3 20 60 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/a996c376804e7aca5fe2b9b2c0906996.jpg cc014527cbe8a6547e9524496396e168 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 2, 1983-1994 Text Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper article Text Any textual data included in the document The faculty at Vermont Law School offers students a wide variety for legal study. Michael Mello, an Assistant Professor at VLS, brings both extensive research and work experience in the field of criminal law. Having graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law in May, 1982, Professor Mello clerked with the Honorable Robert S. Vance, United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Following this, Professor Mello worked as an Assistant Public Defender in the Office of the Public Defender, Fifteenth Judicial Circuit. His duties included all facets of capital litigation in state and federal courts in addition to being lead counsel in three capital cases and associate counsel in ten others. While working as Assistant Public Defender, Professor Mello represented death row inmates. His recent publication, “Facing Death Alone: The Post- Conviction Attorney Crisis on Death Row”, 37 American University Law Review 513 (1988), provides a definition of the counsel crisis in the post-conviction process of death row inmates and explores one state’s (Florida) legislative solution. The question of access to the courts in the post-conviction process is a complex one with which Professor Mello is continually involved. Florida’s death row population and the lack of counsel for the condemned became a crisis of epidemic proportions, especially in the mid-1980’s. Consequently, Florida experimented with a resource center known as the Office of the Capital Collateral Representative in Tallahasee, Florida. This agency had a statutory mandate to represent all indigent inmates on Florida’s death row. As Senior Assistant, Professor Mello was lead counsel in approximately 30 death row cases. His duties consisted primarily of crisis litigation in cases with imminent execution dates. Currently, Professor Mello teaches courses in criminal law and criminal procedure as well as a seminar on the death penalty and a section in the VLS General Practice Program on pretrial civil litigation. Professors Mello and Apel are also lead counsel in several capital cases including being principal drafters of the the Brief of Petitioner in High v. Zant, No. 87-5666 in the United States Supreme Court. Professor Mello is enthusiastic about his experience here at VLS and, with his extensive background and interests in criminal law, VLS students have invaluable resource from which to learn. In addition to his busy schedule, Professor Mello will be conducting a Facul-tea on Tuesday, March 14, 1989 at 3:30 p.m. at the South Royalton House. His talk will address the Ted Bundy case, of which Professor Mello is very familiar. All students and faculty are encouraged to attend this seminar. The seminar is a perfect opportunity for students to meet Michael Mello and learn about his interesting background and the many complexities facing our criminal justice system today. Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Emma Olson Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Mello's expertise adds diversity Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Aspland, Tricia Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Forum Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1989-02-17 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 jpg Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Mello, Michael Vermont Law School Description An account of the resource This article discusses Mello's criminal justice resume, his fields of expertise and how he is beneficial as a professor at Vermont Law School. criminal justice law school lawyer Michael Mello https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/fb2205e480948187dcb3f09eb993d2cf.jpg 83fe8fb838baec6b2f1ff804b2c79299 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/24ca71748c08ca8e36f61ab28d4d42f9.jpg e738201347503293f0160a2ea3366b72 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 2, 1983-1994 Text Text Any textual data included in the document Attorney General Bob Butterworth says the plan to eliminate some of Death Row inmates’ state appeals may not speed up the process. TALLAHASSEE – While agreeing with Gov. Bob Martinez’s view that appeals for Death Row inmates take too long, Attorney General Bob Butterworth expressed some skepticism Monday that Martinez’s plan to eliminate some state appeals would solve the problem. “We’re all in favor of speeding up the system,” Butterworth said. “But like I said, we’re reserving judgment (on the proposal). It could just back up one court, so it might not speed anything up. It could be a Catch-22 situation.” Martinez, a vocal critic of lengthy death-penalty litigation, last week proposed eliminating one series of appeals for condemned inmates, who average spending more than 9 1/2 years on Death row. Currently, inmates can appeal collateral issues through state circuit courts all the way to the Florida Supreme Court. Collateral appeals focus on such issues as the competency of an inmate to stand trial and whether the prosecution withheld any evidence from the defense. Those issues can also be argued through the federal court system. Saying there is too much duplication, Martinez wants to eliminate collateral appeals in state circuit courts, giving only the Florida Supreme Court a chance to hear such challenges before they enter the federal system. But Butterworth, whose office represents the state on death-penalty cases, said the problem with long appeals doesn’t really lie with the state. “The real issue is at the federal level,” Butterworth said. The state already has a two-year time limit in which a condemned inmate must raise all collateral (constitutional) challenges. There is no such time limit for the federal court system. Butterworth said he hoped Martinez succeeds in generating enough support for his plan, but he wasn’t optimistic that legislators would agree to completely eliminate one phase of the appeals process. In a separate move, U.S. Sen. Bob Graham has introduced a bill in Washington that would place a two-year time limit for collateral appeals in the federal courts, a move Butterworth says he supports. Graham has tried unsuccessfully in previous years to get that bill passed. Deputy Attorney General James York said he is frustrated more by federal courts that overturn or delay death sentences than state courts that review the legal challenges. While saying he appreciated the governor’s frustration with the current system, York said the proposal to eliminate some state appeals might result in the federal system “doing even more review” of death penalty cases. Defense attorneys for condemned inmates have lambasted all proposals to shorten the appeal. Several attorneys have said the maze of state and federal court hearings helps to prevent mistakes from being made before the state puts someone to death. Cutting out parts of that system may backfire for death penalty advocates, according to Michael Mello, a lawyer who once represented condemned inmates in Florida and is now a professor at the Vermont Law School. “Nothing’s going to get rid of executions faster than a string of executing innocent people,” Mello Said. But Peter Dunbar, general counsel for Martinez, said the issue is not having sufficient appeals, but having a duplication of appeals. Dunbar said the governor agreed with Butterworth that the reform is needed at the federal level, but Martinez can only address the state system. “How many times do you have to hear the same issues-until someone says, “We’ve heard it once, twice, three times, you’re out,” Dunbar said. “You don’t need to be duplicating your efforts.” Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Rigmaiden, Erin Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Cutting appeals 'could be Catch-22' Subject The topic of the resource Death row inmates Description An account of the resource Pan to eliminate state appeals for death row inmates may not speed up the legal process. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Loughlin, Sean Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Gainesville Sun Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1987-03-07 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 JPG Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Florida appeals Death Row Florida Florida Death Row Supreme Court https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/faccc93022869c23233eed745c3d7802.jpg 48bb27a5326fd1f8cecd4dfa2bf425f0 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Colman McCarthy Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Washington Post Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1989/09/03 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 jpgs Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Mecklenburg, Virginia Title A name given to the resource The Debate Over Capital Punishment https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/bc012d0cb5719e817947ce60b80fde46.jpg f40963f646c132d639e91c35fde4fa10 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 2, 1983-1994 Text Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Jaster, Matthew C. Text Any textual data included in the document When I visited Joseph Giarratano in early June in a state prison in Mecklenburg, Va., the sustaining life force in his death-row cell was a typewriter. It had the sacredness of a chalice, from which he drank of hope. Giarratano, convicted of killing two people, but whose guilt I and a fair number of others who have studied the records of the case see as open to grave doubt, is a gifted writer. He has produced articulate legal briefs on behalf of fellow prisoners, and his disciplined efforts are keeping with the view of Justice William Brennan: “Writing…is not an egotistical act. It is a duty. Saying ‘Listen to me, see it my way, change your mind’ is not self-indulgence-it is very hard work we cannot shirk.” Giarratano occasionally sends me some of his essays. Their quality matches his “The Pains of Life,” one of 16 essays in this valuable collection of perspectives that examines the effects of legalized killing on both the condemned and those involved in the judicial watch. Giarratano, along with C. Michael Lambrix, one of the more than 300 death-row prisoners in Florida, and Willie Darden Jr., who was executed in Florida on March 15th, 1987, are the three voices from within the walls. The outsiders, including attorneys, criminologists, historians, a philosopher, a journalist and a minister, tell of their personal involvement with the condemned or offer their assessments of what governmental homicide means at the time when death rows hold more than 2,200 people- a record- and are sent more than 200 citizens a year. Collectively, the authors are ones whom many Americans dismiss or ridicule for misplacing their sympathies with criminals, not victims, or for leading the soft-on-crime lobby. That image is as hollow as the disproven notion that capital punishment is a deterrent. The authors’ sympathies are with justice and compassion, neither of which has been on display when murderers kill or governments kill murderers. “As I see it (though others will disagree)” writes Watt Epsy, the Alabama historian who has documented some 15,780 legal executions, “no murderer is so heartless and cruel as the society that executes him. No individual murderer confines the victim to restricted quarters over a sustained period of time, or arranges things so that the person to die knows the manner in which death will come and the time at which it will arrive, hoping against hope for the magical reprieve, stay, or commutation that might prolong his life.” In his essays Giarratano, who is 32 and has lived 10 years on death row, writers of conversations with cellblock guards, “most of whom avoid the subject of my death, the possible deaths of the men around me, and their own role in this death ritual. There are a few who avoid my eyes and say “Joe, it’s not my doing. I don’t want to see you die. There are other people who deserve it more than you.’ Many find it easy to avoid the subject, since they will not be the ones who actually pull the switch- they will only escort me to the death house and let their co-workers take over.” Giarratano’s phrase, “this death ritual,” touches on what may be the only explanation for 70 percent of Americans-according to Gallup-favoring executions. In their essay, Elizabeth Purdum and J. Anthony Parades, anthropologists at Florida State University, compare the rituals of death in U.S prisons with the sacrificial killings of the Aztecs of Central Mexico in the 16th century. The Aztec’s believed that killing prisoners maintained universal order and the government’s well-being. Purdum and Parades argue persuasively that a similar view prevails today. A “groundswell of support for capital punishments in the United States,” they argue, “springs from the universal ancient human impulse to do something in times of stress, even if it is only ritual…In the face of all the evidence that capital punishment does no more to deter crime than the bloody rituals of Tenochtitlan did to keep the sun in the sky, we must seek some broader, noninstrumental function that the death penalty serves…Modern capital punishments is an institutionalized magical response to a perceived disorder in American life and in the world at large, an attempted magical solution that has an especial appeal to the beleaguered, white, God-fearing men and women of the working class. And in certain aspiring politicians they find their sacrificial priests.” Most of America’s state killings occur in the South. Nearly all of the executed have been poor, were victims of violence themselves and had pre-conviction lawyers who were inept. It is the judicial system’s rank unfairness that helped motivate Michael Mello to represent death row citizens. In his essay he recalls working for a man who was executed in May 1986 after the Supreme Court, five minutes before the electrocution, voted five to four to deny a stay: “I will never forget the waves of helpless rage that washed over me as the clerk of the Supreme Court read me the orders [of denial]. It would have been easy-too easy- to blame the Court as an institution…Instead I found that the real target of my rage was myself: a participant in the system of legal homicide…Was I serving to legitimate the system by helping to provide sanitized executions, executions with the aura of legalism and therefore the appearance of fairness?” In the months before Willie Darden was electrocuted in Florida, I encouraged a number of my students at the University of Maryland to write to him. He answered their letters faithfully, and no student failed to have new slants about capital punishment. Darden wrote to them much the same message he offers here: “We execute for the traits of the person found guilty. If the person is black, uneducated, poor, outspoken, slightly retarded, eccentric, or odd, he stands a much greater chance of being executed than do those convicted of even worse crimes than he. Juries find it hard to convict one of their own, so middle-class whites are rarely in our ranks…Most, if not all, of the humans on death row have souls that can be made clean through love, compassion, and spirituality. However, to acknowledge this threatens our ability to execute, as we must dehumanize before we can kill in such a predetermined fashion.” The only lack in this collection of essays is the thinking of a murder victim’s family. Marie Deans would have been ideal. She is a Richmond, Va., women whose mother-in-law was murdered by an escaped prisoner. Deans not only fought the death penalty in that case but regularly visits death rows for her Virginia Coalition on Jails and Prisons. Few are more enlightened on the madness of killing for punishment than Deans, and few have gone as far beyond the myth that executions bring solace to the victims’ families. A growing literature- from Robert Johnson’s Condemned to Die, to The Death Penalty in America by Hugo Adam Bedau- offers alternatives to thinking and acting violently about punishing murderers. This work stands with the best of what’s been written. It represents the best of those who have seen the worst. Student Editor of the Digital Item Dickinson, Terra Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Debate Over Capital Punishment: Facing the Death Penalty Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource McCarthy, Colman Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Washington Post Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1989-09-03 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 JPGs 300 DPI Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Mecklenburg, VA Subject The topic of the resource Death row Executions (Administrative law) Giarratano Mello, Michael Description An account of the resource McCarthy anayzles the flaws of executions in death row. Talking with soon to be victim of exectuion, Giarrantano, among others, McCarthy lays out how complicated the legal use of executions are, and how many people think rather too quickly when favoring it ignorantly. https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/3be1d52e3e91ccb0bcc02b2df92666ec.jpg a1f3d6f00c2c3d191b5f7c407dcb3f83 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Death Row Inmate Wants To Study Law Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Barlow, Rich Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Valley News Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 jpg Language A language of the resource English Description An account of the resource Convicted killer Joe Giarratano hopes to elude Virginia's electric chair and study law in Vermont. Subject The topic of the resource Death row, Vermont Law School Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived University of Mary Washington Libraries Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Saturday, November 25, 1989 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource University of Mary Washington Libraries Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Vermont Law School Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Vermont Law School Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 2, 1983-1994 Text Text Any textual data included in the document SOUTH ROYALTON- Convicted killer Joe Giarratano hopes to elude Virginia’s electric chair and study law in Vermont. That’s fine with Vermont Law School Assistant Professor Michael Mellow. Mello and others (pro-death-penalty columnist Jack Kilpatrick among them) doubt that Giarratano stabbed to death his two lovers- a mother and daughter- in 1979. Mello has invited Giarratano, a one-time suicidal drug addict who reformed himself into an accomplished amateur lawyer, to apply to Vermont Law if he’s sprung from death row. The University of Virginia wants him too. “Vermont’s where I want to go.” Giarratano, 32, said by phone from the Mecklenberg state prison, where he’s awaited death for 10 years. He probably can’t get into Vermont Law- he has no college degree, which the school requires- but the state permits anyone to study law under an attorney and take the bar exam. “That’s how Thomas Jefferson got his law degree,” Giarratano said. CBS, ABC and the Virginia media have investigated his case. MASH actor and activist Mike Farrell was to meet with him: even conservative Sen. Strom Thurmond has asked for a retrial, Giarratano said. “Amnesty International is sort of making his case the poster-child case for this issue,” said Mello. “It’s got all of the sort of star qualities that the media seems to be looking for. He’s bright, articulate, and most likely innocent, (got) terrible representation at trial.” Mello, a death-row lawyer who worked on mass murderer Ted Bundy’s case, met Giarratano last year, when both fought for the right of condemned inmates to have lawyers represent the in post-conviction appeals. The two briefly worked together on Murray vs. Giarratano, which challenged Virginia’s failure to provide lawyers; the U.S. Supreme Court turned Giarratano down but remanded the case to the lower courts. “His level of sophistication as a litigator is higher than most litigators I have known. His instincts are awesome,” said Mello. “He insisted on being treated…as lead counsel in that case. The discussions that I had with him about court strategy, court politics, which justices we needed to aim the beliefs at least equal, and frankly some of his judgements were better than mine.” Will he get out? “Politicians all across Virginia are calling for a retrial or a pardon,” said Giarratano. “I’ve had more hope now than I’ve had in a long time. Everything’s snowballing. He first confessed to the 1979 murders but has recanted. Kilpatrick writes why he doubts Giarratano’s a slasher: Giarratano was in a drug-and-booze haze the night of the killings and only remembers seeing the corpses in the apartment he shared with the women. His four written confessions-the only real evidence against him, Kilpatrick says-had discrepancies him, Kilpatrick says- had discrepancies, indicating police may have used leading questions to get them. New evidence shows a right-handed man stabbed the mother. Giarratano is a lefty with a nerve-damaged right hand. There were bloody footprints at the scene but no blood on Giarratano’s soles- just a spot on his shoe, which matched the daughter’s blood type, but was never matched with the mother’s. How’d he beat years of substance abuse to become headhunting material for law schools? “When I was arrested and wound up here in the prison on death row, all the drugs stopped, “he said. “Once all the drugs were out of my system, and (after) hundreds of hours of counseling…I just seemed to get my head screwed back on straight. “In order to keep my mind off doing myself in or forcing the guards to do me in, I struck my face in a law book,” He won a case to improve conditions at Mecklenberg- not for humanitarian reasons, he admits, but to flog the prison administration: “This was a way of getting back at the Man.” After further reading- legal books, The Federalist Papers- “the whole spirit behind that just really hit home,” and he plunged into the law. Some death-row inmates can articulate what it’s like to await the executioner, while others can understand complex legal issues, Mello said; Giarratano’s special because he can do both. Both men contributed essays to a recent book about the death penalty; Giarratano describes his final talk with a prisoner friend about to be executed: “As I lifted the phone to my ear and heard my friend’s voice, I didn’t know what to say. Other that quick hellos, our conversation consisted of a few scattered questions tied together with long silences. I could feel the tears leaking from my eyes as the hopelessness overwhelmed me. I wanted to tell Mike to fight the guards until the last second- to take some of them down with him- but all I could say was “I love you, my friend. I’m sorry I can’t stop this.” Mike’s reply still rings in my ear: I’ll be fine. Joe. You know that I’m going home. Please don’t do anything that you might regret later. You have to forgive them.” “Walking back to my cell, I could barely move- it felt as if every muscle in my body were cramped. I could hear the guards asking me questions, but I knew that if I responded, my hatred would spew out at them. I felt the helplessness and hopelessness in the pit of my stomach- I wanted to pull my friend back. It wasn’t until later that I noticed the blood on my wrists where the cuffs bit into my flesh. I tried to pull Mike back, and I couldn’t.” Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Sartori, Joe Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Death Row Inmate Wants to Study Law Subject The topic of the resource Death row Description An account of the resource Convicted killer Joe Giarratano hopes to elude Virginia's electric chair and study law in Vermont. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Barlow, Rich Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Valley News Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1989-11-25 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG Language A language of the resource English Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Vermont Law School Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Vermont Death Row Law https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/dd58500a4cefe17bd6b837d7d1f67877.jpg 53c1d419d1d3b8753f84d67090cd0a33 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/28a0e0674c1c257942fb9dc17801ec66.jpg 3d3bebeeb17e2604d9ae8ce8ec0c97d5 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/f8737b31c96cb5b444556daa8bb47263.jpg 2d846c42113ef56efd2119f9224fd0a0 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 2, 1983-1994 Text Text Any textual data included in the document BOYDTON, Va., Feb. 28 –Joseph Giarratano has spent most of the last 10 years in his cell in Mecklenburg Correctional Facility here, in the undeviating and claustrophobic universe of death row. But more than any of the nation’s 2,500 other condemned inmates, his name has traveled beyond the prison walls. It has resonated in the courts, where the 33-year-old Mr. Giarratano has fashioned novel legal arguments to broaden the constitutional rights of prisoners, notable, their right to counsel. In the tightly knit community of lawyers, scholars and opponents of capital punishment, he is considered more a colleague than a convict. But now, Mr. Giarratano, convicted of murdering two women, is running out of appeals. There may be only a Supreme Court decision, and the two-hour drive up Interstate 85, standing between him and the electric chair in Richmond, where seven of his friends have already been executed. Impressed by his intelligence, confident of his innocence, or convinced of his rehabilitation, his friends are frantically seeking to save him. “Joe is unique among folks on death row,” said Richard Burr of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund Inc. “He’s metamorphosed from a confused, erratic addict to someone who’s extraordinarily strong and empathetic, as well as strategically brilliant. No one else has done that.” Gerald T. Zerkin of Richmond, one of Mr. Giarratano’s lawyers, added: “Whether or not he committed these crimes, there’s no question Joe’s a completely different human being than the one that existed in 1979. No one is his right mind could say now that he’s a future danger to anyone.” In 1979, Mr. Giarratano confessed to murdering a 44-year-old Norfolk, Va., woman as well as raping and killing her 15-year-old daughter. At the time, he now says, he was high on drugs and so convinced of his own evil that he admitted to crimes he could not remember committing. After a one-day trial that was actually over by lunch time, he was convicted. To this day, Mr. Giarratano says he does not know whether he killed the mother and daughter, Toni and Michelle Kline. But his lawyers say that conflicting statements he made in his five confessions and evidence obtained in the last two years suggests he did not. They have moved to reopen his case. This is what the lawyers say the new evidence suggests: that Michelle Kline was strangled by a right-handed person, while Mr. Giarratano is left-handed; that the footprints found at the crime scene could not possibly have been made by the boots he had been wearing; that the blood found on his boots did not match that of Toni Kline, who had been stabbed, and that hair found on Michelle Kline, who had been raped, did not match his. Bert L. Rohrer, a spokesman for Attorney General Mary Sue Terry of Virginia, who oversees the case, dismissed Mr. Giarratano’s characterization of the new evidence. “What we have maintained in court is that this new evidence is, frankly, old evidence in different wrapping,” he said. “To this point, obviously, the courts have shared this view.” Three months ago, in fact, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, in Richmond, turned down his appeal. His next, and probably his last, judicial stop is the United States Supreme Court. International Interest in Case In the meantime, the campaign to spare Mr. Giarratano has attracted international interest. News reporters from Britain, West Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden have visited him here, as camera crews from ABC News program “20-20” and the CBS News program “Nightwatch.” So many reporters have come through this remote prison, just north of the North Carolina border, that guards grumble that Mr. Giarratano should hire a press agent. Amnesty International has bought billboard space on his behalf in Richmond. It says: “Virginia: Is Joe Giarratano innocent? Will we kill him without knowing?” The campaign is directed principally at two people: Attorney General Terry and L. Douglas Wilder, the state’s new Governor, who can either pardon Mr. Giarratano, commute his sentence or order a new trial. Newspapers in Fredericksburg, Culpeper, and Charlottesville have endorsed Mr. Giarratano’s drive. “Terry is afraid of appearing to be weak on a law-and-order issue,” The Charlottesville Daily Progress said in an editorial. “She is not afraid, it seems, to risk the death of a possibly innocent man, sacrified for her own ego and political ambitions.” Mr. Rohrer, the Attorney General’s spokesman, called such an assertion ridiculous, and added, “We aren’t influenced by public relations campaigns or editorials.” Governor Could Decide Fate Mr. Giarratano’s fate could rest with Mr. Wilder, who opposed the death penalty when he visited Mecklenburg prison a few years ago, but reversed on the issue in his gubernatorial campaign. A lawyer in the Governor’s office did not return the telephone call of a reporter who sought the Governor’s position on the case. If the past is any precedent, Mr. Giarratano’s prospects of prevailing in Virginia, either judicially or politically, are not good. Virginia’s procedural rules in criminal cases are among the most stringent anywhere, severely limiting the introduction of new evidence and raising of objections after the trial. “Virginia is the most iron-fisted and mean-spirited of the death penalty states,” Mr. Burr said. “In any other state, I’m absolutely certain that Joe wouldn’t be on death row anymore.” Now, like constitutional scholars and death penalty litigators on the outside, Mr. Giarratano is counting heads on the Supreme Court. He knows he needs the votes of four Justices for the Court to take the case and five to win. “Right now, I’m hyper,” he said. “I think I can get four votes, bur the fifth, I don’t know where it’s going to come from, if at all.” Mr. Giarratano, going down the list of Supreme Court Justices, assessed his chances this way: “I’ve got Brenan and Marshall for sure, just because it’s a death case. I think we’ve got a shot at Blackmun and a good shot at Stevens. That fifth vote’s going to be tough. O’Connor seems to have a streak of fairness in her at times, and White could go either way. I don’t know enough about Kennedy to know where he fits in. Scalia and Rehnquist seem to be walking together hand in hand on all this; their attitude in death cases is ‘kill ‘em.’ So forget them.” Mr. Giarratano himself vacillates on his chances. “Some days my gut tells me I’m going to win,” he said. “But last night it told me, ‘Go ahead and pack up your boxes, you’re going to the chair.’ The bottom line is that I could be dead by the end of the year. The prospect of sitting in the electric chair scares the hell out of me. It’s frying. That’s got to be a hell of a way to go.” Even those who any capital punishment view Mr. Giarratano’s case as execution. “There is the run-of-the-mill injustice you get used to in this kind of work, but Joe’s case is different in kind and quality and magnitude,” said Michael Mello, a professor at the Vermont Law School who has represented many death row inmates. “Executing him would be an absolute outrage, not only because of his innocence, but because it would mean the loss of a very sensitive and intelligent commentator.” But some, like Lawrence C. Lawless who prosecuted Mr. Giarratano 10 years ago, are convinced neither of his rehabilitation nor his innocence. Mr. Lawless, now a judge in Norfolk, told The Richmond Times-Dispatch that he is still haunted by the photographs of the two victims. He added that while he is not not a strong proponent of capital punishment, “if they needed a volunteer to push the button, I’d do it off duty, on the weekend. I’d pay my own expenses to Richmond.” With its generic 1970’s institutional architecture, Mecklenburg Prison could pass for a community college campus, but for the Slinky-like coils of security wire surrounding it. It houses 340 inmates, including 40 on its death row, an all-time high facing death in a state that has executed eight prisoners since the Supreme Court reinstituted capital punishment nationally in 1976. Mr. Giarratano, prisoner No. 118475, is now in cell 43. And he is the first to admit that no matter his fate, death row has already saved his life. Mr. Giarratano’s story has many of the hallmarks of juvenile offenders: a fractured family, an abusive mother, a father he did not meet until they were inmates in the same Florida prison 16 years ago. It also includes an early exit from school and an even earlier introduction to drugs. Only when he got to death tow was he able to free himself from drugs: first the ones he had taken himself, then the Thorazine tranquilizer the state psychiatrists gave him. He also stopped attempting suicide. And he found a new calling. It began, he recalled, when a fellow inmate, who has since been executed, lent him a law book. Since then, he has studied the law incessantly, even rapturously. Mr. Giarratano has become a sophisticated student of constitutional law. A right-to-counsel case that he undertook on behalf of another inmate employed a novel legal argument that he helped fashion: an inmate is guaranteed a lawyer while pursuing his last legal remedies beyond normal appeals, not just by the fair trial guarantees of the Sixth Amendment but by the due process clause of the 14th Amendment. He does not actually take cases to court, but helps develop the arguments, which are then presented in court by his lawyers. His argument in that case won in the United States Court of Appeals but lost in the Supreme Court by a vote of 5 to 4. Mr. Giarratano called that decision “wimpy.” A few hours a week, Mr. Giarratano can visit the law library, where he sits in a cage and is handed books through a slot. As a jail house lawyer, Mr. Giarratano has fought for things like increased access for visitors an confidentiality of communications with lawyers. Even guards drop by his cell to ask his legal advice. Should all else fail, Mr. Giarratano is already grooming another death row inmate, Joe Payne, to take his place as Mecklenburg’s in-house counsel. Mr. Payne, he said, is proving to be an apt student. “He still believes too much that the system does what’s right,” Mr. Giarratano said. “But he’s learning.” Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper article Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. University of Mary Washington Notes Additional information regarding your item. This content will not be viewable in the Public View. There are several typos in the article that the transcriber included. "scarified," "no no," and "Even those who any capital punishment view Mr. Giarratono's case. . ." Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Legal Scholar on Death Row Fights to Halt Own Execution Subject The topic of the resource Death Penalty Giarratano, Joseph Description An account of the resource Legal scholar Joseph Giarratano appeals to the Supreme Court in an attempt to commute his death sentence and save his life. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource New York Times Margolick, David Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Collected documents of Michael Mello Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1990-03-05 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 3 JPGs 300 DPI Language A language of the resource English appeals David Margolick death penalty Joseph Giarratano Mecklenburg Prison Michael A. Mello New York Times Supreme Court https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/0d0987680be2f75b55b2514aa482fe9b.jpg 85415642496c2430c593b99ee9fed9f2 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Wilder Grants Death Sentence Reversal Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 2, 1983-1994 Text Text Any textual data included in the document RICHMOND, Va.— Gov. L. Douglas Wilder yesterday commuted the death sentence of convicted murderer Joseph M. Giarratano Jr., who wants to attend Vermont Law School if he can get out of jail in his nationally celebrated case. Giarratano’s scheduled electrocution Friday had become a rallying symbol for death-penalty opponents. Wilder’s conditional pardon which is likely to be accepted by Giarratano by a 5 p.m. [Image] today deadline, reduces Giarratano’s sentence to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole 13 years from now. “I’m still suffering from a slight hangover from celebrating last night,” said Vermont Law professor Mike Mello, who has worked with the drug-addicted-turned-legal expert and advocates his release. Mello mailed letters to Vermont politicians weeks ago “begging them to get in touch with Wilder,” and Giarratano called him a half hour before Wilder announced his decision. Speculating on the governor’s motives — he’s frequently mentioned as a possible presidential candidate — Mello said, “I would say it’s about 80 percent politics, 20 percent justice. . . . I’m very, very skeptical of southern governors, especially southern governors who have national political aspirations.” Wilder — who has refused three other pleas for clemency from condemned murderers during his 13 months in office — gave no reason for his decision in the commutation order. “I have thoroughly reviewed the evidence in the case,” Wilder wrote. “. . . . I have been subjected to significant pleas from across the United States and other parts of the world. . . . While they have been sincere in their expressions of concern . . . the overwhelming majority acknowledge that they do not enjoy a grasp of the specific facts in the case. I, on the other hand, do, as I must.” Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Membreno, Clendra Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Wilder Grants Death Sentence Reversal Subject The topic of the resource Death row Joseph Giarratano Wilder, Douglas, 1931- Description An account of the resource Governor L. Douglas Wilder commuted Joseph M. Giarratano's death sentence. Giarratano's sentence was reduced to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole in 13 years. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Valley News Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Michael A. Mello Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-02-20 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG Language A language of the resource English conditional pardon death penalty Death Row Douglas Wilder Joseph Giarratano Life sentence Mike Mello https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/ddd8b810aa9b1c0257a185eb73c81ea3.jpg 437c0f4bcd01a189dfc1106144026903 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/de7ef593840f8d9a08a767c458ee2efd.jpg 0e1a266dae62230697bb9923702dddd7 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 2, 1983-1994 Text Text Any textual data included in the document BOYDTON, Va. – Small wonder that Joseph M. Giarrantano was feeling depressed. He had just spent another sleepless night on death row composing the arguments that he hoped would keep him from the electric chair. With his last appeal coming up before the U.S. Supreme Court, Giarratano, 33, a convicted murderer and legal scholar whose case has become and international causee celebre, is increasingly haunted by his impending execution. “It’s not so much that I’m scared to die,” Giarratano said as he sat handcuffed in a visiting cell at the Mecklenburg Correctional Center last week. “But the whole death ritual – of being moved into this cell, strapped into a chair, and fried to death – that’s frightening, and I don’t know how I’m going to deal with that.” Two factors make Giarratano’s case unusual. The first is the former junkie’s transformation into a respected jailhouse lawyer who has won important prisoners’ rights cases and serves as a consultant to lawyers in capital cases nationwide. The second is the discovery of evidence that casts doubt on Giarratano’s guilt in the murder of a 44-year-old Norfolk woman and the rape and murder of her 15-year-old daughter – evidence the courts have declined to consider because of procedural technicalities. The result, Giarratano’s supporters fear, is that a possibly innocent man – whose rehabilitation is virtually unquestioned – may be put to death. “It would be an extraordinary tragedy, really just an incredible loss – personally to me, but really to the legal community and to Virginia,” said Michael A. Mello, an assistant professor at Vermont Law School in South Royalton, Vt. “Joe is a person who has made one of the most remarkable metamorphoses of any person I have ever known,” said Richard H. Burr 3d of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, one of Giarratano’s lawyers. “I don’t know of another case that has gone to the Supreme Court that presents more serious questions about innocence.” But Bert L. Rohrer, a spokesperson for Virginia Attorney General Mary Sue Terry, who has successfully opposed Giarratano’s bid for a new trial, said last week that rehabilitation was “really not an issue to us.” “We have taken the position… that there is no new evidence,” only “old evidence in new wrapping,” he said. Giarratano, a sometime scallopboat worker who says he spent years in a cocaine- and Dilaudad-inducaed haze, fled to Florida and turned himself in to Jacksonville police in 1979. He said he had found Barbara Kline, known as Toni, and her daughter, Michelle, dead in the apartment that he shared with them and believed he had committed the murders. Giarratano gave police five conflicting confessions and turned down an offer of a life sentence in return for a guilty plea because he felt he deserved to be executed. Despite a suicide attempt, he was judged competent to stand trial, convicted and sentenced to death after a morning long, non-jury trial. Giarratano, who was given the powerful tranquilizer Thorazine by prison authorities, said he had little will to live and kept dropping his appeals. In 1983, tormented by voices in his head, he let himself come within 24 hours of being electrocuted. “I had just given up completely. [I believed] I was rotten, evil, sick individual, and I deserved to die,” he said. “What I didn’t count on happening was Marie Deans.” Deans, now executive director of Virginia Coalition on Jails and Prisons, which provides legal assistance to indigent inmates, told Giarratano that his life “was worth living, that I was worth something,” he said. “That’s something I had never heard from anybody.” As Deans gained his trust, he revealed horrific details of his childhood in Jacksonville. “Both myself and my sister were sexually abused by my stepfather. Both of us were physically abused by my mother,” Giarratano said last week. “And the abuse was rough – she would use things like cattle prods. I got the hell beat out of me with a steel-handled broom for buying the wrong brand of potato chips.” By age 11, he had begun a descent into alcohol and drug addition. He quit school in the eight or ninth grade. At 15, after slashing his wrists and attempting a drug overdose, her was hospitalized, he said. At 17, to punish him for escaping from reform school, Giarratano was sent to prison, where he had a brief encounter – with his natural father, also a junkie. His father offered to help him obtain more drugs, he said. By 21, he was in Virginia, living with the Klines. One day, he awoke in the apartment and went to the bathroom. “And that’s when I saw them – Toni laying in the bathroom. There was just blood splattered everywhere,” he said. Giarratano says he has never had any memory of killing the Klines. Nor did he have a motive. But, believing he must have been the perpetrator, he made up the confessions and managed to convince the authorities of his guilt, he said. With conseling and encouragement from Deans, Giarratano has come into his own as a person and as a legal scholar. In Giarratano v. Bass, he obtained for prisoners the right to confidential communications with their lawyers and paralegals. In Murray v. Giarratano, he won a decision guaranteeing inmates the right to counsel after their first round of appeals. The ruling was struck down last year by the U.S. Supreme Court, 5-4. But it was not until last year that Giarratano became convinced of his innocence in the Kline murders. Deans, with the backing of a German art gallery owner who had heard of the case, had hired an investigator to explore Giarratano’s past. The investigator returned with doubts about his guilt. Now, Giarratano and his attorneys argue that physical evidence on the scene – bloody footprints, unidentified pubic hairs, fingerprints – points away from Giarratano. They say Michelle Kline was strangled by a right-handed person, while Giarratano is left-handed. At the very least, they argue, Giarratano was incompetent to stant trial. And they say they have unearthed a more likely suspect – a boyfriend of Barbara Kline’s with a felony record that includes sexual violence against women. So far, however, the authorities have declined to pursue the matter. “I didn’t want to hear anything about innocence,” said Giarratano. “Now, it seems like all of this has been a lie….It’s all premised on my accepting responsibility for something I didn’t do.” Still, Giarratano is facing death – as early as June, he says, unless the Supreme Court orders a new trial or Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder, a one-time death penalty opponent, commutes his sentence. Meanwhile, Amnesty International has taken up his case. And ever since 1986 British television documentary featuring him, Giarratano has received increasing press attention – first in Europe, then in the U.S. media, and, finally in Virginia, where editorialists across the state are calling for a new trial. Lawrence C. Lawless, who prosecuted Giarratano, remains convinced of his guilt. “If they needed a volunteer to push the button, I’d do it off-duty on the weekend,” he has told Richmond Times-Dispatch. With his final appeal brief due April 24, Giarratano said he was almost afraid the think of a life outside of prison, which might include law school and a career as public-interest lawyer. “I was doing better,” he said. “Now, I’m really feeling the pressure.” Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Mocarski, Casey Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource He's a jailhouse lawyer-and a condemned man Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Death row Joseph Giarratano Jailhouse lawyer Description An account of the resource With new evidence, a man on death row may be released. He was convicted of the murder and rape of two women, confessed, and has withdrawn his confession to pursue his innocence. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Philadelphia Inquirer Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1990-04-08 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 JPG Giarratano Jailhouse lawyer Joseph Joseph Giarratano Kline murders https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/8a511095d19e3fde76afbbd768ab042e.jpg bbae588c2ddf046545cd601a100865f9 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource A letter from death row Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Subject The topic of the resource The prospect of capital punishment Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Newspaper Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 jpg. Language A language of the resource English Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 2, 1983-1994 Text Text Any textual data included in the document Let me ask a favor. Take a couple of minutes, if you will, to read a letter from Joe Giarratano. He is on death row in Virginia’s prison at Boydton. On Oct. 1 the Supreme Court turned down his last appeal. His legal roads have run out. If Gov. Doug Wilder refuses to intervene, Joe will be executed before the end of the year. By way of background: On the unchallenged record, Joe Giarratano was the product of a sordid childhood. He had a limited high school education. Those facts do not excuse, but they help to explain. In February 1979, when this sad chapter began, Giarratano was 21 years old, a drug addict, a drunkard, and a drifter working on a fish boat. The ugly details of the crime are now irrelevant. Joe was charged and convicted of the rape-murder of a 15-year-old girl and the murder of her mother. The only evidence against him came from five separate confessions he signed in the hours immediately after the arrest. The confessions were internally inconsistent: they smacked of police coaching. Following a brief non-jury trial, a judge sentenced him to death. That was almost 12 years ago. He has been spent his time studying law and remaking his life. I learned of the case three years ago. I spent hours reading the record and came away deeply troubled. I’m not sure Joe is guilty: I’m not sure he is innocent; but I’ve spent 50 years covering courts and I am certain of this: He was not convicted beyond a reasonable doubt. Now to the letter. It is dated Oct. 8, 1990: “I truly appreciate the efforts you have made on my behalf, and for bringing my plight to the attention of the public through your columns. Knowing that folks really care has been boon for my morale.” “Overall I am holding up well, and I remain hopeful. The news from the U.S. Supreme Court came as a surprise, though it is terribly frustrating to see that procedural default mechanisms can outweigh the truth-finding process in such obdurate fashion.” “Even though I understand the judiciary’s frustration with the capital cases, I really find it impossible to reconcile that imbalance with the Constitution (state or federal). The ball is now in the governor’s court, and I can only hope that he will exercise his executive authority.” “In the meanwhile my chin is up, and I keep fairly busy. I’ve recently completed an article for the Yale Law Journal. It is in the final editing stages. And I in the process of co-authoring another law review with Professor Mike Mello (Vermont Law School). The subject is the ‘forgotten’ Ninth Amendment of our Constitution.” “Early in November, 50 law students from Georgetown and Maryland will be coming to the prison, and I plan to talk to them about the Ninth Amendment and Lockean political theory and its role in the formation of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.” “I’ve given two talks like this in the past, and I was amazed to discover how little is known about the historical underpinnings of the Constitution.” A personal note: I am not opposed to the death sentence. Given a killer in the weird mold of Ted Bundy, I see no reason for society to keep such a monster alive. The prospect of capital punishment may not be a deterrent to rape or murder – I doubt that it is, but that issue defies resolution. In truly heinous cases, a death sentence ought to be available to a jury as an option. But let me ask: what would be the point in killing Joe Giarratano now? In all my instincts I am a man of the law. But Joe was convicted 12 years ago by a single trial judge on evidence of doubtful reliability. The confused, suicidal drug addict of 1979 is gone. In his place one finds a young man with a good mind and a healthy outlook on life. How would killing him avenge the victims or sustain respect for judicial process? Some useful purpose ought to be served by putting Joe to death. I see no useful purpose at all. Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Hunter-Sowers, Ruby Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource A letter from death row Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Kilpatrick, James K Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Subject The topic of the resource Capital punishment Description An account of the resource A newspaper article regarding capital punishment which includes a letter written by death row inmate Joe Giarratano. The Ninth Amendment is referenced addressing constitutional law and the existence of "unenumerated" rights outside those expressly protected by the Bill of Rights. Giarratano references in his letter the Lokean political theory which provides additional inquiry. Columnist James K. Kilpatrick expresses concern with the brief, non-jury trial, Giarratano had along with a case for reasonable doubt. Language A language of the resource English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1990-10-08 capital punishment Joe Giarratano Joseph Giarratano Mike Mello Ninth amendment https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/88990e54afcb4412df5584abf29d5c42.jpg 240b6b8a1ca88bd7e7fc80a19dc6ddc2 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 2, 1983-1994 Text Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Magazine Article Text Any textual data included in the document Friday’s decision by a Vermont federal judge to allow DNA testing as evidence is the first of many federal court rulings on a controversial issue that may ultimately wind up in the nation’s highest court. The opinion from U.S. District Judge Franklin S. Billings Jr. is the first written ruling addressing the admissibility and reliability of DNA testing to identify suspects in rape and murder cases. But the issue is far from settled. Professor Michael Mello of Vermont Law School said while the ruling would not set a precedent for state courts to follow, it would have an effect. “Especially since Judge Billings is a respected judge, it would have a persuasive effect,” Mello said. “The court to watch is the court of appeals.” Professor Ken Kreiling, a Vermont Law School professor who has written on the uses of scientific evidence in trials, said Friday’s decision was significant because the defense was able to effectively contest the prosecution’s experts. “There are very few cases in which it has been hotly contested and the defense had the resources to hotly contest it,” he said. Both Mello and Kreiling said there was still not enough scientific evidence and established procedure to use the tests in criminal trials. “One of the things I think is important is there are a number of different procedures. The labs sometime don't follow their own procedure. They kind of ad hoc as they go and what does that say for reliability,” Kreiling said. “Most scientists say you don’t deem something to be scientific and reliable until there’s a clear protocol, until the designers are willing to put it into publications, willing to put it into the journals and defend it.” But a California assistant district attorney who has successfully prosecuted two cases using NA testing said the proof of its reliability was in the overwhelming acceptance in state courts. “There have been one or two or three defense successes and a couple hundred prosecution successes,” said Rock Harmon of the Oakland District Attorney’s office. “There’s a clue there. There’s a subtle hint that the debate should focus on something more worthwhile.” California prosecutors have successfully overridden 12 challenges by defense attorneys in getting DNA testing admitted into evidence, he said. “We’ve been successful in every case.” Mello said that the trend in courts was to admit DNA testing and let a jury decide its credibility. “Until there’s more evidence in the scientific community, more consensus, it shouldn’t be admitted at all,” he argued. “The judges have got a role in determining the reliability of evidence, especially this kind of potentially misleading evidence. That’s a very emotionally powerful tool to out in the hands of a prosecutor, especially when the defense side doesn’t get the resources to combat that.” While DNA testing had proven reliable, Kreiling said how the test was conducted must be weighted. “For lawyers to be able to look at all of these levels and bring in experts possesses incredible problems. That suggests to me that we ought to bend over backwards before we admit this stuff.” Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Matragrano, Katey Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Ruling Over DNA Testing To Have Impact Subject The topic of the resource Billings, Franklin S., 1922- Mello, Michael Description An account of the resource An article about the approval for use of DNA testing in federal court rulings. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Maynard, Michael Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Rutland Daily Herald Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1990-09-20 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 jpgs Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Vermont and California California DNA testing Franklin S. Billings Jr. Kenneth Kreiling Michael A. Mello Vermont https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/52494e485716d967b479f0c8406024c7.jpg f12f0ae9883b922756a309cb101638d6 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 2, 1983-1994 Text Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Lockett, Darron Notes Additional information regarding your item. This content will not be viewable in the Public View. No newspaper publisher available. No exact date is explicitly listed, but context in the article (twelve years after Ferbuary 1979) places the article around 1991, with the month and day remaining open to speculation. Present information in the metadata claims the publisher is The Miami Herald, but that data is not present in the article. Text Any textual data included in the document RICHMOND, Va. – Let me ask a favor. Take a couple of minutes, if you will, to read a letter from Joe Giarratano. He is on death row in Virginia’s prison at Boydton. On Oct. 1, the Supreme Court turned down his last appeal. His legal roads have run out. If Gov. Doug Wilder refuses to interview, Joe will be executed before the end of the year. By way of background: On the unchallenged record, Joe Giarratano was the product of a sordid childhood. He had a limited high school education. Those facts do not excuse, but they help explain. In February 1979, Giarratano was 21 years old, a drug addict, a drunkard, a drifter working on a fish boat out of Newport News. No man is worthless in the eyes of God, but in 1979, Joe was right at the bottom of the heap. The ugly details of the crime are now irrelevant. Joe was charged and convicted of the rape-murder of a 15-year-old girl and the murder of her mother. The only evidence against him came from five separate confessions he signed in the hours immediately after the arrest. The confessions were internally inconsistent; they smacked of police coaching. Following a brief non-jury trial, a judge sentenced him to death. That was almost 12 years ago. He has been in prison ever since. He has spent his time studying law and remaking his life. I learned of the case three years ago. I spent hours reading the record and came away deeply troubled. I am not sure whether Joe is guilty; I am not sure he is innocent; but I have spent 50 years covering courts and I am certain of this: He was not convicted beyond a reasonable doubt. Now to the letter. It is dated Oct. 7, 1990: “I truly appreciate the efforts you have made on my behalf, and for bring my plight to the attention of the public through your columns. Knowing that folks really care has been a real boon for my morale. “Overall I am holding up well, and I remain hopeful. The news from the U.S. Supreme Court came as no surprise, though it is a terribly frustrating to see that procedural default mechanisms can outweigh the truth-finding process in such an obdurate fashion. Even though I understand the judiciary’s frustrations with capital cases, I really find it impossible to reconcile that imbalance with the constitution (state or federal). The ball is now in the governor’s court, and I can only hope that he will exercise his executive authority. “In the meanwhile my chin is up, and I keep fairly busy. I’ve recently completed and article for the Yale Law journal (‘A Cautionary Tale; Fallibility vs. Finality’). It is in the final editing stages. And I am in the process of co-authoring another law review with Professor Mike Mellow (Vermont Law School). The subject is the ‘forgotten’ Ninth Amendment of our Constitution. “Early in November, 50 law students from Georgetown and Maryland will be coming to the prison, and I plan to talk with them about the ninth Amendment and Lockean political theory and its role in the formation of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. I’ve given two talks like this in the past, and I was amazed to discover how little is known about the historical underpinnings of the Constitution. Amazed isn’t the proper word because my ignorance was on par with theirs until just a couple of years ago. “Anyway, I have rambled on enough. I simply wanted to send you a note of thanks. If things work out for me I hope we can one day meet. Please do not feel obliged to respond to this letter. I know that you are a busy man. Be well, and keep telling it like it is.” A personal note: I am not opposed to the death sentence. Given a killer in the weird mold of Ted Bundy, I see no reason for society to keep such a monster alive. The prospect of capital punishment may not be a deterrent to rape or murder – I doubt that it is, but that issue defies resolution. In truly heinous cases, a death sentence out to be available to a jury as an option. But let me ask: what would be the point in killing Joe Giarratano now? In all of my instincts, I am a man of the law. The judgments of a court ought not to be flouted. But Joe was convicted 12 years ago by a single trial judge on evidence of doubtful reliability. The confused, suicidal drug addict of 1979 is gone. In his place one finds a young man with a good mind and healthy outlook on life. How would killing him avenge the victims or sustain respect for judicial process? Some useful purpose ought to be served by putting Joe to death. I see no useful purpose and all. Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Senseless Punishment Demands Justice Subject The topic of the resource Capital punishment Description An account of the resource Columnist James Kilpatrick writing on death row inmate Joe Giarratano's court case; questioning conviction. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Kilpatrick, James Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 300 DPI 1 JPG Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Law, Human Rights, Capital Punishment, Supreme Court Cases 1979 1991 capital punishment Human Rights Supreme Court https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/5fe4ea7bd534b6bde57c15ed3cd63a9e.jpg 4b06102c8dd40898dd3ad057257f67c5 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/20bf2d566faeb61a3ad42ac5b89b641c.jpg b880fe8945e78a1c12f7f15e7e139547 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 2, 1983-1994 Text Text Any textual data included in the document Two state prosecutors have dusted off an old tool -- the grand jury -- to help them determine whether homicide charges should be filed in five recent cases. Some see the grand jury as a rubber stamp for a prosecutor who wants to justify a charge. Others see it as a way for prosecutors to tap community sentiment in deciding standards of conduct. Either way both State’s Attorneys William Sorrell in Chittenden County and Howard Vanbenthuysen in Franklin county say they won’t hesitate to use grand juries again. Sorrell used it four times in recent weeks. The results: one indictment for first-degree murder; four indictments for manslaughter, and one finding of justifiable homicide. VanBenthuysen used it last week to obtain a manslaughter indictment. Supporters if the system say grand juries give prosecutors an independent sounding board on the validity of charges. The process allows for review by a neutral party of cases that could be seen as politically motivated or sensitive. While a deputy prosecutor, VanBenthuysen helped in a 1985 Franklin county grand jury that reviewed alleged police misconduct. Critics contend that a prosecutor can lead a grand jury to an intended conclusion. No judge is present when a grand jury convenes, and prosecutors may present what information they choose. Robert Andres, who represents a Burlington man indicted by a grand jury, last week was critical of Sorrell for spending time and money to seek the three manslaughter indictments when the State’s Attorney’s Office had authority to file the charges. Grand jurors are paid $30 per day and 25 cents per mile for their services -- the rate of pay for a trial juror. Others note grand juries have enormous power because they may subpoena additional witnesses and start investigations into new cases. Grand jurors, unlike jurors at trials, may ask questions during the closed-door sessions. Defense lawyer Peter Langrock, who served on an American Bar Association grand jury reform committee, said the intent of the grand jury was good. “Historically grand juries were meant to act as a buffer between the … prosecutors and the rights of the individual,” Langrock said/ “As of late they have turned out not to fulfill that function but to be a mere tool of the prosecution.” He said the system is difficult for defendants because a lawyer is not allowed at the hearing. “If you’re representing somebody who’s subpoenaed … as a target you have to make a choice whether to let them go in on their own or refuse to let them testify. Neither solution is a very good one,” Langrock said. Langrock refused grand jury testimony by his client Robert Bizon of Clarendon, who was charged in the shooting death of a teen-ager Bizon caught in his garage. The grand jury indicted Bizon, but he was found innocent Thursday in Rutland Superior court. Abuses seen elsewhere Professor Michael Mello of the Vermont Law School said he has seen grand jury abuses in Florida while a public defender and