[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, GA., FLA., MISS., LA., OHIO, COLO., NEV., USA

[Rick Halperin]

June 29


TEXAS:

Laredo Border Patrol releases statement following DA's announcement to seek 
death penalty



Laredo Sector Border Patrol has responded to Webb County District Attorney 
Isidro R. Alaniz' announcement he would seek the death penalty against a Laredo 
Border Patrol agent charged with murder.

It's been more than 2 months since Ronald Anthony Burgos-Aviles, 29, was 
arrested and accused of killing his lover, Grizelda "Grey" Hernandez, 27, and 
their 1-year-old child, Dominic Alexander Hernandez, a crime "condemned" by the 
CBP.

The CBP said in a news release the agency does not comment on investigations 
that are ongoing.

"However, we do not tolerate any type of criminal activity within our ranks," 
the CBP said in a statement. "We condemn any actions that betray the trust of 
the community we serve, and we continue to cooperate fully with the 
investigation.

"Simply put, if allegations of criminal activity are true, the individuals 
responsible for such activity must be held accountable."

On June 15, the 49th District Court Grand Jury indicted Burgos-Aviles on 2 
counts of capital murder.

"After careful thought and consideration of all of the evidence, I have decided 
to pursue the death penalty against Ronald Anthony Burgos-Aviles," Alaniz said 
in a statement. "A Webb County jury will decide if he is guilty and if so, 
whether death or life in prison is the appropriate punishment."

Despite the allegations against Burgos-Aviles, the CBP stands behind their 
officers and agents.

"The vast majority of CBP's agents and officers embody our core values, perform 
their duties with integrity and are dedicated to our mission of securing the 
American people and our borders while facilitating legitimate trade and 
travel," the agency said in a statement.

Burgos-Aviles remains in custody at the Webb County Jail with no bond.

(source: Laredo Morning Times)








GEORGIA:

Gwinnett stepmom turns to divine guidance in death-penalty case



Tiffany Moss faces a death-penalty prosecution for allegedly starving her 
stepdaughter to death, and she's facing it alone.

Against the advice of practically everyone associated with her case, Moss, 
saying it's God's will, announced plans to represent herself when she goes on 
trial for murder in Gwinnett County. The move is so unusual that the judge 
recently decided to delay the trial until the state's highest court can review 
his decision to allow Moss to be her own lawyer.

Even Gwinnett's longtime district attorney, Danny Porter, a strong advocate of 
capital punishment, is at peace with the Supreme Court review.

"There's definitely a level of discomfort on my side about this," Porter said. 
"We don't have any issue with the Supreme Court validating the judge's 
decision."

Moss is not preparing her defense in any conventional sense - researching the 
law, filing motions, reviewing evidence and the like. At a recent court 
hearing, she said she is readying herself "in a more spiritual way than, you 
know, a physical way."

Moss is accused of starving 10-year-old Emani Moss to death and then burning 
her body in 2013. Emani weighed only 32 pounds when her body was found in a 
dumpster outside the apartment where she lived with her father, Eman Moss, and 
her stepmother.

As the 35-year-old Moss awaited trial, she decided to rely on divine guidance 
from above rather than the guiding hand of legal counsel. Moss turned down the 
assistance of lawyers from the state capital defender's office, which has not 
had a client sentenced to death in more than 4 years.

Capital defendants representing themselves are not unheard of in Georgia. In 
2015, Jamie Hood, serving as his own lawyer, was convicted of the murder of an 
Athens-Clarke County police officer. But the jury declined to impose a death 
sentence, and Hood was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of 
parole.

In that case, Hood actively defended himself, Porter said. Conversely, Moss is 
extremely passive about her defense, he said.

"Sometimes it's like looking at a blank wall," the DA said.

After Moss chose to represent herself, the state sought to admit hearsay 
testimony from Moss's son at trial. At a hearing, Moss asked Superior Court 
Judge George Hutchinson III not to allow it. This prompted the judge to ask her 
to give him a legal basis for her objection.

"Legal basis," Moss said. "I don't know."

The right to legal counsel is part of the bedrock of the U.S. justice system. 
But the right to represent oneself is equally sacrosanct, said Atlanta defense 
attorney Don Samuel, who's authored books on criminal case law. Before it's 
allowed, however, a judge must determine if the defendant is competent enough 
to understand and participate in the court proceedings.

