Earl Berry and the West Memphis Three

News Update 10.31.07

North Carolina

Juan Melendez, who spent 18 years on Florida’s death row for a crime he did not commit, spoke to UNC-Chapel Hill students last night about his experiences. The lecture was just one of over two dozen similar events planned across the state.

John Holdridge of the NC-based ACLU Capital Punishment Project suggests that we use this time without executions to consider whether capital punishment is really necessary. If nothing else, he says, at least we will know that no innocent people will be executed between now and next spring.

Elsewhere

Earl Wesley Berry was scheduled to be executed in Mississippi last night. Six o’clock, the scheduled hour of his death, came and went with no word in the media about whether the Supreme Court would stay the execution. Eventually we learned that the Court issued an order staying the execution just 15 minutes before the injections were to begin. Berry had eaten his last meal and said goodbye to his family, but had not yet been taken to the execution chamber. SCOTUS again declined to declare an official moratorium, meaning that inmates and the governments seeking to kill them will continue to go through this process indefinitely. Given that Berry had the weakest argument for a stay of all those with executions presently scheduled, the Court’s decision to grant him temporary reprieve is taken by many as a signal that SCOTUS will not allow other executions to go forward. As for Berry, his stay will last only until the Court has had an opportunity to review his recently-filed petition for certiorari. (See also CDW)

The New York Times has reported shocking – but perhaps not surprising – new evidence that the West Memphis 3, convicted of killing three 8-year-old boys, are in fact innocent. Damien Echols, the only defendant over the age of 18, sits on Arkansas’ death row. New evidence shows that there was no DNA from any of the West Memphis 3 at the crime scene – but there was DNA from one of the boys’ stepfathers, found in the shoelace used to bind another boy. The stepfather of another victim has a history of violence and has behaved strangely since the killings, including providing documentary filmmakers with a bloodstained knife. The only evidence against the West Memphis 3 was a statement given by one of them, mildly mentally retarded and addicted to drugs, who offered an explanation when the reward offered reached $30,000. More here.

Death Row Exonerees Tour NC

News Update 10.29.07

North Carolina

People of Faith Against the Death Penalty is hosting a tour of death row exonerees which will be making stops in Chapel Hill, Davidson, Durham, Greenville, Wilmington, Greensboro, Raleigh, Carrboro, Hickory, and Jacksonville over the next few days. Speakers include Ray Krone, Jay Smith, and Greg Wilhoit. For more information contact organizer Amanda Lattanzio at 919-933-7567 or amanda@pfadp.org.

Elsewhere

The Fifth Circuit (which handles federal appeals from Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas) has once again stolen the Supreme Court’s lunch money. In refusing to grant a stay of execution for Earl Wesley Berry, the 5th stomped its foot and declared that SCOTUS can’t tell it what to do. Advocates on both sides hope that SCOTUS will stand up to the bully and hold on to its PB&J. (That is, we hope that the Supreme Court will seize this opportunity to clarify whether its cert grant in Baze was intended to stay all executions until the lethal injection question has been decided.) (c/o CDW, SCOTUSblog, and SLAP)

The full Eleventh Circuit (which handles federal appeals from Alabama, Florida, and Georgia) will hear arguments on the stay of execution for Daniel Lee Siebert. Although the decision to rehear the case en banc nullified the order issued by a three-judge panel of the Court and vacated the stay issued by that panel, the Court immediately issued another stay of execution, pending the as yet unscheduled hearing. (c/o StandDown and CDW) Among the state-of-the-art procedures that Alabama says should exempt its new execution protocol from a Baze stay: calling the inmate’s name and pinching his arm to make sure he is unconscious. (c/o Abolish)

In Connecticut, an anti-death penalty congregation struggles with the violent deaths of three cherished members.

Alabama Execution Blocked, Mississippi Next?

News Update 10.25.07

North Carolina

Nothing to report.

Elsewhere

The 11th Circuit stayed the execution of Alabama’s Daniel Lee Siebert, pending the resolution of Baze. You can read the per curiam decision here. Attorneys are still trying to procure a stay for Earl Wesley Berry of Mississippi. (c/o CDW)

Berry is one of three inmates whose executions are scheduled to go forward by the end of the year. Arkansas’ Don William Davis and Flordia’s Mark Dean Schwab have also not yet received stays of execution.

