Right before Halloween, we posted about the new Death Penalty Information Center revelation that focusing solely on a state’s budget bottom line, capital punishment should be outlawed because it just costs too much — and how Billy Joe Johnson’s request to be sentenced to death in California only added fuel to that fire.  (Billy Joe wanted death because the digs at California’s Death Row are so much better than those for lifers.)

Well, looks like that October prediction was right and Billy Joe Johnson is doing a lot to help the cause of Abolishing the Death Penalty. 

The Wall Street Journal’s Law Blog is pointing to Billy Joe Johnson in California, and publishing a quote from Johnson’s attorney that originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times — Billy Jo isn’t asking for Death Row because “…’ he thinks conditions wiil be better, they are better,” explains defense counsel Michael Molfetta. 

The Los Angeles Times has a lengthy feature article that actually goes into the details surrounding Billy Joe Johnson’s decision (and yes, his request was granted and he has been sentenced to death by the State of California).   According to the LA Times, on California’s Death Row:

1.  inmates get single cells, they don’t have to share a two bunk cell

2. their cells are bigger than the standard maximum-security cells for lifers

3. inmates get better telephone access

4. they are allowed “contact visits”  by themselves, although the visit is in a see-through plexiglass booth (lifers have to visit in a communal hall, no one on one contact)

5.  they get breakfast and dinner served to them in their cells

6.  Lunch is served in the exercise yard, so they get to go outside daily

7.  Death Row inmates are allowed to visit with other Death Row inmates during the lunch hour

8.  Death Row inmates get to have TVs, CD Players, and the like in their cells

9. While other inmates are limited to six cubit feet of personal property, this doesn’t apply to California Death Row inmates

10.  They get to wear jeans and chambray shirts

This description of life on California’s Death Row is getting lots of attention — all because Billy Joe Johnson’s request has taken flight.  The prison authorities have good reasons for each of the list’s purported “benefits” — for example, Death Row inmates get more than 6 cubic feet of personal property space because their cases are so voluminous, they need more square footage than that for all the paperwork that their defense requires.  Similarly, they get more lenient phone rules than the usual inmate because they are literally fighting for their lives and there are times when communication with their counsel by phone is immediately needed and legally vital. 

Still, proponents of the Death Penalty may look upon this list with outrage and think that Billy Joe Johnson is somehow working the system by asking to die.  And, if that enables the Death Penalty Information Center’s study on costs to get more footing, great. 

Because the goal is to end the death penalty, and if capital punishment is stopped for no other reason that it costs too much, fine.  The goal is to stop the State form killing people, period.

Virginia executes more people in this country than any other state than Texas, so the statistics seem to sway us toward a prediction that Governor Tim Kaine will allow the upcoming execution of John Muhammad, the DC Sniper. 

And Kaine is the only barrier betweeen John Muhammad and death. 

That’s because the United States Supreme Court officially declined to hear Mr. Muhammad’s appeal yesterday — and what is unusual about that is they did so long before anyone expected them to do so.  As Justices John Paul Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Sonia Sotomayor explained in a joint statement authored by Stevens, under standard operating procedure the high court would have taken this matter under consideration during its November 24th Justices’ conference. 

By declining to stay the execution in order to maintain that SOP Justice Stevens wrote, “…we have allowed Virginia to truncate our deliberative process on a matter — involving a death row inmate — that demands the most careful attention.” 

Importantly, the Justices’ statement points out a crucial problem in this case, something of which we all need to be aware:  Virginia scheduled John Muhammad’s execution before all of his legal avenues had been exhausted. 

That’s right — Virginia scheduled a man for death before the legal processes had been completed, those legal safeguards that are in place to insure that no legal errors had been made.  To quote the Statement, ” ‘[t]his case highlights once again the perversity of executing inmates before their appeals process has been fully concluded.”

Perversity indeed. 

We’re watching, Governor Kaine.

This past week, the film Capote (2005) was shown on television — and while the name suggests that the movie covers the life of famed author Truman Capote, that’s not the case.  What the movie focuses upon is Capote’s involvement with two men who were executed by the  State of Kansas for the killings of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas back in the late 1950s.

For those – like me – who are interested in how the death penalty is presented to America not only in the media and in our legislation but in our popular culture, I found the movie to be important. 

