softheart
05-18-2004, 01:57 AM
17th May
USA---impending federal execution
Federal inmate decides to fight death sentence----Attorneys for David Paul
Hammer say his flip-flop decision shows he is mentally ill, should not be
executed.
A federal eeath row inmate scheduled to die next month in Terre Haute has
asked his attorneys to fight for his right to appeal after waiving it 4
months ago.
Attorneys for David Paul Hammer, who would become the 4th person put to
death in Terre Haute since 2001, say that Hammer has changed his mind on
the issue at least 8 times in the 6 years since he was sentenced.
Hammer's change of heart buttresses arguments that he is mentally ill and
should not be executed, said Ronald Travis, one of his attorneys.
"There is something going on in his head that I cannot account for,"
Travis said. "He has got issues. If you can look at his life and say
'Execute him,' something is wrong."
Hammer's execution has prompted plans for demonstrations from death
penalty opponents. Organizers anticipate at least 200 demonstrators will
stage marches and vigils.
"His case is starting to receive a lot of attention," said Charles
Kafoure, president of the Indiana Information Center on the Abolition of
Capital Punishment.
3 men -- including Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh -- have been put
to death by lethal injection in Terre Haute since 2001, when the
government ended a 38-year hiatus on federal executions.
Hammer has falsely claimed responsibility for at least 2 murders he did
not commit, said his evil alter ego "Jocko" led him to kill his cellmate
in 1996 and changed his mind about challenging his death sentence at least
eight times, lawyers said.
In October 2000, he dropped all of his court appeals, before applying for
clemency from President Bill Clinton less than a month before his
execution date.
A federal prosecutor said he was unaware Hammer was seeking to have his
execution stayed.
However, "we do not believe for a minute" that he is insane, said
Frederick Martin, assistant U.S. attorney in Williamsport, Pa.
Hammer deserves to die because he wrote a note threatening that he "would
kill again," Martin said.
Hammer, 45, was sentenced to death for the 1996 strangulation death of
cellmate Andrew Marti at the Allenwood Federal Penitentiary in
Pennsylvania.
Officials set the execution date earlier this year when Hammer waived
pending appeals in the case.
His attorneys were to file motions with the U.S. Court of Appeals in
Philadelphia today to have his appeals reinstated. The motion contends
that Hammer's lawyers were not present at a January hearing when a federal
judge allowed him to waive his pending appeals.
A panel of three judges could delay Hammer's execution while it tries to
make a decision.
In the early 1980s, Hammer was sent to prison at age 19 in Oklahoma for
more than 1,200 years for a slew of crimes, including attempted murder,
kidnapping and armed robbery.
Hammer's antics in prison remain legendary, said Jerry Massie, spokesman
for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.
He once paid $5 for a certificate that stated he was a minister with the
Universal Life Church and solicited money through the mail from
contributors.
Hammer bragged that he made $175,000 through mail fraud, but no one knows
if that is true, Massie said.
In 1989, he made a bomb threat that shut down the state Capitol and the
Oklahoma County Courthouse. Another time, he used a prison employee's
credit card to send flowers to a prison warden, officials said.
"He was doing it for fun," Massie said. "He was very manipulative."
Hammer used a telephone to tell the FBI and news reporters that he played
a role in the death of famed 1970s social activist Karen Silkwood.
Authorities also found no evidence to support his claims that he used a
prison telephone to order the killings of 2 men in the mid-1980s.
Hammer also has made unsubstantiated claims he had information about a
crime in Michigan, said Martin, the prosecutor.
"He does things just to get attention," he said.
By 1993, Oklahoma authorities had become so fed up they asked federal
corrections officials to house him in their facilities.
In April 1996, Hammer convinced Marti to pretend he was taken hostage and
promised to hurt him only slightly, court records say.
Hammer then tied Marti's legs and arms with a homemade rope and strangled
him.
At trial, defense lawyers prepared an insanity defense for Hammer, arguing
that he suffers from multiple personality disorder.
People afflicted with the condition show 2 or more distinct personalities
that cause the person to act in different ways.
However, Hammer refused to follow his lawyer's advice and pleaded guilty
to murder. A jury in 1998 sentenced him to death.
Since then he has changed his mind 8 to 10 times about whether to
challenge his death sentence, lawyers said.
In January, he posted a letter on an Internet site that stated he would no
longer fight his pending execution.
"Its not unusual for a guy on death row to change his mind," said David
Ruhnke, one of his attorneys. "Some would prefer death to life in prison."
Attorneys and acquaintances say Hammer's problems stem from a troubled
childhood.
Born in Holdenville, Okla., Hammer suffered physical and sexual abuse from
relatives starting at age 6, Travis said.
He was beaten, scalded and "locked in closets," Travis said. "Some of the
things were worse than what happened to the prisoners in Iraq."
His father, John, worked as a migrant farmer and moved his wife and 3
children from town to town.
The family did not send Hammer to school often because they needed him to
work farm fields for money, Travis said.
"They were dirt poor," he said. "If you (read) 'The Grapes of Wrath,' that
was their life."
By age 14, he was using drugs heavily and stealing, relatives said.
Hammer had gained such a reputation as a troublemaker that parents warned
their children to stay away from him, said Curtis Parks, 46, Hammer's
former brother-in-law.
"He started running with the wrong crowd," Parks said. "He was always
trying to swindle people out of money.
"He was very smart. He could have went to college and made a lot money. He
wanted his money the quick way."
