Florida | Prosecutors for Parkland school shooter begin rebuttal case as they push for death penalty

The Parkland school shooter carved a swastika into his rifle's magazine, commented that he wanted to rape and kill and likely exaggerated his mental illness, according to testimony today.

The prosecution in the penalty phase of the shooter's death penalty trial started their rebuttal case Tuesday. This stage comes after the defense unexpectedly rested their case early and allows for the state to respond to claims made by defense during their case.

Prosecutors are arguing that the shooter had antisocial personality disorder. If he suffered from fetal alcohol spectrum disorder instead, like his lawyers argued, it would have interfered with his ability to plan ahead. This is a crucial difference the jury could use to decide if he gets the death penalty.

The day started with quick testimonies from Broward Sheriff's Office deputies who identified the shooter's rifle and boots. Both had swastikas carved into them.

The defense previously argued against showing this evidence to jurors because they said the killings were not done out of prejudice. 8 of the victims were girls and 4 were racial minorities.

Detective Nick Masters read some internet searches out loud to jurors. The shooter searched online for child pornography and used sexist and racist language while commenting online. He called women "evil" and talked about killing Black people and women especially. 5 of the 12 jurors are women and 7 identify as racial minorities.

One of Cruz's attorneys, Nawal Bashimam, questioned Masters about the shooter's other searches including "how to get a girlfriend" and "group therapy sessions." He said that he remembered seeing them.

A deputy who works in the jail where Nikolas Cruz is being held also testified that Cruz smeared satanic symbols on the walls of his cell using his own blood. He read aloud notes written by Cruz in which he fixates on death and blood.

The afternoon continued with the testimony of Dr. Charles Scott, a forensic psychiatrist hired by prosecutors. He argued that Cruz suffers from antisocial personality behavior disorder, borderline personality disorder and that he lied about the severity of his mental illness during testing.

Scott spent 21 hours interviewing Cruz in March of this year. He played several of these clips to prove his argument that Cruz suffers from these behavior disorders but is still functional. He could problem solve, read advanced books and plan ahead for the shooting, Scott said.

During the defense's case they argued that Cruz's birth mother drank and used drugs during her pregnancy. This, they said, caused Cruz's violent behavior growing up. They also contested that his adopted mother, Lynda Cruz, was overwhelmed by raising him and was inconsistent in getting him treatment for his mental illness.

Cruz, now 24, already pleaded guilty to killing 17 people and trying to kill 17 more. This phase of the trial is only to decide his punishment—death or life in prison without the possibility of parole. To sentence him to death, the jury must be unanimous on each of the 17 counts of murder.

Courts are closed Wednesday and Thursday due to Hurricane Ian. Closing arguments are scheduled for the week of Oct. 10.

Source: WLRN news, Staff, September 28, 2022

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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde

South Carolina executes Mikal Mahdi

Mikal Mahdi, 42, was executed for the 2004 murder of 56-year-old James Myers A man facing the death penalty for committing two murders was executed by firing squad on Friday, the second such execution in the US state of South Carolina this year. Mikal Mahdi, 42, was executed for the 2004 murder of 56-year-old James Myers, an off-duty police officer, and the murder of a convenience store employee three days earlier. According to a statement from the prison, "the execution was performed by a three-person firing squad at 6:01 pm (2201 GMT)," with Mahdi pronounced dead four minutes later.

Afghanistan | Four men publicly executed by Taliban with relatives of victims shooting them 'six or seven times' at sport stadium

Four men have been publicly executed by the Taliban, with relatives of their victims shooting them several times in front of spectators at a sport stadium. Two men were shot around six to seven times by a male relative of the victims in front of spectators in Qala-i-Naw, the centre of Afghanistan's Badghis province, witnesses told an AFP journalist in the city. The men had been 'sentenced to retaliatory punishment' for shooting other men, after their cases were 'examined very precisely and repeatedly', the statement said. 'The families of the victims were offered amnesty and peace but they refused.'

USA | Why the firing squad may be making a comeback

South Carolina plans to execute Mikal Mahdi on Friday for the murder of a police officer, draping a hood over his head and firing three bullets into his heart. The choice to die by firing squad – rather than lethal injection or the electric chair – was Mahdi’s own, his attorney said last month: “Faced with barbaric and inhumane choices, Mikal Mahdi has chosen the lesser of three evils.” If it proceeds, Mahdi’s execution would be the latest in a recent string of events that have put the spotlight on the firing squad as a handful of US death penalty states explore alternatives to lethal injection, by far the nation’s dominant execution method.

