Colorado: New DA McCann says Denver is done with the death penalty

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM3J5JrAJ9GWwgcIwahIpZkQTjp5ewwVML2aqTJObNSvFbOeaVf96aICx_6uJqqVBdXCSsfG5_HPCechJ4NQHUAymu0FGMnbyBxEau1Y0wKT-BCB34vqO0TVnvCHXo2xcuwT2Lz1TBeJU/s1600/Beth+McCann+Denver+DA+Colorado.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="DA Beth McCann" border="0" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM3J5JrAJ9GWwgcIwahIpZkQTjp5ewwVML2aqTJObNSvFbOeaVf96aICx_6uJqqVBdXCSsfG5_HPCechJ4NQHUAymu0FGMnbyBxEau1Y0wKT-BCB34vqO0TVnvCHXo2xcuwT2Lz1TBeJU/s400/Beth+McCann+Denver+DA+Colorado.jpg" title="DA Beth McCann" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">DA Beth McCann, Denver, Colorado</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">Denver is done with the death penalty. It dies as District Attorney Mitch Morrissey leaves office on Tuesday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">His successor, Democrat Beth McCann, sat down with Next, and said she'll make good on her campaign promise to remove Denver from the list of the few remaining judicial districts in the state to seek capital punishment.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"We are (done) under my administration," she said. "I don't think that the state should be in the business of killing people."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">McCann believes life in prison gets the point of a punishment across, and "the millions and millions of dollars" the state spends on capital punishment cases can be saved to prosecute others.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Morrisey sought the death penalty once. It was for Dexter Lewis, who was found guilty of stabbing five people to death in a Fero's Bar.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Lee_Davis" target="_blank">Gary Davis</a> is the only person put to death in Colorado since the Supreme Court reinstated it in 1976. Davis was put to death in 1997.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">McCann is not looking to lead a statewide repeal of the death penalty, and she says she'd support a voter referendum on the issue, or repeal in the legislature.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Tuesday, 9NEWS will talk to McCann about how she plans to handle prosecution of police officers accused of breaking the law, and how her work as a gun control advocate will impact how she prosecutes gun crimes in Denver. </div><br />Source: <a href="http://www.9news.com/news/local/next/new-da-mccann-says-denver-is-done-with-the-death-penalty/384633301" target="_blank">9NEWS</a>, Kyle Clark, Jan 9, 2017<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">⚑ | Report an error, an omission; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: <a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com">deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a>.</div><br /><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; border: 0px solid rgb(255, 204, 0); color: black; text-align: center; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr> <td><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/WebDPN/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL4sspwgGptzvuHVklum5TwxKppRN-lIC5TN8RLZFq_B4ZOtBrX1ssXPNKQ6XpSyQFRJRtVQN45HMkpt3VX0JtOW0TovwxZAurG-AV6gh98IAXo7Ip6QlpkZr9WrM3_m943Mwy-gGxBAY/s1600/Find+us+Facebook.jpg" /></a></div></td> <td><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiULIPEaT_P6oIauxAZd17XRRxljesDLS7iIjdQXT7Xct99uHeohx4IYmiAB6S044gTjMDGSy50sL2vDzOyPZ-3vJj9zwcYQ2rgzJh9v1-QDiunKAQtLLLqJ83s38qN3HABxGIC8GsIOD0/s1600/Find+us+twitter.jpg" /></a><span id="goog_1427852018"></span><span id="goog_1427852019"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a></div></td> </tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><b>Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! <a href="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=JBVXEBZLP3WKW" target="_blank">DONATE!</a></b></div><form action="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post" target="_blank"><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://www.paypalobjects.com/fr_FR/i/scr/pixel.gif" width="1" /></div></form><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div>

Colorado: New DA McCann says Denver is done with the death penalty

DA Beth McCann, Denver, Colorado Denver is done with the death penalty. It dies as District Attorney Mitch Morrissey leaves office on Tuesda...

