[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, FLA., TENN., WYO., CALIF., ORE., USA

[Rick Halperin]

August 23


TEXAS----new execution date

Patrick Murphy has been given an execution date of November 13; the date should 
be considered serious.

(sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin)

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

Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present----44

Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982----present-----562

Abbott#--------scheduled execution date-----name------------Tx. #

45---------Sept. 4----------------Billy Crutsinger--------563

46---------Sept. 10---------------Mark Anthony Soliz------564

47---------Sept. 25---------------Robert Sparks-----------565

48---------Oct. 2-----------------Stephen Barbee----------566

49---------Oct. 10----------------Randy Halprin-----------567

50---------Oct. 16----------------Randall Mays------------568

51---------Oct. 30----------------Ruben Gutierrez---------569

52---------Nov. 6-----------------Justen Hall-------------570

53---------Nov. 13----------------Patrick Murphy----------571

54---------Nov. 20----------------Rodney Reed-------------572

55---------Dec. 11----------------Travis Runnels----------573

(sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin)








FLORIDA----execution

After late appeals are denied, Florida executes serial killer who targeted gay 
men across Southeast



Florida has put to death the man known as the "I-95 killer," who was convicted 
of killing 3 people and admitted to killing several more in a 1994 spree 
targeting gay men.

The Supreme Court decided late Thursday not to stay the execution.

Gary Ray Bowles, 57, was pronounced dead at 10:58 p.m. ET, Michelle Glady, 
communications director for the Florida Department of Corrections, said.

Bowles' attorneys had appealed to the Supreme Court for a stay, arguing that 
Bowles is intellectually disabled and that was something no court had 
considered.

The state argued in its response filed with the court that Bowles' attorneys 
didn't file a proper claim until this week. The matter should be, and was, 
decided by a lower court of appeals, the state said.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote that she believes there were important questions 
in the case.

However, "because I do not believe that the questions as presented merit this 
Court's review at this time, I do not disagree with the denial of certiorari," 
she wrote. It could be different in other cases, she said.

Inmate wanted cheeseburgers for last meal

On Thursday, Bowles woke up at 4 a.m. and was calm and in good spirits, Glady 
said.

The FBI began a national search for Bowles in 1994 after they determined he was 
killing gay men at locations near the highway from Florida to Maryland, 
according to the Daytona Beach News-Journal. Once on the FBI's most wanted 
list, he was arrested in November 1994 in Jacksonville Beach going under an 
alias.

He also was later featured in an episode of A&E's show "The Killer Speaks" as 
the "I-95 Killer."

Bowles pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in 1996 for killing Walter Hinton 
in Jacksonville Beach, Florida by dropping a 40-pound cement stepping stone 
onto his sleeping head. Bowles then strangled him and stuffed toilet paper and 
a rag in his mouth, court documents show. His body was found inside his locked 
home wrapped in sheets and bedspreads, the documents say.

A jury sentenced him to death in 1996 for killing Hinton, but the Florida 
Supreme Court later reversed the death sentence and remanded the case for a new 
penalty phase. Another jury unanimously sentenced him to death in 1999, and 
since then, a series of appeals have been denied by courts leading up to 
Thursday's expected execution.

In addition, he was convicted of first-degree murder in 1997 for robbing and 
killing John Roberts by strangling him and stuffing a rag in his mouth, 
according to court documents. He also was convicted in 1996 of murder for 
killing Albert Morris in a case in which he struck Morris in the head, beat 
him, shot him, strangled him and tied a towel over his mouth. He was sentenced 
to life in prison for both of those cases.

Convicted killer is 99th person executed in Florida

Bowles had several previous charges and was sentenced to prison for beating and 
raping his girlfriend in 1982.

Bowles is the 99th person to be put to death in Florida since capital 
punishment resumed in 1976. Bobby Joe Long, who was convicted for killing 8 
women in the Tampa Bay area in 1984, was executed by the state in May.

The executive director of the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops sent a 
letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis last week urging him to stop the execution. The 
organization said Bowles had survived many years of childhood abuse, years of 
homelessness and child prostitution.

"Intentionally ending Mr. Bowles' life is unnecessary," Michael B. Sheedy wrote 
in the letter. "Society can remain safe from any future violent actions of his 
through life-long incarceration without parole."

(source: CNN)

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

Man accused of stabbing Tampa bus driver to death in court as state seeks death 
penalty



A man accused of stabbing a HART bus driver to death as horrified passengers 
watched has a motion hearing Friday morning.

The state is seeking the death penalty for 35-year-old Justin McGriff.

McGriff is accused of stabbing HART bus driver Thomas Dunn with a knife back in 
May.

A new judge who specializes in death penalty cases will preside over the Friday 
hearing as the state is now seeking the death penalty.

Dunn was a father and a Veteran, who had fought for bus safety improvements 
before his death.

The terrible tragedy prompted safety changes. Hart is dedicating $1 million 
dollars towards installing safety barriers on all hart vehicles, to protect 
drivers.

