Post by Anja Nieser on Sept 11, 2006 18:02:43 GMT -5
No R.I. murder suspects face death penalty
Of the 6 men awaiting trial for murder in Rock Island County, none face the death penalty.
One case, the Jan. 3 murder of Lemon Horton Jr. of E.M. Silvis, meets more than one requirement. Joshua Keith Larson, 22, has been charged with first-degree murder in Mr. Horton's death. It meets death penalty requirements because Mr. Horton was 74 at the time of his death and he was killed during the commission of a felony -- robbery.
Others are awaiting trial for murders committed during felonies and drive-by shootings, both death penalty aggravating factors.
Rock Island County State's Attorney Jeff Terronez said he won't seek the death penalty against Mr. Larson or any of the current murder suspects currently awaiting trial.
"From my standpoint, there's a lot more than just the aggravating factors, than just if it meets the requirements," he said. "It's not like we're not considering it; it's just we're looking at all the factors."
Since Illinois reinstated capital punishment in 1977, no one sentenced to death in Rock Island County has been executed.
The latest capital murder case was in 1994 when Erik Birdsall of Moline was sentenced to death for shooting 2 Davenport teenagers -- one, Charles Kunkle, fatally -- on Big Island in 1993 and robbing them of $100 in food stamps.
He was only on death row for 2 years before the Illinois Supreme Court overturned Mr. Birdsall's death sentence because he wasn't given a mental fitness hearing before trial. He later was sentenced to 100 years in prison instead.
Also in 1994, Larry Simpson escaped the death penalty by a 10-2 vote by jurors after he was convicted of murdering 5-year-old Amber Sutton.
Across the state, 12 people in Illinois have been executed since 1977, the last being on St. Patrick's Day in 1999. There are currently 8 men sitting on death row while the state continues its moratorium initiated in 2003 by then-Gov. George Ryan.
"People have been sentenced to death since then, but no one has been executed," said Derek Schnapp, spokesperson for the Department of Corrections.
The Illinois Supreme Court created a capital litigation bar to certify prosecutors and defense attorneys for capital cases under new rules enacted following the moratorium.
In Rock Island County, 3 attorneys are certified to sit as lead council for the defense, while 1 is certified as co-counsel only. For prosecutors, four are certified for lead council, while 2 are certified as co-counsel.
Mr. Terronez said if he feels a case meets the capital requirement, he'll prosecute it himself.
"I'm going to be selective when I choose to implement it," he said. "There are aggravating factors that fit a lot of cases, but the aggravating factors have to outweigh the mitigating factors."
A big part of choosing a capital case is a person's criminal history, he said. Another would be the likelihood of a conviction. "You only want to go into it with a strong case," Mr. Terronez said.
Often, prosecutors will give defendants the option to plead guilty without trial to avoid the death penalty.
Even as a Democrat, Mr. Terronez said he doesn't oppose the death penalty, but believes the moratorium was the right thing to do. The blanket commuting of all on death row to life sentences wasn't a good thing though, he said.
"If there are people on death row for wrong reasons, the system needs to be looked at. When you're talking about taking someone's life away, you better be d**n sure you're right," he said.
Death penalty conditions
According to Illinois law, the death penalty could be invoked if the offender was 18 or older at the time of the crime and:
- The victim was a police officer, community policing volunteer, fireman, corrections employee, emergency medical technician, teacher or disabled.
- The offender murdered two or more people or as the offense of terrorism.
- The murder was part of a hijacking or contract-killing
- The victim was killed, or received injuries from, an offender in the course of a felony or the other felony was "inherently violent."
- The victim was killed to prevent investigation or prosecution.
- The victim was under 12 or over 60 years old and was murdered by "exceptionally brutal or heinous behavior."
- The offender was incarcerated by the Department of Corrections.
- The murder was committed "in a cold, calculated and premeditated manner pursuant to a preconceived plan."
- The offender was a leader of a calculated criminal drug conspiracy.
- The murder involved torture.
- The murder was committed by someone in a motor vehicle when the victim wasn't.
- The victim was subject to an order for protection.
Mitigating factors in the death penalty:
- The defendant has no significant criminal history.
- The murder was committed when the defendant was under "extreme mental or emotional disturbance."
- The murdered individual consented to the homicidal act.
- The murder was committed in self-defense.
- The defendant wasn't present during the murder.
- The defendant has a background of extreme emotional or physical abuse.
