Another Chapter in the Hoffman Saga

News Update 7.30.07

North Carolina

A retired judge says that he did not allow criminal charges against the prosecutors who put Jonathan Hoffman on death row because he thought it “unlikely” that a jury would convict them. Hoffman’s death sentence was reversed when it was discovered that generous deals given to the State’s star witness were hidden from his defense counsel. The witness’s attorney says that prosecutors Kenneth Honeycutt and Scott Brewer were in the room when the plea deals were discussed, but Judge Howard Greeson, Jr. didn’t find that claim reliable enough to go in front of a jury. Even though the star witness now says that his testimony was made up, Jonathan Hoffman will be retried later this year. We’ll see what claims are considered reliable enough to go before that jury. Unsanctioned by either the courts or the Bar, Honeycutt is in private practice and Brewer is now a judge.

Elsewhere

California People of Faith Working Against the Death Penalty will be walking an astounding 800 miles to draw attention to the issue and to encourage prosecutors to walk the path for life. The blog has info on how to get involved in the walk, by foot or by checkbook.

The Ohio Public Defender has released its death penalty report for the second quarter of 2007. There were no new death sentences, but twelve life-or-less verdicts and two executions. The report also takes a look at appellate decisions and special issues like mental retardation.

Washington (state) considers the propriety of using the death penalty as a bargaining chip. Death sentences are uncommon in WA, actual executions almost nil, but prosecutors have begun using the threat of death to obtain pleas and learn the whereabouts of victims’ bodies. The problem with that, says the head of the prosecutor’s association, is that it leads to false confessions and increased unfairness in the implementation of capital punishment.

Time for Change in NC’s Evidence Rooms

News Update 7.27.07

North Carolina

Chris Mumma, the Executive Director of the North Carolina Center on Actual Innocence and a member of the North Carolina Chief Justice’s Criminal Justice Study Commission, was interviewed as part of a Denver newspaper’s series on the crisis of lost and destroyed DNA evidence nationwide. “People are recognizing that evidence preservation is becoming more of an issue,” she said. “Here in North Carolina, there’s been a lot of talk about how we don’t know how to fix the problem, how we can’t keep anything, how we don’t have the money. But we’re out of time with that type of approach. Now it’s time for everyone to put their heads together for solutions.” The federal government requires that biological evidence be preserved, but 26 states (including North Carolina) do not.

Elsewhere

In Arkansas, the ACLU and a local newspaper have sued for the right to view the entire execution process uninterrupted. Witnesses, who normally include family members from both sides and media representatives, are not permitted to see into the execution chamber until the inmate has been fully hooked up to the lethal injection apparatus. Microphones in the execution chamber are turned off at all times, except for the prisoner’s final statement. The newspaper argues that it cannot accurately report on executions without being able to hear and see the entire process. By limiting the newspaper’s ability to report on executions, and as a result, public debate on the issue, the DOC violates the First Amendment.

In Georgia, the Board of Pardons and Paroles has granted Troy Anthony Davis an unusual second clemency hearing. This time, Davis will be allowed to present witnesses, including some who testified against him at trial but now say he is innocent. Other witnesses will offer testimony about who the real killer might be. Davis’s lawyers say it will be hard to get their 15 witnesses together by August 9th, but they are looking forward to the opportunity to present their case.

In Ohio, a state trial court has ruled that it has jurisdiction to determine a defendant’s eligibility for execution (where the state’s sole method of execution is alleged to be unconstitutional) pre-trial. The court likens this to other pre-trial determinations in capital cases, such as whether a defendant is mentally retarded and therefore not eligible for the death penalty. The court also noted that because having death as a sentencing option greatly affects trial planning and strategy, counsel should know whether it is a possibility in advance of trial. The State argued that the issue would not become “ripe,” legalese for ready to be litigated, until after Ruben Rivera had already been sentenced to death. An evidentiary hearing will be scheduled to determine whether Ohio’s death penalty is constitutional, and therefore whether Ruben Rivera is eligible for capital punishment.

Video of North Carolina’s Execution Chamber

News Update 7.25.07

North Carolina

Scott Langley has released a ten-minute video of a tour of North Carolina’s death chamber conducted by former warden Marvin Polk in 2005. The video traces the inmate’s final 24 hours, from the time he is brought to the special pre-execution holding cell until his body is transported to a local hospital for autopsy. Polk speaks briefly about the involvement of medical personnel in executions. One thing I didn’t know is that there are three executioners. One operates the line that sends lethal chemicals into the inmate’s right arm, one operates the line that sends lethal chemicals into the inmate’s left arm, and the third operates a dummy line with no chemicals that is not actually attached to the inmate. This is the modern-day equivalent of the person on the firing squad whose rifle contained only blanks. I fail to understand why someone who volunteered to kill another human being needs or deserves the assurance that there was a possibility he or she didn’t actually cause that person’s death.

Folks in the Charlotte area should mark their calendars for October 30th. Sister Helen Prejean, of Dead Man Walking, will be speaking at Davidson College in the Duke Family Performance Hall at 7:30 PM.

