Rick Halperin
2018-10-25 14:15:46 UTC
October 25
TEXAS----foreign national faces impending execution
Mexican national scheduled for execution in Texas despite claims of treaty
violations
A mentally ill Mexican national with claims of brain damage is set for
execution in November, more than 2 decades after he was convicted of killing
his wife and 2 youngest children near the southern border.
Robert Moreno Ramos is scheduled to die by lethal injection on Nov. 14,
according to Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Jeremy Desel.
The 64-year-old immigrant was sent to death row in 1993 for the slayings of his
wife Leticia and their children, Abigail and Jonathan, who were found buried
beneath the bathroom floor in the couple's Hidalgo County home.
For years, his lawyers have contended that his execution would be a violation
of international treaty as he wasn't properly notified of his right to tell the
Mexican consulate about his arrest and request legal assistance from his
country. On top of that, they argue, Ramos had abysmal legal representation
during trial and jurors never learned about his severely abusive childhood,
brain dysfunction, bipolar disorder and low IQ.
In February 1992, a neighbor in Progreso heard screams coming from the Ramos
home. It wasn't until 2 months later that investigators unearthed the family's
remains.
That April, Ramos was picked up on an outstanding traffic ticket, then
questioned without a lawyer. Eventually, he gave authorities the OK to search
his home - and they found blood inside.
Under further questioning, records show, Ramos drew police a map to bathroom,
where the bodies were buried.
But Ramos told investigators he didn't kill his wife and children. Instead, he
said that he came home to find his family slain and decided to hide the bodies
so his surviving eldest son wouldn't find out.
He didn't get a lawyer until 3 months after his arrest, according to defense
filings. During his trial, prosecutors argued that he'd beaten to death his
wife and 2 children with some type of blunt instrument and then married another
woman days later.
Defense lawyers argued in the 1993 case that unknown drug dealers committed the
triple slaying. After the state introduced testimony implying he'd killed his
1st wife in Mexico, Ramos was convicted and sentenced to death in a matter of
hours.
In the punishment phase, attorneys for Ramos didn't cross-examine the state's
witnesses, offered no evidence and didn't ask the jury to spare their client
from the death penalty, according to court records.
Mexican authorities learned of Ramos' arrest through news reports nearly a year
after the fact, according to court records. During appeals, attorneys for Ramos
said that late notification could have made a difference because Mexico often
provides extra defense support in capital cases and might have done so had they
known sooner.
But the state argued that extra help from Mexico wouldn't have resulted in a
different outcome.
On appeal, Ramos raised concerns about earlier bad lawyering, and also alleged
that the state had violated Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular
Relations by not telling him about his right to speak to his nation's
consulate.
Ultimately, the courts refused to grant him relief in part because the Vienna
Convention is only enforceable between countries - it's not up to American
federal courts to enforce the application of international treaties in
individual criminal cases.
More than 15 years ago, Ramos was 1 of 54 death row inmates named in a
complaint to the United Nations World Court, when Mexico accused the U.S. of
violating international treaties and asked for a stay in all of the cases. The
international court decided the prisoners should get their cases reviewed. But
the U.S. Supreme Court in 2008 deemed that decision unenforceable, unless
Congress takes legislative action.
Neither Ramos' defense counsel nor Hidalgo County prosecutors responded to
requests for comment Friday.
The case bears some similarities to that of Ruben Cardenas, another Mexican
national who was executed last year amid international outcry and claims of
global treaty violations.
Despite pushback from Mexico and Cardenas' claims of innocence, the 47-year-old
was put to death in November for the murder of his teenage cousin.
"It is as if the United States were thumbing its nose at the government of
Mexico and the United Nations," Sandra Babcock, a Cornell Law School professor
specializing in international issues surrounding capital punishment, told the
Chronicle last year. "And when I say the U.S., I should be clear that we're
talking about Texas."
The Lone Star State has executed 8 men this year, and another 3 - including
Ramos - are scheduled for the remainder of 2018.
(source: Houston Chronicle)
******************
Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present----37
Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982----present-----555
Abbott#--------scheduled execution date-----name------------Tx. #
38---------Nov. 14----------------Robert Ramos------------556
39---------Dec. 4-----------------Joseph Garcia-----------557
40---------Dec. 11----------------Alvin Braziel, Jr.------558
41---------Jan. 15----------------Blaine Milam------------559
42---------Jan. 30----------------Robert Jennings---------560
43---------Feb. 28----------------Billy Wayne Coble-------561
(sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin)
**********************
Death Watch: Can Texas Keep a Secret?----State Supreme Court grants rehearing
in execution drug supplier case
The Texas Supreme Court caved under pressure last Friday, Oct. 19, granting the
Texas Department of Criminal Justice a rehearing regarding a 2014 lawsuit over
whether the state should be allowed to keep secret its execution drug
suppliers. That in itself isn't shocking, but the decision comes 4 months after
the court rejected the state's appeal of a lower court's ruling, and the 3rd
Court of Appeals' affirmation, which ordered the state to name the supplier.
Court records show Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Solicitor General Kyle
D. Hawkins filed a motion of support for the TDCJ on Oct. 3, reiterating the
argument that suppliers should remain unnamed due to the "substantial threat of
physical harm" should the pharmacy - described as an open-to-the-public "retail
compounding pharmacy" in an "urban" area - be identified. Also in a show of
support for the TDCJ, the state of Arizona submitted an amicus brief in July
alleging that the COA's ruling would cause "dire consequences" that would
threaten the death penalty nationwide. According to the brief, "Public
disclosure of a rare and valuable supplier of lethal-injection drugs chills
other current and potential suppliers, and facilitates the escalating 'guerilla
war against the death penalty.'"
The original 2014 suit was filed by 3 attorneys with clients on death row
seeking to avoid botched executions. But even if the high court rules in their
favor, it's unlikely to have much impact since a state law passed in 2015 now
allows the TDCJ to keep suppliers secret. Either way, the court's ruling hangs
in limbo until the rehearing. Oral arguments have been scheduled for Jan. 23,
2019.
Meanwhile, another execution has been halted. The Texas Court of Criminal
Appeals granted Kwame Rockwell a last-minute stay on Friday, Oct. 19. Rockwell,
who was set to die on Wednesday, Oct. 24, argued he is mentally unfit for
execution, and though the trial court denied his request, the CCA has since
concluded that Rockwell has, in fact, raised "substantial doubt" regarding his
competency. The state's highest criminal court has reversed the lower court's
ruling and has ordered the court to appoint "at least 2" mental health experts
to Rockwell's case. 3 stays, including Rockwell's, have been granted in the
last month, knocking 2018's grisly total down from 16 executions to 13 - still
almost double the 7 performed by the state last year.
