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Thread: Delaware Capital Punishment News

  1. #61
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    Delaware Supreme Court to weigh fate of death row inmates

    Court to hear arguments over whether a ruling to end the death penalty should be applied to those still on death row.

    Even though Delaware Supreme Court found the state's death penalty law unconstitutional in August, the debate over whether 12 men on death row should still be executed will heat up next week when arguments make it to a courtroom.

    The court will have to decide whether its landmark ruling, which barred death sentences unless Delaware law is rewritten to comply with the U.S. Constitution, should be applied retroactively to those already on death row.

    The top court is poised to hear arguments Dec. 7 in Dover from state prosecutors and attorneys representing Derrick Powell, a 29-year-old sentenced to death for the fatal shooting of Georgetown police officer Chad Spicer.

    "The issue becomes, will the court apply the Constitution to everybody or invoke a procedural technicality to arbitrarily apply the decision to some but not others?" said Robert Dunham, executive director of the nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center.

    Prosecutors will urge the five justices to not apply the court decision to the men on death row because of a long-standing rule against doing so after a criminal case is completed. Powell's attorneys will argue it would be draconian to execute him after the court already deemed the sentencing scheme unconstitutional.

    The issue first arose when the U.S. Supreme Court in January struck down Florida's death penalty law saying it violated the U.S. Constitution by giving judges, and not juries, the final say to impose a death sentence.

    Alabama and Delaware were the only other states that, like Florida, allowed judges to override a jury's recommendation of life.

    In light of the U.S. Supreme Court decision, the state Supreme Court found that Delaware's capital punishment law was also unconstitutional.

    The court, however, did not say in August whether its decision would apply to those on death row, leaving open the possibility of further litigation. Powell's case will be the test.

    Powell is Delaware's youngest inmate on death row.

    In September 2009, he and two men arranged to rob another man during a marijuana deal. The robbery attempt went awry, and Powell fired at the fleeing man in the parking lot of a Georgetown McDonald's, according to court documents.

    The incident led to a police chase that ended when Powell fired a shot at a police car, fatally wounding the 29-year-old officer and father, court documents said.

    Powell was found guilty of first-degree murder and other charges in February 2011. He was sentenced to death in May of that year.

    When his case is heard by the Delaware Supreme Court next week, his attorneys, Patrick Collins and Natalie Woloshin, will argue that it would be "unjust" to execute Powell just because he had the misfortune of being sentenced to death before the Florida decision.

    "This court should recognize that truth, and give meaning to the venerates phrase, 'death is different,' and vacate his sentence," his attorneys wrote in an argument filed with the court.

    Chief of Appeals Elizabeth McFarlan and Deputy Attorney General John Williams argued in their own written brief that the court should use a U.S. Supreme Court case known as Teague v. Lane to determine that it is not appropriate to apply a new decision to closed cases.

    Delaware has not wavered from the Teague rule against retroactivity for 26 years and should not start to now, they wrote.

    "When criminal convictions are subject to later review because of subsequent legal changes, additional burdens are placed upon the state criminal justice system," they wrote. "This court recognized the burden of repeated review not just of convictions but also of sentences, in determining the retroactivity of a recent legislative change to permit concurrent sentencing under certain circumstances."

    Powell's attorneys, however, said executing their client would be unfair and unjust. They pointed to other states, such as New York, Maryland and Connecticut, that had retroactively applied the decision to eliminate the death penalty to those already sentenced to death.

    "In Delaware, as elsewhere, whether the abolition has come from the executive, legislative or judicial branch, the result has been the same: the existing death sentences have been vacated," they said. "Those decisions comport with a recognition of the awesome finality of death as a sentence and recognize that death is truly different. To do otherwise would be grossly irreconcilable with the norm, and moreover, would be repugnant to our status as an enlightened society."

    Amicus briefs in support of Powell's position have been filed by several others, including an attorney for death row inmate Luis G. Cabrera, the Atlantic Center for Capital Representation, the American Civil Liberties Union of Delaware, and the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the District of Delaware, which represents in some capacity 8 of the 12 individuals currently on death row.

