Rick Halperin
2018-11-22 15:12:09 UTC
Nov. 22
TEXAS:
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rules against death row inmate Jeff Wood
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has rejected a bid by death row inmate Jeff
Wood to reconsider his death sentence, granting the state the opportunity to
set another execution date for Wood, whose case gained national attention
because of his role as the getaway driver in a robbery that resulted in the
death of a man.
Wood's original execution was set for Aug. 24, 2016. But 6 days before he
was
scheduled to die, the Court of Criminal Appeals halted his execution and sent
the case back to the original trial court in Kerr County to re-examine whether
Dr. James P. Grigson, a psychiatrist who testified in Wood's 1998 murder trial,
gave false or misleading statements.
After Wood's case was sent back to Kerr County in 2016 following the stay of
execution, the state filed a response saying that relief should be denied. The
trial court originally determined that there were "no existing controverted,
previously unresolved factual issues material to the legality of applicant's
confinement." After a continuing back and forth with the parole board, the
trial court and the Court of Criminal Appeals through 2017 and into 2018, the
trial court eventually recommended execution relief be granted to Wood, 45.
The Court of Criminal Appeals disagreed on Wednesday.
On Jan. 2, 1996, Wood and Daniel Reneau robbed a Texaco station in Kerrville.
Wood was waiting in a truck while Reneau went into the gas station and stole a
packed safe, surveillance VCR and other items, according to court documents.
Reneau fatally shot 31-year-old store clerk Kris Keeran after he refused to
comply with Reneau's threats.
Both men were convicted and sentenced to death, and Reneau was executed in
2002.
Although the court recognized the controversy of Grigson's testimony in court
documents, the judges argued that the state had collected enough evidence to
determine that Wood would still pose a future threat, referencing a previous
armed robbery he Wood and Reneau were involved in, and that the two had plotted
more crimes while in jail awaiting trial.
"Now that this application is no longer pending, the conviction court can set
an execution date, and the Board can properly consider a possible joint request
for commutation," Judge David Newell wrote in a concurring opinion.
Wood's case has long been controversial because of his minimal role in the
crime and because Grigson - nicknamed "Dr. Death" for how he predicted future
dangerousness - had not disclosed that he had been expelled from the American
Psychiatric Association and the Texas Society of Psychiatric Physicians.
Grigson testified that Wood would present a future danger to society if not
granted the harshest sentencing. Wood was sentenced to death under Texas' law
of parties, a statute that holds a person criminally responsible for a death
even if the individual is not directly involved in the killing.
In an August 2017 letter to the Texas Board of Pardons and Parole, Lucy Wilke,
the prosecutor in Wood's original trial who sought the death penalty against
him, wrote to ask that the board recommend to Gov. Greg Abbott that Wood's
sentence be reduced to life in prison. She wrote that she was an early-career
attorney at the time of the trial and would not have asked Grigson to testify
had she known about his expulsion from the two psychiatric organizations.
"I'm not aware of another case in which a person has been executed with as
minimal participation and culpability as Jeff," Wood's Houston-based lawyer,
Jared Tyler told the Tribune in a previous statement. "It's a national first in
that regard if the state does actually execute him."
(source: easttexasmatters.com)
FLORIDA:
Man accused of setting girlfriend on fire appears to want death
penalty----Darryl Whipple to judge: 'Willing to pay the ultimate price ... why
can't I?'
A man accused of setting his girlfriend on fire at a Westside restaurant two
years ago wrote a rambling, eight-page letter to the judge about to hear his
murder trial in which he appears to ask to be put to death. Darryl Whipple, 60,
is accused of dousing 56-year-old Carol Renee Demmons with flammable liquid and
lighting her on fire Oct. 12, 2016, while she was working at a Golden Corral on
Memorial Park Road, just off Normandy Boulevard. She died about 3 weeks later.
Whipple, who is due back in court next month, is facing the death penalty if
found guilty, but this letter could delay the process.
Surveillance video from the restaurant appears to show Whipple walk up to
Demmons, pour a liquid on her and use a lighter to set her on fire.
