[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----OHIO, TENN., ARK., MINN., OKLA.

[Rick Halperin]

Jan. 26



OHIO:

Prosecutors to ask for death penalty against adult murder suspects



The Licking County Prosecutor's Office will be pursuing the death penalty for 
the 1st time in more than a decade against 2 men charged with the aggravated 
murder of another Newark man.

Licking County Prosecutor Bill Hayes said prosecutors will likely present the 
case to a grand jury next week for indictment.

If the grand jury approves the death penalty specifications, the cases against 
21-year-old Dustin Lehoe and 20-year-old Tyler Ocasio would be the 1st capital 
indictments in Licking County since 2007.

Licking County last sentenced someone to death row in 2005, when Roland Davis 
was convicted of the aggravated murder of 86-year-old Elizabeth Sheeler.

Iradell Crumpton was indicted on a death penalty specification in 2007, but he 
was later sentenced to 45 years to life in prison.

Hayes said the cases against Lehoe and Ocasio would qualify under Ohio law for 
the death penalty.

"These are a couple of bad actors," he said.

The pair are accused, along with 15-year-old Jaden Osborn and 16-year-old Dylan 
Warren, of going to 70 Cherry Street around 2:45 a.m. Saturday and kicking open 
a door.

Court records show Lehoe and Ocasio are suspected of going into a basement of 
the home where 48-year-old David Barcus was staying and attempting to rob him, 
fatally shooting him in the process.

Under Ohio law, if a homicide occurs while another felony is being committed, 
such as an armed robbery, the death penalty can be imposed.

Osborn and Warren would not be eligible for the death penalty because they are 
juveniles.

Prosecutors are seeking to try the 2 as adults and a probable cause hearing to 
determine if the cases could be moved to Common Pleas Court will be held in 
March.

Osborn and Warren are both being held at the Multi-County Juvenile Detention 
Facility in Lancaster, pending future hearings.

Ocasio and Lehoe are being held in the Licking County Justice Center in lieu of 
$1 million bond each. Their cases are expected to be presented to the grand 
jury next week.

(source: newarkadvocate.com)








TENNESSEE----female may face death penalty

Sherra Wright Could Face Death Penalty If Convicted Of Murdering Lorenzen 
Wright



The ex-wife of former Memphis Tiger and Grizzlies basketball star Lorenzen 
Wright could face the death penalty if convicted of her ex-husband's murder.

Sherra Wright is accused of killing Lorenzen Wright in 2010 with suspected 
co-conspirator Billy Ray Turner. Authorities indicted and arrested Sherra 
Wright last month in Riverside County, California, and after she waived 
extradition, authorities brought her to Shelby County Saturday.

The prosecutor leading this case said pursuing the death penalty for Sherra 
Wright is under consideration. This as she finalizes her legal team in the 
coming weeks.

"I could have never fathomed that in a million years, I would have never 
thought she would have been a suspect," says Montae Nevels, a friend of 
Lorenzen Wright's.

In an orange jumpsuit, Sherra Wright's presence Thursday seemed surreal to 
friends and family of the ex-husband she's accused of killing.

"It is a shock to everybody in the community, it's a shock to the family," says 
Nevels. "Sherra is a suspect, we are not saying Sherra is guilty, that's the 
court's decision, but we are just here wanting justice for the family."

Wright is accused of plotting and attempting to kill Lorenzen beginning in 
April 2010, and then having a role in his actual murder in July 2010 in Shelby 
County.

"Of course, people fuss and fight, but I never thought it would have gotten to 
this particular point," says Nevels.

For prosecutors, Wright's appearance Thursday begins a new chapter, weeks after 
the more 7-year cold case of Lorenzen's murder ended with her arrest.

"This is the case that's obviously been in the media and been in the forefront 
of a lot of people's minds," says Paul Hagerman with the Shelby County District 
Attorney's Office. And as for the death penalty? "It's still under 
consideration, I'll say that."

For Wright's defense team, she's expected to be represented by 2 high-profile 
Memphis attorney families: Ballin and Farese.

"There a number of legal hurdles that have to be met before a death penalty can 
be sought," says Blake Ballin.

"Anytime you have a case where the victim is a well-known celebrity or a 
well-known person in the community, you know, the main thing, main challenge is 
making sure the truth is out there," says Steve Farese, Jr.

"She's concerned about her children, most of her concern is about the 
children," says Ballin.

"She's doing as well as you could expect someone to be doing given the 
situation that she's been in," says Farese, Sr. "She's been accused of 
something she didn't do."

