Author: Claim Your Innocence

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WASHINGTON – State AG wants review of overturned death-row conviction – Darold Stenson

June 6, 2012 Source : http://blogs.seattletimes.com

The Washington Attorney General’s Office plans to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review a recent decision by the Washington Supreme Court that overturned the conviction of a man who has spent the past 18 years on death row.

Clallam County Prosecutor Deborah Kelly said this morning that after the May 10 ruling by the state Supreme Court  prosecutors filed a motion to delay the court from issuing a certificate of finality in Darold Stenson’s case. Last month, the state Supreme Court, in an 8-1 ruling, found that Stenson’s rights were violated because prosecutors “wrongfully suppressed” favorable evidence. At the crux of the reversal was possibly tainted gunshot residue found on the jeans Stenson wore on the night in March 1993 when his wife, Denise, and business partner, Frank Hoerner, were killed at the Stensons’ exotic-bird farm, said his attorney Sheryl Gordon McCloud.

The Attorney General’s Office is working on its petition to the U.S. Supreme Court. The petition must be filed no later than Aug. 8, Kelly said.

Stenson, 59, was an exotic-bird dealer living near Sequim when he allegedly shot his wife at their home in what prosecutors called an effort to collect $800,000 in insurance. He allegedly shot and killed Hoerner to get out from a debt he owed the man, and to make it look like Hoerner killed Denise Stenson as part of a love-triangle murder-suicide.

Stenson’s three children were asleep nearby when the slayings occurred.

Stenson and Hoerner had been embroiled in a dispute over the cost of ostriches, which Stenson handled on his 5-acre Dakota Farms, prosecutors claimed.

Hoerner’s widow testified that Stenson persuaded the couple to invest their life savings of $48,000 in ostriches, but the birds never materialized.

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NORTH CAROLINA – North Carolina House committee votes to remove TVs for death row inmates

June 7, 2012  Source : http://www.fayobserver.com

RALEIGH – A divided House committee agreed Wednesday to prohibit North Carolina death-row prisoners from watching television despite the warning by Central Prison’s warden that removing TVs could increase violence among the condemned inmates.

The measure is a direct response to a convicted killer’s letter – printed in a newspaper in January -in which he boasted of being a “gentleman of leisure” on death row, watching color TV and taking frequent naps. He wrote, “Kill me if you can, suckers.”

Republican Rep. Tim Moore, who is shepherding the bill through the House, said Danny Hembree’s letter was galling and caused a ruckus in Gaston County, where Hembree was convicted last year of killing a 17-year-old girl and dumping her body in South Carolina. Moore told the judiciary subcommittee hearing the bill none of the 156 prisoners awaiting execution should receive the TV privilege.

“To think he’s there watching TV, that other murderers are there watching television, having that benefit, that’s just not right,” said Moore, who lives in nearby Cleveland County. “Anything we can do to make death row a less pleasant place, we should.”

Moore said he and other legislators recently visited Central Prison, a maximum-security prison for male offenders where nearly all of the state’s death-row prisoners reside. The four women are at the N.C. Correctional Institution for Women, also in Raleigh.

Hembree is segregated from other death-row prisoners and doesn’t have access to TV, the state Division of Adult Correction said.

Central Prison Warden Kenneth Lassiter told the committee that television is a management tool for prisoners and its privilege is already limited. Lassiter said the bill, if approved, would have “the potential to escalate security issues at the facility.”

“It will create an environment that violence could increase due to the fact that the inmates are idle,” he said. “It’s an isolated situation on death row, so inmates don’t have the normal movement of other inmates inside the facility.”

Death-row inmates at Central Prison share common areas in housing pods where they can watch television.

Prisoners must purchase ear buds and a small radio to listen to the television audio over a certain frequency, division spokeswoman Pamela Walker said. A Central Prison prisoner committee makes recommendations to administrators about which shows they’d like to watch on over-the-air channels. Prison officials decide which shows are appropriate.