Shortly after his arrest, Whipple pleaded not guilty. Nearly two years later,
Whipple appears to be asking for the death penalty.
Whipple letterIn the meticulously hand-printed letter to Circuit Judge Aho
filed Nov. 9, Whipple takes full ownership of the crime.
"Like Luke 23:40-43, I accept the imminent three (3) nails," Whipple wrote on
page 5. 2 pages later, he wrote: "Willing to pay the ultimate price for the
indicted offense, why can't I!"
Ten days after the letter was submitted to the court, Aho ordered the state to
give Whipple a mental evaluation. What doctors find could prevent him from
facing the death penalty.
Attorney Gene Nichols, who is not affiliated with the case, said these words
sound like a death wish.
"This is probably what triggered the court, the state and the defense to get
this man evaluated," said Nichols, of Nichols and Pina. "As we review this
document, what we see in here is that it appears he is asking to be put to
death."
The confusing language of the letter could be evidence that Whipple is not
mentally stable. It refers to "7,000,000,000 probable earthly points of view."
He used the word "maladroit," meaning ineffective or clumsy, throughout.
"Accepting unconditional and uncompromising accountability for (my) maladroits
on that fateful day that subsequently in ways un-be-knowing to me
directly/indirectly contributed to demise of my companion, Ms. Carol Renee
Demmons," Whipple wrote.
Another word he used frequently is "psychosis."
Nichols said Whipple's mental state, or lack of it, could save his life.
"At this point in time, it does not appear that his competency, whether or not
he can even stand (trial) has been evaluated or questioned," Nichols said.
Now, a doctor has to determine what is really going on in Whipple's mind.
News4Jax tried to reach the Demmons family Tuesday, but was unsuccessful.
Whipple is due back in court Dec. 18.
(source: news4jax.com)
KENTUCKY:
Kentucky has not executed a death row inmate in 10 years, here's why----Kroger
shooting brings new call for death penalty, but Kentucky cannot currently
execute a death row inmate.
The Kroger killings have brought new calls for the death penalty in Kentucky.
But it's been ten years, tonight, since the Commonwealth of Kentucky executed a
death row inmate.
In 2010 a judge ordered a stay of executions in Kentucky while attorneys argued
over, among issues, protocols involving drugs used during lethal injection.
That stay was handed down two years after the execution of Marco Allen Chapman.
Some who fought to save his life have described the execution of Chapman as
"suicide by state."
His death, by lethal injection on November 21, 2008, came after he requested to
bypass all but one required appeal.
That sped up the process for a man who killed two young children, stabbed
another and raped their mother in 2002.
Other inmates have remained on death row in Eddyville since the early 1980's.
According to the Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy, since the death
penalty was reinstated in 1976, 97 have been sentenced to death in Kentucky.
They report that 49 of those sentences have been reversed on appeal or
post-conviction.
The Kentucky Department of Corrections website shows 30 people currently on
death row, including 1 female inmate.
Harold McQueen, Jr. was the 1st Kentucky death row inmate executed after
reinstatement. He took his seat in the electric chair on July 1, 1997, 17 years
after killing a young convenience store clerk.
Just less than 2 years later, Eddie Lee Harper became the 1st to get a date
with the needle in Kentucky. His lethal injection on May 25, 1999, came 17
years after he killed his adopted parents in Jefferson County.
Then Kentucky executed Marco Allen Chapman on November 21, 2008.
Damon Preston is the KDPA Public Advocate. His office defends those sentenced
to die as they go through the appeals process.
"2 of the 3 men who have been executed in Kentucky in the last 40 years waived
challenges to their case and agreed to be executed, essentially committing
legal suicide," said Preston.
McQueen was the only to fight until the end. He is 1 of the 3 Kentucky
executions Since 1976. In that same time, the KDPA says nine others have died
of natural causes.
Why have there been no executions in 10 years?