(source: Austin Chronicle)
PENNSYLVANIA:
Death penalty on the table, pending mental competency decision, for Ronks man
accused of beating neighbor to death
A decision whether or not to pursue the death penalty for Jonathan Herr - the
man accused of beating Michael Varley, a 68-year-old Ronks man, to death on his
front porch Aug. 20 - depends in part on the results of a psychological
evaluation, a Lancaster County prosecutor said Wednesday.
"This is not about what happened or who did it," Assistant District Attorney
Barry Goldman said after a preliminary hearing Wednesday before District Judge
B. Denise Commins.
"The larger issue is going to be the state of his mental health," Goldman said.
"Until that is resolved, we'll have to wait and see."
After brief testimony from the detective who filed charges against Herr,
Commins returned the case to the Lancaster County Court of Common Please for
final disposition.
An arraignment will be scheduled within the next 30 days, Goldman said later,
at which time it will be determined if Herr is competent to stand trial.
Covered in blood
Herr, 31, was charged with criminal homicide, burglary, having an instrument of
crime and simple assault after Varley's death Aug. 20 on Varley’s front porch
on Hedgewood Avenue, a dead-end residential street in Ronks.
According to police, witnesses said Herr beat and stabbed Varley after smashing
Varley's front window and hauling him onto his front porch.
Witnesses reported him using a stool, a saucepan, a brick and a knife in the
attack, East Lampeter Township police Detective Preston Gentzler said during
brief testimony Wednesday.
A stool, saucepan, brick and knife found after the attack were covered in
blood, the detective said.
Varley's brother-in-law, Benuel King, said previously that he tried to
intervene, striking Herr repeatedly with a broom handle but retreating when
Herr turned his attack on King.
Recalled 'committing harm'
Gentzler said police responded to reports of an assault in progress. Officers
found the victim "lying on his front porch with significant injuries," he said.
Herr was found by police taking a shower in his apartment, where he was
arrested, Gentzler said.
After executing a search warrant, he said, they found a pair of bloody pants in
the apartment that were taken into evidence and will be sent to the state
police laboratory for testing.
Gentzler said Herr "indicated that he was upset" at Varley, and he recalled
"committing harm" to his elderly neighbor in the attack.
Herr had injuries on his back consistent with King's version of events,
Gentzler said. He also had small cuts and abrasions on his hands.
'Multiple traumatic injuries'
A cause of death was established after an autopsy by county pathologist Dr.
Wayne K. Ross, Gentzler said. County coroner Dr. Stephen Diamantoni said after
the autopsy that Varley died from "multiple traumatic injuries." Gentzler said
Wednesday that included stabbing wounds and head trauma.
Gentzler's testimony was the only evidence presented Wednesday by the
prosecution. Defense attorney Elizabeth Donnelly did not cross-examine Gentzler
or offer witnesses in Herr's defense, saying it wasn't the appropriate venue.
According to court records, Donnelly filed a motion for "in court determination
of competency" on Oct. 9.
Herr is being held in Lancaster County Prison without bail. He appeared
Wednesday in an orange prison jumpsuit, wearing handcuffs and manacles during
the brief hearing.
Herr's mother and 3 members of Varley's family also attended the hearing. They
spoke outside the judge's office after the hearing, with Herr's mother offering
Varley's widow and daughter her condolences for Varley's death.
(source: lancasteronline.com)
VIRGINIA:
Virginia jury is urged to impose death sentence on man who killed wife, police
officer
The veteran Prince William County prosecutors were relentless.
In their closing arguments Tuesday, they urged jurors to give Ronald Hamilton,
a former Pentagon information-technology specialist who killed his wife and a
rookie police officer, the death sentence instead of life in prison without
parole.
Again and again, they reminded jurors of the harrowing sequence of events that
played out Feb. 27, 2016, at Hamilton's home in Woodbridge, Virginia: First,
the Army staff sergeant shot 29-year-old Crystal Hamilton with a handgun 4
times after they had gotten into a fight and she called 911. Then he grabbed
his AK-47 and shot 3 Prince William police officers, injuring 2 and killing
Ashley Guindon, who was working her 1st shift.
"He shot [his wife] in the face, shot her again as she's going down to the
floor, then shot her again in the brain stem," said Richard Conway, chief
deputy assistant commonwealth's attorney. When police arrived, Conway said,
Hamilton made a premeditated decision to use a semiautomatic assault weapon,
thinking, " 'This .45 is not going to do it. [The police] are all wearing
ballistic vests, and the .45 won't go through that.'"
"He richly deserves the ultimate punishment," Conway said.
Prosecutor Matthew Lowery was unsparing. "Put him in the grave," he told the
jury, "because that's where he belongs after what he's done."
The jury of 10 women and 2 men began deliberating Tuesday but did not reach a
verdict. On Wednesday they will resume considering what sentence to impose.
On the final day of Hamilton's capital murder trial, defense attorneys and
prosecutors tussled over one idea: Who gets mercy? Does a man who killed 2
people, one of them a police officer, deserve life in a maximum-security prison
without any chance of getting out? Or should that man face execution?
The Prince William prosecution team has pushed for - and won - numerous death
sentences in the past several decades, including the execution of Washington
sniper John Allen Muhammad. They argued that Hamilton, convicted last month of
capital murder, deserves no compassion.
Giving him the death sentence would send a message to other would-be killers of
police that the county has no tolerance for the murder of its law enforcement
officers. He needs to die, they said, because his repeated shooting of his
helpless wife - while their then-11-year-old son was in the house - was
excessive and "depraved."
Defense attorney Ed Ungvarsky spent 2 hours trying to convince the jury that
Hamilton, given his military career and 2 deployments to Iraq, was worth
sparing.
"Mercy isn't earned. It's given," Ungvarsky said, adding that giving Hamilton
life in prison without parole would still be extremely harsh. "Mercy is
everywhere in this room. You should consider mercy."
He said Hamilton, whose father is a retired second-in-command of the
Charleston, South Carolina, police department, should not be put to death like
"some diseased animal." He cited aphorisms by William Shakespeare, the author
Richard Wright and Coretta Scott King to make the case that Hamilton should
live and that his murders won't be "redeemed by an act of retaliation."
He cited evidence that Hamilton had once saved a colleague's life in the war
zone after they had come under a mortar attack, that he had grown up without a
steady father figure, and that after his Iraq deployments, he probably had
undiagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder.
At one point, Ungvarsky began showing the jury photos of Hamilton as a child or
in other happier moments. "If you kill this man, you kill this child, too," he
said, flashing a picture of the defendant as a boy.
