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Post by CCADP on Apr 9, 2006 8:18:55 GMT -5
Fannick co-counsel may defend Hugo----Conflict attorneys John Pike, Steve Menn are candidates to defend Hugo Selenski.
It seems logical, and probable, for attorneys John Pike and Steve Menn to be appointed to defend Hugo Selenski on his latest homicide charges.
The 2 already know Selenski from their work in his 1st trial, and they've already done some research in the case.
But, in all likelihood, the familiarity of the intricacies in the case and the rapport between the attorneys and Selenski wont be as strong without the same lead defense attorney, another area lawyer said.
Without attorney Demetrius Fannick at the helm of Selenski's defense team in his second case, the attorneys will have to establish their own relationship with Selenski and review loads of documents that Fannick already has memorized, attorney Ferris Webby said.
"All this stuff that Fannick has right now, that he wouldn't have to go over, the new attorneys have to go over," said Webby, a defense attorney. "Theyll get through, but it will be time-consuming. They have to start from square one."
Fannick on Wednesday said it appeared he would not be retained to defend the 32-year-old Selenski on homicide charges in the deaths of pharmacist Michael Kerkowski and his girlfriend, Tammy Fassett.
The news came less than a month after Fannick helped Selenski in March beat 2 homicide charges in the deaths of suspected drug dealers Frank James and Adeiye Keiler.
The charges in the first and 2nd cases stem from separate incidents, but they all stem from the same investigation when police converged on Selenski's Kingston Township home in June 2003 and found the remains of at least 5 people or as many as 12 people.
Fannick defended Selenski for free in the first case.
He said taking on another complex case for free would cut too far into his private practice. He has been unable to come to terms with Selenskis family on payments for defending Selenski in the 2nd case.
Fannick has not said how much he asked to be paid, other than dispelling rumors of him asking for $250,000.
But another defense lawyer, Nanda Palissery, said it "wouldn't be out of the question" for an attorney to request a $100,000 retainer fee for such a case. The cost could also rise as the case progresses, he said.
Now, it's likely Selenski will be appointed attorneys from a group of public attorneys known as conflict counsel. They are attorneys on the Luzerne County payroll and not associated with the public defenders office. They are provided to indigent defendants who have a conflict of interest with the public defenders.
Attorneys Pike and Menn, who aided Fannick in defending Selenski in the first case, are in that group of attorneys.
And it is likely those two will be appointed to lead Selenski's defense in the 2nd case. A decision could come by today.
But even though they were involved in Selenski's 1st case, they still didn't have as much contact with Selenski or review as many documents as Fannick, Webby said. Pike and Menn worked more on the death-penalty aspect of the case, Webby said.
So if they are appointed, they will have to spend a lot of time reviewing all the investigative reports and background of the case to prepare for the guilt phase of the trial, he said.
There could also be altered levels of comfort and trust, Webby said.
Selenski, Webby said, is already comfortable with Fannick.
Normally, when a defendant has an attorney in a case that goes well, as Selenski's 1st case did, a defendant has faith in that attorney, Webby said.
And there's also going to be some scrutiny from Selenski to his new attorney, Webby said.
"The attorney is gonna hear, 'Well, Fannick wouldn't have done it this way,'" he said. "That's only human nature."
Fannick, in the last trial, was not easily swayed by Selenskis orders, Palissery said.
"I watched the interaction," he said. "Demetrius never did anything - just because Mr. Selenski wanted him to."
Having Fannick on the sidelines in the second trial should not have any impact on the prosecution strategy, Webby and Palissery said.
District Attorney David Lupas did not offer any comments on Selenskis attorney issue.
Pike realizes he and Menn are an appropriate fit to defend Selenski in the second case.
"It's just logical that one or both of us would be appointed," said Pike, a 10-year member of the conflict attorney group.
Selenski's preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 13. Prosecutors have not revealed whether they will seek the death penalty, but they sought that punishment in Selenski's 1st case.
How the system works
Conflict attorneys are not automatically appointed to cases, Pike said.
If a defendant is indigent and needs to be represented by a public defender, the defendant first has to apply for representation through that office, Pike said.
The public defender will determine if any conflict of interest exists in representing the defendant.
A conflict, Pike said, could arise when 2 or more people are arrested in the same case. If one of those defendants is represented by a public defender, the others cannot be. Or, he said, if witnesses in the case are represented by public defenders, the defendant also cannot be represented by public defenders.
If the public defenders determine a conflict exists, they petition a judge to have a conflict attorney appointed. Each conflict attorney is paid around $25,000 per year.
Pike said the conflict attorneys are appointed on a rotating list.
But not any attorney can be appointed to a death-penalty case, Pike said.
The attorney must have 18 credits from legal classes and seminars and have completed at least 8 significant felony trials.
"Then you could be lead counsel," Pike said.