Murder Victims’ Families for Human Rights was in Massachusetts this week, testifying before the state legislature as it considered a bill to reinstate the death penalty. Among the speakers was Robert Curley, whose son’s brutal murder in 1997 sparked the push to bring capital punishment back to the Bay State. In the decade since his son’s death, Curley has become an opponent of the death penalty due to its disproportionate application to the poor.

The Onion (a satirical newspaper) shows the hidden consequences of a pause in executions: “To all outward appearances, “Kevin” is a typical Southern state governor. He enjoys vetoing bills, attending ribbon-cutting ceremonies, and hanging out with friends. But the recent suspension of lethal injections in 10 states has put Kevin’s political life in serious jeopardy. Unable to wait for the U.S. Supreme Court to determine whether the practice constitutes cruel and unusual punishment, Kevin, like many young governors who find themselves saddled with an unwanted death row inmate, has been forced to take desperate action and obtain an illegal back-alley lethal injection.” (c/o SLAP)

(For the record, this is DeathWatch’s favorite criminal law-related Onion article ever.)

Choosing Who Should Die

News Update 10.23.07

North Carolina

In Nash County, prosecutors have announced their intent to seek the death penalty against Tommy Lee Holiday, who is charged with stabbing two women – one fatally – at a church soup kitchen. The announcement came as little surprise, given that both the Governor and the Attorney General attended the victim’s funeral.

Last week, Wake County prosecutors announced which of the 32 murder cases before them is worthy of death. Mwanza Rama Bennett will face the death penalty in the stabbing death of his ex-girlfriend. The five men charged with murder in the shooting of a 13-year-old girl and a woman who killed her ex-husband in front of their two children will not be charged capitally.

Juan Melendez, who spent 18 years on Flordia’s death row for a crime he did not commit, will be speaking in Chapel Hill and Greensboro. The Chapel Hill event will be held at UNC Law School, room 4085, on October 30th at 5:45 PM. The Greensboro event will be held on November 1st at UNC-Greensboro in room 160 of the Bryan Building at 6 PM. Melendez was the 99th death row inmate to be exonerated in the modern era.

Elsewhere

The New York Court of Appeals has struck down the death sentence of John B. Taylor, the last remaining person on New York’s death row. Taylor became the row’s sole occupant in 2004 when the Court ruled that the jury instructions used in the other inmates’ cases were unconstitutional. In its opinion, The Court found that although slightly different instructions were used in Taylor’s case, he was still convicted under an unconstitutional statute. His case will be remanded for a new sentencing hearing.

In Georgia, the state Supreme Court has halted the execution of Curtis Osborne. Meanwhile, Alabama is moving forward with its plan to kill Daniel Lee Siebert this Thursday. Siebert has terminal cancer, and Alabama doesn’t want to miss out on its chance to kill him before the disease does. (c/o SLAP)

Perspectives on the Medical Board Appeal

News Update 10.22.07

North Carolina

There have been a number of editorials and letters to the editor regarding the Medical Board’s decision to appeal a judge’s finding that they do not have the power to discipline doctors who participate in executions. See here and here. The LA Times has a good overview of the issue here.

The Chair of the American Medical Association’s Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs wrote to say that the AMA has long opposed physician participation in executions because, “Members of a profession dedicated to preserving life have no place in an activity that knowingly leads to the death of an individual.”

Elsewhere

William J. Wiseman, Jr., the sponsor of this nation’s first lethal injection law, was killed in a plane crash last week at the age of 63. Wiseman was morally opposed to the death penalty, but crafted the lethal injection statute hoping to make executions more humane. Read Bill Wiseman’s thoughts on his place in the history of capital punishment here. (c/o CDW and StandDown)

Unsurprisingly, the death penalty worldwide is disproportionately imposed on the poor. In the West, a death sentence can turn on whether the defendant has funds to hire an attorney. In the Middle East and North Africa, one’s ultimate execution often depends on whether one’s family can pay to have the death sentence overturned. (c/o Amnesty)

Death Sentence in Moore County

News Update 10.18.07

North Carolina

A Moore County jury sentenced Mario Lynn Phillips to death yesterday. Phillips and two friends were charged with killing four people in 2003. There have been two other death sentences handed down in 2007, Eugene Johnny Williams of Cumberland County, and Byron Lamar Waring of Wake County.

