Month: May 2012

IDAHO – Richard Leavitt – Execution – June 12 2012 10:00 a.m EXECUTED

Richard Leavitt, 53, was pronounced dead at 10:25 a.m. at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution.

He offered no final statement, and the only time he spoke was to decline to have his head covered. 

Richard Leavitt

-Information taken from Idaho Attorney General’s Office

July 16, 1984: Danette Elg reported a prowling incident to the Blackfoot Police and identified Richard Leavitt as the prowler. Elg was acquainted with Leavitt, having met him through a mutual friend.

On or about July 17, 1984: Elg was murdered in her home. She had been attacked with a knife and sustained 15 separate stab and slash wounds. In addition, she had been sexually mutilated. Following her death, but before her body was discovered, Leavitt contacted the police and friends of Elg and expressed curiosity about her absence. Leavitt claimed that Elg’s co-workers and employer called him after she did not appear for work. These calls could not be confirmed.

July 21, 1984: After obtaining permission from Elg’s parents, Leavitt and Blackfoot police entered her home and discovered her body in a waterbed, which had also been slashed during the murder.

Sept. 25, 1985: A Bingham County jury found Leavitt guilty of first-degree murder and use of a deadly weapon. He was sentenced to death by 7th District Judge H. Reynold George on Dec. 19, 1985.

April 23, 1986: George held an evidentiary hearing.

May 1, 1986: George denied Leavitt’s petition for post-conviction relief.

May 30, 1989: The Idaho Supreme Court affirmed Leavitt’s conviction, but sent the case back to district court for resentencing. The Idaho Supreme Court reversed the sentence, because the trial court failed to “detail any adequate consideration of the ‘mitigating factors’ considered, and whether or not the ‘mitigating circumstances’ outweigh the gravity of any ‘aggravating circumstance’ so as to make unjust the imposition of the death penalty.” The state appealed to the United States Supreme Court, but the court declined to hear the state’s appeal.

Dec. 21, 1989: George held a sentencing hearing.

Jan. 25, 1990: George sentenced Leavitt to death.

Nov. 27, 1991: The Idaho Supreme Court affirmed the death sentence. Leavitt appealed to the United States Supreme Court, but the court declined to hear his appeal.

April 29, 1993: Leavitt filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in United States District Court for the District of Idaho.

Feb. 20, 1996: Leavitt filed an amended petition.

Sept. 6, 2000: U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill denied Leavitt’s claims and dismissed his habeas petition. Leavitt filed a motion asking the court to reconsider.

Dec. 14, 2000: Winmill granted habeas relief relating to jury instructions, and ordered the state to initiate new trial proceedings within 60 days or release Leavitt. The state and Leavitt, on different grounds, appealed Judge Winmill’s decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

June 14, 2004: The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed Winmill’s decision granting habeas relief and ordering a new trial and affirmed his decision denying all other trial claims. However, the 9th Circuit sent the case back to Judge Winmill for consideration of Leavitt’s claim of ineffective assistance of counsel during his resentencing.

Leavitt twice petitioned the 9th Circuit for reconsideration. Both petitions were denied.

2005: Leavitt then appealed to the United States Supreme Court, which declined to hear his appeal from the 9th Circuit decision.

Sept. 28, 2007: Winmill granted habeas relief relating to ineffective assistance of counsel. The state appealed to the 9th Circuit.

May 7, 2011: The 9th Circuit reversed Winmill’s decision, concluding that Leavitt was not entitled to habeas sentencing relief.

Sept. 13, 2011: The 9th Circuit denied Leavitt’s petition for rehearing.

Feb. 10, 2012: Leavitt filed an appeal to the United States Supreme Court.

May 14, 2012: U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Leavitt’s case.

May 17, 2012: 7th District Judge Jon Shindurling signs death warrant for Leavitt, who will likely be executed by lethal injection June 12, 2012.

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No. 11-8844

Richard A. Leavitt v. Arvon J. Arave, Warden

from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

See other cases from the Ninth Circuit.