Without those qualifications, an attorney could assist on the defense team, Pike said.
Currently, Pike and Menn meet those standards. Other conflict attorneys are in the process of being qualified, he said.
Palissery said there are several solid attorneys in the county that could handle a complex case such as Selenskis case, but Fannick was masterful in the 1st trial.
"Whoever his new counsel is going to be, it's gonna be difficult to be as devoted and committed to this case as Demetrius was," said Palissery, who has done work with Fannick in the past and believes Fannick is an "excellent lawyer" deserving of all the recognition he is now receiving. "He was phenomenal. It's too bad that Mr. Selenski and attorney Fannick could not come to terms because Hugo would be well-represented."
Here is a list of the attorneys who make up Luzerne Countys conflict counsel group:
- John Pike
- Steve Menn
- Paul Galante
- Sam Falcone
- Joe Cosgrove
- Mike Senape
- Bob Davison
- Joe Nocito
- Gerald Wassil
- Mark Bufalino
- Matt Kelly
- Brian Corcoran
(source: Times Leader)
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Post by CCADP on Apr 9, 2006 8:18:07 GMT -5
Appeal hearing postponed for death-row inmate----Lovell told to confer with his attorneys before court date
Douglas A. Lovell got a lesson in proper court procedure from a district court judge Wednesday.
Lovell, 48, is on death row for killing Joyce Yost in 1985, after she testified that he raped her. He had previously threatened to kill her if she testified. He is now appealing his death sentence.
In a hearing Wednesday, Lovell, dressed in an orange jumpsuit and guarded by 3 men, tried to persuade 2nd District Judge Michael Lyon to rehear testimony that Lyon had already ruled irrelevant in November.
Lovell said testimony from Rhonda Buttars, if it had been heard during the penalty phase of his capital murder trial, would likely have changed his plea from guilty to not guilty.
A previous judge in the case, Stanton Taylor, had also ruled her testimony irrelevant.
Lovell argued that he had ineffective representation by his attorney at the time, John Caine.
Lyon told the inmate that he should have consulted with his attorneys and should have notified the attorneys representing the state of Utah before he filed a motion regarding the matter.
"This is not a free-for-all," Lyon said. "We don't come into court and ambush people."
Lovell said he didn't know he needed to provide a copy of recent filings to the prosecutors.
Lovell added that he didn't bring briefs and transcripts from earlier hearings with him to court Wednesday because he didn't know he was to be in court. He said he had been unable to have regular contact with his attorneys, James Retallick and Ryan Bushell, because of a phone system at the Utah State Prison that allows inmates to place collect calls but only to Qwest subscribers.
"I haven't seen either one since November," Lovell said.
So he's communicated by mail with Retallick. Because the attorneys haven't met with Lovell at the prison recently, Lyon asked Retallick and Bushell to meet with Lovell Friday, and Lyon continued Wednesday's hearing until Monday morning.
This is the 2nd time the Utah Supreme Court has sent Lovell's appeal to the district court level, Lyon said during the hearing.
Lyon said he wants to make sure this is the last time Lovell's case comes back to his court because it's too time-consuming.
"It's too expensive," Lyon said. "There needs to be closure by the victims in this case."
Assistant Utah Attorney General Thomas Brunker agreed.
"All he's doing is causing more and more delay," Brunker said. "This case is 20 years old. . . . We wouldn't have this problem if he had spoken with his attorneys."
(source: Deseret Morning News)
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Post by CCADP on Apr 9, 2006 8:17:12 GMT -5
Judge to decide if Rita Bixby can face the death penalty
In Abbeville, a judge will decide next month if a 73-year-old woman is eligible to face the death penalty even though she wasn't at the Abbeville County house where 2 law enforcement officers were killed more than 2 years ago.
Rita Bixby is charged with accessory before the fact of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and lying to police in the deaths of the 2 officers which started a 14-hour standoff in December 2003. Authorities say the family was angry over plans to widen state Highway 72 in front of their Abbeville home.
Rita Bixby's son and husband are charged with murder. Prosecutors said they were in the home when the officers were killed and plan to seek the death penalty in those cases too.
Rita Bixby left the house before the shooting. But "the only reason she left the home was because she wanted to protect her handicapped son" who lived in an apartment across town, prosecutor Jerry Peace said.
She knew her husband and son planned violence against any law enforcement officer who threatened to take any of their land for the highway project, Peace said.
During a hearing Thursday, Bixby's lawyer said there isn't a single case where someone with the same charges as Bixby has faced the death penalty and the prosecution's efforts violate state law and her constitutional rights.
But Peace said lawmakers could have exempted from the death penalty statute crimes such as accessory before the fact of murder but did not do so.
Both sides were asked to submit their arguments by April 21 and Circuit Judge Alexander Macaulay said he would decide if Bixby can face the death penalty by May 8.
Several other issues were discussed during Thursday's daylong hearing in Abbeville.
