Ohio Death Penalty Information

More on US Supeme Court ruling to consider constitutionality of lethal injection:  Robert Barnes has coverage for the Washington Post here.  David Stout has this article in the New York Times.  Jim Malone has this coverage for Voice of America.

VOA excerpt:
...Whichever way the Supreme Court rules could have a far-reaching impact on the use of lethal injection to carry out capital punishment sentences in the United States.

Richard Dieter is executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, which opposes capital punishment.

"There is going to be a need to hold up executions until there is further clarity," he said. "You would have to err on the side of caution if you are about to execute somebody with lethal injection. This might be a very broad ruling." ...

NYT excerpts;
...The step could have the effect of postponing executions across the country scheduled to be performed by lethal injection, the method is used by nearly all states with a death penalty, as well as by the federal government.

...“This is huge news, which could (and probably should) lead to a de facto moratorium on all lethal-injection executions nationwide until the Supreme Court issues a ruling,” Douglas A. Berman, a professor at the Moritz College of Law at Ohio State University and an authority on sentencing, wrote today on his blog.

US Supreme Court Agrees to Address Constitutionality of Kentucky Lethal Injection Protocol

The U.S. Supreme Court today agreed to hear the Kentucky case of Baze v. Rees, which challenges the constitutionality of Kentucky's standard 3-drug lethal injection protocol.  This has potentially huge ramifications.  Although the Supreme Court ruled last term that death row inmates have the right to challenge the constitutionality of methods of execution, this will be the first occasion for the court to actually consider whether lethal injection as practiced by most states violates the 8th Amendment ban on "cruel and unusual punishment."  Today's grant of certiorari in the Baze case could thus conceivably put a halt to lethal injections across the U.S. pending a ruling in the case sometime next year; and whatever that ruling is will likely determine the outcome of the Ohio challenge to lethal injection in the Cooey v. Taft (now Strickland) case.  However, it's also possible - maybe likely - that different states will respond with varying degrees of deference to the ongoing proceedings in Baze, with some trying to proceed with executions based on lack of timeliness or other procedural inadequacies of inmates' appeals.  Scotusblog notes the cert. grant in Baze here, with links to case documents.  SL&P has this post, entitled "SCOTUS to review lethal injection protocols with Kentucky case," providing some perspective on the significance of the court's ruling granting cert.  Reuters has this concise report, entitled "Supreme Court to rule on lethal injection executions."  Pete Yost has this AP coverage, entitled "Court to Consider Lethal Injection."  Bloomberg News has this coverage.  Some alternate AP coverage here.

SL&P excerpt:
This is huge news which could (and probably should) lead to a de facto moratorium on all lethal injection executions nationwide until the Supreme Court issues a ruling (which might not come until June 2008). ...

Reuters excerpt:
The U.S. Supreme Court said on Tuesday it would decide whether the commonly used lethal injection method of execution violated the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

The nation's highest court said it would decide in its upcoming term an appeal by two death row inmates from Kentucky arguing that the three-chemical cocktail used in lethal injections inflicted unnecessary pain and suffering. ...

AP excerpt:
The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to consider the constitutionality of lethal injections in a case that could affect the way inmates are executed around the country.

The high court will hear a challenge from two inmates on death row in Kentucky -- Ralph Baze and Thomas Clyde Bowling Jr. -- who sued Kentucky in 2004, claiming lethal injection amounts to cruel and unusual punishment.

Baze has been scheduled for execution Tuesday night, but the Kentucky Supreme Court halted the proceedings earlier this month.

The court has previously made it easier for death row inmates to contest the lethal injections used across the country for executions.

But until Tuesday, the justices had never agreed to consider the fundamental question of whether the mix of drugs used in Kentucky and elsewhere violates the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. ...

Alternate AP excerpt:
The Supreme Court has agreed to rule on whether lethal injection amounts to cruel and unusual punishment.

The high court will hear the case of 2 death row inmates from Kentucky in determining the constitutionality of that form of capital punishment.

1 of the men, convicted killer Ralph Baze, was scheduled to be executed tonight, but the Kentucky Supreme court halted it earlier this month.