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Nevada Lawmakers Want To End Death Penalty

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGBPajVJCcTSDayB5hfyxgi8Jd1A_Vp00lSyvQUVxRPT9I3go4DUDLZHBVkKD1qaxxwCpM6hvmr1a3eI5B4qiYLMRKQqu0wBrGLxns3DlW9lH-f3uZgd2RU9CPx5KQPwIUFS9cGhaJu9k/s1600/dollars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGBPajVJCcTSDayB5hfyxgi8Jd1A_Vp00lSyvQUVxRPT9I3go4DUDLZHBVkKD1qaxxwCpM6hvmr1a3eI5B4qiYLMRKQqu0wBrGLxns3DlW9lH-f3uZgd2RU9CPx5KQPwIUFS9cGhaJu9k/s400/dollars.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It's a hot button issue and it's going to come up during the 2017 Legislature.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">81 men sit on death row in Nevada, and a new chamber was just built at Ely State Prison. But the last execution took place more than a decade ago.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">State Senator Tick Segerblom wants to end the practice all together. He, with Assemblyman James Ohrenschall, is proposing a bill that would make the state's maximum punishment life in prison without parole.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"I don't think a society has the right to decide who is going to live or die," Segerblom said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Besides the moral argument against the death penalty, Segerblom said money is also a factor. He said the state spends millions of dollars on death penalty cases, but no one is executed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"It's really just a feel good issue for people to say 'We're going to kill someone because they did something bad,' but at the end of the day, we never do kill the person and we spend millions of dollars trying to get to the point where we could kill them but it never happens."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Besides the state and federal appeals that take up both time and money, the drugs to execute people are not available. Segerblom said the state spends millions of dollars to get prisons to the point where they can be executed but it is never going to happen.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Tod Story with the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada agreed that the money spent on death penalty cases is far more than putting a prisoner away for life.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, a state audit of the cost of death row versus life in prison showed it costs sometimes double for someone to be sentenced to death than to be sentenced to life in prison without parole.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Story said the argument against the death penalty goes beyond just the cost. He believes it is fundamentally about the society we want to be.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"I think the fundamental question comes down to whether we as a government, we as a people, we as a society, can take away someone's life," he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Supporters of the death penalty have said that it is a deterrent, arguing that people won't do something if they know they could face the death penalty for it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For instance, Illinois is 1 of 18 states that has repealed its death penalty and the murder rate in Chicago has skyrocketed lately.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Both Story and Segerblom dismiss the argument that having a death penalty does anything to stop crime.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"There is no correlation between whether you have the death penalty, you don't have the death penalty as far as violent crime," Segerblom.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"We still have the death penalty here in Nevada and we had if not the highest, but one of the highest, murder rates here in Las Vegas last year," Story said, "We know that it is not a deterrent."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Segerblom is purposing the legislation when the Legislature meets in February, but he is not entirely sure it will pass or that the governor will sign it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"I had a bill a couple of sessions ago just to ask to study the death penalty and the governor vetoed it," he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Story remains optimistic that Gov. Sandoval will sign it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"I think anything is possible," he said, "I think the governor has indicated his willingness to entertain the idea."</div><br />Source: knpr.org, January 6, 2017<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">⚑ | Report an error, an omission; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: <a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com">deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a>.</div><br /><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; border: 0px solid rgb(255, 204, 0); color: black; text-align: center; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr> <td><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/WebDPN/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL4sspwgGptzvuHVklum5TwxKppRN-lIC5TN8RLZFq_B4ZOtBrX1ssXPNKQ6XpSyQFRJRtVQN45HMkpt3VX0JtOW0TovwxZAurG-AV6gh98IAXo7Ip6QlpkZr9WrM3_m943Mwy-gGxBAY/s1600/Find+us+Facebook.jpg" /></a></div></td> <td><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiULIPEaT_P6oIauxAZd17XRRxljesDLS7iIjdQXT7Xct99uHeohx4IYmiAB6S044gTjMDGSy50sL2vDzOyPZ-3vJj9zwcYQ2rgzJh9v1-QDiunKAQtLLLqJ83s38qN3HABxGIC8GsIOD0/s1600/Find+us+twitter.jpg" /></a><span id="goog_1427852018"></span><span id="goog_1427852019"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a></div></td> </tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><b>Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! <a href="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=JBVXEBZLP3WKW" target="_blank">DONATE!</a></b></div><form action="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post" target="_blank"><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://www.paypalobjects.com/fr_FR/i/scr/pixel.gif" width="1" /></div></form><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div>

Nevada Lawmakers Want To End Death Penalty

It's a hot button issue and it's going to come up during the 2017 Legislature. 81 men sit on death row in Nevada, and a new chamber ...