He also said Hamilton has been struggling with mental issues for years, dating
to his childhood when he wrote a suicide note to his mother that she was
supposed to find after he had killed himself. "Dear Mom, the reason I killed
myself was because my life wasn't straight," he had written. "PLEASE don't let
this letter be in the news."
"If you kill this man, you kill the boy who wrote this letter," Ungvarsky said.
In the end, Hamilton's defense attorney said his crimes were far less malicious
than those of other more-notorious people who have avoided the death penalty,
including Zacarias Moussaoui, a conspirator in the 9/11 attacks, and Unabomber
Ted Kaczynski.
"If you see the humanity in him, even a speck, you must give a life sentence,"
Ungvarsky told jurors.
As Ungvarsky and the prosecutors went back and forth, Hamilton mostly kept his
face in his hands, at one point blowing his nose. One attorney sitting next to
him kept patting his upper back and talking into his ear.
(source: The Virginian-Pilot)
FLORIDA:
Prosecutors seeking death penalty for Dunnellon man in murder of Lecanto man
Prosecutors are seeking the ultimate punishment for a Dunnellon man accused of
choking a Lecanto man to death and burglarizing his home.
During Circuit Judge Richard "Ric" Howard's Monday morning court hearings,
Assistant State Attorney Pete Magrino announced he was seeking the death
sentence for 33-year-old Christopher Eugene Smith for the April 2017 murder of
73-year-old James Thomas Roman.
Magrino won't be seeking death for Smith's Inverness co-defendant, 24-year-old
Sara Jane Atwood, who allegedly conspired with Smith to murder Roman, her
grandfather, for financial gain.
Magrino, who filed Smith's death notice Monday, accused Smith of being directly
responsible on April 30, 2017, for burglarizing Roman's mobile home off West
Cardamon Place and choking Roman to death.
"The evidence that's currently known to the state is that Smith was the
hands-on person with regards to the murder of Mr. Roman," Magrino said in a
phone interview.
Howard scheduled the couple's next court appearance for Dec. 12. They will
continue to remain in custody without a bond.
After a yearslong investigation, detectives with the Citrus County Sheriff’s
Major Crimes Unit in early September arrested Smith and Atwood on a warrant
charging them with murder while committing a felony and home invasion, prior
reports show.
A Citrus County grand jury on Sept. 24 indicted the couple on a capital-felony
count of 1st-degree premeditated murder and a life-felony count of armed
burglary, court records show.
If Smith is convicted of capital murder but a jury doesn't find him eligible
for the death penalty, Howard must still issue him a life sentence, Magrino
said, adding Atwood will also stay behind prison bars for life if jurors find
her guilty of murder.
Sheriff's deputies discovered Roman's body during the early morning hours of
May 2, 2017, after being led back to Roman's house following a vehicle chase
the day before with Smith, who was driving Roman's Nissan pickup truck.
Smith was able to lose his pursuers in Citrus County, but was apprehended later
that morning after a brief pursuit in Marion County.
A judge in September 2017 sentenced Smith to serve a year and 6 months for
charges connected with the pursuit, and Smith was afterward extradited back to
Citrus County on Sept. 5 to face his latest charges, reports show.
(source: Citrus County Chronicle)
***********************
Black Florida man wrongly convicted of murder in 1960s dies at age
83----Wilbert Lee spent 12 years in prison despite real killer's confession
1 of the men who was wrongly convicted of murdering 2 white gas station
attendants in the 1960s has died.
It's a case that forced race relations in Florida to the forefront.
Wilbert Lee and Freddie Pitts spent more than 10 years behind bars for a crime
they did not commit.
Local 10 News reporter Sanela Sabovic spoke with Lee's sister about the
heartbreak from that conviction that he carried with him until his last
moments.
"Imagine someone's on death row for a murder they did not commit. It was very
hard and very difficult for my brother to get over this," Linda Smith said.
Smith said her brother died a broken man. If his name sounds familiar, that's
because Smith's brother, along with Pitts, was a part of a case that gripped
the state of Florida for decades.
Both black men were wrongly convicted of murdering 2 white gas station
attendants in northern Florida in 1963. They sat on death row despite another
man admitting to the crimes.
"That's a slap in the face," Lee previously said in an interview. "We've spent
9 1/2 years under the sentence of death."
Pitts and Lee were eventually released from Florida state prison in 1975,
pardoned by then Gov. Reubin Askew.
Both men would then spend the next 23 years seeking justice.
In 1998, they received $500,000 from the Florida Legislature. Their case was
the 1st time the state ever gave restitution for a wrongful death sentence.
What Lee's sister takes issue with is that there never was a formal apology
from the state for a wrongful conviction that scarred and shaped her brother's
life.
"Every day was a challenge for him," Smith said. "He coped, but he never, ever
got over this. How could you when you are on death row and you are being
beaten? They are refusing to allow him to have water. They were refusing to
feed him. He was called the N-word. He was fearful for his life."
Lee died of a heart attack last week at the age of 83. Smith wants his name to
be remembered and his death to not be in vain.
"I want Wilbert Lee to be remembered as a true, true innocent hero," Smith
said.
Lee will be laid to rest Nov. 3 in Miami.
(source: WPLG news)
**********************
FL Death Row Exoneree Wilbert Lee has died
Wilbert Lee, who spent almost 10 years on Florida's death row before being
released and pardoned in 1975, has died. Wilbert Lee is Florida and the
nation's 3rd exonerated death row survivor of the modern era. Dave Keaton of
Florida was the 1st. Dave passed away 2 years ago. There are now 27 people
exonerated off Florida's death row, far more than any other state. No one knows
how many innocent people have been executed. Please see FADP's "Innocence
List".
In Florida, the death penalty is racially biased, arbitrary, discriminates
against the poor, wastes millions of criminal justice dollars, does nothing to
protect the public, and sends more innocent people to death row than any other
state.
(source: Mark Elliott, Executive Director; Floridians for Alternatives to the
Death Penalty----www.fadp.org)
OKLAHOMA:
UCO to screen "The Last Defense" examining the case of Julius Jones on
Oklahoma's death row
The University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) will host a free public screening of
the ABC documentary The Last Defense on Friday, October 26 from 6 - 9 p.m.
Doors open at 5:30 p.m. The event will take place in the Communications
Building (#13), Bill Burke Film Screening Room #120, on the UCO campus in
Edmond.
First airing last summer, 3 episodes of The Last Defense will be shown that
evening (approx. 2 hours), which focus on Julius Darius Jones, who has spent
the last 19 years on Oklahoma's death row. A discussion and Q&A session will
follow.
