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Thread: Jordan Alexander Clemons - Pennsylvania Death Row

  1. #11
    Senior Member CnCP Legend Mike's Avatar
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    Stupid racial appeal

    In 2000 the racial makeup of the county was 95.27% White

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washin...,_Pennsylvania
    "There is a point in the history of a society when it becomes so pathologically soft and tender that among other things it sides even with those who harm it, criminals, and does this quite seriously and honestly. Punishing somehow seems unfair to it, and it is certain that imagining ‘punishment’ and ‘being supposed to punish’ hurts it, arouses fear in it." Friedrich Nietzsche

  2. #12
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    Judge hears testimony about how jurors were chosen in Clemons trial

    By Barbara Miller
    The Observer-Reporter

    Washington County Court Administrator Patrick Grimm used the term “random” several times as he testified Friday about the process used to summon prospective jurors for the death-penalty murder case in which Jordan Clemons was convicted of the premeditated slaying of Karissa Kunco nearly four years ago.

    Assistant Public Defender Charles Carpinelli last fall asked Judge Gary Gilman to vacate Clemons’ sentence and acquit him of the charges because no members of the jury were black.

    According to Pennsylvania law, only a jury – not a judge acting alone – can impose a death sentence.

    Grimm said the software system then in use by his office randomly selected the names of 500 potential jurors who were mailed summonses. Of these, 107 were returned as undeliverable, 33 received deferments, 57 were excused, five were disqualified because they had been convicted of crimes, one could not speak or write the English language and 59 were “disqualified by statute.”

    Nine of the people were deceased. President Judge Katherine B. Emery excused 28 of them because people age 70 or older can request an exemption. Of those remaining, one was a caregiver, five had some type of hardship and 14 were disabled or had some type of medical problem for which they were also excused from service.

    Prospective jurors reported in March 2015 for the selection process, well in advance of the beginning of testimony in May of that year.

    One of the reasons the pool of jurors in a capital case is so large is that prospective jurors must be able to consider all sentencing options. Those who are opposed to the death penalty are stricken from serving on the jury.

    Carpinelli asked Grimm how many racial minorities were among the 500 people on the original list. “There is no way for me to know,” Grimm replied. He said there are two questionnaires for jurors, one of which is considered confidential.

    Gilman asked Grimm if the juror-selection software could exclude prospective jurors by race, and the court administrator testified he could not because race is not categorized as part of the system, which includes names, birth dates, addresses and, in some cases, Social Security numbers. The database of prospective jurors is compiled from driver’s license information, voter registration lists and information provided by the state departments of revenue and human services.

    Assistant District Attorney Jerome Moschetta asked Grimm if he could override or exclude anyone from the selection process, and Grimm replied that he could not.

    Gilman, who said he heard testimony to “develop the record,” took the matter under advisement. Clemons, now 27, has been incarcerated at SCI-Greene County.

    Karissa Kunco, 21, a resident of Baldwin Borough in suburban Pittsburgh, obtained a restraining order against Clemons from Allegheny County Court following a Dec. 18, 2011, assault that left her face bruised and misshapen.

    Kunco was last seen alive Jan. 11, 2012, before she agreed to met Clemons that night after he threatened to kill himself, according to social media accounts shown in court during Clemons’ trial. State police allege that after slitting her throat, Clemons dragged Kunco’s naked body into the woods in rural Washington County and covered it with leaves, brush and a tree stump.

    Clemons was the Observer-Reporter’s high school football player of the year in 2006 when he was a senior at Fort Cherry High School. He also was a leading rusher in the WPIAL that year, having run for 1,888 yards in just 10 games.

    According to DeathPenaltyInfo.org, the three Pennsylvania “prisoners executed since 1978 have all been volunteers with serious mental health issues, whom courts have found to have waived their rights to an appeals process.” Last year, Gov. Tom Wolf announced a moratorium on executions, citing concerns about innocence, racial bias and the death penalty’s effects on victims’ families.

    Although it was not part of Friday’s testimony, the 2010 U.S. Census reported a black population in Washington County of 3.25 percent of 207,820 total residents of all ages. Allegheny County, where Clemons was living at the time of Kunco’s death, had a population composed of 13.2 percent black residents, according to the census.

    http://www.observer-reporter.com/201..._clemons_trial

  3. #13
    Senior Member Frequent Poster Fact's Avatar
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    Oral argument will be heard on Clemons' direct appeal on 4/10/18 at the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

    http://www.pacourts.us/assets/opinio...tList.pdf?cb=1

  4. #14
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Jordan Clemons, facing death penalty, seeks relief in U.S. Supreme Court

    An attorney for Jordan Clemons, who faces the death penalty in the murder of Karissa Kunco, has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review decisions made in Pennsylvania courts that led to or upheld his conviction.

    Clemons, now 30, was found guilty of 1st-degree murder by a Washington County jury, which chose to impose the death penalty after hearing trial testimony in 2015.

    Kunco, 21, of Baldwin Borough, Allegheny County, was Clemons’ former girlfriend. Last seen alive on Jan. 11, 2012, her naked body was found under brush, leaves and a tree stump the next day in woods along Sabo Road, Mt. Pleasant Township. Her throat had been cut. Police alleged Clemons took Kunco’s car and bank card, which he used to purchase an Xbox game console.

    Facebook groups called “Karissa’s Army” and “Rot in Hell Jordan Clemons” sprung up, a rally was held before the trial at a school in Washington County during which Clemons was described as a murderer, and an online forum made racially charged comments about the case, according to his attorney, Marc A. Bookman.

