[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----IND., KY., NEB., COLO., UTAH, CALIF., USA

[Rick Halperin]

March 1



INDIANA:

Indiana AG asks courts to reinstate death penalty for Lapel killer



Indiana's Attorney General is asking the courts to reinstate the death penalty 
on a notorious crime from 2004 in Madison County.

Frederick Michael Baer was convicted of killing Cory Clark and her 4-year-old 
daughter, Jenna in their rural Lapel home.

But last month, a panel of 3 judges at the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals tossed 
out the death penalty sentence.

Madison County Prosecutor Rodney Cummings was at the crime scene in 2004 and 
saw firsthand the brutality with which Frederick Michael Baer killed a mother 
and her young daughter.

"I'm sure there's some worse crimes out there, but this is certainly among 
them," Cummings said. "It's one that I really got angry. When I saw what 
happened and you see the little girl laying there with those horrific injuries, 
yes, it made me very angry. He fooled a lady to get in her home. He tried to 
sexually assault her by cutting her clothes off. Her little girl ran in the 
room. She didn't want that to happen in front of her so he cut her throat and 
then chased her through the home and cut her daughter's throat."

Police said Baer, who first denied he committed the murders, later said he 
deserved the death penalty.

That's what he got after a mountain of evidence, including a recorded phone 
call he made to his sister from jail, that convinced jurors his claim of mental 
illness was all an act.

He told his sister he was trying to get sent to a psychiatric hospital in 
Logansport.

"Logansport, that's what I'm shooting for," Baer said in the phone call. "The 
way I write my letters, the way I carry myself ... I'm not a dummy. They know 
this. I got a college education. They know that I'm not stupid."

"If you reserve the death penalty for the worst of the worst, I can't imagine 
this doesn't fall into that category," Cummings said Tuesday.

But like many death penalty cases, this one has taken time and a turn.

Baer's conviction and sentence were upheld multiple times in court, but last 
month, a 3 judge panel overturned the death sentence. They said instructions to 
jury members may have precluded consideration of Baer's meth use as possible 
grounds for a lighter sentence. The panel also said Baer's attorneys weren't 
effective - failing to object to 'improper comments by the prosecutor'.

They want him to be sentenced all over again in Madison County.

Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill is now asking the full 7th Circuit to 
consider this ruling, in hopes of getting Baer back on track for execution and 
letting the death sentence stand.

"There's such a feeling against the death penalty, it just seems like it's very 
difficult now for these cases to make it all the way through the appellate 
process. It's just the nature of it unfortunately," Cummings said.

(source: WTHR news)








KENTUCKY:

Timothy Madden's Death Penalty Trial Set for Summer



A new trial date has been set for the Allen County man charged in the brutal 
death of a young girl more than two years ago. Timothy Madden returned to court 
on Wednesday for a pre-trial hearing.

The capital murder case against the 40-year-old Madden will now go to trial on 
July 23. Madden's Attorney Travis Lock questioned whether he could be ready to 
present his case by then. The defense attorney said he's still working to 
collect mitigation evidence in the event that Madden is found guilty.

"Should there be a penalty phase in any capital case, the purpose of mitigation 
is to give the jury, whose task is to sentence the defendant, a detailed look 
at the defendant's entire life," Lock told WKU Public Radio.

Allen Circuit Court Judge Janet Crocker said she didn't want either family to 
go through another anniversary without a resolution. The trial was originally 
set for February 26 before the judge granted a defense motion to delay the 
trial.

"The commonwealth and this victim's family cannot simply continue to be held 
hostage while you get your case ready to try," Crocker stated in court.

Allen County Commonwealth's Attorney Clint Willis said the prosecution is ready 
and thinks the judge made the right decision to set a trial date.

Timothy Madden will stand trial on July 23 in the death of Gabbi Doolin.

"I think, emotionally, you have to take into account the feelings and emotions 
of the victims' family in every case, and this one, there's obviously it's very 
intense feelings," commented Willis.

Madden is charged in the November 2015 kidnapping and murder of Gabbi Doolin 
whose body was found behind Allen County-Scottsville High School. The 
7-year-old had been raped, strangled, and drowned.

