oracle
03-12-2001, 10:02 AM
Hearing to review man's death sentence this week (http://www.starnews.com/news/articles/zolo0312.html)
Convicted cop killer's lawyer says jury did not proportionately reflect Allen County's diversity.
By Mike Ellis
Indianapolis Star
March 12, 2001
George "Tim" Yaros is unapologetic about wanting Zolo Agona Azania to die.
Azania, formerly known as Rufus Averhart, has been on Indiana's Death Row nearly 20 years for the shooting death of Yaros' father, Gary police officer George Yaros.
"I'd kill him with my bare hands, and I don't care if he knows that," Tim Yaros said. "My dad was my best friend. He did everything for me. I wouldn't be talking to you today if it wasn't for my father."
But Yaros' wishes may be put on hold indefinitely because of a hearing scheduled this week in Fort Wayne. Azania and his lawyers say the jury that recommended he receive the death sentence was chosen improperly.
Azania's case has attracted worldwide attention from death penalty opponents -- mobilized through an Internet campaign -- and has raised questions once again about how juries are selected in Indiana. At issue: the racial makeup of Azania's jury.
"There are many aspects of his case that are troubling," said Azania's lawyer, Michael Deutsch, of Chicago.
Azania, 46, was one of three men convicted of killing George Yaros during an Aug. 11, 1981, robbery of a Gary bank. The elder Yaros, a World War II paratrooper and a 29-year veteran of the Gary Police Department, was due to retire in six months.
Yaros responded to a police radio call and confronted the robbers as they fled the bank. He was met with a hail of gunfire and died from numerous bullet wounds.
"My oldest son was born almost a month after he (George Yaros) was killed, and he never saw him," said Tim Yaros, whose sons, George Steven and George Christopher, are named for the slain officer. "My sons excelled in sports, and my father didn't get to see it. It hurts; it literally hurts, and people don't understand that."
Azania, identified as the triggerman, received the death penalty following a 1982 trial that was moved to Allen County because the case received so much news coverage.
His co-defendants, David North and Ralph Hutson, received 60-year sentences.
Azania's conviction has been upheld through several appeals, but in 1993, the Indiana Supreme Court overturned his death sentence. A second jury in 1996 recommended the death penalty, and Allen Superior Court Judge Kenneth Scheibenberger later reinstated it.
However, Azania and his lawyers contend that the 1996 jury was improperly selected. They point to the discovery that year of a computer error that caused most of the potential jurors from Allen County's Wayne Township -- the one with the most black residents -- to be left out of the jury pool.
Three other people who were tried in Allen County on other charges during that time have sought to have their convictions overturned, but the Indiana Court of Appeals turned them down.
Nonetheless, the Indiana Supreme Court last year ordered Judge Scheibenberger to allow a hearing on how the computer error might have affected the death sentence of Azania, who is black.
Strong case
Deutsch thinks he has a stronger case than the other Allen County cases considered by the appeals court.
"They didn't show what the under-representation of African-Americans was," he said. "They didn't explain the nature, specifically, of the computer error and how it affected the jury pools in terms of exact under-representation."
However, Deputy Attorney General Christopher Lafuse thinks Deutsch will fail to show that the computer error was intentional or caused the systematic exclusion of any particular group.
Henry Karlson, a professor at the Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis, also disputed the jury selection issues raised by Azania's lawyers. He sees no evidence the Allen County courts intended to discriminate.
"You're not entitled to have every segment of the community on your jury," he said. "You're merely entitled to an opportunity for them to be on your jury."
Another issue Deutsch will raise is the alleged coaching of a witness by police. He said the witness, James McGrew, couldn't identity Azania as the gunman until a police officer pointed him out in court.
"We believe the conviction will be upheld even without his identification," Lafuse said.
Deutsch would not allow Azania to speak for this story, but Azania has pleaded his case through his Internet Web site.
The Web site also contains samples of Azania's paintings and writings, along with documentation of his many complaints against the Indiana prison system.
Indiana Department of Correction officials said Azania does not have access to a computer at the State Prison in Michigan City. The materials posted on the site are sent outside the prison to people who operate the Web site for him.
The Web site, linked to several anti-death penalty sites, has attracted a following from across the United States and as far away as Japan.
Case related websites:
<UL TYPE=SQUARE><LI>Zolo Agona Azania's Internet site (http://www.prairie-fire.org/freezoloazania)<LI>The Yaros family's Internet site (http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/DYaros/g2.htm)
[/list]
[This message has been edited by oracle (edited 03-12-2001).]