Attorneys for Rita Bixby's son, 38-year-old Steven Bixby, asked the judge to keep prosecutors from seeking the death penalty against him because Abbeville County Sheriff Charles Goodwin knew when their client was meeting with expert witnesses - information he was not supposed to have.
Macaulay ordered Steven Bixby to the Lexington County jail and told officials they have the responsibility of keeping his appointments private.
Steven Bixby is scheduled to stand trial starting Oct. 2 for the deaths of Abbeville County sheriff's Sgt. Danny Wilson, and state constable Donnie Ouzts on Dec. 8, 2003. The judge has delayed deciding whether the trial will be held and where to pick the jury from. He has already ruled Bixby can't get a fair trial from a jury of people from Abbeville County.
Also during the hearing, portions of the State Law Enforcement Division's reports on the incident were read in court.
Steven Bixby told SLED agents Wilson unclicked the holster to his sidearm when he visited the house and told him state highway officials were going to take their land whether the Bixbys wanted them to or not.
SLED agents wrote that Rita Bixby said she was "proud" of her son not for shooting a deputy but for defending his property.
Also, Abbeville County deputy Barry New said Wilson was told the Bixbys might become violent about threats to their land.
"He agreed to go there and talk to the Bixbys," New said. "Nobody (with the sheriff's office) directed him. One other deputy knew he was going there, or possibly would go there, but he did not know to go as backup."
At one point during Rita Bixby's hearing, a man not affiliated with the case asked the judge to hear his motion to have Bixby released from jail.
After hearing about the case on asked to America's Most Wanted" in 2003, Donald Sullivan said he felt compelled to defend her from what he called an unlawful prosecution.
Sullivan said he was ready to go to jail for trying to act as Rita Bixby's lawyer and wanted "to protect Mrs. Bixby's rights."
"I assure you the whole court system of the United States will do that," Macaulay said "And some of us are better qualified than others."
(source: Associated Press)
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Post by CCADP on Apr 9, 2006 8:16:12 GMT -5
ALABAMA----female faces death penalty
Suspect refuses to deal----Prosecutors to pursue death penalty against Orange Beach woman after she refuses to accept manslaughter plea
An Orange Beach woman charged with capital murder for allegedly drowning her newborn son rejected a plea agreement offer from prosecutors Thursday.
Marsha Gossett Colby was offered a 20-year prison sentence if she agreed to plead guilty to manslaughter, instead of facing the death penalty, according to testimony at a hearing Thursday.
When Colby turned that down through her attorney, Wilson Myers, prosecutors said they would continue to pursue the death penalty against her.
Attorneys on both sides had discussed a possible plea deal for months, but never reached an agreement, Myers said.
"I'm certainly not shutting the door on a plea offer in the case," he said after the hearing. "I'm just hoping the process will continue. We're just not there right now."
He continued, "Marsha maintains her innocence in this case, as that she did not intentionally kill the child."
Baldwin County Circuit Court Judge James H. Reid set an Aug. 21 trial date, but said he would hear a defense motion to set a bond for Colby in the next few weeks. Colby, 41, is being held without bond in the Baldwin County Corrections Center in Bay Minette.
Myers said he wanted Colby to deny the prosecution's offer "because she's not guilty."
Hired by Colby's family, Myers also asked the judge to appoint an additional lawyer to the case because of the extra legal work he expected. The trial could take up to 2 weeks, Myers said.
The alleged drowning occurred in February 2005. Prosecutors contend that Colby buried the child's body in a shallow, muddy grave behind her Orange Beach trailer home.
A two-count indictment against Colby states that she caused Timothy Colby's death "by drowning or other means" and that she failed "in her parental duty to provide necessary medical services."
Colby was arrested about a week after the alleged drowning, when authorities dug up the body.
Investigators had found Timothy's body wrapped in a blanket and stuffed into a trash bag, buried in a grave marked by an upright 4-by-4 post.
Colby's previous defense attorney, Wayne Doerr, had claimed that the infant was born dead, according to reports. Results of an autopsy have not been made available.
Prosecutors have said Colby killed the baby at least partly because she could not afford to raise him.
Family members have said that up until the final days of her pregnancy, Colby worked as a roofer in the company she owned with her common-law husband, Glenn Brewer.
(source: Mobile Register)
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Post by CCADP on Apr 9, 2006 8:15:04 GMT -5
Law professors say foreign laws influence constitutional issues
The United States must to begin adopt the international consensus against the death penalty and torture in order to recognize universal human values and rights, said Michael Tigar, a research professor of law at American University in a lecture Thursday at UT's School of Law.
Tigar, a former UT law professor, was in town to commemorate the opening of the law school's Capital Punishment Clinic, which gives students an academic as well as hands-on clinical understanding of issues related to the death penalty. At least 60 people attended the talk.
