execution

Georgia – Daniel Greene – Execution – april 19 – STAYED 90 DAYS

april 4, 2012 source : http://www.correctionsone.com

TAYLOR COUNTY, Ga. — An April 19 execution date has been set for a former high school football star from Taylor County.

Daniel Greene was sentenced to death for the 1991 killing of 19-year-old Bernard Walker, who was trying to come to the aid of a Suwanee Thrifty store clerk in Taylor County.

Greene had forced the clerk to give him $142 from the cash register before he took her to a back room and stabbed her. She survived, but Walker, whom Greene stabbed in the heart, died in the parking lot.

Greene, a 6-foot-5, 350-pound former high school football standout, was tried in Clayton County in 1992 because of pretrial publicity.

After killing Walker, Greene drove to the home of a Macon County couple who had previously employed him as a farm laborer. Greene burst into their home, took their car keys and then stabbed Willie and Donice Montgomery multiple times. The couple survived.

Greene then drove to another convenience store in Warner Robins and pulled a knife on the store attendant, who gave Greene money from the cash register. Greene stabbed her in the back of the shoulder before fleeing. He was later arrested at a relative’s home and confessed to the crimes in a videotaped interview, saying he needed money for crack cocaine, according to court records.

Late last week, a judge signed an order scheduling Greene’s execution for a seven-day period beginning April 19. On Monday, Department of Corrections Commissioner Brian Owens set the execution for April 19 at 7 p.m.

The execution is to be carried out at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson. Greene would be the 30th state inmate put to death by lethal injection.

Execution date set for ex-football star (ajc.com)

Anti-death penalty group asks Okla. governor to reconsider clemency for man scheduled to die

april, 2 2012, source : http://www.therepublic.com

OKLAHOMA CITY — An anti-death penalty group wants Gov. Mary Fallin to grant clemency to a man sentenced to die next week, and asked Monday that she give full weight to the Pardon and Parole Board’s 2005 recommendation to commute his sentence.

The Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty encouraged the public Monday to write letters to the governor and sign the group’s petition. Coalition members argue that Garry Thomas Allen, 56, is mentally impaired and should not be put to death.

Allen killed the mother of his children, 42-year-old Lawanna Titsworth, on Nov. 21, 1986, in Oklahoma City. He was shot in the head during a struggle with an officer.

Fallin said she and her legal team gave Allen’s case a thorough review, including interviews with family members of the victim and attorneys on both sides, and she has no plans to change her decision.

“I took quite a long time looking through his files,” Fallin said. “I watched videos of him. I’ve read the files themselves. I’ve visited with his attorneys.”

Garland Pruitt, president of the Oklahoma City chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, supported the anti-death penalty coalition at a news conference Monday at the state Capitol. The Rev. Adam Leathers and Sen. Constance Johnson also backed the group.

Leathers said executing Allen with his history of mental illness conflicts with Jesus’ promotion of life and healing. He said Allen is not a Christ figure, but talking about state-mandated execution at the close of Lent is ironic and reminds him of “barbaric crowds” that “once cried out ‘crucify him.'”

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, testified that before the day of the killing, he got drunk whenever he could.

“I can remember drinking a lot and I don’t even know if it was on that day, but I was drinking just about every day at that point,” he said.

The Pardon and Parole Board recommended 4-1 that the governor commute Allen’s sentence to life in prison without parole. But Fallin rejected the recommendation last month and ordered him to die April 12.

In 2008, 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 the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals in December concluded there is no procedure to appeal a finding that a person facing execution is sane.

Allen shot 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 tried to convince her to live with him again.

On the day of the killing, she went to a day care center to pick up her sons when Allen confronted her. She left with the boys and went into the parking lot, where employees and several children were, but Allen would not let her get into her truck. He reached into his sock and shot her twice in the chest with a revolver. She was able to run toward the day care, but Allen pushed her down some steps and shot her two times in the back.

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

Texas – Anthony Bartee – execution – may 2, 2012 Stay granted

Picture of Offender

Sentenced to 10 years and 33 years for two counts of Aggravated Rape out of Bexar County. Bartee was on parole when he committed the offense of capital murder described here.

Bartee was originally scheduled to be executed on February 28, 2012, even though DNA evidence collected at the crime scene had not been tested as ordered on at least two occasions by District Judge Mary Román. He received a reprieve on February 23, 2012 when Judge Román withdrew the execution warrant so that additional DNA testing could be conducted on strands of hair found in the hands of the victim, David Cook. She also ordered the forensic lab to provide a detailed and comprehensive report to the court with an analysis of the results. Yet, before the testing occurred, Judge Román inexplicably set another execution date, for May 2, 2012.

