July 21 TEXAS----death sentence overturned Court tosses '97 death sentence The loaded pistol at issue in the capital murder trial wasn't the murder weapon. It belonged to a juror but, even so, it might have helped put the defendant on death row. The bizarre turn of events led the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday to toss out the death sentence, but not the conviction, of the defendant, San Antonio native Carl L. Brooks. The 3-judge panel ruled that the juror might have been beholden to prosecutors after he was charged with bringing a semiautomatic pistol to the courthouse during the trial. Security guards found the handgun in the juror's briefcase as he entered the courthouse on April 22, 1997, the morning after the jury had convicted Brooks of shooting Frank Johnson, 22, during a drug-related robbery. The juror, Santiago Alexander Garcia, claimed that he had planned to bring the weapon to a gunsmith for repair. After being charged with a misdemeanor, he returned to the trial to sentence Brooks. Brooks' defense lawyers objected to Garcia's participation in the sentencing, but State District Judge Pat Priest let Garcia remain on the jury after determining that the juror's deliberations would not be affected by his own pending case. The panel of 3 appeals judges gently disagreed with the decision to let the trial proceed. The trio, which included San Antonio's U.S. Circuit Judge Edward C. Prado, said the gun charge essentially put Garcia's own future in the hands of the prosecutors' office. "As he listened to the evidence in the sentencing phase ... he was facing a stunning turn of events in his own life," according to the opinion written by Judge Patrick E. Higginbotham. "He could have been sentenced to a year in jail; worse yet, he could have faced a felony prosecution." Garcia, who could not be immediately reached for comment, ultimately received deferred adjudication, and his case was closed without even a fine. Brooks, meanwhile, remains in custody with his conviction intact. Although the 5th Circuit has ordered the state to give Brooks a new sentencing hearing or a life sentence, prosecutors in the Bexar County district attorney's office are seeking a 3rd option: They have asked the Texas attorney general's office, which handles death penalty appeals in federal court, to challenge the decision by seeking another hearing at the 5th Circuit or at the U.S. Supreme Court. Alan Battaglia, chief of the DA's appellate section, described the ruling as unnecessarily suspicious of Garcia. "There's no indication from his testimony ... that he changed his vote to curry favor with the DA's office," Battaglia said. "There's nothing." Brooks' attorney Michael W. McCrum, however, echoed the 5th Circuit's conclusion that the charges could well have exerted silent subtle pressure on the juror. "It's a victory for fairness," McCrum said of the ruling. Should Brooks get a new hearing, the evidence may sound strikingly different this time. At least 2 witnesses, the defense lawyer claimed, have recanted since the trial. (source: San Antonio Express-News) ******************* Victim's Family Speaks Out Against Killer's Plea Bargain The family of an Austin murder victim is speaking out, fearing that their daughter's killer is negotiating a plea bargain to avoid the death penalty. Jenny Garcia, an 18-year-old freshman at St. Edwards University, was found bound, gagged and stabbed in her northwest Austin home in January 2004. Police arrested David Diaz Morales, an illegal immigrant and former co-worker of the victim, for the brutal murder. The Travis County District Attorney said they would seek the death penalty, but Garcia's family fears the DA is considering a plea bargain that might one day allow Morales to go free. "The death penalty is on the books in Texas, evidently for the most heinous and gruesome crimes," said Humberto Garcia, Jenny's father. "I cannot think of a more heinous one than this one." A hearing in the case is scheduled for Monday. (source: KXAN News) ALABAMA: Jury selection continues in Fayette capital murder trial The long, slow process of jury selection continued Wednesday in the capital murder trial of Devin Darnell Moore. The jury pool dwindled to 89 on Wednesday as Judge James Moore and attorneys met privately with jurors at the Fayette Civic Center. The public was not allowed to attend these sessions. Court will be moved to the Fayette County Courthouse today and Friday. Moore is accused of killing 2 Fayette police officers, Arnold