Rick Halperin
2018-08-20 13:18:48 UTC
August 20
MISSOURI:
Death penalty sought for man accused in 3 St. Louis killings
Prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty for a St. Louis man charged
with killing 3 people in 2 separate shootings last year.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Friday that prosecutors have filed notice
that they will seek to have 26-year-old Ollie Lynch Jr. put to death if he's
convicted.
Lynch is charged with 3 counts of 1st-degree murder. He's accused in the May
2017 shooting death of 31-year-old Jeramee Ramey and June 2017 shooting deaths
of 17-year-old Jalen Woods and 25-year-old Amber Green.
Police say Ramey was shot with a AK-47 during an argument over a dice game.
Woods and Green were among 5 people inside a car at a gas station ambushed by
masked men. 2 other people were injured in that shooting.
(source: Associated Press)
NEBRASKA:
UNL students, faculty respond to Carey Dean Moore's execution
The state of Nebraska executed Carey Dean Moore on Aug. 14, 2018 - the 1st use
of capital punishment in Nebraska in 21 years.
Moore was convicted for the 1979 killings of Omaha cab drivers Reuel Van Ness
and Maynard Helgeland when he was 22. Following his conviction, he remained a
death row inmate for 38 years.
Moore's execution was the 1st since 1997 and the 1st since voters reinstated
the death penalty in the 2016 referendum.
Nebraska, having exclusively used the electric chair until now, executed Moore
on Tuesday with diazepam, cisatracurium besylate, potassium chloride and
fentanyl - an intense opioid never before used in the US for execution
purposes.
Specifically used to reduce breathing in those condemned to death, fentanyl has
made many death penalty opposers question the ethics of using an untested
opioid on an inmate, especially in a country that has a rising opioid epidemic.
"The capital punishment system in the U.S. is terribly broken and problematic,"
Eric Berger, assistant dean of faculty and professor of law at University of
Nebraska-Lincoln, said in an email. "It is not easy to end a human life
humanely. Most recently, numerous botched lethal injection executions have
helped shed light on the fact that this supposedly serene, sterile procedure
can in fact inflict excruciating pain on the condemned."
The Omaha World-Herald reported, "Moore's face became red and then purple ...
and at one point his abdomen heaved and his breathing became faster."
The Vice President of the UNL College Republicans issued a statement regarding
the issue:
"If you believe in democracy and the democratic process, than you must respect
the will of the people, and Nebraska voted overwhelmingly to reinstate capital
punishment. The government is only a vehicle for the execution of the will of
the people, and the people of Nebraska spoke."
The Daily Nebraskan reached out to the UNL Young Democrats, but they did not
respond at the time of publication.
In his final statement, Moore, who claimed that while he is guilty, there are
"at least 4" death row inmates "who are innocent."
When asked about Moore's statement, Berger fervently said, "There are almost
certainly innocent people on death row in the United States. Error,
unfortunately, is simply part of the criminal justice system.:
(source: Daily Nebraskan)
CALIFORNIA:
Triple-murder case could be affected by improper Orange County jail phone
recordings
A triple-murder case - involving 2 children missing since 2012 and presumed
dead - could be affected by the improper recording of telephone calls between
Orange County jail inmates and their attorneys.
About 34 recorded calls by defendant Shazer Fernando Limas to his lawyer were
accessed by law enforcement, attorney Joel Garson said Sunday. Garson's
prodding as part of another felony case led to the discovery that 1,079 calls
between inmates and lawyers had been recorded since January 2015.
It is a crime to record attorney-client calls from the jail, as well as a
violation of one of the most sacrosanct tenets of the law.
The sheriff's telephone contractor acknowledged in a July 27 letter to Sheriff
Sandra Hutchens that 87 recordings were accessed. Among those were calls
involving Limas' case as well as Garson's case representing Joshua Waring, the
son of former "Real Wives of Orange County" cast member Lauri Peterson. Waring
faces attempted murder charges for a Costa Mesa shooting, but Garson is
attempting to get the case dismissed by the court because of "outrageous
government conduct."
Limas is accused of stabbing his girlfriend to death and killing their 2 young
sons in their apartment in Orange. The body of their mother, Arlet Hernandez
Contreras, 31, was found in 2012 under a tarp in a gutter in Los Angeles
County. The bodies of the children - ages 1 and 3 at the time - have not been
found.
Revelations that telephone carrier GTL Corp. apparently recorded the
confidential conversations because of a technical glitch rocked Orange County's
justice community last week, with estimates that more than 50 high-profile
cases could be affected.
The gaffe comes on the heels of Orange County's snitch scandal and the misuse
by deputies and prosecutors of jailhouse informants to secure convictions. That
practice led to the removal of the District Attorney's Office from prosecuting
Scott Dekraai, who killed 8 people in a 2011 shooting spree in Seal Beach.
Dekraai also was given life imprisonment instead of the death penalty because
of the informant problem.
In the latest breach, Hutchens as well as the District Attorney's Office said
they would take whatever steps are necessary to investigate the problem and
handle the fallout with cases.
Garson said GTL maintains a list of 1,300 attorneys whose calls are not to be
recorded. But all but 72 attorneys fell off the list when GTL did a software
upgrade in January 2015. A representative from GTL is expected to testify in
the Waring case on Thursday. Garson said at least 2 calls between Waring and
his alternate public defender were recorded and accessed.
Meanwhile, a hearing is set for Monday to determine whether an outside judge
should be appointed to review the recordings and determine which defense
attorneys should be sent copies. If approved, the Sheriff's Department and
District Attorney's Office would be barred from listening to the tapes.