According to Bartee’s attorneys, DNA testing was just conducted and indicated that hairs that were tested found in Cook’s hands belonged to Cook. The jury never heard this evidence – and in fact wasn’t told about the hairs at all – which might have undermined the prosecution’s theory of the case that a violent struggle had ensued between Cook and his killer. Still, Judge Román entered the findings as unfavorable, opining that this evidence would not have made a difference in the outcome of the trial, had it been available to the jury. Under Article 64.05 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, Bartee’s attorneys have the right to appeal the unfavorable findings. The fast-approaching execution date significantly impedes this right to due process, however.

In addition, there is still more evidence that has not been tested for DNA, including cigarette butts and at least three drinking glasses found at the crime scene. In 2010, the court ordered that all items that had not been tested be tested, but these items still have not been tested.

FACTS OF THE CRIME

from Texas Attorney General

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit described the facts surrounding the murder of Mr. Cook as follows:

On 17 August 1996, the victim’s body was discovered by police and his family in his home in San Antonio, Texas. He had been shot twice in the head and stabbed in the shoulder. The bullet fragments at the scene were consistent with having been fired from a pistol owned by the victim. This pistol, and the victim’s red Harley Davidson motorcycle, were missing from his home.

At some point that summer, Bartee had asked an acquaintance to assist him in robbing and killing a neighbor, informing him this neighbor “had some gold [credit] cards and a motorcycle” that Bartee wanted. And, two days prior to the discovery of the victim’s body, Bartee had informed another acquaintance, Munoz, that he intended to “ace some white dude out”. Bartee unsuccessfully solicited both Munoz and several others to assist him in achieving this result. That same day, at nearly midnight, Bartee arrived at Munoz’[s] home, riding a Harley Davidson motorcycle and claiming to carry a gun. Several witnesses identified this motorcycle as being similar or identical to the victim’s.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On April 2, 1997, a Bexar County grand jury indicted Bartee for murdering David Cook.

On May 15, 1998, a Bexar County jury convicted Bartee of capital murder. After a separate punishment proceeding, Bartee was sentenced to death on May 19, 1998.

On May 3, 2000, Bartee’s conviction and sentence were affirmed by the Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas on direct appeal. Bartee did not appeal the state court’s decision to the Supreme Court of the United States. Instead, he filed an application for habeas corpus relief which was denied by the Court of Criminal Appeals on March 8, 2006.

On January 23, 2007, Bartee filed a motion for DNA testing in the 175th State District Court in Bexar County. On June 18, 2007, the district court granted Bartee’s motion and ordered that DNA tests be conducted on the crime scene evidence. After reviewing the test results, the court determined that the evidence did not exonerate Bartee because the DNA profiles developed from the blood and hair samples were consistent with the victim’s profile. Consequently, the convicting court rejected Bartee’s appeal and upheld the capital murder conviction. Bartee appealed the trial court’s finding to the Court of Criminal Appeals, but his appeal was dismissed as untimely on March 16, 2011.

On February 21, 2007, Bartee filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, San Antonio Division. The federal court denied Bartee’s petition on August 6, 2008.

On July 31, 2009, the Fifth Circuit rejected Bartee’s appeal and affirmed the denial of habeas corpus relief by the district court.

Bartee filed a petition for writ of certiorari in the Supreme Court on November 23, 2009, but the Supreme Court denied certiorari review on March 22, 2010.

On April 20, 2011, Bartee file a second application for habeas corpus relief which was dismissed by the Court of Criminal Appeals on September 14, 2011.

Convicted in the August 1996 robbery murder of a friend, Bartee was given a stay before his scheduled execution in February so that additional DNA testing could be done. When the May 2 date was announced, Bartee attorney David Dow sent the court a letter saying the new date should not have been set because DNA testing has not been done. Dow said no notice of a hearing for a new execution date was sent to him or Bartee.

unpublished docket : opinion 2009

Click on the folder icons above for more case information.

Case Information:

Case Number:	WR-63,381-01
Date Filed:	11/1/2005
Case Type:	11.071
Style:	BARTEE, ANTHONY
v.:

Case Events:

Date	Event Type	Description
2/29/2012	ORDER FILED	Habeas Corpus – Capital Death
11/16/2011	MISC DOCUMENT RECD
3/31/2006	MOT FEDERAL APPT	Habeas Corpus – Capital Death
3/20/2006	MOT FEDERAL APPT LETTER	Habeas Corpus – Capital Death
3/8/2006	11.071 WRIT DISP	Habeas Corpus – Capital Death
2/23/2006	WRIT SUBMITTED	Habeas Corpus – Capital Death
11/1/2005	11.071 WRIT RECD	Habeas Corpus – Capital Death
11/1/2005	ADDITIONAL VOLUME TO AN 11.071 WRIT RECORD
11/1/2005	ADDITIONAL VOLUME TO AN 11.071 WRIT RECORD
11/1/2005	ADDITIONAL VOLUME TO AN 11.071 WRIT RECORD
11/1/2005	ADDITIONAL VOLUME TO AN 11.071 WRIT RECORD

Calendars:

	Set Date	Calendar Type	Reason Set
	3/8/2006	STORED	WRIT STORED

Parties:

	Party	Party Type
	BARTEE, ANTHONY	Applicant (writs)/Appellant…
	BARTEE, ANTHONY	Applicant

Court of Appeals Case Information:

COA Case Number:
COA Disposition:
Opinion Cite:
Court of Appeals District:

Trial Court Information:

Trial Court:	175th District Court
County:	Bexar
Case Number:	1997CR1659-W1
Judge:	MARY ROMAN
Court Reporter:

TEXAS – Anthony Bartee execution scheduled for today (claimyourinnocence.wordpress.com)
TEXAS : Why Not Test The DNA? (claimyourinnocence.wordpress.com)

TEXAS – Jesse Joe Hernandez execution – march 28, EXECUTED 6.18 p.m

Jesse Joe Hernandez received lethal injection for the slaying of Karlos Borja (10 months old) 11 years ago.

“Tell my son I love him very much,” the 47-year-old Hernandez said before being put to death. “God bless everybody. Continue to walk with God.”

“Dile a mi hijo que le quiero mucho”, dijo Hernández de 47 años de edad, antes de ser condenado a muerte. “Dios bendiga a todo el mundo. Continúe caminando con Dios.”

As the drugs took effect, he repeated his appreciation for those he knew who had gathered to witness the execution. “Love y’all, man,” he said. “… Thank you. I can feel it, taste it. It’s not bad.”

He took about 10 deep breaths, which grew progressively weaker until he was no longer moving. Ten minutes later, at 6:18 p.m. CDT, he was pronounced dead.

———————————————————————-

The U.S. Supreme Court this afternoon rejected Jesse Hernandez’s request for a stay of execution, a court spokesman said.

(Los EE.UU. Corte Suprema de Justicia rechazó esta tarde, Jesse Hernández solicitud de suspensión de la ejecución, comento un portavoz del tribunal.)

The high court ruling came about two hours before the 47-year-old Hernandez, who previously was convicted of a child sex offense, could be taken to the Texas death chamber for lethal injection. The justices’ order was brief and did not include an explanation for their decision.

The Texas attorney general’s office opposed any delay, questioning whether the high court even had jurisdiction in the case because constitutional claims weren’t raised earlier in state courts.

Thomas Jones, an assistant attorney general, said jurors who sent Hernandez to death row probably would not have approved of a trial strategy that attempted to shift blame for the child’s death to the doctors treating him.

“Such an argument smacks of chutzpah,” Jones told the Supreme Court.

The decision clears the way for Texas to put Hernandez to death by injecting him with a series of drugs, including one often used to euthanize family pets. It will be the fourth execution of the year in Texas, the 12th in the United States.

march, 28, 2012 source : http://abclocal.go.com

HUNTSVILLE, TX — The U.S. Supreme Court is considering whether to block the scheduled execution of a convicted child sex offender condemned in the beating death of a 10-month-old boy he was babysitting at a home in Dallas.

No. 11-9486

Jesse Joe Hernandez v. Texas

from the Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas

Docket Entries

on March 27, 2012

Reply of petitioner Jesse Joe Hernandez filed.

on March 27, 2012

Brief of respondent Texas in opposition filed.

on March 26, 2012

Application (11A904) for a stay of execution of sentence of death, submitted to Justice Scalia.

on March 26, 2012

Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due April 25, 2012)

Parties

Jesse Joe Hernandez, Petitioner, represented by Brad D. Levenson

Texas, Respondent, represented by Thomas M. Jones

Texas, Respondent, represented byFredericka Sargent

Last updated: March 28, 2012

from Us supreme Court :

No. 11-9486

*** CAPITAL CASE ***

Title:

Jesse Joe Hernandez, Petitioner

Texas

Docketed:

March 26, 2012

Linked with 11A904

Lower Ct:

Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas

Case Nos.:	(WR-62,840-02)
Decision Date:	March 21, 2012

~~~Date~~~	~~~~~~~Proceedings and Orders~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mar 26 2012	Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due April 25, 2012)
Mar 26 2012	Application (11A904) for a stay of execution of sentence of death, submitted to Justice Scalia.
Mar 27 2012	Brief of respondent Texas in opposition filed.
Mar 27 2012	Reply of petitioner Jesse Joe Hernandez filed.

~~Name~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~	~~~~~~~Address~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~	~~Phone~~~
Attorneys for Petitioner:
Brad D. Levenson	Director	(512) 463-8502
	Office of Capital Writs
	Stephen F. Austin Building
	1700 N. Congress Avenue, Suite 460
	Austin, TX 78711
Party name: Jesse Joe Hernandez
Attorneys for Respondent:
Thomas M. Jones	Assistant Attorney General	(512) 936-1400
	Office of the Attorney General of Texas
	Post Office Box 12548
	Capitol Station
	Austin, TX 78711-2548
Party name: Texas

Utah – Michael Anthony Archuleta – execution april 5, 2012 (Stay likely)

Michael Anthony Archuleta

Archuleta’s case

On October 25, 1988, Lance Conway Wood, newly released from the Utah State Prison, moved into the Cedar City two-bedroom apartment of his girlfriend, B. Stapely, and her roommate, P. Jones. Soon after, Michael Anthony Archuleta, also just released from prison, moved into the same apartment to be with his girlfriend, P. Jones. Wood and Archuleta had known each other in prison.

On November 21, 1988, Wood and Archuleta purchased soft drinks at a local convenience store. After adding whiskey to their drinks, the two men engaged in a conversation with Gordon Church, who was seated in his car in a nearby parking lot. Church drove Wood and Archuleta up and down Main Street and then up Cedar Canyon. After returning to Cedar City, Church left Wood and Archuleta at their apartment complex. Wood and Archuleta walked to the apartment of Anthony Sich, who lived above the apartment rented to Stapely and Jones. Wood told Sich that he was going into the mountains and asked if he could borrow a pair of gloves. Sich sent Wood to retrieve the gloves from his car, and while Wood was outside, Church returned and invited him and Archuleta to go for another drive.

Church drove Wood and Archuleta back to Cedar Canyon and pulled off the road. Wood and Archuleta exited the car first and began to walk down a path. Archuleta told Wood that he wanted to rob Church, and Wood acquiesced. Church overtook the two men, and the three continued walking up the trail. As the men started back down the trail toward the car, Archuleta grabbed Church and put a knife to his neck. Although Wood attempted to stop Archuleta by grabbing his arm, Archuleta made a surface cut on Church’s neck. Church broke free and ran, but Archuleta chased after and tackled him, again putting the knife to his neck and threatening to kill him. Archuleta cut Church’s throat again so that the two cuts formed an “X” on the front ofChurch’s neck.

Archuleta bent Church forward over the hood of the car and, with the knife still at Church’s throat, had anal intercourse with him. At Church’s request, Archuleta used a condom. Archuleta then turned to Wood, who was standing by the trunk of the car, and asked if he “wanted any.” Wood declined. Archuleta went to the trunk of the car and opened it. He told Wood that he was looking for something with which he could bind Church. Wood removed a spare tire and a fan from the trunk, while Archuleta retrieved tire chains and battery cables. Wood remained at the rear of the car, while Archuleta returned to the front, where he wrapped the tire chains around Church. Archuleta also fastened the battery cable clamps to Church’s genitals. Wood maintained before and at trial that he removed the clamps from Church as soon as he realized what Archuleta had done.

Archuleta led Church to the rear of the car and forced him into the trunk. Wood and Archuleta replaced the spare tire and fan and drove to a truck stop near Cedar City where they purchased gas. They continued north on Interstate 15 until they reached the Dog Valley exit. They parked along a deserted dirt road where Archuleta told Wood, “You know we have to kill him.”

Archuleta removed Church from the trunk and attempted to kill him by breaking his neck. When that failed, Church suffered several blows to the head with a tire iron and a jack. The tire iron was then shoved and kicked so far into Church’s rectum that it pierced his liver. A state medical examiner testified that Church was killed by injuries to the head and skull due to a blunt force and internal injuries caused by the tire iron inserted into Church’s rectum.

Wood told police that he waited inside the car while Archuleta killed Church. Evidence adduced at trial, however, showed that Wood’s pants and jacket were splattered with blood in a cast-off pattern indicating that during the beating, Wood was within two or three feet of Church, and that Wood was facing Church when the blows were struck. A blood spot appeared on the back of Archuleta’s jacket, and Wood’s shoes bore a transfer or contact blood stain caused by contact with a bloody object. Investigators found strands of human hair consistent with Church’s hair wrapped around Wood’s shoelaces. The injuries to Church’s lower jaw were consistent with being kicked by someone wearing Wood’s shoes. Three paired lesions on Church’s back were caused by a dull-tipped instrument such as some red-handled side cutters found in the pocket of Wood’s jeans.

After Church died, Wood and Archuleta dragged his body to some nearby trees, where they covered it with branches. They swept their path with branches on the way back to the car to conceal any footprints. With Wood at the wheel, the pair again drove north on I-15. They abandoned Church’s car in Salt Lake City.

