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In this year end edition two cases are featured, McCarthy v. Texas and Borchardt v. Maryland, as well as the highlights (and lowlights) of the year.In Borchardt v. Maryland the state Court of Appeals denied an elaborate challenge to the state's sentencing scheme based on Apprendi v. New Jersey. The Court split sharply. The dissent's analytic work in deconstructing Apprendi & the Maryland sentencing scheme and overlaying the error found in Apprendi with what is perceived as a problem with Maryland's sentencing structure is a should read.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in McCarthy v. Texas offers a rare reversal. The McCarthy Court reversed on a Miranda violation. The police's reinitiating of questioning after the invocation of the right to counsel, and consultation with same, required no less.
The next edition will run the first week of the New Year, and will include a look ahead as to the legal landscape for 2002. Abu-Jumal v. Horn (reversal on penalty phase sentencing instructions) & Pennsylvania v. Basemore (Batson error) will also be covered in the next edition.
Since the last edition there have been no domestic executions.
There are no remaining scheduled executions considered likely for the remainder of 2001. Executions slated and considered likely for 2001 include:
January 2002
9 Michael Moore Texas
9 James Johnson Missouri
11 Charlie Alston North Carolina
16 Jamarr Arnold Texas
24 Amos King Florida
29 Stephen Anderson California
29 John Romano Oklahoma
30 Windell Broussard Texas
31 Randall Hafdahl Texas
31 David Woodruff OklahomaFebruary
5 Linroy Bottoson Florida
7 Robert Trease Florida
21 Thomas Miller-El Texas
28 Monty Delk TexasMarch
7 Gerald Tigner TexasMay
14 Henry Dunn Texas
Merry Christmas & a Joyous New Year to all!!!This week's edition is at http://www.capitaldefenseweekly.com/archives/011217.htm
One win and one lost are highlighted in an issue marked by an unusually large number of technical rulings and bad omens from the Supreme Court.
In the first of the highlighted cases, the Ninth Circuit holds, Morris v. Woodford, that the trial court's instructions and a typographical error on the sentencing form left the jury with mistaken belief that a deadlocked jury would automatically equate a sentence of life with the possibility of parole. Under state a sentence of life without parole would be imposed in a deadlock. The error was not harmless in light of juror deadlock prior to instruction.
In the other hot listed case, Valdez v. Cockrell, the Fifth Circuitl, in a split decision, holds deference is due to a state court's decision making even where there has been a "denial of a full and fair hearing" in the state court. Similar "technical" rulings this week are also noted from the Ninth Circuit, Fail v. Hubbard (availability of equitable tolling post-Duncan), and the Eleventh Circuit, Pruitt v. United States (relation back and tolling).
The Supreme Court in a series of moves has signaled potentially bad omens for death sentenced petitioners. In Stewart v. Smith the Court has granted certiorari pending certification of a question to the Arizona Supreme Court relating to adequate and independent state grounds for denying relief. In Cone v. Bell the Court has granted certiorari on the standards under the AEDPA for granting penalty phase relief for failing to investigate (see below). Likewise the Court has granted certiorari to examine the scope of Apprendi, in Harris v. United States (for an example of briefing on this issue see Brown v. Florida). Finally, in United States v. Knights, the Court has held that a probationer may be searched at any time, for any reason, if his probation order so states, without violating the Fourth Amendment.
The Focus this week is also on the technical aspects of federal habeas corpus. Following the Supreme Court's decision in Duncan v. Walker the issue of tolling has become a significant issue for every petitioner with an unexhausted claim. Incredibly timely & insightful, "TOLLING OF THE AEDPA STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS: BENNETT, WALKER AND THE EQUITABLE LAST RESORT" by Virginia E. Harper-Ho, 4 Cal. Crim. Law Rev. 2, is a should read for anyone in this awkward situation and is the Focus of the week.
For future editions of the weekly I am looking for the following information:[1] Unpublished opinions from the Fifth Circuit and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, but only if there is a "secret stash" somewhere on the web with the unpublished opinions.Since the last edition there has been one domestic execution.
[2] Over 170 Texas Death Row and General Population inmates are on a hunger strike. These people are protesting by means of a hunger strike for better food and treatment from the directors of the TDCJ systems. Any information, press releases, etc, will be appreciated; and[3] Next week will be the final edition for the year. If you have anything you would like to include in the yearly round up please feel free to drop a line.
