Kevin Keith is a 46 year old African American male who is scheduled to be executed in the state of Ohio on September 15th for 3 murders he has always claimed he did not commit.
On February 13th 1994, someone fatally shot Marichell Chatman, her 7 year old daughter, and her aunt, as well as injuring her two young cousins and her boyfriend. Keith, an occasional babysitter, was arrested on the 15th of February. Three days later, one of the two cousins who survived the shooting told the police that the gunman was her "daddy's friend, Bruce", and when shown Keith's photo, she said he was not the shooter. But less than 4 months later, Kevin Keith was sitting on death row awaiting execution for the murders.
The prosecution claimed that, whilst in hospital, one of the victim's, Richard Warren, named Kevin Keith as the shooter. A police officer testified that he first heard the name 'Kevin' from Warren's nurse, Amy Gimmets. Amy Gimmets was not called as a witness during trial. In 2007, Keith's lawyers discovered why. No one by that name had ever been employed at the hospital. The victim's attending nurse was a woman named Amy Whisman, who later signed a statement saying that, although she had called the police when Warren woke up after surgery, she had neither asked him nor been told by him who the gunman was.
Keith's attorneys argue that it was the police who suggested the name Kevin to the victim not the other way round, and that immediately after the shooting Warren told four different people that he didn't know who the gunman was. The day after the crime, however, the police called Warren and offered him the names of four 'Kevins', including Kevin Keith, and that Warren then selected 'Keith' as the surname. That phone call was not reported, and so we can't know if it really happened. But when videotaped later that evening, Warren said he did not know 'Kevin's' last name. He was shown photographs of six men including Kevin Keith, and the photo of Keith was the only one providing a facial close-up (a hint-hint, in other words). Warren chose the photo of Keith.
13 US experts in eyewitness identification note that "fault eyewitness identification is the single most likely factor to result in wrongfrul conviction". They concluded that Warren's identification of Keith was "tainted by many factors". The police used suggestive techniques. They hinted at Keith so much that, in his shocked and likely fragile condition, Warren was inclined to start questioning his own uncertainties about the gunman and choose Keith.
Furthermore, how reliable is the testimony of another eyewitness who caught a brief glimpse of the fleeing gunman, initially couldn't identify him, and then only identified him as Keith after Keith appeared on television news???
In light of all this newly discovered evidence that the state withheld evidence favorable to Keith, his lawyers are seeking a new trial and executive clemency.
There is a LOT more evidence which sheds doubt on Keith's guilt, but I'd be here all day writing it down. If you want to find out more, email me and I can send you some stuff. But I personally believe Kevin Keith is about as guilty of those murders as I am (and I was no where near Ohio in 1994, trust me). Amnesty International doesn't know if he's guilty of the crimes for which he was sentenced to death, but in any event unconditionally opposes any use of the death penalty anywhere, as I do. That's why I'm doing what I can to spare him from the lethal injection. If you have even the smallest doubt about his guilt, please help.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Send appeals as soon as possible to:
Ohio Parole Board
770 West Broad Street
Columbus, Ohio 43222, USA
Fax: 1 614 752 0600
Email: drc.publicinfo@odrc.state.oh.us
In your letter, you should:
- Note the serious doubts that have been raised about Kevin Keith's guilt (so if you want to know more, please do get in touch to us at deathwatchstardoll@hotmail.co.uk - we're always happy to provide anyone information they require)
- Explain that you do not seek to excuse the murders in this case or to downplay that suffering cause (the pro-death penalty folk are so keen to think of us as sympathisers of murderers...)
-Call on the Ohio Parole Board to recomment that Governor Ted Strickland commute this death sentence.
- And you should start with 'Dear Board members'
There is also a petition you can sign which will be presented to the Board at the hearing on August 11th.
http://criminaljustice.change.org/petitions/view/relief_urgently_needed_for_innocent_man_on_ohios_death_row
The link to the petition is also at the right hand side of the blog.
If you have even the slightest hint of doubt about Kevin Keith's guilt, please try to help. It is wrong to risk innocent lives at any time, but when there is blatant doubt about guilt it is even worse. It will only take a few minutes to send an email, write a letter, or sign the petition. An innocent life could be at stake here.