in Washington, D.C., as a private lawyer. Since arriving in Vermont, however, he said he has been impressed by what appears to be the independence of Vermonters serving on grand juries. “My neighbors would not be swayed by a prosecutor,” said Mello, who noted indictments do not appear to be automatic in Vermont. Burlington attorney Norm lais knows what Mello means. After a grand jury refused to issue an indictment in October for a homicide, Blais praised Sorrell for his handling of the case. Burlington lawyer Jerome F. O’Neill, who worked in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for 8 ½ years, said indictments are not automatic, even in the federal system. He said he could recall at least two cases where the government thought an indictment was worthy, but the grand jurors refused to indict. VanBenthuysen said it makes little sense for a prosecutor to manipulate the grand jury. If a conviction cannot be obtained, why bring an indictment? He asked. A grand jury in state court normally consists of 18 to 23 residents from the county where an alleged crime occurred. At least 12 have to agree on any decision. A grand jury decides whether charges should be brought after hearing sworn testimony behind closed doors. It may determine how serious the charge will be -- first-degree murder, second-degree murder, or manslaughter. Thomas Lehner, the Vermont Court administrator, said the grand jury is still in use in some states, but many abandoned the system because of abuses in the 1940s and ‘50s. In Vermont, grand juries fell into disuse years ago The last to go were those concerning homicides; They disappeared a dozen years ago. The grand jury was created in the United States with the ratification if the Fifth amendment 200 years ago this month. Grand juries were important in Vermont’s early days because state’s attorneys weren’t always lawyers, according to Albert Barney, retired chief justice of the Vermont Supreme Court. The grand jurors saw themselves as having equal power, Barney said. Other values O’neill said there is a positive side-effect to grand juries. He said he found that grand jurors came away with a better understanding and a deeper appreciation for the criminal justice system. “They also get an understanding about the extent of crime in Vermont,” O’Neill said. The grand jury provides a valuable way to obtain or preserve testimony. “It was a very legitimate way to obtain testimony from those who did want to testify,” O’Neill said. He said witnesses may be subpoenaed if they refuse to speak to investigators. The testimony is provided under oath, thus exposing the witnesses to a perjury charge if they lie. O’Neill said the grand jurors can tell you if you have a problem or a hole in your case. Jurors take on homicides The grand jury actions in Vermont Superior Court during the past three months include -Sept. 12: A first-degree murder charge against Rebecca S. Durenleau, 39, of Franklin. She is accused of aiding a boyfriend in the killing of her husband outside an Essex Junction bar. She allegedly assisted Harmon Olmstead by setting up Michael Durenleau to be killed July 12, 1985, outside Veronica's Tavern on Park Street. -Oct. 1: An involuntary manslaughter charge against Rebecca Anne Emmons, 18, of Burlington in the May death of her 11 1/2 -month-old baby. Scot A. Bombard Jr. died in the Medical Center Hospital of Vermont for a head injury. -Oct. 30: A ruling of justifiable homicide in the June 15 fatal shooting of John Darling, 20, said he shot his older brother by accident. He said he was trying to protect his 14-year-old brother, Joel, from John Darling. The jury voted 15-5 that it was not a criminal act. -Dec. 4: Three involuntary manslaughter charges against Stephen Converse Brooks, 37, of Pearl Street in connection with the carbon monoxide poisoning of three people at his former home in December 1988. The indictment came less than a week before the statute of limitations would have expired. A pregnant woman, Linda Cifarelli, 26, her husband, John, 34, and their daughter, Nina, 23 months, were found dead in the house Dec. 10, 1988. -Dec. 5: An involuntary manslaughter charge against Brain Draper, 1, of Highgate for the Oct. 17 fatal shooting of a Franklin County farmhand. Michael Pigeon, 16, was shot in the head at the farm off Tarte Road in Highgate. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Goad, Samuel Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Grand Jury Sees Action Description An account of the resource In recent months, the court system in the state of Vermont has seen a revival of the Grand jury. While the practice of calling for a Grand jury is legitimate, some question whether affording the prosecution such a powerful tool to indict does not overstep the boundaries of prosecutorial misconduct. Several lawyers, officers, and experts argue the implications of this new wave of Grand jury indictments. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Burlington, VT Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Donoghue, Mike Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Burlington Free Press Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-08-12 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 JPGs 300 DPI Subject The topic of the resource Grand jury--United States Legal aid Prosecutorial misconduct https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/af51f244efea02e72873386d4af6458a.jpg b2f4aa19320ba9185a1f34b8ca0ef6c6 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/260e3ed6d498cea5c0e334c1b07d0fa7.jpg 04cae11e9289139d9ef8332b708a11d1 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 2, 1983-1994 Text Text Any textual data included in the document Hartford – When Windsor County State’s Attorney Patricia Zimmerman decided not to prosecute a high-profile unlawful trespass case last month, she said her decision was made “in deference to the privacy rights of the witnesses.” The fact that some of the witnesses in the case were lesbians influenced her decision, she said. Was her reasoning legitimate? Legal? Unprecedented? Yes, yes and no, legal and police experts say. “She is well within statutory authority to make that decision,” said Tom Torti, executive director of the Vermont Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs. “The privacy rights of an individual is as legitimate a reason for not bringing a case as is any other reason.” Two police officers interviewed for this story said they had occasionally heard privacy rights of victims and witnesses cited as reasons not to prosecute in cases that involve children or allegations of aggravated sexual assault. State’s attorneys have a remarkable degree of latitude in deciding whether to prosecute a case, and they needn’t explain their reasons either, said professor Michael Mello of Vermont Law School in South Royalton. The seemingly simple question of “Was the law broken?”is complicated by a number of other factors. Can the state prove its case? Does the alleged lawbreaker endanger the public safety? Given state budget cuts, is prosecution the best use of limited staff resources? What is the severity of the charge, and is prosecution worth the effort? “Having ongoing relationships with not just the police, but the public in general are legitimate factors that oftentimes come into the charging equation,” Mello said. “The wants and needs of the victims as well as the wants and needs of third parties, especially, in this case, of innocent witnesses,” he said, explaining that his information about this case comes from news accounts. “At least as told by the Valley News . . . this may not have been your everyday, normal trespass case,” Mello said. “If sexual orientation was an issue or potential issue in the trial, given the general homophobic nature of U.S. culture, (non-prosecution) makes sense to me.” Although a reluctant witness can be compelled by the court to testify, such a witness may be hostile and unhelpful, Torti said. The unlawful trespass charge stemmed from an evening last December when Georgina Forbes of Thetford and Susan Aranoff of Randolph went to the Howard Johnson’s junction with a group of (Continued on page 5) – DECISION friends, one of whom, a 39-year-old woman, lacked identification. Aranoff and Forbes unsuccessfully tried to persuade the bartender to let the woman in. Hartford police – five of them – were called to settle the ensuing dispute. During the subsequent arrest, Aranoff said she was shoved savagely to the floor. Aranoff and Forbes claim they were discriminated against by the bar because some in their party were lesbians. The bar denies it. The women further say the police acted unreasonably and violently during the arrest, accusations the police have consistently denied. Zimmerman sided with the police in her statement announcing her decision not to prosecute. “The Hartford Police Department acted appropriately and according to protocol,” she wrote, adding that prosecution would not serve the public good. She said yesterday that she stands by her decision. Mello analyzed Zimmerman’s decision thus: “The police are vindicated and the folks who are arrested are vindicated. At least on its face, it’s a compromise that I think had the political benefit of giving the various constituencies some of what they wanted, maybe not all. Politically, she was probably in a no-win situation.” Only one of the police officers involved in the incident could be reached for comment. Patrlman David Hedley said he was neither frustrated by nor triumphant about the case’s outcome. “If I were to get upset about all the cases that don’t get what I think they should get, I’d go nutty,” he said. “As soon as it’s out of my hands, I try to forget about it. “I don’t see that there is vindication involved,” he continued. “I just see that the truth came out. The facts were investigated by an independent body and it led to everything that my department has asserted in the first place. “I’ve been in law enforcement close to 11 years. I know the level of my conduct and am satisfied with my conduct. I don’t worry about what anybody else says, what the press says, what the victims say. I know I guided myself in a proper manner and according to our guidelines and regulations.” But if that arresting officer wasn’t frustrated, at least one former police officer was. In a letter to the Valley News, Hartford resident Frank Dupree implied that Zimmerman was pressured by a special interest group to back down. Tom Nelson, past president of the Vermont Police Association, who read about the case in the media, said it “popped” into his mind that “political” considerations might have influenced Zimmerman’s decision. “Most people don’t want for political groups to affect the courts’ work,” Nelson said. “The court should be looking for the truth. The issue should basically be the incident that occurred and the laws that were broken.” But Torti dismissed the notion that politics might have played a role. “Pat (Zimmerman) has a reputation in the state for being a very tough prosecutor. If you look at her record as a prosecutor and as a state’s attorney, clearly she hasn’t shied away from tough cases,” he said. Aranoff, who is an attorney, said she doesn’t accept Zimmerman’s stated reason for not pursuing the case, although she was glad that the charge was dropped. Aranoff said that the lesbian witnesses are her friends and she knows they weren’t concerned about their privacy. Aranoff, who is lesbian, speculated that Zimmerman wanted to show her sensitivity to the gay community by raising the privacy rights issue because she realized that otherwise her support for the police would be interpreted as insensitivity to homosexuals. “I think the state’s attorney was looking for a way out but the reason given doesn’t fly,” Aranoff said. Zimmerman said yesterday that wile some witnesses didn’t necessarily have a problem testifying, “it’s a matter of what collateral effect that process might have.” She declined to comment on Dupree’s letter, saying he is entitled to his opinion and that it was based solely on news accounts. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Zimmerman's Decision Not Groundbreaking Subject The topic of the resource Gay rights Discrimination Homophobia Description An account of the resource Windsor County State's Attorney Patricia Zimmerman dropped a case that involved prosecuting a group charged with trespassing after having been denied entrance into bar because of the sexual orientation of their party. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gutkowski, Sophia Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1992-04-14 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 JPGs 300 DPI Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Windsor County, Vermont Court decisions and opinions. Gay and lesbian studies. Privacy--United States. Windsor County (Vt.). County Court https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/c20f9710978228eb79bb145aa4bbfe0e.jpg 03e70ce54f317559ac26b0a0e871f89e Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 2, 1983-1994 Text Text Any textual data included in the document [image] END OF THE LINE: Los Angeles police form a line to prevent a crowd from going into a building Thursday. National Guard troops moved in Thursday to seize control of neighborhoods torn by riots. [image] LOOTING SUSPECTS: Police stand over handcuffed looting suspects in Los Angeles on Thursday. Looters plundered businesses and torched buildings in brazen daytime assaults. SOUTH ROYALTON --- Convicting a police officer of a crime is a hard thing for a jury to do, Vermont Law School professor Michael Mello said Thursday. But Mello, who teaches criminal procedure and said he specializes in “the general issue of regulating police behavior,” was nonetheless surprised Wednesday when a jury found four Los Angeles Police officers innocent of charges in the beating of motorist Rodney King. “I was stunned by the verdict,” Mello said Thursday. “My jaw just dropped. When I had heard earlier that they were deadlocked on all counts but one, I had assumed that they were ready to convict.” Mello’s personal reaction to the jury’s decision was tempered, though, with a professorial view of the jury’s job. “You need to be careful about trashing the jury’s verdict without knowing what they had in front of them,” he said. “They had a responsibility to view the evidence, listen to witnesses and then make judgements about the credibility of what they see and hear. “On the other hand, you had an all white jury making those credibility judgements.” Rodney King is black. The four officers charged in his beating are white. Police on trial, Mello said, begin with a built-in advantage. “Juries identify with cops,” he said. “They tend not to identify with the victims of police brutality, especially in the case of someone who is not clearly an innocent victim.” Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Lindsey, Megan Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Verdict 'stuns' Vt. law professor Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hacker, Tom Subject The topic of the resource Verdicts King, Rodney Description An account of the resource Michael Mello gives his thoughts on the jury’s verdict of the Los Angeles police officers who beat Rodney King, who were found innocent. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Tom Hacker, “Verdict 'stuns' Vt. law professor,” HIST298, https://hist299.umwhistory.org/admin/items/show/142. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1992-05-01 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 300 DPI 1 JPG Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Los Angeles, CA 1992 Los Angeles Los Angeles Police Rodney King Verdict Vermont https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/3a3f2ab371efbcedbda1e75cd2d2c6e7.jpg 246468f71fe289b3e61bba4dd82d4872 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/15d49b05601869d9675647119a429750.jpg 4c0692b85fc295492882908ee7f79cff Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 2, 1983-1994 Text Text Any textual data included in the document A jury's recent verdict acquitting four Los Angeles police officers of using excessive force on a black motorist has drawn a mixed reaction from local police and attorneys. All those interviewed agreed that if one were to judge the men by the infamous videotape, then they were guilty. But some of those interviewed said they did not know what other evidence was presented court, and believed that the jury system should be supported. I'll was not sitting on a jury for seven weeks. All I saw was 83 seconds of a tape," Woodstock Police Chief Byron Kelly said. But, judging from the videotape, Kelly said, "I would have thought they were guilty." Woodstock Attorney Tom Zonay agreed. A former police officer, Zonay believes the officers used excessive force against Rodney King. On the other hand, Zonay said that from the perspective of an attorney, he was obliged to respect the jury's decision. "I am a believer that you have to respect the system and the system sometimes makes decisions that many people are not pleased with," Zonay said. Slate Police Lt, Bruce Lang said this week that "All of us are shocked at the verdict" Lang said the verdict "sends a signal to the public that police officers can get away with that activity. There was no excuse for that." An all-white jury last week acquitted the officers of beating King in March 1991 following a high-speed chase. An amateur videotape of the beating was shown on television stations across the nation, creating an outcry over the tactics police used to subdue King. The verdict led to an orgy of rioting and looting in Los Angeles last week, resulting in the deaths of 58 people. Demonstrations were held in other cities across the United States. These demonstrations sometimes turned into in riots. Locally, a demonstration was staged by students at Dartmouth College. Michael Mello, a criminal law professor at the Vermont Law School, said the verdict was the result of the trial's location being moved from Los Angeles to Simi Valley. While Mello agreed with changing the trial's location, he said Simi Valley was' a poor choice because of its overwhelmingly white population. He said the jury should have been picked from an ethnically diverse area. Mello said the population of Simi was comprised of middle class whites who had fled Los Angeles. The jurors, according to Mello, were more inclined to believe a police officer than a victim of police brutality. Mello cases with the media. In this instance, however, Mello said "This verdict sickened me as a lawyer and as a citizen." Lang, said he too, was surprised that an all-white jury had been picked to decide the case. "I just don't understand that, especially in an area like Southern California," Lang said. Lang has been a police officer in Vermont for 15 years. In that time, he said he has never seen a single case of police using excessive force against anyone. As commander of the Bethel Barracks for the past five years, Lang has only received one complaint about an officer using excessive force to apprehend a suspect. Lang said the person who made the complaint was not the defendant in the case. Lang investigated the complaint and found that the officer was justified in using his nightstick to apprehend the suspect. Lang added that Vermont Slate troopers are taught never to strike defendants above the shoulders. U.S. Rep. Bernard Sanders criticized the 11-year Reagan- Bush presidential "reign" as the underlying cause behind the riots that resulted from the verdict. "During the same period as' the rich were getting richer, lower-income black workers saw their wages drop by 50 percent. The percentage of qualified his statements, saying that besides the videotape, he did not know what other evidence was presented to the jurors. For this reason, Mello said, he usually declines to discuss African-American fathers who did not earn enough at their jobs to keep their families out of poverty jumped from 25 to 40 percent,” Sanders said. He called for a “fundamental change in national priorities. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Verdict shocks Cops, Lawyers Subject The topic of the resource Police brutality--United States Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Brown, Julian P. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 JPGs 300 dpi Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Florida Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1992-05-07 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Vermont Standard Description An account of the resource A recent verdict has acquitted four Los Angeles police officers for using excessive force on a black motorist. This verdict has drawn a mixed reaction from local police and attorneys. https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/c5f84b16aaa2c120f2935bb028fd214e.jpg c35abf6b6e41b46c6b47389d451bf5ea https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/e21445019fa62d5279a8ae193d9d9655.jpg 2299f9d6fcf5e894f21cbc24d68fb100 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 2, 1983-1994 Text Vol. No./Issue No. Volume and issue number for the newspaper (if available) Vol. 41/ No. 159 Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Mesa, Drew Text Any textual data included in the document NORTH HAVERHILL- Haile Selassie Girmay, an Ethiopian man accused of murdering two Dartmouth College graduate students last year, may use an insanity defense when his trial begins in February. But that defense likely would be affected by a ruling issued yesterday that Girmay's taped confession to police can be used as evidence at his trial. Grafton County Superior Court Judge Peter W. Smith ruled yesterday that the two-hour recorded interview- in which Girmay, 33, confesses to killing the women and states how and why he did it- is admissible, despite defense protests that he didn't understand his rights as a suspect. The ruling will certainly affect how each side presents its case, especially since Girmay indicates on the tape that he had doubts about killing the women. To prove insanity, a defendant must show that he was not in a state of mind to appreciate that what he was doing was criminal. "The most widely used test is the inability to distinguish right from wrong," said Michael Mello, a criminal-law professor at Vermont Law School. Selamawit Tsehaye, who had been engaged to marry Girmay, and Trhas Berhe, her roommate, were discovered dead from ax wounds in their Summer Street apartment in Hanover on June 17, 1991. Screams from the apartment had prompted neighbors to call police, and when officers arrived, Girmay answered the door. According to police testimony given during a recent court hearing, Girmay shook hands with police at the door and said, "I killed them. I killed them both. I killed them both with an ax." It was not that statement, though, that Girmay's lawyers wanted suppressed. Rather, it was what he said to police late that day that public defenders George Ostler and James Moir did not want the jury to hear. Girmay says in that interview that he bought the ax about three days before the women were killed. He says he bought it on a whim shortly after Tsehaye told him she did not want to marry him after all. And he says on the tape that on the morning of June 17, he hesitated, prayed and waited in the early morning hours before killing the two women. Girmay, a former geophysics graduate student at Uppsala University in Sweden, has been housed in the Secure Psychiatric Unit of the New Hampshire State Prison since June of this year- a year after the homicides. He has been undergoing treatment with psychotropic drugs. "He was transferred to the unit for treatment of paranoid delusions which manifested themselves while he was housed at the (Grafton) county jail," his lawyers stated in court records. Moir and Ostler also state in court records that they plan to pursue the insanity defense. Neither Girmay's lawyers nor Assistant New Hampshire Attorneys General Mark Zuckerman and John A. Stephen would discuss how the insanity defense will be affected by use of the taped confession. "It's an important piece of evidence that can be presented to the jury so they will get a complete picture as to what happened," was the only thing Zuckerman would say. Under New Hampshire law, an insanity defense is known as an "affirmative defense," meaning that the defense must establish by a preponderance of evidence that the defendant was insane. It means the defense will present its case first at the trial. Normally, it is up to the state to carry the burden of proof, and the prosecution's case comes first. But there are no set standards in New Hampshire for determining what constitutes a successful insanity defense. Lawyers preparing such a defense look to a 1985 state Supreme Court ruling that says the defense must prove that a defendant is mentally ill and the crime is a product of that illness. "It is often difficult to ascertain if an individual has a mental disease and whether an act was the product of that disease," the court wrote. In the taped interview, Girmay says he is not a man who is quick to anger. "Even if I am angry, I don't express emotionally in most cases," he told police, according to a transcript of the interview. The transcript was made public for the first time yesterday. But when New Hampshire State Police Cpl. Wayne Fortier asks Girmay if he was hurt by Tsehaye's rejection, Girmay replies: "Of course, I have to be hurt-- I have to be hurt-- because it's-- I have been too fond of her." Girmay says on the tape that he did not set out to but the ax, but was passing by a hardware store, and saw it displayed in the wind. " I didn't go buy the ax-- but I saw the ax-- and I bought it because I was angry," he says. "I was angry, and I wanted to use it." Later in the interview he tells the police that he didn't want to use it, he just wanted to "show her that if she can punish me for a lifetime -- I can punish her with this -- not to kill her -- but to show her -- that I have also the power." At one point Hanover Police Detective Nicholas Giaccone asks Girmay why he did it. " I don't know," Girmay replies. " I was -- maybe her words that drove me to such unconscious -- state on unconscious." Girmay also told the officers that he waited at the door of the women's bedroom with the ax in his hand and watched as they slept. He said he went into another room and prayed to God, to keep him from committing the "sin." But then he said he returned to their room. "She waked up and she say I love you Haile," Girmay says toward the end of the tape. "After I beat her -- so she called her brother's name and then she said Haile I love you. "But it was done," Girmay says. " It was too late for her to change." Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Girmay Ruling May Affect Use Of Insanity Defense Subject The topic of the resource New Hampshire Courts Criminal courts--United States Description An account of the resource Haile Selassie Girmay is a man accused of murdering two Dartmouth College students. He may use insanity as a defense, but that defense may be impacted by a ruling from Judge Peter Smith. Smith found that Girmay's taped confession will be permissible in court. This is despite the fact that Girmay may not have understood his rights during his confession. The suspect's insanity defense may prove difficult because the tape indicates that Girmay had doubts about the killings. A successful insanity defense must prove that the defendant was not in a proper state of mind, which the tape undermines. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Strohmeyer, Sarah Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Valley News Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1992-12-10 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 JPGs 300 DPI Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant New Hampshire Criminal Court Michael A. Mello New Hampshire New Hampshire Supreme Court https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/15e1242fa6cf5695a3e840123cd9eb9d.jpg d9a898249d6ca9d061c4332f3aac0111 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/59751eb600c440c496a2af70064daf4e.jpg 232962e2db48cdf964eccb9d383a44a1 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 2, 1983-1994 Text Text Any textual data included in the document What Congress now deems "reasonable" may soon prove impossible for state police. <br /><br />Confusion within law enforcement and gun dealerships about the scope and implementation of the Brady law can be traced to language that may ultimately have to be defined by the federal courts. <br /><br />With fewer than 70 days until the law goes into effect, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) have yet to issue a coherent policy for state police to make the mandated background checks on handgun purchasers. <br /><br />At issue for police and gun dealers is a phrase that appears to only vaguely define the extent of authorities' responsibilities. <br /><br />The Brady law requires that police "shall make a reasonable effort to ascertain within five business days" whether a potential handgun purchaser has a felony in his criminal history, is a fugitive from justice, is "an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance," is an illegal alien, has been dishonorably discharged from the armed forces, has renounced U.S. citizenship, or has "been adjudicated a mental defective or been committed to a mental institution. <br /><br />Although these restrictions have existed in federal law since 1968, police have never been called upon to verify them. Each is reason enough to prohibit the transfer of a handgun. <br /><br />"Reasonableness" is a word that often finds its way into legislation and just as often signifies a compromise. "It allows all sides to claim political victory," said Michael Mello, a professor of criminal law and procedures at Vermont Law School in South Royalton. <br /><br />"That's a loophole big enough to drive a truck through," said Mello. <br /><br />Whatever victories and whatever party affiliation of the victors, some question remains about a law that might not have the legal teeth or procedural muscle to curb violent crime. <br /><br />For instance, although most state police forces remain, or are in the process of constructing, computer files of criminal histories, how can they check for an "unlawful user" of controlled substances without a criminal conviction recording the abuse? <br /><br />In order to satisfy the other background demands, will the police be given access to military and immigration records? No definitive answers have yet come from Washington.<br /><br />"In some of the categories, there may be categories where nothing can be reasonably done. Drugs are not easy to check. The ATF will have to put out regulations on how to do that," said one congressional aide who is attached to the House Judiciary Committee. The aide declined to be identified, but said that he had been present at and involved in the process of drafting the law. <br /><br />"The (Brady) law is a political compromise, and I imagine that the 'reasonable' Brady clause factored into that decision," said the aide. <br /><br />He said it was his impression that framing legislators such as Sen. Howard Metzenbaum, D-Ohio, and Rep. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., wanted to mandate a criminal records check and to encourage the checking of other conditions where possible. <br /><br />But a legislative aide from Sen. Metzenbaum's office, speaking about the ambiguities of the bill's language, said he wasn't sure how the bill would be fulfilled. <br /><br />"The ATF may or may not clear that up. If the ATF doesn't, the courts will," said the aide, who also spoke on the conditions of anonymity. <br /><br />Officials at the U.S. Department of Justice have been equally reticent about announcing a federal plan that would help guide state law enforcement agencies through the law. They said that such a plan is currently under review. When pressed for a date of release, they said the plan would be presented "in the near future." <br /><br />Traditional opponents of gun control have been quick to finger the source of the law's confusion. <br /><br />"Since there's no standard definition of 'reasonable,' the Brady Bill has no effect. You'll have the waiting period in some cases, but there's no obligation for a records check. The law is unenforceable," said Joseph Phillips, a lobbyist for the National Rifle Association (NRA) in Washington. <br /><br />Phillips said the NRA was confident the law would be struck down - at least partially - once tested in court because there are no penalties for police departments that fail to make the background checks. He also said that Congress' efforts were misplaced, and that the system would be better served by a procedure for an instant background check. <br /><br />Semantics aside, the debate has done little to make the law's application any clearer. <br /><br />Col. Robert Horton, director of the Vermont State Police, the agency that will oversee the mandated check of criminal records, doesn't see how his force can fully comply with the law.