"Anyone would say it's a terrible decision, the one she's making," Samuel said. 
"If she gets up there and says, 'I'm leaving it up to God,' I guess there could 
be come jurors who might think she doesn't deserve to die. But as a lawyer, my 
response is that she could be walking herself into a death sentence."

Moss was initially provided 2 lawyers from the state public defender's system. 
But last November, she notified the court she wanted to represent herself.

Hutchinson, after quickly convening a hearing, asked her why. The capital 
defenders, Moss said, were recommending that she accept the prosecution's offer 
to plead guilty in exchange for a sentence of life in prison without parole.

"I had already expressed that I did not wish to (plead guilty), which led me to 
further come to the conclusion that it would be in my best interest to 
represent myself," she explained.

Prosecutors had also sought the death penalty against Moss???s husband. But 
Eman Moss pleaded guilty to his role in Emani???s death. After agreeing to 
testify against his wife, Eman Moss received a sentence of life without parole.

Tiffany Moss's trial had been scheduled to begin July 23. But during recent 
court hearings, Moss admitted that she has neither visited the jail's law 
library nor looked through the 5 boxes of discovery documents turned over to 
her by the prosecution. And she acknowledged missing the deadline to submit a 
list of witnesses or experts she plans to call in her defense.

After hearing this, Hutchinson decided to give the state Supreme Court a chance 
to weigh in on the unusual proceeding.

The state high court is being asked to consider: Did Hutchinson make a mistake 
when he decided Moss knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily waived her right 
to counsel and is able to represent herself? Also, did the judge rely on an 
inadequate evaluation of Moss conducted by state behavioral psychologists when 
arriving at that decision?

Hutchinson has allowed capital defenders Brad Gardner and Emily Gilbert to stay 
on the case as "standby counsel," meaning they can assist Moss with her defense 
if she asks for help. They are also pursuing the pretrial appeal.

At hearings, Hutchinson has repeatedly warned Moss about the perils of 
representing herself.

Last month, he told her he hired a lawyer for his daughter when she received a 
traffic ticket a few years ago. Even in such an "arguably trivial matter," it 
was important for his daughter to have counsel.

Hutchinson then told Moss, "They are seeking to have you executed, and I can't 
be more blunt than to say they are trying to have you killed. That's just as 
serious as it can possibly get and I think it's best that you have an 
attorney."

Will you reconsider your decision? the judge asked.

"I'm confident in my decision and I???m standing by it," she said. "I do wish 
to represent myself."

Hutchinson, a former prosecutor, then tried to make sure Moss had all the 
resources she needed.

"Is there anything you need from the court - any additional orders or efforts 
on my part that would assist you in your preparation for trial?" he asked.

"Pencils," Moss replied. "You need pencils?" the incredulous judge asked.

"I need pencils, yes," Moss said.

Hutchinson said he doubted the sheriff's office wants any of its inmates at the 
jail to have sharp objects. But he said he'd make sure some writing instruments 
were made available to her.

"Anything else?" he asked one last time.

"That's all I can think of right now, your honor," she said.

(source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

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

Attorneys prepare for Columbus man's upcoming death penalty case



A Columbus man's death penalty trial is set for October 1, but last minute 
changes are threatening to delay the trial even more.

Brandon Conner is accused in the August 2014 murders and arson of his 
girlfriend, Rosella Mitchell, and his 6-month-old son, Dylan in their Winifred 
Lane home.

While repairs continue at the Columbus Government Center, Judge William Rumer 
was forced to hold the latest status conference in Harris County.

Attorneys agreed Thursday to pool a group of 500 people in order to find fair 
and non-partisan jurors on this death penalty case.

Conner's defense attorneys Mark Shelnutt and William Kendrick are arguing over 
the photographs prosecutors intend to introduce during the trial, DNA evidence, 
and what they believe are incriminating impact statements from witnesses.

This trial has been pending for 4 years. Attorneys on both sides continue to 
prepare for the upcoming date.

"It puts everything in an entirely different category under the law. There's an 
actual procedure that governs how death penalty cases are to proceed," said 
Shelnutt.

Currently being held in the Harris County Jail, Conner faces charges of murder, 
aggravated battery, 1st-degree arson, and using a knife to commit a crime.

Rumer set another status hearing for Friday, July 6 at 2 p.m. The next hearing 
will be held at Recorder's Court.

While the case is set for October, officials said the uncertainty of the 
Columbus Government Center courtroom repairs could delay the trial as late as 
December.