Part of what has prevented The Commonwealth from carrying out the death penalty
is tied to a 2010 court ordered stay by Franklin Circuit Court Judge Phillip
Shepherd. Attorneys sued, in part, arguing against the Commonwealth's lethal
injection protocols.
This year the Commonwealth's Justice and Public Safety Cabinet filed their new
policy with Judge Shepherd.
Kentucky's Department of Public Advocacy has filed its response.
The state is expected to file again before the end of the month which could
lead to a hearing and ruling and appeal to the Kentucky Supreme Court which
will buy even more time for the 30 current Kentucky death row inmates.
Which raises the question -- does the process offer real resolution for
victims' families?
Damon Preston say, "no."
"It's hard to see how the family would get resolution when the cases go on for
so long," said Preston. "But the reason cases go on for so long is because the
death penalty in Kentucky doesn't work. If a defendant is sentenced to life
without parole, that defendant gets an appeal to the Kentucky Supreme Court and
then the case is essentially over."
The Office of Governor Matt Bevin referred our request for comment to the
Department of Corrections.
DOC Director of Communications Lisa Lamb responded, "We believe the most recent
protocols that the Department developed, which have now been approved through
the administrative regulation process, satisfy the concerns of the court."
The Office of Attorney General Andy Beshear represents the Commonwealth in the
case that has put on hold executions.
Spokesman Terry Sebastian responded, "The Attorney General's Office is
currently representing the Kentucky Justice Cabinet in this matter before the
court. The next step is the filing of a legal brief that is due Nov. 30. Once
all briefs are filed, we will adhere to the hearing schedule issued by the
judge in this case. All future actions will be determined based on the rulings
of the court."
Last week, Federal prosecutors announced an indictment on Gregory Bush. He is
the white man accused of shooting 2 African-American shoppers at the
Jeffersontown Kroger. While those charges are potentially death-penalty
eligible and have been welcomed by some who called for capital punishment in
this case, the US Government has only executed 3 inmates since the 1976
reinstatement.
All those executions were by lethal injection at the US prison in Terre Haute.
The last of those executions took place more than 15 years ago. So even if the
Feds were to convict and sentence to death, it's unclear when, if ever, a
suspect would be put to death.
(source: WHAS news)
NEBRASKA----female may face death penalty
Judge rules Boswell's attorneys too early in death penalty objection
A challenge to the Nebraska death penalty made by attorneys representing a
woman charged in the death and dismemberment of a young Lincoln woman has been
rejected.
Saline County Judge Vicky Johnson ruled the attorneys for 24-year-old Bailey
Boswell were premature in their claim that the state's capital punishment
procedure is unconstitutional, because Boswell is merely charged in the death
of Sydney Loofe. There has been no conviction. There has been no sentence.
Boswell has been charged along with 51-year-old Aubrey Trail in the
strangulation and death of Loofe in early December of last year.
Authorities discovered Loofe's remains in Clay County weeks after Loofe was
reported missing.
(source: nebraskaradionetwork.com)
USA:
Secrecy Conceals 'Incompetence' in Lethal Injections: Report
Secrecy is driving a rise in inhumane executions by lethal injection across the
U.S., according to the Death Penalty Information Center
States are repeatedly concealing controversial information regarding the use of
illegally imported drugs, questionable drug sources, and unqualified
executioners, says a report released by the Center, an advocacy group that
lobbies against the death penalty.
"Without transparency, cases of incompetence or misconduct can continue
unchecked," writes Robin Konrad, the principal author of the report.
"Enabled by their secrecy laws, many states have violated state and federal
laws, breached contracts, obtained drugs from unfit suppliers, and hired
incompetent executioners. Because much of that information remains hidden, the
people may never know how often and pervasively this misconduct occurs."
Though lethal injection was supposed to be a more humane method of execution
than hanging, the firing squad, or the electric chair, it hasn't been as
effective as originally stated. Reports continue to emerge of incidents where
prisoners were still awake and experiencing suffocation and excruciating pain
during executions.
These problems have increased with the use of new drug formulas.
