[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----FLA., ALA., LA., OHIO, OKLA., COLO., USA

[Rick Halperin]

June 16



FLORIDA:

Prosecutors say DNA evidence links defendant to Jupiter triple murder



Crucial DNA evidence took center stage Friday in the trial of 1She linked 
Christopher Vasata, the man on trial, and co-defendant Marcus Steward, to 
multiple items from the crime scenes, including on guns and gloves. Prosecutors 
are seeking the death penalty for both men. of the men accused of the 2017 
triple murder at a Super Bowl party in Jupiter.

Going item by item, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office crime lab scientist 
Alyse Yacovone-Margetts revealed her DNA findings.

The crime is unimaginable: 3 young people gathered Super Bowl night, each shot 
multiple times.

Brandi El Salhy, 24, Kelli Doherty, 20 and Sean Henry, 26, all died from their 
wounds.

Police said they found Vasata dropped off at his car in a nearby neighborhood. 
He had also been shot in the rear.

Officers said Vasata had bullets matching those used in the killings, both in 
his pants and in his car.

Prosecutors presented the DNA evidence to provide additional links between 
Vasata and the crime.

“The wrist area of the gloves was 2 individuals, Christopher Vasata could not 
be excluded,” Yacovone-Margetts testified, describing the major DNA 
contributors on the gloves.

“Swabs from the Glock pistol magazine Vasata being the major profile, with the 
more rare than 1 in 300 billion individuals, correct?” asked prosecutor Jill 
Richstone.

“Correct, he cannot be excluded,” Yacovone-Margetts replied.

But the defense worked to raise questions about the evidence.

“One of the scenarios that is possible is that Mr. Vasata’s DNA is transferred 
to an item that he never touches, due to Mr. Steward touching it,” Assistant 
Public Defender Elizabeth Ramsey posed to the analyst.

“Yes,” Yacovone-Margetts acknowledged.

This week, Vasata’s defense team named a 3rd man as a possible shooter. Earlier 
testimony confirmed Luke Kutsukos was on detectives’ radar after the crime, but 
he was never charged.

Prosecutors asked about his DNA.

“Could you include Luke Kutsukos, with his DNA, on any of those items?” 
prosecutor Richstone queried.

? “No,” said Yacovone-Margetts.

But during cross-examination, the defense emphasized DNA comparisons were not 
possible on some items, so they said Kutsukos could not be ruled out.

The high profile trial will hit a critical point when it resumes on Monday.

That’s when the party host, Charles Vorpagel, is set to testify. Some have 
called him the star witness.

“So when you talk about Vorpagel, clearly I’m not so sure that I would consider 
him the star witness,” said former FBI agent Stuart Kaplan, who now practices 
criminal defense law in Palm Beach Gardens. “The star of this case is what a 
great job the Jupiter Police Department did in collecting the forensic 
evidence. We know Vasata had 1 of the 2 black gloves on his person. And then 
later on they discovered the black glove in the Honda."

Victim Sean Henry’s car discovered abandoned hours after the murders on I-95.

“You know, those things are insurmountable, to try to now suggest that Vasata 
was not involved in the actual shooting,” Kaplan said.

Vorpagel also has credibility issues. He’s serving a federal prison sentence 
for drug and weapons violations.

During the investigation into the triple murder, police found a stash of 
multiple kinds of drugs and weapons in Vorpagel’s rented home and he was 
already a convicted felon.

(source: CBS News)

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

New trial date scheduled for Teresa Sievers murder case----Her husband, Mark, 
is accused of orchestrating her murder by hiring 2 men to kill her



A new trial date has been scheduled for the Teresa Sievers murder trial.

Her husband, Mark, is accused of orchestrating her murder by hiring 2 men to 
kill her.

Mark and another man, Jimmy Rodgers, are now expected to go to trial on October 
1. Both are facing 2nd-degree murder charges and the death penalty.

“There’s still many important things that need done before we try this case,” 
Don McFarlane, one of Rodgers' attorneys said. “We’re waiting on the results 
from the FBI DNA analysis.”

“We’re not optimistic the upcoming report will be favorable for the state,” 
Asst. State Attorney Hameed Hunter told the judge.

A judge originally set a trial date for June 3, but it was pushed back because 
of delayed DNA reports and dozens of motions that had not been sorted out yet. 
Both prosecution and the defense asked a judge for more time to look over 
evidence and prepare their cases.

Investigators believe Mark hired his long time friend Curtis Wright and another 
man, Rodgers, to kill Teresa. Investigators told the judge on Friday that 
Wright was their original suspect when they went to Missouri and interview 
others, including Rodgers. Both men were arrested in Missouri in September 
2015. Wright took a plea deal, leading to Mark’s arrest in February 2016.

