June 15
TEXAS:
Ex-Doctor Charged In Rape, Murder Of Woman Who Died 30 Years Later
Prosecutors in Dallas say an ex-physician was charged in the death of a woman
left incapacitated after being sexually assaulted and strangled in 1988.
Dallas County jail records show 56-year-old George Guo was being held Thursday
on a capital murder charge with a $5 million bond.
The Dallas County District Attorney's Office says Guo was arrested Wednesday in
Houston for the June 1988 attack on Dr. Katherine Bascone in Highland Park.
The attack left the 28-year-old unable to control her extremities, confined to
bed, in need of rehabilitation and needing lifetime assistive/nursing care. She
died in earlier this year.
Authorities say DNA testing was part of the investigation.
Guo, a registered sex offender, faces life in prison without the possibility of
parole and is eligible for the death penalty.
He was convicted in 1991 for a home burglary in Highland Park where he broke
into apartment of a 19-year-old SMU student and began to sexually assault her
when the police were able to break down the door of the apartment and catch Guo
in the act. A licensed medical doctor at the time, police found Guo is
possession of a ski mask, military tear gas (mace), screwdrivers, a glass
cutter, condoms, and multiple syringes filled with hospital grade sedatives.
In 1999, in Meadows Place, Texas, a suburb of Houston, Guo was caught breaking
into the home where a juvenile female lived with the intent to commit sexual
assault. He was convicted of burglary with intent to commit sexual assault and
sentenced to 14 years in prison. He was released from prison in 2013.
(source: CBS News)
*********************
Guilty until proven innocent: 'The Last Defense' explores the story behind
Darlie Routier's death penalty conviction
In 2008, Darlie Routier was granted the right to new DNA tests and there is
still a chance, no matter how small, that she may escape the death row
'The Last Defense' premiered on ABC Television Network this past Tuesday with
the investigative docu-series exploring the controversial death penalty cases
of 2 of the country's most infamous criminals: Darlie Routier and Julius Jones.
Executive produced by Viola Davis, Julius Tennon, and Andrew Wang, the series
will 'explore and expose flaws in America's justice system' by delving into the
cases and personal lives of the 2 inmates who, to this day, maintain their
innocence.
Davis' rich voice introduces us to the cases explored in the show, stating that
close to 3,000 prisoners are waiting on death row in the country. Out of these
3,000, 5 are exonerated on the basis of new DNA evidence and other developments
in investigative techniques. So, the question remains, how many more are
wrongfully executed for crimes they did not commit? Is there a possibility that
Routier and Jones are innocent? Episode 1 of the docu-series looks at the
Routier case.
The murders:
June 6, 1996 - 2:31 am: A near-delirious 26-year-old Routier calls 911 from her
home in 5801 Eagle Driver, Rowlett, Texas, and tells the operators that an
intruder broke into her home, stabbed her and her 2 children - 6-year-old Devon
and 5-year-old Damon - and made his escape. Despite the early hours of the
morning, police were at the scene within 3 minutes of the call and, after a
cursory search of the house and the grounds, they did not manage to locate an
intruder.
She was sleeping in the den with the 2 boys while her husband, Darin Routier,
was reportedly sleeping upstairs with the couple's 7-month-old son, Drake.
Devon was pronounced dead on the spot, with Routier and Damon sustaining
significant wounds. The mother had been cut in the neck, shoulder, and arms
while Damon had been stabbed through the chest. They were rushed to the Baylor
Hospital, with Damon declared dead in the ambulance and Routier rushed into
surgery. She was discharged from the hospital just 2 days later.
Lt David Nabors has worked for the Rowlett Police Department for over 30 years
and was the head of the department's Criminal Investigations Divisions at the
time. As such, he was put in charge of the murder case and was tasked with
apprehending the assailant who Routier only described as 'a white man wearing
dark clothes and a baseball cap.'
Talking about the night, Nabors said: "Initially, when I got there, Darlie met
the police officer with a towel around her neck putting pressure on her neck.
When he walked to the back, he saw the 6-year-old laying there face up, already
deceased."
The hunt lasted a total of 13 days, at the end of which, the department came to
the conclusion that the murders were an inside job. Darin was ruled out as a
possible suspect and Routier was arrested in connection with the deaths of her
2 children, much to the shock of her husband who proclaimed that she was
innocent.
Because the horrific murders had taken place in a small, sleepy town such as
Rowlett where everyone was close and Routier was well-known, support poured in
immediately for the incarcerated mother. It was just not possible that such a
caring, well-meaning woman could have committed such a heinous crime. Or was
it?
Her version of events:
According to Routier's version of events, she had been sleeping on the couch
when she felt one of her sons tersely push up against her. She woke up to see
the intruder standing over her with a butcher's knife from the kitchen and he
attacked her and her children. He then made his way through the kitchen -
breaking a glass in the process - and into the utility room, before heading
into the garage and making his escape through an open window.
Routier, in the voluntary statement, said she initially attempted to run after
him and that she found the murder weapon lying down in the room and stopped.
She then decided that her children would not survive if not tended to and
proceeded to call 911. In the years past, she has corroborated the story
numerous times, though investigators claim that there is little credibility to
it.
