[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, N.C., FLA., ALA., MISS., LA.

[Rick Halperin]

Oct. 1




TEXAS:

Jurors to decide if Haskell a future danger to society



Aurielle Lyon sobbed as she identified 4 of her nieces and nephews from their 
autopsy photos.

She will never see Bryan Stay, 13, graduate from high school. She won’t watch 
Emily, 9, go through childhood with her cousin and closest pal, or witness 
Rebecca, 7, develop her wacky fashion sense into her teenage years. Her own son 
can’t become best friends with Zachary, 4.

“My mind just goes to the experiences I should have had with these children,” 
Lyon said Monday during the 1st day of testimony in the punishment phase of 
convicted murderer Ronald Haskell, who admitted to killing the children and 
their parents.

The aunt painted a portrait of the lively children, fatally shot at their 
Spring home in 2014 along with their mother and father.

Earlier in the day, Haskell’s lawyers told jurors that the man, found guilty of 
capital murder last week, is no longer a future danger to society and should be 
given life without parole. Harris County prosecutors are urging the jury panel 
to choose the death penalty.

“He is who he is,” prosecutor Samantha Knecht said during the punishment 
phase’s opening arguments. “He’s a manipulator, he’s a con artist, and he’s a 
future danger.”

(source: Houston Chronicle)

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

Convict accused of killing Sikh Texas deputy will likely face death penalty, 
judge says----The deputy had gained national attention in 2015 when he was 
permitted to grow a beard and wear a turban on the job to observe his Sikh 
faith.



The man accused of gunning down a Texas deputy who was celebrated when he was 
permitted to grow a beard and wear a turban on the job to observe his Sikh 
faith will likely face the death penalty, a judge said Monday.

Robert Solis, 47, was arrested on suspicion of capital murder in connection 
with the shooting of Harris County Deputy Sandeep Dhaliwal during an afternoon 
traffic stop on Friday. Evidence does not suggest the "ambush-style" attack was 
a hate crime, police said.

Solis, who was convicted of kidnapping in 2002 and was wanted for violating 
parole at the time of the shooting, will be held without bond, Harris County 
Judge Chris Morton said during a court hearing Monday morning.

"It's a likely outcome that death be the sentence here," Morton added, 
according to NBC affiliate KPRC.

Dhaliwal, 41, attracted national attention in 2015 when the Harris County 
department became the nation's largest sheriff's office to allow a Sikh to 
police while wearing his articles of faith, including turban and beard.

The 10-year veteran of the department was known locally as a public servant 
with a big heart, who volunteered his time assisting with hurricane relief not 
just at home, but also in Puerto Rico and Louisiana.

"He was an exemplary person, exemplary deputy. He was just loved by so many 
people, his teammates, community and everybody," said Harris County Sheriff Ed 
Gonzalez. "He just had this positive energy about him and this light that 
unfortunately was dimmed much too soon."

A candlelight vigil will be held for Dhaliwal on Monday night and his funeral 
is scheduled for Wednesday, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office. He 
is survived by 3 children, a wife and a brother.

Gonzalez said the department was receiving calls from people from all over the 
country who want to come to the services to honor Dhaliwal.

(source: NBC News)








NORTH CAROLINA:

Warrant: Cary man told landscapers he shot his wife, asked them to call 911



A Cary man told lawn workers that he killed his wife and asked them to call the 
police on Sept. 19, according to newly released search warrants.

According to the documents, 59-year-old Michael Sauls admitted to shooting his 
ex-wife in the backyard of their home at 2201 Piney Plains Road, near the 
Crossroads Plaza shopping center.

Police were called around 11:45 a.m. to the couple's home.

When officers arrived, they found Patsy Sauls suffering from a gunshot wound 
and a black revolver in the grass nearby. Patsy Sauls was rushed to WakeMed in 
Cary where she died from her injuries just after 12:30 p.m. Michael Sauls was 
still at the scene and was taken into custody without incident.

In an interview room, immediately following his arrest, Michael Sauls kept 
asking if his wife was OK and if she was alive, according to the search 
warrant. Sauls also asked for a lawyer and refused to answer any questions.