    Dunham said, if the court were to apply the decision retroactively, they could do so in a variety of ways. The court could apply its decision to all the cases pending on appeal since January, apply the decision to all the cases pending on appeal since a similar 2002 court decision, or they could apply the decision to all cases, regardless of the time frame or whether an appeal is pending.

    "The obvious problem is that if you don't apply it to everybody, you are tolerating unconstitutional executions," he said. "The flip side is if you apply it retroactively, Delaware does not have any mechanism on the books to do resentencing hearings."

    http://www.delawareonline.com/story/...ates/94661594/

  2. #62
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    Delaware quietly disbands death row

    DOVER — As Delaware’s Supreme Court weighs whether 12 men sentenced to death should be spared from execution, prison officials have quietly disbanded the state’s death row and moved its former occupants to other housing.

    Prison officials say the move, which occurred in August, resulted in former death row inmates having five times more recreational time than they had before, and in some cases, sharing cells with other inmates who are not facing the death penalty.

    “It’s gone well,” Department of Corrections Commissioner Robert Coupe told The Associated Press this week. “Some of the inmates initially preferred not to interact … but we continued to work with them through our behavioral health folks and eventually all of them were moved out of what was formerly known as death row.”

    The former death row space is now being used as general maximum security housing.

    Officials said the move comes amid evolving standards for treatment of inmates in restrictive housing settings and will help the DOC keep its American Correctional Association accreditation.

    In an August revision of its standards, the ACA said inmates in extended restrictive housing should have access to educational services, commissary services, library services, social services, behavioral health and treatment services, religious guidance and recreational programs.

    “Although services and programs cannot be identical to those provided to the general population, there should be no major differences for reasons other than danger to life, health, or safety,” the ACA said.

    Delaware officials said they were already working on a revision to restrictive housing standards when the ACA issued its guidance.

    “It was already in the works,” said DOC spokeswoman Jayme Gravell.

    But Coupe said the change was not related to a recent settlement in a federal lawsuit by the Community Legal Aid Society alleging that mentally ill inmates in Delaware have been subjected to solitary confinement without proper evaluation, monitoring and treatment. Under the settlement, the Department of Correction agreed to limit the length of time inmates spend in disciplinary housing and increase the amount of unstructured recreation time available to inmates in certain maximum security settings.

    Inmates in restrictive housing, formerly known as solitary confinement, traditionally have been kept in their cells for up to 72 hours at a time, with only three hours outside their cells each week for exercise and showers.

    Officials said inmates sentenced to death will now be offered 17.5 hours of unstructured recreational time per week.

    “They definitely have more freedom than they would in the SHU,” Coupe said, referring to the secure housing unit at the maximum security prison in Smyrna.

    Coupe said DOC officials believe the change is “humane” and beneficial to both the inmates and the institution.

    Officials said 12 of the former death row inmates are now in “medium housing,” where nine of them are sharing cells with other inmates who have not been sentenced to death.

    One former death row inmate, whom prison officials would not identify, remains in a single cell in the secure housing unit.

    Among the former death row inmates sharing a cell is Otis Phillips, a gang member who was sentenced to death after a 2012 soccer tournament shooting that left three people dead, including the tournament organizer and a 16-year-old player.

    The state Supreme Court heard arguments earlier this week in an appeal by Phillips challenging his conviction. In response to Phillips’ appeal, prosecutors acknowledged that because his conviction is on direct appeal and not considered final, he is covered under a Delaware Supreme Court ruling declaring Delaware’s death penalty unconstitutional.

    In August, a majority of Delaware justices concluded that Delaware’s law was unconstitutional because it allowed a judge to sentence a person to death independently of a jury’s recommendation and did not require that a jury find unanimously and beyond a reasonable doubt that a defendant deserves execution.

    The Supreme Court is now considering whether that ruling applies retroactively to the 12 men already facing execution.

    http://delawarestatenews.net/news/de...nds-death-row/

  3. #63
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    Delaware Court Says Death Penalty Ruling Is Retroactive

    Delaware's Supreme Court says its ruling declaring the state's death penalty law unconstitutional is retroactive, meaning an inmate convicted of killing a police officer must be resentenced to life in prison.

