The Crime Report (https://thecrimereport.org/category/capital-punishment/)
Death row inmate Abel Hidalgo argues that the Arizona death penalty law is unconstitutional because it doesn’t sufficiently narrow which murderers are eligible for executions. Former acting U.S. Solicitor General Neal Katyal says the case is a “perfect example” to show the death penalty’s flaws.
Ronald Phillips, 43, was put to death Wednesday morning in the first execution in Ohio in more than three years. He was 19 when he raped and beat to death the 3-year-old daughter of his girlfriend in Akron.
Scott Panetti is a poster child for advocates who argue against the death penalty for the mentally ill. A diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic, during his trial more than 20 years ago, he waived his right to counsel and attempted to call the pope, John F. Kennedy and Jesus Christ as witnesses.
William Morva, 35, was put to death for murdering an unarmed security guard and a deputy sheriff during an escape. Lawyers argued that the jury did not know of his serious mental illness but Gov. Terry McAuliffe said Morva “did not suffer from any condition that would have prevented him from committing these acts consciously and fully understanding their consequences.”
Rachel Sutphin, a daughter of the sheriff’s deputy killed by William Morva, asked Gov. Terry McAuliffe to stop Morva’s scheduled execution tomorrow. Supporters of the clemency campaign say the jury that sentenced Morva to death was not informed of his severe mental illness.
Florida’s death row will continue to shrink as inmates are resentenced. The U.S. Supreme Court last year ruled that the state wrongly limited jurors to an advisory role.
An 8-6 vote will allow the state’s first execution in three and one-half years. Ronald Phillips is scheduled to be put to death on July 26, unless the Supreme Court blocks it.
William Morva is scheduled to die by lethal injection on July 6. A clemency petition pending with Gov. Terry McAuliffe contends that the jury that convicted him was not presented with full evidence of his mental illness.
South Carolina inmate Denver Simmons tells the Associated Press he and a fellow prisoner strangled and beat four fellow inmates to death so that Simmons could get the death penalty.
Erick Davila claimed ineffective assistance from lawyers in state appeals. The Supreme Court majority said he did not have a constitutional right to counsel in state postconviction proceedings.