[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, PENN., FLA., OHIO, ILL., OKLA., ARIZ., CALIF., USA

[Rick Halperin]

May 22




MAY 22, 2018:





TEXAS----impending execution

Urgent Action

INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY CLAIM AS EXECUTION SET

Clifton Williams is due to be executed in Texas on 21 June for a murder 
committed in 2005. The courts have rejected the claim that he has intellectual 
disability. His lawyers are seeking further review on this issue, as well as 
pursuing executive clemency.

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

* Opposing the execution of Clifton Williams, and calling for his death 
sentence to be commuted;

* Pointing to evidence that he has borderline intellectual disability, and that 
his lawyers maintain this rises to the level of actual intellectual disability, 
which would render his execution unconstitutional;

* Noting the power of executive clemency is not constrained in the way courts 
may be on such issues;

* Explaining that you are not seeking to excuse violent crime or to downplay 
the suffering caused.

Friendly reminder: If you send an email, please create your own instead of 
forwarding this one!

Contact these 2 officials by 27 June, 2018:

Clemency Section, Board of Pardons and Paroles

8610 Shoal Creek Blvd.,

Austin, Texas 78757-6814, USA

Fax: +1 512 467 0945

Email: bpp-pio at tdcj.state.tx.us

Salutation: Dear Board of Pardons and Paroles

Governor Greg Abbott

Office of the Governor

P.O. Box 12428

Austin, Texas 78711-2428, USA

Fax: +1 512 463 1849

Salutation: Dear Governor

(source: Amnesty International USA)

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

Houston's 1st death penalty case this year begins jury selection



Ali Mahwood-Awad Irsan, a Jordanian immigrant accused in a pair of "honor 
killings" that shocked Houston, went on trial for his life Monday as the 
lengthy jury selection phase began.

Irsan's prosecution is the 1st death penalty trial conducted this year in 
Harris County, and the 1st one since District Attorney Kim Ogg took office in 
January 2017.

Opening arguments and testimony are set to begin June 25 - in 5 weeks - after 
12 jurors and 2 alternates are selected through extensive individual 
questioning which is required in a capital murder trial.

Prosecutors and defense attorney must first screen the answers to each 
prospective juror's questionnaire. If both sides agree, the juror is then 
questioned under oath about their life experience, whether they can be fair, 
and whether they can sentence someone to death when it is appropriate.

(source: Houston Chronicle)








PENNSYLVANIA:

Southern York County death penalty trial: 'I did not fire any of those guns,' 
man testifies



To hear to Paul Henry III tell it, Sept. 13, 2016, started off as an idyllic, 
late summer day in York County.

At about 1 p.m., Henry went to the York Fair with his wife, Veronique, and 
10-year-old daughter. They'd recently patched up their marriage, which had been 
on-again, off-again. The girl ate pizza, petted animals and rode unlimited 
rides.

But later, Veronique Henry, who was addicted to heroin, texted Foday Cheeks, a 
drug dealer. She was trying to score 2 or 3 bags.

So at about 8 p.m., Paul and Veronique Henry - he took a .44 magnum and 
.38-caliber revolver for protection - got in her 2003 Nissan Altima for the 
54-minute trip down to the secluded farmhouse in Fawn Township. They got into 
an argument on Route 851, because she now wanted a bundle, or 10 bags. He 
demanded to get out of the vehicle, but, eventually, caved in to the request.

Outside the home, Paul Henry gave his wife a $100 bill. "Be careful," he said. 
Next, he heard an argument. Then, a gunshot. That's when he ran inside, knelt 
down and observed the body of Danielle Taylor. He got up and saw his wife.

"She was shooting the .45," Paul Henry testified in the York County Judicial 
Center. "She had emptied the clip on him."

Paul Henry, 41, of East Manchester Township, testified on Monday in his own 
defense as he stands trial in the York County Court of Common Pleas on 2 counts 
of 1st-degree murder and related offenses. He's accused of fatally shooting 
Cheeks, 31, of Fawn Township, and Taylor, 26, of Spring Grove, and could 
receive the death penalty if convicted.

