[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, GA., IND., MO., ARK., NEB., COLO., ARIZ.

[Rick Halperin]

January 1, 2019



TEXAS:

Texas capital punishment policy should be reviewed


Pride in our state’s exceptional history and traditions related to the Old West 
may help explain Texans’ clinging to some practices that should be consigned to 
the state’s past. That includes the death penalty, which continues to be 
carried out more frequently in Texas than anywhere else in America.

In fact, this year Texas reversed course from the national trend it had been 
following and executed 13 people; which was more than the 12 executions that 
occurred in the rest of the United States. 7 people were put to death in Texas 
in both 2016 and 2017.

After nearly 18 years in prison and numerous appeals, Joseph Garcia was 
executed Dec. 4 at the Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville. Garcia was one 
of the “Texas 7” inmates convicted of murder in the Christmas Eve 2000 slaying 
of a North Texas police officer during their escape attempt.

With 224 inmates currently on death row in Texas, a 25-year low, more 
executions appear certain to follow Garcia’s. Less certain is what those 
executions will accomplish other than removing those executed from society — a 
goal that could be achieved just as well and less expensively by life 
sentences.

The cost leading to an execution, including appeals and incarceration, easily 
exceeds $1 million; compared with less than $700,000 to keep an inmate in 
prison for 40 years.

Of course, money isn’t the most important reason for Texas to reconsider 
capital punishment. With DNA testing and other improved evidence collection 
methods, it is now indisputable that sometimes the wrong person is sentenced to 
death.

The Innocence Project says at least 162 inmates have been released from death 
row nationwide because they were wrongly convicted. The reasons range from 
mistaken eyewitness identification, official misconduct, and false or 
misleading forensic evidence.

A report published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 
concluded that “approximately 1 out of every 24 prisoners” on death row 
nationwide between 1973 and 2004 was wrongly convicted.

Not even one death of an innocent person should be considered acceptable or the 
collateral damage of an imperfect criminal justice system. That imperfect 
system becomes even harder to defend when viewed through the lens of race, 
which shows the color of a defendant’s skin can determine whether he or she is 
sentenced to death.

All seven defendants sentenced to death in Texas this year were people of 
color. That’s no anomaly. In the past 5 years, more than 70 % of death 
sentences in Texas have been imposed on people of color — and in particular, 
African Americans.

Blacks are less than 13 % of the Texas population but 43 % of the state’s death 
row inmates. Hispanics are 38 % of the state population and 27 % of those on 
death row.

The Supreme Court in 1972 ruled the death penalty as applied was 
unconstitutional, only to reinstate it in a 1976 ruling establishing what were 
expected to be better safeguards against arbitrary death sentences. 
Thirty-seven states have not had an execution in the past 5 years, and 31 of 
those states have not executed anyone in the past 10 years. Texas needs to join 
them.

Capital punishment is no deterrent to murder. Despite the high-profile 
serial-killer and mass-murder cases that get the most news coverage, homicides 
are more likely to result from personal conflicts involving people who know 
each other and aren’t thinking about facing a judge in a court of law.

No matter how or why a murderer killed someone, he should pay for his crime. 
Vengeance, however, should play no role in the outcome. Any vengeful 
satisfaction felt is fleeting. It will never fill the hole left in the hearts 
of a murder victim’s family and friends.

(source: The Texas Tribune)




GEORGIA:

Retiring GBI director predicts demise of death penalty----Vernon Keenan says 
public opinion will drive it out of Georgia


The retiring director of the GBI predicts Georgia will do away with the death 
penalty.  Vernon Keenan made the prediction on the final day of his 16 years on 
the job, and 45 years in law enforcement.

Even for the most egregious cases – mass murder, child murders or the killings 
of police officers – Keenan told 11Alive News he thinks the death penalty is 
outdated and will eventually be outlawed.

"I’ve never believed in the death penalty," Keenan said in an interview.