1 controversial drug is midazolam. In 2017, midazolam was used in 11
executions. In more than 60 % of those executions, eyewitnesses reported
problems such as labored breathing to gasping, heaving, convulsions, and
clenched fists, according to the report.
In 2016, Alabama used midazolam to execute Ronald Smith. The state concealed
most of its information surrounding executions - including hiding its protocol
from the public, according to the report.
The report notes that Smith's request for information about the drug had been
denied, and without that information, his constitutional challenges to the
state's use of midazolam were rejected by the courts. During his execution,
Smith gasped for breath for nearly 15 minutes of the 34-minute-long execution,
and a media witness observed Smith heaving and clenching a fist and noticed
that 1 of his eyes appeared to be open.
The report outlines how states have adopted laws and policies to make
information about executions inaccessible to the public, to pharmaceutical
companies, and to prisoners.
It also explains how government policies that lack transparency and
accountability permit states to violate the law and "disregard fundamental
principles of a democratic government while carrying out the harshest
punishment the law allows."
A full copy of the report can be found at
https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/files/pdf/SecrecyReport.pdf
(source: thecrimereport.org)
***************
Boston Marathon Bomber Offered to Help Prosecution to Avoid Death Penalty
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was sentenced to death for the 2013 Boston Marathon
bombing, wanted to plead guilty and aid prosecution in exchange for life
imprisonment but prosecutors rejected the deal, media reported on Thursday
citing court documents.
Tsarnaev "offered to provide certain kinds of cooperation and assistance, in
the course of plea negotiations," the document unsealed on Wednesday read, as
quoted by the NBC News broadcaster.
However, the authorities "consistently rejected" Tsarnaev's conditional offers,
according to the broadcaster.
The Boston Marathon bombing on April 15, 2013, killed 3 people and injured
hundreds of others. Dzhokhar and his older brother Tamerlan were found guilty
of the attack. Tamerlan was killed by police while on the run on April 19 of
the same year, while Dzhokhar was arrested the following day and sentenced to
death by lethal injection in May 2015.
(source: sputniknews.com)
_______________________________________________
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
TEXAS:
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rules against death row inmate Jeff Wood
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has rejected a bid by death row inmate Jeff
Wood to reconsider his death sentence, granting the state the opportunity to
set another execution date for Wood, whose case gained national attention
because of his role as the getaway driver in a robbery that resulted in the
death of a man.
Wood's original execution was set for Aug. 24, 2016. But 6 days before he
was
scheduled to die, the Court of Criminal Appeals halted his execution and sent
the case back to the original trial court in Kerr County to re-examine whether
Dr. James P. Grigson, a psychiatrist who testified in Wood's 1998 murder trial,
gave false or misleading statements.
After Wood's case was sent back to Kerr County in 2016 following the stay of
execution, the state filed a response saying that relief should be denied. The
trial court originally determined that there were "no existing controverted,
previously unresolved factual issues material to the legality of applicant's
confinement." After a continuing back and forth with the parole board, the
trial court and the Court of Criminal Appeals through 2017 and into 2018, the
trial court eventually recommended execution relief be granted to Wood, 45.
The Court of Criminal Appeals disagreed on Wednesday.
On Jan. 2, 1996, Wood and Daniel Reneau robbed a Texaco station in Kerrville.
Wood was waiting in a truck while Reneau went into the gas station and stole a
packed safe, surveillance VCR and other items, according to court documents.
Reneau fatally shot 31-year-old store clerk Kris Keeran after he refused to
comply with Reneau's threats.
Both men were convicted and sentenced to death, and Reneau was executed in
2002.
Although the court recognized the controversy of Grigson's testimony in court
documents, the judges argued that the state had collected enough evidence to
determine that Wood would still pose a future threat, referencing a previous
armed robbery he Wood and Reneau were involved in, and that the two had plotted
more crimes while in jail awaiting trial.
"Now that this application is no longer pending, the conviction court can set
an execution date, and the Board can properly consider a possible joint request
for commutation," Judge David Newell wrote in a concurring opinion.