Not only does it provide an excellent perspective on how the trial and appellate process can cover years and years as the case winds its way through both the state and federal systems, but it reveals so much about the prisoners themselves.  How they spend years and years in small cells, a punishment in and of itself — and in Perry Smith’s case, the movies also gives food for thought about how a small boy could grow up to end his life by a hangman’s noose.

And the execution of Perry Smith is shown in Capote.  In the 1960s, Kansas still executed prisoners by hanging.  You see the entirety of the process, and for those who wonder about those last moments – the film strives for accuracy.  There is the harness, there is the hood placed over the prisoner’s head (for the benefit of the witnesses many argue, as opposed to the condemned), there is the sound of the latch being thrown and the body falling down, swaying in the open air. 

It’s a memorable scene in a memorable film. 

And, as for hanging as a form of capital punishment, we don’t see that today.  Today, only two states still allow for hanging and then, only as an option the lethal injection.  (That’s Delaware and Washington.) 

Why not?  Hanging someone to kill them is tricky business.  If the state doesn’t do its math right, calculating the weight of the individual and comparing it against the length of the drop and the strength of the rope, then the condemned does not die by a swift break of the neck but instead slowly suffocates — which is said to be a very messy and painful process. 

In Capote (2005), the execution goes smoothly and Truman Capote (played by Philip Seymour Hoffman) watches without a word and then walks away.  Afterwards, he completes In Cold Blood — a telling of the Clutter killings, the investigation and arrest of Perry Smith and Richard Hickock, following the judicial process through their deaths.   

And, of course, In Cold Blood is a must read for those dealing with the issue of capital punishment in this country — and watching Capote, as this important book is being created, makes you want to pull that important book off the shelf and re-read it.  Which I, for one, am going to do.

Supplying the International Demand for Human Transplant Organs is Big Business in China

The demand for transplantable organs is the main reason why organ procurement is so pervasive in China. [204] It is common knowledge that high-paying customers will receive a prompt organ transplant in China. [205]Former transplant patients have reported that they were expected to hand out “red envelopes” filled with money to every doctor they saw.[206]

The money is shared with both prison and court officials. [207]It has been reported that foreign nationals pay upwards of $200,000 for an organ transplant performed in China, using Chinese donors. [208] Sadly, there is also a reported case where a transplant recipient died because the essential post-operation care and treatment ceased because the patient ran out of money.[209]

Due to the high demand for organs, the large number of death-row prisoners, the improved medical technology, and the huge profits, selling organs from executed prisoners in China will continue. [210] The situation is exacerbated because many of the people who are key participants in the harvesting of the organs are poorly paid prison and hospital administrators.[211]

Executions for Profit Have Extra Benefit — Intimidation and Control of the Citizenry

China’s organ procurement from the bodies of executed prisoners is not only a lucrative money-maker, it is also a method to coerce and intimate the general population into submission of government control.  [212] Actually, since the discovery of the lucrative organ transplant market, the number of crimes punishable by death has increased.[213]

Chinese web bulletins boards have reported information discussing the sale and corruption of the “organ business.” [214] Chinese websites advertising organ transplants openly admit to obtaining their organs from executed prisoners. [215] One website specifically targeting foreigners announced on the front page that viscera or soft interior organs including brain, lungs, and heart could be found immediately. [216] This website also thanked the support of the Chinese government, specifically naming the Supreme Demotic Court. [217]

Secrecy in the Chinese government

China has maintained an air of secrecy concerning the sale of organs harvested from executed prisoners, concealing the transfer of profits. [218] China strove to keep the 1984 order on the use of prisoner cadavers confidential in order to avoid international backlash. [219] Even official figures regarding death sentences and executions in China are kept secret from the public and foreigners. [220] Additionally, international human rights organizations are not permitted to visit prisoners in China. [221] Until recently, the Chinese government emphatically denied the legal procurement of organs from Chinese prisoners condemned to death.[222]

The only people that would be present at the scene of an organ harvesting are the victim and the perpetrators. [223] No bystanders would be allowed to witness the event. [224] Afterward, no body would be found, and no autopsy would be conducted. [225] The body would be cremated, and the evidence vanished. [226] The operating room would be left like any other empty operating room. [227] Cremation of the body prevents any evidence from surfacing regarding the harvesting of organs. [228] In addition, any wills created by condemned prisoners are subject to official censorship by the government.[229]