(source: WBRC news)








FLORIDA:

Convicted Killer Wants Death Penalty, Otherwise 'I Plan On Hurting People'



Chilling words from a convicted killer as a Broward judge decides if he should 
live or die.

In January, a jury recommended that Peter Avsenew be put to death for killing a 
gay couple in Wilton Manors.

He was in court Thursday for a pre-sentencing hearing.

It was there that Avsenew made a string of tunning statements, telling the 
judge he planned to hurt people.

"I have nothing to lose. There is absolutely nothing that can hurt me now. I 
have no consequences for my actions," he said.

Avsenew was found guilty in November of killing gay couple Kevin Powell and 
Stephen Adams in Wilton Manors in 2010.

He threatens there's nothing from stopping him from killing again.

"I plan on hurting people," he said. "I whole heartedly have nothing to lose 
and I'm going to take it out on everybody I can."

He's fighting to be put on death row as a jury recommended in January.

In the sentencing phase of the trial he fired his lawyers and would not allow 
the jury to hear what's known as "mitigating circumstances" or details of his 
life that could lessen the punishment.

"Is there a reason you just want to throw everything away and not have a life?" 
Asked Judge Ilona Holmes.

"What is a life in prison?" he asked. "There is none. I'd rather just kill 
people it's much easier, be by myself. By myself I can't hurt people."

And we learned Avsenew sent a letter to the judge saying in part, "...you will 
never be able to stop me."

Then he went on a bigoted rant saying "It is my duty as a white man to cull the 
weak and tired from existence."

He continued, "Homosexuals are a disease to mankind and must be put down. I 
must secure an existence for white people and a future for white children."

In court he made another chilling statement.

"It's really easy to talk someone into teaching them jiu-jitsu, putting them in 
a choke and just holding on too long and there's nothing they can do about it. 
Only takes about 6 seconds," he said addressing the judge.

Sentencing is set for August 27th.

At that point the judge can either go along with jury recommendation of the 
death penalty or she can override it and give him life in prison.

(source: CBS News)








MISSISSIPPI:

US Supreme Court rejects 2 Mississippi death row appeals



The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday rejected appeals from 2 Mississippi death 
row inmates.

However, a spokeswoman for the state attorney general's office, Margaret Ann 
Morgan, said Richard Gerald Jordan and Timothy Nelson Evans have additional 
appeals remaining. Neither has an execution date, and "neither is cleared for 
execution," by the Supreme Court decision, Morgan said.

Jordan , now 72, has been on death row longer than any Mississippi inmate. He 
was sentenced to death in 1976 for the kidnapping and killing of Edwina Marter 
earlier that year in Harrison County.

Mississippi Supreme Court records show Jordan traveled from Louisiana to 
Gulfport, Mississippi, where he called Gulf National Bank and asked to speak to 
a loan officer. After he was told Charles Marter could speak with him, Jordan 
ended the call, looked up Marter's home address in a telephone book, went to 
the house and got in by pretending to work for the electric company.

Records show Jordan kidnapped Edwina Marter, took her to a forest and shot her, 
then later called her husband and demanded $25,000, saying she was safe.

Jordan is among the inmates challenging Mississippi's lethal injection 
procedure, with a federal trial set for Aug. 27.

Evans , now 61, was convicted in 2013 for the 2010 killing of Wenda Holling in 
Hancock County. Court records show Evans had previously been romantically 
involved with Holling but was living in her home as a tenant when he strangled 
her. Investigators found Evans used Holling's credit card after her death.

Mississippi's last execution was in June 2012.

In a dissent Thursday, Justice Stephen Breyer wrote that the cases of Jordan 
and Evans illustrate what he had previously written in other death penalty 
cases - that the death penalty, as applied in the U.S. today, involves 
"unconscionably long delays, arbitrary application and serious unreliability."

Breyer wrote that the Supreme Court should consider an argument made by Jordan, 
that execution after decades on death row violates the Constitution's ban on 
cruel and unusual punishment.

Breyer also wrote that Jordan and Nelson were both sentenced to death from the 
2nd Circuit Court District, and that Evans' attorneys said the district on the 
Gulf Coast accounts for "the largest number of death sentences" among 
Mississippi's 22 circuit court districts since 1976. Breyer said that shows the 
arbitrary application of the death penalty.

Jordan's attorney, Jim Craig, said it's notable that Breyer analyzed the 
Mississippi cases and found "evidence for the abolition of the death penalty."