The case against Routier:
During her trial - which was being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney
Greg Davis, with Toby Shook and Sherri Wallace assisting - the first point of
contention was the 6-minute 911 call. Investigators say that instead of
displaying concern for her wounded children, Routier told the operators she was
worried about having touched the murder weapon and whether they would now be
able to retrieve prints from them. She also mentions that her husband ran
downstairs in response to her screams but fails to ask about her infant son.
Officers also testified that while the mother was screaming and upset, she did
not seem to be in shock and was very alert to the happenings around her. One
also said that when he instructed Routier to apply pressure to the stab wounds
on Damon's back, she ignored him entirely.
There were also inconsistencies with her account of the events of the night, or
so the prosecutors felt. While Routier said that he broke the glass on his way
out, her blood was found underneath it, which could not have been possible if
that were indeed the case. Furthermore, investigators did not find blood in the
garage, and the window sills through which she said he had escaped still had
layers of dust, indicating that they had not been disturbed.
Her claim that she had found the knife in the utility room did not seem to hold
up either as there was no blood spatter to indicate that it had been dropped. A
noticeable lack of blood on the couch where she said she was stabbed, apparent
attempts to clean the countertop and sink before the police arrived were
brought up against her in court as well.
The version of events where the assailant escaped from the garage by cutting
his way through a fiber screen failed to stand up to scrutiny as well. During a
sweep of the crime scene, the investigators confiscated all the kitchen knives
and found that one had microscopic traces of the exact same fiber that had been
used to slash the screen, indicating that she may have staged a fake escape.
However, it was possibly the 'expert' testimonies of crime scene consultant
James Cron, her surgeon at Baylor Hospital, and blood spatter expert Tom Bevel
that did the most damage. Cron, who had investigated hundreds of crime scenes
at the point, testified that, according to his expertise, he felt that the
crime scene had been staged.
Her surgeon stated that he felt her wounds were superficial and self-inflicted,
and Bevel told the court that the cast-off blood found on the back of her
blood-stained nightshirt indicated that she had raised the knife over her head
as she withdrew it from each boy to stab again.
Because of the lack of motive, a confession, or witnesses, the prosecution
worked tirelessly to portray Routier as a pampered, materialistic woman with
substantial debt, plummeting credit ratings, and little money in the bank, who
feared that her lavish lifestyle was about to come to an end. They pointed out
to her extravagant spending and an entry in her personal diary in which she
'asked for forgiveness for what she was about to do,' though it was the Silly
String video that arguably turned the tide in their favor for good.
June 14 was supposed to be Devon's seventh birthday and Routier said that plans
to celebrate the day were already in place before the murder.
On the day, a prayer service was held at the boys' joint-grave site and was
attended by family and friends who brought along with them gifts, balloons, and
trinkets to adorn the grave. Her sister, Dana, had arranged the day's
festivities and brought cans of 'Silly String' which she and her sister sprayed
with great aplomb.
The scene was caught on camera by the local media, and the video was
subsequently used in the trial and played in front of the jury countless times.
The prosecutors pointed out how such joy and frivolity from a mother who had
just lost her children in a double homicide eight days prior was unbecoming and
questioned her mental state at the time.
They heavily edited the video to show only the portion where Routier and her
sister were spraying silly string on the gravesite and cut out the bits where
the mother was shown in a somber mood at the prayer service. Their intention
was to make the jury believe that she was a remorseless, uncaring mother whose
actions were that of a guilty person. They succeeded.
The case for Routier:
Routier was initially assigned court-appointed attorney Doug Parks to defend
her and because Darin was informed that their chances of a not-guilty verdict
significantly decreased with the appointment, they went out of their way to
hire one of the best criminal defense lawyers in the state: Doug Mulder.
Mulder and the defense team worked to show that the prosecution had built its
case on nothing more than circumstantial evidence. They cross-examined the
prosecution's points of contention, arguing that the 911 call could be
explained because Routier was traumatized and distracted by the chaos in the
home at the time and that she could not be held accountable for what she said
or did at the time. They had a psychiatrist even testify that she was a victim
of 'traumatic amnesia.'
Explaining away how her blood could have gotten 'underneath' the broken glass,
they said that it was entirely plausible the crime scene had been disturbed by
the constant hustle and bustle of paramedics and investigators who were at the
home during the initial few hours. A restaging of the crime also proved that it
was possible to escape without disturbing the layers of dust that had gathered
on the windows.
The prosecution's argument that the knife could not have been found in the
utility room because of a lack of blood spatter was far-fetched as well. A
pattern would have been left behind only if the knife had been caked entirely
in blood, with the more realistic possibility being that the blood had dried up
in the time investigators got to the scene. Mulder similarly argued that the
microscopic fibers on the butter knife were a result of human error, a scenario
that is not beyond imagination in such exact sciences.
A piece of evidence that the prosecution was unable to logically explain was a
sock found 75 yards away in an alley at the rear of the Routier home. It was
discovered by an officer who was conducting a search of the alley and, upon
examination, was found to contain a bloodstain the size of an 'elongated
nickel.' The blood belonged to Devon and Demon.
