[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, FLA., ALA., LA., OHIO

[Rick Halperin]

Oct. 10




TEXAS:

With a wide variety of headlines dominating both global and domestic news, it 
is easy to overlook that today is World Day to Abolish the Death Penalty.

It is clear that since the early 1980s, the majority of the world's nations 
have become better educated about the inherent flaws of every death penalty 
system in the world, and have committed themselves to the defense, protection 
and advocacy of human rights and human dignity.

Sadly, the US is not one of these nations. We continue to embrace an archaic, 
barbaric, racist and mistake-prone system in which we justify hanging, gassing, 
electrocuting, shooting and chemically poisoning some convicted felons in the 
perverted notion of "justice".

Texas itself leads the entire free world in executions since we resumed the 
practice in 1982.

As we go to the polls next year, we would do well to hold our politicians 
accountable to all human rights issues, and ideally support someone who at the 
very least is willing to help make America a death penalty-free nation.

Rick Halperin, Amnesty International

(source: Dallas Morning News)

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

Journalist talks about reconciling faith and career of covering executions



Michael Graczyk, a parishioner at a Catholic church in Montgomery County, 
Texas, has personally witnessed more than 400 executions of Texas inmates in 
death penalty cases in his career as a journalist.

An Associated Press reporter since 1983, Graczyk retired last year and still 
freelances for AP, continuing to witness executions, including 9 scheduled 
through the end of this year.

"When you walk into the death chamber, you check your emotions at the door. I 
usually check my emotions at the prison gate," he said.

"I've gotten to know many of the inmates through interviews. I also have 
sentiments for the families of the victims, who have to wait 10 or 20 years for 
the punishment to be carried out."

Since Catholic teaching is pro-life, from conception to natural death, Graczyk 
reconciles the two parts of himself with a Scripture passage.

"I look to the biblical passage 'render unto Caesar what is Caesar's.' Since 
this is the government doing these, I can remain faithful to the teachings of 
the church," Graczyk told the Texas Catholic Herald, newspaper of the 
Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.

"The Catholic Church many times has been alone in its protection of life from 
conception to natural death. Liberals opposed to capital punishment are often 
times in favor of abortion. Conservatives are against abortion, but then favor 
the death penalty," he said.

Executions used to be front-page news and network TV news regularly covered 
them, but now they are relegated to inside pages or a few seconds of a sound 
bite.

"Back in the 1980s, it used to be a really big deal and significant media 
event. Executions should never be considered routine, but there does seem to be 
a public acceptance of it," he said.

Hundreds of protesters would show up, many times for midnight candlelight 
vigils that included both pro-death penalty and anti-penalty protesters.

"Some of those were Sam Houston University students who came from down the road 
in Huntsville. Now maybe there is a core group of protesters ranging from 1 to 
2 dozen who show up in the heat, rain or cold," he said.

But studies have not been able to conclude whether capital punishment is a 
deterrent for others not to commit crime.

"I've interviewed hundreds of inmates and none of them said that capital 
punishment would have prevented them from crime," he said.

2 of the 9 scheduled for execution by the end of the year are part of the group 
of prisoners who escaped in 2000 and were convicted of fatally shooting a 
31-year-old police officer on Christmas Eve in Irving.

One of the toughest cases Graczyk remembers covering is the dragging death of 
an African American man, James Byrd Jr., killed 21 years ago in a hate crime on 
a secluded road outside Jasper. 2 white men were executed in the case, John 
William King, executed this past spring, and Lawrence Russell Brewer was put to 
death in 2011. A 3rd participant, Shawn Allen Berry, was sentenced to life in 
prison.

"Emotionally, the Jasper cases were real tough. We went to Jasper, saw the 3 
guys arrested, went to the asphalt road where it happened and there was still 
blood," he said.

He also recalled covering the execution of the 1st woman on death row since the 
Civil War. Karla Faye Tucker was given a lethal injection in 1998 for killing 2 
people with a pickax during a burglary.

But Graczyk said he doesn't see any strong enough movement to stop executions 
in Texas.

"It remains a hot topic, but there is no appetite in the Texas Legislature to 
stop it. The U.S. Supreme Court may shut it down again like they did in the 
1960s until executions were resumed a decade later," he said.

In 1964, judicial challenges to capital punishment resulted in a de facto 
moratorium on executions in the United States. On June 29, 1972, in Furman v. 
Georgia, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that every state death penalty law in the 
U.S. was unconstitutional because the death penalty was being unfairly and 
arbitrarily assigned. At that time, there were 52 men in Texas with death 
sentences. Gov. Preston Smith commuted all of their sentences to life, and 
death row was clear by March 1973.

In 1973, Texas passed a new statute to standardize the way the death penalty 
was assessed. Juries quickly began imposing death sentences under the new 
statute, and death row began filling up again in 1974 through present day.