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Abolition of the death penalty in Montana

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFBx83ETv0V3LBOmIuz86823h6AX-xLxwjtAFjjh8wV-Vf_CReuBIIhYjZec76YGNm7i1IWxd52gyFtKCYmbfiRlB6rwMOOxsFFohr4_1QJ6CM-tCgB-hOaArEi1HU9WUwDYXFnh0hsEY/s1600/welcome+to+Montana.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Welcome to Montana" border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFBx83ETv0V3LBOmIuz86823h6AX-xLxwjtAFjjh8wV-Vf_CReuBIIhYjZec76YGNm7i1IWxd52gyFtKCYmbfiRlB6rwMOOxsFFohr4_1QJ6CM-tCgB-hOaArEi1HU9WUwDYXFnh0hsEY/s400/welcome+to+Montana.jpg" title="Welcome to Montana" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now is the time for a significant act of righteousness – the time to put the admonition “thou shalt not kill” into action.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We must act soon to permanently abolish the death penalty in Montana.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Relevant bills to do so will be introduced when the Montana Legislature convenes in January 2017. Our great state would be further distinguished by abolition of this archaic practice. The death penalty is not a large numerical issue in Montana, since, thank God, we have few on “death row.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is, however, big to the few and to our moral/ethical conscience. The death penalty is on legal “hold” in Montana, as uncertainty about drugs for lethal injection has become and continues to be an issue.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The moral/ethical position against capital punishment: Abolish the death penalty because it is the right thing to do.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">• “Thou shalt not kill.” We need to put this into action related to violence worldwide. In few instances do we have the power to control killing, but abolition of capital punishment is one such instance.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">• Mistakes are made in some cases. Infrequently, persons, who are later shown to be innocent, have been on death row awaiting execution. Some have, no doubt, been executed and later been proven innocent.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">• Family and loved ones of victims often favor life imprisonment over death and find solace in mercy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">• The death penalty has not been a deterrent to crime, nor is there evidence that its abolition promotes or facilitates crime.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">• Is the person convicted and sentenced the same person who awaits execution, often many years after sentencing? Or has that person changed? It’s a privilege given humankind to be able to change.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">• Spare the executioner the experience of executing. Imagine such a job.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Another position: Abolish the death penalty because it’s the responsible thing to do.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It costs society more to carry out a death penalty sentence than to maintain a life sentence, in terms of monetary costs of appeals, etc. Anti-death penalty legislation proposes life in prison without possibility of parole. It would cost less.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lethal injection is not the merciful means of killing envisioned. About 7 percent of such executions are “botched.” The availability of drugs used to kill has been an issue for some time, and recently the pharmaceutical company Pfizer refused to provide its drugs for lethal injection. This makes a statement.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Not unexpectedly, there are pros and cons about these points, but we have chosen the position that suits our individual moral consciences. See <a href="http://deathpenalty.procon.org/" target="_blank">deathpenalty.procon.org</a> for a ten-point argument.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Whatever your personal reasons, please support efforts to abolish capital punishment in Montana by writing to representatives of your district, simply stating your support for bills abolishing capital punishment.</div><br />Source: <a href="http://ravallirepublic.com/news/opinion/viewpoint/article_224d054c-d3c4-11e6-9670-3704ae1d69bd.html" target="_blank">Ravalli Republic</a>, Guest Column, Mary Darby and Blaise Favara, January 6, 2017<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">⚑ | Report an error, an omission; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: <a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com">deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a>.</div><br /><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; border: 0px solid rgb(255, 204, 0); color: black; text-align: center; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr> <td><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/WebDPN/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL4sspwgGptzvuHVklum5TwxKppRN-lIC5TN8RLZFq_B4ZOtBrX1ssXPNKQ6XpSyQFRJRtVQN45HMkpt3VX0JtOW0TovwxZAurG-AV6gh98IAXo7Ip6QlpkZr9WrM3_m943Mwy-gGxBAY/s1600/Find+us+Facebook.jpg" /></a></div></td> <td><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiULIPEaT_P6oIauxAZd17XRRxljesDLS7iIjdQXT7Xct99uHeohx4IYmiAB6S044gTjMDGSy50sL2vDzOyPZ-3vJj9zwcYQ2rgzJh9v1-QDiunKAQtLLLqJ83s38qN3HABxGIC8GsIOD0/s1600/Find+us+twitter.jpg" /></a><span id="goog_1427852018"></span><span id="goog_1427852019"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a></div></td> </tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><b>Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! <a href="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=JBVXEBZLP3WKW" target="_blank">DONATE!</a></b></div><form action="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post" target="_blank"><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://www.paypalobjects.com/fr_FR/i/scr/pixel.gif" width="1" /></div></form><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div>

Abolition of the death penalty in Montana

Now is the time for a significant act of righteousness – the time to put the admonition “thou shalt not kill” into action. We must act soon ...