    Thursday's ruling suggests that 11 other former death-row inmates also will be spared.

    In its ruling, the court said its August decision invalidating Delaware's death penalty law was a "watershed procedural ruling" that must be applied retroactively.

    The decision came in an appeal by Derrick Powell, who was convicted of killing Georgetown police officer Chad Spicer in 2009.

    In August, a majority of the justices said Delaware's death penalty law was unconstitutional because it allowed judges too much discretion in sentencing and did not require that a jury find unanimously and beyond a reasonable doubt that a defendant deserves execution.

    http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/d...ctive-44219236
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    First vote on death penalty Wednesday

    A bill that would reinstate the death penalty in Delaware could get its first test in the General Assembly with a committee hearing on Wednesday.

    The House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to address the Extreme Crimes Protection Act at 2:30 p.m. in the House chambers at Legislative Hall in Dover.

    Last summer, Delaware's Supreme Court ruled the state's capital punishment law unconstitutional. The Act would change the rules for handing out a death sentence to address the judges' concerns, effectively bringing back the punishment.

    Those changes include requiring a unanimous jury decision and raising the burden of proof for "aggravating factors" that make a death sentence possible. The sponsors say it would limit the punishment to only the most heinous crimes.

    The 11-member committee must vote to advance the legislation to the full House for a vote. In some cases, committee members who oppose a bill will still vote it out of a committee because they think the larger debate is necessary.

    Supporters of capital punishment believe they have the votes to pass the bill through the House. The real contest will be in the Senate.

    That chamber approved — by a one-vote margin — a bill last year to repeal the death penalty, before the Supreme Court ruled. But several new Senators have taken seats since then, and it's unclear if those who favor reinstatement have the 11 votes they need.

    http://www.delawareonline.com/story/...ote/101171328/
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    "They will hurt you. They will hurt your grandma, these people. The root cause of this is there's no discipline in the homes, they don't go to school, you know, they live off the government, no personal accountability, and they just beat people up for no reason, and it's disgusting." - Former Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters

  5. #65
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    Legislator tries to block death penalty restoration

    DOVER — One day before legislation reinstating the death penalty was to be heard in committee a Dover Democrat filed a bill to restrict the methods of execution.

    In other legislative action a Newark Democrat introduced a bill Tuesday to legalize assisted suicide.

    On the death penalty, House Bill 155, introduced by Rep. Sean Lynn, D-Dover, would bar the state from executing convicted killers by lethal injection or hanging — effectively leaving the state without the means to carry out a death sentence.

    Lawmakers are set to debate House Bill 125, which would put capital punishment back in place, in the House Judiciary Committee today. The bill is expected to be released to the full chamber.

    Delaware has been without a death penalty since the state Supreme Court struck it down in August, concluding that a portion violated the right to a jury trial.

    If both bills pass, the state would effectively be left with a death penalty but no way to perform executions, unless an amendment is tacked on to the death penalty bill.

    The European Union has banned the export of certain drugs used for execution, creating difficulties for states trying to carry out death sentences. Arkansas executed four inmates in eight days last month because its supply was set to expire, and the Utah Legislature reinstated the firing squad in 2015.

    Delaware was the last state to perform a hanging when it executed Billy Bailey in 1996.

    Two years ago, a Department of Correction spokesman said the state did not have a supply of drugs for lethal injection. The department could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

    Rep. Lynn admitted he doesn’t expect his bill to pass but introduced it to make a statement.

    “We are using a different variety of drugs which are not designed at all for the purpose of killing someone,” said the Democrat. “So, for example, when you have the lethal injection, it’s like three-drug cocktail. The first is an anesthetic so ostensibly you don’t feel what’s going to happen to you. So the anesthetic that they typically use the EU won’t supply to us, so we’re basically experimenting on people.”

    His proposal had been in the works but was deliberately introduced Tuesday to coincide with House Bill 125.

