Category Archives: Death Penalty

May 7, 2013 · 10:38 pm

Stay in Mississippi; execution in Texas

In a reversal of an April decision, the Mississippi Supreme Court voted 8-1 to grant a reprieve “until further order” to Willie Manning, who was convicted in 1994 of murdering two college students. The stay came about four hours before the today’s scheduled execution.

The court did not explain its decision or put a time limit on the reprieve. The U.S. Justice Department had sent letters to  officials involved in the case raising questions about the degree of certainty expressed by F.B.I. forensic experts at Manning’s original trial.

Hopefully this stay will offer an opportunity for the DNA testing that the Innocence Project and others call for in this case. Testing all the evidence seems an absolute minimum standard in capital cases.

I grieve for those who love Jon Steckler and Tiffany Miller, of whose murders Manning is convicted. An execution will not bring them back.

At 6:32 p.m. CDT, in Huntsville, Texas, Carroll Joe Parr died from a lethal dose of pentobarbital administered by the state. Parr stood convicted of the murder of 18-year-old Joel Dominguez. Although Parr denied the killing, evidence against him was strong.

Parr reportedly endured an abusive childhood. His criminal record included convictions on drug-related charges and alleged links to other crimes.

I grieve for the family and friends of Joel Dominguez.

But an execution demeans us all and perpetuates a cycle of violence. There has to be another way.

See you along the Trail.

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May 4, 2013 · 5:08 pm

The clock runs for Willie Manning

I ask you to join me in calling on Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant to stay Willie Manning’s execution and order DNA testing!

The state of Mississippi has set May 7 as the execution date for Willie Manning.

I do not know if Willie Manning committed the acts for which he stands convicted. But I believe it is utterly unconscionable to execute him without examining all the possible evidence.

The Innocence Project notes:

DNA testing can provide definitive proof of guilt or innocence. As the dissenters on the Mississippi Supreme Court noted, it could also identify the person responsible for the crime. Testing in this case will provide surety that Mississippi is not committing a travesty of justice by executing an innocent man.

I do not know if Willie Manning is guilty. Do the test and see what it reveals.

I do not know about all the utterly unconscionable acts and travesties of justice occur daily. I cannot know about them all. I cannot stop them all. I grieve for that.

What I do know is that the state plans to execute Willie Manning on May 7. And evidence remains untested. And that is wrong.

So I call on Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant to stay Willie Manning’s execution and order DNA testing. I encourage you to do the same.

See you along the Trail.

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April 29, 2013 · 10:37 pm

Governor Bryant – test the evidence

I do not believe in capital punishment. I believe the state should not kill. But, if the state does, then the state has an awesome responsibility. That includes being as certain as possible that no available evidence should go unexamined and untested.

In that spirit, I have asked Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant to stay Willie Manning’s execution and order DNA testing of crime scene evidence. You can too.

The Innocence Project writes about the case:

Willie Manning is on death row in Mississippi, awaiting execution for the abduction and murder of two college students in 1992. He was convicted on circumstantial evidence, including the testimony of a jailhouse informant who had previously given a statement implicating another person. No physical evidence has ever linked Willie to the crime, and he has always maintained his innocence. He has been seeking DNA testing of crime scene evidence for years.

Incredibly, the Mississippi Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that there is “overwhelming evidence of guilt,” so no DNA testing is needed. His execution has been set for May 7th. Eighteen men have been exonerated by DNA testing after being sentenced to death, including Kennedy Brewer of Mississippi. We are asking the Governor to stay the execution and order the DNA testing that will definitively prove Willie Manning’s guilt or innocence. Join us in calling on Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant to stay Willie’s execution and order DNA testing!

My letter has gone. Will you send one?

See you along the Trail.

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March 15, 2013 · 9:26 pm

Maryland poised to end the death penalty

The General Assembly of Maryland voted to repeal the state’s death penalty Friday. This would end a 375-year history of capital punishment. Maryland would become the sixth state in as many years, and the 18th state overall, to abolish capital punishment.

The state Senate vote last week in favor of repeal.  Gov. Martin O’Malley supported the repeal effort.

Reports are that Governor O’Malley will likely will sign the bill next month after the General Assembly session ends. It would take effect October 1.

At the same time, supporters of the death penalty could petition the matter to the 2014 ballot, leaving the question to Maryland voters to decide. In that event, the law would be put on hold until after the election.

For today, however, a step to celebrate!

See you along the Trail.

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February 19, 2013 · 8:50 pm

Execution stayed

The Guardian reports that, for the second time in seven months, convicted murderer Warren Lee Hill, Jr. received a stay of execution in Georgia. In July, the stay came with some 90 minutes to spare. Tonight, reports indicate that only thirty minutes remained before the scheduled execution.