“They’re not living the life of luxury,” Lassiter said.

Several Democratic committee members voted against it, apparently in deference to Lassiter’s concerns. Rep. Jennifer Weiss, D-Wake, said she was worried about the effect the lack of television could have on the state workers staffing the prison.

“I hear regularly about the dangers they put themselves in every day to keep all of us safe,” Weiss said, adding she wants “to make sure whatever we do here doesn’t jeopardize their safety.”

The bill’s next stop is the House, where lawmakers are expected to weigh that warning against trying to make a get-tough statement on criminals.

A judge earlier this year declared a mistrial in another murder trial involving Hembree, who was accused of strangling another woman, storing her body in the basement of his mother’s home and later dumping the body and setting it on fire to cover up evidence.

Hembree, 50, mocked in his letter how what he called the very slim chances that he would be executed in the next 20 years.

“Is the public aware that I am a gentleman of leisure, watching color TV in the A.C., reading, taking naps at will, eating three well-balanced meals a day?” Hembree asked.

Hembree’s sister said later that his brother wrote another letter to his family that talks of his despair on death row.

MISSISSIPPI – UPDATE – Mississippi Supreme Court refuses Brawner reprieve

June 12, 2012 Source : http://www.commercialappeal.com

JACKSON — The Mississippi Supreme Court has denied a request to stay today’s execution of a Southaven man convicted of killing his 3-year-old daughter, his former wife and her parents.

The court’s decision on Monday capped a round of legal briefs filed in the case of 34-year-old Jan Michael Brawner, who is scheduled to die by injection at 6 tonight.

Brawner’s lawyer said he would file a petition this morning with the U.S. Supreme Court.

Brawner was sentenced to death for the April 25, 2001, shooting deaths of his daughter, Paige; his former wife, Barbara Craft; and her parents, Carl and Jane Craft. Brawner killed them in their Tate County home, stole about $300 and used his former mother-in-law’s wedding ring to propose to his girlfriend the same day, according to court records.

Brawner admitted to the killings. During the sentencing phase of his trial, he declined to have anyone testify on his behalf with mitigating testimony, which could have been used to sway jurors to spare his life.

“As far as life, I don’t feel that I deserve to live,” Brawner testified at the time.

Subsequent lawyers have argued that Brawner’s trial attorney did a poor job by not calling such mitigating witnesses as his mother and a psychiatrist, who could have testified about things that had happened to him in life.

Brawner’s lawyer, David Calder, had argued earlier Monday in a court filing that his client could be the first person executed in the U.S. on a tie vote of judges. The Mississippi Supreme Court voted 4-4 last week to deny a rehearing in the case. Justice Ann Lamar didn’t vote. She was district attorney in Tate County when the slayings occurred. By the time of the trial in April 2002, she was a Circuit Court judge, though she didn’t preside over the trial.

In court procedures, a tie vote usually means an earlier ruling stands.

Calder asked the justices to suspend court rules that prohibit people from asking a second time for a rehearing and to issue a stay of execution.

The court voted 4-3 against the motion to suspend the rules and against a stay of execution. Lamar and Chief Justice Bill Waller didn’t vote this time. A court spokeswoman said Waller was unable to attend Monday’s conference of justices. Waller voted to deny the rehearing last time.

Brawner went to his former in-laws’ home after learning his former wife planned to stop him from seeing their child. He gave conflicting statements to police and during testimony, saying at times he wanted to borrow money and at other times that he was going to rob his father-in-law.

Court records said he was waiting at the Crafts’ home when his former wife arrived with her mother and the child. After becoming agitated, he went to his car and got a rifle he had stolen from the house earlier in the day. He shot the former mother-in-law first, then his ex-wife. His daughter, Paige, watched the killings, court records said.

“After Brawner determined that Paige would be able to identify him, and in his words, he ‘was just bent on killing,’ he went back into the bedroom and shot his daughter twice, killing her,” court records say. He shot and killed Carl Craft when he got home from work and stole his wallet and the ring.