The motion hearing will be held at Hillsborough County Courthouse at 9 a.m.

(source: WFLA news)

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

Resentencing hearing underway for man convicted of killing Eglin Air Force 
Airman



According to the report, Lamar Brooks was convicted of killing Eglin Senior 
Airman Rachel Carlson and her 3-month-old daughter Alexis Stuart in 1996.

Court records show Brooks was sentenced to death, but the decision wasn't 
unanimous.

A Supreme Court ruling required Brooks to be resentenced and according to 
documents filed Brooks's lawyers are arguing for a life sentence.

In order for Brooks to receive the death penalty again, the 12-person jury vote 
must be unanimous.

(source: WEAR TV news)





TENNESSEE:

Death penalty sought against Chad Benfield, defense says it's unconstitutional



The prosecution and defense are gearing up for argument about whether 
Tennessee's death penalty is constitutional in the rape and murder case pending 
against Chad Benfield in Carter County.

Prosecutors say Benfield should die if he's convicted of raping and killing 
89-year-old Mary Nolen. It happened in 2017 at her home in Stoney Creek.

Benfield was a neighbor who had recently been released from prison in North 
Carolina.

His trial is set in January, but his attorneys will argue in court on September 
12th that the death penalty is unconstitutional.

Prosecutors say it's warranted because of the severity of the crimes, the age 
of the victim, and other reasons.

(source: WCYB news)








WYOMING:

Prosecutors will again seeks death penalty for Dale Wayne Eaton



A Wyoming prosecutor plans to seek the death penalty for the rape and killing 
of a Montana woman more than 30 years ago.

KTWO-AM reported Tuesday that Natrona County District Attorney Dan Itzen will 
seek capital punishment for 74-year-old Dale Wayne Eaton.

Eaton was convicted in 2004 for the 1988 killing of 18-year-old Lisa Marie 
Kimmell of Billings, Montana.

Kimmell disappeared while driving across Wyoming and her body was found in the 
North Platte River.

Eaton was connected to the case through DNA evidence and spent a decade on 
death row before a federal judge overturned his death sentence in 2014.

A federal appeals court ruled in July that Eaton can still be subject to the 
death penalty.

Eaton's attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment 
Wednesday.

(source: Associated Press)








CALIFORNIA:

Serial Killer Arrested by Santa Monica Police Faces Death Penalty



A jury on Thursday found convicted serial killer Michael Gargiulo, known as the 
"Hollywood Ripper," was sane when he murdered 2 women and attempted to murder a 
third in her Santa Monica apartment.

The 6-man, 6-woman panel deliberated for several hours before making the 
finding against Gargiulo, 43, who now faces the death penalty.

Gargiulo was found guilty last week of 2 counts of 1st-degree murder "with the 
special circumstance allegations of multiple murders and lying in wait, making 
him eligible for the death penalty," prosecutors said Thursday.

He also was convicted of 1 count of "willful, deliberate and premeditated 
attempted murder and attempted escape ("Jury Finds Former Santa Monica Resident 
Guilty of Double Murder," August 16, 2019).

The penalty phase of the trial is expected to begin September 9, according to 
the Los Angeles County District Attorney.

Prosecutors said Gargiulo, a former handyman and aspiring actor, committed a 
series "frenzied" and grusesome knife attacks on selected female neigbors 
between 2001 and 2008 while he lived in different parts of the LA area.

Gargiulo was arrested by Santa Monica police for the 2008 attempted murder of 
Michelle Murphy, who lived across the alley from Gargiulo on the 1200 block of 
12th Street.

Prosecutors said he stabbed Murphy 8 times before she fought him off, becoming 
a key witness for the prosecution in the 3-month-long trial.

In its closing argument, the defense said that Gargiulo suffered from a mental 
disorder that put him in an amnesiac state when he attacked Murphy in her bed.

Prosecutors told the jury that Gargiulo “knew exactly what he was doing in 
these well-planned attacks" ("Final Arguments End in Trial of Accused Serial 
Killer Arrested in Santa Monica," August 9, 2019).

While in jail for the attempted murder of Murphy, Gargiulo was tied to the 
murders of 22-year-old Hollywood resident Ashley Ellerin in 2001 and the 2005 
slaying of 32-year-old Maria Bruno in her El Monte apartment.

Prosecutors said Gargiulo stabbed Ellerin 47 times in her Hollywood Hills home 
in February 2001, nearly decapitating her ("Serial Sexual-Thrill Killer' 
Arrested by Santa Monica Police Goes on Trial," May 1, 2019).

In his 2005 stabbing of Bruno, prosecutors said he “quite literally butchered 
her -- stabbing her multiple times, slitting her throat, slicing off her 
breasts, and staging them for family members and police to find."

The case against Gargiulo was investigated by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s 
Department and the El Monte, Los Angeles and Santa Monica police departments.

