Category Archives: Death Penalty

February 16, 2012 · 10:45 pm

The People v. the State

In my musings on the death penalty, I have often used the expression: “the State of X will execute Y” at such a time. Tonight, I took a few moments to explore the People of Faith against the Death Penalty Website.

On their list of upcoming executions, they use the word “people” in place of the word “State.”

The word “State” works on some levels – the State establishes and enforces the laws. The State conducts the trial. The State maintains the prisons where those awaiting execution and held and then put to death.

But – in a democracy, laying aside for a moment the serious conversations that need to take place about the nature and reality of democracy in our country – in a democracy, the line between people and State blurs. As far as I can tell, PFDAP always uses the construction, “the people of State X.” I have pondered the words since. That plays effectively on that blurred line.

One of my prime objections to the death penalty is that when the State kills, it does so in the name of  its citizens. It does so in the name of the people it represents. It does so in my name.

Saying, as PFADP does, “Person X is scheduled to be killed by the people of State Y for and the crime is named and the person against whom the crime is committed is named,” reminds me of that reality. When the State kills, it kills in my name. It becomes tricky in the United States where individual States execute. If I live in State Y, what responsibility do I have for what happens in State Z? A good question. But we are bound together.

Much to ponder. More pondering lies ahead.

See you along the Trail.

 

 

Leave a comment

Filed under Capital Punishment, Death Penalty

Tagged as , , , , , ,

February 15, 2012 · 10:57 pm

Two executions pend in Texas

Two executions may take place in Texas before the month ends.

On February 28, 2012, Anthony Bartee may be put to death by the State of Texas. Execution Watch reports that Bartee insists that two others committed the 1996 robbery-murder of David Cook, his San Antonio neighbor. They note that “at the time of the killing, Bartee was on parole for two aggravated rape convictions.”

The Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty raises a number of concerns:

even though the Bexar County Criminal Investigation Laboratory still has not tested pieces of DNA evidence that were collected from the crime scene. Even after being ordered to test this evidence by Trial Judge Mary Román, neither the Bexar County crime lab nor the DPS lab in Austin have performed the ordered tests on all available evidence.  Bartee was convicted of the 1996 murder of his friend David Cook in San Antonio.  He has consistently maintained that although he was present at the house, he did not kill Cook.

They provide background and talking points for letters to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles and Governor Rick Perry.

The following day, February 29, 2012, the execution of George Rivas is scheduled. Again from Execution Watch:

Described by police as the mastermind of a seven-man escape in 2000 from a state prison in South Texas, Rivas was condemned after claiming sole responsibility for the shooting death of a police officer in suburban Dallas during a robbery the group pulled.

The Texas Seven as they are known, escaped in December 2000. They stole the workers’ clothes, broke into the prison armory to get guns and drove away in a prison truck. They robbed two Houston-area stores. On Christmas Eve, 2000, police officer Aubrey Hawkins responded to a call about a robbery. The group ambushed Officer Hawkins as he did his duty.

One of the group, Larry James Harper committed suicide when authorities captured the group. The state of Texas executed Michael Anthony Rodriguez in 2008. The Supreme Court stayed the execution of a second group member in January of this year.

I have not been able to find a place to do advocacy on his behalf. I assume the addresses of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles and Governor Rick Perry would work for letters. Rivas’ number appears to be #999394.

Different cases. Each raises issues about our criminal justice system. But in neither case is execution the answer. 

See you along the Trail.

Related articles

1 Comment

Filed under Capital Punishment, Death Penalty

Tagged as , , ,

February 15, 2012 · 9:47 pm

Execution in Florida

An execution took place in Florida today.

Debbie Kammerer was brutally beaten, raped and killed 32 years ago in St. Petersburg. Robert Waterhouse was convicted of the crime. He had previously been convicted of raping and strangling a 77-year-old woman in New York in 1966. I have not been able to find her name in any of the postings. He served eight years behind bars before being paroled for that conviction.