June 6, 2012 Source : http://www.clarionledger.com

A death row inmate is asking the Mississippi Supreme Court to stay his execution scheduled for next Tuesday and grant him a new hearing.

The Mississippi Supreme Court ruled in a 4-4 earlier this week not to allow a rehearing on previous arguments in the case of Jan Michael Brawner. Justice Ann Lamar didn’t participate.

In court procedures, a tie vote usually means an earlier ruling stands. However, Brawner’s lawyers argue there’s precedent in Mississippi that says a tie vote in death penalty cases should favor the condemned inmate.

Brawner claims his previous appeals lawyer didn’t do a good job and he wants an oral hearing on the matter.

Brawner, now 34, was convicted of the 2001 killings of his 3-year-old daughter, ex-wife and former father-in-law and mother-in-law Tate County.

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June 6, 2012 Source : http://www.fox40tv.com

JACKSON, Miss.  – The Mississippi Supreme Court won’t reconsider an appeal from an inmate scheduled for execution June 12.

Jan Michael Brawner argued his legal case suffered because of ineffective assistance by Bob Ryan, former head of the state office meant to handle post-conviction appeals for people sentenced to death.

Brawner, now 34, was convicted of the 2001 killings of his 3-year-old daughter, ex-wife and former father-in-law and mother-in-law the Tate County community of Sarah.

According to trial testimony, Brawner went to his former in-laws’ home after learning his former wife planned to stop him from seeing their child; he also had no money and contemplated robbing his former in-laws. Brawner admitted to the killings at trial and told a prosecutor he deserved death.

Justices ruled 4-4 Tuesday not to reconsider Brawner’s appeal.

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CALIFORNIA – Paroled felon gets death penalty in Riverside officer killing – Earl Elllis Green

June 5, 2012 Source : http://www.latimes.com

Earl Ellis GreenEarl Ellis Green looks over his shoulder after the jury ordered the death penalty in the shooting of Police Officer Ryan Bonaminio.
Riverside jurors ordered the death penalty Tuesday for Earl Ellis Green, who was convicted of fatally shooting Riverside Police Officer Ryan Bonaminio at point-blank range as the officer pleaded for his life.

After 3 1/2 hours of deliberations, the panel returned the decision, agreeing with prosecutors who argued that the penalty should fit the crime. The 46-year-old convicted felon, who was on parole at the time of the November 2010 killing, smiled as the jury announced the verdict, witnesses said.

“We are pleased with this verdict and the hard work done by this jury,” Dist. Atty. Paul Zellerbach said. “This case is a perfect example — the murder of a peace officer in the line of duty — why we need the death penalty and why it needs to be carried out.”

He said the death penalty was supported by the facts: “The officer was already rendered pretty much helpless, unconscious and defenseless when he was executed with his own gun.”

Despite the guilty verdict and death penalty decision by the jury, Bonaminio’s family said that nothing will bring back the officer, who was killed in a church parking lot after Green led Bonaminio on a foot chase through Riverside’s Fairmount Park.

Green, who remains in custody with no bail, is scheduled to return to the Hall of Justice in Riverside on June 25 to be sentenced by Judge Jean Leonard. He was found guilty last month of first-degree murder with special circumstances that made him subject to the death penalty.

During the trial, defense attorneys acknowledged that Green fired the shots that killed Bonaminio, but sought a conviction on a lesser charge that would not carry the death penalty.

Stephen J. McQueen, a homeless man who volunteered at the church, told the jury he saw the shooting unfold as he smoked a cigarette in the parking lot. Bonaminio, hands up, told the killer, “Don’t do it. Don’t do it,” McQueen testified.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael Hestrin said during the trial that Green’s first two shots missed the officer. Green then walked up to Bonaminio, who was on his knees, and fired at the back of the officer’s head from a foot or so away, Hestrin said.

