[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----FLA., MO., OKLA., KAN., USA

[Rick Halperin]

June 27



FLORIDA:

Attorney Raises ‘Judicial Activism’ in Key Death Penalty Case----The filing, in 
the case of convicted murderer Duane Eugene Owen, comes as a revamped Supreme 
Court is exploring whether to reverse course on decisions that allowed dozens 
of convicted murderers to have their death sentences reconsidered.

Reversing the state’s retroactive consideration of certain death penalty cases 
would amount to “the most egregious judicial activism in the history of 
Florida,” a lawyer for a death row inmate argued in a brief filed with the 
Florida Supreme Court.

The filing, in the case of convicted murderer Duane Eugene Owen, comes as a 
revamped Supreme Court is exploring whether to reverse course on decisions that 
allowed dozens of convicted murderers to have their death sentences 
reconsidered.

The justices are looking at the issue after Gov. Ron DeSantis reshaped the 
Supreme Court early this year, turning what had been widely viewed as a 
liberal-leaning majority into a court dominated by conservative justices.

The issue stems, in large part, from rulings in 2016 by the U.S. Supreme Court 
and the Florida Supreme Court about the state’s death penalty sentencing 
system.

In the case of Hurst v. Florida, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the state’s 
death penalty sentencing system was unconstitutional because it gave too much 
power to judges, instead of juries, in deciding whether defendants should be 
sent to death row.

That ruling, premised on a 2002 decision in Ring v. Arizona, led to sentencing 
changes, including requiring that juries be unanimous in finding necessary 
facts and in recommending imposition of the death penalty.

In a pair of decisions in December 2016, the Florida Supreme Court decided that 
the sentencing changes would apply retroactively to cases that became final 
after the 2002 Ring ruling. Resentencing should only be an option for cases in 
which jury recommendations for death were not unanimous, the court also 
decided.

But the revamped Florida court in April ordered Owen’s lawyer and the state to 
address the retroactivity issue. That prompted Attorney General Ashley Moody’s 
office to urge the justices to make a relatively rare move of receding from the 
previous retroactivity rulings in what are known as the Mosley and Asay cases.

Moody’s office said the Supreme Court should rule that the death penalty 
sentencing changes should apply only to new cases, not retroactively to older 
cases. Moody’s office also contended that “stare decisis,” the concept of 
relying on court precedent, should not prevent the Supreme Court from 
revisiting the issue.

“The decisions in Asay and Mosley were premised on ignoring long standing 
existing precedent without justification,” the attorney general’s brief said. 
“Consequently, neither should be protected by stare decisis.”

But the “presumption in favor of stare decisis is strong,” Owen’s lawyer, James 
L. Driscoll, argued, relying on previous court rulings.

“The citizens have the right to rely on the death penalty being imposed or 
maintained under a constitutional system in a fair and non-arbitrary manner. 
Each pre-Hurst condemned individual was denied that,” Driscoll wrote in the 
21-page reply brief Monday. “This court should never reverse stare decisis when 
the result would be to take away the availability of a remedy for 
constitutional violations that cause unfairness and unreliability.”

Roughly a third of the inmates resentenced since the 2016 retroactivity 
decisions have received life sentences instead of the death penalty, according 
to Driscoll.

The state “offers no compelling reason” for the court “to take the 
extraordinary step of overturning its precedent,” he wrote.

“The state has invited this court to engage in the most egregious judicial 
activism in the history of Florida,” Driscoll wrote. “If this court accepts the 
state’s invitation, the ability of individuals to seek a remedy for state and 
federal constitutional violations will be hindered for generations. … This 
court should avoid judicial activism, maintain stare decisis and apply 
Florida’s consistent and workable retroactivity framework.”

Owen, 58, has spent more than three decades on death row after being convicted 
of the 1984 rape and murder of Georgianna Worden in Palm Beach County.

Driscoll also argued that retroactivity should apply to all of the state’s 
death row inmates, not just those whose sentences were final by 2002. Cases 
with resentencing since the Hurst decision “show that what previously produced 
a death sentence would not necessarily do so now,” he argued.