A landscaping crew was working nearby when they heard the shots, and workers 
told police that Michael Sauls met them on the front lawn and asked them to 
call the police because he had shot his wife.

One of the lawn workers told police that Michael Sauls said, "Call the police, 
I just shot my wife. It was a domestic, I just shot her." The worker remained 
on the phone with the 911 dispatcher until police were at the scene.

The couple's son told police that the couple was still living together after 
divorcing in March. The couple filed for divorce in Jones County in January, 
according to court records.

According to the search warrant, the son told police that his father talked 
with him the night before and expressed concern about Patsy Sauls' health, "due 
to what Michael believed to be her involvement with another man."

Michael Sauls was charged with his wife's murder.

He made an initial court appearance in September and was ordered to return in 
October, when he will be represented by the public defender's office. Sauls 
could face the death penalty, a judge said.

The killing of Patsy Sauls marks the 1st homicide in the Town of Cary for 2019.

A town official said Friday that Cary has had 14 homicides since 2014, and 4 
them involved domestic disputes.

Deanna Hawks, a spokeswoman for Cary Public Safety, said there was no threat to 
the community. The home is located next door to the Little Treasures Daycare 
center. Officials there said the daycare was not put under lockdown

(source: WRAL news)

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

Jury selection begins for man accused of killing NC police officer



Jury selection began Monday for a man accused of killing a Shelby police 
officer 3 years ago.

Irving Fenner Junior is accused of shooting and killing Shelby K-9 officer Tim 
Brackeen on September 10, 2016. Fenner faces the death penalty.

Brackeen was attempting to serve a warrant on Fenner in the area of Parkview 
Street when Fenner allegedly shot Brackeen in the torso. Brackeen died a few 
days later.

Shelby Police Chief Jeff Ledford said it doesn’t seem like it’s been 3 years 
since Brackeen was killed, but that may be because there is still a lot going 
on around the incident.

Ledford said the court process is something he’d like to finish as soon as 
possible, but he understands why it’s taken so long for a trial date to arrive.

“I understand it takes time and so I think at the end of the day, that’s worth 
it. It is a long journey, but I think you just have to keep it in your mind 
that this journey is this long for a reason,” said Ledford.

Chief Ledford keeps a road sign bearing the slain officer’s name in his office. 
It’s a symbol of honor, but a reminder that he lost one of his own.

“As the leader of the organization, everything here is my responsibility and I 
know that and I accept that. I know every member of our team here that when 
they go out to go to work, they go out to provide a service whether it’s on the 
street or in a dispatch center or wherever it may be. I know I’m responsible 
and that’s just something that I kind of process as we go along,” said Ledford.

The chief described the loss of Brackeen as a “hole” in his department that 
will never be closed.

Hundreds of people attended the slain officer’s funeral.

(source: charlotteobserver.com)








FLORIDA:

Trial to begin in St. Pete double murder on houseboat



After more than 6 years, the handyman accused of killing John Travlos, 75, and 
Germana Morin, 74, will go to court. If convicted, Reynaldo Figueroa-Sanabria 
could face the death penalty.

The boat was called the Relax-Inn.

Its occupants, John Travlos and his longtime friend Germana Morin, were doing 
just that, living out Travlos’ dream of retiring on a houseboat, spending time 
with his grandchildren. He built a slide onto the back of the 72-foot vessel, 
docked at a St. Petersburg marina, so his kid grandson could swish down into 
the water.

“They loved it. It was 2nd home to them,” said Michelle Robinson, Travlos’ 
stepdaughter and the mother of 2 of his grandchildren.

Their idyllic weekends on the Relax-Inn ended abruptly on the morning of April 
12, 2013. A home healthcare worker boarded the boat to find Travlos, 75, and 
Morin, 74, stabbed to death inside the master bedroom. Police quickly 
identified a handyman and friend to the couple, Reynaldo Figueroa-Sanabria, as 
the likely culprit and arrested him on 2 counts of 1st-degree murder. If 
convicted, he could face the death penalty.