Wednesday, 7 July 2010
Monday, 28 June 2010
Executed at 8 - Taliban's shocking death penalty regime
(Info from The Age, June 24th 2010) - The Taliban has executed an eight-year-old boy who was accused of "collaborating" with foreign forces.
'Islam does not permit anyone to sentence a minor to execution,'' said Mawlawi Mehr Del, deputy head of the Muslim clerical council in Helmand. ''It is against Islam, against sharia. God may be extremely upset with them. Those who do something like this are neither jihadis nor Taliban, they are enemies of human life.''
It is illegal under islamic law to execute anyone under the age of 18. Even in the Taliban's own code of conduct which was drawn up by the movement two years ago, no commander may order the execution of minors. And, surely, any person other than Satan himself should be aware that executing 7 and 8 year old children is evil.
Senior Taliban member Mullah Abdul Bari disagrees, apparently, suggesting that the code of conduct does not apply in Helmand because "the number of infidels there has increased, and the Taliban don't have time to hold trials". Basically, therefore, local commanders in Helmand province can do as they please to people accused of spying.
The eight-year old was named Delawar. He was executed in a garden near his home in the village of Heratian in the Sangin district of Helmand. Accused of spying for British forces, the boy is reported to have screamed for his parents before the group of approximately 12 militants put the rope around his neck and hanged him.
The child's father, Abdul Quddus, initially reported that the Taliban had killed his son but now claims "ghosts" did it, and won't talk further. Of course he won't. If they'll hang an eight-year-old child, what do you think they'd do to a man who got them in trouble?
Worse still, the child's grandfather Naqubullah claims the boy was only hanged (under the pretext of spying) because the boy's father was too poor to pay the $US600 which local Taliban commanders tried to extort from him the day before the hanging.
This comes only a fortnight after the reported June 8th Taliban execution of a seven-year-old child for supposedly spying for the government, also in the Helmand province.
During a news conference the Afgan President Hamid Karzai told that officials were looking into reports of the execution, and said he condemned the act if it is confirmed to be true, calling it "a crime against humanity."
Newly elected British Prime Minister David Cameron said during a news conference in Kabul: "If this is true, it is an absolutely horrific crime. If true, I think it says more about the Taliban than any book, than any article, than any speech could ever say."
"Horrific" doesn't do it justice in my opinion. There are no words strong enough to trully express how sickening this is. Seven and eight years old. How can that be justice?
'Islam does not permit anyone to sentence a minor to execution,'' said Mawlawi Mehr Del, deputy head of the Muslim clerical council in Helmand. ''It is against Islam, against sharia. God may be extremely upset with them. Those who do something like this are neither jihadis nor Taliban, they are enemies of human life.''
It is illegal under islamic law to execute anyone under the age of 18. Even in the Taliban's own code of conduct which was drawn up by the movement two years ago, no commander may order the execution of minors. And, surely, any person other than Satan himself should be aware that executing 7 and 8 year old children is evil.
Senior Taliban member Mullah Abdul Bari disagrees, apparently, suggesting that the code of conduct does not apply in Helmand because "the number of infidels there has increased, and the Taliban don't have time to hold trials". Basically, therefore, local commanders in Helmand province can do as they please to people accused of spying.
The eight-year old was named Delawar. He was executed in a garden near his home in the village of Heratian in the Sangin district of Helmand. Accused of spying for British forces, the boy is reported to have screamed for his parents before the group of approximately 12 militants put the rope around his neck and hanged him.
The child's father, Abdul Quddus, initially reported that the Taliban had killed his son but now claims "ghosts" did it, and won't talk further. Of course he won't. If they'll hang an eight-year-old child, what do you think they'd do to a man who got them in trouble?
Worse still, the child's grandfather Naqubullah claims the boy was only hanged (under the pretext of spying) because the boy's father was too poor to pay the $US600 which local Taliban commanders tried to extort from him the day before the hanging.
This comes only a fortnight after the reported June 8th Taliban execution of a seven-year-old child for supposedly spying for the government, also in the Helmand province.
