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Georgia High Court Allows Death Penalty Case to Proceed Despite Lack of Funding
Posted: March 26, 2010

The Georgia Supreme Court ruled on March 25 that the capital prosecution of Jamie Ryan Weis could proceed despite the defendant's claims that a lack of state funding for capital defense has deprived him of effective representation and a speedy trial. Weis, who was arrested 4 years ago, was first appointed two defense lawyers with death penalty experience but the agency that funds defense lawyers in capital cases could not pay them. They were replaced by salaried public defenders who subsequently asked to withdraw, saying that they did not have the time, funds or qualifications to pursue a death penalty case. Weis argued that he should have had the first legal team and would not work with the second. In the two years since the representation has bogged down, Weis's mother, who was expected to testify on his behalf, passed away. The majority opinion said that much of the delay in the case was due to the defendant's actions. Justice Hugh Thompson, dissenting with two other justices, wrote that the Constitution requires that Weis receive a “vigorous defense,” and that Georgia “cannot shirk this responsibility because it is experiencing budgetary constraints.” He wrote further, “The State should not be allowed to fully arm its prosecutors while it hamstrings the defense and blames defendant for any resultant delay.” Stephen Bright of the Southern Center for Human Rights, who is working on Weis's appeal, said the public defenders “are so overwhelmed they can’t possibly represent Jamie Weis.” Read more

FOREIGN NATIONALS: British National Faces Execution in Texas
Posted: March 25, 2010

When citizens of other countries are arrested in the U.S., special notification procedures are required under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, a treaty that the U.S. has signed and ratified. These same procedures apply to U.S. citizens arrested in other countries. There are over 130 people on death row in the U.S. from other countries, and many of them were not afforded their notification rights under the Vienna Convention. Linda Carty is a British national on Texas' death row from St. Kitts. She could face execution if her request for a retrial is denied. She currently has a petition before the U.S. Supreme Court claiming she received inadequate representation during her original trial and that the United Kingdom could have provided additional legal support if the proper procedures had been followed in her case. Carty's attorneys assert that Texas authorities neglected to inform the British Consulate that she held a UK dependent-territory passport. Carty has always maintained her innocence of the murder that placed her on death row. Read more

 

Texas Execution Approaches Without Critical DNA Testing (UPDATE: EXECUTION STAYED BY SUPREME COURT)
Posted: March 23, 2010

Texas is moving closer to carrying out the execution of Henry Skinner on March 24, despite the fact that critical evidence from the crime scene, which could point to a different suspect, has not been subjected to DNA testing . Many of the major state newspapers in Texas have editorialized for a delay to the execution to allow for the DNA testing. On March 22, the Texas Board of Parole and Pardons refused to recommend clemency for Skinner. Attorneys at the Capital Punishment Center at the University of Texas School of Law, who now represent Skinner, have written a letter to Gov. Rick Perry asking for a 30-day reprieve and an order for DNA testing, stating, "While Texans undoubtedly support capital punishment, they insist that it be reserved for those who are clearly guilty." There is also a pending request before the U.S. Supreme Court that could open the path for the testing. If these requests are rejected, Skinner will be executed tomorrow evening (March 24) with unresolved innocence claims. UPDATE: The U.S. Supreme Court granted a stay of execution to Skinner shortly before he was to be executed on March 24. The Court wants more to time to consider his petition regarding DNA testing. Read more

 

Historical North Carolina Exoneration Almost Never Happened
Posted: March 22, 2010

Gregory Taylor recently became the first person exonerated by the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission, the only state-run agency in the country with the power to overturn convictions based on claims of innocence. Taylor had been convicted of the brutal murder of a prostitute, a crime for which he might have been executed in many states. In 1993, prosecutors relied partly on a lab report indicating that blood was found in Taylor's SUV, which was found parked near the victim's body. The lab report, however, did not mention that a second test came back negative for the presence of blood. The results of the second test were filed away in informal notes that did not surface until Taylor's case came before the Innocence Commission. Even these notes would not have been discovered if it were not for Assistant District Attorney Tom Ford, who prosecuted Taylor's case in 1993. Ford said state investigators did not tell him until July 2009 about the negative second blood test. He subsequently told the Commission investigators where to find the bench notes, saying that he felt it was his duty to do so. Taylor was cleared of all charges after other parts of the state's case also were discredited, and he was freed after spending nearly 17 years in prison. Read more