After 6½ years, his case will go to trial Tuesday.

A lot can happen in that time. Lawsuits can be lobbed back and forth, then 
settled. A court file can pile up with transcripts and delays and attorney 
turnovers. A grandson can grow up, his 18th birthday falling the day before the 
trial start date.

“We feel that people have forgotten about it, what it’s all about — that they 
were people,” said Robinson, 52.

Travlos and his wife, Judith, moved in 1989 to St. Petersburg from Long Island, 
Robinson said. He started Island Automated Medical Services, a medical support 
business that Robinson and her siblings went on to work for over the years.

Travlos raised Robinson and her brothers as his own from when she was 11. He 
was a loving father and always someone she could go to for advice, she said. 
The family was close, working together and spending quality time on holidays 
and weekends.

A string of tragedies for the family began in 2006. Robinson’s husband died 
from a heart condition. Then, in 2010, her mother — Travlos’ wife —died of lung 
cancer.

“A lot of death has hit our family. We’ve managed to get through it and accept 
it, except for Poppy," Robinson said, referring to the name her son called his 
grandfather.

Robinson’s children, especially her son, grew close to their grandfather. They 
also got to know the handyman, Figueroa-Sanabria. He would join them on the 
boat for dinner sometimes, Robinson said. Neighbors often saw him riding 
Travlos’ golf cart back and forth to his apartment from the Loggerhead Marina 
at 5821 32nd Way S.

So it was not only grief but a feeling of betrayal that rocked the family as 
details of the apparent murders began to spill out. St. Petersburg police said 
at the time it was a crime motivated by robbery.

According to court records, Figueroa-Sanabria’s girlfriend told investigators 
that, on the day the couple was found, she had picked him up early that morning 
near the marina and driven him to several places, including a 7-Eleven, a 
jewelry store and a car rental business.

Detectives found 2 shirts and a pair of jeans in the convenience store trash 
bin. Testing showed blood on the clothes matched Travlos and Morin. DNA 
matching Travlos was also found on the floor of the car in which 
Figueroa-Sanabria’s girlfriend picked him up, and duct tape from the scene of 
the crime was tied to Figueroa-Sanabria.

At the jewelry store, the handyman sold a necklace and bracelet belonging to 
Travlos. He mailed more jewelry to his brother in Utica, N.Y.

At the car rental shop, Figueroa-Sanabria rented a 2004 Ford Taurus and took 
off, police said. He was stopped about 1 a.m. April 14, 2013, on Interstate 95 
in North Carolina. He told officers he was headed to family in New York.

The case has gone through starts and stops ever since. Death penalty cases were 
put on hold in 2016 because the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Florida’s capital 
punishment procedure unconstitutional. The first 2 assigned prosecutors went on 
to become judges. And more delays: DNA testing, wrangling uncooperative 
witnesses, Figueroa-Sanabria wanting to represent himself.

After all this time, Robinson and her family are ready. She said she hopes 
Figueroa-Sanabria, now 47, gets the death penalty.

“I just pray," she said, “that he gets what he’s got coming to him."

(source: tampabay.com)

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

Florida Jury Recommends Death Penalty For Man Who Raped, Killed Child



A man convicted of raping and killing a 9-year-old girl may be put to death.

After finding Granville Ritchie guilty of murder, sexual battery, and child 
abuse, a jury unanimously recommended the death penalty

Felecia Williams disappeared after a family friend brought her to Ritchie’s 
apartment, then left her alone with him to go buy marijuana.

The girl’s mother says she’s glad to see justice served.

“As long as I know he’s in that box for the rest of his life, that’s all I care 
about because my daughter is up under all that dirt in a box for the rest of 
her life,” said Felecia Demerson.

Ritchie’s lawyers said medical scans show abnormalities in his brain. They 
argue he did not have a serious criminal record before this case, and there is 
no DNA evidence or signs of a struggle.

Ritchie is due back in court next month.