Tigar discussed Roper v. Simmons, the 2005 case in which the Supreme Court rule against administering the death penalty on crimes committed by anyone under the age of 18, and how the role of foreign laws and norms played out in the decision.
Robert Owen, a UT adjunct law professor who assigned his students to the lecture, said that in light of the Roper decision, the adoption of foreign constitutional opinions is an inevitable trend of the U.S. Supreme Court that will influence future cases on capital punishment and torture.
At several points, Tigar was critical of the war in Iraq and said that the Bush administration displays "an alarming moral ambiguity on torture." In the current debate, in which some scholars and those within the administration have OK'd torture under certain circumstances, Tigar said lawyers must "distinguish universal rights and wrongs."
While notions of democracy and human rights in the Constitution have been heavily borrowed from foreign documents, the American Constitution is also a great source of inspiration for other democracies, Tigar said. Referring to the war on terrorism, he said it is not justifiable to impose those ideals on the rest of the world through military force.
Individual liberties, he said "are valid and important no matter where in the world we live."
Daniel Klein, a 3rd-year law student and part of the school's Criminal Defense Clinic, which represents indigent misdemeanor defendants in Travis County, said that while he disagreed with the content of much of Tigar's talk, he found the issues he raised relevant.
"He was a brilliant speaker - funny and engaging," Klein said.
Tigar has argued 7 cases in front of the U.S. Supreme Court and more than 100 appellate cases.
(source: The Daily Texan)
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Post by CCADP on Apr 9, 2006 8:13:53 GMT -5
Is Joe's luck turning?
Like virtually all death-row inmates, Joe D'Ambrosio insists he is innocent. The difference is D'Ambrosio might be right.
More than 4 years ago, Scene chronicled the North Royalton native's conviction in the 1988 slaying of Tony Klann, whose nearly bloodless body was dumped in Doan Brook near University Circle ("Unluckiest Man on Death Row," November 22, 2001).
Another suspect pleaded guilty in exchange for ratting D'Ambrosio. But the rat's testimony included a time and location of the slaying that were later refuted by police evidence and a Little Italy barmaid, who claimed she saw Klann, alive and alone, when D'Ambrosio was supposed to be killing him. Further, the puncture wounds on the body didn't match the size of the murder weapon pinned to D'Ambrosio.
(source: The Cleveland Scene)
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Post by CCADP on Apr 9, 2006 8:13:10 GMT -5
Bill making child rape a capital offense would cost $15 million A news release e-mailed by the Tennessee House Republican Caucus on Wednesday touted state Rep. Matthew Hill pushing legislation that would elevate child rape from a felony to a capital offense punishable by death or life imprisonment. What the release didn't say is how much the bill would cost Tennessee taxpayers. Hill, R-Jonesborough, who is up for re-election this year, said in the release that child rape has a devastating effect on children. "Statistics show that by the time a child sexual offender is caught for the first time, they have usually molested six to eight children," Hill said in the release. "The monsters who commit this crime deserve the most severe punishment meted out by our justice system." According to the state's Fiscal Review Office (FRO), the bill would cost taxpayers an estimated $14.2 million in incarceration expenses, nearly $750,000 in recurring costs to hire new public defenders and prosecutors, and a one-time expense of about $100,000 for new computer equipment. "The state incurs substantial out-of-pocket expenses in death-sentence trials and appeals," the FRO's fiscal note on the bill said. "These include costs of appointed attorneys, expert witnesses, investigation and related matters. These additional costs are estimated to exceed $750,000 in each case." An average of 64 persons in Tennessee have been convicted of child rape in each of the last 3 years, according to the Administrative Office of the Courts. The average age of each offender is 39 years, and the life expectancy of each offender is 70 years. It currently costs the state about $50 a day to house an inmate. According to FRO, people convicted of child rape currently serve an average of 20 years. Hill said the bill - which moved out of a House Criminal Practice Subcommittee on Tuesday - was brought to him by state Sen. Raymond Finney, R-Maryville. "He wanted to see if we could kind of get the debate started and move it through the process," Hill said of Finney's plans for the bill, which is headed to the House Judiciary Committee. Lawmakers on the subcommittee were informed of a state corrections oversight committee's comment - that the bill could increase the number of death row defenders and significantly increase the state's demand for prison beds. Tennessee Supreme Court rules also require the appointment of two defense attorneys in each death penalty case. Tennessee has over 100 people on death row, and more than 20 of them have more than 2 death sentences, according to the Department of Corrections. Tennessee has executed 1 inmate - Robert Glen Coe for rape and murder - in the past 45 years. The Coe execution occurred by lethal injection April 19, 2000, at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution and cost taxpayers more than $11,000. The estimated cost of executing an inmate has since moved past $15,000. For more about the Hill-Finney bill go to www.legislature.state.tn.us and click on "Legislation." The bill's number is HB 2924. (source: Kingsport Times-News)
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Post by CCADP on Apr 9, 2006 8:12:13 GMT -5
Murder convict won't cooperate in Arlington cases
An Arkansas inmate thought to be involved in the unsolved murder of 2 Arlington-area women two decades ago has refused to meet with Tarrant County authorities, lessening the chances the cases will ever be solved.
