New Sentencing Hearing for William Gray

In a rare move, the 4^th Circuit Court of Appeals (which handles cases from North and South Carolina, as well as Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia) granted relief to death row inmate Dr. William Gray [1] earlier this week. The Court said that Gray, who was sentenced to die for the 1992 murder of his wife in Lenoir County, should receive a new sentencing hearing because his lawyers failed to investigate and present considerable evidence that Gray was severely mentally ill.

Dr. Gray had been exhibiting bizarre behavior for months before he shot his wife. After he was arrested, he was kept in the state mental hospital for five weeks. Once Dr. Gray returned to the jail, he had to be kept in the juvenile cell block for his own safety. Everyone around him in the months before and after the murder noticed that Gray had made a precipitous decline into mental illness, but his attorneys – neither of whom had tried a capital case before – presented no such evidence to the jury. Now William Gray has a second chance.

Clergy Support Racial Justice Act

News Update 06.26.08

North Carolina

Over 300 members of the clergy have called upon North Carolina legislators to pass the Racial Justice Act.  The bill, which would allow capital defendants to present evidence that the death penalty was sought against or imposed upon them for racially biased reasons, was passed by the House last year but has been sitting in a Senate committee ever since.  Learn more here.

Scott Bass and the others walking the Pilgrimage of Remembrance from North Carolina to Washington, DC are well into Virginia.  The trek is meant to honor the memories of those lost to execution, to show support to current death row inmates and their families, and to call for the abolition of the death penalty.  More here.

Elsewhere

Everything you could ever want to know about SCOTUS’ decision in Kennedy is on the Sex Crimes Blog.  A roundup of reactions from major newspapers is here, thoughts on the implications of the case for the presidential election are here, and reflections on the opinions are here, here, and here.

Supreme Court Rules Death Penalty for Child Rape Unconstitutional

The United States Supreme Court ruled today that the death penalty is not an appropriate punishment for an offense in which the victim did not die, and was never intended to die. Patrick Kennedy was sentenced to death in 2003 for the brutal rape of his stepdaughter, who was eight years old at the time of the assault. Others can provide a more detailed analysis of the opinion, but in sum, the Court ruled a sentence of death for the crime of child rape violates the Eighth Amendment because:

1. There is a national consensus against doing so; and
2. The death penalty is not a proportional punishment for child rape.

To elaborate on point 1, six jurisdictions allow the punishment, but 45 do not, including 30 states that allow the death penalty in other circumstances. No one has been executed for rape since 1964, and there are only two people on death row at the present time for non-homicide offenses.

As to the second point, the Court noted that although the rape of a child is a terrible and devastating offense, it is still not the same as murder. Furthermore, the Court was concerned about possible consequences of allowing death for rape – giving attackers an incentive to kill their victims to avoid prosecution, making victims more reluctant to come forward, forcing victims to relive their trauma through years of legal proceedings, etc.

The Court’s decision is available here.

William Kreutzer Argues Military DP Unjust

News Update 06.20.08

North Carolina

William Kreutzer, who stands accused of killing a fellow soldier in 1995, asserts that the military should either appoint him qualified lawyers or reduce the possible penalty in his case to life without parole. Kreutzer is currently represented by two military lawyers who have no experience with non-capital murder cases, much less the death penalty. If Kreutzer were being tried in civilian court, he would be entitled to much better representation.

The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals has granted a new sentencing hearing to William Gray, who is on death row for the 1992 murder of his wife in Lenoir County. More on this decision will follow.

Elsewhere

In Ohio, a look at how the option of life without the possibility of parole (as opposed to life with the possibility of parole) affects prosecutors’ decisions to seek death and juries’ decisions to impose it. Capital indictments dropped 32% after LWOP was approved in 2005, and the number of LWOP sentences rose as well.

From Delaware, reports that the 2005 execution of Brian Steckel was botched. Prison officials noticed that the anesthetic intended to put Steckel to sleep before the painful lethal chemicals were administered was leaking, but did nothing to correct the problem.

The Supreme Court granted certiorari in two capital cases on Monday. In Cone v. Bell, the Court will rule on whether an inmate is entitled to federal review of prosecutorial misconduct in his case where the claim has already been presented to state courts twice, and the state courts found that state law prevented them from reviewing the claim. In Harbison v. Bell, the Court will decide whether federal courts should pay for counsel in clemency proceedings for state prisoners.

Death Sought Against Robert Main

News Update 06.20.08

North Carolina

In Yadkin County, prosecutors have announced their intent to seek death against Robert Lane Main. Main is accused of killing his wife and a neighbor. Main attempted to check himself into a psychiatric facility prior to the murders, but was turned away because he did not have health insurance.

In Haywood County, Eduardo Wong could face the death penalty if he is found guilty of killing State Trooper David Shawn Blanton. Wong allegedly shot Blanton during a routine traffic stop.

Elsewhere

Capital Defense Weekly notes the ironic timing of SCOTUS’ decision in Indiana v. Edwards (finding that the severely mentally ill do not have a right to represent themselves in court), and tonight’s scheduled execution of James Earl Reed, a severely mentally ill man who was allowed to represent himself at trial.

In Texas, the Court of Criminal Appeals unanimously decided that Darlie Routier, sentenced to death for killing her two sons, should have the opportunity to prove her innocence using modern DNA testing. Will wonders never cease?

