Texas Executes Mentally Retarded Man

Texas has the distinction of being the second largest state in the United States by land mass.  Today's it has also achieved the distinction of being the only state in the United States to execute mentally retarded citizens. The case involves 54 year old Marvin Wilson who was executed in Texas last night as a result of a 1994 murder conviction.  Wilson had been convicted of murdering a drug informant in 1992.  In 2002 the United States Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to execute mentally retarded inmates because it violated the Constitution's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.  But the 2002 Supreme Court ruling gave states discretion in deciding who they consider to be mentally retarded.  Texas, an an effort to circumvent the Supreme Court's prohibition against executing mentally retarded inmates adopted a ridiculous standard to find that Marvin Wilson qualified for an execution.  Wilson's IQ had been measured at 61. Anything below 70 is considered to be mentally retarded.  Texas argued that Wilson's IQ test had been administered by an inexperienced intern, and that based on his ability to lead, lie and the opinion of his friends and family that he was not mentally retarded and qualified for an execution.  Texas is now the only state to use such a standard to determine if an inmate is mentally retarded.  Before the execution, Wilson's attorneys made a final plea to the Supreme Court but was turned down by Justice Antonin Scalia who is overseeing emergency appeals from the Court of Appeals covering the State of Texas.  

Wilson was the seventh inmate executed in Texas this year and the 25th executed in the United States so far this year.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.legaldefenderspc.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

DNA Tests Casts Doubt On Texas Man Who Was Executed

Claude Howard Jones was executed in Texas on December 7, 2000.  He had been convicted of murder and sentenced to death largely on a single strand of hair recovered from the crime scene.  Testimony at his trial was that microscopic tests identified the hair as Jones' and he was sentenced to death.  One day before his execution, his attorney petitioned then Texas Governor George Bush for a 30 day reprieve so that the single strand of hair could be subjected to DNA testing.  Governor Bush denied the request based on the recommendations of his staff lawyer, who apparently made no mention of the DNA test to Bush.  Today, a DNA test of the hair requested by the Texas Observer and the New York based Innocence Project has revealed that the hair did not belong to Jones but matched the robbery victim.  While the test does not prove that Jones was innocent, it also did not implicate Jones.  This new test raises troubling questions about the case and begs the question about whether an innocent man was put to death in Texas.  Other than the hair evidence, there was one witness who testified that Jones resembled the man he saw enter the store where the murder occurred.  

Claude Howard Jones proclaimed his innocence to the very end.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Ohio Death Row Case Raises Questions Of Innocence

Kevin Keith is set to be executed by lethal injection in Ohio on September 15.  Keith is claiming that he is innocent.  While there's nothing unusual about his proclamation, what is unusual is the growing support in the legal community for his claims.  Prosecutors allege that on February 13, 1994, Keith murdered three people because he believed that they had informed on him to police investigating his illegal drug sales.  One of the murder victims was a 4 year old girl.  Several witnesses testified against Keith at trial and his attorneys did not produce any mitigating evidence at his sentencing hearing and he was sentenced to the death penalty.  A closer look at Keith's case offers some good reasons why a new trial or commutation of his death sentence may be warranted.  Some 31 former judges and prosecutors are supporting Keith's claims.  At his trial, the police had mentioned that a witness, by the name of "Amy Gimmets" had given them the name of "Keith" as the shooter who committed the murders.  Keith's defense attorneys discovered that "Amy Gimmets" does not exist.  They argue that if the jury had been told that "Amy Gimmets" did not exist, it may have undermined the credibility of the police witness.  Also, the 911 police logs do not support the police and prosecution theories of the case.  At trial, the police and prosecutors told that jury that witness John Foor had called the police and told them that the shooter was "Kevin."  The 911 tapes do not support this contention.  The same 911 tapes also show an important discrepancy in the trial testimony of a witness who claims she found a shell casing near the scene of the crime.  The shell casing was the sole piece of physical evidence prosecutors used to connect Keith to the murder.  On top of these problems, there is also compelling evidence that another man, Rodney Melton, may have committed the murders.  Keith's attorneys claim that Melton is the most likely suspect.  Melton was seen in the area right after the murders, he drove the same type of car that was driven by the shooter, Melton's license plate numbers matched partial license plate numbers that the police lifted from the snow, had an extensive violent criminal record and had previously been convicted of murder, and had told a police informant that he had been paid $15,000 to cripple a family member of some of the murder victims.  In addition, Melton had gone to the hospital on the night of the shootings and told a family member that the victims had gotten what they deserve for snitching.

Prosecutors are fighting Keith's claims of innocence and insisting that he was the murderer.  Keith is facing an uphill battle.  Post-conviction efforts by inmates like Keith have been dramatically limited by an ever-increasing conservative Supreme Court.  

We will keep you updated on any developments in this interesting case which raises serious questions about the imposition of the death penalty against a man that may be innocent.  At the very least, his claims deserve to be thoroughly examined before he is executed.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Ohio Death Penalty System In Disarray

Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, has postponed the execution of an inmate scheduled for this Thursday. The controversy arises out of the botched execution attempt of an inmate on September 15. Technicians tried for two hours to find suitable veins on Romell Brown. The botched attempt called into serious question Ohio's lethal injection procedures. Lawrence Reynolds, Jr., is scheduled to be executed on Thursday. Earlier in the day, the Ohio Attorney General asked the U.S. Supreme Court to let Reynolds execution go forward. However, later in the day, Governor Strickland announced that he would be granting a temporary reprieve to Reynolds until at least March, 2010. He also granted a temporary reprieve to Darryl Durr, who was scheduled to be executed in a few weeks, until at least April, 2010. In his announcement, Governor Strickland indicated that additional time was needed to thoroughly examine Ohio's lethal injection procedure to make it legal in accordance with Ohio law. Brown's execution has been delayed indefinitely.

All of the inmates are arguing that Ohio's lethal injection procedures violates the constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Judges reviewing these matters have been split.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.