Arizona Supreme Court approves executions of 2 more death-row inmates

march, 20 source :http://www.therepublic.com

PHOENIX — The Arizona Supreme Court on Tuesday approved the executions of two more death-row inmates, one for the brutal rape and murder of a Phoenix woman and the other for killing a Tucson college student after robbing him.

Samuel Villegas Lopez, 49, is scheduled to be executed on May 16. Thomas Arnold Kemp, 63, is set for execution on April 26. If both executions are carried out, and if the state can carry out three other executions on its radar screen, Arizona would be on pace to match its busiest year for executions in state history.

The most inmates Arizona has executed in a given year since establishing the death penalty in 1910 was seven inmates in 1999.

Arizona has executed two inmates so far this year — Robert Henry Moormann on Feb. 29 and Robert Charles Towery on March 8. It could schedule three more on top of Lopez’s and Kemp’s executions, putting the state on pace to execute seven men this year.

The state executed four inmates last year.

Lopez was convicted for raping, robbing and stabbing 59-year-old Estafana Holmes to death in her Phoenix apartment on Oct. 29, 1986, after what court records described as a “terrible and prolonged struggle.”

Police later found a half-naked Holmes with three major stab wounds to her head, one on her face, and 23 in her left breast and upper chest. The 5-foot-2-inch, 125-pound woman had been blindfolded and gagged with her own clothing, and her throat had been slit.

Semen found on her body matched Lopez’s after he was arrested in a separate rape less than a week later.

Holmes’ apartment was in complete disarray, and blood was splattered on walls in the kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom. In a 1993 ruling from the Arizona Supreme Court upholding Lopez’s death sentence, the justices wrote that the state of the apartment and Holmes’ body showed “a terrific struggle for life” and called the killing a “grisly and ultimately fatal nightmare.”

“Obviously, the victim endured great physical and mental suffering over a relatively protracted period of time while she struggled for her life,” they wrote.

Lopez argued to the court that he didn’t deserve the death penalty because he said he didn’t torture Holmes, that none of the wounds he gave her were inflicted solely to cause pain, and that he “simply continued to stab the victim until she died.”

In a later unsuccessful appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, Lopez argued that he deserved a sentence of life in prison rather than the death penalty. He said that he had ineffective attorneys who failed to present during trial a psychiatric expert who had hypothesized that Lopez was suffering from “pathological intoxication” at the time of the killing.

Pathological intoxication is considered a rare condition in which a person exhibits sudden and unpredictable behavior shortly after drinking a very small amount of alcohol.

Kemp, the other inmate approved for execution, was sentenced to death for kidnapping 25-year-old Hector Soto Juarez from outside his Tucson apartment on July 11, 1992, and robbing him before taking him into a desert area, forcing him to undress and shooting him twice in the head.

Juarez had just left his apartment to get food when Kemp and Jeffery Logan spotted him. They held him at gunpoint and used his debit card to withdraw $200 before driving him to the Silverbell Mine area near Marana, where Kemp killed Juarez.

The two men then went to Flagstaff, where they kidnapped a married couple traveling from California to Kansas and made them drive to Durango, Colo., where Kemp raped the man in a hotel room. Later, Kemp and Logan forced the couple to drive to Denver, where they escaped. Logan soon after separated from Kemp and called police about Juarez’s murder.

Logan led police to Juarez’s body, and Kemp was arrested.

Kemp has argued that his conviction was unfair because then-prosecutor Kenneth Peasley repeatedly told jurors that Kemp’s homosexuality was behind Juarez’s kidnapping and murder, and that the jury hadn’t been properly vetted for their feelings about gay men.

Kemp addressed the court during his sentencing trial when he was supposed to explain why he didn’t deserve the death penalty. Instead, Kemp said Juarez was in the country illegally and was “beneath my contempt,” and expressed contempt for Juarez, Logan, Peasley and reporters who had written about his case.

“I don’t show any mercy, and I am certainly not here to plead for mercy,” he said. “I spit on the law and all those who serve it.”

___

Arizona – The Supreme Court today, in Martinez v. Ryan

The Supreme Court today, in Martinez v. Ryan, recognized that where a state habeas lawyer was ineffective for failing to raise a claim that trial counsel was ineffective, procedural rules will not bar a federal court from hearing those claims. Read the entire opinion below.

Martinez v Ryan opinions

Update Blog

I made a page in  the menu  called “Your Page”, you can share case, petition, asking for help, This page is not reserved only for Usa, but for the whole world.

He hecho una página en el menú llamado “Tu página”, puede compartir vuestro caso,  petición, pedir  ayuda, Esta página no está reservada sólo para los Estados Unidos, sino para todo el mundo.

J’ai fait une page dans le menu appelée “Ta page”, vous pouvez partager des cas, des pétitions, demander de l’aide. Cette page n’est pas réservée uniquement pour les Usa, mais pour le monde entier.

Larry Matthew Pucket execution scheduled today march 20, 2012 – updates of the last 24 hours

March 20, 2012 Execution of Larry Matthew Puckett
7:00 p.m. News Briefing
Parchman, Miss. – The Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) today
conducted the mandated execution of state inmate Larry Matthew Puckett. Inmate Puckett was pronounced dead at 6:18 p.m. at Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman.
MDOC Commissioner Christopher Epps said during a press conference following the execution that the evening marked the close of the Larry Matthew Puckett case. Puckett was sentenced to death in August 1996 for the Petal, Mississippi capital murder of Ms. Rhonda Hatten Griffis.
“The State of Mississippi – Department of Corrections has carried out a court order issued by the state Supreme Court. The role of the MDOC is to see that the order of the court is fulfilled with dignity,” said MDOC Commissioner Chris Epps. “Through the course of nearly 17 years, death row inmate Larry Matthew Puckett was afforded his day in court and in the finality, his conviction was upheld all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The cause of justice has been championed.”
“I ask that you join me in prayer for the family of Rhonda Hatten Griffis. It is our fervent hope that you may now begin 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/Parchman Penitentiary Superintendent Emmitt Sparkman and the entire Mississippi State Penitentiary security staff for their professionalism during the process.