    Gov. John Carney, a Democrat, is opposed to capital punishment for convicted killers but has said he “wouldn’t rule out” backing a bill that allows for executing individuals who kill law enforcement officials.

    http://delawarestatenews.net/governm...y-restoration/

    This article is edited. The second half is about another measure unrelated to capital punishment.
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    "They will hurt you. They will hurt your grandma, these people. The root cause of this is there's no discipline in the homes, they don't go to school, you know, they live off the government, no personal accountability, and they just beat people up for no reason, and it's disgusting." - Former Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters

  6. #66
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    Death penalty supporters pass first test

    The General Assembly took the first step towards reinstating the death penalty in Delaware on Wednesday when a committee voted 7-4 to send legislation to the the full House of Representatives for a vote.

    A vote in the full House is expected on Thursday.

    The "Extreme Crimes Protection Act" comfortably passed the 11-member House Judiciary committee, but the almost two-hour hearing foreshadowed the intensity of the battle that will be waged in Legislative Hall over the coming weeks.

    Supporters of the legislation said it would limit the punishment to truly abominable crimes that can be proved with the highest standards of truth.

    But opponents of the legislation said changing the way sentences are delivered doesn't change their opinion that the death penalty is fundamentally wrong.

    "I don't think the state should be in the business of committing homicide, no more than I think anyone else should be in the business of committing homicide," said Rep. J.J. Johnson, D-New Castle.

    Delaware's current capital punishment law is unenforceable after the state Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional last year. In a 4-1 vote, the Court faulted the law for allowing a judge to find that aggravating circumstances in a crime merited a death sentence without a unanimous jury agreeing.

    Aggravating circumstances can include things like crimes committed against a police officer, crimes in which hostages are taken or if the crimes that are "outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible or inhuman in that it involved torture or depravity of mind."

    A group of lawmakers, both Republicans and Democrats, are pushing to change the law to address those concerns. Their legislation would require a unanimous jury to rule on the aggravating circumstances and raise the burden of proof to the highest standard.

    "We're not trying to enact capital punishment, we're trying to restore it," said Rep. Steve Smyk, R-Milton, the bill's chief House sponsor.

    Dozens of members of the public testified during the hearing.

    Many of those speaking in favor of the bill were law enforcement officers.

    "We have seen over the years that there are some truly evil people who commit truly heinous crimes," said Lt. Tom Brackin, head of the Delaware State Police Troopers Association. "The troopers I represent and myself believe you do have to have the ultimate punishment for the ultimate crime."

    Peggy Marshall Thomas, the former chief prosecutor in Sussex County, recalled prosecuting a person who was convicted of five homicides, including two different incidents after being jailed the first time. She invoked the death of Lt. Stephen J. Ballard, who was gunned down in Bear last week.

    "The murder of the uniformed officer is an extreme act of violence that undermines our peaceful and lawful society," she said.

    Brendan O'Neill, the state's public defender, said the cost of the death penalty should give state leaders pause. His office alone has saved significant money in the period without capital punishment cases, he said.

    O'Neill and many other speakers who opposed the bill also noted that those executed by the death penalty are disproportionately poor and black.

    "If the victim is white and the defendant is black, there is a virtual certainty that he or she will be convicted," O'Neill said.

    Those opposing the legislation repeatedly referred to capital punishment as "state-sanctioned violence" or "state-sanctioned murder," arguing it did nothing to bring peace.

    Women Voters. "They see capital punishment as a profound human rights violation and a shocking abuse of government power. "

    Even the bill's opponents think it will pass the House on Thursday. The Senate is where the real test will take place.

    Last year, before the Supreme Court ruling, the Senate passed a bill by an 11-10 margin that would have repealed the death penalty. But since then, there are three new Senators: Sen. Anthony Delcollo, R-Marshallton, Sen. Stephanie Hansen, D-Middletown, and Sen. Jack Walsh, D-Stanton.

    Another unknown: would Gov. John Carney sign the bill? If Carney vetoes the bill, supporters of reinstatement don't have the votes to override him.

    In a debate during the campaign last year, Carney said he believed the Court's decision should stand and said he would "probably" veto a bill to reinstate capital punishment. He has said he would "not rule out" the death penalty in cases where a law enforcement officer is killed, but the current legislation is broader than that.

