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Post by thinkinkmesa on Feb 16, 2010 11:43:43 GMT -5
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Post by guest on Feb 16, 2010 11:45:44 GMT -5
Federal appeals court overturns death sentence of Abdul Awkal March 16, 2009, 3:57PM Abdul AwkalCLEVELAND — The 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has overturned the murder conviction of Abdul Awkal, who was sentenced to death for killing his estranged wife and one of her brothers in a Cuyahoga County courthouse in 1992. The 2-1 decision by the court's three-judge panel determined that Awkal received ineffective counsel because an expert witness called on his behalf testified that Awkal was sane when the murders were committed, even though his lawyers were arguing the opposite. Awkal shot Latife Awkal and her brother, Mahmoud Abdul-Aziz, in the family conciliation services office of the Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court. Awkal tried to flee while holding a gun to the head of his15-month old baby but was shot by a sheriff's deputy. Awkal was then captured in the courthouse basement. Awkal must be re-tried within 180 days or set free. blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/03/federal_appeals_court_overturn.html |
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Post by guest on Feb 16, 2010 11:48:16 GMT -5
Abdul Awkal gets new trial in Cuyahoga courthouse killings A man sentenced to death for killing his estranged wife and brother-in-law inside Lakeside Courthouse received ineffective counsel and should be retried or freed, a federal appeals court ruled Monday. A panel of the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Cincinnati voted 2-1 to overturn Abdul Awkal's two aggravated murder convictions. The majority opinion was that Awkal was ill-served by an expert witness called to testify on his behalf during the guilt phase of the trial. Awkal's defense had argued he was insane at the time of the crime, but the expert witness said he believed Awkal was sane. Awkal shot Latife Awkal and her brother, Mahmoud Abdul-Aziz, in 1992 before a scheduled meeting in the family conciliation services office of the Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court on Lakeside Avenue. Awkal then tried to get away, clutching his 15-month-old daughter and pointing his gun at himself and then her. A sheriff's deputy shot Awkal in the back. He was arrested in the courthouse basement. The appellate decision states that Awkal must be retried within 180 days or set free. County Prosecutor Bill Mason said Awkal deserves the same fate as his victims. The office will appeal the ruling. An appeal could be made to a full panel of 6th Circuit judges or to the U.S. Supreme Court. Awkal, 50, came to the United States from Lebanon when he was 24 and settled in Detroit. He suffered a mental breakdown in 1985 after being accused of stealing from the gas station where he worked, according to information in the 6th Circuit filing. He eventually went to work for General Motors and was transferred to the Parma plant. He was introduced to Latife after coming to the Cleveland area. They married but had issues. She told him on their honeymoon that she didn't love him, but that she would grow to love him.... To read more; www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/12372788128750.xml&coll=2 |
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Post by thinkinkmesa on Jul 24, 2010 1:41:33 GMT -5
Court rules against Ohio death row inmate A federal appeals court on Friday ruled against an Ohio death row inmate who claimed his lawyer was ineffective in defending him against charges he shot and killed his estranged wife and her brother. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati in a 10-4 ruling upheld a lower court ruling that denied Abdul Awkal's claim of not having a proper defense. The Cleveland man was sentenced to death after being convicted of two counts of aggravated murder in the 1992 fatal shootings of his wife, Latife Awkal, and her brother, Mahmoud Abdul-Aziz, in a Cuyahoga County courthouse. Court records show Awkal, now 51, shot them at close range with a pistol just before a scheduled family conciliation services meeting. Awkal testified that his last memory before waking up in a hospital was his brother-in-law's face turning into a monster's and walls collapsing. Awkal appealed his convictions to a U.S. district court in 2000. He argued his counsel was ineffective for calling a psychiatrist who contradicted the defense theory of not guilty by reason of insanity, failing to introduce records of Awkal's previous involuntary hospitalization and failing to present testimony of competent mental health experts. The district court ruled against Awkal, but a three-judge panel of the appeals court ruled in his favor in 2009 and said Ohio must give him a new trial or release him. Ohio's attorney general appealed to the full court. Judge Ronald Lee Gilman wrote in the majority opinion Friday that in light of overwhelming evidence against him "Awkal had little basis for a realistic hope of a successful insanity defense" and that the court doubted that anyone representing Awkal could have established that he did not know at the time of the killings that his acts were wrong. Judge Boyce Martin Jr. wrote in the dissenting opinion that one expert defense witness was not a licensed psychologist and not allowed to testify, one contradicted the defense's insanity theory and a third was not certified in psychiatry. It was clear that Awkal did not get "the kind of representation constitutionally required in a capital case," Martin wrote. Attorney Brian Moriarty, who handled Awkal's appeal, said he will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray was pleased with the decision. "The jury's death sentence was appropriate given the horrific nature of these crimes and their impact on the victims' families," Cordray said in a statement released Friday. More;www.cleveland.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/national-135/1279914049319660.xml&storylist=cleveland |
