Penn State researchers analyze death penalty findings

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrkVn_fXp9K-yZSjfNh-qqaojqXfUUSVsnbbvsIaTYDxGoSLc-zpJbrOwfU8LPBe13S2-M3olivI5URk25X5MWdt6WNzptAAvdXnCfKR6DA76BhFOJvayB0t5u-2JQntdH1O4l7AT6jCw/s1600/archives-and-records.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Archives and records" border="0" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrkVn_fXp9K-yZSjfNh-qqaojqXfUUSVsnbbvsIaTYDxGoSLc-zpJbrOwfU8LPBe13S2-M3olivI5URk25X5MWdt6WNzptAAvdXnCfKR6DA76BhFOJvayB0t5u-2JQntdH1O4l7AT6jCw/s400/archives-and-records.jpg" title="Archives and records" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Penn State researchers studying whether racial bias affects the imposition of the death penalty have begun crunching the data, a move signaling the end of a 4-year saga of waiting on a state report that has officially halted executions in the state.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Penn State findings might be made public before year's end.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">While the analysis is in the early stages, the professor leading the research said he expects similar findings to what the Reading Eagle reported last week on the distribution of death sentences in Pennsylvania.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"I think it'll be a good complement to what you've done, with some details that will flesh out the issues that you've raised," said John Kramer, a retired Penn State criminology professor. "I don't suspect that it will erase the (Eagle's) findings."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In an investigation spanning 5 months, the Eagle found Pennsylvania has sentenced 408 defendants to death since 1978, at a rate of 1.6 death sentences for every 100 homicides. The rate for counties varied from zero to more than 7, indicating wide prosecutorial discretion.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Following the U.S. Supreme Court's 1972 decision in <i>Furman v. Georgia</i> that found capital punishment unconstitutional, states created statutes that were intended to make its application less arbitrary, particularly for black defendants.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Going back to the Furman decision, the question is: Have we controlled that kind of discretion adequately?" Kramer said. "I'm sure we will cite your article when we're reviewing our data."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The meticulous gathering of data on more than 900 first-degree murder cases from 2000 to 2010 in 18 counties has been tedious and painstakingly slow, pushing a state report that was expected 3 years ago back several times.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Kramer's team has been out in the field since 2012 poring over court files in counties stretching from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh to identify charging and sentencing patterns in 1st-degree murder cases. The death penalty is reserved almost exclusively for the crime of murder.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Researchers hope to learn whether race is a factor in who is charged capitally and ultimately sentenced to death in Pennsylvania.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This investigation will be folded into the study state lawmakers called for in 2011. That report, by the Joint State Government Commission, isn't expected until six months after Penn State concludes its study for the Interbranch Commission for Gender, Racial and Ethnic Fairness.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As directed by lawmakers, the state report will examine 17 issues around the death penalty, including its cost, deterrence and quality of counsel.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The commission's reports often are completed within a year and include recommendations.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Recommendations in the long awaited report, however, will likely relate to data collection, which is sorely lacking. The Joint State Government Commission will not be recommending whether to continue to support or abolish the death penalty, said Glenn Pasewicz, executive director of the Joint State Government Commission.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"From the beginning, it was not the intent that the report would come up with some firm recommendations about what capital punishment should be in Pennsylvania," Pasewicz said. "We're going to leave the big questions to the Legislature itself. We'll provide them with as much information as we can, and they can sort it all out."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For years, Pennsylvania's death penalty system has been a source of consternation among those on both sides of the issue. Having sentenced hundreds in the modern era and executed only 3, it is widely perceived as dysfunctional.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Another round</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It has been studied before.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In 1999, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court directed a study on whether racial or gender bias influences the judicial system, including the death penalty. In the committee's 550-page report in 2003, it made more than 170 recommendations, including issuing a moratorium on executions. Gov. Tom Wolf issued one last year, saying executions would not resume until the state report is completed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Based on existing data and studies, the committee concluded that there are strong indications that Pennsylvania's capital justice system does not operate in an evenhanded manner," the group's report said, noting the responsibility of ensuring equal justice under the law cannot fall to a single branch of government.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The committee also took aim at the quality of capital representation, which the Eagle explored last fall, finding nearly 1 in5 inmates sentenced to death in Pennsylvania the past decade were represented by attorneys disciplined for professional misconduct at some point in their careers.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The committee's report said of capital representation, "Unless the poor, among whom minority communities are overrepresented, are provided adequate legal representation, including ample funds for experts and investigators, there cannot be a lasting solution to the issue of racial and ethnic bias in the capital system."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The group also recommended original research to study the issue further.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"It's critical that we do our own studies," said Lisette McCormick, executive director of the Pittsburgh-based Interbranch Commission for Gender, Racial and Ethnic Fairness, which conducted the review at the Supreme Court's direction.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>'There are gaps'</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Established in 2005 by Pennsylvania's three branches of government, the Interbranch Commission for Gender, Racial and Ethnic Fairness is tasked with addressing inequities in the court system.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">McCormick added, noting there is no systematic data collection on Pennsylvania's death penalty: "There are gaps. You cannot conduct a valid study with gaps."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Penn State report - Kramer said an internal draft would be completed next month - was commissioned in part to address this gap. McCormick's group is funding the report at a cost of about $325,000.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Eagle's cost and sentence-distribution findings, McCormick said, were consistent with other studies she's reviewed for the current state study.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The shortage of original research on Pennsylvania's death penalty system, Kramer and McCormick said, is directly related to the difficulty of winnowing out information buried, oftentimes in storage, in hundreds of case boxes across the commonwealth.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Kramer's data collectors could examine, at their quickest pace, a maximum of 5 cases a day and averaged only 3 or 4. And some days, they would sift through case boxes and collect no pertinent data.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"There's just not any data that you can put together to do this study without investing a tremendous amount of time," Kramer said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: Reading Eagle, June 16, 2016</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/WebDPN/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div></div>