Terry Short Executed, Charles Hood Lives

News Update 06.18.08

North Carolina

Nothing to report.

Elsewhere

Oklahoma killed Terry Lyn Short last night for the 1995 murder of a Japanese exchange student. Short admitted to causing the death of Ken Yamamoto, but said that he did not intend to kill him.

In Texas, Charles Dean Hood has been given a 30-day reprieve from his death sentence. His lawyers will continue to press courts to investigate allegations of a sexual relationship between Tom O’Connell, the district attorney who prosecuted Hood, and Verla Sue Holland, the judge who presided over the trial. As Grits says, “Whether or not Hood is guilty…that kind of gross judicial and prosecutorial misconduct cannot be tolerated in any legal venue, much less in death penalty proceedings.” More here and here.

An update in the ongoing litigation about whether Scott Panetti is sane enough to be executed. (c/o How Appealing)

NCSC Orders New Trial for Death Row Inmate

News Update 6.16.08

North Carolina

William Joseph Moore, sentenced to death in Chowan County in 2006, was granted a new trial on direct appeal to the North Carolina Supreme Court. (This happens approximately never.) The trial judge allowed Moore to represent himself and plead guilty without making sure that Moore understood the consequences of doing so, or even the nature of the punishment he faced. You can read the court’s opinion here.

People of Faith Against the Death Penalty, Murder Victims’ Families for Reconciliation, Nazareth House (which provides lodging to family members visiting loved ones on death row), and the Capital Restorative Justice Project have begun their Pilgrimage of Remembrance, a 300-mile walk from Raleigh to Washington, D.C. to oppose the death penalty. You can read the walkers’ blog here.

Elsewhere

StandDown has the goods on a newly emerging scandal in Texas. Charles Dean Hood is scheduled to be executed later this month. There is evidence that the prosecutor who tried Hood and the judge presiding over the case were having an affair before, during, and after his trial. Partial much? More here, here, and here.

DPIC reports that California’s new death row is going to cost nearly twice as much as initially anticipated, won’t have as many cells as promised, and will be filled to capacity in just three years.  Good enough for government work.

Catch-Up Post

A slew of execution dates lately:

• Read here and here about the stay of execution granted to Derrick Sonnier in Texas.
• Read here and here about the botched execution of Curtis Osborne in Georgia.
• Read here about the execution of David Mark Hill in South Carolina.
• Read here and here about Virginia governor Tim Kaine’s decision to commute Percy Levar Walton’s death sentence to life without parole.
• Read here and here about the execution of Karl Chamberlain in Texas.

In Ohio, a judge has ruled that the state’s three-drug cockail causes an unnecessary risk of pain and suffering, in violation of state law. The judge ordered that all future executions be carried out using a single-drug protocol, sure to result in a quick and painless death. You can read the order here.

Also, the 15th annual Fast and Vigil to Abolish the Death Penalty will be taking place in Washington, DC from June 29th through July 2nd. More information is available here.

Executions – June 2008

3 – Derrick Sonnier (TX – stayed)

4 – Curtis Osborne (GA)

6 – David Hill (SC)

10 – Percy Walton (VA – commuted to life)

11 – Karl Chamberlain (TX)

17 – Terry Lyn Short (OK)

17 – Charles Hood (TX)

20 – James Earl Reed (SC)

25 – Robert Yarbrough (VA)

Tim Hennis Pretrial Hearing

News Update 06.02.08

North Carolina

A military court at Fort Bragg will hear pretrial motions today in the case of Timothy Hennis. Hennis was acquitted of three counts of first-degree murder in civilian court, but is being retried by the military. If convicted, Hennis could become the tenth person on the military’s death row.

Three Salisbury men entered guilty pleas last week in the 2006 murder of Edwin Wayne Moose. Christopher Lee Phipps will spend the rest of his life in prison. Jimmy Richard Allen II and Greg Devin Sims will serve approximately 20 years each. All three had faced the death penalty. The three men went to Moose’s home looking to steal his prescription drugs. Moose was beaten and left for dead. Realizing that they had left evidence behind, the men returned later that night. Moose was still alive, but no one called for help. He was found two days later and died in the hospital.

Chris Fitzsimon from NC Policy Watch writes in The Carrboro Citizen about last week’s hearing on the Racial Justice Act.

Elsewhere

In Georgia, Curtis Osborne is scheduled to be executed on June 4th. As Amnesty International reports, Osborne was represented at trial by an attorney who deliberately sabotaged his defense because, in his words, “That little nigger deserves the chair.” You can learn more about Mr. Osborne here, and e-mail the Board of Pardons and Paroles on his behalf here.

Pathetically unsurprising news on courts’ failure to hear claims of possible innocence: Jeffrey Havard in Mississippi and Terry Lyn Short in Oklahoma. Short is scheduled for execution on June 17th. You can learn more about the case here.

Cornell University’s John Blume has compiled data on 83 cases in which the defendant got relief based on Atkins v. Virginia, the 2002 US Supreme Court decision that banned the execution of the mentally retarded. You can see a chart organized by state here. (In North Carolina, 16 men and women have been proven mentally retarded after being convicted of capital crimes.) This piece from AlterNet notes that despite the Atkins ruling, America continues to execute many with mental handicaps.