| Blog and Media Roundup - Friday, October 30, 2009; News Roundup | |
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| Topic Started: Oct 30 2009, 05:27 AM (375 Views) | |
| abb | Oct 30 2009, 05:27 AM Post #1 |
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http://dukechronicle.com/article/dupd-officer-given-public-attorney DUPD officer given public attorney By Staff Reports October 30, 2009 A Duke police officer arrested this week on rape and sodomy charges in Dothan, Ala. was declared indigent Wednesday. District Court Judge John Steensland appointed Dothan attorney Valerie Judah to represent Webster Simmons, the Dothan Eagle reported Wednesday. Simmons, 37 and a patrol officer at the Duke University Police Department, was arrested Monday for allegedly assaulting a 34-year-old woman early Saturday morning after they left a night club together. Simmons is on paid leave from DUPD and is being held in the Houston County jail in Alabama on $120,000 bond, but told Steensland he had been terminated and could not afford to hire an attorney, according to the Dothan Eagle. “I received a letter from my employer that I was terminated,” Simmons told Steensland. “I have nothing. I own nothing, zero zilch.” The woman and Simmons knew each other, Houston County Sheriff Andy Hughes said Tuesday, adding that the woman may have been drugged. Police say an attack took place while the woman was unconscious inside Simmons’ vehicle, where the woman woke up handcuffed and gagged during the alleged assault, but became unconscious again. Samples of the woman’s blood and ties used in the alleged assault have been sent to labs to test for DNA evidence. Chief John Dailey of the Duke University Police Department said Tuesday that although there is no evidence of misbehavior, DUPD will open a routine investigation into Simmons’ conduct at Duke. |
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| abb | Oct 30 2009, 05:27 AM Post #2 |
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http://dukechronicle.com/article/wake-scandal-keep-developing-duke In wake of scandal, keep developing Duke By Editorial Board October 30, 2009 In a state famous for its corruption, scandal is no surprise. University of Illinois officials were caught red-handed last May in an embarrassing admissions scheme. A Chicago Tribune investigation revealed that both U of I Trustees and Illinois politicians successfully pushed less-qualified students on a “clout list” through the admissions process. E-mail conversations incriminated the U of I president, chancellor and admissions officials, and all have since resigned. But what may be politics as usual in Illinois has sparked a national debate surrounding preferential treatment in the undergraduate admissions process, specifically those admitted because of their wealth or connections. Although we can’t compare the events at Illinois to the admissions process at Duke—U of I is a public institution, beholden to Illinois taxpayers—given the larger conversation within the higher education community, it is an appropriate time to evaluate the merit of development admits at Duke. Accepting individuals because of their family’s financial privilege is a bit unsettling, but pursuing development admits is good for the University as a whole as long as it is done in a prudent, controlled manner. In 2006, The Wall Street Journal described Duke’s “winning strategy” of systematically admitting development cases. This praise was merited, as contributions from these students’ families helped transform Duke from a homogenous southern college to a prestigious, international university. Without these development cases, our University would look a lot different today. Development admits have served us well in the past, and although the number of such cases has likely declined since the University achieved its meteoric rise in the rankings, they still serve a purpose today. For one, donations from wealthy families helped to fuel our recent financial aid initiative, allowing Duke to recruit hundreds of students from lower economic backgrounds and admit students on a need-blind basis. In addition to making our endowment competitive among elite universities, money from development admits also goes directly to improving our facilities and developing University projects, two defining features of our institution. And given our current financial situation, these donations could play a small role in helping Duke ride out budget shortfalls. This practice of catering to the wealthy, however, does raise some concerns. But for now, Duke has successfully managed attracting development admits without compromising the academic experience of the University. Moreover, Duke is not haphazard in admitting its students, and as far as we are concerned, the admissions office has a very high standard for each individual they admit into the incoming class, development case or not. At the end of the day, the admissions process at a highly selective university is not a zero-sum game—one development admit cannot “take” a spot away from another prospective student. And with so many different factors contributing to each admissions decision, it is not unreasonable that the potential to contribute financially to the University should differentiate two well-qualified applicants. As long as development cases continue to better—not challenge or change—the character of Duke, they are a useful tool to maintain and enhance our University’s prestige. |
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| abb | Oct 30 2009, 05:28 AM Post #3 |