Docket Entries

on May 14, 2012

Petition DENIED. (orders list)

on April 26, 2012

Reply of petitioner Richard A. Leavitt filed. (Distributed)

on April 11, 2012

Brief of respondent Arvon J. Arave, Warden in opposition filed.

on March 20, 2012

Order extending time to file response to petition to and including April 16, 2012.

on February 10, 2012

Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due March 16, 2012)

on December 1, 2011

Application (11A529) granted by Justice Kennedy extending the time to file until February 10, 2012.

on November 18, 2011

Application (11A529) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from December 12, 2011 to February 10, 2012, submitted to Justice Kennedy.

Parties

Richard A. Leavitt, Petitioner, represented byDavid Z. Nevin

Arvon J. Arave, Warden, Respondent, represented by L. LaMont Anderson

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 May 25, 2012 Source : http://www.kboi2.com

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The attorney representing a death row inmate scheduled to die in two weeks says he has passed a polygraph test that proves he’s innocent.

Richard Albert Leavitt was convicted of the 1984 stabbing murder of Blackfoot resident Danette Elg. Proseuctors said he stabbed her repeatedly and then cut out her sexual organs. He is scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection on June 12.

But Leavitt has long maintained his innocence in the case, and now his attorney, David Nevin, is asking the federal court to accept a polygraph test as proof of that claim. Polygraph tests are typically not admissible as evidence in court.

full article : click here 

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May 18, 2012 source : http://www.boiseweekly.com

Inmate 23081 has been moved to F Block of the Idaho State Correctional Institute in preparation for his scheduled execution, set for Tuesday, June 12.

Brent Reinke, director of Idaho’s Department of Correction, told Citydesk that inmate Richard Leavitt had a sense that his pending execution was coming.

“Absolutely. He was ready to be moved,” said Reinke. “For an individual at his stage in the legal process, he was resolved and knew what to expect. The warden did a very good job of communicating with him.”

Reinke said that prison officials also made some recommendations regarding other inmates on death row. Leavitt is one of 14 inmates on death row: 13 men and one woman.

“During last November’s execution process [leading up to the death of inmate Paul Ezra Rhoades], we tried very diligently to reach out to that population,” said Reinke. “The warden told me, ‘Look, you’ve gone a bit too far. Just back off a bit. It’s going to be OK. If they need help, they’re going to ask you for it.'”

Reinke confirmed that IDOC has opted to use a one-drug injection method for the execution, which is slated for 10 a.m., June 12. Two syringes, each containing 2.5 grams of pentobarbital, will be used, instead of the three-drug method that was used during the Rhoades execution in November.

Leavitt was convicted of the stabbing death of Danette Elg in her Blackfoot home in July 1985. She had been stabbed 15 times and sexually mutilated. Leavitt was convicted in September 1985, but spent the rest of his days appealing his conviction and sentence. His most-recent appeal, to the U.S. Supreme Court, was turned down this week. On Monday, the high court declined to hear his case.

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Cameron Todd Willingham Exoneration Was Written But Never Filed By Texas Judge

May 19, 2012 Source : http://www.huffingtonpost.com

Cameron Todd Wilingham

A Texas judge who reviewed the controversial 2004 execution of Cameron Todd Willingham planned to posthumously exonerate the father who was put to death for killing his three daughters in a house fire.

Scientific experts who debunked the arson evidence used against Willingham at his 1992 trial and a jailhouse witness who recanted his shaky testimony convinced District Court Judge Charlie Baird in 2010 that “Texas wrongfully convicted” him. But Baird’s order clearing Willingham’s name never became official, because a higher court halted the posthumous inquiry while it considered whether the judge had authority to examine the capital case.

While waiting for permission to finish the case from the Third Court of Appeals, Baird put together the document that “orders the exoneration of Cameron Todd Willingham for murdering his three daughters,” because of “overwhelming, credible and reliable evidence” presented during a one-day hearing in Austin in October 2010.

“You can’t do anything for Willingham except clear his name,” Baird told The Huffington Post. “When they tried Willingham, I’m convinced that everyone worked in good faith. The problem is that up until the execution, everything had changed so dramatically that you realized the science relied upon at trial was not reliable enough to take a man’s life.”

Baird’s intended order never came to light because the court of appeals criticized his handling of the case and prevented him from resuming work on it before he left the bench at the end of 2010 after choosing not to seek re-election. No one asked him for it after the court of appeals blocked him, he said.