“His life and blood poured out of him,” Hestrin told the jury. “He died there, on the cold and dirty asphalt.”

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FLORIDA – How Florida’s Death Penalty Is Killing Us by Spencer Aronfeld

Spencer Aronfeld Spencer Aronfeld 

Florida Lawyer, Author of “Make It Your Own Law Firm” and Founder of Lawyers to the Rescue.

Since 1979 Florida has executed 72 human beings. Most spent more than a decade on death row waiting to be killed. According to the Florida Department of Corrections the average death row inmate is 44 years old at the time of his execution, while they were only 30 years of age at the time of the alleged offense that led to their conviction.

Florida also executes women. Judy Bunoano was the first woman Florida executed in 1998. She died in an electric chair. Currently there are four women on death row.

After Bunonano’s execution, Florida started offering lethal injections as an optional means. The executions are performed by an unnamed “private citizen” that gets paid $150.00 for each execution.

Tragically, not everyone who has been on Florida’s death row was actually guilty. In fact, Florida reverses more death sentences than any other state in the country, releasing 23 death row inmatesbased upon post-conviction evidence of their innocence.

Now is the time that Florida must reform its criminal justice system by taking a closer look at what Florida’s death penalty says about us as a civilization, as well as the 401 people who are currently on Florida’s death row. Some argue and believe that having Florida’s death penalty somehow discourages murder. Yet, the statistics tell another story. For instance, in 2010 the average murder rate in states with death penalties was 4.6 per 100,000 while the average murder rate for states without the death penalty was only 2.9 per 100,000.

Another serious problem is that Florida law does not currently require a jury to unanimously recommend a death sentence. In fact, of the 34 states currently allowing death sentences; Florida is the only state that permits juries to recommend it by a simple majority.

My experience and training as a board certified Florida civil trial lawyer has been to hold those accountable for the harm they cause people by their carelessness and greed. I find it hard to understand how Florida can take it upon itself to intentionally kill a person in the name of justice.

I believe that capital punishment is a barbaric and outdated form of brutality that must cease to exist. The death penalty does not prevent violent crime or encourage those intending to commit murder to move to another state. Rather, it teaches us that murder is justifiable when the murderer is the state itself.

Life is too precious. No man should be permitted to take the life of another under any circumstances. This includes Florida’s State paid $150.00 executioner. Criminals belong in jails not in electrocuted or lethally injected to death by those who think they are acting on our behalf.

As long as convicted death row inmates are found innocent no further executions should be permitted to take place in Florida.

Follow Spencer Aronfeld on Twitter: www.twitter.com/aronfeld

OHIO – Abdul Awkal gets reprieve

June 15, 2012 

UPDATE

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.

June 6, 2012 Source : http://www.marionstar.com

COLUMBUS – Ohio Gov. John Kasich has granted a condemned killer a two-week reprieve to allow a court to conduct a hearing on the inmate’s mental competency.

The reprieve Tuesday evening temporarily spared Abdul Awkal, who was facing execution today.

Kasich said he ordered the reprieve to allow Cuyahoga County Judge Stuart Friedman enough time to hold a hearing on Awkal’s mental condition. Friedman ruled Monday there was evidence to believe Awkal was not competent to be executed.

The 53-year-old Awkal was sentenced to die for killing his estranged wife from an arranged marriage and his brother-in-law in a Cuyahoga County court basement in 1992.

The man convicted in the slayings of his estranged wife and brother-in-law at a Cleveland courthouse was in good spirits Tuesday at the southern Ohio prison where he is being held.

If put to death, Abdul Awkal would be the second man Ohio executes this year since the end of an unofficial moratorium on capital punishment that lasted six months.

The Ohio Supreme Court late Tuesday afternoon rejected 5-2 Awkal’s request to delay the execution to allow a hearing about his mental competency, a request opposed by the state.