(source: law.com)

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

State pushes hard for death penalty for Donald Davidson----1 witness remains 
before judge sentences man for 2014 murder in Middleburg



The fact Donald Davidson pleaded guilty to killing 37-year-old Roseann Welsh in 
her Middleburg home 5 years didn’t keep some of the horrifying details of the 
crime from being revealed during his sentencing hearing.

The state pushed hard in its desire to have Davidson die by lethal injection by 
telling Judge Donald Lester how the mother was killed. Davidson waived his 
right to have a jury to recommend his sentence.

Davidson’s defense painted a picture of a man who was surrounded by other sex 
offenders, being abused for years by an older cousin, having mental issues 
created by his upbringing and drug abuse and a low IQ.

The trial was put on hold until Monday, July 1, when a final defense witness is 
scheduled to testify. After that, it will be up to Lester to decide whether 
Davidson goes to Florida’s death row or spends the rest of his life in prison.

State Attorney Melissa Nelson’s opening was a powerful indictment of her 
office’s determination that Davidson deserves to die for strangling, raping and 
stabbing Welsh, then kidnapping and assaulting her 10-year-old daughter on Dec. 
1, 2014.

“On behalf of the people of the State of Florida, we are seeking this Court 
sentence Donald Davidson to death,” Nelson said.

“Our state’s highest Court has held that the penalty of death is reserved for 
the worst of murders. This, Your Honor, fits the bill. This homicide indeed 
qualifies as ‘the worst of murders.’ The aggravation in this case is 
significant in both quantity and weight.

“When caught, he confessed. And we find ourselves here today because he has 
pled guilty. Whatever credit he may be due for these decisions – and for which 
his counsel will certainly argue-- simply cannot overcome the many inhumane and 
cruel decisions he made before these. Penalty by death, Judge Lester, is what 
Donald Davidson deserves.”

The victim’s son read a statement, telling the judge how it’s affected him.

“My mom will never see me graduate, or get married, or hold and play with her 
grandkids. My mom had the kindest heart and I miss the talks we had every day. 
I miss every day when I got up and she would say Good Morning and give me a 
hug. But this was taken from me, and I wake up every day not wanting to get up, 
because I know that my mother will never be there again. I have a large whole 
in the heart and I just don’t understand why this happened to my family and 
me,” he said.

The son found his mother’s body in a bathroom.

The defense didn’t refute the heinous nature of the crime. It, instead, focused 
on Davidson’s past and how it kept him from fully appreciating his crime.

The defendant’s brother, James Earl, said Davidson was conceived during an 
affair, and by the time he was 10, he was living with 2 uncles who were 
registered sex offenders. Earl also said he and Davidson were molested by an 
older cousin, but he didn’t tell anyone until the woman was killed in a DUI 
accident.

Dr. Robert Ouaou also testified trauma during childhood may have affected the 
development of his brain. He also said Davidson suffered with A.D.H.D. and an 
IQ of 85.

(source:claytodayonline.com)








MISSOURI:

Execution date set for Mo. inmate with rare condition----His illness causes 
blood-filled tumors to grow in his head, neck and throat and argues that a 
throat tumor could burst during the execution, causing him to choke



A Missouri death row inmate who has received last-minute reprieves twice before 
over concerns about a rare medical condition is now scheduled to die in 
October.

The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday set an Oct. 1 execution date for Russell 
Bucklew, who was convicted in the 1996 shooting death of a man who was living 
with Bucklew's former girlfriend.

Bucklew narrowly escaped execution in 2014 and again in 2018. Each time, the 
U.S. Supreme Court intervened moments before Bucklew was scheduled to be put to 
death.

His ailment, cavernous hemangioma, causes blood-filled tumors to grow in his 
head, neck and throat. Bucklew has argued that the throat tumor could burst 
during the execution, causing him to choke on his own blood.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in April that the state could move ahead with 
the execution. The court's 5 conservative justices rejected Bucklew's argument 
that subjecting him to lethal injection would violate the Constitution's ban on 
cruel and unusual punishment.

Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote that Bucklew's claim "isn't supported by either the 
law or the evidence."

Justice Stephen Breyer wrote in a dissenting opinion that his colleagues 
acknowledged that the Constitution's Eighth Amendment prohibits states from 
executing prisoners by "horrid modes of torture" such as burning at the stake.

"But the majority's decision permits a state to execute a prisoner who suffers 
from a medical condition that would render his execution no less painful," 
Breyer wrote.

Bucklew's attorney, Cheryl Pilate, did not immediately respond to phone and 
email messages seeking comment. She has said previously that Bucklew's 
condition, in addition to the tumors, causes weakened and malformed blood 
vessels and vein problems. Missouri uses an injection of the drug pentobarbital 
for executions. Bucklew had proposed that the state execute him by having him 
breathe pure nitrogen gas through a mask. Missouri officials said no state has 
ever carried out an execution as Bucklew suggested.

Bucklew, now 51, was convicted of killing Michael Sanders. After entering a 
trailer where Sanders and Bucklew's former girlfriend lived with their 
children, Bucklew fatally shot Sanders and later raped his former girlfriend. 
Bucklew was arrested after a car chase and shootout with police.

The execution would be the 1st in Missouri since Mark Christeson was put to 
death in January 2017. None of the 20 inmates executed since Missouri began 
using pentobarbital in 2013 have shown obvious signs of pain or suffering.

(source: Associated Press)

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

Execution date set for Missouri death row inmate convicted of 1996 murder



The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday issued a warrant of execution for Russell 
Bucklew, who was convicted of killing a southeast Missouri man in 1996 during a 
crime rampage.

The state’s high court set Bucklew’s execution date for Oct. 1.

The warrant comes after the U.S. Supreme Court in April ruled against Bucklew’s 
bid to halt his death by lethal injection. Attorneys for Bucklew, now 51, 
argued his medical condition would lead to extreme suffering when put to death 
by lethal injection.

Bucklew’s medical condition, cavernous hemangioma, causes weakened and 
malformed blood vessels, and tumors in his nose and throat could rupture and 
bleed.

“The Eighth Amendment has never been understood to guarantee a condemned inmate 
a painless death,” Justice Neil Gorsuch said in April. “That’s a luxury not 
guaranteed to many people, including most victims of capital crimes.”

Bucklew’s execution has been delayed numerous times in the 22 years since he 
was convicted of 1st-degree murder.

In 1997, a Boone County jury recommended the death penalty for Bucklew after 
convicting him of killing Michael Sanders, 27, the boyfriend of Bucklew’s 
ex-girlfriend.

(source: stltoday.com)

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

A look at Missouri’s death penalty laws, history



After more than 2 decades of appeals, the Missouri Supreme Court has set an 
execution date for Russell Bucklew, a man convicted of 1st-degree murder in 
1997.

The court ordered Bucklew’s execution for October 1. Should the state carry out 
the execution in 3 months, Bucklew will be the 89th person to be put to death 
in Missouri since the U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed the use of capital 
punishment in 1976.

After his girlfriend left him in 1996, Bucklew reportedly stalked, kidnapped, 
beat, and raped her. During the abduction, Bucklew fatally shot her new 
boyfriend and opened fire at his 6-year-old son, missing him.

Bucklew had appealed just how he would be sentenced to death. He said because 
of a rare medical condition, a lethal injection could cause a tumor in his 
throat to burst, thus causing extreme pain. The U.S. Supreme Court dismissed 
his argument in a 5-4 ruling in April.

Missouri’s capital punishment law

Missouri allows the death penalty — by lethal injection or gas — which is 
overseen by the Department of Corrections. The death penalty can be imposed on 
invidiuals who are at least 18 years old and found to have deliberately 
committed first-degree murder, a class A felony.

The law instructs jurors to consider certain evidence, including the 
perpetrator’s past record, when considering the death penalty.