His story contradicted the testimony of four eyewitnesses, Amy Eller, Coren 
Clymer, James Gregoire and Devon Fisher, who all identified him as the shooter.

Next, Paul Henry testified, Cheeks stumbled toward them. He collapsed in the 
bedroom.

When Paul Henry asked his wife what happened, she said they'd pulled guns.

Then, Paul Henry went into the living room and yelled, "Let me see your hands." 
He ordered the 4 people to stay on the ground, and, eventually, to give him 
their cellphones. He cleared the upstairs before leaving the home.

"I did not fire any of those guns," he testified.

First Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Russell cross-examined Paul Henry, 
who glared at her and seldom broke his gaze.

Russell asked a series of questions that helped confirm previous testimony. 
Paul Henry agreed that he wore a gray hoodie, employed military tactics and 
called one of the witnesses an expletive for having children in a drug dealer's 
house.

"That's another fact that they had correct?" Russell asked.

'"Yes, ma'am," Paul Henry replied.

Eventually, Russell got him to concede that he's reviewed the witness 
statements in the case between 20 to 30 times. She played a recorded phone call 
between him and his mother.

"They've got 4 different motives," Paul Henry said in the call, which happened 
on April 24, 2017. "I just want to make sure they're all covered."

Veronique Henry killed herself in York County Prison. She was 32.

The trial is set to continue on Tuesday. Both sides will deliver their closing 
arguments in the morning.

(source: York Daily Record)








FLORIDA:

State to seek death penalty against man accused in ex-roommate's death



State prosecutors will pursue the death penalty against an Apopka man accused 
of faking a home invasion story in the killing of his ex-roommate.

Asgeirr Ulfr is charged with premeditated murder in the April 6 death of 
Christina Danielle Scarr, 20, at a home on Gina Court in unincorporated Apopka.

Ulfr called 911 to report that he'd been shot in the foot by a home invader who 
had broken into the home and killed Scarr.

But investigators say Ulfr entered Scarr's home and bound her with duct tape. 
At some point, she became unresponsive and died.

The notice of intent filed in the 18th Judicial Circuit Court says the death 
penalty was being sought in part because "the capital felony was especially 
heinous, atrocious, or cruel."

They say Ulfr was Scarr's ex-roommate, and they had previously worked together.

(source: Spectrum News)








OHIO:

Jury convicts suspect in 2015 brutal Youngstown beating death



A jury has delivered the fate of a man accused of beating a Youngstown woman to 
death, setting her home on fire, and attacking her mother.

Deliberations began Monday morning in the capital murder trial against 
48-year-old Lance Hundley. About 3 hours later, a jury returned their verdict, 
finding Hundley guilty.

Hundley was charged in 2015 for the death of 41-year-old Erika Huff.

Hundley was charged with aggravated murder with a death penalty specification, 
attempted murder, felonious assault, and aggravated arson. A jury found him 
guilty on all charges.

Hundley could face the death penalty.

Prosecutors say Hundley allegedly attacked Huff at her home on Cleveland 
Street, beat her to death, and then set the home on fire to cover up the crime.

Officials also allege that Hundley encountered Huff's mother, Denise Johnson, 
outside the home and attacked her with a claw hammer.

Officers responding to calls for help removed an air conditioner from the back 
of the home and rescued Johnson.

After that rescue, they found Huff's body. Huff was confined to a wheelchair, 
unable to walk because she suffered from MS.

Police originally said Hundley was living in the home and was inside when 
police arrived. Hundley was arrested and was also taken to St. Elizabeth Health 
Center for injuries.

Erika had a 6-year-old daughter who was not in the home at the time of the 
fire.

Hundley has attempted to represent himself several times, only to later go back 
and ask a judge to reinstate attorneys.

He is expected to be sentenced at a later date.

(source: WFMJ news)








ILLINOIS:

Chambers: Death penalty burden of proof wording must be exact



McLean County State's Attorney Jason Chambers isn't against bringing back the 
death penalty for mass murderers and cop killers, but said the language used in 
determining guilt or innocence must be precise.

Governor Bruce Rauner recently proposed the state bring back the death penalty 
in certain circumstances, while calling for an increased burden of proof. 
Making an appearance on the Afternoon Report, Chambers told WJBC???s Greg 
Halbleib the death penalty could be a useful tool in terms of justice and 
prosecution. He noted the death penalty was something that he was unsure of for 
some time.