(source: CBS News)








ALABAMA:

An Alabama Man Faces The Death Penalty For 2 Murders. Could The Police Be 
Involved?----In March, Coley McCraney was arrested and charged with capital 
murder in the 1999 killings of two teenage girls. But his attorneys say he’s 
innocent, and are now seeking information related to alleged police involvement 
in the homicides.



Attorneys representing a man charged in the 1999 murders of two teenage girls 
in Alabama have filed motions seeking evidence related to alleged police 
involvement in the case.

The man, Coley McCraney, was charged with capital murder in March of this year 
for the killings of J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett and is facing the death 
penalty. His attorneys have requested documents related to Ozark Police 
Department officers and the girls’ deaths, and they will make their case for 
access in a hearing scheduled for Monday.

On Aug. 21, McCraney’s attorneys asked for interviews that the department 
conducted with former officer Rena Crumb about Beasley and Hawlett’s deaths. In 
the motion, they wrote that Crumb was interviewed several times throughout the 
homicide investigation, including by current police chief Marlos Walker. “Some 
of this evidence is in fact exculpatory,” wrote the attorneys, Andrew 
Scarborough and David Harrison.

In 2015, blogger Jon Carroll reported that Crumb said she “could no longer live 
with what she knew” and she allegedly told Beasley’s family that a former 
police officer was responsible for the murders. Carroll alleged in his post 
that the double homicide was connected to cassette tapes in the girls’ 
possession implicating the police and other officials in the local drug trade. 
The officers in Carroll’s report denied any involvement in the homicides and in 
2016 sued him for defamation in Dale County Circuit Court. Last year, the 
officers dropped their lawsuit after Carroll declared bankruptcy.

On Sept. 9, McCraney’s legal team filed a motion requesting access to documents 
related to the 2006 suicide of Ozark officer Butch Jones. Among the documents 
Scarborough and Harrison seek to examine are the autopsy, incident, and 
ballistics reports. “It is possible that said documents could be used in the 
defense,” the attorneys wrote in the motion. It is unclear how Jones’s suicide 
may be connected to the murders of Beasley and Hawlett.

In addition, Scarborough and Harrison have asked for a list of all Ozark police 
officers who had 9-millimeter or .380 pistols at the time of the teenagers’ 
murders and documentation of any department-issued weapons that went missing 
after the teenagers were murdered. During a preliminary hearing in McCraney’s 
case, Lt. Michael Bryan said he believed a 9mm pistol was used to kill Beasley 
and Hawlett.

Scarborough declined to comment on how the documents he requested through his 
motions relate to the double murder. “We feel that it might be relevant to our 
case,” he told The Appeal. “In what way I just don’t really want to go into 
discussing.”

A spokesperson for the Ozark Police Department did not respond to requests for 
comment.

On Aug. 1, 1999, Beasley and Hawlett, both 17, were shot to death in the 
backseat of Beasley’s car. The girls were last seen the previous night when 
they left their homes in the small city of Dothan, roughly 20 miles away, for a 
birthday party.

The murders baffled police, and in 2000, “America’s Most Wanted” aired a 
segment on the case. In a motion last month, McCraney’s attorneys requested 
that law enforcement agencies hand over “any and all tips received during and 
after the airing of any and all America’s Most Wanted episodes, conducted by 
any city, state or federal law enforcement agency.”

There was no significant movement in the case until March, when the Ozark 
police announced the arrest of McCraney with the help of DNA and a public 
genealogy database. Lab results had indicated that there was a “high degree of 
confidence” that McCraney’s DNA was found on Beasley’s sweater and underwear. 
Results of a vaginal swab also returned a potential match for McCraney, which 
law enforcement has said indicates that McCraney raped Beasley.

In September, the U.S. Department of Justice issued new rules that limit law 
enforcement’s use of these databases to serious crimes like rape and murder. 
The rules, which go into effect in November, will also prohibit police from 
uploading fake profiles to genealogy websites without first identifying 
themselves.

McCraney, a bishop at an Ozark church, has maintained his innocence, and 
Harrison told The Appeal in July that he has evidence that will show McCraney 
did not kill Beasley and Hawlett. “What’s crazy about this thing is the 
majority of the county knows who did it specifically, they know the person’s 
name,” Harrison said. “If you go to any church, they tell me who did it. The 
majority of the people know who did it. The real killer is going to be 
exposed.”