Baird, now an attorney in private practice, said he was moved to share the document with HuffPost after reading about Carlos DeLuna, a Texan who a Columbia University team said this week may have been wrongly executed in 1989.

The 18-page unissued order closely examined the arson evidence presented during the trial, including claims that investigators found patterns on the floor where an accelerant was poured and traces of it on the porch. But Baird said he was persuaded by other experts that the initial investigative techniques were out of date.

The judge faulted Gov. Rick Perry and the state Court of Criminal Appeals, because they “ignored” exonerating evidence in 2004.

Baird, a Democrat, is now running for district attorney in Travis County, which includes Austin. The Willingham opinion is undated. Baird said he wrote it in the weeks after the Oct. 14, 2010, hearing. District court planner Kasey Hoke and court administrator Debra Hale told HuffPost they remember him preparing it in late 2010.

With Baird pushed to the sidelines that year, the fire that tore through Willingham home in Corsicana on Dec. 23, 1991, remained on the books as a triple homicide. Willingham escaped the burning house, but his three daughters — a 2-year-old and 1-year-old twins — were trapped inside and died from smoke inhalation. (His wife was out running errands for Christmas.)

Investigators concluded the blaze had been deliberately set with an accelerant. Two weeks after the fire, they arrested Willingham, a 23-year-old high school dropout with a rap sheet that included shoplifting and driving under the influence.

Willingham, maintaining his innocence, turned down a plea deal offering him life behind bars. At his August 1992 trial, the two fire investigators testified for the prosecution that Willingham torched his own home. The prosecution also called a jailhouse snitch, Johnny Webb, to the stand. Webb claimed that Willingham admitted in jail after his arrest that he killed his children. The jury convicted him in about an hour.

State and federal courts upheld Willingham’s conviction, and in 2003 the U.S. Supreme Court declined to get involved. During the appeals process, Baird was on the Circuit Court of Appeals that twice ruled against Willingham.

But doubts about Willingham’s guilt emerged. In 2000, Webb recanted his testimony. Forensic science had evolved since his trial, too. In 2004, Gerald Hurst, a chemist, released a report days before Willingham’s execution that said the testimony of the fire investigators was wrong and that the fire was accidental.

The report was rushed to Gov. Perry, but he denied a request for a reprieve, allowing the state to put Willingham to death by lethal injection on Feb. 17, 2004.

(The New Yorker and the Chicago Tribune had written extensively about Willingham’s case prior to Baird’s involvement.)

Baird’s proposed order — which drew upon Hurst’s report and the findings of other experienced arson investigators — came as a welcome surprise to Willingham’s relatives and attorneys, who continue to believe he was innocent.

“I’m very thankful he did this,” said Eugenia Willingham, Todd Willingham’s stepmother. “I’m sure this will have a good impact for Todd. I raised that boy and I believed him,” Willingham told HuffPost. “He adored those children. I never thought he could have done that.”

The fire occurred in Navarro County, but lawyers for Willingham’s family brought the case to Baird under a provision of the Texas Constitution that says all courts are open for people claiming harm to their reputation. Using the same arcane provision,Baird issued the state’s first posthumous exoneration in 2009 to Timothy Cole, who died in prison for a rape he didn’t commit.

R. Lowell Thompson, Navarro County’s district attorney, sought to derail the inquiry into Willingham, who was prosecuted by a predecessor. The prosecutor filed the petition with the court of appeals that froze Baird’s investigation and is critical of the former judge for writing the proposed order.

“it’s very surprising to me that he would enter some sort of opinion without hearing all the evidence, because none was presented by the state,” Thompson told HuffPost.

Baird said Thompson had the chance to argue his side, but left the court. Thompson said he departed because he wanted to get the court of appeals to step in immediately.

“I was doing my job and he thought he was doing the right thing,” said Thompson. “To me, it looked like he wasn’t applying the law.”

Some of the harshest criticism in Baird’s writing is directed at Perry. The governor’s role in refusing to postpone Willingham’s execution was closely examined by The Huffington Post during his presidential campaign.

“By 2004 there was no doubt that every single indication of arson had been debunked by the scientific community,” Baird wrote. “This fact was staring Governor Perry in the face; nevertheless, he refused to grant a reprieve.”

