Appeal seeks to halt execution of Dallas woman who murdered elderly neighbor


Kimberly McCarthy was convicted of murdering her elderly neighbor in 1997.

HOUSTON (AP) — The lawyer for a Dallas County woman set to die next week is appealing to block the woman's execution, which would be the 500th in Texas since the state resumed carrying out the death penalty in 1982.

The total is far more than any other state.

Kimberly McCarthy, 52, also would be the first woman put to death in the U.S. since 2010 if she receives lethal injection June 26 in Huntsville.

The former nursing home therapist was condemned for the 1997 stabbing, beating and robbery of a 71-year-old neighbor, Dorothy Booth, who was killed at her home in Lancaster, about 15 miles south of Dallas. The slaying was one of three linked to McCarthy, who had become addicted to crack cocaine.
McCarthy's appeal, filed Tuesday to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, contends black jurors improperly were excluded from her trial by Dallas County prosecutors and her lawyers should have challenged the exclusions both at the trial and in early appeals. McCarthy is black; her victim white. Of the 12 jurors at her trial, one was not white.

Maurie Levin, a University of Texas law professor representing McCarthy, said the punishment should be stopped and McCarthy's case reviewed in light of a 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court decision three weeks ago that backed another Texas prisoner who raised similar arguments about deficient legal help.

"I do think her case does present some of the topical issues of this decade," Levin said Wednesday, referring to a "pervasive influence of race in administration of the death penalty and the inadequacy of counsel — a longstanding issue here."

The failings of McCarthy's earlier appellate help means no court ever has looked at McCarthy's claims, she said.

Shelly Yeatts, who handles appellate cases in the Dallas County District Attorney's office, said the Court of Criminal Appeals, the state's highest criminal court, first must decide whether Levin's appeal is proper under filing rules before even considering the merits of the arguments.

In January, McCarthy had been moved to a small holding cell a few steps from the Texas death chamber when a Dallas judge moved her execution for April. That timing then was reset for next week when Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins said he wanted to await the outcome of capital punishment-related bills before lawmakers in Austin. The regular legislative session now has concluded.

McCarthy would be the eighth Texas prisoner executed this year. Her punishment is among at least eight scheduled for Texas in the coming months.

Appeal? How about "peeled"? This psycho biotch needs to be skinned alive! Not put to sleep!

Stay of execution for poor representation? What? She may have stabbed her victim a few less times than stated? Maybe her victims finger "fell off" when she stole her ring and pawned it for crack money? Perhaps she was only "loaning" her neighbors Mercedes to her crack dealer..... for a "bump" of crack?

Sure, keep her alive so the prison industry can suck some more profits out of the taxpayers!

http://www.murderpedia.org/female.M/m/mccarthy-kimberly.htm

the death penalty and 'rights' are on trial here

more so than this woman


lawyers usually get that leeway to pick jurors that represent defendants 'peers' (see the upcoming Zimmerman case,, trying hard to keep black jurors to the minimum,,,,)

its what lawyers are expected to do in representation,,,,


everyone knows I dont support death penalty , so not much to say on that part o the story,,,

She's already had two trials both found her guilty and gave her the death penalty. Third times a charm?

Grim milestone: Texas set to execute 500th inmate.
The gurney in Huntsville, Texas, where Texas' condemned are strapped down to receive a lethal dose of drugs. The first execution by lethal injection in Texas occurred in 1982. Since then the state has executed 499 prisoners.

he death penalty is on the books in 32 states. On average, Texas executes an inmate about every three weeks. Still, even as McCarthy prepares to die at the Huntsville Unit, it's clear that Texas, too, has been affected by the debate over capital punishment. In recent years, state lawmakers have provided more sentencing options for juries and courts have narrowed the cases in which the death penalty can be applied. In guaranteeing DNA testing for inmates and providing for sentences of life without parole, Texas could well be on a slower track to execute its next 500 inmates.
McCarthy, 52, was condemned for using a butcher knife and candelabra to beat and fatally stab retired college professor Dorothy Booth at the victim's Lancaster home. Evidence showed the former nursing home therapist used the knife to sever Booth's finger to steal her wedding ring.

McCarthy, who is linked to two other slayings, already has had her execution date pushed back twice this year. Her attorney, Maurie Levin, is trying to halt her execution again, contending black jurors improperly were excluded from her trial by Dallas County prosecutors.

On Tuesday, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals declined to reconsider its denial a day earlier of McCarthy's appeal, saying her claims should have been raised previously. Levin, a University of Texas law professor, said because the court's ruling focused on a procedural and not a substantive issue, the case cannot be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

McCarthy, who denied any involvement in the attacks, was indicted but not tried for those slayings. McCarthy is a former wife of Aaron Michaels, founder of the New Black Panther Party, and he testified on her behalf. They had separated before Booth's slaying.

Give her the needle, we can all so with one less Txan

As Ron White says:

In Texas we have the death penalty and we use it. If you come to Texas and kill somebody, we will kill you back. It's our policy.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgQRgT15f9U

Cocaine's a hell of a drug.- Rick James

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udNHsk57f24

also:

In Texas, were puttin in an express lane- Ron White

LIVE UPDATES Execution imminent for Lancaster woman. If any one cares to follow:
http://www.wfaa.com/news/crime/Texas-woman-set-to-be-500th-execution-in-state--213137451.html
Scheduled at 6:pm cst.
We should all pray for the victims families, her familiy, and for her.