In July of this year, U.S. Attorney General William Barr reinstated the death 
penalty for federal crimes following a 16-year moratorium.

(source: Jo Ann Zuniga writes for the Texas Catholic Herald, the newspaper of 
the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston----Catholic News Service)








FLORIDA:

Cops: Summerfield man strangled 2 kids, drowned other 2



Less than a month after Michael W. Jones made his 1st appearance in front of a 
judge for the death of his wife, the 38-year-old Summerfield man again faced a 
judge.

This time he is also charged with the 1st-degree murders of her 4 children. 
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

Marion County sheriff’s detectives said Jones strangled 2 of the children a day 
after killing their mother. 2 weeks later, they said, he drowned the other 2.

On Tuesday in a courtroom at the Marion County Jail, Assistant Public Defender 
John Tedder stood beside Jones. The quintuple-murder defendant, who is on 
suicide watch, wore a red jail uniform shirt and brown pants. He was shackled.

He and his lawyer were flanked by 2 detention deputies.

Citing flight risk, Assistant State Attorney Robin Arnold urged County Judge 
Tommy Thompson to deny bail in the case, and Thompson agreed.

He set the defendant’s next court date on the new charges for Nov. 12.

Jones’ arraignment for the 2nd-degree murder of his wife, Casei Jones, 32, is 
set for Oct. 22.

The Public Defender’s office, which is representing Jones, declined to comment.

Marion County sheriff’s officials said the family had been living at 14680 SE 
86th Terrace in Summerfield since April. Before then, they lived in Leesburg.

MCSO detectives said they believe Michael Jones murdered the victims at the 
Summerfield home. Jones killed his wife on July 10 after an argument that led 
him to use a baseball bat to beat her, according to MCSO detectives.

Jones told officials that during the argument his wife got the baseball bat and 
he took it away from her. According to an arrest report, Jones struck his wife 
repeatedly with the bat, killing her.

The following day, MCSO detectives said, Jones killed the 2 older children, 
Cameron Bowers, 9, and 4-year-old Preston Bowers, by strangling them. They were 
his step-children.

About 2 weeks later, detectives said, Jones killed the other 2, his own 
children Mercalli Jones, 2, and Aiyana Jones, 11 months, by drowning them.

Authorities said Jones left the bodies in the family home for a few weeks. He 
then put them in his van and kept them there for at least another 2 weeks. 
Detectives said he then transported all four bodies to Brantley County, 
Georgia.

On Sept. 14, Casei Jones’ family contacted sheriff’s officials to report that 
the young woman and her 4 children were missing. They told deputies they had 
not seen Casei Jones for at least 6 weeks.

A sheriff’s deputy went to the couple’s address and reported the home appeared 
to have been vacant for several weeks. The deputy got permission from the 
property owner to enter and, when the deputy did so, smelled a foul odor.

While investigating the case, deputies were told that Michael Jones had been 
found in Brantley County, Georgia, on Sept. 15.

Georgia officials said Jones was involved in a single-vehicle crash and told 
the officers that his wife’s body was inside his van. Law enforcement officials 
in Georgia said Jones led them to the location of the 4 children.

Prosecutors told the Star-Banner DNA results have identified 2 of the 4 
children. They said they are waiting on the DNA results for the other 2 
children.

A Marion County grand jury indicted Jones on Monday for the children’s murders. 
Prosecutors said the grand jury began at 8:30 a.m. and concluded around 11 a.m.

Also on Monday, the State Attorney’s Office filed a notice of intent to seek 
the death penalty against Jones based on evidence and his statement to law 
enforcement official.

(source: Daily Commercial)








ALABAMA:

Supreme Court declines 6 Ala. death row inmates’ case reviews



6 Alabama inmates asked the United States Supreme Court to review their death 
penalty cases, but the nation’s highest court declined each case to the praise 
of state Attorney General Steve Marshall.

Nathaniel Woods, Mario Woodward, Jessie Phillips, Gregory Hunt, Demetrius 
Frazier and Cedric Floyd unsuccessfully sought reviews from the Supreme Court.

“In each of these cases, a life or lives were tragically and viciously taken 
and a just sentence of death for the killer was handed down,” Marshall said. 
“Police officers were carrying out their duties to protect citizens, as they do 
every day, and they paid the ultimate price. A mother and her unborn child, and 
three more women, were brutally killed."

Marshall’s office provided a brief synopsis of each defendant’s case, adding 
that "the U.S. Supreme Court this week acted in its role as a last resort of 
justice, rightfully letting stand the convictions and sentences for these vile 
crimes.”