The death penalty case will be tried in Hardin County due to pre-trial 
publicity in Allen and surrounding counties.

(source: WKYU news)








NEBRASKA:

Death penalty secrecy claim could threaten open records



Nebraska officials' fight to quash the release of specifics of the new death 
penalty protocol has been predicated - questionably, in our eyes - as 
protecting the identity of the execution team.

The state continues trotting out a "connect the dots" defense, arguing that 
providing information that is a matter of public record could allow someone to 
triangulate the people who carry out the capital punishment, which would 
violate state law. That justification, as the Journal Star editorial board has 
written before, is equal parts disingenuous and misguided.

But it pales in comparison to a recent argument made in legal briefs. There, an 
attorney for the state's prison system maintains that photos of the lethal 
injection drugs should remain private because they were taken "at the request 
of legal counsel, because of the anticipation of litigation."

While attorney work product is a fair exemption from public records, the 
ability to perform an end run around the spirit of the law provides a 
troubling, slippery slope that could easily undermine transparency in 
government.

The state's claims come with dire implications.

If this argument somehow stands, all that's needed to essentially neuter open 
records laws by asserting attorney work product would be pre-emptive 
documentation. A lawyer's intent would trump the public's right to know.

Don't want that inconvenient document coming to light? Just have legal counsel 
note it that it could possibly be needed for a future lawsuit.

With Nebraska relying on a new 4-drug cocktail - one that's never been used to 
execute a person in the United States, at that - the sourcing of the drugs is a 
matter of public interest, so much so that the Journal Star is among the 
entities suing to ensure the information is released.

Mere affirmation by the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services that the 
drugs were obtained in the U.S. and "tested according to state law" isn't 
satisfactory. The burden of proof here belongs on the state.

Remember that Nebraska's embarrassing debacle in its failed past attempts to 
obtain lethal injection drugs was uncovered using public records. Without the 
paper trail, Nebraskans never would have learned of efforts to import sodium 
thiopental from a shady broker in India that was barred from entering the U.S.

The state was out nearly $55,000 in taxpayer dollars, with nothing to show for 
it. Rather than conducting subsequent business in public, Nebraska officials 
have doubled down on their stance - and, regardless of intent, proposed blowing 
open a gaping loophole in open records laws to boot.

Nebraskans deserve to know exactly what - not who - will kill the state's death 
row inmates, 2 of whom recently received notice of the execution drugs. 
Providing the requested details, rather than seeking overbroad exceptions to 
sunshine laws with potentially major side effects, is the proper course of 
action.

(source: Editorial Board, Lincoln Journal Star)








COLORADO:

Mennonite Investigator Sent To Jail For Refusing To Help Prosecutors Seek Death 
Penalty



A Colorado judge ordered a defense investigator to be jailed for refusing to 
testify for the prosecution in a death penalty case on religious grounds.

Greta Lindecrantz, a defense attorney who opposes capital punishment in 
accordance with her Mennonite faith, refused to testify in the death row case 
of Robert Ray and was jailed Monday by order of Judge Michelle Amico, according 
to The Associated Press. Prosecutors repeatedly asked Lindecrantz to testify 
about her work on Ray's defense team to prove that Ray had effective legal 
representation in his initial trial, but Lindecrantz refused to supply answers 
that could possibly be used to ensure Ray's execution.

"Instead of looking at all of the options, the court has chosen the most 
punitive action to try to break her will," Mari Newman, Lindecrantz's attorney, 
told AP.

Ray's current defense team are appealing his death sentence on the grounds that 
his past defense team did not provide adequate or effective legal defense. 
Lindecrantz worked for the lawyers who initially represented Ray and, according 
to Newman, current prosecution already has access to her notes and reports from 
that time. Lindecrantz returned to court Tuesday, this time wearing an orange 
prison jumpsuit, and again refused to answer the prosecution's questions and 
was returned back to jail.

"I'd have no problem saying the truth if death wasn't on the line," Lindecrantz 
told Amico on Monday, according to The Colorado Independent, which originally 
reported Lindecrantz's jailing.

"I don't believe in killing fellow human beings or participating in that," she 
added tearfully.

