DeathWatch North CarolinaDeathWatch North CarolinaA blog dedicated to providing information about the death penalty in North Carolina and elsewhere. Includes news updates Monday through Friday, plus commentary and breaking news. Articles
Families? Mercy Leads to Life Sentences
2008-03-11 16:02:00 News Update 03.11.08 North Carolina In Forsyth County, Denny Carson Booth entered a plea to three consecutive terms of life without the possibility of parole, plus an additional 13 to 16 years. In 2004, Booth killed three people and seriously wounded one, including two law enforcement officers, in a rampage that still defies explanation. Prosecutors ... More About: News , Life , Leads , Death penalty
Executions - March 2008
2008-03-05 23:52:00 There are no executions presently scheduled for the month of March . More About: Death penalty , Executions , March 2008 , 2008
Jonte McLaurin Found Not Guilty
2008-03-04 18:36:00 News Update 03.04.08 North Carolina Jonte Devon McLaurin has been acquitted of murder. Instead, McLaurin was convicted of conspiracy to commit armed robbery for his part in a 2006 drug-related robbery gone wrong. If convicted of first-degree murder, McLaurin would have faced the death penalty. McLaurin’s co-defendant, Ryan Omar Simmons, is still awaiting trial. Elsewhere ... More About: News , Death penalty , Guilty
Death Row Inmate Dies
2008-02-28 16:12:00 Death row inmate Gary Dean Greene passed away yesterday after a long illness. He was 59 years old. More About: News , North Carolina , Death , Death penalty , Dies
McLaurin Jury Still Out
2008-02-27 15:57:00 News Update 02.27.08 North Carolina The jury is still out in the Fayetteville murder trial of Jonte McLaurin. McLaurin could face the death penalty if found guilty of shooting Jonathan Kencaid Lee during a botched robbery. Sister Helen Prejean spoke last night at First Presbyterian Church in Durham. She told the audience of her path to ...
Chatham County Seeks Death Penalty
2008-02-22 16:19:00 Orange and Chatham County prosecutors announced yesterday that they plan to seek the death penalty against Bobby Lee Person, who is accused of killing his mother last year. (The two adjoining counties share a district attorney. The crime occurred in Chatham County.) The announcement was a rare one, as neither county has sought death ... More About: News , North Carolina , Death , Death penalty
Life Sentence for Sean Ray
2008-02-21 16:46:00 News Update 02.21.08 North Carolina In Moore County, Sean Maurice Ray has entered a life-saving plea agreement for his role in a 2003 quadruple homicide. Ray, who is mentally retarded, was sentenced to four consecutive terms of life without parole. His co-defendant Mario Lynn Phillips was tried and sentenced to death in October. A third co-defendant will ... More About: News , Life , Minnesota , Death penalty
Vic Streib Comes to North Carolina
2008-02-18 16:01:00 News Update 02.18.08 North Carolina Victor Streib, a nationally known expert in women and the death penalty, has joined the faculty of Elon University School of Law. North Carolina ranks third nationwide, behind Texas and California, in the total number of women sentenced to death since the death penalty was reinstated in the mid-70s. You ...