Today, the state of Florida executed Robert Waterhouse. He maintained his innocence in relation to the murder of Debbie Kammerer as recently as 1995. Through the years the courts disagreed.

Nothing can justify these crimes. I grieve for the unnamed victim and for Debbie Kammerer. I grieve for those who love them. I wonder at the system that allowed his parole.

Yet for all that, I cannot condone his execution. Violence feeds violence. There has to be another way.

See you along the Trail.

Leave a comment

Filed under Capital Punishment, Death Penalty

Tagged as , , , , ,

February 8, 2012 · 11:49 pm

A reversal

Life can change in the twinkling of an eye – or at least very quickly some times.

On Monday, an attorney representing Edward Hart Turner had persuaded a U.S. District Court to block, temporarily, Turner’s execution. The argument did not dispute Turner’s guilt. Rather it focused on a Department of Corrections policy that apparently prevented Turner from getting tests about his mental health at the time of killings.

It appeared that the Mississippi would step back and determine if Turner was mentally ill before it decided if it would take his life.

Today things changed. Quickly. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the stay. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to stay the execution. The Governor of Mississippi refused a reprieve.

And Turner received a lethal injection this evening – 8 February 2012 – as scheduled.

Nothing can defend the brutal murders of Eddie Brooks and Everett Curry.

However, nothing can justify execution by the state of someone whose mental health, and ability to understand what they are doing, is in question.

See you along the Trail.

Leave a comment

Filed under Capital Punishment, Death Penalty

Tagged as , , , , , ,

February 7, 2012 · 9:20 pm

Call for halt to stayed execution in Mississippi

Reuters reports that, on Monday,  a federal judge on Monday temporarily halted the scheduled execution of Edwin Hart Turner in Mississippi. The ruling  will allow attorneys to argue whether the state has improperly kept Turner from getting a psychiatric evaluation. The state was to execute Turner tomorrow – February 8.

The argument is not that Turner is innocent. He was convicted of killing Eddie Brooks and Everett Curry in two separate incidents in Carroll County,

The argument hinges on Turner’s mental health and whether the Mississippi Department of Corrections had improperly prevented a psychiatric evaluation of Turner. The argument goes on to say that information related to his mental health had not been presented during the trial.

His attorney argues that Turner has a “long and extensive” history of mental illness. He shot himself with a rifle when he was 18. He survived but suffered disfiguring wounds to his face.

According to the ACLU:

Courts have established that inmates who are insane – so out of touch with reality that they do not know right from wrong and cannot understand their punishment or the purpose of it – cannot be executed (Ford v. Wainwright ). The Supreme Court has also held that a mentally retarded individual cannot be executed (Atkins v. Virginia).

The court order postpones the execution until at least February 20.

If you live in Mississippi, you can contact the governor and ask him to halt Edwin Hart Turner’s execution.
The Hon. Phil Bryant
Governor of Mississippi
(601)359-3150

If, like me, you live elsewhere, you can sign a petition to Mississippi officials.

Calling for a halt to this execution in no way condones Turner’s acts. It does not diminish the deaths of Eddie Brooks and Everett Curry. It does not minimize the grief of those who love them.

It does say that the state – any state – should not kill – particularly someone who is mentally ill.

See you along the Trail.

 

Related articles

1 Comment

Filed under Capital Punishment, Death Penalty

Tagged as , , , , ,

February 4, 2012 · 11:44 pm

Execution in Texas

Again I am late.

The state of Texas executed Rodrigo Hernandez on Thursday, January 26. The state convicted him of sexually assaulting and strangling Susan Verstegen in 1994, leaving her body in a San Antonio trash can.

DNA evidence tied Hernandez to the brutal crime. Evidence also linked him to a 1991 murder in Michigan. One report says he confessed to both murders before his execution.

I grieve for Susan Verstegen – for her mother and son – for all who grieve for her.