(source: Associated Press)








LOUISIAINA:

Former Death Row Inmate Gary Tyler Carries on RFK's 'Ripple of Hope' Ideal



Imagine you are charged with a crime you didn't commit, then wrongfully 
convicted of 1st-degree murder. Now, imagine you get sentenced to death by 
electric chair, sent to one of the most notorious prisons in the United States, 
and assigned an execution date.

That's what happened to Gary Tyler. In 1974, Tyler was arrested for disturbing 
the peace as a 16-year-old sophomore at Destrehan High School in St. Charles 
Parish, La., after a racial altercation involving 200 white students and a 
school bus filled with black students (including Tyler). A 13-year-old white 
student was shot and later died. Tyler was named as the shooting suspect, even 
though he claimed his innocence and evidence suggested he was framed.

"They kept asking me questions about what happened on the bus," Tyler told the 
Pasadena Weekly about being in police custody. "When I said I didn't know 
anything, 6 or 7 police officers brutally beat me for 2 to 3 hours in the 
booking room at the substation."

An all-white jury found Tyler guilty of murder. He entered the Louisiana State 
Penitentiary, or Angola, at 17, the youngest person on death row.

"Angola was the bloodiest, most infamous prison in the nation," Tyler said. "It 
was a place of turmoil where prisoners were killing each other and committing 
suicide. I saw horrible things in Angola - inmates being set on fire or stabbed 
with homemade spears. I saw inmates who were doused with acid by other inmates. 
Some prisoners even got beaten to death by guards."

A group of inmates protected Tyler.

"They saw a little kid who was all alone," Tyler explained. "Many of them were 
uncles and fathers - and they stepped up as responsible men to make sure that 
nothing happened to me."

Tyler's execution date was May 1, 1976. Before that day arrived, his sentence 
was commuted to life without parole (until after 20 years) after the Supreme 
Court ruled in Roberts v. Louisiana that the state's death penalty was 
unconstitutional.

Tyler made the best of his injustice, getting a GED, studying graphic arts and 
printing, attending paralegal school, mentoring other inmates and volunteering 
in the prison's hospice care facility for 17 years.

During his time in prison, Tyler helped transform the culture of violence at 
Angola. As the president of the drama club, he directed a passion play, "The 
Life of Jesus Christ," featuring other inmates as cast members. This project 
became the basis of the documentary "Cast the First Stone."

Tyler recalled the experience during an interview with Truthdig Editor in Chief 
Robert Scheer:

Of course, I was able to recruit people from all walks of life in the prison. 
Also, that we're talking about some people that had disciplinary problems and I 
knew these guys. I knew that giving them a chance, an opportunity, I could help 
transform them. I like that I had opportunity to interview and audition, you 
understand, these guys, because I opened it up to the prison population and I 
was getting, if you consider the worst of the worst, and to hear these guys 
say, "Give me chance. Let me prove myself." It's like people asking society, 
"Give me a 2nd chance." So, I heard their cries and I gave them that chance. I 
found them to be the most committed and dedicated actors that I had in the 
production.

Tyler's legal case became known worldwide, as lawyers and human rights 
activists fought for his release from prison. In 2016, the St. Charles Parish 
district attorney's office in Louisiana agreed to overturn Tyler's murder 
conviction if he entered a guilty plea for manslaughter. He did and received 
the maximum sentence of 21 years. Since he already had served almost 42 years, 
Tyler was released from Angola on April 29, 2016, at the age of 57.

He now lives in Pasadena, Calif., and has become a community leader.

Tyler has spoken out in support of Proposition 62 to end the death penalty in 
California. He has spoken at events with actor and activist Mike Farrell, 
former Los Angeles County district attorney Gil Garcetti and musician Jackson 
Browne.

Tyler also has lectured at many places: Cal State Northridge, with the Rev. 
James Lawson; Cal State Long Beach, with actor Danny Trejo and film producer 
and Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC) founder Scott Budnick; USC (five times), 
Loyola Marymount; Venice Art Garden; UCLA's Department of African-American 
Studies; Loyola Law School, Hastings Law School, All Saints' Episcopal Church 
in Los Angeles; Scott United Methodist Church in Pasadena; University Methodist 
Church in Irvine; actor Tim Robbins' experimental theater, The Actors' Gang (2 
times); and the Catholic Biblical Federation (2 times).