Lisa Greene Sentenced to Life In Prison
2008-02-08 17:42:00 Breaking news here. The decision came about an hour after jurors reported to the judge that they were deadlocked and he ordered them to continue in their deliberations. More About: News , Life , North Carolina , Death penalty , Prison
Greene Jurors to Decide Life or Death
2008-02-07 16:18:00 News Update 02.07.08 North Carolina Jurors in the trial of Lisa Greene will begin their deliberations today, deciding whether Greene should be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole or to the death penalty. There are four women on North Carolina’s death row, and over a hundred serving sentences of life without parole. Chapel Hill residents ... More About: News , Life , Death , Death penalty
Tim Hennis Argues Army Has No Jurisdiction
2008-02-05 16:02:00 News Update 02.05.08 North Carolina Yesterday a dozen friends and family members testified on behalf of Lisa Greene, urging the jury to spare her life. Some said they didn’t believe Greene was guilty, others said that the death penalty would only bring more pain to a family that has already endured the loss of two children. ... More About: Army
No Death Penalty for Turner
2008-02-01 16:30:00 News Update 02.01.08 North Carolina The State has opted not to seek the death penalty against Dr. Kirk Turner , the Davie County dentist accused of killing his wife in their home last September. Prosecutors are still seeking a sentence of life without parole. Turner’s attorneys presented letters of support from 55 members of the community, ... More About: News , Death , Death penalty
No Mistrial for Greene
2008-02-01 16:16:00 The judge presiding over the Lisa Greene case has decided not to declare a mistrial, despite evidence that a juror discussed the case with at least two outside persons, telling them that he was convinced Greene was guilty “from the get-go” and expressing irritation at other jurors who wanted to hear the evidence before making ... More About: News , North Carolina , Death penalty , Mistrial
Executions - February 2008
2008-02-01 15:37:00 21 - Karl Eugene Chamberlain (TX - stay likely) 28 - Michael Bardo (PA - stay likely) More About: Death penalty , Executions , February 2008 , February , 2008
State Seeks Death Against Tommy Lee Holiday
2008-01-31 17:00:00 News Update 01.31.08 North Carolina Nash County prosecutors have formally announced their intent to seek death against Tommy Lee Holiday , who is accused of killing a Meals on Wheels worker in 2007. Another woman survived the attack. The case has gained attention from white supremacists because Holiday is black and the victims are white. ... More About: News , Louisiana
Lisa Greene Found Guilty
2008-01-30 22:35:00 The six men and six women chosen to sit on Lisa Greene ’s jury have found her guilty. Just two hours earlier they reported to the judge that they were deadlocked - it is unclear what happened to change their minds. Greene was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder, one count of first-degree arson, ... More About: News , North Carolina , Death penalty
Lisa Greene Jury Reports Deadlock
2008-01-30 20:37:00 After 12 hours of deliberations, jurors in the trial of Lisa Greene have reported that they are at an impasse. The judge ordered the jury to take their lunch break and return to deliberations this afternoon. Greene stands accused of killing her two children, Addison and Daniel, by setting fire to their home. The ... More About: News , North Carolina , Death penalty
11th Circuit Orders Callahan Execution
2008-01-30 19:23:00 This morning, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals lifted the stay of execution granted to James Callahan by a federal district court in Alabama in December. The two judges in the majority held that Callahan filed his lethal injection complaint too late, and refused to consider any of the constitutional issues he raised. ... More About: Death penalty , Executions , Lethal injection , Orders
Biblical Evil
2008-01-29 17:59:00 News Update 01.29.08 North Carolina “I do believe that there is biblical evil that lives among us, and for some crimes you give up the right to be here on the earth.” You might expect these words to pass the lips of a conservative, Religious Right Republican, but it was a little shocking to hear them from ... More About: News , Death penalty , Evil , Biblical
Lisa Greene Jury to Begin Deliberations
2008-01-24 18:37:00 News Update 01.24.08 North Carolina In Concord, the defense has given its closing argument in the trial of Lisa Greene. The prosecution will continue its argument today. If convicted, Greene could be sentenced to death. Throughout Lisa Greene’s murder trial, prosecutors have suggested Greene, a professional photographer who uses props in her work, may have staged ... More About: News , Death penalty , Laughlin