I wonder at a judicial system that failed to identify Hernandez as a killer and remove him from circulation  in an efficient manner. But life imprisonment would serve that purpose. His execution by the state leaves me wondering why we believe that killing people demonstrates that killing is wrong.

See you along the Trail.

Related articles

Leave a comment

Filed under Capital Punishment, Death Penalty

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

February 4, 2012 · 11:28 pm

A reprieve in Texas

Again I am late.

The CBS affiliate in Dallas-Fort Worth reports that Donald Newbury received a reprieve on Wednesday, January 25. Newbury was scheduled to die in Texas on die February 1 for his part in the fatal shooting of a Dallas-area police officer. Justice Antonin Scalia granted the reprieve.

Newbury was part of a gang that “engineered the biggest prison escape in Texas history, overpowering workers at a prison in Kenedy, about 60 miles south of San Antonio, in December 2000. They stole the workers’ clothes, broke into the prison armory to get guns and drove away in a prison truck. They robbed two Houston-area stores and then, on Christmas Eve, shot an Irving police officer when he interrupted their robbery of a sporting goods store.”

One of the group – the Texas Seven – Larry James Harper committed suicide when authorities captured the group. The state of Texas executed Michael Anthony Rodriguez in 2008. Newbury, who has expressed remorse at the killing, would have been the second executed.

On Christmas Eve, 2000, police officer Aubrey Hawkins responded to a call concerning a robbery. The group ambushed Officer Hawkins as he did his duty.

I grieve for Aubrey Hawkins and pray for all who mourn his death.

But executing those who killed him will not bring him back, will serve no purpose but revenge, and will further establish the culture of violence.

See you along the Trail.

1 Comment

Filed under Capital Punishment, Death Penalty

Tagged as , , , , , , , , ,

January 18, 2012 · 10:25 pm

Stay in Ohio, commutation in Delaware

This post comes late.

In no way do I condone the crimes. The crimes appall me. But I am grateful that two executions scheduled for this week did not take place.

Stay in Ohio

The Columbus Dispatch reported on January 11:

U.S. District Judge Gregory Frost today blocked next week’s scheduled execution of convicted murderer Charles Lorraine because the state has not adhered to its own execution policies.

Lorraine, 45, was slated to be executed Jan. 18 for murdering 80-year-old, bedridden Doris Montgomery and her 77-year-old husband, Raymond, in 1986.

Ohio will appeal the decision to the United States Supreme Court.

Given the age of the Montgomerys, their efforts to reach out to Lorraine, and the brutality of their murder, I have no sympathy for him. I grieve for the Montgomerys and those who love them. But I do not believe that his execution resolves anything; I believe it would diminish us all.

Commutation in Delaware 

On January 17, News.Delaware.Gov posted the following statement from Governor Jack Martell:

Pursuant to my authority under Article VII, Section 1 of the Delaware Constitution, I have decided to commute the sentence of Robert Gattis to life in prison without the possibility of parole, subject to the conditions set forth below.

I realize my decision may cause pain to the family and friends of Shirley Slay. For that, I deeply apologize.

In reaching this conclusion, I give great weight to the decision of the Board of Pardons. In the exercise of its constitutional duties, the Board thoroughly reviewed Mr. Gattis’s application for clemency and the State’s response. The Board studied the entire historical record of this case, carefully listened to the statements made by parties on both sides, and had the opportunity to look Mr. Gattis in the eyes and question him. Having done so, the Board took the unusual and perhaps historic step of recommending, by a 4-1 margin, that Mr. Gattis’s death sentence be commuted to life without parole. I take the Board’s considered decision seriously.

Governor Markell added some conditions to the commutation:

That is why I have conditioned Mr. Gattis’s commutation on the following: (1) Mr. Gattis shall forever drop all legal challenges to his conviction and sentence, as commuted; (2) Mr. Gattis shall forever waive any right to present a future commutation or pardon request and agree to live out his natural life in the custody of the Department of Correction; (3) Mr. Gattis will be housed in the Maximum Security Unit of the James T. Vaughn Correction Center for the remainder of his natural life, unless constitutionally required medical care is necessary; and (4) Mr. Gattis, after consultation with counsel, shall knowingly, willingly and voluntarily accept these conditions, as determined by the Superior Court.