The Huffington Post states they have received the following from Brian Kammer, an attorney for Hill:

“We are greatly relieved that the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has stayed the execution of Warren Hill, a person with mental retardation. All the doctors who have examined Mr. Hill are unanimous in their diagnosis of mental retardation, so there is no question that his execution would have been in violation of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2002 ruling in Atkins v. Virginia.”

A post on CNN further notes that

The Georgia Court of Appeals acted on an appeal of a challenge to the way the prison handles the lethal injection drugs used in executions, while the federal appeals court issued a stay “ordering a further briefing on the issue of mental retardation,” Kammer said.

It remains to see what will happen as the issues that provided the basis for the stays are explored.

I grieve for Myra Wright and Joseph Handspike who were killed by Warren Lee Hill, Jr., and for their family and friends.  There is no defense for Hill’s crimes.

But … The Guardian lists ten reasons not to execute Hill.. One notes that the family of Joseph Handspike opposes the execution. One cites international law. The other reasons explore dimensions of the questions related on Hill’s mental capacity. I agree with them all.

I further believe that violence begets violence. Executions do not reverse horrible crimes. They serve little purpose beyond vengeance. We have alternatives to protecting our society.

See you along the Trail.

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February 13, 2013 · 9:29 pm

Can we seek another way?

An execution always raises questions of morality.

Brutal, horrific crimes that violate our sisters and brothers do so as well.

But when the state kills – on behalf of we the people who are the state – is it a matter of justice? Or revenge? Is it an act of retribution? And is that the best we can do? Do executions make us safer? Do they convey the message that violence is the most appropriate answer to violence? Do they demean us all and fuel a cycle of violence?

The pending execution of Warren Lee Hill, Jr., currently scheduled for February 19 in Georgia, raises all these questions and more.

Hill was serving time for the murder of his girl friend when he was convicted of killing another inmate and sentenced to death. There is no question of his guilt.

The question in this case, beyond those in any execution, revolve around Hill’s mental capacity. His IQ is reported to be 70. This raises the question of his mental capacity and his awareness to understand his acts.

The U.S. Supreme Court addressed the issue of capacity in the 2002 decision Atkins. v. Virginia. The American Psychological Association summarizes that decision as follows:

The Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, ruled that executions of mentally retarded criminals are “cruel and unusual punishments” prohibited by the Eighth Amendment. The Court cited the growing number of states prohibiting the execution of persons with mental retardation as a reflection of society’s view that offenders considered to have mental retardation are categorically less culpable than the average criminal. The Court also reasoned that it was “not persuaded that the execution of mentally retarded criminals will measurably advance the deterrent or the retributive purpose of the death penalty.”

However, Georgia has a high standard of proof for proving mental retardation: the standard of proving mental incapacitation beyond a reasonable doubt. Georgia does not believe that standard has been met in Hill’s case.

His attorney and those concerned for Hill are not seeking a pardon. They ask that he be granted clemency and incarcerated for life. The U.S. Supreme Court could prevent Hill’s execution in the next few days.

I grieve for Myra Wright and Joseph Handspike who were killed by Warren Lee Hill, Jr. and for their family and friends.  There can be no defense for Hill’s crimes.

But that is not all the story. What does it say about our society – about us – that we resort to execution in the case of an individual with the mental capacity and awareness of Hill? Can we not find another way?

See you along the Trail.

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October 20, 2012 · 11:22 pm

Making Communities Safer by Abolishing the Death Penalty

This live online conference will be aired on Thursday, October 25 at 2:00 PM Eastern. Here are the details:

The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty is excited to present this live online conference exploring how communities can be safer without the death penalty. The conference will be broadcast over the web and will be approximately one hour in length. View the conference right here, on this page!

This will be a video conference with presenters live in California, Maryland and Massachusetts. We need your help to advertise this event.

Join us for a fascinating discussion addressing the question, “does the death penalty actually keep us safer?” with Charles Ogletree, Harvard University and founder of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice, Ron McAndrew, former warden of Florida State Prison who conducted that state’s final electrocutions,Kirk Bloodsworth, the first person exonerated from death row using DNA evidence, and Jerry Givens, former corrections officer from Virginia who put 62 men to death during his 17 years as an executioner.

Send us your questions in advance by tweeting them to #abolition2012.

Please let us know if you will gather colleagues and friends to watch this event together so that we can acknowledge you during the program! Virtual gatherings work too!