The defense attorney for the inmates says this will be 1 of the "most important" death penalty cases in decades. ...

Update:  Expanded AP coverage here.  More Scotusblog legal analysis here.

• Meanwhile, despite today's ruling, Texas appears ready to proceed with its 26th execution of the year tonight.  Michael Graczyk has this AP article on the impending execution of Michael Richard.

Excerpt:
...Lawyers for Richard went to the U.S. Supreme Court asking the lethal injection be halted. The execution will go on as planned despite a Supreme Court decision Tuesday to consider the constitutionality of lethal injection, Gov. Rick Perry's office said. ...

 

More on ABA Ohio Death Penalty Assessment Report:  Reginald Fields has this article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, entitled "ABA faults Ohio's death penalty system, urges moratorium; ABA asks Gov. Strickland to suspend executions pending review."  Alan Johnson has this story in the Columbus Dispatch, entitled "State's system called unjust; Bar association seeks moratorium in Ohio."  Mark Kovac has this article in the Wooster Daily Record, entitled "Attorneys call for temporary halt to executions."  Jim Provance has this article in the Toledo Blade, entitled "Ohio asked to suspend executions; Bar association panel seeks halt until system's fairness ensured."  Jon Craig and Sharon Coolidge have this article in the Cincinnati Enquirer, entitled "Study: Suspend executions; Report singles out Deters for criticism."  Laura Bischoff has this article in the Dayton Daily News, entitled "Strickland asked to halt executions — for now."

Plain Dealer excerpt:
A number of Ohio death row inmates - some of whom have already been executed - were victims of a flawed and uneven capital punishment system that should be suspended, a national legal group said Monday.

The influential American Bar Association, with over 413,000 members, called on Gov. Ted Strickland to implement a death penalty moratorium.

...Strickland was not immediately swayed by the Ohio report.

The governor continues to support Ohio's death penalty system and believes it is administered fairly, Strickland spokesman Keith Dailey said. But the governor will take the moratorium request under consideration.

State Attorney General Marc Dann, who has suggested that Ohio study whether there are biases in its capital punishment system, and Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas Moyer both said they will review the report. ...

Toledo Blade excerpt:
...No promises were forthcoming from Mr. Strickland, a Democratic governor and former prison psychologist who has allowed two executions to proceed during the first months of his administration.

"The governor supports the death penalty," said spokesman Keith Dailey. "He believes certain members of society commit acts so heinous that the death penalty or capital punishment is warranted. Given that the governor is knowledgeable of the system, he thinks it's fair, but he will carefully review this report." ...

Dispatch excerpt:
...Strickland spokesman Keith Dailey said the governor has no plans for a moratorium.

"The governor wouldn't support the death penalty in Ohio if he didn't think it was administered fairly," Dailey said.

Leo Jennings III, spokesman for Attorney General Marc Dann, was noncommittal. "We will read the report carefully and consider their recommendations."

Online polls/comment solicitations:

• The Columbus Dispatch is conducting an online poll, asking the question, "Should Ohio eliminate the death penalty?"  You can vote here.  (As of this posting, poll results showed 53-47% in favor of elimination.)
• The Cincinnati Enquirer is conducting an online survey/comment solicitation asking the question, "Should Ohio Suspend Executions?"  You can submit a comment here.
• The Dayton Daily News website is soliciting comments on the ABA report here. 

More media coverage of ABA Ohio Death Penalty Assessment Report released today:  Jeff Coryell has this post on the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Wide Open blog, entitled "ABA Death Penalty Assessment Team Calls for Suspension of Executions in Ohio."   Tribune News Service legal reporter James Oliphant has this article carried in several news outlets, entitled "ABA calls on Ohio to halt executions."  Andrew Welsh-Huggins has this early AP coverage of today's report, entitled "Bar association calls for Ohio to suspend death penalty system."  Jim Provance has this coverage on the Toledo Blade website, entitled "American Bar Association calls for Ohio to cease executions until it fixes problems."

