Foreign

Idaho man in ‘Doomsday’ killings is sentenced to death

Published

6 months ago

June 2, 2024

An Idaho judge on Saturday sentenced a man to death, two days after he was found guilty of first-degree murder and other charges in the 2019 killings of his first wife and two of his current wife’s children, capping a case that drew scrutiny because of the couple’s “doomsday” religious beliefs.

The decision came after jurors took more than a day to deliberate during the special sentencing proceeding in the case against the man, Chad Daybell, 55, in Ada County District Court in Boise, Idaho.

Earlier on Saturday, the jury had recommended the death penalty before the judge ordered a short recess to make a final sentencing decision.

As the judge, Steven W. Boyce of the Seventh Judicial District, read his sentencing decision, Mr. Daybell sat with his hands in his lap, expressionless at the defense table. Defense lawyers did not have any questions when asked by the judge.

On Friday, relatives of the victims delivered statements, often struggling for words.

Prosecutors said the death penalty was justified, pointing to aggravating factors. They argued that the crimes were particularly “heinous, atrocious or cruel”; that Mr. Daybell was motivated by the desire for remuneration; and that he continued to represent a danger to society.

Lindsey Blake, a prosecutor, described extreme religious claims by Mr. Daybell of having visions in which he could determine whether someone was “dark” or “possessed,” in which cases “the body had to be destroyed or die.”

What he sought, she contended, was to pursue a new life with his current spouse after collecting life insurance and other payments to be alone on a beach, “unencumbered by earthly obstacles.”

Mr. Daybell’s lawyer, John Prior, asked jurors to consider the rationale behind the original charges and see that his client was accused of espousing religious beliefs and was not motivated by money, nor was he the only suspect linked to the murders.

Even if the jurors believed that he had killed his first wife, Mr. Prior said, “that doesn’t reach the heinous, atrocious conduct” for a death penalty case.

Several relatives told of immeasurable loss, pausing to regain their composure.

“My sister was ripped from our lives,” said Samantha Gwilliam, the sister of Mr. Daybell’s first wife, Tammy Daybell.

She should not have met a violent end, but should have been doting on grandchildren and taking care of her animals and smiling, Ms. Gwilliam added.

“I will grieve for her for the rest of my life, she said. “I speak up for her now because she needs a voice.”

On Thursday, Mr. Daybell remained expressionless as he heard the guilty verdicts for three counts of first-degree murder, two counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and grand theft by deception, one count of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and two counts of insurance fraud.

Prosecutors filed charges in 2021 against Mr. Daybell and his wife, Lori Vallow Daybell, in the deaths of Joshua Vallow, 7, known as J.J.; and Tylee Ryan, 16. Mr. Daybell was also charged with murder in the death of his previous spouse, Tammy Daybell.

Mr. Daybell and Ms. Vallow Daybell, now 50, had pleaded not guilty to the charges.

In May last year, Ms. Vallow Daybell was found guilty of murder in the deaths of her two children and of conspiring to murder her husband’s former wife. She was sentenced in July to three consecutive life terms in prison without parole.

The couple’s religious beliefs drew attention from prosecutors and the public because of their potential role in the case. According to the indictment, the couple “did endorse and teach religious beliefs for the purpose of justifying” the deaths of the children.

One of the prosecutors, Robert H. Wood, said the murders showed an “utter disregard for human life.”

Mr. Prior, the defense lawyer, described Mr. Daybell growing up in a small town in Utah and being married for 29 years, raising five children, before the “trajectory” of his life changed to “chaos” after he met his would-be wife.

“The Lori Vallow bomb being dropped on Chad Daybell’s life,” he added, “changed the path of his life. It’s not where we would be going.”

Relatives of the children and Tammy Daybell recounted the pain they felt and mourned the lost potential of their lives.

Matthew Douglas, Tammy Daybell’s brother, said she was the “emotional heart and glue of our siblings.” Annie Cushing, an aunt, described memories of a surprise hug from J.J. and of Tylee’s sweetness. “This defendant stole all of that,” Ms. Cushing said.

Ms. Vallow Daybell was referred to as the “Doomsday Mom” in headlines and in a Lifetime documentary by that name. Mr. Daybell has written novels with doomsday themes, and both he and Ms. Vallow Daybell were linked to an entity called Preparing a People, which looked to prepare its followers for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, according to its website.

The couple married in 2019, shortly after his wife, Tammy Daybell, was found dead at her home in Idaho. At first, her death was attributed to natural causes, but after Ms. Vallow’s children disappeared, the authorities began an investigation that extended into a re-examination of her death. An autopsy later attributed the cause to asphyxiation.

Tammy Daybell’s death occurred about a month after Mr. Daybell had increased the amount of coverage in a life insurance policy for her.

In February 2020, Ms. Vallow Daybell was arrested in Hawaii after the authorities said that she had not cooperated in the search for her missing children, whose remains were discovered later that year on Mr. Daybell’s property in Idaho. He was arrested and charged with concealing evidence.

The post Idaho Man in ‘Doomsday’ Killings Is Sentenced to Death appeared first on New York Times.