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Ohio: Judge's rejection of jury's execution recommendation is rare

<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrBLE8pSqkcJ3TzWhwDlsB12AJxwFwD8i7qH0AeekA3TW3MRSH6_9t7xJT-bBwrdRzHw7qI8NHh-cvmvlmsm3jaLaBYxGewNhKItyqKVHwhZ9sBm6wZ87Y53yMYGBNXG7HyZT9yYhs8vE/s1600/Death+Penalty+News+deathpenaltynews.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrBLE8pSqkcJ3TzWhwDlsB12AJxwFwD8i7qH0AeekA3TW3MRSH6_9t7xJT-bBwrdRzHw7qI8NHh-cvmvlmsm3jaLaBYxGewNhKItyqKVHwhZ9sBm6wZ87Y53yMYGBNXG7HyZT9yYhs8vE/s400/Death+Penalty+News+deathpenaltynews.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b>A recent decision by a Cleveland judge to overrule a jury's death sentence recommendation for a triple killer highlights how rare such judicial decisions are.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Research by The Associated Press found just eight additional examples of judicial overrides since Ohio's current death penalty law took effect in 1981. That's compared with more than 320 death sentences handed down during the same time period.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Overriding death sentences can be politically risky for judges, who are elected in Ohio and many other states, said Doug Berman, an Ohio State University law professor and sentencing expert.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Many cases with strong evidence against capital punishment for a defendant are resolved with plea bargains before ever reaching a jury, he added. Those cases typically involve pretrial research turning up strong mitigating evidence - a horrific childhood or mental disabilities, for example - that outweigh what are called aggravating circumstances, such as the brutality of the crime.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"It's relatively rare a case will get to a jury verdict if it looks like there's a pretty significant possibility that the mitigators will outweigh the aggravators," Berman said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cuyahoga County Judge Joan Synenberg cited defendant Douglas Shine Jr.'s prolonged physical and psychological abuse as a child, mental health problems and years of incarceration in sentencing him to life in prison with no chance for parole on Dec. 19 instead of accepting a jury's recommendation for the death penalty.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Testimony during the trial's death penalty phase showed that Shine's early childhood was chaotic and "characterized by persistent neglect and physical and psychological abuse," Synenberg said. She noted that Shine lived in youth detention facilities from age 10 to 16 followed by two years in an adult prison.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Prosecutors said Shine walked into a Warrensville Heights barber shop in February 2015, pulled two guns from beneath his coat and opened fire, killing 3 people and wounding 2 men and a woman.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Unfortunately, the court gave more weight to the self-serving, unsubstantiated statements of an unrepentant, malingering mass murderer than to the overwhelming evidence that he was fully capable of planning and carrying out this diabolical attack on a crowded barbershop filled with men, women and children," Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Tim McGinty said following Synenberg's ruling.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Highlights of the 8 other cases in Ohio in which judges have thrown out a jury's death sentence since the state enacted a new capital punishment law in 1981:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">1983 -- A jury's death sentence for Drewey Kiser, of Williamsport, convicted of fatally shooting Don Writsel during a robbery, was overridden by Judge Nicholas Holmes Jr. of Ross County Common Pleas Court. Holmes cited Kiser's age, 23; the defendant's lack of a significant criminal history; mental illness; and alcoholism. Holmes also pointed out that a death sentence would not have been proportional to the 3 other death sentences in Ohio at the time.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">1987 -- A jury's death sentence for Alonzo Wright, of Cleveland, convicted of fatally shooting Grover Lang during a robbery, was overridden by Judge Frank J. Gorman of Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. Gorman cited the victim's decision to rush Wright, which apparently led to the shooting, instead of obeying Wright's request for money.