Teresa was found bludgeoned to death in her Bonita Springs home in June 2015.

The judge heard a number of motions on Friday:

Motion to withdraw Rodger’s statement in September 2015: Attorneys for Jimmy 
Rodgers argued he invoked his right to remain silent at a previous meeting with 
investigators; however, they approached him a second time in regards to the 
murder. When LCSO had a warrant for murder, detectives said he responded “In 
the state of Missouri, that’s 15-20 years. I’m ok with that”. The state argued 
the detectives followed legal procedure. The judge reserved ruling.

Motion to suppress unlawful search and seizure of cell phone tower records: 
Investigators took cell phone data from several towers in Bonita Springs and 
Lehigh Acres during the hours surrounding Teresa Sievers murder that was not 
specific to any suspect but rather anyone utilizing their cell phone in that 
area at that time. Defense attorney Michael Mummert, on behalf of Mark Sievers, 
told the judge it violates the rights of his client as well as every citizen in 
the county impacted. The judge denied the motion, citing that Mark Sievers 
information wasn’t found in the data collected.

Motion to avoid the use of the term “burner phone”: The defense for Mark 
Sievers argued the term has a negative connotation and requested it be replaced 
with a prepaid cell phone which more accurately defines the phone. The state 
and judge disagreed, the judge saying the term is not inappropriate.

Several joint motions filed by both Rodgers & Sievers attorneys request 
additional information on potential jurors, tags on potential jurors while in 
the courthouse, limitations on juror interaction with court staff: The judge 
denied the bulk of these motions for a multitude of reasons. The judge granted 
the motion to get the list of potential jurors as soon as it’s available, 
citing that the request is supported by statute.

Joint motion to declare the death penalty unconstitutional: Kathleen’s 
Fitzgeorge argued to Judge Bruce Kyle that evolving standards of decency change 
the way the death penalty is viewed. It’s been argued at the Florida Supreme 
Court in recent years. Fitzgeorge said that the death penalty is not 
necessarily constitutional in all circumstances. The judge denied the motion, 
saying the state statute stands on its own.

Additional motions from the defense team for Jimmy Rodgers requested several 
demands be declared unconstitutional, including the demand for an evidence list 
from all sides: The state nearly joined in this motion requesting that their 
evidence list not be required either. The judge stood by his original 
requirement that all evidence lists be submitted to the court prior to trial.

Both Sievers and Rodgers are expected in court again August 22 for a pre-trial 
conference hearing.

(source: NBC News)








ALABAMA:

Defense seeks venue change in Prattville barbershop murder case



Judge Bill Lewis will soon rule on whether the capital murder trial of Keon 
Cain, charged in the 2017 barbershop murders, should be moved to another venue.

Cain is indicted on capital murder counts for the deaths of Eddie Scott, 
Anthony Smith, and Al Benson at a Prattville barbershop in July 2017. The state 
is seeking the death penalty.

Cain’s attorneys argued the media coverage of the murders and the subsequent 
arrests saturated headlines and airways with sensational stories and articles.

“From the time of the murders going into today this matter has been prevalent 
is the news and remains in the news,” stated Cain’s defense attorney Carlton 
Taylor.

The state denied those claims. Prosecutor Josh Cochrane read aloud three 
headlines the defense listed as problematic, stating all were factual and 
weren’t sensational.

“The words, ‘suspect’ and ‘alleged’ were used - nothing suggests the defendant 
is guilty,” said Cochrane. “Just because we’ve had media accounts published, 
they may even detail heinous crimes that have been committed - that itself 
isn’t enough to meet the burden for a change of venue.”

Cochrane argued the jury selection process would give them ample opportunity to 
identify any bias.

The defense listed multiple links from WSFA 12 News and Montgomery Advertiser 
as examples of articles that have prejudiced the potential jury pool in Autauga 
County.

Judge Lewis told the defense he had read all their stories and asked 
specifically what information was sensational and incorrect.

“I find the reporting has been reasonably responsible,” Lewis stated.

Taylor asked Lewis for 14 days to submit hard copies of the articles in 
question, which was granted.

“There’s just so much in these articles no jury trial should have access to,” 
Taylor said.

Lewis is expected to rule on the motion shortly after receiving the articles.

The state is seeking the death penalty in this case which is slated for late 
July.

(source: WSFA news)








LOUISIANA----female may face death penalty

Records unsealed in cases of woman accused in Natchitoches infant's burning 
death



Records previously sealed in the cases of 2 Natchitoches women accused in the 
burning death of an infant have been re-opened with exceptions.