Panelists include: Joi Miskel, former Oklahoma County Public Defender, now a
criminal defense attorney with her own practice; Jimmy Lawson, Rose State
College adjunct professor and longtime friend of Julius Jones; Cece
Jones-Davis, Sing for Change founder; and Rev. Don Heath, Oklahoma Coalition to
Abolish the Death Penalty chair.
Heath stated, "Julius Jones has firmly maintained his innocence while spending
the last 19 years on death row. His story is finally heard in The Last Defense.
People are moved and appalled when they watch the documentary. They can't
believe that things like this are still happening in Oklahoma." The project was
executive produced by Academy award winning actress Viola Davis and her husband
Julius Tennon, founders of JuVee Production, to "give a voice to the voiceless
through strong, impactful and culturally relevant narratives." The couple
partnered with XCON Productions and Lincoln Square Productions for this
project.
The 1st episode, JULIUS JONES: The Crime, revisits how in 1999, Jones, an
African American 19-year-old student at the University of Oklahoma on academic
scholarship, was arrested days after a businessman was shot to death during a
car-jacking gone wrong in Edmond, Oklahoma.
"The 2nd (The Trial) and third (The Fight) episodes explore police and
prosecutorial misconduct in the case, racism in the criminal justice system, as
well as during Julius's criminal proceedings, and raises serious questions
about whether Julius was wrongfully convicted," stated Dale Baich, a member of
Jones' legal team.
According to Davis, The Last Defense spotlights serious flaws in the American
justice system - and in particular the high rate of exonerated death row
inmates.
"This evening is devoted to an examination of the arbitrary and racist nature
of the death penalty," said Dr. Elizabeth Overman, UCO Professor, Department of
Political Science.
"The underlying and rattling issue is the execution of innocent individuals.
Since 1973, 163 people have been released from death row in the United States
because they were proven innocent - 10 from Oklahoma," Overman added.
"Application of the death penalty is bad public policy. It needs to be
abolished."
The Oct. 26 event is sponsored by 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, Sing for
Change, and the Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.
"After learning about Julius Jones' story on 'The Last Defense' and hearing
directly from him, we are confident that when viewers see the final episode of
his case, they will be shocked by the new information we have uncovered;
information that his lawyers believe could ultimately compel the courts to
revisit his case," said London Square producer Gemma Jordan.
Free parking will be available - nearest lots are 4 -7. Those attending the
event are encouraged to park near the UCO Liberal Arts Building, located off
Baughman St. on the east side of campus.
"A wind is blowing through Oklahoma City that we cannot contain," Jones-Davis
said. "It is as if God has opened the door to a dark room to shine light on the
once-forgotten Julius Jones case. It's time for Oklahomans to deal with it."
On Thursday, Nov. 1, The Last Defense will be shown at Oklahoma City's
Auditorium at the Douglass, 600 N. High Avenue at 6 p.m., sponsored by Sing for
Change and OK-CADP.
For the Douglass event, Jones-Davis, Lawson and Heath will be joined by
panelists Rev. Larry Crudup, Senior Pastor of Tabernacle Baptist Church of
Oklahoma City; J.B. "Jabee" Williams, Emmy winning hip hop artist and activist;
and on-air radio personality/producer Nikki Nice.
Both events are free and open to the public. For more information about Julius
Jones, visit justiceforjulius.com.
(source: city-sentinel.com)
CALIFORNIA:
Transient Faces Death Penalty for Oceanside Man's Murder
Carey Lamont Reid Jr., 21, was ordered held without bail in connection with the
Aug. 14 slaying of John Roth.
The defendant is charged with murder, with a special circumstance allegation of
murder during a residential burglary, and "hot prowl" burglary.
District Attorney Summer Stephan has yet to decide whether Reid will face life
in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty if he’s found
guilty.
DNA evidence obtained from the crime scene led homicide detectives to identify
Reid, a local transient, as the alleged perpetrator, Oceanside police spokesman
Tom Bussey said.
Officers were called to the 500 block of North Coast Highway last Sunday on a
report of a person lying on the ground in a parking lot, Bussey said. Officers
arrived, identified the man as Reid and took him into custody.
The parking lot is located directly behind the residence where Roth was found
dead, Bussey said.
A back door was found open, but there were no signs of forced entry or a
struggle at Roth's home in the 500 block of North Tremont Street when he was
found by his wife shortly before 7 a.m. on Aug. 14, Detective Erik Ellgard
said.
Roth was stabbed twice in the neck while sitting on his couch, said Deputy
District Attorney Keith Watanabe.
Zui Pang, 41, had last seen her husband alive about 16 hours before she
returned home, Ellgard said.
Missing from the residence were some of the couple's possessions, including
costume jewelry, a wooden jewelry box, an Asus laptop computer, an LG cellphone
and Pang's wedding ring.
Four days later, an acquaintance of the victim found Pang's stolen purse,
photos of the couple and other personal effects dumped in an alley off North
Ditmar Street, a few blocks from their home.
Reid will be back in court Jan. 24 for a readiness conference and Feb. 22 for a
preliminary hearing.
(source: timesofsandiego.com)
OREGON:
Judge considers death penalty option in MAX attack case
Defense attorneys for MAX train double-murder suspect Jeremy Christian have
asked a judge overseeing his criminal case not to give jurors the option of
sentencing Christian to death if they find him guilty.
Christian's attorneys made their arguments Wednesday during the 3rd day of a
hearing into what will be allowed during Christian's aggravated murder trial
next June.
Lawyers for Jeremy Christian and for the prosecution have asked a judge to lay
out the ground rules for a 5-week trial next year into the fatal stabbings of 2
men on a MAX train.
Multnomah County Circuit Judge Cheryl Albrecht said she needed time to consider
the lawyers' arguments. She plans to issue a written decision, but didn't say
when.
The defense's request is standard in Oregon cases eligible for the death
penalty. It's also standard for judges to deny the requests given case law,
including that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled the death penalty
constitutional under certain circumstances.
Prosecutors haven't yet said whether they'll seek a death sentence if the jury
finds Christian guilty of aggravated murder for the deaths of Ricky Best and
Taliesin Namkai-Meche in May 2017.
What would likely happen is that prosecutors would make a recommendation only
during a second phase of the trial, when jurors would be asked to choose from
three options: a 30-year minimum prison term, a "true life" sentence with no
possibility of release or a death sentence.
Any choice the jury would make is aside from Gov. Kate Brown's moratorium
preventing any prisoners on death row from being executed.
The 3-day hearing concluded with no outbursts from Christian, in contrast to
earlier court appearances when he yelled or held up a small piece of paper
depicting the "Don't Tread on Me" flag. Christian remained seated and calm
throughout.