Coryell excerpt:
...The chair of the Ohio Death Penalty Assessment Team is Phyllis Crocker, an associate dean and professor at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. She is also my wife. I have observed the process as she painstakingly assembled the researchers, overcame numerous obstacles to obtaining the necessary information, reviewed drafts of chapters of the report as prepared by members of the team, and finally assembled the information into an amazingly comprensive and detailed analysis of capital punishment in Ohio. It contains data that has never been publicized before. And the overwhelming conclusion one draws from the report is that the death penalty is not being applied fairly or accurately (or in conformity with the constitutional requirement of due process) in this state. ...

 

Updates: 

• The ABA Office of Media Relations and Communications has issued this press release, entitled "Statewide Expert Legal Panel Calls for Temporary Halt to Executions in Ohio; Study uncovers systemic problems with death penalty cases."
• The Toledo Blade has this updated coverage featuring a response by Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Assn. spokesman John Murphy, who calls the report a "a hatchet job on our death penalty statutes, totally unjustified...”
• Paul Kostyu has this article for GateHouse Media, entitled "Panel:  Moratorium sought on Ohio death penalty cases."
• WLWT-TV in Cincinnati has this report, entitled "Hamilton Co. More Likely to Give Death Sentence."
• The ACLU of Ohio issued this press statement, entitled "Ohio Must Halt Executions: Findings in American Bar Association Study Show Death Penalty Unfair, Arbitrary."
• Andrew Welsh-Huggins has this expanded AP coverage, entitled "Bar association calls for Ohio to suspend death penalty system," with various responses to the report - and noting that Governor Strickland is already reviewing it, according to Strickland press secretary Keith Dailey.
• The ABA issued an audio press release on the report (featuring an actuality of former ABA president MIchael Greco) here (0:57).

ABA Report Finds Numerous Serious Flaws In Ohio's Capital Punishment System / Calls for Governor to Declare Moratorium Pending Death Penalty Study

As part of the American Bar Association's series of comprehensive studies of several states' death penalty systems, the ABA's Ohio Death Penalty Assessment Report was released today, finding numerous serious flaws in the implementation of Ohio's system of capital punishment - and calling on Governor Strickland to halt executions pending the outcome of a study to determine if the system can be corrected.  A breakdown of the report - by far the most comprehensive and scientific look at how Ohio's death penalty is working - is on the ABA website here, and as follows... 

Major sections of the report:

• Executive Summary of the Ohio Death Penalty Report (42-page pdf)
• Full Ohio Death Penalty Assessment Report (495-page pdf)
• Ohio Death Penalty Assessment Guide (88-page Word doc.)
• Ohio Death Penalty Assesment Team Biographies (4-page Word doc.)
• Fact Sheet: Problems with Ohio's Death Penalty System and Recommendations for Reform (2-page Word doc.)
• Compliance Charts: Ohio's Compliance with ABA Recommendations (18-page Word doc.)
• Frequently Asked Questions [about ABA Death Penalty Moratorium Implementation Project] (8-page Word doc.)

Excerpt from Executive Summary (pp. 4-8):
The Team has concluded that the State of Ohio fails to comply or is only in partial compliance with many of these recommendations and that many of these shortcomings are substantial. More specifically, the Team is convinced that there is a need to improve the fairness and accuracy in Ohio’s death penalty system.

…Despite the best efforts of a multitude of principled and thoughtful actors who play roles in the criminal justice process in the State of Ohio, our research establishes that at this point in time, the State of Ohio cannot ensure that fairness and accuracy are the hallmark of every case in which the death penalty is sought or imposed. Basic notions of fairness require that all participants in the criminal justice system ensure that the ultimate penalty of death is reserved for only the very worst offenses and defendants. It is therefore the conclusion of the members of the Ohio Death Penalty Assessment Team that the State of Ohio should impose a temporary suspension of executions until such time as the State is able to appropriately address the issues and recommendations throughout this Report, and in particular the Executive Summary. ...

Update:   Andrew Welsh-Huggins has this early AP coverage of today's report, entitled "Bar association calls for Ohio to suspend death penalty system."  Jim Provance has this coverage on the Toledo Blade website, entitled "American Bar Association calls for Ohio to cease executions until it fixes problems."

AP excerpt:
Ohio should temporarily suspend executions to allow a review of the state's capital punishment system because of several flaws, including racial and geographic imbalances, a team of lawyers concluded in a study to be released Monday.