Wood called his friend C. Worsfold and asked if he and Archuleta could come to her apartment for a few minutes. When the men arrived at the apartment, Worsfold immediately noticed that Archuleta’s pants were caked with blood. Wood explained that they had been rabbit hunting the night before, their car had broken down, and they had hitchhiked to Salt Lake. The two men then went to a thrift store, where Archuleta bought some clean pants and repeated the rabbit hunting story to the store clerk.

Archuleta discarded his bloody jeans in a drainage ditch near the 45th South on-ramp to I-15 in Salt Lake County. He and Wood then went into a nearby Denny’s restaurant, where Wood left the gloves he had borrowed from Sich. After eating, the two hitchhiked as far as the Draper exit, where Archuleta pulled out Church’s wallet, scattered its contents, and handed the wallet to Wood. They next hitchhiked to Salem, where they visited Archuleta’s father. From there, they hitchhiked to Cedar City, arriving at about 11:30 p.m.

Wood immediately went upstairs to Sich’s apartment and told him about the murder. When Sich advised him to contact the police, Wood responded, “Maybe I could get some kind of federal protection.” Sich and Wood walked to a local convenience store, where Wood called B. Stapely, who was in Phoenix, and told her that Archuleta had killed someone. Stapely contacted John Graff, Wood’s parole officer, and told him to call Wood at the store. Graff called Wood and arranged to meet him at the convenience store. Just before Graff’s arrival with the police, Wood discarded Church’s wallet.

Wood and Sich accompanied Graff and a police officer to the corrections department office, where Wood recounted the events of the previous night.

The police arrested Archuleta for the murder and, after several interviews with Wood, also charged Wood with murder in the first degree, aggravated sexual assault, object rape, forcible sexual abuse, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated assault, and possession of a stolen vehicle.

feb,22, 2012, source :http://universe.byu.edu

A death row inmate is asking a Utah judge for a stay of an April 5 execution by firing squad while he pursues a review of his state conviction and sentence in the federal courts.

Attorneys for Michael Anthony Archuleta filed a notice of his intention to file a habeas corpus petition on Feb. 10 in Salt Lake City’s U.S. District Court. Such requests consider whether a person’s conviction and sentence are constitutional.

Court papers say Archuleta, 49, is entitled to a stay while federal courts review the case.

Archuleta has not previously appealed his 1989 capital conviction in the federal system. Five state court appeals have been rejected, however — the last in November.A state judge signed a death warrant on Feb. 8 for Archuleta’s execution. A federal judge has not yet set a date for a hearing. The case had been filed under seal until last week.Assistant Attorney General Tom Brunker on Tuesday told The Associated Press the state does not oppose a stay of Archuleta’s execution.

Court papers filed to date by Archuleta’s attorneys do not indicate what arguments they will mount in asking the federal court to consider the case.

feb 9 2012, source :http://www.abc4.com

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) – A judge has signed the execution warrant for Utah man on death row. Michael Archuleta was convicted for the brutal torture and murder of a homosexual man in 1989.

Archuleta was convicted and sentenced to death in 1989.

On Wednesday, Fourth Circuit Judge Donald Eyre ruled that Archuleta’s appeals to the U.S. and Utah supreme courts had been denied and that no state action prevented Archuleta’s execution.

The judge set Archuleta’s execution for April 5, 2012.

Archuleta had the option of choosing the manner of his execution. and picked a firing squad.

Court documents show that Archuleta and an accomplice kidnapped 28-year-old Gordon Ray Church, a Southern Utah University theater student who had confessed to being gay in 1988.

Court documents show that Archuleta and his accomplice put Church in a car trunk and drove to a remote Millard County area, where they attached jumper cables to Church’s testicles and shocked him with a car battery before raping him with a tire iron, beating him and burying him in a shallow grave.

Archuleta’s accomplice was given life sentence for his role in the murder.

news video : http://www.ksl.com

Supreme court of Utah

June 26, 1998

November 7, 2008

November 22, 2011

ARIZONA – Thomas Arnold Kemp – execution – april 25

Inmate #099144

Summary of Offense:

On July 11, 1992, Kemp and Jeffrey Logan kidnapped Hector Juarez, 25. Kemp used the Juarez’s ATM card to withdraw $200. Kemp and Logan then drove Juarez to Silverbell mine northwest of Tucson, and either Kemp or Logan shot the him one or more times in the head.
Several days before this offense, Kemp had purchased a .380 semi-automatic handgun and told Logan that he needed money to pay bills, and was going to look for someone with money.

Case from court

On July 11, 1992, at approximately 11:15 p.m., Hector Juarez awoke when his fiancee, Jamie, returned from work to their residence at the Promontory Apartments in Tucson. A short time later, Juarez left to get something to eat. Jamie assumed he went to a nearby fast food restaurant. At around midnight, Jamie became concerned that Juarez had not come home and began to look forhim. She found both her car and his car in the parking lot. Her car, which Juarez had been driving, was unlocked and smelled of fast food; the insurance papers had been placed on the vehicle’s roof. After checking with Juarez’s brother and a friend, Jamie called the police. Two or three days before Juarez was abducted, Jeffery Logan, an escapee from a California honor farm, arrived in Tucson and met with Petitioner. On Friday, July 10, Logan went with Petitioner to a pawn shop and helped him buy a .380 semi-automatic handgun.Petitioner and Logan spent the next night driving around Tucson. At some time between 11:15 p.m. and midnight, Petitioner and Logan abducted Juarez from the parking area of his apartment complex

