to get it done this session.

King, Snohomish prosecutors' opposing views

The bill would abolish the death penalty in favor or life without the 
possibility of parole.

State Attorney General Bob Ferguson, who is pushing the legislation, told 
lawmakers during a hearing in the Senate Law and Justice Committee that, on top 
of the moral questions surrounding the death penalty, there are other issues 
such as the cost, that make it disproportionate with only a handful of counties 
in the state even able to afford to bring death penalty cases.

There's also the success rate to think about.

"Even if sought, often those death penalty convictions are overturned on 
appeal. I'll give you a number. Since 1997 in Washington state, 75 % of death 
penalty cases have been reversed. Where else in government are we satisfied 
with a program that costs taxpayers millions of dollars."

King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg spoke in favor of doing away with the 
death penalty, saying capital punishment does nothing for public safety and 
that a sentence of life without parole is equivalent to a death sentence.

"They're going to die in prison and the fight over capital punishment is when. 
Can the state hasten the date of their death? Can we authorize a state employee 
to administer a lethal injection after we get through all of the court 
processes? My conclusion now is that that fight is not worth it. It's not worth 
it to the taxpayers. It's not worth it to the families. This is unnecessary. 
There is also no evidence that the death penalty is a deterrent to crime. In my 
experience people who commit violent crimes don't think about the legal 
consequences of what they're doing, they just are doing what they're doing."

But Kitsap County Sheriff Gary Simpson told lawmakers the death penalty 
absolutely acts as a deterrent.

"A couple years ago in Bremerton, a 21-year-old was contemplating killing his 
grandfather. He researched the death penalty online and when he learned there 
was a moratorium put on by our governor, he thought he was free and clear he 
went and killed his grandfather. The death penalty can be a deterrent."

Satterberg argued the long, drawn-out appeal process in death penalty cases is 
tough on families, who could get the same closure with the shorter process of 
getting a life without parole sentence.

But Snohomish County Prosecutor Mark Roe strongly disagrees. He read a letter 
from the father of corrections officer Jayme Biendl, who was murdered at the 
Monroe Corrections Facility in 2011 by an inmate, Byron Scherf, who was already 
serving a life sentence.

Scherf was sentenced to death for Biendl's murder.

"This is simply doing away with the only viable deterrent to committing these 
murderous acts. These people are monsters and have to be dealt with 
accordingly, they do not deserve anything less than the exact punishment they 
bestow on their victim," the letter from Biendl's father read. "When there is a 
perpetrator that openly confesses to premeditated murder, such as in the case 
of my daughter Jaime and shows absolutely no remorse, I say they deserve no 
less than capital punishment. In the case of the murder of my daughter 
abolishing the death penalty effectively removes the only punishment that 
remains for that offender."

Roe told lawmakers about how the brother of 21-year-old Holly Washa, who was 
tortured and killed in 1991, told him he felt after her killer, Cal Coburn 
Brown, was finally executed in 2010.

Roe says Washa's bother told him:

"I thought about him at breakfast. When I was having breakfast I wondered what 
he was having. I thought about him when I was watching TV, if he liked that 
show if he was watching that in his comfortable cell. And every time I thought 
about him I thought about what he did to my sister and how she died and the 
terror that she felt. But from the day you called me from Walla Walla and told 
me that he was dead a curious thing happened, I never think about him anymore."

Family members of victims also spoke against the bill including Jessie Trapp 
who's mother was murdered by Cecil Davis in 1996. The killer got life without 
parole for that murder, but is on death row for murdering another woman in 1997 
and was close to being executed in 2014, right before the Governor placed the 
moratorium on executions.

"And that devastated my family. My family wanted the relief of knowing that he 
was going to be executed. Even though it wasn't for our family, that was still 
justice for our family."

Former Bremerton Police Chief Steve Strachan, who now heads the Washington 
Association of Sheriff's and Police Chiefs, testified against ending the death 
penalty. Strachan told lawmakers a recent poll of WASPC members found just 3 
who supported abolishing the death penalty

Several others spoke in favor of abolishing capital punishment, including a 
representative from the Seattle Archdiocese and the Innocence Project.

Other big issues raised during the hearing were whether or not having the death 
penalty would take away from prosecutors being able to get guilty pleas in 
murder cases, where sometimes a killer may plead guilty so they get life 
without parole instead of facing the death penalty. But Satterberg said that 
kind of leverage can be dangerous and lead to wrongful convictions.

But 1 of the biggest issues to come up was whether deciding the future of the 
death penalty was the Legislature's job. Several county prosecutors who 
testified, including Roe, said they wanted this to go to voters in a 
referendum.

(source: mynorthwest.com)

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

Is this the death of the death penalty?



Citing the cost of lengthy appeals and other states where defendants were 
railroaded by dubious prosecutions or evidence, King County Prosecutor Dan 
Satterberg tells KVI's Kirby Wilbur and John Carlson it is time for Washington 
to repeal its death penalty law.

