Court Orders Stay of Execution for Hart Turner
Read Is State Executing a Mentally Ill Man?
Press Release of James Craig (verbatim).
At 2:30 p.m. today the Federal Court for the Southern District of Mississippi entered a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) enjoining the execution of Hart Turner until February 20, 2012. Mr. Turner had been scheduled for execution on February 8, 2012.
Mr. Turner’s attorneys had argued that the Mississippi Department of Corrections was improperly preventing them from sending a psychiatrist to have their client psychiatrically assessed for the purpose of possible litigation to prevent his execution or to seek clemency from the Governor. Mr. Turner, a man with no prior convictions, has a long and extensive history of mental illness, including having been released from a mental hospital just weeks before the crime for which he has been sentenced to death.
The court held that Mr. Turner had made a substantial showing that his rights to Due Process were being violated and that he was likely to succeed in his lawsuit. The court also held that Mr. Turner would suffer irreparable harm if a temporary restraining order were not issued because he would be executed by the state before the court could issue a meaningful decision on the merits of his claim.
In granting the temporary order, Judge Reeves stated:
“... to the extent that the State of Mississippi enjoys an interest in putting Turner to death, the opportunity would not be forever lost simply by requiring the Department of Corrections first to permit Turner to meet with a psychiatrist. Assuring that constitutional protections are provided to each of its citizens is not a disservice to the American public.”
Mr. Turner’s attorney, James Craig of the Louisiana Capital Assistance Center said:
“America’s justice system is founded on the notion that everyone gets their fair day in court. This judge is simply doing his job to protect the values we all share by making sure that Mr. Turner has a fair chance to present his case to the courts and to the Governor.
"Mr. Turner has never had a fair opportunity to present the evidence that he is the sort of seriously mentally ill prisoner who should not be executed in a humane criminal justice system. We are simply asking that we be allowed to have access to our client so that we can have him psychiatrically assessed so that the best information is available before any decision is made to proceed with the execution.
"A Temporary Restraining Order cannot be appealed but is also of very limited duration. The case will now be quickly set for a full hearing on whether the Department of Corrections is violating the Constitution by seeking to execute Mr. Turner without allowing him adequate access to the courts and to the Governor.”
For further comment please contact attorney James Craig (601) 503 8065 jimc@thejusticecenter.org or if he is unavailable, Director of the Louisiana Capital Assistance Center, Richard Bourke (504) 258 2915 richardb@thejusticecenter.org.
COMMENTS
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Feb 06, 2012 | 05:03 PM
Is State Executing a Mentally Ill Man?
lizwaibel: A federal court has entered a temporary restraining order to stop the execution until Feb. 20; read more here: http://www.jacksonfr eepress.com/index.php/sit ... Feb 06, 2012 | 03:38 PM
[Editorial] Change Felony Voting Laws for All
Ronni_Mott: I would think that a sane policy would take into account what the crime was when restoring rights. A sex-offender, for example, would still need to register to ... Feb 06, 2012 | 06:10 AM
[Kamikaze] 'I'm No Token'
Renaldo Bryant: Well Kaze, Understand the argument. Economic prosperity was not a collective concept, even in Black Wall St., Harlem, Rosewood, Farish St. etc. I am not saying that a few black ... Feb 05, 2012 | 01:05 PM
[Editorial] Change Felony Voting Laws for All
LHB6391: Perhaps a waiting period after completing their term is in order? To serve as a baseline for potential recidivism? I don't know. I'm reluctant to see full rights ... Feb 05, 2012 | 12:43 PM
Somebody Say Something
LHB6391: As someone who has dealt with mental illness in family members (including multiple suicide attempts and completed suicides) I applaud your courage in speaking out on this often hidden ... Feb 05, 2012 | 12:03 PM
Bryant: Can't Do Nothin' For Ya, Man
LHB6391: "Or he would hitch a ride with a businessman who owns a plane, he added." Overt cronyism under the guise of 'leading by example'. Um. Yeah. Feb 05, 2012 | 11:57 AM
City Tech Wiring Overlooked
LHB6391: Both parties to the contract overlooked the wiring issue? Wondering how it is that neither side did their 'due diligence' on the cost estimate prior to execution of the ... Feb 05, 2012 | 11:33 AM
[Kamikaze] 'I'm No Token'
Kamikaze: But by that premise are we not telling people that prosperity can only come on the backs of others less fortunate. That if you are successful, the only way you could have been ... Feb 05, 2012 | 07:07 AM
[Kamikaze] 'I'm No Token'
Renaldo Bryant: @ Kaze, I think it starts with interrogating goals. Is the goal of change and progress for blacks in Jackson is to get more black folks rich, or to have safer neighborhoods, ... Feb 04, 2012 | 05:23 PM
Is State Executing a Mentally Ill Man?
awwroten: is anyone going to protest at parchman if he is in fact executed? Feb 04, 2012 | 01:27 AM
[Kamikaze] 'I'm No Token'
Lorenzo D. Gayden: I think that the issue here is one of branding. For instance, if you are an employee of a company, there is an innate understanding that you are on equal footing as other ... Feb 03, 2012 | 07:09 PM
Deuce Headed Back to Ole Miss, Reports Say
Todd Stauffer: Clarification: Now the Sun Herald tells us the Deuce thing isn't a done deal. So much for believing CoachingSearch.com. Also,"Mr. Factsy-pants" sports guy Bryan ... Feb 03, 2012 | 05:52 PM
Is State Executing a Mentally Ill Man?