Nathaniel Woods

On June 17, 2004, officers of the Birmingham Police Department were in the 
process of arresting and taking Woods into custody at an apartment where he was 
dealing drugs with Kerry Spencer. Spencer opened fire, killing 3 of the 
officers and wounding a 4th. Carlos Owen, Harley A. Chisolm, and Charles R. 
Bennett were murdered in the line of duty; Michael Collins survived.

In 2005, Woods was convicted of capital murder and attempted murder, and was 
sentenced to death. Spencer also was convicted of capital murder and sentenced 
to death.

Mario Woodward

Montgomery Police Officer Keith Houts conducted a traffic stop of Mario 
Woodward on the afternoon of September 28, 2006. Woodward shot Houts as he was 
walking toward the vehicle, then shot the fallen officer 4 more times before 
fleeing.

In 2008, Woodward was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death.

Jessie Phillips

On February 27, 2009, Jessie Phillips held his pregnant wife, Erica Phillips, 
in a headlock and pointed a gun to her head. She broke away and ran, but 
Phillips shot her in the head, killing her. The crime occurred in Guntersville 
and was prosecuted by Steve Marshall when he was district attorney of Marshall 
County.

This case was the 1st prosecution under Alabama’s state law for murder of an 
unborn baby.

In 2012, Phillips was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death.

Gregory Hunt, Demetrius Frazier, and Cedric Floyd

The U.S. Supreme Court also declined to review the cases of 3 additional 
Alabama death row inmates: Gregory Hunt, Demetrius Frazier, and Cedric Floyd.

Hunt brutally murdered Karen Lane in Walker County in 1988.

Frazier was found guilty by a Jefferson County jury of the 1991 burglary, rape, 
and murder of Pauline Brown.

In 2009, Cedric Floyd murdered his former girlfriend, Tina Jones, during a 
burglary of her house.

(source: WSFA news)








LOUISIANA:

Delay in Kevin Daigle sentencing



The sentencing for Kevin Daigle, who received the death penalty in July in the 
fatal shooting of Louisiana State Trooper Steven Vincent in 2015, has been 
delayed.

Daigle was scheduled to be sentenced today in state district court but a 
spokesperson with the Calcasieu Parish District Attorney's Office said Tuesday 
the sentencing has been delayed.

The reason for the delay was not given and a new sentencing date has not been 
set.

If just one of the 12 jurors had not voted for a death sentence, Daigle would 
have received life in prison.

The jury returned with its verdict within an hour of leaving the courtroom to 
begin deliberations in the penalty phase of the trial.

Defense attorneys for Daigle, 57, wanted a life sentence, calling for mercy for 
the defendant. Prosecutors sought the death penalty, saying Daigle showed no 
mercy to Vincent.

Family and friends of the slain trooper filled the courtroom every day of the 
trial and many were there when Daigle was convicted as well as when he received 
the death penalty.

Minutes after the death penalty verdict, Miranda Vincent Priola, Steven 
Vincent's sister, read a statement from their mother, Millie: "I have cried for 
four years and have not been myself after this happened. He left my husband, my 
family and myself with sadness, grief and loss. I still have moments of despair 
and heartache I will never overcome. I pray no one else ever has to go through 
such a traumatic event of evil in their lives. We're all thankful to see 
justice finally served."

Lead prosecutor Lea Hall said Daigle deserved the death penalty.

"That verdict was based on evidence of extreme cruelty, extreme violence, just 
senselessness from one human being to another," said Hall. "And our community 
has said this is not tolerable."

Defense attorney Kyla Romanach, in pleading for a life sentence for Daigle, 
told jurors the death penalty should be a last resort. "Is he (Daigle) really 
the worst of the worst?"

The state said Daigle was the worst of the worst, a person who "chose the 
bottle" and had specific intent to kill a police officer.

Prosecutor Jacob Johnson told jurors a rejection of the death penalty would 
have been a sucker punch to a family that lost everything. "They lost the glue 
that held them together," said Johnson

(source: American Press)








OHIO:

Cast No Stones: Standing With Victims To End Executions In Ohio



Ohio policy makers and the public are having serious discussions about capital 
punishment, and the conversation is shifting from how we kill our prisoners to 
whether our state should have the death penalty at all. Are you ready to bring 
the conversation to your community? This convention is for those interested or 
engaged in human rights legislative advocacy, social action, or prison and 
life-affirming ministries.

Participants in the Cast No Stones conference will leave with both the 
inspiration and the tools to bring a productive conversation about capital 
punishment to your community. Featured speakers include Sister Helen Prejean, 
Shane Claiborne, Rev. Sharon Risher, Dr. Chris Brown, Chris Keith, Bill Pelke, 
Kwame Ajamu, and others. Authors will have signed copies of books available for 
sale at this event. Ticket price includes lunch and a t-shirt. For more 
details, go to bit.ly/cast-no-stones

(source: patch.com)

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

Garfield Heights man facing death penalty claims girlfriend’s teenage children 
were going to shoot him



Matthew Nicholson on the stand during his trial on charges of aggravated murder 
in the shooting deaths of his girlfriend's children. His attorney, Fernando 
Mack, speaks in the foreground.