During a news conference the Afgan President Hamid Karzai told that officials were looking into reports of the execution, and said he condemned the act if it is confirmed to be true, calling it "a crime against humanity."
Newly elected British Prime Minister David Cameron said during a news conference in Kabul: "If this is true, it is an absolutely horrific crime. If true, I think it says more about the Taliban than any book, than any article, than any speech could ever say."
"Horrific" doesn't do it justice in my opinion. There are no words strong enough to trully express how sickening this is. Seven and eight years old. How can that be justice?
Saturday, 19 June 2010
Utah executes Gardner by firing squad... And attorney-general tweets about it
In the early hours of Friday June 18th, Utah death row inmate Ronnie Lee Gardner was executed by a firing squad.
In front of nine media witnesses, Gardner sat locked into the chair, head held upright, as the prison warden draped the black hood over his head and fixed a small target over his left breast using Velcro. The 5 man firing squad then readied their weapons, only 4 of which were loaded with live ammunition allowing some doubt in their minds as to who committed the act. Shots rang out. Several witnesses later described Gardner moving his hand and arm after he was shot. At 12:20 a.m. MST, he was dead. The medical examiner lifted Gardner's hood, revealing his ashen face, mouth hanging open, very dead.
The execution is reminiscent of the good old days when men were marched up to brick walls, given a ceremonial last cigarette, blindfolded, and then shot dead. However, the method by which Utah's attorney general announced the execution was anything but old fashioned.
"I just gave the go ahead to Corrections Director to proceed with Gardner's execution" tweeted attorney general Mark Shurtleff. "May God grant him the mercy he denied his victims."
I don't use Twitter because it irritates me - people I barely know and certainly don't care about tweeting every few minutes about eating breakfast or thinking about going to the pub. This makes what the AG did even more shocking. To announce that a man is about to be killed in such a casual way is almost as sickening as the awful way in which the execution was carried out. Sure, Gardner chose that method. But then again, it may well have seemed like the lesser of two evils in his mind. The barbaric nature of the execution was such that even some of the friends and relatives of Gardner's VICTIMS were amongst those petitioning for a commuted sentence.
I'm sickened by Shurtleff's disgusting disregard for the sanctity of human life. I'm sickened by the cruel way this man died. But most of all, I'm sickened that - as we continue to kill and kill in methods old and new - nobody seems to realise how outdated the death penalty is.
If we've come to a point where it's acceptable to announce whether an execution will proceed or not on TWITTER, then we've come to a point where a moratorium on the death penalty is not only desirable. It's essential.
In front of nine media witnesses, Gardner sat locked into the chair, head held upright, as the prison warden draped the black hood over his head and fixed a small target over his left breast using Velcro. The 5 man firing squad then readied their weapons, only 4 of which were loaded with live ammunition allowing some doubt in their minds as to who committed the act. Shots rang out. Several witnesses later described Gardner moving his hand and arm after he was shot. At 12:20 a.m. MST, he was dead. The medical examiner lifted Gardner's hood, revealing his ashen face, mouth hanging open, very dead.
The execution is reminiscent of the good old days when men were marched up to brick walls, given a ceremonial last cigarette, blindfolded, and then shot dead. However, the method by which Utah's attorney general announced the execution was anything but old fashioned.
"I just gave the go ahead to Corrections Director to proceed with Gardner's execution" tweeted attorney general Mark Shurtleff. "May God grant him the mercy he denied his victims."
I don't use Twitter because it irritates me - people I barely know and certainly don't care about tweeting every few minutes about eating breakfast or thinking about going to the pub. This makes what the AG did even more shocking. To announce that a man is about to be killed in such a casual way is almost as sickening as the awful way in which the execution was carried out. Sure, Gardner chose that method. But then again, it may well have seemed like the lesser of two evils in his mind. The barbaric nature of the execution was such that even some of the friends and relatives of Gardner's VICTIMS were amongst those petitioning for a commuted sentence.
I'm sickened by Shurtleff's disgusting disregard for the sanctity of human life. I'm sickened by the cruel way this man died. But most of all, I'm sickened that - as we continue to kill and kill in methods old and new - nobody seems to realise how outdated the death penalty is.