Murder and the Military
2008-01-15 17:34:00 News Update 01.15.08 North Carolina Over the weekened, The New York Times ran a piece about 120 servicemen (and one woman) who have come home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, unable to leave combat mentality behind, and committed murder on American soil. DW immediately thought of North Carolina, home to Fort Bragg and ... More About: News , Murder , Military , Death penalty
Durham and Moore DAs Seek Death
2008-01-09 16:26:00 News Update 01.09.08 North Carolina Testimony continues in the trial of Lisa Greene. In Durham, there is debate over whether prosecutors will be able to seek the death penalty against Jasmond Jevon “Catfish” Rogers for his role in a June drive-by shooting. The assistant district attorney failed to give the defense advance notice of his decision to ... More About: News , Death , Death penalty , Moore
Lethal Injection Arguments Heard
2008-01-07 21:03:00 The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Baze v. Rees this morning. You can listen here using Windows Media Player. The transcript (early version, some typos) is available here. SCOTUSBlog has some initial thoughts, as do the LA Times and the Washington Post. It has been clear from the beginning that this case ... More About: News , Death penalty , Lethal injection , Injection
Cert Granted in Kennedy v. Louisiana
2008-01-04 22:06:00 The U.S. Supreme court announced today that it will consider whether the Eighth Amendment bar on cruel and unusual punishments prohibits capital punishment for the crime of child rape. Basic info here. Prior related posts here and here. SCOTUSBlog provides links to: Opinion of the Louisiana Supreme Court Petition for certiorari Brief in opposition Petitioner’s reply Amicus briefs for Louisiana Public ... More About: News , Death penalty , Kennedy
Violette Declared Insane
2008-01-04 16:11:00 News Update 01.04.08 North Carolina In Johnston County, a man accused of beheading his daughter has been found insane. Three doctors, including the one working for the State, testified that John Violette stabbed his daughter because he believed she was an evil spirit. After the killing, he rushed to the airport, where he hoped to ... More About: News , Insane , Death penalty , Clar
Looking Ahead to Baze v. Rees
2008-01-02 17:23:00 News Update 01.02.08 North Carolina Love Lived on Death Row screenings: January 22 - Charlotte, 7 PM, St. Matthews Catholic Church January 25 - Raleigh, 7 PM, St. Francis of Assisi January 29 - Charlotte,7 PM, Duke Power Theater March 27 - Asheville, 7 PM, Diana Wortham Theater Elsewhere Thoughts and predictions for next week’s argument in Baze v. Rees from CCR and ... More About: News , Death penalty , Lethal injection , Ahead
Executions - January 2008
2008-01-02 16:22:00 3 - Paul Dennis Reid (TN - stayed) 9 - Edward Harbison (TN - stayed) 17 - Bobby Woods (TX - stayed) 24 - John Spirko (OH) 31 - James Callahan (AL) More About: January , Executions , January 2008 , 2008
2007 Death Penalty Quick Facts for North Carolina
2008-01-02 00:22:00 Total number of executions: 0 NC-based lethal injection litigation (see here, here, here, and here) National lethal injection litigation (Baze v. Rees) Total number of new death sentences: 3 Eugene Johnny Williams (black male, Cumberland County) Byron Lamar Waring (black male, Wake County) Mario Lynn Phillips (black male, Moore County) Persons released from death row: 2 Rex Penland (charges reduced, time served) Jonathan Hoffman ... More About: Facts , North Carolina , North , Quick , Death
Murder Charge Dropped Against James Johnson
2007-12-20 21:42:00 News Update 12/20/07 North Carolina A special prosecutor has found insufficient evidence to support the first-degree murder charge against James Johnson . Johnson spent over three years in prison, despite the lack of physical evidence against him and the insistence of the killer than Johnson was not involved. Johnson, who went to the police shortly after ... More About: News , Murder , Charge
Moore County Seeks Death Against Four
More articles from this author:2007-12-19 16:26:00 News Update 12.19.07 North Carolina Moore County DAs have announced their intention to seek the death penalty against four men accused of killing a Cameron girl in September. Michael Graham Currie, Ryan Jemar White, Perry Ross Schiro, and Sherrod Nicholas Harrison are all under the age of 21. A fifth person is too young to ... More About: News , Death , Death penalty 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
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