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http://www.heraldsun.com/pages/full_story_news_durham/push?article-Students+cross-examine+judge+at+murder+trial%20&id=4205783-Students+cross-examine+judge+at+murder+trial&instance=main_article Students cross-examine judge at murder trial 10.29.09 - 10:00 pm By JOHN MCCANN jmccann@heraldsun.com; 419-6601 DURHAM -- Just doing his duty inside the Durham County Judicial Building, Durham County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Calvin Brooks on Thursday whisked a group of guys into a fifth-floor courtroom. Not that they were in trouble or anything. The crew of well-dressed, young, black men from Hillside New Tech High School dropped in on Keith Kidwell's first-degree murder trial and got a crash course in the legal system. Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson is presiding over the Kidwell case, and the judge from his bench took time before going on lunch break to let the students reprise lawyers' roles and pepper him with questions. The students' interests ranged from jury selection to the courtroom bailiffs. Hudson explained how lawyers have the power to excuse potential jurors if they aren't to the attorneys' liking based on how they respond to inquiries designed to assess their fitness for cases. And bailiffs, assigned through the Sheriff's Office, are not in place solely to serve as bodyguards for the judges -- the deputies are on their posts looking after everybody in the courthouse, Hudson said. One student asked Hudson how somebody becomes a judge. "Well, certain things are essential. You have to be good-looking," Hudson quipped. A judge has to be really smart, too -- smarter than the lawyers, he added. Getting serious, Hudson explained that he's an elected official, although some judges are appointed by the governor. "It means you gotta be a politician," Hudson said. "Which I hate." Hudson told the students to keep their noses clean, because becoming a judge requires staying out of trouble. He said they're positioned at Hillside to get a good start toward becoming judges, because the school is a good one with a lot of tradition, and some of the lawyers around here are Hillside products. Another student wanted to know how Hudson handles having the fate of folks' lives in his hands. The judge said it comes down to knowing the law. It also helps to understand the personalities of the two lawyers who are trying either to send somebody to prison or to keep the person out. Fortunately, in the Kidwell case, District Attorney Tracey Cline and defense lawyer Lisa Williams have a history of working well with one other ... "Just joking," said Hudson, alluding to the snipping Cline and Williams have directed toward each another during this trial. Before the judge sent the jury out for lunch, the students got a chance to watch a little law get practiced. One of the students observed court reporter Allen McClung talking into a funky machine that helps him record what's said in court. Hudson told the students that all he knew is McClung's contraption is an expensive piece of equipment, and the judge suggested it's one thing in the courtroom about which he isn't proficient. "You have to be smart and good-looking," the court reporter deadpanned. |
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| abb | Oct 30 2009, 05:56 AM Post #4 |
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http://www.newsobserver.com/news/local_state/story/165233.html Published Fri, Oct 30, 2009 02:00 AM Modified Fri, Oct 30, 2009 04:26 AM Inmates quietly pursue release In courthouses across the state recently, inmates have made simple, quiet pleas for release, saying they've satisfied the state's punishment of life in prison. There was no fussing, no political grandstanding. In a few cases, there wasn't even a debate. "For us, it's an open-and-shut issue based on the law. No politics here," said Fred Flowers, an attorney in the southwestern North Carolina town of Shelby. He won a local judge's order this year for the release of an inmate sentenced to life for a murder and burglary committed in the 1970s. The inmate has not yet been released. The state's higher courts have ruled that legislators limited life sentences imposed on crimes between 1974 and 1978 to 80 years. Inmates have argued that credits awarded for good behavior, work release and educational endeavors have cut some of their sentences to as little as 30 or 35 years. These cases are proceeding apart from those of 27 such inmates who were scheduled to be set free Thursday. But state officials have blocked their release until the courts decide whether those credits were legitimately awarded by prison officials. The debate this month has showcased tough-talking by Gov. Beverly Perdue and emotional pleas by the families of victims whose killers and rapists were to be freed. Bobby E. Bowden, a Cumberland County man who once faced execution for the murders of a young mother and a store clerk, has become the poster child of this push. "Bowden's motion got people perked up," said Staples Hughes, the state appellate defender whose office represented Bowden at the state Court of Appeals. "It spread from there." In prison, word of one inmate's strategies for some sort of legal relief often spreads to other prisoners in camps far away. A roommate gets a transfer and shares the tips his former roomie taught. A mom clips a newspaper article about one inmate's situation and mails it to her son. One by one, the inmates scribble motions in cells across the state. Each asks