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Trooper’s mother says she doesn’t hate killer, but wants justice

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Volunteers plant trees in Pinchot State Forest to celebrate Earth Day

<p>The judge presiding in the upcoming death penalty case of the federal inmate accused of murdering corrections officer Eric Williams ruled defense attorneys can call witnesses to speak about how his possible execution would affect them.</p><p>U.S. District Judge A. Richard Caputo Thursday denied the prosecution&#8217;s motion to preclude the introduction of &#8220;execution impact evidence&#8221; for Jessie Con-ui, but set restrictions on how far the defense could go to attempt to spare his life.</p><p>The ruling came in advance of jury selection Monday in U.S. District Court, Scranton, for the 40-year-old Con-ui who was indicted for the Feb. 25, 2013 ambush attack on Williams, 34, a Nanticoke native working at the U.S. Penitentiary Canaan.</p><p>Con-ui was serving an 11-year prison sentence at the time as a result of his 2003 guilty plea for his role in a drug ring run by the New Mexican Mafia gang. Upon completion of the federal sentence, he was to serve life behind bars for his 2008 guilty plea to first-degree murder in Arizona.</p><p>Caputo boiled the issue down to what can be considered opposing impact evidence for the victim and defendant and the legal limits of what either side can present.</p><p>&#8220;However, just as victim impact witnesses are not permitted to express a preference for death, the execution impact witnesses will not be allowed to express a preference for life,&#8221; Caputo wrote.</p><p>The prosecution argued Con-ui&#8217;s attorneys should not be allowed to call family and friends to testify about the negative affect a jury verdict for the death penalty would have on them. What they have to say isn&#8217;t mitigating evidence that the defense is permitted to present.</p><p>The defense countered that &#8220;evidence that those close to a capital defendant will be adversely affected by his execution speaks volumes to the character of the defendant because he remains a loving brother, father and friend to others.&#8221;</p><p>Caputo noted that the U.S. Supreme Court has held victim impact evidence relevant to how the jury assesses the &#8220;moral culpability and blameworthiness&#8221; of a defendant.</p><p>Conversely, he said, the execution impact evidence &#8220;may shed some light on the defendant&#8217;s character, illustrating that he is capable of creating and maintaining meaningful interpersonal relationships with others, and thus potentially mitigating against the imposition of the death penalty.&#8221;</p><p>But just as the Supreme Court imposed restrictions on the victim impact testimony, the same applies to the defense regarding execution impact evidence so that the final decision is based on &#8220;reason rather than caprice or emotion,&#8221; Caputo said.</p><p>While stating his ruling is an advisory opinion subject to change as events unfold at trial Caputo limited the extent of the defense testimony.</p><p>&#8220;Specifically, the witnesses will be permitted to demonstrate that the defendant has &#8216;the capacity to be of emotional value to others,&#8217; &#8221; Caputo said.</p><p>Furthermore, the witnesses will not be permitted to express their personal views about the death penalty, the victim and victim impact testimony and &#8221; &#8216;what they think the jury&#8217;s verdict should be,&#8217; &#8221; the judge said.</p><p>Con-ui is no longer in U.S Bureau of Prisons custody, according to the BOP inmate locator web site. He will be present for his trial and has been moved to an unnamed facility from the Administrative Maximum Facility in Florence, Colo., a supermax prison for the most dangerous inmates.</p><p><ins>For other local news stories, <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/category/local" target="_blank">click here</a>.</ins></p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Con-ui </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_Con-ui.jpg</photo0><caption0>Con-ui </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jerry Lynott</p><p>jlynott@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLJerryLynott.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Judge allows testimony of impact of execution on family and friends of Con-ui