GRACE’s next Mitigation Skills Bootcamp will be September 17-19 in Houston. This is our in-house training on skills and mitigation protocols for staff which we hold about twice a year and have in recent years opened up to others as space allows. It is three days of intensive workshops for mitigators and capital counsel. Please contact Michael Espinoza at gro.walecargnull@leahciM if you are interested.
What’s New
The Arizona Supreme Court affirmed the convictions and death sentences in three more cases late last week, for a total of five direct appeal opinions in the week of August 13. The opinions in State v. Martinez, State v. Joseph, and State v. Hardy are below.
This week the Arizona Supreme Court has affirmed the convictions and sentences in two capital cases, State v. Patterson and State v. VanWinkle. Both opinions are below.
This morning, the Arizona Supreme Court affirmed the death sentences in State v. Nordstrom. Although Mr. Nordstrom did not present any mitigation at his sentencing hearing, the state was permitted to introduce highly prejudicial “mitigation rebuttal,” including evidence of four additional homicides. The Arizona Supreme Court determined such rebuttal was proper, as it constitutes a circumstance of the crime and is relevant to the question of whether Mr. Nordstrom is entitled to leniency. The opinion is below.
In Runningeagle v. Ryan, the 9th Circuit affirmed the district court’s denial of the writ in a published decision. In a separate unpublished order, however, the Court remanded the case back to the district court for supplemental briefing on the impact of Martinez v. Ryan. The opinion and order are attached.
The Arizona Supreme Court has issued a stay of execution for Samuel Lopez and rescheduled his execution for June 27, in order to allow Arizona’s new clemency board members to be trained in accordance with state law.
Professor James Liebman and a team of students at Columbia Law School have uncovered substantial evidence that Carlos DeLuna, who was executed in Texas in 1989, was innocent. The Columbia Human Rights Law Review has published a book and website on the thorough investigation conducted by Professor Liebman. The website is below.
In November, 2011, the Arizona Attorney Magazine published an article suggesting the capital case crisis in Maricopa County had been resolved. In the March/April 2012 issue of Judicature, the journal of the American Judicature Society, Christopher Dupont and Larry Hammond respond to that assertion from a defense perspective. The article is below.
The 9th Circuit granted relief today in Detrich v. Ryan on a claim of ineffective assistance of sentencing counsel. The opinion is below. Mr. Detrich was represented by Jennifer Bedier of the Arizona Capital Representation Project and Greg Kuykendall.
The Arizona Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and death sentence in State v. Nelson. The opinion is below.