Elsewhere

The ACLU has released a preview of its upcoming TV series The Freedom Files. Season Two of the series examines the death penalty through the eyes of a victim’s mother, the family and friends of a mentally ill executed man, a former death row inmate who has turned his life around, and a former Texas District Attorney.

General Assembly Approves Protections for Defendants

News Update 7.24.07

North Carolina

From Hickory, a profile of capital defense attorney Lisa Dubs. The article looks at the major cases of Dubs’ career and explores why she chooses to defend some of society’s most reviled members. (I must say that I was given pause by the sexist undertone of the article – newspapers do not comment on the fashion choices of male attorneys – but Dubs clearly knows how to deal with people who see her as a woman first and an attorney second.)

In Raleigh, the General Assembly unanimously passed several bills to protect the rights of the accused. The first bill sets standards for eyewitness identifications, whether using photo or live lineups, to prevent officers (inadvertently or otherwise) from suggesting whom the witness should identify. The second requires that all suspect interrogations in homicide cases be recorded on audio or video tape. A third bill provides inmates and defendants with better access to DNA testing to prove their innocence.

Elsewhere

In Alabama, a woman will retrace the 54-mile march from Selma to Montgomery to raise awareness about the case of Darrell B. Grayson. Grayson is scheduled to be executed on Thursday, but has been denied access to DNA testing that could prove his innocence. Lisa Thomas will walk to the state capitol and ask Governor Bob Riley for a stay of execution and access to testing.

Constitution Throws Monkey Wrench in Florida Lethal Injection Machine

News Update 7.23.07

North Carolina

Loose ends from the Jerry Anderson trial here and here.

Elsewhere

Some very interesting developments out of Florida, where Judge Carven Angel has issued a temporary injunction preventing the execution of Ian Lightbourne. The judge heard testimony on the torture-execution of Angel Diaz, and then-Governor Jeb Bush’s attempts to cover it up, before ordering the State to revise its lethal injection protocol to provide for adequate equipment, trained personnel, and a medically-informed procedure.

From Maryland, the story of Vicki Schieber, whose daughter was brutally killed in 1998. The loss did not change her views on capital punishment, but it did change her life.

Harris County, Texas has scheduled the execution of its 100th inmate in the modern era. That one county has executed more people than any state in the union, except of course Texas. More than Virginia. More than twice as many as all of North Carolina. About eight times more than the entire state of California. Learn more about Harris County, and inmate Lonnie Johnson, here.

Breaking: Anderson Mistrial

After over 30 hours of deliberation, the judge has declared a mistrial.

The jury, split 11-1, was unable to decide whether Jerry Anderson is guilty of the murder of his wife, Emily. The defense presented strong evidence of innocence, including witnesses who saw Emily Anderson alive with another man after police say her husband shot her.

Medical Board Responds to DOC Lawsuit

News Update 7.19.07

North Carolina

The NC Medical Board has responded to a lawsuit filed against it by the Department of Corrections. In March, DOC asked a judge to prohibit the Board from sanctioning doctors who break its rule against active participation in executions. Read DOC’s complaint here and the Board’s response here. More or less, what the Medical Board says is that it acted within its authority, that it created its policy in compliance with the law at the time, and that DOC shouldn’t be suing them if it wants to change the law. Other lethal injection litigation is ongoing in Superior Court and the Office of Administrative Hearings.

Deliberations in the Jerry Anderson trial have entered their sixth day. You can check for live updates from the courtroom here.

Elsewhere

From The Sentencing Project, a look at racial and ethnic disparities in sentencing nationwide. According to this report, blacks are incarcerated at nearly six times the rate of whites, and Hispanics at nearly twice the rate of whites. This is a reflection of crime rates, but also of policy decisions about how severely certain crimes are punished and how resources are allocated for the defense of the poor.

Anderson Jury Deadlocked?

News Update 7.17.07

North Carolina

Jurors in the Jerry Anderson trial have been told to keep deliberating after telling the judge yesterday that they are deadlocked on whether he is guilty or innocent of his wife’s murder.

Elsewhere

The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles has granted a 90-day stay of execution for Troy Anthony Davis, who was set to be killed tonight. Click here to read a statement Rep. John Lewis read to the Board on Davis’s behalf. Media coverage here.

In Ohio, jurors are deliberating on whether to sentence Donna Moonda to die. Moonda could become the first woman executed by the federal government since Ethel Rosenberg in 1953. The article examines why women are less likely to be sentenced to death, for reasons related both to their gender and to the nature of their crimes.

From The Santa Clara Law Review, a look at constitutional challeneges to the death penalty, particularly in California. Professor Ellen Kreizberg and law student David Richter ask what is wrong with lethal injection as currently administered, and whether anything can be done to bring it in line with legal and medical ethics.

