Grand Junction Personal Injury Lawyer - Wrongful Death

Wrongful Death Suit May be Filed for Death Row Inmate

Shannon Weidemann — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 14:49:19 GMT

A man was excuted by the North Carolina Department of Corrections in August and now his attorney is considering filing a wrongful death suit after all the conditions set forth by a U.S. District Court Judge were not followed. A doctor was supposed to monitor the man to make sure he was fully unconscious before being executed and according to a deposition, that did not happen.

U.S. District Judge Malcolm J. Howard allowed the August execution of Samuel R. Flippen to proceed only after he was satisfied that the state Department of Correction planned to have a doctor and a nurse ensure the convicted child killer was fully unconscious before being killed.
"This shows the courts and the public and the North Carolina Legislature cannot trust the North Carolina Department of Correction to follow the law and follow court orders in carrying out executions," said Flippen's attorney, Thomas Loflin. "You now cannot accept that they say it was done properly."

North Carolina has put execution of death row inmates on hold over concerns about lethal injection. The doctor that attended the execution has said he was not responsible for monitoring the brain activity and that a nurse was doing that job.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Parents Consider Wrongful Death Suit For Son's Death

Staff Writer — Wed, 04 Jan 2006 07:42:20 GMT

The parents of a 9-year-old boy who was shot and killed by a 14-year-old last summer have threatened to file a civil lawsuit against the 14-year-old's parents.

Eric Alan Stoneman was sentenced in December to 10 years (four in a juvenile justice facility and 6 in state prison) for the shooting death of Taylor Demarco.

Taylor's parents, Bill DeMarco and Wendi Robyn, opposed any change in the first-degree murder and charges filed against Stoneman as an adult by District Attorney Colleen Truden's office. That meant a murder conviction would have sent Stoneman to prison for the rest of his life without parole.
Stoneman shot and killed Taylor DeMarco with his mother's .22-caliber handgun on July 20 after he had reportedly been taunted by DeMarco and a third youth. He went home and returned with the gun, pointed it at the two boys, put the barrel in his own mouth to apparently show the safety was on, but shot Taylor DeMarco once in the chest.

In addition to threatening a wrongful death lawsuit, the DeMarcos may ask Colorado lawmakers to consider a bill holding parents responsible when their children use guns.

Read more: Civil Lawsuit Considered (GJSentinel.com)

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Staff Writer