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About Appeal tribune. (Silverton, Or.) 1999-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 11, 2017)
Appeal Tribune Wednesday, January 11, 2017 3A Most death row inmates impaired WHITNEY M. WOODWORTH STATESMAN JOURNAL Most of the 35 people on Oregon’s death row have intellectual disabilities, mental illness, brain injury or were con- victed as adolescents, according to a re- cently released report. Harvard Law School’s Fair Punish- ment Project conducted a study of Ore- gon’s death row and determined that 25 percent of the people there have evidence of intellectual disability or traumatic brain injury. The same amount had symptoms of mental illness, and one-third of death row inmates had a history of severe childhood or emotional trauma. Six were under the age of 21 at the time of their crimes. Death penalty opponents have cited the report as another sign of the need to carefully re-examine the state’s stance on capital punishment. “The report calls into question wheth- er Oregon has met the constitutional standard of limiting the death penalty to the most serious crimes and the most culpable perpetrators,” said Alice Lun- dell, director of communication for the Oregon Justice Resource Center. People on Oregon’s death row are not the “the worst of the worst” of convicted murderers, Lundell argued. “A sizable majority of individuals on Oregon’s death row suffer from crip- pling mental impairments, or are so young in age, that they appear to be near- ly indistinguishable from the categories of people whom the Supreme Court has said it is unconstitutional to execute due to their diminished culpability,” said Rob Smith, director of the Fair Punishment Project. The report cited several death penal- ty cases, including that of Randy Guzek. The report describes Guzek, who shot and killed Rod and Lois Houser while robbing their Central Oregon home in 1987, as a “boy... just one month past his eighteen birthday and who appears to have been high on meth at the time of the crime” — a description Clatsop County District Attorney Joshua Marquis called “deceptive.” Marquis, as chief deputy district at- torney in Deschutes County and special prosecutor, argued Guzek’s case three times. He said Guzek was the ringleader and instigator of the slaughter of two good people. While breaking into the home with two accomplices, Guzek “chased a terrified Mrs. Houser at 3 a.m. into a linen closet where he shot her sev- eral times,” Marquis said. Guzek then ransacked the house, stole many of their possessions and later bragged of the murders. His two co-de- fendants testified against him and are serving life sentences. “He was a star student at Redmond High, a teacher’s pet, recipient of an Elk’s Scholarship but unknown to most he was raping his younger sister and ran an armed burglary ring as a juvenile, for which he was never caught,” Marquis said, referring to testimony that came up during the trial. When his father asked Guzek if it was worth it, he replied: “You bet!” In November, David Bartol, 45, was sentenced to death for stabbing an in- Much Next chat Continued from Page 1A Where: Silver Creek Coffee House, 111 Water St., Silverton As a former union president for SEIU Local 503, Rob is well acquaint- ed with struggles intrin- sic to defending rights, and he understands that nowhere is that struggle more important than for those unduly persecuted. He said Silverton MLK Observance organizers focused somewhat on Black Lives Matter issues last year. “This year we’re actu- ally going to focus on our Latino population…It feels like the Latino com- munity is especially vul- nerable (in the current po- litical climate),” Rob said. “We want to do some con- scious raising in the com- munity.” In light of that, this year’s theme is “Fostering a healthy community through appreciation of diversity and standing with those most vulnera- ble to oppression, dis- crimination and harass- ment.” It will commence with a social hour and a south- ern-style potluck featur- ing some of MLK’s favor- ite dishes. Rob itemized a quick, abbreviated menu off the top of his head: macaroni & cheese (which Rob will likely pro- vide), greens & ham hocks, pork chops and ap- ple pie. The