District Judge Desiree Dyess in January sealed the 1st-degree murder files of 
24-year-old Hanna Barker and 26-year-old Felicia Smith, but agreed to reverse 
that decision with the exception of records related to discovery responses.

A preliminary examination scheduled Friday morning for Smith was continued 
without a new date. However, prosecutors and the defense will be back in court 
on Aug. 23 for a discovery hearing where the defense will seek to obtain 
information about the evidence against Smith.

Barker and Smith have pleaded not guilty in the July death of Levi Cole 
Ellerbe, who was Barker’s almost 7-month-old son. She is accused of concocting 
a story that her son was kidnapped from their home in the Mayberry Trailer 
Park.

An hour later, the infant’s body was found near the railroad tracks several 
miles away. He had 2nd- and 3rd-degree burns over 90 % of his body and died the 
next day at a Shreveport hospital.

Investigators say it was Smith, who is Barker’s girlfriend, who took Levi, 
poured gasoline on him and set him on fire. While he was burning, Smith went to 
work.

Smith confessed, according to court records, and told investigators it was 
Barker who came up with the plan. Barker has denied any involvement.

The Natchitoches District Attorney’s Office has not made a decision on whether 
it will seek the death penalty in the cases. In Barker’s case, that will be 
known by Aug. 1.

(source: KTBS news)








OHIO:

Ohio high court won't hear challenge over bite-mark evidence



The Ohio Supreme Court won't hear an appeal from a man sentenced to death for 
the 1985 rape, torture and slaying of a 12-year-old boy.

Attorneys for 52-year-old Danny Lee Hill have unsuccessfully argued bite-mark 
evidence used against him was unreliable and that he should get a new trial.

A county judge rejected his request, and a state appeals court upheld that 
decision. The state Supreme Court this week declined to consider a further 
appeal.

Hill was convicted of aggravated murder in the killing of Raymond Fife in 
Warren.

Hill is separately challenging his eligibility for the death penalty, citing 
intellectual deficits. A federal appeals court is slated to hear arguments in 
that case this fall.

(source: WBNS news)








OKLAHOMA:

OK-CADP elects 2019-2020 board officers



The Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (OK-CADP) has announced the 
election of its 2019-2020 Executive Board of Directors. Rev. Don Heath was 
re-elected as the organization’s Board Chair after serving in that position for 
2 years, and as vice chair for 2 years prior.

Pastor of Edmond Trinity Christian Church since 2007, Heath received his Master 
of Divinity degree with high honors (summa cum laude) from Phillips Theological 
Seminary in Tulsa. He represents the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in 
Oklahoma for the coalition.

Heath is an attorney at Hirsch, Heath & White, PLLC in Oklahoma City. He 
received his Juris Doctor from the University of Oklahoma School of Law in 
1982.

A court-ordered moratorium has been in place in Oklahoma since October 2015 
after the botched executions of Clayton Lockett and Charles Warner, and the 
near execution of Richard Glossip after a lethal injection protocol drug mix 
up.

In 2018, the State of Oklahoma announced that nitrogen hypoxia would be its new 
method of execution. However, death by gas mask has never been used as a mode 
of execution in the United States, and Oklahoma has been unable to obtain a 
device that would “appropriately introduce nitrogen into an individual’s 
system.” The state is now ready to “develop the machine themselves,” according 
to the state attorney general.

Until the new protocol is in place, the moratorium on executions in Oklahoma 
will continue.

“The Coalition will continue to emphasize the humanity of the people on death 
row,” Heath said. “In the coming year, we will continue to work to improve 
conditions on death row and to seek clemency whenever possible. We also hope to 
expand our coalition to include more people of color, young people, and other 
people of good will who want to build a non-violent Oklahoma.”

Re-elected as OK-CADP’s Vice Chair is Dr. Elizabeth Overman, a Political 
Science professor at the University of Central Oklahoma.

Overman teaches public policy, nonprofit management and program evaluation, and 
minority policy and politics, among other courses, at UCO in the Master of 
Public Administration program.

This year, Dr. Overman hosted a screening on the UCO campus of the ABC 
documentary, “The Last Defense,” which examines the case of Julius Jones on 
Oklahoma’s death row. The event was co-sponsored by OK-CADP, the UCO Master of 
Public Administration Program, Pi Alpha Alpha Global Honor Society for Public 
Affairs & Administration, the UCO Debate Club, Criminal Justice Club of UCO.

In 2015, Elizabeth headed the Oklahoma Lynching Research Project (OLRP), along 
with Marc Goulding, as part of UCO’s Transformative Learning program.