In agreeing, Gattis gives up his rights to all appeals. According to Governor Markell, this means that “Ms. Slay’s loved ones can at least know that they will never have to go through the painful process again of trials, hearings or requests for release.” I wonder if this can serve as a model in future situations?

The execution of Robert Gattis was scheduled for January 20. He stands convicted of the murder of his former girlfriend. A number of factors, including sexual, physical, and psychological abuse that Gattis endured as a child, entered into this decision. I grieve for I sent my thanks to Governor Markell. You can do the same.

Next scheduled execution

Attention now returns to Georgia which has scheduled the execution of Nicholas Tate for January 31. Tate stands convicted of the 2001 killing of Chrissie Williams and her 3-year-old daughter Katelyn.

Tate has not challenged or appealed his conviction – essentially asking the State to help him commit suicide.

I grieve for Chrissie and Katelyn and those who love them. I shudder at the brutality which can violate and kill a child.

Yet, I do not believe that the State should kill – even those who commit such heinous acts – even those who, at least apparently, go to their death willingly. And so I ask Georgia to choose life.

See you along the Trail.

Related articles

Leave a comment

Filed under Capital Punishment, Death Penalty

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , ,

January 8, 2012 · 4:14 pm

With an aching heart and a reeling mind

I grieve for Raymond and Doris Montgomery. In 1986, they were murdered in their own home in Trumball County, Ohio. Reports state that Raymond Montgomery, age 77, was stabbed five times with a butcher knife; 80-year-old Doris Montgomery, who was bedridden, was stabbed nine times.

Charles Lorraine was convicted of the murders of Raymond and Doris Montgomery and sentenced to death. The Montgomerys had paid him to do odd jobs. That adds to the horror.

Ohio will execute Lorraine on January 18 unless Governor Kasich commutes his sentence.

The vulnerability of the Raymond and Doris Montgomery makes my heart ache. Their willingness to help their killer deepens that ache. The brutality and cruelty of the crime makes my mind reel.

The pain and grief borne by the family and friends of Raymond and Doris Montgomery surpasses my imagination. My aching heart goes out to them.

There appears little evidence of doubt.

And yet, I have signed a petition asking Governor Kasich to take the step of commuting this death sentence. Executions dehumanize our society. Repaying violence with violence gets us nowhere; killing to demonstrate that killing is wrong makes no sense to me. It cuts off any possibility for reform or restoration. My opposition is to the state killing. It does not depend – it cannot depend on the person subject to execution.

I pray for Doris and Raymond Montgomery. I pray for all who love them.

I pray for Governor Kasich and all who make decisions of life and death on behalf of the state – on behalf of us all – on my behalf.

See you along the Trail.

 

1 Comment

Filed under Capital Punishment, Death Penalty

Tagged as , , , , , ,

January 8, 2012 · 2:41 pm

A discovery

I discovered a new blog today – Death Penalty News. The author states:

I oppose the death penalty in all cases unconditionally regardless of the method chosen to kill the condemned prisoner.

The blog compiles stories about the death penalty from around the world:

The blog provides action ideas – see the article about Sakineh Mohammadi for ways to speak against her possible execution. In the case of Robert Gattis, who faces a January 20 execution date, two online options are available:

Death Penalty News also identifies resources such as Quest for Justice: Defending the Damned, a book by Defense Attorney Richard Jaffe that will appear in February.

I have subscribed to Death Penalty News and look forward to learning more.

And I have taken action on behalf of Sakineh Mohammadi and Robert Gattis. I invite you to do the same.

See you along the Trail.

Related articles

Leave a comment

Filed under Capital Punishment, Death Penalty

Tagged as , , , , , , ,