 
 † Larry Matthew Puckett, 35, was put to death by injection and pronounced dead at 6:18 p.m
No,” was the final word from Puckett’s mouth after being asked if he had any final statements.

Epps said Puckett has also requested the opportunity to shower before his execution, but does not want a sedative before the injection.

“I asked him if he wanted one … he said he did not,” Epps said.

read more click here

from Mary Stennett Puckett
We have heard from the Governor and he has declined Matt’s clemency application. We have talked to Matt and he is calm and at peace. He asked that we not worry about him. We prayed that God would free Matt but God has a different definition for free. Matt will finally be free. I told him that he was put on this earth for a purpose and that was to teach us lessons. He asked that we not squander what we had learned and that if we can’t love our neighbor, then we cannot get right with God. We want to thank each and every one of you who joined us in this fight. We appreciate the petition signatures, the prayers and all the encouragement we as a family have received.

4:29 PM

Mississippi governor refuses to stop this evening’s execution

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant has refused to stop the execution scheduled for 6 p.m. tonight of a Mississippi man for the sexual assault and slaying of the wife of his former boss.

3;46 pm source : http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com

Puckett has asked for his remains to be released to his mother by way of Glenwood Funeral Home in Vicksburg.

3.29 pm  source : http://www.therepublic.com

 Puckett spent Tuesday visiting with relatives. He requested a last meal of Macadamia nut pancakes, shrimp and grits, ice cream cake, caramel candy and root beer.

Puckett has a petition before the U.S. Supreme Court to block the execution. Thousands have signed an online petition in support of Puckett, insisting he is innocent.

Puckett’s supporters hope to persuade Gov. Phil Bryant to stop the execution.

Puckett has requested that his body be released to his mother, Mary Puckett.

———————————————————————————————–

2.58 pm  source : http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com

Larry Matthew Puckett, set to be executed this evening, is currently visiting with his family.

Mississippi Department of Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps said in a news conference at Mississippi State Penitentiary that six family members were meeting with Puckett as of 2 p.m.

Puckett, 35, was convicted in 1996 of the October 14, 1995 murder and sexual battery of Rhonda Hatten Griffis in Petal.

Epps said Puckett still maintains his innocence.

“He said there was more to the story,” Epps said.

Currently visiting with Puckett are his mother, Mary Puckett, his father, Larry Ross, two brothers, Edgar Puckett III and Paul Michael Puckett, stepmother Janie Ross and uncle Keith Stennett.

Epps said Puckett is reportedly “somber,” according to MDOC officers stationed outside his cell.

For his last meal, Puckett has requested macadamia nut pancakes with butter and maple syrup, shrimp and grits, an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen, a bag of Werther’s Originals caramel candy and an A&W root beer.

He has requested none of his family nor his attorney witness his execution, scheduled for 6 p.m. by lethal injection.

The victim’s mother and father, Cecil and Nancy Hatten of Hattiesburg, are scheduled to witness the execution.

Lamar County Sheriff Danny Rigel, Forrest County Sheriff Billy McGee and Sunflower County Sheriff James Haywood will witness the execution, along with the Hattiesburg American and three other media outlets.

Epps said more updates would be delivered to media soon.
Read more in tomorrow’s Hattiesburg American or later today at hattiesburgamerican.com.

30 min ago  12:30 pm source : Inmates rights miles apart

From Mary Stennett Puckett
I would like to ask that anyone that calls, emails or otherwise contacts Governor Bryant about Matt’s clemency to please be courteous and respectful. The Governor has a heart wrenching decision to make that will change the lives of many people and being unkind is not something that Matt or I would want his supporters to be. Thank you for all of your support and prayers. We are on the road now going to see Matt and we are praying for strength and mercy. Blessings to all of you…

Toll Free: 1-877-290-9487
601.359.3150
601.359.3741
info@governorbryant.com

update march, 20, 3.20 am  source http://www.wlox.com

watch the new video  click here 

Gov Bryant of Mississippi. Ask him to commute Matthew Puckett’s sentence to Life With Out Parole. He is scheduled to be put to death at 6pm. His phone number is 601-359-3150 His fax is 601-359-3741

march, 19 , 10.05 pm source : http://www.clarionledger.com

Mary Puckett, mother of convicted killer Matt Puckett, talks to the media at a protest against the death penalty. Puckett and others feel the judicial system failed on several levels and wrongly put her son on death row. Puckett is scheduled for execution today.

An anti-death penalty group says the testimony of a controversial forensic dentist helped put Larry Matthew Puckett where he is today: facing death by lethal injection in a matter of hours.

But the state attorney general’s office and others say Puckett will pay with his life for the life he took more than 15 years ago. Puckett, 35, is scheduled to be put to death today a little after 6 p.m. for the 1995 sexual assault and murder of Rhonda Hatten Griffis, 28, a mother of two from Forrest County.

In a rally Monday at the state Capitol , Mississippians Educating for Smart Justice, which opposes the death penalty, asked Gov. Phil Bryant to commute Puckett’s death sentence to life in prison without parole.

The group said it is also making a similar request for William Mitchell, who is scheduled to be put to death Thursday for the 1995 rape and murder of store clerk Patty Milliken, 35, who was killed in Harrison County.

The anti-death penalty group said it has collected more than 5,000 signatures on a petition asking Bryant to commute the sentences.

“The governor and his staff are currently reviewing the facts in these cases and have no further comment at this time,” Bryant’s spokesman, Mick Bullock, said Monday after the anti-death penalty rally.

About 50 people gathered in the first floor rotunda of the state Capitol for the rally.