The North Carolina Medical Board met this week in Raleigh to decide whether it would appeal a judge’s decision that the Board cannot discipline doctors who participate in executions. Many expressed concerns about letting people without medical training decide what is and isn’t a medical procedure. Meanwhile, Dr. John Faulkner of Raleigh likened the presence and participation of doctors in executions to the aid rendered by paramedics at Carolina Hurricanes hockey games.

BREAKING – The Medical Board has announced that it will appeal Judge Stephens’ decision. More here.

Elsewhere

The Supreme Court stayed the execution of Virginia‘s Christopher Scott Emmett. Order here. SCOTUSblog analysis here, Washington Post here.

Upcoming DP Events Statewide

News Update 10.17.07

North Carolina

In Davidson County, Sister Helen Prejean will be speaking at the Duke Family Performance Hall (207 Faculty Drive, Davidson College) on October 30th at 7:30 PM. The event is free. See the Piedmont Liberal Forum’s website for more information.

Upcoming North Carolina screenings of Love Lived on Death Row:

• Wilmington – Cucalcorus Film Festival, 11/9 at 7 PM ($7)
• Blowing Rock – Mariam & Robert Hayes Performing Arts Center, 11/13 at 7 PM ($5)
• Charlotte – The Light Factory, TBA
• Raleigh – St. Francis of Assisi, 1/25/08 at 7 PM

In Moore County, a jury is deliberating Mario Phillips’ fate. Calling on the jury to sentence Phillips to life without parole, his attorney said, “You have the power to determine the extent of Mario Phillips’ life forever. What you decide will not only decide Mario Phillips’ life forever, but will decide your life forever. You will forget names, dates, small things. There is one thing that I am confident you will never forget as long as you live. That is that, in 2007, you sat on a jury to decide how Mario Phillips will die. That choice is stark. It is whether you will decide Mario Phillips will die or will live. I will ask you to decide, under the evidence, that Mario will live.”

Elsewhere

The Baze confusion continues. Courts in Virginia and Georgia have refused to grant stays of execution to inmates raising Baze claims. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has refused to vacate the stay of execution granted to Jack H. Jones, Jr. in Arkansas. In the sole dissent, Justice Scalia indicated that he believes the cert grant in Baze does not entitle every inmate to a stay of execution, only those who had the amazing foresight to raise a lethal injection challenge before the Supreme Court acknowledged the validity of the issue. (c/o SLAP and CDW)

While executions may or may not be on hold here in the States, things are moving full speed ahead for our death penalty pals Afghanistan and Iran.

Upcoming elsewhere screenings of Love Lived on Death Row:

• New Orleans – New Orleans Film Festival, 10/17 at 7:30 PM
• Memphis – Indie Memphis Film Festival, 10/19 at 3:35 PM
• Colorado Springs – Rocky Mountain Women’s Film Festival, 11/4 at 1:30 PM

Woman Faces Death in Cabarrus

News Update 10.16.07

North Carolina

In Cabarrus County, the capital trial of Lisa Greene is set to begin today. She stands accused of killing her children by setting the family home on fire. More information here.

Elsewhere

The execution of William Castillo has been stayed in Nevada. Castillo had been served his final meal, and was 90 minutes from execution when the court’s order came down. Meanwhile, the execution of Christopher Scott Emmett will go forward in Virginia tonight unless the governor steps in.

On Monday, the Supreme Court declined to hear the case of Smith v. Arizona, which asked whether spending a prolonged period of time on death row is, in and of itself, cruel and unusual punishment. Joe Clarence Smith has spent 30 years waiting to die, about three times the average stay on death row. Justice Breyer dissented. Read more about “death row syndrome” here and here. (c/o SCOTUSblog [scroll down a bit] and SLAP)

TCASK, StandDown and MVFHR have info on the first meeting of the Tennessee Death Penalty Study Commission. The group, comprised of prosecutors, defense attorneys, victims’ advocates, and lawmakers, is the first of its kind in any Southern state.

Formerly Condemned Man Freed

News Update 10.11.07

North Carolina

Rex Penland, who spent 11 of the last 15 years on death row for a Stokes County murder, was set free last week. Penland, who maintains his innocence, entered an Alford plea to charges including second-degree murder. Given his good behavior and the time already served, he was released almost immediately. Penland was convicted of the 1994 rape and murder of Vernice Alford based on the testimony of his twin nephews. In 2004, DNA testing showed that the semen in the rape kit was not Penland’s, and that the blood on Penland’s pocketknife did not come from the victim. The true source of the semen has not been identified.