The defense said that if the prosecution's allegation that Darlie had staged
the crime scene were true, then it was implausible that she had run down the
alley, planted the sock and then returned to the home without a single trace of
her blood in the area. In his opening statement, her attorney sarcastically
quipped: "Somehow, this doting mother turned psychotic killer, went and dipped,
just ever so slightly, an amount of her children???s blood in that sock and
then ran 75 yards down the alleyway, and planted it, while her husband is
upstairs asleep."
The aforementioned 'expert' testimonies were systematically taken apart one by
one too. Cron was found to have come to his conclusion that the scene had been
staged on nothing more than a hunch. He admitted that he had taken all of 20
minutes to decide that the murder was an inside job. Similarly, San Antonio
chief medical examiner Vincent DiMaio testified that the wound to Routier's
neck came within two millimeters of her carotid artery, which if breached,
could have easily resulted in the mother bleeding out to death on the spot. He
said the wounds were inconsistent with self-inflicted wounds he had come across
in the past.
Mistakes were made:
On a similar note, Tom Bevel was later found to have significantly exaggerated
and falsely testified in several of the cases he had been asked to provide an
opinion on, including that of Routier's. Other experts in the field questioned
his version of events and provided evidence which suggested that it was
impossible for the specks of blood to get onto the back of her nightshirt
unless the motions of stabbing were unrealistically aggrandized.
Bevel had also not written a report on his findings, which was ethically a big
red flag, meaning it could not be revisited in the case of a retrial. When
asked about this, Bevel confessed he had done so on the advice of the
prosecutors. Unfortunately, none of this was brought up at the trial because
Mulder had decided that he would not be needing these other experts'
testimonies to refute the claims brought up the prosecution. It would prove to
be a critical mistake.
Another crucial error of judgment came from Routier's 1st lawyer, Parks. Parks,
rightly fearing that his client would not receive a fair trial in Dallas County
due to the excessive media coverage, filed a motion to have it moved to
Kerrville. This played right into the prosecution's hands because the town was
located in one of the state's most conservative counties with a very high
conviction rate. When Mulder succeeded Parks, he immediately filed a motion
with the court to have the trial moved back to Dallas County, but Judge Tolle
struck down the motion.
Davis' intention was clear-cut from the very beginning. During the jury
selection, he had proclaimed: "That she will be sentenced to die, and at some
day in the future, she will be executed. That is our goal in this case."
He was granted his wish. Upon the trial's conclusion, the judge asked how many
of the jurors felt that Routier deserved the death penalty; all 11 raised their
hands.
The case of Susan Smith:
There were suggestions that overzealous and biased coverage by the media played
its role in Routier's conviction and these were not too far-fetched. In the
build-up to her trial, parallels were constantly drawn between Routier and
another mother who had, as it turns out, falsely claimed that she was not
responsible for the deaths of her children: Susan Smith.
On October 25, 1994, Smith, a resident of South Carolina, reported to the
police that her vehicle had been carjacked by a black man who drove away with
her sons still inside. For the next 9 days, she made dramatic pleas on national
television for their rescue and return. But on November 3, she confessed to
letting the car roll into nearby John D Long Lake with the children inside,
much to the anger of an entire nation.
The case was still fresh in the minds of jurors and residents of the county,
who felt that Routier's case was just the Texas version of Smith's case.
However, the parallels ended there. Smith was found to have grown up in an
unstable home, attempted suicide as a 13-year-old and was molested when she was
a teenager. She was also suffering from mental health issues and was diagnosed
with dependent personality disorder and major depression. In contrast, Routier
had no underlying issues whatsoever.
Present day:
Routier was convicted and sentenced to death by lethal injection for the murder
of 5-year-old Damon on February 4, 1997. Now, more than 2 decades later, she
still remains in prison awaiting justice and is currently 1 of just 6 women on
death row in the state of Texas. To this day, she insists on her innocence.
There is still hope for her case. In 2002, one of the jurors, Charles Samford,
in an affidavit tendered to Routier's appeal attorneys, stated, "The videotape
was one of the main reasons I voted to convict Mrs Routier of murder because I
didn't know what to make of her behavior."
He also said that, after the trial, they were shown a different video from
Devon's birthday party, writing: "Had we been shown this other tape so that we
had been able to see the whole picture of what happened that day, I believe I
would not have voted to convict Mrs Routier."
In 2008, she was granted the right to new DNA tests and her appeals were
remanded to the state level for improved DNA testing. Then, in 2014, Chief
Judge of the Western District Fred Biery granted a request from prosecution and
defense for her case for further DNA tests vital to the defense to be performed
on a bloody fingerprint found in the house, a bloody sock and her nightshirt.
There is still a chance, no matter how small, that she may escape the death
row.
(source: meaww.com)
PENNSYLVANIA:
Lawyers in Duquesne death penalty case spar over 13 1/2-hour confession video
James Karr sat in the police interrogation room for more than 13 hours on Dec.
30, 2014.
For 10 of those hours, he repeatedly told Allegheny County Police detectives
questioning him about his estranged wife's killing that he didn't want to talk
to them - that he wanted a lawyer.
It was only in the last hour of the interrogation that the Duquesne man
admitted to binding Maureen Karr with floral wire, dousing her with vodka and
setting their Friendship Street house on fire, authorities said.