Too many defendants don't get adequate legal help and ways to guard death row inmates' rights are missing from the system, such as failing to require that all DNA evidence from a case is preserved while an offender is on death row, according to a 30-month review of Ohio's death penalty system by the American Bar Association.

The ABA team called on Gov. Ted Strickland to halt executions to allow a review of the system.

"The state fails to provide adequate measures to protect defendants," ABA President William Neukom said in a statement. "Nobody should be executed until the problems identified by these experts are addressed, and we urge a temporary halt to executions until fairness and accuracy are assured."

Among other findings, the ABA concluded:

_The state's system is flawed by racial disparities in death penalty sentencing, including a greater likelihood of defendants being sentenced to death if a victim is white.

_There are major differences in how counties sentence death row cases, for example, a defendant in Hamilton County, which includes Cincinnati, is far more likely to receive a death sentence than a defendant in Cuyahoga County, which includes Cleveland.

_Death sentences are being imposed and carried out on people with severe mental disabilities.

_The state's appeals system does not allow for a meaningful comparison of cases to determine if a defendant deserves a death sentence based on other similar cases.

Strickland, a Democrat and death penalty supporter, has allowed two executions to proceed since taking office in January. A message was left seeking comment Monday morning. ...

Stand Up For An End To Executions Rally, Wednesday, Sept. 26, in Columbus

Full information on this Wednesday's Columbus rally and day of action, including schedule, sign-up information, flyers, maps and directions, is on the Ohio ACLU website here.

From Ohio ACLU website:

STAND UP for an END TO EXECUTIONS

Wednesday, September 26, 2007, Columbus, Ohio

Download flyers for this event here and here.

If you have any questions or would like to register a large group, please email stopthedeathpenalty@acluohio.org or call 216-472-2200

Need a ride to Columbus for the rally?  Go to our travel page.

Maps, Directions, and Parking for the September 26 event.

Download a petition to halt executions here.

Attention Educators: This fall, give your students a hands-on civics lesson.

Elvis Tribute Show coming up on Saturday:  As noted here in the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Northern Kentucky Saddle Club's 6th Annual Elvis Tribute Show takes place this Saturday.

Excerpt:
The Northern Kentucky Saddle Club will hold its sixth annual Elvis Tribute Show 8 p.m. to midnight Saturday at the club, Four Mile and Poplar Ridge roads.

The event will feature Steve Chuke as well as music, fun and scarves. ...

You're welcome!

Posts continue to be limited due to poor remote internet connectivity.  Hope to be back on a regular connection on Monday.

John Paul Stevens: "The Dissenter":  George Washington University Law Professor Jeffrey Rosen has this profile piece on US Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens in the New York Times.

Excerpt:
The last Supreme Court term, which ended in June, was the stormiest in recent memory, with more 5-to-4 decisions split along ideological lines than at any time in the court’s history. In a series of controversial cases about abortion, racial integration in schools, faith-based programs and the death penalty, the court’s four more conservative justices prevailed, with Justice Anthony M. Kennedy providing the crucial fifth vote. The four more liberal justices were often moved to dissent in unusually personal and vehement terms. “It is my firm conviction,” Justice John Paul Stevens wrote in the case striking down race-based enrollment policies in public schools, “that no Member of the Court that I joined in 1975 would have agreed with today’s decision.” According to the gossip among Supreme Court law clerks, the level of tension among the justices is higher than at any point since Bush v. Gore in 2000. ...

More on Kenny Richey effort to obtain retrial change of venue:  Greg Sowinski has this article in the Lima News, entitled "Richey wants trial outside Putnam County."

Excerpt:
Kenneth Richey wants to go to trial so the world can see the evidence against him.

But, more than anything, Richey wants a fair trial, something he said he can’t get in Putnam County.

“I couldn’t get a fair trial in Putnam County if I paid for it,” he said.

Richey said he doesn’t believe residents in Putnam County would give him a chance and keep open minds while listening to the evidence. Because of that, he wants his trial moved to another county. ...

• IPetition in support of the legal effort to secure a change of venue for Richey retrial is at this link.

(Earlier coverage of Kenny Richey case here.)