“We are here to oppose as a whole the death penalty,” said Benjamin Russell of MESJ.

But Jackson resident Ann Pace, whose 22-year-old daughter, Charlotte Murray Pace, was killed by serial killer Derrick Todd Lee in 2002 in Louisiana, said the death penalty isn’t something that is morally wrong.

Pace said if she would have known the rally was taking place she would have been there with her signs in favor of the death penalty when it is judicially used.

“It’s not a good thing, it’s a tough thing you do to protect innocent people,” Pace said of carrying out executions.

Jim Craig, an attorney for death row inmates, said at the rally that Puckett and Mitchell didn’t get fair trials. Craig also criticized one of the state’s expert witness at Puckett’s trial, forensic dentist Michael West. Puckett’s attorneys have filed an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court in hopes of blocking the execution.

read more click here

march 19, source :http://www.wlbt.com

Advocacy group calls for clemency in Puckett execution

watch the video click  here

Update : march 19 ,2012 source : http://www.wtok.com

Group Protests Executions
Jackson, Miss.
A group that opposes the death penalty protested two executions scheduled in Mississippi this week.

Thousands of people have signed an online petition seeking to block the execution of death row inmate, Larry Matthew Puckett.

He is scheduled to die by lethal injection Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Puckett was convicted of sexually assaulting and killing his former boss’ wife when he was 18 years old.

His lawyers petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court last week to block the execution.

A group opposed to capital punishment spoke out Monday at the state capitol.

Mississippians Educating for Smart Justice want Gov. Phil Bryant to grant clemency to Puckett, as well as condemned killer, William Mitchell, who is also scheduled for execution this week.

“Neither of these men, William Mitchell or Matt Puckett, have had a fair trial,” said attorney Jim Craig. “Neither of them have had a real appeal. It’s time to quit hiding behind this fraud and accept the fact that our system is deeply flawed. And these two cases prove it.”

As of Monday, there were nearly 4500 electronic signatures on a petition called ‘Save Matt Puckett: stop an innocent man from being executed.’

click here for read more about case and updates

TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 2012
CERTIORARI DENIED
11-9290 PUCKETT, LARRY M. V. MISSISSIPPI
(11A875)
The application for stay of execution of sentence of death
presented to Justice Scalia and by him referred to the Court is
denied. The petition for a writ of certiorari is denied.