He is scheduled to go to Wisconsin in September to speak at Viterbo University 
and the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

Still, re-entry after 4 decades of incarceration has its challenges. Tyler came 
out of prison with zero dollars and turns 60 on July 10. Although Tyler now 
works as an outreach and engagement support worker at Safe Place for Youth in 
Venice, Calif. - helping homeless youth - Social Security requires 40 quarters 
or 10 years to get the minimum benefits. That means Tyler will be at least 69 
years old before he can qualify and collect.

Longtime Los Angeles peace activist Bob Zaugh, who has known and advocated for 
Tyler since 1989, arranges Tyler's speaking engagements and has set up a 
re-entry fund for him.

"Gary had to start from scratch upon leaving Angola prison," Zaugh wrote in an 
email. "He had no paid work history, no driver???s license, no savings, had 
never had an apartment. Even going to Ralphs to shop was an eye-opening 
experience. He was starting from ground zero, but Gary immediately became a 
community force."

Tyler continues to be a positive force. At the beginning of 2018, he spoke at 
Caltech in Pasadena. The woman who organized the event, Marionne Epalle, an 
administrator in the engineering and applied science department, is his 
neighbor. After the talk, they went to the Caltech private dining room for 
lunch. Mwi Epalle, Marionne's 15-year-old daughter, joined them, and said she 
wanted to do a class project with Tyler at the International School of Los 
Angeles. The project was a video, "My Neighbor, Gary." When the video was 
completed, she submitted it to a Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights video contest 
in partnership with the American Federation of Teachers and Tribeca Film 
Institute. The competition had more than 800 entries. Her entry won 1st place.

Tyler has chosen the power of compassion over the power of destruction. Despite 
spending 2/3 of his life behind bars in a terrible miscarriage of justice, 
Tyler holds no anger or resentment. In fact, he carries on RFK's message of 
hope:

Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, 
or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and 
crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those 
ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression 
and resistance.

Like the America of Robert F. Kennedy's day before his death in 1968, America 
today faces some difficult tests. As we question what nation we are and what 
direction we want to go, we can look to Tyler for some guidance and inspiration 
in the struggle for justice.

"The life I lived, the life that others lived, what they went through, it 
exemplifies how an individual can overcome these adversities and these 
challenges and how they can make a difference in their community."

If you want to provide financial support as Gary Tyler develops his life and 
work as an important community leader, give to his Liberty Hill re-entry fund 
or his GoFundMe birthday page.

(source: truthdig.com)








OHIO:

Urgent Action Update ??? GOVERNOR ??? ACT FOR JUSTICE, STOP EXECUTION (USA: UA 
13.18)



On 8 February, the Ohio Governor issued an 8-month reprieve for Raymond 
Tibbetts, who was due to be executed on 13 February. The decision came after he 
received a letter in support of clemency from one of the jurors from the 1998 
trial.

The Ohio parole board has recommended against clemency for Raymond Tibbetts 
despite a juror telling them that he would have voted for life if the jury had 
heard mitigation evidence revealed since the trial. The Governor can still 
grant clemency.

TAKE ACTION----Write a letter, send an email, call, fax or tweet:

Calling on Governor Kasich to stop the execution of Raymond Tibbetts and 
commute his death sentence;

Urging him to use his clemency power, pointing out that Raymond Tibbetts would 
have been ineligible for the death sentence if just one of the trial jurors had 
voted for life, as the juror who has come forward says he would have after 
hearing of the available evidence about the defendant???s appalling childhood;

Explaining that you are not seeking to minimize the seriousness of the crimes 
or suffering caused.

Contact this official by 31, July 2018:

Governor John Kasich

Riffe Center, 30th Floor

77 South High Street

Columbus, OH 43215 USA

Fax: +1 614 466 9354

Phone: +1 614 466 3555

Email (via website): 
http://www.governor.ohio.gov/Contact/ContacttheGovernor.aspx

Twitter: @JohnKasich

Salutation: Dear Governor

(source: Amnesty International USA)








COLORADO:

Character testimony underway in Galloway death penalty trial



This week, Glen Galloway was found guilty of 1st-degree murder in the death of 
his former girlfriend, Janice Nam and 2nd-degree murder in the death of his 
former roommate, Marcus Anderson.

Currently, the sentencing phase is underway in the death penalty case.

On Wednesday, the jury passed the 1st phase of sentencing by agreeing the 
prosecution proved more than one aggravating factor in Janice Nam's death 
beyond a reasonable doubt.