Convicted cop killer's lawyer says jury did not proportionately reflect Allen County's diversity.
By Mike Ellis
Indianapolis Star
March 12, 2001
George "Tim" Yaros is unapologetic about wanting Zolo Agona Azania to die.
Azania, formerly known as Rufus Averhart, has been on Indiana's Death Row nearly 20 years for the shooting death of Yaros' father, Gary police officer George Yaros.
"I'd kill him with my bare hands, and I don't care if he knows that," Tim Yaros said. "My dad was my best friend. He did everything for me. I wouldn't be talking to you today if it wasn't for my father."
But Yaros' wishes may be put on hold indefinitely because of a hearing scheduled this week in Fort Wayne. Azania and his lawyers say the jury that recommended he receive the death sentence was chosen improperly.
Azania's case has attracted worldwide attention from death penalty opponents -- mobilized through an Internet campaign -- and has raised questions once again about how juries are selected in Indiana. At issue: the racial makeup of Azania's jury.
"There are many aspects of his case that are troubling," said Azania's lawyer, Michael Deutsch, of Chicago.
Azania, 46, was one of three men convicted of killing George Yaros during an Aug. 11, 1981, robbery of a Gary bank. The elder Yaros, a World War II paratrooper and a 29-year veteran of the Gary Police Department, was due to retire in six months.
Yaros responded to a police radio call and confronted the robbers as they fled the bank. He was met with a hail of gunfire and died from numerous bullet wounds.
"My oldest son was born almost a month after he (George Yaros) was killed, and he never saw him," said Tim Yaros, whose sons, George Steven and George Christopher, are named for the slain officer. "My sons excelled in sports, and my father didn't get to see it. It hurts; it literally hurts, and people don't understand that."
Azania, identified as the triggerman, received the death penalty following a 1982 trial that was moved to Allen County because the case received so much news coverage.
His co-defendants, David North and Ralph Hutson, received 60-year sentences.
Azania's conviction has been upheld through several appeals, but in 1993, the Indiana Supreme Court overturned his death sentence. A second jury in 1996 recommended the death penalty, and Allen Superior Court Judge Kenneth Scheibenberger later reinstated it.
However, Azania and his lawyers contend that the 1996 jury was improperly selected. They point to the discovery that year of a computer error that caused most of the potential jurors from Allen County's Wayne Township -- the one with the most black residents -- to be left out of the jury pool.
Three other people who were tried in Allen County on other charges during that time have sought to have their convictions overturned, but the Indiana Court of Appeals turned them down.
Nonetheless, the Indiana Supreme Court last year ordered Judge Scheibenberger to allow a hearing on how the computer error might have affected the death sentence of Azania, who is black.
Strong case
Deutsch thinks he has a stronger case than the other Allen County cases considered by the appeals court.
"They didn't show what the under-representation of African-Americans was," he said. "They didn't explain the nature, specifically, of the computer error and how it affected the jury pools in terms of exact under-representation."
However, Deputy Attorney General Christopher Lafuse thinks Deutsch will fail to show that the computer error was intentional or caused the systematic exclusion of any particular group.
Henry Karlson, a professor at the Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis, also disputed the jury selection issues raised by Azania's lawyers. He sees no evidence the Allen County courts intended to discriminate.
"You're not entitled to have every segment of the community on your jury," he said. "You're merely entitled to an opportunity for them to be on your jury."
Another issue Deutsch will raise is the alleged coaching of a witness by police. He said the witness, James McGrew, couldn't identity Azania as the gunman until a police officer pointed him out in court.
"We believe the conviction will be upheld even without his identification," Lafuse said.
Deutsch would not allow Azania to speak for this story, but Azania has pleaded his case through his Internet Web site.
The Web site also contains samples of Azania's paintings and writings, along with documentation of his many complaints against the Indiana prison system.
Indiana Department of Correction officials said Azania does not have access to a computer at the State Prison in Michigan City. The materials posted on the site are sent outside the prison to people who operate the Web site for him.
The Web site, linked to several anti-death penalty sites, has attracted a following from across the United States and as far away as Japan.
Case related websites:
<UL TYPE=SQUARE><LI>Zolo Agona Azania's Internet site (http://www.prairie-fire.org/freezoloazania)<LI>The Yaros family's Internet site (http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/DYaros/g2.htm)
[/list]
[This message has been edited by oracle (edited 03-12-2001).]