Speaker 1: H a wall Street line, shackle change, Oh doesome gird?
Speaker 2: It's calling my name? There is no mercy and it's
been a tentery juice as the huge stream game Wrangle three.
Speaker 3: Come here by me to die.
Speaker 4: Inside these walls, inside the wild and when no girls.
Speaker 3: I Hey everyone, and welcome back to Bloody Angla, a
podcast one and forty two years in the making, the
complete story of America's bloodiest prison. I'm Jim Chapman and
it is Easter Week. I hope everyone who is off
this week has a great time with family and friends.
I'm a Christian and Jesus is a big part of
my life and this is a very near and dear
holiday to me. So I'm not going to keep you
too long today. I'm not going to release anything new.
I'm going to catch you up on a couple of
things that relate specifically to Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola
and let you get back to enjoying your time off.
And speaking of that, I find this strange, and I'm
freestyling today, so I don't have any script I'm going
off of or anything like that, but I found it
very strange. I have three children, all in college at
this point. My son's a senior and my daughters are
both sophomores at LSU. And they had their week off,
their spring break, if you will, two weeks ago, and
then the high schools, elementary schools, middle schools all around
at least my area of Louisiana all have off this week,
this current week that I'm recording this, and it drives
me crazy because I don't know why, why do they
not have that all synced up, Because a lot of
people with especially with larger families, you may have one
or two kids in college and one or two kids
in high school. You can't even take a vacation. And
I know a lot of college students don't still go
on vacations with their parents, but some do. You can't
even do any of that because they're off on different times.
It just struck me when I found out that the
high school kids are off this week. None of my
kids are in high school anymore, and I'm like, that
makes no sense. And it's been going on like that
for a while. If anybody knows message being can tell
me just one of those things to make you say hmmm,
beforre and move on. And as I said, I'm not
going to release anything new this week, but I'm gonna
catch you up on some things because we are also
in the middle of Louisiana's legislative session, and this session
always takes place in April. It's just the regular session.
But there's some crime related things on here, specifically related
to Angola, that I wanted to cover. One of those
is House Bill two o seven, and this bill would
amend certain state statutes that deal with executions, and the
amendment that is proposed directly relates to Jesse Hoffman's recent execution,
and what they're amending that to say is that the
execution must take place in the presence of a legal
representative of the person being executed. If you'll remember several
episodes ago, I talked about the Jesse Hoffman execution and
his representatives very upset because they wouldn't allow his legal
representation into the execution chamber to witness it. So this
proposed law seeks to change that. Now, currently with the
present law, the warden of Louisiana State Penitentiary or a
competent person selected by him, as well as the corner
of West Felicia in a parish where Angola is located
or his deputy, a physician summoned by the warden of
Louisiana State Penitentiary is allowed. Someone to actually carry out
the execution method is obviously allowed, a priest or minister
of the gospel if the convict requests that that is allowed,
and not less than five nor more than seven other witnesses.
That's the present law. This law would retain that, but
it would just add a legal representative of the person
who has been sentenced to death. So I'll keep you
posted on what occurs with that. But interesting that the
Jesse Hoffman execution directly relates because they would not allow
his attorney or legal representation into the execution. Also up
is a bill known as House Built three ninety four,
and it just features some minor ten technical changes. Now.
If approved, it would expand the legal execution window from
three hours to five hours, and it would also make
changes to requirements in the law about resetting execution dates.
It would also remove some language regarding the current legal
limit of seven witnesses. And I'll just review how that
language is written, because I have these bills in front
of me. Just quickly. It says the proposed law amends
present law to change the beginning time from six pm
to four pm. Further provides that every sentence of death
imposed in this state shall be executed upon the date
set for the execution by the court of the original jurisdiction.