This decision keeps the death penalty on the table.

Now, the jury is in the 2nd phase of the sentencing, where the defense team 
will bring in a scope of witnesses to testify on Galloway's character.

As one defense attorney put it, Galloway's life is now the jury's 
responsibility and they need to know as much information about it as possible 
before reaching a decision.

Wednesday's witness testimonies began with 3 of Galloway's childhood friends 
from Ohio who talked about his integrity and hardworking nature back.

Their testimonies are meant to convince the jury to decide against the death 
penalty and opt for a lesser sentence, such as life without parole.

If the jury decides the aggravating factors in Nam's death still outweigh 
witness testimonies, jurors will move into the third phase of sentencing, where 
the death penalty will still be an option.

(source: Colorado Springs Gazette)








NEVADA:

Death sentence vacated for Las Vegas veteran in rape, murder



A Las Vegas judge on Thursday vacated the death penalty for a Vietnam War 
veteran who raped and killed a 68-year-old woman more than 10 years ago.

Frederick Mendoza, now 71, pleaded guilty in 2008 in the slaying of Rita 
Kremberg. But he immediately appealed his sentence, which was handed down by a 
jury after a penalty hearing.

Under a deal with prosecutors made this month, Mendoza agreed that he would 
waive any challenge to his conviction and not appeal a sentence of life without 
parole.

Mendoza had post-traumatic stress disorder after serving more than 18 months as 
a Marine in Vietnam, said his lawyer, Jamie Resch, who called the jury's 
sentence "fundamentally unreliable."

"This hard-fought and extremely rare agreement helps treat a combat veteran 
fairly and protects the state's interest by ensuring Mr. Mendoza lives out his 
remaining days in prison," said Resch, who had not spoken with Mendoza since 
District Judge Michael Villani signed off on the agreement. "I'm certain he's 
very happy with this. He's older and just wants to live out his days with the 
most freedom he can as an inmate."

Kremberg was sexually assaulted and stabbed 18 times by Mendoza, and her throat 
was slit with a steak knife in March 2007, authorities said. The 2 were 
residents at Destinations Spring Valley, a senior-living facility near Jones 
Boulevard and Flamingo Road.

Prosecutors told jurors who decided Mendoza's penalty that he had a prior 
conviction for a sexual crime in Las Vegas.

(source: Las Vegas Review-Journal)








USA:

Justice Kennedy???s Retirement Is A Setback For Death Row Inmates----The swing 
justice often sided with the Supreme Court's liberals in cases that limited 
when capital punishment was allowed.



President Donald Trump's likely choice of a deeply conservative justice to 
replace Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court could have a significant impact on 
death penalty cases, experts say.

"Death row inmates will find it substantially more difficult to prevail," said 
John Blume, a law professor at Cornell Law School and director of the Cornell 
Death Penalty Project. "Justice Kennedy was conservative on criminal justice 
and capital punishment matters, but most or all of the names being bandied 
about as his replacement are most likely going to be more to much more 
conservative."

Though Kennedy was a reliable vote in allowing executions to proceed in cases 
involving the methods of execution, he was the only Republican appointee who 
frequently aligned himself with the more liberal justices in cases that limited 
the circumstances in which states could impose capital punishment.

"Kennedy was often the deciding vote in [death penalty] cases, sometimes on one 
side, sometimes the other," David Menschel, a criminal defense attorney and 
activist, told HuffPost. "Now I would expect SCOTUS to show even more complete 
deference to the states and to allow executions to proceed with little concern 
whether states are acting lawfully."

Kennedy was the key swing vote in the court???s 2005 decision to prohibit the 
execution of juvenile defendants. He was the deciding vote in the 2008 decision 
that barred the use of the death penalty in cases where a defendant raped, but 
did not kill, a child. And his vote was key in the 2014 ruling that established 
that a Florida law that set a strict IQ cutoff for determining intellectual 
disability in capital punishment cases was unconstitutional. The Florida law, 
Kennedy wrote for the majority, "contravenes our Nation's commitment to dignity 
and its duty to teach human decency as the mark of a civilized world."

Kennedy's absence could soon be felt. Over the years, the Supreme Court has 
delayed hearing numerous death penalty cases, some a dozen times. Those cases 
will likely come up for review again following Kennedy's retirement.

"The most profound effect is likely to involve those death penalty cases that 
involve the application of the evolving standards doctrine," said Robert Dunham 
of the Death Penalty Information Center, a group doesn't take a position for or 
against death penalty, but has been critical of how it has been administered.