12 Vincent Cooks Texas
There are no remaining scheduled executions considered likely for December:
Assalaam alaikum warahmatullah wabarakathu wamaghfiratuhu.
This week's edition is at http://www.capitaldefenseweekly.com/archives/0112110.htm
Three cases are hot listed this week. Two cases are noted as win, one as a loss. The Focus section this week is the annual guide to death penalty defense resources on the webs, including several great caches of motions and briefs guaranteed to improve your motion practice.In Buell v. Mitchell, the Sixth Circuit has denied relief on claims relating to the conformity of the Ohio sentencing statute with international human rights norms. A very conservative Sixth Circuit panel holds that human rights treaties are, in effect, nonjusticiable. Remedies for a violation of international human rights treaty protection, if any, is to be found in the legislative and executive branches.
In Van Tran v. State the Tennessee Supreme Court has held that both the state and federal constitution forbid the execution of the mentally retarded. Adopting the Teague standard without discussion, the Court also notes that the holding "warrants retroactive application to cases on collateral review."
In the final "hot list case," Tennessee v. Godsey, the Tennessee Supreme Court has found that capital punishment is disproportionate in a murder case involving both a child victim and child abuse.
Note that Buell and Van Tran would normally appear in next week's edition, however, in light of the potential gravity of both opinions they were advanced to this week. Note too my apologies, and advanced apologies, for the continuing level of typos and other errors that comes from rushing the weekly out each week.
Since the last edition there has been one domestic execution.
30 John Hardy Rose North Carolina
4 Lois Nadean Smith Oklahoma---female
6 Sahib Al-Mosawi Oklahoma
6 David Dunster Nebraska--volunteerThe following are the remaining scheduled executions considered likely for December:
12 Vincent Cooks Texas
This week's edition is at http://www.capitaldefenseweekly.com/archives/011203.htm
Five decisions make the hot list this week. Three cases noted are victories, two other cases are losses.
The Third Circuit's decision in Szuchon v Horn requires top billing. The Szuchon Court holds reversal was necessary on the issue of jury qualification. In Szuchon a venireperson unambiguously stated they opposed capital punishment. The prosecution moved to exclude for cause without the defense's chance to rehabilitate the venireperson. The failure to provide the opportunity to rehabilitate, the Szuchon panel held, was reversible error.
The two remaining hot listed victories include Ward v. North Carolina & Mayfield v. Woodford. The Ward Court holds that the government's improper comment on defendant's silence in the penalty phase requires reversal. In Mayfield a unanimous Ninth Circuit sitting en banc holds that counsel failed to conduct an adequate investigation before the penalty phase as noted by billing and money left over from county budgeting figures. (Note that because this opinion is very fact intensive only the "case squib" is listed in the hot list section.
Two Texas capital case losses are also of note. In Briseno v. Cockrell a Fifth Circuit panel holds that appellate counsel was not ineffective as Ake v. Oklahoma could not reasonably be foreseen to include assistance to indigents on issues other than mental health. to cases. In Ripkowski v. Texas a bitterly split Texas Court of Criminal Appeal denies relief holding that appellant "invited" error when he chose not to submit to the jury a special issue that, if answered in the affirmative, would have resulted in a life sentence.
In light of time constraints on this week's issue, the annual review of websites of notes will be pushed back one edition. This week, examines the interplay of international law, extradition and the death penalty. Amnesty International this week released "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: No return to execution -The US death penalty as a barrier to extradition." Available on the web at http://www.web.amnesty.org/ai.nsf/recent/AMR511712001?OpenDocument
Note that Findlaw lists Szuchon v Horn as a loss focusing on shackling issues, where it is a writ grant, as noted above, on jury qualification issues.
Since the last edition there have been three domestic executions.
13 Fred Gilreath Georgia
14 Jeffery Tucker Texas
15 Emerson Rudd TexasThe following are the remaining scheduled executions considered likely for November & December:
30 John Hardy Rose North Carolina
December
4 Lois Nadean Smith Oklahoma---female
6 Sahib Al-Mosawi Oklahoma
6 David Dunster Nebraska--volunteer
12 Vincent Cooks Texas
This week's edition is at http://www.capitaldefenseweekly.com/archives/011126.htm
Two cases are hot listed this week relief for grants of relief on jury instruction related issues. In Shabazz (f/k/a Dean) v. Tennessee the Tennessee Supreme Court vacated appellant's conviction for counsel's failure to object to guilt phase jury instruction as to lesser included offenses. In the other spotlighted case, Banks v. Horn, the Third Circuit granted relief on sentencing as the penalty phase jury instructions & verdict slips contained unanimity instructions that impermissibly restricted the jury's ability to return a sentence less than death.This week's Focus section covers a new chilling federal regulation which states federal officials may monitor attorney - client communications upon a finding of "reasonable suspicion" that the communications may relate to a "terrorist or violent criminal conspiracy." The rule went into effect the first of thia month relatively unnoticed. The text of the new provision (which may well prove to be wider than the interpretation I have just offered) is available below and online at http://capitaldefenseweekly.com/ashcroft.htm.