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">1988 -- A jury's death sentence for John Parsons, of Worthington, convicted of shooting a man as he fled from his burning home, was overridden by Judge Dale Crawford of Franklin County Common Pleas Court. Crawford cited Parsons' background and lack of a prior criminal record and said a death sentence would not be equivalent to 5 other death sentences imposed in Franklin County up to that time.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">1989 -- A jury's death sentence for Eddie Robertson, of Dayton, convicted of fatally shooting Stephanie Hiatt in a 1988 robbery, was overridden by Judge William MacMillan Jr. of Montgomery County Common Pleas Court. MacMillan cited Robertson's lack of a significant criminal history, his relative youth (30), his pursuit of education beyond high school and the lack of an advance plan to kill anyone. MacMillan said it appeared Robertson shot Hiatt on the spur of the moment, fearing she recognized him.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">1999 -- A jury's death sentence for Gregory Crawford, of Valley City, convicted of beating Gene Palmer to death during a robbery, was overridden by Judge Mark Wiest of Wayne County Common Pleas Court. Wiest cited Palmer's age (37), his good behavior in jail, Crawford's strong relationship with his family, his work completing his high school degree and his religious conversion.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">2000 -- A jury's death sentence for Christopher Fuller, of Hamilton, convicted of killing his 2-year-old daughter after trying to rape her, was overridden by Judge Matthew Crehan of Butler County Common Pleas Court. Crehan cited Fuller's job supporting his family, his military service, his lack of a prior criminal record and the remorse he showed over the girl's death.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">2002 -- A jury's death sentence for Brian Siler of Nankin in Ashland County, convicted of shooting his estranged wife, Barbara Siler, was overridden by Judge Jeffrey Runyan of Ashland County Common Pleas Court. Runyan cited a number of factors in Siler's defense, including the absence of a criminal background and active participation in church and the community. Runyan also questioned the burglary charge against Brian Siler - an added count that made the crime a capital case - pointing out that he'd broken into his own home. Runyan then questioned whether the death sentence was an attempt by the community to avoid responsibility for failing to do more to prevent Barbara Siler's death.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">2010 - A jury's death sentence for Charles Cunningham in Clark County, convicted of aggravated murder in the fatal shooting of an ex-girlfriend, Jessica Serna (the mother of two of Cunningham's children), was overridden by Judge Richard O'Neill. Cunningham was also convicted of killing Serna's friend, Heidi Shook, but not sentenced to death for her slaying. O'Neill said there was "a fine line" between the evidence that Cunningham killed Serna "with prior calculation and design," an element necessary for a death sentence, and whether he shot her "on the spur of the moment" out of frustration with his unsuccessful attempts to re-establish a relationship.</div><br />Source: Associated Press, January 2, 2017<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">⚑ | Report an error, an omission; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: <a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com">deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a>.</div><br /><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; border: 0px solid rgb(255, 204, 0); color: black; text-align: center; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr> <td><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/WebDPN/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL4sspwgGptzvuHVklum5TwxKppRN-lIC5TN8RLZFq_B4ZOtBrX1ssXPNKQ6XpSyQFRJRtVQN45HMkpt3VX0JtOW0TovwxZAurG-AV6gh98IAXo7Ip6QlpkZr9WrM3_m943Mwy-gGxBAY/s1600/Find+us+Facebook.jpg" /></a></div></td> <td><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiULIPEaT_P6oIauxAZd17XRRxljesDLS7iIjdQXT7Xct99uHeohx4IYmiAB6S044gTjMDGSy50sL2vDzOyPZ-3vJj9zwcYQ2rgzJh9v1-QDiunKAQtLLLqJ83s38qN3HABxGIC8GsIOD0/s1600/Find+us+twitter.jpg" /></a><span id="goog_1427852018"></span><span id="goog_1427852019"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a></div></td> </tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><b>Opposed to Capital Punishment? 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Ohio: Judge's rejection of jury's execution recommendation is rare

A recent decision by a Cleveland judge to overrule a jury's death sentence recommendation for a triple killer highlights how rare such j...