If we've come to a point where it's acceptable to announce whether an execution will proceed or not on TWITTER, then we've come to a point where a moratorium on the death penalty is not only desirable. It's essential.
Thursday, 17 June 2010
2 executed in Somalia for watching the World Cup
While the rest of the world (including Stardoll) throws themselves whole-heartedly into the spirit of the World Cup, 2 football fans were reportedly executed by Islamist militants in Somalia on June 14th.
Islamist groups had banned Somalis from watching World Cup matches on TV, claiming that watching football is 'un-Islamic' and saying it distracts citizens from their duty to overthrow the troubled east African country's government.
Ali Yasin Gedi, vice-chairman of the Elman rights groups, said that "Islamists unexpectedly entered houses in Afgoi district and fired (at) some people who tried to jump over the wall to escape."
Gunmen from the Hizbul Islam group swooped on homes in the Afgoi district, 19 miles south of the capital Mogadishu and executed two football fans while arresting dozens of others.
Wednesday, 16 June 2010
David Powell Executed
David Lee Powell was executed in Huntsville last night (06.15.10)
Powell, 59, was sentenced to death for the murder of Austin police officer Ralph Ablanedo 32 years ago. Seven members of Ablanedo's family watched silently from nearby as Powell took his last breath.
Powell had no final words. The lethal cocktail of drugs began to flow through his veins at 6:10pm. He was pronounced dead nine minutes later.
After the execution, Bruce Mills, a former Austin police officer who was a friend of the victim and later married his widow, said he felt as if a weight had been lifted. "Relief would be the word to describe it."
Yes. An old used-up convict who had already served 32 years on death row with excemplary behaviour, and who was "infinitely sorry that [he] killed Ralph Ablanedo", has been executed. What a relief.
Powell was a model inmate in the 3 decades he spent on death row. He helped illiterate prisoners to learn to read and counseled others on death row. He was no longer a threat to society.
Roughly 150 current and former Austin police officers waited outside the Walls Unit in Huntsville, Texas, where the death chamber is located.
There were protesters there too. When it became obvious that the execution was going to go ahead, they stood silently and kept their distance from the officers.
So Powell is dead. Ablanedo is still dead. Ablanedo would still be dead if Powell's sentence had been paroled to life without parole. So this was a great use of 32 years worth of time and money. I hope Texas feels mighty proud of itself. Another man dead. The folly.
And so it goes on and on and on...
Powell, 59, was sentenced to death for the murder of Austin police officer Ralph Ablanedo 32 years ago. Seven members of Ablanedo's family watched silently from nearby as Powell took his last breath.
Powell had no final words. The lethal cocktail of drugs began to flow through his veins at 6:10pm. He was pronounced dead nine minutes later.
After the execution, Bruce Mills, a former Austin police officer who was a friend of the victim and later married his widow, said he felt as if a weight had been lifted. "Relief would be the word to describe it."
Yes. An old used-up convict who had already served 32 years on death row with excemplary behaviour, and who was "infinitely sorry that [he] killed Ralph Ablanedo", has been executed. What a relief.
Powell was a model inmate in the 3 decades he spent on death row. He helped illiterate prisoners to learn to read and counseled others on death row. He was no longer a threat to society.
Roughly 150 current and former Austin police officers waited outside the Walls Unit in Huntsville, Texas, where the death chamber is located.
There were protesters there too. When it became obvious that the execution was going to go ahead, they stood silently and kept their distance from the officers.
So Powell is dead. Ablanedo is still dead. Ablanedo would still be dead if Powell's sentence had been paroled to life without parole. So this was a great use of 32 years worth of time and money. I hope Texas feels mighty proud of itself. Another man dead. The folly.
And so it goes on and on and on...
Monday, 14 June 2010
David Powell scheduled for execution tomorrow (June 15th)
I am of the belief that the execution of David Powell has lost its meaning somewhat after his 32 years on death row. Clearly, Texas's trusty parole board doesn't agree as they unanimously declined to commute his sentence. Powell's life now lies in the hands of Governor Rick Perry who can still grant a 30 day reprieve... The same Rick Perry who has allowed 220 executions in his state since he became governor....
Things aren't looking good.
