NCADP
1436
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NW
Suite 104
Washington
DC
20009
888-286-2237
[email protected]
Missouri:
Mose Young (MO) – B/? stay
of execution
July 12, 2000…1:01am (EST)
Mose Young, a poorly educated, indigent man who was represented by
a public defender with few resources, is scheduled to be the next man executed
by the state of Missouri. He is on death row in Potosi for the 1983
murders of Ronnell Bennett, Kent Bicknese, and Sol Marks.
In July of 1984, Mose was convicted of three counts of capital murder
and sentenced to death. His trial counsel has since resigned his
practice due to an alcohol problem. According to Joe Margulies, Mose’s
appellate attorney, the prosecution used of all its nine peremptory strikes
for people of color during jury selection. Trial counsel failed to
object, stating later that he “meant to”. In order to receive a new
trial, defense counsel must be shown to “fall below an objective standard
of reasonableness.” Margulies presents this failure and the attorney’s
disciplinary record as clear evidence of unreasonable representation.
Mose has also presented parts of his family history as mitigating factors
that he believes did not receive proper consideration during sentencing.
He is the only surviving child of elderly, ill parents and helped his mother
care for his father after his stroke. He maintained a long term relationship
and supported his small children. Mose also regularly attended both
Christian and Muslim religious services while in the St. Louis City jail.
Join us in urging Governor Mel Carnahan to examine Mose’s case and
revent another execution. Access to an unbiased justice system and
adequate representation are supposed to be givens in the United States
of America. There are doubts as to whether Mose Young received either.
Oklahoma
Gregg Braun (OK) – W/5? executed
July 20, 2000…1:00am (EST)
Despite the fact that he would serve a minimum of 126 years before
having a shot at parole in New Mexico and Kansas, the state of Oklahoma
gave Gregg Braun the death penalty.
In 1989, five people were killed in the space of five days: two convenience
store clerks, Mary Rains and Barbara Kochendorfer, in Garden City, Kansas;
Pete Spurrier in Pampa, TX; Gwendolyn Miller in Oklahoma; and Geraldine
Valdez in New Mexico.
Gregg pleaded guilty in New Mexico and received a life sentence —
it would be 30 years before he would be eligible for parole. He received
two more life sentences after no contest pleas for the Kansas killings.
In Oklahoma, however, Gregg received the death penalty for the murder of
Gwendolyn Miller. He was charged but never tried in the Texas case.
Two psychiatrists that appeared as defense witnesses testified to Gregg’s
severe personality disorder, which was aggravated by cocaine and alcohol
problems. Gregg also experienced an abusive childhood. His
mother and father struggled with alcohol. His brothers beat him severely
and continuously. This environment aggravated Gregg’s mental disorder.
While there is no cure for severe personality disorder, therapy can
lessen its effects and treat its symptoms. From prison, Gregg has
expressed deep remorse for his crimes.
The nature of Gregg’s crimes makes this a difficult case. However,
the multiple sentences totaling a minimum of 126 years before he could
be paroled make it unnecessary for him to be executed. He is not
a potential danger to society if behind bars for the remainder of his life
prior to the Oklahoma sentence.
Texas
Caruthers Alexander (TX) – B/? stay
of execution
July 12, 2000…7:00pm (EST)
After receiving a 30-day stay while the 5th Circuit considered his
petition for habeas corpus, Caruthers Alexander is facing another execution
date.
The body of Lori Bruch was found on the morning of April 23, 1981.
A few days later, Caruthers was charged with her murder after circumstantial
evidence linked him and his work vehicle to the scene.
Despite testimony from his wife that he had been home with her, Caruthers
was sentenced to death. In 1987 the decision was reversed and remanded
to the state court for a new trial because of prosecutorial misconduct.
During
cross-examination, unrelated testimony had been introduced that potentially
prejudiced the jury’s view of Caruthers.