The Supreme People’s Court issued a secret regulation concerning a prisoner’s last will and testament that states, “Those parts which are slanderous in nature or which make reactionary statements are not to be handed over to the person’s family . . . sections complaining about grievances or alleged injustices are not to be passed on to the person’s family.” [230] When one executed prisoner’s brother asked to see the documentation of his brother’s consent to donate his organs, the Chinese officials would not give him the information. [231] Furthermore, the government warned the brother that if he did not keep silent, he and his family would face retaliation.[232] Continue Reading In Depth Look at the Law: Secrecy in China – Successfully Hiding the Truth About Executions for Profit from the World

Representing clients facing the sentence of dying by the government’s hand for crimes they have allegedly committed is what I do.  And, while I represent clients in both phases of a death penalty case, I am particularly known for my work in representing defendants during the sentencing phase. 

So, I’m watching Wood v. Allen with particular interest as it winds its way through review by the highest court in the land.

By way of background, a man named Holly Wood was convicted in an Alabama court of killing his girlfriend.   He was sentenced to die for this act.  Mr. Wood was represented by defense counsel, and Mr. Wood is now arguing that he received ineffective assistance of counsel at the trial because one of his trial lawyers failed to introduce key evidence during the sentencing phase of the trial. 

What was that crucial evidence?  It was evidence of a mitigating factor to be considered in Mr. Wood’s sentencing — that he was mentally retarded. 

Holly Wood had three lawyers during the trial, but like many death penalty cases the defense duties were divided, and it’s uncontested here that the lawyer responsible for the sentencing phase of the case was a novice.   And here is where things get complicated.

As Mr. Wood’s case manuevered through the waters of the state appellate process, his appellate counsel argued that this novice attorney did not provide adequate representation — and all the state reviewing courts failed to agree.  Instead, they held that Wood’s more experienced counsel intentionally withheld the mental retardation evidence as part of their overall trial strategy. 

Entering the federal appellate system under a writ for habeas corpus under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA), the federal district court went Wood’s way and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals reversed, opining that that the AEDPA limits review to “…whether there is evidence to support the state courts’ findings” and the Alabama court’s fact finding was reasonable since Wood failed to show that the defense decision not to present the evidence was not strategic.   Of course, there was a strong dissent which wisely pointed out that the Eleventh Circuit opinion was based upon nothing but “pure speculation” that not presenting key mitigating evidence was a “strategic decision.” Continue Reading US Supreme Court Heard Oral Arguments Yesterday in Wood v. Allen, reviewing Actions of Defense Counsel in Sentencing Phase

Corruption of China’s Communist Party

It has been reported that there is widespread corruption among Chinese government officials including graft, bribery, use of official position for personal gain, blackmail, misuse of public money, and extortion. [161] One source cites graft and bribery as constituting over 50% of the economic crimes in China.[162]

Under the current Chinese government, the rights of individuals are always subject to the drafting of new legislation that may suspend those rights. [163] Moreover, violations of those rights guaranteed by the Chinese constitution are generally not enforceable against the government because of the lack of checks and balances in the system. [164]

The Communist Party always takes precedent over the independent rule of law. [165] Chinese citizens may only exercise their right to freedom if their behavior does not infringe upon the interests of the society and the state. [166] Research has indicated that Chinese citizens who engage in promoting freedom of expression are arbitrarily arrested, detained, tortured, and convicted. [167]

Many crimes involving expression of ideas or even an association with an idea or movement that differs from the party line are classified as political crimes. [168] The ensuing trials are held in secret, excluding observers and even lawyers, under the excuse of maintaining state secrets.[169]

Economic gain from organ harvesting

China sells organs of executed prisoners on a large scale for profit under the guise of state secrets. [170] China has a system that readily sentences, condemns, and executes human beings so that their organs can be sold by government officials for personal gain. [171]

Arrestees are often denied immediate access to legal representation following their detention. [172]  Chinese police even take extreme steps to limit defense attorneys from assisting their clients. [173]