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Post by thinkinkmesa on Jun 15, 2011 11:45:22 GMT -5
Ohio Supreme Court Sets Execution Date for Abdul Awkal Cuyahoga County Prosecutor announced that the Ohio Supreme Court has granted the motion made by the County Prosecutor's Office to set an execution date for death row inmate Abdul Awkal. He is scheduled to be executed on June 12, 2012. More; www.woio.com/Global/story.asp?S=14904219 |
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Post by thinkinkmesa on Jun 15, 2011 11:53:30 GMT -5
Execution Date Set for Cleveland Man Convicted of Brutal Double Murder The Ohio Supreme Court has set an execution date for a Cleveland man convicted of the brutal murder of his wife and brother-in-law in the basement of the old Cuyahoga County Courthouse in 1992. Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason announced today that the Ohio Supreme Court has granted the motion made by his office to set an execution date for death row inmate Abdul Awkal. More; www.fox8.com/news/wjw-news-abdul-awkal-execution-date,0,900632.story |
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Post by thinkinkmesa on May 10, 2012 22:24:25 GMT -5
Man who killed 2 in Cuyahoga County Courthouse seeks mercy from parole board The Ohio Parole Board will hear arguments for and against clemency Thursday. They will then make a recommendation in about a week to Gov. John Kasich, who has the final say. At Awkal's trial, his lawyers argued unsuccessfully that he was depressed and under pressure from the wife's family. The Ohio Supreme Court refused to accept his appeal in 1996, but a U.S. Court of Appeals panel ordered a new trial for him in 2009, ruling that an expert witness should not have been called in the penalty phase of the trial. A year later, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason won an appeal of that ruling, placing Awkal back on Death Row. More; www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2012/05/man_who_killed_2_in_county_cou.html |
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Post by thinkinkmesa on May 18, 2012 19:25:14 GMT -5
Denied Clemency The Ohio Parole Board recommended Friday that the governor deny clemency for a man sentenced to death for killing his estranged wife and brother-in-law in a basement room at a courthouse in 1992. Abdul Awkal is slated to be put to death June 6 in one of 11 executions scheduled over the next two years. Awkal's lawyer argued the 53-year-old man suffers from severe mental health problems and should be spared, but the state said Awkal carefully planned the killings and should be executed. The parole board voted 8-1 against recommending mercy, with most members concluding that Awkal planned the shooting and that it wasn't the result of a psychotic breakdown. More; www.onntv.com/content/stories/2012/05/18/story-ap-ohio-man-execution-set.html |
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Post by thinkinkmesa on May 18, 2012 19:29:30 GMT -5
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Post by thinkinkmesa on May 23, 2012 9:28:54 GMT -5
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Post by thinkinkmesa on May 28, 2012 19:21:33 GMT -5
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Post by thinkinkmesa on May 30, 2012 17:08:05 GMT -5
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Post by thinkinkmesa on May 30, 2012 17:28:20 GMT -5
Gov. John Kasich has denied clemency for death row inmate Abdul Awkal. Awkal was convicted of murdering his wife and brother-in-law at a Cuyahoga County courthouse in 1992. His execution date is set for June 6. Awkal has a schizo-affective disorder. He believes he has direct communication with the president and is being executed by order of the CIA. David Singleton is the executive director of the Ohio Justice and Policy Center and has helped Awkal and his attorneys. He says Awkal is too mentally ill to understand his execution. Audio; www.wksu.org/news/story/31860 |
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Post by thinkinkmesa on May 31, 2012 9:32:02 GMT -5
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Post by thinkinkmesa on Jun 4, 2012 9:42:40 GMT -5