    Carney has not publicly said, however, that he would veto the bill.

    http://www.delawareonline.com/story/...tee/101243632/
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    "They will hurt you. They will hurt your grandma, these people. The root cause of this is there's no discipline in the homes, they don't go to school, you know, they live off the government, no personal accountability, and they just beat people up for no reason, and it's disgusting." - Former Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters

  7. #67
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    Delaware House postpones vote on reinstating death penalty

    DOVER, Del. — A top lawmaker in Delaware has postponed the Legislature's vote Thursday on a bill reinstating the state's death penalty because of a scheduling issue.

    House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf said in a statement that a lawmaker wanted to a call a witness who wasn't available Thursday, when Schwartzkopf had scheduled the vote.

    He said he plans to put the vote on the House agenda for Tuesday.

    The bill was put on Thursday's House agenda just hours after it cleared the Judiciary Committee on a 7-4 vote Wednesday.

    Consideration of the legislation comes amid a public outcry over the killing of a correctional officer during a prison riot and hostage-taking in February as well as the fatal shooting of a state trooper last week.

    Chief sponsor Rep. Steve Smyk, R-Milton, said he has not done a vote count, but he believes there is more support for the measure among House lawmakers now than there was before the killings of prison guard Steven Floyd and trooper Stephen Ballard.

    Smyk said he respects the arguments of death penalty opponents but that government has a responsibility.

    "There's no greater voice to remind legislators of that responsibility than to two murders, two executions, in such short order," he said.

    Opponents of the legislation argued that the death penalty is not a deterrent to crime, is too costly, is applied in a racially biased manner against blacks and other minorities, and amounts to state-sponsored murder.

    "State sanctioned murder is still murder," said Molly Keogh, president of Delaware Citizens Opposed to the Death Penalty.

    But representatives of the law enforcement community have voiced overwhelming support for the measure.

    "There are some truly evil people who commit heinous crimes against innocent citizens in this state," said Lt. Thomas Brackin, president of the Delaware State Troopers Association. "You do need to have the ultimate punishment for the ultimate crime."

    Under the bill, jurors would have to find unanimously and beyond a reasonable doubt that a defendant should be executed. A judge would have to agree with the jury in order for the death penalty to be imposed but would have the discretion to sentence a defendant to life in prison even if the jury found that the death penalty was warranted.

    A majority of Delaware's Supreme Court justices declared the state's death penalty law unconstitutional last August because it allowed judges too much discretion and did not require that a jury find unanimously and beyond a reasonable doubt that a defendant deserves execution.

    That ruling came after the U.S. Supreme Court said Florida's death sentencing law, which like Delaware's gave judges the final say, was unconstitutional.

    Democratic Gov. John Carney has said he supports the court ruling declaring Delaware's death penalty law unconstitutional, but he has not promised to veto legislation reinstating capital punishment. Carney has not taken a public position on the pending legislation but has not ruled out supporting the death penalty for those convicted of killing a member of law enforcement.

    http://m.startribune.com/delaware-ho...lty/421272393/
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    "They will hurt you. They will hurt your grandma, these people. The root cause of this is there's no discipline in the homes, they don't go to school, you know, they live off the government, no personal accountability, and they just beat people up for no reason, and it's disgusting." - Former Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters

  8. #68
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    Delaware House votes to reinstate death penalty

    By Randall Chase
    The Associated Press

    DOVER, Del. — House lawmakers voted Tuesday to reinstate Delaware's death penalty amid an outcry over the killing of a correctional officer during a prison riot in February and the fatal shooting of a state trooper two weeks ago.

    The bill passed the Delaware House on a 24-16 bipartisan vote and now goes to the Senate.

    The legislation easily cleared the House despite arguments from opponents that capital punishment is not a deterrent to crime, is too costly, is applied in a racially biased manner against blacks and other minorities, and is morally wrong.

    "You are affirmatively voting to kill people in the state of Delaware," Rep. Sean Lynn, a Dover Democrat, told colleagues before the roll was called.

    Lynn, who has led the legislative fight against restoring the death penalty, said he was worried lawmakers' emotions would influence their decision and asked his colleagues to "appeal to reason."

    Democratic Gov. John Carney has said he supports the state Supreme Court ruling last August declaring Delaware's death penalty law unconstitutional, but he has not promised to veto legislation reinstating capital punishment. Carney has not taken a public position on the pending legislation but has not ruled out supporting the death penalty for those convicted of killing a member of law enforcement.