In pre-trial motions for Mr. Karr's death penalty case underway this week,
defense attorneys argued that the whole interrogation video should be
suppressed since their client asked for a lawyer and the continued questioning
violated his constitutional rights.
But a judge decided that the part of the recording where Mr. Karr actually
confesses could be played at trial. She ruled that it was legally obtained when
he resumed contact with the detectives by banging on the wall and asking them
to come in to talk again.
Mr. Karr also signed a Miranda warning then, waiving his right to a lawyer.
On Tuesday and early Wednesday, prosecutors from the Allegheny County District
Attorney's office played the portions of the video - a key piece of evidence -
in which Mr. Karr admitted to the crimes.
But the defense, which originally wanted to block the video, now wants Common
Pleas Judge Anthony M. Mariani, who is presiding over the case in a non-jury
trial, to watch all 13 1/2 hours of it - including hours where Mr. Karr is in
the interview room by himself sitting or with his head down. The defense is
arguing that the lengthy video is crucial to determining whether their client's
statement was truly voluntary.
"As the fact-finder, we want the court to experience the duration, the passage
of time," argued defense attorney Christopher Patarini. "He appears to be
experiencing difficulty. He appears to be emotionally distraught."
Judge Mariani, who said that watching silence on the screen is "not a
productive use of judicial resources," at first ordered the parties to play
only the relevant portions of the video and skip the down time.
However, defense attorney Lisa Middleman argued, "In a case where the
commonwealth is seeking the ultimate penalty, the defendant should have every
opportunity to demonstrate his statement was not voluntary."
Judge Mariani relented, at least for Wednesday morning, allowing the defense to
start playing the interrogation from the beginning - at 6:19 a.m. - and said he
will make a final determination on the issue after the attorneys file briefs on
it when the case resumes Monday morning.
Mr. Karr is accused of killing his 56-year-old wife early Dec. 30, 2014. They
appeared in court the day before for a hearing on a protection-from-abuse order
she had obtained against him, but the hearing was continued until Jan. 7.
In the portion of the video played by the prosecution beginning at 4:49 p.m.,
Mr. Karr repeatedly tells detectives that he can't remember what happened.
"Were you upset?" Detective Timothy Langan asks.
"I don't know. I wish I could remember," Mr. Karr answered.
"We don't pass any kind of judgment. We try to determine the facts as best we
can," the detective said.
The conversation continued like that for about an hour when Detective Langan
was replaced by Detective Steve Hitchings.
He begins his questioning at 6:33 p.m., trying to impart to Mr. Karr that
whatever he did, the detectives have seen similar cases over their many years
working in the homicide unit.
"We've been dealing with this a long time," Detective Hitchings said. "Your
wife didn't cause trouble for anyone but you. Same with his wife. Same with my
wife. Same with every other guy in America.
"I mean, you think my wife [expletive] don't want to kill me half the
[expletive] time?"
Mr. Karr admitted to the detective that he'd been smoking crack cocaine for
about 5 years, and that he'd done so the day before.
After several minutes of Detective Hitchings wondering if Ms. Karr's death
could have been accidental and the fire set just to cover it up, Mr. Karr
admitted that he went to her house that night, entering through the back door.
He said she went at him with an ax.
"I pushed her. She hit right against - in the kitchen there was a doorway. And
she wasn't moving. She wasn't moving. She wasn't breathing. I tried bringing
her back, but she was gone," Mr. Karr said in the recording. "So I guess I did
do it."
(source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
NORTH CAROLINA:
Suspect in Durham grandmother's death told police he wanted the death penalty
A Durham man accused of fatally stabbing a woman he was romantically involved
with told investigators that he hoped he would receive the death penalty.
Recently released court documents shed new light on the investigation into the
Jan. 30 death of Alicia Elder, an alumn of N.C. Central University and
grandmother of 3.
2 days after her death, police charged Michael Anthony Person, 55, with
1st-degree murder.
Durham police responded to a 911 call at about 9 p.m. on Jan. 30 at Hillside
Park on Roxboro Street. Elder had sustained multiple stab wounds to her back,
neck and head, according to a search warrant.
"The victim was lying in a large pool of blood," police investigator T.S.
Huelsman wrote in a search warrant.
Elder was found near a 2016 Dodge Journey SE, and investigators found "a large
amount of blood" in the front passenger side of the vehicle.
Officers tracked a trail of blood away from the scene to a separate parking
lot, warrants say.
"This blood trail is believed to belong to a suspect," Huelsman wrote. "From my
training and experience the suspect is likely to cut themselves during an
aggravated stabbing."
Elder's family told detectives about her romance with Person. The day after
Elder died, detectives found Person at his mother's house on Roxboro Street,
next to Hillside Park.
Person had "a freshly bandaged right hand," the warrant says.
During questioning at the police station, Person said he did not want to talk
until he had a law, the warrant says.
But, the warrant says, Person "stated that he wanted to get the death penalty."
(source: heraldsun.com)
GEORGIA:
Georgia inmate admitted killing guards in recorded interview
1 of 2 Georgia inmates accused of killing 2 guards last year admitted in a
recorded interview that he shot the guards.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the recording of Ricky Dubose
being interviewed by law enforcement after his arrest was played in court
Wednesday.