He says he has heard the argument – that Georgia’s death penalty is a deterrent 
to potential criminals who are deciding whether to commit murder.

"I don’t believe the death penalty deters anyone. The people that commit crime, 
they don’t believe they’re going to get caught. The death penalty is just a way 
society gets retribution from the criminal," Keenan said. "The day will come 
when we won’t have the death penalty in Georgia and in the United States."

Keenan says he will leave law enforcement for good following his final workday 
New Year's Eve. Scott Dutton will be acting director of the agency.

Keenan says he tried to stay out of the way of GBI agents investigating 
criminal cases across Georgia.  But Keenan has shown up, as he did in 2011, for 
the 4-day manhunt for Jamie Hood, a man suspected of killing Athens Clarke 
County police officer Buddy Christian.

Kennan was on hand after he had engineered Hood’s surrender on a risky live TV 
feed.

"The hostage negotiators, who I had absolute confidence in, told me that if we 
did not meet his demand to surrender live on television, he was going to start 
killing hostages. And I made the decision that’s what we had to do," Keenan 
recalled.  11Alive News photographer Tyson Paul provided a live pool feed for 
the Atlanta news media that night.

When Hood went to trial, the jury declined to send the admitted cop killer to 
death row.  Keenan says the jury did the right thing.

"I believe life in prison without parole is punishment enough. Probably worse 
than death," he said.

Keenan says he thinks public opinion will eventually sway the state’s 
politicians to reconsider the death penalty. Georgia is 1 of only 8 states to 
use the death penalty last year.

(source: 11alive.com)





INDIANA:

Argument on death penalty criticized


Allen County prosecutors want a judge to reject claims by a man facing the 
death penalty that he shouldn't be executed because of his age.

Marcus Dansby was 20 years old – 12 days shy of his 21st birthday – when he 
allegedly killed 4 people, including his unborn child, Sept. 11, 2016. Now 23, 
he has argued through his lawyers that executing people who were younger than 
21 at the time of their alleged crimes violates the constitutional prohibition 
on cruel and unusual punishment.

The U.S. Supreme Court has held that it is unconstitutional to put to death 
offenders who were 18 at the time they committed the crimes. Dansby's lawyers 
want to extend the age to 21, asking a judge to throw out the death penalty as 
a sentencing option because of growing research on the maturity of young 
people's brains and a “national consensus” against executing defendants younger 
than 21.

Deputy Prosecutors Tom Chaille, Jeff Steinberg and Alison Yeager state in court 
documents filed Monday that arguments by defense attorneys Robert Gevers and 
Michelle Kraus failed on both counts.

“(Dansby) has not shown any judicial or legislative movement to specifically 
exclude the defendant's proposed age group from death penalty eligibility,” the 
18-page filing states. “The defendant has failed to identify a national 
consensus.”

Similar efforts to extend the high court's landmark 2005 ruling to defendants 
younger than 21 have failed on appeal, and Dansby hasn't identified any states 
that have shielded people older than 18 from capital punishment, prosecutors 
argue.

The objection from prosecutors comes after a Temple University psychology 
professor testified last month in this case that human brains continue to 
mature until at least age 22 and that young people can have trouble controlling 
their actions and considering the consequences of those actions.

Allen Superior Court Judge Fran Gull has not ruled on Dansby's motion to 
exclude the death penalty or a separate request to declare Indiana's capital 
punishment law unconstitutional.

(source: The Journal Gazette)






MISSOURI:

Missouri man could face death penalty for killing family


A St. Louis-area man charged with fatally shooting his girlfriend, her 2 young 
children and her mother could face the death penalty once the investigation is 
complete.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that authorities are still investigating 
what led to the shooting late Friday. Richard Darren Emery of St. Charles, 
Missouri, is facing 15 charges, including 1st-degree murder.

Emery, who often goes by his middle name Darren, exchanged gunfire with 
officers as he fled. He was captured several hours later — wounded and covered 
in blood.