Individuals who are found to have a mental disease or inability to “understand 
the nature and purpose of the punishment about to be imposed upon him or 
matters in extenuation, arguments for clemency or reasons why the sentence 
should not be carried out,” should not be executed, according to state law.

Death sentence history in the state

As of today, there are 23 capital punishment offenders in Missouri as of 
Wednesday, according to a Department of Corrections spokeswoman. All are men.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the death penalty did not violate the Eighth 
or Fourteenth Amendments, Missouri has executed 88 people. But since capital 
punishment was first issued in the state (in 1810), Missouri has put to death 
hundreds of people, according to the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC).

In fact, the state executed 285 people from 1810 until 1965, according to the 
DPIC. Until 1936, when the state began to use lethal gas, Missouri hanged those 
who were sentenced to death. Lethal injections began to be used in 1987.

Only one woman has been executed in Missouri history: Bonnie Heady. Along with 
her boyfriend, Heady was convicted of kidnapping and killing a young boy in 
1953. The pair was executed together in December of that same year.

Legislative reforms

A few bills modifying Missouri’s death penalty guidelines were brought up 
during the 2019 session — but none made it very far:

SB 288 from Republican Sen. Paul Wieland would remove the option of the death 
penalty if all jurors could not unanimously agree to such a punishment. It did 
not make it past a Senate Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence 
Committee.

SB 462 from Sen. Lauren Arthur, a Democrat, would eliminate the option of the 
death penalty for convicted felons who are found to have been suffering from a 
serious mental illness at the time the crime was committed. The option for life 
in prison without parole would still be available, but the bill also did not 
make it out of the Senate’s judiciary committee.

HB 630 would require the state to perform executions in a way that would allow 
for inmates to donate his or her organs if so desired. The bill, from 
Republican Rep. Jim Neely, was referred to the House Corrections and Public 
Institutions Committee where it stalled.

HB 811, from Republican Rep. Shamed Dogan, had identical language to that of 
Wieland’s bill. It passed out of the House Rules – Administrative Oversight 
Committee but didn’t go further.

(source: The Missouri Times)








OKLAHOMA:

DA may seek death penalty for Hernandez



A Marble City man who is charged with 2 counts of 1st degree murder after 
setting fire to his mother and grandmother on June 5 may face the death 
penalty, according to Sequoyah County District Attorney Jack Thorp.

Joseph Allen Hernandez, 31, faces 2 counts of 1st degree murder-deliberate 
intent, and 2 counts of 1st-degree arson for allegedly dousing his mother and 
grandmother with gasoline and then catching their mobile home and the 2 women 
on fire, according to earlier reports. His mother, Audrey Hernandez, 62, and 
his grandmother, Francis Wright, 79, who was in a wheelchair, both died after 
suffering serious burns and smoke inhalation from the incident, investigators 
reported. Thorp said he is working with the Sequoyah County Sheriff’s office to 
put together a case to seek the death penalty for Hernandez.

“In any murder case, we can seek the death penalty. We are currently gathering 
up information and we will know more about filing a bill of particulars after 
the preliminary hearing. Until then, he is presumed innocent until found 
guilty,” Thorp said. Hernandez remains in the Sequoyah County Jail with no 
bond.

He reportedly was released from prison on May 28 for assault and 
battery-related charges.

(source: Sequoyah County Times)








KANSAS:

Man pleads guilty to murdering Overland Park woman



A 25-year-old Kansas man pleaded guilty Tuesday to murdering an Overland Park 
woman in 2016.

Korrey Rinke, of Ottawa, Kansas, is guilty of 1st degree murder and aggravated 
kidnapping in the August 2016 killing of Julianna Pappas, according to a news 
release from the Johnson County District Attorney.

Pappas was reported missing by her roommate on Aug. 22, 2016. Her body was 
found Aug. 31, 2016 in a wooded area south of W. 115th between Switzer Road and 
Indian Creek Parkway in Overland Park.

According to court documents, Rinke was seen tampering with an electronic 
bicycle that belonged to Pappas.