(soruce: oregonlive.com)
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TEXAS----foreign national faces impending execution
Mexican national scheduled for execution in Texas despite claims of treaty
violations
A mentally ill Mexican national with claims of brain damage is set for
execution in November, more than 2 decades after he was convicted of killing
his wife and 2 youngest children near the southern border.
Robert Moreno Ramos is scheduled to die by lethal injection on Nov. 14,
according to Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Jeremy Desel.
The 64-year-old immigrant was sent to death row in 1993 for the slayings of his
wife Leticia and their children, Abigail and Jonathan, who were found buried
beneath the bathroom floor in the couple's Hidalgo County home.
For years, his lawyers have contended that his execution would be a violation
of international treaty as he wasn't properly notified of his right to tell the
Mexican consulate about his arrest and request legal assistance from his
country. On top of that, they argue, Ramos had abysmal legal representation
during trial and jurors never learned about his severely abusive childhood,
brain dysfunction, bipolar disorder and low IQ.
In February 1992, a neighbor in Progreso heard screams coming from the Ramos
home. It wasn't until 2 months later that investigators unearthed the family's
remains.
That April, Ramos was picked up on an outstanding traffic ticket, then
questioned without a lawyer. Eventually, he gave authorities the OK to search
his home - and they found blood inside.
Under further questioning, records show, Ramos drew police a map to bathroom,
where the bodies were buried.
But Ramos told investigators he didn't kill his wife and children. Instead, he
said that he came home to find his family slain and decided to hide the bodies
so his surviving eldest son wouldn't find out.
He didn't get a lawyer until 3 months after his arrest, according to defense
filings. During his trial, prosecutors argued that he'd beaten to death his
wife and 2 children with some type of blunt instrument and then married another
woman days later.
Defense lawyers argued in the 1993 case that unknown drug dealers committed the
triple slaying. After the state introduced testimony implying he'd killed his
1st wife in Mexico, Ramos was convicted and sentenced to death in a matter of
hours.
In the punishment phase, attorneys for Ramos didn't cross-examine the state's
witnesses, offered no evidence and didn't ask the jury to spare their client
from the death penalty, according to court records.
Mexican authorities learned of Ramos' arrest through news reports nearly a year
after the fact, according to court records. During appeals, attorneys for Ramos
said that late notification could have made a difference because Mexico often
provides extra defense support in capital cases and might have done so had they
known sooner.
But the state argued that extra help from Mexico wouldn't have resulted in a
different outcome.
On appeal, Ramos raised concerns about earlier bad lawyering, and also alleged
that the state had violated Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular
Relations by not telling him about his right to speak to his nation's
consulate.
Ultimately, the courts refused to grant him relief in part because the Vienna
Convention is only enforceable between countries - it's not up to American
federal courts to enforce the application of international treaties in
individual criminal cases.
More than 15 years ago, Ramos was 1 of 54 death row inmates named in a
complaint to the United Nations World Court, when Mexico accused the U.S. of
violating international treaties and asked for a stay in all of the cases. The
international court decided the prisoners should get their cases reviewed. But
the U.S. Supreme Court in 2008 deemed that decision unenforceable, unless
Congress takes legislative action.
Neither Ramos' defense counsel nor Hidalgo County prosecutors responded to
requests for comment Friday.
The case bears some similarities to that of Ruben Cardenas, another Mexican
national who was executed last year amid international outcry and claims of
global treaty violations.
Despite pushback from Mexico and Cardenas' claims of innocence, the 47-year-old
was put to death in November for the murder of his teenage cousin.
"It is as if the United States were thumbing its nose at the government of
Mexico and the United Nations," Sandra Babcock, a Cornell Law School professor
specializing in international issues surrounding capital punishment, told the
Chronicle last year. "And when I say the U.S., I should be clear that we're
talking about Texas."
The Lone Star State has executed 8 men this year, and another 3 - including
Ramos - are scheduled for the remainder of 2018.
(source: Houston Chronicle)
******************
Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present----37
Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982----present-----555
Abbott#--------scheduled execution date-----name------------Tx. #
38---------Nov. 14----------------Robert Ramos------------556
39---------Dec. 4-----------------Joseph Garcia-----------557
40---------Dec. 11----------------Alvin Braziel, Jr.------558
41---------Jan. 15----------------Blaine Milam------------559
42---------Jan. 30----------------Robert Jennings---------560
43---------Feb. 28----------------Billy Wayne Coble-------561
(sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin)
**********************
Death Watch: Can Texas Keep a Secret?----State Supreme Court grants rehearing
in execution drug supplier case
The Texas Supreme Court caved under pressure last Friday, Oct. 19, granting the
Texas Department of Criminal Justice a rehearing regarding a 2014 lawsuit over
whether the state should be allowed to keep secret its execution drug
suppliers. That in itself isn't shocking, but the decision comes 4 months after
the court rejected the state's appeal of a lower court's ruling, and the 3rd
Court of Appeals' affirmation, which ordered the state to name the supplier.
Court records show Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Solicitor General Kyle
D. Hawkins filed a motion of support for the TDCJ on Oct. 3, reiterating the
argument that suppliers should remain unnamed due to the "substantial threat of
physical harm" should the pharmacy - described as an open-to-the-public "retail
compounding pharmacy" in an "urban" area - be identified. Also in a show of
support for the TDCJ, the state of Arizona submitted an amicus brief in July
alleging that the COA's ruling would cause "dire consequences" that would
threaten the death penalty nationwide. According to the brief, "Public
disclosure of a rare and valuable supplier of lethal-injection drugs chills
other current and potential suppliers, and facilitates the escalating 'guerilla
war against the death penalty.'"
The original 2014 suit was filed by 3 attorneys with clients on death row
seeking to avoid botched executions. But even if the high court rules in their
favor, it's unlikely to have much impact since a state law passed in 2015 now
allows the TDCJ to keep suppliers secret. Either way, the court's ruling hangs
in limbo until the rehearing. Oral arguments have been scheduled for Jan. 23,
2019.
Meanwhile, another execution has been halted. The Texas Court of Criminal
Appeals granted Kwame Rockwell a last-minute stay on Friday, Oct. 19. Rockwell,
who was set to die on Wednesday, Oct. 24, argued he is mentally unfit for
execution, and though the trial court denied his request, the CCA has since
concluded that Rockwell has, in fact, raised "substantial doubt" regarding his
competency. The state's highest criminal court has reversed the lower court's
ruling and has ordered the court to appoint "at least 2" mental health experts
to Rockwell's case. 3 stays, including Rockwell's, have been granted in the
last month, knocking 2018's grisly total down from 16 executions to 13 - still
almost double the 7 performed by the state last year.