Tarrant County investigators traveled to Arkansas in February to talk with convict Michael Ronning about the murders of Annette Melia, 20, of Arlington, and Melissa Jackson, 16, of Grand Prairie in the 1980s. But Ronning, in prison for the capital murder of a 19-year-old Jonesboro, Ark., woman, refused to cooperate, said Tarrant County prosecutor Alan Levy.
"We wanted to see if he would talk to us, and he wouldn't sit down for an interview," Levy said. "It's pretty obvious he's not going to cooperate."
Authorities decided to try to talk to Ronning after an NBC Dateline producer wrote to Gov. Rick Perry and Florida Gov. Jeb Bush last November saying he could get confessions from Ronning on several unsolved killings in their states if both governors agreed to waive the death penalty in those cases.
Producer Shane Bishop believes that Ronning killed Melia and Jackson, according to an Austin American-Statesman story last year. Ronning was the subject of a Dateline broadcast in 2002 during which he refused to answer questions about the two Texas killings.
Levy said that he has contacted NBC officials to request an interview with Bishop.
"Since there are no other witnesses or forensic evidence linking him to the crimes, were looking at what we can get from the reporter," Levy said. "He's serving life and there are no statute of limitations for murder, so we have plenty of time."
Relatives of both women have said they believe Ronning is the killer.
Leslie "Bubba" Jackson, brother of Melissa Jackson, said Wednesday that he didn't expect Ronning to cooperate.
"That's just the type of guy he is," Jackson said. "Why would someone, who has done the things he's done, want to do right? But that's OK. He'll get his in the end."
Ronning was convicted in August 1986 of capital murder for killing a 19-year-old Jonesboro, Ark., woman who was abducted, stabbed and found under trash in a ditch, the Austin American-Statesman reported. By 2001, investigators in Florida and Michigan had connected Ronning's DNA with unsolved killings in their states, the Statesman reported.
(source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
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Post by CCADP on Apr 9, 2006 7:43:04 GMT -5
Neal Hospitalized; Mother Tries To Spare His Life----Defendant Faces Possible Death By Lethal Injection
A capital murder defendant who refused to attend the punishment phase of his trial was hospitalized Wednesday, KSAT 12 News reported.
Ronnie Joe Neal was being treated under heavy security at University Hospital for an undisclosed reason, KSAT 12 News reported.
While Neal was hospitalized, his mother tried to spare his life by testifying in his defense in the punishment phase of Neal's capital murder trial.
Annie Pine, who at times was argumentative with lawyers, delivered heated testimony during her 2 hours on the witness stand.
Pine told jurors that despite a jury finding her son guilty, Neal was innocent in the slaying of Diane Tilly.
"No, I don't think he did it," Pine said. "I really don't. I can't tell what's in the jury's mind, but if I'm breathing my last breath, I would say, no, I don't believe Ronnie did it."
Pine said that Neal's daughter, Pearl Ann Cruz, who set the murder plot in motion by getting Tilly to open her door, was the one who killed the teacher.
"She knew what she was doing," Pine testified. "Ain't no way in the world nobody ... would have got me to go ringing somebody's doorbell. And she had all kind of opportunities to let this woman go, but she wouldn't let her go."
Pine also told jurors that Neal was depressed and a slow learner as a child and later turned to drugs, which led to a criminal record. She also claimed that her son is mentally retarded, which defense attorneys plan to use a defense in hopes of sparing Neal's life.
(source: KSAT News)
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Post by CCADP on Apr 8, 2006 15:42:08 GMT -5
Notorious Brooklyn Drug Lord Could Face Death Penalty
April 08, 2006
A federal judge has cleared the way for a notorious drug lord in Brooklyn to face the death penalty.
Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff and four co-defendants were supposed to go on trial in Brooklyn later this month on murder and conspiracy charges. But the judge has given McGriff, a reputed crack kingpin with ties to the rap music industry, a separate trial scheduled for later this year.
McGriff allegedly admitted to killing a rapper known as E-Money Bags in 2001. He is also accused of arranging the murder of a suspected drug informant within his own crew.
Prosecutors also charge McGriff funneled more than a million dollars in drug proceeds through rap label Murder Inc.
Murder Inc.'s founder, Irv Gotti, whose real name is Irving Lorenzo, and his brother Christopher were acquitted of money laundering charges last year.
