To Be Sentenced To Death
A Sentence to Life or Death Has Been Postponed Until Monday For Harlow Cuadra.
A Northeastern Pennsylvania newspaper, The Times Leader has reported that the sentencing hearing of convicted murderer Harlow Raymond Cuadra, has been continued until Monday, March 16. Prosecutors and defense attorneys will give closing arguments on Monday before the jury decides which sentence will be imposed upon Harlow.
The Citizens Voice, another online mainstream media outlet made the following report of the events of the sentencing phase conducted today:
Defense attorneys called nine witnesses, including Cuadra's family members and psychological experts who testified to his background.
Cuadra's mother testified for more than an hour on her son's behalf. She sobbed as she answered questions in Spanish and a court worker translated for the jury. "Before he was born, I fought for his life," she said. "And I fight for his life now. That is all I can say."
Cuadra's older brother, Jose Cuadra, described the family's poverty when Harlow Cuadra was a child and how Harlow Cuadra was sexually molested by his stepfather when he was a child.
Prosecution concluded its testimony this morning after calling five witnesses. Bryan Kocis' mother and father described their "caring" and "generous" son, and the pain in their lives since his murder. Michael Kocis testified his son was his hunting buddy. Since his death, he hasn't had a full night of sleep in the past 26 months. Michael Kocis read his answers from a prepared sheet, but had to stop several times to wipe tears. "I'm going to try and get through this," he told jurors before detailing how Bryan Kocis donated money to charities helping battered women and the United Way. His "first and only son" was an Eagle Scout and a deacon at his church, Michael Kocis said.
If the jury were to recommend the death penalty and the court sentences Harlow to death, it would be carried out at the State Correctional Institution at Rockview, PA where a special building is used for executions. The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections relates for security puposes, all inmates sentenced to death are assigned to administrative custody status and are housed in Restricted Housing Unit at State Correctional Insitution Greene, located near Waynesburg, Pennsylvania. As the execution date draws near the inmate is moved to the Rockview prison.
Linda Young, the girlfriend of an inmate who is currently on death row and is being housed at SCI Green, describes for us the visiting protocol of an inmate on death row, She says, "The visits are non-contact. The visiting area has a control room at one end and several small rooms down both sides. The rooms are numbered. The rooms are divided by a thick glass wall and a built in counter top. There are small mesh grills down both sides of the glass so you can talk. The prisoner has a chair. He is kept handcuffed throughout. The visitor also has a chair. Vending machines for candy and drinks are provided for the visitors but not the prisoner. There is a bathroom. If the prisoner needs the bathroom his visitor has to inform the guards and they don't hurry."
"Visits can vary in length and number depending on what's happening in the prison. Because I traveled a great distance to the prison I was granted a special visit which had to be applied for months in advance. The time they gave me was from 9am-3:30pm, but again sometimes this time frame may vary for others."
The inmates are treated with either indifference or like something they've found in the gutter! It's heartbreaking. On arriving at the prison you sign in at the lobby. Photographic I.D. is required. Lockers are provided for personal belongings as the only thing you can take to the visiting area are some coins for the vending machines. The lobby officer gives you a small see through bag to keep it in. You're given a sheet of paper with the inmates name and the visiting area on it. Then you go through a metal detector and then your hands and clothing are swabbed down for drug traces."
"When called you make your way through a series of automatic doors and corridors, showing the paper through the glass to guards in secure rooms. Reaching the visiting area you hand the paper to the control room guard. On leaving you reverse the process."
The last execution to take place in Pennsylvania was on July 6, 1999, when Gary Heidnik was executed by lethal injection. He had been convicted and given two death sentences in July 1988 for savagely murdering two women he had imprisoned in his home.
In the event Harlow were to be sentenced to death, it would be a very good assumption that Harlow will appeal his case. The appeals process can draw out for a decade or more. If the Supreme Court affirms the sentence, the case goes to the Governor's Office where it is reviewed by appropriate legal counsel and, ultimately, by the Governor himself. Only the Governor may set the execution date, which is done through the signing of a document known as the Governor's Warrant.
If no last minute stays don't happen, the condemned person is usually bound to a gurney and a member of the execution team positions several heart monitors on this skin. Two needles (one is a back-up) are then inserted into usable veins, usually in the inmates arms. Long tubes connect the needle through a hole in a cement block wall to several intravenous drips. The first is a harmless saline solution that is started immediately. Then, at the warden's signal, a curtain is raised exposing the inmate to the witnesses in an adjoining room. Then, the inmate is injected with sodium thiopental - an anesthetic, which puts the inmate to sleep. Next flows pavulon or pancuronium bromide, which paralyzes the entire muscle system and stops the inmate's breathing. Finally, the flow of potassium chloride stops the heart. Death results from anesthetic overdose and respiratory and cardiac arrest while the condemned person is unconscious. Medical ethics preclude doctors from participating in executions. However, a doctor will certify the inmate is dead. This lack of medical participation can be problematic because often injections are performed by inexperienced technicians or orderlies. If a member of the execution team injects the drugs into a muscle instead of a vein, or if the needle becomes clogged, extreme pain can result. Many prisoners have damaged veins resulting from intravenous drug use and it is sometimes difficult to find a usable vein, resulting in long delays while the inmate remains strapped to the gurney.
Mark and myself don't support the death penalty. The death penalty has been debated by civilizations throughout history. What crimes, if any, are so heinous in nature as to justify killing another person and what system of justice can be created to prevent further killing are challenging questions.
While capital punishment has been banned throughout parts of the world, execution remains a legal option in many countries. The United States, for example, executed over 1,100 people since 1977 primarily by means of lethal injection. Those executions generally took place with popular support among Americans who believe that the most terrible crimes should receive the most terrible punishment. Although not exclusive to murder - the death penalty can be applied for treason, espionage, and other crimes - the majority of cases involve the execution of people who have killed others. In Iran for example, one can be executed for simply being gay.
Given the long-time divisive debate on this topic among philosophers, religious leaders, politicians, scientists, and the general public we've decided to devote this article to simply say that TWO WRONGS DON'T MAKE A RIGHT.
Harlow deserves the penalty of being imprisoned for the remaining years of his life ! What he did was horrible and certainly is an embrassment to our adult industry and moreso our Pride in what we struggle to be ... GAY HUMAN BEINGS.
PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO VISIT AND LEARN WHY
NATIONAL COALITION TO ABOLISH THE DEATH PENALTY
Douglas Cavett, 43, of Milton, Vermont was arrested Wednesday by detectives from the Chittenden Police Department after the alleged victim came forward with the allegations of sexual abuse, police said.
Cavett was silent during the arraignment in Burlington District Court on Thursday. His lawyer pleaded not guilty on Cavett's behalf to three counts of aggravated sexual assault. The charges collectively carry a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Click To Read Court Affidavit In Molestation Case
The accuser, now 28, told police Cavett molested him in 1991 when Cavett was a teacher's aide at Hunt Middle School in Burlington. He reported over 100 incidents of sex with Cavett between 1991 and 1997, police said. The accuser also told police he believes there could be other victims because Cavett hosted many parties at his home in Milton, police said.
The accuser also told police young teen boys were given alcohol and marijuana at the parties, police said.
According to police, Cavett was convicted in 2004 on two counts of "improper touching" of a 17-year-old boy. He served 30 days, according to police. He was not on the sex offender registry list, said police.
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A Salinas, California priest was arrested Thursday evening and accused of sexual misconduct with a boy, police said. The Rev. Antonio Cortes, 41, who is a priest at St. Mary of the Nativity Catholic Church, has been charged with unlawful sexual behavior and providing alcohol to a minor.