Wood's case has long been controversial because of his minimal role in the
crime and because Grigson - nicknamed "Dr. Death" for how he predicted future
dangerousness - had not disclosed that he had been expelled from the American
Psychiatric Association and the Texas Society of Psychiatric Physicians.
Grigson testified that Wood would present a future danger to society if not
granted the harshest sentencing. Wood was sentenced to death under Texas' law
of parties, a statute that holds a person criminally responsible for a death
even if the individual is not directly involved in the killing.
In an August 2017 letter to the Texas Board of Pardons and Parole, Lucy Wilke,
the prosecutor in Wood's original trial who sought the death penalty against
him, wrote to ask that the board recommend to Gov. Greg Abbott that Wood's
sentence be reduced to life in prison. She wrote that she was an early-career
attorney at the time of the trial and would not have asked Grigson to testify
had she known about his expulsion from the two psychiatric organizations.
"I'm not aware of another case in which a person has been executed with as
minimal participation and culpability as Jeff," Wood's Houston-based lawyer,
Jared Tyler told the Tribune in a previous statement. "It's a national first in
that regard if the state does actually execute him."
(source: easttexasmatters.com)
FLORIDA:
Man accused of setting girlfriend on fire appears to want death
penalty----Darryl Whipple to judge: 'Willing to pay the ultimate price ... why
can't I?'
A man accused of setting his girlfriend on fire at a Westside restaurant two
years ago wrote a rambling, eight-page letter to the judge about to hear his
murder trial in which he appears to ask to be put to death. Darryl Whipple, 60,
is accused of dousing 56-year-old Carol Renee Demmons with flammable liquid and
lighting her on fire Oct. 12, 2016, while she was working at a Golden Corral on
Memorial Park Road, just off Normandy Boulevard. She died about 3 weeks later.
Whipple, who is due back in court next month, is facing the death penalty if
found guilty, but this letter could delay the process.
Surveillance video from the restaurant appears to show Whipple walk up to
Demmons, pour a liquid on her and use a lighter to set her on fire.
Shortly after his arrest, Whipple pleaded not guilty. Nearly two years later,
Whipple appears to be asking for the death penalty.
Whipple letterIn the meticulously hand-printed letter to Circuit Judge Aho
filed Nov. 9, Whipple takes full ownership of the crime.
"Like Luke 23:40-43, I accept the imminent three (3) nails," Whipple wrote on
page 5. 2 pages later, he wrote: "Willing to pay the ultimate price for the
indicted offense, why can't I!"
Ten days after the letter was submitted to the court, Aho ordered the state to
give Whipple a mental evaluation. What doctors find could prevent him from
facing the death penalty.
Attorney Gene Nichols, who is not affiliated with the case, said these words
sound like a death wish.
"This is probably what triggered the court, the state and the defense to get
this man evaluated," said Nichols, of Nichols and Pina. "As we review this
document, what we see in here is that it appears he is asking to be put to
death."
The confusing language of the letter could be evidence that Whipple is not
mentally stable. It refers to "7,000,000,000 probable earthly points of view."
He used the word "maladroit," meaning ineffective or clumsy, throughout.
"Accepting unconditional and uncompromising accountability for (my) maladroits
on that fateful day that subsequently in ways un-be-knowing to me
directly/indirectly contributed to demise of my companion, Ms. Carol Renee
Demmons," Whipple wrote.
Another word he used frequently is "psychosis."
Nichols said Whipple's mental state, or lack of it, could save his life.
"At this point in time, it does not appear that his competency, whether or not
he can even stand (trial) has been evaluated or questioned," Nichols said.
Now, a doctor has to determine what is really going on in Whipple's mind.
News4Jax tried to reach the Demmons family Tuesday, but was unsuccessful.
Whipple is due back in court Dec. 18.
(source: news4jax.com)
KENTUCKY:
Kentucky has not executed a death row inmate in 10 years, here's why----Kroger
shooting brings new call for death penalty, but Kentucky cannot currently
execute a death row inmate.