Powell is now 59 and has been on death row for 32 years for the murder of police officer Ralph Ablanedo. The Austin Police Association has chartered a bus and booked a block of discounted hotel rooms because they want as many officers as possible to stand outside the prison walls at the execution.
A field trip to an old man's death. Makes you proud to be an American, huh? Why don't we just go back to public lynchings on the courthouse lawn while we're at it?
If you too feel that Powell, now a reformed and aging convict convicted of a crime which occured over 3 long decades ago (before most of those cops were even BORN), does not deserve to die, you can contact Governor Rick Perry urging him to grant a 30 day stay of execution on the following number:
(512) 463-1782
Or you can email him via the email form on his website: http://governor.state.tx.us/contact/
Appart from the killing of Ablanedo, undoubtedly a terrible but ancient crime, Powell does not have a history of violence. In his 32 years on death row, he has shown deep remorse for the crime, even apologizing to the family of the victim. He has managed to make something of his life since his incarceration, by helping so many others on death row, teaching and mentoring scores of people. You can find out more about the man at letdavidlive.org/
He does not the deserve the death penalty, and he certainly does not deserve the public spectacle that they are making of him.
But I'm perfectly happy to admit that I think Rick Perry is an immoral and undoubtedly stupid man. Whether he will see sense and have just a smidge of mercy, just this once, is highly debatable.
For now, all we can do is pray.
Sunday, 6 June 2010
Ready, aim... Fire?
Let’s pretend, just for a moment, that I believe in the death penalty (ha, ha). If I had to choose the best way to kill a person, I’d say a bullet to the brain – the method adopted by China until they recently converted to lethal injection because it’s so much more civilized. A bullet to the brain does what it says on the tin – it’s fast, cheap, and guaranteed to work, unlike the electric chair which can short out and cause heads to catch fire, the lethal injection which can take hours to be carried out, hanging which can cause a slow death by suffocation or a beheading… You get the point.
But a bullet to the brain would not be very pleasant to the witnesses or, indeed, the executioners. Loud and certainly very gory. Not like the lethal injection, where the condemned is drugged to a state of complete paralysis and so can’t even flutter an eyelid to indicate the agony they’re almost certainly in while the potassium chloride kills them. We’re not taking into account what’s pleasant for the inmate, of course, because although the constitution forbids cruel and unusual punishment, the real reasoning behind changing execution methods is to convince the public that execution is acceptable. The gallows replaced the guillotine; the electric chair replaced the gallows; and lethal injection replaced the electric chair. The process became all the more clinical and all the more palatable, while the actual suffering of the inmate in question probably got worse along the way.
Did you know that the man who invented the current lethal injection cocktail, Fred Leuchter, stated he would rather be electrocuted than to die by his own method? That says rather a lot about the so-called ‘humane’ lethal injection.
In my opinion, lethal injection is a truly awful way to die. Watch the movie Dead Man Walking with Susan Sarandon if you want to see an accurate reconstruction of an execution by lethal injection. In front of god knows how many witnesses, the condemned is strapped to a gurney with their arms outstretched as though being crucified, paralyzed to a state of frozen helplessness, and killed in what is most likely an agonizing manner. It is a most humiliating way to kill another human being.
Perhaps that is why Ronnie Lee Gardner seems determined that his execution be carried out by firing squad.
I’m not saying firing squad is a particularly nice way to die, either. You are strapped to a chair with a blindfold and a target over your heart. Death is caused by massive damage to the heart, central nervous system and other vital organs, or a combination, as well as hemorrhaging. Unlike my bullet-to-the-brain scenario, it mightn’t be instant. The executioners stand at a distance, and they aren’t guaranteed to hit the target. You might die slowly and, most probably, in terrible pain.
Utah is one of only two states which have death by firing squad on the books, and only for inmates sentenced before 2004. When asked which method he would like to die by, Gardner replied “I would like death by firing squad, please.” Although his execution is penciled in for June 18th, by firing squad, Utah is mighty reluctant to grant his wish.