Usa Supreme Court, march 14

No. 11A875  
Title:
Larry Matthew Puckett, Applicant
v.
Mississippi
Docketed:  
Linked with 11-9290
Lower Ct: Supreme Court of Mississippi
  Case Nos.: (2012-DR-00278)
~~~Date~~~ ~~~~~~~Proceedings  and  Orders~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mar 14 2012 Application (11A875) for a stay of execution of sentence of death, submitted to Justice Scalia.
Mar 16 2012 Response to application from respondent filed.
 
~~Name~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~Address~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~Phone~~~
Attorneys for Petitioner:    
Keir Michael Weyble Cornell Law School (607) 255-3805
  103 Myron Taylor Hall  
  Ithaca, NY  14853  
Party name: Larry Matthew Puckett
Attorneys for Respondent:    
Marvin L. White Jr. Assistant Attorney General (601) 359-3680
  450 High Street  
  P.O. Box 220  
  Jackson, MS  39205  
Party name: Mississippi

Arkansas – Inmates on Death Row

Death Row

No. Name Date of Birth Race/Sex Date of Sentence County
SK911 Coulter, Roger 12/1/1959 W/M 10/27/1989 Ashley
SK915 Ward, Bruce Earl 12/24/1956 W/M 10/18/1990 Pulaski
SK918 Sanders, Raymond 08/14/1960 B/M 02/28/1991 Grant
SK920 Davis, Don W. 11/23/1962 W/M 03/6/1992 Benton
SK922 Greene,Jack G 03/13/1955 W/M 10/15/1992 Johnson
SK924 Williams, Frank Jr. 07/27/1966 B/M 02/12/1993 Lafayette
SK925 Dansby, Ray 03/3/1960 B/M 06/11/1993 Union
SK926 Nooner, Terrick T. 03/17/1971 B/M 09/28/1993 Pulaski
SK927 Reams, Kenneth 12/21/1974 B/M 12/16/1993 Jefferson
SK929 Sasser, Andrew 10/21/1964 B/M 03/3/1994 Miller
SK933 Johnson, Stacey E. 11/26/1969 B/M 09/23/1994 Sevier
SK934 Kemp, Timothy W. 08/4/1960 W/M 12/2/1994 Pulaski
SK935 Wooten, Jimmy D. 06/10/1962 W/M 02/17/1995 Pope
SK936 Lee, Ledelle 07/31/1965 B/M 10/16/1995 Pulaski
SK939 Rankin, Roderick L. 11/18/1975 B/M 02/13/1996 Jefferson
SK940 Jones, Jack H. Jr. 08/10/1964 W/M 04/17/1996 White
SK941 Jackson, Alvin 06/30/1970 B/M 06/20/1996 Jefferson
SK943 Williams, Marcell W. 08/20/1970 B/M 01/14/1997 Pulaski
SK944 Dansby, Joe L. 09/28/1952 B/M 04/25/1997 Miller
SK945 Collins, Kingrale 11/15/1975 B/M 10/22/1997 Cross
SK946 McGehee, Jason F. 07/4/1976 W/M 01/8/1998 Boone
SK951 Engram, Andrew R. 10/16/1954 B/M 01/29/1999 Pulaski
SK952 Jones, Larry 01/13/1959 B/M 02/16/1999 Crittenden
SK954 Howard, Tim 05/6/1969 B/M 12/9/1999 Little River
SK956 Roberts, Karl D. 03/06/1968 W/M 05/24/2000 Polk
SK957 Williams, Kenneth 02/23/79 B/M 8/30/2000 Lincoln
SK960 Isom, Kenneth 06/03/67 B/M 03/28/2001 Drew
SK961 Anderson, Justin 03/21/81 B/M 01/31/2002 Lafayette
SK962 Newman, Rickey D. 08/04/57 W/M 06/10/2002 Crawford
SK964 Thessing, Billy 09/11/68 W/M 09/10/2004 Pulaski
SK965 Thomas, Mickey D. 09/25/1974 B/M 09/28/2005 Pike
SK966 Springs, Thomas 06/25/1962 B/M 11/24/2005 Sebastian
SK968 Sales, Derek 01/08/1961 B/M 05/17/2007 Ashley
SK969 Wertz, Steven 02/17/1950 W/M 07/19/2007 Sharp
SK971 Decay, Gregory 07/11/1985 B/M 04/24/2008 Washington
SK972 Marcyniuk, Zachariah 05/21/1979 W/M 12/12/2008 Washington
SK973 Lacy, Brandon E. 01/01/1979 W/M 05/13/2009 Benton
SK974 Taylor, Jason L. 05/29/1984 W/M 06/26/2009 Saline
SK975 Dimas-Martinez, Erickson 05/03/1985 H/M 04/01/2010 Benton

16 White Males
23 Black Males
1 Hispanic Male
40 Total

Last Updated:  03/20/2012 03:11:09

Ohio – Mark Wayne Wiles – Execution – April 18, 2012 10 a.m – EXECUTED

Summary of Offense:

On August 7, 1985, Wiles murdered 15-year-old Mark Klima at a farmhouse in Rootstown. Mark’s parents owned the farm where Wiles had worked until January 1983. When Mark caught Wiles stealing valuables from the house, Wiles stabbed Mark 24 times and left the butcher knife buried in his back. Wiles fled to Georgia, but later confessed to authorities in Savannah, Georgia and detectives from Portage County, Ohio.

april 17, 2012 source : http://www.dispatchpolitics.com

Mark Wayne Wiles, the condemned killer from Portage County, arrived this morning at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in preparation for his execution tomorrow. He was transported from the Chillicothe Correctional Institution where Death Row is now located.

april 6, 2012, source :http://www.newsmax.com

Ohio will resume executions by lethal injection later this month, after blocking them for the past four months because of legal complaints that prison officials were not following the proper procedures.U.S. District Court Judge Gregory Frost denied a request by Mark Wayne Wiles to halt his execution, saying he trusts the state to “avoid the embarrassments” of the past, the Columbus Dispatch reports.
Wiles’ execution is scheduled for 10 a.m. on April 18 at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility. He was sentenced to death for the 1985 murder of Mark Klima, 15.
Frost blocked other executions in recent months because the state repeatedly “failed to follow through on its own execution protocol.” By clearing the way for Wiles’ execution, Frost likely opened up Ohio’s execution schedule, which has about one inmate a month scheduled for capital punishment through early 2014.
Even though he denied Wiles’ stay request, Frost still criticized the state’s failures when it comes to carrying out the death penalty.
“Ohio’s new procedures look good on paper,” he said. “The protocol is constitutional as written, and executions are lawful, but the problem has been Ohio’s repeated inability to do what it says it will do.”
Wiles, 49, had worked for Mark Klima’s parents until January 1983. He returned about two years later, and mark caught him stealing family valuables. Wiles stabbed the teenager 24 times with a butcher knife. He fled to Georgia, but eventually confessed to the murder.
Public defender Allen Bohnert, representing Wiles, said he is reviewing the ruling with the thought of a possible appeal.

Read more on Newsmax.com: Ohio Ready to Resume Lethal Injections
Important: Do You Support Pres. Obama’s Re-Election? Vote Here Now!

march, 23  source http://www.ideastream.org

clemency be denied

audio mp3 click here

March, 16,

Mark Wiles sat in front of a window at the Chillicothe Correctional Institution, wearing a T-shirt and looking directly into the camera.

For about two minutes, the man who stabbed a teenager to death on a Portage County horse farm tried to put into words the apology he said he’s been wanting to offer for more than 25 years.

“All these years, I’ve wanted to say to you that I’ve always been sorry for what I did to your son Mark (Klima),” Wiles said, directing the comments to the parents of the boy he killed in August 1985. “He was an innocent victim of my selfish needs. I truly am sorry for taking his life and causing you and so many others so much pain and loss.”

The image, part of a taped apology presented to the state parole board Thursday and earlier sent directly to the Klima family, stood in stark contrast to the picture of  Wiles painted by prosecutors: a “burglar of occupied homes” with a history of criminal behavior; “one of the most belligerent individuals” his high school principal had ever experienced; a man who tried to convince investigators that it was his 100-pound victim who threatened him with a knife.