(source: Austin Chronicle)
PENNSYLVANIA:
Death penalty on the table, pending mental competency decision, for Ronks man
accused of beating neighbor to death
A decision whether or not to pursue the death penalty for Jonathan Herr - the
man accused of beating Michael Varley, a 68-year-old Ronks man, to death on his
front porch Aug. 20 - depends in part on the results of a psychological
evaluation, a Lancaster County prosecutor said Wednesday.
"This is not about what happened or who did it," Assistant District Attorney
Barry Goldman said after a preliminary hearing Wednesday before District Judge
B. Denise Commins.
"The larger issue is going to be the state of his mental health," Goldman said.
"Until that is resolved, we'll have to wait and see."
After brief testimony from the detective who filed charges against Herr,
Commins returned the case to the Lancaster County Court of Common Please for
final disposition.
An arraignment will be scheduled within the next 30 days, Goldman said later,
at which time it will be determined if Herr is competent to stand trial.
Covered in blood
Herr, 31, was charged with criminal homicide, burglary, having an instrument of
crime and simple assault after Varley's death Aug. 20 on Varley’s front porch
on Hedgewood Avenue, a dead-end residential street in Ronks.
According to police, witnesses said Herr beat and stabbed Varley after smashing
Varley's front window and hauling him onto his front porch.
Witnesses reported him using a stool, a saucepan, a brick and a knife in the
attack, East Lampeter Township police Detective Preston Gentzler said during
brief testimony Wednesday.
A stool, saucepan, brick and knife found after the attack were covered in
blood, the detective said.
Varley's brother-in-law, Benuel King, said previously that he tried to
intervene, striking Herr repeatedly with a broom handle but retreating when
Herr turned his attack on King.
Recalled 'committing harm'
Gentzler said police responded to reports of an assault in progress. Officers
found the victim "lying on his front porch with significant injuries," he said.
Herr was found by police taking a shower in his apartment, where he was
arrested, Gentzler said.
After executing a search warrant, he said, they found a pair of bloody pants in
the apartment that were taken into evidence and will be sent to the state
police laboratory for testing.
Gentzler said Herr "indicated that he was upset" at Varley, and he recalled
"committing harm" to his elderly neighbor in the attack.
Herr had injuries on his back consistent with King's version of events,
Gentzler said. He also had small cuts and abrasions on his hands.
'Multiple traumatic injuries'
A cause of death was established after an autopsy by county pathologist Dr.
Wayne K. Ross, Gentzler said. County coroner Dr. Stephen Diamantoni said after
the autopsy that Varley died from "multiple traumatic injuries." Gentzler said
Wednesday that included stabbing wounds and head trauma.
Gentzler's testimony was the only evidence presented Wednesday by the
prosecution. Defense attorney Elizabeth Donnelly did not cross-examine Gentzler
or offer witnesses in Herr's defense, saying it wasn't the appropriate venue.
According to court records, Donnelly filed a motion for "in court determination
of competency" on Oct. 9.
Herr is being held in Lancaster County Prison without bail. He appeared
Wednesday in an orange prison jumpsuit, wearing handcuffs and manacles during
the brief hearing.
Herr's mother and 3 members of Varley's family also attended the hearing. They
spoke outside the judge's office after the hearing, with Herr's mother offering
Varley's widow and daughter her condolences for Varley's death.
(source: lancasteronline.com)
VIRGINIA:
Virginia jury is urged to impose death sentence on man who killed wife, police
officer
The veteran Prince William County prosecutors were relentless.
In their closing arguments Tuesday, they urged jurors to give Ronald Hamilton,
a former Pentagon information-technology specialist who killed his wife and a
rookie police officer, the death sentence instead of life in prison without
parole.
Again and again, they reminded jurors of the harrowing sequence of events that
played out Feb. 27, 2016, at Hamilton's home in Woodbridge, Virginia: First,
the Army staff sergeant shot 29-year-old Crystal Hamilton with a handgun 4
times after they had gotten into a fight and she called 911. Then he grabbed
his AK-47 and shot 3 Prince William police officers, injuring 2 and killing
Ashley Guindon, who was working her 1st shift.
"He shot [his wife] in the face, shot her again as she's going down to the
floor, then shot her again in the brain stem," said Richard Conway, chief
deputy assistant commonwealth's attorney. When police arrived, Conway said,
Hamilton made a premeditated decision to use a semiautomatic assault weapon,
thinking, " 'This .45 is not going to do it. [The police] are all wearing
ballistic vests, and the .45 won't go through that.'"
"He richly deserves the ultimate punishment," Conway said.
Prosecutor Matthew Lowery was unsparing. "Put him in the grave," he told the
jury, "because that's where he belongs after what he's done."
The jury of 10 women and 2 men began deliberating Tuesday but did not reach a
verdict. On Wednesday they will resume considering what sentence to impose.
On the final day of Hamilton's capital murder trial, defense attorneys and
prosecutors tussled over one idea: Who gets mercy? Does a man who killed 2
people, one of them a police officer, deserve life in a maximum-security prison
without any chance of getting out? Or should that man face execution?
The Prince William prosecution team has pushed for - and won - numerous death
sentences in the past several decades, including the execution of Washington
sniper John Allen Muhammad. They argued that Hamilton, convicted last month of
capital murder, deserves no compassion.
Giving him the death sentence would send a message to other would-be killers of
police that the county has no tolerance for the murder of its law enforcement
officers. He needs to die, they said, because his repeated shooting of his
helpless wife - while their then-11-year-old son was in the house - was
excessive and "depraved."
Defense attorney Ed Ungvarsky spent 2 hours trying to convince the jury that
Hamilton, given his military career and 2 deployments to Iraq, was worth
sparing.
"Mercy isn't earned. It's given," Ungvarsky said, adding that giving Hamilton
life in prison without parole would still be extremely harsh. "Mercy is
everywhere in this room. You should consider mercy."
He said Hamilton, whose father is a retired second-in-command of the
Charleston, South Carolina, police department, should not be put to death like
"some diseased animal." He cited aphorisms by William Shakespeare, the author
Richard Wright and Coretta Scott King to make the case that Hamilton should
live and that his murders won't be "redeemed by an act of retaliation."
He cited evidence that Hamilton had once saved a colleague's life in the war
zone after they had come under a mortar attack, that he had grown up without a
steady father figure, and that after his Iraq deployments, he probably had
undiagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder.
At one point, Ungvarsky began showing the jury photos of Hamilton as a child or
in other happier moments. "If you kill this man, you kill this child, too," he
said, flashing a picture of the defendant as a boy.
