Category Archives: Capital Punishment

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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October 20, 2012 · 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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July 18, 2012 · 10:51 pm

Execution in Texas, postponement in Georgia

Texas executed Yokamon Hearn today. Hearn had been convicted of the 1998 murder of Dallas stockbroker Frank Meziere following a carjacking. Hearn had appealed his sentence on the grounds of his mental disabilities and inadequate legal advice early in his case. Courts denied those appeals.

I grieve for the family and friends of Frank Meziere. I recognize that Hearn had a previous criminal record. But imprisoning Hearn for life would have protected society from him.

Today in Georgia, the Department of Corrections postponed the execution of Warren Hill (who was convicted of the murder of Joseph Handspike). They did not do so because of concerns related to his mental abilities. The State Board of Pardons and Parole denied his appeal for clemency on those grounds. His lawyers have asked the Supreme Court to stay his execution on those grounds.

The postponement came because Georgia is changing its execution protocol to use only one drug, pentobarbital. Interestingly enough, Texas used the same drug to execute Hearn.

I grieve for the family and friends of Joseph Handspike. Again, however, imprisoning Hill for life would protect society from him.

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

See you along the Trail.

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July 14, 2012 · 7:44 pm

Thank you, Governor Kasich

Again, I find myself thanking Governor John Kasich of Ohio. In early June, the governor issued a reprieve for Abdul Awkal. The Ohio Supreme Court, on June 18,  indefinitely postponed the Awkal’s execution following a “lower court’s ruling last week that he could not be executed because he is mentally incompetent.”

This time, I thank Governor Kasich for granting clemency to John Jeffrey Eley and commuting his sentence to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

An editorial appearing in The Plain Dealer of Cleveland notes:

… a former prosecutor, detective and judge had all raised questions about the extent to which Eley was manipulated in the 1986 murder by alleged accomplice Melvin Green taking advantage of Eley’s “borderline intelligence.” Eley used Green’s gun to rob and shoot to death 28-year-old grocer Ihsan Aydah while Green waited outside

The Plain Dealer editorial affirms its opposition to the death penalty and closes with the observation that:

A just society cannot ignore such mitigating factors. Kasich acted appropriately.

The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty provides an opportunity to thank Governor Kasich and to ask him to “impose a moratorium on future executions pending the outcome of the Ohio Supreme Court study and the implementation of its recommendations.”

I grieve at the death of Ishan Aydah. My heart goes out to those who mourn for him.

But executing Eley is not the appropriate answer. I have sent my thanks – and request for a moratorium on executions – to Governor Kasich.

See you along the Trail.

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July 13, 2012 · 7:23 am

Stop the Execution of Warren Hill in Georgia

Amnesty International USA provides this introduction to the situation and an opportunity to send a message to the Georgia Board of Pardon and Paroles:

Warren Hill is scheduled to be executed in Georgia on July 18, despite having been ruled “mentally retarded” by a preponderance of the evidence by a Georgia state judge. Executing persons with intellectual disabilities is unconstitutional, and the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles has the opportunity and the responsibility to do what courts have been unable to do – prevent this execution and preserve the integrity of Georgia justice.

To learn more about this case, read or print AIUSA’s full Urgent Action sheet: PDF format

Warren Hill is to be executed for the 1990 murder of a fellow prisoner, Joseph Handspike. He has a mental disability the seriousness of which leaves the constitutionality of his pending execution in real doubt. However, Amnesty International USA reports that Georgia requires defendants to prove their mental disability to “the enormously high ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ standard.” AIUSA suggests that in most other states, Hill would not face execution.

I grieve for the family and friends of Joseph Handspike. There is no justification for his death.

But I oppose Warren Hill’s execution and I have signed AIUSA’s call to the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles because of questions about Hill’s mental capacities, because it will not bring Joseph Handspike back, because it will be an act of vengeance, because imprisonment without parole is an option, and because state violence diminishes us all.

See you along the Trail.

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July 7, 2012 · 7:01 pm

Too absolute, too irreversible

On 3 July 2012, United Nations Secretary-GeneralBan Ki-moon today called on Member States which use the death penalty to abolish this practice. Mr. Ban spoke at a panel organized by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on ‘Moving away from the death penalty – Lessons from national experiences’ at UN Headquarters in New York.

“The taking of life is too absolute, too irreversible, for one human being to inflict on another, even when backed by legal process,” Mr. Ban said.