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Penn State researchers studying whether racial bias affects the imposition of the death penalty have begun crunching the data, a move signal...

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Roof must have jury in upcoming death penalty trial, judge rules

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY8VBBYjO4EUWkkH6wLej23TygkNJKm5qwAxWnWR1gzhste6VmB_1X4nUqAuYaQ3Q3yzyAgTdNMCHU4o4lb3MYTZwEOqi7mRxBj1U1yz4zKiolX1YC5SIyoWblQPMTmSC0uaOc9vUt7hQ/s1600/Dylann+Roof.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="White supremacist Dylann Roof" border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY8VBBYjO4EUWkkH6wLej23TygkNJKm5qwAxWnWR1gzhste6VmB_1X4nUqAuYaQ3Q3yzyAgTdNMCHU4o4lb3MYTZwEOqi7mRxBj1U1yz4zKiolX1YC5SIyoWblQPMTmSC0uaOc9vUt7hQ/s400/Dylann+Roof.jpg" title="White supremacist Dylann Roof" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">White supremacist Dylann Roof</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Judge Richard Gergel makes quick decision to deny Roof’s request for death penalty trial by a lone judge</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">COLUMBIA, SC--Accused Charleston church gunman Dylann Roof will not get a federal death penalty trial decided solely by a judge.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">U.S. Judge Richard Gergel ruled Monday that Roof, an avowed white supremacist charged with killing nine African-Americans a year ago at a downtown Charleston church, must have a jury trial.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Last week, Roof and his lawyers told Gergel that he wanted to waive his right to a jury trial. The trial is expected to begin in November.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Federal prosecutors must agree to that request but made it clear in a filing Monday they will not do so.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“The Government advises the Court that it does not consent and, instead, respectfully requests that a jury determine the Defendant’s guilt and appropriate punishment.” assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Richardson wrote.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">That objection means Roof’s request won’t be granted, Gergel said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“Because the Government does not consent to the waiver of a jury at either proceeding, the trial will be conducted by jury, and, should Defendant be found guilty of one or more capital crimes, the sentencing hearing will be conducted before a jury,” the judge said in his decision.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Jury selection in the case is set to begin Nov. 7 with lawyers for both sides posing questions about impartiality to hundreds of potential jurors. Opening arguments will be after a jury of 12 people and six alternates is selected, likely later in November.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Roof, 22, of Columbia, an avowed white supremacist, is accused of federal hate crimes in last June’s slayings of nine African-Americans and the wounding of three others during a Bible study gathering at Charleston’s AME Emanuel Church.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Two high-profile federal death penalty in recent years have both involved juries.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In 1997, a federal jury in Denver recommended a death sentence for Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. He was executed in 2001.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In 2015, a Massachusetts jury recommended a death sentence for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. He is appealing his conviction and sentence.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Last year’s massacre of African-Americans in downtown Charleston has similarly captured the nation’s attention. Because of the notoriety of the case, Gergel has suggested that a jury pool of up to 1,500 jurors may be necessary.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Roof is also scheduled to be tried in state court. He also faces the death penalty in trial, set to begin in late January.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="http://www.heraldonline.com/news/local/crime/article83635357.html" target="_blank">The Herald, John Monk</a>, June 14, 2016</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Death-Penalty-News-206848499362906/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div></div>

Dylann Roof Federal DP Hate crime Jury Mass shooting Racism South Carolina USA White supremacist Roof must have jury in upcoming death penalty trial, judge rules

White supremacist Dylann Roof Judge Richard Gergel makes quick decision to deny Roof’s request for death penalty trial by a lone judge COLUM...

