USA: PENA MORTE, MISSOURI, ESECUZIONE SOSPESA ULTIMO MINUTO SPUNTA TESTIMONE CHE FORNIREBBE ALIBI A CONDANNATO

SAINT LOUIS (USA), 14 AGO - Un'esecuzione con iniezione letale e' stata sospesa ieri all'ultimo minuto dal governatore dello stato del Missouri, dopo che si era presentato un testimone che avrebbe fornito un alibi al condannato, ha detto un portavoce del dipartimento delle carceri americane.

   La decisione del governatore Bob Holden e' giunta ieri sera, un minuto prima della mezzanotte, ora programmata per l'esecuzione di Daniel Basile nella prigione di Potosi.

   La sospensione consentira' ai tribunali locale e federale di prendere in esame i nuovi elementi, ma l'esecuzione potr� avvenire in qualunque momento. La condanna a morte dell'uomo - accusato di avere ucciso una donna su incarico del marito di questa, il quale intendeva intascare l'assicurazione della vittima - era stata confermata in appello da tribunali del Missouri e federale.

   L'omicidio di cui Basile e' stato giudicato colpevole e' avvenuto nel 1992. L'uomo fu ingaggiato da Richard DeCaro per uccidere la moglie Elisabeth poiche' contava di intascare un'assicurazione di 100mila dollari. Decaro e la moglie avevano quattro bambini. Un giorno, Decaro si allontano' da casa con i figli, ed Elisabeth fu uccisa con due colpi alla nuca. Basile, in seguito, si era vantato del suo crimine e aveva offerto a un amico un oggetto rubato in casa della vittima.

   Decaro e' in carcere condannato all'ergastolo senza possibilita' di godere di liberta' condizionata. Basile si e' sempre detto innocente. 

AUGUST 14, 2002:

MISSOURI - impending execution - Clemency still in question for inmate

A scheduled execution was delayed early today because Missouri Gov. Bob Holden had not made a decision about a clemency petition filed on behalf of the condemned killer.

 With state and federal court appeals exhausted, Daniel Basile was pinning hopes for commutation on the petition, which still was being reviewed at midnight by the governor's legal team, a spokeswoman said.

 Basile, 35, of the St. Louis suburb of Florissant, was scheduled to die by injection at 12:01 a.m. today at Potosi Correctional Center. Appeals to state and federal courts have been denied.

 With state and federal court appeals exhausted, Basile had placed his last hopes for a commutation on a single legal maneuver -- a clemency petition filed with Gov. Bob Holden.

 Basile's execution would be the state's 58th since the death penalty was reinstated in 1989, the 5th this year, and the 12th during the Holden administration. Missouri ranks 3rd in the nation, after Texas and Virginia, for number of executions, according to the Death Penalty Information Center in Washington.

 The clemency petition filed by Basile's attorney, Eric Butts of St. Louis, contended that Basile's counsel at trial was ineffective, the jury was not given proper instructions and the prosecutor's comments exploited the jury's fears and emotions.

 Butts also said his client was physically and emotionally abused by a series of men his mother married throughout his childhood.

 In an interview, Basile claimed he was innocent in the murder of Elizabeth DeCaro, 28, on March 6, 1992. He was convicted in 1994 of killing her in a murder-for-hire plot by her husband, Richard DeCaro, who had taken a $100,000 life insurance policy on his wife, listing himself as the primary beneficiary.

 Basile did admit to doing another job for Richard DeCaro -- stealing and destroying two of his vehicles so that DeCaro could get out from under payments and cash in on his insurance.

 But Basile contended he was not involved in the murder.

 "I am sorry for what happened to (Elizabeth DeCaro's family)," Basile said. "I'm sorry to the extent I was involved. I can understand what they're going through."

 Elizabeth DeCaro was shot at point-blank range in the kitchen of her St. Charles home, only a few hours after her husband had taken their four children and the family dog to Lake of the Ozarks.

 Richard DeCaro was acquitted in state court, but later was convicted, along with Basile, on federal charges. Richard DeCaro is serving a life sentence in a federal prison in Florence, Colo.

 Basile's supporters say the highly publicized case was based on circumstantial evidence and hearsay testimony with no eyewitness or physical evidence linking him to the murder.

 Butts said prosecutor Tim Braun preyed on the jury's fears and emotions, describing Basile as "evil" and stating that Elizabeth DeCaro, from the grave, "thirsted" for her killer to receive the death penalty.