(source: Tony Saavedra is an investigative reporter specializing in legal
affairs for the Orange County Register)
_______________________________________________
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MISSOURI:
Death penalty sought for man accused in 3 St. Louis killings
Prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty for a St. Louis man charged
with killing 3 people in 2 separate shootings last year.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Friday that prosecutors have filed notice
that they will seek to have 26-year-old Ollie Lynch Jr. put to death if he's
convicted.
Lynch is charged with 3 counts of 1st-degree murder. He's accused in the May
2017 shooting death of 31-year-old Jeramee Ramey and June 2017 shooting deaths
of 17-year-old Jalen Woods and 25-year-old Amber Green.
Police say Ramey was shot with a AK-47 during an argument over a dice game.
Woods and Green were among 5 people inside a car at a gas station ambushed by
masked men. 2 other people were injured in that shooting.
(source: Associated Press)
NEBRASKA:
UNL students, faculty respond to Carey Dean Moore's execution
The state of Nebraska executed Carey Dean Moore on Aug. 14, 2018 - the 1st use
of capital punishment in Nebraska in 21 years.
Moore was convicted for the 1979 killings of Omaha cab drivers Reuel Van Ness
and Maynard Helgeland when he was 22. Following his conviction, he remained a
death row inmate for 38 years.
Moore's execution was the 1st since 1997 and the 1st since voters reinstated
the death penalty in the 2016 referendum.
Nebraska, having exclusively used the electric chair until now, executed Moore
on Tuesday with diazepam, cisatracurium besylate, potassium chloride and
fentanyl - an intense opioid never before used in the US for execution
purposes.
Specifically used to reduce breathing in those condemned to death, fentanyl has
made many death penalty opposers question the ethics of using an untested
opioid on an inmate, especially in a country that has a rising opioid epidemic.
"The capital punishment system in the U.S. is terribly broken and problematic,"
Eric Berger, assistant dean of faculty and professor of law at University of
Nebraska-Lincoln, said in an email. "It is not easy to end a human life
humanely. Most recently, numerous botched lethal injection executions have
helped shed light on the fact that this supposedly serene, sterile procedure
can in fact inflict excruciating pain on the condemned."
The Omaha World-Herald reported, "Moore's face became red and then purple ...
and at one point his abdomen heaved and his breathing became faster."
The Vice President of the UNL College Republicans issued a statement regarding
the issue:
"If you believe in democracy and the democratic process, than you must respect
the will of the people, and Nebraska voted overwhelmingly to reinstate capital
punishment. The government is only a vehicle for the execution of the will of
the people, and the people of Nebraska spoke."
The Daily Nebraskan reached out to the UNL Young Democrats, but they did not
respond at the time of publication.
In his final statement, Moore, who claimed that while he is guilty, there are
"at least 4" death row inmates "who are innocent."
When asked about Moore's statement, Berger fervently said, "There are almost
certainly innocent people on death row in the United States. Error,
unfortunately, is simply part of the criminal justice system.:
(source: Daily Nebraskan)
CALIFORNIA:
Triple-murder case could be affected by improper Orange County jail phone
recordings
A triple-murder case - involving 2 children missing since 2012 and presumed
dead - could be affected by the improper recording of telephone calls between
Orange County jail inmates and their attorneys.
About 34 recorded calls by defendant Shazer Fernando Limas to his lawyer were
accessed by law enforcement, attorney Joel Garson said Sunday. Garson's
prodding as part of another felony case led to the discovery that 1,079 calls
between inmates and lawyers had been recorded since January 2015.
It is a crime to record attorney-client calls from the jail, as well as a
violation of one of the most sacrosanct tenets of the law.
The sheriff's telephone contractor acknowledged in a July 27 letter to Sheriff
Sandra Hutchens that 87 recordings were accessed. Among those were calls
involving Limas' case as well as Garson's case representing Joshua Waring, the
son of former "Real Wives of Orange County" cast member Lauri Peterson. Waring
faces attempted murder charges for a Costa Mesa shooting, but Garson is
attempting to get the case dismissed by the court because of "outrageous
government conduct."
Limas is accused of stabbing his girlfriend to death and killing their 2 young
sons in their apartment in Orange. The body of their mother, Arlet Hernandez
Contreras, 31, was found in 2012 under a tarp in a gutter in Los Angeles
County. The bodies of the children - ages 1 and 3 at the time - have not been
found.
Revelations that telephone carrier GTL Corp. apparently recorded the
confidential conversations because of a technical glitch rocked Orange County's
justice community last week, with estimates that more than 50 high-profile
cases could be affected.
The gaffe comes on the heels of Orange County's snitch scandal and the misuse
by deputies and prosecutors of jailhouse informants to secure convictions. That
practice led to the removal of the District Attorney's Office from prosecuting
Scott Dekraai, who killed 8 people in a 2011 shooting spree in Seal Beach.
Dekraai also was given life imprisonment instead of the death penalty because
of the informant problem.
In the latest breach, Hutchens as well as the District Attorney's Office said
they would take whatever steps are necessary to investigate the problem and
handle the fallout with cases.
Garson said GTL maintains a list of 1,300 attorneys whose calls are not to be
recorded. But all but 72 attorneys fell off the list when GTL did a software
upgrade in January 2015. A representative from GTL is expected to testify in
the Waring case on Thursday. Garson said at least 2 calls between Waring and
his alternate public defender were recorded and accessed.
Meanwhile, a hearing is set for Monday to determine whether an outside judge
should be appointed to review the recordings and determine which defense
attorneys should be sent copies. If approved, the Sheriff's Department and
District Attorney's Office would be barred from listening to the tapes.
(source: Tony Saavedra is an investigative reporter specializing in legal
affairs for the Orange County Register)
_______________________________________________
A service courtesy of Washburn University School of Law www.washburnlaw.edu
DeathPenalty mailing list
***@lists.washlaw.edu
http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty
Unsubscribe: http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/options/deathpenalty