Awkal’s mental health has been the subject of court hearings for years, and a Cuyahoga County judge ruled Monday that there was enough evidence that Awkal was insane to justify a hearing about his competency.

Awkal’s attorneys said a delay was necessary to conduct a proper court hearing on Awkal’s competency before Wednesday’s execution.

The state opposed the request, and Republican Gov. John Kasich and the Ohio Parole Board rejected Awkal’s request for mercy based on his mental health allegations.

Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason said a delay at this stage was unnecessary and the request wasn’t fair to surviving family members.

The Ohio Parole Board voted 8-1 last month against recommending mercy, with most members concluding that Awkal planned the shooting and that it wasn’t the result of a psychotic breakdown.

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MISSISSIPPI- Henry Curtis JACKSON -Execution .- LAST HOURS- EXECUTED 6.13 pm

June 5, 2012 Execution of Henry Curtis Jackson
7:00 p.m. News Briefing

Parchman, Miss. – The Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) today conducted the mandated execution of state inmate Henry Curtis Jackson. Inmate Jackson was pronounced dead at 6:13 p.m. at Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman. MDOC Commissioner Christopher Epps said during a press conference following the execution that the evening signified the close of the Henry Curtis Jackson case. Jackson was sentenced to death in September 1991 for the crimes of four counts of capital murder of Shunterica Lonnett Jackson, Dominique Devro Jackson, Antonio Terrell
Jackson and Andrew Odutola Kuyoro, Jr. in Leflore County, Miss.“The State of Mississippi – Department of Corrections has carried out the mandated execution of death row inmate Henry Curtis Jackson,” said MDOC Commissioner Chris Epps. “Through the course of nearly 22 years, death row inmate Henry Curtis Jackson was afforded his day in court and in the finality, his conviction was upheld all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.”
“I ask that you join me in prayer for the families of Shunterica Lonnett Jackson, Dominique Devro Jackson, Antonio Terrell Jackson and Andrew Odutola Kuyoro, Jr. The entire MDOC family hopes you may now embark on the process of healing. Our prayers and thoughts are with you as you continue life’s journey,” said Epps. Epps concluded his comments by commending Deputy Commissioner of Institutions Emmitt Sparkman,  Mississippi State Penitentiary Superintendent Earnest Lee, Mississippi State Penitentiary security staff and the entire staff of the Mississippi Department of Corrections for their professionalism during the process.

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Henry “Curtis” Jackson Jr. was pronounced dead at 6:13 p.m. CDT Tuesday after receiving an injection at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman, officials said.

Clad in a red prison jumpsuit as he lay strapped to a gurney, Jackson was asked if he wanted to make a statement.

“No, I don’t,” he responded as family members sat somberly in a nearby witness room.

4:45 p.m. News Briefing

Parchman, Miss. – The Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) today briefed
members of the news media of death row Inmate Henry Curtis Jackson’s activities from
2:00 p.m. to approximately 4:45 p.m., including telephone calls and visits.
Inmate Jackson’s Collect Telephone Calls
Today, Tuesday, June 5, 2012
No phone calls.
Update to Inmate Jackson’s Visits
 Family visitors left Unit 17 at 3:00 p.m. In addition to previously mentioned
family members, Inmate Jackson’s wife, Ms. Jacqueline Jackson, did visit with
him.
 Attorneys Robert Davis, Jr. and David Voisin visited with Inmate Jackson from
3:00 p.m. until 3:30 p.m.
 Inmate Jackson’s spiritual advisors, Reverend James Cooper and MDOC
Chaplain Marvin Edwards, left Unit 17 at 4:00 p.m.
Activities of Inmate Jackson:
 Inmate Jackson ate none of the dinner offered to him.
 Inmate Jackson does not wish to take a shower and does not want a sedative.
 Inmate Jackson remains under observation. Officers have observed Inmate
Jackson as being very solemn.