Mr. Ban lifted up a number of signs of the growing international movement away from the death penalty.

There are now 74 Parties to the Optional Protocol of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights aiming at the abolition of the death penalty.

More than 150 States have either abolished the death penalty or do not practice it.

In 2011, only 20 Member States conducted executions.

In the United States, Illinois and Connecticut became the 16th and 17th states to reject death as a punishment.

Mr. Ban acknowledged that 32 UN Member States retain the death penalty for drug-related offenses. He voiced his concern that “some countries still allow juvenile offenders under the age of 18 at the time of the alleged offence to be sentenced to death and executed.”

But he lifted up international efforts to abolish the death penalty:

  • The United Nations system has long advocated for abolition.
  • The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution “calling for a global moratorium on executions with a view to eventually abolishing the death penalty entirely” in 2007. In the years since, Argentina, Burundi, Gabon, Latvia, Togo and Uzbekistan have abolished the death penalty.
  •  International and hybrid criminal tribunals for Cambodia, the former Yugoslavia, Lebanon, Rwanda and Sierra Leone do not provide for capital punishment.
  • The International Criminal Court does not provide for capital punishment.
  • The Guidance Note of 2008 on the UN Approach to Rule of Law Assistance (by Mr. Ban) stated that “the UN will not establish or directly participate in any tribunal that allows for capital punishment.”

Mr. Ban closed with an appeal that Member States “do our utmost to put a final end to this practice.”

May it be so.

See you along the Trail.

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June 27, 2012 · 9:46 pm

Not in my name, Governor Kasich

Ask Ohio Governor John Kasich to grant clemency to John Jeffrey Eley.

Unless Governor Kasich acts, the State of Ohio will execute Eley on July 26, 2012 for his role in the 1986 murder of Ahsan Aydah.

Ohioans to Stop Executions urges Governer Kasich to grant clemency because:

Prominent individuals connected to the case support clemency for Mr. Eley because they no longer feel his case necessitates his execution. These individuals include:

  • Gary Van Brocklin, the prosecuting attorney who tried the case.
  • The Hon. Peter Economus, one of the three judges who sentenced Mr. Eley to death.
  • Retired detective Joseph Fajack, the lead investigator on the case who secured Mr. Eley’s confession.
  • Guy Trammel, a probation officer familiar with Mr. Eley who prepared the presentencing report.

In addition to the unprecedented support of these prominent individuals, Mr. Eley is developmentally disabled (in the past, this was termed “mentally retarded”). The United States Supreme Court has disallowed the execution of anyone with such low intellectual function.

Three parole board members recommended clemency based on the following facts:

  • The prosecuting attorney supports clemency.
  • Mr. Eley suffers from a developmental disability, which the parole board affirmed, stating, “he is intellectually challenged.”
  • Mr. Eley was influenced to commit the crime by his accomplice.
  • Mr. Eley exhibits extremely low intellectual functioning.
  • Mr. Eley was offered a plea bargain.
  • Mr. Eley’s crime is not the “worst of the worst.”

The Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center of Cincinnati offers the following (slightly edited) report on Eley’s case and recent clemency hearing:

Eley was convicted for murdering 28-year-old Aydah during a robbery of a grocery store. Eley told investigators at the time that he shot Aydah after the shopkeeper reached under a counter for a gun. He said he was aiming at the victim’s shoulder and did not intend to kill him, though the gunshot entered Aydah’s head inches above the earlobe.

The Ohio Parole Board rejected a plea for clemency for Aydah by a 5 to 3 vote on June 20, 2012. Federal public defender Vicki Werneke argued Tuesday during the hearing that Eley is an intellectually disabled, easily manipulated man who followed the lead of another, Melvin Green, the real instigator of the robbery who put the black, snub-nose gun in Eley’s hand the day of the crime.

Public defenders pointed out other mitigating factors — Eley’s impoverished childhood, a history of alcohol and drug abuse and head injuries, and likely brain impairment — as reasons for a sentence commutation. And a psychologist presented as an expert in mental retardation said he believed Eley is mentally disabled and, if tried today, likely would not qualify for a death penalty.

But Assistant Mahoning County Prosecutor Ralph Rivera called Eley a career criminal with a lengthy record who “has never learned from his mistakes” and who “denies all responsibility for the crime,” despite his earlier confession.