St. Charles is a city of about 70,000 residents on the Missouri River northwest 
of St. Louis.

A candlelight vigil was planned Sunday evening to honor the victims: 
61-year-old Jane Moeckel, 39-year-old Kate Kasten, 8-year-old Zoe Kasten and 
10-year-old Jonathan Kasten.

(source: Associated Press)





ARKANSAS:

3 separate capital murder charges filed during 2018


2 men and 1 woman were each charged with capital murder in 2018 in unrelated 
incidents and a man previously charged with capital murder for the 2015 deaths 
of his wife and daughter was sentenced to death earlier this year.

Rayson Edward Clayton, 23, was arrested March 29 and charged with capital 
murder and arson for the March 27 fire at Polo Run Apartments, 126 Manor Lane, 
that caused the death of Gillibando Arellano, 48, a resident of the apartments.

According to the probable cause affidavit on Clayton's arrest, the fire began 
in a common area on the first floor of the apartments shortly after Clayton's 
aunt, who had kicked him out of her 1st-floor apartment the day before, 
declined to let him back inside to pick up his belongings.

An acquaintance of Clayton's who was with him told Hot Springs police he heard 
Clayton threaten to "burn the place down" a few minutes before the fire 
started. Investigators believe the fire started with a sofa in the common area 
near where Clayton had been standing.

Police said there is no relation between Clayton and Arellano, who was 
identified April 5 through DNA testing. It is believed Arellano lived on the 
second floor and was overcome by toxic fumes as he tried to escape down the 
stairs.

Clayton remains in custody in lieu of $1 million bond and an Act 3 hearing to 
determine if he is mentally fit to proceed with trial is set for Jan. 14.

Kevin Kay Buerke, 26, was charged on Aug. 30 with capital murder in the death 
of Betty Slaughter, 80, of Hot Springs, whose burned body was found Aug. 25 in 
a Royal cemetery. Buerke, a parolee out of Wisconsin living in Hot Springs, was 
initially arrested Aug. 23 on a felony charge of second-degree forgery, also 
involving Slaughter.

Friends had reported Slaughter missing from her residence on Aug. 22 and 
Garland County Sheriff's investigators who responded to her house found 
evidence of foul play. Footage from a neighbor's surveillance camera indicated 
a white male in a gold Ford Explorer was allegedly at the residence on Aug. 21, 
the last time Slaughter was heard from.

Investigators allegedly located the vehicle and determined Buerke had been in 
possession of it at the time. They also obtained information Buerke had gone to 
a local bank on Aug. 22 with paperwork granting him power of attorney for 
Slaughter which was later determined to be counterfeit, resulting in the 
forgery charge.

At the time of Buerke's arrest, he was reportedly driving the Ford Explorer and 
evidence was allegedly found in the vehicle further linking him to Slaughter's 
death, including blood later matched to Slaughter.

Prosecutors have indicated they plan to seek the death penalty against Buerke, 
who remains in custody on zero bond. An Act 3 hearing to determine if he is 
mentally fit to proceed with trial is scheduled for March 12.

Melissa "Missy" Ann Galey, 46, was arrested Nov. 21 outside her residence on 
Lakeshore Drive and later charged with two counts of capital murder for the 
deaths of her mother, Wanda Self, 71, and her daughter, Megan Galey, 8, who 
were both found deceased inside the residence with multiple stab or puncture 
wounds.

Galey was also charged with criminal attempt to commit arson, punishable by up 
to 20 years, for reportedly trying to burn the house down. Police reportedly 
located Melissa Galey, with blood all over her clothing, in the backyard coming 
out from underneath the residence and found "fresh char marks" in the area 
where she was found as if it had been set on fire.

During a later interview with detectives, Galey allegedly admitted to killing 
her mother and daughter and attempting to set the house on fire. She reportedly 
stated she had been planning the incident for approximately 1 week.