Briefing 2.pm

Parchman, Miss. – The Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) will hold three news  briefings today related to events surrounding the Tuesday, June 5, 2012 scheduled execution of death row Inmate Henry Curtis Jackson, MDOC #25585. The following is an update on Inmate Jackson’s recent visits and telephone calls, activities, last meal to be served, and the official list of execution witnesses.

Approved visitation list:
Jacqueline Jackson (wife)
Martha Jackson (mother)
Natasha Jackson (daughter)
Monique Johnson (daughter)
Shameeka Johnson (daughter)
Henry Jackson, III (son)
Darrius Story (son)
Regina Jackson (sister)
Fannie Barbara Payne (sister)
Pearl Jackson (sister)
Glenda Kuyoro (sister)
Gregory Jackson (brother)
Andrew Kuyoro (brother-in-law)
Robert Davis, Jr. (attorney)
David Voisin (attorney)
Reverend James Cooper
MDOC Chaplain Marvin Edwards

Visits with Inmate Henry Curtis Jackson
Monday, June 4, 2012
Robert Davis, Jr. (attorney)
David Voisin (attorney)
.
Visits today, thus far:
 Martha Jackson (mother)
 Natasha Jackson (daughter)
 Monique Johnson (daughter)
 Shameeka Johnson (daughter)
 Henry Jackson, III (son)
 Regina Jackson (sister)
 Fannie Barbara Payne (sister)
 Pearl Jackson (sister)
 Gregory Jackson (brother)

June 5, 2012
Activities of Jackson
 Inmate Jackson was transferred from Unit 29 to Unit 17 on Sunday at 6:00 p.m.
 This morning, at Unit 17, Inmate Jackson was offered breakfast, but ate nothing.
 Inmate Jackson was offered lunch today, but ate nothing.
 Inmate Jackson has access to a telephone to place unlimited collect calls to persons
on his approved telephone list. He will have access today, June 5th until 5:00 p.m.

Approved Telephone List
 Jacqueline Jackson (wife)
 Martha Jackson (mother)
 Natasha Jackson (daughter)
 Monique Johnson (daughter)
 Henry Jackson, III (son)
 Darrius Story (son)
 Regina Jackson (sister)
 Pearl Jackson (sister)
 Glenda Kuyoro (sister)
 David Voisin (attorney)
Inmate Jackson’s Collect Telephone Calls

Monday, June 4, 2012
Three phone calls to: Regina Jackson (sister)
One phone call to: Monique Johnson (daughter)
One phone call to: Pearl Jackson (sister)
One phone call to: Glenda Kuyoro (sister)
Today, June 5, 2012
Thus far today:
No phone calls thus far.
According to the MDOC correctional officers that are posted outside his cell, Inmate
Jackson is observed to be very talkative but somber.

Jackson’s Remains
Inmate Jackson has requested that his body be released to his brother, Gregory Jackson and
Century Funeral Home in Greenwood, Miss.

June 5, 2012
Last Meal
Inmate Jackson has requested no last meal, but will be offered the standard dinner meal.
Execution Witnesses
Spiritual Advisor(s) for the condemned Inmate Jackson requested Reverend James Cooper
and MDOC Chaplain Marvin Edwards as spiritual advisors to witness the execution.
Member(s) of the condemned’s family Inmate Jackson requested no family witness the execution.
Attorney(s) for the condemned Inmate Jackson requested no attorney witness the execution.
Member(s) of the victims’ family Regina Faye Jackson (Mother of Shunterica and Dominque Jackson)
Glenda Kuyoro (Mother of Andrew Kuyoro and Antonio Jackson)Andrew Kuyoro (Father of Andrew Kuyoro and Stepfather of Antonio Jackson)
Sheriffs Sheriff James Haywood, Sunflower County
Sheriff Harold Jones, Copiah County
Members of the Media

Jack M. Elliott
Associated Press
Jackson, MS
Jeffrey Hess
Mississippi Public Broadcasting
Jackson, MS
Charles Edward Smith
The Greenwood Commonwealth
Greenwood, MS
###

Trayvon Martin Case: Donations For George Zimmerman Spike On Return To Jail

June 4, 2012 Source : http://www.huffingtonpost.com

After getting sent back to jail for allegedly lying about his finances, George Zimmerman has seen a spike in donations to his defense fund.