Perry has stood by decision when questioned previously about Willingham. His office didn’t flinch from the latest criticism.

“Nothing the Austin court could have done would change the fact that Todd Willingham was convicted and sentenced to death by a jury of his peers for murdering his three daughters,” said a statement from his spokeswoman Lucy Nashed. “He had full access to every level of the appeals process, and his conviction was reviewed and upheld by multiple levels of state and federal courts. … The governor reviewed all of the facts of the case and agreed with the jury, and state and federal courts that Willingham was guilty.”

With Baird’s opinion revealed, lawyers for Willingham’s family members continue pushing for a pardon that would clear his name. Last year, the Texas Forensic Science Commission issued a report saying the evidence from the fire investigators was no longer valid.

“It’s an awful shame that this opinion was sitting in his desk gathering dust and nobody could see it,” said Barry Scheck, a lawyer from the Innocence Project working for Willingham’s relatives. “This opinion will stand the test of time, because it faces the facts.”

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MISSOURI – Attorney General requests execution dates for 9 men on death row

May 19, 2012  Source : http://www.kctv5.com

JEFFERSON CITY, MO

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster has requested the Missouri Supreme Court set execution dates for nine men on death row.

Koster has requested the dates, saying there are no legal obstacles remaining to carrying out the men’s sentence.

“Missouri does not know the cost of executions yet we now have 19-plus men waiting execution. We can’t find the money in the budget for education, public safety, roads etc. and yet are willing to stay with a public policy that is likely costing the state millions. Missouri would do well to end the death penalty and to focus resources instead on solving more cases of violent crime, taking violent offenders off the streets and providing meaningful support for victims and their families,” Kathleen Holmes, state coordinator of Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, said in a release.

One of the nine men included in the list is Leon Taylor.

Astrid Martin does her best to keep herself busy, still trying to forget what happened to her family nearly two decades ago. 1994 was a very difficult year for her – she lost a mother to cancer and, just a few weeks later, a husband to a bullet at the hands of Taylor. All these years later, Martin still struggles with the grief.

“If you have a tragedy it’s not like a push button where you are OK the next day. You are very emotionally sick. I lost my mother and my husband and almost my little girl. That’s a big chunk to take away at once,” Martin said.

It was April 1994 at a gas station in Independence, MO. Taylor and two others held up Robert Newton, Martin’s husband. Even though Newton turned over the cash, Taylor killed him right in front of his step-daughter.

“He said, ‘Listen pal, don’t shoot. I got my little girl here and I don’t want to see her dead,'” Martin’s daughter said while on the stand during Taylor’s trial as she recounted what happened.

At Taylor’s murder trial, then 8-year-old Sara took the stand and captured the hearts of the entire city.

“I turned around and saw my dad on the floor,” Sarah said when an attorney asked what she saw after she heard the big bang.

Taylor then turned the gun on the girl, but the weapon jammed. All these years later, Martin is convinced God was watching over her daughter.

Sarah is now happily married with four kids and her mother wants to thank everyone for the outpouring of support she and her daughter received all those years ago.

“They were so supportive, they were so supportive and, to me they wrote letters for years and I want to thank you all for being so wonderful to us,” Martin said.

Martin said Taylor wrote a letter of apology to her and she now forgives what he did, but she said she’ll never forget.

There are 46 inmates currently on Missouri’s death row.

Dave Dormire, director of the Division of Adult Institutions for the Missouri Department of Corrections, announced a new one-drug protocol (propofol) for lethal injection. This one-drug protocol replaces the three-drug protocol previously used by the state.

This change was necessary, according to Dormire. Sodium thiopental, one of the three drugs previously used in executions, is no longer available.