Two Stand Trial in Deaths of Spouses

News Update 7.12.07

North Carolina

In Gastonia, a man faces the death penalty in the shooting death of his wife. In Statesville, the death penalty is not a consideration for a woman charged in the shooting death of her husband. Both Jerry Anderson and Misty Witherspoon have strong claims of innocence. For Anderson, evidence shows that the police immediately assumed his guilt and failed to follow up on leads pointing to someone else. In Witherspoon’s case, even the victim’s family believes Officer Quinn Witherspoon’s death was an accident.

Elsewhere

In Georgia, former FBI director and federal district court judge William Sessions weighs in on the controversy surrounding the impending execution of Troy Anthony Davis. Although Sessions believes there is no more serious crime than the murder of a police officer, he also believes that the courts have failed to address Davis’ strong claims of innocence and ineffective assistance of counsel. (Thanks to StandDown.)

In Missouri, prosecutors have released their study on whether an innocent man was executed there in 1995. The report concludes that Larry Griffin was not wrongly executed, but critics say it ignores evidence that the state’s star witness perjured himself and that a surviving victim says Griffin was not the person who shot 19-year-old Quintin Moss. You can read a summary of the prosecutor’s report here and a 2005 report by the NAACP’s Legal Defense Fund here. (Thanks to ODPI.)

In Texas, the Fifth Circuit issued a stay less than two hours before the scheduled execution of Rolando Ruiz. The Court indicated that it needed more time to consider claims that Ruiz’s state-appointed attorney failed to investigate and present mitigating evidence at the sentencing phase of his trial, as required by law.

Jury Takes Under Two Hours to Sentence Mentally Challenged Man to Die

News Update 7.10.07

North Carolina

In Fayetteville, the officer overseeing the case against Timothy Hennis has recommended that the rape charge be dropped. At the time of the alleged incident, military law placed a three-year statute of limitations on rape. Hennis, who was acquitted on these same charges in civilian court, will still face three counts of first-degree murder.

Even though they found him to be mentally challenged and incapable of fully understanding his criminal conduct, a Wake County jury took less than two hours to sentence Byron Waring to death yesterday. Jurors also found that Waring acted under duress and was dominated by his co-defendant, who has yet to stand trial.

Click here to read a report produced from the Charlotte School of Law’s 2006 symposium on mental illness and the death penalty. Speakers included a range of attorneys, professors, and mental health experts. The report uses North Carolina cases to illustrate the ways in which the deck is stacked against the mentally ill in court, and particularly in death penalty cases.

Elsewhere

Amnesty International has this interview with Martina Davis-Correia, the sister of Troy Anthony Davis, who is set to be executed by Georgia for a crime many believe he did not commit. Davis-Correia speaks frankly about the effect of her brother’s death sentence on her family: “I think the worst thing for me in this situation is my mother. My mother has not done anything to anybody, not even a parking ticket. And she’s walking around right now going into barber shops to get postcards signed to try save her child. Sometimes I walk into the garage and I hear her saying her prayers. She’s on her knees and she’s crying and she’s begging God to please help my brother. And I can’t stand it.”

After 22 years behind bars, New Jersey’s Brian Halsey was freed yesterday, the 205th person exonerated based on DNA evidence. All of the biological evidence in the brutal rapes and murders of two children in 1985 points to another man, who is already in prison for other sex crimes he committed after Halsey was wrongfully convicted. Halsey narrowly escaped the death penalty, and would likely have been dead by now if prosecutors had had their way.

In Ohio, judge asks for information about the death penalty, prosecutor threatens him with legal action. Prosecutors argue that the judge shouldn’t be allowed to conduct a pretrial hearing on the constitutionality of the death penalty, rather the issue should be resolved after an inmate has been sentenced to death. That’s like saying you should only check to see if the milk is spoiled after you’ve poured it on your breakfast cereal.

In South Dakota, Elijah Page has volunteered to be executed, but there are still questions about the protocol that will be used to kill him. Vague, contradictory, and constitutionally questionable portions of the protocol create a great risk that South Dakota will botch what will be its first execution in 60 years.

In Texas, attorney asks why then-Governor Bush didn’t consider clemency for his client. Bush denied Carl Johnson’s clemency request, “as he denied the other 56 requests that were made of him by lawyers representing death row inmates. Some of these inmates were mentally retarded. Some were juveniles when they committed their crimes. Gov. Bush always gave the same explanation: that the inmates had had full access to the legal system.” Can the same thing not be said for Scooter Libby? Attorney David Dow cannot help but note that unlike Scooter Libby, Carl Johnson was sorry for what he had done.

Jerry B. Givens killed 64 people over the course of 17 years. Some he electrocuted, some he injected with lethal drugs. For all of them, he prayed. The Richmond (Virginia) Times-Dispatch offers a rare glimpse into how executions effect the executioners. On steeling himself to conduct an execution, Givens said, “How can I be myself? I’m not a natural killer. These people haven’t done anything to me. I’m not doing it out of revenge.”

In China the former head of that nation’s equivalent of the Food and Drug Administration has been executed for accepting bribes and neglecting his official duties. The highly unusual sentence came in the wake of international scandal related to tainted Chinese medicines, toys, and other products. Another top official was also sentenced to death, his sentence has been suspended.