Note that until further notice the weekly noncapital wrap will have a very limited selection run as the primary source I have been using for most of the section, FindLaw, has proven an unreliable source for case reviews due to a high inaccuracy rate.
Since the last edition there have been two domestic executions.
6 Jose High Georgia
6 Terry Clark New MexicoThe following are the remaining scheduled executions considered likely for November:
13 Fred Gilreath Georgia
14 Jeffery Tucker Texas
15 Emerson Rudd TexasThis week's edition is at http://www.capitaldefenseweekly.com/archives/011105.htm
This week's edition has one capital case hot listed, this time out of Texas. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in Thompson v Texas reversed a sentence of death based on the admission in the penalty phase of evidence obtained outside the presence of counsel. The reversal in Thompson is noteworthy as it falls into the vast gray area created last term by the Supreme Court's holding in Texas v. Cobb. Thompson, undoubtedly the first of many decisions examining this gray area in limiting penalty phase admissibility of evidence of other crimes in the penalty phase in light of CobbContinuing with the examination of penalty phase issues is a brief selection from the unofficial Virginia Death Manual, "Defending a Capital Case in Virginia" (http://law.wlu.edu/clinical/vccc/manual.htm). This week's selection involves preparing the penalty phase investigation.
Due to a technical faux pas (read accidentally deleted) the non-capital section will not run this week.
Since the last edition there have been no domestic executions.
The following are the scheduled executions considered likely for November:
6 Jose High Georgia
6 Terry Clark New Mexico---volunteer
13 Fred Gilreath Georgia
14 Jeffery Tucker Texas
15 Emerson Rudd TexasThis issue is located at ttp://www.capitaldefenseweekly.com/archives/011029.htm
Three cases are hot listed this week. Perry v. Florida sees relief granted for the use extraneous evidence that amounted to unchanged crimes in the penalty phase. Similarly out of Florida, Ragsdale v. Florida, relief has been granted for failing to adequately prepare for the penalty phase. Finally in Phillips v. Woodford, the Ninth Circuit grants relief on penalty phase ineffectiveness.Continuing with the analysis of penalty phase performance, this week an out take from the Louisiana Capital Trials Manual. This week's Focus selection covers developing & presenting mitigation evidence. with case law examples of what has been used in the past. (Note that lidb.com has been overhauled to include substantially more resources & is now one of the two largest death penalty defense websites in terms of raw volume as to the amount of materials available, the other being capdefnet.org).
A brief note that a copy of the so-called USA Act can be found at http://capitaldefenseweekly.com/ata.htm. The ACLU's analysis of the act can be found at http://www.aclu.org/congress/archives.html
Since the last edition the following have been excuted.
18 Alvie Hale Jr. Oklahoma
18 Christopher Beck Virginia
22 Gerald Mitchell Texas
24 Stephen Johns Missouri
25 Terry Mincey GeorgiaThe are no remaining scheduled executions considered likely for October.
This issue is located at http://www.capitaldefenseweekly.com/archives/011022.htm
Competency in a myriad of forms takes center stage this week. Two cases in particular, Singleton v. Norris (competency to be executed) & Summerlin v. Stewart (judicial competence in light of drug addiction), are worthy of note as they are both good candidates for certiorari.
Competency to be executed is at the forefront in Singleton v. Norris . In Singleton an Eight Circuit panel holds that Singleton is too insane, whether medicated or not, to be executed. The Singleton Court's decision appears to create an entire new class, hinted out in Ford v. Wainwright, of people who can not be executed, joining just juvenile offenders under sixteen in that regard.
Competency of the tribunal was explored in Summerlin v. Stewart . The Ninth Circuit reaching back to Supreme Court precedent nearly a century old has ordered an evidentiary hearing on whether the undisputed use of, & addiction to, illegal drugs requires the granting of the Great Writ. Judge Kozinski in dissent notes his concern that the opinion could open up the floodgates of litigation for every prisoner around the Ninth Circuit & around the country to claim their trial judge was intoxicated.