When the case was retried in 1989, he was again sentenced to death,
though he continued to appeal. In November of 1997, Caruthers received
a stay of execution in federal district court to pursue a habeas corpus
petition. The petition was denied. In April of this year, Caruthers
received yet another stay while the Circuit Court of Appeals considered
his petition for habeas corpus.
Now, with his appeals exhausted, Caruthers faces is once again staring
death in the face. He has been on death row since 1982 fighting for
his life.
Orien Cecil Joiner (TX) – W/2W executed
July 12, 2000…7:00pm (EST)
Orien Joiner was hospitalized shortly before Thanksgiving in 1986 for
psychological and emotional reasons. Yet, his attorney did not deem
it necessary to have him examined for competency to stand trial.
December 17, 1986, Orien told police that he saw two black men running
from his neighbors’ apartment after finding their bodies. Inconsistencies
in his story led police to suspect Orien for the murders of Carol Lynette
Huckabee, 26, and Eva Marie DeForest, 29. He was convicted and sentenced
to death in 1988. In 1994, Orien came within 8 hours of being executed
before receiving a stay. Subsequently, his request for federally
appointed counsel and investigators in order to determine his competency
at the time of the crime and trial was denied.
Orien’s most recent appeal challenges the testimony of Ralph Erdmann,
who conducted the autopsies on the women’s bodies and determined that they
had been raped after they were killed. The prosecution referred to
this testimony no less than five times in the punishment phase of Orien’s
trial in order to hammer home to the jury that he deserved the death penalty.
Erdmann was convicted of 7 felonies in 1994, including falsifying
autopsy reports and charging for autopsies he never performed. He
then surrendered his license.
In addition, the failure of Orien’s trial attorney to have him examined
for competency, knowing that he had recently been hospitalized, is evidence
of incompetent representation by counsel. The trial counsel later
informed appellate counsel that Orien suffered from “attention deficits”
during trial, thus substantially impairing his ability to assist with his
own defense.
Apparently, he also believed that a death sentence meant the deputy
assigned to transport/guard him would take him outside the courthouse and
immediately shoot him. Clearly Orien did not understand what was
happening at his trial. The District Court, however, still believes
that his counsel did not fall below objective standards of competency.
Please don’t let the state of Texas execute another mentally ill person.
Ask Governor Bush for a new trial for Orien Joiner so that proper psychological
testimony may be heard.
Oliver David Cruz (TX) – L/W stay
of execution-new date set
July 19, 2000…7:00pm (EST)
for August 8, 2000
Oliver Cruz worked as a day laborer and had only been educated through
the seventh grade at the time of his arrest in 1988.
Oliver and his co-defendant Jerry Kemplin were charged with the murder
of 24-year-old Kelly Donovan, a soldier, who was stationed in San Antonio.
Kemplin testified against Oliver in exchange for a 65-year sentence for
murder, rather than facing the possibility of the death penalty.
Oliver was 21 at the time of the crime and had no prior criminal record.
There is no reason to believe a young man with no prior record to be irredeemable.
Unfortunately, Oliver lives in a state that hands out the death penalty
frequently and disproportionately to minority defendants. Let Governor
Bush know that Texas’ affinity for the death penalty is not supported.
Juan Soria (TX) – L/W executed
July 26, 2000…7:00pm (EST)
Juan Soria, the son of migrant workers who barely completed high school,
is scheduled for execution on July 26th. Despite an appeal that overturned
his original death sentence, the state of Texas pushed to reinstate capital
punishment for Juan. On June 27, 1985 Allen Bolden was abducted and
murdered. Juan Soria was convicted of the crime and sentenced to
death.
His alleged accomplice, Michael Lagunas, 17 at the time, pled guilty
to the lesser charge of aggravated kidnaping and received a 45-year prison
term.
Juan has appealed his case repeatedly since his 1986 conviction, continually
discovering new challenges. Five years after his first appeal, the
Texas Court of Appeals transformed his death sentence to life imprisonment.
After sustaining the state’s request for a rehearing, the death penalty
was reinstated, nearly 7 years after his original appeal.