Amico ruled that there is no substitute for Lindecrantz's testimony and that 
she must testify since her effectiveness as part of Ray's defense team has been 
brought into question. Newman, however, told AP that Lindecrantz believes that 
being forced to testify in this case was like asking her to fire a gun at Ray 
without knowing whether the gun was loaded. Amico, nevertheless, ruled that 
Lindecrantz was in contempt of court and ordered her to be jailed.

Ray and Sir Mario Owens were sentenced to death for gunning down Javad 
Marshall-Fields and his fiancee Vivian Wolfe in 2005. Closing arguments for 
their appeal case were originally scheduled for Wednesday but have been 
delayed, as the defense argued that they cannot present their arguments since 
Ray claims that 1 of the reasons his past defense team was ineffective was 
because the prosecution withheld evidence from them.

Newman has appealed to the Colorado Supreme Court to protect Lindecrantz's 
right not to testify for fear of violating her religious beliefs and to get her 
out of jail.

"I'm sorry I'm upset about this... I value human life and I'm not a woman 
raising her fist in the air trying to make a point here. ... I'm not that 
person. I've lived my life trying to be a good person and decent person trying 
to promote and life. When I imagine testifying and I imagine looking at myself 
in the mirror, I wouldn't be who I am," Lindecrantz told the court, according 
to CI.

"It's probably unfair for the court to have to vie with God."

(source: The Daily Caller)








UTAH:

Capital punishment is repugnant and outdated - a bill to abolish it is 
long-overdue



As society continues to march forward, it is vital that we relegate capital 
punishment to the dustbin of history. Putting murderers to death is an 
extremely archaic, morally repugnant practice, and to continue to do so should 
be a grand embarrassment to all involved. HB379, which abolishes the death 
penalty in Utah, is a long-overdue measure.

There is insufficient evidence to suggest it acts as a deterrent, and the 
number of innocent people wrongly executed is reason enough for a moratorium. 
It is also fiscally unsound. Capital cases, according to the Office of the 
Legislative Fiscal Analyst, cost Utah taxpayers about $1.6 million more than 
cases involving a sentence of life without parole. I applaud the bill's 
sponsor, Rep. Gage Froerer, R-Huntsville, House Speaker Greg Hughes, R-Draper, 
and other lawmakers for coming together to eliminate this scourge from our 
state.

Ryan D. Curtis, Salt Lake City

(source: Letter to the Editor, Salt Lake Tribune)








CALIFORNIA:

Death penalty possible in fatal Peninsula shooting



Prosecutors in San Mateo County are weighing whether to seek the death penalty 
against a 21-year-old South San Francisco man accused of fatally shooting 2 
people outside a market in an unincorporated pocket of Daly City over the 
weekend.

Devin Kwai Ventura Lum is charged with 2 counts of murder, 1 count of attempted 
murder, 1 count of shooting at a vehicle and 1 count of assault with a 
semi-automatic weapon.

District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said Lum is eligible for the death penalty 
because 2 people died in the shooting outside the Hillside Market at 1165 
Hillside Blvd. on Sunday night. Alternatively, prosecutors could ask the court 
to sentence Lum to life in prison without parole.

Also charged in the case is Dorian Duff-Guardardo. The 23-year-old San 
Francisco resident is accused of driving Lum away from the scene of the alleged 
shooting and could receive up to 3 years in state prison if convicted of being 
an accessory to murder, Wagstaffe said.

Wagstaffe said Lum got into a dispute with the victims after he and 
Duff-Guardardo pulled into the market parking lot. Lum allegedly brandished a 
semi-automatic handgun and fired several rounds as Michael Garcia-Salem, 22, of 
Half Moon Bay, approached him.

Garcia-Salem, who prosecutors said was not armed, suffered a gunshot wound to 
his chest and later died at a hospital.

Another round hit 21-year-old San Francisco resident Vanessa Guillory, who was 
standing about 15 feet behind Garcia-Salem, Wagstaffe said. She was pronounced 
dead at the scene.

A 3rd victim, who was standing behind Guillory, also was shot several times but 
survived.

The violent confrontation was captured by the market's video surveillance 
system. Daly City police used the footage to identify Lum and Duff-Guardardo as 
suspects, and on Monday, they were arrested at Duff-Guardardo's father's home 
in Oakland, Wagstaffe said.