Competency of counsel was explored by both the Sixth Circuit, Coleman v. Mitchell , & the Mississippi Supreme Court, Burns v. Mississippi. Coleman offers an excellent review of the law governing penalty phase ineffective assistance of counsel claims, Coleman , however, goes further holding that the standard applies to both the penalty phase & to formal sentencing. Burns offers a good "how to" present a penalty phase ineffectiveness claim, including jury interviews & the use of affidavits with both positive & negative information unknown to trial counsel
One case listed as hot, however, can not be placed under the word competency, State v. Lloyd . The North Carolina Supreme Court in Lloyd examines one of the broadest commonly used aggravators, "especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel," "HAC." In examining whether the HAC aggravator was appropriate, the Court takes a comprehensive view of HAC in North Carolina & elsewhere. Murder by gun, the Lloyd Court holds, without something more than four shots, will not a HAC aggravator make.
Although competency may be the theme of this week's case law, mitigation remains the feature of the Focus section this week. This week Focus specifically examines the use of the WAIS-R as a measure of intelligence an article entitled, Capital Culpability. (http://dpa.state.ky.us/library/advocate/may99/taylor.html)
Since the last edition there has been one domestic execution.
12 David Ward North Carolina
The scheduled executions considered likely for October are:
18 Alvie Hale Jr. Oklahoma
18 Christopher Beck Virginia
22 Gerald Mitchell Texas
24 Stephen Johns Missouri
This issue is located at http://www.capitaldefenseweekly.com/archives/011015.htm
The death penalty in Georgia is at issue this week. No less than seven capital cases from that state are reported. Two of those cases are hot, Yates v. State (reversible error strike jurors in contravention of court order & state law) & Dawson v. State (electrocution banned).Two capital case losses from Texas are also noted as hot. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in Garcia v. Texas upholds the use of race in an experts determination of future dangerousness & finds counsel is not ineffective for suggesting the same through questioning of the expert. The Texas special question on deliberateness is also examined & defined in Wardip v. Texas.
Mental evidence is scheduled to be the Focus of the next few editions. As this is Georgia week, an article written by the Director of the The Multi-County Public Defender Office, Michael Mears, appropriately starts off the series. "Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Evidence As Mitigation in Death Penalty Cases" examines the nuts and bolts of what we as practitioners need to know about this all too common mental health disorder.
Several wins out of the Sixth Circuit are forecast for the next issue, including, Coleman v. Mitchell (6th Cir) (IAC penalty phase), In re Byrd (6th Cir) (successive petition's claims of innocence ordered to be heard by a Magistrate) & Slaughter v. Parker (W.D.Ky)(IAC penalty phase).
Since the last edition there have been no domestic executions.
The scheduled executions considered likely for October are:
12 David Ward North Carolina
18 Alvie Hale Jr. Oklahoma
18 Christopher Beck Virginia
22 Gerald Mitchell Texas
24 Stephen Johns Missouri
This issue is located at http://www.capitaldefenseweekly.com/archives/011008.htm
A firestorm that goes to the heart of due process in Illinois is the Focus of this week's edition. After finding the machinery of dath is so malaligned in their state that both the Illinois Supreme Court & Governor took extraordinary steps to correct the process by creating new rules for capital cases & imposing a mortorium, respectively, the the Illinois Supreme Court has held the old process is still good enough in some cases. People v. Hickey; People v. Simpson. The Court's rationale seems to hold that while the old system may be broken, the system will be fixed one day, but for those still in the old system, even those with legitimate claims of innocence, in the words of Admiral David Farragut "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!"Hot listed this week are three capital case reversals. In the northeast the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Commonwealth v. Begley, held a penalty phase jury instructions must fail under Mills v. Maryland as juror's were misled as to their role in sentencing. In the Sxith Circuit a panel has clarified the requirements of criminal discovery in capital cases, United States v. Bass, holding that where sufficient evidence existed to warrant discovery on the federal government's decision to seek the death penalty due to the possibility of racial bias. On the Left coast, the Ninth Circuit, Spears v. Stewart, has determined that even though Arizona now qualifies as an opt-in to Chapter 154 of the AEDPA, opt-in can only be applied to a case which in both the state qualifies as opt-in as a whole & where in a given case the demanding standards of Chapter 154 have been met.