April 08, 2006 Man Hospitalized After Being Shot By Cops In The Bronx
April 08, 2006 Friends, Family Pay Tribute To Murdered Grad Student
April 08, 2006 Two Men Wanted In Series Of Robberies In Queens And Long Island
April 08, 2006 Police Search For Man Who Sexually Assaulted Teen In The Bronx
April 08, 2006 Deutsche Bank Building To Be Inspected For More Human Remains
April 08, 2006 Brooklyn Toddler Killed By Falling Television
April 08, 2006 Notorious Brooklyn Drug Lord Could Face Death Penalty
April 08, 2006 Report: Backup Generator Dumped Raw Sewage Into Hudson During Blackout
April 07, 2006 NY1 Exclusive: Four Statewide Candidates Have Spotty Voting Records
April 07, 2006 WTC Health Registry: Rescue Workers More Likely To Develop Problems
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Post by CCADP on Apr 8, 2006 15:41:12 GMT -5
uspect moved to mental hospital
By Carl Mickelson, Staff Writer Saturday, April 8, 2006 11:35 AM PDT
Dannie Peck - Suspect
Dannie Ray Peck, a man accused of murdering a Hauser man last October and burying the body on the North Spit has been moved from the Coos County jail to the state mental hospital in Salem.
“He could be up there for up to three years,” said Chief Deputy Coos County District Attorney R. Paul Frasier. “I don't think it will be that long. He could be back tomorrow.”
According to court records, Coos County Circuit Judge Richard Barron ordered Peck be committed to the state mental health hospital March 21 after a request by defense attorneys following a report from a doctor who evaluated Peck's mental state.
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“The court notes that Dr. (Carlene) Shultz finds that the defendant is able to understand the nature of the proceedings against him, but that he is unable to assist and cooperate with counsel and is unable to participate in his own defense,” Barron wrote.
According to the court order, Peck is to be committed to the Oregon State Hospital “for evaluation and treatment until such time that the defendant is able to assist and participate in his defense.”
After three years, if the court determines Peck is not mentally capable of ever going to trial, the criminal charges would be dismissed, which would, in turn, trigger formal commitment proceedings to the state hospital for life.
The director of the state hospital has 60 days to determine if Peck is mentally competent to stand trial.
Despite Peck's hospitalization, Frasier said the prosecution is undeterred and preparing for a monthlong jury trial in October.
“We're proceeding as if the dates are still a go,” Frasier said.
Peck's next scheduled court appearance is an omnibus hearing set for May 11.
Coos County jail administrator Lt. Brad Cook said Peck has twice been transported to Salem for mental evaluations since his arrest last fall. Both Frasier and Cook noted the turn of events is not uncommon for cases of this magnitude.
Frasier said both Ward Weaver, a former North Bend man convicted of killing two girls in Clackamas County in 2002, and Edward Paul Morris, a Tillamook man convicted of murdering his pregnant wife and three children in the Tillamook State Forest in 2004, spent time at Oregon State Hospital before their convictions.
Morris spent 30 days at Oregon State Hospital, while Weaver was committed for three months. After their stays, courts ruled both men were competent to stand trial.
The state law known as the aid and assist statute requires that those on trial understand the nature of the court proceedings against them. They also have to participate in their own defense and cooperate with their lawyers.
At a preliminary hearing in November, Peck complained loudly about his court-appointed attorney, Gerald Petersen, indicating he wanted the court to appoint another lawyer. At the time, Frasier said Peck could not articulate a valid reason to replace Petersen.
Criminal court staff said today Petersen's attorneys still are listed as Petersen, of the Corvallis-based law firm of Petersen, Dunfield & Fahy; and William Dials, of Charleston.
Peck's defense attorneys did not return phone calls for comment on Friday.
Last fall, the jail administrator said Peck had been periodically held in what jailers call the mezzanine section of the Coos County jail - what prisoners refer to as the hole - due to aggressive behavior.
Peck is facing two counts of aggravated murder - a capital offense that could lead to the death penalty. Peck also faces three other murder charges, two counts of first-degree robbery, one count of first-degree kidnapping and a charge of unauthorized use of a vehicle.
Peck was arrested Oct. 4, 2005, after an emergency caller reported a man had been assaulted at the Wagon Wheel grocery store in Hauser, loaded into a white Ford pickup truck and driven away. Peck was later discovered near the Trans-Pacific Parkway on Coos Bay's North Spit amongst sand and beach grass.
Police found the body of John F. Hildebrand of Hauser six feet away.
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Post by CCADP on Apr 8, 2006 15:39:45 GMT -5
AG Wants Death Sentences Reinstated
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson wants death sentences reinstated for three convicted murderers who were granted relief by the state Court of Criminal Appeals on mental retardation claims.
Edmondson said the cases are ``particularly heinous'' and has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the lower court's ruling and ``put these killers back on death row where they belong.''
The sentences of the men were changed to life without parole in December. The state's highest court for criminal matters went against district court jury decisions that the men were not mentally retarded.