When police first spoke to Rinke they claim he seemed nervous and denied that 
Pappas was in his car, then admitted she was in his car.

In a follow-up interview with Rinke, police say they read him his Miranda 
rights and he agreed to tell them about Pappas. Police say he told them that he 
and Pappas had been driving around together and purchased alcohol. According to 
the affidavit, he told police they were going to have sex but when she learned 
he did not have a condom, she said no.

Rinke reportedly then admitted to police that he forced her to have sex. Police 
say he admitted punching her and believed he broke her arm when he assaulted 
her. He said he left her in the park, injured and described her as ‘gurgling’ 
from her injuries. Police say Rinke told them he did not believe she would 
survive her injuries.

According to police, Rinke went back to the area four days later to make sure 
she was dead, but could not find her.

Sentencing for Rinke is scheduled to take place at 11 a.m. on September 12 in 
Johnson County.

The case was investigated by Overland Park police and the Johnson County 
Criminalistics Laboratory.

(source: Fox News)








USA:

U of I killer Brendt Christensen would join exclusive federal death penalty 
fraternity----Chinese scholar Yingying Zhang was murdered by Brendt Christensen 
in 2017. His death penalty hearing begins on July 8.



It is a club so exclusive that Illinois has had only 2 members in the entire 
history of the state.

Brendt Christensen would become just the 3rd recipient of the federal death 
penalty in Illinois.

Christensen was found guilty yesterday in the kidnap/killing of Yingying Zhang, 
a Chinese scholar at University of Illinois' flagship campus.

U.S. prosecutors will soon ask a jury to impose the death penalty on 
Christensen, 29, for the 2017 torture-murder that received widespread news 
coverage in China.

Even though Illinois banished capital punishment in 2011, because U.S. 
kidnapping laws allow for the death penalty and Christensen was prosecuted 
federally, authorities are seeking his execution.

Such punishment is exceedingly rare.

There are currently 62 federal inmates on death row. Only 3 prisoners have been 
executed since the federal death penalty was reinstated in 1988 after a 16-year 
moratorium.

The last Illinois inmate to be executed by the United States was on July 14, 
1938.

Right now just 1 federal inmate in Illinois is on death row: Ronald Mikos was 
sentenced in 2005. Mikos was an MD who murdered one of his patients, a disabled 
church employee who was to testify against him in a million dollar Medicare 
fraud case.

Likewise, Indiana currently has just one inmate on federal death row. Odell 
"Nasih Khalil" Corley was convicted in 2004 of murdering 2 tellers while trying 
to rob the First State Bank of Porter.

Brendt Christensen's death penalty hearing is set to begin July 8th and 
expected to last at least 1 week.

"The U.S. Attorney's office considering asking for death penalty they did 
consult with the family" said Zhi Dong Wang, an attorney for the parents of 
Yingying Zhang. "The family's input was a consideration. The family did ask the 
prosecutors to consider and to request for death penalty."

Even if he is sentenced to die, Christensen would not be executed in an 
Illinois facility.

Federal capital punishment is carried out at the U.S. penitentiary in Terre 
Haute, Indiana. The last such execution, of Gulf War veteran and 
murderer/rapist Louis Jones Jr, occurred at the Terre Haute prison in 2003.

Death sentences under federal law are by lethal injection and there is an 
execution chamber at Terre Haute outfitted with chemical lines for 
administering deadly IV fluids.

While the Justice Department tagged Christensen's case as a death penalty 
prosecution, data show he is more likely to receive a life sentence once the 
decision comes down. According to statistics collected by the Death Penalty 
Information Center, juries select life in prison in about 70% of all capital 
cases.

If a jury votes for execution, in federal cases the trial judge may overrule 
the decision and convert the sentence to life behind bars.

In Christensen's case, the prospect of being executed weighed on him even 
before he was arrested. On FBI undercover recordings of conversations that he 
had with his girlfriend, Christensen is heard saying that he could be killed 
for his conduct.

(source: ABC News)