The Kroger killings have brought new calls for the death penalty in Kentucky.
But it's been ten years, tonight, since the Commonwealth of Kentucky executed a
death row inmate.
In 2010 a judge ordered a stay of executions in Kentucky while attorneys argued
over, among issues, protocols involving drugs used during lethal injection.
That stay was handed down two years after the execution of Marco Allen Chapman.
Some who fought to save his life have described the execution of Chapman as
"suicide by state."
His death, by lethal injection on November 21, 2008, came after he requested to
bypass all but one required appeal.
That sped up the process for a man who killed two young children, stabbed
another and raped their mother in 2002.
Other inmates have remained on death row in Eddyville since the early 1980's.
According to the Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy, since the death
penalty was reinstated in 1976, 97 have been sentenced to death in Kentucky.
They report that 49 of those sentences have been reversed on appeal or
post-conviction.
The Kentucky Department of Corrections website shows 30 people currently on
death row, including 1 female inmate.
Harold McQueen, Jr. was the 1st Kentucky death row inmate executed after
reinstatement. He took his seat in the electric chair on July 1, 1997, 17 years
after killing a young convenience store clerk.
Just less than 2 years later, Eddie Lee Harper became the 1st to get a date
with the needle in Kentucky. His lethal injection on May 25, 1999, came 17
years after he killed his adopted parents in Jefferson County.
Then Kentucky executed Marco Allen Chapman on November 21, 2008.
Damon Preston is the KDPA Public Advocate. His office defends those sentenced
to die as they go through the appeals process.
"2 of the 3 men who have been executed in Kentucky in the last 40 years waived
challenges to their case and agreed to be executed, essentially committing
legal suicide," said Preston.
McQueen was the only to fight until the end. He is 1 of the 3 Kentucky
executions Since 1976. In that same time, the KDPA says nine others have died
of natural causes.
Why have there been no executions in 10 years?
Part of what has prevented The Commonwealth from carrying out the death penalty
is tied to a 2010 court ordered stay by Franklin Circuit Court Judge Phillip
Shepherd. Attorneys sued, in part, arguing against the Commonwealth's lethal
injection protocols.
This year the Commonwealth's Justice and Public Safety Cabinet filed their new
policy with Judge Shepherd.
Kentucky's Department of Public Advocacy has filed its response.
The state is expected to file again before the end of the month which could
lead to a hearing and ruling and appeal to the Kentucky Supreme Court which
will buy even more time for the 30 current Kentucky death row inmates.
Which raises the question -- does the process offer real resolution for
victims' families?
Damon Preston say, "no."
"It's hard to see how the family would get resolution when the cases go on for
so long," said Preston. "But the reason cases go on for so long is because the
death penalty in Kentucky doesn't work. If a defendant is sentenced to life
without parole, that defendant gets an appeal to the Kentucky Supreme Court and
then the case is essentially over."
The Office of Governor Matt Bevin referred our request for comment to the
Department of Corrections.
DOC Director of Communications Lisa Lamb responded, "We believe the most recent
protocols that the Department developed, which have now been approved through
the administrative regulation process, satisfy the concerns of the court."
The Office of Attorney General Andy Beshear represents the Commonwealth in the
case that has put on hold executions.
Spokesman Terry Sebastian responded, "The Attorney General's Office is
currently representing the Kentucky Justice Cabinet in this matter before the
court. The next step is the filing of a legal brief that is due Nov. 30. Once
all briefs are filed, we will adhere to the hearing schedule issued by the
judge in this case. All future actions will be determined based on the rulings
of the court."
Last week, Federal prosecutors announced an indictment on Gregory Bush. He is
the white man accused of shooting 2 African-American shoppers at the
Jeffersontown Kroger. While those charges are potentially death-penalty
eligible and have been welcomed by some who called for capital punishment in
this case, the US Government has only executed 3 inmates since the 1976
reinstatement.
All those executions were by lethal injection at the US prison in Terre Haute.
