Post by scotkaz on Apr 17, 2007 15:37:51 GMT -5
Death penalty / Legal concern
USA (Ohio) James J. Filiaggi (m), aged 41
James Filiaggi, white, is scheduled to be executed in
Ohio on 24 April. He was sentenced to death in 1995
for the murder of his former wife, Lisa Huff Filiaggi,
who was shot on 24 January 1994.
James Filiaggi pleaded not guilty by reason of
insanity for his trial in 1995. While he was being
transported from the jail to the court for the start
of the proceedings on the morning of 11 July 1995,
James Filiaggi was made to wear an electro-shock stun
belt. On the way to the courthouse, the stun belt was
activated, apparently by accident. The trial was
suspended until later the same day. When it resumed,
James Filiaggi waived his right to a trial by jury,
meaning that under Ohio law he would be tried by a
three-judge panel instead.
On the following day, at the request of the defense
lawyers, the court ordered an evaluation of James
Filiaggi's competence to stand trial, to determine if
he understood the proceedings against him, and was
able to consult with his lawyers and assist in his
defense. At a hearing on 13 July 1995, Dr Thomas
Haglund, a forensic psychologist, testified that he
believed Filiaggi was competent to stand trial, but
also testified that shortly after his examination of
Filiaggi the previous afternoon, he had told the
defense lawyers that he believed their client was not
competent. Dr Haglund testified that his uncertainty
about the defendant's competence warranted further
evaluation. However, the court rejected this
recommendation, and denied a request by the defense
lawyers, who were having difficulty communicating with
their client, that Filiaggi receive a psychiatric
evaluation. Over the course of the trial, the defense
lawyers, one of whom was a doctor, repeatedly
requested this further examination. Their requests
were rejected, along with their motion for mistrial.
With this latter motion, the defense lawyers filed an
affidavit from a psychiatrist who had examined James
Filiaggi on 15 July 1995. He stated his ''unequivocal
opinion'' that Filiaggi had been incapable of
participating in his own defense for ''at least two
days'' after the incident. He described Filiaggi as
''aggressive, confused, disoriented and often
non-responsive to simple verbal questions''.
At the trial, the defense presented testimony from
three psychiatrists and a psychologist to support the
insanity plea. All four testified that in their
opinion, James Filiaggi suffered from bipolar
disorder, and intermittent explosive disorder (an
impulse control disorder). For the state, a forensic
psychiatrist testified that on the day of the crime,
the defendant was not suffering from any mental
disorder that would meet the legal test for insanity
under Ohio law. He concluded that while Filiaggi had
been contemplating suicide at the time, he had decided
to kill his former wife instead. The judges rejected
the insanity defense, finding that the defendant
''knew of the wrongfulness of his acts in this case'',
and sentenced James Filiaggi to death.
In April 2006, a three-judge panel of the US Court of
Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld the conviction
and death sentence, by two votes to one. The
dissenting judge called into question the trial
court's repeated denial of defense motions for further
evaluation of their client. He stated: ''The court's
predominant rationale was that Filiaggi was
malingering, evidenced by the court's observation of
Filiaggi and the statements of several guards. This
conclusion is surprising, given that the
aforementioned psychologist [Dr Haglund] who evaluated
Filiaggi, and whose evaluation formed the basis for
the court's determination of competence, testified
specifically that Filiaggi was not malingering. The
psychologist credited Filiaggi's belief, for instance,
that he was being shocked by electricity even after
the belt had been removed.''
The dissenting judge noted that while there was some
evidence that James Filiaggi was competent, such
evidence does not absolve a trial court of its
constitutional obligation to hold a competency hearing
in response to evidence coming to light during the
proceedings. The judge argued that, in a case such as
this where two lawyers, a medical doctor (the other
lawyer), and a court-appointed forensic psychologist
''all agree that a further competency evaluation is in
order, and when such an evaluation is requested again
and again on very specific bases - a trial court judge
is not free to focus exclusively upon whatever
evidence suggests competence and otherwise turn a deaf
ear. Such conduct directly contradicts [constitutional
law], and denies a fundamental tenet of due process to
a defendant facing the severest sanction known to the
civilized world''.
James Filiaggi has given up further appeals against
his death sentence. He had a clemency hearing in early
2007 before the Ohio Parole Board, as every condemned
Ohio inmate receives such a hearing whether or not
they request one. James Filiaggi did not submit a
clemency petition, and instructed his counsel not to
say anything on his behalf at the hearing. The Board
rejected clemency.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The stun belt, as worn by James Filiaggi at his 1995
trial, is a remote controlled device that on
activation delivers a 50,000 volt, three to four
milliampere shock, lasting eight seconds. This
high-pulsed current enters the wearer's body at the
site of the electrodes, near the kidneys, and passes
through the body, causing a rapid electric shock. The
shock causes incapacitation in the first few seconds
and severe pain rising during the eight seconds.