keynote speaker will be Andrea Williams, executive director of Causa, a Salem-based Oregon Latino immigrant rights organization. Rob said Andrea has helped lead Causa in both state and national work advocating for compre- hensive immigration re- form, driving rights for immigrant workers and families, access to higher education, economic jus- tice and health equity. “Since the November 2016 election, the large Latino population in the mid-Willamette Valley has become increasingly alarmed as a target of an- ti-immigration forces and those denigrating minor- ity populations,” he noted. For information about the event, including rec- ommended dishes, con- tact Rob at 503-580-8893 or roseofhope@msn.com. Habitat for Humanity In another cause aimed at helping hard- working folks, Habitat for Humanity has a building venture in the works at a site on Norway Street. Michele said this pro- ject marks the 45th for NWV Habitat in its 30 years. The non-profit is in search of a family to part- ner with for this Silverton project, and applications are currently being ac- cepted, at least through Jan. 20, maybe longer. The family would pro- vide “sweat equity,” which is Habitat’s term for work contributed to- ward realizing the home. Normally, sweat equity is provided through hard work, a direct contribu- tion to the construction. That construction is ac- complished entirely through volunteers. Habitat has other part- ners who contribute ma- terials, appliances and the like. Ultimately, when the home is completed it is sold to the partnering mate at Marion County jail. Bartol’s defense attorneys argued that he should be spared the death penal- ty because he was intellectually disabled and has a fetal alcohol spectrum disor- der. The untreated symptoms of the dis- order caused him to act violently and ir- rationally, said defense attorney David Kuhns during the sentencing phase of his weeks-long trial. The report’s authors argue that even if the murders meet the threshold of be- ing among the most aggravated homi- cides, it is difficult to understand how an abused, brain-damaged man with an IQ score in the low 60s is more culpable than an intellectually disabled person who could never receive a death sentence or how an abused, addicted 18-year-old meets the independent moral culpability threshold when someone one year younger would be unable to reach that same bar. Email wmwoodwort@statesmanjour- nal.com, call 503-399-6884 or follow on Twitter @wmwoodworth CRIME LOG What: Creekside Chat When: 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 18 (First and third Wednesdays) Questions and information: Contact Justin Much, jmuch@Statesman Journal.com; 503-769-6338, cell 503-508-8157 PHOTOS BY JUSTIN MUCH/APPEAL TRIBUNE Artist Lori Lee McLaughlin (left) stopped by the Creekside Chat to share information about a local-artist studio tour planned for June, while artist Bob Foster, right, is strumming up some ideas to revive a multicultural festival centered around Cinco de Mayo. Friday this year. “The hope of it is to give people a taste of dif- ferent cultures,” Lori said. Bob added that he would like to find two or three key organizational people to pool ideas with and formulate the plan – then invite the whole area to the event. Have some ideas or want to learn more? Con- tact Bob at (818) 736-1701; bfosterla@aol.com. SILVERTON POLICE DEPARTMENT Dec. 29 Received calls from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1. Motor vehicle crash, 6:54 a.m., C St. and James St. Dec. 28 Jan. 1 Motor vehicle crash, 4:20 p.m., Silver Falls Highway. Motor vehicle crash, 7:17 p.m., Pintail St. and Hobart Road. Invest in something that matters to you Tax-free municipal bond % 2.735 BEND ORE WTR REV lets you invest close to home. That means you can watch civic progress and still enjoy the tax-free income from a quality bond. Yield to Call Callable on: 06/01/2026 @ $100.00 Final Maturity: 12/01/2036 Call or visit your local Edward Jones fi nancial advisor today. Building literacy North Willamette Valley Habitat for Humanity Development Director Michele Finicle stopped by Creekside Chat to reveal a Silverton project and the non-profit's search for a family for that project. family at no profit or in- terest. Michele