The last of those executions took place more than 15 years ago. So even if the
Feds were to convict and sentence to death, it's unclear when, if ever, a
suspect would be put to death.
(source: WHAS news)
NEBRASKA----female may face death penalty
Judge rules Boswell's attorneys too early in death penalty objection
A challenge to the Nebraska death penalty made by attorneys representing a
woman charged in the death and dismemberment of a young Lincoln woman has been
rejected.
Saline County Judge Vicky Johnson ruled the attorneys for 24-year-old Bailey
Boswell were premature in their claim that the state's capital punishment
procedure is unconstitutional, because Boswell is merely charged in the death
of Sydney Loofe. There has been no conviction. There has been no sentence.
Boswell has been charged along with 51-year-old Aubrey Trail in the
strangulation and death of Loofe in early December of last year.
Authorities discovered Loofe's remains in Clay County weeks after Loofe was
reported missing.
(source: nebraskaradionetwork.com)
USA:
Secrecy Conceals 'Incompetence' in Lethal Injections: Report
Secrecy is driving a rise in inhumane executions by lethal injection across the
U.S., according to the Death Penalty Information Center
States are repeatedly concealing controversial information regarding the use of
illegally imported drugs, questionable drug sources, and unqualified
executioners, says a report released by the Center, an advocacy group that
lobbies against the death penalty.
"Without transparency, cases of incompetence or misconduct can continue
unchecked," writes Robin Konrad, the principal author of the report.
"Enabled by their secrecy laws, many states have violated state and federal
laws, breached contracts, obtained drugs from unfit suppliers, and hired
incompetent executioners. Because much of that information remains hidden, the
people may never know how often and pervasively this misconduct occurs."
Though lethal injection was supposed to be a more humane method of execution
than hanging, the firing squad, or the electric chair, it hasn't been as
effective as originally stated. Reports continue to emerge of incidents where
prisoners were still awake and experiencing suffocation and excruciating pain
during executions.
These problems have increased with the use of new drug formulas.
1 controversial drug is midazolam. In 2017, midazolam was used in 11
executions. In more than 60 % of those executions, eyewitnesses reported
problems such as labored breathing to gasping, heaving, convulsions, and
clenched fists, according to the report.
In 2016, Alabama used midazolam to execute Ronald Smith. The state concealed
most of its information surrounding executions - including hiding its protocol
from the public, according to the report.
The report notes that Smith's request for information about the drug had been
denied, and without that information, his constitutional challenges to the
state's use of midazolam were rejected by the courts. During his execution,
Smith gasped for breath for nearly 15 minutes of the 34-minute-long execution,
and a media witness observed Smith heaving and clenching a fist and noticed
that 1 of his eyes appeared to be open.
The report outlines how states have adopted laws and policies to make
information about executions inaccessible to the public, to pharmaceutical
companies, and to prisoners.
It also explains how government policies that lack transparency and
accountability permit states to violate the law and "disregard fundamental
principles of a democratic government while carrying out the harshest
punishment the law allows."
A full copy of the report can be found at
https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/files/pdf/SecrecyReport.pdf
(source: thecrimereport.org)
***************
Boston Marathon Bomber Offered to Help Prosecution to Avoid Death Penalty
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was sentenced to death for the 2013 Boston Marathon
bombing, wanted to plead guilty and aid prosecution in exchange for life
imprisonment but prosecutors rejected the deal, media reported on Thursday
citing court documents.
Tsarnaev "offered to provide certain kinds of cooperation and assistance, in
the course of plea negotiations," the document unsealed on Wednesday read, as
quoted by the NBC News broadcaster.
However, the authorities "consistently rejected" Tsarnaev's conditional offers,
according to the broadcaster.
The Boston Marathon bombing on April 15, 2013, killed 3 people and injured
hundreds of others. Dzhokhar and his older brother Tamerlan were found guilty
of the attack. Tamerlan was killed by police while on the run on April 19 of
the same year, while Dzhokhar was arrested the following day and sentenced to
death by lethal injection in May 2015.
(source: sputniknews.com)
_______________________________________________
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