Death Penalty

Stevens Calls Ga. Capital Case ‘Troubling,’ But Agrees with Cert Denial

U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens called a Georgia capital case “particularly troubling” in a statement issued today, but said he agreed with the decision to deny certiorari. Stevens wrote in the case of death-row inmate Artemus “Rick” Walker, convicted of stabbing to death a bank vice president after…

Oct 20, 2008 4:10 PM CDT

Lawyer Called ‘Poster Boy for Capital Litigation Abuse’ Appointed to New Case

An Illinois lawyer described as “the poster boy for capital litigation abuse” has been appointed to a new death penalty case. Defense lawyer John Paul Carroll billed the state of Illinois more than $2 million for the defense of an accused child killer, including the time it took him to…

Oct 20, 2008 1:12 PM CDT

Supreme Court Denies Cert for Inmate Asserting Actual Innocence

The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal by a death row inmate who claims the Eighth Amendment bars execution of those who are actually innocent. Troy Anthony Davis had received a stay of execution as the court considered his cert petition. The court’s refusal to hear the…

Oct 14, 2008 2:36 PM CDT

Courts Reject Inmate’s Petition Claiming He is too Fat for Execution

Two appellate courts have rejected a convicted murderer’s request for a stay of execution that contends his obesity makes him a poor candidate for lethal injection. Lawyers for inmate Richard Cooey claimed it would be difficult to find a vein for lethal injection because of their client’s weight, the Associated…

Oct 10, 2008 1:18 PM CDT

Supreme Court Declines Cases on ‘Choose Life’ Plates, Juror Bible Reading

Cases touching on religion and abortion were among several rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday. One concerns whether anti-abortion activists can force Arizona to issue “Choose Life” license plates, and the other whether a Bible-reading juror requires a court to overturn a death sentence. The court accepted no new…

Oct 7, 2008 1:30 PM CDT

Public Appeal & Engineer’s Work Diary Lead to Dig for 16-Year-Old’s Body

Some 40 years after a now-dead child serial killer admittedly stabbed a 16-year-old neighbor boy to death, authorities today are expected to begin excavating the Southern California site where they believe he buried the body of Roger Dale Madison. It is near a freeway, and, authorities now believe, Mack Ray…

Oct 6, 2008 5:03 PM CDT

Supreme Court Denies Rehearing in Child Rape Case

Updated: The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to grant a rehearing of its decision holding it is unconstitutional to impose the death penalty for child rape, SCOTUSblog reports. The court modified the majority and dissenting opinions in the case based on a missed fact in the original decision: The military…

Oct 1, 2008 2:13 PM CDT

Will Prosecutor and Judge’s Affair Affect a Second Murder Case?

Timothy David Nixon may not even be aware of the controversy surrounding the judge who presided over his trial and conviction for murder. Nixon was sentenced to 99 years in prison for killing his mother in Collin County, Texas, the Dallas Morning News reports. The presiding judge was Verla Sue…

Sep 29, 2008 12:11 PM CDT

Hood Seeks Habeas, Says Judge & Prosecutor Considered Marriage

Lawyers for a convicted Texas murderer who narrowly escaped execution earlier this month have filed a habeas corpus petition in the Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas. The judge and prosecutor in his death penalty case not only admitted earlier this month, after being ordered to give depositions by a…

Sep 25, 2008 5:10 PM CDT

Inmate who Claims Innocence Gets Supreme Court Stay of Execution

A Georgia death-row inmate whose claims of innocence have attracted international attention has won a stay of execution from the U.S. Supreme Court. The stay for Troy Anthony Davis remains in place at least until Monday, when the court decides whether to hear his claim that the Eighth Amendment bars…

Sep 24, 2008 11:27 AM CDT

Federal Judge Axes Ex-DA’s Libel Suit Over John Grisham’s ‘Innocent Man’

A libel suit filed over a true-crime book written by best-selling author and attorney John Grisham has been dismissed by a federal judge. Grisham’s book, The Innocent Man, focuses on the wrongful conviction of two men for the 1982 murder of an Oklahoma cocktail waitress, and U.S. District Judge Ronald…

Sep 18, 2008 10:27 PM CDT

Prosecutor and Judge in Capital Case Admitted Affair, Lawyers Say

Updated: A judge who oversaw the death penalty trial of Charles Dean Hood and the prosecutor in the case have admitted an affair, lawyers told the governor of Texas in a letter. The now-retired judge, Verla Sue Holland, and the onetime prosecutor, Thomas O’Connell, “admitted under oath that they had…

Sep 10, 2008 10:56 AM CDT

Hood Execution Halted; Defense Alleged Judge-Prosecutor Affair

There’s no word about what was said at depositions yesterday and today of a former prosecutor and a retired judge accused of having had an affair more than a decade ago during a convicted murderer’s trial. However, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has called a halt to tomorrow’s scheduled…

Sep 9, 2008 10:09 PM CDT

Supreme Court Orders Briefs on Whether to Rehear Child Rape Case

The U.S. Supreme Court has asked for briefs and set a short deadline for the parties to address whether the justices should reconsider their decision that it is unconstitutional to impose the death penalty for child rape. The state of Louisiana and the Justice Department are seeking a rehearing in…

Sep 9, 2008 10:43 AM CDT

Depositions Ordered re Alleged Long-Ago Affair Between Judge & Prosecutor

Charles Dean Hood is scheduled to be executed Wednesday. But first his lawyers will be allowed to depose a former prosecutor and retired judge accused of having an affair during his Texas murder trial, a state court judge decided today. A deposition of former former Collin County District Attorney Tom…

Sep 8, 2008 10:57 PM CDT