For example, Chinese police severely limit the length and number of times a defendant is allowed to meet with his attorney, require the attorney to brief police concerning the nature of the conversation prior to the meeting, cancel meetings that are intended to cover topics that are not preapproved, and severely restrict the attorney’s access to the prosecution’s evidence. [174]

Torture Is An Accepted Practice

Moreover, torture is often used to elicit confessions. [175]  International organizations have documented the widespread abuse and torture of prisoners occurring at all types of detention facilities and legal institutions in China. [176]

One individual reported that he was forced to confess to a crime after undergoing torture perpetrated by the police that included electrical shock applied to the toes, fingers and genitals, beating with heavy chains and sticks, and injection of hot pepper, gasoline, and ginger into his nose. [177] Thus, it is not surprising then that China refuses to accept the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which allows for regular international inspection of detention centers.[178]

Injustice is Inherent in China’s Criminal Justice System

In addition to the arrest and detention of prisoners, trials are often held before defendants are provided adequate time to prepare a defense. [179] Defendants do not have a guaranteed right to cross-examine witnesses. [180]

In addition, verdicts and subsequent sentences are often determined by private committees prior to a proper trial. [181]Unfortunately, it is quite common for a court to have reached a verdict before the defendant even enters the courtroom. [182] Continue Reading In Depth Look at the Law: China Death Vans and China’s Widespread Corruption – There is No Fairness in China’s Criminal Justice System

Today’s news includes the story about the Death Penalty Information Center’s new study of capital punishment costs.  Released this week, and looking solely at the bottom line, the DPIC analysis demonstrates that significant monies can be saved by eliminating the death penalty.  Since 1976, $2,000,000,000 (that’s two billion dollars) has been spent on capital punishment in the United States that would not have been spent if the death penalty were not an option. 

Sure, the DPIC released its study this week in a blatant argument that today’s financial times call for the end of the death penalty, regardless of the other huge arguments against capital punishment – morally, ethically, etc.   From the DPIC study:”[t]he promised benefits from the death penalty have not materialized …. If more states choose to end the death penalty, it will hardly be missed, and the economic savings will be significant.”

Also in today’s news:  an inmate in California is asking to be sentenced to death.  Why?  He’s wanting to live on Death Row, because the prison facilities on California’s Death Row are so much nicer than his current prison digs.   Billy Joe Johnson is serving 45 years for murder, and is in lockdown almost 24/7 every day.  He’s waiting for the jury to return on a second murder charge — he’s been convicted, and he is waiting for his sentence.  Billy Jo is asking for his jury to come back with death, so he can move into a better residence. 

Seems like Billy Joe is helping the budgetary argument that the DPIC is advancing much more than he probably knows.  If any state budget should be looking for ways to cut costs, it’s probably California….

Note:  The DPIC has published its new report on its website if you are interesting in reading the entire study.  Alteratively, the DPIC is offering a synopsis on its site if you don’t want to go thru all the details.

At this point, it’s pretty late in the legal game for John Muhammad, known as The Washington Sniper.  Tried and sentenced to death for the killing of Dean Meyers, the victim of a sniper’s bullet at a Manassas, Virginia gas station in 2002, Muhammad has already exhausted appellate avenues aside from the United States Supreme Court.  His attorneys have announced they’ll be filing an appeal with the Supreme Court on or before November 3rd.

Asking for Clemency Now Rather than Later

Usually, going to the Governor with a clemency request wouldn’t happen until all the court remedies had been exhausted.  With the Washington Sniper, the strategy is different.  Already, his attorneys have met with Virginia Governor Timothy Kaine — and they’ve shown the governor a video prepared to support their position.

Mental Illness as a Bar to the Death Penalty

There is already precedent from the United States Supreme Court (Ford v. Wainwright) holding that the mentally ill cannot be condemned to die because it constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. 

Why urge clemency with the Governor’s Office now?

At the Devine, Connell, Sheldon & Flood website, defense counsel have posted their arguments in the unusual clemency request: 

  • 1.  a juror has said they would not have voted for death if they had known of Muhammad’s mental illness; 
  • 2.  experts report that the Washington Sniper suffers from severe mental illness, and this is documented by his brain damage, brain dysfunction, and other neurological deficits as well as his psychotic and delusional behavior; 
  • 3.  he may additionally suffer from Gulf War Syndrome. 