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Charleston shooting suspect Dylann Roof waives right to jury trial

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0PghCEc7lIfVitXr27WOr89lBQ8TOMDJIsfqHAScBj-m2hLPckyUUIYzWl99HaEsZQeVebIEzaKbX3eIR-aAEN1QLf700kqj5TI8oBl9aKhRHJyQB4jz7wXSlEjifXF3q0XtlfAQLmNw/s1600/Dylann+Roof.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Dylann Roof" border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0PghCEc7lIfVitXr27WOr89lBQ8TOMDJIsfqHAScBj-m2hLPckyUUIYzWl99HaEsZQeVebIEzaKbX3eIR-aAEN1QLf700kqj5TI8oBl9aKhRHJyQB4jz7wXSlEjifXF3q0XtlfAQLmNw/s400/Dylann+Roof.jpg" title="Dylann Roof" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dylann Roof</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">Dylann Roof, the suspect charged with fatally shooting nine people at a historic black church in Charleston, S.C., last June, is seeking to waive his right to a jury trial, according to court papers.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lawyers for Roof, 22, of Columbia, S.C., indicated the suspect's intent in a notice they filed Thursday in U.S. District Court. The move would leave Roof's future up to a judge.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Pursuant to this order, the defendant hereby states that he is willing to waive jury, and to be tried and sentenced by the court," read the notice filed by Roof lawyers David Bruck, based in Lexington, Va., and Michael O'Connell, based in Mount Pleasant, S.C.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The notice also indicated, though, that a lawyer for the federal government has informed Roof's lawyers that that "the government will not consent to waive jury at either stage of this case."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Roof's trial is set to begin Nov. 7. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On June 17, 2015, Roof staged a massacre at the Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church during a Bible study session. Among those who died were Pastor Clementa Pinckney. It is the oldest AME church in the South and was cofounded by slave revolt organizer Denmark Vesey.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Officials have said Roof targeted his alleged victims because they were black.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: USA Today, June 9, 2016</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Dylann Roof Seeks Trial By Judge</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Roof seeks to waive his Constitutional right, but federal prosecutors are objecting</i>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Accused Charleston massacre suspect Dylann Roof wants to waive his Constitutional right to a trial by a jury of his peers, instead asking that his fate be determined by a federal judge.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The accused is a white supremacist who is alleged to have killed nine African-American churchgoers in Charleston, S.C. last June. President Obama eulogized the victims, and the Justice Department is pursuing the death penalty in the case. In addition to first-degree murder counts, Roof also faces hate crime charges. His federal trial is scheduled to begin in November, while his state trial is expected to begin in 2017.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In court documents filed Thursday, Roof and his attorneys asked to waive his right to a jury trail. Those same documents indicate prosecutors are objecting to his request. If forced to face a jury, Roof's attorney David Bruck said he may ask the judge to have jurors selected from the Charleston area and not statewide</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Roof is alledged to have entered the Emanual AME Church in downtown Charleston on June 17, 2016, took part in Bible study for an hour, and then opened fire on those there. When all was said and done, nine people -- including a state senator -- were dead, and three others were injured.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The incident has touched a nerve nationwide in the year since the shooting. South Carolina removed the Confederate battle flag from the grounds of its state capitol. Other states have debated removing the confederate flag from their state flag, it has been removed from U.S. Capitol grounds, and the National Park Service has stopped selling Confederate items at National Parks, notably Civil War battlefields. Most recently, Washington National Cathedral removed stained glass windows with the flag.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: US News, Curt Mills, June 10, 2016</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Death-Penalty-News-206848499362906/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div></div>

Dylann Roof Federal DP Hate crime Mass shooting Racism Right to a jury South Carolina USA White supremacist Charleston shooting suspect Dylann Roof waives right to jury trial

Dylann Roof Dylann Roof, the suspect charged with fatally shooting nine people at a historic black church in Charleston, S.C., last June, is...