Strickland and James Crump, and dispatcher Leslie "Ace" Mealer, in June 2003. He allegedly took Strickland's gun and shot Strickland and the other 2 men. On Wednesday, Judge Moore met first with jurors who wanted to express private concerns with the judge. Judge Moore and attorneys also met privately with jurors who said they could not be impartial. Judge Moore sent out 3 times as many summonses as normal in hopes of getting an unbiased jury. (source: The Tuscaloosa News) INDIANA: Prosecutor seeks death penalty----Grand jury will make ultimate decision in recent murder case **** Case facts Needius Grubb was arrested July 12 when he was found hiding behind a propane tank at a residence on Eaton Road near New Miami in Butler County. He is in the Preble County Jail facing preliminary charges of murder, rape, kidnapping and felony domestic battery. Bond has been set at $1 million. Preble history Barbara Mullins' was the 1st murder in Preble County in five years. Paul Edward Hays was found shot to death in his burning West Alexandria home in 2000. Brian Michael Shannon was arrested 18 months later and sentenced to 19 years. It has been more than a decade since a capital case has been tried in a Preble County court. Dennis B. McGuire was sentenced to death in 1994 for the murder, rape and kidnapping of Joy Gayle Stewart on Valentine's Day 1989 near West Alexandria. McGuire remains on death row, Sheriff Mike Simpson said. **** Barbara Mullins died of multiple blunt force injuries to her head, torso and extremities, and from strangulation. She was beaten and choked to death. The brutality is one reason her boyfriend, Needius Grubb, could face the death penalty if convicted of her murder. "If there was ever a crime that deserved the death penalty, this is it," Preble County Prosecutor Martin P. Votel said. A Preble County grand jury will make the ultimate decision on seeking the death penalty, but Votel said he intends to recommend capital punishment. The next regularly scheduled grand jury session will begin Aug. 1. Votel said he might ask for a special session before the end of July to consider only the evidence in this case. Results of an autopsy confirmed what Preble County Sheriff's Department investigators observed when her body was discovered nude next to her car in a wooded area along Winters Road southwest of here. Police began searching for Mullins and Grubb on July 10 after deputies were called to gathering on Toby Road for a "domestic disturbance." "We have evidence and witnesses from the scene to confirm he was beating her," Preble County Sheriff Mike Simpson said. Before officers arrived, Grubb had forced Mullins into her purple Chevrolet Beretta and left the scene. On the evening of July 11, Mullins' body and car were found about three miles away. The autopsy could not confirm when she died, "But she had answered her cell phone at 2:19 a.m.," Simpson said. Cellular phones record the calls and time of the call. Police were called to the Toby Road disturbance at 1:36 a.m. Preble County Coroner John Vosler said the autopsy report is only partially done. Results of toxicology and other tests won't be received for 4 to 6 weeks. Votel will present the evidence in the case to the grand jury. "They'll be given the law," Votel said. "There are 3 or 4 factors in this case which qualify under the capital punishment statutes." Votel intends to recommend that those factors be invoked, but "I'll consult with her family before I make my final decision on the recommendation," Votel said. Mullins, 34, and Grubb, 41, lived together in Union, Ohio. Votel thinks they had lived in the West Alexandria and Camden areas at various times. Grubb was released from the Preble County Jail on the morning of the day before Mullins was murdered. He had completed serving the terms set down in a guilty plea to a previous domestic battery plea involving Mullins. (source: Palladium-Item) CALIFORNIA: Death Penalty Sought In Concord Trail Murder The man accused of raping and murdering an Antioch mother on a popular walking trail will face the death penalty. The Contra Costa County District Attorney's office says it will pursue a death sentence in the case of Robert Frazier. Authorities say he killed Kathleen Aiello-Loreck while she was walking on a trail in Concord during her lunch break in 2003. Investigators arrested him after they matched saliva on a cigarette butt found on the trail with DNA on the victim. A judge is expected to set a trial date next month. (source: ABC News)