He also said Hamilton has been struggling with mental issues for years, dating
to his childhood when he wrote a suicide note to his mother that she was
supposed to find after he had killed himself. "Dear Mom, the reason I killed
myself was because my life wasn't straight," he had written. "PLEASE don't let
this letter be in the news."
"If you kill this man, you kill the boy who wrote this letter," Ungvarsky said.
In the end, Hamilton's defense attorney said his crimes were far less malicious
than those of other more-notorious people who have avoided the death penalty,
including Zacarias Moussaoui, a conspirator in the 9/11 attacks, and Unabomber
Ted Kaczynski.
"If you see the humanity in him, even a speck, you must give a life sentence,"
Ungvarsky told jurors.
As Ungvarsky and the prosecutors went back and forth, Hamilton mostly kept his
face in his hands, at one point blowing his nose. One attorney sitting next to
him kept patting his upper back and talking into his ear.
(source: The Virginian-Pilot)
FLORIDA:
Prosecutors seeking death penalty for Dunnellon man in murder of Lecanto man
Prosecutors are seeking the ultimate punishment for a Dunnellon man accused of
choking a Lecanto man to death and burglarizing his home.
During Circuit Judge Richard "Ric" Howard's Monday morning court hearings,
Assistant State Attorney Pete Magrino announced he was seeking the death
sentence for 33-year-old Christopher Eugene Smith for the April 2017 murder of
73-year-old James Thomas Roman.
Magrino won't be seeking death for Smith's Inverness co-defendant, 24-year-old
Sara Jane Atwood, who allegedly conspired with Smith to murder Roman, her
grandfather, for financial gain.
Magrino, who filed Smith's death notice Monday, accused Smith of being directly
responsible on April 30, 2017, for burglarizing Roman's mobile home off West
Cardamon Place and choking Roman to death.
"The evidence that's currently known to the state is that Smith was the
hands-on person with regards to the murder of Mr. Roman," Magrino said in a
phone interview.
Howard scheduled the couple's next court appearance for Dec. 12. They will
continue to remain in custody without a bond.
After a yearslong investigation, detectives with the Citrus County Sheriff’s
Major Crimes Unit in early September arrested Smith and Atwood on a warrant
charging them with murder while committing a felony and home invasion, prior
reports show.
A Citrus County grand jury on Sept. 24 indicted the couple on a capital-felony
count of 1st-degree premeditated murder and a life-felony count of armed
burglary, court records show.
If Smith is convicted of capital murder but a jury doesn't find him eligible
for the death penalty, Howard must still issue him a life sentence, Magrino
said, adding Atwood will also stay behind prison bars for life if jurors find
her guilty of murder.
Sheriff's deputies discovered Roman's body during the early morning hours of
May 2, 2017, after being led back to Roman's house following a vehicle chase
the day before with Smith, who was driving Roman's Nissan pickup truck.
Smith was able to lose his pursuers in Citrus County, but was apprehended later
that morning after a brief pursuit in Marion County.
A judge in September 2017 sentenced Smith to serve a year and 6 months for
charges connected with the pursuit, and Smith was afterward extradited back to
Citrus County on Sept. 5 to face his latest charges, reports show.
(source: Citrus County Chronicle)
***********************
Black Florida man wrongly convicted of murder in 1960s dies at age
83----Wilbert Lee spent 12 years in prison despite real killer's confession
1 of the men who was wrongly convicted of murdering 2 white gas station
attendants in the 1960s has died.
It's a case that forced race relations in Florida to the forefront.
Wilbert Lee and Freddie Pitts spent more than 10 years behind bars for a crime
they did not commit.
Local 10 News reporter Sanela Sabovic spoke with Lee's sister about the
heartbreak from that conviction that he carried with him until his last
moments.
"Imagine someone's on death row for a murder they did not commit. It was very
hard and very difficult for my brother to get over this," Linda Smith said.
Smith said her brother died a broken man. If his name sounds familiar, that's
because Smith's brother, along with Pitts, was a part of a case that gripped
the state of Florida for decades.
Both black men were wrongly convicted of murdering 2 white gas station
attendants in northern Florida in 1963. They sat on death row despite another
man admitting to the crimes.
"That's a slap in the face," Lee previously said in an interview. "We've spent
9 1/2 years under the sentence of death."
Pitts and Lee were eventually released from Florida state prison in 1975,
pardoned by then Gov. Reubin Askew.
Both men would then spend the next 23 years seeking justice.
In 1998, they received $500,000 from the Florida Legislature. Their case was
the 1st time the state ever gave restitution for a wrongful death sentence.
What Lee's sister takes issue with is that there never was a formal apology
from the state for a wrongful conviction that scarred and shaped her brother's
life.
"Every day was a challenge for him," Smith said. "He coped, but he never, ever
got over this. How could you when you are on death row and you are being
beaten? They are refusing to allow him to have water. They were refusing to
feed him. He was called the N-word. He was fearful for his life."
Lee died of a heart attack last week at the age of 83. Smith wants his name to
be remembered and his death to not be in vain.
"I want Wilbert Lee to be remembered as a true, true innocent hero," Smith
said.
Lee will be laid to rest Nov. 3 in Miami.
(source: WPLG news)
**********************
FL Death Row Exoneree Wilbert Lee has died
Wilbert Lee, who spent almost 10 years on Florida's death row before being
released and pardoned in 1975, has died. Wilbert Lee is Florida and the
nation's 3rd exonerated death row survivor of the modern era. Dave Keaton of
Florida was the 1st. Dave passed away 2 years ago. There are now 27 people
exonerated off Florida's death row, far more than any other state. No one knows
how many innocent people have been executed. Please see FADP's "Innocence
List".
In Florida, the death penalty is racially biased, arbitrary, discriminates
against the poor, wastes millions of criminal justice dollars, does nothing to
protect the public, and sends more innocent people to death row than any other
state.
(source: Mark Elliott, Executive Director; Floridians for Alternatives to the
Death Penalty----www.fadp.org)
OKLAHOMA:
UCO to screen "The Last Defense" examining the case of Julius Jones on
Oklahoma's death row
The University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) will host a free public screening of
the ABC documentary The Last Defense on Friday, October 26 from 6 - 9 p.m.
Doors open at 5:30 p.m. The event will take place in the Communications
Building (#13), Bill Burke Film Screening Room #120, on the UCO campus in
Edmond.
First airing last summer, 3 episodes of The Last Defense will be shown that
evening (approx. 2 hours), which focus on Julius Darius Jones, who has spent
the last 19 years on Oklahoma's death row. A discussion and Q&A session will
follow.