to argue for himself before a hometown judge. Sometimes, an inmate might even bribe a savvier inmate with a week's worth of soda to help craft a motion for relief. "Any sniff of information that may pass by another man is fully inhaled by someone like this," Flowers said about his client, Wilbur William Folston. "It becomes his passion, and his antenna was already up." For one, a long wait On Wednesday, in a modest courtroom in Yanceyville, an attorney for inmate John Reynolds agreed with an assistant district attorney that Reynolds' two life sentences equaled 80 years a piece. They drafted an order together and handed it up to Superior Court Judge Gary E. Traywick. Traywick signed the order, which directed the Department of Correction to tabulate an exact release date for Reynolds, factoring in all the days he was due for good behavior credits. No one from the Department of Correction, the Attorney General's Office or the Governor's Office attended the hearing. For Reynolds, a 57-year-old convicted murderer and rapist, release won't be anytime soon. He received back-to-back life sentences in 1978. One inmate's efforts The end could be in sight, though, for Folston, who was convicted of murder in Cleveland County in 1976. Folston appealed to a Cleveland County judge in 2006 to apply a limit of 80 years to his life term. He also asked that his good time credits be applied. A judge there granted his request, though the state Attorney General's Office has since asked that the matter be put on hold until Bowden's case was decided. Last week, Folston, who is in a prison in the western Piedmont, hand-wrote another motion, this time asking for help because he says he is being held illegally. A judge will hear that plea in December. mandy.locke@newsobserver.com or 919-829-8927 |
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| abb | Oct 30 2009, 05:57 AM Post #5 |
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http://www.newsobserver.com/news/local_state/story/165236.html Published Fri, Oct 30, 2009 02:00 AM Modified Thu, Oct 29, 2009 11:41 PM Back in '72, Bob Scott went ballistic and got off scot-free RALEIGH While the investigation of former Gov. Mike Easley has created a sensation in the state capital, 39 years ago there was nearly as much scrutiny over then-Gov. Bob Scott. Through much of 1972, Scott was in the headlines, sparring with federal investigators and the press as the Internal Revenue Service probed whether his 1968 gubernatorial campaign received illegal corporate contributions disguised as tax-deductible business expenses. Scott, a Democrat, suggested that he was the victim of a Republican vendetta. The IRS' regional counsel recommended the prosecution of 13 of Scott's top campaign associates on charges that they conspired for the purpose of "defeating" federal income taxes in connection with contributions to Scott's 1968 campaign. Scott said he would not sit idly by while 13 of his friends were "nailed to a political cross." Easley has not been so confrontational. He had his campaign pay for some unreported flights on private planes, and he testified willingly when many lawyers thought it was a lousy idea. And Thursday, he had his lawyer, Thomas Hicks, ask the State Board of Elections to refer charges to the Wake District Attorney's Office in an effort to clear his name. Scott had a different plan. He said the prosecution was "beautifully timed to have its maximum impact on the current political scene and at a time when the Nixon administration itself was being embarrassed by disclosures of improper and seemingly illegal handling of illegal campaign funds." (That would be Watergate.) Scott asked U.S. Attorney General Richard Kleindienst to conduct an investigation into whether the IRS leaked details of the investigation to the press. Nothing came of that. The governor also battled with the press, particularly The News & Observer, which began looking more deeply into his campaign finances, including what happened to a sack with $4,000 in cash given to Scott in Macon County in 1968, but that never showed up in the campaign report. When reporter Pat Stith and editor Claude Sitton began asking Scott more questions, Scott turned down a request for an interview. In a letter to Stith, Scott wrote: "Whoever is putting the heat on you can forget it. Your editor is not doing me any favors and I don't intend to do him any." The federal government ultimately did not press charges against the Scott campaign. But 1972 turned out to be a watershed year for Republicans; North Carolina elected its first Republican governor, Jim Holshouser, and the first Republican senator, Jesse Helms, of the century. Years later, when Scott's daughter, Agriculture Commissioner Meg Scott Phipps, was prosecuted for campaign finance irregularities, Easley called for her resignation as state agriculture commissioner. An angry Scott called Easley and threatened to run against him in the 2004 Democratic re-election primary. He actually phrased it more colorfully. Easley has never been so demonstrative. Today, as the elections board decides this case, we will start to see whether that has been a wise course. rob.christensen@newsobserver.com or 919-829-4532 |
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| abb | Oct 30 2009, 05:58 AM Post #6 |