Robert Wayne Lambert was sentenced to death for the 1987 murders of Laura Lee Sanders and Michael Houghton, both of Tulsa. The pair were kidnapped and burned alive in the trunk of a car. Lambert's co-defendant, Scott Allen Hain, was executed in April 2003.
Darrin Lynn Pickens was sentenced to death for the 1990 murder of Tommy Lee Hayes, a clerk at a convenience store near Sapulpa.
The third convicted murderer, Maximo Lee Salazar, was sentenced to death for the 1987 stabbing death of 9-year-old Jennifer Prill of Cache.
In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that executing mentally retarded inmates was unconstitutional, and, Edmondson said, mental retardation became the ``defense de jour.''
The U.S. Supreme Court left it to each individual state to develop the proper method to enforce the constitutional restriction. The state Court of Criminal Appeals used the case of a McIntosh County killer, Patrick D. Murphy, to establish a three-pronged test to determine mental retardation based on intellectual function, age the condition was identified and IQ.
``Oklahoma has not legislated on this process,'' Edmondson said. ``Instead, the (appeals court) is establishing its preferred procedure by reversing death penalties.''
Edmondson said a bill his office requested to statutorily establish procedures for determining mental retardation in death penalty cases is pending in the Legislature. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Daniel Sullivan, R-Tulsa, and Sen. Todd Lamb, R-Edmond.
The attorney general said the criminal appeals court stepped in to overturn the death sentences without the state having time to respond to the inmates' appeals.
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Post by CCADP on Apr 8, 2006 8:17:02 GMT -5
Justice delayed
FACTBOX
review - After Innocence Friday, April 07, 2006 MARC MOHAN
"I'm one of the strongest human beings ever created," Nick Yarris says without a hint of ego.
He's entitled to the claim. After spending 23 years on Death Row in solitary confinement for a crime he didn't commit, to be functional and sane at all is a Herculean accomplishment.
Yarris is one of seven men profiled in "After Innocence," a documentary by Jessica Sanders that powerfully explores the struggles faced by those whom DNA testing has exonerated after years behind bars. With no more than an apology, if that, these victims of an imperfect justice system are thrust back into the world to try to reconnect with lives and families rudely interrupted by fate and incompetence.
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The film shows how the organization the Innocence Project (www.innocenceproject.org), started by attorneys Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld, has helped wrongfully convicted inmates (175 to date) obtain their freedom. But it also focuses on the challenges faced by those exonerated once they're plunked back in the real world. Shockingly, being freed from prison doesn't automatically mean their criminal records are expunged. This means that a guy like Vincent Moto, who served more than 10 years for a rape and robbery he didn't commit, still can't find steady work because officially he's a convicted felon.
There's also the issue of compensation; it's disturbing to learn that very few states have laws requiring financial payment to those who've been victimized this way. The time lost, the earning power forever diminished, the social stigma of being a convicted rapist -- frequently, none of it is worth a dime. There seems to be a general reluctance on the part of prosecutors and governments to even acknowledge their errors, much less try to make up for them.
This is demonstrated most forcefully in the story of Wilton Dedge, sentenced in 1982 to life in prison for sexual battery, whom "After Innocence" follows on his Kafkaesque quest for justice. Dedge requested DNA testing in 1996, which proved in 2001 that the pubic hair found at the crime scene was not his. Still, the state of Florida refused to acknowledge his innocence, arguing on procedural grounds and at one point insisting he should not be released even if they knew he was absolutely innocent.
Seeing Dedge, and especially his stoic parents, deal with this nightmarish scenario is both appalling and inspiring. Realizing that the stories told in this film are the ones with relatively happy endings is horrifying. After all, only crimes with biological evidence, generally sexual assaults, are eligible for post-conviction DNA testing. Even most of those freed through testing surely don't adjust as well as these seven. And how many who could have been exonerated were executed? We may never know.
That the criminal justice system is flawed should surprise no one. But the scope of the problem, with likely thousands of innocent people incarcerated thanks mostly to errant eyewitness testimony, should give pause to anyone who thinks that life is as simple as black and white, innocent and guilty.
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Post by CCADP on Apr 8, 2006 8:15:56 GMT -5
Muhammad lists 178 potential defense witnesses Man defending himself in sniper trial starts with partner Malvo; much of the information is incomplete By Andrea F. Siegel sun reporter Originally published April 7, 2006 Rockville // Sniper John Allen Muhammad submitted yesterday a handwritten list of 178 potential defense witnesses for his Montgomery County murder trial, starting the list with Lee Boyd Malvo, the youth convicted of being his partner in the 2002 shooting rampage that terrorized the Washington area.
Muhammad's list contains names he said were distinct from the 354 that prosecutors have supplied to the court as relevant to the case, and he told Circuit Judge James L. Ryan that he probably would have names to add.