Billy Ray Turner is also accused in the murder of Lorenzen Wright, and once 
attended the same church with Sherra Wright. He is scheduled in court Monday.

Sherra Wright is next scheduled in court February 26th.

(source: localmemphis.com)








ARKANSAS:

Lawyer Says Inmate Ineligible for Death Penalty----Lawyers for the state of 
Arkansas say 2 men who won temporary stays during a flurry of executions last 
spring never reached the minimum standards necessary to trigger aid from mental 
health professionals throughout their trials.



Lawyers for the state of Arkansas say 2 men who won temporary stays during a 
flurry of executions last spring never reached the minimum standards necessary 
to trigger aid from mental health professionals throughout their trials.

Attorneys for Bruce Ward and Don Davis went before the state Supreme Court on 
Thursday to argue independent psychiatrists should have reviewed their files 
and helped develop trial strategies. In their questioning, justices said Ward 
wasn't fully cooperative when doctors assessed him and that Davis appeared to 
have received a level of assistance that went beyond what was required.

The court last April stopped Ward's and Davis' executions so it could review 
what level of assistance was required. At the time, the U.S. Supreme Court was 
looking at a similar case from Alabama. Lawyers for Arkansas and the inmates 
differed Thursday on what it meant for Arkansas' death row cases.

(source: Associated Press)

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

Arkansas judge barred from hearing death penalty cases sees 'unseemly 
timing'----Ruling by state's justices, the defendants in judge's suit, added to 
their defense



An attorney for Pulaski County Judge Wendell Griffen said the Arkansas Supreme 
Court acted with "unseemly timing" by issuing a ruling last week that the 
court's attorneys cited just days later in support of their request to dismiss 
Griffen's federal lawsuit against the justices.

Michael Laux is representing Griffen in the judge's ongoing federal lawsuit, 
which accuses the Supreme Court of violating Griffen's rights when it stripped 
the judge of all death penalty-related cases last spring after Griffen appeared 
at the center of an anti-death penalty protest in front of the Governor's 
Mansion.

In an email to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Wednesday morning, Laux said he 
was concerned with the timing of a brief filed by the Supreme Court's lawyers, 
who are asking a federal judge to dismiss that lawsuit.

According to Laux, on Jan. 16, attorneys for the justices asked for permission 
to reply to Laux's final brief in the case, in which Laux had argued that the 
state waived its sovereign immunity from lawsuits through provisions in the 
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (Griffen has said his demonstration was 
because of his religious briefs).

Laux said he agreed to allow the state to respond "as a courtesy" Jan. 17. Then 
on Jan. 18, in an unrelated case, a split majority of the high court issued a 
decision declaring legislative waivers of sovereign immunity unconstitutional.

That ruling, which overturned 20 years of precedent, was cited in a single 
sentence at the end of the court's 30-page reply to Laux's brief, which 
attorneys for the justices filed in federal court Tuesday.

"It only leads one to believe it was part of a grand scheme," Laux said.

Neither attorneys for the justices nor Chief Justice Dan Kemp, who wrote the 
court's majority decision last week, responded to requests for comment 
Wednesday.

Laux said he is deliberating with other lawyers on his team whether to file an 
additional reply to the court's most recent brief. Otherwise, he said the case 
is fully briefed before U.S. District Court Judge James Moody Jr.

(source: arkansasonline.com)








MINNESOTA:

Global opera hit 'Dead Man Walking' finally gets Minnesota premiere----After 60 
productions across 5 continents, the popular piece finally lands in Minnesota 
this weekend.



It's been 20 years since composer Jake Heggie hatched the idea for "Dead Man 
Walking" with playwright Terrence McNally over lunch in San Francisco.

"It was my 1st big opera," said Heggie, speaking by phone from his home in the 
Bay Area. "The librettist had never done a libretto. The director had never 
directed an opera. There were a lot of first-timers involved."

Most contemporary operas land a handful of performances before disappearing 
from the radar. Not "Dead Man Walking." Since its 2000 premiere at San 
Francisco Opera, the piece has amassed nearly 60 productions across five 
continents, making it the most performed contemporary opera of the 21st 
century. Minnesota Opera presides over the Twin Cities premiere Saturday at 
Ordway Music Theater.

"I knew from the moment we started that we had something special," Heggie said. 
"I was on fire with it, because I was telling a very compelling, electrifying 
story."

"Dead Man Walking" is based on the real-life experiences of Sister Helen 
Prejean, the Roman Catholic nun whose 1993 book about counseling death row 
inmates inspired the 1995 movie (starring Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon) in 
addition to Heggie's opera.