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http://www.newsobserver.com/news/local_state/story/165237.html Published Fri, Oct 30, 2009 02:00 AM Modified Thu, Oct 29, 2009 11:41 PM Easley quietly pays state for old campaign flights The campaign of former Gov. Mike Easley has paid the state about $2,821 for a handful of flights that it says the governor took while campaigning. The Easley committee made the payment a week ago to the State Board of Elections as officials were issuing subpoenas to several aircraft owners to whom the payments are tied. The payment was disclosed publicly Thursday. A lawyer for the campaign, John Wallace, wrote that the flights likely took place and "could be construed" as related to Easley's campaign but were not disclosed in reports. The five flights were included in a News & Observer series in May that raised questions about what supporters provided for Easley. Easley's lawyers said that two other flights mentioned in the newspaper's series could be considered Democratic Party flights that Easley was not required to pay for. The repayments included: Two flights on a plane belonging to a company owned by Cameron McRae, a Bojangles' franchiser from Kinston. One was in 2003 and one was in 2004. Easley appointed him to the state Board of Transportation; he resigned earlier this year. A flight in 2004 on a plane owned by Rusty Carter, a Wilmington packaging company president and college fraternity brother to Easley. Easley twice appointed Carter as a trustee at UNC-Chapel Hill. A flight in 2003 on a plane owned by Cress Horne, owner of a helicopter company known for filming movie scenes. Easley appointed Horne to the state Aeronautics Council. They also said they identified nine flights Easley took with McQueen Campbell but determined that a disputed invoice for $4,777.50 covered the cost. Campbell valued those flights at $23,490, however, and has said he wasn't paid for flights. He said that check was for repairs to Easley's home. |
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| abb | Oct 30 2009, 05:59 AM Post #7 |
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http://www.newsobserver.com/news/local_state/story/165240.html Published Fri, Oct 30, 2009 02:00 AM Modified Fri, Oct 30, 2009 06:46 AM Easley's lawyer stuns board, asks that DA get the case RALEIGH After four days of putting the campaigns of Gov. Mike Easley and the N.C. Democratic Party under the microscope, the State Board of Elections expects to decide today whether a criminal probe is needed. On Thursday, Easley's personal attorney told them to skip the deliberation. "The question is: 'Do you refer the case to the district attorney?' " said Thomas Hicks. "Please do." Easley and his campaign committee are under investigation over free air travel and a free vehicle, home repairs billed to the campaign, and evidence that the campaign used the state Democratic Party to skirt contribution limits. On Thursday, attorneys for Easley, his campaign committee and the state party argued to the board that in many cases only minor transgressions occurred that should be resolved with fines from the board. But Hicks' request that the case go to a prosecutor drew a double-take from board Chairman Larry Leake, who asked whether Hicks had talked with his client before speaking. Hicks said the governor told him to say it, even though he and Hicks say there is no case. "No matter what happens, the public is going to question, 'Did Mike Easley slip one over on the board?' " Hicks said. "He's saying refer it. That's his position." Whether the district attorney could handle it is another matter. Wake County District Attorney Colon Willoughby, who would normally get the case, is a longtime friend of the governor. Easley's son, Michael Jr., a law student, worked for the prosecutor this summer. Leake and other board members said they would not make a referral based on Easley's request. They said they can make referrals only when they suspect a crime. Witnesses and campaign documents have suggested that the campaign asked donors to give sums to the party that exceeded what they could legally give directly to Easley. The party, which can take unlimited donations, then would channel that money to the campaign, according to witnesses and documents. Mistakes called minor Lawyers for the Democratic Party and Easley's campaign committee had no desire to roll the dice with prosecutors. They said that the transgressions involving unreported flights and the vehicle were minor and were corrected. They said they did not scheme to launder contributions. "I have not heard evidence, and there is no evidence, that the Mike Easley Committee engaged in illegal fundraising activities in any way," said John Wallace, a Raleigh lawyer representing the Easley campaign. Scott Falmlen, the party's executive director from 1999 to 2005, took the stand Thursday and denied any scheme to raise funds illegally. He said he had complete control of money raised by the Easley campaign that had been turned over to the party. The board introduced more documents indicating that such a scheme was afoot within the Easley campaign, including one that included a diagram of a "soft money" pyramid that made clear the advantage of collecting big money from a few instead of smaller amounts from many. Other documents showed that the party had taken on basic campaign expenses, such as paying the salary and benefits of employees. "This is where we are going," said Bob Hall, executive director of Democracy North Carolina, a nonpartisan campaign watchdog that supports public financing of elections. "You can set up a shadow campaign within the party." Hall urged the board to find that the law was broken. The board may be limited in what action it can take. Many of the events took place more than two years