Dubose and Donnie Rowe are accused of shooting Sgt. Christopher Monica and Sgt.
Curtis Billue with the guards' guns while escaping from a prison transfer bus
southeast of Atlanta last June. They were arrested in Tennessee a few days
later.
Both men face the death penalty.
The newspaper reports that Dubose told authorities the escape wasn't planned,
but that he seized an opportunity. He also said Rowe didn't want to kill
anyone.
Dubose's attorneys are asking a judge not to allow the video confession at
trial.
(source: WRBL news)
******************
State still intends to seek death penalty in 2017 Albany murder case
The judge in a Dougherty County death penalty case questioned the defendant's
mental competency on Wednesday.
Defense attorneys said they will examine his competency but on their own terms.
Jesse Brown Junior is charged for the January 2017 double murder of an Albany
woman and her grandmother.
The state confirmed on Wednesday that they still intend to seek the death
penalty for Brown.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys discussed in the courtroom how they will
proceed with the case.
Wednesday was the unified appeal procedure, a procedure made by the Georgia
Supreme Court for cases to follow when they are seeking the death penalty.
This procedure makes sure everyone involved understands how to move forward and
explains the legal proceedings so when the case does go to trial, there are no
delays.
The defense also said it is challenging the master grand jury list that was
used to indict Brown back in October of 2017.
The next step in the case will be a formal arraignment where Brown will have
the opportunity to plead guilty or not guilty.
That date has not been set yet.
(source: WALB news)
FLORIDA:
Florida Supreme Court targets juror's anti-gay bias in death penalty case
The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday ordered resentencing for a death row
inmate convicted of a 2005 murder in Broward County and said a separate hearing
should be held to delve into anti-gay statements made by a juror.
Justices ordered a new sentencing hearing for inmate Eric Kurt Patrick because
the jury split 7-5 in recommending the death penalty to a judge. On that issue,
Thursday's ruling was similar to numerous other cases in which justices have
ordered resentencing based on a 2016 U.S. Supreme Court decision that found
Florida's death penalty sentencing system unconstitutional.
But justices also agreed that Patrick should receive an evidentiary hearing
related to anti-gay statements made during jury selection by a man who ended up
serving on the jury. Patrick's current lawyers argued in a Supreme Court brief
that his trial attorney did not properly seek to block the man from serving on
the jury and that a new trial should result.
The Supreme Court opinion said the juror acknowledged he would have a bias if
he knew a criminal defendant was gay.
"When asked if he would still hold the prosecutor to the proper burden of
proof, he answered, 'Put it this way, if I felt the person was a homosexual, I
personally believe that person is morally depraved enough that he might lie,
might steal, might kill,'" the Supreme Court opinion said. "The juror said
'yes' when asked if this bias might affect his deliberations."
Patrick, now 55, was convicted in the September 2005 murder of Steven
Schumacher after the men met at a park and went to Schumacher's home. Patrick,
who was homeless at the time, gave Schumacher a massage and the men were naked
in bed when Patrick began beating the victim, according to a summary of the
case included in the Supreme Court opinion. Patrick said Schumacher wanted to
have anal sex but that Patrick refused - a situation that ultimately led to the
fatal beating.
The Supreme Court opinion said Patrick denied being gay but that he had engaged
in sexual activity with other men. Regardless, the Supreme Court pointed to
potential bias in the statements made during the jury selection process known
as voir dire.
"Applying this evidence to the juror's voir dire answers establishes that, by
the juror's own acknowledgement on the record, he was predisposed to believe
that Patrick is morally depraved enough to have committed the charged
offenses," the opinion said. "Although Patrick does not identify as homosexual
and indicated in his confession that his sexual activity with men was for
material support rather than personal fulfillment, these points do not
eliminate the bias that this juror said he would feel based on the evidence
that trial counsel and the trial court knew the jury would hear during trial."
The opinion said prosecutors contended that Patrick's trial attorney did not
block the juror for strategic reasons. But the Supreme Court said it can
"neither ignore the possibility that counsel's failure to challenge this juror
was strategic nor conclude that it was." As a result, justices unanimously
ordered a lower court to hold an evidentiary hearing.
The Supreme Court also ruled 5-2, with justices Charles Canady and Ricky
Polston dissenting, that Patrick should receive a new sentencing hearing as an
outgrowth of the 2016 U.S. Supreme Court decision.
That U.S. Supreme Court decision found Florida's death penalty sentencing
system unconstitutional because it gave too much authority to judges, instead
of juries. A subsequent Florida Supreme Court ruling said juries must
unanimously agree on critical findings before judges can impose death sentences
and must unanimously recommend the death penalty.
The Florida court Thursday applied that to Patrick's case, pointing to the
jury's 7-5 jury recommendation for the death penalty. After the court rulings,
state lawmakers changed the death penalty sentencing system to address the
unanimity issue.
(source: Herald-Tribune)
*******************
Death Row Inmate Wins Hearing Due to Juror Comments
A Florida man sentenced to death for hog-tying and bludgeoning a man is getting
a chance to challenge his conviction because a juror said gay people are
"morally depraved."