(source: the appeal.org)








MISSISSIPPI:

Matthew Kinne pleads not guilty in the murder of Dominique Clayton



Last month, Matthew Kinne was indicted on a capital murder charge by a 
Lafayette County grand jury. On Monday, Kinne officially entered his plea to 
the court.

The former Oxford Police officer plead not guilty during his arraignment at the 
Lafayette County Courthouse. Attorney Tony Farese entered the plea on his 
client’s behalf to Lafayette County Circuit Court Judge John A. Gregory.

Kinne is charged with the murder of Dominique Clayton, who was found dead in 
her home on May 19. Clayton died of gunshot wounds while she slept in her 
bedroom.

Members of Clayton’s family were in attendance during Monday’s proceedings, 
including Reggie and Carolyn Clayton.

“(Clayton’s) kids are having a tough time,” Reggie said when asked how the 
family is holding up. “The holidays are going to be approaching. It’s going to 
be the first time they’ve spent the holidays without their mom. She’s missing 
their football season, first day of school.”

With a capital murder charge comes the possibility of the death penalty. The 
Clayton family is in support of Kinne receiving the death penalty if convicted, 
Carolyn said.

“He needs the death penalty because he gave it to her,” Carolyn said. “I 
support (the death penalty) now, to the fullest.”

Lafayette County Circuit Court’s final trial term of 2019 begins Oct. 7 and 
runs through Oct. 25. It is unknown if Kinne’s case will be heard this year or 
not. Farese declined to give a comment at the conclusion of the arraignment.

(source: The Oxford Eagle)








LOUISIANA:

Judge: Unanimous jury verdict required for accused cop killer Ian 
Howard----Howard’s attorneys considering insanity plea in attempted murder case



The verdict in any trial for the man accused of killing a Lafayette Police 
Department officer and wounding three others must be unanimous, a judge has 
ruled.

Ian Paul Howard's trial is set for January. He was in court Monday before 15th 
Judicial District Judge Jules Edwards as his defense attorneys moved to have 
his trial require a unanimous verdict from a jury to declare him guilty.

Last fall, Louisiana voters approved a constitutional amendment that requires a 
unanimous verdict from juries in non-capital cases. However, the law only 
applies to the court cases of crimes that took place on or after Jan. 1, 2019.

According to Howard’s attorney, Stephen Singer, a legal precedent had already 
been established in 2018 that declared the non-unanimous verdict provision in 
state law unconstitutional.

In September 2018, a judge in Sabine Parish ruled in State of Louisiana vs. 
Melvin Cartez Maxie that Article 1, §17 of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974 
and Article 782 of the Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure - which allowed 
non-unanimous verdicts in jury trials - were unconstitutional due to the Equal 
Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Assistant Attorney General Taylor Gray was present in Monday's hearing to 
represent the Attorney General’s Office and told the judge that the Maxie 
decision didn't set precedent for other cases, and was moot anyway because the 
defendant pleaded guilty.

State prosecutors were also present but said they held the same position as the 
attorney general.

However, the judge ultimately disagreed and recognized that the Maxie ruling 
did establish a legal precedent.

“I don’t have the authority to instruct a jury to make a non-unanimous verdict 
in this case,” said Edwards. “It’s already been declared unconstitutional. It 
is what it is.”

Howard, 29, has 2 pending cases: a 1st-degree murder case in the Oct. 1, 2017 
shooting death of Lafayette Cpl. Michael Middlebrook - for which prosecutors 
intend to pursue the death penalty - and in a separate case, 3 charges of 
attempted 1st-degree murder that involve the other alleged victims.

A trial date for those charges has been set for Jan. 21, 2020. No date has been 
set for his 1st degree murder charge trial. The state has said they plan to 
seek the death penalty in that trial.

Howard will be back in court on Oct. 31 when his defense counsel will determine 
if they wish to present an insanity defense.

(source: KATC news)