Challenges have been raised over jury selection and ineffectiveness
of counsel, as well as a whole host of issues. Perhaps the most compelling
issue has been the controversy over the testimony of witnesses about Juan’s
mental health. A psychiatrist for the defense testified that he did
not think Juan was a continuing threat to society. He saw sincere
expression of remorse for the crime, citing Juan’s suffering from nightmares
while in prison. Additionally, he believed that Juan, 18 at the time
of the murder, could not have committed the crime without the direction
of Lagunas, which Juan’s confession
indicated. The trial judge mandated that the prosecution also
be able to examine Juan, but he refused to cooperate, believing it violated
his constitutional rights. As such, the state’s witness testified
as to Juan’s continuing threat to society and lack of remorse based on
notes taken from the defense expert’s interviews.
The issue of the psychiatric testimony is contested in strong dissenting
opinions from the Texas Court of Appeals. The deeply divided court
that first commuted, then reinstated Juan’s sentence exposes the ambiguity
and uncertainty in a sentence of death in this case. Since Juan did
not have a prior record of violent crime, the death sentence was based
primarily on the opinion of a witness who never directly examined him.
Juan spent time in an institution for emotionally disturbed youths
and only achieved a 9th grade education. He had also been expelled
from the family home just prior to the crime. Further, he was suffering
from feelings of depression and isolation due to the sudden death of his
best friend. These factors were never brought to the jury’s attention
during trial, nor was his father’s alcoholism and abuse. The omission
of these salient issues did not render his defense inadequate in the eyes
of the appeals court.
There is a pattern in Texas of refusing new trials when compelling
issues are present. Don’t let this be another example of Texas’ slippery
dealing with the death penalty. Contact the offices listed below
and register your opposition to the execution of Juan Soria.
Virginia
Michael Clagett (VA) – W/4?
executed
July 6, 2000…9:00pm (EST)
“We all believe that Denise Holsinger was the main person behind this,”
said the mother of Carolyn Cussins, one of the victims. “It’s hard
for us to deal with the fact that she got life and he got death.
Maybe it should have been reversed.”
Michael Clagett maintains that his girlfriend, Denise Holsinger, masterminded
the robbery and murders at the Witchduck Inn where she worked. She
filled Michael’s head with Bonnie and Clyde fantasies and commanded him
to shoot during a two day drug and alcohol binge that ended with the deaths
of handyman Wendel Parrish, patron Abdelaziz Gren, bartender Karen Rounds,
and owner LamVan Son. Holsinger received five life sentences for
her role while Michael received death sentences. Since she did not
actually pull the trigger, a capital sentence was not an option in her
case.
The case rested on a weeping confession that Michael gave to police,
one which he argued on appeal had been obtained after an arrest with no
probable cause. There were no eyewitnesses, and only ambiguous physical
evidence. He was convicted and given five death sentences.
On appeal the Supreme Court of Virginia reduced the charges and sentence
to include only the four individual counts, vacating the additional multiple
murder charge as double jeopardy. Michael challenged the trial court’s
refusal to instruct the jury as to the parole regulations for a sentence
of life imprisonment as well;
its actions were deemed appropriate on appeal.
Despite his insistence that he was under the influence of alcohol and
drugs, manipulated by his girlfriend, and expressed the deepest remorse
for his crimes, the state of Virginia has scheduled Michael’s execution
for July 6th.
Furhter Upcoming Execution Dates:
August 5, 2000: Juan Raul Garza (TX) (federal)
August 9, 2000: Brian Roberson (TX)
August 16, 2000: John Satterwhite (TX)
August 22, 2000: Richard Wayne Jones (TX)
August 23, 2000: David Gibbs (TX)
August 30, 2000: Jeffery Caldwell (TX)
September 13, 2000: Miguel Richardson (TX)
October 4, 2000: Stacey Lawton (TX)
November 1, 2000: Jeffery Dillingham (TX)
November 8, 2000: Gary Etheridge (TX)