At midnight, Petitioner used Juarez’s ATM card and withdrew approximately $200. He then drove Juarez out to the Silverbell Mine area near Marana. Petitioner walked Juarez fifty to seventy feet from the truck, forced him to disrobe, and shot him in the
head twice.Petitioner then made two unsuccessful attempts to use Juarez’s ATM card in Tucson. The machine kept the card after the second attempt. Petitioner and Logan repainted Petitioner’s truck, drove to Flagstaff, and sold it. They bought another .380 semiautomatic handgun with the proceeds. While in Flagstaff, Petitioner and Logan met a man and woman who were traveling from California to Kansas. They abducted the couple and made them drive to Durango, Colorado; in a motel room there,Petitioner forced the man to disrobe and sexually assaulted him. Later, Petitioner, Logan, and the couple drove to Denver, where the couple escaped. Logan and Petitioner separated. Logan subsequently contacted the Tucson police about the murder of Juarez. He was arrested in Denver.With Logan’s help, the police located Juarez’s body.Later that day, the police arrested Petitioner at homeless shelter in Tucson. He was carrying the handgun purchased in Flagstaff and a pair of handcuffs. After having been read his Miranda rights,
Petitioner answered some questions before asking for a lawyer. He admitted that he purchased a handgun with Logan on July 10. He said that on the day of the abduction and homicide he was “cruising” through apartment complexes, possibly including the
Promontory Apartments. When confronted with the ATM photographs, he initially denied being the individual in the picture. After having been told that Logan was in custody and again having been shownthe photographs, Petitioner said, “I guess my life is over now.”

Gore’s attorneys file appeal with state Supreme Court

update april 6, source : http://news.smh.com.au

Serial killer’s letters speed up execution

Serial killer David Alan Gore is set to be executed sooner than he expected, in part because he could not stop bragging about raping and murdering four teenagers and two women in Florida three decades ago.

An author published the inmate’s grotesque letters, and a newspaper columnist and editorial board brought the case to the attention of Florida Governor Rick Scott. The Republican promptly signed the death warrant, even though more than 40 other men have been on death row longer.

Gore is set to die on April 12.

“Those letters are so disturbing and so insightful into who this person is,” said Pete Earley, who recently published some of the letters in his book Serial Killer Whisperer. “Gore, actually, he talked his way into the death chamber.”

Tony Ciaglia wrote to Gore and other serial killers on a whim after suffering a severe head injury as teenager, in an effort to better understand them.

He began exchanging letters with Gore about five years ago and received about 200 pages in all. Most in the book are too graphic to quote. In one, Gore described step-by-step how he and his cousin abducted two 14-year-old friends and sexually assaulted them.

“I drug both bodies into the woods where I disposed of them. Oh and you can believe, I collected hair. It took a couple days to recover from that. It was a perfect experience,” Gore wrote.

In another letter, Gore described his uncontrollable desire to kill.

“It’s sort of along the lines as being horny. You start getting horny and it just keeps building until you have to get some relief,” Gore wrote. “That is the same with the URGE to kill. It usually starts out slow and builds and you will take whatever chances necessary to satisfy it. And believe me, you constantly think about getting caught, but the rush is worth the risk.”

Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers columnist Russ Lemmon, who has written about the Gore case, published a column for a few Florida newspapers on the day the editorial board had an interview with the governor. They talked about the book.

The board asked Scott if he had considered signing Gore’s death warrant. The governor promised to look into it.

Meanwhile, letters poured into Scott’s office, many of them mentioning the prison correspondence.

“Pete Earley provides compelling evidence that David Gore relishes every detail of his heinous murders,” wrote Ralph Sexton, whose nephew was married to one of the women killed.

About a month after the editorial board meeting, Scott signed Gore’s death warrant.

Gore’s lawyers are now appealing, arguing in part that the governor’s decision to sign the warrant was unfairly influenced by the editorial board.

A spokeswoman for Scott said he had not read the book.

Ciaglia said Gore blamed him after the death warrant was signed. Ciaglia said he is opposed to the death penalty.

“I told him that I did not actively pursue it. That there’s a lot of people – because you did some really, really bad things – there’s a lot of people that hate you and they want to see you executed and they used these letters to get people’s attention as to the horrible crimes that you committed,” Ciaglia said.

“The only person you can blame is Gore himself,” Earley said. “His candour and his lack of compassion, empathy and remorse is stomach-churning.”

Update april 5, source : http://www.wptv.com

wptv_DAVID_ALLAN_GORE_20120228133951_JPG

If all goes as planned, Carl Elliott and his extended family next Thursday will make a trip that has eluded them for nearly 30 years.