According to media reports, the Governor hasn’t been that open to considering clemency for the Washington Sniper — he’s said so, and his office has also leaned on the standard operating procedure of clemency considerations occuring only after judicial review is finished.  

It’s an interesting and aggressive tactic that the Sniper’s defense counsel is taking.  For all of us that oppose the death penalty, we’re rooting for ’em.

Sale of organs “illegal” in China after July 2006

In 2006, the government enacted the provisions on the “Entry and Exit of Cadavers,” which officially banned the commercial sale of human organs. [136] However, the 2006 provisions failed to address the harvesting of organs from executed prisoners, leaving the 1984 order intact.[137]

The drafter of the 2006 provisions stated, “The guideline will specifically not mention the use of executed prisoners’ organs, even though it’s the main source of organs in China . . . . The executed prisoners’ organs will not be specifically banned in this guideline or in the coming Human Organ Transplant Rule.”[138]

This new legislation became effective July 1, 2006, banning the sale of human organs, requiring donors to provide written permission for the transplantation of their organs, limiting transplant surgery to certain institutions, compelling an ethics committee to review and approve all transplants in advance, and requiring institutions performing transplant surgery to verify that the organs are from legal sources. [139] The provisions attempt to regulate the transportation of cadavers.[140]

However, the provisions still provide the Chinese government with the ultimate authority on all decisions related to export matters. [141] For example, Article 8 of the provisions states, “It is strictly prohibited to trade in cadavers, and to make use of cadavers to engage in commercial activities.” [142] However, Article 7 states that if Chinese customs officials are presented with a valid certificate issued by the Chinese government to approve the transport of cadavers, the body is released.[143]

In China, enacting legislation does not mean enforcing it.[144]

In China today, the reality is that the abstract principle of law is often corrupted by the wish for personal gain or the interests of the Communist Party. [145] It has been reported that organs are still being sold following this 2006 legislation.[146] Continue Reading In Depth Look at the Law: China Death Vans and the Sale of Human Organs Harvested from Death Penalty Executions

Troy Davis is a name you probably recognize because of the international movement to free him as an innocent man, wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death by the State of Georgia. We’ve posted about Troy Davis here, and support the efforts to free him.

Who is Tom Dunn?

The name Tom Dunn probably isn’t one you recognize, however. Tom Dunn is a criminal defense lawyer with over 20 years experience in the defense of capital/death penalty cases — and Mr. Dunn acted as defense counsel for Troy Davis.

As the head of the Georgia Resource Center, Tom Dunn worked tirelessly as the nonprofit group sought justice for Troy Davis and many others. Now, Tom Dunn has apparently had enough.

Tom Dunn isn’t going to be a lawyer anymore.

Beginning this year, Mr. Dunn is a middle school teacher. Specifically, he’s teaching students at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School — an Atlanta school within walking distance from his old law firm, and where 97& of the student body qualifies for free/reduced lunches.

Why the career change?

You might be thinking burn out, or disillusionment with the current system of justice in this country.  Who could blame Tom Dunn if these were his reasons?  Death Penalty defense is the hardest job for a defense attorney — you’ve literally got someone’s life in your hands.  Passion, tenacity, and a strong moral commitment are just three necessary components to doing this work.   With Troy Davis being stonewalled time and again, it would be easy to understand throwing up your hands, throwing in the towel in frustration….

However, none of that applies.  Tom Dunn changed careers for health reasons:  he’s got heart problems and the stress of Death Penalty defense doesn’t jive with a condition that has left him with the heart of an elderly man.  

Death Penalty Defense Work Doesn’t Lend Itself to “Gone Fishin'”

Obviously, Mr. Dunn could have retired and just “gone fishing.”  Many do when faced with health crises like his.  And that’s fine.  But what does one do with all the zeal, the knowledge and compassion, with the warrior that still has the need to right wrongs? 

It’s one thing to resign your position, but being a Death Penalty defense attorney isn’t something that you can just quit.  It’s a field of work where the boundaries get blurry, and part of what you do becomes part of what you are. 

Today, Tom Dunn is taking all those years of experience and the wisdom culled from a Death Penalty Defense career, and he’s helping young people see their potential, teaching them things that are not just in textbooks.   Tom Dunn is still in the fight, just on a different battlefield. 

And our hats are off to brother Tom Dunn.