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The Gratuitous Death Penalty Cases Against Dylann Roof

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgILpkrTUszCUcVSrQVSYE-9otH_XCMyPoCBCvLVutQ-rmnQex4f-chMz2CPISq0iDBF-5tg8R3WdOiy2OjjtMklMpecALHI4S3EFgIgoIdjQdY-8fLCN6ev_osKJ-SqnzmUtWkxeTUJ9E/s1600/Dylann+Roof_02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Dylann Roof" border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgILpkrTUszCUcVSrQVSYE-9otH_XCMyPoCBCvLVutQ-rmnQex4f-chMz2CPISq0iDBF-5tg8R3WdOiy2OjjtMklMpecALHI4S3EFgIgoIdjQdY-8fLCN6ev_osKJ-SqnzmUtWkxeTUJ9E/s400/Dylann+Roof_02.jpg" title="Dylann Roof" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dylann Roof</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">The federal government announced last week that it would seek the death penalty in its case against Dylann S. Roof, the man arrested last June for killing nine African Americans in a Charleston, S.C., church. It will be the 2nd death penalty trial that he is facing. The state of South Carolina is also seeking the death penalty in its murder trial of Roof.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Last year in July, a federal grand jury indicted Roof, then 21, for hate crimes, weapons charges and obstructing the practice of religion. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said upon announcing the 33-count indictment: "We think that this is exactly the type of case that the federal hate crimes statutes were, in fact, conceived of to cover. Racially motivated violence such as this is the original domestic terrorism."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It's not among the crimes he's charged with but terrorism it was. Roof has told investigators he was seeking to incite a race war. A website belonging to him called The Last Rhodesian showed photos of him wearing emblems of white supremacist movements. A manifesto Roof had posted on the website said the 2012 Trayvon Martin case had alerted him to the problem of black on white violence, which led him to begin researching white supremacy groups on the internet. The manifesto called for the subjection of black people to whites and the reimposition of slavery.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Citing the fact that more than 2 people were killed in the June 17, 2015, slayings, South Carolina prosecutor Scarlett Wilson announced in September she would seek the death penalty in Roof's trial for murder, now scheduled to begin in January. Roof has offered to plead guilty to the murders in exchange for a life sentence without parole. He's also offered to plead guilty to the federal charges, but his lawyers advised against his doing so until they knew whether the federal government would seek the death penalty in its case.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The pursuit of the death penalty will make both trials much more expensive. A 2014 study in Kansas found that cases without the death penalty cost an average of $740,000 while cases where the death penalty was sought cost $1.26 million. A 2010 study of federal death penalty cases found that they make the trial almost 8 times as expensive as cases where the death penalty is not sought. Imprisoning Roof for life would almost certainly cost taxpayers less than the cost of executing him. In California, a death row prisoner costs taxpayers $90,000 more per year to maintain than a prisoner in the general population serving a life sentence without parole. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, the average time a prisoner spends on death row is 190 months, or about 16 years. Some spend far longer.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Do prosecutors seek the death penalty because they believe it acts as a deterrent? There's little evidence that it does. A 2012 report by the National Research Council, titled "Deterrence and the Death Penalty," stated that studies claiming that the death penalty has an effect on murder rates are fundamentally flawed and should not be used when making policy decisions. A 2009 survey by Professor Michael Radelet and attorney Traci Lacock of leading criminologists found 88 % of them did not believe execution deters homicide. Fewer than 10 % of the criminologists surveyed believed empirical data supports there being a deterrent effect to the death penalty.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There is probably even less deterrent value to the death penalty in terrorism cases than in criminal cases. Most terrorists are aware of the possible consequences to their acts and proceed anyway. Some terrorists want to be martyrs, and their execution can enhance their image and increase publicity and fundraising for their cause, if not in the country where their crimes are committed then abroad.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG-m_Zu1GhWwWMyBqL9xR6Xb97byVRWz8E9WYytQnnXgaj0-JO2x84xPJZrDixbTPNzPJASm69bntScThO4Vamnr_T9HzCkarKm0DDldZUWuaAuDvPL45PcMl2HThQ2OphE3byWROt02g/s1600/money.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG-m_Zu1GhWwWMyBqL9xR6Xb97byVRWz8E9WYytQnnXgaj0-JO2x84xPJZrDixbTPNzPJASm69bntScThO4Vamnr_T9HzCkarKm0DDldZUWuaAuDvPL45PcMl2HThQ2OphE3byWROt02g/s400/money.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Two death penalty cases going forward for Roof seem redundant and gratuitous. While the federal case may have been filed simply to ensure Roof doesn't escape punishment, there seems little chance of that happening. Hate crime statutes make most sense when they are applied to situations where local bias or bigotry would impede conviction of wrongdoers. When they are used simply to pile on further punishment, they can take on some of the aspects of show trials, with the longer sentences meted out appearing unjustified. Were the state and federal government not insistent on seeing Roof get death, accepting his offer to plead guilty would provide the quickest and most economical route to punishment.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After the shooting, many of those who lost family and friends in the slaughter at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church offered forgiveness to Roof. Their simple example of Christian charity stands in stark contrast to the complicated legal measures predicated on the desire for his execution. If the murders at the historic African-American church reflect the dark, underlying power of racism in our society, the legal proceedings over those murders reflect the senseless and excessive costs of our system of justice, costs that go beyond dollars and cents.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As a society, Americans seem driven by the desire to punish and punish harshly. Excessive severity is repeated at so many levels, in so many ways, throughout the system. The government's decisions to try Roof twice on death penalty charges seems a literal example of the overkill that riddles our system and wastes both dollars and human life.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: America Magazine, June 8, 2016</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Death-Penalty-News-206848499362906/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div></div>