Margie Roetker, representing the Peace and Justice Committee of Oklahoma City’s 
St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, was re-elected and will serve a 2nd term 
as board Treasurer.

“My faith has taught me that all people are children of God, created in God’s 
image and due respect for no other reason,” Roetker said. “My faith is a faith 
of second chances.”

A coalition member for nearly two decades, Margaret Cox has been elected as the 
group’s board Secretary for the 2019-2020 term. Cox has served in a variety of 
capacities including secretary, treasurer, and newsletter editor.

Cox has been arrested a dozen times or more during acts of civil disobedience 
against the death penalty. Having attended numerous clemency hearings Margaret 
stated, “I have seen the Pardon & Parole board recommend clemency, however, the 
governor has not always granted it.”

During the coalition’s awards dinner on June 8, Cox was elected as 1 of the 
organization’s 7 at-large board members along with Wende Battle, Leslie 
Fitzhugh, Kelley Garrett, Nykkia Harris, Dr. Overman, and Dr. Gilbert Parks.

Representing the National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice, Oklahoma 
Chapter, Fitzhugh was appointed to also serve on the executive committee for a 
2nd term.

Heath said, “OK-CADP will greatly benefit from Elizabeth’s research into 
lynching in Oklahoma and her education efforts with students at UCO regarding 
abolishing the death penalty, Margaret’s extensive history with the coalition, 
Margie’s concern for the sanctity of life as a former chaplain, and Leslie’s 30 
years of experience serving in the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.”

Based in Oklahoma City, OK-CADP is a grassroots membership organization that 
engages in outreach, education, and advocacy aimed at raising awareness of 
issues related to abolishing the death penalty.

For more information, visit okcadp.org.

(source: The City Sentinel)








COLORADO:

Tooth fragment testing OK'd in Colorado missing woman case



Prosecutors will be permitted to conduct DNA testing on a tooth fragment found 
on the ranchof a Colorado man suspected of killing the mother of his child and 
burning her body, a judge ruled Friday.

The Gazette reports that investigators discovered the fragment while searching 
a ranch owned by Patrick Frazee, who has pleaded not guilty to killing Kelsey 
Berreth.

District Judge Scott Sells ruled that the Colorado Bureau of Investigation may 
proceed with the testing in the presence of attorneys for Frazee.

Berreth, a 29-year-old flight instructor, was last seen on Nov. 22, 2018, at a 
supermarket near her home in the mountain community of Woodland Park. The 
search for her started on Dec. 2, when her mother reported her missing. Her 
body has not been found.

Berreth and Frazee were engaged, but lived in separate homes.

Investigators have testified that Kenney told police Frazee repeatedly asked 
her to kill

Berreth but that he later admitted to beating Berreth to death with a baseball 
bat. She said Frazee demanded she clean up blood at Berreth's home and watched 
as Frazee burned Berreth's body, according to investigators.

Kenney told police that Frazee planned to dispose of Berreth's remains in a 
dump or a river, investigators have said.

District Attorney Dan May said Friday prosecutors have yet to decide whether to 
pursue the death penalty.

Kenney is cooperating with prosecutors as part of a plea agreement in which she 
pleaded guilty to evidence tampering for moving Berreth's cellphone after she 
disappeared.

She faces up to three years in prison but prosecutors have said Kenney will not 
be sentenced until all trials related to Berreth's disappearance are completed.

Prosecutors' evidence includes cellphone tower data, suggesting Berreth's phone 
was always in the possession of either Frazee or Kenney after Nov. 22, the date 
Frazee told police he last saw her.

Prosecutors have not disclosed theories on why Frazee would kill Berreth.

Her parents argue in a wrongful death lawsuit that they believe Frazee wanted 
full custody of the couple's toddler daughter. The child has remained with them 
temporarily while the criminal case proceeds.

Frazee's criminal trial is set for Oct. 28.

(source: KDVR news)








USA:

Appeals for Sjodin killer Rodriguez could last another decade



After 13 years of litigation, the judicial system is still far from finished 
with Alfonso Rodriguez.

Rodriguez, the Crookston, Minn., man who was convicted in 2006 of kidnapping 
and killing University of North Dakota student Dru Sjodin, continues to appeal 
his death sentence. As costs mount, experts say the process could drag on for 
years -- maybe even another decade.

“It’s basically all on deck. We’re going to now throw in everything,” said U.S. 
Attorney Drew Wrigley, who prosecuted the original case and appeal. “I think 
most people in a free society would say, ‘Good. We’ll all check one more time.’ 
But there are no limits placed on that in law. In time, it has expanded. In 
this case, it has expanded a bit like a gas. It has filled the fullness of 
time.”