The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday ordered 2 new hearings for 55-year-old
Eric Kurt Patrick. Patrick was convicted in 2009 of beating Steven Schumacher
to death. He told authorities that Schumacher attempted to have sex with him.
The court ruled that Patrick deserved a new hearing on his death sentence
because a jury did not unanimously recommend the death penalty.
But justices also said a lower court should hold a new evidentiary hearing
because Patrick's attorney did not challenge a juror who said that if a person
was gay, then they might be "morally depraved" enough to lie, steal and kill.
(source: The Associated Press)
*********************
Brooksville man found guilty of killing girlfriend, others in 2014
A Hernando County court convicted George Mason III Wednesday of 3 2014 murders
that investigators called one of the most horrific shooting rampages in
Brooksville history.
Mason, 46, was found guilty by a jury of 3 counts of 1st-degree murder and 1 of
attempted 1st-degree murder, court records show. He is set to appear again in
court Monday, when jurors will consider the death penalty.
On the night of Aug. 29, 2014, police said Mason shot 4 people at a small,
cream-colored house at 820 Peach St. - home to his half-brother, Gabriel "Bo"
Taylor, their mother Tracy Taylor and their 81-year-old grandmother, Jannie V.
Taylor.
3 people died: Tarasha Yata Townsend, Mason's 37-year-old girlfriend and mother
of his 2 daughters; his grandmother; and Ralph Peyton, another son of his
mother's. Gabriel Taylor, 33, was critically wounded.
At the time, police said they weren't aware of a motive. Mason was "just
hellbent on a violent outrage," said Brooksville Police Chief George Turner.
After the killings, investigators said, Mason chased Gabriel Taylor to the
corner of Main Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, where he shot him
multiple times with a 9mm handgun. Then a passing pickup hit Mason, who ended
up in the hospital with several broken bones before he was charged.
Records show Mason's criminal history goes back to 1991. Between 1992 and 2007,
he served 4 terms in state prison for cocaine and marijuana sales and
possession, battery on a law enforcement officer, fleeing law enforcement and
felon possession of a firearm, among other crimes, Florida records show.
(source: tbo.com)
ALABAMA:
Capital murder suspect denied youthful offender status
A capital murder suspect was looking to make a deal today. 20-year-old Harold
Wallace, Jr. accused of shooting and killing innocent bystander Tamara White
was in court requesting "youthful offender" status. -- A scenario where Wallace
could have escaped a possible death penalty.
Cuffed and shackled -- 20-year-old Harold Wallace, Jr. made his way into court
Thursday afternoon. He's charged with capital murder in the death of
22-year-old Tamara White in March of 2017.
By all accounts, the single mother was in the wrong place at the wrong time
when she was hit by a bullet while waiting in the parking lot of the Springhill
McDonald's. Judge John Lockett heard the case and denied Wallace's request for
"youthful offender" status.
"We are all as Tamara's family pleased with Judge Lockett not to award youthful
offender status," said Tammy White, Tamara's mother.
After the request was denied, Wallace pleaded not guilty to capital murder.
While Tamara's family is relieved her suspected killer won't get the easy way
out, they're still mourning her loss as they navigate their way through the
legal system.
"Tamara is truly missed. She was a great mom, great sister, daughter.
Everything. So she's missed," said White.
The Mobile County District Attorney's Office is ready to prosecute and is also
pleased the request was denied.
"It was certainly emotional for them and it's always emotional to be in that
same courtroom and in the same room with the defendant and person who took
their loved one's life. So it was an emotional day for them, but they are
pleased with youthful offender status being denied," said Jennifer Wright,
Mobile County Assistant District Attorney.
All parties are set to meet on July 25th and decide on how to move closer to a
trial date.
(source: WALA news)
***************
Man's death penalty trial set for 2019 in Huntsville strangling deaths of wife,
young son
A death penalty trial is scheduled early next year for a south Huntsville man
pursuing an insanity defense in the strangling deaths of his wife and
7-year-old son.
Stephen Marc Stone is charged with capital murder in the February 2013
killings. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty if he's convicted.
Stone, 38, was 1 of 5 capital murder suspects who had hearings in Madison
County Circuit Judge Donna Pate's courtroom this afternoon. Pate scheduled the
trial for Jan. 28.
Stone was just recently released from treatment at the Alabama Department of
Mental Health. Pate in May 2017 ruled Stone was incompetent to stand trial. She
ordered he be treated to regain competency. The judge hasn't held a rehearing
on his competency since he was released from treatment.
The bodies of 7-year-old Zachary Stone and 32-year-old Krista Stone were found
at the family's Chicamauga Trail home in south Huntsville on Feb. 24, 2013.
Stephen Stone has been in custody without bail since that day.
Stone is represented by appointed attorneys Brian Clark and Larry Marsili.
Madison County District Attorney Rob Broussard and Chief Trial Attorney Tim
Gann are prosecuting.
3 other capital murder suspects received trial dates in unrelated cases during
this afternoon's hearings in Judge Pate's courtroom:
Jason Loveday is tentatively scheduled for trial Oct. 29, 2018. Prosecutors
haven't yet said whether they'll seek the death penalty. Loveday is accused of
decapitating his aunt and fatally beating her boyfriend.