Costs deterrence Dylann Roof Federal DP Hate crime Mass shooting Racism South Carolina USA White supremacist The Gratuitous Death Penalty Cases Against Dylann Roof

Dylann Roof The federal government announced last week that it would seek the death penalty in its case against Dylann S. Roof, the man arre...

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Dylann Roof's federal trial set for Nov. 7

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzJ2jWCq7OPE3911QCBqP4IlR8grfACWl7UUKKy_NMKOEy37WpmhyphenhyphenPMzHeeWx8ylBZvrm9Vykefkw5UVVDdjf6oJgqSTmM8GC3sN2Vf4rZKW8Men6IHoCl_GnHdy2dOcdEMX3Yu8KuzHQ/s1600/Dylann+Storm+Roof+June+2015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Dylann Roof" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzJ2jWCq7OPE3911QCBqP4IlR8grfACWl7UUKKy_NMKOEy37WpmhyphenhyphenPMzHeeWx8ylBZvrm9Vykefkw5UVVDdjf6oJgqSTmM8GC3sN2Vf4rZKW8Men6IHoCl_GnHdy2dOcdEMX3Yu8KuzHQ/s400/Dylann+Storm+Roof+June+2015.jpg" title="Dylann Roof" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dylann Roof</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">Prosecutors and defense attorneys for Dylann Roof gathered in a courtroom Tuesday afternoon for the first time since federal authorities announced they would pursue his execution.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">At the 2 p.m. hearing Judge Richard Gergel in U.S. District Court in downtown Charleston set the date for his trial for Nov. 7.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gergel says the trial is happening far faster than most death penalty trials.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Only a "shot out of the dark" would delay Dylann Roof trial from the Nov. 7 date, he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This move by defense puts federal trial before state, which historically has been more likely to execute people.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Accused of killing 9 worshippers last year at Charleston's Emanuel AME Church, Roof is thought to be the 1st criminal defendant to face the death penalty in 2 separate courts at the same time. How the courts juggle the 2 cases could blaze new legal ground.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The state's murder case against the 21-year-old Eastover man had been moving along at a seemingly steady clip. State prosecutors announced early on that they planned to pursue his execution, and a judge scheduled the trial for July. But the date was later pushed back to January.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Meanwhile, Attorney General Loretta Lynch held back from announcing the federal government's death penalty intentions until last month. Gergel expressed frustration with the government during earlier hearings as he agreed to postpone the case 4 times while awaiting the development.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But with Lynch's decision, Gergel finally set a date for Roof's trial on 33 federal charges, including hate crimes and religious rights violations.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Also is possible that Roof will be at trial in fed court while trial for Michael Slager is ending in state court. The state trial is set for January but solicitor had asked judge to set federal trial after hers. Today's move does opposite.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The court is considering calling 1,200 to 1,500 potential jurors from across South Carolina for the Roof trial. The jury selection is expected to last 3 weeks; guilt phase 2 weeks and then a break. Then penalty phase would probably last another 2 weeks.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Without an agreement between the governments on which should prosecute Roof 1st, state and federal prosecutors have left such decisions with the judges overseeing the cases.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: The Post and Courier, June 7, 2016</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Death-Penalty-News-206848499362906/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div></div>

Dylann Roof Federal DP Hate crime Mass shooting Race Racism South Carolina USA White supremacist Dylann Roof's federal trial set for Nov. 7

Dylann Roof Prosecutors and defense attorneys for Dylann Roof gathered in a courtroom Tuesday afternoon for the first time since federal aut...

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