Other hot items this week include Hodge & Epperson v. Kentucky where a remand has been ordered for an evidentiary hearing on allegations the prosecution liquored up the jury while it was sequestered, amongst other grounds of jury tampering as well as ineffective asistance of counsel. Also noted are Amendment(s) to Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, 3.851, et al which amends the ruls for the appointment of capital post-conviction, post-conviction procedures, as well as public records production in capital cases.
Three capital case relief grants are also noted, however, only a blurb is offered, in
Randall v. Mississippi the Mississppi Supreme Court, in light of evidence of innocence excluded from trial, vacates and remands. The Ilinois Supreme Court, People v. Blue, reverses due to a trial court's restriction of the cross-examination of key witnesses for the State. Finally, the Ninth Circuit in Ainsworth v. Woodford concludes that trial counsel failed to adequately investigate penalty phase issues & therefore relief must be granted.Robert Bacon, North Carolina, has received a commutation to life. Gov. Mike Easley issued the following statement on his decision. "I am satisfied that the prosecutors and judges acted fairly and professionally in this case. However, as Governor, my review of this matter in its totality causes me to conclude that the appropriate sentence for the defendant is life without parole." The basis of Easley's decision, in addition to much hard work by NCADP, PFADP & CUADP that laid the groundwork for the connected to get involved, was thatBacon, a black man, was to be executed for the same crime that sent a white woman to life in prison.
A special "shout out" to my former officemates & good friends Randall Wheeler, Julia Pearson, & Elizabeth Shaw for their win in Hodge & Epperson.
Since the last edition there has been one domestic execution.
October3 Michael Roberts Missouri
The scheduled executions considered likely for October are:
12 David Ward North Carolina
18 Alvie Hale Jr. Oklahoma
18 Christopher Beck Virginia
22 Gerald Mitchell Texas
24 Stephen Johns MissouriFAX IT! A new update feature is being offered. Several courts are unable to post their decisions on the net & they don't appear in Westlaw or Lexis until months well after publication & therefore they wont appear here. Your help is needed. Feel free to telefax any opinion (or even winning motion) you think may be germane to (617)249-0219 or (617)249-0557 which have been set up to turn your fax into a document file so that it can be used. A special thank you to Julia Pearson for the idea & who became the first
guinea pigvolunteer for the "Fax it!" drive with the Hodge & Epperson v. Kentucky decision.
This issue is located at http://www.capitaldefenseweekly.com/archives/011001.htm
With the First Monday in October only days away, this week features the annual Supreme Court preview. Following a summer in which three Justices in remarkable candor expressed concern about current administration of the death penalty the Court again signaled its willingness to continue to define the "evolving standard of decency" in the administration of capital punishment. In a bit of docket juggling on the issue of mental retardation & the death penalty the Court in its September 25, 2001 pre-Term order list dismissed the certiorari grant in McCarver v. North Carolina, No. 00-8452 (changes in North Carolina's capital sentencing scheme & factual controversy meant a return to state court for further adjudication of the issue) & granted certiorari instead in Atkins v. Virginia, No. 00-8452, where the condemned has a markedly more severe case of mental retardation. Atkins was the only late September certiorari grant in a criminal matter; if you have a petition for certiorari pending safely assume it has been denied.
Hot listed this week are two cases, one capital & the other with clear capital implications. Holding the post-conviction record was underdeveloped, the Florida Supreme Court in Thompson v. Florida remanded for an evidentiary hearing on various claims including a rather interesting issue concerning ineffective assistance of counsel during voir dire. The Seventh Circuit in Ashley v. United States, a delayed publication case, opened the door via remand to the retroactive application of Apprendi (but see In re Carnell Turner below).
Of other note is the Sixth Circuit's denial of habeas relief to Kevin Stanford in whose earlier appeals the Supreme Court held that the execution of juveniles is permissible. In light of the Supreme Court's recent reexamination of mental retardation in Penry & now Atkins, as well as the Court's interest in juvenile executions in Domingues v. Nevada (even though cert was not granted after asking for the Solicitor General's comments), Stanford's case remains a case to watch.
The ABA & Association of the Bar of the City of New York is looking for volunteer lawyers to help with disaster efforts at: http://www.probono.net/areas/about.cfm?Area_ID=811&geographic_area=NY
On the potentially capital case front, to date 350+ Americans & foreigners have been detained &/or arrested here in the states with another 350+ being sought in the largest round-up of foreign nationals & American citizens since the internment of Japanese- & Italian Americans during World War II. The text of the Government's proposed legislation on the subject is available at http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/terrorismbill.htm, & web updates available as time permit & the situation warrants at http://capitaldefenseweekly.com/thetroubles.htm & http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/terrorism.htm.
