Death Penalty and Death Row Nebraska

Types of Murder: First Degree : Premeditation! Fully conscious of the act. Malice Aforethought Killing deliberately and intentionally.

Types of Murder: Second Degree “ Heat of the Moment ” No premeditation SOMETIMES connected to ‘ commission of another crime ’

Types of Murder Third Degree Manslaughter in most states! Creating a dangerous situation that leads to death. Murder caused without premeditation and willfulness. Lack of malice.

Manslaughter divides into two types: VOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER: You knew that the situation was dangerous.

Manslaughter divides into two types: Involuntary Manslaughter: You didn ’ t necessarily know the situation was dangerous. DEPENDS ON A LOT OF THINGS!

Nebraska is “ Unique ” in the checklist for the death penalty Premeditation Fully Conscious of what you are doing (no delusions / psychosis) Malice VICTIM SUFFERING ONLY in Nebraska

Death Sentences: JURIES, not judges, decide if death should be given. 3 judge panel immediately reviews the case to see if due process was followed. 1 appeal is paid for by the state.

Death Sentences After one appeal it is up to the defendant. May appeal ONLY on due process questions – not guilt or innocence!

Who sits on Nebraska ’ s Death Row? Carey Dean Moore: Sentenced for the murder of two Omaha cabdrivers in Said he wanted to kill “ older ” men because he thought they ’ d fight him less as he robbed them than killing someone his age. Called several times and waited and watched for the right “ marks. ”

Michael Ryan Sentenced for the brutal torture and murder of three members of his religious cult on a farm outside of Rulo, Nebraska in 1985.

John Lotter John Lotter: Sentenced for the December 1993 murders of Teena Brandon, Lisa Lambert and Philip Devinein Humbolt in December His accomplice, David Nissen receive a life-sentence in return for his testimony against Lotter.

David Dunster “ Suicide by State ” David Dunster: Sentenced for killing his cell mate, Jerry Witt, in 1997 while serving a sentence in Nebraska for two previous killings; a 1972 rape and murder of an Oregon woman and the 1979 killing of a fellow cell mate.

Who sits on Nebraska ’ s Death Row? Raymond Mata Jr.: Sentenced in 2000 for killing and dismembering Adam Gomez, his girlfriend's young son, in Scottsbluff, Nebraska.

Who sits on Nebraska ’ s Death Row? Arthur Lee Gales Jr.: Given two death sentences in November 2001 for two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder for the Nov. 12, 2000 deaths of Latara and Tramar Chandler and the beating of their mother, 36-year- old Judy Chandler.

Jeffrey Hessler: 2005 Hessler raped and killed 15-year-old Heather Guerrero execution style after he kidnapped her at the end of her paper route. Her body was found in the basement of an abandoned home. After he was arrested for the Guerrerro case, Hessler was convicted of raping another papergirl in a nearby city six months earlier.

For the Norfolk Bank Robberies Jose Sandoval: One of four men convicted of killing 5 people in a U.S. Bank branch in Norfolk, NE on Sept. 26, 2002.

For the Norfolk Bank Robberies Jorge Galindo: One of four men convicted of killing 5 people in a U.S. Bank branch in Norfolk, NE on Sept. 26, 2002.

Recently Released from Death Row In 1999 Jerry Simpson and Clarence Victor were taken off of Nebraska's death row due to a law passed in 1998 that prohibits the execution of people with IQ scores of less than 70.

Recently Released From Death Row On January 7, 2000 the Nebraska Supreme Court vacated the death sentence of Randy Reeves stating that the 1991 Nebraska Supreme Court had acted unconstitutionally. Reeves had been sentenced to death for the drug induced murder of Janet Mesner and Victoria Lamm in Lincoln on March 29, 1980

Recently Released From Death Row 2001 Jeremy Sheets was released after prosecutors decided not to retry his case. Sheets had been sentenced to death for the September 23, 1992 kidnapping and murder of Kenyatta Bush. Confession of co- defendant Adam Barnett violated 5 th Amendment.

Recently Released from Death Row On August 3rd, 2001 Peter Hochstein and Michael Anderson had their sentences commuted to life in prison. Anderson and Hochstein were sentenced to death for the 1975 murder-for-hire of Omaha real estate businessman Abboud.

Cheated the Chair Charles Jess Palmer: Sentenced for the 1979 murder of a Mr. Zimmerman in Grand Island. Palmer died on death row of natural causes in the Summer of 2006.

Cheated the Chair 2001 Roger Bjorklund was found unresponsive in his cell and was later pronounced dead at a Lincoln hospital. It has been stated Bjorklund died "not of natural causes," but this mysterious statement has not yet been further explained

Executed in Nebraska since 1976 Harold Lamont "Wili" Otey was executed in John Joubert was executed in Robert Williams was executed December 2, 1997