Mentally ill inmate shouldn't be executed Terry Russell is executive director of NAMI Ohio, an affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. NAMI Ohio does not oppose the death penalty except for those with severe mental illness. I know all too well the challenges that face a family when a relative suffers from serious mental illness. My own brother, who passed away five years ago, lived with schizophrenia. I do not excuse violent crime when mental health issues are of concern, as in the case of Abdul Awkal, the man scheduled for execution in Ohio on Wednesday. Individuals who commit violent crimes ought to be punished. However, I question our state executing an individual when such pronounced and profound mental illness is a significant factor. More; news.cincinnati.com/article/20120603/EDIT/306030092/Mentally-ill-inmate-shouldn-t-executed |
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Post by thinkinkmesa on Jun 5, 2012 7:48:03 GMT -5
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Post by thinkinkmesa on Jun 5, 2012 7:49:40 GMT -5
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Post by thinkinkmesa on Jun 5, 2012 20:00:42 GMT -5
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Post by thinkinkmesa on Jun 6, 2012 11:08:39 GMT -5
Ohio gov issues condemned inmate 2-week reprieve Republican Gov. John Kasich on Tuesday issued a rare last-minute reprieve for a condemned killer, sparing Abdul Awkal for two weeks to allow a judge to hold a hearing on his mental competency. Kasich ordered the delay to allow a Cuyahoga County judge to conduct a hearing on whether Awkal is too mentally ill to be put to death. Judge Stuart Friedman ruled Monday there was evidence to believe Awkal was not competent to be executed, but his ruling was not enough to stop the execution. Kasich's decision came shortly after the Ohio Supreme Court had refused to delay the execution to allow the hearing. Governors in Ohio have the ultimate say on executions. Former death row inmate John Spirko received reprieves from two governors before he was spared, but such interventions by governors have been infrequent since Ohio resumed executions in 1999. Awkal was sentenced to death for killing his estranged wife, Latife Awkal, and brother-in-law Mahmoud Abdul-Aziz in January 1992 in a room where the Awkals were to take up divorce and custody issues. In the months before the shooting, Awkal bought a pistol and threatened to kill his wife and her family if they didn't dismiss the divorce proceedings. Prosecutors said Awkal also changed his address and wrote his brother a check for most of his assets before heading to court on the day of the shooting. Awkal was in the state death house at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville when the decision was announced. He arrived at Lucasville earlier Tuesday and had been in good spirits during his stay. More; www.daytondailynews.com/news/ohio-news/ohio-gov-issues-condemned-inmate-2-week-reprieve-1386426.html |
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Post by Guest on Jun 6, 2012 17:22:41 GMT -5
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Post by thinkinkmesa on Jun 7, 2012 7:14:58 GMT -5
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Post by thinkinkmesa on Jun 7, 2012 7:22:38 GMT -5
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Post by thinkinkmesa on Jun 7, 2012 20:28:06 GMT -5
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Post by thinkinkmesa on Jun 8, 2012 13:50:15 GMT -5
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Post by thinkinkmesa on Jun 13, 2012 16:03:16 GMT -5
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Post by thinkinkmesa on Jun 13, 2012 16:08:31 GMT -5
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Post by thinkinkmesa on Jun 14, 2012 8:08:24 GMT -5
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Post by thinkinkmesa on Jun 14, 2012 22:02:35 GMT -5
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Post by thinkinkmesa on Jun 15, 2012 12:09:09 GMT -5
Ohio judge: Killer of 2 incompetent for execution An inmate is too mentally ill to be executed for the killings of his wife and brother-in-law, a judge ruled Friday in a decision that comes just a week after the governor issued a reprieve hours before the man was set to die. "Abdul Awkal presently lacks the capacity to form a rational understanding as to the reason the state intends to execute him," Cuyahoga County Judge Stuart Friedman said. "Abdul Awkal may not be executed unless and until he has been restored to competency." The judge said it's up to the defense to seek a delay. Kevin Cafferkey, Awkal's attorney, said he would promptly send an appeal to the Wednesday execution to Gov. John Kasich and the Ohio Supreme Court. The prosecutor said he would review several options, including an appeal of the ruling. More; www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hIlTt70onWEgDOw1ZjIHANsa20Yw?docId=bda4011386c14365a79c2c66b8d0e5bc |
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Post by thinkinkmesa on Jun 15, 2012 19:54:23 GMT -5
VIA IJPC; Judge Friedman has ruled Abdul Awkal incompetent to be executed. THis is good news indeed but not a guarentee that his life will be spared. Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason has said he will appeal the ruling. Mean while we wait for a stay of execution order. If there is an execution on Wednesday, June 20 there will be a carpool organized by IJPC to go to Lucasville. Both Julie and Sr. Alice will be out of the office the week of June 18-23. Contact Eunice or Katherine if you plan to be part of the carpool, watch for updates on the case. ijpc-cincinnati.org/contact |
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