Amnesty International has called for the stun belt to
be banned (USA: Cruelty in control?, June 1999,
web.amnesty.org/library/index/engamr510541999).
In its findings in 2000 on the USA's compliance with
the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the UN
Committee against Torture also called on the USA to
abolish this device.
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all
cases, unconditionally. Today, 128 countries are
abolitionist in law or practice. In contrast, there
have been 1,070 executions in the USA since it resumed
judicial killing in 1977, 24 of which have been
carried out in Ohio. If this execution goes ahead, it
would be the first in Ohio under the governorship of
Governor Ted Strickland.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as
quickly as possible, in your own words:
- expressing sympathy for the family and friends of
Lisa Filiaggi, explaining that you are not seeking to
condone the manner of her death or to downplay the
suffering caused;
- opposing the execution of James Filiaggi, and the
death penalty in general;
- expressing concern at the use of the electro-shock
stun belt in this case and evidence of its
contribution to doubts about the defendant's
competency to stand trial;
- calling on Governor Strickland to stop this
execution, and to support a moratorium on executions
in Ohio.
APPEALS TO:
Governor Ted Strickland
Governor's Office,
Riffe Center, 30th Floor
77 South High Street
Columbus, OH 43215-6108
Fax: 1 614 466 9354
Email via:
www.governor.ohio.gov/Default.aspx?tabid=101.
Salutation: Dear Governor
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
----------------------------------
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Amnesty International is a worldwide grassroots
movement that promotes and defends human rights.
This Urgent Action may be reposted if kept intact,
including contact information and stop action date (if
applicable). Thank you for your help with this appeal.
Urgent Action Network
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Email: uan@aiusa.org
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Phone: 202.544.0200
Fax: 202.675.8566
----------------------------------
END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL
----------------------------------
USA (Ohio) James J. Filiaggi (m), aged 41
James Filiaggi, white, is scheduled to be executed in
Ohio on 24 April. He was sentenced to death in 1995
for the murder of his former wife, Lisa Huff Filiaggi,
who was shot on 24 January 1994.
James Filiaggi pleaded not guilty by reason of
insanity for his trial in 1995. While he was being
transported from the jail to the court for the start
of the proceedings on the morning of 11 July 1995,
James Filiaggi was made to wear an electro-shock stun
belt. On the way to the courthouse, the stun belt was
activated, apparently by accident. The trial was
suspended until later the same day. When it resumed,
James Filiaggi waived his right to a trial by jury,
meaning that under Ohio law he would be tried by a
three-judge panel instead.
On the following day, at the request of the defense
lawyers, the court ordered an evaluation of James
Filiaggi's competence to stand trial, to determine if
he understood the proceedings against him, and was
able to consult with his lawyers and assist in his
defense. At a hearing on 13 July 1995, Dr Thomas
Haglund, a forensic psychologist, testified that he
believed Filiaggi was competent to stand trial, but
also testified that shortly after his examination of
Filiaggi the previous afternoon, he had told the
defense lawyers that he believed their client was not
competent. Dr Haglund testified that his uncertainty
about the defendant's competence warranted further
evaluation. However, the court rejected this
recommendation, and denied a request by the defense
lawyers, who were having difficulty communicating with
their client, that Filiaggi receive a psychiatric
evaluation. Over the course of the trial, the defense
lawyers, one of whom was a doctor, repeatedly
requested this further examination. Their requests
were rejected, along with their motion for mistrial.
With this latter motion, the defense lawyers filed an
affidavit from a psychiatrist who had examined James
Filiaggi on 15 July 1995. He stated his ''unequivocal
opinion'' that Filiaggi had been incapable of
participating in his own defense for ''at least two
days'' after the incident. He described Filiaggi as
''aggressive, confused, disoriented and often
non-responsive to simple verbal questions''.
At the trial, the defense presented testimony from
three psychiatrists and a psychologist to support the
insanity plea. All four testified that in their
opinion, James Filiaggi suffered from bipolar
disorder, and intermittent explosive disorder (an
impulse control disorder). For the state, a forensic
psychiatrist testified that on the day of the crime,
the defendant was not suffering from any mental
disorder that would meet the legal test for insanity
under Ohio law. He concluded that while Filiaggi had
been contemplating suicide at the time, he had decided
to kill his former wife instead. The judges rejected
the insanity defense, finding that the defendant
''knew of the wrongfulness of his acts in this case'',
and sentenced James Filiaggi to death.