provided a Mt. Angel family’s partner- ship as an example. The family of 5 lived in a two- bedroom apartment, pay- ing $900 monthly. Once they completed their Habitat project, the fam- ily moved into the con- structed four-bedroom house with a much more manageable mortgage. “It allows hard-work- ing families to access that dream of home owner- ship,” Michele said. If you know of a hard- working family who may qualify, contact the non- profit. By the way, Habitat could always use a little extra help, if you’re inter- ested in pounding a nail or pitching in at one of its stores in Woodburn or Canby, contact NWV Hab- itat for Humanity at www.nwvhabitat.org, 225 Franklin St., Mt. Angel, or give Michele a shout at 503-845-2164, mfinicle@nwvhfh.org. Artist studio tour Attention area artists and crafts-folks, a Silver- ton Artist Studio Tour is planned for Saturday and Sunday, June 3-4, from 11 to 4 p.m. each day. Lori said the tour will provide an opportunity for artists who work with- in the region – roughly Sil- verton, Mt. Angel, Mar- quam, Scotts Mills, Waldo Hills, Victor Point, etc. – to showcase their work in their own environment, similar to a wine tour cir- cuit. “We are seeking artists in the Silverton area to open up to the public,” Lo- ri said, adding that it’s open to a variety of media. “We’re doing our best to bring out the creative peo- ple and give them (expo- sure).” There will be maps and passports furnished to the touring visitors. Entries could be anything from a downtown studio, to a ga- rage to a kitchen table, but there should be ample ex- amples of creative work and business cards avail- able. Sales belong to the art- ist. The fee to enter is $25 for an artist studio and $75 for a business. The fees go toward promoting the event and furnishing pamphlets, passport bro- chures, direction signs and the like. If interested, call 503- 873-2480 or contact Sil- verton Arts Association, www.silvertonarts.org. Bob, who is the associa- tion’s vice president, will be a part of the tour. But he’s also focusing on bringing something back to town, hopefully in May: a festival with a multicul- tural theme. The notion is still in the idea stage: maybe invite some food trucks with ethnic foods unavailable in Silverton that day? Maybe bring in some dif- ferent music? Different crafts? The targeted day for it would be around Cinco De Mayo, which comes on a Michael reached out online to announce SMART’s new program opening at the Silverton OCDC behind Safeway. He explained that SMART provides volun- teers to read one-on-one with Pre-K through 3rd- grade kids in Head Starts and elementary schools (see related story in this week’s Appeal Tribune). It also provides two free books each month to the students. “We need four volun- teer readers and a site co- ordinator to make this happen, and would love to get the word out,” Michael said. “The plan is to start this program with 20 Pre-K students in Janu- ary.” Interested? Give Mi- chael a shout at 503-391- 8423 or mfinlay@get smartoregon.org . Coffee house visitors that day were also treated with the new look at Silver Creek, including more open space between the front and back, a brighter floor, some new tables and preparations for “The Nest” upstairs, which once completed will serve as nice aerial workspace or even a place for com- munity/business gather- ings. www.edwardjones.com Member SIPC LOCAL ADVISORS Salem Area Vin Searles Keizer Area Jeff Davis Surrounding Area Sheryl Resner Bridgette Justis FINANCIAL ADVISOR FINANCIAL ADVISOR FINANCIAL ADVISOR FINANCIAL ADVISOR South | 503-363-0445 Liberty | 503-581-8580 Keizer | 503-304-8641 Sublimity | 503-769-3180 Michael Wooters Garry Falor Mario Montiel Tim Yount FINANCIAL ADVISOR FINANCIAL ADVISOR FINANCIAL ADVISOR FINANCIAL ADVISOR South | 503-362-5439 West | 503-588-5426 Keizer | 503-393-8166 Silverton | 503-873-2454 Derek Gilbert Chip Hutchings Walt Walker FINANCIAL ADVISOR FINANCIAL ADVISOR Commercial | 503-362-9699 Lancaster | 503-585-4689 FINANCIAL ADVISOR Stayton | 503-769-4902 Caitlin Davis Tim Sparks FINANCIAL ADVISOR FINANCIAL ADVISOR West | 503-585-1464 Commercial | 503-370-6159 * Yield effective 01/03/2017, subject to availability. 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