Keon Jackson is tentatively set for trial Oct. 29. Prosecutors aren't planning
to seek the death penalty. Jackson is charged in the fatal shooting of his
brother-in-law, whose body was found in a burning house.
Jebree King's trial is set for Nov. 26. He's charged in the 2014 shooting death
of Lawrence Alan Williams Jr.
(source: al.com)
***********************
Alabama prison system sees steep rise in suicides
The SPLC argued in federal court today that Alabama's mistreatment of prisoners
with mental illness has led to a dramatic increase in suicides.
Since the beginning of 2018, 4 people in ADOC custody - 3 in solitary
confinement and 1 on death row - have died by suicide. The suicide rate in
Alabama prisons is one of the highest in the country.
In June 2017, U.S. District Judge Myron H. Thompson declared the mental health
system in Alabama prisons "horrendously inadequate," an unconstitutional
failure that led to what Thompson called a "skyrocketing suicide rate" among
prisoners.
Thompson's ruling followed a 2-month trial in the SPLC's lawsuit against the
Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC). Today's hearing was about ADOC's
routine use of segregation - solitary confinement - for prisoners with mental
illness.
"As far as we can tell, the state has done very little beyond promising to
improve conditions in Alabama prisons," said Maria Morris, senior supervising
attorney for the SPLC. "We continue to see the mentally ill kept in extreme
isolation, and this is driving a steep rise in suicides.
"Even more disturbing, the suicide rate has dramatically increased since we
filed this lawsuit in 2014. ADOC has been ordered to increase mental health and
correctional officer staffing, and, hopefully, will do so over the coming
years. However, the level of correctional staffing has fallen significantly
since the start of the lawsuit. Last summer, as the situation become
increasingly dire, the state stopped publicly reporting its staffing levels.
ADOC has refused to provide information about its mental health staffing
levels, but the information we've received suggests that it has fallen this
year.
"It's sickening to witness people - many of whom have mental illnesses - endure
so much suffering while the state stalls and makes excuses. Incredibly, at the
same time more people under its care are taking their lives, ADOC is asking the
court and the people of this state to trust it to provide the care the U.S.
Constitution requires.
"For well over a year, ADOC has ignored the urgent need to protect people with
serious mental illnesses from the detrimental effects of extreme isolation.
Segregation can be deadly, especially for those who are already struggling, and
the recent rise in prison suicides highlights this tragic reality."
In 2016, the plaintiffs settled the first phase of the lawsuit regarding
violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act. In that settlement, ADOC
committed to providing services and fair treatment to incarcerated people with
disabilities.
The 3rd phase of the lawsuit will determine whether the prison system's poor
medical and dental services violate the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and
unusual punishment. Trial dates for those claims have not been set.
The Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program and the law firms Baker Donelson, and
Zarzaur Mujumdar & Debrosse filed the lawsuit against ADOC in conjunction with
the SPLC.
(source: Southern Poverty Law Center)
OHIO:
Juror tells Ohio Parole Board he regrets death sentence
A former juror on a death penalty trial said Thursday that he was "frankly
upset" to read information last year about the terrible childhood of the man he
and 11 other jurors recommended be executed 2 decades ago.
The upbringing of killer Raymond Tibbetts was presented as a debate between his
attorneys, who said his background was terrible, and prosecutors, who said it
wasn't that bad, ex-juror Ross Geiger told the Ohio Parole Board.
Thus, Geiger said he was surprised when he came across information presented to
the board last year that documented horrific facts about Tibbetts' early years,
but which jurors never heard.
"It was like just a different story," Geiger said at the beginning of an
86-minute appearance before the board in a rare follow-up clemency hearing.
When Tibbetts was a boy, he and his brothers were tied to a single bed at
night, were not fed properly, were thrown down stairs, had their fingers beaten
with spatulas and were burned on heating registers, according to Tibbetts'
application for mercy last year.
The only hints of Tibbetts' childhood at trial came from the lone witness who
was called to talk about factors that might go against a death sentence, Geiger
said. The witness was a psychiatrist who spoke briefly to members of Tibbetts'
family.
"I was just struck and frankly upset that information that was available was
not even addressed, other than in very summary fashion," Geiger said.
Tibbetts, 61, is set to die in October for killing Fred Hicks at Hicks'
Cincinnati home in 1997.
In addition to the death sentence for killing Hicks, Tibbetts also received
life imprisonment for fatally beating and stabbing his wife, 42-year-old Judith
Crawford, during an argument that same day over Tibbetts' crack cocaine habit.
The 67-year-old Hicks had hired Crawford as a caretaker and allowed the couple
to stay with him.
The parole board voted 11-1 last year against mercy for Tibbetts. Republican
Gov. John Kasich then delayed Tibbetts' execution after receiving a letter from
Geiger saying he believed he and other jurors were misled about the "truly
terrible conditions" of Tibbetts' upbringing.
Geiger acknowledged that during deliberations, jurors had access to a full
report from the county human services department containing some of the worst
details about Tibbetts' childhood.
Several board members asked Geiger why jurors didn't rely on that more.
Geiger acknowledged they could have, but also said they were inundated with
material. He also likened the situation to students receiving a textbook from a
teacher who didn't bother to explain what was in it.