Presently it's six to nine pm at night. And there's
some other proposed laws in here that aren't even worth
going over. But I don't know why the time is
such a big deal, but it is apparently to Representative
Moore who introduced this bill. And then finally the bill
that matters the most to me, and I really like
to see this. It's a bill that is aimed to
shorten the time from conviction to execution. Finally, a bill
that actually focuses on the victims of these crimes. And
I could have not told you this any better than
Noah dot com. So I'm just going to quote their
article for you quickly. It reads, as the state resumes
executions of death row prisoners, a bill in the legislature
aims to cut back on the time people convicted of
crimes can spend trying to reduce or overturn their sentences,
and it would vest more power over the process with
the Attorney General's office. The move comes seven months after
state lawmakers took action against Orderlingans Parish District Attorney Jason
Williams over deals he made with the post conviction relief
process to reduce the sentences of long serving inmates. And look,
I'll be honest, I've had District Attorney Jason Williams sitting
right here where I'm recording right now in this studio,
the Orleans Parish District attorney and in person, great guy,
very well spoken, really an awesome individual. But I disagree
with him here. Obviously. It goes on to read. Attorney
General Liz Murrill, a conservative Republican with a staunch pro
death penalty stance, says House Bill five seventy two would
prevent victims from waiting decades to see justice done. She
has long complained that families of victims must wait too
long to see death row inmates executed. The lengthy appeals
processes in Louisiana, death row inmates have sat in prison
for decades awaiting execution. Obviously ridiculous. US victims of crime
deserve finality, but our system does not provide it. Mural
said in a statement. The decades of inaction perpetrated by
lawyers and individuals convicted of heinous crimes and perpetrated by
this system is cruel and unjust. Republican lawmakers have already
clamped down on post conviction relief last year, setting stricter
timelines and procedural rules through Act ten of the Special
Session on Crime. The act also allowed the Attorney General
to appeal judicial orders granting relief for prisoners. The bill
would prevent prisoners who pleaded guilty to crimes from asserting
factual innocence claims. Quote. If they plead guilty, they are
admitting to the factual precedent. They are admitting they committed
the crime, and they are waiving all of these rights
to appeal. Mural said, nobody is required to plead guilty
to a crime. They are the wealthiest among us and
have no limits to what they will do to keep
that power until they are exposed. I'm your host Jim
Chapman and I uncover and expose the secrets of the
rich and famous. Stories they don't want told to hold
the elite accountable exposed. Scandalous files of the elite is
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but Those against the bill argue, innocent people sometimes take
plea deals and plead guilty to crimes to avoid the
risk of harsher sentences. And that's true in some cases
for an innocent person who is facing life in prison
but gets offered a twenty year sentence, and who is
uncomfortable with risk, you might be inclined to take the
twenty years instead of life. Acknowledging these concerns, the bill's
sponsored State Representative Brian Glorosso of slight Els said he
will wanted to pull from the bill the provision that
would prevent people who plead guilty from asserting that they
are innocent. Quote. Our entire system right now is structured
where people are incentivized to plead guilty to lesser offenses.
There are times when people plead guilty to something they
didn't do because they're facing charges and they don't feel
they have adequate representation or means and they want a
lesser sentence. And yes, that does happen, but I don't
think it's a very high percentage of the time, very
low percentage. Actually, He expects there will be a lot
of changes to the bill before it goes to the House.
Committee for approval. He said he wants to ensure we're
protecting the people that have legitimate rights and need to
make sure they're able to present their case and bring
new evidence. We never want to have any innocent person
in jail ever, but the state needs to address abuses
in the system that allow post conviction relief cases to
remain static for long periods of time. When Louisiana executed
Jesse Hoffman last month using nitrogen gas, the state's first
execution in fifteen years, Muriell said she would attempt to
quote clear the underbrush on long dormant death penalty cases.
Weeks later, she backed two death warrants for Cady Parish inmates,
whose attorneys argued they still had not exhausted all of
their post conviction relief. The Louisiana Supreme Court ruled in
favor of the inmates last week, recalling their death warrants
and ordering a state district judge to hear their post
conviction relief claims before setting execution dates. Mural argued that
was an example of the need to change the law,
and I can't agree with that more. If you just
continue to allow people to appeal and appeal That's how
you end up with people sitting on death row for
twenty years, and guess who's paying for that, taxpayers, all
of us. I mean, of course they're going to continue
to appeal to the cows come home. She went on
to say the state has funded appeals in these cases
with millions of dollars for the last twenty years and
has little to nothing to show for it. This is
the reason we need comprehensive reform of post conviction relief.