In April 2006, a three-judge panel of the US Court of
Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld the conviction
and death sentence, by two votes to one. The
dissenting judge called into question the trial
court's repeated denial of defense motions for further
evaluation of their client. He stated: ''The court's
predominant rationale was that Filiaggi was
malingering, evidenced by the court's observation of
Filiaggi and the statements of several guards. This
conclusion is surprising, given that the
aforementioned psychologist [Dr Haglund] who evaluated
Filiaggi, and whose evaluation formed the basis for
the court's determination of competence, testified
specifically that Filiaggi was not malingering. The
psychologist credited Filiaggi's belief, for instance,
that he was being shocked by electricity even after
the belt had been removed.''
The dissenting judge noted that while there was some
evidence that James Filiaggi was competent, such
evidence does not absolve a trial court of its
constitutional obligation to hold a competency hearing
in response to evidence coming to light during the
proceedings. The judge argued that, in a case such as
this where two lawyers, a medical doctor (the other
lawyer), and a court-appointed forensic psychologist
''all agree that a further competency evaluation is in
order, and when such an evaluation is requested again
and again on very specific bases - a trial court judge
is not free to focus exclusively upon whatever
evidence suggests competence and otherwise turn a deaf
ear. Such conduct directly contradicts [constitutional
law], and denies a fundamental tenet of due process to
a defendant facing the severest sanction known to the
civilized world''.
James Filiaggi has given up further appeals against
his death sentence. He had a clemency hearing in early
2007 before the Ohio Parole Board, as every condemned
Ohio inmate receives such a hearing whether or not
they request one. James Filiaggi did not submit a
clemency petition, and instructed his counsel not to
say anything on his behalf at the hearing. The Board
rejected clemency.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The stun belt, as worn by James Filiaggi at his 1995
trial, is a remote controlled device that on
activation delivers a 50,000 volt, three to four
milliampere shock, lasting eight seconds. This
high-pulsed current enters the wearer's body at the
site of the electrodes, near the kidneys, and passes
through the body, causing a rapid electric shock. The
shock causes incapacitation in the first few seconds
and severe pain rising during the eight seconds.
Amnesty International has called for the stun belt to
be banned (USA: Cruelty in control?, June 1999,
web.amnesty.org/library/index/engamr510541999).
In its findings in 2000 on the USA's compliance with
the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the UN
Committee against Torture also called on the USA to
abolish this device.
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all
cases, unconditionally. Today, 128 countries are
abolitionist in law or practice. In contrast, there
have been 1,070 executions in the USA since it resumed
judicial killing in 1977, 24 of which have been
carried out in Ohio. If this execution goes ahead, it
would be the first in Ohio under the governorship of
Governor Ted Strickland.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as
quickly as possible, in your own words:
- expressing sympathy for the family and friends of
Lisa Filiaggi, explaining that you are not seeking to
condone the manner of her death or to downplay the
suffering caused;
- opposing the execution of James Filiaggi, and the
death penalty in general;
- expressing concern at the use of the electro-shock
stun belt in this case and evidence of its
contribution to doubts about the defendant's
competency to stand trial;
- calling on Governor Strickland to stop this
execution, and to support a moratorium on executions
in Ohio.
APPEALS TO:
Governor Ted Strickland
Governor's Office,
Riffe Center, 30th Floor
77 South High Street
Columbus, OH 43215-6108
Fax: 1 614 466 9354
Email via:
www.governor.ohio.gov/Default.aspx?tabid=101.
Salutation: Dear Governor
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
----------------------------------
Tip of the Month:
Write as soon as you can. Try to write as close as
possible to the date a case is issued.
** POSTAGE RATES **
Within the United States:
$0.24 - Postcards
$0.39 - Letters and Cards (up to 1 oz.)
To Mexico and Canada:
$0.55 - Postcards
$0.63 - Airmail Letters and Cards (up to 1 oz.)
$0.75 - Aerogrammes
To all other destination countries:
$0.75 - Postcards
$0.84 - Airmail Letters and Cards (up to 1 oz.)
$0.75 - Aerogrammes
Amnesty International is a worldwide grassroots
movement that promotes and defends human rights.
This Urgent Action may be reposted if kept intact,
including contact information and stop action date (if
applicable). Thank you for your help with this appeal.
Urgent Action Network
Amnesty International USA
600 Pennsylvania Ave SE 5th fl
Washington DC 20003
Email: uan@aiusa.org
www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/
Phone: 202.544.0200
Fax: 202.675.8566
----------------------------------
END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL
----------------------------------