“I can’t understand why they have to prolong (the case and the death penalty) so long when there’s a confession,” Charlie Klima, father of the murder victim, said in his own taped statement to the parole board. “He said he did it and he didn’t want to appeal it. I just don’t understand what the purpose of delaying it any longer or delaying it as long as it was. It just doesn’t make sense.”

He added, “I believe in the death penalty, and I think that he murdered our son and I think he should be executed….”

Wiles, 49, is scheduled for lethal injection next month, though it remains to be seen whether a federal judge will allow the state to resume executions, given the continuing legal battle over the constitutionality of Ohio’s death penalty protocols. A hearing on that issue is set for next week.

The parole board will offer its recommendation to Gov. John Kasich on March 23. The governor has final say on whether to grant clemency or allow the execution to take place as scheduled.

Members didn’t offer too many indications Thursday of the direction of their decision, though they did chastise Wiles’ attorneys for sending a copy of his taped apology directly to the murder victim’s family, calling the move insensitive.

The Klimas turned the tape over to prosecutors without watching it.

“I think after 26 years, an apology is kind of ridiculous,” Charlie Klima said in his taped statement to the board. “… I don’t have any interest in bringing back any more memories than has been (already) brought back in this situation.”

Wiles worked part time at Charlie and Carol Klima’s Shakespeare Acres in Rootstown from May 1982 until January 1983, when the family discovered about $200 missing from ransacked rooms of their home.

Wiles was the only other person on the property at the time; he left before being confronted.
Two years later, after serving time in prison for an unrelated burglary, Wiles returned to the farm, intent on stealing more money. He was caught in the act by Mark Klima, a straight-A student who had completed his freshman year of high school and who wanted to be a doctor.
Wiles subsequently stabbed the teen with a foot-long kitchen knife, stole $260 and fled the state. Five days later, he turned himself into police in Savannah, Ga., signed a confession and returned to Ohio.

Legal counsel for Wiles based their clemency request on Wiles’ admission of guilt, his remorse over the killing and his good behavior while in prison.

“Mark does not believe that he deserves mercy, but he wants to live,” said Vicki Werneke, a federal public defender. “… Mark is so consumed with remorse and regret. … Mark doesn’t offer any excuses for what he did.”

A neuropsychologist testified, via video, that a head injury stemming from a bar fight in the days before the murder could have affected Wiles’ behavior.

A psychologist said Wiles abused alcohol and drugs, displayed anti-social behavior and likely suffered a brain injury that affected his actions and thinking.
Former and current legal counsel described their interaction with Wiles during his trial and post-conviction proceedings, saying he was respectful but was so remorseful about the killing that he did little to avoid the death penalty.

And two sisters and a brother-in-law described Wiles’ emotionally stifling upbringing, the industrial explosion that killed their older brother and their mother’s untreated bipolar disorder.

“I need you to know that I am sorry,” Wiles said in his taped apology, adding later, “When I’m executed, honestly, I hope that in some way it eases some of the pain that I’ve caused.”
But Portage County Prosecutor Vic Vigluicci said Wiles didn’t take responsibility for the crime at the time, initially denying involvement and then attempting to blame the teen for pulling a knife.

The prosecutor showed images of the murdered boy and described, in detail, the fatal wounds Mark Klima received to his back, the defensive wounds he had on his forearms and the bruises and scrapes on this face and forehead.
mark

Prosecutors also said that Wiles had said he wasn’t drunk or high on the day of the crime. And they said a scan of Wiles’ brain days before the murder showed no damage or abnormalities.

Mark Klima’s parents were unable to appear before the parole board in person. Carol Klima recently suffered a stroke and has congestive heart failure. Her husband was at her side.
“We are a small family,” Virginia Klima Petrie, the murdered teen’s aunt, told the parole board in their place. “We don’t make a lot of noise. We live within our means and pay our taxes. We abide by the law. We are working members of our community. And we are the victims of a heinous murder of the only heir to the Klima family name.”

She added, “Enough is enough. … I beg you, let the parents of this murdered child have a moment of closure now before one of them dies. The family asks — no, we demand — justice now. Mark Wiles’ execution needs to be carried out as scheduled. Nothing else is acceptable.”

http://www.recordpub.com/news/article/5168007

march, 15

clemency hearing today

march, 9

Execution date nears for murderer of Rootstown teen 

Prison officials are moving ahead with plans to execute a Portage County man who murdered a Rootstown teen more than 25 years ago, despite delays on other executions this year after a judge raised questions about the state’s lethal injection protocol.

Mark Wiles will make his case for clemency before the state parole board next week in advance of his scheduled execution on April 18.

“We have not been made aware of any postponement for the Wiles execution,” said JoEllen Smith, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. “We are moving forward with our preparations.”

Whether Wiles makes the trip to the Death House at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility remains in question, however, as the state works to convince a federal judge that its execution procedures are constitutional.

Two executions were postponed after federal district Judge Gregory Frost ruled prison officials hadn’t followed their own written guidelines for executing an inmate late last year.

A hearing on the issues is scheduled for later this month, during which the state could present a revamped execution protocol. If it meets the judge’s approval, he could allow executions to take place as scheduled.

“The governor’s office at some point will approve a new protocol that DRC has been working on,” Attorney General Mike DeWine said. “Once they approve that protocol, we will present that to Judge Frost. … Judge Frost at that point will decide whatever he decides.”

There are executions scheduled in the state through January 2014, with Wiles next in line. He was sentenced to death for the 1985 murder of 15-year-old Mark Klima.

Wiles worked part time at the Klima horse farm in Rootstown several years before the murder but left after the family discovered $200 was missing.

After serving part of a prison sentence for an unrelated burglary, Wiles returned to burglarize the home, and Mark Klima caught him in the act.

Wiles stabbed the teen, a straight-A student who had completed his freshman year of high school, with a kitchen knife 24 times, stole $260 and fled the state.

Five days later, Wiles turned himself into police in Savannah, Ga., and signed a confession.

His clemency hearing is set for 9 a.m. Thursday, March 15.

http://www.recordpub.com/news/article/5165691