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Since the last edition there have been no domestic executions.The scheduled executions considered likely for October are:
3 Michael Roberts Missouri
5 Robert Bacon North Carolina
8 John Byrd Jr. Ohio
12 David Ward North Carolina
18 Alvie Hale Jr. Oklahoma
18 Christopher Beck Virginia
22 Gerald Mitchell Texas
24 Stephen Johns Missouri
This issue is located at http://www.capitaldefenseweekly.com/archives/010924.html.
Hot listed this week are two capital cases from Missouri, Missouri v. Discoll & Carter v. Bowersox. The Focus article this week is a quick review of selected portions of the US Code relating to capital murder & "terrorism."The Missouri Supreme Court in Driscoll examines the holding in Dawson v. Delaware. Noting the interplay among propensity evidence, the First Amendment's right to association & the Sixth Amendment's right to a fair trial, the Driscoll Court holds the trial court erred in admitting evidence of membership in the Aryan Brotherhood in both phases of the trial. Withholding judgment on the issue of penalty phase error, the Court concludes that "though the evidence clearly constitutes a submissible case . . . a reasonable juror could harbor reasonable doubt" as to guilt.
The Eight Circuit's decision in Carter v. Bowersox is likewise positive. The Carter panel held that appellate counsel was ineffective for failing to raise a state law claim relating to penalty phase instruction error. Specifically, appellate counsel failed to raise claims relating to "the requirement that the jury be instructed to impose the death penalty only when they unanimously agree that it is warranted by aggravating circumstances plays an essential role in Missouri's capital sentencing scheme."
In way of friendly reminder, the Supreme Court's first day of the new term is October 1, 2001. Assuming the Court follows recent tradition, sometime between now & the First Monday in October the court will be handing down the cert granted list. The cert denied list will be handed down October 1. In light of the one year statue of limitations for the AEDPA & many state post-conviction rules/statutes, if you don't see your case cert granted either on the Supreme Court's web site (www.supremecourtus.gov) assume you have been denied & act accordingly to protect your client's interest. The next edition will run only after the Court announces the cert list
Since the last edition the following people have been executed:
September 18 James Knox TexasThe remaining scheduled executions for September have been stayed.
This issue is located at http://www.capitaldefenseweekly.com/archives/010917.html.
In light of an extended hiatus, an issue that is already unduly long & the traumatic events of the last few days, let me highlight this edition only briefly. A new section, "Hot List Cases" has been added to discuss the most germane cases . (Note: My selection of what is & is not hot has been called "quixotic" so be forewarned.) Capital cases not "hot listed" are broken down into only two groups based solely on whether relief has or has not been granted.The Feature this week is a listing of the firms in the WTC & in surrounding areas. To donate to the Rescue Relief effort please visit: http://store.yahoo.com/redcross-wtc1/.
On a personal note, before turning to the edition, few here in the Greater NYC area have not been personally touched by the recent bombing. As a former Marine Corps Gulf War vet I understand that the emotional need for revenge & vengeance, is not only natural but to be expected. This issue did not run Tuesday night as scheduled in order to prevent any appearance of callousness. Today this edition runs, however, as a reminder that in time of national crisis as long as the American ideals enshrined in the Bill of Rights & the Reconstruction Era Amendments still stand as the law of the land we are the victors in any struggle.
In light of the obvious capital implications of the numerous arrests & "detentions," resource links (such as case reviews from the ACLU & analysis of the various parts of the AEDPA unassociated with criminal habeas corpus) will be going up as soon as relevant materials can be located (sometime Monday-Tuesday at capitaldefenseweekly.com). The next edition will be sent out on (or about) 9/19/2001.
Since last issue the following people have been executed:
August 24 Clifton White North CarolinaThe scheduled executions for September are noted as serious dates are:
August 28 Jack Walker Oklahoma
August 28 James Elledge Washington --- volunteer
August 31 Ronnie Frye North CarolinaSeptember 8 John Byrd Jr. OhioFor all those expressed concern over the brief hiatus, thank you. Verizon cut broadband services during a phone system upgrade by "accident" and were unable to restore service for several weeks.
September 18 James Knox Texas
September 21 Robert Bacon North Carolina
This issue is located at http://www.capitaldefenseweekly.com/archives/010910.html.