"There was a time when I was younger when I probably went back and forth on it, 
but I don't think it's a bad thing to say I've struggled with my position on 
certain things because that shows you've gone through the thought process," 
said Chambers. "Taking someone's life should never be done lightly."

Chambers also said the language of 'beyond all doubt' must be specific.

"I do appreciate the idea of having a higher burden. I think it would be 
careful how we word what that higher burden is," Chambers noted. "Beyond all 
doubt - you never know what a jury is going to do with 'beyond all doubt' on 
that."

Chambers indicated the burden of proof could be altered depending on the 
forensic evidence in any given case. He said all it would take is one wrong 
conviction to throw the death penalty out the window.

"I think if there's a process in place that makes it so that someone who is 
innocent is put to death, that ruins the whole thing. You've destroyed any 
credibility that it has,' Chambers explained.

Chambers said the wording concerning a higher burden of proof must be very 
careful, because every jury is different.

"Each jury, each juror, is going to have a different definition of that. Which 
they do with 'beyond a reasonable doubt' anyway, but I think there???s more 
common ground between people as to what beyond reasonable doubt is as opposed 
to what is beyond all doubt," explained Chambers.

(source: WJBC news)

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

Rauner aide says death penalty plan fixes errors



Gov. Bruce Rauner's criminal justice adviser has told an Illinois House 
committee that Rauner's plan to reinstate the death penalty is designed to 
"avoid the legitimate objections" associated with the capital punishment law 
the state abandoned 7 years ago.

David Risely is the Republican governor's director of criminal justice and 
public safety policy. He told the House Judiciary-Criminal Committee on Monday 
that Rauner's plan would apply only to criminals found guilty "beyond all 
doubt." He says the standard is without precedent but "is obtainable."

Rauner added the death penalty in a veto last week in which he rewrote 
legislation to apply a72-hour waiting period for assault-style weapons.

The hearing featured a return to the state Capitol of Cook County Recorder of 
Deeds Karen Yarbrough. She was the state representative who sponsored abolition 
of the death penalty in 2011 after errors led to freeing several men.

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

Illinois Democrats grill Rauner aide on death penalty plan



Democratic legislators grilled a top aide to Illinois Republican Gov. Bruce 
Rauner Monday over a compromise plan to reinstate the death penalty in exchange 
for even stricter gun restrictions than the ones the Legislature approved.

Rauner used his veto powers last week to insert the capital punishment 
language, along with measures that include extending the waiting period on all 
guns from 24 to 72 hours, into a bill both chambers approved with veto-proof 
majorities. The original bill would impose the restriction just for 
assault-style weapons.

The prospect of returning capital punishment is a long shot in Illinois, where 
executions were halted in 2000 when then-Gov. George Ryan warned of "the demon 
of error." While 12 men were executed in Illinois after death sentences were 
re-established in 1977, 13 were freed because of errors or insufficient 
evidence.

The House Judiciary-Criminal Committee hearing included an impassioned plea to 
retain the prohibition on executions from Karen Yarbrough, the Cook County 
recorder of deeds, who as a state representative sponsored the abolition 
legislation. Committee Democrats closely questioned Illinois State Police 
Director Leo Schmitz and David Risely, Rauner's director of criminal justice 
and public safety policy, who argued that Rauner's plan is "specifically 
crafted" to remedy past problems.

In the amendatory veto , the 1st-term governor added a provision to restore 
capital punishment for mass murderers and those who kill police officers. It 
only would apply in cases where a jury finds guilt beyond all doubt - not just 
"reasonable doubt," as is the current criminal standard.

Lawmakers can accept Rauner's changes with a simple majority vote in both 
chambers, reject them and enact the original bill with a 3/4 majority, or do 
nothing, which would kill both versions. Rep. Jonathon Carroll, the Northbrook 
Democrat who sponsored the initial waiting-period legislation, would not say 
what path he would take next.