Wiles was denied a COA in the 6th Circuit’s 4/14/09 orders/opinions.Opinion is here:http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions…9a0147p-06.pdf
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio Supreme Court has set execution dates for a Cleveland man who killed his wife and brother-in-law and a northeast Ohio man who repeatedly stabbed a teen who interrupted a burglary.The dates announced Tuesday are some of the farthest in the future set in recent years by the court, which schedules when death row inmates die.The court set an April 18, 2012 execution date for 48-year-old Mark Wiles, who killed 15-year-old Mark Klima (KLEE’-muh) at a farmhouse in Portage County in 1985.The court also set a June 6, 2012 execution date for 52-year-old Abdul Awkal (ab-DUHL’ AW’-kuhl) of Cleveland, who killed estranged wife Latife Awkal (la-TEEFF’-eh AW’-kuhl) and brother-in-law Mahmoud Abdul-Aziz (MAKH’-mood ab-DUHL’-ah-ZEEZ’) in 1992, in a room in Cuyahoga (ky-uh-HOH’-guh) County Domestic Relations Court.Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/art…#ixzz1PGW3mH7J
Execution is set for murderer of Rootstown teen The Ohio Supreme Court on Tuesday set an April 18, 2012 date for the execution of a death row inmate convicted in the August 1985 stabbing death of a 15-year-old Rootstown boy.Mark W. Wiles, 48, who has spent 25 years on Ohio’s death row, is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection for the Aug. 7, 1985, murder of Mark Klima, according to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections website.Wiles had worked as a farmhand at the Klima family horse farm, Shakespeare Acres, three years prior to the murder. He was suspected of stealing money from the family during that time.After being convicted of an unrelated burglary and spending 18 months in prison, Wiles, then 22, broke into the Klima house looking for money. Mark Klima surprised him and was stabbed 13 times with a kitchen knife, which Wiles left sticking out of the boy’s back.Wiles fled the state with $260 stolen from the Klima residence, and later turned himself in to authorities in Savannah, Ga. He was tried in January 1986 by a panel of judges — Joseph Kainrad, Robert Kent and George Martin — and convicted of murder.Former Portage County Prosecutor John Plough prosecuted the case.The U.S. Supreme Court previously declined to hear Wiles’ appeal. He remains in the Ohio State Penitentiary in Youngstown awaiting execution.A clemency hearing date has not been set, according to the ODRC.http://www.recordpub.com/news/article/5050800

Update : Rob will

from freeRob Will (group-friends) (facebook)

CASE UPDATE: We had some success with the filing to the Court and been granted a Certificate of Appealability, which means we have something to work with going forward to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Thank you all for your Solidarity and Support for Rob. He is so appreciative!

Oklahoma – Garry Thomas Allen – Execution – April 12, 2012 STAYED

Summary of Offense:

Allen pleaded guilty in the 1986 shooting death of his ex-girlfriend Gail Titsworth in Oklahoma County. He was convicted in 1987. Titsworth had broken off the relationship with Allen three days before the killing and had sought a protective order. She was picking up her two sons at a child-care center when Allen shot her four times. He then struggled with a police officer and was shot in the head. Allen spent months in mental hospitals after his arrest to be treated for depression and his head injury. He was deemed competent at a 1987 hearing but won a new competency hearing in 1997 after the Supreme Court ruled that Oklahoma’s competency standards were too high. In the subsequent hearing, Allen was again ruled competent.

april 11, 2012 BREAKING NEWS 

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – A federal judge in Oklahoma City has stayed the execution of an inmate who was diagnosed with schizophrenia but found sane by a jury that considered whether he was eligible for the death penalty.

Fifty-six-year-old Garry Allen is scheduled to die by injection on Thursday. Allen pleaded guilty to capital murder after being shot in the head during his November 1986 arrest. He killed 24-year-old Gail Titsworth, with whom he had children, outside a daycare where she had picked up her sons days after she moved away from Allen. An officer shot Allen after he tried to shoot the officer.

In 2005, the state Pardon and Parole Board voted 4-1 to commute Allen’s sentence to life in prison, but Gov. Mary Fallin had decided to allow the execution to proceed.

april 10, 2012 source : http://muskogeephoenix.com

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Members of an anti-death penalty group said Monday they have little hope that Gov. Mary Fallin will commute the death sentence of an Oklahoma inmate scheduled to be executed Thursday.

Three members of the Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty met with Fallin’s general counsel, Steve Mullins, to urge the governor to reverse her decision to deny clemency for Garry Thomas Allen, 56.

Allen’s attorneys contend he was mentally impaired when he killed 24-year-old Lawanna Gail Titsworth, the mother of his two children, on Nov. 21, 1986, in Oklahoma City. They say he had been self-medicating for an underlying mental illness, and that his mental condition had worsened.

Coalition board member James T. Rowan said the group does not expect Fallin to change her mind about clemency. He said Mullins indicated during the meeting that Allen’s clemency request “was a close case.”

“I’m satisfied that the governor has gone through an exhausting process,” Rowan said.

A spokesman for Fallin, Alex Weintz, confirmed the group met with Mullins and discussed Allen’s case. Weintz said Fallin appreciated their input but that there was no change in the status of the case.

“The execution is still scheduled for Thursday,” Weintz said.

Fallin denied clemency for Allen on March 13, but the coalition asked her to reconsider based on the state Pardon and Parole Board’s 4-1 recommendation in 2005 that Allen’s death penalty on a first-degree murder conviction be commuted to like in prison.

“That is a very exceptional factor,” said Rex Friend, another coalition board member.

Allen was shot in the face during a struggle with police after Titsworth’s shooting death and his attorneys said he was not competent to enter a blind plea of guilty to the murder charge.

Former Gov. Brad Henry never acted on the board’s 2005 clemency recommendation for Allen because a Pittsburg County judge issued a stay of execution after a prison psychological exam determined Allen had developed mental problems on death row. The doctor’s report noted Allen had dementia caused by seizures, drug abuse and the gunshot wound.

A 12-member jury was impaneled in 2008 to determine Allen’s sanity. Jurors rejected Allen’s argument that he should not be put to death and decided he was sane enough to be executed.

Friend said Fallin went through a long and detailed process that included meetings with prosecution and defense attorneys in the case before she made her decision to deny the Pardon and Parole Board’s recommendation. Rowan said Allen’s execution could still be blocked if prison officials believe he is not mentally competent.