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17 mai, source : http://missourideathrow.com/

Attorney General Chris Koster submitted for filing similar versions of the attached motion in the Missouri Supreme Court today regarding the following capital murder cases:

State v. David Barnett
State v. Cecil Clayton
State v. Andre Cole
State v. Paul Goodwin
State v. Herbert Smulls
State v. Walter Storey
State v. Leon Taylor
State v. Michael Worthington
State v. David Zink

lethal injection protocol : pdf file 

IDAHO – Idaho Opts For 1 Drug Only In Execution Policy

May 18, source : AP 

BOISE, Idaho — Idaho’s corrections chief says the agency is switching to a one-drug lethal injection for future executions of death row inmates.
Idaho Department of Corrections Director Brent Reinke said Friday execution teams will administer a single, lethal dose of the surgical sedative pentobarbital.
That’s a change from the execution carried out by the agency last fall, when the condemned inmate was injected with three-drug mixture, which included pentobarbital.
Reinke says the change was driven by difficulties in obtaining the other two chemicals used to kill Paul Ezra Rhoades in November.
The decision makes Idaho the latest death penalty state to switch to using only pentobarbital in its lethal injection.
Reinke says the one-drug protocol will be used in the June 12 execution of convicted murderer Richard Leavitt.

 

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LOUISIANA – Todd Wessinger wins 3rd hearing on death sentence

May 18, 2012 Source : http://theadvocate.com

Todd Wessinger must receive a third federal court hearing on his push to overturn his death sentence after being convicted of murdering two workers at a Baton Rouge restaurant in 1995.

U.S. District Judge James J. Brady scheduled the hearing for Dec. 13, according to court documents filed Wednesday.

In February, Brady denied Wessinger, 44, a new trial. The judge ruled that “overwhelming” state court evidence supported Wessinger’s conviction on charges that he murdered 27-year-old Stephanie Guzzardo and 46-year-old David Breakwell at the since-closed Calendar’s restaurant on Perkins Road.

In April, however, Brady took additional defense motions under consideration and indefinitely blocked Wessinger’s scheduled May 9 execution.

On Wednesday, Brady rejected four of Wessinger’s latest five claims of state court errors.

But the judge ruled that Wessinger’s claim of “ineffective assistance of counsel at the penalty phase of the trial” is “deserving of further proceedings.”

By limiting his latest ruling to the penalty phase of Wessinger’s trial, Brady signaled his future decision would either support or overturn the jury’s imposition of the death penalty. The murder conviction stands.

Brady noted that an on-point ruling by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals — which governs federal court decisions in Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi — shows new claims of mental illness, low intelligence and childhood abuse can be raised at sentencing and on appeal.

The judge noted the 5th Circuit’s decision only applies to defense evidence on federal appeal that is “significantly different and stronger” than defense evidence presented to state courts.

But Brady added Wessinger cannot win a new sentencing hearing unless he can show his defense attorney’s failure to present new evidence of his claimed mental problems at sentencing was so significant that “he might not have received the death penalty.”

In April, defense attorneys argued Wessinger suffered childhood seizures and physical and emotional abuse, developed substance addictions and was traumatized by the deaths of his children prior to the murders of Guzzardo and Breakwell.

Those arguments were presented by appellate attorneys Danalynn Recer, of The Gulf Region Advocacy Center in Houston; Soren Gisleson, of New Orleans; and Federal Public Defender Rebecca Hudsmith, of Lafayette.

Assistant District Attorneys Dale R. Lee and J. Christine Chapman argued against Wessinger’s stay of execution.

Chapman and Lee told Brady the families of Guzzardo and Breakwell “have endured years of uncertainty and appeals. They undoubtedly endure harm each day that the lawful sentence of the court is not carried out, and they are clearly entitled to finality and closure.”

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TEXAS – Texas ordered to pay ex-inmate $2M over conviction – Billy Allen

may 18, 2012 Source : http://www.freep.com

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas was ordered on Friday to pay about $2 million to a man who spent 26 years in prison for murder before his conviction was overturned.

Billy Frederick Allen’s attempt to get the money has been a key case in developing standards for when ex-prisoners should be compensated. State Comptroller Susan Combs resisted paying Allen, arguing his conviction was overturned because of ineffective lawyers, not because he had proven his innocence.

But the state Supreme Court said the criminal courts showed Allen had a legitimate innocence claim and he should be paid.

Allen was convicted of two 1983 Dallas-area murders. He was freed in 2009 and sued the state for compensation for wrongful imprisonment.