A federal security guard testified Wednesday that he shot his girlfriend’s 
teenage children in the driveway of their Garfield Heights home last year 
because he thought they were going to shoot him.

Matthew Nicholson said 19-year-old Giselle Lopez and her 17-year-old brother, 
Manuel Lopez, got his service pistol out of the trunk of his car after he got 
into a physical altercation with their mother over text messages he found on 
her cellphone.

Nicholson, who cried through much his testimony, portrayed himself as a victim 
of a plot by his ex-girlfriend to turn her children against him. Prosecutors 
said that plot did not match key evidence presented in the case. For one, the 
children suffered multiple gunshot wounds to their backs.

Nicholson, 29, of Garfield Heights, has pleaded not guilty to charges including 
aggravated murder, murder, attempted murder and felonious assault that make him 
eligible for the death penalty. His version of the Sept. 5, 2018 shootings 
differed from the account of the children’s mother, America Polanco, who 
testified earlier in the trial.

By all accounts, the relationship between Polanco and Nicholson had soured in 
2018. Nicholson said the children didn’t respect him and Polanco wouldn’t let 
him discipline them.

He testified that things came to a head when he came home from a 12-hour shift 
at his job as a private security officer contracted by the United States 
Department of Homeland Security and found text messages on Polanco’s cellphone 
to her ex-boyfriend. He called the number in front of Polanco and said he 
didn’t believe the ex-boyfriend when he said Polanco was not cheating on him.

The argument turned physical, and Manuel stepped in to defend his mother.

Nicholson said that Polanco was the aggressor during the fight and tried to 
squeeze him and scratch his eyes. He said she told her children that he was 
trying to kill her, gave them Nicholson’s car keys and told them to get his 
service gun out of his trunk “before he grabs another one,” Nicholson 
testified.

Nicholson did grab a different gun. He said Polanco attacked him with an 
aerosol can of Lysol as he tried to shut and lock the front door. He couldn’t 
latch the door, he said, and he watched as Giselle and Manuel worked to get his 
service weapon out of his duty belt in the driveway. He said he yelled for the 
2 to stop, and said he saw Giselle get the gun and turn toward him.

Nicholson said that’s when he opened fire.

Evidence showed he fired more than a dozen bullets in the pistol.

He said he ran up the stairs to the bathroom to wash his face and watched out 
the bathroom window as Polanco ran down the driveway, picked up his belt and 
gun and threw it back into the trunk of his Volkswagen Jetta before she ran 
off.

Nicholson said he did not call police before the shooting because he was trying 
to avoid a “shootout with my stepchildren.”

Defense attorney Ferando Mack asked Nicholson why he didn’t shoot Lopez during 
the scuffle or Polanco at any point.

“I didn’t want to shoot any-f-----g-body,” Nicholson said.

Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Anna Faraglia’s accused Nicholson of 
trying to portray himself as a victim and lay the blame at Polanco’s feet.

“This is all America’s fault, isn’t it? I don’t even know why we’re here,” 
Faraglia said, sarcastically.

Faraglia pointed to several pieces of evidence that contradicted Nicholson’s 
story. Nicholson told police of no injuries when he was booked into jail 
following his arrest, and his booking photo showed no marks or bruises on his 
face to back his assertion that Polanco beat him with a Lysol can.

She also pointed to text messages where Polanco accused Nicholson of laying 
hands on her and calling her names during arguments as far back as January 
2018. Nicholson said he did not deny the accusations.

Faraglia also pointed to the testimony of another one of Nicholson’s 
ex-girlfriends, who said he once held a gun against her head during an 
argument. She asked Nicholson if he commonly used guns and violence to settle 
arguments with his lovers.MO< “That’s not a way to control someone," Nicholson 
answered.

Faraglia seized on his comment.

“Are we supposed to control people, period?” she asked.

“No,” he replied.

Faraglia went on to read other comments that Nicholson made in the aftermath of 
the shooting. He told police that he had “blacked the f--k out" and didn’t know 
what happened. But under questioning he admitted that wasn’t the case.

Faraglia also pointed to the size difference between Polanco and Nicholson, who 
stands over 6 feet tall and weighs more than 200 pounds. If she was really 
attacking him, Faraglia argued, Nicholson could have overpowered her.

Nicholson disagreed. He said he was tired because he had worked a 12-hour shift 
that day.

“You’re so weak, you unloaded a whole clip in the back of two teenage kids," 
Faraglia said. "That’s how weak you were?”

“Yes ma’am," Nicholson said. "It was not easy.”

(source: cleveland.com)