The story's international appeal, said Minnesota Opera President Ryan Taylor, 
probably has more to do with Sister Helen than the opera's central character, 
inmate Joseph de Rocher.

Dead Man Walking

What: Minnesota Opera presents Jake Heggie and Terrence McNally's hit opera.

When: 7:30 p.m. Sat., 2 p.m. Sun, 7:30 p.m. Tue., 7:30 p.m. Thu., 8 p.m. next 
Sat.

Where: Ordway Music Theater, 345 Washington St., St. Paul.

Tickets: $25-$200; 612-333-6669 or mnopera.org

"Today we're all about doing easy things, in short bursts of information," said 
Taylor. "Sister Helen doesn't have all the answers, but she is willing to put 
herself in a space of uncertainty and make very difficult choices in order to 
do the right thing."

Another reason for the opera's success, continued Taylor, is Heggie's eclectic 
music incorporating the unmistakably American sounds of jazz, rock, gospel and 
folk.

"Jake took the best bits of each," said Taylor, "in order to craft a score that 
is so evocative of the story's time and place."

No preaching here

Heggie contends that "Dead Man Walking" isn't an anti-death-penalty opera, 
though the execution of its central character is certainly a harrowing moment.

"I am ashamed to say, when I started writing the opera I was rather ambivalent 
about the death penalty, like a lot of people," Heggie said. "I was even afraid 
to see the movie when it first came out, because I didn't want to be persuaded 
to have sympathy for someone who did something so heinous."

Immersing himself in Sister Helen's story changed all that. "I went into 'Dead 
Man Walking' very naive, but I eventually felt very passionate about it. I 
realized how asleep I was. We have no idea about the ripple effects of our 
actions as a society - on the parents and families involved."

Still, Heggie insists that "Dead Man Walking" is more about raising complicated 
questions than giving neat, definitive answers.

"The opera doesn't take a deliberate stance one way or the other," he said. "I 
like art that challenges me, that draws me in to consider new perspectives."

The fact that "Dead Man Walking" engages with issues other than the death 
penalty - including the prison system, trauma, the possibility of forgiveness - 
helps to explain the opera's popularity in countries such as Germany, Australia 
and South Africa, where capital punishment was long ago abolished.

"What surprised me was that this very American work, with very American 
vernacular and musical sound, appeals so much in other countries," said Heggie. 
"Who could have imagined that?"

Canadian import

Minnesota Opera will present a production 1st seen last year at Vancouver 
Opera, with Canadian director Joel Ivany in town to oversee the Twin Cities 
revival.

Like Heggie, Ivany doesn't see "Dead Man Walking" as an opera with a narrowly 
anti-death-penalty message. He sees broader themes relating to crime and 
punishment.

"There are people in this world who do bad things. Can they ever be redeemed? 
Or do we as a society just open a door, throw all the bad in there and close 
it? Do we have the power within ourselves to forgive?"

These "big societal issues," as Ivany put it, influence the production's dark, 
looming set designs by Erhard Rom. The claustrophobic interiors, cut with 
images of incarceration, were central to the production's success in a country 
where the death penalty was abolished in 1976.

Heggie has traveled the world to see dozens of "Dead Man Walking" stagings. He 
views the Ivany production as a "really bold and fascinating" interpretation, 
"right up there" with the best he has seen.

And although Twin Cities audiences have waited 18 years to see "Dead Man 
Walking," Taylor believes the opera could hardly have arrived at a better time.

"Everyone would acknowledge that there are very deep divides in our country's 
dialogue at the minute. You have to be on one side or the other, and you can't 
be uncertain, or you'll be run over by someone with a very strong, loud 
opinion.

"'Dead Man Walking' is one of those pieces that encourage conversation in a 
respectful way, to really think about your own beliefs," Taylor said. "It just 
says stop and think, and consider the other side for a moment."

(source: Terry Blain, Minneapolis Star Tribune)



OKLAHOMA:

Man charged in Logan County deputy's murder expected in court----Prosecutors 
are seeking the death penalty



A man accused of killing a Logan County sheriff's deputy is excepted back in 
the courtroom.

Nathan LeForce is charged with 1st degree murder. Prosecutors are seeking the 
death penalty.

Authorities said LeForce killed deputy David Wade by shooting him 4 times at 
close range, while he was serving an eviction notice. And that's why they are 
seeking the death penalty.

LeForce has been charged with 1st-degree murder, larceny of motor vehicle after 
a former felony conviction and 1st-degree armed robbery after a former felony 
conviction. He was appointed a special defense team that handles death penalty 
cases.

LeForce is excepted in court Thursday.

(source: KOCO news)