Foreign

Trump plans mass deportations, end birthright citizenship

Published

3 days ago

December 9, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

United States President-elect Donald Trump has announced plans to deport all immigrants in the United States illegally over his upcoming four-year term.

In an interview aired Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press, Trump detailed his vision for a broad crackdown on illegal immigration, which he intends to classify as a national emergency upon taking office on January 20.

According to Reuters, the Department of Homeland Security estimates that as of January 2022, over 11 million people are in the US without legal status, a figure likely higher today.

Trump affirmed his intention to remove all unauthorized immigrants, stating, “I think you have to do it. It’s a very tough thing to do. You know, you have rules, regulations, laws.”

While emphasising enforcement, Trump signaled willingness to negotiate protections for “Dreamers,” immigrants brought to the US illegally as children.

During his first term, Trump attempted to dismantle the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programme, which provides deportation relief to this group, but was blocked by the Supreme Court.

Trump also plans to issue an executive order to end birthright citizenship on his first day in office.

The policy, which grants citizenship to anyone born on US soil regardless of their parents’ immigration status, is rooted in the 14th Amendment of the Constitution and reinforced by an 1898 Supreme Court decision.

“We’ll maybe have to go back to the people,” he said.

Trump acknowledged potential legal challenges to his proposal and suggested that achieving this goal might require a constitutional amendment.

The implementation of these measures would demand substantial financial resources.

The American Immigration Council estimates the cost of deporting all unauthorized immigrants at $88 billion annually. Trump’s team, including incoming border czar Tom Homan, has called on Congress to provide significant funding increases to support immigration enforcement efforts.

Foreign

Macron, Trump, Zelensky Meet In Paris

Published

3 days ago

December 8, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday was hosting three-way talks with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky and US President-elect Donald Trump in Paris, an AFP correspondent said.

Trump held talks with Macron inside the Elysee Palace ahead of the re-opening ceremony for Notre Dame cathedral, with Zelensky then arriving and immediately joining them.

The trio posed for a picture but made no further public comment before starting the talks.

AFP

Foreign

Ghana counts ballots after stiff presidential election

Published

3 days ago

December 8, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Ghana counted ballots on Saturday after a tight election with the ruling party’s Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia trying to shake off anger over economic woes and rebuff a challenge by opposition party candidate ex-president John Mahama.

Ghana’s struggling economy dominated the election, after the west Africa gold and cacao producer went through a debt default, high inflation and negotiations for a $3 billion IMF bailout.

Voters were choosing a successor to Bawumia’s boss, President Nana Akufo-Addo, who steps down after serving the maximum of two four-year terms. They will also elect the country’s new parliament.

Voting was mostly calm, but one person was shot dead and four people arrested at a polling station in Nyankpala in the country’s northern region, police and local media said.

After polls closed at 1700 GMT, election teams immediately began tallying ballots under the watch of agents from political parties before sending them to collation centres.

Preliminary results are expected early Sunday, with full presidential results scheduled by Tuesday.

“Everyone is complaining prices are high. So I want a change, I want a good president who will bring in changes,” Abdullah Mohammed, a student said after voting in Accra’s Nima district.

With a history of political stability, Ghana’s two main parties, the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and National Democratic Congress (NDC), have alternated in power equally since the return to multi-party democracy in 1992.

Touting the slogan “Break the 8” — a reference to going past the usual two terms in power — the NPP hopes Bawumia can lead them to an unprecedented third term. But he struggled to break away from criticism of Akufo-Addo’s economic record.

“I think we have done a lot of work with our message to the people and the message has been well received,” Bawumia said after voting in his northern home Walewale.

A UK-educated economist and former central banker, he points to an economy turning a corner and the government’s continued plans for digitalisation to ease business, as well as free education and health programmes.

Economic frustrations

But though inflation slowed from more than 50 percent to around 23 percent, and other macro-economic indicators are stabilising, the economic pain was still a clear election issue.

Many Ghanaians still say they struggle with the cost of living, scarce jobs and a depreciated cedi currency.

Frustration over the economy has opened the way for a comeback challenge from Mahama, who was president from 2012 to 2017 but has since failed twice in presidential bids.

The NDC flag-bearer says he will “reset” Ghana and introduce a “24-hour economy”, extending industrial hours to create jobs, and also renegotiate parts of the IMF deal.

“Other elections have not been as obvious,” Mahama said voting in his northern hometown. “With this one, everybody can tell the direction because of the abysmal performance of the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government.”

Some analysts gave him an edge because of voter dismay with NPP, but the former president faced criticism from those who remember financial woes and massive power cuts during his time in office.

Shoe saleswoman Esther Adobea said the economic situation hurt, but she was willing to give Bawumia a chance to make things better.

“I can see he can handle the country for us. Our economy is not good, but he can do better,” she said.

Both major candidates are from the north of the country — traditionally an NDC stronghold, but now more fragmented — making the region a key battleground.

While the economy was key, Ghana also faces an increasing risk of spillover in its northern regions from jihadist conflicts in Niger and Burkina Faso, where military juntas rule.

The spread of illegal gold mining also became an election issue. Akufo-Addo promised to stop illegal mining, but it has expanded, poisoning riverways and impacting cacao farmlands — a major source of export income.

AFP