[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----CALIF., USA

[Rick Halperin]

October 28



CALIFORNIA:

Judge Rules Man Accused of Killing 2 Palm Springs Officers Is Mentally Fit for 
Execution If Convicted


A judge has ruled that the man accused of killing two Palm Springs police 
officers during an ambush-style attack is mentally fit to be executed if found 
guilty.

In his ruling on Friday, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Anthony R. 
Villalobos rejected a motion filed by defense attorneys to strike the death 
penalty for John Hernandez Felix, 28, asserting he was too intellectually 
disabled to face capital punishment.

Felix faces two counts of murder with the special circumstances of multiple 
murders, murder of a police officer in the line of duty and lying in wait.

Authorities say that during the Oct. 8, 2016, slayings, Felix used an assault 
rifle with an extended magazine to fire on Officers Lesley Zerebny, 27, and 
Jose “Gil” Vega, 63, through a metal security gate.

(source: KTLA news)









USA:

Sessions: Death penalty possible in hate crime synagogue massacre


The Department of Justice will be filing hate crimes and other criminal charges 
against the man accused of killing 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue, a move 
that could result in him receiving the death penalty, according to a statement 
from Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

“Hatred and violence on the basis of religion can have no place in our 
society,” Sessions said. “Every American has the right to attend their house of 
worship in safety."

He described the massacre as "reprehensible and utterly repugnant to the values 
of this nation."

President Trump earlier in the day called the mass shooting an " anti-Semitic 
act" and said such crimes should result in the death penalty. He lamented that 
these types of cases can take years to make their way through appeals courts 
and said laws on capital punishment should be more harsh.

"They should pay the ultimate price," he said of people who commit mass murder 
in places of worship and other areas where people gather. "I have felt that way 
for a long time."

The suspected gunman in custody, Robert Bowers, is accused of killing at least 
11 people who had gathered at the Tree of Life Synagogue, located in 
Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill neighborhood.

Bowers, 46, allegedly entered the Tree of Life Synagogue yelling that "all Jews 
must die," though local and federal officials have told reporters that they 
were still collecting information about what was said.

Four male officers were shot as they worked to rescue the people inside the 
synagogue. Two other people were injured, according to local officials. They 
did not find any evidence of explosives.

Sessions praised the work of law enforcement officials in his statement.

"These officers ran to danger to save others, which reflects the highest 
traditions of policing in this country," Sessions said. "There can be no doubt 
that they saved lives today."

(source: Washington Examiner)