ago, past the statute of limitations on misdemeanors. The board could find that the Democratic Party and Easley's campaign knowingly filed false reports, which is a felony and not subject to that limit. Two men, two tales The board will also be weighing contradictory stories from Easley and McQueen Campbell, a longtime friend and fundraiser . Easley testified Wednesday that he never said or implied to Campbell, a private pilot who often flew Easley, that he should bill $11,000 in home repairs to the campaign under the guise of air travel. Campbell dropped that bombshell when he took the stand Monday. Hicks told the board that Campbell was caught in one lie and then told another. "I would suggest to you that there are a lot of things going on with McQueen Campbell that this board should scrutinize very closely," Hicks said. He acknowledged outside the hearing room that a criminal probe could hit Easley with numerous charges relating to his relationship with Campbell, including fraud and conspiracy. "McQueen Campbell is saying, 'I did a crime. But I conspired with the governor to do it. The governor conspired with me to defraud his campaign,' " Hicks said. GOP flights also unpaid Hicks' request for a criminal investigation wasn't the only surprise Thursday. The Easley campaign had a private investigator testify that three GOP gubernatorial candidates had not reported paying for some flights during their campaigns. Two, Fred Smith of Clayton and Bill Graham of Salisbury, either own or co-own planes. Smith said Thursday night that he had gotten approval not to bill his campaign from the Board of Elections. Board staff told him that because he owned the plane he could treat it as he would his car, he said. The Democratic Party also attacked the allegations that it channeled money to Easley. The party's attorney, Jim Cooney, said GOP contributors who hit limits in former Charlotte Mayor Richard Vinroot's 2000 gubernatorial campaign went on to give to the Republican Party. Combined, they gave $80,000 to the party, almost to the dollar what the party gave to Vinroot's campaign. "Folks who have maxed out to a candidate can and often do make contributions to the party," said Andrew Whalen, the N.C. Democratic Party's executive director. Jane Pinsky, who leads the N.C. Coalition for Lobbying and Government Reform, said the party's defense served only to illustrate serious problems with campaign finance. "It's like a kid saying, 'I want to do it because everybody else is,' " she said. dan.kane@newsobserver. com or 919-829-4861 |
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| abb | Oct 30 2009, 06:03 AM Post #8 |
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http://www.newsobserver.com/news/counties/durham_county/story/165168.html Published Fri, Oct 30, 2009 03:35 AM Modified Fri, Oct 30, 2009 03:42 AM No tax hike, city of Durham hopes DURHAM City Manager Tom Bonfield said Thursday that the city administration does not expect a hike in the property-tax rate next year. So far. "There is nothing being contemplated at this point," he said. "I'm not saying it's not a possibility." County Manager Mike Ruffin told county commissioners this week that an increase in the county's property-tax rate will probably be required in light of projections for falling revenue and rising expenses. The city has not started its budget process for 2010-11 yet, Bonfield said. He expects a report on the current fiscal year's first-quarter income and spending "in a couple of weeks." Those figures will give a basis for preliminary projections. Bonfield is introducing three-year financial planning at City Hall, replacing the conventional process of budgeting year by year. Preliminary work on a plan for 2010-13 should be done by the end of 2009, he said. |
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| abb | Oct 30 2009, 06:13 AM Post #9 |
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http://justice4nifong.blogspot.com/2009/10/staples-hughes-calls-out-media-bias.html Tuesday, October 27, 2009 Staples Hughes calls out media bias In the People’s Forum of today’s (October 27, 2009) News & Observer, there is a letter from Appellate Defender Staples Hughes titled “Trumped-up danger." The open letter reinforces what the Committee on Justice for Mike Nifong has longed complained about… the media bias. He accurately points out how the most subtle change in a headline or article can have monumental influence on how the public perceives the message delivered. In referring to the imminent release of twenty-some inmates who have served their life sentences (as defined by the General Assembly years ago), Attorney Hughes makes the following statement: “The governor (Bev Perdue) distracts the public from the real problems facing North Carolina. The attorney general, having lost in our cautious and conservative appellate courts, pressures the next elected Superior Court judge before whom the Bowden case comes to make decisions based not on the law, but on the headlines. The strategy would be quaint were it not so irresponsible and dismissive of the rule of law.” Staples Hughes is right on with his assessment. Manipulation of the media was never used as successfully as it was in the persecution of former Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong. The prosecutor of the Duke Lacrosse case, Mike Nifong, who was for nearly three decades a conscientious public servant of the highest professional integrity, was blatantly and falsely painted by the media, locally and nationally, as an unethical monster eager to destroy the vulnerable and innocent Duke Lacrosse defendants. Nothing could be further from the truth. However the media has much sway, as is evidenced by its successfully ambitious campaign to malign and destroy Mr. Nifong in the public view. The Committee on Justice for Mike Nifong applauds Attorney Staples Hughes for his courageous statements in the interests of justice. He serves as a true role model for attorneys and laypeople who believe in equal justice for all and the rule of law. |