Rodriguez’s counsel rested in February after a 9-day hearing, during which they 
claimed he is intellectually disabled. The ruling, however, won't come for a 
while. Wrigley said it could take months for a transcript to be completed and 
then attorneys will have 4 months to submit briefs on the issue.

Robert Durham, director of the nonpartisan Death Penalty Information Center, 
said the case could stretch another decade without reaching a conclusion.

Wrigley said he’s not surprised Rodriguez is still alive or that the case is 
still under scrutiny. Ultimately, he believes Rodriguez’s final appeals will 
prove unsuccessful and he will be put to death.

“I recognize, having personally handled the appeal to the Eighth Circuit and 
ultimately up to the Supreme Court in that first go-around, that it is a 
conviction that is on solid footing. … I continue to believe that lawful, 
well-founded appropriate sentence will be carried out,” Wrigley said. “I 
couldn’t tell you when I think that time frame will be, but you can see 
important next steps from where we’re standing.”

Durham said the most common outcome in death penalty cases is actually not 
execution — it’s lesser sentences and removal from death row.

At present, there are 62 federal death-row inmates. The death penalty was 
reinstated in 1988 and 78 people have been sentenced to death since. Only three 
have been executed. Meanwhile, 12 have been removed from death row and three 
defendants had death recommended but the sentence was not imposed.

“What typically happens in a case that’s been around that long is that it’s 
gone through the appellate process and been overturned and gone back for a 
resentencing and a retrial. ... So when it gets sent back -- which a majority 
of cases do -- you start all over again in the appellate process,” Durham said. 
“The single most likely outcome of a death penalty case once a death sentence 
is returned is that the conviction or death sentence will be overturned.”

Neither Minnesota nor North Dakota allow for the death penalty under state law, 
but because Rodriguez’s crime crossed state lines and was therefore tried in 
federal court, the death sentence could be, and was, imposed. Rodriguez lost an 
appeal through the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in 2009. The Supreme Court 
declined to hear his case afterward.

And so began the habeas corpus motions. The motions call on things not 
discussed during trial or appeal that normally could be considered outside the 
record, such as juror fairness or effectiveness of counsel.

For the habeas corpus motions, which are the last leg of appeal before 
execution, Rodriguez is represented by federal public defenders out of the 
Minneapolis office.

Meanwhile, taxpayers continue to foot a mounting bill to incarcerate, prosecute 
and defend Rodriguez.

It cost at least $1.2 million to defend him during his original trial, 
according to Todd Dudgeon, deputy clerk of court at Fargo’s federal courthouse. 
The case was among the most costly in the courthouse’s history.

His Eighth Circuit appeal cost about $158,000, according to federal court 
documents.

A large chunk of that cost and subsequent expense is the cost of prosecution 
and the public defenders working on Rodriguez’s behalf. It's difficult to get 
an accurate tally on Rodriguez's impact on taxpayer dollars because public 
lawyers work for a salary, and not on a case-by-case or hourly basis.

“My staff and I who were working most directly on that, the lawyers I would say 
in a lot of instances we put in over twice as many hours as we would normally 
be putting in probably,” Wrigley said. “Which, all it did was it had the impact 
of cutting our salary in half because you don’t change the salaries in the 
office. So while you can say ‘these 8 people were working on this case,’ it 
would be inappropriate to say those entire salaries are attributable to the 
Rodriguez case. A, it wasn’t the only thing we were doing and B, that’s what 
we’re there to do -- work on investigations and work on cases that we think 
have public merit.”

Now Rodriguez waits out his days in a prison in Terre Haute, Ind., where nearly 
all federal death-row inmates are housed. It has cost approximately $380,000 
for his incarceration since 2007, according to inmate costs listed by the 
Federal Bureau of Prisons.

His actual incarceration cost may be even higher, though, because death-row 
inmates are housed in a specific block of the prison. Studies have suggested it 
may be more costly to incarcerate an inmate facing death.

Rodriguez was housed at the Cass County Jail before his death sentence was 
imposed at a cost of $88,840, according to the U.S. Marshal’s Service.

Durham noted Rodriguez’s appearances in the Fargo courtroom are also expensive 
because additional security is needed at all times to monitor him.

“If you want to do the death penalty right, it’s going to be expensive,” Durham 
said. “And if you don’t want to do the death penalty right, we shouldn’t have 
it.”

Wrigley said prosecutors will continue to fight for what he thinks is the most 
lawful sentence — even if it takes another decade.

“It’s a serious decision to seek death and having gotten a death penalty in 
that case that was rightly instituted, we will fight for that conviction until 
it’s logical conclusion,” he said.

(source: bismarcktribune.com)