Rauner had assigned a task force to study the matter of gun violence but didn't 
wait for its recommendations before unveiling his own plan, another point of 
irritation for Rep. Kathleen Willis, who sponsored a gun-dealer licensing bill 
that Rauner vetoed earlier this spring. She called Rauner's amendatory veto 
language a "poison pill."

"Instead of sitting back and being like a punching bag for critics, he wanted 
to lay on the table what he was for, affirmatively, instead of just playing 
defense, and so this was the manner in which he chose to do so," Risely said.

Besides the longer waiting period for all guns, Rauner's plan would ban bump 
stocks and trigger cranks, which speed up firing rates - another action 
preferred by Democrats. It also would authorize confiscation of weapons for 
those deemed dangerous, find local money for police and mental health officers 
in schools and require judges in violent gun cases to explain their rationale 
for approving plea agreements which result in reduced sentences.

Rob Warden, who has spent years exposing wrongful convictions as a journalist 
and academic, told lawmakers that even a "limited" death penalty is ripe for 
lawmakers' expansion. When Illinois restored capital punishment in 1977, there 
were six "aggravating factors," or legal determinations that, if met, could 
warrant a death sentence, Warden said. When it was abolished, there were 20.

Warden said 19 states have eliminated capital punishment and 21 that have it 
haven't executed anyone in 5 years.

"Restoring the death penalty in Illinois would put us squarely on the wrong 
side of history," Warden said.

The bills are HB1468 and SB2580.

(source for both: Associated Press)



OKLAHOMA:

Oklahoma, Business Groups Get Supreme Court Review in Murder Case



The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear an unusual death penalty case that could 
have outsize implications for businesses operating in Oklahoma.

The justices will review a lower court decision that stripped Oklahoma of the 
power to prosecute American Indians in much of the eastern part of the state. 
The ruling also called into question Oklahoma's regulatory authority in 
historically tribal territories.

Business groups and the Trump administration joined Oklahoma in urging Supreme 
Court review. Oklahoma told the justices the federal appeals court decision 
"will impose intolerable and destabilizing uncertainty throughout half the 
state."

In throwing out Patrick Dwayne Murphy's death sentence, the appeals court said 
that only the federal government had the power to prosecute him because the 
murder Murphy committed took place on land that is still part of the Creek 
Nation reservation.

The 3-judge panel said in a 126-page opinion that Congress didn't take the 
necessary steps to "disestablish" the Creek reservation in preparation for 
Oklahoma becoming a state in 1907.

"Because Mr. Murphy is an Indian and because the crime occurred in Indian 
country, the federal court has exclusive jurisdiction," the panel said. 
"Oklahoma lacked jurisdiction."

Murphy was convicted of the 1999 mutilation and murder of his former 
girlfriend's lover, George Jacobs. Both men were members of the Creek Nation.

Five Tribes

Although the Murphy case directly concerns only the Creek Nation, the appeals 
court's reasoning could also affect land once inhabited by the Cherokee, 
Chickasaw, Choctaw and Seminole tribes, which have similar histories.

Murphy's lawyers urged the Supreme Court not to hear the appeal. They said the 
appeals court correctly relied on a 1984 Supreme Court ruling that requires 
Congress to show a clear intent to change a reservation's boundaries.

The Trump administration said the ruling would upend century-old 
understandings. The U.S. government would suddenly have exclusive 
responsibility to prosecute crimes committed by or against Native Americans in 
most of 8 counties, including the city of Tulsa, U.S. Solicitor General Noel 
Francisco told the court.

"That expansion could result in a massive increase in the federal government's 
Indian-related law-enforcement responsibilities," Francisco argued in court 
papers.

Trade groups for the Oklahoma oil and gas, ranching and farming industries said 
the ruling also would reverberate outside the criminal context, stripping power 
from the state and giving it to Native American tribes. The groups said tribes 
would potentially be able to impose taxes, issue regulations and force 
businesses and individuals into tribal courts.

The case is Royal v. Murphy, 17-1107.

(source: Associated Press)








ARIZONA----new death sentence

Phoenix man sentenced to death for killing pregnant girlfriend, setting 
apartment on fire----"The callous and inhumane killing of his girlfriend and 
their unborn child is the worst example of a man utterly failing those who 
counted on him for love and support," County Attorney Bill Montgomery said.