    The attorney from the nonprofit Atlantic Center for Capital Representation in Philadelphia alleges Clemons’ constitutional rights were violated in 2 ways.

    One issue deals with whether Clemons waived his right to have a lawyer present during his initial contact with police in January 2012.

    Bookman asserted Clemons “had clearly consumed alcohol” before being read his rights, “but did not otherwise manifest any understanding of those rights or a desire to waive them.”

    As to Clemons’ right to have a lawyer present when he turned himself in, District Attorney Gene Vittone wrote, “Miranda warnings were properly given to” Clemons, who “then immediately provided a statement which placed him with the victim the evening that she disappeared. This statement was admitted at trial.”

    Vittone notes that police asked Clemons to sign a form that would waive his right to have an attorney present. Clemons “then stated that he should probably talk to an attorney. The police then stopped the interview.”

    Clemons also focused on whether social media and news coverage surrounding his case should have necessitated the selection of jurors from outside Washington County.

    Bookman cited the large number of followers writing comments on the Facebook pages and signing a petition to change domestic violence laws as reasons to prejudice a Washington County jury.

    Vittone wrote that although Public Defender Brian Gorman raised the issue at a pretrial hearing, the defense attorney did not bring it up again at jury selection.

    Bookman claims the pretrial publicity was extreme and that the state appellate court “over-emphasized the cooling-off period between sensational coverage and the trial.”

    Although review of a death penalty case in Pennsylvania goes directly to the state Supreme Court, whether the U.S. Supreme Court will hear the case is up to the highest court in the land.

    Vittone’s position, according to the introduction to his 17-page brief, is that these issues were put to rest when the Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld Clemons’ conviction and death penalty.

    Clemons, an inmate in the State Correctional Institution at Greene, asked the U.S. Supreme Court in May to proceed as a pauper who earns $30 per month laboring as a prison inmate and receives $200 a month in gifts that he uses to purchase personal hygiene items, food and to communicate with his children, family and friends.

    Justice Samuel Alito gave Clemons’ attorney an extension of time to file his petition. According to the Supreme Court docket, Washington County District Attorney Gene Vittone was granted a similar request. The district attorney on Friday filed his brief in opposition to Clemons’ claims.

    Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf declared a moratorium on executions in Pennsylvania, the last of which occurred in 1999.

    (source: Observer-Reporter)
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  5. #15
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    In today's orders, the US Supreme Court DENIED Clemons' certiorari petition.

    Lower Ct: Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Western District
    Case Numbers: (738 CAP)
    Decision Date: January 23, 2019

    https://www.supremecourt.gov/search....c/18-9361.html

  6. #16
    Senior Member CnCP Legend Mike's Avatar
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    Notice of execution issued in Clemons case

    By Katie Anderson
    The Observer-Reporter

    Department of Corrections Secretary John Wetzel signed a notice of execution for Jordan Clemons, who killed his estranged girlfriend, Karissa Kunco, in Washington County in 2012.

    The notice, which set an execution date of March 13, is a formality to “keep the process moving forward,” according to Susan McNaughton, communications director of the state Department of Corrections. She said if the governor doesn’t sign a warrant of execution, the secretary of corrections must issue a notice of execution.

    In 2015, Gov. Tom Wolf declared a moratorium on executions in Pennsylvania and issued three reprieves on executions. There have been 32 stays on executions by the court across the state since 2015, and there hasn’t been an execution in Pennsylvania since 1999.

    “In cases where there haven’t been stays, the governor typically issues a temporary reprieve,” McNaughton said.

    Clemons was found guilty of first-degree murder by a Washington County jury, which chose to impose the death penalty following a 2015 trial. Kunco’s body was found in Mt. Pleasant Township. Her throat had been slit.

    Clemons’ attorney, Marc A. Bookman, called the notice of execution a “routine issuance by law.”

    He said his client will still be pursuing petitions through the Post-Conviction Relief Act.

    Karissa’s father, Paul Kunco of Baldwin, said his family hadn’t expected the death penalty conviction.

    “We figured that was Karissa saying, ‘All right, Dad, you got the most justice you could get, now move on from him,’” Paul Kunco said Monday. “I prefer he sits on death row for 70 years. Being alone by himself, not dealing with anybody – I think that’s a better punishment.”

    Karissa’s older sister, Kayla Mihelcic of Pittsburgh, agreed.

    “I personally wouldn’t want him to be executed this year or anytime soon,” Mihelcic said. “Death is too easy. I want him to sit and rot and think about what he did. I’m confident he’ll pay for what he did, and God can judge him when he’s gone.”

    Both Paul Kunco and Mihelcic said they don’t “dwell” on Clemons or his case. Instead, they “push forward.”

    “We don’t believe he took her from us completely,” Mihelcic said. “We have her memories, and we feel her spirit with us. Our family is still going strong, and we’re doing a lot in her name.”

    In Karissa’s name, “Karissa’s Army,” the family has raised money and participated in fundraisers for the Women’s Center and Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh.

    “My daughter Karissa has become a legend,” Paul Kunco said. “Her story and her name saves lives.”

    https://observer-reporter.com/news/l...4e117386e.html
    "There is a point in the history of a society when it becomes so pathologically soft and tender that among other things it sides even with those who harm it, criminals, and does this quite seriously and honestly. Punishing somehow seems unfair to it, and it is certain that imagining ‘punishment’ and ‘being supposed to punish’ hurts it, arouses fear in it." Friedrich Nietzsche

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