- The defendant suffers from a reduced mental capacity.
(source: Quad Cities Online)
Of the 6 men awaiting trial for murder in Rock Island County, none face the death penalty.
One case, the Jan. 3 murder of Lemon Horton Jr. of E.M. Silvis, meets more than one requirement. Joshua Keith Larson, 22, has been charged with first-degree murder in Mr. Horton's death. It meets death penalty requirements because Mr. Horton was 74 at the time of his death and he was killed during the commission of a felony -- robbery.
Others are awaiting trial for murders committed during felonies and drive-by shootings, both death penalty aggravating factors.
Rock Island County State's Attorney Jeff Terronez said he won't seek the death penalty against Mr. Larson or any of the current murder suspects currently awaiting trial.
"From my standpoint, there's a lot more than just the aggravating factors, than just if it meets the requirements," he said. "It's not like we're not considering it; it's just we're looking at all the factors."
Since Illinois reinstated capital punishment in 1977, no one sentenced to death in Rock Island County has been executed.
The latest capital murder case was in 1994 when Erik Birdsall of Moline was sentenced to death for shooting 2 Davenport teenagers -- one, Charles Kunkle, fatally -- on Big Island in 1993 and robbing them of $100 in food stamps.
He was only on death row for 2 years before the Illinois Supreme Court overturned Mr. Birdsall's death sentence because he wasn't given a mental fitness hearing before trial. He later was sentenced to 100 years in prison instead.
Also in 1994, Larry Simpson escaped the death penalty by a 10-2 vote by jurors after he was convicted of murdering 5-year-old Amber Sutton.
Across the state, 12 people in Illinois have been executed since 1977, the last being on St. Patrick's Day in 1999. There are currently 8 men sitting on death row while the state continues its moratorium initiated in 2003 by then-Gov. George Ryan.
"People have been sentenced to death since then, but no one has been executed," said Derek Schnapp, spokesperson for the Department of Corrections.
The Illinois Supreme Court created a capital litigation bar to certify prosecutors and defense attorneys for capital cases under new rules enacted following the moratorium.
In Rock Island County, 3 attorneys are certified to sit as lead council for the defense, while 1 is certified as co-counsel only. For prosecutors, four are certified for lead council, while 2 are certified as co-counsel.
Mr. Terronez said if he feels a case meets the capital requirement, he'll prosecute it himself.
"I'm going to be selective when I choose to implement it," he said. "There are aggravating factors that fit a lot of cases, but the aggravating factors have to outweigh the mitigating factors."
A big part of choosing a capital case is a person's criminal history, he said. Another would be the likelihood of a conviction. "You only want to go into it with a strong case," Mr. Terronez said.
Often, prosecutors will give defendants the option to plead guilty without trial to avoid the death penalty.
Even as a Democrat, Mr. Terronez said he doesn't oppose the death penalty, but believes the moratorium was the right thing to do. The blanket commuting of all on death row to life sentences wasn't a good thing though, he said.
"If there are people on death row for wrong reasons, the system needs to be looked at. When you're talking about taking someone's life away, you better be d**n sure you're right," he said.
Death penalty conditions
According to Illinois law, the death penalty could be invoked if the offender was 18 or older at the time of the crime and:
- The victim was a police officer, community policing volunteer, fireman, corrections employee, emergency medical technician, teacher or disabled.
- The offender murdered two or more people or as the offense of terrorism.
- The murder was part of a hijacking or contract-killing
- The victim was killed, or received injuries from, an offender in the course of a felony or the other felony was "inherently violent."
- The victim was killed to prevent investigation or prosecution.
- The victim was under 12 or over 60 years old and was murdered by "exceptionally brutal or heinous behavior."
- The offender was incarcerated by the Department of Corrections.
- The murder was committed "in a cold, calculated and premeditated manner pursuant to a preconceived plan."
- The offender was a leader of a calculated criminal drug conspiracy.
- The murder involved torture.
- The murder was committed by someone in a motor vehicle when the victim wasn't.
- The victim was subject to an order for protection.
Mitigating factors in the death penalty:
- The defendant has no significant criminal history.
- The murder was committed when the defendant was under "extreme mental or emotional disturbance."
- The murdered individual consented to the homicidal act.
- The murder was committed in self-defense.
- The defendant wasn't present during the murder.
- The defendant has a background of extreme emotional or physical abuse.
- The defendant suffers from a reduced mental capacity.
(source: Quad Cities Online)