On Nov. 26, Galey pleaded not guilty to the charges in Garland County District 
Court and prosecutors indicated they planned to seek the death penalty. A 
felony review hearing to determine if the case will be bound over to Garland 
County Circuit Court is set for Jan. 14. Galey remains in custody on zero bond.

On March 6, a circuit court jury sentenced Eric Allen Reid, 57, to death by 
lethal injection on 2 counts of capital murder for the Oct. 19, 2015, shooting 
deaths of his wife, Laura J. Reid, 57, and older daughter, Mary Ann Reid, 32, 
at their home on Northwood Trail.

Reid was convicted of the charges on March 2 after two days of testimony 
followed by a 1-day sentencing hearing on March 6. The 7-man, 5-woman jury 
deliberated about 45 minutes before recommending the sentence of death.

During the trial, Eric Reid's younger daughter had testified there were 
tensions at the home over family finances and an ongoing dispute between her 
father and Mary Reid regarding the way she was raising her son, including her 
not making him "eat his vegetables" and being more of a friend than a parent.

In his videotaped confession to sheriff's investigators, Reid had talked about 
being "frustrated and angry" with his daughter and wife and that he felt they 
were "ganging up on him" and plotting to "take everything away from him" which 
led him to kill them. He also described shooting both victims multiple times.

Reid's sentence is only the 2nd death sentence handed down by a state court in 
Garland County since the 1950s, following the March 19, 2015, sentencing of 
Randy William Gay, 57, of Pearcy, for the 2011 shooting death of a local woman. 
Gay had previously been convicted of murder twice before for deaths in 1978 and 
1991.

On Dec. 7, James Antonio-Carlos Page, 38, who was charged with capital murder 
for the Nov. 8, 2015, death of his 3-month-old son, Zayden Page, was sentenced 
to life in prison after pleading guilty to a reduced charge of 1st-degree 
murder. Prosecutors had previously indicated they planned to seek the death 
penalty.

According to reports, on Nov. 6, 2015, the victim was brought to Arkansas 
Children's Hospital in Little Rock with injuries that included a burn around 
his neck, a broken collarbone, rib fractures and multiple bruises to his head 
and face.

The child had been in the custody of his father, Page, in Hot Springs, all day 
and Page claimed the injuries were sustained in a fall, but doctors noted that 
was impossible. Page later admitted to shaking the child violently for crying 
and then throwing him into a car seat on the floor.

Page was initially arrested Nov. 6 and charged with 1st-degree battery, but it 
was upgraded to capital murder 2 days later after the child died.

(source: The Sentinel-Record)




NEBRASKA:

Nebraska ACLU to Challenge Death Penalty Law


The American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska is challenging whether the state 
has the authority to execute the remaining prisoners on death row.

Executive Director Danielle Conrad says the organization’s challenge argues 
that when legislators initially repealed the death penalty, inmates on death 
row had their sentences changed from death, to life in prison.

Conrad says the question put in front of the Nebraska Supreme Court is whether 
the initial law effectively reverted the existing sentences of the inmates, 
something the state says only the State Pardons Board has the authority to do.

Conrad says as long as there’s the death penalty in Nebraska, opponents such as 
the ACLU will look for every legal option available to end the practice for 
good.

(source: WNAX news)





COLORADO:

Colorado prosecutors filed 5 charges against Patrick Frazee in the death of 
Kelsey Berreth, his missing fiancee and mother of his 1-year-old daughter.


Colorado prosecutors filed five charges against Patrick Frazee in the death of 
his missing fiancee and mother of his 1-year-old daughter.

Frazee is accused of killing 29-year-old Kelsey Berreth, who disappeared last 
month.

Frazee appeared in Teller County Court on Monday morning. He was charged with 2 
counts of 1st-degree murder and 3 counts of solicitation to commit murder in 
the 1st degree, District Attorney Dan May said.