Zimmerman –– who was charged with second degree-murder of unarmed teenTrayvon Martin –- was ordered back to jail Friday after prosecutors revealed that he had enough funds to post bail, ABC reports.

His wife had told the court that the couple couldn’t afford bail, but jailhouse tapes indicate otherwise.

According to the news source, Zimmerman has about $193,000 in his defense fund, of which $20,000 has been spent on living expenses, hotels and security. Since being ordered back to jail, Zimmerman has seen an increase in contributions upwards of $1,000 a day.

“It’s not again like they were trying to hide the money or leave with the money,” Zimmerman’s lawyer, Mark O’Mara, told ABC. “They just had it… and felt like they needed to secure themselves.”


MISSISSIPPI – Henry Curtis Jackson – Execution – June 5 Set a 6 p.m EXECUTED 6.13 PM

 

June 5, 2012 Source : http://www.dailymail.co.uk

Media kit (pdf) : click here 

Two women are asking Mississippi’s governor to spare their brother from execution, even though he killed four of their children, paralysed another and stabbed one of the sisters.

Henry ‘Curtis’ Jackson Jnr, 47, is scheduled to be executed today by lethal injection. 

He killed the four children, aged between two and five, during a rampage that started when he went to his mother’s home in Leflore County to take money from her safe on November 1, 1990.

His mother was at church that day, but Jackson’s adult sister, Regina Jackson, was at the home with her two daughters and four nieces and nephews.

Regina Jackson was stabbed five times. Her two daughters and two nephews were stabbed to death. Another niece was so severely injured that she was paraplegic until her recent death. 

Despite her loss and her injuries, Regina said she pleaded for her brother’s life when she met with Governor Phil Bryant yesterday.

She wrote Mr Bryant a letter last month asking for a reprieve, saying she didn’t want her brother to get out of prison and that she ‘just can’t take any more killing’.

She wrote: ‘As a mother who lost two babies, all I’m asking is that you not make me go through the killing of my brother.’

Mercy plea: Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant has been approached by Jackson’s sisters, Regina and Glenda

She said that she had forgiven her brother over the years, adding: ‘If they kill him, they’re doing the same thing that he did. The dying is going to have to stop somewhere.’

Another sister, Glenda Kuyoro, and her husband Andrew also asked Mr Bryant to spare Jackson in a letter dated May 15.

Jackson’s attorney, Robert Davis Jnr, of Tupelo, filed a clemency request with Mr Bryant’s office last week.

Cliff Johnson, a Jackson attorney helping the sisters, said yesterday that the case was unusual because the victims were asking for clemency for the attacker.

He said: ‘Much is said about the importance of respecting the rights and wishes of victims and their families. This case raises a very important question: Are we committed to honoring the wishes of victims’ families when they ask for mercy, or do we hear those voices only when they ask for vengeance?’

Jackson has appealed the case over the years but hasn’t been successful. He has said he doesn’t remember stabbing the children, but testimony from his trial describes a horrific scene.

He cut the phone line before going in the house, according to the court record. Once inside, he demanded money and attacked his sister. One of the children tried to help, but he stabbed her, too.

At some point, Regina tried to fight him off with an iron rod, but he grabbed one of the children to use as a shield.

Regina testified at trial that she was in and out of consciousness after being tied up and stabbed in the neck, but she could hear her brother dragging a safe down a hall.

The noise woke up five-year-old Dominique, one of her daughters.

Court records state: ‘Regina testified that Jackson called Dominique to him, told her that he loved her, stabbed her, and tossed her body to the floor.