In Nash County, a juror was arrested in the middle of James Wesley Stallings’ murder trial. First the juror fell asleep during testimony. Then, during a break called so that he could wake up, the juror had a conversation with someone connected to one of the parties in the case. The juror and the audience member spent the night in jail, but the judge declined to declare a mistrial.

Elsewhere

Yesterday, the Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of Medellin v. Texas. Medellin, like many other foreign citizens sentenced to death in the United States, was not advised of his right to speak with someone from the consulate after his arrest. The Court has already decided that the denial of one’s rights under the Vienna Convention is tough tomatoes. Medellin asks whether the analysis changes when the President steps in and directs the states to re-examine an inmate’s Convention claim. Background info at ScotusWiki.

Michael Richard was executed in Texas on September 25, the same day that the Supreme Court announced it would consider the constitutionality of lethal injection. Judge Sharon Keller of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals refused to accept Richard’s plea for a stay, which was filed 20 minutes late due to catastrophic computer problems at his attorney’s office. Keller did so without notifying other judges who were awaiting the filing, including the judge appointed to handle Richard’s case. Her fellow judges were not amused. Yesterday, a judicial conduct complaint was filed accusing Keller of violating Richard’s right to due process. (c/o StandDown and CDW)

Floyd Brown Freed!

News Update 10.09.07

North Carolina

Regular readers may recall the case of Floyd Brown, who has been locked up in the state mental hospital for 14 years because he is too mentally retarded to stand trial for a murder he likely did not commit. (Prior reporting here, here, and here.) Mr. Brown was facing the death penalty until the Atkins decision in 2002.

Yesterday, Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson dismissed the charges against Mr. Brown and ordered him released from custody.

(Image from WRAL.com. Go here for video.)

A psychiatrist testified that Mr. Brown is not and never will be competent to stand trial. A doctor and a social worker who work with Brown regularly at the hospital (and who are employed by the State) testified that Brown is mentally retarded and could not have given the detailed confession that is the only evidence connecting him to the crime. An expert in forensics, previously employed by the North Carolina Department of Justice, testified that the performance of Anson County law enforcement in investigating the murder of Katherine Lynch was so far below standards as to border on incompetency. He suggested that an innocent man has been incarcerated for fourteen years while the real murderer has run free.

A woman employed by an agency that helps the mentally retarded find services in their communities told the court that she had found a group home that agreed to take in Mr. Brown and monitor him 24 hours a day, but that after a visit from District Attorney Michael Parker, the home suddenly refused to help. Now that the charges have been dropped, Brown’s family is looking for another placement. Everyone who testified said that Brown is not a danger to himself or others.

The State called no witnesses. Two members of the Attorney General’s Office simply argued that Judge Hudson did not have jurisdiction to decide the matter. Hudson took exception to the notion that a nonviolent person could be locked up forever without a trial, and that the courts would be powerless to help. When the judge announced his decision, Mr. Brown’s attorneys and family burst into tears of joy. “The system we looked to protect him just failed. Anybody who looked could see he didn’t do it, but nobody cared,” said Brown’s sister, Frances Staton. “The 14 years are gone. I can’t bring them back. The main thing now is, he’s free.”

In Cabarrus County, the death penalty has become increasingly rare.

In Charlotte, Ricky Graham received a life sentence.

In Jacksonville, a call to end the death penalty.

Elsewhere

The American Bar Association has released its report on the use of the death penalty in Pennsylvania. Problems noted in the report include: inadequate protections for the innocent, limited access to competent counsel, and racial and geographic disparities in the implementation of capital punishment.

The US Supreme Court has amended its grant of certiorari in the Baze lethal injection case. The court dropped the fourth question, whether States are obligated to be prepared to stop an execution and begin life-saving procedures if a stay should be granted after the injections have begun.

Despite the cert grant, Georgia is preparing to execute two inmates. Jack Alderman and Curtis Osborne are scheduled to be killed later this month. Mississippi plans to execute Earl Wesley Berry on Halloween.

Amnesty International has released a report on the 25-year history of lethal injection, including information on botched executions and legal developments worldwide.