Prosecutors filed 2 murder charges because they have different theories. One is 
that he acted alone to kill Berreth, the other says he alone or with other 
people killed her during a robbery.

The 3 solicitation charges refer to soliciting the murder in 3 separate 
incidents. It could mean he allegedly solicited the same person 3 times or 3 
people on different occasions.

Frazee's arrest came almost a month after Berreth vanished on Thanksgiving near 
Woodland Park, a city between Denver and Colorado Springs.

Authorities do not believe Berreth is alive, but they have not found her body. 
They have not determined a motive.

Frazee is being held without bond. A bond hearing is scheduled for January 29. 
If convicted, he could face the death penalty.

Frazee told police he last saw Berreth on November 22, when he picked up their 
daughter, making him the last known person to report seeing her alive.

Berreth's employer got a text from her phone on November 25, saying she 
wouldn't be able to work that week, police said. Frazee said she texted him 
that day, but the contents of that text haven't been released.

That same day, Berreth's phone was tracked to a location near Gooding, Idaho, 
Woodland Park Police Chief Miles De Young previously said. Gooding is roughly 
800 miles northwest of Woodland Park.

"She's not the kind that runs off," Cheryl Berreth, Kelsey's mother, said in a 
December 10 press conference. "This is completely out of character. Kelsey 
loves her God, she loves her family and friends and she loves her job. She's 
reliable, considerate and honest."

Support for Frazee

Jodee Garreston, Berreth's cousin, said the pair met online two years ago when 
Berreth lived in Warden, Washington. Within months, Berreth moved to Colorado 
to be with Frazee, said Garreston, who never met Frazee.

Frazee has a business shoeing horses in Teller County. Several of Frazee's 
friends and clients told CNN that he was well known and liked in the community 
and was a good father to daughter Kaylee.

2 friends said Frazee told them that the relationship with Berreth ended months 
ago -- claims that contradict statements from Berreth's aunt, who wrote on 
Facebook that Berreth broke up with Frazee the same day she went missing.

"I still refuse to believe that he's done this until I see the evidence," said 
Tamra Freeman, whose granddaughter played with Frazee's daughter.

Freeman said that Frazee told her the relationship with Berreth ended on New 
Year's Day 2018, and the only contact they had was related to their daughter. 
Berreth's mother has not responded to CNN's requests for comment.

Frazee was at Freeman's home 2 days before his arrest, she said. She recalls 
him being concerned about what would happen to Kaylee if he was arrested, she 
said. Freeman said Frazee told her he felt "railroaded" by police, who he 
claimed seemed to be focused only on him.

When asked if others were investigated as potential suspects, District Attorney 
Dan May declined to share specifics of the investigation.

Levi Snare said he went through 4H with Frazee when they were children, and he 
leases a bull from Frazee for his cows. Frazee kept to himself, Snare said, but 
could hold a conversation when engaged.

"I've known Patrick for a long time, and it doesn't seem to me like he could do 
that," Snare said. "You're innocent until proven guilty and so people on 
Facebook who don't even know Patrick need to keep their mouths shut."

Frazee never spoke poorly of Berreth, said Ginger Bruvold, owner of Outpost 
Feed and Ranch Supply in Florissant where Frazee was a customer. His daughter 
was always with him and she was always well behaved and appeared to be cared 
for, Bruvold said.

"I have nothing negative to say about him or his family," Bruvold said. "They 
are good, honest, hardworking people who have been in this community most of 
their lives."

(source: CNN)



ARIZONA:

Death penalty sought for Hunt: Trial set for 2020


The trial for 22-year-old Sterling Randall Hunt, of Globe, has been set for 
Oct. 6, 2020, in the Division One Courtroom of Judge Bryan B. Chambers.

Hunt is the defendant in the Nov. 11, 2018 mass shooting in downtown Globe that 
ultimately left 3 people dead and 1 critically injured.