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April 6, 2012 source :http://www.therepublic.com

OKLAHOMA CITY — As activists prepare to argue for clemency for a man scheduled to die next week, a death penalty expert said a blind guilty plea such as Garry Allen’s is unusual in Oklahomacapital murder cases.

Allen’s attorneys have argued that he was mentally impaired when he entered a blind guilty plea to a capital murder charge. Allen was shot in the head during his 1986 arrest, and he had a history of mental illness and alcohol abuse prior to the killing.

Activists on Monday plan to ask legal counsel for Gov. Mary Fallin to consider clemency for the 56-year-old man, who is scheduled to be executed Thursday.

Considering Allen’s apparent combination of mental illness and alcohol abuse, he shouldn’t have entered a blind guilty plea — a plea done in front of a judge without a deal — especially in a state where the death penalty is popular, said defense attorney James Rowan, a death penalty expert who does not represent Allen.

Allen has testified that he pleaded guilty to spare his family and his victim’s family from the ordeal of a trial.

His lawyers had argued he was not sane and therefore shouldn’t be executed, but in 2008, a jury said he was sane enough for the death penalty.

A personality test in Allen’s court file shows his “probable diagnosis is Schizophrenic Disorder, or Anxiety Disorder in a Paranoid Personality.” Allen, who had a history of substance abuse, had also testified that before the day of the killing, he got drunk whenever he could. Two hours after the killing, Allen’s blood-alcohol level was .27— more than three times the legal limit.

Considering Allen’s apparent combination of mental illness and alcohol abuse, he shouldn’t have entered a blind guilty plea — a plea done in front of a judge without a deal — especially in a state where the death penalty is popular, said defense attorney James Rowan, a death penalty expert who does not represent Allen.

Attorney Charles Hoffman, another expert on death penalty cases, said a blind guilty plea could be the result of the defendant’s insistence, “bad or lazy lawyering” or a strategy to argue the defendant acknowledged guilt when a conviction is sure to happen.

“Although entering a blind guilty plea in a death penalty case may sound like a very dumb thing to do, it really all depends on the facts of the case,” Hoffman said.

In the 42 capital murder cases that Rowan has tried, only two defendants entered blind guilty pleas — once because Rowan was “young and didn’t know any better.” In the other case, in 1989, a man killed five people in a multi-state spree, including a woman in an Ardmore, Okla., flower shop.

Rowan knew the case would be hard to win and decided to plead to the judge.

“It would almost be malpractice now to do it,” Rowan said. “Even if the defendant wanted to enter a guilty plea, I think you’d be almost incompetent to do that.”

In 2005, the Pardon and Parole Board voted 4-1 to recommend life without parole instead of execution for Allen, but Fallin has decided to proceed with the execution.

Fallin has said she and her legal team gave Allen’s case a thorough review, and she has no plans to change her decision.

Allen shot 42-year-old Lawanna Titsworth four days after she moved out of the home where she lived with Allen and their two sons, according to court documents. Titsworth and Allen had fought in the week before the shooting and he had tried to convince her to live with him again.

An officer in the area responded to a 911 call. Allen grabbed his gun and struggled with the officer, according to court documents. Allen tried to make the officer shoot himself by squeezing the officer’s finger on the trigger, but the officer got control of the gun and shot Allen in the face.

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March 14,2012

OKLAHOMA CITY

Governor Mary Fallin has denied clemency for Garry Thomas Allen, an Oklahoma death row inmate who killed the mother of his two children in 1986.

On February 9, 2012, Governor Fallin granted a stay of execution of thirty days from February 16, 2012, the date of the scheduled execution of Allen, in order for this office to thoroughly evaluate the recommendation of clemency by the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board.

The Governor met with the Federal Public Defender’s office, the Oklahoma Attorney General’s office and the victim’s family about this case.

The Executive Order, Fallin states, “Having thoroughly reviewed the arguments and evidence presented in this case, I have determined that clemency should be denied, and that the sentence of death shall be carried out.”

The Governor has granted an additional twenty-six day stay thereby scheduling the execution on Thursday, April 12, 2012.

Allen was convicted for killing 42-year-old Lawanna Gail Titsworth on November 21, 1986, in Oklahoma City.

Read the full Executive Order HERE.

Article 5/4/08

Death row inmate deemed sane

A Pittsburg County jury has determined that a death row inmate is sane enough to be executed, but it’s uncertain when the punishment will be carried out.

On a 9 to 3 vote, a panel of 11 men and one woman rejected Garry Thomas Allen‘s argument that he shouldn’t be put to death for the fatal shooting of Lawanna Titsworth because he had become insane while in prison.

An Oklahoma County jury convicted the 52-year-old Allen of first-degree murder for gunning down in November 1986 outside an Oklahoma City daycare center. Titsworth had moved out of the home she shared with Allen and their 2 sons 4 days before her death.

According to court documents, the 2 were arguing when Allen reached into his sock, pulled out a revolver and shot her twice in the chest.

Titsworth got to her feet and ran toward the center, but Allen shoved her down some steps and shot her in the back twice.

An Oklahoma City police officer responding to the call tussled with Allen before shooting him in the face.

Prosecutors are now considering what to do next.

Okla. court dismisses death row inmate’s appeal

A condemned Oklahoma inmate who insists he is insane lost a legal challenge Thursday when an appeals court determined there is no procedure under state law to contest a jury’s finding that he is sane enough to be executed.

The Court of Criminal Appeals handed down the decision against Garry Thomas Allen, 55, who was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death for the Nov. 21, 1986, shooting death of 42-year-old Lawanna Gail Titsworth, the mother of Allen’s two children.

A district judge in Pittsburg County issued a stay one day before Allen scheduled execution in 2005 after a psychological examination at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary indicated Allen had developed mental problems while confined on death row. The U.S. Constitution forbids the execution of inmates who are insane or mentally incompetent.

According to state legal guidelines, a 12-member jury was impaneled in 2008 to determine Allen’s sanity. Jurors rejected Allen’s argument that he should not be put to death and decided he was sane enough to be executed.

Allen appealed, but in a six-page decision the appeals court concluded the appeal was not authorized by law and that there is no procedure to appeal a finding that a person facing execution is sane.