At 6 p.m., the 81-year-old plans to be sitting next to loved ones in a viewing area at Florida State Prison when a lethal cocktail is administered to the now 58-year-old serial killer who raped and killed Elliott’s 17-year-old daughter, Lynn, in Vero Beach in 1983. David Alan Gore, who picked up Lynn Elliott and a 14-year-old friend who were hitchhiking to the beach, later confessed to murdering five other women and received five life sentences.

“We’ve been patiently waiting for this after all these years. We miss her everyday,” Elliott said. “We’re ready to go up there and see it done.”

Whether Elliott and his family will finally see Gore die for murdering the teen now rests with the Florida Supreme Court.

And, thanks to a two-week-old U.S. Supreme Court decision, the options facing the state’s high court aren’t clear-cut. In arguments Wednesday, an attorney representing Gore urged justices not to make a snap judgment in his case.

“It effects not just Mr. Gore and not just Death Row inmates,” attorney Martin McClain said of the high court’s recent decision. It will impact hundreds of inmates who were convicted of far lesser crimes than murder, he said.

He urged the justices to stay Gore’s planned execution to give attorneys throughout the state the chance to weigh in on what one justice called a “troubling” ruling that allows inmates to return to court after their initial appeals to argue that their attorneys did a bad job. Since claims of ineffective assistance of counsel aren’t allowed until after a case goes through standard appeals, some claim the ruling could pave the way for court-appointed attorneys to represent prisoners after their initial appeals have been exhausted.

In Gore’s case, McClain argued, he had not just one bad attorney but two. Stuart attorney Robert Udell, who gained fame in Palm Beach County when he represented teacher-killer Nathaniel Brazill in 2001 and was subsequently disbarred for financial misdeeds, made numerous errors when he represented Gore in a 1992 resentencing hearing, McClain said. For instance, he failed to tell the jury about Gore’s alcohol, drug abuse and mental health problems or that chances were slim that he would ever be released if he received life in prison.

Another attorney, Andrew Graham, in 1999 argued that Udell’s incompetence caused a second jury to recommend Gore receive the death penalty instead of a life sentence. But Udell denied he was at fault. Udell blamed another attorney, Jerome Nickerson, who he claimed was the lead attorney during Gore’s resentencing. However, Graham never found Nickerson, who had moved out of state, which gave him little ammunition in the appeal that was rejected by the Florida Supreme Court in 2007.

As evidence of Graham’s incompetence, McClain said he was able to find Nickerson with a quick Google search. The discovery of Nickerson is new evidence that should, as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court decision, give Gore another basis for appeal, he said.

Justices appeared less than enamored with McClain’s efforts to use the recent decision to spare Gore.

Justice Barbara Pariente said the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the Arizona case involving convicted sex offender Luis Mariano Martinez is aimed at federal courts.

“It has everything to do with the nightmare that’s going to be created in the federal system,” she said of the opportunity for inmates to flood courts with appeals. “It has nothing to do with what states are forced to look at.”

Further, she said, McClain has had years to find Nickerson and lodge an appeal. McClain countered that, until the Martinez decision, he had no way to challenge Graham’s incompetence.

Justice Peggy Quince said “the language of Martinez is really troubling” and it appears the ruling is far-reaching.

Assistant Florida attorney general Celia Terenzio said there is no reason to delay Gore’s execution. Even if Udell or Graham didn’t represent Gore well, the Florida Supreme Court in 2007 said their actions didn’t spur the jury to recommend that he be sentenced to death. “There was no prejudice,” she said.

Further, she said, the Martinez decision is very narrow, applying to people whose appeals were blocked on procedural grounds. Gore has had numerous appeals since he was first sent to Death Row in 1984, including one for ineffective assistance of counsel, which was rejected. Also, she said, the high court didn’t say people have a constitutional right to be represented by an attorney in post-conviction appeals, only that in certain cases it may be necessary.

In death penalty cases, Florida always provides inmates with appellate lawyers for post-conviction appeals, she said.

Court-watchers said the decision facing the Florida Supreme Court’s is difficult.

“The Florida Supreme Court is going to have to look at this as a new ruling without any guidance for how it’s going

to be interpreted,” said attorney Michael Minerva, CEO of the Innocence Project of Florida. “The prudent thing to do would be to get additional time to figure out how it applies to Florida courts.”

Richard Dieter, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Death Penalty Information Center, agreed. “It wouldn’t be the first time an execution has been stayed because the Supreme Court surprises people with a decision.

Read more: click here

Update march 29 source :http://www.tcpalm.com

The state Supreme Court on Thursday granted a request by David Alan Gore to hold oral arguments Wednesday at 9 a.m. in the condemned man’s appeal of a court ruling that recently denied him a hearing.

Gore’s lawyers on Monday appealed to the Florida Supreme Court an order issued by Circuit Judge Dan L. Vaughn that denied the serial killer’s request for a hearing to present evidence related to legal claims raised in an effort to stop his April 12 execution.

Gore, 58, is under a death warrant Gov. Rick Scott signed Feb. 28 for the July 16, 1983, first-degree murder of Lynn Elliott, 17, of Vero Beach.