During the Dec. 17 status hearing in Globe, Chambers scheduled the next status 
hearing for 3:30 p.m., Monday, Feb. 4.

Designated as a complex case, the initial trial date would be set for 24 months 
after the Gila County Attorney’s Office gave its notice of intent to seek the 
death penalty for Hunt, Chambers said.

Hunt would also be required to complete IQ tests as well as a competency exam, 
he said.

Added to Hunt’s defense team a week prior, attorney Michael Ziemba provided 
Chambers with the defendant’s objection to the IQ, competency and sanity 
prescreen evaluations.

Deputy County Attorney Bradley Soos, who is prosecuting the case, said that he 
had just received the documents, to which Ziemba replied that he had no 
objection to giving Soos 15 days to review them.

Chambers said he would hear Ziemba’s motion at the next status hearing, giving 
Soos the opportunity to respond in writing.

The judge also addressed a defense request to extend the time for filing a 
motion to remand the grand jury. Soos had no objection, so Chambers gave the 
defense team until Feb. 15 to do so.

As for trial setting, Soos asked Chambers to set the actual trial date rather 
than just an initial one.

Soos called 24 months “plenty of time, as long as we stick to the schedule.”

Ziemba replied that he had seen “very little discovery,” and was currently 
“flying by the seat of [his] pants.”

Originally, Chambers set Hunt’s trial for Nov. 17, 2020, but Soos pointed out 
that a trial lasting 3 or 4 weeks could run into the holidays.

Soos asked that the trial be started in early November instead.

Acknowledging that Ziemba and his co-counsel, Thomas Henager, had been 
appointed a week earlier, Chambers scheduled the trial to the earlier date.

Ziemba pointed out that it was “not even the full 24 months,” to which Chambers 
replied that the Oct. 6 date “gives us some hope of finishing before the 
Christmas and New Year’s holidays.”

Chambers went on to say that death penalty cases tend to require more time.

Hunt was arraigned Nov. 26, 2018, 6 days after a grand jury handed down an 
indictment on 3 counts of 1st degree/premeditated murder and 2 counts of 
attempted 1st degree/premeditated murder.

Anna Ortiz was appointed Nov. 15 as Hunt’s defense attorney.

At Hunt’s Nov. 26 arraignment/preliminary hearing, Ortiz entered pleas of not 
guilty on behalf of the defendant.

During court proceedings that day, Chambers informed all parties that the court 
administrator was seeking death-qualified counsel to represent Hunt.

In conjunction with the County Attorney’s Office, the Globe Police Department 
obtained charges against Hunt the afternoon of Nov. 13, and a bench warrant was 
issued.

The extradition hearing for Hunt was held Nov. 15 in San Carlos. With 
extradition granted, Hunt was arrested and transported to Gila County Jail.

His initial appearance was held in Gila County Superior Court before Judge Gary 
V. Scales, in Globe. Hunt was held without bond.

The case was then assigned to Division One.

On Nov. 11, Cristi Licano, 44, and Daniel Albo, 22, were pronounced dead at the 
scene, while victims Ashley Sanchez and Charlene (Charli) Peak, both age 22, 
were airlifted to Valley trauma centers for their critical injuries.

Sanchez succumbed to her injuries on Nov. 15.

A 5th victim, 32-year-old Scott Mills, was shot at during the incident but was 
“able to run for cover and he was not hit by any of the gunman’s bullets,” 
according to Globe Police Chief Dale Walters.

During press conferences in November, Walters described the scenario in which 
Albo, Sanchez and Peak had gone to the back patio of Jammerz Bar for a smoke, 
while Hunt went to the front.

While the 3 were smoking, Hunt went to the back patio and opened fire. He then 
left the back patio, encountering Mills and Licano and shot at them, Walters 
said.

Hunt played pool with the victims earlier that night, he said.

Police confiscated the weapon, which Walters described as a Glock, “9 mm, 
semi-automatic handgun.”

(source: Arizona Silver Belt)