Executions

Michael Wayne Hall - Texas - February 15, 2011



On Tuesday Texas executed Michael Hall

Summary Of Offense: On February 15, 1998, Hall and a co-defendant abducted a 19-year-old woman and drove her to a remote location. They shot the woman several times with a pellet pistol and a .22-caliber pistol. They were caught at the border when they were attempting to leave the state. . This happened in Arlington, can't find girls name. One of them worked with her at a grocery store. They abused her before they killed her.
Sentenced to death 3/00
Robert Neville co-defendant, executed

Victim: Amy Robinson, 19

Time Of Death: 6:23 p.m.

Method Of Execution: Lethal Injection

Final Statement: "Here I am, a big, strong youngster, crying like a baby, I am man enough to show my emotions and I am sorry. I'm sorry for everything. I wish I could take it back, but I can't."

Last Meal: Fried, barbecued and baked chicken, along with pizza, brownies, sweet tea, milk and vanilla pudding.

Frank Spisak Jr. - Ohio - February 17, 2011



On Thursday Ohio executed Frank/Frances Spisak

Summary Of Offense:

Between February and August of 1982, Spisak murdered 57-year-old Reverend Horace Rickerson, 50-year-old Timothy Sheehan and 17-year-old Brian Warford, on three separate occasions on the Cleveland State University campus. Spisak shot Rev. Rickerson seven times, shot Mr. Sheehan four times and shot Mr. Warford once in the head. On 6/4/82 and 8/9/82, Spisak shot at two other people, but each victim survived. Spisak later admitted to all of the murders.

Victims:Horace Rickerson, Timothy Sheehan and Brian Warford

Method Of Execution: Lethal Injection

Time Of Death:10:34 a.m.

Last Meal: Spaghetti with light tomato sauce but no meat, tossed salad with Italian dressing, chocolate cake and coffee with cream and sugar and a root beer.

Final Statement:Quoted verses from the bible in German

Scheduled Executions

Timothey Adams - Texas - February 22, 2011



The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles unanimously rejected a clemency petition Friday from a convicted killer set to die next week for the shooting death of his 19-month-old son.

More than 90 clergy members from around the state had signed a letter to Gov. Rick Perry and the parole board appealing for clemency for Timothy Wayne Adams.

The seven-member board voted 7-0 twice — first against a 120-day reprieve and then against a recommendation to commute the sentence to life in prison.

Clarence Carter - Ohio - April 20, 2011



The Ohio Supreme Court refused to delay the April execution of a Cincinnati man sentenced to die for a fatal jail beating.

Without comment, the court on Friday denied the request for more time filed by the attorney for 48-year-old Clarence Carter.

The state's highest court last week set 7 execution dates including Carter's, which is scheduled for April 12.

Defense attorney Linda Prucha argued that she didn't have enough time to prepare for Carter's new clemency hearing, set for March 11. She asked that the execution date be delayed at least 6 months.

Carter was convicted of beating to death fellow inmate Johnny Allen at the Hamilton County Jail in 1988.

Died While Incarcerated

On Saturday, Moh posted death row inmate Colon Lavon Guthrie passed away on January 27, 2011 at Holman Correctional Facility in Alabama.

Commuted Sentences

Robert Acremant - Oregon



California man's death sentence for the 1995 slaying of a lesbian couple in Medford was reduced to life in prison Thursday because he was diagnosed as mentally delusional and unable to aid in his own appeals, authorities said.

Robert James Acremant, who has complained for years that he hears voices and says he has a transmitter in his head so others can control him, will remain in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder, kidnapping and robbery of Roxanne Ellis and Michelle Abdill.

But even Thursday's events might not keep Acremant from the gallows.

Huddleston said Acremant likely will be shipped to California, where he was sentenced to death for the 1995 slaying of Scott George of Visalia, the son of a friend of Acremant's mother.

That case was unaffected by Thursday's court filing.

Isaac Stroud - North Carolina



On Friday a Durham County judge has taken a convicted killer off death row, but the man will spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Judge Orlando Hudson commuted the death sentence for Isaac Jackson Stroud on Friday, based on a filing by his lawyers contending that his poor mental health disqualified him from being eligible for the death penalty.


Formal Death Sentence

Leonard Gonzalez Jr. - Florida - Death Row



An Escambia County judge sentenced a former karate instructor to death on Thursday for leading a group of men dressed like ninjas to kill a wealthy Florida couple while their special-needs children slept or cowered nearby.

A jury had recommended in October that Patrick Gonzalez Jr. be executed, but a judge must impose death sentences under Florida law.

Michael Woolf - Alabama - Death Row



Also on Thursday a Mobile County judge sentenced Michael Woolf to be executed for shooting his wife and 2-year-old son to death in their west Mobile home.

Circuit Judge Rusty Johnston said that the slaying of Angel and Ayden Woolf "is not a murder mystery that is worthy of an Agatha Christie novel."

There is no doubt, the judge said, that Woolf murdered his family, but he refuses to take full responsibility.

"As human beings with free will, we our responsible for our own actions, and we must be held accountable for them," Johnston said before imposing a death sentence.

Death Penalty Trials

Kenneth Ray McBride - Florida

On Thursday a Clay County jury recommended the death penalty for a Middleburg man who halted trial last week to plead guilty to strangling and burying his wheelchair-bound girlfriend.

Then, moments after the jury was cleared from the courtroom, Circuit Judge John Skinner told Kenneth Ray McBride he saw some evidence of remorse and sentenced him to life.

Leon Davis - Florida

On Friday a Polk County jury recommended death for Leon Davis.

On Tuesday, he was found guilty of murdering two women and a newborn infant. They died after a robbery at a Lake Wales insurance office a little over three years ago.

The jury took less than a half hour Friday morning to reach a decision to recommend death on all three counts of first-degree murder.

Guilty Verdicts

Marvin Mercado - California
Gary Michael Hilton - Florida
Devon Owens - Ohio


State By State Death Penalty News

Georgia

On Tuesday the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals reviewed a ruling by a three-judge panel that struck down a Georgia law that required capital defendants to prove beyond a reasonable doubt they are mentally retarded to avoid execution.

Georgia became the first state in 1988 that banned the execution of mentally retarded inmates.

Montana

The state Senate has endorsed a bill to repeal the death penalty.

Senate Bill 185 sponsored by Democratic Sen. David Wanzenried of Missoula drew extensive debate Monday before the 26-24 floor vote.

The bill now faces one more largely procedural vote in the Senate before going to the House.

Supporters of the repeal argue the possibility of putting an innocent person to death makes the death penalty unjust. Those wanting to keep the death penalty argue it makes sense for those who commit heinous crimes.

If the bill becomes law it will change the sentences of two inmates currently on Montana’s death row to life in prison without parole.

Tennessee

A judge on Wednesday upheld the state's revised execution plan to require the prison warden to confirm that the condemned inmate is rendered unconscious by the first drug injected in a three-drug cocktail.

Davidson County Chancellor Claudia Bonnyman ruled that the state's plan appears to address concerns that the inmate could be conscious and in severe pain when the later drugs are injected.