Deputy State's Attorney Katherine Winfree said she expects to call about 100 people as witnesses in the trial scheduled to start May 1.
Muhammad, 45, is charged with six counts of murder in Montgomery County in the October 2002 random shooting rampage that claimed 10 lives in the Washington area - and placed millions of people in fear that they might be next in the sniper's cross-hairs.
On death row in Virginia for a murder in that state, he could be sentenced to life without parole if convicted in Maryland.
Malvo, 21, was convicted in Virginia of being the junior member of the sniper team and is serving a life sentence without parole. He is scheduled for trial in Montgomery County this fall. His lawyer, William C. Brennan Jr., could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Muhammad's list of potential witnesses appeared to be a conglomeration of local and federal law enforcement officials in several states, individuals from around the country whose ties to the case were not readily apparent, and people whose addresses were near some of the sniper shooting scenes. Much of the information is incomplete, such as only last names and job titles - but no location - or with Social Security numbers or telephone numbers. Several of the phone numbers are out of date.
Among those on the list is "Mis. LaRuffe," with the telephone number of the Clinton restaurant of Paul LaRuffa. LaRuffa was repeatedly shot at close range on Sept. 5, 2002 - police believe by Malvo - after closing his restaurant, Margellina's.
LaRuffa's laptop computer and briefcase containing several thousand dollars were stolen, the recovered laptop showing the snipers' routes and the cash used toward financing their ventures, prosecutors and police have said. Asked by telephone if Muhammad perhaps wanted to subpoena his wife, LaRuffa replied, "This is on the list of crazy things. It's obviously not true." LaRuffa is on the prosecution's list.
Muhammad submitted the list to Ryan at a hearing yesterday, having fired his public defenders last week so that he can represent himself. He has maintained that he is innocent, and in court he often speaks of himself in the third person.
The judge has been trying to find private attorneys to serve as standby counsel with no pay to provide advice to Muhammad. Ryan said one two-lawyer team is considering it. Another lawyer initially said he might be interested but has taken himself out of consideration.
One result of Muhammad's recent request to act as his own lawyer has been his insistence that he lacks necessary information for his defense, which Winfree told Ryan is a ploy by Muhammad to win the trial delay he previously sought but was denied.
Prosecutors said they turned over 28 tapes, 41 CDs, 2,000 pages of paper and one DVD with more than 30,000 pages of information to the public defenders, who also photographed evidence over two weeks and had access to other prosecution material. Ryan told Muhammad that whatever his public defenders chose as important is what is available to him, as Ryan will not reopen that pretrial process.
"Your Honor, it's sad. But I really understand that," Muhammad said.
Muhammad said he was distressed that notices sent to 1,000 prospective jurors asked about their availability for five weeks. He said the trial could take much longer and that he did not want the jury to be angry at him over a promised trial duration. That, Ryan said, would not be an issue, as prospective jurors will be questioned individually when they are brought to court.
Muhammad is due back in court for another pretrial hearing near the end of the month.
andrea.siegel@baltsun.com
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Post by CCADP on Apr 8, 2006 15:40:18 GMT -5
huming her body on Thursday, medical examiners reinterred Lynne Harper's body just over 24 hours later, beginning a search for DNA evidence that – if it is found – could exonerate Stephen Truscott nearly five decades after he was accused of her murder.
Under orders from Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant and with the Harper family's consent, the young girl's remains were exhumed from a cemetery in Union, Ontario to allow a forensic examination to take place.
The tests were conducted at the office of Ontario's current chief coroner, Dr. Barry McLellan. After a brief ceremony Friday, Lynne Harper was returned to her resting place in the Union United Church cemetery.
Now Truscott and the Harper family are waiting for tests results that may not reveal anything. After 47 years, experts say chances are slim of finding any viable DNA evidence that could shed light on the case.
The examination's results, if any, could be made available within weeks.
The DNA tests come on the heels of a judicial review of Truscott's conviction by Justice Fred Kaufman, released in November 2005.
Truscott has maintained his innocence since June of 1959.
Harper disappeared after last being seen with Truscott. The 12-year-old girl's naked body was found two day later. She had been raped and strangled.
In September of that year, 14-year-old Truscott was sentenced to hang. He spent four months on death row before his sentence was postponed, and then commuted to life in prison.
Ten years later Truscott was freed on parole, but he was never cleared of the crime despite agreeing to the same type of DNA testing that exonerated Guy Paul Morin and David Milgaard. In Truscott's case, crucial evidence that may have cleared him had been destroyed.
Truscott insists he saw Harper get into a passing car on the day she disappeared.
Kaufman's judicial review concluded that the evidence he saw was not enough to exonerate Truscott, but it did show a likely miscarriage of justice.
The Ontario Court of Appeal is re-examining the case against Truscott. The court is set to reconvene in Jun. 19.
Evidence gathered from the exhumation will become part of the court's review.
With files from The Canadian Press
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