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| abb | Oct 30 2009, 06:16 AM Post #10 |
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http://durhamcounty.mync.com/site/durhamcounty/news|Sports|Lifestyles/story/43747/former-judge-speaks-out-on-potential-inmate-release Former Judge Speaks Out On Potential Inmate Release By NBC-17, NBC17, 1 day, 14 hours ago Updated: Oct. 28 6:22 pm DURHAM, N.C. - The same judge who demanded state lawmakers crack down on gang violence following the murder of UNC President Eve Carson is speaking out again. "It's a question of the law," retired Durham district court judge Craig Brown said. When it comes to the proposed release of multiple inmates from North Carolina prisons Brown said the law is very clear. The inmates were sentenced under the law in 1974 and when their sentences are combined with good behavior credits, they should be released. "The law requires that the inmate serve his or her sentence as defined by the law at the time they were sentenced," he said. Brown, however, argues the law should be changed to allow for electronic monitoring of released prisoners. It's one of the points in his new book "Blind Justice," a play on words because Brown is blind. "There is no such thing and no provision for the use of GPS technology (under parole guidelines)," Brown said. In 2008 when it was announced the murders of Carson and Duke Grad student Abhijit Mahato were possibly gang related, Judge Brown pleaded from the bench for then-Governor Mike Easley to call a special legislative session to work on gang violence. Brown said an ankle bracelet can monitor people anywhere continuously "I certainly think the public would feel safer about these offenders being released when they've served their sentences," Brown said. If the law were revised to allow electronic monitoring, Brown said the state could even save money. He said it costs $78 per day to keep someone in jail, compared with $10 per day to monitor them with an ankle bracelet. "It seems to me that the time is right in conjunction with the further development of technology for us to seriously take a look at North Carolina criminal law," he said. "Blind Justice" is already on store shelves. |
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| abb | Oct 30 2009, 06:18 AM Post #11 |
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http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/103009/new_510565283.shtml Death penalty fought in Carson case By Joe Johnson | joe.johnson@onlineathens.com | Story updated at 12:09 am on 10/30/2009 Attorneys for one of the two men accused of murdering Clarke Central High School graduate and University of North Carolina student body president Eve Marie Carson want a federal judge to take the death penalty off the table. Prosecutors "arbitrarily" selected 23-year-old Demario James Atwater for the death penalty and violated federal protocols for seeking a death sentence, the attorneys argue in motions filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Greensboro, N.C. The case is the first federal death penalty case in North Carolina since passage of the Federal Death Penalty Act of 2004. The other man accused of murdering Carson on March 5, 2008 - Laurence Lovette Jr. - was 17 at the time, too young for capital punishment under state and federal law. Authorities allege Atwater and Lovette kidnapped Carson from her home in Chapel Hill, N.C., forced her into her Toyota Highlander and drove to ATMs to withdraw $1,400 from her bank account. They then drove to a quiet neighborhood not far from Carson's home, where Lovette shot her four times with a pistol and Atwater shot her once with a shotgun, according to court documents. Carson, 22, was valedictorian of Clarke Central High School's Class of 2004. Atwater and Lovette both face state charges that include first-degree murder, kidnapping and armed robbery, but only Atwater has been indicted in federal court. "The criteria that Atwater is death eligible because he is not a minor is not a sufficient justification for him standing trial alone in federal court," wrote Kimberly Stevens, one of two attorneys who represent Atwater. "If this case was truly about justice, and not simply about obtaining a death sentence, the federal government would have indicted Lovette," Stevens said. Atwater's other attorney was hospitalized with a serious illness in September 2008 when Stevens appeared alone before the federal Capital Case Review Committee in Washington, D.C., to argue against the death penalty, according to her motion. "The defendant was thus deprived of the benefit of his two appointed attorneys with regard to the strategic decisions that had to be made during the only committee meeting that was granted the defendant prior to the attorney general's decision authorizing death," Stevens argues. The defense attorneys asked for another meeting with the review committee when they could both represent Atwater, but a prosecutor informed them in August that the four-member panel denied the request. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lynne Klauer would not comment on the claim that prosecutors arbitrarily selected Atwater for the death penalty. "We will respond to all of the particular arguments in writings to the court," Klauer said Thursday. But prosecutors followed the proper procedures for seeking the death penalty, she said. "The protocol for authorizing the death penalty requires thorough and multi-layered review of each case to make sure there is a fair and even-handed application of the death penalty," she said. "The very purpose of that whole process is to avoid anything that might seem arbitrary and capricious." Federal prosecutors have until Nov. 20 to respond to the five defense motions that were filed Wednesday, two of which were sealed by the court. Atwater's federal trial was scheduled to begin Monday, but U.S. District Judge James Beaty Jr., chief judge for North Carolina's Middle District, rescheduled the proceeding for May 10. Prosecutors in North Carolina's Orange County have said they will wait until the federal case has ended before putting Atwater and Lovette on trial for the state charges. Originally published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Friday, October 30, 2009 |
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| abb | Oct 30 2009, 06:23 AM Post #12 |
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http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=103188&provider=gnews Jury candidate uses duty paycheck to benefit families Anthony Welsch 1 hr ago Living about one mile from the apartment complex where law enforcement believe Channon Christian and Chris Newsom were carjacked, Anne Hammer was familiar with the crime. Working for a cross-town location of the same Knoxville department store as Gary Christian, Channon's father, she can remember seeing a young Channon Christian dancing on the loading dock of the store. With that kind of a background, it's easy to understand how Hammer couldn't believe it when she received a summons for jury duty as the county selected the panel that ultimately convicted Lemaricus Davidson of double-murder. "I got a little nervous, having worked with Mr. Christian, I knew I probably wouldn't be chosen but you still have to go because it's your duty," said Hammer, a Knoxville resident. The day she opened the envelope, Hammer says she started to shake. "My jaw just dropped open for about an hour," she said. "The whole thing runs through your mind, you could be chosen to make the very important decision that is going to effect everybody's life." While she was not selected as part of the jury making that big decision, she had already made up her mind about what she'd do with the $27 Knox County paid her for her time as a jury candidate. "I knew I was not going to keep the money, I didn't know what I'd do with it. It's just 27 dollars, it's not the amount. There's nothing I could do with this 27 dollars that would do anything for me more than it would for these families," she said. Friday, she plans to march into a SunTrust bank and deposit the check into an account set aside for the Christian and Newsom families. In her mind, she's paying it forward. Her mother, not a jury candidate, is matching her donation. "I feel ike it's not mine to spend, it's not mine to do anything with. Sure, I could go to a movie or go out to eat with friends but the whole time I'm going to be thinking of this trial and those two kids and what they went through and I just can't spend it," she said. |
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| abb | Oct 30 2009, 06:24 AM Post #13 |
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http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/oct/30/cobbins-gets-protective-custody-prison/ Cobbins gets protective custody in prison By News Sentinel staff Friday, October 30, 2009 A co-defendant convicted for his role in the torture slayings of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom is in protective custody at a prison in West Tennessee. Letalvis Cobbins, 26, expressed concern for his safety while being classified at a Nashville prison by the Tennessee Department of Correction, according to Department of Correction spokeswoman Dorinda Carter. "Based on his statements that he feared for his safety, the warden in Nashville recommended to the warden at Hardeman (County Correctional Center) that he be removed from the general (prison) population," Carter said. Carter said she did not know the specifics of his concern or whether an internal investigation was ordered as a result. Cobbins was moved to Hardeman last Friday and is in a protective custody unit at the Whiteville facility, which is run by the Corrections Corporation of America. Cobbins, 26, was convicted in August of first-degree murder in the death of Christian and of facilitating the murder of Newsom in January 2007 and sentenced to life without parole. |
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| abb | Oct 30 2009, 06:26 AM Post #14 |