    Under the bill, jurors would have to find unanimously and beyond a reasonable doubt that a defendant should be executed. A judge would have to agree with the jury in order for the death penalty to be imposed but would have the discretion to sentence a defendant to life in prison even if the jury found that the death penalty was warranted.

    A majority of state Supreme Court justices declared Delaware's death penalty law unconstitutional last year because it allowed judges too much discretion and did not require that a jury find unanimously and beyond a reasonable doubt that a defendant deserves execution.

    That ruling came after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Florida's death sentencing law, which was similar to the one in Delaware.

    Representatives of the law enforcement community have voiced overwhelming support for the bill.

    Correctional officer Steven Floyd was killed in February when inmates took over a building and seized hostages at Vaughn Correctional Center, setting off an 18-hour standoff at Delaware's maximum-security prison. The siege ended when tactical teams used a backhoe to breach the building and rescue a female counselor. Two other guards had been released earlier after being tormented and beaten by inmates.

    Delaware State Police Cpl. Stephen Ballard was shot April 26 while investigating a suspicious vehicle at a convenience store in northern Delaware. His killer, Burgon Sealy Jr., then barricaded himself in his family home, firing shots at officers during a 20-hour standoff before he was fatally shot.

    http://www.startribune.com/delaware-...lty/421805363/
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  9. #69
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    Del. prosecutors consider death penalty in prison riot

    Prosecutors are holding out the possibility of seeking the death penalty against the inmates even though the state doesn't allow capital punishment.

    By Randall Chase
    The Associated Press

    DOVER, Del. — Delaware prosecutors are holding out the possibility of seeking the death penalty against inmates charged in a deadly prison riot, even though the state does not currently allow capital punishment.

    Eighteen prisoners have been indicted for their alleged roles in the February riot. Sixteen, including some already serving time for murder, are charged with first-degree murder in the death of correctional officer Steven Floyd.

    In a letter last week, prosecutors informed Judge William C. Carpenter Jr., who is presiding over the case, that if lawmakers vote to reinstate the death penalty, prosecutors reserve the right to try to apply it to one or more defendants.

    The state Supreme Court declared Delaware's death penalty law unconstitutional last year because it allowed judges too much discretion and did not require that a jury find unanimously and beyond a reasonable doubt that a defendant deserves execution. That ruling came after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Florida's death sentencing law, which was similar to Delaware's.

    In their letter, prosecutors pointed out that the killing of a prison employee in the performance of his duties is a specified aggravating factor in Delaware's death penalty statute, which remains on the books despite last year's court ruling.

    Based on Floyd's position, prosecutors wrote, "all identified defendants would be eligible for a sentence of death."

    At the same time, prosecutors acknowledged that the retroactive application of a revised death penalty statute could face significant legal hurdles.

    "The state acknowledges that there may be good faith disagreement and litigation over such an application, but it provides this correspondence to the court and defendants to ensure that all interested parties are on notice of this stated purpose," the letter reads.

    Democratic Attorney General Matt Denn, through a spokesman, declined to comment Thursday.

    Chief public defender Brendan O'Neill was less circumspect.

    "This attempt by the state to reserve a nonexistent 'right' to seek death sentences is not supported by law," O'Neill said in an emailed statement. "It is an ill-conceived, legally unfounded proposal that will create unnecessary legal, practical, logistical and financial problems. Quite simply, it's a waste of money and time for everybody involved."

    Amid the outcry over the prison riot and the fatal shooting of a state trooper in April, House lawmakers in May passed a revised death penalty statute that addresses the constitutional infirmities noted in the state and federal court rulings by requiring unanimous jury approval. The Senate never acted on the bill.

    Democratic Gov. John Carney has said he supports the state Supreme Court ruling declaring Delaware's death penalty law unconstitutional, but he hasn't taken a stand on any specific legislation to reinstate capital punishment, nor has he ruled out supporting the death penalty for people convicted of killing law enforcers.

    A key question for the courts in deciding whether a revised death penalty law could be applied retroactively is whether the revisions to the existing statute are substantive, or merely procedural.