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Georgia led nation in number of executions in 2016

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja2ex-PCybelludYMrhFOi5V9UENpNBJb6VR0v7tzLIQjQNmIgOerT087uAVIytsShs_agSzN3GQ8AHKU0FS2srsN6wXAwycE_dV2fTWd3u6WyXPqB7YvkJJEx7irAMwiWuEw-AXab0FY/s1600/Georgia+death+chamber.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Georgia's death chamber" border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja2ex-PCybelludYMrhFOi5V9UENpNBJb6VR0v7tzLIQjQNmIgOerT087uAVIytsShs_agSzN3GQ8AHKU0FS2srsN6wXAwycE_dV2fTWd3u6WyXPqB7YvkJJEx7irAMwiWuEw-AXab0FY/s400/Georgia+death+chamber.jpg" title="Georgia's death chamber" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Georgia's death chamber</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">Georgia led the nation in the number of executions carried out in 2016 by putting 9 men to death.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But as the number of executions has been high in Georgia in the past 2 years, the number of people on death row has shrunk and no new death sentences were imposed last year.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The last person sentenced to death in Georgia was Augusta resident Adrian Hargrove, 39, in March 2014. 6 years earlier, Hargrove stabbed to death pregnant teen Allyson Pederson and her mother and stepfather, Sharon and Andrew Hartley.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fewer prosecutors seek death sentences now, District Attorney Ashley Wright said. When she filed notice of her intention to seek a death sentence if Steven Murray is convicted of murder for the slaying of a 71-year-old priest this year, it was only the 2nd death penalty notice filed in Georgia in 2016, Wright said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">2 changes in the law account for some of the decline - since 1993, jurors in death penalty cases have the option of imposing a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, and since 2010, prosecutors could seek a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole without first seeking a death sentence.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A look at the sentencing dates for the 58 men on Georgia's death row currently shows the effects. 27 of the inmates were sentenced to death in the 1990s and 18 were sentenced in the 2000s. But only 5 death row inmates were sentenced since 2010.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">When a prosecutor seeks to prosecute a homicide as a death penalty case, time slows to a crawl. It is not uncommon for cases to take several years to make it to trial, and if there is a conviction and death sentence, decades can pass before appeals are completed. And over the years, more death row inmates have had their sentences vacated and re-sentenced to life in prison than executed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Of the men executed in 2016, the years spent on death row ran from nine years by Steven Spears, who waived his appeals, to 36 years for Brandon Jones, who was 72 years old when executed Feb. 3.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">While few people have received death sentences in the past decade, the majority of Georgia's death row inmates are in the final stage of their appeal process, the federal habeas corpus. 30 of the 58 inmates are in the final rounds, although the final round can take years to litigate. Virgil Presnell has been on death row since 1976 for the rape and murder of a Cobb County child.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Another inmate with a pending federal habeas corpus petition is Reinaldo Rivera, a self-confessed serial killer sentenced to death in Richmond County Superior Court in 2004. His case is before U.S. District Judge J. Randal Hall.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A 3rd death row inmate from Augusta, Robert Arrington, was denied relief in his state habeas petition in December. He can appeal through the federal habeas corpus next. Arrington was sentenced to death in 2004 for the slaying of 46-year-old Kathy Hutchens in 2001. Arrington had previously served time in prison for killing his wife.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: The Augusta Chronicle, December 31, 2016</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">⚑ | Report an error, an omission; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: <a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com">deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a>.</div><br /><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; border: 0px solid rgb(255, 204, 0); color: black; text-align: center; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr> <td><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/WebDPN/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL4sspwgGptzvuHVklum5TwxKppRN-lIC5TN8RLZFq_B4ZOtBrX1ssXPNKQ6XpSyQFRJRtVQN45HMkpt3VX0JtOW0TovwxZAurG-AV6gh98IAXo7Ip6QlpkZr9WrM3_m943Mwy-gGxBAY/s1600/Find+us+Facebook.jpg" /></a></div></td> <td><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiULIPEaT_P6oIauxAZd17XRRxljesDLS7iIjdQXT7Xct99uHeohx4IYmiAB6S044gTjMDGSy50sL2vDzOyPZ-3vJj9zwcYQ2rgzJh9v1-QDiunKAQtLLLqJ83s38qN3HABxGIC8GsIOD0/s1600/Find+us+twitter.jpg" /></a><span id="goog_1427852018"></span><span id="goog_1427852019"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a></div></td> </tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><b>Opposed to Capital Punishment? 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Georgia led nation in number of executions in 2016

Georgia's death chamber Georgia led the nation in the number of executions carried out in 2016 by putting 9 men to death. But as the num...