(source: Indianapolis Star)
USA---impending federal execution
Federal inmate decides to fight death sentence----Attorneys for David Paul
Hammer say his flip-flop decision shows he is mentally ill, should not be
executed.
A federal eeath row inmate scheduled to die next month in Terre Haute has
asked his attorneys to fight for his right to appeal after waiving it 4
months ago.
Attorneys for David Paul Hammer, who would become the 4th person put to
death in Terre Haute since 2001, say that Hammer has changed his mind on
the issue at least 8 times in the 6 years since he was sentenced.
Hammer's change of heart buttresses arguments that he is mentally ill and
should not be executed, said Ronald Travis, one of his attorneys.
"There is something going on in his head that I cannot account for,"
Travis said. "He has got issues. If you can look at his life and say
'Execute him,' something is wrong."
Hammer's execution has prompted plans for demonstrations from death
penalty opponents. Organizers anticipate at least 200 demonstrators will
stage marches and vigils.
"His case is starting to receive a lot of attention," said Charles
Kafoure, president of the Indiana Information Center on the Abolition of
Capital Punishment.
3 men -- including Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh -- have been put
to death by lethal injection in Terre Haute since 2001, when the
government ended a 38-year hiatus on federal executions.
Hammer has falsely claimed responsibility for at least 2 murders he did
not commit, said his evil alter ego "Jocko" led him to kill his cellmate
in 1996 and changed his mind about challenging his death sentence at least
eight times, lawyers said.
In October 2000, he dropped all of his court appeals, before applying for
clemency from President Bill Clinton less than a month before his
execution date.
A federal prosecutor said he was unaware Hammer was seeking to have his
execution stayed.
However, "we do not believe for a minute" that he is insane, said
Frederick Martin, assistant U.S. attorney in Williamsport, Pa.
Hammer deserves to die because he wrote a note threatening that he "would
kill again," Martin said.
Hammer, 45, was sentenced to death for the 1996 strangulation death of
cellmate Andrew Marti at the Allenwood Federal Penitentiary in
Pennsylvania.
Officials set the execution date earlier this year when Hammer waived
pending appeals in the case.
His attorneys were to file motions with the U.S. Court of Appeals in
Philadelphia today to have his appeals reinstated. The motion contends
that Hammer's lawyers were not present at a January hearing when a federal
judge allowed him to waive his pending appeals.
A panel of three judges could delay Hammer's execution while it tries to
make a decision.
In the early 1980s, Hammer was sent to prison at age 19 in Oklahoma for
more than 1,200 years for a slew of crimes, including attempted murder,
kidnapping and armed robbery.
Hammer's antics in prison remain legendary, said Jerry Massie, spokesman
for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.
He once paid $5 for a certificate that stated he was a minister with the
Universal Life Church and solicited money through the mail from
contributors.
Hammer bragged that he made $175,000 through mail fraud, but no one knows
if that is true, Massie said.
In 1989, he made a bomb threat that shut down the state Capitol and the
Oklahoma County Courthouse. Another time, he used a prison employee's
credit card to send flowers to a prison warden, officials said.
"He was doing it for fun," Massie said. "He was very manipulative."
Hammer used a telephone to tell the FBI and news reporters that he played
a role in the death of famed 1970s social activist Karen Silkwood.
Authorities also found no evidence to support his claims that he used a
prison telephone to order the killings of 2 men in the mid-1980s.
Hammer also has made unsubstantiated claims he had information about a
crime in Michigan, said Martin, the prosecutor.
"He does things just to get attention," he said.
By 1993, Oklahoma authorities had become so fed up they asked federal
corrections officials to house him in their facilities.
In April 1996, Hammer convinced Marti to pretend he was taken hostage and
promised to hurt him only slightly, court records say.
Hammer then tied Marti's legs and arms with a homemade rope and strangled
him.
At trial, defense lawyers prepared an insanity defense for Hammer, arguing
that he suffers from multiple personality disorder.
People afflicted with the condition show 2 or more distinct personalities
that cause the person to act in different ways.
However, Hammer refused to follow his lawyer's advice and pleaded guilty
to murder. A jury in 1998 sentenced him to death.
Since then he has changed his mind 8 to 10 times about whether to
challenge his death sentence, lawyers said.
In January, he posted a letter on an Internet site that stated he would no
longer fight his pending execution.
"Its not unusual for a guy on death row to change his mind," said David
Ruhnke, one of his attorneys. "Some would prefer death to life in prison."
Attorneys and acquaintances say Hammer's problems stem from a troubled
childhood.
Born in Holdenville, Okla., Hammer suffered physical and sexual abuse from
relatives starting at age 6, Travis said.
He was beaten, scalded and "locked in closets," Travis said. "Some of the
things were worse than what happened to the prisoners in Iraq."
His father, John, worked as a migrant farmer and moved his wife and 3
children from town to town.
The family did not send Hammer to school often because they needed him to
work farm fields for money, Travis said.
"They were dirt poor," he said. "If you (read) 'The Grapes of Wrath,' that
was their life."
By age 14, he was using drugs heavily and stealing, relatives said.
Hammer had gained such a reputation as a troublemaker that parents warned
their children to stay away from him, said Curtis Parks, 46, Hammer's
former brother-in-law.
"He started running with the wrong crowd," Parks said. "He was always
trying to swindle people out of money.
"He was very smart. He could have went to college and made a lot money. He
wanted his money the quick way."
(source: Indianapolis Star)