"What I'm looking at is a 38 year history that if you really look at this in 
the way its been applied across the state, first of all only 3 counties (King, 
Pierce and Snohomish) can afford it. So most of the state, this is a 
hypothetical punishment", Satterberg said on the air. "In fact, the prosecutors 
and local leaders there live in fear of a death penalty case. It would bankrupt 
their county. "

Satterberg said King County spent $12 million just for the defense attorneys on 
the trial of the 2007 Christmas Eve Carnation murder case of a family of 6 that 
resulted in the jury refusing to impose the death penalty on Joseph McEnroe in 
that death penalty case. After a lone juror held out against the death penalty 
for McEnroe, Satterberg's office decided against seeking the death penalty for 
McEnroe's co-conspirator, Michelle Anderson, who gunned down several members of 
her family--including her 5-year-old niece and 3-year-old nephew.

Satterberg stated flatly, "When we tell the public that we have a death penalty 
in Washington, we don't. I'm sorry to be the one to tell you the truth but the 
death penalty doesn't work here."

Wilbur suggested there could be reforms made regarding the appeal process to 
facilitate prudent legal review but limit nuisance claims within that appellate 
process.

"There are reforms that could be done to the process that would allow the 
accused a fair defense...that wouldn't cost millions of dollars. Endless 
appeals over minor points that usually wind up being tossed out. You can limit 
the appeals. You can have a system that's more reflective of our values that's 
fair to the accused," Wilbur explained. "But I just think at some point the 
purpose of the death penalty is to say 'there are some crimes beyond which it 
just go beyond the pale.' Raping a 7-year-old girl. Killing a police officer. 
And the death penalty (is) civilization saying, 'You can go too far and you can 
pay the ultimate price.' And you can call it 'leverage'. I just think its 
ridiculous to say justice is too expensive. We can't find a way to pay for it 
(trial/appeal) so we're gonna change it."

Satterberg stammered out his response, "Well, I, uh, when people tell me it's 
easy to fix it, I don't believe it."

Senate Bill 6052 would abolish the state death penalty. Citizens are encouraged 
to contact their State Representatives and State Senator to share their view 
about maintaining or banning the death penalty. The Legislative hotline phone 
number is 1-800-562-6000.

(source: KVI news)








USA:

Deadline set for prosecutors to seek death penalty against bike path terrorist



Federal prosecutors will decide by Sept. 1 on whether to seek the death penalty 
against the ISIS-inspired terrorist truck driver jailed in a deadly Halloween 
rampage.

The deadline was announced during a Tuesday hearing where bearded suspect 
Sayfullo Saipov, handcuffed and wearing a blue prison outfit, listened to the 
proceedings through an Uzbek translator.

In addition to the date for a death penalty charge, the 2 sides in the Oct. 31 
attack that killed 8 argued over a possible trial date.

Prosecutors pressed for April 2019, while the defense sought a trial beginning 
5 months later. Saipov, 29, sat silently between 2 defense lawyers during the 
hearing.

Saipov may admit to Manhattan truck attack to avoid death penalty

The suspect was charged with 8 counts of murder and a dozen counts of attempted 
murder. He entered a plea of not guilty to the charges in November.

Prosecutors arguing for the earlier trial date noted the discovery process in 
the case should be brief and the families of the victims were entitled to a 
speedy trial.

The bulk of the evidence against Saipov consists of "videos and photos of the 
attack, as well as the contents of the defendant's phone," said Assistant U.S. 
Attorney Amanda Houle.

Police recovered 2 cell phones and a stun gun inside the rented truck. 1 of the 
2 devices was loaded with dozens of ISIS videos, prosecutors said.

City ramping up security with 1,500 more protective barriers

Authorities charged Saipov chose Halloween for the assault on innocent victims 
because he expected larger than usual crowds out for the holiday.

Saipov followed instructions printed in an ISIS magazine when he climbed behind 
the wheel of a rental truck and plowed along a busy West Side bicycle path.

The methodical murder suspect then mowed down bicyclists and pedestrians in a 
mile-long rampage that ended when he crashed into a school bus and was shot by 
a police officer.

"Allahu akbar!" shouted Saipov before the cop took him down. Court papers 
indicated that he requested the hanging of an ISIS flag inside his hospital 
room once taken into custody.

(source: New York Daily News)








US MILITARY:

Military judge to lone USS Cole lawyer: 'Engage in self-help' to learn capital 
defense



The dilemma of how to go forward with the USS Cole death-penalty trial after 
the capital defense lawyer quit loomed over this week's hearing - with 
prosecutors authenticating signatures on packages of evidence from the 2000 
bombing site, and a defense attorney refusing to participate.

The judge, Air Force Col. Vance Spath, repeatedly rejected an argument by the 
lone defense lawyer, former Navy SEAL Lt. Alaric Piette, that the hearings 
should cease until an experienced capital defense attorney reaches court.

At one point, the judge scolded Piette for mounting no defense in a pretrial 
hearing and urged the 2012 Georgetown Law graduate to "engage in self help" by 
attending special training to become "more comfortable handling capital 
matters." Piette has never worked on a capital defense before and does not meet 
the American Bar Association standard for death-penalty defense counsel, an 
argument the judge rejects.