I spent 16 years in solitary in South Carolina. This is what it did to me. | Opinion

South Carolinian Randy Poindexter writes about the effects 16 years of solitary confinement had on him ahead of South Carolina’s planned execution of Mikal Mahdi , who spent months in solitary as a young man. For 16 years, I lived in a concrete cell. Twenty-three hours a day, every day, for more than 3,000 days, South Carolina kept me in solitary confinement. I was a young man before I was sent to solitary — angry, untreated and unwell. I made mistakes. But I wasn’t sentenced to madness. That’s what solitary did to me. My mental health worsened with each passing day. At first, paranoia and depression set in. Then, hallucinations and self-mutilation. I talked to people who weren’t there. I cut myself to feel something besides despair. I could do nothing as four of my friends and fellow prisoners took their own lives rather than endure another day of torturous isolation.

Florida executes Michael Tanzi

Florida on Tuesday executed a death row inmate described by one local detective as a "fledgling serial killer" for the murder of a beloved Miami Herald employee. Florida executed Michael Tanzi on Tuesday, 25 years after the murder of beloved Miami Herald employee Janet Acosta, who was attacked in broad daylight on her lunch break in 2000. Michael Tanzi, 48, was executed by lethal injection at the Florida State Prison in Raiford and pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m. ET.

South Carolina | Man who ambushed off-duty cop to face firing squad in second execution of its kind

Mikal Mahdi, 48, who was found guilty of killing an off-duty police officer and a convenience store worker, is the second inmate scheduled to executed by South Carolina's new firing squad A murderer who ambushed and shot an off duty police officer eight times before burning his body in a killing spree is set to become the second person to die by firing squad. South Carolina's highest court has rejected the last major appeal from Mikal Mahdi, 41, who is to be put to death with three bullets to the heart at 6pm on April 11 at the Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia. Mahdi's lawyers said his original lawyers put on a shallow case trying to spare his life that didn't call on relatives, teachers or people who knew him and ignored the impact of weeks spent in solitary confinement in prison as a teen.

Louisiana | Lawyers of Jessie Hoffman speak about their final moments before execution

As Louisiana prepared its first execution in 15 years, a team of lawyers from Loyola Law were working to save Jessie Hoffman’s life. “I was a young lawyer three years out of law school, and Jessie was almost finished with his appeals at that time, and my boss told me we needed to file something for Jessie because he’s in danger of being executed,” Kappel said. Kappel and her boss came up with a civil lawsuit to file that said since they wouldn’t give him a protocol for his execution, he was being deprived of due process, and the lawsuit was in the legal process for the next 10 years.

Lethal Injection, Electric Chair, or Firing Squad? An Inhumane Decision for Death Row Prisoners

South Carolina resumed executions with the firing squad killing of Brad Sigmon last month. Mikal Madhi’s execution date is days away. The curtain shrieked as it was yanked open to reveal a 67-year-old man tied to a chair. His arms were pulled uncomfortably behind his back. The red bull’s-eye target on his chest rose and fell as he desperately attempted to still his breathing. The man, Brad Sigmon, smiled at his attorney, Bo King, seated in the front row before guards placed a black bag over his head. King said Sigmon appeared to be trying his best to put on a brave face for those who had come to bear witness.

Arizona | The cruelty of isolation: There’s nothing ‘humane’ about how we treat the condemned

On March 19, I served as a witness to the execution of a man named Aaron Gunches, Arizona’s first since 2022. During his time on death row, he begged for death and was ultimately granted what is likely more appropriately described as an emotionless state-assisted suicide. This experience has profoundly impacted me, leading to deep reflection on the nature of death, humanity, and the role we play in our final moments. When someone is in the end stages of life, we talk about hospice care, comfort, care, easing suffering and humane death. We strive for a “good death” — a peaceful transition. I’ve seen good ones, and I’ve seen bad, unplanned ones.

Execution date set for prisoner transferred to Oklahoma to face death penalty

An inmate who was transferred to Oklahoma last month to face the death penalty now has an execution date. George John Hanson, also known as John Fitzgerald Hanson, is scheduled to die on June 12 for the 1999 murder of 77-year-old Mary Bowles. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals on Tuesday set the execution date. The state’s Pardon and Parole Board has a tentative date of May 7 for Hanson’s clemency hearing, executive director Tom Bates said.

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