[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ARK., NEB., S.DAK., CALIF.

[Rick Halperin]

June 5



ARKANSAS:

Man denies guilt in girlfriend's death



A Rogers man pleaded innocent Monday to a capital murder charge in the death of 
his girlfriend.

Kevin Wayne Clayborn, 49, is also charged with theft of property. He entered 
innocent pleas at his arraignment before Circuit Judge Robin Green.

Clayborn, who is being held without bail in the Benton County jail, is accused 
of killing Misha Rivera. Rivera, 48, died from head trauma and strangulation, 
according to a probable cause affidavit.

Rogers police began investigating after family members found Rivera's body in 
her home May 5, according to court documents.

One person told police he read a passage in Rivera's journal about Clayborn 
having a strange look in his eyes and pushing her, according to the affidavit. 
Police found the journal in Rivera's home, but one page had been torn from it, 
according to court documents.

One of Rivera's vehicles was missing and later found in Van Buren. The theft 
charge involves Rivera's 2006 Volvo XC9, according to court documents.

One of Clayborn's former girlfriends told police he came to her home between 1 
a.m. and 2 a.m. May 4 and said he needed to go to Oklahoma City to be with his 
daughter who was going to be placed in a mental hospital, according to the 
affidavit.

The woman drove Clayborn to a convenience store near where she believes his 
former wife lives, according to court documents.

Members of the Oklahoma City Fugitive Task Force watched for Clayborn at an 
apartment complex and arrested him.

Clayborn could face life imprisonment or the death penalty if he's convicted of 
capital murder. Prosecutors have not said whether they will seek the death 
penalty. He could be sentenced to 3 to 10 years in prison on the theft charge.

Clayborn's next court appearance is scheduled for July 16.

(source: arkansasonline.com)








NEBRASKA:

Judge dismisses Ernie Chambers' lawsuit over Nebraska's death penalty procedure



A Lancaster County district judge has dismissed a death penalty protocol 
challenge by Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers and Rev. Stephen Griffith of Lincoln.

Chambers and Griffith filed the suit against the Department of Correctional 
Services and state officials, challenging that the state's execution protocol 
was developed without following state law and procedures.

They asked the court to stop any executions until a proper protocol is put in 
place that follows the state Administrative Procedure Act.  The protocol, 
revised in 2016 and finalized in 2017, outlines execution team duties and 
training requirements, and states the director will determine lethal injection 
drugs to be used and the process for obtaining them, and verification of the 
substances by a chemical analysis.

District Judge Lori Maret said that for a plaintiff to have standing to 
challenge the regulation, they must allege the revised protocol affects their 
legal rights. In this case, they have not done that, she said, and so they do 
not have standing to sue.

The court also did not buy the argument on exceptions to standing for illegal 
expenditures. Resident taxpayers may sue to stop illegal expenditures of public 
funds, and the plaintiffs said Nebraska will expend public funds to carry out 
the death penalty.

"The regulation in question, however, only replaced one version of the 
execution protocol with another," the judge wrote in the order.

The Nebraska Attorney General's office had argued that Griffith and Chambers 
lacked standing in the case because they aren't on death row.

The ACLU countered the Administrative Procedure Act requires materials be made 
publicly available in the Nebraska Secretary of State's office when it gives 
notice of the proposed protocol before adopting it. Death row prisoners cannot 
visit the Secretary of State's office to review those materials or attend the 
public hearing. That would mean nobody has standing to challenge execution 
protocol procedures, the ACLU said.

ACLU of Nebraska Executive Director Danielle Conrad said Monday the 
organization was disappointed in the decision to dismiss an important case on 
procedural grounds.

"We will confer with our clients to determine how to proceed and will actively 
explore all options, including an appeal to ensure the Nebraska death penalty 
protocols were adopted in accordance with the law," Conrad said.

(source: Lincoln Journal Star)








SOUTH DAKOTA:

Yellow Lodge, 19, charged with 1st-degree murder in Chamberlain death



Nicholas Yellow Lodge of Chamberlain, South Dakota, has been arrested on a 
complaint of 1st-degree murder that could mean a death sentence for the Brule 
County 19-year-old, state Attorney General Marty Jackley announced Monday in a 
news release.

The murder charge stems from an incident late Saturday, June 2 or early Sunday, 
June 3, in the 300 block of East King Street in Chamberlain, according to 
Jackley.

No information about the dead victim was released by Jackley on Monday.

According to a court document, Yellow Lodge lives on Grace street in 
Chamberlain.

Yellow Lodge was arrested on Sunday. He made an initial court appearance Monday 
morning and state Magistrate Judge Donna Bucher set his bond at $500,000, a 
court official said.

He remains in the Brule County jail.

The charge is a Class A felony with a mandatory sentence of life in prison or 
the death penalty.

Yellow Lodge has not entered a plea yet.

His next court appearance is slated for June 13.

His attorney is Doug Papendick of Mitchell, according to court officials.

(source: Capital Journal)








CALIFORNIA:

2nd murder suspect in death of veteran Stan Norman appears in Nevada County 
court



Nevada County prosecutors say they've made no decision about seeking the death 
penalty in the Stan Norman murder case, walking back comments made last week.

Sean Bryant, 51, and Michael McCauley, 41, each face a murder charge in 
connection with Norman's death. They also face a special circumstance of murder 
with torture - an accusation that carries the possibility of the death penalty.

"We're not making any determinations yet on the death penalty," District 
Attorney Cliff Newell said. "We don't have all the facts yet."

Assistant District Attorney Chris Walsh said last week - before McCauley's 
Friday arrest - that he'd seek a sentence of life in prison with no chance of 
parole for Bryant. He later said he spoke prematurely.

According to Walsh, investigators must complete detailed background checks on 
defendants who potentially face the death penalty. Additionally, prosecutors 
must examine police reports and criminal records before making a decision.

For example, prosecutors know that Bryant has out-of-state convictions on 
domestic violence and weapons accusations, and that he spent time incarcerated 
in the Rikers Island Prison Complex in New York. Other details remain missing, 
Newell and Walsh said.

"All that needs to be fleshed out," Newell said.

A decision likely would occur after the pair's preliminary hearing, still weeks 
away.

McCauley appeared Monday for the 1st time in Nevada County Superior Court on 
his murder charge.

Judge Candace Heidelberger told McCauley the charges he faces. Moments later 
McCauley spoke directly to the judge.

"I'm only a witness to this," he said. "I've already come forward and spoken to 
them."

Heidelberger then advised McCauley against speaking openly before appointing 
the Public Defender's Office to represent him.

The public defender tentatively is assigned to represent Bryant. Attorneys 
currently are examining whether any conflict exists in that representation. 
Both Bryant and McCauley are scheduled to appear Thursday in court on that 
issue.

Authorities accuse the men in the death of veteran Stan Norman, 70.

Officers initially arrested Bryant May 15 on an unrelated torture charge. They 
added the murder charge May 27 after finding human bones in a Sadie D Drive 
burn pile, reports state.

McCauley was arrested Friday.

Witnesses have said Norman was assaulted and killed at a Sadie D Drive home. 
Norman last was seen early April 15, officers have said.

(source: theunion.com)