You can appreciate their hesitance. Let’s face it – there’s going to be blood. Lots of it. There’s a distinct possibility that Gardner will slowly bleed to death in front of thirty or so witnesses. That’s going to embarrass the state a lot. It may even open a few eyes, cause a public outcry, and perhaps even catalyze a moratorium. Who knows how much damage could be caused when those bullets start flying, and not just to Ronnie Lee.
I don’t know whether Gardner was plotting when he chose the firing squad, or whether he really does think death by firing squad is preferable to lethal injection (I’m honestly not sure which way I’d prefer), but he’s really got Utah in a pickle. He might well be thinking they’ll commute his sentence to life imprisonment to avoid public embarrassment (and they honestly might, in my opinion). Or, he might want his execution to bring about the scenarios I mentioned – eye-opening, et cetera. Maybe he wants people to see grown men pump him full of bullets in an apparently civilized country on June 18th. Maybe he just wants to be remembered.
Either way, June 18th is drawing closer and closer. Utah better make up its mind. The rifles are loaded, the stage is set. But will the United States allow this bloody and brutal execution? Right now, it’s anybody’s bet.
But a bullet to the brain would not be very pleasant to the witnesses or, indeed, the executioners. Loud and certainly very gory. Not like the lethal injection, where the condemned is drugged to a state of complete paralysis and so can’t even flutter an eyelid to indicate the agony they’re almost certainly in while the potassium chloride kills them. We’re not taking into account what’s pleasant for the inmate, of course, because although the constitution forbids cruel and unusual punishment, the real reasoning behind changing execution methods is to convince the public that execution is acceptable. The gallows replaced the guillotine; the electric chair replaced the gallows; and lethal injection replaced the electric chair. The process became all the more clinical and all the more palatable, while the actual suffering of the inmate in question probably got worse along the way.
Did you know that the man who invented the current lethal injection cocktail, Fred Leuchter, stated he would rather be electrocuted than to die by his own method? That says rather a lot about the so-called ‘humane’ lethal injection.
In my opinion, lethal injection is a truly awful way to die. Watch the movie Dead Man Walking with Susan Sarandon if you want to see an accurate reconstruction of an execution by lethal injection. In front of god knows how many witnesses, the condemned is strapped to a gurney with their arms outstretched as though being crucified, paralyzed to a state of frozen helplessness, and killed in what is most likely an agonizing manner. It is a most humiliating way to kill another human being.
Perhaps that is why Ronnie Lee Gardner seems determined that his execution be carried out by firing squad.
I’m not saying firing squad is a particularly nice way to die, either. You are strapped to a chair with a blindfold and a target over your heart. Death is caused by massive damage to the heart, central nervous system and other vital organs, or a combination, as well as hemorrhaging. Unlike my bullet-to-the-brain scenario, it mightn’t be instant. The executioners stand at a distance, and they aren’t guaranteed to hit the target. You might die slowly and, most probably, in terrible pain.
Utah is one of only two states which have death by firing squad on the books, and only for inmates sentenced before 2004. When asked which method he would like to die by, Gardner replied “I would like death by firing squad, please.” Although his execution is penciled in for June 18th, by firing squad, Utah is mighty reluctant to grant his wish.
You can appreciate their hesitance. Let’s face it – there’s going to be blood. Lots of it. There’s a distinct possibility that Gardner will slowly bleed to death in front of thirty or so witnesses. That’s going to embarrass the state a lot. It may even open a few eyes, cause a public outcry, and perhaps even catalyze a moratorium. Who knows how much damage could be caused when those bullets start flying, and not just to Ronnie Lee.
I don’t know whether Gardner was plotting when he chose the firing squad, or whether he really does think death by firing squad is preferable to lethal injection (I’m honestly not sure which way I’d prefer), but he’s really got Utah in a pickle. He might well be thinking they’ll commute his sentence to life imprisonment to avoid public embarrassment (and they honestly might, in my opinion). Or, he might want his execution to bring about the scenarios I mentioned – eye-opening, et cetera. Maybe he wants people to see grown men pump him full of bullets in an apparently civilized country on June 18th. Maybe he just wants to be remembered.
Either way, June 18th is drawing closer and closer. Utah better make up its mind. The rifles are loaded, the stage is set. But will the United States allow this bloody and brutal execution? Right now, it’s anybody’s bet.
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