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As death penalty fades in North Carolina, it’s time to end it

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsSoUadKurrfTqvNfANeh1tYx5VJ9NSSA-KYFMcw8IE7I-v5a-NFqQy9aI-j3iwvHjViSd3Wgh3tGhlWNVJPnAoRKX3gcSgvxFDDHa1tqVwxjxgENDW1EU9djEABDhU0uxFzYBdOELtUs/s1600/North+Carolina+Death+Chamber.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="North Carolina's death chamber" border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsSoUadKurrfTqvNfANeh1tYx5VJ9NSSA-KYFMcw8IE7I-v5a-NFqQy9aI-j3iwvHjViSd3Wgh3tGhlWNVJPnAoRKX3gcSgvxFDDHa1tqVwxjxgENDW1EU9djEABDhU0uxFzYBdOELtUs/s400/North+Carolina+Death+Chamber.jpg" title="North Carolina's death chamber" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">North Carolina's death chamber</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">The Center for Death Penalty Litigation is staffed and supported by righteous people but in an end-of-year piece this week it needed no emotion to make the case against the death penalty in North Carolina. And, though it would be quite enough to end the penalty based on wrongful convictions that might have turned into death sentences, there are other, sensible reasons that ought to appeal to people across party lines and philosophical lines as well.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The center notes that the death penalty is fading from favor both across the nation and in North Carolina, which used to issue a lot of death sentences. In this year, North Carolina marked 10 years without an execution, and only five people had been tried for capital crimes statewide. Nationally, death sentences were “at their lowest point in the modern era of the death penalty,” the center wrote, with just 20 executions in the United States. The respected Pew Research Center put out a poll this fall showing that a majority of Americans are opposed to the death penalty.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gretchen Engel, executive director of the center, brought the issue close to home: “Look at Wake County, which used to send people to death row almost every year, but hasn’t had a new death sentence in almost a decade. This year, in the sixth case in a row, a Wake County jury chose a sentence of life without parole over the death penalty. Society’s beliefs have shifted, and in the overwhelming majority of cases, people no longer think it’s appropriate.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Just 20 years ago, 20 to 30 people a year were sent to death row across North Carolina, but in the past five years, the average is fewer than two people a year.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Even so, the state has the sixth largest death row in the country with 150 inmates awaiting execution, but the vast majority of those — 75 percent — were given the penalty at least 15 years ago.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The expense of maintaining death row is in hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, and the expense to the public of pursuing the death penalty has of course been in the millions over decades. And the inmates on death row grow older, creating what Engel calls “a costly warehouse for the elderly.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is simply not worth the risk — of executing the wrong person — and certainly not the expense to maintain the death penalty in this state. This drains the taxpayers’ purse and patience and emotions. Certainly all can feel sympathy for the families of murder victims, who understandably want revenge for often-horrendous crimes against their loved ones. But the state has to understand it is in the business of justice, not revenge. And taking away a murderer’s life for all time by incarcerating him or her is justice.</div><br />Source: <a href="http://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/editorials/article122844834.html" target="_blank">newsobserver.com</a>, Opinion, Editorials, December 26, 2016<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">⚑ | Report an error, an omission; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: <a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com">deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a>.</div><br /><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; border: 0px solid rgb(255, 204, 0); color: black; text-align: center; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr> <td><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/WebDPN/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL4sspwgGptzvuHVklum5TwxKppRN-lIC5TN8RLZFq_B4ZOtBrX1ssXPNKQ6XpSyQFRJRtVQN45HMkpt3VX0JtOW0TovwxZAurG-AV6gh98IAXo7Ip6QlpkZr9WrM3_m943Mwy-gGxBAY/s1600/Find+us+Facebook.jpg" /></a></div></td> <td><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiULIPEaT_P6oIauxAZd17XRRxljesDLS7iIjdQXT7Xct99uHeohx4IYmiAB6S044gTjMDGSy50sL2vDzOyPZ-3vJj9zwcYQ2rgzJh9v1-QDiunKAQtLLLqJ83s38qN3HABxGIC8GsIOD0/s1600/Find+us+twitter.jpg" /></a><span id="goog_1427852018"></span><span id="goog_1427852019"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a></div></td> </tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><b>Opposed to Capital Punishment? 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As death penalty fades in North Carolina, it’s time to end it

North Carolina's death chamber The Center for Death Penalty Litigation is staffed and supported by righteous people but in an end-of-yea...

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