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· 11:03 pm

Act now to prevent the execution of John Ferguson

Contact Florida Governor Rick Scott and ask that he convene the Board of Executive Clemency to commute the death sentence of John Ferguson because he is incompetent to be executed. The sentence can be commuted to life in prison with no possibility of parole.

Here’s how to contact Governor Scott:

Gov. Rick Scott
The Capitol
400 S. Monroe St.
Tallahassee, FL 32399
Phone: 850-488-7146
Email: Rick.Scott@eog.myflorida.com

 

Here’s why:

The execution of John Ferguson by the state of Florida has been scheduled for 6:00 PM on October 23.

Ferguson was sentenced to death for a 1977 mass murder in Miami Dade, which he committed shortly after the state released him from a mental hospital against the warnings of several state-appointed psychiatrists. During his incarceration, state appointed experts have continued to diagnose him with paranoid schizophrenia.

The crimes of which Ferguson was convicted are horrific:

Posing as a power company repairman, Ferguson entered a home where he and two others shot to death six people in an execution style line up. Back then, the Miami Herald called it “the worst mass murder in Dade history.” Ferguson was also convicted of the 1978 murder of two teens from nearby Hialeah.

His role in these crimes is not at dispute. His mental condition is. Among his delusional thoughts, Ferguson believes he is the “prince of God.”

The Florida Supreme Court has found that Ferguson is a paranoid schizophrenic. A decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, Panetti v. Quarterman, ruled that criminal defendants sentenced to death may not be executed if they do not understand the reason for their imminent execution.

Despite the Panetti v. Quaterman decision and despite their finding that Ferguson suffers from schizophrenic paranoia, the Florida Supreme Court has ruled that Florida may proceed with the execution. The decision will be appealed to the US Supreme Court.

There is no excuse for the crimes of which Ferguson is convicted. They are heinous. I grieve for those who died – I grieve that I cannot find their names.

But, as an editorial in The Miami-Herald concludes, nothing good will come from executing a man with a documented history of mental illness dating back to 1965. A 1975 report noted that Ferguson was dangerous and should not be released.

Executions by the state serve no purpose but revenge and diminish our society. Executions of individuals who are not competent diminishes us even further. The solution is to enact the recommendations of that 1975 report and make certain that Ferguson is never released under any circumstances.

Contact Governor Scott. Ask him to replace the death sentence with a sentence of life in prison with no possibility of parole.

See you along the Trail.

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September 23, 2012 · 5:41 pm

Preparing for execution in Texas

Too long has passed since I have written about death penalty cases. I grieve the executions I have missed and give thanks for those who have raised their voices against the them.

The State of Texas is scheduled to execute Cleve Foster on Tuesday for his role in the abduction and slaying of Nyaneur Pal a decade ago near Fort Worth. Twice before his execution has come close. Each time he received a reprieve. He maintains his innocence.

Foster and a companion, Sheldon Ward, were convicted of fatally shooting Pal. She seen talking with Foster and Ward at a Fort Worth bar. Evidence indicated that she had been raped and shot in the head.

“A gun identified as the murder weapon was found in a motel room where Foster and Ward were living. Authorities determined the same gun was used two months earlier to kill another woman, 22-year-old Rachel Urnosky, at her Fort Worth apartment. She also had been raped.

“Foster and Ward were implicated but never tried in her slaying.“

Foster blames Pal’s death on Ward. At his trial, Prosecutors argued that “evidence showed Foster actively participated in the woman’s killing, offered no credible explanations, lied and gave contradictory stories about his sexual activities with Pal.“

I grieve for Nyaneur Pal and for her family and friends. Her death is a tragedy – an obscenity – as is the death of Rachel Urnosky. Their deaths diminish us all.

However, executing Cleve Foster will not bring Nyaneur back. It will be act of vengeance; it will preclude possible reconciliation. It may even prevent the truth from coming out.

Executions do not reverse horrible crimes. Violence begets violence. We have alternatives.

See you along the Trail.

 

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September 10, 2012 · 11:27 pm

Call for clemency in Pennsylvania

Terrance Williams is scheduled to be executed by the people of Pennsylvania on October 3, 2012 for his role in the murder of Amos Norwood.

People of Faith Against the Death Penalty and Pennsylvanians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty are partnering to ask Pennsylvania religious leaders to endorse a letter to Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett and the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons appealing for clemency for Mr. Williams.

Time is of the essence. If you are a religious leader living in Pennsylvania, please support this call for clemency by endorsing the letter here.

If you know religious leaders who live in Pennsylvania, please encourage them to take immediate action.

See you along the Trail.

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