"Is it too much to ask for a juror to rely on attorneys to provide the
information that was available?" he said, referring to what he thought he
should have heard during trial testimony.
Geiger said he isn't anti-death penalty now, but takes a more nuanced view of
the issue. He said there was never any question about Tibbetts' guilt.
Hamilton County prosecutors have previously argued that Tibbetts' background
does not outweigh his crimes. That includes stabbing Crawford after he had
already beaten her to death, and then repeatedly stabbing Hicks, a "sick,
defenseless, hearing-impaired man in whose home Tibbetts lived," they told the
parole board.
The board planned to issue its ruling June 22.
(source: cleveland.com)
INDIANA:
Man charged with killing Deputy Pickett seeks change of venue
The man charged with murder in the fatal shooting of a central Indiana
sheriff's deputy wants his trial moved.
Attorneys for 21-year-old Anthony Baumgardt of Lebanon have filed for a change
of venue from Boone County. Baumgardt is charged in the March 2 shooting of
Jacob Pickett, who was chasing of Baumgardt with his police dog. The
34-year-old Boone County deputy died 3 days later.
The motion was filed June 7. Prosecutors have 10 days to respond to it.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in the case. A trial date has not
been set.
(source: Associated Press)
KENTUCKY:
Kentucky Supreme Court rules death penalty IQ law is unconstitutional
The Kentucky Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the state's practice for
determining if someone is intellectually disabled and not eligible to receive
the death penalty is "unconstitutional" and has established new guidelines.
The order changing Kentucky's rules on capital punishment came in the case of
Robert Keith Woodall, who was sentenced to death for raping and killing a
16-year-old girl in Greenville 2 decades ago.
The high court ordered a lower court to hold a hearing to determine if Woodall
is intellectually disabled, preventing him from being executed.
It is unconstitutional to sentence a mentally disabled person to death - which
has been defined in Kentucky as someone with an IQ below 70.
However, Kentucky's high court ruled a person cannot be found intellectually
disabled simply because they have an IQ of 71 or above. Instead, the justices
determined defendants must undergo a "totality of the circumstances test,"
including whether they have the ability to learn basic skills and adjust their
behavior to circumstances, among other guidelines.
Those standards are in line with guidelines established by the U.S. Supreme
Court that take other factors into account, according to the ruling. The
federal court, for example, bars states from using a single, strict IQ standard
to determine a prisoner's death penalty status.
In its ruling, the Kentucky high court found the state's current law to be "an
outdated test for ascertaining intellectually disability."
Kentucky was one of only a few states still using the fixed score cutoff to
determine mental disability.
Justice Sam Wright disagreed with the other high court judges that Kentucky's
current law is unconstitutional, arguing that judges already must hold a
hearing to determine beyond a reasonable doubt that a person is eligible for
the death penalty.
Woodall pleaded guilty to kidnapping Sarah Hansen on Jan. 25, 1997, from a
convenience store in western Kentucky, according to a story by the Associated
Press. Woodall acknowledged that he raped the girl and slit her throat twice
before throwing her in a lake. DNA evidence, fingerprints and footprints led to
Woodall.
A jury sentenced Woodall to death, but a psychiatrist has since testified he
was "intellectually disabled," according to the ruling. The case has been sent
back to Caldwell Circuit Court.
(source: WDRB news)
************************************
Trial begins in murder case of Marine killed outside Lexington bar
The trial is underway for 2 people accused of murdering a Marine outside of
Lexington bar.
Quincinio Canada and Dawan Mulazim are accused of killing Jonathan Price and
injuring his wife, Megan, in the June 2014 shooting.
The couple was celebrating Megan's birthday at Austin City Saloon.
Investigators said the couple was talking outside of the bar on Woodhill Drive
when they were approached by 2 men. Police said 1 man attempted to snatch a
purse from Megan, and when her husband intervened, a short fight broke out.
Investigators say Jonathan was shot in the back, and Megan was shot in the leg.
4 years after the shooting, the trial is now underway following a weeks-long
jury selection. Both suspects could face the death penalty.
The Commonwealth started with opening statements showing Price and his wife,
stating the Marine "didn't die in combat like his brothers and sisters." The
jury would listen to the 911 call Megan made after suffering a gunshot wound to
the leg. Prosecutors say the pair only stole $60 after the deadly shooting.
Mulazim's attorney would follow up with her opening statements, saying police
"assumed" their suspects were Canada and Mulazim while disregarding evidence.
One example the attorney is pointing to is DNA taken from under Jonathan
Price's fingernails excludes both suspects. The defense is also arguing police
photoshopped a face tattoo out of a picture of Canada which was used in a
lineup.
The prosecution's 1st witness was paramedic Shane Hansford. He had a handgun
stolen during a Lexington hotel robbery 6 days before the deadly shooting.
Prosecutors are tying the stolen weapon to the Price's murder.
Hansford's wife was the 2nd witness. She said she did not identify the suspects
because she could not make a positive identification with complete certainty.
The prosecutors' 3rd witness, Mitchell Smith, was with the couple during the
robbery.
Wednesday's testimony concluded with prosecutors calling a Lexington police
officer who responded to the robbery.
(source: WKYT news)
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