“It was the defendant who chose to go with Melvin Green, and he chose to end Mr. Aydah’s life,” he said.

Those words contain truth. I grieve for Ashan Aydah and for all who love him. I grieve that violence cut his life short.

But executing John Jeffrey Eley will not bring Ashan Aydah back to life. It will not protect the people of Ohio any more effectively than we would be by Eley serving the rest of his life in prison.

An execution would be an act of vengeance that perpetuates violence within our culture.

So I call on Governor Kasich to grant clemency: no executions in my name.

See you along the Trail.

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June 10, 2012 · 12:33 am

Amnesty International: Execution set for man defended by law clerk

Amnesty International invites people to send appeals to the Governor of Mississippi on behalf of Michael Brawner who is scheduled to be executed on next Tuesday. Here are details on how to contact the Governor:

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 12 JUNE 2012 TO:
Governor of Mississippi
Governor Phil Bryant
PO Box 139
Jackson, MS 39205
Fax: 1 601 359 3741
Salutation: Dear Governor

And here is why Amnesty calls for this action (slightly adapted):

Michael Brawner is due to be executed in Mississippi on 12 June for a quadruple murder in 2001. His pre-trial representation was mostly conducted by a “law clerk” who had failed his state bar exam, and only became a practicing lawyer on the first day of the trial.

On 25 April 2001, 24-year-old Michael Brawner shot dead Barbara Brawner, from whom he had been divorced the  previous month, her parents, Jane and Carl Craft, and his four-year-old daughter, Candice Paige Brawner, at the Craft  home in rural northern Mississippi. He was arrested the following day at his fiancée’s apartment.

The trial judge appointed a lawyer for the indigent Michael Brawner, and appointed a “law clerk” to assist. This individual was a law school graduate who had failed his state bar exam. He managed to pass the exam in early 2002, and was admitted to the practice of law on 8 April 2002, the first day of the Brawner trial. The judge appointed him as co-counsel on the defense, and noted that he was “in court today for the first time as a lawyer”. According to Brawner’s current lawyers, it was the clerk who had handled the bulk of the pre-trial defense work. For example, he, not the lawyer,discussed with Michael Brawner the prosecution’s offer of a life-without-parole sentence in return for a guilty plea, which Brawner rejected, and advised Brawner on whether he should plead not guilty by reason of insanity (which was the plea eventually submitted). The only defense witness presented at the guilt phase was the defendant, with no expert evidence to support the insanity plea. After a three-day guilt phase, the jury deliberated for half an hour before finding Brawner guilty of four counts of capital murder.

The lead lawyer delegated the preparation of mitigating evidence to the clerk, but the latter’s time sheets indicate that he did no investigation to this end. Towards the end of the guilt phase of the trial, the lead lawyer asked the defendant (outside the jury’s presence): “Mr Brawner, do you wish me to try and get you ‘life’ or ‘life without parole’, if you are, in fact, found guilty of any of these counts by the jury? In other words, it’s what the lawyers call ‘put on a mitigation case’…”

The lawyer said that a psychologist was available to present mitigating evidence. However, she had been retained only to evaluate whether Brawner was competent to stand trial and sane at the time of the crime. In an affidavit in 2011 she said that she had never met or spoken to the lead lawyer, only to the clerk, and that the lawyer’s suggestion that she had been ready and willing to present mitigation was “simply not true”.

Michael Brawner responded that he did not want mitigation, saying, “I don’t feel that I deserve life to live”. This was surely not an informed decision if his lawyer was unaware of the range of mitigation evidence available and unable to advise him fully of his options. Evidence that could have been introduced at the sentencing included details of a childhood of severe  abuse, parental alcohol and drug abuse, and a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Please write immediately:

  • Explaining that you are not seeking to excuse these murders or to downplay the suffering caused;
  • Expressing concern that Michael Brawner was in effect represented before his trial by a law clerk, not a lawyer;
  • Noting that his jury did not hear mitigating evidence of his severe childhood abuse and mental health problems;
  • Opposing the execution of Michael Brawner and calling on the governor to grant him clemency.

SEND APPEALS BEFORE 12 JUNE 2012 TO:
Governor of Mississippi
Governor Phil Bryant
PO Box 139
Jackson, MS 39205
Fax: 1 601 359 3741
Salutation: Dear Governor
Please check with the AIUSA Urgent Action Office if sending appeals after the above date.

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