Texas’ compensation law is the most generous in the U.S., according to the national Innocence Project, which works on cases where inmates allege wrongful convictions. Freed inmates who are declared innocent by a judge, prosecutors or a governor’s pardon can collect $80,000 for every year of imprisonment.

In Allen’s case, he didn’t have an innocence declaration. What he had instead was a Court of Criminal Appeals ruling that reversed his conviction based on ineffective counsel. It also determined that the evidence against him was too weak to for a reasonable jury to convict him.

Although prosecutors dismissed the charges, they said they still consider him a suspect and have kept the case open.

DNA evidence has led to most of Texas’ exonerations. But with DNA testing essentially standard in most cases now and the number of DNA-based exonerations expected to dwindle, cases like Allen’s — which had no DNA evidence — are likely to account for more compensation claims.

OHIO – Abdul Awkal – execution – june 6 2012 – not mentally competent to be executed

Abdul Awkal

UPDATE June 15

CLEVELAND: An Ohio judge has ruled a condemned killer not mentally competent to be executed for the death of his wife and brother-in-law.

The ruling Friday by Cuyahoga County Judge Stuart Friedman on Abdul Awkal comes just a week after Gov. John Kasich ordered a last-minute reprieve hours before Awkal was set to die.

Awkal is convicted of killing his estranged wife and brother-in-law in a Cleveland courthouse in 1992 as the couple prepared to divorce.

Awkal’s attorneys had argued during several days of testimony that he is so mentally ill he believes the CIA is orchestrating his execution.

The Ohio Parole Board voted 8-1 last month against recommending mercy. Most members concluded Awkal had planned the shooting and it wasn’t because of a psychotic breakdown.

UPDATE : June 5  2012 Source : http://www.abc6onyourside.com

Inmate Moved for Death Penalty to be Carried Out

COLUMBUS  — Ohio prison officials are beginning their preparations to execute a man convicted in the 1992 slayings of his estranged wife and brother-in-law at a courthouse in Cleveland’s Cuyahoga County.

If put to death, 53-year-old Abdul Awkal would be the second man Ohio executes since lifting an unofficial moratorium on the death penalty that lasted six months.

Awkal, whose execution is Wednesday, was sentenced to death for shooting Latife Awkal, his spouse from an arranged marriage, and brother-in-law Mahmoud Abdul-Aziz, as the couple was taking up divorce and custody issues.

Awkal’s attorneys asked the state Supreme Court Monday to delay the execution to allow a hearing on Awkal’s mental competency.

The state opposes the delay and Awkal’s earlier requests for clemency were denied.

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Source : http://www.examiner.com

Abdul Awkal is on Ohio’s death row and scheduled to be executed on June 26, 2012. His story is unusual. His life prior to being sentenced to death for murder, was complicated, not only by much of his own doing. His circumstances were perhaps more because of his lack of education, lack of knowledge of his own Islamic religion, and limited mastery of the English language.

Awkal was born on March 10, 1959 in Beirut, Lebanon into a Muslim family, the third child of seven siblings. As the article develops, you will see that his crime was committed on January 8, 1992 and he was placed on Ohio’s death row on January 8, 1993.

For those who are familiar with the past several decades in Lebanon, it is easily understood that life was not only difficult, but dangerous as well. Times became hard for the Awkals and the father decided to move his family to America. When they left, Abdul had to stay since he was 20 years old and had to arrange for his own passport. He followed them four years later.

Shortly after coming here he married Latife, having two ceremonies, one under the Islamic law and another under the Laws of the United States. He and Latife later had a baby daughter. His married life was not a smooth one, and according to his own testimony, he was divorced three times (under the Islamic rules but remarried her later). Finally at one point, due to what his brother-in-law called a breach of Islamic law, he was automatically separated from his wife forever and could not raise the child, nor could she wear his name.

He reported that they withdrew his funds from the bank, took his collections which were in a safety deposit box and otherwise isolated themselves from him. They also decided to move back to Lebanon. Needless to say, this did not set well with Awkal and he appealed to the U.S. authorities.

In 1992, it was arranged for them to gather and meet with officials of the Family Conciliation Services at the Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court. His brother-in law, Mahmoud, wife Latife and their baby were there. After waiting a considerable time, a disagreement arose and when it was over, he had shot and killed his brother and his wife. He was apprehended at the scene.