The decision, written by Vice Presiding Judge David Lewis of Lawton, says there is no federally mandated right to an appeal in Allen’s case and that the state Constitution does not mandate an appeal. In addition, the Legislature has not created a statutory appeal process for sanity proceedings, the appellate court said.

“It is, however, clear what the procedure should be when a person facing execution is found either insane or sane after a jury trial, and that procedure does not include an appeal to this court,” the ruling states.

Despite the decision, it remains unclear when Allen’s execution will be carried out. Attorney General’s Office spokeswoman Dianne Clay said attorneys plan to evaluate the decision before asking the appeals court to schedule a new execution date for Allen.

Allen’s attorney, Kristi Christopher of the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System, did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment.

An Oklahoma County jury sentenced Allen to death for shooting Titsworth in the parking lot of the Oklahoma City daycare center. She had moved out of the home she shared with Allen and their two sons four days earlier.

Court documents indicated the two were arguing when Allen reached into his sock, pulled out a revolver and shot Titsworth twice in the chest. Titsworth ran with a center employee toward the building, but Allen pushed the worker away, shoved Titsworth down some steps and shot her twice in the back at close range, records show.

A police officer responding to a 911 call tussled with Allen before shooting him in the face, according to court documents. Allen was hospitalized for about two months for treatment of injuries to his face, left eye and brain.

Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://washingtonexaminer.com/news/2…#ixzz1fzv2kDVK

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The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals has set a Feb. 16 execution date for a death row inmate who claims he is insane.

The court set the date Thursday for 55-year-old Garry Thomas Allen. Attorney General Scott Pruitt requested the date on Dec. 28 after a stay of execution for Allen was lifted by a Pittsburg County judge.

Allen was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death for the Nov. 21, 1986, shooting death of 42-year-old Lawanna Gail Titsworth. But Allen’s 2005 execution was stayed when prison officials reported he had developed mental problems on death row.

A 12-member jury was impaneled in 2008 to determine Allen’s sanity. Jurors rejected Allen’s argument that he should not be put to death and decided he was sane enough to be executed.

http://www.therepublic.com/view/stor…oma-Execution/

Garry Allen has epilepsy, which has apparently worsened during his time on death row. He has frequent seizures and doctors have said that he is so confused for periods after these seizures that he would not understand thereality of or reason for his impending execution. In 1993, Garry Allen’s IQ was measured at 111, above average. By 1999, it had dropped to 75.Doctors have reportedly put this down to his ongoing epileptic seizures combined with head injuries.

After having been presented with such evidence at a clemency hearing on 20 April 2005, the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board recommended by four votes to one that Governor Brad Henry commute Garry Allen’s death sentence to life imprisonment. An Assistant Attorney General, pursuing the executionfor the state, was quoted as saying that he believed that Garry Allen was faking his mental impairments: ”It is easier to act stupider than you are. It’s impossible to act smarter than you are. This guy now knows, play up my seizures, play down my IQ.”

http://www.mail-archive.com/deathpen…/msg02623.html

Governor considering death-row inmate’s case

A death-row inmate originally scheduled to be executed Thursday night will instead be put to death March 17 if the governor’s legal team decides against commuting the man’s sentence to life in prison.

Gov. Mary Fallin issued a 30-day stay last week to give her legal team more time to consider a 2005 clemency recommendation from the state Pardon and Parole Board for 55-year-old Garry Thomas Allen.

Allen had been scheduled to die for the 1986 murder of the mother of his two children. His attorneys have argued that he was mentally impaired when he killed 42-year-old Lawanna Gail Titsworth.

Allen’s current lawyer, Randy Bauman, declined to comment on the stay Thursday. Currie Ballard, a member of the pardon and parole board, said he could not comment on death-row cases.

http://www.kswo.com/story/16952220/g…w-inmates-case

Convicted killer Garry Thomas Allen will be executed April 12 after Gov. Mary Fallin issued an additional 26-day stay on Tuesday

Allen was set to be executed Saturday after the first 30-day stay expired for his case.

On Feb. 9, Gov. Fallin granted a 30-day stay of execution from the originally scheduled date of Feb. 16, in order to evaluate the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board’s recommendation of clemency.

The governor met with the Federal Public Defender’s office, the Oklahoma Attorney General’s office and the victim’s family to review Allen’s case, and after examining the arguments and evidence presented, determined that clemency should be denied, and that the sentence of death shall be carried out, according to spokesman Alex Weintz.

Allen was sentenced to death for the 1986 murder of the mother of his two children, 42-year-old Lawanna Gail Titsworth.

Allen’s attorneys have argued that he was mentally impaired when he killed Titsworth in Oklahoma City. They said he had been self-medicating for an underlying mental illness, which had gotten worse. A police officer shot Allen in the face during a struggle after Allen shot his wife.

The pardon and parole board voted 4-1 in 2005 to recommend commuting Allen’s sentence to life in prison. But before then-Gov. Brad Henry had a chance to act on the recommendation, a Pittsburg County judge issued a stay after a prison psychological exam determined Allen had developed mental problems on death row. The doctor’s report noted Allen had dementia caused by seizures, drug abuse and his gunshot wound.

A 12-member jury was impaneled in 2008 to determine Allen’s sanity. Jurors rejected Allen’s argument that he should not be put to death and decided he was sane enough to be executed.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/artic…_0_Convic58229

It is filing day for Rob will !

For all those who support Robert Will, its the filing day, I think Rob did not get much sleep that night, I hope that finally justice removes the shit they have in their eyes, and that justice finally recognize his mistakes, that all these years is an innocent in the death row,when he should have to enjoy life. I cross my fingers so that finally he has a right judgment, a man handcuffed to the ground, can not grasp a gun and shot. That consideration be given confessions that were made by the real guilty. that all evidence of his innocence was finally held in consideration. I send all my positive thoughts for Rob.  I stand with U.