Post by HeadMarshal on May 22, 2014 12:01:31 GMT -5
In the past few years, the US Capital Punishment System (aka. death penalty) has come under increased scrutiny and interest. I wanted to do this thread to update on decisions and statements from state and federal officials, executions, stay of executions and new or exonerated death row inmates.
Even recently there a ton of news stories related to capital punishment in the US. Here are the most noteworthy ones in my opinion. Just for anyone that may be interested/
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The scheduled execution of 46-year old Missouri inmate Russell Bucklew was halted one hour before he was set to die. In 1996, Russell shot and killed a man before abducting, beating and raping an ex-girlfriend. His attorneys argued that he has a medical condition that apparently has caused tumors to grow in his nose and throat and causes bleeding from his eyes and ears. (Apparently it's not serious enough for him to have ever requested to be in a hospital due to his condition, I have my own doubts regarding this medical problem).
He was to be the most recent execution after Clayton Lockett in Oklahoma last month, which left that inmate writhing on a gurney before suffering a heart attack.
www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/05/21/justice-alito-halts-scheduled-execution-of-missouri-death-row-inmate/
The oldest death row inmate in Tennessee has died of natural causes. Sidney Porterfield was hired by Gaile Owens to kill her husband in 1984. Gaile's death sentence was commuted to life in 2010 and she was paroled a year later. Sidney was 71-years old when he died yesterday.
www.timesfreepress.com/news/2014/may/22/oldest-inmate-tn-death-row-dies/
Richard Roszkowski was sentenced to death in Connecticut for shooting and killing his ex-girlfriend, her nine-year old daughter and a man he falsely believed was romantically involved with his ex-girlfriend. Connecticut repealed the death penalty in 2012, but only for future murders, Richard committed the triple homicide in 2006.
www.nhregister.com/general-news/20140522/connecticut-inmate-sentenced-to-die-by-lethal-injection
Armond Devega was convicted in North Carolina for killing a gas-station clerk during a string of robberies in 2008, but was acquitted in another murder. The jury is to deliberate today as to whether Armond should get the death penalty or life imprisonment without parole.
www.newsobserver.com/2014/05/21/3878145/wake-county-jury-set-to-begin.html
Finally, The Delaware Supreme Court reversed the death sentence for Jermaine Wright. Jermaine was convicted for the 1991 murder of a 66-year old liquor store clerk. The court found that key evidence was kept from Jermaine's defense team during the original trial.
There was another liquor store robbery involving two different defendants a short distance from and on the same night as the murder that Jermaine was convicted in. A prison informant used during the original trial had cooperated with prosecutors before, which if mentioned during the trial, may have damaged his credibility. The justices determined that a trial witness brought forth by the prosecution, lied about his relationship with a man the defense believed was involved in the 1991 murder. The witness had been a co-defendant with the man in a separate robbery trial. Jermaine's attorney argues that his client should be released on bail and the prosecution should drop a potential re-trial due to the flaws in the case and the time his client had served.
www.delawareonline.com/story/news/local/2014/05/19/wright-death-sentence-overturned/9310003/
Even recently there a ton of news stories related to capital punishment in the US. Here are the most noteworthy ones in my opinion. Just for anyone that may be interested/
--
The scheduled execution of 46-year old Missouri inmate Russell Bucklew was halted one hour before he was set to die. In 1996, Russell shot and killed a man before abducting, beating and raping an ex-girlfriend. His attorneys argued that he has a medical condition that apparently has caused tumors to grow in his nose and throat and causes bleeding from his eyes and ears. (Apparently it's not serious enough for him to have ever requested to be in a hospital due to his condition, I have my own doubts regarding this medical problem).
He was to be the most recent execution after Clayton Lockett in Oklahoma last month, which left that inmate writhing on a gurney before suffering a heart attack.
www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/05/21/justice-alito-halts-scheduled-execution-of-missouri-death-row-inmate/
The oldest death row inmate in Tennessee has died of natural causes. Sidney Porterfield was hired by Gaile Owens to kill her husband in 1984. Gaile's death sentence was commuted to life in 2010 and she was paroled a year later. Sidney was 71-years old when he died yesterday.
www.timesfreepress.com/news/2014/may/22/oldest-inmate-tn-death-row-dies/
Richard Roszkowski was sentenced to death in Connecticut for shooting and killing his ex-girlfriend, her nine-year old daughter and a man he falsely believed was romantically involved with his ex-girlfriend. Connecticut repealed the death penalty in 2012, but only for future murders, Richard committed the triple homicide in 2006.
www.nhregister.com/general-news/20140522/connecticut-inmate-sentenced-to-die-by-lethal-injection
Armond Devega was convicted in North Carolina for killing a gas-station clerk during a string of robberies in 2008, but was acquitted in another murder. The jury is to deliberate today as to whether Armond should get the death penalty or life imprisonment without parole.
www.newsobserver.com/2014/05/21/3878145/wake-county-jury-set-to-begin.html
Finally, The Delaware Supreme Court reversed the death sentence for Jermaine Wright. Jermaine was convicted for the 1991 murder of a 66-year old liquor store clerk. The court found that key evidence was kept from Jermaine's defense team during the original trial.
There was another liquor store robbery involving two different defendants a short distance from and on the same night as the murder that Jermaine was convicted in. A prison informant used during the original trial had cooperated with prosecutors before, which if mentioned during the trial, may have damaged his credibility. The justices determined that a trial witness brought forth by the prosecution, lied about his relationship with a man the defense believed was involved in the 1991 murder. The witness had been a co-defendant with the man in a separate robbery trial. Jermaine's attorney argues that his client should be released on bail and the prosecution should drop a potential re-trial due to the flaws in the case and the time his client had served.
www.delawareonline.com/story/news/local/2014/05/19/wright-death-sentence-overturned/9310003/