Gore’s legal claims center on allegations of having inadequate legal counsel during his post-conviction relief proceedings. He’s further claimed his execution should be stopped in part because the clemency process in his case was applied in an arbitrary and capricious manner in violation of his U.S. constitutional rights. Another claim alleged that because of the 28 years Gore has spent on death row, adding his execution to that punishment would constitute cruel and unusual punishment

Update march 28, source : http://www.tcpalm.c

As gores’s execution nears, family of victim reflects on loss, changes

Mike and Nancy Byer left Florida in 1988 in search of a fresh start.

“I wanted to go where nobody knew me, and I didn’t know anybody,” Mike said.

Who could blame them?

Just five years earlier, their 14-year-old daughter, Barbara Ann, was killed by Fred Waterfield and David Alan Gore. Her friend, Angel LaVallee, also was killed.

Mike was the last person to see Barbie alive. She was standing outside a 7-Eleven in Orlando. (Mike was driving a service vehicle for his truck-repair business when he passed by the convenience store.)

Later, on the streets of Orlando, the teenage girls — who met while attending Howard Junior High School — would cross paths with Indian River County’s infamous serial killers.

“Gore and Waterfield were hunters,” Nancy said. “They went out for prey.”

Update march 21 source :http://www.tcpalm.com

Attorneys representing David Alan Gore on Wednesday filed papers with the state Supreme Court appealing a judge’s ruling denying the condemned serial killer a chance to present evidence in court in an effort to stop his execution April 12 at Florida State Prison.

Gore was condemned to death for the July 1983 shooting death of Vero Beach teenagerLynn Elliott. He also pleaded guilty in the murder of five other women in Indian River County between 1981 and 1983.

Appeal papers filed by defense attorneys John Abatecola and Linda McDermott ask the Florida Supreme Court to review Circuit Judge Dan L. Vaughn’s March 15 rulings, which rejected Gore’s request to hold an evidentiary hearing, and refused to set aside his sentence of death.

The Florida Supreme Court already has issued an expedited schedule in Gore’s case, setting a deadline of April 2 for legal briefs to be filed. Oral arguments, if required by the justices, will be held April 4 in Tallahassee.

read Gore’s case click here

William Mitchell asks US Supreme Court to stop his execution scheduled for Thursday

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

JACKSON, Miss. — William Mitchell has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stop his execution now scheduled for Thursday at the state prison in Parchman.

In documents filed Tuesday, the death row inmate said his previous attorneys didn’t do a good job and the Mississippi courts have refused to give him a hearing and an expert to prove his “intellectual disability.”

The Supreme Court had not ruled on his motion Tuesday.

Mitchell, now 61, had been out of prison on parole for less than a year for a 1975 murder when he was charged with raping and killing 38-year-old Patty Milliken.

In documents filed Tuesday with the court, Mitchell says his previous attorneys didn’t do a good job and the Mississippi courts have refused to give him a hearing and an expert to prove his “intellectual disability.”

Milliken disappeared on Nov. 21, 1995, after walking out of the Majik Mart convenience store where she worked in Biloxi to have a cigarette with Mitchell. Her body was found the next day under a bridge. She had been “strangled, beaten, sexually assaulted, and repeatedly run over by a vehicle,” according to court records.

Mitchell was convicted of capital murder in Harrison County in 1998.

Mitchell argues the Mississippi Supreme Court twice refused to consider his ineffective counsel claims stemming from actions by his lawyers during the penalty phase of his trial and during his post-conviction petitions.

He said at no time did his attorneys try to develop evidence of his “intellectual disability” when evidence was available or could be available if he was given a psychological evaluation.

In a post-conviction petition, an inmate argues he has found new evidence — or a possible constitutional issue — that could persuade a court to order a new trial.

Similar arguments from Mitchell were turned down in the federalcourts last year.

Us. Surpeme Court

No. 11A882

Title:

William Gerald Mitchell, aka William Jerald Mitchell, Applicant

Mississippi

Docketed:

Linked with 11-9373

Lower Ct:

Supreme Court of Mississippi

Case Nos.:

(2012-DR-00277)

~~~Date~~~	~~~~~~~Proceedings and Orders~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mar 20 2012	Application (11A882) for a stay of execution of sentence of death, submitted to Justice Scalia.

~~Name~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~	~~~~~~~Address~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~	~~Phone~~~
Attorneys for Petitioner:
J. Cliff Johnson II.	Pigott & Johnson	(601)-354-2121
	775 N. Congress Street
	P.O. Box 22725
	Jackson, MS 39225-2725
Party name: William Gerald Mitchell, aka William Jerald Mitchell
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

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.

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

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.”

___

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.

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

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

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

† 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.

from Mary Stennett Puckett

4:29 PM

Advocacy group calls for clemency in Puckett execution

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† 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.

from Mary Stennett Puckett

4:29 PM

Advocacy group calls for clemency in Puckett execution

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