The Maricopa County Attorney's Office announced a decision Monday to sentence a 
man to death for killing his pregnant girlfriend and intentionally setting 
their apartment on fire in 2012.

According to MCAO, the sentence came after a jury found 27-year-old Dwandarrius 
Robinson guilty on 2 counts of murder and 1 count of arson. His girlfriend, 
21-year-old Shaniqua Hall, was 9 months pregnant.

"The callous and inhumane killing of his girlfriend and their unborn child is 
the worst example of a man utterly failing those who counted on him for love 
and support," Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery read. "The jury's 
verdict accurately and properly imposes the death penalty as a just and 
proportionate punishment for these despicable crimes."

Robinson called 911 on July 18, 2012 and told police he came home to find his 
apartment on fire and he was not sure if his girlfriend was inside, MCAO said. 
Firefighters found Hall???s body bound with duct tape. A rag was shoved down 
her throat and she was handcuffed inside the couple's bedroom. Investigators 
found the fire was intentionally set and an accelerant was used.

The jury found there were 7 aggravating factors in this case making Robinson 
eligible of consideration for the death penalty, according to a MCAO press 
release.

According to the Arizona Department of Corrections, 115 inmates are currently 
on death row. Robinson will be added to that list.

(source: KPNX news)








CALIFORNIA:

US Senator: California Should Test DNA Of Condemned Inmate



California's governor should allow more sensitive DNA testing that advocates 
say could exonerate a death row inmate, U.S. Senator Kamala Harris said Friday.

"As a firm believer in DNA testing, I hope the governor and the state will 
allow for such testing in the case of Kevin Cooper," Harris, a former state 
attorney general and San Francisco prosecutor who opposes the death penalty, 
said in a statement .

Cooper, 60, is awaiting execution for the 1983 Chino Hills hatchet and knife 
killings of 4 people. He escaped from a nearby minimum-security prison east of 
Los Angeles two days before the slayings of Doug and Peggy Ryen, their 
10-year-old daughter Jessica and 11-year-old neighbor Christopher Hughes.

2 previous DNA tests concluded Cooper was the killer. A piece by New York 
Times' columnist Nicholas Kristof suggesting Cooper was framed sparked Harris's 
comments. Kristof's column labels Harris one of the "flawed political leaders" 
he blames for blocking the new DNA testing while she was attorney general.

A San Diego judge in 2011 blocked Cooper's request for a third round of DNA 
testing. Cooper says he was framed and that more sensitive DNA tests on items 
including a T-shirt and a speck of blood on a paint chip would prove his 
innocence. But the judge ruled he failed to show why more DNA tests are needed.

Cooper's request for clemency is under review by Gov. Jerry Brown's office, 
said spokesman Evan Westrup. Those requests "are thoroughly and diligently 
reviewed" and will determine the next step, he said.

California hasn't executed anyone since 2006.

The only survivor - the Ryens' grievously wounded 8-year-old son - said 3 white 
intruders committed the crimes, Kristof wrote, while a woman told police that 
her white convicted murderer boyfriend was probably involved and turned over 
his bloody coveralls. Kristof says investigators destroyed the coveralls and 
arrested Cooper, a young black man, even though blond or brown hairs were found 
in the victims' hands.

Cooper's defense says it would pay for the new DNA testing.

(source: KPBS news)








USA:

Man facing US death penalty seeks to overturn death law



The attorneys for a Vermont man facing a 2nd federal death penalty trial are 
asking a judge to declare the punishment unconstitutional.

In documents filed Monday, attorneys for Donald Fell argued the federal death 
penalty should be ruled unconstitutional because implementing it requires help 
from state officials, in violation of the 10th Amendment of the U.S. 
Constitution.

Prosecutors are expected to oppose the motion.

The 38-year-old Fell is facing a death penalty retrial in the 2000 kidnap and 
killing of Terry King, a Rutland supermarket worker who was abducted when she 
arrived for work and later killed.

Fell was found guilty and sentenced to death in 2005, but the case was 
dismissed in 2014 because of juror misconduct.

Jury selection for the new trial is set for September.

(source: Associated Press)