Panelists include: Joi Miskel, former Oklahoma County Public Defender, now a
criminal defense attorney with her own practice; Jimmy Lawson, Rose State
College adjunct professor and longtime friend of Julius Jones; Cece
Jones-Davis, Sing for Change founder; and Rev. Don Heath, Oklahoma Coalition to
Abolish the Death Penalty chair.
Heath stated, "Julius Jones has firmly maintained his innocence while spending
the last 19 years on death row. His story is finally heard in The Last Defense.
People are moved and appalled when they watch the documentary. They can't
believe that things like this are still happening in Oklahoma." The project was
executive produced by Academy award winning actress Viola Davis and her husband
Julius Tennon, founders of JuVee Production, to "give a voice to the voiceless
through strong, impactful and culturally relevant narratives." The couple
partnered with XCON Productions and Lincoln Square Productions for this
project.
The 1st episode, JULIUS JONES: The Crime, revisits how in 1999, Jones, an
African American 19-year-old student at the University of Oklahoma on academic
scholarship, was arrested days after a businessman was shot to death during a
car-jacking gone wrong in Edmond, Oklahoma.
"The 2nd (The Trial) and third (The Fight) episodes explore police and
prosecutorial misconduct in the case, racism in the criminal justice system, as
well as during Julius's criminal proceedings, and raises serious questions
about whether Julius was wrongfully convicted," stated Dale Baich, a member of
Jones' legal team.
According to Davis, The Last Defense spotlights serious flaws in the American
justice system - and in particular the high rate of exonerated death row
inmates.
"This evening is devoted to an examination of the arbitrary and racist nature
of the death penalty," said Dr. Elizabeth Overman, UCO Professor, Department of
Political Science.
"The underlying and rattling issue is the execution of innocent individuals.
Since 1973, 163 people have been released from death row in the United States
because they were proven innocent - 10 from Oklahoma," Overman added.
"Application of the death penalty is bad public policy. It needs to be
abolished."
The Oct. 26 event is sponsored by 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, Sing for
Change, and the Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.
"After learning about Julius Jones' story on 'The Last Defense' and hearing
directly from him, we are confident that when viewers see the final episode of
his case, they will be shocked by the new information we have uncovered;
information that his lawyers believe could ultimately compel the courts to
revisit his case," said London Square producer Gemma Jordan.
Free parking will be available - nearest lots are 4 -7. Those attending the
event are encouraged to park near the UCO Liberal Arts Building, located off
Baughman St. on the east side of campus.
"A wind is blowing through Oklahoma City that we cannot contain," Jones-Davis
said. "It is as if God has opened the door to a dark room to shine light on the
once-forgotten Julius Jones case. It's time for Oklahomans to deal with it."
On Thursday, Nov. 1, The Last Defense will be shown at Oklahoma City's
Auditorium at the Douglass, 600 N. High Avenue at 6 p.m., sponsored by Sing for
Change and OK-CADP.
For the Douglass event, Jones-Davis, Lawson and Heath will be joined by
panelists Rev. Larry Crudup, Senior Pastor of Tabernacle Baptist Church of
Oklahoma City; J.B. "Jabee" Williams, Emmy winning hip hop artist and activist;
and on-air radio personality/producer Nikki Nice.
Both events are free and open to the public. For more information about Julius
Jones, visit justiceforjulius.com.
(source: city-sentinel.com)
CALIFORNIA:
Transient Faces Death Penalty for Oceanside Man's Murder
Carey Lamont Reid Jr., 21, was ordered held without bail in connection with the
Aug. 14 slaying of John Roth.
The defendant is charged with murder, with a special circumstance allegation of
murder during a residential burglary, and "hot prowl" burglary.
District Attorney Summer Stephan has yet to decide whether Reid will face life
in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty if he’s found
guilty.
DNA evidence obtained from the crime scene led homicide detectives to identify
Reid, a local transient, as the alleged perpetrator, Oceanside police spokesman
Tom Bussey said.
Officers were called to the 500 block of North Coast Highway last Sunday on a
report of a person lying on the ground in a parking lot, Bussey said. Officers
arrived, identified the man as Reid and took him into custody.
The parking lot is located directly behind the residence where Roth was found
dead, Bussey said.
A back door was found open, but there were no signs of forced entry or a
struggle at Roth's home in the 500 block of North Tremont Street when he was
found by his wife shortly before 7 a.m. on Aug. 14, Detective Erik Ellgard
said.
Roth was stabbed twice in the neck while sitting on his couch, said Deputy
District Attorney Keith Watanabe.
Zui Pang, 41, had last seen her husband alive about 16 hours before she
returned home, Ellgard said.
Missing from the residence were some of the couple's possessions, including
costume jewelry, a wooden jewelry box, an Asus laptop computer, an LG cellphone
and Pang's wedding ring.
Four days later, an acquaintance of the victim found Pang's stolen purse,
photos of the couple and other personal effects dumped in an alley off North
Ditmar Street, a few blocks from their home.
Reid will be back in court Jan. 24 for a readiness conference and Feb. 22 for a
preliminary hearing.
(source: timesofsandiego.com)
OREGON:
Judge considers death penalty option in MAX attack case
Defense attorneys for MAX train double-murder suspect Jeremy Christian have
asked a judge overseeing his criminal case not to give jurors the option of
sentencing Christian to death if they find him guilty.
Christian's attorneys made their arguments Wednesday during the 3rd day of a
hearing into what will be allowed during Christian's aggravated murder trial
next June.
Lawyers for Jeremy Christian and for the prosecution have asked a judge to lay
out the ground rules for a 5-week trial next year into the fatal stabbings of 2
men on a MAX train.
Multnomah County Circuit Judge Cheryl Albrecht said she needed time to consider
the lawyers' arguments. She plans to issue a written decision, but didn't say
when.
The defense's request is standard in Oregon cases eligible for the death
penalty. It's also standard for judges to deny the requests given case law,
including that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled the death penalty
constitutional under certain circumstances.
Prosecutors haven't yet said whether they'll seek a death sentence if the jury
finds Christian guilty of aggravated murder for the deaths of Ricky Best and
Taliesin Namkai-Meche in May 2017.
What would likely happen is that prosecutors would make a recommendation only
during a second phase of the trial, when jurors would be asked to choose from
three options: a 30-year minimum prison term, a "true life" sentence with no
possibility of release or a death sentence.
Any choice the jury would make is aside from Gov. Kate Brown's moratorium
preventing any prisoners on death row from being executed.
The 3-day hearing concluded with no outbursts from Christian, in contrast to
earlier court appearances when he yelled or held up a small piece of paper
depicting the "Don't Tread on Me" flag. Christian remained seated and calm
throughout.
(soruce: oregonlive.com)
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