He was tried, convicted and sentenced to death. He was placed on death row exactly one year after the crime was committed.

On January 29, 2001, Awkal wrote a very lengthy letter of confession to the U.S. District Court Judge Donald C. Nugent. It makes no denial of his killing the pair, but his life and the many exigencies which occurred to him, does create somewhat of a sympathy towards the fellow. It can change one’s opinion from feeling towards him as a cold blooded killer to that of a victim of circumstances. Yet, regardless of how moved one may be by his writing, it must be remembered that it still was not cause for the killing of two people. It is suggested that all who read this article, set aside enough time to read the site containing his confession. But be prepared to spend somewhere between 30 – 60 minutes. It will probably prove to be worth it.

………………………………..

May 23 Source : http://www.daytondailynews.com

 A federal judge has rejected claims by two condemned Ohio inmates challenging the constitutionality of the state’s lethal injection process.The two are the next inmates scheduled to die in the state, with Abdul Awkal (ab-DUHL’ AW’-kuhl) set for execution June 6 and John Eley (EE’-lee) set to die July 26.

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2011

July 2011

Introduction to “Ohio’s Death Row Confession”:  

I feel as if my whole life had been the companion of pain and suffering.

Surely had a very little happiness in it, which had been dragging me around the world from places of horror and misery, to places of unjust and cruelty.

I was born to a Muslim family in Beirut, Lebanon. I was the third child of seven. We all lived in a two room’s house. Life was uneasy for my father. So he took me out of school before I finish my 4th grade. I started to work with him, for a short while, tell he found me another place to work at. In short, I worked in many different places.

I was 16 years old when the civil war started in 1975. Life there becomes unbearable and was filled with pain and suffering. And because of this , my father started looking for a better place to live in. so, America was his place of choice.

My family went to America 4 years ahead of me. I had to stay behind because I was 20 years old and had to apply for my own immigration visa.

Four years later, my family called me from America. They told me to go down to the American embassy, and to bring with me my passport and fifty American dollar, to pay for the cost of immigration visa and have it stamped on my passport.

Before going to the embassy, I asked my uncle if he knew anyone works inside the embassy, that could help me get inside the building quickly, instead of standing long hours under the heat of the sun. my uncle responded saying, “ Yes, I do know someone works there.” Then he directed me to go to the other side of the building and to knock on the door there. A man will open the door. Tell him that my uncle is going to Italy and will bring back a leather shoes for you. Anyhow, I did what my uncle said me to do. But the man ( I forgot his name) won’t let me in, because the ambassador wasn’t there to stamp my visa. He asked me to come back tomorrow. So, I left the place with anger and frustration, but as soon as I had crossed the street and sat in my car and started to pull out of the parking space by the side of the road, a tremendous explosion went off behind me. It shook up everything in the area. And without any hesitation, I ducked my head down and pushed the pedal to the metal and speed away without knowing where the explosion was. But as soon as I got home, and before I had a chance to sit on the couch, someone was knocking on my door very hard. I opened the door to see what’s going on there. I found my downstairs neighbor at the door saying to me, with fear in her eyes, “Have you seen my husband ? !””Have you seen my husband?!” I respond back saying, “What?!” “Where is your husband?”

She told me that her husband works at the American embassy and someone had just blew it up!!

As soon as I heard her saying this, I could no longer stand up on my own two feet and my face turned yellow. I never knew that her husband work at the embassy.

But a few minutes later, my neighbor came back to tell me that her husband was in East Lebanon with the ambassador. Anyhow, it took me a few days to digest what had just happened to me !! And not to mentioned that God had already saved me from death 12 times like this, and I am always grateful for His mercy and His protection.

I want everyone to know that I am very ashamed in exposing my marital problem and the way that those people had used my religion (Islam) wrongfully to destroy me and to take my child away from me.

My intention in revealing my confession letter to you is to tell the truth about my case and not to disrespect my own religion or any other religions. But if I unintentionally did so, I profoundly apologize for it in advance and I ask the Lord for His forgiveness.