(source: surfsantamonica.com)








OREGON:

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown Ends Her Silence On Death Penalty Bill, But Has Made No 
Decisions----Brown says she is meeting with stakeholders on both sides and has 
staff reviewing legislative history of Senate Bill 1013.



In a group call with reporters today, Gov. Kate Brown broke her silence on 
Senate Bill 1013, the controversial legislation that was aimed at gutting 
Oregon's death penalty but instead sowed widespread confusion.

After Brown signed the bill into law, Oregon's Solicitor General Benjamin 
Gutman reversed his earlier position, as The Oregonian reported, and opined 
that the bill appeared to be retroactive, which meant it could result in 
sentence reductions for people previously convicted of aggravated murder.

That's a major problem—not just because the families of victims, victims' 
advocacy groups and prosecutors are outraged by the possibility of retroactive 
sentence reductions, but also because the Democratic supermajorities and the 
governor risk political damage from having apparently botched the reworking of 
a highly contentious issue.

The solictor general's reversal touched off chaos.

Initially, Sen. Floyd Prozanski (D-Eugene) and state Rep. Jennifer Williamson 
(D-Portland), the chairs of the Senate and House Judiciary Committees and the 
prime movers of the bill, issued a joint statement saying "we always intended 
and were advised (by counsel) that this bill did not apply to re-sentencing and 
is not retroactive."

But then the stances of the 2 lawmakers diverged. Prozanski asked Brown to call 
the Legislature into a special session to fix the mistake, while Williamson 
told The Oregonian that in fact and contrary to her earlier joint statement, 
the bill was written as she intended.

Throughout those events, Brown remained silent, but she addressed the issue 
today, first responding to whether she would call a special session.

"There is a lot of confusion," Brown said today. "I have asked my staff to 
review the record and listen to the hearings. At this point in time I don't 
have enough information to make a decision."

Brown noted that a moratorium she placed on executions remains in effect. She 
reiterated her personal opposition to the death penalty, which Brown called 
"unfair, ineffective and costly."

Brown defended her decision to sign the bill, noting that the solicitor general 
had not yet changed his mind when she did so. She said, however, that she does 
not believe the bill should be a basis to change previously issued sentences.

"I think everyone is clear, the law is not intended to be retroactive," Brown 
said. "My intention was that it was not retroactive."

Brown said she is meeting with stakeholders, including the Oregon District 
Attorneys' Association, which opposed the bill and has been highly critical of 
the subsequent fallout, and will consider all input before deciding what to do.

(source: wweek.com)








USA:

US bishop speaks against death penalty after 12th execution this year



As the state of Texas executed another man on death row yesterday, Bishop Frank 
Dewane of Florida reasserted the Catholic Church's teaching on the death 
penalty - stating that it is inadmissible under any circumstance.

Killed by lethal injection on Wednesday, Larry Swearingen 48, had been 
incarcerated for 19 years after he was arrested and charged with the murder of 
Melissa Trotter in 1998. He was the 12th man to be executed in America this 
year. He always maintained his innocence. His last words were: "Lord forgive 
them. They don't know what they are doing."

Recent Popes have spoken out very clearly against the use of the death penalty. 
In August 2018 Pope Francis issued the following revision to the Catechism of 
the Catholic Church:

2267. Recourse to the death penalty on the part of legitimate authority, 
following a fair trial, was long considered an appropriate response to the 
gravity of certain crimes and an acceptable, albeit extreme, means of 
safeguarding the common good.

Today, however, there is an increasing awareness that the dignity of the person 
is not lost even after the commission of very serious crimes. In addition, a 
new understanding has emerged of the significance of penal sanctions imposed by 
the state. Lastly, more effective systems of detention have been developed, 
which ensure the due protection of citizens but, at the same time, do not 
definitively deprive the guilty of the possibility of redemption.

Consequently, the Church teaches, in the light of the Gospel, that "the death 
penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and 
dignity of the person",(1) and she works with determination for its abolition 
worldwide".

Bishop Frank Dewane of Florida, Chair of the Peace and Human Development 
Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops said: "The 
Church's stance on the death penalty was recently articulated very clearly by 
Pope Francis in saying that it's 'inadmissible' because it in itself is very 
much an attack on the inviolability and also the dignity of the human person."

The revised Catechism states that "more effective systems of detention have 
been developed, which ensure the due protection of citizens but, at the same 
time, do not definitively deprive the guilty of the possibility of redemption."

Bishop Dewane explains why the death penalty is not effective: "Because to be 
just, it is really necessary that a punishment have a dimension of hope and 
also a goal of rehabilitation. The death penalty falls far short of that" he 
adds. "It doesn't even begin to approach it…it is contrary to it".

Bishop Dewane added that though it has existed for some time, statistics show 
that the death penalty has not acted as a deterrent, as some people might 
suggest.

In July 2019, the United States announced it was reinstating Capital Punishment 
on a federal level.

The Catholic Church continues to work with determination for its abolition 
worldwide.

(source: Independent Catholic news)