    Delaware's Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld the application of "procedural" revisions to the state's capital punishment law, while warning that retroactive application of a law that "increased the quantum of a defendant's punishment," would be "manifestly prohibited" by the ex post facto clause of the Constitution.

    https://www.correctionsone.com/capit...n-prison-riot/

  10. #70
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    Delaware's last two death row inmates resentenced to life in prison

    By Esteban Parra
    The News Journal

    Delaware placed the remnants of its death penalty on the history shelves Tuesday when it modified the death sentences of two convicted murderers to life in prison.

    Michael R. Manley and David D. Stevenson, both 43, were sentenced after years of legal battles fighting a conviction that brought the death sentence for killing a Macy's security officer in 1995.

    "No, your honor," both men responded when asked by Superior Court Judge Paul R. Wallace if they had anything to say.

    Manley and Stevenson were the last men in Delaware living under a state-imposed death sentence, which was done away with after the state's top court found its death penalty unconstitutional on Aug. 2, 2016. The state Supreme Court ruling came months after the nation's top court struck down Florida's law because it gave judges – and not juries – the final say to impose a death sentence.

    Florida's law was similar to Delaware's law.

    Manley and Stevenson were convicted of first-degree murder in the Nov. 13, 1995, slaying of Kristopher Heath, a Macy's security officer who was about to testify against Stevenson in a theft case. Manley shot 25-year-old Heath at Stevenson's direction to prevent him from testifying.

    The men received a death sentence in 1997 after a jury recommended execution. But the Delaware Supreme Court dismissed that sentence in 2001 after finding that the original judge had a conflict. In 2005, a new jury recommended death for the pair, voting 11-1 that Manley be put to death and 10-2 that Stevenson be executed.

    Manley and Stevenson, who have been fighting their convictions since, were among 13 men on death row when the state Supreme Court's decision was issued in 2016.

    All of the death sentences have now been modified, including that of convicted cop killer Derrick Powell, who last month was resentenced to life in prison.

    Opponents of the death penalty said they welcomed the final remnants of the ultimate punishment.

    "The penalty has not, nor has it ever been, about justice," said Chandra Pitts, president and CEO of One Village Alliance, a grassroots advocacy organization for young men and women.

    "So it's not a question of compassion for criminals, or an eye for an eye, or for justice," Pitts said. "It's about where is justice for all of our victims."

    While this chapter of Delaware's death penalty is coming to a close, there have been other times when the ultimate punishment had been done away with in the First State.

    In 1958, the state abolished capital punishment, but that repeal lasted only until 1961. Despite the death penalty's restoration, it was not used for decades.

    That's because any prisoner who had been sentenced to death between 1961 and 1972 received an automatic reprieve following the 1972 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Furman vs. Georgia, which struck down all existing capital punishment statutes and required states to update their death penalty laws and trial procedures.

    But even after Delaware changed its laws twice to comply with the ruling, no inmate was executed over the next 20 years. This was because the new statute required the unanimous vote of a jury to impose the death penalty and few such sentences were imposed.

    Legislators passed a bill in 1991 that shifted the final decision about imposing the capital punishment to the judge, making it possible for the court to impose death even if there was a split vote among jurors.

    Delaware lawmakers are again pushing to reinstate the statute amid an outcry over two law enforcement officers being killed last year – correctional officer Lt. Steven Floyd and state police Cpl. Stephen J. Ballard.

    State House lawmakers in May passed a revised death penalty statute that addresses the constitutional infirmities noted in the state and federal court rulings by requiring unanimous jury approval. The bill is now in the Senate, where it has been assigned to the Judicial & Community Affairs Committee.

    "House Bill 125 is being blocked in the Senate Judicial & Community Affairs Committee, where it has been pending action since early last May," bill sponsor Steve Smyk, R-Milford, said in a statement. "It is my understanding that the chair of the committee, Senate Majority Leader Margaret Rose Henry, has been approached by legislators of both parties requesting that the measure be brought before the committee for consideration. Thus far, she has reportedly ignored these requests."

    https://www.delawareonline.com/story...day/407863002/

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