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http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/oct/30/help-too-late-davidson-doctor-says/ Help was too late for Davidson, doctor says Convicted killer's childhood called 'ominous sign' By Jamie Satterfield Friday, October 30, 2009 Too little, too late. That was the conclusion of psychiatrist Dr. Peter Brown about the help extended to convicted torture-slaying ringleader Lemaricus Davidson in his late teens after years spent in an abusive, chaotic environment. "I hate to be pessimistic," Brown told jurors Thursday as they prepared to decide Davidson's fate in the January 2007 slayings of Channon Christian, 21, and Christopher Newsom, 23. "(But) there is nothing we can say they could have done (that) would fix this." Brown was referring to group home mother Alice Rhea and foster parents Carl Rudd and Flo Rudd, all of whom testified about their efforts to rescue a then 16-year-old Davidson from a childhood marked by his mother's crack addiction, physical abuse and neglect. Given Brown's insistence that Davidson, now 28, seemed doomed to a life of violence, one might imagine that his role Thursday was to prop up efforts by prosecutors Leland Price and Takisha Fitzgerald to convince jurors to sentence Davidson to death. Instead, it was Davidson's defense team, David Eldridge and Doug Trant, who sent Brown to the witness stand. Davidson was convicted Wednesday after a nine-day trial of a slew of crimes, ranging from murder to kidnapping to rape. Jurors returned Thursday to hear testimony in the debate over his punishment. In a bit of Knox County judicial history, Judge Richard Baumgartner informed jurors about a 2004 study by the state Comptroller's Office that he said showed "the economic costs of imposing the death penalty is more expensive than imprisoning somebody for life without parole." That statement came after Davidson's defenders sought to put on proof about the economic costs of imposing death. The state balked, and the judge said his statement to jurors represented a compromise. However, the study at issue weighed the cost of a death penalty trial versus a trial at which life without parole is being sought. It concluded a capital murder trial costs roughly $15,000 more. That same study concluded executions actually save taxpayers more than $770,000 in housing expenses compared to the costs of housing someone for the rest of their lives. Whether the difference in what the judge told jurors and the Comptroller's Office's own explanation of its findings could one day become an appeal issue may hinge on what Baumgartner next told jurors. "The economic costs should have no bearing on your decision in this case," he told the panel. Also Thursday, Newsom's parents, Hugh and Mary Newsom, and his sister, Andrea Bowers, as well as Christian's mother, Deena Christian, and brother Chase Christian presented to jurors their victim impact statements. "Did Channon and Chris suffer?" Deena Christian asked. "What do you think?" Davidson's sister, LaQuitta Boddie, told jurors their mother was a violent crack addict who alternated between beating her children and abandoning them. Rhea and the Rudds told jurors about their efforts to turn Davidson's life around when he came into their respective care over a three-year period in his late teens. Despite their efforts, Davidson wound up in prison for aggravated robbery in 2001. He had only been paroled a few months when Christian and Newsom were slain. "He's like my son, and we love him very much," Flo Rudd said in asking the jury to spare Davidson's life. Brown said Davidson's upbringing was a recipe for disaster, calling his childhood "a very ominous sign" of violence to come. "There's no consistent intervention that can turn these things around," Brown said. However, Brown said that Davidson is "of average intelligence" with the potential for an even higher level of mental functioning. He said a neurological examination failed to yield proof of any mental health woes. "The findings were entirely within normal," he said. The overriding theme for defense witnesses Thursday was that Davidson's life could have value even if it is spent behind bars. "He wants to be accepted," Brown said. "He wants to be loved. In a structured environment where these things are offered, he's going to do very well." Closing arguments are to begin this morning. Jamie Satterfield may be reached at 865-342-6308. |
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| abb | Oct 30 2009, 06:27 AM Post #15 |
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http://nicholasstixuncensored.blogspot.com/2009/10/lemaricus-davidson-knoxville-horror.html Friday, October 30, 2009 Lemaricus Davidson Knoxville Horror Murder Trial: Penalty Phase Has Ended At 6:24 last night, reader “D” wrote, Nicholas, The penalty phase has ended. I have never seen so many liberal do-gooders in one place. What were they doing? They were asking a jury to spare the life of a vicious thug who tortured to death two innocent young people. A thug, I would add, whom all of them went out of their way to help, to no avail. Two of them testified at the parole hearing that released Davidson. Five months later the Knoxville Horror took place. The closing arguments are in the morning, after which the jury will decide the penalty. By the way, the commenters at the Knoxville News-Sentinel blasted the judge for telling the jury that the DP was costlier. Many share our opinion that Baumgartner hopes to prevent a death sentence in this case, and has from the beginning. On the good side, the prosecutors have cross-examined more forcefully this time than in the penalty phase of the Cobbins trial. They need to come on strong tomorrow and remind the jury what Davidson did to Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom. After Judge Baumgartner’s outrageous behavior in the Cobbins trial two months ago, I said that he should be thrown off the bench and disbarred, but would more likely be lionized on the cocktail party circuit. Judge Mischief. |
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7:38 PM Dec 2