Ronni_Mott: Story is updated with the correct telephone number for the governor's office: 601-359-3150. Feb 03, 2012 | 05:41 PM
[Kamikaze] 'I'm No Token'
Kamikaze: Renaldo, you may have hit the nail on the head. It could be perhaps in the differences in how Whites and Blacks deal w/ success. In affluence for White success stories there is a ... Feb 03, 2012 | 04:58 PM
[Kamikaze] 'I'm No Token'
Renaldo Bryant: Good points Queen . I am not so sure that Whites have a mentality of “if I get it and you get it - WE KEEP IT” and blacks have the attitude of “if I get, I have to keep ...
Monday, February 6, 2012
Court Orders Stay of Execution for Hart Turner - Noise - Jackson Free Press: Jackson, Mississippi
U.S. News - Attorney: Missing mom was 'in the trunk' boys said before their deaths
Kirk Graves, the brother-in-law of Josh Powell, said Powell, who killed himself and his own children in a home explosion, "used the boys as a tool" to hurt his family. Sgt. Ed Troyer talks about what law enforcement has done.
By msnbc.com news services
GRAHAM, Wash. -- The two boys of a Utah man suspected in his wife's disappearance and then of killing himself and his sons in an intentional fire were starting to talk about what happened the night their mother vanished, noting she was "in the trunk" of the car, an attorney said.Authorities say Josh Powell set his home ablaze Sunday, killing himself and his sons -- 5-year-old Braden and 7-year-old Charles -- shortly after the boys were brought to the home by a social worker for a supervised visit.
Powell was under investigation in the disappearance of his 28-year-old wife, Susan Powell, from their home in West Valley City, Utah, in December 2009.
"It's the most horrifying thing you can imagine happening," said lawyer Steve Downing, who represented Susan Powell's parents, Chuck and Judy Cox, in a custody fight for the boys. "The Coxes are absolutely devastated. They were always very fearful of him doing something like this, and he did it."
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Downing also told The Associated Press that the children had started talking to their grandparents about things they remembered from the night their mother vanished.
"They were beginning to verbalize more," Downing said. "The oldest boy talked about that they went camping and that mommy was in the trunk. Mom and dad got out of the car and mom disappeared."
Police say Josh Powell, the lone person of interest in the two-year-old disappearance of his wife, Susan Powell, deliberately set his house on fire Sunday, killing himself and his two young sons. NBC's Miguel Almaguer reports from Graham, Wash.
'Acting like little boys again'
Kirk Graves, 39, of West Jordan, Utah, Josh Powell's brother-in-law, said he and his wife, Jennifer (Josh Powell's sister), were stunned by the news.Appearing on Monday's TODAY, Kirk Graves confirmed that his nephews were opening up about their memories of the day their mother disappeared.
“We saw over the last six months or so was a transition in Charlie and Braden where they were becoming more fun, more vocal, they were acting like little boys again, which we hadn’t seen for a while," he said. "The specific story you’re talking about (the night Susan disappeared) is one that we were aware of and I imagine that part of Josh’s motivation was what could he do to hide that story to avoid dealing with the consequences of the things he had done.”
Graves said he believed Powell was determined to "hurt everybody around him, and used the boys as a tool to do that.”
"I’m convinced that Josh was going to do something like this and there’s absolutely nothing anybody could have done to stop him. … The only person at fault, the only person who is to blame, is Josh," he said.
Jeffrey Bassett, Josh Powell's attorney, said his client "never once admitted doing anything regarding Susan. In fact, he denied it."
Powell claimed he had taken the boys on a midnight excursion in freezing temperatures when Susan vanished. The inquiry into her death took an odd turn last year after Powell's father, Steven, was arrested for investigation of voyeurism and possessing child pornography. Josh Powell was living at his father's home at the time, and a judge gave the Coxes custody of the boys.
View images of the fire at NBC station King5.com
Last week, a judge ruled that the children must remain in the custody of the Coxes, and that they would remain with them unless their father agreed to undergo psycho-sexual evaluation.advertisement
'I'm sorry, goodbye'
When the boys came to Powell's home for their visit on Sunday, he let them in, but then blocked the social worker from entering, said Graham Fire and Rescue Chief Gary Franz.The social worker called her supervisors to report that she could smell gas, and the home erupted in flames.
Neighbors had reported hearing an explosion, but Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said the home was destroyed by a blaze that blew out several windows and was aided by some sort of accelerant.
“He was lying in wait, he had this pre-planned. He had everything ready to go and this was going to happen no matter who dropped those boys off," Troyer told NBC's TODAY on Monday. "This is basically a double-murder suicide and he’s the one that’s solely responsible for it.”
Bassett told The AP that he got a three-word email from his client just minutes before the fire. It said, "I'm sorry, goodbye." The email arrived at 12:05 p.m. Sunday, but he didn't see it until two hours later, when others informed him of the fire.
'This has become a crime scene'
Authorities said they found three bodies in the home late Sunday afternoon as fire crews and police continued to search the rubble."Everything we know right now, this has become a crime scene," Franz said.
Sherry Hill, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Social and Health Services, said the social worker who was with the children was not a Child Protective Services employee but a contract worker with a private agency that supervises visits for the state.
"The visit supervisor for this particular agency had taken the children to the home. When she does that, she sits through the visit and might take notes on her observations," Hill said. "She pulled up in the car, and the kids ran out ahead of her. He closed the door and locked it. She wasn't able to get in, and that's when she smelled gas."
More photos: Blaze at Josh Powell's home
Troyer said the elder Powell was put on suicide watch in custody after he was told of the deadly blast. "Steve Powell didn't seem very upset by the news, but was angry towards authorities who notified him," he said.
NBC station King5.com said a memorial had sprung up to the boys at the elementary school that Charlie attended in Puyallup, Wash. Dozens of people gathered to place candles, stuffed animals, balloons and messages out front.
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"They were fun loving, they had a great attitude," Graves said of his nephews. "We’d seen some of that disappear as they’d been living with Josh in Steve’s home and it was starting to come back."
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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