National Roundup

Tennessee
Death row inmate attorney: ‘Critical time’ lost amid virus
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The legal team fighting for a delay in the June 4 execution of a Tennessee death row inmate says it has lost “critical time” due to the new coronavirus and restrictions to curb its spread, the lead lawyer wrote last week.

In a state Supreme Court filing, the attorney for inmate Oscar Smith cited increasingly stringent government restrictions, including Gov. Bill Lee’s stay-at-home order, as Tennessee’s count of coronavirus cases rises.

Smith’s legal team asked for the stay of execution due to COVID-19 last month, pointing to the travel, interviews and other tasks needed to pursue a clemency request and court challenges.

“Mr. Smith’s legal team continue to abide by the orders of Nashville Mayor Cooper and Governor Lee,” Smith’s attorney, Kelley Henry, said. “But doing so has resulted in the loss of critical time needed to represent Mr. Smith during this crucial period.”

Additionally, the filing says holding an execution during a pandemic will require more safeguards to protect witnesses to the execution, including news reporters, lawyers and others, whose presence also could pose a risk of virus transmission to the staff and inmates at the prison where executions are carried out.

Smith’s attorneys also point out that Texas has delayed three executions due to the spread of the coronavirus in the state.

Attorney General Herbert Slatery’s office last month argued against a stay based on claims involving ongoing litigation and clemency efforts. But he also wrote that the court “is in the best position to determine whether a stay of execution should be granted in response to coronavirus-related issues affecting the courts of this State.”

Smith was convicted of murder in the 1989 slayings of his estranged wife and her two sons from a previous marriage.

Louisiana
Conviction tossed but man still in prison amid virus spread
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A Louisiana man had his double murder conviction overturned three weeks ago but defense lawyers and prosecutors continue to argue over whether he should be released until his next trial date as prisons fight the spread of the new coronavirus.

Darill Henry’s attorneys said he should be freed from prison before he contracts COVID-19, which inmates have tested positive for in the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola and other correctional facilities, The Times-Picayune/ The New Orleans Advocate reported.

Prosecutors insist Henry remain locked up.

Henry was convicted of double murder in the death of 89-year-old Durelli Watts and her daughter, Ina Gex. On June 15, 2004, Watts was stabbed and her house was set on fire. Gex was fatally shot on the front porch.
Jurors convicted Henry using eyewitness evidence, and he was sentenced to life in prison.

Prior to his conviction, DNA samples were taken from Watts’ fingernails, but not enough to do a proper analysis before the 2011 trial, the paper reported.

A more recent analysis showed the samples weren’t a match to Henry. The defense argued the DNA must have come from the person who attacked Watts. Orleans Parish Criminal District Court Judge Dennis Waldron sided with the defense, overturned Henry’s conviction and ordered a new trial. On Thursday, Waldron granted Henry bond but prosecutors filed an appeal halting the process.

As of Tuesday, the state Supreme Court was deciding whether to let Waldron’s ruling stand or take another look.

The District Attorney’s Office has declined to comment on the case while it’s pending.

In a motion to the high court, Henry’s lawyers described him as an innocent man who could lose the chance to gain his freedom “because he is imprisoned within an epicenter for this deadly and highly contagious virus.”

Massachusetts
Veterans home official defends virus response; pot shops sue
BOSTON (AP) — The superintendent of a Massachusetts veterans home who was placed on leaving following COVID-19 deaths there said Thursday that state officials were not kept in the dark about illnesses at the facility.

Bennett Walsh said he is cooperating with Gov. Charlie Baker’s investigation into his actions as superintendent of the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home. Walsh said reports that state officials were not notified about the virus’s spread and staffing problems at the home are false.

“State officials knew that Holyoke needed as much help as possible. No one was kept in the dark,” Walsh said in an emailed statement. Walsh is on administrative leave.

Attorney General Maura Healey has also launched an investigation into COVID-19 deaths at the home, saying her office is trying to determine whether any legal action is warranted.

Officials said last week that 27 residents have died, 20 of whom tested positive. Another 62 residents and 68 staff members have also tested positive.

Walsh said they notified state officials on March 27 that 28 veterans had exhibited symptoms and two veterans had died. Walsh said he asked that day for National Guard medical personnel to assist staff at the home but his request was denied.

North Carolina
Judge: Confederate group must return statue fund to UNC 
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina judge has ruled that a $2.5 million fund that was set up to maintain a Confederate statue will have to be returned to the University of North Carolina.

The judge’s order is the latest step in the dismantling of a controversial deal that struck between the university and a Confederate heritage group after the statue was toppled on campus in 2018.

The Sons of Confederate Veterans had filed a lawsuit. It led to a hastily arranged deal that gave them possession of the statue known as Silent Sam and $2.5 million to maintain it.

In February, Judge Allen Baddour ruled in Orange County court that the group lacked legal standing to bring the lawsuit. He vacated the settlement.

The Raleigh News & Observer  reported Wednesday that the judge has ordered that the money be returned to the university. However, he did approve tens of thousands of dollars in legal expenses and other costs that had already been spent.

The Confederate group will return the statue to the university, which will decide what to do with it.