Lawyers for these individuals obtained delay after delay, then did nothing.
District attorneys and judges let these cases falter as well. Currently,
it's up to local district attorneys to respond to the
post conviction relief petitions as they see fit. For example, Williams,
the progressive minded New Orleans DA, used that power in
recent years to make deals with hundreds of prisoners citing
shoddy police work or suspect tactics by prosecutors. The stricter
post conviction relief rules passed last year were expected to
hamper that work, and it's unclear whether Williams has been
able to make such deals. Since if HB five seventy
two passes, the AG could take over any post conviction
relief case from a district attorney, shutting down deals like
the ones William's office made. She said she would automatically
get control over post conviction relief cases for death row inmates. Currently,
the constitution prevents the ag from intervening in criminal cases
unless the DA recuses themselves or gives express permission. She
does not have the authority to intervene in civil cases.
In five seventy two would move post conviction relief to
the civil code. So far, district attorneys have not taken
a public stance on the bill. The Louisiana DA's Association
is reviewing it closely, set Executive Director Zach Daniels, but
as yet voice support or opposition. The bill would also
set stricter timelines for prisoners to seek post conviction relief.
All defendants would have to file with them one year
of a conviction. Currently they have two years, and capital
defendants have unlimited time that from Cecilia Capel, an attorney
f death row inmates. Defendants would also be required to
file substantive motions more frequently, and judges would have deadlines
to make certain rulings. Muriell said that post conviction relief
procedures have long been abused, she argued DA's drawout cases
by repeatedly amending post conviction relief petitions to get around
time limits. The delays also do not serve a criminal
defendant's interest either, because legitimate claims falter from inaction forgotten
on district court dockets for years, she said. Mural also
wants to cut back on shell petitions, where attorneys file
barbines petitions and then return months later to flesh them out.
In capital cases, tighter deadlines will be problematic, said Capel,
as it can take years to get the records necessary
for post conviction applications. It could harm the average prisoner
without outside resources, who struggle to get the records from
the cases scept part of the Innocence Project. Those state
courts are the first line of appeal for death row prisoners.
They can also file federal habeas corpus claims to review
their sentences. The bill would prohibit death row inmates from
filing applications within one week of their execution, a provision
that Copel slammed. Quote, we've got the highest per capita
exoneration rate from any death row in the nation. We
have to use every single hour these guys have to
prevent a wrongful execution. And look, I'll say this to that,
nobody wants it ever to happen that somebody gets executed
that was innocent, and it does happen very rarely. I
am happy to see a bill that actually focuses on victims.
And these guys know they did something, the majority of
them know they killed ten people, and they're just appealing
because it's their right to do it and they can
extend out their life, and they're completely guilty. Most of
the people, most the vast majority of people on death
row at this time, there was so much evidence against him,
it's ridiculous. They've already been found guilty by a court
of their peers, and they're just taking advantage of the system.
And let me tell you, if they're getting executed, here's
the problem with the logic of well, they were forced
to plead guilty because they were worried about what could happen.
If you're on death row, you didn't take a deal.
Who takes a deal of death? You didn't take a deal.
That's why you're on death row. So you were found
guilty by a jury, and that's what pissed me off
about when they tried to delay Jesse Hoffman's execution. He
was found guilty by court of his peers and people
were trying to halt justice. So they have it. It's
the latest coming out of the legislative session as it
relates to Louisiana State Penitentiary and Gola. Again, I hope
every one of you have a phenomenal Easter, spend it
with family and friends, have a great time. I got
a great case I'm bringing to you next week and
until next time for Bloody and Gola, A podcast one
and forty two years in the making, the complete story
of America's bloodiest present Peace.
Speaker 1: A wall Street line, shackle chain, it's calling my name,
there is no mercy, and it's been a centurion.
Speaker 2: Juice as the hill Stream game Rango three.
Speaker 3: I'm in bed.
Speaker 1: If I'm here to.
Speaker 4: Die inside these walls, inside the wild, and when the walks,
I know it's oldbody. Angle, obody Angle,