The crisis was sparked by the resignations in October of three civilian defense 
attorneys on ethical grounds. In November, Spath rejected their resignations 
and then convicted their supervisor, Marine Brig. Gen. John Baker, of contempt 
of the war court for releasing them from the case - a conviction the general is 
appealing in federal court claiming a due-process violation and judicial 
overreaching.

Monday, the judge pressed ahead with pretrial preparation as prosecutors called 
a series of FBI agents and technicians from the time of the Oct. 12, 2000 
warship bombing to authenticate their signatures on evidence bags collected at 
the site. In one instance, FBI agent Jeffrey R. Miller testified that he had 
signed another agent???s name to some evidence because Agent Robert Holley was 
otherwise occupied - a sign of the crime-scene chaos even days after the 
al-Qaida attack on the warship off Aden, Yemen.

Nashiri1

Former CIA captive Abd al Rahim al Nashiri, 53, is accused of orchestrating the 
attack that killed 17 U.S. sailors and wounded dozens of others. Prosecutors 
are seeking the death penalty.

2 suicide bombers pulled a skiff alongside the Cole while it was on a refueling 
stop, and blew up the boat.

The agents arrived at the foundering destroyer days later to recover some of 
the dead and scoop up charred evidence. FBI Special Agent Lisa LoCascio, a 
1982-1998 Miami-Dade cop, described very difficult 110-degree-plus working 
conditions below deck amid jagged metal in the dark and an "overwhelming" smell 
she knew from her time as a Miami-Dade homicide detective.

The agents had to move evidence from ship to shore then onto a U.S. Navy 
amphibious assault ship, the Tarawa, in a multi-stop journey to the FBI lab at 
Quantico, Virginia. The Tarawa sailed to Dubai, where the evidence was 
transferred to a U.S. charter that made an overnight stop at a military base in 
Germany before heading to the Norfolk Navy base, where FBI lab technicians 
collected it.

Monday's hearing involved agents authenticating their signatures on 
chain-of-custody sheets that showed just four or five stops, including at one 
point an agent turning evidence over to herself. Yet Piette declined to 
question the witnesses, declaring he was taking "no position other than to 
object to this proceeding taking place without learned counsel." Learned 
counsel is the American Bar Association's term for a qualified death-penalty 
defender.

Piette took no position 32 times in court on Monday alone.

His position prompted a case prosecutor, Air Force Maj. Michael Pierson, to 
read a statement into the record accusing both the attorney present and those 
who were absent of a "shameless, disingenuous, and conceited course of conduct" 
that will not succeed "in ultimately frustrating justice."

In court Friday, Spath quizzed the deputy chief defense counsel for military 
commissions on plans to get a learned counsel to court. Army Col. Wayne Aaron, 
who began supervising the case after the judge jailed the chief defense 
counsel, said he had found someone and forwarded that lawyer's name to a senior 
Pentagon official, Harvey Rishikof, who decides on hiring and spending at the 
war court.

Learned counsel earn the federal rate of $185 an hour, and the unnamed person 
Aaron selected is a civilian with no previous war court experience and no 
security clearance, meaning it could be some time before that lawyer gets to 
court. Spath has also asked Rishikof to work on mobilizing a Navy Reservist, 
Cmdr. Brian Mizer, who has USS Cole case defense experience.

Spath considers Mizer qualified to serve as a death-penalty defender, although 
Piette and others say Mizer doesn't meet the ABA definition of a learned 
counsel. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis may have to weigh in on the question 
of whether to mobilize Mizer, who has refused to come to court voluntarily.

Friday, Aaron opposed the resumption of the hearings, telling Spath, "We would 
be risking a great deal to allow this proceeding to continue without our client 
having the clear right to learned counsel."

Spath cut his fellow colonel off, declaring, "Those are great talking points. 
You know what learned counsel are? They're people who go to training."

Later the judge turned his ire on Piette for continuing to declare himself 
unqualified to litigate without an experienced death-penalty defender guiding 
him.

"What saddens me is that military officers don't recognize, with your 
experience, you're every bit as qualified and competent, frankly, as many 
capital counsel that I've watched appear in courts," said Spath, who has been a 
military judge for the past 6 years and chief of the Air Force judiciary for 4. 
"It's embarrassing that we will sacrifice the performance and competence of 
military counsel for this belief that some civilian is so much better than 
you."

For this week's session the judge had prosecutors issue subpoenas to 2 of the 3 
resigned civilian lawyers - Pentagon paid attorneys Rosa Eliades and Mary 
Spears - then postponed what to do about their refusal to appear until the next 
session, scheduled for Feb. 12-23.

Spath also said in court that he is awaiting decisions from two federal courts 
on 2 challenges to his authority before addressing the absence of Rick Kammen, 
Nashiri's long-serving learned counsel who quit the case after nearly a decade 
of representing him.

(source: Miami Herald)