Ramseur Trial Underway

In Iredell County, Andrew Ramseur is on trial for the 2007 shootings of Jennifer Vincek and Jeffrey Peck.  Ramseur’s attorneys have admitted that he pulled the trigger, but contend that it was not first-degree murder because Ramseur did not intend to kill.  The defense has presented evidence that earlier on the day of the crime, Ramseur smoked a marijuana cigarette he did not know was laced with PCP.  The PCP, in combination with a brain injury Ramseur suffered months before, could have reduced his ability to plan, control, and understand the consequences of his actions.

Presumably the jury will be given the choice between finding Mr. Ramseur guilty of first-degree murder or a lesser offense, such as second-degree murder.  If convicted of first-degree murder, Ramseur could face the death penalty.

Additional information about the case is available here and here.

Carlos Keels Trial Update

In Robeson County, Carlos Antonio Keels is facing the death penalty in the 2006 death of his girlfriend’s daughter.  On Monday, a jury found Carlos Keels guilty of beating the little girl to death because she wet herself.  Keels admitted that his actions led to the girl’s death, but said that he did not intend to kill her.  He turned himself in and cooperated with the investigation.

The jury started hearing evidence today in the sentencing phase, and will soon be asked to decide whether Keels should be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole or the death penalty.

Racial Justice Act: Fact and Fiction

Fiction

The Racial Justice Act was meant to apply only to African-American defendants.  (See statement of Halifax District Attorney Melissa Pelfrey.)

Fact

First, it would be unconstitutional to apply a particular criminal penalty only to persons of one race.  Racially disproportionate application of the death penalty is the problem the RJA seeks to cure, not to cause.

Second, by its terms, the Racial Justice Act is concerned not only with the race of the defendant, but also with the race of the victim and the composition of the jury.

Fiction

The Racial Justice Act has allowed defendants to delay their trials.  (See this article with reference to Mecklenburg County defendant Demeatrius Montgomery.)

Fact

The judge postponed Mr. Montgomery’s trial by three months to allow for the consideration of RJA issues, but even with that delay, Mr. Montgomery’s trial will go to trial faster than the average Mecklenburg County capital case in the past eight years.

Across the state, there have been more capital trials so far this year than there were in the same period the year before the RJA passed.  The Racial Justice Act has not brought the criminal justice system to a screeching halt.  Slowing down the rush to trial makes it less likely that a person will be wrongfully sentenced to die.

Fiction

Statistics are not relevant to whether the death penalty is applied fairly.

Fact

Statistics are commonly used to show discrimination in other kinds of cases, such as housing and employment.  The RJA simply allows the court to consider the same evidence in a criminal case that it would in a different kind of lawsuit.

Furthermore, the State will have an opportunity to present its own statistics or other evidence to rebut a charge of discrimination.  In the past, studies have shown that defendants who kill white victims are three times more likely to be sentenced to death than defendants who kill black victims.  The RJA is the State’s opportunity to provide a race-neutral reason for why this is so.

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Don’t be confused by misleading statements about the Racial Justice Act.  You can read the law for yourself here.

Death for Ryan

In less than an hour, a Gaston County jury has voted to execute Michael Ryan.   Over the objection of appointed counsel, Ryan was allowed to represent himself and asked the jury to sentence him to death.

Capital Defendant Allowed to Represent Himself

After being convicted of first-degree murder, defendant Michael Ryan fired his attorneys and asked the jury to sentence him to death.  The attorneys pleaded with the judge not to allow Ryan to commit suicide by jury.  The judge refused to delay the sentencing phase of the trial so that Ryan’s former lawyers could present evidence of why Ryan, who has no legal training, should not be allowed to represent himself.

Ryan was convicted of a 2007 shooting based largely on the testimony of a co-defendant who received a lesser sentence in exchange for his cooperation.

The jury is expected to begin its sentencing deliberations today.  They will decide whether Ryan should be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole or the death penalty.

UPDATE

The jury is deliberating.  After presenting no evidence other than his own extensive criminal record, Michael Ryan gave his closing argument to the jury:

“I’ve got 90 arrests – 90.  All violent. Been to prison over 25 years. I can survive the prison life. I’ve been to the worst – San Quentin, Folsom, all of them…you know what you got to do.”

The State spoke at length about the crime and its impact on the victim’s family, and asked the jury to sentence Ryan to death based on four aggravating factors – that the murder was committed in the course of a robbery and that Ryan had three prior violent felony convictions.  Ryan did not ask the jury to consider any mitigating factors, but the judge directed them to consider whether Ryan was under the influence of a mental or emotional disturbance, or whether his ability to appreciate the criminality of his conduct was impaired.

Thus far, the jury has sent out one note asking to see the evidence admitted during the sentencing phase.

Michael Ryan Found Guilty

From The Gaston Gazette:

A Gaston County jury this morning found Michael Ryan guilty of first-degree murder and armed robbery.

The verdict in the capital murder case came after a month-long trial that included a parade of more than 50 witnesses. Closing arguments concluded Wednesday, after which the jury asked Superior Court Judge Robert Ervin to review several pieces of evidence, including the autopsy report for shooting victim David Farrar, crime scene photographs and police interviews.

Ryan was convicted of shooting the 65-year-old Farrar at his home outside Mount Holly in March 2007. His co-defendant, Wesley Allen Adair, pleaded guilty to Farrar’s murder and testified against Ryan.

Sentencing in the capital case is scheduled to begin this afternoon.

Executions – May 2010

4 – Stacey Eugene Johnson (AR – stayed)

12 – Kevin Varga (TX)

13 – Michael Beuke (OK)

13 – Billy Galloway (TX)

19 – Paul Everette Woodward (MS)

19 – Marlon Duane Kiser (TN – stayed)

19 – Rogelio Cannady (TX)

20 – Richard Lee Tabler (TX – stayed)

20 – Darick Walker (VA)

24 – Harold “Jack” Jones Jr. (AR)

25 – John Alba (TX)

27 – Thomas Whisenhant (AL)