That is one week from today… and it’s a case you should be concerned about.
From the Virginia Catholic Conference:
Archbishop Pietro Sambi, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, has sent a letter to Governor Tim Kaine on behalf of the Vatican, to request that Dexter Lee Vinson’s death sentence be commuted to life in prison without parole. Arlington Bishop Paul Loverde and Richmond Bishop Francis DiLorenzo are making this request as well.
Here is the PDF of the Circuit Court of Appeals amended opinion filed February 2006:
Dexter Lee Vinson appeals the denial of his federal habeas petition, in which he sought relief from a death sentence. We granted a certificate of appealability on three issues: (1) whether the district court erred in failing to hold an evidentiary hearing on Vinson’s claim that his trial counsel operated under an unconstitutional conflict of interest; (2) whether Vinson was denied effective assistance of counsel; and (3) whether the state failed to disclose material exculpatory evidence. For the reasons that follow, we affirm the district court’s denial of habeas relief.
I’d encourage everyone concerned with the death penalty to read this and judge for yourself whether the appellate court decision follows.
The penalty of death is a final penalty, reserved for the most heinous of crimes and for the most guilty of offenders. Adolf Hitler gets the death penalty. Charles Manson gets the death penalty. Joseph Stalin gets the death penalty, etc.
Dexter Lee Vinson does not and did not believe he received adequate legal representation. Reading the decision, it doesn’t seem as if the court disagrees with this statement — but rather it hinges it’s argument on a legal semantic:
Vinson’s conflict of interest claim arises from the undisputed fact that during his trial, Vinson’s “second chair” counsel, Tanya Lomax, was suing Vinson’s lead counsel, John Underwood, for employment discrimination that had allegedly occurred during Lomax’s employment at the Portsmouth Public Defender’s Office. Vinson contends that the separate employment litigation between Lomax and Underwood adversely affected his representation in two ways: first, Lomax suffered health problems resulting from the stress of the litigation; and second, the way Underwood and Lomax divided the work and responsibilities of his case into distinct guilt and sentencing phases left Lomax inadequately supervised by Underwood.
…
Rather than relying on evidence not “reasonably available” to him “at the time of the state proceeding,” Vinson instead “point[s] to evidence” that he clearly “knew about” at the time of his trial. Prior to trial Lomax informed Vinson of the facts giving rise to the asserted conflict, and Vinson consented to representation by “conflicted” counsel. In a sworn, written waiver, Vinson explicitly stated that “[w]ith full knowledge and understanding of Attorney Lomax’s complaint and disclosure, I freely and voluntarily give my consent to have Attorney Lomax continue to represent me in the above-styled matter.” In Vinson’s presence, defense counsel then presented Vinson’s waiver to the trial court. In light of this waiver, it is plain that the facts of the alleged conflict between Lomax and Underwood were not only available to Vinson, but were specifically presented to him for his consideration and consent. His voluntary, knowing, and informed decision to continue with Lomax as his counsel precludes any argument that a factor external to the defense caused the procedural default. Vinson thus does not depend on facts that could not have been previously discovered, and he cannot establish cause to overcome the procedural bar.
That my friends, is wrong. It’s the law forgetting it’s responsibility to be just for the sake of being consistent.
Dexter Lee Vinson deserves relief and a commutation of his sentence to life imprisonment. Governor Kaine can be contacted by phone at (804)786-2211, or if you prefer electronic communication the Virginia Catholic Conference gives you the opportunity to send an e-mail.
If you’ve never felt strongly on this issue, now is the time. Just five minutes of you day can literally do justice and save a man’s life.