‘Jackson returned to Regina, stabbing her in the neck and twisting the knife, at which point she pretended to be dead until she heard him leave.’

Jackson turned himself in to police and confessed to some details. He was convicted and sentenced to death on four counts of capital murder after a trial in September 1991.

His mother, Martha Jackson, said yesterday that she had forgiven her son and planned to visit him before the execution.

She said: ‘If I don’t forgive him, God don’t forgive me.’

Mrs Jackson said she was not sure if she would watch the lethal injection at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman.

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FLORIDA – Defense: George Zimmerman in police custody

June 3, 2012 Source : http://www.palmbeachpost.com

MIAMI — George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer charged with murder in the killing of Trayvon Martin, surrendered to police Sunday and was booked into jail after having his bail revoked two days earlier.

Zimmerman’s legal team said in a tweet that he was in police custody. Zimmerman’s bail was revoked because the judge said he and his wife lied to the court about their finances so he could obtain a lower bond.

On Sunday afternoon, about 40 minutes before the 2:30 p.m. deadline to surrender, Zimmerman was listed as an inmate on the jail website. He was listed as being held without bail and having $500 in his jail account.

Prosecutors had said Zimmerman and his wife told the judge at a bond hearing in April that they had limited money, even though he had raised about $135,000 through a website. Defense attorneys said the matter was a misunderstanding.

Attorney Mark O’Mara announced earlier Sunday on his website that Zimmerman had arrived in Florida late Saturday evening ahead of his surrender. Zimmerman, who is charged with second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of the 17-year-old Martin, was ordered by a judge Friday to return to jail.

During a bond hearing in April, the couple had indicated they had limited funds. But prosecutors say Zimmerman had raised thousands through a website he had set up for his legal defense.

Zimmerman’s legal team said Sunday that they will ask for a new bond hearing to address those concerns, and that they hope Zimmerman’s voluntary surrender will show he is not a flight risk. Furthermore, the money Zimmerman has raised is in an independent trust and cannot be directly accessed by Zimmerman or his attorneys, according to the press release.

Zimmerman has pleaded not guilty to the second-degree murder charge. He maintains he shot Martin in self-defense under Florida’s so-called “stand your ground” law because the teen, who was unarmed, was beating him up after confronting Zimmerman about following him in a gated community outside Orlando.

Zimmerman’s credibility could become an issue at trial, legal experts said, noting the case hinges on jurors believing Zimmerman’s account of what happened the night in February that Martin was killed.

Zimmerman wasn’t charged in the case until more than a month after the shooting. Protests were held across the nation, and the case spurred debate about whether race was a factor in Zimmerman’s actions and in the initial police handling of the case. Martin was black; Zimmerman’s father is white and his mother is from Peru.

Police in Sanford did not immediately arrest Zimmerman, citing the Florida law that gives wide latitude to use deadly force rather than retreat in a fight if people believe they are in danger of being killed or seriously injured.

Zimmerman was arrested 44 days after the killing.

Prosecutors pointed out in their motion that Zimmerman had $135,000 available when the bond hearing was held in April. It had been raised from donations through a website he had set up. They suggested more has been collected since and deposited in a bank account.

Shellie Zimmerman was asked about the website at the hearing, but she said she didn’t know how much money had been raised. Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester set bail at $150,000. The 28-year-old was freed a few days later after posting $15,000 in cash — which is typical.

Prosecutor Bernie De la Rionda complained Friday, “This court was led to believe they didn’t have a single penny. It was misleading and I don’t know what words to use other than it was a blatant lie.” The judge agreed and ordered Zimmerman returned to jail by Sunday afternoon.

The defense countered that Zimmerman and his wife never used the money for anything, which indicated “there was no deceit.”

The judge said he would schedule a hearing after Zimmerman is back in custody so he could explain himself.

Benjamin Crump, an attorney for Trayvon Martin’s parents, Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton, said his clients have always said Zimmerman should remain in jail until trial.

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