Lum is being held without bail and Duff-Guardardo remains in custody on 
$500,000 bail, Wagstaffe said. The defendants are scheduled to return to court 
March 7 to enter pleas to the charges.

(source: Mercury News)

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

Death penalty decision postponed for accused Fresno rampage killer Kori 
Muhammad



A judge has postponed for 2 weeks a hearing that could determine whether 
accused rampage killer Kori Ali Muhammad face the death penalty on murder and 
attempted murder charges in the deaths of 4 white men last April.

Fresno Superior Court Judge Jonathan Conklin approved the postponement at a 
court appearance Wednesday morning.

Muhammad is charged with murdering Mark Gassett, David Jackson and Zackary 
Randalls on April 18 near downtown Fresno. He also faces attempted murder 
charges for allegedly shooting at Stephen Walter, Michael Flores and Mark Greer 
during the spree.

In addition, he is charged with the murder of Motel 6 security guard Carl Allen 
Williams III, who was shot while working on April 13, and the attempted murder 
of security guard Oscar Menjivar, who witnessed Williams' killing.

(source: Fresno Bee)

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

3 men charged with murder could face the death penalty



3 men from Oxnard accused of murdering 2 men in 2017 have been arrested after a 
9-month long investigation.

Oxnard Police Chief Scott Whitney announced the arrests of Joel Montijo, 22, of 
Oxnard, Joseph Martinez, 19, of Oxnard, and 20-year-old David Flores also of 
Oxnard early Wednesday.

The 3 men are accused of multiple armed robberies, in May of 2017, in 2 of 
them, they are accused of murdering 29-year-old Aaron Austin and 23-year-old 
Eduardo Leon.

Austin had been found suffering from gunshot wounds in the 300 block of North G 
Street, he died after being taken to Ventura County Medical Center. Leon was 
found shot to death in an alley in the 5400 block of Perkins Road.

The Oxnard Police Department's Major Crimes Unit used surveillance video and 
other interviews and evidence to obtain arrest warrants for Montijo, Martinez, 
and Flores.

On February 23, 2018, officers arrested Montijo and Martinez. At the time of 
their arrest, Martinez was driving in the suspect vehicle involved in the 
murders.

On February 26, 2018, detectives arrested Flores at the Ventura County Jail. He 
was in custody on firearms possession charges not related to the murders.

If found guilty on all charges, all 3 men face life in prison without parole or 
the death penalty.

The City of Oxnard offers a $10,000 reward to anyone who provides information 
that leads to the arrest and conviction of suspects in homicide cases.

(source: KEYT news)








USA:

ACCUSED KILLERS LAUGHED: MS-13 trio face execution in murders



The accused killers laughed.

Cops say they murdered 2 Long Island teenagers in 2016.

And prosecutors are waiting to hear from the U.S. Justice Department on whether 
they can seek the death penalty.

Detectives say the 5 are members of the blood-lusting street gang MS-13.

In the Long Island courtroom, the quintet laughed and grinned throughout the 
proceedings, the New York Post reported.

The family of one of their alleged 16-year-old victims looked on mortified.

Shackled Enrique Portillo, Alexi Saenz and Jairo Saenz allegedly butchered best 
friends Nisa Mickens, 15, and Kayla Cuevas, 16. The 2 teens were bludgeoned 
then hacked to death with machetes on their way home from school.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has yet to determine whether or not prosecutors 
can bring a capital case against Portillo, Saenz and Saenz.

That would mean the trio could get the needle at the federal penitentiary in 
Terre Haute, Ind., where Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh was executed.

2 other gang members - Mario Aguilar-Lopez and Jose Suare - were also in court 
charged with murdering a rival gangster. They do not face the death penalty.

According to the Post, MS-13 - which started in the wake of the civil war in El 
Salvador and spread to the U.S. - is responsible for 30 homicides in Long 
Island alone since 2016.

Mickens' mother wants her beloved girl's killers to get the needle.

"God help me, but I do because they didn't have any empathy for my daughter. 
They just took her just like that. They were the judge and they were the jury," 
Elizabeth Alvarado told New York Newsday.

(source: Winnipeg Sun)