Awkal II

December 25, 2011

Dear friends, family and supporters;

For the last 10 years now, I have been searching for assistance from the outside world,to expose the injustice I have been suffering at the hand of the state of Ohio. However,I believe this search has been restricted by a number of individuals, including, but not limited to my lawyers, prison Administrators, Central Office, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor (Mr. Bill Mason), and the local television media. Because my time is numbered, due to an impending execution date of June 6, 2012, I grew I wish to express my most deepest apologies to anyone that I may have offended by this…Because of my extreme sense of urgency involved in my impending execution date, I feltI also felt it was important to communicate with the victim’s family (Ali Abdul-Aziz andOn January 5, 2011, I sent a kite to Mrs. Thorne asking what steps I need to take to initiate the dialogue? And her reply was as follows:

NO! It is a victim initiation only – You can write an apology letter and send it to me-Mrs. Thorne.

Because I had no one to assist me, my lawyers do not communicate with me, and nor my family Now that I have been blessed with someone willing and able to assist me in posting my confession letter and allowing the world to know what really happened, I am very grateful. In order for me to be fair and impartial, I will post on my website those profane In about a month I plan on posting several items for the world to review and consider. I ask for your patience and understanding. And I truly do appreciate your time and

Respectfully submitted,

Awkal II.

 

Related articles

Is the Death Penalty Ever Justified?

May 18, 2012 Source : http://www.huffingtonpost.com

Yemen, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Libya, Syria, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, China, Sudan.

No, this is not a list of countries with records of human rights abuses; nor is it a list of countries with ruthless dictators; nor is it a list of countries the United States has condemned at some point within the past few months.

Actually, it’s an incomplete list. Add the U.S., and you are one step closer to completing a list of countries that kill their own people.

Every country mentioned currently allows its citizens to be sentenced to death. Only China, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia execute more people than the U.S. does, and they are all on a list of only 20 nations who performed executions in 2009.

But, to be fair, executions are handed out with a somewhat honorable intention: to deter, and ultimately reduce, crime. It is reasonable, then, to question whether or not that works.


2012-05-17-ExecutionsVsCrimes.png
Indeed, the numbers do not add up. There is no evidence suggesting that increasing executions leads to a reduction in crime. In fact, as executions increased in the late ’80s, the number of crime rose along with them. Similarly, both the number of crimes and the number of executions have fallen in the past decade. If anything, the evidence concludes that increasing executions might actually correlate with higher crime.

Regardless, the only thing being accomplished by the death penalty is death itself. A country that brutally murders its citizens seems as far from developed or democratic as it can possibly be. If the United States is the beacon of freedom and justice that it claims to be, it would abolish the death penalty tomorrow.

Not to mention the unintended consequences that come with any policy, and are not easy to undo when it comes to the death penalty. A recent New York Times editorial tells the tale of Carlos DeLuna, an alleged murderer executed by the state of Texas in 1989. According to studies involving the case, DeLuna was likely innocent. It would be foolish to believe that DeLuna’s case is isolated.

At the very least, our system needs to start holding people accountable. The prosecutors in DeLuna’s case reportedly withheld crucial exculpatory evidence that led to his conviction and ultimate death — an unfortunate tactic that is widespread and goes unpunished. Prosecutors who act in such a way are, unquestionably, more guilty of murder than the innocent people they target.

Last August, Governor Rick Perry of Texas lambasted the Syrian government for threatening the safety of its own people. The next month, he received a roaring ovation after bragging about his authorization of 234 executions, the most in history.

Well, Mr. Perry, what’s the difference?

TEXAS – Roberts loses appeal in Lake Livingston Death

May 16, 2012 Source : http://www.chron.com

HOUSTON (AP) — A man sent to death row for the slaying of an East Texas woman nearly nine years ago has lost a federal court appeal, moving him a step closer to execution.

Forty-one-year-old Donnie Lee Roberts Jr. was condemned for robbing and shooting his girlfriend,Vicki Bowen, at her home on Lake Livingston in Polk County. Evidence showed Roberts, who previously served prison time in Louisiana for armed robbery, traded a gun stolen from the home for cocaine.

Roberts contended his trial judge improperly refused testimony from an expert witness about his alcohol and drug use, that his trial legal help was deficient and that his trial judge refused testimony from one of his relatives during punishment.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals late Tuesday rejected each of his claims.