<br /><br />"It's an extreme amount of work, and we just don't have the personnel or resources. There is no database that combines all those files," said Horton. <br /><br />The result in Vermont will probably be a passing of responsibility to municipal police forces. Horton said that local police will likely recognize potential purchasers and are therefore in a better position to judge who is fit to own handguns. <br /><br />Horton acknowledges that casual information cannot satisfy the Brady law's background stipulations, but he said he is resigned to do what he can to make the law work. <br /><br />"A lot of those things just got tacked onto the bill to please everybody. It's hard to put a value on it. It may not be cost-effective, but if (the law) saves one life, it's probably worth it," he said. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Vol. No./Issue No. Volume and issue number for the newspaper (if available) Volume 42: Number 185 Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Fanning, Neal Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Carrying Out Grady Bill Could Be Troublesome Subject The topic of the resource Gun control--United States Description An account of the resource Concerns arise about vagueness with gun control bill supposed to tighten background checks. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Pearce, Jeremy Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Valley News Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1993-12-23 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 300 dpi 2 JPGs Language A language of the resource English Background Checks Federal Legislation Gun Control https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/808bd0b756eafdc41396af80991ab380.jpg 028eaef7e11c047881a1c82d1d577321 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/a64befea40e6f4091dac49dfdc0a1a6d.jpg 39370f5c482cb7f874a0f4fa70fdf345 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/f0583045667f1452690f531d5e41cf98.jpg 4dd2c94d31edfc5da61db85d457899f4 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 2, 1983-1994 Text Text Any textual data included in the document Vermont prides itself on its progressive approach to incarceration, especially in its treatment programs for offenders. But a recent visit to the state by the American Civil Liberties Union's National Prison Project is bringing those programs under closer scrutiny, and raising questions that cross and recross the lines between philosophy, physiology, and law. Do these programs mean to punish people or change them? Do they work> Are they Legal? Last month, the ACLU sent Gov. Howard Dean a long letter criticizing conditions in Vermont's prison system. In the letter the ACLU claims that the states treatment programs for violent offenders and sexual offenders are "of an extraordinarily intrusive and dubious nature," that they are coercive, and that they force prisoners to waive their rights to confidentiality. Drawing on reports from inmates and their lawyers, the ACLU also criticism the way programs are staffed, claiming that the programs "vest untrammeled power to practice 'psychotherapy' in the hand of unqualified guards, ex guards, caseworkers and contractors, whose attitude towards prisoners is usually hostile and adversarial at best, and not infrequently vindictive and sadistic." The ACLU refuses to comment on the letter, which has been obtained by the Valley News, or on its past prison activities elsewhere in the country. Nor would Department of Corrections Commissioner John Gorczyk talk about the ACLU's criticisms of the state's treatment programs other than to say they are "more philosophical than legal in nature." The Comment is telling. Mental health professionals, lawyers and corrections officials interviewed for this story had difficulty restricting their comments and observations exclusively to their own disciplines. "It's a problem you encounter whenever you introduce medicine, or mental health, into law," says Michael Mello, a Vermont Law School professor who specializes in criminal and constitutional law. "The agendas are so different it introduces a warping effect." The agenda of psychiatry is to make people well, he says. The agenda of criminal justice "is ot making people well but making them act right, behave a certain way, and also to punish them even if they're well and are acting right now. The punitive dimension is the most dramatic difference." Punishment is the issue that falls under Constitutional protection. The Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution provides protection against cruel and unusual punishment. Since the early 1970s, the legal test of that provision has been "whether a punishment violates the evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society," Mello says. "It;s a good, evocative term, supplied most often in capital punishment cases. And, as it implies, the standard of what's constitutional changes as the cultural norms change." Vermont's program for violent offenders is mandatory for all inmates convicted of violent crimes, as well as those who are determined to have a history of violence. Inmates serving time for sexual offenses are told that parole and probation may hinge on their successfully completing a program for sexual aggressors. Is that coercion? "Probably no more coercive than plea bargaining," Mello says. But similar policy on sex offenders, passed by the Kentucky legislature in 1986, is being challenged in the state's circuit court, according to Barbara Jones, general counsel for the Kentucky Department of Corrections. The Legal issue, says Jones, is that in order to participate in the program, a sex offender must admit his guilt. "Some don't believe they have a problem," she says. "Others, who are challenging their conviction on appeal, have been advised by their attorneys not to admit." And there's the rub: Admitting guilt could be self-incriminating, and might mean a conviction for a second crime. So far, the state court has ruled that the program and the requirement to admit are constitutional, Jones says. "But out case, or someone else's, could wind up in the (U.S.) Supreme Court." In the past the Supreme Court has upheld the prosecution of criminals for crimes they admitted to under treatment, Mello says. "But I wouldn't want to make book on the way these questions would be resolved by the Supreme Court and presently constituted." Nor would he wager on the outcome under Vermont's Supreme Court. "That court has always gone beyond the minimum standards to protect the rights of suspects." Vermont's sex offender program also requires that offenders admit guilt, says William Pithers, a clinical psychologist and director of the Vermont Treatment Program for sexual Aggressors. In the 11-year history of the program, Pithers can remember only one istance in which an inmate's admission led to a second conviction. "His sentence ran concurrently, so he would up not doing any more time than his original sentence," he says. Under state law, teachers, doctors and counselors in Vermont are required to report the sexual abuse of minors to authorities. Counselors in Vermont's treatment program are bound by this mandate as well. Minors are given this protection because the state assumes they may not have access to treatment otherwise, Pithers says. Counselors are not required to report crimes involving adults. Sex offenders who agree to treatment are required to sign a waiver of confidentiality, according to a published description of the program. The programs are constructed and supervised by mental health professionals. Although the treatment team makes recommendations to the parole board, the board is under no obligation to follow the recommendation. "The parole board is an independent agency and has, in the past month, paroled four people against the recommendation of the treatment program," Pithers says. "That's the way it should be - a system of checks and balances." Pithers emphasiszes that the program itself is not coercive. Offenders are taught that committing a crime is a personal choice - actually, one in a long series of choices that has resulted in their arrest and conviction. Counter to popular myth - and to old, disproven theories - sexual aggressors are not mentally ill, they are not swept away by irresistible impulses, and they are not oversexed, Pithers says. Nor are sexual aggressors suffering from a simple lack of self esteem. The philosophy behind the program: what sexual aggressors need is to become conscious of the choices the make that lead to acts, and to recognize the consequences of their behavior on other people. The focus of treatment is teaching others to empathize with their victims, and to identify the patterns of thoughts, feelings and beliefs that lead them into abusive behavior. Depending on the individual, offenders are taught to acknowledge their emotions and their "thinking errors," to manage their anger, to alter abusive sexual fantasies and urges. The goal: to give offenders the skills they need to catch themselves slipping into old patters and correct the behavior and ultimately to prevent relapses. A Corrections Department study using cumulative figures from 1982 to 1991 shows the treatment to be most successful for child sex offenders, somewhat less so for rapists. Since the beginning of the program, about 30 of the 473 offenders treated have been brought back to prison for repeating their crimes. "No form of treatment wil eliminate all recidivism by sexual aggressors. No form of treatment can remove a person's ability to exercise free choice," Pithers says. The philosophy behind the treatment program: Sexual aggressors need to become conscious of the choices they make that lead to criminal acts, and to recognize the consequences of their behavior on other people. But when does treatment become punishment? A technique that raises red flags to civil libertarians is the use of an instrument called a penile plethysmograph. The device, when attached to the penis of a male offender while he views slides or listens to tapes of people in various sex acts result in arousal. Proponents of the device say it is necessary to break through the denial that keeps many offenders from seeking treatment for their deviance. "Some men don't get aroused until they hear that blood is spurting from the face of the women they have just punched," Pithers says. "They can deny it, but a counselor in the next room can see the evidence clearly." In some cases, recognizing a deviant pattern of arousal is a necessary step toward treatment. Pithers says that Vermont uses the plethysmograph primarily in a mandatory assessment of offenders before treatment begins. Offenders are alone when they use the device, which is attached to a measuring instrument in an adjoining room. "Even I wish those things weren't necessary. It would be wonderful to be able to treat individuals who are turned on to fantasies about assaulting people by making them feel better about themselves, but the reality is we can't. Violent Offenders Program Unlike Vermont's sex offender program, the State's treatment program for violent offenders is mandatory and is not supervised and carried out by mental health professionals. "We don't assume people are sick. We assume they're lawbreakers," says Jack Bush, a consultant who designed Vermont's program. Bush, who has a Ph.D. in philosophy, says that the program doe not rely on confidential disclosures or an intimate alliance with a therapist. "The program is very pragmatic and methodical," he says. Though treatment is mandatory, it's a soft shell, Bush says. Inmates are told "your history demonstrates you're a high risk offender. Our solution is to incarcerate you for the maximum sentence. Another is to teach you skills, give you the ability to control your own risk. You get to choose your course." If offenders successfully complete the program, they may be released earlier on parole. The program, like the state's treatment for sexual aggressors, is built around the theory that violent behavior is a choice, based on patters of thought, feelings, and beliefs. Once a person is aware of that pattern, he can chose to change it. "This is not a therapy we impose on offenders or something we do to offenders. It's a technique we teach them, a rational hopeful process," he says. Treatment takes place in groups, where offenders listen to each other vocalize the thoughts that run through their heads in situations that inspire them to violence. Offenders are taught to recognize false assumptions and to substitute non-violent problem-solving techniques. They keep journals - or Thinking Reports - of their efforts to recognize and change their own abusive patters. Offenders are also taught that partial lapses do not mean total failure, that a chain of events that results in a crime can be stopped at several places. The program was deliberately designed to use corrections officers, not mental health counselors, because it is meant to be integrated into day-to-day life inside the system, Bush says, not separated from it. Ideally, the program could be an impetus for system-wide change, a model of a new, collaborative relationship between corrections officers and inmates. At a training workshop sponsored by the New England Council on Crime and Delinquency in Burlington earlier this month, Brian Bilodeau, a former guard and now a case work supervisor at the Northwest Stat Correctional Facility in St. Albans, offered himself as an example of someone who'd turned around from a punitive attitude toward inmates to a positive one. It was his participation, as a corrections officer, in the violent offender program that made him aware of the destructive role he was playing, he said. For more than an hour, he and a small group of consultants and corrections officers talked about the difficulties in translating a good idea and a hopeful vision into real change. "We're not very good at implementing ourselves into a new vision," said Bush. "But there are glimpses of the light all over here." Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Vol. No./Issue No. Volume and issue number for the newspaper (if available) Vol. 42: Number 158 Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Stroh, Cooper Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Treatment Programs For Inmates Raise Deep Questions Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Serrell, Nancy Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1993-10-26 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 3 jpgs 300 DPI Language A language of the resource English Subject The topic of the resource Constitutionally legality of correction facility's treatment programs for sexual offenders and violent offenders in Vermont. Description An account of the resource An article about treatment programs in Vermont dealing with sexual and violent offenders. Programs in Vermont deal with the rehabilitation of inmates with questionable methods that some argue are not constitutional. Mello, Pithers, and Bush, three authorities on the subject provide counter arguments and a description of the programs purpose and execution. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Valley News Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Vermont American Civil Liberties Union Inmate Treatment Programs Jack Bush John Gorczyk Law and Mental Health Michael A. Mello Prison Correction Programs Rehabilitation Sexual Offender Treatment Programs Vermont Violent Criminals Violent Offender Treatment Porgrams William Pithers https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/7224b4885b2e6047022f1a1a3ad83975.jpg 25ff76420ffde2e5a5fd3cb37b07b6e1 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Porno Ban is Assailed Condition Imposed On Alleged Rapist Called Improper Subject The topic of the resource Pornography--Law and legislation. Pornography--Law and legislation--Social aspects--United States. Constitutional rights Vermont. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 jpeg Language A language of the resource English Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sarah Strohnmeyer Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived "Porno Ban is Assailed Condition Imposed On Alleged Rapist Called Improper" West Lebanon (NH) Valley News, November 29, 1993. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Valley News Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Nov. 29, 1993 https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/4b6f8b0ac644c54870c3c4d0168aa610.jpg d67fbcac278c7c8345c21eed65b64421 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 2, 1983-1994 Text Text Any textual data included in the document CHEALSEA – when Judge Mary Miles Teachout last month ordered alleged rapist David C. Green not to possessor view pornography as a requirement of his release from jail, she imposed a condition that some experts find troubling. Vermont American Civil Liberties Union lawyers and other legal experts say they have never seen such a condition before and they have problems with it. For one thing, teachout appears to be linking the alleged crime – sexual assault – with a medium Green viewed on the day he attacked his wife. “Take it out of the realm of sex,” suggested Vermont ACLU Executive Director Leslie Williams. “What if you rob a bank after watching a movie about robbing a bank? Its assuming a connection that I’m not sure is justified.” “It’s a first for me,” said Vermont Law School Professor Michael A. Mello, who teaches criminal law. He said judges have the right to impose a number of conditions of release that limit liberties as long as those conditions can be “rationally related to the offense” and do not directly violate the constitution. “I think it’s unconstitutional,” said Mello of Teachout’s order. “it feels to me unconstitutional.” The crime of which Green is accused, however, is a supremely violent one. According to records filed in Vermont District Court in Chelsea, Green, 22, allegedly repeatedly raped his wife, who had told him she wanted a divorce, on Oct. 21, after handcuffing her in his car. Supposedly armed with a gun that he did not show her, Green took her to a secluded area, sexually assaulted her, and then took her back to their apartment where he allegedly raped her again. “He told me that earlier in the day he had rented a movie and had masturbated while watching the movie,” his wife wrote in an affidavit submitted to police. Neither the affidavit or other police records indicate what kind of movie it was. Green, of Lebanon, was arrested by Vermont State Police and charged with five counts of aggravated sexual assault plus a count of kidnapping on Oct. 25. He is in the southeast Regional Correctional Facility in Woodstock, unable to make bail. David Putter, who chairs the Vermont ACLU’s legal panel, said that the problem with Teachout’s pornography condition is that it is essentially unenforceable because it’s so broad. He noted that Vermont has no legal definition of pornography – a concept usually defined by local mores. Most states that have defined pornography have kept the parameters vague. “The bottom line is that while it may very well be for the state to criminalize or prohibit certain types of speech content, which would fall under the rubrick of obscenity,” Putter said. “The state can’t prohibit speech unless it clearly defines the prohibited speech and that speech falls within a lawful definition of obscenity.” “one of the traditional problems with obscenity is having a clear definition,” he continued. “If (Teachout) has not specified what particular guidelines govern, then the order would be a violation not only of the First Amendment but of the Vermont Constitution as well.” But what about the fact that many everyday rights – such as drinking alcohol, soeaking and being free to associate with whomever one wants – are often yanked when someone is released on bail? Mello said the difference lies in the material nature of what Teachout is prohibiting. “it’s different from other kinds of conditions of parole and probation, maybe because it has to do with communication, with books and the modern information highway whose incarnation is movies,” Mello said. “What bothers me is it’s the suppression of ideas . . . it infringes on the marketplace of ideas. It has a potentially chilling effect.” Williams, who is not a lawyer, put Teachout’s order in lay terms. “This is unreasonable. To forbid someone to read something or look at something is going a little too far.” Teachout, who, until recently, was the judge in Windsor County Family Court, could not be reached for comment. However, she has declined to discuss her bench rulings with the press in the past. Green did not return messages left for him at the prison. His lawyer, Matthew Levine of White River Junction, could not be reached for comment this weekend. If Teachout did impose the condition because of what Green’s wife said in the affidavit, then she wouldn’t be the first legal authority to link pornography with a sex crime. Seven years ago then Attorney General Edwin Meese’s Commission on Pornography linked hard-core porn to sex crimes. The commission’s report concluded that “substantial exposure to sexually violent materials . . . bears causal relationship to antisocial acts of sexual violence and possibly to unlawful acts of sexual violence.” Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Article Vol. No./Issue No. Volume and issue number for the newspaper (if available) Volume 42: Number 161 Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Carter, Jacob Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Porno Ban Is Assailed: Condition Imposed on Alleged Rapist Called Improper Subject The topic of the resource Pornography--Law and legislation Pornography--Law and legislation--Social aspects--United States First amendment cases Description An account of the resource Newspaper article analyzing the legality of a judges ruling to ban an alleged rapist from owning or viewing pornography. Michael Mello and other legal professionals give insight into the case. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Strohnmeyer, Sarah Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Newspaper Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1993-11-29 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 jpgs 300 DPI Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant NH ACLU court cases First Amendment Michael A. Mello New Hampshire pornography https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/0114402b747b1a1097d749b98a7528d7.jpg 45020fa78462623784cfe51d9890fe65 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 2, 1983-1994 Text Text Any textual data included in the document CHELSEA – A judge is drawing fire because she ruled that a man charged with rape could be released from jail only if he agreed not to possess or view pornography. Civil liberties advocates said they were troubled by Judge Mary Miles Teachout’s ruling. “It’s a first for me,” said Vermont Law School Professor Michael A. Mello. Teachout decided that David C. Green could be released on bail while awaiting trial but only on the condition that he stay away from pornography. Green, 22, is accused of repeatedly raping his wife, who had told him he wanted a divorce, on Oct. 21. “He told me that earlier in the day he had rented a movie and had masturbated while watching the movie,” Green’s wife wrote in an affidavit submitted to police. Neither the affidavit nor other police records indicated the content of the movie. Green of Lebanon, N.H., was arrested and charged with five counts of aggravated sexual assault and one of kidnapping. He is being held in the Southeast Regional Correctional Facility in Woodstock, unable to make bail. Critics of the release conditions Teachout set questioned whether the judge should be linking the alleged crime with a movie. “Take it out of the realm of sex,” suggested Vermont American Civil Liberties Union executive director Leslie Williams. “What if you rob a bank after watching a movie about robbing a bank? It’s assuming a connection that I’m not sure is justified.” Mello, who teaches criminal law, said judges had the right to impose a number of release conditions as long as they can be “rationally related to the offense” and do not violate the constitution. “I think it’s unconstitutional,” Mello said of Teachout’s order. David Putter, chairman of the Vermont ACLU’s legal panel, said the problem with the order was that it was essentially unenforceable because it’s so broad. Vermont has no legal definition of pornography, he said. “The state can’t prohibit speech unless it clearly defines the prohibited speech and that speech falls within a lawful definition of obscenity,” Putter said. “If (Teachout) has not specified what particular guidelines govern, then the order would be a violation not only of the First Amendment but of the Vermont Constitution as well.” Mello said Teachout’s order involved the “suppression of ideas… it infringes on the marketplace of ideas. It has a potentially chilling effect.” That is what sets apart from typical conditions of release, such as prohibiting drinking alcohol or barring contact with certain people, he said. Williams, who is not a lawyer, said the argument could be put in simpler terms. “This is unreasonable,” she said. “To forbid someone to read something or look at something is going a little too far.” [Pull quote]: “What if you rob a bank after watching a movie about robbing a bank? It’s assuming a connection that I’m not sure is justified.” Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. Bales, Jack Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Conditions of Release: Don't Watch Pornographic Movies Subject The topic of the resource Pornography--Law and legislation American Civil Liberties Union Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived "Conditions of Release: Don't Watch Pornographic Movies ,” Rutland (VT) Daily Herald , November 30, 1993. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 1 JPG 300 dpi Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1993-11-30 Language A language of the resource English Description An account of the resource After a man views a pornographic movie, he rapes his wife and is charged with sexual assault. A judge rules that he can be released on bail only if he agrees not to possess or watch pornography. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Lebanon, NH First Amendment https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/bc66b7c29c7fb109d08aae80d0a1fedb.jpg 2f1eddca65bc48a67135ec5a083f1f7f https://hist299.umwhistory.org/files/original/6a3aa9a7ccc63ec6a8c7d582ad15040a.jpg 7958f917ea03938a99a614845b98cb49 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael A. Mello Papers, Series 1 News Clippings, Binder 2, 1983-1994 Text Contributor of the Digital Item Person submitting the digital item to the collection. McDonough, Caitlin Text Any textual data included in the document TALLAHASSEE – To their dismay, prosecutors are learning that Florida’s death sentence law suffers from a kind of genetic defect – a flaw that could give dozens of killers a second chance at life sentences. Last month, the state Supreme Court ruled that a crucial jury instruction about premeditation and cruelty in Florida capital cases is unconstitutional. That decision sprang from a similar ruling by the U.S Supreme Court. Combined, the two cases probably represent the most significant death penalty setbacks for prosecutors since the mid-1980s, experts say. In both decisions, the courts ruled that standard jury instructions used in virtually every Florida death penalty case gave jurors too much discretion to demand death. The result: The sentences of most of Florida’s 339 Death Row inmates probably will have to be reviewed in appeals courts over the next few years. For the majority of condemned inmates, the error probably will not prevent their eventual execution. But at least a few prisoners will escape the electric chair as a result of the rulings. In fact, one – Davidson James, convicted of the 1981 robbery-murder of an elderly Hillsborough County woman – already has. He got a life sentence when his case went back. And there’s a chance that the problem eventually will require new sentencing before new juries in dozens of cases. That would mean even more inmates would avoid electrocution. “This is a major constitutional change in the law,” said Steven Goldstein, an associate dean at the Florida State University law school. Mark Schlakman, a legal adviser to Gov. Lawton Chiles, says that the state’s death penalty jury instructions ought to be thoroughly reviewed in the wake of the decisions. The instructions are written by committees of lawyers and approved by the state Supreme Court. Said Jacksonville State Attorney Harry Shorstein: “Of course, it’s difficult enough to try death penalty cases without changing the rules after the fact.” Prosecutors have been burned before by a similar ruling. In a 1987 case called Hitchcock vs. Dugger, the U.S. Supreme Court threw the state for a loop when it held another Florida jury instruction relating to evidence in the defendant’s favor was unconstitutional. Eventually, about … Death Row inmates got new sentencing hearings. Damage Control This time around, with so many more sentences at risk, Florida officials are hoping to avoid that kind of chaos. And state Supreme Court justices already have made it clear that they’ll strictly enforce procedural rules that could halt most of the appeals. In fact, some Death Row defense lawyers complain that the justices are overdoing the damage control – possibly to avoid embarrassment. “Unless the court found some way to limit the scope of [the recent cases], the disruption on Florida’s Death Row could be significant and the Florida Supreme Court could wind up being the one blamed by the public,” said Michael Mello, a Vermont Law School professor who’s perhaps the leading expert on Florida’s death penalty jury instructions. Jury instructions are the way that the law gets applied to individual cases. If those instructions are flawed, jurors are liable to apply the law incorrectly. That’s exactly what happened in the two recent cases, the courts [are saying]. April 21 in the case of Andrea Hicks Jackson, who had been sentenced to death for the slaying of a Jacksonville police officer. In her appeal, Jackson’s lawyers alleged that a key jury instruction used at her trial was unconstitutionally vague. The instruction told jurors how to define of of the key aggravating factors used to justify death, the “cold, calculated and premeditated” factor. Jurors apparently found that the factor applied, because they recommended the death penalty for Jackson by 7-5. But on appeal, Jackson’s lawyers argued that the jury instruction was unconstitutionally broad. The state Supreme Court concluded that Jackson’s lawyers were right. By a 5-2 cote, the court invalidated the jury instruction and ordered a new sentencing for Jackson before a new jury. Two justices Ben Overt[…] and Parker Lee McDonald, […]ented, saying th[…] though […] instruction was […]. […], the majority […] the penalty phase of […]] case in which the […] jury instruction [on that aggravating factor] was given subject to attack,” The decision was prompted by an earlier U.S supreme Court ruling invalidating another Florida jury instruction. That decision, issued in 1992, threw out the instruction on the so-called “heinous atrocious or cruel” aggravating factor. Again, the problem was vagueness. The potential damage is so large because most Florida death cases involve one or both of the aggravating factors under attack. Florida prosecutors can expect to limit the damage significantly, however. First prosecutors can argue that defendants who didn’t object to the instruction at their trials aren’t eligible for relief. Second, they can argue that the incorrect jury instruction didn’t make any difference in the outcome – for example, where the killer’s sentence was supported by two or three other aggravating factors. So far, those methods have stymied all but four of the 25 or so Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Notes Additional information regarding your item. This content will not be viewable in the Public View. ink splotch in the middle of the article. Student Editor of the Digital Item Williams, Megan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Florida Court ruling could spare lives of some condemned inmates Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource McKinninon, John D. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available HIST 298, University of Mary Washington Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994-05-07 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source. Language A language of the resource English Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource 2 jpgs 300 dpi Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Florida Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived McKinninon, John D., "Florida court ruling could spare lives of some condemned inmates," Miami Herald, May 7, 1994. 1A, 16A. Subject The topic of the resource Florida Supreme Court Death Penalty Death Row Description An account of the resource The Flordia Court made a ruling to spare the lives of condemned inmates. death penalty Death Row inmates Michael A. Mello Michael Allen Mello Michael Mello Supreme Court Supreme Court of Florida