The "evolving standards of decency" doctrine Dunham was referring to was coined 
by Chief Justice Earl Warren in a 1958 case in which the court recognized that 
the interpretation of what constitutes fair and cruel punishment is not static 
under the Eighth Amendment.

"In essence, the Eighth Amendment meant whatever Justice Kennedy thought it 
meant," Dunham said. "Now, it will mean whatever Chief Justice [John] Roberts 
thinks it means. That's where I think it will have the most significant 
impact."

Support for capital punishment among Americans has plummeted in recent years. 
Still, more than half of Americans continue to support the death penalty. 
Though the Supreme Court has final say around its constitutionality, it remains 
primarily a matter of state and local law enforcement. Plagued by controversy 
and a shortage of drugs used for lethal injections, states' use of capital 
punishment has dramatically declined in the last 20 years and is now at 
near-record lows. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia have abolished 
the practice.

With the prospect of a Supreme Court dominated by justices less interested in 
challenging the legality surrounding the punishment, Menschel says activists 
must change their strategies.

"For those who seek to rein in the death penalty, the battle must now shift to 
the states and to localities where the penalty is generally administered in the 
first instance," Menschel said.

source: Matt Ferner, Huffington Post)

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

5 facts about the death penalty



President Donald Trump has voiced his support for the death penalty, and a 
recent Pew Research Center survey found an uptick in the share of Americans who 
favor capital punishment for those convicted of murder. Over the long term, 
however, public support for the death penalty has declined significantly, as 
has the number of executions in the United States.

As the debate over the death penalty continues in the U.S. and worldwide, here 
are 5 facts about the issue:

The annual number of U.S. executions peaked at 98 in 1999 and has fallen 
sharply in the years since. In 2017, 23 inmates were executed, according to the 
Death Penalty Information Center. That's slightly higher than the year before, 
when 20 people were executed, but still well below the number of inmates 
annually put to death in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Just 8 states - 
Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Ohio, Texas and Virginia - 
accounted for all executions in 2017, compared with 20 states in 1999.

In 2017, for the 2nd year in a row, the U.S. was not among the world's top 5 
countries in executions, according to Amnesty International, a human rights 
organization that opposes the practice. The U.S. ranked 8th internationally, 
behind China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Pakistan, Egypt and Somalia. Overall, 
there were at least 993 executions in 23 nations in 2017, down slightly from 
1,032 in 2016. The international total includes only cases Amnesty was able to 
confirm - the report notes that some countries intentionally conceal death 
penalty proceedings. In the case of China, for example, the state may well 
carry out more executions than all other countries combined. Indeed, Cornell 
University Law School estimates that the Chinese government executed about 
2,400 people in 2015, and has carried out thousands of additional executions in 
the years since.

Support for the death penalty in the U.S. has ticked up recently, but is far 
lower than it was 2 decades ago. A Pew Research Center survey conducted in 
April and May 2018 found that 54% of Americans favor the death penalty for 
people convicted of murder, while 39% oppose it. That was up from 2016, when 
49% of U.S. adults said they favored the death penalty, compared with 42% who 
opposed it. But it was far lower than in 1996, when 78% of Americans supported 
capital punishment for those convicted of murder.

There are racial, gender and political divides in opinions on the death penalty 
in the U.S. A majority of whites (59%) favor the death penalty, compared with 
36% of blacks and 47% of Hispanics, according to the Center's 2018 survey. 
Also, men are more likely than women to favor capital punishment (61% vs. 46%). 
Partisanship also plays a role, with Republicans more than twice as likely as 
Democrats to support the death penalty (77% vs. 35%).

Americans harbor doubts about how the death penalty is applied and whether it 
deters serious crime. In a Pew Research Center survey conducted in 2015, about 
6-in-10 adults said the death penalty does not deter people from committing 
serious crimes. About 1/2 also said that minorities are more likely than whites 
to be sentenced to death for similar crimes, compared with 41% who said a death 
sentence is equally likely for both. About 7-in-10 adults (71%) said there is a 
risk that an innocent person will be put to death, including 84% of those who 
oppose the death penalty. Even a majority of death penalty supporters (63%) 
said there's a risk of taking an innocent life. At the same time, a majority of 
Americans (63%) said the death penalty is morally justified when someone 
commits a crime like murder. 9-in-10 death penalty supporters held this view.

(source: The Financial)